Lameness prevention: it's all in the head

An understanding of how cows think, how they see the world and how they move is essential for lameness prevention.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday asked China about what it wants the Code of Conduct (COC) in the disputed South China Sea to contain.

In a chance interview with reporters before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-China Summit, Duterte told the East Asian giant that the COC must be signed "at all cost." The COC shall identify what the states can and cannot do in the contested waters.

"Because of the treaty [mutual defense treaty with U.S.] I'd like to tell China  that is why at all cost we must have the COC," Duterte said.

"So you're there, you're in possession, you occupied it. Then tell us what route shall we take and what kind of behavior," he added.

Duterte made these statements as he admitted that the rising tension between China and U.S. worries him.

"Everything has been excellent between China and the rest of ASEAN. Except for the fact that there's a friction between the Western nations and China," Duterte said.

"I am worried. I expressed it last night because we have a defense treaty  mutual defense with the U.S. and there's some  a serious miscalculation," he added.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday asked China about what it wants the Code of Conduct (COC) in the disputed South China Sea to contain.

In a chance interview with reporters before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-China Summit, Duterte told the East Asian giant that the COC must be signed "at all cost." The COC shall identify what the states can and cannot do in the contested waters.

"Because of the treaty [mutual defense treaty with U.S.] I'd like to tell China  that is why at all cost we must have the COC," Duterte said.

"So you're there, you're in possession, you occupied it. Then tell us what route shall we take and what kind of behavior," he added.

Duterte made these statements as he admitted that the rising tension between China and U.S. worries him.

"Everything has been excellent between China and the rest of ASEAN. Except for the fact that there's a friction between the Western nations and China," Duterte said.

"I am worried. I expressed it last night because we have a defense treaty  mutual defense with the U.S. and there's some  a serious miscalculation," he added.

Duterte chance interview

READ: ASEAN, China eye completion of draft South China Sea code by 2019

The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, along with Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Although the U.S. is not a claimant country, it conducts freedom-of-navigation operations in the Asian waters and calls out China's alleged militarization.

Duterte said he will focus on forging the COC during the Philippines' term as country coordinator for the ASEAN-China dialogue, which lasts until 2021. For years, the Philippines and other members of the ASEAN have been pushing for a legally-binding COC amid concerns over China's actions in the South China Sea.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin, however, earlier hinted that the ongoing negotiations may not result in a legally-binding COC. "But it will be the standard on how people of ASEAN, governments of ASEAN will behave towards each other," he said in a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi who visited the Philippines in October.

READ: 'Perhaps,' there will be no legally-binding South China Sea code of conduct, DFA chief says

Experts on the maritime dispute worry that a non-legally binding COC will not compel China to demilitarize or share resources with other claimants.
In line with the Indian Government's agenda to promote a spirit of entrepreneurship among young Indians, the country's embassy in China staged its second Startup India Investment Seminar in Beijing on Monday.

The embassy organized the event in partnership with the Startup India Association (SIA) and Venture Gurukool, which is involved in the provision of initial startup venture capital. The first seminar was held in Beijing in November 2017, designed to seek funding from Chinese investors.

A total of 42 Indian entrepreneurs, representing 20 startup business ventures, took part in this year's event, each making a pitch for funds to an audience of around 350, mostly representing Chinese Venture Capital (VC) funds, as well as a number of angel investors.

According to a press release from the Indian Embassy the participating startups were: Tripshelf (travel), OfficePass (Rental Solutions), Snapmint (shopping/marketing), Sattviko (Food), Roar Media (Media), Roadpiper (logistics), Numbermall (e-commerce), NirogStreet (Ayurvedic medicine), Moengage (marketing), log9 Materials (new energy vehicle), Eremedium (health-education), HomeCapital (housing finance), HalaPlay (online gaming), Grabonrent (rental solutions), Golive Games (online gaming), Eshopbox (e-commerce), Confirmtkt (travel), Ambee (environment), Scholr (education), and Bisbo (media).

In a keynote opening speech, Mr. Acqino Vimal, Deputy Chief of Mission, said that India's youthful demography, rapid economic growth and fast-paced urbanization and its challenges work as hotbed for growth of Indian entrepreneurs and startup ecosystem, as well as provide them opportunity for offering unique, innovative, and affordable solutions for these challenges, and encouraged Chinese investors to take part in the development process of India growth story through investing in Indian startups.

Mr Zheng Bin, CEO of ICBC India, shared the Chinese bank's experience in India, gave an overview of the local startup ecosystem and how to invest in it. He said ICBC India had established a US$200 million fund for investing in promising Indian MSMEs and ventures.

Jason Wang, President of ZVCA, and Ms. Joanna Hao of Beluga Global, appealed to Chinese VCs for greater exchanges between Indian and Chinese startup ecosystems.

During the seminar, a report "India  China: Startups & Beyond" by KPMG, giving detailed account of Indian startup ecosystem and why it is right place for making venture investments, was released.

To discuss effective strategy for Chinese VCs to enter the Indian startup market and share their experiences, a panel discussion was organized, involving Mr Ashish Wadhwani (Ivy Cap Ventures), Mr Pei- Fu Hsieh (01 VC), Mr. Pan Song (QiGoal Capital) and Mr Mahendra Swarup (SIA) as panelists and moderated by Mr. Gurpreet Singh (ATM Ventures).

In last year's seminar, four of the 12 startup ventures seeking Chinese investment were successful, obtaining US$15 million. The organizers hoped this figure would be doubled this time round, with seven to eight startups gaining some funding.
WASHINGTON  U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is among several Democrats exploring the idea of suing the Trump administration to invalidate the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general.

Ive spoken to some of my colleagues, but were not ready to make a formal decision, Blumenthal said.

President Donald Trump last week ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, replacing him with Whitaker, a loyal Trump ally who has been critical of Robert Muellers Russia investigation and is now in a position to oversee it.

Blumenthal has been critical of the appointment, but so have others  on both sides of the aisle  who question Whitakers qualifications and whether he would limit the investigation or bury its findings.

If filed, Blumenthals lawsuit would argue that Trumps appointment of Whitaker is an unconstitutional violation of the Senates advise and consent powers because the new attorney general, appointed on a temporary basis, has not been approved by the Senate.

If the lawsuit were successful, it would force the president to either formally nominate a replacement for Sessions or elevate, on an acting basis, someone from within the department who had already received Senate confirmation.

Some legal scholars say it might be difficult for Democratic senators considering the lawsuit against Whitaker to have standing in court - which means being able to prove they have been harmed.

Political analyst Norm Ornstein warned, If the administration is upheld by the courts on Whitaker, it erases the confirmation power of the Senate.

Presidents can bypass the Senate at will, choosing temps who have never been confirmed, and who cannot be confirmed, for 7 months, renew them, and then pick another, Ornstein tweeted.

Maryland this week became the first state to challenge Whitakers appointment.

The Maryland lawsuit argues the selection is illegal and unconstitutional and that Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was overseeing the Mueller investigation before Whitakers appointment, should be acting attorney general.

The Maryland suit contends that the appointment of Whitaker violates the legal processes for filling high-level federal vacancies.
China's BYD, a world leader in electric mobility and green technology, has announced a further sales breakthrough in South America, with the sale of 20 electric buses to Ecuador.

Saucinc, a private bus operator in Guayaquil, is the purchaser, the deal being financed by a public bank, CFN, along with a complete charge system, at a total cost of US$7.7 million.

This will be the first electric fleet in Ecuador and the second in Latin America.

By next March, the 12-meter buses each with a passenger capacity of 80 people will play an important part in promoting modernization of public transport in Ecuador.

The deal was confirmed after repeated trials of the electric bus in Guayaquil City between November 2017 and March 2018, with an average range of 250 km per day. It is estimated that the 20 eBus fleet will avoid the emissions of 12.8 tons of CO2 and consumption of 2.9 million gallons of diesel over a year's operation, achieving savings of US$8 million for the Ecuadorian government, currently subsidizing fuel oil.

"This is a great example of how public and private sectors can work together for the welfare of citizens," said Jorge Burbano, the BYD Country Manager. He revealed that, prior to the contract being signed, the Municipal Transit Agency of Guayaquil had carried out a poll among users that showed 85 percent approved the new technology and a new ticket rate for zero emissions transport.

Guayaquil is following the example of Santiago, the capital of Chile, which currently has a fleet of 100 electric buses.
Beihai, a coastal city in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has made great efforts to preserve mangrove trees, which play a key role in protecting marine biodiversity.

To protect the mangroves, Beihai has adopted multiple approaches, including legislation, creation of reserves and restoring wetlands in recent years, said Feng Feng, a staff member in the Golden Bay Mangrove Ecotourism Zone.

The zone is a wetland reserve dedicated to the protection of the salt-tolerant mangroves, which can endure the harsh conditions at the seaside.

Cutting mangroves is prohibited in the protection zone, and patrols are carried out regularly to prevent violations, said Feng, adding that special areas have been designated outside the reserve for fishermen.

"Protecting mangroves in the reserve is not easy, as the forests are close to the urban center and human activity," Feng said.

To protect the species, the city has banned polluting industrial operations around the protection zone and has drained fish ponds that were built on former mangrove swamps to return the land to the trees.

Beihai is home to more than 10 percent of China's mangroves and has established eight conservation zones.

The trees are sometimes called "ocean guardians" as they protect marine biodiversity, safeguard coastal areas from erosion and storm surges, and improve the marine environment. Mangrove swamps also provide habitat for fish, crabs, mudskippers and egrets.

However, over the past half-century, more than 70 percent of mangrove forests in China have vanished because of human activity.

Feng said that in the past, many residents of Beihai would cut down mangrove trees to build fish ponds. It wasn't until the early 21st century that their awareness of environmental protection was enhanced and such activities ceased.

Feng said Beihai has also been trying to revive mangrove forests through artificial cultivation. Every year, more than 40,000 mangrove seedlings are planted in the coastal swamps. The survival rate of the seedlings is less than 5 percent because the plants are demanding and don't tolerate pollution, Feng said.

A regulation on the protection of mangroves legislated by Guangxi is set to take effect in December. Under the regulation, land reclamation projects are strictly forbidden in mangrove areas, and cutting them down or doing other damage to the trees is not tolerated.

As a result of the conservation efforts, mangrove areas in Beihai have increased from more than 3,100 hectares in 2002 to more than 3,400 hectares.
GODFREY  The Godfrey man accused of robbing five Riverbend-area banks late last year and earlier this year pleaded guilty Tuesday to a six-count federal indictment.

Dandre R. Brown, 30, of Godfrey pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery and one count of transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines. The five robberies in southern Illinois occurred between Nov. 29, 2017 and Jan. 10, 2018. The sixth count in the indictment alleges that on Dec. 11, 2017, Brown transported a stolen vehicle from Missouri into Illinois.

Brown first robbed the U.S. Bank branch at 1520 Washington Ave. in Alton on Nov. 29, 2017. Less than a month later, he robbed the Reliance Bank location in Godfrey on Dec. 20, 2017, and just two days later robbed the Regions Bank in East Alton.

On Jan. 2, 2018 he robbed the U.S. Bank at 1301 E. Edwardsville Road in Wood River, and finally robbed the First MidAmerica Credit Union on Troy Road in Edwardsville on Jan. 10, 2018.

As part of his guilty plea, Brown also admitted to committing a sixth robbery involving the U.S. Bank in Florissant, Missouri, on Dec. 11, 2017, and afterward fleeing in a stolen car back to Illinois. In total, Brown stole nearly $37,000 from the six banks.

Browns robberies all followed the same basic modus operandi. Brown would enter the bank alone wearing something covering his head. He would present the teller with a note and then flee with the money to a vehicle parked a block or two away. On multiple occasions, when demanding money from the bank tellers, Brown would tell them he knew where they lived, intimating that he might come after them personally if they did anything to thwart his crimes.

Investigators were able to identify Brown after recovering a demand note he had presented the teller while robbing the U.S. Bank in Alton. The note read, Give me all the money NO Die Packs I have a weapon.

Officers with the Alton Police Department found the note in the grass across the street from the bank and sent it to the FBI crime lab, where four latent fingerprints and one latent palm print were discovered and subsequently matched to Brown. Brown was arrested Jan. 23 by United States Marshals on a federal arrest warrant in Atlanta, Georgia.

During Tuesdays plea hearing, Brown admitted to stealing a 2016 Chrysler 300, one of the vehicles used in the robberies, from a parking lot at Gateway Regional Hospital in Granite City.

Brown is being held without bond pending his sentencing hearing, which is set for Feb. 26, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., at the federal courthouse in Benton, Illinois. He faces up to 20 years imprisonment on each of his five robbery convictions, and up to 10 years imprisonment on his conviction for transporting a stolen vehicle. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 3 years supervised release. Brown may also be ordered to pay restitution to the victims.

The prosecution of this serial bank robber demonstrates the success of the PSN program by the tremendous collaborative effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, said United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. The full weight of federal law enforcement must be brought to fight this type of violent crime.

This case is the result of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, and the Alton Police Department, in concert with the Illinois State Police, Madison County States Attorneys Office, and the following police departments: Granite City, St. Louis County, Godfrey, East Alton, Wood River, and Edwardsville. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James G. Piper, Jr.
EDWARDSVILLE  The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering is hosting its first SIUE Energy Day at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27 in the Morris University Centers Mississippi-Illinois Room. The day will focus upon energy topics, and awareness of alternative and clean energy sources.

Our goal is to create an annual fall event and be the first institution that comes to mind when people talk about energy and sustainability topics in the Greater St. Louis area, said Serdar Celik, PhD, associate professor of mechanical engineering in the School of Engineering. We hope to increase understanding of regional and global energy issues, and promote awareness on various energy topics.
Efforts to save the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise in Anhui province have been undermined by unapproved changes to protected habitats, a high-level environmental inspection found.

A safe zone for the mammal-known in China as the water panda because of its rarity-was first set up in Anqing, Anhui, in 2007. It covered 806 square kilometers, including the entire 243 km of the main stream of the Yangtze River that runs through the city.

Yet between November 2015 and June 2017-and without approval from provincial authorities-Anqing authorities adjusted the zone's size and downgraded the protection level in some areas to allow activities that threaten the porpoise, according to a statement from the inspection team.

One document from 2015, for example, reduced the protected area to 552 sq km and left it covering only 152 km of the Yangtze's main stream. A 91-km Yangtze section excluded from the protected area threatened the survival of about 50 Yangtze finless porpoises, the statement said.

Inspectors found that the protection levels of two foraging areas were downgraded in 2016, and a year later the areas had been removed from the zone altogether. More than 10 wharves, including one handling hazardous chemicals, were opened along the 2-km section of the Yangtze that separates the foraging areas.

According to a guideline on natural reserves published by the State Council in 2010, such adjustments should have been approved by the provincial government, and should also have been recorded with the top environmental watchdog.

There were also environmental violations in the remaining protected areas, according to the statement. Three anchorage grounds, for example, were allowed in waters frequented by the porpoise, resulting in a direct threat to the animals' survival, while four of the 18 sewage outlets inside the protected area were built without approval.

The statement blamed Anhui provincial agricultural and environmental authorities for their failure in supervision. Instead of protecting the area, the Anqing city government adjusted the area to allow for the construction of a new port, it said.

The inspection team vowed to further investigate the case and said those who breach their duties will be subject to punishment.

Ma Yong, deputy secretary-general of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, said some local authorities have yet to attach adequate importance to biodiversity protection as they have with pollution control and supervision.

He said any officials held accountable for the incident should be severely punished to prevent similar cases.

The inspection team, which visited the protected zone in Anqing from Nov 4 to Thursday last week, was headed by minister-level official Wu Xinxiong, the former head of China's National Energy Administration who is now an official with the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Its deputy head was Zhai Qing, vice-minister of ecology and environment.
3 hours ago

US stocks rise after Biden taps Powell for a new Fed term

Stocks were higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street Monday as investors head into a holiday-shortened week with reassurance about leadership at the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was up 0.6% as of 3:24 p.m.

Read Article
China has launched a campaign to crack down on illicit activities on social media, including spreading rumors or pornographic information.

More than 9,800 self-media accounts, referring to subscription-based accounts that are popular on WeChat, Weibo or news portals such as Toutiao, have been punished in the campaign that was launched on Oct. 20, said the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

The violations included defaming heroes, tarnishing the nation's image, spreading rumors and information that is sensational, lewd or pornographic, and blackmailing companies with media exposure, said the administration.

"Self-media should never be a place outside of judicial reach," said the CAC.

The CAC summoned social media platforms, including Tencent's WeChat and Sina Weibo, warning them against neglecting their duty of managing self-media on their platforms.

The CAC said the overhaul of self-media and its orderly development needs participation of the whole society, and supervision and public tip-offs on illegal and harmful information are welcome to safeguard a healthy cyberspace.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) diplomatic summit is scheduled to be held in Papua New Guinea from November 12-18 this year. This is the first time Papua New Guinea is hosting the APEC meeting.



During the event, leaders from APEC economies will gather in Port Moresby to evaluate APEC's work during 2018, assess the status of global trade and the related challenges as well as set future goals.

Notably, APEC is the most significant inter-governmental economic forum for the 21 Pacific Rim member economies that aims to foster sustainable and balanced growth as well as facilitate regional integration through broader participation. It accounts for nearly 50 percent of the world's trade and covers almost 40 percent of the world's population. APEC was formed in 1989 as a result of growing interdependence of the Asia-pacific economies and the mushrooming regional trade blocks. It's key goal is to foster wider economic cooperation and promote more prosperity in the region.

China had played a significant role in APEC since it joined the group in 1991. As a member, China has advocated the liberalization of trade and investment, urged APEC to safeguard the interests of member countries, and fostered the effective implementation of multilateral trading systems within its framework. China hosted the APEC leaders' summits twice in 2001 and 2014 in Shanghai and Beijing respectively. In 2001, APEC adopted the Shanghai accord and the e-APEC strategy. Also, the first counter-terrorism statement was issued to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation in the wake of the terrorist attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

In 2014, Beijing hosted the Summit themed "Shaping the future through Asia-Pacific Partnership" which concluded with the adoption of the 22nd APEC economic leaders' declaration. The Beijing agenda included an integrated, innovative and inter-connected Asia-Pacific in a statement that was issued on the 25th anniversary of APEC. APEC members also demonstrated a strong commitment towards an eventual Free-Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). They agreed to start a joint strategic study on the FTAAP to transform this vision into a reality.

In addition to financial and economic cooperation, APEC member countries have also jointly worked on wider issues such as climate change, anti-terrorism, health, communication, and culture. Following this summit, China and the U.S. released a joint statement in Beijing on their ambitious plan to tackle climate change. China vowed to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 percent by 2030, while the U.S. pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent below their 2005 levels by the year 2025.

As a premier forum for regional integration in Asia-Pacific, APEC provides an opportunity to its members for shared prosperity through regional integration and increased economic activity. This year, however, APEC will be held at a crucial juncture when the world economy is being impacted by unfavorable external market conditions, growing concern over the impact of globalization, trade protectionism and friction which are undermining some industries as well as consumer and investor confidence.

China's attendance in the upcoming summit has generated huge interest among global media towards the summit given that China is expected to maintain a strong position against the U.S. bilateral approach. Hence, it is expected that China will send a strong message against trade protectionism, support the liberalization of trade and investment, and facilitate the effective implementation of multilateral trading systems.

Rachana Gupta is a China Focus columnist, an expert author of Ezine Articles and an active blogger and poetry writer.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Swedish national arrested in Phuket, to be deported again

PHUKET: A Swedish national will be deported to his home country after being arrested in Phuket late yesterday afternoon (Nov 13), Immigration Chief Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn announced today (Nov 14).

crimeimmigrationdrugspolice

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 14 November 2018, 05:56PM

Swedish national Jesse Joakim Dahlstroem, 38, was arrested at the dcondo complex in Kathu at about 5pm yesterday (Nov 13). Photo: Immigration Bureau

Swedish national Jesse Joakim Dahlstroem, 38, was arrested at the dcondo complex in Kathu at about 5pm yesterday (Nov 13). Photo: Immigration Bureau

Swedish national Jesse Joakim Dahlstroem, 38, was arrested at the dcondo complex in Kathu at about 5pm yesterday (Nov 13). Photo: Immigration Bureau

Swedish national Jesse Joakim Dahlstroem, 38, was arrested at the dcondo complex in Kathu at about 5pm yesterday, Gen Surachate told a press conference at Phuket Provincial Police Station this afternoon.

Gen Surachate was in Phuket to primarily oversee the salvage operation of the sunken tour boat Phoenix. (See story here.)

The arrest followed a joint investigation by the Royal Thai Police and its major subdivisions, the Immigration Bureau and the Tourist Police, Gen Surachate explained.

The investigation into Dahlstroem being in Thailand followed a tip-off from an undercover officer, he added.

He (Dahlstroem) was found to be have entered Thailand illegally because there is no record of him entering the country in his passport, Gen Surachate said.

Dahlstroem had been deported to his native country once before over a previous conviction there involving cocaine, and was blacklisted from entering Thailand, Gen Suarchate added.

And now he has sneaked back into Thailand again, he said.

Mr Jesse (sic) admitted that he entered Thailand across the border between Thailand and Malaysia, in Sadao District, Songkhla, without passing through immigration, Gen Surachate said.

Gen Surachate also said that Dahlstroem in his most recent arrest was found to have methamphetamine in his body, and that he would be charged for possession of a Category 1 drug.

Dahlstroem will be charged for his crimes and forced to leave the Kingdom of Thailand (again), Gen Surachate said.
 Flash

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan on Tuesday met with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Beijing.





Wang said that the bilateral cooperation between China and Germany has reached an unprecedented level since the establishment of diplomatic ties, and the pragmatic cooperation has yielded fruitful results in areas including politics, economy, trade and humanities.





"Facing the current international situation, we can learn from China's developing experience that only by continuous innovation, accelerated reforms and further opening-up can we promote development and achieve prosperity," Wang said, adding that adhering to peaceful development and building a community with a shared future for humanity is the only right way to go.





He said that China is willing to enhance mutual understanding and trust with the German side based on mutual respect and strengthen the docking of development strategies in order to achieve a higher level of complementary advantages and win-win cooperation.





Maas said that the German side hopes to deepen cooperation with China through this visit, and make joint efforts in addressing current global challenges.
Thai activist gets political refugee tag in South Korea

BANGKOK: Anti-junta activist Chanoknan Ruamsap, who fled the country earlier this year after being charged with lese majeste, has received political refugee status from the South Korean government.

Wednesday 14 November 2018, 09:37AM

Police charged Chanoknan Ruamsap in mid-January with lese majeste for clicking share on a BBC Thai profile of His Majesty the King. She had been arrested earlier for campaigning against the regimes constitution prior to the August, 2016, referendum. Photo: Moo.Cartoon / Faebook via Bangkok Post

Ms Chanoknan, a 25-year-old member of the New Democracy Movement, has become the first Thai to receive political refugee status from the South Korean government.

The immigration bureau of South Korea granted her request last Friday (Nov 9).

A smiling Ms Chanoknan posted a 40-minute Facebook Live video discussing the case after learning asylum had been granted.

I think I won political refugee status because there were many people helping me along the way, the 25-year-old Ms Chanoknan said in a video posted on her Facebook page last Saturday (Nov 10).

My case garnered attention in South Korea after local journalists interviewed me and published my story on the front page [of Hankyoreh21 magazine] in May. Other exiled political activists from around the world also wrote letters to the South Korean government. My plight has been widely reported and political activists in South Korea also pressured their government, she said.

The activist firebrand fled to South Korea in the middle of January after being charged with lese majeste for sharing a BBC Thai profile of His Majesty the King on her Facebook page. Ms Chanoknan - nicknamed Cartoon did not just click share; she also wrote, If you dare write. I dare share.

Of the 2,800 people who shared the article, only two were charged under Section 112.

The other, activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, aka Pai Dao Din is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence in Khon Kaen for the crime.

Ms Chanoknan applied for political refugee status in South Korea in March.

Her case was publicised by local media and activists in South Korea after an independent news magazine, Hankyoreh21, ran her story along with an interview on its front page in May.

Read original story here.
South Dakota qualifies for FCS playoffs for first time since 2017

The Coyotes qualified for the playoffs for just the second time since they transitioned to Division-I football in 2008.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has decided to push back the opening of the controversial footbridge across EDSA in Kamuning, Quezon City.

In a text message Tuesday night, MMDA Spokesperson Celine Pialago said the agency will open the footbridge on November 15, and does not plan to redesign it.

However, in a telephone interview on CNN Philippines' Balitaan Wednesday, Pialago retracted her statement, saying the viral footbridge will open on November 27 instead. She added the agency will now modify its structure.

"'Yung footbridge dadagdagan pa natin ng isa pang landing. 'Yung matarik na hagdanan magkakaroon ng parang platform para hindi naman masyadong matarik sa paningin ng ating mga kababayan (We will add another landing platform on the footbridge. We will include another platform on the staircase so that pedestrians will not find it too steep)."

Pialago also revealed there were concerned engineers who sent designs, which the agency considered.

With a 10-million peso budget, the construction of the footbridge, which began in July, is the agency's solution to the problem area that it identified in its 2017 Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System report, Pialago said. The report states the part of EDSA where the structure was built recorded the most cases of road crashes, she added.

A road safety expert asserted the initial structure of the footbridge is not safe for pedestrians.

Rob Mclnerney, CEO of the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP), said the pedestrian infrastructure in Quezon City may not be used at all, even if it was designed with integrity. He told this to CNN Philippines in an interview during the World Safety Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on November 6.

"It's ultimately not safe because not many pedestrians will actually use it. It might be a well-designed overpass but, ultimately, if it's not going to be used by pedestrians, then it can't be considered safe," Mclnerney said.

MMDA officials explained it reached that height because there has to be at least 3 to 4 meters of space between the footbridge and the MRT-3's electrical lines.

In the past weeks, photos of the footbridge went viral, and netizens criticized the structure saying it is too steep.

In an interview with CNN Philippines' The Source, MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said the footbridge was designed "only for the healthy."

What makes a pedestrian footbridge 'safe?'

Mclnerney explained the main safety standard in evaluating footbridges is its usability.

"The main thing you look at is who is going to use that piece of infrastructure? And is it designed in a way in which people will actually use it, use it well, and use it safely?" he said.

The road safety expert added the structure's inclusivity must be considered in the design process. He said, "If there are so many stairs to climb, that people need to be an Olympic athlete to actually use it, then it is unlikely to be fit for purpose. So, ultimately, you need to know who's using it and design it with them in mind, and make sure it meets their needs--both from the functional perspective and safety perspective."

The iRAP is behind the "Star Rating" for roads. Star Rating is an international road assessment program, which evaluates road safety, not just for vehicle passengers but also for motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Five-star roads are deemed the most safe.

According to iRAP's assessment, in low-income and middle-income countries like the Philippines, about 84 percent of the roads, where pedestrians are present, carry traffic at 40 kilometer per hour and have no footpaths, making pedestrians more vulnerable to injuries and deaths.

While the organization saw a lot of improvements in the star rating of roads in the country, iRAP said there remain many areas of improvement, such as the state of infrastructure for pedestrians.

Everyday, at least 10 pedestrians are involved in road crashes in the country, according to MMDA. In 2016, pedestrians made up the biggest chunk of road user deaths at 195 cases or almost 44 percent, slightly higher than drivers at 194 cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported about 1.24 million traffic-related deaths occur every year. Of the total number of fatalities, more than 270,000 or 22 percent are pedestrians.

WHO experts have said that to help reduce the number of deaths among pedestrians, governments must build safer footpaths and bridges with usability as main criterion.

This story was made possible with support from the ICFJ-WHO Safety 2018 Reporting Fellowship Program and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
 Flash

A two-day conference for Libya running in the southern city of Palermo closed on Tuesday, registering a positive climate among Libyan parties involved, according to Italian authorities.





"The substantial and highly-qualified presence of the Libyan parties here in Palermo has been a very encouraging signal, and a strong message of hope," Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at the closing joint press conference with UN Special Envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame.





"We leave from Palermo feeling confident in the prospects of stabilization of Libya," Conte added.





Participants included Libya's four key actors: Prime Minister of UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj, Head of the High State Council Khalid al-Mishri, President of the House of Representatives (HoR) Ageela Saleh, and General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army.





Overall, 38 delegations took also part in the summit, including representatives from France, Russia, China, the United States, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as from the European Union (EU), the Arab League, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.





The basis for the agenda was provided by the UN new transition plan, which was recently unveiled by Special Envoy Salame, and called for a Libyan National Conference to be held in the country at the start of 2019 to define a format for subsequent elections by spring.





In this perspective, Salame told reporters the talks in Palermo helped him feeling "reassured" about the concrete prospects for such plan.





"I believe the national conference we are planning for the first weeks of next year is made easier by this summit," Salame told the press conference.





"That is because I have seen a unanimous support from the international community, and the clear commitment of those Libyans present here that they will attend and contribute to the national conference," the UN special envoy explained.





Tripoli-based PM al-Sarraj and General Haftar of the eastern Libyan National Army also held talks on the sidelines of the conference on Tuesday morning, in an informal meeting brokered by Conte and Salame.





This was seen as a good sign in terms of reconciliation efforts, since General Haftar had made clear he would not join the roundtable talks here in Palermo, and indeed left before the plenary session started.





The informal meeting was also attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.





Overall, the Italian host stressed that Italy aimed at having the most inclusive approach in this summit. "Our interest is not to contribute to further divisions," Prime Minister Conte said.





"Within the Libyan scenario, Italy can be a factor promoting stability, and we do have the clear goal of talking with all Libyans (parties), which we see as equally important."
WASHINGTONEconomic uncertainty will linger across North America unless and until a divided Congress approves the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, trade lawyers from both countries predicted Wednesday as newly emboldened Democrats on Capitol Hill vowed not to rubber-stamp the deal.

The agreement is expected to be signed Nov. 30 when leaders from all three countries gather for two days of G20 meetings in Buenos Aires, but it wont be a high-profile, high-level affair if they remain locked in their standoff over U.S. President Donald Trumps steel and aluminum tariffs.

But that will not be the least of the hurdles facing the deal: the formal signatures matter less than legislative ratification. And Democrats, who will take a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives in January, are hinting at a go-slow approach.

New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell, the presumptive head of the influential Ways and Means trade subcommittee, became the latest Wednesday, telling Bloomberg that Democrats will want better enforcement mechanisms for USMCAs labour and environmental clauses before signing off on Trumps showcase trade deal.

California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to lead the new House majority, has also indicated she wants to see better enforcement on labour and the environment before shell support the agreement  measures that could be handled with separate U.S. legislation, rather than reopening the deal.

All of which means a longer timeline before USMCA comes into effect, a period likely to be marked by market and business instability, said Lawrence Herman, a Toronto-based trade lawyer and public-policy expert.

As long as it takes for the USMCA to get congressional approval, there will be a fair degree of uncertainty in the markets because market participants will not know whether the NAFTA will continue or not, Herman told a panel in Washington organized by the Canada-U.S. Law Institute.

Canada might decide to introduce legislation before then to ratify the deal, but is likely to hold off on bringing that legislation into force until after Congress votes, he added.

And until then, there will remain a fear that Trump, keen to increase the pressure on Congress, could renew his threats to pull the U.S. out of NAFTA, which remains in effect until the new deal comes into effect, he added.

I deal with stakeholders all the time that are very concerned with the lack of security and confirmed rules of trade in the market. That is a danger, and the market uncertainty that flows from that danger will continue for a number of months, and we will see the impact that has on the markets.

There is also no clear sense of when Trumps tariffs on steel and aluminum exports, imposed on what the federal government considers dubious grounds of national security, will be lifted, said Kirsten Hillman, Canadas deputy ambassador to the U.S.

Efforts to negotiate a tariff truce have been ongoing in some form or another since before the deal was even reached, Hillman told the panel, but she wouldnt go into details about what sort of a resolution would be acceptable to Canadian negotiators, or offer a prediction on when it might come.

In the meantime, the tariffs and Canadas countermeasures are causing grief on both sides of the border.

I personally, here in Washington, get interventions every week, almost, from U.S. steel exporters saying, Look, can you guys solve this problem, because there is a cumulative effect,  she said, adding that in some cases, exports of manufactured goods that contain steel are being hit more than once.

Solutions, should they arise, are going to arise out of real practical realities about effects on individuals in communities who are facing challenges. My sense is that (is), ultimately, what will unlock some of these more challenging problems.

National-security tariffs may already be the norm rather than the exception in the USMCA era, since the new agreement does nothing to curb their use on those grounds, Herman warned.

Canada, I think, has directly acceded to the use of unilateral measures for national-security reasons, unconstrained by the requirement that those measures be taken in a time of war or other emergency in international relations. Those caveats are not included.

Whether the agreement is ultimately ratified by Congress depends largely on the mood on Capitol Hill and whether House Democrats opt to take a hard line, said Terence Stewart, a managing partner at Washington-based trade-law firm Stewart and Stewart LLP.

But these days in Washington, making political predictions is a mugs game, he joked.

If the Democratic leadership in the House were to take the position that, We just want to stop everything that President Trump and his team are trying to get through, then you really have serious danger, Stewart told the panel.

It doesnt seem to me that would be likely, but my perception of what is likely over the last two or three years or so has become increasingly confused.

Read more about:
CALGARYA turbulent weekend for the United Conservative Party has left Albertas official Opposition facing demands to remove a member who made comments over the weekend comparing the Pride flag to Nazism and communism.

UCP Leader Jason Kenney publicly denounced these comments, but some experts weighed in on how he and his party can effectively assure Alberta voters that the UCP doesnt align with extreme and offensive points of view.

John Carpay, the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms and a UCP member, spoke at an event in Calgary on Saturday where he said the rainbow flag shared characteristics with Nazism and communism, claiming they all share an underlying connection of hostility toward individual freedoms. The comment sparked outrage, and eventually provoked an apology from Kenney on Twitter.

The UCP has yet to comment on whether it will remove Carpay as a party member.

Kenneys apology for Carpays comments came just weeks after he disavowed a member of the party who was a former volunteer on his leadership campaign, Adam Strashok, for alleged ties to a white supremacist website. The Strashok controversy followed a story earlier this fall where UCP nomination candidates in Edmonton were pictured posing with members of the extremist group, the Soldiers of Odin.

The UCP isnt the only party faced with pressure to distance themselves from extremist members. Maxime Berniers new federal party, the Peoples Party of Canada, took questions about Strashok having been listed online as a member as well.

A PPC spokesperson said they have a process to vet electoral district association members for anything in their background that could impact the party.

Kenney has maintained that the UCP doesnt condone hateful points of view. But to Glynnis Lieb, the executive director at the University of Albertas Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services, Kenneys attempts to distance his party from these views have rung hollow.

The root of the problem here is that this is a party that has really made themselves seem like a platform for people who hold these extremist views. So to apologize or disavow someone after they say something terrible, its reactionary, Lieb said.

Lieb added that while its unlikely to happen, Kenney would need to step down as UCP leader to truly show the party is accepting of people of different genders and sexual orientations.

He is the one framing that dialogue and that lens in that party. He has drawn people into the party who felt the old PC party wasnt traditional enough, Lieb said.

Longtime Alberta conservative political strategist Vitor Marciano said dealing with extremist members is a problem both the old Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties in Alberta dealt with prior to merging last year.

But rather than stepping down as leader, Marciano said Kenney could proactively remove members of his party who hold extremist points of view.

There are people who in the past have been kicked out of both the Wildrose and the PC party, and who now seem to be back in the fold at UCP. And the truth of the matter is, if youve been kicked out of both legacy parties in the past because youre just not a good person, you dont deserve a third chance, Marciano said.

Kenney has publicly floated the idea of assembling a database that could screen out potential party members who hold extremist, racist or homophobic points of view.

The UCP didnt respond to requests for comment about how this database idea has progressed.

Mount Royal University policy studies professor Lori Williams said leaders like Kenney and Bernier must publicly disavow people running for their parties or volunteering for them who hold highly questionable points of view, as theyve done so far.

But Williams warned a database like the one Kenney proposed, while a good idea, might be difficult to operate. Finding the manpower and time to run a database that covers all the members of a mainstream party would be a challenge, as would finding members who go by different names online than what they registered under with the party.

You could try to do it, but it would take enormous amounts of time or resources to try to avoid some of the problems that were talking about here, Williams said. Desirable? Yeah. Doable? In a cost-effective way, its really difficult to envision what that would look like.

Williams pointed out that other parties, including the governing NDP, have had to respond to candidates whose pasts have brought them criticism. But Carpays comments and the UCPs connections to Strashok and the Soldiers of Odin are emblematic of a problem right-wing parties around the world are facing.

Its going to draw people who are sympathetic with some of that more extreme stuff online to look for a party thats most likely to be receptive to their views. And that kind of party will be a conservative or right-leaning party today, Williams said.

In some ways, if it goes on long enough, it becomes very difficult to effectively distance themselves from the views of so many adherents. It starts to raise questions if theres something in the party thats inextricably linked to those kinds of ideas, or susceptible to the influence of those ideas. Its a very difficult problem.

Read more about:
LITTLE BUFFALO, ALTA.Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the NDP caucus wont reveal the names of two legislature members accused of inappropriate behaviour.

Notley said both cases have been addressed internally and divulging details and identities would jeopardize the privacy of those who complained.

In both cases, she said the investigations concluded the behaviour could be dealt with through education and a change in behaviour.

Notley was commenting on a statement issued by her office late last week saying that two members of her NDP caucus have been accused of inappropriate behaviour since 2015.

Her office said the complaints related to events that happened outside the MLAs workplace.

Criminal conduct was not alleged in either case.

Read more:

Alberta NDP backbencher protests partys culture of fear and refuses to sit in legislature

Turfed Alberta NDP backbencher wont run in next election, cites culture of fear

Rachel Notley fires back at ousted MLAs culture of fear claims

They needed to be addressed and taken very seriously, and that is why we had an independent investigation in both cases, Notley said after a land claim announcement in northern Alberta Tuesday.

In both cases, the complainants wanted to remain confidential.

Notley was asked why she wouldnt simply release the names of the legislature members but keep the other details private.

If youre going to respect the confidentiality of the complainant, then you cant start parsing which details come out and dont come out, she replied.

The government came forward with the two cases after former NDP backbencher Robyn Luff said last week that caucus members had been warned not to politicize indecent behaviour cases involving Opposition MLAs because the NDP had its own problems in that area.

The Opposition United Conservatives have said they have had one workplace complaint filed against a sitting legislature member and the matter was resolved through internal legislature procedures.

Luff was kicked out of caucus last week after she announced she was boycotting the legislature to protest what she called heavy-handed control of backbenchers by senior officials in Notleys caucus and government.

Notley has suggested Luff is confusing bullying with the age-old concept of parliamentary discipline that Notley says is necessary to get things done in the house.

Read more about:
FREDERICTONFormer New Brunswick premier Brian Gallant will be stepping down as Liberal leader, and asking the party to organize a leadership convention.

The Canadian Press has learned from sources close to Gallant that he intends to remain as Opposition leader until the party chooses a new head.

Gallant is scheduled to officially announce his intentions at the legislature at 11 a.m. Thursday.

He became leader in 2012, and premier in 2014 at the age of 32, but came up short in Septembers provincial election.

His minority government was toppled two weeks ago in a confidence vote on the Liberals throne speech, and Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs and his minority government were sworn-in last week.

Gallant was not available for an interview Wednesday.

Read more:

New N.B. premier Blaine Higgs reaffirms plan to fight carbon tax

Former premier Gallant yet to decide on future as Tory government is sworn in

New Brunswicks Tories poised for power after Liberal government falls

Donald Wright, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick, said Gallants decision was not unexpected.

He gave it the college try. He tried to find the confidence of the house but was not successful. Im sure he has spoken to his caucus and to his party. Im sure he read the tea leaves and learned that his future is not with the party and the party is better off finding a new leader to lead them into the next election, Wright said.

Wright said the decision is probably in the best interests of the party and of Gallant himself.

He clearly tested the waters and learned that he does not have the support that he needs. I think hes wise to ask for a leadership convention sooner rather than later. This government might last 18 months, it might last 24 months, or it might last three months, so the Liberal party is going to have to get its house in order.

Wright said ideally the new Liberal leader will be someone from outside the party who can bring new ideas and new energy, and not be associated with the last four years.

He said they would also have to be bilingual.

A number of names have been tossed around over the last week as possible replacements for Gallant, including Wayne Long, the member of Parliament for the riding of Saint John-Rothesay; Saint John Mayor Don Darling; and Susan Holt, former CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council who ran unsuccessfully for the Liberals in the September election.

Those are the same three names that Ive heard and theyre all competent people, Wright said.

While Wright said the Liberals need to move quickly, the partys constitution details some of the timeline that must be followed.

All completed nomination papers shall be received by the president no less than two weeks before the opening of a leadership convention. The form of nomination papers and the regulations shall be made available at least eight weeks before the opening of a leadership convention, the constitution reads.

On his last day in office, Gallant told The Canadian Press in an interview that if he was to quit as leader, he would remain as MLA for his riding of Shediac Bay-Dieppe.

I do think I can be an effective leader of the Opposition. I really do think we could continue some of the momentum we started if ever we were given the chance to govern again, he said last week.

Gallant has close ties with a number of key players in the federal Liberal party, including his friend, Dominic LeBlanc, the minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and Internal Trade  but Gallant said last week he had no intention of making a run at federal politics in next years election.

He said in retrospect, many of his initiatives over the last four years put too much pressure on businesses. Gallant said he didnt do enough to talk about the benefits of bilingualism, and did a poor job of communicating with New Brunswickers.

These are some of the things I should have done better as premier and I take full responsibility for the results of the election and Im going to make it my responsibility, in whichever role I will play moving forward, to learn from those mistakes and consistently try to improve, he said.

Standings in the 49-seat legislature are 22 Tories, 21 Liberals, three Green party members and three Peoples Alliance MLAs.

Read more about:
OTTAWA  Canada is raising concerns over reports that Rohingya refugees will soon return to Burma  the country in which they have been targets of what has been officially declared a genocide.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau say they are deeply concerned about a proposed repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Burma this month.

United Nations officials and international organizations have said such a return is unsafe due to ongoing violence and conditions that continue to force refugees to flee the country.

Freeland and Bibeau say repatriation must not be rushed, and theyre urging Burmas government to ensure refugees that do return are protected and their human rights are upheld.

Read More:

Pence says Burmas handling of Rohingya without excuse

Amnesty International withdraws award from Burmas Suu Kyi

Burmas military said to be behind Facebook campaign that fuelled genocide

Canada is also calling on Burma to grant full access to UN and international observers to monitor any repatriation efforts.

More than 900,000 Rohingya have fled Burma into neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017.

In September, Parliament voted unanimously to strip Burmas de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary Canadian citizenship for failing to stop the atrocities committed against the Rohingya people.
Should an immigration detainee have the same right to challenge their ongoing detention as their criminally convicted peers?

Thats the quandary at the centre of a Supreme Court of Canada case opening on Wednesday in Ottawa.

While Canadian citizens serving a jail sentence are entitled to argue their case before a judge, foreign nationals held for immigration violations must appear before a federal tribunal, which has been criticized for rubber-stamping their continued incarceration.

Canadas highest court is being asked to clarify if immigration detainees are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and can access what is legally known as habeas corpus  a legal recourse that allows anyone held by the state to challenge the lawfulness of their detention.

Until now, immigration detention has been a murky area of law between two levels of authority  the federal government, which is responsible for immigration matters and runs the tribunal, and the provinces, which are in charge of detention facilities.

Provincial courts often defer to the Federal Court to deal with immigration detention through judicial reviews, but these reviews only examine if any legal errors are made by immigration officials in detaining or releasing an individual. The federal judges dont consider the lawfulness of an immigration detention, and all they can do is send a case back for a new decision.

Read more:

Immigration detainee sues feds for $50 million, alleging he suffered a mental breakdown and was given electric shock treatment

Immigration detainee Ebrahim Toure finally free after more than five years

This is the time for resignations: Group of 50 lawyers calls for overhaul of immigration detention board

The Supreme Court case is centred on Pakistani immigration detainee Tusif Ur Rehman Chhina, who had been held for almost 30 months while officials tried to deport him.

In Ontario, long-time immigration detainees have been asking the provincial court to release them on habeas corpus since 2015. Ebrahim Toure, who had been held for 5-1/2 years, was among those who unsuccessfully challenged the lawfulness of his detention at the provincial court. In September, he was finally released at his monthly detention review, where an independent adjudicator concluded there was no prospect to deport him.

What we are saying is its advantageous and preferable for immigration detainees to have direct access to habeas corpus, said Barbara Jackman, one of the three lawyers representing Chhina. Habeas corpus is a right, not a discretion.

Chhina arrived in Canada in 2006 and was soon granted asylum. However, he was ordered deported in December 2010 after a series of criminal convictions here. Border officials made three failed attempts to obtain travel documents from Pakistan for Chhinas deportation while keeping him behind bars.

In 2016, Chhina claimed to the Alberta provincial court that his lengthy detention was unlawful. The request was denied after a judge ruled the matter was beyond the provincial courts jurisdiction.

Chhinas lawyer Nico Breed then took the case to the Alberta appeal court and won. His client was finally deported in September 2017, but the Public Safety Minister and Attorney General of Canada proceeded with the appeal to the Supreme Court.

In their submissions, government lawyers said immigration detainees are entitled to regular independent reviews, which must justify their continued detention or grant their release.

In immigration matters, provincial superior courts ought to decline the exercise of jurisdiction to grant prerogative relief, including habeas corpus, the federal government argued in its submission to the Supreme Court.

There is no need to depart from that approach when reviewing immigration detention decisions of allegedly lengthy and uncertain duration.

However, immigration lawyers have argued the odds are stacked against detainees the longer they are held.

The system is structurally against the detainee. The tribunal looks at the reason the person is held and racks up more reasons not to release him, said Jackman.

Even if the Supreme Court rules in favour of her client, Jackman said she doesnt believe provincial courts will be inundated by immigration detainees because the majority are released in under three months.

Last year, 3,557 people were held in immigration detention in Canada. Eighty-eight per cent of detainees were released within 90 days. But in 80 cases, people were held for more than a year.

Correction  Nov. 16, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Ebrahim Toure was released on habeas corpus in September. In fact, Toure was released in September by an independent adjudicator at his monthly detention review.
Toronto Police have confirmed that the attack on four Jewish teenagers in north Toronto on Sunday evening was motivated by hate.

On Sunday, Nov. 11th, shortly after 8 p.m., four young men were walking in this area near Bathurst and Lawrence, said Police Chief Mark Saunders, speaking Tuesday from the scene of the crime. The Toronto Police Service has now determined that this was, in fact, a hate crime.

The four teenagers were walking in the area of Fairholme Ave. and Bathurst St., one block south of Lawrence Ave. W., when a group of approximately nine other teenagers passed them, police say.

They made derogatory comments about the Jewish boys religion and the religious garments they were wearing, before assaulting two of the 17-year-old boys. Police said they were punching and kicking them.

Before the suspects split up and fled, a pair of sunglasses was stolen from one of the victims.

A robbery and hate crime investigation was launched after the assault. One 17-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene, but Saunders says they know that there are more outstanding, and that the police are going to unturn every stone, to find them.

The only description of the suspects at this time is that they are teenagers.

A hate crime is one that we will never normalize in this city, Saunders said. And I want to reassure the public that we will do anything and everything to conclude this investigation.

Noah Shack, the vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in the GTA put out a statement saying that they were deeply disturbed by the incident, and that Jewish Canadians should never fear wearing their Kippah in public.

Other city officials and public figures have spoken out.

Mayor John Tory echoed the call for witnesses and information on Twitter, writing that no one should ever be attacked for their religion.

The rise in the frequency of anti-Semitic acts is alarming, Roman Baber, MPP for the area of York Centre, said in a statement posted on social media. Anti-Semitic acts of violence or any acts motivated by hate have no place in Ontario.

Premier Doug Ford and federal opposition leader Andrew Scheer also tweeted about the incident, Scheer calling it troubling and Ford asserting that his government will not tolerate hatred of any kind.

Anyone who believes they may have information about the incident is asked to contact police or CrimeStoppers.
Bill Shen loves his city so much he named his first-born son Hamilton. A native of Beijing, China, Shen came to Canada at 17 to finish high school, graduating from Southern Ontario Collegiate.

But after 18 years in Canada, Shens time here could be coming to an end.

Shen, now 35, settled in Canada at the urging of his father, an engineer in the Chinese space agency. After witnessing the horrors of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Shen said his father decided he would have a better future overseas.

Along with being a husband to Elizabeth and father to five-week-old Hamilton, Shen owns property, including his Ancaster home. Hes self-employed, operating a consulting business to help international students study in Canada. He also runs a specialty tour company thats taken clients on trips across Canada, including the Rocky Mountains, Yukon and the Maritime provinces.

Shen is a volunteer photographer. Hes preserved holiday memories for the congregation at Salvation Army Meadowlands Church. Hes also documented remembrance ceremonies for veterans of the Dieppe Raid.

Shen faced a challenging language barrier upon arriving in Canada in 2000. Today, he speaks clear and fluent English. Hes been commended for detecting a fire in a Westdale home and calling 911, saving the property and an occupant inside. A friend whom Shen allowed to live in one of his properties, rent-free, credits Shen for urging him to seek immediate medical attention for a life-threatening health condition. In another character reference letter, Shen is praised for returning a wallet he found at a gas station.

Ken Smith, Salvation Army Meadowlands corps officer and pastor, wrote in a letter dated June 27, 2017 that Shen was a faithful contributor to the church congregation over the previous 18 months.

He regularly offers his services as a volunteer photographer for our members and goes above and beyond what would be expected in both quality of photography and his willingness to offer opportunities for family holiday picture memories, Smith states.

While he appears an exemplary citizen, Shens one regret in life threatens to have him deported to China by Nov. 24.

Back in 2004, Shen was studying to become a paralegal at Everest College when it came time to renew his study permit. Shen said his application was turned down because his grade of 74 per cent was deemed too low. Shen could have gone back to Beijing and reapplied for the permit, but believed his chances would be slim.

So in early 2005, he entered into a marriage of convenience with a friend who was a Canadian citizen, which allowed him to remain in Canada. Shen was granted permanent resident status in 2008.

Shens actions didnt go unnoticed by the federal government.

By 2014, he was being questioned by immigration officials. A process was initiated to have him removed from Canada.

When they approached me, I conceded right away, said Shen. I think everyone should have a second chance. Especially when we are in our 20s, we dont think too much of the consequences.

Shen had a hearing before the Refugee and Immigration Board of Canada on Sept. 27, 2017. An adjudicator ruled against his appeal to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Shen counters the assertion of tribunal hearing officer, K. Dickenson, who found his feelings of remorse insufficient to grant his appeal.

Shen said the decision shows the hearing officer expected him to show remorse before the actual wrongdoing occurred.

If thats the standard for remorse, no one will ever have remorse, Shen said.

In May, his application for a judicial review of that decision was also refused.

Shen said a forced return to China would be devastating for his family. He, Elizabeth and Hamilton would likely be directed back to Beijing, where they would have no job and no place to live. Shen compares finding accommodations in Beijing to landing an apartment in Manhattan. Beijings notoriously poor air quality is another reason Shen doesnt want to move back.

Shen said his son is still too young to travel, so theres a chance for a temporary stay of removal. But that would only buy him a few weeks, which wouldnt even be long enough to get his affairs in order.

When asked what his next plan of action will be, Shen replies, I dont know. We are really running out of options.

Earlier this month, Shen contacted Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale. The ministry is listed as a respondent in Shens Immigration and Refugee Board appeal.

Having lived in Canada for almost 20 years and being acutely aware of the huge gap between Chinese political ideology and state restrictions, as well as the policy of indoctrination of young minds in Chinese schools, I wish for my son to be educated in Canada, Shen writes in his letter. The sense of freedom and guaranteed rights I have come to experience are fundamental to my being and I wish this for my son. I want my son to be his own person with his own beliefs, not forced to pledge himself to a certain ideology without even understanding it.

Barring an 11th-hour reprieve from the federal government, Shen will be forced out of Canada.

Hopefully the minister will reply with something positive when he sees this, said Shen.
Toronto police are seeking the publics assistance in identifying three suspects and a vehicle of interest in a totally random armed home invasion near Yonge. St. and Eglinton Ave.

The home invasion took place after a 67-year-old man answered a knock on his front door at 7:15 a.m. on Sept. 27, Toronto police acting Inspt. Lauren Pogue said at a news conference on Wednesday. When the man opened his door, he was confronted by two males, both wearing construction vests, hard hats and dust masks, said Pogue, of the hold-up squad.

Both suspects were armed with guns and forced their way into the mans home demanding money, Pogue said. The suspects proceeded to tie the victim up and assaulted him while ransacking his home, she said.

The two suspects eventually fled without obtaining anything.

There was just nothing to be taken, Pogue said. They were clearly asking for money over and over again and just didnt find anything.

The victim managed to free himself once the suspects left the area and called police, but not before he suffered significant injuries requiring hospital attention, Pogue said.

Pogue said the victim was entirely innocent, but whats most concerning for police, she said, is that he appears to have been randomly targeted.

The victim is a professional gentleman, I believe it to be unprovoked and totally random. Our belief is that they didnt know each other at all, Pogue said.

A lot of times with home invasions there is a nexus between the suspects and the person, theres some kind of criminality involved, and this isnt the case in this situation.

Following an investigation, police said they learned that one week prior, on Sept. 21, the two male suspects were spotted walking around the neighbourhood with a third male during the early hours of the morning. Pogue said police believe the men were casing the area.

In a video released by police Wednesday, all three suspects appear be wearing similar, construction-type clothing with yellow or white hard hats and dark pants. The men can be seen walking along the sidewalk to a waiting vehicle, described as a 2007 or 2008 dark grey or blue Nissan Maxima, which police said was used on both days.

A fourth unknown person was driving the Nissan on both days, Pogue said.

The two male suspects who invaded the mans home are both described by police as Black males in their mid-20s.

One was wearing a yellow hard hat, a yellow construction shirt and black pants, and is between five-foot-ten and six-foot-two with a slim build, police said in a news release.

The other was wearing a white hard hat, yellow construction vest and black pants. He was also seen carrying a blue-sided cooler with a white lid and is between five-foot-six and five-foot-eight, also with a slim build.

The third male who was seen with the pair on Sept. 21 is also described as a Black male in his mid-20s, between five-foot-ten to six-foot-two. In the video, he is also wearing a reflective vest with a hard hat.

Police said they have no evidence to suggest the suspects are responsible for any other hold-ups, but are advising neighbours to look out for one another, and make their homes appear like somebody is home, either by leaving lights on or leaving a car in a driveway.

Investigators can be reached at 416 808 7350 and there will be further information released on the Crime Stoppers website.
ATLANTAAfter two federal court rulings and a flurry of legal filings over a 24-hour period, uncertainty still hangs over Georgias midterm elections, including the still undecided race for governor.

Unofficial results in one of the nations hottest midterm contests give Republican Brian Kemp a slim majority. But Democrat Stacey Abrams maintains that enough uncounted absentee, mail-in and provisional ballots remain to force a Dec. 4 runoff and keep alive her bid to become the first black woman in American history to be elected governor of a state.

In the week since voters went to the polls, arguments over certain provisional and absentee ballots have been presented at a dizzying pace before several different judges in federal court.

Among them was a lawsuit filed Sunday by Abrams campaign seeking an extension by one day of the deadline for county election officials to certify their results. As a hearing drew to a close just before the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said he wouldnt extend the deadline because all the counties had likely already certified their results or were about to, and there were other protections in place.

All but 16 of the states 159 counties had certified their results by Tuesday evening, Secretary of State spokesperson Candice Broce said in an email.

Jones said he hopes to rule on the other requests from Abrams campaign by noon Wednesday.

The campaign asked him to order county election officials to accept any absentee ballots on which there was missing or insufficient information as long as that doesnt substantially obstruct officials from verifying the absentee voters identity. It also asked him to order county election officials to accept information thats submitted to fix issues with provisional ballots, and to count those votes until 5 p.m. Wednesday. And it asked that provisional ballots cast by a voter registered in the wrong county be counted as if the voter had shown up at the wrong precinct.

Lawyers for state and county election officials argued that the Abrams campaign was trying to use an 11th hour lawsuit to rewrite the states election laws. County election officials have been properly counting ballots and have been able to complete their duties in the time allowed by state law, they argued.

In a separate case, U.S. District Judge Leigh May on Tuesday ordered Gwinnett County election officials not to reject absentee ballots just because the voters birth year is missing or wrong and to count any that were cast in the Nov. 6 election. She also ordered the county to delay certification of its election results until those ballots have been counted.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Robyn Crittenden last week to replace Kemp, who resigned as secretary of state after declaring victory in the governors race. Crittenden had issued guidance to county election officials on the absentee ballot issue Monday.

Jones said he will consider whether he should effectively extend Mays order to Georgias other 158 counties. He said that under Crittendens guidance, counties dont have to reject absentee ballots that are missing a year of birth if theres enough other information to verify the voter but her guidance fails to say they shouldnt reject them. He said that could cause absentee voters to be treated differently, depending on where they live.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg late Monday ordered state officials not to do their final certification of election results before 5 p.m. Friday. State law sets a Nov. 20 deadline.

State elections director Chris Harvey testified last week that the state had planned to certify the election results Wednesday, a day after the deadline for counties to certify their results. He said that would allow preparations to begin for any runoff contests, including those already projected in the races for secretary of state and a Public Service Commission seat.

Totenberg also ordered the secretary of states office to establish and publicize a hotline or website where voters can check whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, the reason why. She also ordered the secretary of states office to review or have county election authorities review the eligibility of voters who had to cast provisional ballots because of registration issues.

Meanwhile, protesters, including a state senator, were arrested Tuesday during a demonstration at the Georgia Capitol calling for uncounted ballots to be tallied.

Im being arrested because I refused to leave the floor of this building where Im a state senator, Sen. Nikema Williams said as she was escorted from the building. I wasnt yelling. I wasnt chanting. I was standing peacefully beside constituents I represent.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety said a total of 15 people were arrested on charges of disrupting orderly conduct of official business and were taken to the Fulton County jail.

After being released from the jail later Tuesday, Williams said she was targeted as a black woman. The Abrams campaign called for charges against Williams to be dropped.

The Georgia Constitution states that legislators shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly ... except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.

Unofficial returns show Kemp with a lead just shy of 60,000 votes out of more than 3.9 million cast. Abrams would need a net gain of about 21,000 votes to force a runoff.

The Associated Press has not called the race.

Kemps campaign has repeatedly called on Abrams to concede, calling her campaigns lawsuit a disgrace to democracy that ignores mathematical realities.

The Georgia Republican Party which on Tuesday joined the secretary of states office in defending against the lawsuit, said in an emailed statement that Democrats were trying to sue their way to a win after losing at the ballot box.

Abrams campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, told reporters after the hearing that, Our quest for basic fairness continues and that is we want every single vote to be counted here in Georgia.

She accused Kemp, as the states top elections official, of running a chaotic election that was characterized in long lines and an unusually high number of voters having to cast provisional ballots.
 Flash

Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was the first big-name politician to say on Tuesday night that he would vote against a so-called Brexit agreement brokered between Brussels and the British government.





Prime Minister Theresa May spent Tuesday night meeting her top ministers one by one at 10 Downing Street to discuss details of a draft agreement for Brexit. It was worked out with negotiators from both sides aimed at paving the way for Britain's exit from the bloc next March. Each minister was allowed to read the draft agreement.





May has called an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday afternoon to get approval from her top ministers for what would be an historic agreement.





The pound sterling surged on the currency market following news of the breakthrough, but financial observers said the rally could be short lived depending on how the cabinet votes on Wednesday.





Within minutes of details being announced about the breakthrough, questions and doubts were being raised both in the British mainland and across the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland.





Boris Johnson said he would vote against the deal, claiming it would transform Britain into a vassal state of Europe, and be the biggest change in the UK for a thousand years.





"For the first time in a thousand years, this (British) parliament will not have a say in the laws of this country, something which would be utterly unacceptable. I hope the cabinet will do the right thing and I hope they will chuck it out," Johnson said in a media interview.





Conservative MP and influential Brexiteer, Jacob Rees-Mogg described the draft agreement as a failure of the government's negotiating position and a failure to deliver on Brexit. He added that the deal, as reported, would keep Britain in the European Customs Union and "de facto" in its single market.





More troubling for May was a comment made by Northern Ireland politician Nigel Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party. His party shores up May's minority government in the House of Commons.





"We have to see the details, but it appears to be a UK-wide customs agreement but deeper implications for Northern Ireland both on customs and single market. If that means that we're taking the rules and laws set in Brussels, not in Westminster or Belfast, then that's unacceptable," he said on Tuesday night.





The document, said to run to 500 pages, outlines how one of the trickiest issues of the negotiations, the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, would be resolved.





It raised even more questions about what would happen if the deal is rejected when it is put before the British Parliament before the end of the year.





Many of Britain's leading politicians and political commentators, as well as constitutional experts are waiting to read the small-print of the draft document before passing judgement.





Few commentators predicted it would spark a snap general election on the basis the last election called by May backfired when she lost an overall majority in the House of Commons.





The big fear is that another election now could see the main opposition Labor Party winning, putting left-winger Jeremy Corbyn in No.10.





Labor's chief Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said: "Given the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country. It's not in the national interest to vote for a bad deal."





Labor Leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "We will look at the details of what has been agreed when they are available, but from what we know of the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country."





The leader of the minority Liberal Democrat Party, Vince Cable, who backs a new referendum, said: "Before the ink is dry, the Conservative Party will tear into what little Theresa May has been able to agree. The prime minister now faces a defeat in Parliament, as a majority will be hard or impossible to secure for what she has come up with."





In London on Tuesday night Mayor Sadiq Khan said Cabinet ministers must put aside their personal interests and ambitions and do what's in the national interest.





"It's clearer than ever that the British public must now be given a say on the terms of the final deal, with staying in the EU an option," Khan said.





In Dublin Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told his ministers to be on "standby" for a special cabinet meeting Wednesday to update them on Brexit.





The next 24 hours will prove pivotal in the long process of Britain's exit strategy after 45 years of EU membership.
CHICAGOA suburban Chicago alderman called Tuesday for prosecutors to investigate the fatal shooting of a Black security guard by a white police officer outside the bar where the guard worked.

Authorities have said little about the scene that ended early Sunday with the death of 26-year-old Jemel Roberson, who was apparently wearing a hat emblazoned with security across the front when he was shot outside Mannys Blue Room in Robbins, a predominantly Black community just south of Chicago.

At the time, according to witnesses and a lawsuit, Roberson was attempting to detain a suspect in a separate shooting that wounded several other people at the tavern.

Here is a security guard who is subduing a suspect, but the officer just sees a Black man with a gun and kills him, Alderman Keith Price said.

Price said he learned from witnesses that there are security cameras inside and outside the bar. He urged the Cook County States Attorneys Office to launch an investigation.

The Illinois State Police declined to comment on their investigation. A spokesperson for the sheriffs department, which is also investigating, said she did not know if there were security cameras at the bar.

Read more:

Lawsuit alleges Chicago police officer shot security guard who was holding suspect

Another security guard at the tavern said the officer jumped onto the bar and waved an assault rifle before running outside and fatally shooting the guard, an attorney said Tuesday.

Gregory E. Kulis, who on Monday filed a civil rights lawsuit against the officer and the community where he works, said the surviving guard told him the officer pointed a gun at him until he screamed at him that he was a security guard.

Thats when he jumped off the bar, waving the gun, and ran outside the door, said Kulis, who declined to identify the other security guard. The name of the officer, who is from the community of Midlothian, has not been released either.

In a statement, Midlothian Police Chief Daniel Delaney said only that the officer shot a subject with a gun. The officer has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard in such shootings until the investigation is complete, the chief said.

Protesters gathered Tuesday outside the Midlothian Police Department, some carrying portraits of Roberson. A memorial of candles took shape nearby.

Though shootings of security guards and off-duty police officers by law enforcement are fairly rare, they have happened.

In 2009, an off-duty Black New York City police officer wearing street clothes and holding his service weapon, was shot and killed by police as he chased a man who had broken into his car.

In that same year, undercover officers in Brooklyn responding to a report of a bar fight shot and killed a 43-year-old security guard who, police said, pointed a gun at them.

A year earlier, in White Plains, N.Y., a Black off-duty Mount Vernon officer who was holding an assault suspect at gunpoint was fatally shot by a Westchester County officer.

A 73-year-old night watchman at a recycling centre was fatally shot by officers in 2012 in Florida after they spotted him carrying a gun when they arrived in response to a call of an intruder. Police later said the man was not wearing anything that identified him as a security guard.

And in 2000, an off-duty Black police sergeant in Rhode Island was shot and killed by two uniformed colleagues as he tried to break up a fight in a parking lot.

Kulis would not say if he thinks race played a role in Chicago-area shooting, but the fact that the officer is white and Roberson was Black has prompted some  including a prominent local African-American newspaper columnist  to question the officers thinking.

I believe a police officer showing up at a chaotic scene where a white man has a gun would have at least hollered for him to put the gun down before opening fire, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell wrote after the shooting. But too often, Black men are not given the benefit of the doubt.

Kulis said he is trying to gather information about the officer, who he said came to the Midlothian department four years ago from another department and is a member of a SWAT team.

Footage from surveillance or body cameras could explain whether Roberson was clearly identifiable as a security guard. Audio could determine what, if anything, was said to the officer before the shooting and whether, as witnesses have told the media, they shouted to the officer before he fired that Roberson was a security guard.

Such footage could also help investigators determine what kind of charges should be filed against the man who is suspected of firing a gun inside the bar. The man was one of four people who suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds.

In his $1 million (U.S.) federal lawsuit, Kulis contends that the officer who shot Roberson violated the mans 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The use of force is considered a seizure, and he needed probable cause to use force and he did not have that, he said.
BATON ROUGE, LA.  A 13-year-old boy in Louisiana has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old.

The Advocate reports the child appeared in court Tuesday wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and accompanied by his grandmother and court-appointed attorney. First-grader Jahiem Holliday was shot to death this month in the backyard of a Baton Rouge home.

Authorities say the boys were playing outside near a group of people who were talking about making a music video. Their ages are unclear. They say the 13-year-old went inside his home and returned with a gun thought to belong to his uncle.

Police have said the boys may have argued. Prosecutors say the boy pointed a gun at the 6-year-old and fired a shot that the defence says was accidental.
PARIS  French President Emmanuel Macron said France and the United States must respect each other, in a response to a flurry of critical tweets by Donald Trump.

Macron said in an interview Wednesday with French television TF1 from the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier off the coast of southern France that the French dont expect from me to answer to tweets.

Trump lit into Macron Tuesday over his suggestion for a European defence force, French tariffs on U.S. wine and even Macrons approval ratings.

Asked whether Trumps four tweets were unpleasant and inelegant, the French leader answered: you summed up everything.

He said he thinks that Trump is doing American politics and I let him do American politics.

To be honest, I dont do diplomacy or politics through tweets and comments, he added.

Earlier Wednesday, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux suggested that the U.S. president lacked common decency by launching his broadside on a day when France was mourning victims of the November 2015 attacks in Paris.

We were commemorating the assassination of 130 of our compatriots three years ago in Paris and Saint-Denis, and so I will reply in English: Common decency would have been appropriate, Griveaux said.

Trumps tweets underscored tensions between the once-chummy leaders and displayed the U.S. presidents irritation over criticism of how he acted in France.

Diplomacy is not made through tweets but through bilateral discussions, Macron said during Wednesdays weekly Cabinet meeting in comments reported by Griveaux.

The French and the American leaders met on Saturday in Paris before ceremonies commemorating a century since the armistice of World War I.

Since Macrons election last year and their first white-knuckle handshake at a NATO summit, they have had an up-and-down relationship. Macron called Trump my good friend in front of reporters this weekend and their meeting was described as cordial by the French presidency.

Trumps tweet Tuesday that said MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN! revived French national pride on social media. Many replied by recalling Frances World Cup victory in July, 20 years after winning its first title.

France player Benjamin Mendy replied dont worry bro, placing two stars in his tweet to signify the countrys two World Cup victories. Many others posted photos and reference to the soccer victory.

French decathlon champion Kevin Mayer tweeted work in progress, dear Donald, posting a photo of his recent world record, beating U.S. athlete Ashton Eatons previous mark.

Read more about:
JERUSALEMAvigdor Lieberman, Israels hard-line defense minister, stepped down from his post Wednesday after the government agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas to end two days of clashes in Gaza, in a surprise move that could prompt early elections.

The decision by Lieberman to withdraw his hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu party from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus coalition will decrease the number of seats held by the government from 66 to a precarious 61 in the 120-seat parliament.

It was not immediately clear who would replace Lieberman as defense minister after the resignation comes into effect in 48 hours.

The announcement, made at a news conference in parliament, came a day after the right-wing government agreed Tuesday to the cease-fire with Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, ending an outburst of intense, cross-border violence.

In Gaza, there were celebrations about what the Palestinians viewed as a rare victory over Israel. Many Israelis, including residents of the south who had been under heavy barrages of rocket fire, censured the government for what they called a humiliating surrender after militant groups fired some 460 rockets and mortars from Gaza into southern Israel.

Explaining the timing of his resignation and appealing to his right-wing constituency, Lieberman said that he considered the cease-fire to be a capitulation to terror, and he listed a number of other recent policy decisions with which he disagreed.

What we are doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet at the price of serious damage to national long-term security, Lieberman said.

The battle to replace Lieberman may precipitate the beginning of the end of this Netanyahu government. Various parties, including Netanyahus conservative Likud, Liebermans ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu, and Education Minister Naftali Bennetts pro-settlement Jewish Home are all vying for the right-wing vote.

Bennett, who frequently espouses bellicose positions, is likely to demand the defense job, but Netanyahu will not be eager to give it to him, according to Israeli political analysts.

Lieberman earned a reputation as a blunt-talking, polarizing figure, but his partys strength has dwindled in recent opinion polls, barely scraping past the electoral threshold. He was named defense minister in May 2016 as part of a political deal augmenting Netanyahus coalition, which had survived for a year with a razor-thin majority of one.

Read more about:
Sen. Lindsey Graham called Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unstable and unreliable and said he and other senators were discussing sanctions against the longtime U.S. ally in the wake of a Saudi columnists murder.

An influential policy hawk in Congress who frequently advises U.S. President Donald Trump, Graham said he and like-minded colleagues dont yet have a plan of action, but lambasted the leadership of Saudi Arabias 33-year-old de facto ruler, widely known as MBS.

Prince Mohammed has been unstable and unreliable and I dont see the situation getting fixed as long as hes around, Graham said.

Asked if he was calling for a new crown prince to be named, Graham said it was up to Saudi Arabia to determine its leadership. I am of the opinion that the current leadership, the MBS leadership, has been a disaster for the relationship and the region, and I will find it very difficult to do business as usual with somebody whos been this unstable, he said.

Graham, a top critic-turned-ally of Trump, has taken a much more strident tone against the prince than the U.S. president since Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month. An authoritative Republican voice on relations with the Saudis, hes previously said the royal is a toxic figure who can never be a world leader on the world stage but his latest comments go further.

The South Carolina Republican is among a number of U.S. lawmakers, from both Democratic and Republican parties, who have pushed for action against Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi and other concerns.

Read more:

Behind a Saudi Princes rise, two loyal enforcers

Khashoggi recording suggests Saudi crown prince had strong involvement

Canada stands pat on Saudi arms sales, even after hearing Khashoggi tape

Khashoggi, a longtime insider who was critical of Prince Mohammeds policies, was murdered during a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. The crown prince and Saudi officials initially said they had no knowledge of Khashoggis whereabouts. But as international pressure mounted, the kingdom said he had died in an interrogation gone awry.

The killing revived criticism of Saudi Arabias role in Yemens years-long civil war, whose consequences the United Nations declared the worlds biggest humanitarian disaster. Prince Mohammed has defended the Yemen campaign.

Trump has been critical of the Saudis in the wake of Khashoggis death, but has said the events shouldnt hinder arms sales to the kingdom. On Tuesday, Trump said he intended to nominate a retired Army general as U.S. ambassador to Riyadh.

Graham was skeptical of National Security Adviser John Boltons comments Monday that people whove heard a recording of Khashoggis murder dont believe it implicates Prince Mohammed.

Pretty hard for me to believe that 15 people just on their own fly to Turkey and chop somebody up in a consulate and never tell anybody in Saudi Arabia about it. Ill be shocked if that turns out to be true, he said.

Senate Foreign Relations Republican Chairman Bob Corker, said separately that the Trump administration must give a high-level briefing to senators on Saudi Arabia  including the issues of Khashoggi and Yemen  or risk losing Saudi-related votes on the Senate floor before Congress finishes for the year.

Of Khashoggis murder, Theres no smoking gun, but I dont think theres any question he directed it, knew it, and weve got to figure out a way to cause them to pay a price, Corker said, referring to Prince Mohammed.

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he expects to see significant sanctions against the Saudis targeted to the highest levels of the Saudi government.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said he would discuss the possibility of forcing a vote this year on ending U.S. involvement in Yemens conflict under the War Powers Act. Murphy also said Trumps administration would have a hard time getting the votes needed for more arms sales to the kingdom.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ripped Republicans in a statement for moving to block a vote on ending the U.S. involvement in the war. Real, immediate action must be taken by the Congress to end this horrific humanitarian crisis, she said.

Read more about:
ATAQ, YEMENThe United States has waged a drone war in Yemen for 16 years, trying to suppress al-Qaedas branch here. But the campaign has had a hidden cost: civilians cut down by the drones missiles.

There is no comprehensive count of civilian deaths because of the difficulty of confirming identities and allegiances of those killed. But in an examination of drone strikes this year alone, The Associated Press found that at least 30 of the dead likely did not belong to Al Qaeda.

That is around a third of all those killed in drone strikes so far in 2018. The Pentagon does not release its assessment of the death toll, but an independent database considered one of the most credible in tracking violence in Yemen counted 88 people  militants and non-militants  killed by drones this year.

The AP count gives a glimpse, even if incomplete, into how often civilians are mistakenly hit by drone strikes, at a time when the Trump administration has dramatically ramped up the use of armed drones. It has carried out 176 strikes during its nearly two years in office, compared to the 154 strikes during the entire eight years of the Obama administration, according to a count by the AP and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

The AP based its count on interviews with witnesses, families, tribal leaders and activists. Most of those killed, 24, were civilians; at least 6 others were fighters in pro-government forces  meaning ostensibly on the same side as the U.S.  who were hit in strikes away from the front lines while engaged in civilian life.

The drone toll goes almost unnoticed in the regions conflicts. Immensely greater destruction has been wreaked by U.S. allies in the Saudi-led coalitions air campaign against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as Houthis. More than 57,000 civilians and combatants have been killed in Yemens civil war, by some estimates, and thousands more may have died of starvation caused by the conflict.

Read more:

Saudi-led coalition, Yemen rebels agree on informal truce

Saudis account of the Yemen war called into question

Canadas dual role in Yemen: Arms exports to Saudi coalition dwarf aid sent to war-torn country

Yet the killing of a single man  Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, slain by Saudi operatives in his own countrys consulate  has raised more international uproar than any of those deaths in a war waged by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the U.S.

In comparison, the toll from U.S. drones in Yemen runs in the hundreds, including both militants and civilians. Several databases are trying to track the deaths, with varying results. The Bureau for Investigative Journalism counted up to 1,020 killed by strikes from 2009 to 2016, under President Barack Obama, compared to up to 205 killed in 2017 and 2018. Another database, by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, counted 331 killed the past two years.

Counting civilians among those numbers is complicated by the difficulty in determining who belongs to Al Qaeda in a country of multiple warring militias. Al Qaeda has joined the battle against the Houthis, and many of its fighters are incorporated into militias armed and funded by the U.S.-backed coalition.

The campaign has scored some military successes. In 2015, U.S. strikes took out Nasser al-Wahishi, the top leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP as the Yemeni branch is known, and several senior lieutenants.

But drones have been most effective in forcing Al Qaeda to limit its movements and hide in the mountains, avoid large gatherings and restrict cellphone use. The group withdrew from areas it controlled in the south but was allowed to keep weapons and money under secret deals it struck with the United Arab Emirates, a coalition member.

Over the years, the cost of the pursuit of senior leadership has been high.

For example, the U.S. has killed at least 66 civilians, 31 of them children, in the unsuccessful hunt for one man, Qassim al-Rimi, one of AQAPs founders who in 2015 succeeded al-Wahishi as the groups chief.

Those deaths came in two raids reportedly targeting al-Rimi. The first was in 2009 in the southern village of al-Majalah. The second came on Jan 27, 2017, only days after Trumps inauguration, in a U.S. special forces assault on a village in Bayda province.

The civilian deaths come in a war conducted from a vast distance.

Drone pilots work remotely at American bases, most often in the U.S., sometimes on 11- to 14-hour shifts housed in rooms like shipping containers lined with electronics. They operate based on intelligence from informants but they also carry out so-called signature strikes, based on observing suspicious patterns of behaviour. They have a list of characteristics, and if a subject on the ground shows a number of them, he could be targeted, a former participant to the drone program told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operations.

Mistakes happen from bad Intel or misjudging behaviour, he said. Rights groups have expressed concern that some of the intelligence may come from prisoners held in jails run by Emirati-backed militias where torture is widespread.

Some of the strikes from 2018 that the AP examined appeared to be mistakes.

On Jan. 1, a drone missile slammed into a farm in Bayda province where 70-year-old Mohammed Mansar Abu Sarima sat with a younger relative, killing both, according to a relative, Mohammed Abu Sarima.

The slain men had just returned from mediating a local dispute. In a country where tribal links are powerful and the justice system nearly non-existent, such mediations are common to resolve conflicts over land or deaths. They involve large gatherings of tribesmen who are often armed, potentially raising drone operators suspicions.

We dont have any affiliation. They are simple farmers who dont know how to read or write, said the brother. We live in fear. Drones dont leave the sky.

Several weeks later, a 14-year-old shepherd, Yahia al-Hassbi, was struck by a drone as he tended goats several kilometres from a checkpoint that Al Qaeda had tried recently to seize. He was killed along with a construction worker passing by at the time, according to relatives and three local human rights workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Further east, in Hadramawt province, drones carried out several consecutive days of strikes in March, targeting vehicles on a main highway. Some of the strikes killed Al Qaeda militants, according to rights activists in the area.

But others struck down cars carrying people who had fled to the area from a nearby province, Jawf, to escape fighting. A drones missile on March 5 killed a 10-year-old boy, Ammer al-Mahshami, and wounded the driver, according to three relatives. Four days later, another car was hit, killing six men and boys, including a 14-year-old and an 18-year-old, travelling to a funeral.

Saleh al-Wahir, the brother of one of the dead, was in a car behind them. I saw it before my eyes, he said of the blast. Bodies were ripped apart. A report from the Jawf Human Rights office concluded the men were civilians.

Survivors are rare. Adel al-Mandhari recounted how his car was thrown through the air by the blast of a drones missile. He lost his legs and an arm and was burned all over his body. The four others in the car  his brother, uncle, cousin and another relative  were all killed. None were connected to Al Qaeda, said al-Mandhari, a civil servant. Two other relatives and the three rights workers in Bayda confirmed his account.

Since the attack, al-Mandhari has spoken to the media and rights groups, seeking ways to get compensation and an apology from the U.S. I lost hope, he said. Nothing is going to happen.

Even some strikes that the AP did not include in its count may have killed civilians, though there is some dispute over them.

On May 14, two men, Hussein al-Dayani and Abdullah al-Karbi, were killed when a drone struck their pickup truck in an area of Shabwa province where Al Qaeda is known to have a presence.

Al-Dayanis brother, Khaled, denied they were militants. He said his brother was a fighter in a militia battling the Houthis. We are against those people, Khaled said of Al Qaeda.

Two weeks later, a 17-year-old, Mahdar Hussein al-Hag, died in a strike while driving his motorcycle in the same area. Mahdars father said he was a high school student and was returning from buying vegetables. He might have been mistaken for Al Qaeda youth who are active in this area.

A Yemeni security official said the dead in those strikes were all Al Qaeda members, though he did not provide evidence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

Read more about:
WASHINGTONU.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is set to release a sweeping overhaul of how colleges and universities must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment, giving new rights to the accused, including the ability to cross-examine their accusers, people familiar with the matter said.

The proposal is set for release before Thanksgiving, possibly this week, and replaces less formal guidance issued by the former Obama administration in 2011. The new rules would reduce liability for universities, tighten the definition of sexual harassment, and allow schools to use a higher standard in evaluating claims of sexual harassment and assault.

The rules stem from a 1972 law known as Title IX that bars sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. Most of the attention is on higher education, but the rules also apply to elementary and secondary schools. Once published in the Federal Register, the proposal will be open for public comment before being finalized.

The regulation lands amid a national debate over sexual assault, including whether Brett Kavanaugh should have been elevated to the Supreme Court after allegations surfaced that as a teenager he sexually assaulted a girl. He denied the accusation and was confirmed. Defending Kavanaugh, U.S. President Donald Trump declared it a very scary time for young men in America who faced the possibility of false claims.

Last year, DeVos rescinded the 2011 Obama guidance, denouncing it as overly prescriptive and lacking due process for the accused. She promised to write a regulation to replace it.

In a 2017 speech, she offered several examples of students she said were wrongly accused of wrongdoing under the old rules. She also said the rules poorly served survivors who were forced through multiple appeals because the system had failed the accused.

Schools have been compelled by Washington to enforce ambiguous and incredibly broad definitions of assault and harassment, she said. Institutions must be mindful of the rights of every student.

The rules come after years of rising pressure on universities to better respond to allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct, and the proposal is likely to anger those who fear victim claims will be ignored or minimized. But the new direction has been welcomed by mens rights groups, who say the Obama guidelines were weighted in favour of the accusers, and by some university administrators who found the Obama version overly prescriptive and confusing.

The proposed rule will dodge a related controversial matter regarding the rights of transgender students. The Department of Health and Human Services had urged the Education Department to include a provision defining gender as someones biological sex at birth. The DeVos proposal does not include that idea.

But several people said it is possible the Education Department will later issue a letter or fact sheet that asserts sex discrimination does not include complaints related to gender identity.

People with direct knowledge of the rules and others briefed on them spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the proposal. The department declined to comment.

A leaked draft of the Title IX rules was published online in September, and five people familiar with the planning said this week only a handful of changes have been made to the rules since then.

The most significant change would guarantee the accused the right to cross-examine their accusers, though it would have to be conducted by advisers or attorneys for the people involved, rather than by the person accused of misconduct. If requested, the parties could be in separate rooms during the cross-examination, an administration official said. They said this was done to bolster the due process rights of the accused while assuring that victims are not directly confronted by their assailants.

The Obama guidelines had strongly discouraged use of direct cross-examination. The earlier DeVos draft allowed cross-examination but did not require schools to offer it as an option.

Recent court decisions requiring public universities to allow the accused the right to cross-examination when credibility is an issue figured in the administrations reasoning, two people said.

Some White House officials urged going further to include a mandatory cross-examination provision, two people familiar with internal discussions said. They said others in the administration argued that mandatory questioning was ill-advised, potentially traumatic for victims and not required in court hearings.

The proposal will include language barring questioning about an accusers sexual history, one administration official said.

Jess Davidson, executive director of the advocacy group End Rape on Campus, said she made the case to the White House against allowing the parties to directly cross-examine each other, decrying it as an extraordinarily cruel process that would discourage victims from reporting assaults.

Most survivors would be unwilling to go through a process that allows the person who sexually assaulted them to cross-examine them, and rightfully so, she said.

Others argue that colleges failed to protect the rights of the accused under the Obama guidelines. For instance, many schools used a single investigator to gather evidence and decide the case, without an opportunity for the accused to confront their accusers, said Robert Shibley, executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which supports more robust due process procedures.

That leaves a huge window of opportunity for the biases of the adjudicator to make themselves felt, he said.

In another change, the proposal will allow both sides to appeal an adverse ruling, and not just the accused.

The rules will also give universities more flexibility in offering supportive measures to victims, for instance schedule changes or housing reassignments, in a change requested by survivor groups.

The most consequential provisions are unchanged since September.

The biggest may be the standard of proof required in assessing claims. Under the DeVos proposal, schools will be allowed to choose between preponderance of the evidence and the higher bar of clear and convincing evidence. The Obama guidelines had directed schools to use the preponderance of the evidence standard.

The regulation also will require schools to use the same standard in these cases as they use for other complaints, including those against employees and faculty. Many union contracts and other agreements with faculty mandate the use of a higher clear and convincing standard, several people said. So as a practical matter, most schools may be forced to apply the same higher bar for student complaints.

Its intentional, said one person briefed on the rules. Its DeVos saying, Yeah, you have a choice, but you cant have a higher burden of proof for unionized faculty. 

In another major change from 2011 Obama guidelines, the new rules more narrowly define sexual harassment. It must be unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to the schools education program or activity. Under Obama, harassment was unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.

And the rules raise the bar for when an institution can be held legally responsible for failing to investigate a complaint. Under the new version, the school must have actual knowledge of the allegation, made to an official who has the authority to institute corrective measures. That means reporting the allegation to a professor or resident adviser is not sufficient to prove the university was aware of the matter because those people are not in a position to formally handle complaints.

Under Obama, the government expected schools to investigate if they knew or reasonably should have known about an incident. Universities thought that was overly broad.

Universities appreciate that the new rules will offer more clarity on their responsibilities, said Terry Hartle, a senior vice president for the American Council on Education, which represents university presidents. What you want is schools being able to act in good faith without hearing that theyre going to be second-guessed by government bureaucrats later on, he said.
Northern California (Camp Fire)

CHICO, CALIF.Authorities searching through the blackened aftermath of Californias deadliest wildfire have released the names of about 100 people who are still missing, including many in their 80s and 90s.

As the names were made public late Tuesday, additional crews joined the search, and the statewide death toll climbed to at least 51, with 48 dead in Northern California and three fatalities in Southern California.

We want to be able to cover as much ground as quickly as we possibly can, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. This is a very difficult task.

Meanwhile, friends and relatives of the missing grew increasingly desperate. A message board at a shelter was filled with photos of the missing and pleas for any information.

I hope you are OK, read one handwritten note on the board filled with sheets of notebook paper. Another had a picture of a missing man: If seen, please have him call.

Some of the missing are not on the list, said Sol Bechtold, who is searching for his 75-year-old mother, Joanne Caddy, whose house burned down along with the rest of her neighbourhood in Magalia, just north of Paradise, the town of 27,000 that was consumed by flames last week.

Read more:

Search for bodies in California wildfire continues amid grim discovery of victims

Cyrus, Hemsworth donate $500K after losing home in wildfire

Wildfire destroys celebrity homes, including those of Miley Cyrus and Neil Young

Bechtold said he spoke with the sheriffs office Wednesday morning, and they confirmed they have an active missing persons case on Caddy. But Caddy, a widow who lived alone and did not drive, was not on the list.

The list they published is missing a lot of names, Bechtold said. Community members have compiled their own list.

Greg Gibson was one of the people searching the message board Tuesday, hoping to find information about his neighbours. Theyve been reported missing, but he does not know if they tried to escape or hesitated a few minutes too long before fleeing Paradise, where about 7,700 homes were destroyed.

It happened so fast. It would have been such an easy decision to stay, but it was the wrong choice, Gibson said from the Neighbourhood Church in Chico, California, which was serving as a shelter for some of the more than 1,000 evacuees.

Inside the church, evacuee Harold Taylor chatted with new-found friends. The 72-year-old Vietnam veteran, who walks with a cane, said he received a call Thursday morning to evacuate immediately. He saw the flames leaping up behind his house, left with the clothes on his back and barely made it out alive.

Along the way, he tried to convince his neighbour to get in his car and evacuate with him, but the neighbour declined. He doesnt know what happened to his friend.

We didnt have 10 minutes to get out of there, he said. It was already in flames downtown, all the local restaurants and stuff, he said.

The search for the dead was drawing on portable devices that can identify someones genetic material in a couple of hours, rather than days or weeks.

In many circumstances, without rapid DNA technology, its just such a lengthy process, said Frank DePaolo, a deputy commissioner of the New York City medical examiners office, which has been at the forefront of the science of identifying human remains since 9-11.

Before the Paradise tragedy, the deadliest single fire on record in California was a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29.

At the other end of the state, firefighters made progress against a massive blaze that has killed two people in star-studded Malibu and destroyed well over 400 structures in Southern California.

The flames roared to life again in a mountainous wilderness area Tuesday, sending up a huge plume of smoke near the community of Lake Sherwood. Still, firefighters made gains.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke cancelled a trip to Asia and planned to visit the fire zones Wednesday and Thursday.

The cause of the fires remained under investigation, but they broke out around the time and place that two utilities reported equipment trouble. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, who takes office in January, sidestepped questions about what action should be taken against utilities if their power lines are found to be responsible.

People who lost homes in the Northern California blaze sued Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Tuesday, accusing the utility of negligence and blaming it for the fire. An email to PG&E was not immediately returned.

Linda Rawlings was on a daylong fishing trip with her husband and 85-year-old father when the fire broke out.

Her next-door neighbours opened the back gate so her three dogs could escape before they fled the flames, and the dogs were picked up several days later waiting patiently in the charred remains of their home, she said.

After days of uncertainty, Rawlings learned Tuesday morning that her Smurf blue home in Magalia burned to the ground.

She sat looking shell-shocked on the curb outside a hotel in Corning.

Before, you always have hope, she said. You dont want to give up. But now we know.

Southern California (Woolsey Fire)

MALIBU, CALIF.Authorities were investigating a report of a body found within the burn zone of a huge wildfire in Southern California, but the coroners office was unable to confirm Wednesday whether it was burned.

Two deaths were previously linked to the weeklong blaze in Ventura and Los Angeles counties that was 47 per cent contained after scorching more than 394 square kilometres, engulfing homes, scenic canyon getaways and celebrity estates.

The body under investigation was found in a burned residence in the Agoura Hills area. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department called it an apparent fire-related death but did not immediately have any further information.

The Woolsey fire flared before sunrise Wednesday in rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains as winds buffeted parts of the region.

The flare-up sent a huge column of smoke out to sea as it burned in parklands well away from communities.

The National Weather Service said winds would slack off sufficiently during the afternoon to allow authorities to lower wildfire warnings from their highest red flag levels.

Forecasters cautioned, however, that low humidity levels would keep danger levels elevated.

Authorities allowed residents back into several more communities on Tuesday, including a section of Malibu. Other areas have been repopulated since the weekend. As many as 250,000 people were ordered out at the height of the fire.

Officials tempered optimism with caution, saying there were hot spots and pockets of unburned vegetation that could ignite.

We are not out of the woods yet. We still have some incredibly tough conditions ahead of us, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said Tuesday.

The two adults found dead last week in a car overtaken by flames have not been identified.

The number of homes and other structures destroyed stood at 435 but that number was expected to rise.

More than 80 per cent of National Park Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was incinerated.

Some people who stayed behind in coastal communities that were cut off by road closures got supplies by boat. Gas, food, baby wipes and horse pellets were among the items brought ashore in the Paradise Cove area of Malibu. Some residents donned wetsuits and swam ashore with cases of water and beer.

Its pretty cool. Its really amazing that people out there know that were kind of stranded here in Malibu, Cherie Millford Smart said.

The area has not seen such a destructive blaze since 1993. The blaze has left an array of hazards, including trees ready to fall, downed power lines, toxins, and water main and gas leaks.

A forecast of possible rain next week would help firefighters but also raised the prospect of potential mud flows.

A new fire erupted late Tuesday about 121 kilometres to the east in the Fontana area of San Bernardino County, but firefighters reported good progress overnight, holding the blaze to 59 hectares.

The cause of the Woolsey fire remained under investigation.

Downed power lines and blown transformers have been blamed for several of the deadly fires that have burned around the state in recent years.

A lawsuit was filed Tuesday over a wildfire in Northern California, where at least 48 people died in the Camp Fire that obliterated the town of Paradise. The suit on behalf of some victims accuses Pacific Gas & Electric Co. of causing the massive blaze.

A landowner near where the fire began said PG&E notified her the day before the wildfire that crews needed to come onto her property because wires were sparking.
Finance Minister Vic Fedeli called the NDPs deputy leader an idiot in the legislature  an outburst he later apologized for.

After being asked twice by Sara Singh to divulge the name of the firm running the warehouse for the Ontario Cannabis Store, Fedeli said, in part, that many of us on the government side came here in the same way: We serve the people today provincially; many of us served the people locally and many of us were in business for ourselves beforehand. We understand how business works.

I can appreciate very much that the NDP dont quite understand how business works, but as the security of the OCS warehouse is a top priority, we will not be sharing further information on the day-to-day operation. Thats how business works. Idiot.

After question period, Singh said it was disappointing that a cabinet minister ducked her question and resorted to hurling out personal insults  its pretty petty, but it doesnt distract from what we are here to do.

Im a little disappointed actually to hear that, but my job is to ask questions and I would hope that rather than personal insults, Id get answers, said the Brampton Centre MPP.

Question period has been raucous since the June election.

Fedeli later told the legislature he was sorry.

After an answer, I made an unparliamentary comment that I would like to withdraw, and I unreservedly apologize, he said.

Speaker Ted Arnott thanked him for showing respect for the house and withdrawing his unparliamentary remark unprompted. Thank you.

Fedeli did not personally reach out to Singh to say sorry.

The contract with the firm was negotiated under the previous Liberal government.

With files from Rob Ferguson
VANCOUVERThe Canadian government was back in court Tuesday to appeal a British Columbia judges ruling earlier this year that struck down federal solitary confinement laws because they discriminated against Indigenous inmates and those with mental illnesses.

Josh Paterson, executive director at the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), called the Canadian governments decision to appeal the B.C. Supreme Court ruling shameful and hypocritical.

We think it is time for the government to stop fighting and to recognize the truth and reality of what happens in our solitary confinement system, he said to reporters on Tuesday, just before the appeal hearing started.

The BCCLA and John Howard Society of Canada, which advocates for prisoner rights, most recently took the Canadian government to court over solitary confinement in 2017 and won.

As a result, Parliament is currently debating Bill C-83, which would end the use of administrative and disciplinary segregation and instead allows prisons to put inmates in structured intervention units in order to separate inmates from the mainstream prison population.

But the federal government is still fighting the B.C. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the laws regulating solitary confinement.

On Tuesday, Crown counsel focused its efforts on two aspects: that Correctional Services Canada should be allowed to conduct their own internal reviews, and that Canadas laws on prisoner segregation themselves were not unconstitutional  prisons may simply be administering them in an unconstitutional way.

Statutes that can be applied constitutionally should not be struck down due to misapplication, Crown lawyer Mitchell Taylor told the court.

Current law states prisons must release inmates from administrative segregation at the earliest appropriate time, and suggests that solitary confinement be used as a tool of last resort, he said.

He argued issues such as health visits being conducted remotely or inmates not having access to counsel during solitary confinement hearings were results of how the law is implemented. If an individual experiences these kinds of issues in prison, they should bring that up with the courts, he told the court.

Are these not systemic? asked one of the B.C. Court of Appeal judges.

Taylor emphasized in response that Canadian law already requires prisons to consider the health of prisoners when putting them in administrative segregation and that administrative segregation, as it is defined in Canadian law, allows prisoners to be in contact with other inmates.

The crown also brought up a December 2017 Ontario court ruling on solitary confinement where Justice Frank Marrocco wrote Correctional Services Canada should be able to conduct its own internal reviews of administrative segregation as long as the reviewer is not investigating their own boss.

In the January 2018 B.C. Supreme Court ruling where Justice Peter Leask struck down Canadian laws regulating administrative segregation, he wrote that the laws discriminated against Indigenous inmates and those with mental illness. Leask also cited the lack of legal requirement for an outside authority to review how prisons were implementing solitary confinement.

Leask referred to a prison watchdogs report on the death of Ashley Smith, a teenager who killed herself in 2007 after spending more than a year in solitary confinement, as well as the United Nations Mandela report. Both suggest that prisoners be kept in solitary confinement for no longer than 15 days in a row and 60 days in total per year.

Court documents show there were 14,000 inmates in federal prisons in the 2016-2017 fiscal year and the total number of inmates in administrative segregation has been decreasing since 2015.

One in every four prisoners in Canada has spent some time in solitary confinement, according to BCCLA.

The appeal hearing continues Wednesday.

Read more about:
 Flash

The UN top envoy for Iraq Jan Kubis on Tuesday said the international community must continually support Iraq in rebuilding the country.





Kubis, the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for Iraq, said the new government of Iraq intends to start rebuilding immediately, particularly on the delivery of services and jobs, on reforming and energizing the economy, fighting corruption and administrative red tape.





The Iraqi parliament elected Barham Salih as the country's new president and confirmed Adel Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister in October, and 14 cabinet ministers were endorsed.





While the government formation process has not been without controversy, "competition and differences have been largely political and not sectarian, and in this way, a break from the past," said Kubis.





Kubis said the government's program outlines specific plans for reforms, investment, and for transitioning Iraq from a crisis context to sustainable development, and it recommends steps to tackle corruption across all sectors, and sets out a framework to guide the planning and work of each ministry.





The program also aims at strengthening security and fighting terrorism. "The new government intends to introduce robust measures to further improve and achieve sustainable security throughout the country, intensifying efforts to uproot Da'esh terrorist cells to counter this insurgency," he said.





"Iraq will require and counts on the continued support of the international community, we must not let them down," Kubis said.
SIDNEY, B.C.A federal government initiative to support Indigenous conservation efforts will help strengthen reconciliation across Canada, chiefs, leaders and elders said Tuesday.

The leaders from British Columbia, Manitoba and Nunavut told federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna that reconciliation involves recognizing and supporting the deep connections their people have to the land.

McKenna announced $5.7 million in funding from the Indigenous Guardians pilot program for 28 conservation projects. The initiative is part of a $25 million program announced in last years budget.

The leaders said their planned projects are varied, but together they reveal the need to save traditions and build relationships.

One project looks to preserve languages, another examines hunting skills and one seeks to address climate change in the Far North.

For me reconciliation is relationships, said Chief David Walkem, of B.C.s Cooks Ferry Indian Band. If we can have a good relationship with someone, then we can have a better chance of understanding each other,

He said the eight Indigenous communities that comprise the Nlakapamux Nation, including his band in B.C.s Interior, plan to use the pilot program to provide language training and bring people closer to the land.

Weve created books on our own foods so we can encourage our people to get back on the land so we can eat healthier, Walkem said. This program provides us a really good opportunity to help bring some of that together and implement on the ground a lot of what weve been doing.

Will Goodon, Manitobas Metis Federation housing spokesman, said the pilot project will be used to keep alive the connections Metis have to the wilderness.

I used to think everybody took the second week in November off to go deer hunting, he said.

Goodon said he doesnt want to see the Metis lose their hunting traditions.

The Guardians (program) is, yes, about protecting the land, but its also about protecting our families and our communities, he said.

Izaac Wilman, a spokesperson for the Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which manages Inuit responsibilities and ensures governments meet their obligations, said programs are underway to prepare communities for climate change.

Some of those changes include preparing residents for increased wildlife encounters as animals adapt to warmer conditions and look for new territories, and the arrival or more marine traffic, including cruise ships, as previously frozen waters open to shipping, said Wilman.

As you can see from different communities they have different perspectives, different approaches, said McKenna. Theyre good for the environment. Theyre good for species at risk. They are good for relationships between elders and youth. Theyre good for food security.

McKenna said Indigenous people understand the importance of acting now to protect Canadas environment and preserve biodiversity and the guardians program ensures they have support to be stewards of their lands, water and ice.
VANCOUVERVancouver city councillors accomplished very little at their highly anticipated first meeting Tuesday, which involved an early disruption in the foyer from a group of protesters seeking action on the opioid crisis and homelessness.

A total of 10 motions were on the council agenda, including tackling renovictions, revisiting the citys duplex decisions and creating an opioid task force.

And these revealed how this mixed council may  or may not  work together.

But nine of those motions were pushed to Wednesday for debate, with staff citing the addition of speakers before deadline as the reason.

Theres a lot of pent-up energy after the election. Weve had a major change here, so I would expect that we are going to have lots of people who are going to want to talk to these very important motions, Mayor Kennedy Stewart said at the break for lunch.

Theres a lot of folks in the city facing housing problems. Weve heard this morning the opioid crisis is still as intense as it ever was.

Read more:

Vancouver council approves duplex zoning throughout the city

Jean Swanson plans to target renovictions in first Vancouver City Council motion

A city council divided: How will Vancouvers new mayor unite council?

In contrast to previous councils over the past decade, this group is not split between two parties (since 2008, centre-left Vision Vancouver vs. the centre-right Non-Partisan Association), but includes an independent mayor, one COPE councillor, one OneCity councillor, three Greens and five NPA.

And in the early minutes of the meeting, a group representing Our Homes Cant Wait Coalition  who blockaded city hall in May with the support of COPE Councillor Jean Swanson  arrived at the third floor of city hall, only to be barred from entry.

They have been calling for the development at 58 West Hastings to be rented at 100 per cent welfare and pension rates  which was one of two motions that Swanson put forward.

Aiyanas Ormond volunteers with the group and is the community organizer of Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

Were hoping that council will fulfil the promise that (former mayor) Gregor (Robertson) made and build 100 per cent social housing at 58 West Hastings, he told StarMetro. Its been a fight for a decade.

After several conversations with city staff and security, the group was allowed entry to the upper chambers to listen to the meeting.

And they will be present on Wednesday to see what happens with the fate of the city-owned land, Ormond said.

Still, the newly elected councillors and mayor moved one item forward.

Following a city staff opioid update which highlighted city priorities for 2019, NPA Councillor Melissa De Genova pushed forward an urgent motion proposing that the mayor write a letter to the provincial government requesting money equivalent to the 0.5 per cent property tax increase made in 2016.

This raised approximately $3.5 million and was put toward responding to the overdose crisis in 2017, the city said in a release.

Stewart seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Vancouver has been at the epicentre of a public health emergency which was declared in 2016. This year, 312 have died from a suspected overdose with eight deaths last week.

Its very important that we do look to (the province) to see if there is an opportunity to fund that tax increase that the citizens of Vancouver are paying twice whereas, other municipalities are only paying once, DeGenova said.

The mayor and councillors will reconvene on Wednesday to debate the nine motions.

With files from Jen St. Denis

Read more about:
VANCOUVERCanada Post has made a new offer to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in the hopes of ending a labour dispute before the holiday rush.

According to a release by the Crown corporation, the renewed offer includes pay increases of 2 per cent per year for four years, the creation of a $10-million health and safety fund and a promise of pay equity and job security for rural and suburban workers.

The offer has a deadline of Nov. 17 at 11:59 p.m.  a deadline the postal service says is necessary to meet Canadians upcoming delivery demands.

Weve put this time-limited offer on the table hoping to bring resolution to negotiations, spokesperson Jon Hamilton said in an interview Wednesday. The holiday rush is about to get into this high gear with Cyber Monday, Black Friday.

The offer comes as a record number of parcel trailers, 260, are waiting to be unpacked and processed at the Gateway Canada Post plant in Toronto, where employees are currently on strike.

Hamilton said the shutdowns at the Gateway plant and at the Pacific Processing Centre in Vancouver have been particularly painful for the services operations.

A spokesperson for CUPW told StarMetro that the union would not comment on the offer until the negotiating committee has had a chance to review the offer.

CUPW previously told StarMetro a key priority in its negotiations with Canada Post was limitations on the use of overtime. Hamilton said the offer addresses that concern with a promise to regularly review mail volumes as well as the new health-and-safety fund.

Essentially this offer responds to all the unions concerns and puts forward meaningful solutions, Hamilton said.

CUPW has been on a rotating strike schedule since Oct. 22.

Read more about:
VANCOUVERFor immigrants to Canada, getting a higher education in this country may determine whether youre able to support yourself and your family.

A Statistics Canada study released Wednesday shows getting a post-secondary education in Canada makes it more likely for all categories of immigrants to get jobs and a higher paycheque.

The payoff is especially high for immigrants facing greater barriers to employment: refugees and family class immigrants who may arrive in this country without specific credentials to work here.

Family class immigrants with post-secondary education experience earned an average income $10,000 greater than those without post-secondary experience, eight years after arriving in Canada. For refugees, post-secondary education gave them an advantage of $9,000.

Post-secondary experience gives a bigger pay boost to women belonging to one of those categories than to men.

That may make all the difference for people belonging to those categories, including the 46,700 refugees who settled in Canada in 2016 alone.

Thats because the $9,000-$10,000 difference in income rests in the grey area between affordable and unaffordable budgets for some households.

The low-income measure  a metric used by Statistics Canada to determine households with less than half the median household income  was $42,402 for a four-person household in 2013. The average income of family class immigrants and refugees in 2013 was less than $30,000.

Surpassing the low income measure may not mean being able to afford the cost of living in some places in Canada. Living Wage for Families each year calculates how much each parent in a dual-income household would need to earn, at minimum, to be able to provide basics for themselves and two kids.

In 2013, they calculated the living wage in Vancouver was $35,708.40 per parent, per year, or $71,416.80 for a four-person household.

According to the Statistics Canada study, family class immigrants and refugees made more than that on average if they had a post-secondary education, but otherwise they made less.

Only economic class immigrants, who enter Canada because they have specific employable skills the country needs, made more than $50,000 per year on average, whether they had post-secondary experience or not.

But economic immigrants are much more likely to attend post-secondary studies in the seven years after landing in Canada, according to the study. About 42 per cent of them had in 2013, compared to 21 per cent and 19 per cent for family class immigrants and refugees, respectively.

Refugee brothers Khamsum Wangdu Kunsang Namgyal beat the odds when they both landed admission to Canadian Dentistry school, a lucrative profession, as reported by The Star earlier this year.

They had to overcome significant barriers to do so, and the family lived off of international aid.

Michael Radano, director of employment and language services with the resettlement agency MOSAIC B.C., said many refugees have struggles to overcome before they can consider higher education.

Some of the barriers have to do with entering Canadian society, perhaps without any prior knowledge and experience of it.

They may face are language barriers, some of them may not even have elementary or secondary education, Radano said.

Other barriers are more personal and speak to the harsh reality many refugees face.

A lot of people come traumatized, Radano said. Before they can consider employment or higher education there are survival things they have to deal with.

MOSAIC is one of dozens of organizations that works to support refugees to bridge that gap, so they can get to a point where they can get higher education.

Some universities, like the University of British Columbia, have assistance programs for refugees in place. The university and the student government jointly fund the tuition and living expenses of eight refugee students each year. A coalition of Toronto universities has committed to privately sponsoring the resettlement of 300 refugee families in Toronto.

Read more about:
 Flash

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday adopted their first medium and long-term plan to guide the future development of their strategic partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation.

The China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 was endorsed at the 21st China-ASEAN summit on Wednesday.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose country holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship this year, said in the opening remarks of the summit that the plan will chart the future direction of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership.

He said ASEAN and China share a strong, substantial and mutually beneficial relationship and bilateral economic ties are "robust," adding that China has been ASEAN's top trade partner for continued years and the upgraded bilateral free trade agreement will open up new opportunities for businesses and further increase two-way trade.

The Singaporean prime minister also highlighted the progress made by the two sides over negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which he said is close to finishing line.

He said the two sides have also deepened mutual trust and understanding to manage their differences peacefully and in a spirit of goodwill, adding that they have announced a single draft negotiating text to commence the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership. China has pledged that ASEAN is a priority of China's diplomacy and will support the construction of the ASEAN Community and its centrality in regional cooperation in East Asia.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
ST. LOUIS  Having served in the U.S. Navy during both World War II and the Korean War, Bob White had grown accustomed to traveling on the water.

But Saturday, Nov. 3 saw the Edwardsville man take to the skies as he and son David took part in a Greater St. Louis Honor Flight.

The whirlwind journey had the two leaving St. Louis early Saturday morning for Washington, D.C., and returning to a welcome home ceremony Saturday night.

Greater St. Louis Honor Flight organizes the events and this flight was the last of nine scheduled for 2018.

The flights are open to U.S. veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam Conflict.

Southwest Airlines covers the costs of the flight for the veterans with their guardians paying their own way.

David White, of Glen Carbon, made the trip with his 93-year-old father.

It was a really cool thing, David White said. Ive never been to (Washington) D.C., before.

Once in the nations capital, the group of 23 veterans and guardians from St. Louis visited the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, the Marine Corps War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, where they stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

David White said the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was particularly special as the visitors witnessed the Changing of the Guard and some of the St. Louis contingent participated in a wreath-laying ceremony.

But, for Bob White, seeing the memorials for the two wars he served in was the primary draw.

He wanted to see the World War II Memorial. He wanted to see the Korean memorial, David White said. Those were the two he was in.

Bob White graduated from Edwardsville High School in 1943 and one month after he received his diploma, he was training at Naval Station Great Lakes, north of Chicago, preparing to serve the Navy in World War II.

White was assigned to a landing craft and took part in the 1944 invasion of France, D-Day.

He was later transferred to the Pacific and served aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Saratoga through the end of the war.

He was called back to the Navy in 1951 and served another 16 months during the Korean War.

White had two homecomings from his time on active duty and another Saturday night.

Twenty-two veterans and one veteran Army nurse took part in the flight, which are always met on their return by dozens of active-duty military personnel, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts as well as family and friends.

Bob White, suffering a cold, didnt hesitate to describe his favorite part of the Honor Flight.

Coming home, he said.

But the significance of the trip wasnt lost on him, either, as he had been waiting for some time to travel to Washington, D.C.

Hurricane Florence postponed the original flight day, but the delay, apparently, didnt dampen Whites enthusiasm.

He was sitting in the wheelchair at 4 a.m., waiting for us to pick him up, David White said.
ALTON  The bells of Christmas will start ringing the day after Thanksgiving at 13 separate locations throughout the Riverbend, as the Salvation Army kicks off its annual red kettle campaign, and volunteers are needed.

A lot of volunteers.

Lt. Stephen Reinier said they are still looking for people to fill approximately 8,000 of 11,000 planned hourly slots through Dec. 24.

Lt. Lily Reinier said the main qualification to volunteer was the ability to stand outside, dress warm and ring a bell.

A lot of people will hand out candy canes, she said, noting others find different ways to attract crowds and donations. You want to sing, you want to play an instrument, you want to dance.

That seems to be really popular this year, he said.

Locations include six local Schnucks stores; Walgreens in Bethalto and Godfrey; two each at the Godfrey and Wood River Walmarts; and the Alton Square Post Office.

In addition, there will also be a special kettle at the Dec. 9 Santa Train in Godfrey, with any donations up to $3,000 being matched. Other special event locations may be announced later.

Those are the things were still working on, he said.

That also includes counter kettles for local businesses.

They dont have to man it and they just call when it is full, he said.

Stephen Reinier said the campaign is very important.

Its our largest fundraiser for the year, and all the money that comes from this is what we use to help people in the community, he said.

In addition to providing kettle space, Schnucks is also supporting the Salvation Army through its Round Up at the Register. That allows customers at full service registers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, with all donations going to the local Salvation Army. It will run through Nov. 22.

The bell ringers are a holiday tradition at Schnucks stores, and this year we wanted to extend that partnership through a Round Up at the Register which our customers have so generously supported for other causes, said Todd Schnuck, Schnucks Chairman and CEO. We are grateful for our long-standing relationship with The Salvation Army as both of our organizations are focused on giving back to the community, feeding children and families, and helping make our region a better place to live.

The goal for this year will be announced Friday during the 24th Annual Community Tree Lighting ceremony at the Lincoln-Douglas Square.

The tree lighting will begin with the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus at 6 p.m. Festivities include caroling, cookies and hot cocoa. At 6:45 p.m. Alton Mayor Brant Walker will flip the switch and light the tree.

The public is encouraged to bring canned food donations, which will be made into a castle of cans and given to the Salvation Army. There will also be a collection box in the lobby of Alton City Hall before 5 p.m. Thursday.

The Salvation Army has a number of other programs running for the holidays.

Although it has stopped taking applications for Holiday assistance, there is an emergency version in the case of fires or thefts, according to Stephen Reinier.

Also planned is the annual free turkey giveaway at 10 a.m. Thursday, sponsored by TorHoerman Law.

Approximately 500 turkeys will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis.

You line up outside and they start giving them away at 10 a.m., and when theyre gone theyre gone, she said. Last year it took about an hour.

Abundant Life Community Church will also be holding a Thanksgiving Dinner starting 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21 at the Salvation Army, 114 East Fifth St.

Stephen Reinier also said they will be doing an Angel Tree program at several locations this year.

For information on volunteering or other programs call 618-465-7764.

Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447.
With many celebrities coming forth about their own struggles with addiction, the stigma behind the disease is breaking and allowing those who need help to seek it with confidence, experts say.

John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Bell, Macklemore and Demi Lovato are among thosehave come forward in the past few years as people who have struggled with or still are struggling with substance abuse.

Karen Wolownik Albert, executive director of the Gateway Foundation of Lake County, said that when people in the spotlight come forward about the realities of drug and alcohol addiction, it brings more awareness and promotes positive recovery. Lovato, in particular, is an example Wolownik Albert points to as having a positive influence.

Shes been in the news recently because shes had a recurrence with her disease and a life-and-death experience with her overdose, Wolownik Albert said. Shes talked very publicly about her recovery. When she was in tour in Chicago, she invited people from the Gateway Foundation to come and brought them backstage and talked with them. It was very good for our clients. Many of them commented it was the first time in a long time they had been to a concert sober.

The benefit to celebrities coming forward is that it breaks the stigma attached to substance abuse. The normalization of substance abuse disorders and the removal of shame allow people who otherwise would suffer in silence to come forward and get the help they need, Wolownik Albert said.

Kerry Henry, executive director of the Gateway Foundation in Jacksonville, said that there has been good progress in changing the public view of addiction, but there still is quite a bit of pressure working against those still struggling with it.

Weve come a long way, but I think its still an issue and that people fear getting help because of what people might think, Henry said. Coming into treatment, all of our clients come in with a bit of anxiety and fear as they have to expose and talk about all the things that lead to this. What we try to do is make them feel as comfortable as they can.

The more talk there is about addiction, the easier it will be for those in need to seek help, Henry said. Thats important across the nation and in west-central Illinois, which still has major issues with opiate, alcohol and methamphetamine addiction, Henry said.

For Raina Tarver of Jacksonville, taking the first step toward getting help was a terrifying one.

Ive never been able to quit on my own, ever, Tarver said. A lot of people think its a personal choice and, at some point, it is. Once it grabs you, though  Ive used and drank against my will for so many years. Its just all that I know and the only way that I know how to cope.

Tarver, who is now going through recovery at the Gateway Foundation in Springfield, said that she feels good about her recovery so far. Before she sought help, her addiction led to anxiety and depression, kept her from gainful employment, created constant run-ins with the law and negatively affected every relationship in her life, she said.

Now, at least, she has broken through the stigma and started taking steps toward recovery, something she recommends to anyone suffering from a substance abuse disorder.

Dont give up, Tarver said. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Theres so many of us out here and all were trying to do is hang on for dear life. Dont give up. Dont ever give up.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.
EDWARDSVILLE  An Alton man who failed to show up to begin his sentence, but left a forwarding address with the Alton School District, has been sentenced to an additional three years in prison.

Thats on top of 12 years for the drug conviction.

Carlton A. White, 45, of the 3600 block of Thomas Street, pleaded guilty to a charge of obstructing justice in exchange for the states agreement to drop the original charge of escape. The three years will be consecutive to the 12 years for the drug conviction.

White was tracked down and jailed in Texas after he failed to show up at the Madison County Jail, where he was to be transported to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

He was tracked down after he violated bond conditions and originally charged with escape. Authorities brought him back from Texas and took him to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He is currently serving time at Graham Correctional Center.

He was originally charged with escape after he was allowed to go free on bail June 4 when he pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

He was free after posting $8,500 cash bond in the drug case and was allowed to remain free until Sept. 4 when he was instructed to appear at the Madison County Jail for transport to prison. He did not show, so authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.

Police were able to track White down because he withdrew his children from Alton schools and left a forwarding address, according to Assistant States Attorney Tara Steele.

The local police in Longview, Texas, just outside of Dallas, found White and were holding him in their jail until Madison County authorities returned him to Illinois.

White was charged May 2 with four counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance for allegedly selling cocaine to an informant on four occasions between March 29 and April 30.

On May 3, he was charged with unlawful possession with intent to deliver more than 15 grams of cocaine, unlawful possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, and unlawful possession with intent to deliver heroin.

He was also charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon for allegedly carrying a handgun and a rifle. He was also charged with unlawful possession of a stolen firearm and armed violence in connection with possessing the weapons while dealing drugs. The weapons counts are Class X felonies, punishable by a sentence of between six and 30 years in prison.

Whites bail was originally set at $1 million. On May 4, Steele filed a request for source of bail funds. The state has reasonable cause to believe that some or all of the funds that will be used to post on the outstanding bond in this matter will come from the fruits of criminal or unlawful conduct, either by the defendant or by any surety posting bond on his behalf, the request stated.

Before a judge could rule on the request, White pleaded guilty May 31 to a count of unlawful possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and was sentenced to 12 years. The source of bond money request was withdrawn, and Whites bail was reduced to $85,000.

Among the conditions of his bond were that he appear at the Madison County Jail Sept. 4, remain within the state and refrain from violating any laws.

A sworn statement on file in a related case claims that between March 29 and May 1, the Alton Police Department Narcotics United conducted five controlled buys of cocaine involving White and another man. The affidavit is part of a civil suit in which authorities are seeking to take possession of $22,000 cash, a 2010 Cadillac SRX, a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado and four televisions. The suit was filed under a state law that permits authorities to take possession of assets believed connected to the drug trade.

A search of the two houses connected to the drug sales turned up 40 grams of cocaine, 78 grams of methamphetamine, 9.6 grams of heroin, a digital scale, a loaded SKS rifle, two stolen guns and cash.

White has a criminal record dating to 1991 when he was convicted in St. Clair County of residential burglary. He also has convictions for unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle, retail theft, probation violation, manufacturing or delivering heroin, theft, robbery, plus 13 misdemeanor convictions.
GLEN CARBON  While the overall tax levy in Glen Carbon is increasing, officials are hopeful that the property tax rate will decrease.

At the last regular meeting of the full Village Board, Director of Finance Scott Borror presented a preliminary tax levy in the amount of $2,890,900.

The levy represents an overall increase from last year of $99,989 or 3.6 percent, Borror said. The villages police pension contribution is by far the most significant factor in the proposed increase.

In 2017, the levy for the police pension was $390,332.22. The projected levy for the police pension fund for the 2018 tax year is $480,000.

Village Administrator Jamie Bowden said while there is an increase in the overall levy, it is anticipated that the actual tax rate will remain the same or slightly decrease.

The preliminary tax rate is estimated at .7694 percent, as compared to last years levy of .7765 percent.

Borror said several factors play into the lower tax rate.

Through natural valuation increases but more significantly the return of the TIF valuation onto the tax rating EAV. Because of that, we are anticipating that the tax rate will decrease despite that fact that we are asking for a higher levy, Borror said.

In September, the Board approved the dissolving of the TIF district, which encompassed the Walmart development. At the establishment of the TIF, the value of the district was $3.1 million. The most recent evaluation of the property placed an EAV of $17 million on the development. Now that the TIF has been dissolved, taxing bodies will have more money available to them.

Borror said assuming the estimated rate setting EAV of $375,752,945 ends up being accurate; the village tax rate would decrease by .9 percent.

However the Madison County Assessors Office will not determine the final valuation until the spring, Borror said.

Trustees unanimously approved the preliminary tax levy for the tax year 2018.

In other business, trustees approved the abatement of property tax levy relative to the payment of general obligation bonds.

The first abatement approved was for the bonds that were purchased after the non-home rule sales tax referendum was passed. The village issued the bonds to pay for the reconstruction of Old Troy Road and other capital improvement projects in the village.

Borror said because of the sales tax increase, revenue collected by the village through sales taxes have been sufficient to cover the 2019 payments.

Additionally, the village abated a property tax levy relative to the payment of General Obligation Bonds Series 2011B.

Borror said next years water and sewer revenues are expected to be sufficient to cover the scheduled 2019 payments.

Both ordinances to abate the property tax levy were approved unanimously by the Village Board.
SPRINGFIELD  State Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton) was honored this week with a retirement resolution in the Illinois State Senate.

The resolution detailed the highlights of Haines public service career, including his 16 years in the Illinois Senate, 14 years as Madison County States Attorney and service as a member of the 1st Cavalry Division Airmobile in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969.

Its been an honor to serve the people of the 56th Senate District and Madison County for all of these years, Haine said. I appreciate their faith in re-electing me to represent them in the Illinois Senate and as a prosecutor in Madison County.

Some of the top highlights of Sen. Haines tenure in the Senate include:

 Spearheading a sweeping plan to modernize the levee system in the Metro East, which helped protect homes and businesses from damage in recent years flooding

Maintaining state investment to allow the Edwardsville campus of Southern Illinois University to continue to expand

Leading a successful effort to approve a Constitutional Amendment to protect the states Road Fund from being raided for non-transportation related spending, and

 Rallying the Illinois Senate to protest Chinas dumping of low quality, cheap steel to protect jobs at the US Steel plant in Granite City

However, Haine cites his greatest accomplishment as his marriage to Anna, and the family they have built together. Haines retirement plans include spending time with Anna, their seven children and all 33 of their grandchildren.
CARLINVILLE  Blackburn College recently announced Dr. Julie Murray-Jensen as the next president of Blackburn College.

She will be on campus beginning Jan. 14, 2019. Dr. Murray-Jensen succeeds Dr. John Comerford, who served as Blackburn president from July 2013 until July 2018.

Dr. Murray-Jensen is currently the Vice President of Enrollment and External Affairs and Executive Director of the KCC Foundation for Klamath Community College in Klamath Falls, Oregon. During her time there, she spearheaded fundraising and capital campaigns, retained numerous grants for the school, oversaw the schools Small Business Development Center, and focused much time and energy on community education and outreach. She implemented enrollment efforts and strategies and grew enrollment by 12 percent.

From 2014 to present, Murray-Jensen raised over $6 million in grants, private donations, and public monies to fund the construction and outfitting of a new Work Skills Technology Center.

The selection of Dr. Murray-Jensen as the president of Blackburn College culminates a national search that spanned several months. A dedicated search committee, Blackburns Board of Trustees, and members of the Presidents Cabinet spent countless hours reviewing information and interviewing many qualified candidates for the position.

It is with great excitement that the Board of Trustees welcomes Julie Murray-Jensen as the next president of Blackburn College, said Blackburn Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Hazel Loucks. Out of a pool of 79 candidates, Julies skills and experience appeared to be a great fit for Blackburn. After our interviews she proved to be the perfect person for us. It is with enthusiasm that we look forward to a bright future with Julie as our next president.

Murray-Jensen previously served as Vice President of External Programs (2014-2016) and Vice President of Student Services (2011-2013) at Klamath Community College, and was active in student services areas of advising, student life, and FYE (First Year Experience) programs. She founded the colleges first ever Student Life Center to increase student retention and engagement, and also launched and oversaw rural satellite campus operations, which included class scheduling, student services, technology, and community outreach.

Murray-Jensens faculty teaching experience includes Business Leadership, Intercultural Human Resources, College Success, and Health and Wellness. Twice she has directed semester at sea programs designed to create opportunities for participants to reflect on the intense learning that comes from international travel, global service-learning, and immersing oneself in another culture. According to Dr. Murray-Jensen, these type of opportunities helped students process difficult and complex world issues regarding poverty, equity, access to education, cultural differences, religion, and gender.

Murray-Jensen has held previous positions with University of Virginia, Pacific University, University of Minnesota, University of Pittsburgh, University of Nebraska  Kearney, Bowling Green  Ohio, and the University of Nebraska  Lincoln. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska  Lincoln in 1991. She received her masters degree in Education from Bowling Green  Ohio in 1994, and her Ed.D. from Oregon State University in 2018.

Regarding her appointment. Dr. Murray Jensen said, I enthusiastically accepted the position of President at Blackburn College because I believe there is no better model for higher education than what Blackburn proudly providesbroad quality liberal arts education coupled with strong work-based job skills to make our students THE most competitive in the world for 21st century careers. I am excited to work with the Blackburn Board, faculty, staff, and students to build on this foundationwhere affordable, relevant, and rigorous higher education is not only possible but essential for success in todays global world.

Dr. Murray-Jensen will be accompanied by her husband, Eric Jensen, and their daughters, Mia and Madeline. Both girls will attend Carlinville Schools starting in January; Mia in seventh and Madeline in fourth grade. The entire family is looking forward to joining Blackburn and the Carlinville community.

Founded in 1837, Blackburn College is a four-year, Presbyterian-related, co-educational liberal arts college located in Carlinville, Illinois. One of the seven work colleges in the U.S., Blackburn is the only one with a student-managed Work Program. Blackburn was also ranked by US News as one of the Top 50 Midwest Colleges and the No. 5 Best Value in Regional Colleges in the Midwest; and The Washington Monthly ranked the college as the best baccalaureate college in Illinois and among the top 50 in the U.S.
CARLINVILLE  It is best described as a dime-store novel in the genre of Peyton Place. But fifty-seven years after its release, it still has people talking in Carlinville.

Season of Desire, a 1961 book by former Carlinville resident Augusta Wallace Lyons, remains a topic of debate in town, particularly among older residents. Many believe that Lyons used Carlinville and some of its residents in the plot.

Certainly, I think Carlinville was the basis, said Janet Howard, the Director of the Carlinville Public Library. But Im going on what a lot of other people have told me. Most of them think that Carlinville was used for the book.

The daughter of a Louisville newspaper editor, Lyons appeared in the Broadway play Tobacco Road in the 1940s. She was married to Dr. Edward Lyons, a faculty member in English at Blackburn College from 1954-62.

The 128-page book, which sold for 35 cents when released, looks at families, romances, society, and race in Canaanville, a supposedly fictional town in the Midwest. Based on Lyons narrative, the town seems to resemble Carlinville.

Included in Canaanville are mentions of Highway 108 and West Second South Street, as well as a million-dollar courthouse. All three exist in Carlinville. In addition, Lyons fictional restaurants of The Cavalier and The Spot were actual establishments in Carlinville in past decades. A town called Litchfield was just over the county line in the narrative, another similarity.

Canaanville is set among the cornfields and is home to a college  two more similarities to Carlinville. Some of the surnames of characters in Season of Desire resemble actual family names in Carlinville, and geographic landmarks are also loosely referenced.

However, the book is hardly flattering. Lyons characters and plot twists portray a seamy underside to small-town life, and paint both Canaanville and its locals in a negative light, with graphic sexual situations and adult themes.

Older residents of Carlinville still debate the actual identities of the characters, and try to trace the subplots to real life in the community. Most agree, though, that Carlinville was the basis for the novel.

Why Lyons allegedly used Carlinville for the book is unclear. Some believe she never felt fully accepted in town, and wrote the book as a form of revenge. Others claim that the book caused such an uproar that the family was forced to leave town.

Another theory is that Lyons attended a trial in Carlinville and was so enamored with the people around her that she decided to write a book, using the gallery as her characters.

After leaving Carlinville, Lyons eventually settled with her family in Kentucky. An animal lover, she rescued many species and was a devoted champion of social justice and civil rights. She attended the I Have a Dream speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington in August 1963. Lyons died at her home in Louisville in April 2010 at age 97.

Season of Desire was one of three novels Lyons produced, to mixed reviews. Her best-known work was the 1977 novel Murder at Prospect, Kentucky, described by the Kirkus Review as containing a number of genuinely arresting, even moving moments.

Kirkus, though, criticized the works awkward dialogue and excess contrivance. Lyons also published several acclaimed short stories, most notably The First Flower in 1956.

Outside of Carlinville, Season of Desire has faded into obscurity. An online search revealed that only eight libraries worldwide hold the book, and few Internet booksellers have it in stock.

The Carlinville Public Library, though, routinely fields questions on Season of Desire. We still have occasional requests for it, said Howard. We dont have as many as we used to, because people from that generation are passing away. But we still have requests for it.

I think people are mostly curious about the book, added Howard. Some want to tie in the characters of the book to real people from Carlinville, and a few think they have. But most just read the book for fun, a good laugh.

Few readers have many compliments for Season of Desire. Theres really no literary value to the book, said Howard. It just isnt very well done.

Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.
ALHAMBRA  Robert Esch & Company wish to announce they have partnered with The Financial Education Partnership, a nonprofit organization offering free, literacy, workshops for communities across the country.

Workshops are designed to help individuals learn more about financial issues encountered by everyone in their everyday life. Workshops are presented by local industry experts in each community who contribute their time and expertise, at no cost, to businesses, municipalities, churches and nonprofit organizations. These workshops are educational, entertaining and perfect for a lunch-and-learn setting.
The Nov. 6 election results will launch America into completely unchartered territory. What has happened in the two years of President Donald Trumps presidency, a period with no historic precedent, will inform what comes next, but the next two years will be wildly different than the previous two.

One key feature of the next phase in our political life will be disappointingly dull. But we will also face fundamental threats to our democracy and opportunities to move toward the kinds of transformational change desired by an overwhelming majority of Americans.

First, Americans should not expect many bills to be approved by Congress and signed by the president. In his post-election news conference, Trump sketched a scenario where he could negotiate deals with the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, move the bills over to the U.S. Senate to be passed with Democratic and some Republican support, and sign them into law. He talked about infrastructure and drug pricing as areas where such deals could be struck.

Trump was entirely right in saying that these scenarios could occur. But there is absolutely no reason to expect he aims to negotiate. For one thing, Trump said Democrats would have to choose between performing their constitutional oversight duties  their basic check-and-balance function  or cutting deals. The Democrats shouldnt, cant and wont agree to abandon their oversight obligations.

For another, working out these deals would require Trump to sideline the corporate lobbyists, lawyers and executives in his own administration  the people who are making policy in the administration and who have shown themselves far more interested in protecting their former employers than serving the broad public interest.

Second, Americans should be vigilant about ever-greater abuses of power from Trump. Its apparent that one lesson he took from the election is that he maximizes his political power when he plays to his worst racist, anti-immigrant and authoritarian tendencies.

Thats one reason its so important to respond to the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and ensure that Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation is protected. Its not only about holding accountable anyone who sought to subvert our elections in 2016. Its about defending the bedrock principle that nobody is above the law, and containing the autocratic inclinations of the most powerful person on the planet.

Third, House Democrats will engage in probing investigative and oversight hearings. If they do their job right, they wont seek to create gotcha moments for the TV cameras. Instead, they will probe and uncover the abuses of the Trump administration: the abuses of power; Trumps personal conflicts of interest and how they affect policy; and, most fundamentally, the corporate corruption that pervades the administration.

The policies resulting from the corporate takeover are killing and injuring people, and stealing from their wallets, through regulatory rollbacks, failure to enforce safeguards, slashed programs, corporate giveaways and more.

For all we already know, deliberate investigations will reveal depths of corruption and wrongdoing beyond our imagination.

Finally, increasingly powerful grassroots movements are going to demand that House Democrats debate and legislate to respond to the aggressive, progressive agenda that Americans of all political stripes favor.

More than 90 percent of Americans want fundamental campaign finance reform. The House will consider and likely approve the most sweeping pro-democracy, anti-corruption legislation in 50 years.

Americans ranked health care as their top issue in Election Day exit polls. Voters are absolutely terrified of Republican proposals to enable insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. But they are not asking for preservation of the status quo; they want bold changes. An increasingly strong movement will force every member of Congress to take a position on Medicare-for-All, the best way to expand coverage to everyone while reducing the waste and pricing abuses of the health insurance, pharmaceutical and for-profit hospital corporations.

Some very progressive bills will pass the House. Others may fail to garner a majority. Either way, they are not likely to become law with Trump as president.

But they will make clear to the American people that solutions  real solutions, not the demagoguery of Trump  are at hand for the real problems and the legitimate grievances that are widely felt in America. We dont have to have a rigged political system. We dont have to accept the rationing of health care based on ability to pay. Theres no reason to tolerate historic levels of wealth and income inequality.

These are things for Americans to unify around, and it is hoped we will.

Robert Weissman is president of Public Citizen. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Mengo Hospital wasfounded in 1897 in Kampala, and is the oldest hospital in Uganda. It currentlyserves as an urban community hospital that provides modern medical care. MengoHospital provides comprehensive care including radiology, obstetrics,dentistry, orthopedics, and surgery. Additionally, Mengo Hospital providescritical training and education to health professionals through its variousprograms in midwifery and nursing, health sciences, and laboratory technology.Mengo Hospital also has a dedicated research and development team that works tofind new solutions to health issues in Uganda.
The Business Development and Marketing Officerwill work with farmers in the Albertine Region (initially focusing on Hoima,Nwoya and Buliisa), supporting them to develop their businesses so that theyare able to produce, bulk, process and supply agriculture and related productsto the increasing consumer demands in the region, and beyond. The BDMO willapply market system approaches to improve the competitiveness of agriculturalproducers to respond to new and expanding market opportunities. The BDMO willenhance SHA Ugandas ability to deliver high impact market and enterprisedevelopment programming including: assisting farmer groups in on-farm andoff-farm business development; value chain development; developing innovativefinancial inclusion models and approaches.
Job Summary:

The Sales Representative (or Sales Rep) is responsible for overseeing the sale of hospital products or services from beginning to end. This individual is the direct point of contact with a customer and ensuring a customers needs and expectations are met. A sales representative should know their product or service inside and out and guide their customers through the purchase process efficiently and satisfactorily.





Key Duties and Responsibilities:
The United NationsChildrens Fund (UNICEF) is mandated by the UN general assembly to advocate forthe protection of childrens rights, to help meet their basic needs and expandtheir opportunities to reach their full potential. Together with our partners,we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment intopractical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable andexcluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite...
Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh's pre-wedding festivities kicked off in Lake Como, Italy, as the couple is all set to tie the knot on November 14, 15.

Deepika and Ranveer exchanged rings and celebrated mehendi and sangeet ceremonies on Tuesday. While Ranveer's ceremonies took place at CastaDiva resort overlooking Lake Como, Deepika's took place at the even more luxurious Villa d' Esta, about 5km away.

According to reports, Deepika and Ranveer will be married in a traditional Konkani ceremony on November 14, and in a Punjabi-Sindhi ceremony on November 15. The star couple has kept the guest list limited to family and close friends. For friends and the film fraternity, they will host elaborate receptions in Mumbai and Bengaluru later. The couple has requested well-wishers to avoid gifts, and instead direct the same as donations to Deepika's The Live Love Laugh Foundation that works with mental health awareness.

Deepika and Ranveer have ensured all possible measures to keep the much-awaited wedding personal, and out of the paparazzi glare. In fact, security measures at the location have been compared to those provided during meeting of world leaders. Security boats have been made to patrol the lake to keep snooping photographers out of the property premises. According to ANI, local authorities have warned boat rental companies against renting out boats to those from outside town.

Guests and visitors are made to wear special wrist bands, drone interceptors scan the sky, and security guards cover up the camera lens on mobile phones of the guests. Which also means, photographs of the bride and groom will be extremely hard to come by.
The joint military exercise between the Japanese army and the Indian Army, in Mizoram, concluded today. Incidentally, the poll-bound stateMizoram goes to assembly polls on November 28had once seen Chinese-backed militant activities.



Called the Dharma Guardian-2018, the exercise began on November 1.

"It's a significant step towards fostering military and diplomatic ties between the two countries," said a spokesperson of the Indian Army.

It is a significant step for Japan, which, of late, has been showing an intense desire to emerge as a big military player to overtake its two "tense neighbours" North Korea and China.

Japanese constitution does not recognise the military strength of the country but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is all set to amend the constitution by 2020 and put Japan on the world map of defence capabilities. Interestingly, Japan is known as the fifth largest defence superpower unofficially.

Japan has decades-old military ties with the US under which the latter has the compulsion to assist Japan in matters related to maritime defence, ballistic missile defence, domestic air control, communication security and disaster response operations.

It was for the first time Japan has engaged in a joint military exercise with the Indian Army, and that too in the heavily militarised northeast region. Interestingly, it was in the northeast where Japanese forces were defeated during World War II because of their lack of knowledge about jungle warfare.

At Vairengte in Mizoram, the Japanese forces were trained in jungle warfare and counter insurgency. Indian Army, too, learnt about the intelligence input gathering network of the Japanese army.

Said a spokesman, "The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in urban and semi-urban terrains."

The officials say that the participants were initially familiarised with each other's organisational structure, tactical drills and planning process before the joint tactical exercises.

The Japanese were also trained on the wide spectrum of counter insurgency operations, including joint training on weapons and equipment, field training exercise and handling of improved explosive devices. The defence ministry said that the operational exercise would open future cooperation between India and Japan.

Even as the Japanese forces were leaving after the joint exercise, a 20-member Bangladesh military delegation team arrived in north Bengal for a five-day visit to various defence establishments that fall under Trishakti Corps (33 corps) of the Indian Army. The team proceeded to Indian Army posts in Darjeeling.

"The purpose of the visit here is also to have a look at the military training given by the Indian Army. Bangladesh Army would be familiarised with the training in mountain warfare and will be shown various training institutes," said an officer.

The eastern command of the Indian Army calls it a bonhomie between the two armies.



"The bonhomie and cooperation developed through such visits would go a long way in enhancing the spirit of mutual understanding and friendship in the years to come," said a statement released by Fort William.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May's office said that the British and EU negotiators have reached a framework Brexit agreement. The agreement will be examined by the UK cabinet at an emergency meeting on Wednesday.

"Cabinet will meet at 2:00 pm (1400 GMT) tomorrow (Wednesday) to consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels, and to decide on next steps," Downing Street said in a statement.

The agreement needs the political approval of both the British and European sides. The BBC reported a source as saying that the document has been agreed at a technical level by officials from both sides after intensive discussions this week.

Ireland's public broadcaster RTE cited two government sources as saying that a text crucially resolves the Irish border issuea key sticking point.

May's cabinet is divided on Brexit, with some senior ministers opposed to provisions that could keep the UK closely tied to the European Union for years to come.

But cabinet approval could pave the way for a historic EU-UK summit in Brussels at the end of November that would finalise the agreement's text.

A final deal would then face other hurdles, the most notable one coming in the British parliament, where May's government's holds a razor-thin majority.

May would need strong support from her own Conservative Party, where dozens of eurosceptics have opposed the reported frameworks of the deal.

Her coalition partners from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have also threatened to vote against the agreement if they find it splinters the province from the rest of Britain.

The news saw the British pound shoot up in value to 1.304 dollars from 1.285 on Tuesday at 2200 GMT.

Citing two sources, Ireland's RTE said the framework deal provides for a temporary solution aimed at keeping the Irish border open if London and Brussels fail to strike a new trade deal by the end of 2020.

This so-called "backstop"an issue the two sides have been unable to resolve for monthswould see the whole of the United Kingdom remain in a customs arrangement with the European Union.

It also provides for additional "deeper" provisions for Northern Ireland on customs and regulations, RTE said.

The report said the deal also provides for a review mechanism that Britain could use to try and leave the backstop arrangement, another key demand of eurosceptics in May's party.

Britain will formally split away from the other 27 EU nations on March 29, even if no final agreement clears all the hurdles both in the Britain and the EU.

The threat of a calamitous no-deal Brexit, in which no clear trade rules are set by March between the bloc and one of its largest economies, have weighed heavily on the negotiations.

May's government hopes that lawmakers in both chambers will rally around the deal once its text is set in stone, boosting investor confidence.
(Eds: Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with NewsVoir. PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.)

Delhi, India (NewsVoir)



Max Ventures and Industries Limited (MaxVIL), a part of the US$ 3 billion Max Group, operates across two core businesses of speciality packaging films and Premium Real Estate, additionally it also focuses on Early stage venture investing. MaxVIL has announced its Second Quarter and Half Year Ended September 30, 2018 results.



Highlights of Consolidated Financials at a Glance



Particulars (Rs. Lakhs)



Q2 FY19



Q2 FY18



YoY%



Q1 FY19



QoQ%



Consolidated Revenue



26,754.47



17,720.79



51.0%



18,183.37



47.1%



Revenue from Packaging Films



24,485.17



17,433.66



40.4%



16,595.86



47.5%



Revenue from Real Estate



2,206.55



17.57







1,489.37



48.2%



EBITDA (incl other income)



1,226.78



1,437.33



-14.6%



680.85



80.2%



PBT



(624.08)



224.64



-377.8%



(556.41)



-12.2%





 The revenue of the Company has increased by 51% in Q2 FY19 compared to Q2 FY18 and 47% compared to Q1 FY19.



 The above increase in revenue from packaging films is on account of revenue from newly inaugurated Line 5.



 Sales volume for BOPP films has increased by 33.1% to 15,600 tons in Q2 FY 19 from 11,721 tons in Q2 FY 18



 The increase in revenue from real estate is on account of sale recognition of additional units of luxury residential project, 222 Rajpur in Max Estates.



 EBITDA has increased by 80% in Q2 FY19 compared to Q1 FY19



 Inspite of falling output prices we are able to remain in cash profit status



 Max Towers is currently under development, rentals are to start from Q4 FY19



 Lower PBT on account of accrual of depreciation and interest for new line for Line 5 in packaging films business



Management Perspective



Commenting on the Results, Mr. Sahil Vachani, Managing Director and CEO said, Q2 FY19 saw our flagship project Max Towers enter its final phase of construction. We expect construction completion and Occupation Certificateby the end of Q4FY19. So far, we have seen good traction for Max Towers from renowned domestic and global companies andare confident about converting them to tenantsat market-leading rentals. We have also started the development of our second Grade A+ commercial project at Okhla and expect to complete it over the next 24-30 months.



We had an impressive revenue growth in our Speciality Films business in Q2 FY19. However, the profits were straineddue to the sudden rise in the price of crude oil and increased competitiveness in the industry. With our focus primarily on innovative research, we expect our business to be more resilient in the long run with better profitability prospects.



Overall, the ongoing development costs of Max Towers have created pressure on short-term profitability along with the Head Office costs which are expensed. Additionally, the depreciation and interest costs on the new manufacturing line (Line 5) of Max Speciality Films have also contributed to the strain on profits. With the imminent launch of Max Towers leading to rental income inflow as well as optimum utilization of increased Speciality Films capacity, we expect profitability pressures to ease out significantly.



Business Updates



Max Estates



Creating a portfolio of landmark addresses in NCR and North India for Emerging India.



 Max Towers Commercial, Noida  We expect the construction work to be completed by Q4 FY19. This will be the 1stCommercial offering of MaxVIL. We have already leased about 50,000 Sq. Ft. to a premium Co-Working Company. The lease is likely to commence in Q4.



 Max House Commercial, Okhla NCR  This is a Re-development of office campus located within South Delhi, comprising ~100,000 sq. ft. in the 1st phase. We have begun the work on this project and expect to deliver this project in the next 24-30 months



 Rajpur Residential Villas, Dehradun  We have completed the work for the project and are awaiting occupancy permissions. Of the project size of 21 villas, have sold 10 units worth Rs. 3,692 Lakhs and expect the balance sale of villas to be completed in FY19. This is the 1st residential project of MaxVIL and has been completed before scheduled time.



Commenting on the performance of the Real Estate business, Mr. Arjunjit Singh, CEO  Max Estates Ltd. said, We are on track to deliver our first commercial project Max Towers at Noida. This flagship project will be a benchmark for the commercial real estate sector in NCR, offering world-class facilities for its occupants. Having already leased a small portion of the tower to a large co-working multi-national, we are confident of building a high-quality tenant profile for Max Towers and make it the Address for commercial real estate in NCR.



Max Speciality Films



Offering high definition, cutting edge innovative products to fulfill the aspirations of Emerging India



Particulars



Q2 FY19



Q2 FY18



Y-o-Y%



H1 FY19



H1 FY18



Y-o-Y%



Revenue (Rs. Lakhs)



24,485.17



17,433.66



40.4%



41,081.03



35,142.24



16.9%



Sales Volumes (Tons)



15,600



11,721



33.1%



27,382



22,216



23.3%





BOPP Manufacturing Line Capacity was increased to 80.85 KTPA from 46.35 KTPA in May-2018



Commenting on the Films division performance, Mr. Ramneek Jain, CEO  Max Speciality Films Ltd said, The speciality films industry is facing some pressure due to higher crude prices and volatile forex rates, which are affecting margins. We are focusing on innovation and increasing the share of value added products to stay ahead of the competition. Our partnership with Toppan Group of Japan, coupled with our R&D capabilities has enabled us to widen our product basket and increase our market share. We continue to increase our capacity utilization and remain confident of improved financial performance going ahead.



About Max Ventures & Industries Limited (MaxVIL)



MaxVIL is the holding company for Real Estate and Specialty Film businesses of the Group. The Real estate business is housed in its wholly owned subsidiary Max Estate Limited while the Specialty Film business is housed in Max Speciality Films Limited (MSFL) where MaxVIL has 51% holding. Further MaxVIL has an Investment Portfolio supporting entrepreneurial ventures with an early stage investment philosophy.



Max Estate Limited is the real estate development subsidiary of MaxVIL. The Current Portfolio includes a luxury Gated community in Dehradun spread across 5 Acres and 2 commercial projects viz a ~0.6mn sq ft. 21 storey luxury tower designed by Gensler with LEED Platinum certification located in Noida, Delhi NCR and a commercial campus located within South Delhi measuring ~0.2mn sq ft.



Max Specialty Films Limited (MSFL) is a strategic partnership with Toppan Printing Co. Ltd., Japan. MSFL manufactures BOPP (Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene) films of differentiated quality. Max Speciality Films Limited is among the leading manufacturers of BOPP films in India including as speciality packaging films, labels, metallized films, coating and thermal lamination coated films used in packaging, labelling and graphic lamination industries for Indian and overseas markets with a total capacity of 80.85 Kilo Tonnes Per Annum (KTPA).



Max I Limited is a fully owned special purpose vehicle, with the philosophy to facilitate Intellectual & Financial Capital to promising and proven early-stage organizations across identified sunrise sectors. The company has made investments in Azure Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and FSN E-Commerce Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (Nykaa).



Safe harbor statement



Statements in this document relating to future status, events, or circumstances, including but not limited to statements about plans and objectives, the progress and results of research and development, potential project characteristics, project potential and target dates for project related issues are forward-looking statements based on estimates and the anticipated effects of future events on current and developing circumstances. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are not necessarily predictive of future results. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results changed assumptions or other factors. PWR

PWR
Jerusalem, Nov 14 (PTI) High on Bhava, Bhakti and Classicism, Carnatic music's most prominent vocalist, Aruna Sairam, enthralled a packed auditorium here on Tuesday evening, drawing applause after every raga and a standing ovation, lasting several minutes at the conclusion of her two hour concert.

The main auditorium at the Jerusalem Theatre, hosting the annual Oud Festival, was completely packed with India enthusiasts in Israel who were for the first time witnessing a performance of Carnatic music.

The evening started with singing of famous compositions by the Trinity of Carnatic music - Muthuswami Dikshitar, Tyagraja and Shyama Shastri - but as Sairam moved on to her known ability to improvise with her art form using diverse Indian traditions that have enriched Carnatic music, the audience could be seen spellbound by the intensity of the performance.

To the surprise of Israelis, Sairam also gave The Song of the Herbs, a famous Hebrew song written by Rabbi Nachman and sang by Naomi Shemer, hailed as Israel's first lady of song and poetry, a Carnatic twist drawing a huge round of applause.

Her Abhanga dedicated to Lord Vitthala also drew cheers from the crowd.

Sairam was introduced to the audience by renowned Indologist, Prof David Shulman, as the "true star of the Carnatic music tradition" and she managed to win a lot of hearts in Israel not only for herself but also the form of music she practices.

Several people in the audience spoke of "another mesmersing Indian musical form" that they did not have exposure to so far.

India's Ambassador to Israel, Pavan Kapoor, promised the audience to bring different form of Indian culture to Israel and also made an announcement regarding preparations for a Festival of India in Israel.

"We have introduced a direct flight between Delhi and Tel Aviv for Israelis to go and experience India. For those who are still not able to, we will continue to bring for them different aspects of our tradition here", Kapoor said in a lighter vein.

Sairam was accompanied by R K Shriramkumar on Violin, J Vaidyanathan on Mridangam and S V Ramani on Ghatam, a percussion instrument used in Carnatic music.

Several prominent Indian musicians have participated in the annual Oud Festival of Jerusalem which is in its 19th year.

This year the festival is being held with an emphasis on tributes to great artists and ancient musical traditions. PTI HM RCJ
Mumbai, Nov 14 (PTI) The reunion of "Golmaal" cast with filmmaker Rohit Shetty for his next venture "Simmba" was so much familiar fun that actor Arshad Warsi says the film's lead pair Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan looked out of place.

Ranveer recently uploaded a video on Instagram where him and Sara are seen performing with the "Golmaal" team -- Arshad, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Kemmu, who all are making cameos in the new film.

Arshad says the atmosphere on set was such that the team could have easily shot the next "Golmaal" instalment.

"It was so much fun. It feet the same, the energy was same. If someone told us the next day you have to shoot for 'Golmaal 5', we could've done that. We are all very familiar with the entire crew so it felt like home. The fun part or the interesting part was interacting with Ranveer," Arshad told PTI.

The "Munna Bhai" actor says Ranveer's energy and dedication to his craft is "insane."

"I really love him, what a guy! He is complete mad and his passion for work is insane. His combination with Rohit will be very nice. They'll be so good together. Even Sara was really sweet," he adds.

Arshad says the "Golmaal" team felt at home when they shot for the scene.

"While we were shooting, more than us, they looked out of place there in their own film! We were all familiar with the unit so they, because they are the new lot, were looking at us! But it was damn fun. 'Simmba' will be good a film, it has some crazy action," he says.

Arshad will be next seen in "Bhaiaji Superhit", which features Sunny Deol and Priety Zinta. The actor says it's extremely important to have the right co-stars and crew as everything can fall flat.

"Sunny's politeness and goodness has stayed with me. He is so calm when it comes to work. It's right to have the right co-stars, it's extremely important your cast and crew is nice because you'll be spending so much time. If you don't have the right people around you, it's going to be a tough ride," he adds.

The film is scheduled to release on November 23. PTI JUR RB

RB
Mumbai, Nov 14 (PTI) Bollywood star Varun Dhawan will attend the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for the screening of his film "October", which is a part of the festival's Panorama segment.

"It was my dad who informed me that 'October' was chosen to be part of the Panorama Section at IFFI. Since the time the film released, I have had many people come up to me and tell me how it has touched them or how they couldnt believe that a film like this was made in India. Its great that it is being showcased with the best movies this year," Varun said in a statement here.

In the Shoojit Sircar-directed film, Varun played the role of Dan, a hotel trainee who undergoes a transformation when his colleague Shuili (Banita Sandhu), is hospitalised after a freak accident. The 31-year-old actor was praised for his restrained portrayal of a man grappling with a crisis.

"A lot of aspiring actors have told me that their teachers show them scenes from this movie. All this is touching but I really didn't do much acting (in 'October'). Shoojitda just made me live the film," Varun said.

The actor is currently busy shooting for "Kalank". He has been signed up for a dance film with director Remo DSouza and an action-entertainer with Shashank Khaitan.

IFFI will begin from November 20 in Goa. PTI KKP BK

BK
Peshawar/Islamabad, Nov 14 (PTI) A top police officer of Pakistan's Peshawar city has been found dead in Afghanistan, 18 days after he was abducted to the war-torn country by unidentified militants, authorities said Wednesday.

Superintendent of Police (Peshawar) Tahir Khan Dawar left his residence in Islamabad for an evening walk on October 27 but did not return home.

His mobile phone's last location was traced somewhere in Jhelum city of Punjab province. After being contacted, he said that he was fine and there was no threat to his life.

The Islamabad police had constituted various teams to trace him.

Peshawar city police in a statement said that the officer had been on a short leave to Islamabad to meet his family.

His abductors released a picture of him along with a letter of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's Khurasani group claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and the killing.

Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shaukat Yusafzai said that Dawar was ruthlessly killed by the abductors in Afghanistan. He was in captivity for 18 days.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry has confirmed the recovery of a body with the service card of Dawar.

The ministry has informed the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul that the body was found by local people in Dur Baba district of Nangarhar province Tuesday.

The body, being transferred to Jalalabad by the Afghan authorities, was yet to be received by the Consul General of Pakistan in Jalalabad. It would be subsequently transferred to Pakistan via Torkham border.

TTP Spokesman Muhammad Khalid khurasani has denied that Dawar was killed by the Taliban.

In a statement, he said that some journalists for cheap popularity attributed the murder of the Pakistani police officer to the TTP.

He said that the TTP has its own channels and websites to claim responsibility of any incident.

"We are not afraid of anyone," he said, warning the journalists of dire consequences for attributing fabricated news to the TTP.

Though nobody claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and killing, the letter found along with the body carried the name of Wilayat Khorasan, which is used by the militants of the Islamic State (IS) for border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The letter claimed that Dawar arrested and killed several militants and warned other officials of the same fate. PTI AYZ/SH CPS AKJ CPS
Singapore, Nov 14 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

Modi's first engagement here would be to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet.

"The Prime Minister landed in Singapore a short while ago. He will be joining a series of programmes through the day, beginning with the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival," PMOIndia@PMOIndia said.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The prime minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, the WH said. PTI RCJ
Singapore, Nov 14 (AP) Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has rebuffed criticism over her government's treatment of its ethnic Rohingya Muslims.

US Vice President Mike Pence told Suu Kyi on Wednesday that the violence, which led more than 700,000 of the country's Rohingya minority to flee for Bangladesh since August 2017, was "without excuse."

Pence also said Myanmar's arrests and convictions of two Reuters journalists was "deeply troubling" to millions of Americans.

Pence and Suu Kyi met on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore. Pence said the meeting was at Suu Kyi's request.

Suu Kyi said only Myanmar was in a position to explain what happened and how it saw things, just as Americans could best understand what is happening there.(AP)

AMS

AMS
(Eds: Updates with more details, reaction)

Colombo, Nov 14 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who was installed by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve Parliament and hold snap polls.

The Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when President Sirisena sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, installed Rajapaksa in his place and suspended the Parliament plunging the island nation into a constitutional crisis.

Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, the former strongman.

"According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority," Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard as Rajapaksa supporters disrupted the proceedings.

Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am Thursday.

Speaker Jayasuriya has officially written to President Sirisena asking him to take further constitutional action on the issue.

A copy of the motion with 122 signatures of Parliamentarians, who have expressed lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rajapaksa and his cabinet, has been sent to President Sirisena.

The Speaker's office said that the Speaker has requested the President to take the next step under the Constitution.

Speaking after the no-trust vote, ousted prime minister Wickremsinghe claimed that his government had been restored after extra constitutional action by President Sirisena to sack him as the premier.

"We will now take steps to ensure that the government in place before October 26 will continue. I wish to inform all government servants and police that you should not carry out illegal orders from the purported government that has failed to demonstrate the confidence of the people," he said.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa told reporters that the Government headed by Rajapaksa clearly lost the floor test.

He said Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down as he does not have majority support in Parliament.

However, Dinesh Gunawardena and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, both Rajapaksa's senior aides, said Speaker's action was illegal.

Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the floor test in Parliament was illegal and so Rajapaksa will continue as Prime Minister, further deepening the political crisis that has paralysed the government for nearly three weeks.

The Parliament session on Wednesday morning comes a day after the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisena's controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

In its ruling, the apex court had said Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President's decision next month before giving a final ruling.

After the court verdict, Speaker Jayasuriya summoned Parliament's session for Wednesday morning.

Sirisena had dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to install Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as premier.

While sacking prime minister Wickremesinghe, president Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move.

Major political parties, including the United National Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and an election commission member Ratnajeevan Hoole, on Monday dragged Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his decision by filing fundamental rights petitions against the move, which they said violated the Constitution.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election on January 5, plunging the country's into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that his sacking by Sirisena was unconstitutional and illegal and he was still the prime minister. He had demanded that Parliament be convened to hold a vote among the lawmakers to decide who enjoyed majority support in Parliament to be the Prime Minister.

As pressure grew and both sides claimed they had the numbers, the President dissolved Parliament and called for elections.

Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Sirisena on Sunday stoutly defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers. He said there were reports that politicians would clash during the floor test, which was due on November 14.

Rajapaksa, 72, who ruled Lanka for a nearly decades from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in January 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe's UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security. And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa. PTI CORR MRJ ZH AKJ ZH

ZH
Singapore, Nov 14 (AFP) The violence which drove 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh was "without excuse", US Vice President Mike Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi in stinging comments on a summit sidelines on Wednesday.

Suu Kyi has seen her reputation as a rights defender destroyed by her refusal to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless group reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Pence added to the pressure on Suu Kyi, who this week has had an Amnesty International honour revoked and faced sharp words from Malaysia's premier at a usually tame meeting of Southeast nations in Singapore.

Sitting next to Suu Kyi, Pence -- who has joined the summit for bilateral meetings -- condemned the "violence and persecution" against the Rohingya as "without excuse".

Then in a front-on challenge to Myanmar's civilian leader, Pence said he was "anxious to hear about the progress" being made to hold the perpetrators accountable.

A crackdown led by Myanmar's army last year sparked an exodus of the Muslim minority into neighbouring Bangladesh, taking with them accounts of atrocities -- rape, murder and arson of their villages.

UN investigators say the army's actions amounted to genocide.

On Thursday a long-delayed -- and heavily criticised -- plan to repatriate Rohingya was set to begin, despite dire warnings their safety will be in jeopardy if forced to return to Myanmar.

The Rohingya crisis has decimated Myanmar's reputation among large sections of an international community which has supported its transition from outright military rule.

Suu Kyi has no power over the army, which retains autonomy over all security matters.

But she has come under fire for not doing more to speak out against the generals' excesses.

She has also been criticised for her failure to speak up for two Reuters reporters jailed for seven years for breaching a colonial-era state secrets act after reporting on the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya men during a military crackdown last year.

The sentence prompted a storm of global outcry as an assault on freedom of speech, casting doubt on the direction and depth of Myanmar reforms.

In a stark defence of the verdict, Suu Kyi -- herself once a political prisoner held under house arrest by the former junta -- said the pair were jailed under a fair legal process.

"They were not jailed because they were journalists" but because "the court has decided that they had broken the Official Secrets Act", she said.

Suu Kyi's civilian government had the power to drop the charges.

Reuters have appealed the verdict and have been lobbying for the release of the pair who they say were set up by police and arrested to silence their reporting.

The High Court is likely to take up to five or six months to rule on the appeal, during which time the reporters will remain in Yangon's notorious Insein prison.

After numerous delays, the first significant group of Rohingya -- some 2,000 strong -- is due to return to Myanmar on November 15 as part of a repatriation deal signed with Bangladesh a year ago.

However, the UN and rights groups maintain that conditions for their "safe, dignified and sustainable" return are still not in place. (AFP) AMS

AMS
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI): Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours:



FGN35 PM-2NDLD PENCE

PM Modi, Pence discuss defence, trade and cooperation in Indo-Pacific

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence held talks on Wednesday on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. By Gurdip Singh



FGN28 LANKA-2NDLD VOTE

Sri Lanka's Parliament passes no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Rajapaksa

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who was installed by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve Parliament and hold snap polls.



FGN25 SINGAPORE-PM-3RDLD FINTECH

PM Modi pitches India as "best" investment destination at Fintech Festival in Singapore

Singapore: Pitching India as the "best" investment destination for global tech giants, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday the country was experiencing a digital revolution of unprecedented speed and scale that has enabled the financial inclusion of 1.3 billion Indians. By Gurdip Singh





FGN40 US-TRUMP-2NDLD INDIA

US, India can be a "bulwark" for freedom, prosperity and peace, says Trump at Diwali celebrations

Washington: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said US' relationship with India can act as a "bulwark" for freedom, prosperity and peace as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with eminent Indian-Americans. By Lalit K Jha



FGN26 US-LD NEOMI RAO

Indian-American Neomi Rao to replace Kavanaugh on DC Circuit: Trump

Washington: Prominent Indian-American lawyer Neomi Rao has been nominated by US President Donald Trump to fill Justice Brett Kavanaugh's seat on the powerful DC Circuit Court of Appeals. By Lalit K Jha



FGN32 TRUMP-DIWALI-HINDUS-LD TWEETS

Trump celebrates Diwali, leaves out Hindus in tweet

Washington: President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali at a White House ceremony but omitted mentioning Hindus in his Twitter greeting, and again in a corrected tweet after the gaffe was pointed out by outraged netizens. By Lalit K Jha



FGN36 US-INDIAN AMERICANS

Trump praises 'incredible' role played by Indian-Americans in his admin

Washington: US President Donald Trump, who has appointed more than two dozen Indian-Americans to senior positions since he assumed office in 2017, has praised them for their "incredible" performance in his administration. By Lalit K Jha



FGN34 PM-LD MORRISON

PM Modi meets premiers of Australia, Thailand in Singapore

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday held bilateral meetings with the premiers of Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

PTI AMS

AMS
Indore (MP), Nov 14 (PTI) The Congress Wednesday alleged a "Rs 8,935.61-crore scam" in allotment of e-tendering contracts under the BJP's watch in Madhya Pradesh, which is going to polls on November 28.

Announcing that the Congress would probe the "irregularities" if voted to power, the party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the estimate of the scam could go up to "Rs 50,000 crore" after investigation.

For its part, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) said the matter was being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state police.

Surjewala claimed the Congress had in its possession documents pertaining to the alleged irregularities.

"We have documents of the e-tendering scam in which private companies were given contracts worth Rs 8,935.61 crore for various schemes of irrigation and other departments. Prima facie, the scam began in 2014," Surjewala told reporters here.

He alleged that the incumbent BJP government had hired a private company to develop an e-tendering software, which he said was "tampered with" to lower the value of the online bids quoted by select private companies so as to bring it on par with the lowest bids.

"These firms were then allotted the big-ticket government contracts," he alleged.

Surjewala said, "The value of the scam which has been executed through collusion between the government machinery and private companies could cross Rs 50,000 crore after a probe".

He said the role of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state Chief Secretary BP Singh was also suspect in the matter.

"The Congress was apprehensive that the computer hard disk and other evidence might be destroyed," he alleged.

Terming the alleged scam "an organised loot of public resources", the Congress leader said his party would constitute a "public commission" to probe the matter.

Responding to a query, Surjewala defended the Congress' poll promise to not allow holding of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) shakhas in government premises and cancel the order that allowed officers and employees to participate in shakhas.

"Congress feels that if a political organisation (Sangh) is allowed to use government offices then similar permissions will have to be given to the bodies associated with the Congress, the Left and other parties, which won't be proper," he said.

The Congress leader also dismissed Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier's statement, denying any wrongdoing in the Rafale deal.

The Congress has been alleging "corruption and cronyism" in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The party has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his "industrialist friends" over the Rafale deal, calling it a "scam".

The Centre has already denied the allegations of price escalation and favouritism.

When contacted, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesman Anil Soumitra said the e-tendering matter was being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

"We are already probing the matter through the EOW. If Congress is dreaming of coming to power, let them also investigate the matter," he said. PTI HWP LAL NSK IND

IND
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) The BJP Wednesday said the Congress could not look beyond one family or recall the contribution of others to the country, hitting back at the opposition party after Shashi Tharoor credited institutional structures created by Jawaharlal Nehru for a "chaiwala" like Narendra Modi becoming the prime minister.

"If democracy is thriving in India, it is because of the Constitution. It was the constituent assembly headed by Baba Sahab Ambedkar and having many other eminent people which laid the foundation of democracy," Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

The Congress could not think beyond one family and this was underlined again, he said, without taking any name.

Speaking at the re-launch of his book on Nehru, Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, had Tuesday said if the country had a "chaiwala" as its prime minister, it was because the first prime minister of independent India had made it possible to create the institutional structures through which any Indian could aspire to rise to the highest office in the land.

Javadekar said the Congress talked only about one family and never mentioned the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The opposition party wanted to restrict historical references to one family, he added.

Modi was such a "magnanimous" prime minister that he had mentioned umpteen number of times that all prime ministers had contributed to the country while the Congress never mentioned the name of P V Narasimha Rao, Javadekar said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also rejected former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's charge that the government was undermining Nehru's legacy.

"It is not. We are making memorials of all prime ministers in the complex where Nehru lived. This is to pay tribute to everybody. It is not undermining. All prime ministers have contributed to this country. But that goes beyond one family and that is why the Congress is upset," he said.

At the same event Tuesday, Gandhi had said the Nehruvian legacy was being "undermined" by those in power and that they had "contempt" for the country's first prime minister for all that he did to build an India, which they wanted to change for the "worse". PTI KR RC
Lucknow, Nov 14 (PTI) SP president Akhilesh Yadav went lyrical Wednesday to slam the Adityanath government for renaming Uttar Pradesh cities, saying the developmental works in the state have come to a halt due to it.

"Band pade hain saare kaam, bikhra pada sab samaan; tarakki ke ruke hain raste, badal rahe hain bus naam," (All works have stopped, materials lie scattered; paths of development stand blocked, only names are being changed)," tweeted Yadav, tagging a few photographs of some stalled works with his tweet.

The former chief minister's lyrical criticism of the Adityanath regime's name-changing spree came on a day when it faced another "poetic" attack from its own minister, Om Prakash Rajbhar, the chief of ruling NDA constituent Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP).

"Diwali me Ali basey, Ram basey Ramzan, Aisa hona chahiye apna Hindustan," (India's ethos should be just like that of Diwali, which has Ali in it and Ramjan, which has Ram)," tweeted Rajbhar Wednesday, seeking to highlight the futility of changing names.

Often dubbed as a "disgruntled" minister, Rajbhar said renaming cities negates India's "Ganga-Jamuni culture."

"Indian civilisation is based on 'Ganja-Jaumni' culture. The condition of the country would have been different had the expenses incurred on name-changing venture been utilised for education, employment, health and welfare," he said.

The government faced the criticism a day after it approved the renaming of Faizabad as Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj, in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Rajbhar had recently also taken a dig at the BJP over changing of names of cities, districts and railway stations, saying the saffron party should rather start with changing names of the prominent Muslim faces in the party.

"The BJP changed names of Mughalsarai and Faizabad. They say they were named after the Mughals. They have 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," he had said.

He said the names of various places were changed just to distract the backward and oppressed people from raising their voice on the issues which affects 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 country what Muslims have

given it. Should we throw away the GT Road? Who built the Red Fort? Who built the Taj Mahal?" he had asked.

Earlier, the government had renamed Mughalsarai Railway Station, another historic place, as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction.

The decision to rename Faizabad and Allahabad divisions as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively came a day after the Allahabad High Court sought the stands of the Centre and the state on a lawsuit challenging the decision to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.

Justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Singh Chauhan of the Lucknow bench Monday sought the government's stand within a week and slated the matter to hear again on Monday. PTI ABN SMI RAX

RAX
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) India and the UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Wednesday for collaboration in cancer research, the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement.

The pact between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) for the India-UK Cancer Research Initiative was signed here for collaboration for the next five years.

Both CRUK and DBT will invest five million pounds each in this five-year pilot project, and seek further investment from other potential funding partners.

The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative will identify a core set of research challenges that address issues of affordability, prevention and care of cancer patients by bringing together leading Indian and UK experts in clinical research, demographic research, new technologies and physical sciences, the statement said.

"The initiative will provide funding to develop new research alliances and undertake impactful research to enable significant progress against cancer outcomes," the statement added.

This is a follow-up to the joint statement issued by the premiers of India and UK during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UK in April.

Modi had then stated, "As thriving democracies, we share a desire to work closely together and with all who share our objective to support a rules-based international order that upholds agreed international norms, global peace and stability.

"Together the UK and India are a force for good in an uncertain world. We are sharing our experience and knowledge to tackle global challenges. India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Cancer Research UK propose to launch a 10 million pound bilateral research initiative which will focus on low cost approaches to cancer treatment."

Speaking at the launch of this initiative, Secretary of DBT, Renu Swarup, said, "Cancer is a global epidemic that requires radically new approaches through inter-disciplinary and multi-national efforts. The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative will provide a catalysing platform for scientists and researchers in the UK and India to co-create solutions for affordable cancer care that improve cancer outcomes around the globe."

On the occasion, Nick Grant, Cancer Research UK's executive director of international partnerships, spoke in the importance of the research partnership saying no country escapes the impact of cancer. PTI PR IND
(Eds: Updating with more quotes and inputs)

New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) In a setback to Rajasthan's ruling BJP ahead of next month's elections, the party's Dausa MP Harish Chandra Meena joined the Congress on Wednesday.

Meena, a former director general of police, joined the Congress in the presence of former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot and AICC's state in-charge Avinash Pande.

"I am happy that Harish Meena has decided to join the Congress in such times. I welcome him in the Congress fold," Gehlot said at a press conference about the new entrant who had served as DGP when he was chief minister.

Pilot and Gehlot said they will contest the December 7 polls along with other senior leaders of the state.

"We are all united. It is BJP's conspiracy to spread false news that the Congress is divided," Gehlot said.

Pilot attacked Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, saying she had betrayed the trust of the people of the state.

Pilot said the tension was evident in the BJP camp with many senior leaders sidelined and not given tickets, showing that "all is not well".

Asked why the Congress had not declared a chief ministerial face before the elections, Gehlot said this had never been done in Rajasthan.

Pilot said Meena belongs to a family of Congress members and had joined the party without any conditions.

In 2014, Harish Meena defeated his elder brother and senior Congress leader Namonarain Meena from the Dausa Lok Sabha seat. Namonarain Meena came third in the electoral contest.

Harish Meena defeated his nearest rival Kirori Lal Meena, who was then a candidate of National People's Party and is now a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, by a margin of 45,404 votes. PTI SKC SDA ASK ASK MIN

MIN
Jaipur, Nov 14 (PTI) Poll authorities received a total of 145 nominations from 119 candidates in Rajasthan on Wednesday, including Rastriya Loktantrik Party (RLTP) convener Hanuman Beniwal.

Many Congress hopefuls have also filed their nominations even though the party was yet to announce its list of candidates.

So far, 152 candidates have filed 192 sets of nominations, Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Anand Kumar said.

Seventeen candidates filed 24 nominations on Tuesday and 16 candidates filed 23 nominations on Monday. The last date for filing of nominations is November 19.

RLTP convener Beniwal filed his nomination from Khinvsar assembly constituency of Nagaur district after addressing a public meeting.

In his speech, he targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

He said BJP district executive member Noor Mohammad Gauri and Merta municipality's former chairman Anil Thanvi joined his RLTP after quitting the BJP.

Assembly election in Rajasthan will be held on December 7. PTI AG SMN
Noida (UP), Nov 14 (PTI) An SUV belonging to a Supreme Court lawyer was allegedly stolen by four men who forcibly got into the vehicle and overpowered the driver here Wednesday, police said.

The incident took place in the afternoon when the driver had gone to drop the lawyer's daughter at her college in Sector 125 and was waiting outside the campus after dropping her, they said.

"The four men came walking up to the SUV from some distance, opened the doors and got inside the vehicle. Before the driver could comprehend the situation, they took him at gun-point and took over the control of the SUV," a police official said.

The accused kept roaming on city roads for over an hour before they dumped the driver along the street in Sector 148 and fled with the car, police said.

They also took away the mobile phone and the wallet of the driver, they said.

A complaint has been registered at the Sector 39 police station and search was on to nab the culprits, Station House Officer (SHO) Amit Kumar Singh said.

"We have filed an FIR based on a complaint by the lawyer. As per our initial findings, the car has been taken towards the adjoining Bulandshahr district. The accused persons have not been identified so far but police are trying to track them down," he said. PTI KIS KJ

KJ

KJ
Srinagar, Nov 14 (PTI) Security forces Wednesday arrested two local militants of Hizbul Mujahideen and recovered cache of arms and ammunition from their possession in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Acting on a credible input, the security forces arrested the duo at a check point at Panzgam in Awantipora area, a police spokesman said.

"During checking, security forces recovered arms and ammunition from their possession which includes UBGL, grenades and live rounds and other incriminating material," he said.

The arrested militants have been identified as Jan Mohammad Sheikh and Nasir-ul-Islam, both affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen, the spokesman said.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of law. PTI MIJ

DV

DV
Srinagar, Nov 14 (PTI) Social media users in Kashmir expressed their anger against the transfer of IGP Traffic Basant Kumar Rath and blamed Mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Junaid Mattu for government's decision to remove the highly popular IPS officer.

Rath, who is credited with streamlining the traffic system in Jammu and Kashmir in less than one year of being appointed as IGP Traffic, was shunted out Tuesday.

The government's decision came just four days after a Twitter spat between the IPS officer of 2000 batch and SMC mayor Junaid Mattu, leading to an outcry that he used his clout with the governor's administration to have him removed.

A Twitter user ran an online poll asking people to vote in favour of the person they support in this spat.

"They say, elected leader is more powerful than IAS/IPS. Let Kashmiris vote. Given a chance, who would they vote for?" Amit Tyagi, a frequent traveller to Kashmir, wrote in his post along with the poll.

Many users voted in favour of Rath.

Another user, naqeeyousuf1408, praised the IPS officer saying, "Maintaining law and order in J&K with respect to traffic problems a person single handedly overcame that , Now transferred #BasantRath #respect #we need officers like you."

Majidmalik40 tweeted that there was no space for Rath in "this #corrupted country".

One Mohsin Ahmed said, "Dear officer, Basant Rath @KangriCarrier, we salute you for being an honest and dedicated officer. Love you always and you'll always stay in our heart and our blessings are always with you.We are going to miss you sir."

Twitter user Shakeel Hamid said, "Cabbage unfolded his layers. #BasantRath #JunaidMattu."

The tiff between the the SMC mayor and Rath began with the IPS officer hitting out at him for saying that wetlands in the city were not of much use if the city did not have proper infrastructure for expansion.

"What will you do in wetlands? Watch birds? There is a dearth of space and we need infrastructure for the city's growth. We are a poor state and have to create employment avenues," Mattu said in his maiden press conference soon after being elected mayor.

Without naming the mayor, Rath had responded on Twitter, "Wetlands are precious and a vital part of our ecosystem. Only a cabbage will think otherwise."

In another apparently related tweet, the IPS officer said, "Land grabbers don't make good policy makers. With or without a Twitter account."

A day later, the SMC mayor had tweeted about the traffic situation in the city.

"Have received numerous complaints about traffic mismanagement issues in the city. I have spoken to the SP Traffic (Urban) and sought a review of current traffic diversions and plans. The SMC has been directed to help with decongestion of alternate routes for some relief," he said.

Rath was quick to respond, saying traffic management was not the mayor's domain.

"Not your domain. Traffic diversion at Jehangir Chowk is a compulsion. The vendors have created a mess on Amira Kadal - HSHS - Maharaja Bazar - LD Hospital stretch. SMC needs to clear the mess," he replied to Mattu.

Known for his penchant for the unusual, the IPS officer would not wear his uniform while on duty and would spend most of the time on roads to monitor the traffic management done by his staff.

He invoked provisions of various laws and traffic rules to clear the pavements in Jammu and Srinagar cities, drawing protests from affected people but the general public was appreciative of his measures

His transfer was a shock that most of his fans were expecting sooner than later as they believed that he was the odd man out in the system which they alleged was corrupt and in inertia.

Rath was replaced by 1997 batch IPS officer Alok Kumar and attached with the office of Commandant General of Home Guards.

PTI MIJ AAR
Dehradun, Nov 14 (PTI) Campaigning by political parties is gaining momentum in Uttarakhand where civic bodies elections are scheduled for Sunday, as prominent leaders address one poll meeting after another to canvass for their parties' official nominees.

Campaign vehicles of parties, loaded with posters, banners and their symbols are driving through the streets of the state to drum up support for candidates.

Slogans penetrate the air every time a poll vehicle speeds through a sleepy neighbourhood in town. Candidates are also conducting door-to-door campaigns to connect with people in different pockets.

While Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Pradesh BJP president Ajay Bhatt are currently spearheading the party's poll campaign, the next couple of days will see Bhojpuri film star and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari hitting the campaign trail in Uttarakhand.

The chief minister has already campaigned for the party's mayoral candidates in Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Kotdwar, besides holding back-to-back poll meetings in Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts.

Wherever the chief minister goes he seeks votes for the party nominees in the name of development and the state government's policy of zero tolerance towards corruption.

He highlights fast tracking of infrastructure development projects both in the road and railways sectors by his government besides the crackdown on corruption which has sent over fifty people behind bars ever since the BJP took over last year.

Former chief minister and Nainital MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari Tuesday issued an appeal asking people to vote for the BJP if they wanted the benefits of welfare schemes to reach the common man.

Apologising for his inability to come to them personally due to health reasons, Koshiyari said he was confident that the people of the state would vote overwhelmingly in favour of BJP as they did in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the state assembly elections last year.

Seeking a mandate for the first time after coming to power in Uttarakhand with a massive win in assembly elections last year, it is going to be a high stakes battle for the BJP which faces the challenge of matching its own performance in these elections.

The BJP had won 57 out of a total of 70 assembly seats in the state in March last year.

The upcoming civic body polls are no less significant for the Congress either, as the outcome will be a pointer to what might happen to the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

AICC general secretary and former state chief minister Harish Rawat started campaigning for the party's candidates in Dehradun Tuesday.

While campaigning for the Congress's mayoral candidate for Dehradun, Dinesh Aggarwal, here on Tuesday, Rawat claimed people had seen how the BJP had failed to deliver despite enjoying a majority in Dehradun municipal corporation for ten long years.

"People know the truth about the BJP's hollow promises now and will teach it a fitting lesson in the civic polls this time," he said addressing a series of poll meetings in Dharampur area Tuesday.

The Congress has also released a vision document in view of the polls, terming a massive anti-encroachment drive conducted recently by the state government as an attempt to render people homeless and promising ownership rights to slum dwellers.

Campaigning will come to an end for civic body polls in the evening of November 16.

Voting will be held for 84 urban bodies, including 7 municipal corporations, 39 municipal councils and 38 Nagar panchayats, in a single phase on November 18. PTI ALM AAR
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari and two other officers from Indian Air Force appeared in the Supreme Court Wednesday to assist it on the issue of the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The officers appeared before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had sought their assistance in the case.

"We are dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer on Rafale jets. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue," the bench said when the Attorney General began his arguments on behalf of the Centre in the pre-lunch session Wednesday.

The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, asked the officials about latest induction in the Air Force.

They told the bench that Sukhoi 30s is the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and added that they do not have 4th or 5th generation aircraft.

The top court then said that "it means there has been no induction of aircrafts since 1985".

The hearing on the pleas seeking probe in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal is currently underway. PTI SJK ABA MNL PKS SA
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) A Delhi court Wednesday convicted two persons for killing two men here during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey held Naresh Sherawat and Yashpal Singh guilty of killing Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh in Mahipalpur area of south Delhi during the riots.

The case was lodged on a complaint filed by Santokh Singh, brother of Hardev Singh.

Delhi police had closed the case in 1994 for want of evidence. However, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the riots reopened the case.

The court held both the accused guilty under various sections including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 395 (dacoity) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code.

Both the convicts were taken into custody after the judgment.

The court is scheduled to hear arguments on the quantum of sentence Thursday where the convicts may get a maximum punishment of death sentence and minimum punishment of life imprisonment. PTI UK URD SA
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) A Delhi court Wednesday directed the city police to hand over certain documents to former TERI chief R K Pachauri in a case of alleged sexual harassment lodged by his former colleague.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar directed the investigating officer (IO) in the case to hand over mirror image/clone copies of the electronic devices, seized by police, to Pachauri.

The court took note of the submissions made by Pachauri's counsel that the accused was entitled to the complete chain of SMS and WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between the ex-TERI chief and the complainant.

Advocate Ashish Dixit, appearing for Pachauri, submitted that screen shots of the alleged messages were incomplete and manipulated by the complainant.

"I am of the view that revisionist is entitled to have the mirror image/clone copy of the items seized by the IO," the court said, directing the IO to hand over copies of electronic devices seized by him during the probe.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Pachauri against an order by a magisterial court, dismissing his plea.

Police, however, had opposed the appeal, saying that the prosecution had not relied upon the documents sought by the accused.

The court had on October 20 framed molestation charges against Pachauri, after he pleaded not guilty.

On September 14, the court had discharged him from section 354B (using criminal force against a woman), 354D (stalking) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC, saying that prima facie these sections were not made out against Pachauri.

On February 13, 2015, an FIR was registered against Pachauri and he was granted anticipatory bail in the case on March 21, 2015.

The former TERI chief had earlier secured an interim order from an additional district judge making it mandatory for media houses to publish or telecast the coverage of the case with a title that "in any court, the allegations have not been proved and they may not be correct".

This order had also said "when such information is published in any page of a magazine or report, then it should be in middle of the page in bold letters and it should be five times larger than the font in which the article is being published."

Over 1,400-page charge sheet was filed by the Delhi Police on March 1, 2016, saying there was "sufficient evidence" against Pachauri that he had sexually harassed, stalked and threatened the complainant.

A supplementary charge sheet was filed in March 2017 after the police said it had retrieved several deleted e-mails and chats exchanged between the accused and the complainant.

The final report had said the deleted WhatsApp chats, text messages, retrieved from the cell phones, computer hard disks and other devices, were "not fabricated".

The charge sheet. which was filed a year after the former research analyst of TERI lodged the complaint, had said Pachauri had committed offences under various sections of IPC. Pachauri has denied all the allegations against him. PTI UK URD GVS
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) The government told the Supreme Court Wednesday that no "sovereign guarantee" was given by the French government on the deal for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

The French government has however given a 'letter of comfort' to India which would be good enough 'governmental guarantee', Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

"There is no sovereign guarantee but there is a letter of comfort from France dated September 25, 2015 which says that if there is any exigencies, it would be taken care of by them (France)," Venugopal told the bench.

The issue of lack of sovereign guarantee was flagged by advocate Prashant Bhushan, who has filed a petition in the apex court along with former BJP veterans Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie seeking a court-monitored CBI investigation in the alleged criminality in the Rafale deal.

Bhushan claimed before the court that the Union Law Ministry had flagged two issues -- absence of sovereign guarantee by France and international arbitration clause in IGA as per which the arbitration seat would be at Geneva -- but despite that, the government went ahead with the deal.

Taking note of Bhushan's submissions, the bench asked Venugopal to clarify on these aspects.

"You can leave the aspect of arbitration but we need you to clarify your stand on sovereign guarantee by France," the bench told the Attorney General.

Bhushan has alleged that the government has by-passed the concerns flagged by the law ministry as Union of India was paying huge money but there was no guarantee that the aircrafts will be delivered.

The apex court has reserved its order on the pleas seeking CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in multi-billion 36 Rafale fighter jets deal with France.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. PTI ABA SJK MNL RKS SA
Chennai, Nov 14 (PTI) The Madras High Court directed the authorities Wednesday to destroy over 1,700 copies of books written by pro-Tamil leader Pazha Nedumaran in support of the banned LTTE in 2002, holding that if returned, these could lead to disturbance and threat to peace and public tranquillity.

Justice M V Muralidharan gave the direction while upholding a lower court order dismissing Nedumaran's petition seeking that the books be returned.

He was dismissing an appeal filed by Nedumaran against the March 2, 2007 order of the first additional sessions judge here.

Noting that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a terror group that was behind the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and was decimated by the Sri Lankan military in 2009, the judge said the Centre had declared it as an unlawful association and the ban had been periodically extended.

If the books were returned to the appellant, naturally, he would circulate those among the general public, he said in his order.

"...there is every possibility of the general public or the buyers of the books getting persuaded by the principles of the banned organisation and causing disturbance and threat to the peace and public tranquillity," he added.

Nedumaran and others were arrested in 2002 for publishing books in support of the Sri Lankan Tamil Eelam (separate state for Tamils) and the LTTE, which was fighting for it, and the same were confiscated by the Tamil Nadu police.

A case was registered and the chargesheet filed in September, 2005.

However, the state government withdrew the case a year later, following which Nedumaran had filed a petition before the sessions judge, seeking that the seized books be returned.

He had contended that the books were meant to be distributed in foreign countries and as the government had withdrawn the case, no purpose would be served in keeping the books in the custody of the police.

The first additional sessions judge had dismissed the petition, saying if the books supporting Tamil Eelam were circulated, it would cause a great injury in the minds of the readers and the peace and tranquillity of the public would be disturbed.

Challenging this order, Nedumaran had moved the high court.

Upholding the lower court's order, Justice Muralidharan said there was no rule that properties like books seized from an accused must be returned on his acquittal, more particularly when they were in support of an outfit banned in the country.

Concurring with the submissions of state Advocate General Vijay Narayan, he said section 452 of the CrPC gave the court a very wide discretion to choose any one of the modes of disposal of seized articles.

"I am of the view that the trial court, after analysing the rival contentions of both sides, rightly dismissed the petition filed by the appellant. The order of the I Additional Sessions Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai, is well founded. There is no merit in this appeal and the same is liable to be dismissed," the judge added. PTI CORR VS RC
Muzaffarnagar, Nov 14 (PTI) One person was killed and another injured after their buffalo cart was hit by a truck near Ramraj village here, police said Wednesday.

Surjit Singh, a farmer, was killed while Shiv Kumar was injured in the accident on Tuesday, they said.

Kumar, also a farmer, was admitted to a local hospital and his condition was stated as serious, police said.

The truck hit their cart when they were returning from a sugar mill after delivering sugarcane. A case was registered and a search launched to trace the truck driver, they said. PTI CORR ANB

ANB
Noida (UP), Nov 14 (PTI) A newborn's body was found abandoned in the washroom of a government hospital here Wednesday, prompting police to launch probe into the matter, officials said.

The baby was found by sanitation workers of the ESI Hospital in Sector 24 in the morning, but the identity of the parents could not be ascertained, police said.

The sanitation workers informed senior hospital officials about it and the baby was attended by doctors but was found dead, they said.

SHO of Sector 24 Police Station Pankaj Pant said the body has been sent for post-mortem.

"There has been no formal complaint in the matter and the police have taken cognisance on its own. We are scanning the CCTV footage of the hospital for any clues and probing the matter," Pant said.

Phone calls and text messages by PTI to hospital officials for a response yielded no result. PTI KIS NSD

NSD
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) After a video of transgenders stripping on the newly constructed Signature Bridge went viral, the police have registered a case of obscenity in public in the matter, a senior officer said.

"A case of obscenity in public place has been registered. An investigation into the matter is in progress", the officer said.

The police have tightened security on the Signature Bridge after allegations were made from some quarters that there wasn't adequate police presence on the overpass, he said.

A purported video of the incident shows transgenders removing their clothes on Signature Bridge and dancing while passersby are watching them.

After the video went viral on social media, police registered a case of obscenity in public and are probing the exact date of the alleged incident, the officer said.

The Signature Brigde has become a popular hangout spot ever since its opening. Some have been seen taking dangerous selfies by climbing onto the boundary of the bridge.

The police have written to the civic authorities to install informative boards cautioning people against clicking selfies in a dangerous manner and the traffic police are issuing challans against violations. PTI SLB AMP IND

IND
Vodafone boss Nick Read says the company needed to generate more value from the mobile masts it owns

Vodafone shares jumped after its chief executive vowed to slash costs and protect the 3.4billion dividend.

Nick Read, who took over from Vittorio Colao last month, said the telecoms group would maintain its payouts to shareholders and was confident there was no need for the dividend to be cut.

That will come as a relief to pension savers and small investors who rely on dividends from Vodafone to boost their income and returns.

Read, 54, also set out his plans to revive Vodafone's flagging fortunes.

He said the company needed to become simpler, to make better use of technology and to generate more value from the mobile masts it owns throughout Europe.

He plans to speed up Voda's cost-cutting plans by delivering 1billion of savings in three years instead of five.

'We have to try and get a better consistency of commercial performance, and we are going to be radically simpler,' he said.

The group's shares have recently languished at their lowest levels for nine years, due to fears Vodafone will lose customers to rivals and worries about the high cost of rolling out mobile networks.

But they rose nearly 8 per cent yesterday as investors cheered half-year results that were rosier than expected.

Vodafone said sales had slowed in the three months to the end of September. However, it managed to wring out cost savings, which pushed profits up.

It said underlying profits rose 2.9 per cent to 6.2billion for the first half of the year and hiked its prediction for how much free cash it would have to spend on the dividend and on upgrades to its mobile networks.

Over the next three years, Read said the group aimed to generate cash flow of around 14.8billion.

Analysts had worried about a cash squeeze following its 16billion takeover of Liberty Global's European cable network.

Voda needs plenty of cash to service its large debts as well as to make investments in new 5G technology and on fighting competitors in Spain and Italy.

The company's borrowings stand at 27billion and the Liberty deal will take its debt mountain to 46billion.

The group reassured investors with its prediction that it now expected to generate about 4.7billion of free cash this year, an improvement on its previous 4.5billion estimate.

Bosses said the healthy cash position means it can be confident of keeping the dividend safe.

There had been speculation that it would be forced to cut payouts. Margherita Della Valle, the chief financial officer, said the dividend is 'affordable' and there is no reason the company cannot maintain it.

Read, a chartered accountant and formerly the company's chief financial officer, said he would focus on cutting costs at Vodafone and making its existing businesses more profitable.

He said that after the deal with Liberty Global  which is just about to be completed  the company will focus on expanding its TV and broadband businesses.

The group also hopes to expand its mobile payments service in emerging markets and to boost sales of so-called 'smart objects' connected to the internet, such as digital collars that let owners track their pets.

Savings will come partly from replacing call centre staff with 'chatbots', computer programmes that carry out conversations, and by reducing the size of the company's High Street shops.

Vodafone had already revealed a target for around 1,700 roles worldwide to be cut as it relies more on technology to carry out some tasks.

It axed more than 900 roles in the first half of 2018 at its customer services arms in Hungary, Romania, Egypt and India.

Separately, Read has set up an in-house company to extract more value from the 58,000 mobile phone masts Vodafone owns across Europe including 19,200 in the UK.

This division could eventually be spun off, he said.

Della Valle added: 'We are looking at a wide range of options at this stage. There are no sacred cows.'

Vodafone shares rose by 7.8 per cent, or 11.24p, to 155.6p.

George Salmon, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the upbeat forecasts had helped ward off fears about a cut to the dividend.

But he added: 'The cash demands of rolling out 4G and 5G services will be significant, so while these results provide some welcome short-term assurance, questions over the sustainability of the dividend are likely to linger.'
Royal Bank of Scotland has moved senior female banker Alison Rose into pole position to become its next chief executive.

Rose, 48, has been appointed deputy chief executive of NatWest Holdings, which is RBS's main British retail banking business, signalling she is the leading internal candidate to take over from boss Ross McEwan.

A mother-of-two, she has for some time been seen as the frontrunner.

Alison Rose, 48, has been appointed deputy chief executive of NatWest Holdings, which is RBS's main British retail banking business

If she succeeds McEwan, it would make her the first female chief executive of a Big Four bank.

RBS said she would deputise for McEwan in the role, which she starts next month.

She will combine it with her job running RBS' commercial and private banking business.

McEwan said: 'Alison has been doing a fantastic job.

'Her commitment and focus on our customers will also be a strong addition to board discussions and decision-making and this appointment is a reflection of that.'

The reshuffle comes as RBS strives for an exit from state ownership, a decade on from its 45.5billion Government bailout at the height of the 2008 crisis.

Investors have speculated about when McEwan, appointed in 2013, might leave.

He has played down the talk, stressing his commitment to plans through to 2020.
Slump: British Land swung to a 42m loss in the six months to the end of September

VALUE DIPS Meadowhall shopping centre owner British Land swung to a 42million loss in the six months to the end of September as the retail sector struggles.

The value of its estate fell 6.3 per cent to 12.9billion.

DIVI RISES Construction equipment firm Speedy Hire hiked its interim dividend by a fifth to 0.6p per share after group revenue jumped 6 per cent to 195million in the six months to September 30.

BLACK FRIDAY Sales during the Black Friday weekend are forecast to grow 3.1 per cent to 10.4billion in the UK compared with a year earlier according to Globaldata.

Fashion and beauty is expected to be the best performing sector.

OFFICE INVESTMENT Office space firm WeWork is to receive 2.3billion from Japan's Softbank. The deal allows Softbank to buy shares in the US firm it values at 32billion.

CUTS DRIVE Cost-cutting is to be stepped up at Deutsche Bank. The flagging German lender is to trim expenses by around 18billion over the next three years but is looking to save more.

UNION WIN Luxury taxi firm Addison Lee has lost a fight over workers' rights.

It said drivers were self-employed contractors, not workers, but the GMB union won a court case and yesterday that decision was upheld at a tribunal.

BOSS NAMED South African Cornelius Louwrens has been appointed as the new boss of industrialist Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel UK, replacing Jon Bolton.

BANK DEAL Digital bank Starling has inked a deal to let customers withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches.

HQ SALE The Financial Times newspaper base in London has been sold for 115million to M&G Real Estate.

Advertising giants WPP are set to lease One Southwark Bridge as the FT moves across the city.

PROTEIN SWOOP Online nutritionists Science in Sport has bought PhD Nutrition, a protein powder maker, for 32million from the investment arm of Boots' owner Walgreens Boots Alliance.

RENTAL BUYOUT Rented housing group Grainger is set to take control of the 696million property portfolio it was managing with Dutch pension fund APG.

It will pay 396million to buy out APG.
Experts are calling for retirees to be sent clear warnings so they are not left 'high and dry' if they risk running down their pot

Tens of thousands of savers are at risk of running out of money in retirement without warning.

A Money Mail investigation has discovered there are no requirements for pension providers and investment firms to alert people if their pot is getting low.

Experts are calling for retirees to be sent clear warnings so they are not left 'high and dry'.

Currently, just one pension firm automatically sends customers a letter if it is starting to look as though their nest egg may not last.

It means that if retirees do not pay a financial adviser to keep an eye on their account, they risk running down their pension pot too quickly without realising.

Since the revolutionary pension freedoms were introduced three years ago, savers have been allowed immediate access to every penny of their private pensions.

Previously, you had to purchase an annuity  or income  but you can now dip in and out of your personal pension as often as you like after you reach 55.

The City watchdog has issued warnings about blowing all your savings.

And overspending is not the only risk. 'We've been very lucky with a ten-year bull market supporting the pension freedoms, but a significant market correction could change everything and reduce the value of pension pots,' says Tom McPhail, head of policy at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Meanwhile, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is concerned about the number of retirees using pension freedoms without an adviser.

Anyone who wants to take money from a private pension, whether a lump sum or a regular monthly amount, must first convert their pension into an income drawdown account.

This allows you to take out what you need and leave the rest invested in the stock market. You can then withdraw more when you need it.

An adviser can help predict how long your savings are likely to last.

It is not an exact science, because the amount in your pot depends on how the stock market performs. But an adviser could help set sensible withdrawal levels, with an idea of how long the savings would last.

An adviser would also contact you when reserves start getting low, allowing you time to perhaps reduce how much income you take.

Those who take an income from their pension without advice, however, must work this out on their own.

Baroness Ros Altmann, former Conservative pensions minister, says: 'Not everyone can afford or wants to use an adviser, so people need clear warnings if their money is running low so they're not left high and dry.

They will need time to plan how to plug that income gap. Perhaps drawdown contracts could include a section where customers can request an alarm call for when their pot is running out.'

Risky: Since the revolutionary pension freedoms were introduced three years ago, savers have been allowed immediate access to every penny of their private pensions

Around one-third of people who started drawdown pensions last year  28,000  did not use an adviser, according to official figures.

Money Mail research found that providers vary in the way they treat customers who do not have an adviser.

All drawdown customers are sent an annual statement which includes a current 'valuation'  the balance of their account. This figure can change depending on what the stock market is doing.

Along with their annual statement, Hargreaves Lans-down, Aviva, Fidelity and Scottish Widows also send out a projection for how the customer's pension fund is expected to perform.

This assumes savers will continue withdrawing money at the same rate as they do now, and shows how it would perform if the stock market delivered low, medium or high growth rates.

However, the figures and assumptions can be confusing. Money Mail found just one drawdown provider, Royal London, directly warns customers before they run out of cash. It has around 500 people in drawdown without an adviser.

Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London, says: 'In late 2017 we developed a basic form of drawdown for those without an adviser. These customers benefit from a service which allows us to determine whether their income is sustainable.

'If there is less than an 85 per cent chance that a customer will be able to take the income they want until their target age, the firm will deem their pot as unsustainable and automatically send out a warning letter.'

Customers could then alter how much income they take, rejig other investments or seek professional advice.

Around 2,800 Phoenix customers with no active adviser receive annual statements and a letter one month before their money is due to run out  but this does not leave savers enough time to do anything about it.

Charlie Musson, of broker AJ Bell, which provides drawdown accounts to 2,000 savers without an adviser, says: 'It is up to customers to review their accounts. This can be done very easily via our website or mobile app, in the same way that you check your bank balance.'

Scottish Widows and Hargreaves Lansdown customers can also access their drawdown accounts online.

A spokesperson for Fidelity says: 'We continually review our communications and will be introducing more frequent and enhanced reporting [to customers].'

A spokesman for the FCA says: 'We are particularly interested in monitoring non-advised drawdown sales, because of the risks of managing drawdown.'
LONDON, November 14, 2018  Reuters, the worlds largest international multimedia news provider, announced today that it is further expanding its content offering to Reuters News Agency customers through a partnership with Newsflare, a leading provider of eyewitness and trending video.

The Newsflare partnership brings media customers access to breaking news and trending videos shot by the public around the world, adding a new dimension to Reuters third-party content offering.



Newsflare adds to a growing list of third-party content partners available to Reuters News Agency customers via Reuters Connect, allowing subscribers to find and utilize a wide variety of content from multiple sources on a single, easy-to-use platform. Other partners include BBC, USA TODAY Sports, Accuweather, Variety, WENN, Red Bull Media House, Hollywood TV and more.



Justine Flatley, Product Manager for Content Partnerships, Reuters, said: The ability for media organizations to engage their audiences across multiple platforms has never been more important, and our third-party content offering allows for a greater variety of content that is easily accessible, all in one place. Partnering with Newsflare adds to the depth and breadth of our content offering so Reuters News Agency customers can continue to tell compelling stories that captivate and allow them to grow their audiences.



Terry Pierce, Head of Editorial Distribution and Partnerships, Newsflare said: Newsflare's newsgathering efforts and global community of members combine to discover, verify and distribute extraordinary eyewitness videos that attract the interest of both media companies and the public alike. We are extremely pleased to partner with Reuters, allowing us to share our members' incredible stories and compelling video to an even wider network of media organizations.

Newsflare is available to Reuters News Agency customers on Reuters Connect.



About Reuters Connect

Launched in 2017, Reuters Connect is designed to be a faster, more intelligent way for Reuters News Agency customers to source all the content they need via a single destination. Reuters Connect is built to make content discovery quicker and easier, improving clients editorial efficiency and enabling them to deliver more stories to their audiences faster than ever before.

About Reuters

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktops, the world's media organizations and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV.

Follow news about Reuters at @ReutersPR.

About Newsflare



Headquartered in London with offices in the US and Spain, Newsflare is the media's pioneering leader in sourcing trusted and compelling eyewitness video. Newsflare's 40,000-plus members upload viral video and breaking news, bought by broadcast and digital media clients that span more than 50 countries. Under the banner Where the World's Media Come to Buy Your Video, Newsflare delivers stories from all walks of life that are often too breaking or too remote for traditional media organizations to capture.



For more information visit: www.newsflare.com @newsflare.



CONTACT

Joel Ivory-Harte

PR Manager, Europe, Middle East & Africa

Reuters

Joel.ivory-harte@thomsonreuters.com

020 7542 7697
 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.
The following companies are subsidiares of World Fuel Services: AHT Services LLC, ANY-G B.V., ANY-G Services B.V., AVCARD Holding Company (BVI) Ltd., AVCARD Services (BVI) Ltd., Advance Petroleum LLC, Air Petro Corp., Alta Fuels Llc, Alta Transportation LLC, Altitude Ventures Holding Inc., Amelia Holding AB, Amsterdam Software B.V., Ascent Aviation Group Inc., Associated Petroleum Products, Associated Petroleum Products Inc, Avinode AB, Avinode Aktiebolag, Avinode Group AB, Avinode Inc., Baseops International Inc., Bergen Energi AB, Bunkerfuels, CarterEnergy Corporation, Casa Petro S.R.L., Chrome Club Inc., Colt Aviation Holdings LLC, Colt International, Colt International Europe SARL, Colt International LLC, Colt International das Americas Servicos de Aviacao Ltda., Colt Risk Management Services LLC, Ecuacentair Cia. Ltda., Energie-Tankdienstgesellschaft Bremen mbH, Falmouth Oil Services Limited, Falmouth Petroleum Limited, Gib Oil Limited, Hellenic Aviation Fuel Company S.A., Henty Oil Limited, Henty Shipping Services Limited, Indianhead Oil, JCP Brazil LLC, K T M Inc., KTM Inc, Kinect Consulting LLC, Kinect Energy AS, Kinect Energy Denmark A/S, Kinect Energy France Sarl, Kinect Energy Germany GmbH, Kinect Energy Green Services AS, Kinect Energy Hungary Kft, Kinect Energy Inc., Kinect Energy Markets AS, Kinect Energy Netherlands B.V., Kinect Energy Pty Limited, Kinect Energy Spot AS, Kinect Energy Sweden AB, Kinect Energy UK Limited, LFO Holdings Limited, Lakeside Oil Company Inc, Linton Fuel Oils Limited, MH Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd., MS Europe B.V., MS Lebanon LLC., MS Technology Solutions Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, MSTS Consorzio, MSTS Holding LLC, MSTS Payments LLC, Marine Energy, Multi Service Aero B.V., Multi Service Comercio S. de R.L. de C.V., Multi Service Egypt, Multi Service Holding B.V., Multi Service Middle East FZ-LLC, Multi Service Pre Paid Solutions B.V., Multi Service Private Label B.V., Multi Service Pty Limited, Multi Service Singapore PTE. LTD., Multi Service Technology Solutions, Multi Service Technology Solutions Inc., Multi Service Technology Solutions Inc. / Jordan LLC, Multi Service US Holding LLC, NCS Fuel IQ Limited, NCS UK Holding Co. Limited, NCS US Inc., Nature Port Reception Facilities Limited, Nordic Camp Supply ApS, Nordic Camp Supply B.V., Nordic Camp Supply Estonia OU, Norse Bunker AS, Oil Shipping (Bunkering) B.V., Oil Shipping Korea Limited, Orchard (Holdings) UK Limited, Orchard Energy Limited, PAPCO Inc., PAX Distribution LLC, PT Oil Shipping Trans Indonesia, PT Servicios de Guatemala Limitada, Papco, PayNode AB, Pester Marketing Company, Petro Air Corp, PetroServicios de Costa Rica S.R.L., Petromundo Internacional S.R.L., Redline Oil Services Limited, Resource Recovery of America Inc., SchedAero Inc., Schedaero AB, Servicios Auxiliares de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios Ecuatorianos de Energia-Secsa CIA. LTDA, Servicios WFSE Ecuador C.L., Servicios de Combustible Atlanticos S.R.L, Shell Oil Gibraltar, South Minnesota Lubes, TGS Petroleum Inc, TM Hawkins Brazil LLC, Tamlyn Shipping Limited, Tank and Marine Engineering Limited, Texor Petroleum Company, The Hiller Group Incorporated, The Lubricant Company Limited, Tobras Distribuidora de Combustiveis Ltda., Tramp Group Limited, Tramp Holdings Limited, Tramp Oil & Marine (Argentina) S.R.L., Tramp Oil & Marine (Chile) Limitada, Tramp Oil & Marine Limited, Tramp Oil (Brasil) Ltda., Tramp Oil Germany GmbH, Tramp Oil-Schiffahrts-und Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co., Trans-Tec Mundial S.R.L., U.S. Energy Engineering Inc., U.S. Energy Services Inc., UVair fuel business, WF Lubricants S.L., WFL (UK) II Limited, WFL (UK) Limited, WFL Mozambique LDA, WFS & J Company Limited, WFS (Guam) Limited, WFS Agencia de Naves Limitada, WFS Commercial Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., WFS Danish Holding Company I ApS, WFS Danish Holding Partnership K/S, WFS UK Holding Company II Limited, WFS UK Holding Company III Limited, WFS UK Holding Partnership II LP, WFS UK Holding Partnership III LP, WFS UK Holding Partnership LP, WFS US Holding Company I LLC, WFS US Holding Company II LLC, WFS US Holding Company III LLC, WFS US Holding Company IV LLC, WFS US Holding Company IX LLC, WFS US Holding Company V LLC, WFS US Holding Company VI LLC, WFS US Holding Company VII LLC, WFS US Holding Company VIII LLC, WFS US Holding Company X LLC, Watson Petroleum, Western Aviation Products LLC, Western Petroleum Company, Wilhelmsen Marine Fuels (WMF), World Fuel CX LLC, World Fuel Capital Limited, World Fuel Cayman Holding Company I, World Fuel Cayman Holding Company III, World Fuel Cayman Holding Company IV, World Fuel Cayman Holding Company V, World Fuel Commodities Services (Ireland) Limited, World Fuel Gas and Power Limited, World Fuel PG Trading Limited, World Fuel Services (Australia) Pty Ltd, World Fuel Services (Bahamas) LLC, World Fuel Services (Costa Rica) Limitada, World Fuel Services (Denmark) ApS, World Fuel Services (Hong Kong) Limited, World Fuel Services (KG) LLC, World Fuel Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., World Fuel Services (New Zealand) Limited, World Fuel Services (Panama) Limited Liability Company Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada, World Fuel Services (Singapore) II Pte. Ltd., World Fuel Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd, World Fuel Services (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, World Fuel Services (Taiwan) Limited, World Fuel Services (Uruguay) S.A., World Fuel Services Argentina S.R.L., World Fuel Services Aviation Limited, World Fuel Services Belgium BVBA, World Fuel Services CZ s.r.o., World Fuel Services Canada ULC, World Fuel Services Chile Limitada, World Fuel Services Company LLC, World Fuel Services Corporate Aviation Support Services Inc., World Fuel Services Europe Ltd., World Fuel Services European Holding Company I Ltd., World Fuel Services Finance Company S.a.r.L., World Fuel Services France SAS, World Fuel Services Inc., World Fuel Services International (Panama) LLC, World Fuel Services Italy S.r.L., World Fuel Services Japan G.K., World Fuel Services Kenya Limited, World Fuel Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., World Fuel Services Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited, World Fuel Services Peru S.R.L., World Fuel Services Private Limited, World Fuel Services Regulatory Holdings LLC, World Fuel Services Trading DMCC, World Fuel Services Turkey Petrol Urunleri Dagitim Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, World Fuel Singapore Holding Company I Pte Ltd, World Fuel Singapore Holding Company II Pte Ltd, and Yacht Fuel Services Limited.
The following companies are subsidiares of NRG Energy: 3279405 Nova Scotia Company, 3283764 Nova Scotia Company, 7549709 Canada Inc., 7644868 Canada Inc., 7711565 Canada Inc., AC Solar Holdings LLC, Ace Energy Inc., Agua Caliente Borrower 1 LLC, Agua Caliente Solar Holdings LLC, Agua Caliente Solar LLC, Allied Home Warranty GP LLC, Allied Warranty LLC, Arthur Kill Gas Turbines LLC, Arthur Kill Power LLC, Astoria Gas Turbine Power LLC, Bayou Cove Peaking Power LLC, Beheer-en Beleggingsmaatschappij Plogema B.V., Berrians I Gas Turbine Power LLC, BidURenergy Inc., Big Cajun I Peaking Power LLC, Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC, Bluewater Wind Maryland LLC, Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy LLC, Boquillas Wind LLC, Cabrillo Power I LLC, Cabrillo Power II LLC, Camino Energy LLC, Carbon Management Solutions LLC, Carlsbad Energy Center LLC, Carlsbad Energy Holdings LLC, Chester Energy LLC, Chickahominy River Energy Corp., Cirro Energy Services Inc., Cirro Group Inc., Citizens Power Holdings One LLC, Commonwealth Atlantic Power LLC, Connecticut Jet Power LLC, Cottonwood Development LLC, Cottonwood Energy Company LP, Cottonwood Generating Partners I LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners II LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners III LLC, Cottonwood Technology Partners LP, Delaware Power Development LLC, Devon Power LLC, Doga Enerji Uretim Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isi Satis Hizmetleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isletme ve Bakim Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Dunkirk Gas Corporation, Dunkirk Power LLC, EHI Development Fund LLC, EME Eastern Holdings LLC, EVgo Services LLC, Eastern Sierra Energy Company LLC, Ecokap Power LLC, El Segundo Energy Center II LLC, El Segundo Power II LLC, El Segundo Power LLC, Elkhorn Ridge Wind II LLC, Energy Alternatives Wholesale LLC, Energy Choice Solutions LLC, Energy Curtailment Specialists, Energy Plus Holdings LLC, Energy Plus Natural Gas LLC, Energy Protection Insurance Company, Everything Energy LLC, Forward Home Security LLC, GCP Funding Company LLC, GenOn Energy, Geostellar Inc., Gladstone Power Station Joint Venture, Goal Zero, Goal Zero Europe GmbH, Goal Zero LLC, Granite II Holding LLC, Granite Power Partners II L.P., Green Mountain Energy, Green Mountain Energy Company, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, Gregory Partners LLC, Gregory Power Partners LLC, Hanover Energy Company, Huntley IGCC LLC, Huntley Power LLC, Independence Energy Alliance LLC, Independence Energy Group LLC, Independence Energy Natural Gas LLC, Indian River Operations Inc., Indian River Power LLC, Intellastar LLC, Ivanpah Master Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project I Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project II Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project III Holdings LLC, James River Power LLC, Kaufman Cogen LP, LSP-Nelson Energy LLC, Long Beach Generation LLC, Long Beach Peakers LLC, Long Beach Power LLC, Louisiana Generating LLC, MEC Esenyurt B.V., MEC San Pascual B.V., Maplekey UK Finance Limited, Maplekey UK Limited, Meriden Gas Turbines LLC, Middletown Power LLC, Midway-Sunset Cogeneration Company, Midwest Finance Company LLC, Midwest Generation EME LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings I LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings II LLC, Midwest Generation LLC, Midwest Generation Procurement Services LLC, Midwest Peaker Holdings LLC, Mission Bingham Lake Wind LLC, Mission Del Cielo LLC, Mission Energy Construction Services LLC, Mission Energy Holdings International LLC, Mission Energy Wales LLC, Mission Funding Zeta LLC, Mission Midway-Sunset Holdings LLC, Mission Midwest Coal LLC, Mission Minnesota Wind LLC, Mission Watson Holdings LLC, Mission Wind Boquillas LLC, Mission Wind New Mexico II LLC, Mission Wind Owaissa LLC, Mission Wind Pinnacle LLC, Mission del Sol LLC, Montville IGCC LLC, Montville Power LLC, NEO Chester-Gen LLC, NEO Corporation, NRG Acquisition Holdings Inc., NRG Advisory Services LLC, NRG Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Alexandria LLC, NRG Arroyo Nogales LLC, NRG Arthur Kill Operations Inc., NRG Asia-Pacific Ltd., NRG Astoria Gas Turbine Operations Inc., NRG Astoria Power LLC, NRG Audrain Generating LLC, NRG Audrain Holding LLC, NRG Bayou Cove LLC, NRG Berrians East Development LLC, NRG Bluewater Holdings LLC, NRG Bluewater Wind Massachusetts LLC, NRG Bourbonnais Equipment LLC, NRG Bourbonnais LLC, NRG Brazoria Energy LLC, NRG Business Services LLC, NRG CTA Holdings LLC, NRG Cabrillo Power Operations Inc., NRG Cadillac Inc., NRG Cadillac Operations Inc., NRG California Peaker Operations LLC, NRG Capital II LLC, NRG Carbon 360 LLC, NRG Cedar Bayou Development Company LLC, NRG Chalk Point CT LLC, NRG CleanTech Investments LLC, NRG Coal Development Company LLC, NRG ComLease LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance I LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance II LLC, NRG Connected Home LLC, NRG Connecticut Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Connecticut Peaking Development LLC, NRG Construction LLC, NRG Cottonwood Tenant LLC, NRG Curtailment Solutions Canada Inc., NRG Curtailment Solutions Inc., NRG DG Development LLC, NRG Development Company Inc., NRG Devon Operations Inc., NRG Dispatch Services LLC, NRG Distributed Energy Resources Holdings LLC, NRG Distributed Generation PR LLC, NRG Dunkirk Operations Inc., NRG ECOKAP Holdings LLC, NRG ESA Joint Development LLC, NRG El Segundo Operations Inc., NRG Energy Center Eagles LLC, NRG Energy Center Oxnard LLC, NRG Energy Fuel LLC, NRG Energy Fuel Services LLC, NRG Energy Gas & Wind Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Holdings II Inc., NRG Energy Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Inc., NRG Energy Labor Services LLC, NRG Energy Petroleum LLC, NRG Energy Services Group LLC, NRG Energy Services International Inc., NRG Energy Services LLC, NRG Equipment Company LLC, NRG Fuel Cell CA1 LLC, NRG Fuel Resources LLC, NRG Fuel Transportation LLC, NRG GTL Holdings LLC, NRG Gas Development Company LLC, NRG Generation Holdings Inc., NRG Gladstone Operating Services Pty Ltd, NRG Granite Acquisition LLC, NRG Greenco LLC, NRG HQ DG LLC, NRG Holding Leasing Vehicle 7 LLC, NRG Home & Business Solutions LLC, NRG Home Services LLC, NRG Home Solutions LLC, NRG Home Solutions Product LLC, NRG Homer City Services LLC, NRG Huntley Operations Inc., NRG Identity Protect LLC, NRG Ilion LP LLC, NRG Ilion Limited Partnership, NRG Independence Solar LLC, NRG International LLC, NRG Kaufman LLC, NRG Latin America Inc., NRG Lease Co LLC, NRG Lease Development LLC, NRG Limestone 3 LLC, NRG Maintenance Services LLC, NRG Mesquite LLC, NRG Mextrans Inc., NRG MidAtlantic Affiliate Services Inc., NRG MidCon Development LLC, NRG Middletown Operations Inc., NRG Middletown Repowering LLC, NRG Midwest Holdings LLC, NRG Midwest II LLC, NRG Montville Operations Inc., NRG NE Development LLC, NRG Nelson Turbines LLC, NRG New Roads Holdings LLC, NRG NewGen LLC, NRG North Central Operations Inc., NRG Northeast Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Norwalk Harbor Operations Inc., NRG Ohio Pipeline Company LLC, NRG Operating Services Inc., NRG Oswego Harbor Power Operations Inc., NRG Oxbow Holdings LLC, NRG PacGen Inc., NRG Peaker Finance Company LLC, NRG Portable Power LLC, NRG Potrero Development LLC, NRG Power Marketing LLC, NRG Procurement Company LLC, NRG Project Company LLC, NRG Reliability Solutions LLC, NRG Renter's Protection LLC, NRG Repowering Holdings LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions Leasing II LLC, NRG Retail LLC, NRG Retail Northeast LLC, NRG Rockford Acquisition LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment II LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment LLC, NRG Saguaro Operations Inc., NRG Security LLC, NRG Services Corporation, NRG Sherbino LLC, NRG SimplySmart Solutions LLC, NRG Solar Arrowhead LLC, NRG Solar CVSR Holdings 2 LLC, NRG Solar Dandan LLC, NRG Solar Guam LLC, NRG Solar Ivanpah LLC, NRG Solar Ring LLC, NRG Solar SC Stadium LLC, NRG Solar Sunrise LLC, NRG South Central Affiliate Services Inc., NRG South Central Generating LLC, NRG South Central Operations Inc., NRG South Texas LP, NRG Sterlington Power LLC, NRG Storage Fabrication & Delivery LLC, NRG Storage on Demand NY LLC, NRG SunCap Leasing I LLC, NRG Telogia Power LLC, NRG Texas C&I Supply LLC, NRG Texas Gregory LLC, NRG Texas Holding Inc., NRG Texas LLC, NRG Texas Power LLC, NRG Texas Retail LLC, NRG Trading Advisors LLC, NRG Transmission Holdings LLC, NRG ULC Parent Inc., NRG Victoria I Pty Ltd, NRG Warranty Services LLC, NRG West Coast LLC, NRG Western Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Wind Development Company LLC, NRG Wind Force LLC, NRG Wind LLC, NRG dGen Advisory Services LLC, NRGenerating German Holdings GmbH, NRGenerating International B.V., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 1) S.a.r.l., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 2) S.a.r.l., New Genco GP LLC, New Jersey Power Development LLC, Norwalk Power LLC, O'Brien Cogeneration Inc. II, ONSITE Energy Inc., One Block Off The Grid Inc., Oswego Harbor Power LLC, Pacific Generation Company, Petra Nova CCS I LLC, Petra Nova Holdings LLC, Petra Nova LLC, Petra Nova Parish Holdings LLC, Petra Nova Power I LLC, Pure Energies Group, Pure Energies Group ULC, Pure Energies Installation Inc., Pure Energies Solar Services Inc., Pure Group Inc., RDI Consulting LLC, RERH Holdings LLC, Reliant Charitable Foundation, Reliant Energy, Reliant Energy Northeast LLC, Reliant Energy Power Supply LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Holdings LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Services LLC, Restoration Design LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar Holdings LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric of NY LLC, Saguaro Power Company a Limited Partnership, Saguaro Power LLC, San Gabriel Energy LLC, San Joaquin Energy LLC, San Juan Energy LLC, San Pascual Cogeneration Company International B.V., Sherbino I Wind Farm LLC, Solar Partners I LLC, Solar Partners II LLC, Solar Partners VIII LLC, Solar Power Partners, Solar Pure Energies ULC, Somerset Operations Inc., Somerset Power LLC, South Texas Wind LLC, Station A LLC, Sunrise Power Company LLC, Sunshine State Power (No. 2) B.V., Sunshine State Power B.V., TCV Pipeline LLC, Tacoma Energy Recovery Company, Taloga Wind II LLC, Texas Coastal Ventures LLC, Texas Genco GP LLC, Texas Genco Holdings, Texas Genco Holdings Inc., Texas Genco LP LLC, Texas Genco Services LP, US Retailers LLC, Valle Del Sol Energy LLC, Vienna Operations Inc., Vienna Power LLC, WCP (Generation) Holdings LLC, Watson Cogeneration Company, West Coast Power LLC, XOOM Alberta Holdings LLC, XOOM British Columbia Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy BC ULC, XOOM Energy California LLC, XOOM Energy Canada ULC, XOOM Energy Connecticut LLC, XOOM Energy Delaware LLC, XOOM Energy Georgia LLC, XOOM Energy Global Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy Illinois LLC, XOOM Energy Indiana LLC, XOOM Energy Kentucky LLC, XOOM Energy LLC, XOOM Energy Maine LLC, XOOM Energy Maryland LLC, XOOM Energy Massachusetts LLC, XOOM Energy Michigan LLC, XOOM Energy New Hampshire LLC, XOOM Energy New Jersey LLC, XOOM Energy New York LLC, XOOM Energy ONT ULC, XOOM Energy Ohio LLC, XOOM Energy Pennsylvania LLC, XOOM Energy Rhode Island LLC, XOOM Energy Texas LLC, XOOM Energy Virginia LLC, XOOM Energy Washington D.C. LLC, XOOM Ontario Holdings LLC, XOOM Solar LLC, and eV2g LLC.
Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company. The company operates through two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. It provides data services to identify and understand their customers, as well as to manage the risks related with lending. The company also offers analytical and decision tools that enhance businesses to manage their customers, minimize the risk of fraud, comply with legal requirements, and automate decisions and processes. In addition, it provides financial education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, online educational tools, and applications to manage their financial position, access credit offers, and protect themselves from identity fraud. The company serves customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecommunications and utility, insurance, media and technology, government and public, and other sectors. It operates in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Experian plc was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Read More
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. Ltd., Benext, Bionic, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Boomerang Pharmaceuticals Communications Ireland Limited, Bow & Arrow, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brand Learning LLC, Brand Learning Ltd, Brand Learning Partners Limited, Brand Learning Pte Limited, Bridge Energy Group LLC, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CadenceQuest Inc., Capable Marketer Limited, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc., Certus Solutions Consulting Services Ltd, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cimation UK Limited, Cirruseo, Cirruseo SAS, Clarity Insights, Clearhead, Clearhead Group, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas (SN) (PTE.) Limited, Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Ltd., Cloud Talent Limited, Cloudsherpas, Cloudsherpas Inc., Cloudworks, Codagenic Pty. Ltd., Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda., Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda., Context Information Security, Coritel S.A., Corliant Inc., CreativeDrive, CustomerWorks Europe SL, Cutting Edge Solutions Ltd, D5 Global Holdings LLC, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., DMA Solutions Limited, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (Australia) PTY LTD, DayNine Consulting (Deutschland) GmbH, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting France SAS, DayNine Consulting Japan K.K., DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings, Declarative Holdings LLC, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digiplug SAS, Digital Consulting & Software Services LLC, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Ltd., Duck Creek Technologies, Duck Creek Technologies LLC, Deja Vu Security LLC, ESR Labs, Elcurator SAS, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting L.P., End-to-End Analytics, Energuia Web, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Ltd., Energy Quote Private Ltd., EnergyQuote JHA, EnergyQuote JHA Ltd., EnergyQuote Trading Ltd., Enimbos, Enkitec, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V. , Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enterprise System Partners PR LLC, Enterprise System Partners S.A.S., Entropia, Epylon, Ethica Consulting Group, Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Exton Consulting, Fairway Technologies Inc, Fairway Technologies LLC, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, First Annapolis International, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Focus Group Europe Limited, Formicary, Formicary Holdings Limited, Formicary Limited, FusionX, FutureMove Automotive, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, Genfour Limited, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gestion Altima Canada Inc., Gevity, Global Public Firm S.L., GlobalView SAS, GoodFilm GmbH Filmproduktion Stuttgart, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Hytracc Consulting UK Limited, Hytracc Holding AS, I-Faber S.p.A., IBB Consulting, IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INCAD, INSITUM, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Imagine Broadband (USA) Ltd, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Industrie&Co, Infoman AG, Infoman Schweiz AG, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Infusion Development Inc., Infusion Development UK Limited, InfusionDev LLC, Innoveer Solutions India Pvt Ltd, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria Brasil LTDA, Insitum Consultoria Colombia SAS, Insitum Consultoria Europa SL, Insitum Consultoria Peru SAC, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., Intrepid, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Advertisement (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inventor Technology Limited, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, Javelin Group (Bulgaria) EOOD, Javelin Group Limited (UK), Javelin Group SASU, K Comms Group Limited, KCS.net AG, KCS.net AG West, KCS.net Deutschland GmbH, KCS.net Holding AG, KCS.net Osterreich GmbH, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Ltd, Kogentix Singapore Pte. Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kunstmaan NV, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon UKI, Kurt Salmon UKI Ltd., Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LabAnswer, LabAnswer Government, LemonXL Limited, Logistics Market Place Limited (UK), Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Corporation, Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte. Ltd., Mackevision UK Ltd, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd., Maihiro, Matter, Matter Llc, Maud Corp Pty Limited, Maxamine International, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing Corporation, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mindtribe Product Engineering LLC, MobGen, MobGen Technology S.L, Moonrise NV, Mortgage Cadence, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, N3 LLC, NBS Marketing Inc., NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile, Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Chile SpA, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda., New Energy Aborda, New Energy Associates Ltd, New Energy Group, New Energy S.r.l., NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage China Ltd., NewsPage Pte Ltd, Nice Agency Limited, Northstream, Northstream AB, Northstream Holding AB, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology LTDA, Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Octo Technology SPRL, Octoman SAS, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Openmind, Openminded, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium Consulting Ltd, Orbium GmbH, Orbium Holding AG, Orbium Inc., Orbium International AG, Orbium International sp. z o.o., Orbium Licences AG, Orbium Limited, Orbium Pte. Ltd., Orbium Pty Ltd, Orbium Services sp. z o.o., Orbium Sarl, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PCO Innovation Canada Inc., PCO Innovation EURL, PIXO PUNCH Limited, PLM Systems S.r.l, POC Holdings, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, Pach Invest SARL, Pach Invest SAS, PacificLink Group, PacificLink iMedia Ltd., Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald Inc., Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Partners Technology Mexico Holdings BV, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production K/S, Perseroan Terbatas. 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. EnergyQuote S.r.l., S3 TV Technology Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SEC Servizi, SEC Servizi S.p.A., SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Sagacious Consultants LLC, Salt Solutions, Sanchez Capital Services Pvt Ltd, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Airline Planning Group, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace Asia (Hong Kong) Limited, Seabury Aviation Consulting LLC, Seabury Cargo Advisory B.V., Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Human Capital LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Seabury Structured Finance LLC, Search Technologies BPO, Search Technologies BPO Inc., Search Technologies GmbH, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LATAM, Search Technologies LATAM S.A., Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Sente Partners LLC, Sentelis, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Shackleton, Shackleton Barcelona S.L., Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton Madrid S.L., Shackleton S.A., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., Silveo, Simian Pty Limited, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Commerce GmbH, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., SinnerSchrader Swipe GmbH, Sistemes Consulting S.L., Solutions IQ, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Storm Digital, Storm Digital B.V., Structure Consulting Group, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Systor AG, TQuila Limited (UK), Tadata Creative Unlimited Company, Tara Insurance DAC, Tara Risk DAC, TargetST8, TargetST8 Consulting LLC, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica Ltd., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Limited, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Total Logistics Supply Chain Consultants Limited, Tquila, Trivadis AG, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Verax Solutions, Verax Solutions Corporation, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong, Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd., Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, Weblinc Pty Ltd, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wire Stone Sarl, Wolox, Workforce Insight, Yesler, Zag, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines, Zenta Global Philippines Inc., Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc., Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. 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.
Schenectady

Albany Roman Catholic Bishop Edward Scharfenberger said Tuesday that his office will set up meetings between former workers of St. Clare's Hospital who lost their pensions and corporate officers responsible for that pension.

Hundreds of workers at St. Clare's, which closed in 2008 as part of a state-ordered consolidation with Ellis Hospital, learned last month that their pensions would be pared back or eliminated Nov. 11 because the plan was running out of cash.

That has prompted an outcry for the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, which long had close ties to St. Clare's, to find a way to help the workers, who also have contacted a professor at Albany Law School for assistance.

"I am recommending that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany offer to facilitate and mediate discussions between pensioners and the trustees of St. Clare's Corp. in an effort to promptly provide a forum for open discussion," said Bishop Scharfenburger, who also was a member of the corporation that is responsible for overseeing the pension.

"While there may be no easy answers, you should be afforded the opportunity to ask the questions that need to be asked and to be given the information and respect you deserve. We will provide the details and format," the bishop said.

Because St. Clare's officials two decades ago got the federal government to classify the hospital pension as a so-called "church plan" due to its ties to the diocese, the now-ailing fund was not backstopped by federal pension insurance meant to protect workers from such fiscal calamities.

This month, more than 1,100 people who once worked at the hospital got the bad news: They either will not receive their expected pension or get a smaller check than was promised.

"Although we are advised the Diocese of Albany does not bear legal or financial responsibility for the actions of St. Clare's Corporation  and does not have the resources to rescue the corporation  we are committed to doing whatever we can to help you move forward," the bishop said in a statement.

St. Clare's Corp. Chairman Joe Pofit, a former diocesan official who ran its senior housing program, had no comment on the planned meetings.

Currently, the pension fund is about $35 million in the red, Pofit has said previously, and would have been completely out of cash by 2024 if it kept paying benefits unchanged.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

Pofit said the pension fund would have collapsed long ago if not for a $28.5 million infusion from the state in 2008 as part of the agreement to close St. Clare's and merge it with Ellis Hospital. He said the fund was immediately hit by declining investments due to the onset of the Great Recession and was never able to recover its fiscal footing.

On Tuesday night, members of the Schenectady County Legislature were expected to vote on a resolution supporting the St. Clare's workers.

That resolution stated the diocese has "a moral obligation to the plan participants." It also called upon the diocese, the state and "other stakeholders in the community to collaborate in good faith to identify strategies and funding sources that will restore pensions."

During the 1990s, officials at St. Clare's sought and received federal approval for a religious exemption for its pension, which up to that point was federally insured as a private plan. The hospital then got a $90,000 refund for its previous premiums, but the plan was then left uninsured from fiscal calamity.

Founded in 1949 by Catholic priests and Franciscans, St. Clare's from its beginnings has been linked to the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese for many years, with bishops at the time also serving on the hospital board of directors.

Federal tax forms filed by St. Clare's Hospital Corp. as recently as 2017 also identify it as "an auxiliary of the Albany Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church."
Troy

The most valuable parts of Apprenda, the former cloud computing software company that used to be headquartered in Troy's Hedley Park Place, have been auctioned off for $1.55 million after the company closed its doors over the summer amid financial woes.

That's a long way down for a company that had at one time sold off $50 million in stock and was considered one of the most promising start-ups in the Capital Region.

The company grew to 100 employees and also had a New York City office and offices in Europe.

But something happened to Apprenda over the summer. In July, Safeguard Scientifics, the Main Line Philadelphia venture capital firm that had invested $22 million in Apprenda, withdrew its support of the company, leaving it without its major financial backer.

The company was left with a $6 million outstanding loan from Silicon Valley Bank that it couldn't repay, and Apprenda's board of directors voted to sell off the company's assets in order to try to repay the loan.

A financial adviser, Sherwood Partners, was hired to take care of the liquidation sale.

Assets included intellectual property like source code for its software and trademarks, as well as office furniture and computers, according to an accounting filed in the Court of Chancery in Delaware, where Apprenda was incorporated.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

In court filings this month, Sherwood Partners said it conducted a bidding process for Apprenda's assets and got three entities to participate. The winning bid was $1.55 million and the sale of a "significant subset" of Apprenda's assets was completed Sept. 21.

It was right around that time that Apprenda's founders, including former CEO Sinclair Schuller, started a new consulting company called Nuvalence.

However, Sherwood Partners noted that no company insiders were involved in the bidding.

Sherwood Partners also noted that the only remaining assets are $50,000 in accounts receivables (i.e. outstanding bills that Apprenda never collected) and things like furniture that will be left at the Hedley Building.
"Tech Valley" is growing on the international stage  at least that's what the Center for Economic Growth pushed for in Europe this week.

Representatives from CEG traveled to Munich, Germany this week to highlight the Capital Region's burgeoning research and development sector, as well as discuss partnerships with Tech Valley's semiconductor industry.

CEG held presentations at Infineon's headquarters, one of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers, where they spotlighted the "advanced electronics hub" of the northeastern United Sates, as well as corporate research initiatives in New York state.

CEG presented alongside New York Loves Nano, a statewide consortium of groups including Empire State Development, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Mohawk Valley Edge and the Onondaga Industrial Development Agency.

After holding the first annual Business Connection Forum in Albany in October 2017, the CEG and Silicon Europe, a collaborative network of European tech industry clusters, agreed to future collaboration in American and European "business and technological endeavors."

This year's second Business Connection Forum was held by Silicon Saxony, a partner of Silicon Europe.

In 2017, research and development was the Capital Region's second-largest export, according to the Brookings Institution's 2018 Export Monitor, and R & D exports supported over 4,000 jobs in the region.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

And SUNY Poly, at over $312 million, was the nation's fourth-largest academic investor in engineering R & D, trailing only Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to the CEG.

Semiconductor patents for the region have grown, too. Capital Region inventors submitted over 1,300 semiconductor-related patents in 2017, up from about 1,100 patents in 2016, according to the CEG.

"We look forward to continuing to build on our partnership with Silicon Europe and drive as much collaboration as innovation," said CEG President and CEO Andrew Kennedy.

Whether that could lead to regional investment by European tech firms in the immediate future is unclear, but Kennedy said that the forum provides an opportunity for European companies to "get better acquainted with the unmatched R&D capabilities and talent the Capital Region has to offer to the advanced electronics industry."
Wawayanda

A newly completed Orange County power plant that figured in a state corruption trial will keep running while its owners appeal a state decision this summer to deny it a critical air pollution permit.

A state administration law judge will hold a meeting later this month at the request of Competitive Power Ventures, which built a 680-megawatt, natural gas-fired, power plant in Wawayanda.

After the state Department of Environmental Conservation declined in August to issue the plant an air facilities permit to allow it to run, CPV filed for a state hearing, sued and obtained an injunction in state Supreme Court in Albany County.

The ruling stayed the DEC decision until a DEC administrative law judge could consider CPV's appeal that DEC was wrong to deny the permit. CPV started operating its $900 million plant in early October.

Administrative Law Judge James T. McClymonds will meet Nov. 29 in Middletown for an "issues conference," in which representatives for CPV, DEC and groups for or against the project will outline the issues they would want to raise in a subsequent hearing on the matter.

DEC ruled that it could not issue a so-called "air facilities permit" to CPV for the plant because the company had not sought another air pollution permit, called a Title V permit under the federal Clean Air Act. Title V permits require a more detailed environmental review than an air facilities permit.

A former CPV senior executive was caught up in the pay-to-play scandal that ensnared Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's former top aide Joe Percoco, who was convicted in March of trading cash for official favors.

Last month, former CPV executive Peter Galbraith Kelly, 54, of Canterbury, Conn., was sentenced to 14 months in state prison after pleading guilty earlier to arranging what prosecutors called a "low-show job" for Percoco's wife that paid nearly $287,000 between 2012 and 2016.

Kelly also was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $247,000 in restitution to CPV.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Kelly paid off Percoco by hiring his wife, Lisa, in return for his help in securing a much-needed power purchase agreement for the CPV plant. At the time, testimony showed, the state was seeking replacement sources to generate energy should the Indian Point nuclear plant along the Hudson River close.

According to DEC on Wednesday, the CPV permit was denied because it "failed to meet current regulatory requirements" of the federal Clean Air Act.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

"Facilities of this size and nature must be subject to the most rigorous air pollution controls to ensure the public is protected, and Title V permits provide for greater transparency and community input prior to authorization," the statement continued. "DEC continues to maintain a strong presence at this facility and rigorously monitors all operations to protect public health and the environment, and will bring swift enforcement action if violations are detected."

An environmental group that opposed the power plant is backing the DEC.

"A CPV official bribed state officials for this plant," said Richard Webster, legal director for the environmental group Riverkeeper. "They are unfit to hold a license to operate it. We are confident that the administrative law judge will uphold the decision of the DEC."

Riverkeeper represented local opponents to the power plant, including the grassroots environmental group Protect Orange County. In April, Webster and local elected officials made a public plea to DEC to deny CPV the critical environmental permit.

Two weeks after DEC denied the permit, an Aug. 15 ruling by acting state Supreme Court Justice Roger McDonough to issue CPV an injunction allows the power plant to operate pending the outcome of the DEC hearing.
A congressional district in North Carolina used to squiggle like a river more than 100 miles down through the center of the state, from above Winston-Salem to below Charlotte. Another, in Illinois, has been dubbed "the earmuffs" for the way two large sections fit around a central gap that isn't part of the district, with the main sections connected by a thin, looping band.

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district, covering Philadelphia's suburbs, was so cartoonishly drawn that it was described as "Goofy kicking Donald Duck," its biggest areas connected only by Goofy's foot at Donald's posterior.

The 7th is central to a documentary, "Line in the Street," being shown at the WAMC Performing Arts Studio in Albany on Thursday11/15 night. All of the districts above were the result of gerrymandering, a practice that goes back at least two centuries in America but, as technology improved in recent decades, has become an ever-more scientific process by which whatever party controls the drawing of the districts can outline them with almost surgical precision to produce a favored result. Usually, the result is to the distinct advantage of the controlling party, with districts created to diminish a minority voting bloc's power either by diluting it across multiple districts or concentrating it in a single district.

Robert Millman, a progressive-minded political activist from Scotia who once made a documentary film about voting machines, knew he'd found his next subject, the movie that would become "Line in the Street," when he read in June 2017 about a lawsuit that sought to have Pennsylvania's congressional map thrown out. The suit said the most recent map, drawn in 2011, violated the state's constitution on a variety of grounds, including free expression and association and equal protection. Filed by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and a group of Democratic Pennsylvania voters, the lawsuit, in brief, argued that using political data, including party registration, to draw district maps unconstitutionally penalized certain voters based on their political beliefs.

Having made documentaries in the past, Millman said, he knew he needed not a legal principle but a narrative.

"They were suing based exclusively on the state constitution, so I knew there was a story there," said Millman, who started his documentary within days of reading about the lawsuit.

The first two parts of the "Line in the Street," covering the background and beginnings of the case, were released last fall and provided free to interested groups. With courts recognizing the 2018 election was looming, the case progressed rapidly, and it stayed in Pennsylvania, with the U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly declining to get involved. (The U.S. Constitution itself leaves voting-eligibility to the states, though amendments address the denial of the right to vote.)

In late January of this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the 2011 congressional map was unconstitutional and banned it from being used in this year's election. The court gave the state's Republican-led legislature three weeks to come up with a new map that followed the state constitution's mandates, including that districts be "comprised of compact and contiguous geographical territory."

After Gov. Tom Wolf and the legislature could not agree on a map for the state's 18 congressional districts, the state Supreme Court created its own. The result: Previously, Republicans controlled 13 of the districts to Democrats' five; after the election earlier this month, it is nine to nine. As for the 7th, what once resembled Goofy kicking Donald Duck will, starting in January, have the basic outline of New Hampshire, or sort of like Pennsylvania itself, rotated 45 degrees counterclockwise and narrowed a little at the top. It looks, in other words, compact and contiguous.

"I lost count of how many trips I took" to Pennsylvania, said Millman, who said he finished editing the five-part, 52-minute documentary only last weekend.

He made "Line in the Street" with Rachel Millman, his daughter, a writer and activist who lives in Brooklyn and was largely responsible for generating money for the film. (Its page on the fundraising site IndieGoGo has so far brought in $28,543 from 676 backers, an average of $42 per donor.)

Though gerrymandering, congressional districts and related matters may seem dry, "A court case is always a story," said Millman. "There's always an antagonist, a protagonist; things are one way at the beginning, and they are another way at the end. There's your story."

And behind that story are the people being affected by it. For those who feel their voices were marginalized or made irrelevant by gerrymandering, how a voting district is drawn matters.

"The activism there was remarkable," said Millman. "There were people doing civil disobedience, getting arrested; 1,000 people showed up at the Capitol. There's been real change there."

The filmmaker said he hopes the lively current interest in voting  the recent election saw the biggest midterm turnout in at least 50 years  helps "Line in the Street" draw an audience.

"The use a Pennsylvania term, gerrymandering is the keystone that really upholds so many things that people dislike about our modern form of representative government," said Millman. "I don't see how you get a functional democracy unless gerrymandering is stopped."

He believes the success of the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters lawsuit, and the obvious change in makeup of the state's congressional delegation, show a way forward for future suits in other states.

"If it works for congressional districts, why not for state legislatures' (districts)?" said Millman. "If it worked for Pennsylvania, why not anywhere else?"

sbarnes@timesunion.com  518-454-5489  blog.timesunion.com

tablehopping  @Tablehopping  facebook.com/SteveBarnesFoodCritic
Friday

Bob Paley had a way with a camera. Paley, who shot for the Albany Knickerbocker News from 1947 to 1974, captured Albany as it progressed through the post-war years through the turbulent 1960s and into the 1970s. Paley, who was also a stringer for Time-Life magazines, chronicled the massive urban renewal project that cleared the way for the construction of the Empire State Plaza in 1962. Those photos are featured in "The Neighborhood that Disappeared," a 2014 documentary by Paley's daughter, Mary. A free screening of the film is set for this week; a discussion panel will follow the screening. 7 p.m. Friday. Free. Page Hall, 135 Western Ave., Albany. 518-442-5620; nyswritersinstitute.org

Friday

Each year, some of the most gifted young classical musicians travel to Marlboro, Vermont, to learn from master players at the Marlboro Music School and Festival. When their time ends at Marlboro, some of them set out to play a series of shows across the country. The Union College Concert Series will host five of those young musicians  pianist Zoltan Fejervari, violinists Robyn Bollinger and Soovin Kim, violist Hwayoon Lee, and cellists Tony Rymer and Alice Yoothis week. They will perform selections by Dvorak (Miniatures, Op. 75a; F-minor Piano Trio, Op. 65) and Bartok (String Quartet No. 4).

7:30 p.m. Friday. $30; free for students and kids. Union College, 807 Union St., Schenectady. 518-388-6080; unioncollegeconcerts.org

Friday

Moriah Formica did the Capital Region proud during her stint on NBC's hit show "The Voice." Formica, who appeared on the show in 2017, has been hard at work since then; she released the country rock anthem, "I Will," earlier this year, opened shows for Joan Jett and Smashmouth, and sang the national anthem at Fenway Park. Formica, who's set to release more music in 2019, comes home this week for a show at Cohoes Music Hall. Local up-and-comers Katie Louise and Madison VanDenburg will open. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $20. Cohoes Music Hall, 58 Remsen St., Cohoes. 518-953-0630; thecohoesmusichall.org

Friday

As half of one of the most influential duos in rock music, Art Garfunkel has absolutely nothing left to prove. But at 77, Garfunkel isn't ready to stop singing. Garfunkel, half of the Grammy Award-winning duo Simon & Garfunkel, lost his voice in 2011 due to vocal cord problems. His voice came back in 2014, and these days, he's truly enjoying his time on stage. In concert, look for Garfunkel to sing Simon & Garfunkel hits like "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Sounds of Silence" and other gems. He'll also showcase his own songs, and share stories from his 2017 memoir, "What Is It All But Luminous: Notes from an Underground Man." 8 p.m. Friday. $38.50-$68.50. Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, 30 Second St., Troy. 518-273-0038; troymusichall.org

Sunday

Tellabration 2018! is all about telling stories. The 23rd annual event, a project of the National Storytelling Network, features nine area storytellers who will spin rarely heard contemporary and traditional stories celebrating the human spirit. The storytellers are Fran Combs Berger of Castleton, Kate Dudding of Clifton Park, Eileen Egan Mack of Latham, and Eliud Nieves of Ithaca. Also, Claire Nolan and Barbara Palumbo of Albany, Nancy Marie Payne of Berne, Karen Pillsworth of Kingston, and Sandy Schuman of Albany. 3:30 p.m. Sunday. $6-$12. Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. 518-346-6204; proctors.org
Albany's Cuckoo's Nest unveils winter food, cocktail menu

The Cuckoo's Nest in Albany, which celebrated its first anniversary on Sunday, has launched a winter menu with new highlights, including seared scallops with bacon-onion jam, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin stuffed with apple and andouille, salad of roasted root vegetables with crisp collards, and lime-cumin-marinated shrimp tostada.

The new cocktail list includes Fireside Whiskey Sour, Bees' Knees, NOLA Milk Punch, Ginger-Pear Bourbon Smash and Yuletide Margarita.

The restaurant, at 234 Western Ave., serves lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday, dinner Saturday and brunch on Sunday. Call 518-650-7215.

Yoga flow class, tequila brunch at Putnam Place on Sunday

A brunch feature yoga and tequila and co-sponsored by four women-owned businesses in Saratoga Springs will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at Putnam Place (formerly Putnam Den) in the Spa City.

A vinyasa flow yoga class, led by an instructor from the Hot Yoga Spot, will start at 11 a.m., with a noon brunch supplied by 5 Points Market & Deli and cocktails by One With Life Organic Tequila.

Tickets are $15 in advance online, via yogaspot.com/capital-region-special-events, or at the door. Putnam Place is at 63 Putnam St.

Brunch & Brews Fest, toy drive Dec. 1 at Bootleggers

Bootleggers on Broadway in Troy will continue its Brunch & Brews Fest series from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1. Promotional material promises seasonal beers and limited releases from 10 to 15 breweries and an all-you-can-eat buffet brunch "with all the bells and whistles."

Tickets are $40 in advance online via eventbrite.com, $45 at the door if available. Attendees are asked to bring an unwrapped toy for donation to needy local kids. Bootleggers is at 200 Broadway.

Singlecut Brewsmiths dinner Monday at City Beer Hall

The City Beer Hall in Albany will host a dinner featuring beer from Singlecut Brewsmiths in Queens starting at 6 p.m. Monday. The price is $65 for five courses with beer pairings, inclusive of tax and tip, and advance tickets are required via thecitybeerhall.com.

The beer hall is at 42 Howard St.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

Venezuelan Christmas bread available from Oh Corn Arepas

Oh Corn Arepas and More in Halfmoon has started making the Venezuelan Christmas bread called pan de jamon.

Available now through the end of the year, the 2-pound loaves are made from sweet milk dough rolled up with ham, bacon, raisins and green olives. The price is $26.75 per loaf, including tax; add $2 to substitute turkey for ham.

Loaves are sometimes available on a drop-in basis, but in general require advance notice of 48 hours.

Order by calling 518-579-0858 or emailing info@ohcornarepas.com.

Oh Corn Arepas is at 1505 Route 9.

Compiled by Steve Barnes. Items to be considered for publication must be submitted to sbarnes@timesunion.com. Visit his blog, blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping.
Albany

City residents in May are set to vote on a plan to turn the North Albany Academy into a middle school.

While the conversion, which the board of education recently approved, could cost up to $28.5 million, district officials say it should have no impact on taxpayers since that would be paid for by a combination of reserves and state building aid.

Because it is a capital project, it still must be approved by voters, and the district would have to sell some bonds to pay the initial cost, said spokesman Ron Lesko.

If approved, the project could be completed for the 2023-24 school year when sixth graders would enter the new middle school. The change would allow all of the school districts sixth graders to attend a middle school, either at Hackett, Myers or North Albany, which now serves as an elementary school.

Kindergarten to fifth-graders at North Albany would go to an expanded Arbor Hill Elementary, which would remain open throughout the process.

The ONeal middle school would house the Albany International Center which serves about 175 refugee and immigrant students in grades 6-12.

The plan stemmed from several overriding concerns including projected growth in the districts student population and protests by parents around Arbor Hill who didnt want their school turned into a middle school, which was one of the earlier ideas.

Each middle school: North Albany, Myers and Hackett, would have about 650 students.

While the student population in much of upstate New York is declining, Albanys middle school cohort is expected to grow in coming years, according to a recent demographic survey. The city has seen an influx in immigrants and refugees from places like Myanmar and Syria.

Overall, the number of new students who dont speak English as their native language has risen from about 300 to 1,300 during the last five years, noted Lesko.

School board members had initially considered converting the Arbor Hill school into a middle school but that drew opposition from neighborhood residents who said their kids would have to walk more than a mile through the city to get to an alternate elementary school.

Albany buses students who are more than 1.5 miles from their school, and the state doesnt offer any reimbursement for those who are closer.

North Albany Academy, for example is about 1.2 miles from Arbor Hill school.

Parents in February turned in a petition with nearly 400 signatures against changing Arbor Hill.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

There were other factors as well, recalled April Bacon, an Albany parent. She recalled that the architects were not keen on converting the Arbor Hill school which due to its open space design, presented challenges.

She also noted that under the latest proposals, middle school students who live near Arbor Hill would still have to walk to North Albany. The same problem exists except its the other way, she said.

School board members plan to update their enrollment forecast in 2020. If the update calls for more more middle school students than can be accommodated in the three schools, theyll keep using ONeal, which is on Lark Street and was originally the site of the defunct New Covenant Charter School.

Openings and closures of charter schools in the city has complicated planning, with some suggesting the city needs a buffer to handle any influx that could come if a charter closes. That happened in 2015 when the Brighter Choice charter middle school closed, with many students going back to the district.

On the other hand, Green Tech charter high school is looking to add a 6-8 program which could handle about 102 students.

Overall, the city district serves about 9,500 students with another 2,100 in charter schools.

If ONeal stayed as a middle school, the International Center would then move to the Abrookin Career and Technical Center or Harriet Gibbons Student Services Center. That would require a second referendum in May 2021 to renovate one of those buildings at an estimated cost of $3.65 million.

If the next May's referendum passes, construction could begin with expansion of Arbor Hill Elementary School in the spring of 2021.

The May referendum would be the second vote in almost three years. Votes in February 2016 approved, on second try, a $180 million re-building of the high school.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
TROY  An attorney who worked closely with convicted former SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros has been named the Rensselaer County attorney.

Carl "C.J." Kempf III was hired by the county in June and appointed to the $115,000-a-year position by the County Legislature in August.

Kempf, of Hoosick Falls, exited SUNY Poly shortly after Kaloyeros was arrested in September 2016 on federal bid-rigging charges.

Kempf was vice president for policy and regulatory affairs and special legal adviser to Kaloyeros. He was also general counsel for Fuller Road Management Corp. and Fort Schuyler Management Corp., the nonprofit real estate entities that SUNY Poly used to award contracts for its projects in Albany and across the state.

Kaloyeros was convicted of wire fraud by a federal jury in July for working with developers in Buffalo and Syracuse to ensure they would win bids for multimillion dollar SUNY Poly projects.

Kempf was not accused of wrongdoing in the case. Still, he had been intimately involved in many of the SUNY Poly deals that were examined by federal investigators. Kempf was listed as a potential government witness at Kaloyeros' trial but did not testify.

The Rensselaer County job is the first for Kempf since he resigned in the wake of Kaloyeros' arrest, which was followed by administrative restructuring at SUNY Poly.

"I was going 24/7 and putting my blood, sweat and tears into that job," Kempf told the Times Union Wednesday. "I needed some time to regroup."

Richard Crist, a spokesman for County Executive Steve McLaughlin, said Kempf's previous experience working with large economic development projects was one of the reasons he was hired for the county position. Kempf succeeded former County Attorney Stephen Pechenik, whose salary was $125,152 before he retired this past summer.

"When I met with Steve (McLaughlin), part of his vision was to really see what he could do in moving the county forward economically," Kempf said. "I like being involved in proactive and forward-thinking projects that are bigger than me."

Kempf's appointment was approved 16-3 by the County Legislature.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

"We're fortunate we had the opportunity to hire someone with his experience," Crist said.

Kempf worked at the law firm of Hodgson Russ from 2004 to 2009 before joining Kaloyeros' administration. He earned about $200,000 a year at SUNY Poly, a salary that was paid for by the nonprofit Research Foundation for SUNY.

When asked to reflect on his previous job, and the scandal that engulfed SUNY Poly, Kempf shared only positive sentiments.

"I loved working with all the executives at SUNY Poly. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said. "People often say to me I had a Silicon Valley job in upstate New York, and I am appreciative for that."
ALBANY  An early-season snow squall that struck in the wee hours of Wednesday morning turned roads and highways around the region into sheets of ice, leading to accidents that snarled the morning commute.

The ice left many drivers trapped in place while their tires spun. Some turned around and headed home, while others spent hours trying to drive to work. Some simply pulled to the side of the road and waited for the ice to be melted by the rising sun, or salt trucks.

Local road crews, however, had little warning of the rotten conditions.

"We knew the temperatures were going to drop  but we didn't expect the sudden burst (of precipitation) in the middle of the night," said Sergio Panunzio, commissioner of Albany's Department of General Services. "We didn't open up the command center because it didn't warrant that; it was just a brief storm that caught us a little bit by surprise."

Travel on the Northway was at a crawl for hours as commuters used the shoulder of the road to roll past wrecks. The Patroon Island Bridge, which carries Interstate 90 over the Hudson River, closed for hours because of one crash.

In Albany, Panunzio said the squall hit around 4:30 a.m. and the city deployed about 14 trucks to salt the roads. Fewer cars were on the road so there were no reported accidents, he said, but drifting snow from the wind made some spots slick once again.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

Ray O'Keefe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the combination of lake-effect snow, temperatures hovering at about 30 degrees and the polish provided by car tires helped create the glaze that coated the region's roads.

Worse could be ahead: The National Weather Service said precipitation is likely again Thursday evening, turning overnight into snow and sleet, possibly mixed with freezing drizzle. The new accumulation could be 3 to 5 inches, forecasters said.

Snow and sleet will continue Friday until midday, when warm temperatures will turn the precipitation to rain.

Thursday's high will be just below freezing, the low about 26 degrees. Friday's temperature will rise into the high 30s in the afternoon.
ALBANY  NXIVM founder Keith Raniere has asked a federal judge to reconsider his request to be released on bond pending his criminal trial.

The application states that Raniere would agree to live under home confinement at a Clifton Park residence and be subject to electronic monitoring. His trial is slated to begin in March.

A 13-page memorandum filed by Raniere's attorneys Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn challenges the strength of the government's sex-trafficking charges and claims that no women who were part of a secret slave-master club associated with NXIVM were forced to have sex with him.

Many of the women who were recruited into the secret club were branded with a symbol that included the initials of Raniere and television actress Allison Mack, who is a co-defendant in the case and had been a loyal devotee of the NXIVM leader and his teachings.

Federal court records filed earlier this year indicate emails seized from Raniere's private messaging accounts "support the conclusion that Raniere created" the club, known as "Dominus Obsequious Sororium," which means "Master Over the Slave Women."

The women in the group, according to a federal criminal complaint, were lured into the club by other female NXIVM members  including Mack, who considered Raniere her "grand master." The women were required to provide "collateral" in order to join; if they tried to leave, they were threatened that their collateral  sometimes damaging information about family members or close-up photographs of their genitalia  would be released, according to the charges.

The government has alleged that some of the women lured into DOS felt coerced into having sex with Raniere due to the threat of having the damaging information released.

The motion filed Wednesday is Raniere's third attempt to be released on bond. In the new filing, his attorneys dispute that women were coerced to have sex with their client. The defense has also argued that the women who were branded were never held down against their will.

The defense team said that recent government interviews with members of the secretive group have weakened the Justice Department's case.

"Specifically, the government has been informed directly by multiple women during interviews that these women were in DOS and were not required to have sex with Mr. Raniere," the motion for bond states. "Moreover, the government well knows that the overwhelming majority of women in DOS did not, were not asked to, and certainly were not required to, have sex with Mr. Raniere. And at trial, the defense will show that any sexual relationships with Mr. Raniere were entirely consensual and aggressively pursued by Mr. Ranieres partners."

The bond application also compares the teachings of Raniere to those of Socrates.

"Just as Socrates challenged the young people of Athens to question sacrosanct beliefs of the time, and indeed was executed for his disruption of a closed-minded system of government, NXIVM challenges participants to question, rather than blindly accept, the fundamental content of their lives," the motion states.

The criminal case was filed against Raniere and five of his NXIVM associates. The judge set bond for Raniere's co-defendants  Mack, NXIVM's president Nancy Salzman, her daughter Lauren Salzman, Clare Bronfman and Kathy Russell  at amounts ranging from $25,000 for Russell, a longtime NXIVM bookkeeper, to $100 million for Bronfman, the Seagram's liquor fortune heiress who has served as NXIVM's operations director.

A prior request by Raniere to be released on $10 million bond was rejected by the court last summer.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

Raniere's latest application seeks his release on a reduced $1 million personal recognizance bond secured by three properties owned by unidentified supporters. Raniere's attorneys have asked the court to keep those names secret, alleging their privacy and safety could be at risk.

A federal judge, in rejecting Raniere's prior applications for bond, agreed with federal prosecutors that Raniere  who prosecutors said has access to vast resources and followers around the world  poses a high risk of flight and is a danger to the public.

Raniere, 58, whose organization has been described by at least one expert as a cult, was arrested in late March at a luxury beach villa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, along the Pacific Ocean. In Mexico, authorities said, Raniere got rid of his mobile phone and used encrypted email to communicate with his followers. It took authorities nearly two months to locate and arrest him.

Federal prosecutors claim Raniere fled to Mexico to avoid arrest after their investigation began last year. His attorneys dispute that, and claim travel records show Raniere had visited Mexico for personal reasons.

Raniere and Mack were indicted in April on charges of sex-trafficking and forced labor conspiracy.

On July 25, the criminal case expanded under a superseding indictment that elevated the charges against Raniere and Mack, and added as defendants Bronfman, Russell and Nancy and Lauren Salzman.

The new indictment charged the six defendants with crimes that include identity theft, harboring of aliens for financial gain, forced labor, sex trafficking and wire fraud.

Raniere has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while the case is pending.
SCHOHARIE  State Attorney General Barbara Underwood's office will investigate the death of Gerard Roldan III, the 26-year-old pedestrian who was fatally struck by a Cobleskill police vehicle on Nov. 9.

"We're committed to conducting an independent, comprehensive and fair investigation," Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, told the Times Union late Wednesday.

Underwood will act under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's 2015 executive order empowering the attorney general's office to investigate any police action that results in the death of an unarmed civilian. Officials said the attorney general's Special Investigations And Prosecutions Unit can present the matter to a grand jury if it finds sufficient evidence, or issue a detailed report explaining why it did not do so.

The same executive order has been employed to investigate deaths such as the April 2016 shooting of Edson Thevenin, who was killed by a Troy police officer after fleeing a DWI stop. The order was crafted to address public concern that local prosecutors might not be objective when investigating possible wrongdoing by the police departments they work closely with.

Earlier Wednesday, Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery said she would recuse her office from the case because her husband, Steven Winegard, is a longtime officer with the Cobleskill Police Department.

"I want to make sure that the citizens of Schoharie County can have confidence in their elected officials," Mallery said.

The district attorney filed an application with Schoharie County Judge George R. Bartlett III asking for the appointment of a special prosecutor. Bartlett, in turn, has recused himself from the application, according to the judge's chief clerk, who offered no reason for the decision.

Another judge would have to handle the appointment, though that question is rendered moot by the involvement of Underwood's office.

Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl said he had been willing to take the case. Muehl said his office would interview all witnesses and present the case to a grand jury. Muehl said the only reason he would not handle the case is if it was taken on by Underwood.

Roldan was on his way to get a backpack at a McDonald's when he was struck by the police SUV near 682 E. Main St. around 10 p.m. Nov. 9, police said.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

Police said the death occurred after two patrol officers in separate vehicles spotted another vehicle speeding west on East Main Street. Officers followed the vehicle when it allegedly ran a red light at Legion Drive and Main Street. The police SUV struck Roldan as he crossed the road a few hundred feet from the McDonald's.

The officer whose SUV struck Roldan voluntarily submitted to alcohol screening, which came back negative. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Cobleskill Police Chief Richard Bialkowski said the officer is not yet being identified publicly. He said State Police are handling the investigation into the incident, while his office is looking at it internally.

Roldan, a New York City native nicknamed "Brooklyn," was known in Cobleskill as someone who walked the streets and moved from couch to couch. He was employed at Taco Bell at the time of his death.
Carl Dukes was eight years into a potential life sentence for a murder he didnt commit. He had exhausted his appeals and was considering ending his life.

It was September 2006, a searing hot day inside the maximum-security Attica state prison. Dukes looped a belt around his neck and fastened the other end to a door in his cell.

I was like, Maybe this is the route that youre going to have to take eventually just to be free.

He heard the sound of jingling keys and footsteps coming closer. Dukes unhooked the belt and jumped into his bed. An older guard  one of the good ones  stopped outside the cell and peered in.

He had this big smile on his face, Dukes recalled during a series of recent interviews.

The officer asked him if everything was OK. Did he need a shower or a phone call?

Hes like, Alright now, take it easy, Ill see you tomorrow, Dukes said. He walked away and I just started sobbing. To me, that was just like God sent this man to the cell to stop me, like, just try to hold on.

It would take another 10 years for the truth to come out  and for Carl Dukes to walk out of prison, finally a free man.

Will Waldron

False confession

The prisoner van arrived Sept. 8, 1997, at the Albany County courthouse.

Dukes, then 20, was herded into a holding cell with other inmates awaiting court proceedings. It was his first time in jail. His prior brushes with police included a low-level marijuana charge and a ticket for jumping a subway turnstile in New York City.

He had been arrested four months earlier when police had found him loitering near an Albany house known for marijuana sales. He was charged with burglary and trespassing. Now, Dukes hoped a judge was going to release him.

Times Union

But his public defender, Bertrand Gould, informed him there would be no courtroom appearance that day. He told Dukes some Albany detectives wanted to question him about a robbery that had taken place a year earlier at a residence on Clinton Avenue.

"He was like, 'Oh, kid, let's not waste their time, let's just go up there and tell them what they want to hear or (that) you don't know anything,'" Dukes said.

Deputies escorted Dukes to a conference room where five detectives were waiting. They included the late Kenneth P. Wilcox, a revered detective known for his ability to get signed confessions from suspects, and his partner, Ronald Matos.

Gould, a longtime public defender who died last February at the age of 81, surprised Dukes by announcing that he couldn't stay with his client during the questioning  that he had a conflict of interest and would wait outside.

I knew how to read and write but I didnt know anything about how to protect yourself in a situation like that, Dukes said.

The detectives pressured Dukes, he recalled, with questions about an October 1996 robbery where two men were tied up, beaten and robbed in a downtown apartment rented by a University at Albany student, Erik Mitchell, who was not home when it happened. The young man who organized the robbery worked at a UAlbany cafeteria, where he met Mitchell and knew him to sell small amounts of weed.

During the interrogation 11 months later, Dukes finally admitted having a limited role in the robbery: He had served as a lookout, then climbed through the back window of the apartment to steal marijuana. He said that Matthew Parson, who was armed with a broken handgun, had tied up and beaten the victims after he had left, stealing their personal belongings.

Under intense pressure from Wilcox, Dukes signed a statement that was written by Matos  even though it was a first-person account  outlining details of the robbery. Dukes said he didn't fully read the statement and wasn't aware that it included details about a February 1997 murder that took place at the same apartment, four months after the robbery.

The homicide victim was Mitchell, from Rochester, who had been shot once in the head. His crumpled body was found against a wall in the vestibule of his apartment. There were no witnesses and police never recovered the murder weapon.

With the robbery statement in hand, Wilcox and Matos broke for lunch, then returned to the conference room to continue questioning Dukes.

The interview, Dukes recalled, became more aggressive. He said the detectives threatened that if he didn't confess to taking part in the murder he would get the death penalty and they would arrest his sister as an accomplice. Dukes cried. He professed his innocence.

I was in there just scared, tired, he said. Ive never been grilled like that.

At 2:50 p.m., Dukes signed the confession, which misspelled his middle name. The statement said he went to the apartment that February night with two other men, Lavell Jones and Pierre Lyons, to confront Mitchell because they heard he might snitch on them about the earlier robbery. When Mitchell opened the door, the statement said, there was an argument and Jones shot Mitchell.

Immediately after he signed the statement Matos had written, Dukes was charged with murder.

A month later, Jones, then 21, was taken into custody in Brooklyn. He had alibi witnesses who placed him in New York City at the time of the Albany murder. But after 48 hours in custody, and under pressure from Albany detectives who told him about Dukes statement, Jones also signed a murder confession.

His attorneys later accused detectives of breaking down Jones by obtaining an incriminating statement from Jones girlfriend saying he had confessed. She later recanted and said detectives told her if she didnt sign it then Jones would get the death penalty and their infant son would grow up a bastard.

In November 1998, Dukes was convicted of depraved-indifference murder, robbery and burglary. He was sentenced to 37 years to life in prison. At his trial, then-assistant District Attorney Cheryl Coleman read damning portions of grand jury testimony from another purported witness whose statement was later found to have been coerced by Albany detectives, according to court records. The statement claimed Dukes confessed to pulling the trigger.

I used to ask myself why did you sit there and sign something that these people wrote and said you did, Dukes said. Was I sleepwalking? Was I dreaming? Why did you do it? ... I was scared.

Jones was convicted of murder and burglary in 1999 and received the same sentence as Dukes  37 years to life in prison.

Mark Lennihan/AP

Dannemora

Dukes arrived in January 1999 at Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill. He was taken into a large shower where officers sprayed him with cold water and delousing chemicals. He was erroneously listed as a member of the violent Bloods street gang. Weeks later, Dukes was transferred to one of the New Yorks most notorious maximum-security prisons, Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.

I just felt like a piece of cattle, like I was a piece of beef getting ready to go to slaughter, he said. I kept complaining I was innocent and they didnt want to hear that.

At Clinton, Dukes was surrounded by real killers, he said  guys that do deserve to be in there, people that raped children or set apartment buildings on fire.

I didnt know how it feels to kill somebody but Im in here because they said I did, and Im scared as hell, he said. I didnt really know how to interact with these guys when the cell opened.

At that time, inmates were forced to shower together in groups of dozens. Inmates unable to cope were beaten by officers or you would just never see them again if they tried to shower in their shorts or underwear, Dukes said.

He stood out because he could read and write. He helped other inmates file grievances for mistreatment or civil rights violations. He studied law books and took steps to continue his education, including getting a high school diploma.

A week after his 22nd birthday, Dukes said, he had his first violent encounter in prison. His eyeglasses set off a metal detector on his way to a recreation yard. He was thrown against a wall and an officer grabbed his genitals searching for contraband. His glasses fell to the floor and a guard stepped on them.

Dukes demanded to know what he did.

Other men that was on the line were like, Yo, be quiet ... youre crazy, were going to lose you in here. 

Several officers ushered Dukes toward an area known as F-block, he said. One of them drove a knee into his back and he tumbled down concrete stairs and was beaten. They called him a monkey and hurled other racial insults in a way hed never experienced, Dukes said. He sobbed as he recounted the ordeal.

Dukes filed a grievance and began to prepare a federal lawsuit, which he later dropped. He said prison officials offered him better programs and some of the officers who were involved in the beating were transferred. He began to fit in and sought to avoid being labeled a troublemaker.

Its kind of their house and youre not going to win, he said. They offered me a job in the industry where I was making underwear.

Family

At Clinton Correctional, Dukes rekindled his relationship with a childhood friend from Brooklyn and they married. He did his best under the circumstances, he said, to help her raise their stepson. But it became too painful to watch her drive long hours with a child in hand, and then turn around and drive home.

I pretty much raised him on a visiting room floor, Dukes said. But I didnt see a lot of happiness there.

They divorced and his ex-wife moved to North Carolina, where she works as a nurse. His stepson is entering the U.S. Air Force.

Provided by Carl Dukes

Dukes said his father, Arthur Carl Dukes, a former U.S. Marine, was his steadfast supporter and visitor in prison. After his mother died on Christmas Eve in 1990, Dukes said, his father had sent his only son to Clifton Park as a teenager. He lived with an aunt and uncle  an imam in the state prison system  in hopes he would benefit from a suburban environment. Dukes briefly attended Shenendehowa High School, and his uncle took him to museums, where he became fascinated with the human brain and neurology. He dreamed of becoming a pilot.

In the mid-1990s, though, after Dukes moved to Albany with his uncles family, he dropped out of school. He found jobs at a local fish market and painting houses. Thats the life he was leading when he was falsely charged with murder.

His father made the long trips upstate at least once a month as Dukes moved through many facilities: Clinton, Attica, Auburn, Southport, Greenhaven and Wende.

The last time I seen him was Southport, less than a month before he died, Dukes said. He was my staunch advocate. He tried to talk to anybody who would hear him out.

On his deathbed in January 2015, Arthur Dukes, who had cancer, pulled the tubes out of his mouth to talk to his daughter. He was unable to speak. But he knew Albany detectives had reopened the investigation several months earlier. He wrote on a piece of paper my son, Dukes said. He asked my sister to promise him that she would get me out.

Real killer

Jeffrey J. Conrad spent much of his life behind bars. His convictions included weapons possession, rape, assault and drug dealing. He never knew Carl Dukes or Lavell Jones.

On Sept. 3, 2014, Conrad, who is from Albany, was arrested north of Akron, Ohio, for fatally stabbing his girlfriend.

An Ohio detective asked Conrad if hed killed anyone else. Yeah ... but thatll open up a whole nother can of worms, he said.

When Albany detectives traveled to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, three years ago, Conrad rubbed in their faces that two other men were in prison for a murder he had committed.

Youve always known that they didnt do it, Conrad said. They couldnt tell you what kind of gun it was cause they didnt know. They couldnt tell you how he fell cause they didnt know. They couldnt tell you a (expletive) thing. Nothing. Nothing. ... You guys knew from the beginning, when you sensed it, that they didnt (expletive) do it ... and you went and told his family all that (expletive): Yeah, we got the guys.

The detectives who interviewed Conrad had reminded him that they were in high school when Erik Mitchell was killed.

Conrad told them he had planned to rob Mitchell. He said he was alone, wearing a mask and clutching a silver .25-caliber handgun.

He opened the door, he reached for the gun, I shot him, Conrad said. It was just that quick and simple.

He said he broke the gun into pieces, threw it away and fled Albany.

Although Conrads name surfaced in the investigation as a potential suspect, he was never questioned.

Several weeks after Conrad confessed, Albany detectives visited Dukes at Auburn state prison.

I was at my weakest point when the officers came, Dukes said.

They told Dukes about Conrads confession, but made no promises, and said their investigation was continuing. They were headed to see Jones next, they added, and wondered if he had a message for his co-defendant.

I said, tell him: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,  Dukes said, cracking a big smile. He always believed that I killed somebody and dragged him into this mess.

Conrads videotaped confession included details detectives said only the killer would have known.

Sixteen years after Dukes had been convicted of murder, the Albany County district attorneys office filed a request to reopen the case and have new attorneys appointed for Dukes and Jones. The two men were represented by lawyers with the Exoneration Initiative in New York City. Both were released from prison in July 2016.

Adjusting

Dukes said that it took him years to shed his gang-member label in prison, which finally allowed him to participate in a strict program in which inmates help counsel troubled youth. He said it was one of his greatest accomplishments and strengthened his faith in God.

God used to tell me: Why are you here, Carl? Not because you did that, its because I want to show you something and I have something else for you to do, Dukes said. Im cool with the fact I know I didnt kill anybody and God knows it. I dont care what everybody else think; to hell with them, and that became my rock.

Will Waldron/Times Union

He has worked in various jobs since his release, including as a dishwasher, but said he often gets passed over because of the 20-year gap in his employment history. He has a driver's license, is living with family in Albany and doing his best, he said, to adjust to a world that changed so thoroughly while he was away. Dukes wonders often about Mitchell's father, who attended the trials of his son's accused killers. Dukes said he could never look at Mitchell's family in court, and never laid eyes on the college student who had been killed until a prosecutor at his trial showed the jury a photo of Mitchell's corpse.

"That was the first and last time I ever seen Mr. Mitchell," he said. "I really do wish one day to see his father and to tell him, 'God bless you and I'm so sorry sir, I'm so sorry for your loss.' They lost a good, decent person on his way to doing something in life." In prison, his thoughts often drifted to Erik Mitchell.

"It's kind of like I knew him," Dukes said. "I've talked to him, like in my mind. ... 'Yo, Erik, I hope they find who did this.' "
ALBANY  Two men who spent nearly 20 years in prison after they were wrongfully convicted of murdering a University at Albany student in 1997 are facing a legal roadblock in their bids to sue the state.

In 2016, Carl H. Dukes and Lavell Jones, now both 41, were exonerated of killing 23-year-old Erik Mitchell and released from prison. But at that time, they agreed to admit they committed an unrelated 1996 robbery at Mitchell's Clinton Avenue basement apartment that was initially part of the same indictment that wrongfully accused them of the murder.

As a result, an attorney for the state told the region's midlevel appeals court Tuesday that the law unequivocally prohibits such lawsuits if claimants committed any of the acts charged in the indictment. He said the indictment would also have to have been dismissed.

"Neither of those conditions can be met here," Assistant Solicitor General Frank Brady told the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.

Lawyers for Dukes and Jones asked the judges to overturn lower court rulings at the Court of Claims and allow the suit to proceed.

The murder and prior robbery "had absolutely nothing to do with each other," Glenn Garber, the lawyer for Jones, told the court. "So that indictment  the original indictment  was drafted with false information that was proven to be false."

Joshua Kelner, the lawyer for Dukes, made a similar argument. He said the result sought by the state runs contrary to the policy and intention of the 1984 law that was enacted to allow men such as Dukes and Jones to sue.

"It's supposed to benefit innocent persons who were unjustly convicted - and that language fits the plaintiffs in this case to a T," Kelner said. "They were wrongfully convicted for a crime they did not commit and of which they were actually innocent. "

The arguments were aired before Appellate Justices William McCarthy, Christine Clark, Phillip Rumsey, Michael Lynch and Robert Mulvey.

Clark reminded Brady that sections of the indictment  the murder charges  were dismissed. She asked if that meant that the indictment, referred to as an "accusatory instrument," had been amended.

Brady conceded it had been but said the indictment still was not dismissed and the defendant was not innocent of all the acts in it.

"This accusatory instrument charged a robbery. It charged a murder," Brady said. "These were joined together because the prosecution's theory of the case was that the murder was committed to cover up for the robbery."

Lynch immediately reminded Brady that theory was untrue.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

"Mr. Brady, we now know today that someone else committed that murder and admitted to that and as a result of that, the convictions were all vacated and the murder charges that remained were dismissed," Lynch told the assistant solicitor general. "Don't we look at this issue today, this complaint before us, in that context?"

Looking at the case with the information now known, the judge said, the robbery and murder charges would not have been joined.

Brady agreed but maintained that the law should keep the lawsuit from moving forward. He noted that the Jones and Dukes are suing under a 1984 law that allows the wrongfully convicted to sue for unjust conviction and imprisonment.

"The linchpin is actual innocence," Brady told Lynch. "What we have here is not actual innocence."

Clark reminded Brady the incidents were completely separate. Brady said the law did not provide for a remedy for circumstances such as the case at hand.

Dukes and Jones both pleaded guilty to taking part in the unrelated robbery at Mitchell's home on Oct. 4, 1996. They were sentenced to time already served.

In 1997, Albany police said Dukes and Jones murdered Mitchell to keep him from testifying about the robbery the year before. In 2015, Jeffrey J. Conrad confessed to the murder of Mitchell and provided details previously only known by police. Police in Ohio had charged Conrad with killing an ex-girlfriend in a small town north of Akron.

The Times Union has reported that at the time of the Mitchell murder, Albany police had regularly lodged murder charges using signed confessions from suspects following long interrogations. Detective Kenneth Wilcox, who died in a 2006 on-duty car crash, and Detective Ronald Matos obtained a confession from Dukes.

In that instance, Dukes' public defender, Bertrand Gould, walked out of the room and left Dukes alone with Matos and Wilcox, returning only periodically to see if his client needed legal representation. The six-hour grilling ended with Dukes signing a detailed statement saying he was a lookout and Jones killed Mitchell. Dukes was charged with first-degree murder. Jones, who underwent a similar interrogation, signed a similar confession after being in police custody for two days.
November 14, 2018





The travel industry used to be reticent when it came to incorporating evolving technology into the mix. This is not the case anymore. Companies are adopting various technologies so as to improve operational efficiency and meet customers ever-increasing demands. The travel industry is reacting to the public cry for innovation. Taking into consideration that the tech-centric revolution is already here, it does not come as a surprise that an industry that is so vital for economic development is increasingly turning to technology.







The route to booking travel arrangements has changed. Applications make online booking simple and fast. They also make it easy to obtain foreign currency. However, this is not enough for the travelers of today. It seems that nothing can make them happy nowadays. Yes, but that does not mean that it is not worth trying. Travel revolves around meaningful interrelationships. In order to be successful, companies need to use more than computer systems and mobile communication. What they have to do is take advantage of the newest technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

What has AI to do with traveling? Well, artificial intelligence is making its mark on the travel industry. It is behind many innovations and has helped the industry evolve. Some companies are investing heavily in computer systems that are able to perform tasks necessitating human intelligence. And no, this does not mean that there will be fewer jobs for people. As long as the travel industry does not exaggerate with AI, there is nothing to worry about.

Artificial intelligence and the travel industry

Technology has changed the way that we travel. That is a fact. What many do not realize is that technology continues to have a high impact on how we book holidays. Speaking of artificial intelligence, this branch of computer science has made it possible to eliminate manual jobs and reduce the time necessary for managing customer relationships. When it comes to the travel industry, AI is all about ensuring better travel experiences. In addition to making booking childs play, machine intelligence helps travelers get the best possible price and avoid inconveniences.

There are three main types of AI systems that are currently used in the travel world:

Machine learning  Machine learning, as well as predictive analytics, are redefining the notion of travel. The main focus is on operations, marketing, and customer insights. In aviation, for instance, machine learning is used in order to identify optimal air routes and timing of flights.

Chatbots - Conversational commerce caters to millennials singular preferences. From booking hotels on the Internet to searching for rental cars at affordable prices, there is no inquiry that chatbots cannot undertake.

Travelbots  Travelbots serve as personal assistants, helping consumers by answering their queries, providing them recommendations, and sending price alerts every now and then. The technology in question is already used via Facebook (News - Alert) Messenger by many organizations.

The use of artificial intelligence in visa applications

It is thought that the use of AI in visa applications is a good thing. And why would it not be? Thanks to this branch of computer science, authorities will be able to determine what visa applicants are doubtful or not. Surprisingly, there are many problems relating to visa applications. Employees are required to assess a great deal of information pertaining to the application, data which leads to the approval or refusal. Since most of the information is collected from paper applications and the assessment is perfumed manually, there is not a high degree of reliability. This is the reason why many governments want to use artificial intelligence in the screening process.

Visa applications increase by the year. Australia is one of the countries that plan to use AI so as to spot doubtful applicants. Maybe India will follow in their footsteps. It is not a secret that more and more people apply for an India visa. A new solution would allow authorities to determine an applicants eligibility and make well-informed decisions. The use of artificial intelligence does not affect the decision-making process in a negative way. A system that is based on cutting-edge technology does not produce errors, not to mention that there is no room for assumptions. Intelligent chatbots are traveling the world, so why should AI not be deployed in the visa application process.

Artificial intelligence is re-imagining the future of travel

Where is the travel industry heading? This is a question that many would like answered. No matter what will happen in future time, it is certain that innovation will be in the picture. Robots are finding their way to luxury accommodation and cruise ships. Very soon, they will master the airport baggage process. Artificial intelligence can bring about significant changes when it comes to travel. Here are just a few examples of areas that can be enhanced with the help of computer science:

Facial recognition  In the future, travelers will be boarding planes using only their faces as proof of identity. Facial recognition can eliminate complex embarkation and disembarkation processes. Naturally, it should be used in combination with blockchain, which ensures data is readily available for completing transactions.

Persuasion  In order to develop long-lasting relationships, it is necessary to go the extra mile. How does one persuade customers without pushing them? Only robots know the secret. Bots are more persuasive than us, so they can convince people to buy. Applying AI in the world of travel is, therefore, something to look forward to. Robots are not weapons of mass destruction.

Social media  To listen, companies make use of social media, tracking keywords, hashtags, and URLs. Until now, they have not been able to decipher social sentiment. Artificial intelligence tools can help gather information about whether or not a customer is frustrated. When someone makes a social media post, the listening tool examines the purpose and makes an intervention.

It is of paramount importance to understand that travel is personal, emotional, and, last but not least complex. Efficient automation is something to be desired by both companies and customers alike. More often than not, people are using AI without even knowing it. They are reaping the benefits from AI, but have no idea.

Final thoughts

Companies are making tremendous efforts to stay ahead of the competition and they will stand at nothing when it comes to offering their clients the most relevant service. Needless to say, this includes the adoption of artificial intelligence. To truly improve customer experience, organizations need to understand the potential of the new technology and, of course, apply it.

Travelers  in other words, the end users - are the ones that truly benefit from the implementation of artificial intelligence. Why? Because they do not have to do a thing. Regular individuals can plan a trip at the click of a button. If they happen to have any questions, the virtual assistant is there to cater to their needs. Simple features on the device like Google (News - Alert) Maps and virtual assistants are AI-focused.

What more could we want? AI is not meant to replace human interaction. It is all about offering exceptional travel experiences, which is what everyone wants, after all. At this point, we do not even care how the future of travel will look like because we have guarantee that it is going to be one-of-a-kind.
[November 13, 2018] Spatial Announces the Release of 2019 1.0

Spatial Corp, the leading provider of 3D software development toolkits for design, manufacturing, and engineering solutions, and a subsidiary of Dassault Systemes (News - Alert), announces today the production release of 2019 1.0, delivering improved workflows, performance and functionality improvements, as well as enhanced interoperability. This release also delivers targeted solutions supporting building information modeling (BIM) applications. BIM Suite This release includes the Spatial BIM Suite, composed of interoperability, 3D modeling and visualization solutions. The BIM Suite allows solution developers to solve the data chaos in the construction industry that limits BIM adoption and leads to significant costs for end users including wasted time coordinating manual processes, material waste, plus change order and litigation expenses. For more details, see the focused companion release, "Spatial Announces the Availability of its BIM Suite." 3D InterOp In addition to enhancements specific to the BIM Suite, release 2019 1.0 includes several enhancements for 3D InterOp: Binaries are now built natively on Linux, allowing developers to achieve market-leading interoperability with applications running Linux, including cloud-based solutions.

New support for Rhino and STEP AP 242 PMI enabling developers of mechanical CAD solutions to expand interoperability in their applications and workflows

Improved support for the additive manufacturing industry with the addition of 3MF reader support.

Improved interoperability and end user aesthetic experience, targeting the engineering and architectural domains, with support added for FBX, COLLADA/DAE, ZAE, and OBJ readers. CGM Core Modeler To make input operations faster and more robust, CGM can now derive canonical information from B-splines, modifying the input body by examining the input faces. Any faces which are geometrically a plane, cylinder or torus are now identified and converted.



CGM Polyhedra

CGM Polyhedra users also see a number of benefits with this new release: Enhanced STL healing for self-intersecting, thin, overlapping and inverted polygons for polyhedral data. This enhancement improves automation of healing workflows and additive manufacturing results.

New canonics-for-surfaces feature converts faces which are planes, cylinders or tori into CGM precise representations. This new capability not only enables new workflows for polygonal data, but can also improve performance for operations involving these faces.

New operator to create polyhedral body from exact inputs allowing for precise representations to be used to create polygonal representations for workflows using polyhedral data. 3D ACIS Modeler Spatial continues to deliver Boolean performance improvements with this release, delivering several changes to the algorithm to increase performance, with significant gains for very large models. Moreover, Boolean robustness has been enhanced when splitting imported periodic faces. Also included in this release are three improvements targeting enhancing customer workflows and productivity: Improved cellular topology performance via a new API to enhance the propagation of attributes.

Enhanced ACIS checks to ensure that the models used are appropriately prepared for user workflows.

Improved healing for tightening gaps to prevent disruptions resulting from imperfect models. Local operators, sheet thicken and sheet extend, also saw improvements with this release. HOOPS Visualize Web and mobile visualization can now be extended to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices and workflows with this release. In addition to new AR/VR support, this release delivers the ability to provide photo-realistic 3D visualizations with a new physically based rendering capability. With this release, applications running DirectX 11 on Windows can now query the host machine for the types of installed graphics cards, allowing an application to automatically select the card offering the best performance. About Spatial Spatial Corp, a Dassault Systemes subsidiary, is the leading provider of 3D software development toolkits for technical applications across a broad range of industries. Spatial 3D modeling, 3D visualization, and CAD translation software development toolkits help application developers deliver market-leading products, maintain focus on core competencies, and reduce time-to-market. For over 30 years, Spatial's 3D software development toolkits have been adopted by many of the world's most recognized software developers, manufacturers, research institutes, and universities. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Spatial has offices in the USA, Germany, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.spatial.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113006201/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 13, 2018] Danaher To Webcast Investor And Analyst Meeting

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) will host a live video webcast of its Investor and Analyst Meeting in New York City on December 13, 2018 beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET. A link to the webcast and accompanying slide presentation will be available on the "Investors" section of Danaher's website, www.danaher.com, under the subheading "Events & Presentations." A replay of the video webcast will be available following the presentation. ABOUT DANAHER

Danaher is a global science and technology innovator committed to helping its customers solve complex challenges and improving quality of life around the world. Its family of world class brands has leadership positions in some of the most demanding and attractive industries, including health care, environmental and industrial. With more than 20 operating companies, Danaher's globally diverse team of approximately 67,000 associates is united by a common culture and operating system, the Danaher Business System. For more information, please visit www.danaher.com.



View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/danaher-to-webcast-investor-and-analyst-meeting-300749737.html

SOURCE Danaher Corporation

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 13, 2018] Baron & Budd Announces $25.4M Settlement with PG&E for Calaveras County Fire Damages

Today, the national law firm of Baron & Budd, announced that the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors agreed to settle the County's claims against PG&E (News - Alert) for damages suffered as a result of the 2015 Butte Fire. After more than two-and-a-half years of information exchange, expert analysis, litigation, and mediation, both PG&E and the County have accepted a "mediator's proposal" of $25,400,000 for all claims and liabilities arising from the 2015 Butte Fire. The parties attended three substantive mediations, and after the final day of mediation, Michael Ornstil, a mediator with JAMS, the largest private alternative dispute resolution provider, made the mediator's proposal. "Our firm is truly honord to help Calaveras County recover its damages after such devastating losses," said Baron & Budd attorney John Fiske. "This settlement will help Calaveras County continue to heal and rebuild its community."



The details of the mediation process are confidential per the agreement among the parties, the mediator, and per California law. Through the process, the County was advised by County Counsel Megan Stedtfeld, Deputy County Counsel Greg Wayland, and the national law firm of Baron & Budd. Baron & Budd has represented hundreds of public entities in complex litigation nationwide over the past 20 years. The Board further directed County Counsel to finalize and present to the Chair a Settlement Agreement for signature. Funds are expected to be paid before the end of the calendar year.

ABOUT BARON & BUDD, P.C. Baron & Budd, P.C. is among the largest and most accomplished plaintiffs' law firms in the country. With more than 35 years of experience, Baron & Budd has the expertise and resources to handle complex litigation throughout the United States. As a law firm that takes pride in remaining at the forefront of litigation, Baron & Budd has spearheaded many significant cases for hundreds of entities and thousands of individuals. Since the firm was founded in 1977, Baron & Budd has achieved substantial national acclaim for its work on cutting-edge litigation, trying hundreds of cases to verdict and settling tens of thousands of cases in areas of litigation as diverse as dangerous pharmaceuticals and defective medical devices, asbestos and mesothelioma, environmental contamination, fraudulent banking practices, motor vehicles, employment, and other consumer fraud issues. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113006286/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 13, 2018] Ucommune Raises USD200 mn D-round Funding from Major Investors

BEIJING, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia's fastest-growing and largest co-working space today announced US$200mn in D-round funding, three months after its previous funding round, making it the largest single round so far. This round of funding is led by All-Stars Investment Limited, which focuses on China's internet industry and consumer sector, followed by CEC Capital, a leading investment bank and institutional investor in China, with PE investment and M&A consulting as its core business. The funding will further accelerate ucommune's expanding global footprint, strengthen its research and development capabilities, improve its ecosystem, and advance its IoT smart office technology. The D-round funding comes on the heels of the acquisition of Fountown which increased ucommune's total number of workstations to 100,000. This means the total working hours clocked in ucommune's spaces has reached up to 800,000 hours per day and 300 mn hours per year. Annual revenue of 2018 estimates to achieve ca 300% growth compared with last year. "There is strong growth potential in the coworking and smart working technology sectors, bolstered by China's urbanization, industrial upgrading and consumption upgrading. The recent funding from leading institutional investors in China is recognition of our leading position and operational capabilities and validation of the growth potential of coworking sector in China. The investors value ucommune's innovation capacity in developing the coworking ecosystem and smart office technology, as well as the instrumental role in enabling the collaboration beween industrial players across the entire value chain," said Dr. Mao Daqing, founder and chairman of ucommune.



"CEC Capital has been working with ucommune since the A round and has witnessed the exponential growth of this China's coworking pioneer. We are confident that ucommune will chart its path to becoming a true global leader in coworking space," said Mr.Wang Kai, founder and CEO of CEC Capital. "The D-round investment in ucommune is testimony to our confidence in the brand. We are not just investing in the coworking concept itself, but also the innovative entrepreneurs seated behind each desk. Drawing on the strengths of its membership and growing footprint, we are confident that ucommune will enable more startups, SMEs and unicorns to innovate, grow and collaborate on this growing cross-border platform," said Ji Weidong, founder and CEO of All-Star.

Ucommune has been committed to building a coworking ecosystem and intelligent office technology platform. To date, ucommune has over 200 coworking spaces in 37 cities, with nearly 15,000 company and SME members accounting for a total area of 730,000 square meters. Over the next three years, ucommune is expected to expand to 350 locations in 40 cities, providing nearly 200,000 workstations and a total area of 1.3 million square meters. An integrated coworking solution provider, ucommune also offers bespoke architectural and interior design service, express financing, and SaaS solutions to maximize efficiency for Chinese enterprises. The company has invested heavily in the development of IoT development, big data, integration of up and downstream services, enabling over 100,000 members across sectors to share information, collaborate, communicate and innovate together. Ucommune is the largest co-working space in Asia and a strong brand in China. Setting the benchmark for office-sharing brands, ucommune is home to NYSE-listed Liulishuo, and boasts members such as KEEP, Logic Thinking, JoyRun, ByteDance, Kuaishou, Tiktok, Bilibili, Zhiguagua, ofo, mobike, Horizon Robot, Amazon China etc. All-Stars Investment Limited invests in "all-star" companies in China's Internet and consumer brand sectors. Its core team comprises ex-Morgan Stanley executives, who have played active roles in many significant tech or Internet IPOs, such as Tencent and Alibaba. All-Stars currently manages assets worth US$2 billion and has invested in industry heavyweights Xiaomi, Didi Chuxing, Tujia, SenseTime, Full Truck Alliance, Grab and Lufax. Founded in 2000, CEC Capital is a leading investment bank focusing on TMT, consumer and health sectors with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, equipped with a US brokerage license. CEC Capital has completed more than 300 transactions with a total accumulated transaction value of over US$28bn. CEC Capital also manages renminbi and US dollar funds. Its portfolio companies include Suning, Didi Chuxing, Arrail Dental, The Beast Shop, WeRide.ai (formerly known as JingChi.ai), and MissFresh. SOURCE Ucommune

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Accenture Helps Carlsberg Transition to the Cloud as Part of its Strategy to Accelerate Growth and Improve Margins

Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE:ACN) has helped Carlsberg transition its information technology (IT) infrastructure to the public cloud as part of Carlsberg's strategy to be an intelligent, digitally enabled and connected enterprise. The transition is providing Carlsberg with a modernized, dynamic and agile platform for its enterprise solutions, enabling digital innovation and helping the company gain more visibility into its IT operations. This transformation - part of Carlsberg's "SAIL '22" corporate strategy, which targets increased digital connectivity between the company and its customers, supply chain and employees - is setting the stage for a new era of growth and profitability at the leading brewery group and enhancing its ability to respond to market dynamics to capture greater market share. Accenture and Avanade worked closely with Microsoft and SAP (News - Alert) to help Carlsberg transition its core infrastructure and business-critical applications to the Microsoft Azure public cloud in less than six months. The transition covered more than 150 terabytes of data on 600 servers and 200 applications that serve more than 10,000 employees, including the whole SAP application suite. Carlsberg is already reaping several business benefits, including improved stability of its IT system; a more agile and responsive IT infrastructure that enables the company to scale its resources up or down quickly as needed; and lower IT operating costs, freeing up capital that the company can invest elsewhere in the business. The Azure platform enables Carlsberg and its partners to accelerate innovation by leveraging artificial intelligence, DevOps and analytics. For example, the brewery recently launched "Carrie," a security chatbot solution developed by Avanade, through which employees can get 24/7 support for requests regarding security rules and regulations. "Transitioning to the cloud is an important part of delivering against our 'SAIL '22' priorities, where our focus is to drive sustainable and profitable growth and brew for a better today and tomorrow," said Mark Dajani, CIO and SVP of Global Business Services at Carlsberg Group. "In a highly dynamic and competitive industry, this provides a digital growth platform that enables us to deliver exceptional services and experiences of what we believe is the best beer in the world. "We always pursue perfection, and the combination of Accenture's experience in digital transformation services and industry knowledge and Avanade's experience in implementing Microsoft (News - Alert) technology has provided us with a leading-edge intelligent platform that is critical as we strive to becoe a truly digital business. Moving from a physical on-premise IT infrastructure to a managed public cloud environment is a big and challenging transition, and Accenture helped us do it quickly and as seamlessly as possible. In Accenture we have found a key partner that can deliver, innovate and respond rapidly, and they are just as passionate about this journey as we are."



Henrik Pedersen, a managing director at Accenture, said, "With its journey to the cloud, Carlsberg is becoming a modern and digital enterprise, better positioned to take advantage of emerging technologies that enable them to quickly and easily innovate and launch new services and solutions for customers, business partners and employees. We're delighted to have been able to play a key role in this exciting program that is helping make Carlsberg a digital leader in its industry." About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions - underpinned by the world's largest delivery network - Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 459,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com. About Avanade Avanade is the leading provider of innovative digital and cloud services, business solutions and design-led experiences delivered through the power of people and the Microsoft ecosystem. Our professionals bring bold, fresh thinking combined with technology, business and industry expertise to help fuel transformation and growth for our clients and their customers. Avanade has 34,000 digitally connected people across 24 countries, bringing clients the best thinking through a collaborative culture that honors diversity and reflects the communities in which we operate. Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation. Visit us at www.avanade.com. About Carlsberg Group The Carlsberg Group is one of the leading brewery groups in the world, with a large portfolio of beer and other beverage brands. Its flagship brand - Carlsberg - is one of the best-known beer brands in the world, and the Baltika, Carlsberg and Tuborg brands are among the eight biggest brands in Europe. Around 41,000 people work for the Carlsberg Group and its products are sold in more than 150 markets. Visit us at www.carlsberggroup.com. SAP and SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE (or an SAP affiliate company) in Germany and other countries. See http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113005910/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Shandong province-based companies seek new business opportunities at China International Import Expo

SHANGHAI, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Shandong province-based organizations, in a delegation led by the provincial government, attended the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE), held in Shanghai from November 5 to November 10. At the event, they engaged in discussions with other attendees about how to best facilitate the province's economic growth through the platform. During the expo, several exhibitors from the province said they were confident that the event would help them reduce sourcing costs and streamline the import process. Shandong province, known for its many thriving industries, consumes a large amount of raw materials annually. As a result, local companies find themselves in urgent need of streamlining the import process and reducing purchasing costs. Shandong Shilixiang Sesame Products Co., Ltd., for example, imports over 5,000 tons of sesame annually, which had, until now, been purchased from middle-man agents. The expo connected the company with suppliers in the African countries where the plant originates, eliminating the need to have any entity acting as a go-between and cutting the procurement costs by 5 percent or 1.5 million yuan (approx. US$215,000) per year. Weihai Runze Food Co., Ltd. had to travel to Brzil, Chile and other countries across the Americas to secure its supply of goods. Through the easy-to-navigate platform designed for importers by CIIE, the company signed 100 million yuan (approx. US$14 million) in procurement agreements with beef suppliers from Brazil and Argentina, without the need to send staff to the countries in question. An executive at the food firm said the company's imports in 2019 may double from this year.



Linyi Youyou Wood Industry Co., Ltd., a company primarily engaged in the export of wood flooring, is currently in need of upgrading its products. The company attended the event with the intention of purchasing industrial production equipment with a budget ranging between 100 and 200 million yuan (US$14 to 29 million) as part of its long-range plan to build automated and intelligent product lines. Taishan Tourism Group Co., Ltd. attended the event with the aim of enriching its tourism resources and offerings in and around Mount Tai by studying the latest techniques deployed by foreign travel agencies and performance arts companies.

After watching the demonstrations of the application scenarios for intelligent devices and instruments, a representative from Longkou Bosida Instruments and Apparatuses said the showcasing of advanced technologies developed in foreign countries at the event inspired the company to seek new opportunities with an open mind. Shandong province-based companies attending the expo expressed their interest in introducing more leading technologies and products into the domestic market. They believe CIIE will provide the most forward-looking among local firms an opportunity to expand globally and cooperate with international companies, helping boost the economic and social development of the province. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shandong-province-based-companies-seek-new-business-opportunities-at-china-international-import-expo-300749970.html SOURCE Information Office of the People's Government of Shandong Province

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Basilea presents preclinical data on its anticancer drug candidate BAL101553 at EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium

Late-breaking abstracts on increased cure rates and synergistic effects of combinations with eribulin and gemcitabine in solid tumor models

Enhanced survival in a brain tumor model after single agent treatment Basel, Switzerland, November 14, 2018 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) announced today that it is presenting new preclinical data on its clinical stage anticancer drug candidate BAL101553 at the 30th EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland, November 13-16, 2018. Two posters are presented in the late-breaking abstract session. Late-breaking abstracts are selected to highlight novel and potentially practice-changing studies, e.g. ground-breaking and unique data that would not otherwise have been presented at the conference. These posters are showing data on the anticancer effects of BAL101553 in combination with eribulin or gemcitabine, which are approved anticancer drugs for the treatment of advanced metastatic breast cancer and pancreatic cancer, respectively. Dr. Marc Engelhardt, Chief Medical Officer, said: "We are pleased that our two abstracts have been selected as late-breaking. The preclinical data show well-tolerated profound synergistic anticancer effects of BAL101553 in combination with the well-established cancer drugs eribulin and gemcitabine, suggesting that such combinations could also be advantageous for patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer and pancreatic cancer." The first poster shows a highly synergistic anticancer effect of the combination of BAL101553 with eribulin in in-vitro cancer models. Moreover, such combinations are shown to be associated with a dose-dependent significant increase of complete regressions, i.e. cures of up to 80% in an animal model of triple-negative breast cancer. The second poster shows that the combination of BAL101553 with gemcitabine led to complete regression in an animal model of pancreatic cancer (PDAC), compared to tumor size stabilization (stasis) with gemcitabine alone. Upon treatment cessation, tumors in the gemcitabine monotherapy group regrew while 40-80% of the animals in the combination groups remained in complete regression and were confirmed as cures. A third poster presented at the symposium includes data generated in collaboration with the research group of Prof. Diane Braguer of the Aix-Marseille University, France. The data show that BAL101553 significantly increases the survival duration in an animal model of glioblastoma (brain cancer) after long-term oral administration. The survival benefit was largest in tumors expressing the EB-1 protein, which has previously been identified as a potential predictive biomarker of tumor response to BAL101553.1 In addition, the data show that BAL101553 counteracts the formation of tumor vessels (angiogenesis), thus cutting off the tumor from blood and nutrition supply and potentially adding to the direct anticancer effect. Presentation on BAL101553 at the EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium BAL101553, a novel microtubule-targeting tumor checkpoint controller, in combination with eribulin leads to increased cures in a TNBC xenograft model. N. Forster-Gros, F. Bachmann, P. McSheehy, H. A. Lane. Tuesday, November 13 to Friday, November 16, 2018, 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Exhibition Hall, Poster Board 214, Late-Breaking Abstract 11 BAL101553, a novel mirotubule-targeting tumor checkpoint controller, synergizes with gemcitabine providing cures in a PDX-pancreatic model. H. Lane, P. McSheehy, F. Bachmann. Tuesday, November 13 to Friday, November 16, 2018, 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Exhibition Hall, Poster Board 216, Late-Breaking Abstract 16



EB1-dependent long survival of glioblastoma cancer stem-like cell tumor-bearing mice after daily oral treatment with the novel Tumor Checkpoint Controller BAL101553. R. Berges, A. Tchoghandjian, A. Serge, D. Figarella-Branger, F. Bachmann, H. Lane, D. Braguer. Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Exhibition Hall, Poster Board 017 For further information please visit www.ecco-org.eu/Events/ENA2018.

About BAL101553

Basilea's oncology drug candidate BAL101553 (the prodrug of BAL27862)2 is being developed as a potential therapy for diverse cancers. The drug candidate is currently in phase 1/2a clinical evaluation. In Switzerland, a phase 2a expansion study is exploring the drug in recurrent glioblastoma and platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients using weekly 48-hour infusion. In the UK, phase 1 dose escalation is ongoing in recurrent or progressive glioblastoma patients with daily oral administration. In preclinical studies, the drug candidate demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo activity against diverse treatment-resistant cancer models, including tumors refractory to conventional approved therapeutics and radiotherapy. 3, 4, 5 BAL101553 efficiently distributes to the brain, with anticancer activity in glioblastoma models.1, 6, 7 The active moiety BAL27862 binds the colchicine site of tubulin with distinct effects on microtubule organization,8 resulting in the activation of the "spindle assembly checkpoint" which promotes tumor cell death.9 About Basilea

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing products that address the medical challenge of increasing resistance and non-response to current treatment options in the therapeutic areas of bacterial infections, fungal infections and cancer. With two commercialized drugs, the company is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Additional information can be found at Basilea's website www.basilea.com. Disclaimer

This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD

Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations

+41 61 606 1102

[email protected]

[email protected] This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. References 1 R. Berges et al. The novel tubulin-binding checkpoint activator BAL101553 inhibits EB1-dependent migration and invasion and promotes differentiation of glioblastoma stem-like cells. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2016 (15), 2740-2749

2 J. Pohlmann et al. BAL101553: An optimized prodrug of the microtubule destabilizer BAL27862 with superior antitumor activity. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2011, abstract 1347; Cancer Research 2011, 71 (8 supplement)

3 A. Broggini-Tenzer et al. The novel microtubule-destabilizing drug BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862) sensitizes a treatment refractory tumor model to ionizing radiation. EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium 2014, abstract 202

4 G. E. Duran et al. In vitro activity of the novel tubulin active agent BAL27862 in MDR1(+) and MDR1(-) human breast and ovarian cancer variants selected for resistance to taxanes. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2010, abstract 4412

5 F. Bachmann et al. BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862): A unique microtubule destabilizer active against drug refractory breast cancers alone and in combination with trastuzumab. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2014, abstract 831

6 A. Schmitt-Hoffmann et al. BAL27862: a unique microtubule-targeted agent with a potential for the treatment of human brain tumors. AACR-NCI-EORTC conference 2009, abstract C233; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2009, 8 (12 Supplement)

7 A. C. Mladek et al. The novel tubulin-binding 'tumor checkpoint controller' BAL101553 has anti-cancer activity alone and in combination treatments across a panel of GBM patient-derived xenografts. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2016, abstract 4781

8 A. E. Prota et al. The novel microtubule-destabilizing drug BAL27862 binds to the colchicine site of tubulin with distinct effects on microtubule organization. Journal of Molecular Biology 2014 (426), 1848-1860

9 F. Bachmann et al. BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862): the spindle assembly checkpoint is required for anticancer activity. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2015, abstract 3789 Attachment Press release (PDF).pdf

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Kenetic Bucks Crypto Market Trend with YTD 77% Returns in Investment Portfolio

Kenetic, a blockchain investment and advisory firm based in Hong Kong, has revealed that its proprietary investment portfolio has recorded year-to-date returns of 77 percent as of October 31, 2018, against a backdrop of major losses in the cryptocurrency market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113006323/en/ After hitting its record high in December 2017, Bitcoin has fallen over 50 percent in 2018 and the overall crypto market is down around 65%. Kenetic's proprietary investment portfolio is comprised of its best ideas that have undergone thorough due diligence by its experienced investment team. Its alpha-generating strategies are largely focused on early stage investments, catalyst driven events and macro themes, complemented by prudent risk management and proprietary in-house trading tools. "As active leaders in the global blockchain community, we see where the strongest investment opportunities lie and rising trends that are influencing traditional industries," said Daniel Weinberg, CEO of Kenetic. "During this volatile period, our proprietary investment portfolio continued to outperform many crypto funds as a result of our deep institutional investment experience and strong risk management." To facilitate professional investor access to these opportunities, Kenetic and Venture Smart Asia Limited (VSAL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Venture Smart Financial Group (VSFG) and a Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission-licensed corporation that provides wealth management and asset management services, have established a strategic partnership that will give qualified professional investors access to cryptocurrency investment funds.



Through this partnership, the two companies will work together to develop cryptocurrency investment funds for professional investors leveraging the respective expertise and resources of both entities. Distributed by VSAL, the new funds will offer eligible investors the ability to diversify their portfolios with digital assets across different passive and active strategies. "VSAL and Kenetic have a strong partnership and are building institutional-grade investment products in the digital asset space," said Mark Brady, Executive Director at VSFG. "We work with the best partners to build products that will meet the highest standards of any buy-side institution. Pairing Kenetic's blockchain expertise with VSAL's customized asset management solutions will help institutional investors gain access to fund products that suit their needs."

About Kenetic Kenetic is a blockchain firm committed to expanding the development and adoption of blockchain technology through investments, advisory services, markets and trading. At Kenetic, we believe in building a sustainable community around blockchain, and have built a world-class team and network of partners across our platform of services. For more information, please visit www.kenetic.capital. About VSFG Venture Smart Financial Group (VSFG) is a diversified financial services group that provides clients with customized asset management solutions through its subsidiaries to seize global investment opportunities. VSFG is committed to helping individuals, families and corporations meet their financial objectives. For more information, please visit www.vsfg.com. Venture Smart Asia Limited is a licensed corporation regulated by the SFC for types 1 (dealing in securities), 4 (advising on securities) and 9 (asset management) regulated activities pursuant to the SFO ("VSAL") with CE No. BCO 369. DISCLAIMER This press release is for general information only and should be used solely for reference and not for any other purposes, commercial or otherwise. For the avoidance of doubt, this press release is not intended to be and does not constitute (a) investment advice or recommendation or (b) an offer to sell or issue or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any securities. This press release does not form the basis of and should not be relied upon in connection with any contract or commitment. Any investment decision must be made solely on the basis of your own due diligence and assessment and you should seek professional advice as appropriate. Neither VSFG nor Kenetic nor their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, consultants or agents accept any liability whatsoever for any decisions taken based upon this press release. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given or made. The information in this press release has not been audited. Actual realised returns on unrealised or illiquid investments may differ materially. All forward-looking statements, estimates and opinions in this press release, by their very nature, may be based on certain assumptions and may or may not turn out to be true, and will be subject to change without notice. Any reference to past performance or return should not be taken as an indication of future performance or return. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113006323/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Millennials and Gen Z Cite Higher Income as Leading Reason for Expected Increase in Holiday Spending

Twenty-five percent of consumers plan to spend more this holiday season than they did last year, according to Discover's annual holiday shopping survey. Younger generations are leading the charge, as 35 percent of Millennials and 33 percent of Generation Z report an expected bump in spending, compared to 26 percent of Generation X and 16 percent of Baby Boomers. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005128/en/ 25% of consumers plan to spend more this holiday season, according to Discover's annual holiday shopping survey. (Photo: Business Wire) The reasons consumers expect to spend more vary between younger and older generations. Gen Z (51 percent) and Millennials (40 percent) say higher wages will fuel increased spending, whereas Gen X (38 percent) and Baby Boomers (36 percent) will boost spending to accommodate more people on their shopping list. The number of those who expect to use credit cards to pay for most of their holiday gifts jumped to 38 percent this year, up from 32 percent in 2017. Less than a quarter, 24 percent, plan to use debit cards to pay for most of their gifts, and 20 percent will primarily use cash. Among those who favor credit cards when making holiday purchases, 54 percent say earning rewards is the driving factor, up from 42 percent last year. "The holidays are the busiest shopping season of the year and our goal is to make it as simple and seamless as possible for our cardmembers to earn rewards every time they use their Discover card," said Laks Vasudevan, Discover's vice president of card programs, strategy and marketing. "Rewards are a major driver for our cardmembers, which is why we help maximize their earning potential during the holidays by aligning our 5% cashback program with popular seasonal categories like Amazon.com (News - Alert) and wholesale clubs." Now through December, Discover cardmembers can earn 5% Cashback Bonus at Amazon.com and wholesale clubs on up to $1,500 in purchases after activation. Gen Z Leads the Way for Mobile Shopping; Millennials Flip the Script on Wearables, IoT Devices This marks the first year Discover included Gen Z as its own distinct generation in its annual survey. In doing so, the survey revealed the youngest generation as being tech savvy holiday shoppers. Gen Z led th way with 80 percent planning to use their mobile device to shop for holiday gifts, compared to 73 percent of Millennials, 62 percent of Gen X and 41 percent of Baby Boomers. Among those who plan to shop on their mobile devices, 67 percent of Gen Z say they will do so for all or most of their holiday shopping, compared to 66 percent of Millennials, 56 percent of Gen X and 39 percent of Baby Boomers.



Millennials slightly outpace Gen Z when it comes to embracing emerging technologies like wearables and voice-activated devices when holiday shopping. Thirty-six percent of Millennials and 35 percent of Gen Z plan to use a wearable or Internet of Things (IoT) device-for example, a payment-enabled watch or appliance-to make holiday purchases, compared to 24 percent of Gen X and 8 percent of Baby Boomers. Likewise, 29 percent of Millennials and 27 percent of Gen Z plan to use a voice-activated smart speaker to aid in their holiday shopping, compared to 23 percent of Gen X and 8 percent of Baby Boomers. Concern over Identity Theft Is Down, but Most Consumers Remain Vigilant

More than half of respondents, 55 percent, say they are very or moderately concerned about identity theft or fraud during the holidays, down from 62 percent last year. Concern cuts across all generations, but levels are higher among Baby Boomers and Gen X, with 60 and 56 percent, respectively, saying they are very or moderately concerned, followed by 49 percent of Gen Z and 48 percent of Millennials. The vast majority of survey respondents, 90 percent, say they take some measure to protect themselves from identity theft or fraud, including 62 percent who say they monitor their financial statements, 41 percent who monitor their credit reports and 39 percent who use a credit card with built-in security features. "As consumers embrace new digital technologies while holiday shopping, such as smart speakers and wearable devices, Discover aims to provide peace of mind to its cardmembers by offering a number of free security features on all of our cards, like monitoring every Discover card purchase every day, and offering Social Security number and new account alerts1 that cardmembers can sign up for," adds Vasudevan. For more information about Discover card security features, go to discover.com/security. For more information about Discover card rewards, go to discover.com/rewards. About Discover's 2018 Holiday Shopping Survey The national survey of 2,006 U.S. consumers ages 18 and up was commissioned by Discover and conducted by Research Now, an independent survey research firm, between October 19 and October 23, 2018. The maximum margin of sampling error was 2 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence. Generations are defined as: Generation Z, born after 1997; Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996; Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980; and Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. About Discover Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company issues the Discover card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers private student loans, personal loans, home equity loans, checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit through its direct banking business. It operates the Discover Global Network comprised of Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in 190 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discover.com/company. 1 Discover Identity Alerts currently include the following services: (a) daily monitoring of your Experian credit report and an alert when a new account is listed on your report; (b) daily monitoring of thousands of risky websites known for revealing personal information and an alert if your Social Security Number on is found on such a website. The Primary cardmember must agree online to receive identity alerts. To see a list of Frequently Asked Questions, visit discover.com/freealerts. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005128/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] AlgoSec Delivers Native Cloud Security Management for Microsoft Azure Firewall

AlgoSec interoperability with Microsoft Azure Firewall enables another option for security management in the cloud and on premises RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AlgoSec, a leading provider of business-driven security policy management solutions, announced today it has signed a technology collaboration agreement with Microsoft to offer interoperability between the AlgoSec Security Management Suite and Microsoft Azure Firewall to support central security management. AlgoSecs new solution will allow an intuitive and effective central management capability for Azure Firewall, Microsoft's new cloud-native, firewall-as-a-service. Azure Firewall customers will be able to consistently manage multiple instances of Azure Firewalls across different regions and multiple Azure accounts. AlgoSec customers can already manage Azure security controls, enabling unified security policy management. The collaboration will extend this capability to a fully integrated solution that offers central management of Azure Firewall alongside Network Security Groups and 3rd party security devices such as virtual firewalls deployed in Azure, security controls of other clouds, and on-premises firewalls and SDN solutions. As enterprises accelerate their Microsoft Azure adoption strategies, they reqire a greater ability to manage all the security controls and devices that protect their deployments, said Anner Kushnir, VP Technology at AlgoSec. The collaboration will enable enterprises to accelerate their Azure deployments, safe in the knowledge that they have full visibility and control over the security devices that protect their cloud estates."



The collaboration between AlgoSec and Microsoft will provide customers with end-to-end visibility into their cloud estates, pinpointing security risks and misconfigurations while facilitating connectivity troubleshooting and comprehensive security policy management. Prasetha Warrier, Principal Product Manager, Azure Networking at Microsoft Corp. said, Security, and how it is managed on a continual basis, is a key concern for migrating business applications to the cloud. We are pleased to work with Algosec to provide a central management experience for the Microsoft Azure Firewall alongside all other security controls in our customers environments. This enables them to confidently accelerate their Azure deployments and enforce and monitor security vulnerabilities.

The AlgoSec cloud security management solution for Azure Firewall will be available for select customers this quarter and will be publicly available in Q1 19. Azure customers are already welcome to register for a private preview of the solution now. About AlgoSec

The leading provider of business-driven security management solutions, AlgoSec helps the worlds largest organizations align security with their mission-critical business processes. With AlgoSec, users can discover, map and migrate business application connectivity, proactively analyze risk from the business perspective, tie cyber-attacks to business processes and intelligently automate network security changes with zero touch  across their cloud, SDN and on-premise networks. Over 1,800 enterprises, including 20 of the Fortune 50, utilize AlgoSecs solutions to make their organizations more agile, more secure and more compliant  all the time. Since 2005, AlgoSec has shown its commitment to customer satisfaction with the industrys only money-back guarantee. All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. Media Contacts: Craig Coward

Context Public Relations

[email protected]

+44 (0)1625 511 966



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] New Study Shows the Explosive Growth of Video Conferencing and Proliferation of Solutions Have Created Need for Easier, Consistent Solutions

New Independent Study Shows 84 Percent of Companies Use More than One Cloud-Based Video Conference App Polycom Trio, designed to simplify connectivity, communication and support for video conferencing solutions.







SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Polycom, a part of Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT), released Streamlined Video Conferencing Strategy Drives Business Results, a November 2018 study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Polycom. The study found that video conferencing is growing in usage, in the number of solutions, and in overall complexity for end users and IT alike. These findings showcase the need for consistent, simple experiences to speed the start of meetings and simplify ITs job managing the estate. Key findings of this new global Forrester Study of IT decision makers and professionals include: 74 percent say video conference calls have increased over the past two years.

84 percent reported using two or more cloud-based video conference solutions.

78 percent reported having two or more video conference endpoints in their conference rooms. With the study finding the majority of companies surveyed are using multiple vendors for both endpoints and video cloud applications, complexity is increasing, not decreasing, as new solutions continue to enter the market. In fact, the study showed 96 percent already face challenges managing their video conferencing solutions. The result: a web of services or IT pros to manage, poor user experiences, and mounting frustration for IT and employees alike. According to a Forrester study on call quality, delayed video calls can cost a company more than $1 million in lost productivity annually.i



One solution for IT professionals to manage this growing complexity already is available  Polycom Trio. Polycom Trio family are simple, familiar communications devices that support multiple video conferencing cloud solutions with a consistent experience. Polycom announced support for Cisco WebEx on Polycom Trio this week adding to the growing catalog of cloud-based video systems which includes Zoom, Microsoft, BlueJeans, and Videxio. All these solutions can be accessed, used, and managed through Polycom Trio in any conference room using the same simple experience. Customers are relying on video conferencing to make employees more interactive, collaborative, and efficientthe technology and services they use need to streamline, not complicate, the experience, but this can only happen if video conferencing is a simple, easy, and consistent experience, said Tarun Loomba, Executive Vice President, Product and Solutions Management at Plantronics. Polycom Trio is the simplest way to connect, communicate and be productive using video conferencing, with flexibility for IT professionals and great video conference experiences for their employees.

The Impact on IT

According to the study, IT professionals are facing increased costs and challenges of managing multiple cloud-based video conferencing systems. Those challenges include difficulty in connecting from conference rooms to calls, delayed video calls, poor call quality, and inconsistent user experiences. To combat productivity challenges specifically, 77 percent of IT pros want a consistent user interface and experience across video conference systems. Flexibility for IT pros was another key finding. With 68 percent of companies seeing increases in the number of video conferencing applications being used in their infrastructure, 67 percent want increased flexibility from all the solutions for employees and partners. The flexibility is critical to productivity, as the pace of innovation in the collaboration space is at an all-time high with new competitors, solutions, and features coming to market at a rapid pace. Polycom Trio is the leading conference room experience that offer customers this flexibility with a great user experience. Polycom Trios hybrid registration feature lets users toggle between ITSP providers to legacy call control platforms to its increasing array of cloud-based video conferencing services instead of being locked into using a single provider. Known for legendary HD voice quality, powerful video and content performance, the Polycom Trio is a perfect smartphone for every size meeting spacefrom the smallest huddle room to the largest auditorium. The Polycom Trio features high-end video capabilities needed by large meeting rooms, such as facial tracking, dual monitor support, superior audio coverage, and easy content sharing. To access the entire Forrester study, click here and for more information on Polycom Trio, visit Polycom Trio . _________________



i Brief: Start Your Video Conferences on Time, Forrester Research, Inc., October 24, 2016 About Plantronics Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a leader in the communications industry. Plantronics technology creates rich, natural, people-first audio and collaboration experiences so good ideas can be shared and heardwherever, whenever and however they happen. The companys portfolio of integrated communications and collaboration solutions spans headsets, software, desk phones, audio and video conferencing, analytics and services. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike and are a leading choice for every kind of workspace. For more information visit plantronics.com. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Plantronics Media Contact: Jim Cullinan VP, Corporate Communications +1 (408) 586.3920 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2dd292e0-f72e-4a11-82a5-e42ea7626b1a

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] PropertyGuys.com Expands Into the United States With Master Agreement That Will Add More Than One Hundred New Franchises to its Network

Leading Canadian real estate disruptor awards state wide Master Franchise Agreement to Florida investment group MONCTON, NB, Nov.14, 2018 /CNW/ - PropertyGuys.com, Canada's premier private sale marketing group, is pleased to announce that it has officially awarded a Master Franchise Licence for its proprietary real estate platform within the state of Florida. The company, now the largest private sale real estate franchise network in Canada, has made the U.S a strategic target to fuel its franchise growth over the coming years. "We've been extremely strategic and diligent on expanding south of the border," explained Ken LeBlanc, President and CEO of PropertyGuys.com. "Not only have we waited for the right time to enter the US housing market, but we've also attracted quality partners who share our vision for disrupting real estate." The agreement entered into with a private group of seasoned entrepreneurs gives the group the rights to devlop PropertyGuys.com franchises throughout the state of Florida. The deal could represent well over 100 new locations within the state. The company is also planning to expand strategically into other states, which would bring its US franchise unit count well into the thousands in coming years.



"Florida is so attractive for us because it's a top destination for Canadian travelers and investors alike who recognize our brand - giving us a strong foundation as we expand throughout the State and beyond," continued LeBlanc. "It's exciting and humbling to be awarded the first Master Franchise in the US," stated Patrick Belanger, who leads the investment group. "We're excited to be part of bringing this innovative and proven approach to the Florida market and look forward to replicating the success PropertyGuys.com has enjoyed in Canada across Florida."

The southern expansion comes at a time where tech-focused real estate plays like PropertyGuys.com are red-hot in both the public and private markets. Last year alone, more than $5 billion in VC-led capital entered into the US real estate market, driven by a movement to overhaul the way that buyers and sellers connect using technology. "Real estate provides investors with access to a huge asset class - touching where every person lives, works and plays," said PropertyGuys.com Director of Partnerships, Walter Melanson. "PropertyGuys.com is at the forefront of this movement within Canada and sees the trend continuing." More details regarding Florida franchise unit availability and other Master Franchise territories will be available soon at http://info.propertyguys.com/usa/. About PropertyGuys.com

PropertyGuys.com has perfected their bold approach to real estate over the past 20 years. As Canada's Largest Private Sale Network, they've helped over 85,000 home sellers discover A Smarter Way to Sell. By connecting buyers and sellers directly, they effectively cut out the expensive middleman - saving thousands in the process. Their system ensures that all the bases are covered with their leading team of experts who help homeowners navigate the sale of their home. SOURCE PropertyGuys.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Lorex 4K Nocturnals Now Record in Revolutionary 30 Frames-per-second

MARKHAM, ON, Nov. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - Lorex Technology, the world leader in consumer and small business security solutions based in Canada, is pleased to announce a new line of all-black 4K Nocturnal bullet security cameras that can record 4K Ultra HD video in 30fps featuring Color Night Vision. With these excellent Nocturnal cameras recording 4K footage at 30fps, expect to see even smoother on-screen motion that would have otherwise appeared choppy in lower frame rates. Way ahead of the competition Recording 4K footage at 30fps is a game-changing feature that, without a doubt, sets these latest Nocturnal security cameras way ahead from the competition. The flawless and life-like movement displayed in 30fps stems from a higher number of images appearing in each frame per second  in this case, thirty as opposed to fifteen. The higher number of images results in heightened video quality, highly detailed recordings and most importantly, additional still frames to choose from if evidence is needed. This is contrary to lower frame ratesin which motion may appear uneven or unnatural, thus producing unsatisfactory video recordings where relevant details are not as clear-cut and can be hard to decipher.



Improved image sensor These Nocturnal security cameras also come equipped with a highly improved image sensor that makes them capable of recording 4K video. Known for its stellar low-light performance, this image sensor uses back-illuminated pixel technology that captures more light for enhanced long-range color night vision and acts as a buffer against unwanted grain or noise that can potentially compromise video quality.

Built-in mic for added security Furthermore, these 4K Nocturnal cameras have a built-in microphone for listen-in audio that expands coverage beyond the camera's field of view and provides an invaluable security feature: voices and sound along with the video. About Lorex Technology Established in 1993 in Markham, Ontario, Lorex Technology is the authority in the home and small business video camera solutions. For over 25 years, Lorex Technology has provided top-of-the-line video technology products to its customers in North America and around the world. Today, Lorex Technology prides itself as a leader in do-it-yourself (DIY) and professional-grade home and business security solutions and continues to develop sophisticated and cutting-edge technologies aimed at helping customers protect their loved ones and property. Find out more about Lorex Technology at www.lorextechnology.com or on Facebook and Twitter. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lorex-4k-nocturnals-now-record-in-revolutionary-30-frames-per-second-300749893.html SOURCE LOREX Technology Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] USMJ and Landstar Plan to Bring Data Privacy and HIPAA Compliance to Marijuana Consumers

DALLAS, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (USOTC: USMJ) ("USMJ") today announced engaging with LandStar, Inc. (USOTC: LDSR) to integrate the proprietary personal privacy software solutions of LandStar's subsidiary, Data443, into USMJ's soon to be launched cannabis sector ecommerce site. LandStar is an industry leading data security and privacy solution provider recently featured alongside Microsoft and Facebook in a a feature on the subject of personal data privacy. LandStar recently announced developing a personal privacy and HIPPA compliant solution for the marijuana industry. USMJ has recently announced the imminent launch of an ecommerce site for cannabis consumers. The two companies have engaged each other to leverage USMJ's cannabis sector experience and LandStar's leading personal privacy solutions to ultimately introduce the first personal privacy and HIPAA complaint cannabis consumer transaction solution into the burgeoning marijuana industry. USMJ's ecommerce site will be the proving ground for the personal privacy and HIPAA complaint cannabis consumer transaction solution that will the be made available marijuana industry wide. Personal data privacy is now regulated worldwide, and enforcement oversight is growing. With the expanding legalization of marijuana, health data privacy enforcement is bound to become a notable issue for cannabis vendors. LandStar, with USMJ as a proof of concept, will have arguably the first proven personal privacy and HIPAA complaint solution available for the marijuana marketplace. The working agreement between USMJ and LandStar is currently focused on providing USMJ's ecommerce site with one-of-a-kind in the marijuana industry privacy solution just for USMJ consumers. The larger follow on objective is to introduce a proven personal data privacy and HIPAA compliant solution marijuana industry wide. The plan for the shareholders of both companies to benefit from the achievement of the larger objective is for LandStar to own and sell the solution and for USMJ to have a residual royalty from the sales of the LandStar solution. Look for more detailed information coming soon to be published on the respective websites of the two companies and for further announcements to be forthcoming in conjunction with the rollout of USMJ's ecommerce site.



Learn more about USMJ at www.growusmj.com Learn more about LandStar at http://www.data443.com

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Steven Rash

CEO North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc.

[email protected]

+1-800-861-1350 SOURCE North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Chip Downing Joins RTI to Lead Company's Global Aerospace and Defense Market

Industry Luminary Brings Deep Embedded Industry Experience from Across the A&D Market SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Real-Time Innovations (RTI) , the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connectivity company, today announced that Chip Downing has joined the company as Senior Director of Aerospace and Defense (A&D). Downing will lead RTIs business across applications within the A&D market and drive open architecture systems worldwide. RTI has a deep history in A&D. RTIs software forms the core network architecture for most U.S. Navy surface ships, most unmanned vehicle programs and hundreds of other programs. RTI customers include all major defense suppliers including Airbus, Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and General Atomics. Downing will drive the go-to-market strategy for RTIs top A&D applications including avionics, training and simulation, unmanned vehicles and naval systems. Downing joins RTI from Wind River Systems where he was responsible for business development for the companys global A&D markets. During his 14-year Wind River tenure, design wins for certified avionics products grew to more than 500 projects. Downing has held previous leadership positions at Esterel Technologies, Validated Software, OnCore Systems and Mentor Graphics. Downing was a pioneer in creating commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions to safety standards including RTCA DO-178. He helped drive critical industry standards into the commercial and military aerospace market, such as ARINC 653 and the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE). Downing will extend RTIs leadership deeper into FACE. RTI has been an active member of the The Open Group FACE Consortium since 2010. RTIs Connext DDS-basd Transport Services Segment (TSS) provides a fast path to enable FACE and safety certification. Downing is the elected FACE Business Working Group (BWG) Chair. He also serves as Chair of the FACE Consortium BWG Outreach Subcommittee, promoting the FACE approach globally. With Downings new position and the companys TSS product, RTI will stake out a clear leadership role in the future of aviation.







Aerospace and Defense is RTIs first major vertical market. Our initial market traction came when the U.S. Navy adopted the DDS standard for the most critical communications across the surface fleet. We have since grown to power over 1,000 mission-critical A&D and commercial applications, said Stan Schneider, CEO at RTI. We are thrilled to welcome Chip Downing to the RTI team to help us expand our A&D footprint globally. Chip is a true industry luminary; his knowledge and experience make him the ideal leader for this role. As A&D systems continue to grow in complexity, RTIs Connext DDS is the ideal solution to help manage this complexity, and create a foundation for rapidly and reliably inserting new capabilities, said Chip Downing. In addition, RTIs latest product, RTI Connext DDS Secure, enables the global DDS community to design in robust OMG DDS Security capabilities to provide authentication, access control, encryption and logging  critical components of robust system security strategies.

At RTI, Downings responsibilities will include identifying new application opportunities, and driving standardization and consortia efforts. Downing will build upon the companys market leadership and proven success in mission-critical deployments. He will add to RTIs growing, deep expertise in A&D, building on RTIs announcement of an advisory board including Thomas Baptiste, an expert in simulation. For more information on RTIs work in Aerospace and Defense, please visit: https://bit.ly/2AWemeH About RTI Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connectivity company. The RTI Connext Databus is a software framework that shares information in real time, making applications work together as one, integrated system. It connects across field, fog and cloud. Its reliability, security, performance and scalability are proven in the most demanding industrial systems. Deployed systems include medical devices and imaging; wind, hydro and solar power; autonomous planes, trains and cars; traffic control; Oil and Gas; robotics, ships, and defense. RTI lives at the intersection of functional artificial intelligence and pervasive networkingSM. RTI is the largest vendor of products based on the Object Management Group (OMG) Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard. RTI is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. Download a free 30-day trial of the latest, fully-functional Connext DDS software today: https://www.rti.com/downloads . Media Contacts:

Rachel Shatz

Karbo Communications for RTI

[email protected]

Cameron Emery

Public Relations Senior Manager at RTI

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Surescripts Prescription Price Transparency Tool Realizes Massive Provider Adoption, Achieves Breakthrough in Healthcare Market

The Surescripts Network Alliance is experiencing one of its fastest health information technology adoption curves to date as it transforms the prescription decision process, with a fortyfold increase in the number of prescribers utilizing its Real-Time Prescription Benefit tool since it launched last year. To date, prescribers have used the tool 30 million times to view patient-specific prescription price and therapeutic alternative information, integrated with their electronic health record (EHR) software, at the point of care. EHR vendors representing 77 percent of the market have already signed on, including Allscripts, Aprima Medical Software, Cerner (News - Alert), eClinicalWorks, Epic, Modernizing Medicine and NextGen Healthcare. Surescripts Real-Time Prescription Benefit gives prescribers access to patient-specific and formulary-based benefit and cost information for 70 percent of U.S. covered lives and growing. This information is provided directly by leading pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health plans, including CVS Health, DST (recently acquired by SS&C Technologies), Express Scripts and Navitus Health Solutions. "Our differentiated Real-Time Prescription Benefit solution, combined with Electronic Prior Authorization and E-Prescribing, is designed to deliver patient-specific, accurate and formulary-based price and therapeutic alternative information at the point of care while protecting prescriber and patient choice," said Tom Skelton, Chief Executive Officer of Surescripts. "Together with our partners, the Surescripts Network Alliance has achieved a breakthrough in prescription price transparency that benefits patients and providers with greater efficiency, reduced costs, and increased satisfaction." CVS Health recently reported that its PBM members are saving an average of $130 per prescription fill when prescribers use Real-Time Prescription Benefit information and switch to a lower-cost therapeutic alternative. According to CVS Health, prescribers using Real-Time Prescription Benefit are switchng to a covered drug 75 percent of the time when the originally-prescribed drug is not on the member's formulary. In instances where the original drug is covered, but a lower-cost clinically appropriate brand or generic alternative is available, prescribers are switching patients to a lower-cost alternative 40 percent of the time.



"Realizing the potential to make medications more affordable for members, we are now offering Real-Time Prescription Benefit to all of our clients," said Alan Van Amber, Vice President of Provider Services for Navitus. "We're pleased that this solution will provide greater transparency when it comes to prescription costs and empower providers and members to make more cost-effective decisions." According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), national health expenditure growth is expected to average 5.5 percent annually between 2017 and 2026, while prescription spending growth is projected to average 6.3 percent. Meanwhile, a $10 increase in copay raises the likelihood of prescription abandonment by 10 percent, and 40 percent of patients abandon treatment due to prescription fill delays associated with the manual prior authorization process.

"At Express Scripts, it is our long-standing mission to make healthcare less costly and less complicated for our plans and members. Access to real-time information that can direct patients to the most clinically appropriate and cost-effective therapy, delivered conveniently and at the most important points in their care continuum, activates their best intentions and leads to better health outcomes," said Lynne Nowak, M.D., Chief Physician Experience Officer at Express Scripts. "Both Real-Time Prescription Benefit and Electronic Prior Authorization - which is 11 times faster than traditional prior authorization processes and returns decisions in under two minutes - are a win for physicians, payers and patients." Real-Time Prescription Benefit enables clinicians to quickly see if a prior authorization is required and view therapeutic alternatives, including those that don't require a prior authorization-all within their EHR workflow. When used together, Surescripts Real-Time Prescription Benefit, Electronic Prior Authorization and E-Prescribing create the ideal prescribing scenario and simplify every prescription decision for every patient, every time. About Surescripts Our purpose is to serve the nation with the single most trusted and capable health information network, built to increase patient safety, lower costs and ensure quality care. Since 2001, Surescripts has led the movement to turn data into actionable intelligence, and convened the Surescripts Network Alliance to enhance prescribing, inform care decisions and advance the healthcare industry. Visit us at surescripts.com and follow us at twitter.com/surescripts. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005281/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] ZMicro Honored by Military & Aerospace Electronics 2018 Innovators Awards Program

ZMicro today announced that its ZM3 Mission Computer was recognized by the judges of the annual Military & Aerospace Electronics Innovators Awards program. The judging panel consisted of a group of senior third-party experts. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005203/en/ The ZM3 Mission Computer is the industry's smallest, lightest, most capable rugged computer available with support for the NVIDIA (News - Alert) Quadro P6000 GPU. (Graphic: Business Wire) ZMicro was honored with a gold award for innovation in C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance). The ZM3 Mission Computer is the industry's smallest, lightest, most capable rugged computer available with support for the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 GPU. It is designed to provide the enterprise-class capabilities of a rack mount server in a fraction of the size and weight, making it ideal for space-constrained applications such as manned and unmanned airborne ISR. "We are very proud to have our ZM3 Mission Computer selected for recognition by the judges of the Military & Aerospace Electronics Innovators Awards," said Jason Wade, President of ZMicro. "This honor is a testament to the commitment we've made to offer innovative solutions that use leading-edge technology to address the unique challenges our military customers face."



Alan Bergstein, publisher of Military & Aerospace Electronics (www.militaryaerospace.com), said, "This prestigious program allows Military & Aerospace Electronics to celebrate and recognize the most innovative products and services in the military electronics industry. Our 2018 Honorees are an outstanding example of companies who are making an impact." The Innovators Awards are judged based on the following criteria:

Innovation

Value to the User

Sustainability

Meeting a Defined Need

Collaboration

Impact The 2018 Military & Aerospace Electronics Innovators Awards Honorees are featured in the December Issue of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine as well as on www.militaryaerospace.com. About Military & Aerospace Electronics Published since 1990, Military & Aerospace Electronics delivers time-sensitive news, in-depth analyses, case studies, and real-world applications of new products, industry opinion, and the latest trends in the use of mil-spec, rugged and commercial off-the-shelf components. The Military & Aerospace Electronics brand includes the magazine, website (www.militaryaerospace.com), email newsletters and webcasts. About The Military & Aerospace Electronics 2018 Innovators Awards Program The Military & Aerospace Electronics Innovation Awards celebrates the most innovative applications of aerospace and defense electronics technology products and systems. Awards are presented to organizations that demonstrate excellence in the use of a product or system. Submissions are accepted from designers and integrators, and users of military and aerospace electronics systems. About ZMicro ZMicro has been supplying MIL-SPEC computing solutions to U.S. military and intelligence system integrators for more than 30 years and has earned a reputation for superior product quality, reliability, and performance. ZMicro understands the challenges customers face and has the expertise and resources to address stringent and complex program requirements. The company's commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products include rugged flat panel displays, high-performance computers, flexible storage systems, and real-time video enhancement solutions. For more information, visit www.zmicro.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005203/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Myomo Announces First Adolescent Patients to be Fitted with MyoPro

Myomo, Inc., a wearable medical robotics company, has achieved recent momentum fitting and delivering MyoPro to adolescent users. Approved to assist young adults suffering from any disease or injury leaving them with a paralyzed or weakened arm, MyoPro is restoring motion and functionality to adolescents with conditions such as cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injury, and more. MyoPro is now being tested on Acute Flaccid Myelitis ("AFM") patients with promising results. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005049/en/ The first adolescent user to be fitted, Zeke Dees, has regained his independence after almost a decade of only having use of one arm and credits his MyoPro device for transforming his life. When he was 8 years old, he suffered a life-altering ATV accident. At the hospital, doctors discovered that he suffered a brain injury, a spinal cord injury, and a brachial plexus injury. Zeke received surgery and significant, comprehensive therapy and made a remarkable recovery, except for the brachial plexus injury (BPI) to his shoulder, leaving his arm completely paralyzed. Subsequently, Zeke had to try to do everything again with one functional arm. Use of the MyoPro robotic brace is continuing to expand and is reaching youth through highly regarded rehabilitation centers including Easterseals, Shriner's Hospitals and esteemed children's hospitals in several cities including Cleveland, Boston, Dallas and Cincinnati. MyoPro has more recently been fitted and delivered to cerebral palsy patients at some of these facilities with promising early results. "The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that sends signals from your spinal cord to your shoulder, arm, and hand. There aren't a lot of non-invasive, clinical interventions for BPI that produce the same results as the MyoPro," said Liz May, pediatric occupational therapist at Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago. "With the help of the MyoPro, we are seeing patients drastically improve their range of motion, spontaneous use, and function of their involved upper extremity, despite paralysis. This device has allowed my patients to find a new state of independence, which has completely transformed their outlook on life." After his njury, Zeke tried to establish a new sense of normalcy and considered the reality of spending the rest of his life only having one functioning arm. Since being fitted for a MyoPro, Zeke has completely changed his attitude and has been able to resume activities his injury previously hindered him from doing such as cutting his food, playing pool and helping with chores around the house.



"My MyoPro device has changed my life dramatically. Not only has it allowed me to gain my independence back, but it's brought strength back to my left arm," said Zeke Dees, an adolescent Myomo user. "I got my brace when I was 17 and I can't imagine life without it. It's already helped me with the activities of daily living that I couldn't do before." Paul R. Gudonis, Chairman and CEO of Myomo, said, "Zeke is just one of many success stories from Myomo patients who have significantly regained the use of a once paralyzed limb. His personal story is yet another example of Myomo's commitment to helping restore function in the arms and hands of individuals who are suffering from the effects of a neuromuscular disease or injury. We are looking forward to providing more adolescents a chance to improve their quality of life, just like Zeke has."

Through patented technology, the MyoPro orthosis can offer individuals living with a paralyzed arm the opportunity to regain function, increasing safety and quality of life in the home and reducing healthcare costs associated with managing upper limb paralysis. For more information about MyoPro for adolescents, please visit www.myomo.com/adolescents. About Myomo Myomo, Inc. is a wearable medical robotics company that offers expanded mobility for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper limb paralysis. Myomo develops and markets the MyoPro product line. MyoPro is a powered upper limb orthosis designed to support the arm and restore function to the weakened or paralyzed arms of patients suffering from CVA stroke, brachial plexus injury, traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, ALS or other neuromuscular disease or injury. It is currently the only marketed device that, sensing a patient's own EMG signals through non-invasive sensors on the arm, can restore an individual's ability to perform activities of daily living, including feeding themselves, carrying objects and doing household tasks. Many are able to return to work, live independently and reduce their cost of care. Myomo is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with sales and clinical professionals across the U.S. For more information, please visit www.myomo.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's future business expectations, including adoption of MyoPro by adolescent users, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward looking statements for many reasons, including, without limitation, risks related to regulatory approval and market acceptance of our products, and the other risk factors contained in our filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. More information about factors that potentially could affect Myomo's business and financial results is included in Myomo's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005049/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Phoenix Life Sciences Receives Import Certificate for Cannabis Diabetes Drug from the Republic of Vanuatu

DENVER, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phoenix Life Sciences International Limited (OTCMarkets: PLSI) (Phoenix Life), an international adaptive healthcare solutions company, today announced that it has received an import certificate from the Republic of Vanuatus Minister of Health to bring its cannabis diabetes drug Phoenix Metabolic into the country for clinical trials.

With this certificate, we look forward to playing a pivotal role in decreasing the size of the global diabetes epidemic, said Phoenix Life Sciences International CEO Martin Tindall. The Republic of Vanuatu just took its first steps to legalize medical cannabis throughout the nation, and we are thrilled to be at the forefront of the industry during this historic time. Phoenix Life can now import its cannabis-based diabetes drug into Vanuatu and the company hopes to soon announce the launch of clinical trials for its first 1,000 patients. In the Republic of Vanuatu, a South Pacific island nation comprised of roughly 80 islands, about 13 percent of the population has diabetes. That translates to about 35,000 of the 265,000 residents, making diabetes the largest cost to the nations healthcare system. Phoenix Metabolic has the potential to significantly decrease Vanuatus yearly cost of diabetes treatments while providing a natural, safer alternative to traditional pharmaceutical medications. "This certificate is the first step in transforming the health of an entire island nation based on a comprehensive, scientific approach to modern illness and disease prevention," said Dr. Philip Blair, Diabetes Director of the Phoenix Life Sciences International Medical Advisory Council. Phoenix Life plans to utilize a vertically-integrated operation to produce its medical cannais pharmaceutical products and ensure maximum efficacy. The company aims to partner with the single-payer healthcare systems of both established and emerging economies to conduct medical studies on cannabis for diabetes and establish programs for diabetes patients to receive the company's botanical products.



For more information on Phoenix Life, please visit https://plsi.co/ . About Phoenix Life Sciences International Limited

Phoenix Life Sciences International Limited (OTCMarkets: PLSI) is an adaptive healthcare solutions company. Our business is to advance research and integrate programs and manufacturing of products that target and treat diabetes, pain, cancer, and address psychological, gastrointestinal, autoimmune, neurological and sleep disorders. We strive to create partnerships and integrate these programs for human health into communities worldwide as part of our Global Health Initiative.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Information contained in this press release regarding Phoenix Life Sciences International, Limited and its subsidiaries, (the Companies) may constitute forward-looking statements or statements which may be deemed or construed to be forward-looking statements. The words plan, forecast, anticipates, estimate, project, intend, expect, should, believe, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve, and are subject to, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Companys actual results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements to differ from the future results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and other factors are more fully discussed in the Companys filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Companies herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by the above-mentioned cautionary statement. The Companies disclaim any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release, except as may be required by law. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and therefore the products sold by Phoenix Life Sciences International are not available on U.S. markets. LEGAL DISCLOSURE Phoenix Life Sciences International does not sell or distribute any products in the United States that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US.CSA). This company does not grow, sell, and distribute cannabis-based products in the United States and is solely involved with the legal distribution of medical cannabis-based products within certain international markets outside of the United States. Investor Contact:

Phone: 1.888.717.5655 or international +1.720.699.7222

E-mail: [email protected] Media Contact:

Kathryn Reinhardt

CMW Media

[email protected]

619-972-3089

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] DarwinAI Announces Explainability Platform for Neural Network Performance

First Version of Explainability Toolkit Now Available to Select Enterprise Customers via Darwins Generative Synthesis Platform

WATERLOO, Ontario, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DarwinAI , a Waterloo, Canada startup creating next-generation technologies for Artificial Intelligence development, today announced the next milestone in its product roadmap with the release of its explainability toolkit for network performance diagnostics. Based on the companys Generative Synthesis technology, this first iteration of the tool provides granular insights into neural network performance. Specifically, the platform provides a detailed breakdown of how a model performs for specific tasks at the layer or neuron level. This deep understanding of the networks components and their involvement in specific tasks enables a developer to fine-tune the model designs for efficiency and accuracy. The introduction of explainability comes two months after the company announced its emergence from stealth, its Generative Synthesis platform, and $3 million in seed funding, co-led by Obvious Ventures and iNovia Capital, as well as angels from the Creative Destruction Lab accelerator in Toronto. Understanding network efficiencies at such a granular level is how our platform is able to achieve such fantastic optimization results, said Sheldon Fernandez, CEO of DarwinAI. With our explainability tool, we are now surfacing this information to our clients, which allows them to better fine-tune their networks for specific tasks. All this is made possible by our patented Generative Synthesis technology, which scrutinizes deep neural networks using AI itself. Explainabilitys Initial Frontier: Neural Network Performance Explainability is key in addressing the black box problem at the heart of deep learning. Given the tremendous complexity of neural networks (hundreds of layers with millions of parameters), it is virtually impossible for a human to understand how such a network makes a decision and, more generally, what makes a good network. Generative Synthesis, DarwinAIs core technology and the product of years of academic research, uses AI itself to understand the capacity of each neuron and its impact on network performance. This data yields valuable insights into howdevelopers can improve the neural network for specific tasks.



It is essential for organizations to understand a neural networks behavior to improve deep learning models, eliminate functional problems and triggers during model development, and ensure a safer, more accurate neural network, said Mike Leone, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. DarwinAIs initial explainability offering for network performance and the Generative Synthesis platform address these industry pain points and underscore the benefits of leveraging AI to analyze and build AI. Human-Machine Collaboration

DarwinAIs Generative Synthesis technology is premised on the power of human-machine collaboration. Whereas the companys initial platform focuses on the generation of highly optimized neural networks, in which developers work with AI to rapidly develop efficient deep neural networks, this second release provides crucial insights into how the network can be improved for particular tasks and low-level behaviors under specific conditions. Generative Synthesis is a powerful technology that accelerates deep learning and enables it at the edge, said Drew Grey, CTO of Voyage and a respected thought leader in the autonomous vehicle space. Moreover, Darwins explainability toolkit gives our team key insights into why and how a network behaves the way it does. Such insights allow us to construct more robust and efficient models. The technology also has the potential to reduce the amount of labelled data we need to purchase by pinpointing a models inefficiencies in certain areas. Our work as an early adopter of Darwins technology has been extremely encouraging. Product Roadmap DarwinAIs initial offerings  deep learning design optimization and explainability for network performance  prefigure an ambitious product roadmap. In the coming months, the company is scheduled to release additional explainability features that will have important implications for the ethical, regulatory and reliability elements of deep learning. These upcoming features can be applied to numerous vertical industries. One upcoming feature includes root-cause analysis, which will allow an engineer to identify the inputs that most influence a particular network decision. Such information can, in turn, highlight problematic correlations, biases in data, edge and boundary cases, and identify ways to rectify these shortcomings. Peering into the black box of deep learning is imperative to unlocking its potential in highly regulated industries, said Professor Alexander Wong, co-founder and chief scientist at DarwinAI. Our initial offerings provide small glimpses into this box, but we are working towards full illumination. Product Availability and Details DarwinAI will be releasing the first version of its explainability toolkit  enabled by the companys Generative Synthesis technology  to enterprise customers, beginning with the neural network performance toolkit at the end of this year. The user interface for neural network performance explainability will include new features for profiling and explaining the performance of deep neural networks. About DarwinAI Founded by renowned academics at the University of Waterloo, DarwinAIs Generative Synthesis technology represents the next evolution in AI development, demystifying the complexities of deep learning neural networks while unraveling their opaqueness. Based on years of distinguished scholarship, the companys patented platform enables deep learning optimization and explainability, with a special emphasis in enabling AI at the edge, where computational and energy resources are limited. To learn more about DarwinAI, visit their website at www.darwinAI.com or follow them @darwinAI on Twitter. Media Contact

Scott Lechner

Offleash for DarwinAI

(530) 521-3095

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Kingston Enhances Award-Winning IronKey D300 Encrypted USB

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, has added new features to its recent Cyber Defense 2018 Global Awards winning IronKey D300 encrypted USB Flash drive to improve device management and security. IronKey (News - Alert) D300 is FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified and uses 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption in XTS mode. Shipping next week, a new Serialized version (D300S) with two new features will further enhance the drive's already advanced level of security to safeguard sensitive data. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005058/en/ Shipping next week, a new Serialized version (D300S) with two new features will further enhance the drive's already advanced level of security to safeguard sensitive data. (Photo: Business Wire) IronKey D300S will have a unique serial number and bar code on the drive itself, allowing network administrators to simply read or scan the code instead of plugging in the drive. When a drive is deployed, returned or during any physical auditing or asset management of hardware, this feature will make the process more efficient and streamlined. The second feature, a virtual keyboard, enables users to enter a password with clicks of the mouse instead of using a physical keyboard, thereby providing a greater level of protection against any possible keylogging when using D300S on other computers. The new Serialized drives will also be available as a Managed model1 (D300SM) that requires IronKey EMS or SafeConsole by DataLocker allowing central management of drive access and usage across thousands of drives. This will be the first IronKey drive that will now be supported on SafeConsole, allowing it to be used by customers who already have it installed. IronKey D300SM will be available Q1 2019. "We're not content on standing pat with any of our products, no matter how good they are," said Richard Kanadjian, encrypted USB business manager, Kingston "The data protection provided by IronKey D300 is already top notch, and we've listened to requests from our customers. These two enhancements in the D300 series add to its industry-leading data-protection capabilities. With Kingston's 30-plus years of expertise in quality technology solutions behind it, along with the latest NAND Flash memory and controller technology, users of any D300 drive can rest assured that their confidential data and information are well protected from the risks and threats associated with loss, theft, or stolen digital devices." Those attending International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC East) 2018 are invited to stop by to hear more about Kingston's complete line of superior data performance solutions for their varied security, data, audio/video, or other application needs. Also on display will be the new IronKey D300S and D300SM encrypted USB before it launches. ISC East is the Northeast's largest and most comprehensive security trade show providing one-on-one conversations with the industry's top innovators, special events, and cutting-edge education. ISC East 2018 will be held November 14-15 in New York, NY at the Javits Center. Kingston will be located in booth #265. For more information visit kingston.com. Kingston IronKey D300 Serialized Features and Specifications: Encrypted: With encryption, no one can access data that you have stored on the drive without knowing the password.

With encryption, no one can access data that you have stored on the drive without knowing the password. Meet frequently requested IT requirements: IronKey D300 is FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified and TAA compliant so you can rest assured it meets the most frequently requested corporate and government IT requirements.

IronKey D300 is FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified and TAA compliant so you can rest assured it meets the most frequently requested corporate and government IT requirements. Easily manage thousands of drives: With IronKey EMS or SafeConsole you can centrally administer access and usage policies and easily manage thousands of drives.

With IronKey EMS or SafeConsole you can centrally administer access and usage policies and easily manage thousands of drives. Unique Serial Number and Scannable Barcode : Time saver, simply read or scan the barcode, when deploying, when it is returned as well as during any physical auditing.

: Time saver, simply read or scan the barcode, when deploying, when it is returned as well as during any physical auditing. Interface: USB 3.1 Gen 1

USB 3.1 Gen 1 Capacity7: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB







 Speed8: USB 3.1 Gen 1: 4GB: 80MB/s read, 12MB/s write 8GB & 16GB: 165MB/s read, 22MB/s write 32GB: 250MB/s read, 40MB/s write 64GB: 250MB/s read, 85MB/s write 128GB: 250MB/s read, 85MB/s write USB 2.0: 4GB: 30MB/s read, 12MB/s write 8GB-128GB: 30MB/s read, 20MB/s write

Dimensions: 3.06? x 0.9? x 0.47? (77.9 mm x 22.2 mm x 12.05 mm)

3.06? x 0.9? x 0.47? (77.9 mm x 22.2 mm x 12.05 mm) Waterproof: Up to 4 ft.; conforms to IEC (News - Alert) 60529 IPX8 2 .

Up to 4 ft.; conforms to IEC (News - Alert) 60529 IPX8 . Operating Temperature: 32F to 140F (0C to 60C)

32F to 140F (0C to 60C) Storage Temperature: -4F to 185F (-20C to 85C)

-4F to 185F (-20C to 85C) Compatibility: USB 3.0 compliant and 2.0 compatible

USB 3.0 compliant and 2.0 compatible Minimum System Requirements: USB 3.0 compliant and 2.0 compatible Two (2) free drive letters required for use

Compatible with: Windows  10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 (SP1), Mac OS (v. 10.11.x - 10.14.x)

Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 (SP1), Mac OS (v. 10.11.x - 10.14.x) Standard Drive Compatible with: Windows  10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 (SP1), Mac OS (v. 10.11.x - 10.14.x), Linux v.2.6x+ 6

Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 (SP1), Mac OS (v. 10.11.x - 10.14.x), Linux v.2.6x+ Managed Drive Compatible with: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 (SP1), Mac OS (v. 10.11.x - 10.14.x) Kingston IronKey D300 Serialized Part Number Capacity Standard IKD300S/4GB 4GB IronKey D300 Serialized

USB Flash Drive IKD300S/8GB 8GB IronKey D300 Serialized

USB Flash Drive IKD300S/16GB 16GB IronKey D300 Serialized

USB Flash Drive IKD300S/32GB 32GB IronKey D300 Serialized

USB Flash Drive IKD300S/64GB 64GB IronKey D300 Serialized

USB Flash Drive IKD300S/128GB 128GB IronKey D300 Serialized

USB Flash Drive Managed IKD300SM/4GB 4GB IronKey D300 Serialized

Managed USB Flash Drive IKD300SM/8GB 8GB IronKey D300 Serialized

Managed USB Flash Drive IKD300SM/16GB 16GB IronKey D300 Serialized

Managed USB Flash Drive IKD300SM/32GB 32GB IronKey D300 Serialized

Managed USB Flash Drive IKD300SM/64GB 64GB IronKey D300 Serialized

Managed USB Flash Drive IKD300SM/128GB 128GB IronKey D300 Serialized

Managed USB Flash Drive Compatibility Table Operating System D300/D300S D300 Managed D300S Managed File

Transfer IronKey

EMS File

Transfer SafeConsole/

IronKey EMS Windows 10, 8.1. 8, 7 (SP1) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Mac OS X v.10.9.x - 10.12.x Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Linux v.2.6.x+6 Yes4 No No Yes5 No 1 Password requirements set by Administrator during set up using IronKey EMS for IronKey D300 Managed drives.

2 Product must be clean and dry before use.

3 IronKey EMS/SafeConsole by DataLocker, purchased separately.

4 D300S supports limited Linux commands, such as login, logout, initialize, about and forgot password.

5 D300SM supports limited Linux commands, such as login, logout and password change.

6 Certain distributions of Linux will require super-user (root) privileges in order to execute the DataTraveler commands properly in the terminal application window.

7 Some of the listed capacity on a Flash storage device is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. As such, the actual available capacity for data storage is less than what is listed on the products. For more information, go to Kingston's Flash Memory Guide at kingston.com/flashguide.

8 Speed may vary due to host hardware, software and usage. Kingston can be found on:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kingstontechmemory

Facebook (News - Alert): http://www.facebook.com/kingstontechnology

Twitter (News - Alert): https://twitter.com/KingstonTech

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kingstontechnology/

LinkedIn (News - Alert): http://www.linkedin.com/company/kingston About Kingston Technology Company, Inc.

Kingston Digital, Inc. ("KDI") is the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world's largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Established in 2008, KDI is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, USA. For more information, please visit kingston.com Editor's Note:

For additional information, evaluation units or executive interviews, please contact David Leong, Kingston Technology Company, Inc., 17600 Newhope Street, Fountain Valley, CA USA 92708, 714-438-1817 (Voice). Press images can be found in Kingston's press room at kingston.com/company/press/ Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. IronKey is a registered trademark of Kingston Digital, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2018 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005058/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] AppTek Announces Availability of over 200 Language Pairs for Its Industry-leading Machine Translation Platform

AppTek, a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) and machine translation (MT) solutions, today announced the immediate availability of a dramatically expanded list of language pairs for its machine translation (MT) platform. The company now offers bi-directional automatic machine translation for over 200 pairs of languages, covering all major commercial language needs and beyond. This global linguistic capability reconfirms AppTek's position as an elite ASR and MT software provider that enables enterprise customers to integrate automatic text and speech translation into virtually any global communication or commerce application; for example, ecommerce companies who want to reach new markets or humanitarian organizations that provide support to geographically distinct populations. This expanded offering results from AppTek's capacity to quickly build machine translation systems using its recurrent neural network (RNN) architecture and extensive linguistic training data compiled over 30 years. The breadth of language coverage provides more options for customer deployments and translation models, and can also be tailored to a specific customer's domain. AppTek's continuous improvement cycle further provides customers with greater lifetime value and performance. Also, with its own streaming utomatic Speech recognition and MT, AppTek provides speech-to-speech machine translation for real time translation in cross-language conversational applications such as Talk2me.



The company's machine translation engine uses the latest advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, pioneered by its own industry-renowned experts. AppTek was one of the first to offer an RNN-based machine translation solution both as a stand-alone customer installation and a cloud-based offering with application programming interface (API) access. Their machine translation systems are also designed to seamlessly integrate with speech-to-text systems, so that subtitling and captioning services can be provided in many languages. AppTek continuously leverages advanced scientific methods to provide greater language coverage, translation accuracy and speed. "This extensive set of language pairs provides customers with a universal platform for both text and speech translation among various languages used for a broad range of commercial and public sector purposes," said AppTek CEO Mudar Yaghi. "Our industry-leading translation capability creates unprecedented opportunities for multinational corporations in established and emerging markets. For example, media companies can now have broadcasts transcribed in the native language and many languages, significantly expanding their audience reach."

About AppTek AppTek unlocks the value of content by breaking down barriers between speech and text-based communications across applications that organizations rely on for daily use. Our proven, artificial intelligence and machine learning-based automatic speech recognition and machine translation platform is trusted by some of the world's largest enterprises to deliver seamless, comprehensive translation and analysis of speech, text, video and images. Leveraging over 30 years' worth of training data gathered from multiple real-world use cases - arguably the world's largest repository and growing - AppTek enables the highest quality automatic speech recognition and machine translation solutions available anywhere for enterprises everywhere. For more information visit http://www.apptek.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005104/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] EdCast's Knowledge Cloud Receives Application Certification From ServiceNow

EdCast is excited to announce it has received certification of its application with ServiceNow (News - Alert), available now in the ServiceNow Store. Certification by ServiceNow is only granted to selected apps that are available in the Store and signifies that EdCast's Knowledge Cloud has successfully completed a set of defined tests focused on Now Platform security, compatibility, performance, and integration interoperability. The certification also ensures that best practices are utilized in the design and implementation of EdCast's Knowledge Cloud with ServiceNow. EdCast, known as the operating system for the knowledge economy, now provides technology for learning, knowledge management and information discovery to ServiceNow customers. With solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) process automation, EdCast's LXP was selected by NASSCOM, World Economic Forum and Norway's Future Learning Lab to power global multi-million-user, public-facing upskilling initiatives. EdCast's Knowledge Cloud enables users across all departments to gain one-click access to knowledge on-demand, addressing specific enterprise problems. Organizations can use Knowledge Cloud to address sales enablement, training and upskilling needs in ways that are integrated with ServiceNow's cloud services. Additional key features available through the EdCast integration: AI-Powered Knowledge: Personalized contextual content from internal, external and subject matter expert sources Engagement (Mobile-first and In-app): Collaboration capabilities available across dynamic groups Customization: Branded and tailored to the client and to the unique needs of their employees Analytics: Advanced reporting to assess and measure performance, manage certifications, and empower discretionary learning and training Learning Digital Wallet: Frictionless access to paid content with cost savings across publishers and products as part of EdCast's knowledge marketplace ContentExchange: Partnership with leading content providers to surface their content, creating the world's largest repository of learning and knowledge materials Security: Enterprise-grade security and privacy controls



learning in the flow of work to our customers, and our strategic effort with ServiceNow advances that initiative." "ServiceNow is dedicated to helping our customers deliver next gen consumer-like service experiences to employees," says Deepak R. Bharadwaj, Vice President and General Manager, HR Business Unit, ServiceNow. "EdCast's Knowledge Cloud provides employees with access to personalized and tailored learning experiences across multiple disparate content sources. With the certified integration between the two solutions, customers can easily configure access to contextual learning and knowledge from EdCast directly within ServiceNow's Employee Service Center, making it easy for employees during life events, such as onboarding, transfers and parental leave, and providing a one-stop shop for employee experiences throughout the employee journey."

To access EdCast's app on the ServiceNow Store, users can go to https://store.servicenow.com and search for "EdCast" or just click here. About EdCast EdCast is the AI-Powered Knowledge Cloud solution for unified discovery, personalized learning and knowledge management across the enterprise. Its award-winning platform is used globally by Fortune 500 companies and government organizations, including HPE, Schneider Electric, ANZ Bank, Jefferson Health and Dell EMC (News - Alert), to solve the discovery, curation and recommendation problems across all external and internal knowledge sources. With its AI and Machine Learning process automation solutions, EdCast was selected by NASSCOM, World Economic Forum and Norway's non-profit Future Learning Lab to power public-facing upskilling and reskilling initiatives for multi-million user bases. EdCast's offerings include its Learning Experience Platform (LXP) and MyGuide's in-app guides, intelligence and automation for business software. Follow on Twitter (News - Alert) @EdCast. ServiceNow Store The ServiceNow Store is the exclusive source for Now Certified apps from ISV Technology Partners that complement and extend ServiceNow and accelerate time to value for customers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005037/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Gen Re uses SAS to prepare globally for IFRS 17

CARY, N.C., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- While the new International Financial Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS 17) will take effect Jan. 1, 2021, insurers should start preparing now. Among those getting a head start is global property/casualty and health/life reinsurer Gen Re, headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Gen Re is using SAS to create a comprehensive platform that covers all IFRS 17 requirements. "We were looking for a platform that we believed could help us comply with IFRS 17 but also which could potentially provide leverage for future global efficiencies," said Edward Nosenzo, North America Chief Financial Officer at Gen Re. Gen Re will use SAS Regulatory Content for IFRS 17 to meet all the mandates of IFRS 17 in a single, comprehensive compliance environment. The new solution is built on the same flexible, high-performance analytics platform that is helping insurance firms meet Solvency II and helping the banking industry tackle its own regulatory disruption in IFRS 9. Deployed from a central location, the end-to-end framework will help Gen Re cover every step of the new standard, through to the required accounting methods, and provide granular, auditable financial reports. What is IFRS 17? International reporting stndards set common accounting guidelines for the preparation of financial statements, making public companies more comparable globally. Billed as the first truly global accounting standard for insurance contracts, IFRS 17 will replace the current standard, IFRS 4, and increase financial transparency.



The new regulation will change the way insurers calculate liability and report profit and loss. And it requires insurers to report in greater detail how insurance and reinsurance contracts affect finances and risk. For most insurers, compliance with IFRS 17 will require significant investment in new or upgraded technology. "IFRS 17 poses challenges that insurers should be careful not to underestimate. This requires careful planning. The earlier they get started with the technological restructuring and reorganization of their workflows, the better," said Robert Stindl, SAS Director of Risk Solutions for North Europe, Middle East and Africa. "The SAS Platform ensures that all parties  actuaries, risk managers and accounting specialists  can collaborate seamlessly and establish maximum transparency to ensure compliance."

Preparing now for future compliance Implementing the IT architecture required for IFRS 17 compliance will be a serious undertaking. To help the industry prepare, the SAS Customer Connection for IFRS 17 will convene in Frankfurt, Germany, Nov. 29-30. The event will gather leading insurers, including Gen Re, Munich Re, ERGO Group and Basler Versicherung, to discuss best practices for meeting the new standard. To learn why insurers should act now to prepare for the new requirements, and the top 10 things to look for in an IFRS 17 solution, download the white paper Insurers: Are You Ready for IFRS 17? About SAS SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW. SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries.  indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright  2018 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gen-re-uses-sas-to-prepare-globally-for-ifrs-17-300750270.html SOURCE SAS

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Lime Hires Seasoned Global Consumer Brand Strategist Paloma Castro Martinez as Head of Communications for Global Launches and Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Lime is excited to officially announce the hiring of global consumer brand strategist Paloma Castro Martinez, who recently joined the company as the Head of Communications for Lime's global launches and expansion team. In her previous role, Paloma served as Global Director of Corporate Affairs for LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), the world's leading luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris. Paloma oversaw the group's 70 portfolio companies on public policy initiatives, designed and executed several brand, crisis management, and sustainability initiatives. Some of the brands include: Dior, Fendi, Bulgari, Celine, and Givenchy to name a few. During her tenure at LVHM, she successfully transformed the holding company's image from a financial holding into a culture and heritage powerhouse. In addition, while serving as Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs at McDonalds Europe, Paloma was instrumental in creating important regulatory practices from scratch, in a time of major upheaval at the company, with the release of Supersize Me, a now cult-classic documentary that chronicled a man's journey of eating McDonalds meals for 30 days straight. Unfazed by the controversies surrounding the company, she led the charge in the development of Guideline Daily Amounts, non-color coded labeling and other crucial health initiatives that quickly became a worldwide food industry standard. "Paloma's unique eye for brand and connecting the urban lifestyle is instrumental as Lime continues to expand its global footprint," says Toby Sun, Lime CEO and co-founder. "Similar to the approach of top consumer companies, Lime wants to work with a brand and communications expert from outside of Silicon Valley, who can bring a new and refreshing perspective to building a global brand. She's a perfect match for us, and we are honoredand excited to have her on board."



"I am excited to bring my decades of experience in storytelling to help people to rediscover their cities with Lime," says Paloma Castro. "Lime is introducing a new lifestyle through urban mobility and allowing people to re-discover the cities they live. This is about empowerment through urban mobility." Since joining Lime, Paloma has already introduced Lime to unique opportunities like with French Fashion Federation for Paris Fashion Week and with sustainability fashion designer, Stella McCartney . She recently helped Lime to form an exclusive partnership with Closca , a Spanish foldable helmet company, to provide the fashionable helmets as part of Lime's ongoing rider education campaign.

Lime is following the footsteps of many Silicon Valley companies now looking at top talents from Europe. Facebook, Google, to name a few. Paloma is a corporate lawyer, with a postgraduate degree in urban planning and environmental management. She holds a master's degree on macro-economics from the French Ministry of Finance. She will be based in Europe, Lime's Paris office. About Lime Lime is revolutionizing mobility in cities and campuses by empowering residents with a greener, more efficient, and affordable transportation option that also improves urban sustainability. By partnering with local key stakeholders and systematically deploying a fleet of smart-bikes that are enabled with GPS, wireless technology, and self-activating locks, Lime will dramatically improve urban mobility by making the first and last mile faster, cheaper, and healthier for riders. Since launching in June 2017, the company has expanded internationally to Europe, and deployed electric scooters, electric-assist bikes, and multiple models of their standard pedal bike. Lime is currently in over 120 markets, 10 countries, and across 4 continents. Lime has already garnered more than 17M rides today. For more info on Lime, you can visit our FAQ here ; you can also refer to the full list of cities Lime serves here . You can find Lime-S photos here , our b-roll here , and our full media kit here . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lime-hires-seasoned-global-consumer-brand-strategist-paloma-castro-martinez-as-head-of-communications-for-global-launches-and-expansion-300750030.html SOURCE Lime

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] CFRA and Asset TV Announce New Agreement to Provide CFRA'S Industry-Leading Research and Insights into Funds, Sectors and Trends

CFRA, one of the world's largest providers of independent research, today announced that it is partnering with Asset TV, a global leader in the creation and dissemination of investment strategy videos, to create a new channel on the Asset TV platform that will provide insights and commentary from CFRA's highly experienced team of analysts, strategists, leading fund sponsors and more. Available at https://www.assettv.com/channel/cfra, the videos on this new channel will showcase the full range of CFRA's research offerings, which cover thousands of equities and funds, along with broader sector and market-level developments. Among the video offerings that will be made available on this new channel will be regular updates from Todd Rosenbluth, Director of ETF & Mutual Fund Research for CFRA, on key developments in the world of ETFs. Mr. Rosenbluth will also welcome guests from the fund industry to talk about major trends and themes, and to provide deeper insight into specific funds and investment approaches. CFRA's deep roster of equity and market experts will also be filming video content for this new channel, including Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist of U.S. Equity Strategy at CFRA, who will provide his thoughts on key topics shaping the markets. Other members of the CFRA team, which incldes some of the most widely followed and quoted analysts covering sectors such as technology, healthcare, financials, automotive, oil & gas, and more, will also be part of a roster of experts whose insights will be made available to viewers on this new channel.



"We are very excited to be announcing this partnership with Asset TV," said Peter de Boer, Chief Executive Officer at CFRA. "Their platform has become a go to destination for investors, advisors and fund industry professionals looking to keep up on the latest news and trends impacting them and their clients. Their reach combined with our roster of stellar subject matter experts will make this channel a 'must watch' for anyone interested in the markets and investing." Neil Jeffery, EVP Head of Americas with Asset TV added, "Now more than ever it is important for investors to have access to thoughtful independent research to help them better understand all of their investment options. That is exactly what CFRA provides and we could not be more pleased to be partnering with this world-class organization."

Through its MarketScope Advisor (MSA) platform, CFRA gives investors and institutions access to award-winning independent investment analysis, market/industry/sector commentary, and actionable investment ideas. Its unique holdings-based, forward-looking methodology provides a deeper level of insight into ETFs and mutual funds for investors and advisors in building and managing investment portfolios. For more information about CFRA, please visit www.cfraresearch.com. For more information about Asset TV, please visit: www.assettv.com ABOUT CFRA CFRA is one of the world's largest providers of independent investment research. Through a differentiated methodology blending forensic accounting and fundamental equity research, CFRA empowers sophisticated investment professionals, advisors and risk managers with actionable analysis and proven results. CFRA's global research team of 75 analysts critically evaluates industries, funds and companies of interest to help over 2,000 clients, including the world's leading institutional investors, wealth advisors, corporations, academics and governments, to make sound investment and business decisions. Founded in 1994, CFRA is privately held with offices in or near New York, London, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Charlottesville, Denver, and Washington, D.C. In October 2016, CFRA acquired and has since fully integrated the Equity and Fund Research business from S&P Global. About Asset TV Asset TV is the leading global online video platform for investment professionals, a trusted source for research and education. Over 400,000 subscribers access Asset TV content worldwide to gain access to thousands of expert videos all in one place. Asset TV proudly partners with Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters (News - Alert) to make its content available on their terminal networks. Asset TV has offices in New York, London, Boston, Toronto, and most recently opened an office in South Africa. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005597/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Ask Kodiak Connects TrustedChoice.com Carrier Appetite to TechCanary Agency Management System

APIs enable new levels of efficiency, collaboration, and transparency.

Chip Bacciocco, CEO of TrustedChoice.com and Agency Nation



Michael Albert, co-founder of Ask Kodiak



BOSTON, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ask Kodiak , developer of a commercial insurance search engine that keeps agents and brokers up-to-date on carrier appetite, is pleased to announce that TrustedChoice.com insurance company partner appetite is now available to agents on Ask Kodiak and within the TechCanary agency management system. This is yet another tremendous example of our partners at TrustedChoice.com and TechCanary empowering the independent agent through technology, said Michael Albert, co-founder of Ask Kodiak. Via TrustedChoice.com, TrustedChoice agents already have access to a wealth of product information provided by insurance company partners, and the Ask Kodiak API puts product recommendations in the right place at the right time. Combine those two things with an Ask Kodiak component now embedded in the TechCnary management system, and independent agents gain a new level of effectiveness with product details delivered in real-time as they are working on an account.



On a broader industry level, Ask Kodiaks open API can provide similar functionality to users on other management systems as well. Target classes, underwriting eligibility, and marketing information can be delivered in real-time to agents and brokers via the Ask Kodiak API, ensuring the most current product information is available when searching on Ask Kodiak or servicing a customer in Salesforce. This integration saves our commercial lines agencies several steps when it comes to matching their customer with the right insurance product, said Reid Holzworth, CEO of TechCanary. Having an Ask Kodiak component right on the customer screen with product recommendations being made proactively is a dramatic improvement over the offline process the industry typically expects. It saves time and improves the service our customers are able to deliver.

This unique integration of Ask Kodiak with TechCanary and TrustedChoice.com provides a new level of transparency into the commercial lines insurance buying process and provides new opportunities for commercial lines agents, brokers and insurance companies to collaborate. As competition in the commercial lines market tightens, the insight into needed coverages and the best prices delivered via this integration mean speed-to-market and a better overall customer experience. Earlier in the year TrustedChoice.com held a tech summit in Milwaukee to discuss how we could all be working together to support the independent agent, said Chip Bacciocco, CEO of TrustedChoice.com and Agency Nation. The integration of Ask Kodiak with TrustedChoice.com and TechCanary in the service of that mission is one of many big things to come. About Ask Kodiak

Ask Kodiaks cloud-based, software platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers markets commercial and specialty products to independent agents and brokers complete with real-time appetite, eligibility, and product highlights critical to rating, quoting and underwriting decisions. P&C insurers can quickly and easily add or update product information and adjust appetite on-demand to optimize inbound application flow in real-time. Extensive analytics help insurers measure product marketing efforts, and better identify new, high-performing agency partners. By providing insight into independent agent coverage needs, Ask Kodiak informs proactive insurer decisions based on real-time visibility into search trends, product market opportunities, and product performance. For more details, please visit www.askkodiak.com . About TrustedChoice.com

TrustedChoice.com builds leading digital insurtech marketing solutions for the independent insurance agency channel. TrustedChoice.coms solutions suite empowers independent agents and insurers to compete in a digital-first marketplace. Its Advantage digital marketing platform and Agency Nation resources enable agents and insurers to scale their brand visibility to gain and retain clients. The TrustedChoice.com consumer website attracts nearly 500,000 visits monthly and offers online insurance consumers a retail-like buying experience, connecting the right risk to the right agent at the right buying moment. For more details, visit solutions.trustedchoice.com and agencynation.com. About TechCanary

Founded in 2013, TechCanary is an InsurTech company offering a leading insurance solution available on Salesforce. The companys mission is to provide the insurance industry new and innovative alternatives to legacy brokerage management systems and generic CRM and call center solutions. The TechCanary offering is a configurable, cloud-based insurance solution for agencies, brokerages, carriers, MGAs, MGUs and wholesalers who want to gain competitive advantage by supporting their insurance business their way, and not as traditional insurance software dictates. The TechCanary insurance solution manages the entire insurance sales and service process in a single environment for all lines of business including property and casualty, life, annuities and employee benefits. For more detail, please visit www.techcanary.com . Media Contact:

Jennifer Overhulse

St. Nick Media Services

(859) 803-6597

[email protected] Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/95bded4f-c24d-47c4-9a62-f4479bb977a7 //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b4a7aa7b-fc8e-4f42-91ea-3df101c2272d

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018]

OneSpin Experts Talk Functional Safety Compliance at DVClub Europe, SemIsrael Expo 2018, 2nd Annual Conference on ISO 26262 to Semiconductors

Three Events Highlight OneSpins Comprehensive Solutions for Safety-Critical Applications

MUNICH, Germany and SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Experts from OneSpin Solutions , provider of innovative formal verification solutions for highly reliable, digital integrated circuits (ICs), will attend DVClub Europe , SemIsrael Expo 2018 and the 2nd Annual Conference on ISO 26262 to Semiconductors presenting its safety-critical application offerings.

DVClub Europe: Automotive Safety and ISO 26262 will include a talk by Sergio Marchese,OneSpins technical marketing manager, titled Hardware Safety Metrics for ISO 26262 Compliance. The event will be held Tuesday, November 27, in Bristol and Cambridge, England, Grenoble, France, and online.







Joerg Grosse, OneSpins product manager functional safety, will discuss Lowering the Entry Barrier to ISO 26262 Functional Safety Compliance, during the Front-end Design & Verification Track at SemIsrael Expo 2018 also scheduled for November 27. OneSpin will exhibit its comprehensive formal verification solutions for safety-critical applications in booth #29.

OneSpin, a sponsor and exhibitor at the 2nd annual conference on ISO 26262 to Semiconductors December 5-6 in Munich, will offer demonstrations of its safety-critical verification solutions.

About OneSpin Solutions

OneSpin Solutions has emerged as a leader in formal verification through a range of advanced electronic design automation (EDA) solutions for digital integrated circuits. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, OneSpin enables users to address design challenges in areas where reliability really counts: safety-critical verification, SystemC/C++ high-level synthesis (HLS) code analysis and FPGA equivalence checking. OneSpins advanced formal verification platform and dedication to getting it right the first time have fueled dramatic growth over the past five years as the company forges partnerships with leading electronics suppliers to pursue design perfection. OneSpin: Making Electronics Reliable.



Engage with OneSpin at:

Website: www.OneSpin.com

Twitter: @OneSpinSolution

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/onespin-solutions

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneSpinSolutions

OneSpin, OneSpin Solutions and the OneSpin logo are trademarks of OneSpin Solutions GmbH. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For more information, contact:

Nanette Collins

Public Relations for OneSpin

(617) 437-1822

[email protected]
Nimble Launches Android Mobile CRM 3.0, Enhanced Relationship & Pipeline Manager for Office 365, G Suite

Nimble -- the Simple, Smart CRM for Office 365 and G Suite -- today launched its Mobile CRM 3.0 for Android (News - Alert). The release builds on its long-standing commitment to work for you everywhere you engage and complements the iOS version released earlier this year.

Nimble (News - Alert) unifies contacts from teams' mobile, cloud-based, and desktop records into an all-in-one relationship manager. With minimal effort, sales and marketing professionals can prepare for meetings by quickly scanning social insights, sales intelligence, and contact engagement history from their portal devices. To keep the momentum going, Office 365 and G Suite users can send personalized responses using templated, trackable emails and monitor opportunities across all deal stages from their portable devices.

"People buy from the people they know, like, and trust," said Nimble CEO Jon Ferrara (News - Alert). "We therefore designed Nimble Mobile to give users the insights they need to build confidence, engage in productive discussions, follow up, and follow through promptly -- anytime, anywhere."

New Features: Nimble's Simple, Smart CRM for Mobile Office 365 and G Suite Users

Nimble Mobile CRM 3.0 empowers mobile teams and individuals to:

Review email, calendar, and social contact history . Sales intelligence is readily available because Nimble automatically synchronizes every email conversation, calendar activity, and social interaction for each team member's contacts.

. Sales intelligence is readily available because Nimble automatically synchronizes every email conversation, calendar activity, and social interaction for each team member's contacts. Access detailed dossiers on customers and prospects , including social media insights, sales intelligence, and engagement history within email, calendar, and contacts apps.

, including social media insights, sales intelligence, and engagement history within email, calendar, and contacts apps. Scan business cards to create new CRM records . Nimble collects contact names, titles, companies, emails, addresses, and phone numbers to build enriched records in seconds.

. Nimble collects contact names, titles, companies, emails, addresses, and phone numbers to build enriched records in seconds. Send tracked messages and templated emails . Nimble Mobile users can save time by using email templates with custom merge tags and pre-set attachments to send to contacts and enable message tracking from their mobile devices.

. Nimble Mobile users can save time by using email templates with custom merge tags and pre-set attachments to send to contacts and enable message tracking from their mobile devices. Manage multiple sales pipelines from the field. Users can manage sales across multiple pipelines to stay on top of projects, log notes using mobile voice commands, assign follow-up tasks, and schedule reminders to follow through.

Enabling The Digital Workplace

Nimble's 80% end user adoption rate attests to its ease of use and the intrinsic value business teams see in fixing deep-rooted contact management issues.

"One of the most frustrating challenges employees face today is information overload caused by lack of context," said Alan Lepofsky, VP and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. "When business teams struggle to connect people, content, and conversations, it makes it difficult for sales teams to focus on key deals. Marketing teams can't easily engage with their prospects. Tools that are accessible across devices and are integrated seamlessly into business processes help elevate these issues."

CUSTOMER AND PARTNER QUOTES

"Nimble Mobile CRM 3.0 allows our team to be truly mobile," said Eamon Moore, founder & CEO of business intelligence and data and analytics company Hikari Data Solutions. "Very often, mobile apps enable you to do a certain amount of work, but you need to be in the office to take advantage of the full functionality of the solution. With Nimble, I can be as effective at prospecting, preparing for meetings, and meeting follow through from my mobile device as if I am sitting at my desk."

"I've used Nimble as my personal CRM every day for years without fail, to ocus my day on fulfilling the promises I've made and working towards the goals I want to achieve," said Chad Stewart, founder and chief software advisor at SmartThoughts, LLC. "With the addition of trackable templated emails, pipeline manager, and business card scanner to Nimble's Android Mobile release, I have the added convenience of managing key relationships easily whenever I step outside the office for work or for play."







"The key to building trusted relationships with executive producers at all the major networks is to monitor their social conversations and consistently pitch timely, relevant and compelling stories, without over-pitching them," said Eric Mitchell, CEO of full service PR and media exposure agency LifeFlip Media. "We use Nimble in the office and increasingly while mobile as an easy-to-use, unified system of records to discover, nurture, and maintain relationships as the press moves around -- which happens a lot."

AVAILABILITY AND PRICING

Nimble Mobile CRM 3.0 is available for all Nimble accounts at no additional cost. Add it from the Google Play store or iOS App Store. Subscribers to the Nimble Contact plan can upgrade to Nimble Business to access multiple deal pipelines.

RESOURCES

*Learn More on the Nimble Blog

*Screen Grabs

*Product Video

ABOUT NIMBLE

Nimble's simple, smart CRM works for you in Office 365, G Suite, and everywhere you work. It enables teams and professionals to close more deals -- without the busy work. Everyday, people use Nimble to successfully nurture their personal and business relationships across email, social networks, and more than 130 cloud-based business applications.

Nimble has been named best CRM in Market Leadership, Ease of Use, and Satisfaction by many experts, including: CRM Watchlist Winner for three consecutive years, #1 Sales Intelligence Tool for Customer Satisfaction by G2 Crowd for the sixth consecutive time, Market Leader for Small Businesses CRM by G2 Crowd for the sixth consecutive time, and #1 Small Business Sales and Marketing CRM by Fit Small Business. Nimble combines the strengths of traditional CRM, classic contact management, social media, sales intelligence, and marketing automation into one powerful relationship management platform that delivers valuable relationship insights - everywhere you work.

Located in Santa Monica, Calif., Nimble is in the heart of the Southern California Silicon Beach tech community and was voted the Most Loved Santa Monica Tech Startup. For more information, visit www.nimble.com. Connect with Nimble on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005328/en/
[November 14, 2018] Scholarship Program Encourages North Dakota Native American College Students to Seek Careers in the Mental Health Field

The American Indian College Fund, in partnership with the United Health Foundation, awarded 11 Native American North Dakota college students with scholarships through the United Health Foundation Tribal Wellness Scholarship Program. The program encourages Native American college students to seek careers as mental health professionals so they can help their communities recover from substance use disorder in a way that honors their tribal heritage and traditions. The United Health Foundation Tribal Wellness Scholarship Program was funded through a $360,000 grant from the United Health Foundation in May. It includes scholarships, mentoring, academic support, job training and research opportunities. The following 11 Native American students from North Dakota pursuing degrees in recovery-related fields will receive educational support. Five awards were designated for associate degree candidates and six for students seeking a bachelor's or master's degree. Danelle Belgrade (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking an associate degree in nursing at Turtle Mountain Community College;

Latoya Delorme (News - Alert) (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking a bachelor's degree in nursing at the University of North Dakota;

Briana Delorme-Jeanotte (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking a bachelor's degree in nursing at the University of Mary;

Raeanne Henry (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking an associate degree in nursing from Turtle Mountain Community College;

Trista Jetty (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking a bachelor's degree in nursing from North Dakota State University;

Christine LaRock (Spirit Lake Dakota Tribe), seeking an associate degree in applied science-pre-nursing from Cankdeska Cikana Community College;

Desarae Martin (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of North Dakota;

Krista Miller (Minnesota Chippewa Tribe), seeking a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of North Dakota;

Alisha Parisien, (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of North Dakota;

Pelchee Slater (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking an associate degree in pre-nursing from Turtle Mountain Community College; and

Maria Vormestrand (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), seeking an associate degree in social work from Cankdeska Cikana Community College. CherylCrazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said: "Communities across the country are being devastated by substance abuse. Educating culturally competent health professionals in tribal and rural communities is part of an effective response to this crisis. We need to bring our own knowledge and resources to healing our family members, and providing scholarships for health education does that for us."



North Dakota, with a lower rate of drug deaths than other states overall, has experienced a sharply rising death rate due to drug overdose. Drug deaths in North Dakota have increased 90 percent between 2014 and 2017, according to the America's Health Rankings Annual Report. Finding suitable drug treatment within a reasonable travel distance is a challenge in this primarily rural state. By working to educate citizens of rural communities affected by drug misuse, the goal is to get patients on the path of full recovery. "Thousands of Americans are dying from opioid overdoses, and people living in rural areas often suffer more due to the lack of easily accessible health care," said Tracy Malone, president of the United Health Foundation. "The United Health Foundation is honored to support these bright and motivated students who will serve an important and needed role fighting the disease of addiction, provide culturally competent care to their Native communities and give back to the people of North Dakota."

To view a video profile of Maria Vormestrand of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, please visit https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/newsroom.html. About the American Indian College Fund Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation's largest charity supporting Native higher education for more than 28 years. The College Fund believes "Education is the answer" and provided 6,548 scholarships last year totaling $7.6 million to American Indian students, with more than 125,000 scholarships totaling over $100 million since its inception. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation's 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation's top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org. About the United Health Foundation Through collaboration with community partners, grants and outreach efforts, the United Health Foundation works to improve our health system, build a diverse and dynamic health workforce and enhance the well-being of local communities. The United Health Foundation was established by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in 1999 as a not-for-profit, private foundation dedicated to improving health and health care. To date, the United Health Foundation has committed $430 million to programs and communities around the world. We invite you to learn more at www.unitedhealthgroup.com/SocialResponsibility Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005299/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Progressa Launches Technology Division As It Continues To Be A Leader In Lending Innovation

Progressa, a Vancouver and Toronto based financial technology company, announces its public launch of its enterprise suite of software solutions for collections enhancement and point of sale finance platforms (www.progressa.io). Leading the way is the Company's Progressa Score, a 4th Generation proprietary credit scoring model that can assess financial behavior, in real-time, producing the most robust behavioural based credit score for non-prime Canadian consumers in the market. This Score drives the Progressa software suite, empowering business today to offer proactive and socially responsible credit solutions to their consumers and drive healthy financial recoveries as well as improved customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. The Progressa Score is backed by over 6 years, and 120 million actionable data points related to Canadian non-prime consumers with industry leading predictiveness of repayment. The Company's score will drive nearly $100 million of consumer loan funding before the end of 2018. CEO Ali Pourdad commented "With the public release of our enterprise software solutions, we expect that Progressa will begin to diversify its revenue streams beyond revenue solely from its lending operations over the next several quarters. The Company has invested heaviy in software over the last 6 years, with the primary benefactor being our lending business; today, doesn't mark a shift in strategy, rather a natural extension of what our lending business has known and benefited over the course of our history."



Progressa Engage is the industry's only loan origination software for collection agencies and debt purchasers, allowing both to offer real-time financing solutions to consumers, with traditionally low credit scores, that may be struggling to repay their debts and experiencing stress, while Progressa Optimize is an industry leading segmentation tool and collection strategy, that allows enterprise to create more effective engagement for their consumers, and drive healthier recoveries as well as protect their reputation. Both Engage and Optimize are used to drive collection recoveries for bank credit cards, telecoms, utilities, and other consumer aged receivables. Progressa Connect is the only publicly available API in Canada for offering non-prime credit, providing connectivity to both Progressa's proprietary credit score and its core lending business and servicing platform, allowing point of sale platforms and originators to offer credit solutions to non-prime consumers in a 'turnkey' way. Today Progressa's platform partners serve Canadian merchants with several thousand store fronts across Canada.

All of Progressa's software solutions come with world-class onboarding, maintenance, and support, and are backed by bank-grade security and privacy standards. Learn more about Progressa's suite of solutions at: progressa.io About Progressa

Named by CB Insights to the 2018 Fintech 250, a list of the world's top fintech startups, Progressa is Canada's fastest growing financial technology lender focused on changing the way pay cheque to pay cheque Canadians access and build credit. Since 2013, our mission has been to build a socially responsible consumer finance company that encourages borrowing for the right reasons and that Canadians can be proud of. Our enterprise solutions suite, driven by the 4th Generation Progressa Score, is built for collection agencies and point of sale finance. We empower collection agencies to offer proactive solutions and drive healthy recoveries while protecting brand loyalty with industry leading NPS and servicing. For point of sale finance we allow platform partners and other originators to expand their merchant offerings to service non-prime consumers and achieve industry leading approval rates. Learn more: progressa.io View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005340/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Optomec Features Aerosol Jet HD System for High Density Electronics Packaging at Printed Electronics USA

Optomec, a leading global supplier of production grade additive manufacturing (AM) systems, today announced that the company will showcase its Aerosol Jet HD System for today's most demanding electronics packaging challenges at the IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA show in Santa Clara, California this week. The Aerosol Jet HD System is a compact, configurable R&D to production platform that can print a wide range of electronic materials with fine features less than 20 microns in size. The solution will be on display in Optomec booth # F-13. The Aerosol Jet HD System is one of a new class of micro-dispense solutions that was developed with production flexibility in mind. With its unique ability to print an array of electronic materials, the Aerosol Jet printer can produce high-resolution adhesive pads with features as small as 25 microns. This supports both conductive and non-conductive attach of today's smallest die and components, eliminating the need for manual assembly work, which increases overall throughput, eliminating wasteful end-of-line clean-up steps. In addition to conductive materials, the System is fully capable of high-resolution printing of a wide range of common non-conductive electronics materials. Applications include MEMS bonding, seal rings, local passivation, and insulative overcoats. When coupled with conductor printing, the HD System can produce high density cross-over and multi-layer circuitry. The System is capable of producing precision conformal coatings on non-planar surfaces, enabling chip and board level RFI (News - Alert)/EMI shielding that are requisite for today's mobile devices. Larger nozzles enable single pass printing of coatings measuring millimeters in width, while maintaining uniform layer thickness from 100nm to 10's of microns. Couple this capability with Aerosol Jet's fine feature printing and edge coatings of complex packages, selective exposure to contacts and ground planes are now possible. The compact, modular design of the Arosol Jet HD System enables it to easily plug in to existing electronics manufacturing lines filling production gaps driven by ever decreasing product footprint challenges. The System provides a turn-key approach to advanced electronics packaging and has available production-ready recipes for a range of conductive, dielectric, adhesive and other materials, capable of extended runtimes and high yields.



At the conference, Mr. Mike O'Reilly, Director of Aerosol Jet Products, will deliver a presentation titled "Aerosol Jet, an Evolutionary Electronic Material Dispense Solution" in the Structural Electronics and Advanced Materials track at 5:20 pm on Weds. November 14. Mr. O'Reilly will discuss how Aerosol Jet printing has been deployed for mass production/customization of sensors, antenna, and functional circuits onto non-planar substrates. He will explain how it is being used to augment wirebond applications where pad to pad spacing and multiple stacked die cause cross-talk. Through its precise selective coating capability on all five sides of a package without depositing material on critical circuitry, Aerosol Jet printing is used as a viable alternative to PVD and Spray coating solutions. Mr. O'Reilly will explain some of the areas where Aerosol Jet printing is currently helping electronics manufacturers meet their production goals. Furthermore, Optomec will hold its 13th annual Aerosol Jet User Group meeting in the two days preceding the Printed Electronics USA events. The User Group meeting will be held at the Stanford University Nanofabrication facility, which houses an Aerosol Jet printer as well as other manufacturing and research equipment. User presentation topics include fully printed electronics, strain gauges, ink sintering and more. Over two dozen system owners/users will tour the Stanford lab facility and collaborate and discuss their use of Aerosol Jet printing.

About Printed Electronics USA The Printed Electronics USA show is part of the IDTechEX series of synergistic events on wearable, sensors, internet of things, 3D printing, graphene & 2D materials, energy storage, and electric vehicles. Each of these is a full two-day executive conference with a common exhibition. The co-located events overlap across these topics, exposing attendees to the full relevant supply chains and customer and supplier bases. Read more at: https://www.idtechex.com/printed-electronics-usa/show/en/. About Optomec Optomec is a privately-held, rapidly growing supplier of Additive Manufacturing systems. Optomec's patented Aerosol Jet Systems for printed electronics and LENS 3D Printers for metal components are used by industry to reduce product cost and improve performance. Together, these unique printing solutions work with the broadest spectrum of functional materials, ranging from electronic inks to structural metals and even biological matter. Optomec has more than 300 marquee customers around the world, targeting production applications in the electronics, energy, life sciences and aerospace industries. For more information about Optomec, visit http://optomec.com. Aerosol Jet is a registered trademark of Optomec. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005594/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] The governments of Canada and Northwest Territories invest in upgrades at the Snare Forks Hydroelectric Facility, providing clean energy for the North Slave Region

YELLOWKNIFE, Nov. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - The governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories are investing in green infrastructure projects to safeguard the environment, grow the economy and improve the quality of life for those living and working in the North. Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities the Honourable Wally Schumann, Minister of Infrastructure and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment; the Honourable Robert C. McLeod, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Minister of Finance and Minister of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation; and Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories, announced $26.5 million in funding for turbine and generator upgrades at the Snare Forks Hydroelectric Facility located on the Snare River. The Snare Forks Hydroelectric Facility, located 140 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife, handles energy load swings and storage for the Snare Forks Power System, which includes four separate hydro plants. This system serves four nearby communities in the North Slave Region  Yellowknife, Behchoko?`, Detah, and Ndilo?. These upgrades will generate cleaner energy and help prevent unscheduled shutdowns, which means less diesel will be used. Quotes "The Government of Canada is committed to investing in infrastructure that helps build cleaner, stronger communities that have access to the services they need. The upgrades at the Snare Forks Hydroelectric Facility will produce more efficient, reliable and clean energy, safeguarding the environment and the well-being of northerners in the area. These kinds of projects create sustainable communities and ensure quality of life for generations to come." The Honourable Francois-span >Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities



"This announcement demonstrates the GNWT's ongoing efforts to maintain strong partnerships with the Government of Canada as we work to invest in and set the stage for the next generation, by providing pre-construction funding to connect our islanded hydro systems, to build climate change resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive the clean growth economy." The Honourable Wally Schumann Minister of Infrastructure and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment

"By working with Canada and our other partners on projects such as this, the GNWT can transition the NWT to a lower carbon economy, build a sustainable energy system and strengthen our understanding of the short-term and long-term effects of climate change." The Honourable Robert C. McLeod, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Minister of Finance and Minister of Northwest Territories Power Corporation Quick facts The Government of Canada is investing up to $14.1 million through the Investing in Canada plan, and the Government of the Northwest Territories is contributing up to $10.5 million .

is investing up to through the plan, and the Government of the is contributing up to . Through the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, the Government of Canada will invest more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.

infrastructure plan, the Government of will invest more than over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and rural and northern communities. $26.9 billion of this funding will support green infrastructure projects, including $5 billion that will be available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

of this funding will support green infrastructure projects, including $5 billion that will be available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. $2 billion of this funding will support infrastructure projects that meet the unique needs of rural and northern communities like facilities to support food security, local access roads and enhanced broadband connectivity. In addition, $400 million will be delivered through the Arctic Energy Fund to advance energy security in the territories.

will be delivered through the Arctic Energy Fund to advance energy security in the territories. $4 billion of this funding will support infrastructure projects in Indigenous communities. Associated links Investing in Canada: Canada's Long-Term Infrastructure Plan:

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/icp-publication-pic-eng.html Investing in Canada Plan Project Map:

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map Federal infrastructure investments in Northwest Territories:

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/nt-eng.html Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Web: Infrastructure Canada SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Schneider Electric Introduces its Square D Brand Masterpact MTZ Future Ready Low Voltage Power Circuit Breaker

BOSTON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The world is facing critical change. As a result, the electrical industry is meeting challenges of more stringent regulations, tighter sustainability goals, increased safety requirements, and the need for more reliability and flexibility. Schneider Electric is leading this evolution with the launch today of its next generation Square D brand Masterpact MTZ low voltage power circuit breaker. The Masterpact MTZ circuit breaker takes the lead in power system uptime and energy efficiency with its onboard Ethernet communications and Class 1 (=1% error) active power metering accuracy built into every circuit breaker. It also allows wireless remote control of the circuit breaker via Bluetooth LE keeping maintenance staff outside of the arc flash zone during operation. These innovative advancements in technology are an industry first. As part of Schneider Electric's comprehensive EcoStruxure Power Platform, the Masterpact MTZ is an industry leading, world class circuit breaker with all new IoT enhanced digital capabilities. It includes wireless communication, customizable/downloadable applications, integrated analytics, and advanced metering and sensing technologies that address evolving industry challenges. With the introduction of digital modules, the breaker is tailor made for the application and modified at any time in the future without de-energizing. From installation, operation, maintenance, and digital upgrades, Masterpact MTZ brings a whole new level of power circuit protection and control to large and critical power distribution applications. Masterpact MTZ circuit breakers will transform how facility and building operations managers achieve efficiency, safety, reliability, and equipment protection goals. Masterpact MTZ is available for new installations and can be retrofit into the space of an existing power circuit breaker. The Masterpact family of low voltage power circuit breakers have been the industry benchmark in electrical distribution for three decades  first with the Masterpact M, followed by the Masterpact NT/NW, each known globally for legendary performance and reliability. "The new Masterpact MTZ is a game changer," says Duke Dunsford, USA Marketing Launch Manager for Masterpact MTZ. "The Masterpact MTZ connectivity and digital capabilities seamlessly integrate into our EcoStruxure Power architecture, delivering significant benefits for end users, specifiers, panel builders and contractors who can better serve their customers' needs with this new capability." He continued, "With the standard Bluetooth ireless capability on every breaker, the phone in your pocket now becomes a powerful tool in the operation of this new platform."



The new generation Masterpact MTZ is built with the new Micrologic X control unit that puts it ahead of its class. One of the advancements in the Masterpact MTZ line is its future driven upgrade capabilities. As new code requirements and regulations are implemented along with evolving customer needs, the breaker can be upgraded by service and maintenance personnel or facility staff. Upgrades can be implemented by simply downloading a Digital Module from Schneider Electric's secure GoDigital online marketplace and installing it into the control units using the complimentary Ecoreach configuration software, adding new functionality within minutes. "Masterpact MTZ is loaded with practical, usable features that take low voltage power circuit protection and control to a new level," says Mr. Dunsford. "In case of a power outage, users can simply utilize their smartphone's wireless connection to diagnose the issue and minimize downtime. Another unique feature includes capturing waveform data during tripping events and can be accessed even without power. The smartphone app also can provide a root cause explanation and step-by-step breaker reclosing instructions to re-energize your system. This can save critical time for customers looking for details during an outage."

Additional benefits of the Masterpact MTZ circuit breaker include: Downloadable digital modules can be installed without downtime for maximized flexibility and operational efficiency

Along with Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC) is included allowing your smart phone to monitor the circuit breaker's condition even in a power outage

Event notifications and overload prevention are optimized with real-time monitoring and alarm capabilities both for Ethernet monitored systems and on mobile devices

Seamless integration of Masterpact MTZ into Square D branded power equipment such as switchgear, switchboards, and motor control centers using the newly designed embedded Ethernet connection For more information on Masterpact MTZ or Schneider Electric, please visit http://www.schneider-electric.us/mtz. About Schneider Electric Schneider Electric is leading the Digital Transformation of Energy Management and Automation in Homes, Buildings, Data Centers, Infrastructure and Industries. With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider is the undisputable leader in Power Management  Medium Voltage, Low Voltage and Secure Power, and in Automation Systems. We provide integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software. In our global Ecosystem, we collaborate with the largest Partner, Integrator and Developer Community on our Open Platform to deliver real-time control and operational efficiency. We believe that great people and partners make Schneider a great company and that our commitment to Innovation, Diversity and Sustainability ensures that Life Is On everywhere, for everyone and at every moment. www.schneider-electric.us Discover Life Is On Discover EcoStruxure Follow us on:

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google Plus

YouTube

Schneider Electric TV

Schneider Electric Blog Hashtags: #DigitalEconomy #EcoStruxure #InnovationSummit #LifeIsOn #SchneiderElectric View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/schneider-electric-introduces-its-square-d-brand-masterpact-mtz-future-ready-low-voltage-power-circuit-breaker-300750374.html SOURCE Schneider Electric

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Software AG CTO, North America, to Present at IDTechEx Show! 2018

Software AG (Frankfurt TecDAX: SOW) today announced that its Chief Technology Officer, North America, Mighael Botha will present at the upcoming IDTechEx Show!, being held from November 14-15 in Santa Clara, Calif. In his session titled, "AI Application in Manufacturing: Hear How Machine Learning is Revolutionizing Predictive Maintenance in Manufacturing," Mighael will explore how large industrial manufacturers are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to revolutionize their predictive maintenance efforts, and monetizing these new capabilities to generate new revenue streams.

Manufacturers look to Software AG's Cumulocity IoT to help them to enable and transform their business by embracing the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In October, the company received the highest possible score in the connect functions criterion in the Forrester Wave: Industrial IoT Software Platforms, Q3 2018. Operating across the cloud, on-premises and at the edge, Cumulocity IoT provides enterprises and service providers with the freedom to design, build, deploy and evolve their IoT-distributed deployments seamlessly across any network.







Who: Mighael Botha, CTO, North America, Software AG, Cumulocity IoT What: "AI Application in Manufacturing: Hear How Machine Learning is Revolutionizing Predictive Maintenance in Manufacturing" When: 11:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PT on Thursday, November 15, 2018 Where: Santa Clara Convention Center Grand Ballroom A Santa Clara, Calif.

The IDTechEx Show! brings together more than 3,500 attendees to discuss the latest emerging technologies effecting global brands. With eight concurrent conferences and a single exhibition, the IDTechEx Show covers the most important topics impacting the supply chain from 3D printing, electric vehicles, energy storage and graphene, to the IoT, printed electronics, sensors and wearable technology and more.

About Software AG

Software AG (Frankfurt TecDAX: SOW) helps companies with their digital transformation. With Software AG's Digital Business Platform, companies can better interact with their customers and bring them on new 'digital' journeys, promote unique value propositions, and create new business opportunities. In the Internet of Things (IoT) market, Software AG enables enterprises to integrate, connect and manage IoT components as well as analyze data and predict future events based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Digital Business Platform is built on decades of uncompromising software development, IT experience and technological leadership. Software AG has more than 4,500 employees, is active in 70 countries and had revenues of  879 million in 2017.

To learn more, visit www.softwareag.com.

Software AG | 11700 Plaza America Dr # 700 | Reston, VA 20190

Detailed press information about Software AG including a picture and multimedia database are available under: www.softwareag.com/press

Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert): Software AG Germany | Software AG Global

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005155/en/
[November 14, 2018] Federal government invests in advanced manufacturing centre at SFU in Burnaby

Simon Fraser University's 4D LABS receives funding for equipment at its new Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Integration (CAMI) BURNABY, BC, Nov. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - Simon Fraser University's (SFU) 4D LABS has received an investment of $1,921,700 to equip the new Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Integration (CAMI) with state-of-the-art machinery to help prototype and manufacture advanced micro and nanotechnologies. The funding was announced today by Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Member of Parliament for Burnaby North - Seymour, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD). The equipment will help commercialize innovative micro and nanotechnology solutions. The sectors that will benefit from this technology include information and communication technology, energy, healthcare, transportation, and security. By investing in research facilities like the CAMI at 4D LABS, the Government of Canada is supporting western Canadian researchers and manufacturers to commercialize innovative solutions and compete in global markets. Quick Facts 4D LABS is a shared-equipment resource with state-of-the-art fabrication and characterization facilities and equipment that can be used by academic, industrial, and government researchers.

It employs technical staff to provide users with training and fee-for-hire services in nanofabrication, nano-imaging, and LASIR (Laboratory for dvanced Spectroscopy and Imaging Research). It specializes in the clean energy, information technology, health care, agriculture, and environment sectors.



Quotes

"As markets evolve, Canada needs to remain competitive on the global stage. Supporting 4D LABS and the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Integration ensures that researchers and manufacturers have access to the tools they need to succeed in their work. Projects like this increase productivity and innovation, supporting the continued growth and vitality of Western Canada."

- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada "The Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Integration is an important addition to SFU's 4D LABS. The infrastructure will provide manufacturers in British Columbia with the resources, services, and expertise to compete and succeed in domestic and global markets." - Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Member of Parliament for Burnaby North  Seymour "This is a perfect example of how university, industry, and government partnerships can achieve goals none can do alone. With the continued support of WD, we can help fast-track R&D and provide unique services to both academic and industry researchers." - Neil Branda, Professor, Canada Research Chair Tier I, Scientific Director, 4D LABS, Simon Fraser University "This funding from WD will provide academic researchers as well as local industry access to state-of-the-art tools for the manufacturing of devices at the micro- and nano-scales for a wide range of applications." - Behraad Bahreyni, Professor, Mechatronic Systems Engineering, Simon Fraser University "This important funding reinforces 4D LABS' position as a leader in the research and development of nano-fabrication and advanced nano-structures. The presence of an advanced facility in B.C. allows innovative companies like us to achieve global success while still maintaining local research and development in cutting-edge technology. This investment will allow the continued expansion our ongoing collaboration with 4D LABS." - Clint Landrock, CTO, Nanotech Security Additional Links Simon Fraser University

4D LABS Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter: @WD_Canada, @ISED_CA

WD Homepage

WD Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-WEST (9378)

TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired): 1-877-303-3388 IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL. SOURCE Western Economic Diversification Canada

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Solar Cow Wins AidEx Aid Innovation Award

BRUSSELS, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Aid Innovation Challenge has been won by Yolk, a South Korean based start-up on 14 November 2018 in Brussels at AidEx 2018 for their invention, the Solar Cow and Milk Power - a solar powered cow tackling child labour, whilst improving education and energy distribution with cow-shaped power banks. The invention was created over a year ago after co-founder Sungun Chang considered the ineffective long-run of existing solar lanterns and wanted to provide a solution to multiple social complex problems with one simple solution. About the winner

The Solar Cow is a social engineering project that provides positive reinforcement to parents in the form of an electrical power source in exchange of sending their children to school. When children arrive at school in the morning, they just attach their batteies to the Solar Cow's udders. At the end of the school day, they can leave with the full supply of valuable electricity.



Families can save 10-20% of the income they used to spend for charging a phone. This means that parents are incentivised to send their children to school to get free electricity where the source is, as opposed to sending them to work. Yolk received initial recognition for its 'million-dollar-selling Solar Paper' as they surpassed the $1 million mark in donations on Kickstarter which is the top 3% of the funding amount, and also became the first Korean company to succeed over 1 million.

Speaking to Chang upon winning the award, she said: "I am very excited to participate in AidEx and win the competition. This event is a great platform to promote our product to the entire aid and development community, which can improve the livelihoods of families in developing countries." Speaking on what made the product stand-out, Chang added: "Child labour, education and energy distribution are all very complex problems and are consequently addressed individually. With the Solar Cow, we can chip away at all of these problems simultaneously - this is the power of the Solar Cow and Power Milk." About AidEx

AidEx is the largest global gathering of humanitarian aid and development professionals that takes places in Brussels and Nairobi every year. For further information contact:

[email protected]

+44-(0)-207-886-3076

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Airfox CEO Victor Santos Honored with MIT Tech Review 'Innovator Under 35' Award

BOSTON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Airfox, a startup aiming to provide transformative financial services in emerging markets, today announced Victor Santos, CEO and co-founder, has been selected by MIT Technology Review as a 2018 Innovator Under 35 in Latin America. The Innovators Under 35 award recognizes individuals whose technical work promises to shape the coming decades. Selected by a jury of tech experts, winners are honored for creatively applying technology to solve the world's biggest problem. Starting in 2012, the MIT Technology Review expanded its program to include young innovators and entrepreneurs transforming Latin America. Transformative financial solutions for emerging markets

Santos was selected by MIT Technology Review for his dedication to accelerating financial inclusion through technology. Today, billions still remain unbanked and underbanked, meaning they lack access to basic financial services. Airfox recognized an opportunity to provide inclusive mobile financial services to the underserved, with two-thirds of the global unbanked adults haing a mobile phone.



In February 2018, Airfox successfully brought thousands of unbanked and underbanked Brazilians unprecedented access to much-needed mobile financing solutions. Airfox has already allowed nearly 15,000 users to engage freely in the financial economy. Users can deposit cash at over 250,000 locations, including ATMs and post offices. To significantly expand its footprint, Airfox signed a strategic partnership with a Brazilian retail giant and is currently preparing to extend the Airfox digital wallet to nearly 1,000 physical stores that serve 68% of Brazil's population. Airfox plans to replicate its vision to surrounding markets across Latin America. About the Innovators Under 35 Award

The Innovators Under 35 award is curated by the MIT Technology Review to honor young minds for making exciting strides that shape their fields and solve problems in remarkably different ways. Previous winners include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Santos will present his vision at an award ceremony in Guadalajara, Mexico on November 15. Airfox is excited to share the Airfox mission of bringing financial inclusion to underserved populations around the world with this community of innovators. About MIT Technology Review

Founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899, MIT Technology Review is a world-renowned, independent media company whose insight, analysis, reviews, interviews and live events explain the commercial, social and political impact of new technologies. MIT Technology Review derives its authority from the world's foremost technology institution and from its editors' deep technical knowledge, capacity to see technologies in their broadest context, and unequaled access to leading innovators and researchers. For 117 years, MIT Technology Review's mission has been to equip readers with the intelligence to understand a world shaped by technology and the impact upon their careers and lives. About Airfox

Airfox develops inclusive financial services for emerging markets. To break down financial barriers and provide opportunities to build wealth, Airfox aims to create an entirely new financial services model that serves the unbanked with reliable, egalitarian, and democratic access to capital and financial services. To power its revolutionary peer-to-peer microloans program, Airfox developed and released its own cryptocurrency, AirToken (symbol: AIR), an ERC-20 token issued on the Ethereum blockchain. Airfox has offices in Boston and Sao Paulo. To learn more about the future of decentralized digital banking, visit www.airfox.com . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/airfox-ceo-victor-santos-honored-with-mit-tech-review-innovator-under-35-award-300750503.html SOURCE Airfox

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT III Appoints Toan Huynh and Mark McDade to Board of Directors

The board of directors of Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT III, Inc. ("PECO (News - Alert) III" or the "Company"), a real estate investment trust ("REIT") focused on acquiring and owning well-occupied grocery-anchored shopping centers, has appointed Toan Huynh and Mark McDade as independent directors. "Toan's wide-ranging experience with innovative technologies will be vital as we work closely with leading grocers seeking to implement and expand omnichannel sales strategies," said Jeff Edison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT III. "Creating a collaborative tenant environment can produce an improved experience for customers, which we believe will lead to increased foot traffic and sales at our centers and ultimately build additional value in our growing portfolio." "Additionally, Mark has been an integral part of Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II, having previously served on its board since inception. His experience with Phillips Edison, coupled with his executive leadership and operational expertise, make him an excellent addition to our board." "Together, Toan's and Mark's diversified backgrounds and unique perspectives will be invaluable resources as we seek to advance and grow PECO III." Ms. Huynh brings to the board comprehensive experience as an entrepreneur, adviser and investor in technology startups. She currently serves as Venture Partner at Iformation Venture Partners, a Toronto-based venture capital firm that invests in enterprise software for financial services and FinTech, and as an "Entrepreneur-in-Residence" at a global bank, where she supports the bank's internal innovation and digital agenda. Prior to these roles, Huynh was a co-founder of GlobalOne/Cloud Sherpas where she drove the development of technology and business assets for financial services companies seeking to implement SaaS and digital programs. Following Cloud Sherpas' acquisition by Accenture (News - Alert) in 2015, Huynh served as a managing director designing and implementing innovation-focused transformation programs. Huynh graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in economics, international relations and Chinese.



Mr. McDade, who most recently served as an independent director on the Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II, Inc. board of directors, is currently a managing partner at Qiming Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in high-potential firms across sectors. McDade has extensive experience as an executive in the biopharmaceutical industry, having served as chief operating officer at UCB, a multinational biopharmaceutical company, and chief executive officer at PDL BioPharma, an antibody-based biopharmaceutical company. He also held executive roles at Signature Bioscience, Corixa Corporation and Boehringer Mannheim Therapeutics. McDade earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Both Huynh and McDade will serve on the board's audit committee and conflicts committee.

About Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT III, Inc. Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT III, Inc. is a public non-traded REIT that seeks to acquire and manage well-occupied grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers having a mix of national and regional retailers selling necessity-based goods and services, in strong demographic markets throughout the United States. The REIT is co-sponsored by Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and Griffin Capital Company, LLC. About Griffin Capital Company, LLC Griffin Capital Company, LLC is a leading alternative investment asset manager that owns, manages, sponsors or co-sponsors approximately $11.2 billion* in assets. Founded in 1995, the privately held firm is led by a seasoned team of senior executives with more than two decades of investment and real estate experience and who collectively have executed more than 650 transactions valued at over $22 billion. The firm manages, sponsors or co-sponsors a suite of carefully curated, institutional quality investment solutions distributed by Griffin Capital Securities, LLC to retail investors through a community of partners, including independent and insurance broker-dealers, wirehouses, registered investment advisory firms and the financial advisors who work with these enterprises. *Includes the property information related to interests held in certain joint ventures. As of September 30, 2018. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005712/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Orlando Homeownership to Get $6.3 Million Boost

Wells Fargo (News - Alert) & Company (NYSE:WFC), NeighborWorks America, Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (ONIC), and Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida (NHSSF) today announced the NeighborhoodLIFT program will launch for Lake, Orange (News - Alert), Osceola and Seminole counties with a $6.3 million commitment by Wells Fargo to boost local homeownership. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005756/en/ Since February 2012, LIFT programs have helped create nearly 19,000 homeowners in 65 communities. (Graphic: Business Wire) "The City of Orlando is committed to ensuring that our residents have access to safe, high-quality housing they can afford, and a key piece of this is to develop new policies and partnerships that remove barriers for residents who would like to pursue the American dream of homeownership," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. "That is why we are pleased to welcome Wells Fargo's NeighborhoodLIFT program to Orlando. Through NeighborhoodLIFT, residents may qualify for down payment assistance grants and educational and counseling services that can help them achieve the goal of owning a home." The 2018 Orlando NeighborhoodLIFT program follows the 2012 program that created 205 homeowners in the greater Orlando area. Overall, Wells Fargo has conducted 65 LIFT program events in the U.S. since 2012 that have created nearly 19,000 homeowners. Walk-ins are welcome for the free NeighborhoodLIFT event in Orlando Nov. 30-Dec. 1 More than 360 interested homebuyers are registered to attend the free event on Friday, Nov. 30, from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. and on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hilton SeaWorld, located at 10100 International Dr., Orlando. Walk-ins also are welcome while grants are available for reservation. Those intending to walk in should be prepared with documents required to reserve funds posted at www.orlandoneighborhood.org/lift/. Participating homebuyers can obtain mortgage financing from any participating lender, and ONIC and NHSSF will determine eligibility, dminister the grants, and provide homebuyer and financial education. Approved homebuyers will have up to 60 days to finalize a contract to purchase a home in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.



"The NeighborhoodLIFT program is another example of our commitment to Central Florida and our efforts to build better communities through sustainable homeownership," said Derek Jones, Wells Fargo North Central Florida region bank president. "The program will help hardworking families and individuals get on the path to achieve successful and sustainable homeownership." To be eligible, annual incomes must not exceed 80 percent of the local area median income in the county where the home is being purchased to reserve $15,000 down payment assistance grants. In addition, there are special parameters for veterans and service members, teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians who may reserve $17,500 down payment assistance grants within eligibility requirements including earning up to 100 percent of the area median income.

In addition, Wells Fargo has committed $225,000 for up to 450 consumers to receive complimentary face-to-face homeownership counseling. Interested homebuyers can receive a voucher at the Orlando NeighborhoodLIFT launch event that will provide in-person homeownership counseling at no charge with a participating HUD-approved housing counselor in the Orlando area. The complimentary Home Ownership Counseling grant program is an additional resource to the homebuyer education required for a NeighborhoodLIFT down payment assistance grant. "This innovative public-private collaboration will create about 325 more homeowners in the greater Orlando area," said Donald Phoenix, regional vice president, Southern region, NeighborWorks America. "The required homebuyer education classes provided by certified professionals better prepare NeighborhoodLIFT homebuyers to achieve their goal of sustainable homeownership." Approved homebuyers must be approved for home financing with an eligible lender and be in contract to purchase a home in Lake, Orange, Osceola or Seminole County. To reserve the full grant amount, participants buying a primary residence with the NeighborhoodLIFT program must commit to live in the home for five years. "The NeighborhoodLIFT program will provide homebuyer education and down payment assistance to help families become homeowners," said Robert Ansley, president of ONIC. "We are excited to team up with Wells Fargo and NeighborWorks America to make this opportunity available for so many deserving families." Since February 2012, LIFT programs have helped create nearly 19,000 homeowners in 65 communities. A video about the NeighborhoodLIFT program is posted on Wells Fargo Stories. About ONIC, NHSSF and NeighborWorks America Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (ONIC) has been developing affordable housing in Central Florida since 1989. Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida has worked to strengthen communities and create affordable housing for over 30 years. Both organizations are chartered members of NeighborWorks America, a national organization that creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities. NeighborWorks America supports a network of more than 245 nonprofits, located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Visit http://orlandoneighborhood.org/, https://nhssf.org/, or http://www.neighborworks.org/ to learn more. About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,950 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 37 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 262,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune's 2018 rankings of America's largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.  2018 Wells Fargo Bank N.A. All rights reserved. For Public Use. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005756/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Triple Crown Consulting Opens Costa Mesa, Calif., Office to Grow West Coast Presence

Triple Crown Consulting, a technology recruitment firm filling hard-to-find senior tech roles through its vast talent network, announces the opening of an office in Costa Mesa, Calif., to grow its West Coast business and support the company's rapid growth goals. The Costa Mesa office will be led by Steven Burke, a senior Triple Crown employee, who is currently hiring a group of hard-working and enthusiastic sales and recruitment professionals to create the Southern California team. The office will be located at The MET, 575 Anton Blvd., Suite 930, Costa Mesa, Calif., 92626. Triple Crown Co-Founder Dave Smith said, "Our West Coast business has been growing, and today more than a third of Triple Crown's technology talent resides in California, two-thirds of whom are in the Bay area, and the rest in Southern California. Opening the Costa Mesa office will allow us to have a team on the ground in Southern California to continue supporting and expanding our business throughout the region." Smith added, "Steven Burke is the company's top performer across the board. He's the perfect candidate to start and lead this new office for Triple Crown." Burke will open the Costa Mesa office in January 2019 and is actively hiring account managers and recruiters. He and Triple Crown Sales Team Lead Alexia Lussier are transferring from the Triple Crown San Jose office, and they will be hiring up to 10 employees to start. Triple Crown's Costa Mesa office is located at The MET, a new amenity-rich office campus. The site touts amenities including food trucks on "Food Truck Runway," an outdoor gaming area and cafe, and a rejuvenation center. The rejuvenation center, designed for tenants to take care of their mental and physical health, includes private shower suites, a refreshment bar, massage chairs, sleep pods and a yoga room.



"There is so much talent and business in the Costa Mesa region," said Burke. "Colleges and universities throughout the area are graduating top talent. As a native to the area, I'm excited to bring Triple Crown to Costa Mesa and foster a team of passionate recruitment and sales professionals to help build clients' best-in-class tech teams." Burke began his career with Triple Crown in 2014, when he earned the title and award of Rookie of the Year. His philosophy, that every individual has the opportunity to be as successful as they want to be based on the work they put in, has driven Burke to quickly advance his career at the company. Through hard work, communication, relationships and generating value, he has exceeded expectations in growing Triple Crown business.

The Costa Mesa office will be Triple Crown's fifth office, following Austin, Scottsdale, San Jose and Portsmouth. For more information about joining the Triple Crown Costa Mesa team, contact Steven Burke at [email protected]. About Triple Crown Consulting Triple Crown Consulting fuels the digital economy with senior, project-based software and hardware technology professionals. We specialize in filling software and hardware roles across all high-tech industries, from military technology development to consumer electronics, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, aerospace, automotive and more. Giving us speed no recruiting agency can match and relationships no recruiting technology can form, our unique, unrelenting recruiting model results in ready access to sought-after technology innovators. Software and hardware experts nationwide turn to Triple Crown to work on challenging projects where trails are blazing and ground is breaking. Businesses and technology teams, from Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging startups, rely on our ability to rapidly place the developers, architects, coders, analysts and designers who engineer digital transformation and growth. Triple Crown is headquartered in Austin with offices in Phoenix, San Jose, Portsmouth and Costa Mesa. For more information, visit www.tripleco.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005775/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Chevron Announces $1 Million for California Fire Relief Efforts

Chevron (News - Alert) today announced a contribution of $1 million from the Chevron Global Community Fund to the American Red Cross in support of relief efforts for wildfires in Northern and Southern California. "As a California company, we mourn the loss of life and destruction these fires have caused," said Chevron Chairman and CEO Michael Wirth. "Our thoughts are with all our neighbors who have been affected by the fires, and we honor all those working to contain them." Chevron, which was founded in California in 1879 and has operations around the state, places a high priority on supporting the communities where it operates. In the last two years alone, the Chevron Global Community Fud has donated more than $2.5 million for California wildfire relief efforts.



Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies. Through its subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide, the company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemicals and additives; generates power; and develops and deploys technologies that enhance business value in every aspect of the company's operations. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005810/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Africa Investment Forum 2018: a new bold vision tilts capital flows into Africa

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others," a saying goes. When African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina laid out his vision to tilt the flow of capital into Africa by convening the first transaction-based investment forum, many did not see what was coming ahead. One year down the road, the verdict is undisputed. The three-day Africa Investment Forum ended November 9th in the South African capital exceeding the expectations of its conveners - The African Development Bank. Beyond participants' commendations, a preliminary review of the meeting leaves room for much optimism. The Forum highlighted a solid pipeline of projects and wealth of opportunities ready for investors. After a final review of all Boardroom projects, investor interest stood at close to US$40 billion, the organizers said Wednesday. Close to 300 institutional investors from 53 countries, including 23 non-African countries gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa from 7-9 November for the inaugural event. "Africa is ahead of its time. Business as usual is no longer the normfrom now on it will be Business unusual. All is now set for global and regional investments to make a smooth landing into Africa. The Africa Investment Forum has turned the tide of investment into the continent," Adesina said. The value of boardroom projects tabled for discussion during the Forum stood at US$47 billion, up from US$40.4 billion announced on the eve of the closing. The updated figures following a final review indicated that investment interest was secured for 49 projects worth US$38.7 billion, up from US$32 billion The projects ranged in diversity from infrastructure, Energy, Transport and Utilities, Industry, agriculture, ICT and Telecoms, Water and Sanitation, Funds/financial Services, Health, Education, Hospitality and Tourism, Housing, and Aviation. A total of 169 bilateral meetings took place in the Marketplace boardrooms. In addition, open marketplace B2B conversations went on throughout the three days. Notable among the deals which secured investor interest are: a US$3.7 billion railway expansion and development roject in South Africa. The investment will support the acquisition of new rolling stock trains, expansion of depot facilities and upgrades to existing signaling and train control systems.

Brass Fertilizer & Petrochemical Project - a US$ 3 billion investment for the construction and operation of a world-class petro-chemical facility to produce Methanol (1.75 mil MTPA), Ammonia (1.35 mil MTPA) and Urea (1.35 mil MTPA)



In Africa's transportation and logistics sector, a major milestone was reached with the launch of "THELO DB," a new partnership between THELO SA (of South Africa) and DEUTSCHE BAHN (of Germany). The partnership intervenes in the critical railway sector of Africa's economy, which has an annual deficit of around US$62 billion.

A total of 1,914 out of 2,200 registered delegates attended the event, signifying strong interest in the Forum. President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa; President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia, President Alpha Conde of the Republic of Guinea; President Macky Sall of Senegal; President Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana attended the Forum. Other officials included the Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo; the Prime Ministers of Rwanda, Edouard Ngirente and Cameroon, Philemon Yang, as well as ministers representing the Kingdom of Morocco, Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Niger, and Gabon. In attendance also were Governors and Board members of the African Development Bank. The main goal of the Africa Investment Forum is to catalyze investments into the continent through a unique marketplace platform designed to advance projects to bankable stages, raise capital, and accelerate the financial closure of deals. Ringing endorsements came in from investors, multilateral development heads and key stakeholders. When a panel of investors and project sponsors was asked by African Development Bank Communication Director Victor Oladokun what they would change during the next Forum, the consensus was that the event had already achieved what it set out to do. For the first time ever, a platform had brought together all critical players under one roof - investors, project sponsors and government leaders. According to Basil El Baz, CEO of Carbon Holdings, "I have never seen a conference like this. To the organizers, I say do not change a thing. Keep doing exactly what you are doing." Global financial institutions such as Africa Finance Corporation, Development Bank of South Africa, Africa 50, Afreximbank, European Investment Bank, Trade and Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, partnered with the African Development Bank to form a solid and strategic alliance around the new initiative. The next edition of the Africa Investment Forum will take place in November 2019. About the African Development Bank Group The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 37 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: j.mp/AfDB_Media View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005831/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Michigan State University Selects Planon's Integrated Campus Management Technology

BRIGHTON, England, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A new information technology system to enhance MSUs service provision Michigan State University (MSU) has selected Planon's integrated workplace management system (IWMS) for campus management in its continuing efforts to offer the highest performing, innovative, and leading-edge facilities within higher education, and to re-inforce its focus on quality, customer satisfaction, and value. 'Michigan State University is a large and diverse enterprise featuring one of the largest, single-campus hall of residence systems in the country and a growing research footprint. We service 558 buildings covering more than 24 million square feet on our East Lansing campus,' said Dan Bollman, AVP for Infrastructure Planning and Facilities (IPF) at MSU. 'Our goal and our vision is to offer best-in-class services in support of the University's mission of teachig, research and outreach. It is vital that we provide a comprehensive and integrated facilities management system in order to be successful.'



MSU purchased Planon's entire IWMS suite of applications and plans to begin their implementation with space and maintenance management. The long-term project scope also includes implementation of asset management with sustainability, fleet management, key control, mobile solutions, billing and job costing, and more. 'We will use Planon as the foundation for MSUs facilities, property, infrastructure systems and data. This lays the groundwork for our facilities organisation as we strive to provide MSUs students, faculty, staff, and visitors with the best possible campus experience,' said Barbara Wilber, IPF Support Services Manager.

'Michigan State University's Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities team has a bold, impressive mission,' said Fred Guelen, President of Planon North America. 'With Planon, MSU will implement what we believe is the most effective and comprehensive campus management solution and make our shared vision of a truly 'Smart Campus' a reality.' About Michigan State University

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programmes of study in 17 degree-granting colleges. About Planon

Planon is the leading global provider of integrated workplace management system (IWMS) solutions. To learn more, visit planonsoftware.com.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Dorsey's U.S.-China Practice Group Continues Growth

International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP continues to expand its U.S.-China practice group across the Firm's platform with the addition of attorneys David Cameron in Hong Kong, David Townsend in Minneapolis, Yue Matthew Ma, Ph.D., in Seattle, and Yan (Bill) Huang in Beijing. Lanier Saperstein, New York-based litigation partner and one of the Co-Chairs of the firm's U.S.-China practice group explained, "We are seeing a strong demand for our dispute services by Chinese companies, whether they are moving into the U.S. for the first time or they've been here for some time." "It used to be that Chinese clients at times would ignore lawsuits, hoping they would go away. Chinese clients felt they might not get a fair shake in U.S. courts and it was hard for them to justify the often sizeable legal costs to their management," observed Saperstein. "They have grown more accustomed to the U.S. market, recognizing that litigation is an unfortunate cost of doing business here. Unless and until we get some type of reform, litigation is going to be a significant part of the U.S. business landscape. Chinese clients now realize that it's more efficient and certainly more effective to plan for potential disputes and then confront any litigation head on." In terms of transactions, while not making daily headlines, business continues to flow between the world's two largest economies, and Dorsey is capturing a growing market share of that work. "There has been a dip in the number of mega deals being closed by Chinese companies in the U.S. But the flow of PE and VC investments and other types of minority deals continues," noted Catherine Pan, a New York-based transactional partner and one of the Co-Chairs of the firm's U.S.-China practice group. "I am pleased to report we are seeing a strong flow of transactional work," added Pan, "due to our platform, our experienced U.S.-China group and our reputation in the legal market for doing excellent legal work." "We're thrilled to be able to continue the momentum of growing our U.S.-China practice," Saperstein added. "These new lateral hires allow us to continue building a practice that provides high-level, high-value legal services to our China-based clients as well as our U.S. clients that have a need to learn how to work with their Chinese counterparties. Our outlook spans five years, not just the next six to 12 months." The new hires include: David Cameron, based in Hong Kong, focuses on international capital markets wok. He specializes in representing and advising corporate and investment banking clients on debt and equity offerings pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, including high-yield, investment grade, private placements, block trades and medium-term note programs for issuers across Asia. Mr. Cameron also has extensive experience with green bonds and Masala bonds. His recent work before joining Dorsey has included advising on the State Bank of India's Section 4(a)(2) equity offering of US$2.3 billion, the largest-ever Qualified Institutions Placement out of India to date, JSW Steel's US$500 million high-yield bond offering, CK Hutchison Holdings' US$1.8 billion dual tranche Rule 144A senior note offering and Sri Lanka's sovereign US$1.5 billion Rule 144A senior note offering.



David Townsend is an international trade and transactions lawyer with extensive experience advising clients on U.S. sanctions, export controls, customs, antidumping and countervailing duties, trade remedies, export licensing, compliance, enforcement matters and trade due diligence in mergers and acquisitions. He also counsels businesses on supply chain management related to trade and corporate social responsibility laws. He has represented clients before the Department of Commerce, the International Trade Commission, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. courts on trade matters. He has advised clients in a variety of industry sectors, including various agricultural products, aluminum, automotive, chemicals, energy, distilled spirits, financial and other services, electronics, software-as-a-service items, polysilicon, solar products and steel. In addition, he has worked on a variety of trade policy and dispute settlement matters involving the World Trade Organization (WTO) and U.S. free trade agreements. Yue Matthew Ma, Ph.D. advises clients on patent matters with a deep understanding of the value of patents, combining his business, technical and legal acumen. As former Director of Intellectual Property (IP) at SRI (News - Alert) International, a research and innovation company based in Silicon Valley, and IP Analyst at several technology companies, Mr. Ma has broad experience in all phases of a patent's life cycle, from working with inventors to making strategic decisions on patent filing to monetizing patent assets. These experiences allow him to better understand clients' needs and value their successes as his top priority.

His practice concentrates on patent drafting and prosecution, trademark registration and counseling, patentability and freedom-to-operate studies, due diligence and IP licensing. He brings 25 years of experience in technology development, patent drafting and prosecution, intellectual property management and technology licensing. His academic training in electrical and computer engineering, coupled with prior industry experience as a scientist and engineer, affords him an in-depth understanding of a wide range of complex technologies behind his clients' innovations. Yan (Bill) Huang, who bolsters the firm's Beijing office, advises multi-national clients on internal investigation, compliance audit and training in China. Mr. Huang works with companies in internal investigations of ethical violations, such as channel stuffing, conflict of interests, fake reimbursement or forgery of commercial documents. He regularly represents clients in anti-unfair competition law matters, foreign direct investment and dispute resolution matters regarding copyright and trademark. Dorsey has demonstrated its commitment to the China practice for decades with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, as well members of its U.S.-China practice group spread across nine different offices. Indeed, recently retired partner and former Vice President of the United States, Walter Mondale, was an integral member of the Carter Administration, which normalized diplomatic relations with China in 1979. About Dorsey & Whitney LLP Clients have relied on Dorsey since 1912 as a valued business partner. With locations across the United States and in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Dorsey provides an integrated, proactive approach to its clients' legal and business needs. Dorsey represents a number of the world's most successful companies from a wide range of industries, including leaders in banking & financial institutions, development & infrastructure, energy & natural resources, food, beverage & agribusiness, healthcare and technology, as well as major non-profit and government entities. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005837/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Banks Partner to Award $16K to Mississippi Delta Area Financial Literacy Program

Guaranty Bank & Trust and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) will award $16,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP (News - Alert)) funds to Mississippi Community Financial Access Coalition (MCFAC) for organizational capacity building, hiring grant writing consultants and market research studies.

Local dignitaries and bank representatives will attend a check presentation at 10:30 a.m., Friday, November 16, 2018, at Guaranty Bank & Trust's offices at 217 Church Street in Belzoni, Mississippi. The media is encouraged to attend.

MCFAC provides financial boot camps for individuals and families in northeast Mississippi and the Mississippi Delta. The programs are designed to help increase wealth through education, training, debt reduction, increased savings and access to low-cost banking products and services.

The structure of the PGP enables FHLB Dallas member institutions like Guaranty Bank & Trust to make a contribution of $500 to $4,000 to a community-based organization (CBO), which FHLB Dallas will match at a 3:1 ratio.

For more information about the PGP, visit fhlb.com/pgp.







WHAT: Check Presentation WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Friday, November 16, 2018 WHO: Ashley Beale, Field Representative, Office of U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) Myra Dunlap, Senior Vice President, Guaranty Bank & Trust Latah Holloway, Program Director, MCFAC Eric Haar, Vice President, Director of Government and Industry Relations, FHLB Dallas Melanie Dill, Community and Economic Development Product Manager, FHLB Dallas WHERE: Guaranty Bank & Trust 217 Church Street Belzoni, Mississippi 39038

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005861/en/
[November 14, 2018] ImageWare Systems Reports 2018 Third Quarter and Nine-Month Financial Results

Update on Biometric Sales and Marketing

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ImageWare Systems, Inc. ( OTCQB: IWSY ), a leader in mobile and cloud-based two-factor, multi-factor, and biometric multi-modal authentication and identity management solutions, reported financial results for the third quarter and nine-months ended September 30, 2018. Q3 Summary of Results Revenue for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 was $736,000 compared with $1.08 million for Q3 17. The decrease was attributable to lower project related revenue and lower royalty revenue.

Gross profit for the third quarter was $576,000 (78%) compared with $853,000 (79%) for Q3 17.

Net loss was $3.5 million in the third quarter compared with $2.4 million in Q3 17.

Loss per share available to common shareholders was $0.05 in Q3 2018 compared to $0.04 in Q3 2017 Nine Months Summary of Results Revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018 was $3.3 million compared with $3.1 million in the same nine-month period in 2017.

Gross profit for the nine months was $2.6 million (79%) compared with $2.3 million (76%) in the same nine-month period in 2017.

Net loss available to common shareholders was $11.8 million in the nine months compared with $10.5 million in the same nine-month period in 2017.

Loss per share available to common shareholders was $0.12 for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared with $0.11 for the corresponding period in 2017. Recently Announced Significant Events In July, we extended our reach into the Japanese market opening a sales office in Japan and engaging with our new in country partner, Two-Five.

In September we closed an $8.9 million Preferred Stock financing and had approximately $6.9 million of debt converted into equity.

Also in September, IWSY was selected as a participating vendor as part of a team led by IBM Canada Limited to provide identity authentication for employees in all Canadian airports. Jim Miller, Chairman and CEO of ImageWare Systems said, It is important to note that in the reporting quarter we took in $4.5 million in new orders but were not able to get those moved to revenue for various reasons including some of them were large projects with extended time frames for performance. More was accomplished than meets the eye. We continue to see progress on all fronts, albeit in some cases at a slow rate, and we also continue to see exciting new opportunities where we can improve revenues. Miller continued, Our recent financing has put us in a position where we have sufficient operating capital as we move forward to our goal of attaining positive cash flow. Third Quarter and Nine-Month Results Investor Update Call

The Company will host an investor update call on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 1:30pm PT (4:30pm ET).The participant dial-In number for the conference call is 1-631-891-4304 (domestic/international). Participants should dial in to the call at least five minutes before 1:30pm PT (4:30pm ET) on November 14, 2018. The call can also be accessed live online at http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=131433 . A replay of the recorded call will be available for 90 days on the Companys website ( https://iwsinc.com/about/investors/ ). You can also listen to a replay of the call by dialing toll-free 1-844-512-2921 (international only - 1-412-317-6671) starting November 14, 2018, at 7:30pm ET through November 23, 2018 at 11:59 pm ET. Please use PIN Number 10005536. About ImageWare Systems, Inc.

ImageWare Systems, Inc. is a leading developer of mobile and cloud-based identity management solutions, providing two-factor, biometric and multi-factor authentication solutions for the enterprise. The company delivers next-generation biometrics as an interactive and scalable cloud-based solution. ImageWare brings together cloud and mobile technology to offer two-factor, biometric, and multi-factor authentication for smartphone users, for the enterprise, and across industries. ImageWares products support multi-modal biometric authentication including, but not limited to, face, voice, fingerprint, iris, palm, and more. All the biometrics can be combined with or used as replacements for authentication and access control tools, including tokens, digital certificates, passwords, and PINS, to provide the ultimate level of assurance, accountability, and ease of use for corporate networks, web applications, mobile devices, and PC desktop environments. ImageWare is headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Portland, Oregon; Ottawa, Ontario; Tokyo, Japan; and Mexico City, Mexico. To learn more about ImageWare, visit https://iwsinc.com/ and follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn , YouTube and Facebook . Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, forecast, intend, may, plan, project, predict, if, should and will and similar expressions as they relate to ImageWare Systems, Inc. are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. ImageWare may from time to time update publicly announced projections, but it is not obligated to do so. Any projections of future results of operations should not be construed in any manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These projections are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see Risk Factors in ImageWares Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and its other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made.



Investor Relations Contact

Harvey Bibicoff, CEO

Bibicoff + MacInnis, Inc.

818.379.8500

[email protected] -Continued- SELECTED COMPARATIVE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS In thousands, except share and per share amounts Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended

September 30, September 30,

2018 2017 2018 2017 Revenues Product $ 78 $ 425 $ 1,357 $ 1,105 Maintenance 658 659 1,980 1,967 Total Revenues 736 1,084 3,337 3,072 Cost of Revenue Product 9 17 175 108 Maintenance 151 214 540 637 Gross Profit 576 853 2,622 2,327 78% 79% 79% 76% Operating Expenses General & administrative 981 881 3,172 2,815 Sales and marketing 920 656 2,600 2,119 Research and development 1,820 1,583 5,483 4,679 Depreciation and amortization 10 16 34 54 Total Operating Expenses 3,731 3,136 11,289 9,667 Loss from operations (3,155) (2,283) (8,667) (7,340) Interest (income) expense, net 141 178 497 443 Change in fair value of derivative liabilities 186 0 186 0 Other (income) expense, net 0 (75) 0 (125) Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes (3,482) (2,386) (9,350) (7,658) Income taxes 0 4 1 10 Income (loss) from continuing operations (3,482) (2,390) (9,351) (7,668) Net income (loss) $ (3,482) $ (2,390) $ (9,351) $ (7,668) Preferred dividends (949) (553) (2,437) (1,575) Preferred stock exchange 0 (1,245) 0 (1,245) Net income (loss) available to common shareholders $ (4,431) $ (4,188) $ (11,788) $ (10,488) Per share data - basic Net income (loss) from continuing operations $ (0.04) $ (0.03) $ (0.10) $ (0.08) Preferred dividends (0.01) (0.00) (0.02) (0.02) Preferred stock exchange (0.00) (0.01) (0.00) (0.01) Basic income (loss) per share available to common shareholders $ (0.05) $ (0.04) $ (0.12) $ (0.11) Basic weighted-average common shares 95,838,813 93,197,689 95,116,862 92,538,582





CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS September 30, December 31, 2018

2017 Assets: Cash $ 9,058 $ 7,317 Accounts receivable, net 600 458 Inventories 15 79 Other current assets 246 163 Property and equipment, net 45 43 Other assets 289 35 Intangible assets, net 84 93 Goodwill 3,416 3,416 Total Assets $ 13,753 $ 11,604 Liabilities and Shareholders' Deficit: Current liabilities $ 3,854 $ 8,432 Pension obligation 2,051 2,024 Mezzanine equity 7,966 0 Shareholders' equity (deficit) (118) 1,148 Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity (Deficit) $ 13,753 $ 11,604





[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Intellicheck Chairman of the Board of Directors Michael Malone Steps Down Due to Personal Health Reasons

Intellicheck (NYSE AMERICAN: IDN), an industry leader in identification authentication solutions, today announced that Chairman of the Board Michael D. Malone, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy, Retired, has stepped down from his position as Chairman and as a member of the Board of Directors for personal health reasons. Newly appointed Board of Directors Chairman Guy Smith said, "It is with deep regret that we accept Vice Admiral Malone's resignation. His focus on excellence and his commitment to the company and its stockholders has been unwavering. On behalf of the entire Board, I extend our thanks and appreciation for his dedication and service." Mr. Smith is the longest serving Intellicheck board member, having been first elected in 2005. He continued, "I am honored to be asked to serve as Board Chairman and I am looking forward to continuing our focus as advocates for the transformative leadership we have in place as our innovative team continues their efforts to onboard new customers and partners and expand opportunities for success and continued growth." Intellicheck President and CEO Bryan Lewis said, "We have benefited greatly from Vice Admiral Malone's leadership and allegiance to Intellicheck. His innumerable contributions have made an indelible impact on the Company and we will always be grateful to him for his vision and guidance." Vice Admiral Malone commented, "It has been an honor to serve as Chairman of the Board of this great company. I want to thank my fellow Board members and the employees of Intellicheck for their hard work and their efforts every day to serve our customers and foster a culture of innovation and achievement. I will maintain the personal relationships I have establishe, but I must focus my energy on fighting and winning against a rare form of cancer."



Michael D. Malone was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors in November of 2012. Vice Admiral Malone became a member of the Board of Directors in July of 2011. About Intellicheck NYSE American: IDN Intellicheck is a trusted industry leader in technology solutions that provide real-time identification authentication and age verification. We make it possible for our clients to enhance safety and awareness, increase revenues, improve customer service, and increase operational efficiencies. Founded in 1994, Intellicheck has grown to serve dozens of Fortune 500 companies including retail and financial industry clients, police departments, national defense clients at agencies, major seaports, and military bases, and diverse state and federal government agencies. For more information on Intellicheck, visit http://www.intellicheck.com/ and follow Intellicheck on Twitter @IntellicheckIDN, on Facebook (News - Alert) https://www.facebook.com/intellicheckidn/, on Instagram @IntellicheckIDN, on LinkedIn (News - Alert) https://www.linkedin.com/company/intellicheck-inc-, on YouTube (News - Alert) https://www.youtube.com/user/ICMOBIL, and read Intellicheck's latest blog post at http://intellicheckidn.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005497/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Acorn's OmniMetrix Subsidiary Delivers Q3 Revenue Growth of 23% in Industrial IoT, Remote Monitoring & Control

Dial 844-834-0644 for Investor Update Call Tomorrow Thurs. 11/15 at 11:00 am EST WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acorn Energy, Inc. (OTCQB: ACFN), a provider of remote monitoring and control systems and services for generators, pipelines and other industrial assets through its OmniMetrix subsidiary, today announced results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2018 (Q3'18). Acorn will host a conference call tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. EST (details below) to review its results and outlook. Jan Loeb, President and CEO of Acorn, commented, "Revenue from our OmniMetrix monitoring and control business grew 23% in the third quarter, reflecting particular strength in pipeline monitoring, and the subsidiary achieved its first quarter of positive operating profit. Benefiting from this performance, Acorns consolidated operating loss was reduced by more than half to $230,000 in the third quarter of 2018 compared to a loss of $531,000 in the third quarter of 2017. "OmniMetrix also delivered a year-over-year improvement in gross margin, which rose to 62% in Q3'18 versus 58% in Q3'17, principally due to the rollout of new higher-margin, next generation solutions. We are confident that this businesss ability to provide customers with significant operational, compliance, and financial benefits should support continued growth. To build on this solid operational base and to leverage Acorns publicly-traded status and over $60 million in operating loss carryforwards, we have been evaluating complementary acquisition opportunities that would accelerate our growth and enhance our financial performance. Our goal is to complete an attractive acquisition to increase our size and presence in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) space." Financial Results

OmniMetrixs third quarter 2018 revenue rose 23% to $1,337,000 from $1,085,000 in third quarter 2017, driven by increases in both monitoring and hardware revenue. Monitoring revenue reflects the continued increase in number of end points being monitored, more than 90% of which renew annually, and hardware revenue reflects increased sales of monitoring equipment versus the prior-year period. ($ in thousands) Q3'18 Q3'17 Increase Monitoring revenue $ 691 $ 548 26 % Hardware revenue $ 646 $ 537 20 % Total revenue $ 1,337 $ 1,085 23 % Gross profit $ 831 $ 629 32 % In the first nine months of 2018, revenue increased to $3,776,000, or 17% over the first nine months of 2017, reflecting growth in both monitoring revenue and, to a lesser extent, hardware revenue. ($ in thousands) Nine Months

2018 Nine Months

2017 Increase Monitoring revenue $ 1,990 $ 1,635 22 % Hardware revenue $ 1,786 $ 1,591 12 % Total revenue $ 3,776 $ 3,226 17 % Gross profit $ 2,312 $ 1,837 26 % OmniMetrixs third quarter 2018 gross profit grew 32% to $831,000, reflecting an increase in both revenue and gross margin, compared to third quarter 2017 gross profit of $629,000. Likewise, gross profit grew 26% to $2,312,000 in the first nine months of 2018, compared to gross profit of $1,837,000 in the first nine months of 2017. Improved 2018 results reflect the benefit of OmniMetrixs product development efforts which have enhanced the capabilities of its hardware monitoring solutions while also providing improved margins. As a result, hardware gross margin increased to 36% in the first nine months of 2018 from 29% in the first nine months of 2017. Gross margin on monitoring was level at 84% in the first nine months of both 2018 and 2017. OmniMetrix's third quarter 2018 operating expenses were $810,000 versus $811,000 in the third quarter of 2017, as higher R&D expenses were offset by lower SG&A costs. Significant revenue and gross profit growth and stable operating costs allowed OmniMetrix to generate operating income of $21,000 in the third quarter of 2018 versus an operating loss of $182,000 in the third quarter of 2017. OmniMetrix also reduced its operating loss to $112,000 in the first nine months of 2018 from $578,000 in the first nine months of 2017. Acorns corporate SG&A costs decreased 28% to $251,000 in the third quarter of 2018 compared to $349,000 in the third quarter of 2017, due to continued reductions in corporate overhead including compensation expenses. Acorn's consolidated operating loss was reduced by more than half to $230,000 in the third quarter of 2018 compared to $531,000 in the third quarter of 2017. For the first nine months of 2018, Acorn's consolidated operating loss was reduced by $233,000 to $1,142,000 compared to $1,375,000 in the first nine months of 2017. Year-over-year comparisons of net income (loss) attributable to Acorn shareholders are impacted by gains or losses as well as income related to DSIT Solutions Ltd. and/or discontinued operations. In August of 2018, Acorn received a refund of approximately $300,000 from the Israel tax authorities related to withholding taxes on the Company's April 2016 sale of shares in DSIT Solutions Ltd. This resulted in a gain of $222,000, or $0.01 per share, in the third quarter of 2018. Acorn reported third quarter 2018 net income attributable to shareholders of $4,000, or $0.00 per share. Acorn had net income attributable to shareholders of $236,000, or $0.01 per share, in the third quarter of 2017. The prior-year period included $633,000, or $0.02 per share, of income from discontinued operations. For the first nine months of 2018, Acorn reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of $1,756,000, or $0.06 per share versus a net loss attributable to shareholders of $475,000, or $0.02 per share, in the first nine months of 2017. The first nine months of 2018 reflect a charge of $607,000, or $0.02 per share, related to the disposition of DSIT interests, and the prior-year period benefited from income of discontinued operations of $698,000, or $0.02 per share, as well as $258,000, or $0.01 per share, of income related to DSITs operations. Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of September 30, 2018, Acorn had cash and cash equivalents of $1,722,000, including $300,000 of restricted cash. At September 30, 2018, OmniMetrix had $199,000 of short-term credit outstanding under its revolving credit facility. Management elected not to renew this facility beyond its October 31, 2018 contractual termination and subsequently repaid the facility in full. OmniMetrix is currently seeking a revolving credit line with more favorable terms and hopes to conclude the process over the next few months. Conference Call Details

Date/Time:

Dial-in Number:

Online Replay/Transcript:

Email Option for Q&A:

Thursday, November 15th at 11:00 am EST

1-844-834-0644 or 1-412-317-5190 (International)

Audio file and call transcript will be posted to the Investor section of Acorn's website when available.

[email protected]  before or after the call. About Acorn ( www.acornenergy.com ) and OmniMetrix ( www.omnimetrix.net )

Acorn Energy, Inc. owns an 80% equity stake in OmniMetrix, Inc., a pioneer and leader in machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) wireless remote monitoring and control for gas pipelines and stand-by generators used in cell towers, medical facilities, data centers, public transportation systems and for other critical equipment, including at federal, state and municipal government facilities. OmniMetrix offers proven, cost-effective solutions for making critical systems more reliable with thousands of monitored assets and thousands of customers, including 24 in the Fortune 500 or Fortune Global 500. Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. There is no assurance that Acorn will be successful in growing its business, reaching profitability, or maximizing the value of its operating company and other assets. A complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may affect Acorn Energys business, including the business of its subsidiary, is included in Risk Factors in the Companys most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Follow us

Twitter: @Acorn_IR and @OmniMetrix Investor Relations Contacts

William Jones, 267-987-2082

David Collins, 212-924-9800

Catalyst IR

[email protected]

ACORN ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)

(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA) Three months ended

September 30, Nine months ended

September 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Revenue $ 1,337 $ 1,085 $ 3,776 $ 3,226 Cost of sales 506 456 1,464 1,389 Gross profit 831 629 2,312 1,837 Operating expenses: Research and development expenses 139 122 399 390 Selling, general and administrative expenses 922 1,038 3,055 2,822 Total operating expenses 1,061 1,160 3,454 3,212 Operating loss (230 ) (531 ) (1,142 ) (1,375 ) Finance expense, net 3 (53 ) (76 ) (139 ) Loss before income taxes (227 ) (584 ) (1,218 ) (1,514 ) Income tax expense  (41 )  (41 ) Net loss after income taxes (227 ) (625 ) (1,218 ) (1,555 ) Shares of income in DSIT ? 189 33 258 Impairment of investment in DSIT ? ? (33 ) ? Gain (loss) on sale of interest in DSIT, net of withholding taxes and transaction costs 222 ? (607 ) ? Loss before discontinued operations (5 ) (436 ) (1,825 ) (1,297 ) Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes  633  698 Net income (loss) (5 ) 197 (1,825 ) (599 ) Non-controlling interest share of net loss 9 39 69 124 Net income (loss) attributable to Acorn shareholders $ 4 $ 236 $ (1,756 ) $ (475 ) Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to Acorn shareholders: Continuing operations $ 0.00 $ (0.01 ) $ (0.06 ) $ (0.04 ) Discontinued operations  0.02 ? 0.02 Total attributable to Acorn shareholders $ 0.00 $ 0.01 $ (0.06 ) $ (0.02 ) Weighted average number of shares outstanding attributable to Acorn shareholders  basic 29,555 29,454 29,535 29,397 Weighted average number of shares outstanding attributable to Acorn shareholders  diluted 29,555 29,454 29,535 29,397



ACORN ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)

(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT SHARE AND PER SHARE DATA) As of

September 30, 2018 As of

December 31, 2017 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,422 $ 481 Restricted cash 300  Accounts receivable, net 787 1,103 Inventory, net 325 229 Investment in DSIT  5,800 Deferred charges 861 999 Other current assets 200 91 Total current assets 3,895 8,703 Property and equipment, net 90 139 Other assets 572 380 Total assets $ 4,557 $ 9,222 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY (DEFICIT) Current liabilities: Short-term credit $ 199 $ 313 Accounts payable 385 489 Accrued expenses 525 466 Deferred revenue 2,795 2,753 Due to Acorn directors (former directors as of August 6, 2018) 220 1,690 Due to DSIT ? 1,624 Other current liabilities 166 185 Total current liabilities 4,290 7,520 Non-current liabilities: Deferred revenue 1,092 811 Due to Acorn director (former director as of August 6, 2018) 103 ? Other non-current liabilities 25 139 Total non-current liabilities 1,220 950 Commitments and contingencies Equity (Deficit): Acorn Energy, Inc. shareholders Common stock - $0.01 par value per share: Authorized  42,000,000 shares; Issued  30,357,706 and 30,302,271 shares at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 304 303 Additional paid-in capital 99,853 99,819 Warrants 1,600 1,600 Accumulated deficit (99,819 ) (98,215 ) Treasury stock, at cost  801,920 shares at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 (3,036 ) (3,036 ) Total Acorn Energy, Inc. shareholders equity (deficit) (1,098 ) 471 Non-controlling interests 145 281 Total equity (deficit) (953 ) 752 Total liabilities and equity (deficit) $ 4,557 $ 9,222



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] American Life Launches FAST Platform in "Record Time"

FAST (News - Alert) announced today that American Life & Security Corp. ("American Life") is in production with FAST Insurance Components for its first annuity product after an unprecedented 12-week implementation. This release includes modules for new business, policy administration, and distribution management and sets the stage for continuous optimization of FAST through ongoing agile releases. Additionally, American Life is the first FAST policy administration implementation to be hosted by FAST as part of a software as a service (SaaS (News - Alert)) arrangement on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. American Life was able to exceed prior FAST implementation timelines by leveraging FAST's out-of-the-box processing functionality, configurable product engine, easy integration capabilities, and a unique implementation methodology. "From the beginning, FAST shared our objective to rapidly implement a robust policy administration system while minimizing costs," said Michael Salem, Chairman of American Life and Co-CEO of Vespoint LLC, controlling entity of American Life. "While others considered our approach to be aggressive or unrealistic, it made perfect sense to FAST - and we succeeded. We are proud of the teams at American Life and FAST for this impressive accomplishment and we are excited about what this means for the future of our company." "American Life has done an incredible job leveraging FAST's functionality and applying best practices that we've learned over many years of implementing policy administration and distribution management systems," said Tom Famularo, CEO of FAST. "With our customers, the FAST team continues to shortenthe time to implement core systems. The American Life implementation was done in 'record time' - two weeks quicker than our previous best."



"We are extremely fortunate to have partnered with FAST," added Justin Oliver, Enterprise Architect of American Life. "It is the best technology platform in the industry and their ability to quickly integrate into other systems and vendors is unmatched. Their relationship with Amazon Web Services (News - Alert) enabled us to become a fully cloud-based insurance company overnight, reducing our fixed costs, securing our clients' data behind the industry's best protection, and providing a full disaster recovery solution we could not replicate even at a multiple of the cost." American Life and FAST will continue to expand the offering to include additional products and services to enhance the policyholder experiences in addition to supporting third-party blocks of business.

About FAST FAST, which stands for "Flexible Architecture, Simplified Technology," is a privately-held company located in Iselin, NJ. FAST focuses on solving the challenges our financial services and insurance clients face as they seek to modernize their systems environments or completely replace legacy systems. Visit: www.fasttechnology.com About American Life & Security Corp. Founded in 1960, American Life is a life and annuity insurance company located in Lincoln, Nebraska. American Life addresses a market need in the life and annuity space for a technology-enabled, operationally-focused life and annuity carrier. American Life is a subsidiary of Midwest Holding Inc. (OTCQB:MDWT). Visit: www.american-life.com About Vespoint LLC Vespoint is a private insurance-focused investment, management and technology company founded by insurance and asset management veterans Michael Minnich and Michael Salem. Combining industry expertise with an innovative approach, Vespoint is uniquely positioned to take advantage of a rapidly changing insurance marketplace. Visit: www.vespointllc.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005937/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] Surface Modification Technology start-up Nelumbo receives $5.5 million in Series A funding

Company moves into new, Hayward, California facility that includes an R&D lab, testing center and a pilot production plant

HAYWARD, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Surface Modification Technology startup Nelumbo has raised $5.5 million in a Series A offering led by the Berkeley Catalyst Fund with syndicate partners that include Photon Fund, 1517 Fund, UPC Renewables, and Danfoss. The Series A financing, which was oversubscribed, enables Nelumbo to bring first products to market and establish additional strategic partnerships focused on developing and commercializing new products. In conjunction with the financing, Nelumbo expanded its Board of Directors and opened its new headquarters in Hayward, California. The newly expanded Board is comprised of Laura Smoliar, Managing Director at Berkeley Catalyst Fund, Liam Berryman, cofounder and CEO, Lance Brockway, cofounder and CTO, and Mike Hopkins, recently retired CEO of Ice Energy who serves as an Independent Director. The new 8,000 square foot Nelumbo headquarters includes offices for the quickly growing team, R&D lab and testing center, and pilot production plant capable of sending commercial scale product direct to customers, allowing significant acceleration in Nelumbos commercialization process. The team and I could not be more pleased with our Series A financing, sid Liam Berryman. The quality of the investors that have joined us is the result of Nelumbo having developed a technology platform with application to many end products and demonstrated demand in our first targeted vertical of cooling. Our new headquarters provides us the end to end commercialization ability we desire and is strategically located in the center of the Bay Area, which enables us to attract talent from universities such as UC Berkeley and Stanford, and also from 'hard tech' companies in Fremont and San Jose. Last but not least, with our newly expanded Board we have the strategic support and network to help see us through this next stage of growth.



Berkeley Catalyst Fund is excited about Nelumbo's ability to transform traditional industries with advanced materials and have a positive impact on people's daily lives around the globe, said Laura Smoliar. I am personally excited to see Nelumbo break into new applications and markets both domestically and overseas. I am honored to join Nelumbo as their Independent Director, said Mike Hopkins. Having successfully commercialized disruptive technologies in the cooling market, I recognize the market need and opportunity and have tremendous confidence in the ability of Nelumbo and its partners to fundamentally improve the performance of heat exchangers as the first targeted vertical for Nelumbos surface modification technology.

About Nelumbo Established in 2015 with a goal of changing the power of materials science in modern society and business, Nelumbo is a recognized pioneer in the field of advanced surface modifications and a trusted partner for developing, manufacturing, and selling redefined products using innovative surface technologies. The Nelumbo technology includes a multi-functional and customizable surface modification platform that can be integrated with base products for dramatic differentiation, performance advantages, and access to new markets by solving critical technical challenges. Nelumbo formed out of UC Berkeley and has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Cyclotron Road Fellowship, the Thiel Fellowship, and Forbes 30 under 30 for Energy. Media contact: John Reed, Media Relations

Elevator Communications, LLC

Tiburon, CA

(415) 846-4862 - cellular

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[November 14, 2018] UrtheCast Reports Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

VANCOUVER, Nov. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - UrtheCast Corp. (TSX:UR) ("UrtheCast" or the "Company") today announces financial results for the three and nine months ended on September 30, 2018 and provides an update on its financial condition. Q3 2018 Financial Results







(in millions of Canadian dollars) Q3 2018 Q3 2017 YTD 2018 YTD 2017 Revenue $ 2.2 $ 10.2 $ 9.8 $ 31.4 Operating costs 15.2 16.0 46.2 47.9 Net loss (16.5) (6.4) (40.8) (15.4) Adjusted EBITDA (1) (6.8) (0.4) (20.3) (0.8)



1 Non-IFRS earnings measure. See reconciliation to Net Loss later in this press release. Revenue decreased by $8.0 million in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the same quarter last year and by $21.6 million for the year-to-date compared to the same period last year. Revenue from engineering services decreased by $7.1 million in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the same quarter last year, primarily due to a change in the expected completion date of one of our engineering services contracts during the current year, which resulted in the remaining revenue being recognized over a longer period, and due to a reduction in engineering revenue on our contracts for the provision of space hardware compared to the prior year. Earth Observation ("EO") imagery sales decreased by $0.9 million in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the same quarter last year, due to lower contract volume in the current year and a delay in securing and meeting the revenue recognition criteria for the major contract with the ESA as discussed further below in "Business Highlights - Major EO Contract Awards". The net loss of $16.5 million and negative adjusted EBITDA of $6.8 million in the third quarter of 2018 were higher compared to the net loss of $6.4 million and negative adjusted EBITDA of $0.4 million in the same quarter last year, primarily due to the decrease in revenue. Donald Osborne, CEO of UrtheCast, commented, "We have made important progress in the implementation of our strategic initiatives to restructure, streamline, and strengthen UrtheCast in order to achieve long-term sustainability and profitability. By simultaneously reducing our run-rate fixed costs and dramatically expanding our contracted revenue backlog to more than $350 million, we have refocused the Company on fully realizing the value of our unique service offering and the deep UrtheCast team. Building on this improved foundation, our upcoming acquisition of Geosys will enable us to move further up the geoanalytics value chain and deliver increasingly high-margin services to both existing and new customers. As we continue to conduct negotiations with our lenders, we believe that we have materially strengthened the Company and demonstrated a significant level of demand for UrtheDaily, and as such we remain confident that we will bring the groundbreaking UrtheDaily Constellation to the market for the benefit of our shareholders." Business Highlights Geosys Acquisition On November 7, 2018 , UrtheCast announced that it entered into a definitive purchase agreement with Land O'Lakes, Inc. ("Land O'Lakes") for the acquisition of Geosys Technology Holding LLC ("Geosys"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O'Lakes, for an aggregate cash purchase price of US$20 million , subject to customary working capital adjustments. The Company expects to complete the first closing before the end of 2018.





, UrtheCast announced that it entered into a definitive purchase agreement with Land O'Lakes, Inc. ("Land O'Lakes") for the acquisition of Geosys Technology Holding LLC ("Geosys"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O'Lakes, for an aggregate cash purchase price of , subject to customary working capital adjustments. The Company expects to complete the first closing before the end of 2018. UrtheCast will continue to provide Land O'Lakes with certain services currently provided by Geosys but with an expanded utilization of data once the UrtheDaily constellation is fully operational. Services would be provided by UrtheCast pursuant to a 13-year agreement, to be entered into on first closing, with total annual fees payable to UrtheCast in excess of US$10 million per year, and an increased rate at such time as the UrtheDaily Constellation is operational.





per year, and an increased rate at such time as the UrtheDaily Constellation is operational. The Geosys acquisition would bring UrtheCast's total contracted revenue backlog to in excess of $350 million . Secured Revolving Credit Facility The Company reached an agreement in principle with 1112099 B .C. Ltd., the backstop party which entered into the conditional backstop agreement with the Company in connection with the private placement that closed on May 3, 2018 , to extend to the Company a secured revolving credit facility of up to US$20 million , of which US$5 million was advanced as a non-convertible unsecured interest-bearing demand promissory note in September 2018. The revolving credit facility and the terms and conditions thereof remain subject to, among other things, the entering into of definitive documentation and the receipt of all necessary consents and approvals. Major EO Contract Awards On July 12, 2018 UrtheCast and its subsidiary, Deimos Imaging, S.L.U. ("Deimos"), announced that they have been awarded a multi-million Euro contract through a consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space to provide a large set of EO products and services to the European Commission and the European Space Agency (the "ESA"). As at September 30, 2018 , Deimos had delivered over 90% of the contracted EO products to Airbus and approximately 50% of this data was accepted by Airbus. However, Deimos did not meet the revenue recognition criteria in the third quarter since the revenue recognition is tied to ESA's acceptance of complete data sets to be delivered by Airbus, on behalf of the consortium, which has not yet been achieved.





UrtheCast and its subsidiary, Deimos Imaging, S.L.U. ("Deimos"), announced that they have been awarded a multi-million Euro contract through a consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space to provide a large set of EO products and services to the European Commission and the European Space Agency (the "ESA"). As at , Deimos had delivered over 90% of the contracted EO products to Airbus and approximately 50% of this data was accepted by Airbus. However, Deimos did not meet the revenue recognition criteria in the third quarter since the revenue recognition is tied to ESA's acceptance of complete data sets to be delivered by Airbus, on behalf of the consortium, which has not yet been achieved. On September 20, 2018 , UrtheCast announced that it signed a binding contract for US$25 million to provide data from its planned UrtheDaily Constellation to a long-established commercial Earth Observation operator and value-added services provider, which will provide UrtheCast US$5 million annually over the first five years of UrtheDaily operations.





, UrtheCast announced that it signed a binding contract for to provide data from its planned UrtheDaily Constellation to a long-established commercial Earth Observation operator and value-added services provider, which will provide UrtheCast annually over the first five years of UrtheDaily operations. On October 18, 2018 , UrtheCast announced that it signed a binding contract for US$30 million to provide data from its planned UrtheDaily Constellation to TerraTech JSC, a commercial provider of Earth observation and geoinformation services and a subsidiary of the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos. The contract would provide US$10 million annually over the first three years of UrtheDaily operations, with an option for an additional two years at the same annual rate. UrtheDaily Financing As previously announced, the Company entered into a US$142 million senior secured credit facility (the "Credit Agreement") on May 18, 2018 with the senior lenders thereunder (the "Senior Lenders") to finance the construction, launch, and deployment of the six-satellite UrtheDaily Constellation as well as related working capital and general corporate purposes.





senior secured credit facility (the "Credit Agreement") on with the senior lenders thereunder (the "Senior Lenders") to finance the construction, launch, and deployment of the six-satellite UrtheDaily Constellation as well as related working capital and general corporate purposes. As announced on October 26, 2018 , the Company received a letter dated October 24, 2018 from the Senior Lenders advising that an event of default (the "Event of Default") had occurred under the Credit Agreement as a result of the recent resignation of an executive of Deimos, who was identified as a key man in the Credit Agreement. UrtheCast also announced that it had entered into a forbearance agreement (the "Forbearance Agreement") dated October 25, 2018 with the Senior Lenders pursuant to which the Senior Lenders agreed to refrain from taking any actions or seeking any remedies available to them under the terms of the Credit Agreement until November 23, 2018 . The Company is in discussions with the Senior Lenders regarding ways to remedy the Event of Default. At the same time, the Company is exploring an alternate transaction with other lenders.





, the Company received a letter dated from the Senior Lenders advising that an event of default (the "Event of Default") had occurred under the Credit Agreement as a result of the recent resignation of an executive of Deimos, who was identified as a key man in the Credit Agreement. UrtheCast also announced that it had entered into a forbearance agreement (the "Forbearance Agreement") dated with the Senior Lenders pursuant to which the Senior Lenders agreed to refrain from taking any actions or seeking any remedies available to them under the terms of the Credit Agreement until . The Company is in discussions with the Senior Lenders regarding ways to remedy the Event of Default. At the same time, the Company is exploring an alternate transaction with other lenders. UrtheCast is continuing to work to meet all previously announced first drawdown conditions under the Credit Agreement, including but not limited to, the refinancing of the Sabadell loan and the receipt of confirmation from the Senior Lenders that the minimum annual binding contractual commitments for UrtheDaily have been met. With more than $350 million in binding contractual commitments, management believes that UrtheCast's business case, including for the UrtheDaily Constellation, has been validated, and intends to seek out alternative funding sources if the Senior Lenders choose not to fund under the Credit Agreement. Outlook We refer you to the Company's condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and the related Management's Discussion & Analysis for further details relating to the Company's liquidity position. The Company has taken steps subsequent to the quarter ended September 30, 2018 to ensure that it is able to continue as a going concern and that it has adequate liquidity in the near term. SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION The following table provides selected financial information of the Company, which was derived from, and should be read in conjunction with, the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the respective periods. All financial information is in thousands of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted, and except for per share amounts.

Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,



2018

2017

2018

2017 Revenue $ 2,151 $ 10,165 $ 9,795 $ 31,415 Other operating income

172

90

404

201



2,323

10,255

10,199

31,616 Operating costs















Direct costs, selling, general and administrative expenses

8,302

10,418

28,998

31,821 Research expenditures

842

211

1,454

599 Depreciation and amortization

4,210

4,156

12,869

12,818 Asset impairment

744

355

744

664 Share-based payments

1,063

822

2,112

2,033



15,161

15,962

46,177

47,935 Operating loss

(12,838)

(5,707)

(35,978)

(16,319) Net finance costs

(1,703)

(528)

(8,151)

(1,406) (Loss) gain on derivative financial instruments

(1,796)

422

2,575

1,345 Foreign exchange (loss) gain

(295)

(760)

401

(1,965) Loss before income taxes

(16,632)

(6,573)

(41,153)

(18,345) Income tax recovery

103

173

313

2,961 Net loss

(16,529)

(6,400)

(40,840)

(15,384) Other comprehensive (loss) income

(650)

(340)

251

2,664 Comprehensive loss $ (17,179) $ (6,740) $ (40,589) $ (12,720) Net loss per share  basic and diluted $ (0.13) $ (0.05) $ (0.33) $ (0.13) NON-IFRS EARNINGS MEASURES The following table reconciles our Non-IFRS earnings measures to Net Loss prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,



2018

2017

2018

2017 ADJUSTED EBITDA:















Net loss $ (16,529) $ (6,400) $ (40,840) $ (15,384) Add back (subtract):















Depreciation and amortization

4,210

4,156

12,869

12,818 Net finance costs

1,703

528

8,151

1,406 Income tax recovery

(103)

(173)

(313)

(2,961) EBITDA

(10,719)

(1,889)

(20,133)

(4,121) Asset impairment

744

355

744

664 Share-based payments expense

1,063

822

2,112

2,033 Loss (gain) on derivative financial instruments

1,796

(422)

(2,575)

(1,345) Foreign exchange loss (gain)

295

760

(401)

1,965 ADJUSTED EBITDA $ (6,821) $ (374) $ (20,253) $ (804) About UrtheCast UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based company that serves the rapidly growing and evolving geospatial and geo-analytics markets with a wide range of information-rich products and services. The Company currently owns and operates two Earth Observation (EO) satellites, Deimos-1 and Deimos-2. Together with its exclusive partnerships, spanning an additional 20 satellites, UrtheCast processes and distributes imagery data and value-added products on a global scale to partners and customers in multiple markets. UrtheCast is also planning to launch UrtheDaily, a satellite constellation that will be the most advanced change detection system in the world, designed to capture daily, scientific grade, high-quality, medium resolution optical imagery of the Earth's entire landmass (excluding Antarctica). Additionally, UrtheCast continues to seek options to exploit its unique SAR technology. Common shares of UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker "UR". For more information, visit UrtheCast's website at www.urthecast.com. Non-IFRS Financial Measures The Company prepares its financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. This release includes certain non-IFRS financial measures, such as EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. The Company uses these non-IFRS financial measures as supplemental indicators of its operating performance and financial position. These measures do not have any standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and therefore are unlikely to be comparable to the calculation of similar measures used by other companies, and should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with IFRS or considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures should be read in conjunction with the Company's financial statements and accompanying Management's Discussion & Analysis. Forward Looking Information This release contains certain information which, as presented, constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-oriented financial information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that relate to future events and often addresses expected future business and financial performance, containing words such as "anticipate", "plan", "explore" and "expect", statements that an action or event "may", "should" or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions and includes, but is not limited to, statements relating to: UrtheCast's expectations with respect to its ability to raise capital and to continue as a going concern; UrtheCast's expectations with respect to the Senior Lenders continuing to forbear on, and UrtheCast's ability to cure, the Event of Default under the Credit Agreement prior to the expiry of the Forbearance Agreement or at all; UrtheCast's ability to complete each of the first and second closings of the acquisition of Geosys on the terms set forth in the definitive purchase agreement or at all; UrtheCast's ability to meet its obligations and satisfy its liabilities under its existing indebtedness; UrtheCast's ability to enter into the definitive documentation relating to the revolving credit facility on terms acceptable to the Company or at all; UrtheCast's ability to enter into the planned UrtheDaily satellite constellation; UrtheCast's expectations with respect to its ability to raise proceeds from a subordinated debt or equity offering, achieve the required leverage and contracted value ratios and otherwise satisfy the first drawdown conditions under the Credit Agreement; UrtheCast's ability to satisfy the conditions precedent to certain contracts signed and announced; new product functionality and suitability; projected operating expenses and capital expenditures; UrtheCast's ability to secure additional customer contracts for the planned UrtheDaily constellation in a timely manner or at all; UrtheCast's ability to secure financing for the planned UrtheDaily constellation on acceptable terms, in a timely manner, or at all. Such statements reflect UrtheCast's current views with respect to future events. Such statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by UrtheCast as at the date of this press release, are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause UrtheCast's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others: UrtheCast's inability to enter into definitive documentation or satisfy any of the other conditions to the completion of the Geosys transaction; UrtheCast's inability to fund the installments for the purchase price of the Geosys transaction; Deimos Imaging or any other imaging provider supplying data to the consortium being unable to deliver imagery products meeting the minimum specifications required by the consortium agreement; interruptions to or failures of Deimos' infrastructure or the infrastructure of any other imaging provider supplying data to the consortium; Airbus Defence and Space's inability to satisfy its payment obligations under the consortium agreement; ESA's inability to satisfy its payments obligations under the head contract with Airbus Defence and Space; legal and regulatory changes; UrtheCast's inability to raise proceeds from a subordinated debt or equity offering, achieve the required leverage and contracted revenue ratios or otherwise satisfy the first drawdown conditions or the final drawdown conditions under the Credit Agreement in a timely manner or at all; and uncertainty about UrtheCast's ability to continue as a going concern; as well as those factors and assumptions discussed in UrtheCast's annual information form dated April 2, 2018, which is available under UrtheCast's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. UrtheCast cautions readers that such factors and uncertainties are not exhaustive and that should certain risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying estimates or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary significantly from those expected. There can be no assurance that the actual strategies, results, performance, events or activities anticipated by the Company will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. UrtheCast undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. SOURCE UrtheCast Corp.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Android is ready for a future in which foldable displays shape shift into different form factors. In fact, Google has been preparing for this foldable future for a long time now  as long as Android apps started to run in desktop mode.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide/Samsung)

This week, Google engineers took over the Android Dev Summit to talk about foldable devices. Apparently, not only has Google been teaming up with Samsung on the latters foldable phone, but the Mountain View company has also been working with developers in making sure that apps will work across multiple screen formats, adapting their UI and functionality on the fly.

According to Andrii Kulian  engineer at Googles Android Frameworks and one of the speakers at the developers conference  the platform is ready to work with foldable devices. In fact, many Android apps already support multiple display modes, so developers will be able to easily adapt them to work with something like the Galaxy F.

(Image credit: SlashGear/Google)

Kulian says that there are three categories of devices that already take advantage of these morphing apps. First, the phones themselves, which can turn into desktop PCs using solutions like Samsung DeX or the PC Mode in the Huawei Mate 10 Pro. When running in this mode, some Android apps can turn into larger or more functional versions of themselves.

MORE: Samsung Galaxy X Rumors: Foldable Phone Release Date, Specs and More



A variation of that, Kulian told the audience, is running Android apps in Chrome OS, where they can run in free-form windowing mode, and the user expects them to be freely and smoothly resizable. And finally there is Automotive Android, which can display different apps in different displays.

So, according to Kulian, specific support for foldable displays is a piece of cake and should be the natural next step for developers. With a foldable device like the Samsung Infinity Flex, with its frontal secondary screen, things will work the same as in current multiple display devices.

Credt: Google

An app that will appear like a regular mobile app on the secondary cover screen will dynamically expand into the main screen when the user opens the device, The app, he said, can offer the same functionality or expanded functionality, depending on the developers desires. Or it can work in split-screen mode to enable multitasking operations like drag-and-drop between two apps.

The company seems to want to get everyone on board with this adaptive multiple screen app approach. Kulian says that Google will release guidelines for an optimal foldable experience as well as tools to simulate this type of form factor for developers, which should hopefully lead to a healthy crop of foldable-friendly apps once these phones hit the market.
When it debuted, the Ecobee3 was our favorite smart thermostat due to its ease of use, interconnectivity with other smart home devices, and the ability to monitor the temperature in more than one room of your hose. However, its $249 price wasn't for everyone. Ecobees newest thermostat, the Ecobee3 Lite, strips away some of those features, and drops the price to a more reasonable $169. However, you can still control it remotely from your phone, and you can connect it with other devices, so that it only turns on and off when you want it topotentially saving you money on your heating bill. Is the Ecobee3 Lite just as good a value as its brother? Yes, which is why it's one of the best smart thermostats for the money.

Design and Interface

The Ecobee3 Lite looks very similar to the more expensive Ecobee3, in that it has a rounded all-black face and a white back. The sides of the Lite model, though, tapers inwards, so that the area where it meets the base plate is smaller than the front.

A rectangular 3.5-inch color touchscreen on the front of the Ecobee3 lets you view and change the temperature, much like the more expensive model. I found this one just as easy to use and responsive to touch.



The home screen displays the current temperature inside your apartment, the humidity level, and the current state of the system (Off, Heat, Cool). Along the bottom are icons to adjust settings, as well as view the local weather forecast.

I wish Ecobee made more use of the color aspect of the screen; for the most part, all you get is white letters and numbers on a black background, with a little yellow thrown in when representing the sun. However, I wish the home screen also showed the time.

Installation and Setup

As with the original (and most smart thermostats), to get the Ecobee3 Lite up and running, you first must connect the wires leading from your HVAC system to the thermostats base plate, and then attach the base plate to the wall. (Screws and anchor bolts are provided).

I like that Ecobees base plate has a small leveling bubble, to ensure that youre not installing it on an angle. Next, attach the face to the base plate, and the Ecobee3 Lite should power up.



Unlike the Nest Learning Thermostat, the Ecobee requires that you connect a C wire for power; I like that Ecobee includes an adapter for those who dont have a C wire, and that attaching the adapter is as simple as attaching a few wires.



You then have to download and install Ecobees app (Android and iOS) and link the thermostat to your account, as well as your Wi-Fi network. The app then runs you through several screens to determine your location, as well as the configuration of your HVAC system.

Features

The biggest difference between the $249 Ecobee3 and the $169 Lite version is that the latter doesnt come with a separate room sensor. However, it can be paired with remote sensors, which can be purchased separately; a two-pack costs $57. This was perhaps my favorite feature of the Ecobee3, and certainly its most practical. However, if you have a small apartment, or a studio, this extra sensor probably isnt worth the added cost.

Unlike Honeywells Lyric T5, the Ecobee 3 Lite lacks a geofencing feature, so it wont automatically switch from Away to Home mode if you get within a certain radius of your house. This can be mitigated by connecting the Ecobee to IFTTT, and using a geofencing recipe, but it is an extra step.

However, the Ecobee3 Lite has a motion sensor, so it will automatically turn on if you walk in front of it.

Smart Home Integration

Of all the smart thermostats, the Ecobee3 is one of the most connected, and will work with the Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, IFTTT, Wink, and Control4 systems.



By comparison, similarly priced smart thermostats, such as the Honeywell Lyric T5, while compatible with Alexa and HomeKit, do not work with nearly as many other networks.

Bottom Line

The $169 Ecobee3 Lite is a great midrange smart thermostat for those who don't wantor don't want to payfor all of the features of the Ecobee3 or 4. makes the most sense for someone who has, say, a studio or one-bedroom apartment, . The Honeywell Lyric T5 offers many of the same features and costs $20 less, but doesnt work with nearly as many smart home devices, and isn't compatible with remote sensors. If youre looking for a thermostat to complement your super-connected apartment, the Ecobee3 Lite is a very good option.
The Google Pixel 3 is a fantastic camera phone, even though it is one of those rare handsets that has just one lens on the back. The new Night Sight feature confirms this.

Night Sight is a feature that was teased at the Pixel 3 launch but has been one Google has been slow to release. The reason for this isnt certain. But its clear that Google didnt want the world to think that Night Sight is a function thats just for its Pixel 3 range, as it will also be available on all of the other Pixel phones.

We were given a pre-release version of the feature (an official one and not a workaround that did the rounds recently) and its very impressive.

This selfie was taken in a dark corner, with a little bit of streetlight glare in the background. Normal camera mode picked out some detail but the overall quality is dark and subdued. Turn on Night Sight, and it's like dawn has broken. Colors are bright and while there's detail lost in the face, the effect is bold and bright.





Taking an image of this hedgerow was a real struggle for the normal camera mode on the Google Pixel 3. The picture's palette is muggy and mostly in shadow. When Night Sight was flicked on, it took a little longer to take the shot but there's a real vibrancy there.





This is Google's AI algorithm at work, and it really is jaw dropping just how much light and detailed is added. Just look at the way the feature has picked out the greens and browns of the leaves in the foreground.

We also took the feature for a test run around London, capturing some of the capitals best-known landmarks. The results we got back were fantastic. While the Google Pixel 3 did a decent job of capturing the night without the feature, switch it on and theres much more detail in the shots. As you can see from the photo of the building, the sky is visibly lighter, with more cloud detail and the lights in the building sparkle that little bit more.

When taking a shot of the London Eye, the exposure time was only a few seconds but the results are a much punchier red around the rim of the wheel, while the spokes in the middle are far more detailed than with the Night Sight feature on.





The reason for the varying exposure times is actually due to how much handshake there is when you are taking an image.



Before the shutter button is even pressed, Night Sight will measure your natural hand shake, and take into account any other motion in the scene. If the phone is fairly stable then, Night Sight will take more time capturing the light. If theres a lot of movement, then it will use a shorter exposures and this minimizes motion blur.

MORE: Google Pixel 3 Review: The Best Android Meets the Best Camera

In our tests, it was clear that Night Sight offers up a much brighter image. When we went to New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of Londons Metropolitan police, the logo on the sign was enhanced massively by Night Sight.

When taking an image of Westminster Cathedral, its apparent in the Night Sight version that there is more reflection in the puddle in the foreground and the buildings to the right of the cathedral have more detail.

This was, however, a fairly well lit shot (even though it was taken at night). Night Sight couldnt quite combat the lens flare of the street light. and this is something Google notes that having too many bright lights in the shot will lessen the quality of the image.

On the flipside of this, Night Sight isnt night vision. It hasnt been created to help you see in the dark, so there needs to be some available light in the image for it to work effectively.

We also occasionally found that Night Sight would struggle a little with its focus. But there is near and far focus functionality available in the feature. When we toggled this option, the results certainly improved.

MORE: The Pixel 3's Night Sight Camera Is Downright Magical

To coincide with the launch, Google has released a blog post that details the technology behind Night Sight. In short, the feature works by taking a number of shots to ape a long exposure. It then stitches these together and uses AI to to add in color where needed.

Google is confident that it has created a substantial feature here, explaining: Night Sight is designed to capture true-to-life photos, adapting to the various lighting conditions youll see at night. Using machine learning, Night Sight balances the color of your photo, so that objects show their natural color at night.



Night Sight is rolling out to all Pixel phones in the coming days.



Credit: Tom's Guide
Our list of the best Netflix shows is still doing well, with Netflix pulling in one surprising addition that we didn't expect to land on the big red streaming machine now that Peacock exists. But popular shows like Outer Banks are giving people a reason to keep their subscription (even if they're not exactly "prestige TV").

The folks who vote on the Emmys sure love The Crown, as it won seven awards. We're already tracking all the things to know about The Crown season 5. And while they're not prestige TV, Netflix's latest hits have people tracking Sexy Beasts season 2 and asking "What is Squid Game and why the heck is it so popular?" And while we wait for that, we've just received You season 3 and a trailer for The Witcher's second run.

In other Netflix news, Cobra Kai season 4 is bringing a classic villain back, and Lupin came back for its second round (plus, Lupin season 3 is confirmed!). And while we struggle to figure out when Stranger Things season 4 is coming back, we're happy to note that we know when The Witcher season 2 is.

The best Netflix movies

How to watch the Marvel movies in order: Watch the MCU chronologically

Admittedly, Netflix is now our second-ranked entry in our best streaming service list because HBO Max has basically clawed its way to the top with great movies. Netflix is still worthy, though, with its surplus of shows, and range and variety thereof. Though for every title we love, it seems that the list of Netflix's canceled shows gains another series to mourn.

The recent hits on this list of the best shows on Netflix include a true rarity, as The Queen's Gambit earned a 100% perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes (but it dropped to 97% over time). If Netflix isn't earning a perfect score with you for service, check out our guide to calling Netflix customer service, to get a real person on the line.

If you make it to the end of this list and need more? Check out our guide to the best Netflix alternatives to expand your options, and also look at our Netflix vs Hulu comparison. We're also tracking the best Hulu movies, if you have an account there.

Latest Netflix shows news (updated Nov. 1)  The first full Witcher season 2 trailer is here

 You season 4 is confirmed

 Sex Education season 3 is here and getting rave reviews

But if you want to dig down by genre, and not just pick what Netflix tells you to watch, we've got more lists for you. Check out our guides to the best Netflix comedies, the best Netflix documentaries, and the best Netflix anime.

In terms of what's next, check out our new on Netflix guide to see the service's offerings for the next month. Plus our Netflix hidden gems list is a great place to find shows and movies you may have missed.

Don't know what to watch? We tried Netflixs Play Something feature  and the results surprised us.

The 61 best Netflix shows and TV series right now:

Squid Game

(Image credit: Youngkyu Park)

Korean thriller/drama Squid Game has captured Netflix in a nine-episode run that has everyone asking questions left and right. The series revolves around chauffeur Seong Gi-hun, who is broke and finds himself involved in a mysterious series of children's games run by masked guards, for a 45.6 billion prize. Squid Game is amazing not just for how well it's made, but for how its intriguing cast of characters will send you rooting for people you might not have before. Squid Game season 2 isn't official, but we want it anyways.

Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon, O Yeong-su

Seasons: 1 seasons (9 episodes)

Year: 2021

Genre: Thriller/drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Money Heist (La Casa de Papel)

(Image credit: Money Heist official images)

If you're looking for an intense and action-packed crime series, check out the greatest heists this side of Danny Ocean. The beautifully-shot series tracks the crews led by The Professor, who aims to take rob the Royal Mint of Spain and the Bank of Spain. This Spanish-language show zigs and zags all over the place, with flash-backs and time jumps to keep you on your toes. You even have to be concerned with the ol' "unreliable narrator" conceit, which adds even more intrigue.

Cast: Ursula Corbero, Alvaro Morte, Itziar Ituno, Pedro Alonso

Seasons: 2 seasons (in 5 parts so far)

Year: 2017 - 2021 (ongoing)

Genre: Crime

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

30 Rock

(Image credit: NBC)

The fact that 30 Rock has come back to Netflix seems like some big joke played on Kabletown (or should we say Comcast, owner of the Peacock streaming service). That said, we're not asking any questions about why this isn't an exclusive for NBC's own streaming service. Not when we can watch one of the best sitcoms of the past decades. 30 Rock had a frighteningly good idea of what would work early on, as Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy's difficulties working together (and Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney's inability to actually work) always proved pitch-perfect comedy

Cast: Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Alec Baldwin

Seasons: 7

Year: 2006 - 2013

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%

I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson

(Image credit: Netflix)

You'll never laugh or cringe as much as you do when watching this short-form series from Tim Robinson (Detroiters). It's the show that either your friends are demanding you watching now (so you can get the jokes) or folks have accepted you just won't like because its humor is too much. Season 2 has some amazing moments (have you paid yet?) and while we're not sure if the hot dog-shaped car's crash has been topped, it doesn't need to be. Not when you have no idea what to do behind the steering wheel.

Cast: Tim Robinson, Andy Samberg, Ashleigh Nicole Johnson

Seasons: 2

Year: 2019 - 2021 (ongoing)

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Formula 1: Drive to Survive

(Image credit: Netflix)

The wild world of Formula 1 racing may often take place at hours that makes it inaccessible to those in America, and that's where the Drive to Survive show comes in. One of the best Netflix shows out there, this gripping documentary series brings you up close and personal with the best drivers in the world, including its biggest star, Lewis Hamilton. The third, and most recent, series showed how Covid-19 flipped F1 racing on its head, as Hamilton ascended to the top of the board.

Cast: Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Marcus Ericsson, Lewis Hamilton

Seasons: 3

Year: 2019 - 2021

Genre: Sports documentary

Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A

Ginny and Georgia

(Image credit: Netflix)

Young parents often lead to dramatic lives, and such is the case with Georgia Miller, who's ended her years of a nomadic lifestyle only to find more chaos. Her daughter, 15-year-old Ginny, can't escape her mother's past either. A second season of this popular series  often ranked in the top shows on Netflix  is inevitable, as it ended on a cliffhanger built for more stories. We're tracking all things Ginny and Georgia season 2 already.

Cast: Brianne Howey, Antonia Gentry, Diesel La Torraca, Scott Porter, Sara Waisglass

Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)

Year: 2021  Present

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%

Lupin

(Image credit: Emmanuel Guimier / Netflix)

Need a getaway and a thrill? Then it's time to tag along with Assane Diop, a thief inspired by the fictional 'gentleman thief' Arsene Lupin. Diop's whole life has been a series of moments where he saw his family being poorly treated by the rich. So he does what all daring menaces to high society do: set out for revenge. His target? The art and jewels owned by the wealthy.

Cast: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Clotilde Hesme

Seasons: 2

Year: 2021

Genre: Crime drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

Bridgerton

(Image credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix)

Even a casual soapy drama can be decadent if prepared properly. As is the case with Bridgerton, the first fruit of the deal that Netflix signed with show-runner Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy). The cleverly-written and beautifully-produced series tracks Daphne, a young socialite debuting in the London scene. Each episode has an ending that will leave you clicking "Play" again, so beware it's not the longest season. That said, someone's left the cast for Bridgerton season 2.

Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Rege-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey

Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)

Year: 2020 - present

Genre: Period drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

The Queen's Gambit

(Image credit: Phil Bray/Netflix)

Believe it or not, chess is en vogue once more. In The Queen's Gambit, Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma) stars as Beth Harmon, a prodigious master of the chessboard who wants to be the very best in the world. Not only does Taylor-Joy captivate on-screen, but this is a beautifully shot show that's already earned think-pieces about its gorgeously designed spaces.

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Marielle Heller

Seasons: 1 (7 episodes)

Year: 2020

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Emily in Paris

(Image credit: CAROLE BETHUEL/NETFLIX)

If the eponymous heroine of Emily in Paris seems to talk, act and dress like a millennial Carrie Bradshaw, theres a reason for that  series creator Darren Star also masterminded Sex and the City. Emily is a Chicago marketing manager who scores a sweet gig in her dream city. Unfortunately, her new boss, Sylvie, and co-workers are a nightmare. While Paris fashionistas are sneering at the rom-coms take on Paris and fashion, both Emily and the show are irresistibly charming and fun. And we say oui, oui to the handsome eye candy who prove Paris really is the city of lust, er, love. Here is everything to know about Emily in Paris season 2.

Cast: Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo

Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)

Year: 2020

Genre: Romantic comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 73%

Cobra Kai

(Image credit: Guy D'Alema)

Yes, almost unbelievably, Cobra Kai  the Karate Kid spin-off show that debuted on YouTube Premium and is now on Netflix  is great. The series stays rooted to the original concept and characters, beginning with Johnny Lawrence re-opening the Cobra Kai dojo as a way to try and right his erring ways. Meanwhile, Daniel LaRusso may be thriving professionally, but he's still dealing with the absence of Mr. Miyagi. Season 3 is so good that we're already looking forward to Cobra Kai season 4  which is bringing back classic villain Terry Silver.

Cast: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Mariduena

Seasons: 3

Year: 2018  2021

Genre: Comedy/drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

The Legend of Korra

(Image credit: Nickelodeon)

Yes, now that you've finished Avatar: The Last Airbender, you can finally catch its follow-up series, The Legend of Korra on Netflix. Ambitious, and at times divisive, Korra deals with complex themes of identity and politics that you might not expect from an animated series.

Cast: Janet Varney, David Faustino, P.J. Bryne

Seasons: 4

Year: 20122014

Genre: Animated action adventure

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

The Last Dance

(Image credit: ESPN/Netflix)

ESPN's Michael Jordan docuseries The Last Dance appeals to fans and non-fans alike thanks to personalities that jumped off the screen. The focus may primarily be on the battle of Jordan and Phil Jackson against the front office, but Dennis Rodman's shocking personality (for that era) and disinterest in practice, and Scottie Pippen's work in MJ's shadow are both entertaining aspects of the series.

Cast: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman

Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)

Year: 2020

Genre: Sports docuseries

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

Lucifer

(Image credit: John P. Fleenor/Netflix)

Sometimes the devil becomes his own advocate. Or at least he just needs a break from hell, as is the case here where Tom Ellis' smoldering on-screen presence as Lucifer Morningstar, the literal devil, who is taking time off in Los Angeles. Not only does he open a nightclub in the city, but he also starts doing consultant work for the LAPD, where he hits it off with detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German).

Cast: Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D. B. Woodside

Seasons: 6

Year: 2016  2021

Genre: Police drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%

Unsolved Mysteries

(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflixs reboot of the classic true crime docuseries puts a slick spin on the original. The narration may be gone, but the new episodes still tell fascinating, spine-tingling tales of missing persons, murder and even UFO sightings. In the new Unsolved Mysteries, each episode focuses on one case, which makes the narrative more compelling and the characters more fleshed-out. But warning: You may have trouble sleeping  either because youre so creeped out or you fall down a Reddit theory hole. If that's too creepy for your kids, check out our guide for how to set up Netflix parental controls.

Cast: N/A

Seasons: 2

Year: 2020-present

Genre: True crime documentary

Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%

Moesha

(Image credit: Netflix: Strong Black Lead/Twitter/)

You don't have to go to Portlandia to feel the spirit of the 1990's on Netflix. R&B superstar Brandy Norwood starred in Moesha, a UPN series that was brought in mid-season and became one of the network's biggest hits, and Netflix is finally giving it a streaming home for all to relive its great run. The series dealt with what seemed like the social issues of the day, including drug use, teen pregnancy and race relations, all of which are still relevant today.

Cast: Brandy Norwood, Sheryl Lee Ralph, William Allen Young

Seasons: 6

Year: 19962001

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: not available

Dark

(Image credit: Netflix)

At its end, Netflix's Dark -- a puzzling drama that rewards close watching -- is now complete and a highly recommendable series to watch. It focuses on a story of two children that go missing in a small German town known as Winden. Dark is commended for how it built up momentum -- instead of watching it dissolve like some show that started off hot and ended poorly (Hi, LOST).

Cast: Louis Hofmann, Maja Schone, Oliver Masucci

Seasons: 3

Year: 20172020

Genre: Crime/Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

The Umbrella Academy

(Image credit: Netflix)

At the end of The Umbrella Academy season 2's first weekend on Netflix, I saw the same request up and down my timeline: "ok, where is season 3?" And it's not hard to see why. A massive success for Netflix, The Umbrella Academy found riveting TV by adapting the comic books of the same name, where the seven adopted Hargreeves siblings are trying to survive their own catastrophic powers. Season 2 send the kids back to the 1960's to prevent further calamity. Oh, and here is everything we know about The Umbrella Academy season 3.

Cast: Aidan Gallagher, Elliot Page, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Justin H. Min

Seasons: 2

Year: 2019-present

Genre: Science fiction/drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%

The Baby-Sitters Club

(Image credit: Netflix)

This long-awaited series adaptation of the much loved YA book series is sweet, positive, heartwarming  without being cloying or mushy. It takes the familiar story of a group of young teens who start a babysitting service and adds modern elements like social media and smartphones. But the essential themes remain the same: friendship, compassion, loyalty, forgiveness and understanding.

Cast: Sophie Grace, Malia Baker, Momona Tamada, Shay Rudolph

Seasons: 2

Year: 2020 - 2021

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Dating Around

(Image credit: Netflix)

The dating show genre has gotten kind of stale and predictable. Dating Around puts a refreshing twist on the formula: each episode centers on one singleton who goes on five blind dates, edited to look as if they're happening concurrently, so you watch all of them go through the various stages

Cast: Justin Bigting, Ben Samuel, Deva Mahal

Seasons: 2

Year: 20192020 (ongoing)

Genre: Reality TV

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Avatar the Last Airbender

(Image credit: Nickelodeon)

Avatar the Last Airbender arrived on Netflix with a ton of hype, instantly cementing itself as one of the best Netflix series. It follows the adventures of Aang, a tween destined to become the Avatar  a magical martial artist who can manipulate all four classical elements.

Cast: Zach Tyler, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena

Seasons: 3

Year: 20052008

Genre: Animated action/adventure

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Never Have I Ever

(Image credit: Netflix)

This funny, sharp, heartwarming coming-of-age dramedy is what we need right now. Co-created by Mindy Kaling and inspired by her own upbringing, Never Have I Ever focuses on the very charming Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), an Indian-American high school sophomore whos trying to have a normal American teen experience.

Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, Ramona Young

Seasons: 2

Year: 2020 - 2021 (ongoing)

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

Community

(Image credit: Neil Jacobs/NBC)

Community is the product of Dan Harmon (Rick & Morty), and focuses on a study group at Greendale Community College that's founded by the slacker lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), who is disbarred from practicing law and trying to get laid. Allison Brie and Donald Glover thrive as Annie and Troy. Community is not just one of the best shows on Netflix right now, it's one of the best sitcoms of its generation. For more great sitcoms outside of Netflix, check out the best Netflix alternatives.

Cast: Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover

Seasons: 6

Year: 20092015

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

Dear White People

(Image credit: Lara Solanki/Netflix)

If you've wondered where the hilarious satire has gone, you may have let Dear White People fly under your radar. The series focuses on race relations in America, providing view points from a college campus that has a terrible history and is still not where it should be yet  much like this country itself.

Cast: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Dennis Haysbert

Seasons: 4

Year: 20172021 (ongoing)

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Ozark

(Image credit: Steve Deitl/Netflix)

For us, at first, Ozark suffered from what I like to call "Didn't we just watch this?" Syndrome. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney star as "Marty" and Wendy Byrde, who get into the dark, seedy underworld to make ends meet. While early reviews were mixed, season 3 gives a giant stage for Laura Linney to thrive on screen. But are you ready for the end, and the two-part Ozark season 4?

Cast: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Julia Garner

Seasons: 3

Year: 20172020 (ongoing)

Genre: Crime drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness

(Image credit: Netflix)

Tiger King centers on a wildcat collector known as Joe Exotic, an extremely outlandish character who runs a private zoo filled with tigers, who loathes his nemesis, Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist he allegedly put a hit out on. Too addictive to put down, Tiger King is one of the best shows to watch on Netflix if you don't know the phrase "guilty pleasure."

Cast: Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin

Seasons: 1 (8 episodes, including a reunion/aftershow)

Year: 2020 (season 2 is coming in Nov. 2021)

Genre: Documentary

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Love Is Blind

(Image credit: Netflix)

Not all of the best Netflix series are high-brow, award-winning fare. This buzzy dating reality show is the love child of The Bachelor and Married at First Sight. Fifteen men and 15 women go on dates with each other to find their match -- sight unseen. You'll find yourself addicted to following the engaged couples up to their tense weddings.

Cast: Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey (hosts)

Seasons: 1 (10 episodes) and the After The Altar special

Year: 2020-2021

Genre: Reality TV

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Schitt's Creek

(Image credit: Pop TV)

Take Arrested Development, subtract the nihilism, and add characters who are actually endearing, and you get Schitt's Creek. It took a similar premise  rich family loses their fortune  but actually managed to create characters you'll root for, including two played by its father and son team of Eugene and Dan Levy. The sixth and final season of Schitt's Creek just landed on Netflix.

Cast: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Levy

Seasons: 6

Year: 20152020

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

The Witcher

(Image credit: Katalin Vermes/Netflix)

Henry Cavill stars as Geralt of Rivia: a roving monster hunter in a dark fantasy world. While Geralt wants nothing more than to ply his trade, he runs afoul of prejudiced townsfolk, ambitious wizards and even foreign royalty. We're already tracking The Witcher season 2 news  and the next season we're happy to announce is coming on December 17, 2021. And we just got the first full Witcher season 2 trailer.

Cast: Henry Cavill, Joey Batey, Eamon Farren, Anya Chalotra

Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)

Year: 2019 - 2021 (ongoing)

Genre: Action, drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 66%

You

(Image credit: JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX)

It's time to meet You, your next guilty pleasure binge watch. A thrilling drama, You is the talk of social media these days thanks to how much the show plays with our own addictions to Instagram and other apps. It focuses on a bookstore manager named Joe, who falls in love with/stalks the heck out of Beck (Elizabeth Lail), a grad student. And, thankfully, we aren't waiting on Netflix to confirm You season 4: it's already announced.

Cast: Victoria Pedretti, Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail

Seasons: 3

Year: 20182021 (ongoing)

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Riverdale

(Image credit: The CW)

Somehow, Riverdale defied expectations of audiences with reboot fatigue, and became a cult sensation during its first season. That section of episodes mixed high school drama with a noir-y murder mystery (think Veronica Mars with a campy vibe), and then the second season added a cult, the Gargoyle King. Riverdale season 6 is coming and will deliver a cross-over with Netflix's Sabrina series.

Cast: KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart

Seasons: 5

Year: 20172021 (ongoing)

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Sex Education

(Image credit: Sam Taylor/Netflix)

Yes, somehow we're still getting great shows about pubescent life. Gillian Anderson and a cast of excellent young actors shake up the format, with the former Scully co-starring as the Dr. Jean F. Milburn, a sex therapist and mother of Otis, who's only surviving a sexually-charged high school with the help of his friends. Sex Education season 3 just dropped, and it's a return to form  while Sex Education season 4 is already confirmed!

Cast: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa

Seasons: 3

Year: 20192021 (ongoing)

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

American Horror Story

(Image credit: Michele K. Short/FX)

Black Mirror isn't the only anthology series out here that's gonna scare the heck out of you. American Horror Story, the product of show-runners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (Glee, Nip/Tuck), spends each season terrorizing audiences with the terrible things that men and women can do to each other, over American history. For more frights, check out the best horror movies on Netflix.

Cast: Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Kathy Bates

Seasons: 8

Year: 20112020 (ongoing)

Genre: Horror drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%

Big Mouth

(Image credit: Netflix)

Don't sleep on Big Mouth. Born from the mind of comedian Nick Kroll (The League) and his cohorts, this raunchy animated series stands out by actually creating fuller, more fleshed-out characters than South Park ever did. Oh, and it even takes time to educate audiences on depression and other major issues.

Cast: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Gina Rodriguez

Seasons: 4

Year: 20172020 (ongoing)

Genre: Raunchy comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Queer Eye

(Image credit: Christopher Smith/Netflix)

It's practically too perfect that a makeover show got a makeover, and became one of the best reality programs on TV, but that's where we stand with Queer Eye. And while Bobby, Jonathan and Tan all get a lot of credit, there's entertaining moments from Antoni and Karamo, whose contributions are often debatable.

Cast: Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France

Seasons: 5

Year: 20182020 (ongoing)

Genre: Reality TV

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Russian Doll

(Image credit: Netflix)

The first thing you should know is that Russian Doll is the funny and emotional the series that Natasha Lyonne (its star, co-creator, writer, and director) has long since deserved, as she's spent most of her career as a co-star and not a lead. Its twisting, tricky premise is so good that we won't say anything else. Russian Doll's originality makes it one of the best shows to watch on Netflix. Plus, we're actually getting a Russian Doll season 2!

Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez

Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)

Year: 2019  Present

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

Love, Death & Robots

(Image credit: Netflix)

What if you took the dystopic futurism of Black Mirror, but made it slightly less depressing and animated it? You'd get David Fincher's new Love, Death & Robots, a new Netflix original anthology series that's comprised of 18 episodes that run about 15 minutes a piece. We just found out that a second season is coming this May.

Cast: Topher Grace, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gary Cole

Seasons: 2

Year: 2019 - 2021

Genre: Sci-fi

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

Halt and Catch Fire

(Image credit: Bob Mahoney/AMC)

A fictional version of the dawn of the personal computer era doesn't sound like a must-watch, but Halt and Catch Fire is one of the best Netflix series thanks to fantastic acting and tightly-written dialogue. Seen as the under-appreciated sleeper hit of AMC (it came out alongside Breaking Bad and Mad Men).

Cast: Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis

Seasons: 4

Year: 20142017

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Supergirl

(Image credit: The CW)

The cure for Zack Snyder's dour and gritty murderverse of DCEU movies, Supergirl tells the tale of Kara Danvers, a plucky employee of the CatCo media empire. Of course, Kara's got something in common with her cousin Clark Kent, as her real name is Kara Zor-El.

Cast: Melissa Benoist, Calista Flockhart, Mehcad Brooks

Seasons: 5

Year: 20152020 (ongoing)

Genre: Comic book drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Grace and Frankie

(Image credit: Ali Goldstein/Netflix)

An excellent odd-couple comedy, Grace and Frankie gives Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin starring roles with a lot of great one-liners. The series begins with a life-shattering moment as Frankie and Grace (Tomlin and Fonda) discover that their husbands are leaving them. Soon, the natural enemies slowly become friends.

Cast: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen

Seasons: 6

Year: 20152020 (ongoing)

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

Mindhunter

(Image credit: Netflix)

Thought we had enough crime dramas? Think again. Mindhunter brought cinema-quality visuals and strong character development to the genre, and took us back in crime to the 1970s as police began to track serial killers. Excellent acting and moody writing help make it one of the best Netflix series. Frustratingly, MIndhunter has apparently been put on an indefinite hiatus, so we don't know if or when season 3 will happen.

Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv

Seasons: 2

Year: 20172019

Genre: Crime drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

The Great British Baking Show

(Image credit: Netflix)

Competitive reality TV doesn't have to be a backstabbing mess. The Great British Baking Show (which is called The Great British Bake Off when it originally airs in the U.K.) subverts that trend with contestants who have a surprising amount of camaraderie as they produce plentiful amounts of pastries and cakes.

Cast: Anna Beattie, Richard McKerrow, Letty Kavanagh

Seasons: 9

Year: 20102021 (ongoing)

Genre: Cooking reality TV

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

Peaky Blinders

(Image credit: Robert Viglasky/Netflix)

The first five seasons of Peaky Blinders has spanned a decade of crime drama in Birmingham, England. The series, driven by Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) starring as the upwardly criminal Tommy Shelby, started off slow but currently moves at a breakneck pace. But when exactly is Peaky Blinders season 6 getting here?

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Tom Harper, Iddo Goldberg

Seasons: 5

Year: 20132019 (ongoing)

Genre: Crime drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Retro feels powers, activate! (Image credit: Netflix)

For once, a modernized update isn't a lifeless, gritty reboot, as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is the best new animated series on Netflix and a ton of fun. Sure, it might start in a dark place  as protagonists Adora and Catra did grow up as orphaned child soldiers  but it doesn't live in that despair.

Cast: Aimee Carrero, Amanda Michalka, Marcus Scribner

Seasons: 5

Year: 20182020

Genre: Animated adventure

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

(Image credit: Dean Buscher/Netflix)

What if you took everything people love about the hit show Riverdale, but added horror sensibilities and made it funnier? That's what you get with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which has an excellent lead in Kiernan Shipka. Yes, Sally Draper's taking everything she learned on Mad Men and bringing it to a weirder world.

Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Chance Perdomo

Seasons: 4

Year: 20182020

Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

Tuca & Bertie

(Image credit: Netflix)

Tuca & Bertie provided an animated take on the complications of adult friendships. A proper successor to Broad City, the show centers around a brash toucan named Tuca (voiced by Tiffany Haddish) and the anxiety-riddled songbird named Bertie (Ali Wong), who meet through living in the same apartment building. Tuca & Bertie is one of the best shows on Netflix right now, and I say "right now" because we're not sure if Tuca & Bertie will wind up with Rick and Morty on HBO Max, as S2 is picked up by Adult Swim.

Cast: Tiffany Haddish, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun

Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)

Year: 2019

Genre: Animated comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

Glow

(Image credit: Erica Parise/Netflix)

Women's wrestling  heck, all pro wrestling  has historically been laughed at, and called a side-show. Netflix original Glow looks to flip the script on how this predetermined spectacle is viewed, by showing how a group of misfit actors and wanna-be celebrities went from nobodies to superstardom. Sadly, Glow has been cancelled, due to complications with the COVID-19 pandemic, and its fourth season shall not come to life.

Cast: Alison Brie, Marc Maron, Betty Gilpin

Seasons: 3

Years: 20172019

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Stranger Things

(Image credit: Netflix)

One of the biggest and best Netflix shows takes audiences to Hawkins, Indiana for the retro adventures of Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Will, Max and Eleven, who keep finding themselves in the center of supernatural predicaments. Laugh at the dry wit of police chief Jim Hopper, find the joy in Winona Ryder's over-the-top performance. One of the best shows to watch on Netflix ever, we're so enamored with Stranger Things that we've been keeping tabs on all Stranger Things season 4 news.

Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown

Seasons: 3

Year: 2016present

Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

The Good Place

(Image credit: Colleen Hayes/NBC)

What if you woke up in heaven, but knew you didn't deserve to be there, and had to hide your imperfections? That case of impostor syndrome is at the root of the critically-praised The Good Place, which has crackling chemistry, sharp and clever jokes and an existential education that make it is one of the best Netflix shows. The final season of The Good Place was recently added to Netflix, so make sure to get a hankie for the emotional conclusion.

Cast: Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper

Seasons: 4

Year: 20162020

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

Master of None

(Image credit: Netflix/Universal Television )

While Aziz Ansari got famous for being a tonedeaf wanna-be lothario on Parks & Rec, his Netflix original series takes a much more grounded approach at the insanity that is dating in the era of apps. The series has brought Dev and his friend Arnold (Eric Wareheim) from New York to Italy, to repeated success. A third season of five episodes arrived in May 2021  taking the focus off Dev.

Cast: Aziz Ansari, H. Jon Benjamin, Eric Wareheim

Seasons: 3

Year: 20152021

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

The Crown

(Image credit: Netflix)

Claire Foy and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) garnered praise from critics and audiences alike for their portrayals of Queen Elizabeth II and Philip the Duke of Edinburgh in the first two seasons of The Crown that made it a must for our list of best Netflix shows. The Crown season 4 just debuted to a strong response, and we're tracking all The Crown season 5 details.

Cast: Olivia Colman, Claire Foy, Vanessa Kirby

Seasons: 4

Year: 2016present

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

(Image credit: Greg Gagne/The CW)

Musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend stars Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Nora Bunch: a NY lawyer who moves to California, only to find her first love living nearby. The songs aren't just hilarious, they have real emotional depth, turning what seems like a silly rom-com much more and making this one of the best Netflix shows.

Cast: Rachel Bloom, Santino Fontana, Michael McDonald

Seasons: 4

Year: 20152019

Genre: Musical comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

Better Call Saul

(Image credit: AMC)

Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul focuses on slick, shady lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). Both sequel and prequel to the show that inspired it, Better Call Saul reveals Saul's sordid past as two-bit con man Jimmy McGill. It's not easy to stand up to the excellence of Breaking Bad, but Better Call Saul perhaps exceeds it.

Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Michael McKean, Jonathan Banks

Seasons: 4

Year: 20152020 (ongoing)

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

Arrested Development

(Image credit: Saeed Adyani/Netflix)

We all love to see rich people fall, and Arrested Development scratched this itch well, while showing us how dumb the 1% can be. Of course, you might find a way to sympathise with Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) and his son George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera), who are trying their best to fix the business. Arrested Development is inarguably one of the best shows to watch on Netflix, provided you stop after season 3.

Cast: Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor

Seasons: 5

Year: 20032006; 20132019

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%

BoJack Horseman

(Image credit: Netflix)

BoJack Horseman is a hilarious and profound meditation on the nature of depression that just happens to be about an anthropomorphic horse. BoJack (Will Arnett) is a washed-up Hollywood TV star with plenty of money but no real goals or joy left in his life.

Cast: Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Amy Sedaris

Seasons: 6 (plus a Christmas special)

Year: 20142020

Genre: Animated comedy/drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Orange Is the New Black

(Image credit: Netflix)

Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) realizes she can't escape the mistakes of her past when she winds up in a minimum-security women's prison on a drug smuggling charge. Granted, it's not all bad, as she befriends the quirky inmates and reflects on the bizarre backstory that brought her there.

Cast: Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, Kate Mulgrew

Seasons: 7

Year: 20132019

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

House of Cards

(Image credit: Nathaniel E. Bell/Netflix)

A remake of the popular UK series of the same name, House of Cards is all about the inner workings of federal politics and just how dirty and deceitful they can get. Kevin Spacey stars as Frank Underwood: an amoral American congressman who will do absolutely anything to gain political power.

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Sebastian Arcelus

Seasons: 6

Year: 20132018

Genre: Drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%

Black Mirror

(Image credit: Netflix)

Black Mirror plays with all of our worst fears about technology and privacy. While its first episode, the sexually explicit "The National Anthem" pushed at social networks, later episodes  such as "Fifty Million Merits" and "White Christmas"  rip apart future advances in in-app purchases, reality TV and privacy filters. Its movie Bandersnatch is one of the best Netflix movies.

Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve, Michael Kelly

Seasons: 5

Year: 20112019 (ongoing)

Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi

Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%

Breaking Bad

(Image credit: Ursula Coyote/AMC)

Breaking Bad is a story about disease, drugs, family, profit, power and much, much more. High school chemistry teacher Walter White needs money for his cancer treatment, and realizes he can profit from scientific know-how by cooking meth. Breaking Bad is not just one of the best Netflix shows, but one of the top series ever.

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte

Seasons: 5

Year: 20082013

Genre: Drama/Crime

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

The IT Crowd

(Image credit: Channel 4 UK)

If you've ever tried to explain a simple piece of technology to someone who just doesn't get it, you know how Roy Trenneman and Maurice Moss feel. On The IT Crowd, the two best friends work in the IT department of a big company under their clueless boss, Jen Barber, with hilariously bad results.

Cast: Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson

Seasons: 5

Year: 20062013

Genre: Comedy

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Supernatural

(Image credit: Sergei Bachlakov/The CW)

Now the longest-running American fantasy series of all time, Supernatural is the story of Sam and Dean Winchester. This pair of brothers fights the paranormal, and battles both heaven and hell for a living. There's an argument to be made that their '67 Chevy Impala is the true star of the show.

Cast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Seasons: 15

Year: 20052020

Genre: Fantasy drama

Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Verizon has announced it has completed the first test data transmission using its standards-based 5G network and the Moto Z3 Moto Mod accessory.

(Image credit: A prototype 5G Moto Mod attached to a Moto Z3. (Credit: Tom's Guide))

The test consisted of some web browsing and video calls, and according to Verizon was conducted in Providence, R.I. using the very same hardware consumers will be able to purchase next year when the 5G Moto Mod goes on sale.

AT&T announced it completed a similar test using production-ready gear a few weeks ago, though that involved a 5G hotspot produced by Netgear, as that carrier has decided to initiate its mobile 5G rollout with hotspots rather than standalone phones or accessories. Today, AT&T CFO John Stephens warned investors that it doesn't expect 5G to pick up steam until 2020, per Reuters  lending some context to its more cautious approach.

MORE: Best Smartphones - Here Are the 10 Best Phones Available

As for Verizon's Moto Mod, it contains Qualcomm's X50 modem to pick up 5G signals, as well as an X24 modem for LTE. There's also a built-in battery powering those radios, which means that we could be looking at quite an expensive add-on here when all is said and done. Verizon hasn't announced pricing for the Mod yet, nor has it shed light on how its first mobile 5G plans will look.

Right now, the only device confirmed to support the 5G Mod is the $480 Moto Z3  a phone Verizon launched earlier in the fall that represents a modest upgrade over last year's Moto Z2 Force. It's powered by the same Snapdragon 835 chipset, but features a larger AMOLED display with smaller bezels.

(Image credit: The Moto Z3. (Credit: Tom's Guide))

At the Moto Z3's reveal event in August, a Verizon representative told Tom's Guide that the carrier is working alongside Motorola to bring compatibility with the 5G Mod to the Z2 Force and potentially even the first-generation Moto Z. However, no progress has been announced on that front yet.

Additionally, Verizon stated at the time that the 5G Mod would be available beginning in the first quarter of 2019. Interestingly though, today's press release bears no mention of a prospective release date, or even a vague ballpark estimate of when we can expect the product to drop. That's a bit concerning for anyone who picked up a Moto Z3 in the hopes of getting a 5G-ready phone within the first six months of the device's lifespan.

We still could see a 5G-capable phone launch in that timeframe, though might not be from Verizon. Sprint said earlier this year that it was partnering with LG for an exclusive 5G phone on its network, slated to arrive in the first half of next year. There could also be a 5G-enabled variant of Samsung's Galaxy S10, too.
President Donald Trump has soured on Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and she is expected to leave her job, perhaps as soon as this week, according to two people with knowledge of the issue. Trump has blamed Nielsen for not doing more to address what he has called a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, the sources said.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Last week, voters across Missouri overwhelmingly approved Amendment 2, clearing the way for Missouri to become the 31st state to legalize medical marijuana. On Tuesday, Jackson County, Missouri Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker - citing the amendment's overwhelming support - announced her office would discontinue prosecuting most marijuana offenses, though there are types of cases she would continue to prosecute.
This painting by Ann DerGara will be part of the Appalachian Art show. (Courtesy photo)

In honor of the City of Brevard's 150th Anniversary, the Transylvania Community Arts Council will host a new exhibit entitled "Appalachian Art - Past to Present." The public is invited to the opening reception on Friday, Nov. 23, as part of the Brevard Thanksgiving Gallery Walk from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibit will run Nov. 23 through Dec. 21.

Kay Anderson, gallery manager at TC Arts, said, "The exhibit, 'Appalachian Art - Past to Present,' focuses on the artistic influences within our region which evolves from tradition to transcendence. Contemporary artists have a wealth of historic works on...
A decision on whether to extend the WNC Military History Museums lease of the old county administration building was tabled Tuesday by the Board of Commissioners.

The museums current lease ends June 30, 2019, and those who operate the museum were seeking to extend it through June of 2021, while a fundraising campaign to help pay for a permanent location gets underway.

Museum officials hope to have a permanent museum home in Transylvania County in two to three years.

On Tuesday, comm-issioners asked for the issue to be looked at again during their next meeting on Nov. 29, the last m...
Pictured left to right are Clark Lovelace, Ginny Bradford, Shelly Webb, Pam Schou, Phil Carland and Elaine Owen. (Times photo by Park Baker)

The Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce joined the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the "Neighbor's Market" Food Pantry of Sharing House.

At the annual general assembly meeting, Sharing House officially dedicated the newly renovated space that now resembles a grocery store layout, where neighbors in need of food can come and choose items from a shelf.

The new model of food distribution increases healthy food choices and honors self-worth and dignity, according to a press release.

The market also reduces food waste as people do not take items that they do not need.

On hand to wi...
While both political parties seem to be growing farther apart each day, there are actually quite a few topics on which most Americans agree:

Political dissent. More than 90 percent of Americans believe people have the right to nonviolent protest and that the rights of people with unpopular views should be protected. Eighty-four percent believe news organizations should be free to criticize political leaders.

Taxes. Eighty percent of Americans do not believe corporations pay their fair share in taxes and 78 percent believe wealthy people do not pay their fair share in taxes.

Paid Leave. M...
Treehugger and our third-party partners use cookies and process personal data like unique identifiers based on your consent to store and/or access information on a device, display personalized ads and for content measurement, audience insight, and product development. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Treehugger.com, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, click below. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. List of Partners (vendors)
Ethics and environmental consciousness drove this project by DIALOG at the University of Calgary.

So often when we see a new "green" building, it is on the site of some old building that got demolished. The new concrete gets poured and it takes decades for the new green building to pay back the carbon debt from making the cement. Nobody has ever paid much attention to that embodied carbon.

DIALOG/viaThat is one of the most interesting things about the new MacKimmie Complex at the University of Calgary, designed by DIALOG. They have kept the tower built in the sixties, taken off the cladding and added two floors. According to John Souleles of DIALOG quoted in Construct Connect, complete demolition was not an option. John Procter writes:

Souleles says wholesale demolition of the MacKimmie Tower, the link and academic block, was never on the table largely because of its environmental impact. Based on the ethics of the University of Calgary and its office of sustainability one of the primary drivers of the project is environmental consciousness, Souleles says.

Souleles also notes that the bones of the building are really, really good. You don't often hear this; there is always an excuse, such as the floor plate isn't efficient or the ceilings are too low. However, as embodied carbon gets recognized as an issue, these excuses don't stand up to scrutiny  because, as we keep saying, the greenest building is the one already standing.

This project is going for certification under the Canada Green Building Council's new Zero Carbon Building Standard, which sorta kind of does recognize embodied carbon and someday might even do something about it:

Although operational carbon emissions represent the key focus of the Zero Carbon Building Standard, there is a growing awareness of the importance of addressing the embodied carbon and other GHG emissions associated with building materials... Applicants will be required to report the embodied emissions of the buildings structural and envelope materials using life-cycle assessment (LCA) software. The embodied carbon requirement has been limited to reporting, to encourage the building industry to grow capacity for conducting LCA - a practice that is still relatively new in Canada.

Serious credit is due to the University of Calgary and the architects for being way ahead of the curve on this issue. Credit is due also to the CaGBC for acknowledging it.

 DIALOG

Made primarily by glass and concrete, metal photovoltaic panels and stainless steel cladding create a breathing facade that uses natural light as a building material and allows the buildings to respond in harmony with the natural capital of wind, sun, and soil.

Breathing facades are a specialty of Transsolar, who are the energy engineers for the project. According to Transsolar:

The new double wall facade with high-performance glass, in conjunction with ventilation flaps and shading, ensures comfort in the building and at the same time reduces the need for mechanical ventilation. The natural ventilation of the double facade is actively regulated, so that a thermal buffer is created around the building, which contributes significantly to achieve the ambitious building performance targets.

 DIALOG

This is all pretty amazing when you consider that this is Calgary, where sometimes it is so cold that people have trouble breathing, let alone building facades. Robert Claiborne of DIALOG notes that there is a teaching moment here:

To accommodate an environment for education we asked ourselves how we can use design to participate in modern-day teaching and learning in a way that will go beyond technology and programming. As one example of many, we are proposing a building skin that makes its energy-modelling systems tactile, or visible to the eye, as a way to make climate change conversations a permanent fixture in life on campus.

 DIALOG

By extending the new exterior skin beyond existing column lines, a new facade enhances and pays homage equally to the original 1966 tower structure. A photovoltaic panel applique is designed to retain the highest-possible amount of solar energy.

 Canada Green Building Council

As I noted in an earlier post, the CaGBC's Zero Carbon Building Standard goes beyond just zeroing out carbon, but has limits on energy consumption and energy demand intensity. It requires that the energy purchased offsite to balance out to zero be low-carbon renewable energy, which should be fun in a province where 87 percent of the electricity is produced from fossil fuels.

It's terrific that they saved so much of the existing building. It's gutsy of the University and the designers to do a zero carbon building in Calgary, the carbon capital of Canada. There is so much more going on here than just a shiny new skin.
On the evening of November 7, administration officials suspended CNN White House correspondent Jim Acostas hard pass. A hard pass allows its holder access to areas designated for journalists in the West Wing, on Air Force One, and in other secured areas during presidential trips, which are routinely covered by the White House press corps.

The suspension followed a combative press conference during which US president Donald Trump repeatedly slammed reporters, referring to Acosta as an enemy of the people, and during which Acosta refused to hand a White House mic back to the intern who came to collect it when his haranguing  er, questioning  time ran out and either (depending on who you ask) accidentally brushed, or intentionally struck, the intern.

On November 13, CNN sued Trump and several other White House officials, accusing them of violating Acostas First Amendment (freedom of the press) and Fifth Amendment (due process) rights.

Insofar as the White House has specific and supposedly objective standards for granting hard passes to reporters, Acosta might indeed have a due process claim if yanking his pass didnt conform to those standards. The First Amendment claim, on the other hand, seems pretty sketchy.

The First Amendment protects not only a free press but freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of peaceable assembly to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Does this mean that anyone who wants to report, speak, pray or just have a non-violent political get-together must be allowed to do so at the White House, on demand?

Well, maybe so. In Thomas Jeffersons time, Americans could stroll the White House grounds at will and even visit with the president and first lady at lunchtime or after each day. Of course, things have changed since then, but I have no problem with the principle of the thing. The White House supposedly belongs to the public. Why shouldnt we drop in any time we please?

That, however, is not what CNN contends. Theyre not upset that you and I cant plop ourselves down in White House press room chairs and start firing off questions at the president any time the spirit moves. Their lawsuit argues, rather, that because CNN is a popular cable channel and its White House correspondent is very special and important, Jim Acosta is entitled to a chair, a desk, and face time with Donald Trump.

I suspect a lawsuit on similar supposed First Amendment claims from, say, Caitlin Johnstone, Alex Jones, Chris Hedges, or the White House Correspondent of a small-town Kentucky newspaper would get laughed right out of court (and out of the mainstream press), even if they all agreed to hand the microphones back over when their time ran out.
editorial@tribune.com

Mumbai: The RBI on Wednesday said it has imposed a penalty of over Rs 3 crore on Deutsche Bank for non-compliance of various norms, including asset classification and KYC. The RBI also slapped a fine of Rs 3 crore on state-owned Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd for violating similar norms. The RBI has imposed, by an order dated November 5, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 30.10 million on Deutsche Bank AG for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms, Know Your Customer/Anti-money Laundering (KYC/AML) norms, and on disclosure of monetary penalties imposed by the regulator, the central bank said. In a separate release, the RBI said a fine of Rs 30 million is slapped on The Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on IRAC norms and KYC/AML norms. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 14

Banks are left high and dry even after robust income of cultivators on the backdrop of bumper paddy season this year as the farmers are consciously depositing their income in another accounts and avoiding the lending banks.

Bankers suspect the intent of the farmers and fear a further spike in non-performing assets (NPAs). Since September 2017, the NPAs of various banks under agriculture sector have increased to Rs 8,319 crore in Punjab. The state has 7,175 branches of commercial, cooperative and regional rural banks.

The government agencies and private millers in Punjab have already procured over 150 lakh metric tonnes of paddy and most of the payments have been made to the farmers within 72 hours of procurement.

Ideally, they should have deposited their money in the bank branches that had extended crop loans to them. But, they are concealing their income from the lenders, apparently not to repay the debt and later reap the benefit of debt waiver in an election year, said bankers, who were in Chandigarh to attend the 146th meeting of the state-level bankers committee for Punjab.

The farmers do not want to deposit their income in the account of the lending banks as they fears that their money will be immediately adjusted by the banker against principal and interest. They also expect a loan waiver ahead of the 2019 General Election, bankers said.

Due to announcement of debt waiver for small and marginal farmers up to Rs 2 lakh, the farmers in the state have stopped making repayments, which has adversely affected the recovery scenario and triggered the NPAs, they said.

Banks must coordinate with each other to ensure that farmers deposit sale proceeds of the crop in their loan account or in the accounts of their respective Kisan credit cards so that the recovery can take place and NPA-level is reduced, PNB General Manager PK Anand said.

Some bankers, however, pointed out a practical issue in Anands suggestion. Why a bank receiving business will disclose accounts details to the other bank, said a banker requesting anonymity.

Bankers are planning to take up the matter with the state government. Punjab had notified a debt-waiver scheme for the small and marginal farmers up to Rs 2 lakh on October 10 last year. The bankers blame the state government for not implementing the scheme efficiently and hence it is creating a bad credit culture.

The agriculture sector NPA is around Rs 8,952 crore, which is 11.20% of total agriculture advances as of September 30, 2018 compared to 7.19% during the corresponding period previous year. As of September 2017, the total NPAs under agriculture loans was Rs 633 crore. The NPAs increased by over Rs 8,319 crore during the past one year to cross Rs 8,952 crore on September 30, 2018.
G Parthasarathy

G Parthasarathy

Former diplomat

PM Modi announced with justifiable national pride on November 6 that Indias first nuclear-propelled submarine, INS Arihant, commissioned in 2016, was now operational as an integral part of its nuclear deterrent. India earlier had the capabilities to launch nuclear weapons from the air, mounted largely on its Mirage 2000 and Jaguar, and by land-based missiles, ranging from Agni 1 (700-900 km) to Agni 5 missiles (5,500 km). Its aim has been to develop a credible nuclear deterrent, with capabilities to deliver nuclear weapons from multiple locations to strategic areas in its nuclear-armed neighbours, China and Pakistan.

Arihant provides India with a capability to hit either neighbour from 300 m under the sea. The sea-based missiles envisaged for this purpose are Sagarika (750 km range) and K-4 (3,500 km). While land-based missile sites can be destroyed, a submarine-based deterrent is virtually impregnable against a missile attack. India is the only country with a sea-based N-deterrent, which is not a Permanent Member of the UNSC. India will soon operationalise a second nuclear submarine (Arighat), and is expected to have a fleet of four by 2022.

According to US Federation of Nuclear Scientists, India currently possesses 130-140 nuclear weapons, while Pakistan has 140-150 and China 280. While India tested its first nuclear weapons in 1998, Pakistans first test was in 1990, on Chinese soil.

In a recent book, Thomas Reed, a US nuclear weapons designer and former Secretary of the US air force, stated that Chinas Pakistan nuclear connection can be explained in the following words: India was Chinas enemy and Pakistan was Indias enemy. The Chinese did a massive training of Pakistani scientists, brought them to China for lectures, even gave them the design of the CHIC-4 device, which was a weapon that was easy to build  a model for export. Gary Milhollin, another expert, remarked: Without Chinas help, Pakistans bomb would not exist. China has also provided Pakistan the designs of its nuclear weapons, upgraded its inverters for producing enriched uranium in Kahuta and provided it with plutonium reactors to build tactical nuclear weapons in Khushab and Fatehjang. Pakistans ballistic and cruise missiles are replicas of Chinese missiles.

Indias N-doctrine stated that its weapons would only be used in retaliation against a major attack on Indian territory, or on its forces anywhere, in which nuclear, chemical or biological weapons are used. But Pakistan does not have a formal doctrine. The long time head of its Nuclear Command Authority, Lt Gen Khalid Kidwai, however, said over a decade ago that Pakistans nuclear weapons were aimed solely at India and Pakistan would use nuclear weapons if India conquered a large part of Pakistans territory, or destroyed a large part of its land and air forces. He also held out the possibility of the use of weapons if India tried to economically strangle it, or pushed it to political destabilisation. Pakistans statements in recent years have, however, indicated that it would not be averse to using tactical nuclear weapons in a conventional conflict with India

China, like India, also had proclaimed that it would not be the first to use nuclear weapons. But it has been ambiguous if this applied to India. China has maintained a measure of ambiguity on its no-first-use pledge. This became evident when Chinas foreign ministry spokesman (in 2004) rejected a suggestion from External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh that both countries should adopt a common nuclear doctrine. Subsequent discussions between Indian and Chinese experts have suggested that China maintains deliberate ambiguity on its doctrine when it comes to dealing with India. Many ask if this is meant to signal to Pakistan that China will come to its aid in any nuclear exchange Pakistan may have with India, even if initiated by Pakistan. This ambiguity adds to Indias determination to strengthen its triad of land, air and sea-based nuclear weapons. Agni 5 missiles can target Chinas populous east coast. Within the next four years, we would have an adequate sea-based deterrent to deter China from holding out credible nuclear assurances to Pakistan that it would intervene should India choose to respond to use, or threats of use, of tactical weapons by Pakistan.

While India has a streamlined nuclear command structure headed by the PM and Cabinet Committee on Security, it needs to revamp the archaic structure of its Ministry of Defence (MoD). The key military figure in the command structure is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, who generally holds office for less than a year; hardly enough time for him to become familiar with the complexities of the command. Repeated proposals, including from defence committees and task forces, recommending the appointment of a full-time Chief or Defence Staff, or Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, who will hold charge of the command and report to the political authority, have gathered dust in the offices of the MoD bureaucracy.

The MoD needs to be reorganised. Recommendations for such change, even from the Parliament Standing Committee of Defence, lie unimplemented. We recently acquired our desperately needed first batch of artillery guns after the 80s Bofors controversy. This happened even as detailed designs for 155 mm Howitzers provided by Sweden were gathering dust for two decades. There is also surely something wrong if it takes over a decade to acquire fighter aircraft, even as the IAF is facing a shortage of around 30 per cent in the sanctioned strength.
vermaajay1968@gmail.com

The number of Indian students enrolled in the US has gone up in spite of the recent anti-immigration rhetoric. Indeed, the latest statistics show a rise among Indian students even as overall the enrolment of international students in the US fell this year. Those who went joined the estimated 2.5 lakh students who were counted in last years report.

The US is one destination. Canada, Australia, the UK and even non-English speaking countries of Europe have increasingly become destinations for Indian students. Brain drain seems an antediluvian concept these days, but there must be reasons why parents spend Rs 2 crore or so that it takes for a student to graduate abroad. Among the factors often cited are two: insufficient number of international quality educational institutions for top students, and the lack of options for students whose marks do not allow them to get admission in good Indian universities. There also seems to be anxiety among many people about the future of their children, which drives them to seek what appear to be greener pastures. Restrictions on the possibility of work after education in many countries should decrease their attractiveness, but the increasing number of students seems to buck the trend.

Policy makers and educators in India, too, need to find means to improve the infrastructure for higher education and provide our students with what they need nearer home. We need to re-look at the issue of allowing foreign universities to open campuses in India. Countries like Singapore have done well with such initiatives. While international exposure for our students is welcome, it comes at a high cost, both emotional and financial. The rising number of enrolments in foreign lands is a reflection on how we are unable to fulfil what should be a basic need for all students  quality education, and good employment opportunities after that. A pity.
editorial@tribune.com

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 14

The BJP is trying to pull out all the stops in mobilising party workers for its show of strength at Prime Minister Narendra Modis rally at Sultanpur in Gurugram on November 19.

Close on the heels of state affairs incharge Anil Jain taking stock of preparations for the rally, the BJP Legislature Party on Wednesday devoted considerable time in trying to make the event a success with a view to launching Mission Modi 2019 from the Ahirwal belt on the pattern of the Rewari rally in 2013.

Modi had launched his 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign with a rally in Rewari on September 15, 2013, after being declared the BJPs prime ministerial candidate.

This time, the BJP was projecting the Sultanpur rally, being organised to inaugurate the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway, as a launchpad for the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday exhorted party MLAs, especially from the NCR, to mobilise the maximum party workers for the rally, billed as the partys show of strength.

Party leaders from the Lok Sabha seats of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Rohtak had already been told to get the maximum crowds for the rally.

With Modis rally at Garhi Sampla in Rohtak on October 9 to unveil a 64-foot statue of Jat leader Sir Chhotu Ram failing to attract expected crowds, the BJP was taking no chances for the event on November 19.

BJPs worries

November 19 falls on Monday, a working day when gathering crowds will prove to be a difficult task

November 19 happens to be an auspicious ekadashi, when a large number of weddings are organised

Narendra Modis rally at Garhi Sampla in Rohtak on October 9 had failed to attract expected crowds

Action replay
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 14

Leader of the Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala has clarified that he is not in the race for the Chief Ministers post and asked his brother Ajay to reconsider his decision of, what he termed as, splitting the party.

Abhay told this to the media here on Wednesday, breaking his silence on the family feud.

For the past few days, my elder brother, whom I respect a lot, has been likening me with Duryodhana and Jai Chand (symbols of treachery in the Indian folklore). It has been said from Ajays stage that my satarvi (ceremonies conducted after a persons death) will be observed on November 17. I met him in New Delhi on Sunday and sought his explanation for such utterances, but he had no answer, he said.

On Tuesday, Ajays intentions were exposed when his supporter KC Bangar, in his presence, asked INLD workers to choose between Dushyant and me as the chief ministerial candidate, the INLD leader said, adding I have never harboured dreams of becoming the Chief Minister. I am not in the race.

His only aim, he said, was to bring the INLD to power. Once that happens, the party supremo will take a call on the CM candidate, who can be from outside the family.

Abhay hit out at his brother, and nephews Dushyant and Digvijay for terming the family feud as a fight between 40-year-old and four year-old party men.

Without naming his nephews, he said, They are four-year-old INLD workers. They are ruining the party constituted by Chaudhary Devi Lal.

In the same vein, he said, I entered politics two years after Ajay did, but I am much senior to Ajay, who contested from Rajasthan for 10 years.

I always managed the party affairs by remaining in the background. It was only after the conviction of my father and brother that senior INLD leaders asked me lead the party lest workers would feel disillusioned. But even then, the Chief Ministers post was never on my mind as I always thought that a way out would be found enabling Chautala to head the government when an opportunity came, Abhay added.
editorial@tribune.com

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, November 14

Calling upon BJP workers to reach Prime Minister Narendra Modis rally at Sultanpur in Gurugram on November 19 in large numbers, Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh on Wednesday said the BJP would not come to power in Haryana if Modis rally was not a success.

He urged every worker to leave no stone unturned in making the rally a success. He was addressing a party workers meeting on the Garhi-Bolni road to invite them to the Sultanpur rally.

The BJP had formed the government in Haryana for the first time with the support of the Ahirwal region. We want the BJP to retain power in the state, but it will be possible only when it forms the government again at the Centre, he said.

He said the General Election would take place before the Assembly polls and Modi would lead the party in elections. It was important to make the Sultanpur rally a success to ensure that the BJP remained in power, he said.

People across the state had participated in Modis rally at Garhi Sampla in Rohtak on October 9. The Sultanpur rally will be for residents of eight districts. I have assured party leaders of making it a success on the basis of people of Ahirwal, he said.

He said the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway would bring relief from traffic congestion to residents of Haryana and Delhi and prove instrumental in reducing pollution considerably. It would lessen pressure of vehicular traffic on the national capital, he added.
editorial@tribune.com

Ravinder Sood

PALAMPUR, November 14

Ravinder Ravi Dhiman, BJP MLA from Jaisinghpur, today raised voice against illegal mining going on unchecked in the Beas and its tributaries in the subdivision.

Talking to The Tribune here, Dhiman said despite his persistent efforts during the past 10 months, the administration had failed to check illegal mining. He alleged that the Mining Department was providing shelter to the mafia in Jaisinghpur and despite his order no action was taken against the culprits. He said illegal mining was not only resulting in environmental degradation, but also causing losses to the state exchequer in crores.

He said though he was the ruling party MLA, he would support the residents of Jaisinghpur who were the worst victims of illegal mining. He would not even hesitate to sit on a dharna against his own government at Jaisinghpur if the government failed to check illegal mining. He categorically stated that the residents of Jaisinghpur would be on roads if the illegal mining was not stopped.

Dhiman said the mining and pollution departments were well versed with the situation that the NGT had last month imposed a ban on stone crushers operating within 100-metre radius of rivers in the state. He said instead of implementing the orders of NGT both the departments had given a free hand to mafia to exploit the rich natural resources without paying any revenue to the state.

He expressed concern over the permission granted for setting up of another stone crusher near the Beas recently by the Industries Department without any NOC from panchayats and SDM, Jaisinghpur. He said the government must inquire who granted the permission.

Dhiman urged Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to intervene and prevent the situation from getting bad to worse. He apprised the Chief Minister that the illegal mining had caused large-scale pollution in the adjoining villages which had caused various diseases among the residents.

He said that in the absence of any check from the state agencies these stone crushers were functioning round the clock creating sound pollution in the area. Unfortunately, not even a single stone crusher was following the guidelines laid down by the Pollution Control Board (PCB) and it was virtually free for all. He said the HPSEBL authorities were also under the scanner which had allowed the crusher to function in gross violation of rules.

Despite efforts, Mining Officer at Dharamsala could not be contacted. However, SDM Jaisinghpur Ashwani Sood said he would implement the NGT order NGT as soon as its copy was received. Proper demarcation of the Beas would be carried out and stone crushers within the radius of 100 metres would be shut down.

Appeals to CM to intervene
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 14

Former Chief Minister and president of the Peoples Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday reiterated that any attempt taken through legal or administrative route to fiddle with the states special status would be unacceptable to the people of the state.

The Peoples Democratic Party chief cautioned that any fiddling with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir is fraught with dangerous consequences and has the tendency to turn the state into a veritable inferno.

We strongly believe that the Constitution of the country has enough space to accommodate aspirations of Jammu and Kashmir, she said while addressing party workers here. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is fouled by the attempts being made to fiddle with its special status and mistrust has risen out of that, she said.

The former Chief Minister said any attempt made through the legal or administrative route would be unacceptable to the people of the state.

Mehbooba also said that soon after the elections were held in Pakistan, the government there made an attempt to reach out to India but unfortunately perhaps because of the elections in our country are slated next year, the same couldnt be reciprocated.

We must look forward to an acceptable and peaceful solution to Kashmir. Those at the helm must realise that there is no substitute to talks between India and Pakistan and between the Centre and the people of Jammu and Kashmir, she said.

Mehbooba said the Peoples Democratic Party had a consistent stand vis-a-vis dialogue. The party has reiterated every time whether in government or in the Opposition that unless there is a political progress in Kashmir, all developmental efforts will remain ineffective, she said.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune Reporters

Jammu/Anantnag, Nov 14

The Army nabbed two militants from a vehicle in the Mendhar area of Poonch district on Wednesday and recovered two AK-56 rifles from them.

Sources said acting on a specific input, the Army established a checkpoint at Jaranwali Gali around 4 pm. They said during checking of a Chevrolet Tavera, the Army arrested two militants who were carrying guns.

The vehicle was on its way to Mendhar from Jaranwali when it was stopped by the Army. The two militants have been identified as Shabir Ahmed and Muhammad Aqib, both residents of Kakapora, Pulwama, said a source.

The Army also recovered two magazines from the possession of the militants.

Meanwhile, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were arrested from the Awantipora area of Pulwama district on Tuesday evening, the police said. Arms and ammunition were recovered from them.

The militants have been identified as Jan Muhammad Sheikh and Nasir-ul-Islam, both residents of Pulwama district.

The police said there were prior inputs regarding the movement of the militants in the Panzgam area, falling within the jurisdiction of Awantipora police district.

Acting on a lead, a checkpoint was established near the Panzgam railway station to intercept the militants, a senior police officer said, adding that the duo was intercepted by the police around 9.30 pm.

He said the police had recovered UBGL grenades, ammunition and other material from the two ultras.

They have been arrested and a case has been filed. Investigation has been started into the matter and they are being interrogated, the officer said. He said the police were expecting vital leads from them.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, November 14

The NIA on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against pro-Pakistani separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat head Aasiya Andrabi and two of her associates for allegedly "waging war" against the country using Internet platforms, officials said.

In a statement, the NIA's spokesman said Andrabi, Sofi Fehmeeda and Naheeda Nasreen were using various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TV channels, including some in Pakistan, to spread "insurrectionary imputations and hateful messages and speeches against India".

The Dukhtaran-E-Millat, a banned terrorist organisation, through Andrabi and others, openly advocates secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India and its merger with Pakistan through violent means.

It is engaged in anti-India activities and has been inciting the general populace of Kashmir for an armed rebellion against the Government of India with aid and assistance of terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.

The three were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police in April and the case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July.

The spokesman said the investigation has established that Andrabi, as the chief of Dukhtaran-E-Millat, used social media and other platforms to abet waging of war against the Government of India.

"She is spreading seditious and insurrectionary imputations against the Government of India. She is promoting ill-will and enmity between different communities in India on religious grounds. Investigation has also established that she has close contacts with designated global terrorist Hafeez Mohammad Saeed who is the head of Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Lashkar-e-Taiba, internationally designated terrorist organisations that are based in Pakistan."

The NIA said Sofi Fehmeeda, personal secretary to Andrabi, and Dukhtaran-E-Millat's general secretary, Naheeda Nasreen, have been instrumental in the use of social media and other platforms to abet waging of war against the Indian government besides spreading seditious and insurrectionary imputations against it, and are promoting ill-will and enmity between different communities in India on religious grounds.

They have collected funds to carry out terrorist activities of Dukhtaran-E-Millat and have used public platforms to incite Kashmiri youths to rise in armed rebellion against the government with the objective of securing cessation of Kashmir from India and its merger with Pakistan. - PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Banihal (Ramban), Nov 14

Nine days after a landslide hit the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near here, three Punjab residents, who had gone missing during the incident, were found dead under the debris on Wednesday, the police said.

The three were travelling in an apple-laden truck which was buried in the massive landslide in the Battery Cheshma area of Ramban on November 5. However, the administration started a rescue operation three days after the incident.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Anita Sharma said, We came to know about the incident after the owner of the truck and a family from Punjab approached us and informed us about three missing persons. We then started the rescue operation in the area.

We took the help of the Army, SDRF, NDRF, police and local volunteers for the operation. Due to the tough terrain, we also used heavy machinery. Finally, we managed to retrieve the bodies from the debris on Wednesday, she added.

The deceased were identified as driver Karaj Singh (26), conductor Joginder Lal (45) and his son Kashmiri Lal, alias Vicky (22). They all hailed from Nawan Pind Milkhi Wala in Gurdaspur district in Punjab, the police said.

The bodies have been shifted to the mortuary of District Hospital, Ramban, for postmortem examination. After legal formalities, the bodies would be handed over to the families for the last rites.
vermaajay1968@gmail.com

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 14

India and the US discussed key issues of counter-terrorism, trade, visas and Indo-Pacific vision on the sidelines of East Asia Summit in Singapore today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US Vice-President Mike Pence, the first meeting since June 2017 when Modi travelled to the White House to meet President Donald Trump. Critical discussion with Indias Prime Minister @narendramodi while in Singapore. Spoke about our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific & reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen security and counterterrorism cooperation and coordination, tweeted Pence.

With the 10th anniversary of Mumbai terror strikes less than a fortnight away, terrorism emanating from Pakistan and brazenness of terror masterminds like Hafiz Saeed roaming freely were also discussed.

Modi reminded Pence that in one way or another all traces or all leads in global terror attacks ultimately leads to a single source, a single place of origin.

In that context, he pointed out that the mainstreaming of the people involved in Mumbai terror attacks in a recent election in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to the two countries i.e. India and the US, but also to the international community, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale later said.

The meeting follows days after India and seven others were granted a temporary exemption from US sanctions that kicked in against oil trade with Iran on November 4.

The sword to drastically reduce crude imports from Tehran still hangs heavy on New Delhi. We have begun importing oil and gas from the US. It is expected to be valued around $4 billion this year and we expressed our readiness to import more oil and more gas from them as a way of expanding our trade, Gokhale said.

US concerns on trade that remain a grudge for Trump were also conveyed to the Indian side with Modi assuring that trade deficits would be reduced further.

Vice-President Pence also encouraged free, fair, and reciprocal trade with India, said a formal US statement.

Modi and Pence met hours after Trump hosted a Diwali event at the White House with Indian Ambassador Navtej Sarna in attendance and praised the contribution of Indo-Americans. Modi expressed hope that the role of diaspora would be considered by the Trump administration when it looks at the whole issue of the H1B visa.

The Modi-Pence meeting also focussed on free and open Indo-Pacific goals.
editorial@tribune.com

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 14

Two armed men on Wednesday shot dead a bank guard in Nabha and fled with Rs 50 lakh in cash before being arrested with the booty within four hours of the robbery.

Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the accused  Jagdev Singh Tari, 35, and Amanjit Singh Guri  were friends and ran an oil tanker business in Sangrur. Amanjits father had retired as an inspector and served as Nabha SHO.

Around 11 am, two masked men on a bike shot bank guard Prem Chand in the chest from close range when he, along with clerk Antriksh Vaid, was shifting money brought in a private cash van to a State Bank of India branch. As we were offloading the trunk containing the currency, two masked men asked us to hand it over to them. Before the guard could react, one of them opened fire and the two fled with the trunk, bank officials told the police.

The police formed three teams, one to monitor mobile tower data, another to scour the CCTV footage of the area and the third to hunt down the accused. A team recovered the trunk at some distance, said the IG.

The mobile tower location of the accused proved key. The two had followed the cash van a few times in the past fortnight and were aware of the route it took to ferry the money to banks, said police official.

The CCTV footage of a 3-km stretch within the city area used by the cash van over the past few days the area and the third to hunt down the accused. A team recovered the trunk at some distance, said the IG.

The CCTV footage of a 3-km stretch within the city area used by the cash van over the past few days clearly showed the two tailing the vehicle, he said. The footage showed the faces of the two accused. A policeman identified one of them as the son of an ex-cop. The police later traced his phone to Sangrur and conducted a raid, said the official.

Sources said the two had confessed to their involvement in two cases of robbery of lakhs of rupees in Sangrur.

Bank officials had not informed the police about the cash transfer and there was no CCTV camera outside the branch. We will recommend action against bank officials, said Patiala IG AS Rai. Punjab DGP Suresh Arora announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for the police team that cracked the case. SSP Sidhu later said the money would be handed over to the victims family. Sidhu was in Nabha to attend a function when the incident occurred.
editorial@tribune.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 14

In a strategic move to signal preparedness the Congress today decided to field both its generals  former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state chief Sachin Pilot  in the Rajasthan poll war on December 7.

Appearing together in the capital to welcome into Congress fold Harish Chandra Meena, the sitting BJP Lok Sabha member from Dausa, both Gehlot and Pilot said they will be contesting the upcoming Rajasthan assembly elections

I will fight elections and so will Mr Sachin Pilot, Gehlot, Congress General Secretary organisation, announced enthusiastically.

Pilot, seated close to Gehlot, first sufficed to smile at his seniors remarks but later decided to corroborate him.

On the directions of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and on the request of Shri Ashok Gehlot I will be contesting the upcoming assembly elections, said the 41 year old Rajasthan Congress President.

Known to be daggers drawn in state politics, Gehlot and Pilot wore a semblance of cordiality today denying any kind of rift.

But asked which seat Pilot would contest, Gehlot said seats would be declared later but shortly.

For today it should be enough of news for you that both of us will be contesting, said Gehlot, known for his political shrewdness.

Notwithstanding happy vibes between the two politicians, Congress insiders today said the move to field both was sure to intensify the race for chief minister ship of the state should Congress win on December 11, as is widely anticipated.

Sources suggest one reason why the Congress continues to hold back the list of state candidates (BJP announced its first list three days ago) was the ongoing debate on whether both Gehlot and Pilot should contest. In Madhya Pradesh, another election bound state, for instance, none of the senior leaders  state chief Kamal Nath, campaign panel chief Jyotiraditya Scindia or poll coordination committee chief Digvijay Singh  are contesting.

Gehlot, a sitting MLA from Sardarpura in Jodhpur, however has never ruled himself out of the CM race and has been clear from the start that he would fight state polls. Even today he said everyone should fight elections.

Meanwhile Pilot, a close friend of Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi, has remained tight lipped about whether he would contest state elections considering he has never contested for assembly earlier. He was Lok Sabha MP.

Its learnt that the decision to field both Gehlot and Pilot took a while with Pilot throwing his hat in the ring in the very end should he miss out on the race for state CM-ship in case the Congress wins Rajasthan.

Gehlot when asked about the CM face of the party today said the Congress had conventionally never named a CM candidate before elections in Rajasthan.

We like to respect that history, he said keeping his own and other options open.

Earlier once he had said in response to a question on Congress CM face, Do you ever know in advance kaun banega crorepati?

As far as Pilot goes, he would ensure a safe seat for himself lest he ends up like his senior CP Joshi, another Rajasthan Congress stalwart, who had lost thr assembly election by one vote in 2008.

Joshi was then Rajasthan Congress Chief and Ashok Gehlot went on to become state CM.

Sachin Pilot would not want that history to repeat itself.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 14

India and the United States on Wednesday discussed key issues of counter terrorism, trade, visas and Indo-Pacific vision along sidelines of East Asia Summit in Singapore.

PM Narendra Modi met with US Vice President Mike Pence, a first meeting since June 2017 when Modi travelled to White House to meet with President Donald Trump. Critical discussion with Indias Prime Minister @narendramodi while in Singapore. Spoke about our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific & reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen security and counterterrorism cooperation and coordination, tweeted Pence.

With the tenth anniversary of Mumbai terror strikes less than a fortnight away, terrorism emanating from Pakistan as well as brazenness of terror masterminds like Hafiz Saeed roaming freely was discussed too. Modi reminded Pence that in one way or another all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately leads to a single source, a single place of origin.

In that context he did point out that the mainstreaming of the people involved in Mumbai terror attacks in a political process which had taken place in a recent election in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to the two countries i.e. India and United States but to the International community, said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale later.

The meeting follows just days after India and seven others were granted a temporary exemption from US sanctions that kicked in against oil trade with Iran on November 4. The sword to drastically reduce crude imports from Tehran still hangs heavy on New Delhi. We have begun importing oil and gas from United States. It is expected to be valued about $4 billion this year and we expressed our readiness to import more oil and more gas from the United States as a way of expanding our trade, said Gokhale.

US concerns on trade which remains a grudge for Trump were also conveyed to the Indian side with Modi assuring that trade deficits would be reduced further. Vice President Pence also encouraged free, fair, and reciprocal trade with India, said a formal US statement.

Since his last telephonic conversation with Modi in February this year, Trump has at least on three occasions raked up issue of high import duty on Harley-Davidson. The two top leaders could meet along sidelines of G20 summit in Argentina end of this month.

Modi and Pence met just hours after Trump hosted a Diwali event in White House with Indian Ambassador Navtej Sarna in attendance and praised contribution of Indo-Americans. Modi expressed hope that role of the diaspora would be considered by Trump administration when it looks at the whole issue of the H1B visa.

Meanwhile, ahead of third round of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Singapore at level of joint secretaries from India, Australia, US and Japan, Modi-Pence meet also focussed on free and open Indo-Pacific goals.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Washington, November 14

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday described India as "very good negotiators" as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with top Indian-Americans and said he is "grateful" for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," Trump said before lighting the ceremonial Diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House. It is the second consecutive year that Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we're working. And it's moving along," Trump said referring to the India-US trade deal negotiations that have started between the two largest democracies of the world.

Along with nearly two dozen top Indian-American officials of his Administration, President Trump had invited the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, his wife Dr Avina Sarna, and his special assistant Pratik Mathur to be present during the White House Diwali celebrations, a rare.

"India is the world's largest democracy and the relationship between our two countries connect as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said.

"Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say," said the US President as he introduced his daughter to the audience, who was present in the room.

"Absolutely," replied Ivanka, who had visited India last year. She was the first top official of the Trump Administration to travel to India.

Sarna in his brief remarks thanked the President for this great honour for India and this great Indian community putting.

"They feel very welcome here and so integrated with the American society," he said.

"I think, we are looking at one of the best times we ever had in India-US relationship," Sarna said, which was agreed by Trump.

"I think, that's true. Very close, closer than ever before," said the US President.

In his remarks, Trump welcomed senior Indian American officials gathered at the White House for Diwali celebration.

As we light the Diya in the White House we are joined by in a fellowship with all of those who light lamps in their own home, cities and places of worship. America is a land of faith and we are truly fortunate to have these wonderful traditions woven into the tapestry of our national life. And that is true," he said.

Trump said that he is thrilled to celebrate Diwali at the White House.

"I'm honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people. We're gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family and friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New year: very special new year," he said.

"Our nation is blessed to be home to millions of hardworking citizens of Indian and South East Asian heritage to enrich our country in countless ways. Together we are one proud American family. Do we agree with that? I think so. I think we do. Right? Better, believe it," he said.

Trump said Americans of Indian and South East Asian heritage have done an incredible job and identified several of them by name including the chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai; Manisha Singh, Acting Under Secretary of the Department of State; Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services; Uttam Dhillon, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Neil Chatterjee, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Raj Shah, the Deputy White House Press Secretary.

The first White House Diwali celebrations was held in 2003 under the then US President George W Bush, who never attended the celebrations in person. A senior administration official represented him. It was mostly held in the India Treaty Room of Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

Since 2003, Diwali celebrations at the White House has become an annual tradition. In 2009, President Barack Obama lighted the ceremonial lamp in the East room of the White House. The event was attended by about 200 guests.

In 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated Diwali in the East Room. Immediately before the celebrations, she participated in a Bollywood dance with local students in the State Dining Room. In 2016, Obama celebrated Diwali in the Oval Office with a group of Indian Americans officials from his administration.

In 2016, Vice President Biden hosted a Diwali reception at his official residence Number One Observatory Circle. In 2017 President Trump celebrated his first Diwali in the Oval Office with Amb Nikki Haley, senior officials from his administration and a small group of Indian Americans.

Over the years, it is being celebrated by the Indian Americans in Pentagon and the State Department. For the past several years, Diwali is also being celebrated at the US Capitol by Rep and Senators, being hosted by India Caucus. PTI
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 14

Following a four-hour marathon hearing, the Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France under an inter-government agreement.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph reserved the verdict on the contentious issue after hearing arguments from counsel for the petitioners, including Prashant Bhushan, senior journalist Arun Shourie and Attorney General KK Venugopal who defended secrecy clause.

Alleging irregularities in the deal, petitioners ML Sharma, Prashant Bhushan, Vineet Dhanda and Sanjay Singh demanded registration of an FIR and a court-monitored investigation into it.

Venugopal said the decision on types of aircraft and weapons needed to be procured was a matter for experts and could not be adjudicated upon by the judiciary. Even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of jets, he said defending the non-disclosure clause of Rafale deal.

I decided not to peruse it myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible, the AG said.

The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not, the bench said, adding discussion on price will be considered if it thought that it should come in the public domain.

Venugopal said though there was no sovereign guarantee, there was a letter of comfort issued by the French government which was as good as a sovereign guarantee.

Perhaps for the first time four senior IAF officers  three Air Marshalls and an Air Vice Marshall  and Additional Secretary (Defence) appeared in the top court to explain various aspects of a defence deal.

We are dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer on Rafale jets. We want to hear from an Air Force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue, the bench said prompting the AG to assure it that they would be available in 10 minutes.

CJI Gogoi asked several questions about previous acquisitions and which generation of aircraft IAF was using. Air Vice Marshall J Chalapathi told the Bench that the last acquisition was Sukhoi-30 and before that Mirage Aircraft were bought in 1985. He said while most of the countries were using 4th and 5th generation fighter planes, IAF was using 3rd or sub-4th generation (3.5) aircraft.

After getting answers from the IAF officers, the Bench said they were free to go. The Air Marshalls and Air Vice Marshall can go now. This (court) is a different war room. You can go to the actual war room, the CJI told them.

Following the courts October 31 order, the Centre had on Monday submitted in a sealed cover the pricing details of 36 Rafale jets.

The process of acquisition had started in 2001 and India was to purchase 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) but the contract negations reached a stalemate and Request for Proposal compliance was finally withdrawn in June 2015. During the protracted process Indias adversaries modernised their combact capabilities, the AG submitted.

It was in this background that India signed an agreement with France in September 2016 for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment. It has better deliverables, the AG said, adding norms prescribed under Defence Procurement Policy -2013 were followed.

The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

Venugopal said at the exchange rate of November 2016, the cost of a bare fighter jet was Rs 670 crore. He, however, said earlier the jets were not to be loaded with requisite weapons system and the reservation of the government was due to the fact that it did not want to violate the clause of the Inter Government Agreement and the secrecy clause. Presently France, Egypt and Qatar are flying Rafale fighter jets.

Describing Rafale aircraft as potent, Venugopal said, Had we possessed Rafale during the Kargil war, we could have avoided huge casualties as Rafale is capable of hitting targets from a distance of 60 km.

Mr Attorney, Kargil was in 1999-2000? Rafale came in 2014, pointed out the CJI.

I said it hypothetically, responded the AG.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Bhilai, November 14

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being arrogant, adding the latter "doesn't understand that India has progressed due to the sweat and blood of the common man".

Addressing a campaign rally here for the second phase of Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Gandhi said the country can't be run by a single person or a party.

"The common citizens have given their sweat and blood for development of the country. The prime minister doesn't seem to understand this because he is arrogant," he told the gathering.

"When Modi spoke from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi that before he became the prime minister in 2014, the elephant (India) was sleeping, he was insulting people of the country," Gandhi said.

"By making such comments, he has insulted you, the workers of Bhilai steel plant who have worked here since 1955," Gandhi said.

Gandhi spoke of "two Indias coexisting", saying "One India is of the rich: Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and another India is of common people like you and mefarmers and labourers. We don't want this. We have one 'tiranga' (national tricolour) and the country should also be one", he said.

"If the rich are given benefits, the common people should also get the same. If you don't want to waive loans of farmers, you should not do so for the rich as well. For a handful of rich whose NPAs total Rs 12 lakh crore, Rs 3.5 lakh crore have been waived off," he said.

Targeting Modi, Gandhi asked the audience to question him when he visits them next.

"On my behalf, ask Modiji why he doesnt speak about the promises he made in 2014 about depositing Rs 15 lakh in your bank accounts, about giving employment to two crore people, fair price for farmers produce and about being the 'chowkidar' of the country," he said.

Modi did 'chowkidari' of Anil Ambani and made crores of honest ordinary citizens stand in queues outside banks, he said.

"Rs 30,000 crore was given to Ambani in the Rafale deal. This is the truth of the 'chowkidar", Gandhi said. PTI
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Singapore, November 14

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held bilateral meetings with the premiers of Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

Prime Minister Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore on Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.

He became the first head of government to address the worlds largest event on financial technology.

The prime minister held bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here.

PM Narendra Modi met with PM of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

PM Narendra Modi met PM of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha on sidelines of EAS Summit. Cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security and connectivity were discussed, he said in another tweet.

The Prime Ministers Office said Modis meeting with Morrison was fruitful.

Modi also held bilateral meetings with global leaders, including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

During his visit to Singapore, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised Indias continued commitment to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhis growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other Asian states. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Singapore, November 14

Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians with the government launching a number of people-friendly digital platforms, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday as he pitched India as the best investment destination for tech firms at the prestigious Fintech Festival here.

Speaking at the worlds largest event on financial technology, Modi said technology has transformed governance and delivery of public services in India and unleashed innovation, hope and opportunities.

Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world and it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives, Modi said as he began his two-day visit to the country.

It has empowered the weak and brought into mainstream those who were on the margins. It has made economic access more democratic, he said in his keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit.

Modi said the festival was an acknowledgement of the financial revolution sweeping through India.

This is an event of finance and technology and, it is also a festival. It is also a celebration of belief. Belief in the spirit of innovation and the power of imagination. Belief in the energy of youth and their passion for change. Belief in making the world a better place, Modi said.

The festival, which is in its third year, drew as many as 30,000 participants from over 100 countries in 2017.

The event involves a three-day conference, and exhibition of Fintech firms and capabilities, a global competition of Fintech solutions and a platform for matching entrepreneurs and investment capital.

Modi said the festival was a tribute to the youth of India with its eyes firmly fixed to the future.

Financial inclusion has become reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities- Aadhaar or foundation- in just a few years, Modi said at the event.

The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And, it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives, Modi said.

He said India is a nation of diverse circumstances and challenges.

Our solutions must also be diverse. Our digitisation is a success because our payment products cater to everyone, he said.

The Indian story shows six great benefits of fintech: Access, inclusion; connectivity; ease of living; opportunity; and, accountability, the prime minister said at the event.

This enormous talent pool in India benefits from the ecosystem created by initiatives such as Digital India and Startup India, and by supportive policies, incentives and funding programmes, Modi said.

It also helps that India has the largest data consumption in the world and the cheapest rates for data. And one of the top nations in Fintech adoption. So, I say this to all the Fintech companies and startups  India is your best destination, Modi said.

The economies of scale achieved in India by the LED bulb industry allowed this energy efficient technology to become more affordable globally. Likewise, Indias vast market can enable Fintech products to achieve scale, reduce risks and costs, and go global, he said.

Modi also launched APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a global Fintech platform with Deputy PM of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam after his address at the event.

APIX will eventually connect our companies to financial institutions globally, he said.

Across the world, from the Indo-Pacific to Africa to Latin America, we see inspiring stories of extraordinary innovation changing ordinary lives. But, there is much to be done, he said.

Modi said the digital technology was introducing transparency and eliminating corruption through innovations such as the Government e-Marketor GEM.

There is an explosion of Fintech innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading Fintech and startup nation in the world. The future of Fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India, he said.

Modi became the first world leader to address the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.

It is a great honour to be the first Head of Government to deliver the keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival, Modi said.

We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. From desktop to cloud, from Internet to social media, from IT Services to Internet of Things, we have come a long way in short time, he said.

Just as India will learn from others, we will share our experience and expertise with the world. Because, what drives India also holds hope for others. And, what we dream for India is what we also wish for the world. This is a common journey for all, Modi said. PTI
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi, November 14

Social activist Trupti Desai on Wednesday said she would visit the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala along with six other women in the previously banned 10-50 age group on November 17 but it was stoutly opposed by a right wing activist, sparking fears of a fresh confrontation.

Desai, who spearheaded the campaign to allow entry of women to various religious places, including Shani Shingnapur temple, the Haji Ali Dargah, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, announced the decision even as the Supreme Court once again refused to stay its verdict which allowed entry of women of all age groups to the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.

Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, meanwhile, called for a holistic approach on the Sabarimala issue so that the sentiments of the people were not hurt, observing the Centre would intervene in the matter at the right time if required.

Asked by reporters if an ordinance was required to deal with the situation, Sharma said the Kerala government had to decide on the matter.

The state government has to take a call on that (ordinance) and the central government, if required, will definitely intervene at the right time, he said in Delhi.

The two-month-long Mandala Makaravillakku pilgrimage season in Sabarimala commences on November 17 and attracts millions of devotees from all over the country.

With no stay being given, it remains to be seen whether girls and women in the menstruating 10-50 age group will be able to enter the shrine after a 6-km arduous trek since attempts by some were foiled by protesters at the base camps in Nilakkal and Pamba when the shrine was opened for 8 days in two spells after the September 28 verdict.

Desai, in an email to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, sought security as she apprehends an attack on her life during her visit to the shrine.

We will not return to Maharashtra without darshan at the Sabarimala temple, she said adding we have faith in the government that it will provide security for us. It is the responsiblity of the state government and the police to provide protection and take us to the temple as the supreme court has permitted all women to offer prayers at the shrine, she added.

The Chief Ministers office said they had received the e-mail and it has been sent to the officials concerned.

Trupti has also sent a mail to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure security for her trip to the hill shrine.

Rahul Easwar, president of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena, which is among the organisations protesting against the entry of women of all ages into the shrine, said Ayyappa devotees would resist through Gandhian means, any attempt by Desai and her group to trek the holy shrine and offer prayers.

We will lie down on the floor. We will protest and at all costs prevent them from offering prayers at the shrine, he said in Thiruvananthapuram.

The temple had witnessed a string of protests from the main Opposition Congress, the BJP, RSS and right wing outfits against the CPI(M)-led LDF governments decision to implement the apex court verdict, lifting the centuries-old ban on the entry of women in the 10-50 age group.

The shrine had been opened for four days in October and two days this month for the monthly pujas when the protests were held.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked a lawyer, who on Wednesday sought stay on the courts Sabarimala verdict, to wait till January 22 when the Constitution bench will hear review petitions.

The matter was mentioned by lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara, who has filed the review on behalf of the National Ayyappa Devotees (Womens) Association.

The apex court on Tuesday declined a similar plea while agreeing to hear in open court a batch of petitions seeking review of its verdict.

The top court has fixed January 22 to hear all the review petitions.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, November 14

The border police districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Batala were put on high alert after four Punjabi-speaking men snatched an Innova vehicle on Tuesday night from near Madhopur, 8 km from here.

Within an hour of the incident, nine check posts sprang up on the Pathankot-Gurdaspur-Batala-Amritsar highway.

IG (Border) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar said a manhunt had been launched to nab the accused. The terror angle cannot be ruled out. We are not in a position to take any risks, especially after the January 2016 terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force station. Six teams have been formed to crack the case. Information has been sought from the two toll barriers located on the Gurdaspur-Pathankot and Batala-Amritsar highways, said the IG.

Police officials said the accused hired the taxi from Jammu and were bound for Amritsar. When the vehicle reached Madhopur, one of them pointed a gun at the driver, Raj Kumar, and forced him to alight.

Minutes before the snatching, all four had dinner at a restaurant near Madhopur where they picked up a quarrel with the owner.

Raj Kumar rang up the control room following which Pathankot SSP Vivek Sheel Soni and senior police officials reached the spot. The hotel owner was also questioned.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Chandigarh, November 14

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday deplored attempts to politicise the defence forces, asserting that the personnel were meant to report only to their regimental heads and not work at the behest of the political dispensation.

He said there was an immediate end to the current cult of political interference in the functioning of defence services, to enable the officers and soldiers to discharge their duties efficaciously.

The Congress leader said it was necessary in the larger interest of the nation to secure its unity, integrity and security.

Singh condemned the attempts to politicise the defence forces, asserting the personnel were meant to report only to their regimental heads and not work at the behest of the political dispensation.

He was addressing a gathering at the Remembrance Day ceremony here which paid homage to commonwealth nations armed forces personnel who sacrificed their lives during World War I.

A two-minute silence was observed in memory of the martyrs, an official release said.

The chief minister said the exemplary valour and indomitable courage of all soldiers in preserving the ethos of freedom, liberty and democratic values had remained largely unrecognised.

He noted nearly 74,000 Indian soldiers attained martyrdom and 67,000 were wounded in this war.

While most Indians were aware of the sacrifices made by millions of people in the Independence struggle, the supreme contribution of the brave men who fought in the Great War was largely forgotten, the chief minister said.

He called for aggressively propagating the nations rich military history among the youths to make them more aware about the glorious legacy of the armed forces.

Underscoring the need to acclimatise the younger generation with the past events, Singh advocated for inclusion of detailed chapters on Indias contribution both in World War 1 and 2 in school curriculum.

Referring to his recent visit to Turkeys Gallipolis Helles and Turkish memorials, where he paid his respects to the martyred Commonwealth soldiers, including Indians, he said there was a marked difference in the awareness levels of youth about the military exploits compared to India.

Earlier, British Deputy High Commissioner in Chandigarh, Andrew Ayre lauded the role played by Indian soldiers in the war.

Canadian Consulate General Mia Yen also paid glowing tributes to the soldiers in securing peace, prosperity and democratic freedom for their future generations.  PTI
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 14

Two men were arrested on Wednesday within six hours of looting Rs 50 lakh from bank officials at Nabha in Punjab's Patiala district, police said.

The two suspectsone of who is the son of a retired policemantargeted a bank van that was depositing cash in the branch, police said. They asked security guards stationed outside to hand over the cash, then suddenly shot a guard in the stomach. The guard, Prem Chand (52), succumbed to the bullet injuries at a local hospital, the Patiala SSP said.

The accused have been identified as Jagdev Singh (35) and Amanjit Singh (37), both residents of Sangrur. They were arrested from Sangrur district, SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu said.

The two motorcycle-borne men looted the cash from officials of a bank at Nabha in Patiala district on Wednesday morning by brandishing a gun.

The double barrel gun of the security guard, which was snatched by the accused, has been recovered, police said.

Sidhu alleged that the banks have not been following police instructions despite being asked several times to inform police before transferring cash in large amount.

Punjab DGP Suresh Arora has announced cash reward of Rs 1 lakh to Patiala police. Patiala SSP Mandeep Sidhu announced to pass the reward money to the deceased bank guard's family.

The incident comes a year after some unknown armed men intercepted and robbed a cash van belonging to a private bank of Rs 1.33 crore near Banur. Police are yet to arrest all suspects involved in the case.
editorial@tribune.com

Arun Sharma

Tribune News Service

Nangal, November 14

A politically well-connected Nangal resident has started raising a building along the national highway in Jawahar Colony of Ward No. 9 in violation of norms but the Municipal Council (MC) as well as the police have turned a blind eye. Local BJP councillor Harish Kapila said his requests to the MC to take action against the offender had been ignored.

No construction can be taken up within 5 m of the national highway. Residents living nearby said it was a shamlat land that was being encroached upon.

Former Cabinet Minister Madan Mohan Mittal who represented the area in the Assembly during the last regime alleged that the encroachment was being done by a relative of a former municipal councillor at the behest of a senior Congress leader. Attempts were made to encroach upon this land earlier too, which were thwarted due to opposition from local residents, he said. However, MC officials failed to protect this land, he added.

Local councillor Kapila said, I had proposed to set up a park on the said land, but MC officials did not bother to ascertain the status of the plot and now it has fallen prey to encroachment. After the construction was started by this influential person, many others have started staking a claim on the adjoining land too, he said.

Municipal Executive Officer Manjinder Singh said the civic body had not been informed about the construction and a notice to the offender had been issued while the local police had been asked to stop the construction. On the other hand, local SHO Pawan Kumar said, It is the duty of the Municipal Council to stop illegal construction and the police will accompany them only when they ask for security to the enforcement team. Till now, no one has approached us for the same.
editorial@tribune.com

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 14

Sending strong signals of revival of party activities for the next parliamentary elections, the state unit of the BJP has changed at least 20 district presidents, out of the total 33, recently.

Confirming the development, president of the state unit Shwait Malik said, We have made changes only with an intention of having an involvement of fresh faces, particularly youth, in carrying forward our party agenda. New faces are being given the charge to show their potential. Senior leaders, who were replaced, have been assigned new responsibilities.

Malik said, The party is, in fact, engaged in a long chain of activities from now onwards. We have our organisational meeting in Ludhiana on Thursday. This will be followed by three different meetings in Chandigarh on November 17. A special programme in the memory of senior leader and a former MP Dr Baldev Parkash will be held in Amritsar on November 19.

Malik said, We are commencing the exercise of reaching out to our workers at the grassroots with a function at Mukerian on November 20. This will mark the beginning of earmarking our shakti kendras. Each kendra will be assigned a set of five polling booths.

The party had earmarked two media centres at Amritsar and Chandigarh. General secretary Dyal Singh Sodhi was given the overall charge of the assignment. He would be assisted by Maj (retd) RS Gill and Janardhan Sharma, he said. The first meeting will feature the core group, also comprising former presidents. It will take up challenges the party is facing in the state. There will be separate meetings of the state executive of the party and the district presidents, he said.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 14

A team of district health officials today sealed an unauthorised drug de-addiction centre being run from Rajewala village in the Jandiala block and rescued eight admitted patients.

The patients were later shifted to government-run Swami Vivekananda Drug De-addiction Centre at Government Medical College here.

The team led by Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Kirandeep Kaur raided the centre Ek Parivartan being run from an old home in the village.

The team members found all inmates locked in a room secured with iron grills. Civil Surgeon Dr Hardeep Singh Ghai said as per preliminary investigation they found that the centre was being run by Sukhwinder Singh Luthra.

However, the team was not able to contact him or know about his whereabouts. The team members said only employee at the centre was an aged chowkidar, who too slipped after the raid.

An inmate of the Hathi gate area said, Our parents were paying Rs 10,000 for the stay and treatment. We were given poor quality food. Mostly we were given rice without any vegetable or dal. He alleged that all inmates were beaten up mercilessly a month ago.

Another inmate from the Jandiala Guru area said the owner treated them badly. We were forced to clean the premises and cook food. No medicines were given for treatment. However, tobacco and bidis were made available to inmates.

Dr Ghai said the centre was not registered with the department and did not hold the mandatory licence to treat such patients.

He said the centre had been sealed and the police station concerned had been asked to register an FIR against the owners.

Dr Ghai said people should avail the de-addiction and rehabilitation facilities from government-run centres as they have trained manpower, medicines and infrastructure to deal with the issue. He said people could also give information about any such centre being run in their area.
editorial@tribune.com

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, November 14

The police districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Batala were put on high alert after four unidentified Punjabi speaking persons allegedly snatched a Toyota Innova from a cab driver near Madhopur late on Tuesday night.

Within an hour of the incident nine checkpoints were put up on the Pathankot-Gurdaspur and Batala-Amritsar national highways.

IG (Border) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar said a search had been launched to nab the accused. The terror angle cannot be ruled out. We are not in a position to take risk particularly after the 2016 terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force station. Six teams have been formed to crack the case. Information has been sought from two toll barriers located on the Gurdaspur-Amritsar national highway, he said.

An officer said the accused hired the Innova from Jammu railway station and were bound for Amritsar. When the vehicle reached Madhopur, one of them ordered the driver, Raj Kumar, to slow down. Subsequently, Kumar was forced to get down after one of the accused pointed a gun at him.

Minutes before the snatching, the four had dinner at a hotel on the Jammu-Madhopur road where they had picked up a fight with the hotel owner.

After being robbed of the vehicle, Raj Kumar rang up the control room. Pathankot SSP Vivek Sheel Soni and senior officers reached the spot. The hotel owner was also questioned.

The driver was questioned at Sujanpur police station by the police and officers of military intelligence. A senior officer revealed that they could not get much information from the driver as he kept changing his statement.

A special team was scanning the video footage procured from a CCTV camera installed near the Jammu station.

Security around the Army ammunition dump in Mamun cantonment was beefed up even as the Army and Air Force authorities were informed. Checking was carried out at railway stations and bus stands of Pathankot, Jhakholari, Dinanagar, Gurdaspur, Dhariwal and Batala.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 14

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday said the state government should declare Dera Sacha Sauda followers guilty in the January 2017 Maur Mandi blast, if SIT probe had established so.

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of a rally against the delay in disbursement of SC Post-Matric Scholarships, Sukhbir said: The police should come out with the truth on the matter. If dera people are involved, the government should say so and arrest the guilty. It seems that there is no will to act.

After being accused of having a role in grant of pardon to dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Sukhbir has now surprisingly expressed his stance against the dera. Notably, dera chiefs relative and former Congress MLA Harminder Jassi, outside whose rally the blast had taken place, had claimed that he was the target.

Asked as to why he kept maintaining that the blast was the result of hobnobbing between AAP and Sikh radicals, Sukhbir said: It was based on the first information that we got. There was a first suspect and then a second. Anything can emerge after preliminary investigation. He tried to justify why the police under him as the then Home Minister could not establish the role of the dera.

Similarly, when quizzed on the foreign hand that he claimed was behind sacrilege incidents, Sukhbir moved on abruptly without replying.

Sukhbir alleged that there was a serious threat to peace in the state. He hit out against the Congress government for denying education to Dalit students by refusing to release Rs 444 crore received from the Centre for the scholarship scheme. He announced to launch a statewide agitation on the issue.

Shown black flags

Led by DCC chief Daljit Singh Ahluwalia, Congress leaders showed black flags to Akalis near the rally venue. Former minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur alleged that Sukhbir was shedding crocodile tears on the scholarship issue. When in government, he himself kept diverting scholarship funds. He took resignation from me and Gulzar Singh Ranike over some allegations as we both are SCs. There were charges against other ministers too, but they were spared as they were from general category, he alleged.
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 13

Setting the ball rolling for elections to 13,278 gram panchayats, the Punjab Government has asked the State Election Commission to complete the process by December 15.

Sources said the Rural Development and Panchayat Department had told the poll panel it was ready" for the polls and that polling and counting could be held the same day.

For the first time, 50 per cent of panchayat seats have been reserved for women candidates, as suggested by Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa. Elections to the rural bodies were last held in August 2013. These were dissolved in July this year after their term ended. Subsequently, no funds were allotted and development work in villages almost came to a halt.

The Congress government, on assuming power in 2017, had stopped all village works started by the previous SAD-BJP government under the Rural Mission programme. This was done following allegations that 50 per cent of the allotted funds had been siphoned, especially in the Malwa region.

Development projects in the villages will be resumed after the panchayat polls.

Coming close on the heels of Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections (September 19), the panchayat elections are expected to indicate the political mood in the state and set the tone for the 2019 polls. Candidates backed by the SAD-BJP had swept the 2013 panchayat polls. With the alliance out of power and SADs rural base hit in the aftermath of the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on sacrilege incidents, a repeat performance is unlikely. With AAP split, it seems Congress has the edge.

Meanwhile, the CM permitted transfers sought by the Rural Development Department so that suitable officers are posted.

IN A NUTSHELL
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Dublin, November 14

The Irish Aviation Authority has launched an investigating after an unidentified flying object (UFO) was sighted by commercial pilots flying over the country, the media reported on Tuesday.

On the morning of November 9, the pilot of British Airways flight BA94 from Montreal called air traffic control in Shannon to report seeing an object moving past her aircraft and asked if there were any military exercises taking place off the west coast of Ireland, reports the Guardian.

"It was moving so fast," she said. "It came up on our left hand side and then rapidly veered to the north. It was a very bright light that disappeared at very high speed." According to a recording of the conversation by Airlive, a site for enthusiasts, the pilot was told there were no military exercises in the area.

Other aircraft flying in the area reported the same thing.

A pilot flying a Virgin Airlines plane from Orlando to Manchester described the sight as a "meteor or another object making some kind of re-entry", adding it seemed to be "multiple objects following the same sort of trajectory - very bright from where we were".

A spokesman for the Irish Aviation Authority told the Irish Times it was investigating the incident and would file a report. IANS
shalender@tribune.com

Jerusalem, November 14

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman today announced his resignation in protest to a Gaza ceasefire that he called a capitulation to terror, weakening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus conservative coalition government.

Were I to stay in office, I would not be able to look southern residents in the eye, Lieberman said, referring to Israelis subjected to a surge in Palestinian rocket attacks before Tuesdays truce took hold.

Lieberman said his resignation, which will go into effect 48 hours after he submits a formal letter to Netanyahu, also withdraws his far-right Yisrael Beitenu party from the coalition.

With Liebermans party holding five seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Netanyahus ruling coalition will be left with just 61 seats. Elections are not due until November 2019, but Liebermans resignation increases the likelihood of an earlier vote.

Political commentators speculated that Netanyahu, who despite his approval ratings has been dogged by multiple corruption investigations, might bring forward the ballot.

They also saw in Liebermans decision to quit a bid to poach votes from Netanyahu and far-right cabinet rival Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home party, ahead of an election.

But a spokesman for his rightist Likud party played down that option, saying Netanyahu would assume the defence post. The cracks in the coalition could soon widen with calls for Bennett, now education minister, to succeed Lieberman as defence chief. Bennett did not immediately comment.  Agencies

UN Security Council meets on violence

United Nations: The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Tuesday to discuss the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip but there was no agreement on how to address the crisis, diplomats said. Kuwait, which represents Arab countries at the council, and Bolivia requested the meeting following the worst flare-up in Gaza since the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel. AFP
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Jerusalem, November 14

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday in protest at a Gaza ceasefire that he called a "capitulation to terror", weakening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative coalition government.

"Were I to stay in office, I would not be able to look southern residents in the eye," Lieberman said, referring to Israelis subjected to a surge in Palestinian rocket attacks before Tuesday's truce took hold.

Lieberman said his resignation, which will go into effect 48 hours after he submits a formal letter to Netanyahu, also withdraws his far-right Israel Beitenu party from the coalition.

That would leave Netanyahu with control of just 61 of the 120 seats in parliament a year before Israel's next election.

Israeli political commentators had speculated that Netanyahu, who despite his approval ratings has been dogged by multiple corruption investigations, might bring forward the ballot.

But a spokesman for his rightist Likud party played down that option, saying Netanyahu would assume the defence post.

"There is no need to go to an election during what is a sensitive period for national security. This government can see out its days," the spokesman, Jonatan Urich, said on Twitter.

Lieberman has spoken in favour of harsh Israeli military action against Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists, even as the government authorised a Qatari cash infusion to the impoverished enclave last week and limited itself to air strikes rather than a wider campaigns during this week's fighting.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Lieberman's voter base is made up of fellow Russian-speaking immigrants, and rightists and secularists who share his hostility to Israel's Arab minority and the religious authority wielded by ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

The former foreign minister, received the defence portfolio in May 2016. - Reuters
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Colombo, November 14

Sri Lankas Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who was installed by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve Parliament and hold snap polls.

The Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, installed Rajapaksa in his place and suspended the Parliament plunging the island nation into a constitutional crisis.

Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, the former strongman.

According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority, Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard as Rajapaksa supporters disrupted the proceedings.

Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am Thursday.

Speaker Jayasuriya has officially written to President Sirisena asking him to take further constitutional action on the issue.

A copy of the motion with 122 signatures of Parliamentarians, who have expressed lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rajapaksa and his cabinet, has been sent to President Sirisena.

The Speakers office said that the Speaker has requested the President to take the next step under the Constitution.

Speaking after the no-trust vote, ousted Prime Minister Wickremsinghe claimed that his government had been restored after extra constitutional action by President Sirisena to sack him as the premier.

We will now take steps to ensure that the government in place before October 26 will continue. I wish to inform all government servants and police that you should not carry out illegal orders from the purported government that has failed to demonstrate the confidence of the people, he said.

Wickremesinghes United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa told reporters that the Government headed by Rajapaksa clearly lost the floor test.

He said Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down as he does not have majority support in Parliament.

However, Dinesh Gunawardena and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, both Rajapaksas senior aides, said Speakers action was illegal.

Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the floor test in Parliament was illegal and so Rajapaksa will continue as Prime Minister, further deepening the political crisis that has paralysed the government for nearly three weeks.

The Parliament session on Wednesday morning comes a day after the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisenas controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

In its ruling, the apex court had said Sirisenas dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the Presidents decision next month before giving a final ruling.

After the court verdict, Speaker Jayasuriya summoned Parliaments session for Wednesday morning.

Sirisena had dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to install Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as premier.

While sacking Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, President Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move.

Major political parties, including the United National Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and an election commission member Ratnajeevan Hoole, on Monday dragged Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his decision by filing fundamental rights petitions against the move, which they said violated the Constitution.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election on January 5, plunging the countrys into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that his sacking by Sirisena was unconstitutional and illegal and he was still the Prime Minister. He had demanded that Parliament be convened to hold a vote among the lawmakers to decide who enjoyed majority support in Parliament to be the Prime Minister.

As pressure grew and both sides claimed they had the numbers, the President dissolved Parliament and called for elections.

Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Sirisena on Sunday stoutly defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers. He said there were reports that politicians would clash during the floor test, which was due on November 14.

Rajapaksa, 72, who ruled Lanka for a nearly decades from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in January 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghes UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security. And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa. PTI
amansharma@tribunemail.com

London, November 14

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday defended the Brexit deal agreed with the European Union ahead of a major showdown with her Cabinet ministers, saying the agreement would give the UK control of borders, laws and money and also protect business and jobs.

Downing Street has said the UK and the EU have agreed an initial draft agreement on the negotiating terms for Britains exit, the so-called divorce settlement, from the economic bloc by March next year.

As the UKs withdrawal agreement with the European Union (EU) enters a crucial stage, Prime Minister May now has the tough task of convincing her deeply divided Cabinet that the agreement is the best possible outcome for Britain.

Addressing a raucous House of Commons during her weekly Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) ahead of the crunch meeting at Downing Street, May told MPs that the deal agreed with the EU delivers on the British publics vote in favour of Brexit in the 2016 referendum.

What we have been negotiating is a deal that does deliver on the vote of the British people, she said, adding that the agreement would give the UK control of borders, laws and money and also protect business and jobs.

However, Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accused her of preparing to bring a false choice before Parliament between a botched deal and no deal.

He said the UK would be stuck in an indefinite half-way house without any real say if the current Brexit agreement went ahead.

But May countered that the Labour Partys objective was to frustrate Brexit and betray the vote of the British people.

May, in a speech earlier this week said: The negotiations for our departure are now in the endgame. And we are working extremely hard, through the night, to make progress on the remaining issues in the withdrawal agreement, which are significant.

Both sides want to reach an agreement. But what we are negotiating is immensely difficult. I do not shy away from that, she said, hours before it emerged that Brussels was ready to publish a 500-page document of the withdrawal agreement once May is able to get her Cabinet on board.

On one of the most contentious aspects of the negotiations, the EU has reportedly dropped its demand for Northern Ireland to remain in the economic blocs Customs Union as a back stop until a future trade deal is signed.

However, May is believed to have agreed that the region can remain more closely aligned to the EU regulations in some areas than the rest of the UK.

The deal will involve a two-year transition until 2021, followed by a UK-wide Customs Union backstop in the event that the Irish border issue cannot be resolved during that period.

While the full details of the agreement are yet to be published, leading Brexiteers and even some pro-Remain MPs of the ruling Conservative Party have called on ministers to reject the deal as unacceptable.

Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), on whom May relies for her majority in the House of Commons, has warned that the agreement could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

An embattled May hosted one-on-one briefings with her ministers in Downing Street on Tuesday ahead of the full Cabinet meeting expected to last around three hours later on Wednesday.

Some key pro-Brexit ministers, including international development secretary Penny Mordaunt and work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, are being named as possible members of her Cabinet who might resign in protest and possibly even pave the way for a leadership challenge against May.

But May is thought to have won the support of five key ministers  foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, home secretary Sajid Javid, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, environment secretary Michael Gove, and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.

If the Cabinet ends up signing off on the deal, the European Commission is expected to publish the details of the agreement alongside a much shorter declaration on future economic and security relations, which still need to be fully thrashed out.

Ambassadors from the remaining 27 EU member states will then discuss the possibility of organising an emergency summit later this month, earmarked for November 25, to sign off on it.

However, then the UK government faces a battle to win Parliaments backing on the divorce agreement, with some Tories already vowing to vote against it and the Democratic Unionist Party DUPs support being uncertain.

The crucial leg of the Brexit negotiations this week follows months of wrangles, with transport minister Jo Johnson becoming the latest minister to step down over the issue last week.

He followed in the footsteps of his brother Boris Johnson, who resigned as foreign secretary a few months ago and David Davis, who stepped down as Brexit secretary.

These ministers have vehemently opposed the withdrawal agreement and called on fellow Tory MPs to oppose it.

But Conservative Party Chief Whip Julian Smith, in charge of party discipline, has said he is confident the deal would pass.

This critical stage of negotiations will determine the final stages of Britains formal exit from the EU on March 29, 2019, after the June 2016 referendum in favour of Brexit.  PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, November 14

US lawmakers will introduce legislation on Wednesday urging a stronger response by the Trump administration to Chinas crackdown on minority Muslims, including possible sanctions against a regional Communist Party chief and other officials accused of human rights abuses.

The legislation will also ask President Donald Trump to condemn Chinas actions in the Xinjiang region, call for a new special coordinator of US policy on the issue and press for consideration of a ban on export of US technology that Beijing could use in surveillance and mass detention of ethnic Uighurs, according to a copy of the measure seen by Reuters.

The lawmakers want the Trump administration to consider human rights-related sanctions against Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is also a member of the powerful politburo, and other officials credibly alleged to be responsible for the security crackdown, the measure will say.

Chinese government officials should be held accountable for their complicity in this evil and US businesses should be barred from helping China create a high-tech police state in Xinjiang, said Republican US Representative Chris Smith, one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation that will be presented in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The White House and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Bill, which is also being put forth by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez

Trumps senior aides recently have become more vocal in their criticism of Chinas treatment of its minority Muslims in Xinjiang, which has sparked an international outcry. Any sanctions, however, would be a rare move on human rights grounds by the Trump administration against China, with which it is engaged in a bitter trade war.

Beijing has dismissed accusations of abuses in Xinjiang, urging the United States and other countries to stay out of its internal affairs.

Chinas top diplomat said earlier on Tuesday that the world should ignore gossip about developments in Xinjiang and trust authorities there, when asked if Beijing would allow international observers to inspect camps holding Muslims there.

Western countries including Canada, France, Germany, and the United States have urged China to shut down camps in Xinjiang, where activists say as many as 1 million members of the Uighur minority and other Muslims are being detained. Far western Xinjiang faces a threat from Islamist militants and separatists, China has said in the past.

Rubio said in a statement that some Chinese officials were responsible for possible crimes against humanity. The Trump administration for several months has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials and companies operating in Xinjiang, US officials have said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The new bill calls for consideration of measures under the Global Magnitsky Act, which hits rights violators with freezes on US assets, US travel bans, and prohibitions on Americans doing business with them, and also under a federal law to target those involved in religious repression around the world.

It will urge the administration to report back to Congress on Chinese companies involved in the camps and ask the FBI to take action against any Chinese government efforts to intimidate Uighurs living in the United States. Reuters
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, November 13

Two prominent US senators expressed alarm on Tuesday about the military and political consequences if China gains control of a port terminal in Djibouti, and said they were concerned it could further boost Beijings influence in East Africa.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Chris Coons said they were concerned about Djiboutis termination of a contract for the Doraleh Container Terminal with United Arab Emirates-based DP World in February and the nationalisation of the port in September.

Reports that Djibouti, heavily indebted to Beijing, would likely cede the ports operations to a Chinese state-owned enterprise were even more alarming, they said.

The letter was the latest in a series of efforts by members of Congress who want to counter Chinas growing international influence, which they see as a threat to US economic and security interests.

Trump has been focusing on the economic threat from China and has brought the two countries to the brink of a trade war, but many lawmakers want to ensure the administration also treats the country as a security threat.

A tiny nation strategically located at the entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal, Djibouti became home to Chinas first overseas military base last year. A US base located just miles away stages operations against Islamic State, al Qaeda and other militant groups.

Rubio and Coons sent Tuesdays letter as lawmakers returned to the Capitol for the first time in several weeks after congressional elections on November 6.

Asked for comment, a Pentagon spokesman said the Defense Department welcomed infrastructure and other investment that could benefit the region, but added countries should be wary of piling on monumental debt.

A State Department spokesman had no immediate response.

The Senate last month passed legislation overhauling the way the federal government lends money for foreign development, in a shift meant largely as a response to Chinese influence.

US officials say they worry about what they call Chinas debt trap diplomacy, in which countries end up giving up control of major assets such as ports or roadways when they fund infrastructure projects with Chinese loans that they cannot pay back.

Marine General Thomas Waldhauser, the top US military officer for Africa, told a Congressional hearing earlier this year the US military could face significant consequences if China took the port in Djibouti. Reuters
The Colonial Life Insurance Company (Trinidad) Ltd (CLICO) now owes the Government $1.21 billion as part of its 2009 bailout arrangement.

Its taken 12 years to have the debt reduced from $18 billion in 2009 to now $1.2 billion in 2021.
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.
A search is now on for a missing father of two after his vehicle was found burnt in the Heig
China Aviation Daily | Nov. 13, 2018

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for a spirit of change from governments to capture the social and economic benefits of air connectivity, by enabling a more competitive air transport sector.

Today 8.5 million flights touch Europe each year. That activity supports 12.2 million jobs and $823 billion of European GDP. Those benefits have the potential to increase with the expected 50% growth in demand for air connectivity over the next two decades. To fully realize this potential Europe must address deep-rooted issues which hamper the competitiveness of Europe's aviation sector. Chief among the concerns are the onerous regulation, high taxes, inefficient air traffic management, and a lack of sufficient infrastructure capacity.

"In 2037, 1.9 billion passengers should be traveling to, from and within this continent. That growth will create jobs and drive a modern economy. But these economic and societal benefits will only materialize if Europe provides a playing field on which its airline industry can be competitive. Governments must embrace a spirit of change in their policies and ambitions for aviation. If governments make the right decisions for aviation-effective regulations, fair taxes and efficient infrastructure-the competitiveness of the entire European economy will improve," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO, in a keynote address to the inaugural IATA Wings of Change Europe conference in Madrid, Spain.

IATA also announced that it is developing a Competitiveness Toolkit, which will provide governments with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of their air connectivity. The analysis will be updated regularly, to enable stakeholders to measure progress. The first country report, for Spain, was published at Wings of Change, with key European states to follow in the coming weeks.

IATA identified three key areas of action to enhance European competitiveness: improving air traffic management, enhancing aviation infrastructure, and reducing the cost and regulatory burden.

Air Traffic Management: A four-point plan for improvements should be adopted without delay by the European Commission, States, Air Navigation Service Providers and their staff, comprising:

- Reforms to outdated work practices

- Modernization of the ATM infrastructure

- Empowering the European Network Manager, and

- Strengthening the Performance and Charging Scheme regulation.

"This year's ATM performance has seen delays at record levels. Passengers deserve better, and airlines cannot wait for the benefits of the Single European Sky program to materialize. Urgent action is needed today to ensure improvements are in place for next summer," said de Juniac.

IATA and PANSA (the ANSP for Poland) jointly announced the publication of the Airspace Strategy for Poland, the first of the National Airspace Strategies that Poland, France, Spain, Bulgaria and Italy have undertaken to develop.

Airport Capacity: There is an urgent need to build more airport capacity, but IATA urged caution with the involvement of the private sector in running airports. And existing capacity must be handled with care. The European Slot Regulation, which is aligned with the Worldwide Slots Guidelines, has worked well to manage constrained airports in a way which ensures stable schedules while creating openings for new competition.

Smarter Regulations: IATA encouraged European regulators to focus on two key regulatory reforms:

- The EU261 compensation scheme is complicated for airlines and passengers, and wholesale reform is urgently needed.

- The Airport Charges Directive has failed to keep airport charges competitive. Over the last decade, passenger charges have doubled as a proportion of the ticket price. Those airports which have strong market power must be effectively regulated. "The key is to agree the principles for establishing which airports need regulating, and a way to make that regulation effective, quickly," said de Juniac.

Read Alexandre de Juniac's Speech

Contributed by IATA
The title of this column depicts where I think we stand as a country. These are our framing parameters. With Petrotrin mothballed, and nothing to replace it we have nothing at which to point.
There are many parks near Las Vegas in the neighboring states. Which were you considering?

The desert parks would be nice that time of year. Death Valley, Mojave Preserve, Joshua Tree...

If you want to head to the parks in Utah or Arizona Zion would be a good choice. If it snows , it does not stick around long in the bottom of the main canyon. Bryce is about 8-9000 feet and the Grand Canyon south rim is about 7000 feet so snow is a real possibility.

I have seen snow in Vegas in March, and I-40 to the Grand Canyon shut down once while I was there.

You need to keep an eye on the weather as your trip gets closer. Nobody can predict weather this far out. Who knows, you may have nice, cool sunny weather at any of those places.
How can you base your self in one place and travel to Siem Reap and Halong Bay? If you are going to base yourself in one place you will be doing day trips of a 100 klms each way, no more.

Are you the same person that asked this same question last week?

Edited: 3 years ago
-:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:-

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the Tripadvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
First Option:

April 17:

April 17 is too late to see Cherry Blossom in Kyoto, not only this year but also in usual years, when even late-blooming Blossom bloom until April 12-15, as follows.

You should see this site in the next spring to check if you can see the late-blooming Cherry Blossom at Japan Mint in Osaka, where you can see the latest blooming Cherry Blossom in Kansai Region. We could;d see it until April 17 this year, about we don't know about the next year.

Here is my report this year.

April 27:

You cannot see Cherry Blossom in Nagano on April 27: at nowhere but North Tohoku Region in late April.

April 28:

The possibility of being able to see Cherry Blossom is high at Hirosaki in Aomori, and Kakunodate in Akita Prefecture in late April.

Second Option.

April 17:

It's too late to see Cherry Blossom in Kyoto and Tokyo on April 17, not only this year, but also in usual years, as follows.

If you want to see Cherry Blossom in Tokyo and Kyoto, you should at least come in the first week of April.

Here are the places where you can see late-blossom in Tokyo and vicinities, but April 17 can be still late for these places.

April 28:

I think you have the best chance to see Cherry Blossom in North Tohoku Region, such as Hirosaki, Kakunodate.

Here are my advices to other persons regarding Cherry Blossom, for your reference.
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
-:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:-

This post has been removed at the author's request. The author may repost if desired.



Posts on the Tripadvisor forums may be edited for a short period of time. Once the edit period has expired, authors may update their posts by removing and reposting them.

To read more about editing your posts, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/help/how_to_edit_your_posts
Hi,

I've done the tours of both Suntory Whisky distilleries - Hakushu and Yamazaki and definitely recommend them. You'll need to listen to a electronic audio guide for English explanations but the tours are very well organised and enjoyable.Hakushu is in a more scenic location but Yamazaki is more convenient to reach. There's a shuttle bus to the Hakushu distillery at weekends I think, otherwise it's a taxi ride from the nearest train station.

The tours can become fully booked quite far in advance so look out for them being made available on the web site.

For samurai culture there are a few places where you can find preserved samurai homes - a quick search should turn them up. A lot of the castles I've visited have had exhibits of samurai armour and weapons etc.

Himeji, Matsue, Matsumoto and Matsuyama are some of the best castles. Note that many others are concrete reconstructions.
- Sources close to the former premier intimate the early morning talks centred on Migori politics

- The leaders also used the opportunity to brief Raila on the issues affecting the county

- Ruto has made two visits to Migori county in less than five days where he launched projects

- The DP's incursion in the area perceived to be deeply in opposition has raised eyebrows

Migori county politics is evidently proving to be a hot potato for the region's kingpin, Raila Odinga, days after Deputy President Wiliam Ruto pitched tent in the cosmopolitan region.

On Tuesday, November 13, a delegation of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) grass root leaders led by area Senator Ochilo Ayacko paid a courtesy call on Raila at his Capitol Hill office, Nairobi.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens.

READ ALSO: Migori Governor Okoth Obado officially ditches Raila for Ruto

READ ALSO: I have no problem working with Governor Okoth Obado - William Ruto

Though the details of the indoor meeting remain scanty, sources close to the former premier showed the early morning talks were based on Migori politics.

The leaders also used the opportunity to brief Raila on the issues affecting the county including the actionable steps to ensure accountability in public spending.

"I met a delegation of leaders from Migori county led by Senator Ochilo Ayacko at Capitol Hill Square who briefed me about issues in their county," posted Raila.

READ ALSO: Kalonzo apata kazi siku chache baada ya kuomba kumsaidia kazi Uhuru

Governor Okoth Obado played host to Raila's political nemesis, William Ruto, twice in a week, on Monday, September 5 and Saturday, September 10, where the latter commissioned massive infrastructural development.

Ruto's tour though disguised as launching of government projects, is seen as baits for the residents and by extension to Raila's political foes keen to jump ship.

During the two functions, the county chief declared he would walk and work with the deputy president for the betterment of the electorate.

Obado's already severed relationship with the ODM party has been aggravated further by the ongoing murder charges facing him

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
- The exercise begins on November 19 and is scheduled to end on December 19 countrywide

- The militaary seeking to recruit servicemen/women, tradesmen/women and constables

- The drive will only be conducted at the recruitment centres during daytime from 8 am to 6 pm on weekdays

- Successful candidates will be issued with calling letters at the recruitment centres by the Senior Recruiting Officers

The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has on Tuesday, November 13, announced a one month recruitment drive beginning Monday, November 19 to December 19, for Kenyans willing to join the forces.

The exercise seeking to recruit servicemen/women, tradesmen/women and constables will only be conducted at the advertised recruitment centres countrywide during daytime from 8 am to 6 pm on weekdays.

READ ALSO: 5 KDF soldiers killed in IED attack in Lamu

KDF past recruitment exercise. The military has announced a one-week exercise beginning on Monday, November 19 countrywide. Photo: Citizen.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: KDF military power declines further in 2018 global ranking

The military has warned against bribery and falsification of documents for purpose of recruitment saying engaging in such action will be liable to prosecution.

" All persons presenting themselves for recruitment purposes with fake documents or caught engaging in any corrupt activity are liable to prosecution. If you accept to be conned, you will lose your money or property and go to jail," reads the advert.

Successful candidates will be issued with calling letters at the recruitment centres by the Senior Recruiting Officers.

During the one-month long period, the KDF Recruiting Teams consisting of the Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy will be visiting the recruiting centres on respective dates and venues.

The team will only consider potential candidates the sub counties and divisions of their respective counties.

They must carry with them current original national identity card, academic certificates and testimonials.

Photocopies, scanned documents and police abstracts will not be accepted.

Source: Kenyan Breaking News
- George Muhoho is Mama Ngina's brother and an influential voice in the first family

- Muhoho is reported to be a regular companion of his nephew, Uhuru, in closed door meetings to broker power deals

- He was was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1963 but ditched calling 13 years later and delved into politics

- Muhoho senior has served as Juja MP, minister during KANU regime and Kenya Airports Authority director

President Uhuru Kenyatta's influential uncle George Muhoho celebrated his eight decades in style as he continues to age gracefully.

The influential figure in the first family marked his 80th birthday on Monday, November 12, and his kin who obviously look up to him as a grandfather, brother and father threw a party to celebrate the milestone.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens.

READ ALSO: KCPE candidates from Baringo ask police officers to impregnate them

George Muhoho celebrates nephew, President Uhuru Kenyatta's victory at Catholic university in 2013. Photo: The Star.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: 41 passengers escape death as Mombasa bound Tahmeed bus bursts into flames

In an Instagram post by his son John Muhoho seen by TUKO.co.ke, the family made a sumptuous cake to celebrate him.

"A very happy 80th birthday to Sir George," read a brief post by Muhoho junior accompanied by a photo of a cake christened, sir, brother, father, guka (grandfather).

Muhoho senior as he is popularly known is a brother to Mama Ngina and was was ordained a Catholic priest in 1963 but quit in 1976 after which he ventured into politics.

George Kamau Muhoho cuts a cake to mark his 80th birthday. Photo: J Muhoho/Instagram.

Source: Instagram

READ ALSO: Raila hosts Migori grass root leaders after DP Ruto's visit

Muhoho served as Juja MP, director general Kenya Airports Authority during former President Mwai Kibaki's era and minister under retired President Daniel Moi's tenure.

He has been regularly seen accompanying Uhuru in closed door meetings where key political decisions are believed to be brokered.

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.

Joseph Irungu and Jacque Maribe in court over the murder of Monica Kimani - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
Editor's Note: Our TUKO.co.ke blogger today is one Washington Ndegea, chairman of the Bima Intermediaries Association of Kenya (BIAK) - an umbrella body representing all insurance agents and intermediaries in the country

Washington takes a look at how Insurance companies seemingly take advantage of car owners' ignorance to make a killing and how compensating damages with money could actually be a more plausible solution

An insurance company can settle a claim in a number ways namely repair your vehicle, compensate you in cash in case of total loss or give you cash to repair your car in case you insured on a Comprehensive basis.

The insurance company giving you cash to settle an accident repair job is called cash-in-lieu in insurance parlance. Section 203 of the Insurance Act Cap 487 tackles the issue of claims settlement.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

Insurance companies in Kenya should not repair cars, give cash compensation instead

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Lessons from South Africa and Ethiopia on how to end Kenyas cycle of election violence

Ideally insurance companies should be giving you cash to repair your vehicle and they should not be running garages or appointing garages to repair your vehicle. This is because their responsibility stops with them compensating you cash for your loss and its your business to seek a repairer of your choice.

This in turn removes them from all manner of problems like legal liabilities in case of poor repair of vehicles if they so authorized. It also removes from them unsatisfied customers who feel they authorized repair in a bad facility that further damaged their vehicles.

Compensating car owners using money instead of repairing vehicles might actually be a more plausible solution, according to Washington

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: All you need to know about a Constitution referendum

This last point has made many insurance clients resort to third party insurance covers because they feel the garages in an insurance companys profile are doing shoddy jobs and do not repair to the insureds satisfaction.

Theres also claims of company employees especially in the claims department being compromised by the garages they work with to first of all give low estimates of your car damages and secondly, to give a release letter of your car to the garages for poor work done.

It is thus not uncommon to hear of an insured going back to a garage of their choice to conduct fresh repair on their car after it has been released from an insurance company garage. These unsatisfactory experiences from insurance companies is what is making insureds resort to mandatory third party insurance where they dont have to seek permission for repair of their cars from any insurance company.

Theres a company where their fleet of cars are all under third party insurance. This of course does not auger well for an industry that is struggling with reputation issues.

READ ALSO: Response to BBC's Beyond Fake News: Branding others as 'fake news' platforms uncalled for

We also have another problem of rogue insurance companies who outrightly refuse to compensate insureds in case of a total loss or giving less compensation for the same. This is becoming a big problem in the insurance sector and we have tens of insureds who have hit a dead end on their compensation matters and their cries to the regulator are not bearing any fruits.

We even have companies providing fake investigative and loss assessment reports, which I can prove, and they do this in corroboration with some corrupt individuals at the regulators office. The question which I keep on asking is who will save the insurance industry?

This brings us to the point where the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji ordered investigations on the insurance company that insured the ill-fated Home Boyz bus that killed tens of people despite the obvious faults the bus had. While the Insurance Act could be silent on that, the Penal Code provides for prosecution where defaults on a vehicle can lead to loss of lives.

Insurance companies in Kenya should not repair cars, give cash compensation instead

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Interior CS Fred Matiangi perfect record calls for everyones support

To quote a source, The elements of murder as provided in Section 203 of the Penal Code which are mens rea ( malice aforethought) and actus reus( guilty acts of omission or commission) were extended by an amendment in 2016 which extended the elements to doing an act " recklessly and/or negligently with indifference as to the repercussions or consequences ".

What this means is that if you do repair on any automobile recklessly and negligently without due regard to the safety of the motorist or any third party and is who is occasioned serious bodily harm or who is killed by coming into proximity with the automobile that was repaired by you, and such death is attributed to your recklessness or criminal negligence, the DPP can charge you with murder contrary to Section 203 as read together with Section 204. Any person convicted of the capital offence of murder shall be sentenced to death. End of quote.

I dont know how many insurance companies know of this provision and its implications as they go authorizing shoddy repairs for their clients vehicles in a bid to cut costs. But then I hear ignorance of the law is no defense.

Insurance companies should completely get of the business of car repair and give cash as compensation. The obvious implications could drive them out of business.

Opinions expressed in this article is solely that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the position of TUKO.co.ke

TUKO.co.ke welcomes writers, bloggers, photographers and all sorts of noise makers to become a part of our Bloggers network. If you are a seasoned writer or a complete newbie, apply and become Kenyan's next star blogger.

If you have any thoughts, feelings, comments or suggestions on the above article, feel free to shoot us an email on news@tuko.co.ke

Kenyans React To Reinforcement of Michuki Rules | Tuko TV:

Source: Kenyan Breaking News
- The officer had seized the vehicle for being unroadworthy

- She directed the driver to a police station but he protested, speeding away towards Butere, instead

- Two suspects have since been arrested pending to be arraigned with the driver at large

Police in Mumias, Kakamega County have launched a manhunt for a matatu driver who abducted and injured a female traffic officer shortly after she arrested him.

TUKO.co.ke has reliably learnt that the incident happened on Tuesday, November 13, along Mumias-Bungoma Highway.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens.

READ ALSO: Interior CS Fred Matiang'i breathing fire as crackdown on errant road users kicks off

Confirming the incident, Mumias OCPD Peter Katam said the officer had impounded the vehicle after she established it was unroadworthy. Photo: UGC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Michuki traffic laws and road rules in Kenya

Confirming the incident, Mumias OCPD Peter Katam said, the officer had impounded the vehicle after establishing it was unroadworthy.

The officer, according to Katam, had boarded the vehicle and directed that it be driven to Mumias police station but the suspect declined and sped towards Butere.

READ ALSO: 2,000 Kenyans arrested on day one of crackdown against chaotic PSV in the country

" Other officers were informed of the incident and with the help of bodaboda riders, they pursued the rogue matatu. We recovered the vehicle at Shitswitswi but the driver managed to escape," said Katam.

Two people, he said, had been arrested and are set to be arraigned on Wednesday, November 14, after investigations.

The traffic officer suffered chest and neck injuries.

She was admitted at St. Mary's Mumias Hospital and later discharged.

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.

Kenyans React To Reinforcement of Michuki Rules | Tuko TV.

Source: Tuko
- The national carrier reportedly cancelled 10 flights citing low demand during winter season

- The airline said the flights were taken off schedule because they were not commercially viable

- KQ commenced the direct flights between Nairobi and New York on October 28, 2018

- Most recently, the airline introduced direct daily flight between Nairobi and Mogadishu

The flag carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has cut back the number of the recently introduced direct daily flights between Nairobi and America's city New York citing a drop in demand for flights plying the long-haul route.

The airline reportedly rescheduled at least 10 flights which had been scheduled to fly between November and March 2019.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Kenya Airways launches direct daily flights to Somali capital Mogadishu

The national flag carrier said the winter schedule for all its flights took effect from October 28, 2018, and was to run until March 30, 2019.Photo:Kenya Airways.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Second KQ direct flight completes New York-Nairobi journey

TUKO.co..ke on Wednesday, November 14, learnt the national carrier's winter season schedule commenced on October 28 when the much publicised direct flights between Nairobi and New York were officially launched.

The winter schedule for all our flights took effect from October 28, 2018. It will run until March 30, 2019. We have cancelled flights that are not commercially viable. The cuts are part of the normal operational decisions, the airline said.

READ ALSO: Over 7,000 travellers book KQ flight ahead of inauguration of direct flights to US

The move has, however, not gone down well with a section of Kenyans who could not quite understand why the demand had dipped a few weeks after the launch of the direct flights and at a time the country is expecting more visitors.

Below are some of the reactions following KQ's notification on the reduced number of direct flights between Nairobi and New York.

READ ALSO: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport receives green light for direct flights to US

Meanwhile, KQ has also introduced direct daily flight between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Kenya, and Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia.

The newly unveiled flights will be leaving Nairobi at 07.40am and landing at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu at 9.55am every day.

The airline said those travelling from Mogadishu to Nairobi will now be departing Aden Adde International Airport at 10.45am and landing at JKIA at 1.00pm using a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400.

"The addition of this route to our network demonstrates our commitment to improving connectivity on the African continent, while creating new opportunities for corporates, investors, traders and tourists, Kenya Airways boss, Sebastian Mikosz said.

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.

What is Your Worst Experience in a Matatu? - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko News
- The officer was arrested after checking in into a lodging room with his lover

- Trans Mara deputy county commissioner said the owner of the premises risks having his license revoked

- In the recent past, there has been a public outcry over high levels of teen pregnancies

A law enforcement officer in Kilgoris, Narok County, has found himself on the wrong side of the law while on a mission to eat the forbidden fruit with a student sitting the ongoing national exams.

Patrick Mwendo was arrested in Kilgoris town on the night of Tuesday, November 13, at a lodging with a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidate at Sankale Secondary School.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Detectives confiscate 8 firearms, electronics from Okoth Obado during home raids

READ ALSO: Kenyans troll Kenya Airways for scaling down direct flights to New York weeks after launch

The sexually starved Administration Police (AP) officer had booked a room in a well known lodging in the town and was nabbed immediately after checking in with his lover.

Confirming the incident, Trans Mara Deputy County Commissioner Mohammed Noor Hassan, said the owner of the premises risks having his license revoked for allowing a minor at his joint.

Noor said he had made arrangements with the school to ensure the student finishes her exams as investigations into the matter continue.

READ ALSO: 3 more KCSE candidates to be deregistered after being found with phones

The incident came amid a rising public outcry over the high rates of teen pregnancies recorded in the recent past.

Lawmakers have proposed stringent laws to be passed for sexual offenders who are notorious for preying on minors.

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

Kenya News Today: MC Jesse Calls Fan Ugly and Kenyans Are Not Impressed | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
- Private motorists will not be fined for lacking first aid kits and fire extinguishers in their vehicles

- This is according to a section of the Traffic Act which was shared by the National Police Service

- Only PSVs are required to have the safety equipment , particularly the ones which travel long distances

- The clarifications came amid panic by private motorists over the resurrection of Michuki rules

Police have dismissed online reports suggesting its mandatory for personal cars to be equipped with fire extinguishers and first aid kits.

This follows an intense crackdown on public service vehicles since Monday, November 12 which saw a number of vehicles impounded for failing to observe the reinstated Michuki rules.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

First aid kit, towing rope, fire extinguisher not mandatory for private motorists - Police

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Government resurrects forgotten Michuki rules, gives PSVs two weeks to comply

While it was unclear on whether some of the rules applied to both public and private vehicles, the National Police Service on Wednesday, took to clarify on matters as per the Traffic Act.

Owners of private cars on Wednesday took to social media to lament on police harassment after officers descended on them for lacking facilities such as fire extinguishers and towing ropes.

According to Chapter 403 of the traffic act subsidiary legislation, however, a personal car could have the safety tools in case of a fire or accident, but it was only compulsory for PSVs.

The late John Michuki brought back sanity on roads in 2005 with some stern traffic standards but his rules have fizzled out in recent years

Source: UGC

Every motor Omnibus or matatu shall carry an efficient fire extinguisher which shall be maintained in perfect order and shall be carried in such a position as to be readily available for use at any given time, reads the act.

READ ALSO: 2 Kabete police officers sentenced to death over murder of colleagues

Every matatu which operates outside the limits of its municipality shall carry a first aid outfit sufficient to deal with any reasonable emergency. Such an outfit shall always be kept in first class condition,

TUKO.co.ke earlier on established the fact motorists had gone on a panic spree ahead of the revival of the Michuki rules as they purchased items they deemed necessary to keep them on the right side of the law.

READ ALSO: Migori governor Zachary Okoth Obado arrested again

Traffic Police Commandant Samuel Kimaru however elaborated that police who fined personal car owners for lacking such facilities were doing so illegally.

It is wrong for any police officer to ask a private vehicle owner for a fire extinguisher, first aid kits and towing rope, Kimaru said in a statement.

From lifesavers to the now famous fire extinguishers, personal car drivers were particularly keen to ensure they had all necessary items which would see them off the traffic police radar.

READ ALSO: Migori governor Zachary Okoth Obado arrested again

Despite a section of Kenyans particularly in the matatus sector criticizing Interior CS Fred Matiangi for what they term as harassment in the public transport sector, recent incidences have proven that a certain level of sanity needed to be restored in Kenya roads.

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

Kenyans React To Reinforcement of Michuki Rules | Tuko TV:

Source: Tuko Breaking News Latest
- The senator will only be able to contact his wife when permitted by court

- His wife was also granted exclusive occupation of their shared residence

- Linturi was also ordered to allow his wife to enter any other of his residences

- This was after his wife filed a case alleging he had threatened to kill her

Meru senator. Mithika Linturi wife, Maryanne Keitany on Wednesday, November 14, obtained restraining orders against the senator following death threats.

The senator has now been barred from physically or sexually abusing or threatening to abuse his wife, his wifes staff, their six children or any other person associated with the wife.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens.

READ ALSO: Governor Alfred Mutua halts MCAs salaries for failing to approve development budget

The senator has now been barred from from physically or sexually abusing or threatening to abuse his wife

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Ugandan woman who married herself receives KSh 1.5M for studies

Milimani Commercial Court Senior Resident Magistrate I. Orenge, was also granted exclusive occupation of the besieged couples shared residence to Keitany.

The Senator is restrained from physically or sexually abusing or threatening to abuse the applicant, the applicants staff, their six children and any other person associated with the applicant, Orenge said.

Linturi was also ordered to allow his wife enter any other of his residences in the company of an enforcement officer for the purpose of collecting her personal belongings.

READ ALSO: EACC seizes crucial documents in KSh 2 billion graft probe during Obado's home raid

He is also not allowed to loiter near the home or areas Keitany visits often and he can only contact his wife when permitted by court.

The ruling comes barely days after Keitany filed a complaint at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) claiming he threatened to kill her.

She alleged the senator threatened to shoot her during a domestic brawl in their Runda home, Nairobi

READ ALSO: Nyanza ODM leaders angered by Migori Governor Obado's crocodile remarks

The legislator who is a licensed gun holder was then summoned by the DCI after the complaint was made but he dismissed the wife's claims.

Linturi has in the past been on the spot for all the wrong reasons including his academic qualifications being revoked.

READ ALSO: Kenya signs KSh 519 billion agreement with EU in support of Big Four Agenda

This was after the University of Nairobi deregistered his 2014 law degree, claiming he used fake academic qualification papers to gain admission to the institution.

A petition against his election also claimed he passes himself as a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from the University of Nairobi.

However, in a sworn affidavit, an investigator with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) claimed Linturi never registered as a student for the course, and he was not among those who graduated in 2001.

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

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- Kenyans were left with mixed reactions after Raila's meeting with Kirinyana governor Anne Waiguru

- Raila was one of the fiercest critics of Waiguru in the wake of the NYS scandal in 2015

- Their hostilities saw Waiguru sue Raila for defamation in 2015, a suit that has since been trashed by the governor

- Sections of Kenyans were convinced Raila had subscribed to impunity while others were impressed by Raila's 'building bridges' initiatives

By now, Kenyans are used to the various political surprises that have followed the famous handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM party leader Raila Odinga.

But if you told the most optimistic Kenyan in 2017 that one day Raila would be all smiles in a meeting with Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru, you would have been considered delusional.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

Kenyans convinced handshake has worked wonders for the country after Raila meeting with Waiguru

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Raila Mentions 6 Jubilee/Waiguru's 'Sins' In NYS Scandal

However, against the odds, this is exactly what transpired on Wednesday, November 14 and Kenyans could hardly find the right words to describe the highly unlikely meeting.

Raila has in recent months been living up to his mending bridges initiative by meeting various leaders allied to the ruling Jubilee government.

From shaking hands with former Kiambu governor William Kabogo to Deputy President William Ruto, Raila has often left people pondering over his next political move as he seems to be keen to suggest he is fully focused on development in the country.

As reported earlier by TUKO.co.ke, Waiguru on Wednesday, November 14, paid a courtesy call on Raila at his Capitol Hill office where according to her, she agreed to drop the outstanding defamation lawsuit she had filed against the former premier in the spirit of cohesion.

It was quiet the nice gesture from two leaders who publicly went at each other no longer than two years ago.

Kenyans with their long memories had interesting reactions to the latest round of handshakes:

READ ALSO: This Are The Faces Behind 791 Million NYS Scandal

Sections of Kenyans felt the meeting meant Raila had finally signed for impunity.

READ ALSO: More pain at the pump as petrol, diesel, kerosene prices go up

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

Kenya News Today: MC Jesse Calls Fan Ugly and Kenyans Are Not Impressed | Tuko TV:

Source: Tuko News
- The bank says the policy is against girls child's education advancement

- The money had been set aside to improve quality of secondary school education in Tanzania

- President Magufuli made the declaration of banning pregnant students from going back to school

The World Bank has taken a punitive action against Tanzania government over their policy of banning pregnant girls from going to school.

The bank withdrew KSh 30 billion it had set aside to improve quality of secondary school education in Tanzania.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Migori governor Zachary Okoth Obado arrested again

According to President John Magufuli allowing pregnant students in school will encourage other students to get pregnant. Photo: UGC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Narok: Police officer busted with female KCSE candidate in lodging

In a report by CNN, the policy was against its World Bank's education advancement goals.

"The economic and social returns to girls finishing their education are very high in every society for both current and future generations," said the World Bank.

"Working with other partners, the World Bank will continue to advocate for girls' access to education through our dialogue with the Tanzanian government," the bank added.

READ ALSO: Meru Senator Mithika Linturi barred from contacting wife after threatening to kill her

Currently, over 8,000 girls in Tanzania are expelled out of school and others forced to drop out every year due to early pregnancies.

In 2017, the no nonsense President John Pombe Magufuli said his government could jail men found guilty of putting school girls the family way for 30 years so that they use the energy in farming while serving the prison sentence.

President Magufuli, culprits impregnanting school girls in Tanzania will be imprisoned for 30 years. Photo: UGC

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Migori governor Zachary Okoth Obado arrested again

Magufuli argued that allowing girls who get pregnant to continue with studies will only encourage teen pregnancies.

"It will reach a point where a whole class will be full of parents. When a teacher is in class teaching, they all go out to breastfeed, he added.

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

Kenya News Today: MC Jesse Calls Fan Ugly and Kenyans Are Not Impressed | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said, it was only while the Government was making hard decisions on expenditure at WASA, that it discovered certain payments had been made to PSA President Watson Duke.
Ukraine should remain a transit country for Russian gas, but the European Union needs to get rid of its energy dependence on Russia.

German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel said this during a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"We work with Russia as a power source. But I do want Ukraine to remain a transit country ... Europe has to study the issue on how to be independent of Russian gas, and therefore it needs to diversify sources," the German leader said.

Merkel noted that Germany had built a terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas, which would allow obtaining energy from other sources.

Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipeline project which aims to carry more Russian natural gas under the Baltic Sea direct to Germany, bypassing Ukraine and Poland. Russian gas monopoly Gazprom owns 51% of the projects shares. Russia wants to build two strings of the gas pipeline. The project opponents, including Poland, the Baltic countries, Ukraine, Moldova, the United States and Denmark, argue that Nord Stream 2 will increase the EU's dependence on Gazprom.

ish
Ukraine expects to export 27 million tonnes of corn in the 2018/2019 marketing year.

President of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) Mykola Horbachov said this in comments to Bloomberg, the UGAs press service reported.

Ukraines bumper crop and low prices are helping it ship out corn faster than expected. Exports should mainly go to the European Union, China and Egypt this season, he said.

The UGAs president stressed that Ukraine hoped to get positive consequences from trade disputes between the United States and China, as well as to intensify the export of barley and sunflower meal to the countries of Asia.

As reported, as of November 13, 2018, Ukrainian farmers gathered 30 million tonnes of corn from an area of 4 million hectares (87%) with a yield of 75.4 centner/ha.

ish
Ukraine seeks to establish profitable and effective cooperation with the State of Qatar in the fields of energy, agriculture, infrastructure, transport and digital technologies.

First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Economic Development and Trade Minister Stepan Kubiv wrote this on his Facebook page.

Qatar is an important partner of Ukraine in the Arab world. We try to establish profitable and effective cooperation, in particular, in the fields of energy, agriculture, infrastructure, transport, digital technologies and innovative solutions. Business in Qatar is most interested in investment proposals from Ukrainian colleagues, so today, at the Ukraine-Qatar Economic Forum, we present broad opportunities for investment and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Qatar," the minister wrote.

As reported, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a business mission to Qatar, which runs from November 13 to 16 within the Joint Meeting of the Commission on Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the State of Qatar, chaired by First Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv.

ish
The Governments key tasks for 2019, during which two election campaigns are planned to be held, are to preserve economic growth and to guarantee the irreversibility of reforms.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this during a meeting with experts from the National Democratic Institute (the USA), the Government portal reported.

"We are facing important challenges. The main thing is to ensure stability. We have overriding economic and financial challenges, but we are doing a lot to provide growth. The second task is not to halt the reform process. And the third is to provide everything that depends on the Government to hold democratic and transparent elections," Groysman said.

The NDI representatives noted that the irreversibility of reforms in fact was important, especially in the context of improving the business climate, the continuation of decentralization, which "already shows significant progress." However, a transparent electoral process, deprived of external influences, is equally in demand and much awaited by both the Ukrainian society and the international community.

According to President of the National Democratic Institute Derek Mitchell, Ukraine is currently on the cutting edge in the fight against Russian aggression. And the experience of counteracting Russian aggression is worthwhile for the whole world.

During the talks, the parties agreed to work more closely together in the near future, taking into account the developments in Ukraine, inter alia in the context of the elections, and in the world.

ish
Chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration Mykola Klochko has said that the region in the near future may become the first smart region in Ukraine.

He stated this during the training held for officials and representatives of the local self-government, following the signing of a Memorandum with the USAID project Support of Organizations for Fight Against Corruption in Ukraine.

"Sumy region is moving forward in the wake of state reforms initiated by the President of Ukraine and the government; therefore, it is very important today to improve the communication ability of our activities. That is why we signed the Memorandum with the USAID project! We are interested in the concept of Smart City, which is being actively implemented in many cities of Ukraine, he said.

iy
Canada does not recognize and condemns the so-called elections held in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine on November 11.

Global Affairs Canada said this in a statement issued on November 14, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Canada joins its European allies and the United States in unreservedly rejecting the illegitimate and illegal November 11, 2018, elections in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, reads the statement.

The department noted that these elections were an attempt to validate the rule of Moscow-imposed Russian proxies. In the absence of a recognized legal basis or any credible international monitoring, the international community will not recognize these elections, reads the statement.

Global Affairs Canada added that Canadians continues to stand steadfastly with the people of Ukraine.

iy
Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar has received copies of credentials from the newly appointed ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine, Istvan Ijgyarto.

"Today I received copies of credentials from the new ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine, Istvan Ijgyarto. We agreed to work on a positive agenda for bilateral relations," Bodnar wrote on Twitter.

The Hungarian diplomat is learning the Ukrainian language, as this will undoubtedly help him in his professional activities.

As a reminder, on October 4, Hungarian Ambassador Erno Keskeny was handed a note saying that the Hungarian consul in the town of Berehove in Zakarpattia region was declared persona non grata and in connection with the activities incompatible with the status of a consular officer and that he must leave Ukraine within 72 hours. Hungary also decided to expel a Ukrainian diplomat.

On October 6, the Hungarian consul left the territory of Ukraine. In turn, Ukrainian diplomat left Hungary.

ish
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar and newly appointed Hungarian Ambassador to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto have discussed ways for further development of bilateral relations and the schedule of bilateral events for the near future, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.

"The parties emphasized the importance of active dialogue at the level of heads of foreign ministries of Ukraine and Hungary as an effective factor in the establishment of mutually acceptable solutions to problematic issues. In this context, the schedule of bilateral events for the near future was discussed," the statement said.

According to the press service, Ijgyarto confirmed Hungary's unwavering support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and his country's willingness to expand Ukrainian-Hungarian cooperation, especially in the economic and humanitarian spheres. In this context, the Hungarian side expressed its interest in implementing a number of joint projects in Ukraine.

Bodnar, in turn, praised Hungary's readiness to maintain constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation with Ukraine and expressed the readiness of the Ukrainian side to support Hungary in all its initiatives that will promote the deepening of bilateral cooperation.

On November 14, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar received copies of credentials from newly appointed Hungarian Ambassador to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto.

It was reported earlier that relations between Hungary and Ukraine had escalated after the adoption of the Ukrainian law on education, which defines Ukrainian as the language of instruction in the country. Hungary said the law allegedly violates the rights of the Hungarian minority. Ukraine denied these allegations, but Budapest blocked Ukraine's rapprochement with NATO, where all decisions are made only by consensus.

op
Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Joel Lion has said he expects the free trade agreement between the two countries to be signed in the next few weeks.

He said this in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Part of our cooperation with Ukraine is to develop economic ties between Ukraine and Israel. We are very hopeful that the agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and Israel will be signed in the near future, and our relations will be even closer. I hope this will happen in the coming weeks," Lion said.

The ambassador added that the benefits of this agreement would eventually be felt by consumers of goods and services - due to increased competition on the market.

Lion also recalled that now Ukraine and Israel are developing cooperation in the field of inclusive education - Israeli experts conducted training sessions on inclusive education for Ukrainian teachers, and Ukrainian educators visited Israel to gain experience.

In addition, Ukraine and Israel cooperate in a project of physical rehabilitation, which involves not only the treatment and rehabilitation of Ukrainian military personnel in Israeli clinics, internships of Ukrainian specialists, but also the introduction of clinical and training programs in Ukrainian military and civilian hospitals, etc. In particular, the project is being implemented in the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv. According to the ambassador, cooperation in the agricultural sector is also developing.

Ukraine and Israel completed negotiations on the conclusion of the free trade agreement in March this year.

According to the Export Strategy of Ukraine, in particular the Roadmap for Strategic Development of Trade for 2017-2021, Israel is among the top 20 promising markets for the export of Ukrainian products and one of the main trading partners of Ukraine in the Middle East region.

The most promising areas for cooperation are agricultural production, tourism, hydrocarbon processing, communications, medicine, energy efficiency, and ecology.

op
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin will be on a working visit to Washington on November 14-16 to participate in a meeting of the updated format of the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.

"The main purpose of the visit is to hold an inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission on November 16. The event will be co-chaired by the foreign policy chiefs of Ukraine and the United States," the statement said.

The ministry said that Klimkin's visit to Washington also envisages talks with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, meetings with leading U.S. lawmakers and communication with American experts.

Klimkin told journalists on Monday, November 12, that the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission would consider political, security, legal and economic cooperation at a meeting in Washington on November 16.

op
The Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) has made the decision on the impossibility of involving the bishops, clergy and laity in the processes on granting a tomos of autocephaly to the Ukrainian church.

This is stated in the decision of the UOC-MP's Council of Bishops of November 13.

"The Council of Bishops states that the process of granting the so-called tomos of autocephaly is artificial, forced from outside, does not reflect the church's internal demand, will not bring real church unity and will only aggravate the split and conflicts among the people of Ukraine. In such conditions, we deem it possible for the bishops, clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to join these processes," reads the decision.

On October 11, the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to grant a tomos (ordinance) of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Kyiv now has to convene an assembly involving the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, who turned to the Ecumenical Patriarch with the request to grant the tomos. The assembly will carry out church unification, form a single local Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and elect its primate. After that, the head of the single local autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church will receive the tomos as a document (letter).

President Petro Poroshenko and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew signed an agreement on cooperation between Ukraine and the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul on November 3.

op
facebook like button Tweet tweet button for twitter

Published Nov. 14, 2018

For 13 years, the Louisiana Cancer Foundation has financially supported breast cancer research at the University of Louisiana Monroe with donations totaling $117,500. Tuesday, Dr. Paul Sylvester, Associate Dean of Research in the ULM College of Pharmacy, accepted a $10,000 donation from LCF Executive Director James Adams.



"Including the present donation, the Louisiana Cancer Foundation has given a total of $117,500 to our program to support our cancer research activities over the past 13 years at the ULM College of Pharmacy," said Sylvester, who holds the Pfizer, Inc., B.J. Robison Endowed Professor of Pharmacology.



Adams, who is also executive director of the Northeast Louisiana Cancer Institute, was joined by LCF Assistant Director Donna Nolan, Cancer Foundation League President and board member Carla Costello and board member Annie Staten.



"On behalf of the Louisiana Cancer Foundation and its board of directors, Im pleased to present a $10,000 donation to the ULM Foundation in support of Dr. Sylvesters continued cancer research," Adams said. "One of the mission goals of our organization is to support cancer research. Since we are a local organization, we wanted to support local research if possible. Approximately 13 years ago we discovered that a very well-known and published scientist, Dr. Sylvester, was conducting breast cancer research right here at ULM. Since that time we have tried to partner with Dr. Sylvester by donating to his impressive research involving tocotrienols and breast cancer."



Sylvester explained the focus of his research is nutrition-based, specifically a form of vitamin E.



"Our laboratory has been involved in breast cancer research for many years and our current interests include examining the relationship between nutrition and cancer, with particular emphasis on understanding the intracellular mechanisms mediating the anticancer effects of tocotrienols, a rare form of vitamin E," he said. "The ultimate goal of this research is the development of tocotrienol-based therapies that can be used in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer in women."



The Louisiana Cancer Foundation is a local 501c3 organization that was formed in 1999. The LCF has no administrative costs and all funds received through fundraising, donations and grants are used to benefit the communities and cancer patients of Northeast Louisiana. The LCF offers several free cancer screenings each year which benefit hundreds of people in local communities. The foundation also oversees a patient financial assistance program which has helped approximately 5,000 cancer patients in the amount of over $1.8 million since the programs inception in 2002.


The Russian Federation was never going to allow the accession of Donbas.

Vakhtang Kipiani, a journalist, publicist, historian, and editor-in-chief of the Historical Pravda online publication, believes that the Russian Federation, through its actions in Crimea and Donbas, has "crippled" Ukraine.

The Ukrainian State cannot give up on the seized peninsula, the expert said during a chat with readers at Glavred.

I can't imagine a Ukrainian politician who would voice such an idea and remain in politics. The Russians will not get what they want... said the historian.

According to Kipiani, Russia was never going to allow the accession of Donbas. Instead, their idea was to make Ukraine a cripple.

Read alsoOccupied Donbas cannot be artificially implanted into democratic Ukraine - Klimkin

Roughly speaking, they cut our wings so we couldnt fly far, the publicist added.

"Therefore, after de-occupation, we will need to proceed with the reforms being implemented today. Those who are irritated by the Ukrainian language, language quotas on radio, or de-communization, should just go wherever, and not only from Donbas..." Kipiani suggests.

The journalist said that "Russia is a wild and uncivilized country."

"Our other neighbors are either EU members or Belarus and Moldova, who will not attack us. Therefore, we must hold our ground on the Russian front and dont 'speak of the devil'," he said.
Disappointingly, many experts who are supposed to have knowledge and expertise to challenge this unreality are instead lending credibility to Kremlin lies with their dishonest analysis about Ukraine and Russias unlawful war.

In the fifth year of Russias war on Ukraine, Kremlin propaganda and disinformation continue to pollute the pages of popular and influential western media. Kremlin lies and manipulations are often presented as fact, or given equal weight in coverage of Russias undeclared and unlawful war on Ukraine, and of Ukraine in general.

According to most western media, from Reuters and AFP to the New York Times, the Ukraine conflict in the east of Ukraine is fought by Russia-backed, pro-Kremlin, Ukrainian separatists who want independence against the corrupt nationalist and oligarchic Kyiv government, Ariana Gic, an independent legal and political analyst focusing on Ukraine, wrote for StopFake.

Ukrainian legislation which deems Russia as the occupier and aggressor is constantly ignored. Instead, the Kremlin messaging and narratives about Ukraine are often treated as far more credible and trustworthy than what Ukrainians themselves have to say, and what observable facts say.

This can only be regarded as a victory for Moscow, and should shine light on the problem of the extent and reach of the long arm of Kremlin information warfare in its larger, multi-vectored war on Ukraine.

Thanks to western media echoing Kremlin talking points, ordinary people could get a perverted impression of what has happened in Ukraine since the early days of the Maidan revolution.

Read alsoKyiv Patriarchate refutes Russian fake news on Christmas date change in Ukraine

This starts from the message about Ukraine having had an illegal revolution which caused tensions between Ukraine and Russia and triggered a crisis in Ukraine as a nationalist Nazi junta took power.

Then, Moscow's narrative says, Russian speaking Ukrainians in Crimea and parts of Eastern desired independence from the Kyiv regime and took up arms they found in old Soviet mines. Ukraine tried to put the separatist rebellion down, so these pro-Kremlin Ukrainian separatists had no choice by to turn to Moscow for help.

Even the very existence of a separate and distinct Ukrainian culture and language is questioned. The two countries are brotherly nations, and as President Putin likes to say, they are really one people.. In reality, Ukrainian is an artificial language  a lesser version of Russian for peasants, the uneducated and uncultured.

Read alsoEUvsDisinfo: Kremlin refocuses propaganda campaign on No.1 target, Ukraine

And yes, Russia took over Crimea, but only after Crimeans had a referendum to secede from Ukraine and reunify with Russia. Regardless, Crimea was always part of Russia and ended up as part of Ukraines territory purely by chance as a political gift by Khrushchev.

Crimea and Donbas are entirely separate and unrelated matters even though Russia is involved in both Crimea and Donbas. Russias involvement in the Ukraine crisis in the east of Ukraine is limited to backing the pro-Russian separatists. The breakaway regions of Donbas and Luhansk organized self-proclaimed Peoples Republics with whom the Ukraine government refuses to hold direct talks to negotiate peace.

Both sides are always violating the Minsk peace accords. The Ukrainian government is provoking Russia with its creeping offensive into the grey zone, trying to take back territory from the militants. Ukraine does not really want peace because of political expediency and upcoming elections. Moreover, Kyiv wont stop the civil war effort because the corrupt politicians that Ukraine is overrun with make money off the war.

Read also"He exposed Russian propaganda": Diplomats call Sushchenko case evidence of Russia's attacks on freedom of speech

The Ukrainian government has abandoned the people of Donbas, and does not take care of their basic needs. Kyiv has no strategy to win the hearts and minds of the people in eastern Ukraine.

Disappointingly, many experts who are supposed to have knowledge and expertise to challenge this unreality are instead lending credibility to Kremlin lies with their dishonest analysis about Ukraine and Russias unlawful war.

Sadly, pointing out the many manipulations, distortions, and outright lies that find their way onto the pages of respected western media, often gets defenders of truth tarred and feathered as having a Ukraine bias, being Russophobic, nationalist, or supportive of corruption in Ukraine.

"It is said that Russian propaganda is not truly effective, but what dominates the pages of most media proves otherwise. Lies become truth, and the truth becomes a lie," Ariana Gic writes. "If we do not start to turn our focus on the very real dangers of Kremlin narratives woven through major western media, the fight against Moscows information war will never be won."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  Balaoan, La Union Vice Mayor Alfred Concepcion and his security escort Michael Ulep were killed in an ambush Wednesday morning.

The Vice Mayor's daughter, Mayor Aleli Concepcion, who was in a separate vehicle, survived the attack.

A police report said the officials, accompanied by their security escorts, were attacked by gunmen along Luna Road in Barangay Cabuuan at around around 8:10 am.

All passengers of the vehicles and a bystander were wounded. They were all rushed to Balaoan District Hospital, but the Vice Mayor and Ulep were declared dead on arrival.

Mayor Concepcion, meanwhile, was brought to Lorma Medical Center in San Fernando City, La Union and is now on a stable condition.

The suspects and motives for the attack have yet to be identified.

The incident happened after Sudipen, La Union Mayor Alexander Buquing was killed in an attack last month.

Malacanang denounced the ambush and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Sal Panelo assured that the Philippine National Police has been ordered to look into the attack.

"We pursue and prosecute the persons behind these brazen murders and bring them to justice," Panelo said.

La Union Governor Francisco Ortega III also condemned the "barbaric act" and said he has directed the provincial police to conduct an investigation into the incident.

"We assure the people of La Union that the Provincial Government of La Union remains steadfast in its commitment to maintain peace and order in our province," Ortega said in a statement.
On November 13, the Crimean Tatar leader celebrated his 75th anniversary.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has presented the Ukrainian President's envoy for the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, with the Order of Freedom.

"Mustafa Dzhemilev is a real hero of the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian people. His contribution to the struggle for the values of democracy and freedom is invaluable," Poroshenko said at a Kyiv ceremony dedicated to Dzhemilev's 75th anniversary, according to the presidential press service.

Read alsoErdogan requests Kremlin prisoners list, promises to "talk to Putin" - Dzhemilev

The head of state congratulated the Crimean Tatar leader and awarded the Order of Freedom to Dzhemilev in recognition of his important role in the return of Crimea and the release of the Kremlin's political prisoners.

As UNIAN reported earlier, a driver for Dzhemilev's wife said he had been tortured by operatives of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Crimea. He said they asked questions about his regular trips from Crimea to Kyiv, his ties with Mustafa Dzhemilev and his associates, and other issues related to Crimean Tatars in general, according to RFE/RL.

The driver also said the operatives had used a polygraph during questioning and forced him to sign a document saying that he had not ben subjected to violence.
Russian priest arrived in Istanbul in a demonstrative move to deliver a sermon without Constantinople's consent.

Dmytro Tymchuk, the coordinator of the Ukrainian-based Information Resistance OSINT community, has said the Russian Orthodox Church, who he brands the ROC-FSB, hinting at its long-standing ties with the Russian security service, went for an offensive on the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople after severing communion with the Mother Church.

Attacking an enemy on its own territory is in the Kremlin's traditions, Tymchuk wrote on Facebook.

An ROC priest, Georgy Sergeev, arrived in Istanbul and delivered his first sermon in the temple of St. Constantine and Helen (located in the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul).

Read alsoPoroshenko eventually meets with three bishops of Russian-backed Orthodox church in Ukraine

The cleric's arrival was explained by the ROC with "numerous requests of Orthodox believers living in Turkey," Tymchuk notes, drawing parallels with the Kremlin's claims of 2014 that Russian speakers in Crimea had been seeking Russia's interference against "Ukrainian nationalists."

"However, merely 20 people attended the service, Tymchuk noted.

Conducting sermons in Istanbul previously required Russian Orthodox Church getting a permission from the Patriarchate of Constantinople or sending their priest under the jurisdiction of Constantinople.

Read alsoU.S. Secretary of State supports Ukraine in efforts to create autocephalous church

"Now the opinion of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was defiantly ignored," the expert wrote.

"It means the ROC-FSB is infiltrating Constantinople (Istanbul) with 'little men in cassocks' who have taken up the role of the Russian 'little green men' [soldiers without insignia who flooded the Ukrainian Crimea as Russia made its first active moves to illegally annex the peninsula]. Church is now another front of the Russian hybrid war. Welcome to the phantasmagoric world of the peculiar 'Russian Orthodoxy'," Tymchuk added.
Mattis thanked Blaszczak for his country's offer for increased U.S. force posture options in Poland.

The United States and Poland will continue to cooperate in the defense to deter Russia.

"Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Polish Defense Minister Marius Blaszczak today at the Pentagon to reaffirm the strong defense relationship between the United States and Poland and continuing commitment to work bilaterally through NATO to deter Russia," U.S. Department of Defense reported on its website.

The secretary thanked Minister Blaszczak for his country's offer for increased U.S. force posture options in Poland.

He also thanked the Polish defense minister for his country's role as the center of gravity for U.S. deterrence efforts in Central Europe and hosting up to 4,500 U.S. troops on a rotational basis.
Russia is seen as an aggressor country by the overwhelming majority of respondents in the west and in the center of Ukraine.

Almost two-thirds of the citizens of Ukraine, or 63%, consider the Russian Federation to be an aggressor country vis-a-vis Ukraine, according to a nationwide poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the Oleksandr Razumkov Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies and the Rating sociological group and presented at a press conference at UNIAN on Tuesday.

"We asked the question: 'Is Russia seen as an aggressor country vis-a-vis Ukraine?' The overwhelming majority, or 63%, almost two-thirds of respondents think so, 22% do not share the view, and 15% could not answer," Head of the Razumkov Center sociological service Andriy Bychenko said.

Read alsoOver half of Ukrainians say no to concessions to Putin in restoring peace in Donbas  poll

According to him, the overwhelming majority of respondents in the west and in the center of Ukraine consider Russia to be an aggressor country. "[Those who consider and those who do not were split] almost equally in the east, while over half of respondents in the south do not consider Russia to be an aggressor," he said.

"In my opinion, it is interesting to look at the answers to this question by those who advocate NATO membership and who oppose it. Of course, 88%, i.e. the overwhelming majority of those who are in favor of joining NATO consider Russia an aggressor. At the same time, 40% of those who oppose joining NATO consider Russia an aggressor, i.e. we see that many Ukrainians did not notice the advantage of NATO [membership] in our confrontation with Russia," Bychenko said.

According to him, this is due to the fact that Ukraine has failed to get enough support from the West, at least as the one it expected.

He also spoke about the level of Ukrainians' support of Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO.

"If a referendum on Ukraine's accession to the EU were held today, half, or 50%, would vote for accession, and 30% against it," he said.

Read alsoMost Ukrainians say 'no' to idea of swapping Crimea for Donbas peace - Poll

At the same time, NATO membership has slightly more supporters (40%) than opponents (36%). The pro-Western vector enjoys a high level of support among residents of the central and western regions, younger and wealthier respondents. Over the past two years, the level of support for Ukraine's accession to both the EU and NATO has slightly decreased.

In addition, sociologists note the level of support for peaceful solutions to the crisis in Donbas has somewhat increased over the past month. In particular, 31% of respondents are in favor of the cessation of hostilities in Donbas and the recognition of these territories as temporarily occupied, while 27% advocate federal status for these territories as part of Ukraine. A mere 8% support the separation of that part of Donbas from Ukraine, and every sixth (17%) has not decided on this issue. On the other hand, 17% believe it is necessary that hostilities continue until the Ukrainian government fully retakes the occupied areas, while the share of those who support the alternative has decreased from 21% to 17%.

The poll was conducted across Ukraine excluding Russian-annexed Crimea and the Russian-occupied areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions from October 19 to November 2, 2018. A total of 10,000 respondents were interviewed. The margin of error does not exceed 1%.
Hierarchs of the UOC-MP, who support the creation of a single local church, report insane pressure exerted on them on the part of Moscow.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Secretary Svyatoslav Tsegolko says representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), who support the creation of a single church in Ukraine, have disrupted the "Russian scenario," by meeting with President Petro Poroshenko.

"Yesterday, the Russian scenario was disrupted," Tsegolko wrote on Facebook Wednesday, Nov 14.

"Representatives of the UOC-MP hierarchs, who support the appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch for the autocephaly [of the Ukrainian Church], met with the president of Ukraine in the Ukrainian House [in Kyiv]," he wrote.

Read alsoRussian Orthodox Church's "little men in cassocks" already in Istanbul  OSINT expert

According to the press secretary, Poroshenko briefed the hierarchs on his recent talks with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the agreement reached between Ukraine and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the readiness of the Ecumenical Throne to facilitate the holding of a Unification Council. In turn, the bishops of the UOC-MP reported about an insane pressure exerted on them on the part of Moscow.

"President Poroshenko assured that the Ukrainian state would protect the right of clergy and laity to free choice of church jurisdiction. He also said that the Ecumenical Patriarch, for his part, guarantees complete canonical protection to supporters of autocephaly in Ukraine," Tsegolko added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the meeting between the Ukrainian president and the bishops of the UOC-MP, which was scheduled for November 13, had been canceled.

Press secretary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya), said that the bishops, who were invited to the meeting, "are sitting behind closed doors at the Lavra." The presidential administration said the head of state remained open to dialogue with representatives of the UOC-MP.

Nevertheless, late Tuesday evening, Poroshenko met with three UOC-MP representatives, who support the creation of a single local church.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar has received copies of credentials from the newly appointed Hungarian ambassador and discussed possible ways for further development of bilateral relations.

The newly appointed Ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto has reaffirmed Budapest's support of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

"Ambassador Ijgyarto has reaffirmed Hungary's continued support of Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and the disposition of his country to expand Ukrainian-Hungarian cooperation, primarily in the economic and humanitarian spheres. In this context, the Hungarian side expressed interest in implementing a number of joint projects in Ukraine," the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry told UNIAN.

Read alsoHungary changes controversial name of "Zakarpattia envoy" position

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar has received copies of credentials from the newly appointed Hungarian ambassador and discussed possible ways for further development of bilateral relations.

In particular, the parties stressed the importance of an active dialogue at the level of the heads of foreign ministries of Ukraine and Hungary as an effective factor in finding mutually acceptable solutions to resolve problematic issues. In this context, the schedule of bilateral events for the near future was discussed.

Bodnar also expressed the readiness of the Ukrainian side to support Hungary in all its initiatives, which will contribute to deepening bilateral cooperation.
Russian media reported the "office" would open early in 2019.

The European Union has responded to an announcement on plans to open Crimea's representative office in Brussels, saying that it will not recognize the so-called "representation," which may open with the assistance of the Russian Federation.

The EU fully supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the EU Delegation to Ukraine told UNIAN.

Read alsoPoll: 63% of Ukrainians see Russia as aggressor

For this reason, the EU's position is clear: it does not recognize and will not recognize the so-called self-named representations of the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula, and it has no willingness to interact in any way with any such entities.

Earlier, the Russian Izvestia edition reported that a "representative office" of Russian-occupied Crimea would be set up in Brussels early in 2019 and a working group had been created for this.

This so-called "representation" had to be included in the register of lobbying groups in EU structures with the aim of "overcoming the sanctions regime."
Kovalenko forecasts all local churches will maintain relations with both Moscow and Constantinople.

A unification council is scheduled to gather on November 22 to announce the creation of a local independent Orthodox church in Ukraine.

"We are in transition. The Moscow Patriarchate has made its mind both in general and in Ukraine. It is worth waiting. They promise to hold a unification council on November 22," former press secretary of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archpriest Georgy Kovalenko told Radio Liberty's Ukrainian service.

"According to the church's rules and traditions, any decision of the hierarchy should be accepted or not accepted, including by the clergy and members of the church," Kovalenko said.

Read alsoDetails revealed of Poroshenko's meeting with Moscow Patriarchate's hierarchs

He says he is confident that all local churches will try to do everything so that this conflict does not grow to the global level, therefore, they will maintain relations with both Moscow and Constantinople, simultaneously trying to resolve their own issues rather than blocking or helping those involved in the process.

Following the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople October 11, it was announced that the procedure of granting Ukraine autocephaly would continue.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko emphasizes that the process of creating an autocephalous (independent) church is being finalized, all conditions have been created for preparing for a local council, so that the tomos, a document granting autocephaly to the local Orthodox church in Ukraine, could be provided in accordance with the canons of the church.

The Russian-backed clergy said their church would not take part in the creation of the local autocephalous church in Ukraine. They also declared they were going to sever Eucharistic communion with Constantinople.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate under Patriarch Filaret is leading a drive to establish a national church independent of the Russian Orthodox Church in the face of strong opposition from Moscow. The Ukrainian church split from its Russian parent following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, but Filaret has stepped up his drive for an independent national church since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of a Kremlin-backed separatist insurgency in the eastern Donbas region.

The row in Orthodox Christianity has deepened with the Russian Church saying it will no longer take part in structures chaired by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the global spiritual leadership of Orthodox Christians, whose backing the Ukrainians are seeking for their independence bid.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian denomination worldwide with more than 250 million members. But unlike the Roman Catholic Church it has no supreme leader comparable to the Pope but instead is composed mainly of de facto national churches, each led by a patriarch.
This was the first-ever large-scale multinational air exercise held in Ukraine.

State Partnership Program director for the California Air National Guard Lt. Col. Robert Swertfager says that the Clear Sky 2018 exercise hosted by Ukraine was very successful.

"The exercise was very successful," he said, Military Times reported.

"We were very impressed with Ukraine's air force and where they were," Swertfager said. "I think it was a big unknown for a lot of people not involved in the California Guard program before this."

According to him, Ukraine's pilots and aircraft maintainers wound up out-performing expectations, flying more than number of sorties they actually had scheduled. "It was awesome seeing them able to generate the amount of sorties they did," Swertfager said. "How professional Ukrainian airmen were and how prepared they were for this exercise stood out. They are definitely interested in being a professional air force and being able to interoperate with U.S. and NATO forces. They were, bar none, some of the best hosts I've seen in my 27-year career."

Read also"Clear Sky-2018": Ukraine launches exercise with participation of U.S. aircraft (Photo)

Clear Sky, the first-ever large-scale multinational air exercise held in Ukraine, and the first in Eastern Europe since 2014, brought together nearly 1,000 soldiers and airmen from nine partner nations, including Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom.

"Clear Sky was a Ukraine-hosted, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-sponsored, and regionally developed exercise ... it was basically the largest of its kind in Eastern Europe ever," Swertfager said.

The joint forces trained in everything from close-air support called in by NATO joint terminal attack controllers, or JTACs, to personnel recovery and aeromedical evacuation missions led by U.S. Air Force pararescue jumpers. Airmen even practiced repelling cyber attacks.

Clear Sky also incorporated MQ-9 Reaper drones, KC-135 tankers, F-15 fighters and Ukrainian jets, as well as other aircraft flying from multiple airbases in allied countries like Poland and Romania.

The drones, for instance, offered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the close air support portion of the exercise.

"When you're trying to integrate with a former Soviet country, which has a completely different system than a NATO operation, you need to highlight differences, not just in record keeping and cross-functional equipment, but also laws," Swertfager said.

"These are things we highlighted for Ukraine that they can take back to their Ministry of Defense and start working to change internal laws or doctrine within their own military," he added. "It's not just the wrench turning but it's the big puzzle pieces that inhibit interoperability that needed to be identified."
The meeting, held behind closed doors, was attended by those clerics of the Moscow Patriarchate who support the idea of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Adviser to the President of Ukraine, director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Rostyslav Pavlenko, has confirmed that President Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday held a meeting with bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

It was representatives of the UOC MPs wing, which is in favor of the idea of autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, supporting the creation of such a church, planning to attend to the Council and create this church," Pavlenko told Pryamiy TV channel.

"They talked about the insane pressure being exerted on them," the presidential adviser said.

He also suggested that those who did not want that this meeting be held were either synchronizing their actions with Moscow or received instructions from there.

"Because it was exactly about preventing direct dialogue  that's the only explanation we can imagine. Instead of an open discussion, they wanted to do some kind of a political demonstration," Pavlenko added.

According to Relyhiyna Pravda's sources, the following hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate met with the head of state: Metropolitan Oleksandr (Drabynko), Metropolitan Simeon, and Archbishop Filaret.

As UNIAN reported, on November 13, Poroshenko was to meet with the episcopate of the UOC-MP at the "Ukrainian House" downtown Kyiv. At the same time, the episcopate of the UOC-MP on this day held in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra an emergency meeting of the synod, which decided to convene a council, where all bishops' attendance is obligatory. Following the meeting, the council of bishops of the UOC-MP confirmed its readiness to meet with Poroshenko, but on the church territory.

On November 13, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) announced it did not recognize a decision by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to continue the process of granting autocephaly to the church in Ukraine and is going to sever Eucharistic communion with Constantinople.

The Moscow Patriarchate also said they would not take part in the creation of a new, autocephalous church in Ukraine, as their Council of bishops considers that granting the tomos of autocephaly is "artificial" and "forced from outside."

Following the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople October 11, it was announced that the procedure of granting Ukraine autocephaly would continue. What is more, the 1686 Synod letter after which the Kyiv metropolitan was put under Moscow's jurisdiction was cancelled and the canonical status of Filaret and Makariy was reinstated.
Serhiy Kurchenkos team had reasons to get rid of Zakharchenko, the journalist believes.

Oligarch Sergey Kurchenko may have been involved in the murder of the self-styled leader of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" Alexander Zakharchenko, according to journalist and blogger Denis Kazansky.

The circumstances of Zakharchenko's hit and further developments could confirm his suggestion, the journalist told Apostrophe.

They are putting a blame for Zakharchenkos murder on Ukraine, although I very much doubt it: both Kurchenko's team and those who is behind him had reasons to get rid of him [Zakharchenko]. Everything indicates that it was Kurchenko who stood behind the murder, because after Zakharchenkos death, his entire team was immediately removed. It would not make sense had they satisfied the Russians. It is clear that they were removed because thy stood on someone's way. Now Kurchenko is actually an unofficial owner of these territories," claims Kazansky.

Read alsoSBU intercepts "DPR" leaders' conversations after Zakharchenko's assassination (Video)

As UNIAN reported earlier, Alexander Zakharchenko was killed in an IED blast at a Donetsk restaurant on August 31.

The SBU suggested that his death could be the result of internal criminal conflicts among militants, primarily related to the redistribution of businesses.

The SBU did not rule out the involvement of Russian special services, for whom the rather odious Zakharchenko could become a nuisance.

UNIAN earlier wrote that a fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko, former business partner of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, had received under control major industrial assets in the occupied territories of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

"A mysterious Vneshtorgservice company is associated with Ukrainian oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko, who fled to Moscow. It was headed by former deputy governor of Irkutsk region Vladimir Pashkov. The company is maximally non-public, there are no addresses of its offices, while its activities are classified as far as possible," RFE/RL's Ukrainian service wrote on September 16, adding that all enterprises that were under the control of the so-called "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics" ("DPR"/"LPR") are being transferred to the external management of Vneshtorgservice.

As reported earlier, the companies of young energy tycoon Kurchenko are the largest exporters of illegal coal from occupied Donbas to European countries.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in May 2018, Ukraine imposed personal sanctions against the ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych's ally, young energy tycoon Serhiy Kurchenko, as well as persons who hold offices as "energy ministers" in the self-proclaimed "DPR" and "LPR", and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
The man was charged with "making an explosive device."

Yunus Masharipov, a 54-year-old Crimean Tatar activist from Yalta, has received a four-year prison sentence and RUB 110,000 fine on charges of illegally producing explosive devices.

Masharipov had, in December last year, issued public statements to both Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and to Viktor Palagin, the then head of the Russian FSB [security service] saying that he had been tortured into 'confessing' to these offenses, after he said that he had informed organizations back in 2014 about violations of the rights of children, the disabled, and pensioners, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group wrote.

In the statement delivered on December 1, 2017, Masharipov asserted that on September 27, he had been set upon and beaten by unidentified individuals who then took him to the FSB HQ in Yalta. There he was questioned about his frequent trips to mainland Ukraine.

It was, he alleges, after he told them that he had reported human rights abuses in occupied Crimea that, even at the FSB premises, when he was beaten and tortured with the use of electric shocks.

Read alsoRFE/RL: Crimean Tatar close to Dzhemilev says he was tortured by Russian FSB

Under torture, he "confessed" to being a Ukrainian Security Service [SBU] asset. The man says he was forced to repeat this "testimony" on video.

Masharipov was then charged with producing two explosive devices which he then allegedly brought to a land plot near a church in Oreanda, a settlement in Yalta.

The "explosive devices" were allegedly discovered by the FSB.

The Russian-controlled Krym-Inform says nothing about Masharipov's allegations of torture, citing only the FSB. The report is from November 13, 2018, however, it is not clear when the Yalta City Court sentence was passed.
Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog has initiated criminal proceedings based on the Solomensky District Court's ruling of October 17, 2018.

The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) says it has launched probe into possible abuses by former Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko.

"We can report that, based on the decision by the investigating judge in [Kyiv's] Solomensky District Court, the information [about offences] has been included in the state register of pre-trial investigations," the NABU press service said in a statement on November 13.

Read alsoEU's Hahn praises Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog's "excellent work"

As UNIAN reported earlier, on October 17, 2018, the Solomensky District Court ordered NABU detectives to bring criminal proceedings against Yatsenyuk, Petrenko and other officials of the Justice Ministry.

According to the court ruling, the criminal cases shall be opened under Article 364 (abuse of authority or office), Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion or property by malversation), Article 209 (legalization (laundering) of criminally obtained money and other property), Article 366 (forgery in office), and Article 212 (evasion of taxes, duties or other compulsory payments) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

However, the ruling provided no details about the abuses the said officials are suspected of committing.
The Holy and Sacred Synod has decided to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is "tormented in many ways," according to Bartholomew.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has issued a statement to the Ukrainian people ahead of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine, promising assistance in addressing church problems by providing autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church.

The Holy and Sacred Synod has "decided to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is tormented in many ways, so that she, too, may join the plentitude of Orthodoxy in unity and internal peace," reads the statement, according to a report by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.

It would be "inconceivable" that the Ecumenical Throne remained indifferent when an Orthodox people, such as the Ukrainian people, "suffer and seek a solution to the ecclesiastical problems that have tormented them for centuries," the message reads.

Read alsoDetails revealed of Poroshenko's meeting with Moscow Patriarchate's hierarchs

"As every year, we are communicating with all of you with a heavy heart from the historic and martyric Mother Church of Constantinople while prayerfully commemorating the Holodomor of the Ukrainian People, the tragic and inhumane events of the years 1932-1933, when countless human beings lost their lives through deliberate and brutal famine," he said.

"[W]e intervene by obligation  always on the basis of authentically ecclesiastical, truly universal and purely supra  national criteria  for the truth and tradition of the Church, the defense of canonical order and the identity of Orthodoxy, all for the purpose of building up the body of Christ, not for ourselves and not for demonstrating worldly strength and power," the statement reads.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the council of bishops of the UOC-MP said that the decision of Constantinople regarding the Ukraine Church issue has no canonical force, and refused to partake in the creation of the autocephalous church in Ukraine.
There have been no Ukrainian army casualties in the past day.

Russian-led forces mounted eight attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, in the last 24 hours.

"No casualties among Ukrainian troops have been reported in the past day. According to intelligence reports, two occupiers were killed and another five were wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on November 14, 2018.

Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire from grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms when they attacked defenders of the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Krymske, Chermalyk, Pavlopil, Vodiane, and Hnutove.

Read alsoJFO: Four Ukrainian soldiers blown up on landmine near Svitlodarsk, two killed

The enemy also employed 82mm mortars twice against the Ukrainian positions near Krymske.

At the same time, the occupiers were most active in the Mariupol sector. Here, the enemy resorted to firing weapons, installed on infantry fighting vehicles, on the Ukrainian positions near Chermalyk. No heavy weapons were used in other instances. However, the enemy used grenade launchers of various types.

"Since Wednesday midnight, Russian-led forces have mounted one attack on the Ukrainian positions near Krasnohorivka. No heavy weapons have been used. No Ukrainian army casualties have been reported since the start of the day," reads the report.
The foreign ministry earlier had raised the issue with Russian authorities

The Norwegian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Russian forces in the Arctic disturbed GPS location signals during a recent large NATO drill in Norway.

The ministry said that Norway's Foreign Ministry earlier had raised the issue with Russian authorities, The New York Times reported citing AP.

In an email Tuesday to The Associated Press, the ministry said it "was aware that that jamming has been recorded between Oct 16 and Nov 7 from the Russian forces" on the Arctic Kola peninsula.

NATO's huge exercise Trident Juncture that included soldiers from 31 countries, was staged in Norway from Oct 25 to Nov 7 Finland and Sweden, which are not NATO members, also took part in the drill.

The jamming of the location signals is not believed to have caused any accidents.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila on Sunday said that major GPS signal disruptions over northern Finland during NATO drills had been intentional, adding that it is highly probable that Russia was behind it.

Read alsoNATO general: Europe not moving fast enough on military mobility

Finland's participation in NATO's Trident Juncture exercises has been seen as bringing Finland closer to the military alliance, a move that has irked Russia, according to NYT.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

The Kremlin on Monday denied involvement in the Finnish GPS disturbance.

"There is a trend to blame all mortal sins on Russia," Putin's spox Dmitry Peskov has told TASS.
NATO is focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, connectivity, quantum computing, big data and hypervelocity, also seeking to improve the logistics of moving weapons and troops.

NATO is developing new hi-tech tools, such as the ability to 3D-print parts for weapons and deliver them by drone, as it scrambles to retain a competitive edge over Russia, China and other would-be battlefield adversaries.

General Andre Lanata, who took over as head of the NATO transformation command in September, told a conference in Berlin that his command demonstrated over 21 disruptive projects during military exercises in Norway this month, according to Reuters.

He urged startups as well as traditional arms manufacturers to work with the Atlantic alliance to boost innovation, as rapid and easy access to emerging technologies was helping adversaries narrow NATOs longstanding advantage.

Lanatas command hosted its third innovation challenge in tandem with the conference this week, where 10 startups and smaller firms presented ideas for defeating swarms of drones on the ground and in the air.

Read alsoNorway joins Finland in accusing Russia of jamming GPS signal during NATO drill

Belgian firm ALX Systems, which builds civilian surveillance drones, won this years challenge.

Its CEO, Geoffrey Mormal, said small companies like his often struggled with cumbersome weapons procurement processes. Its a very hot topic, so perhaps it will help to enable quicker decisions, he told Reuters.

Lanata said NATO was focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, connectivity, quantum computing, big data and hypervelocity, but also wants to learn from DHL and others how to improve the logistics of moving weapons and troops.

Read alsoNot all quiet on EU's "eastern front" as Russia seeks to split unity - media

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said increasing military spending by NATO members would help tackle some of the challenges, but efforts were also needed to reduce widespread duplication and fragmentation in the European defense sector.

Participants also met behind closed doors with chief executives from 12 of the 15 biggest arms makers in Europe.
Andrej Babis denies authorizing kidnapping of his son Junior to prevent him from being questioned in a fraud probe.

Opposition parties in the Czech Republic say Prime Minister Andrej Babis should step down amid reported allegations of ordering associates to kidnap his son last year in a bid to obstruct a fraud investigation.

The prime minister was probed by Czech and European Union authorities in 2017 over hiding ownership of a farm and conference centre - Capi hnizdo (Stork Nest) - so that it would qualify for a two-million-euro subsidy meant for small businesses, according to Al Jazeera.

In January, the EU's anti-fraud office said it had found "irregularities" in payments related to the subsidy.

On Monday, a report by local news outlet Seznam quoted Andrej Babis Jr. - the prime minister's 35-year-old son who had been under investigation along with his father for subsidy fraud - as saying that he was forced by the husband of his doctor-turned-ruling-party politician into hiding last year to prevent him from testifying in the case.

Read alsoCzech PM's son claims he was forcibly detained in Crimea by his father's associates

In comments captured in video, Babis Jr said that he was told to choose from "taking an extended holiday" in the Russia-annexed Crimea or be admitted to a mental facility after unknowingly signing documents critical to the decade-old case.

The report on Monday sent shockwaves in the Czech parliament, with leaders from a group of six opposition parties agreeing on Tuesday to file a motion to hold a vote of no-confidence that could threaten to upend Babis's already-vulnerable coalition government.

In a joint statement, the opposition also called on the prime minister to resign from his post until an impartial investigation could be carried out.
Democrats could now dig in to his Kremlin ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will now have one less defender in Congress.

Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California  who famously arm wrestled with Putin in the 1990s, and who was warned by the FBI in 2012 that Russian spies were trying to recruit him as an "agent of influence"  has lost his reelection bid after two decades in Congress, succumbing to a Democrat who ran ads touting Rohrabacher's curious affection for the Russian autocrat, according to The Atlantic.

While election officials won't certify the results of the race until December 7, the Democrat Harley Rouda declared victory Saturday morning, leading Rohrabacher by about 8,500 votes, according to the Associated Press. Now, with Democrats set to take control of the House in January, Rohrabacher's Kremlin ties could face renewed and intensified scrutiny.

Paul Martin, a Republican who challenged Rohrabacher in the June primary, told he believes that the congressman's defeat was more a reflection of voters' desire for a moderate candidate than of their frustration with Rohrabacher's coziness to the Kremlin.

Read alsoInept plot to bring down Robert Mueller falls apart

"I made my campaign about the gruesome human-rights abuses of Putin, especially his suspension of the adoption of Russian orphans after the passing of the Magnitsky Act," Martin told, referring to Putin's retaliatory measures after Congress passed a 2012 law designed to sanction high-level Kremlin officials. "But I'm not sure the voters here cared."

Rouda similarly went after Rohrabacher. He accused the lawmaker in a debate last month of "meeting with Russian operatives" in 2016, and criticized him for downplaying Russia's election interference.

"Representative Rohrabacher has said that 17 U.S. intelligence agencies that were staffed by working men and women from diverse backgrounds, including our U.S. military  were all wrong," Rouda said, "and that the Russians had nothing to do with meddling with our elections."

On the national stage, Rohrabacher has become best-known for his defense of Putin's leadership. A fierce Cold Warrior in the 1960s who later worked for Ronald Reagan, Rohrabacher had a dramatic change in attitude toward Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. By 2014, he was publicly excusing Putin's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine  viewed globally as a major breach of international law  and characterizing Russia, which had recently placed the anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny on house arrest, as a bastion of free speech and Christian piety.

Rohrabacher has attracted attention more recently for his involvement in the congressional and federal investigations of Russian election interference. After Democrats take over the House inquiry in January, Rohrabacher's relationships abroad  not only with Russian government officials, but also with the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange  could be more closely examined. Like President Donald Trump, Rohrabacher has downplayed the significance of Russia's interference and claimed in March that the U.S., too, has "tried to influence their elections, and everybody's elections." And he's called Assange, who gave Russia a platform to disseminate stolen emails from prominent Democrats via WikiLeaks, a "very honorable man." He tried to strike a deal with Trump that would have exonerated Assange in exchange for supposed evidence that Russia wasn't WikiLeaks' source for the hacked emails.
July 2 2015

Construction work on a 36m Ellon Academy Community Campus is entering the final furlong in time to welcome its first intake of students on 20 August.The 1,200 capacity school will include a swimming pool and community learning facilities as well as an outreach training facility for North East Scotland College. As part of the scheme a new footbridge across the River Ythan connecting to the town centre will also be built.Chair of Aberdeenshire Councils Education, Learning and Leisure Committee Councillor Alison Evison said: The finishing touches are now being put in place for the community campus in Ellon.I know that members of the community have watched the project take shape with great anticipation. The campus will form a most valuable part of the leisure, health and wellbeing offering in the area.Aberdeenshire Councils own architecture team worked on the contract in collaboration with Keppie Design.
Moscow and Seoul are developing their economic cooperation and actively working together to resolve the ongoing nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in.

SINGAPORE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) Moscow and Seoul are developing their economic cooperation and actively working together to resolve the ongoing nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in.

"[Moscow and Seoul are actively working] to resolve the main and the most sensitive issue, namely to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue," Putin said.

The Russian president noted that South Korea was one of Russia's key partners in Asia, ranking second in terms of trade in the region after China.

"Last year, [bilateral] trade increased by 23 percent. In the first nine months of this year, it got another 13 percent," Putin said.

In turn, Moon noted that cooperation and contacts between the two countries had been developing at the highest level.

"It is this year that Korean-Russian relations are developing more dynamically than ever in almost all areas, expanding the range of cooperation to the regional level and preserving the values of common peace and prosperity," he stressed.

Moon also expressed hope that the current cooperation dynamics would continue.

"I hope to continue the current dynamics of cooperation between our countries. This will make it possible to achieve our common goal ... to increase turnover to $30 billion and tourist flow to 1 million by 2020," the South Korean president said.

Singapore is hosting the Russia-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit as well as the 13th East Asia Summit this week.
Pakistan at present is engaged in multiple projects including Iran-Pakistan (IP) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines, import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and CASA-1000 to meet its ever-growing energy requirements.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) : Pakistan at present is engaged in multiple projects including Iran-Pakistan (IP) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines, import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and CASA-1000 to meet its ever-growing energy requirements.

The country's gas supply-demand gap has reached almost 4 Billion Cubic Feet per Day (BCFD) as total gas demand of the country is 8 BCFD against total supply of 4 BCFD.

A foreign journalist Omid Shokri Kalehsar, in his recent online article, has highlighted different dimensions of Pakistan's energy requirements, and ups and downs in gas import agreements amid changing global scenario.

In 1990, Pakistan started negotiations with Iran for export of natural gas, while India's increasing energy demand forced it to join the then 2,700-kilometer "Peace Pipeline" and now the "IP" that would allow the two countries to import Iranian resources.

According to the initial agreement, 1,100 kilometers was scheduled to be constructed in Iran, 1,000 kilometers in Pakistan, and 600 kilometers in India, with projected 150 million cubic meters of gas supply daily to Pakistan and India.

In 2011, India withdrew its support for the Peace Pipeline due to international pressure.

However, Iran completed the required pipeline to deliver natural gas from South Pars to the Iran-Pakistan border by December 2014 whereas, Pakistan has yet to start construction work at its side.

The journalist quoted Pakistan's former Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman as saying that in order to achieve long-term goals of regional stability, "Pakistan's national interest require new energy transit projects. Pakistan supports the economic strengthening of the region. The energy and energy sectors are important factors in realizing regional political and economic goals." Under the TAPI project, the leaders of the four countries signed an implementation contract in December 2015, and practical work finally commenced in 2016.

The first gas will start to flow in early 2020. The project will cost an estimated $7-9 billion and will transfer 90 million cubic metres of gas per day to these countries.

The author calculated that LNG now forms 50 percent of Pakistan's energy basket, and this will increase in coming years due to Pakistan's new agreements with LNG suppliers.In February 2015, Pakistan signed a deal to buy LNG from Qatar to meet its energy needs.

Because of the shale gas revolution, the United States became an energy exporter by 2017 and plans to send about 3 million cubic feet to Pakistan, the writer hinted.

The Russian energy giant Gazprom is also considering the possibility of supplying 5-7 million tons of LNG annually to Pakistan.

In July 2014, Pakistan and Gazprom signed an agreement to construct three LNG terminals, and the first shipment arrived in July 2015.

Pakistan and Azerbaijan also signed deals in 2016 for the latter to supply electricity, crude and refined oil products, and both LNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR will begin delivering LNG to Pakistan in the coming months. Under, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Pakistan will soon be able to generate electricity from coal-fired power plants and import electricity from places like Turkmenistan.

The larger goal of the CPEC is to turn the Gwadar Port into an energy hub in the region.

Pakistan is also trying to address part of its electricity shortage through other projects such as the Casa-1000 project, which is designed to boost the electricity trade between theCentral Asian countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic and the South Asian countries of Afghanistanand Pakistan.
KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :Five ships-- APL Miami, MSC Heidi, Maersk Kensington, IVS Swinley Forest and Trinity Glory carrying Containers, LNG and Coal were arranged berthing at Qasim International Container Terminal, Port Qasim Electric Power Terminal and Pakistan Gasport Consortium Terminal respectively on Tuesday.

Meanwhile another ship, Umm Al-Amad carrying 62,177 tonnes LNG also arrived at outer anchorage of Port Qasim on Wednesday morning, Gas carrier White Purl shifted to SSGC Terminal to Engro Terminal on same day, a report issued by PQ Authority said here on Wednesday.

A total of eleven ships are currently occupying PQA berths to load/offload Containers, Coal, Canola seeds, Chemicals, General cargo, LPG, LNG, Palm oil and Diesel oil respectively, Out of eleven, six ships namely, New Legend, Maritime Jingan, MSC Heidi, Sheila, Zefyros and white Purl sailed out to sea on Wednesday morning, and another containers ship Maersk Kensington is expected to sail at night hours.

Cargo throughput during last 24 hours stood at 186,220 tonnes, comprising 164,674 tonnes imports cargo and 21,546 tonnes export cargo, inclusive of containerized cargo carried in 4,784 Containers (TEUs), (3,650 TEUs imports and 1,134 TEUs exports) was handled at the Port.

Four ships, Northern Dedication, Umm Al-Amad, Horizon and Glorious carrying Containers, LNG, Palm oil and Diesel oil are expected to take berths at QICT, EETL, LCT and FOTCO respectively on Wednesday, while two more container ships MOL Courage and MaerskBentonville are due to arrive at Port Qasim on Thursday.
(@FahadShabbir)

U.S. Government will play its role to boost and explore business and investment opportunities with Pakistan and help benefit the people.

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :U.S. Government will play its role to boost and explore business and investment opportunities with Pakistan and help benefit the people.

Mark Russell, Senior Officer, Commercial Service, Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, U.S. Consulate in Karachi made these remarks in his meeting with the delegation of America Pakistan Business Development Forum (AMPAK BDF) here on Wednesday.

He appreciated efforts of the forum in bringing the people of two countries closer.

AMPAK BDF Delegation was headed by Nawaid Isa, Founder and President of the forum and Managing Partner ICCMC who travelled alongwith few US businessmen and investors from Houston to launch Pakistan Chapter of this forum in Karachi.

Other members of delegation included Syed Nasser Wajahat, Secretary General, Pakistan Chapter, Akhtar Shaheen Rind, Syed Turab Shah, Secretary Corporate Affairs, Ali Pesnani, Secretary Investment and Banking and Noorul Hasan.

Mark Russell lauding the launch of AMPAK BDF in Pakistan said the U.S. government was interested to work with AMPAK BDF in future and will explore more avenues to compliment its efforts for promotion of friendly business relations between the two nations.

He on the occasion also shared few ongoing and future projects aiming to enhance bilateral trade and investment and invited AMPAK BDF team to take it a step forward.

On behalf of AMPAK BDF, Mark Russell also presented a shield to Secretary Investment & Banking of AMPAK BDF Pakistan Chapter Ali Pesnani.

He also appreciated efforts of Nawaid Isa, Syed Nasser Wajahat and other team members of the AMPAK BDF for the cause of trade and business promotion between the two countries.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has said there is no military solution to Kashmir issue and India will have to initiate dialogues with Pakistan and people of Jammu to find a way for resolution of this conflict peacefully.

MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2018 ) ,: AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has said there is no military solution to Kashmir issue and India will have to initiate dialogues with Pakistan and people of Jammu to find a way for resolution of this conflict peacefully.

He made these remarks while speaking to a delegation of 48th Pakistan Navy Staff Course participants at Aiwan-e-Saddar on Tuesday. The delegation consisting of 14 faculty members Navy War College and 92 course participants including 20 officers from friendly countries is currently visiting Azad Jammu Kashmir as a part of their inland study tour.

The president AJK said Pakistan had always sought a peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue through dialogues but India is adamant to settle the issue through military might by suppressing the voice of Kashmiri people.

He went to say that India- Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir and now Indian obstinacy on Kashmir issue, inhuman atrocities in Kashmir and Indian shelling on civilian population living along the Line of Control (LoC) could bring both nuclear-armed state to the brink of another devastating war.

"It is high time for United Nations Secretary General to take a step forward and appoint a special representative to explore a viable solution to the conflict of Kashmir and ensure peace and stability in the region", he said.

"United Nations and world powers need to intervene in setting a stage for the resolution of Kashmir before the two nuclear states of India and Pakistan indulge in full fledged war which will be a monumental disaster that will engulf not only the region but large part of the world," President Khan emphasized.

About the draconian laws, like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) that give the total impunity to the Indian army in Kashmir, the AJK president said an Indian soldier can shoot to kill anyone at will and he will not be accountable to anybody or any agency for prosecution.

He said the recent report of United Nations' Commission for Human Rights on Kashmir followed by similar report compiled by All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group reflects that world is now realizing the gravity of unresolved Kashmir dispute. He added that another report on the state of human rights in Kashmir is being compiled by a committee of European Parliament.

Earlier, AJK president briefed the members of the delegation about functioning of AJK government, its administrative matters and priorities. The president said that reinforcing Kashmiri peoples' struggle for their right to self determination, providing better governance and efficient administration to the people of AJK and economic development of the liberated area are some of the priorities of AJK government.
(@FahadShabbir)

The United Arab Emirates has welcomed the UN Security Council's decision to lift sanctions imposed on Eritrea.

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 14th Nov, 2018) The United Arab Emirates has welcomed the UN Security Council's decision to lift sanctions imposed on Eritrea.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation today welcomed the news, saying the decision will promote a historic reconciliation in the Horn of Africa.

The UAE expressed its conviction that the decision represents a fundamental development that will enhance the chances for stability, development and investment opportunities in Eritrea and its surrounding areas, and will reflect positively on the region.
(@FahadShabbir)

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 14th Nov, 2018) Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are inviting applications for more than US$50 million in funding through the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility. The ADFD-financed initiative is available to government-guaranteed renewable energy projects in developing countries that seek to increase energy access, improve livelihoods and advance sustainable development.

ADFD has committed US$350 million (AED1.285 billion) in concessionary loans over seven annual funding cycles to renewable energy projects recommended by IRENA.

The facility welcomes proposals for projects  especially those submitted by ministries, public utility entities and rural electrification agencies  that are able to obtain a government guarantee for the ADFD loan.

"Renewable energy can have a powerful impact on the livelihoods of people across the globe," said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. "It is the most cost-competitive option to expand access to energy and improve socioeconomic welfare while creating jobs and empowering local communities. Now in its seventh funding cycle, the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility has a proven track record of driving positive change through renewable energy deployment, supporting developing countries to benefit from the energy transformation."

For his part, Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, said: "Since its launch in 2012, the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility has continued to deliver on the UAEs promise to introduce renewable energy solutions in developing countries as a sustainable and long-term alternative to conventional energy sources.

Advancing the renewable energy sector helps achieve the UNs Sustainable Development Goals, as well as create jobs and stimulate economic growth. We are proud of the milestones this facility has marked, and look forward to receiving cutting-edge and impactful applications for the seventh and final funding cycle."

In the first five cycles, the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility allocated US$214 million to 21 renewable energy projects across the globe, covering up to 50 per cent of the project costs. The efforts will bring more than 100 megawatts of renewable energy capacity online, improving the lives of over a million people through energy access. Spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America and Small Island Developing States, the projects encompass the complete spectrum of renewable energy sources  wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass  and technologies. To fulfil its commitment to contributing a total of US$350 million towards sustainable development, ADFD will allocate all outstanding funds by the seventh and final cycle. The projects selected for the sixth funding cycle will be announced in January 2019.
(@rukhshanmir)

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 14th Nov, 2018) The International Institute for Tolerance will hold the first-ever World Tolerance Summit, WTS, on November 15-16, 2018 in Dubai. WTS will be held in conjunction with UNESCOs International Day for Tolerance.

WTS underlines UAEs effort to attract global leaders and promote peace and tolerance in diversity across the world. As a melting pot for over 200 nationalities, UAE seeks to lead the region in the promotion of peaceful coexistence and a tolerant society. This is also in line with the governments vision when it announced the creation of ministerial posts for Happiness, Tolerance, and The Future.

Held under patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the summit will host more than 2,000 high-profile figures, including government leaders, peacebuilding experts, academia, professionals and social media influencers, as well as representatives of the international diplomatic community and international and local organizations, and key figures from the public and private sectors.

They will share their insights on policies and ways to promote the values of tolerance, multiculturalism and acceptance of others to build a world of tolerance in a multicultural society.

Two-day event includes panel discussions and workshops involving speakers and thought leaders WTS mainly aims to formulate strategies that help create violence-free society.

Themed "Prospering From Pluralism: Embracing Diversity through Innovation and Collaboration", the summit will be chaired by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Chairman of the board of Trustees of the International Institute for Tolerance.

Over 200 speakers will present a series of workshops on the values of UAEs founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The event will have a series of interactive dialogue sessions, workshops, an accompanying exhibition, panel discussions, and a library for tolerance comprising a collection of important references, books and researches dealing with tolerance in its holistic sense.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2018 ) :Prime Minister Imran Khan is fully on board regarding export issues and it has been decided to discuss the matters pertaining to jacking up country's export in the meeting of Council of Common Interest (CCI) having representation of chief ministers of all the four provinces.

Prime Minister's Advisor on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production, and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood stated this while addressing the participants of 7th Inaugural Ceremony of International Foundry Congress and Exhibition here on Tuesday.

The PTI government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, was fully aware of the economic challenges inherited by the past regime, he said and added that country's export history showed that high import duty on raw material dwindled export and low duty geared it up, therefore, the government had lowered or abolished import duties on industrial inputs. He also assured that government would remove all wrong duties and Regulatory Duty on import of industrial raw materials.

He said that despite all odds and prevailing economic challenges, the government was taking all possible steps to not only attain US $ 25 billion record export figure but also go beyond.

He mentioned that trade deficit, current account deficit and fiscal deficit and unjustified duties on import of industrial raw inputs were major factors behind fast declining countries exports, adding that Pakistan export had touched ever high figure of US $ 25 billion a few year back but later it started downward slide and hovered around US $ 18 to 20 billion at present.

The advisor was of the view that Pakistan would have to get away from dependence on textile for exports and would have to explore and add new sectors and markets for giving a big boost to exports. Efforts were also being made to ensure zero-duty on import of industrial raw materials particularly for the export-oriented industry, he added.

Abdul Razak said that government was also focused on value addition and development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which was a prerequisite for industrialization that ensured highest volume of export.

Analysis of some industrial sectors was being conducted and to be finalized and reached the Commerce Ministry by next month, and on the basis of analytical finding, more industries would be included into export sector, he maintained.

He said that Foundry was the fundamental industry of engineering sector, adding, "Engineering sector has to grow and has to become leading export sector of the country." He disclosed that Engineering Development (EDB) had been revived for the benefit and development of engineering industry.

Abdul Razak Dawood also appreciated the efforts of people, who made substantial contributions towards engineering sector's development.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :The Businessmen Panel of Pakistan Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI-BMP) Wednesday appreciated the government's initiative of ensuring uninterrupted gas supply to zero-rated and captive power industry during winter season.

With uninterrupted gas supply to more than 2,000 industrial units would resume their production across Sindh and Balochistan securing employment of millions of people.

FPCCI-BMP Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar, Senior Vice Chairman Mian Zahid Hussain, Secretary General Haji Ghulam Ali, Chairman (Sindh) Zakaria Usman, Chairman (Punjab) Khawaja Shahzeb Akram, Chairman (Balochistan) Naveed Jan Baloch, Chairman (KPK) Adnan Jaleel, Secretary General (Federal) Ahmad Jawad, expressed these views to business community here.

They were of the view that both institutions responsible for gas supply would conveniently manage the load for industrial sector with provision of extra gas, as decided in the ECC. They said that BMP had always played vital role in overcoming challenges faced by the trade and industry.

The BMP leadership said that immediate and new export friendly policies were vital to support and increase country's exports that would definitely control trade deficit.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Supreme Court Wednesday accepted state request to hear plea regarding repatriation of former Pakistani ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani in-chamber.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) : Supreme Court Wednesday accepted state request to hear plea regarding repatriation of former Pakistani ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani in-chamber.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the suo motu notice on Wednesday.

As the hearing started, the chief justice asked the state counsel about the progress made by the government for repatriation of Haqqani.

Responding to chief justice, Ahmer Bilal Sofi, amicus curiae in the case said progress had been made on official level, however, he would able to discuss in-chamber.

The bench while accepting the plea decided to hear the case in chamber.

It is pertinent to mention here that Haqqani is accused of delivering a memo to retired US Navy Admiral Mike Mullen through Mansoor Ijaz in 2011.

The memo had allegedly requested the US for its support to the Pakistani civilian government against its military establishment after the May 2 raid.

On January 29 this year, the chief justice, while hearing a case regarding the right of overseas Pakistanis to cast votes in the elections, had summoned details of the Memogate case.

An FIR was registered on March 10 on behalf of FIA, which said: " accused Husain Haqqani during his posting as ambassador of Pakistan in USA (from May 2008 to November 2011) in collaboration with other concerned officers/officials misused his official position, committed cheating, criminal breach of trust and misappropriated approximately $2 million of the national exchequer of Pakistan per year dishonestly and fraudulently."Subsequently, red warrants were issued for the former ambassador's arrest.
A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday extended interim bail of PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique till November 26.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday extended interim bail of PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique till November 26.

The division bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi passed the orders while hearing pre-arrest bail petitions filed by Khawaja brothers.

At the outset of the proceedings, Khawaja Saad and Khawaja Salman appeared before the bench on expiry of their interim bail.

The bench was apprised that Khawaja brothers' counsel Azam Nazir Tarar were abroad to attend a law conference. The court was requested to adjourn the matter till his arrival.

At this, the bench adjourned the hearing till November 26 and extended interim bail of both brothers as well.

The brothers had filed the bail petitions, saying that National Accountability Bureau had initiated various inquiries against them. They submitted that they were completely cooperating in investigations and they had furnished all the required record to the Bureau interrogators.But,despite that there was a possibility that the interrogators might arrest them, they added. They pleaded with the court to grant interim bail to them.

It is pertinent to mention that Khawaja Salman Rafique was involved in Paragon city scam only,whereas Khawaja Saad Rafique was not only involved in Paragon scam but Railways and Ashiana scams as well, as per NAB report submitted in the court earlier.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lahore Wednesday arrested Qaiser Amin Butt, Director Paragon City (Pvt) Ltd allegedly involved in the corrupt practices.

According to NAB spokesman, the accused in connivance with Nadeem Zia and others launched an illegal housing scheme known as "Paragon City (Pvt) Ltd, during the year 2005 on the basis of forged and fabricated documents along with alleged approvals from TMA Aziz Bhatti Town, Lahore.

Moreover, during year 2013, all TMA approved housing schemes were transferred to Lahore Development Authority (LDA), however, record of Paragon Housing Scheme was intentionally not shifted to LDA by the accused persons.

Paragon City Housing Society has, so far, no approval from LDA. Thus, the Director Qaiser Amin Butt being the beneficial owner is running the said housing scheme, unlawfully.

The accused as being the Director M/s Paragon City aided, connived, assisted and abetted accused Nadeem Zia and others in cheating public at large and misappropriation of funds collected from general public.

Moreover, in addition to above, accused accompanied by others issued allotment letter of Commercial and Residential plots to general public on the basis of land which is not owned by the Paragon Housing Scheme.

The funds collected from general public were diverted for the personal use of alleged accused persons instead of providing timely development and possession of plots to the allottees of Paragon City.

Inquiry against the accused person reveals that the accused had been absconding to avoid the ongoing Inquiry against him and it is likely to be feared that the accused may tamper substantial evidences through criminal inducement and intimidation.

NAB Lahore officials have arrested the same for the recovery of corruption money, collection of evidences and to help concluding the ongoing Inquiry against him in accordance with Law.

Accused Qaisar Amin Butt would be produced before an Accountability Court for acquiring of his Physical Remand.
The first meeting of sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on General Elections, 2018 was held here on Wednesday for looking into terms of reference (ToRs).

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :The first meeting of sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on General Elections, 2018 was held here on Wednesday for looking into terms of reference (ToRs).

The meeting was chaired by convener of the sub-committee Shafqat Mehmood and attended by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Rana Sanaullah and other members from government and opposition sides.

Later, talking to media, Shafqat Mehmood said that on approaching him in writing by people about the matter related with article 225, the chair pointed out the issue in start of the meeting that in the presence of article 225, is there any possibility to having inquiry by the parliamentary committee or parliament on election matters.

He said that Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain formally raising this point in the committee, said that in the presence of article 225, there is no possibility of conducting inquiry by the parliament on the matter.

He said that the members from opposition side were of view that the boundary of article 225 covers individual election and that it doesn't cover election as whole.

He added the chair decided to send a reference to the chairman of the main committee to inform him about receiving objections from members like Chaudhry Fawad Hussain to know whether in the presence of article 225, parliamentary committee can conduct inquiry or not on the election matters.

He added it was decided that the committee will continue its working and all those political parties who want finalization of TORs will make sure to join next meeting with in writing working on TORs for having discussion.

Shafqat Mehmood said that the next meeting of the sub-committee will be held on November 22.

Replying to a question, he said that all matters relatedwith TORs will be in accordance with the law and constitution of the country.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

President Dr. Arif Alvi Wednesday stressed the need for adopting sustainable and durable measures to overcome water scarcity issue in Balochistan and cautioned that the water shortage was becoming a serious problem in the province.

QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :President Dr. Arif Alvi Wednesday stressed the need for adopting sustainable and durable measures to overcome water scarcity issue in Balochistan and cautioned that the water shortage was becoming a serious problem in the province.

He expressed these views while talking to Governor Balochistan Justice retired Amanullah Khan Yasinzai, Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan, provincial cabinet members and members of the provincial assembly. Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar were also present on the occasion.

The president observed that they had a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan and every individual had to contribute to the development of the country.

During President's visit to Governor House, different issues including launch of sewage treatment project, establishment of universities and progress on the ongoing economic projects for the public welfare reviewed.

The president informed that effective measures were being taken for promotion of higher education and providing better educational opportunities to the youth in Balochistan.

He observed that laying a railway line from Gwadar to Quetta would help increase trade and transportation in the region.

The president further assured that the issue of cut in gas price for Balochistan province, during the winter season, would be discussed at the relevant forum.

He observed that Balochistan was gifted with the largest coastal line in the country and its coastline areas could yield Rs10 billion worth of fisheries for export.

Later, he visited Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri's residence along with federal ministers and Speaker National Assembly to offer condolences over the death of his mother.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent visit to China and interaction with Chinese top leadership would usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation between the two all-weather friends, former Chinese and Pakistani diplomats said on Wednesday.

BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent visit to China and interaction with Chinese top leadership would usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation between the two all-weather friends, former Chinese and Pakistani diplomats said on Wednesday.

The visit of the prime minister of Pakistan was a great success as people from all walks of life from both sides were commending it, they expressed these views during a reception hosted here by Hasib ur Rehman, Chief Representative, Askari Bank.

Former Ambassador Lu Shulin, who served as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan remarked that "The visit would take China-Pakistan friendship to the new heights and it has opened a new chapter of bilateral ties".

Ambassador Lu Shulin, senior advisor to China Institute of International Strategic Studies and standing member of China-Pakistan Friendship Association , observed that both Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Xi Jinping have unanimous views that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would build a community of shared future.

He said people to people contact was the central point of friendship and the cooperation as a result of the new agreements will further cement the existing ties and comprehensive meetings of top Chinese leadership with the visiting prime minister were testimony to this fact.

Prof Lu Shuilin, former Chief of urdu Department, China Radio International (CRI) said the two countries have historical relations and Indus valley and Gandhara civilizations have great influence on the Chinese civilization.

Prof Lu Shuilin who has translated Pakistan Television Classic Drama Serial "Waris" into the Chinese language opined that as a result of this visit the people of two countries have come more closer to each other.

He stressed to expedite the efforts to promote the exchange of scholars, writers, and artists enabling people of both sides to understand each other's culture, literature and language.

Former Ambassador Karamat Ullah Ghauri, who also served as a senior diplomat in China highly appreciated Prime Minister Imran Khan for his efforts to consult friendly countries to overcome economic challenges being faced by Pakistan."I think, the prime minister has been successful in his endeavor to muster support from friendly countries," he remarked.

Ambassador Karamat Ghauri, currently visiting Beijing, remarked that some countries were unhappy over Pak-China cooperation on Gwadar port, which was a shortest and economically viable route to transport goods to the middle East, Central Asia, and other regions.

"We have to keep an eye on the geopolitical situation in the region and we should not allow anyone to harm our exemplary and time-tested relations," he added.

Ambassador Karamat Ghauri also commended President Xi Jinping for organizing an international export expo in Shanghai and opening of the Chinese market for other countries.

Prof Zhang Shixuan, a famous Urdu poet in China who has adopted a Pakistani name - Intikhab Alam called for further cementing cultural bonds and increase people to people contacts through cooperation under culture and literature.

Prof Zhang, who translated a number of Urdu books and poetry in the Chinese language, proposed that people of two countries should learn each other's languages which will play a role of a bridge between the two people.

The Chinese government was encouraging more young Chinese to learn Urdu and informed that at least seven Chinese universities have set up Urdu departments and the number of students was increasing day by day, he added.

He said around 23,000 Pakistani students are currently studying in China and said it was a remarkable achievement in enhancing people to people relations.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The Privatisation Commission had fetched Rs 172.9 billion by successfully privatizing five entities in last five years, Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro told Senate on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :The Privatisation Commission had fetched Rs 172.9 billion by successfully privatizing five entities in last five years, Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro told Senate on Wednesday.

Answering the question of Senator Mohsin Aziz, he said the divestment of 19.8 percent equity,(241,921,931shares) of United Bank Limited (UBL) worth Rs 38.2 billion were disposed of in June 2014. The buyers included international and domestic institutional investors and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) through domestic stock exchanges.

Likewise the 70.05 million shares Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) worth Rs 15.3 billion were sold to domestic institutional investors and high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in June 2014 through domestic stock exchange.

Similarly, The privatization commission had earned Rs 14.4 billion in December 2014 by privatizing 131,275,073 shares of Allied Bank Limited (ABL) to domestic institutional investors and high net worth individuals (HNWIs) through domestic stock exchanges.

The minister said Privatisation Commission fetched Rs 102.4 billion in April 2015 by divestment of 41.5 percent equity (609,317,135 shares) of Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to international and domestic institutional investors, multilateral development Banks/institutions (MDBIs) and high net worth individuals (HNWI) through domestic stock exchanges.

The 88 percent government shares of National Power Construction Corporation (NPCC)had fetched Rs 2.5 billion. The 1,760,000 GOP shares were sold to Mansoor Al Mosaid Companyin September 2015.
A court in Linz will pass a verdict within two weeks in the case of a retired Austrian officer suspected of spying for Russia, a spokesperson for the court told Sputnik on Wednesday.

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) A court in Linz will pass a verdict within two weeks in the case of a retired Austrian officer suspected of spying for Russia , a spokesperson for the court told Sputnik on Wednesday.

The regional court of appeal will hear a challenge by public prosecutors against the decision of a lower court in Salzburg to release the suspect accused of leaking military secrets to Russia for 26 years, pending his trial.

The spokesperson said the lawsuit would go before the Linz court later this week and would take between 10 and 14 days to rule on. The prosecutor's office said it lodged the appeal on Tuesday, arguing there were good reasons to keep him in custody.

The retired army colonel from Salzburg is believed to have worked for Russia between 1992 and 2018. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the claim was unfounded and only served to complicate ties between the two countries.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Wednesday there were no plans to send out Russian diplomats over suspected spying for Russia by a retired officer.

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Wednesday there were no plans to send out Russian diplomats over suspected spying for Russia by a retired officer.

"EU-Russia ties are regularly discussed at EU meetings and this debate belongs there. Austria will not take any unilateral steps in this regard," the Austrian chancellor told reporters.

Kurz said last week that a retired army colonel had been held for allegedly leaking military secrets to Moscow for 26 years. A court in Salzburg freed him pending trial, prompting prosecutors to appeal.

The announcement "unpleasantly surprised" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who said the accusations were unfounded. His Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl canceled her planned trip to Russia.
The 5th biennial Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) has started in Bahrain, with Russian companies for the first time showcasing a joint exhibition of weapons and military equipment, a Sputnik correspondent reported Wednesday.

MANAMA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) The 5th biennial Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) has started in Bahrain , with Russian companies for the first time showcasing a joint exhibition of weapons and military equipment, a Sputnik correspondent reported Wednesday.

According to the organizers of the BIAS-2018, which is being held on November 14-16 at the Sakhir Air Base, there are 70 percent more participants this year there were in 2016. The airshow is being attended by 11 of the world's 15 leading aerospace companies. Four new national pavilions, including those of the United States and Russia, are being showcased at the event. More than 100 aircraft are on display at the airfield and expected to be used in demonstration flights.

State arms exporter Rosoboronexport is the organizer of the Russian exhibition at the BIAS 2018. In total, Russia is showcasing more than 250 pieces of weaponry and military equipment, many of which were used during the counterterrorism operation in Syria.

The Russian equipment piqued the interest of the delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which said it was ready to learn more about the production of Russian companies participating in the event.

"We have negotiations with Russian companies planned  we will see what their offers are," a member of the UAE delegation told Sputnik.

Abdulhakim bin Muhammad Al Tamimi, the president of the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), also plans to meet with representatives of Russian companies.

"I count on holding talks with Russian companies during the airshow to see what production they display, but it is too early to talk about the purchase of some aircraft," the GACA president told Sputnik.

On Monday, in the run-up to the BIAS-2018, Rosoboronexport Director General Aleksander Mikheev noted that the airshow was an opportunity to demonstrate Russia's cutting-edge defense products to the Gulf countries and showcase their unique features.

BIAS is a commercially-focused biennial airshow established in 2010 and held under the patronage of the king of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The previous Bahrain International Airshow was held on January 21-23, 2016.
A contingent of 180 Chinese peacekeepers left Zhengzhou, the capital city of central China's Henan Province, for South Sudan on Monday night on a one-year mission.

ZHENGZHOU, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2018 ) :A contingent of 180 Chinese peacekeepers left Zhengzhou , the capital city of central China 's Henan Province, for South Sudan on Monday night on a one-year mission.

The contingent constitutes the first batch of a 700-member peacekeeping infantry battalion dispatched by China, according to Guo Meng, the battalion commander.

Guo said they will be tasked with protecting civilians, UN staff and those undertaking humanitarian jobs, patrol, escort and other security missions.

All members of the battalion have undergone a three-month training session and have passed a test which vindicated their qualifications to fulfill peacekeeping missions in South Sudan.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has ordered another airlift of humanitarian aid to Jordan as current weather systems threatens those affected by the floods

DUBAI, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has ordered another airlift of humanitarian aid to Jordan as current weather systems threatens those affected by the floods.

A Boeing-747 jumbo jet carrying 85 tons of humanitarian aid including relief items donated by the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, landed in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday. This is the third humanitarian aid flight sent by Sheikh Mohammed in less than 48 hours.

Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of Sheikh Maktoum and also the Chairperson of International Humanitarian City, will oversee the directive to ensure support to Jordanian families, Emirates news Agency, WAM, said.

Earlier, 58 tons of relief items donated have already been distributed to those in need by the National Crisis Centre, under the guidance of Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, who received the flights and then coordinated emergency on the ground relief efforts.

According to forecasts, the region is expected to experience more bad weather.
(@rukhshanmir)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2018) Mahdi Mashat, the head of the Houthis' Supreme Political Council, held a meeting on Wednesday with David Beasley, the executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) and said that food security in Yemen was under threat.

Earlier in the day, media reported that a major offensive by pro-government Yemeni troops, supported by the Saudi-led coalition, on the port city of Al Hudaydah was paused to evacuate civilians and aid workers.

"Food security in Yemen is in a dangerous condition as a result of the all-out blockade and halting of Yemeni exports. The battles are currently going on in Hudaydah city in the square of food stores and factories and this is a threat to food security," Mashat said at the meeting, as quoted by Yemen news Agency SABA.

Mashat also thanked the WFP for its efforts to alleviate the suffering of Yemeni people.

Beasley, on his part, said that he told the international community about the necessity to stop this war as children suffer from starvation and die every day in Yemen.

Yemen has been gripped by a civil war between President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi's government and the Shiite Houthi movement since 2015. The government is backed by the Saudi-led coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes that target the areas controlled by the Houthis since March 2015. The conflict has escalated this year in the region of Al Hudaydah, Yemen's largest Red Sea port, disrupting humanitarian supplies to the country and putting half of its population at risk of starvation.
MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro called on the United Nations on Wednesday to help Caracas in acquisition of special medical equipment for pregnant women, saying that the United States has been blocking the purchase.

"I ask for support from the United Nations Development Program, from the United Nations system, because you know that the US imperialist government is pursuing and blocking us. If I want to buy special medical equipment to protect pregnant women, the US government is stalking us, slowing down the process or standing in our way," Maduro said, as quoted by the state-run broadcasters.

Washington has long been opposing Maduro's policy and has introduced numerous sanctions against Caracas.

On November 1, US President Donald Trump informed the US lawmakers that he has signed an executive order to impose sweeping new sanctions on Venezuela's gold exports. Trump said the measure came in response to the efforts of Maduro's government to plunder his country's wealth for their own "corrupt purposes."
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to discuss the need to resolve the ongoing conflict in Yemen, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2018) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone with Bahrain 's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to discuss the need to resolve the ongoing conflict in Yemen , State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Wednesday.

"The Secretary and the Crown Prince discussed the importance of reaching a political solution in Yemen, countering the Iranian regime's malign influence in the region, and other bilateral and regional issues," Nauert said in a readout of the phone call.

Bahrain belongs to the Saudi-led coalition that has been battling the rebel Houthi movement since 2015 on behalf of the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The conflict has resulted in a huge civilian death toll, as well as an acute humanitarian disaster and outbreaks of cholera across the country.

Rights groups, including HRW, have criticized the coalition's campaign in Yemen over its contribution to the suffering of the civilian population.

In September, the United Nations attempted to hold peace talks between the warring parties in Geneva, but the negotiations never took place, with the Houthi side claiming that the coalition had prevented them from leaving the country. The coalition said the Houthi delegates were free to leave Yemen, but failed to use the opportunity.

Another attempt to hold talks could take place soon, as the United Nations said in late October that it was awaiting answers from the three sides on whether they would attend peace talks in Sweden within 30 days.
(@rukhshanmir)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2018) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah met in Washington to discuss the Trump administration's proposal to create an Arab security alliance, the State Department said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met today with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Khalid Al-Attiyah," the release said. "The Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister discussed working toward a middle East Strategic Alliance, anchored by a united GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), to advance prosperity, security, and stability in the region."

President Donald Trump's administration has proposed creating the Middle East Strategic Alliance, an Arab security pact widely referred to as an "Arab NATO," made up of the six Arab states of the GCC along with Egypt and Jordan.

The goal of creating such an alliance of Sunni Arab states would be to counter the growing influence of Iran in the Middle East, US officials have said. Similar US initiatives to establish a collective Arab security pact have failed in the past.

The Trump administration's efforts to create the alliance have been hampered by an ongoing rift between Qatar and the other Arab states in the GCC. In June 2017, GCC members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing the country of supporting terrorism. Qatar has firmly denied the accusations.

During their talks in Washington, Pompeo and Attiyah also discussed regional security and stability, bilateral ties and other mutual interests in the region, as well as the upcoming US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, the release said.

The two officials also spoke about an ongoing project to expand Qatar's Al-Udeid Airbase, the largest military facility used by US forces in the Gulf region. The project to expand the base, which hosts more than 10,000 US and coalition forces, was launched in July.

The military base is home to the US Air Force Central Command (AFCENT) and serves as a major communications and operational center for the coalition fighting against the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, outlawed in Russia) in the region.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2018) Russia and Algeria are discussing creation of a joint venture to produce, extend service life and dispose guided and unguided munitions, Chairman of the Federation Council's Defense and Security Committee Viktor Bondarev said on Wednesday.

"At the request of the Algerian side, the possibility of establishing a joint venture on its territory to produce, repair, extend service life and dispose guided and unguided munitions is being considered," Bondarev was quoted by his press service as saying at a meeting with the Algerian Defense Ministry's leadership in Algiers.

Bondarev added that projects on after-sales service of Russian military equipment were currently at various stages of development.

According to Bondarev, Russia is also mulling deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Algeria, which have not not been previously exported to the North African country.

Meanwhile, the Russian Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation declined to comment on the information.

According to the Algerian Defense Ministry's data, cited by Bondarev, the country has purchased Russian-made arms and military equipment worth over $26 billion in the last 10 years.
(@FahadShabbir)

Russia and Cuba intend to develop practical cooperation between the Defense Ministries of the two countries, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) Russia and Cuba intend to develop practical cooperation between the Defense Ministries of the two countries, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Today, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with Leopoldo Cintra Frias, the minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

The sides confirmed mutual commitment to develop dialogue and practical cooperation between the Defense Ministries of the two countries," the statement said.

The sides discussed actual issues on the bilateral agenda in the military and military-technical fields.

The meeting took place as part of arrangements reached at the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel in early November.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) The Russian Defense Ministry has approved the tactical and technical requirements for the Il-276 prospective medium-lift military transport plane, aircraft manufacturer Ilyushin Aviation Complex told Sputnik.

"The tactical and technical requirements for a medium-lift military transport aircraft have been approved," the company said in response to a relevant question.

"We are certain that the Il-276 will become one of the main assets of Russia's military transport aviation for several decades to come," the company stressed.

The IL-276 is a prospective two-engine medium-lift military transport aircraft, providing transportation of cargoes weighing up to 20 metric tons at a speed of up to 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) per hour.

The work on Il-276 draft design is currently underway. The plane is expected to make its maiden flight in 2023, while first deliveries to the Russian armed forces are planned for 2026.
The UN Security Council will on Wednesday vote to lift sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa.

United Nations, United States, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :The UN Security Council will on Wednesday vote to lift sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa.

Diplomats say they expect the council to unanimously adopt a British-drafted resolution that would lift the arms embargo and all travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea.

The council slapped sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support of Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia, a claim Asmara has long denied.

The draft resolution acknowledges that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab" and declares that the sanctions and arms embargo will end on the day of the adoption of the measure.

Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace deal in July that ended two decades of hostility and led to friendlier relations with Djibouti, shoring up prospects for stability in the Horn of Africa.

The draft resolution calls on Eritrea and Djibouti to continue efforts to settle a 2008 border dispute and asks Asmara to release information concerning Djiboutian soldiers missing in clashes a decade ago.

At France's request, the council will hear a report every six months on Eritrea's efforts to normalize relations with Djibouti, where France, the United States and China all have military bases.

- Look to the future - Ethiopian Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie said the end of sanctions will "definitely open up a lot of possibilities for Eritrea," drawing foreign investors and bringing Asmara back into the international fold.

"The decision will give an impetus for us to look to what the future can offer to the people of the region while at the same time send a message for us to engage in solving current problems and challenges," the ambassador told AFP.

Eritrea and Somalia strongly supported calls to end sanctions, and negotiations over the past two weeks focused on addressing concerns about Djibouti.

"There were concerns by Djibouti," the ambassador said, "but these concerns are not insurmountable. We strongly believe that the leaders of these two countries are willing to deal with the issues." In his address to the General Assembly in September, Eritrea's Foreign Minister Osman Mohammed Saleh slammed the sanctions as "unwarranted," saying they had caused "considerable economic damage" and hardship for Eritreans.

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, and war broke out later that decade over a border dispute.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it.

A turnaround began in June when Ethiopia announced it would hand back to Eritrea disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme, where the first shots of the border war were fired.

The leaders of Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia met last week in northern Ethiopia to push for regional economic development.

The draft resolution however maintains an arms embargo on Somalia, imposed in 1992.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said that the country's authorities supported the initiative to hold talks on Yemeni conflict settlement in Sweden.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2018) United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said that the country's authorities supported the initiative to hold talks on Yemeni conflict settlement in Sweden

The UN-mediated talks were expected to be held in early September in Geneva, but the representatives of the Houthi movement eventually refused to partake. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths is currently working on negotiating a new round of peace talks with the warring parties. According to media reports, he was planning to hold them in Vienna. However, a member of the Yemen's Houthi movement's politburo Abdel Malek al Ojari told Sputnik in late October that there were three possible venues for the talks - Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

"We welcome early convening of UN-led talks in Sweden. At UNSC meeting on Friday, Coalition will urge all parties to take advantage of window of opportunity to restart political process. We look forward to hosting Martin Griffiths this week in Abu Dhabi," Gargash wrote on Twitter.

Yemen has been gripped by a civil war between President Hadi's government and the Shiite Houthi movement since 2014. The government is backed by the Saudi-led coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes that target the areas controlled by the Houthis since March 2015. The conflict has escalated this year in the region of Al Hudaydah, Yemen's largest Red Sea port, disrupting humanitarian supplies to the country and putting half of its population at risk of starvation.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

US airmen and representatives from other US government agencies are joining 21 African countries for an African Partner Outbreak Response Alliance conference, the US Air Force said in a press release on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2018) US airmen and representatives from other US government agencies are joining 21 African countries for an African Partner Outbreak Response Alliance conference, the US Air Force said in a press release on Tuesday.

"Airmen with US Air Forces Africa, along with other US government agencies and 21 African partner nations, have arrived in Monrovia, Liberia, to participate in an African Partner Outbreak Response Alliance [APORA] conference," the release said.

During the conference, military and civilian leaders will work together on best practices and response capabilities for outbreaks of contagious diseases, the release said.

The goal of the training is to strengthen the pandemic programs in new partner countries and improve relations with current partners, the release added.
US Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford discussed with Estonian Defense Forces Commander Gen. Riho Terras the security environment in the Baltic region, the Department of Defense said in a news release on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) US Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford discussed with Estonian Defense Forces Commander Gen. Riho Terras the security environment in the Baltic region, the Department of Defense said in a news release on Wednesday.

"The two leaders discussed the current security environment in the Baltic region," the release said.

Dunford expressed appreciation for Estonia's support to NATO operations and reiterated Washington's commitment to its partnership with Tallinn, the release noted.

Dunford presented his Estonian counterpart with the Legion of Merit medal for his military leadership, the release said.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Belgrade in January will become the most productive ever in terms of substance and the number of agreements to be signed, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday.

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin 's visit to Belgrade in January will become the most productive ever in terms of substance and the number of agreements to be signed, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday.

The statement was made during Vucic's meeting with Russian Ambassador in Belgrade Alexander Chepurin. Putin's forthcoming visit was among the main topics of the talks.

"I am sure that his [Putin's] visit will become the most fruitful ever in terms of substance, the number of agreements, which we will sign, and their meaning for various areas of people's life," Vucic said at the meeting, as broadcast by the RTS broadcaster.

Vucic noted that energy, infrastructure and innovative technologies are seen as priority areas for cooperation by Serbia.

"Once again, I want to thank the Russian president and you for the support for the Serbian people and Serbia in preserving its territorial integrity, and the support for [Belgrade's] efforts to reach a compromise solution [to the Kosovo issue], rather than a solution [reached] as a result of pressure and blackmail," he told the Russian ambassador.

Vucic also expressed his satisfaction with the results of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov's visit to Belgrade earlier in November, which resulted in substantive discussions of bilateral cooperation in energy, transport, infrastructure, industry and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Putin's visit to Belgrade is expected to take place in mid-January, however, the exact date is yet to be revealed.
Collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) is a rare type of nonclear renal cell carcinoma, often presenting at an advanced stage of the disease, and standard treatment guidelines have not been established.

A 73-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with complaints of fever and lower right back pain.

Computed tomography revealed a poorly defined tumor of the right kidney without metastasis. The patient underwent right radical nephrectomy and was diagnosed with clinical stage T1bN0M0 renal cancer; the pathological findings showed collecting duct carcinoma.

After nephrectomy, multiple lung metastases were found in the following month, so first-line chemotherapy of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m on days 1 and 8, every 21 days) and cisplatin (70 mg/m on day 2, every 21 days) was administered. Due to disease progression, targeted therapy with axitinib (10 mg/body) and second-line chemotherapy of paclitaxel (200 mg/m on day 1, every 21 days) and carboplatin (area under the curve of 6 on day 1, every 21 days) were subsequently administered. However, the lung metastases progressed and new metastases spread to the right adrenal gland, liver, and lymph nodes. Based on the high expression of programmed death-ligand 1 in tumor cells, we treated the patient with the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab.

After 2 courses of treatment, he experienced a partial response and improved performance status, and thus was discharged from the hospital. To date, the patient is on his fifth course of treatment as an outpatient without disease progression.

The findings of our study suggest that nivolumab may be effective even if the patient has highly progressive CDC with a low PS, if PD-L1 is highly expressed in the tumor cells.

Medicine. 2018 Nov [Epub]

Shotaro Yasuoka, Tsutomu Hamasaki, Eigo Kuribayashi, Masato Nagasawa, Takanori Kawaguchi, Yoji Nagashima, Yukihiro Kondo

Department of Urology., Department of Pathology, Aidu Chuo Hospital, Tsurugacho, Aiduwakamatu-shi, Fukushima., Department of Surgical Pathology, Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku., Department of Urology, Nippon Medical School Hospital, Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30407350
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.
The Archbishop of Rabat writes a letter to the people of Morocco on Tuesday confirming the Popes March 2019 visit, one which he hopes will expand and encourage interreligious Islam-Christian dialogue.

By Francesca Merlo

In Tuesdays letter to his Dear Christian brothers and sisters, Rabats Archbishop, Cristobal Lopez, reiterates the Holy See Press Offices announcement that Pope Francis will be visiting Morocco from the 30th to the 31st of March 2019. Archbishop Lopez highlights that there are many Christians in Morocco who are passing through, on their difficult migration, towards Europe.

Memories of love and hope

He recalls the 1985 visit of Pope Saint John Paul II, a memory which he says is still alive, and a visit, which he says brought great hope, love and blessings to the people and the Catholic Church in Morocco.

Promoting dialogue and communion

The mission of the Pope, Archbishop Lopez continues, is of confirming us in our faith. He says the Pope wants to get to know us, share parts of our life, encourage us, pray with us and bless us. He also explains that the Pope wants to meet the people of Morocco and its authorities, particularly His Majesty the King, in the spirit of an interreligious Islam-Christian dialogue, that both want to promote.

Listen to our report

The Archbishop expresses the desire Christians have to expand communion amongst themselves and with the people of other faiths in Morocco, stating that the Popes visit will be a wonderful occasion to express and live our communion with the Bishop of Rome and ultimately, through him, the Archbishop says, with the universal Church.

Prayers for a fruitful journey

Finally, Archbishop Cristobal Lopez of Rabat urges Christians to open themselves up, by moving and going towards the Pope, who comes from afar to meet us.

As they await a detailed programme of the visit, he urges everyone to pray each day for the fruits of this papal journey.
The Archbishop of Palermo has declared the excommunications "latae sententiae" incurred by Fr Alessandro Maria Minutella.

By Vatican News

The Archdiocese of Palermo, Sicily, has published a formal decree concerning the excommunication of an Italian priest for the crimes of heresy and of schism.

In canon law, some crimes are punished latae sententiae, or automatically, by force of the law itself, once they are committed. According to the Code of Canon Law, those who are excommunicated are forbidden from participating in the Eucharist or other ceremonies of worship; celebrating the sacraments or sacramentals and receiving the sacraments; exercising any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions, or placing acts of governance.

In addition, further consequences follow once a latae sententiae excommunication has been formally declared.

Below, please find the notification of the decree of excommunication issued in regard to Father Alessandro Maria Minutella, published by the Archdiocese of Palermo The Italian original can be found on website of the Archdiocese of Palermo.

On November 13, 2018, Father Alessandro Maria Minutella was notified of the Decree of August 15, 2018 (Prot. No. 046/18) by which the Archbishop Corrado Lorefice DECLARES the excommunications latae sententiae, which the same priest has incurred for the crime of heresy and for the crime of schism, as required by canon law (cf. can.1364 1 CIC), with all the consequences arising from the same measure.

Archepiscopal Chancellor

(Father Vincenzo Talluto)
The authorities of HCM City and the leaders of mould-making companies need to use more advanced technologies and education in its mould-making industry, especially computer and automation technologies, experts said.-Photo sggp.org.vn

Le Hoai Quoc, the head of the management board of the Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP), said since the Samsung factory opened in SHTP, the demand for mould-making had risen.

However, domestic mould-making production capacity was limited and could only supply a small portion of the moulds needed for the production of computers and other technologies.

Currently, the largest domestic mould-making companies include Duy Khanh, Lap Phuc, Duy Tan, Cat Thai and Minh Nguyen, and they were not able to meet market demand.

Chau Ba Long, the operations director of Minh Nguyen, said the companys total revenue from supplying moulds to Samsung was about US$15 million, and accounted for only one per cent of the tech giants demand.

Small domestic firms in HCM City also lacked skilled workers due to more attractive foreign direct investment firms and workers moving overseas.

Long said the lack of skilled workers was due to the fact the country did not have any professional training in mould-making.

A lack of co-operation between mould producers was another cause of concern, expert said.

Fairs and exhibitions were needed to advertise domestic moulds and promote co-operation, which would help raise capacity and quality, he added.

Bui Huyen Ngoc, a representative of a mould-making company operating in HCM City, said the industry lacked highly skilled techniques and human resources, while equipment for mould production was costly.

Human resources played an important role in the development of mould production, which depended mainly on experience, knowledge and creativity.

To solve this problem, Lap Phuc Company has been working with universities and colleges to launch training courses for students to attract skilled graduates.

A final year mechanics student at HCM Citys Technical College Duong Quang Thien has been taking a training course at Lap Phuc Company.

Thanks to the course, I have chances to practise my technical skills and gain more experience, he said.

The enterprise and the school launched the project to equip students with practical skills that match business requirements.

Thien and 17 other students on the course hope that after graduation they will be offered a position at the company.

Lap Phuc is also working with Nguyen Tat Thanh University to train hundreds of mechanics students and is also holding factory visits for students.

According to a survey, more than 70 per cent of labourers working in industrial zones around the city were from other provinces and mostly unskilled. It was difficult to form a solid training plan because the number of labourers fluctuated, a representative of Lap Phuc said.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the conference, which was attended mainly by fellow multilateralists such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau AFP/Thomas SAMSON

Conceived by French leader Emmanuel Macron, the Forum is intended to be part of the fightback against nationalism, with its format inspired by the annual business meeting in the Davos ski resort in Switzerland.

The event opened Sunday (Nov 11), with speeches by Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN chief Antonio Guterres who warned in turn about the dangers of Trump-style populism.

The idea is that the Paris event, which began symbolically on the centenary of the end of World War I, becomes an annual gathering to discuss democracy and international cooperation.

"We have put on leaders' agenda the fact that every year, we will talk about multilateralism and our collective interests here," chief organiser Justin Vaisse told AFP.

The remaining days - the Forum ran until Tuesday - featured round-table discussions on topics from gender inequality to the need for new global environmental accords.

One hundred and twenty projects, most of them run by NGOs, were given space in an exhibition area at the entrance to the former slaughterhouse where the Forum was held.

They included a project to provide Taekwondo lessons to refugees. Another was based on "leveraging global citizen solidarity to fight against chronic malnutrition."

It gave the event an atmosphere that was somewhere between a trade fair and a think-tank conference.

"You can count on my support," Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta told the Kumekucha association, which works to prevent violence in rural communities in Africa, as he visited their stand on Sunday.

ECHO CHAMBER?

Given the agenda, it's little wonder that US President Donald Trump decided to snub the Forum after the memorial service on the Champs-Elysees to mark 100 years since the WWI Armistice on Sunday.

A host of other leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, opted to attend the opening session, but most of them left shortly afterwards.

An absence of nationalist viewpoints among the attendees meant most panel discussions subsequently veered towards consensus - that multilateralism, cooperation and peace were desirable.

But Florent Geel, from the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), argued that the Forum could develop as an important place for networking among like-minded people.

"It makes sense to meet up, to discuss the challenges for the planet and connect worlds that don't connect up very easily," he told AFP.

But he added that a peace forum should have allowed more space to discuss the wars underway worldwide, where the main international powers are at loggerheads.

"The difficult subjects -- Yemen, Syria, Libya, big overlooked humanitarian crises -- are not on the agenda," he said.

OR OXYGEN?

So is the Peace Forum necessary and will it last?

Roberto Azevedo, the head of the World Trade Organisation, argued that the global system of international organisations like his own, which help produce norms and rules, needed to be celebrated.

The Paris Forum, which seeks to highlight their work, could be part of the answer.

Multilateralism was like oxygen in the way that it was generally overlooked, he argued during a panel discussion. "Take it away and you will start noticing immediately."

The Forum's ultimate fate might depend on the star-power of its French patron, Macron, who reinforced his reputation over the weekend as a counterforce to Trump-like nationalism.

"The old demons are rising again, ready to complete their task of chaos and of death," Macron said during the WWI remembrance service with Trump sitting on the front row.

The problem, says Jeremy Shapiro from the European Council on Foreign Relations, is Macron's falling popularity at home and increasing isolation abroad.

"He doesn't look quite as shiny and new as he did a year ago," he told AFP.
A rendering of the proposed Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai (Photo courtesy of Airports Corporation of Vietnam)

At a meeting between the provincial Peoples Committee and agencies on November 12, vice chairman of the committee Tran Van Vinh said that residents affected by the project should be adequately compensated and resettled in a timely manner.

Last week, the Government approved a feasibility report on land clearance, compensation and resettlement support related to the construction of the airport.

To develop the airport project, nearly 5,400ha of land in Long Thanh district will be cleared, of which 5,000ha will be used to build the airport, according to the Dong Nai Peoples Committee.

Besides a large area occupied by the Dong Nai Rubber Corporation, some 5,000 households with 17,000 people will have to be cleared and relocated.

Two resettlement areas, Loc An-Binh Son (nearly 300ha) and Binh Son III (81ha), are undergoing legal procedures so that construction can start next year.

Resettlement areas will have new roads with lighting systems, greenery, water supply and drainage systems, and water treatment plants.

There will also be schools, religious establishments, and sport and cultural centres to serve the new residents, according to the Peoples Committee.

Since the PM authorised the province to grant a license to build houses on the resettlement areas, construction will begin soon.

Affected households can begin to build houses in the Loc An-Binh Son resettlement area in January 2020, and in the Binh Son III resettlement area in October 2020.

[Video: Long Thanh among 16 most exciting airport projects globally]

In addition, Dong Nai authorities have directed agencies to oversee land speculation, especially in the 5,000-ha area for the airport.

Dinh Quoc Thai, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, said the airport project was the largest ever in the province, affecting 5,000 households, with total compensation amount of nearly 18 trillion VND (775.7 million USD).

Thai urged agencies to report any related issues immediately to the Steering Committee so they can be resolved in a timely manner.

The total cost for clearance, compensation and resettlement is 22.85 trillion VND (984.6 million USD), sourced from the State budget.

At least 4.1 trillion VND of the amount will be invested in infrastructure in resettlement areas, and 479 billion VND will be spent on infrastructure outside the airport.

Some 17.8 trillion VND has been earmarked for resettlement purposes, 306 billion VND for vocational training and job generation for residents, and 27 billion VND for a feasibility report.

Once fully operational, the Long Thanh Airport will reduce the load on neighbouring Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. It will be able to handle 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of freight each year.

Covering a total area of more than 5,580 hectares, the airport will be located in six communes in Long Thanh district in Dong Nai province.

The airports total investment is 336.63 trillion VND, with construction divided into three phases.

In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal along with other supporting works will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. This phase is expected to be completed by 2025.

In the second phase, one more runway and another passenger terminal will be built to serve around 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year.

After the third phase, the airport will be able to serve 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo a year.

The investment will come from various sources, including the State budget and capital to be raised from investors and the society.
An aerial view of Giai Phong street in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

The official assigned the Ministry of Construction to coordinate with the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and relevant state agencies to appraise the proposal, while making the Hanoi Peoples Committee responsible for providing all necessary information and documents related to the proposed changes.

The changes will be made for Dong Anh districts Xuan Canh, Mai Lam and Dong Hoi communes to create space for the construction of a National Exhibition Centre and auxiliary facilities.

The adjustments will be implemented in accordance with management regulations, which were issued along with the Master Plan approved by the Prime Minister.

Under the Prime Ministers Decision No.1259/QD-TTg dated July 26, 2011, Hanoi will become a political, cultural, educational, and science-technology hub of the country, as well as a centre for economics, tourism, trade, and services for the Asia-Pacific region.

The capital city will be developed based on a model of urban clusters, with one central urban area and five satellite towns connected to it by a belt-transport system.

The central urban area will be expanded from the city center in four directions, from the enlarged areas to Belt Road 4 in the west and south, to Me Linh and Dong Anh districts in the north, and to Gia Lam and Long Bien districts in the east.

It and the five satellite towns will be separated by green corridors, which will account for 70 percent of the citys natural areas. The five satellite towns  Hoa Lac, Son Tay, Xuan Mai, Phu Xuyen, and Soc Son  will each have different functions and characteristics.

Their goal will be to support and share demand with the central urban area in terms of housing, training, industry, and services. They will contribute significantly to reducing population pressure on the capital and creating a driving force for socio-economic development.
Illustrative photo (Photo: Texas Central)

A group of state-owned consultancy companies including the Transport Engineering Design Incorporation (TEDI), the Transport Engineering Design Incorporation in the South (TEDIS) and the Transport Investment and Construction Consultant Company (TRICC) suggested building a rail route of 1,545 kilometres running through 20 cities and provinces.

They said that 60 percent of the tracks will be on viaducts, 10 percent underground, and 30 percent on surface. The route will have double standard-gauge tracks of 1,435-mm, 24 stations, five depots and 42 maintenance facilities.

The route will be divided into three sections for separate investment and construction. Rail sections running from Hanoi to Nghe An provinces Vinh city (282.65 kilometres) and from Khanh Hoa provinces Nha Trang city to Ho Chi Minh City (362.15 kilometres) are planned to be constructed in the first phase, which is due to be finished by 2030.

Meanwhile, the section connecting Vinh city and Nha Trang city will be put into operation during 2030-2040 or 2045.

The construction is recommended to be made based on public investment or public-private partnership modes.

At first, the electric multiple unit (EMU) train will run at a speed of 200 kilometres per hour, and 320 kilometres per hour later.

Earlier in July, the ministry reported to the Prime Minister on the high-speed train projects progress. Specifically, the pre-feasibility report was scheduled to be completed in the end of November. Once receiving the National Assemblys approval, relevant sides will carry out feasibility study, technical designs and site clearance during 2020-2025. Construction will begin in 2026 and be completed by 2050.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (fourth, left) and other ASEAN leaders at the 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore (Photo: VNA)

Addressing other ASEAN leaders, he appreciated the achievements ASEAN has made under the chairmanship of Singapore and thanked Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong for his contributions.

He stressed that basing on what have been obtained in 2018, ASEANs resilience and innovation must continue to be promoted in the coming years.

The Vietnamese Government leader also urged ASEAN members to deepen cooperation and expand dialogues to build trust, uphold international law, support a rule-based international multilateral system, and enhance cooperation in innovation areas to optimize opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and bring the most practical benefits to their people.

PM Phuc shared Vietnams initiatives on a regional digital platform, a cross-ASEAN mobile network, an ASEAN technology university and a regional disaster alert system.

During his speech, the Vietnamese leader called the recent developments in the East Sea a grave concern for countries in the region as unilateral moves could lead to heightened risk of confrontation.

He emphasised the principles agreed upon by ASEAN, which involve respecting international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in the peaceful settlement of disputes, exercising self-restraint, not using or threatening to use force, not militarising or complicating the situation, enhancing the building of trust, developing an effective and substantive code of conduct (COC), and fully and seriously implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

PM Phuc also voiced his support for ASEAN playing an active role in helping Myanmar address humanitarian issues in Rakhine State, as well as for efforts to promote peace, stability and denuclearisation in the Korean Peninsula.

At the session, PM Lee Hsien Loong pointed out important issues that ASEAN need to focus on: building a peaceful, stable and rule-based region, sustaining the economic dynamism of ASEAN, and strengthening the blocs capacity to effectively ensure regional security and stability.

He noted that ASEAN has been making progress in dialogue and cooperation to address those issues.

Lee also highlighted the strides in the talks on the COC between ASEAN and China. However, he also said the East Sea situation remains complex, urging unanimity in the blocs common stance and adherence to the agreed principles in bolstering trust and preventing risks of instability.

Other regional leaders shared the view that under Singapores chairmanship tagline of Resilient and Innovative in 2018, the bloc has continued to firmly hold its central role and improve ASEAN-led dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, thus contributing to regional peace and stability and attaining positive outcomes in building the ASEAN Community.

They also noted the challenges posed by both complex global and regional changes and issues within the bloc itself.

They reiterated the foremost requirement for ASEANs unity and centrality, along with an open, transparent and rule-based cooperation architecture in the region with ASEAN at the centre.

Member countries agreed that ASEAN needs to make efforts to facilitate dialogue, cooperation and trust building, including fruitful negotiations on the COC, peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of international and the 1982 UNCLOS, and full and effective implementation of the DOC.

They also promised continued support for Myanmar to seek long-term and sustainable solutions to humanitarian issues in Rakhine State, while applauding the recent progress in the Korean Peninsula and expressing support for efforts to promote peace, stability and denuclearisation in this peninsula.

At the end of the meeting, ASEAN leaders pledged their support for Thailand, who will hold the groupings chairmanship for 2019
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Neil McGregor - Group President and CEO of Sembcorp Industries, one of the leading foreign investors in Viet Nam - in Singapore on Tuesday.-Photo chinhphu.vn

Sembcorp has invested in nine Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks (VSIP), generating jobs for some 200,000 people.

Phuc, who is in Singapore to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit, congratulated the firm on its success in Viet Nam, especially in terms of the VSIPs, and its great contributions to the two countries economic, trade, and investment ties.

He asked the group to accelerate upcoming VSIP projects in the southwestern region, which has a population of 20 million people and is bursting with development potential, to make use of the abundant local workforce. The PM also suggested it open a VSIP in the Central Highlands as this region holds strengths in industrial crops like coffee, rubber, and cashew, and is in need of investment in its processing sector.

At the meeting, McGregor appreciated the substantial support from the Vietnamese Government, ministries, sectors, and localities for his firms operations.

He noted that the group had surveyed some locations for future VSIPs, including the Central Highlands and the central province of Quang Tri. It had also worked on some solutions towards improving the value of its VSIPs.

Sembcorp was also promoting investment in energy in the country, he said, adding that it has discussed projects in this sector with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Phuc said Viet Nam was likely to record a growth rate of over 6.7 percent in 2018, attributing this to contributions by foreign investors.

"To meet development demand, Viet Nam has an increasing need for energy for production and business activities, and this is a chance for foreign investors to increase investment in the field," he noted.

He asked Sembcorp to speed up clean energy projects, including those in wind and solar power, as this is where the country holds great strength and potential for growth. It should also consider investing in other Vietnamese fields in high demand, such as construction, ports, and storage infrastructure development.
HSBC and ANZ lost VND300 billion over a series of frauds, source: Vforum.vn

The Hanoi People's Court has just held the hearing for the case of Bui Kien Dung and other defendants, working for 13 companies, who are accused of swindling and appropriating VND300 billion ($13 million) from HSBC and ANZ.

In the middle of 2014, HSBC and ANZ accused 13 companies of involvement in the fraud that appropriated VND300 billion ($13 million) from these two banks. The Ministry of Public Securitys investigation agency identified eight of these companies as related to the fraud.

According to the two banks, Medi-Sanfrontler Trade JSC, chaired by Bui Kien Dung, asked An Thi Huong Giang, former accountant of An Phat Investment JSC (also established by Dung) to forge documents to take up a bank loan at HSBC.

Thereby, Giang forged audit statements and copies of Medi-Sanfrontlers 2009 and 2010 financial statements, falsely increasing the amount of receivables and inventory in the companys loan profile. They gave the bank a number of fake contracts of purchase. When prosecution began, Medi-Sanfrontler owed HSBC VND55 billion ($2.4 million) in principal debt.

Until 2012, An Phat and Medi-Sanfrontler owed around VND150 billion ($6.5 million) to banks like HSBC, VIB, MBank, and VPBank. Then Dung and Giang negotiated with Vu Van Dien, former director of Toan Dien Co., Ltd. to borrow from HSBC and ANZ by using the legal entity of this company, while it still owed banks like Techcombank and Agribank. They forged documents to cheat bank staff, increasing Toan Dien Co., Ltd.s principal debt to VND47.9 billion ($2 million) to HSBC and VND55.8 billion ($2.4 million) to ANZ.

The thirteen companies accused by HSBC and ANZ: An Phat International Investment JSC Vitaglobal Pharmaceutical JSC Trung Anh Pharmaceutical JSC Medi-Sanfrontler Vietnam JSC Toan Dien Trading Co., Ltd. Quyet Chien Co., Ltd. Minh Phuong Trading JSC Nhat Phuong JSC Song Da Dong Do - Dong Nai Co., Ltd. A Chau Pharmaceutical JSC Pacific Trade Investment JSC Thanh Cong Trade JSC Tien Phat Co., Ltd.

This trick was used multiple times to take up a series of loans at the two banks. As of the time of prosecution, the total amount of debts in these two banks was VND379 billion ($16.5 million), including VND300 billion ($13 million) without collateral (VND201 billion  $8.7 million from HSBC and VND99 billion  $4.3 million from ANZ).

Among the 13 companies accused by these two banks, An Phat International Investment JSC, Vitaglobal Pharmaceutical JSC, and Trung Anh Pharmaceutical JSC paid off their debts and were not investigated. The investigation agency has not detected any violations at Thanh Cong Co., Ltd., while Tien Phat Co., Ltd. was detected to have forged documents and value-added invoices but the agency needs more time to build a case.

The investigation agency has also not found evidence of connivance by HSBC and ANZ staff who verified and approved the loan and disbursement documents. Additionally, HSBC and ANZ have not issued punishment to the involved employees. Many departments and officers of the banks took part in the loan approval procedures. Thereby, the investigation agency could not allocate individual responsibility in the case.

However, the Hanoi People's Court has recently returned the documents and required additional investigation to clarify the responsibility of the banks' officers.
Prime Minister of Russia D. A. Medvedev (Photo: VNA)

The Foreign Ministry said the visit will be made at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Vietnam and Russia established diplomatic relations in 1950 and decided to elevate the relationship to strategic partnership in 2001 and then to comprehensive strategic partnership 11 years later.

Political ties between the two nations with a high level of trust have been enhanced through the regular exchange of delegations and bilateral meetings at all levels, and via the mechanism of consultation and strategic dialogue.

Vietnam-Russia economic, trade and investment ties have enjoyed dynamic development. After the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union officially came into effect in October 2016, the trade value between the two countries has grown strongly, reaching 5.3 billion USD in 2017. The two nations are striving to lift the bilateral trade to 10 billion USD by 2020.

In terms of investment, besides the cooperation in the field of oil and gas, as of June 2018, Russia has 117 direct investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of nearly 1 billion USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam is operating 22 investment projects worth nearly 3 billion USD in Russia.
Seoul and Korea analysts earlier played down a CSIS report which asserted that Pyongyang is operating undeclared missile bases. (AFP/Korea Summit Press Pool, MANDEL NGAN)

"We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new - and nothing happening out of the normal," Trump, who is seeking a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, wrote on Twitter.

"I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!" he said.

Researchers at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a prominent Washington think tank, on Tuesday said that satellite imagery had found 13 missile bases undeclared by North Korea.

The bases can be used to hide mobile, nuclear-capable missiles, the study said, warning that North Korea could preserve the sites - and the ability to attack - even as it negotiates with Trump on a potentially landmark accord.

Trump described a report on the findings by The New York Times as "inaccurate" and "fake news."

South Korea also earlier played down the study, saying that the sites had been known for years.

Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for South Korea's dovish president, Moon Jae-in, disputed that North Korea was being deceptive as Pyongyang had never promised to get rid of short-range missiles.

The CSIS report said that the bases were scattered around North Korea and at times in narrow mountain valleys, meaning they could be quickly moved to launch strikes.

CSIS expert Victor Cha, who was a top adviser to former president George W. Bush, said the report underscored the risk of Trump accepting a "bad deal" in which North Korea only dismantles its most visible weapons infrastructure.

Trump has declared himself "in love" with Kim after a first-ever summit between the two nations' leaders held in June in Singapore.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has visited North Korea four times this year in hopes of preparing an agreement, in which the United States could formally declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War - a longtime goal of the dynastic Kim regime as it seeks to safeguard its survival.

Trump, however, told a news conference last week that he was in "no rush" on North Korea after a senior delegation abruptly canceled a meeting planned with Pompeo in New York.

North Korea has boasted of its missile prowess and said that it can hit the continental United States, although many experts are skeptical of the claim.

Less disputable is that North Korea could quickly assault South Korea, including its capital Seoul, and Japan in a crisis.

North Korea deploys medium-range missiles just 90 to 150 kilometres from the Demilitarised Zone that divides the peninsula.
Vietnam to say no with paper manufacturing projects?

Environmental hazards

Nguyen Thanh Liem, deputy head of Tien Giang Industrial Zones Management Board, confirmed that the province revoked the investment certificate of Dai Duong paper plant located in Long Giang Industrial Park of Tan Phuoc district.

The investor was granted the investment certificate in March 2016 to build a paper factory with the total investment capital of $220 million. The plant, covering an area of 227,530 square metres, was expected to produce duplex and kraft paper as well as products for household use. The facility was scheduled to come on stream in August 2017 with the annual capacity of 400,000 tonnes of products.

However, the provincial governments approval of the project met stiff objections from experts due to the high risk of pollution accompanying the manufacturing operations.

At the time, expert Le Trinh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Association of Environmental Impact Assessment, expressed concerns that the project will impact the environment because it is estimated to discharge a wastewater volume of 5,000 cubic metres per day, which will increase when the capacity is upgraded.

Furthermore, the wastewater contains harmful substances, such as chlorine compounds, which are dangerous to human health, and can impact daily activities, agriculture, and seafood farming.

Meanwhile, according to Nguyen Van Lanh, deputy president of the Tan Lap 1 Commune Peoples Committee, said that the province plans to develop a 35ha high-tech agricultural project which would be heavily impacted by the paper project.

Lanh added that the province will call for another project which better matches the provinces socioeconomic development targets to replace the paper project.

Saying no to paper projects?

VIR could not contact Dai Duong company, the investor of the paper project, on the phone number shown on its website to inquire whether it will look for another place to invest.

Vu Ngoc Bao, former general secretary of the Vietnam Pulp and Paper Association (VPPA), said that there is still great potential in developing paper projects in Vietnam, and foreign investors plan to expand their existing factories in Vietnam.

According to Bao, there is no need to worry about the environmental impact of paper projects because numerous developed countries on the world permit developing such projects, given that the requisite environmental regulations are observed. The important thing is that investors have to commit to using environmentally friendly technology and the authorities have to carefully monitor their operations.

Most recently, Bui Minh Tri, head of the Binh Duong Industrial Park Management Board, told VIR that Taiwan-based Cheng Loong Binh Duong Paper Co., Ltd. is preparing to take the first phase of its paper factory into operation with the installed annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes of industrial paper products.

The project was granted an investment license to develop a $1 billion paper mill in Binh Duong three years ago. Covering an area of 75ha, the factory was designed to produce 1 million tonnes of industrial paper and 50,000 tonnes of household paper per year.
Fear has gripped local opposition officials since their party was dissolved by the Supreme Court last year. For former members of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, even organizing a private party comes with surveillance and questions from the authorities.

Po Sreynak, a former opposition councilor in Chranouk commune, is one of several ex-CNRP officials who reported that their movements were being watched and their motives questioned, more than a year after the party was outlawed.

The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, bristles with paranoia over the alleged threat of a color revolution, even as it has stifled almost all dissenting voices and claimed every seat in parliament in Julys general election.

Sreynak and a group of friends had gathered at her home in Chranouk for a drinking party during the Pchum Ben festival last month.

We had a drinking party with more than 10 people and then one of the participants was questioned the next day by a CPP official, she said.

They asked if we met to organize a color revolution, Sreynak added. We are watched like prisoners.

The CNRP was the countrys largest political party and the only party to win seats in parliament in the 2013 election. Its leader, Kem Sokha, was jailed on treason charges shortly before the party was disbanded. He was later placed under house arrest and is still awaiting trial. The CPP claims that Sokha conspired with the United States to overthrow Hun Sen.

Communist Leadership Style

Immediately following the partys dissolution, the CPP oversaw a purge of CNRP officials, with more than 5,000 local CNRP representatives losing their positions. The opposition had controlled about 30 percent of local authorities and increased its minority share to 43 percent in local elections in summer 2017.

Reports circulated that opposition officials were being pressured into defecting to the CPP, while Hun Sen made a public nationwide call for defections. Many CNRP officials fled the country, fearing arrest, and continued campaigning from abroad. Some 118 CNRP officials were banned from politics for five years as part of the crackdown.

Sreynak said she was asked several times to defect to the CPP, but rejected the advances because it was against the voters will.

But she says she has stopped her political activities out of fear of what opposition supporters say is widespread surveillance of their activities.

The local authority in Chranouk commune was controlled by the CNRP until the seats were handed to the CPP late last year.

Chou Sam On, 51, the former Kampong Leang district chief, said he and his former colleagues were under near-constant watch by members of the ruling party.

This is a communist leadership style, he said. Everyone is being watched.

Public support for the CNRP has become risky and, in some cases, illegal, despite the constitution guaranteeing the right to free assembly and association.

Even those with no affiliation with the CNRP say they are wary of openly discussing political ideas under the new regime.

Villagers are afraid that the local authorities know when they communicate with [former] opposition officials, Sam On said. They can be targeted by local authorities.

A side effect of the surveillance has been a general silencing of political discourse, he added.

Khieu Sopheak, an interior ministry spokesman, claimed there was no official order for officials to monitor opposition officials and supporters. They can do anything, but its important they dont do illegal things. They dont meet for social events or business, they meet to topple [the government], he said, without providing evidence.

False Defections

Former opposition officials who publicly defected to the CPP after the partys dissolution have said they did so under threat of legal action.

If I didnt defect I would be prosecuted and jailed related to the commune election campaign, one official, who declined to be named due to concerns for their safety, told VOA Khmer.

The official was sued by CPP officials, who claimed $5,000 in damages after the CNRP official took part in a CNRP rally last year.

But the official said since their defection they had effectively stopped participating in politics, which led the CPP to release them from the party.

After I stopped doing politics, the local authorities didnt pressure me with anything ... they stopped caring about me.

In my mind, I still want to be active politically with the CNRP. But now its gone. Theres no hope that the CNRP can come back for an election.

Not an Easy Road

Following the CPPs landslide election win in July and the move to a de facto one-party system under Hun Sen, relations with the United States and European Union have further deteriorated, but Phnom Penh continues to receive staunch support from China and Vietnam.

Experts doubt whether the CNRP will ever be allowed to return to the Cambodian political arena.

Sophal Ear, an associate professor of world affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said the CNRP has gone through a lot - whereas other parties would have easily folded by now.

I am not optimistic ... I think all of this was done to make sure this never happens. CNRP being allowed to return would be unthinkable. If they are allowed to return, it might be only without Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy at the helm... which is to say, not the same party at that point.

Cambodia now faces the prospect of further sanctions from the west and its removal from the EUs preferential trading scheme, Everything But Arms.

Mu Sochua, a CNRP vice president, said she thought Hun Sen was treading water politically when it came to international sanctions, adding that when the time comes, he will surrender.

She said the CNRP still had high hopes of a return to politics in Cambodia. Local CNRP officials, she said, continue to communicate. We have our network and means to communicate at the local levels, she said.

Paul Chambers, a Southeast Asia expert at Thailand's Naresuan University, said: Hun Sen knows that he alone is the dominant force in Cambodia and that the scolding of the West about human rights violations cannot harm him, especially since the Chinese and Vietnamese support him absent any conditionality.

The CNRP and any serious parliamentary opposition to Hun Sen's CPP will never be allowed to again pose a serious challenge to the ruling regime. International pressure, though weak, is the only current form of pressure which can be exerted against Hun Sen, he said.

Cambodia has now become a completely personalized dictatorship under Hun Sen, he added.

Sam On said he and his colleagues still hope that the party will be reinstated, though the path to this goal is unclear.

We are waiting for the opportunity when the party comes back, he said. If it takes a long time, the supporters will feel tired and forget us.
The United States has officially designated the son of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the Al-Mujahidin Brigades, a group linked to Hezbollah, as global terrorists, which subjects them to tough sanctions. The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that "todays designations seek to deny Nasrallah and the AMB the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks." VOA'S Zlatica Hoke reports the actions are intended to maintain the momentum of U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The American astronaut who will hitch the first ride on a Russian rocket since last month's aborted launch and dramatic emergency landing is confident that her scheduled trip in December on a rocket that she calls a "workhorse" will go smoothly.

Astronaut Anne McClain, along with a Russian cosmonaut and a Canadian astronaut, will man the Dec. 3 mission. It will be the Russian-made Soyuz-FG's first crewed flight since Oct. 11, when U.S. astronaut Nick Hague and a Russian cosmonaut landed unharmed on the Kazakh desert steppe after the rocket bound for the International Space Station failed in mid-air two minutes after liftoff.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has relied on Russian rockets to ferry astronauts to the space station since the United States retired its Space Shuttle program in 2011, though the agency has announced plans for test flights carrying two astronauts on commercial rockets made by Boeing and SpaceX next April.

"I do see the incident that happened on Oct. 11 with our launch abort not as a failure but as a success," McClain told Reuters in a telephone interview from Russia. "It actually bolsters my confidence in the rocket and in the processes that we have.

"We're confident in the vehicle and getting back to it," McClain said of the Soyuz rocket, which she called "the workhorse of the space program."

After lifting off from Kazakhstan's Soviet-era cosmodrome of Baikonur last month, a damaged sensor caused one of the rocket's three booster stages to separate improperly, falling inward on the rocket and jolting it off its ascent two miles above ground, Russian investigators announced earlier this month.

Video from inside the capsule showed the two men being shaken around at the moment the failure occurred, their arms and legs flailing. Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin can be heard saying, "That was a quick flight."

The accident was the first serious launch problem experienced by a crewed Soyuz space mission since 1983, when a crew narrowly escaped before a launchpad explosion.

In August, a hole appeared in a Soyuz capsule docked to the ISS that caused a brief loss of air pressure and had to be patched. Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has said that it could have been made deliberately by someone during manufacturing or while the craft was in space.

McClain and two other crewmates will launch from the same launchpad in Baikonur, joining the space station's current three-person crew.
Africa's rapidly expanding cities face huge threats from climate change over the next 30 years, which could bring knock-on effects such as higher crime rates and civil unrest, risk analysts said on Wednesday.

Researchers at U.K.-based Verisk Maplecroft found 84 of the world's 100 fastest-growing cities are at "extreme risk" from the impacts of a warming planet, including 79 in Africa.

That group contains 15 of the continent's capital cities and many of its commercial hubs, including Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria's most populous city Lagos, Tanzanian business hub Dar es Salaam and Angola's capital, Luanda.

The Verisk Maplecroft analysis combined its own annual index of vulnerability to climate change with U.N. projections on urban population growth to 2035.

Fast-rising populations act as "a risk multiplier in lower-income cities with poor public infrastructure and inadequate disaster response mechanisms", with more people putting strain on limited resources, the study said.

Kinshasa, for instance, is now home to about 13 million people, but that figure is set to double by 2035.

The city is exposed to shocks from extreme weather, including flooding, as well as slower climate pressures such as drought in surrounding areas, which could drive poor farmers into the city while disrupting food and water supplies, the analysis noted.

It and other African cities at extreme risk are grappling with high poverty levels, expanding slums, weak governance and limited ability to adapt to climate shifts, researchers said.

Niall Smith, an environmental analyst with Verisk Maplecroft, warned wilder weather and rising sea levels could "underpin a whole host of secondary impacts and social issues" such as poverty, violence and resource insecurity.

"That is something we would foresee as getting much worse in these high and extreme risk locations," he added.

Commenting on the findings, Mami Mizutori, head of the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said rapid, unplanned urbanization - "where slums are being created overnight" - is increasing disaster risk in many developing-world cities.

Municipal authorities should delineate "red zones" and prevent construction of new, informal settlements in dangerous areas, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

At the same time, more effort is needed to help rural communities cope with the harsher climatic conditions that are pushing people into cities to seek work, she noted.

"Unless we tackle the development issue as a whole, the urbanization that is becoming a risk driver is not going to stop," she added.

In Luanda, whose population exploded after oil-rich Angola's civil war ended in 2002, the government has built some new housing for poor slum communities, aiming to provide them with running water, sanitation and power - but it cannot meet demand, said housing minister Ana Paula Chantre Luna de Carvalho.

"The biggest problem we have is financial constraints," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on the sidelines of a conference on smart cities in Barcelona.

Luanda struggles with high heat levels, as well as water shortages, she said.

Corporate Wake-Up Call

Some Asian metropolises also came high on the risk list, highlighting the substantial economic exposure to climate change in major emerging markets, Verisk Maplecroft noted.

Using International Monetary Fund projections, it estimated the amount of GDP at risk in cities over the next five years.

On that measure, Jakarta led the 10 cities rated as "extreme risk," with $233 billion exposed to climate change in 2023, following by Manila with $166 billion at risk.

Companies working in and near these cities will have to contend with direct climate change impacts, ranging from destruction of infrastructure and housing by disasters to worker fatigue or death linked to high temperatures, the analysis said.

Indirect impacts might include ecosystem collapse, falling agricultural productivity and macroeconomic instability, it added.

Researchers said businesses operating in developing-world megacities should do more to build resilience to climate shocks to protect assets and staff, while satisfying investors they are factoring climate risk into their planning.

Governments must also consider how their decisions will play out in the future, even if their top priority is to aid residents hit by disasters or conflicts, said Richard Hewston, principal environment and climate change analyst with Verisk Maplecroft.

"In an ideal world, you would be putting things in place that provide immediate relief but are sustainable for the next 20 to 30 years, and incorporate an element of climate change adaptation," he said.

But where the foresight or means to do that are lacking, "it's a vicious cycle," he noted.
Britain is to allow citizens from all Commonwealth countries to join its armed forces  even if they have never lived in Britain. The new rules are aimed at tackling a recruitment crisis. But campaigners want clarity over the citizenship rights of the new recruits after they leave the services.

Touring Africa earlier this month, Prince Charles paid tribute to soldiers of the former Empire who fought for Britain.

Out of the empire came the Commonwealth  and it is from those countries that Britain is now looking to recruit.

The government says all roles and ranks will be open to citizens from all Commonwealth countries who are aged 18 or over. Its aimed at plugging a gap in recruitment  with a shortfall in armed forces personnel estimated at over 8,000, says Paul Barnes, visiting fellow at Britains Royal United Services Institute.

It seems that they are not coming forward in the numbers that they used to. And with the gap opening in manning, we need to find a rapid fill. And that rapid fill is often best found from the Commonwealth, he said.

Previously most Commonwealth recruits had to have lived in Britain for at least five years. That has now been dropped  and the armed forces hope to recruit an extra 1,350 people every year through the scheme. Barnes says they will bring added value.

Commonwealth soldiers will come with a high level of education, and they will easily fit into those specialist roles that are more difficult. But also you gain a strength in terms of diversity, a strength in terms of diversity of view, in decision-making, in our perspective of the world, our cultural understanding, he said.

Commonwealth recruits also qualify to become British residents after four years, or citizens after five years service  a major pull factor for signing up.

Doctor Hugh Milroy is CEO of Veterans Aid  which has supported dozens of former Commonwealth soldiers who struggled to gain citizenship.

Under the old system, and I really do hope this has been picked up, you had no access to benefits, and you had no right to work. So in fact for many years, we were stopping people starving," he said. "My advice to anyone coming here to join the armed forces is, this is almost the first thing you want to deal with as soon as you arrive here and join the armed forces. Dont wait till the end, because it takes so long to do.

The British Ministry of Defense told VOA that citizenship requirements had not changed  and new Commonwealth recruits would have to meet the same criteria as before.
Singapore urged regional leaders gathering Wednesday for a regional summit to unify and warned against threats to multilateral cooperation and international norms.

The existing free, open and rules-based multilateral system, which has underpinned ASEANs growth and stability, has come under stress, said Singapores prime minister Lee Hsien Loong at the opening ceremony of 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and other related gatherings.

"It is unclear if the world will settle into new rules and norms of international engagement or whether the international order will break up into rival blocs," he warned.

Lee urged the ten member countries of ASEAN to remain united and said that given challenges such as trade uncertainties and technological disruptions, multilateral cooperation is now more urgent than ever.

ASEAN Centrality

ASEAN is facing increasing external pressures including the escalating U.S.  Sino rivalry in the region. Its members are concerned trade tensions between Washington and Beijing could trigger protectionist measures by other countries.

U.S. President Donald Trumps America First foreign policy and his shunning of multilateral frameworks is also causing anxiety for a region dependent on global free trade.

Katherine Tseng of the National University of Singapores East Asian Institute said Trump is causing "great concerns if the aim is to de-emphasize ASEAN centrality."

The ASEAN centrality concept refers to ASEAN's role in the regional security architecture, regional order, and the power dynamics among external powers that have interests in the region.

Tseng added that to member countries, ASEAN centrality is a must to defend the region from undue foreign intervention.

With the risk of trade fight escalating with the two largest economies, I suppose theres more urgency among the ASEAN 10 to work together, said Song Seng Wun, an economist in the private banking unit of CIMB in Singapore. From the prime minister, he said, the message is that we have to help ourselves first and look for opportunities wherever they may be.

Anything that raises costs without adding to global growth impacts places such as Southeast Asia, Song said. Many Southeast Asians are poor and hope foreign trade will bring jobs.

Bilateral Agreements

ASEAN has free trade agreements with all of the major economies in Asia-Pacific, including China, Japan, India, South Korea and New Zealand. In the past it has said it is open to a free trade agreement with the United States. But the Trump administration has signaled a preference to deal with ASEAN countries bilaterally on trade.

On the sidelines of the U.S.  ASEAN Summit in Singapore, Vice President Mike Pence, who is representing the administration on behalf of President Donald Trump, held a series of bilateral meetings with leaders.

With Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, Pence pushed for further reduction of trade barriers. Pence said that while the U.S. - Vietnamese economic relationship is strong, he wanted to discuss how we might have a more fair and reciprocal trade arrangement going forward.

In Tokyo, the first stop of his week-long Asian tour, Pence also kept pressure on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reduce Japan's trade surplus with the United States.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Meanwhile ASEAN and its major trading partners continue to work on what potentially may become the world's largest trade deal, without the United States.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement between the ten member countries of ASEAN and six Asia-Pacific states including China, Japan and India, with which the regional bloc has existing free trade agreements.

Amid anxiety over a potentially increasingly protectionist environment triggered by the U.S.  Sino trade war, ASEAN and partners have agreed to redouble efforts to conclude RCEP but failed to agree on key terms in Singapore.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is rallying support for the deal at the summit, said he hoped the deal would be signed and implemented by 2019.

"It is going to deliver real benefits to the people of our region," Li said in his speech to ASEAN leaders, adding that China is now the standard bearer of global free trade.

TPP

Analysts see RCEP as a way for Beijing to fill in the vacuum left after the United States, under President Trump, last year pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the free trade agreement between 12 Asia-Pacific countries.

Angela Mancini, head of the Southeast Asia consultancy group Control Risks, sees the U.S. exit from the TPP as a big loss. She said the United States spent a lot of time and energy trying to get into the Asia Pacific market, to help write the rules of free trade and then unilaterally gave that up. Other countries in the region, like China, are moving into that space, she added.

TPP was a signature foreign policy initiative of the Obama administration.

Briefing reporters before Pences trip to Asia, a senior Trump administration official said that TPP and multilateral deals theyve had in the past have not delivered on the promise that were made by those who negotiated them.

The remaining 11 TPP countries are pushing through with the deal without the United States.

The U.S.  ASEAN Business Council, a lobby group for American businesses, is watching closely the progress of RCEP. The councils Marc Mealy said he understands President Trumps preference for bilateral agreements but urged the administration to consider whether it would be in Americas interests to really look at doing a U.S.  ASEAN free trade agreement one day.

ASEAN has a population of 630 million, with a combined GDP of $2.4 trillion. The 10 countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam - are the fourth largest export market for the United States, and the number one destination for U.S. foreign direct investment in Asia.

Nike Ching, Ahadian Utama and Ralph Jennings contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  The Armed Forces is keen on recommending to President Rodrigo Duterte to once again extend martial law in Mindanao.

AFP spokesperson Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo on Wednesday said they will "likely" recommend the extension of military rule if that is what local leaders and residents want.

"Sufficient to say, ang naging basehan natin for our likely recommendation of the extension of martial law, pangunahin dito ang kagustuhan ng mga local government units... Higit sa lahat ang gains na nakuha natin in terms of our peace and order, as well as security sa Mindanao," he told CNN Philippines," he told CNN Philippines.

Aside from the military, the police force also expressed it will support Duterte if he asks for another extension, especially with the upcoming May 2019 elections.

Duterte has said he will await the recommendations of the AFP and PNP before he makes a decision whether to lift or ask for another extension before the Congress.

Senate President Tito Sotto said the military has to present the "gains" that was supposedly earned while Mindanao was under martial law.

"Those are general or motherhood statements. We need to know the details of these gains and other details about terrorism in order for us to intelligently make a decision. We have to be presented with their proposal and their reasons for it. We can decide after their briefing," he said.

Akbayan Party-list Representative Tom Villarin pointed out that martial law extension cannot be based on public opinion. Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the President who serves as commander-in-chief may declare martial law "in case of invasion or rebellion, or when the public safety requires it."

Meanwhile, House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has said she will support the extension.

Martial law is in effect in Mindanao until December 31, 2018 after Congress granted Duterte's second request for an extension to quell threats of rebellion amid efforts to rehabilitate Marawi City. Marawi is the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur that was the battleground of terrorists and government forces from May to October last year. More than a thousand were killed, mostly terrorists.

Some human rights groups claim the military committed human rights violations during the implementation of martial law. Malacanang and the Armed Forces vowed to investigate these alleged abuses, but noted that no formal complaint has been filed.
At least 15 people have been killed in a new bout of fighting between Cameroon army troops and separatist rebels, the two sides said on Tuesday, in a rise in violence since President Paul Biya won a seventh term in power in October.

The conflict between Anglophone separatists, who want to create an independent state called Ambazonia, and government forces has killed more than 400 people in western Cameroon since last year and has emerged as Biya's greatest security problem in nearly four decades of rule.

The two sides often provide conflicting accounts of the fighting, but both have reported heavier casualties in recent weeks, with dozens killed.

Twenty-three separatists have been killed in clashes with government troops since Nov. 10 near the town of Nkambe in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest region, while another six have been killed in nearby Ndu, Army representative Didier Badjeck said.

Ivo Tapang, spokesman for the Ambazonian Defense Force, one of the main Anglophone secessionist militias, confirmed that fighting had occurred in Nkambe, but disputed Badjeck's account.

He said ADF troops had encircled a government army truck near Nkambe after it was overturned by a roadside bomb on Saturday.

"Two of our fighters were killed and we killed 13 of them," he said.

The fighting follows clashes on Oct. 23 that killed at least 10 and up to 30 combatants, according to differing accounts from the two sides that could not be independently verified.

Separatist militias launched an insurrection last year against the predominantly Francophone central government after authorities violently repressed peaceful protests against perceived marginalization of the English-speaking minority.

The army has burned villages and killed unarmed civilians, residents have told Reuters, forcing thousands to flee to French-speaking regions or neighbouring Nigeria.

Threats by the separatists disrupted voting in Cameroon's two Anglophone regions during the Oct. 7 election, which Biya won in a landslide to extend his 36-year rule.

The linguistic divide harks back to the end of World War I, when the League of Nations divided the former German colony of Kamerun between the allied French and British victors.
Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro appointed retired army General Fernando Azevedo e Silva as defense minister on Tuesday, adding another former military officer to his cabinet while saying that a career foreign service officer may get the top diplomat's job.

Azevedo belongs to a group of retired army generals who backed the presidential bid of Bolsonaro, a far-right politician and former army captain, in the name of fighting Brazil's endemic political corruption and violent crime.

Bolsonaro has vowed to respect the Constitution and democratic rule. But the backing for him from military brass, and the number of former officers in Bolsonaro's cabinet, have raised concerns about a potential outsized role for the armed forces in Brazil's government. It spent more than three decades out of the political limelight since the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

The group of former top military brass is headed by retired five-star General Augusto Heleno, who Bolsonaro had originally named as defense minister. Last week he decided to make Heleno the head of the presidential office for national security.

Azevedo, a four-star general, was Bolsonaro's contemporary at the Black Needles military academy, Brazil's West Point, where they both trained as paratroopers.

While Bolsonaro was discharged from the army as a low-ranking officer, Azevedo went on to become the commander of Brazil's paratrooper brigade. He also served as operations chief of the Brazilian-led United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti when it was under Heleno's command.

Azevedo retired as army chief of staff in August and has since been a special adviser to Chief Justice Dias Toffoli at the Supreme Court.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Bolsonaro also said that diplomat Luis Fernando Serra was one of the candidates to run the foreign ministry. Serra's most recent posting was as ambassador to South Korea.

Bolsonaro, who nearly died from a stab wound received on the campaign trail, added that he would likely to skip the G20 diplomatic summit in Argentina at the end of the month due to his poor health.

Military cabinet

Bolsonaro is expected to name another member of the military group backing him, retired General Oswaldo Ferreira, former head of the army engineers corps, as his transportation minister in charge of improving Brazil's anemic national infrastructure.

Bolsonaro's vice president-elect is retired General Hamilton Mourao, who was removed from command in 2015 and given a staff job for criticizing the leftist Workers Party government at the time. He later offered a public defense of military intervention if the courts failed to punish corrupt politicians.

While former military officers will have a high profile in the next government, it was democratically elected by 57 million voters and will be led by a politician who once was a soldier, said the current administration's national security adviser, Sergio Etchegoyen, also a retired army general.

"He has been painted as a fascist, a homophobe, a misogynist and many other things," Etchegoyen said in an interview. "If he really is a fascist and a pervert, Brazilian society will remove him the next day."

Bolsonaro has suggested the army will play a role in backing up state police as part of the crackdown on runaway crime and drug gangs that he promised while campaigning.

Speaking via teleconference to an investor conference in New York on Tuesday, Mourao said Bolsonaro wants to privatize the fuel distribution unit of state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, sending its shares higher.

Mourao also said also said a proposal for Boeing to acquire control of Embraer SA's commercial jet unit was "a very good one" for the Brazilian planemaker. He added that Bolsonaro plans to approve an overhaul of Brazil's pension system by late-June next year.
British Prime Minister Theresa May tried to persuade her divided cabinet Wednesday to accept a draft agreement on the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union, telling them it fulfills the wishes of British voters.

May faced a crucial test as she met with lawmakers in a marathon session in the House of Commons. She told legislators the draft deal "takes us significantly closer to delivering what the British people voted for in the referendum" of 2016 that elected to leave the EU.

The prime minister said Britain would "take back control of our borders, our laws and our money ... while protecting jobs, security and the integrity of our United Kingdom."

By Wednesday night, there was no news on whether May had convinced cabinet members to support the draft agreement.

Negotiators from Britain and the EU reached the deal Tuesday after lengthy negotiations, but details have not been made public.

May must convince her senior ministers to support the agreement, which would later also need to be approved by Britain's parliament.

But that task will not be easy with lawmakers sharply divided on the so-called Brexit, including criticism of May's approach by both those who want Britain to leave the bloc and those who would rather it remain an EU member.

May has sought to keep as close a relationship as possible to the EU when Brexit becomes official on March 29, 2019.

One of the major sticking points in negotiations has been what to do about Northern Ireland, which shares a border with EU member Ireland. With Britain leaving the EU, an area that currently allows freedom of movement for people and goods, new rules are required governing how those activities can continue.

Irish broadcaster RTE said the draft agreement includes a customs arrangement with special conditions for Northern Ireland.

During the negotiations, Britain has sought some sort of time limit for such an arrangement, while the EU has said it would need to be permanent.

May's party does not have a majority in parliament and relies on the support of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

DUP leader Arlene Foster said a potential customs arrangement would weaken Britain and that the prime minister could not argue it is in the interest of the nation.

"It would be democratically unacceptable for Northern Ireland trade rules to be set by Brussels," she said in a statement. "Northern Ireland would have no representation in Brussels and would be dependent on a Dublin government speaking up for our core industries."

Former Foreign Minister Boris Johnson expressed similar views in calling a customs deal "utterly unacceptable to anyone who believes in democracy."

But May's chief whip, Julian Smith, expressed optimism the agreement with the European Union will succeed.

"I'm confident we'll get this through parliament and that we can deliver on what the prime minister committed to on delivering Brexit, but making sure that that is in the best interests of companies, businesses and families," Smith said.
Search teams in northern California found the remains of eight more people killed by the most destructive wildfire in the state's history, bringing the toll to 56 since the fire broke out last week.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said late Wednesday the latest victims were found in the area of Paradise, a town of 27,000 people that has been devastated by the fire.

Crews have spent days in and around Paradise looking for human remains as authorities tried to locate hundreds of people who were unaccounted for since the fire broke out late last week and destroyed more than 8,600 homes as it rapidly spread.

The massive search effort now includes about 460 people, 22 cadaver dogs and a rapid DNA system that officials hope will speed the identification of victims and notification of their families.

Honea said that as of Wednesday, authorities had tentatively identified 47 of the 56 dead, pending DNA confirmation.

The list of people unaccounted for stood at 130.

Meanwhile, the fire is still burning.

Fire officials said Wednesday crews are having some success, but face challenges from steep, rocky terrain in some areas. The fire remained 35 percent contained Wednesday, with uncontrolled edges along its northern and eastern sides.

Wildfires are common in California, particularly at this time of year when warm, dry winds help quickly spread flames.

Aviva Braun of the National Weather Service said Wednesday that forecasters are increasingly confident the area will get relief in the form of rain by the end of next week. For now, people will also have to deal with poor air quality from lingering smoke.

Survivors escaped to rescue shelters, posting pictures of their loved ones and friends on bulletin boards in hopes someone might know whether they were able to flee to safety.

One evacuee, Harold Taylor, told the Associated Press, "We didn't have 10 minutes to get out of there. It was already in flames downtown, all of the local restaurants and stuff."

He said he unsuccessfully sought to convince a neighbor friend to escape with him and does not know what happened to him.

President Donald Trump said he spoke with California Governor Jerry Brown "to let him know that we are with him, and the people of California, all the way!"

Trump praised rescue workers after being briefed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Brock Long, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on their tour of the devastation.

"Thank you to the great Firefighters, First Responders and @FEMA for the incredible job they are doing w/ the California Wildfires. Our Nation appreciates your heroism, courage & genius. God Bless you all!" Trump said on Twitter.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although two utility companies reported circuit and transmission problems about the time the fires started last Thursday.

In addition to the so-called "Camp Fire," two smaller fires in southern California have killed two people since last week.

Trump has declared the fires a major disaster, freeing up federal funding for those affected by the blazes.

He pledged Tuesday to do "everything in our power to support our fellow citizens in harm's way."
Lying on a dust-covered bed in a hospital ward in Taiz, Ghazi Mohammed, 10, barely has enough energy to watch doctors and nurses examine his emaciated body.

The boy weighs 8.5 kilograms (18 pounds), less than a third of the average weight of a child his age. He fled hunger and poverty in his mountain village last year to find only more suffering in Yemen's third-largest city.

"This shows that the humanitarian aid that comes to Yemen does not reach people who really need it. Distribution remains random," said his doctor, Amen al-Asli.

Western powers who have for three years provided arms and intelligence to the Saudi-led coalition waging war against Houthi insurgents in Yemen are now pressing for an end to a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

The West toughened its stance after the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi policy, at Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

His death sparked a global outcry and exposed Saudi Arabia's crackdown on dissent and aggressive foreign policy, including its role in the war in Yemen, which human rights groups and U.S. lawmakers have criticized.

But calls for an end to the fighting have come far too late for millions of Yemeni civilians, including children, who face acute malnutrition and hunger in a complex, multisided war.

"They need complete care, here in the hospital and later at home. Of course, it depends on the parents' financial condition, as malnutrition can hit the whole family," said Youssef al-Salawi, another doctor.

In Taiz, children fighting for their lives in hospitals are traumatized by daily artillery fire, rockets and anti-aircraft guns as Saudi-backed government forces battle the Iran-aligned Houthis along pulverized streets.

The United Nations says out of 29 million Yemenis, 22 million need some form of humanitarian assistance, almost 18 million are considered hungry and 8.4 million are severely hungry.

Discussions about getting the peace process back on track offer hope, but it is very imperative for the people of Yemen that this conflict stops as soon as possible," said Stephen Anderson, the World Food Program's (WFP) country director in Yemen.

Offensive on port

U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths hopes to bring the warring parties together yet this year.

After seizing the southern port of Aden in 2015, the coalition has made little progress. While it has air supremacy, the Houthis have proved better at guerrilla warfare.

The Houthis still control Yemen's most populated areas, including the capital, Sanaa, and the port city of Hodeida.

The Sunni Muslim alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has renewed its offensive on Hodeida, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, as Washington and London called for a cease-fire.

Aid groups fear an attack on Hodeidas port would disrupt its operations and endanger more civilians as it remains the main source of food imports as well as much-needed humanitarian aid.

Street fighting and airstrikes resumed late Tuesday in Hodeida despite a lull in battles as U.N. officials visited the Red Sea city to assess food security.

A resident told Reuters that calm descended on Hodeida on Wednesday after heavy clashes and airstrikes rocked the city.

"It is very surprising," he said.
Cameroons restive English-speaking regions are emptying out after renewed military raids on separatist strongholds left at least 30 people dead in two days. The renewed fighting comes barely a week after President Paul Biya, during his inauguration ceremony, warned rebels to drop their guns or be killed. Thousands of fleeing civilians are arriving in Yaounde.



Nso and Wimbum people, from the English-speaking northwest region of Cameroon, sing and dance to welcome some of the thousands of people who fled fighting in their villages.

Nineteen-year-old businessman Kenneth Kongyu says he fled in a group of 75 as the military clashed with Anglophone separatists who want to form an independent state they call Ambazonia.



"So when we arrived in Berr, we saw about 300 people there. They were even asking me, where am I going let them join me? I said I am just going to nowhere," he said. "I am afraid, they are killing people every day, both the Ambazonia fighters and the military. When they come to the market, they shoot from every angle."

Cameroons military spokesperson Colonel Didier Badjeck on Wednesday said the death toll from clashes the last few days had increased to more than 30, all of them separatists.



Ambazonian Defense Force spokesman Ivo Tapang told Reuters news agency only two separatist fighters died while their forces killed 13 government troops.



Seventeen-year-old Oscar Tatah says he is a former separatist fighter. He says he was nearly killed when the military attacked their training camp of 80 young fighters in Nkambe.



"Some are joining because they have killed their family members, their father, maybe their mother or their father or their brothers. So, they dont have somebody to count on again. That is the reason why some are joining. I am pleading on the government to try and solve the problem so that we, the youths, we can go back to school," said Tatah.



Elvis Tardze, a community leader from Nkambe, notes police often suspect displaced people of being separatist supporters and search their houses.



"People need to continuously cluster together, sensitizing each person or each member of each group or community to do the right thing and doing the right thing is to respect the law and follow the norms. They should avoid being exposed to circumstances. They should be law-abiding," he said.



During his inauguration on November 6, President Paul Biya told fighters to drop their guns or be killed. He promised to pardon those who stopped fighting.



Political analyst Gabriel Suh says the rebels are showing no signs of surrendering. He says Cameroon may be in for carnage if Biya does not negotiate with the separatists, whose leaders live in exile.



"Why can the government not invite those in the diaspora to come to the negotiating table where there is no intimidation? They can talk one to one, ask them what they need, what they want and what they do not want. We should dialogue amicably," said Suh.



Some political leaders have called on Biya to initiate dialogue with the separatists. But Biya  who has ruled Cameroon for 36 years  has refused any talks on Cameroon becoming a divided state.

Cameroon, a former French colony, has been troubled by unrest since separatists in two English-speaking regions in 2016 said they wished to form a new country.



Biya declared war on them, calling them terrorists for attacks that killed government troops.



In January, Cameroon extradited from Nigeria the self-proclaimed leader of Ambazonia, Ayuk Tabe Julius, along with 47 of his supporters.



Since then, separatists have been attacking schools, killing and kidnapping teachers, students, and workers to make the English-speaking regions ungovernable.
A cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and the militant group Hamas was holding Tuesday night, but tough talk from both sides indicate hostilities could erupt again at any time.

Egypt brokered the cease-fire after two days of the worst fighting in Gaza since the 2014 war.

Seven Palestinians, mostly militants, were killed and more than two dozen wounded.

An Israeli soldier was also killed in a gunfight with Hamas.

Palestinian rocket fire killed one Israeli civilian and wounded more than 30. Israel says more than 400 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza, with about 100 intercepted.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes that destroyed several major Hamas buildings, including the intelligence headquarters and television station.

Hamas says it will abide by the cease-fire, but warns its "hands are on the trigger" if Israel violates it.

Palestinians, who regarded the latest fighting against Israel as a victory, celebrated in the streets.

"We taught the enemy a harsh lesson and made it pay for its crimes," a Hamas spokesman said.

At the same time, Israeli security minister Yuval Steinitz says Israel "landed a harsh and unprecedented blow on Hamas and the terrorist groups in Gaza and we will see if that will suffice or whether further blows will be required."

But Israelis did not celebrate. Many call the cease-fire a disgrace and a capitulation to terrorists.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the United States "condemns in the strongest terms the rocket, missile and mortar attacks that are taking place from Gaza into Israel ... we stand with Israel as Israel defended itself against these attacks. It is simply unacceptable to target civilians."

A failed Israeli military operation apparently targeting a Hamas commander inside Gaza triggered the latest fighting.

Palestinians have been holding months of weekly protests along the Israeli-Gaza border, demanding Israel ease a long-standing blockade of Gaza. They also want the right of return to lands they say Israel stole when the Jewish state was founded in 1948.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the noisy protests as a cover for militants to sneak into Israel.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allowed Qatar to transfer $15 million in aid to Gaza as part of his efforts to avoid another all-out war.

"I'm doing what I can, in coordination with the security establishment, to return quiet to the southern communities, but also to prevent a humanitarian crisis," Netanyahu told his ultra-right critics. "I think we're acting in a responsible and wise way."

In exchange, Hamas had agreed to scale back the protests along the border with Israel.
Cuba said on Wednesday it would pull thousands of its doctors from Brazil after the South American nations President-elect Jair Bolsonaro questioned their training and demanded changes to their contracts.

The far-right Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1, said in an interview this month that the 11,420 Cuban doctors working in poor and remote parts of Brazil could only stay if they received 100 percent of their pay and their families could join them.

Under the terms of the agreement with Cuba, brokered via the Pan-American Health Organization, Havana receives the bulk of the doctors' wages.

Bolsonaro threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Havana over the program, saying it trampled on the rights of the doctors by handing the Cuban government 75 percent of their pay and denying mothers the right to have their children with them.

"That is just torture for a mother," Bolsonaro said in the Nov. 2 interview with Brasilia's Correio Braziliense newspaper.



He also questioned the qualifications of the Cuban doctors and said they would have to renew their licenses in Brazil.



Cuba's Health Ministry rejected Bolsonaro's comments as "contemptuous and threatening" to the presence of our doctors" in a statement announcing its withdrawal from the program.



"These unacceptable conditions make it impossible to maintain the presence of Cuban professionals in the program," the ministry said in a statement.

Cuban doctors work in dozens of countries, some without cost to their hosts and others where Cuba charges a fee per doctor, most of which it claims goes to keep the free national health system in Cuba functioning.

The billions of dollars in revenues represent the most important source of export earnings for the Communist-run government.

Since the Brazilian program, called "More Doctors," was started in 2013 by leftist former president Dilma Rousseff, about 20,000 Cuban health professionals have served in Brazil, including in 700 municipal districts that had never had a resident doctor, the ministry said.

Bolsonaro said the program could have continued if it complied with his conditions. "Unfortunately, Cuba did not accept," he said in Twitter post after the Cuban announcement.
The Democrats have captured another seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Political novice Andy Kim was declared the winner Wednesday from the third congressional district in New Jersey.

He defeated incumbent Republican Tom MacArthur.

Kim was a national security aide in the Obama White House. He is of Korean heritage and will be New Jersey's first Asian-American congressman.

Meanwhile, votes are still being counted more than a week after midterm elections for the House and Senate.

The day after the election, Trump boasted that "It was a big day yesterday. The Republican Party defied history to expand our Senate majority while significantly beating expectations in the House."

"It was very close to a complete victory," he trumpeted.

As results rolled in on election night, it appeared Republicans might add three or four seats to their current 51-49 Senate majority.

But a Republican lead for a contest in the southwestern state of Arizona collapsed, giving Democrat Kyrsten Sinema a seat that been held by Republicans for 30 years.

With Senate races in Florida and Mississippi yet to be decided, Republicans at most will add two seats to their majority.

In the House of Representatives, Democratic candidates are faring even better.

Democrats took back the House for the first time in eight years, and now have a 229-198 edge.

But Democrats appear poised to add to their majority come January in the new Congress, leading in six of the nine undecided races where absentee and mail-in ballots are still being counted, all in districts held by Republicans in the current Congress.

Incoming House Democratic leaders have vowed to immediately investigate the relationship between Trump's businesses and the federal government. They want to examine his tax returns that he has refused to release and plan to call on Trump officials to justify government policies they have adopted in the last two years of the administration.

While they have been in control of both chambers of Congress, Republican lawmakers rarely held hearings on Trump policies that presented the possibility of embarrassing the Republican president and his administration.

Trump is calling the nascent Democratic investigations "Presidential Harassment," and said the prospective probes have given a headache to national stock exchanges this week, leading to stock price losses.

Races for governorships in Georgia and Florida remain undecided amid late vote-counting and recounts, as is the key Senate race in Florida, where Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, is holding on to a 12,500-vote edge over the incumbent Democrat, Senator Bill Nelson. In the Florida race, local election officials are under a Thursday deadline to complete their recount of votes. The Mississippi Senate race is headed to a runoff election on November 27.

In the Florida contest, Scott and Nelson have filed competing lawsuits on various aspects of the vote counting. But the state agency overseeing elections has rejected claims by Scott and Trump of fraud, Despite the uncertainty of the outcome, Scott attended meetings in Washington for new lawmakers.

Trump has provided a running commentary on the Florida contest, at one point suggesting that Scott, along with Congressman Ron DeSantis, the Republican candidate looking to succeed him as governor ought to be declared the winners because they were ahead in the initial vote counting on election night.

"When will Bill Nelson concede in Florida?" Trump said on Twitter. "The characters running Broward and Palm Beach voting will not be able to 'find' enough votes, too much spotlight on them now!" Trump was referring to two Democratic strongholds along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline where Nelson, as more votes are counted, has cut into Scott's big-lead.

"Rick Scott was up by 50,000+ votes on Election Day, now they 'found' many votes and he is only up 15,000 votes," Trump complained. "'The Broward Effect.' How come they never find Republican votes?"

In another tweet, he sarcastically said, "Lets blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!"
Tesla co-founder Elon Musk and Mexico's tequila producers could be headed for a collision after the agave-based drink's industry group opposed the flamboyant billionaire's efforts to trademark an alcoholic drink dubbed "Teslaquila."

One of the world's richest people and chief executive of Tesla, Musk is known for ambitious and cutting-edge projects ranging from auto electrification and rocket-building to high-speed transit tunnels.

Now it seems that Musk could be setting his sights on disrupting the multibillion-dollar tequila industry.

On Oct. 12, he tweeted "Teslaquila coming soon" and an accompanying "visual approximation" of a red and white label with the Tesla logo and a caption that stated "100 percent Puro de Agave."

Not so fast, said Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT).

It argued that the "name 'Teslaquila' evokes the word Tequila ... (and) Tequila is a protected word."

The CRT keeps tabs on producers to assure they adhere to strict denomination of origin rules, which dictate the spirit must be made in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit or Tamaulipas, among other requirements.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website, Tesla has filed an application to trademark "Teslaquila" as a "distilled agave liquor" and "distilled blue agave liquor."

Similar applications have been filed in Mexico, the European Union and Jamaica.

"If it wants to make Teslaquila viable as a tequila it would have to associate itself with an authorized tequila producer, comply with certain standards and request authorization from Mexico's Industrial Property Institute," said the CRT in a statement.

"Otherwise it would be making unauthorized use of the denomination of origin for tequila," it said, adding that the proposed name "Teslaquila" could make consumers confuse the drink with tequila.

Tesla did not respond to several requests for comment.

Other high-profile celebrities have cashed in on tequila's new-found international appeal, as the sprit moves into the ranks of top-shelf liquors and sheds its image as a fiery booze drunk by desperadoes and frat boys.

Last year, Diageo Plc bought actor George Clooney's high-end tequila brand Casamigos for up to $1 billion.

Other recent deals in the industry include Bacardi Ltd's January deal to buy fine tequila maker Patron Spirits International for $5.1 billion.

After years of speculation, Mexico's Beckmann family launched an initial public offering of Jose Cuervo in 2017, raising more than $900 million.
The abrupt cancellation of high-level talks between the United States and North Korea suggests denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have hit a snag, experts said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the North Korean Central Committee, in New York City last week. However, the meeting was abruptly called off at the last minute.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Thursday that Pyongyang canceled the meeting, in which discussions about the second summit between leaders Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un were to take place.

"I do think the talks are going to be rescheduled," said Haley. "And it doesn't change the fact that the summit is still scheduled for the president and Kim to meet after the first of the year."

U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said, "This is a case [where] we are dealing with a purely scheduling issue, and it's just simple as that."

After the cancellation, Trump said, "We're going to make it at another date." He continued, "But we're very happy how it's going with North Korea. We think it's going fine. We're in no rush. We're in no hurry."

Despite these assurances from the Trump administration that the talks will resume, experts remain skeptical.

It's 'stuck'

"I think it is more than a scheduling issue," said Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a global affairs research group in Washington. "The negotiation process appears stuck."

Evans Revere, a former State Department official who negotiated with North Korea, said he thought the cancellation of the talks indicated that negotiations about denuclearization had stalled because of growing differences between Washington and Pyongyang.

"There is a serious gap between Washington and Pyongyang over the issue of denuclearization," said Revere. "There is an equally major gap on the issue of sanctions, with [North Korea] pushing for the U.S. to remove sanctions in order to improve relations and build confidence between the two sides, and the United States making clear that sanctions easing will not happen unless and until North Korea verifiably denuclearizes."

Breaking the impasse on denuclearization, according to Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, will be difficult as neither side wants to back down from its position.

Kimball said, "The cancellation of the meeting between Secretary Pompeo and Vice Chair Kim Yong Chol is disappointing but not surprising, given that neither side appears to be ready to take the necessary action-for-action steps on denuclearization and peace that would move the process along."

Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said the meeting was called off because Washington and Pyongyang realized progress is unachievable at this time.

"I assume the meeting was delayed because both sides realized that significant progress is not possible at this time, due to the major differences between the U.S. and [North Korea] on denuclearization," said Samore.

Direct talks with Trump

Michael Fuchs, deputy assistant secretary of state for eastern Asia and Pacific affairs during the Obama administration, said he believed Pyongyang was delaying lower-level negotiations to stave off pressure until it talked directly with Trump.

"I think that it's a reinforcement of a notion that the North Koreans are trying to drag out this diplomacy as long as possible and that they want to deal as much as possible directly with President Trump," said Fuchs.

After Pompeo went to Pyongyang in October, Steve Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, was expected to meet with North Korea's vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui. But that meeting never took place.

The deadlock in the Washington-Pyongyang talks cast doubt on prospects for North Korea's denuclearization, experts said.

"At present, I see no imminent prospect for real dismantling of [North Korea's] nuclear weapons program and facilities," Manning said.

According to Revere, Pyongyang believes it can keep nuclear weapons and maintain its relations with Washington at the same time.

"I continue to believe that Pyongyang does not intend to give up its nuclear weapons capability," said Revere. "I also continue to believe that [North Korea] believes it is possible to have normal relations with Washington and Seoul and keep its nuclear weapons."

Instead of demanding complete denuclearization, Samore said, a realistic prospect is to limit North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

"Complete denuclearization was never a realistic prospect," said Samore. "The only question is whether North Korea will accept meaningful limits on its nuclear program."

Critical report

On Nov. 8, Pyongyang rejected a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that expressed concern over North Korea's continued development of its nuclear program. The agency described this as "deeply regrettable and clear violations of relevant United Nations Security resolutions."

North Korea's ambassador to the U.N., Kim Song, said in a letter addressed to the president of the U.N. General Assembly, "The report of the International Atomic Energy Agency neglects the positive developments of the Korean Peninsula this year and is consistent with prejudices and distortion.

This shows that the IAEA has lost its impartiality as an international organization and is being abused for impure political purposes," the ambassador said.

More than a dozen undeclared missile bases were identified in new satellite images of North Korea, according to a report released Monday by Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank in Washington. Trump responded by calling the report "fake news" adding "We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new  and nothing happening out of the normal."
Ask Esther Imaniragena to name her top challenge as she doles out contraceptive advice and supplies at a Rwandan health clinic and the answer comes short and fast: men.

Too many men do not share the task of family planning, said Imaniragena, one of many birth-control champions who are deploying wily tactics to encourage burden-sharing.

Be it cornering men after their wives give birth or touting a new type of "model husband" in a society that values virility, champions of birth control are trying new ways get men involved.

If they can find them, that is.

"The biggest challenge we have is males do not come," said Imaniragena, who runs family planning at the Rwamagana Health Center in the east of the country.

Patients strolling the center's grounds on a recent day were overwhelmingly female, babies wrapped tightly to their backs and umbrellas in hand to protect against the fierce sun.

Getting men on board has major benefits in developing nations that struggle with booming populations, a trend that puts pressure on limited resources and fuels fresh cycles of poverty, said experts, researchers and policymakers gathered at an international family planning conference this week in Rwanda.

Involving men increases contraceptive use, reducing infant and maternal mortality and the number of unwanted children. All of this frees up women for school or jobs.

Insuring universal access to family planning by 2030 is among the global targets for sustainable development that were adopted in 2015 by the United Nations.

The experts said the key to success is to inform and involve men while preserving women's autonomy. And while some of the more creative efforts have worked, most schemes are localized and remain small-scale in the face of deep-seated resistance.

One way to find men

To target men, the Rwamagana clinic has started talking about contraception to husbands when they come to collect their wives after childbirth, Imaniragena said.

It is a start.

"We cannot say that they are involved as we wish, but this is the occasion to find them," she told visitors at the rural outpost, which was ringed by rice paddies, banana trees and fields of maize.

The results are impressive in terms of numbers reached. Last week, 15 out of 16 couples went home with newborns as well as family planning methods, according to the clinic, which serves more than 50,000 people. Most couples opted for hormonal implants or injectable contraception.

The effort mirrored a campaign launched two years ago in Benin whose focus was cutting child and maternal deaths, said Gisele Dunia of the University Research Co., a health care company working in the west African nation. Not only did the number of couples using family planning more than double within a year, but men would influence other men to do the same, she said.

Male support 'generally low'

As of last year, four in 10 women of reproductive age in developing regions were using modern contraceptive methods  implants, injections and contraceptive pills  with rates ranging from two in 10 in Africa to half in South America and the Caribbean, according to research by the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission, a global group of experts, published this year in The Lancet, a medical journal.

But men's support for partners' sexual and reproductive health and empowerment "is generally low," the Lancet report said.

Such support dips as low as 12 percent in Lesotho and climbs as high as 77 percent in Rwanda, it said.

"Women continue to shoulder the responsibility of contraceptive use," the Lancet report said. "Given that men are often gatekeepers for women's access to services, involving men during pregnancy, childbirth and onward (when women want) can potentially increase gender equality and male support."

'Not listening'

The best way to reach men in Uganda is to empower women, said Reuben Kizito of the Zaam Community Health Development Organization, which trains women and offers small loans.

"There are so many women out there who believe that the more children you give him, the more he loves, yet they are practically destroying themselves," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "So if we are in a position to empower them economically, then they are in a position to stop that habit."

Men take little responsibility for family planning and think that pregnancy will keep other men away from their women, he said.

"When we have more women economically empowered, then the men will listen," Kizito said. "Now they are not listening."

Mali runs a project that trains "model husbands" in local communities, organizers said, while programs in Togo are promoting "positive masculinity" for boys.

In the Philippines, a project called El Hombre  using men-to-men conversations  nearly doubled the rate of contraceptive usage where it was employed, said Jose Augustus Villano of the Commission on Population, a government agency.

Those rates have dropped significantly since the 2016 election of President Rodrigo Duterte, he said. Duterte's policies and practices, including a war on drugs that has killed thousands of people, have drawn international condemnation.
Heavy rainfall was affecting some voting in Fiji's general election Wednesday, as two men who led different military coups battled for control of the island nation.

The bad weather prompted the Elections Office to close 17 polling venues, affecting some 6,000 voters, according to the Fiji Times. Those people would get a chance to vote at a later date, the Times reported.

Opinion polls indicate Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is poised to win a second term after he first held democratic elections in 2014, eight years after seizing power in a coup. His main opponent is Sitiveni Rabuka, who led two military coups in the 1980s before serving seven years as prime minister. Just this week, a judge cleared Rabuka of an electoral disclosure violation in a case many viewed as being politically motivated.

Fiji has not allowed the political tensions to take a toll on its vital tourism industry, which promotes the Pacific nation's pristine, sunny beaches and friendly, welcoming people. Given the history of coups, political stability has been a big issue leading up to the election, as have racial tensions and economic issues.

"Bainimarama does look set to secure his second victory at the polls and has already led the country for 13 years through a period of relative stability,'' said Jonathan Pryke, the director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.

Many people in the nation of 920,000 seem appreciative of the economic gains they've made under Bainimarama.

"There are no school fees. Before, I paid a couple hundred for school fees,'' said Mere Rigamoto, a 42-year-old mother of three boys. "Bainimarama's government is not bad. He's OK.''

But Bainimarama has a troubled political history that has contributed to the coup culture. There are rumors he could stage another coup should he lose the election.

"We're bound to have another coup if he doesn't win,'' said 30-year-old Robert Lum On, a recent university graduate.

Fiji became independent from the U.K. in 1970. In 1987, Rabuka staged two racially charged coups to return the country to the hands of indigenous Fijians, called "iTaukei,'' and away from Fijians of Indian descent, or Indo-Fijians.

iTaukei make up about 57 percent of the country's population, while Indo-Fijians make up 38 percent.

Indo-Fijians have been a major ethnic group in Fiji since colonial times, when the British brought them in to work the sugar cane plantations. Many Indo-Fijians favor Bainimarama, whose new constitution in 2013 removed race quotas from Parliament.

"Bainimarama's key success has been to establish the name 'Fijian' for all citizens of Fiji,'' said Richard Herr, a professor at Fiji National University who is based in Australia. "His legislation has made campaigning on race, or even having a racially based party, illegal.''

On the campaign trail, Bainimarama accused Rabuka of stoking the flames of racism that continue to divide the nation. But some indigenous Fijians believe Rabuka will help restore their prestige, and favor his promise to bring back the nation's Great Council of Chiefs, which Bainimarama disbanded.

Critics deride Bainimarama as authoritarian, but since forcing himself into power, he has refashioned his image into that of a stable, legitimate leader. His appeal was bolstered when he assumed the U.N. COP23 presidency in November 2017. In that role, which he holds until December, he shaped Fiji into a pioneer on climate change issues.

With COP23 as a platform, Fiji inserted small island developing states into the international conversation on climate change. The islands are on the front lines of global warming, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification.

After the 2006 coup, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions on Fiji, and Bainimarama reoriented regional alliances toward China. His critics accuse him of selling out the country to the Chinese.

The Lowy Institute says Fiji received about $360 million in aid from China between 2006 and 2016, putting it behind only Papua New Guinea in the Pacific region. China Exim Bank holds 39 percent of Fiji's externally held public debt, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Fiji's relations have since normalized with Australia and New Zealand, but the period of sanctions enabled China to step up its regional influence.

Fiji has one of the healthiest economies of the Pacific Islands, and GDP is predicted to grow above 3 percent annually through 2020. Tourism is the bedrock of the economy, accounting for more than 40 percent of GDP.

Bainimarama's government takes credit for increasing social services, including free primary and secondary education, free bus fares for seniors, and aid in the aftermath of cyclones. But widespread poverty persists. Bainimarama's opponents have vowed to raise the minimum wage, which remains only about $1.25 per hour.

As well as Bainimarama's FijiFirst party and Rabuka's Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa), the National Federation Party (NFP) is also expected to be an election contender. In 2014, FijiFirst won 59 percent of votes, Sodelpa won 28 percent, and NFP won 5.5 percent.
When you think of the wives and girlfriends of criminals and mobsters in cinema and television, what or who comes to mind? Kay Adams? Elvira Hancock? Skyler White? They are either victims of a man's misdeeds or end up becoming part of the problem. They might get fancy jewelry or a big house, but they are the ones who get shut out of the room. They get greedy. They get addicted. They get killed. And, as an unwritten rule, they are secondary.

It's part of the reason why Steve McQueen's "Widows " is such a welcome cocktail: The wives are the ones in the spotlight. Their husbands, the criminals fetishized by so, so many movies, are the ones who die at the beginning.

In his first film since the Oscar-winning "12 Years a Slave,'' McQueen has gone in a very different direction with this Lynda La Plante adaptation. Widows'' is a B-movie thriller with an all-star ensemble and a dusting of art house cred. McQueen co-wrote it with "Gone Girl'' author Gillian Flynn and it is dark, relentlessly intense and crafted for mass audience appeal. And who better to stare down the camera, and every seedy character the city of Chicago has to offer, from corrupt legacy politicians (Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall) to truly terrifying gang muscle ("Get Out's'' Daniel Kaluuya), than the incomparable Viola Davis?

Davis plays Veronica Rawlins, a well-heeled teacher's union representative who is married to a very powerful and very bad man, Harry Rawlins (Liam Neeson). Harry has done well in a corrupt Chicago - the passionate couple share a sleek high-rise Lake Shore Drive apartment, a driver and all the niceties that sort of real estate implies. But when he and his crew (including Jon Bernthal and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) get gunned down during a robbery gone wrong, Veronica is the one the aggrieved come after to collect.

Unfortunately for her, the crew her late husband was stealing $2 million from are also a powerful, murderous and, now, angry, rival set of criminals. They're led by Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry) and his brother Jatemme (Kaluuya), and have until this point managed to keep the peace with Rawlins' crew. Jamal is running for alderman of his South Side neighborhood that is a stronghold of a Chicago political dynasty, the Mulligans (Duvall and Farrell) that maintains property there only as a front - and the Mannings need the money to take them down. One on-the-nose, but startlingly effective, sequence, shows Jack Mulligan's drive home from the projects to his own gilded, heavily armed part of the neighborhood. This is just context for what's going on with Veronica and it will all come together eventually, with some good twists and turns in the mix.

Jamal threatens Veronica to collect what was stolen and she decides to step into Harry's shoes and enlist the widows of his crew to help. There's Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), a mother of two whose Quinceanera shop has been repossessed because of her late husband's gambling habits, and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), a woman who has been mistreated by everyone in her life, from her husband to her mother, who suggests she become a high-end sex worker. All are basically riffs on the typical film "victim wife,'' only here they get to take charge and plan and execute the elaborate heist. Veronica is a tough boss and pushes Alice and Linda, and eventually Belle (Cynthia Erivo), to realize their own power as they amusingly use their skills, whether plain street savvy or just taking advantage of the fact that they are underestimated and overlooked simply by being women (a point that is much better made here than in "Ocean's 8'').

The ensemble is a blast. Everyone gets their moment and you come away feeling like you really got to know most of them, but it is Davis and her unforgettably searing intensity (and killer wardrobe) who owns "Widows" from start to finish.

McQueen builds tension masterfully throughout, although is so sprawling that at times you're left wondering whether this might have been better told as a limited television series. Then again, is it worth complaining about relative brevity when done this well?

"Widows,'' a 20th Century Fox release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "violence, language throughout, and some sexual content/nudity.'' Running time: 129 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said Tuesday that the Central American country's current government was trampling his honor by bringing corruption cases against his wife and most recently his brother.

Last week, prosecutors accused Ramon Lobo, 91, of pocketing $300,000 that the government had paid soldiers guarding him at a ranch north of the capital.

Authorities also arrested Wilfredo Cerrato, a presidential administrator during Lobo's term and who now represents Honduras at the Central American Parliament. Cerrato allegedly passed checks to Ramon Lobo.

Porfirio Lobo's wife has been held since February on charges of diverting $700,000 in public funds. His son, Fabio, was sentenced in the U.S. last year to 24 years in prison for drug trafficking.

Those running this country are allowing them to violate my human rights and trample my dignity,'' Porfirio Lobo said. "It is all a show, a trick, to divert public attention from the government's notorious corruption cases.''

An international anti-corruption mission backed by the Organization of American States is working with Honduran prosecutors. In June, prosecutors announced an investigation into public funds that were allegedly diverted to the 2013 campaign of President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The charges against Lobo's brother could be the final straw in the deterioration of the relationship with his successor, Hernandez.

"It's clear that Lobo is upset with President Hernandez, whom he sees as disloyal,'' political analyst Raul Pineda Alvarado said.

He said Hernandez is trying to shore up his international reputation as serious about fighting corruption by going after a prominent name like Lobo from his own party.

Lobo was Hernandez's mentor and oversaw his rise to power within the National Party. Hernandez was re-elected to a second term last year in a disputed election.

Thousands of Honduran migrants have been traveling toward the U.S. border in multiple caravans during the past month, complaining of an economy that doesn't allow them to support their families and oppressive gang crime. Many frequently chant against Hernandez's government, blaming him for their dire straits.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off aid to Honduras if Hernandez did not stop his citizens from migrating.
Several major news organizations announced they would throw their weight behind CNN's legal efforts to regain White House press credentials for their reporter Jim Acosta, including rival network FOX News.



"Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized," FOX News president Jay Wallace said in a statement. "While we don't condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the President and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people."



A coalition of news organizations, including Bloomberg, USA Today, the Associated Press and others announced in a joint statement they would file "friend-of-the-court" briefs that supported CNN's lawsuit against the White House.



Asked about the matter, President Donald Trump told the Daily Caller "I dont know, we should [win].... Well see how the court rules. Is it freedom of the press when somebody comes in and starts screaming questions and wont sit down?

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has dismissed the lawsuit as "more grandstanding from CNN," saying the administration stands by its decision to revoke Jim Acosta's credentials.

"After Mr. Acosta asked the President two questions  each of which the President answered  he physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters," Sanders said in a statement Tuesday.



The Trump administration last week suspended Acosta's "hard pass," which granted him access to the White House. The suspension came after the reporter challenged Trump's portrayal of a caravan of Central American migrants as an "invasion."



White House officials have also accused Acosta of "placing his hands" on a White House press aide who had tried to take the microphone from him during the interaction. Video showed that Acosta was not aggressive with the aide.



The press secretary's statement on Tuesday, however, made no reference to the previous White House accusation that Acosta had placed his hands on the young woman.
After two federal court rulings and a flurry of legal filings over a 24-hour period, uncertainty still hangs over Georgias midterm elections, including the still undecided race for governor.

Unofficial results in one of the nations hottest midterm contests give Republican Brian Kemp a slim majority. But Democrat Stacey Abrams maintains that enough uncounted absentee, mail-in and provisional ballots remain to force a Dec. 4 runoff and keep alive her bid to become the first black woman in American history to be elected governor of a state.

In the week since voters went to the polls, arguments over certain provisional and absentee ballots have been presented at a dizzying pace before several different judges in federal court.

Among them was a lawsuit filed Sunday by Abrams campaign seeking an extension by one day of the deadline for county election officials to certify their results. As a hearing drew to a close just before the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said he wouldnt extend the deadline because all the counties had likely already certified their results or were about to, and there were other protections in place.

All but 16 of the states 159 counties had certified their results by Tuesday evening, Secretary of State spokeswoman Candice Broce said in an email.

Jones said he hopes to rule on the other requests from Abrams campaign by noon Wednesday.

The campaign has asked him to order county election officials to accept any absentee ballots on which there was missing or insufficient information as long as that doesnt substantially obstruct officials from verifying the absentee voters identity. It also asked him to order county election officials to accept information thats submitted to fix issues with provisional ballots, and to count those votes until 5 p.m. Wednesday. And it asked that provisional ballots cast by a voter registered in the wrong county be counted as if the voter had shown up at the wrong precinct.

Lawyers for state and county election officials argued that the Abrams campaign was trying to use an 11th hour lawsuit to rewrite the states election laws. County election officials have been properly counting ballots and have been able to complete their duties in the time allowed by state law, they argued.

In a separate case, U.S. District Judge Leigh May on Tuesday ordered Gwinnett County election officials not to reject absentee ballots just because the voters birth year is missing or wrong and to count any that were cast in the Nov. 6 election. She also ordered the county to delay certification of its election results until those ballots have been counted.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Robyn Crittenden last week to replace Kemp, who resigned as secretary of state after declaring victory in the governors race. Crittenden had issued guidance to county election officials on the absentee ballot issue Monday.

Jones said he will consider whether he should effectively extend Mays order to Georgias other 158 counties. He said that under Crittendens guidance, counties dont have to reject absentee ballots that are missing a year of birth if theres enough other information to verify the voter but her guidance fails to say they shouldnt reject them. He said that could cause absentee voters to be treated differently, depending on where they live.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg late Monday ordered state officials not to do their final certification of election results before 5 p.m. Friday. State law sets a Nov. 20 deadline.

State elections director Chris Harvey testified last week that the state had planned to certify the election results Wednesday, a day after the deadline for counties to certify their results. He said that would allow preparations to begin for any runoff contests, including those already projected in the races for secretary of state and a Public Service Commission seat.

Totenberg also ordered the secretary of states office to establish and publicize a hotline or website where voters can check whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, the reason why. She also ordered the secretary of states office to review or have county election authorities review the eligibility of voters who had to cast provisional ballots because of registration issues.

Meanwhile, protesters, including a state senator, were arrested Tuesday during a demonstration at the Georgia Capitol calling for uncounted ballots to be tallied.

Im being arrested because I refused to leave the floor of this building where Im a state senator, Sen. Nikema Williams said as she was escorted from the building. I wasnt yelling. I wasnt chanting. I was standing peacefully beside constituents I represent.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety said a total of 15 people were arrested on charges of disrupting orderly conduct of official business and were taken to the Fulton County jail.

After being released from the jail later Tuesday, Williams said she was targeted as a black woman. The Abrams campaign called for charges against Williams to be dropped.

The Georgia Constitution states that legislators shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly ... except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.

Unofficial returns show Kemp with a lead just shy of 60,000 votes out of more than 3.9 million cast. Abrams would need a net gain of about 21,000 votes to force a runoff.

The Associated Press has not called the race.

Kemps campaign has repeatedly called on Abrams to concede, calling her campaigns lawsuit a disgrace to democracy that ignores mathematical realities.

The Georgia Republican Party which on Tuesday joined the secretary of states office in defending against the lawsuit, said in an emailed statement that Democrats were trying to sue their way to a win after losing at the ballot box.

Abrams campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, told reporters after the hearing that, Our quest for basic fairness continues and that is we want every single vote to be counted here in Georgia.

She accused Kemp, as the states top elections official, of running a chaotic election that was characterized in long lines and an unusually high number of voters having to cast provisional ballots.
For North Korean factory managers, a visit by leader Kim Jong Un is the highest of honors and quite possibly the most stressful event imaginable.

The chief engineer at the Songdowon General Foodstuffs Factory had looked forward to the visit for nearly a decade. His factory churns out tons of cookies, crackers, candies and bakery goods, plus dozens of varieties of soft drinks sold around the country. In its showroom, Kwon Yong Chol proudly showed off one of his best-sellers, a nutrient soup made with spirulina, a blue-green microalgae "superfood."



"Ever since construction began everyone here had wanted the leader to visit, and this year he did. His visit was the biggest thing that could happen to us," Kwon, smiling broadly, said of Kim Jong Un's visit in July. "He ate our instant noodles. He said they were delicious."



Not all managers have been so fortunate.



There's a lot on the line for North Korea these days. And Kim means business.

International spotlight

Though the international spotlight has been on his denuclearization talks with Washington, the North Korean leader has a lot riding domestically on his promises to boost the country's economy and standard of living. His announcement in April that North Korea had sufficiently developed its nuclear weapons and would now focus on building its economy marked a sharp turn in official policy, setting the stage for his rapid-fire meetings with the leaders of China, South Korea and the United States.



It also set in motion an ambitious campaign of "on-the-spot guidance" trips to rally party officials, factory managers and military troops.



After the announcement of the "new strategic line" and his first round of summits, including his meeting in June with President Donald Trump, Kim embarked on nearly 20 inspection tours around the country in July and another 10 in August, all but one of them to non-military locations. The military inspection rounds are instead being handled by the country's premier, Pak Pong Ju, who has gone on 18 inspection tours from July, mostly to military facilities.

On-the-spot guidance tours are a tradition Kim inherited from his father and grandfather, the late "eternal General-Secretary" Kim Jong Il and "eternal President" Kim Il Sung.



They date to the late 1940s, when Kim Il Sung began gradually institutionalizing the visits to demonstrate his hands-on leadership and, as invariably portrayed by the North's media, his deep care and concern for the well-being of the people.



Factories, farms and important industrial facilities are the usual destinations. But Kim Jong Un's focus on them this year marks a break from excursions in 2017 to nuclear weapons facilities and missile sites.



Reflecting the gravity of his current mission, Kim has shown little patience for cadres who come up short.



On his July tour in the northern part of the country he lambasted officials at a factory that produces backpacks for students, saying their attitude was "very wrong" and "has no revolutionary spirit." He then dressed down officials at a power plant that has been under construction for 17 years, criticized people in charge of a hotel project for taking too long to finish plastering its walls and slammed the authorities responsible for building a recreational campsite.



"Looking round the bathroom of the camp, he pointed out its very bad condition, saying bathtubs for hot spring therapy are dirty, gloomy and unsanitary for their poor management," said an official report of the visit.

Tours top the news

Most inspection tours, however, go like Kim's two-hour visit to the Songdowon processed foods factory.



With a gaggle of cameramen in tow  the tours are always top news in North Korea's media  the site's senior manager generally serves as the guide. Members of Kim's entourage frantically take notes as he suggests tweaks of this or that and offers praise or encouragement.



Many factories put up red and gold plaques to commemorate the event. Some have special wall displays made afterward that show the exact path the leader took in little LED lights that can be turned on at the press of a button.



At Kwon's factory, which has 300 employees and is located on the outskirts of the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, Kim advised managers to improve operations on an "automated, unmanned and germ-free basis, holding aloft the banner of self-reliance."

Before the obligatory group photo session, the North's official news agency reported, Kim voiced "his expectation and conviction" the factory would produce more quality foods "and thus more fully demonstrate the honor of being a factory loved by the people."



But Kim also had a broader point to make.



He told the factory management that they must be prepared to work in a more competitive environment, to modernize and cut the fat. These are special times and they, and basically all managers throughout the country, need to step up their game.



"The Respected Marshal Kim Jong Un pays much more attention to the quality of a product," Kwon said. "When he came to this factory he gave instructions to maintain a high level of hygiene because food is closely associated with the health of the people, and to keep the highest level of quality of products that people like. He said we must produce products that are world class, and produce a lot of foods that people like."



Kwon said the pressure isn't just coming from above.



"The people demand more quality," he said. "When people look at the product, they must feel like they want to have it. So we are designing things in line with that. We have to satisfy the demands of the people."
Israels defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, resigned Wednesday to protest Israels acceptance of a cease-fire with Hamas movement in Gaza. The move leaves Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with only a one-seat majority in parliament, and early elections seem likely.

Lieberman discussed his decision in a news conference with reporters.

He says he is announcing his resignation as defense minister of the State of Israel. Lieberman says what happened with the cease-fire and deal with Hamas is a capitulation to terror. He says there is no other way to explain it.

He was referring to a deal Tuesday with Hamas in Gaza for the cease-fire, after Hamas fired more than 400 rockets at Israel, and Israel launched more than 100 airstrikes on Gaza in return.

Netanyahu said the cease-fire was better than a war in Gaza, but it was controversial in Israel, with some saying Israel should have struck Hamas harder, and made sure rocket fire on Israel will end.

Liebermans move leaves Netanyahus government with a one-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset. That majority was threatened further when Liebermans chief rival, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, said his Jewish Home party will quit the coalition unless he is appointed defense minister.

Hebrew University political science professor Avraham Diskin says Netanyahu is not likely to agree to give Bennett the job.



"If I had to decide between the two, nomination of Bennett and early elections, early elections are more plausible," said Diskin.



The political turmoil comes as Netanyahu is embroiled in a series of corruption allegations that could force his resignation as well. Polls show that even if Netanyahu is forced to step down, his right-wing Likud party will win the next election.
The leader of Latvia's New Conservative Party, Janis Bordans, abandoned his attempt to form a government on Wednesday after three potential coalition partners pulled out of talks.

President Raimonds Vejonis was to meet two other possible candidates for the job next week after officially calling off his nomination of Bordans on Thursday, his office said.

One of the main tasks facing an incoming prime minister will be to tackle money-laundering after a series of scandals which have hurt the reputation of the Baltic nation of two millions.

The president nominated Bordans as prime minister last week and gave him a deadline of Nov. 21 to form a government after October's vote, which delivered a fragmented parliament of seven parties.

"I have told the president that the government that I had intended [to form], is not possible at the moment," Bordans told Reuters after seeing Vejonis.

Bordans had been holding talks with the populist KPV LV, Development/For, the National Alliance and the New Unity parties. All but the KPV LV pulled out of the discussions.

The three parties said they left the talks because of a lack of mutual trust.

The president will meet next week with Aldis Gobzems of KPV LV and Artis Pabriks of Development/For who are possible candidates.

"I expect that the political parties will use the time to continue talks and to find common ground," said Vejonis in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Bordans had pledged to form a government that would fight corruption and seek to restore the rule of law in the Baltic country of two million. His party won 13.6 percent of the vote in October.

Central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics is awaiting trial on charges of accepting a bribe and one of the biggest banks, ABLV, went into liquidation this year after U.S. authorities accused it of laundering vast sums of money for people from the former Soviet Union.
Christian rivals from the Lebanese civil war, Samir Geagea and Suleiman Frangieh, shook hands with each other Wednesday, marking a formal reconciliation to end more than four decades of enmity.

Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces political party, and Frangieh, head of the Marada party, have been foes since the early days of the 1975-90 civil war.

The two parties had armed militias during the conflict that battled each other. The war, which drew in regional powers, included fighting between the country's main sects and rival factions within those sects.

The men, both Maronite Christians, met to reconcile at the seat of the sect's Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in Bkerki, north of Beirut. They shook hands with Rai and then with each other, after several failed reconciliation attempts over the years.

Geagea has been accused of leading a raid in 1978 on the home of Frangieh's father, Tony Franjieh, a rival Maronite Christian chieftain, who was killed with his wife, daughter and others. Geagea has said he was wounded before reaching Frangieh's house and did not take part himself.

This was the second rapprochement of recent years between civil war Maronite Christian rivals.

In January 2016, Geagea endorsed Michel Aoun for the Lebanese presidency, ending his own rival candidacy for the position, which must be held by a Maronite Christian under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system.

Geagea and Aoun, who fought each other in the civil war, have been on opposite sides of the political divide since Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon in 2005.

President Aoun is a political ally of the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah, whereas Geagea is a staunch opponent of the group. Frangieh is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a Hezbollah ally.
After more than 40 years of agony, families of thousands of Lebanese who disappeared during its civil war said a landmark law to investigate their fate could bring "closure."

Lawmakers on Monday voted to set up a commission to find out what happened to those who went missing during the 1975-1990 war, in which some 150,000 people died, including collecting DNA samples of living family members, and exhuming mass graves.

"I really want to close this chapter. My father has been missing for more than 40 years. I want to bury him so that we can visit him  this is so important for us," Mohammad Kassem told Reuters by phone from Beirut.

"We have cried a lot about this. And now, at the very least, we just want to bury him. It will make us cry again, but we need closure," he said, adding that his father disappeared in 1977.

There is currently no public database or exact numbers for people who went missing during the war in which Muslims and Christians who had lived side by side for centuries retreated into separate enclaves controlled by sectarian militias.

"Not knowing the fate of the missing means we are not able to turn the page on the civil war," said Rona Halabi, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has campaigned for the law for six years. "This law is a milestone, and now it is the government's responsibility to put in a mechanism to allow families to know the fate of their loved ones."

There was no indication of when the commission will be formed, but foreign minister Gebran Bassil said on Twitter that the country was entering a "genuine reconciliation phase" that would heal families' wounds.

Lebanon voted in May for its first new parliament in nine years after the onset of Syria's civil war, the arrival of over a million refugees and a series of militant attacks aggravated internal political rifts.

With a long-entrenched political elite including local dynasties and former warlords, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has yet to form a national unity government.

"This would be the first time Lebanon acknowledges and addresses in a meaningful manner one of the most painful legacies of the conflict," said Lynn Maalouf, Middle East research director for Amnesty International rights group. "Appointing appropriately qualified members of the national commission should be the immediate next step."
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen visited the U.S. southern border Wednesday, where thousands of American troops have been deployed to support border patrol agents.

Speaking to reporters en route to McAllen, Texas, Mattis stressed that border security is part of national security.

Its obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen, the defense secretary said. Our units are in a position to enable the border patrols law enforcement operations.



President Donald Trump called for increased border security to prevent a caravan of asylum-seeking migrants from Central America from entering the United States, declaring on several occasions the caravan's approach constituted a "national emergency."

More than 5,600 active duty U.S. troops and another 2,100 National Guard troops have moved into the U.S.-Mexico border area in response to requests for help from the Department of Homeland Security.



The military personnel assigned to help with border security have been helping with barriers, fencing and aerial support. They are legally prohibited from engaging in domestic law enforcement, such as arresting migrants crossing the border.

As Mattis and Nielsen visited Texas, hundreds of Central American migrants traveling north to the U.S. border reached Tijuana, Mexico. While the bulk of the caravan is still 1,800 kilometers away, some of the early arrivals went to the border fence to celebrate.

Mexican authorities said a group of 357 migrants arrived Tuesday aboard nine buses, and another group of 398 arrived Wednesday.

As many as 10,000 migrants are moving through Mexico in three separate caravans.

Mattis told reporters Wednesday the U.S. military has a long history of border deployments. He highlighted 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson deployed troops to stop the threat of Pancho Villas troops during the Mexican Revolution, and 1995, when National Guard and several hundred active duty personnel were assigned to assist law enforcement.

Mattis did not mention a deployment in 1997, when an active duty Marine corporal shot a Texas teenager during an anti-drug operation along the Texas-Mexico border, causing the Pentagon to suspend its anti-drug operations there.



Mattis and Nielsens border visit comes as sources say Trump is considering removing Nielsen from her post.



Nielsen was selected as homeland security secretary after John Kelly left the position to become Trump's chief of staff.
Alaska is by far the most dangerous state in the nation, according to the business website 24/7 Wall Street.



The most sparsely populated of all U.S. states, Alaska has the highest rates of rape and aggravated assault in the nation. In 2017, there were 117 rapes and 575 aggravated assaults for every 100,000 residents. Both of those statistics are more than double the corresponding national rates. Last year's murder rate in Alaska was up 20 percent over the previous year.

New Mexico comes in at No. 2. There were 784 violent crimes  murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault  for every 100,000 New Mexico residents in 2017. That is way above the national rate of 394 incidents per 100,000 people.



With aggravated assault numbers that are nearly double the national rate, Tennessee ranks as the nation's third most dangerous state. Most of the state's violent crime is concentrated in urban areas, where the violent crime rate is more than 1,000 incidents per 100,000 residents.



Louisiana and Nevada round out the top five most dangerous states, according to the study. While violent crime declined overall in the United States in 2017, the crime rate actually went up in some of the most dangerous states.
The wildfire raging in northern California spread on Wednesday as National Guard troops were called in to search for victims while firefighting crews received a little help from the weather in their battle against the deadliest blaze in the state's history.

The death toll from the Camp Fire remained at 48 overnight but the fire grew 5,000 acres to 135,000 (55,000 hectares), even though diminished winds and rising humidity on Tuesday had allowed firefighting crews to set up containment lines.

The fire, in Butte County about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco, remained about 35 percent contained after burning for nearly a week.

A National Guard contingent of 100 military police trained to seek and identify human remains was going into Paradise, a town of about 27,000 in the Sierra foothills that has been reduced to little more than embers and ash by the Camp Fire.

They were joining coroner-led recovery teams, cadaver dogs and forensic anthropologists already searching the ghostly landscape.

Stewart Morrow, an official of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), was assessing damage to homes in Paradise, comparing piles of charred rubble where houses once stood with online photos of the structures before the fire. He also was keeping an eye out for human remains.

"I've been a firefighter for 20 years and I've never seen a place so destroyed," Morrow told Reuters on Wednesday. "It's unreal."

A group of three law firms representing multiple victims of the Camp Fire has filed a lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric alleging PG&E failed to properly maintain and replace its equipment and that "its inexcusable behavior" contributed to the cause of the Camp Fire.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and California Governor Jerry Brown were scheduled to tour the area, as well as the site of the Woolsey Fire, where two people have died about 40 miles west of Los Angeles. U.S. President Donald Trump has declared both to be disaster areas, making federal emergency assistance more readily available.

Wind-driven flames roared through Paradise so swiftly that residents were forced to flee for their lives with little or no warning.

Nearly 230 people have been listed as missing, but on Tuesday night Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said those numbers were highly fluid as some individuals may simply have fallen out of touch during chaotic evacuations.



Dry conditions

The Camp Fire, fed by drought-desiccated scrub and fanned by strong winds, has capped a catastrophic California wildfire season that experts largely attribute to prolonged dry spells that are symptomatic of global climate change.

Anna Dise, a resident of Butte Creek Canyon west of Paradise, told KRCR TV that her father, Gordon Dise, 66, was among those who died. They had little time to evacuate and their house collapsed on her father when he went back in to gather belongings.

Dise said she could not flee in her car because the tires had melted. To survive, she hid overnight in a neighbor's pond with her dogs.

"It [the fire] was so fast," Dise said. "I didn't expect it to move so fast."

Josh Campbell of Cal Fire told KRCR TV early on Wednesday, however, that in at least one instance the strong wind gusts in a canyon near the city of Chico, not far from Paradise, were actually helping by slowing the spread of the fire.

"This gives us the opportunity to construct our lines, so we can be ready for the fire and put it out," he said.

The Woolsey Fire was the worst of a flurry of blazes in Southern California, where it killed two people, destroyed more than 400 structures and displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills west of Los Angeles.

The fatality count of 48 from the Camp Fire far exceeds the previous record for the greatest loss of life from a single wildfire in California history  29 people killed by the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles in 1933.

The origins of both fires are under investigation. Utility companies Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric reported to regulators they experienced problems with transmission lines or substations in areas around the time the blazes were first reported.
Sri Lanka's political crisis deepened Wednesday after lawmakers approved a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, creating a power vacuum.

Parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya held a voice vote after Rajapaksa's supporters staged an impromptu rally in the chamber before debate began over the motion. But the results have been a foregone conclusion after Jayasuriya said last week that Rajapaksa did not have enough support to survive the vote.

The crisis began on October 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, claiming that an informant told police that a Cabinet minister was part of a plot to assassinate him. He replaced Wickremesinghe with Rajapaksa, the country's former president and strongman, then suspended parliament the next day. In an apparent bow to international pressure, Sirisena summoned lawmakers back to work last Monday.

But when it became apparent that Rajapaksa would not survive the no-confidence vote, Sirisena dissolved parliament and called for snap elections. The Supreme Court overruled the president's decree in a ruling issued Tuesday.

Wickremesinghe praised the no-confidence vote during a press conference outside the prime minister's official residence in Colombo, where he remains in defiance of Sirisena's actions. He urged civil servants to ignore any orders from the Rajapaksa-led government.
One in three girls and one in five boys miss out on primary school in Pakistan, campaigners said on Tuesday, urging the new government to live up to promises to build more girls' schools despite attacks by militants opposed to female education.

Nearly 22.5 million of Pakistan's estimated 50 million children are out of school, most of them girls, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report, highlighting problems of poverty, lack of federal investment and a shortage of government schools.

"The number of out-of-school children in particular, and girls specifically, is on the rise and the number of government schools are not increasing in the same proportion," Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer with HRW told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

At around the age of 14, only 13 percent girls are still in education, he said, attributing this mainly to a shortage in secondary schools for girls, as well sexual harassment, early marriage, gender discrimination and abusive teachers.

Mosharraf Zaidi, a senior fellow at policy think tank Tabadlab, said there is a girls' education crisis in Pakistan, where four out of five schools are primaries, meaning that girls often have to travel long distances to attend secondary school.

"Safe, accessible and plentiful schools for girls are a distant dream in Pakistan," he said.

Worldwide, more than 130 million girls are out of school, costing the global economy as much as $30 trillion, according to the World Bank.

Pakistani Taliban and allied Islamist militants, who regard girls education as anti-Islam, have been attacking thousands of schools for young women in northwestern and northern parts of Pakistan.

In 2012, the Pakistani Taliban shot and critically wounded Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, known for her girls' education advocacy in northern Swat valley.

Pakistan spent less than 2.8 percent of its GDP on education in 2017 - falling far short of the United Nations' recommended 4 to 6 percent - the rights group said.

Before his election as prime minister in August, Imran Khan promised to "prioritize establishment and upgradation of girls' schools and provide stipends to girls and women for continuing their education" in his party's manifesto.

But that has hardly happened, said Baela Raza Jamil, chief of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, a charity that promotes access to education in Pakistan, urging the government to provide more transport, meals and uniforms to girls.

"Lack of facilities at post primary (level) and puberty leads to early marriages," she said, in a country where the United Nations says 21 percent girls are married before the age of 18.

HRW interviewed some 200 people  mostly girls who never went to school or could not complete their education, and their families  and found most complained about high tuition costs, insecurity and corruption.

"The government does not help the poor," Rukhsana, a 30-year-old mother of three out-of-school children, was quoted as saying in the report. "We cannot educate our children, and we cannot feed ourselves."
The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Tuesday it will accept an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement if Israel does the same.

But Israels government did not appear to signal its readiness, with its U.N. ambassador telling reporters in New York ahead of an emergency Security Council meeting late Tuesday on the escalation that, We take action to protect our people and will continue to do that.

Israeli envoy Danny Danon said Hamas militants had launched 460 rockets into Israel between Monday and Tuesday.

If it will not be quiet in Israel, it will not be quiet in Gaza, he warned.

The reports of a cease-fire came after Hamas launched a near-constant barrage of rockets late Monday at southern Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people to bomb shelters. Israel responded with more than 100 airstrikes on Gaza.

The latest violence followed an unsuccessful Israeli raid Sunday on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that left one Israeli officer and seven Palestinians dead.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms this aggression by Israel, Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters. They are the ones who precipitated this round of violence for the last 48 hours, he added, referring to the military raid.

Israeli medical services reported one person was killed during the Hamas rocket barrage. The military said 100 missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

On the Palestinian side of the border, officials said the Israeli airstrikes killed three people, including two militants, and wounded nine others.

Israeli warplanes also destroyed the premises of Hamas's Al-Aqsa Television. Staff at the office evacuated before the attack, following a warning by Israel's military.

The United States condemned Hamas for the violence.

"We stand with Israel as it defends itself against these attacks," U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt tweeted. "This violence prevents any real help for the people of Gaza."

U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov called the escalation "extremely dangerous" and said on Twitter "restraint must be shown by all.

The Israeli military has given few details about its mission Sunday into Gaza, saying only that it was "not intended to kill or abduct terrorists, but to strengthen Israeli security."
Two prominent U.S. senators expressed alarm Tuesday about the military and political consequences if China gains control of a port terminal in Djibouti, saying it could further boost Beijing's influence in East Africa.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said they were concerned about Djibouti's termination of a contract for the Doraleh Container Terminal with United Arab Emirates-based DP World in February and the nationalization of the port in September.

Reports that Djibouti, heavily indebted to Beijing, would most likely cede the port's operations to a Chinese state-owned enterprise were "even more alarming," they said.

The letter was the latest in a series of efforts by members of Congress who want to counter China's growing international influence, which they see as a threat to U.S. economic and security interests.

Trump has been focusing on the economic threat from China and has brought the two countries to the brink of a trade war, but many lawmakers want to ensure the administration also treats the country as a security threat.

A tiny nation strategically located at the entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal, Djibouti became home to China's first overseas military base last year. A U.S. base located just miles away stages operations against Islamic State, al-Qaida and other militant groups.

Rubio and Coons sent Tuesday's letter as lawmakers returned to the Capitol for the first time in several weeks after congressional elections on Nov. 6.

Asked for comment, a Pentagon spokesman said the Defense Department welcomed infrastructure and other investment that could benefit the region but added that "countries should be wary of piling on monumental debt."

A State Department spokesman had no immediate response.

The Senate last month passed legislation overhauling the way the federal government lends money for foreign development, in a shift meant largely as a response to Chinese influence.

U.S. officials say they worry about what they call China's "debt trap" diplomacy, in which countries end up giving up control of major assets such as ports or roadways when they fund infrastructure projects with Chinese loans that they cannot pay back.

Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the top U.S. military officer for Africa, told a congressional hearing earlier this year the U.S. military could face "significant" consequences if China took the port in Djibouti.
Forty years ago this week, a California congressman and a group of journalists traveled to Guyana, South America, to see Jonestown, a remote settlement created by an American church, and investigate reports of abuses of members.



As the visitors prepared to return to the U.S., Peoples Temple gunmen ambushed them on a remote jungle airstrip killing the congressman, Leo Ryan; three newsmen; and a church defector. The shooting triggered the mass murders and suicides in Jonestown of more than 900 people orchestrated by the Rev. Jim Jones.

Then-San Francisco Examiner reporter Tim Reiterman was wounded in the airstrip shooting and flown to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he wrote the following eyewitness account. It appeared in the Examiner on Nov. 20, 1978, two days after the tragedy:



Exclusive: Eyewitness account of massacre



By Tim Reiterman, Examiner Staff Writer



PORT KAITUMA, Guyana  "I feel sorry that we are being destroyed from within," the Rev. Jim Jones had said as a tropical storm rained on the Peoples Temple pavilion.



Jones had suffered a setback. Rep. Leo Ryan, D-San Mateo, had come to the temple's agricultural project to determine whether the followers of Jones were free to leave the jungle settlement. And now some wanted to depart.



We couldn't know then that the grim little world of this sick man would shatter within hours, taking hundreds of his followers to their deaths. My companion, Examiner photographer Greg Robinson, would be murdered in an ambush. So would the congressman and three others.



I wondered why it happened. My best guess is that Jones felt the press people weren't fooled by the staged setup at the mission. After all, we had seen things we weren't supposed to see. We demanded to see the locked buildings where some members lived in crowded, uncomfortable conditions.



Jones wasn't the same man. His handshake was weak. He was taking pain pills, and he said he was dying.



None of it makes sense. All I can do is tell what I saw and heard.



It began with a note smuggled to us from two members. The note said: "Please help us get out of Jonestown." The list of defectors rapidly grew to at least 16. According to former members, Jones would not tolerate defections from the mission project and many of the church members considered those who leave to be traitors.



At the end of Ryan's two-day visit to the mission Saturday, a woman suddenly charged down a slippery boardwalk shouting at her husband, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! Don't take my baby!"



An emotional tug-of-war ensued between a mother who wanted to stay and the father who wanted to go. Finally, attorneys for both Ryan and the temple decreed that the courtroom was the proper place to decide the custody issue.



Though it was a stalemate, the incident intensified an already strained situation. Jones, who asked his followers to call him "Dad," did not like to lose any of his "children." He said he considered it a failing on his part when he did.



Some scowling faces appeared in the windows that rainy afternoon, watching the defectors leave, some with trunks and others with little more than the clothes on their backs.



All of us were falling and slipping through the mud around a six-wheel-drive dump truck that would take us (the congressional delegation, the press, the defectors and a group of concerned relatives of temple members) to the Port Kaituma airstrip.



In minutes, the back of the truck was piled high with crates, suitcases, backpacks and people. Mud made the truck bed slick, so everyone clung to the sideboards.



"Let's go!" someone shouted, and the driver attempted to turn the truck around. The truck spun its wheels until a Caterpillar tractor tugged it into place for a downhill run.



But before we could start out, we heard angry shouts. People raced over to the outdoor pavilion.



A few of us jumped from the truck and ran over there. We got word that a temple member had grabbed the congressman, held a knife to his throat and told him he was going to slit it. Temple attorneys Charles Garry and Mark Lane, along with Ryan, subdued the man.



We were turned back by Johnny Jones, Jim Jones' stern-faced adopted black son. He said reporters would make the situation worse.



A few minutes later a pale-looking Leo Ryan slogged through the mud with his briefcase, his powder blue shirt and pants stained with his assailant's blood. He climbed aboard the truck and we took off.



Ryan had planned to remain behind at the mission with several members who wished to return to the United States but couldn't get seating on the planes. His unplanned departure left them alone.



"They're in deep trouble now," observed one of the relatives who had accompanied us.



During the bouncy ride out, former temple members said that one of the supposed defectors, Larry Layton, was a Jones loyalist and had been depressed.



"Watch him," those around him were told. "We think he's got a gun. He's too close to Jim Jones to leave."



A large poncho covered his belt area so no one knew for sure and no one challenged him.



"I'm real happy to be getting out," Layton volunteered, then lapsed into a stare. A while later, the young temple escort on the tailgate shook his head and said: "I don't understand why they did it this way. They could leave any time they want."



It seemed the temple was generous: It willingly provided passports to those who wished to leave, and advanced $5,000 to help defray transportation costs. We'd also just seen the warm, cheerful embraces between some of those leaving and some who were staying.



At the temple-exit guard post, the truck was halted. A black man with a "corn rows" hairstyle came up to the rear of the truck. Joining him was an older black man who fingered something in his right pocket.



The younger man demanded that everyone in the truck move aside. He apparently was searching for his wife, who had carried away their child that morning, hoping to escape the settlement. But she wasn't in the truck and the men left.



When the truck was allowed to pass, we all breathed easier. Some had the distinct impression that the two were close to opening fire on the truck.



As we rode onto the black gravel, jungle-bordered runway, a small six-passenger Cessna was parked to one side of the corrugated metal shack which served as the airport terminal.



A second plane, a Guyana Airways 24-seater, was coming in for a landing. At the far end of the strip sat a yellow government plane. Its nose wheel had been broken the week before and four soldiers were guarding it with M-I6 rifles.



As the larger plane landed, the temple truck, with several persons in the back, started to advance. Alongside it was a red tractor and trailer seen earlier at the mission.



Some of those leaving the temple eyed the vehicles with suspicion. NBC reporter Don Harris said coolly: "I think we're in for some trouble."



Seating assignments were chosen after Ryan briefed the press on the knife attack and credited Mark Lane with saving his life. Ryan clearly was in good spirits.



He was within a few minutes and a few yards of accomplishing his goal: to get out temple members who were afraid to leave or possibly held against their will.



First the Cessna was filled, with Ryan frisking each boarder looking for guns and knives. Layton, who was insisting on taking the first plane, slipped to the other side of the plane before he could be frisked. When that was pointed out to Ryan, Layton contended he already had been frisked. Yet he submitted to a new search, then returned to his seat.



Meanwhile, the tractor, with several men in the trailer, rolled toward the terminal shack and halted a short distance away. Quietly the men with the tractor motioned aside a group of curious Guyanese children and other bystanders. Some of the defectors told me later that the men in the trailer were members of Peoples Temple.



"It looks like trouble," I said to Greg Robinson, but he kept on shooting pictures.



As rapidly as possible Jacqueline Speier was signing on passengers at the fool of the boarding ladder while a reporter helped her check for weapons. The closest thing to a law enforcement official  a pleasant young policeman with a pink shirt and a 16-gauge shotgun  was disarmed by temple members.



Then, with heart-stopping suddenness, the first shot was fired. I didn't see who fired the shot but the sound came from the tractor and trailer.



A loud series of pops echoed across the field.



"Hit the deck!" someone hollered as we scrambled over the gravel to the far side of the plane. I dropped to my belly. A bullet ripped through my left forearm. Another hit my wrist and knocked off my watch.



They were shooting to kill, not just to stop us from leaving.



Springing to my feet, I ran 40 yards across the runway. Volleys of shotgun, rifle and pistol fire kept coming. I dove headlong into the three-foot-tall grass.



I crawled until I came to taller bushes and brambles, clawing my way into a pocket in the brush.



I stopped and listened. The shots still were popping at an amazing clip. I could still hear the groaning and crying of the targets.



Though I couldn't see over the tall brush, I could hear the shots become less frequent. Then there were just a few.



My arm was gushing blood so I stripped off my belt and pinched down the biggest wounds.



I heard a few more shots and saw the tractor pull away. After they left, I crept out of the bush and saw five bodies around the plane. Other people were injured.



Greg's body was near the boarding steps with his camera bag and cameras scattered around him. There was a gaping wound in his shoulder and possibly his ribs.



Ryan, his thick gray hair bloodied, was near the front of the plane. Harris, a Los Angeles-based NBC investigative reporter who covered the fall of Saigon and the Nicaragua rebellion, had been killed. It was Harris who had been contacted by the first two groups of temple members expressing a desire to leave.



Also dead was Bob Brown, the NBC cameraman and the kind of guy who loved action stories.



Patricia Parks had had her head shattered before her husband's eyes.



Five others were wounded seriously. Speier's right leg had a gaping wound, and her arm was injured. NBC sound man Steve Sung had chunks of one arm blown away. Anthony Katsaris, brother of Jim Jones aide Maria Katsaris, was wounded in the chest.



Vernon Gosney and Monica Bagby, the two temple members who asked for help in the note, also were seriously injured.



After the massacre, Layton strolled back to the area.



"He started firing at the front and missed the pilot," said Dale Parks, who left the temple Saturday. "He hit Monica and Vern. He fired at me, but it misfired. I jumped up and fought for the gun. He went over the seats in a somersault and I flipped out of the plane with him. I got the gun. I tried to fire  but nothing happened.''



Layton later was taken into custody by Guyanese authorities who seized a .38-caliber pistol and turned it over to U.S. Embassy officials.



By nightfall, the seriously wounded, some of them on litters provided by the community, were sheltered in army soldiers' tents. The rest of us were accommodated in a private home.



"We were so scared, too, man, that they'd do this to you," said one of the people who took us in.



Guyanese civilians set up a guard station for us, standing watch all night armed with only a shotgun, a machete and a long-bladed knife. More than a few bottles of rum were consumed or poured on wounds. We used curtains for bandages.



Every loud sound put us on edge, with some wondering aloud: "Will they come back to finish us off?"



The pilot had radioed for help after the shooting, but during the night the only thing we heard were more rumors about the imminent arrival of Guyanese troops and medical evacuation planes.



During the long night, the temple defectors told us that all the horror stories about Jim Jones and the church were true. There had been underground boxes to punish the lazy; public beatings; drills where guns and bows and arrows were hauled out on call of ``white knight,'' and plans for mass suicides.



Yesterday morning 100 Guyanese troops came by train from Matthews Ridge, walking the last several miles as a precaution against sabotage or attack. Then two Guyanese medical evacuation planes flew us to the capital city of Georgetown, where a U.S. Air Force C-141 took us to Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., stopping off on their way at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico.



Five were dead, five seriously wounded, five suffered relatively minor wounds, nine were unhurt, and six were believed lost or hiding in the dense underbrush along the Kaituma River.



All these lives were wasted and I don't know why. I keep remembering what Jones had said in the pavilion. "Destroyed," he said, "from within..."



Courtesy of The San Francisco Examiner, http://www.sfexaminer.com
Amnesty International is calling on Myanmar and Bangladesh to end their plans to send Rohingya Muslims back to Rakhine state, where the United Nations says they are subject to extrajudicial killings and other atrocities carried out by Myanmar's military.

Amnesty says the organized return of the Rohingya, slated to start as soon as November 15, is a "reckless move, which puts lives at risk."

Amnesty's East and Southeast Asia Director Nicholas Bequelin said, "These women, men and children would be sent back into the Myanmar military's grasp with no protection guarantees, to live alongside those who torched their homes and whose bullets they fled."

Bangladesh has announced it is ready to start repatriating some of the more than 700,000 Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017. They fled to escape a crackdown by the Myanmar military in response to a series of attacks committed by Rohingya militants.

Myanmar, too, has announced it is ready to welcome the Rohingya back.

But U.N. human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet has voiced her concern about the safety of those who return to Rakhine state, and Amnesty said it is unclear whether the people Bangladesh is planning to repatriate have consented to the move.

WATCH: Fear, Confusion as Rohingya Repatriation Looms

Bangladesh has said that only refugees who say they want to return to Myanmar will be repatriated.

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence openly rebuked Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi for Myanmar's treatment of Rohingya, during a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Singapore.

A special U.N. fact-finding mission said the military acted "with genocidal intent" against the Rohingyas, citing numerous atrocities such as extrajudicial killings, gang rapes and the torching of entire villages.

The U.S. vice president said the "violence and persecution" against the Rohingya "is without excuse."

Pence also urged Aung San Suu Kyi to pardon two Reuters journalists who were convicted and sentenced in September of violating Myanmar's colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested last December after meeting with two police officers at a restaurant in Yangon and being given a stack of documents. They were investigating the massacre of 10 Rohingya by police and soldiers in the village of Inn Din last year.

Pence said he was eager to discuss with Aung San Suu Kyi the importance of ensuring a "free and independent press" in Myanmar.

In response, Aung San Suu Kyi said her government is "in a better position to explain to you what is happening and how we see things panning out."
First and worst is how environmental campaigners describe the impact of climate change on the people of Samoa in the South Pacific. The Polynesian nation of 200,000 people fears it will feel the full force of more frequent tropical cyclones, and that rising sea levels will drive them from their homes on the coast with disastrous consequences for the lucrative tourism industry.

Samoa is a jewel in the South Pacific. Its Polynesian culture is rich and heartfelt. Then there are the reefs, beaches and rainforests.

More frequent tropical storms

Tourism generates about 20 percent of Samoas income. But as the islands popularity increases with travelers from Asia and Europe, there is the growing threat of climate change.

In February, Cyclone Gita tore into this part of the South Pacific, causing widespread flooding and damage.

Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson from the Samoa Conservation Society believes tropical storms are becoming more frequent and severe.

This particular hotel was underwater  the highest I have ever seen in my lifetime, and it was quite dangerous for the tourists who were here because it took them a while to get out. The water came in so fast that there were still guests in the room, said Jackson,

REPORTER: So where we are standing now we would be underwater?

JACKSON: Where we are staying right now we would be underwater, yeah. So in previous cyclones and flooding it would come up to our hips but for Cyclone Gita, you know, it would have been over our heads.

We are standing on a multi-million dollar investment that was basically ruined and all that money was lost and that investment was lost because of the impacts of climate change," said Jackson. "It will continue to worsen but what we need to do is prepare for it. The business community as well as, you know, the community at large needs to be prepared for it because it is only going to get worse. The science is very clear on the impacts of climate change on small island developing states; were experiencing first and worst and these include things like flooding and cyclones, storm surges and so forth.

Most Samoans live on a narrow coastal strip on two main islands.

Rising sea level



Violas village near the capital Apia sits around mangroves, where children catch crabs to supplement the communitys meager income. Homes here are barely above sea level, and when the wild tropical storms come they are swamped, sending villagers to higher ground.

Yeah, we all worry about about when climate change, especially the water, when it comes up. So it all goes in our homes, in our houses, especially when we have the cyclones. Yeah, the water can go in all our fale [homes], in all our homes, yeah, said Viola.

Samoa has tried to tame the Pacific Ocean with a giant seawall. But its ferocity during cyclones has caused immense damage over the years.

Susanne Becken, a professor of sustainable tourism at Griffith University, says that vulnerability is harming the nations reputation as a safe place to visit.

Every time there is an event like that it gets harder to get back on the feet," she said. "There is also the perception, I mean, tourism is a major industry here in Samoa, if people get this idea that it is not safe and I can see that maybe there is a little bit of that happening in the Caribbean where there is just one hurricane after the other, people start to avoid those places, so there is this negative feedback loops if you want.



Economic impact



In the early 1990s the damage caused by tropical cyclones Ofa and Val was estimated to have been four times Samoas annual national income.

Mario Hardy, the head of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, or PATA, says vulnerable tourist destinations must develop a survival strategy.

I think it is important for people to prepare themselves for these situations and also to understand what is needed to be done afterwards and this is where PATA gets involved in most instances is after the event in the recovery part; how do you tell the rest of the world, okay, you can come back now, you can actually come and enjoy the destinations, we need your support, we need you to come and spend your dollars on islands so that we can actually recover, said Hardy.



There is a general feeling here in Samoa that the developed world isnt doing enough to combat climate change.

Sonja Hunter, the head of the Samoa Tourism Authority, says individuals and governments overseas need to do more.

Every little thing you do you should really be saying how will I impact on climate change? What can I do more to mitigate that effect? Because the people of the Pacific may not have homes in the next couple of decades, or even a decade, she said.

Samoas Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele believes climate change is an existential threat to island nations. He said that any world leader who denied the existence of warming temperatures was mentally unstable.
The Texas Board of Education preliminarily voted Tuesday night to restore Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller to the state's history curriculum and to slightly soften language about the Arab-Israeli conflict  surprising moments of bipartisanship for members who have long waged ideological battles about how students in the nation's second largest state learn history.

The moves came after the board's 10 Republicans and five Democrats heard hours of often impassioned testimony from students, teachers, activists and university experts on proposed edits meant to streamline academic standards for history. A final vote is scheduled for Friday and more changes can still be made.

In September, the board voted to cut lessons on former secretary of state, senator and 2016 presidential candidate Clinton, as well as Keller, an iconic activist who was deaf and blind.

Emotions often ran high Tuesday, particularly when Gabrielle Caldwell, a 17-year-old hearing- and visually-impaired student, spoke about how Keller was the only connection many people have to the deaf and blind community.



"I am hoping you keep Helen Keller being taught in our schools," Caldwell said. "She's a hero."



The board voted hours after Caldwell's testimony to restore Keller to third grade curriculums with minimal debate. It also restored a previously trimmed second grade lesson about Women Airforce Service Pilots, civilians who flew during World War II and were the first U.S. women to pilot military aircraft.

The proposal to again include Clinton sparked more debate but eventually passed easily. Democrats said Texas girls will be inspired by  and should be taught about  the first female presidential candidate to earn a major party nomination, while Republicans said they'd heard from other residents demanding to know why Clinton was cut in the first place.



"I think she qualifies as a significant political leader," said Marty Rowley, a Republican from Amarillo, while noting that he didn't agree with Clinton's politics.



Texas has around 5.4 million public school students, more than any state but California. Teaching board-approved lessons isn't always mandatory, but its sanctioned curriculum can affect what's published in textbooks.



The state's market is large enough that its curriculum sometimes influences what goes into materials used elsewhere around the country  though that's less true in recent years as technology allows for tailoring what's taught to different states and even individual school districts.



Other hot-button curriculum topics went unchanged despite long-standing objections from university professors and other experts. The board refused to modify controversial lessons on the causes of the Civil War and asking students to explore the biblical figure Moses' influence on the nation's Founding Fathers.



Political lessons referencing Moses have been in Texas curriculums since 2010. A panel of experts had proposed cutting those, but the board voted in September to preserve them. It also retained language that students learn how "Arab rejection of the State of Israel has led to ongoing conflict" in the Middle East.

On Tuesday, the board voted to make rejection of many Arabs of the State of Israel a contributing factor to Middle East conflict. But it didn't change references to Moses, or instruction on how sectionalism and states' rights were "contributing factors" to the Civil War, while also noting in the curriculum that slavery was a "central cause."



"There are people who believe that some of the events that happened long before this became a boiling point for war was the fact that they did not want to be told what to do by the central government," Pat Hardy, a Republican from Fort Worth, said of the Civil War, adding that southern states were "very, very independent" and didn't like Washington telling them what to do.



Ruben Cortez, a Democrat from the Texas-Mexico border city of Brownsville, responded: "I think we just need to do the right thing, and I think I better stop talking before I get upset."



Marisa Perez-Diaz, a Democrat from suburban San Antonio, said the curriculum wording was meant to skirt "the real issue, which is slavery."



No changes were made despite nearly 200 historians and scholars signing a petition circulated by the Texas Freedom Network, a watchdog group and frequent board critic, which said such standards "resurrect the 'Lost Cause' myth, a long-discredited version of history first promoted in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to glorify the Confederate past and reinforce white supremacist policies."
2 Soldier Daniel Perez, 20, serves with the military police. The unit is part of the troops sent to South Texas to help the operation. "I wanted to be in the Army to start a new future and a new story, and to do something better with my life and my family too," he said.
A unique vintage wristwatch went under the hammer for 3.915 million Swiss francs ($3.88 million) in Geneva on Tuesday, auctioneer Sotheby's said, setting a world record price after hectic bidding.

Made in 1952 by Patek Philippe and bought four years later at Asprey's  the only one of its kind the London retailer ever sold  the Swiss watch is a perpetual calendar chronograph.

"The Asprey" was the star lot among 250 watches and pocket watches, including pieces by Cartier, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin, on the block at the semi-annual auction.

Tuesday's anonymous seller bought it at auction in 2006 for a then record 2.2 million Swiss francs (now $2.21 million), and this time around it had a pre-sale estimate of $2-4 million.

The buyer's identity was not immediately known, but the successful bidder was a young Asian woman in torn jeans in the back row of the sale room who spoke Chinese into her cellphone.

"A world record price for a (Patek Philippe reference model) 2499. Sold," Sam Hines, global head of Sotheby's watch division, declared as he brought down the hammer after see-saw bidding.

The original owner, whose initials, R.C., are engraved on the back of the watch's yellow gold case, probably received it for his 21st birthday. He has not been identified either, the auction house said.

The watch, which was taken on a marketing tour in Asia and Dubai prior to the sale, is on a brown leather strap and offers the day and date, a stopwatch and phases of the moon.

Hines, asked about the Chinese luxury market cooling in an era of less ostentation under a government anti-corruption drive, told Reuters before the sale: "We do have clients in China. It is true with the sort of need to be less ostentatious, tastes have become more conservative. So vintage watches really do fit the new taste."

In all, the watch sale netted 12.2 million francs, Sotheby's said.

($1 = 1.0089 Swiss francs)
Opening statements have begun in the high-security trial of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels told a jury that Guzman "sent killers to wipe out competitors ... waged wars against longtime partners" and revolutionized drug trafficking to the United States.

Fels said Guzman, 61, ran shipments of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine into the United States as head of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, an organization that has played a large part in the violent drug wars devastating parts of Mexico.

Guzman has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He faces 17 criminal counts, and potential life imprisonment if convicted.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman painted a portrait of Guzman as a fall guy for corrupt government officials and the world's biggest drug dealer, who was not named. He said Mexican and American officials, including Mexico's current president, his immediate predecessor and an official of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, were among those paid millions to keep the real kingpin free.

Authorities deployed tight security for the proceedings, including armed escorts for the anonymous jurors. Heavily armed federal marshals and officials with bomb-sniffing dogs were outside the courthouse.

Guzman is known for evading lockup. In 2001, he broke out of a maximum-security prison in western Mexico where he was serving a 20-year sentence for criminal association and bribery, by reportedly bribing guards and hiding in a laundry cart. He was recaptured in 2014.

The following year, he again escaped prison through a tunnel linked to his cell that was more than a kilometer long. He was recaptured in 2016 and extradited to the United States in January 2017.

Despite Guzman's capture, the bloody Sinaloa cartel remains lucrative. Analysts have said the organization's decentralized command structure has allowed it to carry on without its most famous member.

Two hundred thousand people have died since the Mexican government began waging a military war on drugs in 2006.
A court sentenced Turkish journalist Ali Unal to 19 years in jail on Wednesday on a charge of being a leader in the network accused of carrying out a failed coup in July 2016, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

The ruling followed a sustained crackdown in the wake of the coup attempt, but also came amid steps by the government that appear aimed at improving ties with the United States and Europe, strained by the sweeping campaign of arrests.

Unal was chief writer at the now-defunct Zaman newspaper, widely seen as the flagship media outlet for the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara says orchestrated the attempted putsch. Gulen denies any involvement.

Speaking by video link from jail to the court in the western province of Usak, Unal denied being a founder or leader of the network and denied involvement in the putsch, Anadolu said.

I have no link with any terrorist organization, he said, adding that he had spoken five or six times to Gulen and that he was being tried over his writing.

He was sentenced to 19 years and six months for leading an armed terrorist group. Six other Zaman journalists were convicted on similar charges in July.

Some 250 people were killed in the coup attempt and in the subsequent crackdown Turkey jailed 77,000 people pending trial. Authorities also sacked or suspended 150,000 civil servants and military personnel and shut down dozens of 130 media outlets.

Illustrating the scale of its actions, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday his ministry had dismissed 23 percent of its career personnel over links to Gulen.

Erdogan has said some journalists helped nurture terrorists with their writing, and that the crackdown is needed to ensure stability in a NATO member bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Critics say Erdogan has used the crackdown to muzzle dissent and increase his own power. The European Union, which Turkey aspires to join, has also criticized the crackdown.

BLACK COMEDY

The verdict came a day after another court threw out the conviction of a former Wall Street Journal reporter, annulling a verdict sentencing her to two years in prison in absentia on charges of carrying out propaganda for Kurdish militants.

That ruling coincided with signs that Ankara is seeking to revive ties with Western allies damaged in part by concerns about its human rights record in the wake of the crackdown. In one example, Turkey last month released a U.S. pastor after two years in prison who had been accused of links to Gulen.

Ayla Albayrak, a reporter with dual Turkish and Finnish citizenship, was sentenced last year over a 2015 story about clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey.

The black comedy part of my life called a trial finally ended. Its been exactly 3 years since the investigation started in Nov 2015 over a WSJ story, Albayrak wrote on Twitter.

After the 2015 collapse of a ceasefire, intense conflict erupted between the Turkish military and the PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and EU.

The court dismissed the case on procedural grounds, citing statute of limitations, and did not rule on the substance of the charges, the Wall Street Journal said.

Turkey ranks 157th out of 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders, which says 29 journalists are currently in prison in Turkey.
U.S. lawmakers will introduce legislation on Wednesday urging a stronger response by the Trump administration to China's crackdown on minority Muslims, including possible sanctions against a regional Communist Party chief and other officials accused of human rights abuses.

The legislation will also ask President Donald Trump to condemn China's actions in the Xinjiang region, call for a new "special coordinator" of U.S. policy on the issue and press for consideration of a ban on export of U.S. technology that Beijing could use in surveillance and mass detention of ethnic Uighurs, according to a copy of the measure seen by Reuters.

The lawmakers want the Trump administration to consider human rights-related sanctions against Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is also a member of the powerful politburo, and other officials "credibly alleged to be responsible" for the security crackdown, the measure will say.

"Chinese government officials should be held accountable for their complicity in this evil and U.S. businesses should be barred from helping China create a high-tech police state in Xinjiang," said Republican U.S. Representative Chris Smith, one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation that will be presented in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The White House and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill, which is also being put forth by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez

Trump's senior aides recently have become more vocal in their criticism of China's treatment of its minority Muslims in Xinjiang, which has sparked an international outcry. Any sanctions, however, would be a rare move on human rights grounds by the Trump administration against China, with which it is engaged in a bitter trade war.

Beijing has dismissed accusations of abuses in Xinjiang, urging the United States and other countries to stay out of its internal affairs.

China's top diplomat said earlier on Tuesday that the world should ignore "gossip" about developments in Xinjiang and trust authorities there, when asked if Beijing would allow international observers to inspect camps holding Muslims there.

Western countries including Canada, France, Germany, and the United States have urged China to shut down camps in Xinjiang, where activists say as many as 1 million members of the Uighur minority and other Muslims are being detained. Far western Xinjiang faces a threat from Islamist militants and separatists, China has said in the past.

Rubio said in a statement that some Chinese officials were responsible for "possible crimes against humanity."

The Trump administration for several months has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials and companies operating in Xinjiang, U.S. officials have said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The new bill calls for consideration of measures under the Global Magnitsky Act, which hits rights violators with freezes on U.S. assets, U.S. travel bans, and prohibitions on Americans doing business with them, and also under a federal law to target those involved in religious repression around the world.

It will urge the administration to report back to Congress on Chinese companies involved in the camps and ask the FBI to take action against any Chinese government efforts to intimidate Uighurs living in the United States.
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to lift sanctions against Eritrea after nearly a decade.

The targeted sanctions, in effect since December 2009, blocked arms sales to and from Eritrea, placed travel restrictions on senior government and military officials, and froze the assets of Eritreans found to support armed opposition groups, violate the comprehensive arms embargo, or commit other offenses specified in the resolution.

Allegations that Eritrea was providing material support to Somalia-based Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab, along with a separate border dispute with Djibouti, prompted the sanctions. Somalia and Djibouti were both vocal supporters of the 2009 resolution.

The Eritrean government has denied the allegations and, for nearly a decade, decried the sanctions. It had also blocked U.N. monitors from accessing the country, repeatedly calling the sanctions illegal and immoral.

Regional developments

The possibility that sanctions might be lifted emerged this July, after Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met and declared an end to their countries 20-year border dispute.

Speaking a day later from the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres suggested the sanctions might no longer be necessary.

Tuesdays resolution, passed on a 15-0 vote, said U.N. monitors have not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports al-Shabab.

It also urged Eritrea and Djibouti to work out their border dispute, which has sparked armed clashes between the countries and left Djiboutian prisoners of war unaccounted for.

Sanctions impact

How lifting the sanctions might affect Eritreas economy or its ongoing efforts for regional integration and global partnerships remains unclear.

For years, Eritrea has allowed the United Arab Emirates to operate a base from its port in Assab, training troops and flying sorties as part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.

That conflict has come under increasing scrutiny in the wake of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last month and a humanitarian crisis in Yemen that has pushed millions to the brink of starvation.

In 2016, a U.N. monitoring group concluded the UAEs use of Assab likely violated the arms embargo, but the group was unable to visit the country or provide concrete evidence, and the matter wasnt pursued by the United Nations.

With sanctions now lifted, Eritrea could engage in arms deals, as well as expand the scope of the foreign military presence hosted in the country.

As of November 2018, two Eritrean nationals, Fitiwi Abdelrazak and Ermias Alem, appeared on a U.N. sanctions list for leading a transnational trafficking network. Their sanctions are unrelated to those against Eritrean government and military leaders.

Eritrea previously faced a comprehensive arms embargo, along with Ethiopia, in the waning days of a two-year border war between the countries. Those sanctions were lifted after a year, in May 2001.
The United Nations warned Wednesday that days of heavy fighting in parts of central-eastern Afghanistan has worsened humanitarian conditions, and urged warring parties to ensure safe passage for civilians attempting to leave the affected districts.

The hostilities between the Taliban, supported by local Pashtun communities, and pro-government Shia Hazara militias broke out in early November in the Khas Uruzgan district, Uruzgan province, before spreading to the Jaghuri and Malistan districts in the embattled neighboring Ghazni province.

Scores of Afghan security forces and insurgent fighters have been killed, and the conflict has escalated since Saturday, with intensified ground operations and airstrikes by pro-government forces.

"The situation within the affected districts is chaotic, with families moving repeatedly in search of safety," said the U.N. humanitarian agency in a statement. It blamed "increasing inter-communal tensions" for sparking the deadly conflict.

Afghan civilians also have suffered casualties, but the U.N. agency would not immediately offer any figures. It lamented reports from the war zone that private houses have been burned and civilian vehicles stolen or confiscated in violation of international humanitarian laws.

"Roads connecting Jaghuri and Malistan to the provincial capital of Ghazni have reportedly been blocked ... leaving people in siege-like conditions with no access to health facilities and limited ... food, fuel and medicine," the U.N. agency noted.

Displaced families abandoning their homes are exposed to harsh winter conditions. Hundreds of refugee families have arrived in neighboring Bamyan and Maidan-Wardak provinces, while some moved into Kabul.

Aid workers said supply routes to Jaghori and Malistan remain closed, while telecommunications networks are interrupted, affecting the availability of fuel, food and medicine in local markets.

Relief authorities have registered 1,000 displaced families in the provincial capital of Ghazni over the past two days, who are living in schools, mosques and homes of local families. The U.N. agency said that up to 4,000 families reportedly are headed toward Ghanzi city and Kabul.

Afghan Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahramee, while briefing lawmakers Wednesday, acknowledged that government forces with limited resources were dealing with a "high-level of security threats" insurgents are posing in nine provinces, including Ghazni and Uruzgan.

Afghan security forces have suffered heavy casualties in recent months, and they continue to face increasingly deadly battlefield attacks from the Taliban.

President Ashraf Ghani admitted Monday that Afghan security forces have lost more than 28,500 personnel since 2015 while battling the Taliban, but he denied suggestions the insurgent group was in a winning position. The Taliban controls or hotly contests nearly half of Afghanistan's districts.
The United States says it will continue efforts to support Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya minority through humanitarian aid and diplomacy.

A U.S. delegation on Sunday visited a camp hosting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar region, where it met with refugees and local officials.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have settled in Bangladesh, escaping a major crackdown by Myanmar's military last year.

U.S. officials said the situation in areas where Rohingya refugees are expected to resettle in Myanmar is not suitable for a safe return.

Right now, the conditions on the ground in the areas of potential return are not adequate to support a sustainable return of the population," said Richard Albright, deputy assistant secretary of state, who headed the U.S. delegation.

WATCH: US Delegation Visits Rohingya Refugee Camp in Bangladesh

Albright said the U.S. had been engaged in talks with Myanmar authorities to facilitate the return of Rohingya refugees to their home country.

We consistently discussed with the government of Myanmar the need for access for humanitarian actors so they can reach the communities in need. We asked them to make progress on a transparent and efficient process for nationality claims for the Rohingya," he said.

Prior to his Bangladesh visit, Albright also visited areas in Myanmar, including Rakhine state, where the majority of Rohingya Muslims lived.

"These visits are part of the U.S. Embassy's regular travel to look at our humanitarian assistance programs throughout the country and to better understand the conditions on the ground," the embassy in Myanmar said in a statement last week.

U.S. aid agencies have been providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, as well as supporting development programs inside Myanmar.

Myanmar officials said that more than 5,000 refugees in Bangladesh had been confirmed to return home this week.

Analysts were skeptical about a safe return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

"While the Myanmar authorities may have announced that they are ready to receive several thousand Rohingya refugees, it is not clear whether refugees themselves feel safe enough to return home," Vikram Nehru, a Southeast Asia expert at John Hopkins University, told VOA.

Nehru added that "a precondition for the return of the refugees should be some international oversight to ensure the security of the refugees once they return."

Rohingya Muslims are living in fear after being told that authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar are considering the repatriation of thousands of refugees to Myanmar as part of a deal reached last month. The official return is set to begin this month.

Some Rohingya, fearing persecution upon their return, have said they are considering taking their own lives to avoid being sent back to Rakhine state, where Myanmar's military is accused of having waged a genocidal campaign against the minority group.

"If we go back, they can kill us, they can torture us. We have already lost everything once," said one man from the Jamtoli camp, speaking on condition of anonymity, who was told by camp officials that he and his family were on the list.

Bangladesh's refugee relief and rehabilitation commissioner, Abul Kalam, has told Human Rights Watch the Rohingya on the list "were not chosen because they particularly wanted to go back."

The U.N.'s special rapporteur on human rights for Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, has called on both countries to scrap the plan to return people this month, warning the Rohingya face a "high risk of persecution" if returned.

The plan may also "violate obligations under customary international law to uphold the principle of non-refoulement," she added.

Bangladesh should not be sending anyone at this time," Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist, told VOA. "Forcing survivors and refugees back to the killing fields where genocide is still going on is complicity in genocide."

Myanmar's government and its military have come under international criticism over their handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Different international rights groups have also criticized the country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to prevent violence against the Rohingya.

On Monday, Amnesty International stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its top honor for her failure to criticize or halt violence against her country's Rohingya population.

During her detention, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 2009, Amnesty gave her its highest honor, naming her an Ambassador of Conscience.

But since becoming Myanmar's de facto civilian leader in 2016, she and her administration have been criticized worldwide for failing to condemn or try to stop atrocities perpetrated by the military against Rohingya.

VOA's Victor Beatie and Joshua Carroll contributed to this report.
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Tuesday he supported a bill that would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any politically motivated firings and would urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on it.

"I would certainly vote for it," Graham told reporters of the bill, which he supported when it passed the Senate Judiciary in April.

"I don't see any movement to get rid of Mueller. But it probably would be good to have this legislation in place just for the future," he said.

McConnell told reporters in Kentucky last week he did not think legislation was necessary because he did not think Mueller was in danger.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said he also supported the bill but would not lobby McConnell to allow the measure to move forward.

"Every bill that comes out of my committee, I'd like to see a vote. But whether it comes up will be up to the leader and I'm not going to lobby the leader," Grassley told reporters on Tuesday. "If it comes up, I'll vote on it. And I think it ought to pass."

Trump last week forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replaced him with Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general in charge of overseeing Mueller and his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.

Whitaker has described Mueller's probe as being too wide-ranging. Trump denies that he or his associates colluded with Russia, and Moscow says it did not interfere in the election.

Graham, who said last year that there would be "holy hell to pay" if Sessions was fired, predicted that Trump would move to oust Sessions after the midterms and appoint someone with whom he had a better relationship.

Democrats and some Republicans worry Trump's firing of Sessions means he is maneuvering to fire or significantly restrain the special counsel.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who is retiring, and Democratic Senator Chris Coons have pledged to seek a floor vote on a bill to shield Mueller as soon as Congress resumed this week after a recess for the Nov. 6 elections.

The Justice Department said on Monday night that Whitaker would consult with ethics officials about any matters that could require him to recuse himself.
While leaders from 10 Southeast Asian countries largely discussed trade in Singapore Wednesday, participating U.S. Vice President Mike Pence focused on keeping Asian seas open internationally despite Chinese expansion. He also sought help in checking North Korean nuclear ambitions and pressed Myanmar on its treatment of Rohingya refugees.

At an annual summit for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), heads of state talked business throughout the day with one another as well as with officials from larger countries, including India, Russia and China.

But Pence steered most of his talks Wednesday toward geopolitics.

Rohingya issue

In a meeting with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi Wednesday, Pence asked for a report on any progress in pursuing military forces who might have persecuted the stateless, Muslim Rohingya population  a source of conflict since the 1970s.

Washington desires a prosperous, peaceful successful civil society in Burma with a free and independent press, Pence said, using the countrys former name.

This is a tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of Americans, he said. The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse.

More than 730,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh since August last year from what UN investigators say is genocide. Myanmar has consistently denied the charge and says the campaign was a legitimate response to what it called terrorist attacks.

Im anxious to hear about the progress that youre making holding those accountable, who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds, created such suffering, including the loss of life.

Pence said the United States was encouraged by some signs that some families will begin to find their way home and the vice president made it clear that that must take place in a manner thats transparent and safe and voluntary, a U.S. official told reporters after the meeting.

The Myanmar leader lowered her voice and told Pence you should exchange views and then to understand each other better.

We are in a better position to explain to you what is happening and how we see things panning out, she said.

South China Sea

Earlier Wednesday, he told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that recent Asian naval exercises were evidence of our commitment to ensuring free and open access to the seas all across this region. Both India and the United States have tried to keep China in check as it militarizes islets in a disputed sea to its south.

On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on ASEAN to work together with China in that waterway, the South China Sea. Four ASEAN nations  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam  contest Chinese maritime claims.

ASEAN has pushed China for two decades to sign a code of conduct that would help prevent mishaps on the sea. The two parties restarted talks on the code last year but theyre expected to sit it out in 2018 over concerns about sovereignty issues and dispute resolution methods.

It depends on China, said Termsak Chalermpalanupap, a fellow with the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. Actually ASEAN says it can be done within one month, since we already have a single draft for the negotiation. We just fill in some details and thats it.

North Korea

Also in his meeting with Modi, the U.S. vice president urged more help on relations with North Korea. The U.S. government regards North Korea as a hermit state with missiles and nuclear weapons capable of striking Western-allied neighbors.

We are grateful to Indias strong support of our pressure campaign, Pence said. "But we look forward to finding even more ways we can work together, even as the president [Donald Trump] moves toward another summit with Chairman Kim in the hope that we can finally bring a lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula.

But Washington and Pyongyang are preparing for a second Kim-Trump summit even amid reports that North Korea may have stockpiled 60 nuclear weapons.

Pence was scheduled later Wednesday to meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo and attend a dinner hosted by the Singapore prime minister.

ASEAN trade

Pence said little about trade Wednesday, although he did tell Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc that he envisioned a "more fair and reciprocal trade arrangement going forward."

ASEAN, which was formed five decades ago, derives its power largely by leveraging a combined market of more than 600 million people to sign trade pacts abroad. Southeast Asian countries export low-value factory goods, migrant labor and natural resources to much of the world.

While the regional leaders are discussing trade deals in Singapore, the summit through Thursday will probably only produce a joint statement rather than substantive deals, said Oh Ei Sun, international studies instructor at Singapore Nanyang University.

The ASEAN summit, from what I observe, is basically more opportunities for the leaders to meet other leaders bilaterally rather than coming up with something concrete multilaterally, he said.

Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
The Khmer Rouge tribunal is to announce verdicts on Friday against the two senior surviving regime officials, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, for crimes against humanity and genocide committed under the totalitarian regime.

In 2014, the court found Chea, 91, and Samphan, 86, guilty of several charges filed in Case 002/01 and sentenced them to life in prison.

But the verdict this Friday in Case 002/02 focuses on a separate set of charges of crimes against humanity and genocide committed at work sites, cooperatives, security centers and execution sites, including the infamous S-21 prison in Phnom Penh. It also considers crimes against humanity and genocide committed against the Cham and Vietnamese minorities.

Neth Pheaktra, court spokesman, said the verdict would provide the justice countless Cambodians had been waiting for for years.

"We expect that the verdict announcement will form part of the process of reconciliation for the victims of the Khmer Rouge in giving them justice which they have been waiting for," he said. "The prosecution and civil parties want the court to give them a life sentence."

The defense will be able to appeal the verdict, with the trial concluding if they decline to do so, Pheaktra added.

During the trial, the court heard the testimony of 114 witnesses, 63 civil parties and eight experts.

The Khmer Rouge regime, which was overthrown in January 1979, claimed the lives of more than 1.7 million Cambodians through execution, disease, starvation and forced labor.

Yun Bin, 63, a Khmer Rouge survivor and a civil party in the case, said he was taken to an execution site and beaten until he fell unconscious before being dumped in an old well.

"I saw many dead people all around me in the well and the bodies were swollen and covered in worms," he said.

Khmer Rouge cadres threw a grenade into the well, but he managed to survive the beating and the blast, escaping the well by climbing over the bodies of his compatriots.

"I promised to the spirits that I will find justice [for them]," he said, adding that he wanted the court to hand down a sentence of life imprisonment, which is the maximum sentence available.

"I also want some [financial] compensation so that I can do ceremonies for those spirits," he said.

Former Khmer Rouge officials, however, have asked the court to release Chea and Samphan.

Suong Sikoeun, 83, a former diplomat, said the pair should be released as there was "no justice for them."

"We mistreated [them]. We are Khmer. We should not imprison them," he told VOA Khmer. "Ive never seen any documents saying the Khmer Rouge advised to kill Cambodians," he said.

"People like Khieu Samphan are considered as a god," he added.

Yong Moeun, 71, who was chef to Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge regime and an envoy to China, said the defendants were "lovers of the nation."

"I dont want to talk more about the past. Its over," she said.

The tribunal also sentenced another senior official, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, the head of the S-21 death camp, to life imprisonment in 2012. Pol Pot, known as Brother Number One, died in 1988. Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister, and his wife, Ieng Tharith, the former social affairs minister, died in 2013 and 2015, respectively.

Professor Peter Maguire, author of "Facing Death in Cambodia," said the Khmer Rouge tribunal had a mixed legacy.

"In the end, this $300 million court took longer to convict three defendants than it did for the United States, England and France to try nearly 5,000 war criminals after World War II," Maguire said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge commander who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, has repeatedly said he does not want to see prosecutions of other Khmer Rouge officials, actions that he said were costly and could lead to "civil war."

Youk Chhang, the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia and a victim of the regime, said the process was imperfect but went a long way toward healing old wounds.

"Although the human pursuit of justice is often scarred by imperfection, the survivors realize a sense of vindication for their suffering as society acknowledges and pursues justice against the perpetrators of the horrors to which they were subjected," he said.

"For our younger generations, having come of age in a Cambodia unencumbered by the horror of war, starvation, genocide or mass atrocities, these proceedings will serve as a grim reminder of human potential for depravity, accented by the myriad scarring, both physical and psychological, that persist in Cambodian society," he added.

Correction: This story was updated to show the defense can appeal the verdict, if they choose to do so.
When Jude Law met with J.K. Rowling about portraying the younger version of Albus Dumbledore, the two discussed how to rebuild the fan-favorite character from the "Harry Potter" films.



Law spent an afternoon jotting down notes from Rowling who talked to him about Dumbledore's life before becoming the world's most powerful wizard. The British actor walked away with a vote of confidence from the famed author, alleviating some pressure on him.



"When the boss says 'I like you,' it gives you a little bit of comfort," Law said of Rowling, screenwriter of the "Harry Potter" prequel series that is based on her 2001 book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." "You can't help but step into something like this, playing a part like this without feeling a sense of responsibility, a fear of letting someone down. But when the creator gives you the thumbs up, it's a blessing."



Dumbledore was a Hogwarts headmaster in the "Potter" franchise commonly known for his silver hair and long beard, sporting a loose robe. He was played by Michael Gambon after inheriting the role from the Richard Harris, who died in 2002.



Law's youthful version enters in his mid-40s wearing a three-piece suit with short auburn hair in the sequel "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," which will be released Friday. It's the second part of a five-film franchise that started with 2016's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," which grossed $813 million worldwide.



In "Grindelwald," Law's character works with his former student Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander to thwart the divisive wizard leader Gellert Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp. The film also stars Katherine Waterston, Zoe Kravitz and Ezra Miller.

For research, Law read several Harry Potter books that referenced Dumbledore, rather than solely watching the previous films featuring the elder character. With the help of Rowling and director David Yates, they wanted to build from the "ground up."

"I was then given the opportunity to create him without feeling the pressure to mimic or impersonate or indeed hang the character too much on past representations by the other actors," Law said. "There were certain traits I wanted to include. I loved his humor, the twinkle he had. He sees the good in almost everyone. He has a good heart. But I was able to layer him up a little more."



Redmayne said the studio perfectly cast Law as Dumbledore, who doesn't necessarily show his true powers and appears only in about six scenes  most of which are interactions with Scamander.

"Being a formidable, formidable actor with great gravitas and weight and yet at the same time, he has this kind of playful quality," Redmayne said of Law. "And I'll never forget our first scene, which was the first time we see each other in the film. I just saw his back, basically. And the way he turned around, it was instant. It was like in one look, he had managed to inhabit that. I hadn't had any expectations about Dumbledore. But somehow it was solidified in one look."

The sequel picks up after Grindelwald was captured by the Magical Congress of the United States of America with the aid of Newt at the end of the first film. But the villainous wizard finds a way to escape custody and assembles a group of pureblood wizards who support him to rule over all humans in 1920s Paris.



Law says the film opens the door to many dramatic paths and explores a more troubled time in Dumbledore's life along with his once-close relationship with Grindelwald.



Rowling announced in 2007 that Dumbledore is gay after the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows," the final book in the series. Some on social media criticized the author's decision to unveil and tinker with the beloved character's sexuality, but she has defended her actions.



Law assures the story is more focused on his character's complicated relationship with Grindelwald from decades ago, rather than Dumbledore's sexuality.



"His sexuality doesn't define him, but the relationship with Grindelwald does," Law said. "I believe, and (Rowling) would agree, that Albus had many intimate relationships. And the one he has is the love of his life, which is damaged. It becomes even poisonous and sends the two of them in opposite directions. He's now in his middle age, around my age 45, and he's still recovering from a relationship that he's trying to work out from when he was 20. That's a long time. I could barely remember what life was like when I was 20."



The actor applauded Rowling for being fearless in creating "layered" and "diverse" characters such as Dumbledore in a fantasy world with "escapism and magic."



"Isn't it wonderful that we're in a world where finally, finally a franchise like this has a great character and it doesn't matter. But (Rowling) is brave enough to put it out there and say 'Let's do this.' People should be able to handle this. They can. It's as we should be."



Law called his introduction as Dumbledore a good "warmup" as the franchise progresses. The actor has a few big films ahead on his plate including "Captain Marvel" and "Vox Lux," but is looking forward to filming the third installment of "Fantastic Beasts" next summer.



It'll give Law time to grow his beard.



"Finding all those pieces of him were fun" he said. "I eased into the part, but the line was drawn at the end of this one. It's only going to get deeper."
A recent proliferation of craft gins and new distilleries has taken over South Africas bar scene. But this is not your average gin, distillers say: South African gin is infused with unique local flavors -- like fynbos, rooibos, marula, sceletium and other distinctive South African botanicals.
Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM

News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.



Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.

Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.

Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens.
Quavo called time of death on the dab way back in 2016, but that doesnt mean James Corden doesnt owe him, Offset, and Takeoff a huge apology for not only ruining it, but also continuing to dab anyway, right to their faces. Migos joined Corden for a little Carpool Karaoke on Tuesday, where the late-night host offered his sincere condolences on behalf of uncool dads everywhere for driving their dance move into the ground. Then he immediately dabbed to Whitney Houstons I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Be careful what you let James Corden get ahold of, we guess. Like, for example, the $210,000 dollars Migos just carries around with them in cash? Okay, clearly they brought it as a bit, but still, thats so much cash. The trio joined Corden for a little Whitney, as well as Bad N Boujee, Walk It Talk It, Cardi Bs verse on MotorSport, and a very sweet Sweet Caroline.
Tilda Swinton out of character, and in, in Suspiria. Photo: Getty Images and Amazon Studios

Early in the process of planning his remake of Dario Argentos Suspiria, Luca Guadagnino and his muse Tilda Swinton were struck with inspiration. What if Swinton played not just Madame Blanc, the icy French witch at the center of the films Berlin coven, but also two other prominent roles in the script? On Swintons part, the gambit seems to have been undertaken mostly for the laughs, but for Guadagnino there was an additional resonance. As he explained to Vulture last month, in those three roles he saw the three Freudian archetypes. Blanc, who looks more or less like Swinton, is the ego; Mother Markos, a monstrous figure introduced at the end of the film, is the id; and elderly psychoanalyst Josef Klemperer (who production long maintained was being played by a newcomer called Lutz Ebersdorf) represented the superego.

Swinton, one of contemporary cinemas most prominent shape-shifters, was up to the challenge. But equal weight for pulling off the stunt fell to Mark Coulier, the award-winning makeup artist who oversaw the creation of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films. Luckily, Coulier had worked with Swinton before, aging up the Scottish actress into an elderly woman on The Grand Budapest Hotel, which won him his second Oscar. (The first came for turning Meryl Streep into Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.) He came away praising Swintons enthusiasm, and endurance, for those types of roles. Not all actors enjoy the difficulty of doing prosthetic work, he said. Its not the most pleasant thing to sit in a chair for five hours and have latex stuck to your skin. Thats a slight understatement; the first makeup tests for Grand Budapest took ten.

Mark Coulier. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

On Suspiria, Coulier and his team had a luxury every Hollywood craftsman dreams of  time. The first makeup test for Swintons transformation into Ebersdorf started 18 months before filming began, just to see if Guadagninos dream was even possible. It was, but the challenges were legion: The actresss long, avian frame didnt exactly lend itself to playing a male octogenarian, and much of the initial work was spent counteracting her elegant bone structure. Coulier thickened her jawline, gave her new ears, and a little bit of a paunch. Swinton also gave some input on how the characters mouth could be changed to make it easier for her to talk.

Those initial tests were followed by months of experimentation to get the character looking as realistic as possible. Besides tinkering with the lips and jaw, which sculptor Josh Weston eventually perfected, the main difference was Klemperers skin, which got more detailed as the team painstakingly researched physical marks of aging. (Visual references helped: You cant always remember what liver spots look like.) On Swintons request, the doctor also got a makeover to look slightly more Teutonic, though here Coulier eschewed the heavy bone structure of the Eastern Bloc in favor of a more holistic sense of German-ness. I literally just Googled German psychoanalysts, he said. If you look at them, you will probably see a bit of Lutz Ebersdorf in there.

Subtle alterations, like raising the eyebrows in the center, helped give Klemperers face the right emotional timbre. Though not too much  makeup artists are careful to give their prosthetics as neutral an expression as possible. In the final result, Coulier says, Klemperer No. 2 looks a bit more like hes had a life. Hes lived in this world of sadness. He has that air of melancholy.

To complete the illusion, Swinton requested the makeup team craft Ebersdorf a set of prosthetic male genitalia  the penis de resistance. Its a bit like Robert De Niro wanting to wear silk underwear when he played Al Capone, Coulier said. She wanted to feel that weight between her legs. The silicone piece was apparently much less detailed than the rest of Swintons makeup, unwelcome news for the nosy reporter hoping to get all the details he could about the fake penis, but the artist did reveal that it leaned a little to the side.

If the Lutz Ebersdorf makeup required Swintons essence to still shine through, the actresss third role in the film was another level of transformation entirely. Dance academy founder Helena Markos is a lingering presence throughout Suspiria, and when she finally makes her entrance in the films showstopping final sequence, shes revealed as an unholy aberration, a living corpse cursed by the magic thats keeping her alive. It wasnt about taking Tilda and exaggerating her, Coulier says of the Markos job. Theres really no resemblance.

With the basic look inspired by a photograph Guadagnino had found of an old woman grinning under large black sunglasses, the team set about trying to make Markos as disgusting as possible. Luca said, I want her body to be corrupted, postulating with disease, and falling apart, Coulier recalled. He wanted her face to be really twisted and deformed. The Ebersdorf makeup was mostly made up of silicone pieces, but the Markos makeup was a full-foam latex monster suit, with a collection of horrific embellishments affixed to the outside. Luca is a big fan of David Cronenberg, and he likes a bit of body horror, Coulier said. Youve got to really extrapolate, then: Does he really want her to look like a wide-mouth frog? He really does!

Weston again handled the characters face, nailing Markoss toadlike visage in a few tries. The rest of the team set about adding all the little disgusting details that would make the character sing. Here there was no balancing act required; every time they ran a design by Guadagnino, he needed more, more, more. However gross it was, Luca wanted it grosser.

In the end, Markoss skin would end up covered in internal organs, tumors, even a childs arm. (The arm comes from a mold taken of Couliers own young son.) Luca wanted everyone to walk out of the movie a bit stunned, and you do, the makeup artist said. Markos is a really shocking thing.
The United States and United Nations' top human rights official have expressed concern at a plan to repatriate thousands of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar beginning this week, warning that such a move is premature.

On Sunday, Myanmar's Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement announced that it would repatriate 150 refugees per day for two weeks beginning Thursday. The names of 2,260 people set to be repatriated during the two weeks are taken from a list of 8,032 identified by both Bangladesh and Myanmar as verified refugees from Myanmar.

Minority and ethnic groups Rohingya people Society Asia Bangladesh Continents and regions Government organizations - Intl Immigration, citizenship and displacement International relations and national security Myanmar Refugees South Asia Southeast Asia United Nations North America The Americas United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United States

The UNHCR -- the UN's refugee agency -- has repeatedly warned of the risk of resettling the refugees. In a statement on Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet reiterated those concerns and called on the government of Bangladesh to stop the plans for repatriation.

"The human rights violations committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar amount to the worst atrocities, including crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide. With an almost complete lack of accountability -- indeed with ongoing violations -- returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades," she said in a statement.

"The history of the Rohingya in Myanmar is one filled with repeated episodes of violence, flight and return," Bachelet added. "We need to speak with one voice to stop this cycle from repeating itself yet again."

The US State Department affirmed its support for the UNHCR's position that conditions are not conducive for the Rohingya to return.

"We have engaged both governments at the highest levels to express our serious concerns about premature returns, and to emphasize that, consistent with international practice, returns be informed, voluntary, safe, and dignified," a State Department spokesperson said.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from August 2017 to August 2018 to escape a brutal campaign of violence carried out by Myanmar's security forces. The atrocities committed against the Muslim minority included mass rapes, murders and destruction of villages, according to UN and State Department investigations.

More than 10,000 people were killed, according to the UN; it has called for Myanmar's military leaders to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The Trump administration's new National Defense Strategy is insufficiently resourced and the US runs the risk of a military defeat by China or Russia, according to a report by a congressionally mandated panel of bipartisan experts that was released Wednesday.

The warning comes as the Trump administration is weighing a possible cut to the defense budget following a major boost in fiscal years 2018 and 2019.

Asia China Continents and regions Donald Trump East Asia Eastern Europe Europe Government and public administration Government bodies and offices Military North America Political Figures - US Politics Russia The Americas United States US federal government White House

While the report applauds the administration for focusing more on Russia and China as opposed to counterterrorism missions in places like the Middle East, it slams the administration's strategy for not explaining how the goals of that strategy will be met.

"The (National Defense Strategy) too often rests on questionable assumptions and weak analysis, and it leaves unanswered critical questions regarding how the United States will meet the challenges of a more dangerous world," the report says, criticizing the lack of investment and organizational changes to reinforce the new strategy.

"The Commission assesses unequivocally that the NDS is not adequately resourced," the report says, while adding that "available resources are clearly insufficient to fulfill the strategy's ambitious goals, including that of ensuring that DOD can defeat a major power adversary while deterring other enemies simultaneously."

As part of its efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit the Trump administration has said it is publicly weighing a cut to the Defense Department after giving the military a major funding boost.

While the US is projected to spend some $716 billion on defense in fiscal year 2019, defense officials tell CNN administration is considering cutting that number to $700 billion in the following year.

The 12-member commission of experts, which was led by former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman and former chief of naval operations, retired Adm. Gary Roughead, was mandated in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, which charged it with conducting an independent, nonpartisan review of the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

The report warns that given current trends and Russian and Chinese efforts to bolster their own military capabilities, "the US military could suffer unacceptably high casualties" and "might struggle to win or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia."

"The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously," it adds.

The Pentagon issued a statement saying it "welcomes the release of the report by the Commission," saying that the report "affirms the strategic direction set out on the National Defense Strategy, as well as its key priorities."

The statement did not address the report's criticisms of the strategy but said the Defense "Department will carefully consider each of the recommendations put forward by the Commission as part of continuing efforts to strengthen our nation's defense, and looks forward to working with the Commission and the Congress to do so."
WAAY 31 is learning more about the safety concerns of Moores Mill Road.

We first reported Tuesday morning that two people were ejected from their vehicle in a multi-vehicle wreck. Three people were also injured. State troopers still haven't released the identity of the victims.

Many neighbors said they understand county commissioners have done all they can to reduce car wrecks from happening on Moores Mill Road, so they say it's now up to the drivers to ensure safety.

"My granddaughter got out of the car one day and a car comes through the yard and almost hit her," said Chris Bolding.

Chris Bolding said he's tired of the repeated accidents on Moores Mill Road.

"We've had people drive up the driveway and run over mailboxes and everything else here," Bolding said.

When he and his wife heard about the multi-vehicle wreck early Tuesday morning, he wasn't surprised.

"Nobody does the speed limit. We can stand here for the next five minutes and you'll see somebody flying down the road," Bolding said.

I reached out to County Commissioner Roger Jones. He said 45 mph is a safe speed limit for Moores Mill Road. The curve leading up to where the wreck happened even has a high friction surface with a reduced speed limit.

Commissioner Jones and the Madison County Sheriff's office also said, outside of speeding, many drivers are distracted.

Bolding said, until something changes, he's making sure his family is safe.

"We're scared to let the dog come out here. We don't let the dog come out in the front yard or let the grand kids come out in the front yard," Bolding said.

According to Alabama State Troopers, the two vehicles involved are completely totaled.
WAAY 31 got a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build a rocket. United Launch Alliance, the joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, will send up a brand new rocket in 2021.

United Launch Alliance describes the Vulcan Centaur rocket as lighter, more powerful and more cost effective. Representatives of north Alabama toured the various stages of the rocket's assembly Wednesday morning. A ribbon was cut to commemorate the new addition to the ULA plant.

"We see this as an ongoing partnership, and we're thrilled to be at this stage where we're starting off the manufacturing phase of the program," Terry Berglin, the director of business development with Par Systems, said. ULA tapped Par Systems to supply their new friction stir welders.

"So stronger weld means we can make the panels thinner, which makes the vehicle lighter. So, instead of the rocket having to lift a heavier tank, it can lift a heavier payload," said ULA vice president of major development, Mark Peller.

As ULA ramps up to full production, Peller says they plan to produce between 10 and 20 Vulcan Centaur rockets each year.
UPDATE: Weather will keep Athens High School from opening on Monday, and a new date for the opening has not been set yet.

---

The new Athens High School on Highway 31 is supposed to open on Monday, November 19th, but that could change because of the weather.

WAAY 31 got reaction from students and parents.

Usually when a kid leaves a school, youre done the last day of your eighth grade year, like I will never come back! and now, shes in her senior year, and she had to start back in the school that she swore shed never set foot in again," said Khristi Bravo.

If anyone is ready for the new Athens High School to open, its Bravo and her daughter, Madison.

Right now, high schoolers are a little cramped but making do at the middle school while the new high school is in its finishing stages of construction. But, after hearing weather may have an impact on that construction, a lot of people are upset.

The thought that the inclement weather is an issue is absurd," Bravo said. "We live in Alabama. If you dont like the weather, wait a minute.

Bravo said she expected the school to open at the beginning of the new year, but after school officials announced it would open next Monday, she and her daughter got excited.

But now, because of turning lanes that need to be paved and sidewalks that need to be poured, that might not happen.

We got our hopes up about it, like Gee, it might happen before Thanksgiving! This is great, and now theyre saying it might not. I dont see that as an option. Make up your mind. Make a decision and stick with it," Bravo said.

WAAY 31 reached out to school officials to see if they could provide the amount of weather delays theyve had since the construction started, but they didnt have a number to give us.

Others WAAY 31 spoke with said theyre not worried about it, saying everything will happen like its supposed to.

"I mean theyre trying their hardest. You cant really help what the weather does, for real," Pria Crutcher said. "I feel like theyre eventually going to be done in time. I feel like were at least going to have a semester in the school.

WAAY 31 spoke to officials with Athens City Schools and they say we should know more about the schools opening either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

For the school to open on Monday, it must pass a state inspection this Thursday.

An open house is scheduled for all currently enrolled students and their parents on Sunday, November 18th, from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
The office of the New York City public advocate is like the pinky toe of political posts: It looks like its there to help, at least a little, but its not clear what exactly it does. New York City government could seemingly function without one. Thats a sign the job, unless its abolished altogether, should be redesigned to have clear power and a delineated role.

The public advocates has effectively functioned as a springboard for higher office and little else. Letitia James, the current public advocate, was elected state attorney general last week. Her predecessor as public advocate, Bill de Blasio, was elected mayor. Were it not for Michael Bloombergs billions and the September 11th attacks, New Yorks first public advocate, Mark Green, would have been mayor as well.

One would be hard-pressed to come up with any major tangible accomplishments in the public advocates office by James, de Blasio or Green. Rarely has a job come with so much political opportunity and so little actual responsibility  not to mention a $184,800 salary, a driver and an office at the Municipal Building across the street from City Hall.

James departure has set off a mad scramble for the job: The citys rising and former stars  including New York City Councilmen Jumaane Williams and Rafael Espinal, Assemblyman Michael Blake and former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito  are lining up to run to replace James in a citywide special election, likely to be held next February.

What does a public advocate do? The position is akin to the citys ombudsperson  a watchdog over agencies with none of the actual power of investigatory oversight bodies like the attorney general or inspector general. According to the city charter, the public advocate is second in the line of succession if the mayor resigns or cant serve any longer.

When I interned at the public advocates office in 2010, I found it to be similar to a City Council office, only on the scale of five boroughs. Beleaguered, well-meaning case workers would handle constituent calls and help people navigate city bureaucracy.

Like a council member, the public advocate can introduce legislation and takes the ceremonial role of presiding over City Council meetings. James has been more willing than her predecessors to introduce bills and initiate lawsuits against the city, some of which have been thrown out.

With Republican mayors, the public advocate had a more obvious role. Green sparred with Rudy Giuliani over police brutality, serving as something of the leader of a liberal resistance. Betsy Gotbaum, Greens more muted successor, criticized Bloomberg over repealing term limits, while de Blasio repeatedly chastised Bloomberg over his policing and housing policies. The billionaire mayor thought the office of public advocate should be abolished.

Maybe it should be. A few City Council members want to do just that, having introduced a bill that would lead to a voter referendum to get rid of the position.

Part of the problem with the office is how it came into being. The office was created in 1993 as the result of a political deal to save the career of a man once well-known to New Yorkers, but now all but forgotten: Andrew Stein.

Stein was the president of the City Council, an elected citywide post with little tangible power. After a momentous review of the City Charter eliminated the position altogether (this came after the old Board of Estimate was declared unconstitutional, the City Council was expanded, and the office of the speaker was created), Stein needed something to do. Drawn up as a landing pad for the scion of a publishing magnate who once mused about being the first Jewish president, the public advocate was born.

Stein would ultimately not have the job, focusing instead on a mayoral primary against David Dinkins that he would not win. Green won the inaugural 1993 primary for public advocate, attempting to use the post as a springboard for the U.S. Senate and later New York City mayor.

If the alternative is the public advocates office remains a mostly ceremonial post existing to launch yet another career politician to higher office, then it should be abolished.

But theres another way, as has been pointed out by longtime election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder: Make it stronger.

City Council legislation could do this. Even with district attorneys and an inspector general, New Yorks bureaucracy is vast, always in need of more oversight beyond just the city comptrollers office. The City Council could grant the public advocate subpoena power, giving it true oversight capacity over city agencies and the mayors office. With subpoena power, the public advocate could order a bad actor to testify during an investigation or hearing, lending the office real teeth.

Subpoena power would answer most criticisms of the office: that it wastes taxpayer money and cant ferret out actual corruption. In addition to subpoena power, the public advocate could work with the city comptroller to expose fraud and abuse in city government. Alliances like these have already proven fruitful: The state attorney general and state comptroller have partnered on multiple corruption-busting investigations.

Just as importantly, since the public advocate is an elected office, it should have a vote on legislation. Bloomberg eliminated the ability of the public advocate to break ties in the City Council. Not only should this power be restored, but the public advocate should be able to cast votes on legislation, since the office already can introduce bills.

Giving a vote to the public advocate will also create a real role of oversight in the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the community-based process for reviewing rezonings and developments in the city.

These changes to the office would require not just City Council action, but a referendum placed among the voters citywide since they are alterations to a City Charter-mandated role.

We need more watchdogs, not fewer. Making the public advocate a powerful, lasting part of our oversight infrastructure would imbue the office with real purpose. To maintain the status quo or eliminate the office altogether misses an opportunity to change our city government for the better.
Concurs de granturi adresat COMUNITATILOR (APL) pentru sporirea rezilientei lor la schimbarile climatice si FEMEILOR ANTREPRENOARE in vederea dezvoltarii unor afaceri prietenoase mediului
Rome may be one of the world's culinary capitals but every now and then comes the urge to enjoy a classic hamburger with fries. Here is our guide to the best burgers in Rome, for those visiting or living in the Eternal City.

Beveria Monteverde

Trendy venue offering bumper burgers, skewered meats and crescia (a type of "cheese bread") with a range of toppings, salads, muffins, cookies and desserts. The house burgers include hamburger with egg, bacon burger, veggie burger with chinotto, and a trio of mini-burgers. Also decent range of drinks from craft beer to cocktails. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Francesco Bolognesi 16, tel. 065800758. website

Er Burger

With three locations in Rome, Er Burger is known for its fresh Piemontese beef and artisan bread buns. Customers can select their own toppings to create a burger up to four stories high. Also serving hot dogs, salads and desserts. Orders can be made online too for home delivery. Via Cesare Arzela 9 (Marconi). Via Nemi 7 (Tuscolana). Via Eugenio Giovannetti 2 (Nomentana). For menu and opening hours see website.

Ferrovecchio

The atmosphere in this hamburger joint in the heart of S. Lorenzo is laidback but it can get busy, particularly at weekends, when booking is advised. Known for its select meat and home-made bread, Ferrovecchio also offers pizza, fritti, craft beer and desserts. For menu and opening hours see Facebook page. Via dei Sabelli 32, tel. 064460002.

Flower Burger

Italy's first gourmet vegan burgheria, Flower Burger prides itself a wide variety of creative and colourful burgers, home-made from the highest quality authentic vegan ingredients. Its signature burgers include Cecio (in various flavours ranging from cheesy to spicy) and the Tofungo featuring tofu and mushrooms. For menu and opening hours see website. Via dei Gracchi 87 (Prati), tel. 0645666538.

Fonzie  The Burger's House

Rome's first kosher burger joint is styled around a 1950s American theme. There are more than 20 burgers to choose from: simple, spicy, vegetarian and extra-large, all served with a wide variety of homemade sauces and craft beers. There are also fries, onion rings, chicken wings, tortillas and salads. For menu and opening hours see website. Via di S. Maria del Pianto 13 (Jewish Ghetto), Via Catanzaro 33 (Bologna), Via Cicerone 58b (Prati).

Ham Holy Burger

The Slow Food Movement meets technology at Ham Holy Burger which has four outlets in Rome. Customers can order gourmet burgers and craft beers from the iPad menus on each table. Burgers include the Porchettaro, made with Porchetta from Ariccia, and the Giga, a mega burger made from Garronese beef, as well as gluten free and vegan options. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Brescia 28 and Via Chiana 58/64 (Nomentana), Terrazza Termini (Stazione Termini), Castel Romano.

Hamburgeseria Burger Bar

A trendy burger joint offering gourmet burgers, complete with homemade bread and sauces, as well as American coffee, milkshakes, cookies, pancakes and desserts. Located in the S. Lorenzo district, Hamburgeseria also provides a takeaway service. Mon closed. Occasional live music. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Dei Reti 40, tel. 0644701298.

Hopside

This pub-restaurant in Ostiense offers the winning team of burgers and beer, with a variety of international toppings, sauces and dips such as guacamole or hummus. In addition to its craft beer production-room, Hopside allows diners to "pimp" their perfect burger, based on the ingredients of their choice. The burger options include beef, chicken, vegetable and fish, with a rotating drinks menu of craft beer. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Francesco Negri 39, tel. 0669313081.

Kilo Roma

In the evenings this burger house allows customers to choose from a selection of quality burgers made from Italian, Danish or Scottish beef, as well as skewers, all grilled as they watch. The day-time buffet menu includes a brunch offering pasta, fish, side dishes, salads and desserts. For menu and opening hours see Facebook page. Via Tirso 30 (Nomentana), tel. 0664781752.

Open Baladin Rome

Tucked away on a side street near Campo de' Fiori, Open Baladin offers more than 100 craft beers from all over Italy as well as quality burgers made from Fassona Piemontese beef. The buns are produced by the Gabriele Bonci bakery, and all toppings are homemade and produced freshly each day. It also offers fries, chicken dishes and salads. For menu and opening hours see website. Via degli Specchi 6, tel. 066838989.

Pianostrada  Laboratorio di Cucina

Tastefully-decorated venue offering a range of creative dishes from pasta, fish and meat to panini, street food and vegetarian options. Many customers however opt for its signature burger  the Baccaburger  made from baccala and fiori di zucca, with squid-ink black bun. Slightly on the expensive side. For menu and opening hours see Facebook page. Via delle Zoccolette 22 (Campo de' Fiori), tel. 0689572296.

Quarto Burger

A busy spot near Castel S. Angelo offering around 20 burgers ranging from the Cicorione, with cicoria ripassata, to the spicy Messicana. The meat comes from the well-known Buccioni butchers while the bread buns are made by Gabriele Bonci. In addition to burgers, Quarto serves hotdogs and a good selection of craft beer. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Crescenzio 52 (Prati), tel. 0645432249.

Queen Makeda Grand Pub

Located on a quiet street in S. Saba, this trendy gastro pub boasts 40 craft beers as well as various international dishes. Queen Makeda has a good range of quality burgers too, ranging from the classic double bacon cheese to the more adventurous octopus or baccala varieties, as well as a vegetarian option. All served with tasty potato wedges. For menu and opening hours see website. Via di S. Saba 11 (Aventino), tel. 065759608.

TED Lobsters and Burgers

As the name suggests this modern venue offers lobster and burgers, as well as tacos, fish & chips, burritos, salads and cocktails. The burgers on the menu range from the classic to salmon, pulled pork, crispy chicken and vegetarian. There are two Ted outlets in Rome, one in Prati, the other in Ostiense. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Terenzio 12-16 and Via del Gazometro 25.

The Burger Factory Rome

Located in Testaccio, this lively venue offers high-quality burgers at affordable prices. The beef used in the burgers includes Texan Black Angus, Prussian and Scottona, with a special burger of the month. Favourites include the enormous Bomber, the Matriciana, and the Pulled Pork burger. Also available are chicken nuggets and homemade chips (fries). Closed Sunday. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Giovanni da Castel Bolognese 20, tel. 0632090588.

The Hard Rock Cafe

This internationally known rock'n'roll-themed venue serves up a range of burgers and American classics, often to the backdrop of live music. Burger specialties include Black Bean & Quinoa, Guinness Bacon Jam Cheeseburger, and the "Atomic" burger with spicy fried onions and fried jalapenos. For menu and opening hours see website. Via Veneto, 62, tel. 064203051.

Tommis Burger Joint Rome

Described as Rome's best American burger with Icelandic soul, Tommi's serves classic American hamburgers, cheeseburgers and chicken burgers. Located near the Vatican Museums, Tommi's also has rib-eye steak, sweet potato fries and milkshakes. For menu and opening hours see website. Viale Giulio Cesare 193, tel. 0639730902.

T-Bone Station

Well-established American burger and steak house celebrating more than two decades in Rome. T-Bone's three-step burger building method allows customers to create their own burger, choosing the beef and bread buns, as well as toppings and sides. Signature burgers include Soprano (provola affiumicata with grilled melanzana) and Godfather (provola, carmelised onions, bacon and zucchine). For menu and opening hours see website. There are three T-Bone outlets in Rome: Via Vittoria Colonna 21 (Prati), Via Francesco Crispi 29-31 (Spagna), Via di S. Dorotea 21 (Trastevere).

T-Burger Station & Bar

With three T-Burger outlets in Rome (Tuscolana, Pantheon and Corso Trieste), burger fans are spoilt for choice. The extensive menu includes a dozen burger varieties as well as hotdogs, wraps, potato wedges and chicken wings. For menu and opening hours see website. Piazza Istria 16 / Via Appia Nuova 336-338 / Via della Palombella 34.
Home Depot suggested Tuesday that the pace of U.S. home sales was slowing and that impending trade tariffs could force it to raise prices on some products. The warning from the country's biggest home improvement chain overshadowed its stronger-than-expected third-quarter results and a higher annual sales forecast. The retailer now expects sales to rise 7.2 percent in the year ending January, compared with an earlier forecast of 7 percent growth. It raised its earnings forecast to $9.75 per share from $9.42.
On multiple occasions, however, students who have confronted armed attackers, whether on purpose or accidentally, have been killed or wounded. Last year, a 15-year-old boy was shot to death at Freeman High, just outside Spokane in rural Rockford, Wash., after he tried to stop an armed student in the hallway. Three months later, a 17-year-old was killed when he came upon a gunman in the bathroom who was readying an attack at Aztec High in New Mexico, and a 17-year-old girl was wounded when she did the same thing at Alpine High in Texas two years ago.
In her 1997 memoir, Personal History, The Washington Posts longtime publisher Katharine Graham remembered a very alcoholic, emotional party in 1950 when the papers staff left the old Post building on E Street NW for a new site on L Street NW: The party  more of a wake, actually  was, as someone put it, to mourn the death of a building, which, with all its inconvenient horror, was still much loved. There was, perhaps, less booze when The Post moved again in late 2015, out of its 1972 building on 15th Street NW to the spot it now occupies, rental space on K Street NW a few blocks away. But if there was less booze, there were still plenty of people who mourned the death of a building, not because it was a good building, or a beloved building or a beautiful building, but because it was a repository of memory and habit.
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
When my well-intended husband noticed Poppas fatigue as he started carving Turkey No. 2, he took over the knife  and proceeded to tenderly hack the beautiful bird to ugly pieces. Clearly, my 42-year-old husband wasnt prepared for the task, because presentably slicing a 20-pound turkey isnt anything like slicing bread, or even roast beef. Even with an electric knife, which my Poppa sometimes uses for some extra muscle, carving takes skill and practice. If you dont believe me, check one of the more than 5 million YouTube videos explaining how to do it correctly. And a quick Google search shows that pros from Alton Brown to Geoffrey Zakarian have an opinion on the right technique. (They both recommend removing the wishbone before cooking to make it easier to carve the breast meat. But Poppa has never done this, so Im not sure I trust them.)
Whether the news of the day concerns national security, the economy, or the environment, reporters covering the White House must remain free to ask questions, lawyers for the group said in a statement. It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the President and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons. Our news organizations support the fundamental constitutional right to question this president, or any president.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  Former Senator Serge Osmena, who was imprisoned during the imposition of martial law by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, wants his widow, Ilocos Norte 2nd District Rep. Imelda Marcos to be put under house arrest due to her old age.

"89 [years old] is too old. I'd put her under house arrest," Osmena told CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday.

The Philippine National Police is under fire for supposedly favoring the former First Lady, who was convicted by the Sandiganbayan on seven counts of graft for earning $200 million from Swiss foundations. Her sentence carries a prison term of up to 77 years and perpetually bars her from public office.

Police have denied they are applying a double standard, saying Imelda is just less of a flight risk due to her health and old age.

READ: 'Double standard' in Imelda, Trillanes arrest? Marcos less of a flight risk, PNP says

The former First Lady is running for Ilocos Norte governor, seeking to replace her daughter, Imee Marcos, who is running for senator.

For Osmena, who is trying to make a comeback in the Senate in the May 2019 polls, said the age and health of a convict should be taken into consideration "on a case to case basis."

"Age is not a modifying factor in your behavior because if you're really guilty of something, you have to go to jail, and maybe after you've served two, four years, then they'll let you out," he said. "But you still have to go to jail."

Under the Rules of Court, the age and health of the accused is only taken into consideration in setting the amount of bail.

According to his biography on the Senate website, Osmena was imprisoned for five years during Ferdinand's martial rule and subsequently embarked on a hunger strike with Geny Lopez, the late chairman emeritus of ABS-CBN, to protest the unjust detention of Filipinos.

Other martial law victims want Imelda immediately arrested, but the Sandiganbayan deferred on Tuesday the issuance of an arrest warrant against Imelda for her failure to appear during the promulgation of the court's ruling on the graft cases due to her pending motion for leave of court to avail of post-conviction remedies.

The motion is due for hearing on Friday, Nov. 16.
In a fiscal impact statement, DeWitt said the measure would cost the city $21.7 million in fiscal 2019, and $104.1 million through fiscal 2022, mostly from lost tax revenue if those short-term rentals are eliminated. But council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who championed the bill, said there was no reason to believe the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs would start enforcing zoning regulations that it has largely ignored.
The most significant change would guarantee the accused the right to cross-examine their accusers, though that would have to be conducted by advisers or attorneys for the people involved, rather than by the person accused of misconduct. If requested, the parties could be in separate rooms during the cross-examination, an administration official said. They said this was done to bolster the due-process rights of the accused while assuring that victims are not directly confronted by their assailants.
Sam Gass, 60, grew up in the neighborhood and can remember his father, the owner of a construction company, hunting for deer on land where office towers now stand. It was all fields and woods and, as kids, we were on our minibikes, he said while drinking coffee at the Gentlemens Club.
The corrections spokeswoman, Keena Blackmon, said in a statement that the cause of the low water pressure is being investigated. We will continue to ensure that inmates have access to clean, safe drinking water and basic sanitation during the repair and restoration of full water pressure, the statement said.
People really underestimate Crystal City, she said. I used to be able to go out at night and get into any of our 60 restaurants with no trouble at all. Now, I often have to wait. This is an up-and-coming place.
The decades-old battle over the role medical professionals should play in reducing gun violence erupted onto social media in the past week after the National Rifle Association admonished doctors to stay in their lane rather than share thoughts about gun safety. Members of the medical profession took to Twitter with a viral  and often graphic  campaign detailing the damage guns do to the human body, and the frequent efforts doctors must take to save the lives of those who have been shot, under the hashtag #Thisisourlane.
Russia accused of jamming GPS signal during NATO drill: The Norwegian Defense Ministry said Russian forces in the Arctic disturbed GPS location signals during a recent NATO drill in Norway. The ministry said Norway's Foreign Ministry had raised the issue with Russia. The ministry said "jamming has been recorded between Oct. 16 and Nov. 7 from the Russian forces" on the Arctic Kola Peninsula. NATO's Trident Juncture exercise was staged Oct. 25 to Nov. 7. The signals jamming is not thought to have caused any accidents.
Todays witches are an eclectic group, ranging from teens who pull the occasional Urban Outfitters-purchased tarot card to devoted practitioners who have adopted the African spiritualism of their ancestors. There are even Christian witches  a new tradition that seems to have cropped up within the past five years. Most younger habitues are developing their own personal practice as they go along. In her 2015 book, Witches of America, Alex Mar estimates that there are up to 1 million practicing witches in the United States  a group about the same size as the Seventh-day Adventists.
Though bungled elections are about as plentiful as sunburns in Florida, you cant be surprised that Republicans, narrowly ahead in races for the governors office and the Senate, are mighty suspicious as their margins erode in the murky waters of the states most Democratic county. From the outside, incompetence and cheating arent always easy to distinguish from each other. As a result, the door was open for Palm Beach clubman Donald J. Trump, in his role as the nations provocateur in chief, to tweet accusations of rampant fraud, backed up by the usual zero evidence.
Trump is not just pushing the limits  he is erasing them. He is normalizing bigotry and conspiracy-mongering in ways that would have seemed unimaginable only a few years ago. After he is gone, and perhaps even before, it will be imperative to rebuild the guardrails of our culture. We cannot eliminate bigotry, but we can reduce its prevalence and make its public expression unacceptable. The anti-tobacco campaign publicizing the dangers of smoking offers a model of the kind of public-education effort that will be necessary to clean up Trumps toxic residue. Because if history teaches anything, it is that hate-mongering kills just as surely as smoking does.
So I didnt demand an apology and I didnt call for anyone to be fired. That doesnt mean the war . . . or whatever line was acceptable, but I didnt have to fan the flames of outrage, either. When SNL reached out with an apology and an offer to be on the show, I wasnt fully sold on the idea. It was going to be Veterans Day weekend, after all, and I had events with veterans planned. I asked if another weekend might work. No, they said, precisely because it was Veterans Day, it would be the right time to send the right message. They assured me that we could use the opportunity to send a message of unity, forgiveness and appreciation for veterans. And to make fun of Pete Davidson, of course.
Since the exposure of the sex abuse crisis in Boston in 2002, the church has promised to enact real, actionable reforms to not only halt but also resolve the sex abuse crisis  and some of those efforts have been indisputably successful. But 2002 still did its damage, and what Catholics got by on day to day was their own faith that the church to which they entrust themselves was working diligently to bring sexual abuse to a stop and to root out and expel those responsible for aiding and abetting sexual exploitation. What this summer showed us was that prelates responsible for the protection of abusive priests  such as Cardinal Donald Wuerl  were still in positions of high renown, and that at least one  McCarrick  had been allowed to enjoy stations of rank despite a long pattern of well-known, credible allegations of sexual abuse. It wasnt just that such actions were terrible that left Catholics reeling; it was also that the church had promised everything was being done to stop those exact offenses from happening again.
American conservatives believe in international cooperation to address common challenges. But they refuse to cede American sovereignty to supranational institutions, or to see America tied down with thousands of Lilliputian threads spun out of treaties and institutions that constrain her freedom of action. They understand that what stopped the march of Nazism and Communism in the 20th century was not international law but the principled projection of power by the worlds democracies led by a sovereign United States. And what prevents China from invading Taiwan, or North Korea from attacking South Korea, today is not fear of U.N. censure but fear of the U.S. military. A strong America is the only guarantor of world peace. Thats why President George W. Bush withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and refused to join the International Criminal Court, and why President Trump is withdrawing from pacts such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty today.
If this was supposed to be the year of the woman, it has been the year only of Democratic women. The blue wave washed away a significant number of strong female candidates on the GOP side  both incumbents and newcomers  likely leaving just 12, down from 23. (Though three races were still pending on Tuesday, Republicans had little hope their candidates would win in two of them.)
The American Federation of Teachers counts Hoffman as one of more than 300 of its members who ran for office  triple what the organization had seen in the past. More than 100 of them won, including more than 80 who will be joining state legislatures across the country, where most public education policy is set. In Congress, 2016s National Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes, will become the first African American woman to represent Connecticut.
It is true that North Korea has not tested a missile or an atomic bomb lately. But nor has it been idle. In a report published on Monday, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, documented with satellite imagery 13 North Korean missile operating bases, and perhaps as many as 20, that have been undeclared by the government. The disclosure is another reminder that North Korea has rebuffed the U.S. demand for a complete inventory of its nuclear weapons programs, while insisting the United States make a full declaration of the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. Mr. Kim is a wily negotiator. In September, he pledged to permanently dismantle a missile engine test site, a mere fraction of the missile and nuclear weapons complex that is still running at full steam, including the newly disclosed sites, such as Sakkanmol, which handles short-range missiles and is located about 50 miles north of the demilitarized zone.
But his engagement with PBS journalist Yamiche Alcindor was particularly alarming, perhaps because of the mild and respectful manner in which she asked a question about the presidents embrace of language that some say emboldens white supremacists. Wagging a finger at Alcindor, the president accused her of asking a racist question. The next day, he accused CNNs Abby Phillip of asking a stupid question and added, but I watch you a lot, and you ask a lot of stupid questions. He then called American Urban Radio Networks White House correspondent and CNN contributor April Ryan, whom he had commanded to sit down when she stood to ask a question in the briefing the day before, a loser.
Well. For starters, as The Posts Fact Checker noted, overseas and military ballots postmarked by Election Day are accepted as long as 10 days after the voting. So Trump, the day after Veterans Day, was suggesting that many of the ballots sent in by our service members not be counted at all. The Post also found no evidence for Trumps missing or forged charge. And what, pray, is an infected ballot?
If you do this for a while, its not that hard, said Abramson, who was there to monitor vote-counting in Palm Beach County on behalf of his friend, Democrat Jim Bonfiglio, whose race for the Florida State House is the closest in the state, with a margin of just 37 votes. You dont need an expert to say that ones not even close. You look for consistencies, the way people hook their H on the left side, that sort of thing. And you compare them.
Later, aboard Air Force One, Trump again lost his cool, this time during his phone call with May. He berated the British prime minister on Iran, trade and Brexit, among other topics. The White House did not announce that the call took place nor did it provide an official readout, but U.S. and European officials said in interviews that Trumps mood was sour and his conversation with May was acrimonious.
A state judge in Hillsborough County ruled in Scotts favor to allow his campaigns monitors into the room where the recount is taking place. And Nelsons campaign, along with state Democrats, filed a new lawsuit requesting to inspect records in Bay County, where the election supervisor has said that in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, he let voters submit ballots electronically, an apparent violation of state law.
Tuesday was the deadline for Georgias 159 counties to finalize their election results, and the secretary of state had planned to certify them Wednesday. But U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg said late Monday that the secretary of states office could not do so before Friday and had to immediately establish and publicize on its website a secure and free-access hotline or website for provisional ballot voters to access to determine whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, the reason why.
Abizaid rose through the ranks to become the four-star chief of U.S. Central Command in July 2003, putting him in the position of overseeing the Iraq War a few months after the United States invaded and Baghdad fell. Over the next four years, he oversaw the conflict and operations in more than two dozen other countries, including Saudi Arabia, as insurgent violence escalated and the United States faced scandals including the abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.
It also would include Senate language that retroactively applies the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduces the disparity in sentencing guidelines between crack and powder cocaine offenses. And it would reduce mandatory minimum sentences that go into effect when a firearm is used during a violent crime or drug offense. The latter also would not apply to people already sentenced for these crimes.
My inclination is that he does not really know the history because hes, self-admitted, not a big book reader and not someone who marinates in this stuff, OMara said. Trump may or may not be thinking about Lindbergh when he talks, but its very effective for the political base hes trying to reach  positioning himself as the adversary of these global elites, against internationalism.
The freshmen were projected ahead of the election to be younger, more female and more racially diverse, the embodiment of a coalition that helped Barack Obama win the White House in 2008. The new members include several firsts for Congress  the first Muslim women, the first Native American women and the first African American women from several states.
McCarthy, as the No. 2 leader, was the obvious heir apparent, but conservative hard-liners saw him as too much like Boehner  an establishment-minded operator without a strong interest in conservative policy. So they coalesced behind a stalking horse, Rep. Daniel Webster (Fla.), and promised as a bloc to stick with him  thus denying McCarthy the absolute majority he would need on the House floor.
If Myanmar drifts back into pariah status through international and other sanctions, it could pull the whole of ASEAN down with it, said Kobsak Chutikul, a retired ambassador and former member of Thailands parliament who was involved in an advisory board on the Rohingya crisis until he quit in July over concerns that it was ineffective. Continued ASEAN centrality and relevance is considered extremely important by all members. Myanmars condition threatens this  at the least, it is bad PR.
Kramp-Karrenbauer has had little experience in the rough-and-tumble of German national politics. Instead, she has forged nearly her entire career in the tiny western region of Saarland, which both literally and figuratively sits about as far as one can get in Germany from Berlin. With just 1 million people, it is the countrys second smallest state. Even its biggest city, Saarbrucken, has the coziness of a remote provincial capital  which is exactly what it is.
The agreement, which has been compared to the worlds most complex divorce settlement, lays out the billions of euros that Britain will pay to leave, what rights Europeans living in Britain will have after Brexit, and how a 21-month transition period will work. The agreement also promises a solution to the knotty challenge of avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Irish Republic, which will remain in the E.U.
Flakes warning will likely force Republicans  who hold 51 seats in the Senate  to rely on Vice President Pence to confirm any of the 32 judicial nominees pending before the full Senate, as Democrats have little incentive to support those who Flake has committed to oppose. It also means that Republicans will likely have to go around the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Flake is a member and the GOP has only a one-seat majority, to advance any of the 21 nominees waiting for that panels endorsement. That also will require Pences tie-breaking vote.
Interestingly, the legal opinion also concludes that even if Trump had fired Sessions, he could have replaced him with a non-Senate-confirmed government employee for a period of up to seven months, or more if a nomination was pending. By that reasoning, the president has the power to remove Cabinet-level officials at will and put their replacements in charge of major government branches for half a year or more.
The military deployment to the border, including the cost of National Guard forces that have been there since April, could climb well above $200 million by the end of 2018 and grow significantly if the deployments continue into next year, according to analysts estimates and Pentagon figures. The cost of the National Guard deployment from April 10 through Sept. 30 amounted to $103 million, according to Pentagon figures.
Moscows statement  the first substantive response to the DNC lawsuit filed in May  comes as special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has been investigating Russian interference in 2016 and whether any Trump associates conspired with Russians to affect the elections outcome. In July, Mueller obtained an indictment of 12 GRU officers, laying out in detail how various operatives allegedly hacked Democratic emails and transferred them to WikiLeaks, often using GRU intermediaries.
After thanking those who argued against the ignominious sanction, Gebremeskel added: But even as we turn the page of this dark chapter and focus on the future, we must ponder on, and take stock of, what transpired; why Eritrea was needlessly victimized; what were the dynamics that underpinned a travesty of international justice on this scale?
The commission said that despite a $716 billion American defense budget this year, which is four times the size of Chinas and more than 10 times that of Russia, the effort to reshape the U.S. defense establishment to counter current threats is under-resourced. It recommended that Congress lift budget caps on defense spending in the next two years that in the past have hobbled the militarys ability to plan for the long term.
Whether a touch or hug is appropriate in the office depends on the workplace, the relationships at play and how the gesture was received.

Former ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie's allegation that ex-chairman Justin Milne touched her back at a board dinner in 2017, denied by Mr Milne, has raised questions about what constitutes inappropriate contact.

What is considered appropriate is different from workplace to workplace, person to person. Credit:Michael Mucci

Karen OConnell, a discrimination law expert from the University of Technology Sydney, said touching could be "inappropriate without being sexual harassment".

"Touching in the context of a particular relationship might be treating someone unequally," she said.
You can tell weve had generational change among our federal leaders when the latest prime minister through the revolving door knows to pronounce the d in congratulations. No doubt hell have many impordant things to say to us.

So far, the message seems to be that hes just an ordinary, fair dinkum, baseball cap-wearing, pie-eating, beer-swilling kinda guy. Egalitarianism is back and Jack is as good as his prime minister.

Illustration: Simon Letch Credit:

Or maybe not. A great disappointment with the Coalition government is the failure of its attempt to have a second run at the Gonski reforms proposing needs-based, sector-blind funding of schools.

Gonski was our chance to do something other countries did decades ago: remove sectarianism from federal and state funding of schools. To stop determining how much government funding a child receives according to the religious affiliation (or lack of it) of the school attended. Need should be the only criterion, regardless of religion.
A 17-year-old boy was allegedly punched multiple times in the head by a Juvenile Justice youth officer in an attack captured by CCTV on Saturday. Police have charged the officer with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The boys father, Michael Challis, said his son notified him of the alleged attack on Sunday in a phone call from the Frank Baxter detention centre on the NSW Central Coast.

The 17-year-old boy who was allegedly assaulted by a Juvenile Justice youth officer on the weekend.

Mr Challis said the acting centre manager called immediately after to confirm the incident, which was reportedly captured by CCTV.

I received a phone call, one no parent wants to receive, a phone call to hear their son has been assaulted, he said.
A member of the infamous Colt* incest family has told a Sydney court he has an alibi and was not in NSW at the time he is alleged to have carried out sex crimes he is charged with.

The man, given the court-ordered pseudonym Frank Colt, was one of eight members of the notorious family who were arrested and charged this year over allegations of sexual abuse of children at a property in rural NSW.

Mr Colt, 49, faces four charges of sexual intercourse with a person under age of 10 years and one further charge, laid this month, of sexual intercourse without consent.

In August, Central Local Court heard Mr Colt allegedly incited sexual intercourse between several children of the family, who were all aged under 13, on the family's NSW property in 2012. He is also accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old female relative.
A former Perth financier who was extradited from the US after defrauding the Australian Taxation Office out of $517,741 by lodging false GST rebates has been jailed for five years.

Parsons was due to face a 30-day trial involving more than 100 witnesses and 4000 exhibits in the District Court of WA in October. Credit:Tanya Lake tanyalakephoto@hotmail.com

Gary Andrew Parsons, 53, claimed the GST credits for seven entities on 152 occasions over a 26-month period between 2004 and 2007, and was charged after a lengthy and expensive ATO investigation.

Parsons was due to face a 30-day trial involving more than 100 witnesses and 4000 exhibits in the District Court of WA in October, but pleaded guilty at the last minute and was sentenced on Tuesday.

The court heard he had been a high achiever academically, served in the air force then worked as an investment banker and securities trader, but his life began to unravel in 2002.
Mr Templeman's decision comes after a public backlash against the state government's plan to field expressions of interest for the lease, which used to be owned by the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts.

The owners of the PICA Bar in Perth's cultural centre might be out the door after the government decided to put the bar's lease back on the market.

Owners Melissa Bowen, Brian Buckley and Conor Buckley received a phone call from Culture and Arts Minister David Templeman on Tuesday afternoon to confirm the trio could try to renegotiate a new lease with the Perth Theatre Trust before expressions of interest are considered.

Popular Northbridge pub Picabar may not be forced to close its doors after all.

"We received a call from the Minister's office to tell us the Perth Theatre Trust will negotiate with us first with regard to Picabar - which is exactly what we wanted," Ms Bowen said.

"We feel hopeful that now that we have this opportunity we will be able to negotiate an outcome that works for us, the Perth Theatre Trust, the Cultural Centre and the public."

The state government views the Cultural Centre in Northbridge as a strategic activation space, with a new museum and art gallery rooftop in the pipeline.

"My overarching concern is to ensure that the Perth Cultural Centre remains activated, particularly as the new museum comes online and the art gallery rooftop is activated as per our election commitment," Mr Templeman told WAtoday last week.

PICA Bar has thrived since the owners took over the derelict space in 2012 and has kept the Cultural Centre relevant while other nearby bars floundered and eventually closed.
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has hit back at the country's most prestigious universities amid an increasingly ugly stoush over funding, accusing them of neglecting research that would benefit regional and remote students.

The Australian Research Council, which funds $750 million worth of academic research a year, could not identify a single project it has funded since its inception in 2001 involving research on how to improve tertiary education attainment in the regions.

Education Minister Dan Tehan said the universities' lack of interest in regional attainment was "quite extraordinary". Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"There do not appear to be any specific projects directly related from keyword searches of our grants database since the ARC has existed," the council said in a statement to Fairfax Media.

In comments directed chiefly at the Group of Eight universities, Mr Tehan slammed the major universities for failing to undertake research that would help bridge the "major discrepancy" between tertiary attainment in the capital cities and the bush.
The Morrison government has tapped former High Court chief justice Robert French to lead an inquiry into free speech on university campuses amid its concerns about the influence of left-wing activists.

Mr French, who is chancellor of the University of Western Australia, has been tasked with developing a framework akin to the Chicago principles on free expression, adopted by dozens of universities in the United States, and to investigate "realistic and practical options" for managing areas of conflict.

Former High Court chief justice Robert French will lead a review of free speech on campus. Credit:Nic Walker

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has already expressed concern about left-wing protests shutting down events on campus, and has advocated new policies to force protesters to pay for security at functions they disrupt.

"We must ensure our universities are places that protect all free speech, even where what is being said may be unpopular or challenging," Mr Tehan said.
Loading The Indonesian Trade Minister sharpened the dispute over the trade deal by saying the timing of the agreement was now linked to the decision on Israel. It can be signed anytime, but when you will sign it... depends on Australias position on the embassy, Mr Lukita told reporters on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Singapore. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had stressed that if Australia insists on moving its embassy to Jerusalem, the signing will be delayed, Mr Lukita reportedly added. Fairfax Media has been told that an Australian minister advised Mr Lukita there is only a small chance of the embassy move going ahead, raising expectations in Jakarta that Mr Morrison will reconsider his stance.

Defence Industry Minister Steve Ciobo, who was trade minister before Mr Morrison became Prime Minister, met Mr Lukita in recent weeks at a defence event in Indonesia. Fairfax Media was told Mr Lukita said to Mr Ciobo: Dont ask when it will be signed. Mr Ciobo replied: Enggar, I know. In one account of this conversation, Mr Ciobo is said to have told the Indonesian Trade Minister: About the possibility, I cannot say 100 per cent we will move, but, I guess, the possibility is less than 5 per cent. This account was disputed by some in the Australian government, who said Mr Ciobo did not speak for Mr Morrison.

Asked by email if Mr Ciobo had said there was a less than 5 per cent chance, a spokeswoman for Mr Ciobo said: As a matter of principle, minister Ciobo doesnt comment on his conversations with foreign ministers. The sensitivities in Jakarta are acute because the Australian announcement on October 16 took the Indonesian government by surprise on the same day Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki was visiting Jakarta. Mr Morrison has emphasised that he is only considering the options and has made no hard decisions, but the announcement sparked claims he was attempting to gain favour with Jewish voters in the week before the Wentworth byelection on October 20. "Whatever perspective you have on the issue, there is I think widespread frustration at what is occurring and the frustration about getting progress in this area. And we all want to see progress," Mr Morrison said of the path towards a two-state solution. In the worlds largest Muslim nation, with 225 million Muslims, the Australian position on Israel could become a domestic political issue in the Indonesian presidential elections in April if Mr Joko is seen as too supportive of the Australian relationship or the trade deal.

This concern was conveyed to the Australian government after former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull met Mr Joko in Bali late last month. Loading Fairfax Media has spoken to Coalition backbenchers who privately liken Mr Morrisons decision to the captains call by former prime minister Tony Abbott to bestow a knighthood on Prince Philip. Several said they expected the government to extricate itself from the new position on Israel and return to the previous resolve to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv. National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said rural exporters wanted the Indonesian trade agreement signed as soon as possible, but would not comment on the Israel policy question.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce warned of a hit to trade from the government's Israel announcement. I thought something like this might happen and it has, Mr Joyce told Fairfax Media on Wednesday. I am obviously very concerned about where this has led to but I dont believe its something that cant be negotiated through. You have to be aware of the sensitivities and Im sure the Prime Minister is in the very best position to allay any further concern that Indonesia may have. Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said Mr Morrisons visit to Singapore had exposed the utter debacle of his decision to potentially end decades of bipartisan foreign policy to try to win a few votes in Wentworth.
About 17 million Australians will be automatically enrolled in the e-health system if they do not opt out by Thursday.

Health Minister Greg Hunt is under pressure to extend the opt-out period for My Health Record. Credit:Chris Hopkins

"We will seek crossbench support to amend the governments legislation to extend the opt-out period for a further 12 months  in line with a key recommendation of the recent Senate inquiry," opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King said.

Pressure is mounting for Health Minister Greg Hunt to suspend the government's My Health Record roll-out, with Labor to move in the Senate on Wednesday to extend the opt-out period beyond the Thursday deadline.

Mr Hunt has refused to further extend the opt-out deadline, after already giving Australians an extra month to decide.

A pre-emptive motion calling on the government to "suspend or extend" the opt-out period passed in the Senate on Monday with the support of most crossbenchers, leaving Labor confident it will have the numbers.

And with the government no longer holding a majority in the House of Representatives, if the substantive motion passes the Senate on Wednesday, it could go on to pass both houses.

Mr Hunt last week agreed to six key amendments to better safeguard patients' privacy, as recommended by a Senate inquiry, but these will not pass into law before the opt-out deadline passes.

Ms King said while she welcomed the minister's announcement, it was "imperative the opt-out period does not end until all privacy and security concerns are fully addressed".
One of Britains top police officers says intelligence-sharing allies including Australia need to join forces and push technology giants harder for help to decrypt the messages of terrorists, tackle crime gangs and fight child exploitation.

Lynne Owens, the director-general of Britains National Crime Agency, has also warned there is a risk that the impact of terrorism through social media and 24-hour news means fighting organised crime is under-resourced even though it kills more people.

"For years, weve expected the public to assist law enforcement  I dont think weve been as demanding as we should be with industry": National Crime Agency director-general Lynne Owens. Credit:Alamy

Ms Owens, who is roughly equivalent to the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, was speaking to Fairfax Media in the wake of the Bourke Street attack and as federal Parliament considers far-reaching legislation to make tech companies help authorities access encrypted messages used by criminals and terrorists.

She said tech giants, who are based largely in the United States, had been slow in putting research and development efforts into countering child exploitation or finding ways around encryption, which is being used increasingly by crime gangs and terrorists.
A Perth man and his Thai wife have been sentenced to death in Thailand for trying to smuggle half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine into Australia.

Luke Cook, 34, and Kanyarat Wechapitak, 40, were arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport last December and charged in relation to a 2015 plot to smuggle half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $300 million into Thailand and then on to Australia.

Australian Luke Cook and his Thai wife Kanyarat Wechapitak. Credit:Narcotics Suppression Bureau

A Thai court has sentenced the couple to death, but that is expected to be commuted to life in prison, media reports on Wednesday said.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman declined to comment specifically on Cook, but said the Australian government was providing consular assistance to an Australian in Thailand.
Authorities say the Camp fire is now 35 per cent contained. A fire hazard sign melted by the Woolsey Fire in Malibu. Credit:Bloomberg The largest fire in southern California, the "Woolsey" fire, has claimed three lives; it is now 52 per cent contained and authorities say it could be under control by early next week. The Woolsey fire has also reached the location of a former nuclear testing site, prompting concerns from locals that the fire could interact with radiation or chemical contamination in soil and vegetation at the site. The site, the Santa Susana Field Lab, was a built in 1947 on a 1153 hectare site and used to test experimental rocket systems. The site was closed after a partial meltdown in 1959.

Loading A 1989 Department of Energy report found contaminants in the soil and vegetation on the site; a 2012 Environmental Protection Authority report said one in seven samples collected at the site contained "concentrations of radioactive materials exceeding background levels". Authorities said on Wednesday the site was inspected by the Department of Toxic Substance Control which reported that "previously handled radioactive and hazardous materials were not affected by the fire." The department said its staff had tested the site and the results "showed no radiation levels above background levels, and no elevated levels of hazardous compounds other than those normally present after a wildfire." "Our scientists and toxicologists have reviewed information about the fire's location and do not believe the fire has caused any releases of hazardous materials that would pose a risk to people exposed to the smoke," the department said.

There are now 8700 firefighters working to battle the fires, including deployments from other US states. Cal Fire has confirmed there are no Australian crews deployed; a contingent of Australian and New Zealand firefighters were sent to the US to assist with California's bushfires in July. The NSW ministry of emergency services confirmed to Fairfax Media those crews returned home in September. Authorities also confirmed the arrest of six people in northern California on suspicion of looting. The Butte County sheriff's office said the six were arrested after patrols of the fire-affected areas reported people inside the perimeter of an evacuated zone.

A spokesman said deputies had recovered an AR-15 rifle, a .45-caliber handgun, methamphetamine, heroin and other drug paraphernalia during the arrests. In addition, they recovered an all-terrain vehicle which had been reported stolen. The six were charged with a range of crimes, including felony possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance while armed, possession of a stolen vehicle, suspicion of vehicle theft and looting. Meanwhile, the power utility Pacific Gas & Electric Company, whose power lines may have been a trigger for the northern California fires, warned if that was proved true the company's liability would exceed its insurance coverage. The company has previously said it advised state authorities that a transmission line in the vicinity of the first report of the Camp fire went offline just prior to the blaze starting.

In an updated statement, the company has now said if it is ultimately proved their equipment caused the fire, it "would be expected to have a material impact on [the company's] financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and cash flows." A spokesman for the company said it was "focused on supporting first responders and assisting customers and communities impacted" by the fire. Of the two fires, the northern California Camp fire is by a long measure the more devastating in terms of lives and structures lost. But the southern California Woolsey fire has attracted as much media attention because it has affected Malibu, a beachfront city north of Los Angeles which is home to high-profile celebrities. The Camp fire has destroyed more than 10,000 sructures, according to authorities, while the Woolsey fire has destroyed around 500.

Because of its proximity to the residential outer fringe of Los Angeles authorities say the Woolsey fire presently threatens an additional 57,000 structures. Australian actor Liam Hemsworth is one of those affected by the Woolsey fire, posting images on social media of the burnt-out ruins of his Malibu home; among the ruins is an arrangement of stone letters spelling the word "love". "It's been a heartbreaking few days," Hemsworth said. "This is what's left of my house. Love. "It was amazing to see the community pulling together to help each other out in any way they can," Hemsworth said. "Malibu is a strong community and this event is only going to make it stronger." Loading
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  Thirty years have passed since the first batch of cases against then former President Ferdinand Marcos, his family and cronies were filed, and the legal battle continues to this day.

Of the estimated $10 billion or around P530 billion, the Marcoses and their cronies supposedly stole from government coffers, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has only recovered P171.359 billion from 1986 to 2017.

The government has 255 pending civil, criminal and administrative cases before the Supreme Court, Sandiganbayan, Court of Appeals and other lower courts as part of efforts to recover ill-gotten wealth.

On the other hand, the PCGG is facing 34 cases filed against it.

The estimated value of assets under litigation in the Sandiganbayan alone is P44.464 billion. This includes P35.973 billion in shares of stocks and P8.491 billion worth of real property.

The anti-graft court earlier explained that the delay in resolving the cases were partially due to the legal remedies sought by the government and defendants' counsels. Hearings were also postponed when lawyers failed to appear or when witnesses went missing or became unavailable.

In the hearing of the graft cases on February 28, 2017, for example, Marcos lawyer Robert Sison was asked to pay a fine of P2,000 after failing to appear despite notice from the Sandiganbayan.

Former PCGG commissioner Ruben Carranza blamed the Marcoses for the delay. He said they used legal tactics to delay the trial.

"As simple as filing motions to reschedule. Changing lawyers. Imelda Marcos changed lawyers several times in the three years I was in PCGG for example. Kasama na dyan yung Sandiganbayan cases. Whether it's Salvador Panelo, naging abogado niya, or Estelito Mendoza, naging abogado niya rin. O etong si Robert Sison, etong abogado niyang naconvict siya. Ilang beses siyang nagpalit ng abogado, ilang beses syang nagpapafile ng mg motion to reschedule. Ilang beses siyang nagfile ng motion na wala naming katuturan pero inaakyat niya ssa Supreme Court, tapos magtatagal ng ilang taon bago bumalik," he said.

The former PCGG commissioner added the recovery has taken decades given the length of Marcos' rule, and the massive amount of assets and money supposedly taken and hidden.

"You must remember, the persons being prosecuted here and the persons whose assets are being recovered ruled for 20 years. It was a long dictatorship," said Carranza.

The reversed graft conviction

On November 9, Imelda was convicted in her remaining graft cases before the Sandiganbayan. Imelda was sentenced to serve at least 6 years in jail after she was found guilty in seven counts of graft in relation to the Swiss foundations created to benefit her family. No warrant has been issued yet because of her pending motion to avail post conviction remedies.

Carranza expects the former first lady to resort to "legal maneuvers" to evade imprisonment, just like what happened in her previous conviction.

In 1993, the Sandiganbayan convicted her and former Ligh Rail Transport Authority (LRTA) vice chairman Jose Dans Jr. For two counts of graft over an allegedly anomalous lease of an LRTA property to the Philippine General Hospital Foundation. Imelda was LRTA chairman at the time.

Imelda was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison. However, the conviction was reversed in 1998 after Marcos and Dans appealed the decision before the Supreme Court.

READ: Imelda Marcos ordered arrested for seven counts of graft

On Friday, the Sandiganbayan will hear Imelda's motion to avail post conviction remedy so she will be allowed to appeal her recent conviction. This, after she lost the remedies available when she failed to appear in the promulgation despite notice from the Sandiganbayan.

Section 6 of Rule 120 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure states that if the accused failed to appear in the promulgation "without justifiable cause, he shall lose the remedies available in these rules against the judgment and the court shall order his arrest.". However, he or she may still still file a motion for leave of court to avail remedies within 15 days from promulgation of judgment.

"He shall state the reasons for his absence at the scheduled promulgation and if he proves that his absence was for a justifiable cause, he shall be allowed to avail of said remedies within 15 days from notice," as stated in the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018 Location: The University of The Bahamas. Sir Franklyn Wilson Centre at 6:30pm.

The Nassau Institute & Templeton Religion Trust, in Collaboration with the Banking Economics & Finance Department & The Economics Society of The University of The Bahamas

Presenter

Art Carden

Speaking on: Leave Me Alone and Ill Make You Rich: How the Bourgeois Deal Made the Modern World.

Lecture Summary

Things like natural resources, free trade, science, and thrift are great to have, but they only explain a small part of the Great Enrichment that has happened since the middle of the 18th century.

Other explanations for why the west is rich like slavery, colonialism, and empire also dont do the job. Drawing on my collaboration with Deirdre McCloskey titled Leave Me Alone and Ill Make You Rich: How the Bourgeois Deal Made the Modern World (currently in progress), I argue in this talk that the modern world emerged from a combination of institutional, ethical, and rhetorical changes that revalued commercial society.

About the speaker

Art Carden is an Associate Professor of Economics at Samford Universitys Brock School of Business. In addition, he is a Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, a Senior Fellow with the Beacon Center of Tennessee, and a Research Fellow with the Independent Institute.

His research has appeared in the Journal of Urban Economics, the Southern Economic Journal, Applied Economics, Public Choice, and Contemporary Economic Policy, and his commentaries have appeared in Forbes, Productive!, USA Today, Black Belt, and many other outlets.

He earned a BS and MA from the University of Alabama and an AM and PhD from Washington University in Saint Louis.

Before joining the faculty at Samford, Art taught economics at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife and three children.

Sponsored By:

Templeton Religion Trust

Compass Point Beach Resort
Members of the Kimball community joined the State of Nebraskas Department of Economic Development business attraction and development team this past week, Wednesday Nov. 7 to learn from economic development leaders who are creating new opportunities for economic growth.

Amy Sapp, City of Kimballs Special Project Coordinator, hosted Joe Fox, Director of Business Development; Jason Guernsey, Business Attraction Manager; Jacob Knutson, Business Attraction; Rose Baker, SBDF, CJT, and InternNE Program Director and Job Training Coordinator, and Brittany Hardin, Western Nebraska Business Development Consultant/Field Service Representative for a FAM tour.

According to Sapp a FAM tour is a way of familiarizing individuals of what Kimball has to offer.

We met for lunch at the Windbreak before going on a tour of the community. Guests saw numerous properties that are available for sale as well as several of the quality of life projects that have happened over the past few years in the Kimball community, Sapp said.

Members of the community present for lunch included; Tom Carr, Carr Spirits, Stephanie and Ryan McElroy, George Risk Industries, Dan Chesley, LB Foster, Bob Abramson, E&H Accountants and Dan Dean, City Administrator.
GREENWICH  Jim and Debby Lash will be honored Thursday by the National Executive Service Corps for their decades of community service to the town, nonprofits and the new community pool in Byram.

The couple will be honored in a dinner at the Greenwich Country Club starting at 6:30 p.m.

They really exemplify what were all about, NESC President Marv Berenblum said. Jim has years of experience both in corporate work and in government service, and hes always been focused on the nonprofit world. And I know what Debby has done for this town. Im a swimmer and everyone in this town has seen the good work shes done to make sure we have a municipal pool in Byram.

The NESCs mission is to strengthen and empower the management of nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies by providing high-quality and affordable consulting services. Volunteers with corporate backgrounds use their skills to help nonprofits in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

The Lashes have been giving back for years, and we wanted to honor them for that because our organization is all about giving back, Berenblum said.

Jim Lash served two separate tenures on the towns Board of Estimate and Taxation and was chairman of the powerful budget committee both times. He was also the towns first selectman from 2003 until 2007 and has served as president of Greenwich Librarys board of trustees.

Lash said the award was a meaningful one for them. People always say government service is a thankless business, but its not, he said. You dont always get recognized in this way, but there are lots of little ways you do get that recognition. Its very nice.

It is especially nice to be honored alongside his wife, Lash said. She has 50 years of giving back, and he said he has only a mere 25 compared to her.

She deserves this, Lash said.

Debby Lash, a longtime active volunteer, stepped up as co-chair of the Junior League of Greenwichs committee to raise money for the new municipal pool in Byram. The pool, which opened to great acclaim in late June, was completed through a public/private partnership. The Junior League undertook a three-year campaign to raise $2.5 million for the project.

Lash and Carisa Sykes co-chaired that campaign, which is expected to meet its goal by its planned date of May 2019.

Additionally, she is the past chair of the Greenwich United Ways board of directors.

Recognition by the National Executive Service Corps is a great honor, Debby Lash said. Jim and I so appreciate the opportunities we have had to work with nonprofit organizations that value voluntarism and its importance to our civil society.

The NESC is based in New York City and has offices in Stamford and Hartford. Founded in 1977, it has deep roots in Greenwich, with several residents serving as board members, said Berenblum, who is a Greenwich resident.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
BRIDGEPORT  Police Chief Armando Perez had just settled down for a Tuesday afternoon interview with a reporter when he was distracted by the commotion on the scanner that monitors his cops radios.

Seated on the couch in his office, Perez listened for a few moments, then stood up and walked closer to his desk to hear better.

Three cruisers were after a stolen car and traveling around 40 to 45 mph.

Its a perp pursuit, Perez said. He cursed, listened for the location of the chase, and pointed at the clock on his wall.

My concern is school time, Perez said, and whether the pursuit was in a neighborhood where students would be walking home.

He almost ordered his officers to back off, but decided to trust their judgment and continue monitoring the situation. His faith was rewarded.

Be advised school is getting out now, said a voice over the scanner, and the cruisers slowed down and disengaged.

See? Perez said.

Those cops will have five years to continue to make their boss proud. A few hours later, at a packed ceremony across the street in City Hall, Perez, 62, was formally sworn in as Bridgeports permanent top cop.

Mayor Joe Ganim, following a months-long national search, promoted his close friend last week from acting to permanent chief with a five-year contract.

And the mayor during Tuesdays ceremony addressed ongoing speculation that his long and close friendship with Perez had made that promotion a sure thing. Ganim appointed Perez acting chief in March 2016.

This individual, this man as a police officer, came through a very difficult gauntlet to be selected, Ganim told the crowd. I may have wanted you to be chief, but I couldnt get you there. You had to step up.

During that afternoons interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, the chief admitted that he, among three finalists for the job, had actually been ranked second by a panel of law enforcement and human resources experts. He and Ganim have said repeatedly that a strategic five-year plan for the department Perez offered the mayor at their final interview helped to seal the deal.

The broad strokes of Perezs plan include hiring more officers and reducing officer turnover; further diversifying the department, particularly at the top; increasing foot and bike patrols; continuing to upgrade equipment and technology, and emphasizing transparency and ethics.

The chief said he will turn to his newer recruits for ideas and assistance. Youve got some dynamic kids here, men and women. ... Thats what youve got to tap into.

Also during the ceremony on Tuesday, Ganim said the chief had grown and proven his leadership over the past nearly three years.

I know him and love him. Hes my brother, Perez told Hearst of Ganim. One thing about him, he can separate the personal from the professional.

Perez said his closeness with Ganim and his friendship with Sgt. Chuck Paris, head of the police union, does not mean he cant stand up to them if necessary.

He said those relationships benefit the department and the city.

It took Chapman almost two years to get to know who the players were, Perez said, referring to one of his predecessors, Wilbur Chapman, who was hired from out-of-town.

Ganim was hardly the only community leader who wanted to see Perez become top cop. But there are also plenty of critics who believe Perez is an unqualified manager with too many local political ties.

You gotta give me a chance. Let me prove myself to you. And my doors are always open, Perez said. Im human and I make mistakes like everybody else.

Like last year in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jayson Negron by a rookie officer. Perez met privately with the family and, based on initial information he was given, told them Negron was shot in the head. The Medical Examiner later reported the shot was to the torso. That mix-up still weighs on Perez, who brought it up during Tuesdays interview.

They (Negrons family) thought I was lying to them. ... My heart bled for that family, the chief said. I have a son, too.

Though proud to finally be permanent chief, Perez said he is fully aware that the next five years will likely bring to a close a law enforcement career that began in 1983.

I want to do five years. Thats my target. Theres life after police work, Perez said. A very good friend of mine, he stayed (on the job) too long. ... Not even a year after he retired, they found he had stomach cancer. (He) lasted eight months.
The interpretation and relevance of several state statues were debated for more than an hour Tuesday in a case to determine whether Ansonia city officials were within their rights to remove $600,000 from their 2017-18 school budget appropriation.

The arguments were delivered in Superior Court in Derby, before Judge Barry K. Stevens, who has up to 120 days to make a judgment in the matter. He gave no indication how soon that decision would come down.

At issue is whether the city violated state law that prohibits municipalities from reducing their school budget from one year to the next  or whether Ansonia rightfully exercised a provision of the bill adopted with the states 2017-18 budget that allowed municipalities, under certain circumstances, to adjust previously passed local budgets if more education aid is received than was expected.

Thats exactly what happened in Ansonia, said Attorney Barbara Schellenberg, representing the city.

It was an unusual year, Schellenberg told the judge. The Legislature was trying to give municipalities the opportunity to rectify a very difficult situation ... by amending the budget.

Schellenberg said it was reasonable for the city to do what it did.

When the city withheld the previously promised $600,000, Schools Superintendent Carol Merlone threatened to end the 2017-18 school year early, saying she couldnt make the payroll.

The school board took the city to court. In the meantime, the new school year started this fall with the layoff of 17 teachers and class sizes of up to 30 students.

The (teachers) could probably be reinstated if the funding is restored, Michael Doyle, an attorney representing the American Federation of Teachers and the Ansonia Federation of Teachers, told the judge on Tuesday.

Frederick Dorsey, who represents the Board of Education, told Stevens that the law Schellenberg cited did not apply to Ansonia, and that the unanticipated $1.8 million the school district received was in the form of restricted Alliance and Priority District grants that the city could not touch.

It does not make any sense for the Legislature to set up a mechanism for (a) municipality (to) bypass its Alliance system, said Dorsey.

Alliance and Priority districts are the lowest performing school districts in the state, and get extra funds targeted toward improving student achievement.

Schellenberg said the city passed the budget with the anticipation of receiving more unrestricted funds, which didnt happen.

The choice was to raise taxes or try something else, she told the judge, adding that the budget bill gave the city the ability to amend the education budget. Beyond that, it was forced to dip into its rainy day fund.

The law is very clear. Dorsey countered. Once a municipality appropriates funds for education, those funds may only be spent by the Board of Education.

The state Department of Education, which was not a party to the arguments on Tuesday, has sided with the school board and told the city in August that it must pay back the $600,000 and carry it forward to the current year budget or risk a state fine.

The current school board budget is $31.86 million, about half of the citys total $63.52 million budget for 2018-19.
A Stamford-based organization is sending emergency supplies to California areas devastated by wildfires over the past week.

Americares, one of the worlds largest nonprofit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies, has sent a crew to Northern California where a massive fire in Butte County has killed 48 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

Thousands of California residents are in need of assistance, including many who dont have homes to return to, said Americares Director of Emergency Response Brian Scheel. We have an emergency team on the way and supplies ready to ship. We are making sure survivors most urgent health needs are met.

The Camp Fire in Butte County is the deadliest in state history and has scorched 130,000 acres, forced more than 300,000 people to evacuate, and destroyed more than 7,600 homes since it began last week.

The relief organization is putting together packages with medicine, respirator masks, hygiene kits, first aid supplies and vaccines to help stock clinics.

Donna Porstner, spokesperson for Americares, said the two-person crew will assess the damage to see what supplies are needed and where.

When you have thousands of people displaced, youre going to need hygiene and first aid kits, she said, adding that masks are also a must. We also know that many times when families are forced to evacuate so quickly, people with health conditions will not bring medication they need or not bring enough.

The California fires are an active emergency, which means they present challenges that differ from a response to a natural disaster that has already occurred. Porstner called the situation in the Golden State very fluid, and said the Americares crew might have to move locations several times to stay out of harms way.

The crew is lead by JP Fisher, emergency response manager for Americares, and a Stamford resident.

Speaking on Wednesday, Porstner said supply packages could be shipped out as early as later in the day, and could arrive by Friday.

Americares also has reached out to health agencies in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, other areas of the state currently being ravaged by large wildfires.

Americares responds to an average of 30 natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide each year. Last year, the organization responded to 35 emergencies in 24 countries, up from 25 disasters in 19 countries the year before. Its 50,000-square-foot distribution center in Stamford houses large collections of cellophane-wrapped supplies ready to be shipped to places in need.

The non-profit relief organization is actively responding to more than a dozen emergencies around the world. Currently, Americares has five emergency response teams in the field in California, Florida, Colombia, Indonesia and the Northern Mariana Islands, and has emergency program staff in Texas and Puerto Rico assisting with the recovery effort from Hurricanes Harvey and Maria.

Donations to Americares California Wildfire Relief Fund can be made at americares.org/californiafires.

ignacio.laguarda@stamfordadvocate.com
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.
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.
She is more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire are not[Read More]
Alice Fay Pullin Audio Article

Alice Fay Pullin, 83, of Floresville and Taft, Texas, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, Nov....

Ernesto Silvas Guerrero Audio Article

Ernesto Silvas Guerrero passed away on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of 40 years,...
Every Friday and Saturday night, in cities and towns across Manitoba, people gather in community centres to do the Boot Scootin Boogie and eat ripple potato chips off paper plates. They buy silent-auction tickets and drink rye and Cokes out of plastic cups (or maybe $3 Bud Lights).

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/11/2018 (1105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every Friday and Saturday night, in cities and towns across Manitoba, people gather in community centres to do the Boot Scootin Boogie and eat ripple potato chips off paper plates. They buy silent-auction tickets and drink rye and Cokes out of plastic cups (or maybe $3 Bud Lights).

Why? Because someones getting married.

MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Sean Timlick's job at Tom Langrell and Catherine Peters' wedding social Saturday evening was selling 50/50 tickets, one of the most popular attractions.

Welcome to the Manitoba wedding social, one of the provinces weirdest, most time-honoured traditions. Socials sit at the confluence of fun celebration and dreaded social obligation, and it doesnt matter if you love them or hate them: youre going to them. Or youre buying a support ticket. Either way, youre out $10.

The wedding social, as a concept, is decades old, and was intended to get a young couple started on their lives together.

Now, Canadians are getting married later  if at all. And many couples have already merged two independent adult lives, and two complete sets of flatware.

So, it would stand to reason that, by 2018 metrics, the Manitoba wedding social would be considered quaint and outmoded, a relic from a not-so-distant past.

And yet, the tradition seems to be both bigger and more popular than ever.

Tom Langrell and Catherine Peters, both 26, had their wedding social last Saturday night at Crescentwood Community Centre. The born-and-raised Winnipeggers were always planning on having a social. "I dont think it was something we considered not doing," Langrell said. "It wasnt something we thought twice about. And as soon as we got engaged, people were like, Whens the social?"

Get up and dance! For better or worse, nary a social goes by during which you wont hear some  or quite possibly all  of these songs. If these tracks dont make you want to bust a move on a poorly lit community-centre gym floor, we dont know what will: click to read more For better or worse, nary a social goes by during which you wont hear some  or quite possibly all  of these songs. If these tracks dont make you want to bust a move on a poorly lit community-centre gym floor, we dont know what will:  Erin Lebar Close

When the Free Press connected with them a few days prior, they were in the homestretch of planning.

"Its been insanity," Peters said. "Were both interior designers and I study project management, so staying on top of projects is in my wheelhouse. But when youve never held a social before, you cant predict all the moving parts."

While the basic framework of a Manitoba social hasnt changed  you rent a community club, you hire a DJ, you serve a "late lunch" of rye bread, cheese cubes, pickles and kielbasa  they arent the lo-fi affairs they were, say, 30 years ago. The evolution of the silent raffle, for example, is perhaps the most striking change. Couples and their wedding parties are now expected to assemble multiple prize baskets (preferably with a cohesive theme) as well as a few big-ticket grand prizes, such as a pair of Winnipeg Jets tickets or flat-screen TVs.

For their own social, Langrell and Peters pulled out all the stops, with a game station, a band and a good variety of prizes. The couple also eschewed the kielbasa and rye bread for burgers and fries from Red Top, which has personal significance to the groom.

"You gotta get people away from the party mix and on the dance floor. Ive been to socials where everyones sitting there and its like a glorified bingo night," Langrell says with a laugh.

Sure, Peters and Langrell would like to raise some money for their big day in June 2019 and their honeymoon in Greece. But they also want to show people a good time.

MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A hopeful social prize winner puts a ticket into a prize draw bag Saturday evening.

Google "Manitoba wedding social," and the first hit is socialsguide.com  a comprehensive planning website put together by web developer Jay Friesen.

"I did a lot of research, talking to people I knew and attending any social I could get a ticket to in order to learn more," he says.

Socials, he suspects, are getting bigger and more sophisticated.

"The internet and social media have made it easier for people to share their ideas and experiences, which makes the event planning much easier, but also tends to make events more uniform," he says. "I think companies are less inclined to donate items to socials now, and more and more donations from companies are effectively coupons."

MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The LGCA (Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba) limits purchased prizes to a maximum value of $500.

The biggest trend Friesen has noticed is the advent of the Golden Ticket.

"Its a large ticket item, often a voucher for a vacation, and the only way to get entry in the draw is to buy a larger denomination ticket pack," he explains. "So the only way to get a chance to win is buying, for example, a $100 pack of tickets which would include many regular tickets, some grand-prize tickets and a single Golden Ticket.

"Ive heard of, but not yet seen myself, that some socials have cars as prizes. I assume they are donated by family or friends though, since the LGCA (Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba) limits purchased prizes to a maximum value of $500."

If socials seem like theyre getting bigger, it could be because people are spending more on weddings. A 2015 Weddingbells.ca survey found the average cost of a Canadian wedding is $30,717. That means theres more pressure on socials to make a profit.

When Emma Durand-Wood moved to Winnipeg from Vancouver in 2008, she started a blog called Winnipeg O My Heart to document her adventures as a new Winnipegger. One discovery, of course, was the Manitoba wedding social  or, as she puts it, a provincewide phenomenon that "seemingly violated all traditional rules of etiquette." She found the whole concept strangely fascinating.

"I thought it was very strange and, to be honest, kind of shocking  the idea of a fundraiser to pay for your wedding," she says. "The notion that you would invite guests to a party and not just ask them to pay their own way, but to also pony up additional funds to help you make more money for your own benefit, that was just baffling to me. Yet, very few people appeared to have any qualms about that, it was just the norm here."

MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The late lunch is one of the many traditions of the Manitoba wedding social..

I ask her if socials played a role in welcoming her to her adopted city.

"Ive only been to three or four over the years, and because Ive always had kind of an armchair anthropologist interest in the phenomenon, I have fun playing a mental game of social bingo, checking off all the things that Ive been told to expect: Ripple chips on a paper plate? Check. Cheesy dance circles to Love Shack or line dances that everyone mysteriously excels at? Check. Meat shoulder? Check," she says.

"So, while I wouldnt say that the social itself made me feel welcome, in reflecting on this, I think learning about and participating in a ritual thats so commonplace did contribute to me feeling like I understood the local culture, and therefore like I was becoming a Winnipegger. I guess it was kind of a rite of passage."

If the norms around weddings and marriage itself are changing, why do wedding socials persist?

"I think they stick around because theyre fun," says Socialsguide.coms Friesen.

"As an attendee, its a cheap and friendly alternative to going to a bar, while also supporting the people or causes you care about. When I got married, I enjoyed planning a fun event to celebrate with all the people I care about, including many I could not invite to the wedding itself."

MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The food at Tom and Catherines social was supplied by the Red Top, due to Tom's personal connection with the restaurant's late owner, Peter Scouras. Tom was a friend of his as were many members of the Rugby community which were also present at Saturday night's social.

Langrell would agree with that assessment.

"Winnipeg has such a small-town vibe to it. Ive been to socials in literally every corner of the city  Kildonan, Transcona, Charleswood  because you have connections to people and you want to support them," Langrell says.

Hes been to enough socials that hes seen certain trends, including the growing prevalence of themed socials. "Socials seem to get bigger and better over time. I think you can lean on peoples creativity to keep coming up with new ideas to keep socials fun and engaging."

"To me, it seems the Manitoba wedding social is just one of those things thats been around for so long that no one really questions it, and it works because its essentially based on reciprocity (I went to your social, now you come to mine)," Durand-Wood says. "And that reciprocity just sort of keeps the whole thing in perpetual motion.

"Then theres also the fact that it is such a Manitoba thing," she says. "I think its only human to embrace expressions, customs and other practices that both distinguish you from some people and unite you with others."

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti
Members of the "Yes" campaign react to the results of a plebiscite on whether the city should proceed with a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Calgary.
Amazon will build new offices in New York City and Arlington, Va., ending months of jockeying between potential locations across the country vying for a US$5-billion investment that promises 50,000 high-paying jobs over almost two decades.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/11/2018 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amazon will build new offices in New York City and Arlington, Va., ending months of jockeying between potential locations across the country vying for a US$5-billion investment that promises 50,000 high-paying jobs over almost two decades.

Amazon also said it will create more than 5,000 jobs in Nashville, Tenn., at a new operations centre thats responsible for fulfilment, transportation, supply chain and other activities.

The anticlimactic ending to a more than yearlong search  multiple office projects rather than a single second headquarters  shows Amazon thinks its better to tap multiple labour markets for future growth rather than try to house everyone in one city.

The sites in Long Island City, Queens, and in Arlington will be a boon for the New York and Washington, D.C., metro areas and highlights Amazons willingness to target big talent pools with pricey payroll over smaller markets offering lower costs of living. Its a disappointment for the 18 other cities, including Toronto and Chicago, many of which offered billions of dollars in tax breaks to lure the worlds largest internet retailer.

Amazon captured North Americas attention in 2017, when it announced plans to build a second headquarters, prompting gushing overtures from politicians and publicity stunts from hopefuls eager to stand out. Most cities and states kept their offers private.

Since Amazon pared the list to 20 cities in January, speculation has been rampant, with lists handicapping supposed front-runners. Amazon had a broad list of criteria, including a population of one million, proximity to a major airport and a strong university system, without clearly identifying which factors were most important. Many guessed Amazon wanted to be close to Washington, because three of the finalist sites were clustered around the American capital. Another theory was that Toronto  the only Canadian city on the list  might be chosen to serve as a hedge against U.S. President Donald Trumps policies limiting immigration. Amazon is a frequent target of Trumps criticism.

A robust talent pipeline and room to grow  not big financial incentives  helped push Arlington County, Va., to the top of Amazons list, said Victor Hoskins, head of the countys economic development agency. The Washington, D.C., area stood out with a large educated workforce of three million people and a transit system that has plenty of capacity.

In negotiations and multiple visits over the past year, Amazon wanted to make sure the community had space for its new offices and a transportation system that could handle shuffling them around, he said. From the county, Amazon will get a portion of hotel taxes expected to be US$23 million over the next 15 years. Amazon generates 300,000 hotel stays a year in Seattle, Hoskins said. The state offered additional incentives.

The search was also a not-so-subtle message to the City of Seattle, where some political leaders have blamed Amazon for skyrocketing property values, gridlocked highways and a growing homeless crisis. Tension between Amazon and the city spilled into the public spotlight earlier this year, when the city council approved and then overturned a payroll tax on big employers to pay for affordable housing and programs to fight homelessness. Amazon, the citys dominant employer, threatened to push growth elsewhere if it was approved.

Now New York and Virginia face the challenge of balancing the benefits of Amazons investment with the growing pains that can come with fast expansion and an influx of wealth. The company has helped fuel a tech boom in Seattle, where cranes building new office towers, apartment buildings and hotels dot the skyline.

And while New Yorks top politicians enthusiastically wooed Amazon, some local lawmakers said the US$808-billion company shouldnt receive "massive corporate welfare" in order to invest in the city and instead should use its resources to help solve public problems such as aging subways.

In its release, Amazon said New York will get more than 25,000 full-time, high-paying jobs, about US$2.5 billion in Amazon investment; four million square feet of energy-efficient office space with the chance to expand to eight million square feet; and an estimated incremental tax revenue of more than US$10 billion over the next 20 years. Amazon will receive US$1.5 billion if it meets its job-creation goals.

Amazon also agreed to donate space on its campus there for a tech startup incubator and for use by artists and industrial businesses; the company will also donate a site for a new public school. It also pledged to invest in infrastructure improvements and new greenspaces.

"I said we would build a new New York state  one that is fiscally responsible and fosters a business climate that is attractive to growing companies and the industries of tomorrow," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in the statement from Amazon.

Arlington will benefit from the same number of jobs, investment and office space as Long Island City. The site will also benefit from an estimated incremental tax revenue of US$3.2 billion over the next 20 years as a result of Amazons investment and job creation. Amazon will receive US$573 million in incentives if it meets the job-creation pledge.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said it was a "big win" for the state.

 Bloomberg News
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Churchill announcing the good news that rail service to the Hudson Bay community would resume at the end of this month.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/11/2018 (1105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Churchill announcing the good news that rail service to the Hudson Bay community would resume at the end of this month.

On Tuesday, it was Melanie Joly's turn to visit Churchill. In her capacity as tourism minister, Joly has just started a series of cross-country round table discussions with industry players as part of a newly created Advisory Council on Jobs and the Visitor Economy to figure out ways to increase tourism across the country.

With Manitoba tourism getting a big plug last month from Lonely Planet  being named one of the top 10 destinations for 2019  there is now even more interest from travellers around the world in experiencing the unique charms of Manitoba, including Churchill, the polar bear capital of the world.

"More than that," Joly said in an interview with the Free Press, "Churchill is a good example of many rural communities that have been able to develop new economic opportunities for their communities through tourism. That is exactly aligned with what we have in mind, and why we are developing a new federal strategy on tourism."

After @NiagaraFalls and @cityofwinnipeg, I am with the Mayor of Churchill, Manitoba, Mike Spence, to listen to the community of this Canada's jewel of tourism. #tourism = good #jobs in all our communities. pic.twitter.com/BIyFeAe5UY  Melanie Joly (@melaniejoly) November 13, 2018

The international tourism industry is growing by about four per cent and Joly said Canada wants to be able to increase its share of visitors and climb in the international ranking  where, in recent years, the country has fallen from 10th most popular to 17th.

"Canada is beautiful and Canada is big... but we could play a greater role in developing the tourism industry here," she said, noting the former Harper government had slashed funding for Destination Canada, the crown corporation that promotes Canadian tourism around the world.

Like many other countries that have been smart about developing access and experiences for the world to go and discover their countries, she said Canada needs to do more of that.

She said it was noteworthy that in Ottawa's $4.6 million funding assistance to Churchill  that has since been topped up to $7 million  through the Churchill Regional Economic Development (CRED) fund that was put in place just prior to the rail line washout and after the port was initially closed in 2016, about 25 per cent of the 46 projects that have been approved are tourism related.

One of the projects that received among of the largest contributions from the fund is Churchill Cruises, a new venture led by the Kothari Group, that hopes to run luxury Arctic cruise excursions from Greenland to Churchill with stops at some of the Nunavut communities.

Not all of the projects CRED is assisting are restricted to Churchill. Also on Tuesday, Blaine Pedersen, the provincial minister of Growth Enterprise and Trade was in Thompson along with about 25 business leaders from southern Manitoba on the first of six planned Northern Economic Development Tours (that is partially funded by CRED and the province).

Chuck Davidson, the CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, and co-chair of the Look North task force, said the goal is to help southern businesses develop business partnerships and opportunities in the North.

"The hope is that these tours will provide business leaders with ideas about opportunities in communities they might not otherwise have looked at," he said.

The provincial tourism industry is also in the process of developing its own northern strategy.

Colin Ferguson, CEO of Travel Manitoba, said, "What we're trying to do is designed to fit hand in globe with Look North. It is intended to drive tourism revenue in the province and create new products in the North."

He said the federal funding through CRED is very helpful.

"It is great to see new money in the North," said Ferguson.

In addition to Churchill Cruises which received $109,000 from CRED to develop the offering, the Thompson Zoological Society's Boreal Discovery Centre received $136,000

Ferguson said it's the development of those types of tourism assets that can generate revenue and create jobs for their communities and help build out the tourism infrastructure that will give international travellers another reason to stay and spend more money in Manitoba.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  President Rodrigo Duterte promised Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday that the Philippines will work on finishing the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.

"The Philippines is prepared to do its part," Duterte said during an intervention at the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Working Dinner in Singapore. "We are committed to work with all concerned parties in the substantive negotiations and early conclusion of an effective Code of Conduct."

Duterte also reaffirmed the country's commitment to implement the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which was signed by the ASEAN member states and China. However, they have yet to agree on its implementation.

"This includes the peaceful settlement of disputes, the exercise of self-restraint, and the freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 (United Nations') Convention on the Law of the Sea," Duterte said.

Meanwhile, state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Premier Li Keqiang eyes finishing talks on the code within three years.

"The single draft negotiating text is not merely a technical term, but an indication that China and ASEAN have reached consensus on ensuring peace and stability, freedom of overflight and navigation in the South China Sea," Li was quoted saying in the report.

The Philippines is the country coordinator for ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations until 2021. The regional bloc has since expressed concern over China's alleged militarization of the disputed region.

The COC outlines what claimant countries can and cannot do in the global waterway. Four of the ASEAN member states have overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea: the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. Taiwan is also another claimant.
OTTAWA  A growing number of Indigenous women are coming forward with allegations they were unwillingly made infertile, including a Winnipeg woman who claims she was forcibly sterilized within the past decade.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/11/2018 (1105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  A growing number of Indigenous women are coming forward with allegations they were unwillingly made infertile, including a Winnipeg woman who claims she was forcibly sterilized within the past decade.

"I think its quite a bit bigger than what we know it to be," Saskatoon-based lawyer Alisa Lombard told the Free Press.

This past weekend, The Canadian Press reported Ontario Sen. Yvonne Boyer believes hospitals across Canada are still forcibly sterilizing Indigenous women.

During the senators term as the Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal health at Brandon University, she undertook a study of the issue in Saskatoon, alongside Judith Bartlett, a Metis woman who hails from northern Manitoba.

Since finishing their report in July 2017, similar allegations emerged from across Saskatchewan, followed by cases in Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario, and the territories.

"If it's happened in Saskatoon, it has happened in Regina, it's happened in Winnipeg, it's happened where there's a high population of Indigenous women," Boyer told The Canadian Press.

"I've had many women contact me from across the country and ask me for help," said Boyer, who was not available Tuesday for interview.

Lombard said more than 60 women have contacted her firm, Maurice Law -- two of whom alleged incidents at Winnipeg hospitals, the most recent claim dating to 2009.

More women have come forward after Boyer raised the issue this past week. On Tuesday morning, Lombard said she got a call from a non-Indigenous woman who claimed overhearing Winnipeg hospital staff coercing an Aboriginal woman into the procedure in the 1980s.

None of these allegations have been proven.

Lombards firm is assembling medical documentation as it seeks certification for a class-action suit. The application has only named Saskatchewan authorities and Ottawa, but it will likely expand to other defendants should a court certify it.

The allegations Lombard raised Tuesday were new to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

"The WRHA is declining comment, as no one has shared any of these allegations with us," wrote spokesman Paul Turenne.

However, Lombard said theres been a cascade of allegations, with many similarities.

Almost all the claims involve tubal ligation  the tying or cutting of the fallopian tubes required to generate a fertile egg  though Lombard said a minority allege having their ovaries removed.

Some women interviewed in the 2017 report claimed theyd been pushed into signing consent forms while in active labour, on powerful painkiller or in emotional distress.

"I don't think (the 60) are a complete representation of what is happening, because of the trickle-down effect that we're seeing," said Lombard.

She said while scores of women seek justice, its important everyday people keep an eye out for their fellow patients.

"Everyone does have a role to play here," Lombard said.

"It's important for Winnipeggers, and many others, to speak out when they see that people aren't being treated the way they should be treated: in a non-discriminatory, humanistic manner."

The federal Indigenous services minister, Jane Philpott, noted the practice had been documented historically and was "a serious violation of human rights." She supported Boyers push to have Parliament examine how widespread the issue remains.

In an email, Philpott noted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada noted the need for cultural-safety training among medical staff, and to weed out racism.

"We all have a role to play to ensure that Indigenous patients receive quality health care, free of prejudice," she wrote.

Lombard said Ottawa should start by banning coerced sterilization in the Criminal Code.

The Free Press has asked both Manitoba complainants for an interview.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
It may be unseasonably cold outside, but there is a way you can get a smile on your face  put up your Christmas decorations.

With both Halloween and Remembrance Day in our back mirror, you may have to put on a parka or dress in several layers of clothing to do it, but you'll be happier if you put up a string of lights, hang some garland or blow up that inflatable of Santa in an outhouse.

And that's not just me saying it  there's actually a study to prove it.

The Journal of Environmental Psychology has published a study that says putting holiday decorations outside lets the neighbourhood know the people who live inside are "friendly and cohesive."

And if you're friendly and cohesive, you'll be seen as more sociable, so you'll end up seeing more people and that will make you happy.

According to Steve McKeown, a psychoanalyst and owner of The McKeown Clinic in England, the simple act of putting up decorations can make you happier because putting up decorations connects you with your inner kid and the kid you were when you were experiencing the holiday season.

"In a world of stress and anxiety, people like to associate to things that make them happy, and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of childhood," McKeown told the British Internet media company Unilad.

"Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement, so putting up those Christmas decorations early extends the excitement."

Meanwhile, doing everything Christmas early doesn't always make you happy, it can make you ill.

While studies have shown that when retail stores play Christmas music it brings out our inner ho ho ho which leads to us opening up our wallets more for presents, listening to the music too early can be bad for your health.

Music psychologists  yes, there is such a job  say when you hear the music too early you start thinking about all the presents you may have to buy and all the other obligations you have, such as hosting a party or wrapping presents, and that leads to increased stress levels.

Here's an idea: get a list, slowly do your holiday shopping and get happy putting out the Christmas decorations.

After all, blowing up an inflatable Christmas decoration is more uplifting than blowing through your savings.

 Kevin Rollason
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/11/2018 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

There may be some heightened symbolism  and a little more volume  as Canadians gather Sunday for Remembrance Day ceremonies that will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Back on Nov. 11, 1918, when news of the end of the war broke, Canadian churches spontaneously rang their bells to mark the end of a conflict that left more than 66,000 Canadians dead and 172,000 wounded.

National Archives of Canada Maj. William George (Billy) Barker, seen in a 1918 photo in England, grew up near Dauphin and went on to become, as fellow pilot Billy Bishop put it, the deadliest air ace who ever lived.

One hundred years later, the Royal Canadian Legion-Veterans Affairs "Bells of Peace" campaign will see legion branches, spiritual centres and community locations throughout Canada ring their bells 100 times during the setting sun.

"As well as on naval ships, theyll be tolling bells 100 times," Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Patsy Bolger-Gallant said. "Because at the end of the armistice, of course, it was quite a celebration and the bells tolled all across the globe really. The legion is reaching out to communities right across the country to have this happen."

It is the perfect time for us to pay solemn tribute to Seven Canadian War Heroes Whose Stories of Sacrifice and Courage Continue to Inspire Canadians:

5) The Canadian hero: Lt. Alexander Roberts Dunn

The story of courage: It may look like nothing more than a bronze cross attached to a strip of ribbon, but the Victoria Cross is so much more. Instituted by Queen Victoria, it was the Commonwealths premier military decoration for gallantry and exceptional bravery in the face of the enemy, an honour that has been presented to 96 Canadians, or people closely associated with Canada. It was superseded in 1993 by the Canadian Victoria Cross, but the original British Empire decoration has lost none of its lustre. In 1854, at the age of 21, Alexander Roberts Dunn stepped into history as the first Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions while serving in the British armys 11th Hussars during the Crimean War. Born in what is now Toronto in 1833, Dunn joined the Hussars as a junior officer in 1852. Two years later, he sailed with his regiment for Crimea, on the Black Sea in eastern Europe, where, on Oct. 25, 1854, the young lieutenant took part in the legendary Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava. The brigades 670 cavalrymen infamously charged Russian guns at the end of a long, narrow alley, with additional enemy cannons on each side, in a heroic, albeit suicidal, example of British military discipline. The Canadian Encyclopedia says only 375 soldiers returned unharmed 25 minutes later. "During the withdrawal after the charge, Dunn saved the life of a fellow 11th Hussar, Troop Sergeant Bentley, whose horse would not keep up. He cut down three Russian cavalrymen who were attacking Bentley from the rear, giving him time to escape. Later, he cut down another Russian who was attacking a Hussar private," the encyclopedia says. Not only is Dunn considered the first Canadian to have been awarded the Victoria Cross, he was the only officer to earn it during the Charge of the Light Brigade. Dunn was also among the very first group of recipients to be awarded the newly created medal, generally believed to be made from Russian cannons captured during the Crimean War. He died in 1868 after a hunting accident near Senafe, in present-day Eritrea. His grave lay forgotten until it was found by a British officer in the final days of the Second World War.

4) The Canadian hero: Lance Cpl. Fred Fisher

The story of courage: While Alexander Roberts Dunn was the first Canadian to win the Victoria Cross, St. Catharines-born Frederick Fisher was the first to be awarded a VC while serving in the Canadian military. Ten days after his 20th birthday, Fisher enlisted with the 5th Regiment, Royal Highlanders of Canada, better known as the Black Watch. In the early days of the First World War, Fishers battalion trained in southern England, where he reportedly learned to use a fairly new weapon of war, the machine-gun. By mid-April, the Canadians were one of six Allied divisions deployed in a great arc along the Ypres Salient  a bulge in the Allied lines  in Belgium. At 5 p.m. on April 22, 1915, the Germans pumped chlorine gas into the air at Ypres and a light breeze carried the greenish-yellow cloud toward the Allies. "The gas was accompanied by heavy artillery fire and followed by a German attack. Many of the French colonial troops died gasping in their trenches, while others broke and fled rearward. Three German divisions streamed through a six-kilometre gap that opened up next to Fishers battalion," according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. A battery of field guns needed to keep the Germans at bay was at risk of falling into enemy hands and, when the battery commander realized he was about to be overrun, Fishers machine-gun crew were sent to help. They set up their gun in an abandoned building and opened fire, forcing the Germans back. After four of his crew were killed, Fisher returned to Canadian lines for reinforcements, then resumed attacking the Germans. The field guns were dismantled and hauled out of danger, which earned Fisher his VC. On April 23, while once again setting up his machine-gun, Fisher was struck by a bullet and died instantly. He was buried in a makeshift grave, but his body was never recovered. The CBC reported this month that Fishers VC was sent to his parents, as was a handwritten letter from King George V, stating: "It is a matter of sincere regret to me that the death of Lance Corporal Frederick Fisher deprived me of the pride of personally conferring upon him the Victoria Cross, the greatest of all military distinctions."

Derek Ruttan / London Free Press files Sgt. Tommy Prince, Canadas most decorated Indigenous soldier, sold his medals at one point, but theyve since been returned to his family.

3) The Canadian hero: William George (Billy) Barker

The story of courage: Everyone adores Snoopy, but the greatest First World War flying ace hailed from Manitoba. William George (Billy) Barker grew up riding horses and hunting on a farm near Dauphin, where his father taught him how to shoot a rifle. He was famed for being adept at shooting on the move, even on horseback. He joined the military when the First World War broke out in 1914. When the Royal Flying Corps began taking volunteers, they were looking for soldiers who had horseback-riding experience, because it was believed riding a horse required a heightened level of co-ordination and physical dexterity  the precise traits wanted in a pilot. So Barker joined the corps in 1916 and became a pilot by February 1917. When he earned his pilots wings, he needed only 55 minutes of instruction before flying solo. During his remarkable career with the RFC, Barker was credited with 53 aerial victories  making him an ace 10 times over. It has been reported he wasnt the most skilled pilot, but compensated for this deficiency with his aggressive style and amazingly accurate marksmanship. One of his most celebrated exploits came on Christmas Day 1917 when he and his wingman, Lt. Harold Hudson, caught the Germans off guard, shooting up an airfield, setting fire to a hangar and damaging four German planes before dropping a placard wishing their enemies a "Happy Christmas." It was on a flight over France in October 1918 that he earned his Victoria Cross. On his way to England from the front lines, he suddenly found himself facing an estimated 50 enemy fighters. "In the battle that ensued, despite being wounded three times in the legs and having most of one elbow shot away, Barker repelled the Germans and shot down four of their aircraft before crash-landing inside Allied lines. Severely wounded, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions," the website of Library and Archives Canada notes. When he returned to Canada in May 1919, he was the most decorated Canadian of the war, with the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Military Cross and two bars, two Italian Silver Medals for Military Valour, and the French Croix de guerre. Fellow flyer Billy Bishop hailed him as "the deadliest air ace who ever lived."

2) The Canadian hero: Sgt. Tommy Prince

The story of courage: It would be a gross understatement to say the wartime exploits of Sgt. Thomas George (Tommy) Prince are the stuff of legend. "He was a quiet, ordinary man who had greatness thrust upon him by the force of one of the greatest conflicts in the history of western civilization. Its as if he was born and bred for one great task and then cast aside by the very society he fought for. He was a true son of his people and a great warrior," the Indigenous newspaper First Nations Drum declared. Born in a canvas tent in 1915 and raised on Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, about 70 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, Prince was the great-great-grandson of Saulteaux Chief Peguis. One of 11 children in his family, he became a marksman when he joined the army cadets. "As soon as I put on my uniform," he once remarked, according to a feature in the Ottawa Citizen, "I felt like a better man. I even tried to wear it to class." From humble beginnings, this Manitoba hero went on to become one of the most decorated Indigenous soldiers in Canadian history, fighting heroically in both the Second World War and the Korean War. He was honoured with 11 medals during his service, including receiving the Military Medal from King George VI. He was one of only 59 Canadians to receive the Silver Star from the United States. In 1942, he answered a call for parachutists for the Canadian Parachute Battalion, which was then attached to an elite U.S.-Canadian commando unit known as the First Special Service Force, or "Devils Brigade." One of his most celebrated exploits came in Anzio, Italy, in 1944, when he famously volunteered to run a communication line 1,400 metres to an abandoned farmhouse just spitting distance from a German artillery position. For three days, he reported on German movements via a communication wire. "When the wire was severed during shelling, he disguised himself as a peasant farmer and pretended to work the land around the farmhouse," The Canadian Encyclopedia recalls. "He stooped to tie his shoes and fixed the wire while German soldiers watched, oblivious to his true identity." Following the end of the Korean War, he returned to Winnipeg, where he suffered from addiction issues. At one point, he sold his medals to feed his addiction. He died in 1977. When a collector put Princes medals up for sale at public auction in 1997, a local fundraising effort financed their purchase and return to Winnipeg, where they were presented to the Prince family.

1) The Canadian hero(es): The Pine Street Boys  Sgt. Maj. Frederick William Hall, Lt. Robert Shankland and Cpl. Leo Beaumaurice Clarke

The stories of courage: Three heroic young men. Three Victoria Crosses. And one humble street in Winnipeg. If youre a Winnipegger  or simply a patriotic Canadian  you know the story of the Pine Street Boys: Leo Clarke, Frederick William Hall and Robert Shankland. All three earned the Victoria Cross while fighting for their country in the First World War. Even more remarkably, all three hailed from the 700 block of what was then called Pine Street in Winnipegs West End. In 1925, the street they called home was renamed Valour Road in their honour. Here are their stories: Sgt. Maj. Frederick William Hall was 30 years old on April 24, 1915, during the 2nd Battle of Ypres in Belgium, infamous as the site of the first German gas attack on the western front. Hall was shot in the forehead and killed during a valiant attempt to rescue a wounded comrade calling for help about 15 metres from a trench. Hall was lifting the wounded man when he was struck. Cpl. Leo Clarke was 24 at the Somme front in France on Sept. 9, 1916, when he and his men fought their way into the centre of the enemy position and came under counterattack. Clarke was wounded by a bayonet in the knee but continued to fight alone, killing 18 enemy soldiers and taking one prisoner. Though he was told to go to hospital, he returned to duty the next day. He died when a shell blast buried him in a trench a month later. Lt. Robert Shankland was 30 during the Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium, in October 1917 when he led the remnants of his own platoon and men from other companies to inflict heavy casualties on the retreating enemy. He later stopped a counterattack, then made his way through the battlefield to communicate his companys position to the battalion headquarters before returning to rejoin his men and hold the position until relieved. He survived the war, served in the Second World War and died at age 80 on Jan. 20, 1968. In 2014, their medals were loaned to the Manitoba Museum for an exhibit to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War.

Lest we forget.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca
It seems Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister can't say adios to hiking in New Mexico.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/11/2018 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It seems Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister can't say adios to hiking in New Mexico.

Last year, Pallister pledged to return to the Rain Creek-Mogollon Trail near Alma, where he was seriously injured during a hiking misadventure in November 2017.

Pallister and his wife, Esther, set out to hike in the Gila Wilderness again this week, after their last expedition ended with the premier getting lost in the dark, falling and breaking his left arm in several places.

"Together with his wife... (the premier) is returning to the challenging hiking trail in the Gila National Forest to complete the path he started," a government spokesperson said Wednesday.

This time around, the couple stopped at the Gila Regional Medical Center to thank the front-line workers who cared for the premier last year.

The Grant County Beat, a New Mexico newspaper, reported on the premier's visit Monday, and interviewed the patrol officer who was the first to find Pallister when he went missing.

Premier Brian Pallister presents a certificate of appreciation to Gila Regional Medical Center for the care received last year at the hospital. CEO Taffy Arias and CFO Richard Stokes accept it. (Mary Alice Murphy / Grant County Beat)

Justin McNett said he found the premier about 1 1/2 kilometres from the trailhead. Pallister and his wife had chosen to venture off on solo paths, starting their hikes on separate ends of the trail and planning to meet in the middle.

Pallister got lost as darkness crept in and fell down a slope. Esther Pallister called 911 when her husband didn't meet her as planned, and McNett was dispatched to find him.

"You told me you were the Manitoba premier," McNett told Pallister, as reported in the Grant County Beat. "But I didn't know what that was. I just knew he was hurt, and we had to get care for him."

McNett accepted a Winnipeg Jets T-shirt as a thank-you gift from the premier, who also gave a certificate of appreciation and Canadian flag to hospital staff, the New Mexico newspaper reported.

Last year, Pallister told reporters he was "happy to be alive" after the hiking mishap. His arm was in a sling for months and he endured several rounds of physiotherapy to regain strength.

Pallister is expected back in Manitoba "in the next few days," his press secretary said. He also confirmed the premier and his wife finished the hike safely this week.

The legislature is not sitting this week, and most MLAs are working in their constituencies. The new session begins Tuesday, with the throne speech.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @_jessbu
If being kind is in your mission statement, World Kindness Day is a pretty big deal.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/11/2018 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If being kind is in your mission statement, World Kindness Day is a pretty big deal.

For a Minnesota charity that seeks to brighten the lives of refugee children, it meant reaching across the border to Winnipegs Welcome Place.

Supplied Gail Harvey (left), director of Dont CryIm Here, donates dolls to Welcome Places Karen Montgomery-Gibbs, Rita Chahal and Flora Aruna in Fargo, N.D., on Tuesday  World Kindness Day. The 40 culturally sensitive dolls and teddy bears will be redistributed to refugees in Winnipeg.

On Tuesday, the head of Dont Cry...Im Here  an organization that donates culturally sensitive dolls and teddy bears to refugee children  met up with Welcome Place workers in Fargo, N.D., to present them with 40 toys for recently arrived refugee children across the border in Canada.

"The fact that they chose us was incredible," said Rita Chahal, executive director of the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council which runs Welcome Place. The Winnipeg-based non-profit helps refugees get settled and assists refugee claimants seeking protection in Canada.

"Whats happening in the U.S. is fewer refugees are coming in," said Chahal, who drove to Fargo with a small group from Welcome Place for the meeting to mark the 2018 edition of World Kindness Day.

The number of refugees entering the United States has fallen to historic lows, due to increased scrutiny officials in U.S. President Donald Trumps administration say is necessary for security. Critics say it amounts to an abandonment of the countrys historic humanitarian role and discriminates against certain groups, particularly Muslims.

The Minnesota charity representatives said the group just wants to provide some comfort to children finding refuge in a new land.

"I want every little girl to have and hug a doll that resembles her and dresses similarly," especially refugee girls who are afraid in their new land, executive director Gail Harvey said on the charitys Facebook page. "How comforting this doll can be during this uncertain adjustment time."

Dont Cry...Im Here  a non-profit with U.S. charitable status  focuses on the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and St. Cloud. It donates teddy bears, dolls, doll clothing and accessories to newly arrived refugee children between the ages of four and 11, "to love, hug, talk to, cry with and laugh with while adjusting to a new land."

The gift pack includes a doll or bear dressed in clothing that matches a recipients cultural traditions  from the Karen minority forced to flee Myanmar, Ethiopia and other refugee-producing countries. The doll is to help children "to learn nurturing skills, typically learned from parents, but now compromised due to survival in dangerous situations and refugee camps."

Winnipeg hasnt seen a huge surge in the recent number of refugee claimants arriving from the U.S., Chahal said. There has been more of a slow, steady stream of "secondary migration"  families with young children who crossed into Canada at Ontario and Quebec and are making their way west to Winnipeg to resettle.

Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Councils annual report said its in-Canada protection services at Welcome Place helped 940 refugee claimants in 2017-18, compared to 552 the previous year. Its settlement services helped 626 privately sponsored and 209 government-assisted refugees get settled that year, the report said.

Welcome Place was contacted by the Minnesota charity in August.

"This organization decided to donate their dolls to us," Chahal said. She expects the toys will be distributed to new arrivals in early December.

"They couldve continued to give dolls to anyone else, and they chose us," she said. "As their neighbour, they know about our work."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
In 2016, Canadas governments negotiated the Vancouver Declaration on Clean Growth and Climate Change  a national agenda to attack climate harm by transitioning to clean prosperity. Carbon pricing was not just a stick to curb pollution, but an engine to drive low-carbon economic development. Sure enough, the four highest-growth provinces in 2017 were exactly the four that had already embraced a carbon price  British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/11/2018 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

In 2016, Canadas governments negotiated the Vancouver Declaration on Clean Growth and Climate Change  a national agenda to attack climate harm by transitioning to clean prosperity. Carbon pricing was not just a stick to curb pollution, but an engine to drive low-carbon economic development. Sure enough, the four highest-growth provinces in 2017 were exactly the four that had already embraced a carbon price  British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

Absence of a carbon price (or one set too low) is a moral and market failure. It is in effect a subsidy paid to emitters by victims and governments who pick up the costs of more damage from climate change. "Axe the tax" really means "keep the subsidy." A better cry is, "Make polluters, not victims, pay."

Removing that subsidy through a tax raises demand for alternatives and creates a more attractive market for clean technologies. It also yields revenue to support impacted Manitobans and invest in the new economy.

Cancelling a carbon tax altogether is destructive tax avoidance. Fortunately, the federal backstop, announced two years ago, ensures that wont happen. By withdrawing its own plan, Manitoba has handed taxing responsibility to the federal government. It is time now for Manitobans and their governments to focus on constructive tax avoidance  by reducing the taxed emissions.

Hydropower has gifted Manitobans for decades with the lowest rates in North America. This gift will keep on giving by exempting Manitobans from a carbon tax on their electricity, unlike, say, residents of Alberta, who will also pay another $25 billion to get off coal and build a clean electrical supply. It also gives our manufacturers a market advantage with customers looking for a clean supplier. We dont need special consideration for hydro. We continue to reap the rewards.

Moreover, in the future, the hydro benefit of avoiding the carbon tax will expand as Manitobans replace gasoline and diesel with electricity to fuel their vehicles and substitute geothermal heat for natural gas.

Of course, there are other constructive paths to carbon tax avoidance besides electrification.

In 2015, the Manitoba Trucking Association proposed a modest carbon tax on diesel to subsidize efficiency retrofits on trucks for an estimated 22 per cent fuel (and thus emissions) savings. Truckers would benefit from lower fuel costs and become more competitive in other jurisdictions while lowering GHGs  a win/win solution even at the 2022 carbon price of $50/tonne.

Truckers, though, will still be taxed on their (reduced) fuel consumption until they can electrify. But investing those revenues to support carbon sequestration would reduce the net GHG burden from trucking even further.

Lately, provincial Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler has publicly worried about the impact of the carbon tax on agriculture. But the federal backstop explicitly exempts gasoline and diesel used in agriculture. This still leaves natural gas and propane for heating barns and greenhouses and drying grains. Fortunately, Manitoba has a growing biofuel industry that can replace them.

Indeed, farmers might produce their own fuels. Cost barriers should be addressed with carbon tax proceeds. More than 40 colonies and five greenhouses have already made the switch to biomass fuel. Lets seize the opportunity to replace Alberta gas and propane with Manitoba biofuels and develop new rural industry in the process.

In short, there are many opportunities for emission reduction and carbon tax savings. Governments role is to enable the transition where barriers exist and cushion impacts for the vulnerable, spurred on by a rising carbon tax.

Instead of fighting the tax, accelerating climate risks make rapid transition to a low-carbon economy imperative. As environmentalist Bill McKibben said, "Winning slowly is the same as losing."

Peter Miller is a member of Green Action Centres policy committee.
A few weeks ago, Bloomberg reported that China was spying on American tech firms, including Apple and Amazon, by installing secret microchips on server boards during the production process. These hardware trojans are, like the Greek horse used to sneak in soldiers, designed to appear harmless while in actuality they perform secret malicious operations.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/11/2018 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

A few weeks ago, Bloomberg reported that China was spying on American tech firms, including Apple and Amazon, by installing secret microchips on server boards during the production process. These hardware trojans are, like the Greek horse used to sneak in soldiers, designed to appear harmless while in actuality they perform secret malicious operations.

The named tech firms have denied this report; at the moment, we have no way of knowing who is right. If true, this is potentially the greatest malicious hardware security breach weve seen. If not true, well there are still enough hardware security vulnerabilities to go around.

Earlier this year, the Spectre/Meltdown bug was disclosed. This security vulnerability affects virtually every processor, from those powering consumer computers to company servers, and it allows malicious code to access potentially confidential information. This was a fault in the hardware design: software patches (updates intended to correct the fault) were made available soon after and, officially, with negligible performance impact (its not really negligible).

But this doesnt affect you directly, apart from a slightly slower computer or does it?

Microprocessors are everywhere

The average person interacts with scores of microprocessors every day. This does not include the servers and internet routers that process your email and social media: think closer to home. You likely have a smartphone and a personal computer or tablet.

Perhaps an Amazon Echo or another smart speaker? An electronic doorbell or intercom? Your car alone, if less than ten years old, has dozens of processors responsible for everything from controlling the radio to acting on the brakes. A Spectre/Meltdown-like bug on your cars brakes is a frightening thought.

These bugs occur because hardware design is hard. As part of my research, Ive had to design and implement processors. Making them work is challenging enough, but ensuring they are secure? Exponentially harder.

Some might remember that in 1994, Intel had to recall a line of buggy processors, costing them millions of dollars. This was a case where the best chip designers in the world produced a flawed chip. Not a security vulnerability, just an incorrect result on some operations.

This is much easier to detect and correct than a security vulnerability, which is often incredibly nuanced  those interested in reading more about the Spectre/Meltdown exploit will see its a very, very sophisticated attack. Last year, a cybersecurity researcher found several undocumented instructions on an Intel i7 processor. Instructions are the atomic operations a processor can perform: for example, adding two numbers, or moving data from one place to another. Every program you run likely executes thousands or millions of instructions. The discovered ones are not disclosed on the official manual, and for some, their exact behaviour remains unclear.

The processor you own and use can do things the vendor doesnt tell you about. But is this a documentation issue? Or a genuine design flaw? Intellectual property secret? We dont know, but it is likely another security vulnerability waiting to be exploited.

The vulnerabilities of hardware

Why is hardware so fundamentally unsafe? For one, security is an aspect that is often overlooked in an engineering education across the spectrum from hardware to software. There are so many tools, concepts, paradigms that students must learn, that there is little time to include security considerations in the curriculum; graduates are expected to learn on the job.

The side effect is that across many industries, security is considered the cherry on the cake rather than a fundamental ingredient. This is, fortunately, beginning to change: cybersecurity programs are popping up across universities, and we are getting better at training security-conscious engineers.

A second reason is complexity. Companies that actually fabricate chips dont necessarily design them from scratch, as the building blocks are bought from third parties. For example, until recently, Apple bought designs for the graphics processor on iPhones from Imagination Technologies. (Theyve since moved to in-house designs). Ideally, specifications perfectly match the design. In reality, undocumented or erroneously documented features across different building blocks may interact in subtle ways to produce security loopholes that attackers might exploit.

Unlike in software, these weak points have long-lasting effects and are not easily corrected. Many researchers are contributing to solve these problems: from techniques for verifying that designs match specifications, to automated tools that analyze interactions across components and validate behaviour.

A third reason is economies of scale. From the business perspective, there are only two games in town: performance and power consumption. The fastest processor and the longest battery life win the market. From the engineering perspective, most optimizations are harmful to security.

In safety-critical real-time systems (think autonomous cars, aeroplanes, etc.), where how long something takes to execute is critical. This has been a problem for a while. Current processors are designed to execute as quickly as possible most of the time, and will occasionally take lengthy periods; predicting how long something will take is incredibly challenging. We do know how to design predictable processors, but virtually none are commercially available. Theres little money to be made.

Changing focus on cybersecurity

In the long term, the same wont hold true for security. As the age of the Internet of Things dawns on us, and the number of processors per household, vehicle and among infrastructure continues to increase, companies will undoubtedly move towards security-conscious hardware.

Better-trained engineers, better tools and more motivation for security  when a stamp of security quality means you sell more than your competitors  will push for good cybersecurity at all levels.

Until then? Maybe foreign countries have interfered with it, maybe not; regardless, dont trust your hardware. That pesky update notification that keeps popping up? Update. Buying a new device? Check the manufacturers security record. Complex advice on choosing good passwords? Listen. Were trying to protect you.

Paulo Garcia is an assistant professor at Carleton University.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Enter "Neo," a Latvian hacker whose strong sense of justice more than made up for his total lack of originality.

Saeima/flickr The John Wick of the Baltic.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Neo decided to take a look at the national tax office data, then shared his findings with the public. That's how everyone found out that, for instance, managers at one municipal utility got a $25,800 bonus in 2009, while government officials "earned" as much as $7,100 a month. For reference, Latvian pensioners had to figure out how to live on the equivalent of around $172 a month, while teachers got $430. The biggest bank in the country was in such horrible shape after the crash that it had to be nationalized and wages were slashed ... for low-level staff, that is. The directors still retained their five-digit monthly salaries and, presumably, Scrooge McDuck money pools.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Even the cops who arrested Neo (Ilmars Poikans, an artificial intelligence researcher) had reason to like him, since they'd learned that their superiors were earning six times their salaries. Poikans initially faced a ten-year prison sentence, but authorities brought it down to 60 hours of community service ... probably after learning of a recent spike in the sales of pitchforks and guillotines.
Robbie Williams has announced dates for his first Las Vegas residency.

The 'Let Me Entertain You' hitmaker is set to follow in the footsteps of fellow pop stars like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and more by performing a solo run in Sin City in March 2019.

Robbie, 44, said: "I'm beyond excited to announce my first ever residency in Las Vegas. To follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest entertainers of all time is a dream come true - I can't wait."

Although the 'X Factor' judge has been a huge success - selling 57 million albums and 11 million singles all over the world - that hasn't translated to making him a household name in the US.

His 1999 greatest hits collection 'The Ego Has Landed' sold a million copies in the states, but it wasn't enough to convince him to keep pursuing it further.

He previously explained: "When I released my compilation album 'The Ego Has Landed' I went to America for two months to promote it.

"The album sold one million copies. That was not bad. But I don't want to work that hard. I've concluded not to try it again.

"After that I did not promote any album in the US. A lot of fame can be exhausting. I would hardly be able to cope with it [in America]."

However, he's still set to head over to play shows at Wynn Las Vegas on March 6, 8, 9, 13, 15 and 16 next year.

It's sure to be a moving experience for Robbie, who has covered Vegas legends on his album 'Swing When You're Winning' including the likes of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, while his 2005 track 'Me and My Monkey' is set in the city and references the Mandalay Bay hotel on the strip.

Tickets for 'Robbie Williams Live' go on sale on Friday (11.16.18) at robbiewilliams.com/tickets.
Rayonier, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in investment in timberlands. It operates through the following business segments: Southern Timber, Pacific Northwest Timber, New Zealand Timber, Real Estate, Timber Funds and Trading. The Southern Timber, Pacific Northwest Timber and New Zealand Timber segments reflect all activities related to the harvesting of timber and other value-added activities, such as recreational licenses, within each respective geography. The Real Estate segment reflects all U.S. land sales, which are reported in the following sales categories: Improved Development, Unimproved Development, Rural, Non-Strategic and Timberlands, and Large Dispositions. The Timber Funds segment represents operations of the three private equity timber funds included in the Pope Resources transaction. The Trading segment reflects the log trading activities that support New Zealand operations. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Wild light, FL.

Read More
There is not enough analysis data for Dividend 15 Split Corp. II.

5.0 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Dividend 15 Split Corp. II has received 4 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Dividend 15 Split Corp. II has received 1 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Dividend 15 Split Corp. II has received 80.00% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Dividend 15 Split Corp. II and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe DF will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe DF 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 Mueller Industries: ATCO Rubber Products, ATCO Rubber Products Inc., Aegis Oil and Gas Leasing Ltd., Amwest Exploration Company, Arava Exploration Company, Arava Natural Resources Company Inc., B & K Industries Inc., B&K Industries, B&K LLC (d/b/a BK Products), Bayard Mining Corp., Canco Oil & Gas Ltd., Carpentertown Coal & Coke Company, Changzhou Mueller Refrigerant Valve Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Climate Components LLC, DENO Holding Company Inc., DENO Investment Company II Inc., DENO Investment Company Inc., Die-Mold Tool Limited, Die-Mold Tool Limited, Extruded Metals, Extruded Metals Inc., Great Lakes Copper Ltd., Halstead Industries, HeatLink Group, Heatlink Group Inc., Heatlink Group USA LLC (Incorporated 2/7/2019), Howell Metal Company (d/b/a Precision Tube in VA 4/2019), Itawamba Industrial Gas Company Inc., Jungwoo Metal Ind. Co. LTD, Jungwoo Metal Ind. Co. Ltd., Kessler Sales & Distribution, Kessler Sales & Distribution LLC, King Coal Company, Leon Water Enterprises Inc., Lincoln Brass Works, Lincoln Brass Works Inc. (Assumed name: Mueller Gas Products), Linesets, Linesets Inc., MA Industrial Secured Lending LLC, MCTC LLC, MCTP LLC, MII Financial Corporation, MPC Foundry Inc., MPC Machine Shop Inc., Macomber Building and Land Corporation, Macomber Construction Company, Macomber Incorporated, Micro Gauge, Micro Gauge Inc., Microgauge Machining Inc., Mining Remedial Recovery Company, Mueller Advanced Connections LLC, Mueller Brass Co. (Assumed name: Mueller Brass Products), Mueller Brass Forging Company Inc., Mueller Brass Holding Company Inc., Mueller Canada Holding Co. Ltd., Mueller Casting Company Inc., Mueller Comercial de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Mueller Copper Tube Company Inc., Mueller Copper Tube Products Inc., Mueller East Inc., Mueller Europe Investment Company Ltd., Mueller Europe Limited, Mueller Fittings Company Inc., Mueller Fittings LLC, Mueller Formed Tube Company Inc., Mueller Impacts Company Inc., Mueller Industrial Realty Co., Mueller Industries Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mueller LBHC Inc., Mueller Packaging LLC, Mueller Plastics Corporation Inc., Mueller Plastics Holding Company Inc., Mueller Press Company Inc., Mueller Refrigeration Holding Company Inc., Mueller Refrigeration LLC, Mueller Refrigeration Products Company Inc., Mueller Southeast Inc., Mueller Streamline China LLC, Mueller Streamline Co., Mueller Streamline Holding S.L.U., Mueller Streamline II LLC, Mueller Streamline Trading LLC, Mueller Tool and Machine Inc., Muellux Holding Company I SARL, Muellux Holding Company II SARL, Overstreet Hughes, Overstreet-Hughes Co. Inc. (Assumed name: Fabricated Tube Products), PexCor, Pexcor Manufacturing Co. Inc., Precision Tube Company LLC, Propipe Technologies, Propipe Technologies Inc. (Assumed name: Mueller Gas Products), Sherwood Valve LLC, Sherwood Valve Products Inc., Shoals Tubular, Shoals Tubular Inc., Southland Pipe Nipples Company Inc., Summit Systems Inc., Tecumseh Products Co., Tecumseh Products Holdings LLC, Tube Forming, Turbotec Products, Turbotec Products Inc., U.S.S. Lead Refinery Inc., USSRAM Exploration Company, United States Fuel Company, Vemco Brasscapri, WTC HoldCo I LLC, WTC HoldCo II LLC, WTC Holding Company, Washington Mining Company, Westermeyer Industries, Westermeyer Industries Inc., and White Knob Mining Company.
Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. distributes and sells propane and related equipment and supplies. The company transports propane to propane distribution locations, tanks on customers' premises, or to portable propane tanks delivered to retailers. It conducts its portable tank exchange operations under the Blue Rhino brand name through a network of independent and partnership-owned distribution outlets. The company's propane is primarily used for space heating, water heating, cooking, outdoor cooking using gas grills, crop drying, irrigation, weed control, and other propane fueled appliances; as an engine fuel for combustion engine vehicles and forklifts; and as a heating or energy source in manufacturing and drying processes. It serves residential, industrial/commercial, portable tank exchange, agricultural, wholesale, and other customers in the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. As of July 31, 2018, it operated 72 service centers and 859 propane distribution locations. The company is also involved in the sale of refined fuels; provision of common carrier services; and retail sale of propane appliances and related parts and fittings, as well as other retail propane related services and consumer products. Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Read More
Boliden AB, a metals company, explores for, mines, smelts, and recycles metals. It operates in two segments, Business Area Mines and Business Area Smelters. The company mines for zinc, copper, lead, gold, silver, nickel, and tellurium deposits. It operates the Aitik, the Boliden Area, and Garpenberg mines in Sweden; Tara mine in Ireland; and Kylylahti and Kevitsa mines in Finland. The company also produces zinc and lead ingots, copper cathodes, and gold bars and silver granules; sulphuric acid, zinc clinker, sulphur dioxide, and palladium concentrates; copper, lead, nickel, and zinc concentrates; and by-products comprising copper sulphate, zinc clinker, iron sand, copper telluride, selenium, nickel matte, crude nickel sulphate, and platinum group metal concentrates. In addition, it recycles copper and precious metals from electronic scrap; lead from used lead-acid batteries; and metals from waste products. Further, Boliden AB extracts silver from zinc concentrates. The company sells its products principally to industrial customers, as well as to base metal dealers and international metal stocks, such as the London Metal Exchange in Sweden, other Nordic region countries, Germany, the United Kingdom, other European countries, North America, and internationally. Boliden AB was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

Read More
 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 contact@marketbeat.com | (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.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; and Capital Markets. The company offers chequing, savings, and business accounts; mortgages; loans, lines of credit, student lines of credit, and business and agriculture loans; investment and insurance services; and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services. It also provides day-to-day banking, borrowing and credit, investing and wealth, specialty, and international services; correspondent banking and online foreign exchange services; and cash management services. The company serves its customers through its banking centers, as well as direct, mobile, and remote channels. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read More
Texas Pacific Land Corp. operates as a landowner in the State of Texas. Its surface and royalty ownership allow revenue generation through the entire value chain of oil and gas development, including through fixed fee payments for use of the firm's land, revenue for sales of materials used in the construction of infrastructure, providing sourced water and treated produced water, revenue from its oil and gas royalty interests, and revenues related to saltwater disposal on land. The company also generates revenue from pipeline, power line and utility easements, commercial leases, material sales and seismic and temporary permits related to a variety of land uses including midstream infrastructure projects and hydrocarbon processing facilities. The company operates through following segment: Land and Resource Management and Water Services and Operations. The Land and Resource Management segment focuses on managing oil and gas royalty interest and surface. The Water Services and Operations segment offers operators an unparalleled breadth of service across the majority of the Permian Basin. The company was founded in April 2020 and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.

Read More
Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG provides commercial real estate and public investment finance products. Its commercial real estate financing activities include financing instruments, such as financing investment projects, development finance, cross-border portfolio financing, investment bridge finance facilities, standby/backup facilities, and derivatives. The company primarily finances offices, retail, and logistic real estate companies, as well as residential properties targeting real estate companies, institutional investors, real estate funds, and medium-sized and regionally orientated clients. It is also involved in the public investment financing activities, such as financing for public sector facilities, municipal and residential buildings, utilities, infrastructure, medical and geriatric care facilities, and administration and insurance facilities. In addition, the company operates a digital platform for public sector borrowers and institutional investors under the CAPVERIANT name. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG has offices in four locations in Eschborn, DAsseldorf, Hamburg, and Berlin in Germany; and five locations in London, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm, and New York City. The company was formerly known as Hypo Real Estate Bank AG and changed its name to Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG in June 2009. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG is headquartered in Garching, Germany.

Read More
The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO ENERGY, XTO Energy Canada, and XTO Holdings LLC.
Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other. Its Wet shave products are sold under the Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate, Shave Guard and Personna brand names. Its Sun and Skin Care products are sold under the Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Wet Ones and Playtex brand names and offers Wet Ones, portable hand wipes category, and Playtex household gloves, the branded household glove in the United States. Its Feminine Care segment markets its products under the Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. brands and markets pads and liners. Its All Other segment includes infant care, pet care and miscellaneous other products.

Read More
Equinox Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral deposits. The company's principal properties include the Aurizona project covering a total land package of approximately 223,160 hectares located in Maranhao State, Brazil; and the Castle Mountain property situated in California, the United States. It primarily explores for gold, copper, and silver deposits. The company was formerly known as Trek Mining Inc. and changed its name to Equinox Gold Corp. in December 2017. Equinox Gold Corp. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Read More
iShares MSCI Chile ETF's stock was trading at $25.05 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, ECH stock has increased by 13.8% and is now trading at $28.50.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
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
(CNN)  An additional 13 sets of human remains were discovered Monday in Northern California, bringing the death toll from the Camp Fire to 42, making it the deadliest wildfire in the state's history, the sheriff of Butte County said.

The increased death toll comes as first responders battle blazes on both ends of the state, and brings the statewide death toll to 44.

Fierce winds continue to threaten lives and homes in Southern California's Woolsey Fire, which has killed two people so far. The strongest Santa Ana winds in the south may bring gusts near hurricane force on Tuesday, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

Dangerous gusts fuel one California wildfire as another inferno leaves 42 people dead

Meanwhile, firefighters made progress Monday in containing the Camp Fire, which razed the town of Paradise, where most of the dead have been found. Harrowing stories of escapes and close calls are trickling out of the region.

Resident Nichole Jolly said she thought her life was over as flames surrounded her car, filling it with smoke. Then, she called her husband, who urged her to run, she said.

"If you're going to die, die fighting," she said, tearfully recalling his words.

Outside the vehicle, ash and hot embers stung her eyes and obscured her vision, she said. She felt around until she reached a fire engine that was hot to the touch. Firefighters pulled her inside, but they, too, were trapped, she said -- until a bulldozer came through and cleared a path to safety.

In some areas of the state, rescue efforts have turned into cleanup and recovery as residents return to what's left of their gutted homes in neighborhoods littered with charred remains of cars, trees and buildings. President Trump on Monday approved a request for a Major Disaster Declaration that will provide the state with federal resources.

A Malibu resident who has lived through many wildfires said she has never seen one touch so many parts of the city at once.

"Every community neighborhood has been devastated," the woman told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS.

Latest developments by the numbers

 Camp Fire: More than 52,000 have been evacuated and 1,385 are in shelters due to the Camp Fire. It has scorched more than 117,000 acres of Northern California, and destroyed more than 7,000 structures, including 6,453 single-family residences.

As of Monday night, it was about 30% contained.

 Woolsey Fire: In Southern California, 57,000 structures are threatened by the Woolsey Fire. It has burned more than 93,000 acres, killed two people and destroyed at least 435 structures. As of Monday, it was about 30% contained.

 The Hill Fire covered 4,531 acres and was 85% contained by Monday night.

Causes of fires still being investigated

The death toll is rising as California state regulators investigate two utility companies that reported incidents close in time and location to the start of the Camp and Woolsey fires.

Preliminary incident reports submitted last week to the Safety and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission provide a glimpse of conditions near the origins of the deadly blazes. Both utilities say they are cooperating with state investigators.

Almost 15 minutes before the Camp Fire began near Pulga, PG&E's said it experienced a transmission line outage about 1 mile northeast of the town.

In Southern California, where the Woolsey Fire began Thursday afternoon in unincorporated Ventura County, SoCal Edison reported that a circuit relayed out of the Chatsworth Substation about two minutes before the blaze broke out. The incident location in the report appears to be the same as CalFire's location for the fire's origin. But it's not clear how close they actually are to each other.

SoCal Edison's report says, "at this point we have no indication from fire agency personnel that SCE utility facilities may have been involved in the start of the fire."

A CPUC spokesperson said the agency will incorporate the incident reports into its staff investigations to assess the compliance of electric facilities with applicable rules and regulations in areas affected by the fires.

Residents displaced with no end in sight

More than 300,000 people have been forced from their homes statewide. The majority of those residents are in Los Angeles County, where 170,000 were evacuated.

The evacuees included celebrities who lost their homes in Malibu as well as first responders who are setting aside their grief to save others. While much of Malibu lies in ruins, the city's mayor pro tem, Jefferson 'Zuma Jay' Wagner, is recovering in a hospital after trying to save his home.

Adding to the chaos, two wildfires started Monday in Southern California's Ventura County area. The Rocky Peak Fire has burned about 20 acres, officials said. The nearby Lynn Fire has scorched about 15 acres. While structures are threatened, firefighters expect to contain that blaze soon, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said.

Search for missing people continues

About 100 people are still unaccounted for statewide, authorities said Monday. Officials are hoping those people are safe elsewhere, but with wildfires still burning, the death toll is expected to rise.

So far, 42 bodies have been recovered from homes and vehicles in or near Paradise. The Butte County Sheriff's Office identified three of the victims as Ernest Foss, 65, from Paradise; Jesus Fernandez, 48, from Concow; and Carl Wiley, 77, from Magalia.

In Southern California, officials said two deaths in Malibu were related to the Woolsey Fire, bringing the statewide death toll to 44.

Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory L. Honea said his office is bringing in additional resources to expedite the identification and processing of human remains, including 13 coroner search recovery teams, 150 search and rescue personnel, cadaver dogs, two portable temporary morgue units, and a rapid DNA system.

California Highway Patrol Chief Brent Newman asked for the public's patience as teams clear affected areas. As part of those efforts, CHP teams removed 60 abandoned cars and set up barriers around dangerous areas. He urged people trying to cross them so they can reach their homes to be patient.

"It is not a safe environment whatsoever," he said.

Paradise Mayor Jody Jones said many residents are anxious to return to their homes or property to take stock of what's left  herself included.

She is living in a motor home after losing her house to the Camp Fire. She has a roof and a bed but it won't work for much longer, she said. "We're thinking about where to go next."

She, too, recalled fleeing her home in her car surrounded by flames so intense that at times she could feel the heat in her car. Trees and telephone poles were up in flames.

While the blaze no longer appears to pose a direct threat to Paradise, Jones is concerned about marshaling resources for cleanup and recovery so people can return to what's left of their homes.

"My biggest concern is do we have the resources to clean up debris and get safety hazards out of the way so people can get to their property ASAP."

This story was first published on CNN.com "44 dead in California fires as the Camp Fire becomes the deadliest in state history"
The following companies are subsidiares of Marsh & McLennan Companies: 8WORKS INC., 8WORKS LTD, A. Constantinidi & CIA. S.C., A.C.N. 000 951 146 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 001 572 961 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 076 935 683 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 102 322 574 Pty Limited, ACE Insurance Agents Limited, ACE Insurance Consultants Limited, ACE Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Limited, AD Corretora de Seguros, AFCO Premium Acceptance Inc., AFCO Premium Credit LLC, Access Equity Enhanced Fund GP LLC, Admiral Holdings Limited, Agnew Higgins Pickering & Co. (Bermuda) Ltd, Aldgate Investments Limited, Aldgate Trustees Ltd, Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Limited, Alpha Consultants Limited, Alta SA, Altius Real Assets (GP) LLC, Amal Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Anda Insurance Agencies Pte Ltd, AssetVal Pty Ltd, Assur Conseils Marsh S.A., Assurance Capital Corporation, Assurance Services Corporation, Australian Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Australian World Underwriters Pty Ltd., BBPS Limited, Barney & Barney Orange County LLC, Beaumonts (Leeds) Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Services Limited, Beneficios Integrales Oportunos SA, Benefitfocus Inc., Blue Marble Micro Limited, Blue Marble Microinsurance Inc., Bluefin, Bluefin Insurance Group Limited, Bluefin Insurance Services Limited, Boulder Claims LLC, Bowring (Bermuda) Investments Ltd., Bowring Marine Limited, Bowring Marsh (Bermuda) Ltd., Bowring Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited, Bowring Marsh Asia Pte. Ltd., Bowring Marsh Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Bowring Marsh Limited, Broderick Piller Pty Ltd, Broker 2 Broker Limited, BuildPay LLC, Burke Ford Trustees (Leicester) Limited, C.T. Bowring Limited, CMC-Belgibo NV, CPRM Limited, CPSG Partners LLC, Carpenter Marsh Fac Chile Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Carpenter Marsh Fac Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Carpenter Marsh Fac Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.C., Carpenter Marsh Fac Re LLC, Carpenter Turner Cyprus Ltd, Carpenter Turner S.A., Cascade International Holdings C.V., Cascade Regional Holdings Limited, Central Insurance Services Limited, Charter Risk Management Services LLC, Chartwell Healthcare Limited, Chronos Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Claims and Recovery Management (Australia) Pty Limited, Clark Thomson Insurance Brokers Limited, Client Provide Limited, Colombian Insurance Broking Wholesale Limited, Consultores 2020 C.A., Cronin & Co Insurance Services Limited, DVA - Deutsche Verkehrs-Assekuranz-Vermittlungs GmbH, Dawson Insurance, DeLima Marsh S.A. - Los Corredores de Seguros S.A., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Managing General Agency Corporation, Dovetail Technology Service India Private Limited, Draw Connect Limited, Draw Create Limited, Draw Group London Limited, Eagle & Crown Limited, Echelon Australia Pty Limited, Echelon Claims Consultants Sdn Bhd, Echelon New Zealand Limited, EnBW Versicherungs Vermittlung GmbH, Encompass Insurance Agency Pty Ltd., English Pension Trustees Limited, Epsilon (US) Insurance Company, Epsilon Insurance Company Ltd., Eustis Insurance & Benefits, Evolution Management Ltd, Exchange Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Exmoor Management Company Limited, Faulkner & Flynn LLC, Freedom Trust Services Limited, GC Genesis LLC, GCube Insurance Services Inc, GCube Underwriting Limited, Gama Consultores Associados Ltda., Gem Insurance Company Limited, Global Premium Finance Company, GrECo International Holding AG, Gracechurch Trustees Limited, Gresham Pension Trustees Limited, Group Promoters Pty Limited, Guy Carpenter & Cia (Mexico) S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter & Cia. S.A., Guy Carpenter & Co. Labuan Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company AB, Guy Carpenter & Company Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Guy Carpenter & Company Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company GmbH, Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Ltd./Guy Carpenter & Compagnie Ltee, Guy Carpenter & Company Participacoes Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company Private Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Proprietary Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Pty. Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A. (Uruguay), Guy Carpenter & Company S.A.S., Guy Carpenter & Company S.r.l., Guy Carpenter (Middle East) Limited, Guy Carpenter Bermuda Ltd., Guy Carpenter Broking Inc., Guy Carpenter Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter Insurance Brokers (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Guy Carpenter Japan Inc., Guy Carpenter Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter Reasurans Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, HAPIP GP 2009 LLC, HAPIP GP LLC, HSBC Insurance Brokers International (Abu Dhabi) LLC (in liquidation), Hamilton Bond Limited, Hansen International Limited, Hayward Aviation Limited, INSIA Europe SE, INSIA SK s.r.o., INSIA a.s., INSURANCE BROKERS OF NIGERIA LIMITED, IRC Asia Insurance Brokers Limited, InSolutions Limited, Industrial Risks Protection Consultants, Ingeseg S. A., Ingeseg S.A., Insbrokers Ltda., InsurTech Alliance LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC [BAHRAIN BRANCH], Insure Direct - Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, International Catastrophe Insurance Managers LLC, International Loss Control Services Limited, International Risk Consultants (Asia) Limited, Invercol Limited, Irish Pensions Trust Limited, Isosceles Insurance (Barbados) Limited, Isosceles Insurance Company Limited, Isosceles Insurance Ltd, Isosceles PCC Limited, J&H Marsh & McLennan Limited, J.W. Terrill Benefit Administrators Inc., JI Holdings Limited, JIB Group Holdings Limited, JIB Group Limited, JIB Holdings (Pacific) Limited, JIB Overseas Holdings Limited, JIB UK Holdings Limited, JL Marine Insurance-Brokers GmbH & Co. KG, JLM Verwaltungs GmbH, JLT (Insurance Brokers) Limited, JLT Actuaries and Consultants Limited, JLT Advisory Limited, JLT Affinity Colombia Solutions SAS, JLT Agencies Limited, JLT Asesorias Ltda, JLT Asia Holdings BV, JLT Asia Shared Services Sdn Bhd, JLT Belgibo, JLT Benefit Consultants Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Bermuda Ltd, JLT Brasil Holdings Participacoes Ltd, JLT Chile Holdings SpA, JLT Colombia Retail Limited, JLT Colombia Wholesale Limited, JLT Consultants & Actuaries Limited, JLT EB Holdings Limited, JLT EB Services Limited, JLT Employee Benefits Holding Company (PTY) LTD, JLT Employee Benefits SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Financial Planning Limited, JLT France Holdings, JLT Group Services Pty Limited, JLT Holdings (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Holdings (NZ) Limited, JLT Independent Insurance Brokers Private Limited, JLT Insurance Agencies Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited ( Shanghai Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Beijing Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Guangzhou Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Ireland Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers SA, JLT Insurance Group Holdings Ltd, JLT Insurance Management Malta Limited, JLT Intellectual Property Limited, JLT Intellectual Property [UK Branch], JLT Interactive Pte. Ltd., JLT Investment Management Limited, JLT LATAM (Southern Cone) Wholesale Limited, JLT Latin American Holdings Limited, JLT Life Assurance Brokers Limited, JLT Management Services Limited, JLT Marine (Pty) Ltd, JLT Mexico Holdings Limited, JLT Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., JLT Netherlands BV, JLT Norway AS, JLT PLA, JLT Pension Trustees Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Holdings Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Limited, JLT Peru Reinsurance Solutions Limited, JLT Peru Retail Limited, JLT Peru Wholesale Limited, JLT QFM Services Limited, JLT RE Brasil Administracao e Corretagem de Resseguros Ltda, JLT Re (French Branch), JLT Re (Northern Europe) AB, JLT Re Argentina Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.U., JLT Re Labuan Limited, JLT Re Limited, JLT Re Pty Ltd, JLT Reinsurance Brokers GmbH, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited [French Branch], JLT Risk Management Limited, JLT Risk Solutions AB, JLT Risk Solutions AB Branch - Germany, JLT SA IB Holdings Company (Pty) Limited, JLT SCK Affinity Administracao e Corretora de Seguros Ltda., JLT SCK Corretora e Administradora de Seguros, JLT Secretaries Limited, JLT Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerlii A.., JLT Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., JLT Specialty France, JLT Specialty Insurance Broker A/S, JLT Specialty Limited, JLT Specialty Limited [DUBAI BRANCH], JLT Specialty Pte. Ltd., JLT Towner Insurance Management (Anguilla) Limited, JLT Trust Services (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Trustees (Southern) Limited, JLT Trustees Limited, JLT UK Investment Holdings Limited, JLT Vantage Risk and Benefit Consulting Private Limited, JLT Wealth Management Limited, JLT do Brasil Corretagem de Seguros Ltda, JLTPCS Holdings Pte. Ltd., JMIB Holdings BV, JSL Securities Inc., Japan Affinity Marketing Inc., Jardine IBR Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (Proprietary) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Asia Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited (UK Branch Office), Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance Consultants Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Inc., Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Holdings Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Unlimited Company, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Korea Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited [Macao Branch], Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS (Dubai) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS SA, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Sdn Bhd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Valencia y Iragorri Corredores de Seguros SA, Jardine Pension Trustees Ireland Limited, Jardine Risk Consulting Co. Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited [Macao Branch], Jardines PF- Consultoria Em Gestao De Risco Limitada, Jelf, Jelf Commercial Finance Limited, Jelf Financial Planning Limited, Jelf Insurance Brokers Limited, Jelf Limited, Jelf Risk Management Limited, Jelf Wellbeing Limited, John Lampier & Son Ltd, Johnson & Higgins (Bermuda) Limited, Johnson & Higgins Limited, KESSLER & CO AG, Kepler Associates Limited, Kessler & Co Inc., Kessler Consulting Inc., Kessler Prevoyance Inc., Key Underwriting Pty Limited, Kroll, Lambert Brothers Holdings Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Employee Benefits) Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Hong Kong) Ltd, Laterlife.com Limited (in liquidation), Lavaretus Underwriting AB, Lavaretus Underwriting AB (BRANCH - Denmark), Libra Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Lloyd & Partners Limited, Local Government Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Lomond Macdonald Limited, Lynch Insurance Brokers Limited, M&M Vehicle L.P., M.P. Bolshaw and Company Limited, MAG JLT SpA, MERCER ALTERNATIVES LIMITED, MM Risk Services Pty Ltd (for dissolution), MMA Mid-Atlantic Employee LLC, MMA Securities LLC, MMB Consultores S.A., MMC (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd., MMC 28 State Street Holdings Inc., MMC Borrower LLC, MMC Brazilian Holdings B.V., MMC Capital Inc., MMC Cascade Regional Holdings LLC, MMC FINANCE (EUROPE) LIMITED, MMC FINANCE HOLDINGS LTD, MMC Finance (Australia) Limited, MMC Finance (Singapore) Limited, MMC France Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., MMC GP III Inc., MMC Group Services sp. z o.o., MMC Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, MMC Holdings (New Zealand) ULC, MMC Holdings (UK) Limited, MMC International Finance (Barbados) SRL, MMC International Holdings LLC, MMC International Limited, MMC International Treasury Centre Limited, MMC Middle East Holdings Limited, MMC Poland Holdings B.V., MMC Realty Inc., MMC Regional Asia Holdings B.V., MMC Regional Caribbean Holdings Ltd., MMC Regional Europe Holdings B.V., MMC Regional LATAM Holdings B.V., MMC Securities (Europe) Limited, MMC Securities LLC, MMC Treasury Holdings (UK) Limited, MMC UK Group Limited, MMC UK Pension Fund Trustee Limited, MMOW Limited, MMRC LLC, MOW Holding LLC, MPIP III GP LLC, MPIP IV GP LLC, MPIP V GP LLC, MPIP VI GP LLC, Mangrove Insurance Europe PCC Limited, Mangrove Insurance Solutions PCC, Mangrove Insurance Solutions PCC Limited, Manoel Management Services Ltd, Marchant McKechnie Insurance Brokers Limited, Marine Aviation & General (London) Limited, Marsh & McLennan (PNG) Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agencies AS, Marsh & McLennan Agencies Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agency A/S, Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, Marsh & McLennan Agency Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agency Pty Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Argentina SA Corredores de Reaseguros, Marsh & McLennan Colombia S.A., Marsh & McLennan Companies Acquisition Funding Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies Acquisition Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies Asia Pacific Treasury Center Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies BVBA/SPRL, Marsh & McLennan Companies Finance Center (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies France S.A.S., Marsh & McLennan Companies Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., Marsh & McLennan Companies Regional Holdings S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies Services B.V., Marsh & McLennan Companies UK Limited, Marsh & McLennan Europe S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan GP I Inc., Marsh & McLennan Global Broking (Bermuda) Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Holding GmbH, Marsh & McLennan Holdings (Canada) ULC, Marsh & McLennan Holdings Inc., Marsh & McLennan Incorporated (for dissolution), Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Holdings II, Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Holdings S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Limited, Marsh & McLennan Insurance Services Limited, Marsh & McLennan Ireland Limited, Marsh & McLennan Management Services (Bermuda) Limited, Marsh & McLennan Risk Capital Holdings Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Servicios S.A. De C.V., Marsh & McLennan Shared Services Canada Limited, Marsh & McLennan Shared Services Corporation, Marsh (Bahrain) Company SPC, Marsh (Beijing) Risk Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Marsh (China) Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd., Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited, Marsh (Insurance Brokers) LLP, Marsh (Insurance Services) Limited, Marsh (Malawi) Limited, Marsh (Middle East) Limited, Marsh (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Marsh (Pty) Ltd, Marsh (Risk Consulting) LLP, Marsh (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Marsh A/S, Marsh AB, Marsh AG, Marsh AS, Marsh Advantage Insurance Holdings Pty Ltd, Marsh Advantage Insurance Pty Ltd., Marsh Africa (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Argentina S.R.L., Marsh Associates (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Austria G.m.b.H., Marsh Aviation Insurance Broking Pty Ltd (for dissolution), Marsh B.V., Marsh Botswana (Proprietary) Limited, Marsh Brockman y Schuh Agente de Seguros y de Fianzas S.A. de C.V., Marsh Broker Japan Inc., Marsh Broker de Asigurare-Reasigurare S.R.L., Marsh Brokers (Hong Kong) Limited, Marsh Brokers Limited, Marsh Canada Limited/Marsh Canada Limitee, Marsh Company Management Services Cayman Ltd., Marsh Compensation Technologies Administration (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Corporate Services (Barbados) Limited, Marsh Corporate Services Isle of Man Ltd, Marsh Corporate Services Limited, Marsh Corporate Services Malta Limited, Marsh Corretora de Seguros Ltda., Marsh EOOD, Marsh Egypt LLC, Marsh Emirates Consultancy LLC, Marsh Emirates Insurance Brokerage LLC, Marsh Employee Benefits Limited, Marsh Employee Benefits Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, Marsh Eurofinance B.V., Marsh Europe S.A., Marsh FJC International Insurance Brokers Limited, Marsh For Insurance Services S.A.E., Marsh Franco Acra S.A., Marsh GSC Servicos e Administracao de Seguros Ltda., Marsh GmbH, Marsh Holding AB, Marsh Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Marsh India Insurance Brokers Private Limited, Marsh Insurance & Investments LLC, Marsh Insurance Brokers, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Macao) Limited, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Private) Limited, Marsh Insurance Brokers AO, Marsh Insurance Brokers Limited, Marsh Insurance Consulting Saudi Arabia (in liquidation), Marsh Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers LLC, Marsh Intermediaries Inc., Marsh International Broking Holdings Limited, Marsh International Holdings II Inc., Marsh International Holdings Inc., Marsh Investment B.V., Marsh Ireland Brokers Limited, Marsh Ireland Brokers Limited (UK Branch), Marsh Ireland Holdings Limited, Marsh Israel (1999) Ltd., Marsh Israel (Holdings) Ltd., Marsh Israel Consultants Ltd., Marsh Israel Insurance Agency Ltd., Marsh Israel International Brokers Ltd. (in liquidation), Marsh JCS Inc., Marsh Japan Inc., Marsh Kft., Marsh Kindlustusmaakler AS, Marsh Korea Inc., Marsh LLC, Marsh LLC Insurance Brokers, Marsh LLC [Ukraine], Marsh Lda., Marsh Limited, Marsh Limited [Fiji], Marsh Limited [New Zealand], Marsh Limited [PNG], Marsh Ltd. [Wisconsin], Marsh Management Services (Bahamas) Ltd., Marsh Management Services (Barbados) Limited, Marsh Management Services (Bermuda) Ltd., Marsh Management Services (Dublin) Limited, Marsh Management Services (Labuan) Limited, Marsh Management Services (MENA) Limited, Marsh Management Services (USVI) Ltd., Marsh Management Services Cayman Ltd., Marsh Management Services Guernsey Limited, Marsh Management Services Inc., Marsh Management Services Isle of Man Limited, Marsh Management Services Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Marsh Management Services Malta Limited, Marsh Management Services Singapore Pte. Ltd., Marsh Management Services Sweden AB, Marsh Marine & Energy AB, Marsh Marine Nederland B.V., Marsh Medical Consulting GmbH, Marsh Mercer Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Marsh Nest Inc., Marsh Oman LLC, Marsh Oy, Marsh PB Co. Ltd., Marsh Philippines Inc., Marsh Privat A.I.E., Marsh Private Client Life Insurance Services, Marsh Pty. Ltd., Marsh Qatar LLC, Marsh RE S.A.C. Corredores de Reaseguros, Marsh Rehder Consultoria S.A. (MRC), Marsh Rehder S.A. Corredores de Seguros, Marsh Resolutions Pty Limited, Marsh Risk Consulting B.V., Marsh Risk Consulting Limitada, Marsh Risk Consulting Ltda., Marsh Risk Consulting S.L., Marsh Risk Consulting Services S.r.L., Marsh Risk and Consulting Services (Pty) Ltd, Marsh S.A. Corredores De Seguros, Marsh S.A. Mediadores de Seguros, Marsh S.A.S., Marsh S.p.A., Marsh SA [Argentina], Marsh SA [Belgium], Marsh SA [Luxembourg], Marsh SA [Uruguay], Marsh SIA, Marsh Saldana Inc., Marsh Saudi Arabia Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers, Marsh Secretarial Services Limited, Marsh Semusa S.A., Marsh Services Limited, Marsh Services Spolka z.o.o., Marsh Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, Marsh Spolka z.o.o., Marsh Szolgaltato Kft., Marsh Takaful Brokers (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Marsh Treasury Services (Dublin) Limited (in liquidation), Marsh Treasury Services Limited, Marsh Tunisia S.a.r.l., Marsh UK Limited, Marsh USA (India) Inc., Marsh USA Borrower LLC, Marsh USA Inc., Marsh Uganda Limited, Marsh Venezuela C.A. Sociedad de Corretaje de Seguros, Marsh Vietnam Insurance Broking Company Ltd, Marsh Zambia Limited, Marsh Zimbabwe Holdings (Private) Limited, Marsh d.o.o. Beograd, Marsh d.o.o. za posredovanje u osiguranju, Marsh for Insurance Services - Jordan, Marsh i-Connect (Pty) Ltd, Marsh s.r.o., Matthiessen Assurans AB, Mercer (Argentina) S.A., Mercer (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer (Austria) GmbH, Mercer (Belgium) SA-NV, Mercer (Canada) Limited/Mercer (Canada) Limitee, Mercer (China) Limited, Mercer (Colombia) Ltda., Mercer (Danmark) A/S, Mercer (Finland) OY, Mercer (France) SAS, Mercer (Hong Kong) Limited, Mercer (Ireland) Limited, Mercer (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Mercer (N.Z.) Limited, Mercer (Nederland) B.V., Mercer (Norge) AS, Mercer (Polska) Sp.z o.o., Mercer (Portugal) Lda, Mercer (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer (Sweden) AB, Mercer (Taiwan) Ltd., Mercer (Thailand) Ltd., Mercer (US) Inc., Mercer Administration Services (Australia) Pty Limited, Mercer Africa Limited, Mercer Agente de Seguros S.A. de C.V., Mercer Asesores de Seguros S.A., Mercer Asesores es Inversion Independientes S.A. de C.V., Mercer Broking Ltd., Mercer Career Unipessoal Lda, Mercer Consultation (Quebec) Ltee., Mercer Consulting (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Consulting (Chile) Limitada, Mercer Consulting (France) SAS, Mercer Consulting (India) Private Limited, Mercer Consulting B.V., Mercer Consulting Group Inc., Mercer Consulting Holdings Sdn. Bhd., Mercer Consulting Limited, Mercer Consulting Middle East Limited, Mercer Consulting S.L.U., Mercer Consulting Venezuela C.A., Mercer Corredores de Seguros Limitada, Mercer Corretora de Seguros Ltda, Mercer Danismanlik Anonim Sirketi, Mercer Deutschland GmbH, Mercer Employee Benefits - Medicacao de Seguros Unipessoal Lda., Mercer Employee Benefits Limited, Mercer Financial Advice (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Financial Services Limited, Mercer Financial Services Limited liability company, Mercer Financial Services Middle East Limited, Mercer Global Investments Europe Limited, Mercer Global Investments Management Limited, Mercer HR Consulting Borrower LLC, Mercer HR Services LLC, Mercer Health & Benefits (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC, Mercer Health & Benefits LLC, Mercer Holdings Inc., Mercer Holdings Inc. [Philippines], Mercer Human Resource Consulting Ltda, Mercer Human Resource Consulting S.A. de C.V., Mercer ICC Limited, Mercer Investment Consulting Limited, Mercer Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Mercer Investment Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer Investments (Australia) Limited, Mercer Investments (Hong Kong) Limited, Mercer Investments (Japan) Ltd, Mercer Investments (New Zealand) Limited, Mercer Investments LLC, Mercer Ireland Holdings Limited, Mercer Italia Srl Socio Unico, Mercer Japan Ltd., Mercer Korea Co. Ltd., Mercer LLC, Mercer Limited, Mercer MC Consulting Borrower LLC, Mercer Master Trustees Limited, Mercer Mauritius Ltd., Mercer Oliver Wyman Holding B.V., Mercer Outsourcing (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Outsourcing S.L.U., Mercer Pensionsfonds AG, Mercer Pensionsraadgivning A/S, Mercer Philippines Inc., Mercer Private Investment Partners IV General Partner S.a.r.l., Mercer Private Markets AG, Mercer Private Markets Advisers (US) AG, Mercer Services Poland Sp. z.o.o., Mercer Sigorta Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, Mercer South Africa (Pty) Limited, Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited, Mercer Switzerland Inc., Mercer System Services LLC, Mercer Technology Acquisitions Limited, Mercer Treuhand GmbH, Mercer Trust Company LLC, Mercer Trustees Limited, Mercer WorkforcePro LLC, Mercury Insurance Services Pty Ltd, Moola Systems Limited, Mountlodge Limited, Muir Beddal (Zimbabwe) Limited, NERA Australia Pty. Ltd., NERA Economic Consulting GmbH, NERA Economic Consulting Limited, NERA S.R.L., NERA SAS, NERA UK Limited, NERA do Brasil Ltda. (for dissolution), National Economic Research Associates Inc., NetComp Insurance Corp., Neuburger Noble Lowndes GmbH, Normandy Reinsurance Company Limited, Northern Alliance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), OWL Marine Insurance-Brokers GmbH & Co.KG, OWL Marine Verwaltungs GmbH, Oliver Wyman (Bermuda) Limited, Oliver Wyman (Hong Kong) Limited, Oliver Wyman AB, Oliver Wyman AG, Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consulting Inc., Oliver Wyman B.V., Oliver Wyman Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Oliver Wyman Consultoria em Estrategia de Negocios Ltda., Oliver Wyman Energy Consulting Limited, Oliver Wyman FZ-LLC, Oliver Wyman Group KK, Oliver Wyman Inc., Oliver Wyman LLC, Oliver Wyman Limited, Oliver Wyman Limited Liability Company, Oliver Wyman Limited/Oliver Wyman limitee, Oliver Wyman Ltd., Oliver Wyman Pte. Ltd., Oliver Wyman Pty. Ltd., Oliver Wyman S. de R.L. de C.V., Oliver Wyman S.A.S., Oliver Wyman S.L., Oliver Wyman S.r.l., Oliver Wyman SNC, Oliver Wyman SPRL/BVBA, Oliver Wyman Sdn. Bhd., Oliver Wyman Services Limited, Oliver Wyman Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Oliver Wyman sp. z o.o., Omega Indemnity (Bermuda) Limited, Organizacion Brockman y Schuh S.A. de C.V., Osbornes Insurances Oxford Limited (in liquidation), PFT Limited, PI Indemnity Company Designated Activity Company, PT JLT Reinsurance Brokers, PT Jardine Lloyd Thompson, PT Marsh Indonesia, PT Marsh Reinsurance Brokers Indonesia, PT Mercer Indonesia, PT Nexus Asia Pacific, PT Oliver Wyman Indonesia, PT Quantum Computing Services, PT Quantum Investments, PT Quantum Support Services, Pallas Marsh Servicos Ltda., Pavilion Alternatives Group (Singapore) PTE. Ltd, Pavilion Financial Corporation Holdings UK Limited, Pavilion U.S. Investments Holdco LLC, Pension Trustees Limited, Pensionsservice Benefit Network Sverige AB, Perils AG, Personal Pension Trustees Limited, Pet Animal Welfare Scheme Limited, Portsoken Trustees (No. 2) Limited, Portsoken Trustees Limited, Potomac Insurance Managers Inc., Premier Pension Trustees Limited, Premium Services Australia Pty Limited, Professional Claims Handling Limited (in liquidation), Profund Solutions Limited, Promerit AG, Promerit Hungary Kft, Promerit Schweiz AG, Pymetrics Inc., R G Ford Brokers Limited, R R B Beratungsgesellschaft fuer Altersversorgung mbh, R. Mees & Zoonen Holdings B.V., Renewable Energy Loss Adjusters LLC, Renewable Energy Loss Adjusters Limited, Resource Benefit Associates, Rightpath Reinsurance SPC Ltd., Risk Management Australia Pty Limited, Rivers Group Limited, Rockefeller Risk Advisors Inc., Rutherfoord International Inc., SAFCAR-Marsh, SBJ Holdings Limited, SCIB (Bermuda) Limited, SCM Global Real Estate Select GP LLC, SCM Infrastructure General Partner S.a r.l., SCM International Private Equity Select III GP LLC, SCM LT General Partner S.a.r.l., SCM PE General Partner S.a.r.l., SCM PE II GP Ltd., SCM PE II Scotland GP Ltd, SCM Strategic Capital Management (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., SICAR Marsh S.a.r.l., SME Insurance Services Limited, Sail Insurance Company Limited, Scalene Re Ltd, Seabury & Smith Borrower LLC, Seabury & Smith LLC, Secure Limited, Sedgwick (Holdings) Pty. Limited, Sedgwick Consulting Group Limited, Sedgwick Dineen Group Limited, Sedgwick Financial Services Limited, Sedgwick Forbes Middle East Limited, Sedgwick Group, Sedgwick Group (Australia) Pty. Limited, Sedgwick Group (Bermuda) Limited, Sedgwick Group (Zimbabwe) Limited, Sedgwick Group Limited, Sedgwick Internationaal B.V., Sedgwick Limited, Sedgwick Management Services (Barbados) Limited, Sedgwick Management Services (Singapore) Pte Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes (UK) Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Group Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Limited, Sedgwick Overseas Investments Limited, Sedgwick Private Limited, Sedgwick Re Asia Pacific (Consultants) Pte Ltd (for dissolution), Sedgwick Trustees Limited, Sedgwick UK Risk Services Limited, Sedgwick Ulster Pension Trustees Limited, Settlement Trustees Limited, Shanghai Mercer Insurance Brokers Company Ltd., Shorewest Insurance Associates LLC, Sirota Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Sirota Consulting UK Limited, Smith Long Term Disability Management Group Inc., Societe d'Assurances et de Participation Guian SA, Software Underwriting Systems Limited (in liquidation), Southern Marine & Aviation Inc., Southern Marine & Aviation Underwriters Inc., Sudzucker Versicherungs-Vermittlungs GmbH, Sumitomo Life Insurance Agency America Inc., Sylvite Financial Services, TBX Solutions Limited, Talent Tech Labs LLC, The Benefit Express Holdings Limited, The Benefit Express Limited, The Carpenter Management Corporation, The Insurance Partnership Holdings Limited, The Insurance Partnership Services Limited, The Positive Ageing Company Limited, The Purple Partnership Limited, The Recovre Group Pty Ltd, Thomsons Online Benefits (HK) Ltd., Thomsons Online Benefits Inc., Thomsons Online Benefits Limited, Thomsons Online Benefits Pte Ltd., Thomsons Online Benefits S.R.L, Torrent Government Contracting Services LLC, Torrent Insurance Services LLC, Torrent Technologies, Torrent Technologies Inc., Tower Hill Limited, Tower Place Developments (West) Limited, Tower Place Developments Limited, U.T.E. AMG, U.T.E. Marsh - Caja Castilla La Mancha Junta de Comunidades, U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Reus (in liquidation), U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Reus 2012, U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Vila-Seca 2010, UAD BB Marsh Lietuva, Vezina & Associes Inc., Vezina Assurances Inc., Victor Insurance Europe B.V., Victor Insurance Holdings Inc., Victor Insurance Italia S.r.l., Victor Insurance Managers Inc., Victor Insurance Managers Inc./Gestionnaires d'assurance Victor inc., Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. (Bermuda) Ltd., Victor O. Schinnerer & Company Limited, Victoria Hall Company Limited, Wellnz Limited, William M. Mercer (Canada) Limited/William M. Mercer (Canada) Limitee, William M. Mercer AB, William M. Mercer Comercio Consultoria e Servicos Ltda., Wortham Insurance & Risk Management, everBe SAS, and realright GmbH.
The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V..
iShares MSCI India ETF's stock was trading at $28.76 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, INDA stock has increased by 69.1% and is now trading at $48.62.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF's stock was trading at $37.46 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EEM stock has increased by 34.8% and is now trading at $50.51.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
Koninklijke Philips N.V. is the Netherlands-based health technology company. The Company's segments include Personal Health businesses, Diagnosis & Treatment businesses, Connected Care & Health Informatics businesses, HealthTech Other and Legacy Items. The Personal Health businesses segment is engaged in the health continuum, delivering integrated, connected solutions that support healthier lifestyles and those living with chronic disease. The Diagnosis & Treatment businesses segment delivers precision medicine and treatment, and therapy. The Connected Care & Health Informatics businesses segment provides consumers, care givers and clinicians with digital solutions that facilitate care by enabling precision medicine and population health management. The HealthTech Other segment comprises such items, as innovation, emerging businesses, royalties, among others. The Legacy Items segment consists mainly of separation costs, legacy legal items, legacy pension costs, among others.

Read More
Magna International Inc. designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles. Its Body Exteriors & Structures segment provides body and chassis systems, as well as engineering and testing services; exterior systems, including fascia and trims, front end modules, front integration panels, liftgate modules, active aerodynamics, engineered glass, running boards, truck bed access products, and side doors; and roof systems, such as modular and textile folding roofs, and hard and soft tops. The company's Power & Vision segment offers dedicated hybrid, dual and e-clutch, and manual transmissions; engine drive plates and accessories; AWD/4WD products, rear drive modules, and hybrid and battery electric drive systems; transmission, engine, and driveline components; advanced driver assistance systems, camera systems, ultrasonic sensors, and electronic controllers; interior and exterior mirrors, actuators, door handles, overhead consoles, and camera monitoring systems; head, tail, and fog lamps; signal and other lighting products; and latching systems, door modules, window systems, power closure systems, hinges and wire forming, and handle assemblies. Its Seating Systems segment provides seat structures, mechanism and hardware solutions, and foam and trim products. The company's Complete Vehicles segment offers vehicle manufacturing and engineering services. It also designs, engineers, and manufactures tooling products. Magna International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Aurora, Canada.

Read More
13 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Munchener Ruckvers in the last year. There are currently 1 sell rating, 5 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street 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.
The Boeing Co. is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space and Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital. The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide. The Defense, Space and Security segment refers to the research, development, production and modification of manned and unmanned military aircraft and weapons systems for global strike, including fighter and combat rotorcraft aircraft and missile systems; global mobility, including tanker, rotorcraft and tilt-rotor aircraft; and airborne surveillance and reconnaissance, including command and control, battle management and airborne anti-submarine aircraft. The Global Services segment provides services to commercial and defense customers. The Boeing Capital segment seeks to ensure that Boeing customers have the financing they need to buy and take delivery of their Boeing product and manages overall financing exposure. T

Read More
New Jersey Resources Corp. is a holding company. The firm provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. It operates through the following segments: New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR Clean Energy Ventures, NJR Energy Services, NJR Midstream, and NJR Home Services. The New Jersey Natural Gas segment provides regulated retail natural gas service to residential and commercial customers in central and northern New Jersey. The NJR Clean Energy Ventures segment invests in, owns and operates solar projects. The NJR Energy Services segment manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services in the U.S. and Canada. The NJR Midstream segment serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers. The NJR Home Services segment provides heating, ventilation and cooling service, sales and installation of appliances services to its customers, as well as solar installation projects, and is the primary contributor to home services. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Wall,

Read More
The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Wealth Management segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and day-to-day banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small businesses and commercial customers, including automotive financing solutions to dealers and their customers. It also provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternative funds, and institutional funds. In addition, the company offers international banking services for retail, corporate, and commercial customers; and lending and transaction, investment banking advisory, and capital markets access services to corporate customers. Further, it provides Internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 952 branches and approximately 3,540 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,400 branches, 5,200 ATMs, and 22 contact centers internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

Read More
There is not enough analysis data for Northstar Realty Europe.

4.5 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Northstar Realty Europe has received 195 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Northstar Realty Europe has received 89 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Northstar Realty Europe has received 68.66% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Northstar Realty Europe and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe NRE will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe NRE will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

Previous

Next
Oasis Petroleum Inc., an independent exploration and production company, focuses on the acquisition and development of onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through Exploration and Production(E&P), and Midstream segments. The E&P segment engages in the acquisition and development of oil and gas properties. The Midstream segment offers midstream services, such as natural gas gathering, compression, processing and, gas lift supply; crude oil gathering, terminaling, and transportation; produced and flowback water gathering, and disposal; and water distribution. As of December 31, 2020, the company had 401,766 net leasehold acres in the Williston Basin; and 24,396 net leasehold acres in the Permian Basin, as well as approximately 152.2 million barrels of oil equivalent of estimated net proved reserves. The company sells its crude oil and natural gas to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to pipeline and rail facilities. Oasis Petroleum Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Read More
Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes food products primarily in Canada and the United States. It operates in two segments, Specialty Foods and Premium Food Distribution. The company provides meat products and snacks, deli products, beef jerky and halal, sandwiches, pastries, specialty and gourmet products, salads and kettle products, entrees, panini, wraps, subs, hamburgers, burgers, muffins, breads, pastas, and baking and sushi products, as well as processed meat products. It is also involved in the distribution of food products, including meat, seafood, and halal food products, as well as operation of retail/convenience store and concessionary, and provision of food and seafood processing services. The company operates under the brand names of Harvest Meats, Hempler's, Grimm's Fine Foods, Piller's, Freybe, Isernio's, Expresco, SJ Fine Foods, McSweeney's, Made Rite, Fletcher's, Deli Chef, Belmont Meats, Conte Foods, SK Food Group, Oven Pride, Hygaard, Quality Fast Foods, HQ Fine Foods, Creekside Custom Foods, Stuyver's Bread, Bread Garden Express, Audrey's Patisserie, Duso's, Gourmet Chef, Island City Baking, Skilcor, Leadbetter's, Mclean Meats, Buddy's Kitchen, Raybern's, Partner's Crackers, Shaw Bakers, Oberto, Concord Meats, Country Prime Meats, The Meat Factory, and Golden Valley Farms. It serves chains and large format retailers, independent and specialty retailers, foodservice operators, foodservice distributors, and other food manufacturers and food brokers. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Richmond, Canada.

Read More
President Energy Plc engages in the exploration, evaluation, and production of oil and gas properties primarily in South America. The company holds exploration assets in Argentina, the United States, and Paraguay. It also sells hydrocarbons. The company was formerly known as President Petroleum Company PLC and changed its name to President Energy Plc in September 2012. President Energy Plc was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Leeds, the United Kingdom.

Read More
With the submissions made before the court, all would have to accept the decision of the Supreme Court, the Chairman of the National Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya said in Matara today during an awareness programme.

In the event of an issue in the Constitution regarding the dissolution of Parliament, the Elections Commission is bound to carry out the decision of the Supreme Court, he said.

The workshop was conducted for the Matara District Government Officials and civil activists regarding elections.

He said that during the present Political change only one unfortunate incident was the shooting at a State organization and no other serious incidents occurred.

But in early 2,000s, at the end of an election, there were incidents of arson, killings and State property destruction were observed. We are thankful to the public and the political leaders for avoiding such situations, he said.

Democracy means respecting the right of others to hold onto their beliefs, and also putting into effect the majority view without harming the minority.

Even if 175 out of 225 in Parliament remain in one block, the views of the 50 should be allowed without having it bulldozed by the majority. The main feature of Democracy is implementing the wishes of the majority without harming the wishes of the minority.

What is going to be implemented could be now known by making an inquiry. Presently it is so simple by resorting to sending an SMS. An election is another form of finding out ones preferences.

There are many who refers to Elections as a gimmick bestowed on us by the West. Human Rights, Democracy, Socialism, Fundamental Rights, Good Governance, Discussions, Conventions and Decision making were all ideas that had been cherished by people from the time of the Buddha.

In the coming year, we have to face three elections. They are Provincial Councils, General Elections and Presidential Election. Despite there been no signs of Provincial Council Elections in the near future, the dates for holding other elections are now nearing. With all these a referendum also might take place.

However, amidst all these challenges we are geared at any time as the Elections Commission to conduct an election, he said.

While we were in the process of preparing for Provincial Council Elections, there was this sudden outcry for a General Election. It was not an issue for us as we were ready for sudden situations of such nature. We would readily implement any decision of the Supreme Court.

Every citizen has the right to plead before the Supreme Court if he or she felt that their fundamental rights are been threatened. We are not certain whether the intention was personal or for the benefit of the general public. It is always better to act in accordance with once conscience, and I do not wish to comment beyond that point, he said.

The Director Legal of the Elections Commission Attorney Nimal Punchi Hewa, the Senior DIG of Southern Province Ravi Wijegunawardene, and GA of Matara Pradeep Rathnayake too attended the programme.(Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk)
The following companies are subsidiares of Dominion Energy: 96WI 8me LLC, Alamo Solar LLC, Align RNG Arizona LLC, Align RNG Arizona-Snowflake LLC, Align RNG California LLC, Align RNG California-Corcoran LLC, Align RNG Grady Road LLC, Align RNG LLC, Align RNG Magnolia LLC, Align RNG North Carolina LLC, Align RNG North Carolina-Bowdens LLC, Align RNG Utah LLC, Align RNG Utah-Milford LLC, Align RNG Virginia LLC, Align RNG Virginia-Waverly LLC, Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Azalea Solar LLC, BOE Holdings Inc., Blackville Solar Farm LLC, Blue Ocean Energy Marine LLC, BrightSuite Home LLC, BrightSuite Inc., BrightSuite Solar CT Inc., BrightSuite Solar SC Inc., BrightSuite Solar VA Inc., Buckingham Solar I LLC, CEA Americus LLC, CEA CO-Fort Morgan LLC, CEA Clovis LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Colorado LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Georgia LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Idaho LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Nevada LLC, CEA Dairy RNG New Mexico LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Texas LLC, CEA Greely LLC, CEA Mason LLC, CEA TX-Dimmitt LLC, CID Solar LLC, CNG Coal Company, CNG Power Services Corporation, Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation, Catalina Solar 2 LLC, Clean Energy Asset USA LLC, Clean Energy Enterprises Inc., Clipperton Holdings LLC, Consolidated Natural Gas Company, Correctional Solar LLC, Cottonwood Solar LLC, Cove Point LNG LP, Cove Point LNG Limited, DE Arlington Solar LLC, DE Fluvanna Solar LLC, DE Hanover Solar LLC, DE Henrico Solar LLC, DE King William Solar LLC, DE Louisa Solar LLC, DE Newport News Solar LLC, DE Powhatan Solar LLC, DE Virginia Beach Solar LLC, DECP Holdings Inc., Dairy RNG Holdings LLC, Dairy RNG NY LLC, Dairy RNG NY-Curtin LLC, Dairy RNG OH LLC, Denmark Solar LLC, Dominion ACP Holding Inc., Dominion Alternative Energy Holdings Inc., Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Dominion Capital Inc., Dominion Cogen WV Inc., Dominion Energy Fuel Services Inc., Dominion Energy Gas Distribution LLC, Dominion Energy Generation Marketing Inc., Dominion Energy Inc., Dominion Energy Kewaunee Inc., Dominion Energy Marketplace LLC, Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut Inc., Dominion Energy Overthrust Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Payroll Company Inc., Dominion Energy Questar Corporation, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline Services Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings II Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings Inc., Dominion Energy Services Inc., Dominion Energy Solar CA LLC, Dominion Energy Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., Dominion Energy Southeast Services Inc., Dominion Energy Technical Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies II Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies Inc., Dominion Energy Terminal Company Inc., Dominion Energy Wexpro Services Company, Dominion Equipment III Inc., Dominion Equipment Inc., Dominion Fairless Hills Inc., Dominion Fowler Ridge Wind LLC, Dominion Gas Projects Company LLC, Dominion Generation Inc., Dominion Greenbrier Inc., Dominion High Voltage Holdings Inc., Dominion High Voltage MidAtlantic Inc., Dominion Investments Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline Holdings Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline LLC, Dominion MLP Holding Company III Inc., Dominion Mt. Storm Wind LLC, Dominion Nuclear Projects Inc., Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration & Production Inc., Dominion Person Inc., Dominion Privatization Florida LLC, Dominion Privatization Georgia LLC, Dominion Privatization Holdings Inc., Dominion Privatization Kentucky LLC, Dominion Privatization Maryland LLC, Dominion Privatization Pennsylvania LLC, Dominion Privatization South Carolina LLC, Dominion Privatization Texas LLC, Dominion Privatization Virginia LLC, Dominion Products and Services Inc., Dominion Projects Services Inc., Dominion Resources Capital Trust III, Dominion Retail Gas Holdings Inc., Dominion Solar Construction and Maintenance LLC, Dominion Solar Gen-Tie LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings I LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings II LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings III LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings IV LLC, Dominion Solar Projects A Inc., Dominion Solar Projects B Inc., Dominion Solar Projects C Inc., Dominion Solar Projects D Inc., Dominion Solar Projects I Inc., Dominion Solar Projects II Inc., Dominion Solar Projects III Inc., Dominion Solar Projects IV Inc., Dominion Solar Projects V Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VI Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VII Inc., Dominion Solar Services Inc., Dominion State Line LLC, Dominion Voltage Inc., Dominion Wholesale Inc., Dominion Wind Development LLC, Dominion Wind Projects Inc., ESCT-SA-Suffield LLC, Eagle Holdco Solar LLC, Eagle Solar LLC, Eastern Shore Solar LLC, Enterprise Solar LLC, Escalante Solar I LLC, Escalante Solar II LLC, Escalante Solar III LLC, Four Brothers Solar LLC, Fremont Farm LLC, Granite Mountain Holdings LLC, Granite Mountain Solar East LLC, Granite Mountain Solar West LLC, Greenbrier Marketing Company LLC, Greenbrier Pipeline Company LLC, Greensville County Solar Project LLC, Hardin Solar Energy LLC, Hecate Energy Cherrydale LLC, Hecate Energy Clarke County LLC, Hope Gas Inc., Imperial Valley Solar Company (IVSC) 2 LLC, Indy Solar Development LLC, Indy Solar I LLC, Indy Solar II LLC, Indy Solar III LLC, Innovative Solar 37 LLC, Iron Springs Holdings LLC, Iron Springs Solar LLC, Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas, Maricopa West Solar PV LLC, Moffett Solar 1 LLC, Moorings Farm 2 LLC, Mulberry Farm LLC, Mustang Solar LLC, PSNC Blue Ridge Corporation, PSNC Cardinal Pipeline Company, Pavant Solar LLC, Phone House, Pikeville Farm LLC, Prairie Fork Wind Farm LLC, Public Service Company of North Carolina Incorporated, QPC Holding Company LLC, Questar Corporation, Questar Energy Services Inc., Questar Field Services LLC, Questar Gas Company, Questar InfoComm Inc., Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company, Questar White River Hub LLC, RE Adams East LLC, RE Camelot LLC, RE Columbia Two LLC, RE Kansas LLC, RE Kent South LLC, RE Old River One LLC, Richland Solar Center LLC, Ridgeland Solar Farm I LLC, SBL Holdco LLC, SCANA, SCANA Communications Holdings Inc., SCANA Corporate Security Services Inc., SCANA Energy Marketing LLC, SCANA Pharmacy LLC, SRFI LLC, Scana Corporation, Scott-II Solar LLC, Seabrook Solar LLC, Selmer Farm LLC, Siler Solar LLC, Sol Madison Solar LLC, Somers Solar Center LLC, South Carolina Fuel Company Inc., South Carolina Generating Company Inc., Southampton Solar LLC, Summit Farms Solar LLC, Sussex Drive Solar Project LLC, TA - Acacia LLC, TWE Myrtle Solar Project LLC, The East Ohio Gas Company, Trask East Solar LLC, Tredegar Solar Fund I LLC, VP Property Inc., Virginia Electric And Power Company, Virginia Power Fuel Corporation, Virginia Power Nuclear Services Company, Virginia Power Services Energy Corp. Inc., Virginia Power Services LLC, Virginia Solar 201 Projects LLC, Wakefield Solar LLC, Wexpro Company, Wexpro Development Company, Wexpro II Company, Wilkinson Solar LLC, Wrangler Retail Gas Holdings LLC, and Yemassee Solar LLC.
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
iShares MSCI Netherlands ETF's stock was trading at $27.57 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EWN stock has increased by 85.9% and is now trading at $51.24.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said voice vote was taken by the Speaker on the No Confidence Motion submitted in Parliament against the Government and that 122 MPs informed the Speaker that they voted in favour of it.

He told media that the NCM passed in Parliament with a majority could not be challenged and added that if anyone wanted to challenge the Speakers decision, they could move a resolution challenging his decision tomorrow.

If they move a resolution challenging Speakers decision, we can put it to vote and defeat it. We can even pass another resolution saying that Speakers ruling is correct, he said.

He said it was incorrect to say Parliament broke up without a decision and added that it was a breach of Parliament Powers and Privileges.

When Parliament takes a decision, it should be recorded, he said.

Video by RM
The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley  Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley  Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business.
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
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
T3 Motion, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets electric motor powered personal mobility vehicles to the professional and consumer markets in the United States and internationally. The company offers the T3 Series and the T3i Series ESV, which are three-wheel, front wheel drive, stand-up, electric personal mobility vehicles primarily for public and private security personnel. It also provides power modules and chargers; and accessories, including reversible rear tires, side-mount external storage packs, sun shades, front and rear turn indicator systems, and on-board video camera systems and digital video recorders for its T3 Series and T3i Series ESVs. In addition, the company offers T3Automatic License Plate Recognition System, a law enforcement tool that provides real-time knowledge and post-action criminal intelligence, monitoring, and analyzing of license plates; and various CCTV and camera systems. Further, it focuses on developing T3 Vision line, a consumer version of the T3 Series; R3 Series, an electric/hybrid vehicle, which is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that features a single, wide-stance wheel with two high-performance tires sharing one rear wheel; and third generation of the T3 Series units. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors and manufacturer's representatives to law enforcement and securities firms. T3 Motion, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. On May 15, 2017, T3M Inc. filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. The case was later converted to Chapter 7 liquidation on September 26, 2017.

Read More
Tableau Software, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business analytics software products. It offers Tableau Desktop, a self-service, powerful analytics product with data; Tableau Server, a business intelligence platform for organizations; Tableau Online, a hosted software-as-a-service version of Tableau Server; Tableau Prep, a data preparation product for combining, shaping, and cleaning data; and Tableau Public, a cloud-based platform for analyzing and sharing public data. In addition, it offers Visual Query Language (VizQL) for databases, which is a computer language for describing pictures of data, including graphs, charts, maps, time series, and tables of visualizations; Live Query Engine that interprets abstract queries generated by VizQL into syntax understandable by database systems; and Hyper, an in-memory data engine technology that helps customers to analyze a range of data sets by evaluating analytical queries directly in the transactional database. Further, the company provides support, maintenance, training, and professional services. It serves organizations in various industries, including business services, energy and telecommunications, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, manufacturing and technology, media and entertainment, public sector, and education, as well as retail, consumer, and distribution industries. The company sells its products directly, as well as through indirect sales channels, such as technology vendors, resellers, original equipment manufacturers, independent software vendor, and distributors in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Tableau Software, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Read More
The following companies are subsidiares of Teledyne Technologies: Alia Corporation Inc, Bolt Technology Corp, Bowtech Products, CARIS, CDL do Brasil Equipamentos e Servicos Submarinos Sociedade Empresaria Ltda., CETAC Technologies, DALSA, Demo Systems, Detcon Holdco Inc., Ensambles de Precision S.A. de C.V., Falcon Analytical, Frontline Test Equipment, GMI Group Holdings Limited, Hafmynd ehf, Hanson Research Corp, IST Oldham Instruments India Private Limited, Industrial Control Machines, Intelek, Intelek Limited, Intelek Pension Trustees Limited, Intelek Properties Limited, LeCroy (Beijing) Trading Co. Ltd., LeCroy Corporation, Lidar Aviation Services Inc., Maple Imaging LLC, Micralyne Inc, Ocean Design Ltda., Oldham Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Oldham Simtronics SAS, Oldham-Winter GmbH, PDM Neptec, Reynolds Industries Limited, Rhombi Canada LP, Rhombi Holdings Limited, Rhombi Netherlands B.V., Rockwell Scientific Company, Simtronics AS, TDY Jersey Limited, Teledyne Advanced Pollution Instrumentation, Teledyne Australia Pty Ltd, Teledyne BlueView, Teledyne Bogatin Enterprises LLC, Teledyne Bowtech Limited, Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc., Teledyne C.M.L. Group Limited, Teledyne CARIS B.V., Teledyne CARIS Inc., Teledyne CARIS UK Ltd., Teledyne CARIS USA Inc., Teledyne CDL Inc., Teledyne CDL Limited, Teledyne Catalyst Enterprises Inc., Teledyne Computer Access Technology Corporation, Teledyne Controls LLC, Teledyne Cougar, Teledyne Czech s.r.o., Teledyne DALSA (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Teledyne DALSA Asia-Pacific Ltd., Teledyne DALSA B.V., Teledyne DALSA GmbH, Teledyne DALSA Inc., Teledyne DALSA Industrial Products Inc., Teledyne DALSA K.K., Teledyne DALSA Semiconductor Inc., Teledyne Dalsa, Teledyne Defense Electronics LLC, Teledyne Denmark A/S, Teledyne Detcon Inc., Teledyne Digital Imaging Inc., Teledyne Digital Imaging US Inc., Teledyne Energy Systems Inc., Teledyne Europe Holdings C.V., Teledyne France, Teledyne France SAS, Teledyne Gas Measurement Instruments Limited, Teledyne Gavia ehf., Teledyne Germany GmbH, Teledyne Hanson Research Inc., Teledyne ICM SA, Teledyne ICM SPRL, Teledyne Innovaciones Microelectronics S.L.U., Teledyne Instruments Inc., Teledyne Instruments Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Teledyne Japan Corporation, Teledyne Korea Ltd., Teledyne Labtech Limited, Teledyne LeCroy AB, Teledyne LeCroy Delaware LLC, Teledyne LeCroy GmbH, Teledyne LeCroy Inc., Teledyne LeCroy India Trading Private Ltd., Teledyne LeCroy Japan Corporation, Teledyne LeCroy Korea Ltd., Teledyne LeCroy OakGate Inc., Teledyne LeCroy S.A.R.L., Teledyne LeCroy S.R.L., Teledyne LeCroy SA, Teledyne LeCroy Singapore Pte. Ltd., Teledyne Limited, Teledyne Micralyne Inc., Teledyne Monitor Labs, Teledyne Monitor Labs P.R. Inc., Teledyne Netherlands B.V., Teledyne ODI, Teledyne Optech Inc., Teledyne Paradise Datacom Limited, Teledyne RD Instruments, Teledyne RD Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Teledyne RESON, Teledyne RESON A/S, Teledyne RESON B.V., Teledyne RESON GmbH, Teledyne RESON Holding B.V., Teledyne RESON Inc., Teledyne RESON Pte. Ltd., Teledyne RESON UK Limited, Teledyne RISI Inc., Teledyne Rad-icon Imaging Corp., Teledyne Redlake MASD LLC, Teledyne Reynolds Inc., Teledyne SG Brown Limited, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging LLC, Teledyne Scientific Imaging GmbH, Teledyne Scientific Imaging Limited, Teledyne Signal Processing Devices Sweden AB, Teledyne Singapore Private Limited, Teledyne TSS Limited, Teledyne Taiwan Company, Teledyne Technologies (Bermuda) Limited, Teledyne Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Teledyne Technologies International Corp., Teledyne Technologies Israel Ltd., Teledyne Tekmar Company, Teledyne UK Limited, Teledyne VariSystems, Teledyne VariSystems Inc., Teledyne Wireless LLC, Teledyne e2v, Teledyne e2v (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Teledyne e2v (Overseas) Holdings Limited, Teledyne e2v Asia Pacific Limited, Teledyne e2v Limited, Teledyne e2v Semiconductors SAS, and The Oceanscience Group Ltd..
As per the World Health Organisation, survival rates are as high as 80% in the developed world

Dr. Randima Nanayakkara

Dr. Randima Nanayakkara, Consultant in Surgical Oncology, discusses why awareness is of critical importance in battling the most common cancer among women.

October is the month dedicated to breast cancer awareness worldwide.

The importance of promoting awareness is clear when we examine some startling breast cancer statistics, between the developing and developed countries. As per the World Health Organisation, survival rates are as high as 80% in the developed world, where established state sponsored screening programmes and heightened awareness of the disease exist. In comparison the rate is as low as 40% in the developing world where such awareness levels do not exist. In Sri Lanka breast cancer is today the commonest cancer in females. As per the data reported in 2010 by the Ministry of Health, the incidence was around 18 cases for every 100,000 persons and the general consensus is that this figure has been on a steady rise since then.

Thus explaining the significance of marking a month dedicated to awareness, Dr. Nanayakkara explains that as the number one cancer affecting women, the disease has attracted millions of dollars in research funding worldwide and this has been so for over decades. It is also a matter of high importance for the health care profession in Sri Lanka. The result is that today, the treatment of the disease follows a very streamlined and meticulous approach and the rates of success if detected early and treated without an undue delay are very promising. Sri Lanka is yet to implement a far reaching breast cancer screening programme in the country, the lack of which is certainly a disadvantage. However, this is where initiatives taken by the private, public and NGO sector such as the work done during the breast cancer awareness month of October play an important role.

Dr. Nanayakkaras observation is that most of the female patients he treats seem to present their case too late for curative treatment. He believes this can be attributed to the fact that most frequently the clinical symptom the patient encounters is a painless lump which slowly grows in size over months. In about 10% of the cases the lump results in only a mild pain. Therefore, patients sense no urgency in investigating these lumps. However as early detection is the key to successfully treating the disease, the ignorance and inaction of the typical cancer patient stands as a huge disadvantage to them in fighting the disease.

Dr. Nanayakkara further noted that There is also the apprehension and fear people feel about what is to follow should the lump in fact be cancerous. It is an irrational yet understandable feeling of fear which we as doctors encounter every day with patients we treat he explains. This is why a discussion about breast cancer detection and diagnosis would be of utmost importance.

It is usually a panel of doctors comprising of an Oncologist, Radiologist, Pathologist and an Oncological Surgeon who will discuss a treatment plan for a given patient

As Dr. Nanayakkara outlines, a first stop for a female suspecting a cancerous lump is at a General Medical Practitioner who is trained to conduct a preliminary breast examination. Thereafter the patient will be referred to a surgical oncologist/ surgeon who will initiate what is referred to as the triple assessment Any breast lump irrespective of the patients age should be investigated via the triple assessment the aim of which is to establish if the lump in question is benign or malignant.

Step one of this assessment is the clinical examination where the patients history is discussed with an Oncological Surgeon and a physical examination of the patient occurs. The Second step involves radiological imaging where a non-invasive ultra sound scan will be done. Depending on the age and specific needs of the case, a mammogram and/or a MRI scan will also be warranted. The third stage is a fine needle biopsy which is a study of the cells obtained from the lump. The procedure is a simple out-patient procedure done under local anaesthesia. The above mentioned triple assessment can diagnose a cancer with about a 97% accuracy level.

Following the triple assessment, and if the result suggests a breast cancer, a core biopsy will be required for the final confirmatory diagnosis. Here a slightly larger needle will obtain a larger sample of tissue for analysis. This too is an out-patient procedure done under local anaesthesia.

As cost is also a cause for apprehension, Dr. Nanayakkara highlights that the cost of the triple assessment is around Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 in the private sector. The cost of a core biopsy is also around Rs. 15,000. Of course, via the public health service all of this comes free of charge.

Following the confirmation that it is indeed breast cancer that a patient is diseased of, it is usually a panel of doctors comprising of an Oncologist, Radiologist, Pathologist and an Oncological Surgeon who will discuss a treatment plan for a given patient. While surgery is usually the first step in the treatment of an early stage breast cancer, a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and or hormone therapy may be offered for patients with more advanced disease.

As a surgical oncologist Dr. Nanayakkara who carries out regular breast conservation and reconstruction surgeries, he highlights that breast cancer removal surgery today is less radical and less disfiguring than in previous times. The general idea is to provide a greater degree of normalcy for the patient following the surgery. Breast conservation surgery removes a tumour along with a rim of normal breast tissue leaving the original breast largely intact. On the other hand, breast reconstruction involves recreating a breast following a removal of a breast, using muscle tissue from other parts of a patients body or artificial implants. Conservation and reconstruction both are practised by a few surgeons even in Sri Lanka and apart from being effective in removing all traces of cancer from the affected breasts it proves to provide a lesser psychological impact on the patient post recovery.

The message during the month of awareness is clear. It is a call to women to be more breast-aware. A self-breast examination every month following the completion of the monthly menstrual cycle is a simple first step in the right direction. Seeking urgent medical attention if there is any change in a breast from what is considered normal is a must. Consider changes in the appearance in the breast, feelings of discomfort, lumps and nipple discharges as tell-tale signs of some underlying problem. Breast cancer is a surmountable challenge.
The following companies are subsidiares of Procter & Gamble: "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, Agile Pursuits, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Arbora, Arbora & Ausonia, Arborinvest, Billie, Braun (Shanghai) Co., Braun GmbH, Braun-Gillette Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, Celtic Insurance Company, Compania Procter & Gamble Mexico, Compania Quimica S.A., Corporativo Procter & Gamble, Cosmetic Products Pty. Ltd., Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., Eurocos Cosmetic GmbH, FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Fater S.p.A., Fountain Square Music Publishing Co., Gillette (China) Ltd., Gillette (Shanghai) Ltd., Gillette Aesop Ltd., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette Canada Holdings, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Gruppe Deutschland GmbH & Co. oHG, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Nova Scotia Company, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Poland S.A., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay, Giorgio Beverly Hills Inc., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, LLC "Procter & Gamble Novomoskovsk", LLL "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", Laboratorios Vicks, Liberty Street Music Publishing Company, Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', Limited Liability Company with foreign investments Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, New Chapter, New Chapter Canada Inc., Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G Prestige Service GmbH, P&G South African Trading (Pty.) Ltd., PGT Health Care (Zhejiang) Limited, PGT Healthcare LLP, PPI ZAO, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Procter & Gamble (Chengdu) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (East Africa) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Egypt) Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble (Enterprise Fund) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Jiangsu) Ltd. China, Procter & Gamble (L&CP) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble (Shanghai) International Trade Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Acquisition GmbH, Procter & Gamble Administration GmbH, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chile , Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Commercial de Cuba S.A., Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent (Beijing) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deuttschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing (Philippines) Inc., Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distribution Company (Europe) BVBA, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana, Procter & Gamble Europe SA, Procter & Gamble Export Operations SARL, Procter & Gamble Exportadora e Importadora Ltda., Procter & Gamble Exports, Procter & Gamble Fabricacao e Comercio Ltda., Procter & Gamble Far East, Procter & Gamble Finance (U.K.) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care, Procter & Gamble Hellas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holdings (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership (KKT), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings, Procter & Gamble Indochina Limited Company, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama, Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Investment Company (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment GmbH, Procter & Gamble Italia, Procter & Gamble Japan K.K., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea, Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble Lanka Private Ltd. Sri Lanka, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Marketing and Services doo, Procter & Gamble Maroc SA, Procter & Gamble Mataro, Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Investments B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Nordic, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan (Private) Limited, Procter & Gamble Partnership LLP, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals France SAS, Procter & Gamble Philippines, Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo, Procter & Gamble Product Supply (U.K.) Limited U.K., Procter & Gamble Production GmbH, Procter & Gamble Productions, Procter & Gamble Productos de Consumo, Procter & Gamble RHD, Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services BVBA, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Satis ve Dagitim Ltd. Sti., Procter & Gamble Seine S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services (Switzerland) SA, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Share Incentive Plan Trustee Ltd., Procter & Gamble South America Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. (Ltd.), Procter & Gamble Sports and Social Club Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology (Beijing) Co., Procter & Gamble Trading (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Verwaltungs GmbH, Procter & Gamble Vietnam, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil S/A, Procter & Gamble do Brazil, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Redmond Products, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Richardson-Vicks do Brasil Quimica e Farmaceutica Ltda, Riverfront Music Publishing Co., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Scannon S.A.S., Series Acquisition B.V., Shulton, Surfac S.R.L., Sycamore Productions, TAOS - FL, TAOS Retail, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving - FL, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble GBS Company, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon (Shanghai) Academy, Vidal Sassoon Co., WEBA Betriebsrenten-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Walker & Company Brands, and iMFLUX Inc..
The following companies are subsidiares of Carnival Co. &: 1972 Productions Inc., 6348 Equipment LLC, A.C.N. 098 290 834 Pty. Ltd., A.J. Juneau Dock LLC, AIDA Kundencenter GmbH, Adventure Island Ltd., Air-Sea Holiday GmbH, Alaska Hotel Properties LLC, Barcelona Cruise Terminal SLU, Bay Island Cruise Port S.A., Belize Cruise Terminal Limited, CC U.S. Ventures Inc., CCL Gifts LLC, CSSC Carnival Italy Cruise Investment S.r.L, Carnival (UK) Limited, Carnival Bahamas FC Limited, Carnival Bahamas Holdings Limited, Carnival Corporation & plc Asia Pte. Ltd., Carnival Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Carnival Corporation Korea Ltd., Carnival Corporation Ports Group Japan KK, Carnival Finance LLC, Carnival Grand Bahama Investment Limited, Carnival Investments Limited, Carnival Japan Inc., Carnival License Holdings Limited, Carnival Maritime GmbH, Carnival North America LLC, Carnival Port Holdings Limited, Carnival Ports Inc., Carnival Support Services India Private Limited, Carnival Technical Services (UK) Limited, Carnival Technical Services Finland Limited, Carnival Technical Services GmbH, Carnival Technical Services Inc., Carnival Vanuatu Limited, Costa Crociere PTE Ltd., Costa Crociere S.p.A., Costa Cruceros S.A., Costa Cruise Lines Inc., Costa Cruise Lines UK Limited, Costa Cruises Shipping Services (Shanghai) Company Limited, Costa Cruises Travel Agency (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Costa Cruzeiros Agencia Maritima e Turismo Ltda., Costa Group Digital & Strategic Services GmbH, Costa International B.V., Costa Kreuzfahrten GmbH, Cozumel Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Creative Travel Lab Ltd., Cruise Ships Catering & Services International N.V., Cruise Terminal Services S.A. de C.V., Cruiseport Curacao C.V., D.R. Cruise Port Ltd., Ecospray Technologies S.r.L., F.P.M. SAS, F.P.P. SAS, Fleet Maritime Services (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services Holdings (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services International Limited, GXI LLC, Gibs Inc., Global Experience Innovators Inc., Global Fine Arts Inc., Global Shipping Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Grand Cruise Shipping Unipessoal LdA, Grand Turk Cruise Center Ltd., HAL Antillen N.V., HAL Beheer B.V., HAL Cruises Limited, HAL Maritime Ltd., HAL Nederland N.V., HAL Properties Limited, HAL Services B.V., HSE Hamburg School of Entertainment GmbH, Holding Division Iberocruceros SLU, Holland America Line Inc., Holland America Line N.V., Holland America Line Paymaster of Washington LLC, Holland America Line U.S.A. Inc., Ibero Cruzeiros Ltda., Iberocruceros SLU, Information Assistance Corporation, International Cruise Services S.A. de C.V., International Leisure Travel Inc., International Maritime Recruitment Agency S.A. de C.V., Milestone N.V., Navitrans S.R.L., Ocean Bahamas Innovation Ltd., Ocean Medallion Fulfillment Ltd., Operadora Catalina S.r.L., P&O Princess American Holdings, P&O Princess Cruises International Limited, P&O Princess Cruises Pension Trustee Limited, P&O Properties (California) Inc., P&O Travel Limited, Prestige Cruises Management S.A.M., Prestige Cruises N.V., Princess Bermuda Holdings Ltd., Princess Cays Ltd., Princess Cruise Corporation Inc., Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., Princess Cruises and Tours Inc., Princess U.S. Holdings Inc., RCT Maintenance & Related Services S.A., RCT Pilots & Related Services S.A., RCT Security & Related Services S.A., Roatan Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Royal Hyway Tours Inc., Santa Cruz Terminal S.L., SeaVacations Limited, SeaVacations UK Limited, Seabourn Cruise Line Limited, Shanghai Coast Cruise Consulting Co. Lda, Ship Care (Bahamas) Limited, Sitmar Cruises Inc., Spanish Cruise Services N.V., Sunshine Shipping Corporation Ltd., T&T International Inc., Tour Alaska LLC, Transnational Services Corporation, Trident Insurance Company Ltd., Westmark Hotels Inc., Westmark Hotels of Canada Ltd., Westours Motor Coaches LLC, Wind Surf Limited, and World Leading Cruise Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd..
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
Uniper SE operates as an energy company. It operates in three segments: European Generation, Global Commodities, and Russian Power Generation. The company owns and operates various power and heat generation facilities, including fossil fuel power plants, such as coal, gas, oil, and combined gas and steam; and hydroelectric, nuclear, biomass, photovoltaic, and wind power plants. It also markets energy services comprising fuel procurement, and engineering and asset management, as well as operational and maintenance services; and procures fuels, trades in emission allowances, and markets electricity. In addition, the company engages in the sale of individual power and natural gas to resellers, industrial customers, and power plant operators; energy trading activities; infrastructure investments and gas storage operations; fuel procurement for power plants; operation and management of the plants; and trade and sale of energy. Further, it trades in commodities, which comprise power, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and coal and freight solutions; provides district heating and online gas dispatch services; operates gas storage and power-to-gas facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom; and owns and operates marine fuel oils production facility in Fujairah. The company operates in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, rest of Europe, and internationally. Uniper SE was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in DAsseldorf, Germany. Uniper SE operates as a subsidiary of Karemi Charge and Drive SE.

Read More
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 stock has increased by 3.1% and is now trading at $39.99.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
I came across a thin woman when travelling in a train. This woman with tear-filled eyes and carrying a baby poured out her tragic story to me. I am a resident in Mirigama. I have two children. My husband is bedridden after falling from a coconut tree. We have no livelihood. That is why we are begging in the train as a means of living. the woman said.

There are about 20 children from both sexes, all under16 years of age. There is nobody to stop this tragedy We have no livelihood

The passengers in the train had made generous contributions, handing out notes to the value of Rs. 20 and 50. She bestowed merits on them and disembarked from the train. The other day, an aged man boarded the train with a baby in his hand and had a child accompanying him. The baby was the one who was with the woman the previous day. This old man also began to relate his story with tear filled eyes.

 We have no place to live. These are my daughters children. My daughter and her husband met with an accident and died. I am the one who looks after these children. Please give us some money to buy some eatables. the man said. Then, he had also been successful in collecting money from the passengers.

In the meantime, a hawker who sold apples told the people not to give him money because he was a thief. However, the so called thief left the train without saying anything in response. This writer then approached the apple seller and listened to his version of the story.

These beggars beg to earn a daily wage. One beggar earns about Rs.2500 a day. The balance is given to the person who employs them. This ring operates in the form of a mafia. The children are obtained on rent

Sir, that man is not the parent of those children. There is another woman. They have got together and continue with this business. The parents of those two children are somebody else. That man gives the parent Rs.1500 for allowing to bring the small one and Rs. 2000 for the big one. The mother of these children is a drug addict. She also begs and obtains the money given to the child to buy drugs. As a result the children have to starve. It is I who gave even an apple to them. I do not know what this man will do to these children, he went on.

He added that the person concerned was a K.G.( Kerala Ganja which is also known as Cannabis) seller. He has been arrested by the police for selling ganja to school children. One child was small and the other is said to have attained age. I do not know what will be the fate of these children who are at the mercy of this ganja seller, the apple seller said. He has alerted the train guards about the man, but his warnings have fallen on deaf ears.

Then, how do they beg in the train this writer asked in response.

He said that there is a kingpin in this racket. That big beggar plans who goes where depending on the trains that operate at night. He is the one who decides the modus operandi of all beggars. He knows that nothing will happen to him and his accomplices. He pointed out that the daily earnings of each beggar is around Rs.5000. He enjoys the time he spends with his accomplices. Outsiders cant invade their territory and if this happens there will be a tragedy, according to him.

I then contacted another person to verify the story related to him by the apple seller. He was a book seller.

He related the other side of the story.  There are no fans in the train compartments because the beggars got together and removed them with the help of the employees of the railway stations. These beggars beg to earn a daily wage. One beggar earns about Rs.2500 a day. The balance is given to the person who employs them. This ring operates in the form of a mafia. The children are obtained on rent. There is a Child Protection Authority established in this country. But, nobody comes to rescue these innocent children. There are about 20 children from both sexes, all under 16 years of age. There is nobody to stop this tragedy, he affirmed.

The other day, an aged man boarded the train with a baby in his hand and had a child accompanying him. The baby was the one who was with the woman the previous day

Whats sad about the story is that nobody is responsible to find out about this crime and the abusing of children that takes place with the connivance of the people. Nobody seems to come forward for the protection of the children. No questions are asked by the authorities as to why these children resort to begging in this manner. Train commuters request the authorities to focus their attention on these crimes and explore the possibility of controlling them by punishing the wrongdoers.
Unum Group is engaged in providing financial protection benefits. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate. The Unum US segment comprises of group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business. The Unum International segment engages in the operations of UK business, which includes insurance for group long-term disability, group life, and supplemental lines of business that include dental, individual disability, and critical illness products; Poland business primarily includes insurance for individual and group life with accident and health riders. The Colonial Life segment includes insurance for accident, sickness, disability products, life products, and cancer and critical illness products. The Closed Block segment consists of individual disability, group and individual long-term care, and other insurance products no longer actively marketed. The Corporate segment refers to investment income on corporate assets and other corporate income and expenses not allocated to a line of business; and interest

Read More
Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd., a medical device company, develops and commercializes diagnostic tools that monitor patients with heart disease worldwide. The company offers Ventripoint Medical System, a medical imaging system that is used to generate three-dimensional models with critical volume and functional measurements of a patient's heart chambers. It also develops a suite of applications for various heart diseases and imaging modalities, including congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, cardiotoxicity in oncology patients, and Covid-19 related heart issues. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read More
The following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group: 360 Connect S.A., [email protected] Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus  Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way  Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U.  Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited  Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..
Theres a State and National move to ban certain types of flavored e-cigarettes. Deep Vapors vape shop Owner Jeffrey Miller believes e-cigarettes can be used as a way for people to quit traditional cigarettes. He says they benefit because there are only a few chemicals used in e-cigarettes, where-as traditional cigarettes contain around 4000 chemicals that contain carcinogens known to cause cancer. Herkimer Police Chief Michael Jory sees e-cigarettes, known as Juuls, being used by teens, and doesnt agree with Millers logic.

"A Juul pod, or any of the oils that are in the different e-cigs, they can be upwards of a pack or 2 packs per Juul, so I dont think thats better. I think if anything thats just so concentrated that its you know youre getting more negative effects, quicker."

Miller doesnt sell the e-cigarette Juul, and says hes helped many people quit traditional smoking with the use of e-cigarettes. He believes the States motive is money. If they wipe out the e-cigarette business, they can get back to making money off the taxes generated by traditional cigarettes.

"New York State is ranked no. 1 on the least free States in the Country, so yeah, my guess would be yes. At this point, yes. Theyll probably ban it and basically what well do is well move to Massachusetts, move the business to Massachusetts and start paying them taxes."

Unless theres a country-wide ban on the e-cigarette products, youd still be able to order them from states that sell them on-line.

Michael Jory says: "The marketing at this point, to say that youd move your business where its legal to sell them, youre still having those negative health effects on those developing teenagers, and getting them addicted to another substance."

Well keep you posted on any developments in the e-cigarette ban.
Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is seen showing the Number one during a news briefing held at the Parliament House upon asking who was the Prime Minister in Sri Lanka today. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana and Damith Wickramasinghe
DANNEMORA, N.Y. (AP) - A former prison tailor shop worker is going to jail for having an illicit relationship with an inmate at the same New York prison where another female employee aided the escape of two killers.

State Inspector General Catharine Leahy Scott's office said Tuesday that Denise Prell was sentenced to a year in jail and $13,000 in fines and fees for promoting prison contraband, sexual abuse in the third degree and official misconduct.

Investigators say Prell lost her job as a tailor shop supervisor at Clinton Correctional Facility last year.

In June 2015, two inmates aided by prison tailor shop employee Joyce Mitchell escaped from the prison near the Canadian border. One was killed by police. The other was captured.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
GALVESTON, Ind. (WLFI)  An old, dirty chimney may be the cause of a fire that burned down Don Cree's home.

Cree made it out safe along with his cats.

Fire crews left the scene of the fire after fighting the blaze for more than five hours.

The fire broke out in Galveston around 1:45 pm.

Cree says ten minutes after lighting the chimney his smoke alarms went off and he called the fire department.

Galveston Fire was first on the scene along with other fire crews. Ambulances and Red Cross were also on standby.

The Walton fire chief says his crew couldn't leave the scene until all the smoke was clear.

He says to make sure to double check your oven, chimney or any heat source before lighting.

"Just make sure everything is in working condition," said Walton Fire Chief Brett Shupperd. "When you light your stove make sure its going correctly."

A neighbor of Cree's had no idea his house was even there.

The home was a total loss and nothing was able to be recovered.
Nestle Lanka PLC, the local unit of the worlds largest food company, saw its September quarter (3Q18) net profits increasing 15.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.941 million, as the company managed to contain its costs despite a drop in sales figures.



The firms cumulative profits for the nine months ended on September 30, 2018 also recorded an increase of 6.7 percent YoY to reach Rs.10.5 billion.

According to the interim financial accounts released to the Colombo Stock Exchange last Tuesday, Nestle Lankas turnover during the quarter under review declined 3.5 percent YoY to Rs.9.3 billion.



However, the firm managed to reduce the cost of sales by 12.1 percent YoY to Rs.5.58 billion, increasing the gross profit by 13 percent YoY to Rs.3.7 billion.

Nestle Lankas cumulative turnover for the nine months improved 1.2 percent YoY to Rs.27.9 billion, while the cost of sales declined by 3.4 percent YoY to Rs.17.3 billion.



Nestle Lankas earnings per share for the quarter under review improved to Rs.17.52, from Rs.15.16. The total earnings per share so far in the financial year also rose to Rs.48.77, from Rs.45.72.



The firms tax expenses continued to rise as seen in the previous quarters of the year, as Nestle Lanka was subjected to higher effective tax rates from April, under the new Inland Revenue Act.



The interim financial accounts showed that Nestle Lankas income tax expenses had jumped by 50.3 percent YoY to Rs.2.6 billion so far in the financial year.

Nestle Lanka earlier qualified for a concessionary tax rate of 12 percent for export profits, a 10 percent tax rate for profits from the ready-to-drink milk business, while the profits with respect to the offshore business earned in foreign currency were exempted from income tax.



Nestle Lanka faced a challenging period during last financial year as the food and beverage industry was adversely impacted by the drought and floods, resulting in weak consumer confidence and a decline in consumer demand.



Switzerlands Nestle S.A. owns 90.82 percent of Nestle Lanka PLC.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  Jason Dombkowski went on unpaid administrative leave in July to concentrate on his campaign for Tippecanoe County Sheriff. However, he lost that race to Democrat Bob Goldsmith by 263 votes last week.

Now, he has asked Mayor John Dennis to extend his leave until the end of the year.

Dombkowski said he is thankful West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis is still offering him the position.

This would be Dombkowski's 25th year with the department.

"And there may be some more to do there," said Dombkowski. "But at this time, I just really want to take a step back. We are a week removed from a two year campaign."

Dombkowski said if he does take the position, he believes he and Goldsmith with work well together as neighboring department leaders.

He said he isn't sure what else he would do if he decides not to take the position.

But he will remain President of the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police until the end of this year.

Dombkowski is wanting to make his family a big part of the final decision. He said the whole campaigning process was tough on them.

"The West Lafayette Police Department is near and dear to my heart," said Dombkowski. "I'm honored to be asked to return as chief of police and we will make that decision together."
NILES, Mich. (WSBT) Recreational marijuana may have been approved by voters in Michigan, but you may have trouble finding it.

A local community has banned recreational marijuana from being sold inside city limits and it's not the only city taking these steps.

Recreational marijuana will soon be legal in Michigan, sometime around the new year, but that doesnt mean it can be sold everywhere.

Individual cities, like Niles, can decide for themselves if theyre going to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries within their city limits.

The Niles City Council voted five to three to ban recreational marijuana from being sold inside city limits Monday night. A decision met with a lot of opinions on both sides.

I dont think it would be a very good idea if they just put it out there across the board," said Sonya Phillips, Niles resident. "There should be some things in place to make sure while its legalized, that its being used for the correct purpose."

Yeah, they have it everywhere else, so why not here?" said Robert Glass, Niles resident. "Whats wrong with here. I dont see nothing wrong with it."

While the ordinance prevents selling recreational marijuana in Niles, City Administrator Richard Huff said they could always vote to allow marijuana sales down the road.

The vote was really about creating a time period where the city council could study it further, hear more comments from our local constituents and make an informed decision about where to go for recreational marijuana, said Huff.

Huff said there are too many questions that havent been answered by the state, such as how many recreational dispensaries will be allowed per city.

I think the difficulty comes in as a municipality, said Huff. Understanding what the law is, what kind of legal challenges there is going to be over the next year, waiting for the state to issue the rules for the law.

He said they are taking their cues from other states that have legalized pot.

Ive never heard from any other managers in Colorado that say just go for it, and let it rip so to speak, said Huff. Its always word of caution, move slowly.

Niles isnt the only city making these decisions.

The commission in Saint Joseph voted in favor of a similar ordinance Monday night.

Now you might be wondering -- if this is legal in the state how certain cities can opt out? Well, the law approved by Michigan voters does give local jurisdictions the option of exempting themselves from the law.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - A new Purdue initiative is helping bring alumni back to the Hoosier state. The University recently created the Purdue Brain Gain Initiative.

Since his time as governor, University President Mitch Daniels has been working to reverse the state's brain drain. A "Brain Drain" is when more graduates left for out of state opportunities.

Over the past decade Mitch Daniels has seen countless college graduates leave Indiana. But it isn't necessarily due to the state itself. "Not too many people leave Indiana because they don't like it here. It's that they saw more opportunity elsewhere, said Daniels

Indiana has been talking about the "brain drain" for a long time. But in recent years, the numbers have started to change.

Daniels says more graduates are moving to or staying in Indiana than are leaving. "It has turned around. Not in a big enough way but we have more college graduates moving into the state than out, said Daniels.

This turnaround has created a brain gain. But Daniels believes the gain can be taken even further. He helped create the Purdue Brain Gain Initiative. It will help connect Purdue graduates to employers across the state. "They could indicate a little personal information and the kind of job they are interested in. Now we're going out to companies saying here is a list of top talent we're building, who might fit your needs, added Daniels.

An initial trial was conducted in September. According to Daniels, the initiative is already seeing success. "Hundreds of people have gone through the process of indicating serious interest. Many of them are now being interviewed for jobs, said Daniels.

The initiative has already helped connect Purdue with marketing executives, scientists, and technical managers. Daniels hopes the early success of the Brain Gain is a sign of what is yet to come. "If we can get this going, who knows what we might accomplish, said Daniels.

Daniels hopes Purdue's success will encourage other Indiana universities to create their own initiatives. He believes it could have an impact Indiana's economy.
INDIANAPOLIS (WLFI)  An Indiana lawmaker is calling to stiffen penalties for violating a school bus stop arm after three children were killed in Rochester.

State senator Eric Bassler thinks the punishment for driving past a school bus stop arm is not harsh enough. If a driver hurts or kills someone after passing a stop arm their license gets suspended for a year and they receive a $1,500 fine.

Bassler plans to introduce a bill in January that would toughen the penalty to a misdemeanor meaning the driver could be arrested and sent to jail.

The Madison County prosecutor thinks the bill is an interesting idea but says its unlikely violators in his community would go to jail.
Want to intern in East Asia? This grant may make it possible, whatever your major

Inaugural interns: The inaugural group of interns pose for a photo with Stephen Sheehi, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Chair of Middle East Studies and director of the AMES program, and Freeman Foundation Program Director Juefei Wang during his visit to campus in November 2018. Photo courtesy of Francis Tanglao Aguas

Think tank: This semester, the student interns are taking a COLL 300 class to discuss their experiences and explore new facets of the communities in which they lived. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Photo - of - Hide Caption

William & Mary students majoring in any subject will once again have the opportunity to live and work in East Asia this summer, thanks to a grant from the Freeman Foundation.

The organization recently provided the university $110,000 to support a second year of Freeman Foundation internships in Asia. The program is administered and supported by W&Ms Charles Center for Academic Excellence in coordination with the Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) Studies and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) programs, and with support from the Reves Center for International Studies.

Last summer  with the support of another Freeman grant  20 W&M students took part in the program, working in a multitude of industries in locations from Tokyo to Taiwan. This semester, they are participating in a COLL 300 class that allows them to share their experiences with one another and examine their time abroad from new angles.

The Freeman initiative exemplifies William & Marys deep commitment to intellectual, international and cultural openness, said Teresa Longo, dean for interdisciplinary studies and director of the Charles Center. Through the Freeman grant, we have created real world work experiences for our students and challenged them to bring what they learn back home to the William & Mary classroom. This is an excellent example of the Liberal Arts at work.

The inaugural year

The Freeman Foundation has been instrumental in expanding Asian studies at W&M, according to Francis Tanglao Aguas, professor of theatre and Asian-American studies and founding director of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Studies Program. Starting in 2002, grants from the foundation have helped the university increase its Asian studies resources and courses, leading to the creation of the APIA and AMES programs. With the recent implementation of the COLL 300 course requirement at W&M, which focuses on providing students with international perspectives and experiences, Tanglao Aguas saw a chance for another collaboration with the foundation.

He partnered with Sheehi, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Chair of Middle East Studies and director of the AMES program; Deenesh Sohoni, associate professor of sociology; Joel Schwartz, professor of government and former director of the Charles Center, and other colleagues to develop a grant proposal for the internships.

Once approved, a number of faculty members used their personal and professional contacts in East Asia, including graduates of the AMES and APIA programs, to identify internship possibilities for students. The professors also worked with University Advancement to identify additional alumni who might be interested in providing students internships or supporting them while abroad. The result was a wide range of opportunities in fields from business to art with companies and organizations including Nippon Neuroscience, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the East Asia Institute, the Institute for Peace and Unification, Cocoon Capital Partners, Sekitani Lab and the Jing-A Brewing Company.

One of the wonderful facets of this internship program is the diversity of student interests, not only of location but what our students are able to learn, said Tanglao Aguas.

Fifty-five students from 17 majors ranging from biology to international relations applied for 20 internships in locations throughout East and Southeast Asia, including Laos, the Philippines, South Korea and Cambodia.

I was happy but not surprised (about number of students interested) because I know that the William & Mary student is really curious about the world and that our prospective applicants come to William & Mary because we belong to the top tier of universities who really encourage our students to go abroad, said Tanglao Aguas.

All of the students received $5,000 to cover their travel expenses and were connected to internship supervisors, who were asked to help them find housing. Sheehi served as the programs coordinator and checked in with the students several times throughout their internships.

Emma Shainwald 20 and Patrick Canteros 20 were among the inaugural interns in the program. Canteros, a double major in finance and APIA studies, worked in Hong Kong for the business firm Contineo, formerly led by W&M alumnus Mark Munoz 97, and Vectr Ventures, a venture capital fund where Munoz now serves as a partner. Shainwald, an APIA studies major, interned in Shanghai teaching English at Bement School and working at the Yuz Museum, helping with English translation for their publications and exhibits.

Canteros said that he learned much from his internships.

I learned a good amount and am transposing that to what Im doing now academically, he said. Im taking this class on equity and portfolio management, and its very similar to what I was doing at Vectr. So I think it was really good for real-world application. I think it was also good for providing a lens on the industry.

Shainwald said she was able to significantly improve her Mandarin language skills as the result of the experience, and she enjoyed working with the children and learning about art.

But aside from the internship, it was helpful for me to learn how to be alone and how to learn and develop on my own, she said. I really enjoyed being put in these situations you cant anticipate and seeing where they can go from there.

A new plant

Shainwald and Canteros are now part of Sheehis COLL 300 course with the other students who interned. For the first half of the class, the students explored aspects of East Asia they might not have encountered, such as LGBTQ life, womens movements or Muslim history in East Asia, said Sheehi. And in the second half, they are workshopping ideas for their final project.

The final was kind of assigned to them partially during the orientation when I asked them to keep an eye open to things they experienced, things that strike them as interesting or original or thought-provoking, something they may want to bring back with them apart from their actual internship, Sheehi said. It may be sparked by the internship, but I want the project separate from that. So its one way to use their experiences in the internship as the soil, but branch out and sort of grow a new plant with it.

The students in the class rely on each other to workshop their project ideas, garnering insights from one anothers experiences and academic interests. Sheehi also provides the students with readings and other resources, including special visitors.

Its a mutual going back and forth between the scholarship that he provides and our experiences without it being an echo chamber, and I really love that aspect of the class, said Shainwald.

As the class draws to a close in December, its students will compete with those in Sheehis COLL 100 course on the culture of Arab food as part of The Great W&M Asia Cook Off. The event  to be held Dec. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Integrated Science Centers Elements Cafe  will be judged by Katsuya Fukushima, a celebrity chef, and Yama Juwayni, co-owner of several Washington, D.C. restaurants. Fukushima will also give a cooking demonstration at noon that day in the Sadler Center.

Tanglao Aguas is coordinating the next group of interns, and he, Sheehi and their colleagues have once again been hard at work to identify internship opportunities. This year, Tanglao Aguas is hoping to expand the list of geographical locations available and to offer additional opportunities in the humanities and arts for students. He has already made progress on those goals, arranging for internships with the Masakini Theatre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; the Office of the Deputy Rector for Internalization and Global Affairs and the Department of English Language and Literature at the International Islamic University Malaysia; the Creative Writing Center of the University of Santo Tomas, in Manila, Philippines; and the Department of Fine Arts at Ateneo de Manila University.

A full list of internship opportunities for the summer of 2019 will be available on the Charles Centers website starting Dec. 1. The deadline for applications is Feb. 1, 2019. Students  from freshmen to juniors (seniors arent eligible because of the fall course requirement)  majoring in any subject can apply.

For next summers interns, Shainwald has some advice.

Be really, really open and expect the unexpected, she said.
(CNN)  A renewed ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza has brought an end to the most severe round of fighting between the two sides since the 2014 war.

Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, announced the ceasefire in a joint statement. "The resistance will abide by the ceasefire agreement as long as the Israeli occupation adheres to the Egyptian-brokered truce," it said.

Egypt and the United Nations had been working to bring a halt to hostilities along and around the Gaza border since Monday evening.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not comment on the ceasefire reports, in line with its response to previous restorations of the ceasefire.

In the largest and longest exchange of hostilities since the 2014 war, Gaza militants fired some 400 rockets into Israel on Monday and into Tuesday, while the Israeli military struck more than 100 targets inside the coastal enclave.

Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, said the escalation was retaliation for a secret Israeli operation inside Gaza that was unmasked on Sunday, ending in a bloody exchange of fire.

Seven Palestinians were killed in the Israeli strikes, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. One person was killed in Israel when a rocket hit a residential building in the southern city of Ashkelon, Israel's emergency response service, Magen David Adom, said.

The mayor of Ashkelon said the dead man was a Palestinian from the West Bank city of Hebron. He was the first person to die in Israel from a rocket strike from Gaza since the 2014 war.

Dozens of others were injured, mostly from shrapnel.

Rocket fire continued into Tuesday afternoon, as red-alert sirens sounded along the Gaza periphery, warning of incoming fire. More than 100 rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome aerial defense system, while many others have landed in open fields. Some rockets have evaded interception, landing in cities like Ashkelon and Sderot.

By Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had carried out more than 100 strikes on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, including weapons storage and manufacturing sites, command and control centers, and other targets. It also targeted what the military called "strategic assets," including al-Aqsa TV, a Hamas-run news channel that Israel has long accused of spreading misinformation and inciting Palestinians to attack Israelis.

The latest round of hostilities began Sunday evening when Israeli special forces entered Gaza as part of what the IDF called "operational activity." Hamas' armed wing accused Israel of carrying out an assassination attempt.

In the ensuing exchange of fire, an Israeli officer and a Hamas military commander were killed, as well as six other Palestinians. Israel denied the operation was an assassination attempt, describing it instead as part of a "broad, continuous and dedicated" effort.

Since the beginning of large-scale protests along the Gaza border in late March, there have been multiple rounds of hostilities, often in sharp escalations. But none of these extended beyond 24 hours before the ceasefire was restored.

Divisions within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet over the ceasefire restoration emerged almost immediately. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett both issued statements making clear they had opposed the Prime Minister's push for a truce in a six-hour Security Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Biggest Israel-Gaza firefight since 2014 ends in ceasefire"
The Party leaders met at the parliamentary complex a short while ago under the chairmanship of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

Party leaders representing the Government also attended the meeting. Agenda of the today's parliamentary session will be made in the chamber.
The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Its source is the Rocky Mountains from where it flows east and south for 2,341 miles before draining in the Mississippi at St. Louis, Missouri. It drains through a sparsely populated and semi-arid watershed that includes a part of the US and two Canadian provinces. Although the Missouri is a tributary of the Mississippi, it is longer above the confluence and together they form the fourth largest rivers system in the world.

Map of the Missouri River in the United States.

Contents:

Course

The headwaters of the Missouri River are formed by the confluence of the Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison Rivers in the Rocky Mountains, southwestern Montana. Missouri is fed by 95 significant tributaries and hundreds of smaller streams with most of the large ones coming in as it draws closer to its mouth. The watershed comprises of the drainage basin stretching over 529,350 square miles from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Mississippi river valley in the east and from the southern extreme of western Canada to the border of the Arkansas River watershed.

Aerial view of the Missouri river headwaters in Montana.

Elevations within the rivers basin range from 14,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies to 400 feet to its mouth at the Mississippi River at 400 feet above sea level. Its flow ranges between 4,200 cubic feet per second to a maximum of 900,000 cubic feet per second.

Climate

River Missouris drainage basin experiences a continental climate characterized by harsh cold winters and warm wet summers. The rainfall averages 10 inches each year with the western part of the Rockies and the southeastern regions receiving highs of 40 inches. Most of the rainfall occurs during summer in the middle and lower basin while the upper part, it receives string summer thunderstorms.

During winter, the western and northern part of the basin have temperatures averaging -40 F with extremes of -60 F. In summer temperatures rise to 100 F except in the areas of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado where they reach highs of 115 F.

History

1803 Lewis and Clark map, annotations in brown by Meriwether Lewis, tracing Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, Lakes Michigan, Superior, and Winnipeg, onwards to the Pacific. by Nicholas King, ca.1803.

As identifies on some early French maps, the Missouri river was named Peki-tan-oui and later renamed Oumessourit (Big Muddy) because of the amounts of solid matter it carries. Its watershed is believed o have been inhabited during the Pleistocene period. Towards the end of the glacial period, the river acted as a main migration channel used by native communities of America and Eurasia. Most of the migratory groups settled in the Ohio valley and the lower Mississippi valley. Other groups including the Mound builders settled in the Missouri watershed and became ancestors to the large population oof the people of the Great Plains.

The mouth of the Missouri was discovered in 1673 by French explorers who canoed down the Mississippi River. In the early years of the 18th century, French fur traders began to navigate the river upstream leading to the first exploration of the river from its source to the mouth in 1804/05 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Plant And Animals

A bison wades in the Little Missouri River, a tributary of the Missouri River.

The Missouri River channel supports a mixture of habitats including open grasslands, river forests, prairies, and native wildflowers. Biodiversity increases as the river progresses downstream from the cool subalpine headwaters in Montana to the temperate humid climate of Missouri. In the floodplains, the newly deposited silt supports growth of cottonwoods, short-lived Kentucky bluegrass, seedling willow, and sedges. Major tree species found in the cottonwood forests include the sumac, wild grapes, dogwood, and poison ivy. The bluffs that border the floodplains are hardwood forests comprising of burr oaks, mulberry, ash, oaks, and walnut trees. The average height of these trees increases as they move further away from the riverbanks since the land adjacent to the river banks is highly vulnerable to erosion.

A flock of pelicans on the vegetation along the Missouri River in Missouri.

The Missouri River supports the second largest wildlife refugee Centre in the lower 48 states of the continent. Charles Russel National Wildlife Refuge is remote and features canyons, hills, buttes, river bottoms. These habitats are home to over different mammal species including prairie dogs, the bighorn sheep, harbor elk, antelopes, coyote, and deer. There are over 200 bird species including the migratory waterfowl, Hungarian partridge, grouse, pheasant, and eagles. Due to the large silt sediments in the Missouri, it does not support aquatic life.

Development

From the late 19th century into the 20th century, a number of dams have been constructed along the course of the Missouri transforming about 35% of the river into a chain of reservoirs. These developments were stimulated by the increased demand for rural electrification in the northwestern parts of the basin. The floods and droughts that had been plaguing the rapidly growing agricultural and urban areas in the lower parts of the river contributed to water reservation and flood control. Flood damages on the Mississippi-Missouri river system led the Congress to pass the Flood Control Act in 1944 hence opening the massive developments

Gavins Point Dam, Gavins Point Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Missouri River in Nebraska and South Dakota. Built from 1952 to 1957, it impounds Lewis and Clark Lake.

In the early years of the 20th century, the Missouri river has been engineers for water transport with 32% of the river flowing through artificially constructed channels. In 1942 The USAECE authorized maintaining the depth of the Missouri from the Port of Kansas to its mouth to six feet. Further, the river course from Kansas City to Sioux city has been expanded to 200 feet. These expansion activities have led to the reduction of the rivers length from 2540 miles in the late 19th century to 2341 miles.

Threats

Human activities along the course of the river dating to the early 19th century have led to pollution of the Missouri river hence degrading its water quality. Most of the rivers floodplain habitats has been lost to farmlands. Fertilizer runoffs has led to the increase in nitrogen levels especially in the lower parts of Iowa and Missouri. This level of pollution affects the upper part of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Illinois Rivers. It has also contributed to the low oxygen levels in the vast Gulf of Mexico dead zone. Channeling the lower part of Missouri has made the river deeper, narrower, and less accessible to riparian flora and Fauna.
In a letter to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday rejected the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) brought against his nominee for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Government.

In his letter, the President said proper procedures were not followed as was required by the Constitution and with regard to Standing Orders when submitting the No-Confidence Motion against the Prime Minister to Parliament.

President Sirisena said the NCM was thus passed without adhering proper parliamentary procedures.

The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the Presidents opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament, the letter read. The opinion of the President cannot be questioned or tested. He is expected to evaluate the prevailing situation and decide on the person best suited for the country.

It also said that there was no requirement as part of parliamentary proceedings or on the part of the prime minister to show a majority in parliament.

The President said he had also noted an attempt by the Speaker to send the documents of the Motion which announced that the No-Confidence Motion brought against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Government had been passed in Parliament without a signature and had not been approved by Parliament.
With regard to the Holy Prophets Sacred Birthday, we as believers (Mumins) welcome this Sacred Day. Among Allahs creations Prophet Muhammed (Sal) is the supreme and perfect one.

Nowadays due to lack of knowledge about Prophet Muhammed (Sal), certain misled sectarians oppose to praise Him and celebrate His Sacred Birthday by calling Him as an ordinary man.

We can praise the Holy Prophet (Sal) and celebrate His Sacred Birthday in the light of the Holy Quran and Hadees (Tradition).

The Almighty Allah praises Prophet Muhammed (Sal) in the Holy Quran as follows:

And recall when Allah got promise from all the prophets that the Book and the wisdom I bestow to you but then comes to you the Rasool Messenger Muhammed (Sal) who confirms what (the Book) you possess. You should definitely believe in Him and definitely should help Him. Then (Allah) said, do you agree and take this as firm agreement as binding on you? They said, we agree. He (Allah) said, then be witnesses and I am also with you among the witnesses.(3:81)

It is clear that the Almighty Allah is the one who praised Muhammed (Sal) at first, according to this Divine Verse.

(Beloved Muhammed (Sal)) surely, I (Allah) have given you in abundance. (108:1)

Have We (Allah) not expanded Your bosom for You? (94:1)

And We sent not You, but a mercy for all worlds. (21:107)

Say - You, Only Allahs grace and only His mercy on it, therefore let them rejoice. That is better than all their wealth. (10:58)

Here the word mercy refers to Muhammed (Sal), according to the above two Divine Verses. Allah tells believers to rejoice it. The words rejoice it refers to celebrate

His Sacred Birthday, according to many interpreters of Al-Quran.

Prophet Muhammed (Sal) praised Him in the authentic Ahadis. Here are some of those:

I was a Prophet when Adam (Alai) was between clay and water. (Authority:- Bukhari)

The Almighty Allah gives the blessings in my hand; I distribute those. (Authority:- Bukhari)

I was created in the light of Allah; All were created in my light. (Authority:- Dharami)

The Companions praised the Holy Prophet (Sal) in the authentic Ahadis as follows:

When exalting Muhammed (Sal), Anas Ibnu Malik (Rali) says as follows:

The Holy Prophet (Sal) was neither very tall nor very short. He was a reddish white man. He had twenty grey hairs on His beard and head.

(Authority:- Bukhari - Volume:4, Page:164)

When exalting Muhammed (Sal), Bara Ibnu Asif (Rali) says as follows:

I have never seen a handsome person like Muhammed (Sal) in my life; His Sacred face looks like the moon.

(Authority:- Bukhari - Volume:4, Page:165)

Presently the Mowlidhs (The time or place of birth) we recite are .similar to the above. Imaams known as our ancestors compiled Mowlidh Books to expose the love on Muhammed (Sal) and other saints.

Celebrating the Holy Prophets Sacred Birthday by conducting Mowlidh and other religious events is not against the religion. It is a desirable act in our religion.

Therefore, let us praise Muhammed (Sal) and celebrale His Sacred Birthday!

(S.M. Zaheer Mowlana, Panadura.)
At 123 years Dhammarathana Vidyalaya, Indibedda is one of the oldest schools in the country, and yet it has received minimal support for its maintenance. The school has faced many hardships over the years and at one point was exposed to the threat of closure. At this point of its history only 12 students had enrolled at this institute. However, with the support of villagers the school was able to gradually develop and sustain itself, as of today.

Located approximately 17 km away from Colombo in Indibedda, on the outskirts of Moratuwa, Dhammarathana Vidyalaya has a population of 180 students with an average of 43 students per grade. There are 8 permanent teachers in the staff. A majority of the students come from low income families where most parents work as carpenters and fishermen. The meals provided daily in the school act as an incentive for families to send their children to school. Furthermore, the school does not have a permanent English teacher at present. It had been noted that out of the 43 students who sat for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination in August 2018, 18 students could not identify nor write letters, clearly depicting the low literacy levels of students at the school.

Seeing their need, a team of 22 undergraduates from the University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance called Team Rebels set out to raise funds in order to construct a mathematical laboratory along with an area to carry out recreational activities related to the subject. They also plan to conduct an English workshop themselves, for these students. The undergraduates have been working tirelessly since August in order to raise funds, landscape and clean out the outdoor area before the laboratory was built. The community development project was taken up under the name Widumini Ahura.

Seeing their need, a team of 22 undergraduates from the University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance called Team Rebels set out to raise funds

As per the instructions of the Ministry of Education, a mathematics laboratory-more like an activity room-is considered to be an essential requirement in order to develop the foundational mathematical skills of students in a Primary school. As of now, Dhammarathana Vidyalaya has no such laboratory nor any equipment related to these activities. By constructing a mathematics lab along with an area for recreational activities related to the subject, the undergraduates wish to enhance the knowledge of the students and make them learn the basics of mathematics in a more interesting way, as opposed to the traditional classroom lessons.

As it is a primary school, where the students are still learning the basics of mathematics, the aim is to carry out activities in relation to mathematics in the recreational area in order to help the students have a better understanding of the concepts and theories of mathematics. In addition to this the team aims to carry out an English Workshop with a series of interactive seminars to help these students, especially those facing the Scholarship Exam next year.

After months of hard work and fundraising the opening of the mathematics laboratory was conducted on November 10 (Tuesday). The team hopes to be able to facilitate and provide support to these young impressionable students to ultimately grow into educated, multi-faceted individuals who would go on to serve our country in the future.
Minister Vadivel Suresh said today he would resign from the ministerial portfolio.

He told a UNP press conference that he could not continue to function as a minister in an illegitimate government after yesterdays Supreme Court ruling.

Video by Susantha
Approximately 50 people took part in a rally and march yesterday in downtown Detroit in support of Ded Rrangburgaj, a 49-year-old service worker and migrant from Albania, who has been forced to seek refuge in a Detroit church for almost 10 months to avoid being deported.

Deds case is a particularly graphic example of the callous and brutal character of the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration and its Democratic predecessor under Barack Obama.

He arrived from Albania in 2000, along with his wife Flora, and their seven-year-old son, Lorenc. Deds initial refugee visa was terminated in 2006. In the meantime, his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, which has left her wheelchair-bound and in need of permanent care.

Ded Rranxburgaj

Ded was allowed to remain in the country as the sole caregiver for Flora, but his status was kept in a state of limbo. He was forced to attend twice-yearly meetings with immigration officials, who could, at any time, revoke his right to remain in the country. This situation was maintained under the Obama administration, for Ded as with thousands of others, ensuring that as the Trump administration assumed power Deds visa could be immediately terminated.

On January 16, Ded was forced to seek asylum in the Central Michigan Methodist Church in downtown Detroit, in order to avoid deportation. He has been confined to church for 10 months, relying partly on the support of church members, local community members, and donations via a GoFundMe page to provide for himself, Flora, Lorenc (now 24) and his younger son Eric. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have not yet carried out any raids on churches across the country.

Ded has made clear that if he leaves the country, his wife will be left without any support. He has no support network in Albania. He also supports his two sons. Before his deportation orders, Ded worked as a low-paid food service worker in Coney Island restaurant, working 60-70 hour weeks and, according to friend and family, never missing a day of work in 18 years.

Yesterdays march coincided with a final legal appeal by Ded at the United States District Court in Detroit. The appeal is the outcome of the nightmarish Catch-22 situation. Because he sought refuge in a church to avoid deportation, he has been branded by ICE officials as a fugitive, meaning his appeals of his deportation orders have been frozen. If he were to leave the church and present himself to immigration officials, ending his fugitive status, he would face immediate deportation.

In the current appeal Ded is seeking to remove the fugitive label so he can proceed with his appeal of the deportation order. He did not attend Tuesdays hearing, for fear of being abducted by ICE agents. After a brief rally and press conference at the church, a group of family members, friends and supporters marched to the court.

Deds wife Flora heading toward the courthouse with sons Eric and Lorenc behind

Accompanied by his wheelchair-bound wife, Ded said, Ive done nothing wrong. All Ive done is paid my taxes. My sons are in school. I cant understand why they are doing this to me. Ive been locked in here for almost a year. I have to do what my family needs. My wife has been sick for almost 12 years.

In January, WSWS reporters spoke with Deds sons Eric and Lorenc at a demonstration opposing the orders for his deportation. Eric, who is studying at Southgate High School, commented at the time, If youre born with a golden spoon, you get everything you want in life. Its as simple as that. But if youre a low-class working family, like my dad is, then it takes a lot of time and apparently you still dont get what you need.

He added: I personally think, instead of a wall, they should make a huge gate, like a big open door to invite people from other places in.
On September 30, an Amazon worker died of cardiac arrest at a fulfillment center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The story was not reported until October 30, after whistleblowers contacted WSMV News-4 Nashville. The station published one article on the incident and then dropped the story.

The man, Mike Gellasch, 61, allegedly died because no one could find a working communication device to call for help in time. Because it is against company policy for workers to carry cellphones within the facility, they first had to radio security and instruct them to call 911. An audio recording obtained by a WSMV investigative team revealed that a security guard had put a 911 operator on hold and then never came back to the line. A different individual eventually called back. According to the ambulance report, it took around 5 minutes for anyone to call 911 after Gellasch collapsed.

Amazon was quick to respond to the coverage, claiming in a statement that the reporting by WSMV is incorrect and that EMS had been called within two minutes. The International Amazon Workers Voice (IAWV) spoke at length with a former worker at the Murfreesboro facility who wished to remain anonymous to prevent any retaliation from the company in case he needed to reapply for a job.

The worker claimed he had not learned of the incident until he saw the local news story in a post on social media. I was actually scheduled that day, he began. I had no knowledge of the incident until probably within the last ten days. Thats a good five or six weeks before I knew the incident ever even occurred. I spoke to some of my coworkers and they had the same story, that they didnt know about it either. I dont remember seeing on the six o clock, or the ten o clock. It wasnt publicized very much.

He questioned the lack of proper emergency response systems. Why arent defibrillators posted [in the building]? Why dont they have an EMT station? Why dont they have an emergency response station where you can get a straight call out to 911? Were not allowed to have cellphones! Why dont they even have a first aid station on every level? Would a defibrillator have saved this mans life? It wouldnt have killed him.

Ive often wondered: If I fell over dead, how long would it take for someone to find me?

The worker continued, I think Amazon should have their own healthcare plan. Amazon should have a nurse practitioner at every location. Medications should be available at the clinic on site.

He told the IAWV that Gellasch had been employed through the companys Camper Force program, which allows retired workers to travel the country and work at various Amazon facilities in return for an hourly wage and pre-paid recreational vehicle lot fees.

He claimed he had seen some workers in the facility who appeared to be 80 years old. There are some older people that work full time and part time in the facility and I unfortunately feel like a lot of people are forced to work at a later age, he said. Whether its unfortunate events in their life, or something else, I dont know. But everybody has a story.

He described the Murfreesboro facility as enormous and sprawling, estimating that at times an individual workers route might range from [aisle] 100 to 245, which is probably 1,500 feetjust shy of a quarter mile. When you get spread out like that, you really have to hustle to keep your rate high, the worker said.

Depending on the volume and demand, it wasnt uncommon to be alone, he continued. Say if youre on the third floor in the 200s [aisles]. Its not uncommon to be far away from civilization. Its pretty isolated. Ive definitely gone an hour or an hour-and-a-half without seeing anybody else.

The worker described other unsafe working conditions. A lot of the places will stick over-weighted or heavy items above your head, and theyre not supposed to, he said. There have been a lot of times Ive opened up a bin above my head and they had put way too much weight in them. I mean were talking 25 maybe 30 pounds of weight. Youre not prepared for that because they shouldnt be that heavy.

He described the unrealistic requirements placed on workers. I quit over a section called M-Mod, he said. In, M-Mod, its an impossibility to make rate [100 per hour]. You cant make rate down there. They know it and they havent solved the problem. They say they cant solve the problem because the computer system wont let them adjust that section to a lower rate, which I find ridiculous. Amazon is a trillion-dollar company. I cant imagine they dont have a software engineer in that building who can differentiate different sections at a different rate. The answer is they wont do it, the worker told the International Amazon Workers Voice.

Everybody dreads going into M-Mod because they know your rate is going to drop by at least 50 an hour if not more, he continued. The last time I went into M-Mod, my gun was reading at 170 an hour. I worked a quarter there, which is typically two-and-a-half hours. At the end of the day, my rate was exactly 100. And thats because when I came out of M-Mod, I had to bust my butt to make up the difference [back to 100].

They actually fired a friend of mine over that. The rate on her scanner was 99.96 when she got fired [0.04 percent below quota]. It was posted up there on the board. They gave her an ultimatum to either quit or be fired, and she quit. She was a really good worker, but she kept getting stuck in M-Mod.

The worker also commented on the issue of inadequate pay. Around a week prior to Jeff Bezos announcement that the starting wage at Amazon would increase to $15 an hour, the worker said, management announced a 25-cent wage increase at his facility.

The day we had our meeting [that announced the quarter raise], people walked out, he said. I know a few people who laid their badge on the table and said, Screw you. Im done. They hadnt given Murfreesboro a raise since its inception, almost five or six years ago. They gave us a 25-cent raise and the month before, Amazon had made a trillion dollars. So, I think people had the right to be mad.

Alluding to the mass discontent bubbling underneath the surface of the working class as a whole, he noted, There was just a lot of animosity. A lot of people are mad. And then they were messing with peoples rates. And even though this was a Murfreesboro incident, I think this was something going on across the nation.

He also understood the fraud of the 15 dollar an hour wage, the total wage increase cost which represented just 0.001 percent of Amazon's market capitalization. I just think they got on the boat and got some free publicity, he said. The truth is, what they did was just screw long-term employees. People that had been there two years or longer, theyve lost about five or six thousand dollars a year because they took away their stock holdings and their quarterly bonus. The way it is now, you walk in the door making $15 an hour as a new hire. If youve been there two years, you make $15.20 an hour. If youve been there three or more years, you make $15.90 an hour. So that was just another big slap in the face.

All they did was shift money around. It didnt cost them a dime. And theyre actually probably going to make money! They dont even have an answer to what theyre going do with profit sharing. The last I heard was they were going to implement some kind of employee stock option. But when a guys making 15 bucks an hour, and your companys stock is trading at 2,000 bucks a share, youre wasting your time!

The bottom line is were all working to better ourselves, he concluded. And Jeff Bezos wants to talk all his hot air about his commission programs, or college programs. I think he tries to come off as a socialist, but hes way more of a capitalist! Dont you think Amazon ought to be paying us 25, 30 or more dollars an hour? Well, I think [Bezos] needs to share. Without a doubt.
The European Union (EU) and Prime Minister Theresa Mays negotiating team announced a draft agreement yesterday on the text specifying terms for the UKs withdrawal from the 28-nation bloc.

The announcement of the 400-plus-page Withdrawal Agreement and Outline Political Declaration Tuesday afternoon saw key Cabinet ministers called into Downing Street by May for one-to-one discussions, ahead of this afternoons Cabinet meeting. Other ministers were invited to a secure reading room in the Cabinet Office to study the agreement. Business groups will also be briefed on the agreed text today.

Mays aim is to minimise the numbers supporting a rejection of her proposals, with the Financial Times declaring todays meeting to be the most dangerous moment of her premiership.

Brussels refers to the agreement only as a stable text. According to reports, the main contentious issue in negotiations continued to be the future status of the Irish border and what mechanism would be able to terminate any backstop put in place to keep Northern Ireland and the UK in a temporary post-Brexit Customs Union.

Only if May can secure agreement among her ministers and wider parliamentary party can an agreement be finalised between the EU and UK at a European Council summit later this month. That deal then requires the consent of MPs in the UK Parliament, with a vote set to be held in mid-December.

Even though a draft text is agreed, Mays government faces an ongoing crisis that could possibly lead to her removal as party leader, a second referendum or a snap general election.

May has faced escalating opposition from both the hard-Brexit and Remain wings of her divided party. This weeks events were trailed by last Fridays resignation of pro-Remain Transport Minister Jo Johnson, who declared that the UK was on the brink of the greatest crisis since the Second World War and that the choice of Mays plan or a no-deal Brexit was a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis.

Johnson came out in support of a second referendum Peoples Vote on EU membership. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Johnson said other Tory MPs should follow his lead rather than exit the EU on this extraordinarily hopeless basis.

The other main resignations from Mays Cabinet have been among its hard Brexit wing, including Johnsons brother and former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, and former Brexit Minister David Davis. It is suggested that up to four Remain-supporting ministers are also considering their position.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Tories 60-strong European Research Group (ERG) hard Brexit faction, said the deal was a failure to deliver on Brexit that moved the UK from being a vassal to being a slave and he would vote against it.

In addition, the agreement was reached without Mays coalition partners, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), signing off on it. May relies on the DUPs 10 MPs to prop up her minority government. The DUP may reject the agreement based on its declared red linesincluding the duration of any backstopwith DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds saying if the deal is as we are hearing, then we couldnt possibly vote for it.

It is unclear what the agreements provisions are regarding how any backstop agreement can be terminated. The EU reportedly rejected Mays proposal that there be independent arbitration over ending the backstop, with the EU demanding the European Court of Justice (ECJ) make the decision. If this is the case, it could solidify support for her hard Brexit wing and DUP.

Mays argument for loyalty will be to warn Cabinet ministers and other potential rebels that agreeing her deal is the only way to avoid worse optionsfor Remainers this is a hard-Brexit, for Brexiteers a second referendum that could be lost, for both factions a snap general election and the election of a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn.

Even as news of an agreement with the EU broke, the Labour Party put forward a motion demanding the publication of the governments legal advice over Brexita demand supported by the DUP and the ERG. May was forced to buckle after Labour refused to drop the motion, which then passed without a vote. The legal advice contains 5,000 documents, with Cabinet Office minister David Lidington telling Parliament that Attorney General Geoffrey Cox would make a statement to MPs on the advice and take questions ahead of the final parliamentary vote on any Brexit deal.

All the main opposition partiesLabour, Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymruare set to oppose the proposed deal. On Tuesday evening they sent a joint letter to May demanding a meaningful vote on the deal that allows amendments to be tabled. Corbyn said the agreement is unlikely to be a good deal for the country and if it didnt meet Labours six testswhich include the UK having the exact same benefits as full membership of the Single Market and Customs Unionthen we will vote against it.

Corbyn also faces the threat of internal rebellion by the Blairites, who are as opposed as the Tories to a snap general election and are insisting that Corbyn abide by his conference pledge to support a second referendumif his preferred option of a meaningful vote on the Brexit deal precipitating a general election fails to materialise.

Asked by German news magazine Der Spiegel last weekend , If you could stop Brexit, would you? Corbyn replied, We cant stop it. The referendum took place. Article 50 has been triggered. What we can do is recognize the reasons why people voted Leave.

This unleashed a series of denunciations by leading Blairites for his retreat from the policy agreed at party conference.

Corbyn was immediately contradicted by his Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and then by Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer, who told Sky News, Brexit can be stopped.  Decision one is on the deal; decision two isif the deal goes downshould there be a general election? And decision three isif theres no general electionall options must be on the table, including the option of a public vote.

So acute is the crisis facing Mays government that sections of the ruling class and the state apparatus are factoring in the possibility that a general election might be unavoidable and that a Corbyn government is becoming a distinct possibility.

In an extraordinary development, Corbyn was called in for discussions last week with Alex Younger, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, reportedly on the implications of a possible snap election in the event of the failure of Brexit negotiations. Corbyn was also reportedly recently briefed by Britains domestic intelligence agency, MI5, on the facts of life regarding the struggle against terrorism and extremism. This is a major shift in attitude to Corbyn, who, although as opposition leader he is a member of the Privy Council that advises the queen, was initially denied access to critical intelligence briefings normally granted to those in his position.

The Daily Telegraph reported the meeting with Younger at MI6s London HQ as an acquaintance session. A Whitehall source said, The feeling was that the time had come for Mr. Corbyn to become acquainted with the workings of the intelligence establishment.

That these meetings were only divulged through media reports and not by Corbyn is the clearest warning of the class character of a government he would lead. Under conditions in which British imperialism is entering its most turbulent crisis in peacetime and amid reports of the armed forces preparing for the crisis resulting from a forced exit from the EU, Corbyn is demonstrating his political loyalties are to British imperialism and not to the working class who are being targeted for state conspiracies and repression.
UPS, FedEx and Ford workers along with students from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) were among those in attendance for the lecture, Eighty Years of the Fourth International (1938-2018): The class struggle, revolution, and socialism in the 21st century, given by David North Monday night at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The meeting was part of an international series which began in Sri Lanka in October.

North, chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Siteand the national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party in the United States, emphasized that a revolutionary socialist movement must be based on the study of the immense revolutionary struggles of the twentieth century which led to the Russian Revolution and later to the founding of the Fourth International by Leon Trotsky.

David North addressing the Chicago meeting

History and politics are extraordinarily connected. The issues which led to the Fourth International in 1938 remain very much with us, North said during the meeting.

Were Trotsky alive today and suddenly he were to walk into this room, it would not be very difficult to describe events today that would be pretty much understandable to him. And not just Trotsky. Your grandparents would understand it. They would understand very well. You could take the average worker, describe whats happening at work, whats happening at the factory to them: Oh, theyre screwing you they would say.

They would recognize this world, they would recognize a world of wars, of oppression, as very much the one they were familiar with.

North went on to say that today masses of people are dissatisfied and angry at the state of the world and that this growing dissatisfaction finds its expression in the hunger for an alternative.

Students and workers spoke to World Socialist Web Site reporters after the meeting.

Ive been trying to get more politically involved, Marcel, a student at UIC, told WSWS reporters on why he attended the meeting in Chicago. Ever since Trump was elected, I took it upon myself to get more aware and to get more involved in the political sphere, whether its internationally, nationally or within the city sphere, and especially within the university. I just wanted to put my money where my mouth was and fight for something I believe in.

Marcel

Marcel agreed that young people must study the lessons of the revolutionary struggles of the twentieth century to wage a genuine struggle for socialism today: I think thats very important. I am of a huge believer that without history, were doomed to repeat it. We can clearly see that with the rise of Trump and the return of Nazism in America of all places, where we thought it was some shiny beacon away from fascism. Its really important especially when talking about socialism to make sure we dont repeat what Stalin did to the USSR.

He added, Im happy to see socialism is making a comeback, especially in this country. Im glad to see that the working class is realizing just what kind of a hole were in and what we have to do to dig ourselves out of it.

Another student, born and raised outside of the United States, who wished not to disclose his name, stated he attended the meeting because he identified as a part of the working class and my family is part of the working class. Im here because Im looking for an alternative and socialism is that alternative that workers need.

Isaac

Isaac, a UIC student said, socialism interests me because it benefits the majority of the lower class. Capitalism is not working. I really liked the charts [North] showed of the growth of inequality and how its been going on for thirty years, starting with Reagan. People like Bezos are getting too wealthy and hes trying to monopolize the industry. Hes barely raised the minimum wage for his workers.

He spoke out against the Democrats and Trumps attack on immigrants. Obama didnt really do much for us. I was very glad [North] brought up the Honduras coup. Thats why we have the caravan of refugees traveling here. Trump calling for troops to the border is completely unnecessary.

I also had no idea of the fascists in Germany, added Isaac, who learned from North about the growth of fascistic, anti-immigrant protests in Germany. Its mind-boggling that we have this happening today.

I learned a lot at this lecture, said Matt, a UPS worker. Currently, the Teamsters, who represent tens of thousands of UPS workers, have been working with UPS to enforce sellout contracts against the entire workforce and prevent the outbreak of any genuine struggles. At one point during the lecture, North showed a clip of the Teamsters strike of 1934, led by the Trotskyist movement. The Teamsters strike in MinneapolisI didnt know about at all. I think that history should be reintroduced.

Connor, a FedEx worker who also attended the lecture, chimed in about the massive profits made by corporations. FedEx is making even more in profits than UPS. Its the largest logistics company in the US. They talked about how Donald Trump cut taxes but we didnt get anything. We are still waiting for another 18 months for a standard of living raise. The wealth is not being properly distributed to us.

He added, speaking to the relevance of the lecture to workers like him, If more people watched lectures like this, and are exposed to information like he presented today, there would be more things happening in the working class.

Matt said he wanted to study the history of the Fourth International: I think the study of the Trotskyist movement is important. Theres that quote that those dont known their history are doomed to repeat it. History like that is so stifled.

Connor agreed: These kinds of meetings by the Socialist Equality Party are very important to bring that history to the working class. The grounds for political unrest are there today as he talked about. But revolution is not guaranteed, if history has shown us anything, from Napoleon to Stalin. This is why education is so important to help build a leadership of the working class.
At least 12 workers and student activists have been detained in police raids in China since last Friday in a desperate attempt to suppress labour militancy. The crackdown is another sign of growing unrest in the Chinese working class and fear in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime that the involvement of students will politicise the strikes and protests.

Initial media coverage on Sunday reported that dark-clothed men had been beating activists and kidnapping them into black cars in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou on Friday. According to friends of the activists, many of them were recent graduates of elite universities prominent in campaigns to defend the rights of workers.

According to the New York Times, unidentified men descended on the campus of Peking University in Beijing around 10 p.m. Friday searching for Zhang Shengye, a recent graduate. An eyewitness called Yu Tianfu reported that Zhang was beaten and dragged into a car.

Who are you? Why are you doing this? Mr. Yu said he asked the men. Ill beat you more if you dare shout again, one of the men responded, according to Mr. Yu.

Four other students and alumni were arrested, according to Reuters, which also cited a video posted by a university student who said that he and other nearby students were pushed to the ground and prevented from leaving until they deleted evidence of the incident from their phones.

In a social media post on Sunday, Yu said, What kind of privilege do they have to completely disregard the law and civil rights? How dare they unscrupulously and arrogantly beat up students and kidnap one at Peking University.

Yu is now missing, according to his fellow classmates, and his social media account has been deactivated. A collection of posts on the universitys internal messaging board with screenshots of the event has also been taken down.

A spokesman from the university said simply, Public security organs in accordance with law seized non-campus affiliated persons suspected of committing a crime.

Zhangs associates denounced the university as complicit in the seizure, claiming that they acquiesced to the kidnapping.

Three more people were violently arrested in the city of Wuhan on Sunday. They were members of the Jasic Workers Support group, which also identified the abductors as police. The group said that one of their members in Wuhan had been pinned to the ground by three officers.

It also reported that two members of their staff were seized in Shenzhen and three in Guangdong Province, along with an unspecified number of other activists. Five of the activists detained in Guangzhou last Friday were released on Tuesday.

The repression by CCP authorities is an attempt to muzzle a long-running dispute that began in July, when factory workers at Jasic Technology in Shenzhen went on strike against gruelling work conditions, underpayments of social insurance and excessive workplace fines.

Workers declared that were being treated like slaves and demanded the right to establish a trade union. In the course of the struggle, the state-run All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) worked hand-in-glove with management to scuttle the campaign. Thirty workers were beaten and arrested in July. According to the China Labor Bulletin, four of them are still detained, under charges of gathering a crowd to disrupt public order.

In response to the crackdown, dozens of students converged from across the country to support the workers. Before they could organise a demonstration, riot police stormed the apartment block in Huizhou where they were staying, detaining 40 of them.

Eleven are still in police custody or under some form of house arrest, and the whereabouts of some are unknown. Zhang, who was detained last Friday, was leading the search for some of the activists, according to the Guardian newspaper.

While the media has identified students as Marxists or Maoists, the movement is politically heterogeneous. In interviews in August, they expressed displeasure with the naked self-interest of many of their peers at Chinas elite universities and felt the need to tackle the social crisis facing working people.

Zhang told reporters, We arent solely focused on one particular issue. Were interested in improving society in all kinds of ways, whether it is improving the lives of factory workers, fighting for gender equality or advocating for environmental sustainability.

Yue described herself as part of a broad, left-wing organisation, Student activists have been fighting on a wide range of issuesincluding against sexual harassment and in support of democracy on campus  not everyone in this movement would identify as Marxist, Leninist or Maoist but they are certainly all influenced by Marxism.

Some of the activists emphasised that they were not calling for a revolutionary change to the government and viewed President Xi Jinping favourably.

The CCP, however, is terrified of a movement of the working class. It recalls the social upheaval that was triggered in 1989 when student protests in Tiananmen Square led to strikes and protests by workers voicing their own class interest that threatened the existence of the regime.

The brutal crackdown in 1989 set the stage for an acceleration of the processes of capitalist restoration, which both greatly expanded the size of the working class and enormously widened the social gulf between the super-wealthy oligarchs that the CCP represents and the vast majority of working people.

The CCP is well aware that it is sitting atop a social powder keg. According to the China Labour Bulletin, 1,332 strikes and collective protests by workers took place in the first nine months of this year, compared to last years total of 1,257. These figures, which rely on media reports and contacts in China, greatly underestimate the extent of strikes as many either go unreported or the reports are censored.

The critical issue for students is the political perspective on which to base a political struggle against the CCP apparatus and its police-state methods. No amount of pressure will compel it to grant significant concessions.

Moreover, Maoism, or Stalinism with Chinese characteristics, and its program of national autarchy was what opened the door for capitalist restoration and the gross exploitation of the working class. The Trotskyist movement, based on socialist internationalism, has waged a decades-long struggle against Stalinism and provides the revolutionary alternative needed to politically fight the CCP regime.
Collateral is a four-part British television series, written and created by veteran playwright and screenwriter David Hare (Plenty, Map of the World, Pravda, The Absence of War, Stuff Happens [about the Iraq War], Gethsemane and many others). It was co-produced by the BBC and Netflix and is available on the latter.

The series begins with the shooting death of a south London pizza delivery man, Abdullah (Sam Otto). The murderer, we soon learn, is a female British army captain, Sandrine Shaw (Jeany Spark), who believes she has killed an Iraqi terrorist. The individual who organized the crime, Peter Westbourne (Richard McCabe), seems to be the mild-mannered owner of a travel agency.

Jeany Spark in Collateral

Kip Glaspie (Carey Mulligan), a police detective assigned to investigate the crime, and her partner, Nathan Bilk (Nathaniel Martello-White), quickly track down Abdullahs two sisters (one of them pregnant) in a miserable situation. The women, claiming to be Syrians, have nothing to say, or choose not to say it. Afterward, Glaspie comments to her colleague, Thats how it ends up, is it? Escape war, make your way to England and start your new life in a garage? That's the best we can offer, is it?

The murder inquiry draws in and touches the lives of a number of other people.

The woman to whom the pizza was being delivered and therefore a witness, Karen Mars (Billie Piper), is the drug-addicted former wife of a left Labour MP and currently Shadow Transport Secretary, David Mars (John Simm), who opposes the governments and his own partys xenophobic immigrant policies. That position brings him into conflict with Labours leader, Deborah Clifford (Saskia Reeves), particularly when he emphatically tells a television interviewer, We really are turning into a nasty little country.

Mars, rather coincidentally, has another connection to the killing. The only eyewitness to the actual shooting is a young Vietnamese woman, Linh Xuan Huy (Kae Alexander), involved in a relationship with a local female cleric, Jane Oliver (Nicola Walker). Oliver is coming under pressure from her bishop, who himself is gay, to end or lower the profile of the affair. Making matters worse, it turns out that Mars, the local MP, signed a student visa application for Linh when she was in the country illegally.

Meanwhile, the manager of the pizza shop, Laurie Stone (Hayley Squires), who sent Abdullah to his appointment with deathfor cash apparentlyis racked with guilt.

Hayley Squires in Collateral

Sandrine Shaw is obviously suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after deployment to Afghanistan. As she tells her military therapist, on returning to normal life  you see danger everywhere. Youre trained for it. Everything makes you suspicious. You become like an animal. And later, Coming back home, you  you feel like a germ thats entered the bloodstream. An odious senior officer, Major Tim Dyson (Robert Portal), is sexually pursuing her. When he has an advantage over her, associated with her secret, murderous mission, this sex pest forces himself on her.

Various sides of a political conspiracy, bound up with the ongoing wars in the Middle East and their consequences, emerge.

A sneering operative from MI5, the domestic spy agency, Sam Spence (John Heffernan), suddenly turns up. He informs Glaspie and Bilk, Im here because we believe theres a national security dimension.  Always the same. Police cant get a result on their own. We always have to step in and save the situation. Glaspie replies, Like you did with Iraq.

Glaspie is able to get through to one of the dead mans sisters, Fatima (Ahd Kamel), now locked up in a detention center (a guard, or as she calls herself, a custody officer, explains, Its a lot like a slaughterhouse. You need to calm the animals). Fatimas information leads the policewoman to a human trafficking ring, headed by a former high-ranking British military officer and infiltrated by MI5.

Shaw hasnt, in fact, shot a terrorist, but an Iraqi civilian who was going to blow the whistle on the rings chief. When Shaw discovers this, it is a final, devastating blow to her belief in the character of her service to her country. She had previously told Peter Westbourne, a friend of her late military hero father andunbeknownst to hera cynical, homicidal liar and profiteer, Sometimes Im frightened. Its just so obvious. Theyre [the terrorists are] trying to kill us, theyre trying to take everything from us. Its a way of life they want to destroy.

The tabloid press come in for it too. Spence, the MI5 man, passes on misleading information to a lowlife reporter (Mark Umbers), who proceeds to smear Abdullah, the murdered man. Glaspie confronts him about the lies, First, came the economic migrant bollocks  Then the Islamic gang war bollocks. Where did that one come from? Someones spitting in your mouth, Robert. And Ive got a fair idea who it is.  I wanted to see your face when I said, security services.

Collateral

In other words, there is effective and affecting material in Collateral, directed by S.J. Clarkson, although the series as a whole is something of a slow burn.

It never hurts that the production brings together a fine collection of actors. Carey Mulligan, who has sometimes been mannered in the past, is thoroughly straightforward and convincing on this occasion. Simm, Spark, Squires, Alexander, Reeves, Piper and numerous others perform distinctly and conscientiously.

David Hare has a long history of writing and directing in the theater, film and television. He is not strong on everything, by any means. His well-publicized opposition to extremism of the right and the left does not result in the political golden mean he aims for. It means that Hare largely accepts the institutions of the present social order and urges working through them.

Thus, for example, the honest policeman (or policewoman) at the center of things here, who implacably hunts down the truth, willing to take on and overcome powerful elements in the security and military apparatus, etc. Such a figure is mostly a fantasy of current moviemaking and television production.

Hares picture of the left Labour MP is also in large measure a figment of his imagination. David Mars, although somewhat ineffectual, is prepared to denounce an immigration policy that is just crass xenophobia. He goes on, Ive been arguing for some time that we need to fulfil our obligations, and Im not just talking about moral obligations, Im talking about legal obligationspromises that were made that we seem conveniently to have forgotten. Now, I believe that when the history of this time comes to be written, we will feel ashamed of how few refugees we let in to this country and how badly we treated them when they were here. This is Hare speaking, not Labour. Mars later revolts when the party leader insists that he vote for unfettered powers for the security services tonight, along with the rest of the party.

Nonetheless, Hare is on to something important here: the contamination of British (and, of course, even more so, American) society by the new round of neo-colonial wars. According to Bush, Cheney, Blair and company, it would all be a relatively easy matter: simply invade, steal the oil and be done with it. Of course, it hasnt worked out that way.

As socialists understood, whatever the immediate outcome in Iraq, American imperialism had a rendezvous with disaster. It could neither conquer the world nor find a viable solution to its internal ills through the medium of war. Rather, the unforeseen difficulties and mounting resistance engendered by war will intensify all of the internal contradictions of American society (WSWS, March 21, 2003).

In its own limited fashion, Collateral points toward the same truth. Audience members who are unsympathetic to the militaryand perhaps even the writer himselfhave a certain reluctance at first to accept the patriotic and murderous soldier, Shaw, as the central, tragic figure. But that is what emerges. Why? Because she is the one suffering from the most advanced stage of the contagion, her disease is terminal. She is damaged beyond repair and spreads her sickness, to a large extent unintentionally and unconsciously, as far as possible. It is a poignant characterization and theme in light of the horrific shooting in Thousand Oaks, California last week.

Shaw sits down to write a letter explaining her actions, noting that Im 35 years old and Im totally exhausted. Im ashamed. But the most important passage goes, Before I take a last step, I would like to write down exactly what I feel about the path I took and the reasons I did things wrong. Id like to put everything down to my anger [but] Im not sure I can. War has entered the blood.

The series has various flaws, but this is an important, indisputable point.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has not breathed a word in response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus threat to outlaw job action against government-owned Canada Post.

Last Thursday, Trudeau told parliament that all options will be on the table if the union does not soon reach a tentative contract settlement with Canada Post and end its three-week campaign of rotating one- and two-day local strikes.

If Trudeau did not make specific mention of a back-to-work law, it was because he didnt have to. In the past 40 years, Liberal and Conservative federal governments have illegalized postal strikes a half-dozen times.

On Mondayafter several more days in which, according to the union, Canada Post contemptuously refused to address postal workers concerns about health and safety, staffing, over-burdening, job security, a reduction in precarious employment, fair wages for all and a better work-life balancean aide to Labour Minister Patty Hadju reiterated Trudeaus threat.

If the parties are unable to achieve a negotiated deal very soon, Veronique Simard told Canadian Press, the government will use all options to find a solution to reduce the impacts to Canadians, businesses, Canada Post and their workers.

In a move clearly meant to provide a pretext for government intervention, Canada Post management announced Tuesday that due to the disruption caused by the rotating walkouts it can no longer live up to its service (delivery-time) guarantees and is suspending them indefinitely.

No postal worker should have any doubt as to what the unions silence in the face of the looming threat of strikebreaking legislation means.

CUPW is preparing to capitulate before Canada Post and the big business Liberal governmentwhether by accepting a rotten concessions deal, on the claim that this is preferable to allowing a government-appointed arbitrator to dictate postal workers terms of employment, or by bowing before a government back-to-work bill as it did in 2011.

From the get-go, it has been blatantly obvious that Canada Post would rely in this contract negotiation, as it has for decades, on the threat of government intervention to intensify its drive to shred workers rights and increase their workload.

But the CUPW leadership studiously avoided any discussion of this threat. To do so would have immediately revealed that postal workers face a political struggle against the big business Liberal government, and the urgency of their tying their struggle against concessions and job and service cuts to a broader mobilization of the working class in defence of all public services and workers social rights.

Instead, CUPW has imposed on the 50,000 postal workers the same ruinous strategy that it pursued in 2011 and which resulted in a contract that imposed numerous rollbacks, including pension cuts and the expansion of multi-tier wages and precarious employment.

As in 2011, CUPW has limited job action to ineffectual rotating walkouts. And it only launched these after nearly a month had passed from when postal workers gained the legal right to strike.

CUPW president Mike Palecek has provided postal workers with no explanation for the unions failure to act on the massive mandate the rank-and-file gave it to call an unlimited national strike.

But the rationale of the CUPW apparatus is clear. By keeping postal workers on a tight leash and deliberately sabotaging the effectiveness of their job action, the CUPW leadership hopes to avoid a head on confrontation with the government, while dissipating workers militancy.

And just as in 2011when the Harper Conservative government encouraged Canada Post to impose a lockout, then cited the shutdown as justification for a vicious anti-worker lawthe unions refusal to launch an all-out strike is only emboldening Canada Post management and the government.

The CUPW leadership boasts of being a bastion of worker militancy. But no less than the rest of the trade union bureaucracy, it is terrified of the threat a genuine working-class counter-offensive against austerity and the battery of anti-working class laws would represent to Canadian capitalism, to say nothing of their own cozy, corporatist relations with big business.

Led by Palecek, the CUPW played a major role in the unions Anybody But Conservative campaign in the 2015 election, which helped pave the way to power for a Justin Trudeau-led Liberal government that has continued the Harper governments program of austerity and war. This includes: imposing Harpers health care accord, which will cut tens of billions from health care over the next decade; expanding Canadas military-security and border cooperation with a Trump-led America; and increasing military spending by more than 70 percent a year by 2026.

If the postal workers struggle is not to be betrayed by CUPW or suppressed by the Trudeau government, rank-and-file workers must seize the leadership of their struggle from the union apparatus, and make it the spearhead of an industrial and political offensive of the entire working class against all concessions and austerity. This requires the immediate formation of rank-and-file action committees, entirely independent of CUPW, at every postal sorting station, post office, and delivery center. As their first tasks, these committees should immediately launch a national strike against Canada Post, prepare defiance of any strikebreaking law, and end the isolation of the postal workers struggle by reaching out to other workers across Canada and internationally.

The World Socialist Web Sites call for postal workers to defy an anti-strike law is not made light-mindedly. The capitalist elite will view their defiance as an intolerable challenge and resort to still greater repression, deploying the police and courts with the aim of intimidating workers and smashing the strike.

Forty years ago, Justin Trudeaus father, Pierre Trudeau, ordered police to raid union offices and threatened to fire postal workers en masse when they defied a back-to-work law for a week.

However, the most important factor in the 1978 strikes defeat was the sabotage of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) leadership and of the social-democratic politicians of the NDP. They actively assisted the government in isolating the strike.

In sentencing then CUPW President Jean-Claude Parrot to three months in prison for authorizing the illegal strike, the judge cited remarks of CLC president Dennis McDermott that exemplified the venomous hostility of the privileged union bureaucracy to working-class struggle. According to McDermott, postal workers defiance of the Trudeau government threatened to take us down the road of anarchy and leave the labour movement in total disrepute.

In the decades since, the CLC and the unions as a whole have moved sharply further to the right. They have imposed massive job and wage cuts in the name of ensuring corporate competiveness, increasingly integrated themselves into management, and openly supported NDP, Parti Quebecois and Liberal governments that have imposed round after round of austerity.

But if the enemies arrayed against postal workers are powerful, their potential allies are far more numerous and stronger.

The problems faced by postal workersdeclining living standards, multi-tier wages, precarious employment, the employers use of technological change to slash jobs and impose speed-upare those of workers across industry and throughout the public sector.

Workers across the country, including Quebec construction workers, railway workers, and BC, Nova Scotia and Ontario teachers, have, like the postal workers, had their struggles outlawed.

An appeal by postal workers to the entire working class for a counter-offensive against the decades-long assault on workers rights, the dismantling of public and social services, and the criminalization of worker resistance would rally mass support. Moreover, a defiant stand by postal workers in Canada would galvanize international support, beginning with US postal workers, whose jobs are threatened by privatization and UPS workers, upon whom the Teamsters union has just imposed a concessions-filled agreement although they massively voted it down.

The author also recommends:

Trudeau threatens to criminalize Canada Post strike

[10 November 2018]

Canada: Postal union launches rotating walkout campaign

[23 October 2018]
The Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter Most Ven. Warakagoda Gnanarathna Thera said on Tuesday that Western countries should not infringe on Sri Lankas internal matters.

The prelate expressed these views when Buddha Sasana Affairs Minister Udaya Gammanpila called on the Thera.

The Ven. Thera said following the change of the Government, it was now possible to save many resources that were about to be surrendered to the foreign countries.

Western forces had become displeased over the sudden political change happened in Sri Lanka without their knowledge and we have to confront strong foreign forces such as the USA, India and Europe and therefore we should not engage clashes over minor matters within the country, Minister Udaya Gammanpila said.

He said the process of appointing Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister was done very secretly and it was not known even to his family.

These foreign forces do not recognize our Government and engage in doing all that they can do to obstruct the Government and our aim is to strengthen our power through an election. The President has decided to hold an election to show peoples sovereignty under the democracy.

Minister further said that UNP was able to get only 29.65 per cent of votes which shows 70 per cent of people opposing them and they were attempting to divide the country into nine through a federal constitution which was to be presented in parliament on 07 November. However, this attempt was thwarted with the prorogation of the parliament.

The Anunayake of the Asgiriya Chapter Ven. Anamaduwe Dhammadassi Thera said in the recent past there was instability in a country over some matters and movement of parliamentarians to and fro and it is a matter for regret to see them changing the parties.

Changes for the monetary gain is inappropriate unless it is on policy matters, he said.

This change has averted the transferring of nations assets to foreigners. We all should unite to achieve the full benefit of the change without leaving the opportunity for the rivals, he said.

The Minister also visited the Dalada Maligawa and received the blessings. The Kandy Buddhist Affairs Commissioner Parakrama Jayawardena were also present on the occasion.

The Minister also visited the Malwatte Chapter Maha Nayake Most Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera. (Nadeeka Daya Bandara)
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that local officials in Gwinnett County, Georgia, a heavily populated county outside Atlanta, had violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act in rejecting absentee ballots because of minor technical flaws. In her 17-page ruling, District Judge Leigh Martin May ordered the county to count ballots that had been rejected solely because the voter had omitted or incorrectly marked his or her birth year.

The decision was the second major rebuff to efforts by state and local Republican officials to guarantee victory to Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp over his Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams. Another federal judge ordered election officials to preserve and count provisional ballots cast by voters who in many cases were challenged over minor discrepancies between their names as recorded in voter registration lists and on the identification they presented at the polls, such as drivers licenses.

District Judge Amy Totenberg barred the Georgia secretary of state from certifying results on Tuesday, the normal deadline, delaying this action until Friday. In the interim, she ordered the state government to immediately establish and publicize on its website a secure and free-access hotline or website for provisional ballot voters to access to determine whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, the reason why.

Brian Kemp held the office of secretary of state, supervising administration of the vote in which he was the Republican candidate for governor, until he resigned after the election, claiming victory, and was replaced by his deputy.

Kemp holds a lead of nearly 60,000 votes over Abrams, but he is only slightly above the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff under state law, with 50.3 percent of the vote. Tens of thousands of provisional and mail-in votes still remain to be counted, and if Abrams and a third-party candidate cut his margin by 19,000 votes, there would be a runoff election between Kemp and Abrams on December 4.

The ruling by Totenberg not only delays certification of the governors race, it may affect the outcome of the states closest congressional race, for the 7th Congressional District, in the Atlanta suburbs, where incumbent Republican Rob Woodall leads his Democratic challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux by only 901 votes out of nearly 300,000 cast.

In neighboring Florida, at least nine lawsuits have been filed by both Republicans and Democrats while a recount is conducted on three statewide racesfor governor, US senator and agricultural commissioner, an important executive position in state government. The recount was ordered Saturday by the Florida secretary of state since in all three races the top two candidates were separated by less than 0.5 percent of the vote: 0.06 for agricultural commissioner, 0.15 percent for senator, 0.41 percent for governor.

Under state law, a machine recountessentially rerunning the machine tabulations in each precinctis to be completed by Thursday, November 15. In the event the results are within 0.25 percent of the vote, there would be a manual recount of all ballots deemed to be undervotes or overvoteswhere no vote is recorded for the office in question, or two votes that cancel each other outto determine whether machine error is involved.

While these procedures are well established under state law, and have been used for lesser offices, they have never before been invoked for statewide contests, let alone both governor and US senator at the same time. The Senate contest is almost certainly headed for a manual recount, which would have a deadline of Sunday, November 18. The final results are to be certified by Tuesday, November 20.

Governor Rick Scott, the Republican candidate for US Senate, has sought to cast doubt over the entire recount procedure, claiming without presenting any evidence that the Democratic Party is seeking to steal the election for incumbent Senator Bill Nelson. Scott leads Nelson by 12,562 votes out of more than eight million cast, a tiny margin that could easily be wiped out by provisional and mail-in ballots not yet counted in the three most populous and most heavily Democratic counties, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade.

In the gubernatorial contest, Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis leads Democrat Andrew Gillum by a slightly larger margin, 33,684 votes out of eight million. Unless there is a sizeable shift in the machine recount, the governors race will be decided in favor of DeSantis without a manual recount.

Lawyers acting for Scott sought court orders Monday to impound ballots and voting machines in Palm Beach and Broward counties, claiming this was necessary to prevent fraud, but they failed to convince judges because they offered no supporting evidence.

Rival lawsuits were filed on behalf of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the VoteVets political action committee, seeking a court order that all ballots postmarked by November 6 should be counted, rather than just those received by Election Day.

A separate lawsuit by the League of Women Voters and the watchdog group Common Cause Florida sought to bar Scott from using the power of his office in any manner related to Floridas 2018 Senate race as long as he remains a candidate.

As in the Florida election crisis of 2000, when the US Supreme Court halted vote-counting in the state and awarded its electoral votes, and the White House, to George W. Bush, the Florida recount of 2018 has seen the Republican Party on the offensive against the counting of every vote, while the Democratic Party whimpers and retreats.

Democrat Gillum initially conceded the gubernatorial contest to DeSantis in the early hours of the morning after the polls closed, well before any definitive count, based purely on network projections that he had lost by about one percent of the vote. He rescinded his concession only after more up-to-date figures showed the margin was less than half of one percent, triggering the automatic recount.

Scott has been making strident statements about supposed Democratic theft of the elections, although the election supervisor for Broward County, the main target of right-wing venom, was originally appointed by Republican Governor Jeb Bush before winning re-election several times as a Democrat.

The loudest shouts about vote fraud have come from President Trump, who took time out from bullying presidents and prime ministers during his visit to Europe over the weekend to vilify local officials in Palm Beach and Broward counties. He demanded, via Twitter, that the initial vote totals announced last Tuesday night should be accepted as final.

This would mean disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters who cast provisional ballots, voted by mail, or whose votes were not tabulated November 6 for other reasons.

In a court hearing on Monday, Broward Circuit Chief Judge Jack Tuter said that no evidence had been presented of any vote fraud, and he urged Scott and other officials to ramp down the rhetoric, expressing concern that the entire electoral system was being discredited.

If someone in this lawsuit or someone in this county has evidence of voter fraud or irregularities at the supervisors office, they should report it to their local law enforcement officer, the judge said. If the lawyers are aware of it, they should swear out an affidavit, but everything the lawyers are saying out there in front of the elections office is being beamed all over the country. We need to be careful of what we say. Words mean things these days.

The overriding evidence is not of vote fraud but of systematic voter suppression, directed particularly against minority and poor working class voters. Florida notoriously bars 1.4 million people from voting because of past felony convictions, a lifetime ban that was only repealed November 6 through the passage of a referendum amending the state constitution.

One lawsuit filed with a federal court in Tallahassee notes that mail-in ballots rejected in previous elections, allegedly because the signatures did not match those on file with the stateabout one percent of the total, far more than enough to swing the results of a close electionwere disproportionately from young and minority voters.
The confirmed death toll from the Camp Fire in Northern California soared to 48 Tuesday night as officials continued a systematic examination of the destroyed city of Paradise. Hundreds of people remain missing and it is believed the death toll will continue to rise.

The wildfire broke out last Thursday morning and within hours had burned down the entire city of 26,000 people. No wireless emergency alert was issued and thousands of panicked residents clogged the roads trying to escape. An untold number of them did not make it.

Reporters for the World Socialist Web Site traveled to the area on Monday and spoke with evacuees at shelters in the nearby cities of Orland and Chico. It became clear that a tragedy of horrifying dimensions unfolded Thursday, with those affected permanently scarred by their experiences. Most of those we spoke with predict the death toll will surge, with one stating, They should probably add a zero to their current total.

The total number of those killed may never be known. There are currently over 200 missing person reports from the fire, but those without close friends or family may never be reported. The destruction is so extensive that emergency responders will have a hard time finding all the victims. The Butte County Sheriff told reporters that in some cases the fire burned so intensely that the temperatures would be high enough to completely consume the body.

The Camp Fire has burned a total of 130,000 acres and officials say they expect it to be contained by the end of the month. It is joined by the Woolsey and Hill fires in Southern California, which killed two people and forced over 260,000 to evacuate in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

The evacuees shared the common experience of insufficient warning, causing them to flee for their lives and endure hours of deadlocked traffic while flames engulfed their surroundings. They lost almost all their personal possessions. All expressed a strong sense of solidarity with fellow inhabitants of the region.

At the Glenn County Fairgrounds in Orland, Robert Starling, a restaurant dishwasher, described his experience fleeing from the Camp Fire as it engulfed Magalia, a small town of over 11,000 residents that was hit shortly after Paradise. Starling awoke at 8:45 a.m. Thursday to a phone call from a friend, panicking, telling us that we need to get out, that the whole town has been evacuated. Starling told his girlfriend and they quickly left with nothing but their cat.

We waited in line for hours, Starling said. We could see the fire burning everything up behind us. I made what I thought might be my last call to my uncle and told him that I loved him. The flames were in sight and coming up behind us, and I felt the need to call him and say my last words.

Over the next three hours, Starling and his girlfriend drove at a snails pace to Sterling City and then Forest Ranch, from where they could see Paradise and the whole area in flames and covered in smoke. From there it was a five hour ordeal just to get to Chico, which is normally a one hour drive. They arrived in East Chico at 11:30 pm and stayed for roughly an hour, at which point they were forced to evacuate again to Orland, another three hour drive through heavy traffic.

The way the fire came through, as fast as it did, was unreal, he said. It was apocalyptic, like something youd see in a movie. My place went up in flames with no insurance. Now Im probably permanently homeless. I dont know how well recover from here.

Starling condemned the city of Paradise for not sufficiently preparing residents for such a catastrophe. He said, The authorities didnt have time to alert us, and no one came to tell us that the fire was coming, which made me really disappointed that we didnt have a fire alarm system. Paradise really failed us in this regard.

Expressing the sentiments of thousands of evacuees and millions of Americans, Starling declared his disgust with state and federal politicians, who he feels have betrayed workers for many years. I know so many people that havent gone out to vote on any topic for the last ten years, he said. For me personally, the fact that there isnt someone who speaks for the working class has prevented me from voting.

He continued: This country has failed. We need to have an overhaul. I dont know how its going to be done, if its going to take another revolution. If it is, it will be less like the 1960s and 70s, and more like the early American revolt, where it was deadly. Things like this will make people mad, and instill enough drive to do it.

Antonio and Amanda Sanchez, along with their young daughter, escaped the fire that destroyed much of Magalia, including their home. Antonio works for Taco Bell, while his wife receives disability benefits. I woke up at 9 oclock and we were gone by about 9:30, he said.

I got a call from a friend in Oroville saying are you evacuating, Amanda said. Antonio added, There was zero official warning for us.

As the discussion turned toward the political aspect of the tragedy, the WSWS pointed out that PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) violated state fire prevention laws in 11 out of 16 cases in which their equipment sparked wildfires last year. Antonio responded, They need to be held accountable. That right there just pisses me off. That and the fact that when they get sued, the customer pays for it.

When the issue of the $716 billion US military budget was raised, he said, The money is going in the wrong direction.

WSWS reporters also spoke to Marion Gorr at the Neighborhood Church in Chico, which is being used as an evacuation shelter. Marion is a teacher at the K-12 Home Tech charter school in Paradise and came looking for her students, many of whom she knew would be displaced.

She described the conditions facing youth in the area, where some 80 percent of students at her school receive free or reduced-price lunches. She said, Many of the students have a hard time going to school, and they were going to have a hard time getting out during the evacuation.

Paradise, like many rural towns, is significantly poorer than the rest of California, as are surrounding towns in Butte County that were devastated by the fire, such as Magalia. The median household income in Paradise last year was only $47,500, a full $8,000 less than the national figure and $20,000 less than California overall.

Those directly impacted by the fire are largely still in shock, trying to make sense of the sudden loss of their whole community. Beneath the shock a mood of anger over the indifference of the state and federal government to their suffering is building.
Israel and the impoverished Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza have teetered on the brink of another all-out war this week. This follows in the wake of a botched terror raid Sunday by Israeli special forces commandos who were sent deep into Gazan territory, provoking an armed clash that left seven Palestinians and an Israeli lieutenant colonel dead.

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed since Sunday, seven of them in the clash with the Israeli commando squad and eight others in air strikes carried out by Israeli F-16 fighter jets and armed drones. Hamas, the bourgeois Islamist party that controls Gazas government, responded to the Israeli attack with a barrage of hundreds of rockets and mortar shells against Israel, killing one person, identified as a Palestinian.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions reported on Tuesday that Egypt had brokered a new cease-fire with Israel.

Egypts efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy, a statement issued by Hamas and the other Palestinian groups said. The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it.

For its part, Israel refused to acknowledge the existence of any such agreement. After a six-hour meeting of Israels security cabinet on Tuesday, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement declaring that it had directed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to continue its military operations against Gaza as necessary.

The Israeli strikes launched on Monday imposed a reign of terror on the Gazan population, with seemingly every area of the strip a target. Among the structures demolished was the building housing the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV station.

Another six-story building was reduced to rubble. Located in the city center, it held apartments, a kindergarten, offices and a language training center.

The Israeli military boasted that it had carried out strikes against 160 separate targets. In the densely populated Gaza Strip, these strikes, in blatant violation of international law, have demolished civilian structures and forced hundreds of families from their homes.

On the eve of Sundays special forces raid, Netanyahu had made a statement at a press conference that an effort should be made to avoid another major war against Gaza. Israel, the most powerful military force in the Middle East, has repeatedly bombed and invaded the territory since unilaterally withdrawing its troops and settlers in 2005most recently in its 2014 Operation Protective Edge, which killed 2,251 Palestinians.

Just before the raid, Netanyahu had also told his cabinet that he was doing everything I can in order to avoid an unnecessary war and that a previous cease-fire brokered by Egypt appeared to be holding.

The provocative special forces raid, however, appeared designed to blow up any such truce. The commando squad, some of them dressed up as Palestinian women, penetrated deep into Gazan territory before it was discovered by a Hamas security team. Hamas has charged that the teams aim was to assassinate or abduct a Hamas military commander. Nour el-Deen Baraka, a battalion commander in Hamass armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, was shot dead in the raid.

The Israeli military, which has long pursued a campaign of targeted assassinations, denied that the squad was sent in to kill or abduct a Hamas commander. It claimed that the elite troops were conducting an intelligence operation.

The Hamas leadership has been attempting to calm the seething anger of Gazas population, which has found expression in the wave of March of Return protests which saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians marching on the heavily fortified border between the occupied territory and Israel, demanding an end to the Israeli siege and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the lands from which they were driven by force with the creation of Israel in 1948. Of Gazas population of 2 million, at least 1.4 million are either refugees from the 1948 Israeli terror campaign against the Palestinians or their descendants.

The March of Return protests, in which at least 233 unarmed demonstrators have been shot dead by Israeli snipers and more than 20,000 have been wounded, have continued despite the attempt by the Hamas leadership to wind them up on May 15, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, marked by Palestinians as Nakba (Catastrophe) Day.

The protests express popular outrage over the intolerable conditions of life imposed by Israels siege and occupation, with infrastructure devastated by repeated Israeli bombardments, a lack of water and fuel, an unemployment rate of 53 percent70 percent for young workersand more than two-thirds of the population dependent on aid, which the administration of Donald Trump has slashed.

Last Friday, Rami Wael Ishaq Qahman, 28, died after being shot through the neck with a live round while protesting at the border. Another 37 Palestinians, including six children and 10 women, were wounded. The international media has long since stopped paying any attention to this bloodletting by the Israeli military, treating it as a matter of course.

The latest cease-fire has provoked a furious wave of recriminations within Netanyahus right-wing Zionist government.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liebermans office released a statement denying media reports that he had supported an end to Israeli strikes on Gaza. It read: The defense ministers stance is consistent and hasnt changed. [News reports of] Liebermans support of halting attacks are fake.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett released a similar statement denying he supported any kind of cease-fire.

The two right-wing Zionist politicians have been vying with each other over who has a tougher policy against the Palestinians amid criticisms of Netanyahu for being too soft on Gaza. The bellicose rhetoric is part of the preparations for an anticipated early general election in Israel next year.

Joining in this ugly contest was the leader of the supposed opposition, the Israeli Labor Party, Ehud Barak, who as defense minister presided over the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead, which killed at least 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza. He bragged last month, When I was defense minister, more than 300 Hamas members were killed in three and a half minutes in an air force attack, referring to a strike that killed defenseless police recruits and civilians. In a recent television interview, he described Netanyahu as weak and afraid, charging that he had surrendered to Hamas.

Fueling and abetting this right-wing rampage is the policy of Washington, which has provided its unconditional support to every act of brutality and aggression carried out by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people. The Trump administrations decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and its cutoff of $364 million to the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA30 percent of its fundingare part of a broader strategy aimed at building up an anti-Iranian axis in the Middle East, based upon Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Millions of Palestinians, together with tens of millions in Yemen, are collateral damage in this imperialist drive to assert unchallenged US hegemony over the oil-rich Middle East, a crusade that threatens to ignite a wider war with potentially catastrophic implications for the entire region, including Israel.
November 9, 1918 was a milestone in the history of German democracy, declared President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a specially scheduled memorial meeting of the German Bundestag (parliament). The November Revolution, he claimed, had paved the way for parliamentary democracy and laid the foundations of the modern welfare state.

The president expressly acknowledged the role played by Friedrich Ebert, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the party to which Steinmeier belongs today. Ebert wanted first of all to prevent chaos, civil war and military intervention by the victorious powers, and was driven by the desire to give people work and bread, he claimed.

In fact, Ebert was driven by the desire to crush the revolution of workers and soldiers, which had spread like wildfire all over the country, and thereby save as much of the old order as possible.

Already on October 3, when the German defeat in the First World War had become apparent and discontent in the factories and the military reached the boiling point, the SPD entered the imperial government for the first time in its history. Ebert explicitly justified this move with the need to avert impending revolution.

If we do not want an agreement with the bourgeois parties and the government, then we have to let things run their course then we leave the fate of the party to the revolution, he declared on September 23 to the parliamentary faction and executive of the SPD. He added that anyone who had experienced what happened in Russia, where the October Revolution succeeded a year before, could not wish such a development for us. The SPD had to throw itself into the breach and save the country. That is our damned duty and responsibility, Ebert insisted.

It was too late, however, to stop the revolution. At the end of the month, the sailors of the High Seas Fleet mutinied. The sailors were mainly recruited from workers who had been drafted into the Navy because of their technical skills. When part of the fleet was transferred to Kiel, the sailors allied themselves with the tens of thousands of workers in the citys shipyards, which played a key role in the war.

Within the space of a few days, the sailors uprising in Kiel spread across Germany and overthrew the existing authorities. Workers and soldiers councils sprang up everywhere like mushrooms.

When the revolution reached Berlin on November 9, the SPD sprang into action. The emperor abdicated and on the same day Ebert took over leadership of the government, misleadingly called the Council of Peoples Deputies. The council consisted of three Social Democrats and three members of the Independent Social Democrats.

In the days that followed, the leaders of the SPD allied themselves with the most reactionary forces in the state apparatus and army to crush the insurrection by the workers, who were intent on eliminating the old order. (See: One hundred years since the November Revolution in Germany.)

Steinmeier felt obliged to distance himself somewhat from the brutal actions of Ebert and his bloodhound, Gustav Noske. The Peoples Deputies probably had to risk more change than they considered justified from their point of view, he said. Too many sworn opponents of the young republic retained their offices in the military, judiciary and administration, he admitted. Thus, there was no justification for effectively unleashing the brutality of nationalist volunteer forces. (This was a diplomatic reference to the proto-fascist Freikorps.) The victims of those daysSteinmeier named Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in particularshould also be commemorated, he said.

Nevertheless, he fully defended the presidents suppression of the Spartakus uprising, which culminated on January 15, 1919 with the assassination of Luxembourg and Liebknecht. It remains true, however, he said, that the Peoples Deputies led by Friedrich Ebert had to defend themselves against the attempt by the radical left to prevent elections to the National Assembly by force. It remained the great merit of the moderate labor movement that theyin a climate of violence, in the midst of hardship and hungersought to compromise with the moderate forces of the bourgeoisie and give priority to parliamentary democracy.

The very same bourgeoisie with whom the SPD sought to compromise elevated Hitler to power 15 years later. The real mission of the SPD in 1918 was to drown in blood a revolution directed not only against the Hohenzollern regime, but also against its social basethe military caste, the industrial barons, the large landowners, the Prussian state apparatus and the arch-reactionary judiciary. The SPD saved the pillars of the old order, which otherwise would have been swept away by the revolution. They were able to retain their property, social status and power. A number of social and democratic concessions, which were later withdrawn, were a small price to pay.

The Weimar democracy was never more than a facade, which collapsed every time class antagonisms intensified. This was the case in 1923, when Ebert, now president and confronting an impending proletarian revolution, transferred executive power to General Hans von Seeckt and practically established a military dictatorship. From 1925 onwards, Paul von Hindenburg was president of the Reich and head of the republic. The field marshal, who had established a kind of military dictatorship during the last years of the war, had been one of the main targets of the November Revolution.

Under Hindenburgs patronage, the democratic facade collapsed completely. Beginning in 1930, governments no longer relied on parliamentary majorities, but on emergency decrees signed by the president. In 1933, a conspiracy led by Hindenburg made Hitler chancellor.

When Steinmeier now confesses his pride in these traditions. When he exclaims, Let us no longer assert that the Weimar Republic was a democracy without democrats!, when he acknowledges an enlightened patriotism and deceitfully transforms the German national colours of black, red and gold into a symbol for democracy and law and freedom, he expresses his intention of returning to the reactionary traditions of German history.

The most notable feature of Steinmeiers speech was the reaction of deputies in the packed Bundestag. Again and again they applauded him. At the end, all of the deputiesfrom the Left Party to the far-right Alternative for Germanyrose to give a standing ovation and sing the national anthem. All of the moderate and left parties could not have made more clear their fundamental kinship with the AfD, which openly evokes the most reactionary traditions of the Weimar Republic and considers the Nazi regime to be a mere speck of bird shit in 1,000 years of successful German history.

Steinmeiers speech also met with a storm of approval from the media. Heribert Prantl, who heads the opinion pages of the Suddeutsche Zeitung, published a gushing response that defies commentary. The speech was a ray of hope, a miracle, a good, a wise, an excellent speech, he enthused. He was particularly delighted that all deputiesall, including the AfD!rewarded him with a standing ovation. Something that should trigger alarm, Prantl finds entrancing!

Steinmeiers speech and the reaction to it exemplify what is currently taking place in society as a whole. Faced with the deep gulf between the vast majority of the population and the established parties, the latter are closing ranks and moving further to the right to implement a reactionary program of militarism, rearmament and social cuts.

The AfD already largely determines the course of the government. The ruling grand coalitionChristian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD)has completely taken over its reactionary refugee policy. The lesson drawn by Steinmeier from the November 1918 Revolution is that even closer collaboration with the most reactionary forces in politics and the state apparatus is necessary in order to suppress a looming uprising.

The SPD is determined take this path to the end. Although the party is currently polling at an historic low of 13 percent, it sticks firmly to the grand coalition. As for the Greens, they held a congress last weekend whose main task was to prepare the party for participation in government alongside the CDU and CSU.

The working class must draw its own lessons from the November 1918 Revolution. To counter the united forces of reaction, it requires its own independent Marxist party. The construction of the Socialist Equality Party is the burning task.
Health officials in Kansas City, Missouri sparked national outrage when they poured bleach on food meant for homeless and hungry people. The Kansas City Star described Kansas City Health Department (KCHD) raids on food giveaways as [a] coordinated wave, stopping food distribution at several parks in Kansas City on November 4.

KCHD officials monitored social media groups to determine the locations of the food distribution sites. Together with police officers, they confiscated soup, sandwiches and chili dogs, throwing the food out and pouring bleach on some of it.

The food was being distributed by Free Hot Soup Kansas City, a group of people who cook food and host potluck dinners for those in need. They were also preparing to distribute coats, toiletries and first aid supplies.

After video of edible food being thrown out circulated on social media, KCHD was forced to justify its actions.

KCHD officials claimed that the gatherings were food establishments and Free Hot Soup KC was an organization, which required a permit to distribute food. Kansas City Director of Health Rex Archer said the food was destroyed to protect public health and mitigate the risk of food-borne illness.

Despite claims to be looking out for public health, however, KCHD cracked down on Free Hot Soup at the instigation of the North Blue Ridge Neighborhood Association and Missouri Representative Ingrid Burnett, a Democrat.

Such neighborhood associations generally represent the interests of property owners, who view homeless people as eyesores and threats to their property values. North Blue Ridge Neighborhood Association President Julie Boye said, We dont want to be run over with homeless people.

Eric Garbison of the Cherith Brook Catholic Worker house described KCHDs actions as being about the criminalization of people who are homeless and the people who support them, and noted such attacks escalate during the winter, when homelessness becomes more visible. Kansas City has repeatedly attempted to ban street panhandling and shopping carts.

Tara McGaw, who helps organize Free Hot Soup in nearby Belton, told the Star: This is scaring all of us. Were not an establishment. Were not a not-for-profit. Were just friends trying to help people on the side.

Free Hot Soup founder Nellie McCool has also argued along these lines, emphasizing her friendship with many of the people who eat food with the group and the damage done by KCHD on the pretext of protecting public health. Were a community of people who feel its their passion to share with the most vulnerable people in our community, she told the Star.

In a widely shared Facebook post, McCool wrote that KCHD illegally searched cars, disposed of baked goods, bleached home cooked food, and accused my friends of being an establishment due to using social media to communicate and plan our events. They shamed and dehumanized our friends who were excited to share a meal with us, some housed and some unhoused.

A subsequent distribution event by Free Hot Soup was not disrupted, no doubt due to public outrage. Volunteers came with food thermometers to demonstrate the safety of the food and were prepared to show their food handlers licenses.

Mayor Sly James, a Democrat who was elected in a nonpartisan election, having been promoted by the Obama White House, tweeted, Regarding the incident involving Free Hot Soup & @KCMOHealthDept: Rules are there to protect the publics health, and all groups must follow them, no exceptions.

City officials and others involved in the efforts to shut down the food distributions claimed to be concerned about the public welfare as well as the plight of homeless people. North Blue Ridge Neighborhood Association President Boye said she was concerned about how best to help, while Representative Burnett said, We all know that we are one catastrophe away from being in the same boat.

Putting aside the fact that a state representative is hardly as economically vulnerable as the average Kansas City resident, there have been large numbers of homeless people in Kansas City for years and the government has done next to nothing to provide them with decent shelter and nutrition. The Department of Housing and Urban Developments Point in Time census, which substantially underestimates homelessness, counted 1,671 homeless individuals and 1,248 homeless households in the city last year.

Kansas Citys median household income is $51,235, about $4,000 less than the national median. The city is a major Great Plains economic center, having rebranded itself as Silicon Prairie. It hosts meatpacking, dairy and auto facilities. Nevertheless, Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas, and both of the states that are home to the Kansas City metropolitan area, are notoriously anti-worker.

An editorial in the Star, Why Kansas and Missouri are lousy places to live if youre poor, noted that a study ranked Kansas the fourth worst state and Missouri the fifth worst for impoverished people. Missouris Medicaid income cutoff is 22 percent of the federal poverty line, and its income tax code is particularly regressive. Kansas minimum wage is at the federal level, $7.25 an hour.
Nearly one year ago, on December 9, 2017, 41-year-old electrician Ivan Bridgewater III was found dead on a loading dock at Fords Kentucky Truck Plant, where he was working alone. After dragging out a six-month-long investigation, the Kentucky Department of Labor fined Ford Motor Company a paltry $37,800 for seven violations, six of them serious, relating to Bridgewaters death.

Despite the token character of the fine, Ford Motor Company, which had pre-tax profits of $8.4 billion in 2017, contested the penalty in June, a practice which is routine. OSHAs website still lists the violations as under contest almost five months later.

Ivan Bridgewater, the father of the deceased young man, posted a moving tribute to his son earlier this month to commemorate his birthday. This is a photo of my son, Ivan. Today would have been his birthday. He was killed eleven months ago at his workplace, the Ford auto plant, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was an awesome young man, and I was very proud of him. He was patient, kind, and respectful with me, and thats not always easy. He loved his family, especially his wife and son. I miss him more than words can express. Parents should never outlive their children. The pain and loss never go away. Rest in peace buddy.

The hazardous and intolerable situations, which make tragic and completely preventable deaths such as Ivans practically a regular occurrence, only continue to worsen, a product of decades of collusion between the United Auto Workers union and the auto companies.

A worker at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP) recently spoke with a World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter writer about the conditions workers in the plant face.

Don, who chose to use an alias in order to protect himself from retribution by the company and the union, described the indifference with which management and the UAW alike treat workers safety.

We dont have safety meetings anymore. [When] youre on the line working, a team leader comes up and says, We just had a meeting on some dude getting electrocuted at another plant. Dont stick your finger in a light socket. Hahaha. And you cant even hear what they are saying half the time because of all the background noise. Its honestly scary going to work because youre not safe any more.

The UAW is indifferent to the conditions of the plant. According to Don, when workers go to the union with complaints, they just say its being investigated and conditions remain the same.

This summer, when the UAW took no action to address the unbearable temperature conditions in the plant, Don called Kentuckys Occupational Safety and Health Program. He was told there were no available hygienists to immediately investigate. I called in the second week in June and a hygienist didnt come out until September.

Recently, workers have posted in the UAW 862/KTP Facebook group pictures of rashes developing on workers skin after coming into contact with the epoxy used in the aluminum body vehicles. The chemical used for the epoxy in itself is crazy, Don said, but throw that on top of not having a clean plant and not caring about safety, that makes the situation even worse. Workers have been paying out of pocket for treatments for the rashes, he said.

At one point, the post with pictures of workers rashes was removed from the Facebook group. It was quickly reposted. The union lets employees know they are monitoring Facebook, Don said.

The UAW has a history stretching back decades of assisting in the cover-up of workplace injuries and fatalities by way of various labor-management partnerships. In 1998, the UAW, Ford and the federal OSHA established a strategic partnership, in which surprise inspections were to be abandoned in certain states in lieu of inspection protocols, to be drafted by union-company committees, and focused inspections.

Funding cuts, both at the federal and state level, have also resulted in fewer OSHA investigators and resources to adequately address the health and safety standards of workplaces. That, coupled with OSHAs pro-company character, means that complaints of violations are routinely ignored. As Don put it, The company has OSHA paid off because Ford will threaten to leave, and Kentucky needs the jobs.

In move that will further undermine the woefully inadequate state oversight of workplace safety, the states Republican governor, Matt Bevin, signed an executive order in July abolishing the 13-member Occupational Health and Standards Safety Board, made up of safety experts and representatives of business and unions. All powers to enforce federal regulations have been transferred to a single at will employee appointed by the governor.

Kentuckys state occupational safety agency failed to adequately investigate almost every workplace fatality over a two-year period, according to an investigative report published earlier this week on November 12 by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, the Ohio Valley ReSource and the Center for Public Integrity. Titled Fatal Flaws: How Kentucky Is Failing Its Workers, the report analyzed what it described as a quietly issued and scathing federal audit of Kentuckys agency, which found that the state is conducting fewer investigations than it has in at least 10 years, and is identifying fewer hazards when it does.

In addition to declining safety standards at KTP, hygiene and sanitation have also been neglected. Don described conditions in which the restrooms are frequently out of soap and paper towels. At one time, Ford employees were in charge of janitorial work in the plants. These duties have been subcontracted to independent companies, which frequently make the lowest bid. In an effort to cut costs, many companies cut back on essentials, such as adequate cleaning supplies.

Over the summer, Louisville, Kentucky, had the worst outbreak in the country of Hepatitis A, a highly contagious virus that infects the liver. The virus spreads through contaminated food or water or through contact with fecal matter. Nevertheless, Ford took no additional measures to ensure sanitation in the plants, nor did the UAW demand any.

This past summer, at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant, two workers, David Hinderman, 53, and Donald Tafoya, 61, died after contracting legionnaires disease. The plant had to be temporarily shut down to be disinfected.

The Kentucky Truck Plant, Louisville Assembly Plant, and Kansas City Assembly Plant are the three largest Ford plants by workforce in the United States. The F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the world, and Super Duty trucks account for 90 percent of Fords global profits. The average price of a Ford pickup is $47,000, and the company nets around $10,000 for each truck. The workers whose labor produces those profits cannot even get their restrooms stocked with an adequate amount of soap or toilet paper.

The UAW and auto companies work hand-in-glove towards unfettered profit-making, with no regard to the safety of their employees. To ensure truly safe and decent working conditions, workers must organize independently of the pro-corporate unions and form rank-and-file factory committees, in order to conduct a struggle to end managements dictatorship over the shop floor and replace it with industrial democracy and workers control over production.
On Monday, less than a week after he provoked disgust among working people in France and beyond, by praising Frances Nazi-collaborationist dictator, Philippe Petain, French President Emmanuel Macron held meetings with Facebook to plan the censoring of social media in France.

At an official Forum for the Governance of the Internet at UNESCO in Paris, Macron argued that the world is on the brink of catastrophe due to the exercise of free speech on the internet. While the internet was initially a fantastic opportunity, he declared, now it is also starting to be described as a threat to our democratic societies.

Macron denounced anonymity online, warning that the internet is being used in our democracies by totalitarian regimes to destabilize us. He called on France to find a Third Way between a supposedly unregulated California internet and the heavily censored Chinese internet.

As a result, for six months starting at the beginning of 2019, French officials are to operate a joint program with Facebook giving them access to the tools that Facebook uses to censor racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic or sexist speech. Macron added, This is a first. It is a very innovative experimental method which illustrates the cooperative methods I support.

This program is a fundamental assault on democratic rights. The target of Macrons internet censorship campaign is not the threat posed by foreign totalitarian enemies or far-right hate speech, but domestic left-wing political opposition in general, and the World Socialist Web Site in particular.

Macrons presentation is a pack of lies from start to finish, aiming to provide pseudo-democratic cover for the building of a regime of police-state censorship. This process is well underway in both Europe and the United States, where the major tech firms have thousands of employees working on censoring the internet. The California internet Macron held up as a terrible model of free speech is, in fact, run by a handful of powerful corporations implementing mass censorship.

Facebook, Macron said, will soon host a delegation of French regulators tasked, together with Facebook experts, with making precise, concrete joint recommendations on the struggle against hateful and offensive speech.

A dozen anonymous individuals, working either for Facebook or the French government, will apparently run this censorship program, without public oversight or reporting of what content they are deleting from social media. Their power to eliminate content that they claim someone might construe as hateful and offensive amounts to a license to delete virtually any political content. This constitutes a blatant attack on freedom of expression.

Le Monde reported that the French presidency had also contacted Google, asking for similar access to the tools Google uses to censor internet search results. The Elysee palace has stated that this is a way for tech firms to show whether or not firms are acting in good faith and making the necessary efforts to remove content the French state objects to. Google has until now refused to develop a collaboration with the French state censors.

Macron was undeterred, however. There will inevitably be more regulation in the future, he declared at the Monday Forum, adding: It is not the big firms job to fix doctrine about hate or free speech  But we must escape the black-and-white dichotomy between editors of content (with strong legal responsibility) and firms hosting content (like YouTube or Facebook). The big firms must not be exonerated from all responsibility. These platforms must accept reinforced obligations, because they are accelerators of content.

The attempt to pass off censorship as a defense against foreign totalitarian enemiesechoing Charles de Gaulles denunciation of masses of striking communist workers as tools of the Kremlin during the MayJune 1968 general strike, 50 years agois a political fraud. So are the attempts by Macron, who recently hailed Petain the genocidal anti-Semite, to portray his censorship as being driven with deep concern about the struggle against racism.

Both in Europe and in the United States, where mass censorship on Facebook and Google began last year, the target is growing political opposition in the international working class to policies of austerity and militarism that have been implemented over decades.

During a congressional hearing calling for internet censorship last year, former FBI official Clint Watts declared: Civil wars dont start with gunshots, they start with words. Americas war with itself has already begun. We all must act now on the social media battlefield to quell information rebellions that can quickly lead to violent confrontations and easily transform us into the Divided States of America. ...Stopping the false information artillery barrage landing on social media users comes only when those outlets distributing bogus stories are silenced...

It is widely known in official circles in France that censorship targets left-wing opposition. In January 2018, Pierre Rimbert wrote in the well-known monthly Le Monde diplomatique on Google CEO Eric Schmidts promise to demote Russian state media in search results. Noting the WSWSs analyses of this censorships impact on readership of anti-war web sites, he asked whether internet censorship is killing pluralism in the name of better informing the public.

He wrote: How to separate the wheat from the chaff? In a statement issued on April 25, Ben Gomes, the companys vice president for engineering, stated that Googles update of its search engine would block access to offensive sites, while working to surface more authoritative content, write Andre Damon and David North of the World Socialist Web Site (wsws.org, August 2, 2017). Using an internet tracking firm, the Trotskyist site measured the effect of new algorithms that, by default, see the dominant media as reliable and the alternative press as suspect. A massive loss of readership observed by socialist, anti-war and progressive web sites over the past three months has been caused by a cumulative 45 percent decrease in traffic from Google searches.

This censorship is being continually escalated. Coincidentally or otherwise, as Macron announced his Facebook censorship plan on Monday, Facebook was removing a WSWS article from social media, claiming it violated community standards.

Macron is launching his censorship program as his approval ratings collapse to a historic low of 21 percent. Universally reviled in the working class as the president of the rich, his government is on high alert in the face of a planned mass protest and blockade of French cities on November 17 by truck and car drivers protesting a regressive proposed gasoline tax. Fifty years after the MayJune 1968 general strike, France and Europe are on the brink of a revolutionary explosion.

Under these conditions, sections of the media are demanding that the state censor expressions of opposition to Macron. In one remarkable article, La Voix du Nord denounced its own readers, boasting that it was censoring their online comments about its coverage of Macron.

Thus under each article on his trip commemorating World War I, it wrote, we have deleted dozens of comments and insults against this president you say is indifferent to the people and only helping the rich.  The level of violence in comments on the president is unprecedented. Each of his actions provokes hundreds of comments on our social networks, calls for hate and violence. And let us not forget the particularly violent and sexist comments that followed the publication of the article on the death of Brigitte Macrons elder brother.

Criticisms of Macron and similar governments are not the expression of dangerous foreign totalitarian subversion, but of growing, legitimate social anger in the working class. To the extent that the French state sees as its goal the suppression of social anger and the class struggle through such means as censorship and states of emergency, it will be treading a path returning to the type of regime overseen by Macrons military hero, Philippe Petain.
On Tuesday, the technology giant Amazon confirmed that it would split its new headquarters, or HQ2, between two cities and announced plans to build an operations center in Nashville. HQ2 will officially be set up in the Long Island City neighborhood of New York City and in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. Amazon claims it will create 25,000 jobs, and invest $2.5 billion, in each location.

Arlington and New York City have both offered the $1 trillion corporation hefty incentives for choosing sites in their two districts.

New York offered Amazon a staggering $1.525 billion package. According to Business Insider, the majority of the sum ($1.2 billion) comes from New Yorks Excelsior Jobs Program. The city calculated the incentive based on the salaries Amazon expects to pay its employees over the next 10 years. Amazon estimates the average wage will exceed $150,000, meaning New York will offer $48,000 in subsidies for each employee.

New York is also offering a $325 million grant to help cover construction costs of the 4 million to 8 million square foot headquarters. Amazon will also seek further subsidies and incentives, including from New York City's Industrial & Commercial Abatement Program (ICAP) and its Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP).

Virginias package includes $573 million in performance-based direct incentives. Virginia is offering Amazon $22,000 for each employee hired in its location over the next 12 years, totaling $550 million. Arlington will grant an additional $23 million if Amazon can boost the citys tax revenues on hotel rooms over the next 15 years.

Virginias Arlington County is offering Amazon a warm welcome by rebranding Crystal City, the urban area where Amazons new headquarters will be located, as National Landing, implying the corporations arrival represents great national significance.

It is no accident that Jeff Bezos, the worlds richest man, chose locations so close to Manhattan and Washington D.C, two major epicenters of American capitalism. The Virginia headquarters places Amazon literally across the street from the Pentagon, with which the corporation has developed major contracts, and in close proximity to the US government. The HQ in New York will give it ready access to Wall Street.

The culmination of Amazons year-long pageant is indicative of the immense power of giant transnational corporations and the oligarchs who head them. The process, in which Amazon toyed with local governments across the country, shows an ever increasing integration of corporations into the state apparatus and their control of both major capitalist parties.

Jeff Bezos already owns the Washington Post, one of the major publications that advance the agenda of the ruling class, and will now have a headquarters virtually a stones throw away from Congress. Amazon spent $13 million on lobbying in 2017, a 15 percent increase from the previous year, and doubled its number of lobbyists. The company increasingly exerts its influence over American politics.

Amazon is in the process of securing a multi-billion contract with the Department of Defense (DoD). The initiative, dubbed the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI), would grant Amazon the task of constructing and overseeing a massive cloud computing service for the Pentagon.

Amazon will also be strategically located in a major hub of defense contractors. Arlington is home to some 1,070 contractors with almost $44 billion in DoD contracts distributed from 2000 to 2017.

In a disturbing display of power, greed and arrogance, Jeff Bezos dangled the prize of a new headquarters in front of cities and states across the US for 14 months, only to abandon the competition it sparked. Cities and states offered billions of dollars in subsidies, and even, in one case, resorted to creative measures such as building a town called Amazon with Bezos as its king.

One of the winners of this contest, New Yorks Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, made the self-abasing statement that he would change his name to Amazon Cuomo if that was what it took to win the favor Bezos and Amazon.

From its inception, the contest was designed for Amazon to be the sole winner. The move garnered massive publicity, while Amazon persistently asked cities for more incentives until it got the best deal. The company will now reap billions in benefits at the expense of the working class.

By moving to New York and Virginia, Amazon will drive up housing prices, increasing homelessness and further burdening the already failing public transportation systems in the two cities. Seattle, where Amazon is based, has faced a homelessness and housing crisis as a result of Amazons rapid growth. Amazon shut down a tax on large businesses that would have allocated funds to support affordable housing by threatening to stop construction in Seattle.

Amazon is a parasitic corporation that profits from exploiting its employees under sweatshop conditions at an unfathomable pace, and paying poverty wages. The median salary for an Amazon worker was a paltry $28,446 in 2017.
On Monday, Facebook removed a post on Sri Lanka by the World Socialist Web Sites official Tamil-language Facebook page. The alleged reason was violation of unspecified restrictions in Facebooks community standards, which is no explanation at all.

The Tamil language, spoken by 74 million people, is the language of the ethnic Tamil minority in Sri Lanka and South India, as well as a large global diaspora.

The move is the latest in the crackdown on left-wing, anti-war and socialist organizations by US-based technology monopolies including Google, Facebook and Twitter. As these companies integrate themselves ever more closely into the American state apparatus, they are increasingly weaponized to promote US imperialist aims all over the world. At the center of this drive is the suppression of socialist political viewpoints.

This is not the first time that the World Socialist Web Sites Tamil-language Facebook page has been targeted by Facebook. On two separate occasions, Facebook removed the share option from public meetings promoted by the page.

The World Socialist Web Site has been a central target of internet censorship more broadly, with its search traffic falling by more than 75 percent after Google announced a change to its search algorithm aimed at limiting alternative viewpoints.

Amid a deepening political crisis in Sri Lanka, the United States is seeking to exclude Chinese influence in the island country, located off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. The country of 21 million sits astride the worlds most heavily trafficked west-bound trade route and boasts a busier port than any in the United States.

On October 26, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena removed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and replaced him with former president Mahinda Rajapakse. Washington has made clear that the appointment of Rajapakse is unacceptable, due to his excessively close ties to China, as the New York Times put it.

The modern history of Sri Lanka has been dominated by the use of communal politics by all factions of the ruling class to stoke divisions between the countrys Sinhalese majority and its Tamil minority. Anti-Tamil discrimination by successive Colombo governments fueled tensions that broke out in a bloody civil war that raged between 1983 and 2009, costing more than 100,000 lives.

While every capitalist political party in Sri Lanka has sought to base itself on one or another ethnic faction, the Sri Lankan Trotskyist movement has carried out a decades-long political fight to unite Sinhalese and Tamil workers on the basis of a common socialist program.

This struggle has won the Socialist Equality Party of Sri Lanka widespread support, and the World Socialist Web Site has a higher per-capita readership in Sri Lanka than anywhere else in the world.

The WSWS has warned that since the brutal suppression of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009, the Tamil nationalist parties have lined up ever more directly with the interests of US imperialism in the country. The article censored by Facebook explains that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has opposed the appointment of Rajapakse to curry favor with its American allies. It states:

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.

The article pointed to the growing strike movement among workers of all ethnicities in Sri Lanka, including protests by thousands of Tamil-speaking plantation workers in the days preceding the sacking of Wickremesinghe. It argued that the only way forward is on the basis of the struggle being waged by the [Socialist Equality Party] to unify the working class of all nationalities on a socialist and revolutionary perspective.

While Facebook has given no explanation for the removal of the article, its motivations are self-evident. The company is not only increasingly integrated into, but more and more staffed by, current and former officials of the US intelligence agencies. These state agencies see the growing audience for international socialism as an obstacle to their efforts to exploit ethnic divisions in developing countries to further the geopolitical aims of US imperialism.

There can be no doubt that last months speaking tour in Sri Lanka by WSWS Editorial Board Chairman David North, which was given prime time coverage by leading media outlets in the country and was closely followed by workers, has provoked consternation in Washington.

Facebooks action comes amid a growing demand in the Western press that the social media giant step up political censorship in developing countries, with Sri Lanka singled out in particular.

A leading role in this campaign has been played by the New York Times, which has published a series of articles claiming, absurdly, that freedom of expression on the internet is responsible for communal violence in developing countries, including Sri Lanka.

The Times complained in an April 21 front-page article that amid Facebooks rapid expansion in the developing world, the company pushes whatever content keeps users on the site longesta potentially damaging practice in countries with weak institutions.

In an article focused almost exclusively on Sri Lanka, the reference to countries with weak institutions is a euphemism for former colonies. The Times is implying that unless Facebook censors speech in such countries, their populations, apparently unable to control themselves, will massacre each other out of communal hatred.

The Times, speaking for the Quiet Americans of the US intelligence agencies, claims that the people of developing countries must be gagged and told what to think by American corporations to keep them from committing criminal acts. Such arguments border on open racism: a 21st century invocation of the white mans burden. The only justifiable response to this neo-colonialist garbage is contempt for the hacks who churn it out.

When Sri Lankas Sirisena government last March temporarily shut down Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, the Times lauded the move as necessary to stem mob violence directed at its Muslim minority. This is yet another lie, echoing the Sri Lankan governments self-serving justifications for censorship.

The aim of Sirisenas shutdown of Facebook was not to prevent ethnic violence, but to cover it up. The Sri Lankan regime wanted to shut down social media in areas affected by violence largely to hush up reports of complicity in the incidents by the police and armed forces of the US-backed regime.

The well-known collusion of the army and police with fascistic rioters was a central point made in the Socialist Equality Partys March 10 statement, Oppose Sinhala racist violence against Muslim community in Sri Lanka. That statement observed:

Senior government minister Sarath Amunugama was forced to admit on Wednesday that mobs were transported from other areas and that there was evidence of the involvement of retired and active security personnel. Social media posts showed videos and photos of police special task force (STF) officers watching mobs carrying out attacks on shops and houses.

The only perspective capable of opposing communalism and uniting workers of every nationality is that of socialist internationalism. But this is precisely the perspective that Facebook, Google and the other technology giants are intent on suppressing, because it cuts across the efforts of US imperialism to exploit communal divisions to further entrench Washingtons global dominance.

These efforts at state censorship must be opposed! The World Socialist Web Site calls on its readers to take up the struggle against internet censorship in the United States, in Sri Lanka and all over the world!
Below is the text and audio of a lecture delivered by Eric London in Detroit, Michigan reviewing the monumental investigation conducted by the International Committee of the Fourth International titled Security and the Fourth International. The investigation, which was launched in 1975, was a significant milestone in the history of the Trotskyist movement. It marked the first time that the Trotskyist movement fought to expose the infiltration of the Trotskyist movement by the Stalinist GPU and FBI.

The assassination of Leon Trotsky in Mexico City on August 20, 1940 was the greatest crime of the 20th century and the highest expression of the counterrevolutionary character of Stalinist reaction. In the months prior to the attack, Ramon Mercader, alias Frank Jacson, an agent of the Stalinist secret police, the GPU, had ingratiated himself into Trotskys compound, where the leader of the Russian Revolution had been living in exile since January 1937. Mercader entered the compound, and then Trotskys guards, including Joseph Hansen, allowed the assassin to meet with Trotsky in his office, alone. Mercader pulled out the ice pick he had hidden in his raincoat and used it. Trotsky died the next day at the age of 60.

The origins and findings of the Security and the Fourth International investigation

There was no doubt of Stalins role. In the pages of The Militant, the newspaper of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the Trotskyist movement pointed the finger at Stalin and his global murder operation, which, in the years prior, had succeeded in killing a significant part of the leadership of the Fourth International, including Trotskys son, Lev Sedov, the soon-to-be secretary of the Fourth International, Rudolph Klement, GPU defector Ignatz Reiss, and one of Trotskys key political secretaries, Erwin Wolf.

Under the wave of counterrevolutionary pre-emptive civil war, known as the Great Terror, Stalin and the bureaucratic caste, which was suffocating the workers state in Russia, liquidated generations of socialists and leading figures in intellectual, scientific and cultural life. Hundreds of thousands of opponents of the regime and sympathizers of the Left Opposition and, after its founding in September 1938, of the Fourth International, were killed. The operations of the GPU had swept well beyond the boundaries of the Soviet Union.

The damage created by this great crime was compounded by the fact that for thirty-five yearsnearly half the period between the assassination and todaypractically nothing was known about how the GPU had carried out the murder of Trotsky. It was not even until 1949 or 1950 that the killers true name was known to the public, as a result of the investigation conducted by Mexican criminologist, Alfonzo Quiroz Cuaron.

In the days and weeks following Trotskys assassination, even as the SWP was commemorating Trotskys life, networks of agents within the partyoperating on behalf of both the GPU and the American governmentwere continuing their work inside the SWP, sending detailed reports and party documents relating to members, their addresses, their children, their jobs, party finances, internal political disputes, and international correspondence, to the FBI and the GPU.

Trotskyists killed by Stalin prior to the assassination of Trotsky

In May 1975, the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) launched an initiative, called Security and the Fourth International, which was aimed at shedding light on the agents within the Fourth International, both past and present. In the introduction to How the GPU Murdered Trotsky, which was published in 1981 and reviewed many of the findings of the investigation, the ICFI explained that the Security and the Fourth International investigation was not a mere side campaign. Instead, it embodied the fight to maintain the historical continuity of Bolshevism and the legacy of the October Revolution against the betrayals of Stalinism and its allies:

[Security and the Fourth International] is both the continuation and the culmination of the struggle waged by Trotsky, co-leader of the 1917 October Revolution and founder of the Fourth International, to expose the crimes of Stalinism and rid the international workers movement for once and for all of its counterrevolutionary legacy. In exposing the police agents who now lead the US revisionist Socialist Workers Party, the IC is settling historical accounts with the whole apparatus of counterrevolutionary violence employed by the combined state agencies of imperialism and the Soviet bureaucracy against the Fourth International. In referring to Security and the Fourth International as an investigation, it must be grasped that this word only partially embraces the full political and historical content of the struggle waged by the International Committee during the last six years. Like Trotskys exposure of the Moscow Trial frame-ups of 193638, it is the highest conscious expression of the objective movement of the working class against the bourgeoisie and all its agencies.

The introduction continued:

The exposure and political destruction of these agents, along with their accomplices in revisionist organizations in every part of the world, is the supreme responsibility of the International Committee. The issue here is not vengeance for Trotskys death. The essence of Security and the Fourth International is the struggle for working class power.

And further:

The findings of Security and the Fourth International constitute an indispensable foundation for the training of Marxist cadre and a powerful material weapon of the World Revolution. The agents which this weapon has already exposed, and those whom it will ultimately destroy politically, represent the spearhead of the counterrevolution. This fact must be grasped by every class conscious worker and youth: all the historically-accumulated instinct of the bourgeoisie for self-preservation finds its greatest level of consciousness in the elaboration of its strategy for destroying the revolutionary leadership of the working class.

The six years that preceded this statementand the years that would immediately follow, in particular through the Gelfand Casemarked a critical point of development in the history of the socialist movement. A generation of cadre that now leads the International Committee went through a formative political experience. The milestones in the history of the Fourth International over the last forty years, including the split with the Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP) in Britain, the founding of the Socialist Equality Parties, and the launching of the World Socialist Web Site, were carried out by a leadership forged, in part, through the experiences of Security and the Fourth International.

What was involved in the investigation was staggering: an immense level of investigative work, spanning multiple continents, hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of pages of historical documentation. For the first time, a systematic investigation was conducted into the penetration of the Trotskyist movement by agents of the GPU and the US government. Questions were posed which, had they been asked and investigated decades prior, could have prevented significant damage to the movement and its members, and saved lives.

The Security and the Fourth International investigation emerged out of events that form an important chapter in the history of the party. In August 1974, the Workers League (WL) learned that Workers League National Secretary Tim Wohlforths personal partner, Nancy Fields, who had been rapidly elevated by Wohlforth into political leadership, had family connections to leading figures within the CIA. Fields, who had attended an international conference of the ICFI in England that May, interacted with members and sympathizers from a wide variety of countries, including those where military dictatorships were in power and whose attendance placed them at physical risk.

Ramon Mercader

Despite the immense risk posed to the international movement, Wohlforth kept this information from the ICFI because of his personal relationship with Fields. He lied when asked in August whether Fields had any CIA connections, saying she did not. He later changed his answer and said he had known about her family connections, but did not consider them important. On August 31, 1974, the Workers League Central Committee voted unanimously to remove Wohlforth as national secretary and also to suspend Fields from membership, pending the outcome of an investigation by the inquiry commission into Fields family ties.

These decisions were made, not because the party assumed Fields was in fact an agent. The offense was, rather, that Wohlforth and Fields had withheld this information from the movement. Wohlforth and Fields both voted in favor of the decisions taken by the Workers League Central Committee on August 31.

But less than a month later, on September 29, Wohlforth resigned from the Workers League, claiming, in his resignation letter, that he was completely and utterly opposed to the decisions of the Central Committee of August 31, which he called monstrous. Regarding the security of the movement, he said, I would suggest the place to find agents in the Workers League is among those who spread scandal against the leaders of the League and not among those who are the victims of slander.

Tim Wolforth and Nancy Fields

The inquiry commission report, issued on November 9, 1974, uncovered, in part through interviews with 22 current and former WL members, that concerns over Fields ties were far from slanderous. Fields uncle, who had raised her through much of her childhood, was Albert Morris, head of the CIAs computers division and a close compatriot of Richard Helms. Helms was a former CIA director, who had been a frequent visitor at Fields home when she was growing up. The computers division, as journalist Seymour Hersh reported in the New York Times in December 1974, was then engaged in illegal surveillance of dissidents and left-wing groups in the US. The commission found that Fields and Wohlforth, despite having both voted in favor of the central committee resolution to set up the inquiry, refused to collaborate with it.

The inquiry report noted Fields particularly destructive role in the party, which included travelling around the country and shutting down party branches in a ruthless and subjective manner. The commission concluded by determining that, because there was no direct evidence to suggest Fields or Wohlforth were connected to the work of the CIA, Wohlforth should rescind his resignation letter and return to party membership. But Fields and Wohlforth refused to accept these terms. Soon thereafter, Wohlforth joined the SWP, against whose degeneration he had waged a relentless struggle for roughly a decade, and began denouncing the Workers League. Fields ultimately became a high-ranking leader of the AFL-CIO.

In the March 22, 1975 statement of the Workers League, following Wohlforths attacks on the party, we wrote: The CIA is not an incidental question for our movement, but a question of indispensable tasks flowing from the principles of the construction of revolutionary parties of the International Committee of the Fourth International. Only someone who fails to take at all seriously the building of the world party of socialist revolution can dismiss the question of security against the CIA, the international center of the counterrevolutionary plans of the imperialists.

In the SWPs weekly journal Intercontinental Press, Joseph Hansen praised Wohlforth for his decision to leave the WL. In February and March 1975, Intercontinental Press published Wohlforths denunciations of the WL, and on March 31, 1975, Hansen said Wohlforths sincerity is undeniable and one can only wish him better luck in his next venture. Attacking Gerry Healy, then principal leader of the WRP and ICFI, Hansen wrote:

Wohlforth describes Healys performance as madness. Would it not be preferable, and perhaps more precise, to use a modern term like paranoia? If the term fits, then the true explanation for Healys obsessions about the CIA, police agents, and plots against his life, as well as his rages, extreme reactions, and strange version of dialectics is to be sought not in his politics, philosophical methodology, or models like Pablo or Cannon, but in the workings of a mind best understood by psychiatrists.

The IC recognized the significance of this unsettling denunciation of paranoia coming from Joseph Hansen, a man who had been a guard of Trotskys in Coyoacan and who was present on the day Trotsky died at the hands of a GPU infiltrator. No genuine revolutionary who had lived through that disastrous breakdown in security would refer to security concerns as paranoia. This deliberate distortion of the history of security threats against the party was an effort to confuse, disorient and isolate the revolutionary movement.

In an April 1975 statement, the WRP wrote, Security is not an abstract or secondary question. A party that is not founded on revolutionary discipline in its own ranks cannot command the support of the working class in confronting the capitalist state machine, overthrowing it, and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat.

It continued, noting that Hansens attack on the Workers League and the IC enables us to reopen vital pages in the history of Trotskyism. We are obliged to present this history, warts and all, since our movement has in the past, paid a terrible price when it has ignored and derided security training in its ranks. These are the pages that Hansen wants to suppress.

The document explained that the ICFI, is not going to be intimidated by the shouts and screams of the revisionists. They can call us sectarians and paranoids until they are blue in the face. In using these labels, they are in fact attacking the ICs fight for principles and its attention to discipline and security vigilance in our ranks. We are not building a bucket shop for middle class free-booters and adventurers, which is the hallmark of Hansens international groupings. That road is an open invitation to the CIA and penetration by the police, because it is precisely among such elements that the police agencies operate so breezily. Hansen wants to hide the security question; we want to elevate it in the training and building of our movement. That is why we feel it necessary to reopen the pages of the history of Trotskyism to explain the background of why action was taken against Wohlforth and why similar steps will be taken again in the future if the necessity arises.

And re-opening the pages of the history of Trotskyism is exactly what they did. It was remarkable how little was known about the assassination of Trotsky, until the decision to launch the Security and the Fourth International investigation took place in May 1975, the month after the above statement was written, at the Sixth Congress of the ICFI, held May 1824, 1975.

At the Sixth Congress, the IC decided to propose to the United Secretariat (USec)the post-reunification name of the international Pabloite grouping, to which the SWP belongedthe establishment of a parity control commission, consisting of equal members of the ICFI and USec, to investigate the state penetration of the workers movement. Such a commission was not proposed as a form of conciliation or unification on a common political program, but was intended to serve as a vehicle for a good faith investigation between opposed political tendencies into historical questions and questions of security, which, the IC explained, any socialist would consider to be questions of common fundamental importance. This offer was immediately rejected by the SWP and the USec in a facetious and mocking note sent by Joseph Hansen.

On June 5, 1975, Hansen replied to WRP leader Cliff Slaughter and mocked the latters physical signature, cynically joking it was suspicious and proved it was the WRP, not the SWP, which was riddled with agents. I am sure that your central committee, in view of its expertise in such matters, will acknowledge the necessity to be alert to seemingly insignificant clues like these, Hansen wrote. They can lead to identifying an agent planted in the organization by the police or the CIA. Perhaps this will help you locate the police agent if it was written by one.

The IC had uncovered documents in public government archives raising questions about Hansens motivation for using Wohlforth to prove the Workers League was baseless paranoid and ultra-sectarian in its inquiry into Fields family CIA connections.

Because many here are likely familiar with the content of these documents and for reasons of time, I will only summarize the most important elements. Ten days after Trotskys death on August 21, 1940, Hansen contacted the US Embassy in Mexico City with the hope of opening up a confidential relationship with the US government.

Mexican police hold the pickaxe that Mercader used to murder Trotsky in 1940

Hansens meetings were carefully followed in the highest levels of the American government, including by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Hansens points of contact included leading men such as George P. Shaw, Robert McGregor and B.E. Sackett. During this first meeting, Hansen provided the government with information surrounding Trotskys assassination. At this time, Hansen communicated to the US government that he had met, for three months in 1938, with agents of Stalins secret police, the GPU. McGregors report, from the August 31 meeting, notes that Hansen said he was himself approached by an agent of the GPU and asked to desert the Fourth International and join the Third. The report states that Hansen met with a GPU handler named John, aka Dr. Gregory Rabinowitz, GPU spy ringleader in New York, for three months.

Hansen provided the US government with copies of the unpublished writings of Trotsky, a copy of the W Memoranduma list of names of GPU agents the SWP had received from ex-Communist Party member Whittaker Chambersand information regarding the SWPs internal investigation into the assassination of Trotsky.

On September 25, 1940, American Consul to Mexico, George P. Shaw, wrote to top State Department official Raymond E. Murphy that Joseph Hansen wants to be put in touch with someone in order to pass on confidential information with impunity. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover responded positively and encouraged his men to follow-up with Hansen, writing on October 1 that, Should Hansen call at the New York Office, he should be handled tactfully and all information which he can supply and his assistance in this investigation should be obtained.

Hansen did not inform the leadership of the SWP about his meetings with the FBI. A December 9, 1940 report by FBI Special Agent M.R. Griffin shows that the rest of the SWP leadership had no interest in discussing the matter with the FBI. His report reads:

The writer interviewed James P. Cannon and Joseph Hansen regarding the Trotsky affair and was advised by them that they had no information to offer. They appeared very reluctant to discuss the matter and gave very brief answers to questions put to them by the reporting agent.

The internal US government reports indicate that Hansen evinced no reluctance to talk to government officials in private. It was only when confronted by the FBI in the presence of James P. Cannon that Hansen kept silent.

None of this was even known by any leading members of the SWP. On June 2, 1977, David North, then national secretary of the Workers League, interviewed former SWP Political Committee member Felix Morrow, author of Revolution and Counterrevolution in Spain and one of the 18 SWP members jailed for sedition during the Second World War:

Q: I was wondering whether or not you had any recollection about the steps taken by the Socialist Workers Party at the time to learn more about the assassination, how it was carried out. Particularly whether it received any assistance from the American government in any way. Morrow: None. Q: None whatsoever? Morrow: None. Q: Well, what was the attitude of the FBI, in your opinion, toward the assassination? Morrow: They werent involved in any way. Q: Well, did the SWP to your knowledge have any policy of trying to obtain the assistance of the FBI? Morrow: There would be no reason. It was an open and shut case. Jacson [pseudonym of Trotskys assassin, Ramon Mercader] had done it. The only problem was to establish that Jacson was a GPU agent. Q: I see. Then to your knowledge the SWP made no initiative at any time toward establishing contact with the FBI? Morrow: None. None

On April 11, 1982, during the Gelfand Case (which we will address in more detail later) Farrell Dobbs, leader of the partys trade union work, also jailed after the 1941 sedition trial, and who had later become national secretary of the SWP, was questioned by the plaintiff Alan Gelfands attorney, John Burton:

Burton: Did you know that in 1940 Mr. Hansen had face-to-face meetings with the FBI in New York City? Dobbs: I did not Q: Did you ever talk to Mr. Hansen about his meetings with the FBI? Dobbs: I told you I know nothing about it.

Morris Lewit, who led the SWP while Cannon, Morrow, Dobbs and others were imprisoned, was deposed on April 13, 1982 and gave similar testimony.

These and other interviews were conducted in the course of the Security and the Fourth International investigation, which, for those of us who did not live through this period, constituted a significant part of the day-to-day political activity of the partys leading cadre, and in particular Comrade David North. The articles and broadsides produced during this period were pored over by the party membership and studied with care and immense interest. It is essential to understand the impact of the struggle during the years 19741975 to 1983 on the entire party membership, which allowed the cadre to ground their day-to-day political activity in the struggle against Pabloism, and in the framework of the whole historical content of the Trotskyist movement.

It is not accidental that this time period197475 to 1983serves as a bridge between two milestone events in the history of the movement: the split with Wohlforth and the transition to a new political leadership, and the emergence of differences in 198283 between the Workers League and the WRP. When these differences were later brought to the full attention of the membership of the Workers League, the receptivity of the membership to Comrade Norths criticisms of the opportunism of the WRP was prepared, in part, by the impact that Security and the Fourth International had had on the consciousness of the membership.

It is not possible here to review each blow dealt by the Security and the Fourth International investigation to those responsible for Trotskys murder and the subsequent cover up by the Pabloites.

Less than forty years had passed since the Great Terror, when 800,000 were killed in Stalinist frame-ups and mass exterminations. At that time, the Trotskyist movement struggled against the overwhelming weight of Stalinist and liberal public opinion to expose the crimes of the Great Terror. Countless numbers of its leaders and rank-and-file members were killed in the reaction during the run-up to World War II. None of those responsible for the assassination of Trotsky, his family, or the leaders and members of the Fourth International, had been made to account for their crimes. Security and the Fourth International began to reveal the truth.

In August 1975, David North located Mark Zborowski, Lev Sedovs killer and Paris GPU ringleader, in San Francisco, where he was living a comfortable, affluent life. When photos of the interaction were published, older members of the movement from across the world, some of whom remembered hearing the news of Sedovs and Trotskys assassinations, greeted North and the Workers League with profound gratitude.

Photograph of Mark Zborowski and his wife Regina, taken by David North

These exposures produced a nervous hostility on the part of the Pabloite movement, which repeatedly denounced the Security and the Fourth International investigation and rallied supporters of various Pabloite tendencies in defense of Hansens campaign to slander and isolate the IC. The SWP deepened its efforts to defend Hansen and Sylvia Callen, (aka Franklin, Caldwell) a GPU agent who had worked as former SWP leader James P Cannons personal secretary.

Joseph Hansen denounced the Security and the Fourth International investigation as a Geyser of Mud in the November 24, 1975 edition of Intercontinental Press. He rejected the ICFIs call for a commission of inquiry into Trotskys assassination, writing:

Sylvia Caldwell, (that was her party name) worked very hard in her rather difficult assignment of managing the office of the Socialist Workers Party, which included helping Cannon in a secretarial capacity. In fact all the comrades who shared these often irksome chores with her regarded her as exemplary. They burned as much as she did over the foul slanders spread by [Louis] Budenz [GPU agent, member of the Communist Party and editor of its newspaper, the Daily Worker].

In early 1976, the SWP published a collection of essays memorializing the life of James P. Cannon, who had died in August 1974. Titled James P. Cannon As We Knew Him, the volume consisted of essays written by SWP members, including one by Joseph Hansens wife, Reba Hansen, which contained the following extraordinary tribute to Callen:

When the load in the national office was heavy and Sylvia needed help, I gave her a hand, working very closely with her. Her efficiency impressed me. She knew how to do everything that was necessary to keep a one-person office running smoothly. Her devotion to the movement and her readiness to put in long hours of hard work inspired us all. Sylvia and I became close collaborators and good personal friends. She was a warm human being.

There was no innocent explanation for the inclusion of this lying tribute to Sylvia Callen in a book that was supposedly intended to eulogize Cannon.

On January 14, 1977, the Pabloite campaign reached a low point. The leaders of the world Pabloite movement joined in Londons Friends Hall to defend Hansen and denounce Security and the Fourth International in what the ICFI called The Platform of Shame. When WRP leader Gerry Healy raised his hand, at the conclusion of the meeting, to respond to the slanders against him and the movement, he was denied the right to speak.

Even the bourgeois press acknowledged the shameful character of the Pabloite gathering. The Sunday Observer reported: Mr. Healy quietly sat down again, feeling perhaps that he had made his point more eloquently than any words could have done. The WRPs Newsline wrote: By avoiding all the main issues, the meeting has only intensified their crisis. It has settled nothing.

The International Committee responded, Those acquainted with the history of the struggle against revisionism will find difficulty in suppressing a spontaneous desire to retch at the temerity of the organizers who defend the criminal activities of the GPU and their accomplices under the banner of a bogus workers democracy the exposure of Stalins crimes and complicity of the revisionists in the cover-up of these crimes is central to this preparation of a new cadre of revolutionaries. Those who oppose this task in whatever form are serving the interests of counterrevolutionary Stalinism. We have been warned.

The investigation carried forward. In May 1977, North and Alex Mitchell located Sylvia Callenwhose new married name was Sylvia Doxseeat a trailer park in Wheaton, Illinois.

When asked about her political past, Doxsee (aka Callen, Caldwell, Franklin) acknowledged working as Cannons secretary, but sought to brush aside her years in the SWP as a minor episode in her life. As the Bulletin, newspaper of the Workers League, reported on May 31, 1977, she said: I dont see why its even important. I was never really in politics. I never read. I never understood it. I was just an immature child, thats about all I can say Its like I blacked it out. All that period of my life.

Regarding James P. Cannon, with whom she had closely worked on a day-by-day basis for almost a decade, Callen said with unconcealed contempt, He wasnt an important man, in my opinion. Is he? What part did he play in the world?

Pressed by North and Mitchell to explain why she was indicted as a co-conspirator in a GPU spy ring, Callen feigned amnesia.

The publication of the ICFIs interview with Sylvia Callen produced further anxiety among the SWP leadership and the Stalinist bureaucracy. Those involved in penetrating the Trotskyist movement had good reason to believe the Security and the Fourth International investigation would publish further revelations exposing the GPU infiltration of the Trotskyist movement.

After the publication of the interview with Callen on May 31, 1977, Hansen responded in an Intercontinental Press article on June 20, 1977 titled Healyites Escalate Frame-up of Trotskyist Leaders. In the article, Hansen attempted to cast doubt on what he called the purported interview with Callen, stating that the ICFI had escalated their slanders on the leadership of the Socialist Workers Party.

Hansen attacked the Security and the Fourth International investigation by ridiculing the claim Callen was an agent. To support Callen, he referenced the 1947 Control Commission, which we will address in further detail later. The 1947 Control Commission, convened in May and June of that year by the SWP leadership, heard damning evidence presented to the SWP in the weeks before the revelation that Sylvia Callen was a GPU agent. Rather than investigate the allegations, the commission covered-up Callens role as an agent and swore those present to secrecy.

In his June 20, 1977 article, Hansen wrote:

The members of this select body of witch-hunters [i.e., the ICFI] commit themselves to a slander they had previously only hinted at; namely, that the control commission set up by the Socialist Workers Party in 1947 to examine the rumors circulating about Caldwell [i.e., Callen] was rigged.

Hansen also adopted the methods of Stalinist intimidation. Unable to challenge the Callen interview, Hansen wrote, The Healyites are quite capable of initiating physical violence against other sectors of the labor movement. In the same article, he threatened the International Committee, warning it that the investigation would bring deadly consequences.

Less than four months later, in the early morning of October 16, 1977, Tom Henehan, a 26-year-old member of the Workers League Political Committee, was assassinated in New York City by two professional gunmen while supervising a public party event at the Ponce Social Club. Though the killers were quickly identified, the New York police refused to make any arrests. Finally, after a three-year campaign waged by the Workers League, during which workers from across the country wrote letters of support, the gunmen were arrested, placed on trial, and convicted in July 1981 of murder and attempted murder. Following the trial, the private detective who had investigated the case for the killers defense attorney informed David North that the word on the street was that the killing was a hit.

Tom Henehan

In August 1977, two months before Henehans death, Alan Gelfand, an SWP member and a young public defender in Los Angeles, obtained copies of the Security and the Fourth International documents circulated by Workers League members outside the SWPs National Convention in Oberlin, Ohio.

Gelfand asked other SWP members and party leaders about the documents and particularly the 1940 State Department and FBI memos that referenced Hansens meeting with the GPU and with the US government.

In response, Gelfand was given different and contradictory explanations, leading him to carefully study the SWPs official internal bulletin response. Gelfand concluded that the explanations given by the SWP were contradicted by documents uncovered by the Security and the Fourth International investigation.

He continued to ask for discussion regarding Hansens connections to the GPU and United States agencies, and of Callens connections to the GPU. The SWP leadership repeatedly barred him from speaking to other members about his concerns and threatened to discipline him. Gelfand concluded that this cover-up had to be tied to the activity of high-level state agents still operating within the party.

In December 1978, Gelfand filed a friend of the court advisory brief in support of a lawsuit by the SWP related to the FBIs surveillance of the movement through COINTELPRO. This lawsuit, which the SWP had launched primarily to raise money, was not intended to expose past or active agents. The US government eventually settled the case by paying the SWP hundreds of thousands of dollars, but without identifying a single agent that it had infiltrated into the party. In the course of the trial, the FBI admitted that between 1960 and 1976 there were 300 informants serving as members of the SWP.

Gelfands brief, however, referenced the history of FBI and GPU penetration of the movement, and the recent revelations concerning Callen and Hansen, to demonstrate the need for the court to compel the government to identify the agents that had been sent into the SWP.

This demand outraged the SWP leadership, which accused Gelfand of violating party discipline. On January 11, 1979, the SWP Political Committee expelled him. This was the last meeting of the SWP Political Committee attended by Joseph Hansen. He died in New York City exactly one week later, on January 18, 1979, at the age of 68.

In a letter to the SWP Political Committee, dated January 29, 1979, Gelfand stated that he had been purged from the SWP to block the exposure of agents inside the party. This purge, he wrote, is the result of my persistent and principled fight over the last 18 months to obtain satisfactory answers and explanations to the various questions raised by Joseph Hansens and Sylvia Franklins relationship with the FBI and GPU.

On July 18, 1979, Gelfand filed a lawsuit in the federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that the government had violated his First Amendment rights by infiltrating the SWP with agents who had expelled him from the political party of his choosing. Gelfand named as defendants high US government officialsincluding the attorney general and the directors of the FBI and CIAas well as leading members of the Socialist Workers Party.

The SWP immediately filed a motion to dismiss Gelfands lawsuit. The first oral arguments were made before United States District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer on November 19, 1979.

In June 1980, Pfaelzer denied the SWPs motion, finding that Gelfands complaint raised fundamental constitutional issues. She wrote that the government manipulation and takeover of plaintiffs political party that is alleged  is a drastic interference with the associational rights of its adherents and cannot pass constitutional muster.

The Gelfand Case

Gelfand and his lawyers took depositions of many current and former SWP members, some of whom have already been mentioned here. Sylvia Callen was the first to be deposed, and she invoked memory loss 231 times. She admitted, however, during the course of the deposition that she had previously appeared before at least two federal grand juries.

Gelfands attorneys petitioned to release the sealed transcripts of Sylvia Callens testimony from 1954 and 1958. This request was bitterly opposed by the SWP, which argued for continued secrecy on the basis that the grand jury testimony is wholly irrelevant to any material issue in this litigation and should not be disclosed.

Judge Pfaelzer, who ruled in June 1980 that Gelfands expulsion from the SWP would be unconstitutional if engineered by government agents to prevent their own expulsion, then blocked Gelfand, on national security grounds, from accessing the evidence he would need to prove that his First Amendment right had been denied by the government agents who expelled him from the SWP.

Gelfand and his attorneys explained in their closing brief on summary judgment:

Legally, this case presents a double paradox. For the court, there is the tension between the enforcement of First Amendment rights on the one hand and the duty to protect claims of national security on the other. In denying the motions to dismiss, the court in ringing terms affirmed the right to political association free from governmental interference. By upholding the governments claim of informer privilege on plaintiffs motion to compel, however, the court demonstrated its sensitivity to the countervailing concerns. Rarely does a case require the reconciliation of two such fundamentally opposing legal principles. The plaintiff faces the other side of the coin. On the one hand he is told that, if he can prove that the leaders of the Party are agents of the United States government, he will establish the violation of his constitutional rights. Yet the most straightforward method of proofexamination of relevant government documents and direct responses to questions aimed at government agencieshas been denied to him.

Pfaelzer appeared concerned that Gelfands evidence-gathering efforts would lead to the publication of state secrets regarding the penetration of the SWP. The SWP, meanwhile, was collaborating with the government to block the testimony of GPU agents, including Mark Zborowski, a leading GPU agent who was about to be made to answer for the murder of Sedov, Wolf, Reiss, and Klement under oath. The SWP opposed Zborowskis deposition, and the judge agreed. When denying Gelfands request that Zborowski be compelled to testify and ruling in favor of the SWP to block the testimony, Judge Pfaelzer said:

Now, my feeling is that Mr. Zborowski, given the very nature of this case, when postured up against, since the case was filed, an enactment known as the Protection of Certain National Security Information, which has just become law this year, does or would run a possible risk of violating section 601(a) of that act, were he asked to identify either by name or description or anything else which might lead to the identity of possible intelligence agents who might be superficially participating in this Socialist Workers Party. And that act specifically provides that if any person has such information and knowingly discloses it, regardless of whatever the motivation, can be prosecuted, fined $50,000, and imprisoned up to ten years. And, therefore, I feel that his invoking the Fifth Amendment in that area, which is the pivotal point of this lawsuit, perhaps, nonetheless is a legitimate concern of the witness and his counsel that must be honored by this court. And, therefore, insofar as any invocation of the Fifth Amendment that has, up to now, been asserted in this deposition, Im not going to order him to further answer.

The highest levels of the US government and military-intelligence apparatus were closely monitoring the case. Those who falsely cite the relatively small size of the Trotskyist movement as proof of its insignificance should study a June 11, 1982 memorandum from Central Intelligence Agency General Counsel Stanley Sporkin to CIA Director William J. Casey which cites the Gelfand Case as an item of major interest for the CIA.

On the last day of the trial, March 9, 1983, SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes was called to testify. He concluded his testimony with an extraordinary tribute to Callen, the GPU agent, calling her one of my heroes, after the harassment and what shes been through the last couple of years. I would even feel more strongly about her, her character, than I did then.

Following Barnes testimony, Pfaelzer suddenly released the transcripts of both the 1954 and 1958 grand jury hearings, perhaps because Barnes testimony was too much to stomach.

In her 1954 testimony, Callen employed the tactic that she would later use when confronted by North and Mitchell in 1977 and during her 1980 deposition, i.e., memory loss. In 1954, Callen did confirm that she had been married to Zalmond Franklin, and that they had attended meetings of the Stalinist Young Communist League. But in response to crucial questions, such as whether she had met with Louis Budenz, Callen stated: I cant answer that because of possible self-incrimination, invoking the Fifth Amendment.

In her second grand jury appearance, on June 18, 1958, Callen told the story of her role as an agent inside the SWP. She recalled how she was paid to hand over confidential information from the desk of James Cannon to two leading GPU spies, Dr. Gregory Rabinowitzthe Roberts Budenz had worked withand Jack Soble, the brother of Robert Soblen, both of whom were also GPU agents.

Callen acknowledged that the GPU had access to everything: international correspondence, internal discussion papers from Trotskyist movements worldwide, all of James P. Cannons correspondence, and personal information about the membership. She admitted she would meet with Dr. Gregory Rabinowitz, GPU spy ringleader in New York, with whom Hansen also met in 1938. We quote at length her testimony in the four-part series we recently published. Here is an excerpt:

Q: Now, you described the mimeographed material which you gave, can you recall the contents of the material that you typed? A: Well, I remember I used to just type upit was mostly during faction fights in the party and political committee meetings, who was fighting with who, and then if there was correspondence from Leon Trotsky that I saw, I would try to remember what was in the letters and write that all out, whos going with who and that kind of thing, personal things like that, I remember, how much money they hadI knew, you know, bank balances and stuff like that.

Judge Pfaelzer, guided by a desire to prevent Gelfand from exposing the depth of the FBIs involvement in the SWP, ultimately denied his requests that she release information about specific agents operating in the party, relying on a pseudo-legal argument that Gelfand was not entitled to this information.

But the release of the grand jury testimony of 1958 was a devastating blow. It exploded the cover-up of the GPUs penetration of the SWP, and completely vindicated the investigation conducted by the International Committee.

Forty-three years after the launching of the investigation, its political significance now emerges even more clearly. What was involved was a staggering level of investigative work that became a tremendous blow for historical truth against the falsifications of the Stalinists and their allies.

The Workers League stated in its 1978 perspectives document, written before the Gelfand Case, that:

Security and the Fourth International represents nothing less than the reclamation of the whole historical continuity of Bolshevism through the Fourth International and the International Committee from the evil grip of Stalinist counter-revolution and falsification. All the lies and distortions and crimes committed by Stalinism against Trotskyism, the political embodiment of the struggle for the world October; all the monstrous acts committed to confuse and disorient generations of workers about the real history of the October Revolution and the role of Trotskythese have been dealt a blow from which Stalinism and all the agencies of imperialist counter-revolution will never recover.

The investigation was a political struggle conducted under fire from an international network of Pabloites who responded with vitriolic denunciations. The detractors of Security and the Fourth International never provided an explanation for the facts about Hansen, Callen, or other proven GPU agents like Robert Sheldon Harte and Floyd Cleveland Miller.

But the ICFI insisted there was a political explanation for the attacks on Security and the Fourth International. To the Pabloites, the ICFIs unforgivable crime was to bring to light documents exposing the role of the GPU and the US government in destabilizing the Trotskyist movement and, in the case of the GPU, in murdering its leadership. This cut across the Pabloites political aim of orienting to the Stalinist bureaucracies and, in the case of the SWP, to the Democratic Party in the US.

The collapse of the Stalinist parties and the reduced influence of their Pabloite supporters has weakened the ability of the corrupt and cynical middle class to find a broader audience for their denunciations of the Security and the Fourth International investigation. Those, like Louis Proyect and Susan Weissman, who continue to attack the ICFI for its investigation, are desperately concerned that a new generation of workers and youth recognize that the political and physical independence of the workers movement from agents of the state is a life or death question, upon which the fate of the socialist revolution depends.
Sri Lankas ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe talks with party deputy leader Sajith Premadasa inside the parliament at a news conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka November 14, 2018. REUTERS

The victory that the grieved petitioners were handed by the Supreme Court ruling regarding the dissolution of Parliament was akin to the end in most movie scripts; the good triumphing over the bad.

It seems the efforts of the democratic forces during the past few days havent been in vain. But like walking out of a movie theatre and stepping into reality again, we now have to fathom that we have three difficult customers to deal with; Ranil Wickremesinghe, Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa. This in fact is the bitter reality.

The present court ruling gives some respite to Sri Lanka

the democratic forces who are working overtime do believe in a Sri Lankan Summer

People in the country have the habit of shelving their good-naturedness and taking on a confrontational attitude when the topic switches to politics

Those who love democracy and fair play cant relax now and must double their efforts

The problem with the three is that they are power hungry and love themselves more than the country. Another common characteristic about the trio is that they have been the least influenced by the opinions of others. In other words they have to take responsibility for the positions they have put themselves into in the field of politics. Right now its only Rajapaksa who has some future in politics (Going purely on the peoples acceptance of him). Wickremesinghe and Sirisena have proven beyond doubt that they are spent forces in politics. But Rajapaksas ruthless past and the negativity with which the outside world looks at this man makes it real hard for him to have the same clout he had during past elections.

The present court ruling gives some respite to Sri Lanka because the recent developments indicated that the nation was slowly moving towards becoming a pariah state. As many as eight Western diplomats shunning a scheduled meeting with the Dr.Sarath Amunugama a few days ago underscores that the international community wasnt in favour of Parliament being dissolved in an undemocratic manner.

Lawyers for Democracy

A lawyers collective operating by the name Lawyers for Democracy voiced the biggest warning and stated that qualities of a civilised country in loving democracy, basic law, sovereignty of the people and decency in governance have been showed in the gutter. This they said was due to the dissolution of Parliament by undemocratic means.

Whats alarming is that a nation that lit crackers and served milk rice on the streets to celebrate the dissolving of Parliament and appointing Rajapaksa after sacking Wickremesinghe as Premier didnt show enough enthusiasm to welcome this historic court ruling. It seems that a good number of the countys citizens find it hard to understand that the rule of the law is the only hope when politicians bungle after assuming power, thanks to the peoples votes. UNP Leader Wickremesinghe was quick to point out that one cant play around with the Constitution adding the president is not above the law.

The people in this country start believing when someone goes on repeating untrue information like a mantra. Its alarming as well to note that people are quick to comment on untrue facts appearing on social media, without bothering to verify the content. Politics often takes centre stage and one can observe the fantasy worlds they live in, believing their favourites would rule the island when in reality they dont have half a chance nor the legal clearance to be granted nomination at elections.

But on the other hand the democratic forces who are working overtime do believe in a Sri Lankan Summer saying hello soon despite it being a cold November that we are at present experiencing.

There is much talk within the UNP that it is mulling over the prospects of appointing of a new leader. Sajith Premadasas name has come up at several forums as the possible candidate for the party leadership. Political analysts point out that the only avenue for this opening up is if Wickremesinghe moves away and assumes a consultancy role in the party, paving the way for the next generation of UNPers to take over and contribute to the decision making process. But nothing of that sort could have been even dreamed of if not for the staunch efforts of Karu Jayasuriya who maintained that he was compelled to accept the status quo prior to October 26. The same must be said about the Asgiriya and Malwatte Chapters of the Buddha Shasana in Sri Lanka who have maintained a stark silence regarding the dissolution of Parliament and the appointing of a new premier. This silence could be interpreted as their dissatisfaction regarding the new turn of events in politics under the Sirisena-Rajapaksa alliance.

Internationals community

Regardless of what opinions patriotic people of this country express, the internationals community is fully behind Wickremesinghe. This (The outside world) is a force and must be considered as a force to be reckoned with. If Sri Lanka doesnt revert back to a democratic way in which it governs the country, the international community imposing sanctions on Sri Lanka is not far away.

People in the country have the habit of shelving their good-naturedness and taking on a confrontational attitude when the topic switches to politics. This is a subject where people would go to any extremes in order to defend their views. So much hate is spread on social media during arguments about whether Sirisena did the right thing dissolving parliament. For some people dissolving Parliament, having an election and electing an efficient Government is above the law and democracy. For them Wickremesinghe stating that the court ruling in favour of the peoples franchise was a victory for decent politics amounts to rubbish.

Those who love democracy and fair play cant relax now and must double their efforts. They cant be caught napping. Those who rule the island now have the habit of springing surprises on the people. The forces behind the Sirisena-Rajapaksa duo have vowed that they await the Supreme Court ruling on December 7 and add that they would fight hard to go for elections.

December marks the arrival of the festive season. That much looked forward to month is just days away. But whats happening now has made the political environment rather unpleasant. The tussle between the good and the bad has never been so decisive for the islanders. Sri Lankas democratic forces are screaming for spring time despite the present environment we live in making us bitterly cold!
In a dramatic intensification of the factional conflict raging inside Sri Lankas ruling elite, the Supreme Court yesterday issued an interim order overturning President Maithripala Sirisenas dissolving of the national parliament. The court will issue its final verdict on December 7.

The Supreme Court made its ruling after hearing 12 fundamental rights petitions challenging Sirisenas dissolution of parliament on November 9. Petitioners included several political partiesthe United National Party (UNP), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA)as well as civil society groups and individuals. Five petitions were submitted in support of Sirisenas proclamation.

The court decision elevates the brawling inside the ruling elite into a major constitutional crisis with a stand-off between Sirisena and the Supreme Court, and also between his recently appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremesinghe, the previous PM. Wickremesinghe is likely to win a vote of confidence in parliament which is being reconvened today.

Sirisena dissolved parliament late last Friday in violation of the constitution and declared that a general election would be held on January 5 and a new parliament convened on January 17. Yesterdays Supreme Court interim blocking order also applies to the election date announcement and nominations that were to be lodged between November 19 and November 26.

While lawyers for those opposing Sirisenas dissolution of parliament argued that it violated the constitution, Attorney-General Jayantha Jayasuriya insisted that the court had no jurisdiction to determine the fundamental rights petitions opposing the dissolution of parliament. The presidents powers in this regard, he declared, are unambiguous. The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera, however, decided to hear the petitions.

Dissolution of parliament is one of a series of anti-democratic actions by the Sri Lankan president over the past two weeks. On October 26, in a political coup, he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, replacing him with the former President Mahinda Rajapakse, and prorogued the parliament until November 16. Facing local and international criticism, Sirisena changed the date to November 14.

The presidents prorogation was a manoeuvre to allow Rajapakse to secure majority support in the parliament. Despite intense horse trading, Rajapakse declared last week that he had been unable to garner the required numbers, prompting Sirisena to dissolve the parliament.

Following yesterdays Supreme Court ruling, the UNP and other opposition parties and groups enthusiastically proclaimed the interim order as a victory for democracy and the people.

Workers and youth must reject these claims. The interim order is a manifestation, on a higher and more explosive level, of the deep divisions gripping the Sri Lankan political elite. Workers and the poor cannot defend their social and democratic rights through the political representatives of the bourgeoisie or the judiciary which is another repressive instrument of capitalist state.

The interim order reflects fears in ruling circles that Sirisenas blatant breaches of the constitution could add further fuel to a growing movement of protests and strikes by workers and the rural masses. If a means of defusing the acute political crisis is not found in the next three weeks, the court could still rule in favour of Sirisena.

Following the court order, UNP leader Wickremesinghe declared in a tweet: Lets go forward and re-establish the sovereignty of the people in our beloved country. He told the media that his party would fight to the last to save democracy, the supremacy of parliament, and in defence of the constitution.

Wickremesinghes pompous rhetoric echoes the ridiculous claims by Sirisena that his authoritarian actions are to defend democracy.

Every faction of the ruling elite has been thrown into crisis about what to do about the mounting economic problems and global geopolitical tensions confronting Sri Lankan capitalism, as well as the deepening social opposition of workers and the poor against the government attacks on their social rights. Sri Lankas rival bourgeois parties have never defended the democratic or social rights of the people; their record is one of systematic repression against the masses.

Yesterday, a jubilant JVP general secretary Tilwin Silva interrupted his speech to a public gathering to announce the Supreme Court order. The conspiracy of Sirisena and Rajapakse had been defeated, he declared, adding that there would be more conspiracies and his party was ready to defeat them.

In fact, the JVP has cynically embraced the UNPs bogus defence of democracy campaign against the machinations of Sirisena and Rajapakse. In January 2015, however, it lined up with Sirisena and Wickremesinghe in a US-backed regime change operation to oust Rajapakse, claiming to be defending democracy from dictatorship.

While the Speaker told MPs that parliament will be convened today, the agenda is not clear. Wickremesinghe told the media that the parliament would demonstrate he has the majority. We will show that we are the legitimate government, he said and called on government servants to follow the Constitution. He also declared that the police should adhere to his instructions.

At a press conference held last night, several ministers from the new so-called Rajapakse government claimed the Speaker had no authority to reconvene the parliament.

More significantly, Sirisena responded to the court order by convening a special meeting last night with Sri Lankas national security council and military commanders. No details have been revealed about what instructions he issued but the media has reported that he asked commanders to tighten security across the country. Inspector General of Police Pujitha Jayasundara has also instructed police to curb any violence that may occur.

The US and other major international powers have intensified their pressure on Sirisena following his dissolution of parliament. Sirisena and Rajapakse have both tried to appease international concerns.

Foreign minister Sarath Amunugama called a meeting of all foreign diplomats in Colombo, but according to Reuters, ambassadors from Britain, Netherlands, Norway, France, Australia, South Africa, Italy and Canada did not attend. The European Union, the US and Germany sent representatives and India a junior official.

A US statement criticising the dissolution declared, President Maithripala Sirisenas decision to dissolve Parliament poses a vital threat to Sri Lanka's democratic institutions and an EU statement said, A fully functioning Parliament is an essential pillar of democracy.

Japan yesterday expressed its concerns about the political crisis and the dissolution of the parliament. The major powers are not concerned about democracy or social rights of the working class in Sri Lanka or anywhere else.

Washington backed the regime-change operation that brought Sirisena into the presidency in January 2015 and strengthened its military and political relations with Sri Lanka. Its current interventions in the escalating crisis in Colombo are in order to maintain those relations.

While the US and other major powers are currently backing Wickremesinghe, Washington is not averse to working with Rajapakse if he is willing to serve American interests.

The working class and the rural masses in Sri Lanka cannot defend their democratic or social rights through any of the ruling class parties or appeals to the judiciary. What is required is the independent mobilisation of workers and youth against every faction of the elite and on the basis of the revolutionary socialist program advanced by the Socialist Equality Party.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - BancorpSouth Bank is set to acquire two banks in Alabama and Texas.

The Tupelo-based banking company has signed a definitive merger agreement with Merchants Trust, Inc. which is based in Jackson, Alabama.

Merchants operates six full-service banking offices in Clarke and Mobile counties in Alabama.

The merger will expand BancorpSouths banking companys presence in Mobile County, Ala., and allow it to enter new markets in the surrounding counties.

The transaction is expected to close during the first half of next year.

BancorpSouth Bank is also set to acquire Casey Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Grand Bank of Texas.

Grand Bank operates four full-service banking offices in Dallas, Grand Prairie, Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls in Texas.

BancorpSouth currently operates 59 full-service banking offices in Texas, including two in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and 32 in Central Texas.

This transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2019.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - Planet Fitness in Tupelo is asking the community to help provide a turkey dinner for those who help northeast Mississippi children year round.

The gym is collecting cans and planning to provide a holiday feast for the employees of the Boys and Girls Club.

According to General Manager Bob Ford, those at Planet Fitness "want to show those who help our children that they care for them and for all of their hard work towards the young people."
BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - Students and educators from northeast Mississippi had the chance to experience technology known as augmented and virtual reality.

Northeast Mississippi Community College hosted the technology festival on Tuesday inside the student union on campus.

Those who attended the event were able to explore, play and learn about the emerging technologies of augmented and virtual reality.

"It's very important," Technology Specialist Jeffrey Powell said. "One of the things that President [Ricky] Ford put me in charge of is keeping us ahead and looking at what is next. I believe this is one of the new, next technologies we can have in the classroom."
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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
Capping a 14-month, hype-filled search, Amazon.com officially announced that its HQ2 plans for a second base of operations in North America would actually be divvied up between New York City and Arlington, Va.

The company said it will establish dual East Coast headquarters located in Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens, and National Landing in Arlington just south of Washington, D.C.

The HQ2 sweepstakes had pitted more than 200 cities, which was narrowed down to a shortlist of 20 in January, looking to woo Amazon with tax breaks and other amenities. Critics have speculated that Amazon all along wanted to open up large facilities in New York and/or the D.C. area, and that the HQ2 process was designed purely to extract more favorable economic terms.

All told, Amazon  one of the worlds most valuable corporations  will receive nearly $2.1 billion in tax incentives and cash grants to build the two East Coast headquarters. That includes $1.525 billion in New York based on the company creating 25,000 jobs in Long Island City; and $573 million in Virginia based on the same estimated job-creation target.

For NYC, Amazon projected it will deliver incremental tax revenue of more than $10 billion over the next 20 years. The company pegged tax revenue generated by the Arlington, Va., HQ location of $3.2 billion over the next two decades.

Amazon demanded subsidies and terms from cities all over the country, demanded those terms be kept secret, then reneged on its promise to locate thousands of jobs, Barry Lynn, executive director of liberal think tank Open Markets Institute, which has lobbied for the breakup of the internet giant. Amazon is now treating even the biggest of American cities with the same disrespect it shows for the suppliers and the merchants who depend on its website to reach customers.

Also Tuesday, Amazon announced that it has selected Nashville, Tenn., for a new business hub responsible for customer fulfillment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities. The Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville will create more than 5,000 jobs, the company said. Amazon is receiving $102 million in tax incentives in Nashville.

Story continues

Amazon expects to begin hiring in 2019 for the Long Island City and Arlington headquarters locations as well as the Nashville hub.

We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia, Jeff Bezos, Amazons founder and CEO, said in a statement. These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.

The ecommerce giant said it expects to invest some $5 billion and create up to 50,000 jobs for the New York and Northern Virginia campuses. After launching the HQ2 search in September 2017, Amazon received 238 proposals from cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Amazons two new satellite headquarters will help it recruit talent on the East Coast to support the ongoing growth of the massive company, whose 2017 sales of $178 billion were up 31% from the year prior. The company needed to expand after maxing out its footprint in Seattle, where it has over 45,000 employees.

With Amazons move into the Big Apple, New York can proudly say that we have attracted one of the largest, most competitive economic development investments in U.S. history, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement. He touted Amazons estimated average annual salary of $150,000 the new jobs in Queens.

While some politicos have embraced Amazon and the economic kick its new outposts promise to deliver, others have slammed the massive tax breaks the corporation is set to receive.

Queens residents have responded to Amazons planned move into Long Island City with outrage, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the newly elected Democratic U.S. representative from New York, wrote in a series of tweets Monday evening.

The idea that [Amazon] will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, after the Wall Street Journal reported NYC and Arlington were the final HQ2 selections.

Pictured above: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos

Related stories

Anime Service FunimationNow Launches on Amazon's Prime Video Channels in the U.K.

Los Cabos Debates Digital Series Revolution, Freedoms, Rights, Talent, Paradigms

'Homecoming' Production Designer on Defining the Series in One Shot

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!
While the Democrats running New York state (Gov. Andrew Cuomo) and New York City (Mayor Bill DiBlasio) celebrated the citys selection by Amazon to co-host the companys new headquarters, many other Democrats are not rolling out a welcome mat.

The tech giant today confirmed picking New Yorks Long Island City as well as suburban Washington to share expansive new headquarters facilities. The two cities emerged as winners among dozens of cities jockeying for more than a year for the so-called HQ2 project by the Seattle-based tech giant, which has pledged to spend $5 billion on the sites and create 50,000 jobs.

Pro-business Democrats and influential figures like former mayor Michael Bloomberg see the influx of tech workers as a boon to New Yorks ambition to compete with Silicon Valley. Critics of the deal have pointed to an array of other areas of need, such as affordable housing, education and the citys already overloaded subway system. They question the idea of catering to a tech company with tax breaks that will surpass $1.5 billion.

Amazon is a billion-dollar company, tweeted newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here. In a later tweet, she added, This isnt just about one company or one headquarters. Its about cost of living, corps paying their fair share, etc. Its not about picking a fight, either. I was elected to advocate for our communitys interests  & theyve requested, clearly, to voice their concerns.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson also cited his constituents. Amazon is one of the richest companies in the world, but you cant put a price on community input, which has been missing throughout the entire process, he said in a statement.

Story continues

The tension is particularly evident in the borough of Queens, where Amazon is moving, to the neighborhood of Long Island City, just across the East River from Manhattan. On Sunday, with the deal already known to be a fait accompli, state Sen. Michael Gianaris and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer made a joint announcement decrying the plan. We were not elected to serve as Amazon drones, the announcement said. It is unfathomable that New York would offer hefty incentives when our subways are crumbling, our children lack school seats, and too many of our neighbors lack adequate health care. The statement went on, Too much is at stake to accept this without a fight.

For much of its modern history, as the birthplace of the American skyscraper and high-density urban planning, New York has seen regular clashes over the use of land and public resources. Recently, the spotlight fell on Barry Dillers on-again/off-again effort to build an island in the Hudson River to host cultural events and park activities. (Opponents fear its environmental impact.)

Years earlier, a bid by former mayors Rudy Giuliani and then Bloomberg to build a stadium on Manhattans West Side ran into a buzzsaw of opposition. The industrial parcel known as Hudson Yards, where the stadium would have risen, has since been redeveloped as part of a massive commercial redevelopment that is the citys biggest since Rockefeller Center nearly a century ago.

The High Line, an elevated park snaking through that same neighborhood, has raised real estate values across large swaths of Manhattan and drawn swarms of tourists. At the same time, developments like it throughout the city are prompting increasing worries about gentrification and the city becoming less affordable. (In an interesting footnote, De Blasio made a point not to visit the High Line for years after pledging to temper the pro-business fervor of Bloombergs run.)

As the Amazon news has rippled out in press accounts in recent days, reaction has also come from the likes of MCNBC host Chris Hayes. Tweeting yesterday, Hayes called the HQ2 competition a debasing con from the jump.

On the right, while many gleefully teed off on Ocasio-Cortez and other Democratic critics of the deal, conservative stalwart the National Review said tax breaks are not always the stimuli they are made out to be. Her conservative critics reveal their own economic misunderstanding when they support targeted tax breaks as a means of creating jobs, wrote Veronique De Rugy.

Related stories

Amazon Orders Bilingual Catalina Aguilar Mastretta Romantic Comedy Pilot Starring Lorenza Izzo; Five Others Cast

Amazon Makes It Official: Selects New York City, Arlington For New Headquarters

Amazon Picking Long Island City & Northern Virginia For Split HQ2: Reports
Federal judges have been a thorn in the side of Brian Kemp.

The Friday before the midterm elections, U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross ruled that the Georgia secretary of states controversial exact match voting law was discriminatory, ordering him to change it after expressing grave concerns about the differential treatment inflicted on a group of individuals who are predominantly minorities. As expected, Kemps gubernatorial race the following Tuesday against Democrat Stacey Abrams was too close to call, and as officials continue to sort through provisional ballots and otherwise unaccounted for votes, more federal judges have come down on the embattled Republican with a taste for voter suppression.

On Monday night, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ordered the certification of the elections results be delayed, citing concerns over how Kemp managed the election as Georgias secretary of state, a position from which he has since resigned. Less than 24 hours later, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May ruled that Gwinnett County violated the Civili Rights Act in invalidating absentee ballots based on an omitted or incorrect birth year. Those ballots must now be counted.

BREAKING: We won! Federal court finds that Gwinnett Countys mass rejection of absentee ballots based on an omitted or incorrect birth year violates the Civil Rights Act. These ballots MUST be counted! Win for voters in Georgia whose votes and voices matter! @LawyersComm pic.twitter.com/5lCCInu299  Kristen Clarke 866-OUR-VOTE (@KristenClarkeJD) November 13, 2018

Totenbergs ruling on Monday night didnt come a moment too soon. Robyn Crittenden, the Republican who replaced Kemp as secretary of state, issued a statement last week clarifying that all counties must certify their election results by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. She was expected to certify the state-wide results on Wednesday. Totenbergs ruling prevents Crittenden from certifying the results until 5 p.m. on Friday, and also calls for the state to set up a way for people who cast provisional ballots to check in on the status of their vote. Totenberg expressed concern over Crittendens rush to certify the election, which she wrote appears to suggest the secretarys foregoing of its responsibility to confirm the accuracy of the results prior to final certification, including the assessment of whether serious provisional balloting count issues have been consistently and properly handled.

Story continues

As of Monday night, Abrams trailed Kemp by just under 60,000 votes. Abrams would need to bring in additional 19,000 votes to ensure a recount, and 21,000 to trigger a December 4th runoff, which state law requires if no candidate can lock in at least 50 percent of the vote. Kemp is currently hovering around 50.3 percent. The secretary of states office has claimed that 21,000 provisional votes were cast in the election, although Abrams believes the number is closer to 30,000.

Despite the controversy, Kemp has declared victory, resigning as secretary of state last Friday to focus on transitioning into his new life in the Governors Mansion. His campaign has alleged that there are not enough outstanding votes for Abrams to make up the discrepancy. Though Totenbergs ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Common Cause prior to the election, Abrams has been aggressive in her efforts to ensure that every provisional ballot is accounted for and tallied. On Monday, her campaign filed a lawsuit asking for the certification process to be delayed, and for the state to stop rejecting provisional ballots with minor efforts.

The Kemp campaign has been critical of Abrams and the organizations who have failed lawsuits related to the provisional ballots. Its incredibly shameful that liberal lawyers are doubling down on lawsuits desperately trying to create more votes for Stacey Abrams, campaign spokesman Ryan Mahoney said in a statement. They dont want to win this election. They are trying to steal it.

Its Kemp, though, who throughout the campaign abused his position as secretary of state to suppress the votes of Georgians, predominantly those of minorities. During his tenure as secretary of state, he improperly purged the registrations of hundreds of thousands of voters, and his exact match policy, which holds that a voters registration card perfectly mirror other identification documents, has been ruled as restrictive to voting rights. In October, Rolling Stone obtained audio of Kemp expressing concern over Georgians exercising their right to vote. On Election Day, the state was plagued by polling issues in, you guess it, predominantly minority precincts.

Though Kemp has followed Trumps lead in alleging foul play, as is the case in Florida, there is no evidence anything resembling voter fraud is taking place in Georgia. Abrams and the organizations that have challenged the states handling of the election simply want all the votes to be counted. Though Monday nights ruling should help their cause, the damage Kemp has inflicted on democracy in Georgia may still be too difficult to overcome. Each of these tens of thousands of ballots represents the voice of a Georgian voter, Abrams campaign said in the lawsuit it filed on Monday. Now, those voices are at risk of not being heard.

This post has been updated.
Senator-elect Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, meets with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2018. (Photo: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, after winning one of the most closely watched national races, is heading to Congress. Flipping former Sen. Jeff Flakes seat from red to blue, Sinema will be the first Democratic senator from Arizona in nearly three decades.

Now its time to get to work, Sinema said in her victory speech on Monday, calling for Arizonans to put country over party and come together in unity.

The race between Sinema and her Republican opponent, Martha McSally, kept the nation on edge as the race ran one week past Election Day, while every vote was painstakingly counted. As Sinemas lead neared 38,000 votes on Monday night, McSally called her, conceding the race. I wish [Sinema] the best, she said on Twitter. Im inspired by Arizonans spirit, and our states best days are ahead of us.

Congrats to @kyrstensinema. I wish her success. Im grateful to all those who supported me in this journey. Im inspired by Arizonans spirit and our states best days are ahead of us. pic.twitter.com/tw0uKgi3oO  McSally For Senate (@MarthaMcSally) November 13, 2018

Heres why her win is such a big deal:

Shes the first Democratic senator to represent Arizona in decades.

The Republican Party has safely held this Senate seat for 24 years; its most recent occupant was Sen. Jeff Flake. Sinemas win is seen as a huge shift in party lines for a state that has been solidly red for more than two decades.

Arizona will now have six Democrats in its congressional delegation, narrowly outnumbering the five Republicans. Its the first time the state has had more Democrats than Republicans since the 1960s.

Congratulations to @kyrstensinema on a race well run, and won. Its been a wonderful honor representing Arizona in the Senate. Youll be great.  Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) November 13, 2018

Shes the first woman from Arizona to join the Senate.

Story continues

Sinema will join a growing number of women who have made history as the first woman to represent their state in the Senate, like Republican Marsha Blackburn, the first woman senator from Tennessee.

Shes the first openly bisexual person in the Senate.

The next session of Congress will be more diverse than ever, and Sinema will be the first openly bisexual person in the Senate, joining Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin in giving a voice to LGBTQ women.

Very happy to say Im no longer the *only* openly LGBTQ U.S. Senator. Congratulations to @kyrstensinema on a well-deserved victory. The upper chamber is lucky to have your steady leadership.  Tammy Baldwin (@tammybaldwin) November 13, 2018

We can work with people who are different than us. We can be friends with people who are different than us, Sinema said in her speech. We can love and care about people who are different than us. We can keep people who are different than us safe. We can be good people who care deeply about each other, even when we disagree.

At 42, shes one of the youngest members of the Senate.

Sinema is more than two decades younger than the median age in the Senate: 65. But dont read her youth to mean that shes a novice. Sinema worked her way from being homeless as a child to becoming a social worker who eventually went on to earn both a law degree and a PhD. Shes spent the last five years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Shes known for being a centrist Democrat.

In the House, she was a member of the congressional Blue Dog Coalition, the most conservative group of House Democrats. During her Senate race, she focused her priorities on veterans rights, law enforcement and immigration.

Everyone recognizes that [the government] is broken, she said. And really, we all know the solution. We, the citizens of this great country, we must fix it. We must be an active part of the solution. We must be willing to put down our sticks sharpened for battle. We must be willing to turn to our neighbors and pick them up instead.
PARIS  Armed with a 100-million-euro investment fund and a vast network, Ghanaian entrepreneur Roberta Annan is eager to leapfrog Africa into the burgeoning global luxury market.

Ive appointed myself as an ambassador  nobody has appointed me  to really position people that are doing things so we can rebrand and reposition how people view Africa, Annan told a gathering here Tuesday organized by investment bank Ohana & Co.

She is probably one of the best ambassadors for Africa, Karine Ohana, managing partner of the firm, said by way of introduction, going on to note that the population of the African continent is expected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050, making it a key trade partner for Europe.

Guests including designer Olivier Theyskens, former French minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and industrialist Laurent Dassault heard how Annan was supporting entrepreneurs like Menaye Donkor, a former Ghanaian beauty queen who presented her cosmetics brand, She-y, at the event. The line, made in Italy, uses ethically sourced shea butter from Ghana and algae from Senegal, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Menaye Charity Organization, which provides education for underprivileged children.

These are the types of success stories we want to project outside, because the perception of Africa is not the right perception. What is actually happening there is so different from what we read or see in the news, Annan said.

Earlier in the day, she had attended the Paris Peace Forum, where she launched the Impact Fund for Africa, a 100-million-euro investment fund supporting African creatives working in fashion and lifestyle. The fund is a partnership between her African Fashion Fund project and the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), a flagship program of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

It will be managed by Roberta Annan Capital Partners, a specialized boutique investment and advisory company, with members from the EFI serving as non-executive board members.

Story continues

Through the African Fashion Fund, Annan has previously organized internships for African designers at companies including Edun, the socially conscious clothing label founded by Ali Hewson and her husband Bono, and Macys, via its DC Fashion Incubator.

At the Paris Peace Forum on Tuesday, she organized a fashion show featuring Ghanaian brands Duaba Serwa and Chocolate by Kwaku Bediako, alongside Senegalese designer Sophie Zinga.

At the Ohana cocktail, Annan sat down with WWD to discuss her efforts to bring diverse creativity to the world stage, the impact of Instagram and how to make Africa synonymous with luxury.

WWD: Ahead of the launch of the Impact Fund for Africa, you have been doing the groundwork identifying brands that you think have potential to develop internationally. What have you found?

Roberta Annan: Yes, in fact Ive invested my own capital for the past six years under the African Fashion Fund, which I created as a foundation. I created this after working with Franca Sozzani on the special issue of Vogue Italia called Rebranding Africa. I was a project developer on that magazine and I was the one that basically spearheaded all the arrangements and the meetings on the continent. And after doing that, I realized that there was such a demand for African fashion and lifestyle and beauty, but you could not identify or see these anywhere. So I created a foundation to address those challenges, and through my foundation I issued an annual fellowship that would take an African designer from Africa to a fashion city around the world to study for six months and we would pay for all of that. And that converted to a business incubator where we were supporting the business ideas, and we are now in talks with Parsons to do a short course certificate that African students can actually take on the continent. I was approached by the U.N. to partner on this fund, so it has even escalated to a major thing, which is 100 million euros that is going to look at not just fashion  were also going to look at theater and film, and were also going to look at music.

WWD: African fashion has found a new platform on Instagram. Do you think social media is going to change the image of designers from African countries?

R.A.: Technology obviously has played a major role. Social media, of course, in terms of connectivity and people being able to exchange and communicate, its easier when you dont have to rely on phones, you dont have to rely on travel. You can actually see product, you can see nice imagery, you can see pricing, you can exchange.

As Africans, we have the propensity to actually leapfrog when it comes to the era of technology, just as we have done with mobile technologies and looking at mobile money. I feel like in the fashion space, we can also leapfrog. We can look at how fashion and technology, coupled, can accelerate access to products and things like that. So we should not only limit ourselves to brick-and-mortar, we should look at how the Internet can also play a role in closing up this value chain, this loop.

WWD: African companies have access to a huge domestic market. Can fashion brands build a sizable luxury business directly at home, or is it still important in terms of credibility for them to show in Paris or New York?

R.A.: If you look at the couturiers in France and Italy, the Armanis and the Diors  they started this craftsmanship and created what luxury is. We look up to these brands, so its important for African brands to also look up and try to, not mimic or replicate, but also adhere to the same core values that actually create luxury. So we cannot live in a silo and forget about the rest of the world. That means we need to have an exchange on validating each other and making sure that we have quality control and assurance measures in place. But we also cannot neglect the fact that we Africans can also produce for ourselves. Our population will reach more than two billion in the next few years, a population where 65 percent are under the age of 25. That means that in the next 10 years, its populated by the youth, and were doing less than 20 percent of trade within the continent. So we need to look at ways in which we can address this. One of the things were looking at within the fund is to establish retail in major fashion capitals, but also bring that same model to Africa.

Its not always about the outside market. We also have to address the market that we have and tap into it. A few African governments have come together to sign a free trade agreement to ensure that there is more regional integration and trade within the African continent, so thats also key and we can take advantage of that.

WWD: Nigerias thriving Champagne consumption suggests Africa is a big potential market for luxury goods, but people still dont associate Africa with luxury.

R.A.: They dont. Its like an oxymoron. What we are trying to say is that you cannot talk about luxury without including Africa, because if you look at the core aspects of luxury  craftsmanship, rarity  we do have craftsmanship. Its just that we need to find a way to commercialize and package our craftsmanship in a better way. And that is why I love this product [She-y] because its shea butter, but packaged in a way thats luxurious. So its not impossible to do. It just has to be done with the right people, with people who have expertise. We need to engage with international experts who understand the market, who understand the industry, because its very nascent in our part of the world. That is why this is important, to build those bridges.

Related stories

Slve Sundsb Mounts Exhibition During Photo Vogue in Milan

Macy's Posts Robust Quarter, Raises Outlook for the Year

Retail's Third Quarter: Who Benefited From the Consumer Spending Wave?
KanjaneeChaisin/shutterstock.com

November 14, 2018

A new study by a pair of UK researchers has linked an increased risk of postpartum depression (PPD) to women who had male babies, finding that the odds of developing PPD were 71-79% higher for women who gave birth to boys as opposed to girls. It also found that birth complications during labor and delivery increased the risk of PPD by 174% (compared with births that had no complications).

Researchers studied the reproductive histories of 296 women via survey, asking respondents to self-report feelings of depression after birth as well as answer questions about labor and delivery experiences.

"Because our data had information on women's complete reproductive histories, we could look at differences between all of an individual mother's births, not just across women who happen to have given birth at a particular time," says study author Sarah Myers, Ph.D., honorary research associate at the University College London department of anthropology. This approach allowed Dr. Myers and her co-author, Sarah E. Johns, Ph.D., to control for more factors than previous similar studies.

But what could infant genders and birth complications have in commonand why might they both cause higher incidences of PPD?

"There is increasing evidence to support a link between inflammation and subsequent depressive symptoms, and male fetuses have been linked to increased risk of pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, both of which involve the immune system," Myers explains. "This made us wonder whether there would also be a link between giving birth to male infants and PPD."

Researchers are still trying to understand the potential connection between male babies and inflammation, but it's easier to understand why birth complicationswhich Myers said may include everything from cesarean sections to episiotomiesmay trigger a heightened immune response.

Story continues

"Birth complications were self-defined by participants [as either] no complications, minor complications with or without an extended period of recovery, or major complications with or without an extended period of recovery," says Dr.Myers. "While we don't know exactly what each woman in our study experienced, other studies have found that a variety of medical interventions during childbirth...increase the risk of infection and inflammation."

Although it makes sense to assume that the odds of developing PPD would be even higher for women who have both risk factors (i.e. they delivered male babies and had some kind of birth complication), the study results were inconclusive on that front. Dr. Myers does add, however, that existing research into depression has shown an elevated risk when multiple risk factors occur, so it merits further study.

For physicians, the study results present a unique theory about the possible link between PPD and these two risk factors.

"It is interesting to note the role of inflammation in the development of depression," says Kecia Gaither, M.D., a double board-certified physician in OB/GYN and Maternal-Fetal Medicine and director of perinatal services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. "Research has noted a difference in the immune response of women carrying a male versus a female fetus, and operative deliveries, episiotomies, and the development of a uterine infection in the postpartum period all additionally affect the immune response in postpartum women."

At the same time, Dr. Gaither warns that while the study lays a strong foundation for exploration of an important topic in perinatal care, it also poses a few problems. First, it was completed retrospectively on women born prior to 1966 (so pregnancy-related care was much different than it is now). Second, information about the subjects' medical and mental comorbidities is unknown, making it hard to confirm a clear correlation between infant gender, birth complications, and PPD.

Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale University, agrees that the findings may pose more questions than they answer. "Birth complications themselves can be fairly traumatic, and I would think anyone who has been through significant trauma would be at higher risk of depression just from the emotional trauma alone that she has endured," she says. "I think it would be difficult to figure out whether it's the emotional trauma or the secondary inflammation [causing the depression]."

Even if the study doesn't draw a definitive connection between infant gender, birth complications, and PPD, it's promising that the risk factors of depression in postpartum women continue to be studiedand that researchers are asking key questions about the underlying causes of PPD.

"Further research [like this study] may lead to a specific causative chemical factor, and in so doing may uncover specific screening methodologies or even medicinal therapy to prevent the development of postpartum depression in women," says Dr. Gaither.
A woman from Texas is on life support after suffering from complications of a plastic surgery procedure she attempted to have done abroad. Laura Avila traveled to Juarez, Mexico, to have plastic surgery done on her nose, because the procedure costs much less in Mexico than in the U.S., according to a report from New Orleans NBC affiliate WDSU 6.

Avila had complications after she was given anesthesia, and doctors refused to continue with the surgery. Laura suffered a cardiac arrest for four minutes, her sister, Angie Avila, wrote on a GoFundMe page she started to help fund Lauras medical bills. She was then placed into a medically induced coma to prevent further damage to her brain that was caused by the complications she experienced during anesthesia.

Doctors recently started to slowly take Laura out of the coma, but its too soon to know the state she will be in from the damage she has sustained until she awakens, Avila wrote. Laura had brain swelling that caused brain damage, she said, and is currently having seizures. She had been in an Intensive Care Unit in Mexico for six days before we were allowed to get her back to the U.S., Avila continued. In the event that she wakes up, it is likely she will need to begin physical therapy and rehabilitation for an unforeseen period of time.

The family is hoping to raise $150,000 to help pay for Lauras medical bills.

This isnt the first case of someone suffering serious complications while attempting to have surgery performed abroad. One unidentified woman traveled to the Dominican Republic to have a tummy tuck and ended up with massive open sores and an antibiotic-resistant infection that left her with a deformed abdomen, per the Chicago Tribune. A recent study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery identified 78 patients over seven years who had medical complications from traveling abroad for elective surgery and needed follow-up care in the U.S.

Story continues

Of course, that doesnt mean that plastic surgery in the U.S. is perfect. Plenty of people have suffered from complications and even died during or after surgery, including Joan Rivers, and Kanye Wests mother, Donda West.

The Centers for Disease Control acknowledges on its website that medical tourism is fairly common, but points out that there are risks. In order to do it safely, they recommend making sure your current medical conditions are well controlled before undergoing surgery, checking the qualifications of the person who will be performing the surgery as well as the facility where it will take place, taking copies of your medical records with you and bringing back copies of your medical records.

If you have a good result after traveling abroad for surgery, then its not a bad idea, Craig Vander Kolk, MD, director of cosmetic medicine and surgery at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. The problem is that you risk having a bad complication. We never recommend it.

Vander Kolk acknowledges that plastic surgery in an accredited center with an accredited doctor in the U.S. can be costly, but he says its worth it. You can always try to get something for less, but Ive had patients get silicone implants that are off-label, those who develop infections, or get sick after traveling abroad for surgery, he says. Some surgeons arent OK with fixing these.

All surgery comes with risks, including plastic surgery, Peter LePort, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Center for Obesity at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif., tells Yahoo Lifestyle. You have major complications that can occur even with the most minor surgery, he says. Those complications can be as simple as an allergy to whatever medication or anesthetic is being used. Allergies, if youre very hypersensitive, can lead to severe pulmonary, lung and heart problems, and even death.

Surgery can also be mentally and physically stressful, and thats something that doctors need to take into account, LePort says. Your body has to be able to handle whatever that stress is, he says. Most physicians will be able to understand and work out whether a patient can take it, but if theyre not experienced, they may not.

When it comes to finding a good surgeon, Vander Kolk recommends relying on word of mouth, along with making sure youre using a board-certified plastic surgeon. Also, listen to your gut and shop around. I tell people to see as many doctors as you feel comfortable with, he says. If a surgeon isnt going to answer all your questions and you dont have a good feeling, dont do it.

As for getting surgery abroad, just know youre rolling the dice. Ive seen some good results, but its risky, Vander Kolk says. We always think its a bad idea.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.




With one wobbly boot in front of the other, sweaty palm gripping on to my guides hand, Im trekking through Nyungwe National Park. Im entirely enveloped within 380 square miles of nature, and my senses feel alive with stimulation from the smells, sights, and sounds around me. Above my head, colobus monkeys swing from treetops like trapeze artists. Below, branches crunch and snap as I continue along the trail. After three hours, my group and I emerge from the green fringes of the rainforest, back out to a tea plantation. We pile into a 44 and make our way to the eco-lodge were staying at on Lake Kivu for a hearty lunch of rice, vegetable stew, fried plantain, and freshly caught fish.

After some downtime, well be back on the deck for evening yoga practiceand thats just half a days experience on a Souljourn Yoga retreat. Tomorrow, well take part in a march to celebrate 10 years of the remarkable Rwanda-based NGO Komera. The organization, whose name means be strong, have courage, supports local girls and their families through education, community, and sport.

Souljourn is a nonprofit that hosts unique excursions around the world that fuse together yoga, travel, and philanthropy to offer a visceral experience that goes beyond your run-of-the-mill yoga or wellness retreat. The main objective is to empower young women globally and raise awareness and funds for girls education by partnering with charities in the destinations where retreats are held. Built into the cost of each retreat is a $300 to $500 donation that goes directly toward the sister organizations. In addition to the donation, attendees connect with the beneficiaries by volunteering, while also soaking up the local culture and, of course, practicing yoga.

When asked to describe the essence of Souljourn, Ashley refers to the term Seva: Its the Sanskrit word and core yogic principle of selfless service.

Souljourns founder Jordan Ashley was inspired to create a platform that used yoga for social activism after stints studying and working abroad in Cambodia and India. Prior to creating Souljourn, she worked as an instructor in New York for six years and still teaches when shes in the city between travels. When asked to describe the essence of Souljourn, Ashley refers to the term Seva: Its the Sanskrit word and core yogic principle of selfless service.

Story continues

The selection process for choosing which NGOs to work with is key to Ashleys mission. I either have a personal connection with the charities we partner with, or specifically choose organizations which go deep instead of wide with their impact, she says. This way, I know they will truly benefit from our partnership. By pairing with these local charities, attendees of Souljourn retreats dont just benefit from the exotic locations and host communities, they also witness how their donations are impacting lives. As Jordan puts it, You give back to yourself while giving to others.

Beyond Rwanda, Souljourn hosts retreats in Cambodia, Morocco, Peru, Tibet, and India. On a recent retreat in Cambodia, Ashley partnered with the Ponheary Ly Foundation , whose mission is to bring equal education rights to young girls across Cambodia. In between yoga and cultural activities like trips to Angkor Wat and nearby floating villages, guests spend time at the foundations dormitory, which houses, feeds, and shelters female students. All Souljourn retreats last around 10 days and itineraries are curated depending on the location, but they always provide ample time to dedicate to yoga practice amid plenty of volunteering and sightseeing.

Related stories

The Buzziest Superfoods You've Never Heard Of

This NYC Spa Wants to Save You Time

Endangered Sea Turtles Hitch a Ride on Private Planes


Jeremy Brown is feeling like the king of the world after pulling off a surprise Titanic-themed proposal.

On Friday, Brown blindfolded his girlfriend, Mori Madrid, at their hotel in Tennessee, before taking her to an undisclosed location. She was wearing an outfit Brown picked out for her, one that looked similar to what actress Kate Winslet wore in the movie Titanic  a maroon gown and white gloves. He wanted her to wear an exact replica of the gown from the film, but it wouldnt arrive in time. He was wearing a replica of the tuxedo Leonardo DiCaprio wore in that same scene.

Why all the effort? Because Titanic is Madrids favorite movie  and Brown was about to propose to Madrid at the Titanic museum in Pigeon Forge.

They both love the movie and the history of it, Christina Collins, the attractions event and wedding planner executive, tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Jeremy Brown and Mori Madrid at the Titanic museum in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. (Photo: Titanic Museum Attraction)

He was actually planning to propose on a trip to Aruba with their grandparents months before, but when Browns grandfather died, he had to come up with another plan. So knowing Titanic is her favorite movie, he went ahead and reached out to us to see if they could do the proposal here, Collins explains.

Collins met the couple, who live in Houston, at the entrance to the museum, and escorted Madrid to the bottom of the grand staircase, an exact replica of the ships original staircase.

Thats when a staff member started filming.

In the video, Collins encourages a blindfolded Madrid to take some deep breaths. So what are you thinking? Collins asked. I dont even know, Madrid answered. She tries to calm and distract Madrid by asking her about their trip to Pigeon Forge.

She was nervous, Collins recalls. She didnt know what to expect. She kept asking me, Is Jeremy here? I said, Do you have any idea where youre at? and she said, No. She didnt even know what outfit he was wearing. Madrid thought she was on her way to a ball. He told her they were going to Tennessee to go to a ball. But nothing else, Collins says.

Story continues

After a few seconds of silence, My Heart Will Go On starts playing.

He gave us a timeline, Collins says. So once she was in place, we started the music. At that moment, Madrid started to catch on. She told me she was hoping that he was going to be up at the clock, but she didnt know it was going to be for a proposal at all.

As per Browns timeline, exactly 1 minute and 10 seconds in, Collins removed the blindfold and handed Madrid a note, which she opened and read aloud: Meet me at the clock. Make it count. For those who dont know the movie by heart, Jack, played by DiCaprio, hands Winslets Rose a similar note. Its like the movie.  So beautiful, so romantic, Madrid said in the video.

Brown gifted his love a replica of the Heart of the Ocean necklace Rose wears in the film before surprising her with another piece of jewelry  an engagement ring.

Brown planned an epic Titanic-themed proposal for his girlfriend, and the video has gone viral. (Photo: Titanic Museum Attraction)

The museum filmed this live for Facebook, and the video has amassed more than a million views.

This isnt the first time the museum has arranged a proposal, but its not usually this elaborate. We do normal proposals, but those are just, as you tour the museum, you get to the grand staircase and as they are walking up, they propose, Collins explains. Those cost $100. But Jeremy wanted to make it an event. So they did.

Me and Jeremy probably started planning four or five months ago, Collins says. They met for the first time for a run-through the night before he proposed. He was nervous; he was texting me the day of and was like, Im nervous; its almost showtime. She told him to relax, that they had taken care of everything.

Brown and Madrid on the grand staircase, a replica of the Titanics original staircase. (Photo: Titanic Museum Attraction

Collins played a big part in this proposal. He wanted to take her to dinner, but theres nothing around here that is that elegant for them to go to, so I was like, Hey, we have a third floor secret dining room here. So we ended up serving them a private dinner for two up on the third floor, she says. They were serenaded with live music during the meal, and afterward, they set off on a two-hour limo ride, also arranged by Collins. The whole night cost $1,300.

Brown and Madrid are planning to get married in Aruba in December. (Photo: Titanic Museum Attraction

Theyve already set a date for the big day  Dec. 22 in Aruba. Theyve been together for six years, and they already knew they wanted to get married in Aruba, Collins says.

As for the sudden viral fame, Collins says the couple are loving it: They want to get Leo and Kate to come to their wedding.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
A young Muslim girl was the recipient of hateful notes, and she found them in her cubby. (Photo: Getty Images)

A 10-year-old Muslim girl found threatening notes in her cubby.

A student at Hemenway Elementary School in Framingham, Mass., found a note in her personal storage bin Nov. 9. The note read you are a terrorist in a childlike scribble.

School administrators were made aware of the accusation and began checking backpacks. We put safeguards into place, obviously, coming into school yesterday morning, Principal Elizabeth Simon said during a news conference on Nov. 14. But unfortunately, another note was found in her cubby when she went to go get her things.

The second note read, I will kill you.

Tuesday, after both notes had been found, the school held a meeting at which board Chairman Adam Freudberg called the incident a discriminatory hate crime, according to the Boston Herald.

During Wednesdays news conference, the school identified the recipient as Maimouna, a fifth-grader. A representative from the Islamic Society of Framingham and youth director at the local mosque confirmed that she is 10 years old. Simon described her as a wonderful student and well-liked by everyone.

Except one student, apparently.

I honestly am heartbroken, Simon said. This is not just a one and done. This is something we live every single day with every single student, trying to make them feel respected and included, she said. My staff is devastated that this happened at our school because we pride ourselves as being an inclusive, warm, caring community, and I do feel that we are, but obviously, we have someone who is not feeling respectful and is not respecting the rights of others, so Im sorry.

Boston Herald reported that Simon visited each classroom urging the culprit to come forward with an apology and sent an email to parents condemning the incident.

Theres absolutely no place for hate in our schools, Framingham schools Superintendent Robert Tremblay said during the news conference. This is not a Framingham problem. This is not a Hemenway problem. This is a pervasive problem around hate that we have to take a stand on and address. They are investigating the situation and trying to figure out who left the notes. We are taking this very, very seriously. We dont imagine that this is an imminent danger to the school, safety is our priority and were going to continue to make that our priority.

Story continues

Mayor Yvonne M. Spicer also commented on the upsetting incident. Hatred and discrimination will not be tolerated in Framingham, Spicer said in a statement. I am dismayed by this latest act of bigotry and will do everything to ensure the safety of our students and residents.

Tremblay is disturbed by the likelihood that the culprit is under the age of 10. When you think about a child who is in fifth grade, that kind of hate, where does that come from? he asked Wednesday. This is not an innate feeling a child would have.

Some of the students at Hemenway dont even know what a terrorist is, which Simon discovered when she went around the school to discuss the notes. Some of the students didnt know what a terrorist was, so we had to explain that, she recalled. I did explain to them that this is unacceptable. And I said, It would be upsetting for any of us to receive that note, but the fact is Maimouna is Muslim, and sending that note to a Muslim student becomes a hate crime. She then had to define a hate crime.

Simon confirmed that although the school has dealt with bullies in the past, it has not had something that was such a targeted, hateful message.

For the community, unfortunately, its not the first time. Through my work on the ground and with the community, I have noticed an uptick in identity-based incidents that involve young Muslims, said Sumaiya Zama, the director of Community Advocacy and Education at the Council on American-Islamic Relations Massachusetts chapter. Zama is acting as an advocate for the family. We need to pay close attention to this.

Jamaal Siddiqui, who says he is Maimounas uncle, described his usually cheerful 10-year-old niece as quiet, according to the MetroWest Daily News. Shes upbeat, shes always outside playing in the cold, and shes refraining from doing that because shes scared. And she has all the right to be scared, Siddiqui said.

Even so, Maimouna attended school Wednesday. She is here and participating, but Im sure its very hard, it has to be, Simon said during the news conference. Shes coming to school with a positive attitude, said the representative from the Islamic Society and mosque youth director. She doesnt want the bully or whoever did this to win. She doesnt want to seem weak. She knows what she stands for and what she believes in is correct.

At school, her classmates had more notes for her. Every student wrote her a note, Simon said. I said, Even if you dont know Maimouna that well or youre not best friends with her, its important that you write something that lets her know that you stand against this type of act.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.




WASHINGTON (AP)  The president of Afghanistan told a U.S. audience Monday that his country is not losing the war to the Taliban and is not at risk of collapse amid escalating attacks by the militant group and an expansion of the territory it controls.

President Ashraf Ghani said his administration is intent on seeking a negotiated peace with the Taliban, which have shown no interest in direct talks with a government they see as illegitimate.

"The Taliban are not in a winning position," Ghani said by video to an audience at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington as a suicide bombing in Kabul and a deadly militant assault on districts in eastern Afghanistan suggested government control was slipping further.

Ghani said that more than 28,000 Afghan forces have been killed in the past four years but that the military will be able to retake territory as long as it has an air force and commando troops. He said most of the losses incurred by its security forces were in defending static positions, so the government was rethinking how it deploys its forces.

Speaking on Veterans Day, the Afghan leader paid tribute to American sacrifices in Afghanistan, including the death of Brent Taylor, a Utah mayor serving as a major in the state's Army National Guard who was training Afghan commandos. Taylor, 39, was fatally shot a week ago by one of his Afghan trainees.

But Ghani also offered a rare public accounting of the scale of the Afghan losses. He described how their casualties have risen sharply while U.S.-led coalition casualties have declined after Afghan forces assumed responsibility for combat operations in the country. He said that since 2015, 58 American forces have died in Afghanistan.

"In the same period, 28,529 of our security forces have lost their lives and become martyrs," he said.

U.S. military officials have previously indicated that Afghan casualties have been increasing, but they have avoided giving hard figures, apparently because of political sensitivities.

Story continues

In its most recent report to Congress, in October, the special inspector general for Afghanistan said Afghan casualty numbers had been reported only in classified form since September 2017 because the U.S. military command in Kabul said it had stopped making them public at the request of the Afghan government. However, the report said that the average number of casualties between May and October this year was the greatest it has ever been during similar periods.

On Oct. 30, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Afghan forces had more than 1,000 dead and wounded during August and September alone, "and they stayed in the field fighting."

The Trump administration has marginally increased U.S. troop numbers to train Afghan forces and intensify military pressure on the Taliban in hopes of forcing the insurgents to negotiate an end to the 17-year conflict. Successes on the battlefield have been elusive. The inspector general report said the number of districts under Afghan government control and influence has declined and stands at just 55 percent  down 16 percentage points in the past three years.

U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is on his second tour of the region in a month, seeking to kick-start a peace process. The diplomatic veteran is making stops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office. The insurgents say they met Khalilzad in Qatar last month. The Taliban have so far refused direct negotiations with Kabul, which they view as a U.S. puppet.

On the sensitive topic of the U.S. role in talks, Ghani said there was "total agreement" between the U.S. and Afghan governments on moving the peace process forward.

"U.S. engagement is to ensure that talks with the Taliban result not in negotiations with Taliban but with talks, direct talks, between the Afghan government and the Taliban," he said.

He insisted that the Afghan government was seeking a negotiated peace but would not do so "from a position of weakness."

In a possible sign of America's efforts, Pakistan released two Taliban officials on Monday, members of the militant group said. Abdul Samad Sani, a U.S.-designated terrorist who served as the Afghan Central Bank governor during the militants' rule in the late 1990s, and a lower-ranking commander named Salahuddin, were freed, according to two Taliban officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Ghani, however, said Pakistan has yet to demonstrate a "sense of urgency" in seeking an end to the Afghan conflict and a change in its policies.

Kabul has long protested that Afghan Taliban leaders and fighters enjoy sanctuary inside Pakistan, which Islamabad denies.

___

Associated Press writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.
Brexit draft bill: The key quotes

Theresa May will put her Brexit plans to the Cabinet on Wednesday  874 days after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Britain triggered Article 50  the formal leaving process  on March 29 last year and Downing Street and Brussels have been thrashing out a deal ever since.

Here are the key quotes from the journey towards Brexit:

 The choice is in your hands  but my recommendation is clear. I believe that Britain will be safer, stronger and better off by remaining in a reformed European Union. Then Prime Minister David Cameron announces plans for a referendum on the steps of 10 Downing Street in February 2016.

 The 23rd is our golden opportunity, let battle be joined. Then Ukip leader Nigel Farage welcomes the announcement of the Brexit vote.

 I think that the people of this country have had enough of experts with organisations from acronyms saying  from organisations with acronyms  saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong. Leaver Michael Gove disputed think tank reports that Brexit would be bad for Britain in 2016.

 Brexit means Brexit and were going to make a success of it. Theresa May addresses supporters after becoming Prime Minister.

 Brexit means breakfast. But Andrew RT Davies gave his colleagues food for thought at the Tory conference in 2016.



 The brutal truth is that Brexit will be a loss for all of us. There will be no cakes on the table. For anyone. There will be only salt and vinegar. European Council president Donald Tusk in October 2016.

 Im interested in all these terms that have been identified  hard Brexit, soft Brexit, black Brexit, white Brexit, grey Brexit  and actually what we should be looking for is a red, white and blue Brexit. Theresa May in Bahrain.

COUNTDOWN TO BREXIT  LATEST ANALYSIS FROM YAHOO UK

Where do Theresa Mays ministers stand on Brexit?

Post-Brexit trip to Europe? Try these non-EU alternatives

Bank of England governor confident about UK banks Brexit readiness

Dont be fooled  the biggest battle over Brexit starts now

Hard Brexit could cripple UK science warn Nobel Prize winners

Story continues

 It is a fact that they have professionally squandered Winston Churchills legacy. European Parliaments Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt pulls no punches in comments to MEPs in January 2017.

 We already miss you. Donald Tusk after he was handed the Article 50 letter in Brussels in March 2017.

 Next week, it will be three months after the sending of the Article 50 letter. We havent negotiated, we havent progressed Thats why were ready to start very quickly. I cant negotiate with myself. Michel Barnier puts pressure on the UK in a June 2017 interview.

Brexit draft bill: Public opinion of negotiations

 National identity matters and there is no better way of demonstrating this today than by bringing back this much-loved national symbol when travelling overseas. Romford MP Andrew Rosindell on the return of blue passports post-Brexit.

 I think to go whistle is an entirely appropriate expression. Then foreign secretary Boris Johnson replies in the Commons to a question from Philip Hollobone about the size of any divorce bill in July 2017.

 If you are sitting in the bar and you are ordering 28 beers and then suddenly some of your colleagues (are leaving without) paying, that is not feasible. They have to pay. They have to pay. Jean Claude Juncker maintains Britain will have to pay a divorce bill in October 2017.
The Daily Beast

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyThe lone suspect in the SUV attack that killed at least five and injured dozens more at a quaint holiday parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday has been identified as a 39-year-old sex offender who recently posted bail on reckless-endangerment charges.Darrell Brooks is set to be charged with five counts of intentional homicide in connection with the Sunday evening incident involving a red Ford Escape that plowed through barricades and into the crowd,
Washington (AFP) - Florida's Rick Scott remains locked in a recount battle in his too-close-to-call US Senate race, but that did not stop him from posing for photographs Wednesday alongside Republican senators-elect in Washington.

"We're here this morning to welcome our six new Republican senators," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared as he stood in his office alongside Scott and the five Republican senators-elect who will be sworn in on January 3.

The provocative appearance at the traditional photo-op by Scott, the outgoing governor of Florida, appeared to defy the standard that those in attendance are the declared winners of their races.

Scott holds a narrow lead over incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in Florida but has not been declared the official winner by any state authority or major news organizations that monitor the vote.

The Senate race and the battle for governor were both extremely close, and are undergoing legally mandated recounts.

Scott and President Donald Trump have repeatedly accused Democratic county officials of vote fraud without clear evidence. Democrats counter that some counties, notably Broward County, have taken extra time to ensure that all votes are accurately counted.

On Wednesday, the Miami Herald reported, Scott's lawyer said the governor would recuse himself from any duties related to certifying the results of his Senate race, something Nelson had demanded for days.

McConnell and other Republicans were nonchalant about Scott's presence in the Capitol.

"No, I think it was fine," said Senator David Perdue.

"He's not sworn in yet. This was just part of our caucus," he added, referring to the post-photo-op meeting, attended by Scott, in which GOP senators elected their leadership for the next two years.

With the Senate back in session after a month-long break for the midterm elections, Nelson too was in Washington for legislative business.

Story continues

On Tuesday he accused Scott of "using his power as governor to try to undermine the voting process."

The Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer joined in the condemnation on Wednesday, saying Republicans were seeking to "shut down the election" before all votes are counted.

"It is unconstitutional to say every vote should count in rural counties because they can count quickly but every vote shouldn't count in the more urban populated counties because it takes them longer to count the votes," Schumer said.
Animal survivors of the California fires Jason House attempts to put a respirator mask on his dog Rowland at an evacuee encampment in a Walmart parking lot in Chico, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2018. (Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

The wildfires that ripped through communities in Northern and Southern California this week have left heartbreaking images of eviscerated neighborhoods and coroners searching for human remains.

There have also been inspiring stories, including those of animals being rescued from the blazes. The front page of Wednesdays Sacramento Bee featured a reporters first-hand account of returning London, a calico cat, to her overjoyed owner.

Here are more of the rescued cats, dogs and other critters. (Yahoo News)

Related links:

Photos: Heartbreak in Northern and Southern California areas ravaged by wildfires 

Photos: California blazes grow as hundreds go missing 

Photos: Trump visits devastation of the deadly California wildfires 

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr.
LA PAZ (Reuters) - A team of archaeologists in Bolivia said they have discovered tombs containing over a hundred bundles of artefacts and human remains dating more than 500 years old that belonged to an indigenous civilization that once inhabited the region.

Bolivia's Ministry of Cultures and Tourism authorized the dig more than three months ago after a mining project discovered archaeological remains in the area.

Archaeologists found the tombs, which they say may have belonged to the Pacajes people, in an underground burial chamber located some 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) southwest of Bolivia's capital La Paz.

"Inside the cemetery we found two special tombs, one of which had about 108 individuals inside. They were badly deteriorated, but we were able to recover objects the individuals were buried with," said archaeologist Wanderson Esquerdo.

While two of the tombs had been ransacked, the others remained intact, he said.

To reach the tombs, scientists had to lower themselves through a circular chimney just 70 cm (27.5 inches) in diameter and 3 meters (9 feet) deep.

In addition to human remains, the largest tomb contained metal objects as well as ceramic and wooden dishes.

"There are objects that are clearly attributed to the Inca culture, and others that are not Inca, but rather Aymara," Esquerdo said.

The indigenous Aymara kingdom of Pacajes flourished in the Bolivian highlands until it was conquered by the Incan empire in the mid-15th century, according to archaeologists, who believe the Pacajes people may have not been wiped out by the Incan conquest, but could have fallen victim to some type of epidemic.

The discovery is "unique and unprecedented," said Wilma Alanoca, Bolivia's Minister of Culture and Tourism.

After the archaeological dig began last June, archaeologists said microorganisms wreaked havoc on the bodies' soft tissue, quickly decomposing the remains. Excessive humidity and high salinity inside the chamber also deteriorated many of the buried objects, according to the dig team.

(Reporting by Danny Ramos, Writing by Scott Squires, editing by G Crosse)
Cox's Bazar (Bangladesh) (AFP) - Bangladesh on Wednesday stuck by plans to begin repatriating some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya minority who fled Myanmar last year, despite UN warnings and trepidation among the refugees themselves.

"All necessary arrangements and preparation have been taken," Bangladesh's refugee commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam told reporters, adding: "Our primary target for tomorrow (Thursday) is 150 (Rohingya refugees) from 30 families."

He said the process would involve Bangladesh handing the refugees, the first among a preliminary 2,260 currently in vast camps in southeastern Bangladesh, over to Myanmar at a transit point on the border between the two countries.

"There will be some verification process which is a very regular custom. That will happen there," Abul said.

More than 720,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya sought refuge from a Myanmar military crackdown launched from August last year that UN investigators say amounted to ethnic cleansing, joining some 300,000 already in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh says only those who volunteer will be returned, but UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Tuesday that many refugees are panicking at the prospect of being sent back against their will.

"With an almost complete lack of accountability - indeed with ongoing violations - returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades," Bachelet said.

She said in a statement that the violations against the Rohingya "amount to the worst atrocities, including crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide."

- Fled for the hills -

According to Rohingya community leaders, many of those slated to be repatriated have gone into hiding within the camps at Cox's Bazar, the border district hosting a small refugee city perched on hillsides.

Story continues

As a result, it remained unclear how many people Bangladesh would be able to hand over. "Ninety-eight percent of the families (on the list) have fled," community leader Nur Islam said.

He and other community leaders said that an increase in the number of Bangladeshi soldiers at the camps in recent days was stoking anxiety.

"Everyone is tense, the situation is very bad," Abdur Rahim, another leader, told AFP in Cox's Bazar.

"There are a lot of army and police inside the camps. They are checking the ID cards of Rohingya," Rahim told AFP.

A local police chief, Abul Khaer, played down reports of additional security, saying nothing in terms of personnel had changed in recent months.

- 'Reckless' -

Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Bangladesh and Myanmar authorities to "immediately halt" their plans, saying it was a "reckless move which puts lives at risk".

"These women, men and children would be sent back into the Myanmar military's grasp with no protection guarantees, to live alongside those who torched their homes and whose bullets they fled," Nicholas Bequelin from the rights group in a statement.

"Returns at this time cannot be safe or dignified and would constitute a violation of Bangladeshs obligations under international law," Bequelin said.

US Vice President Mike Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday the violence against the Rohingya was "without excuse", adding pressure to Myanmar's civilian leader who this week had an Amnesty International honour revoked.
(The Nov. 6 story officially corrects to delete reference to one of the suspects in the case, in accordance with court order) JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The son of Israeli billionaire diamond magnate Lev Leviev is among suspects arrested in Israel in connection with a diamond smuggling scheme, according to court documents released on Tuesday. The case focuses on Leviev's company, LLD Diamonds, a leading global manufacturer and marketer of polished diamonds, Police have said they expect to make more arrests, both in Israel and abroad. Leviev's son Zevulun is among six suspects accused of involvement in a smuggling operation that has brought about 300 million shekels' ($80 million) worth of diamonds illegally into Israel since 2010, according to a transcript of a custody hearing held on Monday. Israel is a world center for diamond cutting and polishing, with one of the biggest exchanges in the world, at Ramat Gan. Lawyers representing Zevulun Leviev in a statement said the allegations against him were "baseless" and his arrest appeared to be a tactic to "illegitimately pressure his father". Lev Leviev, who was born in Uzbekistan and according to the court documents is currently believed to be in Russia, built his fortune in diamonds and property. LLD said in a statement it had no knowledge of the alleged smuggling. "Mr. Leviev and the companies in his control operate in accordance with the proper norms while adhering to the law. We hope that the matter will be clarified soon and the suspicions will be proven baseless," it said. Leviev also owns 48 percent of the real estate firm Africa Israel Investments , once one of Israel's biggest conglomerates, whose business has struggled since a downturn in the Russian real estate market. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro chose an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump's conservative nationalism as his top diplomat on Wednesday, while escalating tensions with communist Cuba over a medical aid program. Bolsonaro's pick of career diplomat Ernesto Araujo, 51, underscored Brazil's sharp turn to the right and the reversal of nearly a decade and a half of diplomacy under leftist Workers Party governments that focused on alliances with South American allies and ideological partners - including Cuba. "Brazil's foreign policy should be part of this moment of regeneration that Brazil is living right now," Bolsonaro, a longstanding Trump admirer, wrote on Twitter. In another sign of Brazil's new foreign policy direction under Bolsonaro, the former army captain announced he would grant asylum to any Cuban national who asks for it. That came after Cuba said it would pull thousands of its doctors from Brazil after Bolsonaro questioned their training and demanded changes to their contracts. Araujo, a career diplomat, is currently head of the foreign ministry's United States and Canada department. Last year, he raised eyebrows in the foreign ministry with an article that stated Brazil has a chance to recover its "Western soul" by embracing Trump's brand of nationalism and pursuing its own interests instead of being tied to blocs of countries. The article, entitled "Trump and the West," won the attention of Bolsonaro, who has promoted the mid-level diplomat to lead Itamaraty, as the foreign ministry is known. Araujo shares Bolsonaro's view of the need to rethink membership of the South American trade bloc Mercosur, which he and others in the president-elect's camp see as holding back Brazil's commercial interests. Announcing the appointment with Araujo at his side, Bolsonaro said the diplomat's mission will be to promote trade with all nations without any left-wing ideological bias. Araujo said he would make sure Bolsonaro's election brought a change of course at the foreign ministry that puts Brazil first, "an effective policy based on national interest, a policy for an active, happy and prosperous Brazil." Araujo argued in his article that, unlike European leaders, Trump is saving western Christian civilization from radical Islam and "globalist cultural Marxism" by standing up for national identity, family values and the Christian faith. Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1, is reconsidering some of his campaign foreign policy stances, such as copying Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Accord on climate change and moving Brazil's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. The latter proposal has already soured ties with Arab nations that are valuable markets for Brazilian meat. But he has stuck to his criticism of a program that brought 14,000 Cuban doctors to practice in poor and remote parts of Brazil, slamming the "slave labor" terms under which Cuba's communist-run government gets 75 percent of their salaries. Bolsonaro has also insisted that Cuba allow the doctors' families be allowed to join them in Brazil for the program to continue. "Unfortunately, Cuba did not accept," Bolsonaro said in a Twitter post announcing the end of the program after the Cuban health ministry said it was pulling its doctors out of Brazil due to his criticism. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Mateus Maia in Brasilia and Marc Frank in Havana; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Brasilia (AFP) - Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday named as foreign minister a career diplomat who currently heads the ministry's United States and Canada department.

Ernesto Araujo, 51, was an early supporter of the far-right leader, and courted controvery when he referred to members of the left-wing opposition as "terrorists."

His was the eighth ministerial appointment Bolsonaro has made since winning the presidential election at the end of last month.

"External politics must be a part of the regeneration Brazil is now going through," said Bolsonaro on Twitter.

He described Araujo as "a brilliant intellectual" and pointed to his 29 years of experience as a diplomat.

Speaking to reporters alongside the president-elect in Brasilia, Araujo said his mission would be "to ensure that this historic and incredible moment that Brazil is going through with Bolsonaro's election is reflected" in its foreign policy.

He said it would be "an effective policy, based on national interest, a policy of an active, happy, prosperous Brazil."

Prior to Bolsonaro's election, Araujo wrote widely of his support for the far-right candidate and even branded his Workers Party opponents as "terrorists," according to Brazilian press reports.

The appointment comes just a day after Bolsonaro named former military general Fernando Azevedo e Silva as his defense minister.

He had already appointed his ministers of justice, finance, agriculture, science and technology, institutional security and his chief of staff.
London (AFP) - Brexit supporters and opponents rallied near Prime Minister Theresa May's Downing Street office on Wednesday as her cabinet debated the draft divorce deal inside.

Pro-Brexit campaigners urged her to scrap the tentative agreement and make a clean break with European Union without paying a penny more into the EU budget.

"It sells out the country completely. We will be a vassal state of the EU," said Lucy Harris, founder the Leavers of London pro-Brexit group.

Around 100 demonstrators gathered opposite the Downing Street entrance gates, chanting "Theresa May, don't betray!" and "What do we want? Brexit. When do we want it? Now!".

They held painted placards reading "Ditch May's deal", "Let's take back control" and "Save Brexit".

"We're in a serious situation. It's a fork in the road. If this passes then we're in big trouble as an independent country," said Harris.

Niall McCrae, a lecturer in mental health at King's College London university, said the purported deal was a "stitch-up".

"How can they ask for our votes in future when they have told us our vote doesn't count?

"These votes have been annulled by our selfish political class."

- 'Nobody voted for that' -

Britain voted by 52 percent in favour of leaving the EU in a referendum in 2016 that exposed deep divisions in British society.

At another small rally near Downing Street, pro-EU demonstrators chanted "People's Vote", calling for a second Brexit referendum.

They accepted they had some common ground with the Brexiteers across the street: neither is happy with the way things are going.

"Brexit is a losing proposition all round. I think it's all madness. I'd say we're even more unhappy," said Nicky Gardner, 32, a student from London with two EU flags on a giant pole.

"Brexit has been failing all along and it's a matter of time before it hits the rocks."

Story continues

Helen Campbell, 45, brought a toy unicorn with her to symbolise Brexit.

"It doesn't exist, it's a complete fantasy and can never be delivered," the freelance writer said.

"There is a lot of concern about what it actually means overall, and that we will be taking instructions from Brussels on a lot of our laws without any say in them, and nobody voted for that at all."
French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel have both backed an EU army (Getty)

The European Commission has declared itself delighted that political big gun Angela Merkel is backing an EU army.

The German chancellor used a speech in the European parliament on Tuesday to call for a real, true European army, claiming it was the best way to maintain peace.

We have already achieved cooperation in the military sphere, that is good and were going to continue to support this, she said.

It came days after French president Emmanuel Macron called for a real European army to protect Europe from threats including Russia, China and the US  despite it being a Nato ally.

We need a Europe which defends itself better alone, without just depending on the United States, in a more sovereign manner, he said, arguing that the policies of US president Donald Trump were jeopardising European security.

Asked about their statements on Wednesday, the chief spokesperson for the European Commission said: Were delighted that the political atmospherics around this work seems to be going in our direction.

But they told Macron and Merkel to get their tanks off the commissions lawn, stressing that its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, should take credit for the controversial policy.

The first one that has spoken of an EU army four years ago was someone called Jean-Claude Juncker, said the spokesperson.

MORE: Merkel backs Macrons call for a real European army

Im now reading it as a Franco-German agreement. Of course, we are delighted the president of the French Republic and German chancellor within a few days publicly backed this idea.

We have many times explained how we see these things. This is the commission that wants Europe to have a meaningful defence identity.

Juncker first called for an EU army in 2015, when he told a German newspaper it was needed to ensure the bloc was taken entirely seriously in terms of foreign policy.

A common army among the Europeans would convey to Russia that we are serious about defending the values of the European Union, he said.

Story continues

At the time, the UK government said it would veto the policy but Brexit means the bloc can push ahead with the policy from next year.

The commission has backed its defence aspirations with 34bn in its latest long-term budget.

UKIP MEP Nigel Farage said the high-profile backing for an EU army made Brexit a necessity.

Some EU supporters are also concerned that the latest comments on an EU army would be forceful pro-Brexit arguments in the event of a second referendum.




Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton, left to right, passes a bag with the first legal cannabis for recreation use sold in Canada to Nikki Rose and Ian Power at the Tweed shop on Water Street in St. Johns N.L. at 12:01 am NDT on Wednesday Oct. 17, 2018. (Paul Daly/The Canadian Press via AP)

The chief executive of Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO) is opening up about the companys plans for the massive $5 billion investment from beverage giant Constellation Brands, suggesting as much as $1 billion could be earmarked for strategic acquisitions.

Speaking on a conference call with analysts following the release of second-quarter results, chairman and co-CEO Bruce Linton said Canopy is mulling the purchase of a number of technologies.

We have a roster of elements we might wish to acquire. None of which are producers in Canada, Linton said before the opening bells on Wednesday. Depending on the mix of cash and shares, (it) would probably nibble up close to a billion dollars.

Canopys blockbuster deal with the maker of Corona beer announced on Aug. 15 triggered a sector-wide rally that continued in large part until the days leading up to Canadian recreational legalization on Oct. 17. Many investors saw Constellations sizeable toehold in cannabis as a sign the nascent industry is maturing.

Linton said Canopy has also been spending on a now finalized and designed bottling line for cannabis-infused beverages. He confirmed site preparation is underway as Canada prepares regulations around alternative product formats, such as drinks and edibles.

We think beverages will be a format of product that will make sense under the regulations of Canada, he said. There is no certainty, but we think that could be ready for Q4 calendar 2019.

Canopy is also setting aside cash for a speedy move into the U.S. market if the pro-hemp farm bill is passed by Congress. The legislation would legalize production of non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) from hemp.

We want to have some dry powder ready to go. Rather than reacting and looking for capital and structuring that, we will be instantly in, Linton said.

He went on to emphasize the companys focus is also turning to medical sales in Europe. Canopy has previously announced plans to spend more than 100 million euros (about $150 million) to expand production in the European Union over the next two years.

Story continues

Linton added that Canopy has unannounced activities tied up in some of the emerging locations, and suggested investors should expect some of the company plans to be kept under wraps until complete.

What we found over the years is what we announced is a good idea, and everybody tries to follow it, he said. Were executing before announcing, and it will become evident what we are doing.

Lintons comments came as the Smiths Falls, Ont.-based Canopy reported a $330.6 million net loss in its second quarter that amounted to $1.52 per share, compared with a loss of $1.6 million in the same period last year. The company said revenue amounted to $23.3 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, well short of the $59.1 million average analyst expectation.

I dont want to say analysts were wrong on the target number, but I think they were early on the quarter, Linton said.

Toronto-listed Canopy shares fell 11.18 per cent to $45.20 as of 12:59 p.m. ET during Wednesdays session.

The company reported that its products account for 30 per cent of in-stock inventory across Canadas retail stores. The company said it sold 2,197 kilograms of pot at an average price of $9.87 a gram in the quarter, up from 2,020 kilograms at $7.99 a year earlier.

Chief Financial Officer Tim Saunders said the higher average price was primarily due to a change in the product mix, including increased sales of oils and gel caps, higher-priced strains, and sales in Germany.

Linton said he expects the companys revenue to improve in future quarters.

It is the first time in our history that Im aware of where we actually had a slowdown, he said. I think it was more of a distraction than a pattern.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street (PA Images)

Theresa May is facing a ministerial revolt over the Brexit deal agreed by EU and UK negotiators.

A number of ministers are rumoured to be on the brink of quitting in protest over fears her deal will break up the UK and hand control of UK laws to Brussels.

This morning it emerged the EU said it will retain all the controls over the UK under the terms of the current deal, sparking ire among Eurosceptics.

Three men who allegedly killed five people in a bomb-like explosion to gain a 300,000 insurance payout left a friend to die because she knew too much, a court heard today.

Arkan Ali, Hawkar Hassan and Aram Kurd doused a shop in many, many litres of petrol before causing the blast.

Prosecutors said the trio destroyed the shop and the contents to gain an insurance payout through greed before intentionally leaving Viktorija Ijevleva to die inside.

Police are investigating the suspected attempted abductions of three children in Greater Manchester.

A 14-year-old girl was followed by a white van with blacked-out windows as she walked towards an alleyway, when three people wearing balaclavas jumped out and chased her.

Two 11-year-old children were then targeted the following day when a white Transit-style van stopped at a set of traffic lights.

Pro-EU protester hijacks live TV broadcast

A lesson in dogged persistence from this anti-Brexit protestor on BBC News. pic.twitter.com/IYF12bMuiu  Thomas Colson (@tpgcolson) November 14, 2018

An anti-Brexit protester decked out in EU clothing interrupted a live BBC broadcast this afternoon.

The man, who was brandishing two signs, lurked in the back of shot as journalists discussed the Brexit developments.
A conservative e-tailer named Keep and Bear is making headlines this week for launching a MAGA Build the Wall toy for children ages 5 and up. The toy looks a lot like Legos, but the companys CEO insists the toy is geared toward adults as a novelty item.

We are pleased to announce the launch of a brand new line of toys: MAGA building blocks! This set comes with more than 100 pieces including President Trump in a MAGA hard hat! reads the toys description on the Keep and Bear website. It was first made available on the site in late October.

In the toys description, the brand sets the scene. A mob of 10,000 Central American migrants is marching through Mexico and heading toward El Paso, Texas. Mexican border agents attempted to stop them at the Mexican border, but to no avail. It continues, We understand why they want to flee Honduras and live and work in America. After all, we are the greatest nation on earth.

A conservative company has released a Build the Wall Lego-like toy, but the CEO says its meant more for adults. (Photo: Romulus Marketing)

In the interest of national security, however, we cannot allow just anyone and everyone to cross our borders. While there are good people attempting to enter our nation, there are also gangs, criminals, and terrorists.  The wall must be built. The wall will keep America safe and strong. Only then will we be able to help those in need.

The brand touts the $30 toy as a great Christmas gift for your kids and grandkids!

Following the launch, the company took a bit of heat on Twitter for not only promoting Trumps immigration ban but also pushing this ideology on children  an outlook many view as racist.

Forget the Trump bear, WTF about Trump build a wall toy for 5yr olds!! Marketed by Keep and Bear, being sold for $29.95. The website has offered other Lego knockoffs, including the "Trump sends Hillary to prison! These people are sick!! pic.twitter.com/1bAbCYdFTb  PrettyASeyes (@4prettyAseyes) November 14, 2018

There is a web site Keep and Bear. They have pro trump merchandise. The most vile is Build the Wall building set. This is in no way connected with LEGO. I spoke to LEGO. They were awesome. I emailed keep and bear told them SHAME on them  Cecilia lewis (@Cecilia42371898) November 14, 2018

Keep and Bear (I guess its a toy company) has a toy out called BUILD THE WALL. Read the description for this toy. The thought of adults buying this for the kids in their lives. Poor kids.  Christine Ericksson (@sfsportsfan01) November 13, 2018

Despite the outcry online, Keep and Bear CEO Brandon Vallorani insists the feedback hes received has been mostly supportive. So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive, he tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Most people understand its just a novelty item. He says the toy is not at all meant to be taken seriously. Toys arent meant to be serious. Life is already stressful enough for people of all ages. This gift was meant to bring some lighthearted comic relief to the intense political debate, he clarifies. These toys are really just cool collectibles.

Story continues

While the product description says its great for children, Vallorani says, We believe that the vast majority of our customers will want it as a collectible.

He says hes not against children playing with toys that promote a political message. The majority of our customers are over the age of 40, not children. But even so, politics are already being pushed on our kids every day in public school classrooms and through much of mainstream media, he argues. I believe all American citizens have the right to teach their children to examine political conversation and make their own decisions.

For those offended by this toy, he wants to clear the air. Some people who disagree with our political stance are claiming that we are against immigrants/immigration. But Vallorani insists, Nothing could be further from the truth.

My grandparents legally immigrated to America from Italy and pursued the American dream, Vallorani shares. I want everyone to have that opportunity as well, but not by violating our immigration policies. We believe America is made stronger when people from different backgrounds come together as legal citizens to build our great nation.

Keep and Bear, whose name references the right to keep and bear arms outlined in the Second Amendment, launched in 2006 to promote a film about the right to own guns. Since then, the site claims it has grown to become one of the largest purveyors of conservative resources online.

It sells everything from Trump-themed gifts and Trump-themed art to Trump-themed coffee. It also sells Bibles, patriotic art and MAGA toys.

Long before Donald Trump was elected president, I admired him as a savvy businessman, says Vallorani. One of the things I love most about President Trump is that he is not obeisant to politically correct rhetoric. I think he may have forever changed the way politicians speak to the American people; we are informed and passionate about our values.

Keep and Bears Trump Man figurine has been its best-selling novelty item, according to Vallorani. It features his angry face and comes with a MAGA hat and an executive order. Its #45 Blend coffee sold by its sister company, Thrasher Coffee, has been selling extremely well, he says.

The company is getting ready to launch another new item, an exciting new MAGA toy that will be making its debut on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, in support of the Trump 2020 campaign, Vallorani reveals.

One subject he doesnt plan on touching when it comes to toys is guns. Despite the fact that its our name, our focus is not limited to the Second Amendment but all conservative values that keep our country great, he says. Gun safety is best taught as an educational course, he urges. Guns and gun safety and our constitutional rights are all serious issues, and as citizens of the United States we should all teach our children to respect them.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Beirut (AFP) - Two rival Christian leaders in Lebanon, Sleiman Frangieh and Samir Geagea, reconciled Wednesday after four decades of enmity dating back to a massacre during the country's 1975-1990 civil war.

Geagea was accused of leading a militia raid which killed Frangieh's parents, three-year-old sister and dozens of rival fighters in northern Lebanon in 1978.

The two former warlords signed a document pledging "to turn the page on the past and move on to new horizons", in a televised meeting at the Maronite Christian patriarchate in Bkerke, north of Beirut.

Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi hailed the "historic meeting" between Franjieh, who is close to the Syrian regime, and Geagea, a fierce opponent of Damascus.
CNN's Jim Acosta questions Donald Trump during a news conference in Washington - REUTERS

US network CNN has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his aides after its reporter had his press pass revoked by the administration.

Jim Acosta, the broadcaster's chief White House correspondent, found his entry to the White House barred after a heated exchange with Mr Trump during a press conference last week.

The White House said it had revoked Mr Acosta's pass because he placed his hands on a White House intern, a claim he denied.

In a statement, CNN said it had filed a "lawsuit against the Trump administration this morning in DC District Court" demanding the return of their journalist's White House credentials.

The court filing accused Mr Trump of violating CNN and Mr Acosta's constitutional rights which protect freedom of the press and the right to due process.

The lawsuit names six defendants: Mr Trump, his chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, Secret Service director Joseph Clancy, and the Secret Service officer who took Mr Acosta's hard pass away last Wednesday. The unnamed officer is identified as John Doe in the suit.

This morning, CNN filed a lawsuit against @realDonaldTrump and top aides. The White House has violated CNN and @Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and Fifth Amendment rights to due process. Complaint: https://t.co/43oX6L8xA7pic.twitter.com/RvJ0Cgh6oi  CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 13, 2018

The White House Correspondents Association, whose members work for a range of news organisations, said it "strongly supports" the lawsuit.

The association's president, Olivier Knox, said: "Revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday.

Story continues

"We continue to urge the Administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNNs correspondent. The President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him."

"The wrongful revocation of these rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process."

It added: "If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials".

The row between Mr Trump and Mr Acosta on live national television and the removal of the journalist's press credentials triggered accusations that Mr Trump was stifling the press.

Mr Trump demanded that the reporter yield the microphone and called him a "rude, terrible person" when he did not immediately comply.

Mr Acosta persisted with questions and a White House intern tried to take the microphone from the CNN journalist - an incident the Trump administration characterised as misconduct against the woman.

Hours later the White House press secretary announced Mr Acosta's hard pass had been suspended, a rare if not unprecedented move that she justified by claiming the reporter was inappropriately "placing his hands" on the intern.

Mrs Sanders then tweeted a video that she said backed up the decision - but video verification experts said the footage was manipulated to make it appear that Mr Acosta struck the intern.

"When the White House revoked the press pass, it is clear it was based on the content of the reporting," said Ted Boutrous, CNN's counsel for the lawsuit.

"CNN's argument is very straightforward," the lawyer told the US network. "We can't have the White House tossing people out because they don't like what they are saying or what they are reporting."

Both Mr Acosta and CNN are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which targets five White House staff members and the president himself.

In addition to requesting the return of the journalist's pass, the network is seeking "a declaration that the revocation of Acosta's press was unconstitutional," according to the filing.

Mr Trump is no stranger to fights with the press - the president regularly labels unfavorable coverage as "fake news" and has threatened to ban certain media organisations from his events.

.@realDonaldTrump says that @Acosta isn't the only journalist he may ban from @WhiteHouse: I havent made that decision, but it could be others also.



But @PressSec claimed that Acosta's ban is because he touched an intern.



Did anyone else touch a WH aide?#StandWithAcosta  Todd J. Gillman (@toddgillman) November 9, 2018

The lawsuit cites Mr Trump's past attacks on CNN, including a tweet that depicted the president "tackling and punching a man with the CNN logo superimposed on his face" and his statement that "CNN is fake news, I don't take questions from CNN."

In a statement on Tuesday, Mrs Sanders called the lawsuit "more grandstanding from CNN" and said the administration would "vigorously defend" itself.

She said: CNN, who has nearly 50 additional hard pass holders, and Mr Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter with respect to the First Amendment.

"After Mr Acosta asked the President two questionseach of which the President answeredhe physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters.

"The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional. The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolise the floor.

"If there is no check on this type of behaviour it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff, and members of the media to conduct business.
CNN is suing Donald Trump and several of his aides after the networks chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta was banned from accessing the building.

Last week, the White House suspended Mr Acostas press pass, after the reporter asked the president about his language surrounding the migrant caravan heading to the US border, resulting in a heated exchange. The White House accused Mr Acosta of placing his hands on an intern who was trying to take a microphone away from him during the press conference.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later shared an apparently distorted video clip of the press conference as evidence.

The suit alleges that both Mr Acostas and CNNs constitutional rights are being impinged upon by the removal of the Secret Service hard pass and calls for the immediate reinstatement of Mr Acostas press credentials. The lawsuit claims that CNNs first amendment right to free speech is being violated, as is the fifth amendment right to due process.

CNN says it was given no right to respond to the pass being removed, or any notice that it would be.

There are six defendants named in the lawsuit, including Mr Trump, White House chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine and Secret Service director Joseph Clancy.

The Secret Service officer who took the pass away last Wednesday is also listed, although he is identified as John Doe in the suit, pending him being named.

Here is CNNs lawsuit against Trump challenging the revocation of Jim Acostas credentials (isnt up in PACER yet)  it has three claims, under the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment (due process), and the Administrative Procedure Act (final agency action) https://t.co/YTTDFiH3lo pic.twitter.com/VnmTKQWNeo  Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) November 13, 2018

In a statement on Tuesday morning, CNN said it is seeking a preliminary injunction as soon as possible so that Mr Acosta can return to the White House right away, and a ruling from the court preventing the White House from revoking Mr Acostas pass in the future.

Story continues

CNN filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration this morning in DC district court, the statement read. It demands the return of the White House credentials of CNNs chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas first amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their fifth amendment rights to due process.

We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process.

CNN said that they believe that other news organisations could be targeted by the White House in this way in future.

In its lawsuit, CNN brought attention to Mr Trumps threats against the press and reporters he believes will write negative coverage of his administration.

While CNN and Acosta have been favourite targets of abuse by the administration, the presidents criticism has been directed at other news organisations too, the lawsuit read. The president has actively criticised and discredited any journalist or media outlet he believes might report something he considers negative. As the president explained to Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes: You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you. And the revocation of Acostas credentials is only the beginning; as the president explained, there could be others also who get their credentials revoked.

The network received the public support of the White House Correspondents Association. The organisation released a statement on Tuesday morning expressing strong support for CNNs goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House should not have taken away in the first place.

In response to the lawsuit, Ms Sanders issued a statement from the White House. We have been advised that CNN has filed a complaint challenging the suspension of Jim Acostas hard pass. This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.

CNN, who has nearly 50 additional hard pass holders, and Mr Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter with respect to the first amendment.

After Mr Acosta asked the president two questions  each of which the president answered  he physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters.
Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) called for a restoration of civility in an editorial in The Washington Post on Tuesday, just days after he appeared on Saturday Night Live to make peace with the shows Pete Davidson.

Crenshaw expanded on his decision to appear on the programs Weekend Update segment with Davison after the comedian had mocked his appearance a week earlier and said that Crenshaw simply lost his eye in war or whatever. The lawmaker wrote in the Post that he decided to go on the show to bury the hatchet but hadnt publicly demanded an apology because he had no desire to fan the flames of outrage common in todays politics.

On Saturday, Pete Davidson and SNL made amends. I had some fun. Everyone generally agreed that a veterans wounds arent fair game for comedy, Crenshaw wrote in the piece. Maybe now we should all try to work toward restoring civility to public debate.

Davidson drew fierce condemnation after he mocked the eye-patch Crenshaw wears, comparing him to a hitman in a porno movie. The politician is a former Navy SEAL who lost his eye in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan.

The comedian invited Crenshaw on SNL last Saturday to apologize for the joke, and the two agreed to move forward after exchanging some good-natured quips.

If any good came of this, maybe it was that for one day the left and the right finally came together to agree on something: That Im a dick, Davidson said. I mean this from the bottom of my heart: It was a poor choice of words. The man is a war hero, and he deserves all of the respect in the world.

Crenshaw told NBC earlier this week he was glad he went on the program and that it felt like the right thing to do, and that he would appreciate if everybody would stop looking for reasons to be offended, and thats what this was all about.

It felt like the right thing to do. I would appreciate it if everybody would stop looking for reasons to be offended and thats what this was all about.-Dan Crenshaw on his surprise SNL appearance pic.twitter.com/7WygTrYYCg  TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 12, 2018

In the editorial Tuesday, the former Navy SEAL said he hoped the appearance would be a tiny step in the direction of civility but noted that, as a country, we still have a lot of work to do.

Story continues

There are many ideas that we will never agree on. The left and the right have different ways of approaching governance, based on contrasting philosophies, he wrote. But many of the ultimate goals  economic prosperity, better health care and education, etc.  are the same. We just dont share the same vision of how to achieve them.

Related Coverage

Twitter Erupts After Pete Davidson Jokes About Veteran's War Wound

Dan Crenshaw Pops Up On 'SNL' To Personally Accept Pete Davidson's Apology

Dan Crenshaw Says 'SNL' Sketch With Pete Davidson Was 'Right Thing To Do'

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Given the spirit of our times, things could have gone so differently. On November 3, when Saturday Night Live comic Pete Davidson mocked Texas Republican Dan Crenshaws eye patch, saying he looked like a hit man in a porno movie  then adding, I know he lost his eye in war or whatever  it was a gift from the partisan gods.

A liberal comic had gone too far. He had mocked a man who was maimed in a horrific IED attack, an attack that had taken the life of his interpreter and nearly blinded him for life. He mocked a courageous mans pain. And thus Crenshaw had attained the rarest position for a Republican politician: aggrieved-victim status. He was free to swing away.

Instead, he refused to be offended. He noted that the joke was bad, but his handling of the whole affair was  as the Washington Post described him  cool as a cucumber. Then Saturday Night Live called. The show wanted to apologize, and they wanted Crenshaw on-air. He said yes, and this happened:

It was the act of grace heard round the nation. Davidson came on the Weekend Update set and offered his apology, and then Crenshaw joined. He took some good-natured shots at Davidson  Crenshaws phone had an Ariana Grande ringtone (Grande recently broke her engagement with Davidson), and he mocked Davidsons appearance  but then things took a more serious turn.

Crenshaw briefly spoke of the meaning of the words never forget to a veteran, saying that when you say never forget to a veteran, you are implying that, as an American, you are in it with them. Then he addressed his next words to Davidson: And never forget those we lost on 9/11  heroes like Petes father. So Ill just say, Pete, never forget.

Davidsons father was a firefighter. He died trying to save others when Davidson was a young boy. In one moment, Crenshaw not only honored a true hero, but also softened American hearts towards Davidson, casting him in a new light. Hes a man who carries his own pain.

Story continues

It turns out that theres a market for grace in American politics. Within minutes, clips of the apology and Crenshaws tribute to Davidsons dad rocketed across Twitter. As of this morning, the YouTube clip of the moment  not even 48 hours old  already had more than 5 million views. And it seems as if this is no act. This act of grace was an expression of who Crenshaw is.

In a long Washington Post profile, Crenshaw spoke of the distinct trail he wants to blaze in the age of Trump. Speaking of the president, he said, His style is not my style. Ill just say that. Its never how I would conduct myself. But what readers of the Washington Post need to understand is that conservatives can hold multiple ideas in their head at the same time. We can be like, Wow, he shouldnt have tweeted that, and still support him. . . . You can disapprove of what the president says every day, or that day, and still support his broader agenda.

Crenshaws young. Hes 34. And that means that he stands a good chance of being in Washington long after Donald Trump is gone. If hes a voice of the post-Trump GOP, then perhaps the future isnt as bleak as critics may fear.

There are those who argued before the election that, to punish the GOP for Trump, even conservatives should vote against Crenshaw. Vote against a good man for the sake of beating a bad man not on the ballot. That would send a message, they said.

But it turns out that one of the messages we needed to hear came from Crenshaw himself. Even in the age of Trump, a Republican politician can be his own man. He can show that grace isnt weakness and that reconciliation can sometimes be more compelling than division.

As the Post noted in its profile, Crenshaw is at the very start of his next mission. Hell face the bitter cynicism of Washington, the drudgery of daily politics, and the festering divisions in a polarized capital. His future is not yet known. But when faced with a clear political temptation  to indulge in a period of partisan pugilism  he chose a different path. He (and Davidson) gave Americans a moment they needed. It turns out it was also a moment they wanted.

Crenshaws next mission, then, is off to a very good start.
Watch the PMs speech above

Theresa May has secured Cabinet approval for her draft Brexit deal after five hours of negotiations with ministers.

Her position as Prime Minister, however, remains hanging by a thread amid widespread anger from MPs across all parties.

Speaking outside Downing Street on Wednesday evening, the PM said with her head and her heart her agreement was the best for the entire country. She warned the only options were this one, no deal or no Brexit at all and that the draft agreement was the best that could be negotiated.

Confirming she will make a statement to the House of Commons tomorrow, Mrs May said there had been a long, detailed and impassioned debate on the Brexit deal.

She also acknowledged there will be difficult days ahead  not least trying to secure the support of the DUP party, Labour and hardline Brexiteer and Remainer Tory MPs, for whom this deal satisfies neither, in a meaningful vote in Parliament later this year.

Theresa May delivers her speech outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

She added: When you strip away the detail the choice before us is clear  this deal which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our Union, or leave with no deal or no Brexit at all.

This is a decision that will come under intense scrutiny and that is entirely as it should be and entirely understandable.

The EUs chief negotiator Michel Barnier told a news conference in Brussels the draft agreement represented a decisive crucial step in concluding these negotiations.

Michel Barnier during a media conference in Brussels on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

On the Northern Ireland backstop, he said if there was no final agreement at the end of the transition in December 2020 they would create an EU-UK single customs territory.

Day of drama

Her comments come at the end of a remarkable day of twists and turns, in which rumours circulated around the possibility of ministerial resignations from hardline Brexiteers. Some reports said ministers Esther McVey and Penny Mourdant have been on the brink of quitting.

Story continues

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab is thought to have deep reservations about the agreement.

And, despite her comments tonight, increasing anger by Conservative Brexiteers in particular leaves her job in the balance, with hardline Conservative MPs reportedly primed to call for a no-confidence vote tomorrow that would could bring Mrs Mays leadership crashing down.

Senior tory tells me Brexiteer anger so high that seems likely there will be a call for no confidence vote tomorrow  letters going in   Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) November 14, 2018

Tory MP Conor Burns, an ally of Jacob Rees-Mogg and a member of the ERG who had previously said Mrs May should stay, tonight suggested she should stand aside.

He said: There comes a point where if the PM is insistent that she will not change the policy, then the only way to change the policy is to change the personnel.

It is also thought the 48 letters of no-confidence necessary to trigger a leadership contest have nearly been reached.

The DUP, whose votes the PM relies upon to pass legislation, have threatened to vote down the deal if the backstop plan for Ireland means applying different rules to Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The partys leader Arlene Foster was expecting to speak to Mrs May late on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Theresa May leavies 10 Downing Street ahead of Prime Ministers Questions (PA Images)

Mrs Mays alliance with the party is so fragile that civil servants have reportedly been told to stop including the DUP in Brexit-related emails.

One supporter of Mrs May warned that bringing down her deal will lead to something akin to civil war.

Responding to questions about a second referendum, Justice Minister Rory Stewart said: If we try to move for one of the extreme options that either the hard Brexiteers are proposing or the kind of option that you seem to be suggesting, we would have something akin to a civil war for the next 20 years in this country.

On Wednesday morning it emerged the EU said it will retain all the controls over the UK under the terms of the deal struck by Mrs May.

According to a note reportedly written by the blocs deputy chief negotiator, the EU will set out the rules that Britain must follow until 2030.

We should be in the best negotiation position for the future relationship. This requires the customs union as the basis of the future relationship, read the memo, written by Sabine Weyand.

They must align their rules but the EU will retain all the controls. They apply the same rules. UK wants a lot more from future relationship, so EU retains its leverage.

Testing time for PM

In a bruising exchange during Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn attacked the draft deal, calling it a failure in its own terms.

Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons, London.

The Labour leader said: After two years of bungled negotiations, from what we know of the Governments deal its a failure in its own terms.

It doesnt deliver a Brexit for the whole country it breaches the Prime Ministers own red lines, it doesnt deliver a strong economic deal that supports jobs and industry, and we know they havent prepared seriously for no deal.

COUNTDOWN TO BREXIT  LATEST ANALYSIS FROM YAHOO UK

Where do Theresa Mays ministers stand on Brexit?

Post-Brexit trip to Europe? Try these non-EU alternatives

Bank of England governor confident about UK banks Brexit readiness

Dont be fooled  the biggest battle over Brexit starts now

Hard Brexit could cripple UK science warn Nobel Prize winners

What is in the deal?

The agreement covers arrangements for disentangling the UK from the EU after more than 40 years of membership.

Key issues are the future rights of British expats living on the continent and Europeans in the UK; the settlement of the UKs financial liabilities, estimated at up to 39 billion; and the status of the border on the island of Ireland.

RTE said that the text suggests a backstop to prevent a hard border that will come in the form of a temporary UK-wide customs arrangement that will include specific provisions for Northern Ireland.

These provisions will go deeper on the issue of customs and alignment on the rules of the single market than for the rest of the UK, RTE reported.

Highlights include:

A commitment there will be no border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The whole of Britain will temporarily remain part of the customs union after 29 March 2019. This will only end when an independent panel made up of UK and EU civil servants decides it can leave it. This is how May is trying to solve the thorny issue of the Irish backstop.

The UK will have to follow the majority of single market rules without having any say in what they should be.

A divorce bill of around 40bn.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was trying to "defend the indefensible" over alleged atrocities committed by the country's military against minority Rohingya Muslims. Asked on the sidelines of a speech he delivered in Singapore to comment on how Myanmar and Suu Kyi had been dealing with the Rohingya issue, Mahathir said: "It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible. "They are actually oppressing these people to the point of killing them, mass killing." A U.N. report in August detailed a military crackdown with genocidal intent that began in 2017 and drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine state into neighboring Bangladesh. Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report. Suu Kyi has previously said her civilian government should not bear all responsibility for the crisis because the military retains a powerful political role under the constitution. Southeast Asian nations will call for those responsible for atrocities in Myanmar's Rakhine state to be held "fully accountable", according to a statement prepared for a regional summit, reflecting a stronger line being taken within the group. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan, Writing by John Geddie, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Stacey Abrams, who has refused to concede her gubernatorial race in Georgia against the states Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp, has had little recourse to address her concerns that Kemp used his role as Georgias chief election official to aid his campaign by making it harder for black people to vote. President Donald Trumps Justice Department has demonstrated little to no interest in investigating or upholding voting and civil rights laws. Republicans in Congress have shown no interest in standing up for voting rights. And Trump and congressional Republicans spent the past two years attempting to justify laws that make it harder to vote by investigating baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.

But now that Democrats won control of the House of Representatives, thats all about to change. Power will shift from a nearly all-white political party that refuses to support a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act to a multiracial political party that announced its first act of 2019 will be to pass legislation greatly expanding voting rights. Key Democrats are giving signs that they will investigate voter suppression in the 2018 elections.

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has refused to concede the election until all the votes are counted. (Photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Voting rights will return to being a high priority for Congress in the session that gets under way in January, and particular attention will be given to widespread allegations of vote suppression in places like Georgia, Tennessee, North Dakota and elsewhere, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, said in a statement to HuffPost. I expect the Judiciary Committee will want to hold early hearings. Voting rights are a cornerstone of our democracy and we cant permit them to be eroded.

Cohen is the likely next chairman of his subcommittee, which is the first layer of oversight in the House for federal voting and civil rights issues. If he takes that gavel, he will replace current chairman Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an outspoken white supremacist who used the committee to support voter suppression laws.

Story continues

There are a number of potential lines of investigation into alleged voter suppression for Democrats when they take control of the House in January.

The election in Georgia will be at the top of the list, as Kemp used his official position to help his campaign by purging voter rolls and reducing voting access in African-American communities. There is no shortage of problems that emerged from this election. In a highly aggressive attempt to clean up the voter rolls, Kemps office removed 1.5 million registered voters names from those rolls. He also instituted an exact match system that canceled voter registrations that did not have the exact same spelling for names as they appear in other government databases. That system kept 53,000 voters, 70 percent of them African-American, from being able to register, according to the Associated Press. Kemps office closed over 200 polling places since 2012 and wanted to close more, especially ones in heavily African-American neighborhoods, but was prevented by a court order. Newly combined polling locations did not receive extra voting machines for Election Day, leading to waits of more than four hours at some sites.

Waits to vote in some Georgia precincts exceeded four hours this year. (Photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Democrats in the House and Senate previously asked the Justice Department to investigate what was happening in Georgia. The Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter in October to thenAttorney General Jeff Sessions calling on the department to investigate Kemps exact match policy and the closure of voting locations in predominantly African-American locations. After the elections, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) sent a letter asking the department to investigate whether the states election changes violated the Voting Rights Act.

In North Dakota, Native American activists sued the state over its voter ID law, claiming that it discriminated against tribal communities that lack street addresses. A judge rejected the lawsuit before voting began, but did so by stating the suit came too close to the election. A committee investigation could help highlight the problems that Native Americans face from voter ID and other restrictive voting laws.

Other questions about voter suppression emerged in Missouri, where a court tossed part of the states controversial voter ID law just before the election, and in Tennessee, where the NAACP and the Tennessee Black Voter Project sued over allegedly improperly invalidated voter registrations, mostly in heavily African-American counties.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated the NAACP and Tennessee Black Voter Project sued over allegedly improperly invalidated ballots; they sued over voter registrations. Language has also been amended to clarify that a Missouri court did not toss the entirety of the states voter ID law.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Italy's anti-establishment government promised to increase public spending, raising the public deficit to 2.4 percent of GDP in 2019  up from a previously agreed target of 0.8 percent.

Italian new media suggested that the government could alter its growth forecasts to make them closer to the commission's.

The Italy government will not make any big changes to its 2019 budget plan, despite opposition from the European Commission, an Italian minister told CNBC.

Rome has until the end of the day to amend its 2019 spending plans, after the European Commission said last month that the budget draft disrespected previous commitments. The anti-establishment government promised to increase public spending, raising the public deficit to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2019  up from a previously agreed target of 0.8 percent.

"I don't expect the Italian government to make any substantial revisions," Lorenzo Fioramonti, a junior minister for the Five Star Movement and one of the architects of the party's economic policy, told CNBC's Willem Marx .

"I think there may be a dialogue around some potential second steps, but I think the bulk, the core of what's being proposed will stay the same," Fioramonti said, suggesting the ongoing exchanges between Brussels and Rome are more about what will happen next, rather than the actual content of the budget.

Italian new media suggested the government could alter its growth forecasts in order to bring them more in line with the commission's. However, it is difficult to see how that change alone could please Europe and prevent it from enforcing special monitoring and giving policy-making advice to Italy  a procedure that usually is applied to countries that have to bring their deficit and debt levels down.

Brussels and Rome hit an impasse over Italy's spending plans last month and have engaged in a battle of words since then. One the on hand, the European Commission wants to show that it applies its own rules  a common criticism against the EU's executive arm  and, on the other hand, the anti-establishment government in Rome wants to please its voters and challenge European rules .

Story continues

"We are sending a message that Europe needs to re-think the way in which it conceived economic development over the past few decades," Fioramonti told CNBC.

"It is important that Europe comes to the realization," he said, "that having a founding member in such a level of distress requires a collective effort to change."

Italy was among the group of six countries that first established what's known now as the European Union.

WATCH: Italian government gears up to present new budget draft





More From CNBC


At least 50 people have been killed in the wildfires raging at both ends of California.

Officials have warned the toll could rise further as emergency workers comb through the charred debris of incinerated neighborhoods. More than 200 people remain missing in Northern California, where the Camp fire  already considered the deadliest and most destructive single wildfire in Californias recorded history  continues to blaze.

Authorities have said they will need time to identify many of the dead. A few victims have been publicly identified. Here are some of their stories.

Ernie Foss, 63, of Paradise

Ernest Ernie Foss Jr., a rock n roll musician, died in the Camp fire, the Butte County Sheriffs Office confirmed. The 63-year-old, who had suffered from poor health and was on oxygen, was found outside his home in Paradise next to his service dog, Bernice, who also died in the blaze.

Fosss daughter, Angela Loo, said her dad, a San Francisco native who moved to Paradise eight years ago after being priced out of the city, had played a variety of instruments and had a beautiful voice. Hed left the band life to raise three children as a single parent, Loo said, but had taught music out of their small Bay Area home.

I love that he shared his gift of music with me and so many others during his lifetime, Loo told KTVU-TV.

Foss stepson and caretaker, Andrew Burt, who lived in the same Paradise home, remained missing as of Tuesday. PLEASE continue your prayers and search efforts on his behalf, Loo said of Burt in a Facebook post. We will not stop searching.

John Digby, 78, of Paradise

Air Force veteran John Digby died in his Paradise home during the Camp fire, his son confirmed.

Story continues

Roman Digby told the Los Angeles Times that his 78-year-old father had been sick in bed last week and likely missed a neighbors alert to evacuate. After days of frantic searching, the coroner contacted him to confirm his fathers death, Digby said in a Wednesday tweet.

I love you, dad, he wrote.

The younger Digby, who lives in Minnesota described his dad as a soft-spoken and very kindhearted man, and told the Owatonna Peoples Press that he would wake up to a text from him every day.

Good morning, have a great day, it would read.

Jesus Fernandez, 48, Concow

@isthisyourpet "King" a German Shepard is #Missing with his owner Jesus "Zeus" Fernandez. They lived at 3876 Broken Glass Cir Concow just above the top/end of Cirby Creek Rd. No one has seen either of them since the fire started. #CampFire #CampFireJamesWoods #WelfareCheck pic.twitter.com/HmajBOCCPP  Myrna L. Pascua P.C. (@AZREI) November 12, 2018

Jesus Fernandez, affectionately called Zeus by his friends, died in the Camp fire, Butte County officials confirmed.

A family friend, Myrna Pascua, whod issued an urgent plea for information about Fernandez on social media, remembered the man as the epitome of determination, respect, loyalty and perseverance.

A tireless provider, a dependable and loyal friend, a considerate neighbor, and loving father, he will be sorely missed by all who knew him, Pascua told The Associated Press.

Carl Wiley, 77, of Magalia

The Butte County Sheriffs Office confirmed that 77-year-old Carl Wiley was also killed in the Camp fire.

His son, James Wiley, told AP that his dad, whom he hadnt seen in several years, was a veteran and former tire recapper. The family had lived in Alaska before moving to Butte County decades ago, he said.

Phyllis Salazar, 72, and Christopher Salazar, 76, of Paradise

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Phyllis and Chris Salazar were killed in their home in Paradise during the Camp fire, family members confirmed.

The couple, both in their 70s, had fulfilled their dream of having a big family, the Los Angeles Times reported. They raised a biological son, five adopted children and three foster children.

There were so many of us that it was like a party at the house every day, foster daughter Anita Razo told the paper.

Razo said on Twitter on Wednesday that the sheriffs department had confirmed the deaths of her foster parents.

They did not make it out of their home, she wrote.

Debbe Morningstar, 65, Paradise

Debbe Morningstar died in her home during the Camp fire, family members confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.

Morningstar, a retired secretary, was a lover of music. Her niece, Alison Holguin, remembered Morningstar playing the piano while singing songs with her three sisters during family get-togethers. Holguin recalled the four siblings singing and talking and laughing for hours on end.

Margaret Rummens, Holguins mother, paid tribute to her late sister on Facebook on Tuesday.

It is with great sadness that I must announce that my sister Debbe passed away in the Paradise fire, Rummens wrote. Rest In Peace Debbe Morningstar.

You can help those affected by the wildfires, including families whove lost loved ones. Heres how.

Also on HuffPost

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Boko Haram jihadists have killed at least 16 farmers and left dozens missing in the latest attacks in restive northeast Nigeria's Borno state, militia and residents said on Wednesday.

The civilian militia fighting the Islamists found 15 bodies in fields around Kazaa and Daraa villages, five kilometres (three miles) outside the garrison town of Monguno on Tuesday.

A farmer was also shot dead while working near Gremari village, 13 kms from the state capital Maiduguri.

"Yesterday our members recovered 15 bodies from farms around neighbouring Kazaa and Daraa villages who were killed by Boko Haram on Monday," militia leader Ibrahim Liman told AFP.

"Another 35 people have not been seen and a search will continue today (Wednesday) to find them," he said.

The farmers were mostly from camps in Monguno housing people displaced by the nine-year Islamist insurgency.

Monguno resident Mari Bulama said the jihadists opened fire on farmers at work, shooting them as they fled.

"We buried 15 of them yesterday before I left Monguno," said Bulama who arrived at Maiduguri on Tuesday from Monguno, 140 kms away.

The IS-affiliated faction -- Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) -- operates a camp near the town of Zulum, 20 kms from Monguno, and residents said they believed the attack was launched from there.

On Tuesday two jihadists on a motorcycle opened fire on farmers outside Gremari village killing one, militiaman Umar Ari told AFP.

"The rest of the farmers fled and later returned to pick the dead body of their colleague," he added.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on farmers and loggers in recent years, accusing them of passing information on the group to the military.

Last month the jihadists hacked 12 farmers to death as they worked on their fields in Kalle, a remote village 17 kms from Maiduguri.

Despite government insistence Boko Haram are near defeat, the group has recently carried out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores.

More than 27,000 people have died since the start of the insurgency in the remote northeast in 2009 and 1.8 million are still homeless.
The EU is accused of using the Irish border backstop to keep the UK in the customs union permanent (Getty)

EU negotiators are seeking to use a deal over the Irish border backstop to keep the UK in its customs union permanently, a bombshell leak that threatens a delicate Brexit deal has revealed.

The UK and EU are on the brink of sealing a deal after a compromise over the backstop  the insurance policy to preventing a hard border in Ireland  was reached on Monday evening.

It would see the whole of the UK remain temporarily in a customs union with the EU if there was a gap between the end of the transition period and the start of a free trade agreement.

In a bid to push through a deal, Theresa May will tell an emergency Cabinet that this arrangement would last only a matter of months if it needed to be used at all.

MORE: EU and UK negotiators reach breakthrough on Irish border

But, in a development that will make the deal even more difficult for the prime minister to sell, it has been reported that the EU are trying to use the backstop as leverage for a permanent customs union.

It is claimed that Sabine Weyand, the EUs deputy chief negotiator, made the suggestion in a briefing to EU ambassadors last week.

A leaked diplomatic note of the meeting reports that Weyand said the deal puts the EU in the best negotiation position for the future relationship.

This requires the customs union as the basis of the future relationship, it adds.

A source at the meeting with Weyand also told Politico the backstop deal set a precedent for the future.

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said the Cabinet should veto the deal in light of the reports.

Sabine Weyand in The Times clear: if agreed, the CU backstop will not be temporary but the minimum basis for our future trading relationship, with high alignment and 'EU control'  this means super-canada impossible. Cabinet must live up to its responsibilities & stop this deal  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 14, 2018

But Dutch MEP Sophie in t Veld hit back at the suggestion in an interview with the Today programme.

Story continues

She said: Ive seen that, by certain politicians and media, its being presented as a sort of cunning plan  the devious Europeans to keep the UK in a customs union forever.

We dont do this kind of conspiracies. Weve been negotiating in an honest manner.

An EU source told Irish broadcaster RTE that the Times report was not a fair impression of Weyands words.

The controversy came as Weyand was set to address ambassadors of EU 27 member states on Wednesday about the progress made in talks.

If there are no substantial objections to the deal agreed at a technical level, Europe ministers from each member state will be summoned to Brussels next Monday before an emergency summit of EU leaders on November 25.

A European Commission spokesperson confirmed the diary of its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, was free on that weekend.

But he refused to comment on what he called an ongoing process in Brussels and London over a deal.

MORE: EXCLUSIVE: EU says publishing its Chequers analysis would risk jeopardising Brexit deal




By Jan Strupczewski and Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Tuesday it intended to adopt by the end of December all the legislation necessary to prepare the EU for a British exit without a divorce agreement should it be necessary by Brexit day on March 29.

The EU executive is in charge of negotiating a departure agreement with Britain on behalf of the 27 countries remaining in the EU after Britain leaves.

As Britain's exit date comes closer and negotiations on the withdrawal treaty have not yet been completed, the Commission issued a document on Tuesday on the preparations the EU would have to take in case a divorce agreement could not be reached.

"The draft Withdrawal Agreement constitutes the best option for the withdrawal. In the absence of a Withdrawal Agreement, the European Union will act to protect its interests, and should display a united and coordinated approach in all areas," the Commission said.

In London, the BBC said the EU and Britain had agreed a draft Brexit divorce deal text and Prime Minister Theresa May would present the agreement to her senior ministers on Wednesday. Any deal has to be approved by parliament.

The Commission said it intended to propose all necessary legislative measures and adopt all the legal acts required for preparing the EU for Britain crashing out without a divorce deal before Dec 31.

It said this deadline would give the European Parliament and EU governments the time needed to complete the procedures in time for Brexit day.

The Commission said the time needed for these procedure could not be contracted because EU treaties provided for an eight-week period for the consultation of national parliaments while some legal acts were subject to mandatory scrutiny by the European Parliament and governments.

It said the risks of financial instability in the event of a no-deal Brexit have "diminished significantly" due to ongoing contingency preparations, though such a scenario could still pose risks for cleared derivatives.

Story continues

Announcing its latest contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit, the EU's executive said it was looking at temporary bridging solutions to mitigate disruption in key areas.

On air traffic, the Commission said it would propose extending current rules to allow UK airlines to land in EU territory and take off from its airports, but that this was conditional on Britain applying equivalent measures for carriers from the bloc.

For road transport, however, the Commission said its unilateral contingency measures "would allow for considerably less traffic than what currently takes place between the Union and the United Kingdom".

(Editing by Richard Balmforth)
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski has submitted an asylum request in Hungary asking for refugee status, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office said on Wednesday. Gruevski fled to Hungary this week six months after he was sentenced to two years in prison on corruption-related charges, Macedonia's interior ministry has said. Macedonian police issued an arrest warrant on Monday for Gruevski, who resigned in 2016 after 10 years in power, after he failed to show up to begin his sentence following a Nov. 9 court ruling against his motion for a reprieve. "The Immigration and Asylum Office will conduct the asylum assessment procedure in accordance with both Hungarian and international law," Orban's office said in a statement. It said Macedonia was an important ally and Hungary considered the assessment of Gruevski's asylum request "to be solely a legal issue." "Given that he was prime minister of his country for ten years, for security reasons the Hungarian authorities have allowed Mr. Gruevski to have his asylum request submitted and heard at the headquarters of the Immigration and Asylum Office in Budapest," Orban's office said. Gruevski's application puts Orban into a difficult situation. Orban had supported Gruevski in the run-up to Macedonia's elections in 2017 and praised his party's efforts to halt migrants passing through the Balkans to Western Europe. Gruevski's party and Orban's right-wing Fidesz are members of the European People's party, the center-right conservative grouping in European Parliament. Last month Macedonia's parliament approved a proposal to change the country's name, bringing a decades-old dispute with Greece one step closer to resolution, That move could unblock its bid to join NATO, something Moscow opposes. Gruevski had opposed any name change. According to the website of the immigration office, the Hungarian authority has 60 days to decide on an asylum application but there is an option for an accelerated procedure. (Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The evidence likely to be presented at the New York trial of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will paint a picture of a Robin Hood figure, albeit a brutal one, who amassed a $14 billion fortune by bribery, murdering rivals and smuggling huge amounts of drugs. Guzmans lawyers have signaled that they intend to downplay their clients role in the Sinaloa Cartel which prosecutors say he led for years, at the trial which starts on Tuesday. The following includes some of the most colorful claims made by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) in pre-trial documents: * Guzman started as a teenager cultivating marijuana and growing poppies for heroin production, going on to become the main leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, "the worlds largest and most prolific drug trafficking organization." * While he was guarded by a virtual army of enforcers and cartel assassins, Guzman was also known to carry a gold-plated AK-47 assault rifle and a diamond-encrusted pistol for his own personal protection. * In 2001, Guzman famously escaped from prison, purportedly in a laundry cart with the assistance of prison officials whom he had corrupted. He escaped again in 2015, from a maximum security prison via a tunnel of more than a mile long that emerged in the bathroom in his cell. The complexity and cost of the plan is part of the DoJ's case that he was a very powerful figure in Mexico. * Guzman's enforcers were tasked with a wide-range of murder, assault, kidnappings, torture and targeted assassinations designed to "promote and enhance his prestige, reputation and position within the Sinaloa Cartel and to protect the cartel against challenges from rivals." * During one specially violent turf battle over the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, one of Guzman's assassins oversaw a house specially designed for murder with plastic sheets covering the walls to minimize messes as well as a drain in the middle of the floor to quickly clean up spilt blood. * El Chapo's wrath against rivals could be hyper-violent. Allegedly on his orders, trafficker Julio Beltran was gunned down on the streets of the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan "using so many rounds of ammunition that Beltrans head was almost completely separated from his body." * By some, he was viewed as a modern-day Robin Hood, popular with the down-trodden and extolled in popular songs. There were protests in the streets of Sinaloa after his arrest. * While the DoJ documents does not explain why he enjoyed that status, for years stories have emerged in Mexico of Guzman helping poor communities by paying for roads and other infrastructure projects, including contracting helicopters to install posts for the electricity system of his mountainous home town of Badiraguato, Sinaloa. * The geographical reach of Guzman's drug empire was vast as his Sinaloa Cartel moved into lucrative methamphetamine trafficking starting around 2000, driving him to establish suppliers for precursor chemicals in Africa, China and India. * Among his many Spanish-language nicknames was "El Rapido," or "Speedy," due to his uncanny ability to move massive drug shipments originating from South America across the U.S.-Mexico border using land, air and sea routes while returning laundered drug proceeds to mostly Colombian partners in record time. * Massive bribes to corrupt politicians and security officials were largely responsible for the success of his business model, including a $1 million cash bribe for just one drug deal. The bribes often secured armed police escorts for shipments headed to the United States. (Reporting by David Alire Garcia and Anthony Esposito; Editing by Frank Jack; Daniel and Alistair Bell)
Maddie Whittsett was driven to suicide by bullying, but that may not have been the only thing that led to the girls death. (Photo: Getty Images)

A family in Birmingham, Ala., is mourning the loss of 9-year-old Madison Maddie Whitsett, who took her own life on Friday after reportedly having a bad day.

Now her mother, Eugenia Williams, and the girls stepfather, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Lt. Jimmie Williams, are speaking out about the potentially deadly consequences of bullying, which they believe was the catalyst for their daughters suicide. Madison, who was energetic, funny, and loved dance, according to her mom, had struggled with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which appeared to make her a target for her peers, who had taken to calling her stupid and dumb, according to Al.com.

Following multiple incidents, the parents went to Madisons school to meet with the principal and believed the situation had been defused. I felt like we took care of it, Jimmie said. But in any bullying situation, things arent always what they appear to be. For instance, Eugenia had surprised her daughter with a spontaneous trip to one of her favorite restaurants, Chick-fil-A, on the day she took her own life. The mom saw her daughter running through the house with excitement  but little did she know the child was secretly tormented by the harassment she was enduring.

Williams later found out from one of the girls friends that the fourth grader had endured bullying that day and appeared sad. It must have really worn her out that day, her stepfather said to Al.com. Madison had also recently been put on a medication that counted suicidal thoughts as one of its side effects. The bullying plus the medicine, I think, gave her the boost to do that, Jimmie said.

The parents wont identify which school Madison attended, because they dont blame the school and they dont want to shine an unwanted spotlight on it. Birmingham City Schools, though, released a statement on Tuesday addressing the devastating event:

Our school community is deeply saddened by the recent passing of a student. Counselors and district-level support staff, trained to help students, parents and school personnel at difficult times such as this, have been on-site at the impacted school today to provide assistance to students and staff in needed of support in processing this tragedy. The death of any young person is a tragic loss that impacts the whole school community, and we send our deepest condolences to the family.

Story continues

Research suggests that a peer who is perceived as different  like Madison, whose ADHD required that she get special attention at school  is an easy target. Additionally, there is often a disconnect between young peoples experience of bullying and what the adults see, according to StopBullying.gov, an awareness resource managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The site states that 28 percent of U.S. students in grades 6 to 12 have experienced bullying, while 70.6 percent admit to having witnessed it. Only about 20 percent to 30 percent of students who are bullied notify adults. Suicide in a bullying situation is usually the result of multiple risk factors, the site notes.

Madisons parents want to remind parents to make sure they are checking up on their children and to be vocal with teachers and students about any bullying incidents witnessed. It can happen to anyone, they say.

Meanwhile, Madison  the girl with the big, beaming smile  will be remembered for her happier days and her inner beauty. She just wanted to be your friend, said Jimmie. She wanted to be everybodys friend and wanted everyone to be happy. We saw that in everything she did.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine speaks alongside a display of those arrested during a news conference: AP Photo/John Minchillo

Four members of one family have been arrested in connection the massacre of another family on an Ohio marijuana farm.

The eight victims, who ranged in age from 16 to 44, were found dead in four separate homes on their farm in Pike County in 2016.

Parents George Billy Wagner III, 47, and Angela Wagner, 48, were arrested alongside their two sons George Wagner IV, 27, and Edward Jake Wagner, 26.

They were charged with planning and carrying out the murders, along with a slew of other offences including conspiracy, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with evidence, and obstruction of justice, Ohio State Attorney General Mike De Wine said.

Jake Wagner was a former boyfriend of one of the victims, 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden and shared custody of their daughter at the time of the killings.

The 19-year-old was in bed next to her four-day-old when she was killed. The newborn survived, as did a six-month-old and a three-year-old also on the farm.

The attorney general said in a tweet: Our investigation alleges that the suspects studied the victims habits and routines. They knew the layouts of their homes. And they knew where they slept.

In separate comments, he said the case involved an obsession with the custody and control of children.

Our investigation alleges that the suspects studied the victims habits and routines. They knew the layouts of their homes. And they knew where they slept. #PikeCounty pic.twitter.com/y5ACfvbQHq  Ohio AG Mike DeWine (@OhioAG) November 13, 2018

The Pike County Medical Examiner said every victim died from gunshot wounds, with one victim shot nine times.

The victims had soft tissue bruising, indicating a struggle, according to the medical examiner.

Story continues

Officials said they discovered marijuana growing operations at three of the four crime scenes.

Mr De Wine described the murders at the time as as a pre-planned execution. Authorities have yet to give full explanation of what they believe was the motive for the killings.

The state attorney generals office called for information about the Mr Wagners in 2017, asking for members of the public tell them about the family vehicles and guns.

The request prompted the Wagners to complain they were being harassed while the real killer or killers are out there.

Both Jake Wagner and Angela Wagner told the Cincinnati Enquirer at the time they were not involved in the deaths.

Following the four arrests John Clark, a lawyer for the Wagners, said: We look forward to the day when the true culprits will be discovered and brought to justice for this terrible tragedy. The Wagners are also very hopeful that in the ensuing months there will be a thorough vetting of all the facts.

The victims were 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden, Christopher Rhoden Sr, 40, Dana Rhoden, 37, Clarence Frankie Rhoden, 20, Christopher Rhoden Jr, 16, Hanna May Rhoden, 19, Hannah Gilley, 20, and Gary Rhoden, 38.

The Wagner family lived in Peebles, Ohio, at the time of the killings, but they have since moved to Alaska.

The mothers of Billy Wagner and Angela Wagner, Fredericka Wagner and Rita Newcomb were also arrested in connection with the alleged cover-up of the massacre, the attorney general also said on Tuesday.
Intan Syari has posed for her wedding pictures alone after her partner was killed in the Lion Air plane crash (Instagram@intansyariii)

The fiancee of a man who was killed in the Lion Air plane crash last month has posed for her wedding pictures alone.

Intan Syari wore her white wedding gown and wedding ring and smiles for the camera to fulfil the last wish of husband-to-be Rio Nanda Pratama.

The couple were due to get married on 11 November but Mr Pratama was among 189 people killed when Lion Air flight JT 610 crashed into the Java sea on 29 October, shortly after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia.

Ms Syari posed for photos wearing her white gown and wedding ring (Instagram@intansyariii)

Rio Nanda Pratama died as he was flying home for the wedding (Instagram@intansyariii)

Ms Sayari said she wanted to fulfil her husband-to-bes last wish( Instagram@intansyariii)

Posting the pictures on Instagram, Ms Syari wrote: Even though I feel grief that I cannot describe, I still have to smile for you.

I cannot be sad but should be strong like you always told me to be.

Medical doctor Mr Pratama had joked shortly before the flight that she should take the pictures and send them to him if he did not arrive at the wedding on time, according to the wedding photographer.

MORE: Tommy Robinson denied visa for US visit to meet Republican politicians

MORE: Police search for man who shoved pedestrian into London traffic after they brushed shoulders

He reportedly told his bride-to-be: If I dont return by 11 November, you should still wear your wedding gown that I chose for you.

Wear beautiful make-up, ask for a white roses. Take good photos and send them to me.

The pair had known each other for 13 years, and Ms Syari described her intended, who was flying to the couples home town of Pangkai Pinang for the wedding, as her first love.

Investigators examine engine parts from the ill-fated Lion Air flight JT 610 at a port in Jakarta (Getty)

Colleagues of victims of Lion Air flight JT 610 throw flowers on deck of Indonesian Navy ship KRI Banjarmasin at the site of the crash in Karawang, Indonesia (Getty)

The exact cause of the flight has so far not been determined but Indonesian investigators said the airspeed indicator for Lion Air flight 610 malfunctioned during its last four flights, including the fatal flight on October 29.

All 189 people on board the flight were killed.
Several hundred members of the migrant caravan moving through Central America made it to Mexicos border with the U.S. this week, where they will most likely wait to legally enter a port of entry as asylum seekers.

Dozens of LGBTQ migrants settled into a local shelter in Tijuana (located just south of San Diego) on Monday, The Washington Post reported. Various U.S. and Mexican LGBTQ organizations allegedly helped fund their trip to the border by bus, allowing them to get ahead of the rest of the group.

We were discriminated against, even in the caravan, said Erick Dubon, 23, a Honduran migrant traveling with his boyfriend. People wouldnt let us into trucks, they made us get in the back of the line for showers, they would call us ugly names.

More than 300 migrants had made it to Tijuana by Tuesday, according to the Post, as local officials said theyre expecting larger numbers in the coming weeks.

Honduran Keisha Kataleia, who split from the caravan and was one of the first to make it to Tijuana, stands on a balcony of a house being used as a migrant shelter. (Photo: GUILLERMO ARIAS via Getty Images)

Thousands of additional troops were sent to patrol the border in anticipation of the caravans arrival, but they cant actually detain immigrants. So far theyve kept busy by setting up camp and affixing concertina and barbed wire along border fences.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it closed several vehicle lanes at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry starting Tuesday.

CBP has been and will continue to prepare for the potential arrival of thousands of people migrating in a caravan heading towards the border of the United States, said Pete Flores, director of field operations in San Diego. These preparations include training exercises, deploying additional CBP personnel, and partnering with the U.S. military to harden our ports of entry and the border area between those legal crossings into the U.S.

The bulk of the caravan is further south in Guadalajara.

Central American migrants, part of the caravan hoping to reach the U.S. border, get a ride in a chicken truck, in Irapuato, Mexico, on Nov. 12, 2018. Several thousand Central American migrants marked a month on the road Monday as they hitched rides toward the western Mexico city of Guadalajara. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Seeking asylum at a port of entry is fully lawful. Migrants who choose this option will enter U.S. custody and are detained while they file their applications (families are typically released after 20 days but given notices for when theyre scheduled to appear in court). Those who arent found to possess credible or reasonable fear of persecution will be subject to expedited removal.

Story continues

Yet the Trump administration has tried to dissuade people from going this route, claiming facilities dont have enough space to house asylum seekers at the border. It has used the process of metering to place a limit on the number of asylum applications it processes every day.

Trump also rolled out a rule and presidential proclamation last week to deny the right to request asylum to those who cross the border illegally, though its already being challenged in court.

Related...

Heres What Happens When The Migrant Caravan Gets To The U.S. Border

U.S. Troops Will Likely Miss Thanksgiving At Home As They Wait For Migrant Caravan

Trump Largely Silent About Migrant Caravan Following Midterm Elections

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

A Honduran migrant drinks soup during a new leg of their travel in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Oct. 18, 2018.

Honduran migrants rest inside a shelter in Tecun Uman.

A moment alone.

Migrant children take shelter from rain.

Migrants lift each other into the back of a truck.

People wait in line as they continue their journey northward.

Another truck packed with people weaves through Central America.

A young migrant child is confronted by police.

A man feeds his child in the back of a truck.

People clutch children and belongings as they wade through currents.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP)  Florida's election started badly when Hurricane Michael disrupted early voting in some Panhandle counties. Long lines, ballot shortages and other problems followed statewide, both during early voting and on Election Day. Now the state is having recounts in its U.S. Senate and governor races.

Because of the 2000 presidential recount fiasco and Florida being the largest swing state, any election problems it incurs immediately become a national crisis  one that President Donald Trump and Republican Gov. Rick Scott inflamed by accusing elections supervisors in two major Democratic counties of fraud without offering evidence. State law enforcement and elections officials have said no fraud complaints have been filed.

In the Senate race, Scott's lead over incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is 0.14 percentage point  about one vote for every 700 cast. In the governor's contest, unofficial results show Republican former Rep. Ron DeSantis ahead of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 0.41 percentage point.

So how does the recount work? What problems have been reported? Is Florida really that screwed up? And do Nelson and Gillum have a shot?

HOW THE RECOUNT WORKS

For now, it's simple. Florida's 67 county elections offices run the ballots through the tallying machines a second time. Not all counties are created equal, however  small counties have only a few thousand votes, while Miami-Dade has 800,000. Overall, 8 million votes were cast. The counties' deadline is Thursday afternoon, pending court action seeking to extend it. Some are already done, including Miami-Dade.

Here's where it gets tricky. If the statewide margin between the candidates after the machine recount is less than 0.25 percentage point  one vote for every 400 cast  the counties conduct a manual recount. During the initial recount, the machines set aside any ballots that cannot be tallied. During a manual recount, only those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that cannot be machine read but can be deciphered.

Story continues

For example, in most counties voters fill a bubble for their candidate. But some mark the bubble with an X or circle the name. Others cross out one bubble and fill another. If the voter's intention is clear, that ballot is counted. If not, it isn't.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The results will be presented to the state's canvassing board, for final approval  that's scheduled for next week, pending court action. Scott would normally sit on the panel, but he recused himself Wednesday. Typically, the board's approval is perfunctory. The state did not respond to a query asking what happens if the board refuses to certify the results.

ELECTION PROBLEMS

Several problems, real and perceived, have cropped up in the counting and casting of ballots  some worse than others.

Democratic-dominated Broward and Palm Beach, the state's second- and third-most populous counties, were both slow to complete their counts. That's why Nelson and Gillum gained ground in the days after the election. That led to accusations by Trump, Scott and others that something nefarious was afoot  but they offered no evidence and a slow count is not illegal.

While Florida's other 65 counties all tallied at least 99 percent of their votes by noon the day after the election, by that time Broward stood at 94 percent and Palm Beach at 96, an Associated Press analysis showed. Broward blamed its lengthy ballot, which included 10 county charter amendments, while Palm Beach blamed aging voting equipment. However, a quick count is not required: State law says the initial tally must be finished four days after the election and Broward and Palm Beach met the deadline.

"If it didn't take up to four days, the law wouldn't have put that in there," said Eugene Pettis, attorney for Brenda Snipes , the county's elections supervisor.

Broward also accidentally counted 22 provisional ballots that had been deemed ineligible, mostly because the signatures on the envelopes didn't match those on file. Snipes acknowledged the error.

Palm Beach Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said her county might not make Thursday's original deadline because its tabulation machines may not be fast enough. If a county's recount in a race is incomplete, its pre-recount tally stands.

But Broward and Palm Beach weren't the only counties with possible or actual irregularities.

For example, in Republican-dominated Bay County, Elections Supervisor Mark Andersen accepted 147 ballots by email, even though that's barred by state law. Andersen said the voters were displaced by Hurricane Michael, telling a Panhandle television station that anyone who objects "ought to be ashamed."

IS FLORIDA REALLY MORE SCREWED UP THAN OTHER STATES?

That's subjective, but Florida's mistakes are magnified because the electorate is equally split. Voting problems in overwhelmingly Democratic states like California and New York or in Republican states like Texas and Utah do not get any attention because they don't change statewide outcomes.

Ballots got wet and couldn't be read last week in New York City. In Utah, some counties didn't have enough machines, causing hourslong lines. Google any state and "voting problem" and chances are you will find something.

CAN NELSON OR GILLUM STILL WIN?

Unlikely, though Nelson's odds are better than Gillum's. Recounts that flip races are rare and candidates who have succeeded overcame much smaller deficits.

In the 2008 Minnesota Senate recount, Democrat Al Franken overcame an initial 206-vote gap to win by 312 votes. In the 2004 Washington governor's race, Democrat Christine Gregoire trailed by 261 votes in the initial count, but won by 133 after the recount.

____

Associated Press writer Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

____

For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics .
A man holding a flag verbally insults another man outside Broward County election offices during a ballot recount in Lauderhill, Fla. (Photo: Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

LAUDERHILL, Fla.  The man stood outside the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office, holding a Betsy Ross version of the American flag and wondering out loud whether to go to his car and get his gun.

Theyre telling me theyre going to kick my cracker ass, said Ryan Farley, a self-employed construction worker who was protesting against what he believes were Democratic attempts to steal the election, despite the lack of any evidence of this occurring.

Farley, who is white, told Yahoo News he had become engaged in a series of back-and-forth insults with a group of five or six African-American men who worked inside the elections office and were sitting outside while on break.

Farley said the elections office workers had insulted him first, making obscene gestures and yelling at him. Three different elections workers told Yahoo News that Farley had begun the exchange, shouting at them and pointing his flag at them like it was a machine gun.

Farley, a married father of four, recounted the exchange this way. I go, Dont be monkeying around, he said.

Farley defended his language. Hes the one whos putting himself in the monkey category, Farley said of one man who had been insulting him. If anyones racist, its calling me a cracker.

The elections office workers told Yahoo News that Farley didnt just use the term monkeying around. He actually called them monkey, they said. They did not wish to give their names.

At one point, five or six office workers walked within 10 feet of Farley on their way back into the elections building, and Farley scampered away, clearly nervous about a physical confrontation.

The office workers glared at him.

An Andrew Gillum sign inside a bin in Lauderhill, Fla. (Photo: Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

I dont know if I should go get my gun and come back or just haul ass and get out of here. But I want to be here. I shouldnt be chased away, Farley said. He said he was glad that Florida has a stand your ground law that gives gun owners wide latitude in deciding to use their gun if they feel threatened in any way.

Story continues

The ugly incident  which appears at this point to be an isolated one  highlighted how rhetoric used during the campaign by a white Republican for governor, Ron DeSantis, had spread to interactions between citizens. In late August, DeSantis said Florida voters should not monkey this up by electing Democrat Andrew Gillum, who is black. The remark was widely viewed as a racist comment.

Now, Gillum and DeSantis are in a recount, with the Republican candidate holding a slim lead. The U.S. Senate race is also in a recount, along with the contest for agriculture commissioner, one state Senate seat, and two state House seats.

The recount has a deadline of 3 p.m. Thursday. If the margin between two candidates in any race is less than 0.25 percent at that point, then the counties will begin hand-counting ballots that were read by machines as showing no votes or as showing votes for too many candidates. These are called undervotes and overvotes.

The deadline for counties to finish and report the results of a manual recount would be this Sunday at noon.

The Senate race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and sitting Governor Rick Scott is more likely to go to hand recount than the governors race. Scott leads by 12,562 votes, which is a difference of only 0.15 percent. DeSantiss lead over Gillum is 0.41 percent.

But its not just the governors race that has been racially charged. Broward County, the coastal county just north of Miami-Dade that includes Fort Lauderdale, is a Democratic stronghold. Around 700,000 voters cast ballots here, and 69 percent of those went for Nelson. If the race goes to a hand recount, Broward will be key to Nelsons hopes of catching and overtaking Scotts vote total.

Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes answers questions at the Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill, Fla. on Nov. 12, 2018. (Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP)

The Broward County voters office is run by an African-American woman, Brenda Snipes, who has come under tremendous criticism. She suggested Tuesday that some of this criticism might be racially motivated.

Snipes said that she was appointed to her job in 2003 after the removal of another black woman in this office.

I dont know why we get a bigger spotlight than some, Snipes said. I have worked for 15 years tirelessly for the voters of Broward County, and I will continue to do this until my time is up.

Snipes also said that it is sort of hard to rule out race, as a motive for criticism of her, but added, I wont say, Oh, Im black woman and thats why. Im not saying that.

And, in fact, there are also Democrats who criticize Snipes for her handling of the office, especially over the last few years. Local media have reported on numerous screw-ups in ballot design, record-keeping and tallying of results, although there has been no evidence of intentional tampering. Rumors of Snipess departure or removal have been flying since before this election.

I suspect she wont be here for long  whether she is suspended from office, she leaves office early or shes voted out, state Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat, told Politico.

But the wild accusations of voter fraud by President Trump, Scott and other Republicans  despite a lack of evidence and despite multiple findings that none has occurred by state agencies and judges  plays into the narrative that Democrats commit voter fraud primarily in urban areas where African-American populations are high.

Farley echoed that belief. Our votes are being stolen right now as we stand here, he said.

He also said incorrectly that the entire workforce at the Broward elections office was African-American. It is not.

Ive been here for two days. Not one white person works here, Farley said.

But inside the building, reporters, elections lawyers and volunteers were able to observe

Judge Deborah Carpenter-Toye, left, Canvassing Board member, shows political observers a test ballot that needs replacing at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office, Nov. 12, 2018, in Lauderhill, Fla. (Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP)

County employees behind glass windows, feeding ballots into machines. About half the employees in the room were white.

Nonetheless, Farley, egged on by politicians like Scott who said Nelson is trying to commit fraud to steal this election, is angry. The protests outside Broward were quieter Tuesday than they were over the weekend, but will ramp back up if either the Senate or Governors races go to a hand recount.

Farley said that tension between blacks and whites will certainly lead to violence.

I dont hate black people, but Im just not going to be f***ing walked on, Farley said. And guess whos got all the guns? You think black people have guns? They got a couple little guns. We got f***ing arsenals. Its f***ing ridiculous. But were not going to get walked on.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Fox News, which frequently provides favorable coverage of President Donald Trump and his administration, is standing by CNN in its lawsuit over the White House removing reporter Jim Acostas press credentials.

Fox News supports CNN in its legal effort to regain its White House reporters press credential. We intend to file an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court, network President Jay Wallace said in a statement Wednesday. Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized.

Wallace added: While we dont condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the President and the press at recent media avails, we do support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people.

On Tuesday, CNN filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, alleging that the White Houses decision to revoke Acostas press access following a combative exchange with Trump last week was a violation of CNN and Acostas First Amendment rights of freedom of the press.

President Donald Trump points to CNN's Jim Acosta as he speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House last week. (Photo: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

In the lawsuit, the network said it seeks an immediate restraining order restoring press access for Acosta.

CNNs lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was appointed by Trump and previously worked for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

An initial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

White House officials have shifted their story about the rationale for revoking Acostas hard pass, which grants him access as a member of the White House press pool.

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders initially tweeted an apparently doctored video promoted by the right-wing conspiracy website Infowars, purporting to show Acosta placing his hands on the White House intern who was trying to take away the microphone he was using during the press conference.

In responding to the lawsuit on Tuesday, she accused Acosta of being rude to other reporters and said he and the network were grandstanding.

Story continues

Journalism and press advocacy organizations have defended Acosta and condemned the White House for its decision, one of a series of incidents involving Trump and his administration encouraging animosity against reporters and trying to infringe on press freedom.

Along with Fox News, a number of other media organizations said Wednesday that they would join the amicus brief supporting CNN, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed News, First Look Media, Gannett, NBC, The New York Times, Politico, USA Today and The Washington Post.

This story has been updated with more information about the underlying dispute and the amicus brief.

Related Coverage

CNN Reporter Jim Acosta's White House Press Pass Suspended After Argument With Trump

CNN Sues Trump For Revoking Jim Acosta's White House Press Credentials

Facing Lawsuit, Trump White House Shifts Story On CNN's Jim Acosta

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Paris (AFP) - The French government said Wednesday that it was "deeply concerned" over Sophie Petronin, a 73-year-old hostage in Mali, after a new video in which her kidnappers say her health has deteriorated.

A seven-minute video of the charity worker released in June had already showed her appearing weak and emaciated as she urged French President Emmanuel Macron to help her.

This month, her kidnappers released a new video which only shows her in a photo, heightening concern among French officials nearly two years after she was taken hostage.

"It is with deep concern that we were made aware of a statement published on November 11 by the kidnappers of Sophie Petronin," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll.

"We are taking seriously their claim that the health of our compatriot has deteriorated."

She called for Petronin's "immediate release for clear humanitarian reasons", adding that France would "continue to act with determination and commitment to find her as quickly as possible".

Petronin's son Sebastien Chadaud-Petronin has said he fears for his mother's life following the release of the new video.

"It's only a message from the people who are holding her -- you see her photo pasted onto the screen, and she is bedridden," he said.

Petronin was running a charity helping orphans when she was kidnapped by armed men in Gao, northern Mali, in December 2016.

No group claimed responsibility for kidnapping until July 2017, when Al-Qaeda's Mali branch released a video showing her.

Mali has been struggling to return to stability after Islamist extremists took control of the north in early 2012, prompting a military intervention by France.

The north remains wracked by violence, with three civilians killed in a suicide car bombing in a residential area of Gao on Monday.
Georgia Sen Nikema Williams was among several people arrested at the Capitol building in Atlanta on November 13 during a protest calling for every vote to be counted in governorship race between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp.

Williams, senator for Georgias 39th District, was detained by Capitol Police inside the building, telling reporters: I stood peacefully next to my constituents because they wanted their voices to be heard, and now Im being arrested. Williams said she was being arrested because she did not disperse and leave the floor, adding that she had been there since 9 am as the legislature was in special session.

Fox 5 reported that Williams was among at least 15 people arrested at the protest. She was held in Fulton County Jail for more than six hours, according to the National Domestic Workers Alliance, a non-profit for which Williams acts as deputy political director.

Williams was released from custody later in the evening and told media: I showed up at the Capitol today for a special session to take care of the citizens of Georgia. I saw I had constituents protesting for their voices to be heard. There are countless Georgians who cast their ballots and still dont feel like their voices are heard. I joined them down on the floor, and I was singled out as a black female senator standing in the rotunda with constituents."

She added that she was incredibly proud and would "stand with the citizens of Georgia to demand that their votes be counted. Credit: National Domestic Workers Alliance via Storyful




On the day of Prince Charles 70th birthday, Good Morning Britain presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid naturally ended up discussing the Royal Family, and the former had a rather embarrassing story to share.

Morgan recalled his first and only meeting with Prince Charles father Prince Philip, and it proved to be a rather awkward one.

At his [Prince Charles] 50th birthday party they invited all the Editors, which I was at the Daily Mirror, 1998 is must have been, began Morgan. We went down to Buckingham Palace; the Queen invited us all.

Piers Morgan reveals awkward encounter with Prince Philip

And all I remember is, I was standing in the sun, we had our name tags on, and Prince Philip came towards us. Id never met him, and he went, Ooh, who are you? And I stuck my hand out, he shook my hand, and he looked at the name tag which said Daily Mirror Editor, The Sun Editor.

And he bolted off at high speed, and he passed a guy, who he didnt recognise, who was the Editor of The Sunday Mirror, so it was someone I knew.

And he just turned back at me [Prince Philip] and this guy and went, My God, you cant tell from the outside, can you?

Piers Morgan recalls being blanked by Prince Philip

He continued: It was my only encounter of Prince Philip, and he was exceptionally rude, and I love that. Why pretend? He couldnt stand us, and he was quite happy to tell us.

Reid then began to poke fun at Morgan, asking him why he wasnt invited to Prince Charles 70th birthday today (November 14).

So you were invited to Prince Charles 50th? What are you doing today? Reid jokingly asked.

Er, well, if youre watching, your majesty, as Im sure you do, we know that Camilla loves the show. Good morning to you maam, Morgan joked.

I think youd be a fabulous Queen and when you are, I hope I get back on the party list. Because, at the moment, theyve dried up a bit, he added.





Read more

GMB Viewers jump to Susanna Reids defence after Lord Sugar criticises her appearance

Piers Morgan implores viewers to name five arrested over Grenfell effigy

GMB viewers mock Piers Morgan for moaning about lack of sleep
HOUSTON (AP)  A Texas National Guard member serving at the U.S.-Mexico border is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a motel, authorities said Wednesday.

Police in Alpine, Texas, arrested Luis Carlos Ontiveros, 30, on Monday. The Texas National Guard confirmed that Ontiveros was serving in a mission launched in April following President Donald Trump's call for the National Guard to go to the border.

According to an affidavit obtained by KOSA-TV, the woman told police she had been drinking and Ontiveros offered to take her back to her motel room. The woman alleged that Ontiveros started kissing her, then removed her clothes and touched her.

The woman said she fled after Ontiveros told her he would perform oral sex. A witness told police the woman knocked on his door, saying Ontiveros had tried to rape her.

Ontiveros was released Tuesday on $20,000 bond. A message left at a number listed for Ontiveros was not immediately returned. The Associated Press generally does not identify victims in sexual assault cases.

The Texas National Guard said it would cooperate with authorities in Alpine, a remote West Texas town in the region of Big Bend National Park. The Guard would not confirm whether Ontiveros had been suspended or how long he had served in the Guard.

Ontiveros is the second guardsman in Texas known to have been arrested since the Guard was sent to the border.

Edwin Baez , 20, was charged in August with stealing 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. Federal prosecutors said Baez was detailed to an international bridge in Laredo, Texas, when he allegedly ended up in the hospital for a "drug-induced emergency." Investigators determined he had taken meth from a picture frame being used to smuggle the drugs that he was supposed to have thrown away. Baez has pleaded not guilty.

About 1,000 National Guard members in Texas are currently serving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Arizona, California, and New Mexico also sent Guard members to their borders with Mexico.

Trump has since ordered the active-duty military to the border, and around 5,800 troops have deployed.
Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016 but said last month: 'Id like to be president' - AFP

Speculation is mounting that Hillary Clinton could launch a bid for the US presidency in 2020 after two former advisers in as many months floated the idea of a remarkable political comeback.

Mark Penn, who worked with the Clintons for 13 years, co-wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday headlined Hillary will run again which predicted a new campaign.

He said Mrs Clinton would reinvent her public image once again, this time as a lifelong liberal, claiming she had learned the lessons of her painful 2016 defeat to Donald Trump.

Expect Hillary 4.0 to come out swinging", wrote Mr Penn and Andrew Stein, a former Democrat politician, adding that she may leave it late to join the race.

They [Democrats] will see her now as strong, partisan, Left-leaning and all-Democrat - the one with the guts, experience and steely-eyed determination to defeat Mr Trump."

Donald Trump upended the odds in 2016 when he beat Hillary Clinton to the White House Credit: AP Photo/ Evan Vucci

The piece reignited debate about whether Mrs Clinton really is considering a comeback and if she would have any chance of defeating Mr Trump a second time round.

Mrs Clinton, aged 71, is younger than Mr Trump, 72, former vice president Joe Biden, 75, and former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, 77. Mr Biden and Mr Sanders are expected to run in 2020.

Mr Penn worked on Mrs Clintons Senate campaigns in 2002 and 2006 and her presidential campaign in 2008, but fell out of favour in Democrat circles during Barack Obama's presidency.

He now regularly appears on Fox News and writes for The Hill, a US political newspaper with right-leaning editorial pages, which has raised suspicions about his motives  though he insists he remains a moderate Democrat.

Mr Penn is not alone, however. Philippe Reines, described as Mrs Clintons gatekeeper when she was in the US Senate and the State Department, recently played up the same idea.

Its curious why Hillary Clintons name isnt in the mix - either conversationally or in formal polling - as a 2020 candidate, Mr Reines was quoted as saying in a Politico article published last month.

Story continues

Shes younger than Donald Trump by a year. Shes younger than Joe Biden by four years. Is it that shes run before? This would be Bernie Sanders second time, and Bidens third time. Is it lack of support? She had 65 million people vote for her.

Mr Reines added of the chance she could run in 2020: Its somewhere between highly unlikely and zero, but its not zero.

Mrs Clinton sent mixed messages about a possible bid during a question and answer session last month. Asked if she wanted to run for the White House again, Mrs Clinton said no.

But when the questioner noted there was a pause, Mrs Clinton added: Well, Id like to be president. She added: I think hopefully when we have a Democrat in the Oval Office in January of 2021 theres going to be so much work to be done.

With up to two dozen Democrats expected to throw their hats into the ring for the partys 2020 presidential nomination, a bid from Mrs Clinton is widely considered as unlikely at this point.

She has fallen short in two presidential campaigns to date  losing out to Mr Obama for the Democrat nomination in 2008 and being defeated by Mr Trump in 2016.

Many of the weaknesses Mr Trump ruthlessly exploited, namely how many voters see Mrs Clinton as the embodiment of the Washington establishment they despise, remain in place.

Mr Trumps supporters still chant lock her up at rallies, a reference to his suggestion that Mrs Clinton should be jailed over the scandal of a private email server she kept while in office.

Responding to Mr Penns comments that Ms Clinton would run in 2020, Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser, tweeted:
Jeremy Hunt met King Salman during a day of shuttle diplomacy - REUTERS

Saudi Arabia must "seize the moment" and bring an end to the war in Yemen, Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said Monday as he visited Riyadh to put pressure on the kingdom over the conflict and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

During a day of intense shuttle diplomacy, flying from Saudi Arabia to the UAE and back again before returning to London, Mr Hunt said he pushed the UKs Arab allies to move towards a ceasefire in Yemen.

His visit came as Turkey continued to pressure Saudi Arabia over Mr Khashoggis death by sharing with Western countries a graphic audio tape of his final moments inside the Saudi consulate.

We have been discussing Khashoggi but also the vital need to seize the moment in Yemen and stop famine and cholera intensifying, Mr Hunt said.

The foreign secretary met King Salman and the Saudi foreign minister in the morning and was due to meet Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince accused of ordering Mr Khashoggis murder.

He also met with Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of the UAE, and raised the case of Matthew Hedges, a British academic arrested in Dubai on spying charges.

Matthew Hedges was arrested in the UAE in May

Mr Hunts visit to the Gulf came as fighting continued in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, where Saudi-led coalition forces are trying to dislodge Houthi rebel fighters backed by Iran.

At least 150 people were killed in 24 hours of fighting from Sunday, although there appeared to be a lull in the offensive while Mr Hunt was in the region.

Hodeidah is the main lifeline for food and aid for northern Yemen and the UN has warned of an "absolutely catastrophic situation" if the port is damaged during the fighting.

Around 14 million people in Yemen - half the countrys population - are on the brink of famine, according to the UN. More than 100 children are estimated to be dying each day as a result of disease and malnutrition.

While the US and the UK support the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen, both countries have been pressuring Riyadh to bring an end to the disastrous four-year war.

Story continues

The US and UK have called for a ceasefire by the end of November, followed swiftly by UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden. So far there is little sign that either the Houthis or the Saudi-led coalition are prepared to end the fighting.

Yemeni pro-government forces gather on the eastern outskirts of Hodeidah as they continue to battle for the control of the city from Houthi rebels Credit: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

The International Rescue Committee said Mr Hunts trip to the Gulf was a welcome sign. Active and urgent diplomacy at the highest level is needed to stop more civilian deaths, the group said.

Meanwhile, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, became the first Western leader to acknowledge that his countrys intelligence services had listened to a Turkish tape of Mr Khashoggis murder.

Downing Street refused to say if MI6 had listened to the tape. France sparked a row with Turkey by accusing Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, of playing a political game with the audio tape.

A spokesman for Mr Erdogan called the French comments unacceptable and said that a French intelligence official listened to the tape on October 24 and received a transcript of its contents.

The tapes reportedly capture Mr Khashoggi being strangled to death within a few minutes of entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

A coalition of aid groups called on Mr Hunt to push for "concrete measures" to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, including opening up access for aid and commerical goods and agreeing a plan to pay public sector salaries in Yemen.

The collapse of the economy and government budgets have left many Yemenis unable to buy food, even if it is available on the shelves.
Iceland abandoned the furry friend. (PA Images)

Commuters were in for a shock this morning as Iceland unleashed a surprisingly realistic animatronic orangutan onto central London.

A part-man, part-animatronic ape explored London and even scaled a Christmas tree. This came in retaliation to the frozen food chains banned Christmas television advert.

The advert which urged people not to use palm oil products because it destroys the habitat that orangutans lives in, was banned for being too political .

Icelands Managing Director Richard Walker said the orangutan roaming London serves as a potent symbol of the effects of deforestation.

Our stranded, distressed Orangutan is a stark and potent symbol of the effects of deforestation. We always try to give people a real choice about what they buy and this was a key driver of our decision to allow Iceland customers to join us in saying no to palm oil, Walker said.

Icelands ape even got to grips with a Christmas tree. (PA Images)

We are determined to be at the forefront of efforts to guarantee palm oil is not causing rainforest destruction and Iceland will continue to be a driving force until this environmental impact is drastically reduced.

I am immensely proud of the work our food development team has carried out to create this new Christmas range without palm oil  a celebration of our commitment to end its use before the year closes, he added.

The controversial ad has been accused of being deliberately provocative in the hopes of increasing brand awareness. While Iceland adamantly denies this is the case, it currently offers a wide range of Iceland brand specific palm oil free products.

The orangutan tried to make some new friends at Oxford Circus on Wednesday. (PA Images)

Piers Morgan called out the brands director Walker on Good Morning Britain as he pointed out that Iceland still stocks many products containing palm oil.

Iceland still carries some 200 non-Iceland branded products that contain the oil. But Walker hit back by saying that he couldnt control all the brands in the world and that he hoped customers would now be compelled to purchase Icelands own palm oil free products.

Story continues

Because if customers come into our stores and they see Iceland on the label, they can be assured that it doesnt contain palm oil, this is about giving customers a choice, where previously there was none, he said.





Read more

Brexit protestor steals the show during live interview

John Cleese criticised for California wildfires joke

Piers Morgan reveals awkward Prince Philip encounter
Benjamin Netanyahu had been bracing for criticism from the Right over the Gaza ceasefire - REUTERS

Israel appeared to be hurtling towards early elections on Wednesday after the defence minister resigned and accused Benjamin Netanyahu of surrendering to terror by agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas.

The resignation of Avigdor Lieberman, a hawkish member of Mr Netanyahus coalition, leaves the government with just a one-seat majority that could collapse if other parties also decide to quit.

Mr Netanyahus allies said he planned to take over the defence ministry himself, meaning he would simultaneously serve as Israels prime minister, defence minister, foreign minister and health minister.

But Naftali Bennett, the leader of the Right-wing Jewish Home party, demanded the defence portfolio for himself and threatened to bring down the government if he was not given the post.

The day of political drama began when Mr Lieberman resigned on Wednesday afternoon over Mr Netanyahu's decision decision to accept a ceasefire with Hamas to end 24 hours of intense fighting.

Mr Lieberman said the Israeli government should confront the Islamist militant group more forcefully even if it meant suffering more rocket fire into Israeli cities.

The resignation of Avigdor Lieberman, one of Mr Netanyahus coalition partners, has rocked the Israeli government and could trigger fresh elections in the Jewish state Credit: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

"What happened yesterday - the truce combined with the process with Hamas - is surrendering to terror, he said. "What we're doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet, with the price being severe long-term damage to national security.

Mr Lieberman withdrew his five Yisrael Beiteinu MPs from Mr Netanyahus coalition, meaning the government now has only 61 seats in the 120-member parliament. He also called for early elections.

Mr Netanyahu had been bracing for attacks from the Right since agreeing to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal on Tuesday, ending the fighting which left one person dead in Israel and seven dead in Gaza.

Residents of the southern city of Sderot, a regular target for Hamas rockets, burned tires and blocked the streets in protest at the ceasefire, saying Israel was being held hostage by Hamas.

Story continues

Speaking before the defence ministers resignation, Mr Netanyahu defended the agreement and said the public could not understand all the reasons for his decision.

#BREAKING: 500 Protesters in the southern city of Sderot after the decision on a ceasefire: "We have become a hostage of Hamas - they will decide when I shower, or sleep" pic.twitter.com/LXMggmM1v0  Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) November 13, 2018

I hear the voices of the residents of the south. Believe me, they are precious to me, their words penetrate my heart. But together with the heads of the security forces, I see the overall picture of Israel's security, which I cannot share with the public, he said.

Mr Netanyahu offered no public reaction to the resignation but allies in his Likud party said he planned to take over the defence minister job and keep the coalition government standing for at least several months.

However, within hours that plan was looking shaky.

Mr Bennett, who is the education minister as well the leader of Jewish Home, presented the prime minister with an ultimatum: hand over the defence ministry or see the government collapse.

It was not clear Wednesday night which option Mr Netanyahu would choose or whether he would try to call his junior coalition partners bluff.

Elections must happen by November 2019 but most Israeli politicians expected Mr Netanyahu would call them in the spring.

Opinion polls have shown that Mr Netanyahus Likud would win an election, despite the ongoing corruption scandal swirling around the prime minister and his wife.

However, Mr Netanyahu will be reluctant to go straight into a campaign after the ceasefire deal, which was unpopular with his own Right-wing base.

Hamas immediately hailed Mr Liebermans resignation as victory for its fighters. This is a political victory for Gaza, which caused this political earthquake within the occupation, the group said.

Mr Lieberman heads Yisrael Beiteinu, a secular Right-wing party which draws its support mainly from Israels Russian population.

He has a history of extreme statements - like calling for the assassination of Hamas leader and the beheading of disloyal Arab citizens of Israel - but was more restrained when he became defence minister in May 2016

His small party has hovered just above the threshold of votes to win seats in parliament and he may have calculated that his high-profile resignation over security issues would give him momentum among Right-wing voters going into an election.
Pomezia (Italy) (AFP) - Italian far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Wednesday met dozens of African migrants, recently evacuated from Libya by the UN, and sought to reassure them that Italy is "a welcoming, generous and supportive country".

Salvini, who has been at the forefront of the country's hardline approach to immigration, met the group of 51 migrants, mostly families or women with children, on the tarmac at a military airport near Rome.

"For women and children in difficulty, the only way to arrive is by plane, not by inflatable dinghy, because the dinghies are operated by criminals who in exchange for trafficking in human beings, buy weapons," he said.

"This is a demonstration that Italy is a welcoming, generous and supportive country, where I have been entrusted with the duty of bringing back some rules and order."

Almost all those in the group of 32 adults and 19 children came from Horn of Africa nations Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, as well as Sudan.

They were among more than 2,300 vulnerable people who have been evacuated from Libya via Niger by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, since December.

They will be placed with host families in Italy by a Catholic association.

Salvini, the head of the far-right League, which is in a coalition government with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), has vowed to stop migrant arrivals and Rome has moved to close its ports to rescue boats.

He supports a deal between Italy and Libya, forged under the previous, centre-left government, under which the Libyan coast guard intercepts migrants and returns them to the conflict-torn country.

In return, Italy is developing initiatives to legally accept vulnerable people stranded in Libya, where thousands of migrants face arbitrary detention, extortion and violence.

The UNHCR has estimated there to be 679,000 migrants registered living in Libya as of June 2018, though the actual number could be closer to a million.

Story continues

The situation in Libya's detention centres "continues to deterioriate" because of food scarcity and the spread of diseases including tuberculosis, the UNHCR's special envoy for the Central Mediterranean, Vincent Cochetel, warned Wednesday.

Last month the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned the "political discourse concerning refugees and migrants, particularly those arriving by boat, has become dangerously toxic", adding that while boat arrivals had fallen deaths at sea had risen.

On Tuesday Italian police bulldozed a symbolic makeshift camp in Rome, where about a hundred migrants had been living after leaving -- voluntarily or otherwise -- Italy's reception system.
Tokyo (AFP) - Japan's economy shrank in the three months to September, official data showed Wednesday, after a string of natural disasters hit consumer spending and exports, and China's slowing economy cast a shadow.

Gross domestic product for the July-September period contracted 0.3 percent from the previous quarter, reversing growth of 0.8 percent in the April-June period, according to the government's Cabinet Office.

A number of natural disasters dampened personal consumption, company investment and exports, said Katsunori Kitakura, lead strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.

"Natural disasters forced consumers to stay indoors and halted factory operations, which led to a slowdown in production and investment activities," he said in a commentary ahead of the data release.

Japan was hit by several natural disasters this summer, including massive flooding in western regions due to torrential rains, a typhoon that inundated a major international airport, and an earthquake in the north that disrupted supply lines.

The temporary closure of the Kansai International Airport led to a fall in tourism and overseas shipments, Kitakura said.

Exports of goods and services were down 1.8 percent from the April-June quarter, with private consumption slumping 0.1 percent and corporate investment in plants and equipment off 0.2 percent.

But Kitakura anticipated a rebound in the last quarter of the year thanks to a broadly solid global economy.

"Going forward, we remain optimistic that the economy will improve. While we remain cautious on China-US trade, the global economy continues to show solid growth and exports should continue to rise," he said.

Kohei Iwahara, economist at Natixis Japan Securities, noted that one of the major drivers for the Japanese economy has been external factors like exports.

"But the trade war uncertainties have begun to increase, we see some slowdown in Asia and that is gradually hitting Japan," he told AFP.

Story continues

For the rest of the year, Iwahara said he was "cautiously optimistic" as the effects of the natural disasters will fade in the final quarter.

Additionally, "the government could introduce a new fiscal stimulus package so that the economy will not fall apart and... they can hike the consumption tax next year," he said.

Japan has announced a long-delayed sales tax hike will go into effect in October 2019 to address the nation's huge public debt, despite warnings it could hobble growth by dampening already lacklustre consumer spending.

The point-of-sale tax will rise from eight percent to 10 percent as the ageing and heavily indebted country battles to finance snowballing social security bills -- especially medical fees.

The last such move -- in April 2014 -- was blamed for tipping Japan into a brief recession.

This time, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe believes he can avoid a sharp decline in consumer spending by introducing measures to cushion the blow, including plans to leave the sales tax on food unchanged.
Washington (AFP) - E-cigarette maker JUUL announced Tuesday it is suspending in-store sales of various flavored products and scrapping its social media presence in a bid to curb the popular device's youth appeal.

"We don't want anyone who doesn't smoke, or already use nicotine, to use JUUL products," CEO Kevin Burns said in a statement.

"We certainly don't want youth using the product. It is bad for public health, and it is bad for our mission," which is "eliminating cigarettes," he said.

To address the issue, JUUL flavors such as Mango, Fruit and Creme will now only be available on the company's website, "where we are adding additional age-verification measures," the statement said.

Tobacco-based flavors will still be available in retail stores, where the company said it is stepping up efforts to monitor compliance.

JUUL said it is also eliminating its social media accounts, while monitoring and removing "inappropriate material" from third-party accounts.

E-cigarettes expose users to significantly lower levels of potentially toxic substances, except for nicotine, the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said this year.

Converting conventional cigarette smokers to vaping would therefore reduce the number of cancer cases.

At the same time, numerous parents and high schools say teenagers are using JUUL, raising fears that a new generation is being exposed to nicotine, which is addictive but not cancerous.

The US Food and Drug Administration has denounced "an epidemic of regular nicotine use among teens."
Results are still coming in from last week's midterm elections and yes, women are continuing to break barriers. While there are still contested races in Georgia and Florida where candidates like Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum are awaiting their fates, Monday night brought the good news that the Arizona Senate race finally came to a close when Democrat Kyrsten Sinema was declared the winner over Republican Martha McSally.

Sinema, a former social worker, will be the first woman to represent Arizona and the first openly bisexual person ever elected to the Senate. The race had been too close to call over the past week and early votes and mail-in ballots had to be counted.

"As long as Ive served Arizona, Ive worked to help others see our common humanity & find common ground," Sinema posted on Facebook after her victory. "Thats the same approach Ill take to representing our great state in the Senate, where Ill be an independent voice for all Arizonans."

Her opponent McSally, a former fighter pilot, shared a video on Twitter congratulating Sinema on her win and wishing her success.

"Congrats to @kyrstensinema," she wrote. "I wish her success. Im grateful to all those who supported me in this journey. Im inspired by Arizonans spirit and our states best days are ahead of us."

Many feel Sinema's victory in winning the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Jeff Flake is a sign of rebuke to President Donald Trump's policies and platform. Arizona voters rejected Donald Trump and Mike Pences politics of bigotry and fear and made history by electing bold pro-equality champion Kyrsten Sinema as the nations first openly bisexual U.S. Senator, said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin in a statement. For more than a year, HRC has worked to organize 800,000 equality voters across the state and we are proud to have helped Senator-elect Sinema across the finish line in a tight race. We celebrate this incredible moment and look forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting to work with Sinema, and Arizona Congressmembers Tom OHalleran, Ann Kirkpatrick, Raul Grijalva, Ruben Gallego, and Greg Stanton to move equality forward for all Arizonans.

Story continues

Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez echoed that sentiment: Congratulations to Kyrsten Sinema and Arizona Democrats for such a stunning victory. Arizonans went to the polls last Tuesday looking for bold new leadership, and thats exactly what theyre going to get with their first-ever female senator and our nations second openly LGBTQ senator," he said.

"Unlike her predecessor, Senator-elect Sinema is ready to fight on day one for quality health care, a VA system that works the way it should for our veterans, comprehensive immigration reform, good-paying jobs, and an economy that works for all Arizonans. The Democratic National Committee was proud to invest in and partner with the Democratic Party of Arizona to expand their voter outreach and help get voters to the polls.

Sinema's win guarantees Democrats 47 seats in the Senate (compared to Republicans' 51.) Florida and Mississippi are undecided.

MORE: This Is How Women Voted in the Midtermsand What It Means for Election 2020
By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress returns on Tuesday for a post-election "lame-duck" session, facing a funding deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown, as well as demands for protections for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and money for a proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall. Those issues, plus leadership contests among both Democrats and Republicans, promise to dominate the brief session of Congress wedged in between last week's congressional elections and the start of the 2019-2020 Congress in January. In the elections, voters ended the Republicans' majority control of the House of Representatives, giving it to Democrats, while leaving the Senate in Republican hands. New members will be sworn in the first week of January. Until then, Republicans retain their dominance in both chambers, although Democrats already are ramping up challenges to their partisan rivals and Republican President Donald Trump. "This election cycle really was about delivering a check to this administration, and it would be quite disappointing if we do not do that for the people, Democratic Representative-elect Ilhan Omar of Minnesota told a news conference in Washington. A House Democratic aide argued that the election results mean that Trump's request for $25 billion to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is "dead." The main legislative project for the lame-duck session will be a spending bill, said aides and lawmakers. Passage is needed to keep the Department of Homeland Security and some other agencies operating beyond Dec. 7, when the money runs out. Some lawmakers hope to attach other measures to this "must-do" spending bill. One example is emergency funds to help communities recover from a hurricane that hit mid-Atlantic states, wildfires raging in California and a typhoon that overwhelmed a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. Even with a smooth conclusion to this battle, the incoming Congress will immediately be faced with whether to avert $71 billion in mandatory military spending cuts along with $55 billion in non-defense program reductions next year. MUELLER PROBE For the current-year spending bill, Democrats and some Republicans want to attach legislation preventing Trump from impeding or ending the work of Mueller, who is leading an inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to help Trump win. Trump repeatedly has characterized the Mueller investigation as a "witch hunt" and has denied that he or his associates colluded with Russia. Moscow has said it did not interfere in the election. Democrats and some Republicans worry Trump is maneuvering to fire or significantly restrain the special counsel. Trump last week forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replaced him with Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general in charge of overseeing Mueller. Whitaker has described Mueller's probe as being too wide-ranging. The Justice Department said on Monday night that Whitaker would consult with ethics officials about any matters that could require him to recuse himself. On another front, Trump has threatened to let some federal agency funding lapse unless Congress provides full funding for the border wall. He made construction of the wall a key campaign pledge. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House must also choose new leaders, with Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats' leader for the past 16 years, making a strong bid to become House speaker in a closed-door Nov. 28 party leadership election. Pelosi made history from 2007 to 2011 as the first woman speaker, a position second in the line of emergency presidential succession after the vice president. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, David Morgan and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Peter Cooney and Bill Trott)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  The Latest on U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi making reference to a "public hanging: (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

A Republican U.S. senator in Mississippi says she won't answer questions about a "public hanging" comment she made at a campaign event.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith said in response to repeated questions Monday that she issued a statement Sunday and has nothing to add.

A video published online Sunday shows Hyde-Smith at a Nov. 2 campaign stop in Tupelo praising someone by saying: "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row."

Hyde-Smith said Sunday it was an "exaggerated expression of regard" for a rancher who invited her to speak and "any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous."

Mississippi has a history of racially motivated lynchings of African-Americans.

Hyde-Smith faces Democrat Mike Espy, who is black, in a Nov. 27 runoff.

___

Midnight

A newly published video shows a white Republican U.S. senator in Mississippi praising someone by saying: "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row."

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who faces a black Democratic challenger in a Nov. 27 runoff, said Sunday that her Nov. 2 remark was "exaggerated expression of regard" for someone who invited her to speak and "any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous."

Mississippi has a history of racially motivated lynchings of black people. The NAACP website says that between 1882 and 1968, there were 4,743 lynchings in the United States, and nearly 73 percent of the victims were black. It says Mississippi had 581 during that time, the highest number of any state.

Hyde-Smith is challenged by former congressman and former U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Espy.

"Cindy Hyde-Smith's comments are reprehensible," Espy campaign spokesman Danny Blanton said in a statement Sunday. "They have no place in our political discourse, in Mississippi, or our country. We need leaders, not dividers, and her words show that she lacks the understanding and judgment to represent the people of our state."

Story continues

The video was shot in Tupelo, in front of a statue of Elvis Presley, who was born in the city in northeastern Mississippi. It shows a small group of white people clapping politely for Hyde-Smith after a cattle rancher introduced her.

"I referred to accepting an invitation to a speaking engagement," said Hyde-Smith, who is also a cattle rancher, in a statement Sunday. "In referencing the one who invited me, I used an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous."

Hyde-Smith and Espy each received about 41 percent of the vote in a four-person race Tuesday to advance to the runoff. The winner gets the final two years of a term started by longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant appointed Hyde-Smith to temporarily succeed Cochran, who retired amid health concerns in April. She will serve until the special election is resolved.

Espy in 1986 became the first African-American since Reconstruction to win a U.S. House seat in Mississippi, and if he defeats Hyde-Smith, he would be the first African-American since Reconstruction to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

Hyde-Smith, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, is the first woman to represent Mississippi in either chamber of Congress, and after being appointed is trying to become the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state.

Lamar White Jr., publisher of a left-leaning Louisiana news site called The Bayou Brief, posted the video Sunday on social media. White told The Associated Press he received the video late Saturday from "a very reliable, trusted source," but he would not reveal the person's name. He said that source received it from the person who shot the video.

White said he believes he received the video because he has been writing about racism in the South for about a dozen years.

"There's no excuse to say what she said," White said of Hyde-Smith.

The national NAACP president Derrick Johnson, who is from Mississippi, said Hyde-Smith's comment shows a lack of judgment.

"Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith's shameful remarks prove once again how Trump has created a social and political climate that normalizes hateful and racist rhetoric," Johnson said in a statement. "Hyde-Smith's decision to joke about 'hanging,' in a state known for its violent and terroristic history toward African Americans is sick. To envision this brutal and degenerate type of frame during a time when Black people, Jewish People and immigrants are still being targeted for violence by White nationalists and racists is hateful and hurtful."

A Republican activist who initially supported another candidate in the special U.S. Senate election said he will vote for Hyde-Smith in the runoff, even though he considers her a weak candidate.

"That comment about 'a public hanging' is much ado about nothing," said Scott Brewster of Brandon, who is white. "She's not very smart and made a tone deaf comment. It doesn't make her a racist."

A Republican state lawmaker in Mississippi, Rep. Karl Oliver, came under sharp criticism in May 2017 after he posted on Facebook that people should by lynched for removing Confederate monuments.

___

For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics . Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .
London (AFP) - Libya is planning to extradite the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi to Britain by the end of the year, Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj told the BBC in an interview on Wednesday.

Britain last year submitted a request to extradite Hashem Abedi after the bombing in May 2017 in which 22 people -- many of them minors -- were killed.

Abedi detonated the bomb, killing himself, outside one of the arena exits shortly after the end of a concert by pre-teen idol Ariana Grande.

Hashem Abedi is suspected of involvement and is wanted by Manchester police on charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause explosions.

In an interview with the BBC on the sidelines of an international conference in Italy, Sarraj said: "I think from here to the end of this year we will finish all the legal procedures in Libya.

"We are fully cooperating because we understand the suffering of the families of the victims of this terrorist attack.

"According to the general prosecutor we can extradite. After we complete the legal process in Libya it is only a matter of time."

When Britain first made the extradition request in November 2017, the armed group holding him refused it.

The Manchester Arena bombing was Britain's worst terror attack in more than a decade.

Salman Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994, to parents who had been granted asylum after fleeing Moamer Kadhafi's regime.

He was in Libya just days before the attack.
FILE PHOTO: Amor Ftouhi, arrested in connection with the stabbing of a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, is pictured in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters June 29, 2017. FBI/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

By Suzannah Gonzales

(Reuters) - A man accused of stabbing a police officer at a Michigan airport last year was convicted in U.S. federal court on Tuesday of charges including terrorism, a court official said.

A jury in Flint, Michigan, found Amor Ftouhi guilty on charges of committing an act of violence at an international airport, interference with airport security and committing an act of terrorism, the court said.

Ftouhi's defense did not present a case and the jury took just more than an hour to reach its verdict, the court said. Ftouhi had pleaded not guilty and the trial began last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The defendant's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sentencing is set for March 7. Ftouhi, who holds dual Tunisian-Canadian citizenship, faces up to life in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count. U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman, who presided over the trial, will impose sentencing.

Ftouhi was originally charged last year with violence at an international airport for stabbing Jeff Neville, an officer at the Bishop International Airport in Flint, in the neck, authorities said.

In March, a federal grand jury indicted Ftouhi on a terrorism charge stemming from the attack.

Federal prosecutors said that on June 21, 2017, Ftouhi approached Neville at the airport and stabbed him, shouting: "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)," and referencing killings in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. After his arrest, Ftouhi told officials he was a 'soldier of Allah' and subscribed to the ideology of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, prosecutors said.

Ftouhi legally entered the United States from Lake Champlain, New York, on June 16 before making his way to Flint, the FBI said. Officials said Ftouhi targeted a city with an international airport, but declined to say why Flint was chosen.

"They rendered the correct verdict in my eyes," Neville, the police officer who was stabbed, told reporters, adding the verdict gave him some peace.

"I would rather be working at the airport right now," said Neville, who is trying to pursue a career in real estate. "I really liked my job and it really pains me that I'm not going to be able to do that anymore."

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Peter Cooney)
By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rick Gates, a former business partner of President Donald Trump's ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, is still cooperating with several ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to a court filing on Wednesday. The joint filing by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office and Gates' lawyer suggests that Gates may be helping investigators on matters that do not pertain just to his former boss Manafort. It was not clear which probes Gates is helping with, but he was deeply involved in running the Trump campaigns day-to-day operations and played a key role at the Republican National Convention where Trump was chosen as the partys nominee. He stayed on in the campaign even after Manafort resigned in August 2016 over a controversy about cash payments from Ukraine, and also served on the presidential transition team. In the filing, prosecutors and Gates' lawyer said he was not ready for sentencing and asked to postpone filing a status report until mid-January. Gates was a star witness over the summer in the high-profile trial of Manafort, after he previously pleaded guilty in Mueller's probe in exchange for agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors under a deal that could lead to a reduced sentence. Gates testified before a federal court jury in Alexandria, Virginia, that he helped Manafort file false tax returns and hide his foreign bank accounts. Manafort was convicted on eight counts of financial wrongdoing. Manafort was due to stand trial a second time in Washington over charges related to his lobbying activity for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government, but he opted to plead guilty in September in exchange for cooperating with Mueller. The special prosecutor has not filed any new cases since July in his probe into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia. Trump denies colluding and has called the probe a witch hunt. But Mueller's office has been busy interviewing witnesses such as Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen. Several associates of Trump's longtime political adviser Roger Stone have also testified before a grand jury. One of Stone's associates, Jerome Corsi, told Reuters this week he was expecting Mueller's office to offer him a plea deal. Trump is expected to provide written answers to questions from the special counsel as soon as this week. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Peter Cooney)
REUTERS

The State of Maryland is challenging the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general, arguing that Donald Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in doing so.

President Trump named Mr Whitaker as acting attorney general after forecing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign just a day after the midterm elections last week, sparking concern that special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election could be in jeopardy under the temporary leadership.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed the motion challenge to Mr Trumps appointment on Tuesday, saying that placing Mr Whitaker in charge of the Justice Department is illegal and unconstitutional and that Deputy US Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should be in charge instead.

Congressional Democrats have voiced concern that Whitaker, a Trump loyalist, could undermine or even fire Mr Mueller.

The Constitution and Congress have established vitally important processes for filling high-level vacancies in the federal government, Mr Frosh said in a statement.

He continued: Few positions are more critical than that of US Attorney General, an office that wields enormous enforcement power and authority over the lives of all Americans. President Trumps brazen attempt to flout the law and Constitution in bypassing Deputy US Attorney General Rosenstein in favour of a partisan and unqualified staffer cannot stand.

The filing says that Mr Whitaker's appointment is the first time since Congress passed a succession law for the Justice Department in 1868, that an individual named to be acting attorney general was not already in a Senate-confirmed position.

The motion was filed as a part of the state's broader lawsuit over the future of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. where the state is seeking a ruling that the healthcare law is still enforceable despite efforts by the Trump administration to shut down the law. The motion challenging Mr Whitaker relies in part on the fact that Mr Sessions is named in the original lawsuit, and therefore gives the judge the ability to rule on who is acting attorney general.

Story continues

Mr Whitaker had been working as Mr Sessions chief of staff before his resignation, and his appointment has been met with protest from those concerned that his past comments on the Mueller probe  which has reportedly included an evaluation of possible Trump campaign collusion with Russian intelligence forces during the 2016 campaign  show that he is likely to hamstring the investigation.

Those critics point to numerous past statements by Mr Whitaker regarding the Mueller probe, including a previous suggestion that whoever replaces Mr Sessions could cut the special counsels budget so much that the investigation would effectively be ended.

However, while White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway has come to Mr Whitakers defence, arguing on Fox News Sunday that the acting attorney general made those claims as a private citizen before joining the administration, the cries of Democrats are difficult to ignore.

On Monday evening, the Justice Department announced that Mr Whitaker is consulting with ethics officials to determine if he should recuse himself from overseeing the special counsels Russia investigation. Doing so would once again put Mr Rosenstein back in direct oversight of that investigation.

Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker is fully committed to following all appropriate processes and procedures at the Department of Justice, including consulting with senior ethics officials on his oversight responsibilities and matters that may warrant recusal, a Justice Department official said on Monday night.

Mr Sessions had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller probe during his time as attorney general, citing his role with Mr Trumps 2016 campaign and Justice Department rules for that decision. In response, the president had frequently criticised his attorney general and suggested that he would not have appointed him to lead the Justice Department had he known Mr Sessions would recuse himself from the issue that has bogged down Mr Trumps presidency.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday defended the use of active duty troops on the U.S.-Mexican border, saying that in some ways it provides good training for war. He argued that it's analogous to a 1916 deployment to counter the Mexican revolutionary Gen. Francisco "Pancho" Villa.

Speaking to reporters on his way to visit U.S. troops along the border in south Texas, Mattis declined to provide an estimate of how much the mission will cost. He said cost figures he has received thus far are "not anywhere near right." He added that he believes, "very quickly we'll know the real cost. So we'll keep you posted as the real costs come in."

In his most extensive remarks about the hastily arranged border mission, Mattis argued that it fits an historical pattern dating to early in the 20th century. He noted that President Woodrow Wilson deployed tens of thousands of National Guard and active duty troops to the border in 1916 in response to a Mexican military raid into the U.S.

"That's over a century ago, and the threat then was Pancho Villa's troops  revolutionary raiding across the border into the United States," he said. He noted that more recently, National Guard troops were used in border missions ordered by President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, although not on the cusp of a midterm election.

The Pentagon chief said that within a week to 10 days the 5,800 troops currently deployed for the border mission will have accomplished all the tasks initially requested by Customs and Border Protection, although additional tasks are now being worked out between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. Mattis did not say how soon the mission might end; current deployments are scheduled to last until Dec. 15, but that could change.

In addition to the 5,800 active duty troops in the border area, about 2,100 National Guard troops have been providing border support since April.

Story continues

Critics have questioned the wisdom of using the military on the border where there is no discernible security threat, although President Donald Trump has said that a caravan of Central American migrants traveling northward through Mexico amounts to an "invasion." Since the election, Trump has said little about the matter, and no border threat has yet materialized.

Asked whether he believes there is a security threat at the border that justifies the use of the active duty military, Mattis said he defers to the judgment of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who joined him at the border Wednesday.

Nielsen and Mattis spoke with senior U.S. commanders and addressed rank-and-file troops. Mattis told the troops their mission is to "back up" Customs and Border Protection. "Right now that's our role and that's all our role is," he said.

"The eyes of the world right now  certainly all of the Americans  are on you," Mattis told the soldiers, adding that they are part of a "non-traditional" mission. "We're here because of the number of illegals who say they are going to illegally try to cross into our country," he said, apparently referring to the several thousand migrants moving north through Mexico.

One soldier asked Mattis what are the short- and long-term plans for the military mission.

Mattis said the short-term objective is to get sufficient numbers of wire and other barriers in place along the border as requested by Customs and Border Protection. The longer-term objective, he said, is "somewhat to be determined."

"When you're in something like this," Mattis said, "it's dynamic, it's unpredictable. We'll have to see."

In an interview with reporters traveling with him to Texas, Mattis took issue with assertions by critics that the deployment undertaken shortly before the Nov. 6 midterm elections was costing the military in preparedness for combat. He said military officers have told him that the deployment has been "very good training" because it amounts to a rehearsal for the kind of logistical demands  such as loading aircraft  that must be met in wartime.

"In terms of readiness, it's actually, I believe, so far improving our readiness for deployments," he said.

Mattis said the mission, which does not include performing law enforcement tasks, was reviewed by Department of Justice lawyers and deemed a legal undertaking. "It's obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen," he said.

___

AP Radio correspondent Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.
London (AFP) - EU officials published a contingency plan on Tuesday for a 'no-deal' Brexit as negotiators scrambled to secure agreement in the next 24 hours, even as Britain said there were still a "small number" of issues to resolve.

In one measure, Brussels said it will offer visa-free travel within the bloc to Britons, but warned this was "entirely conditional on the UK also granting reciprocal and non-discriminatory visa-free travel to EU citizens travelling to the UK".

After British and EU negotiators spent another night locked in talks, Prime Minister Theresa May told her cabinet in London that there had been progress but no text was yet ready for approval.

The value of the pound rose after May's deputy David Lidington told the BBC earlier on Tuesday that a deal was "still possible, but not definite" by Wednesday evening.

British officials say a deal must be agreed by then if Brussels is to call an extraordinary European Union summit later this month to sign off the agreement.

Failure means delaying the deal until a summit in mid-December, leaving little time for May to get it through a fractious House of Commons before Brexit day on March 29.

"The prime minister told cabinet that since it has last met (a week ago), negotiations had continued in Brussels and good progress had made," May's spokesman said.

"However the prime minister said there remained a small number of outstanding issues as the UK pushes for the best text which can be negotiated."

A government official said "it's closer than it was yesterday".

Lidington also on Tuesday promised the government would publish legal analysis on any divorce agreement after it is announced, following pressure from the main opposition Labour Party.

- 'Staged-managed delay' -

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, a leading eurosceptic who quit the government in July over May's plan, accused the prime minister of theatrics.

Story continues

"No one is fooled by this theatre. Delay after staged managed delay. A deal will be reached and it will mean surrender by the UK," he tweeted.

The talks with Brussels are stuck on how to avoid border checks between British Northern Ireland and Ireland after the UK leaves the EU's single market and customs union.

London suggests that until a wider trade deal is agreed that resolves the problem, Britain could temporarily stay aligned with the bloc's trade rules -- as long as it can exit the arrangement when it wants.

The EU appears only ready to accept that if Britain agrees another fall-back option in which Northern Ireland alone remains part of the single market.

May's Northern Irish allies in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), strongly oppose this, arguing that it undermines the integrity of the United Kingdom.

Pro-Brexit MPs like Johnson also fear Britain could end up being locked in an endless customs union with the EU.

- Firm stockpiles ingredients -

Opposition in parliament to May's plan has raised fears the Brexit deal will be rejected and Britain will leave the EU without any agreement.

The cabinet received an update on Britain's preparedness for a "no deal" scenario, as it has for several weeks now, with speculation that the moment to trigger the plans is fast approaching.

Leading food manufacturer Premier Foods revealed on Tuesday it will start stockpiling ingredients.

"In the absence of certainty over the arrangements for the UK's departure from the EU, the group shortly intends to start a process of building stocks of raw materials to protect the company against the risk of delays at ports," it said.

Elements of the divorce deal already agreed include Britain's exit bill of around A39 billion (45 billion euros, $50 billion) as well as a guarantee on EU citizens' rights.

May has guaranteed Europeans living in Britain that they will be able to stay after Brexit, no matter what.

But new figures show the number of EU nationals working in Britain fell by 132,000 to 2.25 million, the largest annual fall since comparable records began in 1997.

The divorce deal also provides for a 21-month transition after Brexit during which London would follow EU rules, in which both sides can negotiate a new trade relationship.
UK prime minister Theresa May delivers a Brexit statement at Downing Street on November 14, 2018. Photo: Getty

Theresa May will not rest easy  her draft Brexit agreement and her position of power are on thin ice.

Despite saying on Wednesday evening that the collective decision of Cabinet was that the government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration, the agreement is nowhere near the finish line.

While the EUs chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, hailed the draft deal as a crucial step towards a final deal, there are major hurdles that May needs to overcome. This includes getting all her party onside while also scraping together support from opposition politicians as well as supposed allies from Ireland.

May knows shes got an intensive, bloody fight ahead of her and in her speech on Wednesday evening, she drew the battle plans and is preparing for war.

When you strip away the detail the choice before us is clear. This deal, which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings us back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our union, or leave with no deal, or no Brexit at all, she said.

I know that there will be difficult days ahead But the choice was this deal or going back to square one, with more division, more uncertainty, and the failure to deliver on the referendum.

But May has been losing the battle from the moment she gained power and now it is seeming all the more inevitable that the fate of Brexit and her premiership are up in the air.

The prime minister and Tory leader no one voted for

Former UK prime minister David Cameron chairing the first cabinet meeting following a ministerial re-shuffle in 2015. Photo: Reuters

Fears over another snap general election have been growing over the past few months. This has mainly stemmed from the chaos brewing within the Tory party since David Cameron stepped down as party leader and prime minister.

The Tories, up until the Brexit referendum in June 2016, had been growing in support and power. There is usually a general election every five years and in order to win an overall majority, a party has to win 326 seats out of the 650 seats available.

Story continues

In 2010, the Tories gained 97 seats from before, bringing their total to 307. While it wasnt enough to win an outright majority, it created a coalition with the Liberal Democrats 57 seats in order to be in power. While the coalition was disastrous for the Lib Dems, it provided further firepower for the Tories when the next general election came about in 2015.

That year, the Lib Dems only won eight seats but the Tories scooped up a further 24, giving it the ability to rule the country with a majority of 331. A majority also means that if items need to be pushed through parliament, the ruling party would only really need their own MPs to support it. Otherwise, if you had less than a majority, youd have to persuade MPs from other parties to support the item to get proposals pushed through.

READ MORE: How does a leadership challenge to a Conservative prime minister work?

But things took a turn for the worse for the Tories the following year. Cameron, George Osborne and May, who was Home Secretary at the time, were all Remainers. But when Britain voted to leave the EU in the June 2016 referendum, Cameron stepped down and opened up his premiership to a fierce and dirty leadership challenge, populated by mainly staunch Brexiteers and May. Those included Liam Fox, Michael Gove, and Andrea Leadsom  who, despite being lesser known or as experienced in front bench politics, was emerging as the front runner of the race.

The leadership challenge was a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people.

In any Conservative leadership contest only party members are allowed to vote, which means when Leadsom dropped out of the race, Theresa May became leader of her party and the countrys new prime minister  despite not having secured a mandate from the British public as a whole.

The unravelling of May and the Tories

Just as quickly as May rose to power in July 2016, her popularity has steadily declined. Cabinet resignations and ongoing dismay with Brexit negotiations have been part and parcel of whats been happening for the last two or so years.

But when Mays hubris led her to call a snap general election in 2017, after only one year into the top job, things took a decided turn for the worse. Granted, polls showed that the Conservatives had a big lead over Britains main opposition Labour at the time, but the results were pretty disastrous for her government. While the Tories claimed 318 seats, the general election killed off the Conservatives power in government.

May now needed the Tories to team up with another party to form a coalition or confidence-and-supply agreement. The difference between the two is that a coalition is a more formal arrangement where those party ministers can expect to gain cabinet positions and be expected to support the main party overall in whichever way the PM is pushing to vote. The other one means that they dont have to expect those cabinet positions and that those other party members could change their mind on supporting the bigger partys legislative proposals.

There was no chance the Tories would team up with Labour or the Lib Dems, which meant May turned to a confidence-and-supply agreement with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party. Outside Ireland, so little was known about the DUP it was the most googled search term in the UK that year.

The repercussions for a decent Brexit deal

May invoked Article 50 on 29 March, 2017, and thus started the two-year countdown to the official day of Britain leaving the EU. Negotiations began  and to say the talks have been farcical and fraught would be considered by many as an understatement.

There has been little progress up until now due to the UK continually being batted down for cherry picking the bits they want from leaving the EU and cutting out the bits they dont like  something EU officials have consistently said is not on the table.

Getting a deal has been a puzzle to solve  balancing out what to do with the Irish border, how to appease strident Brexiteers that want to stop the freedom of movement of people (the biggest reason for voting to leave the bloc), while also making sure that Britains economy doesnt fall off a cliff.

A no-deal Brexit is the worst scenario, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as many other think tanks and investment banks have pointed out. The IMF warned last month that Brexit is one of the biggest risks for global financial stability and a no-deal Brexit is the worst thing that could happen.

However, through sheer desperation borne out of the fact Britain only has a little more than four months to go until it is meant to formally leave the EU, any deal on the surface might seem positive. But that is manifestly not true.

May paints herself in an impossible position

Photo: Reuters

And so we come to Downing Street on Wednesday night, where May said in her statement that there were three options  accept her deal, have no deal, or have no Brexit altogether.

And although this is the first concrete time she has presented cancelling Brexit as an option, this shouldnt distract everyone right now.

Firstly, the deal May has put forward has caused friction in and out of her party and while she may have said on Wednesday evening that there was the collective decision of cabinet that the government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration, it does little to say that it skirts around confirming whether or not there was unanimous support within her own party.

Staunchest Brexiteers are seriously unhappy. Jacob Rees-Mogg warned of the UK becoming a vassal state with Northern Ireland being ruled from Dublin over the agreement over an Irish backstop. And Remainer Tory MPs, like Justine Greening, said: Even if some people in my party cant see this is a bad deal, everyone else around this entire planet can.

READ MORE: Where do Theresa Mays ministers stand on Brexit?

But May doesnt have the luxury of concentrating on getting her own partys politicians on side  she also needs to win over votes from the DUP (which earlier on Wednesday said that the deal would be a very, very hard sell) as well as politicians from Labour and the SNP. All of which will be discussed in parliament on Thursday. Labour has already said it is demanding they all should be allowed to amend the details of the deal if they want, while Ireland said it will vote on it in its own parliament. The EU has to also ratify whatever state the draft deal is in after that.

Even a no-deal wouldnt necessarily appeal to Brexiteers (many still hope for a cherry picking option) and a Brexit cancellation could be considered political suicide. After all, Brits did vote, even by slim majority of 52%, to leave the EU.

Appetite for a second Brexit referendum has been gaining momentum but that would mean the nightmare may kick off again if the vote is still in favour of a Brexit.

Mays days are numbered

When the draft bill was announced on Tuesday evening, former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith suggested Mays administration could collapse over the deal. He said if the Cabinet agrees it, the party certainly wont. He added that almost certainly, yes when asked if the governments days were numbered.

He has a point. May has been smattered by dismay from within her own party for the length of premiership. It has been so prolific that rumours of a new leadership bid and MPs drafting a vote of no confidence in here are frequent.

On 29 October, a survey by respected pollsters Ipsos Mori showed that her popularity is pretty abysmal and thats hurting the Tories as well. The British public are pretty fed up with her:

Chart: Ipsos Mori

This was emphasised further when you compare the popularity of Mays government over Camerons cabinet.

Chart: Ipsos Mori

The fact that under her leadership the Tories have gone from a party with a majority government to one that has to now beg for votes from the opposition to pass a deal that no one seems to want is a painful state of affairs for the Conservatives. If another leadership contest was announced and heralded a collapse within the party, another general election could be likely.

However, its looking uncertain whether the Tories would survive that considering voting intentions put the Conservatives and Labour neck-and-neck:

Chart: Ipsos Mori

All-in-all, its a bleak outlook for May and her party. While its not certain how Brexit is going to pan out, what is certain is that May is hanging on to power by her fingernails.
By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday chose Kevin McCarthy as their party's leader for the new Congress that will convene in January, denying the top post to conservative Jim Jordan. Representative McCarthy, whom President Donald Trump sometimes calls "my Kevin," will lead party colleagues against an incoming Democratic House majority. Voters ended the Republicans' hold on the House in the Nov. 6 elections and handed it to the Democrats. Despite heavy Republican losses in last week's elections, McCarthy touted his party's legislative accomplishments and slammed Democrats. "We know that Democrats have a plan. They want to disrupt. They want to try to impeach" and overturn Republican achievements. McCarthy, however, acknowledged that Republicans have to work hard to recapture the support of suburban voters who switched over to support Democratic candidates. In the contest for party leadership, California's McCarthy easily defeated Ohio's Jordan in a 159-43 vote. Jordan arranged television commercials and other advertising to support his campaign for House leader, an unusual step. McCarthy had been House majority leader, while Jordan is a former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, a break-away conservative faction. Holding a majority of the 435 seats in the House or the 100 seats in the Senate brings more money and staff than the minority party gets, as well as control of each chamber's legislative agenda. At the helm of the House, Democrats are expected to launch numerous investigations of Trump, his business interests and his family, while also challenging his agenda. The Senate remains under Republican control. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer were re-elected to their respective top jobs in that chamber for 2019-2020, as expected. The most closely watched leadership race in Congress is Democrat Nancy Pelosi's bid to reclaim the job of House speaker, a role she had from 2007 to 2011, when she was the first woman in that post. So far, she has no announced opponent, but some Democrats are dissatisfied with Pelosi. Their struggle over selecting a new speaker still has weeks to play out. House Democrats will choose a party leader on Nov. 28 in a closed-door vote. A separate election for speaker will follow in early January with all House members - Democrats and Republicans - casting votes; the winner needs a majority to be speaker. Among Democrats, a small but vocal group argues Pelosi, 78, who has led the party for 16 years, should step aside. Pelosi critics are circulating a letter that says signatories will not back Pelosi during the House floor vote for Speaker; so far 17 people have signed, a Democratic aide said. Separately, nine centrist House Democrats have told Pelosi their votes for speaker are conditional on whether she embraces House rule changes that would encourage more consideration of bipartisan legislation. They asked her to commit to the changes by Friday. The nine are members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. Caucus Co-chairman Representative Josh Gottheimer told Reuters the group was talking with Pelosi. He said she seemed eager for reform, but the group was asking for a public commitment from her because the specifics matter. Wednesday afternoon, Pelosi released a statement saying she would continue to work with the group to "develop changes to the rules that will break the gridlock in Washington." (Reporting by Richard Cowan, Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and James Dalgleish)
On Saturday, the vote tallies for the major elections in Floridafor both governor and senatorinched to tiny margins between the candidates. That triggered automatic, legally required recounts, and that news caused Donald Trump to declare that Democrats were trying to "steal" the elections. Outgoing governor and Senate candidate Rick Scott told Fox News on Sunday that his opponent, Bill Nelson, was a "sore loser" and "clearly trying to commit fraud to try to win this election."

Scott gave no actual evidence that Nelson was committing fraud.

Meanwhile, Florida's other senator, Marco Rubio, joined in the hysterics, tweeting prolifically about Broward County in particular, which is taking longer than other areas to complete its count. Specifically, Rubio has been claiming that the votes coming out of Broward were deemed fraudulent. It's hard to see why Rubio thinks this means there shouldn't be a recountif he really believed there was an epidemic of fake votes, then reviewing them would probably be a good idea, right?

But we already know that this is directly out of Trump's playbook. He announced it during his campaign, when he said that he would only accept the results of the presidential election if he won. Now, in Florida, total control of the state could slip through Republicans' hands, and even Trump's fawning acolyte Rick DeSantis is facing a potential defeat in the governor's race. So how are Republicans handling it? By announcing, repeatedly and never with any evidence, that Democrats are committing massive, organized voter fraud. By demanding new security measures without any explanations for what those should be. By declaring that any results saying they didn't win are all fake.

This would all be the conspiratorial ravings of politicians desperately trying to secure minority rule before having to deal with more than a million potential votes against their party after Florida felons regain the right to vote. But, intentionally or not, the news media is giving legitimacy to their efforts to discredit the Florida election. In some cases, it's the fault of the standard reporting format of "presenting all sides" and letting the readers suss out what's what. Unfortunately, by uncritically reporting on made-up bullshit, they're giving the impression that, just maybe, the bullshit could be true.

Story continues

Politico, for example, tweeted, "Scott: Nelson is trying to commit fraud to win Floridas Senate race." USA Today ran the headline "President Trump calls for end to Florida recount, tweeted ballots 'massively infected.'" From the New York Post: "Trump says honest recount in Florida 'no longer possible.'" ABC News, despite clarifying in its article that there's no evidence, also tweeted, "NEW: Pres. Trump calls Florida ballots 'massively infected,' demands end to recounts."

In other cases, it's just dumb, context-free re-quoting, like when Trump declared that no votes should be counted after Election Day, which among other things means discounting the overseas ballots of active-duty military:

The Republican Party's survival is built on voter suppression. In the past 20 years, the two Republican presidents both won their first terms despite getting fewer votes than their Democratic opponents, and popular support for their biggest victories, like tax cuts for billionaires, is shockingly low. Gerrymandering and targeted voting restrictions are their best bets to hang on to power, and the payoff has been tremendous. There's no reason the media needs to do any heavy lifting to help them.
Libreville (AFP) - Freedom of the press is being eroded in Gabon, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Wednesday, after the government suspended a newspaper for commenting on the hospitalisation of President Ali Bongo.

Gabon's media regulator, the High Authority for Communications (HAC), on Friday handed a three-month suspension to the L'Aube (Dawn) newspaper and a six-month suspension to its editor.

The paper had run an article saying the country had been put on "very dangerous autopilot" in Bongo's absence.

It called on Prime Minister Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet to name the speaker of the Senate, Lucie Milebou Mboussou, as interim president to fill the power vacuum.

RSF's Africa representative, Arnaud Froger, called for the immediate lifting of the suspension, "the latest act in a worrying erosion of freedom of the press in Gabon in recent months".

The HAC, created only in February, has handed out more and more suspensions, typically against media that are critical of the government, Bongo or his entourage, Froger said in a statement.

"No law empowers the media regulator in Gabon to suspend a journalist," he added.

Separately, an association of media owners, OPAM, issued a statement accusing the HAC of "authoritarian excess".

Bongo, 59, was taken to hospital in Riyadh on October 24 after he arrived in the Saudi capital to attend an economic forum.

Four days later, his spokesman said Bongo had been admitted for "severe fatigue".

But on Sunday, spokesman Ike Ngouoni acknowledged that the illness was severe -- "bleeding which justified... surgical care in a highly specialised sector."

Bongo's condition had "greatly improved" and he was "recovering most of his functions," Ngouoni said.

Ministerial meetings in Gabon are typically held every week or fortnight, but none has now taken place for three weeks.

"This creates problems for the running of the country... because most decisions, such as planned laws, are discussed in the cabinet," said Telesphore Ondo, a specialist in constitutional law.

Bongo took over when his father, Omar Bongo, died in 2009 after nearly 42 years at the helm.

Despite massive oil wealth, about a third of the West African state's population of 1.8 million still live below the poverty line -- the result, say experts, of inequality, poor governance and corruption.
By Gina Cherelus

(Reuters) - A Mexican man was due to be executed in Texas on Wednesday for bludgeoning his wife and two children to death at their home in 1992, as his attorneys continued to plead that his case be reexamined, according to state officials and court documents.

Roberto Ramos Moreno, 64, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1993 for killing his 42-year-old wife Leticia Ramos and their children, Abigail Ramos, 7, and Jonathan Ramos, 3, with a sledgehammer, according to court filings from the state's Department of Justice.

After Leticia Ramos' sister reported that she and the two children were missing, officers found their bodies buried beneath the bathroom floor of their Progreso, Texas, home. They had all died from skull fractures more than a month earlier.

Ramos, a Mexican citizen, faces execution by lethal injection, according to local media reports.

Ramos' attorney Danalynn Recer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lawyers for Ramos have filed multiple appeals since 1996 arguing that he did not receive effective trial counseling, was represented by a poorly-trained, court-appointed counsel, and has a history of mental illness.

"Mr. Ramos Moreno's life was scarred, figuratively and literally, by relentless poverty, devastating physical abuse and rampant neglect," Recer said in a 2018 court filing. "He also suffers from organic brain damage directly affecting his ability to control his actions or comprehend their consequences."

Officials from the Texas Attorney General's Office have said Ramos' sentencing was justified, adding that his then 19-year-old son testified against him, detailing his experience growing up under his father's physical and verbal abuse, according to court documents.

At the time, authorities said Ramos told police his family died in a car accident but did not know where.

He then said he found his family dead after coming home before confessing to the killings, discarding the murder weapon and fleeing to Arkansas.

Ramos, who was 38 at the time, married another woman three days after the murders and moved her into the home where they were buried.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have mostly avoided directly criticizing President Donald Trump since he took office. But in her new book, Becoming, and in an ABC interview with Robin Roberts, Michelle Obama got a bit more direct about her feelings about the man who assumed her husbands position after the 2016 election. Reflecting on the day that Trump was inaugurated in Washington, D.C., Obama shared just how she felt about the transition of power.

I stopped even trying to smile, she said, even though the optics might not have looked great. Someone from Baracks administration might have said that the optics there were bad, that what the public saw didnt reflect the presidents reality or ideals,  she explains in the book. But in this case, maybe it did.

Obama remained diplomatic, however, about her current state of mind when it comes to the president. But voters make those decisions and once the voters have spoken, we live with what we live with, she said. The big line she draws: she will never forgive Trump for stoking the flames of the birther conspiracy, which she said endangered her family. Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my familys safety at risk, she wrote of that issue.

While promoting her upcoming memoir, Obama has also discussed her relationship with Barack, including their experience with marriage counseling and their journey towards parenthood.
Tilray Ready to Move Into U.S. Cannabis If Farm Bill Passes (Bloomberg)

The chief executive of Tilray Inc. said the U.S. midterm election results, subsequent departure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and a Senate farm bill have left him optimistic about future prospects for the cannabis industry in the U.S.

Speaking on a conference call with analysts following the release of third quarter results, chief executive Brendan Kennedy pointed to several different results from last weeks midterm elections that he said are positive signs for the cannabis industry, including the defeat of Texas Congressman Pete Sessions. Sessions, a Republican congressman who was chairman of the House Rules Committee, had prevented medical and recreational cannabis bills from coming before the House floor for a vote, Kennedy said.

We are optimistic that without Pete Sessions we will start to see more bills come out in the next congress, he told analysts.

I think that, along with Jeff Sessions  the drug war dinosaur  no longer being attorney general are all positive signs for this industry.

Kennedy also expects that a provision legalizing hemp cultivation will be included in a farm bill currently making its way through the Senate, which could open the door to make CBD products more widely available in the U.S. Kennedy said the company will very quickly deploy capital to the U.S. should the farm bill pass, and that the company has $500 million in cash to invest.

There were a lot of big developments over the last few weeks, the chief executive said, also pointing to voters in Michigan deciding in favour of legalizing recreational cannabis.

Were optimistic about the long term prospects in the United States.

Kennedys comments came as Tilray, which details its results in U.S. dollars, reported stronger revenues in the three month period ending Sept. 30, before recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada. The companys revenues increased by 86 per cent from the same time last year to $10 million in the third quarter.

Story continues

At the same time, Tilray reported a net loss in the third quarter of US$18.7 million, or 20 cents per share. Chief financial officer Mark Castaneda attributed the loss in part due to increased operating expenses and expansion of international teams.

The company also sold 1,613 kilogram equivalents of cannabis in the third quarter, more than double the 684 kilograms it sold last year. The average net selling price per gram came in at $6.21, a decrease from $7.53 in 2017, which was primarily due to an increase in bulk sales as a percentage of revenues, the company said.

The B.C.-based companys stock has been one of the most volatile pot performers with its shares soaring at one point in late September to a whopping $300 per share  an increase of more than 1600 per cent since its July initial public offering. The stock closed Tuesday at $111.55 per share, a decline of 1.8 per cent. Tilray boasts a market capitalization of $10.5 billion.

Tilray was not the only weed company that reported earnings this week. Aurora Cannabis reported better-than-expected results on Monday, with $29.7 million in revenue, a 260 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier. Cronos Group Inc., Canadas fifth largest cannabis company, reported a $7.27 million net loss on Tuesday. Canopy Growth Corp. will release results on Wednesday.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
Mike Pence, the US Vice President, confronted Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi Wednesday over the "violence and persecution" of her country's Rohingya Muslims.

Mr Pence, who was attending a Singapore summit in Donald Trump's place, became the most high ranking US official to confront Ms Suu Kyi over the crisis, telling her that America was "anxious to hear the progress" she was making on the crisis.

It came as Bangladesh appeared to quietly drop plans to repatriate some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees following international condemnation of the policy.

Bangladesh's refugee commissioner, Mohammad Abul Kalam, initially said the country planned to return 150 refugees on Thursday despite aid agencies warning that their lives would be at "serious risk".

He said the process would involve Bangladesh handing the refugees, the first among a preliminary 2,260 currently in vast camps in southeastern Bangladesh, over to Myanmar at a transit point on the border between the two countries.

Suu Kyi, seated next to Pence, was stony-faced as he spoke Credit: ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA/ REUTERS

However the plans were dropped after it emerged none of the refugees on the repatriation list have so far volunteered to return to Burma.

More than 720,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya fled Burma after a military crackdown was launched in August last year, joining some 300,000 already in Bangladesh.

The US has accused the military of ethnic cleansing against the country's Rohingya, who are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Burma.

The Burmese army has claimed its forces have carried out legitimate counterinsurgency operations in Rakhine state, but UN-mandated investigators claim it was a campaign of killings, rape and arson with "genocidal intent".

"The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse," Mr Pence told Ms Suu Kyi in public remarks at the Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.

Story continues

"I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life," he added.

Rohingya Muslim refugees wait for food aid at Thankhali refugee camp in Bangladesh's Ukhia district Credit: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/ AFP

Mr Pence also pressed Ms Suu Kyi, Burma's de facto leader, to pardon two Reuters journalists who were arrested last December while working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim villagers.

Ms Suu Kyi, who sat stony-faced next to Mr Pence as he spoke, gave a curt response, telling the Vice President there were "different points of view" on the crisis.

"In a way we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does and I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else," she added.

Once hailed as a champion in the fight for democracy, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been stripped of a series of international honours over the Rohingya exodus.

Plans for repatriation had caused widespread alarm among the Rohingya community in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh insists only those who volunteer will be returned, but UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned that many refugees are panicking at the prospect of being sent back against their will.

Many of those slated to be repatriated are reported to have gone into hiding within the camps at Cox's Bazar, the border district hosting a small refugee city perched on hillsides. At least one man attempted suicide after being told he was on a list of refugees to be returned.

Rohingya community leaders said that an increase in the number of Bangladeshi soldiers at the camps in recent days was stoking anxiety.

"With an almost complete lack of accountability - indeed with ongoing violations - returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades," Ms Bachelet said.

Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Bangladeshi and Burmese authorities to "immediately halt" their repatriation plans, saying it was a "reckless move which puts lives at risk".
When the bride and grooms vintage ride broke down on the freeway, the couple didnt let it rain on their wedding day parade. (Photo: Courtesy of Tomas Romas)

Jake and Amber Garcia were simply attempting to get to their own wedding reception when they hit a bump in the road.

After their Nov. 10 wedding ceremony near Houston, the newlyweds went to a nearby beach to take photos with their bridal party.

Everything was fine, perfect, Amber Garcia told local Houston news station KTRK. Everything was going so smooth, like a wedding should be going.

This was a very elegant crew; the bride wore a gorgeous lace gown, a tiara and a white fur stole. Her groom wore a beige three-piece suit.

We rented a vintage 1966 [Rolls-Royce Austin] Princess car for the day because its something we wanted a part of our wedding from the beginning! It was a beautiful car! Amber told Yahoo Lifestyle. Beautiful, yes. Functional? Debatable.

They hopped in their ride to head to the Nuevo Leon Reception Hall in Baytown, Texas, for the party when things started to go south.

Our car started slowing down on the freeway, Amber recalled. I looked at my husband and I said, Why is our car slowing down? I then look at the driver and he is shaking his head. Thats never a good sign. When the bride asked if everything was OK, the driver gave it to them straight. He said, No, were running out of gas. She said she was scared at first, but that feeling didnt last long.

The couple was forced to pull over on the side of the freeway. And thats when the magic happened.

We called our bridal party to come back and get us because they were ahead of us, Amber recalled.

They waited on the freeway in their wedding attire next to their fancy car for about 15 minutes to be picked up. And during that time, their photographer kept working. Once the party showed up, my brother, brother-in-law and the best man got out to help us get our stuff, and as soon as we all turned around, the photographer snapped our photo, Amber explained. She shared that photo on her Facebook page.

That one time when your calling your bridal party to come rescue us because our 1966 princess car decided to break down Posted by Amber Garcia on Monday, November 12, 2018

Story continues

In the picture, Amber, Jake and the groomsmen are beaming beside the car. Somehow, their spirits were not dampened, even though theyd be late to their own wedding reception. We werent down at all about this, she promised. It was the day of love for us since we just got married, and nothing was going to get us upset! Things happen, and you just have to move on and find the positive in it! It was pretty funny to us, actually. As you can tell, we were smiling, laughing because it was just a funny situation! the laid-back bride said.

Compared to wedding planning, this little bump in the road was a piece of cake. Wedding planning was so stressful, as it for everyone, especially the bride, Amber said. The car mishap was easy-peasy!

She told KTRK she hoped the story would help cheer people up at a time when the rest of the news can be so upsetting and depressing.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Dubai (AFP) - How did Hodeida become the main frontline in Yemen's devastating war? Who is winning, and what's next for the crucial port city?

After nearly four years of conflict between Yemen's Huthi insurgents and a pro-government military alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the fight is now closing in on the rebel-held Red Sea city.

The battle for Hodeida has sparked UN warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe -- and unprecedented diplomatic pressure to end the war.

- What's happening in Hodeida? -

Hodeida is the sole remaining rebel enclave on Yemen's Red Sea coastline and a valuable geopolitical prize.

The Hodeida port, the entry point for some 80 percent of food imports and aid into Yemen, has been under blockade by the Saudi-led coalition since last year.

The alliance has waged an intermittent five-month campaign to seize the port.

It accuses Riyadh's regional rival Tehran of using it to smuggle arms to the Huthis, which Iran denies.

"Most of the momentum we have seen on the frontlines in the last year has been along the Red Sea coast, leading northward to Hodeida -- the biggest strategic prize," said Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

"But the same reason that Hodeida is so strategic militarily is why humanitarian workers are so alarmed by the prospect of a military campaign," she added.

"Any shock to the port's operations and the outflow of goods could devastate not only Hodeida itself, but Yemen's entire north, which relies on it as a gateway for nearly all food and other goods."

- Who's winning? -

The Huthi rebels and Saudi-led coalition bring very different strengths to a complex conflict.

The coalition, which edged a few kilometres into eastern Hodeida city this month, has US-backed, UAE-trained boots on the ground and the strength of Saudi Arabia's air force, also assisted by the United States.

The Huthis however have a history of guerrilla warfare, an advantage in a fight for control over one of Yemen's most densely populated cities.

Story continues

The rebels, who have confirmed the use of landmines in areas under their control, say they are ready to fight to the end.

Coalition troops were ordered this week to halt their advance on Hodeida, according to three field commanders contacted by AFP on Wednesday.

So for now, there is neither victor nor vanquished in Hodeida.

A coalition attack on the docks remains a possibility, which would put at risk 14 million aid-dependant Yemenis already on the verge of mass starvation.

"Fighting is fierce. There have been gains on the coalition side over the last year as they've moved up the coast towards Hodeida, but the Huthis are fighting back," said Kristine Beckerle, Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"So the winners aren't clear, not yet. The losers: Yemeni civilians."

- What next? -

Kick-starting peace talks is now a key goal for Western powers, who turned their focus to Yemen after the high-profile murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The UN is pushing for yet another round of negotiations by the end of the year, a move publicly supported by the UAE.

But that doesn't necessarily rule out a move on the Hodeida port.

"The coalition sees military pressure as key to ensuring the Huthis come to the table and are ready to compromise," said Dickinson.

"They have repeatedly argued that taking Hodeida out of Huthi control would reduce the rebels' income and encourage them to negotiate in good faith."

The US, Britain and France are leading the calls to halt hostilities in Yemen, where the US has for years provided military support to and shared intelligence with Saudi Arabia (which, in turn, has landed on a UN blacklist for the maiming and killing of children in air raids).

Washington has, however, ended its aerial refuelling support for Saudi planes engaged in the Yemen war.

Western powers now "have real leverage", Beckerle said, "but that requires the US, UK and France actually show the coalition they are serious."

"They could do so by finally halting weapons sales and pushing strong language in a new UN resolution," she added.

"For example, by asking for a UN expert panel, which already exists ... to lay out which individuals are responsible for violating the laws of war and obstructing humanitarian aid, and then sanctioning them."
BOSTON (AP)  A Nigerian internet service provider said Tuesday that a configuration error it made during a network upgrade caused a disruption of key Google services, routing traffic to China and Russia.

Even with MainOne's explanation, there was speculation that Monday's 74-minute data hijacking might not have been an accident. Google's search, cloud hosting and corporate-focused G-Suite collaborative tools were among services disrupted.

"Everyone is pretty confident that nothing untoward took place," MainOne spokesman Tayo Ashiru said.

But Jake Williams, president of Rendition InfoSec and a former U.S. government hacker, said a skeptic should not rule out meddling by a nation-state with something to gain. The level of corruption in a country like Nigeria is well known, he said.

The type of traffic misdirection involved can knock essential services offline and facilitate espionage and financial theft. It can also be used to block access to information by sending data requests into internet black holes. Experts say China, in particular, has systematically hijacked and diverted U.S. internet traffic.

But the problem can also result from human error. It's very difficult to tell the difference, said Williams.

Google said it had no reason to believe the traffic hijacking was malicious.

Ashiru said engineers at MainOne, a major west African ISP, mistakenly forwarded to China Telecom addresses for Google services that were supposed to be local. The Chinese company, in turn, sent along the bad data to Russia's TransTelecom, a major internet presence. Ashiru said MainOne did not yet understand why China Telecom did that, as the state-run company normally doesn't allow Google traffic on its network.

The traffic diversion into China created a detour with a dead end, preventing users from accessing the affected Google services, said Alex Henthorn-Iwane, an executive at the network-intelligence company ThousandEyes.

Story continues

He said Monday's incident offered yet another lesson in the internet's susceptibility to "unpredictable and destabilizing events. If this could happen to a company with the scale and resources available that Google has, realize it could happen to anyone."

The diversion, known as border gateway protocol route hijacking, is built into the internet , which was designed for collaboration by trusted parties  not competition by hostile nation-states. Experts say it is fixable but that would require investments in encrypted routers that the industry has resisted .

ThousandEyes said the diversion at minimum made Google's search and business collaboration tools difficult or impossible to reach and "put valuable Google traffic in the hands of ISPs in countries with a long history of Internet surveillance."

Most network traffic to Google services  94 percent as of Oct. 27  is encrypted, which shields it from prying eyes even if diverted. But work was interrupted on services like G-Suite, which Google CEO Sundar Pichai in February said had more than 4 million businesses as customers. G-Suite and Google Cloud combined generate about $4 billion in revenue each year.

Google did not quantify the disruption other than to say in a statement that "access to some Google services was impacted."

Indeed, the phenomenon has occurred before. Google was briefly afflicted in 2015 when an Indian provider stumbled. In perhaps the best-known case, Pakistan Telecom inadvertently hijacked YouTube's global traffic in 2008 for a few hours when it was trying to enforce a domestic ban. It sent all YouTube traffic into a virtual ditch in Pakistan.

In two recent cases, such rerouting has affected financial sites. In April 2017, one affected MasterCard and Visa among other sites. This past April, another hijacking enabled cryptocurrency theft .

___

AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke contributed from San Francisco.
Abuja (AFP) - A Nigerian judge on Wednesday said she wants a missing pro-Biafra leader back in court after he resurfaced in Israel following a months-long disappearance.

Nnamdi Kanu, the head of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, is charged with treason after pushing for a separate homeland for the Igbo people of southeast Nigeria.

He was given bail under strict conditions last year but has not appeared in court since.

He was last seen in September 2017 before troops raided his family home in Umuahia, the capital of the southeastern Abia state, during a crackdown on IPOB.

Last month a video of Kanu appeared on social media showing him praying in Israel, and an interview with him was also broadcast on television, though the Israeli embassy wouldn't confirm if he was in the country.

At the hearing of Kanu's trial in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Wednesday, judge Binta Nyako ordered the three people who stood surety for Kanu to produce him in court or forfeit their bonds.

"I want you to go out to look for Nnamdi Kanu, I gave you a Nnamdi Kanu and you have lost him and I'm not happy with you. I want him back," Nyako said.

Before Kanu's conditional release, the three sureties were made to each deposit 100 million naira (243,700 euros, $275,200).

The court said they risk being jailed if they fail to produce Kanu.

The case adjourned to March 28, 2019.

Kanu, who also runs the outlawed pirate radio station Radio Biafra, was first arrested in October 2015, sparking a wave of demonstrations calling for his release across southeast Nigeria.

The former London estate agent maintains the Igbo are a lost tribe of Israel and it is his mission to lead them to the promised land of Biafra.

A previous unilateral declaration of Biafran independence in 1967 sparked a brutal civil war that lasted 30 months and left at least one million dead from starvation and disease.
Chicago (AFP) - Police in the US state of Ohio arrested a husband and wife and their two sons Tuesday over the "meticulously planned" murder of eight people -- seven members of the same family and a fiancee.

George Wagner III, Angela Wagner and their sons George Wagner IV and Edward Wagner are accused of carrying out the April 2016 massacre in Peebles, a rural village 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of Cincinnati.

"Members of one family conspired, planned, carried out and then allegedly covered up their violent act to wipe out members of another family," Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader told a news conference.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the motive was related to child custody, without clarifying further.

Police found seven bodies, each with a bullet to the head, in three separate homes, and an eighth at a separate site. Many were killed in their sleep.

The seven family members killed were Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20; Dana Rhoden, 37; Gary Rhoden, 38; Hanna Rhoden, 19; and Kenneth Rhoden, 44. The other victim, 20-year-old Hannah "Hazel" Gilley, was engaged to Clarence Rhoden.

The shooters spared three young children: a newborn baby found lying next to her dead mother, as well as two others who were six months and three years old.

Officials accused the Wagners of an elaborate cover-up, including tampering with cell phones and security camera footage.

"They did this quickly, coldly, calmly and very carefully. But not carefully enough," Reader said.

"They left traces. They left a trail: The parts to build a silencer, the forged documents, the cameras, the cellphones, all that they tampered with, and the lies, all the lies they told us."

Each of the suspects faces eight counts of aggravated murder. If convicted, they could get the death penalty.

Police also arrested Rita Newcomb, identified as Angela Wagner's mother, and Fredericka Wagner, George Wagner III's mother.

They are accused of helping with the cover-up.

The killings sent shockwaves through the community, located in an economically distressed region of around 28,000 people that is home to an abandoned uranium plant.
(Reuters) - Four members of one family were charged on Tuesday with the April 2016 execution-style shooting deaths of eight members of another rural Ohio family, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced.

Four members of the Wagner family were charged with murdering seven members of the Rhoden family and a fiancee of one of the victims, DeWine said by Twitter.

In April 2016, Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader and DeWine said it was clear the victims, ranging in age from 16 to 44, had been deliberately singled out for attack at four different crime scenes, most of them while they slept.

No motive for the killings was mentioned by DeWine in his tweets. In 2016, investigators told Reuters there was evidence that cockfighting had been taking place on the Rhoden property, plus evidence of commercial marijuana cultivation at three of the four crime scenes.

A press conference will be held later Tuesday on the arrests in relation to the murders in Pike County in the Appalachia foothills about 95 miles (150 km) east of Cincinnati.

A phone call to the attorney who the Cincinnati Enquirer said was defending the four Wagners was not immediately returned.

At the time of the killings, DeWine said, this was "a pre-planned execution of eight individuals. It was a sophisticated operation. And those who carried it out were trying to do everything they could do to hinder the investigation and their prosecution."

Last week, DeWine was elected governor of Ohio.

Three small children including a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old were spared on the night of the killings. One woman was killed while sleeping with her 4-day-old baby.

The Cincinnati Enquirer has reported that members of the two families were once linked in a business venture that soured. The paper also reported that one of the three women victims had a child with one of the four arrested on Tuesday and were at odds over custody.

DeWine said those charged were George "Billy" Wagner, Angela Wagner, George Wagner IV, and Edward "Jake" Wagner.

Story continues

The victims included Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his ex-wife, Dana Rhoden, 37; and their three children, Hanna, 19, Christopher Jr., 16, and Clarence, 20.

Three others were identified as Christopher Sr.'s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38; and Clarence Rhoden's girlfriend, Hannah Gilley, 20.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Paris (AFP) - The French government on Wednesday attempted to head off planned protests over rising fuel costs by announcing a series of measures to help poorer families pay their bills.

A surge in the price of diesel has provoked an uproar in rural and small-town France, with citizens' groups threatening to block roads and highways on Saturday over what they call President Emmanuel Macron's anti-car policies.

The "yellow vest" movement, named after the high-visibility jackets worn by protesters, is the latest to rattle Macron's centrist government.

Around 600 protests are planned around the country on Saturday.

President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that he "heard the anger" of drivers and others complaining of high taxes and a rising cost of living, saying that "I want to understand".

"There is a right to protest... but there is also the right to freedom of movement for all French citizens," he said in a TV interview.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had ruled out earlier Wednesday any U-turn on higher taxes on diesel, considered a major source of air pollution, but promised to do more to help poor families shoulder the cost.

"We have heard the need of the French to be assisted in the (ecological) transition, which is difficult," he said.

With the rising cost of living emerging as one of the biggest challenges of Macron's presidency, Philippe announced that 5.6 million households would receive energy subsidies, up from 3.6 million currently.

The state will also double the scrappage bonus on polluting vehicles for France's poorest families, expand the scheme to target one million motorists in total over five years and introduce fuel tax credits for those who use their cars a lot for work.

- 'Fed up' -

The measures appeared unlikely however to appease the "angry vests", who have tapped into frustration with Macron's policies, seen as favouring high-earners in cities over the rural population and the poor.

Story continues

The leader of the protests in the central-eastern Dole region, Fabrice Schlegel, said he hoped some 1,500 cars would turn out to snarl traffic on Saturday.

"We've been scorned for years; for years we've been talked down to. It's time for us, the little people, the non-political, non trade-union people, to rise up," he told a recent rally.

French officials have warned they will not allow the protests to completely block access to French roads.

In 2013, a protest by the Breton 'Red Caps' over an environmental tax on trucks led to running battles between police and demonstrators.

The Socialist government of then President Francois Hollande eventually backed down.

During a tour of the provinces last week to try reconnect with rural voters, Macron -- whose approval ratings have sunk to under 30 percent -- was repeatedly harangued over fuel prices.

The price of diesel has risen around 23 percent over the past 12 months to an average of 1.51 euros ($1,70) per litre -- its highest point since the early 2000s.

But France's reform-minded president is also taking heat from environmentalists, who accuse him of not living up to his promise to "Make Our Planet Great Again".

Opposition parties from both the left and the right have sought to tap into the discontent.

Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the main opposition Republicans party, on Wednesday called on the government to cancel another planned increase in the carbon tax on fossil fuels to offset rising petrol prices.

"This government is going to take 15 billion euros from French pockets and the prime minister this morning talks of handing 500 million back, that's not even three percent," Wauquiez, a conservative, said on BFMTV.

Eric Coquerel, a law-maker from the radical left France Unbowed, said the French were "not just mobilising because of petrol prices.

"They are fed up," he declared.
The violence which drove 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh was "without excuse", US Vice President Mike Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi in stinging comments on Wednesday.

On the sidelines of a summit in Singapore Pence piled the pressure on Myanmar's de facto leader, calling for an explanation of the jailing of two Reuters journalists over their coverage of the crisis.

Suu Kyi has seen her reputation as a rights defender shredded by her refusal to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless group reviled in the Buddhist-majority country.

She has already had an Amnesty International honour revoked this week and faced sharp words from Malaysia's prime minister at a usually tepid meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Singapore.

In direct marks as he sat next to Suu Kyi, Pence condemned the "violence and persecution" against the Rohingya as "without excuse".

Then in a front-on challenge to Myanmar's civilian leader, Pence said he was "anxious to hear about the progress" being made to hold the perpetrators accountable.

A crackdown led by Myanmar's army last year sparked an exodus of the Muslim minority into neighbouring Bangladesh, taking with them accounts of atrocities -- rape, murder and arson of their villages.

UN investigators say the army's actions amounted to genocide.

Suu Kyi brushed off Pence's comments.

"In a way, we can say we understand our country better than any other country does," she said.

On Thursday a long-delayed -- and heavily criticised -- plan to repatriate Rohingya was set to begin, despite dire warnings their safety will be in jeopardy if forced to return to Myanmar.

The process has undergone several false starts before.

Myanmar does not want its Rohingya, who are officially described as "Bengali" illegal immigrants.

And the Rohingya do not want to go back without security guarantees and citizenship.

But the fetid and overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh offer little future for the more than one million Rohingya who have fled successive waves of violence in Myanmar.

Story continues

- Jailed journalists -

The Rohingya crisis has tarnished Myanmar's reputation among large sections of an international community which helped shape its transition from outright military rule.

Suu Kyi has no power over the army, which retains autonomy over all security matters.

But she has come under fire for not doing more to speak out against the generals' excesses.

She has also been criticised for her failure to speak up for two Reuters reporters jailed for seven years for breaching a colonial-era state secrets act after reporting on the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya men during a military crackdown last year.

Pence called their case "deeply troubling", adding the US placed a "premium ... on a free and independent press".

A senior US official told reporters that Pence asked Suu Kyi directly and repeatedly to pardon the two reporters during their talks.

The official did not say how Suu Kyi responded.

The sentence prompted a storm of global outcry as an assault on freedom of speech, casting doubt on the direction and depth of Myanmar reforms.

In her only direct comments on the Reuters case Suu Kyi -- herself once a political prisoner held under house arrest by the former junta -- has said the pair were jailed under a fair legal process.

"They were not jailed because they were journalists" but because "the court has decided that they had broken the Official Secrets Act", she said in September.

Suu Kyi's civilian government had the power to drop the charges.

Reuters has appealed the verdict and has been lobbying for the release of the pair who they say were set up by police and arrested to silence their reporting.

The High Court is likely to take up to five or six months to rule on the appeal, during which time the reporters will remain in Yangon's notorious Insein prison.

After numerous delays, the first significant group of Rohingya -- some 2,000 strong -- is due to return to Myanmar on November 15 as part of a repatriation deal signed with Bangladesh a year ago.

However, the UN and rights groups maintain that conditions for their "safe, dignified and sustainable" return are still not in place.

burs-apj/aph/jta/mtp
By Andrea Shalal

BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. government is still reviewing a merger of Harris Corp and L3 Technologies, a top Pentagon official said on Tuesday, adding that she had no fundamental concerns about further consolidation in the U.S. defense sector.

Undersecretary Ellen Lord told Reuters that the Defense Department was carrying out a detailed process together with antitrust authorities to determine if the proposed merger would "be problematical in terms of the competitive landscape."

"We're working through the process. We look at deals based on the individual merits," Lord said on the sidelines of a NATO industry conference. She said the chief executives of both companies had contacted her about their plans "very professionally" before announcing the deal.

Harris and L3, maker of military communications equipment and other weapons, on Oct. 14 said they planned an all-stock merger that will create the sixth-largest U.S. defense contractor with a market value of $34 billion.

The combined company, L3 Harris Technologies Inc, will have about 48,000 employees and customers in over 100 countries, the companies said. The merger is expected to close in mid-2019.

Asked if she was concerned that the merger would result in excessive consolidation in the sector, Lord said, "I have no fundamental concerns."

Asked whether a subsequent merger involving the new company would spark concerns, she said: "No conjecture."

For years, the Pentagon discouraged consolidation among top-tier weapons makers, while welcoming deals among smaller players. In 2015, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned that further consolidation in the weapons industry could lead to higher costs, decreased innovation and less competition.

Those comments came days after the U.S. Justice Department approved Lockheed Martin Corp's $9 billion acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, which at the time was one of the biggest acquisitions in the weapons industry in years.

Story continues

Mergers have been increasing in recent months given rising military spending under U.S. President Donald Trump, with contractors keen to bulk up so they can bid for bigger projects.

In June, Northrop Grumman Corp acquired Orbital ATK Inc for about $7.8 billion, and General Dynamics Corp bought CSRA Inc for $9.7 billion to expand its government services in April.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Police in Birmingham have urged caution after a group of 400 residents set up a vigilante crime group.

The city has recently been blighted by a wave of stabbings, shootings and murders, leading to the formation of We Stand Determined, who are working to report any dangers the community may face.

The groups organisers describe themselves as vigilantes with a twist but police say they do no sanction unofficial organisations.

The organisers of We Stand Determined say they are vigilantes with a twist (Caters)

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said officers were aware of multiple groups but advised members to join police-approved Streetwatch programmes instead.

Formed on social media just three weeks ago, We Stand Determined was set up after an unsuccessful petition to get more police in the area.

Organisers Wayne, Tracy and Michael founded the group after discovering a friend had been attacked in his home in Birmingham by thieves armed with hammers and now organise twice-weekly patrols across the city.

MORE: Driver arrested after French police discover lion cub in Lamborghini in Paris

MORE: James Bulgers father claims sons killer Robert Thompson has been rewarded for murdering toddler

They insist the group is non-violent and seeks to work in partnership with the police, not against it, but think crime in the UK is getting out of hand and want to act as a new line of defence for the community.

Solihull-based college lecturer Wayne, 47, who does not wish to reveal his surname for fears over his safety, said: The way our group started, and the reaction weve had, has showed us how much local communities need groups like us to fill in the gaps the authorities simply dont have the funding for.

There has been a recent spate of crime in Birmingham recently and Solihull in particular has fallen victim to an increase of just under 1,500 more cases so far this year.

Police sealed off Rookery Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, after a man was stabbed-to-death in a frenzied attack inside a Paddy Power betting shop (Caters)

People needed someone to turn to, someone who will listen and visit them in their home if a constituent is fearful for their own safety.

Were vigilantes, but were vigilantes with a twist, working within the law and not against it.

Story continues

Our group is a central place for the local community to come together to log crimes, comment and help stop crime in the area.

Shopkeeper Selliah Vasanthan fought off thugs using a makeshift weapon after they stormed into his store in Castle Vale, Birmingham (SWNS)

Tracy said We Stand Determined is not against West Midlands Police, as they understand the force can only do what they can with the funding they are given.

But the group say this doesnt solve the problem of reduced Bobbies on the beat  so they were forced to themselves.

They soon hope to grow bigger and have representatives based in every area of the country.

Sarweeth Rehman and Hussun Ashraf during a BMW carjacking in the West Midlands (SWNS)

Tracy, 48, said: We stress to our members that if they see something, they should notify the police first.

We would like to join up with the police, but we want to be able to make our own decisions on where the help is really needed, and not where the police tell us to be.
Geneva (AFP) - Protestors briefly interrupted a speech by new UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet Wednesday, accusing her of complicity in persecution of the indigenous Mapuche community in her native Chile.

Two demonstrators, one wearing traditional dress, ran onto the stage as Bachelet addressed a large crowd at the University of Geneva, waving a banner calling for "Human Rights for Mapuche" and accusing her of "assassinating" them.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who had come to speak about the "dark aspect" of the digital era and the threats new technologies pose to freedoms and rights around the world, insisted the protestors' claims were "not true".

"We have an independent judiciary" in Chile, said the two-time Chilean president who took over as UN rights chief in September, as protestors shouted from the back and waved a banner stating: "Today High Commissioner, Yesterday Guilty".

The Chilean state has long been accused of discrimination against the Mapuche people, who centuries ago controlled vast areas of Chile but have since been marginalised.

Last year when she was still Chile's president, Bachelet apologised on behalf of the nation to the Mapuche for the "horrors" of post-colonial abuse they suffered.

Considered the earliest inhabitants of parts of Chile, the Mapuche fought against the Spanish conquerors and later the Chilean army after the country's independence in the 19th century.

Their numbers were reduced to only 700,000, a fraction of Chile's current population of 17 million.

Mapuche land rights campaigners have also been jailed under a terrorism law dating to Chile's 1973-1990 dictatorship.
On Thursday night, two days after Election Day, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) stood on the steps of the governors mansion in Tallahassee and unleashed a nuclear bomb aimed at the very foundation of democracy. Scott suggested there was rampant fraud in the state. No ragtag group of liberal activists or lawyers from D.C. was going to steal the election from Floridians, the governor said.

When Scott made his comments, Florida hadnt even hit the deadline to submit unofficial election results to the state. Scott asked the states law enforcement agency to investigate his allegations, but the agency quickly said there was nothing to investigate.

That hasnt stopped President Donald Trump from continuing to insist that there was fraud in the state. There is no evidence of fraud to support his claim.

Scotts election night lead over Nelson has shrunk significantly, and the margin is now so slim that the state is in the midst of a legally required recount. But election experts say theres nothing unusual or nefarious about vote tallies changing days after an election. Instead of letting election officials count the ballots as usual, the comments from Scott and Trump amount to an effort to undermine normal election processes.

Steven Huefner, a law professor at Ohio State University, wrote that it was beyond unseemly and downright destructive of public trust in our elections for election officials to attribute changing vote totals to nefarious actions.

Florida allows voters to cast ballots by mail and accepts them until 7 p.m. on Election Day. Election officials then have to verify signatures on the ballots in addition to determining whether provisional ballots cast on Election Day can count. That process can take time, which is why Florida and other states give counties time to conduct whats called a canvass and review the votes. In Florida, the deadline for counties to submit unofficial results to the state was Saturday and the deadline for official results is Nov. 18.

Story continues

Results on election night, its actually never been final on election night. Ever in the history of our country. Theres always been this continuation of calculating the results and all that, said Amber McReynolds, the former top elections official in Denver who is now the executive director of the National Vote at Home Institute, a group that advocates for voting by mail. This is not new. Floridas doing exactly what other states are doing right now. California has even more to count. But in California, theres not a Republican that might win, so its not getting any attention.

Charles Stewart, the director of the MIT Election Lab, noted that, in addition to trying to deal with mailed-in ballots, counties also had to tally their early votes. Florida law doesnt allow officials to count early votes until after the polls have closed. Different counties may also tally at different speeds because of the equipment available, the kinds of ballots they receive and staffing, experts say.

Scott has complained that Brenda Snipes, the supervisor of elections in Broward County, refused to turn over information about how many ballots still needed to be tallied. He secured a court order on Friday requiring her to hand over the information.

Ned Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University, has studied the way that vote totals change during a canvass after Election Day. Those shifts tend to benefit Democrats and are a relatively new phenomenon, he said, because more people are voting by mail and Congress passed a law in 2002 requiring officials to offer provisional ballots.

Both of those things have the effect of having ballots eligible to be counted but not available for counting on election night, he said. For demographic reasons, groups that tend to vote Democratic Party  students, younger voters, more mobile voters  youre more likely to get caught up in the need for a provisional ballot if youre just a more transient population.

Usually, shifts in vote counts after Election Day go unnoticed because they arent enough to overcome the initially reported margin of victory. But in Florida, the changing tally is getting scrutinized because the margin separating the candidates is so thin, Foley said. A similar process is playing out in Arizona, where election officials are still counting the ballots in close races for U.S. Senate and secretary of state.

Trump tweeted Monday that Florida shouldnt consider any of the votes tallied after election night, a move that would disenfranchise military voters whose ballots can be accepted until Nov. 16. Scotts campaign is also suing in state court to block officials in Broward County, a key bastion of Democratic votes, from officially counting any ballots that werent tallied by the states Saturday deadline for unofficial results.

Foley said the allegations of fraud and election stealing in Florida were particularly worrisome because there could be shifts of tens of thousands of votes during a presidential election. The allegations in Florida could serve as a prelude for a candidate to undermine the results in 2020. A key part of democracies, he said, is that the candidates accept the results of elections as legitimate.

Every election has a winner and a loser, and the loser has to accept defeat, he said. The loser has to think that, even though they really wanted to win and thought they should have won  or maybe even thought the vote-counting process was inaccurate in some respects  that we can accept it.

The talk of fraud got the attention of the chief state judge in Broward County, who urged lawyers for both campaigns who were in court Monday to ramp down the rhetoric about voter fraud.

Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, who specializes in elections, wrote in Slate that that kind of questioning of election results could lay the foundation for a constitutional crisis.

If President Trump is ahead in his re-election bid on the night of the election, only to lose that lead as more ballots in larger  mostly Democratic  counties are counted through a normal process in the days and weeks after Election Day, it seems reasonable to be concerned that he will contest such a legitimate vote, Hasen wrote. We dont know if he would even vacate his office in such a scenario, triggering the possibility of a real constitutional crisis.

Related Coverage

Rick Scott Claims Fraud, Seeks Florida Law Enforcement Probe Of Election Officials

One Day In, Florida's Senate Recount Gets Messier

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Energy giant Woodside has joined the world's largest miners in calling for Australia to re-introduce a tax on carbon emissions as pressure mounts on the conservative government to act on climate change by curbing pollution.

Australia is considered one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, and is a heavy user of coal-fired power.

But Canberra has struggled to introduce climate policies over the past decade amid political infighting and turbulence.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was ousted in a party coup in August, in part triggered by his effects to embed in law carbon emission targets agreed at the 2015 UN climate conference in Paris.

Turnbull's plan was ditched after his removal, but in the private sector, a growing number of major Australian companies are calling for policy change.

"We need a price on carbon, we need to ensure that the most effective energy gets into the system," Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman told national broadcaster ABC late Tuesday.

The stance is a reversal for the country's biggest oil and gas producer, which campaigned against a previous Labor government's emissions pricing scheme, under which some firms would have been required to pay a tax per tonne of carbon dioxide.

"We think there is a will to act, the time is now, and we need to start having good policy debate," Coleman added.

Anglo-Australian firms BHP and Rio Tinto -- the world's two biggest miners -- have already called for an emissions price.

Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of Australian software giant Atlassian, earlier this month launched a green energy campaign to push for more renewables that has gained momentum on social media.

The government is also under pressure from voters. Action on climate change was the top priority for voters at a crucial Sydney by-election, triggered by Turnbull's departure, that saw the coalition suffer an embarrassing loss.

Story continues

Even so, Energy Minister Angus Taylor said Wednesday his government could meet the Paris targets without a carbon price, and that it was already "bringing emissions down".

"We reached our Kyoto outcomes easily, we will reach Kyoto two, over and above what is required," he told ABC Radio, referring to earlier climate treaties. "And we are well on track to reach Paris."

Australia has a chequered past when it comes to reducing emissions.

Former Labor PM Kevin Rudd's flagship carbon-trading scheme to cut emissions was shelved in 2010. His successor Julia Gillard introduced a carbon tax in 2012.

The Liberals' Tony Abbott, who defeated Labor in national elections in 2013 and who famously called climate change "absolute crap", repealed the scheme.
A retired white firefighter who fired a shotgun at a black teenager after the boy knocked on his front door for directions has been sentenced to four to 10 years behind bars.

A Michigan judge handed down Jeffrey Zeiglers sentence in an Oakland County courtroom on Tuesday for assault with intent to do great bodily harm and committing a felony with a firearm for the April 12 incident.

Shooting at a teenager (who is) leaving your premises has consequences, Judge Wendy Potts told Zeigler, according to the Oakland Press. Fortunately, no physical injury occurred.

Jeffrey Zeigler is sentenced on Tuesday to at least four years in prison for shooting at a black teenager who came to his suburban Detroit home to ask for directions to school. (Photo: Todd McInturf/Detroit News via Associated Press)

Brennan Walker, 14, was walking to school after missing his school bus when he said he became lost and knocked on Zeiglers front door in the Rochester Hills neighborhood.

Video taken from Zeiglers home security system captured the teen walking up to the mans front door, knocking on it and then bolting just before Zeigler appears shirtless and armed with a shotgun. Zeigler points the gun in the direction of the teen, now long since out of view, and then opens fire.

Rochester Hills Michigan 6 months ago.



The surveillance footage was just released.



14 y/o Black Teen misses the bus to school & figures he knew the route well enough to walk the 4-mile route. He gets lost, stops to ask for directions, & nearly loses his life.



WHY WE KNEEL! pic.twitter.com/k3cnL3kO6u  StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) October 11, 2018

Zeigler told authorities that he grabbed his gun after his wife told him that someone was trying to break in. He initially told authorities that he mistakenly fired his gun at the boy because he tripped, something that the video did not appear to capture.

I was scared, the teen testified. I was trying to tell them that I was trying to get to high school, but they werent listening.

Brennans mother, Lisa Wright, said she had no doubt that the shooting was racially motivated.

Story continues

If there was a button that I could press for me to pick what color I could be, just so I wouldnt have to deal with this type of stuff, I would have to be your color just so I could survive, she said in court, according to Detroit station WXYZ.

Brennans father, who serves in the military and was deployed in Syria with special forces when the incident took place, attended Tuesdays sentencing and reportedly expressed his own concerns about his familys safety, asking a WXYZ reporter how he can protect his country when no one is protecting his family.

Related Coverage

Chicago Cop Indicted For Shooting At Black Teens In Car

Video Shows Man Shooting At Black Teen Who Asked For Directions To School

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Robert Mueller has asked for more details about Nigel Farage during his investigation into Russian interference in US politics, it has been reported.

Prosecutors working for Mr Mueller apparently questioned conservative commentator Jerome Corsi who is expected to be indicted for perjury, about the former Ukip leader.

Mr Mueller has been tasked with heading up the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and has so far interrogated Mr Corsi for more than 40 hours.

The 72-year-old former Washington bureau chief for Infowars.com has been under scrutiny for months in relation to the hacking and leaking of emails from Hilary Clintons campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

He believes he will be indicted for perjury after he said he inadvertently misspoke while being questioned.

Mr Muellers team apparently also questioned Mr Corsi about Ted Malloch, an American academic who has ties to both Mr Farage and Donald Trump.

They asked about both Nigel and Ted Malloch, I can affirm that they did, Mr Corsi told The Guardian .

But Im really not going into detail because I respect the special counsel and the legal process.

Mr Farage has repeatedly denied he has any involvement with the Russians and has said he has not been contacted by anyone from Mr Muellers team.

In response to the claims, Mr Farage told The Independent: "The guy is a conspiracy theorist."

In the UK, there have been accusations that Russia may have influenced the Brexit vote.

The National Crime Agency has opened a criminal investigation into Arron Banks, a leading pro-Brexit businessman, who provided 8m in loans and donations to the Leave.EU campaign, backed by Mr Farage.

The watchdog has already said there are reasonable grounds to suspect that he was not the true source of the donations and said multiple crimes may have been committed.

He has previously admitted to holding multiple meetings with Russian officials in the run-up to the 2016 referendum.

Story continues

Mr Banks has denied the claims dismissing speculation about his links to Russia.

He has insisted the money had come from one of his insurance companies, Rock Services.

Mr Banks has also been considered a person of interest in Mr Mueller's investigation into Russian interference.

The probe has been a regular cause of grievance for Mr Trump, who has publicly criticised the investigation on several occasions.

He recently took the long anticipated move to force out Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, after he ruled himself out of overseeing the investigation.

Mr Mueller would have reported to Mr Sessions but after accusations had emerged that the attorney general had met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least twice while working with the Trump campaign he opted to recuse himself.

While under oath during his confirmation, Mr Sessions denied having made any contact.

Mr Trump was reportedly furious at Mr Session's decision to recuse himself and the president forcing him out has triggered fears that he is preparing to terminate Mr Muellers inquiry.

He has also recently gone on the offensive against Mr Mueller and his Russia investigation and has criticised the special counsel for not being confirmed by the Senate.

The president has claimed, without evidence, that there are "conflicts" that need to be addressed.

Mr Mueller had been Senate confirmed when he became the director of the FBI in 2001. There is also no legal requirement for a special counsel to be confirmed by the Senate.

Mr Trump said: Mueller was not Senate confirmed. Why didnt they get him Senate confirmed?.




Production on Peaky Blinders season five is well underway but we could soon be getting a movie too.

Thats according to Otto Bathurst, the director behind the first three episodes of season one, who says that series creator Steven Knight is busy penning a screenplay for it.

I think its actually being written, Bathurst told Yahoo Movies UK during an interview for his new film Robin Hood. I think Steve, Steve Knight the writer, I think theyre planning something, yeah.

In 2016, Knight said there had been discussions about doing a movie, and last year he firmed up that statement by saying it was probably going to happen though this is the first weve heard of an actual script.

Peaky Blinders movie coming

Cillian Murphy, who leads the show as Tommy Selby, didnt seem too convinced by the idea of a movie when he was asked by Deadline:  Im sort of ambivalent about itIts kind of a sexy idea, but Ill reserve judgment until the idea is presented to me.

Bathurst won a BAFTA for his work on the Birmingham-set gangster series though when it comes to directing the movie, he says Knight and the producers havent asked me yet.

The director makes his silver screen debut with the latest adaptation of the Robin Hood tale, with Taron Egerton playing the titular role.

Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx in Robin Hood

Bathurst says that his film and Peaky Blinders are similar in that they are not slaves to history

Peaky Blinders, Birmingham didnt look anything like that in 1919, he explains. There are some movies that are historical lessons and I love them and they are great, there are some movies that are great and happen to be set in a certain time.

I feel strongly that the Robin Hood story doesnt belong to any specific time.

Robin Hood is in cinemas from 21 November

READ MORE

Taron Egerton not in next Kingsman film

Idris Elba doll looks nothing like Idris Elba

Armie Hammer criticised over Stan Lee tweet


Moscow (AFP) - Russia's top opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Wednesday was allowed to leave Russia, a day after border guards prevented him from flying out of Moscow for a European court ruling.

"He has flown out," Navalny's lawyer Ivan Zhdanov told AFP.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's top critic posted a photo of himself and a border guard on social media at passport control, saying "this time everything was OK."

On Tuesday the 42-year-old anti-corruption campaigner was barred from leaving Russia as he planned to travel to Strasbourg for a hearing at the European court of human rights on whether his recent detentions were politically motivated.

The Russian Federal Bailiff service said at the time he was being prevented from leaving over a 2.1 million ruble ($31,000) fine connected to a 2013 conviction.

But the opposition politician wrote that he had "no unpaid fines" and that "the last time I left the country two weeks ago, everything was ok".

On Wednesday, he said he had incurred financial losses and would sue the bailiff service.

Under Russian law, those who have unpaid debts can be blocked from leaving the country.

Lawyers for the anti-corruption campaigner on Tuesday called the bailiffs who told them that they did not order the ban.

Authorities have in recent months turned up the heat on the top Kremlin critic, after Putin's approval ratings took a beating over an unpopular pension reform and the ruling United Russia party suffered setbacks in regional polls.

Navalny had just finished a month-long sentence in September for organising anti-Kremlin protests when he was immediately re-arrested and charged over a separate rally.

The Yale-educated lawyer was sentenced to a further 20 days and finally released last month.

Navalny was barred from leaving the country between 2013 and 2017, when authorities refused to issue a passport because of legal cases against him.

He was eventually given a travel document and allowed to leave the country in May last year to seek treatment in Spain for damage to his eye after an assailant threw green dye in his face in Moscow.

He was barred from running against Putin in a presidential election in March.
By Sharon Bernstein PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) - Lovingly placed statues of a family of deer still mark the entrance to Mare Reasons' house in Paradise, California, but her woodland home was so thoroughly devoured in the state's deadliest wildfire that only an iron bed and an antique stove remain intact above the rubble. Like many residents of this town of about 27,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, Reasons came to Paradise for its spectacular natural vistas and affordability. "I loved it," said Reasons, 62, who moved here 18 years ago from the expensive coastal city of San Luis Obispo. "I loved smelling the pines in the morning. A very simple life for me." On Thursday, the Camp Fire roared through Paradise reducing Reasons' entire neighborhood to rubble along with the business district and other communities. On a drive into the blackened foothills from nearby Chico, thick smoke lingered, making it difficult to breathe. Burned-out cars dotted the streets and bits of flame burst forth from smoldering ruins. By Tuesday, the fire about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco expanded to 125,000 acres. The death toll remained at 42, a record for a California wildfire, with 228 listed missing. More than 7,600 homes and other structures were destroyed, another record. On a drive to Reasons' lost home, the remains of a roadside sign gave the only clue of a candy factory's site. Police officers searching for survivors cut open an automobile using "Jaws of Life" clippers. Despite the devastation, the town has vowed to rebuild. "We consider ourselves survivors, and we will come back from the ashes," said Paradise Emergency Operations Coordinator Jim Broshears, a resident since 1974. "We are fully committed to building a new Paradise". Rebuilding will take a lot of work, but those who love the town say it will be worth it. Perched on a ridge overlooking the Feather River about 10 miles from the college town of Chico, Paradise was home initially to the Maidu Tribes of Native Americans, according to the town website. The 1848 gold rush brought prospectors. One hot day, a lumber mill owner resting in the shade declared the place to be "Paradise," according to a story on the website. Families and retirees flocked to Paradise in the 1960s; the town incorporated in 1978. The median household income in 2016 was $48,000, according to the U.S. Census, far less than the statewide median of $68,000. NEIGHBORLY TOWN Carol Barnes, whose home was also destroyed, was impressed by the neighborliness in Paradise shortly after she and her husband moved there three years ago. One day her husband's truck broke down, she said, and he started pushing it across the road. He was amazed at how light the truck felt; then he realized two passersby had jumped out of their own vehicles and quietly started helping him push. Barnes and her husband remade their mobile home to look like a woodland cabin. Her husband built a workshop out back to repair old vacuum tube radio sets; she sold antiques from the house. "The town's dead now," Barnes said, sitting on a cot at a Red Cross shelter at the Neighborhood Church next to her two dogs. Her cat was still missing. Bruce Hopkins, 77, a former Vietnam marine sergeant who moved to Paradise from San Francisco, fled on foot when the fire threatened. A man in an SUV picked up him and a neighbor and brought them to the shelter. Hopkins said he was unable to persuade another neighbor to leave, a retiree who was confined to a wheelchair. Donna Broughton learned Tuesday that the mobile home where she lived with her two grandchildren had survived, but it would be a long time before the family would be allowed back in, as firefighters mopped up hotspots and toxic fumes and smoke abated. "I'll stay here and carry on, with or without a house," she said at the Neighborhood Church shelter. "Even if it's a tent in the middle of the forest, it's home." PRIVATE HALF-ACRE Paradise was so affordable that Reasons purchased an 800-square foot house at the end of an unpaved road on wages as an office assistant. To renovate her two-bedroom house, Reasons salvaged antique wood flooring from an old schoolhouse in a nearby town. Her half-acre was secluded enough that she felt comfortable sunbathing in the yard in her underwear. She turned her wooded property into a refuge for injured wildlife: squirrels, raccoons, an opossum, hawks and even hummingbirds. Reasons was surprised last Thursday when the order came to evacuate. She thought an autumn shower had begun which would help douse the fire, but the raindrops were really falling embers. "The transformers were going, 'boom, boom, boom," she said. "People's propane tanks were blowing up. "I thought that it was rain," Reasons said. "It was raining fire." (Additional reporting by Noel Randewich in Chico, California; editing by Bill Tarrant and David Gregorio)
The little known New Zealand newspaper the Gisbourne Herald went viral yesterday, after it confirmed the death of director Spike Lee.

It did, of course, mean Stan Lee, but by the time the gaffe had been made and gone to print, it was already winging its way around the planet on social media.

Stan Lee and Spike Lee (Credit: Getty Images)

(Credit: Gisbourne Herald)

And while some of the papers sub-editing staff may be doing a bit of soul-searching, Spike has taken the news of his demise with good humour.

Taking to Instagram, he posted a snap of the front cover, along with a throwback to Samuel L. Jacksons DJ Mister Senor Love Daddy from Do The Right Thing.

God Bless Stan Lee. Me? Not Yet. And Dats Da Im Still A Live, And Strivin' Truth,Ruth. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF, he wrote.

The blunder has been reported around the world, with the papers editor Jeremy Muir telling Stuff: People are having a bit of fun with it. Thats fine. Its just really embarrassing. Its a human mistake.

The Herald has been running since 1874, with a circulation of nearly 9,000, and is published every evening for the residents of the Gisbourne area on New Zealands North Island.

Stan Lee died on November 12 at the age of 95.

Read more

Filming begins on Godzilla vs Kong

The last Marvel movie Stan Lee will cameo in

First Toy Story 4 teaser revealed




Colombo (AFP) - Sri Lanka's parliament on Wednesday voted out the bitterly disputed government of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, removing one controversial figure but triggering another showdown with a hostile president.

Colombo was in the grip of a power vacuum as a 19-day-old government was defeated on the floor of the legislature, effectively leaving the country without a prime minister and a cabinet of ministers.

The island nation has been in crisis since the president sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with Rajapakse, who served as president until being voted out three years ago.

On Tuesday the Supreme Court overruled President Maithripala Sirisena's dissolution of parliament and halted preparations for a snap election, in a major boost for the ousted prime minister.

In stormy scenes Wednesday, legislators gave their verdict on the two rivals -- with a majority in the 225-member assembly supporting a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse.

Parliament also passed motions declaring illegal the November 9 proclamations made by Sirisena to enshrine the power shift.

However, the result does not yet mean that Wickremesinghe, who has refused to leave the prime minister's residence, has won the constitutional showdown.

In his first response to the tumultuous events in parliament, Sirisena accused Speaker Karu Jayasuriya of violating legislative traditions.

He said signatures of 122 legislators who opposed Rajapakse had not been certified as genuine, but stopped short of an outright rejection of resolution against his nominee for prime minister.

An aide of the president had earlier suggested that Sirisena was likely to hand over power to Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), which remains the largest single group in the assembly, after the vote.

Day-to-day administration in Sri Lanka remains paralysed as the crisis drags on. Constitutionally, it is the president who is empowered to appoint a new prime minister.

Story continues

The UNP said that Sirisena must now call on Wickremesinghe to form a new government.

Wickremesinghe, who left his bunker at the Temple Trees official residence for the first time in nearly three weeks to go to parliament, hailed the vote.

"This is a victory for the people," Wickremesinghe told reporters, condemning the president's actions as "illegal".

He said officials should no longer take orders from the Rajapakse-led "purported government".

- Loyalists flee -

In a chaotic session, 72-year-old Rajapakse and his legislator son Namal walked out of the red-carpeted chamber just before the vote was taken.

"The ayes have it," the speaker announced. "I rule that this House does not have confidence in the government (of Rajapakse)."

Several Rajapakse ministers came out of parliament accusing the speaker of violating parliamentary norms.

"He has no bloody business calling a vote," Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena said. Shortly after the collapse of Rajapakse's administration, three of his ministers switched to Wickremesinghe's side.

Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday, shortly after an admission that Rajapakse did not have a majority. Several UNP legislators said they were offered up to $2.8 million to defect.

Sirisena ordered a snap election on January 5, a move the independent Elections Commission announced was unconstitutional and illegal.

A dozen petitions were filed in the Supreme Court which on Tuesday restored parliament and suspended the January 5 vote.

Parliament held its first session following the court ruling under tight security.

Thousands of armed police, including commandos, deployed along the key approach roads to parliament, which is located on a man-made lake island, with several anti-riot units on standby.

Parliament officials had feared that supporters of Rajapakse's party might try to stop legislators from getting to parliament, but those concerns proved unfounded.
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Tuesday overruled President Maithripala Sirisena's dissolution of parliament in a major boost to sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's fight to reclaim the post from an arch-rival.

The heavily guarded court also halted preparations for a snap election in the latest twist in a power struggle that began when Sirisena dismissed Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that the 225-member parliament will meet on Wednesday, clearing the way to decide which of the duelling pair it backs.

"Parliament must now perform its role by allowing the elected representatives of the people to reach a determination on the legitimacy of their government," Jayasuriya said in a statement.

Amid mounting international concern, Wickremesinghe has refused to accept his sacking and has remained in his official residence while Rajapakse has sought to build a parallel administration.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) is the largest single group in the assembly. He told reporters that he expected to prove his majority.

"I will go to parliament tomorrow (Wednesday) and we will show we are the legitimate government of Sri Lanka," Wickremesinghe said at the Temple Trees residence that has become the opposition headquarters.

Wickremesinghe called the court ruling a "victory for the people and a victory for decent politics in this country".

For its part, Rajapakse's party said they will appeal to a fuller bench of the highest court in the land to reconsider Tuesday's decision.

The controversial former president's legislator son took to Twitter to deny speculation on social media his father was planning to step down and avoid facing a vote in parliament.

"Rumours circulating that PM @PresRajapaksa resigning is completely false," Namal Rajapakse said referring to his father. "We will all attend parliament tomorrow."

Story continues

The UNP led petitions against the dissolution of parliament and the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera, gave the landmark decision to a packed court guarded by hundreds of heavily armed police and commandos.

Tuesday's ruling suspends Sirisena's proclamation dissolving parliament last Friday, pending a final determination in the case.

The court said it would give a final verdict on the petition on December 7, after three more days of hearings.

The judges ordered the independent Elections Commission to halt preparations for the January 5 vote, which Sirisena had announced on Friday.

- Tight security -

Security at the courtroom had been beefed up ahead of the hearing as authorities feared clashes between rival supporters.

President Sirisena's office said he "ordered security chiefs to strengthen the peaceful situation in the country" following the Supreme Court ruling.

However, there was no trouble and supporters of Sirisena melted away when it was known that parliament had been restored.

The United States, European Union and other powers have raised concerns over the crisis in the strategically important island nation of 21 million people.

Only China has recognised the appointment of Rajapakse, who during his decade as president until 2015 relied heavily on Beijing for diplomatic and financial support.

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.

During an earlier stint as prime minister from 2001 until 2004, Wickremesinghe is credited with pulling Sri Lanka out of its first ever recession, in part with reforms that have endeared him to the West.
CHICAGO (AP)  A security guard who was working at a suburban Chicago bar when a black co-worker was fatally shot by a white police officer said Wednesday that he never heard the officer order the other man to drop his gun.

The comments from Dorian Myrickes came hours after Illinois State Police released a statement saying witnesses have told investigators that the officer ordered security guard Jemel Roberson to drop his gun before opening fire. Police were responding to a gunfight early Sunday at Manny's Blue Room in Robbins that injured four people, including Myrickes.

Myrickes, who was shot in the shoulder, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from his hospital room that he clearly heard several people shout at the officer that Roberson  who was holding a suspect at gunpoint  was a security guard.

It was not the only aspect where Myrickes' account differed from that of the news release that Illinois State Police issued Tuesday night that for the first time addressed in detail what happened in the predominantly black community of Robbins just south of Chicago. The agency declined to comment beyond the release, which came as questions have swirled about whether the shooting was justified and whether race played a role.

In its release, state police said Roberson was wearing "plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a Security Guard." However, Myrickes said all the security guards wore knit hats emblazoned with the word "Security" on them and that Roberson wore a black sweat shirt with the word "Security" on the back of shoulder. But he also acknowledged that it's possible the officer could not see the white lettering from where he was standing.

Myrickes was one of six security guards working at the bar at the time, but he is the only one so far to come forward publicly to discuss what happened. A bar patron also told reporters earlier that he heard people yelling at the officer that Roberson was a security guard.

Story continues

Myrickes, 43, said the initial shooting at the bar stemmed from a fight between two groups of people. As security guards tried to separate them and lead them out separate doors, "Somebody came back and opened fire," Myrickes said.

He said he wasn't armed and that he doesn't believe other security guards fired their weapons.

The officer who shot Roberson was from the nearby community of Midlothian and was among several officers from various agencies who responded to the shooting. Myrickes told the AP that the officer ran into the bar and pointed his gun at a bar customer, the bartender and Myrickes. Myrickes said he informed the officer that he was a security guard, and the officer then went outside.

Looking out the door, Myrickes said he "could see Jemel had one guy face down, asking him to put his hands behind his back" when he saw the officer point his weapon at Roberson.

"I never heard the cop demand him to do anything, (but) everybody was telling him (Jemel) was security."

Myrickes also noted that none of the other responding officers opened fire.

The officer's name has not been released. He is on paid leave.

Video of the shooting could reveal exactly what happened, but the agencies involved have not said whether any exists. If any police bodycam video exists, no state law requires that it be released. The Chicago Police Department releases video within 90 days of a shooting, but that policy does not apply because that agency's officers were not involved.

Kulis, who has filed a motion asking a judge to order the agencies to preserve any footage they have, also said he doesn't yet know how many times Roberson was shot or where on his body he was shot.

"I talked to the family after they viewed his body and they said they (authorities) did not tell them how many times he'd been shot," he said.
A Dutch cheese company that tried to argue the taste of its spreadable cheese could be copyrighted was handed a no by the European Unions highest legal authority on Tuesday.

Ruling for the entire E.U. bloc after the Dutch case was referred to it, the European Court of Justice found that taste cannot be protected by the law because it is an idea not an expression of an original intellectual creation.

The New York Times reports that the case was brought by Dutch company Levola, which produces a herbed cheese dip called Heksnkaas. The company sued rival Dutch manufacturer Smilde Foods for copyright infringement after it began making a similar cheese with many of the same ingredients like cream cheese, herbs and vegetables including parsley, leek and garlic.

Levola argued that like other works of literature, art, or science, taste could be copyrighted, while Smilde argued that taste was too subjective for it to qualify for such protection, according to the Times.

The court sided with Smilde, saying that in order earn a copyright, taste needed to qualify as work, deriving from original intellectual creation that could be identifiable with sufficient precision and objectivity.

Unlike, for example, a literary, pictorial, cinematographic or musical work, which is a precise and objective expression, the taste of a food product will be identified essentially on the basis of taste sensations and experiences, which are subjective and variable, the decision cited by the Times read.

Cheese is the not only food product that the European court has delivered a ruling on.

According to the BBC, in July 2018, the court ruled that Kit Kat did not deserve a protected food status. In June 2017, it found that dairy-style names could not be used to brand plant-based foods like tofu in the EU, while in December 2017 it found that a German store could refer its dessert as Champagner Sorbet despite the objections of a champagne lobby group.
Toyota is swooping in to help a nurse whose truck was incinerated when he repeatedly drove straight through the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., risking his own life to rescue people from Adventist Health Feather River, where he manages the intensive care unit.

Allyn Pierce had been trying to escape the blaze when a wall of fire threatened to engulf his Toyota Tundra on Monday, according to the New York Times. Fearing the worst, he recorded a heartbreaking goodbye message to his family, ensuring them that he tried his best to get out. I just kept thinking, Im going to die in melting plastic, he told the Times.

Then, miraculously, a bulldozer came along and cleared a path  but instead of driving forward to save himself, Pierce saw an opportunity to save many. So he made a U-turn and headed right back to the hospital to retrieve and provide medical assistance to patients, colleagues and victims from the surrounding area. In the process, his beloved Tundra took a beating  the flames and severe heat burned and even melted the vehicle beyond recognition.

An Instagram account Pierce set up in 2017 for his truck  which he calls the Pandra  shows photos of the Tundra on its many adventures, but the most recent one shows the vehicle in the aftermath of the disaster. Heres my @toyotausa commercial. This truck literally saved my life today, Pierce writes. My little town of Paradise was literally burning down around me and @the_pandra got me to safety where I could help others  twice.

Story continues

In a post thats now gone viral, Pierce continued, Thanks to the fire fighters, law enforcement and my fellow healthcare workers for the work we all did getting the hospital evacuated and our patients to safety.

The exterior of the white truck is charred in places, which probably prompted Pierce to dub the vehicle Custom Campfire Marshmallow in its Instagram bio. Though the nurse has a sense of humor about the truck, Tundras cost a pretty penny to replace: a 2019 model has an MSRP starting at $33,220. And the vehicle wasnt even the most valuable thing Pierce lost in the California wildfires  his familys home has been destroyed too.

So a friend set up a GoFundMe to raise funds to help Pierce and his family recover financially from the California wildfires. The page has already exceeded its goal, raising more than $23,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. But something else happened thanks to Pierces bravery  and his viral Instagram post. Toyota got wind of it and decided to extend an offer to Pierce  a brand-new, free Toyota Tundra.

We are humbled youd risk your life and Toyota Tundra to drive people to safety. Dont worry about the truck, were honored to get you a new one! the company commented on his post. Pierce responded, No words adding shocked and thankful emojis to express his feelings instead.

Karen Nielsen, a representative for Toyota, told Yahoo Lifestyle, I can tell you that our hearts go out to the victims of the devastating California wildfires. We are extremely grateful to all of the emergency crews who are working tirelessly to extinguish the fires and helping people to safety. We are especially thankful to one hero in particular, Allyn Pierce, for risking his life and sacrificing his Toyota Tundra to drive people to safety. Toyota is so humbled by Mr. Pierces selfless act that were pleased to offer him a brand-new Tundra.

When asked whether Pierce officially accepted the gift, Nielsen said, The offer has been extended, and since this all just happened, the details are still being worked out. Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Pierce and will update this story when we hear back.

In the meantime, thousands of grateful Instagram commenters are promising their loyalty to Toyota  while Pierce is being showered with praise from far and wide. He remains humble, though. Its what anyone would do in that situation, he responded to one commenter. Another congratulated him on being a true hero, to which he responded, So many worked together that day: fire, law, medics, docs and us nurses.

And though he says hes not even sure where his job stands while Adventist Health Feather River Hospital recovers from damages, the GoFundMe page is still accepting donations  and he even struggled with the decision to promote it. Pierce seems confident that one way or another, his family will make it through. We will be fine, he wrote. It will all work out, because it has to.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema has officially captured a Republican-held Senate seat in Arizona. Sinema, who at 41 is one of the youngest women ever elected to the Senate, also happens to be the first Arizona Democrat elected to the Senate in over 30 years. The results, which took almost a full week to tabulate, will come as a disappointment to the president, who bragged the day after the election when Republican Martha McSally was still leading that he personally retired Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.

In Jeff Flakes case its me, pure and simple. I retired him. Im very proud of it, I did the country a great service, Trump said during a press conference at the White House a day after the midterm elections. He is retired. Id like to call it another word, but were going to treat him with great respect.

Democrats are likely thrilled with whatever help the president believes he offered. Not only did they figure out the path to victory in Arizona two years before a special election set to fill a second Senate seat, Democrats defended the Congressional seat Sinema vacated and flipped the one McSally gave up, too. And they did it by winning the hearts and minds of a large share of registered Republicans.

McSally and outside groups supporting her bid tried to paint Sinema as too extreme for Arizona, pointing to the former Green Party candidates protest of the Iraq war  in a pink tutu, no less  and her remark, to a radio host in 2003, that she wouldnt care if he joined the Taliban. The gambit failed, hard: Sinema peeled off 12 percent of Arizonas Republican voters  the highest share of any Democratic Senator, save West Virginias Joe Manchin.

Sinema seems well aware of the fact. In her victory speech, she paid tribute to the late Republican senator (and Trump critic) John McCain. Senator McCain is irreplaceable, but his example will guide our next steps, Sinema told supporters Monday evening. He taught us to assume the best in others, to seek compromise instead of sewing division, and to always put country ahead of party. As your Senator, thats exactly what Ill do.

Story continues

Trump, who was reportedly disappointed that McSally refused to sow doubts about fraud in the days it took to count the outstanding ballots in Arizona, appears to have misjudged his sway with Arizona Republicans  as did Flake.

Flake announced he was retiring from the Senate back in October 2017, telling Morning Joe that his brand of conservatism just didnt appeal to enough Arizona Republicans. The bottom line is if I were to run a campaign that I could be proud of and where I didnt have to cozy up to the president and his positions or his behavior, I could not win in a Republican primary, Flake said. Thats the bottom line.

But McSally, by far the most moderate of the candidates competing, won the Republican primary decisively. She earned roughly double the number of votes as her closest rival, tea party conspiracist Kelli Ward, and triple the number of votes of presidential pardonee and former Maricopa County sheriff, Joe Arpaio. (Arpaio was convicted of contempt of court, a misdemeanor, in 2017 and pardoned by Trump less than one month later.)

Editors note: This post has been updated to reflect the fact that Joe Arpaios criminal conviction for contempt of court was a misdemeanor, not a felony. He received a presidential pardon in 2017. We regret the error.
Donald Trump berated Theresa May over perceived failings on Iran, unfair trade deals and Brexit during a foul-tempered phone call, it has been reported.

The US president is said to have lashed out at Ms May after she phoned him on Friday to congratulate him on the Republican Partys showing in the midterm elections.

Mr Trumps party lost control of the House of Representatives and made only small gains in the Senate.

According to The Washington Post, the billionaire berated the prime minister for not doing enough to contain Iran. Mr Trump pulled the US out of the joint Iran nuclear deal earlier this year, though the other countries party to the agreement said they would try to keep it going, and have said there is no evidence Tehran is breaking the terms of the deal.

He also grilled Ms May on Brexit and complained about trade deals between the US and European countries he viewed as unfair, the paper reported.

The Independent has contacted Downing Street and the White House for comment.

Getting trade deals that favour the US has been a key plank of Mr Trumps agenda and he has long lamented unfair treatment by nations across the globe. South Korea has already signed a fresh trade agreement and Mr Trumps administration is currently pushing Japan to do the same.

On Tuesday he hit out at Emmanuel Macron and said that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs.

The spat with the French president stemmed from comments the En Marche founder made last week, calling for the creation of a European army to defend against Russia, China and even the US. Angela Merkel has since made similar calls.

On Twitter, Mr Trump called that idea very insulting and later mocked his counterparts approval ratings as well as Frances contributions during the world wars.

He tweeted on Tuesday: Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two  How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!

Story continues

Mr Trump also chafed at Mr Macrons recent speech warning against the rise of nationalism in which the 40-year-old said the phenomenon was a betrayal of patriotism in an address apparently aimed at Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump had declared himself a nationalist during a campaign rally before the midterms.

The old demons are rising again, ready to complete their task of chaos and of death, the French president said at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony as the American and Russian leaders looked on.

Continuing his Tuesday rant against Mr Macron, Mr Trump tweeted: By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!........

The Post reported that Mr Trump had passed a furious five days since the midterms both frustrated with the trip abroad, according to a White House official, and angry at late midterms vote-counting in Florida.

On Twitter he hit out at media coverage of his decision not to attend a ceremony on Saturday as part of First World War centenary commemorations.

The president had been due to lay a wreath at the Aisne-Marne cemetery where American war dead are buried but the White House said heavy rain and fog had kept him away  sparking a storm of criticism.

He tweeted on Tuesday: By the way, when the helicopter couldnt fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetery in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!

Mr Trumps dissatisfaction reportedly extends to members of his cabinet  he is said to have expressed a desire to oust both Kirstjen Nielsen, his homeland security secretary, and John Kelly, his chief of staff. His view of the pair has soured due to frustration that his administration is not doing more to address what he has called a crisis at the US-Mexico border.

Immigration is the presidents signature issue and he leaned heavily on it ahead of the midterms vote.

Yet late results showed the Democrats had picked up at least 32 seats in the House, and had flipped seven governors offices and eight state legislative chambers. It marked the partys best midterm performance since 1974  the year Republican president Richard Nixon resigned over Watergate.
President Donald Trump has nominated retired Army Gen. John Abizaid to fill the long-vacant job of U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia amid tensions over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The four-star general, now a fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution think tank and a private consultant, headed the U.S. Central Command from 2003 until 2007, overseeing the Iraq war and military operations across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. economic, diplomatic and strategic partner in the Middle East, though relations have been strained since the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the kingdom. After denying responsibility, the Saudis admitted Khashoggi was slain in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul at the hands of Saudi personnel.

The Saudi ambassador post, which requires Senate confirmation, has been vacant since Trump became president. Trumps selection of a military figure may reflect the kingdoms importance as a customer of U.S. weaponry. The U.S. has chosen not to suspend Saudi arms sales in the wake of Khashoggis death, but has warned of an unspecified response.

U.S. weapons have been linked to the Saudi-led campaign against Yemen, a topic garnering raised interest following Khashoggis killing. Congress is expected to vote this month whether to end American support for the Saudi coalition fighting in Yemen, and the U.S. and U.K. have called for a cease-fire. The conflict has spawned one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises in recent years.

The Trump administration has prioritized the U.S. relationship with the Saudis, placing senior adviser Jared Kushner in charge of bonding with newly minted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Related...

Saudis Claim Jamal Khashoggi Died During A Physical Altercation

Trump Inflates Saudi Arms Deal But Stays Silent On Saudi Cash In His Own Pocket

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey on Wednesday called for an international investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.

"At the current stage we believe an international investigation is a must," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Khashoggi, 59, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen entering the kingdom's consulate on October 2 to obtain paperwork for his marriage.

Turkish media has published gruesome details of the murder. According to a Turkish prosecutor he was strangled and dismembered soon after he stepping through the mission's doors.

After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted Khashoggi had been murdered at the compound but blamed it on a "rogue" operation.

Turkey had initially prioritised cooperation with Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh last month dispatched its chief prosecutor to Istanbul for talks with Turkish authorities and to examine the consulate -- scene of the murder.

Turkish officials however cast doubt on whether Saudi Arabia was willing to genuinely cooperate in its investigation.

"In the beginning we said we formed a working group with Saudi Arabia and that we had no plans to take the (murder) into international court," Cavusoglu said in parliament.

But he added that was not the case any more and the government now believed an international probe was essential.

"We will do whatever needed to shed light on all its aspects of this murder," Cavusoglu said.

Ankara has already shared voice recordings linked to the murder with a number of countries including Saudi Arabia, the United States and its Western allies.
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - The newly elected leader of a self-proclaimed republic in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday promised closer ties to Moscow following polls denounced by Kiev and the West as a sham.

Elections in the Russian-backed breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk at the weekend saw their acting separatist leaders returned to office.

"A course towards the Russian Federation will be continued," Denis Pushilin, the 37-year-old Donetsk leader and a former negotiator with Kiev, told journalists during his first media appearance since the poll.

"This is not only cultural and social integration, but also economic," he added.

"We have already learned to live without Ukraine," said Pushilin, who has been in charge of the region since August after the previous leader was killed in a bomb attack.

Kiev's central election commission dismissed the results of the "illegal" votes and said the exercise was simply an excuse for Moscow to cement its grip on the disputed area.

But the Kremlin said the regions had "nothing left but to self organise" after being "abandoned" by Ukraine.

The so-called republics were declared in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea and supported the outbreak of an anti-Kiev insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Kiev sees the move as a punishment for its pivot to Europe.

Western powers had asked Russia not to allow the polls to go ahead, arguing they would further hamper efforts to end a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people over four years.

While heavy fighting is over, the conflict regularly claims the lives of soldiers and civilians. Kiev said on Saturday that four Ukrainian soldiers had died in recent days.

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.
Chicago (AFP) - Illinois state police on Tuesday were investigating a white officer over the fatal shooting of a "brave" black security guard who had apprehended a suspected gunman at a bar outside Chicago, officials said.

The officer was placed on administrative leave after the incident, which took place in the early hours of Sunday at Manny's Blue Room Lounge in the town of Robbins, 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the Midwestern city.

The security guard, 26-year-old Jemel Roberson, was working at the bar, and intervened when an argument erupted and someone started shooting.

Several local police forces responded to the incident, in which four people were wounded, including the gunman. None had life-threatening injuries.

A police officer from the nearby village of Midlothian arrived at the scene and shot Roberson, despite the guard wearing a uniform with "security" emblazoned on it, according to witnesses.

Roberson "had somebody on the ground with his knee in back, with his gun in his back, like, 'Don't move,'" witness Adam Harris told Chicago television station WGN.

"Everybody was screaming out, 'Security!' He was a security guard," Harris said, but police "saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him."

Roberson died of his injuries at a hospital.

The officer under investigation has not been formally identified, but a clerk at the department confirmed the officer was white, and was placed on administrative leave pending the inquiry.

"Jemel Roberson was a brave man who was doing his best to end an active shooter situation," Midlothian Police Chief Daniel Delaney said in a statement Tuesday.

Delaney, who supervises a force of 34 officers, said state police were investigating the shooting in order to "ensure transparency and maintain public trust."

"The Midlothian Police Department is completely saddened by this tragic incident and we give our heartfelt condolences to Jemel, his family and his friends," Delaney said.

Story continues

The Illinois State Police has not formally commented on the incident.

Roberson's family has sued the village of Midlothian and the unnamed officer over his death, alleging that the shooting was "excessive and unreasonable."

Roberson reportedly was an aspiring police officer.

An online GoFundMe campaign raised more than $90,000 to pay for Roberson's funeral expenses -- almost doubling the total amount of donations in less than a day, as news spread on social media.

The shooting was the latest in a long line of deadly encounters between police and African Americans that have sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.
Washington (AFP) - The United States is facing a national security and military crisis and could lose in a war against Russia or China, a bipartisan congressional panel warned in a report Wednesday.

Congress had tasked the National Defense Strategy Commission to look at President Donald Trump's sweeping National Defense Strategy (NDS), which highlights a new era of "Great Power competition" with Moscow and Beijing.

The panel, run by a dozen former top Democratic and Republican officials, found that just as the US military faced budget cuts and diminishing military advantages, authoritarian nations like China and Russia are pursuing buildups aimed "at neutralizing US strengths."

"America's military superiority -- the hard-power backbone of its global influence and national security -- has eroded to a dangerous degree," the commission said.

In their report, the panel found America's focus on counter-insurgency operations this century resulted in it slipping in other warfighting areas such as missile defense, cyber and space operations, and anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

"Many of the skills necessary to plan for and conduct military operations against capable adversaries -- especially China and Russia -- have atrophied," the report states.

It lambasts "political dysfunction and decisions made by both major political parties," especially budget control measures implemented in 2011.

"The convergence of these trends has created a crisis of national security for the United States," the report notes.

While the NDS points the Pentagon in the right direction, it "too often rests on questionable assumptions and weak analysis."

"It leaves unanswered critical questions regarding how the United States will meet the challenges of a more dangerous world," the report found.

The commission also said that across Asia and Europe, American influence is being steadily eroded and military balances have shifted in "decidedly adverse" ways that have raised the risk of conflict.

Story continues

"The US military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict," the commission found.

"It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia. The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously."

Though the Pentagon this year has a budget of more than $700 billion, far more than Russia and China combined, the commission said the sum is still "clearly insufficient" to meet the goals laid out in the NDS.

Commissioners made a series of recommendations including a 3-5 percent annual increase in the defense budget.
Washington (AFP) - US lawmakers returned to work Tuesday for the first time since contentious midterm election campaigns, with Congress facing a spending showdown and Democrats eager to protect special prosecutor Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

Also on Capitol Hill will be the newly elected members of the Senate and House of Representatives, including the two Democrats who flipped Republican-held Senate seats, as they attend orientation sessions ahead of their swearing in next January.

Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Nevada's Jacky Rosen, both of whom ousted incumbent Republicans in their races, met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday morning.

On the Republican side, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was scheduled to meet his party's three new members Wednesday.

Democrats reclaimed the House from Republicans in last Tuesday's election, but President Donald Trump's party retained control of the Senate. The changes take effect on January 3, 2019.

One potentially controversial arrival on Capitol Hill would be that of Florida Governor Rick Scott, who is locked in an uncalled Senate race with incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and who reportedly stated he could travel to Washington this week.

The Florida race is undergoing a tense mandatory recount, with Trump and other senior Republicans openly accusing county officials of fraud.

Trump has repeatedly weighed in on the race, including on Monday when he claimed, without evidence, that an honest Florida vote count was not possible due to "massively infected" ballots.

During the "lame-duck" session -- when Congress meets between the election and the seating of the new Congress -- lawmakers face a December 7 deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown by passing a spending measure that funds the Department of Homeland Security through fiscal year 2019.

It could be tricky, as Trump has called for new funding for his wall on the southern US border with Mexico, an issue that has divided some congressional Republicans.

Meanwhile Democrats and some Republicans want to attach to the spending bill legislation that would protect Mueller and his investigation, after Trump sacked attorney general Jeff Sessions and replaced him with Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has drawn criticism over his denial of Russia's meddling in the 2016 US elections.
Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar. Pic: Reuters

Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar announced on Wednesday (14 November) that the text of the Brexit deal with the UK will be put to a vote in the Irish parliament.

While noting that the Brexit deal was still a draft that is yet to be agreed by the UK government and that it was not legally necessary for Irish lawmakers to approve the text, Varadkar said it was his strong view that his countrys parliament would have a say.

A debate on the deal could be held as soon as next week, he said, and members of parliament would receive a briefing on Wednesday evening.

But Varadkar was circumspect, noting that a lot of things could go wrong with the draft Brexit deal in the coming days, and that prime minister Theresa May was facing a very important and very sensitive cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

I dont want to say anything here today that might upend that cabinet meeting or make things any more difficult than they are already for the prime minister, he said.

If the UK approves the text, however, Varadkar said that the EU may be in a position to hold an emergency summit for the blocs leaders before the end of November.

READ MORE: Dont be fooled  the biggest Brexit battle starts now

While stating again that the intention of the Northern Ireland backstop was that it should never have to be invoked and that it be temporary if it is implemented, he emphasised that it could not have an expiry date and that it would not be possible for any one side to withdraw from it unilaterally.

Media reports suggest that a review clause within the text of the backstop could allow for an independent panel to arbitrate a good faith end mechanism for the backstop.

In one of the most significant breakthroughs for Brexit talks in months, negotiators from the UK and EU came to an agreement on the highly contentious issue of the backstop, the clause of the withdrawal agreement that aims to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland.

Story continues

READ MORE: EU and UK negotiators reach breakthrough on Irish border

The text, it has been reported, provides for just one backstop to prevent a hard border, and will come in the form of a temporary UK-wide customs arrangement that will include specific provisions for Northern Ireland.

Varadkar said on Wednesday that the agreement would be an international treaty that would continue to apply even if there was a change in government in Ireland or the UK.

Noting that the 1991 Good Friday peace agreement is protected in the text of the deal, Varadkar said the Irish government would offer a briefing to political parties from Northern Ireland on Thursday morning.

He said it was quite a difficult time for the unionist community in Northern Ireland. Many of them may be feeling vulnerable, many of them might be feeling isolated and many of them may be quite worried about what may be agreed in the coming days.

Varadkar said that Ireland respected the territory of the UK and Northern Irelands principle of consent.

There can be no change to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland unless a majority of Northern Ireland say so and we are very happy to have that written into any agreement, he noted.

READ MORE: The pound dives as investors fret about draft Brexit deal: There are lots of hurdles to clear
A Wisconsin high school student who refused to raise his arm in an apparent Nazi salute for a controversial pre-prom photo told CNN on Tuesday that he had felt very scared and uncomfortable.

Jordan Blue, now a senior at Baraboo High School, said that in May of this year, he and his male classmates had been posing for pictures in front of a local courthouse before their junior prom when the photographer told them to raise your hand.

The way the students had taken [that direction] was out of control, Blue told CNNs New Day on Tuesday. My peers should not have raised it in this specific way that was the offensive way and hurtful way.

"It was a very scary moment. It was very shocking and upsetting."



Student describes moment when photo was taken with a group of his male, mostly white Wisconsin high school classmates with many of their arms raised in what appeared to be Nazi salutes. https://t.co/O5GHQu54F4 pic.twitter.com/vZolVwIXjz  New Day (@NewDay) November 13, 2018

The photo, which appears to show dozens of male students from Baraboo Highs 2019 graduating class throwing up a Sieg Heil, went viral on Sunday after it resurfaced on Twitter. Blue was one of several boys who did not join in.

The Baraboo School District, in coordination with the Baraboo Police Department, announced Monday that they were investigating the incident and planned to pursue any and all available and appropriate actions, including legal.

Knowing the outcome of this situation, I would not have gone up there, Blue told CNN. It was a scary moment and it was very shocking and upsetting. It was a huge misrepresentation of the school district and the community of Baraboo.

In that moment, I was uncomfortable, he added. I was very hurt. I was very scared for the future. ... It was wrong. It shouldnt be OK and its not OK.

Story continues

Peter Gust, the photographer who took the picture, has defended himself, saying he told the students to wave goodbye to their parents, not to make the Nazi gesture.

I didnt tell them to salute anything, Gust told Madison 365. There was nothing that diminished the quality of anyones life. There was nothing that diminished anyones stature in society, nothing that was intended to point a finger at anyone in their class that may have some kind of difference. There was none of that.

The photo was available for purchase on Gusts website until he removed it on Monday, citing public backlash.

Clarification: This story has been updated to specify that the comments CNN attributed to a statement from Peter Gust were given in an interview to Madison 365.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Nicola Lissimore kept her pets in absolute squalor at her home (Caters)

A woman has been banned from keeping animals for life after four cats were found dead in her squalid house.

Police attempted to get inside Nicola Lissimores home in Wolverhampton after they monitored her for several days.

They attempted to get in through a back door  but were unable to due to cat faeces blocking it.

Police were initially unable to get into the home through a back door because there was so much cat faeces blocking it (Caters)

Having finally managed to get inside, police and an RSPCA inspector began gagging due to the smell of ammonia that met them.

They found four dead cats alongside 10 others who were starving and suffering from dehydration.

Piles of rubbish and dried faeces were strewn throughout the house, while fleas were found jumping at the front door.

MORE: Tony Blair blasts Jeremy Corbyn as he says it is gut-wrenching that Labour isnt calling for second Brexit vote

MORE: James Bulgers father claims sons killer Robert Thompson has been rewarded for murdering toddler

Lissimore, 49, did not let the cats go outside and there were no signs of the animals being fed or watered.

Inspector Dawn Burrell went to the address and was unable to contact the owner but could see a number of emaciated cats through a window.

She said: This was one of the worst properties I have entered in my thirty years in the job.

There were also piles of rubbish and faeces strewn around the house in Wolverhampton (Caters)

It was so sad to see these dead cats just left in the filth and the others were either emaciated or had other health problems which had not been addressed.

We found four dead cats amongst the piles of faeces which was piled high, there was rubbish strewn around and the only water available in the property was from a bathroom tap which was left running but the door was closed so they couldnt access it.

The surviving cats have been taken in by the RSPCA, while some have been re-homed.

Police found four dead cats along with 10 others that were starving and dehydrated (Caters)

Lissimore, from Wolverhampton, West Mids, pleaded guilty to two animal welfare offences when she appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court on Friday.

She was given a 12-week jail term suspended for 18 months and will be be required to undertake a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement for 30 days.

Story continues

She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and pay 300 costs and a 115 victim surcharge.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo
The Vatican halted a plan by U.S. bishops to address the age-old sexual abuse issues plaguing the Roman Catholic Church.

At the insistence of the Holy See, we will not be voting on the two action items in our documentation regarding the abuse crisis, said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.

Americas Catholic leaders hoped to vote on the first code of conduct for bishops. This would make it easier to investigate misconduct and abuse in the Catholic Church.

The announcement was made at an annual meeting, and many were left disappointed and frustrated by the news from Rome.

We can bring a lot in terms of what weve managed to accomplish over 16 years, in terms of cleaning up our act, making sure our churches are safe for children, our schools are safe for children, said Bishop Christopher Coyne.

Leaders planned to hold bishops more responsible for reported cases of misconduct and abuse.

Even though we cannot vote, please pray that we bishops will have a frank discussion on how we can be accountable and send our representatives to Rome in February with a clear message for their discussions.  Bishop Schlert (@BishopSchlert) November 13, 2018

Protesters were outside the conference, some holding signs.

A representative for BishopAccountability.org, Anne Barrett Doyle, said, I am stunned and disappointed at the lack of courage being shown by the conference. These are American children being hurt.

In Pennsylvania, a grand jury named more than 300 clergy members in a 2018 report that found more than 1,000 children had been abused.

And a Catholic Church-commissioned report in 2004 found that more than 4,000 U.S. Catholic priests faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years.

The issues facing the Catholic Church will be tabled until a global summit scheduled for February.
Dubai (AFP) - Yemeni rebels are planting landmines around the key port of embattled Hodeida, employees said Wednesday, as a loyalist push to take the insurgent-held city appears to have stalled.

The Huthi rebels, who seized the Red Sea city in 2014, have claimed the mining of areas across Hodeida province, airing footage late Tuesday of what they said were landmine explosions targeting pro-government forces.

Three port employees reached by telephone said the rebels had also begun to mine entryways to the port overnight.

The workers said the Huthis had planted explosives near two of the port's gates, one that leads to Jizan Road, a main street in the city's north, and the other near the Alsanabel flour mill company.

"There is only one entrance left into the port, and that is the main gate that leads to Mina Street that trucks use," one employee, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

Hodeida port came under attack on Monday night for the first time since June, when government troops supported by a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive to take the city from the Iran-backed Huthis.

The port's deputy director, Yahya Sharafeddine, said the main entrance to the docks had been hit but was fully functioning.

Nearly four years into the war, diplomatic pressure is rising to end fighting in Hodeida, whose docks are the entry point for nearly all food imports and humanitarian aid into impoverished Yemen.

The United Nations has warned an attack on the port would be "catastrophic" in a country where half the population is at risk of starvation.

The UN is pushing for peace talks by the end of the year.

Hodeida port is under a near-total blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies, who accuse Iran of smuggling arms to the Huthis.

Tehran denies the accusation.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the conflict in 2015 to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
The Popular Resistance Committees' military wing released Tuesday footage of the a February attack on an IDF patrol on the southern Gaza border, in which four soldiers were wounded.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter



An officer and a soldier from the combat engineering unit Yahalom were severely wounded, a company commander from Golani's 13th Battalion was lightly wounded, and a Golani command post soldier was moderately wounded when an explosive device went off near an IDF patrol near Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha.

Footage of terror attack in which 4 IDF soldiers were wounded in February

X

The explosive device was affixed to a Palestinian flag, which was placed near the fence under the cover of demonstrations on the border.

Golani and combat engineering forces were inspecting several suspicions objects along the border fence when the explosive went off.

Footage of terror attack in which 4 IDF soldiers were wounded in February

Soldier wounded on Gaza border evacuated to the hospital (Photo: Haim Horenstein)

An initial inquiry into the incident found that trackers scoured the area before combat engineering soldiers approached the flag under cover of the Golani soldiers.
The UN Security Council failed on Tuesday to agree on any action on the fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group in Gaza.

Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi told reporters after the closed consultations late Tuesday that "we were not able to find a solution to the situation in Gaza" because of divisions in the most powerful UN body.

Al-Otaibi said that "the majority of member states raised the issue that the council should do something, and one of the issues that has been introduced is that the Security Council should consider going on a visit to the occupied territories."
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon played the Code Red rocket-alert siren during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council Tuesday in an effort to demonstrate what Israelis living in border communities have to contend with when Hamas launches barrages of rockets at Israel.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter



The Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, but diplomats said there was no agreement on how to address the crisis.

Israeli Amb. to the UN Danny Danon speaks at Security Council

X

Kuwait and Bolivia requested the meeting following the worst flare-up in Gaza since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.

Speaking at the meeting, Danon slammed Security Council members who put the blame on Israel for the latest fighting with Hamas in Gaza, calling them "morally bankrupt." He also rejected calls for restraint on both sides, dubbing it "hypocrisy."

"There is no such thing as both sides," the Israeli envoy told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "There is Hamas that attacks and fires over 460 rockets at civilians, and there is Israel that protects its people."

Israeli Amb. to the UN Danny Danon speaks at Security Council

When asked about the botched IDF mission that sparked the Hamas attacks and Israeli bombing of Gaza, Danon insisted, "We take action to protect our people, and we will continue to do that."

"Every time Hamas fires a rocket, children, adults, and families across the country are running in fear to bomb shelters. The Security Council should condemn Hamas for its aggressive assault on civilians and declare it once and for all a terror organization," Danon said.

"Israel has cooperated with the UN to improve the conditions in the strip. However, the rampant escalation in Gaza proves there are elements that push for another round of fighting," he added.

"Hamas uses Gaza's residents as human shields.... The State of Israel will respond with force to those acting against it, and they will feel the IDF's might day and night," the Israeli ambassador warned.

Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi said that the majority of council members believe the top UN body "should do something" and some suggested a visit to the region, but no decision was taken.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have fired more than 460 rockets into Israel since Monday night, which claimed the life of one man in Ashkelon, while Israeli aircraft have hit 160 targets belonging to the terror organizations in response. The warring sides have since agreed to a ceasefire.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Netanyahu

Speaking to reporters after the 50-minute meeting, Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the council was "paralyzed" and had "failed to shoulder its responsibility" for the situation in Gaza by lack of action to end the violence.

"There is one country that is not allowing discussion at the council," Mansour said in reference to the US, which has taken a pro-Israeli stance led by President Donald Trump.

There was no statement from the council on the crisis. Such statements are agreed by consensus by all 15 council members.

Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza as the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck terror targets, flattening buildings and destroying Hamas infrastructure.

The latest round of violence began late Sunday with a botched Israeli special forces operation inside the Gaza Strip, during which IDF Lt. Col. M was killed and another officer was moderately wounded in a fire exchange that erupted between the army and Hamas.

The Palestinians responded with rocket and mortar fire. A 19 year-old IDF soldier was critically wounded after a Cornet anti-tank missile struck a bus near the Gaza border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Wednesday Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva and met with the IDF officer who was moderately wounded in Gaza on Sunday during a military operation in the strip.
A vehicle was set on fire in the Palestinian village of Urif near Nablus.

In addition, malicious graffiti warning "don't play with us" was spayed near the vehicle.

The police launched an investigation into the suspected hate crime.
A source in the coalition said Wednesday that if Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman will "indeed resign, the dispersal of the Knesset is inevitable."

Lieberman will convene his Yisrael Beiteinu party for a special meeting later on Wednesday, following which he is expected to make an announcement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Wednesday the Security Cabinet's decision to accept a ceasefire with Hamas.

At the official memorial ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the death of former prime minister David Ben-Gurion, Netanyahu said that "at times of emergency, when crucial decisions are made, the public cannot always be a partner to the determining factors at play, since this information must be kept away from the enemy."

"Ben-Gurion was a great leader of the Jewish people. In moments of trial he made fateful decisions. Sometimes he did so contrary to popular opinion. However, over time, these decisions turned out to be correct. True leadership is not doing the easy thing; it is doing the right thing, even if it is difficult. Sometimes true leaders face criticism when they know secret and sensitive information that they cannot share with public, in this case, the residents of the south," the prime minister added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, saying that Hamas rulers "begged for a cease-fire and they know why."
Israelis living in communities near the Gaza border took to the streets on Tuesday evening following the news that the government had agreed to the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire with Hamas after a tense 24 hours of hostilities, which saw more than 460 rockets fired at Israeli territory and claimed the life of a 48-year-old man in Ashkelon.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter



The Home Front Commands announcement that the security restrictions placed on residents in the area had been lifted was met with anger, with the residents burning tires and blocking the entrance to the city of Sderot for over an hour.

They condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy in a city considered a stronghold of his Likud party, holding up signs bearing slogans aimed against the prime minister, such as Bibi, were fed upwe want security, and Treat Sderot the same as Tel Aviv.

Gaza border communities residents protest ceasefire (Photo: Gadi Kabalo)

The protesters wished to convey that they were ready to pay the necessary price if Israel launches a wide-scale military operation in Gaza to end the rocket fire once and for all. The weak Israeli response, as they perceive it, would only lead to another round of fighting in the near future.

At some point, the demonstration turned violent with clashes erupting between protesters and the police, as well as with the drivers who had been stuck in traffic for hours due to the disturbances. Protesters even tried to pull the firehose out of the hands of the officers who were in the process of putting out the tires that had been set alight.

Protesters burn tires during demonstration over ceasefire with Hamas (Photo: Gadi Kabalo)

"A ceasefire again?" asked Sderot resident Meital Edri. "For how long, Mr. Prime Minister? We want to raise our children in a normal way. We want quiet just like in the center of the country. Do we not deserve it?"

Raya Shamis joined the demonstration along with her three daughters, Linoy, Romi and Ofri. "I'm 43 years old and don't know how long this will last. What am I going to say to my daughters? How long will this nightmare continue? she vented.

Gaza border communities residents protest ceasefire (Photo: Reuters)

On Wednesday morning, hundreds of high-school students gathered outside the Shaar HaNegev High Schoolone of the largest in the Gaza border regionand declared a strike in protest of the ceasefire.

"After a day of missile attacks, endless rocket alert sirens, one casualty and many wounded, we refuse to remain indifferent to the situation," the students said in a statement, adding they intend to continue their strike in the upcoming days.

Earlier this month, the students marched some 90 kilometers from the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council to the Knesset in Jerusalem, demanding to be allow to "grow up in peace."

Students from Gaza border region announce strike (Photo: Roee Idan)

"Two weeks ago they said that there was an arrangement (with Hamas), and I said that we dont have anyone to rely on anymore. I dont know what to say, said Alon Levy, one of organizers of the protest.
Avigdor Lieberman resigned from his post as defense minister on Wednesday in protest of the latest ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, criticizing it as a "capitulation to terrorism."

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter



"The question being asked is why now. As far as I'm concerned, what happened yesterdaythe truce combined with the process with Hamasis capitulating to terror. It has no other meaning," Lieberman said at during a special meeting of his Yisrael Beytenu faction.

He also urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to set a date for elections "as early as possible."

Avigdor Lieberman resigns defense minister post (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

Lieberman charged that in negotiating with Hamas, Israel was "buying short-term quiet, with the price being severe long-term damage to national security."

Lieberman has been a vocal proponent of harsh Israeli military action against Hamas in Gaza, even as the government authorized a Qatari cash infusion to the impoverished enclave last week and limited itself to air strikes rather than a wider campaigns during this week's fighting.

"It's no secret there have been disagreements between the prime minister and myself in recent months," Lieberman said. "I'll mention allowing in Qatari-funded fuel, which I thought was a mistake. It was only after the prime minister issued a written order that I had to allow the Qatari-funded fuel into the strip."

He lamented the fact that "on the one hand we pass in the Knesset a law to deduct terror money (from tax funds Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority), while on the other hand we allow cash money to be sent to terrorists in the Gaza Strip."

"Were I to stay in office, I would not be able to look southern residents in the eye," Lieberman explained.

Lieberman arrives at the special Yisrael Beytenu faction meeting (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

"There's no reason for these terror leaders in the Gaza Strip to feel comfortable and walk around freely," he stressed. "They come to the protests on the border and incite against the State of Israel. Hamas is not talking about coexistence or recognition of Israel, they don't want to talk about how to improve the employment in the Gaza Strip. Their budget, some $270 million a year, they continue investing in (military) buildup."

Lieberman's resignation will come into effect 48 hours after he submits a formal letter to Netanyahu. His Yisrael Beytenu party will also leave the government, with Immigration and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver also expected to tend in her resignation.

This would leave Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is expected to take on the defense portfolio, with only a one-seat majority in the Knesset.

Elections are not due until November 2019, but Lieberman's resignation increases the likelihood of an earlier vote.

A spokesman for Netanyahu's Likud Party played down that option. "There is no need to go to an election during what is a sensitive period for national security. This government can see out its days," the spokesman, Jonatan Urich, said on Twitter.

Minister Yariv Levin (Likud), the liaison between the Knesset and government, also rejected the possibility of early elections. "Our responsibility is to maintain a stable right-wing government; therefore the defense minister's resignation is inappropriate," he said.

"This government will exist as long as all of its members work together, and it goes without saying we won't allow anyone to take advantage of the situation for extortion and for irresponsible conduct," Levin added.

Yariv Levin (Photo: Yariv Katz)

Simcha and Leah Goldin, the parents of Lt. Hadar Goldin who was killed in Gaza in 2014 and whose remains have been held by Hamas since, praised Lieberman's resignation. "The defense minister's clear and resounding comments must be etched into the hearts of all Israeli citizens who hold the IDF's values and shared responsibility sacred."

Stressing there must be no arrangement with Hamas without the return of the Israelis being held by Hamas, the parents thanked Lieberman "for his steadfast support during his entire tenure and especially over the past few months."

Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay also commended Lieberman. "This is the way to actif one fails in his job, one must resign," he said.

He also called on Netanyahu to resign, saying the prime minister failed "to provide residents in communities on the Gaza border with security. He is as much responsible for Israel's security as the defense minister."

Zionist Union head Avi Gabbay (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Gabbay joined Lieberman's call for early elections. "We'll choose between those believing a change is possible, and the prime minister and his people, who believe they should be grateful for what they get. We believe a change is possible, and that security can be restored," he asserted.

Opposition head Tzipi Livni likewise called on the government to dissolve. "Neither peace nor security were achieved. Going to elections now would result in an emergency coalition headed by the Zionist Union. We will restore security and we'll act to achieve peace," she asserted.

"The resounding security failure in the south is a spit in the faces of the Gaza border residents and a severe blow to the State of Israel's deterrence," Livni went on to say.

Palestinians declare victory

The Palestinian terror groups in Gaza rejoiced at Lieberman's resignation, with Hamas he is "admitting defeat and acknowledging his inability to handle the Palestinian resistance."

"This is a political victory for Gaza, which succeeded in standing strong and causing a political earthquake in Israel," Hamas added in a statement.

Hamas poster: 'Haniyeh kicked Lieberman out within 24 hours'

Islamic Jihad also saw the resignation as "a victory to our people's steadfast resistance to the occupation."

The Popular Resistance Committees called Lieberman's resignation "a quality victory for the resistance after (Israel's) security and military failure in Gaza."

Sweets handed out in Rafah to celebrate Lieberman's resignation

On social media, many memes posted compared Lieberman's resignation to the survival of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyehwho Lieberman promised to eliminate within 48 hours of taking the office of defense minister.

In Rafah, meanwhile, sweets were handed out on the streets in a show of joy at Lieberman's resignation.
An Israeli woman was Killed overnight Tuesday in Bolivia.

The woman was severely wounded after a 200-kilogram rock fell on her leg. Extreme weather conditions prevented the rescue helicopter from evacuating her to receive treatment, and she eventually succumbed to her wounds.
The time has come for us to understand what every child in Gaza already knows: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Hamas to stay in power. Because the alternatives to Hamas do not suit him, he prefers Hamas to stay in charge.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter



Netanyahu refrains from taking over Gaza because he does not know what to do with it on the day after. He rejects the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, because he doesn't want to be responsible for the attack that would come from a reconstructed strip. He blocks the entry of the Palestinian Authority into Gaza because having the West Bank and Gaza under the control of two weakened and hostile Palestinian factions is convenient for him. It is not a matter of divide and conquer, but of divide and flounder.





Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

The way the political leadership decided to end the recent round of fighting was scandalous. Every member of the Cabinet pretended to be Rambo, and none of them was willing to take responsibility for a military move. "Liar," Netanyahu says of (now former) Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman; "No, you're a liar," Lieberman says of the prime minister; "No," says Education Minister Naftali Bennett, "you're both liars."

We had divided Cabinet meetings in the past, during wars and between wars. It's not the first time we hear about accusations flying around and information leaks, but rivalry between Cabinet members had seldom reached such a low point.

The ministers of the current government frequently complain about the professional ranks, claiming they prevent them from governing. Cabinet member Ayelet Shaked wears this argument like a badge of honor.

Security Cabinet meeting (Photo: Ariel Harmoni, Ministry of Defense )

On Tuesday, Shaked and her colleagues chanced upon a golden opportunity: Hamas fired its 460 rockets at Israel. Each Cabinet member promoted his/her own deadly, perfect solution for the escalation on the southern front. And thensilence. None of them demanded to put their marvelous plans to a vote. These "glory seekers" hid under IDF uniforms.

The problem did not arise from this week's 48 hours of fire. The prime ministerwho during the 51 days of Operation Protective Edge learned that bombings can't bring down Gazacame to the right conclusion: It's better to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, with minimal casualties, and minimal damage.

Netanyahu is responsible for the failure of Israel's policy in Gaza. Not just this week, but in his nine years as prime minister. It's not true that Netanyahu has no policy, he does have one: he is a devout believer in perpetuating the present situationsaying yes to Hamas, and no to rehabilitating Gaza. Unfortunately, the recurring fighting rounds are part of the existing situation.

Wreckage in Gaza (Photo: EPA)

As in every round, the IDF is flaunting the damage it caused in Gazaso many headquarters and houses have been destroyed. This is an empty claim, since no one in Israeleven at the far rightis admiring the houses bombed in Gaza. Hamas itself is not afraid of the sight of bombed buildings. Nevertheless, in every single round, the IDF claims it dealt a fatal blow to Hamas. A few months pass, and the phoenix rises again.

The premier built his election campaign on his own personal success. World leaders admire him; the Iranians are afraid of him; Hamas is deterred; Abbas is humiliated; and the country is safeonly he can do this.

In recent weeks, cracks have begun to show, and even Netanyahu's "base," including those who demonstrated in Sderot against the government policy in Gaza, understands this.
Sweets were distributed to residents of the Gaza Strip in celebration of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman's resignation on Wednesday. Spirits in Gaza are high, especially since the move came shortly after the last round of escalation, which was perceived by the residents of the Gaza Strip as a Palestinian victory.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett called a meeting Wednesday with the Bayit Yehudi Knesset members following the dramatic resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Apparently, party members believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should give the defense minister's job to Bennett. If Netanyahu fails to do so, members of the Bayit Yehudi will seek early elections.

At the same time, the premier began to consult with coalition leaders and senior Likud officials in an effort to stabilize the coalition.
The resigning Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman thanked the IDF on Wednesday evening in a Tweet, and said that It was an honor and a privilege to be your Defence Minister.

Lieberman added: I send strength to the residents of the south, who have been demonstrating personal and civilian courage. You are the true pioneers of our times. My heart is with the families of the prisoners and of the missing.
BEIRUT - Christian rivals from the Lebanese civil war, Samir Geagea and Suleiman Frangieh, shook hands with each other on Wednesday, marking a formal reconciliation to end more than four decades of enmity.

Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) political party, and Frangieh, head of the Marada party, have been foes since the early days of the 1975-1990 civil war.

The two parties had armed militias during the conflict that battled against each other. The war, which drew in regional powers, included fighting between the country's main sects and rival factions within those sects.

The men, both Maronite Christians, met to reconcile at the seat of the sect's Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in Bkerki, north of Beirut. They shook hands with Rai and then with each other after several failed reconciliation attempts over the years.

Geagea has been accused of leading a raid in 1978 on the home of Frangieh's father, Tony Franjieh, a rival Maronite Christian chieftain, who was killed with his wife, daughter and others. Geagea has said he was wounded before reaching Frangieh's house, and did not take part himself.

This is the second rapprochement of recent years between civil war Maronite Christian rivals.
Egyptian intelligence officials are to arrive in Gaza on Thursday in order to continue talks with Hamas leaders regarding the ceasefire and arrangements in the strip.

Hamas officials will head to Cairo on the weekend to continue discussions about reconciliation with the PLO.
The Bayit Yehudi party announced on Wednesday that it was unanimously decided to demand the defence ministry after Avigdor Liebermans resignation.
The Bayit Yehudi Party announced at the end of their party meeting that they will demand of the PM the defense minister post for party Chairman Naftali Bennett after the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. They threatened early elections if their demand is not heeded.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman was right in claiming that the Cabinet's decision on Tuesday was a "surrender to terrorism." This is despite the fact that Lieberman is aware of the "hidden" issues that the prime minister referred to when he tried to explain the decision that Lieberman called "flimsy." Lieberman simply does not attribute the same importance to them.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter



Besides, the very resignation, and Lieberman knows it, is not helpful. It gives a very important asset to Hamas free of charge, which will encourage them no less than the cabinet's decision. The organization yesterday proposed to Netanyahu to fire the defense minister, "who bore responsibility for the latest cycle of violence." They could not have dreamt that their proposal would become a reality within 24 hours.

Avigdor Lieberman (Photo: Ehud Zwigenberg)

However, he who holds the position must possess several features:

He must be a skilled and influential politician, so that he will be able to pass the decisions in the coalition and cabinet that he and the defense establishment deem necessary.

He must have common sense and self-confidence, so that he can present difficult questions to IDF generals and senior members of the defense establishment without trying to flatter and appease them.

He must be a leader capable of demanding answers to the questions he asks as well as ensure that the instructions he gives are followed.

He has to have a moral backbone and vision, so as not to be dragged by the cries of the masses into making populist decisions on issues that affect human life and the existence of the nation. In this matter, Lieberman's position and conduct in the Elor Azaria saga must not be forgotten.

Of all these qualifications, Lieberman had only two: common sense and political skill.

He lacked the other qualifications, so he hardly left his mark and did not affect the strategic agenda and national security. His influence on the IDF's structure, organization, and equipment was also not great, to put it mildly.

In the political sphere, that is, in the cabinet, he was one of equals, and not as important and influential as he should have been on issues of war and peace.

This is not a coincidence. Lieberman deliberately sought to be defense minister as a springboard for the post of prime minister, his real goal. A reasonable performance as defense minister without major mishaps was supposed to give him the legitimacy to enter the Prime Minister's Office someday, when the timing is right.

Therefore, Lieberman gave the chief of staff and the generals of the General Staff almost complete freedom of action in everything related to the operation and structure of the IDF. He rarely intervened in routine matters, but promised that Prime Minister Netanyahu will be in the loop on all decisions that had a political and strategic significance.

In matters of the Defense Ministry, he was much more active, especially in subjects he had an understanding in, such as the issue of providing protection to the towns in the shadow of the conflict and the defense industries.

The plan for fortification and emergency preparedness currently being implemented is in fact the main achievement of the Lieberman period in the Defense Ministry.

The IDF, and especially the chief of staff, made sure to honor him but only allowed him influence on the margins. On the really important issues, the IDF knew how to convince Lieberman to accept what the chief of staff and the generals of the General Staff had decided in advance and after long discussions.

The generals did not trick Lieberman, nor conceal information from him, but they knew how to win him over, and because he knew that their success was his success, he was happy to go along.

Thus, for example, the surface-to-surface missile force that Lieberman wanted to establish, which was not even close to taking shape, the IDF certainly increased its arsenal of precise munitions and integrated them into the Artillery Corps and other bodies.

Eisenkot knew how not to give up on issues that really mattered to him without embarrassing the defense minister in the media, and Lieberman understood this and was grateful. Thus, Lieberman could quietly expect a nice and successful conclusion of his term, which, as stated, will put him on the launching pad for the Prime Minister's Office.

Ismail Haniyeh

There was, however, one main obstacle that Lieberman brought with him to the Defense Ministry: his statements on the Gaza issue, including his viral statement about the 48 hour ultimatum he gave to Hamas leader Haniyeh. These came back to him as a boomerang, again and again.

In the end, it was the matter of Gaza that exploded in his face and caused him to leave prematurely. The main reason for this is that Lieberman behaved like a politician, and not as one with whom the law entrusts with the supervision and management of the security affairs of the State of Israel.

Repeated pronouncements intended to give him prestige in his political "base" ultimately made him seem pathetic at best, and at worst ridiculous. A defense minister who repeatedly declares that the army and the cabinet do not accept his positions and his mudslinging with Minister Bennett have turned him from a decision maker into a member of an uninteresting debate club.

Lieberman, like Moshe Arens before him, did not know how to transform from a citizen and a politician into a decision-maker possessing vision.
Adva Biton, mother of Adele, who died in 2015 two years after she was wounded in terror attack, slammed Meretz leader MK Tamar Zandberg in a Knesset constitution committee discussion about death penalty to terrorists.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter



Biton interrupted Zandbergs words and said, you should be ashamed, if it was your child you would have behaved differently. She was then escorted outside the hall.

(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

Zandberg attacked the idea behind the death penalty: Imagine that in the case of Tair Rada, we would have sent Roman Zadorov to death. The decision whether to take a life should be something that our society condemns. While the world is slowly denouncing this barbarous act, Israel is considering adopting it? Im ashamed to have my name written as someone who even took part in this debate.

Zandberg continued: The way things are sounding here, theres no point in debating. Populist forces, including representatives of an empty NGO that the prime minister raises money for, are the only voices heard here.

Members of Yisrael Beiteinu party were also present, and Zandberg accused them of being empty puppets sent by the boss.

The death penalty for terrorists bill seeks to allow military courts to decide on capital punishment when 50 percent or more of the judges decide in favor of it, and extends this possibility to civil courts.
Four police officers were lightly wounded in a stabbing attack at a police station in Jerusalem on Wednesday night. The Palestinian stabber was neutralized and is moderately wounded.
Security forces are searching for possible accomplices who helped the attacker in the Wednesday night attack, in which four police officers were lightly wounded.
By RALPH ANSAMI

[email protected]

BESSEMER  Having pledged to support the effort to keep the Ojibway prison in Marenisco from closing, the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Tuesday agreed to spend $25,000 to help cover costs of a lawsuit.

Marenisco Township Supervisor Richard Bouvette said a judge still has not ruled on the lawsuit that is attempting to block the prison from closing.

A letter has been sent requesting the judge make a decision, Bouvette said. Up until now, They didnt want to poke the bear, he said.

If the prison is completely closed on Dec. 2, as the...
GUEST SPEAKER Mike Rydeski of Wakefield VFW Post 9084, above, delivers an address during a Tuesday tribute to veterans in the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School gym. Below, the second and third grade classes at W-M performs during the program.

By P.J. GLISSON

[email protected]

WAKEFIELD - Students, teachers, veterans and other local citizens gathered Tuesday for what Mike Rydeski called "a thankful remembrance" in the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School gym.

Rydeski, a past commander of Wakefield's VFW Post 9084, was the guest speaker of the formal Veterans Day program.

"In the military, the contrast between wartime and peacetime is frequently murky," he said, adding that current service members not only are in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in "posts known and unknown" across "all four corners" of the globe.

According to Ryd...
Expert Advice with Brett Warren 13/11/2018



Is the Brisbane economy really picking up?

And if so, what does this mean for our property markets?

A little over 12 months ago, many of the leading indicators of the Brisbane property market were starting to turn around.

At the time people were just starting to return to the sunshine state after a period of record low immigration following the mining downturn.

Following the mining boom jobs were disappearing and without the employment, people were looking elsewhere and moving for better job security.

Over the last few years some commentators told us it was Brisbanes time to shine, when that just wasnt possible with almost no jobs growth and a sharp decline in our population growth.

But over the last year things had begun to finally turn the corner.

So what are the numbers showing now?

Employment Growth



SOURCE: queenslandeconomywatch.com



Jobs are what drives economic and population growth.

As you can see above more jobs are now being created in Queensland.

And this time, the majority of these jobs are being created in Brisbane as our economy matures from seasonal pillars like tourism and mining into a more services and professional based economy.

Population growth will only continue with a multitude of construction projects including the CBD expansion and the second Airport runway.

Add to that an increase in infrastructure spend on things like our major highways and roads and the budgeting for the Cross-River Rail Network and there will be plenty of opportunities for those looking for work.

All of these projects are scheduled for completion around 2020/21 when there will be even more jobs available in our new economy.

We know more than 10,000+ jobs alone will be created by the Queens Wharf Project and then there is the Airport precinct expansion and our hospitals and lifestyle precincts.

Over the next few years we will be creating more jobs here in Brisbane than we ever have before.



Population Growth



Source: australian bureau of statistics. Prepared by place advisory

With jobs come opportunities and people are now moving to Brisbane for employment.

With a surge of overseas and interstate migrants, our population is heading north once again.

Queensland is back on top with nearly 24,000 people making the move over the last 12 months, which is almost 10,000 more than any other capital city.

This trend will only continue as our city starts to change significantly and come of age.

The population of Queensland also recently ticked over the 5 million mark.

These new residents will be looking for housing and accommodation close to where they are working and where the bulk of the jobs are.

In most cases that will be Brisbane and within a 5-10km radius of major employment hubs like the Brisbane CBD and the Brisbane Airport.

Summary

The signs are going from strength to strength for the Queensland Economy.

Importantly it is the jobs growth that has started to ramp up after several years of low to no jobs being created.

A host of major infrastructure projects, combined with a number of key construction projects will expand our major employments hubs and promote further jobs growth.

They will be the cornerstone of transforming Brisbane into a new world city.

More jobs are now attracting record numbers of people back to Brisbane chasing employment, security and an affordable lifestyle in the Queensland capital, spurring growth in the economy.

This clearly represents an opportunity for property investors to take advantage of the demand for housing which will rises sharply around these expanding employment hubs.

It will be the known, proven and trusted Brisbane suburbs they turn to and these are the locations we will be capitalising on for our clients at Metropole.

.....................................................

Brett Warren is a director of Metropole Properties in Brisbane and uses his 12 plus years property investment experience and economics education to advice clients how to build their portfolios.

He is a regular commentator for Michael Yardney's Property Update.







Disclaimer: while due care is taken, the viewpoints expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Your Investment Property.
Expert Advice with Kate Forbes 14/11/2018



Alarm bells are ringing for those who bought an off the plan apartment a few years ago.



And its much the same in Melbourne. Investment bank UBS warned that three in 10 new apartments sold off the plan in Sydney are now settling with a lower valuation than the original contract sale price.And its much the same in Melbourne.

This comes at a time when many banks are lowering their loan to value ratios for off the plan apartments meaning that investors have to find an even bigger deposit as the banks lend a lower percentage of a figure that is already less than the contract price.

Of course we have been warning investors to steer clear of off the plan apartments for years and have never bought this type of property for clients of Metropole.

Corelogics recent Pain and gain report showed that the share of capital city apartments resold at a loss compared to the prior purchase price had risen to 14.3 per cent, the highest level since the 1990s.

UBS say the main driver of price falls is a reduction in borrowing capacity for the marginal buyer.

We are concerned that without policy easing, the largest price fall in decades could break the buy the dips mentality and belief that house prices only ever go up, UBS analyst George Tharenou wrote in a note to clients.

And there is still a huge supply pipeline with some 229,000 dwellings under construction, meaning that a significant portion of investors who bought these properties face the prospect of negative equity and this could risk an increase in settlement failures.

Of course off the plan apartments were always overpriced, when you took into account developers margins, marketing costs and the many middle men involved in some of the projects.

But during the boom a rising market covered up many mistakes.

On the other hand established apartments in well located smaller boutique blocks in Sydney and Melbourne still make great investments.

So what steps should you take next?

Independent professional advice and careful consideration is as important as ever in navigating Australias varied market conditions.

If youre looking for independent advice, no one can help you quite like the independent property investment strategists at Metropole.

Remember the multi award winning team of property investment strategists at Metropole have no properties to sell, so their advice is unbiased.

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned property investor, we would love to help you formulate an investment strategy or do a review of your existing portfolio, and help you take your property investment to the next level.

Please click here to organise a time for a chat. Or call us on 1300 20 30 30.

.....................................................



Kate Forbes is a National Director at Metropole Property Strategists. She has 15 years of investment experience in financial markets in two continents, is qualified in multiple disciplines and is also a chartered financial analyst (CFA).

She is a regular commentator for Michael Yardneys Property Update







Read more Expert Advice from Kate here!



Disclaimer: while due care is taken, the viewpoints expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Your Investment Property.
Baby boomers in Tasmania are scoring sound investments, with this generation being more inclined to upgrade homes and purchase properties in coastal areas.

In Herron Todds November issue of Month In Review, it was revealed that Tasmania is bucking the trend of other states, where more baby boomers are downsizing and transferring to the inner city.

However, Hobart and Launceston was thriving on trends such as upgrading of homes and buying of properties in coastal areas.

People took advantage of the still affordable housing in most areas of Tasmania by trading their war family homes to brand new dream homes with extensions, including second bathroom, fourth guest bedrooms and extra living room. This then resulted in migrations from Clarendale into nearby Berridale and from West Launceston or post-war Newstead into Prospect or Eastmans in Newstead.

Importantly, this upsizing opened more opportunities for first-time buyers to buy more affordable homes.

The report also found that Tasmanians have been embracing the beach lifestyle. It was noted that not only locals were buying in coastal areas for lifestyle choices but also mainlanders from that big island just across Bass Straight.

These new Tasmanians are coming to live in their paradise. The kids have gone, we can trade in our city property, buy a nice house and enjoy a beach side lifestyle plus have left over dollars in the bank, the report stated.

Consequently, more and more Australians are migrating to townships near an airport such as Shearwater on the north-west, Orford on the east coast, and Bridport in the north.

This follows the development of these coastal towns. Increased population fuels the local economy and allows services to expand. In fact, solid housing capital growth in many of these townships was recorded over the past few years.
Living Section

Las Cruces, New Mexico - The citizens of Las Cruces, Nevada know how to celebrate Noche de Nachos, a festival celebrating the Mexican dish that blends tortilla chips, cheese, salsa and ground beef spiced up with jalapeno peppers.

They gathered smack dab in the center of town recently to snack on the worlds largest serving of the stuff. It weighed in at 5,039 pounds, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC] giving Las Cruces a good shot at getting into the Guinness Book of World Records. The current record stands at a measly 4,689 pounds.
Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business.
Anyone monitoring the news especially on social media these days would likely be beaten down by the flurry of negativity that seems to come from Ghanaians.

For many who have an economy that is not working for them, it is difficult to look forward with optimism. This has obviously made the ruling government unpopular.

It is still far-fetched to suggest that people have given up on Ghana. Losing hope is one thing but not offering to help make things better, is another.

In this spirit, YEN.com.gh asked our readers what would move them to die for Ghana.

READ ALSO: KNUSTFord University names Kumawood star Maame Serwaa as its brand ambassador

For Facebook user Paa Kwesi Ninson, "Nothing will make me collapse for Ghana..". That can only be a blatant castigation of the situation that currently exists in the country.

We make no far-fetched assumptions on the statement by Ouedraogo Adama but the Facebook user thinks "Removing the incompetent short man from the presidency".

Wunnam K Bonafides is willing to die for Ghana when "Demonstrating against corrupt evil politicians". This may be supported by a well-meaning Ghanaians.

Sa M My brought things home a bit. This Facebook user said "I will for my family not Ghana" in a statement that would seem easy for a lot of people.

READ ALSO: Akua GMB ends eight-year marriage with Dr. Oteng

One of the harshest criticisms on why one may not die for Ghana came from the Facebook user Daisy Heming.

This user wrote: "Don't ask dump [sic] qtnz [questions] coz [sic] my ghost won't even die for Gh [Ghana]".

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
Anokye Supremo, formerly known as DL Junior, has asked Ghanaians to support him in raising money to foot his surgery to correct a tumour that has developed on his brain.

The surgery, according to him, will cost an estimated GHC 10,000. It is however not clear where he is looking to get attention.

But Adomonline.com reports that the sometime-musician who was sued by music legend Daddy Lumba for copying his brand, is asking for urgent public support before things go worse.

He is quoted as saying: I started having headaches and decided to get painkillers from a pharmacy but looking at the severity a month after, I decided to seek medical attention at the Lapaz Community Clinic".

READ ALSO: Medikal reveals why he fell in love with Fella Makafui

Daddy Lumba and the man who is modelling his career on him, Anokye Supremo

Source: Original

He continued: "Initially, I was asked to get my eyes checked at the eye clinic because my left eye was swollen after which the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist of the Clinic.diagnosed me with a brain tumour.

This has left me blind in my left eye and now I have been asked to take another scan (MRI) which will be done tomorrow before the surgery.

Anokye's highlife career was short-lived although he left Ghanaians with a few songs. He is currently promoting the latest "Hash Wush", in order to raise funds.

READ ALSO: Akua GMB ends eight-year marriage with Dr. Oteng

Some of his other songs are Fame Twa, Krom Ay D, Efiri Nea Efire and Se Mepe Mehoa Ni to his credit.

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 Ghana
A new council for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has been constituted and sworn into office Tuesday.

The newly reconstituted governing council were sworn in by the Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh and supervised by the Chancellor of KNUST, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu ll.

The six new members are joining nine others on the council.

New KNUST governing council sworn in. Source: Citinewsroom.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Speaker to name and shame MPs who are always late to the House

The governing council is made up of 15 members, four of whom are government representatives. A representative from the government chairs the council.

At Tuesdays inauguration ceremony, the Asantehene expressed sadness about the recent riots that occasioned the dissolution of the council which, in turn, necessitated its reconstitution, saying: It is a pain I do not bear likely.

The Asantehene also disclosed that he will set up a five-member committee to launch a full and transparent inquiry into the incidents that resulted in the destruction of property estimated at GHS1.7 million.

On his part, the Education Minister said the reconstitution of this council comes at a very sensitive point and requires clear leadership and direction from you as a matter of urgency to get academic work back on track.

Asantehene addressing the newly constituted KNUST council. Source: Citinewsroom.com

Source: UGC

Meanwhile, following the inauguration of the council, the university is set to reopen on Friday, November 16, 2018.

READ ALSO: Bawumia donates 1,000 cement bags for Bawku central mosque project

KNUST was temporarily shut down on 22 October 2018 after rioting students vandalised state and private property worth GHS1.7 million on campus, in protest to the schools tyrannical leadership style.

Even though Friday is the official reopening date, students can report to campus from Wednesday, 14 November 2018, and academic work is scheduled to commence on Monday, 19 November 2018.

Ghana News Today: Madina-Adenta Footbridge Demo | Yen.com.gh

READ ALSO: Akua GMB ends eight-year marriage with Dr. Oteng

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN;s official Facebook page.

Source: Yen Ghana
Reports reaching YEN.com.gh indicate that another popular slay queen on Facebook, Hikma Hussein, also known as Kim Red, has passed away after she was involved in an accident a week ago.

The late young lady who is well-known on Facebook page Inna Real Life, was eulogized by some of her social media friends.

Some internet users also took to her personal Facebook profile to mourn her and also express ther shock over her sudden demise.

Late Hikma Hussein. Credit: Facebook

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Wife of Apostle John Prah reacts to 'wedding' photos of her husband and Nayas

Hikma Hussein who made a name for herself while she was alive has been spotted in many photos with top personalities including the National Chief Imam and actor Kwadwo Nkansah, known widely as Lil Win.

Nana Lloyd, a friend of the Hikma, took to Facebook and wrote, "Awwww you maybe the reason my day went bad may Allah keep you and forgive you all your sins. Rest in perfect peace Hikma Hussein".

Late Hikma Hussein. Credit: Facebook

Source: Facebook

Another friend, Aweni Assansure Lms, mourned the lady with these words, "Oooh Just wake up to hear that my sister is gone ooh god why so soon Hikma Hussein only Allah no the best. RIP."

Queen Obroni also wrote, "Hikma Hussein why I cant believe this,we talked last week and later I heard you pass away .May your soul Rest In Peace."

Late Hikma Hussein. Credit: Facebook

Source: Facebook

Neila Matan King Reiziger wrote, "Finally Hikma Hussein had been buried hmmmm Rest well girlfriend Allah give you d mouth to answer your questions dear May Aljantul firdaws be your final destination. Farewell. It's now you and your deeds. Allah have mercy upon you ND may your sins be forgiven."

Late Hikma Hussein. Credit: Facebook

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Serbian University shows interest in tall 14-year-old SWESBUS student

Hikma's death follows the death of another social media slay queen, Charlotte Abena Woodey who passed away after a short illness.

Although the actual cause of death was not known, there were theories on some social media suggesting possible causes of her death.

Late Hikma Hussein with the National Chief Imam. Credit: Facebook

Source: Facebook

One of the theories, as earlier captured by YEN.com.gh, stated that the young lady died as a result of a curse placed on her by a woman for snatching her husband.

The other theory has it that Abena Woodey had been used for money rituals by 'sakawa' boys (internet fraudsters).

Late Hikma Hussein with Lil Win. Credit: Facebook

Source: Facebook

Well, a social media user who claims to have been very close to the late Abena Woodey has deepened the later rumour in a Facebook live video with his claim that Woodey was trapped with an iPhone 7+ by one 'sakawa' boy.

Late Hikma Hussein. Credit: Facebook

Source: Facebook

According to the young man, though he did all he could to get her away from the said 'sakawa' guy, Woodey was so into the material things he was providing for her.

READ ALSO: Serbian University shows interest in tall 14-year-old SWESBUS student

Watch: Ghana News Today: Madina-Adenta Footbridge Demo | Yen.com.gh

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.com.gh
- The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has praised the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

- According to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the fundamentals of the Ghanaian economy is worthy of emulation by others on the continent

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, says he has been impressed by the way President Akufo-Addo has governed Ghana since assuming office.

According to him, the President has exhibited great leadership over the last twenty-two (22) months, adding that he is governing Ghana well.

The Emir of Qatar said the management of Ghanas economy is also a good example worthy of emulation by other African countries.

READ ALSO: Serbian University shows interest in tall 14-year-old SWESBUS student

President Akufo-Addo paid was on an official visit to Qatar to meet the Emir on Tuesday, 13th November, 2018.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani went on to praise the business-friendly environment created in Ghana.

He was hopeful that Ghana and Qatar can forge a strong relationship which will be mutually beneficial to both countries.

There are lots of opportunities that we can do together, the Emir stressed.

He added that the Qatar Investment Authority is already exploring opportunities in the areas of energy, tourism, agriculture, security, education, and infrastructural development in Ghana.

Commenting on the state of insecurity in the Sahel, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said Qatar is ready to lend its support in the fight against terrorism in countries like Burkina Faso and Mali.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo thanked the Emir, saying Ghana will continue to have a good relationship with Qatar.

President Akufo-Addo and Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Source: Facebook/Nana Akufo-Addo

Source: Facebook

We are determined to have a good relationship with Qatar, we value the relationship, and we will continue with it, the President said.

Nana Addo was hopeful that with solid participation from the Qatari Government and its private sector, Ghana can develop a modern railway network.

READ ALSO: Haruna Iddrisu spotted watching Arsenal vs Wolves game over the weekend

Such a project, the President said, will be able to connect Ghana to neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, and Togo.

READ ALSO: New KNUST governing council sworn in

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN;s official Facebook page.

Source: Yen
A monkey in India snatched a 12-day-old baby boy from its mother, ran with it and subsequently killed him.

The mother of the baby was breastfeeding him in Runakata, Northern India when the primate struck, pounced on the baby and hopped on the roof of a house

The monkey snatched the baby from the mother and bit it on the face causing fatal injuries. Photo: UGC

READ ALSO: Akua GMB ends eight-year marriage with Dr. Oteng

According to a report by CNN on Wednesday, November 14, the monkey snatched the baby from the mother's lap on the evening of Monday, November 12.

Neighbours said frantic efforts to lure the monkey with edibles to release the baby did not bear fruits as the mischievous animal firmly clung on the newborn with its claws.

"Neighbours ran to help the mother screamed but it was adamant to release the baby. They tried to lure it and resorted to pelting it with stones all in vain. By the time the primate released the baby it had injured him badly," said Agra Police Assistant Superintendent Abhishek.

According to the police, the monkey had bitten the baby on the face, neck and inflicted several other injuries with its claws.

READ ALSO: Ghana's Pretty Kobe hosts Floyd Mayweather Jnr. to talk business

The baby named Sunny was found in a terrace adjacent to his mother, Neha's house and was pronounced dead on arrival to hospital.

Monkey attacks are common in India, with the primates get int the spotlight in recent weeks for stoning a 72-year-old man to death.

Delhi government authorities indicated they recorded 268 monkey bite cases in 2016.

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
Adom FMs Captain Smart has finally revealed the real reason why he dumped Afia Pokuaa for another woman.

According to Captain Smart, who was alleged to have snatched Afia Pokuaa from her husband said, he made the decision to leave her because Ghanaians have tagged him as wife snatcher.

He made this known in an interview with Kofi Adomaa on Kofi TV shortly after proposing to the woman he claims he is the love of his life.

READ ALSO: Akua GMB ends eight-year marriage with Dr. Oteng

The name calling was becoming too much. Today she is from this place, she is someones wife. That bullshit was becoming too much for me, he said.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported the story of how Captain Smart shocked Ghanaians by proposing to another lady.

The vocal broadcaster during the 3G awards in the United States of America (USA) over the weekend stunned everybody as he knelt down to present an engagement ring to the said woman .

READ ALSO: KNUSTFord University names Kumawood star Maame Serwaa as its brand ambassador

Following Captain Smart's marriage proposal to the another lady, Ghanaians have expressed their displeasure as they blasted him for dumping Afia Pokuaa.

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
- Former beauty queen Akua GMB has said the courage to continue is what counts when one encounters failure

- Her comment follows reports that she has ended her marriage to Dr. Oteng, a business mogul and owner of Adonko Bitters

- In a since-deleted Instagram post, the beauty queen she wrote that she had left the marriage because her happiness had been restricted

YEN.com.gh earlier reported the news of former beauty queen, Sally Akua Mensah, popularly known as Akua of GMB fame, ending her marriage to her millionaire husband, Dr. Kweku Oteng.

In that report, it was gathered that Akua made a post on social media, detailing why she was no longer interested in their marriage and, therefore, needed to bow out.

She reportedly wrote on Instagram: Sometimes you just have to learn how to walk away. When its not making you happy and its rather stressing you take a bow. My marriage of eight years is over. I wont give anyone the right to take away my happiness. Im walking from everything that is stressing me.

READ ALSO: 12-day-old baby dies after being snatched from mother's lap by monkey in India

The report has gone haywire, and just when her fans and followers were expecting to hear her confirm or justify it, Akua has made another post, this time, speaking about the courage to continue with life when one encounters failure.

She posted again Instagram: Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts..."

Checks by YEN.com.gh revealed that Akua statement is actually an original quote by Winston Churchill, the late British politician and writer.

We, however, cannot independently confirm is Akua was applying to this quote to her future after the reported divorce, or if she just loved the quote and decided to use it.

READ ALSO: Photo: 17-yr-old Nyalong whose dowry was 500 cows, 3 V8 cars, looking sad at her wedding

Her marriage with the Adonko Bitters millionaire boss has been on the quiet until recently when she spoke about why she agreed to marry him even though he was old enough to be her father.

According to Akua, she married Dr. Oteng out of love for him, and also because of his humility.

She rejected claims that she married him because of his money.

Recently, Dr. Oteng threw a lavish birthday party for her, after a photo of them sitting together went viral for the first time after their marriage.

Akua is reported to be the fourth wife of her husband, with whom she has two handsome boys.

READ ALSO: Wife of Apostle John Prah reacts to 'wedding' photos of her husband and Nayas

Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: Ghanaians confused over purported wedding photos of Nayas 1 and Apostle John Prah

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.com.gh
- A 12-year-old boy has been arrested by the police for armed robbery

- He is reported to be the leader of the armed robbery gang

- He was arrested together with a 19-year-old suspect known as Kwame Frimpong

A 12-year-old leader of a gang of armed robbers has been reportedly arrested by the police.

The suspect, whose identity is yet to be revealed, reportedly led a gang of thieves to rob students of the Mampong Midwifery and Nursing Training College.

According to a report by MyNewsGH.com, he was arrested together with a 19-year-old man known as Kwame Frimpong, with whom he laid ambush and robbed students.

READ ALSO: Interdicted police officers recalled to work

The Mampong Divisional Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) Commander, Superintendent Isaac Baah, stated that the armed suspects always hide under the cover of darkness to attack their victims who are students and disposes them of their belongings including mobile phones and handbags.

Both suspects, he added, have since been released on bail after being identified by some of the victims as persons said to be terrorizing students on the campus.

Superintendent Baah however expressed surprised about the reluctance of the victims to cooperate with the police in the investigations.

That, he went on to say, was the reason behind the decision to grant them bail.

Meanwhile, a 6pm to 6am police patrol team has been permanently stationed at the school, with Community Police Assistants assigned to all hostels to guard and escort the students to and from classes at night to halt the recurring robberies.

READ ALSO: Martin Amidu reportedly plots his resignation from office as Special Prosecutor

Ghana News Today: Madina-Adenta Footbridge Demo | Yen.com.gh

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
- Latest photos of former GMB winner, Akua, show that that she has removed her rings

- This comes after reports that she has dumped her millionaire husband Dr. Kwaku Oteng.

- Akua is reported to have said she is no more happy with their marriage

News have gone haywire that former GMB queen, Salomey Akua Mensah, has declared her intention to divorce her older millionaire husband, Dr. Kweku Oteng.

Akua was reported to have shared on her Instagram page that when something no longer makes one happy, it must be ended, and for that matter was bowing out of their marriage.

That post has since been deleted from Akuas Instagram page, and she later claimed that her account was hacked.

READ ALSO: Akua GMB speaks about the future as she reportedly ends her marriage with millionaire husband

However, checks by YEN.com.gh reveal that Akua has actually removed her wedding ring.

The beautiful 2011 GMB winner is known for flaunting her ring in all her photos, however, in the two latest photos she has shared, the ring was nowhere to be found, as the two photos below show.

READ ALSO: Nayas 1 taunts Apostle John Prah's wife with more wild wedding photos with her husband

This act by Akua, goes a long way to shed light on her divorce reports that it could be true.

READ ALSO: Captain Smart reveals why he dumped Afia Pokuaa for another lady

Not only YEN has made this observation, but some of her fans and followers have also noticed the missing ring.

Boapim, for instance, said he did not want to believe the news that her marriage was over, but seeing Akua without her ring speaks volumes about the divorce.

boapim: Is it true ur marriage is over with ur husband.i dint trust this bloggers n since u ain't with ur ring.

Matilda also said she hoped Akuas divorce story was not true

matilda_agyekum: Hv u really ended ur marriage .. Hope it's not true.

Bemah asked in plain terms where is your ring?

bemah48: @akuagmb please where is your ring?

READ ALSO: Photo: 17-yr-old Nyalong whose dowry was 500 cows, 3 V8 cars, looking sad at her wedding

However, the beauty queen has not responded to any of the questions being posed to her.

Meanwhile, Akua has also said the courage to continue with ones life after encountering failure is what counts.

Akua, in an earlier report, rejected claims that she married Dr. Oteng because of money.

According to her, she married the rich Adonko Bitters boss out of love for him, and also for his humility.

READ ALSO: 12-day-old baby dies after being snatched from mother's lap by monkey in India

Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: Visibly pregnant Nana Ama McBrown sings praises to God in latest video

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.com.gh
Ghanaian actress and socialite, Moesha Boduong, has said most of her female colleagues criticise her out of sheer hypocrisy.

According to her, most of the women who criticise her turn out to live the same life as she does in secrecy.

The actress has been in the news for both good and bad reasons in recent times but she looks to be moving on just fine.

READ ALSO: Haruna Iddrisu spotted watching Arsenal vs Wolves game over the weekend

Moesha is a very popular figure on social media and is noted for posting catchy pictures on her Twitter and Instagram pages.

Some months back she became the object of scrutiny when she suggested that Ghanaian women need to depend on rich men if they are to be successful.

She was heavily criticized for her utterances, which led to the actress subsequently rendering an unqualified apology to the public.

However, in a recent post, Moesha said it sounds funny to her that women who live the same lifestyle as hers also criticize her.

According to her, most of these women even want to be like her but would not admit it.

Its funny how people will judge /criticize you for same thing they codedly do & same life they wish they had. Never let anyone make you feel bad for who you are, she wrote.

Recently, Moesha was also unveiled as a brand ambassador for Loggy Travel and Tours to help the company grow in terms of branding and larger audience.

READ ALSO: Serbian University shows interest in tall 14-year-old SWESBUS student

Having been named face of the company, the controversial actress is expected to use her popularity and social media presence to improve their customer base.

She also bought herself a brand new Range Rover Evoque last month and it appears she has moved on from the criticisms that have come her way in the last couple of months.

Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: Ghana's Pretty Kobe hosts Floyd Mayweather Jnr. to talk business

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page.

Source: Yen Ghana
- Professor Ocquaye has urged Ghanaians to desist from taking alcoholic drinks

-He has also invited the National Media Commission to brief parliament on how to regulate advertisements on alcoholic beverages.

Speaker of parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, has advised Ghanaians to stop drinking alcoholic beverages.

Addressing parliament on Wednesday, November 14, in connection with the celebration of World Diabetes Day, Prof Oquaye reiterated the role the media plays in the censorship of advertisement or media activities.

He has also called on the National Media Commission (NMC) to brief parliament on methods that have been adopted to regulate advertisement of alcoholic beverages in the Ghanaian media.

Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Ocquaye Source: Supplied

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Haruna Iddrisu spotted watching Arsenal vs Wolves game over the weekend

According to him, the NMC through the Ministry of Communication, should brief the House on ways and means to avoid advertisements that encourages people to drink unduly.

He added: In all sincerity if a Ghanaian cannot eat normally without a drink, that person should consult the doctor because it may be due to a medical condition.

he therefore announced his commitment to direct committees responsible for communication take it up together with the Media Commission.

READ ALSO: What God has put together, let no man put asunder  Nayas 1 tells Apostle Prahs wife

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
- A 1,500-year-old painting claimed to be Jesus face has been found at an ancient church in the Isreali desert

- By the said painting, Jesus is said to be wearing a short-hair and looking like a youth

- Archeologists at the University of Haifa have said the painting also has a larger figure with Jesus which is suspected to be John the Baptist

A previously-unknown 1,500-year-old painting of Christs face has been uncovered at a Byzantine church in Israels Negev desert, according to a report by foxnews.com.

The discovery in the ancient Byzantine village of Shivta has reportedly thrilled archaeologists.

Although the painting is fragmented, experts from Israels University of Haifa were able to make out the facial outline, according to the report.

The Baptistry Chamber (on right) where the painting was found. Photo credit: Fox News

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: After snatching Medikal from Derby, Fella Makafui hints of death attack on her

Their research was reportedly published recently in the journal Antiquity.

The painting, which is believed to date from the sixth century A.D., depicts Jesus as a short-haired youth.

Christs face in this painting is an important discovery in itself, It belongs to the iconographic scheme of a short-haired Christ, which was especially widespread in Egypt and Syro-Palestine, but gone from later Byzantine art, they explained in their paper

The painting was briefly noted in the 1920s, but has now undergone more analysis. In their study, the University of Haifa archaeologists explain that Christ is depicted next to a much larger figure, which is probably John the Baptist.

The face of Christ with proposed reconstruction. Photo credit: Fox News

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Nayas 1 taunts Apostle John Prah's wife with more wild wedding photos with her husband

The location of the sceneabove the [churchs] crucifix-shaped Baptist fontsuggests its identification as the baptism of Christ, said the studys authors.

Experts describe the paintings discovery as extremely important, noting that it predates the religious iconography used in the Orthodox Christian Church.

Thus far, it is the only in situ baptism-of-Christ scene to date confidently to the pre-iconoclastic Holy Land, they said in the study.

Therefore, it can illuminate Byzantine Shivtas Christian community and Early Christian art across the region, the study's authors added.

READ ALSO: It is the courage to continue that counts  Akua GMB allegedly speaks on her divorce

The painting is the latest fascinating archaeological discovery in Israel. Engravings of ships, for example, were recently found on an ancient water cistern discovered in a city in the Negev desert.

In a separate project, archaeologists recently confirmed the first full spelling of Jerusalem on an ancient stone inscription excavated in the area of Jerusalems International Convention Center, known as Binyanei Ha'Uma.

In another project, experts discovered a site that may offer fresh insight into the ancient biblical kingdom of David and Solomon.

In a separate archaeological dig, a trove of bronze coins, the last remnants of an ancient Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire, were recently discovered near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

READ ALSO: Photos: Akua GMB removes her ring amid divorce reports

Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: Photo: 17-yr-old Nyalong whose dowry was 500 cows, 3 V8 cars, looking sad at her wedding

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.com.gh
The sour break up between rapper Medikal and Sister Deborah has taken a new twist, in which he is spilling secrets he once kept with her.

In a new video making rounds on social media which has been sighted by YEN.com.gh, Medikal is seemingly seeking to cause confusion between Sister Derby and her good friend, Lydia Forson.

In a new track he has released, Medikal has revealed how Deborah confided in him that Lydia Forson was too fat to be her friend.

READ ALSO: Avoid alcoholic beverages - Prof Ocquaye cautions Ghanaians

He sang of how he met Forson in Kumasi, hugged her and they took some selfies together.

According to her, Lydia Forson said he was cool guy and liked him instantly, however, Deborah said Lydia was too fat to be her friend.

After their break-up, YEN.com.gh has observed that Deborah Vanessa and Lydia Forson have become so close to each other, even though they have been friends for a long time.

We also observed that Lydia has been promoting Deborahs Kakalika love song against Medikal and Fella Makafui on social media.

Therefore, it could be that Medikal is not happy with the support Deborah is receiving from Lydia Forson in these trying times so trying to cause the confusion between them.

Perhaps, he seeks to deprive the broken-hearted Sister Derby of any support from anyone.

READ ALSO: Fuel station explodes in Techiman

Some of his fans and followers on social media have lambasted Medikal for this new twist with some of them describing him as childish.

For instance, an Instagram user, awurama_pearl, said Medikal was so childish:

awurama_pearl: So Childish .

Royals also said Medical was childish, and begged Lydia Forson not to end her friendship with Sister Derby based on what Medikal was saying:

her_royals: Dat guy is a child.

her_royals: @lydiaforson pls dun end ur beautiful friendship wif her bcus of dis baby .

READ ALSO: After snatching Medikal from Derby, Fella Makafui hints of death attack on her

Drokbj_gh also wondered how come Sister Deborah dated a childish guy like Medikal, adding in the Akan language that he wondered how he got rich:

drokbj_gh: ahhh so how did sister deborah deal with this childish guy.? sika akode wrong side paaa, yaaa hw3 barima ho ne morning coat...

Divardo also said it was bad for Medikal to reveal those conversation Deborah had with him when they were dating, adding that only kindergarten kids behave like that:

divador23: All these stuff is too childish for me seriously like u cant be in a relationship and break up in peace or is it safe to have a conversation with the other partner and be safe when things turn around bad. This is for KG kids mennnnn.

READ ALSO: Ghana's Pretty Kobe hosts Floyd Mayweather Jnr. to talk business

There are many comments showing that social media users are not happy with Medikal over this new development.

Meanwhile, Medikal has revealed that he left Deborah because she was pressurizing him with marriage.

His mother has also confirmed that her son is no longer dating Sister Derby, and that Fella Makafui is his new girlfriend now.

READ ALSO: It is the courage to continue that counts  Akua GMB allegedly speaks on her divorce

Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: 'Jesus' face' uncovered at ancient church in Israel and he wears short hair

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
Russian Army Introduces TOS-1 Thermobaric MLRS in Leningrad Region



The page you requested is only available to subscribers.





1. If you are a Premium Service subscriber, please log in here to access this story:



Log-in : Password :



2. If you are not a subcriber, you can:



-- buy access to this page: unlimited access for seven days costs 3.00 EUR + VAT (at 20%) if applicable.



Clicking on the "Ok" button below will place the item in your shopping cart and return you to our home page, where you will be able to select additional stories.





-- select additional stories and services from our home page and pay for them at the same time.





-- see your shopping cart. You can also see the contents of your shopping cart at any time by clicking on the "Order" tab on the navigation bar at the top of any page, or by clicking on the "Your order" light blue link in the top right-hand corner of our home page, immediately under the log-on box.




Upgraded Hungarian Gripens Train in Sweden



The page you requested is only available to subscribers.





1. If you are a Premium Service subscriber, please log in here to access this story:



Log-in : Password :



2. If you are not a subcriber, you can:



-- buy access to this page: unlimited access for seven days costs 3.00 EUR + VAT (at 20%) if applicable.



Clicking on the "Ok" button below will place the item in your shopping cart and return you to our home page, where you will be able to select additional stories.





-- select additional stories and services from our home page and pay for them at the same time.





-- see your shopping cart. You can also see the contents of your shopping cart at any time by clicking on the "Order" tab on the navigation bar at the top of any page, or by clicking on the "Your order" light blue link in the top right-hand corner of our home page, immediately under the log-on box.




The cover of "Nemesis." Courtesy

Joe Yogerst has visited or lived in about 130 countries over the past 30-plus years in his capacity as a travel writer, editor, photographer and author. But when it came to the setting of his first novel, he chose San Diego, where he was born and raised and still lives.

"Nemesis," a murder-mystery about a lawman and a journalist who compete to solve a series of high-profile killings, is set in San Diego in the 1880s, when the town was in the midst of a real estate boom but also the home of outlaws, gamblers, sailors and brawlers.

"I liked that period in San Diego history, because it was when San Diego was a Wild West town," said Yogerst, a Carmel Valley resident.

"Nemesis" was published Oct. 30 by Blank Slate Press, and can be found online and at local book stores. The official San Diego launch of the book will be held on Saturday, Nov. 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mysterious Galaxy book store, 5943 Balboa Avenue. Yogerst, 62, will be on hand to sign copies of his book, and talk about his new novel, as well as other novels that have inspired him.

The idea for "Nemesis" had been floating around in his head since the late 1980s, said Yogerst, when he became ill after eating noodles at a roadside stall in Borneo. He holed up in a remote jungle lodge while his traveling companion climbed Mt. Kinabalu. His friend gave him a book to read, "Black Dahlia" by James Ellroy. When his friend came back, Yogerst told him, "I want to write a book like that."

The book went through several iterations over the years. First, it was set in Hong Kong, and later in San Francisco. But his decision to set the book in 1880s San Diego crystalized his vision of the tale he wanted to tell. He began writing in about 2005 and completed his first version in 2015. Over the next three years he landed an agent and then a publisher, and edited the book into its present form.

"It's hard to describe the feeling of finally holding (the book) in your hands, because it's been such a long haul. It's not like holding a child, but as a writer it's pretty close," Yogerst said. "It really whets my appetite for wanting to do more, but I don't know if I want to take 10 years again to write a second one."

Yogerst has had to fit his fiction writing around his travel writing schedule, which has included working on 34 books for National Geographic over the years, along with articles for many different publications, including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Examiner, International Herald Tribune (Paris), Conde Nast Traveler, CNN Travel, USA Today, BBC Travel, TIME, Newsweek and Travel & Leisure. His last National Geographic book ("50 States, 5,000 Ideas") was a best seller in the U.S. (#2) and Canada (#1).

Along with promoting his novel, Yogerst is working on a new project, a series of videos about parks in North America for National Geographic and its partner, The Teaching Company. Two San Diego County Parks -- Balboa and Anza-Borrego -- will be featured in the series. Yogerst will write and host 24 half-hour episodes for the series, his first venture in front of the camera.

Taping will take place next spring, with the series available to video subscribers in the fall of 2019.

Yogerst said he is comfortable speaking in public and on the radio, but he is still getting used to talking on camera. "It's a daunting prospect, I have to say,. It's not Shakespeare, but still...," Yogerst said.

Since his current projects feature destinations in the United States and Canada, Yogerst has been doing less international travel -- although he did recently visit Costa Verde, an island nation off the coast of West Africa, and an area of Brazil called the Pantanal, which boasts abundant wildlife.

And in spite of the many places he has visited around the world, Yogerst still has a bucket list of destinations he'd like to see, including Russia and Tibet.

For now, though, his ranging is confined to North America, such as a recent road trip through the Adirondacks in New York state, to conduct research for a new National Geographic travel book and his upcoming video series. One advantage of domestic travel? His wife, Julia, also a writer, is able to accompany him more often.
On a recent Friday, a small group of senior citizens gathered in a Carmel Valley church to reminisce about the types of clothing they wore as children.

Some remembered a time when it was less expensive to sew garments than buy them, while others recalled girls only being allowed to wear dresses and a period when corduroy pants were all the rage.

But the gathering wasnt meant to be a fashion club. It was a space for these folk, ages 60 to 90, to jog their memories and work to prevent and reduce the likelihood of dementia.

George G. Glenner Alzheimers Family Centers began offering its Memory Cafe program in 2016. Similar concepts can be found all across the United States and in Europe as ways to help older people combat memory loss.

Originally, Glenners North County cafe met at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church but moved to Grace Point Church in Carmel Valley in October 2016, where it has met on select Fridays ever since.

The Glenner cafes  which also have locations in La Jolla, Poway, Hillcrest and Chula Vista  offer an interactive, engaging and social space to help older people preserve their brain health.

During each meeting, participants discuss topics, like fashion as they had on this recent Friday, and partake in activities such as word searches, quizzes, trivia and crossword puzzles to reminisce about prompted themes.

Guest speakers also often attend meet-ups to present information on different topics and engage the seniors in discussions.

All of the participants come with a common goal of wanting to stay involved in their communities, to keep their brains active and to learn how fitness and nutrition can help their mental health, said Shannon Patel, the Memory Cafe coordinator.

Michelle Mullen, the cafe facilitator for the Carmel Valley location, said it is important for older people to be social with one another and speak with their peers to maintain good brain health and memory.

Studies have shown that social connections actually increase longevity and slow memory loss, she said. Many of the cafe participants say they enjoy the activities which exercise their brains, but the best part is the conversations with friends.

She said one of her favorite aspects of leading the cafes is witnessing the friendship and camaraderie among the seniors. She considers seeing them laugh and smile as the true gem of the program.

Patel added research has shown that social isolation is a contributing factor to decline, including memory decline.

She said its a common misconception that the cafes are geared only toward people already suffering from memory loss. Rather, all older people are encouraged to participate.

We see this program as the first step, prior to even needing services related to memory loss, Patel explained. Of course, if you or your loved one does have early stages of Alzheimers disease, other dementias or general memory concerns, everyone is welcome to attend.

For more information about Glenner Memory Cafes, which are offered free of charge, visit www.glenner.org/memory-cafes or contact Patel at spatel@glenner.org. Reservations and sign-ups are not required for the program, and attendance is not mandatory for every meeting once someone signs up.
Due to its location tucked away from residential zones, schools and other public facilities, Sorrento Valley has become a landing spot for legal marijuana facilities in San Diegos Council District 1. In Sorrento Valley, there are currently two retail marijuana outlets going through the city process for approval and nine pending applications for marijuana production facility licenses, one of which includes a 29,000-square-foot grow house.

Each council district is limited to four retail marijuana outlets and Sorrento Valley already has twoTorrey Holistics has been operating as a retail outlet since January and OutCo (Outliers Collective) was approved this year and is expected to open in January 2019.

There are 12 total retail applications under review by the city. Council District 2 (the beach, bays, Clairemont and Linda Vista) and District 8 (Barrio Logan, Otay Mesa, San Ysirdro) both have reached their limit of four retail outlets.

Per City Council regulations there is no cap on marijuana production facilities per district as few of the council districts have the appropriate zoning for such facilities. The council did approve a citywide cap of 40, there are currently 69 in the application process seeking licenses and seven approved.

Retail sales are prohibited at city production facilities which are meant for the agricultural raising, harvesting and processing of marijuana. No signage is allowed at the production facilities and like marijuana outlets, they are not permitted 100 feet from residential zones and 1,000 feet from public parks, churches, childcare, playgrounds, minor-oriented facilities and schools.

For production facilities there is no separation requirement from other production facilities or retail outletsretail outlets cannot be located 1,000 feet from another marijuana outlet.

On Oct. 11, the Torrey Pines Planning Board voted 9-3 to recommend denial of the proposed Strainwise marijuana outlet on 11189 Sorrento Valley Road, suite 103. The project is still in review by city staff and a public hearing has not yet been scheduled.The project is proposed in the five-unit Venture Commerce Center complex which also houses the Del Mar Union School District (DMUSD)s maintenance and operations office.

The planning boards denial was based on concerns about public safety, lack of parking and environmental issues due to the projects proximity to a floodway and a wildlife corridor as well as potential legal issues as the CC&Rs for the Venture Commerce Center Sorrento Condominium Association state that marijuana dispensaries are not allowed.

Board members even questioned the applicant as to why they would even consider this site to be viable, knowing both the legal challenges and the ultra-sensitive environmental issues, the boards denial letter states.

For public safety, two armed security guards are required to be present at all times but while Strainwise will be bullet-proofed, the neighboring suite with DMUSDs office will not be.The planning boards denial details that DMUSD has a large glass frontage with a reception area, offices and conference room within a few feet of the armed guards. The planning board said a precedent was established by the Torrey Holistics facility that all adjacent commercial uses within the building should be provided with bullet-proofing measures.

This lack of concern for the publics safety is direct grounds to deny this application, the boards letter stated.

While the planning board recommended denial of the OutCo and Strainwise projects, they did approve a proposed marijuana outlet on 10150 Sorrento Valley Road in the Pacific Sorrento Technology Park, located on the first floor of a three-story building.

The Pacific Sorrento outlet was approved by the citys hearing officer on Sept. 19 and the environmental determination was appealed to City Council in October. A City Council hearing will be held on Nov. 15 on the environmental determination a San Diego Planning Commission hearing would be scheduled after the City Councils determination.

Sorrento Valleys Torrey Holistics opened in February 2016 as a medical marijuana dispensary and, in December 2017, it was the first recreational cannabis dispensary and delivery service license granted in the state of California. According to Ruthie Edelson, marketing and educational director, the outlet opened to retail sales on Jan. 1 with a line wrapped around the building.

At the outlet, two armed security guards are on site and guests must go through a metal detector to enter the reception area. Guests must check in at reception with a valid identification card and must sign a Prop 64 waiver that reminds people that they cannot resell what they purchase and they cannot use within 1,000 feet of the shop.

No one is using around here, Edelson said, noting that items are purchased in child-proof packaging and are supposed to be placed in the trunk of a car when driving.

At Torrey Holistics, guests are paired with cannabis concierge when they enter the retail section of the outletthe products are not all on a shelf for perusing but behind a counter, allowing the concierge to discuss the products and inform about appropriate dosing which Edelson said is especially important for new recreational users.

Rebel Coast cannabis wine is sold exclusively at Torrey Holistics. (Courtesy)

Torrey Holistics offers up a selection of flower, edibles, tinctures, ointments and sparkling elixirs.They recently became the first dispensary to sell Californias first-ever cannabis-infused wine, Rebel Coast. Per regulations, alcohol and THC cannot be combinedafter the alcohol is removed from the wine, the THC is infused into the exclusive sauvignon blanc bottle.

We knew our demographic would be perfect for this, Edelson said.

Torrey Holistic also staffs in-house cannabis consultant Dr. Beth, a scientist who holds a Ph.D in molecular biology and biochemistry, to provide private consultations to help guide customers.

As the industry grows, Edelson said Torrey Holistics wants to be seen as the professional business that it is and they want to be a part of the community. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month they donated a portion of proceeds from vape pens to Susan G. Komen, they have participated in beach clean-ups and throughout the month of November, Torrey Holistics is partnering with Got Your Back San Diegos program to help alleviate childhood hunger. Every person who donates a 16 oz. plastic jar of peanut butter receives a penny pre-roll with purchase.

In their mission to educate, Torrey Holistics also offers weekly Cannabis 101 classes open to the community to learn about various topics and once a quarter, they open their doors to medical professionals for an open house on medical cannabis with eight to ten vendors. Edelson said particularly with the opioid crisis, they want to give the medical community the information they need to learn about alternatives to pain management as well as issues like arthritis and sleep disorders.

I think its very important to educate the community more about todays new normal, Edelson said.
The San Dieguito Union School District board and staff walked out of the board room during a meeting on Nov. 1 as SDUHSD President Beth Hergesheimer said she could not get control over public comment. This was not the first time where public comment led to an issue at a meeting, but leaving the room was a new strategy used in an attempt to bring order back to the board room.

In a letter to the board following the meeting, former district parent Wendy Gumb said while she appreciated the attempt to establish protocol and to establish a fair forum for the public to express their views, she questioned whether the board walking out was a violation of community member Rita Radens right to speak.

We definitely allow public comment on any topic during our Public Comment portion of the agenda, and Ms. Raden was provided multiple opportunities to speak to both agenda and non-agenda items during the course of our meeting, Hergesheimer said.

While the board walked out during Radens public comment that Hergesheimer said was not on the agenda topic, Raden addressed the board during public comment before the boards closed session meeting and five other times during the regular meeting.

At board meetings, there is an opportunity for the public to speak for three minutes on items both on and off the agenda. When people go over the time, Hergesheimer must cut them off or remind them to finish their thought. At last months meeting, teacher Duncan Brown went well over his three minutes and an argument erupted from audience members Raden and Lea Wolf about the fairness of him going over the allotted time and others being interrupted when they went over. Duncan continued to speak over the arguing and ignored Hergesheimer repeatedly asking him to wrap it up before he finally stopped.

At the beginning of the Nov. 1 meeting, Hergesheimer noted that they had about an hours worth of speaker slips and reminded speakers about the protocol.

Rather than me trying to figure out when someone is finishing a thought or idea, when the bell rings, finish your sentence, Hergesheimer said.

Wolf and Raden wanted to speak on Student updates, which is the student board members opportunity to talk about the things going on at their campuses. Both speakers began to address the recent tragic events on the Canyon Crest Academy campus. When informed that her comment was not on the topic, Wolf stopped speaking and said she would speak during public comment on non-agenda items. When Raden was called, Hergesheimer asked if it was in regard to student updates. Im updating students on student updates and Hergsesheimer said she wasnt sure about that but they would give it a shot.

When Raden began to speak about the recent suicide at Canyon Crest Academy and a former CCA teacher who was arrested in a child predator sting in Rancho Cucamonga, Hergesheimer cut her off with her gavel and warned that it was not on topic and the board would take a recess if she did not stop. Raden did not stop talking and Hergesheimer announced that the board was taking a five-minute recess and the entire board and staff walked out of the board room.

We will be trying to have order in the board room, Hergesheimer said when the board returned. This is going to be a part of what our procedure will be if we cant have people cooperate with the order that Im calling for.

Following the meeting, some community members, such as Gumb, questioned whether Radens free speech had been violated. Attorney and education activist Sally Smith pointed out in an email to the board that public is the first word in public schools.

It is of great public interest to all when the government seeks to stifle the rabble-rousers who dare to challenge it. Those who suffer vilification and ostracism and yet, continue to speak exercising our First Amendment rights are to be commended, Smith wrote.

Smith said that freedom of speech is not just for the opinions and views that are pleasant to hear.

Dr. Haley and the school board should listen carefully to all speakers, because it is a public school system, and not just the domain of teachers and current parents, Smith said. The law is on the side of the people who strive to exercise their freedom of speech. If others - teachers, parents, individuals - dont want to hear it they can leave the meeting.

On Nov. 1, Raden addressed the board five times, speaking on topics such as the districts escalating legal fees, special education and the requirements of a new chief financial officerformer CFO Dolores Perley has left the district for a new position in Northern California; at a past meeting Raden had questioned her qualifications. Hergesheimer interrupted Raden once more during one of her public comments, questioning whether it was on topic but allowing her to finish.

It was very inappropriate, Raden said of the interruption. I have a first amendment right. You can disagree with me, youre welcome to disagree, but let me speak.

Torrey Pines High School parent Heather Dugdale wrote a letter to the board disagreeing with the statement that Radens rights had been violated and applauded the board for walking out. Dugdale wrote that while public comments from some people have made valuable points, the constant verbal assault and firing squad only wrecks havoc on the district.

Dugdale herself has been vocal at board meetings over the last several months in her criticisms of trustees John Salazar and Mo Muir.

In a letter responding to Smith and the board, outgoing trustee John Salazar, who was not in attendance at the meeting, said he would not have walked out had he been there.

The publics comments have been very powerful and have caused the district to change course many many times, Salazar said. I have had my share of criticism from the public and understand that it is the publics right to have a difference of opinion, and to make sure I have heard it as well.
By Christopher F. Schuetze

4 November 2018

KAUB, Germany (The New York Times)  Just after sunrise, Capt. Frank Sep turned to his ships radio for the defining news of his day: the water level in Kaub, the shallowest part of the middle section of the Rhine, Germanys most important shipping route.

The news was bad, as it so often is these days.

One of the longest dry spells on record has left parts of the Rhine at record-low levels for months, forcing freighters to reduce their cargo or stop plying the river altogether.Parts of the Danube and the Elbe  Germanys other major rivers for transport  are also drying up. Some inland ports are idle, and it is estimated that millions of tons of goods are having to be transported by rail or road.With castles and vineyards dominating the river banks near Kaub, just five miles from the Lorelei rock, named for a siren who was said to lure sailors to their deaths, it would be easy to forget how important the area is to German commerce. It is roughly halfway between the inland ports of Koblenz and Mainz, and virtually all freight shipped from seaports in the Netherlands and Belgium to the industrial southwest of Germany passes through here.On a day in late October 2018, Captain Sep learned that the river was just 10 inches deep. That meant the water in the man-made shipping channel dredged near the center of the river was about five feet deep, down from an average of about 11 feet. Even with cargo at one-third of its usual weight, his 282-foot freighter Rex-Rheni  the King Rhine  would have only inches of water under its hull.Ive never experienced so little water here, said Captain Sep, who has been working on the river since 1982, the last 22 years on the Rex-Rheni. Its becoming so low that its very difficult for ships to pass.An exceptionally dry summer has caused havoc across Europe. A trade group in Germany put farmers losses at several billion dollars. The German chemical giant BASF had to decrease production at one of its plants over the summer because the Rhine, whose water it uses to cool production, was too low. []
Subscriber content preview

By The Associated Press

Amazon could get more than $2 billion in tax breaks and other incentives as part of its deals to open up two new offices with more than 25,000 new jobs at each location.

New York City and Arlington County, Virginia, will be home to two new nerve centers, which are being called the second and third headquarters for the Seattle company.





. . .
Subscriber content preview

BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Court records show the former executive director of the Idaho Association of Highway Districts has been charged with embezzling funds from the organization between 2013 and 2016.

The Idaho Statesman reported Monday that Stuart Davis was charged with seven counts of grand theft over $1,000.





. . .
Subscriber content preview

A feasibility study for the city put the cost of redeveloping the 50-acre site at $1 billion to $1.5 billion.



Weidner Apartment Homes has broken off talks with the city of Kenmore over the redevelopment of Lakepointe, a 50-plus-acre industrial property on Lake Washington.

The city had been working with Kirkland-based Weidner to draft an agreement that would outline a range of development options to study.





. . .
Search All categories Advertising General Aerospace General Agriculture General Airlines General America - Post 9/11 General Apparel General Apple Products General Architectural General Architecture Architecture Art & Entertainments Books Celebrities Country Music Dance Magazines Movies Museums Music Music Downloads News & Talk Shows Performing Arts Photography Television Web Sites Arts/Culture General Auction General Automotive Aftermarket Classic Autos Consumer Publications General Motorcycle & Bike Racing Recreational Vehicle Repair & Service Trade Publications Blogging & Social Media Blogging & Social Media Business Advertising / Marketing Books Consumer Research Direct Marketing e-Commerce Entrepreneurs Finance Franchise Human Resources Insurance Investment Management Markets Network Marketing Online Marketing / SEO Payday Loans Public Relations Publications Real Estate Retail Stocks Supermarkets Women in Business Careers/HR General Chemical General Coaching / Mentoring Coaching / Mentoring Computers Apple Products Databases Games & Entertainment General Hosting Instruction Linux / GNU "Open Source" Macintosh Microsoft Windows PC Operating Systems Programming Security Software Tablet PCs Utilities Construction General Consumer Gifts and Collectibles Hobbies Web sites / Internet Design Graphic Design Industrial Web E-Cigarette General eCommerce General Economy General Education College / University General Home Schooling K-12 Post Graduate Technical Electronics General Email Marketing General EmailWire Press Releases Press Release Tips Employment/Careers General Engineering General Entertainment General Environment General Events / Trade Shows General Finance General Food General Franchise General Fraud / Identity Theft General Gaming General Government General Judicial Law Enforcement Legislative Local National Public Services Security State Transportation Healthcare General Home and Family Banking / Personal Finance Bereavement / Loss Home Furnishings / Interiors Landscaping & Gardening Marriage / Relationships Money Parenting Payday Loans Pets Taxes Wedding / Bridal Home Schooling General Hotels/Resorts General Household General Industry Aerospace / Defense Agriculture Apparel / Textiles Broadcast Construction / Building Electrical Food Funeral Healthcare Leisure / Hospitality Logistics / Shipping Manufacturing / Production Mining / Metals Oil / Energy Paper / Forest Products Plumbing, Heating & AC Print Media Printing Publishing Radio Restaurants Tobacco Toy Insurance General Internet/Online General Legal General Leisure General Lifestyle Beauty Dating / Singles Diet / Weight Loss Fashion Food / Beverage Health & Fitness Hotel / Resorts Pastimes Restaurants Retirement Travel & Tourism Machinery General Maritime General Medical Addiction Allergies Alternative Medicine Asthma Cancer Cardiology Chiropractic Dental Dermatology Diabetes Emergency Family Medicine General General Geriatrics Hospitals Infectious Diseases Internal Medicine Managed Care / HMO Medical Products Mental Health Neurology Nursing Nutrition OB / GYN Pediatrics Pharmaceuticals Physical Therapy Plastic Surgery Psychology Radiology / Imaging Research Sports Medicine Surgery Vision Military General Mining/Metals General Miscellaneous General Nanotechnology Nanotechnology Non-profit General Occupational Safety Occupational Safety Oil/Energy General Opinion / Editorial Opinion / Editorial Paper Products General Paper/Forest General Pharmaceuticals General Podcasting Announce Tools and Services Politics Politics Print Media General Public Utilities Public Utilities Publishing General Radio General Real Estate General Religion Christian General Islam Jewish Other Restaurants General Retail General RSS & Content Syndication RSS & Content Syndication Science and Research Science and Research Self-Help / Personal Growth Self-Help / Personal Growth Shipbuilding General Society African American Interests Asian Interests Childrens Issues Disabled Issues / Disabilities Gay / Lesbian Hispanic Mens Interests Native American Senior Citizens Social Services Teen Issues/Interests Womens Interest Software General Sports Baseball Basketball Bicycling Boating / Maritime Bowling Boxing Fishing Football Golf Hockey Hunting Martial Arts Outdoors Rugby Soccer Tennis Water Winter/Snow Sports/Fitness General Stocks General Supermarkets General Technology Biotechnology Computer Electronics Enterprise Software Games Graphics/Printing/CAD Hardware / Peripherals Industrial Information Internet Multimedia Networking Public Sector/Government Robotics Semiconductor Software Telecommunications Webmasters Telecom General Wireless Television General Tobacco General Trade General Transportation General Travel General Utilities General Volunteer Volunteer Weather Weather
China recently amended its Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) to codify rules encouraging cooperation in government investigations, align with the new national supervision system, and introduce trials in absentia for certain crimes, including bribery and corruption.

The CPL amendments were passed and took effect immediately on October 26, 2018. This is the third time (after 1996 and 2012) that the CPL has been amended since enactment in 1979. The most recent revisions are closely aligned with the Party and governments ongoing anti-corruption drive and will likely impact domestic anti-corruption enforcement. Key changes related to corruption and bribery include:

1. Codified leniency rules in criminal guilty pleas.

The CPL Amendments codify existing practice that leniency may be offered when suspects (individuals or entities) plead guilty and accept punishment. In such circumstances, the Peoples Procuratorate, the principal agency that prosecutes crimes, may suggest leniency in its filings, which are generally accepted by the Peoples Court. Further, in cases where a suspect makes a voluntary confession, if they demonstrate significant meritorious service, or significant national interests are involved in the case, the Peoples Procuratorate may decide not to prosecute one or multiple counts.

(In China, meritorious service includes informing against other suspects, preventing others from committing crimes, or providing significant information for solving other criminal investigations.)

These leniency rules have been a practice in criminal investigations for several years; a pilot program for a formalized leniency system was implemented in certain areas of China starting in September 2016 and was viewed as yielding positive results. The CPL Amendments do not specify the terms or degree of leniency that may be offered, which is left to prosecutorial discretion.

The net effect of these codified changes may be additional pressure on individual or corporate suspects to cooperate in government investigations  particularly individual suspects under investigation for giving or receiving bribes  to plead guilty and hope for leniency, especially given the official conviction rate above 99.9 percent.

2. Revised procedures for investigating cases of corruption involving government-affiliated individuals.

In March 2018, the launch of the National Supervision Commission (NSC) consolidated the supervision and enforcement powers public-sector corruption from three agencies: the Peoples Procuratorate, the Ministry of Supervision, and the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention.

Prior to establishment of the NSC, the Peoples Procuratorate investigated and prosecuted most crimes involving government officials. Now, the NSC will investigate crimes, particularly corruption and malfeasance, involving government-affiliated individuals (traditional government officials and certain officials at SOEs and public institutions), but the Procuratorate will continue to prosecute such cases. The recent CPL Amendments make conforming revisions to the CPL by removing references to the authority of the Peoples Procuratorate to investigate crimes of embezzlement and bribery and malfeasance of government-affiliated individuals in most cases.

The old CPL included certain rights for suspects in bribery and corruption cases, such as limited rights to meet with counsel. Because investigations into government-affiliated individuals involving bribery have been transferred to the NSC, the CPL Amendments removed those rights.

(The NSC, which possesses expansive investigative rights, is not subject to provisions providing for a right to meet with counsel during the investigation phase, which seems to mean that officials no longer have such rights.)

The Public Security Bureau will continue to investigate, and the Peoples Procuratorate will continue to prosecute, criminal cases against private companies and individuals for paying bribes to government officials.

3. Trial in absentia.

The CPL Amendments added a new chapter addressing trial in absentia, which applies to three types of crimes: corruption or bribery, national security, and terrorism. When a corruption or bribery case is transferred from the NSC or the Public Security Bureau to the Peoples Procuratorate for prosecution, and the suspect is outside of mainland China, the Peoples Procuratorate may prosecute the case at the Peoples Court. If the Procuratorate believes the case has clear facts and sufficient evidence and receives appropriate approvals, the case may proceed to trial and sentencing even though the suspect will not be present.

Chinas ongoing anti-corruption campaign includes a significant component to apprehend allegedly corrupt officials outside of China and recover illegal proceeds. The 2012 amendments to the CPL added a procedure to confiscate illegal proceeds of escaped criminal suspects. Trial in absentia is a further effort to reach criminals via provisions in the United Nations Convention against Corruption, of which China is a party, to extradite or prosecute and extradite or enforce a sentence.

* * *

The CPL Amendments provide more tools to law enforcement to prosecute corruption, particularly public-sector corruption. The most immediate impact of the CPL Amendments will be on government-affiliated individuals under investigation. But more investigations into government-affiliated individuals means more people who tell enforcement agencies (and sometimes speak publicly in courts) about the sources of bribes they (allegedly) took. Government officials may be particularly motivated by newly codified leniency rules to share information about the source of bribes, which may include private companies and individuals. These developments caution for continued vigilance in compliance and investigations in China.

______

Eric Carlson, a contributing editor of the FCPA Blog, is a Shanghai-based partner at Covington & Burling LLP specializing in anti-corruption compliance and investigations, with a particular focus on China and other regions in Asia. He speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese and can be contacted here.

Nicole Ma is an associate in Covingtons Shanghai office specializing in anti-corruption compliance and investigations.
Retired Navy Capt. Jeffrey Breslau (Navy photo)A retired U.S. Navy captain who secretly edited documents and wrote emails for a defense contractor who was defrauding the Navy pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conflict of interest.

Jeffrey Breslau, 52, of Cumming, Georgia, entered his plea in federal court in San Diego.

While he was serving in the Navy as spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Breslau took $65,000 in consulting fees from Leonard Glenn Francis.

Francis company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, provided port services to Navy ships across Asia.

Breslau helped Francis deal with problems, such as the unauthorized dumping of waste, disputes with competitors, and issues with Pacific Fleet and contracting personnel, the DOJ said.

Although serving as a Navy captain, Breslau authored, reviewed or edited at least 33 separate documents; authored at least 135 emails providing advice to Francis; provided at least 14 instances of talking points in advance of meetings between Francis and high ranking U.S. Navy personnel; and ghostwrote numerous emails on Franciss behalf to be transmitted to U.S. Navy personnel, the DOJ said.

Francis, 54, pleaded guilty in 2015 to directing a decade-long conspiracy involving scores of U.S. Navy officials. In exchange for millions of dollars in bribes, the officials helped Francis win Navy contracts and overcharge for his companys services.

As part of his plea deal, Francis forfeited $35 million and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Also Tuesday, a former U.S. Navy master chief was jailed for taking bribes from Francis.

Retired Master Chief Ricarte Icmat David, 62, of Concepcion, Tarlac, Philippines, was sentenced to seventeen months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $30,000.

In return for five star hotel rooms during port visits, David allowed Francis and his company to inflate invoices to include services never provided.

So far, 33 defendants  many of them from the top ranks of the Navys Pacific command  have been charged in the massive corruption scandal.

Twenty-two have pleaded guilty.

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
iFood, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based online food delivery platform in Latin America, raised $500m in funding.

Naspers and Innova Capital committed to invest USD$400M of new capital into Movile to use for further investment in iFood, the online food delivery platform in Latin America, of which Movile is a majority shareholder.

Movile and Just Eat have already invested USD$100M in iFood during 2018.

The company intends to use the funds to speed up product development and innovation, as well as accelerate geographical expansion across the region.

Led by Carlos Moyses, CEO, iFood provides an online food delivery platform which has 10.8 monthly orders in Brazil via 50,000 restaurant partners and 120,000 couriers.

FinSMEs

14/11/2018

PRESS RELEASE

Sao Paulo, November 13th  Movile, a leader in mobile marketplaces in Latin America, announced today that iFood funding from the company will total USD$500M, the largest tech funding in Latin America to date. Naspers and Innova Capital have committed to invest USD$400M of new capital into Movile to use for further investment in iFood, the leading online food delivery platform in Latin America, of which Movile is a majority shareholder. Movile and Just Eat have already invested USD$100M in iFood during 2018. iFoods extraordinary growth and the vast market opportunity in Brazil and more broadly in Latin America has driven the increased investment commitment.

iFoods 10.8 monthly orders in Brazil have fed more than 9 million unique customers in the past twelve months, 16x the nearest online competitor * in terms of daily active users, meaning its partner restaurants are serving the biggest population of consumers ordering food in Latin America. iFoods 50,000 restaurant partners and 120,000 couriers are offering consumers the best choice and quality of food, delivered fast, using iFoods innovative technology platform that makes the entire food delivery experience the best offered within Latin America.

iFood is just at the beginning of its journey and the opportunity for continued explosive growth is immense. The increased investment commitment from Naspers, Innova and Movile will accelerate that growth, speed up product development and innovation, as well as fuel geographical expansion for iFood across the region. In addition, the companys vision is, through artificial intelligence technology, to gain a more profound knowledge of consumers to personalize the food delivery experience so that people eat better, higher quality food and at a reduced price because of improved logistics.

Movile is very fortunate to have long-term investors who have supported us for the past decade to help achieve our goal of transforming the lives of more than one billion people and thus we are able to continually back iFood to ensure it remains the market leader, said Fabricio Bloisi, Movile CEO. Our entire ecosystem of companies is focused on allocating resources and energy towards our one billion people goal, and iFood is leading the way fueling unprecedented growth through its innovative technology platform, providing consumers, couriers and restaurants with the best experience in food ordering and delivery.

iFood has established itself as a technology leader in Latin America and its success stacks up with some of the most innovative food companies that are leading regions in North America, Europe and Asia. We have been impressed by their execution in Brazil and remain committed to backing the company on its path to transform the entire food chain to better serve consumers, said Larry Illg, CEO of Naspers Ventures.

Online food delivery is experiencing incredible expansion globally. While global leaders such as GrubHub continue with strong growth, iFood is growing twice as fast. According to [latest reported results] Grubhub grew daily average orders 39% year-over-year reaching over 416k orders per day. In Latin America, iFood has reached 390k orders per day just in Brazil in the last week of October, compared with 183k from October 2017, representing an exceptional 109% growth, twice as fast as the global leaders.

We want our consumers to have an amazing delivery experience from the moment they order their food to the moment it arrives, and our partners  the restaurants and delivery fleet  make that happen by living our purpose of improving peoples lives using our services, explains Carlos Moyses, iFoods CEO. iFood exists for our customers and with an increased investment commitment of this size, we will be able to build out our state of the art technology platform, and increase our courier and restaurant partners to even better serve our current and future customers in Latin America.
Riversand, a Houston, TX-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) Master Data Management (MDM) and Product Information Management (PIM) solution provider, received additional funding from Crestline Investors, a credit-focused institutional alternative asset manager.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate product innovation and increase market share through global sales and marketing expansion.

Led by Upen Varanasi, CEO and Founder, Riversand provides cloud-native master data management solutions designed to support customers digital transformation journeys through business agility, fast adoption and collaboration across the enterprise.

The solution allows companies to know their customers, move products, automate processes, mitigate risk and run their businesses.

The company has experienced success in its core PIM and MDM markets.

FinSMEs

14/11/2018
Sam Seamless Network, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based intuitive security system for the home IoT network, raised $12m in Series A financing.

The round was led by Intel Capital with participation from NightDragon, ADT Inc and Blumberg Capital. In addition to the funding, NightDragons Dave DeWalt  a cybersecurity executive and the former CEO of McAfee and FireEye  has joined SAM as board chairman.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its machine learning research and to further its growth in US and European markets.

Led by CEO Sivan Rauscher, Sam Seamless Network provides a security system for the home IoT network. Its cybersecurity software protects local area networks and all of their connected devices directly at the source of entry at the ISPs via the router.

Sam works with leading chipset manufacturers, including Intel, to provide network security from the source. In addition, the companys technology is already integrated on parts of the network of Bezeq, Israels largest telecommunications operator. It is also currently operating pilot programs in Europe and North America. SAM has monitored over 4 million devices, enriching its artificial intelligence cloud to reveal new attack patterns such as backdoors to IoT devices, and creating advanced security policies.

FinSMEs

14/11/2018
.                 ,             30 .        4:1      14- ,       -.     ,       3:0  ,       ...
HHS led the effort to develop these guidelines, which apply to all Americans. The government first convened a group of experts in physical activity and health  the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. I was honored to serve on that committee. One of the jobs of the committee was to review the science on the role that physical activity might have in reducing the risk for various cancers and in improving survival in individuals who have cancer. HHS used the Committees findings to develop these new guidelines.

The guidelines state that individuals who engage in regular physical activity have a lower risk of cancers of the bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, lung and stomach. Any amount of activity is beneficial in reducing risk, but the protection is greater with more time spent in physical activity on a regular basis.

The guidelines recommend that cancer survivors engage in regular physical activity for its many health benefits. For adults with breast, colorectal or prostate cancer, greater amounts of physical activity were associated with lower risk of dying from their cancer. For some cancer survivors, regular physical activity may reduce the risk of dying from any cause. Since physical activity can also improve quality of life, fitness, and physical function in cancer survivors, as well as reduce fatigue and some adverse effects of cancer treatment, all cancer survivors should be as active as they are able. The government recommends that individuals with cancer consult with their doctor or an exercise professional to determine what is the best type and level of physical activity for them.

Key guidelines for adults

Adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. Some physical activity is better than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain some health benefits.

For substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) to 300 minutes (five hours) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (one hour and 15 minutes) to 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Preferably, aerobic activity should be spread throughout the week.

Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond the equivalent of 300 minutes (five hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity a week.

Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity and that involve all major muscle groups on two or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits.

Guidelines for children, teenagers, older adults, pregnant and postpartum women, adults with chronic health conditions, and adults with disabilities are also provided.

How to incorporate the guidelines into your life

The guidelines provide recommendations on how to incorporate physical activity into your lifestyle. For some people, getting help from others can help  friends, family or exercise professionals. For others, technology might be key, such as step counters or exercise monitors, or text messages from professionals to help with behavior change. For cancer survivors, resources may be available through your hospital, medical center, or community for special exercise opportunities. Guidance for communities and institutions is also provided in the guidelines because improving access to physical activity opportunities can help everyone.

Dr. Anne McTiernan is a member of the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and is the author of a highly acclaimed memoir, "Starved: A Nutrition Doctors Journey from Empty to Full." View all of McTiernan's AICR blog posts.
Opera GX, the worlds only browser for gamers, is launching the first ever graveyard in the metaverse. The online platform has been designed for people to roast their friends and bury the avatars of people who disappeared from their gamer life due to life obligations
Lerch, who served 12 years with the U.S. Coast Guard and another 30 in the reserves, died on Sunday evening of cancer.
Counter demonstration registered : Identitarian movement to demonstrate in Bonn on Sunday

Bonn The Identitarian movement will hold a demonstration in the former government district on Sunday. At the same time, a counter-demo of the alliance "Bonn stellt sich quer" has been announced.

Teilen

Teilen Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Tweeten

Tweeten Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Drucken

The planned United Nations Migration Pact has triggered two demonstrations that will both be held on Sunday, November 18, in the former government district. Under the motto "Stop Migration Pact", the Identitarian movement called for a rally on United Nations Square in front of the UN campus from 2 p.m. onwards. At the same time, a counter-demonstration of the alliance "Bonn stellt sich quer" has been registered nearby. On its website, the Bonn alliance "Bonn stellt sich quer" declares that there is no voice, no place in Bonn for Nazis and racists with their dehumanizing hate slogans. The police confirmed the registration of the demonstrations and said that they expected them to proceed peacefully.

For some time now, the Identitarian Movement in Europe has been mobilizing against migration policy with various initiatives and flash mobs; the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified it as a right-wing extremist organization and put it under surveillance in 2016. The alliance "Bonn stellt sich quer" accuses the Identitarians of a racist worldview. The call for a counter-demonstration was joined by the Left party in the city council, among others.

The UN Migration Pact and its binding powers are currently the subject of controversial debate. A number of states, including the USA and Austria, have announced that they will not sign the agreement; others are calling for improvements. The German Federal Government, on the other hand, wants to sign in December. The AfD party and federal politicians from the ranks of the CDU and CSU have criticized the agreement.
Remigiusplatz in Bonn : Observation tower "City Skyliner" to be set up

Bonn The 81 meter high observation tower "City Skyliner" will be assembled on Thursday and Friday at Remigiusplatz. During this time there may be some constraints and noise in the pedestrian zone.

Teilen

Teilen Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Tweeten

Tweeten Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Drucken

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Bonn Christmas Market, the "City Skyliner" lookout tower from Putzchens Markt will be set up in Bonn city center. The 81 meter high tower will be assembled on Thursday and Friday at Remigiusplatz. The City of Bonn points out that there may be some constraints and noise in the pedestrian zone and Remigiusstrasse during this time.

Under police escort, a heavy transport will arrive on Thursday morning at about 4 am via the B9, driving in the opposite direction on the one-way street at the Hofgarten to Martinsplatz. The heavy transport, carrying the individual components of the tower, will drive through the pedestrian zone to its destination via Remigiusstrasse. At around 6 am, the construction of the lower and middle sections begins.

The remaining parts will be delivered on Friday. Further heavy loads will be transported via the A555 to Potsdamer Platz, continuing on Heinrich Boll Ring, Bornheimer Strae, Oxfordstrae, Belderberg, Rathausgasse and am Hof to Martinsplatz. In the course of the day, the remaining components will be built up until the "City Skyliner" has reached its height of 81 meters.
The flavors of Christmas : Tasty treats at Christmas markets in the Rhineland

Rhineland Christmas markets will open again beginning in mid-November and many of them will tempt visitors with mulled wine and bratwurst. But there are also unusual or traditional specialities that will lure in visitors to these markets.

Teilen

Teilen Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Tweeten

Tweeten Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Drucken

Hearty Christmas liver sausage and Printen in Aachen

The world-famous Aachener Printen (Christmas cookies) are not only sold at the Christmas market in Aachen - visitors can actually see how the cookies are made in a demonstration bakery. But the Aachen Christmas market around the cathedral and the town hall also offers a special delicacy for those who like it hearty: Aachen Christmas liver sausage. Various butchers have been making the sausages since the 19th century, refining them with nuts, cranberries and traditional winter spices. In addition, the Aachen Christmas Market, which is regularly voted among the Top 10 of Europe's Best Christmas Markets, offers the Aachen Cathedral Liqueur as well as specialities from the Eifel region. From November 23 to December 23 the market is open daily from 11 am to 9 pm. On December 25, the stands will be open once again from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m..

Dom Spekulatius, Rievkooche and bonbons in Cologne

From November 26 to December 23, Cologne's Christmas markets invite you to enjoy a wide range of eats and drinks. Spekulatius is a type of Christmas cookie that generally comes in a butter or spiced version. If you add the word Dom (Cathedral) to the front of it, it means Cathedral Spekulatius, implying a Cologne specialty. Rievkooche is the Kolsch word for Reibekuchen, which is a delicious potato pancake traditionally served with apple mousse. These treats can be found at the "Christmas Market at the Cathedral". If you go to the Alter Markt, check out "Heinzels Wintermarchen" where visitors can watch bonbons being whipped up from a mass of sugar at the candy makers.

Homemade goose liver terrine by star chef in Kerpen: from December 21 - 23, the Christmas market at Schloss Loersfeld offers a speciality from the castle kitchen. In addition to musical accompaniment and numerous exhibitors, visitors can enjoy the homemade goose liver terrine made only by Germany's youngest star chef Julia Komp. The Christmas Market is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and from 12 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Homemade baked goods from the museum oven in Mechernich

The LVR Open Air Museum in Kommern offers very special Christmas tastes during "Advent for all the senses". During the first and second weekends of Advent, the museum's ovens bake Christmas treats such as Bratapfel (baked apples), Printen and Spekulatius cookies. Staff prepare hot chestnuts, honey cake and Feuerzangenbowle ( a red wine punch) for visitors. The opening hours are from 10am to 8pm.

Home-roasted coffee in the "Copper Town" Stolberg

Stolberg, around 5 kilometers from Aachen, is not only celebrating its 900th anniversary this year, but also the "Copper Town" Christmas holidays. On the five weekends before Christmas, the Old Town invites visitors to the various castle courtyards. Here you will find handcrafted items and culinary specialities. In the Torburg Museum, which also participates in the pre-Christmas market, crafts enthusiasts can take part in workshops, for example on soap making and coffee roasting. In the historic Kaffeestube, visitors can enjoy home-roasted coffee and cake. On Fridays the markets open at 5 p.m., on Saturdays at 3 p.m. and on Sundays at 12 noon.

Hot gin from Krefeld

At the Krefeld Christmas Market at the Dionysius Church from November 22 to December 23, there will be a variety of hot gins in addition to the usual warm beverages. Not only does apple juice come from this region - gin does as well.

Soups based on grandmother's recipe at Schloss Dyck in Juchen

In Juchen, on the Lower Rhine, visitors to the Castle Christmas at Schloss Dyck will find plenty of seasonal and regional delicacies. The Orangery Peninsula offers soups based on grandmother's recipes, along with cookies, stollen and Hochzeitsbrot (traditional wedding bread). The Christmas market opens on Saturdays and Sundays on the Advent weekends from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m..

Homemade foods from the locals in Bedburg

On Sunday, December 2, the Nicholas Market in Bedburg-Alt-Kaster offers home-baked and home-cooked food of all kinds. Unlike most Christmas markets, it takes place in the houses and courtyards of the local residents who prepare the food themselves.

Chocolatiers Market at the Chocolate Museum Cologne

The Chocolate Museum in Cologne is celebrating its 25th anniversary and is ringing in the Christmas season with the Chocolatiers' Market. From November 14 -18, numerous stands with a variety of chocolates and sweets await visitors directly in front of the museum. For all chocolate lovers, there will be 70 national and international chocolatiers offering their sweets. Admission is free. The market is open from Wednesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m..
Governments around the nation are working to design the best vaccine policies that keep both their employees and their residents safe. Although the latest data shows a variety of polarizing perspectives, there are clear emerging best practices that leading governments are following to put trust first: creating policies that are flexible and provide a range of options, and being in tune with the needs and sentiments of their employees so that they are able to be dynamic and accommodate the rapidly changing situation.
Twenty states elected new governors last month. Few will change the tone in their state capitols as quickly as Illinois Democrat J.B. Pritzker.In large part, that has to do with the man Pritzker unseated. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner spent his four years in office feuding with the Democrats who run the legislature, notably state House Speaker Michael Madigan. Most notoriously, their disagreements led to a two-year period during which the state could not enact a budget.Like Rauner, Pritzker is a millionaire hundreds of times over for whom the governorship will be his first elected office. Corporate kings who enter politics are often frustrated to find that their word is not fiat. But where Rauner had been a takeover artist, accustomed to telling people and corporations to do things his way, Pritzker is inclined toward congeniality. He grew up in the hospitality business: His family made its fortune owning the Hyatt hotel chain.Pritzker has been around politics a long time. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress 20 years ago and has been a major Democratic donor, leading a tech initiative for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and funding a school breakfast program for the state. He wont be challenging the legislature, as Rauner routinely did, over issues such as establishing term limits or taking away the General Assemblys authority over redistricting. He will certainly work closely with the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate, says Democratic state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie. But, she adds, he wont be Mike Madigans right-hand man.Madigan has ruled the state House for all but two years since 1983. He hasnt always gotten along with Democratic governors. But the potential coziness between Pritzker and legislative Democrats was a central theme of the Republican campaign. A couple of weeks before the election, Rauner released an ad dramatizing a same-sex unholy union between Pritzker and Madigan, with the speaker vowing to be an unlawful partner in destruction and Pritzker pledging obedience always to the speaker.Rauners complaint all along has been that Illinois finances are in disorder and in need of a severe shock. Its hard to argue with him, even though legislative Democrats rejected his prescribed medicine. This years budget as passed was nominally balanced, but the state almost immediately warned bond buyers that it was actually $1.2 billion in the red. That shortfall is expected to grow in the new year. What we know with Madigan is that, for one reason or another, digging out of the fiscal hole isnt his priority, says Brian Gaines, a political scientist at the University of Illinois.Pritzker said during the campaign that hed like to create a graduated income tax, moving the state away from the current flat rate and calling on higher-income individuals to pay more. That cant happen right away. Even if its approved by the legislature, the question would have to be put to voters, which wouldnt occur until 2020. In the meantime, Pritzker might try to raise the personal income tax rate, perhaps offsetting some of the bump with deductions. He also favors legalizing marijuana, which could bring in some new revenue.In general, though, his victory over Rauner was such a foregone conclusion that he wasnt pressed to offer many specifics about what hed do in office. Pritzker has not had to go out on a limb with too many promises, Gaines says. He hasnt given us much clue as to what he has in mind.Whats indisputable is that the new governor will inherit the same pension and budget problems Rauner was unable to solve. There are at least two more years of a strained financial situation in Illinois, predicts GOP Rep. David Harris. I dont think theres any way of getting around that.
A Broward County judge on Monday turned down Gov. Rick Scotts request to impound and secure all voting machines in Browards elections headquarters when theyre not being used to recount ballots in his U.S. Senate race against incumbent Bill Nelson.But Circuit Judge Jack Tuter offered a compromise: Add three Broward Sheriffs Office deputies to the current lineup of BSO deputies, local police officers and private security guards overseeing the recount underway at the countys elections center in Lauderhill.Citing a lack of evidence pointing to any wrongdoing, Tuter stopped short of granting the Scott campaigns request for an injunction to impound the machines. But he agreed with Scotts lawyers that there needs to be an additional layer of confidence in the vote-recount system in Broward. The votes in the U.S. Senate race between Scott, the Republican, and Nelson, the Democrat, are part of the recount. Unofficially, Scott leads Nelson by about 12,500 votes.Tuter asked the lawyers representing Scotts campaign and attorneys for Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes to come back later in the day with a security plan to assign the three additional BSO deputies to protect the voting machines and ballots during the recount of races for U.S. Senate, Floridas governor and state agriculture commissioner.
On weekday mornings, enticing whiffs of bacon and fried potatoes waft from Wanda Js Next Generation restaurant in Tulsas Greenwood neighborhood. The smell of breakfast on the griddle offers a comforting contrast to the sound of big rigs and commuter traffic roaring by on the Interstate 244 overpass that cleaves the neighborhood in two.At first glance, the Greenwood section of Tulsa doesnt look much different from places in other cities where, in the name of urban renewal, new highways were erected in the 1960s, obliterating or dividing minority neighborhoods. Around the corner from Wanda Js, there are signs of a revitalization effort -- or of gentrification, depending on whom you ask. A sign on an empty lot promises a future mixed-use development; a two-story historic building nearby has already been renovated with retail on the ground floor that includes a combo coffee shop and yoga studio, a bookstore, and a Vietnamese sandwich shop.But the sidewalks that line the streets of this neighborhood offer a grim reminder of Greenwoods darker past. Every 20 or 30 feet, a plaque lists the name of a business -- a restaurant, grocer, lawyer, doctor, clothing store -- and below it, the words, Destroyed in 1921.A hundred years ago, this 35-square-block section of Tulsa was home to one of the largest concentrations of African-American-owned enterprises and wealth in this country. It was so well-known at the time that Booker T. Washington nicknamed the area Negro Wall Street. At its peak, Greenwood was home to more than 300 businesses serving roughly 11,000 residents who, thanks to segregation, reinvested whatever they earned back into their community. By 1921, Black Wall Street, as its called today, boasted a three-story, chandeliered hotel as well as a public library, two newspapers, 23 churches and a high school that taught Latin, chemistry and physics.That all changed on May 31 of that year when a black teenage boy was accused of assaulting a white female elevator operator. Within hours, marauding white residents swept into the district and burned it to the ground. Hundreds of black residents died; thousands were left homeless. City and state officials did nothing to stop the violence. Worse, they played a complicit role in the conflagration. Many of the invaders were deputized by local police; the states National Guard was deployed not to stop the riot but to move black residents into detention centers where some were forced to stay for weeks. Following the death and devastation, city officials continued on their hostile path. They tried to change zoning laws to make it difficult for Greenwoods residents to rebuild -- a move curtailed by the courts. But despite the lack of support from city hall, the Greenwood survivors did return, and they began to reconstruct their lives and their livelihoods. In fact, much of the neighborhood was rebuilt within a few years.For decades, Tulsans -- blacks and whites -- dealt with the horrific event and its aftermath by ignoring it. Shame, guilt, fear, PTSD -- all those things worked to create a conspiracy of silence that kept this out of the public light, says Hannibal Johnson, a Tulsa historian and author of several books about Greenwood.As the century reached middle age, desegregation and urban renewal helped repress those memories even further and caused additional wounds: Much of Greenwoods once-thriving commercial center was torn down, its buildings and history erased; a highway was built through the center of the area. Kids born in Greenwood in the 70s never learned about their neighborhoods rich heritage -- about the heyday of Black Wall Street and the vibrancy of the people who lived there. Nor could they quite believe it when the true story of what happened in 1921 began emerging in the 1990s.Now, as the 100th anniversary of the massacre approaches, the city and state are grappling not just with the past and its direct role in Greenwoods deterioration, but also with what kind of progress has been made in race relations. In Tulsa, as elsewhere in the country, there are long-simmering resentments over police shootings of unarmed black men and of statues and buildings honoring Confederate soldiers who owned slaves and fought against the United States. Many blacks throughout the country feel their experience has been left out of history books and popular media coverage. Or if it is included, it is viewed through someone elses lens.In Tulsa, the city is struggling to address its deep racial divide -- most of the black population still lives in the north end -- and its own true history. Its still an open wound, says Mechelle Brown, program coordinator of the Greenwood Cultural Center who spent years interviewing and researching survivors of the massacre. The city still has a great deal of work to do to acknowledge what happened.After decades of silence, recognition of the horrific events in Greenwood got a jump-start in 1995. In April of that year, Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, 19 of them children attending a day care facility in the building. At the time, the bombing was referred to as the deadliest act of domestic terror in U.S. history. To African-Americans who knew of Tulsas race massacre, it was a message that discounted their history.State Rep. Don Ross used the event to start a conversation about Greenwood. His efforts made a mark: He raised more than $3 million in private money to fund the Greenwood Cultural Center, which opened in 1996, and a memorial to Black Wall Street that sits out in front of the center. A year later, he sponsored a bill to investigate reparations for survivors of the massacre. That led to the formation of a state commission, which in 2001 published a report.The commissions report offered the first government acknowledgment that the Greenwood massacre was in effect an act of domestic terrorism. It revised its account of the attack, updating the numbers of people killed and the cost of destruction. Rather than 34 people killed, the new number of deaths was found to be between 100 and 300 people. The amount of property damage, based on claims from Greenwood filed against the city in 1921, was $1.8 million -- nearly $26 million in todays dollars. (Most of those claims were denied because the event was originally classified as a riot.) Most important for some, the commission made recommendations for actions the state and local government could take. Among them were an economic development fund for North Tulsa, a museum to honor the neighborhoods cultural history and those who died, and reparations for survivors of the massacre.At the time, the commissions report offered a lot of hope for healing the racial divisions. But in the years since, city and state government have taken what many see as a half-measure approach. The state legislature established committees for a memorial museum, as well as a scholarship and a community development fund for North Tulsa, as recommended by the report. But little money was appropriated to maintain those entities. In the meantime, a reparations lawsuit filed by victims was dismissed by federal courts on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. The commissions recommendation to establish a museum about the 1921 massacre evolved over time into the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, which opened in 2010. The following year, the legislature mandated that the Tulsa massacre be taught in public schools, but offered no financial assistance to help develop a curriculum for it.For some, the fits and starts over the years to make things right have only added to their frustration. Its one thing to say an apology, says Brown. Its something else to put money on the table. [Survivors and their families] feel completely disregarded and left out of the conversation.To date, most of the effort to promote Black Wall Streets history has been backed by private money, with the exception of a few state and federal grants. The mostly privately funded John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation, for instance, is largely responsible for the curriculum that Oklahoma school teachers who choose to teach about the massacre use in their history lessons.The city has also bungled some opportunities to make amends. In one of the most egregious examples, the citys Brady Arts District was named for Wyatt Tate Brady, a figure prominent in Tulsas founding. But in 2011, documents came to light showing that Brady had ties to the Ku Klux Klan and was involved in the 1921 massacre in Greenwood. Powerless to change the name of the Brady Arts District, the city council, after weeks of heated debate, changed the namesake of the districts main thoroughfare, Brady Street, to Civil War photographer Matthew Brady, who has no ties to Tulsa.What many view as a Band-Aid approach is just one more slight in a long list of insults that black Tulsans say they have lived with for generations. Part of reconciliation is what do you give up, says Dewayne Dickson, a Tulsa Community College professor and a member of the reconciliation centers board of directors. The reason for that is so everyone can have a sense of moving forward from whats wrong. There must be some kind of measurable action to make right whats wrong.Today, there are signs of progress, or at least of a closer understanding of the deeper implications of the assault a century ago. When G.T. Bynum ran for mayor of Tulsa in 2016, the divisions within the city were a central part of his campaign. A former city council member, Bynum says he was motivated to run for mayor after reading a report by the George Kaiser Family Foundation that found that a child born in North Tulsa has a lifespan 11 years shorter than a kid born elsewhere in the city. In the modern era, North Tulsa, which includes Greenwood, has always been the poorer part of town. Reading that while sitting in my home with my family, says Bynum, who is white, that really changed things for me.After getting elected, Bynum created the Office of Resilience and Equity aimed at eliminating equity gaps in Tulsas schools, transportation systems and the economy. This summer, the office, which is funded through the Rockefeller Foundations 100 Resilient Cities initiative, unveiled its strategy. The plan includes both tangible and intangible goals such as eliminating the racial life expectancy gap by 2024 and amplifying the voice of historically marginalized communities by 2021.Still, many people think the citys current efforts and its future plans dont go nearly far enough. Tulsa civil rights attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons is one of them. He says the city and state should make amends for the past, that Tulsa and the state should make direct reparations to the victims. Economic prosperity, Solomon-Simmons observes, isnt as attainable for North Tulsans as is their likelihood of being locked up. Meanwhile, many public officials have talked about healing, but most of the money that has gone toward that goal has been from private donations. As Solomon-Simmons sees it, the message to black Tulsans, many of them related to the original residents and business owners of Black Wall Street, is, You dont matter.Now, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the assault, theres been renewed pressure to produce tangible results. A 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Centennial Commission, chaired by Kevin Matthews, an Oklahoma state senator and North Tulsa native, is pushing a number of economic and cultural initiatives in and around Greenwood. This fall, Tulsa Public Schools officially adopted a curriculum for the massacre. The goal is to launch the curriculum statewide. Matthews also authored a bill that creates a revolving fund for the Oklahoma Historical Society with the aim of promoting cultural tourism opportunities in Greenwood. The commission is seeking private donations to establish a business development program in North Tulsa.Bynum thinks a key part of the overall remedy will be creating new prosperity in North Tulsa using the tools of economic development. He hopes to build on the citys investment in a minor league ballpark, which was built in the area in 2010. The citys development authority inked a deal this summer to bring USA BMXs new arena and headquarters facility to Greenwood. The arena could host the 2020 U.S. Olympic trials for the dirt track bike race. The city has also spent $2 million, including grant money, to clean up an industrial site within view of the Greenwood Cultural Center.But with those developments, which could bring in money and clientele from all over Tulsa, the specter of gentrification looms large. Its already creating yet another divide in Tulsa over Black Wall Street.Back at Wanda Js restaurant on North Greenwood Avenue, the breakfast aromas have long receded and now a crowd and some local news reporters are gathering in front of the restaurant. For 40 some-odd years, Wanda J. Armstrong and her family have been in the restaurant business in Tulsa, serving up not just breakfast but also Southern staples like fried catfish, okra and peach cobbler. Armstrong left Greenwood in 1996 and returned in 2016. Due to a dispute over her lease with the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, shes being told to leave. On this September afternoon, a handful of friends with bright hand-painted signs are protesting the eviction and accusing the chamber of pushing out black businesses.Down the street, art gallery owner Ricco Wright watches the news vans going by with a mix of bemusement and frustration. They think Im part of the gentrifiers, he says. Wright is a Tulsa native who lived in New York City for a decade and earned his doctoral degree before returning here in 2014. His new gallery, Black Wall Street Arts, is one of several creative ventures he has started as a way to promote the history of the neighborhood. His gallerys opening showcase features pieces from two local artists -- one black, one white. His hope is that the exhibit will facilitate the communitys larger conversation about race relations. He calls the series Conciliation. I dont think what were doing is reconciliation, he says. That implies were restoring relations, and I cant think of when there were good relations here between blacks and whites.That ingrained lack of trust is perhaps the biggest challenge for Greenwoods revival. Theres a suspicion regarding the renewed interest and development in the neighborhood. As the centennial draws near, theres a genuine concern that the story of Greenwood will be whitewashed if these new folks -- the gentrifiers -- have a hand in promoting its history. African-American money built, and then, Black Wall Street. But theres a catch. That proud history of the black entrepreneurial spirit and wealth was linked inextricably to the fact that the residents were segregated from white businesses. In the modern era, to expect that only African-Americans should be a part of the neighborhoods revival not only perpetuates the separation, but is not realistic. There simply arent enough wealthy African-American benefactors in Oklahoma, let alone Tulsa, to help.But there are benefactors. The George Kaiser Family Foundation, for one, is arguably Tulsas most prominent philanthropy. It recently launched Dream Tulsa to grow local talent and recruit black entrepreneurs from around the nation to reinvigorate Black Wall Street. Believing that new money like Kaisers will truly honor the districts history and spirit requires a leap of faith: Maybe this time it will be different. There are still divides, but at least there seem to be more efforts to acknowledge a wrong and work toward righting it. We have to go slow to go fast because theres such a lack of trust in these outside influences, says state Sen. Matthews. In many cases were asking the people that looked like the people who burned down the area to help.
When Maureen Heatley last saw her son he was crying uncontrollably on the floor of his upstate New York prison.Todd Heatley was so distraught and confused he didn't recognize his mother despite her weekly visits to the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo."He was totally disoriented," Maureen, a social worker, recalled of the visit in November 2014.She cut the visit short and begged correction staff to take him to a specialized medical unit where he could receive proper treatment.That never happened.Three days later Heatley, 33, was found hanging from a torn sheet attached to his cell door. He died a few hours later.A state medical review board charged with probing prisoner deaths concluded that Heatley may be still alive had he gotten proper medical care."Facility staff failed to recognize the escalation of symptoms and neglected to initiate appropriate interventions which may have prevented his death," said the board's report, which was obtained by the Daily News through a Freedom of Information Law request.The reports are not posted online and largely remain hidden from the public and affected family members.After her son died, Maureen Heatley asked for a copy of the medical review, to no avail."I never got any information," she said.His case is not an anomaly.All told, the board concluded that the deaths of approximately 50 prisoners statewide over the past five years could have been prevented with simple medical treatment.Officials with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision say that even one such case is unacceptable, but that only around 0.02% of the total prison population of nearly 50,000 are referenced in the reports.Prisoner advocates counter that the reports highlight a much larger issue."As these reports illustrate...it is clear people inside are dying due to inadequate medical and mental health care," said Jack Beck of the Correctional Association, one of the nation's oldest inmate advocacy organizations."How many more avoidable deaths will occur before the state addresses these serious and persistent problems?" he added.State Correction Commission review panels repeatedly found medical staff failed to conduct basic checkups and mental health screenings. Doctors and nurses regularly ignored serious ailments until it was too late, according to the reviews.Multiple deaths involved mentally ill prisoners who committed suicide after they were continually tossed in solitary confinement. At least four prisoners died from asthma-related ailments that could have been prevented had they been given inhalers and other medications.The scathing death review reports come as Gov. Cuomo pushes for a more robust plan to shut down the jails on the city-controlled Rikers Island.Mayor de Blasio's 10-year closure plan is "tantamount to saying we have no real plan to close it," Cuomo's counsel, Alphonso David, said in April 2017.But Cuomo has done little to improve medical care for the 48,132 prisoners his administration oversees, critics contend."He really should be looking at his own system and seeing what those problems are," Beck said.The number of health care practitioners employed by the department has decreased by 3% over the past five years, according to DOCCS. The department currently employees 89 clinical physicians, 18 physician assistants, 849 nurses, and almost 28 nurse practitioners. DOCCS did not provide comparable raw figures for five years ago.Beck says that state budget documents actually show that figure of full-time medical staff is actually down 17.6% over the past five years.By all accounts, a part of the staff reduction is tied to a 9% drop in the prison population over the past five years.DOCCS says that there has actually been a 28% increase in the expenditures for contract medical practitioners and additional services over the past five years. Additionally, all prisoners placed in solitary confinement are evaluated and undergo mental health suicide prevention screenings.Under a recent legal agreement, prisoners designated as seriously mentally ill are taken out to serve their full sanction in a Residential Mental Health Treatment Unit, where they are offered four hours of out-of -- cell therapeutic treatment and programming.Prison officials in the state, and throughout the country, have long struggled to hire doctors, nurses, and physician assistants.At Elmira Correctional Facility in Chemung County, a clinical physician position was open from August 2012 through October 2016, records show. In some prisons, there's only one doctor overseeing the care of more than 500 prisoners, according to the Correctional Association.Hiring delays are in part due to bureaucratic red tape and a starting salary that is often $10,000 or more below private sector pay.Overall, the death reports reveal that some of the fatalities involved nurses and doctors ignoring repeated pleas for help. Prison insiders say staff frequently believe prisoners are lying about the severity of their condition in order to get moved to a preferred housing unit or to get drugs.That wasn't the case for Alfredo Lopez.Lopez, 54, was found hanging by an electrical chord in Great Meadow Correctional Facility on Jan. 13, 2015, at 6:48 a.m. Lopez, from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, spent years trying to convince officers that a medical condition made it difficult for him to urinate within three hours for drug tests.The department keeps a "shy bladder" list of inmates who have that problem. Those prisoners are given a private room and water to drink. But Lopez, a diabetic who had extensive and painful nerve damage, was never placed on that roster.Instead, he was repeatedly tossed into solitary confinement due to his inability to produce urine -- deemed a failed drug test.His haunting suicide note was addressed to state health staff."I can't take the abuse anymore," he wrote. "The mental anguish being locked up for urinalysis, while ALL along my system has been clean. Check my blood, DNA, anything."The approximately 10 urine samples he was able to produce all came back clean during his time in the Great Meadow prison, the report states.His suicide note also pointed out that his pain medication for the nerve damage was taken away while in solitary."I haven't slept since the 26th of December 2014," he wrote. "And combined with my nerve damage and the cold cell with which I'm forced to be in 24 hours a day it's as if I were dead already."Some of the prisoner deaths tied to shoddy medical treatment involved high-profile cases, the review panel found.Julio Gonzalez, the arsonist who killed 87 people trapped inside the Happy Land nightclub in the Bronx in 1990, died of heart disease that was never properly treated for years.Gonzalez, 61, suffered a fatal heart attack inside a stairwell at Clinton Correctional Facility on Sept. 13, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. The medical review board concluded that the "chronic care" for his "hypertension was systemically deficient.""His last documented physical was in 2010," the report said, noting he should have been checked every two years.Medical staff also failed to make sure he took his medication, the review said. He was serving 87 simultaneous 25 years to life sentences for starting the blaze.In approximately 50 of the close to 80 death review cases, the medical review board ordered prison and health officials to change or update procedures. But those orders seem to do little to improve matters, especially for several inmates with asthma.William Stewart, 56, died after a major asthma attack at the Groveland Correctional Facility on Oct. 6, 2013. During his time in prison, medical staff failed to do everything from record his vital signs to document medications. No one realized his asthma was "progressively worsening" despite multiple emergency sick calls.His medical care "was grossly substandard and did not meet acceptable standards of care," the review board concluded. If he received proper care "his death may have been prevented," the review added.Stewart, who was serving a four-year sentence for selling drugs and assault, was seen at least three times by a nurse who failed to take his condition seriously.As for Heatley, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stabbing to death 19-year-old Jacob Herbert during a fight outside a party in Buffalo.During his five years in prison his mother visited over 100 times. Initially, Heatley, who worked as a DJ before his arrest, studied and got his GED and read everything he could get his hands on."I was amazed at how well he did and how much he had grown as a person and intellectually," his mother recalled. "We'd sit there and talk about Tesla's theory of electricity and different philosophers."Those are conversations I never had with him in high school," she added.But weeks before his suicide his mental health drastically deteriorated and he repeatedly talked of harming himself. He begged to be put in protective custody away from the general population prisoners who he thought wanted to harm him.During his last visit with his mother, he kept on repeating he was in the wrong seat and couldn't even remember her, according to department records."I don't know if you've ever seen a hamster readying to die," she said. "They run around frazzled in their cage. That's what he was doing."Before she left, Maureen Heatley said a correction sergeant promised to make sure her son was immediately evaluated and placed in a protected unit. But the unnamed sergeant reportedly concluded it wasn't an emergency case and could be handled by a medical staffer within 14 days.So Todd Heatley was placed back in his general population cell."This referral was not documented," the medical board concluded. The staff "failed to recognize the symptom of confusion as a sign of mental illness and institute interventions to provide safety to Heatley until he was evaluated by mental health staff."After his death, prison officials shipped two cardboard boxes of his belongings to his mother. She has never opened them.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed a motion Tuesday in federal court challenging President Donald Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting U.S. attorney general after the ouster last week of Jeff Sessions.Frosh's motion in U.S. District Court in Baltimore argues that the selection is "illegal and unconstitutional" and that Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should be acting attorney general.The motion asks a judge to issue an injunction barring the U.S. Justice Department from filing any motions under Whitaker's name in the state of Maryland's continuing lawsuit against the Trump administration over the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit seeks to uphold provisions of the Affordable Care Act that protect people with pre-existing medical conditions when they seek insurance.The motion contends that Trump's appointment of Whitaker violates the legal processes for filling high-level federal vacancies."Few positions are more critical than that of U.S. attorney general, an office that wields enormous enforcement power and authority over the lives of all Americans," Frosh said in a statement. "President Trump's brazen attempt to flout the law and Constitution in bypassing Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rosenstein in favor of a partisan and unqualified staffer cannot stand."The Justice Department declined to comment on Frosh's motion.Raquel Guillory Coombs, a spokeswoman for Frosh, said the next step will be a hearing before Judge Ellen Hollander. She said the Maryland attorney general's office hopes that occurs within the next week and a half.Last week, on the day after the midterm elections, Trump requested and received the resignation of Sessions, who had recused himself from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, to the president's dismay. Trump then bypassed Rosenstein to serve as acting attorney general and installed Whitaker, who had been Sessions' chief of staff.Michael Meyerson, a professor of law at the University of Baltimore, said Frosh's motion could prevail."Frosh is making a strong argument, but it is certainly not a slam dunk," he said. "Those in favor of Whitaker have some very plausible arguments as well."Meyerson said the argument largely comes down to which of two laws prevails. Frosh's motion argues that it is the Attorney General Succession Act, which requires that a vacancy in the office be filled with a Justice Department official who previously had been confirmed in their position by the U.S. Senate, starting with the deputy attorney general. The Trump administration has based its actions on the 1998 Vacancies Reform Act, which gives the president more flexibility in making temporary appointments in the executive branch.Frosh argues that the vacancies law did not supersede the more specific law affecting the Justice Department.His motion contends that Congress, in creating laws that apply to this case, treated the attorney general differently because of the job's unique role in the separation of powers. Frosh said that except when recused, the attorney general has the authority to direct investigations into the president himself."Absent the Attorney General Succession Act, the president could fire the attorney general (or demand his resignation), then appoint a hand-picked, junior, Senate-confirmed officer from an entirely different agency, or a carefully selected senior employee who he was confident would terminate or otherwise severely limit the investigation," the motion says.Rosenstein, a former U.S. attorney for Maryland, is overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of possible ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Russian government. Whitaker is an administration loyalist who has publicly criticized it.Frosh's motion contends that Whitaker lacks legal authority to represent the United States in Maryland's Obamacare lawsuit, which the state filed in September. The filing contends Whitaker's involvement in the case harms Maryland's interest in having the lawsuit move forward expeditiously because any filing he authorized would be invalid.In an interview Tuesday, Frosh said it is important to establish who the U.S. attorney general is before any negotiations take place in the case.Frosh said the litigation to defend the health care law is critical to more than 400,000 Marylanders who would have no health insurance without the Affordable Care Act.Frosh is not alone in questioning the legitimacy of Whitaker's appointment.The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday that San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera sent what he called an "unprecedented" letter to the Justice Department questioning the legality of Trump's choice. The city has four cases pending against the Trump administration.Two Republican former U.S. attorneys general, Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, also have raised questions about the selection of Whitaker. The former George W. Bush administration officials told USA Today last week that the position should have been filled with a Justice Department official who had been confirmed by the Senate.After Trump's election in 2016, the Democratic-led Maryland General Assembly passed legislation the next year granting the state attorney general independent authority to sue the federal government. That's allowed Frosh, a Democrat, to act without securing the permission of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.Frosh has taken on the Trump administration on many fronts, including a suit contending the president has violated the Constitution's emoluments clause by profiting from foreign officials bringing their business to Trump's hotel in Washington. Among the more than 20 lawsuits Frosh has filed are ones challenging Trump's travel ban on residents of some majority-Muslim countries, the suspension of rules protecting students from excessive college debt and the administration's rollback of environmental regulations affecting the Chesapeake Bay.During the recent election campaign, Frosh's Republican opponent, Craig Wolf, criticized the attorney general for his frequent legal actions against the federal government.Frosh won his re-election bid last week with 64 percent of the vote. Frosh said Tuesday that outcome could be seen as a validation of the stance he has taken.He added that more litigation could be coming."We are preparing to file suit in the eventuality the Interior Department opens up the Atlantic Coast to offshore oil and gas drilling," he said.
Description

GIS  14 November 2018: A senior team from the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Secretariat, headed by Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, APRM Lead Panel Member for Mauritius, paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Ivan Collendavelloo, yesterday at the Government House in Port Louis.

During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister dwelt on the importance of the APRM which he said has contributed extensively to the development and advancement of many countries in Africa. This mechanism, he stated, promotes peer learning and sharing through constructive dialogue and persuasion adding that it is a powerful instrument for Africas self-assessment of good governance. He also spoke about the four thematic areas of the APRM namely Democracy and Political Governance, Economic Governance and Management, Corporate Governance, and Broad-based Sustainable Socio-economic Development.

Furthermore, he rejoiced that Mauritius has retained its first position in overall governance in Africa for the 12th consecutive year according to the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) 2018.

For his part, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, pointed out that Mauritius has a lot to share in terms of best practices. He underlined that the APRM is an excellent innovation for Africa since it is a self-monitoring mechanism and a mutually-agreed instrument which is acceded on a voluntary basis by member States. He also underlined the need for a formal structure for the National Governing Committee.

The team comprised of Pr. Migai Akech, Coordinator for Mauritius, from the APRM Secretariat, and Mr Dalmar Jama, Principal Strategic Planning Officer, from the Office of the Chief of Staff. The delegation was in Mauritius from 12 to 13 November in the context of a follow-up mission programme of the APRM.

Objectives of the mission

The objective of the mission was to take stock of progress in completing the first APRM Mauritian Progress Report on its base review, and plan for its presentations by the Prime Minister at the next APRM forum of Heads of State and Government which will be held in February 2019 in Addis Abeba. The aim was also to discuss with the Mauritian Government on a roadmap for the countrys second review.

During the visit, the team had several meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade; the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms; as well as with NGOs, the civil society and the private sector. The members of the team also participated in a National Governing Committee on APRM that was held on 12 November 2018 at the University of Mauritius and which was chaired by the Chairperson of the Mauritius Council of Social Services (MACOSS).
Description

GIS  14 November 2018: A senior team from the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), and led by the new Lead Panel Member for Mauritius, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, met, yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, at Newton Tower, in Port Louis.

Discussions focused on the importance of the APRM and the APRMs progress report of Mauritius, amongst others. Following the meeting with the Minister, a communique summarising the APRMs senior team mission to Mauritius and the way forward was signed by Ambassador Sefue and the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Usha Dwarka Canabady.

In a statement following the signing ceremony, the Ambassador indicated that the APRM, a self-monitoring tool voluntarily acceded to by Member States of the African Union (AU), is an initiative of those Africans who wanted to have a say on issues of political, economic and corporate governance as well as socioeconomic development and who did not want to be lectured by anyone from outside.

The APRM, Mr Sefue pointed out, was formed in 2003 and Mauritius was one of the first countries to adhere to the mechanism whereby within each country there is a process of self-evaluation to look at the challenges which each country faces and out of that comes a review report and a programme of action on how each of those challenges can be addressed. Ultimately, he explained, this report is disseminated with other AU Heads of States and Governments so as to share experiences and best practices.

Ambassador Sefue was in fact leading a three-member delegation to Mauritius this week as a follow-up mission for Mauritiuss APRM progress report which will be submitted in the margins of the AU Summit to be held in 2019. The progress report, which deals with the implementation of issues that came up when the country was peer-reviewed in 2009, is in its final stages of drafting with ongoing consultations.

The APRM

The APRM has as objectives to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices leading to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated regional and economic integration through sharing of experiences and reinforcement of successful and best practice, including identifying deficiencies, and assessing the needs for capacity building.

Since its inception, the APRMs implementation has progressed significantly with the voluntary adherence of 38 Member countries including Mauritius.

Mauritius was among the first States, along with Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda which volunteered to be the first four pilot countries to be peer reviewed. The country acceded to the APRM through the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding on the APRM on 9 July 2003 during the meeting of the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africas Development) Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee held in the margins of AU Summit in Maputo.
Description

GIS  14 November 2018: The Fisheries Partnership Protocol signed between Mauritius and the European Union (EU), last year, will enable local authorities to develop a software that will help them to control the catch of vessels fishing in our countrys territorial waters and will also ensure that there is no shortage in the supply of raw tuna to the fish canning industry.

This statement was made this morning by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, during a joint press conference organised by his Ministry and the EU Delegation on the issue of supply of raw tuna by EU fishing vessels to the fish canning industry in Mauritius.

The Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Mrs Marjaana Sall, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Usha Dwarka-Canabady, representatives of the Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, and representatives of the Mauritius Export Association were also present on this occasion.

Minister Lutchmeenaraidoo highlighted that the issue of predictable tuna supplies to local tuna processing firms and exports of fisheries products to the EU was raised during his recent mission to Brussels as this important sector of the Mauritian economy, which employs more than 10 000 people and contributes to export earnings, was under pressure due to a shortage of supply of raw tuna last year.

He emphasised that during his mission, he discussed the matter with the EUs Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and had a meeting regarding the establishment of a Coordination Platform for structured dialogue with relevant stakeholders, comprising representatives of the Mauritius tuna processing industry and the EU fishing fleet, with the aim of ensuring a predictable supply of raw tuna to the local tuna canneries.

For her part, Mrs Sall underscored that the EU responded favourably to the request of the processing industry in the Indian Ocean region for tuna supplies. The transparency and predictability of the tuna supply will be ensured by the sharing of information on the absorption of quotas by the European fleet with the processing industries of the region, she pointed out.

EU, she added, fully recognises the importance of tuna canneries for the local economies of the Indian Ocean and came to the conclusion that it is in the common interest to find practical solutions to the issue of supply as well as to strengthen partnerships in the Indian Ocean.
Collaborating with Harvard University, Mastercard has announced the launch of a global network of cities called City Possible to help them identify common problems, come up with possible solutions, and then test and implement them.So far the network has 16 city partners, six of which are in the U.S.: Altamonte Springs, Fla.; Aurora, Ill.; Baltimore; Honolulu; Kansas City, Mo.; and San Diego. Outside the U.S., the network is made up of Athena, Dubai, Dublin, Helsinki, Prague and the Australian communities of Melbourne, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Liverpool and Wollondilly. Mastercard is looking for more cities to join, according to a press release.The Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard University (TECH) will lead a series of programs meant to help the cities exchange ideas and learn from each other. The network will explicitly address technology in local government.As urban areas around the world continue to grow, cities face common issues  how to provide a healthy environment, safety, affordability and economic opportunity for their communities, said David S. Ricketts, a fellow at TECH, in the statement. Faced with limited resources and competing priorities, city leaders look for solutions that have been tested elsewhere. Through our learning exchanges, we want to equip CIOs and other urban leaders to better navigate this dynamic environment.Mastercard recently picked up one such local government CIO to focus on smart city efforts: Miguel Gamino, who was an IT leader in El Paso, Texas, San Francisco and New York City. Since Mastercard is one of the largest payment handlers in the world, it possesses a wealth of data about spending, travel and economic indicators it thinks can be useful in those efforts.In the press release, the company highlighted partnerships it has with Microsoft, HERE Technologies and IDEMIA to tackle urban problems.
Chicago has added a new design office and director to its municipal government, making it the most recent in a wave of cities embracing design philosophies to create services and platforms that better serve constituents.Chicago created its design office earlier this year, establishing it within the citys existing Department of Innovation and Technology, where much of its gov tech and innovation work resides, at the behest of the department and mayors office. And as of right now, the office is essentially staffed by a team of one: design director Jason Kunesh. In a recent phone conversation with, Kunesh described his new role with the city, talking short- and long-term goals alike, as well as more abstract matters, like the role of designers as culture change agents in city halls.Kuneshs main work right now pertains to Chicagos 311 system , a platform that residents can use to request non-emergency city services, such as information on events or having potholes filled on their streets. Similar 311 platforms have become commonplace in cities across the country over the past decade, and Kunesh said his new role was created as part of a 311 modernization effort.They wanted someone on staff who is responsible for resident engagement, Kunesh said. Just making sure that as we go through the process, were listening to residents, understanding what it is that they want and how they think of city services, how they access them, and even if theyre aware of them in some cases.A big part of his work in that capacity is to ensure that as updates and changes are made to the 311 system, resident engagement continues to factor into the process. Design philosophy is such that it takes into account the experiences of human users with platforms and systems. Using a familiar phrase, Kunesh described it as "rinse, lather, repeat." What he means is that what his office does is collect input and make a change based on that input, and then repeat.Its a design philosophy employed often by companies in the private sector, and its becoming increasingly common in government circles, too. There are, however, some changes that working in the public sector requires of designers, said Kunesh, who comes largely from a private-sector background.One of the big differences between the corporate world and the government world, Kunesh said, is that were not trying to invent product market fit. We have very specific things we need to get done. Right now, we handle 4 million 311 requests a year. The majority of those come in via phone, more than half of them are information-based. You look at that and you think, 'Wow, if we made a really good website that people could easily search, they might be able to find it just as easily.'As his role continues to develop, Kunesh said plans call for potentially developing more robust public-private partnerships with resources in the city. These could range from Chicagos design firms to the world-class academic institutions there, which continue to partner with municipal innovation agencies on data work and other endeavors. Chicago also has a thriving civic tech community that meets weekly at Chi Hack Night , which could be leveraged by the city from a design perspective.In terms of municipal governments increasingly adding designers, its a trend thats still relatively new. Stephanie Wade, lead for Bloomberg Philanthropies Innovation Teams program, said earlier this year that more than 20 of that programs i-teams now have designers in them  a stark contrast from when the work started several years ago.Design and designers are still relatively new to city halls, Wade said in July, but theyre increasingly becoming more popular and more prevalent. Its definitely something thats growing.Wade and other gov tech experts have said that designers bring a resident-oriented perspective to city government, a different sort of focus on how to solve local challenges. Kunesh said that in this first year of his new government career, there has been education on both sides, both in terms of public servants learning what he does and his own learning about the needs and role of local government.Moving forward, plans call for looking at the government design and innovation work being done at the federal level by groups like the United States Digital Service and 18F, finding ways to replicate it for Chicago and other local jurisdictions. The city has also created a website to house related work here The overarching goal, however, remains relatively simple.The more we can think about and facilitate what residents want, Kunesh said, I think its a value add for the city.
Each year school districts spend considerable money, time and effort on purchasing and implementing technology in their schools. Often this is done with promises and hope that the technology will not only improve student learning and engagement, but that it will also raise students scores on state tests. However, to date, theres been little evidence that educational technology tools and resources do actually raise students scores on these high-stakes exams. Regardless, some educators continue to pursue the test score holy grail, while ed tech companies offer assurances based on slim research that they have the solutions.All of this raises some key questions: Are schools being duped by ed tech vendors? Are districts leading their taxpayers astray with promises that technology will raise students scores? If implemented by well-trained teachers, can ed tech tools possibly improve students scores, but is it too early in the transition process to know for sure? Are the skills assessed on state tests incongruous to those developed through ed tech? Or, is can ed tech improve students test scores? the wrong question altogether?The answers to these questions arent mutually exclusive, but I subscribe to the belief that improving students state test scores is the wrong problem for schools to be addressing when they consider how ed tech can help advance student learning.If used with fidelity over time, certain ed tech tools may well improve student test scores, and a meta-analysis of research , primarily focused on 1:1 laptop programs, is showing results. But this research summary also tellingly notes that the students involved in the various studies are engaged more deeply in a variety of non-tested skills, such as authentic research and writing processes, problem-solving opportunities, and communication.The challenges school districts face in linking their technology programs to student test score gains is exemplified by the Mooresville, N.C., school district. In 2011, Mooresville was widely lauded for how its 1:1 laptop program showed significant student gains on their state tests for reading, math and science. School districts throughout the country lined up to learn from and replicate Mooresvilles program. But a report from a recently completed five-year study of Mooresvilles 1:1 laptop implementation shows the student gains have leveled considerably over time. And the report also casts some doubt on the initial data used to trumpet Mooresvilles early success.So, if students performances on state tests are the wrong measures for determining the success of schools ed tech initiatives, howed tech be evaluated?First, its important to understand that achieving success with ed tech is an ongoing process that, like learning, doesnt have an end point  its a matter of continuous improvement and growth over time. On the infrastructure side, classroom technologies will become outdated and need to be replaced. Networks will require regular upgrades. Personnel in all capacities  district and office staff, administrators, and especially teachers  must have thorough, ongoing support as they transition to an increasingly digital culture. All of these advances should be considered for how theyre impacting rigorous and personalized student learning.There are evaluation processes schools can use to measure how particular ed tech applications are impacting students skill development. But the primary areas where educators should focus their attention in evaluating students gains are in the important skills not assessed on state tests: Problem-solving and critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, and an increase in students self-directed learning. If ed tech tools are helping students become proficient in these new core competencies, then any additional improvements in student test scores will be a bonus.
(TNS)  The Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center in Vancouver has been hit by a data breach, which may have revealed personal information from 2,393 patients including names, Social Security numbers, driver license numbers, medical information and some credit card numbers.Not all patients were affected. A notice posted on the centers website says the office notified the 2,393 affected patients last week, on Nov. 6.The breach involved a phishing attack that allowed hackers to gain access to one employees email, according to the notice. The list of affected patients and compromised data was determined by reviewing the emails on the employees account.The notice says that the email box was compromised between May 27 and Aug. 13. After learning of the breach, the center hired external cybersecurity professionals and launched a forensic investigation, which concluded Sept. 25.The center is offering free enrollment in a credit monitoring and identity theft restoration service for impacted patients, and the company also notified patients about ways to protect their information including monitoring their bank statements and placing a security freeze on their credit files.The website notice says the company has found no evidence the compromised information has been misused.The company has set up a response hotline for affected patients: 888-891-8399. The center has also updated its passwords and enhanced its email access protocols to prevent further breaches.A representative at the hotline and an employee at the companys office said they would forward questions about the breach to center officials. Those officials did not return the calls on Tuesday.The Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center is an outpatient surgery center that performs general surgery and also features a variety of specializations including orthopedic, spine, podiatry, pain management and plastic surgery. The center handles almost 8,500 cases per year, according to its website.News of the center breach comes just a month after a similar breach was publicly reported by Vancouver-based Rebound Orthopedics and Neurosurgery, which operates offices in the same building where the center is located: the Physicians Pavilion building at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.Rebound and the center appear to be primarily owned by the same group of physicians, according to the centers website and business registration records at the Washington State Department of Revenue.The two breaches also share some characteristics; the Rebound breach was reported to have taken place on May 22  just a week before the center breach  and also involved a successful phishing attack that gained access through a single employees email account.However, a Rebound official named Todd Carpenter, reached by email on Tuesday, said the two data breaches were unrelated.Rebound executive director John Bauman told The Columbian in October that the companys employees are trained to scrutinize suspicious emails, but the phishing email appeared to have been sent by a known representative of the companys landlord.According to PeaceHealth spokeswoman Debra Carnes, the Pavilion building is physically connected to the adjacent PeaceHealth hospital and PeaceHealth leases some of the Pavilions offices, but the building itself is not owned or operated by PeaceHealth.The Physicians Pavilion building appears to be owned by Pacific Medical Buildings, a California-based real estate company. The companys website advertises vacant office suites in the Pavilion. Pacific Medical Buildings did not return calls requesting comment when the Rebound breach was reported in October, and again did not return calls on Tuesday.
Celestine and the city. Photo: Scott Heins

Dumbo stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, but that acronym sells the prime-Brooklyn-waterfront area short. The Belgian-blocked, post-industrial territory actually cuts a larger swath, extending from Fulton Ferry Landing on the southern border, to the adjacent micro-nabe of Vinegar Hill to the north (and for the food-finding purposes of this list, were including Vinegar Hills top contenders). Few neighborhoods in contemporary New York have seen such rapid development as this one, which was virtually manufactured from scratch over the course of two or three decades by the Walentas family, a clan whose foresight led them to seed the then-desolate artists colony with traffic-generating cultural organizations and culinary attractions, like a chocolate factory from a former Le Cirque pastry chef. Today, Dumbos a hub of luxury apartments, retail stores, tech businesses, coastal parkland, and, yes, places to eat, catering to both newly arrived locals and hordes of weekend tourists. Here, the absolute best places to eat in Dumbo and Vinegar Hill.

The Absolute Best 1. Celestine

1 John St., nr. Pearl St.; 718-522-5356 Celestine is that rare thing  a delicious, sophisticated restaurant with a heart-stopping view of the Manhattan skyline across the glittering East River. A collaboration among partners whose other independent ventures include Brooklyn hot spots like Rucola, Grand Army, and Fausto, the place is upscale but thoroughly unpretentious, with the decor suitably restrained in order to direct all attention to whats beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. Well, almost all: The menu is equally compelling, offering appealing riffs on Mediterranean, North African, and Middle Eastern dishes, and similarly seasoned cocktails, like a turmeric gin and tonic. The short rib manti make a delectable dumpling appetizer, and the branzino is as fresh and well-cooked as you always hope the ubiquitous fish will be, though it seldom is. Frankly, though, even the simplest combination of house-made zaatar flatbread, a leafy green salad with pumpkin seeds and kasseri cheese, and a glass of Spanish red is all you really need for an incredible meal.

2. Vinegar Hill House

72 Hudson Ave., nr. Water St.; 718-522-1018

Photo: Scott Heins

Vinegar Hill House has been tucked away in the quirky, quiet, Dumbo-adjacent nook that is Vinegar Hill since 2008, and for nearly that long, it has been the most wonderful restaurant around. The cocktails are bespoke Manhattan and Negroni-types, always handsome and artful. Dinners usually include the juiciest pork chop or a hearty homemade pasta with kill-me-now ragu. Brunch is greasy enough to cure a hangover  those home fries, a.k.a. wood-fired potatoes! VHH would be #1 if there wasnt a nagging sense that the food is somehow a little too serious and the ambience a bit too intense for what purports to be a casual neighborhood spot. Despite appearances, its not the kind of place you feel able to just swing by. That said, the food is consistently great, especially the dramatically two-toned signature dessert, a pitch-black chocolate Guinness cake with a stark white cream-cheese frosting. Its the classiest cake to completely inhale.

3. Cecconis

55 Water St., nr. Main St.; 715-650-3900

Photo: Scott Heins

Cecconis eggplant parm is easily the crispiest, cheesiest one around, but its actually their drama-meets-comfort recipe that makes the big, waterfront restaurant inside the redeveloped Empire Stores a new favorite. Whether youre sitting outdoors overlooking the water, or curled up on a plush turquoise chair with a close friend, or chasing a toddler around a big, round table, it is always a pleasure to be at the clubby Cecconis  a spin-off of the posh, Soho House-affiliated Dumbo House upstairs. With the private-club connection, you might assume Cecconis to be pretentious, but its not: The crowds a healthy mix of locals eating wood-fired pizza, well-dressed creatives having post-work Aperol spritzes and shared burrata plates, and tourists smitten with the city, happily refueling on big plates of brick chicken or branzino. The pizza oven produces an excellent wild-mushroom pie and the cavatelli with lamb ragu is refined comfort food at its finest.

4. Butler

40 Water St., at Dock St.; no phone

Dumbo doesnt lack for the casual breed of bakeries-slash-cafes, mostly takeout but with a couple of tables, and thats probably because the area begs for a quick bite to eat before or after all the waterfront exploration. Butler, an outpost of a Williamsburg location also led by pastry chef Ryan Butler, is the best of that genre. The breakfast sandwich is easily the finest in the area, thanks in part to its house-made potato-and-scallion brioche. Even better than that are the mouthwatering breakfast empanadas made with scrambled eggs, smoked bacon, arugula, Cheddar cheese, and the genius addition of dukkah, a nutty, seedy Egyptian spice. The coffee is Intelligentsia and extra good. And the tables are lovely and casual  nice enough to take a meeting, chill enough to sit with a laptop.

5. Almondine

85 Water St., nr. Main St.; 718-797-5026

Photo: Dave Ratzlow

Ask anybody in the know about Almondine and theyll either mention the moody French owner or the magnificent croissants. In fact, the two go hand-in-hand. The pastries here are sublime, as are the generally vegetarian soups and large sandwiches, like the chicken pesto and of course the croque monsieur. The fresh baguettes are the biggest score in Dumbo and the croissants, again, easily vie for the title of the citys best. The tiny sit-down cafe, French attitude included, is as European as they come. Also, Almondine was almost destroyed in Hurricane Sandy and managed to rebuild itself against all odds  for that, and for the pain au chocolat, it will forever be a Dumbo treasure.

6. Smile to Go

49 Water St., at Old Dock St.; 917-909-0200

Photo: Melissa Hom

The Brooklyn outpost of the Manhattan takeout-shop chainlet would rank higher if it werent shoved in the back of a random Shinola store, with no windows, and sheltered from Dumbos defining views. That said, the food is consistently fabulous, especially the rotisserie chicken and potatoes and the manouri-cheese-and-pear sandwich, which comes slicked with truffle oil and fig jam. Best of all is a phenomenal breakfast burrito that fussy Dumbo families line up for every weekend without flinching at the $9 price tag. Because of the uninspiring location, take the words to-go literally  the waterfront is only steps away.

7. Los Tacos Al Pastor

141 Front St., at Pearl St.; 347-916-0190

A super-simple, very fresh, quick-serve taqueria, this tiny corner shop has a tortilleria making homemade tortillas, two vertical roasting spits, and not much else. You can convert your taco into a burrito or a salad bowl, which might sound like bandwagon-jumping, but thanks to the textural contrast of ingredients like pumpkin seeds with queso and cream, is actually quite crave-able. Theres a few sides of the chips-and-salsa variety, a couple of cold beverage options, and a few seats in the window at this grab-and-go find.

8. Julianas

19 Old Fulton St., nr. Front St.; 718-596-6700

Photo: Dominic Perri/Dominic Perri

Julianas plays into Dumbos historical pizza wars in a way that is by now boring to rehash, but, long story short, the owner is Patsy Grimaldi, who can trace his pizza bona fides back to the original Lombardis and has been slinging pies at this location on and off since 1990. Julianas beats its famous neighbor Grimaldis (the business Patsy sold years ago) not just in quality but in its slightly less touristy nature. The thin-crust pies are exceptional, especially with arugula and pepperoni, and the mystique of the original hand-built, blazingly hot hearth  the first coal-fired oven commissioned in New York in over 50 years  only adds to the wow. Also, they do take-out, which Grimaldis does not.

9. Foragers

56 Adams St., at Front St.; 718-801-8400

One of the best roast chickens in Brooklyn. Thats why Foragers, the aggressively artisanal and enviable market of Dumbo, landed here. Get it to go or eat it on the long, narrow table along the front windows. Also, the most indulgent warm blueberry biscuits ever, a pretty great salad bar, and easy access to Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie by the slice. The rest of Foragers functions as a very expensive, highly curated organic grocery store  which is great for picking up snobby cheeses or Mast Brothers chocolate, but again, the roast chicken.

10. Cafe Gitane

70 Hudson Ave., at Water St.; no phone

This little whimsy of a space in Vinegar Hill, with its unpredictable opening hours and BYOB status, hardly has the buzz of its eternally hip Nolita counterpart, but the new location sure pulls off understated charm, with reliably good food to boot. The couscous and other Moroccan-inflected fare, like the spicy meatballs, are good, not great, but none of that really matters because its a special spot with a lovely staff. Next to the often overrun chaos of Dumbo, the cafes quiet, indie spirit comes as sweet relief.

11. Lassen & Hennigs

177 Water St., nr. Jay St.; 718-875-6272

A Brooklyn Heights institution since 1949, this prepared-foods and catering haven just opened a satellite in Dumbo, this time with table seating and craft beer, two big additions for the family-owned company. Whats more, their to-go cold tortellini pesto pasta and customized sandwiches, like a smoked turkey with Brie, are better than ever. Since Dumbo has so many outdoor events, from opera in the park to New Yorks Festival of Lights, this is probably the best place for pick-ups and picnic fare. Their cakes by the slice  red velvet and cheesecake  are especially terrific, even if you just want to go home, avoid the crowd, and hide.

12. Jacques Torres

66 Water St., nr. Main St.; 718-875-9772

Jacques Torres took a chance on Dumbo way back in 2000, and for that reason, and for his milk-chocolate bark, chocolate-chip cookies, and pistachio-marzipan bonbons, hell never be too commercial for the true Dumbo heart, even with his seven NYC locations. This is where it all started, where the onetime Le Cirque pastry chef opened a chocolate factory on an off-the-beaten-path street nobody had ever heard of. Until they did, largely because of him.

13. Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill

55 Water St., nr. Main St.; 718-473-9555

With locations in Miami and Las Vegas, you might assume this sushi-spot-meets-tiki-bar to be a super-cheesy restaurant. And you might be a little bit right. But with its Dumbo location, right behind Brooklyn Bridge Parks famous Janes Carousel and only a minutes walk from the water, its worth getting over yourself and enjoying the place. Especially because of its kickass cocktails, which pair beautifully with the intoxicating views. In terms of real estate, Sugarcane has the money spot. In terms of food and drink, the specialty sushi rolls are tasty if a little too Vegas-y, and the frogronis (frozen Negronis) are so, so, so much better than their god-awful name.

14. The River Cafe

1 Water St., at Old Fulton St.; 718-522-520

Walking into this old-school Dumbo waterfront institution can give even the most jaded New Yorker, as J.Lo would say, the goosies. All the tingles stop, however, once youve entered the building and encountered the cross staff, whose strict rules (no kids at the bar, no walk-ins at dinner, jackets only) feel dated, if not insulting  irrationally so or not. If youre lucky enough to make it inside, the very fancy, very pricey, Special Occasion restaurant is indeed delicious and the waterfront setting is powerful  you feel like youre floating. The salmon with lemon, jasmine rice, and a shiitake-miso consomme is equally light and decadent. The ricotta gnocchi will forever ruin all other gnocchi for you. The River Cafe is not a reflection of how New Yorkers like to dine today, especially with that front of house tude, but the tourists sure eat it up.
Opinion

Diabetes, an ailment that shows no mercy

The silent killer disease diabetes can be ruthless in its attack. The report by the International Diabetes Federation that one in ten (10.5%) adults around the world is currently living with diabetes is surely cause for concern, and raises a red
Hawaii rank goes up, but not its economic freedom

The Economic Freedom of North America 2018 outlines Hawaii's statistical paradox

From Grassroot Institute

HONOLULU, Nov. 13, 2018 >> Hawaii moved up a surprising eight notches this year in a national ranking measuring economic freedom in all 50 states, from 45 in 2017 to 37.

That was the finding of the Economic Freedom of North America 2018 report, released today by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, in conjunction with Canadas Fraser Institute and Mexicos Caminos de la Libertad.

The good news was dampened, however, by the fact that economic freedom did not actually increase in Hawaii during the latest annual measurement period; instead, it worsened, but not as badly as in certain other states.

Kelii Akina, Ph.D., president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, said, Its a happy day that Hawaii, for a change, is not scraping along the bottom anymore in this annual index of economic freedom. The sad truth is that economic freedom in Hawaii actually deteriorated, and its score only improved because it is based on a relative measurement.

This years economic freedom index is based on data from 2016 and does not reflect any legislative changes in 2017 or 2018. On a 10-point scale, with 10 being the most free, Hawaiis index score for economic freedom for 2018 dropped from 6.3 in 2017 to 5.48.

Hawaii scored worst in the nation for sales tax revenues because of its general excise tax. Its score declined from 0.06 in 2017 to 0.00. It also tied for 49th with Minnesota for Top Marginal Income Tax Rate. Increases in minimum wage laws and union presence lowered Hawaiis score for Labor Market Freedom to 44th, from 29th in 2017.

Though Hawaii has low property tax rates, its score for Property Tax and Other Taxes as a Percentage of Income declined from 8.7 in last years index to 6.93.

High taxes, high government spending and burdensome regulation were major reasons economic freedom in the state continued to decline; they also contributed heavily to the states high cost of living.

Akina added, The good news is that the annual Economic Freedom of North America index provides a road map to freedom and prosperity. Its all there in the index: Trim government regulations, reduce our infamous tax burden, expand labor market freedom, and more.

According to the report, Florida ranked as having the greatest amount of economic freedom in 2018, followed by New Hampshire, Texas, Tennessee and South Dakota.

For the fourth year in a row, New York was ranked the least economically free, beating out Kentucky, 49th; West Virginia, 48th; California, 47th; and Alaska, 46th. Taking over from Hawaii at 45th was Oregon, which in 2017 ranked 40th.

In the states with the most economic freedom in 2016, average per capita income was 7.3 per cent above the national average, compared with roughly 10.5 per cent below the national average in states with the least economic freedom.

The evidence is clear: Lower levels of economic freedom lead to less prosperity, slower economic growth, less investment and fewer jobs and opportunities, said Dean Stansel, economics professor at Southern Methodist University, who helped write the report, along with Jose Torra, the head of research at the Mexico City-based Caminos de la Libertad, and Fred McMahon, the Dr. Michael A. Walker Research Chair in Economic Freedom at the Fraser Institute.

A full copy of Economic Freedom of North American 2018 can be downloaded here, or read it at fraserinstitute.org/economic-freedom.

For more information on the EFNA Network, datasets and previous Economic Freedom of North America reports, visit www.fraserinstitute.org/economic-freedom.

###
The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) last week floated the idea of prescribing in law that employers make redundancies in an order determined based on factors such as the professional skills, length of employment and number of dependants of employees.

Kyosti Suokas, the chairperson of the Finnish Construction Trade Union, has shot down a proposal to oblige employers to make lay-offs in an order partly based on seniority.

We believe such an arrangement would reduce the arbitrariness of employers and promote employment, wrote Ilkka Kaukoranta, the chief economist at SAK.

Kaukoranta conceded that an order based partly on the length of employment relationships would in practice strengthen the protection against dismissal of old employees at the expense of that of young employees. By taking into account the number of dependants, however, it would be possible to bolster the protection against dismissal of employees with young children, he estimated.

Suokas on Monday expressed his doubts that such a system could work in the construction industry, given the physical nature of work.

The objective is to guarantee older employees have jobs until retirement age. Such a law could work in the public sector, as well as at some major industrial employers. But for the construction industry the proposal is like a puff of dust from a chest of souvenirs that has been laying around in storage, he stated in his blog.

He reminded that although the life expectancy is on the rise, the human body cannot handle more than its share of hard manual labour. Builders, he highlighted, retire on disability pension on average at the age of 52 and leave working life through other channels on average at the age of 58.

The numbers have not changed for decades, said Suokas.

The Finnish Construction Trade Union is a member of SAK.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Source: Uusi Suomi
Americans first embraced their national symbol during the Civil War. In subsequent wars, our flag fervor has grown.

A single sentence in the Journals of the Continental Congress defines the object: Re- solved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation. We dont know which member or committee introduced the Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777, and we dont know if the measure was debated or who voted for it and against it. The Congress adopted the resolution without comment, not bothering to specify the flags shape, proportions or the size of the canton or field of stripes. Nor did the resolution say anything about the shape of the stars nor their pattern in the constellation.

The Betsy Ross myth notwithstanding, we really dont know who designed the American flag, why its red, white, and blue, or why it features stars and stripes. The only thing we know for certain about the original flags symbols is that the 13 stars and 13 stripes stood for the first states. From todays perspective, Americas first flag seems an afterthought, far from the archetypal symbol it would become in the 19th century, a period of territorial expansion and internal strife. It would be a stretch, in fact, to say that in 1777 Americans even recognized the Stars and Stripes as the national emblem or symbol. The American flag as a sovereign flag did not occur until 1782, says early American flag authority Henry Moeller. In the 1777 period, the flag was not a device that was used by the average citizen. It was used for communication, Moeller contends, primarily by the military, and mainly on Navy ships. Most historians of the period concur.

From the Revolution to the present conflict in Iraq, use of the flag has progressed from primarily a naval emblem rarely flown by patriotic citizens to a widely revered national symbol, and the most significant steps in the evolution of Americans attitude toward their flag have been taken in wartime. And so, despite the impressions left by latter-day paintings such as German-born Emanuel Gottlieb Leutzes apocryphal George Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851), the Revolutionary War was not fought under the Stars and Stripes. The Continental Army officially engaged British troops under what was known as the Continental Colors or the Grand Union flag, the banner General Washington flew for the first time at the armys birth on January 1, 1776. That flag had the familiar 13 red and white stripes, but its canton contained the Union Jack. Washington quickly realized that it wasnt the best idea to fly it while fighting the British because enemy officers saw it as a sign of surrender. So the Continental Army fought the British primarily under unit and militia flags, some of which contained 13 stars and 13 stripes. Among them were the well-known Bennington Flag with its seven white and six red horizontal stripes and a canton containing the number 76, above which 11 stars were arrayed in a semicircle with two additional stars above.

The most famous single American flag, the tattered Star-Spangled Banner now in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution, is a product of the nations second conflict with Great Britain, the War of 1812. That flag, measuring an impressive 42 feet wide by 30 feet high, was sewn by Mary Pickersgill in Baltimore for U.S. Army Major George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry in that citys harbor. The story of Francis Scott Key witnessing British ships bombard Fort McHenry on September 12-14, 1814, is famous. Less well known is what Key, a Washington lawyer and amateur poet, was doing in the harbor when the bombs were bursting in air.

Key and U.S. Army Colonel John S. Skinner were in Baltimore negotiating the release of an American doctor who had been taken by the British in the Battle of Bladensburg in August. Key did persuade the British to release Dr. William Beanes, but the Americans were not permitted to return to Washington until after the British attack on Baltimore. And so Key, Skinner, and Beanes spent four days on a sloop in the harbor, observing the fighting, including the relentless barrage during the stormy night of September 13.

As the British fleet sailed away, Key jotted down his emotions in long rhyming lines on the back of a letter he was carrying in his pocket and completed the four verses a day or so later. Baltimore printer Benjamin Edes published Keys poem, Defence of Fort MHenry, on handbills and broadsheets and distributed them throughout the city. The Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser published the poem on September 20, and the accompanying article indicated that it was to be sung to the tune of Anacreon in Heaven, an English pub song well known to Americans.

Although the American naval ships in Baltimore Harbor flew the banner prominently, the U.S. Army didnt get around to adopting the Stars and Stripes as its official garrison flag until 1834. The directive came in the form of a General Regulation that applied only to artillery troops. Infantry regiments received that order seven years later, in 1841. And so the first war officially fought under the Stars and Stripes was the Mexican War of 1846-48.

Nearly 60 years after Key penned his battle account in Baltimore and soon after the first firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861, The Star-Spangled Banner gained popularity in the North. Use of the song in the first year of the Civil War, in fact, marked the first time that the nation significantly embraced the flag as a symbol of American patriotism. Northerners spontaneously unfurled American flags in front of their houses, places of business, churches, schools, and colleges as soon as they learned of the fall of Fort Sumter. Every city, town, and village suddenly blossomed with banners, one observer wrote. In the decades to follow the song grew in popularity nationwide.

The events in Charlestons harbor created great enthusiasm throughout the loyal States, for the flag had come to have a new and strange significance, Admiral George Henry Preble wrote in his pioneering 1871 book History and Origin of the American Flag. The heart of the nation swelled to avenge the insult cast by traitors on its glorious flag. It is said that even laborers wept in the streets for the degradation of their country. One cry was raised, drowning all other voicesWar! War to restore the Union! War to avenge the flag!

Northern partisans framed the fight against the Confederacy as a fight for the American flag. Newspapers and magazines in the North ran red-hot flag-oriented editorials. The Battle Cry of Freedom with its stirring words well rally round the flag, boys was a wildly popular song. The first Union martyr, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, was shot dead by an innkeeper in Alexandria, Va., in May 1861 after Ellsworth tore down a Confederate flag at the inn. Remember Ellsworth became a Union rallying cry. Printed on broadsides, postal envelopes and letterheads, it was always accompanied with an image of the red, white, and blue.

Meanwhile, for the Confederate Congress, almost the first order of business was coming up with a national flag. Debate centered on how closely the new flag should resemble the Stars and Stripes. The Stars and Bars, with its red, white and blue colors and its wide stripes and stars in a canton, did borrow heavily from the American flag. The Confederate Battle Flag, perhaps more recognizable today, came into being after First Manassas when Rebel generals complained that they often couldnt distinguish the American and Confederate flags on the smoke-filled field of battle.

The so-called cult of the flag that began in the North in April 1861 spread nationwide in the decades following the Civil War. The most prominent proponent of the popularizing of the flag was the nations first powerful veterans service organization, the Grand Army of the Republic, which formed shortly after the war and was made up of Union veterans. The GAR, from its beginnings, promoted patriotism and the use of the flag. Finally, in 1931, after a long lobbying effort by patriotic and veterans groups, notably the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Congress elevated Keys 117-year-old lyrics set to a British drinking song to national-anthem status.

The Spanish-American War of 1898 was the first foreign conflict fought by the entire nation under the Stars and Stripes since the Mexican War had ended 50 years earlier. Americans from states that opposed each other under the Confederate and Union banners united under the 45-star American standard to fight in Cuba and the Philippines. Former Confederate General John Brown Gordon, expressing a common sentiment as the war began, pledged that Southerners would fight the Spanish wrapped in the folds of the American flag.

The greatest good of the Spanish-American War, New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt said in August 1899, was that beneath the same banner marched the sons of the blue and the gray. The nation is now united in deed as well as in name. After being the son of a man who wore the blue, the next best thing is to be a son of a man who wore the gray. We are now all Americans, proud of our forefathers and their bravery on both sides. Indeed, Americans nationwide went on a flag-flying spree. The demand for bunting within the last ten days is in excess of the supply, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 2, 1898. The demand is such that orders have been taken for delivery from three to four months ahead. Not surprisingly, prices for bunting and flags had risen precipitously, according to the Journal.

Americas entry into World War I hastened an outburst of flag-waving that resembled the Norths at the start of the Civil War. On April 6, 1917, only hours after the United States declared war on Germany, flags were displayed from public and private buildings all across America. Though [New York City] has been besprinkled with flags in the last weeks, a veritable flood of bunting broke forth yesterday, The New York Times reported on April 7.

In Washington, D.C., in response to a nationwide public outcry, American flags were flown around the clock over the east and west fronts of the Capitol. Flag-waving patriotic pageants, with such names as Building of the Flag, or Liberty Triumphant and A Pageant of the Stars and Stripes, were held throughout the nation. In 1916, during the war buildup, President Woodrow Wilson had first proclaimed June 14, the 139th anniversary of the 1777 Flag Resolution, as Flag Day.

With entry into the war, the American flag became popular in Canada, Britain, France, Belgium and elsewhere in Western Europe outside of Germany. For the first time in tradition-bound Great Britain, another nations flagthe Stars and Stripesflew with the Union Jack outside Parliament. In Paris the U.S. flag was displayed at the French National Assembly at the Palais Bourbon next to the French tricolor, and Americas symbol decorated Parisian boulevards and the streets of other French cities.

Several states strengthened the language of their flag-protection laws and increased the penalties for disobedience during World War I. The measures, passed in the late 1880s, originally were intended to cut down on commercial uses of the flag. Early in 1917, Congress made the manufacturing, selling, or advertising of items decorated with American flags a misdemeanor within the District of Columbia, punishable by a $100 fine or 30 days in jail.

Not long after the United States entered the war, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a directive, ordering that Germans and other aliens who were discovered abusing or desecrating the American flag in any way would be subject to summary arrest and confinement as a danger to the public peace or safety for the duration of the war. In 1918 Congress passed and President Woodrow Wilson signed into law an amendment to the June 1917 Espionage Act, popularly known as the Sedition Act. The new measure, among other things, made it illegal to willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the Constitution, the government or the America flag.

On the day the United States declared war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans everywhere once again rallied around the flag. As if by magic, Fifth Avenue and other [New York] thoroughfares showed a spontaneous display of American flags The New York Times reported on December 8, 1941. Filmed performances of The Star-Spangled Banner, shown before movie features, soon became standard at theaters across the country.

World War II also gave us the iconic image of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of that or any other war. The name of the strategically significant Pacific island name will forever be associated in American history with the American flag and the actions of five Marines and one sailor on February 23, 1945. Thats when Marines Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, Harlon Block, Michael Strank and Rene Gagnon and Navy Pharmacists Mate John Bradley raised a large American flag attached to a drainage pipe left behind by the Japanese atop Mount Suribachi.

Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal who died last August 21 at age 94was on assignment with the militarys Still Picture Pool, and caught them in the act. People ask, Was the picture posed? Rosenthal said in a 1950 interview. No, it wasnt. I went into the beach on a [landing craft]. I heard the boys were going to plant the flag, so when we landed I dashed right up the hill. I had a couple of minutes to get set while they were getting the flag ready, but they didnt pose. I just caught them in a candid shot. The light and the wind were with me. It was a million-to-one lucky break.

Rosenthal did not know that at the time, however. After shooting the six GIs atop Mount Suribachi, the photographer put his exposed film on a military transport, and that night it was flown to Guam, after which it was sent by radio signal to the Associated Press headquarters in New York City. The photo appeared in hundreds of newspapers on February 25 and immediately triggered a patriotic sensation. Responding to demands from readers, newspapers across the nation published special editions that primarily contained the stirring photo. The single most recognized image of the war, it captured a Pulitzer Prize and other top photojournalism awards for Rosenthal, and became one of the 20th centurys most reproduced images.

Of the six men in the photograph, only Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon survived the fighting on Iwo Jima. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the three to travel to Washington, where they were treated as heroes and made the centerpiece of the Seventh War Bond Drive. The Treasury Department commissioned color poster of Rosenthals photo, and 312 million copies were distributed around the nation. Stores, theaters, banks, factories and railroad stations displayed them, and there was also a billboard version.

Austrian-born sculptor Felix de Weldon, serving as a U.S. Navy aviation artist in Virginia, was one of the first to see the photo. De Weldon later said that he was so taken by the image that, on his own, he worked virtually nonstop for three days to create a 3-foot-high model made from a mixture of floor wax and sealing wax because modeling clay was unavailable. De Weldons makeshift model so impressed Defense Department officials that they commissioned him to create a version in plaster, which the government sent on the nationwide war-bond drive. The three survivors posed for the plaster version, and de Weldon employed Rosenthals photo and other images for the three Marines who had died.

After the war Congress, prodded by lobbying from military and government officials, passed a joint resolution commissioning de Weldon to create an outdoor memorial to the Marine Corps with a version of his statue as the centerpiece. It took more than nine years for de Weldon and his team to complete the 100-ton, 48-foot-high bronze set piece. Placed on a hillside near Arlington National Cemetery, the Marine Corps War Memorial was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on November 10, 1954, the Marine Corps 179th anniversary. The memorial, maintained by the National Park Service, is dedicated to all Marines who have lost their lives in action since 1775. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation giving sanction to flying the American flag 24 hours a day from a 100-foot-high flagpole at the memorial.

Wedged in the middle of the 20th century between World War II and Vietnam, the 1950-1953 Korean War is sometimes called Americas forgotten war. True to that sobriquet, no iconic event involving the American flag took place in Korea. During the long and controversial Vietnam War, however, the flag took on new meaning as a symbol for that divisive conflicts detractors as well as its supporters. By the end of the 1960s, the United States found itself engaged in what political scientist Robert Justin Goldstein called a cultural war using the flag as a primary symbol.

In a country polarized into war hawks and peace doves, the hawks held the flag as the primary emblem of their support for the war goals, their anticommunism stance and their disdain for those who spoke out against the war. Barry Goldwater, the conservative Republican senator from Arizona who ran against President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, for example, began his campaign rallies with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. And he received thunderous applause from campaign audiences when he pledgedas he did at a rally in Los Angeles in March 1964that he would not tolerate the Stars and Stripes being torn down, spat upon and burned around the world.

Doves employed the flag as well, frequently showing it upside down as a sign of distress; they created posters with the stars arrayed in the peace sign and other forms of protest; they wore flag shirts and bandannas; or they simply flew the Betsy Ross flag or the 50-star flag. The most radical elements of the antiwar movement defiantly displayed the Viet Cong flag, and some burned the Stars and Stripes to protest the American war in Vietnam, which led to passage of the first national flag desecration law in 1968.

In marked contrast, most Americans united behind the Stars and Stripes at the outset of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. And 10 years later, within days of the September 11 attacks, millions of Americans proudly and defiantly unfurled American flags. Again, when the United States began military operations against Iraq in March 2003, the American people reacted with impressive displays of the American flag in support of the troops.

And then, for perhaps the first time since the military began flying the Stars and Stripes in the War of 1812, American troopswhose uniforms contain an American flag patch on the right sleevewere ordered not to fly the Stars and Stripes in Iraq. The reason was to avoid the impression that the Americans were leading an invasion. The directive, though, was not strictly followed.

Some American troops, including Corporal Edward Chin of the Marine Corps 1st Tank Battalion, defiantly carried the Stars and Stripes with them into Iraq. On April 2, 2003, Chin and another Marine climbed to the top of a large statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square in Baghdad as a crowd tried to dismantle it.

Chin covered the statues face with an American flag just before the statue came down. The flag remained displayed on it for only a few minutes before an Iraqi flag replaced it, but Abu Dhabi television broadcast the image live.

Two weeks later, when a group of Marines unfurled an American flag as they took over a regional governors office in Mosul, Iraqis began a violent street protest over the flying of the Stars and Stripes. In the ensuing firefight, at least seven Iraqis were killed. You must respect the flag, an Iraqi said. They say to us they want to leave our country soon. How can we believe them if they put up the American flag?

Officially or not, Americans have put up their flag in wars since the Revolution. Although patriots throughout the world are attached to their national emblems, Americans seem to have an especially personal relationship with the Stars and Stripes. Wartime has invariably intensified those feelings.

Historian and journalist Marc Leepson is the author of six books, including Flag: An American Biography (Thomas Dunne Books at St. Martins Press, 2005), a history of the American flag from the beginnings to today, upon which this article is based. He served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1967-68.

Originally published in the March 2007 issue of Military History. To subscribe, click here.
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.
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.
Officers take to the roof of Walmart on an annual basis to raise money for Special Olympics.

Cop On Top Returns to Pittsfield On Dec. 1

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Cop on Top will return to the roof of the local Walmart on Dec. 1.

In a fundraiser for the Special Olympics, law enforcement officers from throughout the county will be camp out on the roof Walmart in the Berkshire Crossings shopping plaza. The officers will stay there until the goal of $55,000 is reached.

There will be food, prize raffles, and giveaways in the parking lot during the event. There will also be numerous police vehicles on display.

"The event will kick off at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, with the Pittsfield Fire Department hosting the first brave group of officers on the roof and local Special Olympic athletes will light the ceremonial Special Olympic cauldron that will burn throughout the event," reads a release sent out by Pittsfield Police Investigator John Bassi.

The event is in its ninth year as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run Program. In the last five years, Bassi said local officers have raised more than $500,000 for Special Olympics through a series of events. Cop on Top is the organization's longest standing program to be launched by local officers and it led police to add more events throughout the year.

"The Berkshire County LETR Program is the highest grossing fundraising program in the state of Massachusetts," Bassi said.

The money goes to Special Olympics Massachusetts and allows some 600 athletes from Berkshire County to participate at no cost because of the fundraising efforts.

In March, the Law Enforcement Torch Run's polar plunge will return. Hardy area residents will take a dip in the icy cold waters of Onota Lake to raise another $100 each for the program. The organization added a super plunge option so those who want to raise $1,000 can take a plunge every hour for 24 hours.

The super plungers will start on Saturday, March 30. The polar plungers will take their dip on Sunday, March 31.

Those are the two largest events for the organization but it sprinkles a number of other fundraisers throughout the year.
Assessor Paula King detailed the tax options on Tuesday.

Pittsfield Council Approves Tax Rate Cut



The city councilors easily approve the plan put forth by the administration on Tuesday. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Tax cuts make for more agreeable City Council meetings.

The council easily approved a plan to lower property taxes across the board -- both on the average bill and on the rate.

For the average single-family homeowner, the bill reduction may be small, at $9.48, but it is the first reduction to the property tax bill in 25 years. The reduction for commercial properties is much more dramatic with a $367.38 reduction for the median commercial property.

"I think it is important that we take a small win when we can," Councilor at Large Earl Persip said.

It is not just the average bill going down either, but the tax rate is going down for the first time since 2007. The residential tax rate is dropping from $20.01 per $1,000 to $19.42 per $1,000 and the commercial rate is dropping from $39.98 per thousand to $39.94 per thousand.

Meanwhile, single-family property values have continued to increase while commercial properties have taken a small dip in value. The City Council approved a shift factor of 1.656, a measurement determining which type of taxpayer pays more of the tax burden, residents or businesses. The shift is slightly more in favor of residential homeowners than last year, who saw property values increase -- and bucks a trend of the city shifting more toward a single rate each year recently, putting the city more in line with where the shift was two or three years ago.

According to Assessor Paul King, single-family homes have increased by 3 percent, a determination based mostly on sales during 2017. The residential housing market has been trending upward.

"This is attributed mostly to the robust market we are seeing," King said.

The condominium and two- and three-family homes have shown similar trends -- at 2.9 percent, 3 percent, and 2.9 percent, respectively. Apartments, however, haven't been as in demand with values rising at a much more moderate rate of 1.2 percent. King attributes part of that staggering in multi-unit apartment buildings to the condition of the aging stock.

"I think that is something the city needs to recognize with code enforcement," Council Vice President John Krol said of the apartment building market.

Meanwhile, commercial properties saw a 2 percent decline -- which translates to $7.7 million in reduced value. Industrial and power plants have shown fairly flat growths of .4 percent and .5 percent.

But single-family homes still make up the majority of the city's property. There are 11,332 single-family homes among the 19,000 or so taxable parcels. Overall, the city's total taxable value is up by $75.4 million.

King said personal property values are significantly up. She said there has been a 12.4 percent increase in personal property values. Much of that has come from commercial enterprises including a $9 million investment in the former SABIC property and investments from Spectrum Cable, NStar, Western Massachusetts Electric, and Berkshire Gas. New solar arrays have been a driver of a 16.5 percent increase in electrical generating. Overall, there is $27.5 more taxable values in personal property.

King also highlighted new additions to the tax rolls as well. There has been a total of $5,209,695 of taxable value added to the residential market with the building of new homes, additions, or the building of such things as garages. She said there is $4,049,290 worth of new value for commercial driven by such things as U-Haul's renovation to the strip mall on West Housatonic Street, the Itam Club returning to the tax rolls, a new marijuana facility on Dalton Avenue, the new O'Reilly's Auto Parts building, and levels of tax increment finance packages such as with Hotel on North paying in more.

The industrial sector saw $1,329,046 added to the values with such things as the Green Apple taking over the former Tire Warehouse, a solar array on East Street, and TIFs adding a greater percentage from Ice River Springs, Interprint, and LTI Smartglass.

Personal property taxes saw a large increase in new taxable entities such as the ones cited above contributing to the overall growth of values.

"It is the first time we've had this large of new growth in over a decade," King said.

Perhaps what is the biggest driver of the tax plan is unanticipated revenues. The city saw a $2.5 million increase in state aid and local revenues are up by about $100,000. Mayor Linda Tyer has also proposed using $1 million in free cash for the budget, which combined outpaces the $2.8 million increase to the budget.

The city's budget, which is set in the spring, is $168,521,252.06. Of that, revenues outside of taxes are expected to come in at $82,140,175.16, leaving $86,381,076.90 to come from taxpayers. This year makes back to back years of the city increasing its distance between the levy ceiling -- the most it can tax -- and the actual levy being used. Just a few years ago, the city had to make a significant number of layoffs to keep under that total.

When it all shakes out, the average single-family home now valued at $186,600, an increase from $181,571 last year, will pay $9.48 less oin taxes while the median commercial enterprise, now valued at $189,000, a decrease from $198,000 last year, will see a decrease of $367.38. The average single-family tax bill will be $3,633.25 while the median commercial property's bill will be $7,548.66.

King pointed out that not everybody has the average home and in some cases values increased more but most of the city's residents and commercial owners will see a decrease in taxes. King said about 2,800 homes could see an increase.

"The majority of the single-family homes will be seeing a decreased," she said.

The first decrease in years led to little discussion among the council Tuesday night. The debates over tax rates have gotten heated as each year the taxes have gone up fairly steadily. Since fiscal 2014, the average single-family home's tax bill has gone up by $584. Last year, the average single-family homeowner saw its tax bill increase by $176.24.

As those numbers have gone up, Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell had been pushing for budget reductions in the spring and then the use of more free cash to offset the tax rate in the fall. However, the administration has been moving away from using free cash to offset the tax rate, following the auditor's advice that it should be used to build reserves or for one-time expenses.

Connell sees it differently, saying free cash is mostly money taxpayers paid into the city and should be given back to them.

"When it comes to free cash, I've said this over and over and over again, free cash is not free. It is the excess dollar amount the residents have paid last year that we didn't spend," Connell said.

Connell pushed in the spring for more free cash to be used but the mayor stuck to the $1 million figure. Connell tried to get $500,000 more used, saying a tax lien auction -- which was done -- would replenish the additional amount used.

He'd still like to have increased the amount of free cash used, Connell said, but he didn't have the votes in the spring and two of his closest allies -- Melissa Mazzeo and Kevin Morandi -- were absent from Tuesday's meeting.

"Yes we are going down, but in reality, it is almost a wash, a few dollars difference," he said of the mayor's plan.

Connell doesn't want the council to become complacent and believes that the administration could have done more to keep expenses down.

"If we have an opportunity to save the residents some money on what they pay in taxes, I think we should explore those options," Connell said.

Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Simonelli made a point to question the new Taconic High School. One of the most frequent comments made after Tyer revealed her tax plan was questioning whether or not a big hit to the rate was coming down the road to pay for the new school.

Director of Finance Matthew Kerwood said there is no big hit on the way. He said $40 million of the $46 million the city is expected to pay for the school has already been bonded and is included in the budget. He said the debt for the school has been structured so that the biggest hit comes in 2021, at the same time debt expires from school projects 20 years ago so it balances out. He said his goal has been to keep the city's debt balanced as projects come on and off the city's budget.
Bibi: Hamas Was Begging for a Ceasefire

The Fellowship | November 14, 2018 Bibi: Hamas Was Begging for a Ceasefire

Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu honored the Jewish states first premier, David Ben-Gurion. But, as Arutz Shevas David Rosenberg tells us, Netanyahu also addressed the fragile ceasefire with Hamas, defending Israels actions:

Netanyahu said the government must sometimes make fateful decisions regarding Israels security, even when they go against public opinion.

At critical moments, Ben Gurion made fateful decisions  sometimes against what the majority of the public wanted. But in the long-run, those decisions turned out to be correct.

In times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public cant always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy. At these moments, leadership doesnt mean doing what is easy. Real leadership means doing what is correct, even if it is difficult. That kind of leadership requires us to face criticism sometimes, when you know critical, secret information which you cannot reveal to the Israeli public, or in this case to the residents of southern Israel, whom I love and cherish so much.

Netanyahu also said the Gaza-based Hamas terror group begged for a cessation to the fighting.

Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they knew very well why.

Israel and the Hamas terror group agreed to a ceasefire Tuesday evening, following two days of the most intense fighting since August 2014
Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has issued a strong warning to the government over Nigerias escalating population. Sanusi, noted that in 1960, the countrys population was 45 million, but has skyrocketed to about 200 million, as of today.

Emir Sanusi said this while speaking at the opening of national conference on insurgency and the Boko Haram phenomenon in Nigeria on Tuesday. According to the former Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) governor, Nigerias population in the next next 20 years will be 100 million.

The emir therefore urged the government to so something about the economy and demography, in order to avoid worse than what is currently happening.

In his words:

The population of Nigeria in 1960 was 45 million, today it is about 200 million. The medium age is 19 and in the next 20 years, we are going to have 100 million Nigerians between the ages of 20 and 40. What will they do? Is the civil service going to employ them? Is the banking industry going to employ them?

If you want to have a sense of what 100 million is, Germany is the third largest economy in the world and the population of Germany is 85 million. Nigeria is going to have a population of 100 million youths in the next 20 years.

If we do not build our economy and address our demography explosion, especially in the north east, Boko Haram will be childs play in another 20 years,
Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai suffered severe backlash over his running mate, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, being a Muslim, like himself. Critics argued that, with the political tension developing in the state, a Muslim-Muslim ticket will only end up aggravating the situation.

However, defending his choice of running mate, said due consideration was put into the decision. The governor made this known, while receiving the people of Sanga local government of the state who came to thank him for picking Dr. Balarabe as his running mate.

According to the Governor, the initial list contained about 32 persons and after much sorting, list was reduced to 12, then 7 and later 5. El-Rufai said the president assisted him in his final choice, who would will run with him, in the 2019 polls.

The president then told me that since I have included women in the list I should give them priority and that was how we arrived at Dr. Balarabe.

But the president also asked me how old she was and I said I did not know because among the documents I had her age was not there.

The president then said he hopes Dr. Balarabe is neither a Fulani nor Hausa like me and I said I do not know her ethnic group but I told him shes related to one of his aides, Alhaji Maikano, then he said if that is the case then shes Numana.

The governor noted also that, the other part was getting the number of Dr Balarabe, whom many described as a good choice for the position.
Vanguard

BENINAHEAD of the 2019 general election, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State would later this week meet candidates for all elective positions to fashion out strategies to ensure victory for the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

Thisday

Super Eagles dream of avenging the 2-0 defeat South Africa inflicted on Nigeria at the beginning of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers has received the backing of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa.

The Sun

Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, may have resigned from his position.

Guardian

The lawmaker also brandished another memo (HMF/FMF/CBN/FOOD/1/2017) dated June 2, 2017, in which Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, drew the attention of Adeosun, Osinbajo and the Accountant General of the Federation Ahmed Idris to the payment instruction for the aforementioned amount of money.

Daily Times

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari to jettison the plot to use the police as a tool to intimidate voters and rig the Irepodun/Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin Federal Constituency by-election, in Kwara State, scheduled for Saturday.

Daily Trust

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had become a department in the All Progressives Congress.

Leadership

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has denied reports in online media about the alleged disappearance of a whooping N21.9 billion meant for the development of its office on Akwa Ibom State. The Nation 2019: PDP in serious difficulties to fund Atiku campaign, APC alleges The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday alllged that opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar is finding it difficult to raise cash to fund his campaign.

Tribune

The presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Dr.Oby Ezekwesili, on Monday said she would work to build and deliver a prosperous Nigeria if elected.
When Hope Uzodimma, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo state, was arrested, accusing fingers were pointed at Rochas Okorocha, the present governor of the state.

The APC guber candidate was arrested on Sunday for alleged failure of his company to execute a $12 million contract awarded to him by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

However, reacting to the arrest, Okorocha absolved himself of being responsible for Uzodimmas ordeal, noting that he was too glodly to engage in such. Okorocha, in a statement issued on his behalf by Sam Onwuemeodo, his chief press secretary, revealed that Uzodinma is desperate to govern Imo state to evade corruption charges against him.

In his words:

Chief Hope Uzodinma who is doing all he could to become governor of Imo state in 2019 and who the national chairman of the (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has thrown up as the governorship candidate of the party in Imo, does not want to become governor to actually govern the state but to enjoy immunity to enable him escape from the criminal trials he is facing at the moment, he said.

And these are matters that had happened years before now and they have nothing to do with Rochas Okorocha, and the governor has no record of witch-hunting in his political life and in his life generally. He is too godly to think evil against anyone.

So, Chief Uzodinma is desperate to govern Imo state through the assistance of men like Adams Oshiomhole to evade the criminal trials he is already facing.

His idea is that once he becomes governor he would be leveraging on the immunity provision to evade these trials. No doubt Imo APC would be doing itself a disservice if it allows Chief Uzodinma to be its flag-bearer in the 2019 governorship election.
Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Adams Oshiomhole has no business talking about morality.

According to Saraki, Oshiomhole collected not Naira but dollars from his partys candidates  Adding, that the former Edo state governor has no moral justification to continue to be in politics.

Saraki said this while speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday during Islamic prayers for his late fathers sixth remembrance anniversary.

In his words:

That must be a joke coming from Oshiomhole talking about moral ground. I think Oshiomhole has no locus standi to talk about morality today. Oshiomhole is somebody, who is said to have been collecting not even naira but dollars from candidates and he is being accused by his candidates and Governors. I dont think he has any moral ground, even to continue to be in politics not to talk about being a Chairman of a party.

I remember in those days even Oyegun, they never accused him of something like this. I have left that party. Im sure the President, based on integrity, knows the right thing to do. So, on moral ground, he cannot speak on moral ground.

You see, the mistake we sometimes make, we forget that Nigeria is a big nation in this global world, not only in the context of Africa. We provide leadership. An action that we take that tries to suggest that we are not civilised with rule of law and processes, doesnt augur well with the image. Today, the President is the President of ECOWAS likewise the Chairman of INEC as chairman of electoral bodies in Ecowas, even show that we are a responsible country.

So, when the IG begins to do things like this without following due process, it is not good for our country, and that is what we always stand for. All those who supposed to caution him will ensure that due process is followed in a thing like this.

We have been doing by-election here, I have never seen where DPOs are being transferred. We have been doing by-elections here, I have never seen where 200 or 300 (security personnel) are being deployed. It is not about Kwara, it is about the country. It is about how the world sees us. It is about how we provide leadership in the continent  And we keep on saying that people like these are not doing the President any good.

The people at the end of the day will speak, and they should allow people to exercise their rights, vote in peace and vote their wishes and should not do anything that creates fear or break law and order. In spite of all these, I see PDP winning the election because we are on ground.

There is no doubt about it. If you go round, you will know who is on ground, and you will see that in the results. They should allow people to exercise their rights, he said.
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday, presided over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting at the Council Chamber, State House, Abuja.

Osinbajo, stood in president Muhammadu Buharis place, who is currently attending the 2018, as he attend

More photos
Opinion Policies

Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue.

Feedback policy

If you have a grievance concerning the content or argument of the Editorial Board, please contact either Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or the Editorial Board as a whole (editorialboard@iowastatedaily.com). Those wanting to respond to editorials can also submit a letter to the editor through the Iowa State Daily website or by emailing the letter to Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or Editor-in-Chief Sage Smith (sage.smith@iowastatedaily.com).

Column Policy

Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
Apple has a pretty standard 14-day return policy throughout the majority of any given year, but, for a brief window of time, the company extends that window for the hectic holiday shopping season.

Apple on Wednesday officially announced that it has officially kicked off its extended holiday return policy for this year. That means that if you purchase a product from Apples physical retail stores or via the online storefront between Wednesday, November 14, and Tuesday, December 25, you will have until Tuesday, January 8, to return it.

If you need to return something, send it back for free, or drop it off at any Apple Store. For eligible products purchased between November 14, 2018 and December 25, 2018, you have until January 8, 2019 to initiate a return. Simply sign in to your account or call us at 1800MYAPPLE.

This new return policy is available in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It is also available in select other regions as well, so double check in your neck of the woods to make sure its available. In Japan and Spain the extended return policy is different: You can buy products between November 14 and January 6, and you have until January 20 to return them.

Apple and iTunes gift cards are exempt from the extended return policy. And make sure you have your receipt, either the physical copy or digital one. And, of course, you can try out the product to see if you like it before you make a decision to return or keep it. Just make sure the device is undamaged and you have the original packaging.

[via Apple
Focus on Lisa Netz, co-owner of The Lavish Loft

Submitted by Haleh Rabizadeh Resnick, Federation Business and Community Development Director For the Voice What was your path to South Jersey? I grew up in...

Focus on Peter Hecht Partner at Magna Legal Services

Tell me about your connection to the South Jersey Jewish Community? I actually grew up in East Brunswick, Exit 9 off the Turnpike. But weve...

Focus on Abigail Dahan: Owner of the Bake School

Tell me a bit about your life in South Jersey. I grew up in Cherry Hill. We moved here from Paris when I was six...
This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Roberto Moreno Ramos. Ramos is scheduled for lethal injection for the 1992 killings of his 42-year-old wife, Leticia, their 7-year-old daughter, Abigail, and their 3-year-old son, Jonathan, at their home in Progreso, located along the Mexico border about 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) southeast of McAllen. Prosecutors say Ramos killed his loved ones and then buried them underneath his home's freshly tiled bathroom floor. Authorities say he bludgeoned his family members so he could marry the woman he was having an extramarital affair with at the time. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
British heavy metal band Judas Priest will perform at Blue Square in Seoul on Dec. 1 to promote their latest album "Firepower." Courtesy of Live Nation Korea



Bassist Ian Hill discusses Seoul leg of 'Firepower' world tour



By Kwak Yeon-soo



British heavy metal band Judas Priest will visit Korea for the fourth time to promote the group's 18th album "Firepower" released in March. Currently on the "Firepower World Tour," the five-member band, which has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, will perform at Blue Square in Seoul, Dec. 1.



Judas Priest's first show in Korea was in 2008. Since then, the band has returned for shows in 2012 and 2015.



With 18 albums and over 40 years of experience, the band is ranked one of the greatest metal bands of all time. The latest album "Firepower" was placed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart in March, making it the band's highest-charting album in the United States.



Ian Hill, the bassist of Judas Priest, discussed what to expect from the concert in Korea in an email interview with The Korea Times. According to him, their approach to making a new album is to make it better than the last one. "As soon as I heard the rough demos sent to us, I knew Firepower was going to be a brilliant album. Everyone gave great playing and production performances, and the album turned out awesome," he said.



The 67-year-old bassist hinted that producer-guitarist Andy Sneap will be filling in for original guitarist Glenn Tipton, who is unable to perform a whole show due to Parkinson's disease.



When asked what songs they will be playing at the show in Korea and how the concert will be, Hill commented "the set list will be a mixture of new songs from Firepower, older songs from the back catalogue, and fans' favorites."



Poised to perform in Korea for the fourth time in a decade, Hill said "It's amazing how much your country has grown over the last few decades. It reflects the energy and drive of your people."



He added, "I love the Korean people. I've always been made very welcome when we've visited. Unfortunately, we never seem to have enough time to see much of the places we visit because we arrive, do the show and move on to the next place."



Hill recalled that with their "British Steel" (1980) album, the band has had an influence in defining heavy metal. "Everything seemed to gel for Judas Priest with the British Steel album. The musical direction and the image of the band all came together at that time," he said.



Hill also revealed his thoughts regarding the arguable phrase "rock is dead" as other genres, like hip-hop and EDM, take over the mainstream. "I don't agree with the idea that rock is dead or anywhere near. In my experience, the festivals that we play at are better attended than ever and there are more young faces in the audience than old ones, so there is a great future for rock and heavy metal," he responded.



He also advised young musicians to "keep improving where you can and be patient. If you've got something good going, someone will notice sooner or later."

Tickets cost 121,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com.


Shinhan Bank CEO Wi Sung-ho, left, visits headquarters of Daejoo Heavy, a small logistics company based in Incheon, Wednesday. Wi met with his company's corporate customer to hear about the company's difficulties amid an economic slowdown. Courtesy of Shinhan Bank
Olivia Han

By Olivia Han



South Korea's rise from the traumatic experience of the Korean War to its current position as the 11th largest global economy was due to careful planning, bold leadership, risk taking entrepreneurs supported by the state, and resilient, hardworking workers.



Due to South Korea's economic prosperity, the nation reached a high literacy rate, lowered infant mortality to that of developed nation status, supported the rise of a solid middle class, and led to one of the highest average life expectancy in the world.



In addition, South Korea's economic prowess has allowed the country to host two highly successful Olympic Games highlighting the nation's elite athletes ranging from swimming to archery to figure skating. Furthermore, South Korea's highly educated workforce has allowed for the rise of globally recognized companies like Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motors.





President Moon Jae-in speaks at a meeting to discuss strategies for a "fair economy" at COEX, southern Seoul, Nov. 9. The meeting was attended by the ministries of justice, industry, health and SMEs as well as the Financial Services Commission and business leaders. / Korea Times photo by Ryu Hyo-jin



Just as importantly, South Korea's creative brilliance was unleashed through highly entertaining dramas and K-pop music, which are considered sui generis. Despite all these successes, the country is confronting economic challenges. This essay will attempt to make suggestions as how to spur its economic growth.



An important factor for economic growth is natural resources. Middle Eastern countries that have large oil resources have developed their economies through profits garnered from oil production.



Other countries that have abundant coal and iron ore deposits, fertile farmland, and shale oil all contribute greatly to the economic wellbeing and prowess of the nation. As Korea does not have natural resources, this lack will always be a detriment to economic growth.



Therefore, the current actions taken by the South Korean government to improve relations with North Korea, which hopefully, someday will lead to reunification, is greatly helpful. Either after reunification or after establishing closer political and economic ties, South Korea can utilize the abundant natural resources possessed by North Korea, decreasing reliance on expensive imports. Therefore, reunification is crucial if South Korea hopes to be economically viable in the future.






By Aaron Lefler-Moore





Korea has achieved an economic miracle over the last generation. However, recent hardships have caused the Korean economy to stall. Wages in Korea have been stagnant, the population is aging, and entrenched corruption among chaebol have been some of the many reasons causing the economy to underperform.





To combat this, President Moon Jae-in initiated policies of "income-led growth" and "inclusive growth" to spur the economy. These policies, while having good intentions, have produced lackluster results. Rapid minimum wage increases have caused many businesses to close their doors while youth unemployment remains around 10.1 percent.





The answer to stimulating Korea's economy cannot come from the government's big spending-trickle effects to increase wages and jobs.





Korea's economy needs to be creative and flexible, so it can compete with a globalizing world through supporting its entrepreneurs and MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) while adapting its education system to synergize accordingly.





Short-run Solution





Korea should remember its competitive advantage as a country, innovation and high education. Innovation is the fuel for entrepreneurs who create value through establishing MSMEs which offer more flexible services and challenge the supremacy of the Chaebol. MSMEs comprise 90 percent of total employment and most of Korea's economy. While Korea has one of the best MSME support programs, changes should be considered to increase competitiveness.





MSMEs need environments conductive to private development. The majority of MSMEs acquire support through private channels such as banks and personal investments. Korea should enact policies that allow for natural flow and market forces to dictate the business environment so private institutions can operate effectively. By helping bridge MSMEs to capital, businesses will have more opportunities to receive necessary financial support to operate.





Korea should also consider support firms to assist MSMEs in identifying their competitive hardships, capabilities, and shortcomings. Competitiveness is dynamic, and many MSME cannot continually define their needs on their own.



Through empowering MSMEs early on, Korea can supply these businesses with resources to be competitive and help them find necessary assistance.





Korea's education system should synergize with government policies favoring entrepreneurship. While highly advanced, higher education in Korea lacks global competitiveness and international support.





In the past, Koreans enrolled in hagwon, prepared for the Suneung ( the College Scholastic Ability Test), attended one of the SKY universities, graduated with connections, and were employed in one of the prestigious chaebol.





In today's world, this process is obsolete as chaebol are hiring less and are no longer growth drivers. Higher education in Korea should shift its focus from the Suneung-SKY-chaebol path to providing a diversified foreign faculty to students so they can compete in a global world.





South Korea can take many strategic actions. The government can invest more resources into providing lower-income families and minorities with access to higher education through grants and scholarships. Such investments would result in a broader base of highly-educated graduates.





Secondly, Korean education should create an environment that attracts foreign faculty and staff through the development of research centers and improved institutions as foreign-influenced/diversified thinking among students helps foster innovation.





Thirdly, Korea should consider the development of vocational learning programs to give students first-hand experience in their field. This has the potential to open the doors for future full-time and long-term employment options with growing MSMEs who wish to find new young talent.





Lastly, Korea's education system should foster 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' workers such as big data analysts, artificial intelligence specialists, blockchain producers, Internet of Things (IOT) operators, and bio-mimicry designers.





Long-run solution





South Korea should explore the economic benefits from reunification with North Korea. This action, while having immediate disadvantages, would have economic and demographic advantages for Korea in the long run. Reunification should not be hastened; a sloppy reunification could spell disaster.





At first, Korea would need to balance labor and wage rates between the two economies to achieve stabilization and mitigate the immediate negative effects an influx or workers would bring.





After balancing wage rates, Korea should explore options to optimize natural resources and rare earth metals in a way that is best for productivity and the environment. A resource-deprived economy like South Korea obtaining $10 trillion worth of natural resources would be equivalent to massive long-term advantages.





Lastly, the new Korea should seek optimization of technological advancements, so the lives of all Koreans can be improved through the advancements of education and entrepreneurship in a unified country.











South Korea should reach a coherence between the opportunities for MSMEs and the enhancement of education to be globally competitive. Reunification would give Korea access to raw materials and a cheaper labor force.





Korea's economy has lived up to its name "The Miracle on the Han River" for the past 60 years. While building on its previous success and accomplishments, Korea can create the second Miracle on the Han River with an economy driven by innovation and entrepreneurship.


By Sean Bahk



Blockchain, bitcoins, and ripple.



Sean Bahk

A few years ago, such terms were unbeknownst to the Korean public. Now, they have become a household name. Regulations are being imposed on both a national and international level with G20 countries. The South Korean government has been dealing with this issue primarily through the Financial Services Commission (FSC), even revising its regulations this July to embrace such phenomenon.



This movement, however, raises the question, "Is regulation necessary for cryptocurrencies?" The answer? No. The market will adjust accordingly, regulation only brings forth more serious problems, the decision to partake in such transaction is completely voluntary, and if anything, cryptocurrencies have been a source of healthy academic and economic stimulation.



The market economy, or an economy that arises from the decentralized decisions of many firms and households, will render governmental regulations unnecessary. The free market argument, supported by renowned economists such as Adam Smith and Friedrich Hayek, states that the absence of non-market pressures will ultimately lead to the optimum allocation of resources. This has been true with any major cryptocurrency, its scarcity affecting its price and availability worldwide. Interactions take place in a highly codified network to prevent any illegal activity. If the government were to intervene in a well-functioning and established decentralized market, it would only cause more confusion.



When discussing governmental regulations, one has to realize that financial regulations in Korea were predominately established in the 20th century, with modifications made with time. How can one logically apply 20th century regulations to a 21st century event? Loopholes will be rampant and naturally, there will be those who will use these loopholes to their advantage. Even if strict regulations are made, there is just not enough information on cryptocurrencies to successfully cover each and every facet of the situation.



Even after decades of their implementation, well-established financial regulations have hiccups; imagine how detrimental the situation would be for a nascent phenomenon. On a bigger scale, once a widely-circulated product of value, in this case cryptocurrencies, is strictly regulated, black markets will surely emerge, making it even harder for the government to control due to decreased visibility. Less  preferably no  regulations will therefore help the cryptocurrency market run smoothly.






Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) head Kim Yong-beom speaks during a media conference at the Government Complex in Seoul, Wednesday. The SFC ruled Tuesday that Samsung BioLogics intentionally violated accounting rules in 2015 / Courtesy of Financial Services Commission



By Jhoo Dong-chan



Samsung BioLogics may be forced out of the Seoul stock market after the nation's financial regulator ruled Wednesday that the biopharmaceutical arm of Samsung Group intentionally violated accounting rules in 2015.



At a press conference, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom said the company purposely cooked its books by inflating net profits in 2015 before it went public in 2016.



Under the ruling, shares of Samsung BioLogics will be suspended from trading on the Seoul bourse from today, and the Korea Exchange (KRX) will look into the case for the next 15 days to decide whether the company violated its examination standards for listed firms.



If the KRX decides the firm violated the standards, Samsung BioLogics will be delisted. The company is the nation's fifth largest firm in terms of market capitalization estimated at around 22 trillion won ($19.3 billion).



The FSC also fined it 8 billion won, and recommended the dismissal of its CEO to take responsibility for the accounting breach.



"We have decided to file a complaint with the prosecution against Samsung BioLogics for violating accounting rules; while also fining the firm 8 billion won. We are also requesting Samsung BioLogics to immediately dismiss its CEO," said Kim, who is also head of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the auditing unit of the FSC.



"The KRX will decide whether to delist Samsung BioLogics after considering the firm's transparency and the protection of its investors," he added. "It is impossible to prejudge the result now."



The FSC also decided to ban auditing firm Samjong KPMG from carrying out audits of Samsung BioLogics for the next five years.



Samsung BioLogics immediately protested the decision.



"We are certain Samsung BioLogics did not violate accounting rules," the company said in a press release. "We will file an administrative petition to prove our case."



It added Samsung BioLogics had already consulted with a number of accounting specialists over the issue. The Korea Institute of Certified Public Accountants also confirmed the firm did not breach the rules in 2016.



"We are very sorry for causing confusion to our investors. We will make every effort to show that we acted within the law. We will also continue to do our best to meet our investors and customers' demands."



The SFC looked into allegations that the biopharmaceutical company's sudden profit in 2015 following years of losses was because of fraudulent accounting. The news was released right before the firm's planned initial public offering.



The firm reported a net profit of 1.9 trillion won that year after changing the method used to calculate the value of its core affiliate Samsung Bioepis.



The possible accounting fraud claim first surfaced after a local activist group, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), questioned the integrity of the company's 2015 books.



Thanks to the surging market value of Samsung Bioepis, its part owner Samsung BioLogics said it conducted a corporate valuation based on this instead of acquisition value, following the approval of copies of core biotech drugs. The PSPD argued that such a change violated Korea's accounting rules.


North Korea's official news agency has denounced Japan's rejection of a recent South Korean court ruling ordering a Japanese firm to compensate forced labor victims as "impudent and shameless."

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary sent Tuesday that Japan has again showed its impudence and shamelessness by vowing to take a tough countermeasure against South Korea's court ruling and take the case to the International Court of Justice.

"Japan is just going so preposterously that its conduct cannot be described with even such expressions as impudence and shamelessness. The international community is greatly astonished by it. Japan has no reason to protest against that judgment," the English-language KCNA commentary said.

South Korea's Supreme Court ruled late last month that a Japanese steel firm should compensate four Koreans mobilized into forced labor during the 1910-45 colonial rule, rejecting Japanese claims that all colonial-era compensation claims were settled under a 1965 treaty signed by the two countries when they normalized diplomatic relations.

But Japan called the judgment "absurd" and a "challenge to the international community," the KCNA commentary said.

It noted that Japan forcibly brought more than 8.4 million young and middle-aged Korean men to battlefields and labor sites through abduction and haul-off and the sites of slave labor where Koreans toiled still exist in Japan.

"So, Japan is obliged to make a sound apology and national reparation to the Korean people for its crime-woven past when it inflicted the loss of manpower and mental and physical damage upon them," the commentary said.

"Japan is behaving just like a guilty party filing the suit first. Such conduct is reminiscent of gangsters and hooligans," it said, accusing the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of pushing ahead with constitutional revision and a scenario for building a military giant. (Yonhap)
By Kim Yoo-chul



A group of senior North Korean officials will visit Pangyo Techno Valley, Thursday, a Seongnam City spokesman said Wednesday.



Pangyo Techno Valley is a complex of technology firms in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. It focuses on information technology, biotechnology and fusion technology.



"North Korean officials will visit the complex on Nov. 15. The visit was requested by North Korea. Specific details of their trip have yet to be fixed," the city spokesman said without elaborating further.



Officials from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said the North Korean delegation will be briefed on South Korea's current status and progress in autonomous cars, 3D printing, artificial intelligence (AI) and gaming technology _ core elements for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.



The North Korean delegates will also have a 20-minute session to test autonomous vehicles on designated roads in Pangyo. South Korea is a big and valuable market for startups and emerging technologies with Pangyo Techno Valley's diverse startup and technology ecosystem.



The seven-member North Korean delegation arrived at Incheon International Airport late Wednesday after Seoul's unification ministry approved of their trip plan.



The delegation, led by Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, will participate in an international forum on peace to be co-hosted by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government and the Asia-Pacific Exchange Association in Goyang, north of Seoul.



During their stay through Nov. 17, the delegation will visit agricultural facilities here, as they want to learn about advances in agricultural technology to boost efficiency and productivity, according to officials.



The government earlier said it has no plans to hold any meeting with the visiting North Korean delegation as the forum has been organized by a local administration and a private organization.



After acquiring nuclear weapons, Pyongyang is now focusing on the policy goal of economic progress and development, with the country's leader Kim Jong-un pushing top-down economic reform. South Korea is ready to show how next-generation technology makes a difference in economic development and the quality of everyday life.



Kim has departed from his father's "military-first" approach and is instead focused on advancing the economy. But tightening and enforcement of economic sanctions stand in his way.



Technological developments in North Korea are often hidden behind a veil of secrecy or only partially reported by state media outlets.



Despite the country's long-lasting isolation,reports indicate that scientific research and efforts to advance technology have been actively pursued by the North.



Political analysts in Seoul point out that this is mainly due to Kim's desire to boost the country's economy through advanced scientific technology.



"North Korea is quite competitive in terms of patents relating to AI and other types of software technology. Given the North's weak infrastructure in roads and significantly low traffic congestion, establishing a test-bed for autonomous vehicles in North Korea would be one applicable scenario, which I believe does make sense," said Kwak In-ock, a professor at an ICT research lab in Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul.


Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah shake hands in Singapore, Wednesday. Yonhap



President Moon Jae-in held a summit with Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in Singapore on Wednesday and discussed ways to bolster bilateral relations between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), officials said.

During the meeting held on the sidelines of annual ASEAN-related summits, Moon congratulated Brunei on assuming ASEAN's dialogue coordinatorship and asked for support for South Korea's New Southern Policy aimed at strengthening relations with Southeast Asian nations.

Brunei took over the coordinatorship in August for a three-year term.

Moon said that Brunei has key roles to play as ASEAN's dialogue coordinator in order for South Korea to successfully host special summits with ASEAN nations next year.

Sultan Bolkiah said that he is pleased that Brunei has assumed the dialogue coordinatorship and the country will make active efforts to make next year's special summits successful and to further develop relations between Korea and ASEAN, according to officials.

During the meeting, Moon also briefed Brunei's sultan on South Korea's efforts to realize denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and asked for Brunei's continued support for such efforts.

Sultan Bolkiah noted that South Korea's efforts to bring permanent peace on the peninsula are making good progress and promised to continue to support Seoul's peace efforts, officials said.

The two leaders also agreed to work together to continue to move cooperation forward not only in the infrastructure and construction sectors, but also in the information and communications technology area, officials said. (Yonhap)
Church of Almighty God members who sought asylum on Jeju Island have all had their requests rejected. The members, after applying for refugee status, moved to cities and counties across Korea where they allegedly joined other CAG members. Photo from the CAG website



Dispute grows over applications from the Church of Almighty God



By Ko Dong-hwan



Hundreds of members of a Chinese Christian movement have filed for refugee status on Korea's southern Jeju Island, claiming religious persecution.



The Jeju Immigration Office, however, told The Korea Times that so far it has not granted asylum or humanitarian stays to any of the applicants from the Church of Almighty God.



China's ruling Communist Party outlawed the CAG more than 12 years ago, labeling it an unorthodox religious cult. Beijing said members of the CAG  4 million as of 2014  have been involved in illegal activities, including swindling and inciting suicides, and have distorted China's "orthodox doctrine."



In a discussion that stemmed from the 37th regular session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (OHCHR), held in March in Geneva, a Chinese government official said the central authority, while guaranteeing the public's religious freedom, will not tolerate any crime in the guise of religious activity.



Kang Young-woo from the Jeju Immigration Office, who oversaw the evaluation of CAG members, told The Korea Times he has seen about 800 CAG asylum seekers since 2014 when they started landing on the tourism-oriented island. He said about 200 sought asylum each year.



"We evaluated their refugee applications strictly based on the Korean Refugees Act," Kang said. "The laws state that those at risk of government persecution for religious reasons can be granted refugee status.



"Most of the applicants, however, didn't provide detailed, credible explanations on how they were actually persecuted in China. They just claimed they had concerns that they might be persecuted had they stayed there."



Kang said some have appealed or filed for administrative litigation to counter the island court's ruling. He said the immigration office did not keep track of how many had taken those steps.





One of the Korean chapels of the Church of Almighty God in Guro-dong, Seoul. The CAG's headquarters are in China's Henan Province. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan



When the The Korea Times spoke to the CAG's Korean contact, a Chinese-speaking woman declined to answer inquiries. The group also did not respond to email questions.



The organization's website has contact information for 37 countries.



Observers have divided opinions on China's condemning of the CAG. The Korean religious media outlet churchheresy.com agreed with the Chinese government's view of the movement as pagan and said CAG members seeking asylum around the world should be denied this.



But European non-profit organizations campaigning for religious rights acknowledged the members as victims of Chinese religious persecution and demanded they be given refugee status.



The Italy-based Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), the largest international association of scholars specializing in the study of new religious movements, and three other European associations said following their March OHCHR session that CAG members "face an obvious risk of persecution if compelled to return to China."



"Their fear of persecution is very much real and they have a right to receive asylum in Germany under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," the group said in the "Universal Periodic Review  Germany," an examination of Germany's human rights record, submitted to the U.N. in Geneva in April. They were concerned that 243 of 291 CAG members who sought asylum that month had been rejected.



Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist and the founding director of CESNUR, said in a Korea Times op-ed in late October that the Chinese asylum seekers on Jeju were victims of "Chinese authorities' extensive fake news campaign in Korea to persuade the local authorities to deport" the migrants.



Fourteen relatives of asylum seekers came to the island in August to find their estranged family members. They held protests demanding the Korean immigration court reject the asylum seekers' applications so they could return to China. Introvigne said the Chinese visitors did not voluntarily protest but were "required to hold a banner reading 'my relative is not a refugee' and request that the court dismiss the asylum bids."



He said it was the Chinese government's plan to "take advantage of a new anti-refugee climate in Korea"  following the arrival of some 500 Yemeni asylum seekers on Jeju Island who this year divided the country on whether they should be embraced or returned  to have the Jeju CAG asylum seekers rejected.





Chinese people who claimed to be relatives of CAG members seeking asylum on Jeju Island held a press conference at the Jeju Immigration Office, Aug. 31. They urged the authorities to send the applicants back to China. The banner behind them reads: "Repatriate fake refugees home!" The protesters' signs read in Korean and Chinese "CAG is a fake cult" and "We demand CAG to send our family members home." Courtesy of Nocut News
By Jung Hae-myoung



Public opinion that the current college entrance system does not guarantee fair competition, is growing, while people are becoming more distrustful of schools' academic records and other evaluations.



This sentiment has increased after an exam leak scandal in which a teacher at Sookmyung Girls' High School stole exam papers for his twin daughters attending the same school.



According to a poll conducted by Realmeter at the request of a parents' group in April, 50.8 percent of 1,001 people aged over 19 said admission wholly dependent on school records should be abolished or hold less weight in college entrance admission.



More than half of the respondents also said the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) result should take a large portion in the admission system.



In the college admission process, the ratio of schools evaluating school records and other non-academic achievements rather than the CSAT result has increased since 2006, according to a 2016 report by Korean Council for University Education. For the 2019 school year, 76.6 percent of students will be selected through such evaluations without much emphasis on the CSAT.



The evaluation system was originally introduced to help students avoid rote learning and encourage them to become more creative and show their talent in specific fields.



But the fairness of the evaluation has been questioned for long, and the Sookmyung case showed it can be unfair.



Besides that case, some teachers have been punished for showing exam papers to acquaintances connected to the same school.



In 2016, an English teacher at a high school in Incheon was booked for revealing exam questions to a cousin who was attending the same school as a student. A similar incident happened in Gwangju, in which a teacher gave midterm and final exam papers to a parent.



Some also say the non-academic achievements are decided according to the parents' wealth rather than the students' ability _ wealthy parents can chauffeur their children to do community service, prepare carefully a selected booklist for them, and provide expensive private lessons that some students cannot afford.



Consistent and similar petitions have been posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website to demand the government abolish the school records-based admission system and instead expand the ratio of the CSAT, and strictly monitor grading at schools.



"The CSAT may not be the best admission system. But it is a start for a fair society," a petitioner wrote.



Earlier in August, the Presidential Committee on National Education released a college admission system reform guideline and proposed an expanded ratio of the CSAT.




By Kim Hyun-bin



Video footage taken at a McDonald's drive-thru has stirred public outrage as a customer is shown throwing food at a female worker.



The video clip was first uploaded to an online community Tuesday, titled "The incident at a McDonald's drive-thru." It was posted by the driver of a car in line behind the customer at a McDonald's drive-thru in Ulsan on Sunday, whose dash cam captured the scene on video.



"I was waiting at the McDonald's drive-thru, and the driver in front of me was talking with the part-time worker and soon after threw the meal bag at the worker and left," the writer wrote in the video description.



"My wife and I were at a loss and the worker was crying. Mistakes in orders can happen when ordering from a drive-thru, and if that is the case, the customer should have told the employees and fixed it. The incident was shocking and way out of line."



He again wrote that he thought it would be better for the part-timer herself to contact police, so he saved the footage in a portable memory device and handed it over to the store manager.



Regarding the incident, the manager filed a complaint with police against the customer for assault. The manager told Ulsan Jungbu Police that the customer threw the food and cursed at the worker. The police questioned the manager and the worker, and will soon question the customer.



An official at McDonald's Korea said they would take every necessary measure to have the worker get an apology. They said there was no mistake in the order.



The video went viral quickly, reaching over 200,000 views as of Wednesday. And the public has expressed outrage over the driver's action.



"Even though it was the employee's mistake, it doesn't make it right to throw food in a person's face," an internet user wrote.



Under the criminal law, throwing an object at a person is assault.



There have been endless abuse cases by customers against employees in the country.



Last December, a man called on the supervisor of a department store in Seoul to complain about an employee's service. When the supervisor arrived, the customer threw three stacks of 50,000 won bills at her. The customer was indicted for assault, and a local court fined him 3 million won on Oct. 29.



In July, a woman grabbed two employees by the hair and threw cosmetic products at them in a shop at a department store in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. She made the disturbance claiming she had skin problems after using the cosmetics she had bought there.


Taxis operated by firms or privately line up near Seoul Station. The city's taxi fares will likely increase by the end of this year. Korea Times file



By Ko Dong-hwan



Seoul's taxi fare hike is nearing. As the city government waits for over 250 local taxi operators to sign a set of new regulations, the higher fares are expected by the end of this year.



The new regulations state a "daytime" taxi fare will start from 3,800 won ($3.35), up from 3,000 won.



The fares will begin once 254 taxi firms in the Seoul Taxi Association sign a Seoul Metropolitan Government's letter of business agreement containing the new terms. Predictions indicate all companies will sign by year's end.



The taxi association gathered the presidents of city operators at the Seoul Transportation Center in the city's Songpa-gu District on Monday to discuss the terms. Participants agreed on the new fare and measures to treat drivers better.



The core element of the pro-driver measures involves the drivers' mandatory payment to companies from daily earnings.





Seoul also is looking to modify nighttime taxi regulations, including raising the starting fare from 3,600 won to 5,400 won. Korea Times file
By Lee Min-hyung



The U.S. and South Korean governments have shattered concerns over a recent report on "undeclared" missile bases in North Korea, saying the allies have already recognized the existence of the facilities and continue to keep a close watch on them.



"We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new  and nothing happening out of the normal," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter, Tuesday.



"(They are) just more fake news. I will be the first to let you know if things go bad," he said.



The message was aimed at countering the report released by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Security (CSIS) which claimed it had identified locations for 13 out of 20 secret missile bases in the North.



The report has particularly highlighted one of the bases in the North's Sakkanmol, about 137 kilometers northwest of Seoul, as a potential threat to South Korea, as it is the closest to the border region and remains "reasonably well-maintained."



With the report making headlines here and abroad, South Korea also expressed a sense of embarrassment. Cheong Wa Dae said it has already paid close attention to the reported missile bases and no provocative gestures have been detected there.






Oxfam's Humanitarian Lead Richard Corbett speaks at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won



By Park Ji-won



Oxfam Humanitarian Lead Richard Corbett said the organization was worried about humanitarian issues in North Korea, emphasizing the importance of working closely with governments both there and in South Korea to deliver aid.



"We are slightly worried about North Korea because of the political situation. We are watching the situation," he told The Korea Times during an interview Friday. Corbett visited South Korea to give a lecture regarding the U.K.-based international charity organization's work at its first international seminar here.



Oxfam is a global charitable organization that focuses on resolving problems by helping communities with issues regarding water, food and security for people in danger, such as refugees from Yemen and Myanmar. The charity is actively considering working with South Korea's government from next year to expand its operations here.



Corbett mentioned the group's Hong Kong branch and its relationship with North Korea in the past, saying, "At the moment, the issue is access. We are not clear on the situation on the ground because we don't have access."



Humanitarian aid to North Korea has been gradually prohibited under U.N. and U.S. sanctions in recent years. Many international organizations have pulled out of giving help to North Korea citing operational difficulties and looking for alternative ways to increase their footprint in the North.



Regarding the possibility of expanding operations into North Korea, Corbett emphasized that the North Korea humanitarian issue was not a priority for the British organization, but added, "That could change if there are triggers. It is early days in the process because of sanctions and the regime, etcetera."



"In terms of what happens next, it comes back to a question of access. What is the position of the South Korean government and the North Korean government?"



The international organization which provided aid to South Korea during the Korean War, opened its Seoul branch in 2014. South Korea raised 6.2 billion won ($5.47 billion) from private and corporate sector contributions between April 2016 and March 2017, mostly through street promotions.



Regarding a sex scandal reported in February by the British daily The Times in which "Oxfam's most senior staff paid survivors of the Haiti earthquake for sex and hosted parties with prostitutes 'wearing Oxfam T-shirts' and that the charity tried to cover it up," Corbett made it clear that the organization is working to regain people's trust through various efforts.



"So now we have to rebuild that trust. Especially now we have newer organizations like in South Korea. We are doing that by looking at it in three ways," he said. Regarding personnel, he said that Oxfam needed to have better references checks for candidates before hiring them. He also noted that it was essential to make it known throughout the organization that actions like those in Haiti are not tolerated. Finally, Corbett added that it was important for Oxfam to work very closely with communities, making sure that people know their rights and how to report when something is wrong.



When it comes to providing aid, Corbett emphasized the effectiveness of directly giving cash to impoverished people so that they can use the money for what they genuinely need. This is part of Oxfam's cash learning partnership (CALP) strategy in humanitarian aid. In order for the initiative to work, he highlighted the necessity of having inspectors who oversee the money flow to receivers.



"Organizations like ourselves or local partners, somebody still has to be checking that money is going to the right people, the markets are working, and the system is working."



He implied there were possibilities for Oxfam to expand its work with government organizations here. Government funding consists of some 43 percent of Oxfam's income for its headquarters in the U.K. there is almost nothing given here.



Corbett is hopeful about the future. He remarked that the Seoul office has the potential to grow and noted possible areas of focus, such as fundraising, advocacy, government policy and working closely with KOICA. "There's lots of potential but that will be down to Oxfam in South Korea to decide what it wants to do."




Jun Won-tchack, former special committee member on party reform of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) who was fired from the position by its interim leader Kim Byong-joon, speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap



By Park Ji-won



A former member of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) reform committee, Jun Won-tchack, criticized the party's interim leader Kim Byong-joon, Wednesday, over a deepening factional war inside the party.



Jun claimed Kim is not capable of unifying the party, and by extension, conservative forces. Kim sacked the outspoken lawyer from the post last week following a feud over how to reform the biggest conservative party.



"The LKP is the only party where sectarian factions (based on political lineage) work, rather than political factions. In a party, a sectarian faction is like a private organization which should be removed," Jun, a conservative lawyer who became a member as the party's special committee for organization reform said during a press conference, Wednesday. The special committee on party organization reform where Jun was before his removal, was an umbrella organization of the emergency reform committee led by Kim.



"It is too late for the party to reform its organization right before the election. I will continue to seek regaining the trust of conservatives in order to keep conservatives together. I don't want to go back to the LKP that refuses to seek innovation."



His remarks came after he was fired from the position by the interim leader Kim, failing to narrow differences over the party overhaul plan with Kim, especially over the shake-up of the LKP members and lawmakers before the party's national convention.



Kim insisted on ending the process by the middle of December while Jun was determined to postpone it for one month.



Jun claimed that there are only 20 working days before the proposed deadline, making it impossible for "any kind of reshuffle," by Dec. 15.



After a defeat in the June local elections, the LKP formed the special reform committee led by Ki aimed at resetting main political agendas for conservatives and reorganizing the party structure.



On Tuesday, senior lawmakers of the LKP conservative figures, who are known to be close to former President Park Geun-hye asked the interim leader to resign.


By Kim Ae-ran



Now and then, we often talk about peace and reconciliation in Korea. All religious people have prayed for this intention throughout many years. I do believe there is an untiring power of prayers behind all the efforts to be closer to collaborate among the nations.

On the first day of January every year, the Catholic Church begins with a message of peace. This year we also celebrated the 51st International Day of Peace, with the title of "migrants and refugees: men and women in search of peace." In a message, Pope Francis suggested to create "our common home" with four mileposts for action: welcoming migrants and displaced people with hospitality, protecting them from risks and abuses, promoting integral human development, and integrating to allow them to participate fully in society.



As Pope Francis said, only "a contemplative gaze" with compassion on the miserable people can promote peace beyond the ideologies of various countries. He recommended, "In a spirit of compassion, let us embrace all those fleeing from war and hunger, or forced by discrimination, persecution, poverty and environmental degradation to leave their homelands."



The International Day of Peace approved by the U.N. has also been celebrated on Sept. 21 since 1981.



Even North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talks often about peace, and he expressed his intention during the inter-Korean summit with Moon Jae-in in September to invite Pope Francis to North Korea. A North Korean religious association established Changchung Cathedral in 1988 in Pyongyang. We don't know how many people would be there surviving in silence.



On Nov. 6, the committee of the reconciliation of the people of Korea, established in 2006 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Uijeongbu, and the Catholic Times co-held the second international academic conference on the topic of the role of Catholics for peace on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia at the Catholic Church of Repentance and Atonement in Paju.



Prof. Maryann Cusimano Love from the Catholic University of America talked about having just causes such as the dignity of human life and common goodness, good intentions, participation, recovery, right relations, reconciliation and the possibility of continuing just causes with the help of religious institutes to realize a just peace on the peninsula and Northeast Asia regardless of the transfer of leadership.



Philip McDonagh, ex-Irish ambassador, mentioned his personal perspectives on the establishment of peace in Ireland, Europe and Northeast Asia. Among his suggestions are having dialogue to promote a culture of peace, respecting the different economic and social systems in a more practical, gradual and trusting way, and sharing creative ideas to narrow the distances between economic and social systems across the South and the North.



Monsignor Alfred Xuereb encouraged people, saying the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia will strengthen the basis to proceed with the most necessary healing reconciliation.



The Korea Catholic Church has long prepared for the Mission in North Korea since 1984 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean Catholic Church. The mission team started its work with saying the Rosary every day and celebrating Mass with the special intention for the peace of the Korean Peninsula in the open field of Imjingak Pavilion in Paju. The Peace & Unity Center at the Catholic Church of Repentance and Atonement was established in 2015 to pray constantly for reconciliation and unity.



The 1950-53 Korean War marked those who experienced the fratricidal war with an enormous hurt. These miserable memories due to martyrdom under communism still linger deep in the hearts of our elders.



We still need lots of works for true forgiveness, reconciliation and peace. Before declaring the termination of the war and agreeing to maintain peace, our pains should be first healed through forgiveness that begins deep from the heart. Transcending and transforming hurtful hatred into forgiveness takes time, but I believe we can realize it through our constant and faithful prayers.





The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul (Figlie di San Paolo) living and giving the Good News to the world by means of social communication. Learn more about the congregation at fsp.pauline.or.kr.


By Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen



On Oct. 30, Bangladesh and Myanmar reached an agreement to begin the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to escape a Myanmar army crackdown last year.



Following the bilateral meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said, "We are looking forward to start the repatriation by mid-November," which the permanent secretary of Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myint Thu, called a "very concrete plan."



Since then, the international community has had a divided opinion on the issue. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other rights groups criticize the agreement. The UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic has warned that the conditions in Rakhine State are "not yet conducive for returns" and that "It is critical that returns are not rushed or premature."



On the other hand, the Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi during his meeting with Bangladesh foreign secretary in Beijing on Nov. 9 said China is "happy to see" the two countries reaching the agreement to start repatriation, which he described as important progress toward resolving the Rohingya crisis.



Now the immediate question is whether the refugees will be repatriated by mid-November as per the agreement. And why is the repatriation being rushed through by Bangladesh and Myanmar when the U.N. refugee agency is against the move?



On Oct. 31, an 11-member team from Myanmar led by Myint Thu and another 11-member group from Bangladesh visited Kutupalong, the world's largest refugee camp, and a settlement housing Muslim refugees from Myanmar.



The visit was primarily an attempt to talk to the refugees and address their concerns, and also to inform them, if not convince, about the two governments' plans to begin the repatriation process this month.



During the visit, the Rohingya refugees outlined their conditions for returning to Rakhine State. The refugees demanded the acceptance of Rohingya as an official Myanmar ethnic group, the restoration of full citizenship rights, and the establishment of an international security mechanism to protect them when they returned.



Other demands included compensation and reparations for lives lost, injuries inflicted, and property confiscated; the release of Rohingyas arbitrarily imprisoned in Myanmar and the removal of innocent people from the lists of terrorists; the return of original homes and lands to refugees; and the lifting of restrictions on their movement and access to basic services.



At the moment, it is unclear whether the Myanmar government is committed to granting these demands. Even if the civilian government of the National League for Democracy may be willing to accept some of these demands because of international pressure or on humanitarian grounds, it is unlikely that the Myanmar military and the country's nationalists or ultranationalists will support such an idea.



But despite the concerns expressed by the U.N. refugee agency and other human rights groups, the repatriation could go ahead if both Bangladesh and Myanmar choose to do so. In the past, Bangladesh had said that it would not put unnecessary pressure to forcibly repatriate the refugees.



Myanmar has said that it has verified 5,000 Rohingyas eligible for repatriation from a list of over 8,000 names which Bangladesh had submitted in February, and that the first group of returnees would consist of 2,000 of those listed.



Now the intriguing question is, why is the repatriation being rushed through by Bangladesh and Myanmar when the U.N. refugee agency is against the move? In this regard, it is quite evident that both countries have come under different pressures.



Myanmar is under greater international scrutiny, especially in the aftermath of the U.N. fact-finding mission report released in September, which called for the investigation and prosecution of Myanmar's military leaders for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.



The U.N. report also concluded that the 1991 Nobel peace laureate and the country's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi "has not used her de facto position as head of government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events in Rakhine state" and that her government had "contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes" through "their acts and omissions."



Perhaps Myanmar felt the pressure more when judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized its chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, to investigate the massive displacement of the Rohingya people despite Myanmar not being a member state of the court.



The ICC prosecutor said her investigation would include the deprivation of fundamental rights, killing, sexual violence, enforced disappearance, destruction and looting. Such an initiative sends a powerful message to the international community, particularly the Western democracies, to limit their engagement with Myanmar, including economic and military relations.



On the other hand, Bangladesh also has its own pressure. Bangladesh is a relatively small country with limited resources of their own to accommodate another million or more so people.



Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling Awami League feel the pressure from the voters ahead of elections next month. Hasina would like to send an unambiguous message to the country's electorates that her government is only providing temporary refuge to the Rohingya refugees.



Hasina in September said, "I already have 160 million people in my country" and therefore "I can't take any other burden. I can't take it. My country cannot bear."



The Hasina government has been frustrated with the Myanmar government. She has criticized Myanmar for delaying the repatriation process. When the Myanmar government came forward to take the refugees back, it appears that Bangladesh was happy to jump on board despite the criticism by the U.N. refugee agency and other human rights groups.



Given the pathetic situation of the Rohingyas in the Rakhine state and the refugees' lingering fear and their reluctance to return, it may be premature to begin the repatriation at this point. Moreover, any dignified repatriation ought to be done with the involvement of UNHCR and UNDP, which Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding with in June this year.



If the repatriation goes ahead as per the agreement, the Myanmar authorities will issue National Verification Cards to the returnees and put them on the path to obtaining full citizenship.



But it is unclear whether the Rohingyas will eventually get full citizenship. Even if they are given the citizenship, it is unclear whether they will be recognized as "Rohingya" or "Bengali."



While the refugees want to be officially recognized as "Rohingya," it is unclear whether the Myanmar government will be willing to go far enough to accept such a demand. There is a possible disagreement on the issue between the civilian government and the military, which still holds significant political power.



The other question is whether Rohingya or Bengali, whichever they will be officially recognized as, will also be listed as one of the ethnic groups of Myanmar. In order to do this, the 1982 citizenship law needs to be amended, which will be almost impossible without the support of the military, which takes a hard-line approach on the issue.





Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen is associate professor and executive director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University. He is the author of three books on Myanmar, including "Democratization of Myanmar."


No matter how often a woman's constitutional right to an abortion is upheld by federal courts, there's a state legislature somewhere trying to make it impossible for her to have one. The assaults on abortion rights have come in waves, as state legislatures dominated by anti-abortion lawmakers simultaneously pursue the same new legal gambits until blocked by a federal judge, at which point they change tactics and try again.



Most recently, abortion opponents have shifted from seeking restrictions ostensibly designed to protect the health of a pregnant woman  such as requiring abortion clinics to be outfitted like outpatient surgery centers, or requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital  to ones that focus on the fetus.



For example, Texas and a number of other states slapped tough new restrictions on the dilation and evacuation procedure, or D&E, the safest and most common second-trimester abortion, calling it a "dismemberment abortion" and describing the procedure in ghoulish detail.



Opponents of the Texas law sued, and U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel rightly saw through the theatrics of the law and permanently enjoined it. Yeakel held that the measure put an undue burden on a woman exercising her right to an abortion in the second trimester. The state of Texas has appealed that decision; the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals judges who recently heard the case should also see it for what it is and uphold Yeakel's ruling.



According to Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, the law is a response to the "brutality" of the D&E procedure. Yet there's no legitimate medical evidence that anything brutal is going on here. All mainstream medical experts have concluded that the fetus at that stage does not have the neurological capability to feel pain. (Even the law doesn't argue that it does.)



The real intention of this law is to shock the public with its description of how the remains of an aborted fetus are removed from a woman's body, and thus weaken support for abortion rights.



Granted, the law  part of a package of unnecessary restrictions on abortion enacted in 2017  does allows doctors to perform a D&E if they first stop the fetal heart by injecting the fetus with a lethal drug in utero or cutting the umbilical cord. But that's not as simple as it may sound, and it needlessly imperils the mother.



The doctor could inject digoxin or potassium chloride through a woman's abdomen into the fetus. But the injections can be technically difficult, painful, risky and, in the case of digoxin, must be administered a day before the abortion  meaning an extra trip to the doctor.



Potassium chloride is also dangerous to a woman if it is inadvertently injected into her circulatory system. And umbilical cord transection, which involves passing instruments through the cervix to cut the slender cord, risks causing blood loss and infection in the woman, as well as injury to her uterus.



These procedures would require abortion providers to undergo so much additional training that some have said they would simply stop performing second-trimester abortions altogether. Yeakel found these added steps to be the very definition of substantial obstacles to a woman's right to an abortion.



The judge also noted that a previous U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a federal ban on the so-called partial-birth abortion specifically pointed to the D&E procedure as an acceptable alternative.



Texas is one of nine states with nearly identical prohibitions on D&Es. In the seven states where the laws have been challenged in court, all have been blocked, either permanently or until the case is tried. In Alabama, the state government appealed its permanent injunction and lost in the appellate court. The state is expected to ask the Supreme Court to take up the issue.



The Texas state Legislature has been relentless in its efforts to stop women from exercising their legal right to an abortion. When the Supreme Court tossed out the state's onerous requirements for abortion clinics and providers in 2016, the statehouse just kept churning out other restrictions, both absurd (such as the requirement that fetal remains be buried or cremated, which has also been struck down) and serious.



The 5th Circuit should see a restriction on this common and safe second-trimester procedure as onerous and unlawful, and uphold the injunction.





The above editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times. It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


It's time for KCTU to discard old-fashioned struggle tactics



The progressive Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) is going too far in its struggle to protect its vested interest, intervening in almost all social, political and economic affairs, not to mention labor issues. Simply put, it has become a formidable power itself.



Since its inauguration in 1995 under the catchphrase of "life worthy of human and dignity," the KCTU, one of two major umbrella groups along with the more conservative Federation of Korean Trade Unions, has indeed been a driving force behind social reform and democracy.



However, the KCTU, better knows and "Minju Nochong" in Korean, has now become shorthand for "struggle," "violence" and "illegality." It is also true that the union's radical image has disappointed the people. The union has long come under criticism for not hesitating to resort to violence to attain its "selfish" goals without taking responsibility for going to extremes.



Amid deteriorating economic difficulties, the KCTU is even boycotting the Economic, Social and Labor Council, a body for dialogue and cooperation among the government, business and labor. Its boycott goes against the public's expectation that unions will find solutions through dialogue and compromise.



In particular, the KCTU is increasingly losing public confidence due to its never-ending violent sit-ins and illegal seizure of facilities like the office of Rep. Hong Young-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Hong is a labor activist-turned-lawmaker.



Even the Moon Jae-in administration, which has maintained a cooperative relationship with the KCTU as its main supporting force, has rebuked the progressive union for its latest behavior. The presidential chief of staff openly said the union is "no longer socially responsible."



Furthermore, the KCTU is threatening to organize a general strike across the country Nov. 21 to protest the government's labor policies which it claims are unfair to union members.



Instead of being too radical, the KCTU should now make bone-cutting efforts to change itself and give up the old-fashioned struggle-oriented tactics it employed under the dictatorial regimes of the past. For its part, the liberal government must take responsibility for pandering to the union and conniving in illicit acts of unionists.




It's necessary to ensure integrity, political neutrality



A presidential committee announced the draft of a plan to introduce an autonomous local police system in five jurisdictions on a trial basis next year. This plan is part of President Moon Jae-in's campaign pledge to allow local governments to run their own police forces.



We welcome the announcement as the new system is aimed at promoting decentralization of police power and grassroots democracy. The system has long been overdue, but hasn't been introduced due to the relatively short history of local autonomy. But the country cannot and should not delay the adoption of autonomous police.



The committee's plan calls on Seoul, Sejong, Jeju Island and two other regions yet to be selected to test-run the local police system in 2019. It also proposes the system go into full operation nationwide in 2022 when authority over 43,000 police officers is transferred from the National Police Agency to local police forces.



The main purpose of the system is to provide better police services tailored to local needs. Autonomous police will assume duties related to traffic, residents' safety, sex crimes and domestic and school violence, while national police are in charge of matters such as national security, intelligence, counterterrorism, international crime, murders and other grave crimes.



But there still exist many challenges facing the local police system. Most of all, the central government and local administrations need to clearly define the roles of the national police and local police because there might be blurry areas of jurisdiction between the two. So it is necessary to prevent the two bodies from passing the buck to each other. Equally important is how to step up cooperation between the two.



Another problem is how to ensure the political neutrality of local police that are under the direct control of local governments. This raises concerns that mayors and governors may abuse or exploit police officers for political gains. For this, the committee suggested the establishment of a five-member supervisory police commission, whose members will be recommended by the local government head, the municipal council, the courts and the national police commission.



The authorities should also make efforts to prevent local police chiefs from forming corrupt ties not only with mayors and governors, but also with local politicians and businesspeople. It is necessary to set up a mechanism to ensure the integrity of the police.



Also important is how to finance the operations of autonomous police, for which local administrations must shoulder the burden. Many local autonomous units, particularly in small cities, are in financial difficulty. The new police system might aggravate their financial health. Thus, the central and local governments must work out measures to ease the burden of maintaining a local police force.



We hope all the related parties will work together to prepare thoroughly for the successful implementation of the autonomous police system. They also need to reflect various opinions of our society to put the system in place smoothly.








By Andrew Salmon



One hundred years ago this Sunday  at 11 o'clock, on Nov. 11, 1918  the guns fell silent across Europe. An armistice had been signed, ending World War I. In the title of Remarque's famous novel there was "All Quiet on the Western Front."

Much of Europe was devastated. Millions had died, both in combat and of starvation. Vast swathes of land were churned into mile upon mile of cratered, poisoned mud. These apocalyptic "deathscapes" have been captured in art, photography and poetry.



Such had been the extent of the destruction and carnage that many believed World War I was "The war to end all wars." Of course, it was not.



Armistices in the east in 1917, and in the west in 1918, were followed by peace treaties: At Brest Litovsk, in 1918, and in Versailles in 1919. Despite these armistices and treaties, war would return to Europe in 1939.



This was because the core issue  notably the place and role of a powerful and ambitious Germany in Europe  had not been adequately addressed by the treaties. Moreover, a hideous and lethal new element  ideology  had been added to the powder keg.



In Europe, the major combatants in World War II were largely (though not entirely) the same as World War I: Germany squared off against the U.K. and France in the west, and against the Soviet Union in the east. Once again, America would join the war after years of fighting had already taken place.



Things were different in Asia: Turkey stayed neutral, and Japan, which had fought with the western powers in World War I, sided with Germany in World War II.



Overall, the death toll was even greater. World War I killed some 40 million; World War II killed as many as 80 million.



World War II, however, ended the cycle: There would not be a World War III.



Why so? It is critical to recognize that World War II did not end with armistices and peace treaties: It ended with the military defeat and unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. After the war ended, their armed forces were disbanded, and they were occupied by the victorious allied powers.



Post-war, the Allies, predominantly the United States, wielded both political clout and economic muscle to remold both defeated nations' polities. It proved astonishingly successful. West Germany and Japan grew into stable democracies and economic powerhouses with significantly pacifistic outlooks. It is virtually unthinkable today for either of these nations to launch an aggressive war.



One hundred years after World War I ended, it is germane to consider the situation on the Korean Peninsula, where fighting was halted on the ground by a 1953 armistice, but where the war on paper never ended.



For decades, North Korea has demanded a peace treaty to bring to a de jure end to a war that, de facto, ended in 1953. (Despite occasional flare-ups into real, lethal violence.) Today, amid inter-Korean good vibes, there is talk about a declaration or treaty being signed to end the war.



I see no good reason why Washington should not offer a peace treaty to Pyongyang: After all, it is merely a negotiated piece of paper. And if it reduces North Korean paranoia, and builds a foundation of trust  why not?



But let us not assume that a peace treaty will solve the core problem: the existence of two separate states, with two separate governments, systems and armies, on the Korean peninsula. Just as the Brest Litovsk and Versailles treaties failed to prevent an even bloodier war breaking out in Europe, a Korean War peace treaty will not end national division. As long as the Koreas covet each others' land and people, no real solution is likely.



For an endgame solution, it is not the World War 1 model of armistice and peace treaty, but the World War II model of unconditional surrender, occupation and national re-modeling that provides a better benchmark. Whether such an outcome can be arrived at without conflict is a big, troubling question for thinkers and policymakers.





Andrew Salmon (andrewcsalmon@yahoo.co.uk) is a Seoul-based reporter and author.


LS Cable & System Chairman Koo Cha-yub, fourth from left, cuts a ribbon while celebrating the opening of the firm's power cable plant at Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday. / Courtesy of LS Cable & System
By Baek Byung-yeul





Seen is a logo for Bixby Developer Day. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
SK Innovation Co., a South Korean energy-to-construction conglomerate, said Wednesday that it is considering building electric vehicle battery plants in the United States and Europe to meet growing demand for zero-emissions cars.

SK Innovation said up to four unidentified areas have been shortlisted for its first plant in the U.S. and said it is also reviewing sites for a new plant in Europe, including Hungary.

The announcement came as SK Innovation has signed a deal with Volkswagen to supply electric vehicle batteries.

The company will supply batteries to be produced in the U.S. and Europe to the German carmaker, though it said the number and prices of the electric power units to be supplied are fluid.

In March, SK Innovation broke ground on an 840 billion-won (US$740 million) electric vehicle battery plant in the northwestern Hungarian city of Komarom and the plant is set to be completed by the second half of next year.

Batteries to be produced in the new facility in Hungary could enable a car to travel 500 kilometers -- the distance between New York City and Plattsburgh -- on a single charge, according to the company.

By 2020, SK Innovation's annual car battery capacity will rise to about 20 gigawatt hours, an amount that can be used to equip 670,000 electric vehicles, it said.

Currently, SK Innovation supplies batteries to South Korea's largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp.

SK Innovation is South Korea's top oil refiner, but it has been moving into the electric vehicle battery business since 2008 as part of efforts to find new revenue sources. (Yonhap)
Venus Teoh, international brand director for Tiger Beer, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at Sebitseom in Seoul, Nov. 9. / Courtesy of Tiger Beer



By Park Jae-hyuk



Tiger Beer seeks to overthrow Asahi and Tsingtao, both of which have long dominated Korea's imported beer market, by boosting marketing activities and forging stronger business ties with bars and other retail outlets, according to the international brand director for the 86-year-old Singaporean beer.



"We understand the market is very competitive, but what is unique about Tiger is the beer itself," Venus Teoh said during a recent interview with The Korea Times in Seoul.



"Tiger is currently Asia's No. 1 premium beer and one of the fastest growing. We are currently No. 9 in the world's premium beer market. Hence, we believe the brand itself is successful and has power to enter the market by taking risks. We will make sure to succeed in Seoul," she said.



According to data compiled by the nation's three biggest convenience store chains, Asahi, Tsingtao and Heineken have dominated Korea's imported beer market over the past few years.



Contrarily, Tiger, San Miguel and other Southeast Asian beers have failed to get their names into the top 10.



Teoh, however, said she is confident of Tiger's success in Korea, despite the challenging market conditions.



"What is unique about Tiger is that it fits perfectly with all Asian food. I think Korean food, with its diverse range of tastes, is complemented by a refreshing Tiger beer," she said. "Tiger has a reputation for being brewed in 16 different markets and sold in 50 markets. This means Tiger can complement diverse flavors."



Indicating their determination, the international brand director also implied that the beer brand will undertake a business expansion in Korea.



"We are always on the lookout for unexpected opportunities, and are looking to expand Tiger's presence in this market," she said.



Teoh said her company does have a plan to launch a Tiger office in Korea, although she cannot say when that will happen at this moment.



Tiger has been distributed in Korea through Heineken Asia Pacific Export as the Dutch brewing company acquired Asia Pacific Brewery, the Singaporean beer's manufacturer, for $4.5 billion in 2012.



"I believe we need to take leaps to be more successful," Teoh said.



Tiger also held its first global event in Seoul, Nov. 9, as a part of its efforts to expand its presence here.



During the "Tiger Roar" event at Sebitseom in southeastern Seoul, 16 young talents from Korea, Germany, U.K., U.S., Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia showcased their abilities in art, fashion, dancing, engineering and cooking.



According to Teoh, her company picked Seoul for the event because the tiger is the national animal of Korea.



"We believe everyone has a tiger inside them," she said.


In this file photo taken on March 24, 2017, a picture shows flags arranged as an illustration, a Union Flag (R) and a European Union (EU) flag (L) at the factory of 'Flagmakers' in Chesterfield, northern England. British and European Union negotiators have reached a draft agreement on Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May's office said on Nov. 13. AFP



Britain struck a draft divorce deal with the European Union after more than a year of talks, thrusting Prime Minister Theresa May into a perilous battle over Brexit that could shape her country's prosperity for generations to come.

While Brussels choreographs the first withdrawal of a sovereign state from the EU, May, a far from secure leader hemmed in by opponents in government and her own Conservative party, must now try to get the deal approved by her cabinet and, in the toughest test of all, by parliament.

Brexiteers in May's party accused her of surrendering to the EU and said they would vote the deal down while the Northern Irish party which props up her minority government questioned whether she would be able to get parliamentary approval.

"The trick will be for Theresa May, can she satisfy everyone?" said Nigel Dodds, the deputy leader of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which keeps her government in power.

"It is going to be a very, very hard sell, I would have thought, but let's wait and see the actual detail," Dodds said.

The British cabinet will meet at 1400 GMT on Wednesday to consider the draft withdrawal agreement, a Downing Street spokesman said after Irish and British media were leaked details of the agreement on the text.

Sterling, which has seesawed since reaching $1.50 just before Britain's 2016 referendum that saw a 52-48 percent margin for leaving the EU, surged on news of a deal but then erased some gains as opponents lined up to criticize May.

Brexit will pitch the world's fifth largest economy into the unknown and many fear it will serve to divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.

Supporters of Brexit say that while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive and also enable deeper EU integration without such a powerful reluctant member.

SELLING BREXIT

A senior EU official confirmed that a draft text had been agreed. EU leaders could meet on Nov. 25 for a summit to seal the Brexit deal if May's cabinet approves the text, diplomatic sources said.

The EU and Britain need an agreement to keep trade flowing between the world's biggest trading bloc and the United Kingdom, home to the biggest international financial center.

But May, an initial opponent of Brexit who won the top job in the turmoil that followed the referendum, has struggled to untangle nearly 46 years of EU membership without damaging commerce or upsetting the lawmakers who will ultimately decide the fate of the divorce accord.

By seeking to leave the EU while preserving the closest possible ties, May's compromise plan has upset Brexiteers, pro-Europeans, Scottish nationalists, the Northern Irish party that props up her government, and some of her own ministers.

It is unclear when parliament might vote on a deal. To get the deal approved she needs the votes of about 320 lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament. She faces a deeply divided government, party, parliament and country.

BREXIT BETRAYAL?

Prominent Brexiteers such as Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said May had sold out the United Kingdom and that they would oppose it.

"It is a failure of the government's negotiating position, it is a failure to deliver on Brexit, and it is potentially dividing up the United Kingdom," Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg said.

The opposition Labour Party, which has said it would oppose any agreement that does not retain "the exact same" economic benefits that it now has with the EU, said it was unlikely the announced deal was right for Britain.

"It is vassal state stuff," Johnson said, adding that he would vote against such an unacceptable accord. "Chuck it out."

Johnson's brother, Jo, a pro-European, resigned from May's government on Friday, calling for another referendum to avoid her Brexit plans unleashing Britain's greatest crisis since World War Two.

IRELAND

May formally began Britain's divorce in March 2017, ushering in tortuous negotiations on everything from space exploration and fishing territories to selling complex financial products and the future of the land border on the island of Ireland.

As deadlines passed, officials such as Britain's Olly Robbins and the Commission's Sabine Weyand, a German, raced to get a deal in late night sessions at the European Commission's modernist Berlaymont building in Brussels.

With less than five months until Britain leaves the EU, the so-called Northern Irish backstop was the main sticking point.

The backstop is an insurance policy to avoid a return to controls on the border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member state Ireland if a future trading relationship is not agreed in time.

The British government supplied no immediate details on the Brexit deal text, which runs to hundreds of pages.

Three EU sources said the backstop would come in the form of a UK-wide customs arrangement, with specific provisions for Northern Ireland which go deeper on the issue of customs and alignment with the rules of the EU single market than for the rest of the United Kingdom.

It would include a review mechanism to bridge between EU demands that the insurance policy is permanently available and Britain's request to avoid being held in a customs alliance with the bloc perpetually.

The Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have ruled out any deal that treats Northern Ireland differently. (Reuters)
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

As the Woolsey Fire burned through parts of Malibu over the weekend, a determined and vocal group formed online around a shared concern for animals housed at a popular vineyard on Mulholland Highway that was in the fire's path.

The menagerie at Malibu Wines -- which includes horses, pigs, cows and the internet-famous Stanley the Giraffe -- are attractions along the winery's Safari Tour (Stanley requires a special tour).

On Friday, information began to emerge about those animals being left on the winery's grounds, and it was unclear how -- or whether -- they were being kept safe during the fire.

Details about the situation -- some true and some unsubstantiated -- spread through Facebook groups and other social media, and soon, activists and celebrities publicly expressed concern that the animals were still on the premises.

Comedian/actress Whitney Cummings uploaded videos and images from the winery's grounds all weekend. In an Instagram post on Monday, she wrote that she'd "like a vet to confirm that not evacuating the animals was the right move...So far every vet has said they should have evacuated."

Meanwhile, the winery insisted throughout the weekend that their four-legged charges were safe, and that everything possible was being done to keep them healthy and secure.

"Our amazing animal care and facilities team began preparing for evacuations late last night and because of their efforts we have survived the fire. Our management team and animal trainers are onsite right now feeding, providing water, repairing enclosures, and caring for our animal family (including Stanley)," they wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday.

Commenters on the company's social media pages were less than understanding, though.

"Heartless [EXPLETIVE]! Leaving animals to be burned alive. You should just shut down now!" read a comment on one of Malibu Wine's posts. "Really hoping you'll go out of business soon! You should have been left behind@malibuwines" said another.

But what began as a lightning rod for activists was largely debunked on Monday, following several official visits to Malibu Wine's grounds, including from the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

Officers were sent to the scene, deputy director of South County Operations Allison Cardona told LAist. Those officers determined that the winery's animals -- including Stanley -- were safe and well.

"According to our officers, they appear to be fine," Cardona said.

The department is authorized to require owners to provide medical care or veterinary care for their animals, should officers determine that it's needed. But Cardona said no such recommendations were made in the case of Malibu Wines.

Malibu Wines also posted on their website a statement attributed to veterinarian Dr. Stephen Klause. The statement notes that Klause visited the site and examined the animals, and issued a similar report: all but two animals were completely unharmed. The two that suffered injuries were a llama with foot pad issues, and a horse who sustained wounds from a wire fence. Both were on the mend, and the remainder were "essentially normal, calm, and eating and drinking."

Klause's statement also notes that during the fire, the animals were placed in a "wide open central area that is contained with many fenced off pastures. This wide open area has no trees or brush, but consists of short grass, dirt, and a lake area. This barren enclosure has little to no 'fuel' to power a fire or facilitate the spread of one."

Directly addressing concerns that the animals were essentially left to die, Klause wrote that the vineyard's decision to keep them on the grounds in a closed off area was in fact the safest option.

Evacuating such a collection of exotic animals, he said, would "take weeks" and be "an extreme risk to some of the animals."

Rich Block, the chief executive officer of the Santa Barbara Zoo, agrees.

"It is a major mobilization to move a giraffe," he told LAist. In the case of a fast-moving fire, "you couldn't mobilize fast enough or safely enough to move the animals. If they didn't kill the animal trying to load it, it would be amazing."

The reason, he adds, is the combination of the size of the average giraffe and the temperament of the average giraffe.

"They are tall and skittish," he said. "You take a skittish animal, put them into a totally unfamiliar situation" -- such as a trailer intended to move them to a new location -- "and they panic."

Meanwhile, Cummings and other activists are now updating their social media to say that they are simply happy that all of the animals are safe and healthy. On Monday night, Cummings wrote on Instagram:

"Last update hopefully... The animals weren't okay, now they are. Super simple. The attention we raised help them get food and vet care when the roads were blocked and no food could get up. It worked. Let's move on..."

Her statement echoed sentiments expressed by animal lovers -- and animals themselves -- throughout Southern California.

"We are rooting for the giraffe," Block said. "Tell them our giraffes send their best."

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

Additional reporting by Jacob Margolis.

The Woolsey Fire, now one of the largest recorded fires in L.A. County's history, has burned a good portion of the former Santa Susana Field Lab, which was once home to several nuclear reactor and the site of numerous rocket tests. The site is still riddled with radioactive waste and other toxic compounds.

Many of our audience members want to know if there's a risk of those hazardous materials being spread by the fire. You've reached out to ask us...



"The fire burned the contaminated Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former nuclear testing site. Who is making sure that air is not toxic?"

"Did the radioactive waste at #rocketdyne burn and what is the status of chemicals at the facility"

"Is Santa Susana safe?"

Here's what we know. Public health officials say they found "no evidence of discernible radiation" in areas they tested. Still, experts who have studied the site say there are many unanswered questions.

"The heaviest component of the Sodium Reactor Experiment, a 75-ton loading face shield, is lowered to fit snugly into top of nuclear reactor at the Santa Susana Field Lab. It was built by Canoga Park's Atomics International, division of North American Aviation, Inc." Circa 1957. (Valley Times Collection/Los Angeles Public Library Collection)

What Is Santa Susana And Why Should You Care?

The Santa Susana Field Lab was a research facility on a 2,850-acre site in the hills above the San Fernando and Simi valleys. Built in 1947, it was used to test experimental rocket systems and was home to 10 nuclear reactors. In July 1959, one of those reactors suffered a partial meltdown. Workers tried to repair it. When they couldn't, they were ordered to open the reactor's large door, releasing radiation into the air. It likely spread to nearby communities such as Simi Valley, Chatsworth and Canoga Park.

Six weeks after the meltdown, the Atomic Energy Commission issued a statement saying that there had been a minor "fuel element failure" but there had been "no release of radioactive materials" into the environment. That wasn't true.

In 2017, reporter Joel Grover of NBC4, our media partner, documented all of this in "L.A.'s Nuclear Secret," an eight-part series exposing the reactor incident and subsequent cover-up.

NASA and aerospace company Rocketdyne continued to use the Santa Susana facility for thousands of rocket tests through 1990. Those activities also released all sorts of toxic chemicals into the air and deposited them into the groundwater, the surface water and the soil.

May 10, 1956: "Fission housing lowered into place. Container to house core, or component in which nuclear fission takes place to produce 20,000 kilowatts of heat, is lowered into position at Sodium Reactor Experiment site in Santa Susana Mountains near Canoga Park. Reactor is part of program to develop commercial power from atomic energy." (Valley Times Collection/Los Angeles Public Library Collection)

What's Up With Santa Susana Now?

Boeing bought most of the site in 1996 and soon closed the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The company says it's turning the area into an "open space habitat" although the site is still a toxic mess.

A 2012 EPA report didn't paint a pretty picture. Approximately one out of every seven samples contained "concentrations of radioactive materials exceeding background levels." More than 80% of these were man-made radionuclides. This echoed a 1989 Department of Energy report that found there were contaminants in both the soil and the plants.

"The soil, groundwater and surface water that's in the center are all heavily contaminated," says Dan Hirsch, who retired last year as the director of UC Santa Cruz's program on environmental and nuclear policy. He's also the president of Committee to Bridge the Gap, a nonprofit nuclear policy organization.

He says Santa Susana has maybe 100 different toxic chemicals in the soil. They include "a mix of radioactive materials like plutonium, strontium-90 and cesium-137 and a witch's brew of toxic chemicals such as PCBs, dioxins, heavy metals like mercury and chromium-6 and volatile organic compounds like PCE."

According to Cal Fire, the Woolsey Fire started on the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 8 at E Street and Alfa Road, on the Santa Susana site. Two minutes before the fire was reported, the Chatsworth electric substation, which is also on the Santa Susana site, experienced a disturbance. Whether those two things are connected, we don't know.



What Happens To Radioactive Waste When There's A Fire?

During a fire, there are two primary ways contaminants in the soil can get into the air.



Plants and brush suck up pollutants from the soil. When vegetation burns, it releases those contaminants into the air. Some pollutants also exist in the soil in solid form, as small particles. When the soil heats up, these solids become gases or they vaporize. It's like putting a pot of boiling water on a stove; when the liquid gets hot enough, it turns to steam.

Something like the Woolsey Fire could potentially release substantial amounts of that contamination, according to Hirsch, and those airborne particles will travel as far as the smoke goes. Approximately half a million people live within ten miles of Santa Susana.

Dr. Jonathan Samet, the dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, has a more optimistic outlook. He says, "Yes, some materials would likely have been disseminated. The good news is that anything that might be in the smoke is going to be distributed across a very wide area."

That means it'll be tough to tell if we're going to see higher cancer rates since so many people will have been exposed.

A vehicle drives on a closed section Pacific Coast Highway south of Malib on November 11, 2018, as firefighters continue to fight the Woolsey Fire. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

What Do Officials Say About The Risk?

On Friday, Nov. 9, at 1:30 a.m., only 11 hours after the fire began, California's Department of Toxic Substances Control issued a statement that said, in part:

"Our scientists and toxicologists have reviewed information about the fire's location and do not believe the fire has caused any releases of hazardous materials that would pose a risk to people exposed to the smoke."





Tuesday, Nov. 13, at around noon, the DTSC issued an update that said:

"Our staff were able to access the site Saturday morning and assess damage caused by the fire. We confirmed that the SSFL facilities that previously handled radioactive and hazardous materials were not affected by the fire.



Over the weekend our multi-agency team took measurements of radiation and hazardous compounds, both on the site and in the surrounding community. The results from this initial round of testing showed no radiation levels above background levels, and no elevated levels of hazardous compounds other than those normally present after a wildfire."





DTSC officials did not respond to our requests for details about how they reached their conclusions.

We asked DTSC what kind of measurements they took, when and where they took these measurements and what equipment they used. We asked DTSC what data they gathered and if they would share that data.

They haven't answered those questions.

On Tuesday afternoon, we received an email from Russ Edmondson, a spokesperson for the DTSC, that said:

"The update that we sent is the information that we have at this time. We will post another update on our website (under "latest news") when we have more information.





Hirsch has serious doubts about DTSC's methodology and transparency, calling the agency's statements "public relations pablum."

"The [DTSC] has a horrid history of essentially being a captured regulatory agency, captured by the polluters it's supposed to regulate," Hirsch says.

On Tuesday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said it had conducted its own tests at the request of Supervisor Kathryn Barger and found "no discernible level of radiation in the tested area."

The department said it used radiation detection units, performed nuclide identification and collected air samples. It also said tests performed by several other agencies, including the California National Guard and the Department of Energy, resulted in similar findings.
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

When the Clerk of the House bangs the gavel and calls the new Congress to order in January, House Democrats will be strutting in with big plans.

As you've probably heard, the party won a majority of 435 House seats last week, meaning they're in the chamber's driver's seat, even with a number of races still to be called.

For many members, this is their first taste of true power: Democrats have been in the minority since the 2010 midterms, a wave election for Republicans fueled by Tea Party fervor.

So what does this mean for Southern California Democrats?

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) says despite significant challenges -- namely a Republican-controlled Senate with which they have found little common ground -- regaining power in the House is meaningful for the state.

"California priorities will be better represented in the budget process," Schiff said.

Pushing back on the Trump administration's immigration and environmental policies is just one area where they've gained standing, Schiff said.

"We can do more to prevent drilling offshore that the President wants to do, or the weakening or our air quality standards," he said.

Many SoCal Democrats also mentioned using their newfound influence to strengthen Affordable Care Act exchanges.

And every member KPCC/LAist talked to was looking forward to exercising majority powers to provide a "check" on the executive branch.

With the lame-duck Congress back in session Tuesday, we called some key California representatives back in Washington to talk about their goals when they take power in January.

JUDY CHU, WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE: GOING AFTER TRUMP'S TAXES

Rep. Judy Chu speaking at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. (Paul Sancya/ AP)

Chu represents the 27th District, including parts of the San Gabriel Valley with cities like Alhambra, large swaths of the San Gabriel mountains, and parts of Glendora and Claremont. She sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, where tax laws are written.

The congresswoman was quick to point out that having the majority gives Democrats a number of tools to rein in the Trump administration -- including the ability to hold hearings, call witnesses, and subpoena documents.

Chu said one of the first orders of business for her committee will be to subpoena President Trump's tax returns, calling it a matter of transparency.

"For so many Californians there is concern about this issue, because people want this president to be accountable," she said. "Especially because every President has released their tax returns since the last 40 years."

This proposed rule is in direct violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.



No matter what he thinks, Trump is not above the law. And now that the House is prepared to do its job again, he won't be able to act like he is. https://t.co/ZAMg5NBUiv  Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) November 8, 2018

But Chu said there are other actions her committee will focus on that could be beneficial specifically for Southern Californians.

For example, she wants Ways and Means to provide oversight on the impact of the GOP's tax overhaul on American taxpayers. Chu says there needs to be a closer examination of how it's affecting Californians, especially the new cap on state and local tax deductions.

She also wants the IRS to look into special carveouts for corporations in the tax bill that weren't afforded to individuals.

"We need better oversight. There hasn't been much in the way of hearings," Chu said.

ADAM SCHIFF, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

Rep. Adam Schiff arriving to a House Intelligence Committee earlier this year. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

For some Southern California representatives, the new partisan landscape will mean taking over the helm of powerful committees.

Schiff has risen to national prominence for his role in the Russia investigation. He's become known for fierce sparring with another Californian, Republican Devin Nunes of the Central Valley, over the handling of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's investigation into possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The chairman's gavel will likely be handed over to Schiff now, and he plans to continue the investigation Republicans voted to end earlier this year.

"We're going to have to look at the work that's been done, the work that the majority prevented or obstructed, and the unanswered questions that remain that could put the country in jeopardy," Schiff said. "Chief among them in my view is whether the Russians have any kind of leverage over the President of the United States."

Schiff reacted to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' resignation last week on Twitter.

President Trump just removed Jeff Sessions. He wants an Attorney General to serve his interest, not the public.



Mueller's investigation and the independence of the DOJ must be protected. Whitaker and any nominee must commit to doing both.



We will protect the rule of law.  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 7, 2018

Schiff said the committee's relationship with U.S. intelligence agencies needs rebuilding.

"It was badly damaged by the publication of the Nunes memorandum," he said. "The publication violated trust."

TED LIEU, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: STANDING UP TO 'STUPID STUFF'

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu photographed in Venice in March. (Chris Carlson/AP)

Another Southern California Democrat in a good position to conduct oversight on the President thanks to Tuesday's election results is Congressman Ted Lieu, who represents parts of West Los Angeles, along the coastline.

He serves on the Judiciary Committee, which has oversight powers related to the Justice Department, federal law enforcement, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office.

It's an even bigger deal following Sessions' forced exit last week. Lieu said acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker should recuse himself from the Russia investigation, as his former boss, Sessions, did.

If not? "Then Congress is going to start holding hearings once Democrats have control in January," Lieu said. "We can subpoena Mr. Whitaker, we can have him answer questions under oath in front of the American public."

Lieu also emphasized the House Democrats' power to play defense against the Trump administration's priorities.

"We can stand up to stupid stuff," Lieu said. "If the administration wants to cut the EPA by 30 percent, we can stop that. We can make sure the administration is following the rule of law. If there's corruption, we can expose it. And I think what people across America voted for was a check and balance. That's what you're going to see."

Following Tuesday's election, Lieu continued his habit of tweeting barbs at President Trump.

Glad to hear @POTUS wants to work with the new House Majority Dems on an infrastructure plan. Heres our plan from May 2017Looking forward to working with you on it! #InfrastructureWeek https://t.co/9lTT5CSciZ  Rep. Ted Lieu (@RepTedLieu) November 7, 2018

MAXINE WATERS, FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: TRUMP'S FINANCIAL DEALINGS

Rep. Maxine Waters asks a question during a hearing House Financial Services Committee this year. (Jacquelyn Martin/ AP)

One more Southern California Democrat pledging to investigate the President now that Democrats have the upper hand: Congresswoman Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, who is expected to become chairwoman of the Financial Services committee. Banking, housing, and insurance matters all fall under its purview.

Waters was recently the target of mail bombs along with a handful of other high-profile Democratic politicians. In a MSNBC interview before the midterm election, she did not mince words.

"The American people in the final analysis will understand how divisive this president is, how dangerous he is," Waters said. "I am accustomed to being threatened. And while I am not foolish...I'm not afraid, and I'm not intimidated."

She pledged to probe President Trump's financial dealings with Deutsche bank.

"None of the other banks will give him credit," Waters said. "Deutsche bank is on my radar screen. Because we have requested information from the Treasury about Deutsche bank and money laundering."

But "[Trump] is not the only thing that I'm concerned about in that committee," she said, adding other policy priorities include monitoring the behavior of big banks to prevent another financial meltdown, supporting affordable housing, and shoring up the Affordable Care Act.

MARK TAKANO, VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: PUSHING BACK ON PRIVATIZATION



Rep. Mark Takano speaks at the Congressional Forum on Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2015. (Kevin Wolf/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign)

Congressman Mark Takano of Riverside is another SoCal member possibly poised to assume a powerful committee leadership role. He's now the Vice Ranking Member on Veterans Affairs. He told KPCC/LAist he's in the process of calling colleagues and building support to take over the chairmanship in January. (The other top contender is also a Southern California lawmaker -- Rep. Julia Brownley of Ventura County.)

Veterans Affairs is traditionally less partisan than many House bodies, and there's hope that Republicans and Democrats can come together to pass legislation even with a divided Congress.

Takano said he's looking forward to tackling problems with staffing shortages at the VA, protecting student veterans from predatory for-profit colleges, and championing better services for women veterans who have sometimes been overlooked at that agency.

The VA is undergoing a major, pricey transition to electronic health records designed to also work with the Department of Defense's record keeping system, a process Takano pledged to closely monitor.

But Takano was also adamant about providing a check on President Trump and Republicans who are pushing for the expanded privatization of VA health services.

"That is simply something that's opposed by most veterans service organizations," Takano said. "I will stand in the breach to make sure that that doesn't happen, and that the House of Representatives thwarts any privatization scheme."

Former VA Secretary, David Shulkin, warned about privatization when he was pushed out of the department back in March.

Takano said he believes some private sector care options are appropriate for veterans, but the VA must continue to be the coordinator of that care to protect veterans from rising costs.

WHAT ABOUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS?

Rep. Kevin McCarthy represents most of Kern and Tulare counties, including Bakersfield. Not exactly Southern California, but his 23rd District does include a slice of Los Angeles County. McCarthy is House Majority Leader for another few weeks, but he's looking to move up the party's chain of command when Republicans vote on leadership positions Wednesday.

McCarthy is likely to become Minority Leader in charge of corralling the Republican caucus in Congress, though he is facing a challenge from Ohio's Jim Jordan, the co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus.

As Republicans navigate the lame-duck session, McCarthy said on Fox News on Sunday he's focused on building on his party's accomplishments like rebuilding the military, strengthening the VA, and halting the spread of the opioid crisis. He also wants to find a way to make more of the GOP tax overhaul permanent.

The Democrats are already openly talking about what they want to do. They want to impeach the President and roll back the progress of the past two years. I think America is too great to be led by a vision so small. pic.twitter.com/znv8rVcfBQ  Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 12, 2018

And he's already looking ahead to 2020.

"I believe we can win this majority back," McCarthy said. "I look at what the Democrats' agenda is. What is it? It's investigating the president, trying to impeach him, abolishing ICE. America is too great to be led by such a small vision."

At the same time, "we'll want to find common ground," McCarthy said, on issues like defense spending and trade.

He'll potentially oversee a depleted California delegation. Several districts in Southern California that were long considered Republican strongholds flipped in the midterms. One incumbent Republican who held on for re-election, Duncan Hunter of San Diego, is facing federal charges for fraud and conspiracy over the misuse of campaign funds. He's due back in court December 3.

Some SoCal Republicans sit on powerful committees, like Riverside's Ken Calvert, who's a member of Appropriations -- the purse strings of Congress, where decisions about funding get made.

Congressman Ed Royce in Orange County has been chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee since 2013, but he was termed out of that seat and chose to retire in January.

Also in Orange County, Mimi Walters has been seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. She holds a razor-thin lead in her 45th District race in Southern OC, though votes are still being counted.

Walters is reportedly exploring becoming the chair of the National Republican Campaign Committee (or NRCC), the main fundraising and campaigning arm of the party that works to get House Republicans elected. She's a deputy chair now, and if successful, would play a major nationwide role on the political stage for 2020.

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

The Woolsey Fire continues to sweep across Southern California. So far it's scorched more than 98,000 acres and destroyed nearly 500 structures, according to the latest estimates from Cal Fire.

And that doesn't include the toll it's taken on the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, which as of Friday morning totaled 20,839 acres. That means roughly 88 percent of the federally-owned land, which is managed by the National Park Service, has been burned.

P-74, a young male mountain lion captured in September 2018 in the central portion of the Santa Monica Mountains. (Santa Monica Mountains National Park Service)

The area is known for being the home of most of L.A.'s beloved mountain lion population, which NPS biologists have been tracking and studying since 2002. They currently have GPS collars on 13 mountain lions around the Santa Monica Mountains.

Two of those pumas remain unaccounted for, but one in particular -- P-74 -- has researchers worried.

"(He) has a good working GPS collar and it hasn't checked in, that sometimes happens where we have a delay but we're a little concerned about that one," NPS spokeswoman Kate Kuykendall told KPCC's Take Two Wednesday morning.

The other cougar whose status remains unknown is P-42. But Kuykendall noted the puma's collar can only be tracked in person.

"I don't think we necessarily need to be too alarmed about that yet, we just haven't had a chance to actually be able to get out in the field to track them because of the fires," she said.

One sign of hope: The famous Griffith Park mountain lion P-22 was located Wednesday evening inside the park, according to a tweet sent by the Santa Monica Mountains' account shortly before 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

UPDATE: Our wildlife team located P-22 today at Griffith Park and he appears to be doing fine. There are two additional mountain lions that we have not yet accounted for (P-74 and P-42).  from 2014 pic.twitter.com/5b1tr2cI7w  Santa Monica Mtns (@SantaMonicaMtns) November 15, 2018

Biologists had also been working to find four bobcats in the park, all of which had their territories completely burned by the fire, according to NPS officials. As of Friday morning, three of the four bobcats had been located, though their condition was not known.

UPDATE: Weve heard signals from 3 of the 4 bobcats we've been tracking. According to our biologists, they appear to be moving, but we're not sure of their condition. Sadly, 20,839 of the 23,621 National Park Service acres (88%) within the park boundary have burned. #woolseyfire pic.twitter.com/EudTWK4tCB  Santa Monica Mtns (@SantaMonicaMtns) November 16, 2018

Chapparal and coastal sage scrub has been replaced by burnt earth and what Kuykendall describes as looking like a "moonscape." As a result there's worry now about mudflow risk when it rains.

"Anytime you have the vegetation burned off the land that makes it at risk for mud flow and especially if there's slope involved," she said. "The Santa Monica mountains have a lot of slopes so it is definitely a big concern."

Roughly 88 percent of the land in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area has burned, according to the National Park Service. (Matt Tinoco/LAist)

But this isn't the first time the area has suffered from fire devastation. In 2013, the Springs Fire burned about 24,000 acres on the western end of the park.

A project was set up afterward to study how wildlife and the area bounced back from the flames. NPS observed coyotes adapted best to the scorched landscape, even better than unburned landscape. The opposite was true for foxes and rabbits. Deer only came back after some time had passed.

Kuykendall said the Woolsey Fire "has basically burned half of the already isolated island of habitat we have here, which is surrounded by freeways and the ocean."

"We know that wildlife is extremely adaptable and they still have unburned habitat to the east and the west, but we're not sure what the future holds."

UPDATES:

Friday, 10:06 a.m.: This article was updated with the latest figures on the acres burned in the park as well as the status of the four bobcats in the region.

Wednesday, 10:30 p.m.: This article was updated with news that P-22 has been found safe.

This article was originally published at noon Wednesday.

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

Reesa Partida fled her Agoura Hills home early Friday morning, with the Woolsey Fire flaring ominously in the nearby hills. By that afternoon, she still had no idea whether her house remained standing.

But Partida, 30, didn't want to spend the day sitting around on a cot in an evacuation center. When her students at Van Nuys High School showed up for their dance classes, Partida was there to teach them.

"I told them," she remembered, "'Guys, I'm totally distracted. I didn't sleep at all. I evacuated in the middle of the night, and I wanted to come dance with you.'"

Partida took refuge that Friday in a class that so many of her students already described as a safe haven.

"She helped me get my confidence back," said senior Elizabeth Talledo, who's been taking Partida's classes since freshman year.

Partida is close with many of the students.

"She's someone who is genuinely interested in students," said senior Zoe Rodriguez.

"Any time that I'm feeling I need to talk about anything," said junior Brandon Large, "I go to her -- not as a dance student."

So when her students got word Saturday that Partida's home had burned down, they sprang into action.

Van Nuys High School teacher Reesa Partida (center, back row) poses with students from one of her dance classes. (Photo courtesy of Reesa Partida) (Courtesy Reesa Partida)

Talledo sent an Instagram message to two friends, Chelsea Saldana and Madison Opalisky, who were also in Partida's classes: "I want to help her. I want to create a GoFundMe" -- that is, a fundraiser on the website often used to raise money for victims of tragedy.

The girls contacted Large asking if he wanted to help. As it turns out, Large had the same idea and had already created a GoFundMe page for their teacher.

"It was really sad and just soul-shaking that she had to lose her house," said Large. "She's always so, so invested in all of us and she gives back to us in every way she can."

Together, the four students became "Team Partida" -- running the fundraising page and sending thank you notes to contributors. After three days, their GoFundMe page has raised more than $6,100 for Partida, most of it in increments between $5 and $50 donated by Partida's students.

"I freak out whenever a donation comes," said Talledo, who gets a notification every time a new contribution arrives. "When I see the number go up, it makes me really, really happy because it just proves a lot of people really love her."

The support also pleases Rodriguez, who's taken Partida's dance classes in each of her four years at Van Nuys High School and is helping to spread word of the fundraiser.

"I always talk about how much this school is a community," she said, "and how much it really creates this home environment. I've never seen it put to the test like this and to see it really stand up to those claims, it's incredible."

Partida was renting the home with her husband and does have renter's insurance, which should help replace some of what she's lost: "A ton of books," kitchen supplies (she's an avid baker) and a rig she'd used to hang ropes and silks on when she'd perform acrobatic aerial dances.

There are the irreplaceable things, though: Partida's wedding dresses, artwork she'd created, precious paintings from her husband's grandparents.

What does she need right now? "I have no good answer to that question," Partida said. "We're okay for the immediate moment, because we have my parents who are letting us stay. They have toothpaste, they have soap. My mom is the same size I am, I can wear her pants."

Partida found out about the GoFundMe page from another teacher on Sunday, when the fundraiser had already amassed nearly $1,000 in donations.

"It's overwhelming," Partida said in a phone interview on Monday as she searched with her husband for a new place to live.

But, she added, "I'm not surprised that the kids did this. They are that kind of people."

If you're interested in helping others affected by the wildfires in Southern California, we've compiled a list 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.
Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

Indonesian cuisine is as varied as the number of islands that make up its archipelago  so many that researchers have a hard time getting an exact count (17,504 at last estimate). The country is home to hundreds of ethnic groups and thousands of regional dishes. You can see that diversity in something as simple as sate, a grilled meat skewer more commonly known in the United States as satay. It sounds basic but in each region, it's prepared with a different balance of sweet, spicy and savory flavors. In the U.S., the most popular style comes from East Java, where skewers of chicken or goat are served with a sweet peanut sauce. Padang-style satay from Sumatra is served with a spicy curry. Balinese sate lilit is made with minced meat, lime zest and coconut then grilled on sugar cane or lemongrass sticks.

Indonesia's cuisine has also been influenced by its large Chinese population and its time as a Dutch colony, officially from the 1800s until the end of WWII although Dutch people first came to Indonesia in the 1600s. That mashup of cultures gives us dishes such as semur (beef stew) and lapis legit (layer cake), which have evolved with the addition of Indonesian spices like cinnamon and cloves. It's also a Muslim majority country so it's hard to find pork dishes in restaurants unless they're run by Chinese Indonesians or you're in a place like Bali, which is predominantly Hindu so the people there eat a lot of pork.

A restaurant employee prepares rendang in Jakarta, Indonesia on November 4, 2015. (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

The best known Indonesian dishes are nasi goreng (fried rice) and rendang, a spicy beef curry slowly simmered with coconut milk and various spices until the beef is fall-apart tender and the spices have permeated the meat. No wonder CNN Travel declared it the World's Best Food.

One-third of all Indonesian Americans in the U.S. live right here, in Los Angeles but the population is spread out around the county  and so are the restaurants that cater to them. While other Asian cuisines like Thai, Vietnamese and Filipino have become part of the mainstream American palate, Indonesian food remains an under-the-radar gem. You'll mostly find it at small, hyper-local restaurants that rarely get the kind of exposure that comes with a higher-end restaurant. The sauces are complicated to make and some of the spices are hard to find here, which makes it hard for American chefs to incorporate Indonesian flavors and techniques into their repertoires.

That doesn't mean Indonesian restaurants aren't here. In Los Angeles, several old-school joints catering to Indonesian immigrants have been joined by trendy newcomers aiming to tantalize a wider audience.

Soto at Simpang Asia restaurant in West L.A. (Fiona Chandra for LAist)

Simpang Asia

What started in 2002 as a small Indonesian grocery store selling takeout boxed lunches expanded into a restaurant that eventually took over the space next door. The place is bustling with students and Indonesian families, who come for the reliable rendang and the fried oxtail soup. Don't miss the pepes ikan, a mixture of milkfish and spices steamed in a banana leaf. Simpang Asia also has a menu of Indonesian desserts including es teler, crushed ice with young coconut, jackfruit and avocado. The strip mall's parking lot can get crazily crowded with double-parked cars so it's worth valeting your vehicle for $2.



10433 National Blvd., West L.A. 310-815-9075.

A man prepares chicken sate, a traditional meat skewer, in Jakarta, Indonesia on January 29, 2007. (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

Sate House

A favorite among San Gabriel Valley residents, Sate House boasts some of the best nasi goreng around. The fried rice is tossed in shrimp paste, which gives it a special savory flavor, along with chicken, pork, shrimp and a fried egg. The satays are also great. They're served with a mix of peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce while the spicy fried rice gets an extra dose of umami from the shrimp paste. Operated by Chinese-Indonesians, the restaurant is non-halal and so don't miss their pork satay. The family-style portions are large and the restaurant is cash only.



812 Nogales St., Walnut. 626-582-7726.

Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine

Opened in 2010, this may be the only restaurant in Los Angeles, if not the country, specializing in the cuisine of Kalimantan, known in the U.S. as Borneo. Located in the northern part of Indonesia, Kalimantan is the largest island in Asia and borders Malaysia. Its food is heavily influenced by its Malay and Chinese population. Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine primarily serves noodle dishes like kwe tiaw goreng and mie hokkien, reflecting the island's Chinese Hokkianese and Hakkanese population. Try the mi karet. The name means "rubber noodle" and is an apt description of the thick, chewy noodles that can be served Hakka style (with fish balls, fish cakes, barbecued pork and marinated egg) or Hokkien style (with chicken, mushroom, barbecued pork and marinated egg).The space is small and the restaurant is getting popular so be prepared to wait for a table if you show up at peak times between 6:30 and 9 p.m.



19 S. Garfield Ave., Alhambra. 626-282-4477.

Ramayani

One of the oldest Indonesian restaurants in Los Angeles, Ramayani in Westwood has been serving an extensive menu of classic dishes since 1983. Traditional gamelan music plays in the background. Ramayani is also the one restaurant where you can order rijsttafel, an elaborate dish adapted by the Dutch during the colonization of Indonesia. For rijsttafel, or "rice table", several dishes are served in small plates with rice as the central attraction. It's a great way for those unfamiliar with the cuisine to sample various dishes  like rendang and gado gado (Indonesian salad with peanut sauce)  at once.



1777 Westwood Blvd., Westwood. 310-477-3315.

A man dries handmade "long life" salty noodles in Singkawang, West Kalimantan province, Indonesia, on August 8, 2017. (UNIQUE/AFP/Getty Images)

Kasih

Opened in Little Tokyo earlier this year, Kasih is the city's first Indonesian restaurant with an open kitchen, a full bar and a DJ. Launched by Vindex Tengker, a judge on Master Chef Indonesia, it features a thoughtful menu that introduces Angelenos to Indo cuisine. The menu helpfully lists the region where each dish originated. If you think all chili sauces are the same, check out the sambal (chili sauce) tasting and discover the different flavors lurking underneath the heat. Or go for Tengker's contemporary take on babi guling (Balinese suckling pig), served as pork belly with strips of crackling skin, a side of chayote chicken broth and urap, a Balinese salad of steamed vegetables and grated coconuts. Cocktails like the Kuno Old Fashioned, made with banana-infused bourbon and palm syrup, are also influenced by the spices of Southeast Asia.



200 S. Los Angeles St., downtown L.A. 213-266-8156.

Food at Toko Rame restaurant in West L.A. (Fiona Chandra for LAist)

Toko Rame

This small, unassuming strip mall joint boasts the best nasi bungkus, a rice dish wrapped in banana leaf and served with a variety of stews and sides. Each order is topped with rendang, fried chicken, spicy egg balado, vegetable curry and sambal. This rice combo is a popular take-out lunch item in Indonesia, with the banana leaf wrap making it easy to transport. Toko Rame is also one of the only places serving sate padang, Sumatran-style beef tongue satay in a spicy sauce. Parking is limited and it fills up on weekends, so come early or be prepared to hunt for a metered street spot.



17155 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower. 562-920-8002.

Bone Kettle

While Bone Kettle isn't exclusively an Indonesian restaurant, it features dishes inspired by Indonesian chef/owner Erwin Tjahyadi's childhood home. There's gado gado, the local version of salad with peanut sauce, and char kway teow, stir-fried wide noodles popular among Chinese Indonesians. Tjahyadi also brings Indonesian flavors into new dishes like rendang rice fritters, chicken wings and durian creme brulee.



67 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. 626-795-5702.

Wallflower

Many of the dishes at this modern restaurant were developed by opening chef Harryson Tobing, a native of Sumatra. After leaving Indonesia in 2001, he cooked his way around the country and the Persian Gulf, finally settling in Los Angeles. Wallflower's menu is divided into snacks, traditional dishes, Chinese-Indonesian dishes and Tobing's own take on Southeast Asian cooking. If you're there for dinner, try the rib wings (fried beef ribs tossed in sweet chili sauce and sesame seed) and tahu gejrot (fried tofu with tamarind sauce). At brunch, try the porridges, whether you opt for a savory chicken porridge or a sweet black rice one served with pandan-coconut cream and banana.



609 Rose Ave., Venice. 424-744-8136.

Two men carrying durian during the Durian Festival, called Kenduren, in Jombang, East Java, Indonesia on February 11, 2018. The festival is held to give thanks for the annual durian harvest and attracts many tourists. (JUNI KRISWANTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today.

LAist relies on your reader support, not paywalls.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

The wildfires sweeping across Southern California have destroyed hundreds of homes, killed at least two people and injured several more, and ravaged beloved landmarks and park space.

Here's the latest on the fires burning in Southern California as of 6:30 p.m. Friday.

WOOLSEY FIRE

California's devastating have garnered national attention, with Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke traveling to the state to tour the burn areas of the Camp and Woolsey fires. He started in Northern California Wednesday and worked his way south to Ventura County on Thursday.

At a press conference with Governor Jerry Brown, Zinke and the outgoing state leader demonstrated an unexpected unity across the political aisle.

"It's unsustainable to have this happening year after year and having 100,000-acre fires becoming routine," Zinke said. "This is not a Republican or Democrat issue -- this is an American issue, and we should address it as such."

Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke and CA Gov. Jerry Brown held a conference about the wildfires today. Zinke said, Theres no silver bullet to these fires. The seasons gotten longer...its unsustainable to have 100,000-acre fires becoming routine. @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/NOz6Z3N0Ka  Caleigh Wells (@cgrey307) November 15, 2018

Zinke's primary message was that teamwork would be the best way to handle the devastation left by the wildfires.

"There's no silver bullet to these fires," he said. "The seasons have gotten longer, the temperatures are hotter, we're in the midst of a historic drought."

"This is not the time to point fingers... the solution is working together."

Brown complimented President Donald Trump in the conference as well. And when Zinke was asked to comment on Trump's tweets criticizing California's forest management and suggesting it was one of the causes for the state's devastating wildfires, Brown spoke for him and defended the president.

"There's a lot of statements, a lot of loose rhetoric, but I think we're on the right path right now," he said. "President Trump told me on the telephone yesterday he's completely behind California and getting this recovery underway."

Brown even suggested that improved forest management was among the lessons learned from the wildfires, along with building cities smarter and addressing the issues that come along with climate change.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke met with firefighters in the Santa Monica Mountains on Thursday, Nov. 15, as he and Governor Jerry Brown toured the burn zone of the Woolsey Fire. (Courtesy Ryan Zinke via Twitter)

THIRD DEATH LINKED TO FIRE

A third body was found within the footprint of the fire, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Wednesday.

The body was found by law enforcement officers Tuesday in the 32000 block of Lobo Canyon Road, coroner's office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani told LAist. That area is in the burn zone south of Agoura Hills.

L.A. County Sheriff's Department officials later said deputies had responded to the unincorporated area of Agoura Hills "to check the welfare of a resident who was unaccounted for after the Woolsey Fire destroyed his home."

Search and rescue deputies and investigators with the sheriff's Arson/Explosives Detail arrived to find the home burned down to the foundation. Deputies used a cadaver dog and discovered a body "burned beyond recognition" in the rubble.

Investigators could not say if the victim was the homeowner, who they said lived alone.

The County coroner's office is now investigating to determine the identity and cause of death.

MORE RESIDENTS RETURN HOME

Evacuation orders were lifted for the following unincorporated area of Agoura as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, per the L.A. County Sheriff's Department:

Kanan Road from Cornell Road (north) to Malibu View Court (south)

Southeast of Kanan Road to include the Saratoga Hills neighborhood

Cornell Road from Kanan Road, north of Wagon Road

Evacuation orders were also lifted for some portions of Malibu at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Los Angeles County officials said the following areas can be repopulated:

Pacific Coast Highway from Carbon Canyon Road to Webb Way

From the ocean to the northern city limit

Neighborhoods of Serra Retreat and Sweetwater Mesa

The entire city of Calabasas has also been reopened, according to officials there.

By Friday, most evacuations were lifted, except in some parts of Ventura County.

The wildfire is now one of the largest on record in L.A. County.

An aerial view of devastation in one neighborhood caused by the Woolsey Fire (Courtesy L.A. County Sheriff's Department via Twitter)

BY THE NUMBERS

98,362 acres burned



Containment at 78%



At least 713 structures destroyed and 201 damaged

3 fire-related deaths confirmed



3 firefighters injured



57,000 structures threatened



More than 3,900 firefighting personnel on scene

The burn zone of the Woolsey Fire as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14. (Via KPCC Fire Tracker)

FULL COVERAGE

HILL FIRE

The Hill Fire burn zone as of Nov. 14, 2018.

Firefighters wrapped up their work on the Hill Fire Friday morning, which was held to 4,531 acres and is now fully contained Thursday, according to the latest update from Cal Fire.

Four structures have been destroyed and no deaths or injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

All evacuation orders have been lifted.

SIERRA FIRE

A new fire broke out in Fontana Tuesday night, growing rapidly due to strong Santa Ana winds.

#SierraFire: Footage from earlier this evening. In #SantaAnaWinds, Dozers can often engage where its too dangerous for handcrews. A decisive force multiplier in tonights firefight. ^eas pic.twitter.com/gtqmJB5pk6  San Bernardino County Fire (@SBCOUNTYFIRE) November 14, 2018

San Bernardino County firefighters made "good progress" on the fire overnight, reporting Wednesday that the blaze had burned 147 acres and was 85 percent contained.

"Crews will remain on scene today reinforcing containment lines, mopping up hot spots through the interior, and monitoring the wind conditions," fire officials said in a tweet.

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 social media accounts:



Ryan Fonseca and Brian Frank contributed to this story.

UPDATES:

Friday

6:57 p.m.: Updated with the latest numbers from Cal Fire.

7:06 a.m.: Updated with latest figures from Cal Fire.

Thursday

7:33 p.m.: Updated with latest containment figure on Woolsey Fire.

3:30 p.m.: Updated with information on visit by Gov. Jerry Brown, Secretary Zinke.

7:30 a.m.: Updated with information from LASD about fire-related death in unincorporated Agoura Hills.

7:15 a.m.: Updated with latest acreage and containment on Woolsey and Hill fires.

Wednesday

6:49 p.m.: Updated with new containment figure on Hill Fire.

6:27 p.m.: Updated with new containment figures on Woolsey and Sierra fires.

4:32 p.m.: Added new repopulation for Agoura.

2:15 p.m.: This article was updated with the latest repopulation announcements.

9:45 a.m.: This article was updated with information about a third body found in the burn zone.

This article was originally published at 7:35 a.m. Wednesday.

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

By Emily Dugdale and Brian Frank

Malibu residents displaced by the Woolsey Fire made their frustration known Tuesday night at a community meeting marked by angry outbursts, tears and frustration.

A cadre of officials from the city, county and state updated residents on the situation on the ground as one of the largest fires on record in Los Angeles County burned into its sixth night. The fire has killed two people and razed or damaged hundreds of buildings.

Many residents who were evacuated have not been allowed back and don't know whether their homes still stand.

At one point, a person in the crowd could be heard yelling, "Could we have some information?"

Malibu City Manager Reva Feldman stopped several times to appeal for patience.

"Could we stop yelling and come together as a community?" she said.

Among the evacuees' most urgent questions: How soon can they return? The answer they heard repeatedly: As soon as it's safe.

Active hotspots and flareups still threaten the area, along with downed power lines, debris and other hazards.

"And until it's safe to go there, you're not going to be allowed back," said Malibu Councilman Skylar Peak.

The scale of the destruction was overwhelming to people like Kim Devitt.

"To see this happen to so many people that I love and care about, I don't even know how to describe it. It's heart-wrenching," Devitt said.

But the evening was also marked by a feeling of community bonding and heartfelt gratitude. City Councilman Jefferson Wagner, who had been hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning from smoke inhalation while attempting to protect his home, sent a message of thanks through his daughter.

"He wanted me to tell you that he has been so moved by the stories of our brave neighbors coming together to fight the fire and to support each other in these devastating times," Ava Wagner said. "We are grateful to live in such a strong community where so many are working selflessly and tirelessly to help one another."

Wagner's lungs, kidneys, airway and eyes were all badly damaged, but he has been released from the hospital and is expected to recover, his daughter said.

"We will heal and rebuild, and your city council will do everything in their power to work alongside state and federal officials to get you guys necessary longterm assistance," Wagner said through his daughter.

Officials will be setting up a mobile assistance center to connect displaced residents with local agencies and resources.

For now, here's what we know.

Why can't I return yet?

The fire still needs to be stopped, utilities need to be restored and debris cleanup still needs to happen to make the area safe, officials said.

County and city agencies are working together on debris removal, but some of that debris is toxic and needs to be removed according to strict guidelines, according to Jeff Reeb with the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management.

People will be allowed back as it's deemed safe, and the process will happen incrementally to avoid a rush, said L.A. County Sheriff Chief John Benedict.

"Quite frankly, you're pissed off and I get it, but we're doing everything that we can to make sure that we do this safely," Benedict said.

What's being done to protect homes and businesses from looting?

Officials said sheriff's deputies are patrolling the neighborhoods. They have not received any reports of looting in Malibu.

Why can't we get information on which homes have burned?

Teams are on the ground doing damage assessment on foot, property by property, and that process is difficult and time-consuming, Feldman said.

"So I beg you, please be patient with us, because the last thing I want to do is look at one of you and say, 'Your house burnt down,' and be wrong," Feldman said.

An aerial view of devastation in one neighborhood caused by the Woolsey Fire (Courtesy L.A. County Sheriff's Department via Twitter)

When will power be restored?

Nearly 10,000 customers were without power Tuesday night, and the outage could last for many days for some residents, according to Phil Herrington with SoCal Edison.

Herrington said crews were working to restore the main substation first and then working outward from there.

Edison has 80 crews working on restoration efforts and 20 crews doing damage assessment, which has been completed for about half of Malibu.

It's a big job. About 600 distribution poles need to be replaced, and about 100 have been installed so far, Herrington said.

You can check the Edison outage map here.

When will it be safe to drink the water?

A boil water notice has been issued for the Encinal Canyon area, the Point Dume area between Pacific Coast Highway and the northern boundary of Malibu, and the area north of Malibu High School.

When a distribution system loses pressure as it did during the Woolsey Fire, dangerous bacteria can enter the water.

The order is expected to be lifted before residents return, said Dave Rydman, senior civil engineer with L.A. County Public Works.

Still, some residents stayed behind. For anyone in one of the affected areas, boil your water for at least one minute or drink bottled water until the order is lifted.

"That's important until the water is cleared, especially if your water doesn't look right," said Dr. Jan King with the L.A. County Public Health Department.

For the latest updates, check LACwaterworks.org.

When will cell service be restored?

Cell service already seems to be working on the east end of Malibu, but the west end is still spotty to nonexistent, according to Feldman.

AT&T and Verizon are working to repair cell towers and installing temporary sites on trucks placed at strategic locations, Feldman said.

"By the time people are back in their neighborhoods, you will have cell service - hopefully better than we had before," she said.

What's being done to prepare for mudslides?

Teams will be sent out to assess the fire boundary and any adjacent homes or communities that could be vulnerable, but officials warned there isn't much time before the rainy season to complete that work, and there isn't much they can do to prevent devastating mudflows like those seen in Montecito earlier this year.

"I don't want you to think that we're going to stop floods if we get rain," said Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter. "Floods will occur, and it will depend on what kind of rain comes, how fast it comes, how much comes, and where it comes."

Just as in Montecito, the order will be to evacuate, Porter said. What the teams will assess is the areas that are most at risk.Those will be areas where evacuation orders will come.

Still, officials have provided tips for residents to help prepare and protect their homes as best they can. You can read that guide here.

Feldman also pointed out the city of Malibu will not enforce its ban on plastics, so plastic sandbags can be used to help fortify homes. Residents will be able to pick up sandbags at local fire stations.

Reeb also urged residents to enroll in Alert L.A. County. Creating a profile will allow the county to send updates by email or text message.

How soon can students return to school, and what's being done to help high school seniors with college applications?

All schools in the Malibu school district are closed until it is deemed safe to return. Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati said he hoped they would reopen by November 26, but that could change.

Many of the district's staff and students have been displaced.

Many students were in the middle of studying for Advanced Placement testing and applying to go to college.

Drati said the district is working with officials from the University of California and the California State University systems as well as private schools to extend deadlines. He said the UC system has already granted that request.

How do I apply for assistance?

Officials urged residents to file damage claims. They listed several resources to help you get started:

FEMA: Call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362)

Visit the website wildfirerecovery.org

In L.A. County, call 2-1-1 to file a property damage claim

When will trash be picked up?

Feldman said she will ensure trash is being picked up regularly, especially in those areas that have recently reopened. You can find more information about city services at the city's website.

How can I help?

The Malibu Boys and Girls Club is leading efforts to collect donations, Feldman said.

You can get more details on their website.

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.
If Anne Frank had survived the Holocaust  if she and most of her family werent slaughtered by the Nazis just for being Jewish  she might have grown up into someone like La Jollas Dr. Edith Eva Eger.

Eger is a celebrated psychologist and author who continues the work she began 50 years ago: flipping the pain of her own past into help for other victims of physical and mental trauma. (Her 2017 book, The Choice: Embrace the Possible, won both the 2017 National Jewish Book Award and 2018 Christopher Award.)



Eger greets this reporter with a tight squeeze from a warm hand while giving a tour of her beautiful La Jolla home. Perched atop Mt. Soledad, it houses the office where she sees her patients, many of whom are current and former military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).



Decorated with artwork celebrating ballet, a childhood passion, the house used to be her daughters. Twenty years ago, Eger moved in with her late husband, Bela, to be close to their grandchildren.

I think Im in paradise, Eger says. I have an ocean view, Im on top of the hill.



Although shes 91 now, Eger has the eyes of someone young and full of life. Its easy to picture the 16-year-old girl she was on her first night in Auschwitz, in May 1944, when she came face-to-face with Dr. Josef Mengele for the first time. The monstrous angel of death was out trolling for fresh meat to entertain him when someone mentioned that Eger was a dancer. (Eger had been training to become a ballerina and an Olympic gymnast when her Hungarian family was herded into a wagon and off to a tragically different future.)

Mengele ordered Eger to dance and enjoyed what he saw. As a reward, she was tossed a loaf of bread, which she promptly shared it with her fellow prisoners. It was an act that would later save her life.

Egers parents and boyfriend were murdered in Auschwitz, although she and her older sister, Magda, survived their year there. (Their eldest sister, Clara, was accepted into the Music Conservatory of Budapest, which placed her out of Nazi grasp for the duration of World War II.) As Eger points out, however, surviving an experience like that is something that continues every day of the rest of your life.

Eger sits on the couch she reserves for her patients. This session is all about her for a change.

Would you consider yourself successful in escaping the hold that your past had on you?

I didnt escape anything. I dont get that word at all.

So you overcame



No, I did not, no. I came to terms with it. I didnt overcome it. Im reminded every day. When I see the wires on La Jolla Village Drive, Im back in Auschwitz. When I go to Costco, Im back in Auschwitz. No, I didnt overcome.

And coming to terms with it is what qualifies you so uniquely to be a psychologist.

Exactly. And when a woman (recently) told me, I dont know how to tell you that I was sexually abused because you were in Auschwitz, I told her that she was more imprisoned than I was, because at least I knew the enemy.

How did you get yourself through Auschwitz as it was happening?



I said to myself, If I survive today, then tomorrow, Ill be free. So I never really allowed the Nazis, ever, to break my spirit. They beat me, they tortured me, and they could have thrown me in a gas chamber in a minute. But I never allowed them to break my spirit.

What I found is that Auschwitz was a place for discovery  discovering inner strength, discovering that you could not really make it if you were just for yourself, discovering that you had to commit yourself to someone else. And Auschwitz was an opportunity to care for one another. When I got bread from Dr. Mengele, I shared it with the girls I was with. Then, when I was on the death march in Austria, where you were shot if you stopped, the girls that I shared the bread with carried me so I wouldnt die. Isnt that amazing? The worst brings out the best in us.

What was it like looking into Josef Mengeles eyes?

Its still with me  the piercing look. Im scared of angry men, even today. I want a man to have integrity and kindness. If a man yells, thats not a man in my eyes.

Sisters Magda, Edith and Clara pose on some long-forgotten vacation in the early 1930s. COURTESY

Before the Holocaust, was your childhood happy?

I was a very lonely child. I was the third daughter. My parents wanted a son. I was painfully shy, and I think God put me in that family so I could develop my inner resources.

How far were you along to becoming an Olympic gymnast?

I was very limber and I practiced five hours a day. I was stretching myself all over the place. That was my life. And when I was told to train another girl, because Im Jewish and couldnt compete, it was the most heartbreaking experience of my life to that point.

Most of the concentration-camp survivors we have left were little children at the time. You witnessed the beginning of the Holocaust while old enough to know what was happening. With that unique perspective, is the current rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. possibly the beginning of history repeating itself?

I didnt know what was happening at the time. I never heard of Auschwitz or the Final Solution. But also, anti-Semitism has always been with us. When I was in elementary school, children were spitting at us and calling us Christ-killers, and that was before Hitler. Anti-Semitism has to do with prejudice, which is to prejudge. We are not born to be anti-Semitic. If I had been born in Germany, if I would have been brought up being told, Today Germany, tomorrow the whole world, I may have been a very enthusiastic member of the Hitler youth. We learn to hate. We learn to judge. We are what we learn.

So everyone is a victim of their upbringing?

I think, in a way, we are all victims of victims. What we are taught needs to be examined, and parents need to know what kind of teachers are in their schools  hopefully teachers who teach you how to think rather than what to think.

Edith Eger in the late 1950s, about 15 years after she was liberated from Auschwitz and just before she decided to dedicate her life to psychology. COURTESY

You never answered whether we should be worried that todays anti-Semitism could be the start of a new Holocaust.

I dont live with worries. Worry is in the future. I live in the present. I dont live with worry or guilt. I had survivors guilt, survivors shame, and I went back to Auschwitz in 1980, and thats the best thing that I did in my life  to go back to the lions den and look at the lion and reclaim my innocence. Its very important to revisit the places where youve been, but not to get stuck in them. Go through the valley of the shadow of death, dont camp there or set up house.

Have you forgiven the Nazis?

Well, I dont have any godly powers to forgive anything for anybody. But I think forgiveness has to do with a gift that you give to yourself  that you dont allow anybody to be in your body who is someone you dont want to carry anymore. So its not me forgiving the Nazis for what they did to me. Its me forgiving myself that I survived. I think self-forgiveness is most important.

How does a God exist who lets the Holocaust happen?

Oh, God didnt kill my parents. People did.

So Gods not all-powerful then?
At its final 2018 meeting, held Nov. 8 at the La Jolla Masonic Lodge, the Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) asked board members and the public to suggest big-picture ideas it can take on to improve life in Bird Rock.BRCC president John Newsam cited Bird Rocks five roundabouts, which help calm the speeds of an estimated 22,000 vehicles per day, as the neighborhoods most successful example.

Theres still some debate, Newsam said, but they certainly changed the character of the neighborhood for the better.

The group responded, although with smaller-picture suggestions. For instance, resident Dan Scanlan wondered why no roundabout was ever installed by his residence.

You raised an issue of what would people like to see, Scanlan said. Thats on my list anyway. If you need me to start a petition, I will.

Newsam replied that the decision about which intersections received a roundabout predated his involvement with the community group. (The City Council approved the roundabouts in 2003, following extensive community involvement in design workshops and public meetings. Construction began in 2004 and they were formally dedicated by former District 1 Council member Scott Peters on July 17, 2008.)

BRCC treasurer Barbara Dunbar brought up the problem of uneven paving stacked up around the roundabouts perimeters.

What that does is creates a big safety hazard because now cars are going straight through over the apron, she said.

Mauricio Medina, representing City Council member Barbara Brys office, replied that he recently received an email from City staff promising to inspect the circles shortly.

These (roundabouts) were the first ones and they have since remodified the designs for traffic circles, Medina said, adding that the City will determine whether that aligns with proper paving techniques issued with contracts for slurry seals.

Finally, board member John Shannon requested more seating at Calumet and Hermosa parks. Newsam suggested that Shannon recommend it as a capital-improvement project to La Jolla Parks & Beaches, Inc.  which is currently collecting input into the City Master Plan for Parks  during its next meeting: 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3 at the Rec Center.

Driving Bird Rock MAD

As required by its managment contract with the City, Dunbar delivered the annual report on the Bird Rock Maintenance Assessment District (MAD).Dunbar reported an increase in vandalism over the year and damage caused by traffic accidents  including an especially bad one on the night of Sept. 7-8 at the Southeast corner of Midway Street and La Jolla Boulevard, where a hit-and-run driver drove through the roundabout and caused extensive damage to the guard rail and irrigation system.

The damage has been reduced by having perimeters around these roundabouts, but we still have problems with accidents and drive-overs, Dunbar said. Were asking the City to see if there are other ways to slow traffic down. It is a really big concern.

Budget announced

Dunbar announced the proposed Bird Rock MAD budget for fiscal year 2020 as $229,226  about the same as the current budget. Due to an anticipated increase in the cost of utilities, services and the consumer price index, the total projected expenses may increase marginally, she said.

The proposed assessment rate for next year remains at $95 per Equivalent Benefit Unit (EBU), Dunbar announced, which is well below the estimated allowable assessment rate of $181.44. A single-family property will be assessed $95 per year, a condo $66.50, and an average commercial property $475.

Also at BRCC

 The Bird Rock holiday party will be held 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4  in lieu of the next BRCC meeting  at Wayfarer Bread & Pastry, 5525 La Jolla Blvd.

 Elections for BRCC board members and officers continue through Friday, Nov. 16. Election results will be announced at the holiday party.

 The Jan. 26 Bird Rock Tour of Homes has room for one additional home to show.

Bird Rock Community Council next meets 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Bird Rock Elementary School, 371 La Jolla Hermosa Ave. birdrockcc.org

Rounding the roundabouts

San Diego City Council approved Bird Rocks roundabouts in 2003, following extensive community involvement in design workshops and public meetings. Construction began in 2004 and they were formally dedicated in 2008. (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE)

Following these four steps should take you safely through Bird Rocks five roundabout traffic circles:

1) Slow down on the approach to the roundabout.2) Yield first to other motorists inside the roundabout and pedestrians in the crosswalk.3) Look left and wait for a gap in traffic before entering.4) Keep right and dont stop inside the roundabout, then signal before exiting.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp has affirmed her decision in favor of a Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) for La Jolla, clearing the way for Enhance La Jollas plans to establish the MAD to move forward.

Since late 2016, Judge Trapp has heard arguments back and forth in the case of La Jolla Benefits Association, LLC (which opposes the MAD) versus the City of San Diego.

After issuing a tentative ruling Nov. 1 that stated the opponents did not have legal standing to file the suit, she confirmed her decision Nov. 5.

After months of legal battles with a vocal minority, our office successfully defended the City in this frivolous lawsuit that went against the will of the voters, said City Attorney Mara Elliott. Now, the communitys plans to establish a Maintenance Assessment District in La Jolla can finally move ahead.

Calls to La Jolla Benefits Association as to whether they will appeal the decision were not answered by the Lights press deadline.

A MAD is legal mechanism by which property owners can vote to assess themselves to pay and receive services above-and-beyond what the City of San Diego normally provides, according to the City. This above-and-beyond service level is called a special benefit.

The MAD for La Jolla was approved by a majority (weighted by property size and type) of the commercial and residential property owners within its boundaries in November 2016.

Soon after the MAD was passed, the La Jolla Benefits Association LLC was formed and it filed a lawsuit challenging the MADs legality on the grounds that services the MAD would provide are services the City should be carrying out, such as additional trash collection, litter abatement, graffiti control, landscape maintenance and power-washing sidewalks.

La Jolla Benefits Association LLCs argument for its legal standing was based on the fact that its then-manager  A-440 Enterprises, Inc.  is a commercial property owner in the MAD.

However, Judge Trapp found in June that at the time the complaint was filed, La Jolla Benefits Association was not managed by A-440 Enterprises and therefore did not have legal standing to file a complaint. Further, by the time A-440 was managing La Jolla Benefits Association, the statute of limitations to file had expired.

As such, La Jolla Benefits Associations legal representation Maria Severson requested in October to add plaintiffs Allison-Zongker, a California limited partnership; and the Boyadjian Seta Living Trust to the case.

However, Judge Trapp wrote in her tentative ruling: Motions for reconsideration  are restricted to circumstances where a party offers the court some fact or circumstance not previously considered and some valid reason for not offering it earlier. Petitioner here (La Jolla Benefits Association) has not shown a new fact nor a satisfactory explanation for failing to provide the evidence earlier.

In court chambers Nov. 2, Trapp agreed to review her decision and issue a final ruling, which she did on Nov. 5, affirming her most recent position.

The MAD will be managed by the La Jolla-based non-profit, Enhance La Jolla. The majority of Enhance La Jolla board members are property owners within the district, as required by law.

Through the MAD, Enhance La Jolla could have the authority to enhance City-provided services, as well as privately fund and complete capital improvement projects in public spaces, such as upgrade trash cans, install benches, augment signage, create roundabouts, make park improvements, increase public art and plant tree canopies on main thoroughfares.

Enhance La Jolla has 13 directors on its board: Seven property owners (or representatives of property owners) paying the LJMAD assessment; three members of the Board of Directors of the La Jolla Community Foundation; one member of the La Jolla Village Merchants Association; and two representatives of the La Jolla community at large.

Whats next?

Ed Witt, acting president of Enhance La Jolla, told the Light he was excited about the decision and that the board would pursue a special assessment to get back to work as soon as possible.

Congratulations to La Jolla and, specifically, the MAD, Witt said. This ruling is great news. Now we can begin to enhance La Jolla. With all this moving forward, La Jollans will be happy with having some input as to what happens to La Jolla. Im excited for those who work in the business district and live in the residential district,

He said Enhance La Jolla would be working with City Council member Barbara Bry to determine the next steps, and would likely explore a special assessment to collect MAD fees.

When the MAD was approved, the assessment  $87 annually for most residents  was collected via property tax bills, but was given back when the lawsuits began, he said. Were hoping, because tax bills have already been sent out for this year, that we can start receiving money by having the County send out a separate bill. Residents within the MAD would then send in their assessment fee and the City would then give it to us.

As soon as we can start collecting, we can start enhancing La Jolla to make it a better place to live and work. But that all depends on whether we get a special assessment, working with Barbara Bry to find all that out.

If all goes according to plan, improvements will go into effect in the second quarter of 2019.

We are thrilled and happy that we get to move forward with this, Witt added. We understand the concern of the people who brought the lawsuit because we all feel we pay too much in taxes. But we also feel the MAD gives us some control over our world in La Jolla. We are so happy to be a part of it.

 For La Jolla MAD updates and general information, visit the Enhance La Jolla website at enhancelajolla.org
Up and down La Jolla, up and down the state actually, new signs outlining the regulations within Californias Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are going up at public access points, after six years of red tape, collaborating and waiting.

Seventeen signs have been affixed to posts and poles from Bird Rock to The Shores over the last month-and-a-half, with a few more to come.

These signs were installed to inform the public about the rules and regulations in the special conservation areas just offshore. They were created in collaboration with WildCoast and the San Diego MPA Collaborative, who have been working with San Diego organizations, explained Wildcoast conservation coordinator Cory Pukini. This is the second round of MPA signage that has gone into La Jolla since 2012, and this round is focused on a lot of interpretive panels placed at key points.

MPAs are designated areas designed to protect or conserve marine life and habitat. La Jolla has four MPAs in the waters from Scripps Pier to Bird Rock: two are State Marine Reserves and two are State Marine Conservation Areas.

In State Marine Reserves, there is no take allowed of any resource  living or non-living  within the boundaries. This is why we focused the signs on these points. People who live in the area know about them, but theres a lot of tourism in these areas and people who are not in the know, Pukini said.

State Marine Conservation Areas have different rules. Some conservation areas have some less astringent regulations regarding commercial take, such as fishing, so the signage oftentimes will direct people to what is allowed in the area and then applicable departments where you can check specific regulations.

There are two types of signs  interpretive panels that explain whats permitted and the wildlife that lives in that area, and you are here signs to let people know which MPA they are near. Some signs are in English and Spanish.

The whole premise of the MPA is that they work in a network that makes up 16 percent of our state waters. They are a recharge center for the ocean, Pukini said. The MPAs are part of a statewide coordinated effort, and there are 124 MPAs statewide.

Therein lies one of the challenges in getting the MPA signage installed. MPA Collaborative and La Jolla Parks & Beaches member Debbie Beachum explained there are MPAs in Southern California, Central California and Northern California, and the signs needed to be uniform, yet reflect the unique needs of each area.

Its been an evolutionary process to get to this signage, she said. There was a lot of information to cull through for each spot, but it had to make sense for the average beach-goer. Its still difficult to see some location-markers in the water, but these are great initial steps to alert people of where they are. Its that visual aid that wasnt there before. Whats cool is theyre up in the right places, informative and colorful.

Part of the colorful, graphic nature of these signs came from underwater photographers contributing images of local wildlife. Chicago-based photographer Jonathan Lavan, contributed images to the La Jolla MPAs.

Southern California is very lucky to have such expansive and beautiful MPAs and I was excited to be a part of providing tourists and locals alike with more information on why these areas are so special. A picture is worth a thousand words and showing just a small percentage of the collective biomass in the area, hopefully, will turn people on to nature and make them want to protect it, he told La Jolla Light.

Pukini added of overcoming some of the challenges: To get everyone on board with where each one should go, what language to use and pictures needs to be signed off on was a challenge, but one way we accomplished that was through the MPA Collaborative in San Diego. Its made up of 120 individuals from 60 groups who get together to drive the MPA management.

Another challenge was preventing sign pollution, a matter of importance for La Jolla Parks & Beaches, which advocates for reducing the amount of signs blocking coastal views.

At the beginning, we attended meetings where they were proposing these huge signs  but, there was a collaboration of people saying the same things, and so the sign sizes were reduced, Beachum said. The ones up now are a little bigger than wed like, but they have to be that size to convey all the information. They must be seen for them to be effective. There were a lot of moving parts to this, and a lot of thought went into the process, so its really welcome to have them up and done.
Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Amazon.com Inc.s decision to split its second headquarters was a calculated move to poach the best and brightest from two of the biggest talent pools in America: New York City and Washington, D.C.

When the tech giant starts recruiting tens of thousands of workers in the cities next year, Wall Street and Capitol Hill will feel the burn.

On Tuesday, Amazon picked Long Island City in New York and Arlington, Va., for its next big office locations, bringing $5 billion in investment and 50,000 high-paying jobs to those areas.

One of the driving factors behind the decision was the ability to draw top talent from two locations rather than one, said Jay Carney, Amazons senior vice president for global corporate affairs. We realized that dividing it into two made more sense, he added in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.

Advertisement

Amazons move across the Potomac River from the nations capital will put heightened pressure on the federal governments efforts to recruit tech-savvy employees. Out of about 2 million federal employees, roughly 15% work in the Washington-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia area, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

If Amazon presents itself as competitive, they will steal away a lot of young federal employees. Thats the first group that will be affected, Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees, told Bloomberg Law. The second group is applicants. The federal government will have a tough time competing with a private-sector employer that can offer higher pay and better benefits for people with needed skills, he added.

Amazons move to Long Island City will also see some of the best business minds sailing across East River and away from Wall Street. The most sought-after career for MBA grads has flipped from finance to tech as internet firms such as Amazon, Google and Facebook Inc. have grown into some of the worlds wealthiest and most powerful corporations.

A decade ago, 20% of business school alumni worked in finance and 12% worked in tech. Today, 17% work in tech and 13% in finance, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council.

Google is also expanding in New York, amplifying the talent war, said Julia Pollak, a labor economist with online jobs marketplace ZipRecruiter Inc. Google plans to double its New York workforce over the next decade to more than 14,000 employees, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat, said on Monday.

Amazons incentive package for coming to New York City is based on adding 25,000 jobs in the area over a decade with an average wage of more than $150,000. The median base salary for an MBA grad at an investment bank in the United States is $125,000, according to Harvard Business School.

The thing to do in the 2000s was to move to Manhattan and work for an investment bank or a consulting firm, Pollak said. Now, freshmen are increasingly declaring majors in computer science and mathematics, she said. When you see the investments that students are making in human capital, they clearly seem to be predicting that tech will be the future of growth.

The two tech giants can offer working conditions that are much more pleasant than those on Wall Street, Pollak said. Competitive salaries arent tied to market fluctuations, and theres a bigger focus on work-life balance and a more casual environment, where jeans and T-shirts are the norm, Pollak said.

The result will likely be higher compensation costs, according to Michele Pollack, a partner at recruiting firm Korn Ferry.

If they see theres a crunch for talent, theyre going to have to be more competitive, and obviously, the easiest way to be more competitive is to pay people more, she said.

Carville and Katz write for Bloomberg.
At the first hearing of the House Financial Services Committee since the midterm elections, Rep. Maxine Waters didnt waste any time Wednesday in warning a top bank regulator that things will change under the incoming House Democratic majority.

Make no mistake  the days of this committee weakening regulations and putting our economy at risk of another financial crisis will come to an end, said the Los Angeles Democrat, who is expected to become chairwoman of the committee when the new Congress is seated in January.

Regulators appointed by President Trump, urged on by congressional Republicans, have been loosening the tough rules on banks and other financial firms put in place after the 2008 financial crisis.

The Federal Reserve took a major step last month when it proposed reducing the amount of capital many large banks are required to hold as a buffer against a crisis. And the Feds top regulation official, Randal Quarles, last week outlined plans to revise annual stress tests to make their methodology more transparent  and easier for the banks to pass.

Advertisement

Democrats have expressed concerns that the rollbacks are risky. And after last weeks elections, theyll be able to use their new majority on the Financial Services Committee to block new deregulation legislation and pressure regulators not to go too far in interpreting existing laws.

They previewed those capabilities Wednesday as Quarles, the Feds vice chairman for bank supervision, appeared before the committee to deliver his twice-annual report on financial regulation efforts.

But the limits of Democrats power were also evident as Quarles parried their criticisms  and will face no significant ramifications other than occasional public tongue-lashings if he fails to comply, given the central banks autonomy.

Its good that the banks are working and the economy is humming, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) told him. But Im very concerned about any effort to roll back the stress tests that in many ways has guaranteed this financial success and the safety and soundness of the financial system.

We are not seeking to relax or impair the resiliency of the system, Quarles responded.

Quarles, nominated to the Fed by Trump last year, also got pressure in the other direction from Republicans who said he should be more aggressive in scaling back rules put in place by the landmark 2010 Dodd-Frank law.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the committee chairman who is stepping down from Congress at the end of the year, said the Feds recent deregulation proposals do not yet represent success and that he hoped the changes would go further.

If they represent the Feds final offerings, its pretty thin gruel, he said.

Hensarling opened the hearing by congratulating Democrats on their election victory but warned our side will not acquiesce to your agenda.

Waters, the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to be chosen by her Democratic colleagues as chairwoman. She has outlined an agenda that would zero in on two troubled big banks, Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank, as well as push back on the Trump administrations deregulation efforts.

Trump and Republicans, urged on by bank lobbyists, have been setting the agenda since January 2017. They have focused on rolling back parts of Dodd-Frank, which they were unable to do in any significant way while President Obama was in office.

Trump has nominated financial regulators who he believes will ease regulations. Three of the four board members of the Fed, which has expanded regulatory authority under Dodd-Frank, were nominated by Trump.

In some rare bipartisanship, Congress this spring enacted legislation that scales back some Dodd-Frank rules. The changes focused relief on small and medium-size banks that had complained they were unfairly burdened with new regulations. The Fed also received discretion to more broadly tailor regulations based on a banks size and other factors.

The new law freed about two dozen banks with assets of as much as $250 billion from Dodd-Franks mandatory stricter regulatory oversight, which includes rigorous annual stress tests. The threshold for that oversight had been $50 billion in assets.

On Oct. 31, the Fed unveiled a proposal in response to the law that would divide banks with more than $100 billion in assets into four categories based on size and risk factors.

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the six other largest banks would not get any significant relief. But large regional banks, such as U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial Corp. and American Express Co., would either be exempted from or see significant reductions in requirements for the amount of capital they must hold and how much must be in liquid assets that could easily be sold for cash in a crisis.

Fed Gov. Lael Brainard, the only Democrat remaining on the board, was the lone vote against the proposal. She said she was concerned that the proposals go beyond the statutory mandate and increased risk to financial stability and the taxpayer.

Democrats on the Financial Services Committee echoed those concerns Wednesday.

As we saw in the last crisis, it is the average, hardworking Americans that will suffer the consequences if Washington deregulates Wall Street megabanks again, Waters told Quarles.

Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) said the stress tests begun by the Fed in 2009 are very important for the financial stability of our country.

The tests put bank finances through recession scenarios to determine whether they would be able to withstand them. Scott said he was worried that the proposal to provide banks with more details about the tests would make them less effective.

This sounds very much like youre going to be giving away the exact questions on the stress tests ahead of time, he told Quarles.

Quarles responded that the information to banks would not have deep precision and would focus on the models the Fed was using instead of the exact scenarios to be tested.

The scenarios are more akin to the test and models akin to the textbook, he said.

Quarles also defended the proposed changes in capital and liquidity rules for larger banks. He noted that Dodd-Frank significantly increased those requirements.

Theres been a huge increase in liquidity in the system since the crisis, trillions of dollars, he said. This is a small reduction.

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera
President Trumps new trade deal with Canada and Mexico needs changes to secure support from Democrats, according to a senior House Democrat in line to play a leading role on trade policy in the new Congress.

There needs to be not only changes in the legislation but more enforcement if the Trump administration wants votes from Democrats, said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey, who is positioned to chair the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, in an interview on Wednesday.

Democrats concerns wouldnt require a major rewrite of the deal and likely could be addressed by putting strong enforcement mechanisms, especially over labor and environmental rules, in the U.S. law that brings the deal into force, said Pascrell.

All three nations are preparing to sign the agreement during the Group of 20 leaders summit in Argentina taking place Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The trade pact will require approval from the new U.S. Congress that convenes next year, and lawmakers in Mexico and Canada.

Advertisement

Pascrells comments underscore the new clout Democrats will wield, after the party seized control of the House of Representatives in last weeks midterm elections. Although the lawmaker didnt outline specific changes to the deal his party is seeking, Democrats have been consistent in pushing for tougher labor provisions.

The new NAFTA includes a requirement that Mexico change its laws to bolster independent unions but Democrats and labor activists say the deal doesnt contain adequate mechanisms to enforce the rules. Some labor activists argue that these concerns could be addressed in U.S. legislation  as proposed by Pascrell  rather than a wholesale reopening of negotiations with Mexico.

A spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Affairs Chrystia Freeland responded by citing comments the minister made earlier this week when she said each country must follow its own domestic procedure to ratify the deal.

I think that it would be really presumptuous for me or the government of Canada to presume that we can get involved in the U.S. ratification process in the same way that I think we would consider it rather presumptuous for the U.S. to get involved in our own ratification process, Freeland said in Windsor, Canada, on Tuesday.

The U.S., Canada and Mexico at the end of September reached a preliminary deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump had derided as a disaster that cost the U.S. jobs. Negotiators from the three countries worked around the clock to clinch an agreement so outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto could sign it before his successor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, takes office Dec. 1.

The new deal would be called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. Business leaders welcomed the pact, which staved off the risk that Trump would withdraw from NAFTA, as he has repeatedly threatened. Still, Trump could give six months notice of U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA, which put pressure on Democrats to vote for the deal or let the trading bloc collapse.

The revised accord includes tighter regional content rules for cars built on the continent, as well as a provision that requires at least 40% of car production to come from factories where the average wage is $16 per hour. The U.S. also won greater access to Canadas dairy market, and added a chapter that commits the nations to avoid gaming their currencies.

But the deals approval in Congress isnt a foregone conclusion, especially now that Democrats will hold the House. Trump is pursuing approval under so-called fast-track authority, which allows him to seek a simple yes-or-no vote in exchange for clearing a number of procedural hoops. Lawmakers in the House and Senate can propose changes to the agreement along the way.

With a presidential election in 2020, Democrats may be reluctant to bless a deal negotiated by Trump, whose approval rating stands at 38%, according to polling firm Gallup.

Wasson and Mayeda write for Bloomberg
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice are investigating Snap Inc. for potentially misleading investors, the latest concern for the Santa Monica company behind Snapchat, which has seen its stock crater since its much-hyped initial public offering.

In a statement Wednesday, the company said it has responded to subpoenas and information requests from the two agencies that center on disclosures about rival Instagram that Snap made in advance of its March 2017 IPO  an issue already the subject of a shareholder lawsuit.

That competition led to slower-than-expected user growth for Snapchat and, more recently, may be contributing to an overall decline in users. The company reported it had 186 million daily active users in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, down from 191 million in this years first quarter.

It is our understanding that these regulators are investigating issues related to the previously disclosed allegations asserted in the class action about our IPO disclosures, the company said in a statement. While we do not have complete visibility into these investigations, our understanding is that the DOJ is likely focused on IPO disclosures relating to competition from Instagram.

Advertisement

The Justice Department and the SEC generally do not comment on or confirm ongoing investigations.

The statement sparked fresh concern among investors, who sent Snap shares down nearly 5% in early trading Wednesday. Shares recovered slightly, closing at $6.48, down 3.4% on the day  but down 76% from a post-IPO peak.

The company has struggled since raising $3.4 billion in Southern Californias largest-ever IPO. The stock briefly soared as investors bet big on the young company and its social media app, Snapchat. Since then, though, the company has seen a string of executive departures and has struggled with weak ad sales and a redesign that was panned by many users.

Q2 2017 Q3 2017 Q4 2017 Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 172 177 182 187 192 million daily active users 172 177 182 187 Snapchat users have been disappearing Data: abcdefg hijkl mnop qrstu vwxyz 1234 56789 @latimesgraphics Source: Snap Inc., Securities and Exchange Commission -->

Once valued at more than $30 billion, the company is now worth less than a third of that. In its most recent earnings statement, released Oct. 25, the company reported bringing in more revenue and burning less cash, but also fewer daily active users for the second consecutive quarter. Whats more, executives said they expect users to continue to fall in the current quarter.

Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said Snaps stock woes have much more to do with those factors than the news that federal investigators are nosing around.

The share price is not down because investors perceive a risk investigators are going to find something, he said. Its down because subscriber growth declined and revenue isnt growing fast enough.

Still, the investigation and a related shareholder suit could be distractions for the company and its executives.

Peter Baldwin, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner at law firm Drinker Biddle, said its hard to predict what, if anything, might come of the federal inquiries. But he said authorities may be looking for potential securities fraud based on the shareholders allegations or other information.

He also said the Justice Departments involvement suggests criminal  not just civil  charges could come as a result, though its not clear any charges are forthcoming.

The difference between civil and criminal is whether there was criminal intent on the part of the perpetrators, he said. I think theyre likely just trying to figure out if this is a criminal case or not. And it may well be theres no case that comes out of this.

If prosecutors were to bring criminal securities or wire fraud charges, Baldwin said, they might also pursue charges that relate to the adequacy of information in public securities filings.

Snap investors alleged in a securities lawsuit filed last year in federal court in Los Angeles that, before its IPO, Snap didnt reveal how much competition from Instagram, the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook Inc., was hurting its growth in the second half of 2016.

Thats when Instagram launched stories, a feature that, much like Snapchat, allows users to post disappearing slideshows of videos and photos. Instagram said in an August blog post that its stories feature has 400 million daily users  more than double Snapchats user base.

Investors also say Snap failed to disclose a sealed whistle-blower lawsuit by a former employee who claimed inaccuracies in the companys calculation and reporting of daily active users.

In court filings, lawyers for Snap argue that investors were well aware of those issues in advance of the IPO. In Wednesdays statement, the company said: We continue to believe the class actions claims are meritless and our IPO disclosures were accurate and complete.

A federal judge in June denied Snaps request to dismiss the shareholders allegations. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10 on whether the case can proceed as a class action representing anyone who bought Snap shares between March 2 and Aug. 10 of last year.

The companys IPO was one of the most hotly anticipated of the last few years, thanks to Snapchats young audience  customers that advertisers desperately want to reach  and to a relative dearth of public offerings in the tech sector, where many start-ups have sought to stay private for as long as possible.

Investors piled into the stock despite Snaps decision to grant no voting rights to new shareholders, a move that consolidated the power of Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel but has also kept the companys shares out of some stock indexes, eliminating some demand for shares.

Bloomberg was used in compiling this report.

UPDATES:

2:55 p.m.: This article was updated with more details on Snaps IPO and its rival Instagram, as well as comments from Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.

9:10 a.m.: This article was updated with more background and details, and comments from former federal prosecutor Peter Baldwin.

6:40 a.m.: The article was updated with Snaps share price at the market open on Wall Street.

This article was originally published at 5:55 a.m.
In a fortunate coincidence, three shows currently on view in L.A. engage in a rich conversation on how black people are represented in the West. At Honor Fraser, Meleko Mokgosis exhibition raises questions about the role of African people and artifacts in an art history that has largely erased and stereotyped them. Photographers Kwame Brathwaite  at Philip Martin Gallery  and Deana Lawson  at The Underground Museum  provide perspectives from two different generations of African Americans.

Mokgosi, who was born in Botswana and lives in New York, dissects the primitive frame through which African art has been presented in the West. His installation intersperses painted still lifes of African objects and images with texts from the Museum of Modern Arts 1984 exhibition Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern. The texts, taken from the shows exhibition labels, are heavily and passionately annotated in the artists hand. Line by line, Mokgosi emphatically exposes the racism and white supremacy of the curators focus on famous European artists at the expense of the African art that influenced them. Mokgosis notes reveal how the exhibition lumped all African art, regardless of origin, into the simplistic and infantilizing category of the primitive, neglecting rich histories and varied cultural contexts.

These texts are interspersed with paintings and sculptures of African interiors and objects that counter this historical erasure. They depict modest, domestic tableaux in which anti-apartheid posters hang above framed family photos. Other images feature a black baby doll, grocery products on a shelf, or ads for hair relaxers. In one painting, a portrait of Jesus appears next to a photo of a woman wearing a leopard-print bathing suit. Below sit two decorative ceramic dogs. These images form an oblique and motley portrait of contemporary African life. The specificity and humanity of the images  the ways in which they do and dont align with what we think of as African  serves as a counter to the oversimplification of the primitive label, even as they exist within its long shadow. The show opens up the category African and asks us to think about how it might be represented otherwise.

Kwame Brathwaite Untitled (Naturally 68 Photo Shoot in the Apollo Theater featuring Grandassa Models and Founding members of AJASS, Frank Adu, Elombe Brath and Ernest Baxter) (Kwame Brathwaite)

Advertisement

Fortunately, one has only to go down the street to Philip Martin Gallery to see one such vision. Kwame Brathwaite began photographing black celebrities and models in 1950s New York. With his brother, Elombe, he founded the African Jazz Art Society and Studios, and Grandassa Models, organizations devoted to promoting the concept black is beautiful. In 1962, they initiated Naturally, a series of modeling contests for black women sporting natural hairdos and African-patterned clothing.

The show includes several of these striking images, charting a civil rights-era awakening to black beauty and power in defiance of dominant aesthetic standards. Gender politics of the 1960s being what they were, beautiful mostly applied to women, but Brathwaite pioneered a photography capable of capturing the rich colors and textures of black skin. Within the limits of film stock color-balanced for white faces, he figured out how to make black people not only visible, but reflect their beauty too.

Meleko Mokgosi, Objects of Desire 10. (Jeff McLane / Honor Fraser Gallery)

Of particular interest is Untitled (Grandassa Models, Merton Simpson Gallery), circa 1967, in which three black women, arrayed in bold print dresses, pose amid African sculptures. Simpson was a prominent African American dealer of African art and an authority in the field. This image by Brathwaite places black pride alongside African sculpture. It is an act of reclamation, even as it reflects the lack of specificity that Mokgosi laments. We may not know where these sculptures came from, or what their cultural significance was in their places of origin, just as we may not know the provenance of the prints the women are wearing. What matters is that they are African.

This lack of specificity reflects the legacy of slavery, which brutally erased and transformed most African Americans relationship to their heritage. Reclaiming something nominally and broadly African, even if inauthentic, is in this light a poignant expression of desire and resistance. When everything has been taken away, one has to start somewhere. Brathwaite used what tools he had to fashion a new space for black representation.

This desire to connect with traditions bigger and older than oneself also surfaces in Deana Lawsons exhibition, just a few miles east at The Underground Museum. Although best known for her photography, Lawson also presents a video, interspersing footage she shot in Africa and the U.S. of everyday life and public rituals. In the States, these rituals seem to center around music and sports, including footage of concerts and tailgate parties. These are intercut with scenes from an Asante ceremony, and the piece is scored with an Asante chant.

Here, I am guilty of MoMA-style erasure: I did not find out which rituals (ceremonies, sporting events, concerts) the video depicts. I cannot place them in their proper historical and cultural contexts. Yet the similarities seem more important to Lawson than the specifics. Where Brathwaites images seek to smooth out differences between blacks in the U.S. and in Africa, creating a romanticized connection, Lawsons video highlights jarring juxtapositions. But its quick cuts also reveal formal similarities. Community rituals are forms of communing after all, even if the regalia and the dance moves arent the same.

The rest of the exhibition focuses on Lawsons devastatingly frank photographs of black people she has met on the street. She invites them back to her home or theirs and carefully stages a portrait, choosing props, costumes and poses. The images look naturalistic but are not unlike Brathwaites more obviously manicured photographs of natural women. In part, Lawsons images look authentic because they play on familiar stereotypical tropes: the hypersexual black woman, the single mother, the group of shirtless young men gesturing aggressively.

Installation view, Deana Lawson: Planes at The Underground Museum. Courtesy of The Underground Museum. (Brian Forrest)

Eternity depicts a woman wearing spangled lingerie, standing coquettishly so that her buttocks and breasts are on view. The pose and dress evoke photo studio vanity pictures, but the setting is decidedly unglamorous. She stands amid a radiator, a space heater and a sagging floral-print couch. A faux-gold clock featuring a cheesy winged horse seems to alight overhead. The image is a far cry from Brathwaites polished photos of uniformly slim models, but its aim is similar  presenting a frank image of the black body, albeit one that reverberates with stereotypes. In particular, Eternity evokes images of Sara Baartman, a South African woman put on display in Great Britain in the 19th century as a curiosity because of her large buttocks. The image simultaneously reckons with this exploitative and dehumanizing history and reclaims black beauty in the face of predominant, Caucasian beauty standards.

Similarly, Sons of Cush plays with black male stereotypes. It depicts a muscled, tattooed young man holding a small baby. To the left, we see the arm of another man, holding a wad of cash. The small window in the door behind them has been crudely papered over; the blinds on the window to the right are drawn. Were this a movie, the spot could be a drug den or thieves hideout, but these sinister stereotypes are belied by the framed copy of the kitschy, inspirational Christian text, Footprints, on one table and an array of smiling family photos on the others. A carefully hand-drawn diagram hangs on the wall, outlining a family tree of biblical descent. Its a more tender, complex portrait of black masculinity than what is commonly presented.

Lawsons pictures employ artifice to get at deeper, more layered realities. Mokgosi and Brathwaite do much the same thing, framing their stories themselves lest others do the telling.

What unites the three is the longing to reconstruct something that has been lost. How does one represent black people when so much has been done to erase them, or reduce them to stereotypes? These artists, along with many others, turn a skeptical eye on history and make up the rest as they go along. The results are part circumstance and part fabrication, but ring entirely true.

Meleko Mokgosi, Honor Fraser, 2622 S. La Cienega Blvd., (310) 837-0191, through Dec. 19. Closed Sunday and Monday. www.honorfraser.com

Kwame Brathwaite, Philip Martin Gallery, 2712 La Cienega Blvd., (310) 559-0100, through Dec. 22. Closed Sunday and Monday. www.philipmartingallery.com

Deana Lawson, The Underground Museum, 3508 W. Washington Blvd., (323) 989-9925, through Feb. 17, 2019. Closed Monday and Tuesday. www.theunderground-museum.org
I was shook.

It happened nearly 30 years ago, but for Spike Lee the memory of seeing D.W. Griffiths The Birth of a Nation during his first year at NYUs Tisch School of the Arts remains vivid. Lee had seen clips from the 1915 landmark silent film, known equally for its blatant racism and cinematic innovation. But he had never watched the entire movie until his first year in film school.

The classroom discussion afterward focused solely on Griffiths filmmaking techniques. Lee listened and stewed, waiting for some mention of the fact that the movie not only glorified the Ku Klux Klan but also revitalized the then-dormant group, an awakening that led to lynchings and terrorist acts.

That acknowledgment never came that day. But Lee has made a point of emphasizing it himself throughout his career, starting with The Answer, a 20-minute student film he made at NYU about a black filmmaker being given $50 million to remake The Birth of a Nation, and continuing through the sharp satire of 2000s Bamboozled and now with his most recent effort, BlacKkKlansman, where we see Klan members watch and celebrate racist images in Griffiths movie during a secret initiation.

Advertisement

Adam Driver, left, and John David Washington in Spike Lees BlacKkKLansman. (David Lee / Focus Features)

What the star of BlacKkKlansman learned from the real black cop who infiltrated the KKK 

The only thing I added to that BlacKkKlansman scene was the popcorn, Lee said on a recent October morning, sitting on a bungalow patio at the Chateau Marmont, appreciating the early autumn sunshine and palm trees so much that when the conversation turned animated  as it always does with the candid Lee  he offered an apology to the surrounding flora. (I dont want my profanity to blemish these beautiful palm trees here in the hills of L.A., he said, laughing.)

The aforementioned profanity is mostly directed toward Donald Trump (Agent Orange, as Lee calls him), whose presence is felt and, on one occasion, seen in BlacKkKlansman, Lees hit movie about the real-life Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a black detective who infiltrated a Colorado chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1970s with the help of a white colleague.

Ask Lee how he became involved in the project (a pitch from Jordan Peele), why he wanted to do it (to show that bigotry and fear of the other has been a constant throughout American history) and what he wanted moviegoers to feel while watching it (urgency), the conversation will always  often immediately  circle back to Trump.

Not to say there arent some occasional, unexpected diversions. Im not sure if Lee has ever engaged a film journalist at length without mentioning the fact that Driving Miss Daisy won the Oscar for best picture in 1989, the year Do the Right Thing, his masterful look at race relations in America, was released. And not nominated, Lee said, preemptively issuing another apology to the palm trees before adding: Not to be disrespectful or anything, but Driving Miss Daisy does not  hold up.

Warming to the subject of what does  and does not  enter the canon of film and music, Lee offered: I was doing some research of the greatest albums of all time. And I was looking for where Prince is, Michael Jackson, James Brown. According to Rolling Stone, Thriller is No. 20. I have love for everybody  well, not everybody  but the Beach Boys are No. 2. Whats that album? Pet Shop? [Its Pet Sounds.] Brian Wilson is a bad mother, but how is that ahead of Thriller and Purple Rain?

Im going to be honest, he said, answering his own question. You have to ask: Whos voting? The outcome depends on that. Moonlight winning best picture and all this other stuff, thats not possible if that woman who was president of the academy [Cheryl Boone Isaacs] doesnt take the initiative and change the makeup of the membership.

But a lot of people dont like change and diversity, Lee continued, broadening the conversation. The United States Census Bureau  not me  has said that as early as 2035, white Americans will be a minority. And a lot of whats happening today, especially with Agent Orange, is a reaction to what the census bureau stated.

With BlacKkKlansman, Lee examines that reaction, bluntly showing that the racism held by Klan members Stallworth encountered nearly a half-century ago lives in America today, sometimes blatant, often couched in code words. When its mentioned in the movie that Klan leader David Duke (played by Topher Grace) is developing a mainstream political strategy that could be supported by everyday Americans, Stallworth objects.

Topher Grace as David Duke in a scene from BlacKkKlansman. (David Lee / Focus Features via AP Photo)

America would never elect somebody like David Duke president, he says. Stallworths sergeant tells him he should know better.

What [co-screenwriter] Kevin [Willmott] and I wanted to do is make a hip period piece that is about today, Lee said. And it wasnt that hard to do. So much of this hate stuff is recycled. Agent Orange did not come up with the slogan Make America Great Again. Or America First. That was used by the Klan in the 1920s.

Trump and the real Duke are seen at the end of the movie when Lee cuts to video footage from the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., including images of activist Heather Heyers death. (Lee dedicated the movie to Heyer.) Trumps response to the events (very fine people on both sides) and Dukes tacit endorsement of Trump are also shown.

That was like an emotional haymaker from Mike Tyson, lead actor Washington said of the ending in a phone interview. It wasnt some sort of take or perspective from the lens of Spike Lee. This is actually America.

Calling from New York a couple of weeks after our initial conversation, Lee recalled some critical comments about the choice to end BlacKkKlansman with the raw, unflinching video footage. He hasnt for a moment second-guessed that decision, a call he made after asking Heyers mother, Susan Bro, for permission.

Since we last talked, another homegrown act of American terrorism, the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue, happened, Lee said. For people who dont think the coda of BlacKkKlansman should be Charlottesville, look at what happened after Charlottesville. You could make the argument that when the president refused to repudiate evil, he gave it a green light. People see Heather Heyer murdered in Charlottesville and the president did not condemn it. Thats the green light.

I dont care what nobody says, Lee continued, this film will be on the right side of history, the same way Do the Right Thing was in 1989. Truth does not get old.

glenn.whipp@latimes.com

Twitter: @glennwhipp
Throughout their careers, in much-loved films like Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski and No Country for Old Men, the directing duo of Joel and Ethan Coen have plumbed deep philosophical terrain  mortality, ethics, justice, existential despair  often with a twisted humor thats all their own.

Scholarly essays have been written with titles like Deceit, Desire, and Dark Comedy: Postmodern Dead Ends in Blood Simple  and Postmodernity, Interpretation, and the Construction of History: Heidegger and the Problem of Interpretation in Barton Fink. 

But generally speaking, the Coens dont much like to talk about all that.

Advertisement

Theyre of the school that the less thats said regarding intentionality and overall thematic import, the better, says Tim Blake Nelson, who plays the title character in the Coens latest effort, the western anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The script speaks for itself.

That said, any opportunity to sit down with the Coens is not to be passed up, and with Buster Scruggs, there is plenty to talk about. Six short stories  by turns comic, somber and darkly surreal  all circling around questions of mortality, the film represents both a return to familiar Coen obsessions and a venture into new cinematic territory in terms of format and distribution. Its playing in select theaters and will be available for streaming via Netflix on Friday.

The Times spoke with Joel, 63, and Ethan, 61, at the motion picture academy headquarters about how their weird animal of a film came together and their thoughts about Netflix and the state of filmgoing today.

Joel and Ethan Coen arrived at the premiere of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs at The BFI London film festival in October. (NIKLAS HALLEN/EPA-EFE/REX / NIKLAS HALLEN/EPA-EFE/REX)

You wrote the six stories that make up Buster Scruggs over a period of 25 years. What were you initially thinking youd do with them? Was there any thought that any of them could be fleshed out into full-length features?

Ethan: No, we never thought of any of them as potential features or things that would grow into mature whole beings other than what they were. They were all written as shorts.

Joel: I dont think we thought wed make any of them actually. I mean, there isnt really a market for them, so I think we just thought, Well, it would be fun to make them, but how? And in what context?

I assume you grew up watching Westerns, but were you also reading Western stories by people like Zane Grey and Jack London?

Ethan: Jack London, I guess, but not the sort of genre things. When youre a kid in the Midwest in the 60s, westerns are kind of not the thing  certainly not literature Westerns but even movie Westerns. I mean, John Wayne was pretty square at that point.

Joel: Yeah, with the exception of the Sergio Leone movies, which we saw when we were kids. Those sort of operatic spaghetti westerns we definitely did see, and I think its fair to say that [Leones 1969 film] Once Upon a Time in the West blew our minds to a certain extent. Its a great movie and such a strange one that you cant help but sit up and take notice.

There are a few themes that run through all of the stories in Buster Scruggs that have popped up throughout your career: death, criminality, whether the universe cares if bad things happen to good people. But when I talked to Tim Blake Nelson, he told me that when actors ask you about those deeper things, theyre generally met with casual disdain or laughter.

Joel: [Dryly] Yeah, we wont talk to actors about it. Were happy to talk to you about it, though.

Ethan: Well, I think Tim is misreading something as casual disdain when what were doing when he broaches that is going, Oh, I never really thought about it that way! [Laughs]

We like deeper things. Were deeper-things enthusiasts! But we dont think about our own movies in connection with each other. Thats kind of a critical exercise. Its not our exercise.

So as you were starting to gather these stories together, did you consciously think about how they were thematically connected?

Ethan: Certainly at the point where wed written three or four of them and thought we had almost enough to do as a feature, we started thinking consciously about what ties them together. And clearly that was death. Especially in the last one  the last story in the movie is the last one we wrote and we were thinking, What is going to feel like a finishing thing for this group?

Well, if youre going to explore mortality, the Old West does seem like a good place to do it.

Ethan: Yeah, there are a lot of death opportunities.

Joel: Well, thats true. Although, you know, throw a rock at any timeline and [Laughs]

Zoe Kazan is Alice Longabaugh in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen. (Netflix)

Did you take the project directly to Netflix?

Ethan: No, we took it to Annapurna actually and they agreed to finance it, and they quickly made a deal with Netflix shortly after that.

What was your feeling about working with Netflix? Obviously theyve become the new 800-pound gorilla in the film business, but recently theyve made a big push to work with major directors like you guys.

Joel: Our feeling was great, honestly. Look, theyre the people who are investing in these kinds of movies now. I mean, theres a lot of discussion around the way the movies are shown, whether or not they have theatrical releases or just go up on the platform. And we both have opinions about that, and its an important discussion.

But I think the more fundamental thing is that theyre the people who are stepping up and spending money on movies that arent Marvel comic movies or big action franchise movies and that type of thing, which is pretty much the business of the studios now. We cant argue with that.

Ethan: We never even went to a movie studio with it because we knew that a studio would never finance this.

Once Netflix came on, was there a discussion about chopping the stories up into some sort of series?

Joel: There was a discussion about what the format should be, but it was always the intention that they be seen together. Theres been all this stuff in the press about how it was originally a TV series and we restructured it. No, we had a script. The script is exactly what we gave Annapurna and exactly what we shot. That never changed.

You said that you have your own opinions about what Netflix means in the wider movie ecosystem. There are obviously people who see it as an existential threat to the traditional ways people have seen movies.

Joel: Probably it is. [Laughs]

But youre OK with that, as long as the movies get made?

Ethan: Well, were conflicted like everybody. We go, Its great if people go see movies in theaters. But then we go home and watch them on TV.

Joel: Its true  Oh, a screener! [Laughs] In a strange way, Hollywood itself is as responsible for that as anyone else, at least amongst filmmakers. Because what they do is they give you all these DVDs of the movies that come out and instead of going to the movie theater, lazy people like us just plug them into our machines.

Ethan: But, you know, we started in the movie business because we had some success, to whatever degree we had it, because it was a point in the movie business when they were starting to make home videos. A lot of people saw our movies on home video. Thats always been the reality for us. Its why we have a career, so were not going to start complaining about it now.

Joel: What you want is a mix of both, and it would be great if this was where it lands eventually. In terms of the actual labor you put into making a movie  the hours and days and years you spend struggling over details and the sound and the way it looks and the whole thing  that really is appreciated in a different way on a big screen.

There also is something really fundamental about having the chance to see movies in a community of strangers, not just your friends in your living room. You dont want that to go away. So in that respect, no, I wouldnt be happy if the only way you could see movies was on your television.

Tom Waits is Prospector in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen. (Netflix)

Watching Buster Scruggs does make you wonder if you guys would ever do some kind of TV series. Have you thought about that?

Joel: The thing about TV series that I dont understand and I think is hard for both of us to get our minds around is, you know, feature films have a beginning, a middle and an end. But open-ended stories have a beginning and a middle  and then theyre beaten to death until theyre exhausted and die. They dont actually have an end. And thinking about that in the context of a story is rather alien to the way we imagine these things.

As kids, we watched open-ended series. But as adults, I dont. Like, Petticoat Junction  thats when I stopped watching series. [Laughs]

With this movie, you were essentially making six films in one, with six pre-productions, six times figuring out things like wardrobe and score, six edits. Do you think you could have undertaken something like this at an earlier point in your careers?

Ethan: Well, it was schizophrenic. It was a weird mental exercise and mentally stressful in that way. It would definitely have been impossible to make as a first movie or a second movie.

Joel: Weve been working with the same people for decades and at this point thats so easy and theyre all so great that you have a kind of machine that youre making the movie with. Thats certainly helpful and thats something we didnt have early on because it takes a while to develop a group of people.

But in another respect, it was a very difficult movie to make physically. It was just all exteriors in really brutal weather, no cover sets, multiple locations all over, a lot of traveling. It wouldnt have hurt if we were younger. [Laughs]

This interview has been condensed and edited.

REVIEW: The Coen brothers The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a small-plate feast, some delicious, others not 

josh.rottenberg@latimes.com

Twitter: @joshrottenberg
The first few nights after Katie Wilkie bolted out of Borderline Bar and Grill to the sounds of gunfire and shattering glass, she couldnt bring herself to go home.

She slept on her friends bunk bed and borrowed an old T-shirt and shorts to wear. She found herself clinging to her Borderline friends who were now fellow survivors.

I didnt want to be alone, said Wilkie, of Santa Clarita. I was afraid of where my thoughts would take me.

The Western bar, known for its line dancing, had been her home away from home. It was set so far back from the main road that you were unlikely just to stumble upon it. You had to hear about it from someone.

Advertisement

Friends brought Wilkie to the bar in Thousand Oaks six years ago, when she was 19.

This was our bubble, said one of her Borderline friends, Blakeley King, 28. The one spot you could go for some nightlife.

At Borderline, guys romanced their girlfriends  and also ran into ex-girlfriends. Moms partied with other moms. Once, a granddaughter showed up with her grandmother  to celebrate her 100th birthday.

Regulars knew better than to bring a date to the bar unless they were feeling pretty sure. Thats because Kristina Morisette, the witty cashier at the front desk, was bound to ask for details right there: How long have you known him? Is it serious? Can he line dance?

These are the victims of the Borderline shooting 

On one of Wilkies first nights at the bar, she was sitting alone by the dance floor when someone asked her to join in.

I dont know the steps, she said.

Youll learn.

The brunette with soft green eyes soon became a Borderline regular. Shed drop in sometimes three times a week, driving an hour to get there.

Why go all the way out there? people would ask. Because its like family.

The night of the shooting, Wilkie was shimmying with her friends to Chris Browns Turn up the Music when the gunman stormed in. She heard the pop! pop! pop! The crowd scattered. People screamed.

Wilkie looked to the front door and saw the shooter going straight to the front desk for Morisette. Then she saw him turn to the dance floor.

She took cover behind a big speaker, then raced to an emergency exit but got pinned against a stack of barstools because others were trying to escape. When she finally made it out, she clawed up a hillside in her jean shorts and cowboy boots.

There, in the cold darkness behind the bar, she stumbled into one of the many friends shed made over the years. Alexis Tait was sobbing and shaking. Her boyfriend, Harrison King  Blakeleys brother  had gone back into the bar to help.

Breathe, Wilkie told her.

Dylan McNey, hugs Colby Kalisek and Justin Veditz, all survivors of the Bordeline Bar & Grill shooting, during a meeting at a home of a fellow survivor in Thousand Oaks. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Hours later, after it was all over, a few friends gathered, shaken and heartbroken, in Harrison Kings bedroom. They cried and held each other as they watched the news until sunrise. They learned then that the gunman, a troubled ex-Marine named Ian David Long, had in a handful of minutes killed 12 people before taking his own life.

The days since the shooting have been a blur. Sleep is impossible most nights. They compare notes. Does NyQuil work? How about whiskey?

Im sorry.

I cant imagine.

How can I help?

Thats what people say, but the world is now split between those who lived through the terror and those who didnt.

Weve seen things we cant unsee, Wilkie said. And were going to see these things for the rest of our lives.

Comfort comes from being with the relatively small circle who understand.

One minute theyre laughing, the next theyre crying. Sometimes they sit together in silence, staring into space.

On Sunday morning, dozens gathered outside the bar for a prayer circle. Police tape blocked the parking lot. On the sidewalk, mourners left flowers and messages on a makeshift memorial marked by white crosses.

Wilkie stood a few feet away, eyes puffy and red. She leaned on fellow survivor Jasmine Alexander, 25, who held hands with Tait as Tait hugged her boyfriend Kings arm.

Were like a huge, beautiful tree with many branches, King told them. Its going to take a lot more than one blow to knock us down.

For a few in the crowd, this was not their first shooting.

A year ago nearly 30 Borderline regulars went to Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest Festival. They carpooled and crashed in sleeping bags in one anothers hotel rooms.

Mass shooting victims remembered at Thousand Oaks church service and memorial 

Tait remembers being in Newbury Park with King when they heard about that shooting. They jumped out of bed and began making calls, worried sick about his brother Blakeley, who had gone to the concert with his girlfriend.

We never imagined a year later the same thing would happen here, said Tait, 23, a restaurant hostess from Simi Valley.

After last weeks shooting, she scheduled an appointment with a therapist and started a Borderline Survivors group on Facebook.

A place for people to go so no one feels alone, Tait said.

The page connects a loose band of more than 100 Borderline regulars who have known each other for years  from the bar but also movie nights, barbecues and kickball tournaments.

They teamed up to make tribute T-shirts and stickers. Some got matching Borderline tattoos: BL Strong 11-7-18. One girl wrote a song for everyone. She called it Our Home.

Why cant the devil stay in hell where he belongs?...

These arent just walls and a door to walk through and take our own.

No, this is our home.

Jasmine Alexander, 25, far right, celebrates with friends at Borderline Bar and Grill the night of the shooting. Justin Meek, 23, far left, and Telemachus Orfanos, 27, in the back with a beanie, were both killed by the gunman. (Harrison King)

Each day since last Wednesday, survivors have banded together in small groups, moving from vigils to memorials to each others homes. Even as the Woolsey fire forced several to pack their bags and evacuate, they stuck together.

They all care so deeply about each other, said Robbin Tait, Alexis mom. They had a bond before, and now that bond has grown much stronger.

On a recent night, the group gathered at a friends house for a quiet vigil. They placed 12 tea lights, one for each victim, on faux lily pads, then lighted them and put them in the pool. They watched the flowers, one by one, come together.

For the families of their dead friends, they made posters with photographs, which they all signed. They visited a few of the families to share stories.

There was Justin Meek, the 23-year-old Borderline bouncer with a big smile, who would ask: Hey, did you sign up for ping-pong night?

Telemachus Orfanus, 27, an easygoing security guard who gave everyone a high five.

Morisette, 20, whose social life revolved around her Borderline friends.

Sunday afternoon, Wilkie squeezed into a booth at Eggs N Things with Tait and half a dozen others. They ordered breakfast burritos and omelettes.

Wilkie wore new leggings and a new shirt, gifts from a girlfriend who had bought her four days worth of clothes.

She had to go back to her job managing apartments the next day and was thinking, maybe it was time to go home.

But the long drive, the questions she would get, the sorrow shed see in her mothers eyes  it all overwhelmed her.

Im scared, she told everyone at the table.

Hey, Harrison King told her. We got you, whatever you need.

esmeralda.bermudez@latimes.com

@LATBermudez
Camp fire death toll rises to 86 after burn victim dies in hospital By Alene Tchekmedyian Californias deadliest blaze on record has claimed 86 lives. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) The death toll from the devastating Camp fire in Butte County, Calif., rose to 86 after an 80-year-old man died of his burn injuries, authorities said Tuesday. Larry Smith of Paradise was burned Nov. 8 while attempting to put out flames that engulfed his car, the Butte County Sheriffs Office said. He was flown to the UC Davis Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center, where he died Nov. 25. Authorities also released the name of one other person who died in the blaze: Shirlee Teays, 90, of Paradise. Of the 86 people killed, 52 have been identified. Three people are still missing. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Three more Camp fire victims identified A recovery team searches for human remains after the Camp fire. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The Butte County Sheriffs Office on Monday released the names of three more victims who died in the Camp fire. Authorities identified the following people and have notified their families: Rafaela Andrade, 84, of Paradise Don Shores, 70, of Magalia Jean Forsman, 83, of Magalia Of the 85 people killed in Californias deadliest blaze on record, 50 have been identified. Three people remain missing.

Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Woolsey fire victims identified as mother and son Firefighter Adan Rodriguez douses hot spots on Mulholland Drive last month. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles County coroners officials Monday identified a mother and son who died trying to escape flames in the destructive Woolsey fire. Shoushan Baklayan, 82, and her son Anthony Noubar Baklayan, 57, died in a car Nov. 9 in the 33100 block of Mulholland Highway in Malibu, coroners officials said. Authorities said that the younger Baklayan died of effects of thermal injuries; investigators have not determined a cause of death for his mother. The two were among three people who died in the blaze. The third victim has not been identified. The family released a statement through their spokesman, Brian Glicklich, in which they asked for privacy as they continue to grieve. The blaze, which erupted Nov. 8, ripped through nearly 97,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, destroying 1,500 structures. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Authorities identify the remains of 3 more killed in Camp fire By B.J. Terhune Firefighters move heavy debris while searching for human remains at a destroyed residence 19 days after the Camp fire in Paradise, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) The Butte County Sheriffs Office has released the names of three more people who died in the Camp fire. Sheriffs officials said Wednesday that the remains of the following people had been identified and their relatives had been notified: Sally Gamboa, 69, Paradise

Joy Porter, 72, Paradise

Dennis Clark, 49, Paradise Californias worst wildfire killed 85 people when it tore through Butte County on Nov. 8. Officials say 10 residents are still missing.

Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Authorities identify remains of 10 more people who died in Camp fire By B.J. Terhune  Weeks after the Camp fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures in Californias Butte County, volunteers from search-and-rescue teams nationwide continue to look for human remains in the rubble. The names of 10 more victims of the Camp fire were released Monday by the Butte County Sheriffs Office, which has notified the next of kin. Helen Pace, 84, Paradise

Gary Hunter, 67, Magalia

Beverly Powers, 64, Paradise

Sheila Santos, 64, Paradise

Andrew Downer, 54, Paradise

Lou Herrera, 86, Paradise

TK Huff, 71, Concow

Gordon Dise, 66, Chico

James Garner, 63, Magalia

Robert Duvall, 76, Paradise Californias worst wildfire has killed 85 people, and 11 residents in the Northern California counties where the blaze tore through in early November are still missing.

Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Camp fire death toll is revised to 85 Homes leveled by the Camp fire in Paradise, Calif. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) Authorities in Butte County revised the Camp fire death toll to 85 after investigators determined that, in three cases, human remains collected in multiple bags belonged to a single individual. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said investigators had identified 43 victims. For weeks, hundreds of searchers scoured 18,000 structures destroyed by the blaze looking for human remains, going over some areas more than once. Honea advised residents who head back to their neighborhoods in coming days to call the sheriffs office if they find bones or bone fragments. Investigators have accounted for all but 11 people reported missing in the wildfire. Crews have been working to clear tree hazards on public roads, but urged residents to be cautious because they have not assessed private properties. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Strangers from Paradise support one another in hotel lobby far from home By Angel Jennings Over the last few weeks, some Paradise evacuees have made a Best Western hotel home. They didnt know each other before the fire, though they lived in the same small town for years and frequented the same haunts. They have formed a little community at the Corning hotel around the waffle maker during breakfast, passing one another in the elevator and lounging in the lobby, Around the table, they trade stories of dodging embers and feelings of guilt. Together, they try to make sense of the tragedy that unites them. They are among thousands of Paradise residents who fled their homes the day the fire started and have not been allowed to return since. There is growing frustration at the pace of getting people back to see what is left of their properties as well as longer-term shelter plans for those who lost their homes. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Rain brings new dangers in Northern California areas burned in recent fires By Hannah Fry As a series of rainstorms begins to move across the state, officials in areas recently scarred by wildfires are on high alert for potential mudslides and flash flooding. The National Weather Service issued a warning of possible flash flooding in three counties in Northern California in advance of a storm expected to arrive late Wednesday. Forecasters predict the second in a series of three storm systems this week could drop more than an inch of rain on the Camp fire burn area in Butte County; the Carr, Delta and Hirz fires burn areas in Shasta County; and the Mendocino Complex fire scar in Lake County. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Costs from Paradise fire will likely be in the billions, Zinke says U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke returned to Paradise, Calif., on Monday, saying the cost of Californias worst fires would probably be in the billions and that care would have to be taken in rebuilding the city. When we rebuild, having a frank discussion whether its appropriate to rebuild every place is an important part of the equation, he told the Associated Press in an interview. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Some victims of Paradise fire may never be found, officials say By Rong-Gong Lin II Authorities are coming to terms with the possibility that the search for victims of the Camp fire might never be complete and that some human remains wont ever be recovered. Is it possible that there could be a circumstance where someone was completely consumed by fire and therefore we wouldnt have something that we could collect? I would say it is within the realm of possibility, unfortunately, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Monday. Theres nothing easy about this. This is just an unprecedented situation, he added. Read the latest here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

New storms bring fresh anxiety in Paradise By Hannah Fry The first of three storm systems expected in wildfire-ravaged Butte County, Calif., dropped a smattering of rain Tuesday. Forecasters predicted about an inch of precipitation, saying the relatively weak system would sputter out by early Wednesday. But a stronger storm will roll in late Wednesday, bringing with it the potential for debris flows and up to 3 inches of rain through Thursday night. The Butte County Emergency Operations Center has prepared for the rain by clearing drainage culverts of debris, said Matt Gates, public information officer for the Paradise Police Department. The California Conservation Corps also has been working on erosion-control measures for mountain slopes filled with fire-damaged pine and chaparral. Ash doesnt absorb water, which complicates things, Gates said. A third storm could bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to the charred region from Friday through Sunday. Its the intensity that can cause debris flows, said Eric Kurth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. If the rain comes over time, theres some opportunity for it to absorb or gradually run off. When we have rapid runoff, thats when it can bring down entire hillsides. The soil in recently burned areas cannot absorb significant amounts of rainwater, so excessive precipitation can lead to fast-moving flows containing mud, debris and even trees and boulders. The devastation can be deadly and often comes without warning. The rain is also expected to complicate the already challenging search for human remains among the rubble of the Camp fire. Typically, crews scoop fire debris into a screen and sift it, looking for bone or bone fragments, but the ash and rain have mixed to form a clay-like substance, making the task nearly impossible. Officials have had to bring in water and gently wash away the clay to expose potential human remains in the charred mess. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Mountain lion P-74 believed killed in Woolsey fire By Associated Press National Park Service officials say P-74, a young male mountain lion who lives in the area burned by the Woolsey fire, probably died. (National Park Service) Officials say a mountain lion tracked by researchers probably died in a wildfire that tore through Southern California communities and wilderness areas. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area tweeted Monday that theres been no signal from the GPS collar on the young mountain lion dubbed P-74 since Nov. 9. Thats the day the Woolsey fire swept into the central part of the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Los Angeles. P-74 was a male born last year. Several other mountain lions and bobcats monitored by scientists in the area have been located. The huge fire charred a swath of national park land thats home to the big cats and popular among hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. The blaze burned 1,600 structures in and around Malibu and left three people dead. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

88 dead and 203 still missing in Paradise fire zone By Rong-Gong Lin II The death toll from Californias worst fire jumped to 88 on Monday with 203 people still missing, officials said. Searchers have spent the last two weeks combing through the remains of Paradise, where much of the city was burned in the Camp fire. Officials said Monday that they had covered a good portion of the city. Its been a grim task, with most of the remains being found as just bones or bone fragments. The fire, which burned more than 14,000 homes in the Paradise region, was fully contained Sunday morning. A new rainstorm will move into the area in the coming days, and officials are worried that could make search efforts more difficult. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Officials believe mountain lion P-74 died in the Woolsey fire By Associated Press Lion P-74. (Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area) Officials say a mountain lion tracked by researchers probably died in a wildfire that tore through Southern California communities and wilderness areas. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area tweeted Monday that theres been no signal from the GPS collar on the young mountain lion dubbed P-74 since Nov. 9. Thats the day the Woolsey fire swept into the central part of the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Los Angeles. P-74 was a male born last year. Several other mountain lions and bobcats monitored by scientists in the area have been located. The huge fire charred a swath of national park land thats home to the big cats and popular among hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. The blaze burned 1,600 structures in and around Malibu and left three people dead. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

296 still missing in Paradise fire zone; 85 dead As of Sunday night, the number of people missing stands at 296 in Californias worst wildfire on record. The Butte County Sheriffs Department said the death toll was at 85. Searchers spent the day looking for remains in the Paradise area, where 14,000 homes were lost in the Camp fire. The number of missing has been going down as officials connect with people whose names are on the list. As of last week, it topped 1,000. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Searching for anything that looks human: Grim work in Paradise continues By Cindy Chang At the Ridgewood mobile home park for senior citizens in Paradise on Sunday, more than 100 search and rescue workers in white jumpsuits and gas masks combed through the rubble with shovels and rakes. The surrounding pine trees were singed, ringing a neighborhood where every home had been reduced to charred, twisted wreckage. Last week, searchers found the remains of two people there, said Sgt. Dave Thompson of the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office. On Sunday, the grim, painstaking task yielded some bones, including those of two small dogs. But none were human. The searchers, many of whom are volunteers, also found a safe full of coins as they combed through Ridgewood and Ponderosa Mobile Estates next door. Were going trailer by trailer, piece by piece, turning it over for anything that looks human, said Thompson, who led an operation that drew searchers from counties such as Marin, Contra Costa, Shasta and Kern, as well as the National Guard and California Conservation Corps. Facebook photos before the fire of the Ridgewood community at Pentz and Wagstaff roads, where residents were 55 years and older, showed tidy mobile homes with well-kept gardens. The fire came over the ridge very fast, and senior citizens with limited mobility could have had trouble fleeing, Thompson said. As teams wrapped up their work, Thompson dispatched them to other neighborhoods to continue searching for people who lost their lives in the fire. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Disaster assistance operations are extended in Malibu and Agoura Hills Operations at disaster assistance centers in Malibu and Agoura Hills have been extended to keep helping residents affected by the Woolsey fire. The centers, located at the former Malibu Courthouse and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in Agoura Hills, are scheduled to be open through Dec. 8. Hours of operation are between 1 to 8 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. At the centers, residents affected by the fire can get help filing insurance claims and applying for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They can also receive advice on how to clean up, repair and rebuild their properties. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Woolsey fire destroyed 1,643 structures in destructive siege of Ventura County and Malibu Destruction from Woolsey fire. (Los Angeles Times) The Woolsey fire destroyed 1,643 structures as it swept through Oak Park and Ventura County and into Malibu, according to a final report released Sunday. That makes it one of the most destructive fires in Southern California history, though it pales in comparison to the 14,000 homes lost in the Camp fire in Butte County. Hundreds of evacuees from the Malibu, Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks areas spent the holiday weekend returning to their burned-out neighborhoods to survey their damaged or destroyed homes and to begin rebuilding their lives. Some were still debating whether to stay or leave. The Woolsey fire scorched more than 96,000 acres and left three people dead before it was fully contained on Thanksgiving Day, fire officials said. Pono Barnes, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said firefighters are working on encouraging residents to prepare for winter rainstorms that could move over the burn area. The whole landscape in the area has changed, Barnes said. The vegetation that was there to hold the ground together was burned off. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Rain is helping firefighters battling Northern California fire, but a new storm could bring dangers By Ruben Vives Crews work in the wreckage of a structure destroyed in the Camp fire. (Associated Press) Light rains in the area have assisted firefighters in achieving 100% containment of Northern Californias devastating Camp fire, but most evacuations and road closures remain in effect. More than 1,000 firefighters remain on site, assisting with search and recovery efforts. Full containment came as a big relief for fire officials, who noted that the rain sped up the process. Full containment was originally projected for Nov. 30. We didnt get mudslides, so that was good, said Brigitte Foster, fire prevention officer for the Lassen National Forest and spokeswoman for fire officials regarding the Camp fire. We got enough to hamper down on the fire. The rains also gave officials the ability to reduce the number of fire personnel on duty and allow some to go home for the holiday weekend. We still have plenty of resources out there to work from the containment line and make sure there are no smoldering spots along the edge, Foster said. We still have search and rescue teams working in the area. And in preparation for residents being allowed to return to burn areas and assess property damage, crews were helping clear roadways and remove hazardous materials such as trees that could fall down. Its unknown when evacuees will be able to return. There are concerns about another storm approaching burn areas this week. Rain is expected to move into the Camp fire burn areas beginning Tuesday and continue through the end of the week, according to the National Weather Service. Up to 3 inches could fall in some lower elevations, forecasters said. On Wednesday, the same system is expected to deliver a half-inch to 2 inches in burn areas in Southern California. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Woman returns to see ruins of Malibu drug treatment center: This place saved my life By Emily Alpert Reyes Along Trancas Canyon Road on Saturday, a woman snapped photos of the blackened wreckage of what was once an alcohol and drug treatment center. A wedge of scorched wall stood at a tilt, like a listing ship, peering over the Pacific below. Someone had taped business cards to a wall bordering the site, advertising a restoration business, but it was hard to imagine what could be restored. The woman, who declined to give her name, said she had been sober nearly seven months. This place saved my life, she said. She stayed in Newbury Park after she was evacuated, and it was the first time she had gotten a moment to see what had become of Creative Care Inc. There were people she had gotten to know there who are now living out of state and wanted photos. Its sad, she said. But its just material. I have sobriety. I have life, she said. And theyll rebuild. Read more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

50,000 displaced by Northern California fire. Where will they go? By Anna M. Phillips Across Butte County  a primarily agricultural area known for its walnut, almond and rice farms  towns are struggling to absorb the roughly 50,000 people displaced by the Camp fire. Through no fault of their own, the evacuees arrival has worsened the states housing crisis and raised the possibility that they could be evicted from the region again, not by fire but by a scarcity of suitable dwellings. Hotels and motels from Sacramento to Redding are full. The vacancy rate in the rental market, which hovered around 3% before the fire, has fallen to near zero. Unable to find single-family homes in the area, evacuees have resorted to renting individual bedrooms, buying recreational vehicles and purchasing travel trailers. Others are simply leaving California for other Western states with a lower cost of living. Read more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Northern California fire now 100% contained; 85 dead, 249 still missing Destruction from the Camp fire. (Los Angeles Times) The worst fire in California history reached full containment Sunday morning, a milestone for a catastrophic inferno that killed at least 85 people with nearly 250 people still missing weeks later. The Camp fire is now 100% contained, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Sunday, after burning nearly 14,000 homes and consuming 153,000 acres in and around Paradise in Butte County. Much of Paradise was lost in the fire, and search and rescue crews will continue looking through the ruins for more victims. At one point, there were more than 1,300 people listed as missing from the fire. But that number has been dropping in recent days. Over the weekend, it declined from more than 400 to 249 as officials were able to confirm more people on the list were actually alive. Several days of rain last week helped firefighters get a handle on the fire. Authorities expect the removal of ash and other toxic debris from the fire will be the largest such effort ever undertaken by state officials. The amount of debris is expected to dwarf the cleanup effort undertaken from last years Northern California fires. That effort led to more than 2 million tons of toxic debris removed from 6,000 properties in seven California counties: Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Butte, Yuba and Nevada, said Eric Lamoureux of the Governors Office of Emergency Services. County, state and federal governments jump start the process of removal of toxic ash and other debris, and can do so at no cost to the owner, Lamoureux said. Typically, about 80% of owners give the government permission to conduct the cleanup operations, with the rest opting to do it themselves. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Schools devastated by California fire struggle to get back to the business of educating students By Rong-Gong Lin II As this region still reels from the worst fire in California history, educators are faced with the challenging task of reopening schools even as the firefighters continue their work and searchers scour the area for more victims. They are working to identify replacement classroom space for schools that were burned to ashes during the fire. Paradise Unified School District was hardest hit, with multiple school buildings lost to the fires. Charter schools in the area also suffered. Read more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Paradise fire search efforts pick up as firefighters increase containment The worst fire in California remained 95% contained Saturday morning. Rains helped put out the flames but also made it harder for firefighters to access some areas. The fireline that remains uncontained is located in steep and rugged terrain where it is unsafe for firefighters to access due to the heavy rains, CalFire said in a statement. With the rain passing, officials hope to intensify search and rescue efforts, with more than 400 still reported missing. The fire burned 153,336 acres and nearly 14,000 homes, with 84 dead. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Some Malibu residents still under evacuation order By Sarah Parvini In Malibu, some residents who evacuated from the Woolsey fire were still waiting to return home as officials worked to restore utilities and road access. That fire, which charred 96,949 acres and destroyed 1,643 structures, is 100% contained. Three people were killed. There is still a lot of work to be done, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Pono Barnes. Strike teams are in the area helping residents repopulate. Firefighters biggest job Friday was working with Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas Co., Barnes said. There was quite a bit of infrastructure damaged during the burn, he said. Edison is working to replace downed power lines and burned-out power poles. As many as 2,000 power poles have been replaced, he said. That is why we still have some evacuations in place, Barnes added. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

A wheelchair and gurney sit in rain amid devastation of Paradise medical complex By Gina Ferazzi The grim search for victims continued in Paradise on Saturday amid the rain. Times photographer Gina Ferazzi was struck by the image of an abandoned wheelchair and gurney in front of the destroyed Cypress Meadows post-acute medical facility. The rain is making the devastation in Paradise even more eerie and sad, she wrote. The rain is making the devastation in Paradise even more eerie and sad as abandoned wheelchairs and gurney still remain in front of the destroyed Cypress Meadows facility while search teams sift through ashes looking for human remains #CampFire pic.twitter.com/AyeD9io9FU  Gina Ferazzi (@GinaFerazzi) November 24, 2018 Firefighters hand out #Thanksgiving dinners to victims of #CampFireParadise at Chico St @WCKitchen while Saphira Swisher, 6, prays before turkey dinner w/her family at a church shelter pic.twitter.com/o9Drj3dDeX  Gina Ferazzi (@GinaFerazzi) November 22, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Wildfire much worse because of climate change, new report finds By Tony Barboza Camp fires devastation. (Los Angeles Times) A new federal report found that climate change is taking an increasing toll on communities across the United States. It projects widespread and growing devastation as increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, worsening wildfires, more intense storms and other cascading effects harm our ecosystems, infrastructure and society. Among the findings: The area burned across the western U.S. from 1984 to 2015 was twice what it would have been if climate change had not occurred, according to analyses cited in the report. Earths climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities, the report says. But the severity of future impacts will depend largely on actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changes that will occur. The report comes as California faces a series of devastating wildfires that have claimed scores of lives and burned thousands of homes. Read more on the report here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Hes giving $1 million to help the high school students of fire-ravaged Paradise By Morgan Cook With many of their homes damaged or destroyed in the states most devastating wildfire on record, the students of Paradise High School face an uncertain future. On Tuesday, a man they have never met from a city more than 500 miles away will give them a gift he hopes will provide at least a small measure of security, support and comfort in a dark hour. Rancho Santa Fe businessman Bob Wilson plans to personally deliver a $1,000 check to each of the schools 980 students and 105 employees in Chico at a venue that has yet to be determined. Thats a total of $1 million for the wildfire victims to use as they see fit, no strings attached. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Camp fire now 95% contained, with help from rain Firefighters battling Californias deadliest fire on record continued to make progress Friday, with containment growing to 95% and the number of homes burned at nearly 14,000. The Camp fire has scorched more than 153,000 acres and killed at least 84 people in Butte County, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials. But hundreds of residents are still missing, and thousands more have been displaced by the massive blaze. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Another Camp fire death recorded as rain lessens fire danger Rain falls Thursday on the site of a home destroyed by the Camp fire. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Another day of searching, another grim finding. The death toll from the Camp fire rose by one Thursday to 84, on a day when rain seemed to halt further growth of the states deadliest blaze. By Thursday evening, the Jarbo Gap, where the fire probably started, had received just over an inch of rain in the preceding 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service. Rain totals varied across the region. The forecast calls for more. In the nearby town of Paradise, which was nearly obliterated by the fire, the forecast for Thursday night was more showers, heavy at times, with winds of 18 to 24 mph and gusts as high as 37 mph. Such winds would have fueled the fire just days ago, but instead they are harbingers of precipitation that is expected to drop three-quarters of an inch to 1 inch of rainfall Thursday night. Another 1 to 2 inches could fall Friday. The wet weather has helped bring containment of the fire to an estimated 95% as of Thursday evening. But it also brought damp, chilly discomfort to evacuees living in tents  thousands of residents have been displaced  and new worries about potentially deadly mudslides in burned areas. A flash-flood watch and wind advisory will remain in effect until 4 p.m. Friday. The rain also complicates the search for human remains, which could be washed away. Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for. Crews also are involved in another grim tally, figuring out exactly which homes and business burned. Officials have released a preliminary interactive map that shows the damage, house by house. Camp fire evacuees now have rain to contend with as they occupy tents in a Walmart parking lot in Chico, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Malibu schools to reopen by early December; other schools aiming for Monday Air scrubbers at work in a Las Virgenes district school library. (Las Virgenes Unified School District) Schools in Malibu survived the Woolsey fire almost intact but they got very dirty, and cleanup efforts will keep campuses closed even as residents are allowed to return to their properties. The fire killed three people, burned 97,000 acres and destroyed 1,500 structures. Malibus four schools have been closed since Nov. 9, when they were included in the mandatory evacuation zones. The tentative date to reopen Webster Elementary is Nov. 28. Point Dume Marine Science School is scheduled to reopen Dec. 3. Juan Cabrillo Elementary School should be ready between Dec. 3 and Dec. 5, pending results of air testing inside and outside for traces of lead, asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Malibu High will be back in business between Dec. 4 and Dec. 10 The district had planned a swifter reopening but slowed down out of an abundance of caution, spokeswoman Gail Pinsker said. We are hearing from parents that they want thorough cleaning and testing, which we plan, but the cleaning and testing and waiting for results take a day to more than a week, she said. Three other districts in the region also had closed campuses. Schools in Conejo Valley Unified, Oak Park Unified and Las Virgenes Unified are aiming to reopen Monday. Residents who had to evacuate included Las Virgenes Supt. Daniel Stepenosky, who estimated that about 90 families with district students lost their homes, as did two staff members. In a video update on social media, he said that everyone is eager for schools to reopen: Everyone wants to get back to a state of normalcy, to be honest with you. To that end, a crew of 200 has been working for several days, and the district had brought in 300 air scrubbers and 300 hydroxyl deodorizers. Playgrounds that are not ready by Monday will be cordoned off. Stepenosky said that a full-court press will continue because the schools are really boring when theyre empty. A worker scrubs down surfaces at a Las Virgenes district campus. (Las Virgenes Unified School District ) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

We can make ugly pretty again: The fighting spirit of Paradise residents By Laura Newberry Camp fire victims have a Thanksgiving dinner in Chico, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Anna Longacre booked her flight home months ago. Back then, the 26-year-old Army sergeant imagined the comforts that awaited her Thanksgiving week, the things that never change no matter how far away from Paradise, Calif., the military takes her. The old cast-iron stove that warmed the entire house during winter. The small stone-fruit orchard that ran along the side and back. Her dads breakfast hash browns. Annas family had lived on their 3-acre lot in the Sierra Nevada foothills for 20 years. She moved away at 18 and has been stationed in Afghanistan, South Korea and Kansas. But her heart stayed in Paradise. Instead of being home Thanksgiving morning, she found herself in a cavernous auditorium at Cal State Chico, where turkey and fixings had been prepared for evacuees of Californias deadliest and most destructive wildfire. She dragged her dad, Bruce, with her. She wanted to get him out of her grandmas house in Chico, where theyd been staying with her mom and dogs. And she had heard celebrity chefs Guy Fieri and Jose Andres were making the food. It couldnt hurt to try and have a little fun, she thought, despite everything. The father and daughter were greeted by volunteers in plush turkey hats and handed sanitary wipes at the door. Read more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Stories of thanks and gratitude amid the devastation in Paradise By Laura Newberry A young Camp fire evacuee waits in line to receive a free Thanksgiving meal Thursday in Chico, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) As of Thanksgiving Day, the devastation logged by the Camp fire in Northern California was nearly 14,000 homes, more than 150,000 acres and at least 83 lives. Some of the thousands displaced by the fire, mostly from the town of Paradise, said they nonetheless counted themselves among the lucky and found things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Times reporters on the ground in Butte County asked people about the meaning of this holiday. Here are their stories. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Authorities warn of fraudulent GoFundMe websites, other scams related to Paradise fire By Rong-Gong Lin II Butte County Dist. Atty. Mike Ramsey warned that scam artists are targeting Paradise fire victims seeking to rent housing. We have seen people who have no right to a particular apartment that go and rent out that apartment and take peoples money. Be very careful. Red flag: If its too good to be true, it is, Ramsey said. Another scam already happening are fraudulent GoFundMe websites seeking contributions for fire victims, he said. We encourage folks to go to the Butte County website to take a look at areas where you can legitimately and safely give your charitable dollars to, he said. He also urged residents to beware of scammers seeking to collect personal information under the guise of pretending to be insurance agents or a sheriffs deputy seeking to cross names off the list of the missing. It will be obvious that these are scammers, he said. Be very, very careful of giving any sort of personal information that will be financially disastrous to you, he said. There have been 11 cases of looting, he said, with suspects mostly interested in vehicles, such as motor homes, left behind by fire victims that fled. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Rapid DNA analysis is being used to identify dozens of California fire victims By Rong-Gong Lin II Rapid DNA analysis is being used to identify dozens of California fire victims burned beyond recognition. Of 83 victims, sheriffs officials have made tentative identifications on 58 of them, but they await DNA confirmation. Were working diligently to identify those individuals so that we can contact their next of kin and notify them, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. It used to be that DNA analysis could take months before answers would firm up, but now DNA analysis can be done within a matter of hours, Jim Davis of Ande, a Massachusetts-based company that specializes in rapid DNA analysis, said at a press conference in Chico on Wednesday. Davis said his company has been asked by the sheriff to use its rapid DNA analysis method to help identify victims in a mass casualty incident the first time his company has been asked to do so for this purpose. Davis said hes working with the coroners office in Sacramento County to collect tissue samples from the autopsies of the deceased; 80% of the time, those samples are usable for DNA analysis. Butte County sheriff and California Department of Justice officials are coordinating the collection of DNA samples from living relatives. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

She lost her home and dogs in the Paradise fire. This Thanksgiving is difficult, but shes grateful to be alive By Laura Newberry Tamra Grays Facebook friends have started posting photos of their newly decorated Christmas trees. When she stumbles upon this display of normalcy, she can barely hold it together. Its hard to think about the holidays right now, she said as she sat at a table in the Chico Mall food court, where she and her husband were discussing their options with a home insurance company representative. I dont have a home to put a tree in right now. Gray and her husband, Scott, lived in their Paradise home on Oak Way for 20 years. What she will miss the most are the pine trees in her backyard and the cool shade they provided, a simple pleasure she could count on even when the mercury hit 100. At 10 a.m. on the day of the fire, Grays 19-year-old son, Dylan, came running down the street. He had gotten stuck in gridlock traffic on Wagstaff Road, and seeing the plumes of black smoke ahead of him, he ditched his car in the closest parking lot and darted home, the only one hes ever known. Theres a fire, we gotta get out, he shouted. They had not received an evacuation alert. Gray did not think the house would burn. They lived a block from a fire station. Before leaving, she touched a redwood keepsake box that contained her childrens first teeth. If I take this to a shelter, it could get stolen, she thought. She left it. The family also left three dogs behind, taking several others with them in separate cars. Grays thinking was this: if there was looting, the big dogs would protect the home. Gray found the animals remains when she returned to Paradise last week. She is consumed by guilt. Gray and her family -- four adults and two kids -- are staying in an RV as they search for a rental. Her 29-year-old daughter, Shannon, also lost her home in Magalia. I feel lost. I just feel so homesick and I cant seem to get past that yet, Gray said, tearing up. Its hard for me to think about where I want to be in the future. Just as she was being asked what she was grateful for on the eve of Thanksgiving, Grays teenage daughter, Victoria, bounded up to her in the food court with several shopping bags in her hand. I got you shoes, Victoria said, pulling out a pair of gray Champion slip-ons. They were on sale. Gray tugged off one of the brown Ugg boots she got at a shelter. She tried on a sneaker. Im grateful that my family made it out alive, Gray said, returning to the question. Its easy to answer that when its staring me right in the face. Its when Im alone that I go into a dark place. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

You could feel the heat from the flames: Paradise survivor describes horror, survival They called it their little green house in the forest. A two-bedroom mobile home with a birdbath out front on Skyway road where deer and bobcats roamed. It is likely gone, they think, because they have seen a map of the burn area  a cloud of red over where they lived for four years. Steve Weathington, 67, and his girlfriend, Irene Schwab, 65, now lay their heads on green cots in an exhibit hall at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds. Their possessions are few, but they made it out with their two trucks, two dogs and two cats. A fortune, they know, compared with what others escaped with. The morning the fire broke out, the couple had sat down to waffles and eggs when they noticed the sky was a smoky orange. Schwab went outside to settle a patio umbrella that was thrashing in the wind. A manager of their mobile home park had begun driving around, honking. Grabbing clothes, toiletries, medicine and the animals, Weathington hopped into his truck. Schwab followed behind in hers. It was burning on both sides of the road, Schwab recalled. You could feel the heat from the flames. It took them more than three hours to get to Chico, usually a 25-minute drive. They are grateful to be alive, to have had insurance on their home, to be capable and willing to start somewhere new. They may stay and find a place in Yuba City, a community theyve grown to appreciate. When they venture out of the shelter, an act of kindness is usually bestowed upon them. Waitresses have bought them dinner, a barber refused money for a haircut. They have picked out clothes for free and marveled over the donations that file in daily. We get a little teary-eyed because its really emotional, said Weathington, a retired commercial painter and U.S. Marines veteran, his eyes growing red. Still, the timing of everything is hard to take. The couple used to host Thanksgiving dinner for family with a spread of traditional fare, including pumpkin cheesecake and homemade biscuits. The holiday rings a bit hollow now, eliciting memories of what they once had. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Number of homes lost in Paradise fire approaches 14,000 as containment increases Firefighters continued to make progress with Californias deadliest fire, with containment rising to 90% but with number of homes burned now at nearly 14,000. At least 83 people were killed when the fire swept into Paradise two weeks ago, and hundreds are still missing, Rain helped firefighters, but the weather has made the search for victims more difficult. Precipitation has minimized fire activity and all fire lines continue to hold. Firefighters and resources continue to be deployed throughout the fire area to patrol and remove hazards, Cal Fire said Thursday morning. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Camp fire death toll increases to 83, while 563 still missing By Rong-Gong Lin II The remains of two more people were recovered in the Camp fire burn zone Wednesday, raising the death toll in the blaze to 83. One person was found in a structure in Paradise, while the other was located in a structure in Magalia, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters at a news conference. Were working diligently to identify those individuals so we can contact their next of kin and notify them, Honea said, adding that investigators have tentatively identified 58 of the dead. Authorities have identified six more people who died in the blaze. They are: Teresa Ammans, 82, of Paradise

Richard Brown, 74, of Concow

Marie Wehe, 78, of Concow

Kimber Wehr, 53, of Paradise

Joseph Rabetoy, 39, of Paradise

Joan Tracy, 80, of Paradise About 830 searchers will work on Thanksgiving to look for victims of the blaze, though the search could be suspended if rain triggers mudflows in the area.

The number of people unaccounted for dropped to 563. A total of 2,052 people have been crossed off the missing-persons list. Thats a dynamic list, Honea said. You may see it go up or down depending on the information we receive during the course of the day. The blaze has scorched more than 153,000 acres and destroyed more than 18,000 structures, including 13,500 single-family homes. It was 85% contained. The heavy rain has minimized fire activity. That fire activity is almost nothing,said Josh Bischof of the California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection. Forecasters expect six inches of rain to fall across the burn area through Friday. Butte County Dist. Atty. Michael Ramsey said his office has put together a team to deal with price gouging. People are not allowed to jack up prices more than 10% of what they were before the fires, he said, adding that people can call (866) 323-6283 to report price gouging. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Rain pours down on tent city of Paradise evacuees, causing new problems (Ruben Vives / Los Angeles Times) Rain began to pound on the tent city of Paradise evacuees Wednesday afternoon in Chico, causing more problems for people who have already been through so much. Two women walked around holding a blanket, offering it to anyone who needed it. Standing alone, wearing a red hooded rain poncho, John Owens shivered. I dont know how much longer people can hang on like this, he said. Owens lost his home and car in the fire. He said he was clinging on to what he had left: his wife, his dog and a part-time manufacturing job. I told my boss I cant hang here for too long, he said. If its going to be like this, I wont last long. Ill have to quit my job and go to the shelter. Owens said he said he hasnt left because transportation to his job is best from where he is now. He said he has to commute between Chico and Yuba City. This stinks, he said. Despite the cold, wet weather that is coming down on him and others, Owens said hes grateful to be alive. You only got a short period of time on this place, he said, referring to Earth. You gotta have a good time. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

California fires: Volunteers out in force to make a horrible Thanksgiving a little better In Chico, where thousands of evacuees have gathered, its going to be a Thanksgiving like no other. Some people who had been living in tents at a Walmart parking lot began to move on, some going to shelters. Volunteers have also been out in force to help. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico has been prepping a Thanksgiving meal that will feed about 2,000 people. The event is in conjunction with other groups who are putting together meals and it includes Cal State Chico and World Central Chicken. The meal will consist of turkey, pork, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy. The meals will be served in waves starting at 11 a.m., then at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Leslie Jessee, 33, tore sheets of foil and laid them in a stack as she prepped the turkey. She said she hopes the Thanksgiving meal will bring some sense of peace for the people affected by the fire. Nearby, Ken Grossman, the owner of the beer company, worked on making the gravy. On Thanksgiving I always make the turkey, the gravy and mashed potatoes for a big family, he said. This time, its a bigger family. Grossman said about 40 of his employees lost homes to the Camp fire. He also has friends who have lost so much. Hopefully family and friends will enjoy the meal, he said. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

California fires: Were just trying to get back to normal, whatever normal really is By Rong-Gong Lin II With the public still prohibited from entering the worst-hit areas of Paradise and Magalia, the towns were silent, save for the hum of generators. The gas station was shuttered. Ponderosa Elementary School abandoned. The blackened husks of cars were still visible across the town. At the site of a gym on Pentz Road, all that remained were the contorted remains of elliptical machines atop a pile of ash. Crews worked on repairing utility lines, forcing motorists to just one side of many roads, and continued the process of looking for any signs of human remains, despite the rain. Theyre looking for basically bone fragments. And theyre just systematically going from burned house to burned house, looking to see if theres anything, said Capt. Matt Bergstrand of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection station in Magalia. A day earlier, a hearse was spotted in Paradise, accompanied by the California Highway Patrol. At the fire station in Magalia, things are still pretty devastating, Bergstrand said. Were just trying to get back to normal, whatever normal really is. I dont know what normal is really going to entail. A pretty big chunk of our area has been consumed. #paradise on Thanksgiving Eve. Quiet and wet. The acrid odor of smoke is throat scratching, lingering in the air. Crews are repairing utility lines, still searching for victims. pic.twitter.com/MeAqIYq3Yr  Ron Lin (@ronlin) November 21, 2018 #paradise on Thanksgiving Eve. Quiet and wet. The acrid odor of smoke is throat scratching, lingering in the air. Crews are repairing utility lines, still searching for victims. pic.twitter.com/MeAqIYq3Yr  Ron Lin (@ronlin) November 21, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Stanley the giraffe is safe after the Woolsey fire, but Jillian Michaels isnt satisfied By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde Nicole Padilla, 17, of Diamond Bar feeds Stanley the giraffe at the L.A. County Fair. ( (Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times)) The saga of Stanley the giraffe continues as yet another celebrity has made the animals welfare her mission despite his keepers assurances. Fitness celebrity Jillian Michaels is demanding that Malibu Wine Safaris move Stanley to a better home. In a letter to founder Dakota Semler, Michaels said that despite the Woolsey fires passing, the giraffe remains in danger as long as it is in on their property. Celebrities and tourists have visited Saddlerock Ranchs safari attraction for years to drink wine and snap selfies with the lone giraffe. But after the Woolsey fire, they used their clout to draw attention to the animals safety as the Woolsey fire roared toward the property. They and hundreds of nearby residents, strangers and animal lovers believed Stanley had been abandoned when Malibu Wine Safaris staff evacuated. A photo of the exotic animal on an open field with flames in the distance circulated on social media. Despite multiple statements made by the company, some people remained dubious. Due to the short notice given to area residents, the animals were not evacuated; instead, they were placed in an open dirt field that did not have much fuel to burn. Stanley is doing fine, said Bob Dunn after the fire passed through. Dunn, a close family friend who has helped care for the giraffe since its birth, said Stanley was completely safe. Hes healthy. Although many have moved on, Michaels isnt satisfied. Like millions of others, I saw and cannot shake off the picture of Stanley that showed flames approaching behind him, and I urge you not to keep him in the same path of danger, Michaels wrote. But fire or no fire, he needs to be moved to a place where he can thrive and hes not just waiting for the monotony of his life to be broken when someone offers him a treat. Michaels is backed by the animal rights group PETA, which has been working to identify alternate homes for the animals, should the Semlers comply with Michaels request. Giraffes special needs simply cannot be met at a roadside zoo like this, Michaels said in the letter, and if he hasnt already, he will soon begin to exhibit neurotic behavior resulting from captivity-related stress, frustration, and privation. Rebecca Smudzinski, a wildlife specialist with PETA, said young male giraffes like Stanley often travel in bachelor herds and roam large savannas. One in captivity is likely to display signs of stress, such as repetitive licking and pacing. The Woolsey fire exposed Stanleys sad, lonely life in that barren enclosure, she said. Hes got nowhere to go and nothing to do, and so he just waits for people to feed him. Organizations housing exotic animals are required to have a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which follows minimal standards set by the Animal Welfare Act. The permit includes an annual inspection visit to ensure the animal is taken care of properly. But that isnt enough, Smudzinski maintained. PETA wants the animal to be moved somewhere accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which both require disaster plans to be reviewed and practiced regularly, she said. Michaels referenced Safari West in a Twitter post as an example of an organization that successfully saved exotic animals. Nancy Lang, co-owner of Safari West, said the organization was accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The staff there meet annually with law enforcement, the Humane Society and others to discuss disaster plans and practice regular drills, and partner with organizations that offer their facilities in case of emergencies. When the Tubbs fire approached their property in 2017, they had little time to react, making an evacuation impossible. Lang said whether Malibu Wine Safaris did the right thing is impossible to say without knowing their circumstance. Some of Safari Wests animals were also placed in an open field with little fuel to burn. Its unclear what disaster plan Malibu Wine Safaris had in place, but its staff only had a couple of hours to act. Malibu Wine Safaris did not respond to multiple requests for comment. .@MalibuSafaris It's 100% possible to care for exotic animals in emergency situations. Read the attached @WhitneyCummings is spot on! And if you can't prepare properly for situations like this you have NO business keeping these types of animals. https://t.co/fB00qrtNzm  Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) November 15, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Homes burned in the Camp fire could contain dangerous materials including radiation and residents should stay away, health officials say An aerial view shows destruction from the Camp fire. Homes not reduced to rubble could have high levels of carcinogens, officials warn. (Los Angeles Times) Butte County health officials are urging residents not to try to move back into homes damaged by the Camp fire in Paradise. Some residents have been allowed back into Paradise to survey their homes and collect any valuables still left. There is evidence from recent fires in California that homes and property destroyed by fire contain high and concerning levels of heavy metals, lead, mercury, dioxin, arsenic, and other carcinogens. Some property may have the presence of radioactive materials, the county said in a statement. Exposure to hazardous substances may lead to acute and chronic health effects, and may cause long-term public health and environmental impacts. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Assessing the risk of mudslides in Malibu after California fires By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde If the expected rainfall on the eve of Thanksgiving day is intense enough, areas where the Woolsey fire burned would be more susceptible to mud flows than areas affected by the Camp fire, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS researchers created a map that shows the probability that different fire-affected areas will experience mud flows if theres a storm that produces 24 millimeters of rain per hour, or a quarter of an inch in 15 minutes. We have historical information about where debris flows occurred, how big they were and the rainfall associated with triggering those events, said Dennis Staley, a research geologist with the USGS. The model also considers slope steepness, topography and fire severity. The dark red portions of the map indicate between an 80 and 100% chance of debris flows if rain reaches the assigned threshold for the map. Most areas affected by the Camp fire are colored yellow, indicating a 20% chance or less of debris flow. The Woolsey fire area on the other hand is mostly colored orange and red. The reason for the higher probability, Staley said, is that areas affected by the Woolsey fire are steeper than where the Camp fire burned. However, weather experts say rainfall in Southern California likely wont be intense enough for dangerous mud flows. Rich Thomas, with the National Weather Service, said there will only be about quarter to three quarters of an inch of rainfall total. Theres only a 10 to 20% chance the rain will become heavy enough to create mudflows, he said. There could be some minor debris flows, but nothing significant, he said. Rocks over the roadway, stuff like that. Still, Thompson said people should be prepared and pay attention to local authorities for evacuation orders. To the west, the area affected by the Mendocino Complex fire appears to be at higher risk, Staley said. In August, the Mendocino Complex fire consumed more than 450,000 acres, becoming the largest wildfire in state history. The areas steep terrain made it a challenge to firefighters and also increases the likelihood of mud flows. Heavy rain is expected this Thanksgiving holiday and debris flows will be a particular threat in the areas affected by the Camp, Carr, Delta, Hirz and Mendocino Complex fires, the NWS said. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

After fires, risk of Malibu mudslides will be high through the winter By Tony Barboza (Los Angeles Times) The first rain to fall over the burn-scarred areas of the Woolsey fire is expected to start Wednesday night. Forecasters are predicting it will be a weak storm, not intense enough to trigger significant flows of mud and debris  although it could cause some minor rockslides and mudslides. But experts say stronger storms in the coming months have the potential to send life-threatening mudflows plowing through neighborhoods. That threat has authorities urging residents living on or below hillsides, in canyons and along stream channels to take steps to prepare their homes, keep an eye on the weather, quickly heed warnings and evacuation orders, and be ready to leave well before the rain arrives. If you can see burned hillsides from your house, you are threatened by debris flow, said National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt, who works with emergency planners and other local officials to coordinate warnings. You dont want to be there when the rain starts. Theres just not enough time to wait and see what happens. Read more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Dramatic NASA images show destruction of California fires from space Burn zone for the Woolsey fire (NASA) Burn zone for the Camp fire (NASA) Satellite image of the Camp fire (NASA) NASA has released dramatic satellite images of the destructive wildfires in California. The data show the progression of the fires and how they burned homes, as well as satellite images of what they look like from space. See more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

How fires can lead to deadly mudslides Mudslides after fires (Los Angeles Times) Rain is forecast this week in the burn zones of Paradise in Northern California and the Malibu/Ventura County area in Southern California. This has prompted concern about mudflows. Soil in a burned area can be repellent to water, creating a flood-like flow on the ground that picks up rock and debris. In an area that has not burned, soil can become saturated. Pressure builds up underground, and soil starts moving and begins picking up mud and debris as it starts flowing downhill. Heres how hillsides that have been burned by wildfire become prone to flash floods and dangerous mudslides during heavy rains. How mudflows occur. (Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Remains found above Malibu are not those of a Woolsey fire victim, but from earlier death, officials say By Jeanette Marantos A broken skull and a few other bone fragments found in the scorched hills of Latigo Canyon on Saturday came from a human who died well before the Woolsey fire, Los Angeles County sheriffs investigators said Wednesday. A landowner spotted what appeared to be human bones Thursday as he was checking fire damage to his property off Latigo Canyon Road, about a mile north of Ocean View Road, near mile marker 6.92, Sgt. Marcelo Quintero said. The property didnt notify authorities about the bones until Saturday. Quintero said the skull was likely hidden by heavy brush in the area before the Woolsey fire, which scorched much of the land and several structures in the canyon above Malibu. Investigators believe the wildfire may have dislodged the remains from where they were stuck higher up the hilly terrain, and sent them tumbling down into the pathway where they were found, on property owned by the Ava and Cole Weintraub Family Park conservancy group. The skull was broken into pieces but we were able to piece it somewhat together, Quintero said. The anthropologists at the coroners office believe it definitely predated the fire. Coroners investigators believe the remains could been there between six months and 50 years, he said. They have some fire damage, he said, but no bite marks. We only have parts of a skull, parts of a jaw and possibly some cervical vertebra pieces, Quintero said. The Los Angeles County coroners Special Operations Response Team, or SORT, combed the area, hoping to find more remains. They did find additional bones, Quintero said, but they turned out to belong to animals. Were going to do our best to try to identify whoever this person was, he said. But its going to be a long shot, at best. Anyone with information should contact the sheriffs Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Woolsey fire expected to be fully contained today Firefighter battling Woolsey fire last week. (Los Angeles Times) Firefighters are hoping to have full containment of the Woolsey fire sometime today. The fire, which killed three people, destroyed more than 1,600 structures and burned over 96,000 acres from Oak Park to Malibu, was 98% contained as of Tuesday night. People continued to return to their homes, but officials warned of possible rain in the burn areas later this week. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Storms could wash away remains of Camp fire victims, officials fear A pair of incoming storms are threatening to hamper recovery efforts in Paradise, Calif. In a worst-case scenario, the downpour could flood the ruins and wash away human remains, leaving authorities unable to find and identify every victim of Californias deadliest wildfire on record. Authorities fear bones could sink underwater, making them harder to spot and drowning any scent that cadaver dogs rely on to find them. Meteorologists say the Camp fire burn scar  which is larger than the city of San Jose  could see up to 6 inches of rain through Saturday, with the heaviest downpour expected overnight Thursday. The forecast has triggered a flash flood watch for possible rock slides and debris flows. Light showers were falling Wednesday morning with heavier rain expected later in the day. That rain is going to get in that ash, its going to turn into it a paste-like substance, said Monterey County sheriffs Cmdr. Joe Moses, who is helping in the recovery effort. Its going to stick to everything and slow things down. Read more here. First light showers hit Norcal this morning. Heavier precipitation is expected later this morning and afternoon. #cawx pic.twitter.com/UALB0iYUeX  NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) November 21, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Paradise narrowed its main road by two lanes despite warnings of gridlock during a major wildfire By Paige St. John Paradise narrowed its main road through town as well as two other streets in recent years, hoping to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety. The changes came despite warnings that a major fire would cause crippling gridlock during evacuations, a scenario that became grim reality when Californias worst wildfire swept into Paradise this month. Read the full story here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Paradise narrowed its main road by two lanes despite warnings of gridlock during a major wildfire By Joseph Serna After a fast-moving fire swept into town a decade ago, burning more than 200 homes and trapping thousands of fleeing residents on gridlocked mountain roads, a grand jury called on officials to improve evacuation routes. But six years later, the city decided to narrow a portion of the main road through town from four lanes to two as part of an effort in the downtown area aimed at boosting commerce as well as traffic and pedestrian safety. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Number of people missing in Camp fire jumps to 870 The number of people unaccounted for in the destructive Camp fire rose to 870 on Tuesday after investigators were able to work through a backlog of voicemails, authorities said. The surge comes as the death toll increased to 81, with two bodies recovered inside structures in the Butte County town of Paradise. Of the 81, authorities said they had tentatively identified 56 people. By Tuesday evening, investigators had also been able to locate nearly 200 people reported missing, raising the number of people checked off the missing-persons list to 1,864. The blaze has chewed through more than 152,000 acres and destroyed more than 12,600 homes. It was 75% contained. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Death toll from Camp fire rises to 81 as searchers continue their grim work A search-and-rescue team scans an area where there might be human remains. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The death toll from Californias worst fire rose to 81 on Tuesday as the search continued for the missing. The fire has burned more than 12,000 structures, destroying most of the town of Paradise and other nearby communities. As of Monday night, there were nearly 700 people still missing. Rain is expected to hit the area tonight, complicating the search efforts. Joe Moses, a commander with the Monterey County Sheriffs Office who is assisting with search-and-rescue operations, said the rain is a concern for him and recovery crews. That rain is going to get in that ash [and] its going to turn it into a paste-like substance, Moses said. Its going to stick to everything and slow things down. In a worst-case scenario, if torrential downpours were to hit Paradise, the foundations could flood and wash human remains away, increasing the possibility that workers may be unable to locate and identify victims. This concern appears to be greatest in rural areas such as Concow. Authorities fear that bones may also lie underwater, making it harder for workers to spot them, and that the rain may wash away the scents that cadaver dogs seek out to find human remains. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

California fires: Anxiety and nightmares grip evacuees in Paradise fire zone Deborah Laughlin hasnt heard from her son in nearly two weeks. (Ruben Vives/Los Angeles Times) Inside the cafeteria of Bidwell Junior High School, 63-year-old Deborah Laughlin sipped on coffee and scooped up some apple pie. A lot was on her mind. Laughlin said she lost her home in Paradise. She had been living at Evergreen Mobile Home Park. Since the evacuations, she has been at the middle school, where the Red Cross operates a shelter. She said she registered with FEMA and hopes shell be able to get housing. I dont know what Im going to do, she said. I told the manager of the Red Cross: When you leave, Im going with you. Perhaps her greatest worry is her son, Shawn Evans, 40, whom she last heard from while he was evacuating from Magalia. She said he was driving on Imperial Way with his wife, who is eight months pregnant. I know where my husband is but I dont know here my son is, she said with teary eyes. Please dont tell me he died. Please. She said she is clinging to hope that her son is OK and that theyll be reunited soon. She said shes afraid about the storm that is approaching the region. Shes afraid because she knows theres still people who are missing, people who may have died in the fire. Im scared, she said. Im scared theyll be washed away and peoples remains will never be found. Sitting across was Anthony Salzarulo, 60, who had fought to save his home and five others in Concow. He said the fire was worse than any other blaze that had hit the region. Salzarulo lost his home to a fire 10 years ago. Sipping water, he said his home suffered some damage in the Camp fire, mostly to his solar panels and generator. He lost a bus and a car. When he was leaving the area, he saw animals that had died in the fire. A bobcat that had suffered burns walked near him. Hes had nightmares since. He heard about the storm approaching. He worries a mudslide may take out his home, and its made him anxious. He wants to go home. I hope I have a home after this storm because it sounds like its a pretty bad one, he said. He said the storm had added to his nightmares. I was dreaming that there was a tornado and all these things were sticking to me, he said. They were human bones. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

California fires: Heavy rains could wash away human remains in Paradise, searchers fear Devastation from the Camp fire. (Los Angeles Times) Four members of the Oakland Fire Departments Urban Search and Rescue Task Force removed a charred mattress spring and began combing through a mixture of ash, dirt, shredded wood and pieces of roofing tiles. Using their gloves to move around the blackened dirt, they looked for human remains. This is hard, one of the recovery workers said. But were trying. Let everyone know were trying. By Wednesday afternoon, the recovery work will get harder. Forecasters said thats when the rain will most likely start to come down over the Camp fire. Joe Moses, a commander with the Monterey County Sheriffs Office who is assisting with search-and-rescue operations, said the rain is a concern for him and recovery crews. That rain is going to get in that ash [and] its going to turn it into a paste-like substance, Moses said. Its going to stick to everything and slow things down. In a worst-case scenario, if torrential downpours were to hit Paradise, a town devastated by the fire, the foundations could flood and wash human remains away, increasing the possibility that workers may be unable to locate and identify victims of the fire. This concern appears to be more evident in rural areas such as Concow. Authorities fear bones could also lie underwater, making it harder to spot them and whatever scent cadaver dogs rely on to spot human remains could be drown out. But Moses doesnt believe the rain wont be too bad and they plan to see their mission through. The fire destroyed much of Paradise, burning more than 10,000 homes. Nearly 80 are confirmed dead, but nearly 700 remain missing in the worst fire in California history. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Woolsey fire victims file lawsuit against Southern California Edison By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde Only the top few feet of a utility pole survived the Woolsey fire as it roared over Kanan Road in Malibu. ( (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)) Victims of the Woolsey fire have filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison alleging the utility was negligent in failing to shut off power before the wildfire started, attorneys announced Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of 17 plaintiffs, alleges the company ignored warnings of extreme fire weather and only shut power off once the fire started. That delay contributed to the Woolsey fires destruction, plaintiffs say. The fire, which is currently 96% contained, killed three people and destroyed 1,500 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Attorneys are seeking compensation for plaintiffs damaged property, lost wages and attorney fees. The lawsuit claims that once the electricity was shut off on Nov. 12  four days after the fire started  residents and firefighters lost water pressure, hampering efforts to battle the flames. That in turn heightened the safety risk for firefighters and homeowners who sheltered in place. R. Rex Parris, one of the attorneys on the case, references the utilitys preliminary report filed Nov. 12 with the California Public Utility Commission stating an electric substation experienced a disturbance two minutes before the fire, which started in the same area. The report is preliminary, said Edison spokesman Steve Conroy when the report was made public. We have no other information other than a line went out of service and we dont know why. In the report, the utility said a circuit in its Chatsworth substation near where the Woolsey fire started relayed two minutes before the fire broke out. This means an outage remains until it is safe to manually reenergize the circuit, Conroy said. This is not a Public Safety Power Shutoff; it is simply a safety feature to help mitigate wildfire risk. The lawsuit also blames Edison for potential damage to the environmental and public health caused by the burning of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory nuclear cleanup area, though some experts have said there was no damage. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control, which oversees the long-delayed cleanup of the former rocket engine testing and nuclear research facility, said fire officials believed the blaze did not present any risks other than those normally present in a wildfire situation. Edison said in an emailed statement that it cannot comment on lawsuits related to the Woolsey fire at this time and that it may take some time before an investigation into what caused the fire is completed. SCEs focus at this time is service restoration to customers still impacted in the Malibu area, and providing additional assistance to customers through the L.A. County local assistance centers, an Edison spokesman said. The utility said its offering support for customers looking to turn service on and off, waiving charges associated with extended bill payments and charges associated with relocating and starting new service. Parris said utility companies know of the dangers of high power lines running through fire zones, but that they do little to implement safeguards to prevent potential tragedies. When you have rules that are this important and you know people are violating them its inevitable that these catastrophic events happen, Parris said of Edison and other utility companies. Their view of safety is public relations. Victims of the Camp fire filed a lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. also on Friday, alleging that utility is responsible for the fire that killed at least 79 people. ------

2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with statements from R. Rex Parris. This article was originally published at 11:05 a.m. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Here are the latest evacuations, road and school closures, animal shelters and victim services Mandatory evacuations Malibu, from the Ventura County line east to Anacapa View Drive.

Monte Nido West of Malibu Canyon Road.

Liberty Canyon West to Decker Canyon and south to PCH For all evacuation areas click here. Road closures Highway 101 offramps from Valley Circle Blvd to Liberty Canyon Road Highway 1 southbound (Pacific Coast Highway) closed at Las Posas Road Bell Canyon Road at Valley Circle Boulevard Borchard at Los Vientos Drive Lynn Road at Reino Road Potrero Road between Rancho Dos Vientos and South Lewis Road Kanan Road between Westlake Boulevard and Lindero Canyon Road Falling Star Avenue at Kanan Road Potrero Road at Wendy Drive State Route 118 eastbound between Topanga Canyon and Yosemite Avenue Mureau Road, Calabasas Boundary to 101 Freeway Cornell Road, Mulholland Hwy to Kanan Road Encinal Canyon Road, Malibu Boundary to Mulholland Hwy Click here to see a full list of closures. Evacuation centers (Los Angeles Times) Camarillo Community Center  1605 E. Burnley Street, Camarillo (accepting small animals) Borchard Community Center  190 Reino Road, Newbury Park (accepting small animals) Goebel Senior Adult Center (obscured on map) 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks (at capacity) Thousand Oaks Teen Center  1375 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks Community Center  2525 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks (closed) Rancho Santa Susana Recreation Center  5005 Unit C Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley (no animals accepted) Taft Charter High School  5461 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills Pierce College  7100 El Rancho Drive, Woodland Hills (Entrance off Desoto Avenue); Los Angeles County Animal Services (accepting large animals) Canoga Park High School  6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Canoga Park Palisades Charter High School (not displayed on map)  15777 Bowdoin St, Pacific Palisades School closures Cal State Channel Islands Cal Lutheran University (except for emergency personnel) Moorpark Community College Pepperdine University (Malibu and Calabasas campuses) For Ventura County school closures, please check the Ventura County Office of Education website https://www.vcoe.org/ Animal shelters Ventura County Fair Grounds  10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura, (at capacity); Ventura County Animal Services (805) 388-4258 Ventura County Animal Shelter  600 Aviation Drive, Camarillo (accepting small animals) Simi Valley Animal Shelter  670 W Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, (805) 388-4341 (accepting small animals) Pierce College  7100 El Rancho Drive, Woodland Hills (entrance off Desoto Avenue) (at capacity); Los Angeles County Animal Services Hansen Dam Equestrian Center  11127 Orcas Ave., Lake View Terrace (at capacity); Los Angeles County Animal Services Earl Warren Show Grounds (not on map)  3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara (Check-in at Gate C off of Calle Real) (accepting large animals) Shelter Hope  193 N Moorpark Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (lodging for evacuees and volunteers available) If you need large animal assistance, please call (805) 388-4258

N95 Particulate filter mask availability (Los Angeles Times) Goebel Senior Adult Center (obscured on map) 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks Teen Center  1375 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks Rancho Santa Susana Recreation Center  5005 Unit C Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley Borchard Community Center  190 N Reino Road, Newbury Park Camarillo Community Center  1605 E Burnley St., Camarillo North Oxnard Public Health  2240 E. Gonzales Road, Oxnard South Oxnard Public health  2500 S. C Street, Oxnard Channel Islands harbor master  3900 Pelican Way, Oxnard Las Posas Family Medical Group  3801 Las Posas, Suite 214, Camarillo Sierra Vista Family Medical Clinic  2700 E Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley Moorpark Family Medical Clinic  612 Spring Road, Building A, Moorpark Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Some Camp fire evacuations are lifted as firefighters continue working to contain the blaze By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde The valley behind it blanketed in a thick layer of smoke, a train sits stopped near Butte Valley along Highway 70. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Officials lifted evacuation orders for several communities near Lake Oroville on Tuesday. The news comes as firefighters make progress in the battling the Camp fire, which as of Tuesday morning was 70% contained. The fire has consumed more than 151,000 acres and killed at least 79 people, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Officials announced that residents of all Berry Creek zones can return home, except the areas northbound Encina Grande Road at Choc Taw Ridge Road, northbound French Creek Road at Stephens Ridge Road and northbound Highway 162 at Four Mile Ridge Road. Communities in the Cherokee Zone B zone can also return to the area, with the exception of areas northbound Red Tape Road at Condor Road, Rocky Top Road at Cherokee Road, Vinton Gulch at Cherokee Road, Crystal Pines Road at Cherokee Road and Highway 70 East of the West branch bridge. All residents of the Messilla Valley Zone B can return home. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

As California fire slowly is contained, air quality begins to improve in the north By Times Staff Latest smoke model indicates continued gradual improvement in air quality through Tuesday evening. Much better air quality is then expected by Wednesday when gusty winds and rain from a Pacific weather system clean the air. #CAwx #campfiresmoke pic.twitter.com/Vxd3cwZUQM  NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) November 20, 2018 The rain forecast for Northern California is expected to improve air quality in the region, which has experienced unhealthful air due to the Camp fire. Air quality improved somewhat Tuesday, but the smoke was supposed to dissipate more on Wednesday. The Camp fire burn zone could see up to 6 inches of rain through Saturday, which isnt unusual for that region, said Johnnie Powell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. In April, fire-ravaged Paradise, Calif., saw nearly 6 inches of rain in one day in what was its last significant storm. Strong inversions will allow wildfire smoke to continue to impact interior Norcal today although air quality is slowly getting better most areas. Rainfall spreading over Norcal on Wednesday should clear the air considerably. #cawx pic.twitter.com/LKa2b1d7uy  NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) November 20, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

In Paradise, the grim search for bodies after California fire: Were finding remains in various states The search-and-rescue team took a break as it waited for an excavator to moved debris from a pair of charcoal gray vehicles sitting next to a burned home in Butte Creek Canyon in Chico. Nearby, a line of fire trucks and sheriffs vehicles drove past the group, their occupants waving. The sun was starting to dip. Monday was coming to an end. Since the Camp fire broke out on Nov. 8, authorities have been combing through crumbled homes and melted metal in an effort to locate and identify human remains. The fire has killed at least 79 people, and about 700 others are unaccounted for, a significant drop from a few days ago when the list was more than 26 pages and had more than 1,200 names, but still a daunting number. Now two storms are moving toward Northern California and are expected bring up to six inches of rain through Saturday, possibly hindering search operations. The pros and cons are that the weather will be in our favor to contain the fire, said Cal Fire spokesman Manuel Garcia. But the cons are that there will possibly be loose terrain, fallen trees, mudslides and downstream flows. The National Weather Service said the first of the storms will move into the region on Wednesday. The second storm will bring the heaviest rain on Thursday night through Friday morning. Forecasters said the soil in the burn area cannot absorb rainwater, which could lead to fast-moving flows of mud, debris and even trees and boulders up to several feet deep that can be deadly. Blocked roads caused by the storms as well as rivers of ash and debris could hinder search crews from conducting a massive search operation in a burn zone that is bigger in area than the city of San Jose. Tom Madigan of the Alameda County Sheriffs Department said that in some cases remains were so badly burned that they could not be recognized or just a few bones could be located. Were finding remains in various states, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. I suspect there are some that will have been completely consumed. There is certainly the unfortunate possibility that even after weve searched an area, once people get back in there, its possible that human remains could be found. I know thats a very difficult thing to think about, but thats the difficult situation we find ourselves in today.  Recovery workers in white jumpsuits and boots, firefighters, coroner employees and police chaplains from across the state have been working around the clock searching neighborhoods destroyed by the fire, but as the storms approach, the possibility of perhaps not finding everyone is starting to set in. A neighborhood reduced to ashes in Paradise. (Los Angeles Times) Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Firefighters boost containment of deadly Camp fire to 70% as residents prepare for rain By Hannah Fry Ryan Spainhower hugs his wife after he recovers a coin that they made during their honeymoon from the debris of his home. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The deadly Camp fire grew slightly overnight  to 151,373 acres  as firefighters continued their efforts to get the blaze under control. The fire, which has claimed at least 79 lives and destroyed more than 17,000 homes and commercial structures, is 70% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Tuesday. At the same time firefighters work to control the blaze, residents in the burn area now face the potential for mudslides as a series of storms begin to make their way into the region. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch through Friday morning where the fire raged through Butte County. While the rainfall will help with the firefight, neighborhoods that were destroyed, and those downstream of them, could see mudslides and debris flows, authorities said. The burn zone could see up to 6 inches of rain through Saturday, which isnt unusual for that region, said Johnnie Powell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. In April, Paradise saw nearly 6 inches of rain in one day in what was its last significant storm. Best-case scenario, itll rain on it and nothing will move. Worst-case scenario, the mud will start moving, Powell said. We just have to wait and see what happens. All we know for sure is, its going to rain really hard. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

California fire burned more than 10,000 homes, but trees remained standing. Why? By Joseph Serna One of the many striking, horrifying in images from Paradise is that trees still stand next to homes incinerated by fire. Here is why. Fires that spread from house to house generate a force of their own. Embers, broadcast by the wind, find dry leaves, igniting one structure then another, and the cycle is perpetuated block after block. Break that cycle and the fire quits, and destruction can be minimized. Paradise never had that chance. Defensible space and hardened structures could not have kept the firestorm, carried on gusts clocking in the low 50s and feeding on the homes and low-lying vegetation, from reducing the town to ash. Most telling were the trees. Most of the pines that sheltered this community still had their canopies intact. The needles, yellowed from the intense heat, were not burned  evidence that the winds that morning had pushed the fire along so fast it never had a chance to rise into the trees. But as a surface fire, it lit up the homes that lay in its path. Read more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

California fires interrupt TV production By David Ng Netflixs teen drama series 13 Reasons Why was in the midst of shooting its third season in Vallejo when the massive Camp fire and other blazes broke out in Northern California. The sets, which include a sound stage on Mare Island, werent touched by the conflagrations, but the pervasive smoke that has shrouded much of the Bay Area has forced the show to temporarily halt shooting. The Paramount-produced series is one of a number of TV and commercial shoots that have experienced disruptions because of the fires that have devastated California in recent weeks. Some prime shooting locations  including Paramount Ranch, which serves as a set for HBOs Westworld, and the Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills  have experienced extensive damage, rendering them inaccessible to crews. Large swaths of Malibu that are popular filming sites are also closed to production. Read more here. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

California fires: New disaster danger in Paradise is mud and ash flows The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch through Friday morning where the Camp fire raged through Butte County, Calif. While the rainfall will help with the firefight  the blaze is 70% contained and has burned 151,272 acres  neighborhoods that were destroyed, and those downstream of them, could see mudslides and debris flows. The Camp fire burn zone could see up to 6 inches of rain through Saturday, which isnt unusual for that region, said Johnnie Powell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. In April, Paradise saw nearly 6 inches of rain in one day in what was its last significant storm. Best-case scenario, itll rain on it and nothing will move. Worst-case scenario, the mud will start moving, Powell said. We just have to wait and see what happens. All we know for sure is, its going to rain really hard. The soil in recently burned areas cannot absorb rainwater. Enough rain can lead to fast-moving flows of mud, debris and even trees and boulders that can be deadly for those in their path. The devastation often comes without warning. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Video shows pilots in dramatic Woolsey fire rescue of three people and two dogs The two pilots were dropping water on a flank of the destructive Woolsey fire the day after it broke out when they got a request to rescue people stuck nearby on Castro Peak in the hills above Malibu. Their fuel supply was dwindling and thick smoke filled the air around them. Eventually they found a flat spot to ground the helicopter, and one of the pilots hopped out. Moments later, he emerged with three people and two dogs. The dramatic mountain rescue, involving Los Angeles Fire Department pilots David Nordquist and Joel Smith, was captured in an 11-minute video the agency released Monday. Once the people and pets were in the plane, the pilots took off. Ah, that was close, one says after taking off Yeah, it was, the other replied. Thats enough excitement for me today. The other laughed. You and me both, brother. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

California fires: Paradise anxiously awaits rain and the dangers it might bring Calvin Daley, 66, sat listening to jazz on his battery-powered radio on the front porch of his two-story home in the charred hills of Chico. Tiny birds hopped from the burned branches of a pine tree to a bird feeder. Nearby, Pacific Gas and Electric crews repaired voltage lines, and other workers used an excavator to move aside hunks of melted metal that once were cars. Daley didnt evacuate. Instead, he hooked up three hoses, stationed them around his home and began dousing everything. Some people who stayed to fight for their homes died. He had at least three hours to work before the fire arrived with fury. He had no goggles, no mask, just jeans, a T-shirt and hoses. Sometimes, the water evaporated before hitting its target. His next-door neighbors home went up: My heart sank; I couldnt go over there and save it. Flames also claimed his wifes ski boat and his 1987 Dodge Ram. Also incinerated was the nearby Honey Run covered bridge. By 10:30 p.m. the fire had moved on. Exhausted, Daley woke himself every hour or so to check on hotspots. It was eerily quiet for three days, then the birds returned. Next door, the neighbors cats had survived. He began feeding them. As heavy rain approaches, hes worried contaminants will run into his well. He also worries for people who have lost homes, for people living in tents. He wishes it were summer. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Legally blind and under evacuation: The unknown is the worst part At the Butte County Fairgrounds in Gridley, the five Thompsons live at the end of a row of green cots. Hot meals are served, snacks and water are readily available, as are toiletries and American Red Cross volunteers. Were having to turn stuff away, said M
Volunteering in a Los Angeles public school is about to get less expensive.

The school board on Tuesday directed the superintendent to stop charging volunteers  including students relatives  fees for required fingerprinting.

The $56 fee for fingerprinting can be a substantial burden. About 80% of students in the nations second-largest school system come from low-income families.

In a separate action, the school board directed Supt. Austin Beutner to put together a report on how the district could do more to help homeless students and their families. The plan is expected to include a cost analysis of ideas including allowing homeless families to park overnight on district property and using housing bonds to build shelters or permanent living space on district property.

Advertisement

The $56 fingerprinting fee charged to volunteers is meant to reimburse the district for the cost of using them to search criminal records. The process aims to flag offenders who, for example, have been convicted of child abuse or sexual misconduct. The district sees the process as a necessary step to protect students and limit legal liability.

But the fee also can be a barrier for low-income families to get involved in the schools. Getting rid of it recently became a priority of district leadership.

Families and community members are essential to the success of our students and schools, Beutner said in a statement. We want to eliminate costly fees and needless bureaucracy so every family and community member can help us provide every child with a great education.

The wording of Tuesdays motion gave Beutner 30 days to develop an updated volunteer fingerprinting policy to reduce barriers for parent and community participation. But L.A. Unified spokeswoman Janelle Erickson said the board action allows Beutner to drop the fee immediately  which he plans to do.

The state requires fingerprint checks for volunteers at early education centers, but the fingerprinting of all school volunteers is an L.A. Unified policy, Erickson said. The district processes about 1,500 to 2,000 volunteers each year, at a cost of about $112,000. Volunteers dont have to repeat the process unless they take a break from volunteering for more than two years.

The district also will add six more places where would-be volunteers can get fingerprinted  bringing the total number to 13.

The boards request for a report on homelessness set in motion what is likely to be a lengthy process. Beutner was given six months to produce the report.

The idea of housing homeless families on district land brought immediate opposition from those who live near the former site of Oso Elementary, which was closed years ago because of declining enrollment and eventually torn down.

District parent Guy Ziv, who lives near the site in Woodland Hills, worried that using it for the homeless would create an unsafe place for our kids.

Local resident Michael Murray, who attended Oso decades ago, warned about the criminal element that this project would be sure to attract as an unintended side effect.

Board Member Kelly Gonez, who pushed for the resolution, said no specific location has been proposed yet for anything.

Ideally, the report would allow us to get a sense of all of our sites and what the possibilities might be, she said later.

Supporters of the motion included two principals of elementary schools in which at least 1 in 5 students is or recently has been homeless.

The majority of this 20% is doubled up or even tripled up with other families, said Alfredo Montes, principal at Langdon Avenue Elementary in North Hills. I can only imagine how difficult it may be for these children to be provided with a quiet place to study.

Montes described how one family recently lost housing when the father died in a construction accident. We have been helping this family with school supplies, backpacks, uniforms and other items, but their needs go beyond what we can do at our school site, he said.

Board member George McKenna said he was worried that the motion could turn out to be a feel-good effort leading to unaffordable proposals and no action.

He abstained, and board member Richard Vladovic voted no, but the motion passed by winning the required four-vote majority. (A seventh board seat is currently vacant.)

When asked to state his views, Beutner approached the issue with reserve.

I appreciate the spirit of this and the urgency of the challenge, he said, but the No. 1 priority is to educate children.

howard.blume@latimes.com

Twitter: @howardblume
Voters could have 17 candidates to choose from in a special election to fill a Los Angeles school board seat that has been vacant for nearly four months.

The winner of the March election will have an important role to play on a Board of Education that has been split on some important votes.

Tuesday marked the filing deadline for candidates, but its not the end of the process to get on the ballot.

Candidates have through Dec. 5 to file nominating petitions with signatures from voters they would represent. Candidates can submit 1,000 valid signatures or pay a fee of $300 and submit 500 valid signatures.

Advertisement

Theres likely to be serious money raised  for two or perhaps three of the candidates. As in other recent L.A. school board races, campaign spending is likely to be dominated by supporters of charters schools, whove spent the most, and the teachers union, which also has spent plenty.

But with so many candidates, its also possible that the big spenders could wait for the primary to shake out the field, and then focus their main resources on a May runoff pitting the top two finishers against each other.

The previous board member, Ref Rodriguez, resigned July 23, the day he pleaded guilty to one felony and three misdemeanors for political money laundering.

The L.A. Unified School District is divided into seven board member districts. The open seat, District 5, makes an arc over downtown Los Angeles and then zigzags to the cities of southeast Los Angeles County.

The candidates make for an eclectic mix, both geographically and in terms of their backgrounds.

The best-known may be Jackie Goldberg, a former school board member who also served on the L.A. City Council and in the state Legislature. The teachers union and other supporters lobbied unsuccessfully for a majority of the remaining board members to appoint Goldberg to the seat. In the coming election, the unions endorsement of Goldberg is not automatic.

Other candidates also could have claims on the unions loyalty, including former board member Bennett Kayser, who lost to Rodriguez in 2015. Candidates who list themselves as teachers or professors include Erika Alvarez, Salvador Chamba Sanchez, Scott Cody, James C. OGabhann III, Ana Cubas and Fidencio Joel Gallardo.

Gallardo also is the mayor of Bell, and hes joined on the ballot by Bell City Councilman Nestor Enrique Valencia. Huntington Park City Councilwoman Graciela Grace Ortiz, an L.A. Unified counselor, also has thrown in her hat. Candidate Cynthia Gonzalez is an L.A. Unified principal.

Hopefuls who could vie for the pro-charter endorsement would include Allison Greenwood Bajracharya, a senior executive at the Camino Nuevo charter group, and Cubas, who ran unsuccessfully for L.A. City Council in 2013 and currently works in public affairs.

Heather Repenning served L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti on the board of the Department of Public Works and snagged his potentially important endorsement.

Parents in the race include Justine Gonzalez, who also describes herself as a human rights advocate, and Rocio Rivas, a neighborhood activist who led protests pressuring Rodriguez to resign.

Rounding out the field is Eduardo Cisneros, who lists himself as a nonprofit division director, and David Valdez, an L.A. County arts commissioner.

Before his resignation, Rodriguez was part of the boards first majority elected with major support from charter backers. His vote was crucial in shaping policies more friendly to charter schools and to the selection of Supt. Austin Beutner, who took office in May.

Charters are public schools that operate independent of the local school system, frequently competing with it for students and the state and federal funds that come with them.

Rodriguezs departure could have led in the short term to a board less friendly toward charters and more sympathetic toward employee unions, but no defining issues have recently emerged along that dividing line. The entire board opposes a potential teachers strike. And Beutner has maintained majority support, even without Rodriguez.

howard.blume@latimes.com

Twitter: @howardblume
Carrying blankets and backpacks, a group of 356 Central American migrants arrived in Tijuana on Tuesday, joining dozens of other arrivals from a large caravan that has been making its way to the U.S. border.

But even as authorities scrambled to find bed space for them in the citys migrant shelters, Baja California officials reported that yet another group numbering about 200 was aboard buses traveling through the neighboring state of Sonora and expected to arrive in Tijuana within hours.

The migrants, most of them from Honduras, are among thousands of Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence who are currently making their way to the U.S. border in caravans that give them protection from criminal gangs and corrupt officials as they cross Mexico. Many have said they hope to turn themselves over to U.S. authorities at ports of entry and ask for asylum.

We hope that [President] Trump sees our tranquility, and sees the needs that we have, said Mario Gonzalez Soriano, a 42-year-old subsistence farmer and evangelical pastor from Honduras who left behind his four children and pregnant wife. We want to give our families a better life, and for that reason, we risk even death.

Advertisement

The buses delivered the caravan members to the Desayunador Padre Chava, a Catholic-run soup kitchen near the U.S. border. From there, many walked to Playas de Tijuana, getting their first look at the U.S. border fence.

As U.S. Border Patrol agents watched, some of the youngest and most agile climbed tall bollards that form the first part of the barrier, a couple of them briefly dropping down on the U.S. side before climbing back to Mexico.

Most just stood in the sand, some playing in the waves, others getting a first look at the country they have traveled thousands of miles with hopes of entering.

Its everybodys dream, everybody wants to live in America, said a 42-year-old Honduran migrant who gave only his first name, Yarle. He lived in the United States for 32 years, but was deported three years ago, and has been surviving in El Progreso, Honduras, as a bilingual teacher.

Trump has been harshly critical of the caravans, and has sent troops to the border in anticipation of the arrival of the migrants. He has ordered that anyone caught crossing illegally be barred from even applying for asylum.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that on Tuesday it would be closing three lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and one at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry to install port hardening infrastructure equipment. The move was in preparation for the migrant caravan and the potential safety and security risk that it could cause, a statement said.

Late Tuesday, at Playas de Tijuana, U.S. authorities were seen installing new layers of mesh fencing on the beach.

Tuesdays group, whose members arrived in nine buses, was mostly comprised of men, but included 36 women and 12 children, according to a tally by the Tijuana city government. They had been offered transportation from Guadalajara, and split off from the larger group that is continuing to make its way to the U.S. border, and late Tuesday were making their way through the state of Nayarit, hundreds of miles away.

Shortly after arriving Tuesday morning, members of the group swarmed the Desayunador Padre Chava, a Catholic-run soup kitchen that offered them a meal. The plan was to spread them out in several shelters run by church groups or civic organizations, said Cesar Palencia, the citys director of migrant services.

Shelter capacity in the city is about 1,400, he said. But many shelters currently are over capacity, especially those serving women and children, as growing numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans have come to Tijuana in recent months with plans to seek asylum in the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have said they are unable to keep up with the large volume of asylum seekers, and as a result prospective applicants must wait for several weeks before they are even admitted for processing. The migrants themselves maintain a notebook with a waiting list, which in recent weeks has grown to 2,500.

The arrival of the caravan members has been stirring anxiety of those already on the list. If they come and start making problems, they might close the border and then nobody will be able to cross, said Arlette Alvarez, 32, who came to Tijuana from the southern Mexican state of Michoacan with her three children five weeks ago.

Erika Pinheiro, an attorney with the group Al Otro Lado, said the list itself is of questionable legality and added, if they really cared about addressing this, they wouldnt be deploying military, theyd be deploying asylum officers to the border.

Dibble and Solis write for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
A new wind-driven wildfire erupted late Tuesday in Rialto near the Fontana border, burning perilously close to homes as residents appeared to scramble to leave.

Live television footage showed at least two yards appeared to be on fire as the blaze grew from roughly 3 acres to 20 acres in about 15 minutes. The fire was reported at Sierra and Riverside avenues and was moving rapidly through heavy brush as strong winds blew through the area.

The San Bernardino County Fire District said no evacuations had been ordered.

It appeared flames had jumped Riverside Avenue into yards. But the head of the fire appeared to be moving generally away from homes. Television footage showed traffic backed up in the area as people rushed to flee.

Advertisement

This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

#SierraFire(Update): Fire continues to grow to the south under influence of #SantaAnaWinds. Structure protection in place along Riverside Ave. NO EVACUATIONS are in place at this time.  SB County Fire (@SBCOUNTYFIRE) November 14, 2018

FONTANA: #SBCoFD onscn VEGETATION FIRE Sierra Ave/Riverside Ave. 2-3 acres med/heavy fuel with rapid rate of spread. @CALFIREBDU is UOP. BC125 is Sierra IC. #SierraFire. ^eas  SB County Fire (@SBCOUNTYFIRE) November 14, 2018

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

UPDATES:

11:55 p.m.: This article was updated with authorities stating no evacuations were ordered.

10:55 p.m.: This article was updated with more information from television footage.

10:40 p.m.: This article was updated to reflect that the fire is burning in Rialto.

This article was originally published at 10:30 p.m.
One of the first things Rabbi Alfred Wolf did after joining the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in 1949 was start a camping program for children. Wolf envisioned a place that would be the antithesis of the Nazi Germany he had escaped.

And it would be not only for Jewish children, but for other children from Los Angeles burgeoning and increasingly diverse communities. There they could organize and try to improve their lot and those of others, said his son Dan Wolf, 68.

The rabbi built two camps in Malibu: the beachside Hess Kramer and its sister camp Hilltop. In the 1960s, they became another home for a group of young Latinos who helped launch the Chicano movement.

This week, the camps director, Seth Toybes, confirmed that Camp Hilltop was destroyed by the Woolsey fire.

Advertisement

At Camp Hess Kramer, only a dining hall and a building that housed an infirmary and offices are standing  as well as a wooden menorah and the plaque that commemorated its founder. Out of 28 cabins, only one survived the fire.

The lonely menorah that sits atop Inspiration Hill serves as a literal and figurative sign that the camp will be rebuilt, and that its spirit of empowerment for young people will live on, said Dan Wolf.

Track key details of the California wildfires 

Camp Kramer was the place that planted the seed for many Chicano leaders, including Vickie Castro, who attended the first Latino youth conference there in 1963. Castro would become the second Latino elected to the Los Angeles Board of Education.

Camp Kramer gave me a voice, she said after hearing the camps fate. It gave me organizational skills, and it exposed me to a much larger world than my own little neighborhood.

It was at camp, she said, that she met young people from all over L.A. County who experienced the same problems in trying to get a good education that she did at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. She played a part in forming the Young Chicanos for Community Action, which would become the Brown Berets.

At the 1967 retreat, Lincoln High School social science teacher Sal Castro began to form the idea for a boycott  the East Los Angeles Blowouts of 1968. At least 10,000 high school students, including Castro, boycotted their schools to protest widespread racism and inadequate education standards.

These are the victims of the California wildfires 

Castro said the destruction of the camps deeply saddened her.

So many good memories, she said. It was a life-changing experience for me.

Dan Wolf said his father wanted the camps to be a beacon for positive change.

My father was directly involved in saying come use our facility to make your plans to make change, he said. Im sure back in those days there were places they couldnt go.

Since it was built in 1952, the camp has been a haven for generations of children, some coming from abroad and out of state.

Theres this connection that develops with that place  and I believe when its rebuilt that connection will continue. That wont be lost.

Toybes and Wolf said they are already planning to rebuild the structures and will host camp in a rented space until construction is complete.

Were going to have camp this summer, no matter what, Toybes said.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra
Some residents returning to their homes after evacuating from the Woolsey fire are being warned to prepare for potential mud flows, a deadly threat that will continue to loom over the region as the rainy season approaches.

Authorities told Malibu residents during a town hall meeting Tuesday that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protections watershed emergency response team will try to determine what areas of the city are most at risk for mud flows in the event of a strong storm.

Officials pointed to the devastating debris flow that hit Montecito after the Thomas fire burned the Los Padres National Forest last year as a warning.

I dont want you to think we can stop floods if it rains. Floods will occur, Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said. Much like Montecito, the orders will be evacuate, and you need to evacuate if you get that. What the team is going to do is ID the areas that are most vulnerable and the areas we can do some work.

Advertisement

The soil in recently burned areas cannot absorb rainwater. Enough rain can lead to fast-moving flows containing mud, debris and even trees and boulders that can be several feet deep and deadly for those in their path.

Extended weather forecasts indicate that rain could arrive in the Los Angeles area late next week, but National Weather Service forecasters say its too early to confirm anything definite, including how much rainfall a storm could bring.

The models are hinting at something, but its pretty low confidence at this time, said Jayme Laber, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Oxnard.

A light drizzle likely wouldnt cause problems, but several inches of rain in the span of a few hours could be devastating, according to forecasters.

Porter said hydrologists, geologists and other scientists will scour the hillsides and use aerial images to identify areas at high risk this week.

Los Angeles County Public Works staffer Sterling Klippel said this fires burn area presents the danger of very unpredictable debris flows.

Its very dangerous, and with this very short time between now and the potential for rain, its very limited what we can do as far as going out there and evaluating the potential for these mud flows, Klippel said. We are taking this as a No. 1 priority.

Residents in nearby communities whose homes were spared in the fire are concerned they might not be as fortunate if a mud flow comes through.

Shoshi Oringer, who lives on the end of Country Glen Road in Agoura Hills, said shes glad her family home of 20 years is still standing, but knows her community isnt out of the woods yet.

There is a lot of rock up [there], but all this hillside will be mud, she said. This is a no-win situation.

Los Angeles Times staff writers Richard Winton and Benjamin Oreskes contributed to this report.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry
The trial began this week for an Irvine businessman who is charged with murdering his former business partner for financial gain and making his body vanish.

The defendant, Edward Younghoon Shin, 40, faces the possibility of life in prison if he is convicted of murdering Chris Smith, who was 33 when he disappeared in June 2010.

In laying out the case for jurors Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, prosecutor Matt Murphy said that in the weeks leading up to Smiths disappearance, he had stopped trusting Shin. Shin was entangled in lawsuits that accused him of misappropriating funds from former employers, and Smith feared that he would plunder their corporate accounts to pay off his debts, Murphy said.

Shin is charged with murdering Chris Smith, above, whose body was never found. (File photo)

Advertisement

Each man wanted something from the other, Murphy said. Shin wanted Smiths signature on paperwork to authorize a $700,000 financial settlement in one lawsuit. And Smith, who lived in Laguna Beach, wanted Shin to agree to greater financial transparency in their businesses.

Chris Smith created a big problem for Ed Shin, Murphy told jurors.

The business partners ran a company called 800XChange out of a San Juan Capistrano business park, focusing on debt consolidation as well as affiliated companies, the prosecutor said.

This was kind of the Wild West, Murphy said. These guys were making money hand over fist.

Smith, a bachelor and avid surfer, appeared to be living what Murphy called a dream life, with an ocean-view Laguna Beach apartment and a serious girlfriend.

But his business partner had a serious gambling habit, and would take private jets to casinos where he wagered what a witness called obscene amounts of money, the prosecutor said.

The problem is called Viva Las Vegas, Murphy said. He had a penchant for craps.

On June 4, 2010, Smith vanished. The next day, Shin sent an email to company employees telling them to stay away from the office for the next week for privacy as he and Smith discussed the companys future.

When employees returned, they noticed an unexplained smell so foul they burned candles to counter it.

Shin told people that Smith had headed to the Galapagos Islands and planned to surf the world in the company of a new girlfriend named Tiffany Taylor, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said Taylor turned out to be a Las Vegas atmosphere model and former Playboy model denied going to the Galapagos with Smith.

Five days after Smiths disappearance, the prosecutor said, Shin rented a Dodge Ram and put 345 miles on it before returning it  far enough to take Smiths body to the desert and dispose of it, Murphy said. The remains have not been found.

Four months after he disappeared, Smiths family received an email purporting to be from him that caused them serious worry. It said he planned to take a yacht trip through the pirate-frequented waters off Somalia.

The most dangerous trip anybody could ever take, because of course hes never coming home, Murphy said.

Smiths father filed a missing persons report with the Laguna Beach Police Department, which found Smith hadnt used his credit card since June.

The prosecutor said that when forensic investigators searched the vacant San Juan Capistrano business offices the men had shared, they found Smiths blood on the walls, ceiling and desk, and in the cement under the carpet, indicating a scene of helter-skelter violence had taken place there.

Shin, 40, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney declined to give an opening statement. The trial is expected to continue this week before Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett.

christopher.goffard@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATchrisgoffard


Officials at Pepperdine University are taking heat for their decision to shelter more than a thousand students on campus last week, even as the Woolsey fire swept across Malibu and prompted authorities to order an all-out evacuation of the city.

At a community meeting on Sunday, some residents complained that the universitys action caused firefighting resources to be diverted from other parts of the city to defend the school against flames. The angry claims have already triggered calls for a reassessment of the universitys decades-old policy and  in the eyes of some  have damaged the institutions longstanding reputation for goodwill.

Why were they allowed to stay there at all? one woman asked pointedly during the meeting. They should have been evacuated like everyone else.

The schools practice of herding students into fire-resistant structures dates back to 1993 and is supported by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the university says.

Advertisement

However, some officials now question the practice.

This shelter-in-place policy is going to have to be reassessed, state Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park) told the crowd on Sunday. We cannot sacrifice the rest of Malibu for Pepperdine.

School officials have defended the policy as sound and say resources were not diverted.

Our hearts are heavy, because there is huge devastation across not just Malibu, but adjoining communities where our friends and our family members live, said Phil Phillips, Pepperdines vice president for administration. Im also very concerned, because Pepperdine works hard to be part of the community and were not asking for more resources than we should have.

Nevertheless, Phillips said the university was open to reviewing its plans with the senator, the county supervisor, the Fire Department and the city of Malibu.

We are absolutely happy to do that, Phillips said. If there are ways to make it better, well be the first to jump at those suggestions.

Pepperdine adopted its shelter-in-place policy after a 1985 fire, according to President Andrew Benton. The university has employed the practice for all fires since 1993  including the Old Topanga in 1993, Calabasas in 1996 and the Canyon and Corral fires in 2007.

I hope this information is helpful: following our experiences in the 1985 fire, and in cooperation with LAFD, we have planned to shelter in place during campus fires since 1993, including the Old Topanga (1993), Calabasas (1996), Canyon and Corral fires (2007).  Andrew K. Benton (@PresidentBenton) November 10, 2018

The most recent episode was during the Woolsey fire, which broke out on Thursday and began moving rapidly through Ventura and Los Angeles counties, toward the Pacific Ocean. It wasnt until the next morning, however, that officials considered the fire a threat in Malibu.

At about 4 a.m. Friday, the university posted on its website that classes in Malibu and Calabasas were canceled and both campuses were closed. At 5 a.m., Malibu residents were ordered to evacuate, an action that quickly created gridlock on the Pacific Coast Highway as residents fled south. Shortly before 7 a.m., students were informed that flames had jumped to the south side of the 101 freeway in some locations and that the Malibu campus was experiencing a power outage. Less than 20 minutes later, the university posted that it was activating its shelter-in-place procedures for the Malibu campus. Those in on-campus apartments were directed to the Firestone Fieldhouse. Students in residence halls and other locations were told to go to the Tyler Campus Center.

As resident assistants knocked on doors throughout residence halls, it quickly became clear that many students were unfamiliar with the policy and doubted its effectiveness.

They were like, This is the safest place you guys can be, said Siobhan de Cleir, a freshman. I didnt feel safe.

A university official reassured students that sheltering in place was effective and discouraged students from leaving, according to De Cleir and her roomate, Layla Tipton-Ortiz. But within a couple hours, Tipton-Ortizs father told the pair to come to the familys home in Laguna Nigel.

My dad was super adamant about me coming home, Tipton-Ortiz said. My parents were freaking out about what they were seeing on the news at home.

Pepperdine students Layla Tipton-Ortiz and Siobhan de Cleir evacuated the university campus. (Brittny Mejia / Los Angeles Times)

As Tipton-Ortiz and De Cleir drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, billowing smoke clouds descended on the campus behind them. The two were caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic as they joined a multitude of others trying to evacuate Malibu. Normally a drive of an hour and a half, the trip took seven hours.

It took us probably two hours to go five miles on PCH, Tipton-Ortiz said.

At around noon, the university lifted the shelter-in-place order, although people were encouraged to remain on campus due to road closures and severe congestion restricting travel. Within a couple hours, those still on campus were told again to shelter in place.

Sawa Yamakawa, 18, sheltered in the cafeteria on campus until 6 p.m. Yamakawa, a student from Japan, said he could see red fire over the mountain as he left.

I was obviously very scared, Yamakawa said. I feel like Pepperdine should do occasional fire drills to make sure students know what theyre doing.

A sign thanking firefighters hangs on the entrance to Pepperdine University on Nov. 10 during the Woolsey Fire. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

On any given day, there are about 3,000 to 4,000 people on the Malibu campus, according to Phillips.

In order to evacuate everybody thats here in the Malibu area, youd get gridlock if you added our students and faculty and staff, Phillips said.

Buildings on the 830-acre campus are constructed with fire-resistant materials whenever possible, campus roads provide natural fire breaks, and fire-resistant landscaping is used throughout campus, Phillips said.

Brush is cleared annually to at least 200 feet from campus buildings, according to the university. The county Fire Department reviews Pepperdines plans regularly, Phillips said. The battalion chief for the area walks the perimeter of the buildings and makes suggestions to university staff.

Four strike teams were called to Pepperdine during the fire, but two arrived and felt they could handle it  thus diverting the other two teams to different spots, Phillips said. Flames were well onto the campus before fire personnel arrived, he added.

Its really clear to me that even in the moment, the Fire Department  their concern was using their resources in the best way that they could, Phillips said. It was clear to me they were not trying to put a bunch of extra resources on Pepperdine.

At the public meeting, David Richardson, the county Fire Departments chief deputy of emergency operations, explained that the university has had a long understanding with the Fire Department and with our Sheriffs Department as far as the option to shelter in place.

Richardson added that sheltering in place was a viable option in a fast-moving wildfire.

I cant speak for the president; Im not the president of the university, Richardson said. But I can tell you as a fire service professional, sheltering in place is a viable option dependent upon whatever the particular situation is.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia
A brush fire that erupted late Tuesday in Rialto near the Fontana city limits grew to 147 acres overnight amid relentless winds, fire officials said Wednesday.

Despite Santa Ana winds that brought gusts of up to 50 mph in the area, San Bernardino County firefighters said they made good progress getting a handle on the blaze overnight. The fire is 75% contained. Crews will remain in the area constructing and reinforcing containment lines and extinguishing hot spots.

Track key details of the California wildfires 

The blaze, dubbed the Sierra fire, broke out in an area of heavy brush near Sierra and Riverside avenues about 10 p.m. The fire exploded from three acres to 20 acres in about 15 minutes, fire officials said.

Advertisement

No evacuations have been ordered, but television showed traffic backed up in the area as people rushed to flee their homes.

Strong winds carried embers that ignited palm trees in a nearby neighborhood. In some neighborhoods, glowing embers fell like snow over the tops of homes. No damage to structures has been reported.

#SierraFire: Footage from earlier this evening. In #SantaAnaWinds, Dozers can often engage where its too dangerous for handcrews. A decisive force multiplier in tonights firefight. ^eas pic.twitter.com/gtqmJB5pk6  SB County Fire (@SBCOUNTYFIRE) November 14, 2018

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry

UPDATES:

9:30 a.m.: This article was updated with information about containment.

This article was originally published at 6:35 a.m.
Paradise was once a place to escape to. Located in the Sierra foothills, the rural enclave and surrounding communities were getaways from the Sacramento Valley and the cities of Chico and Oroville.

But what drew residents to Paradise  a place to disappear amid winding roads, hills and ravines above the Feather River and Butte Creek  has made the job of reconnecting with friends and relatives in the aftermath of the devastating Camp fire all the more challenging.

As emergency crews and cadaver dogs sift through rubble and ashes, message boards put up at shelters, evacuation centers and churches listing the names of the missing grow crowded with plaintive appeals, reminiscent of the postings found in Manhattan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Spotty cell coverage and downed power lines blocking access to burn areas have made the task more difficult.

Advertisement

For Blake Bellairs, the challenge of reconnecting with his brother, Josh, meant overcoming the years they had not spoken to each other.

Josh lived in Paradise, and Bellairs had called friends and former girlfriends, scoured social media for mentions of Josh and contacted local television stations, authorities and the jail, all in vain. One friend heard that Josh got a ride through Magalia, six miles northeast of Paradise, but there was no confirmation.

Having exhausted these approaches, Bellairs resorted to plastering his Ford truck with his message, along with a phone number, written with glass chalk hed purchased at Walmart.

Missing Josh Bellairs

With more than 52,000 people chased from their homes by the blaze, authorities are trying to put a number on individuals who are missing. A Facebook page lists 105 people, and on Monday, authorities reported 223 people whose whereabouts have yet to be confirmed.

1 / 37 Silence hangs over Paradise,Calif., after the explosive Camp fire burned through Butte County and claimed 23 lives. Residents have not been allowed back. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 37 President Donald Trump meets California Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom at Beale Air Force Base on Saturday. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) 3 / 37 US President Donald Trump views damage from wildfires with Paradise Mayor Jody Jones in Paradise, Calif. (SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 37 President Donald Trump walks with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., left and FEMA Administrator Brock Long, right, as he visits a neighborhood impacted by the wildfires in Paradise, Calif. (Evan Vucci / AP) 5 / 37 President Donald Trump tours the Woolsey Fire ravaged neighborhood on Dume Drive in Malibu on Saturday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 6 / 37 President Donald Trump, second from left, tours the Woolsey Fire ravaged neighborhood on Dume Drive in Malibu. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles TImes) 7 / 37 From left, Johnny Hardin, 15, Madeline Hardin, 13, Donita Hardin and Erik Hardin, 15 months old, get ready to sleep in their car after getting displaced by the Camp fire, at the Walmart parking lot in Chico, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 37 Alexandria Wilson, 21, kisses her dog Harley, after they both escaped the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 37 Search and rescue teams inspect the grounds of a house burned by the Camp Fire along Boquest Boulevard in Oroville, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 37 Volunteers hand out supplies to fire evacuees near a Walmart in Chico, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 37 People go through donated clothes at a Walmart in Chico, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 37 A sign warns looters at the site of burned-down properties in Paradise, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 37 A search and rescue team combs through the debris for possible human remains Friday at Paradise Gardens, in Paradise, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 37 Alexandria Wilson, 21, consoles her boyfriend, Jacob Golden, 25, as they recount their harrowing escape from the Camp Fire at a relatives house in Applegate, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 37 A vanished neighborhood in Paradise. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 37 A forensic team investigates the site of a Paradise home where remains were found. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 37 Michael John Ramirez hugs his wife, Charlie Ramirez, after they found her keepsake bracelet while sifting through the remains of their home in Paradise. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 37 Religious figurines sit atop a burned vehicle in Paradise. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 37 Authorities recover the remains of a fire victim from an overturned car alongside Pearson Road in Paradise. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 37 David Neeley hugs his ex-wife, Jeanne Neely, and their daughter, Faith Neeley, 10, in a parking lot in Oroville, where they are staying amid the Camp fire. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 37 Megan Butler, 26, and her daughter Aurora, 2, are homeless after their house burned down in Concow in the Camp fire. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 37 Yolo County Animal Services Officer Stephanie Amato holds a chicken she helped rescue in Paradise. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 37 Smoke fills the sky as the Camp fire continues to burn along the North Fork of the Feather River. It has already burned more than 200,000 square miles. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 37 A sign in Paradise offers a warning for would-be looters. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 37 A man rests at a shelter at the Church of the Nazarene in Oroville, Calif. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 37 Outside of Pulga, Calif., on the North Fork of the Feather River, the Camp fire continues to burn. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 37 Outside of Pulga, Calif., on the North Fork of the Feather River, where the Camp fire may have started, helicopters do airdrops while ground crews try to keep the fire from spreading. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 37 Firefighter Brian Carter of Weed, Calif., keeps an eye on the flames along the North Fork of the Feather River. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 37 Many people dont want to stay in shelters because they cant take their dogs inside. This dog waits for his human companion in a parking lot in Oroville. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 37 Residents of Paradise, Calif., try to get through a roadblock to check on their home but are turned away. People havent been allowed to return to the town. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 37 The Camp fire burns along a ridgetop near Big Bend, Calif., on Saturday. (Noah Berger / AP) 32 / 37 Yuba County sheriffs officials carry a body away from a burned residence in Paradise. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images) 33 / 37 A crew from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection walks through the rubble of a home while putting out hot spots in Paradise, Calif. (Mason Trinca / For The Times) 34 / 37 Flames and embers, pushed by strong dry winds, set the town of Paradise, Calif., ablaze. Thousands of buildings were destroyed. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 37 Brad Weldon, 63, waits for help along Skyway in Paradise, Calif. Weldon was among the residents who stayed and battled the wildfire. (Mason Trinca / For The Times) 36 / 37 Fire crews put out hot spots in Paradise, Calif. (Mason Trinca / For The Times) 37 / 37 Firefighters walk through the rubble of a home in Paradise, Calif. (Mason Trinca / For The Times)

Bellairs was hoping evacuees who had arrived in Chico might be able to help. He and his girlfriend had driven from their home in Medford, Ore., to help his mother and stepfather, who had been burned out by the Camp fire.

I just want to know hes all right, Bellairs said as he stood near his truck with tears in his eyes.

Bellairs and his family are trying to avoid thinking the worst. They are staying in the local shelter but will soon be moving on due to his stepfathers healths issues. They hope Josh is camping somewhere. Maybe, they tell themselves, he just doesnt have cell service.

But as days pass, their hope grows slim. Maybe he didnt get the warning.

Thats the fear, said Bellairs stepfather, Charles Deaderick, that he didnt find out in time.

On Thursday, as embers blew into Paradise in advance of the wind-driven wildfire that swept through these hills, residents had little notice and only a few minutes to gather pets and belonging and flee. By the time the fire moved on, it had destroyed more than 6,000 homes and 250 commercial buildings in less than 24 hours.

These are the victims of the California wildfires 

Many displaced residents of the scattered rural communities between Redding and Sacramento have taken to posting messages on whiteboards at the Neighborhood Church of Chico and at Bidwell Junior High School, a better alternative than waiting helplessly, fearing the worst.

The messages range from reassuring (Im OK, dont worry about me) to urgent.

Looking for Julian Binstock and his dog Jack, evacuated Nov. 8 from Feather Canyon Retirement Community in Paradise CA to avoid the #CampFire. Please help us find him.

One woman was looking for her mother: Needs heart medicine and a pacemaker.

Paradise resident Jayne Keith, who lost her house in the fire and had taken refuge with family members at a hotel an hour away in Red Bluff, visited the Neighborhood Church on Tuesday to get dog food, blankets and pajamas. Peering at the board, she wrote down the phone number of someone looking for Barbara Hayes.

A woman with the last name Hayes was staying down the road from her hotel, but Keith paused, fretting about the name.

I think its spelled differently, she said.

Red Cross volunteers are also handing out forms at shelters in Chico for people to fill out and declare that they were safe.

Track key details of the California wildfires 

For 16-year-old Abigail Bell of Paradise, Thursday was both terrifying and never ending. Her uncle was missing. The two live together and are so close that he calls her his daughter and she calls him her dad.

When the town started to burn, Abigail was with a neighbor and managed to escape to a friends house in Marysville, 50 miles south. Her uncle, Darrell Medford, 66, was at their home on Hayes Lane. He was taking a nap but woke in time to escape and get out of harm.

Abigail tried to reach Medford, but the fire had reached their house and the phone line was dead.

Listening to reports of the mounting casualties amid the loss of their town, and not knowing if her uncle had made it out, Bell grew frantic.

That night, however, in a phone call with her cousin, she learned that Medford was safe. She started to cry.

It was an absolutely gut-wrenching experience, Abigail said.

Since then, Medford has purchased a cellphone and has been talking to his niece every day. Hes relieved, knowing that shes safe, and considers himself lucky to have memorized her phone number weeks before the fire.

I miss the heck out of her, he said. All I know is I want her with me.

Abigail and Medford are trying to reunite. He spent a few nights with a family member and Monday night in the parking lot of the Neighborhood Church. His insurance company is offering to put him up in a hotel.

They are thinking they will meet there, the sooner the better.

Smith, Branson-Potts and Santa Cruz reported from Butte County and Curwen from Los Angeles.

dakota.smith@latimes.com | Twitter: @dakotacdsmith

hailey.branson@latimes.com | Twitter: @haileybranson

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com | Twitter: @NicoleSantaCruz

thomas.curwen@latimes.com |Twitter: @tcurwen
Challenger Alex Villanueva widened his lead in a historically close election for Los Angeles County sheriff in the latest vote totals announced Tuesday.

But its unknown whether the retired lieutenants 22,000-vote margin over Sheriff Jim McDonnell is wide enough to signal a victory, with 688,000 votes still left to be counted.

The sheriffs race, which has long favored incumbents and candidates supported by the outgoing sheriff, has seesawed from the early hours of election night. At one point McDonnells 58% share of the vote seemed so dominant that at least one news agency projected him the winner.

Advertisement

By the next morning, Villanueva surged ahead by a few thousand votes. Then on Friday, McDonnell made gains that put him only 335 votes behind.

Obviously the trending continues to be in our favor, and we continue to be optimistic, said Hilda Delgado, a spokeswoman for Villanueva. She said she expects his campaign will be able to predict the races outcome by Friday.

McDonnell said despite his opponents progress, he believes he can still win.

Im hopeful and optimistic in watching those ballots being counted, McDonnell said.

Sheriff Jim McDonnell, right, with Andrew Friedman of Los Angeles on election night at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE in November 2018. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

An exit poll conducted by Loyola Marymount University found Villanueva did better than McDonnell among younger voters, women, people of color, Spanish-speakers, liberals and moderates, and people earning less than $100,000 a year. McDonnell was favored among higher-earning, older, white, male voters who identify as conservative.

The survey, drawn from 1,546 voters at 25 randomly selected polling places across the county, said 54.8% of respondents voted for Villanueva, while 45.2% chose McDonnell.

A Times analysis showed Villanueva was most supported in heavily Latino areas of the county, and also dominated in areas that McDonnell had carried in the primary, including Santa Monica, Mid-City and Mid-Wilshire.

McDonnell, 59, campaigned on a bid to continue the reforms he started after taking over a department rocked by a jail abuse scandal in 2014. He oversaw a drop in serious jail violence and said hes made other improvements like boosting mental health care for those in custody and creating a human trafficking bureau.

The former Long Beach Police Chief and longtime Los Angeles Police Department official touted his support for the nearly 2-year-old Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission and drew headlines when he tried to give prosecutors a Brady list of about 300 deputies with histories of misconduct.

Villanueva, 55, positioned himself as the more progressive choice, a Democrat who has called for alternatives to incarceration and said he would kick U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents out of the county jails.

The U.S. Air Force veteran who served three decades in the Sheriffs Department drew an unlikely coalition of liberal activists, labor groups and the union representing rank-and-file deputies, with most of the money supporting him coming through well-funded outside groups.

Some of his positions deviated from a typical progressive platform, like his statements that he would deliver inmates directly into the custody of immigration authorities outside the jail and would consider giving deputies metal flashlights to defend themselves against inmates.

The most recent vote total includes absentee, provisional and conditional ballots, as well as those labeled miscellaneous, such as those that are damaged or involve write-in candidates. The mail-in ballots being counted are ones received in the last 10 days that were postmarked by election day.

The next vote count is Friday.

maya.lau@latimes.com

Twitter: @mayalau
Rachel Bailey stepped out of her Volvo SUV, walked up to the smoldering strip of rubble and stared at what little was left. Blackened mattress springs. The husk of a couch. The tile that once graced her foyer.

Home after home in her pocket of a canyon in Westlake Village was leveled by what officials say is one of the largest fires to strike Los Angeles County in more than 100 years.

This street just got annihilated, Bailey said, surveying what was left of their Oak Forest Mobile Estates neighborhood.

Well, the yards bigger now, quipped her partner, David Carr, standing above the exposed steel beams of the soot-covered foundation.

Advertisement

As fire crews boosted containment lines around the massive Woolsey fire Tuesday, the breadth of the destruction it left began to set in for many families who were allowed to return home. The inferno tore through a 97,114-acre swath of Ventura and Los Angeles counties from Bell Canyon to the Pacific Ocean, obliterating roughly 435 homes and businesses and devastating neighborhoods.

(Los Angeles Times)

The fire has burned about 150 square miles, including about 83% of national park land in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a stunning loss of a cherished open space for Southern California.

To put that in perspective, that is the size of Denver, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Deputy David Richardson said of the fires footprint.

At Malibu Creek State Park, the landscape was charred black beyond the parking lot, where the burned-out shell of a security vehicle sat. Although the campground remained largely untouched, the buildings in the back of the park are gone, as is much of the area that formed the backdrop for shows such as MASH.

The blaze also has destroyed power poles, toppled trees and damaged sewage and water lines, officials said. Firefighters were warned to watch out for trees and buildings that have been damaged by the fire over the last six days, some of which are beginning to weaken. An apartment building along Pacific Coast Highway collapsed early Tuesday.

Several of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water Districts facilities were damaged, including a composting facility and a filtration plant in Westlake. Power outages affected the entire service area, but water district staff called on backup power and portable emergency generators to keep critical pumps running for customers and firefighters, water district spokesman Mike McNutt said.

Track the key details of all the fires burning across the state 

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to proclaim an emergency, citing the loss of lives, destruction of property and widespread evacuations. They also declared a health emergency and ordered that no debris be removed without a hazardous materials investigation.

The ordinarily humdrum government proceedings were punctuated by the appearance of celebrity residents who asked for food, water, gas and shelter in the aftermath of the fire, as well as assistance rebuilding.

I have witnessed many fires in my community and experienced the devastation  but none as catastrophic as the events that have taken place in our community these last five days and nights, said actor Pierce Brosnan. We beseech you to do everything in your power to save our community.

Amid the devastation, firefighters were busy Tuesday grappling with a second consecutive day of red flag conditions, which signify a powerful mix of heat, dry air and winds that could stoke a small fire into a deadly inferno.

We are not out of the woods yet, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. We still have some incredibly tough conditions ahead of us.

A flare-up Tuesday morning prompted a massive response by firefighters as flames scorched a hillside in the Santa Monica Mountains. The spot fire was fanned by strong winds that pushed the flames upward toward a peak called Boney Mountain and away from communities.

It looks scary but its not an imminent threat, said Ventura County Fire Capt. Stan Ziegler.

The flare-up was burning into the scar of the 2013 Springs fire and hitting patches of rocks in the mountains above Lake Sherwood and Hidden Valley. A caravan of helicopters dropped water from Lake Sherwood onto the blaze and tankers were painting the mountain ridges with retardant.

Still, the flames were seizing on dry fuel that had not burned in 50 to 60 years, Ziegler said. The blaze sent periodic columns of smoke skyward that were visible for miles around.

Such flare-ups are expected within the wider Woolsey fire burn area, because there are untouched pockets of brush scattered inside the fires boundary.

Back in Westlake Village, Bailey rummaged through the remnants and found a metal case that once held colored pencils, along with a ceramic piggy bank. Burned pages of a Harry Potter book were scattered about. Carrs collection of vintage surfboards was now melted into a pile of fiberglass. His truck was a burned out husk of metal. Six bikes and his scuba gear, all gone.

So much was lost, some of it irreplaceable.

Years of love letters Bailey had written to Carr, a man she had known since she was 13 and with whom she reconnected later in life, gone with the house.

They moved into the home in February and had initially struggled to get fire insurance. They loved the neighborhood, a secluded cluster of homes in a canyon ensconced by dozens of oak trees, giving shade and privacy.

Live updates: Full coverage of the California wildfires 

It was the most magical street  so much shade. The treehouse was right here, she said, pointing to a charred oak.

We lost everything, she repeated, like a grim refrain.

I loved this house, Carr said, crying. Bailey embraced him. Carr apologized, feeling guilty that he wasnt here to save the house.

Im sorry, he said. I loved this house.

Bailey comforted him.

Well rebuild, she said. Well do it again.

Times photographer Al Seib and staff writers David Pierson, Nina Agrawal, Hannah Fry, Melissa Etehad and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
If not for his prison jumpsuit, ex-Sinaloa cartel deputy Jesus Zambada Garcia could have been mistaken for a Wharton MBA as he testified Wednesday about the import and export business he ran for years under Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.

Guzman appeared to listen intently as his former employee, the brother of his longtime partner and purported successor Ismael El Mayo Zambada, described how he would move as much as 100 tons of cocaine with brand names like Queen, Sapphire, Pac-Man and Coca-Cola through his Mexico City bodegas to the United States, where a single kilo could turn a $13,000 profit in Los Angeles and as much as $26,000 in New York City. He detailed the cartels corporate structure, its vast naval and terrestrial capabilities, and its various transportation schemes across the first two hours of his testimony.

The objective of the business is to control the market and the prices for the product the cartel manages, Garcia told the court. The main products the cartel manages are cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine.

Garcia is the first of dozens of cooperating witnesses who are expected to testify for the government. In the language of the boardroom, he was a regional manager, one tier below his brother and Guzman, and a tier above the cartels vast army of workers  sicarios, transporters, pilots, engineers, drivers and security guards, he said.

Advertisement

They kill people, Garcia replied when asked what sicarios do. They kill enemies.

As part of his job, he also received shipments of Colombian cocaine in Cancun, where he used human chains that stretched into the sea to unload tons of cocaine from boats to trucks waiting on shore. Other subleaders ran uniform operations up and down the Mexican coast, Garcia testified, so that Colombian traffickers could drop their drugs anywhere and be assured the Sinaloa cartel could receive and process them speedily.

Garcia said he met Guzman while helping organize his escape from prison in 2001, and that they last spoke by phone shortly before Garcias arrest in 2008. He described Guzman as his brothers business partner, and called their operation a 50-50 split.

He told me they agreed to work together and they were going to establish a partnership, half and half, Garcia said of his brothers arrangement with the defendant.

Emma Coronel, the wife of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, leaves Brooklyn Federal Court Tuesday during the Mexican drug lords trial. (Mary Altaffer / Associated Press)

Defense attorneys, though, contend that Zambada has been the boss all along, and that Guzmans prosecution is a cynical frame up by the U.S. and Mexican governments.

But the federal judge hearing the case quickly roped in the defense.

The governments motives are not on trial here, Judge Brian Cogan warned defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman. Your opening statement handed out promissory notes its not going to be able to cash.

The prosecution was even more forceful, asking the court to instruct jurors to disregard Lichtmans entire opening statement.

Though Cogan chided Lichtman for his hyperbolic claims about the American justice system, he declined federal prosecutors radical request to strike the defense attorneys half-finished opening statement. Instead, he gave jurors a set of unusual and detailed instructions about how they should interpret what they had heard the previous day.

There were some references in Mr. Lichtmans opening to certain conduct of the government that might be considered outrageous, he told the jury. The conduct of the government is for me to decide, not you.

With just 10 minutes to rewrite his statement, Lichtman took aim at the governments collaborating witnesses, insinuating that most would walk free at the end of the trial. In a move that seemed out of step with the immigrant and minority-heavy New York jury, he warned that they come to America, they dont suddenly become human and American and respect the law.

Among the foreign villains he sketched were one man with a 4-gram-a-day cocaine habit  thats four frat parties on a Saturday night in the 80s  and another who sought drug smuggling advice from his mom. A third had allegedly paid off the president of Honduras.

These men need to cooperate against one man to get out of jail  El Chapo Guzman, Lichtman said, repeating, Hell be free among you soon, after each name.

Guzman sat mostly impassive in his lavender shirt and royal purple tie, even as Lichtman went on to paint his high-profile client as broke, grandiose and a reckless chaser of fame.

For better or worse, he enjoyed the notoriety, Lichtman said.

Guzmans former beauty queen wife herself seemed to relish the limelight of court, appearing with an entourage of supporters in a blue velour blazer, tight black pants and black stilettos. Guzman looked at her between conferences with the court interpreter.

Sharp is a special correspondent.

UPDATES:

3:55 p.m.: This article was updated with testimony from Jesus Zambada Garcia, a onetime deputy in the Sinaloa cartel.

This article was originally published at 9:40 a.m.
Jemele Hill, who covers sports, race and politics for the Atlantic, wanted to take advantage of Floridas two-week early voting period. Only when she got to her Orange County polling location, she found that she had been taken off the voter rolls, which seemed odd since shed checked her registration eligibility twice before flying to Florida.

Hill, who has been the target of negative tweets from President Trump after she called him a white supremacist while at ESPN, had tweeted a few weeks earlier that she was moving to Los Angeles but was going to Florida to vote for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum for governor. Hill, who has owned a home in Orlando since 2006, was told she had to fill out a provisional ballot, which was one of the 86 of 420 in Orange County that was accepted.

Later that day, I got a call from an attorney in the elections office, who told me my vote had been flagged, Hill said. I asked by who? He just said it was the red brigade. Given my controversy with the president, I couldnt help but connect the dots.

The incident captures both the passion and animus that exists in Florida, and underscores how the sides will take advantage of even the smallest opening to gain an edge in a state that is so evenly divided politically.

Advertisement

If an unknown Democrat and an unknown Republican were to run against each other, they would both open up with 48% each, said Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist who has written extensively on Floridas divide.

His explanation is simple.

Florida is a state, not a place, Schale said. People move here, but they still have the sensibilities of where they came from. Florida is where they live, but they never leave where they were. If you live in Texas, there is a pride of being a Texan. If you live in Pennsylvania, you are still this steel worker, or Pittsburgh guy, or Philly guy. There is not that feeling in Florida.

Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, left, board chair Judge Betsy Benson, center, and board member Judge Deborah Carpenter-Toye sign off on a sealed bin of ballots. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

The case can be made that the closeness of the elections in Florida reflects that of the national elections. Since the first presidential election after Watergate in 1976, about 1.2 billion votes have been cast nationally, yet the popular vote differences between Republicans and Democrats is less than 2 million.

The previous two Florida governors races, won by Rick Scott, were separated by 1.2% and 1%. The last two presidential elections in Florida had margins of 1.2% and 0.88%. The current governors race between Ron DeSantis and Gillum is 0.41% and in the midst of a mandatory recount.

Ron Pierce, a Republican consultant and lobbyist, sees Floridas growing and changing population as part of the reason for the close elections.

The people who come to Florida come from different ends of the spectrum, Pierce said. You have young people coming here wanting to start a career, and youve got people of retirement age coming here to end a career.

Then you have the urban areas being offset by the rural areas.  Florida is the only large state that is truly purple. New York is blue, Texas is red and California is blue, but Florida remains ultra-competitive because its purple.

But within the state, you can clearly see the divide.

According to Schale, only three of Floridas 67 counties are not solidly Democratic or Republican. There is Pinellas County on the Gulf of Mexico where St. Petersburg is located, St. Lucie County on the Atlantic where Fort Pierce is the biggest city, and Seminole County, right in the middle, a collar county to Orange.

Outside of those three counties, with a common population of out-of-state imports, you can figure that all your friends think just like you do, helping sustain the polarization of thinking within the state.

A cutout of President Trump stands in a demonstrator area outside the Broward County election headquarters. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida political science professor emeritus, says the roads helped shape Floridas politics.

Interstate highways have a lot to do with explaining Florida, MacManus said. People from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and those states came down on I-95 and settled in the southeast part of the state [near Miami]. People from Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania came to Florida on I-75 and settled on the West Coast [near Tampa].

We have imported our politics from all over the world and all over the country, she said. People just bring their politics with them.

There also seems to be a kind of a Newtons Law of politics going on, where for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

As the Puerto Rican population swelled in Orange and Osceola counties, which would favor Democrats, a massive 125,000 age-restricted retirement community called the Villages sprung up in nearby Sumter, Lake and Marion Counties. It is an automatic rallying spot for all Republican candidates.

Its like God has a sense of humor, Schale said about the constant equality. Florida is like one big marriage with a Republican husband and a Democratic wife.

If you match up the countrys percentage of people who live in the urban, suburban and rural areas, it matches up almost identical to Florida.

Florida is like one big marriage with a Republican husband and a Democratic wife. Steve Schale, Democratic strategist

Florida is a melting pot, MacManus said. Its what makes us a microcosm of the country. It just happens that the mix of people who live here, when you aggregate them, we look just like the country at large.

In the next election, there will be a new class of people who could not previously vote. Last weeks election passed an amendment that most felons would have their voting rights reinstated after their sentence was completed. It could add as many as 1.4 million people to the voter rolls.

People assume its going to help the Democrats more than the Republicans, Pierce said. But we dont really know. Some think it may have the opposite effect and that its going to help Republicans as much as Democrats. But are they going to register to vote and be active at the polls? The best answer is we just dont know.

Much like trying to figure out winners in Florida politics.

John Cherwa is a special correspondent.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is set to release a sweeping overhaul of how colleges and universities must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment, giving new rights to the accused, including the ability to cross-examine their accusers, people familiar with the matter said.

The proposal is set for release before Thanksgiving, possibly this week, and replaces less formal guidance issued by the Obama administration in 2011. The new rules would reduce liability for universities, tighten the definition of sexual harassment, and allow schools to use a higher standard in evaluating claims of sexual harassment and assault.

The rules stem from a 1972 law known as Title IX that bars sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. Most of the attention is on higher education, but the rules also apply to elementary and secondary schools. Once published in the Federal Register, the proposal will be open for public comment before being finalized.

The regulation lands amid a national debate over sexual assault, including whether Brett M. Kavanaugh should have been elevated to the Supreme Court after allegations surfaced that as a teenager he sexually assaulted a girl. He denied the accusation and was confirmed. Defending Kavanaugh, President Trump declared it a very scary time for young men in America who faced the possibility of false claims.

Advertisement

Last year, DeVos rescinded the 2011 Obama guidance, denouncing it as overly prescriptive and lacking due process for the accused. She promised to write a regulation to replace it.

In a 2017 speech, she offered several examples of students she said were wrongly accused of wrongdoing under the old rules. She also said the rules poorly served survivors who were forced through multiple appeals because the system had failed the accused.

Schools have been compelled by Washington to enforce ambiguous and incredibly broad definitions of assault and harassment, she said. Institutions must be mindful of the rights of every student.

The rules come after years of rising pressure on universities to better respond to allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct, and the proposal is likely to anger those who fear victim claims will be ignored or minimized. But the new direction has been welcomed by mens rights groups, who say the Obama guidelines were weighted in favor of the accusers, and by some university administrators who found the Obama version overly prescriptive and confusing.

The proposed rule would dodge a related controversial matter regarding the rights of transgender students. The Department of Health and Human Services had urged the Education Department to include a provision defining gender as someones biological sex at birth. The DeVos proposal does not include that idea.

But several people said it is possible the Education Department will later issue a letter or fact sheet that asserts sex discrimination does not include complaints related to gender identity.

People with direct knowledge of the rules and others briefed on them spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the proposal. The department declined comment.

A leaked draft of the Title IX rules was published online in September, and five people familiar with the planning said this week only a handful of changes have been made to the rules since then.

The most significant change would guarantee the accused the right to cross-examine their accusers, though it would have to be conducted by advisors or attorneys for the people involved, rather than by the person accused of misconduct. If requested, the parties could be in separate rooms during the cross-examination, an administration official said. They said this was done to bolster the due process rights of the accused while assuring that victims are not directly confronted by their alleged assailants.

The Obama guidelines had strongly discouraged use of direct cross-examination. The earlier DeVos draft allowed cross-examination but did not require schools to offer it as an option.

Recent court decisions requiring public universities to allow the accused the right to cross-examination when credibility is an issue figured in the administrations reasoning, two people said.

Some White House officials urged going further to include a mandatory cross-examination provision, two people familiar with internal discussions said. They said others in the administration argued that mandatory questioning was ill-advised, potentially traumatic for victims and not required in court hearings.

The proposal will include language barring questioning about an accusers sexual history, one administration official said.

Jess Davidson, executive director of the advocacy group End Rape on Campus, said she made the case to the White House against allowing the parties to directly cross-examine each other, decrying it as an extraordinarily cruel process that would discourage victims from reporting assaults.

Most survivors would be unwilling to go through a process that allows the person who sexually assaulted them to cross-examine them, and rightfully so, she said.

Others argue that colleges failed to protect the rights of the accused under the Obama guidelines. For instance, many schools used a single investigator to gather evidence and decide the case, without an opportunity for the accused to confront their accusers, said Robert Shibley, executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which supports more robust due process procedures.

That leaves a huge window of opportunity for the biases of the adjudicator to make themselves felt, he said.

In another change, the proposal will allow both sides to appeal an adverse ruling, and not just the accused.

The rules will also give universities more flexibility in offering supportive measures to victims, for instance schedule changes or housing reassignments, in a change requested by survivor groups.

The most consequential provisions are unchanged since September.

The biggest may be the standard of proof required in assessing claims. Under the DeVos proposal, schools will be allowed to choose between preponderance of the evidence and the higher bar of clear and convincing evidence. The Obama guidelines had directed schools to use the preponderance of the evidence standard.

The regulation also would require schools to use the same standard in these cases as they use for other complaints, including those against employees and faculty. Many union contracts and other agreements with faculty mandate the use of a higher clear and convincing standard, several people said. So as a practical matter, most schools may be forced to apply the same higher bar for student complaints.

Its intentional, said one person briefed on the rules. Its DeVos saying, Yeah, you have a choice, but you cant have a higher burden of proof for unionized faculty. 

In another major change from 2011 Obama guidelines, the new rules more narrowly define sexual harassment. It must be unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to the schools education program or activity. Under Obama, harassment was unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.

And the rules raise the bar for when an institution can be held legally responsible for failing to investigate a complaint. Under the new version, the school must have actual knowledge of the allegation, made to an official who has the authority to institute corrective measures. That means reporting the allegation to a professor or resident advisor is not sufficient to prove the university was aware of the matter because those people are not in a position to formally handle complaints.

Under Obama, the government expected schools to investigate if they knew or reasonably should have known about an incident. Universities thought that was overly broad.

Universities appreciate that the new rules will offer more clarity on their responsibilities, said Terry Hartle, a senior vice president for the American Council on Education, which represents university presidents. What you want is schools being able to act in good faith without hearing that theyre going to be second-guessed by government bureaucrats later on, he said.
During fire season, I always think about Mike Davis, author of one of the most  pardon the pun  incendiary essays in the annals of SoCal letters: The Case for Letting Malibu Burn. I return to this chapter from his book Ecology of Fear any time that the Santa Ana winds howl and thousands flee raging infernos  a ritual that used to happen every couple of years but now seems to happen every couple of months.

The Case for Letting Malibu Burn is a powerhouse of history, science, Marxist analysis  and a certain amount of trolling. Its main point is that Southern Californians will never accept that fire is not only common here, but part of our ecology going back centuries. To spend millions saving homes in areas never meant for neighborhoods and power lines is not just folly, but a waste of public resources.

This time around, as California burned from the north to the south, I checked in via email with Davis, now professor emeritus at UC Riverside. Hes best known for his literary double whammy against Los Angeles exceptionalism: 1990s City of Quartz and 1998s Ecology of Fear. Those books made the Los Angeles of Chinatown seem as sinister as Mayberry. Davis tales of racism, poverty, corruption and other sins  backed by copious footnotes  inspired a generation of radical historians and writers, including yours truly. He also riled an army of detractors who so hated his apocalyptic warnings that they ridiculed everything from his scholarship to his marriages to the fact that he was born in Fontana.

To spend millions saving homes in areas never meant for neighborhoods and power lines is not just folly, but a waste of public resources.

Advertisement

But as the years go on, Davis bleak words read more like revelations than rants. Just as he argued, we build deeper into canyons and foothills, daring Mother Nature to give us her best shot  and then are shocked when she does.

The Woolsey fire has already scorched more than 96,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, destroying 435 structures in Malibu and other cities. Its yet another fire of the century for the beach city.

Maybe 10 or 20 years ago, you stayed in your homes when there was a fire and you were able to protect them, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said during a news conference this weekend. Were entering a new normal. Things are not the way they were 10 years ago.

In other words, we now live in Mike Davis world. He has ascended to the pantheon of Golden State visionary authors like Helen Hunt Jackson, Upton Sinclair and Carey McWilliams who held up a mirror to us that we have ignored at our own peril.

The Case for Letting Malibu Burn depicted Malibu and other wealthy cities built in the boonies as created not for love of the great outdoors or frontier rusticity, but rather as thickets of privacy against L.A.s working classes and people of color.

We enable this white flight into the mountains, he argued, by not just allowing development where there shouldnt be any, but also subsidizing those affected by the inevitable wildfire in the form of cheap fire insurance and squadrons of first responders deployed around the clock at the hint of an ember.

He went through a litany of Malibu blazes over the last century, concluding with the Old Topanga blaze of 1993  which consumed about 18,000 acres but destroyed 323 structures. Throw in climate change, Davis noted in a version of his essay that appeared in the L.A. Weekly, and the catastrophe marked a qualitative escalation in fire danger, if not the actual emergence of a new, post-suburban fire regime.

And, almost exactly 25 years later, here we are again.

Davis work on Malibus flames has aged far better than the criticism of it. Chapman University urban studies fellow Joel Kotkin, for instance, said of Ecology of Fear back in the 1990s that it basically mugs Los Angeles and is truly nauseating stuff. Yet by 2007, Kotkin told the Economist, in an article about the fires that fall that wreaked havoc from San Diego to Santa Barbara, that nature still has a lot of power in the once-unspoiled areas where we build homes  which is what Davis contended all along.

Then theres former Malibu real estate agent Brady Westwater, who refashioned himself as a downtown L.A. booster. You couldnt write about Ecology of Fear for years without mentioning Westwater, who hounded reporters with screeds and stats about Davis real and alleged errors until the press finally began to cite him as a legitimate critic.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

In his own 1998 essay (whose titled described Davis as a purposefully misleading liar), Westwater predicted that fire damage will decrease over the years in Malibu because of better infrastructure and better-built homes. Of the Old Topanga disaster, he plainly declared: That kind of fire can never happen again.

And yet here we are again.

Davis remains persona non grata in Malibu, from Neptunes Net to Pepperdine University. Malibuites took The Case as a direct attack on their beliefs and ways of life.

Davis takes no satisfaction in seeing his analysis come true all over again. But the author, whos recovering from cancer, stands by what he wrote.

Im infamous for suggesting that the broader public should not have to pay a cent to protect or rebuild mansions on sites that will inevitably burn every 20 or 25 years, he told me. My opinion hasnt changed.

mexicanwithglasses@gmail.com

Twitter: @GustavoArellano
On Nov. 4, the U.S. renewed sanctions against Irans oil, shipping and banking sectors. The world should join the United States in imposing these sanctions, which are a consequence of the Iranian governments choices to sponsor terrorism and pursue nuclear capabilities. At the same time, we must also join in supporting the Iranian peoples pursuit of life free from the regime in Tehran.

As Israels representative at the U.N., I want to directly address the Iranian people and send them a clear and unequivocal message: My nation stands with you in your desire for a better life. Israel is not your enemy; we want to be your friend.

Persians and Jews are both ancient and proud peoples, with deep and rich histories. Jews have been a part of Persian history for more than 2,500 years; it was the Persian king, Cyrus the Great, who permitted Jews to return to the land of Israel in the 6th century BC and rebuild our temple.

After the establishment of modern Israel and Iran, our two nations developed strong diplomatic and trade relations. In the 1960s, Israeli army engineers went to the city of Qazvin to help Iranian farmers with water and seed management. The Israeli presence was so established there that the most widely spoken language in the city after Persian was Hebrew. For decades, Israel and Iran worked together to navigate the evolving geopolitical realities of the Middle East; there were even direct flights between Tel Aviv and Tehran.

Advertisement

Israel recognizes the difference between the Iranian government and the Iranian people. And we bear no ill will or animosity toward the citizens of Iran.

But relations between our two nations were abruptly severed in 1979, when the Islamic Revolution brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power and set Iran on a new path to becoming a rogue state, named by the U.S. State Department as the worlds leading sponsor of terrorism. For the last four decades, this regime has forcibly exported its revolution to others at the expense of the Iranian people.

A central pillar of the post-revolution Iranian government has been its irrational hatred of Israel. Khomeini referred to my country as the Little Satan and a cancerous tumor that needed to be removed from the region, and former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened to wipe Israel off the map.

Israel, however, recognizes the difference between the Iranian government and the Iranian people. And we bear no ill will or animosity toward the citizens of Iran.

We do not fault Iranians for their governments decision to send hundreds of millions of dollars annually to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, or to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assads government with billions in aid, or to fight proxy wars in Iraq and Yemen. It is not the peoples choice to write Israel must be wiped out and Death to America, Death to Israel on Irans expanding arsenal of ballistic missiles. Nor do we hold those who may live in Qom or Tehran or Esfahan responsible for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis desire for nuclear warfare capabilities.

The Iranian people know that their welfare has been sacrificed for the governments malevolent ambitions. In 2009, Israel watched as the Green Movement in Iran bravely protested Ahmadinejads reelection. Today, we follow Iranians demonstrations against the governments oppressive religious, cultural, economic and political policies. When Iranians shout, in righteous anger, No to Gaza, no to Lebanon and Leave Syria and think of us, they should know that the world hears them.

The renewal of U.S. sanctions will hit hardest at the very organizations that enable the governments terrorism networks. These include the National Iranian Oil Co., for example, which bankrolls the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which illegally transports prohibited military cargo and shipments.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

The objective of the sanctions is to force Tehran to choose normalization over terrorism and proxy warfare. Unfortunately, ordinary Iranians will also feel the impact of the sanctions. To lessen those impacts, there are provisions to allow food and medicine and medical equipment to flow freely into Iran.

The Iranian people shouldnt have to suffer for their leaders actions. The world must stand in solidarity with the citizens of Iran, presenting a unified front against the theocracy and enforcing sanctions against Irans instruments of terror.

There is no reason for the Jewish and Persian peoples to be enemies, and every reason for us to be friends and allies. Israel has offered medical aid to Iran after devastating earthquakes there. Weve established a website in Persian that provides technological expertise to help those working to alleviate the Iranian drought. We support Iranians in their desire to be able to speak without fear of persecution, practice their religion without fear of torture, and celebrate their proud history and rich culture.

We hope the day comes when Israel and Iran have more reasons to collaborate. Like Israelis, Iranians deserve to live a life of freedom.

Danny Danon has been Israels ambassador to the United Nations since 2015. He is a former deputy minister of defense in Israel and a former member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings  one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect  despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram  which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal  claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause.  #Georgia  Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution  something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm  U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush.



The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T  Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump  as recently as Tuesday  continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along  that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right  to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops  You really are our heroes, he said  as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water  we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see.  James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes  he last won reelection by a 14-point margin  suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January  eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election  again, in blowout fashion  but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes  which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10.  Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks  Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank  when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while  including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters...  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press  President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there  the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day  and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event  a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children  the older ones are 5 and 2  about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals  her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican  she the race felt m
California Rep. Kevin McCarthy will lead Republicans in the House minority in the next Congress, defeating a challenge Wednesday from his right for the job.

Securing the minority leader spot puts the Bakersfield Republican in a prime position to become House speaker if Republicans regain control of the House in 2020.

The challenge from conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus and a founding member of the group, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), was spirited, but ultimately fell far short of blocking McCarthy from the simple majority he needed for the top position. The vote was 159-43.

Im very humbled to have the privilege to be able to serve and lead this conference, McCarthy said. We serve in a divided government and a divided country. Our goal is to unite us back together again. Our second goal will be to make sure we win the majority back.

Advertisement

First elected to a House leadership position in 2009 during his second term, McCarthy rose to become majority leader in 2014 and made a bid for the speakers gavel in 2015.

Hours before an expected vote, however, he abruptly dropped out of the running because of opposition from the Freedom Caucus, which complained he was not conservative enough.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) tapped McCarthy as his chosen successor when Ryan announced last spring that he would retire from Congress. President Trump avoided directly endorsing McCarthy in the race, but the men have a good relationship.

In seeking the post, McCarthy told colleagues in recent days that he has helped the GOP regain the House from bigger deficits than the one they will face in 2019 when Democrats take back control of the chamber, and he argued he is the best choice to lead them back to the majority.

We took a beating inside the suburban areas. Were going to have to work harder. I think our message is going to have to be clearer. Our ideas are going to have to be stronger. We realize that, and we will work toward that effort, McCarthy said. We have an opportunity to rebuild.

That experience helped convince Rep. French Hill of Arkansas, who said that the contest was more sparks than fireworks and that he supported McCarthy because he is a consensus builder who has experience operating in the minority.

For some freshmen members who will be new to Washington, the choice between McCarthy and Jordan was difficult.

I think hes a very good conservative. Hes shown a lot of leadership. Hes certainly earned the position, Rep.-elect Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) said of McCarthy. On the same note, I think Jim Jordan is a smart, tough, focused individual.

Jordan tried to make the race a referendum on the leadership of Ryan and McCarthy over the last few years, saying in a letter to colleagues that this might be a hard pill to swallow, but I believe that if wed handled the past two years differently, we would still be the majority party in the House of Representatives.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said Jordan was gratified by the support he got, and expected McCarthy would work to bring Republicans together.

This is one where the outcome was probably predicted. I dont know that it came as a surprise, Meadows said.

If Republicans had held the House majority, Jordan may have been able to pull away enough votes to prevent McCarthy from getting the majority of all House votes he needed to be speaker. But as a candidate for minority leader, McCarthy just needed support from a majority of his own party, which Jordan couldnt prevent him from getting.

McCarthys rise to the top GOP position has been smoother than that of his California colleague, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who though running unopposed is facing a vocal insurrection in her path to becoming speaker again. House Democrats hold their leadership elections Nov. 28.

If Pelosi becomes speaker, it will be the first time the speaker and minority leader come from the same state.

Many of the House GOP leadership positions were not contested.

Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the current majority whip, was unopposed in his bid to keep the No. 2 position. Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was alone in seeking the third-most powerful job, leading the Republican Conference, a job her father, Vice President Dick Cheney, held 30 years ago when he was in the House. North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker had no competition in being elected vice chairman of the conference.

Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer will take over leading the Republicans House campaign arm.

Senate Republicans also held leadership elections Wednesday, choosing to largely keep the same leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Texas Sen. John Cornyn is term-limited as majority whip, and current Conference Chairman John Thune of South Dakota ran unopposed to succeed him.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was elected vice chairwoman of the conference, making her the only woman in the GOP leadership.

Senate Democrats voted to keep Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York and the rest of their current leadership team.

The latest from Washington 

More stories from Sarah D. Wire 

sarah.wire@latimes.com

Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter

UPDATES:

2 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from McCarthy, Meadows and others.

This article was originally published at 11:15 a.m.
The United States has lost its military edge to a dangerous degree and could potentially lose a war against China or Russia, according to a report released Wednesday by a bipartisan commission that Congress created to evaluate the Trump administrations defense strategy.

The National Defense Strategy Commission, comprised of former top Republican and Democratic officials selected by Congress, evaluated the Trump administrations 2018 National Defense Strategy, which ordered a vast reshaping of the U.S. military to compete with Beijing and Moscow in an era of renewed great power competition.

While endorsing the strategys aims, the commission warned that Washington isnt moving fast enough or investing sufficiently to put the vision into practice, risking a further erosion of American military dominance that could become a national security emergency.

At the same time, according to the commission, China and Russia are seeking dominance in their regions and the ability to project military power globally as their authoritarian governments pursue defense buildups aimed squarely at the United States.

Advertisement

There is a strong fear of complacency, that people have become so used to the United States achieving what it wants in the world, to include militarily, that it isnt heeding the warning signs, said Kathleen Hicks, a former top Pentagon official during the Obama administration and one of the commissioners. Its the flashing red that we are trying to relay.

The picture of the national security landscape that the 12-person commission sketched is a bleak one, in which an American military that has enjoyed undisputed dominance for decades is failing to receive the resources, innovation and prioritization its leaders need to outmuscle China and Russia in a race for military might reminiscent of the Cold War.

The military balance has shifted adversely for the United States in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, undermining the confidence of American allies and increasing the likelihood of military conflict, the commission found, after reviewing classified documents, receiving Pentagon briefings and interviewing top defense officials.

The U.S. military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict. It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia, the report said. The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously.

In its list of 32 recommendations, the commission urged the Pentagon to explain more clearly how it intends to defeat major-power rivals in competition and war. It assailed the strategy for relying at times on questionable assumptions and weak analysis and leaving unanswered critical questions.

Eric Edelman, a top Pentagon official during the Bush administration who co-chaired the commission along with retired Adm. Gary Roughead, said the report wrestled with the consequences of years of ignored warnings about the erosion of American military might.

Russia and China have learned from what weve done. Theyve learned from our success. And while weve been off doing a different kind of warfare, theyve been prepared for a kind of warfare at the high end that we really havent engaged in for a very long time, Edelman told Michael Morell, the former acting director of the CIA and a fellow member of the commission, during a forthcoming episode of Morells podcast, Intelligence Matters.

Edelman said people had lost sight of how complicated the international security environment had become for the United States, and argued that for a lot of reasons the American public and Congress havent been as attentive to the urgency of the situation as they should be.

The commission argued that despite a $716-billion U.S. defense budget this year, which is four times the size of Chinas and more than 10 times that of Russia, the effort to reshape the U.S. defense establishment to counter threats is under-resourced. It recommended that Congress lift budget caps on defense spending in the next two years that in the past have hobbled the militarys ability to plan for the long term.

It is beyond the scope of our work to identify the exact dollar amount required to fully fund the militarys needs, the report concluded. Yet available resources are clearly insufficient to fulfill the strategys ambitious goals, including that of ensuring that [the Defense Department] can defeat a major-power adversary while deterring other enemies simultaneously.

The call for even more robust defense spending comes as the Democrats take over the House and seek rollbacks of key Pentagon programs. It also comes after the White House instructed the Pentagon to pare back its planned budget for the coming year by some 4.5%, or about $33 billion, after the federal deficit increased sharply following last years tax cut.

White House national security advisor John Bolton recently said he expected the defense budget to remain relatively flat in the coming years as the administration seeks to cut discretionary spending, and suggested the Pentagon would need to reshape the military with funds derived from cuts to other areas.

Money saved from planned Pentagon reforms will prove insufficient to see through the new national defense strategy, the commission found. It also said Congress should look at the entire federal budget, including entitlement spending and tax revenue, to put the nation on a more stable financial footing, rather than slash defense spending.

To counter Russia and China, the commission said the Navy should expand its submarine fleet and sealift forces; the Air Force should introduce more reconnaissance platforms and stealth long-range fighters and bombers; and the Army should pursue more armor, long-range precision missiles and air defense and logistical forces.

In its recommendations, the report advocated seeing through the modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and putting a top Pentagon official in charge of developing additional air and missile defenses.

Another area of focus for the commission was innovation.

It described Pentagon acquisition programs as too risk-averse, and urged the Defense Department and Congress to create a new category of pilot programs aimed at leap-ahead technologies that could serve as breakthroughs to help retain American military dominance.

The report also resurfaced questions about the civilian-military divide that arose after retired Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis took over as Defense secretary, thanks to a vote in Congress that waived a requirement for military officers to be out of uniform for 10 years before serving in that role.

In his nearly two years as secretary, Mattis has relied more on current and former military officers for expertise than his recent predecessors have.

Without singling out Mattis, the commission warned that responsibility on key strategic and policy issues has increasingly migrated to the military, and urged Congress to exercise oversight to reverse the unhealthy trend in which decision-making is drifting increasingly toward the military on issues of national importance.

Sonne and Harris write for the Washington Post.
As midterm election results rolled in on Nov. 6, Rep. Adam B. Schiff was at the rooftop patio of the Burbank Bar & Grille trying to exorcise the ghost of two years ago, when he watched Hillary Clinton lose to Donald Trump from the same vantage point.

With Democrats about to retake the House, the congressman from Burbank, just elected for his 10th term, is now poised to become one of Trumps most relentless inquisitors on Capitol Hill. Schiff is in line to lead the House Intelligence Committee, a position that would give him powerful new tools to investigate the president.

In an interview, Schiff insisted that his first priority is to restore comity to what is arguably the most fractious committee in Congress. Over the last two years, partisan infighting has jeopardized the panels oversight of the nations intelligence agencies and the complex threats they must counter, from cyberespionage to nuclear arms.

Ending the bickering wont be easy. Theres little trust left among committee members after a bitter era of cloak-and-dagger maneuvering and competing partisan memos. A political San Andreas fault separates Schiff and the fellow Californian who has chaired the panel since 2015, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare).

Advertisement

And Schiffs call for cooperation has limits, since his political to-do list is filled with goals Republicans are likely to oppose. In addition to probing whether Russians have financial leverage over Trump, an allegation the president vehemently denies, Schiff wants to ramp up scrutiny of autocrats in Saudi Arabia and North Korea, two countries the president has embraced.

He tells us we can sleep better at night now, Schiff said about Trumps claim last June that there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea. On the basis of what I know, Im not sleeping particularly better.

The Intelligence and Judiciary committees are also expected to team up to scrutinize Trumps new acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker. The former U.S. attorney in Iowa has been a vocal critic of the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, and critics fear Trump installed him atop the Justice Department to clamp down on the inquiry.

The public has a right to know whether the president just appointed someone who has made any secret commitments in his handling of an investigation that may implicate the president or the people around him, Schiff said.

Trumps supporters will probably erupt when Schiff stops the committees efforts to investigate the Justice Department. Under Nunes, Republicans on the panel accused senior agency figures of twisting or hiding evidence to pursue a partisan investigation of the president, and they demanded vast troves of sensitive documents to make their case.

All of that is going to end, Schiff said. Were going to be defending the independence of the Justice Department instead of attacking it.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff greets Katie Hill, a Democrat who ousted a Republican incumbent in Los Angeles County, at a campaign event before the midterm election. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

Former committee staff members from both parties hope Schiff is able to press the reset button, noting that members of the Senate Intelligence Committee have maintained bipartisanship despite covering the same topics.

The last few years have been terribly destructive for congressional oversight of the intelligence community, said Jamil N. Jaffer, a Republican who served as the panels senior counsel and now teaches at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Thats bad for America, and bad for our national security.

Michael Bahar, who worked as Schiffs staff director before leaving the committee last year, said he had no doubt that his former boss will seek bipartisan consensus on intelligence challenges.

You dont pick Adam Schiff to be your chairman if you want vindictiveness, he said. Thats the bottom line.

The House and Senate intelligence oversight committees grew out of the Watergate scandal and revelations in the mid-1970s that the CIA, FBI and other agencies had spied on Americans, from leftist groups to civil rights leaders. Democrats and Republicans sit on both panels, but they were envisioned as operating in a nonpartisan fashion.

It seems sort of quaint now, said David Barrett, a Villanova University professor who studies the relationship between Congress and the intelligence community.

Committee members and a few aides are permitted to review classified intelligence in a secure room under the Capitol. There are no windows, and during especially long stints some staff have taken vitamin D supplements to compensate for the lack of sunshine.

Partisanship on the House committee has ebbed and flowed over the years, and members of both parties said Nunes, the chairman, and Schiff, the ranking member, worked well together until what Democrats call the midnight run in March 2017  two months after Trump took office.

Nunes secretly visited the White House complex late one night to review classified communications intercepts tied to the Russia investigation. He then suggested at a news conference that he was giving the intelligence to the White House, not the other way around.

President Trump shakes hands with Rep. Devin Nunes, the Tulare Republican who has chaired the House Intelligence Committee for the last two years. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images)

That began months of turmoil in the closed-door rooms where the committee did its work while a regular scrum of reporters waited outside. Schiff became a forceful presence on TV, raising his profile nationally  even as it turned him into a target of Republican attacks.

They want to be able to act unethically and have it be kept a secret, Schiff said. And when that would be revealed, they would consider that a leak.

Over the last year, the committee almost never spoke with a single bipartisan voice, turning nearly every issue into a political slugfest  or what Schiff called a breach of our compact with the intelligence community.

Republicans ended the panels Russia investigation by saying they found no evidence of a conspiracy between Trumps campaign team and Moscow. Democrats called that conclusion premature. Republicans also released a controversial memo alleging the Justice Department had abused its surveillance powers. Democrats issued their own memo in rebuttal.

Nunes is likely to be the ranking member of the committee after Schiff takes over, perhaps perpetuating the dysfunctional leadership dynamic.

But Schiff said he sees potential progress ahead because Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is retiring from Congress. Democrats have accused him of coddling some witnesses while badgering others, reminiscent of his tactics when he led a special committee that investigated the U.S. slayings in Benghazi, Libya, during President Obamas administration.

In the absence of the kind of Benghazi-like tone he tried to set, well be halfway there, Schiff said.

Nunes and Gowdy did not respond to requests for comment.

Andy Keiser, a Republican who worked on the intelligence committee before Nunes took over, said Schiffs close ties to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the front-runner to become House speaker in January, could increase the risk that political considerations will affect Schiffs decisions as Democrats focus on Trump.

My hope is they will be able to resist the temptation to use the power of the committee for partisan gains, Keiser said.

Schiff said hes more interested in restoring credibility for the committee  and not going after political enemies. Instead of overseeing the intelligence community, he said, Republicans on the committee focused on bashing the Justice Department and the FBI and acting as defense lawyers for the president.

And thats not going to happen anymore, Schiff said.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Twitter: @chrismegerian
The Justice Department released a memorandum Wednesday defending the legality of President Trumps appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general, rejecting criticism from some lawyers that the move violates the Constitution.

Since his appointment last week, some have charged that Whitaker, who served as the chief of staff to the previous attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is not legally eligible to serve as the head of the Justice Department because he is not a Senate-confirmed official.

On Tuesday, Maryland Atty. Gen. Brian Frosh, a Democrat, asked a federal judge to block Whitaker from serving as acting attorney general, arguing that Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein should instead take on the role.

The Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal guidance to the federal government, said in a 20-page memo that past practice, court rulings and legal analysis show that the Whitaker appointment is legal. In particular, it says the scenario is expressly authorized by the 1998 Vacancies Reform Act.

Advertisement

Trumps appointment of acting attorney general may be unconstitutional, legal experts say 

The memo also notes that before Sessions was forced out of the job, the White House had sought advice from the Office of Legal Counsel and was told Whitaker could be appointed.

As all three branches of government have long recognized, the president may designate an acting official to perform the duties of a vacant principal office, including a Cabinet office, even when the acting official has not been confirmed by the Senate, the memo said.

The memo notes that Trump has now done it six times, and that then-President Obama did it twice, and then-President George W. Bush did it once.

Interestingly, the legal opinion also concludes that, even if Trump had fired Sessions, he could have replaced him with a non-Senate-confirmed government employee for a period of up to seven months. By that reasoning, the president has the power to replace Cabinet-level officials at will and put them in charge of major government branches for half a year or more.

Critics of the Whitaker selection have argued the Vacancies Reform Act should not take precedence over other statutes and the Constitutions formula for replacing senior government officials.

Few positions are more critical than that of U.S. Attorney General, an office that wields enormous enforcement power and authority over the lives of all Americans, Frosh, the Maryland attorney general, said in a statement Tuesday.

Trump tapped Whitaker to serve as acting attorney general last week after Sessions resigned at the presidents request. Whitakers elevation has raised concerns about his qualifications, his past statements as a U.S. Senate candidate and his business practices.

Opinion: Matthew Whitaker is the new Harriet Miers. Conservatives should make Trump withdraw his appointment 

The legal challenge to Whitakers appointment comes as part of Marylands ongoing federal lawsuit that is trying to force the Trump administration to uphold a key provision of the Affordable Care Act.

Froshs filing argues that Whitakers promotion violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, which requires principal senior officials, such as the attorney general, to be confirmed by the Senate. Maryland also contends that the appointment violates a federal statute that lays out the line of succession and gives authority to the deputy attorney general when the top job is vacant.

A number of current and former government lawyers have said that, while elevating Whitaker to attorney general was unwise and unprecedented, it is not illegal.

A senior Justice Department official said the Office of Legal Counsels analysis of the practice found 160 such instances in which a non-Senate-confirmed individual became the acting head of an agency, but the vast majority of those instances came before 1870.

Devlin Barrett writes for The Washington Post.
Travelers will soon be able to fly to Dallas or Atlanta from Hollywood Burbank Airport.

Delta Airlines recently announced it will be offering twice-daily flights to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport starting on July 8.

The first flight will depart from Hollywood Burbank at 11:15 a.m., with the last flight leaving at 9:45 p.m.

Additionally, American Airlines will be offering twice-daily flights to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport beginning on April 2.

Travelers can catch the 8 a.m. flight to the Texas airport or the afternoon flight at 12:20 p.m.

Both airlines will be using Boeing 737 aircraft for their upcoming service. Passengers can book flights to these airports now, according to local airfield officials.

Delta is one of Hollywood Burbank Airports best-performing air carriers. The airline recently reported a 37% increase in passenger numbers in September, compared to the same month a year earlier.

Meanwhile, American Airlines has seen inconsistent passenger tallies at the Burbank airport.

The air carrier reported about a 4% dip in passengers in September, compared to a year prior.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Jason Szolomayer was living what many would consider the typical Orange County lifestyle.

After graduating from Newport Harbor High School, and then earning a bachelors degree in finance from Cal State Fullerton in 2002, the longtime Costa Mesa resident worked for a commercial banking firm in Newport Beach.



For the record: This story has been updated with a more in-depth explanation of the 3D ear scanning technology.

Szolomayer eventually became disheartened by the greed he said permeated the profession.

My parents had always taught me to work hard and to serve other people, Szolomayer said, so that was always part of my DNA.

Szolomayer, 40, wound up in Jordan, where he taught English to middle-aged men in Amman, with the goal of improving their employment prospects.

Szolomayer was doing volunteer work at the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf and Blind in the city of Salt, when he witnessed the laborious process the institute went through to provide hearing aids for its clients.

Citing a 2013 report from the World Health Organization, an agency that works with the United Nations on international public health issues, less than 3% of people in developing countries who need a hearing aid are believed to have one.

I thought there was a more efficient way of doing this, he said. My business mind went to work, and that is where I started to brainstorm on how we can do this well.

A group of silicone hearing aid molds that have just been created with 3D printing. This is an example of what 3dp4me wants to do in Jordan. (Photo courtesy of ASIGA)

Szolomayer learned it was possible to use 3-D technology to efficiently produce hearing aid molds.

The new 3-D ear scanning technology from Lantos Technologies allows medical personnel to scan a patients ear and use the measurements to create a silicone mold.

The 3-D ear scanner collects over 100,000 data points, creating a 3-D image of the unique geometry of the clients ear to make sure we get a perfectly tailored and comfortable fit.

Szolomayer formed a nonprofit called 3dp4me, which stands for 3-D Printing for the Middle East, and partnered with World Wide Hearing, a nonprofit that provides hearing aids to children in underserved regions at a drastically reduced cost.

If children can get a hearing aid before they go to school, they can communicate, and they can learn, Szolomayer said.

Together, 3dp4me and World Wide Hearing are hoping to set up a 3-D printing lab in either Salt or Amman, with the goal of providing 12,000 hearing aid molds over four years.

They have the auditory expertise, and we have the technology, Szolomayer said of the partnership.

The long-term vision is that the project can serve as a model for providing the gift of hearing around the world, he said.

Szolomayer has spent 14 months laying the groundwork. He found a company in Germany that will produce hearing aids and built a relationship with a 3-D scanning company. He recruited a group of volunteers in the U.S. and enlisted the help of audiologist Dr. Brian Fligor of Boston.

Fligor, an audiologist and Harvard Medical School assistant professor who is now chief development officer for Lantos Technologies of Woburn, Mass. (a forerunner in developing ear scanning technology), said he was inspired by Szolomayer s enthusiasm for his mission.

Im humbled by the fact that he is looking to do something outrageously good, said Fligor, who serves as an advisor for 3DP4Me. Theyre doing hearing health care [for] people in [difficult] circumstances. Im so excited about what they are doing. Im very confident they will be successful at this.

Fligor will help set up the clinical protocols once the brick and mortar lab is built. Szolomayer figures theyll need about $200,000  which includes fees for equipment, staffing and training  to get the lab up and running.

Very few things are as important [as] our connection with other people, said Fligor. Hearing loss cuts off our access to other people. When you provide hearing aids that are perfect for that person, then they are now reconnecting with other people.

3DP4ME is holding a fundraising event at 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at Rock Harbor Church, 345 Fischer Ave., Costa Mesa. The event will feature entertainment, appetizers, a raffle and silent auction, where prizes include golfing at the Newport Beach Country Club and El Niguel Country Club, a custom surfboard with lessons, and a gift basket of wines.

To RSVP for the event or get more information on 3DP4ME, go to 3dp4me.org.

Lou Ponsi is a contributor to Times Community News.
Tom Hatchs tenure as Costa Mesa city manager has come to an abrupt end after the City Council voted in closed session Tuesday to terminate his contract.

The 3-2 decision  with council members Katrina Foley and John Stephens opposed  was announced at the start of the councils regular meeting.

Just before the late-afternoon closed session, Foley said Hatch moved out of his office and turned in his badge late Friday afternoon.

Foley, whom voters chose Nov. 6 as the citys first directly elected mayor, said she was disappointed at such a development on the heels of a historic election and a real positive change.

Voters also swept a new council majority into power, meaning Hatch would have a new slate of bosses.

Hatch, a Costa Mesa resident, called in sick Tuesday, according to city spokesman Tony Dodero. City Hall was closed Monday in observance of Veterans Day.

Hatch also did not attend the council meeting. He did not return calls seeking comment.

Rumors had swirled for days that Hatch was on his way out, but council members and other officials had declined to address them publicly until Foley did just before the closed session.

More games and chaos at City Hall, she said.

Councilman Jim Righeimer said Tuesday night that Hatch has been a massive asset to the city but added that it was clear to him, at least, that he wasnt going to be around much longer given the results of last weeks election.

Theres a time when you kind of pull the bodies off the battlefield and, as far as Im concerned, Toms body was pulled off the battlefield so he can go on and not be part of this issue that we have here, Righeimer said.

Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor called Hatch a great man. Im sad to see him go, he said.

Were going to see a lot of changes in our city, for better or worse, and I think what you saw tonight is reflective of the atmosphere at City Hall, Mansoor said. And there may be more to come.

Foley, however, said the idea that she or the newly elected council members  Manuel Chavez, Andrea Marr and Arlis Reynolds  had made any determination regarding Hatchs future was just a flat-out misrepresentation and that the decision to terminate his contract was coordinated clearly by the majority here tonight.

Hatch is entitled to nine months severance pay, which he will receive by Dec. 15. Under a contract revision approved this year, his annual pay was set at $237,960.

Stephens said he felt Hatchs fate should have been left up to the incoming council. He added that Hatch turned in his credit card and his access card and he cleared out his office on Friday, so I think he effectively resigned.

I just think it was inappropriate under the circumstances to pay him that money, Stephens said. If he decided he didnt want to work for the new council, then I think the appropriate thing for him to do would have been to resign.

When Hatch took over as Costa Mesas head administrative employee in 2011, he became only the seventh city manager since the city incorporated in 1953. Previously he served as assistant city manager for more than four years under Allan Roeder.

Hatch also worked for the cities of El Monte and West Covina.

With the councils vote Tuesday, Hatch becomes the second area city manager to depart this year, joining Dave Kiff, his former counterpart in Newport Beach, who left at the end of August.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney

UPDATES:

8:25 p.m.: This article was updated with further details and comments.

6:45 p.m.: This article was updated with the City Councils vote.

This article was originally published at 4:45 p.m.
Apparently, not everything is going down the drain.

Testing results from underwater sediment samples gathered by Clark Magnet High School students in September proved that certain conditions are, in fact, improving.

Students in an environmental geographic information systems, or GIS, class made an excursion to the mouth of the Los Angeles River and collected soil samples that later contradicted the groups hypothesis about high mercury and lead levels in the water.

Water and soil from the Los Angeles River and surrounding area are getting cleaner and less toxic, according to test results, though theres still room for improvement.

It looks like some of the metals have gone down, so that was great news, said Dominique Evans-Bye, the class instructor. I was really happy to see that.

The GIS class tested nine metals found around the Long Beach harbor area, looking to see if toxins were above the permissible exposure limits for marine sediment set by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Students made trips on Sept. 13 and Sept. 19 but only collected samples on the latter date aboard a Los Angeles County Office of Educations marine science floating laboratory.

In all, 17 soil samples were collected with the goal of testing for pollutants in areas where a GIS class from Clark found high levels of contaminants in 2007.

The samples were tested at Long Beach States Institute for Integrated Research in Materials, Environments and Society.

Six of nine metals saw their totals drop in comparison to results from 2007, though the collection sample areas werent exactly the same.

We hoped that the results would be lower than the 2007 level, and it was nice to see that most were, student Shaye Holladay McCarthy said. Some did go up, too, so it was great to have that info.

Metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury had a decreased presence.

For instance, the permissible exposure limit for cadmium is 4,210 parts per billion, or ppb.

In 2007, the GIS class collected nine samples that were over 3,000 ppb, while four nearly reached the permissible level. This year, all of the 17 samples were less than 2,000 ppb, with 10 under 1,000 ppb.

Fourteen of 17 results for mercury, which has a permissible level of 700 ppb, were below 200 ppb, with none higher than 300 ppb.

Leads exposure level of 112,000 ppb wasnt close to being broached  the highest samples were just over 75,000 ppb.

The most problematic metal was zinc, as seven of 17 samples were either at the permissible limit of 271,000 ppb or above.

The students conducted the sampling and testing as part of their land-and-water entry submission for the Lexus Eco Challenge contest.

Information from testing was also forwarded to the Los Angeles Police Departments dive team, which often does diving in the same waters.

Since the trip, Evans-Byes GIS students have been on tour at various events, explaining their methods and results.

Students spoke at the California Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics showcase Oct. 28 and at the Environmental Systems Research Institutes ocean GIS forum in Redlands on Wednesday.

Were honestly all amazed by this, Holladay McCarthy said of the findings. Theres always a bit of nerves, which isnt a bad thing. But its fun to show our work and what weve accomplished.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports
While Glendale resident Mike Baldwin was able to put Vietnam behind him when he returned  he had a job, home and wife waiting for him  many of his friends were not as fortunate, he said during a Veterans Day celebration Monday at Two Strike Park in La Crescenta.

One way to ease their suffering is to just say thank you, said Baldwin, a member of the color guard with American Legion Post 288.

The local American Legion organization, along with VFW Post 1614, organizes the annual event to recognize those who have served in every branch of the military, as well as the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918.

The month also marks a significant personal anniversary for local Korean War veteran Bob Keiter.

In late November 1950, north Glendale resident and former Marine Keiter was shot and wounded at whats known as the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

The next day, a U.S.-manned jeep and trailer rolled through the aftermath, and Keiter recalled someone coming over to him and remarking, This ones alive. They took him to an aid station.

Those were great words, Keiter said, adding that it was 22 degrees below zero at the time. Because of the harsh conditions, troops that fought in the battle were nicknamed The Chosin Few.

Guest speaker U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the son of an Army veteran, highlighted what he described as the timely story of recently deceased Brent Taylor, a major in the Utah National Guard who helped secure elections in Afghanistan.

Prior to the recent U.S. midterm elections, Taylor urged all Americans to vote, writing that regardless of the outcome, we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides, Schiff said, quoting Taylor.

Taylor was killed in an insider attack while on his fourth deployment earlier this month.

Local Boy Scouts, as well as members of VFW Post 1614, helped set up chairs and assisted with a flag-retirement ceremony during the event.

Boy Scout Trevor Hall, 16, a student at La Crescenta Valley High School, said it was at least his sixth year volunteering at the Veterans Day celebration.

Its a great ceremony to help with because it honors the veterans who have served our country and put their lives on the line and those who lost their lives to fight for freedom, Hall said.

It was Kelly Browns first time directly participating in the celebration  leading attendees in singing God Bless America  although she has been hearing the music from the event from her former residence down the street for many years.

A music teacher, Brown said this year she volunteered to honor her father, a former member of the U.S. Navy during World War II.

lila.seidman@latimes.com

Twitter: @lila_seidman
Three males, two adults and one juvenile, were arrested in La Canada Flintridge on Nov. 5 after officers with the California Highway Patrol pursued them in a stolen car and apprehended them at the juncture of Commonwealth Avenue and Wiladonda Drive.

A call for assistance from CHP to nearby Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station came in sometime around midnight Nov. 4-5, according to Watch Commander Lt. DeMarkus Smith. At least one helicopter was called in to aid in the pursuit, flying low over residential streets near Commonwealth and Angeles Crest.

There was a containment and three males were arrested. We assisted, but we didnt make the arrests, Smith said Friday.

Officer Ryan Bejar, a spokesman for CHPs Altadena Station, confirmed a 2012 Toyota Corolla was spotted driving erratically in westbound lanes of the Foothill (210) Freeway east of Angeles Crest Highway. The vehicle was weaving inside its lane and driving on the right shoulder at fluctuating speeds.

When a CHP officer attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle exited at Angeles Crest and fled. The Corolla was eventually identified as stolen, and the driver and passengers apprehended.

Cameron Perry, 19, of Van Nuys, 18-year-old Los Angeles resident Lesley Taylor Bailey and a 16-year-old male from Van Nuys were arrested.

The juveniles name is not being released as he is a minor. Bejar said the teenager was cited and released, while the other two suspects were booked at Mens Central Jail on stolen vehicle charges.

The vehicle was registered to an address in the city of Los Angeles, according to Bejar.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
United Airlines fliers who donate to Southern California wildfire relief will receive up to 1,000 bonus miles for their generosity. In addition, the airline donated $150,000 to Ventura County fire relief organizations that are helping victims of the Woolsey fire.

We will continue to engage our generous customers, employees and MileagePlus members, and work with local leadership to support all those affected by these devastating fires, Janet Lamkin, the airlines president for California, said in a statement Tuesday.

Heres how it works: MileagePlus members (you can sign up for free) make a donation to one of three organizations, including the Red Cross, at Uniteds California Wildlife relief web page. Fliers receive 250 miles for a $50 to $99 donation, 500 miles for a donation of $100 to $249, and 1,000 miles for a gift of $250 or more.

The airline will give away 5 million bonus miles on a first-come, first-served basis; donations must be made by 9:59 p.m. Pacific time on Nov. 30.

Advertisement

The airlines direct gift was made to the Ventura County Community Foundation and the North Valley Community Foundation.

In other matters, airlines are allowing passengers flying in or out of Californias fire areas to change their tickets without paying a penalty. The Woolsey fire, which claimed two lives, was still very active Tuesday in Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains. The Camp fire in Northern California killed 42 people and burned most of the foothill town of Paradise.

United passengers who had planned to fly between Nov. 9 and 16 may postpone travel as late as Nov. 25 if they were planning to fly in or out of Burbank, Los Angeles and San Francisco airports.

Delta Air Lines will waive change fees for tickets issued Nov. 12 or earlier at Burbank, Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco airports. You have until Nov. 18 to change your ticket.

American Airlines also will waive fees for tickets issued by Nov. 10 at Burbank, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco airports. Fliers can rebook travel until Nov. 25.

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi rebuffed criticism from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and other leaders Wednesday over her governments treatment of ethnic Rohingya Muslims.

In a meeting on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore, Pence told Suu Kyi that he was anxious to hear about progress in resolving the crisis, which stems from a violent military crackdown in Myanmars Rakhine state that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.

The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse, Pence said.

He added that he was eager to hear about how Myanmar will enable the Rohingya to voluntarily return home. Pence also said Myanmars arrest and conviction of two Reuters journalists was deeply troubling to millions of Americans.

Advertisement

I look forward to speaking with you about the premium that we place on a free and independent press, said Pence, who is representing an administration with an unusually adversarial relationship with the news media.

Pence and Suu Kyi met during the annual summit of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore. Pence is attending that and the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Papua New Guinea later this week in President Trumps stead.

Responding to Pence, Suu Kyi said it was good to exchange views, but that we understand our country better than any other country does. Im sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your own country better than anybody else.

So we are in a better position to explain to you what is happening, how we see things panning out, she said.

After the meeting, senior U.S. administration officials said Pence and Suu Kyi had discussed the importance of having Rohingya return home, but only on a voluntary basis, with safety and dignity.

Pence also urged Suu Kyi to pardon the imprisoned journalists.
Pope Francis is going to Morocco in March in what is expected to be a heavy year of foreign travel for the 81-year-old pontiff.

The Vatican on Tuesday confirmed the March 30-31 visit to Rabat and Casablanca.

Previously, there were rumors that Francis would travel to Marrakech next month to participate in the adoption of a new United Nations global compact on migration.

The March visit is likely to include a focus on migration, as well as relations between Christians and Muslims.

Advertisement

Francis has several trips under consideration for 2019, though Morocco is the first to be confirmed.

He is expected in Panama in January for World Youth Day. In addition, he has said he hopes to visit Japan, while a Madagascar cardinal says hes expected there next year.
Food The Excelsior opens its New Restaurant in Thessaloniki center



14.11.2018 15:17:29 - Charlie D. Brasserie



(live-PR.com) - Boasting an impeccable new brasserie on its ground floor, The Excelsior located in the centre of Thessaloniki lures visitors and guests alike with its 5 star luxury accommodations, first class facilities and services and of course its timeless and elegant allure.

The capital city of the Macedonia region and Greeces second largest city, Thessaloniki has been steadily gaining popularity, and for - Boasting an impeccable new brasserie on its ground floor, The Excelsior located in the centre of Thessaloniki lures visitors and guests alike with its 5 star luxury accommodations, first class facilities and services and of course its timeless and elegant allure.The capital city of the Macedonia region and Greeces second largest city, Thessaloniki has been steadily gaining popularity, and for good reason. Its centre, well known for its splendid cafes, restaurants, bars and shops located around Thessalonikis Aristotelous Square prove that this is a city with fun, food and a vibrant cafe culture at its core. Thanks to the citys enviable location right on the Thermaikos Gulf, visitors are never far away from the crystal clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea which cools and calms with its gentle sea breezes under its timeless and symbolic White Tower. Also boasting a vibrant and often turbulent history which has seen the Thessaloniki host many different faiths and races of people, visitors are sure to enjoy Thessalonikis Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine Museum - and the iconic Church of Aghia Sofia, while the Macedonian Centre of Contemporary Art and the Helexpo Convention Centre represent the citys inherent love of the Arts as well as its commercial importance.

The Excelsior Hotel is a 5 star boutique hotel in Thessaloniki centre, located next to Aristotelous square, situated in a historical building dating back to 1924. After an extensive renovation which came to completion in 2009, The Excelsior features stunning architecture details, seen in its art deco balconies and neoclassical full-length windows offering views over the old town of Thessaloniki. Offering 34 beautifully appointed rooms and suites  consisting of 22 Double and Deluxe double rooms, 8 Junior Suites and 4 Excelsior Suites, most of them with balconies offering a view of the town, all accommodations have been individually designed by a team of architects. Featuring an array of colours, textiles and textures, modern/classic furniture and original art by young and emerging Greek artists, these sublime accommodations ensure for a peaceful, relaxing and of course luxurious stay. With their beautiful balconies, and extensive views, all the rooms and suites at The Excelsior are fully equipped with contemporary necessities such as Wi-Fi, flat screen TV and Tivoli Radios with IPod connection as well as Nespresso coffee machines and customized in-room mini bars (of course, guests are invited to dine at the onsite Charlie D. Bistro in Thessaloniki centre).

Located on The Excelsiors ground floor, the Charlie D. French Brasserie in Thessaloniki is an exciting addition to Thessaloniki restaurants many of which are acclaimed throughout the country. Situated just a stones throw away from the beauty of Aristotelous square, this impeccable bar restaurant in Thessaloniki sees famous restaurateur Apostolos Trastelis team up with the two-star Michelin awarded chef Arnaud Bignon to create an authentic French brasserie in Thessaloniki that serves traditional brasserie type dishes in an incredibly relaxed environment accompanied by the uplifting sound of pure jazz music.



CONTACT

> 10 Komninon St. & 23 Mitropoleos Av., Thessaloniki 546 24, Greece



T: +30 2310 021 020



F: +30 2310 021 030



E:



SALES DEPARTMENT



T: +30 2310 021 005



E:



RESERVATIONS DEPARTMENT



T: +30 2310 021 000



E:

good reason. Its centre, well known for its splendid cafes, restaurants, bars and shops located around Thessalonikis Aristotelous Square prove that this is a city with fun, food and a vibrant cafe culture at its core. Thanks to the citys enviable location right on the Thermaikos Gulf, visitors are never far away from the crystal clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea which cools and calms with its gentle sea breezes under its timeless and symbolic White Tower. Also boasting a vibrant and often turbulent history which has seen the Thessaloniki host many different faiths and races of people, visitors are sure to enjoy Thessalonikis Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine Museum - and the iconic Church of Aghia Sofia, while the Macedonian Centre of Contemporary Art and the Helexpo Convention Centre represent the citys inherent love of the Arts as well as its commercial importance.The Excelsior Hotel is a 5 star boutique hotel in Thessaloniki centre, located next to Aristotelous square, situated in a historical building dating back to 1924. After an extensive renovation which came to completion in 2009, The Excelsior features stunning architecture details, seen in its art deco balconies and neoclassical full-length windows offering views over the old town of Thessaloniki. Offering 34 beautifully appointed rooms and suites  consisting of 22 Double and Deluxe double rooms, 8 Junior Suites and 4 Excelsior Suites, most of them with balconies offering a view of the town, all accommodations have been individually designed by a team of architects. Featuring an array of colours, textiles and textures, modern/classic furniture and original art by young and emerging Greek artists, these sublime accommodations ensure for a peaceful, relaxing and of course luxurious stay. With their beautiful balconies, and extensive views, all the rooms and suites at The Excelsior are fully equipped with contemporary necessities such as Wi-Fi, flat screen TV and Tivoli Radios with IPod connection as well as Nespresso coffee machines and customized in-room mini bars (of course, guests are invited to dine at the onsite Charlie D. Bistro in Thessaloniki centre).Located on The Excelsiors ground floor, the Charlie D. French Brasserie in Thessaloniki is an exciting addition to Thessaloniki restaurants many of which are acclaimed throughout the country. Situated just a stones throw away from the beauty of Aristotelous square, this impeccable bar restaurant in Thessaloniki sees famous restaurateur Apostolos Trastelis team up with the two-star Michelin awarded chef Arnaud Bignon to create an authentic French brasserie in Thessaloniki that serves traditional brasserie type dishes in an incredibly relaxed environment accompanied by the uplifting sound of pure jazz music.CONTACT> 10 Komninon St. & 23 Mitropoleos Av., Thessaloniki 546 24, GreeceT: +30 2310 021 020F: +30 2310 021 030E: info@excelsiorhotel.gr SALES DEPARTMENTT: +30 2310 021 005E: sales@torhotelgroup.gr RESERVATIONS DEPARTMENTT: +30 2310 021 000E: reservations@torhotelgroup.gr Press Information:

The Excelsior







Contact Person:

Alexander Mirades



Phone: +30 2310 021 020

eMail: eMail



Web: http://https://www.excelsiorhotel.gr/restaurants/charlied-brasserie/





14.11.2018 15:17:29 -

Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact the author. Please do not contact Live-PR.com. We are not able to assist you. Live-PR.com disclaims content contained in this article. Live-PR.com is not authorized to give any information about content and not responsible for content posted by third party.
Humira 168

Large generics drug companies are swearing off aggressive tactics over biosimilars to better ensure freedom to operate (FTO) in the market and mitigate the risk of haemorrhaging investment.

In-house sources at large generics drug companies say that they are finding it more difficult to secure FTO for biosimilars than small molecule products. This is leading them to be more diligent in patent searches, take legal action sooner and file for regulatory approval on more variations of a product.

Biosimilars of Humira launched in the EU last month, while a US biosimilar is not expected until 2023 because of the patent thickets AbbVie has placed around it

You cannot necessarily rely on the traditional generics cut-and-thrust approach to product launches because the dynamics in the biosimilars market are different, says the assistant general counsel of a US-based generics company.

This FTO challenge has emerged because the biologics that biosimilars are copied from are often covered by more patents than the conventional small molecule products counsel are used to dealing with.

The blockbuster arthritis-treating drug Humira, which was copied and launched as a biosimilar in the EU last month, was surrounded by more than 70 patents. A US biosimilar of this drug is not expected until 2023 because of the patent thickets AbbVie has placed around it.

The head of IP at a European generics manufacturer explains that biologics are usually more complicated to produce, structurally complicated and difficult to formulate than small molecule drugs.

That complexity means biologic innovators can, and often do, have patents for the manufacturing methods, the way the product is expressed in a bioreactor or the way a protein is purified and formulated, along with the patents that relate to the drug itself.

Money problems

These patent thickets are a bigger problem for biosimilar launches than they might be for small molecule products because biosimilar development times are longer and require a much larger investment.

As such, if a company misses one of the many patents surrounding a biologic and cannot launch its biosimilar as a result, it could cost significant amounts in wasted resources.

If you end up as the fourth, fifth or sixth player because your competitors did a better job at analysing the patent landscape than you, then you will have missed the market and wasted millions of dollars of investment

If you invest in and manufacture a small molecule product and you have missed a patent, it costs money but it is not the end of the world, explains the assistant general counsel. But the investment for a biosimilar is so much bigger and you simply cannot afford to have stockpiles sitting in a warehouse going off.

The European head of IP adds: You cannot take risks, get it wrong and be on hook for a significant loss. I dont know the exact numbers, but a drugs company may have 100 or more generics in development and only 10 biosimilars, and the latter still requires more investment.

He points out that missing a patent could also lead to haemorrhaged investment by forcing a company to miss out on market penetration for its biosimilar product. The market dynamics in places such as the US, for example, are such that the first, second or third player in the market could grab a considerable market share.

But if you end up as the fourth, fifth or sixth player because your competitors did a better job at analysing the patent landscape than you, then you will have missed the market and wasted millions of dollars of investment, he says.

The head of IP at a US-based generics manufacturer adds that the financial implications of biosimilar litigation may also be enough of a reason to want to stay away from it. Biosimilars and their biologic counterparts, he explains, are more complex and it will cost a business much more to litigate or defend itself against an infringement action.

He says that the US biosimilar landscape is less developed than Europes  because the European Medicines Agency was a leader in developing a regulatory pathway for biosimilars  but even there, you can already see the litigation that comes from those products is huge, expensive and uncertain.

Getting certainty

Sources say that the market is still in its infancy and counsel have yet to fully develop their biosimilar launch strategies, but they are already taking steps to ensure greater certainty for their biosimilar launches to mitigate FTO risk.

The European head of IP says that the risk taken on in the development of biosimilars calls for a longer, more thoughtful and diligent due diligence process than generics companies have perhaps been used to.

The assistant counsel agrees, and adds that biosimilar companies are increasingly aiming to launch their products shortly after the original biologic supplementary protection certificate - expires and to clear secondary patent thickets at the IP offices until then.

There will be earlier litigation and a lot more of it because of the patent thickets surrounding these products  but most will end in settlement because the stakes are so much higher on both sides

He points out that this is the strategy that Amgen followed when it launched its biosimilar for Humira in the EU.

The associate general counsel at a South America-based pharmaceutical firm says that despite the cost of litigation in the biosimilar market, the drive to strip patent thickets is increasingly leading companies to take start actions against patent holders at an earlier stage to clear the FTO path.

There will be earlier litigation and a lot more of it because of the patent thickets surrounding these products  but most will end in settlement because the stakes are so much higher on both sides.

He adds that this trend is indicated by cases such as Fujifilm v AbbVie, where the case was hard fought and aggressive and went all the way to the UK Court of Appeal before an Arrow declaration was filed and the matter was settled in 2017. An Arrow declaration states a patent applications intended product or process was known or would have been obvious at the priority date.

That was being fought two-and-a-half years ago for products that are just being launched now, the associate general counsel says.

The US head of IP points out that the regulatory requirements for biosimilars may also be more complex and companies have to align patent litigation with regulatory approval.

Companies are also looking towards their regulatory strategies to ensure broader FTO. The European head of IP points out that there is a close inter-relationship between the IP landscape and companies regulator strategies, and companies will look to get approval for more variations of the same biosimilar product to better mitigate the risk of infringement.

If you look at Sandozs strategy in the context of Humira  the firm obtained authorisations for three different brand names, each with a slightly different indication or use.

Sandoz has clearly adopted this regulatory strategy to hedge its bets, and depending on how litigation plays out it could come to market with one of three different product labels to choose from to work its way around the patent.

The material on this site is for law firms, companies and other IP specialists. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws.  2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs.

Share this article
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on last day called an all party meeting on Thursday to discuss the upcoming pilgrimage season in Sabarimala.

The Chief Minister said that the verdict was very clear and it had not stayed the September 28 verdict opening the temple to all women. We will speak to legal experts on the details of today's judgement and then decide the future course of action, said Vijayan.

Mandalakalm, a fresh two-month festival season at Sabarimala starts on November 16 and the authorities are expecting more protests. Meanwhile, the Sabarimala tantri, the Panthalam royal family is also expected to attend the all party meeting.
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Wednesday declined to stay its September 28 verdict allowing entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked a lawyer, who was seeking stay on its Sabarimala verdict, to wait till January 22 when the Constitution bench will hear review petitions.

The matter was mentioned by lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara, who has filed the review on behalf of the National Ayyappa Devotees(Women's) Association.
SingaporeMalacanang has commended a Filipina autism-awareness advocate for bringing tremendous pride and great honor to the country as she bagged the first-ever Association of Southeast Asian Nations Prize during the opening ceremony of the 33rd Asean Summit and its related summits here in Singapore. The Palace wishes to congratulate Ms. Erlinda Uy Koe of the ASEAN Society Philippines and the ASEAN Autism Network [AAN] for winning the ASEAN Prize 2018 and bringing tremendous pride and great honor to the country, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said. We cannot be prouder of Ms. Koe and may her exemplary works inspire greater righteousness and dignity in all of us, he added. Aside from bringing home the inaugural Asean Prize for her outstanding contributions in improving the lives of people diagnosed with autism, Koe also received a cash prize amounting to $20,000. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, along with with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, awarded Koe the inaugural trophy. Lim said Koes efforts and inspiring achievements, as seen through her lifes work by providing services and training to families living with autism, have fostered the ASEAN identity and promoted the regional blocs spirit.Ms. Koes work and dedication to improve the lives of autistic adults and children reflect the spirit that is deeply rooted in an ASEAN Community that engages and benefits the people. We look forward to her continued efforts in contributing towards an inclusive, resilient, people-oriented, people-centered ASEAN, said Lim. Koe, he said, supported inclusivity and forged closer ties in ASEAN using her advocacy. Koe, Chair Emeritus of Autism Society Philippines, bested 48 other nominees vying for the recognition. In the spirit of servant-leadership, I share this recognition with the 13,000 fellow parents and family members who comprise the Autism Society Philippines and with countless other advocates from the ASEAN Autism Network. These angels labor to engineer institutional mechanism to improve the lives of persons with autism and their families, she said.
FOCUS ON DEFENSE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA
JPMorgan Chase Trader Pleads Guilty to Gold Manipulation, Turns State's Evidence

Gold and silver investors got a rare bit of good news on the enforcement front last week.

A trader from JPMorgan Chase pled guilty to rigging the precious metals futures markets.

John Edmonds admitted to cheating the banks clients and plenty of other people naive enough to expect fair treatment on the COMEX and other exchanges.

While this is by no means the first time a banker has been caught cheating, some aspects of this case are certainly worth noting.

Below is some detail on the who, what, when, why, and how of Mr. Edmonds activities at JPMorgan.

As part of his plea, Edmonds admitted that from approximately 2009 through 2015, he conspired with other precious metals traders at the Bank to manipulate the markets for gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (NYMEX) and Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX), which are commodities exchanges operated by CME Group Inc.

Edmonds and his fellow precious metals traders at the Bank routinely placed orders for precious metals futures contracts with the intent to cancel those orders before execution (the Spoof Orders), he admitted.

This trading strategy was admittedly intended to inject materially false and misleading liquidity and price information into the precious metals futures contracts markets by placing the Spoof Orders in order to deceive other market participants about the existence of supply and demand. The Spoof Orders were designed to artificially move the price of precious metals futures contracts in a direction that was favorable to Edmonds and his co-conspirators at the Bank, to the detriment of other market participants.

In pleading guilty, Edmonds admitted that he learned this deceptive trading strategy from more senior traders at the Bank, and he personally deployed this strategy hundreds of times with the knowledge and consent of his immediate supervisors.

Guilty JP Morgan Trader to Rat Out Other Gold Manipulators

Mr. Edmonds is ratting out some fellow traders, including more senior traders and immediate supervisors. It appears that JPMorgan will have trouble painting him as a rogue trader, as so often happens when an employee gets caught.

Maybe, just maybe, the trail uncovered here will lead to a high-level executive spending some time in prison for rigging the metals markets. That would be a first.

It is getting harder and harder for futures markets representatives to make the case that trading is even remotely free or fair. That is a good thing. We arent going to get honest markets in metals until confidence in the existing structure finally shatters and traders demand something better.

More guilty pleas, new convictions and additional evidence of systematic, widespread cheating is just what is needed for class-action lawsuits.

A handful of suits were launched when Deutsche Bank executives admitted to cheating and turned over piles of evidence in late 2016. Those efforts stand to get a nice boost from the Edmonds case, and perhaps we will see additional classes being formed.

Notwithstanding DOJ's success here, private actions brought in the civil courts are more likely to hold crooked bankers fully accountable than the regulators who have been tasked with that job. The CFTC has yet to take responsibility for the complete and utter failure, so it is safe to assume that the agency remains captured by Wall Street.

It is telling that CFTC investigators spent five years investigating silver market manipulation, four of them during the time that Mr. Edmonds and his accomplices were operating with impunity at JPMorgan Chase. Yet that investigation was closed without single banker being charged with wrongdoing, to the dismay of silver and gold market whistle-blowers everywhere.

By Clint Siegner

MoneyMetals.com

Clint Siegner is a Director at Money Metals Exchange, perhaps the nation's fastest-growing dealer of low-premium precious metals coins, rounds, and bars. Siegner, a graduate of Linfield College in Oregon, puts his experience in business management along with his passion for personal liberty, limited government, and honest money into the development of Money Metals' brand and reach. This includes writing extensively on the bullion markets and their intersection with policy and world affairs.

 2018 Clint Siegner - All Rights Reserved



Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




In recent months, a protracted struggle has been underway in China, with workers and students standing in solidarity against the pro-capitalist regime. This is highlighted by the recent, brutal clampdown on student activists involved in worker solidarity.

Although it was triggered by the local struggle of JASIC factory workers to establish a truly independent trade union, and the governments crackdown focused mainly on them and the student-based Jasic Solidarity group, this battle is a significant reflection of wider social forces.

On 9 and 11 November, the authorities engaged in their latest round of summary arrests without due process, collaring more than 10 students and workers on the 9th, and three more on the 11th. Particularly graphic was the case of Peking University graduate Zhang Shengye, who was kidnapped on campus, and solidarity group cadre Tang Xiangwei, who was tackled by three or four men on camera in broad daylight.

Previous to this, the police had already started cracking down on the group back in July. In August, 50 student activists were raided and arrested by police, with several whose whereabouts remain unknown, including Shen Mengyu and Yue Xin.

The arrests continue a pattern we have previously reported on, with the arrested activists hailing from geographically wide-ranging cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In addition, their activity was not confined to the JASIC struggle: Yue Xin was a key organizer of #MeToo on Peking University, and they also investigated conditions in a factory that made shoes for Ivanka Trumps brand, and supported workers suffering black lung disease.

It is clear that the ruling class in China is vigilant and perfectly conscious of its class interests. Despite the apparently modest size of the activist organization, the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) knows that they represent broad and deep resentment seething among masses of workers. This, in turn, is a result of a brewing widespread crisis in Chinese capitalism, affecting not just this or that sector, but the nation as a whole.

Courageous class fighters

The fact that these courageous class fighters rally behind the banner of Maoism, which is the official ideology of the nominally Marxist ruling party, clearly does not protect them. The real class interests are revealed behind the mask.

Text reads: "Chairman Maos model student, Proletarian fighter  Tang Xiangwei" / Image: fair use

We have reported earlier on how the official Marxist society in Peking University had previously been threatened with closure. Despite the officials backtracking and appearing to grant permission, the snatching of a student on campus, with the full cooperation of the university administration, demonstrates the insincerity of the governments promised concession.

Similarly, on 7 November, 300 workers from Hunan province who had travelled to Shenzhen demanding reparations for contracting black lung disease on their job, petitioning the Shenzhen Department of Labour peacefully, were met instead with beatings and tear gas.

If there were any illusions left that by appealing to genuine Maoism and Communism, activists can hope for support from sections of the CCP or President Xi, incidents such as these  which will only increase with time  serve to educate more and more class-conscious workers and students through their own experience.

Those demagogues in the state who appeal to Communism are just as much part of the ruling classs repressive machinery as the capitalists who openly proclaim themselves as such. Words such as Marxism are, for them, only meant as a sedative to put the masses to sleep. It is all right to say these words  as long as workers dont take them seriously and get ideas of their own!

Solidarity with student and worker activists

No amount of repression, however, can stop fighters who are driven by sincere faith in the working class  it only increases their courage. To quote the stirring words from an appeal written on JASIC Solidaritys official webpage:

Among the abducted comrades are many graduates from Peking University and other top universities. In the eyes of society, they have the brightest halos from elite universities, and what awaited them could have been inexhaustible fame and fortune. Yet these elite students did not choose to enter the dog-race of mainstream society, but held firm to their sympathy with workers and social ideals, entering industry to serve their migrant worker siblings, or became workers themselves, sinking roots in industry, sacrificing themselves for the liberation of the working class without fanfare and without complaints.

The students are valiantly continuing the campaign to free their comrades. In the process, those who reported on the abductions, such as Yu Tianfu, have had their WeChat (Chinese social media app) accounts banned and possibly forcibly escorted back home. However, in spite of all these repressive measures, there are no signs that the struggle will die down in the foreseeable future.

We Marxists stand in full solidarity with the worker and student activists in China. An injury to one is an injury to all, and their struggle is also our struggle. Far from weakening revolutionaries, repression will only steel and temper them as they learn from experience. This experience needs to be combined with a clear-sighted and scientific Marxist analysis, which is the only method that can truly reveal the class interest behind the CCPs slogans. On this basis the class struggle in China is destined to make rapid progress.
On the weekend of 10-11 November, the NYC comrades of the International Marxist Tendency hosted the 2018 Northeast Regional Marxist School. There was record turnout for an IMT event in the USA, with nearly 90 registered attendees from Boston, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Washington, DC, Minneapolis, Toronto, Montreal  and London!

The weekend started with the launch of our new book, The Revolutionary Philosophy of Marxism, led off on by Alan Woods, who wrote the books introduction. He began by congratulating the US comrades for putting together this new collection of selected philosophical writings by Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, Luxemburg, and Plekhanov.

Quoting Lenins profound insight from What Is to Be Done?, Alan emphasised that without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement. He outlined the historical development of Marxist theory, which unifies two great schools of philosophical thought: materialism and dialectics. He explained the Marxist worldview and why it is necessary to make the effort to study these ideas and methods. This included concepts like negation of the negation, the unity and interpenetration of opposites, understanding that everything is in flux, and the transformation of quantity into qualityand vice versa.

The weekend started with the premiere of our new book The Revolutionary Philosophy of Marxism, led off on by Alan Woods / Image: Socialist Revolution

There was an enthusiastic discussion on the importance of Marxist philosophy and why theory is key to building the subjective factor in order to lead the working class to victory. It was also noted that one of the main reasons for the historical weakness of the American left has been its aversion to Marxist theory and its acceptance of the empiricism and pragmatism of the ruling class. Training a new generation of revolutionaries is precisely why this book has been produced.

Alan emphasised that, "without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement" / Image: Socialist Revolution

Building the subjective factor

After the lunch break, Antonio Balmer, a member of the editorial board of Socialist Revolution led off on the topic of The International Marxist Tendency: Who We Are and Why You Should Join. Antonio also referenced the relevance of What Is to Be Done?, which has been reprinted by Wellred Books. He explained that the working class has struggled throughout history to defend its rights and has made numerous attempts to take power, however, the only time the working class was able to win and hold power was Russia 1917. This was due to the previous construction of the subjective factorthe revolutionary party.

Antonio stressed that this cannot be improvisedit must be built ahead of events. He also contrasted the methods of the IMT with the current trend of base building, which is in fact a modern version of the Economist trend that Lenin fought against in the early years of Bolshevism. History shows that workers can build unions, tenants organisations, movements, and even factory and workers councils without help from Marxists. However, at a certain point in a revolution, the working class needs a reference point. It must draw on the lessons of its own history in the struggle against capital, and this is where its historical memorythe revolutionary partycomes in. Without clear ideas, a correct programme, and leadership, the revolution will inevitably crash into a brick wall. This is the tragic lesson of the last 100 years of workers struggle.

In his presentation Antonio Balmer stressed the need to build a revolutionary party with the correct ideas and programme ahead of big upheavals / Image: Socialist Revolution

In the discussion that followed, comrades brought up both historical lessons and practical experiences in building the subjective factor in the US and Canada. In the sum up, Antonio invited all those who want to build this necessary tool to join up with the Marxists of the IMT. The first day of the school was followed by an energetic evening social at the US IMTs National Center in Brooklyn, which included vibrant discussions and the singing of revolutionary songs.

The Mexican Revolution

The second day of the school began with John Peterson, the chief editor of Socialist Revolution, leading off on the Mexican Revolution of 19101920. As the IMT builds its forces in US and Canada, comrades must not only study the class struggle in those countries, but must also understand Mexicoa key country for the socialist revolution in the Americas.

John gave a detailed overview of a complicated subject that is not taught much in the US or Canada, focusing on the role of the masses in pushing the process forward at every turn. The Mexican Revolution went through many phases, with big leaps forward and painful steps back, and saw countless heroic figures as well as snivelling betrayers. During the course of his introduction, he gave a portrait of the two outstanding leaders of the revolution, Emiliano Zapata and Francisco Pancho Villa. These comrades were great generals and self-sacrificing representatives of the wretched of the earth. They were ultimately murderedZapata in 1919 and Villa in 1923and the revolution was never completed, but some concessions were won by strenuous efforts of the masses.

John Peterson gave a detailed overview of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920: a complicated subject that is not taught much in the US or Canada / Image: Socialist Revolution

John explained how, tragically, the leadership of the urban working class was not armed with Marxism. If it had been, it could have formed an alliance with Villa and Zapatawho had the revolutionary peasantry behind themand this could have led to a different outcome. Once again, a Marxist leadership of the working class would have to have been built in advance of the revolution.

After the lunch break, Tom Trottier, also on the editorial board of Socialist Revolution, led off on The Midterm Election and the Prospects for Socialism. He examined how the real issues facing the working class were ignored during the campaign, while Trump and the two major parties focused on finding scapegoats for the problems brought to us by the capitalist system. Tom explained the perspectives for the American working class coming out of the recent election. It is clear that old and formerly respected institutions of capitalist rulefrom the Constitution to the President, Congress, and the Supreme Courtare losing their grip on the minds of the masses and people can see how undemocratic they really are. The working class is starting to view these institutions as those of the ruling class and this is a big step forward in class consciousness. He also discussed how the election of self-described socialists to Congress is a sign of the growth in popularity of socialist ideas. Tom and other comrades also discussed how DSA is missing an opportunity and making a mistake by reinforcing illusions in the Democratic Party, a party of the ruling class, rather than striking out on its own, building its forces in a way that points the way towards a mass working-class socialist party.

For socialism in the USA!

Alan Woods then gave an inspiring final address to close the school. The path ahead is not a straight line, nor is it easy, but if the IMT comrades are self-sacrificing and take theory seriouslyand our new book on philosophy is an important weapon in this fightwe will build the party needed to lead the working class to victory. The event concluded with the singing of the Internationale and Bandiera Rossa.

Overall, the school was a big success and was efficiently and professionally organised. The comrades left the meeting inspired and ready to dive into the new book, and energised to step up the important day-to-day work of fighting alongside the working class in the struggle for world socialism.
Hospitality company Airbnb announced last week that its hosts generated approximately $1.1 million in tax revenue during the first year of its agreement with the state of Wyoming.

Airbnb started collecting and remitting taxes on behalf of hosts Aug. 1, 2017.

https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/wyoming/article_5584f719-4202-5ec6-ad12-958e0636424d.html
Neither Tempel nor Tuss attacked the other during their campaigns.

"Why would I do that?" Tempel asked. "He was a good candidate."

Two long-time acquaintances and collaboraters, even friends, faced off in this months general election and had some comments about modern campaigning, the negative turn it has taken and what  if anything  can be done about it.

Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, and Havre Democrat Paul Tuss were talking about the campaign even before the interview in Havre started Sunday, commiserating about how to track down all of their campaign signs and how to get them removed.

With a few provisional ballots yet to be counted, the uncanvassed total in absentee and poll ballots gave Tempel the win by 139 votes in a very close race, 4,493-4,354.

Tuss congratulated Tempel Sunday on his victory.

By Tim Leeds

https://www.havredailynews.com/story/2018/11/13/local/tempel-and-tuss-on-modern-politics/521296.html?fbclid=IwAR1i9LGD7AIC8rfpSHGA7AFxomR5kIfTaxcwn0dxWA_4-P-fIYJNQEFlM
Education can improve understanding, and Missoulas leaders want citizens to understand what is and isnt possible, especially with a strained city budget.

Thats why two City Council members are inviting residents to apply to attend Missoulas first Local Government Citizens Academy, which starts in January.

While many people learned a little about local government in high school, this program will be a government-class refresher and then some.

By Laura Lundquist
Baghdad is looking for approval from Washington to import Iranian gas and energy supplies in exchange for food items, according to two Iraqi government officials as quoted by Reuters.

The Iraqi authorities are reportedly planning to keep on importing Iranian gas, which is used in the countrys power stations, as they need more time for searching alternative sources of energy.

Read more

The American deadline of 45 days to stop importing Iranian gas is not enough at all for Iraq to find an alternative source, one of the officials said.

Stopping Iranian gas after the deadline will create a real power crisis. We need more time. The Americans are completely aware of how desperately we need Iranian gas.

Iraq along with South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Greece, Japan, China, India and Italy, was granted waivers from the White House allowing Baghdad to gradually reduce energy purchases from Iran. The decision came shortly after the US re-introduced economic sanctions against Tehran in two stages.

The latest round of penalties that went into effect on November 5 targets Irans energy, finance and shipping sectors. Washington also threatened to introduce secondary sanctions against countries and corporations that continue to do business with Tehran. Earlier, the White House sanctioned Irans auto industry, carpets, metals trading and access to US dollars.

Monetary transactions have become difficult for Iran after the country was cut off from the SWIFT payment system under pressure from the US government. Without access to SWIFT's interbank payment system, Iran cannot get paid for exports and pay for imports.

The renewed sanctions against the Islamic Republic came after the US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 international pact aimed at curbing Irans nuclear program. Washington reportedly allowed Iraq to import Iranian gas as well as food items, but said the exemption would last only 45 days.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
A Labour MP has been accused of plotting to pin the blame for a speeding offence on a Russian national, even though the man was in Russia at the time, a court has heard.

Fiona Onasanya, 35, MP for Peterborough, persistently and deliberately lied to the police in an attempt to escape a speeding charge, prosecutors have argued.

READ MORE: 'Sleep with me, Ill make you a Baroness: Lib Dem peer faces longest suspension since WWII

The incident occurred in July 2017, a week after Parliament had broken up for summer recess.

The MPs car was clocked doing 41mph in a 30mph zone near a village in Cambridge - a speeding offence Onasanya claimed was not committed by herself.

A Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) was returned by the MP, naming the driver of her car as Russian, Aleks Antipow. But jurors were told Antipow was at home with his parents in Russia at the time that the offence took place.

The Russian had previously lived at a house rented by Onasanya and her brother Festus, in Cambridge, the court heard. The contact address and phone number provided for him were also linked to Onasanya's 33-year-old sibling, it was claimed.

Prosecutor David Jeremy QC said: "The purpose in providing the name of a real person as the driver, but providing a false address and telephone number that were connected to Festus Onasanya, was that Mr Antipow, while a real person, would remain untraceable to the police and so the true driver of Miss Onasanya's car on the 24th July 2017 would escape prosecution."

Festus Onasanya had used the same tactic when his car was caught by a speed camera on two separate occasions last year, jurors heard.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!

to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media wont tell you.
Washington expects Beijing to undertake a dramatic change in all of its policies to accommodate US demands and is prepared for prolonged hostilities if it does not, Vice President Mike Pence reportedly said.

The confrontational stance of the Trump administration was described by journalist Josh Rogin in a Washington Post opinion piece. He said Pence outlined it to him during a flight aboard Air Force Two on the VPs Asian trip.

The US wants China to offer concessions on a wide range of grievances, from intellectual property protection to territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is also expected to make a pledge to change Beijings economic, military, and political behavior during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on November 30. If Washington is not satisfied, there will be an all-out Cold War, according to Rogin.

Read more

I think much of that will depend on Argentina, Pence said. The presidents attitude is, we want to make sure they know where we stand, what we are prepared to do, so they can come to Argentina with concrete proposals that address not just the trade deficit that we face Were convinced China knows where we stand.

Pence said the US is in a strong position for a potential escalation of the trade war it has already unleashed on China. He added that the US had no intention of ceding influence in Asia to China and will not back down if Beijing choses to continue its current policies.

Then so be it, Pence said. We are here to stay.

Washington has been ramping up pressure on Beijing in recent years, imposing tariffs on Chinese goods and lately accusing China of interfering in US domestic politics.

Beijing seems to have no intention to concede. It responded to US tariffs with its own protectionist measures and continues its multibillion-dollar One Belt investment program, which is meant to secure additional stable trade routes to its most important suppliers and customers.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!
Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk!

You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details.
We will not support the electronic ...
CHESHIRE

*St. Peters Church annual Christmas Bazaar will take place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, in the parish hall at 59 Main St. The bazaar will feature a raffle of gift baskets as well as handmade quilts, crafts, gently used gifts, ornaments and other seasonal decorations. An array of costume and antique jewelry and lots of homemade baked goods will also be featured. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on hand to welcome children from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A lunch featuring homemade soups, breads and desserts will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 203-272-4041.

MERIDEN

*United Methodist Womens Holiday Fair Saturday, Nov. 17, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 159 E. Main St. The Fair will include: The Boutique Christmas Shop; gift Baskets; lunch to eat-in or take out; baked Goods, jams, jellies, pickles, relish; crafts & beautiful quilted items. All proceeds to benefit the mission projects of the Womens Ministry. For more information, call 203-235-9620.

*South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church Holiday Bazaar  Saturday, Nov. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 145 Main St. The event will include holiday crafts, fabulous gift baskets, baked goods, jewelry and a great cafe featuring soups, sandwiches, desserts and more.

*Christmas on the Hill hosted by Our lady of Queen of Angels, 585 Main St., campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Nov. 24. Offering tables of crafters, candy cane cafe, basket raffles, bake sale, cookie swap, cemetery logs, kids korner and tag sale.

*Christmas in the Village, non-profit and for-profit vendors wanted for Christmas in the Village! Saturday, Dec. 1, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Main Street, South Meriden, with up to 2,500 guests. Table space is free, but we encourage you to have give-aways, food samples, activities and /or raffles. Absolutely no selling or solicitations of any kind. Bring your own table, chairs and stuff. This is an outdoor event so dress appropriately. For more information or questions contact southmeridenfestivals@yahoo.com.

*American Dental Hygiene Association - CT First Annual Vendor/Craft Fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at First United Methodist Church,159 E. Main St. Many vendors and handcrafted items. Questions, email to dnorthway1@gmail.com or call 860-841-2836.

*The Unitarian Universalist Church, has scheduled its holiday fair from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at 238 Paddock Ave.

SOUTHINGTON

*Grace United Methodist Church, 121 Pleasant St., will host its annual Christmas Tea and Bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Features include knitted and craft items, unique ornaments, gift items, homemade Christmas cookies and fudge, plus a tea luncheon with finger sandwiches, fancy cookies and beverages. For more infotmation, call 860-628-6996.

WALLINGFORD

*Masonicare Health Center on Masonic Ave., will be hosting a Holiday Fair, and is looking for vendors and crafters to participate. The fair, which will be open to the public will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, in the Auditorium and on Main Street. We are looking for a variety of merchandise, from sweet treats or pet treats to hand-crafted items, and holiday decor and ornaments. A registration fee is required, payable to the Masonicare Health Center. Receipt of payment will be provided for your tax deductible donation. All vendors will be provided with a 6-foot long table for their sale items. For additional information, or to reserve your space, contact Maria Santiago at 203-679-5980 or msantiag@masonicare.org or Carla Young at 203-679-6253 or cyoung@masonicare.org.

*The Highland/Fritz Elementary Schools PTO, 200 Highland Ave., (off route 68) will host its Annual Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school. The fair will feature many crafters selling jewelry, painted items, wreaths, ornaments, candy, quilts and so much more! Refreshments will be available including homemade apple crisp. For more information or an application, contact dhajjar@wallingfordschools.org or adenya@wallingfordschools.org or (203) 294-3970.

BERLIN

*Friends of Berlin Animal Control will host a bake sale and pet bazaar from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Berlin Peck Memorial Library, 234 Kensington Road. Featured items will be pet christmas gifts, dog outfits and coats, baked goods. 860-828-5287.

NORTH HAVEN

*Fall Fair at Faith United Methodist Churchres<, 81 Clintonville Road, Saturday, Nov. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 203-265-2070.

PLAINVILLE

*Grace Lutheran Church, 222 Farmington Ave., will host a Holiday Fair Friday, Nov, 15 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 17 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 860-747-5191.

*Plainville United Methodist Church, 56 Red Stone Hille, has scheduled its Sleigh Bells Craft Fair Saturday, Nov. 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 860-747-2328.
MERIDEN  Local clergy told area residents they see science and religion as connected, not conflicting, studies during a conversation at Meriden Library earlier this week.

The discussion, organized by the Castle Craig Adult Learning Center Tuesday, included presentations by Zahir Mannan of the Baitul Aman Mosque Rabbi Michael Kohn of Temple Bnai Abraham and Pastor Peter Blossom from the South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church. There were roughly 40 CCALC members in attendance.

Mannan presented the connection between the Islam faith and science. He spoke on topics such as embryology, evolution, numerology and cosmology. In regards to Muslims holy book, the Quran, Mannan said every living thing is made from water. In addition, he said that Gods throne is on water. He believes faith and science are different sides of the same coin.

They both come from the same source in order to discover a fuller picture, Mannan said. Everything exists to recognize the creator.

Kohn presented different types of science in its connection with Jews book of faith, the Torah. He talked about the big bang theory, how the world was completed in six days and time dilation regarding velocity and gravity. Kohn believes one cannot survive without the other.

Theres always a relationship and balance, Kohn said. The science deals with the physical universe and religion deals with the spiritual universe.

Blossom presented on many Christian scientists. He spoke how faith and science are complementary ways of knowing. However, he said that science is not enough to define relationships of living beings.

I think that they complement themselves well, Blossom said. Both are ways of knowing and getting excited of Gods creation.

Janice Karpinski, CCLAC member and event organizer, said the organization started with a group of teachers who wanted more opportunities to learn. Karpinski, who has organized three events during her 12 years with CCLAC, added the group currently has 108 members.

Middlesex Community College helps the group with its bookkeeping. There are two more events this season and will begin again in March.

ayilma@record-journal.com

203-317-2208
Regional

Manipur govt extends financial assistance for scribes

Correspondent IMPHAL, Nov 14 | Publish Date: 11/14/2018 12:05:56 PM IST

Under the Manipur State Journalists Welfare Scheme (MSJWS), Manipur information and public relations, Th Bishwajit handed over financial assistance to six media persons of the state on Wednesday.

MSJWS scheme was launched formally on June 30, 2017 by state chief minister as part of important programme of the BJP-led coalition governments 100 days achievement.

While handing over the cheques to the beneficiaries, Th Biswajit said that the government always acknowledged the important role played by the media despite various hardships and challenges faced by them while discharging their duties.

The important role played by the fourth estate in a democracy is necessary more than ever in the globalised world of media, he said.

The minister added that benefits for the media persons will be increased from time to time according to resources available with the government.

While mourning the recent demise of journalist K Bipin Sharma of Impact TV after a prolonged illness, the minister promised that ex-gratia will be accorded soon after due process.

The six media persons who availed the benefits of the scheme were late Ningthoukhongjam Gitchandra Singh, joint editor of Manipur Mail, V Khamkhanthang, joint editor of Manipur Express, Siloam Veng (one time ex-gratias of Rs. 2,00,000 each), Phanjoubam Santosh, photo journalist of PTI, Yendrembam Mangi Ningthouja, desk editor of Pandam Daily (medical assistance of Rs 1,00,000 each) and Koijam Rajen Meetei, editor-in-chief, Liklam Journal and Kakchingtabam Bipin Sharma, cameraman of Impact TV (medical assistance of Rs. 50,000).

A total of ten media persons have availed financial assistance under the scheme.
Governments of Canada and British Columbia invest in expansion of Darkwoods Conservation Area

Funding kick-starts Nature Conservancy of Canada campaign for conservation in the Canadian Rockies

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is pleased to recognize significant contributions by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia to support habitat conservation in the Canadian Rockies.

The investments announced today total $14.65 million ($7 million from the Government of Canada through the Natural Areas Conservation Program and $7.65 million from the Province of British Columbia). The funds will support the addition of 7,900 hectares (19,500 acres) to the Darkwoods Conservation Area in southeastern BC. This funding will help to expand Darkwoods by 14 per cent and bring essential habitat for dozens of species at risk under conservation management. It will enhance protection within the worlds only inland temperate rainforest.

The Darkwoods expansion will conserve lands in the Next Creek watershed. The watershed is nestled in the heart of the Darkwoods conservation area but remains an unprotected private forestry property. Darkwoods and Next Creek are located along Kootenay Lake, between Nelson and Creston. The threat of industrial or recreational activity makes the acquisition of this area in the Next Creek Watershed NCCs highest conservation priority in BC.

Darkwoods provides essential habitat for close to 40 confirmed species at risk, including grizzly bear, wolverine, peregrine falcon, mountain caribou and whitebark pine.

The Darkwoods expansion is part of NCCs initiative to raise and invest at least $25 million to significantly expand its conservation work in the Canadian Rockies region. NCC is a national land trust. It aims to acquire more land for conservation, undertake restoration of high priority degraded sites and work with partners to protect natural areas and the species and ecological systems they contain.

To learn more and to donate, go to natureconservancy.ca/darkwoods.

NCC will be presenting about the Next Creek watershed and Darkwoods tonight in Victoria at NatureTalks: Grizzly Tales. The presentation is being held at St Anns Academy and is free with registration.

Quotes

There has never been a more important time to invest in the natural areas that sustain us all. We are grateful to the Governments of Canada and British Columbia for their bold commitments to the expansion of the Darkwoods Conservation Area. The investment kick-starts our work in the Next Creek watershed, and is a catalyst for conservation of global significance. ~ John Lounds, president and CEO, Nature Conservancy of Canada

Conserving the Next Creek watershed and expanding Darkwoods is an incredible opportunity to fulfill a conservation vision that started over a decade ago. The time to act is now, while we have the chance to bring Next Creek into this internationally significant conservation network. ~ Nancy Newhouse, BC regional vice-president, Nature Conservancy of Canada

The Nature Conservancy of Canadas efforts to purchase and then manage lands for conservation have been, and remain, an integral component of re-establishing connectivity in grizzly bear habitat This is leading to the successful increase in their conservation status in parts of southeastern BC, including the recovery of a threatened population [of bears]. The cooperation between NCC and grizzly bear research scientists has allowed the use of accurate conservation science to be applied where it will do the most benefit. ~ Dr. Michael Proctor, Canadian researcher, Trans-border Grizzly Bear Project

Canadians love nature. By doubling Canadas amount of protected nature, we are safeguarding our natural heritage, growing a clean economy and reducing pollution. This important expansion of Darkwoods will not only protect nature and the wildlife that depend on it, it will also increase conservation measures for the only inland temperate rainforest in the entire world. By working together, we can ensure a healthy and prosperous future for our kids and grandkids. ~ Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada

The British Columbia government is proud to support the important work of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The joint investment in the Next Creek watershed property between NCC and the provincial and federal governments reflects the shared commitment to preserve lands essential to protect threatened species. B.C. has already achieved our targets as part of the national land conservation objective, but todays investment shows we will continue to make meaningful contributions to conservation and biodiversity. ~ George Heyman, BC Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

Facts

Conserving wildlife corridors in the Canadian Rockies is essential to the long-term viability of wide-ranging mammals such as grizzly and black bear, elk, wolverine, caribou, bighorn sheep and mountain goat.

Expanding Darkwoods by acquiring the Next Creek property is an opportunity to undertake a substantial restoration plan for previously logged portions of the Next Creek property.

The conservation of the Next Creek watershed will grow a network of conservation lands in the South Selkirk Mountains to more than 1,100 km.

This network is anchored by NCCs Darkwoods Conservation Area, which was established in 2008. At the time, Darkwoods made history as the single largest private acquisition for conservation in Canadian history.

The unique forests found here, sometimes known as snow forests because they receive most of their moisture from the snowpack, harbour the highest tree diversity in BC.

Darkwoods and Next Creek feed 17 watersheds and more than 120 alpine lakes. The freshwater systems are important for the overall health of fisheries in Kootenay Lake.

Darkwoods and Next Creek are located in the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, the Syilx and the Sinixt peoples.

NCCs $25 million Canadian Rockies conservation initiative is part of the organizations $750 million Landmark Campaign, the largest charitable investment in conservation in Canadian history. The Landmark Campaign will help us to conserve more land faster, connect more Canadians to nature and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders

About

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is the nation's leading not-for-profit, private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect more than 1.1 million hectares (2.8 million acres), coast to coast, with more than one quarter of that area in British Columbia.

The Government of Canada's Natural Areas Conservation Program (NACP) is a unique public-private partnership to accelerate the pace of land conservation across southern Canada. The Nature Conservancy of Canada manages the program. Federal funds are matched by contributions raised by NCC and its partners. Habitat conserved under the NACP enhances natural corridors and other protected areas.

Video and images:

Images and maps

Video b-roll

Learn More

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/NCC_CNC | twitter.com/NCC_CNCMedia

Find us on Facebook

- 30 -

Andrew Holland

National Media Relations Director Office: 1-877-231-4400 | Mobile: 506-260-0469 andrew.holland@natureconservancy.ca



Lesley Marian Neilson
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Online food delivery company Swiggy is planning to add 2,000 women to its delivery fleet by March 2019 as part of its move to create an inclusive workforce. Presently, the company employs over 60 women as delivery partners across 10 cities including Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Nagpur and Mumbai. Swiggy continues to strengthen its network while also recognising the need to create an inclusive workforce.

Over the last few months, Swiggy has been working towards onboarding women and training them for relevant opportunities in this growing sector, said a company official. The company will identify safe zones for women to operate in and encourage them to complete their deliveries by 6 pm. Swiggy would also strengthen its women leaders and managers in operations and logistics teams across the country. The Bengaluru-based company, which has over one lakh active delivery partners on its platform, claims to be the largest food delivery company with 45,000 restaurant partners spread across 45 cities.

Sachin Kotangale, VP (Operations), Swiggy, said, As we expand our delivery fleet in a conscious and sustainable manner, we not only want to continue an industry best delivery experience for our consumers, but also enable sustainable earnings for our partners with each of them doing more orders with us. Swiggys competitor, Ola owned Foodpanda, said it has recently added 60,000 delivery partners on its network as part of its proposed expansion plans. Another food delivery player, UberEats, is also on an expansion mode as it plans to strengthen its business in the country.

The addition of headcounts by the food delivery companies comes at a time when there is a huge demand for delivery partners. The delivery partners engaged with most of the delivery companies are provided with benefits like accident and medical insurance, monthly rewards and incentives, and also financial assistance and loans to buy two-wheelers to become a partner with the players.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Gautam Singhania has stepped down as the chairman of Raymond's branded apparel arm with a view to run the company more professionally.

ALSO READ | Raymond Group's Chairman and MD Gautam Singhania is all about khadi and motor racing

Nirvik Singh will be replacing Singhania, as a non-executive chairman, and the latter will continue to remain on the board of Raymond Apparel, an official statement said.

Anshu Sarin has joined the board of Raymond Apparel as a non-executive director, and Gautam Trivedi has joined the board as an independent director, it added.
Jijo Malayil By

Express News Service

KOCHI: German car maker Volkswagen is technology-ready to launch electric vehicles (EV) in the market. However, the lack of an ecosystem, on the policy and infrastructure front for electric cars in India, may delay the launch of their new range of EVs in the market. The government needs to chalk out a definite road map pertaining to the adoption of electric cars in India, said Steffen Knapp, director, Volkswagen (VW) Cars India, on Tuesday.

We at VW are completely ready with the technology and will start rolling out new gen ID models from next year onwards globally. A welldefined policy with regard to the setting up of infrastructure and incentives for faster adoption will boost the confidence of manufacturers to invest in India, said Knapp. Since value for money is a deciding factor for buying cars in India, a clear framework listing out the advantages for customers in adopting EVs should be a priority, he added. Incentives like subsidies, fast lanes, separate parking and free energy, are a few things offered by other countries to promote the use of EVs, he said. Volkswagen will be launching a mid-size SUV by 2021 in India to cater to the rising demand for utility vehicles in the country.

We enjoy very good brand loyalty in Kerala, with majority of our premium segment cars witnessing sizeable sales coming from the southern states, said Sabu Johny, MD, EVM Motors. Knapp, who was in town to launch the German auto giants country-first Corporate Business Centre and Volkswagen Secure scheme at EVM Kochi, said that the future of transit is shared mobility, with the customer looking for options pertaining to flexible ownership of automobiles to suit their requirement.

Through Volkswagen Secure, a residual value initiative, the German brand is offering prospective customers the option of purchasing a VW Tiguan at a residual value of 55 per cent after completion of a 36-month tenure. The group, in partnership with EVM, is also planning to venture into rent-a-car business, which will cater to the all-around requirement of a customer with respect to buying, residual value financing and short-term renting of cars.
By PTI

HONG KONG: The top two executives at Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific on Wednesday apologised for the firm's handling of the world's biggest airline hack that saw millions of customers' data breached but denied trying to cover it up.

The CEO and chairman also said the crisis "was one of the most serious" in the embattled firm's history and would act differently in a similar situation in future.

The pair were summoned to the city's legislative council to explain to lawmakers why it had taken five months to admit it had been hacked and the data of 9.4 million customers compromised, including passport numbers and credit card details.

ALSO READ | Questions mount over delay after Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific admits huge data leak

Lawmakers slammed the delay as a "blatant attempt" to cover up the incident and thereby deprive customers of months of opportunities to take steps to safeguard their personal data.

However, chairman John Slosar said: "I'd like to make it absolutely clear that there was never any attempt to cover anything up."

He added: "I see it as one of the most serious crises that our airline has ever faced."

Earlier he had read a statement to LegCo in which he said: "I must personally apologise directly to you and the people of Hong Kong."

It emerged this week that the breach was the result of a sustained cyber attack for three months.

The airline had discovered suspicious activity on its network in March and confirmed unauthorised access to certain personal data in early May but did not make it public until October 24.

CEO Rupert Hogg explained the company needed time to establish the nature of attacks, contain the problem and identify stolen data, but said it "did regret the length of time" it took.

"We've learnt a lot of lessons from trying to do what we believe was right, which was to get accurate information about our customers, make sure that we knew what information pertained to them. We would do it a different way tomorrow indeed," Hogg said.

When pressed by lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki on whether Cathay would report to its customers immediately if there was another leak, Slosar said: "We will report instantly, yes."

Slosar also told lawmakers that the data breach issue was of great public interest but the information was not material or price sensitive.

The airline has contacted the customers affected.

The firm is already battling to stem major losses as it comes under pressure from lower-cost Chinese carriers and Middle East rivals.

It booked its first back-to-back annual loss in its seven-decade history in March and has previously pledged to cut 600 staff including a quarter of its management as part of its biggest overhaul in years.

Hong Kong-listed shares in the firm ended up 2.25 per cent at HK dollar 10.90.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Cash-strapped Jet Airways Tuesday said it is at various stages of discussions with multiple "interested parties" for capital infusion and partial stake sale in its loyalty programme Jet Privilege.

The Naresh Goyal-run airline is looking for investors to tide over the liquidity crisis, which has resulted in delayed payments to some vendors and salaries to a section of its over 16,000 employees.

"We are working towards various liquidity initiates to bridge the gap. We have engaged the services of experts to help in the turnaround plan and enhance liquidity," deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Amit Agarwal told analysts in a post-earnings concall Tuesday.

These measures include sale of aircraft, monetization of its stake in Jet Privilege and fresh equity infusion, the official added. "We are actively pursuing both the transactions and are currently at various stages of discussions with multiple interested parties for both part stake sale in Jet Privilege and fresh inclusion of equity into the airline," Agarwal said.

He said the company has hired investment bankers and consulting firms to carry out these tasks, adding, "six wide- body Boeing 777s have already been put on sale. " On Monday, the airline reported its third consecutive quarterly loss at Rs 1,261 crore in three months to September, roiled by higher fuel cost that soared 59 percent, a steep rupee fall that led to a seven-fold spike in forex loss as well as airline's inability to increase fares in the face of excess capacity and stiff competition.

ALSO READ: Tata in active talks to buy majority stake in Jet Airways: Sources

Airlines are battling for market share over profitability by dumping capacity into the market at unprecedented levels enabled by fare regimes that are unsustainable, chief executive officer Vinay Dube said.

"The rupee fell by about 10 per cent during the quarter over the same period last year while Brent jumped almost 50 percent. However, instead of witnessing an increase in fares to recover cost, the industry fares and yields are in fact down," he said.

Such a low fare regime is not sustainable for either the industry or the consumer in the medium-term, he said adding, "it is imperative that fares rise in the short-term." Agarwal admitted that the airline has delayed payment to vendors and a section of the employees, but quickly added that it is current on payment obligations to banks, fuel companies and airport operators as well as statutory dues.

Acknowledging that the employees are not happy with salary delays, Dube said, "almost 15 percent employees have not been receiving their salaries on time and I am sure they are less than happy.

But let me add that our employees are extremely committed and dedicated. " Net debt during the quarter rose by Rs 690 crore to Rs 8,052 crore over the June quarter, while gross debt came down by Rs 200 crore to Rs 8,411 crore from what it was in the year-ago period, Agarwal said, adding 60 percent of debt is dollar-denominated.

"Since a large part of the debt is dollar-denominated, the rupee depreciation has impacted our closing debt balance by Rs 530 crore," he added. Despite heavy loss, the airline counter rallied 5.21 percent at Rs 254.65 on the BSE while the index gained 0.95 percent.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: Yes Banks non-executive chairman Ashok Chawla resigned from his post on Wednesday with immediate effect, stating that the bank needed someone who could devote more time to the bank. Yes Bank announces that Shri Ashok Chawla, Non-Executive Independent Part-Time Chairman, has tendered his resignation from the Banks Board, with immediate effect, mentioning that during the current transition period, the Bank would need a Chairman who could devote more time and attention, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

The Reserve Bank has already asked the private sector bank to find a replacement for founder MD and CEO Rana Kapoor by January 31, with the bank stating last month that it has finalised a potential candidate profile.

The bank said that it would announce the appointment of a new chairman in due course post RBIs approval. In tandem, the bank also announced that Independent Director Vasant Gujarathi too has tendered his resignation with immediate effect due to personal commitments.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Electronic goods worth Rs 14.3 lakhs and gold worth Rs 6.5 lakhs were seized by Customs officials at Chennai Airport, a release said.

On Tuesday, two crude gold chains worth Rs 6.5 lakhs were seized from a passenger Fathima Amrul Fais (23) who arrived from Colombo.

The previous day, Rs 14.3 lakh worth of electronic devices that included 17 Apple Watches and 10 iPhone 6S mobiles, were recovered from Mohamed Nisam (46), who arrived from Kuala Lumpur, the release said.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University, on the birth anniversary of Nehru in a letter to a student activist "requested not to address" the programme titled 'Nehru -- Kya Sach Kya Jhoot' as its venue falls in the prohibited area that is in the vicinity of the Administration Block.

The letter written by the JNU registrar Pramod Kumar was addressed to JNU activist and NSUI's presidential candidate for JNUSU 2016 Sunny Dhiman, who was invited as the speaker to the programme with Assistant Professor History of DU Saurabh Bajpai as the chief guest, at JNU Freedom Square near Nehru Statue at the university, metres away from the Administration Block.

The administration objected to the holding of the programme citing that it is in violation of Academic Rules and Regulations and directive of Delhi High Court.

"All the forms of coercion such as gheraos, sit-ins or any variation of the same which disrupts normal academic and administrative functioning of the University are prohibited," the letter read.

"Hunger strike, dharnas and other peaceful and democratic forms of protest and group bargaining shall be conducted with restraint, i.e. at a distance of 100 metres away from the Administrative and Academic complexes," it added. The organisers of the event, however, claimed the administration for the first time objected while it has been organised every year since last three years.

The registrar could not be reached for a comment.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The countrys application to the UNESCO in 2010, for securing the much-coveted World Heritage Site tag for Charminar was incomplete, it has been learnt. Replying to a query by an individual, the World Heritage Body of UNESCO said: The Government of India submitted a nomination dossier for this site in 2010, but it was incomplete. It has not been re-submitted yet by the Indian authorities.

It also added that as of now, Qutb Shahi Monuments are on the Tentative List for the same. It was a half-hearted attempt to secure the world heritage tag, no wonder it was not accepted, a city-based historian said. Since then no other attempts have been made, he added.

This revelation also runs contrary to the numerous claims by the Central government after 2010, of submitting Charminars name for securing the tag.

In 2015, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma had said that the Centre had submitted a list of 46 names including that of Charminar to the World Heritage Centre in 2014. However, in reality, historians contend, that the chance of Charminar securing the World Heritage tag is bleak. Archaeological Survey of India considers the Bhagyalaxmi Mandir, the temple which abuts the Sardar Mahal side of the monument, as an encroachment. However, it has not been able to take any action against it till now.

A historian said: We might consider lobbying the Telangana government to try and influence the Centre. Heritage enthusiasts are waiting for the new government to come to the fore post the elections in December, and are hoping that the World Heritage issue would be taken up then.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot on Wednesday declared that they both will contest the December 7 assembly election, firing up the race for the chief minister's post in the state where the party is seeking to wrest power from the BJP.

Gehlot and Pilot, however, dismissed suggestions that there was any infighting among the state leaders and asserted that they will unitedly take on the BJP.

The two leaders ended the speculation over whether they will contest the polls at a joint press conference here at the Congress headquarters, where the party announced the joining of BJP MP Harish Chandra Meena from Dausa in Rajasthan.

"We are all united in Rajasthan and the BJP is conspiring to spread false propaganda that the Congress is divided. I will contest the upcoming assembly election and Sachin Pilot and other senior leaders will also contest," Gehlot told reporters.

He was asked about the delay by the Congress in announcing candidates and reports that claimed that infighting among the top state leaders over distribution of tickets was responsible for it.

Filing of nomination papers in Rajasthan started on Monday and will continue till November 19.

Pilot also said that on party chief Rahul Gandhi's directions and Gehlot's request, he will contest the Assembly elections. Pilot had last contested the Lok Sabha election from Ajmer in 2014, which he lost.

He, however, did not contest the bye-election earlier this year.

Sources said the leadership race in Rajasthan will now intensify with both main contenders throwing their hat in the ring.

"There is no division in the party in the state and all the leaders are united in the bid to defeat the BJP with a thumping majority," Pilot said.

On the issue of chief ministerial candidate, Gehlot said since independence the Congress has never declared its chief ministerial face in Rajasthan and the party is happy to carry on this tradition.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao who is seeking people's mandate for continuing as chief minister for the second straight term filed his nomination papers at Gajwel, while his nephew, party leader, and minister in the previous cabinet T Harish Rao filed his nomination at Siddipet Wednesday afternoon.

Following the tradition of placing the nomination papers at the feet of deity at Venkateswara Swamy temple at Konaipally temple and offering special prayers before filing nominations, the chief minister

visited the temple along with Harish Rao before heading to their respective constituencies.

The CM who was present inside returning officer Vijayender Reddy's office in Gajwel between 2.21 pm and 2.55 pm is learnt to have filed two sets of nominations. One proposed by ex-ZP chairman Laxmi Kantha Rao was submitted at 2.33 pm, another proposed by Nacharam temple chairman K Yadagiri was submitted at 2.35 p.m. In the presence of election agent and childhood friend Jahangir, the CM took an oath in the name of God at 2.39 p.m.

Similarly, Harish Rao too filed his nomination between 2.34 and 2.45 pm at the office of returning officer Jayachandra Reddy in Siddipet.

Seeking the blessings of electors after offering special prayers at the temple, KCR appealed for the pink party's massive victory with 100 seats. Speaking to media, he vowed in the name of Lord Venkateswara to

make farmers of Telangana the wealthiest and exuded confidence in party's success. On Harish Rao, KCR said the minister has done a great job in the constituency and everyone must ensure he wins with a

thumping majority of over one lakh votes.

Back in 1983 when KCR was the then TDP candidate from Siddipet Assembly constituency, he used to visit the temple and perform special prayers keeping the nomination papers at the feet of Lord

Venkateswara. Since then, for KCR, who is considered a deeply religious person, a visit to the temple has become a must before elections.
Pinto Deepak By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Similar to Grand Alliance, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi too has been rocked by rebellion. On Tuesday, disgruntled MLA ticket aspirants and their supporters invaded Telangana Bhavan, the partys headquarters in Banjara Hills, to vent their anger of denial of tickets.

The most high-profile protest was of Govardhan Reddy, the partys in-charge for Khairatabad constituency. High drama ensued at Reddys house, where he got injured in a scuffle and fell unconscious.

The news of Reddys injury spread soon enough, leading to protests at several places in the city. Early in the day, hundreds of the TRS leaders supporters gathered at his residence in Banjara Hills to extend him support and mount pressure on the party high command for the MLA ticket.

It is learnt that some of Reddys supporters planned to take out a massive rally to Telangana Bhavan or Pragathi Bhavan. As soon as the police got wind of this plan, a huge police force was deployed in advance to prevent the rally.

Govardhans wife Kavitha Govardhan Reddy, who is a GHMC corporator from Venkateswara Colony, alleged that the police did not allow her husbands supporters into the house. They cordoned the area with a rope and my husband had to step out to talk to them. But the police pushed him on the chest due to which he fell down with severe pain and high BP, she said.

We never expected this situation. We have been serving the party for close to a decade and fighting for the state under the leadership of K Chandrasekhar Rao. But the fact that someone who fought against the formation of Telangana and has just joined the party could be getting the ticket is unacceptable to us.

We are confident that the party will give the ticket to us. However, if the party gives the ticket to someone else, we will decide on the future course of action, said Kavitha, clearly indicating her anger over rumours about former Congress leader Danam Nagender getting the Khairatabad ticket. Nagender is a former minister in united Andhra Pradesh and was a heavyweight in Congress. Recently, to the surprise of many, he defected to the ruling party. He has represented Khairatabad in the past.

As of going to print, it is reported that Goverdhan is under observation in a hospital. During the protests, one of Govardhans supporters, Satyanarayana, suffered a head injury in a scuffle and was administered with six stitches. He was later discharged from the hospital. Also, some of Reddys followers climbed a hoarding at Khairatabad, demanding a ticket for Reddy. They were later brought down to safety. Meanwhile, police denied the allegations saying that the force was deployed as a preventive measure.
Avinash Ramachandran By

Express News Service

Veteran filmmaker Govind Nihalani once said, There needs to be separate theatres and screenings for XXX rated films, so that one can peacefully have childrens films made for children.

Reiterating this statement at the audio launch of Pasanga in 2008, Kamal Haasan, who made his own film debut as a child artiste in Kalathur Kannamma, added, Treat adults as adults, and kids as kids. This is not a statement against the censor board alone, but also the filmmakers and the audience. Dont play the culture card for everything.

The recently released Ezhumin, which spoke about the need for self-defence training for children, was marketed as a childrens film. The films director, VP Viji, says, Ezhumin had positive reviews, but failed to click with the audience. Cinema is a business and we cant make films for children when parents prefer to watch those that are advertised as family entertainers, but have strong violence and sleazy songs.

While child artistes have been a mainstay in our films, their characterisation have been quite varied. We have seen examples of kids saving the day in films like Shanti Nilayam, Mazhalai Pattalam, and Raja Chinna Roja. There have also been films where serious subjects like terrorism (Kannathil Muththamittal) and mental illness (Anjali) were seen through the eyes of children. However, a common criticism about portrayal of children these days is that the treatment of kids is becoming very one-note. Prime examples include Nainika playing the precocious daughter of Vijay in Theri or young Manasvi playing, well... the precocious daughter of Nayanthara in Imaikka Nodigal.

While there seem to be fans for this cute and age-defying behaviour, there is no denying that this depiction of cuteness has its share of detractors.

Ajay Gnanamuthu, the director of Imaikka Nodigal, says, I think that is how most of the kids are these days. I can only make films based on what I have seen.

While that makes sense, it is also imperative that filmmakers balance the intelligence in their portrayal with a childs inherent naivety. Good first steps would be making children speak in a vocabulary specific to their age and not overselling emotions. This was explored well in Gautham Menons Yennai Arindhaal, where the kid exposed to bad news at a young age, reacts in a way that is both age-defying and child-like at the same time.

Talking about portrayal of children in films, Chennai-based psychiatrist Lakshmi Vijayakumar says, Age-appropriateness should be kept in mind, but one should also look at how vulnerable children in the audience will react to it. If the child has faced trauma, will they be comfortable watching the same? Also, children are smarter now, not because they are more intelligent, but because they have higher exposure. When they get to see unnecessary things, it will have a negative impact.

Echoing her sentiments, 27-year-old actor Mahendran, who has won awards as a child artiste, says, Children these days dont act within the limits. There is no innocence in their roles.

Though Mahendran himself played a few matured roles as a child, he asserts that he also got roles that allowed him to be the child he was. Child actors nowadays are not getting roles that allow them to explore other facets of their acting, apart from being either matured or cute, he adds.

It is not just childrens films that need major introspection. Tamil cinema has largely left the young adult genre unexplored. Slotting teenage-based stories into only the romance genre (as in the recent hit, 96) doesnt bode well for the generations outlook. There is a huge chasm in our industry when it comes to coming-of-age films that are dime-a-dozen in world cinema.

A Tamil film that stands out in this particular genre is Vijay Miltons Goli Soda. The leads have their share of romantic angles, but that doesnt define their characters.

Another rare example is Poovarasam Peepee (2014), whose director Halitha Shameem says, When I went to various festivals, I used to be in awe of the films made for children across the world. This is a space that needs more films. To be honest, even I havent made a pure childrens film.

The paucity of films for young adults has also pushed many child actors into oblivion once they cross the cute age. I had to take a four-year gap because I didnt get any roles for my age, says Mahendran, who adds that with the spurt in digital platforms, the time is ripe for more childrens films to hit

the market.

However, these films will work only when parents understand that their tastes do not govern the choice of their children. The prevalent misrepresentation of kids is to attract the adult audience, who find children acting natural to be flat and dull, says Viji, who reveals that his next project, again a childrens film, will have extra commercial elements to cater to a wider audience.

The first South Indian film to win the National award for best Childrens film was My Dear Kuttichathan in 1984. It took Tamil cinema 30 more years to win its first-ever award in that category with Kaaka Muttai in 2014. However, in comparison, Tamil cinema has always had excellent child actors. Kutty Padmini was the first-ever recipient of the National Award for Best Child Artist, for her role in Kuzhandaiyum Dheivamum (1965), and Tamil child actors won the award an impressive nine more times. That says it all, doesnt it?

(With inputs from Ashameera Aiyappan and Mani Prabhu)
Krupa Ge By

Express News Service

If theres a thing Tamil cinema heroes love doing on screen, it is teaching women their rightful place. Telling them what it is to be a senthamizh naatu tamilachi (in case you were wondering, it is not roaming around in swimwear that only your husband can see you in). In Tamizh Padam 2 when the heroine mocks the hero in the song Evada Unna Petha, about giving lectures on karpu and culture while being so horrible himself, I rubbed my hands together in unabashed glee and replayed that line at least a few times.

How did this happen? How did men get to teach women how to be women, to grand applause on Tamil screens? (This also reminds me of a meme I saw which thanked the director of 96 because women were finally wearing dupattas thanks to Trishas look in the film, apparently.) It all boils down to The Taming of the Shrew of course. From an actual adaptation, Arivaali, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Bhanumati from 1963, to the upgraded disco version, Sakalakala Vallavan, and later, Singaravelan, where an independent, boisterous Sumathi (Khushbu) is fat-shamed and humiliated into thinking shes not woman enough until she dresses the way Velan thinks is appropriate for his future wife (with bindi, flowers, saree, etc) And who can even forget Mannan, with the slapping of Shanti (Vijayashanthi) by Krishnan (Rajinikanth) repeatedly, with a communist angle to boot, that goes above and beyond taming, to brute violence.

Clearly Krishnan is no Petruchio who does not strike Katherina in the Shakespearean play because he is a gentleman. But, Krishnan does follow Petruchios line of thinking. He does not hit her in public, while she slaps him for lifting her (she does not know that he is trying to save her life), but hits her multiple times in private.

In our films, in a bid to justify the taming, and to receive the acknowledgement of protectors of cultural honour, the shrew is often located in a rich, urban setting while the tamer is seen as a representative of the rural or the proletariat. Making it a conflict of culture and values, or rich (panakkara thimir of the heroine) vs poor (salt of the earth male hero), instead of portraying it as what it actually is  one of submission and control, which is what makes the shrew a primary target of patriarchy. At best, our romance films are Stockholm syndrome, at worst shining examples of domestic violence.

My interest for this particular column though lies in the taming of another kind of woman, the kind who does not wish to submit to the heros ego. Ever. The unlikeable one, written as the arrogant and the hopeless, even outright bad woman. The literal bad cop to the good cop that women are expected to play in scripts all the time. Most recently, there was the woman who was annoyed by a new officer refusing to listen to her and trying to one-up her (is it because hes really good or is it because shes a woman boss? I could almost hear her think it) in Ratsasan.

She is just there, presenting the hero with obstacles, an almost half-villain (someone calls her a ratchasi demoness  too in the film). He does his best to outwit her, and she hers to stop him on his tracks. Heres a woman who wields power over a man, within a system that requires those at the bottom, yes, even men, to obey the orders of those at the top. She cannot be tamed, the regular way. She may not be shamed into shedding her trousers and shirt for a saree and flowers. She even asks him to go get her a pack of cigarettes as he looks at her in shock. Tamed she is, though, eventually. Not by the hero, but a man, a junior in rank but senior in age, at that, who serves as the proxy for the audience, the one who calls her a ratchasi. He handcuffs her as he literally binds her into submission, against her will.

The bad female cop or politician is a villain doubly hate-worthy because here is a woman who wields more power than the hero, while also being on the wrong side and on top it, she is often unfeminine. Shes a woman in a mans world, an anomaly, which makes it further easy to single her out as the target of audiences (and the people in the films) displeasure. Like the woman cop who beats up the hero in Kadhalan or makes him eat cockroach-infested rice and has his own father beat him up, in custody. Or the woman cop who sides with a rich rapist as opposed to (Jyotikas) Naachiyaar.

These are women who confound, and even get away with their bad behaviour on screen, because they seem to have found a way to game patriarchy  instead of submitting to it or opposing it, while also being different or bad. Some of them though, it seems, are not written at all to be tamed, but for the shock-value they provide. Which is why all these years later, when I think back on that Kadhalan police station scene, I can almost hear and see the cop, call the hero, Pirabhu. I doubt if a male cop

in that scene would have had that kind of impact.

(The writer is a city-based journalist and editor)
The Minister of Trade, Industry and cooperatives (MTIC), Amelia Kyambadde, on Wednesday launched Shs2 billion Uganda Trade Information Portal, an electronic platform providing ready information on export, import and transit procedures that Ugandan businessmen need to know as they trade with others in the region.

The portal is run by MTIC and the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), in partnership with Trademark East Africa, USAID, International Trade Center (ITC) and the Government of Uganda.

The development of this portal is premised on the Trade Facilitation Agreement which came into force on February 22, 2017 where two or three world trade organisation members ratified the agreement, Uganda inclusive, Kyambadde said as she launched the service at the Kampala Serena Hotel.

Stories Continues after ad

The minister said, Competitiveness of nations in todays emerging digital global trade will be defined by development and application of innovative digital platform, which enhances movement of goods across borders, particularly applications that improves on transparency, Efficiency and simplification of procedures, documentation, charges and fees relating to exportation, importation and transit of goods among Member States.

She reiterated governments commitment in improving the doing of business environment, promoting trade and investment which are critical in promoting socio economic transformation in the country.

We appreciate the positive measures government is putting in place, we must also note that a lot of work still remains to be done to improve the business environment, she said.

Uganda has reduced the time for export documentary compliance and border compliance by allowing for electronic document submission and processing of certificates of origin and by further developing the Malaba One-Stop Border Post in 2018.

The country has also made improvements as regards trading across borders, reducing time needed to export and import by implementing the Single Customs Territory, as well as developing the Single Window a platform that lets traders, clearing and forwarding firms to submit and process trade documents electronically, thus saving time.
By Online Desk

Days before it hits the theatre, a censored copy of upcoming Telugu movie,' Taxiwaala' was released by film piracy website Tamilrockers. The copy which is apparently a 3-hour unedited version of the movie may have been leaked while it's editing process and dubbing, as suggested by a watermark in the copy.

In August this year, a part of the movie was leaked in social media and Google along with another movie, Geetha Govindam with both of the movies having Vijay Deverakonda as the male lead. The makers stated that the leak was an unfinished product and requested the audience to wait for the movie to be released. In fact, a few days ago, Deverakonda uploaded a video where he indirectly addressed the piracy issue.

Last week, an editor of the movie along with 17 students were arrested related to the leak in August.

ALSO READ: Thugs of Hindostan leaked by Tamilrockers within hours of theatrical release

The movie, which is slated to release on 17th November after prolonged delays, is directed by Rahul Sankrantiyan and also stars Tollywood-debutante Priyanka Jawalkar and Malvika Nair.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: King Shakuntan was the ruler of a small kingdom.One day, as he was returning from a hunt, he saw the sages Vasishtha, Vishvamitra and Atri performing a yagna in an ashram. Since the kings body was covered with sweat, dust and blood from the hunt, he did not want to desecrate the holy ceremony. From where he stood, he could only see Vasishtha clearly. So he bowed to him from a distance and carried on with his journey.

Narada, who had been observing the king, entered the ashram. Narada is known for instigating fights to humour himself, and that is just what he did.He said, O Atri and Vishvamitra, didnt you notice that Shakuntan did not greet you both? He has deliberately insulted you by only bowing to Vasishtha. Sage Atri smiled. He did not do that to insult us, Narada. I was sitting opposite Vasishtha and he may not even have seen me, he said. In any case, it doesnt matter.

Vishvamitra, however, was offended. How dare the king insult me? He needs to be punished.

Narada immediately agreed. Yes, yes, he must. You are no less powerful than Vasishtha. You are also the great guru of the great warriors Rama and Lakshmana. Perhaps you should take a promise from Rama to punish Shakuntan as soon as possible.Vishvamitra nodded and called Rama. My dear student, he said, Shakuntan has insulted me, and I want his head at my feet before the sun sets today.Dutiful Rama promised his teacher that he would do so.

Meanwhile, Narada rushed to Shakuntans kingdom. He met the king and asked, Do you know the sort of difficulty you have put yourself in? Rama, the great warrior and the son of Dasharatha, is going to behead you by the end of the day at the behest of Sage Su. Your death is certain at the hands of the lord.Shakuntan was alarmed. But what have I done to offend the great sage? I am only the ruler of a small kingdom.

Dont think of that now. Narada waved his hand in impatience. Your focus must be on surviving the day. Rama always keeps his word. O Narada, said the king, please help me. I dont know how I got myself into this, but you have brought this disastrous news to me, so you must also help formulate a solution to this problem.

This was just what Narada wanted. He put on an appeasing and wise tone and said, Go find Anjana, Hanumans mother, and ask her to shield you, without mentioning the name of the person you seek protection from. She will take care of the rest.King Shakuntan ran to Kishkindha and found Anjana performing prayers to Lord Shiva in her home. The king went and touched her feet. O Divine Mother! he exclaimed.

Please help me. A man has decided to take my head today for no fault of mine. You are the mother of the great Hanuman, and without your help I will not live to see the day end.At first Anjana was disturbed. She did not know what to do. Then she thought over it. A small-time king had come in search of protection and it wasnt such a big ask. She knew her son could perform this job with ease. So she promised Shakuntan, I will tell Hanuman to protect you. He never disobeys me. Now you may leave your worries aside and feel assured of your safety.

Give me your word, Shakuntan insisted.Fine. You have my word. I promise on Lord Ramas name that Hanuman will protect you, said Anjana and continued her prayers.

The Power of a Name excerpted from The Upside Down King by Sudha Murty, published by Puffin Books

(Penguin Random House, India) : Rs 250
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: A week after his tiff with newly elected Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu, who is backed by BJP and its ally Peoples Conference, IPS officer Basant Rath also known as "Dabang" was Tuesday removed as Inspector General of Police (IGP) Traffic by the Governor administration in Jammu and Kashmir.

Principal Secretary to J&K Government, Home Department, in an order said in the interest of administration, IGP Traffic Basant Kumar Rath (IPS- JK 2000) was transferred and attached in the office of Commandant General, Home Guards/Civil Defence/SDRF till further orders.

Alok Kumar (IPS-JK 1997), who was IGP Security J&K, was transferred and posted as IGP Traffic in place of Rath. The removal of Rath as IGP Traffic comes after his recent tiff on social media with newly elected Srinagar Junaid Mattu.

Mattu, who was the former spokesman of National Conference, was backed by BJP and its ally Peoples Conference of separatist-turned-mainstream politician Sajjad Lone in the Mayor election. After assuming charge of Srinagar Mayor on November 6, Mattu made his intentions clear to end the traffic mismanagement in the city.

However, Rath had in twitter post hit back at Mattu, saying, "Not your domain. Traffic diversion at Jehangir Chowk is a compulsion. The vendors have created a mess on Amira Kadal - HSHS - Maharaja Bazar - LD Hospital stretch. SMC needs to clear the mess".

It was the second tiff off between the two on social media. After being elected as Srinagar Mayor, Mattu had said, "We will strike a balance between development and ecology but that does not mean putting a chastity belt around the city. Wetland Main Kya Karna Hai, Chidyoun Kou Dekhana Hai (What we need wetlands for, to show them to sparrows?).

"The IGP had immediately reacted to his comment and called him a "cabbage". "Wetlands are precious and a vital part of our ecosystem. Only a cabbage will think otherwise," Rath tweeted.

Rumours about Rath's sacking were going on since yesterday. He had found support from the former J&K police chief, Shesh Paul Vaid. "Social media agog with rumours of transfer of Basant Rath IGP Traffic; I hope it isn't true. He may follow unorthodox ways, but his honesty and dynamism is appreciable & commendable," Vaid had tweeted.

The netizens on social media platforms castigated the J&K government for shunting out a "people-friendly" and "pro-Valley" police officer. "Congratulations to all the traffic law violators and corrupt officials particularly Junaid Mattu," Aazad Ahmad a netizen wrote on Facebook. Rath had earned the title of "Dabang" for his unusual way of traffic management in the State and had been "ruthless" against traffic violations. He had fined many top officials. He was donning black dress instead of donning the police uniform while on duty and was tech savvy and very active on Twitter.

Rath had been able to a large extent to manage traffic in Jammu but in Kashmir, he was not that successful.
By Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The family feud in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) escalated on Wednesday, after expelling both his grandsons--Member of Parliament from Hisar Dushyant Chautala and his younger brother Digvijay Chautala--from the INLD two weeks ago, former Haryana Chief Minister and INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala today he expelled their father and his elder son Ajay Singh Chautala from the post of secretary general of the state unit of the party as well as from the primary membership of the party.

INLD state president Ashok Arora announced the decision in the presence of Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala who is the younger son of Chautala. Arora also showed a letter signed by Chautala in this regard. Reading the letter on behalf of Chautala in which Ajay Chautala has been expelled for running parallel activities in the name of the party and also holding an unconstitutional meeting of the state executive, said Arora.

He said on November 12, Om Prakash Chautala had asked him to take action against Ajay Chautala when the latter had called an "unconstitutional" meeting of the INLD state executive. "But we took taken the decision to expel Ajay Chautala today,'' he said. Arora said, "As per the party constitution, only national president Om Prakash Chautala or state president or someone authorized by them has the right to call a meeting of the state executive. Thus party has decided to expel Ajay Chautala from the primary membership of the party as he has been involved in anti-party activities." However, both Dushyant and Digvijay had refused to accept the order of their expulsion, stating that the party's national executive had not met and the expulsion order had not been signed by Om Prakash.

The infighting in the Chautala family has only widened in the last few days as Om Prakash's elder son Ajay was said to be locked in a power struggle with his younger brother Abhay Chautala. Ajay Chautala had called the state executive meeting at Jind on November 17. Significantly, the Abhay faction had also called a parallel meeting at Chandigarh on the same day asking all MLAs, Ex-MLAs and other office-bearers to attend the meeting. Ajay is serving a ten-year sentence, along with his father OP Chautala, in a teachers' recruitment scam in the state at Tihar jail and is currently out on a two-week parole. The INLD, which is the main opposition party in Haryana could be heading for a split with the fight within the Chautala family spilling out into the open over the past few days.
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Priests are required to confess for converting the Utopian idea of heaven of the complicated minds of human beings to satisfy their sexual desires... Women should scream that we are not ready to confess.

This controversial excerpt against the Christian practice of confessions published in a government journal in Kerala has kicked up a storm.

Taking note of the matter, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on Tuesday directed state authorities to file a detailed report in the matter, saying that the malicious act has hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community.

Acting on a complaint filed by Reverand M Soosa Pakiam of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, who said the Catholic believers were deeply pained and anguished by the article published in Vinjana Kairali, a monthly publication of Kerala Bhasha Institute. The Malayalam article, headlined Lajjikkappedan (To be Ashamed) first appeared in August, but allegedly the objectionable content of the article was again published in the October issue.

The complaint says the article has made comments insulting and denigrating the sacrament of Confession, which is considered as very sacred by the Christians. It is highly deplorable and objectionable that a state government institution like Bhasha Institute is becoming part of the propaganda which spreads religious hatred and enmity in society, the complaint says.

The NCM has written to Keralas director general of police and chief secretary to investigate the matter and file a detailed report within a week.

In July, too, the panel had taken note of a similar matter when the National Commission for Women had demanded a ban on the practice of confessions in the wake of two scandals where priests allegedly misused the practice to blackmail and sexually abuse women.

George Kurian, the minority commissions vice-chairperson, had vehemently opposed the demand and wrote to the Prime Minister and the home minister.
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: Even as PCC chief Kamal Nath is fire fighting to douse the row over a RSS ban, Congress MLA Sunderlal Tiwari added more fuel by dubbing the Sangh as aatankwaad ke prateek (a symbol of terrorism.)

Tiwari, the sitting MLA from Gurh in Rewa, justified the Congress promise in its poll manifesto of banning RSS shakhas in the government premises as well as not allowing the state employees to attend the shakhas, if voted to power. It is a full-fledged political organisation, which got (Mahatma) Gandhi murdered and creates an atmosphere of fear and hatred in the society on religious lines. They never hoist the national flag in their shakhas. They are a symbol of terrorism.

The former Lok Sabha member from Rewa is known for making controversial statements. Earlier, Tiwari had dubbed Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan a prostitute for making populist promises.

In Bhopal, Kamal Nath was again on the back foot due to Tiwaris statement. It could be Tiwaris personal views. The party doesnt endorse his views.

Meanwhile, Chouhan asserted he himself had decided that no one can be stopped from taking part in shakhas, as it (Sangh) is a nationalist organisation which instils a spirit of patriotism.

Its an organisation which is endlessly engaged in national building and making the people disciplined. I dont know what kind of false ego has prompted the Congress to make such a promise, but attempts made in the past even by Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhis regime to ban Sangh couldnt succeed. No one can ban Sangh shakhas anywhere and stop anyone, including government employees from attending them, said Chouhan.

It was in 2006, Chouhan allowed the RSS shakhas were allowed in government premises.
By PTI

THANE: Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve Wednesday said his party welcomed Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's decision to visit Ayodhya later this month.

He was talking to reporters here as part of his tour of Thane, Kalyan and Bhiwandi to take stock of the party's preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Replying to a query whether the Sena has hijacked the Ram temple issue from the BJP, Danve said, "Nobody can hijack issues. They do their party's work and we do ours. We welcome Uddhav Thackeray's decision to visit Ayodhya".

READ| BJP wants alliance with Sena for 2019 polls: Raosaheb Danve

Thackeray had announced in his party's Vijayadashmi rally in Mumbai that he would visit Ayodhya on November 25 and "question" Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the temple construction issue.

Replying to a query related to BJP MLA Anil Gote, who has announced his resignation as member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as well as from the BJP, alleging that "criminals" were being inducted into the party, Danve said such things happen during polls.

"Such things are expected during elections, but no one should take these matters seriously," he said.

According to him, the decision of selecting candidates rested with the party's Parliamentary Board.

"But we do hear local leaders and elected representatives," he said.

Gote, who represents the Dhule Assembly seat in Maharashtra, said on Monday that he would tender his resignation next week.

He has been opposing induction of some NCP leaders into the BJP.

When asked about Sena's constant criticism of the BJP despite sharing power with it, Danve said his party's stand has always been to take all the NDA allies along.

On Sena's demand to name the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway, also known as the 'Samruddhi Corridor', after party's late supremo Bal Thackeray, he said, "It will be decided by the government after taking due consent from the leaders of both the parties.

" He added that during his recent tour to Nagpur, Jalna, Aurangabad and other Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, he found that satisfactory work had been done by booth level party workers.

He said he was likely to complete the tour of all the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra soon and carry out a review by mid-December.

Danve said the party will expand its base across all the Lok Sabha constituencies. "Our endeavour is to get the NDA candidate elected in all the constituencies".
By UNI

KOLKATA: The Narendra Modi government at the Centre has rejected the West Bengal government's proposal to rename the state as 'Bangla'.

The Ministry of External Affairs sources said that the Centre has returned the proposal objecting to the new name citing its similarity with neighbouring Bangladesh.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on thursday took to Twitter to hit out at the NDA government. she wrote, "I have been noticing that almost every day BJP has been changing the names of historical places and institutions unilaterally to suit their own political vested interests. But, in respect of Bengal, the attitude is totally different."

Recently, I have been noticing that almost every day BJP has been changing the names of historical places and institutions unilaterally to suit their own political vested interests. But, in respect of Bengal, the attitude is totally different. My FB post: https://t.co/TEnjjLkZB0  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 14, 2018

The sources also indicated that the state unit of BJP is in favour of renaming the name of the state as 'Paschimbanga'. Informatively, the Mamata Banerjee Government in West Bengal had earlier proposed the renaming of the state on three occasions in 2011, 2016 and this year.

The first proposal, to change the name to Paschimbanga was struck down by the Mammohan Singh laid UPA-2 government. The 2016 proposal to name 'Bengal' in English, 'Bangla' in Bengali and 'Bangal' in Hindi was struck down by the NDA government.

West Bengal BJP chief, Dilip Ghosh observed, "West Bengal's name, if changed at all, should only be 'Paschimbanga' otherwise it will create unnecessary confusion as it has similarity with our neighbouring country Bangladesh. It is our demand which we have been consistently placing since long.

(With inputs from online desk)
By Express News Service

RANCHI: TO mark the 18th Foundation Day of Jharkhand, Chief Minister Raghubar Das will distribute assets worth Rs Rs 1,000 crore among the people on November 15. The chief minister will also hand over appointment letters to 2,000 youths and announce a separate Tribal Affairs Department for the development of tribals in the state.

The official said that the chief minister, on the occasion, will also announce Jharkhand as Open Defecation Free (ODF) state and release a coffee table book based on the topic. A presentation will also be given on complete electrification of five districts in Jharkhand.

The chief minister will announce several infrastructural projects for different districts, including cold storage for Gumla, colleges in Pakur, Dumka, Latehar and Simdega, solid waste management plant for Pakur and Sahebganj and also inaugurate several projects which have already been completed at a combined expense of around Rs 1,000 crore, said a senior official in the state government, requesting anonymity.

Besides that, assets will also be distributed among the people and appointment letters will be handed over to plus-2 teachers, the official added.

Governor Droupadi Murmu will be the chief guest as BJP National President Amit Shah has expressed his inability to take part in the grand ceremony to be organised at Morhabadi Maidaan in Ranchi.
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer Eric Trappier on Tuesday strongly defended the Rafale deal and rubbished the Congress allegations that he was lying about the details of the Dassault-Reliance Joint Venture (JV) for offset contracts.

I dont lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I dont have a reputation of lying. In my position as CEO, you dont lie, Trappier told ANI in an exclusive interview.

He was responding to Congress president Rahul Gandhis charge at a press conference on November 2 that Dassault was lying about the offset deal with the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

Claiming that Dassault invested Rs 284 crore in a loss-making company promoted by Anil Ambani, Rahul had said: It is clear the Dassault CEO is lying. If an inquiry starts on this, Modi is not going to survive it. Guaranteed.

ALSO READ | Dassault CEO's claims expose Congress' lies on Rafale: BJP

The interview comes a day after the government told the Supreme Court that it had scrupulously followed procedures and norms while negotiating the deal.

Expressing sadness over Rahuls remarks, Trappier said: We have a long experience with the Congress party. Our first deal was with India in 1953 with Nehru and other prime ministers. We have been working with India. We are not working for any party. We are supplying strategic products like fighters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Government. That is what is most important.

ALSO READ | Dictated interviews, manufactured lies can't suppress Rafale scam: Congress on Dassault CEO's defence

As for the JV with Reliance, We are not putting the money in Reliance. The money is going into the JV. I put my know-how free of charge on how to produce people. I have engineers and workers from Dassault who are taking the lead as far as the industrial part of this deal is concerned. At the same time, I have an Indian company like Reliance who is putting money into this JV as they want to develop their country. So the company is going to know how to produce aircraft, he said.

Eric Trappier also said that the 36 aircraft bought by India by the Modi government were nine per cent cheaper than the cost negotiated by the UPA government.

He also said that the price of 36 (jets) was exactly the same when you compare with 18 flyaway. 36 is the double of 18; so as far as I was concerned, it should have been double the price. But because it was government to government, there was some negotiation, I had to decrease price by 9 per cent. The price of Rafale in flyaway condition is less expensive in the 36 contract than the 126 contract.

He also clarified that the 36 aircraft being produced for India would not have the weapons and missiles. The weapons will be sent in different contract. But the aircraft with everything other than weapons will be dispatched by Dassault.

The Congress, however, was not convinced. Rahul Gandhi once again took to twitter to attack PM Modi. Modiji has admitted to his theft in the Supreme Court. In the affidavit, he admitted to changes in the contract without asking the Air Force and put `30,000 crore in Ambanis pocket. The picture is still not over my friend, Rahul tweeted.
This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.
Ejaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: At least six persons including four jawans of Border Security Forces (BSF) sustained serious injuries in an improvised explosive devise (IED) blast triggered by the Maoists on the Bijapur-Bhopalpatnam national highway, about 350 km south of Raipur, on Wednesday morning.

The conditions of two BSF personnel were stated to be critical. One District Reserve Guard (DRG) constable and a civilian (driver of the vehicle) were among those injured.

According to the information reaching the state capital, the rebels targeted a truck which was boarded by the BSF men returning from their poll duties.

ALSO READ: Chattisgarh elections 2018: Amid threats, poll staff air-lifted to Naxal-affected areas

The CRPF have meanwhile blocked the movement along the national highway for security reasons. All the injured were rushed to the district hospital, the Bijapur police said.

The Bijapur superintendent of police Mohit Garg confirmed the incident and added that the additional back-up party has been rushed to the area. The encounter between the security forces and the Red rebels is still continuing.

Bijapur is among the seven worst Maoist-affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar and recorded the lowest voter turnout at 47 per cent on Monday.

The first phase of polling with the voter turnout at 76.28 per cent in the 18 Assembly constituencies of Chhattisgarh was the highest, the recorded percent was 0.35 % higher compared to 2013 elections.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held talks Wednesday and discussed ways to further deepen the bilateral ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"PM Narendra Modi met with PM of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," Kumar said.

Happy to have met PM @leehsienloong in Singapore.



We had fruitful talks on deeper India-Singapore friendship as well as how India-ASEAN relations contribute to peace and prosperity in the region. pic.twitter.com/itK4VcjZmg  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.

He became the first head of government to address the world's largest event on financial technology.

The Singapore Fintech Festival celebrates the power of belief and showcases the wide range of opportunities in the Fintech world. pic.twitter.com/KiuVid0QG0  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

The prime minister also held bilateral meetings with global leaders, including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

During his visit, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other Asian states.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday commenced its crucial hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi saw Attorney General K K Venugopal opposing advocate Prashant Bhushan who wanted to submit information on the secrecy clause of the Rafale agreement.

"Secrecy agreement has to be secret and how he is producing it in court," Venugopal said when Bhushan raised the issue of secrecy clause.

ALSO READ: As CEO, I don't lie: Dassault honcho on picking Anil Ambani's Reliance for Rafale deal

Bhushan, appearing on behalf of himself and former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, alleged that the government was hiding behind the secrecy clause and has not disclosed the price of the Rafale jets.

The CJI told Bhushan, "We are giving you full hearing. Use this opportunity carefully and cite only those things which are necessary."

"We are dealing with requirements of Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer about fighter jet. Any discussion on pricing of Rafale fighter jets can only take place if facts are allowed to come in public domain," the court added.

"Decision we need to take is whether or not to bring pricing facts in public domain," the court said.

The bench, also comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, is likely to peruse the pricing details of the jets submitted by the government in a sealed cover.

During the hearing, Bhushan said the price per aircraft was 155 million Euro and now, it was 270 million Euro.

This shows that there was a hike of 40 per cent in its price, the advocate said.

He said the CBI is bound to register an FIR in this case.

The lawyer alleged that there was a conspiracy with French company Dassault, which granted the offset right to Reliance, and it amounts to gratification and constitutes an offence.

ALSO READ: CAG 'deliberately delaying' report on Rafale deal, demonetisation: Former bureaucrats

He said Reliance has no competence of executing the offset contract.

Bhushan said the petition by them has been filed after the CBI did not register the FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

He said this matter needs an investigation and argued that how can somebody say there was no need of the court-monitored probe.

Bhushan quoted ex-French PM Francois Hollande and other Dassault officials to impute criminal motive in granting the offset contract to Reliance.

FIR is the legal requirement of the law and this court should order registration of the FIR, he added.

The activist-lawyer submitted that the NDA government "short-circuited" the acquisition process by taking the Inter-Government Agreement (IGA) route to avoid giving tender.

He said there was no sovereign guarantee from the French government in the deal and argued that initially, the Union Law Ministry flagged the issue and later gave in to the proposal of entering into IGA.

Bhushan, referring to the process of defence acquisition, said the Air Force needed 126 fighter jets and had intimated it to Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

He said initially, six foreign companies had applied and two firms were shortlisted during the earlier process.

Later, the deal went to French firm Dassault and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd was part of it.

But, suddenly a statement was issued which said there will be no technology transfer, and only 36 jets would be procured, the lawyer told the court.

ALSO READ: Rafale deal: HAL failed as offset partner due to unresolved issues with Dassault

Bhushan submitted that nobody knows about the alleged change in the deal done by the Prime Minister, and even the Defence Minister was not aware about the change.

Advocates M L Sharma, Vineet Dhanda and AAP MP Sanjay Singh, also advanced their arguments before Bhushan.

Sharma, who opened the argument, told the court that the IGA was "illegal" and sought an investigation into the matter.

Dhanda sought a proper reply from the Centre on his plea questioning the Rafale deal.

AAP leader's counsel Dheeraj Singh asked as to why the government reduced the deal of 126 jets to 36.

He said the government should have increased the number of jets when there was a concern that adversaries were inducting more fighter jets.

Bhushan also raised the same point as Singh and said three and a half years have passed since the deal was signed on 36 Rafale jets but no aircraft have been received till now.

The first jet is to be delivered in September 2019 and delivery to continue till 2022, he said.

"If the 126 aircraft deal was still on, at least 18 jets would have been delivered by April 2019," he submitted.

Hearing is currently underway in the top court.

The petitions in the matter have been filed by advocates M L Sharma, Vineet Dhanda.

Later, AAP MP Sanjay Singh also filed a petition.

Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan also filed a joint petition.

Reliance in previous statements has said the Indian government, French government, Dassault and Reliance have clarified on multiple occasions there was no offset contract for Rs 30,000 crore to Reliance as alleged by the Congress.
By UNI

PATNA: A Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leader was shot dead and another injured when criminals fired on them at Mera village under Khiri Mor police station area in the district late last night.

Police said here today that outlaws shot dead Paliganj block RLSP president Amit Kumar Bhushan alias Tudu (32) and injured Visheshwar Prasad Singh, a native of Dharhara village during a cultural programme at the village.

The motive behind attack was not immediately known. Police said, the injured had been admitted to Paliganj sub divisional hospital. A massive manhunt is on to nab the accused, sources added.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: At least three soldiers and an army porter have been killed and four security men injured in Pakistani troops sniper fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in border districts of Rajouri and Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir in last four days.

Lance Naik Antony Sebastian was killed and Havaldar Mary Mathu injured in Pakistan army sniper fire at LoC in Sonawali Gali along Krishna Ghati (KG) sector in Poonch district on Monday.

Both the soldiers were hit while they were manning their posts on the LoC.

Earlier, on November 11, 29 year old Naik Gosavi Keshav Somgir R/o Maharashtra was killed in sniper fire from Pakistan troops in Nowshera sector of Rajouri.

The soldiers and officers have been directed to wear the body protective gear while on guard duty and patrol on the LoC and avoid going in the open, an army officer said.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: On Jawaharlal Nehru's 129th birth anniversary, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said the best way to honour the country's first prime minister was by rededicating ourselves to freedom, democracy, secularism and socialism.

Nehru was born to Motilal Nehru and Swaroop Rani on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and his birthday is celebrated as Children's Day.

He remained in office until his death in 1964.

"On the birth anniversary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the best way for us to honour him, is by rededicating ourselves to Freedom, Democracy, Secularism & Socialism. These were the core values he believed in and fought for. These are the core values that bind our nation together," Gandhi tweeted.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, who is taking up initiatives for uniting all the anti-BJP parties at the national level, on Tuesday announced that leaders of national leaders of various political parties would attend the last leg of Dharma Porata Deeksha to be organised in the capital region of Amaravati.

The last leg of the partys flagship protest programme against the Centre for denying special category status to the State and its alleged failure to implement the provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act is all set to become a show of strength of anti-BJP parties ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Heading the TDP strategic committee meeting Election 2019 Mission at his residence in Undavalli near here on Tuesday, Naidu called upon the party leaders to garner peoples support by explaining the development and welfare schemes being implemented by the State government in the past 54 months. In the same breath, he also wanted them to explain to the people the betrayal done by the Centre to AP, by visiting every house and through pamphlets and wall writings.

The ruling party is planning to organise a series of meetings, including Dharma Porata Deekshas, in Nellore on November 20, Vizianagaram on November 27 and subsequent events in Srikakulam and Anantapur. Naidu directed the party leaders to make all these programmes a big success. Asking the party leaders to make the Jayaho BC Workshop to be held in Rajamahendravaram on November 15 and 16 a successful, he wanted all the BC leaders to attend and debate the welfare programmes taken up by the government for the past four-and-a-half years.

He also urged them to come up with a BC plan to be implemented in the future. Similarly, Naidu also directed the party leaders to organise TDP Hamara and Dalita Tejam programmes in all constituencies. He made it clear that party tickets would be given only to winning horses, based on the performance of MLAs and MPs as well as the feedback of public on their efficiency.

He also suggested the party leaders to stay positive, which, he said, will always lead to success. Taking right decisions at the right time is key for success in politics,  he observed.

Naidu promises more income to Asha workers

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said the State government will come up with more programmes to utilise the services of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers to enhance their income.

He was addressing the Asha workers after attending felicitation meeting organised by them on Tuesday. On the occasion, the Chief Minister lashed out at the BJP-led Centre as well as the Opposition parties in the State. Opposition parties, at the behest of BJP, are ignoring the interests of the State, he said.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court has reserved the order on bail petition filed by former BJP minister G Janardhana Reddy, who was arrested by the CCB police in connection with a multi-crore cheating case, till Wednesday.

When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, senior counsel C H Hanumantharaya, representing Reddy, argued that all the five other accused in the case were already granted bail.Soon after the police issued notice, my client appeared before the police and extended full cooperation to the investigation. His aide Ali Khan had borrowed `20 crore as loan from the proprietor of Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd and my client had knowledge about it. He has told that to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police as well and made a statement that he will help the proprietor of the firm recover the money. He is not involved the firms business in anyway.

He also submitted that Reddy has to appear before Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in other cases and thus he has to be granted bail.The public prosecutor contended that the accused is an influential person and a bail granted to him would hamper investigations.But the magistrate questioned the public prosecutor what the connection was between the petitioner and the firm. The complainant has not taken the name of the petitioner (Reddy) in his complaint. None of the investors have pointed towards the involvement of the petitioner. So, how is he (Reddy) connected to the case? There is not even a single allegation against the petitioner but the police claim that he is linked to the case, the magistrate asked.

The order was reserved till Wednesday and the hearing was adjourned.

ALI KHAN FILES AFFIDAVIT

Reddys close aide Ali Khan filed an affidavit in the court stating that he was ready to pay `18 crore to the firm if the prosecution proves that he had taken gold worth `18 crore from the firm.Meanwhile, the CCB filed a petition seeking cancellation of interim anticipatory bail granted to Khan.

BBMP CORPORATORS HOUSE SEARCHED

As part of the investigation, a CCB team conducted search in the house of BBMP Shivajinagar ward councillor Fareeda Ishtiaq on Monday.As her husband Ishtiaq Pailwan, a history-sheeter, is said to have business links with Ambidant firm, the police searched the house and seized some documents. They also questioned him and gathered details.
By Express News Service

KAYAMKULAM: In the second attempt by a Jacobite family in 11 days, the funeral of 95-year-old Varghese Mathew Pallikalethu alias Mathukutty was held on Tuesday morning at St Marys Church along KP Road in Kayamkulam.

His body was laid to rest in the family vault along with his wife Thankamma Mathew who died in 2003. The funeral rites were held in a peaceful manner, betraying the bitter altercation between the members of Malankara Orthodox Church and Jacobite Syrian Church over rituals, that led to the delay. The Orthodox Church which owns the parish and cemetery had objected to the funeral with a Jacobite priest leading the ceremony, when the body of Mathukutty was first taken for burial on Thursday.

The thaw in the fight over the ownership of church properties was brokered by the district administration following orders from the National Human Rights Commission to allow the family to conduct funeral as per customs and wish of the dead on Monday.

The Chief Ministers Office followed up on the orders and directed the district administration to conduct the funeral at the earliest. Alappuzha District Collector S Suhas and District Police Chief S Surendran held meetings with family and representatives of both factions. The family was given strict instruction to complete the proceedings before 8 am. Finally, on Tuesday the body of one of the oldest Jacobite members was taken from his house, Pallikalethu, to the parish located about half a kilometre away, at 7 am. It was accompanied by relatives and the laity till the kappela in front of the church where five priests, including Mathukuttys grandson Fr Georgee John, Fr Roju John, Fr Sabu Samuel, Fr Thomas Kaitharam and Fr George Perumpattethu, performed the funeral rites.

A select group of relatives, numbering less than 50, entered the cemetery surrounding the parish from three sides. Mar Aprem Jacobite Syrian Church vicar at Parakode, Fr Georgee conducted the last rites as per his wishes and customs.

The Jacobite priest was dressed in full uniform when he performed the last rites. Earlier, the Orthodox faction had objected to his presence in cassock when the body was taken to the cemetery on Thursday. The ceremony was over by 8 am, the time stipulated by the administration, and parish gate was closed by its trustee Alex M George and secretary Mathew Philip. On Tuesday, during the ceremony, no members from the opposition were present.

About 420 policemen in five buses from AR camps and nearby police stations were deployed to check any untoward incident. Section 144 had been imposed in the Kattachira area and will be in force till November 27.

Church to initiate contempt of court proceedings

Kottayam: The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) will initiate contempt of court proceedings against Revenue and police authorities in Alappuzha district in connection with the burial of Varghese Mathew Pallikkalethu at St Marys Church, Kattachira, on Tuesday. In a press release issued here, MOSC Association secretary Biju Oommen said all the proceedings held at Kattachira church come under the act of contempt of court. The Revenue and police authorities in Alappuzha district violated the SC order by allowing a priest of the Jacobite faction to enter the church and lead the funeral services. The authorities also prevented parish vicar Fr Johns Eappen from entering the church as well. We are forced to initiate legal proceedings, he said. In the discussion held on Monday, the District Collector and district police chief had assured us the SC order would be maintained. We were ready to conduct the funeral as per this decision. However, breaking this assurance, they gave protection to the priest of the other faction, Biju said.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Defence manufacturers and investors on Tuesday gave thumbs up to State Governments new Aerospace and Defence Policy which provides incentives to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Pitching for a strong public-private partnership, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin India Phil Shaw said his company would be looking for aviation grade materials in Odisha. The American origin aerospace and defence major offers top-end technologies to Indian Armed Forces.

Odisha provides a robust ecosystem for manufacturers as it has one of Odisha investment defence the best test ranges of the world for testing of arms and ammunition besides the materials. We are open to partnerships with small and medium enterprises of the State, he said.

President (Manufacturing and Business) Punj Lloyd Limited, Ashok Wadhawan said the first-ever private sector rifles made by the company are now being used by police, CRPF and Armed Forces. Odisha can focus on maintenance, repair and overhaul not just for aerospace but also weapons, he pointed out.

Former Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Subrata Saha, who moderated a panel discussion, appreciated efforts of Odisha Government for its priority to defence and aerospace manufacturing. He was confident that development of a third defence industrial corridor is a strong possibility in Odisha.

Director, ITR, BK Das said defence manufacturers in the country are doing exceeding well. Earlier we were depending on foreign countries for defence equipment. But, now we have indigenised most of our systems. India has developed the best-in-its-class re-entry tracking systems in the world without the support of any other country, he said.

Commandant of Army Air Defence College Maj Gen PS Bhatia emphasised on collaborative approach by user, industry and academia to cater to the needs of Armed Forces. He said industry and academia have come out with path-breaking solutions to the problems of Army.

Earlier, Industries Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said provisions have been designed to attract key players to set up units which will provide impetus for further development of ancillary and downstream units in the State. It was announced that BEML and ITR would collaborate and organise an investors meet in January for MSMEs operating in aerospace and defence.
Manamas security forces have reportedly detained at least three Bahraini youths throughout the last 24 hours.



AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Manamas security forces have reportedly detained at least three Bahraini youths throughout the last 24 hours.



Two were picked up when their homes were raided in Bahrains Aali and Karbabad and a third was remanded in custody after being summoned for questioning on Tuesday.



Meanwhile, police raids were reported in other parts of the kingdom including Diraz, Dumistan and Buri.



Many of those detained since the start of Bahrains popular uprising in 2011 have faced torture and other forms of ill-treatment in detention.





/257
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Basking in the enthusiastic response of industries to the Make-In-Odisha Conclave 2018, the State received investment intents to the tune of Rs 4.19 lakh crore across 15 diversified sectors as the flagship event closed its third day on Tuesday.

The second edition of the Conclave has been a defining moment in the history of industrialisation of Odisha. I am confident that the policy ecosystem and the investment opportunities showcased in the Conclave and the deliberations held in the various sessions would help the State emerge as the most preferred investment destinations in the country, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

Terming the investors meet a grand success, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Conclave witnessed an overall investment intent of Rs 4,19,574 crore which will create 5.91 lakh additional jobs. My Government will extend all necessary support to the industry and we are committed to ensure grounding of investment intents received during the conclave, he assured.

Addressing the valedictory session, Patnaik announced that the third edition of the Conclave will be held from November 30 to December 4 in 2020.

The Conclave got investment intent in sectors like mineral, metal and downstream, chemical and fertilizer, petrochemical, food processing, healthcare, tourism, renewable energy and electronics segments. Companies that promised big-ticket investments included Haladia Petrochemicals (Rs 70,000 crore), Jindal Steel & Power (Rs 60,950 crore), Mahanadi Coalfields (Rs 58,797 crore), Steel Authority of India (Rs 41,400 crore) and Nalco (Rs 37,861 crore) besides a Taiwan company, which proposed to invest around Rs 43,000 crore in petrochemicals.

Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said the Conclave received tremendous response with 5,074 industry captains and delegates from India and abroad participating in the event. As many as 31,806 people have already visited the largest-ever industrial expo set up by the State, he said.

It will further the vision of the State to broadbase the industrial growth with a slew of investment proposals in several sectors which will create new employment opportunities for the skilled youth of the State, he added.

Industries Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said the State received four Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) intents worth Rs 46,650 crore during the event. While the Taiwan firm evinced interest in chemical and petro chemicals, a Dutch company in infrastructure and logistics sector and a Japanese and a Thailand company showed interest to invest in food processing sector, he informed. We also received an investment proposal worth Rs 1,650 crore in aerospace and defence manufacturing sector, he added.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The number of Indians studying in the United States increased by 5.4 per cent over the last year to 1.96 lakh, according to the 2018 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released on Tuesday. This marks the fifth consecutive year that the total number of students pursuing higher education in the United States has grown.

As per the report, Indians make up for nearly 18 per cent of all international students in the United States, surpassed only by China. India also provided the second highest amount of graduate students and fourth-most undergraduates. Apart from that, the number of American students studying in India increased to 4,704  12.5 per cent more than the year before.

Speaking at the US-Indian Educational Foundation (USIEF), Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs Joseph Pomper said, Looking at the past 10 years of data, the number of Indians going to the United States has doubled. The reasons are clear: Indian students are looking for a great education and the United States continues to offer this.

Pomper also stated that the Embassy continues to see well qualified Indians applying to study in the United States as well as record attendance at US university fairs held across the country. In 2017-18, US colleges and universities hosted more than 1 million international students for the third consecutive year. This marks the 12th consecutive year of expansion. Top places of origin were China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil.
By PTI

GHAZNI: Thousands of Afghans have fled to Ghazni city to escape fighting in two Hazara-dominated districts, with some describing the violence Tuesday as the worst they had seen in the 17-year conflict.

The Taliban have been battling members of Afghanistan's special forces and ethnic Hazara militia in the previously safe districts of Jaghori and Malistan in the southeastern province of Ghazni for nearly a week.

Hundreds of people, including civilians, militia, commandos and militants, have been killed, according to figures provided by locals and government officials.

Many families have fled to the provincial capital, some leaving their homes in the middle of the night and travelling on side roads to avoid Taliban checkpoints.

"We were scared, other people were fleeing so we decided to leave too," said a woman called Zainab, who drove with her five children for 12 hours on dirt roads from her home in Jaghori district to Ghazni city.

"We have never seen this kind of war and my children and I were scared," she told AFP, adding her husband had stayed behind to protect their property.

Around 2,000 families displaced by the fighting are living in mosques and hostels in Ghazni city, said Abdul Haleem Noori, director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Ghazni.

Others are staying with relatives as they wait out the fighting.

Afghan security forces have stepped up ground and air offensives in the restive region, and US Forces also have launched air support, including aerial surveillance.

The escalation in fighting comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity to convince the Taliban to negotiate an end to the war.

Jaghori district "is surrounded by Taliban and there are a lot of them", Mohammad Ali told AFP in a mosque where he is staying with nine family members. They were very well equipped with night-vision goggles and heavy weapons."

Fighting in the area has been ongoing since Wednesday. There are growing fears the violence could be rooted in ethnic or sectarian differences. Most Hazaras belong to the Shiite branch of Islam. The Taliban, which are Sunni and largely ethnic Pashtuns, have been accused of committing human rights violations against the group during their oppressive 1996-2001 rule.

As displaced families continued to arrive in Ghazni city on Tuesday, provincial police spokesman Ahmad Khan Sirat told AFP the "situation is under control".

"Commando forces have been deployed in both Jaghori and Malistan," Sirat said. "We have reports of sporadic fighting."

The Afghan Red Crescent Society has dispatched food, warm clothes and medicine to hundreds of families still in Jaghori and Malistan districts.

The fighting has angered many Hazaras, who blame the government for failing to protect the minority ethnic group. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Kabul in the past two days to demand the deployment of military reinforcements to the Hazara districts under Taliban attack.

A suicide bomber blew himself up near the protesters on Monday, killing at least six people and wounding 20 in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday described India as "very good negotiators" as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with top Indian-Americans and said he is "grateful" for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," Trump said before lighting the ceremonial Diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House.

It is the second consecutive year that Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we're working. And it's moving along," Trump said referring to the India-US trade deal negotiations that have started between the two largest democracies of the world.

Along with nearly two dozen top Indian American officials of his Administration, President Trump had invited the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, his wife Dr Avina Sarna, and his special assistant Pratik Mathur to be present during the White House Diwali celebrations, a rare.

"India is the world's largest democracy and the relationship between our two countries connect as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said.

"Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say," said the US President as he introduced his daughter to the audience, who was present in the room.

"Absolutely," replied Ivanka, who had visited India last year.

She was the first top official of the Trump Administration to travel to India.

Sarna in his brief remarks thanks the President for this great honour for India and this great Indian community putting.

"They feel very welcome here and so integrated with the American society," he said.

"I think, we are looking at one of the best times we ever had in India-US relationship," Sarna said, which was agreed by Trump.

"I think, that's true. Very close, closer than ever before," said the US President.

In his remarks, Trump welcomed senior Indian American officials gathered at the White House for Diwali celebration.

"As we light the Diya in the White House we are joined by in a fellowship with all of those who light lamps in their own home, cities and places of worship. America is a land of faith and we are truly fortunate to have these wonderful traditions woven into the tapestry of our national life. And that is true," he said.

Trump said that he is thrilled to celebrate Diwali at the White House.

"I'm honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people. We're gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family and friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New year: very special new year," he said.

"Our nation is blessed to be home to millions of hardworking citizens of Indian and South East Asian heritage to enrich our country in countless ways. Together we are one proud American family. Do we agree with that? I think so. I think we do. Right? Better, believe it," he said.

Trump said Americans of Indian and South East Asian heritage have done an incredible job and identified several of them by name including the chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai; Manisha Singh, Acting Under Secretary of the Department of State; Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services; Uttam Dhillon, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Neil Chatterjee, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Raj Shah, the Deputy White House Press Secretary.

The first White House Diwali celebrations was held in 2003 under the then US President George W Bush, who never attended Diwali celebrations in person.

A senior administration official represented him.

It was mostly held in the India Treaty Room of Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

Since 2003, Diwali celebrations at the White House has become an annual tradition.

In 2009, President Barack Obama lighted the ceremonial lamp in the East room of the White House.

The event was attended by about 200 guests.

In 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated Diwali in the East Room.

Immediately before the celebrations, she participated in a Bollywood dance with local students in the State Dining Room.

In 2016, Obama celebrated Diwali in the Oval Office with a group of Indian Americans officials from his administration.

In 2016, Vice President Biden hosted a Diwali reception at his official residence Number One Observatory Circle.

In 2017 President Trump celebrated his first Diwali in the Oval Office with Amb Nikki Haley, senior officials from his administration and a small group of Indian Americans.

Over the years, it is being celebrated by the Indian Americans in Pentagon and the State Department.

For the past several years, Diwali is also being celebrated at the US Capitol by Rep and Senators, being hosted by India Caucus.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: India and the US Wednesday pledged to further strengthen economic cooperation and increase engagement in the oil and energy sector with a view to boost bilateral trade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence had "productive discussions on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues" on the sidelines of East Asia Summit here, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

Later briefing reporters, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said it was a "very good" meeting.

The two sides had a brief discussion on trade-related matters.

In a statement, Pence's office said he encouraged "free, fair, and reciprocal trade with India.

"We agreed that in a new relationship we are building with the US where trade is expanding, we need to find ways in which we can help that process to take place," Gokhale said.

The prime minister said that in the last 2 years - since President Donald Trump has assumed office - American exports to India have grown 50 per cent and it is perhaps the only one of the top 10 countries with which the US has a trade deficit, and the deficit has actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year, Gokhale said.

ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi meets Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in Singapore

"There was a lot of discussions on energy. This is a new sector in Indo-US relations. We have begun importing oil and gas from the US worth about USD 4 billion this year. We expressed our readiness to import more oil and gas from the US as a way of expanding our trade," he said.

The defence sector was another area of cooperation between the two sides.

"Both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defence relationship, in our imports of equipment from the US, but the prime minister, in particular, stressed that there was a great opportunity for the US in India in making defence equipment and setting up defence industry in India.

"Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region," Gokhale said.

Modi said when Indians come to the US, they not only bring their talent and capacity to innovate, the capacity to excel but also they are imbued with democratic values.

"And in that context the Prime Minister expressed hope that this would be the approach that US might take when it looks at the whole issue of the H-1B visa," Gokhale said.

Pence acknowledged that India had made substantial progress economically as well as diplomatically in regional and international affairs, Gokhale said.

Pence felt that India is a positive factor in regional and international relations and said the US looks forward to working with India on various issues to ensure that "we have a fair rules-based international order".

India-US bilateral trade was USD 74.5 billion in 2017-18, up from USD 64.5 billion in the previous year.
By PTI

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned Wednesday and called for early elections, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "capitulating to terror" and surrendering before the Islamist group Hamas over a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Over 460 rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israel in 25 hours on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Israeli army.

The Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted over 100 of them.

Most of the rest landed in open fields, but dozens landed inside Israeli cities and towns, killing one person, injuring dozens more, and causing significant property damage.

In response, the Israeli military targeted approximately 160 sites in the Gaza Strip connected to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups, including four facilities that the army designated as "key strategic assets".

As news of a ceasefire between the Israeli government and Hamas -- which controls the Gaza Strip -- broke, Liberman's office put out a statement saying any claim that he had backed ending Israel's offensive was "fake news".

"I didn't look for reasons to quit," Lieberman said at a hurriedly called press conference.

"I tried to remain a loyal government member in the cabinet, keep differences internal even at an electoral cost.

The two turning points were the millions of dollars in cash delivered to Gaza by Qatar and the ceasefire Israel agreed to with Hamas on Tuesday, the ultra-nationalist leader said.

"There is no other definition, no other significance, but a capitulation to terror. What we are doing now as a country is buying short-term quiet at the cost of our long-term security," the defence minister said.

Lieberman's Yisrael Beteinu party also pulled out of the ruling coalition led by Netanyahu, demanding fresh elections.

The ruling coalition still holds a slender majority of 651 to 59 in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) after Beiteinu's departure.

However, another key coalition partner Habayit Hayehudi, headed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, also threatened to quit if the defence portfolio did not go to its leader.

Lieberman said: "It is no secret that there were differences between the prime minister and I.

I did not agree to allow entry of Qatari money (into Gaza), and I had to allow it only after the prime minister announced it".

He said that similar differences revolved around the evacuation of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank which had also led to differences in the overwhelmingly right-wing dominated coalition.

Senior sources in Netanyahu's Likud party were quoted by the local media as saying that "elections are not necessarily the next step", adding that Netanyahu will initially take charge of Lieberman's portfolio.

Hamas said that Lieberman's resignation is a recognition of Israel's defeat in this week's military confrontation with the Islamic group.

Following the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lieberman and Bennett published statements, distancing themselves from the decision to agree to a ceasefire.

Lieberman demanded a "harsh, decisive" move against Hamas.

Sources close to Bennett said his opposition to the ceasefire was crystal clear.

Certain other sources, however, said that ultimately the ministers unanimously supported the defence establishment's position that an action should be taken to restore the calm.

According to the associates of Lieberman, the claim by the Prime Minister's Office that the defence minister had supported the ceasefire agreement in Gaza infuriated him.

Lieberman and Bennett have recently traded barbs publicly with the latter charging the defence minister of going soft against terror.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence held talks on Wednesday on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The two leaders had "productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues" on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"Spoke about our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific & reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen security and counterterrorism cooperation and coordination," Pence tweeted after his meeting with Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence. (Photo | Twitter@VP)

In a readout, Pence's office said he encouraged "free, fair, and reciprocal trade with India."

Briefing the reporters, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale later said it was a "very good" meeting.

"There was a sense of convergence both on bilateral issues and on global issues and we look forward to taking the relationship now in the coming months and in 2019," he said.

There was some discussion on the issue of terrorism.

Pence referred to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly Mumbai terror attack on November 26 and hailed cooperation between the two sides on counter terrorism, Gokhale said.

Modi thanked Pence and reminded him that in one way or another all the traces and all the leads in the global terror attacks ultimately leads to a "single source and single place of origin", without naming any country or organisation.

ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi meets Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in Singapore

"He (Modi) did point out that the mainstreaming of people involved in the Mumbai attacks in a political process which has taken place in the recent elections in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to the two countries - India and US - but to international community," Gokhale said, referring to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the July 25 elections in Pakistan.

"There was some good understanding of the areas of how we move forward in building cooperation on counter terrorism and both countries recognised that this is a challenge which we have to fight together and to fight along with the rest of the international community," Gokhale said.

On bilateral issues, the two sides had brief discussions on trade related matters.

"We agreed that in a new relationship we are building with the US where trade is expanding we need to find ways in which we can help that process to take place," he said.

Prime Minister Modi said that in the last two years - since President Donald Trump has assumed office - American exports to India have grown by 50 per cent and it is perhaps one of the countries, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the US has a trade deficit where the deficit has actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year, Gokhale said.

"There was a lot of discussions on energy. This is a new sector in Indo-US relations. We have begun importing oil and gas from US worth about USD 4 billion this year. We expressed our readiness to import more oil and gas from US as a way of expanding our trade," he said.

The defence sector was another area of cooperation between the two sides.

ALSO READ | India up 23 notches, 77th on World Bank's 'ease of doing business' ranking

"Both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defense relationship, in our imports of equipment from the US but Prime Minister in particular stressed that there was a great opportunity for US in India in making defense equipment and setting up defense industry in India.

Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region," Gokhale said.

Delighted to have met you in Singapore, @VP Mike Pence. India and USA are time tested friends, who are cooperating on several subjects. Our talks today will further enhance the strong relations between our countries. https://t.co/tJ7GMVu4No  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

Prime Minister Modi said Indians when they come to the US not only bring their talent and capacity to innovate, capacity to excel but also they are imbued in democratic values.

"And in that context the Prime Minister therefore expressed the hope that this would be the approach that US might take when it looks at the whole issue of the H-1B visa," Gokhale said.

Pence acknowledged that India had made substantial progress economically as well as diplomatically in regional and international affairs, Gokhale said.

Pence felt that India is a positive factor in regional and international relations and said US looks forward to working with India on various issues  both on political and economic sides to ensure that "we have a fair rules-based international order", he said.

The two sides "agreed that on the international forums, we should on the basis of the shared values build up a possible cooperation in a number of areas".

The Indo-Pacific region also come up for discussion and Modi referred to his June speech in Singapore at IISS Shangrila Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision on Indo-Pacific.

He conveyed to Pence that his vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that "we should utilise the forthcoming East Asia summit to further build on that," Gokhale said, amid China flexing its muscles in the East and South China Seas.

Pence spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

He felt that India's contribution in ensuring this would be important and "we then discussed how both sides can strengthen cooperation in this area to ensure that this is an area of growth, of prosperity, of development and of benefit for the countries of the region in the future," Gokhale said.
By IANS

GAZA: Palestinian militias in Gaza on Tuesday announced that they have agreed to a ceasefire after two days of escalating tension and firing more than 460 rockets fired into Israel, to which the Israelis responded with 160 airstrikes carried out on positions in the enclave.

The flare-up of violence was triggered by an Israeli military operation near the Gaza town of Khan Yunis on Sunday night in which seven militants and an Israeli soldier died and to which the Gaza militants responded by launching dozens of rockets into Israeli territory, Efe reported.

The joint operations centre of the Palestinian factions said that Egyptian efforts had led to strengthening the ceasefire between the "armed resistance factions" and Israel, with the armed resistance in Gaza committing itself to abiding by the ceasefire as long as Israel also adheres to it.

The factions include the Qassam Brigades - the armed wing of the Islamist movement Hamas that governs Gaza - and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, among others.

Shortly before the ceasefire announcement, high-ranking Hamas sources confirmed to EFE that the truce had come into force.

Cairo, with support from the United Nations, had pushed in the past few hours to ending the worst escalation of violence since 2014 between Palestinian militias and Israel.

During the violence over the past 48 hours, 14 militants, an Israeli soldier in Gaza and a Palestinian civilian in Israel were killed.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

Modi's first engagement here would be to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet.

"The Prime Minister landed in Singapore a short while ago. He will be joining a series of programmes through the day, beginning with the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival," PMOIndia@PMOIndia said.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The prime minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, the WH said.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday met his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and the two leaders discussed a range of issues, including cooperation in financial technology and regional economic integration.

Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore Wednesday by addressing the Fintech Festival, the world's largest event on financial technology.

Modi became the first world leader to address the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.

Modi met Lee on the sidelines of East Asia Summit.

"PM Narendra Modi met with Prime Minister of Singapore lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of East Asia Summit. Good exchange of views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

During his visit, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold meetings with global leaders, including US Vice President Mike Pence.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President on the eve of the meeting.

India and Singapore are working to connect Indian and ASEAN small and medium enterprises, anchored on an Indian platform, and expand it globally, Modi said in his address on Wednesday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other Asian states.
Appreciating the people of Iran for keeping vigilance in Aban 13 and the days after, President said, Aban 13 turned into the day of the solidity and strength of the Islamic Republic.



AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Appreciating the people of Iran for keeping vigilance in Aban 13 and the days after, President said, Aban 13 turned into the day of the solidity and strength of the Islamic Republic.



Speaking on Wednesday at the meeting of the Council of Ministers, Dr Hassan Rouhani continued, Iranians said it clearly and firmly with a loud voice that they do not accept domination seekers, and this is an honour for us.



He continued, Those in the White House thought that they could start the end of the Islamic Republic of Iran through putting pressure on the Iranian people and making them hopeless.



People may have complaints; it is OK to voice their criticism with a loud voice. We should stand firmly together and help each other. But standing against a bully in the world and showing that they will not be affected by their negative publicity is a great victory.



Stating that there are hardships and economic issues in the society, he continued, When people stand up to the conspiracies of the United States, they are proud and this is a great honour for us in this critical condition.



Dr Rouhani went on to say that the world knows that the path the US has chosen is wrong, adding, They thought that they could stop Irans oil export but they understood in the last days that this is not practical and possible.



Above all, the Americans found out that we will sell our oil and the Ministry of Petroleum gave the important signal inside the country, making Americans understand that we will sell our oil and whatever they do is ineffective, he added.



It may be hard for us, but the Ministry of Petroleum, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Economy, the Plan and Budget Organisation, and other ministers and officials, will firmly stand against the United States.



Emphasising that the United States will fail in this path, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran continued, If they are right in saying that they want security for the region, this is not the way. If they are honest in saying that they respect the Iranian nation and history, this is not the way. They have chosen a wrong path.



Dr Rouhani also said that everyone now believes that the Americans do not respect international rules and regulations and added, Today, it is clear for everyone that these unjust sanctions are against the great people of Iran.



If the US thinks that they can eradicate the people of Palestine and the history will forget the Palestinian refugees, if they think that by strengthening the Zionist Regime they can bring the people of Gaza to their knees, they are making another grave mistake, he continued.



The President added, The solution to the issues of the region is respecting the rights of the Palestinian people and holding free elections in the region.



President Rouhani went on to say, The nations of the region are always seeking their own independence and interests, and the Americans and Zionists are not able to suppress the great nations of this region and continue the wrong path of the Zionist aggression in the region.



The Palestinian people and the peoples of the region are with the Iranian nation, and we are, as before, supporting the oppressed peoples, including the Palestinian people, added Rouhani.





/257
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore on Wednesday on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit and the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral ties, including defence cooperation and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Modi began his two-day visit to the country where he will also attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, official sources said.

Pence will be representing President Donald Trump at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore.

Prime Minister Modi will also attend the 13th East Asia Summit (EAS) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit hosted by Singapore as the current Chair of ASEAN grouping.

ALSO READ: India a tough trade negotiator says Donald Trump at White House Diwali celebrations

As strategic partners, India and ASEAN enjoy close trade and economic relations.

Trade between India and ASEAN stood at USD 81.33 billion in 2017-18 and constitutes 10.58 per cent of India's total trade.

Exports to ASEAN countries constitute 11.28 per cent of India's total exports.

India and the US have explored ways to further deepen operational cooperation in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region where China has been trying to spread its influence.

ALSO READ: PM Modi pitches India as favourite investment destination at Fintech Festival in Singapore

China is 'coercing' its neighbours to reorder the Indo-Pacific region to its advantage as Beijing flexes its muscles in the East and South China Seas.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvering in the region.
By PTI

COX'S BAZAR: A Bangladesh official says authorities are ready to begin repatriating more than 2,200 Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar from where more than 700,000 have fled violence since last year.

Bangladesh's repatriation commissioner Abul Kalam said Wednesday that 30 refugee families would be transferred Thursday at the Gundrum border point near Cox's Bazar, where refugees have been living in cramped camps.

Kalam says the UN refugee agency is verifying the repatriation process.

According to a UN-brokered deal with Myanmar and Bangladesh, all repatriations must be voluntary.

Foreign leaders have criticised Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week in Singapore for her handling of the ethnic crisis that led to the Rohingya exodus.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was willing to discuss a peace treaty with Russia -- two countries still technically at war with each other -- during a meeting with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

The two leaders met face-to-face on the sidelines of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore.

Both countries are seeking to try to end a thorny territorial row that has dogged relations since the end of World War II.

The dispute between Russia and Japan centres on four islands in the strategically-located Kuril chain which the Soviet Union occupied at the end of the war in 1945 but are claimed by Japan.

It has kept the two countries from signing a peace accord that would formally end their wartime hostilities.

"We hope to discuss not only bilateral cooperation, including our economies but also the issue of the peace treaty," Abe told Putin, according to a Russian translation of his words at the start of the meeting.

"I am ready to give enough time to this, the peace treaty," he added.

Putin first suggested the two countries sign a peace treaty "without any preconditions" in September.

The proposal was initially received coolly in Japan, where a government spokesman said the two countries should first resolve the dispute before signing a peace deal.

But in recent months, diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue appear to have accelerated, at least to the point where Japan is willing to discuss what a treaty might look like.

In his response to Abe on Wednesday Putin said: "I am delighted to be able to discuss with you all the angles of our cooperation, including those that you personally consider to be priorities."

Historically, Japan insists the islands, which were once inhabited by the Ainu indigenous people, have never belonged to anyone else.

Russia considers them spoils of war as agreed between then US president Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1945.

Strategically, control of the islands gives Russia year-round access to the Pacific Ocean for its Pacific fleet of warships and submarines based in Vladivostok, as the surrounding water does not freeze in winter.
By PTI

DUBAI: A four-year-old specially-abled Indian boy has died on a flight due to epileptic seizures on his way back from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah with his family, according to a media report.

Yahya Puthiyapurayil developed epileptic seizures 45 minutes after the Oman Airways flight took-off, a relative was quoted as saying by the Khaleej Times.

"He was running a mild fever while boarding the flight from Jeddah and developed epileptic seizures in mid-air. He died on his mother's lap. The family is inconsolable," said the boy's uncle, who lives in Abu Dhabi.

The flight from Jeddah to Kozhikode in Kerala, made an emergency landing in Abu Dhabi on Monday afternoon after the tragic incident, the airlines said.

Puthiyapurayil was a specially-abled child who could not walk or talk, the report said.

"He was wheel-chair bound and had been undergoing treatment since his birth. He was travelling with a 13-member family pilgrimage group, including his parents, uncles and cousins," the report said.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that can be undertaken by Muslims at any time of the year.

An Indian Embassy official in Abu Dhabi said the boy's body was repatriated early on Tuesday morning on an Etihad flight.

The body reached Kannur and the burial was done by the afternoon, according to relatives.

"We were notified about the tragic incident on Monday afternoon. We spoke to the immigration officials in Abu Dhabi to facilitate the visa for the father. It was around 10. 30 p.m. in the night when the formalities were completed," said M Raja Murugan, Counsellor (Consular) at the embassy.

"We opened the Embassy at night and facilitated the cancellation of the boy's passport and registration of death and issued the no-objection letter to take the mortal remains to India," Murugan said.
By IANS

CHICAGO: Illinois state police on Tuesday were investigating a white officer over the fatal shooting of a "brave" black security guard who had apprehended a suspected gunman at a bar outside Chicago, officials said.

The officer was placed on administrative leave after the incident, which took place in the early hours of Sunday at Manny's Blue Room Lounge in the town of Robbins, 32 kilometers south of the Midwestern city.

The security guard, 26-year-old Jemel Roberson, was working at the bar, and intervened when an argument erupted and someone started shooting.

Several local police forces responded to the incident, in which four people were wounded, including the gunman.

None had life-threatening injuries.

A police officer from the nearby village of Midlothian arrived at the scene and shot Roberson, despite the guard wearing a uniform with "security" emblazoned on it, according to witnesses.

Roberson "had somebody on the ground with his knee in back, with his gun in his back, like, 'Don't move,'" witness Adam Harris told Chicago television station WGN.

"Everybody was screaming out, 'Security!' He was a security guard," Harris said, but police "saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him."

Roberson died of his injuries at a hospital.

The officer under investigation has not been formally identified, but a clerk at the department confirmed the officer was white, and was placed on administrative leave pending the inquiry.

"Jemel Roberson was a brave man who was doing his best to end an active shooter situation," Midlothian Police Chief Daniel Delaney said in a statement Tuesday.

Delaney, who supervises a force of 34 officers, said state police were investigating the shooting in order to "ensure transparency and maintain public trust."

"The Midlothian Police Department is completely saddened by this tragic incident and we give our heartfelt condolences to Jemel, his family and his friends," Delaney said.

The Illinois State Police has not formally commented on the incident.

Roberson's family has sued the village of Midlothian and the unnamed officer over his death, alleging that the shooting was "excessive and unreasonable."

Roberson reportedly was an aspiring police officer.

An online GoFundMe campaign raised more than USD 90,000 to pay for Roberson's funeral expenses -- almost doubling the total amount of donations in less than a day, as news spread on social media.

The shooting was the latest in a long line of deadly encounters between police and African Americans that have sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said US' relationship with India can act as a "bulwark" for freedom, prosperity and peace as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with eminent Indian-Americans.

It is the second consecutive year that President Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.

"I am thrilled to be here for the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, and I am honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people," Trump said.

"I'm honoured to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people. We're gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world," Trump said.

Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year. https://t.co/epHogpTY1A pic.twitter.com/9LUwnhngWJ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

"This ceremony signifies the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil.

It is a jubilant occasion that brings loved ones, neighbours, and communities closer together," Trump said before lighting the ceremonial diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House.

He said the shining lights remind people to "seek wisdom, to give thanks, and to always cherish and love the ones who grace our lives.

ALSO READ | Donald Trump wishes Happy Diwali on Twitter but misses out Hindus, gets trolled

"Our nation is blessed to be home to millions of hardworking citizens of Indian and South East Asian heritage to enrich our country in countless ways. Together we are one proud American family. Do we agree with that? I think so. I think we do. Right? Better, believe it," he said.

"India is the world's largest democracy, and the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said, amidst China flexing its military muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

He said the United States has deep ties with India and he was grateful for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say," said the US President as he introduced his daughter to the audience, who was present in the room.

"Absolutely," replied Ivanka, who had visited India last year.

She was the first top official of the Trump administration to travel to India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad in November last year.

Trump also mentioned the ongoing negotiations between the US and India on a trade deal but indicated that the talks were moving though it was tough.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we're working. And it's moving along," he said.

Donald Trump. (Photo | Twitter)

Along with nearly two dozen top Indian-American officials of his administration, Trump invited the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, his wife Dr Avina Sarna, and his special assistant Pratik Mathur to be present during the White House Diwali celebrations.

Sarna in his remarks thanked the President for the great honour for India and the Indian community.

"They feel very welcome here and so integrated with the American society," he said.

"I think, we are looking at one of the best times we ever had in India-US relationship," Sarna said, which was agreed by Trump.

"I think, that's true. Very close, closer than ever before," said the President.

In his remarks, Trump also welcomed senior Indian-American officials gathered for the Diwali celebrations.

ALSO READ | Indian-American Neomi Rao to replace Brett Kavanaugh on DC Circuit

Trump said Americans of Indian and South East Asian heritage have done an incredible job and identified several of them by name, including the chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai; Manisha Singh, Acting Under Secretary of the Department of State; Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services; Uttam Dhillon, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Neil Chatterjee, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Raj Shah, the Deputy White House Press Secretary.

The first White House Diwali celebrations was held in 2003 under the then US President George W Bush, who never attended the celebrations in person.

A senior administration official represented him.

It was mostly held in the India Treaty Room of Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

Since 2003, Diwali celebrations at the White House has become an annual tradition.

In 2009, President Barack Obama lighted the ceremonial lamp in the East Room of the White House.

In 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated Diwali in the East Room.

Immediately before the celebrations, she participated in a Bollywood dance with local students in the State Dining Room.

In 2016, Obama celebrated Diwali in the Oval Office with a group of Indian Americans officials from his administration.

In 2016, Vice President Joe Biden hosted a Diwali reception at his official residence Number One Observatory Circle.

In 2017, President Trump celebrated his first Diwali in the Oval Office with Ambassador Nikki Haley, senior officials from his administration and a small group of Indian- Americans.

Over the years, it is being celebrated by the Indian-Americans in Pentagon and the State Department.

For the past several years, Diwali is also being celebrated at the US Capitol by lawmakers, being hosted by the India Caucus.
By IANS

WASHINGTON: The White House on Tuesday said that it will mount a "vigorous" defence against the lawsuit filed by CNN accusing the administration of violating freedom of the press by suspending the press credentials of one of its reporters after a press conference confrontation with President Donald Trump.

"We have been advised that CNN has filed a complaint challenging the suspension of Jim Acosta's hard pass. This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared in a statement, Efe reported.

The cable news service on Tuesday filed its suit in a District of Columbia court against the president and five members of his staff over the decision to permanently ban CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta from the presidential residence.

ALSO READ | CNN sues Donald Trump, demanding return of journalist Jim Acosta to White House

In its statement, the administration claimed that 50 other CNN reporters are accredited to cover White House news and that Acosta is not special in any way, suggesting that he can easily be replaced.

"The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process," CNN said in a statement.

The lawsuit, filed in DC District Court, asks for a restraining order requiring the return of Acosta's White House press pass.

When the White House suspended Acosta's pass last week, it said it did so because he had placed his hands on a female intern who was trying to take the microphone from him after Trump indicated he was no longer taking his questions. Video of the altercation shows only incidental contact.

CNN has said this fight was not about the intern but rather about the president's contempt for Acosta and CNN.

"While the suit is specific to CNN and Acosta, this could have happened to anyone. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials," CNN said.

The White House answered back, saying that the administration "cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional."

"The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor. If there is no check on this type of behavior it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff, and members of the media to conduct business," the White House added.

After the press conference, a member of the Secret Service approached Acosta and demanded that he turn in his press pass, according to a video recording of the incident posted by the journalist on Twitter.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received on Tuesday the abducted citizens of Sweida eastern countryside who were liberated by heroes of the Syrian Arab Army late last month from Daesh terrorist organization which had kidnapped them in last July.



AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received on Tuesday the abducted citizens of Sweida eastern countryside who were liberated by heroes of the Syrian Arab Army late last month from Daesh terrorist organization which had kidnapped them in last July.



President al-Assad congratulated the liberated citizens and their families who were freed from the claws of terrorism, expressing confidence that the crime of their abduction, and in spite of the brutality of Daesh terrorists, will make them more strong.



The steadfastness of the abductees and their families, their strength and patience during the time of abduction from one side, and the determination of the army heroes ,some of them have sacrificed their soul to liberate the abductees-women and children-from the other side, will be a lesson in patriotism and national act, the President affirmed.



He added that patriotism wont be through words only, but through action, and the most superior degrees of patriotism is to defend homeland, and anyone who failed to meet this duty will bear the responsibility of victims who were killed during this terrorist war on Syria, with one of its painful chapters the attack of Daesh terrorists on villages of Sweida eastern countryside.



The State has put the mission of searching about each abductee on top of its priorities to liberate him or her whatever the price was, and it has put all its capabilities to achieve this mission, President al-Assad said.



The liberated abductees and their families, for their part, thanked President al-Assad for his unremitting following of the detail of every operation to liberate the free women of Sweida eastern countryside and their sons, appreciating heroes of the army who offered sacrifices in order to liberate the abductees.



They affirmed that they will remain loyal to blood of the martyrs who passed away while trying to liberate the abductees, expressing confidence in the victory of the army heroes in the war of defending Syria and defeating terrorism.

/257
Reporter/Columnist

Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
The press briefing in Hanoi (Source: anninhthudo.vn)

The information was released at a press briefing on the festival held in Hanoi on November 13th by the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Steering Committee for the festival.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said that 2018 marks the 56th anniversary of Vietnam - Laos diplomatic ties and the 41st anniversary of the signing of the Treaty for Friendship and Cooperation.



During their respective renovation cause, the two sides have obtained immense socio-economic and foreign affairs achievements that helped bolster and expand their cooperation over various fields.



Art performances and photo exhibitions on Vietnam - Laos special relations, and a seminar on Dien Bien provincial trade and tourism will be held on this occasion. /.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam will depart for Papua New Guinea on November 15 to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2018 Economic Leaders' Meeting and related meetings in Port Moresby.

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau will accompany her and take part in some of the meetings.

Delegates will discuss how APEC embraces new challenges in the digital age under the priorities of improving connectivity and deepening regional economic integration, promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, and strengthening inclusive growth through structural reform.

Mrs Lam will also attend the CEO Summit's Women Political Leaders Roundtable, a Business Advisory Council dialogue with Pacific Island leaders, and a gala dinner hosted for participating leaders.

She will return to Hong Kong on November 20.

During Mrs Lams absence, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung will be Acting Chief Executive.
Commissioner of Customs & Excise Hermes Tang (front row, left) signs the memorandum with General Administration of Customs Guangdong Sub-Administration Director General Li Shuyu (front row, centre) and Macao Customs Service Director-General Vong lao Lek.

Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau customs have signed a memorandum on co-operative and mutual-assistance arrangements for Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Ports.

Commissioner of Customs & Excise Hermes Tang, General Administration of Customs Guangdong Sub-Administration Director General Li Shuyu and Macao Customs Service Director-General Vong lao Lek signed the pact in Gongbei today.

The memorandum covers the establishment of a liaison mechanism for the three customs administrations and extends the Single E-lock Scheme, a speedy clearance programme currently in force between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, to the bridge's Hong Kong and Zhuhai ports.

The three places will also implement mutual-reference and recognition of inspection findings among their customs administrations and launch cooperation in investigation and law enforcement in different areas.

The Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau governments signed an agreement in 2010 adopting the "separate locations" mode of clearance in the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ports.

The memorandum strengthens this tripartite partnership in customs affairs and will extend the scope of cooperation.

It also will increase customs clearance efficiency for passenger and cargo movements and make anti-smuggling efforts effective.
Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan speaks at the two-day Regional Symposium on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Government departments today opened a symposium to call on healthcare professionals and the public to work together on the safe use of antibiotics to combat antimicrobial resistance.

More than 300 experts and partners from public health, human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, food, environment and the pharmaceutical industry attended the two-day regional symposium jointly opened by the Department of Health, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department, and the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department.

They reviewed the latest science and gained insights on how to better tackle the issue.

World-renowned speakers have been invited to share their expertise and experience in putting their antimicrobial resistance plans into action.

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan said antimicrobial resistance poses a global threat to the sustainable development of human medicine, veterinary medicine and food security by reducing available options to treat and prevent bacterial infections.

Prof Chan said the Government has long recognised the growing problem and various sectors have been implementing control measures to contain its spread.

Following the establishment of the High Level Steering Committee on antimicrobial resistance in 2016, the Hong Kong Strategy & Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance was launched in 2017 to outline the key areas, objectives and actions to contain the problem's growing threat in Hong Kong, she said.

The symposium is one of the major events taking place in conjunction with World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2018 from November 12 to 18.

The Department of Health said healthcare professionals should refer to the guidelines on the use and choice of antibiotics, while patients should closely follow their doctors' instructions and should not use antibiotics indiscriminately.
The Government is studying ways to improve facilities at the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to divert visitors from Tung Chung.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam told lawmakers today the Government is concerned with Tung Chung residents worries following the bridges commissioning.

She noted that about 50,000 people use the bridge every day to enter Hong Kong, of which one-fifth of the people just stay at the Hong Kong Port to experience travelling on the bridge.

The Government is looking into providing more facilities at the Hong Kong Port Passenger Clearance Building so visitors dont have to travel to Tung Chung to buy souvenirs and to shop.

Mrs Lam added the Government is also studying the possibility of developing the eastern artificial island into a tourist attraction.

Regarding suggestions to relocate the bus stop for route B6 in Tung Chung, Mrs Lam said this may increase the flow of people and that it needs further study.

On combatting non-compliant Mainland tours travelling to Hong Kong via the bridge, the Chief Executive said Guangdong authorities are concerned about the issue and has already urged such tours groups to follow the rules.

The Government is also encouraging tourists to use bus route B5 to Sunny Bay and from there, travel to city centre or other attractions instead of going to Tung Chung, she said.

She also hoped the tourism industry could develop more products for cross-boundary tours.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is actively following up on the alleged occupation of land by Mainland boundary guards in Sha Tau Kok, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said today.

Speaking during the Chief Executive's Question Time at the Legislative Council, Mrs Lam said officials from the relevant HKSAR Government departments met Shenzhen officials yesterday, following media reports alleging that Mainland boundary guards have been occupying part of the Frontier Closed Area of Sha Tau Kok.

She said Hong Kong and Shenzhen authorities have a different understanding on the demarcation of the boundary along the Sha Tau Kok River.

Mrs Lam noted that according to State Council Order No. 221 which sets out the SAR's boundary, and after making reference to aerial photos taken over the years and on-site inspections, the Sha Tau Kok River has not changed in its course, so the relevant land should be within the Hong Kong SAR.

She also pointed out that while understanding the HKSAR Governments position, Shenzhen authorities believe the boundary line should be redefined after the Sha Tau Kok River was realigned in 2013 to prevent flooding.

Mrs Lam said the HKSAR Government was not aware of the river realignment works, so it is still of the view that the land in question belongs to the Hong Kong SAR.

She described both sides as sincere to engage each other in further communication, adding that if necessary, the Government will seek legal advice to resolve the boundary issue as soon as possible.

To allay public concerns, the Shenzhen authorities have agreed to stop using the land while both sides work towards reaching a consensus.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam today expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Chung Sze-yuen, Convener of the first Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

"Dr Chung had served the community for many years. With distinguished achievements in areas including politics, education, medical care and engineering, he earned deep respect from members of the public, Mrs Lam said.

In the political arena, he had been a member of the Legislative Council for 13 years and a member of the Executive Council for 16 years before Hong Kong's return to the motherland. In six of the years, he was a member of both councils.

In the 1970s, he successfully lobbied the then Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, to increase the number of non-official members of the Legislative Council, enhancing democracy in the Legislative Council, she said.

During the negotiations between China and the UK on Hong Kong's future in the 1980s, he visited Beijing and London several times to reflect the views of Hong Kong people.

He was the Convener of the first Executive Council of the HKSAR from 1997 to 1999, contributing to Hong Kong's smooth transition during the crucial moment, the Chief Executive added.

In education, he took charge of the establishment of the Hong Kong Polytechnic, presently the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the City Polytechnic, currently the City University and the University of Science & Technology.

I had the privilege to have worked with Dr Chung in the Budget Expert Group under the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group dealing with the transitional Budget and related matters before Hong Kong's return to the motherland and was impressed by his objective and fair analysis, political tolerance and care and guidance for the younger generations.

"The spirit of Dr Chung's selfless sacrifice for Hong Kong will always be in our hearts.

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan said as the first Chairman of the Hospital Authority between 1990 and 1995, he made profound contributions to the medical and health development in the city.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung also said he played a very important role in the development of higher education in Hong Kong.
Chairman of the Da Nang city Peoples Committee Huynh Duc Tho receives Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Xuphan Keomixay. (Photo: baodanang.vn)

Expressing his pleasure with reinforced cooperation between the city and Lao localities, Mr. Tho said that so far, the city had signed 30 cooperative deals with Lao localities, including Vientiane, Savannakhet, Champasak, Sekong, Salavane, Attapeu, Bolikhamxay and Xayaburi, focusing on production, business, cooperation, planning, agriculture, healthcare, education, culture and society.

There are currently four Da Nangs businesses investing in Laos with an investment of nearly USD52.3 million. In education, since 2002, Da Nang University has received nearly 750 Lao students while in 2018-2019, it is allocating scholarships to 58 Lao students.

According to Mr. Tho, the Central city will continue to increase support in economics, urban areas, agriculture, education and training for southern and central Laos.

He expressed his hope that Lao agencies will make favourable conditions for the city to quickly construct the East-West Economic Corridor No 2 (EWEC2) connecting countries in the region, contributing to promoting the cooperation between Da Nang city in particular and Vietnam in general with Lao localities.

Appreciating Da Nang citys development, Minister Xuphan Keomixay expressed his joy with the reinforced relationship between the Vietnamese city and Lao localities in investment, trade, education, tourism and culture.

He confirmed that the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment will work closely with Vietnamese agencies and Da Nang city to promote economic and investment relationship, and increase cooperation in ensuring defence and security in border areas./.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam

This Policy Address is a very lengthy and wordy Policy Address running into 40,000 words in English and 59,000 characters in Chinese. But if you look at the chapter on Diversified Economy, it actually is the most substantive section in my Policy Address, taking up almost 22% of those words. And in the chapter on Diversified Economy, one of the first things I said is I want to reaffirm my Government's additional roles which I have been championing in the past 15 months, that in addition to being a provider of public services and a regulator, I want my Government to be a facilitator and a promoter. True to that advocacy, in the last 15 months there are many initiatives and many actions that fall in line with that mission for the Government to facilitate the work of the business and to promote, together with the business chambers, the Hong Kong success and the Hong Kong story.

I have been on 11 overseas trips since taking office, and on many of these trips I was accompanied by business leaders. So this promotional role of the Government and the business community is actually very aligned. The second point I made in this particular chapter on the economy is that the Government will do her utmost to help the business sector to seize the many opportunities under the Belt & Road Initiative and also the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and also to better integrate into the national development. And on this front, I hope everyone in my 165-strong delegation to Beijing recently, in fact two days ago, should feel very excited and very encouraged by what President Xi Jinping said about his hopes for Hong Kong and his recognition of the strong contribution made by the business sector as well as other sectors over the past four decades of the reform and opening up of the country. We will lose no time and spare no effort in incorporating the President's four hopes into the work of the HKSAR Government in order to create more opportunities for our business sector.

Tackling land and labour issues

The third point which you should appreciate is I did acknowledge that we have problems, so not everything is fine. I did acknowledge that we have a shortage in land and labour. On land, we have launched short to medium measures especially in providing more premises for the business sector, relaunching a very successful policy to revitalise the old industrial buildings. Since then, I have received some positive feedback from the business sector that this would perhaps provide some immediate relief. And also, in relaunching this revitalisation of industrial buildings, or what we call 2.0, we have put in some additional measures in order to create more capacity as a result of the revitalisation.

On the longer term initiative, nothing of course is more important than my vision on Lantau. This Lantau Tomorrow Vision will create for Hong Kong a third Core Business District (CBD). You all know our traditional CBD is in Central, providing no more than 3 million sq m of Grade A office supply. The second CBD, which was also conceived by me when I was Secretary for Development in 2009, is Energizing Kowloon East, which is doing very well. And when everything is completed in Energizing Kowloon East, we could expect 6 to 7 million sq m of office space. But we still should look ahead to provide more commercial spaces and office towers for Hong Kongs continued and sustainable development. And that is where the third CBD comes into the picture.

In Lantau Tomorrow, we are planning on the basis of a 4 million sq m CBD, which is actually very close to Central, it's only 4 kilometres away from Central, and with rail and road it will be very well connected to Hong Kong's financial district. So I hope I will get the support for executing my vision on Lantau Tomorrow.

On labour, I appreciate and I understand that more needs to be done, so I said this morning in the Legislative Council question and answer session that when things settle down a bit and come 2019, I, together with the Secretary for Labour & Welfare, will actively engage the business sector as well as the labour sector with a view to come up with clear directions for resolving Hong Kongs labour shortage. But in the meanwhile, we are giving additional support to vocational and professional education and training, we have introduced a tech talent admission scheme for bringing in technology talents, we have launched a Talent List under the Human Resources Planning Commission headed by the Chief Secretary for Administration, and we will do all the other things necessary in order to address labour shortage.

Prioritising market access

The fourth point in this chapter is we will be more proactive in conducting government-to-government work. So entering into bilateral and multilateral agreements in order to provide that environment, that expanded market access and environment, for the business sector is one of our priorities. You will remember that at end of last year we signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the 10 member nations of ASEAN. This will come into effect early next year. Right now, we are in advanced negotiations with Australia on another FTA and we have indicated interest to negotiate with the United Kingdom after Brexit and we have also indicated interest to negotiate FTA with the Pacific Alliance, the four South American countries. So the FTA will provide better access for our goods and services into the new markets. Beyond the FTA, I know someone will compare us to Singapore in terms of comprehensive agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, which I understand we have more catching up work to do. Now we have 40; I have given them a target of 50 within the next two, three years. The same applies to investment, promotion and protection agreement.

Meanwhile, we are also putting in a lot of efforts to do overseas promotions. Some of the business leaders have taken part in our recent mission to Japan. This five-day promotional visit to Japan was very well received in the words of Ambassador Kuninori Matsuda, the former Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong. He told me that as a result of this five-day visit and the many meetings, gala dinners and seminars, Japan has rediscovered Hong Kong.

There are a lot of opportunities in Hong Kong, especially on the innovation and technology side. We have not forgotten our interactions and engagement with the Mainland authorities because the Mainland of China will continue to be a huge market for our business and a place where we will continue to invest quite heavily. So within a year, 2018, I have started or restarted the bilateral, high-level co-operation platform with Sichuan Province, with Beijing, with Shanghai and later this month with Fujian. And also added to it will be the pan-Pearl River Delta regional co-operation. We will continue to do that in order to provide more opportunities.

On the sector-specific initiatives, the chapter on Diversified Economy has actually attempted to cover more sectors than we did previously. For example, the movie people were telling me that this was the first time that they got such a high-profile treatment in the Policy Address. There was a whole section on how we could assist and promote Hong Kong's film industry. The maritime people will hopefully tell me when I go to attend their 50th anniversary Shipowners Association gala dinner that for the first time the maritime sector has been given very significant treatment in my Policy Address with a list of initiatives that we want to promote high-value-added services in the maritime industry. Beyond that, of course in financial services we will not lose sight of this very important sector of Hong Kong. We will be doing more green financing, issuing of government green bonds and riding on this continued opening up and reform in the Mainlands financial services sector, to get Hong Kong onto that platform of providing more services to the Greater Bay Area and beyond.

Tourism, I&T, legal services and other areas of the creative industries have also been given due attention in the chapter on Diversified Economy. The only sector which legitimately has a complaint is agriculture and fisheries. I'm afraid that despite my utmost efforts, I find it quite difficult to come up with very substantive measures to promote Hong Kongs agricultural and fisheries industry. But perhaps I will try harder in next years Policy Address.

Caring for employers and employees

But now lets not just focus on this chapter on Diversified Economy. If I want to convince you that this Policy Address is a pro-business Policy Address, I will encourage you to look beyond the chapter on Diversified Economy. For example, the chapter on education, on nurturing talents, I am equipping and nurturing people to support business. We are putting in a lot more money and attention into quality education, so you will have the right manpower in time to come.

About promoting employees benefits and support, this is a very tricky area. I understand some business people are unhappy about my section on promoting labour benefits, because labour benefits somehow have been equated as anti-business. I dont take that view. I hope business sector does not take that view and have what my Secretary for Labour & Welfare called reverse thinking. Put yourself into the shoes of the workers, and understand that if workers are being treated well, they will be your loyal and dedicated staff that could create value for the company. But even then in my pro-labour initiatives, I have put in a lot of money. I have put in $29 billion in order to implement the evolution of the offsetting arrangement in the Mandatory Provident Fund. And I'm picking up the bill  almost every dollar  for the four extra weeks of maternity leave, by providing reimbursement for companies to come to claim that extra four weeks of maternity leave salaries for their female employees. I hope there should be no complaint about these pro-labour benefits and measures in my Policy Address.

In order to boost everybody's confidence, let me end by sharing a few of the positive developments in the past year or so. In the first half of this year, Hong Kong has achieved 4% real growth in our economy. And that is quite encouraging because in the past decade our average growth is 2.7%. Property prices have started to moderate. Property prices have moderated since August after my announcement of a package of housing initiatives on the 29th of June by about 2% to 3%, and hopefully rentals for commercial premises will also be moderated in due course. In the first 10 months of this year, our Hong Kong exchange has achieved the worlds number one in terms of IPO, raising a total of HK$250 billion. We are very confident that we will be the worlds number one in the year 2018.

Our latest survey indicates that we have seen a 6.4% increase in the number of Mainland and overseas companies setting up in Hong Kong - total number has now reached 8,754. In particular, the growth was even more prominent in companies which are using Hong Kong as their regional headquarters. We have seen an 8.2% increase in the number of overseas and Mainland companies using Hong Kong as their regional headquarters - now the number totalled 1,530. And this was across the board. The top five countries with companies in Hong Kong, that is Mainland, Japan, America, UK and Singapore, all registered increases in the number of companies set up in Hong Kong in the past 12 months.

We have of course retained the title of being the worlds freest economy ranked by the Heritage Foundation and the Fraser Institute. In the London-based international financial centre index, we remain number three but the difference between ourselves and London and New York has narrowed. We are the second most competitive economy in the world as assessed by the Lausanne-based Institute for Management Development. In the World Economic Forum (WEF) competitiveness report, we are number seven. Last year, we were number six, but this is not a deterioration of our performance. It's a change of methodology. You'll be pleased to know that we have moved one rank up in the World Bank's 2019 Doing Business report  we are now the world's number four in terms of the ease of doing business.

Despite these positive developments, let me assure you that the Government is not complacent. I'm fully aware of the downside risk arising from the US-China trade tension and dispute. Our Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development, Edward Yau, has been meeting chambers for almost 10 times now in the last six months, and we have rolled out various support measures before the Policy Address and beyond the Policy Address. So as and when we see that the Government needs to act to help the businesses to ride out the storm, especially amongst the small and medium-sized enterprises, you can be assured that we will do it without waiting for this and waiting for that.

The most important or most gratifying message you can take home is our attitude. We will continue to be very humble and put in a lot of efforts to engage the business sector. We are very caring and we love to listen to you but then we will act.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave these remarks at the Joint Business Community Luncheon on November 14.
The Butterfly 'Apocalypse'

May Not Be Upon Us After All
Mr. Bounthong Divixay presents Labour Orders to collectives. (Photo: baotintuc.vn)

Accordingly, the second-class Freedom Orders were presented to Nguyen Phu Cuong, 12th PCC member, Secretary of the Dong Nai provincial Party Committee; and Dinh Quoc Thai, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee. Meanwhile, the third-class Freedom Order was presented to Tran Van Vinh, Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee; and the first-class Labour Medal to 3 collectives, including the Offices of the provincial Party Committee and Peoples Committee, and the provincial Department of Foreign Affairs; and the Friendship Orders were also awarded to 5 collectives and 4 individuals.

Additionally, 28 individuals who are doctors, nurses and medical staff, received certificates of merit from Champasak provincial Party Committee Secretary and Chief.

Addressing the awarding ceremony, Mr. BounThong Divixay said that these are noble presents from the Lao State for collectives and individuals who have made great contributions to promoting the friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples.

Expressing his thanks for the Lao noble presents, Secretary Nguyen Phu Cuong said he hoped that the friendly relationship between Vietnam and Laos, as well as between Dong Nai province and Lao localities, would continuously develop.

There are currently two Dong Nai businesses investing in Laos. Since 2012, the province has trained 179 Lao students at universities, colleges and schools. Over the past time, the two sides have actively exchanged delegations, including Vietnams sending of medical delegations in humanitarian health programs in Laos./.
(Newser)  Monica Lewinsky sat for more than 20 hours of interviews to participate in an upcoming docuseries on her involvement with then-President Bill Clinton and the aftermath, and in a new essay for Vanity Fair, she explains why she would choose to relive such a "painful and traumatic" time in her life. "An important part of moving forward is excavating, often painfully, what has gone before," she writes. And that excavation process led her to feel grief, regret, and shame. "Grief for the pain I caused others. Grief for the broken young woman I had been before and during my time in DC, and the shame I still felt around that. Grief for having been betrayed first by someone I thought was my friend, and then by a man I thought had cared for me." But there's someone else she thinks should be feeling some of those same things.

story continues below

Yes, that would be Bill Clinton, who this year said in an interview that he does not believe he owes Lewinsky a direct apology. "Bill Clinton should want to apologize. Im less disappointed by him, and more disappointed for him," she writes. She also recalls her own apology back in 1999, the year after the scandal, to Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. That's an apology she would offer again if given the opportunity, she writes. "I would summon up whatever force I needed to again acknowledge to [Hillary Clinton]sincerelyhow very sorry I am. I know I would do this, because I have done it in other difficult situations related to 1998," she writes. "When we are trapped by our inability to evolve, by our inability to empathize humbly and painfully with others, then we remain victims ourselves." Her full piece here. The Clinton Affair premieres on A&E Sunday. (Hillary Clinton recently came under fire for her comments about Lewinsky.)
(Newser)  The parent who took a photo of Wisconsin high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute on the steps of a local courthouse said Tuesday he was simply asking the teens to wave goodbye to their parents before they headed to prom and never anticipated the image would draw widespread condemnation. But Pete Gust, who has a son in the photo, said he understood why his photo of about 60 boys outside the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo last spring offended some people. About two-thirds of the boys have their right arms raised in the gesture, many grinning widely. "The optics aren't good," Gust told the AP, though he said he didn't believe the boys were doing a Nazi salute: "There was never any inkling of that whatsoever. ... There was nothing intended in any way shape or form to simulate anything that was offensive to anyone."

story continues below

Gust maintained that his camera merely caught the boys' wave prematurely, saying his "regret is I didn't get to the apex." Many viewers of the photo felt strongly otherwise, with criticism pouring in from individuals and from Jewish organizations including the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland. One of the students in the photo also rejected the suggestion that the gestures were anything but a Nazi salute. Jordan Blue, who is pictured without expression and with his arms down, said he believes some of the students did intend to make the salute as a joke. About a half-dozen speakers addressed the matter Monday night at a school board meeting. Kevin Vodak, the board's president, said the photo "deeply disappointed me, shamed, appalled and angered me." (This teacher accidentally mimicked the Nazi salute, then said the wrong two words.)
(Newser)  Actress Paz de la Huerta filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her in 2010 and then embarking on a campaign of harassment that harmed her career, the AP reports. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges Weinstein raped de la Huerta twice in New York in December 2010, taunting her with phone calls between the two assaults. New York police said a year ago that they were investigating de la Huerta's allegations. No charges have been filed in the case, but Weinstein is charged there with the rape of another woman. In a new allegation, the suit states that the following month Weinstein exposed himself to the actress in a Beverly Hills hotel when she went to confront him. She alleges Weinstein tried to get de la Huerta to have a sexual encounter with him and another woman.

story continues below

About a year after the incidents, de la Huerta was fired from the HBO show Boardwalk Empire, and the lawsuit states she has reason to believe Weinstein was involved. It cites a photo that appeared in the New York Times of Weinstein talking to Martin Scorsese, a director and executive producer on the show, a few weeks before her firing. Weinstein's attorney Ben Brafman in response to the suit pointed out the lack of charges in New York, and said in an emailed statement that de la Huerta's "newly minted version of events including her new California claims are equally preposterous and unfortunately, the product of an unstable personality with a vivid imagination." More than 75 women have accused Weinstein, who was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, of wrongdoing. (Click for all the details on de la Huerta's allegations.)
(Newser)  After it became clear that Democrat Kyrsten Sinema had an insurmountable lead in the Arizona Senate race, Republican Martha McSally delivered a gracious concession speechso gracious that she might end up in the Senate after all. Arizona's other Senate seat is currently held by Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who was appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey after the death of Sen. John McCain. But Kyl only committed to serve until Jan. 3, 2019, the end of the current Congress, and there have been calls for Ducey to appoint McSally to replace him if he chooses not to continue until a 2020 special election, ABC News reports. Kyl, 76, told CNN on Tuesday that McSally "would be a very good member of the United States Senate."

story continues below

Kylwho served alongside McCain in the Senate from 1995 until he retired in 2013declined to say whether he would continue to serve in 2019. "I'm going to be discussing my plans with the governor, and everybody else will be the second to know," he said. Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile praised McSally, the first American woman to fly a fighter jet in combat, as an example of civility. "She clearly invoked the spirit of John McCain," Brazile tells ABC. "As a veteran, she understands what it means to serve. Her calling continues." Analysts say the fact that the Senate race was extremely close helps make McSally a frontrunner to replace Kyl. (Last year, Joe Arpaio said he was considering an Arizona Senate run.)
(Newser)  A lot of drunk drivers in New Jersey could end up getting away with it because one police officer allegedly failed to do his job properly. The state's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that some 20,667 people accused of drunk driving could have their cases tossed because of Sgt. Marc Dennis, who allegedly failed to perform a temperature check while calibrating machines used to check blood-alcohol levels, NJ.com reports. The ruling means that test results from five of New Jersey's 21 countiesMiddlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Unionare inadmissible as evidence if they involve "Alcotest" machines that Dennis handled. A criminal case against the officer, who denies wrongdoing, is still pending.

story continues below

It's not clear how many convictions will actually be vacatedsome defendants will have been found not guilty, while others could have been convicted on other evidence. State authorities told the top court that the step Dennis allegedly skipped is only required in New Jersey, the AP reports. The judges ordered the state to notify people who could seek to have DWI convictions vacated because of the ruling, though lawyer Matthew W. Reisig predicts a "hornets' nest" lies ahead in the courts. "The state at some point is going to notify people, but we dont know if they are notifying the correct people," he tells the New York Times. "I have zero confidence that the state knows who the affected people are." (This driver was involved in a fatal DUI crash 90 minutes after police let him go.)
(Newser)  A man banned from Disney World for unfurling a huge pro-President Trump banner on Main Street, USA, in September was given a reprieveuntil he came back with more Trump signs. New Yorker Dion Cini, 49, had his annual pass revoked and was banned from all Disney properties last week after riding down Splash Mountain with a "Trump 2020" sign then bringing a "Keep America Great" sign on Expedition Everest, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Disney bans unauthorized "demonstrations or speeches, or the usage of any flag, banner, or sign for commercial purposes, or to incite a crowd," though Cini insists he wasn't breaking the rules and definitely wasn't inciting a crowd. "I wanted to actually abide by their rules ... but I kind of wanted to test them," Cini tells WFTV.

story continues below

"I just really wanted to find out whether or not it had to do with unfurling a flag, or what was written on the flag," Cini says. He says Disney "never mentioned the fact that there was some kind of safety issue on the ride. That I was holding up a sign and I shouldn't be doing that." "They hate my signs, or the President? Maybe both?" he wrote in a Facebook post. A Disney spokesperson says Cini was banned not because of politics, but because "demonstrations and the display of signs and banners is not permitted on the premises," and he had previously been reminded of the rules, the Washington Post reports. Cini says he plans to fight the ban in courtand to unfurl a 50-foot Trump banner elsewhere in the country soon. (The Hall of Presidents now has an animatronic Trump.)
(Newser)  American troops deployed to the border installed barbed wire and barricades Tuesday as the first members of a migrant caravan arrived in Tijuanawith thousands more to come. US Customs and Border Protection said it was "hardening" the border "in preparation for the migrant caravan and the potential safety and security risk that it could cause," the AP reports. The agency said several lanes at the busy San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border crossings would be closed to allow the Defense Department to install fortifications.

story continues below

Several hundred migrants traveling by bus arrived in Tijuana on Tuesday. The main group of around 6,000 mostly Honduran migrants began moving north from Guadalajara on Tuesday as another group of 1,300 migrants arrived in Mexico City. Migrants who spoke to the media in Tijuana said they were not deterred by the US border crackdown. "I prefer to be in detention in the United States than to return to my country, where I know they are going to kill me for being different, transgender woman Nelvin Mejia told Reuters. "Last month, they killed my partner, and I do not want to end up like that." (The White House has tightened the rules on claiming asylum.)
(Newser)  The speaker's gavel now out of reach, Republican Kevin McCarthy is poised to take over the shrunken House GOP caucus in closed-door elections that will determine party leadership and set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthy's to lose Wednesday, but the Californian, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Rep. Jim Jordan, who has support from the right flank and outside groups as a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, the AP reports. "We've got a plan," McCarthy told reporters as he ducked into a closed-door meeting of House Republicans late Tuesday.

story continues below

Republicans complained about the unpopularity of the GOP tax law they blamed for losses in New York and other key states, some attendees told reporters after the meeting. Some in the meeting said Republicans should have tried harder to fulfill Trump's priorities, like funding the border wall with Mexico. Jordan said he told Republicans they need a fighter to confront Nancy Pelosi and her new majority. "I think we're entering a world we haven't really seen," Jordan said, naming the Democrats who are poised to investigate Trump. "It's going to take an attitude and an intensity about standing up for the truth and fighting." Most GOP lawmakers, though, prefer McCarthy's more affable approach, and he remained favored to win Wednesday. (A newly elected Democrat joined a protest at Pelosi's office.)
Prime Minister of Russia D. A. Medvedev (Photo: VNA)



The Foreign Ministry said the visit will be made at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Vietnam and Russia established diplomatic relations in 1950 and decided to elevate the relationship to strategic partnership in 2001 and then to comprehensive strategic partnership 11 years later.

Political ties between the two nations with a high level of trust have been enhanced through the regular exchange of delegations and bilateral meetings at all levels, and via the mechanism of consultation and strategic dialogue.

Vietnam-Russia economic, trade and investment ties have enjoyed dynamic development. After the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union officially came into effect in October 2016, the trade value between the two countries has grown strongly, reaching USD5.3 billion in 2017. The two nations are striving to lift the bilateral trade to USD10 billion by 2020.

In terms of investment, besides the cooperation in the field of oil and gas, as of June 2018, Russia has 117 direct investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of nearly USD1 billion. Meanwhile, Vietnam is operating 22 investment projects worth nearly USD3 billion in Russia./.
(Newser)  Let them eat their hearts out. Jewels that once belonged to Marie Antoinette, the extravagant and doomed last queen of France, are set to hit the auction block as part of what Sotheby's calls "one of the most important royal jewellery collections ever to appear on the market." Sold by Italy's royal House of Bourbon-Parma, the items up for grabs Thursday in Geneva, Switzerlandsmuggled to Antoinette's family in Austria before she and Louis XVI met the guillotine in 1793haven't been seen in public for 200 years, reports the BBC. They include a pearl and diamond pendant, valued at up to $2 million, and a monogram ring with a lock of Antoinette's hair, expected to fetch up to $50,000, per CNN. (Antoinette's silk shoes were previously sold.)
(Newser)  A new report to Congress delivers a "flashing red" warning of a national security crisis. It's no migrant caravan, but the general degradation of American military might. "The US military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict. It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia," writes the National Defense Strategy Commission, a bipartisan panel asked by Congress to evaluate the Trump administration's defense strategy for 2018, which aimed to set up the US military to compete with Beijing and Moscow. Classified documents and Pentagon briefings revealed inadequate resources and innovation to meet that goalat times based on "questionable assumptions and weak analysis"even as China spent a quarter of America's $716 billion budget, and Russia about a tenth, reports the Washington Post.

story continues below

The US "is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously," according to the report released Wednesday. But as "US military superiority is no longer assured," the US could also find itself at a disadvantage if China were to attack Taiwan, or if North Korea were to attack South Korea, per the report. The government says "we're going to be able to [assist in] these things, when in fact we aren't able to do them because we're not paying for them," co-chair Eric Edelman tells Defense News. The report, coming in the wake of a $33 billion cut to the 2018 Pentagon budget and as Democrats seek to rollback Pentagon programs, recommends Congress lift budget caps on defense spending as "available resources are clearly insufficient to fulfill the strategy's ambitious goals." (Troops are currently at the southern border.)
(Newser)  Lawyers who've filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the fatal police shooting of a black security guard at an Illinois bar Sunday say the 26-year-old was working overtime to support his partner, who's pregnant with the couple's second child. Jemel Roberson and Avontea Boose, who have a 9-month-old son, planned to tell their families about the pregnancy this week, reports CBS Chicago. Before that could happen, Roberson was mistakenly killed by a white Midlothian police officer responding to a shooting at Manny's Blue Room Lounge, though his shirt and hat clearly identified him as security, lawyers say.

story continues below

One of several men asked to leave the bar had returned and opened fire, injuring three people, including a bartender, reports CNN. When police arrived, Roberson "had somebody on the ground ... with his gun in his back like, 'Don't move,'" a witness tells WGN. "We all yelled, 'He's a security. He's a security,' and without ... giving any thought, they shot him." Midlothian Police Chief Daniel Delaney initially described Roberson as a "subject with a gun," then later as "a brave man who was doing his best to end an active shooter situation." The officer involved is on paid administrative leave amid an investigation. (More on the case here.)
(Newser)  An Indonesian woman who was engaged to a man who died on a Lion Air flight that plunged into the sea has worn her wedding dress on the day they were to have been married. Intan Syari's fiance, medical doctor Rio Nanda Pratama, was among 189 people who were killed when the Boeing 737 crashed on Oct. 29 a few minutes after taking off from Jakarta. Syari and Pratama, both 26, had planned to get married last Sunday. Pratama, who had attended a seminar in Jakarta, was on his way back to their hometown in Pangkal Pinang for the wedding. Syari said Pratama had joked before leaving that if he was late in returning, Syari should take photos in her wedding gown and send them to him.

story continues below

"He asked me to still wear my wedding gown that he chose for me on our wedding day, put on beautiful makeup and hold a white rose bouquet, take good photos and send them to him," Syari told the AP on Wednesday. She said Pratama was her "first love" and that they started dating 13 years ago. On Sunday, she went ahead and took photos in the white wedding gown with a white satin head covering and a white rose bouquet in her hand, surrounded by relatives and friends. "Although I actually feel grief that I cannot describe, I have to smile for you," Syari wrote on Instagram. "I should not be sad, I have to stay strong as you always say to me, I love you, Rio Nanda Pratama." (A faulty sensor may have contributed to the crash.)
(Newser)  The man who "swatted" another in a prank that ended with the second man dead pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday. Tyler Barriss, 26, pleaded guilty to 51 federal charges related to not just the fatal hoax 911 call on Dec. 28, 2017, but also bomb threats against FCC and FBI headquarters earlier that same month, other swattings (some of which led to building evacuations), and buying things using other people's credit and debit cards without permission. The judge said he'll recommend a sentence of 20 years behind bars if Barriss writes sincere apology letters to police, dispatchers, and the family of fatal swatting victim Andrew Finch, the Wichita Eagle reports. If he doesn't, he faces 25 years; he also owes more than $10,000 in restitution and other fees and will face five years of supervised release after his prison sentence ends.

story continues below

Though the federal cases against Barriss (filed in Kansas, California, and Washington, DC) have now been settled, he still faces charges related to Finch's death in state court and will face trial in January. An online gamer fighting with another gamer over a $1.50 bet in a Call of Duty match allegedly got in touch with Barriss and asked him to swat the other player, providing Barriss with a Kansas address the second man had given him. Barriss called the local police department from California, using a disguised phone number so he appeared to be calling locally, and told them he was holding his family hostage at the Kansas address. Police responded, and one officer shot and killed Finch because, the officer said, he didn't comply with commands to keep his hands up. It turned out the address was a fake and Finch had nothing to do with the online dispute. The other two gamers also face charges, the AP reports. (No charges were filed against the officer.)
(Newser)  Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Tuesday called it "the most bizarre story I've ever seen": the arrests of four members of the Wagner family in the April 2016 execution-style slayings of eight members of the Rhoden family in Ohio. Authorities allege a custody dispute was at the root of the crime; Edward "Jake" Wagner, now 26, shared custody of daughter Sophia, now 5, with victim Hanna Rhoden. The latest in the case:

Wagner's mom, Angela Wagner, is one of the four to be arrested on capital murder charges, and NBC News resurrects her old words: She previously described Hanna as "like a daughter," said her husband George "Billy" Wagner's "best friend" was Hanna's father (victim Christopher Rhoden Sr.), and characterized the perpetrators as "monsters."

story continues below

The Wagners allegedly spent months studying the Rhodens' routines and the layouts of their homes, with DeWine's office saying they took note of where they slept and that "countersurveillance devices [were] present on their properties, including pets."

The Washington Post reports DeWine alleges the family took steps to cover up their crime by tampering with phones, shell casings, and surveillance cameras.

The Cincinnati Enquirer spoke with locals in the wake of the arrests, and found some "incredulous" that the Wagners, who were perceived as being wealthy (Billy Wagner's father reportedly used to show horses around the globe), "would risk forfeiting their land and money by committing such heinous crimes."

As for the custody angle, NBC News reports Sophia was with Jake Wagner when the murders happened and was supposed to go back to her mom the next day. A July 2016 Enquirer article reported that Sophia was actually supposed to be with her mom that night, but Jake collected her a day earlier. "I reckon we missed it by just hours," he told the paper.

As for what comes next, "justice is slow," writes the Chillicothe Gazette, which reports the prosecution will take years. It details how expensive the case could be for taxpayers, particularly because the death penalty is on the table. DeWine acknowledged that "Pike County is a small county and we clearly have to do something in Ohio to make sure these counties have the ability to carry out justice. I'll let it go at that."

(Read much more on the murders here .)
The final quarter of 2021 is on its way and theres so much positivity about the rapid growth of the...
Photo: baocongthuong.vn

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VietTrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) on November 12th worked with the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) to organize a workshop on trade exchange between Vietnamese and Korean businesses.

Addressing the workshop, MOIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai stressed that after their establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the Vietnam  RoK ties have undergone profound and comprehensive development in diverse areas, including politics, economics, culture and tourism.

Notably, economic cooperation is developing more strongly than ever, he said. Vietnam is now one of the 4 largest trade partners of RoK, while the in-effect Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the RoK (VKFTA) has created considerable growth of two-way trade turnover.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that in the first 9 months of this year, the import-export turnover between the two countries reached USD48.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%, of which Vietnam exported USD13.45 billion to and imported USD35.07 billion from the RoK market.

Vietnams excess of imports over exports to the RoK has reduced by 9.3% compared to 2017, at USD21.62 billion, which showed Vietnams higher quality of goods, he added.

According to Vu Ba Phu, Head of VietTrade, Vietnams exports to the RoK are mainly textile and garment, phones, electronic devices, fisheries and wooden products, while the RoK exports mainly machines and devices, textile and garment materials, footwear and transport vehicles. Many Vietnamese high quality goods gain trust from Korean customers, contributing to the growth of two-way trade turnover, he said.

Vietnamese representatives noted that despite trade turnover improving year by year, Vietnams excess of imports over exports remains high, confirming that through their visits, the Governments of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have agreed to promote two-way turnover to a new target of over USD100 billion; and that solutions to trade balance will focus on increasing the quality of goods.

MOIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai expressed his belief that the workshop will open up opportunities for the two countries businesses to increase cooperation, thus helping raise two-way trade turnover. He also pledged to make favourable conditions for Korean investors to do business in Vietnam.

Myoung Jin Shin, KOIMA President asserted that VKFTA helps two-way trade turnover remarkably increase, especially when exports of some Vietnamese key products, such as fruits and agricultural products, have been sharply rising. The target of USD100 billion in two-way trade turnover is feasible, he said.

Since 2000, KOIMA has sent 13 delegations of Korean businesses to Vietnam for promoting trade cooperation./.
His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, yesterday at the Sakhir Palace, received President of the Supreme Council for Women HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa accompanied by members of the jury panel of HRH the Princesss Global Award for Women Empowerment on the sidelines of the panels meeting in Bahrain.

HM the King expressed appreciation of the national efforts made by all institutions, notably the SCW chaired by HRH wife of HM the King, which has committed since its inception to boosting womens status in society.

HM the King noted the SCWs efforts to introduce the Bahraini womens contributions to the national development efforts, in addition to their family responsibilities. HM the King stressed promoting the Bahraini womens rights to continue their contributions to serve the nation and the community, pointing out that Bahraini womens contributions are a role model to follow in a unified society that embraces various religions and sects and welcomes everyone.

HM the King thanked members of the jury panel for their role in highlighting the goals of the award at the global level based on principles of justice, an equal partnership between man and woman in urban construction and maintaining human security and stability.
Bahrains BD11.880 mn APM Terminals IPO has met with positive investor appetite said SICO in a statement saying, we look forward to closing with a fully-subscribed offering. The offer period for the APM Terminals Bahrain IPO will close on November 24th with the start of trading on the Bahrain Bourse scheduled to begin on 9 December.

SICO is the mandated lead manager, underwriter, market maker and participating broker for the APM Terminals Bahrain IPO. Indications thus far show positive investor appetite for Bahrains BHD 11.880 mn APM Terminals Bahrain IPO which opened for subscriptions on 8 November, SICO statement said.

SICO said it is encouraged by the fact that both institutional and retail investors are keen on taking part in a public offering that is not only attractively priced but also plays a key role in the development of Bahrains non-oil economy. I was very pleased to see applications processed from day one of the IPO through all the various channels available including the four mandated brokers, participating AUB branches as well as through the Bahrain Bourses recently-launched eIPO Platform, said Wissam Haddad, Head of Investment Banking and Real Estate at SICO.
Saudi Arabias energy minister called yesterday for a global output cut of one million barrels per day to re-balance the market, as Riyadh unveiled plans to cut production by 500,000 bpd from December. The technical analysis we reviewed yesterday shows that we need a reduction approaching one million bpd to balance the market, Khalid al-Falih told an energy conference in Abu Dhabi. The proposed reduction is from October production levels, Falih said.

Oil prices have shed a fifth of their value over the past month due to oversupply and signs of a softer-than-expected impact from US sanctions on Iranian crude exports. But they climbed yesterday as the worlds biggest supplier Saudi Arabia announced plans to cut production in response to fears of oversupply. Falih said Saudi Arabia, the worlds largest oil supplier, would cut its production by 500,000 bpd as of next month to help stabilise the market.

The 14 members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which include Saudi Arabia, alone pump over a third of global crude supply. Any official decision on global output cuts will be made at a key ministerial meeting for OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Vienna in early December, Falih said.

Supply to outstrip demand

Oil producers will continue to evaluate the market data prior to the Vienna summit, but if we need to trim production by one million bpd, we will do, Falih added. The UAEs energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, said balancing the market would require changes in the strategy of producers. We need not overreact to falling prices, Mazrouei said, adding that crude was a dynamic market.

Iraqi energy minister spokesman Assem Jihad said his country, also an OPEC member, was hoping for any decision that would help balance and stabilise the market. Brent crude dropped below $70 a barrel on Friday for the first time since April but it was trading above $71 a barrel on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude also dropped to a ninemonth low, below $60 a barrel. It was trading above $61 on Monday.

Khalid al-Falihs comments followed a meeting in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, where major producers started laying the groundwork to cut supply in 2019, reversing an almost yearlong expansion. The group, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, warned that crude supply would outstrip demand next year. In a final statement, they said they had reviewed current oil supply and demand fundamentals and noted that 2019 prospects point to higher supply growth than global requirements.

That in mind, they vowed to consider options on new 2019 production adjustments, which may require new strategies to balance the market. Falih on Monday said inventories had been building up, adding that the 25 producers will not allow this to continue and that they had signalled they would do whatever it takes to balance the market.
The poster of the event (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

During the event, various activities were organized such as exhibitions on economy and trade; cuisine, tourism, cultural promotion of Vietnam and Vietnam - Japan relation promotion in a square in Sakai city; organizing meetings with leaders of economic organizations in Kansai and Vietnam -Kansai investment promotion conferences in Osaka city; Vietnam - Japan art, cultural performance programs; Vietnam - Japan painting exchange and Vietnam - Japan painting exhibition at the headquarters of Vietnams General Consulate in Osaka.

On this occasion, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung paid courtesy visits to Mr. Arai Jun, Deputy Governor of Osaka prefecture, and Mr. Takeyama Osami, Mayor of Sakai city. At the meetings, Mr. Trung highly appreciated the active participation of administrations at all levels, friendship and economic organizations and businesses of Osaka prefecture and Kansai region in fostering relations with Vietnam.

He emphasized that the two sides still have great cooperation potential and suggested Kansai region should further boost investment and cooperation with Vietnams localities, and the Japanese side expressed its active response.

About 40 kiosks of economic organizations, medium- and small-sized enterprises of both Vietnam and Japan participated in displaying their products during the event.

The event attracted thousands of visitors and overseas Vietnamese people and students in the region./.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Federal University of Technology, Akure chapter, has warned the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, not to meddle in the affairs of the members of the union.Fayemi was alleged to have said that the lecturers were faring better under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Chairman of the ASUU, FUTA chapter, Dr. Bola Oniya, the members had been having a difficult time since the beginning of Buharis administration.ASUU said Buharis government inherited a ludicrous budgetary allocation of nine percent in the sector and reduced it to seven percent in the present 2018 budget.It said, This is a far cry from the UNESCOs recommendation of 26 percent to which Nigeria is a signatory.Since the inception of the current administration, there has been several untoward interferences by certain dramatic personnel in the guise of oversight functions in public universities and thus challenging the autonomy of universities in Nigeria.These dictations from various quarters are unwholesome for the smooth running of the universities and against the global best practices. Since December 2015, workers in public universities (state and federal) have been plagued with a shortfall in salaries.Three years running, the same problem persists and Ekiti State University will rank high on the list of state universities with the shortfall problem as the university owes workers five months salaries. The governor (Fayemi) may claim that the debt was inherited, but the clock is ticking.This may be hilarious to some but to me it is unintelligent. Where did the governor source his information? The basic salary of a professor at bar (to his family) is less than 300,000 monthly and with his other allowances he earns about 500,000 till he retires at 70 years.This government has not done anything worthy of praise in the public universities, rather it is fond of trading blames, abdicating responsibilities, dishonouring agreements, insensitive to workers plight, intent to commercialize education and globe-trotting while the citizens are condemned to abject poverty. You (Fayemi) may need to check the scorecard again and wake up from oblivion.The union asked the governor to focus on developing Ekiti State, the masses and the public university in his domain in order to have a different mindset about the ASUUs matter.
The Bus Conductors Association of Nigeria (BCAN) of Buhari Campaign Organisation have endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for the 20...





have endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for the 2019 general elections. The Bus Conductors Association of Nigeria (BCAN) of Buhari Campaign Organisationhave endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for the 2019 general elections.





According to the group, the only way to guarantee better future for Nigerians is to ensure the president wins in the next election.





National Liaison Officer of the group Prince Israel Adeshola disclosed during an inauguration of the State chapter executives in Kaduna.





He explained that as a group there strength and weapon is their Permanent Voters Certificate (PVC).

Our PVC is our strength and weapon we will use to dismantle the opposition and install the leadership we all crave for, which is the return of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, he said.





He said the last 16 years witnessed the destruction of the economy through massive looting never before witnessed in the history of the country.





Prince Adeshola added that the impunity that pervaded the previous administration greatly undermined the economic growth of the country.





According to him, there is no doubt President Buhari is committed to ensuring that regains her place as truly the giant of Africa both economically and politically.




The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its officials seized gold worth N211 million being illegally transported thro...





The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its officials seized gold worth N211 million being illegally transported through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.





Tony Orilade, EFCC acting head, media and publicity, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.





According to Orilade, the package was to be taken to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.





Although unnamed, the EFCC official said the suspect was nabbed at the point of departure and has been cooperating with the commission to lay hold of his accomplice.





Following intelligence reports, the operatives on November 9, 2018 uncovered the gold weighing about 35kg just at the point of departure of a suspect currently in the EFCCs custody, the statement read.





Meanwhile, the suspect is cooperating with operatives.





Orilade said the Nigerian Customs Service had in March 2017, intercepted bags of money containing a total of N49 million cash.





The money, he said, was being illegally transported by one Adamu Rabiu Mohammed who was heading to Dubai, through the Kaduna International Airport.





Section 2(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 prohibits individuals coming into or leaving the country from carrying an excess of $10,000 in cash or negotiable instruments, except the amount is declared to the NCS.




Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a major exhibition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up at the National Museum of China in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 13, 2018. Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan also visited the exhibition. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for efforts to boost Chinese people's confidence and determination to follow the Party along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the path of reform and opening-up.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited a major exhibition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up at the National Museum of China.

The exhibition should help build a common understanding, accumulate consensus, raise morale, and foster solidarity and a striving spirit, Xi said.

Over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, the Chinese people, under the strong leadership of the CPC, worked hard with persistence, achieved epic accomplishments and brought great changes to China, he said.

Noting that the 19th CPC National Congress had laid down a great blueprint for China's development, Xi stressed that "as long as we continue to take the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guide, fully implement the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee, remain committed to deepening reform in all areas and opening wider to the world, socialism with Chinese Characteristics will surely have a brighter future."

The exhibition should help educate and guide the people to have a better understanding of the strength of the CPC, the Chinese people, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

A higher degree of recognition should be built among the people of the Party's theory, the principle and strategic arrangements of reform and opening-up, and the bright prospect for reform and opening-up and socialist modernization, he said.

Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan also visited the exhibition.

Themed around upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, the exhibition has six sections, showcasing the history, accomplishments, and experience of reform and opening-up, and the strategic decisions and plans made by the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core since the 18th CPC National Congress.

Exhibits include photos of significant events and decisions over the course of reform and opening-up, and models of the country's Long March rocket series and the Tiangong space station.

Xi and other leaders visited the exhibits attentively, and stopped occasionally to ask for more information.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
The 36 state governors in Nigeria are going to hold an emergency meeting tonight in Abuja to deliberate on the N30,000 Minimum Wage be...





The 36 state governors in Nigeria are going to hold an emergency meeting tonight in Abuja to deliberate on the N30,000 Minimum Wage being demanded by the Organised Labour.





Tripartite committee on Minimum Wage last week submitted its report to President Muhammadu Buhari where it is believed that the N30,000 minimum wage being demanded by labour had been granted. TheTripartite committee on Minimum Wage last week submitted its report to President Muhammadu Buhari where it is believed that the N30,000 minimum wage being demanded by labour had been granted.





Buhari had denied that he had approved N30,000 as the new minimum wage as being speculated in the media.





However, it is expected that the meeting, which will be presided over by the Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, will take a definite stand on the amount the governors will be able to pay as minimum wage to avert a strike by the organised labour.





Recently, the governors had said they could only pay N22,500 as new minimum wage.




A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has revealed how the party succeeded in its p...





A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has revealed how the party succeeded in its plans to sack Governor Nyesom Wike from the Brick House in 2019.





According to Eze, a former Spokesperson of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP, the success of the recently held Operation Show Your PVC in the state was the final solution to the bad governance allegedly imposed on the state by Wike and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.





The operation, coordinated by the leader of the APC in the South-South and Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, was organised to ascertain the readiness of the members of the party in the state and mobilise them ahead of the general elections next year.





In a statement he issued on Tuesday, Eze, commended Amaechi who is also the Director-General/ Secretary of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, describing him as a dangerous political strategist, who despite his godly disposition, knows how to take the winning step at all times.





Ezes statement added, This Operation Show Your PVC, which is an exercise targeted at meeting and knowing supporters of the Rivers APC with valid PVCs in the various wards of the state, has once again positioned the former Governor of Rivers state, current Minister of Transportation and the Director-General/Secretary of Buhari Campaign Organization, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as a deadly political strategist, who has come to terms with the fact that to dislodge a slippery politician like Governor Nyesom Wike, theres need of ensuring that over two million members of APC in Rivers dtate have their valid PVC.





The era of PDP using militants and other untoward methods to rig elections has come an end. Definitely not in 2019.





Im of utmost hope that if the large number of people that have turned up so far to identify with this exercise will keep faith as faithful members of the party, coupled with the maturity so far exhibited by Pastor Tonye Cole, the flag-bearer of APC, in his choice of words and commitment towards rekindling hope among the demoralized people of Rivers state, then Governor Wike has no chance of winning anything more than three local government areas of the State, that is if he is not disqualified due to his multiple dates of birth, he said.





Eze stated further that the exercise had revealed the true feelings of the people of the state towards the party and its leader, Amaechi.





Eze also expressed faith in the leadership of Hon. Chidi Lloyd, former Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the current DG of Tonye Cole Campaign Organization to lead the party to glory come 2019, and urged all and sundry to line behind Tonye Cole so that collectively they can rescue Rivers State from its present pitiable and sorrow state.




Days after the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP accused the ruling All Progressives Congress APC of being the originator of fake news in Nigeria and elevating it as a statecraft, the APC has now reacted, accusing the PDP of behaving like a crybaby and spewing falsehoods daily.In a statement Wednesday in Abuja, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu said the ruling party supports ongoing global media attention and efforts to check the proliferation of fake news particularly as the country gears up for campaigns ahead of the 2019 elections.APC said the consequences of fake news are often dire as it inflames perceived divisions in communities, fuels hate speech, leads to violence and distorts democratic processes, among others.Disturbingly, APC said the countrys main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its discredited agents, have continued to deploy the loathsome strategy of fake news, misinformation and distortion of facts as focal campaign strategies for the 2019 elections.Speaking further, the ruling party said; While the APC is not surprised at the PDPs typical theatrics in an attempt to evade scrutiny for its 16 years of misgovernance, it is instructive to the electorate that no lessons have been learnt by the prodigal party. It is indeed clear to the electorate that the PDP is not a party to either be trusted or taken seriously as it has missed out on the opportunity to apologise and show remorse for the cruelty it wrought on our country while in power.What we witness instead is its weekly disgraceful and embarrassing shadow chasing through fake news and spurious allegations. PDP cannot pull the wool over the eyes of the good people of this country. It can cry wolf for all it cares, Nigerians wont be deceived. PDP remains a damaged product showing no regret for its retrogressive old practices which brought the country to its knees in terms of our infrastructure, economy, security, values and standing among nations of the world.Instead of engaging the electorate on serious issues of development such as health, education, economy, foreign policy, security, corruption, pension, job creation, infrastructure development among others, the PDP and its agents have chosen to populate the mainstream and social media space with ludicrous fake news and infantile conspiracy theories, moving from one absurdity to another.While the PDP ups its game as a crybaby, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration is busy building a new Nigeria for our collective progress, peace, unity and prosperity.We are restoring our country to its deserved standing among the comity of progressive nations; fighting corruption and repairing our value system, diversifying our economic revenue base, creating jobs and economic opportunities for Nigerians, particularly the poor; bringing succor to the insurgency-ravaged North-East; reforming the oil industry, power, defence, pensions, and other critical sectors; creating a world-class transportation system, amongst others.The PDP had recently asked the APC to apologize to Nigerians for riding to power using propaganda, accusing the ruling party of being the harbinger of fake news.
The Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki has said that the embattled national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)Comrade Adams Oshiomole has no moral right to remain in politics following allegations of kickbacks in dollars reportedly levelled against him by his members.This is even as the national leader of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) described a statement credited to Oshiomhole, asking him to resign his position as the Senate President on moral ground as a joke.Dr Bukola Saraki who spoke with journalists in Ilorin yesterday on the sidelines of the sixth remembrance prayer for his late father, Dr Olusola Saraki, stressed that Comrade Adams Oshiomole has no locus standi to talk about morality in todays Nigerias politics in view of controversial roles he played in the APC primaries.His words, That must be a joke coming from Oshiomole talking about moral ground. I think Oshiomole has no locus standi to talk about morality today.Oshiomole is somebody, who has been told to have been collecting not even naira but dollars from candidates and he is being accused by his partys aspirants and Governors.I dont think he has any moral ground, even to continue to be in politics not to talk about being a Chairman of a party.I remember in those days even Oyegun, they never accused him of something like this. I have left that party. Im sure the President, based on integrity, knows the right thing to do. So, on moral ground, he cannot speak on moral ground.Also speaking on Saturday by-election in Irepodun /Ekiti /Oke Ero /Isin federal constituency, Saraki decried huge deployment of policemen and sudden change of divisional heads of police in four local government areas for the by-election.He said, You see, the mistake we sometimes make, we forget that Nigeria is a big nation in this global world, not only in the context of Africa. We provide leadership. An action that we take that tries to suggest that we are not civilised with rule of law and processes, doesnt augur well with the image. Today, the President is the President of ECOWAS likewise the Chairman of INEC as chairman of electoral bodies in Ecowas, even show that we are a responsible country.So, when the Inspector General of Police(IG) begins to do things like this without following due process, it is not good for our country. And that is what we always stand for. And all those who supposed to caution him should ensure that due process is followed in thing like this.We have been doing bye- election here, I have never seen where the Divisional Police Officers( DPOs), are being transferred. We have been doing bye-elections here, I have never seen where 200 or 300 security personnel are being deployed. It is not about Kwara, it is about the country. It is about how the world sees us. It is about how we provide leadership in the continent. And we keep on saying that people like these are not doing the President any good. The people at the end of the day will speak, and they should allow people to exercise their rights, vote in peace and vote their wishes and should not do anything that create fear or break law and order.In spite of all these, I see PDP winning the election because we are on ground. There is no doubt about it. If you go round, you will know who is on ground. And you will see that in the results. They should allow people to exercise their rights, he said.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang addresses a welcoming banquet hosted by the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Singapore, Nov. 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday called for enhancing the economic cooperation between China and Singapore.

Li, who is on an official visit to Singapore, made the remarks while addressing a welcoming banquet hosted by the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

China is ready to work with Singapore to set up cooperation platforms for connectivity, financial support and third-party cooperation, so as to upgrade economic and trade cooperation and deepen financial cooperation, Li told more than 1,000 people from Singapore's economic and business circles.

Over the last 40 years, the development of Singapore has provided China with precious experience, while the development of China has brought about important opportunities for Singapore, Li said.

China will advance reform and opening-up with greater efforts, more practical measures and faster pace, promote high-quality development, and maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies without adopting strong stimulus policies, he said.

The premier also reiterated China's policies to continue streamlining administration, cutting taxes and reducing fees, and create a business environment of fair competition where Chinese and foreign enterprises are treated equal.

He sent a welcoming message to companies from all countries including Singapore to seize business opportunities and expand investment in China, enhance economic and trade cooperation and achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results.

On the Chinese economy, Li said it is performing with overall stability and within the reasonable range.

As the international environment has gone through remarkable changes, the Chinese economy faces a certain degree of downward pressure, which China has relatively big room and resilience to accommodate, he said.

The Chinese economy's long-term positive fundamentals will not change and the prospects of China's development will surely be brighter, Li said.

Li started his official visit to Singapore on Monday. This is the first visit by a Chinese premier to Singapore in 11 years.

During the visit, Li will also attend the 21st leaders' meeting between China and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as well as the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting, respectively known as 10+1 and 10+3, as well as the 13th East Asia Summit.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
The statement was made by Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for Water Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, during an interview with Trung Hung, a Nhan Dan Online correspondent, on the appropriate and coordinated approach to sustainable and long-term solutions for the stable development and prosperity in the Mekong Delta.

On the occasion of his recent visit to Vietnam, Henk Ovink shared the knowledge, experience and solutions from his country in addressing the aforementioned issues, which the Netherlands is also facing. He also discussed how to promote the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement on Water Management and Climate Change Adaptation signed by the two countries in 2010, as well as the implementation of Resolution 120 by the Government of Vietnam on the Mekong Deltas sustainable and climate-resilient development.

Q: Could you outline some of the outstanding achievements during the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement on Water Management and Climate Change Adaptation between Vietnam and the Netherlands in recent years?

A: The announcement of the Mekong Delta Plan 2013 was one of the highlights of the partnership between the two countries. Both Vietnam and the Netherlands have been active in preparing this plan. So far, the vision set out in the plan has been formally introduced into Resolution 120 on the sustainable development of Mekong Delta in adaptation to climate change, as issued by the Prime Minister. The Netherlands appreciated the clear direction in the field of water management and climate change in Vietnam. Resolution 120 is a solid foundation for further shaping the joint common efforts in the future.

The essence of these achievements is that Vietnam now recognises the challenges based on a clear understanding of the interdependence of the relevant sectors. Water related activities will have an impact on agriculture, livelihoods, nature, transportation and industry. Therefore, the solution will only be sustainable if all these interdependent areas are considered in the decision-making process.

Q: So, what are the key factors contributing to the success of this partnership?

A: Good partnerships are always based on mutual respect. Respect is one of the strong foundations in the bilateral relationship. One of the great things about our cooperation is that the Netherlands can also learn from Vietnam's development and from water and climate studies in the Mekong Delta.

The second basis of the bilateral partnership is the fact that both Vietnam and the Netherlands face the common challenges of climate change and human behaviours that affect the future of both countries. We share the same challenges and opportunities in our river deltas, particularly in Vietnam, mainly in the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta, and in the Netherlands, mainly the Rhine-Maas River Delta. These are areas heavily affected by climate change, urbanisation, industrialisation and subsidence. But there are also emerging opportunities for these areas, such as sustainable agriculture, port development and economic growth. The similarity between Vietnam and the Netherlands also allows both to leverage the knowledge and expertise of each other in water and delta management. Meanwhile, the differences between the two also offer more opportunities to learn from each other.

Since both Vietnam and the Netherlands are highly vulnerable to climate change and both also face the challenges of subsidence, salinisation and polluted water, Dutch experts could play a role in creating a vision for a resilient and sustainable Mekong Delta with a flourishing agri-business sector. The Netherlands would like to contribute knowledge, share experience and stand side by side to help the Vietnamese government. That is the way Vietnam and the Netherlands have worked closely together on water and climate resilience for more than a decade now.

Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for Water Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, during an interview with Nhan Dan Online. (Photo: NDO/Trung Hung)

Q: The Mekong Delta is facing challenges related to water: too much water, too little water, salinisation and water pollution. Based on the experience of the Netherlands, could you make recommendations to help solve these issues in an integrated way to in order to come to sustainable, long term solutions?

A: Flooding, drought, salinity intrusion and water pollution are disrupting peoples daily lives and the economy. These challenges are partly the consequences of natural hazards such as cyclones, high tides, extreme weather and acidic soils. We cannot prevent these natural hazards from happening but we can mitigate their consequences and turn them into disruption disasters. As we all know, the Netherlands is living under the sea level and almost half of the country would flood without dykes. However, since the execution of delta plans, we were able to control the consequences of high water, thus preventing any casualties. Dykes, dunes, sluices, tidal gates, water retention areas, room for the river, etc. play important roles in flood prevention.

These experiences are always ready to be shared with Vietnam, taking into account the adaptation to the specifics of the Mekong Delta. Both countries signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement on Water Management and Climate Change Adaptation in 2010 and one of the highlights was the technical support to the Mekong Delta Plan.

As a lowland country, the Netherlands has a long history of living with water for centuries. Water issues are always present and the Dutch response is to always find solutions that involve all stakeholders. One of the guiding principles in the Dutch approach is that dykes and other hard infrastructure are not always necessary. Sustainable natural solutions are sometimes the best and least costly option.

By now many people know that flooding is not only bad. Flooding has positive effects, for instance it keeps the land fertile for crops. So, the Dutch experts advise the Vietnamese government on how to live with the floods. It is not about flood control but controlled flooding. The floods are beneficial but should not develop their destructive force, and controlled flooding needs a delta-wide perspective because preventing flooding in one place might cause flooding elsewhere.

In a similar way, salinity intrusion is not necessarily a disaster. It can be a resource for shrimp and fish farming. So, it again depends on the people whether a natural event has disastrous outcomes. Where disasters happen, the response should be build-back-better. A better response might be to switch to less risky crops, to embrace salinity and to build better value chains and price stability. In those ways we turn the vulnerable Mekong Delta into a more sustainable, resilient and prosperous area and we prevent a hazard from becoming a disaster. We turn challenges into opportunities, a phrase taken from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Q: What specific support will be given by the Netherlands in the future to promote the implementation of Resolution 120 on sustainable and climate-resilient development of the Mekong Delta?

A: Let me congratulate the Government of Vietnam on the adoption of Resolution 120. We are happy to see that this resolution builds on the Mekong Delta Plan and Dutch experiences. Development partners all praised the Resolution as a crucial step forward. It embraces actively living with nature. It calls for a different economic model - not quantity but quality, so not only short-term growth but sustainable development. It also proposes a delta fund with private finance. I want to express that the Dutch are ready to support the implementation and coordination processes of Resolution 120.

Since 2013, Vietnam has actively implemented the Mekong Delta Plan, with the help of development partners and the Netherlands. In recent years, integrated projects have been initiated to enhance the harmony between agriculture and water management. Research on the impact of groundwater absorption on land subsidence and increased salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta has also been conducted.

With the advent of Resolution 120, which highlights the need for strengthened coordination, both horizontally among relevant ministries and among localities, as well as vertically between the ministries and provinces concerned, the Netherlands will support the capacity to coordinate of those tasked with coordination, as well as the willingness to be coordinated of the other agencies. The agro-water transitions as outlined in Resolution 120 will receive further support from the Netherlands in future.

Thank you very much!
Preliminary data by the General Department of Customs shows that Vietnam exported 264,500 tonnes of rice in October, generating a revenue of US$135.56 million, up 22.96% in volume and 31.8% in value, compared with the same month last year.

The total volume of rice exports in the first ten months of 2018 was 5.15 million tonnes, worth US$2.6 billion, representing year-on-year increases of 6.62% and 21.49% in volume and revenue respectively.

What is notable during the period is that the price of Vietnamese rice has now surpassed that of Thailand, averaging at more than US$500 a tonne, up about 15%.

In 2016, Vietnam exported 4.8 million tonnes of rice, bringing in US$2.1 billion. The respective volume and revenue figures rose to 5.8 million and US$2.6 billion the following year. And in 2018 Vietnam has set a target to ship 6.5 million tonnes.

Such positive results come due to not only growing global demand and higher prices but also Vietnams marked shift towards producing and exporting high-quality and specialty rice varieties.

The global rice market has recently seen a trend towards prioritising international bidding processes and attaching greater importance to quality. At the same time, more and more non-tariff barriers are emerging. For example, China, a major importer of Vietnamese rice, has also imposed strict requirements through quotas and food safety checks.

The greatest challenge to Vietnamese rice exporters is now the laws of importing countries, with numerous stringent requirements on quality, food safety and origin.

In the meantime, most of Vietnamese rice exporters are small- and medium-sized businesses with little experience in dealing with trade lawsuits and international technical barriers.

Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises should actively learn and update themselves about new information in order to promptly adjust their business plans and remedy their shortcomings.

Furthermore, enterprises also need to work together to build supply chains for exports to add more value to Vietnamese commodities as well as cooperating with local businesses so as to meet the technical barriers.
Speaking at the event on behalf of the organiser, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Sunny World Investment and Development Corp., Truong Vincent said the display aims to realise the agreement reached by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping on increasing imports from Vietnam to China at the 2018 China International Import Expo.

General Director Truong said besides promoting trade, the display area also serves as a venue to connect with Chinese investors and popularise the imagery of Vietnam and its people to Chinese and international friends, contributing to fully tapping the potential for bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and various countries worldwide.

Vietnamese Consul General in Shanghai Ninh Thanh Cong committed all possible support to Vietnamese firms to seek prestigious partners in trade, investment, and tourism, contributing to the balanced and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade ties.

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Area is located on the second floor of the hub, covering an area of over 300 sq.m with four stalls showcasing Vietnamese fruit, processed foods, handicrafts, and lacquer paintings.

Traditional Vietnamese ao dai (long dress) and palm-leaf conical hats were also introduced.

On the inauguration day, hundreds of Chinese and foreign firms and partners visited the area to seek potential business opportunities.
During the crop, which ran from October 2017 to September 2018, Vietnam shipped more than 29.9 million bags of coffee abroad and earned US$3.48 billion. As prices of coffee beans have plunged to the lowest price in the last 50 years, with each tonne being sold at US$1,943, 3.43% lower than the previous crop, the Southeast Asian country only experienced a slight increase of 8.43 % in export turnover.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, some 1.57 million tonnes of coffee were sold abroad for US$2.98 billion during the January-October period, up 21.3% in volume and 0.9% in value in comparison to the same time last year.

The average coffee price in the ten-month period fell 16.2% to US$1,901 per tonne.

Germany and the US remained the biggest coffee importers of Vietnam, with market shares of 12.5% and 9.6%, respectively. Coffee shipments to Germany rose 14.4% in terms of volume, but decreased 6.6% in value. Meanwhile, coffee exports to the US declined 3.6% in quantity and 20% in value.

The International Coffee Organisation (ICO) said that coffee production during the 2017-2018 crop was estimated to grow 5.7% to 164.81 million bags. Brazil was the largest coffee producer in the period, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia.

Coffee supply was 2.58 million bags higher than demand, pulling coffee price down to 111.51 US cents per pound from 132.43 US cents per pound recorded in the 2016-2017 crop. Currently, coffee volume remains high in the stocks of many importers, ICO said.

Since mid-October, Vietnamese coffee beans have been sold at around VND35,600-36,700 per kilogramme, which has gone up slightly but is still lower than the average prices of previous years.

Vietnams coffee scarcity and Indonesias export limitation sparked an increase in coffee prices, experts said, but there isnt a bright prospect for coffee prices in the 2018-2019 crop due to an abundant supply.
Politburo member Chinh, who is leading a high-level delegation from the Party Central Committee to visit the North European country from November 11-14, made the suggestion while holding talks with First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Mauri Pekkarinen on November 13.

Expressing his delight to visit Finland when the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, Politburo member Chinh highlighted Vietnams socio-economic achievements after 30 years of reform, and spoke highly of the development of the bilateral relations with Finland.

He hoped that Finland will support Vietnams candidacy as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2020-2021 term as well as work together with Vietnam to bolster the Vietnam-Finland relations in a deeper and more practical manner.

Politburo member Chinh took the occasion to thank the Finnish Parliament, Government and people for their assistance for Vietnam through development projects in the past years. He said that Vietnam wishes to receive more official development assistance from Finland to realise its sustainable development goals and respond to global climate change.

Mauri Pekkarinen, for his part, said he desires to promote extensive ties with Vietnam, affirming that Finland supports cooperative relations between the Southeast Asian country and the EU, particularly the early signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement.

Touching upon international issues of mutual interests, including the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means in line with international regulations, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Earlier, Politburo member Chinh had a meeting with Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintila, during which bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education and training was on the table.

During their stay in Finland, the delegation also had working sessions with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance and Academy of Finland, and competent authorities in the country on building a streamlined and efficient apparatus, training officials and fighting corruption.

Besides, they met with Chairman of the Finnish Communist Party Juha Pekka Vaisanen, and toured some education facilities to discuss cooperation opportunities under Vietnamese Governments Project 165 which funds overseas training of government officials.
The Friendship Order and Medal, approved by the Vietnamese President, will honour the achievements and contributions of four Russian recipients towards cooperation between Vietnams information security sector and the FSO, which in turn has bolstered the Vietnam-Russia friendship.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Government Information Security Commission presented the insignia For the cause of information security to four others for their contributions to the development of Vietnams information security sector.

Speaking at the ceremony, Major General Nguyen Nam Hai, vice head of the Government Information Security Commission, thanked the Russian officials for their support to Vietnams information security sector over the years.

In response, Director of the FSO Academy, Major General Malysev Pavel expressed his appreciation of the Vietnamese Government and the Government Information Security Commission for the high evaluation of the FSOs training for Vietnamese experts.

He also voiced his belief that the collaboration between the Russian agency and Vietnams Government Information Security Commission will be strengthened in the time to come, especially in human resources training.
NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, NA Standing Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man, and Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh joined over 130 female NA deputies to attend the meeting.

Vietnamese women have made considerable contributions to the national socio-economic, security and defence development. Female deputies of the 14th National Assembly account for nearly 27% of the total number of NA deputies - a fairly high rate compared to other countries in the region and the world. Vietnam also has three female Politburo members and first NA Chairwoman in this term of office.

Speaking at the event, NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said that 2019 is the year to prepare for the Party congress at all levels towards the 13th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 14th NA and deputies to the People's Council at all levels for the 2021-2026 tenure. Therefore, the Vietnam Women's Union and female deputies of the NA should take the initiative in introducing qualified female officials to the Party, State and NA bodies.

The NA Vice Chairwoman also asked the Vietnam Women's Union to coordinate with the group of female NA deputies and other relevant agencies to propose policies and solutions to enhance the capacity of female officials and promote education on gender equality in order to increase the participation of women in politics.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee, Huynh Cach Mang, said that, over the past 45 years, the cooperation between Vietnam and the Netherlands has constantly developed in all fields.

The two countries have become strategic partners in many important fields, including climate change adaptation, water management, food security and sustainable agriculture.

Ho Chi Minh City has also implemented numerous environmental and agricultural projects funded by the Dutch Government, contributing to the development of the bilateral relations between the two nations.

For his part, Dutch Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Carel Richter, emphasised that Vietnam is an important market of the Netherlands and is among its prioritised economic countries.

Over recent years, the relationship between the Netherlands and Ho Chi Minh City has been tightened through cooperative activities in trade and investment, he added.

In addition, tourism, education and training are also potential areas for cooperative programmes between the two sides.

The Netherlands has become the second largest export market of Vietnam in Europe, with the bilateral trade turnover reaching US$7.7 billion in 2017.

By the end of 2017, the Netherlands had conducted 304 investment projects with total registered capital of US$8.17 billion in Vietnam.
The Foreign Ministry said the visit will be made at the invitation of President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Vietnam and India first set up their diplomatic ties on January 7, 1972. In 2007, the Vietnam-India relationship was lifted to strategic partnership level. Following the Vietnam visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2016, both sides upgraded their strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership to meet the demand in the new situation.
During their meeting on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Singapore, on November 14, PM Phuc said Vietnam wants to lift the bilateral comprehensive partnership to a new height on the basis of mutual respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions.

The PM suggested that the two sides should increase meetings and the exchange of delegations, especially high-level delegations.

He applauded the US leaders commitments to cooperation in dealing with the war consequences in Vietnam, including dioxin detoxification at Bien Hoa airport.

Vietnam will continue to consistently implement the Doi Moi (reform) and international integration process, improve its business environment, raise its intellectual property protection capacity, ensure cyber security and safety, and abide by international financial and monetary standards, PM Phuc said.

He proposed that the two countries further facilitate their bilateral trade and investment ties, and satisfactorily address the concerns of each side, for the benefits of their people.

The PM spoke highly of the cooperation between Vietnam and the US in regional and international issues. He also commended the USs affirmation to back the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and regional mechanisms led by the bloc, as well as cooperation initiatives contributing to peace and stability in the region, and to respect the independence and sovereignty of other nations.

Vietnam also welcomed the USs support for ASEANs stance on the East Sea issue and negotiations on a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea on the basis of respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he said.

PM Phuc called on the US to back Vietnams bid to run for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 tenure, and join hands in promoting the ASEAN-US strategic partnership when Vietnam assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020.

For his part, Vice President Pence stressed that the US supports a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam, and stands ready to cooperate with the country in matters of shared concern.

He agreed with PM Phucs proposals to increase the exchange of high-level delegations in the future, especially on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, and work together to settle each others concerns in trade and investment collaboration.

The Vice President used the occasion to thank the Vietnamese Government and people for their assistance to the US in searching for and repatriating the remains of US servicemen missing in action during the war in Vietnam.

He also highlighted the common interests in maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, and respecting international law in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The Vice President lauded Vietnams observance of the United Nations Security Councils resolutions regarding the Korean Peninsula and urged the country to continue backing dialogues between the US and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK).
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.
Netflix has announced its very first music competition, Rhythm + Flow, set to premiere this time next year. A talent search for America's next hip hop star, it will be judged by three of the genre's big names: Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, and T.I. They had me at music competition, but okay.

Rhythm & Flow, which counts John Legend as one of its producers, will "find fresh talent and help undiscovered hip-hop artists pursue their dreams." Cardi, Chance, and T.I. will be joined by "additional artists and industry VIPs" who will lend their guidance throughout the ten-episode series. The judges will travel to ten cities across America all up. Related | CInterview: Cardi B Is Still Real

Cardi B is obviously no stranger to TV: she rose to fame as the breakout star of Love & Hip Hop: New York season six. T.I. has starred in a couple of reality shows, while Chance has the least camera experience. You get the feeling he'd be the nice judge, though.
Hatsune Miku is one of the biggest pop stars in the world despite not having a personality or a pulse. A Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku is a massively popular vocal synthesizer from Japan who is embodied by a blue-haired anime school girl avatar. Featured in over 100,000 songs, selling out stadium shows around the world, and the face of numerous ad campaigns and collaborations, the digital idol is a global sensation and heralded as the future of pop performers. With such a demanding schedule it's fortunate that Hatsune Miku doesn't need to eat or sleep and can literally be in multiple places at once, but that doesn't mean a hologram girl isn't still looking for love.

Related | A Woman Overcame Ghosting By Getting Engaged To One

In a surprise announcement, much in the same vein as Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin or Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, a Tokyo man announced that he had in fact married Hatsune Miku. Tying the knot in front of 40 guests over the weekend, a school administrator, Akihiko Kondo, said that he has "always been in love with Miku-san," and remained faithful to his bride.

"I'm in love with the whole concept of Hatsune Miku but I got married to the Miku of my house," Kondo said referring to the $2,800 desktop hologram device that reminds him to wake up every morning, sends him off to work, and turns on the lights in his apartment before he gets home each night (think Alexa but anime). Made by manufacturer, Gatebox, the company issued Kondo the marriage certificate and has supposedly sent around 3,700 "cross-dimensional" certificates to others.

Photo via Getty

Kondo almost completely swore off marriage after having been bullied by a woman at a previous workplace and labeled as a "creepy otaku" growing up. "Miku-san is the woman I love a lot and also the one who saved me," he said, but not everyone was fully prepared to accept Kondo's love for the pocket-sized floating projection. His mother outright refused to attend the ceremony.

Kondo hopes that his wedding to Miku will encourage others like him to come out with their love for two-dimensional characters. The very characteristics that make Miku the perfect pop star, her un-aging, never changing, ever faithful presence is also what apparently makes her the perfect mate. Similar to Ryan Gosling's infatuation to a life-size plastic doll in 2007's Lars and the Real Girl, the relationship may seem strange on the outside but Kondo emphasizes that at the end of the day "we must consider all kinds of love and all kinds of happiness."
Ten deputies gave their opinions, focusing on the completion of institutions and laws on socio-economic management, the responsibilities of the local government and heads of agencies and organisations related to complaints and petitions settlement.

They also commented on the time and quality of complaints and petitions settlement, measures to improve efficiency of the work in localities, as well as the dealing with complaints and denunciations related to land reclamation and ground clearance, and the collaboration between the Government Inspectorate and localities.

The deputies also discussed the building of a national database on complaints and petitions settlement.

Concluding the morning session, Inspector General Le Minh Khai clarified a number of matters raised by the deputies.

In the afternoon, the deputies listened to a report by Chairman of the NA Committee on Finance and Budget Nguyen Duc Hai on the absorption of deputies ideas on the central budget distribution in 2019, along with a draft NA resolution on central budget allocation in 2019. With 438 yes votes, or 90.31 percent of total deputies, the NA then adopted the resolution.

After the vote, the deputies debated the draft Law on Architecture. They agreed on the significance of the law, while giving opinions on various relevant matters, including the architecture development strategy of Vietnam, State policies on architecture, the authority of granting architect licences, and prohibited activities in the field.

Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha came up to clarify a number of issues raised by the deputies.
News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.
A number of proposals have been submitted to government by organisations to shape the 2019 Budget Statement and Economic Policy which will be presented to Parliament on Thursday, November 15, this year.



TUC



The Trades Union Congress (TUC), in its submission, indicated that Ghana was capable of managing its affairs without IMF programmes to achieve President Akufo-Addos vision of Ghana Beyond Aid.



We expect the 2019 Budget Statement to lay a very strong foundation for this vision. We also expect concrete measures that will shift the economy away from taxes to production and reduce cost of living.



It highlighted the sanitation situation which remains very poor even after a whole ministry had been established to deal with it.



It is estimated that just about 15% of urban residents and only 6 percent of rural residents have access to sanitation facilities. These percentages are lower compared to other African countries. Ghana is ranked as very high degree of risk, according to Index Mundi Ghana Demographics Profile for 2018.



TUC further called for the establishment of national mortgage and housing finance scheme to provide cheaper local currency mortgages and residential housing finance across the country to promote social equity through the Singaporean model of social housing finance to tackle mass joblessness in Ghana, among others.



GUTA



The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is calling on government to reduce the high import duties in the 2019 Budget.



The association was hopeful the procurement processes would be simplified.

Dr. J.K. Obeng, president of GUTA, lauded governments effort in ensuring that the necessary policies are put in place to boost the countrys performance in the area of export.



We want pragmatic steps to be taken so that the duty rates will be reduced. We want procurement to be so simplified as well. Ghana as a nation has not done badly in terms of exports and the cash accrued therein. About 70% of countries are import based and are doing very well. The management is what matters, he added.



CUTS Ghana



Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) Ghana, a local research and advocacy policy think tank, has made inputs into the Budget Statement and Economic Policy for the year 2019.



The proposals covered revenue mobilization, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), tax exemptions, agricultural and health sectors, education and public tertiary institutions and job creation.



On revenue mobilization, Appiah Kusi Adomako, National Co-ordinator, CUTS Ghana, who presented the proposals to the Ministry of Finance at a news conference in Accra, urged government to enhance tax effort by clamping down on tax exemptions and deductions, increasing petroleum sector corporate taxes, tackling tax evasion effectively and renegotiating tax treaties to allow higher withholding taxes, capital gains taxes and taxes on dividends.



It called on government to make the design of the tax system more progressive by increasing taxes on capital gains, inheritance and gifts to match income tax rates; increasing personal and corporate income rates to match regional levels, while raising minimum tax thresholds further to exempt poor citizens.



It called on government to make tax collection more progressive by sharply increasing the proportion of taxes coming from personal and corporate income tax and capital gains/property/wealth taxes, ending taxes on cocoa exports and increasing excise duties on bottled water and soft drinks.



Government was also called upon to automate all toll roads and give incentives to cars that make pre-payment, using the electronic pass, with motorists being allowed to top up at the bank or use the mobile money platform in order to prevent fraud and revenue leakage.



It was also proposed that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies should maximize efforts at raising revenue from property taxes and have the same spent on three key sectors of the economy-education health and sanitation.



Joy Fm Forum



At a Joy Fm Forum in September this year, attendants discovered that 98.5% of all the taxes collected were used to pay salaries.



One of the discussants quizzed: What can a government do with 1.5% of its total tax revenue? What are its options for funding? What can a government do to improve the lives of ordinary Ghanaians with 1.5% of its revenue left for everything else? And what do you prioritise?



Minoritys predictions



Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, is predicting doom for Ghanaians in 2019 ahead of the presentation of the budget to Parliament.



He said the yet-to-be presented 2019 budget statement and economic policy would be full of hopelessness.

Ato Forson said since the various budgets presented by the Akufo-Addo government have brought nothing good but hardships to Ghanaians, the impending budget would only be hell for many Ghanaians.



We say Ghana beyond hell because in the year 2017, the budget was named Asempa budget, meaning good news. But at the end, what did we see? What should we expect in the 2019 budget? Hopelessness, he added.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Governments of the Republic of Ghana and State of Qatar have signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of partnerships between the two countries.



This signing ceremony took place on Tuesday when President Akufo-Addo paid a days official visit to Qatar, where he held bilateral talks with the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.



The first MoU signed was the Agreement on the avoidance of Double Taxation and the prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income.



This agreement would help to alleviate territorial double taxation of the same income by the two countries. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Ghana by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, and on behalf of Qatar by Ali Shareef Alamadi, Minister for Finance.



The next MoU was on The Regulation of Manpower Employment in the State of Qatar signed on behalf of Ghana by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and on behalf of Qatar by Uposif Bin Mohammed Al Othman, Minister for Administrative Development and Labour and Social Affairs.



The third and fourth MoUs signed were Abolishing visa requirements for the holders of diplomatic and special passports, and the Establishment of consultations on issues of mutual interest between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Ghana. These were both signed on behalf of Ghana by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and on behalf of Qatar by Mr. Sultan Bin Saad Al Muraikhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.



The Memorandum of Understanding between Qatar Chamber and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry was the last to be signed. This was done by Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankwoso I, President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Shaikh Khalifa Bin Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Chamber.



President Akufo-Addo and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also pledged to deepen the ties of cooperation and bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries for the mutual benefit of their peoples.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The West African Mills Company (WAMCO), a cocoa processing company in Takoradi, has recorded a total profit of $600,000 from the export of its products since last year after the revitalization of the production line at WAMCo 1.



The company, which has state-of-the-art machinery and equipment to process cocoa seeds into various products for export became defunct for several years under the previous NDC administration.



This was because cocoa processing company was not supplied with cocoa beans to process despite the fact that Ghana was second in the supply of cocoa beans to the international market in Africa.



The current New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, upon the assumption of office, took a significant decision to revitalize the company.



This was done through effective engagement with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and all relevant institutions to bring back redundant employers of the company.



Since that time significant progress has been made and the company has used $10 million to purchase over 70,000 tonnes of beans to boost production.



This was after repair and maintenance works at the liquor plant and the expeller machines had been carried out.



Government has 40 per cent shares in WAMCO while other investors hold 60 per cent majority shares.



WAMCO produces 200 tonnes of butter, 200 tonnes of Liquor and 600 tonnes of cake.



This was revealed when the Member of Parliament for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah and some journalists visited the companys premises to assess the progress of work.



Isaac Opoku, Production Manager of WAMCO, mentioned that over the last 16 months significant success had been chalked by the company after the repair and maintenance of the liquor plant and the expeller.



He disclosed that currently the company was running two shifts with a workforce of 70 and hoped to increase the figure when WAMCO 2, a sister company, also becomes operational in 2019.



The Takoradi MP expressed gratitude to the government of Ghana and Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo for revitalizing WAMCO.



In terms of the personnel capacity, the company has recalled about 70 of the old workers and would soon add about 25 of them to boost their production capacity, he added.



Frank Bednar, Managing Director of WAMCO, also stated we are back to life and becoming profitable. We are preparing to take the company to the next level as an economically buoyant business that makes good returns on investment.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
African governments are being urged to do more to control meningitis, especially in the region that stretches from Senegal in the West to Ethiopia in the East.



A paper published in the medical journal, Lancet Neurology, found that while significant progress had been made towards controlling the disease worldwide, the so-called meningitis belt in sub-Saharan Africa was lagging behind.



Last year, some 18,000 cases were reported in Nigeria and Niger.



The contagious disease, which can cause brain damage, blindness and deafness, can be controlled with vaccines.



The Meningitis Research Foundation proposes the development of cheaper and more broad-based vaccines and the reduction in cost of diagnostic tests and treatments.

Source: BBC









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
Policy think tank, the Danquah Institute (DI) is accusing the erstwhile John Mahama administration of coercing the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA) into signing a deal (Port expansion project) in 2015, which DI claims could lead to the nation losing "in excess of $2 billion."



According to the Policy Think Tank, "at least fourteen hundred [1,400] Ghanaians permanently employed between Tema and Takoradi ports will lose their jobs by 2020," if the deal, in its present state, "is not renegotiated."



DI has therefore threatened to seek redress in court "after 60 days", if the Port expansion project deal between the Meridian Port Services and the GPHA, is not reexamined with a view to eliminating or modifying portions of the agreement that will not inure to the benefit of Ghanaians.



At a press conference held in Accra on Tuesday, Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Edward Asumani, warned that if their caution is disregarded, they will have no option than to go to court.



If the MPS agreement is implemented in its current form, GPHA and Ghanaians will lose 72% of the $109 million revenue GPHA made in 2017. Expected annual revenue will drop to just over $30 million by 2019. Over the life-cycle of the contract, GPHA stands to lose in excess of $2 billion....



"....Let us be under no illusion, the consequences of the MPS3 contract as it stands on GPHA, the numerous private stevedoring companies and Ghanaians in general will be economically dire. Lets critically review these facts. If the MPS3 agreement is implemented in its current form....



....In the event that the parties involved are unable to agree new terms within 60days, the Danquah Institute will take legal action in the public interest. Nobody should underestimate our resolve to see this contract renegotiated," he forewarned.





Below is a copy of the statement read at the press conference.





Ghana To Lose Over $2 BILLION If MPS GHAPOHA Port Expansion Deal Is Not Reviewed



In 2015, the Board and Management of Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA) took the decision to build another terminal at Tema harbour.



The decision had been taken because of the need for a new automated terminal that increased the volume and efficiency of operations at the harbour. Its successful completion was to make Tema a competitive global shipping hub.



Not only was this necessitated by the global trend towards automation and competition but also the growth in population, increased economic activity and the corresponding lifestyle choices of Ghanaians as a result of economic growth.



The original plan by GPHA sought to put the expansion project through a competitive tendering process. Two projects were advertised. One for the construction of the terminal and the other for the operations once the terminal was completed.



This decision had been unanimously taken by the board and management as it safeguarded GPHAs economic interest and guaranteed a speedy completion of the project.



over 56 entities expressed interest of which 20 were shortlisted. The likes of VanOord, Jan de Null, Boskalis, Besix, CHEC China Harbour and Jay Cashman(USA) expressed interest. Another 15 bids were received for the operation of the new terminal. Bids from these global companies underscored the high interest the project had generated across the globe.



Interestingly, no bids were received from Meridian Port Services (MPS), a consortium formed in 2003 consisting of Meridian Port Holdings(MPH) and GPHA. APMT and Bollare, the companies that make up MPH however registered their interest as separate entities for the Terminal Operations Tender.



Midway through the terminal operations tender, the NDC government under former President John Mahama issued a presidential fiat halting the entire process. Apart from the fact that this directive grossly breached the Public Procurement Rules, it also severely impeded the ability of GPHA to freely and competitively negotiate in the interest of Ghanaians.



This ultimately set the stage for a badly negotiated contract that mortgaged the economic interest of Ghanaians to MPS and its foreign shareholders for a generation.



To emphasize the seriousness of this capitulation we discuss two main points: first, under the Investment Protection Regime of the agreement (clause 3.3), GPHA is precluded from initiating, developing or authorizing the development or operation of any other container terminal within the Tema Port and within a radius of 20 nautical miles.



The Danquah Institute is arguing that, this clause fetters the ability of GPHA to carry out its mandate as required under section 5 of PNDCL 160, to inter alia, maintain the port facilities, extend, and enlarge facilities as the authority sees fit, and regulate the use of a port and of port facilities. Clause 3.3 of the DoA therefore is inconsistent with the general duty imposed on GPHA not to contract out of its statutory mandate under PNDCL 160.



Second, in view of the fact that container business attracted nearly $97.24 million in 2017 it is baffling to say the least how any well-meaning negotiator will agree to fundamentally cede the main source of revenue of GHPA to MPS at first asking.



The above notwithstanding, by November 2015, the 2004 contract(MPS2) between GPHA and MPS had been amended giving full rights for both the construction and operation of the new terminal to MPS. A critical look at the DoA establishing (MPS3) does not only expose the effects of the lack of a competitive tendering process but possess an existential threat to GPHA as we know it.



Let us be under no illusion, the consequences of the MPS3 contract as it stands on GPHA, the numerous private stevedoring companies and Ghanaians in general will be economically dire. Lets critically review these facts. If the MPS3 agreement is implemented in its current form



1. GPHA AND GHANAINAS FOR THE MATTER WILL LOSE 72% OF THE $109 MILLION REVENUE GPHA MADE IN 2017(*EXPECTED ANNUAL REVENUE DROPS TO $30MILLION*) OVER THE LIFE OF THE CONTRACT GPHA STANDS TO LOSE IN EXCESS OF $2BILLION



2. AT LEAST 1400* GHANAIANS PERMANENTLY EMPLOYED BY GPHA BETWEEN TEMA AND TAKORADI WILL LOSE THEIR JOBS BY 2020. THIS FIGURE DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT TEMPORARY/CASUAL WORKERS WHO WORK FOR GPHA OR THE EMPLOYEES OF THE MANY PRIVATE STEVEDORING COMPANIES THAT DEPEND ON GPHA FOR BUSINESS.



3. VOLUME OF CONTAINERS HANDLED BY GPHA AND OTHER LICENCED CONTAINER HANDLING CONPANIES WILL DECLINE BY AT LEAST 60%!



4. CONTAINER STEVEDORING REVENUE WILL DECLINE FROM $10.688 MILLION TO US4.21 (REPRESENTING A DECLINE OF -60.54%)



5. CONTAINER SHORE HADLING REVENUE WILL DECLINE FROM $38.75 MILLION TO $17 MILLION (REPRESENTING A DECLINE OF 56%)



6. ROYALTIES REVENUE ON MPS OPERATIONS WILL DECLINE FROM $24.12 MILLION TO $6.57 MILLION (-73.67% DECLINE)



7. TERMINAL AREA RENT REVENUE FROM MPS TERMINAL WILL DELINE FROM $826,000 TO NIL (-100%/ZERO)



8. BERTH OCCUPANCY REVENUE FROM MPS TERMINAL WILL DECLINE FROM $1.915 MILLION TO NIL (-100% /ZERO)



9. PORT DUES REVENUE ON MPS CONTAINER OPERATIONS WIL DECLINE FROM $29 MLIION TO 2.9 MILION (REPRESENTING A DECLINE OF 90%)



10. MORE WORRYINGLY, MPS UNDER THE TERMS OF THE NEW CONTRACT IS FREE TO ADD ADDITIONAL TARIFFS, *AND MAY CHARGE FOR NEW SERVICES*, ON TOP OF THE GPHA APPROVED TARIFFS WITHOUT CONSULTING GPHA. THIS WILL LIKELY LEAD TO INCREASES IN THE PRICE OF EVERYDAY CONSUMER AND OTHER GOODS THAT GHANAIANS DEPEND ON



As an economic and democratic example in Africa, Ghana is and has always been a great hub for foreign investment and business. Ghanaians continue to actively seek partners who identify with the great business and investment potential this country has to offer. But this drive for investments in our bid to modernize our infrastructure, create jobs and improve the standards of living of our people should not mean we negotiate badly against the interest of the state and the people of Ghana.



In fact, in the past when such bad agreements have been exposed, some have argued that although the terms of investment might be unfavorable to Ghanaians, the need to protect our image as a friendly investment destination in Africa and the alternative of no investments should tamper our critique of such one-sided agreements.



Although the above binary is false, the later seems to have underpinned years of unfair investment practices, provided cover for some corrupt officials and perpetuated stale colonial-era narratives that have sought economic dominance and subjugation of indigenous investment initiatives.



The Danquah Institute(DI) is therefore calling for a better understanding of our strengths, appreciation of our resources as a nation and an open and transparent approach to investment and negotiation practices. This will help us negotiate balanced, fair and economically beneficial agreements that improve the lives of all Ghanaians.



It is against this backdrop that all the parties to the MPS3 agreement should sit and re-examine the terms of the contract to ensure it is fair and economical beneficial to all the parties involved. In the event that the parties involved are unable to agree new terms within 60days, the Danquah Institute will take legal action in the public interest. Nobody should underestimate our resolve to see this contract renegotiated.





Danquah Institute, Media Research & Policy Analysis Centre





Background

The terminal 3 port expansion deal was signed in 2015. Parliament in 2016 granted a tax waiver to the tune of 832 million dollars to MPS to enable it import some equipment it will be needing for the project into the country.



The port is expected to be the largest cargo port in West Africa, and one of the best in Africa, with a capacity of 3.5 million 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) per annum.



Meridian Port Services (MPS), the company that is undertaking the Tema Port Expansion project, has already announced that the first batch of cranes for the project are being loaded to set sail from Shanghai to Tema.



This is after the final inspection and approval of the fully-assembled cranes, underwent the testing cycle.



The first batch of cranes are expected to arrive at the Tema Port on 19th December.



The Tema Port Expansion project is expected to be completed by 2019.



The project cost has since been reduced to 1.2 billion dollars, following the completion of the actual cost of implementation.



MPS Limited has been working on the expansion project since 2016.



The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has a thirty percent stake in the company.



Fifteen percent is guaranteed, while the remaining is expected to be obtained through the re-injection of royalties due the GPHA.



Meridian Port Services, which is funding the project under a public-private-partnership (PPP) program, is one of three companies involved in a joint venture with the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA) to undertake the expansion.



The other two companies are Bollore Africa Logistics and APM Terminals.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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
Students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi will return to school on Friday, November 6, 2018, exactly 25 days after the university was shut down indefinitely following violent protests by students which led to massive destruction of properties on campus.



Academic work is also expected to resume on Monday, November 19, this year, the University Relations Officer (URO), Kwame Yeboah Junior, who was beaming with smiles, told scores of journalists on campus yesterday after resolving the impasse.



The announcement was made after the successful inauguration of five new members of the Governing Council of the university.



Government submitted the names of four persons while the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) submitted the remaining one.



The Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, affectionately called Napo, swore five new members into office in the presence of the Chancellor of the KNUST, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and other dignitaries from the academia and government.



Other stakeholders such as the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), among others, however, maintained their representatives on the KNUST Governing Council.



Otumfuos Role



When the irate students of the university embarked on violent protests in the morning of Monday, October 22, this year, which led to the destruction of properties including vehicles, computers and sensitive security gadgets in the school, the Asantehene was on a foreign trip.



Upon his return to the country, Otumfuo told stakeholders that wanted to replace their members on the KNUST Governing Council to quickly do so for the university to be re-opened.



Government believes members of the previous KNUST Governing Council were partly to receive the blame for the rumpus on campus which led to the shutdown of the university.



Government revealed that individuals who sat on the previous Council ought not to be on the new Council, insisting that permanent representations from the constituent bodies such as TEWU, UTAG, Convocation, Alumni and SRC ought to be changed.



The government and the National Council for Tertiary Education saw the need to replace their representatives on the KNUST Governing Council.



Otumfuos Speech



Otumfuo Osei Tutu, in his address yesterday, condemned the decision of the students, who are the future leaders of the country, to ignore the universitys laid-down procedure to drum home their grievances and destroy properties.



The university is not a jungle so an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect should be quickly restored between the schools management and the students to avert violent acts in future, the Asante Monarch added.



According to him, the incident at KNUST had brought shame to all stakeholders of the respectable and famous university, adding that henceforth an enabling environment should be created by management so that students can freely and willingly report matters bothering them for redress.



Otumfuo also sternly warned the students not to repeat the violent acts in the university no matter the level of provocation, stressing that lawlessness, lack of respect for laid-down procedure and violent acts would no longer be tolerated in the university.



5-Member Committee



The Asantehene announced that a five-member committee, to be chaired by a retired judge, would quickly be constituted to thoroughly investigate circumstances that led to the riots and destruction of properties in order to prevent recurrence in future.



Otumfuo revealed that as Chancellor of the university for the past decade, he had contributed significantly to the transformation of the university.



The KNUST has chalked up successes in the academic arena, and so all stakeholders, including the universitys management and students, should contribute their quota to help lift the positive image of the school and shun violent acts.



Napos Speech



The Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, also said the government was not happy with the riots that led to the temporary closure of the university, reiterating the commitment of government to the immediate re-opening of the university.



The swearing-in ceremony was attended by scores of dignitaries, including the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah; Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi and Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Asokore Mampong, Alhaji Alidu Seidu and others from academia.



Bad Boys In Trouble



Meanwhile, the KNUST URO, Kwame Yeboah Jnr, has told the media that security agencies have started investigation into the large-scale destruction of properties on campus, adding that the security agents already have the names of some of students.



The security agencies have so far contacted the university for the names of some of the students, who they believe can assist them in the investigation of the violent protests. The security agencies are handling that aspect so that they will determine what happens to those students, he added.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
As the leader of the coordinator country for the ASEAN-Japan relations, the PM was addressing the 21st ASEAN - Japan Summit and the celebration of the 45 years of ties between ASEAN and Japan in Singapore on November 14 within the framework of the 33rd ASEAN Summit.

He held that the ASEAN-Japan strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation have seen good progress in all three pillars, with many practical activities, especially in the fields of maritime security, anti-terrorism and trans-national criminal combat, cyber security, nuclear weapon non-proliferation and disarmament, law enforcement training, jurisdiction promotion and defence cooperation.

Japan is the fourth biggest trade partner and second largest investor of ASEAN, as well as the leading ODA provider of many ASEAN member countries, he noted.

ASEAN highly values support of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund in health care, environment, natural disaster control, climate change, science-technology and innovation, as well as in connection through the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and ASEAN Plan of Action on narrowing development gap, and Mekong-Subregion development.

Sharing PM Phucs opinions, other ASEAN countries agreed to further promote the sound cooperation between the two sides over the past 45 years and welcomed Japan to continue performing its active and responsible role in the region, while coordinating with ASEAN at forums chaired by the grouping, and contributing to promoting dialogues, building trust and strengthening cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit and respect.

For his part, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe agreed to foster comprehensive collaboration with ASEAN and support the associations central role as well as efforts in enhancing regional cooperation and connectivity.

He briefed participants on the plan to hold the ASEAN-Japan Day in Vietnam in 2019 to strengthen mutual understanding between people of both sides.

He also introduced many cooperation initiatives such as a fund of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to support infrastructure cooperation in the region, high quality human resources development, exploiting opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, preventing ocean plastic waste, responding to natural disasters and climate change, and providing health care services for the public.

He stressed that ASEAN and Japan should work harder to reinforce opening, equal and law-based multilateral trade.

He lauded Singapore, Vietnam and Japans ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), expressing his hope for the soon finalisation of negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

The Japanese PM reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security, freedom and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, respecting diplomatic and legal processes, and upholding principles of international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, while stressing efforts to build an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

PM Phuc recognised ideas of Japan, highlighting the ASEANs stance on the East Sea issue and hope that Japan will continue supporting ASEANs efforts in strengtheing dialogue and trust, creating a favourable environment for COC negotiations.

He also hailed Japans initiatives to promote connectivity between the rims of Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, pledging that Vietnam will do its utmost to accelerate the ASEAN-Japan ties.

Vietnam welcomes the Japanese PMs idea of organising the ASEAN-Japan Day in Vietnam, he stated, adding that Vietnam is ready to work with Japan on the event.

Concluding the summit, leaders of ASEAN and Japan agreed to approve a declaration on the 45th anniversary of the ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation.
The Danquah Institute, a civil society group, has threatened to take legal action after 60 days if the Tema Port expansion $2 billion contract between the Meridian Port Services (MPS) and the Ghana Port and Harbour Authority (GHPA) is not re-negotiated.



According to the group, the $2 billion contract, which is supposed to be a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT), has mortgaged the economic interest of Ghanaians to MPS and its foreign shareholders for the next 30 years.



Speaking at a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Executive Director of the group, Edward Kwaku Asomani, explained that Clause 3.3 of the Investment Protection Regime of the agreement has d the GPHA from operating any container terminal within a radius of 20 nautical miles on the Tema main port.



This, he said, aside affecting GPHAs 70 per cent revenue stream source, was also inconsistent with the general duty of GPHA which requires it not to contract its statutory mandate as stipulated under Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Law 160.



Section 5 of PNDC Law 160 requires GPHA to maintain the port facilities, extend, and enlarge facilities as the authority sees fit, and also regulate the use of a port and of port facilities.



Mr. Asomani added that by November 2015, the 2014 contract (MPS2) had been amended to grant MPS the full rights to construct and operate the new terminal.



He indicated that the amended agreement, also known as MPS 3, if allowed to continue in 2019, would have dire consequence for GPHA.



This, he observed, would manifest in 72 per cent drop in revenue, 1,400 job losses by 2020, 60 percent decline in volume of container handled by GPHA and also a decline in GPHA royalty revenues from $24.12 million to $6.57 million.



More wrongly MPS, under the terms of the new contract, is free to add additional tariffs on top of the GPHA approved tariffs without consulting GPHA, he said.



The Danquah Institute accused the previous Mahama administration of breaching the Public Procurement rules in aiding MPS to secure a contract when it had not made a bid for the contract.



According to them, a presidential fiat halting the entire process allowed MPS to secure the contract for the project when it was not part of entities that originally made a bid for it.



Interestingly, no bids were received from Meridian Port Services (MPS), a consortium formed in 2003 consisting of Meridian Port Holdings (MPH) and GPHA, APMT and Bollare, the companies that make up MPH, which however registered their interest as separate entities for the Terminal Operations Tender.



Midway through the terminal operations tender, the NDC government, under former President John Mahama, issued a presidential fiat halting the entire process. Apart from the fact that this directive grossly breached the Public Procurement rules, it also severely impeded the ability of GPHA to freely and competitively negotiate in the interest of Ghanaians. This ultimately set the stage for a badly negotiated contract that mortgaged the economic interest of Ghanaians to MPS and its foreign shareholders for a generation, the group added.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Ghana's Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Dr. Barfour Adjei-Barwuah, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Andrews University to grant partial scholarship to Ghanaian students and professionals, both home and abroad.



In his address to the executive leadership of the university, Dr. Adjei-Barwauh, visibly excited, reiterated the importance of the agreement; "this is a five year program so it is something that is going to benefit our people for a while. At a time where the world is moving fast, this kind of relationship is important for our development."



Touching on the details of the partnership, he intimated, "we have secured 250 seats per year for Ghanaian students and professionals-200 seats for undergraduate students and 50 seats for graduate students.This means that, we can enroll up to 1250 students during the lifetime of the agreement. The program gives students and professionals who will be pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees, 50% off their tuition cost. The partnership also extends to students and professionals who prefer to stay home and pursue their degree programs online."



According to data from the university, most undergraduate students enrolled pay about $28,272 per year. At 50%, each student will get $14,136 off per year totaling $56,544 of savings for 4 years. A discount of $56,544 for 200 students per year for five years comes to $56.5 million of scholarship accessible to Ghanaian first degree students. The discount total, accessible to graduate students is about $5.5 million at 50 students for five years. Essentially, this agreement means that Ghanaians have close to $62 million worth of scholarship they can access under this program.



President of Andrews University, Dr. Andrea Luxton, stressed the school's commitment to education and the motive for investing in Ghanaians. "As an Adventist institution, we believe in giving back by way of empowerment, through education. Our relationship with Ghana goes back many years. This partnership solidifies that relationship even more", he revealed.



Speaking at the signing-in event, Mr. Kwame Antwi-Frempong, the deal broker and CEO of Aspire Business Network, assured the university of his commitment to safeguard the program and to ensure that all applicants are properly pre-screened. "Both parties have agreed for Aspire's continuous involvement in the program. They want to make sure students are rigorously screened. This will ensure that students who go through the program are legitimate and academically ready. The sustainability of this program is very important. It's going to give Ghanaians access to over $60 million so we will do everything to protect the integrity of the program and by extension, the Embassy and Andrews University", he emphasised.



Mr Antwi-Frempong, further, commended Ambassador Adjei-Barwuah for the exemplary leadership he exhibited throughout the process, and thanked his personal assistant, Kofi Tonto, for working closely with the negotiation team.



As part of the visit, the ambassador met and held talks with the Dean of Nursing school, after a tour of the Aviation school. Discussions are ongoing to partner with these two schools in the near future.



Dr. Adjei-Barwuah, while in Berrien Springs, met with the Ghanaian community, and visited the NSG Group, one of the world's biggest glass manufacturing plants located in Niles, Michigan.



The Ambassador was accompanied by Chairperson of NPP-USA, Obaa Yaa Frimpong and his personal assistant, Kofi Tonto.





Source: Josephine Acheampomaa









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 UN Security Council is expected to agree shortly to lift sanctions against Eritrea.



An arms embargo, asset freeze, and travel ban were imposed in 2009 amid claims Eritrea supported al-Shabab militants in Somalia.



The resolution, drafted by the UK, has the crucial backing of the US and its Western allies.



The UN vote comes amid a thaw in relations between Eritrea and its neighbours following years of conflict.



Eritrea agreed a peace deal with Ethiopia in June, while the leader of Eritrea and the UN-backed government in Somalia have also met three times this year.



Why were sanctions imposed?



The resolution, backed by 13 votes in favour, was passed after the UN Security Council accused Eritrea of arming, training and equipping armed groups including al-Shabab.



The UN had frequently expressed concern about the flow of weapons into Somalia, where Islamist militants were battling government forces for control of the capital Mogadishu.



Eritrea has also been criticised for human rights abuses and mandatory national service conscription, which has led to tens of thousands of young Eritreans fleeing the country for Europe.



The asset freezes and travel ban affected individuals and businesses, as well as the Eritrean leadership.



However, the AFP news agency says the draft resolution says that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab".



What does Eritrea say?



The Eritrean government has always denied supporting al-Shabab militants, calling the claim a "fabrication" created by US intelligence officials. Ethiopia is a close ally of the US, especially in the fight against al-Shabab.



When they were imposed, Araya Desta, Eritrea's ambassador to the UN, dismissed the sanctions as "ludicrous punitive measures".



Eritrea occupies a strategic location on the Red Sea, which connects Europe, Africa and the East. However, its economy has suffered after years of sanctions.



The Eritrean government now says it wants compensation for the sanctions, which it insists were politically motivated.

Source: BBC









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
CONTROVERSIAL LEGAL Practitioner and Social Commentator, Maurice Ampaw, says the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is slowly losing political power.



According to him, economic hardship in the country is rising to unimaginable levels and said he was afraid the electorate might reject the NPP during the 2020 polls.



He said he was surprised about the fact that President Nana Akufo-Addo seemed unconcerned even as his administration continued to fumble on a daily basis.



Nana Akufo-Addo is losing political power, so cant he see? the popular lawyer asked Kofi Asante of Nhyira FM on Tuesday.



He said even though it was not his wish for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to return to power in 2020, the NPP might hand power over to the NDC in 2020.



I see the NPP losing political power in 2020. I dont want the NDC back to power but the NPP may hand over power to them on a silver platter.



The hardship may force Ghanaians, especially the NPP supporters, not to visit the polling centers to vote and this may favour the NDC to return to power.



According to Ampaw, aside the hardship, President Akufo-Addo also seemed to be losing the battle against.



I am surprised and shocked about Nana Akufo-Addos approach about corruption. He is clearly presiding over corruption and I am shocked.



Maurice Ampaw said Ghanaians had much hope in President Akufo-Addo to stop corruption but I am not impressed about his output so far.

Source: The Publisher









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 Hawks, a vigilante group of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was formed to provide protection for the partys stalwarts, particularly former President John Mahama, have turned the heat on people they perceive to be against the former president who are vying for the flagbearership position of the party.



The Hawks physically attacked members of the Joshua Alabi Campaign Team, the Ashanti Regional chairman and regional secretary of the party in the presence of Mr. Mahama, who is touring the region.



Members of the Campaign Team of Joshua Alabi, presidential hopeful of the opposition NDC, said the Hawks were stalking them.



According to them, the well-built NDC hoodlums have been moving round campaign meeting grounds of the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies to harass organisers of the meeting and some members of the party, who are believed to be loyal to Prof Alabi.



One of such incidents was said to have occurred in the Kpone-Katamanso District of the Greater Accra Region last Saturday where some members of the Hawks attacked former Member of Parliament (MP) for La Dadekotopon, Nii Amasah Namoale, Victor Kojogah Adawudu and some coordinators of Joshua Alabi Campaign Team after a meeting with delegates.



The Hawks were said to have attempted to physically assault the programme coordinators for failing to pay for security service they had rendered.



However, it took the intervention of some executives in the constituency and some campaign members of Joshua Alabi to calm nerves after the campaign team coughed up GH1,000 for the macho men.



Prof Alabi, in a facebook post, immediately after the incident, said that we never invited the Hawks to protect us. They are being used to intimidate my team. This is unfortunate for our internal contest. What is this? Very sad!



He entreated his campaign team not to be discouraged by the intimidation tactics adopted by the Hawks but remain steadfast for him to lead the party in the next general election.



He stated: My people, dont be discouraged. Focus on the delegates. It is well.



Speaking in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, Israel Venunye, a special aide of Prof. Alabi, confirmed the incident and narrated that after the event, the Hawks who were not invited claimed they had provided security for the meeting and therefore had to be paid.



According to him, the incident occurred after Prof. Alabi had left the venue after interacting with the delegates.



Former National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament (MP) for La Dadekotopon, Nii Amasah Namoale and Victor Adawudu, he mentioned, were the only people at the venue when the incident happened.



The special aide indicated that they were interacting with the delegates when the Hawks started pestering them for no reason.



According to him, the NDCs vigilante group later changed their modus operandi and demanded an amount of GH1,000 under the pretext of providing security for those at the meeting.



They demanded money and we paid them GH1,000 for their unsolicited, uninvited services before they left. This is wrong because Prof. Alabis team had its own security arrangements and therefore didnt ask for the services of any other group.



However, information gathered by DAILY GUIDE alleged that the Hawks had hatched the plan in consonance with some party stalwarts to follow Joshua Alabis campaign team to meetings under the pretext of providing security in order to disrupt the meetings for one particular opponent to gain an advantage.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
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.
Ghana and Qatar Tuesday signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of partnerships between the two countries.



The MoU include the Agreement for the avoidance of Double Taxation and the prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income, which would help alleviate territorial double taxation of the same income by Ghana and the State of Qatar.



The agreements were signed when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is on a day's official visit to Qatar, held bilateral talks with the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha.



The other agreements comprised The Regulation of Manpower Employment in the State of Qatar, signed on behalf of Ghana by Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, and, on behalf of Qatar, by Mr Uposif Bin Mohammed Al Othman, Minister for Administrative Development and Labour and Social Affairs.



The third and fourth MoU were on the Abolishing Visa Requirements for the holders of diplomatic and special passports, and the Establishment of consultations on issues of mutual interest between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the Republic of Ghana.



The last agreement was one between the Qatar Chamber and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.



President Akufo-Addo and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged to deepen the ties of cooperation and bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries for the mutual benefit of their people.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former President John Dramani Mahama has accused the Akufo-Addo government of failing to move the economy from a tax-reliant one to one bolstered by production, as he promised in the lead-up to the 2016 polls.



Mr Mahama said prior to the 2016 general elections, the then-opposition NPP flayed his government for, in their view, excessively taxing Ghanaians and promised to move away from taxes should they win power to form a government.



Mr Mahama is, therefore, wondering why the NPP, after coming into office for almost two years, is failing to fulfill its campaign promises but rather widening the tax net.



Mr Mahama made the remarks when he addressed party delegates separately at Ejisu and Subin constituencies, as part of his four-day campaign tour of the Ashanti Region.



Harassing people, in Mr Mahamas view, to pay tax in this harsh economic condition in Ghana, is not the best and advised that the government concentrate on working to fix the economy, which would automatically push every Ghanaian to pay tax.



"During the NDC's tenure, they [NPP] said we were overtaxing Ghanaians, but they will cut taxes if they win power. They said they will move Ghana from taxation to production, but if you see what they are doing now, it is moving Ghana from taxation to double taxation," he said.



Mr Mahama also bemoaned the governments inability to start the second phase of the Kejetia Market.



He said the NDC government secured funding for the second phase of the project before leaving office and, thus, wondered what is preventing the Akufo-Addo government from continuing it.



He said being the largest market centre in the country, the Kejetia Market needed to be fixed and called on the government to urgently start the second phase.









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 deputy Lands and Natural Resource Minister, Barbara Asamoah has accused the Akufo Addo government of throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians after it claimed that it has stamped out the galamsey menace, only to be exposed by major river bodies which remains unchanged.



Barbara who is aspiring to become a deputy general secretary for the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), said illegal mining popularly known as galamsey was on the low during the NDC regime and that plans were far advanced to completely eradicate the menace before government changed hands.



According to the former deputy Minister, stringent policies and measures were put in place by the Mahama government which ensured that several illegal miners were discouraged from engaging in the galamsey activities.



She however noted that, the situation degenerated by the coming in of the new government, adding that the Akufo-Addo government should have followed what we were doing in clamping down on the activities of illegal mining and the government is always blaming the past government for what is happening with galamsey.



According to her, she cannot fathom why the water bodies in the galamsey enclaves are still unclean yet the government claims to have stamped out the menace



We left all the document with the ministry and the government could get go back and continue from where we left of rather than always trying to find fault with previous government because galamsey started long ago, NDC didnt start galamsey she added.



Meanwhile, Barbara who is contesting for the deputy general secretary of the NDC is hopeful she will be voted for, as the first woman to hold the position.







Source: kasapafmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Mobile money data has become a source of a feud between the Communications ministry demanding it and the Central Bank which is keeping it.



Letters from the Communications ministry contain requests wrapped in strong words asking the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to release the data to a private contractor, Kelni GVG, tasked to verify revenue generated by telcos.



One of the letters signed by Anastasia Marfo from the Communications ministry said the level of disrespect exhibited by the bank in this matter is simply appalling.



This was after the central bank in a letter, signed by the secretary, Frances Van-Hein Sackey, insisted the request by the ministry is an invasion of privacy of mobile money subscribers.



The Communications ministry wants disclosure of customer balances, transaction amounts, date and time of the transactions.



But the letter from the Central Bank explained that handing over such data would breach the Guidelines of Electronic Money Issuers and the Data Protection Act.



The Bank in a letter insisted that even though it is willing to work with the various regulators, the current laws do not allow it to hand over such confidential data to Kelni GVG.



The secretary of the Bank of Ghana said the Communications ministrys authority over telcos ends when it comes to mobile money transactions.



BoG has, therefore, written to the various telcos to disregard the earlier letter from the Communications Ministry requesting them to hand over the data.



There have been some informal meetings between the two parties and even the Ministry of Finance to resolve the issue.



However, it is not clear for now whether, the Communications Ministry, National Communications Authority (NCA) and Kelni GVG have agreed to review their position after these informal meetings.



Mobile Money transactions which hit 109 billion by September 2017 has become an important source of income for telecommunication companies.



The figure for September 2017 is a 112% jump from the September 2016 figure of 51.4 billion. In the first half of 2018 alone, mobile money transactions cross 104 billion



The amounts bandied around represent a juicy opportunity for a revenue-hungry government to wade into the money-making mobile service.



Who is right?



Persons with knowledge of the best practices in the other parts of the world have all argued that the BoG is right over the stance it has taken.



Others have argued that many customers have mobile money wallets which are linked to their bank accounts, so if, Ministry of Communications and NCA want Kelni GVG to see the transactions, then it has to be done with the permission of the Bank of Ghana.



The demand for Mobile Money data is a fresh fight from the Communications Ministry which is determined to implement the Communication Service (Amendment) Act passed in 2013.



The Ministry, in May 2018, demanded that telcos allow Kelni GVG to plug into their systems to monitor call traffic as a way of ensuring the taxes they declare are accurate.



The Communications Minister called the resistance from the telcos completely unjustified, fanciful or smack of disrespect for our laws after they expressed fears of privacy breaches in connecting Kelni GVG.



The central bank is the latest organisation to attract the Ministrys use of the word disrespect.

Source: myjoyonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
During the meeting, the Vietnamese Government leader congratulated Morrison on his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Australia, affirming that he is willing to cooperate with Morrison to promote the strategic partnership between the two countries.

PM Phuc suggested that Australia continue to create favourable conditions for Vietnams farm products, such as longan, rambutan, star apple, as well as aquatic products, such as shrimp, to enter the Australian market.

Morrison agreed with PM Phucs suggestions, especially in fostering trade and investment ties between the two sides, expressing his hope that bilateral tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchange will be further enhanced in the time to come.

The two leaders agreed to coordinate in boosting trade liberalisation, and in addressing common issues after the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) comes into force, as well as in accelerating negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

They highlighted the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, and aviation and navigation safety in the East Sea, peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law; and enhanced coordination between the two countries at the UN, ASEM, and within the ASEAN Chairmanship tenure of Vietnam.

On the sidelines of high-level meetings between ASEAN and its partner countries, PM Phuc also had working sessions with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, during which the Vietnamese leader suggested CPTPP member nations work closely together to effectively implement the trade pact, thus benefiting all member nations.

At his meeting with President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, PM Phuc highlighted the enhanced cooperation between the RoK and ASEAN, and applauded the initiative to organise the ASEAN-RoK Summit in 2019 in the RoK to celebrate the partnership between the two sides.


Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister speaks to media at an embargoed press conference before the provincial throne speech at the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg, Tuesday, November 21, 2017. A year after he was seriously injured on a wilderness hike in New Mexico, Pallister has returned to the scene and apparently conquered the same trail. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Coral: Cali Acropora tortuosa Mini Colony Recommended Lighting: HighRecommended Flow: High This coral is 100% Aquacultured, fully healed, and growing on our very own man made rock.Experience the difference between SoCal Aquafarms and so-called aquafarms. *No plugs, no discs, no tiles, no ridiculous actinic pictures. This sale is WYSIWYG. Pictured is the exact piece youll receive. Aqua Farm water parameters:- Temperature: 76-78 F- pH: 8.2-8.4 - Specific Gravity: 1.024-1.026 - Lighting: T5 HO Payment Policy:Payment with PayPal only, and must be completed within 3 days after sale has ended. General sale Policy:- Guaranteed Live Arrival on Overnight Shipping / First Delivery Attempt.- The buyer has 14 days to return the item (the buyer pays shipping fees). The item will be refunded.- If you are not sure about acclimation, please ask.- Contact us if you have any questions.- Sales tax will be applied to sales within California. Shipping Policy:Inform us immediately after you have finished shopping so we know when to schedule your shipment. We will not ship before we hear from you to ensure that you are able to receive the package. We ship Monday through Thursday with FedEx Priority Overnight delivery. Signature of acceptance required. Carrier will not release package without signature. If no one can accept shipment at your destination, you have the option use the FedEx Hold Station nearest to you. Free shipping on orders over $250.00. Shipment to Continental US destinations only. We do not ship Live Coral to Hawaii, Alaska, or international. Contact us if youd like to schedule local pick up. Ask us if you want to know if you qualify for shipping discounts for customers in Southern California using FedEx Ground or FedEx Home Delivery. We are not responsible or have any control over carrier negligence or delay. No credit will be given for shipping cost due to delay or carrier fault. Combining Shipment Policy:Combine shipping cost = $39.99 for the first coral + $3.99 each additional coral. You are welcome to offer on more corals that end on different days up to one week a part. We will only hold on to won corals for one week or until following week Thursday. D.O.A. Policy:Contact us immediately via E-mail if you have problem with shipment. We will require a picture of the dead coral to issue a refund. After approving your D.O.A., we will quickly correct the problem. "Read sale in its entirety before offerding, by offerding on sale you have accepted all our policies stated above."
* The first round of China-Canada Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue kicked off Monday as the two countries are seeking to deepen cooperation and jointly face global challenges.

* The two-day Conference for Libya opened in Palermo in the southern Italian city on Monday evening "to bring substance to the stabilization process" in the north African country. Tight security measures are implemented, with hundreds of police deployed in the streets around the major venue.

* India and Morocco signed Monday an agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance to fight crimes and terrorism, the Moroccan official MAP news agency reported.

* Cyber-attacks are the number one risk in East Asia, Europe, and the Pacific and North America, according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) Regional Risks for Doing Business report on Monday.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Monday into law a bill allowing members of the Russian parliament to renounce voluntarily a bonus paid on top of an official pension.

* US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) not to cut their oil production.

* The Israeli army launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Monday evening, killing at least three and injuring dozens others, in response to the massive rocket attacks from the coastal enclave.

* Iran will sue the United States at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for sanctioning its maritime transport services, Mohammad Rastad, managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said on Monday.

* An alliance of politicians from Northern Ireland's political parties who are opposed to Brexit warned on Monday that a bad Brexit threatened peace in the province and could be "like a bomb going off".

* Three people were shot at a business place in the US state of New Mexico on Monday evening, local police said.

* The Islamic Hamas movement has warned that it would fire more rockets into Israel if the Jewish state expands air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

* Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, will strive to be named the European Capital of Culture, the press service of Kiev city state administration said in a statement on Monday.

* From November 13 to 15, heavy smog will envelop parts of northern China due to poor weather conditions, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) of China.

* US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad could visit Moscow in early December to discuss bringing a durable peace to Afghanistan, a Russian government official said Monday.
An officer with the Midlothian (IL) Police Department gave "multiple verbal commands" to security officer Jemel Roberson to drop his gun and get on the ground before fatally shooting Roberson early Sunday morning, according to the Chicago Tribune.

In a preliminary Illinois State Police investigation released late Tuesday, witness statements showed that the unidentified officerwho was responding to a shots-fired call"gave the armed subject (Roberson) multiple verbal commands to drop the gun and get on the ground before ultimately discharging his weapon and striking the subject."

The state police report said "officers readily provided medical assistance to multiple gunshot victims, including Roberson. Roberson was transported to a local area hospital where he was pronounced deceased."

Greg Kulisthe attorney for Robersons familyquestioned how quickly police were releasing details of their investigation.
The consensus, along with agreements on boosting bilateral cooperation in innovation and other areas, was reached in talks in Singapore between visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Noting that China and Singapore have completed their FTA upgrading negotiations, Li said he hopes the two sides will seize the opportunity to lift two-way trade and investment to higher levels.

The upgrade of the FTA will bring real benefits to the people and companies of the two countries and send a strong signal of further expanding trade and investment, Lee said.

The two sides also pledged to advance the building of the New Land-Sea Corridor, which consists of a number of cargo routes by land and sea connecting central and southwest China to Southeast Asia, so as to further improve connectivity between the two countries and beyond.

With the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the new logistics corridor, China and Singapore should build on the momentum and further boost two-way connectivity, Li said.

The Singaporean leader said his country will join hands with China to build the new corridor so as to facilitate transport and trade between the two sides.

Experts say the corridor will help China to further open up to the world while opening a shortcut for Southeast Asian countries to enter the Chinese market.

Another substantial outcome of the visit, according to Li, is that China and Singapore have lifted the Guangzhou Knowledge City, an exemplary program in bilateral cooperation, to a national-level project.

In their talks, Li said the two sides should actively expand cooperation in smart-city building, promote the upgrading of city management and artificial intelligence development, and mull new local-level collaboration.

Lee said the Singaporean side is glad to see the upgrade of the project, and ready to step up smart-city cooperation with China.

Intergovernmental cooperation projects between China and Singapore, such as the Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin Eco-City, have yielded fruitful results. The upgrade of the Guangzhou Knowledge City project is expected to inject fresh momentum into bilateral practical cooperation.

Also in their meeting, Li noted that as China's friendly neighbor and important partner, Singapore has been deeply involved in China's reform and opening-up.

The two sides, he added, have consolidated political mutual trust, achieved fruitful results in practical cooperation, and become important trade and investment partners.

Li recalled that China and Singapore established an all-round cooperative partnership progressing with the times when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the Southeast Asian country in 2015.

"China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with the Singaporean side, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and continuously bring bilateral ties to higher levels," Li said.

After their talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation documents on FTA upgrading, connectivity, finance, science and technology, environment, culture and customs.

During the first official visit to Singapore by a Chinese premier in 11 years, Li will also attend the 21st leaders' meeting between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and the Republic of Korea leaders' meeting, respectively known as 10+1 and 10+3, as well as the 13th East Asia Summit.
Mark Blake Jr. is acting as his own lawyeralthough he does have a public defender at his side in case he wants legal adviceas he stands accused of attempted murder of a police officer during a 2013 traffic stop.

Blake faces up to 30 years in prison for attempted murder in the March 13, 2013, shooting of Charleston Police Officer Cory Goldstein, according to WCSC-TV.

Goldsteinwho no longer works for the Charleston Police Departmenttook the stand to recount the night of the shooting. He told the jury that during the foot chase, Blake kept looking over his shoulder to see how close Goldstein was to him.

He said that after Blake had stopped, he ordered Blake not to move, and Blake responded, "You don't move [expletive]," and opened fire.

Blake then had the opportunity to cross-examine the officer he is accused of trying to kill.
One LEO who responded to the call was behind the wheel of a classic 1954 Ford, usually seen at car shows and special events. (Photo: Hemet PD)

When an officer with the Hemet (CA) Police Department radioed that he was coming under fire following a traffic stop, officers from all around the area rushed to the scene.

One LEO to respond was behind the wheel of a classic 1954 Ford, usually seen at car shows and special events.

"I was driving our 54 Ford to the Veterans Day Ceremony and Car show at Gibbel Park yesterday morning when I heard one of our Officers was being shot at over the police radio, the Hemet PD officer told Riverside County News.
An officer with the Chicago Police Department who was injured when a fire destroyed his home in the Portage Park neighborhood was "in good spirits" and recovering at a nearby hospital on Tuesday.

Police said Officer John Zook was home alone, and in the shower at his house near Mason Avenue and Irving Park Road when the fire started in the mid-afternoon on Monday, according to CBS News.

When Zook got out of the shower, he started searching for the family dog. During the search, he fell unconscious. Firefighters pulled him from the burning home, and treated him on the front lawn. Firefighters were also able to save the dog.

Zooks family and friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for hospital bills, house repairs, and to replace personal belongings destroyed in the fire.
National Law Enforcement Museum logo (Image: National Law Enforcement Museum)

The National Law Enforcement Museum at the Motorola Solutions Foundation Building will host a panel discussion Thursday called "Conversations  Opioids: Communities Fighting Back."

More than 300,000 Americans have died from opioid-related overdoses. In 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. Those who attend will learn from the panel of three experts how they are dealing with the opioid crisis in their own communities.

Aaron Gilchrist, NBC4 Today anchor, will moderate the discussion among panelists Chief Tom Synan, Newtown (OH) Police Department Museum; Lieutenant Patrick Glynn, Quincy (MA) Police Department Fund; and Jose Rodriguez, Director of Opioid Overdose Prevention for the Baltimore (MD) City Health Department.

The panel will take place Thursday, November 15, 2018 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at 444 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

For more information about the National Law Enforcement Museum, visit www.LawEnforcementMuseum.org.
Announcing new global customers, ClickSoftware furthers its influence in field service management

BURLINGTON, Massachusetts, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ClickSoftware , the leading provider of field service management software, today announced ever-increasing global demand for the company's field service management (FSM) technology among communications companies, evidenced by significant market expansion. In addition to new customers in a range of industries and geographies, the company remains the best choice for field service management within the communications industry. ClickSoftware recently welcomed Shaw Communications , TeleCentro , Lattelecom , and BH Telecom to its global network of customers.

Click continues to enhance its technology to meet the specific demands of communications customers for a variety of use cases. Enhancements to its flagship offering, Click Field Service Edge , in May 2018, enable Click's solution to automatically update the schedule if an unexpected event impacts the planned route to the next task, such as a traffic accident or road closure. It proactively incorporates live traffic conditions whenever schedules are updated to further increase efficiency and operational insight that better services an organization's customers. This improved optimization is critical for comms companies, whose field service needs are typically extensive and extremely customer-centric.

"We are dedicated to improving field service management and delivering exceptional customer experiences, a strategic business goal shared by comms companies across the globe," said Mark Cattini, CEO of ClickSoftware. "With over 70 communications customers, our industry expertise underpins effective and forward thinking product enhancements that our customers, old and new, use to gain a competitive edge."

According to Keven Allan, Director Field Operations, at communications company Telstra , "For more than a decade, Click has played a strategic role in our field service strategy as it has contributed to the foundation of our customer experience offering. We look forward to the future of our relationship, as Click's technology continues to evolve." Telstra has remained one of Click's many significant customers mobilizing thousands of field service professionals across multiple lines of business. Additional longtime customers include Deutsche Telekom, Cablex , and Proximus .

Visit the ClickSoftware website to learn more about the company's ongoing advancements and the value delivered by its field service software solutions for communications .

About ClickSoftware

ClickSoftware is a global leader in field service management solutions, delivering value through improved efficiency, effectiveness, and enhancing customer experiences. ClickSoftware blends unparalleled industry expertise and state-of-the-art computer science to deliver meaningful, measurable business valueoptimizing critical business processes and delighting customers. Click Field Service Edge arms field service leaders with the smartest technologies and best practices from around the globe to deliver real-world results, real-time recommendations, and real operational intelligence.

For more information, please visit https://www.clicksoftware.com/ . Follow us on Twitter .

Click. Actual Intelligence. At Work.

Media Contact:

Jill Rosenthal

InkHouse for ClickSoftware

[email protected]

(781) 966-4167

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/395427/ClickSoftware_1_Logo.jpg

Related Links

https://www.clicksoftware.com



SOURCE ClickSoftware
SANTA CLARA, California, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan's Energy & Environment team will host a live, complimentary briefing, Identifying Key Growth Opportunities for Electrification of Transportation, on Thursday, November 15, at 2:00 PM EST. The interactive briefing will be hosted by Frost & Sullivan's Farah Saeed, research director for digital grids and Naren Pasupalati, senior research analyst. Highlights will focus on the future landscape in which utilities are trying to understand how EVs can be leveraged for improving integration of renewables as well as future smart city level applications.

To register for the complimentary webcast, please visit: http://frost.ly/2x5

Many states across the US have taken a proactive approach to address climate change despite federal pushback against clean power. California recently joined the growing list of states and regions that are committing to carbon neutrality and becoming 100 percent green with the recent passing of SB100. Reaching these goals is an ambitious task on many fronts. Regardless, there is a growing positive sentiment and a sense of urgency to embrace electrification of transportation (EoT) coming from the consumer and electric grid sides.

"The inevitable digital transformation is causing utilities to reevaluate their position and future role in the industry particularly as centralized power plants and aged assets have become too cost prohibitive to maintain and to secure the existing position of an electricity provider," said Saeed. "To avoid painful irrelevance utilities must transform themselves as community leaders and advocate for sustainability and invest in future technologies that embrace clean tech and carbon neutrality including EoT."

Key takeaways of the webcast include:

Learn about significant regional and state trends, and utility use cases that are shaping the market for electrification of transportation

Discover some of the challenges and gaps with the existing grid infrastructure that are being addressed

Explore to what degree demand-side management will effectively address electrification of transportation integration

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

For more information, visit ww2.frost.com or call +1 (877) 463-7678

Press Contact:

Jaylon Brinkley

Frost & Sullivan

+1 (210) 247 2481

[email protected]

Related Links

http://www.frost.com



SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
Regal Assets' Dubai office has attracted a lot of media attention in 2017 for being the first to receive a government-issued license to legally trade cryptos in the Middle East, as covered by Bloomberg . This successful milestone has made Regal Assets, along with many other popular crypto and financial companies, a target for sketchy ICOs eager to show legitimacy for their projects and gain investors' trust.

In fact, fake endorsements from renowned tech moguls and celebrities seem to be growing in popularity among scammy ICO projects. As an example, an ICO claiming Ryan Gosling as its "designer" raised $830k recently. So many investors got duped into investing in a scammy ICO that the SEC had to create a Fake ICO to warn investors of all the potential red flags to look out for.

Regal Assets CEO Tyler Gallagher had these words to say in regard to the findings:

"I was floored when I noticed my name and our company brand name being used without consent by some foreign based ICOs and token sales. I thought I was the only one, but after doing some research and speaking with some other high-profile entrepreneurs I know in the crypto space, I realized that this dangerous practice is more widespread than I thought. In fact, I have recently heard from two other entrepreneurs in my network that their names were also used recently without their consent on some token sale advisory lists."

It is clear that some ICOs and Token Sale events are trying to capitalize on other entrepreneurs' successes by illegally including their names in their team lists, hoping to attract more attention and gain more backers for their blockchain projects.

Mr. Gallagher added;

"It is paramount that investors review each ICO or token offering carefully to ensure it is legitimate. Investors need to go through each token sale with a fine-tooth comb. Do not be afraid to contact the advisors directly and inquire on whether or not they are backing the ICO or token offering. Contact them through LinkedIn, make sure it's their actual legitimate profile and not a fake one created. Look for endorsements and recommendations from their friends. Look up their friends lists too to make sure those are real people and not all fake bot accounts."

In the world of ICOs and token sales contributing, one can never be too cautious. This is a high-risk asset class and investors are encouraged to do their due diligence. Investors must remember that they are on their own when it comes to ICOs and token offerings, as governments do not have any form of control over this asset class.

Learn more about Regal Assets - https://regalassets.com/

Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RegalAssets?fref=ts

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Regal_Assets

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/regalassets/featured

Media Contact

Name: Harriet Thumm

Email: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784374/Regal_Assets_Warns_ICO.jpg

Related Links

https://www.regalassets.com



SOURCE Regal Assets
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:
Speaking to the media with his Qatari counterpart Khalid bin Mohammed al-Atiyya at the Pentagon, Mattis said that the US side recognizes Qatar as "a long-time friend and military partner for peace and stability in the Middle East and a supporter of NATO's mission in Afghanistan."

"The United States supports exploring an inclusive Mid East strategic alliance, a concept borne in your region and one that brings together all partners to address shared challenges," he said

"We are committed to working by, with, and through allies and partners across the region to make this concept a reality and to deter hostile actors," he added.

When asked about the continuous blockade of Qatar by nations like Saudi Arabia, an apparent obstacle to the US initiative to build such an alliance, the senior Qatari official said that the issue was a "concern" to him and part of the reason for his visit to the United States.

"Actually I am here today to discuss our mutual cooperation and the way forward," he said. "And this is what's, to be honest with you, concerning me today, how to alleviate our relation and mutual cooperation together with the United States."

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and jointly imposed a trade, land and air traffic embargo against the nation.

The four accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.

However, Doha has rejected the accusations, calling them "unjustified" and "baseless."

Despite the US calls for all parties concerned to solve their problem soon, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in September that "there is still no solution to the spat in sight."
Rebuilding Median By LaGuardia Kicking off construction of a project to rebuild and beautify the Ditmars Blvd medians between 78th Street and the airport (82nd Street), a press conference...

Marathon 2021 Runners of all racing stripes took part in the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon on November 7. Racing categories in this, the largest marathon...

Mount Sinai Queens Opening New Infusion Center The last week of October was marked by an expansion of health care capacity in the borough, as Mount Sinai Queens celebrated the opening of...
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a major exhibition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up at the National Museum of China in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 13, 2018. Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan also visited the exhibition. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for efforts to boost Chinese people's confidence and determination to follow the Party along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the path of reform and opening-up.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited a major exhibition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up at the National Museum of China.

The exhibition should help build a common understanding, accumulate consensus, raise morale, and foster solidarity and a striving spirit, Xi said.

Over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, the Chinese people, under the strong leadership of the CPC, worked hard with persistence, achieved epic accomplishments and brought great changes to China, he said.

Noting that the 19th CPC National Congress had laid down a great blueprint for China's development, Xi stressed that "as long as we continue to take the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guide, fully implement the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee, remain committed to deepening reform in all areas and opening wider to the world, socialism with Chinese Characteristics will surely have a brighter future."

The exhibition should help educate and guide the people to have a better understanding of the strength of the CPC, the Chinese people, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

A higher degree of recognition should be built among the people of the Party's theory, the principle and strategic arrangements of reform and opening-up, and the bright prospect for reform and opening-up and socialist modernization, he said.

Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan also visited the exhibition.

Themed around upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, the exhibition has six sections, showcasing the history, accomplishments, and experience of reform and opening-up, and the strategic decisions and plans made by the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core since the 18th CPC National Congress.

Exhibits include photos of significant events and decisions over the course of reform and opening-up, and models of the country's Long March rocket series and the Tiangong space station.

Xi and other leaders visited the exhibits attentively, and stopped occasionally to ask for more information.
This article is part of State of Health, a series examining health disparities, how they affect Michigan's children and seniors, and the innovative solutions being developed to address them. It is made possible with funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

With pristine waters and rolling farm fields, on the surface West Michigan seems a perfectly healthy place to live. So why do rural residents of Michigan tend to have more chronic illness and higher mortality and morbidity rates than their urban and suburban counterparts?



It's a complex question, according to Dr. Dawn Contreras, senior specialist with the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension Health and Nutrition Institute, who has researched rural and urban health disparities. She says there are no definitive answers, but there is one undeniable contributing factor.



"The research clearly shows there's isolation, both physical and social isolation," Contreras says.



That means the nearest supermarket is often miles away for rural residents, and so is the nearest trauma center.



Health challenges of rural life



Rural Michigan residents' access to healthcare depends on many aspects of their lives, not only their income or what kind of insurance they carry. Health care providers have long known that these social determinants have a major impact on health.



In city or country, a person isolated by lack of reliable transportation or affordable childcare is less likely to follow up on a referral to a doctor's appointment in the city, even if that city is only an hour away. Working even more subtly, language or cultural barriers may also cause patients to hesitate to ask questions or even report symptoms.



"We have to understand as providers (that social determinants) contribute to impacts of disease and disparities we see," says Dr. Cheryl Dickson, associate dean of health equity and community affairs at the Western Michigan University (WMU) Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo.



To address these disparities throughout western Michigan, Dickson and others are creating new ways of structuring hospitals and clinics, reaching out to patients, and training the doctors that will care for them.



For example, in rural Allegan County, a local hospital has implemented a new team approach to use technology to help stroke victims beat a race against time. Doctors have long known that a clot-busting drug administered to patients in the earliest stages of a stroke can dissolve the blockage in the brain before long-term damage is done.



"It's like a miracle drug," says Jim Connell, secretary of the board of trustees of Allegan General Hospital.



A miracle with one hitch: the drug has to be administered by a neurologist in the very earliest stages of the stroke.



"So people come into the emergency room exhibiting signs of a stroke  and, of course, because country folk are strong-willed, the patient likely has been exhibiting those signs of a stroke for about an hour and a half before the wife finally decides to drag him in," Connell says.



There is no neurologist on staff at Allegan General Hospital, so in the past, Connell says, "the ER staff would load up the ambulance, go red lights and siren, and do everything they could do" to get stroke patients to a neurological unit in Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo before time ran out.



Now there's another option.



The new TeleStroke system allows emergency physicians to connect the patient with the neurology department of a neighboring urban hospital for diagnosis. Under the neurologists' guidance, doctors at Allegan General can then proceed to treat the patient with the proper medication.



Allegan General Hospital's TeleStroke system.



"They hook up the leads (and) push a button to teleconference with a neurologist," Connell says. "That's like working a miracle right there in our ER."



Bringing care closer



Other new approaches are as old-fashioned as a house call in their simplicity.



For example, in the fields of Van Buren County, a mobile clinic from Hartford-based Holy Family Healthcare parks in the fields to serve migrant workers during peak harvest season, from asparagus in April to apples in October. The practice accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and nearly all major insurance plans; uninsured adults are seen by appointment as well.



Holy Family Healthcare's mobile clinic.



Holy Family staff also offer food and clothing for workers. The clinic's Saturday session now gets staffing help from volunteer medical students at the WMU Stryker school. The program helps medical students learn about the challenges patients face and gives them practical experience, Dickson says.



Holy Family Healthcare's mobile clinic delivers Gatorade to migrant workers.



Similarly, in some rural towns, local hospitals are bringing in specialists from larger cities to hold office hours a few days a week. There are benefits both for rural patients, who can avoid the long drive, and doctors, who are able to expand their patient base.



"We added a pulmonologist from University of Michigan to come here one day a week and in short order that has expanded to three days a week because of patient load," Connell says. "(Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is one of the big healthcare issues in this county."



Jim Connell.



Connell, a retired rural veterinarian, has himself been helped by a visiting specialist. He first saw a cardiologist from Kalamazoo at the doctor's weekly office hours in Allegan, a convenience Connell says likely saved his life last November.



Connell says he'd had no symptoms of heart trouble and was training for a triathlon when his primary care physician recommended a cardiac workup after an annual physical last year. It was a matter of walking down the hall.



Fully expecting to get a clean bill of health there, Connell was instead scheduled for open heart surgery two days later. Without such easy access to a cardiologist's expertise, Connell says he could easily have become just another statistic  the seemingly healthy guy who collapses and dies from undetected heart disease.



Equity in times of health



Important as these changes are, Dickson says rural health equity goes beyond creating quick, convenient access to doctors during times of illness. Health care providers and service agencies are partnering up to study how changes in policy and practice can improve rural health outcomes before people get sick.



A new MSU Extension program called Managing Farm Stress works with families suffering from the stresses of farming  volatile prices, unpredictable weather, and financial uncertainties  which are especially severe right now, Contreras says. In addition to working directly with farm families, the program also reaches out to loan officers and other professionals in the community who work with farmers. They are trained to teach coping strategies and to help families reduce stress.



Families and associates alike have been receptive, Contreras says.

"(They) are stepping forward and saying 'We could use the help,' and we find they are reaching right out," she says.



In an effort to lessen childhood trauma among migrant children, Holy Family Healthcare has launched La Escuela Familiar, a program in Paw Paw to help bilingual students who speak Spanish in the home become proficient in applying English to their studies in school.



Don Bouchard, president and medical director of Holy Family Healthcare, says educators have found that children raised speaking Spanish for their first five years often have trouble making the transition to English in school. La Escuela Familiar is conducted entirely in Spanish, and seeks to give children and their families a place to grow together in academic language so they can excel in both English and Spanish.



Dr. Don Bouchard with a young patient.



This program is intended to help them keep up with their peers, and also to reduce the constant anxiety inherent in their situation as migrants here, "which is made worse by taunting and teasing about their family situation," Bouchard says.

In times of sickness and in times of apparent physical health, these programs and others are helping rural Michiganders of all walks of life better enjoy the many positives their community has to offer.



"There are benefits to living in a rural area," Contreras says.



A gap in health equity should not be drawback.



Rosemary Parker has worked as a writer and editor for more than 40 years, most of that time in Southwest Michigan.
Atomic energy developed and prospered because of Nehru's vision fulfilled by Bhabha's mission, recalls K S Parthasarathy, former secretary, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, on the occasion of India's finest prime minister's 129th birthday.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889. Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, 20 years later. This age difference did not hinder their close interaction, which led to the establishment of India's atomic energy programme on a sound footing.

Nehru's faith in science and technology, his genuine respect for Dr Bhabha, and their burning ambition worked synergistically to place India on the nuclear map of the world.

Atomic energy developed and prospered because of Nehru's vision fulfilled by Dr Bhabha's mission.

Nehru supported his protege to solve many, big and small, intractable issues. When scientists were commissioning the APSARA reactor, there was no canteen in Trombay. Scientists needed transport on a 24-hour basis. Government rules did not then permit such demands.

'Incidentally, this provides an example of the way in which the present rules and regulations of government are not really suited for executive work which is to be done at speed and under pressure,' Dr Bhabha reminded Nehru in a message on July 31, 1956.

'The loading of the reactor is a difficult operation, and a mistake may seriously set the project back. It is clear that, in the circumstances, everything should be done which should relieve the physical strain,' he cautioned Panditji.

He got Nehru's approval to provide two cars to scientists on a 24-hour basis and lunch and dinner which an appropriate restaurant will supply for them in the reactor building at Trombay.

A person privy to the arrangement told this writer that the Trichur Mess (now defunct), a hotel in Matunga, served vegetarian meals and the Taj Hotel, non-vegetarian dishes.

'...I do not see how we can lag behind in this very important matter, because atomic energy is going to play a vast and dominating part, I suppose, in the future shape of things it will make power mobile, and this mobility of power can make industry develop anywhere. We will not be tied up so much by the accidents of geography,' Panditji asserted after laying the foundation stone of the National Physical Laboratory on January 4, 1947.

This was seven years before the Soviet scientists connected the world's first nuclear power reactor (5MW) to the power grid at Obinsk.

Nehru ensured the promulgation of the Atomic Energy Act in 1948 and setting up the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948 and the Department of Atomic Energy in 1954.

With his admirable farsightedness and administrative acumen, Nehru realised that for rapid progress in the field of atomic energy, the DAE must enjoy complete autonomy.

Three unique gazette notifications exempted the Department of Atomic Energy from executing work through the ministry of works, housing and supply, from making purchases through the directorate general of supplies and disposals and carrying out construction and civil engineering through the central public works department.

The DAE need not approach the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment of staff.

Within the limits of the budget provision, approved by Parliament, the AEC enjoyed the powers of the Government of India, both administrative and financial, for carrying out DAE work.

Nehru and Dr Bhabha, titans in their fields, had no ego clashes. When Nehru felt that there was a communication gap developing between DAE and others, he asked Dr Bhabha to organise a national conference at Delhi in 1954. Nehru himself presided over the two-day meeting. Leading scientists, engineers, political leaders and administrators attended.

Nehru frankly revealed his mind whenever the need arose.

On July 29, 1955, in a message to Dr Bhabha, Nehru wondered how far the international conference to consider the draft statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency would consider political questions or purely technical and scientific ones.

'I find that some of the other major countries are sending non-technical people as leaders of their delegations. It would probably be advisable for you and your scientific colleagues not to get mixed up too much with the political aspects,' Nehru cautioned.

On April 27, 1956, Yuchiro Isobo, assistant managing editor and foreign editor, Tokyo Shimbun requested Dr Bhabha to write an article on the justifiability of the American hydrogen bomb in the Pacific. Dr Bhabha was inclined to recall the stand officially taken by India on the subject.

'I do not think it will be proper for you to write to the newspaper on this subject. If I had been asked to write, I would have refused. If I have to express an opinion, I do so in Parliament or any other suitable place,' Nehru wrote.

'You, as a scientist, can express your opinion from the scientific point of view on suitable occasions. But to do so in a newspaper, would not, I think be appropriate.'

'You might send a reply to Tokyo Shimbun stating that, as a scientist, you would prefer not to engage in newspaper controversies even on this important subject,' Nehru suggested.

They totally and sincerely respected each other's roles.

While looking forward to one of Nehru's visits to Trombay and Colaba, Dr Bhabha informed Nehru that they were treating the visit as a purely business trip.

'I hope the lunch at Trombay will afford an opportunity for you to meet and talk to some of our outstanding young scientists. All this, of course, will hardly be possible if you come accompanied by other VIPs, and I hope, therefore, that some advance indication will be given from your end of how you would like this visit to be arranged,' Dr Bhabha requested.

'I do not know if any VIPs might accompany me there. No one will come from Delhi. Perhaps the governor or the chief minister might go with me. You can find that out from them,' Nehru promptly replied.

The letters they exchanged bear testimony to their close relationship.

On January 28, 1961, Dr Bhabha reminded Nehru that he has agreed to attend the buffet supper, which Dr Bhabha as the chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, was giving for representatives of foreign governments attending the inauguration at Trombay at the Ashoka Hotel on Sunday, January 29./p>

'I have also sent separate invitations to Nan, Indu, and Betty. I am merely mentioning this, in case they have gone astray,' Dr Bhabha informed Nehru (Nan: Vijayalakshmi Pandit; Indu: Indira Gandhi: Betty: Krishna Hutheesing).

Nehru quickly confirmed that Indu and he would come for the lunch. 'Nan would not, as she was accompanying Queen Elizabeth to Agra. Betty may or may not come as she was unwell.'

Nehru addressed Dr Bhabha as 'My dear Homi'. To Dr Bhabha, Nehru was 'My Dear Bhai'. There interpersonal relationship is worthy of emulation at everylevel in these troubled times.

What drew the two men together?

Dr Indira Chowdhry, eminent historian and Dr Bhabha's biographer, wrote thus in Mid-Day (February 16, 2009): 'Indira Gandhi recollected that Nehru always found time to talk to Bhabha no matter how late it was not because Bhabha brought to him urgent matters that required his immediate attention but because he found the conversation relaxing.'

'Bhabha recognised that although Nehru was not a practising scientist, his personality revealed the essential attributes of a real man of science.'

'Nehru, on the other hand, often spoke about the longing with which he turned to science even after circumstances made him part company with it. It was almost as if Bhabha opened a window to the world of science that he longed for.'
'The JD-U and RLSP will have to listen to whatever Amit Shah says.'

'The BJP has so much power that he will snub either of the two parties.'

Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Anilchandra Shah, right, greets Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the state guest house in Patna, July 12, 2018. Photograph: PTI Photo

In Bihar, the National Democratic Alliance coalition seems to be at breaking point with a widening rift between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party leader Upendra Kushwaha over seat distribution.

"If the BJP was sure of its achievements, they would not have raised the Ram mandir issue so emphatically," Prabhat Ghosh of the Asian Development Research Association, a Patna-based think-tank, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.

Upendra Kushwaha, who is part of the NDA, is accusing coalition partner Nitish Kumar of trying to break his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party. What is the genesis of this problem?

In the last election, there was no problem because Nitish Kumar was not part of the NDA. Now with Nitish being part of the NDA, the old rivalry between Nitish Kumar and Kushwaha has erupted.

When Kushwaha started politics 10 or 15 years ago, he was actually promoted by Nitish Kumar. He helped his political career so that he emerged as a Koeri leader.

But everyone has ambition and his ambition was not fulfilled by the Nitish Kumar alliance, hence he left and joined the NDA.

Upendra Kushwaha has some political capital. He belongs to the Koeri caste that comprises small farmers. They are from the backward caste and must be around 3%.

There are pockets where the Koeri population is substantial and they become the deciding factor in the vote.

The NDA gave Kushwaha 3 (Lok Sabha) seats (in the 2014 general election), he won 3. He was made a minister, but he does not carry much weight as minister.

Like any other politician, Kushwaha is also an opportunist and wants as many seats as possible.

The JD-U and RLSP will have to listen to whatever (Bharatiya Janata Party national President) Amit (Anilchandra) Shah says. The BJP has so much power that he (Shah) will snub either of the two parties.

The JD-U and BJP will fight an equal number of seats -- 17 each. Four seats will go to the LJP (Lok Janshakti Party) and 2 to the RLSP, but if the JD-U and RLSP are not on good terms then the transfer of votes will not take place.

I presume Amit Shah will tell them what they need to do.

IMAGE: Union Minister and RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha. Photograph: Kind courtesy @UpendraRLSP/Twitter

But Amit Shah has already made his position clear by saying that the BJP-JD-U will fight an equal number of seats.

It is not the number of seats, but the impression that the NDA is a unified coalition and that message has to go out.

Amit Shah will tell them not to fight because then not only will both of them lose, the BJP will also lose.

Will Kushwaha ditch the NDA and join the RJD (Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal)?

There is a possibility. The RJD is also badly in need of coalition partners. At present the RJD's coalition partner, officially or non-officially, is the Congress.

How has the RJD changed under Tejaswi Yadav?

It has not changed in its social content.

The arrogance is less. It is conducting itself in a better manner and Tejaswi Yadav is performing well. He speaks sensibly without aggression in spite of the fact that he is barely 30 years old.

There are some good people in the RJD like Abdul Bari Siddiqui.

They (the RJD) have a better image now compared to five years back.

Plus they also have the sympathy vote because Lalu has gone to jail.

Many who don't even vote for Lalu feel this is too much for him because corruption is not a new thing in India. It is very rampant, yet which leader has gone to jail?

Lalu has considerable political contribution to his credit too -- he has changed the whole grammar of Indian politics.

The RJD's position is better than 2014, but how much better, that I can't say.

It is quite possible that Kushwaha will join the RJD thinking he will get larger space. The RJD will give him more space than the BJP.

What is Nitish Kumar's political game going to be in the run-up to 2019?

Nitish Kumar is not very politically strong now compared to when he became chief minister along with the RJD.

He is substantially dependent on the BJP's support which wasn't the case earlier. Earlier, the JD-U was stronger than BJP.

The JD-U won just two seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

Yes, he then realised that he should align with the RJD and got the gains, but left the alliance because of the corruption charges against Lalu.

The point is that Lalu had corruption charges even when Nitish Kumar joined the RJD.

Nitish Kumar may not have a large political base but has personal political capital. Will that change if he does not get a respectable number of seats?

Each political party has minimum political support. The RJD has the support of the Yadavs, many other backward castes and Muslims.

During its worst performance, the RJD's minimum vote has been 20% which is not a small thing. If things are better, they get 30-35-40% of the vote.

In the case of Nitish Kumar, there are no assured supporters. Lalu was good in doing social justice, but his performance in governance was very poor.

Sometimes people weigh the importance of social justice and sometimes weigh governance and growth. They oscillate between the two.

If not for the Lalu phenomeon, Nitish Kumar would not have been CM. In all foreseeable future, Bihar will have a CM from the backward caste.

It cannot afford a Brahmin, Bhumihar, Rajput or forward caste CM. The dominance of the backward castes was established by Lalu and some keep rewarding him for that even now.

Those who feel Lalu's work is done and don't want his dominance have moved to Nitish Kumar.

The BJP enjoys the support of the entire forward castes, around 15% of the population and also all those who support Hindutva. Together, it has the assured support of 20% to 25% of the people. Lalu has the assured support of 20% to 30% voters.

But there is no social group that supports Nitish. His position depends on his coalition partners, the BJP or RJD.

What are the chances of the BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi being CM?

The BJP had more seats than the JD-U, yet they accepted Nitish Kumar as chief minister. That policy of the BJP is still valid to its credit. They have not said that if we have more seats we will have our CM, but then that might change.

They are the most important source of strength, yet they are in the number two position. That is a contradiction that can go for a short period, not indefinitely.

What is the communal situation like in the state?

The communal situation is not bad in Bihar. There have been no incidents of changing of names of cities, nor is the Ram Temple a very important issue. The BJP's Hindutva base is relatively smaller in Bihar.

There are minor communal clashes, but overall it is much better than UP. In UP it is blatant without concealing their inner feeling. In Bihar, only (BJP leader and Union minister) Giriraj Singh makes such statements.

Has the Modi wave of 2014 lost its momentum?

It is not like 2014. People have seen the BJP's performance -- demonetisation made victims of the poor and there is vast unemployment.

If the BJP was sure of its achievements, they would not have raised the Ram mandir issue so emphatically.
Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who was installed by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve the House and hold snap polls on January 5.

Amid raucous scenes, Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, installed Rajapaksa in his place and suspended the House, plunging the island nation into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

The vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Rajapaksa has further complicated the political crisis as the former strongman has rejected the outcome of the floor test. It is not yet clear whether Rajapaksa will resign or whether ousted premier Wickremesinghe, who has the support of 122 lawmakers, will return to power.

The passing of the no-confidence motion comes as a major blow to president Sirisena and a victory to Wickremesinghe.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member Parliament supported the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, the 72-year-old former strongman, who ruled the country for a decade from 2005.

"According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority," Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard.

The Tamil National Alliance and smaller Muslim parties all supported the no-confidence motion. Three newly sworn Cabinet ministers and a state minister also crossed over to the Opposition benches in support.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa needed the support of a minimum of 113 lawmakers in the House to prove his majority.

Supporters of Rajapaksa refused to recognise the vote as legitimate, plunging the country deeper into crisis, as fears grow that the political dispute could spill into protracted instability in the island nation.

Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am on Thursday.

Speaker Jayasuriya has written to President Sirisena, asking him to take further constitutional action.

A copy of the motion with 122 signatures of lawmakers, who have expressed lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rajapaksa and his Cabinet, has been sent to Sirisena.

The Speaker's office said that the Speaker has requested the President to take the next step under the Constitution.

Speaking after the no-trust vote, ousted prime minister Wickremsinghe claimed that his government had been restored after extra constitutional action by President Sirisena to sack him as the premier.

"We will now take steps to ensure that the government in place before October 26 will continue. I wish to inform all government servants and police that you should not carry out illegal orders from the purported government that has failed to demonstrate the confidence of the people," he said.

Wickremesinghe has denounced Sirisena's attempt to remove him from office and refused to leave the official prime minister's residence, claiming the president does not have the power to take such action.

Senior leader of Wickremesinghe's United National Party Sajith Premadasa said that the Government headed by Rajapaksa clearly lost the floor test.

He demanded that Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down.

However, Dinesh Gunawardena and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, both Rajapaksa's senior aides, said the Speaker's action was illegal.

Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the floor test in Parliament was illegal and so Rajapaksa will continue as prime minister, further deepening the political crisis that has paralysed the government for nearly three weeks.

The Parliament session on Wednesday comes a day after the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisena's controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

In its ruling, the apex court had said Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President's decision next month before giving a final ruling.

After the court verdict, Speaker Jayasuriya summoned Parliament's session for Wednesday morning.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to install Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as premier.

While sacking prime minister Wickremesinghe, president Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move.

Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election, plunging the country into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Sirisena on Sunday defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers.

Former president Rajapaksa was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe's UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security.

And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the Nehruvian legacy was being undermined by those presently in power who have contempt for the countrys first prime minister for all that he did to build an India which they want to change for the worse.

IMAGE: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor during the relaunch of the latter's book Nehru: The Invention of India launch event in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

Speaking at an event to relaunch Congress leader Shashi Tharoors book Nehru: The Invention of India, the former Congress president said Jawaharlal Nehru, as Indias first prime minister, consolidated democracy and entrenched the basic values of Indias polity -- values to which we are still proud to lay claim.

What are these values. Shashi Tharoor summarises them as the core pillars of Nehruvianism -- democratic institutional building, staunch pan-Indian secularism, socialist economics and foreign policy of non-alignment. These values were integral to a vision of Indianness that is fundamentally being challenged today, she said on the eve of Nehrus birth anniversary.

But, that vision remains at the core of our time-tested beliefs, Gandhi said.

We all know, as Shashi Tharoor has just said, that this precious legacy is being undermined daily by those who rule us today. They express disdain and contempt for Nehru for all that he did to build the India they are bent upon changing for the worse, Gandhi said

She further said, Today we must honour him by fighting with determination to safeguard our democracy against those who are undermining it.

Tharoor, in his remarks at the event, lauded Nehru for strengthening democratic institutions and always encouraging constructive criticism.

Narrating an anecdote, Tharoor said Nehru was asked by an American editor as to what he wanted his legacy to be, to which the first Indian prime minister said: 330 million people capable of governing themselves.

A number of post-colonial heroes in other ex-colonies had gone the opposite way. They started off as democratically popular heroes and headed in an authoritarian direction...Nehru ji never fell into that trap.

So if today, we have a chaiwala as prime minister, it is because Nehru ji made it possible to create the institutional structures through which any Indian can aspire to and rise to the highest office in the land, the MP from Thiruvanathapuram said.

Talking in detail about the four Nehruvian pillars, Gandhi said democracy could not have been taken for granted in 1947 that a country beset by acute poverty and torn apart by partition would become or remain democratic.

It was Nehru who instilled a democratic culture in our country by his regard for democracy, she said.

Nehrus regard for Parliament, his regard for the independence of the judiciary, his curtesy to those of different political convictions, his commitment to free elections, his faith in a free press and his deference to institutions over individuals -- have all left a precious legacy of freedom, Gandhi said.

On Nehrus commitment to secularism, Gandhi said he strived to prevent partition, but when it occurred, he never accepted that since Pakistan had been ostensibly created for Indian Muslims, what remained was a state for Hindus.

His life-long conviction was that India belonged to all its people and the majority community have a special obligation to protect the rights and promote the well-being of Indias minorities, she said.

In both policy and personal practice, Nehru stood for an idea of India that embraced every religion, caste ethnicity and language, Gandhi asserted.

Talking about Nehrus idea of socialism, she said: It is fashionable today to decry Nehruvian socialism as a system that tied India to many years of modest growth. This does not take into account the circumstances of the early years of independence when massive infrastructure was needed to be built up.

On his foreign policy of non-alignment, Gandhi said Nehru was a convinced internationalist.

The Nehruvian vision was about safeguarding Indias independence and self-respect against a potential encroachment on its sovereignty that still lies at the heart of the Indian National Congress, she said.

Gandhi highlighted that over the years Congress governments have taken Nehrus idea forward and cited the examples of Panchayati Raj and the Right to Information Act.

They have defended secularism in the face of violent threats to our nations diversity, she said.

Tharoor said a concerted campaign of vilification, calumny and an astonishing amount of lies was being spread on the internet against Nehru.

If today, the government can boast about Mangalyaan, ask who created ISRO. Who decided that even a poor Indian can dare to aim for the skies. Who created the IITs who send so many bright young men to the Silicon Valley.

All of this in the poor country was optional. You had to have the vision to say we need to do all these things. We need to lay the foundations to build India of the future, Tharoor said.
The month-long Winter Session of Parliament is set to commence from December 11, the day counting of votes will take place for assembly elections in five states.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) on Tuesday night recommended convening of the Winter Session from December 11 to January 8, official sources said on Wednesday.

This would be the last full-fledged Parliament session of the Narendra Modi-led government before the next Lok Sabha polls.

The results of the assembly elections, in which both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have high stakes, is bound to cast a shadow on parliamentary proceedings.

The results of polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram would be out on December 11.

When contacted Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel confirmed the session would held from December 11 to January 8 and added it would have 20 working days.

"We seek support and cooperation of all parties for the smooth functioning of Parliament during the session," he said.

The government would push for the passage of the triple talaq bill pending in the Rajya Sabha. It had promulgated an ordinance to make the practice of instant triple talaq a penal offence.

The government also wants the Indian Medical Council amendment ordinance and the companies amendment ordinance to be passed as bills in this session.

The Winter Session of Parliament usually starts in November. However, it would be the second year in a row when it would begin in December.

The session was delayed this year due to the assembly elections in five states.
People perform traditional dance to welcome Chinese naval hospital ship Ark Peace in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on July 11, 2018. (Xinhua/Jiang Shan)

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to pay state visits to Papua New Guinea, Brunei and the Philippines from Nov. 15 to 21, and attend the 26th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting in Port Moresby.

The tour, observers say, is expected to further deepen China's friendly ties with its neighbors, invigorate regional cooperation and integration, and rally more support for open economy and common development against the backdrop of daunting challenges in the global landscape.

CEMENTING TIES WITH PACIFIC ISLAND STATES

The visit to Papua New Guinea will be the first by a Chinese head of state to the Pacific island country since it established diplomatic relations with China in 1976.

Papua New Guinea's foreign minister, Rimbink Pato Obe, said his country is looking forward to Xi's visit and will do its best to make the visit a success.

Since the two countries established a strategic partnership in 2014, bilateral cooperation has been moving on a fast track and has set a model for interaction between China and Pacific island states and South-South collaboration. Currently, Papua New Guinea is China's second largest trading partner and largest investment destination in the region.

In the first half of this year, Papua New Guinea officially joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and became the first Pacific island state to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation.

Meanwhile, Chinese doctors have been providing free medical services in Papua New Guinea, Chinese technicians teaching local farmers how to plant upland rice, and Chinese engineers helping upgrade Port Moresby's airport expressway.

During his visit to Papua New Guinea, Xi is scheduled to exchange deep views with leaders of the country over r ties and global and regional issues of common concern and witness the signing of a series of cooperation agreements. Chinese ambassador Xue Bing said fruitful results are expected in such areas as politics, trade, technology, finance, infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges.

The trip will also be Xi's second to the Pacific island countries following the first one in 2014. While in Papua New Guinea, he will meet with leaders from the Pacific island countries that have diplomatic ties with China.

Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, noted that the Pacific island states represent an important part in China's neighborhood and along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

"President Xi's visit to Papua New Guinea will help further develop China's relations with countries in this region and boost regional peace, stability and prosperity," Chen said.

PROMOTING COOPERATION WITH NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES

Xi's trips to Brunei and the Philippines, two of China's Southeast Asian neighbors, will be his first as president.

In Brunei, Xi will meet with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, and the two sides are expected to sign a series of cooperation agreements and issue a joint statement.

China and Brunei enjoy historical and cultural links. Since they established diplomatic ties 27 years ago, their relationship has always been regarded as a model of big and small countries treating each other equally and getting along peacefully.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has traveled to China for more than 10 times for visits or meetings. With political mutual trust deepening and practical cooperation booming, the bilateral relationship is at its best time in history.

As one of the AIIB's earliest founding members and a participant in BRI cooperation, Brunei hopes to seize the opportunities presented by China's development to diversify and develop its economy. Chinese enterprises are playing an active role, helping the country operate its only container berth at the deep-water Port Mora and build its first cross-sea grand bridge.

In the first quarter of this year, China became Brunei's largest source of international tourists.

During his visit to the Philippines, Xi will meet with President Rodrigo Duterte and other leaders of the country. Duterte said Xi's visit will enhance bilateral relations and the friendship of the two countries will blossom into even brighter excellence.

China-Philippines relations have achieved remarkable improvement since 2016. Diplomatic, economic and trade consultations have been fully restored, a new maritime cooperation mechanism has been set up, Chinese investment in the Philippines is growing rapidly, and China has become the country's largest trading partner and second largest source of international tourists.

Both Brunei and the Philippines are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional bloc that has always been a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy and a good example in BRI cooperation.

As this year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership, Xi's visits to Brunei and the Philippines will further raise the quality of China-ASEAN interaction and the level of the China-ASEAN community with a shared future, said Zhai Kun, a professor of international relations at Peking University.

INJECTING FRESH IMPETUS TO REGIONAL COOPERATION

APEC, over the nearly 30 years since its establishment, has been committed to the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and cooperation.

In face of the rising waves of unilateralism, protectionism and anti-globalization sentiment, much attention has been riveted on how the Asia-Pacific region, a main driver of global economic growth, is going to deal with the challenges.

The week-long APEC gathering in Papua New Guinea is held under the theme of "Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future" with three policy priorities -- improving connectivity and deepening regional economic integration; promoting inclusive and sustainable growth; and strengthening economic growth through structural reform.

The main agenda has already revealed the choice of Asia-Pacific economies. Former senior APEC official Wang Yusheng said APEC now has new development opportunities as the new circumstances require countries in the region to further open up and promote free trade.

The Chinese president will deliver a keynote speech at the APEC CEO summit, attend an informal leaders' meeting and meet leaders of other APEC economies.

From the slew of substantial opening-up measures announced at the Boao Forum for Asia early this year to the vision of jointly building an innovative, inclusive and open world economy proposed at China's first import expo, China has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to openness and cooperation.

Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said he hopes that China will inject great vigor into APEC's efforts in safeguarding the multilateral trade system.

"China is an important member of APEC and a major trading partner with many countries. I hope that China will help APEC better cope with the current challenges," said Australian economist James Laurenceson. Enditem

(Xinhua reporters Yang Jingzhong and Hao Yalin in Sydney, Xue Fei in Bandar Seri Begawan, and Yang Ke and Yuan Mengchen in Manila, Mao Pengfei in Phnom Penh contributed to the story.)

(Video reporters: Zhu yu, Zhou Jinming, Hu Jingchen, Qiu Bo; Video editors: Liu Xiaorui, Geng Linlin)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang addresses a welcoming banquet hosted by the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Singapore, Nov. 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday called for enhancing the economic cooperation between China and Singapore.

Li, who is on an official visit to Singapore, made the remarks while addressing a welcoming banquet hosted by the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

China is ready to work with Singapore to set up cooperation platforms for connectivity, financial support and third-party cooperation, so as to upgrade economic and trade cooperation and deepen financial cooperation, Li told more than 1,000 people from Singapore's economic and business circles.

Over the last 40 years, the development of Singapore has provided China with precious experience, while the development of China has brought about important opportunities for Singapore, Li said.

China will advance reform and opening-up with greater efforts, more practical measures and faster pace, promote high-quality development, and maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies without adopting strong stimulus policies, he said.

The premier also reiterated China's policies to continue streamlining administration, cutting taxes and reducing fees, and create a business environment of fair competition where Chinese and foreign enterprises are treated equal.

He sent a welcoming message to companies from all countries including Singapore to seize business opportunities and expand investment in China, enhance economic and trade cooperation and achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results.

On the Chinese economy, Li said it is performing with overall stability and within the reasonable range.

As the international environment has gone through remarkable changes, the Chinese economy faces a certain degree of downward pressure, which China has relatively big room and resilience to accommodate, he said.

The Chinese economy's long-term positive fundamentals will not change and the prospects of China's development will surely be brighter, Li said.

Li started his official visit to Singapore on Monday. This is the first visit by a Chinese premier to Singapore in 11 years.

During the visit, Li will also attend the 21st leaders' meeting between China and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as well as the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting, respectively known as 10+1 and 10+3, as well as the 13th East Asia Summit.
A.P. Mller-Mrsk A/S (AMKAF.PK,AMKBF.PK) reported that its profit for the third quarter was $347 million or $17 per share, compared to loss of 1.55 billion or $75 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Profit before tax for the quarter was $294 million, compared to loss before tax of $91 million in the prior-year period.

EBITDA for the quarter rose 16 percent to $1.14 billion from $977 million a year ago, mainly due to increased earnings in Ocean of $125 million, despite being negatively impacted by higher bunker costs, which was not fully compensated in the freight rates and by the emergency bunker surcharge implemented end of second quarter.

The underlying profit from continuing operations was $251 million, compared to profit of $254 million in the prior year.

Revenue for the quarter grew 31 percent to $10.08 billion from last year's $7.71 billion. Excluding Hamburg Sud, the revenue growth was 12 percent with growth in all segments.

For fiscal 2018, AP Moller-Maersk now expects earnings before interests, tax, depreciations and amortisations or EBITDA in a range of $3.6 billion to $4.0 billion, compared to the prior range of $3.5 billion to $4.2 billion. The company reiterated its outlook for a positive underlying profit for the year.

The company now expects full-year organic volume growth in Ocean to be in line with the estimated average market growth of 3 percent to 4 percent for 2018. Previously, the company forecast organic volume growth in ocean to be slightly below the estimated average market growth of 2 percent to 4 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
A major exhibition opened in Beijing on Tuesday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up.

Wang Huning announces the opening of the exhibition of commemorating the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up at the National Museum of China on November 13, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, announced the opening of the exhibition at the National Museum of China on Tuesday morning.

Noting the unprecedented changes that have taken place over the past four decades, especially the historic changes after the 18th CPC National Congress, Wang said the exhibition aims to show the great achievements Chinese people have made under the CPC leadership on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

He called for efforts to rally more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, hold high the banner of reform and opening-up in the new era and deepen the reform and opening-up with greater confidence and stronger measures.

The exhibition uses historical photos, texts, videos, miniature models and interactive activities to show visitors the great process during which the Chinese nation has stood up, grown rich and is becoming strong.

Around 1,000 people attended the opening ceremony.
The Swiss stock market ended Wednesday's session with a significant loss. The weak performance of the defensive heavyweights pressured the overall market.

Weak GDP data from Japan and Germany sparked concerns about sluggish global economic growth. The Italian government also told the European Union Tuesday it would maintain its deficit and economic growth forecasts for 2019 despite calls from the bloc's authorities to revise its draft budget.

The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.93 percent Wednesday and finished at 8,931.20. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.86 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.94 percent.

The index heavyweights all finished solidly in the red. Novartis declined 0.7 percent, Roche weakened by 1.1 percent and Nestle surrendered 0.9 percent.

Julius Baer fell 1.2 percent, Credit Suisse dropped 1.1 percent and UBS slid 0.2 percent.

Lonza was among the weakest performing stocks of the day, sinking 1.8 percent.

Richemont gained 0.2 percent, while rival Swatch Group lost 0.3 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
In a lawsuit over the decision to revoke the press pass of CNN's chief White House correspondent, the White House claims to have "broad discretion" to regulate access by journalists.

The White House argued in a filing to the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday that journalists do not have a First Amendment right to enter the White House.

"The President and White House possess the same broad discretion to regulate access to the White House for journalists (and other members of the public) that they possess to select which journalists receive interviews, or which journalists they acknowledge at press conferences," the White House said.

The filing comes as CNN filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday demanding the return of the White House credentials of Jim Acosta.

"The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process," CNN said in a statement.

The cable news network added, "We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process."

Acosta's press credentials were suspended last week after he had a tense exchange with Trump during the president's post-election press conference.

During the press conference, Trump denounced Acosta as a "terrible person" and called "fake news" reported by CNN the "enemy of the people."

Trump became agitated when Acosta asked about his characterization of the caravans of thousands of Central American migrants heading to the U.S. border as an "invasion."

The White House filing claimed the revocation of Acosta's press pass was due to the reporter "disrupting press proceedings" rather than CNN's coverage of the president.

Several news organizations have expressed support for CNN's lawsuit, calling it "imperative" that independent journalists have access to the president and his activities.

(Photo: Gage Skidmore)

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Al-Mashat meets WFP's Executive Director [14/November/2018] SANAA, Nov. 14 (Saba) - President of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, on Wednesday met in Sanaa with the UN World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director, David Beasley, who is currently visiting Yemen to see the humanitarian situation.



The meeting dealt with aspects of the partnership between Yemen and WFP in light of the current exacerbating humanitarian situation in Yemen, especially the food shortage due the war and siege imposed by Saudi-led coalition on the Yemeni people for nearly four years.



In the meeting, the presented pointed out that food security in Yemen is in a dangerous condition as a result of the all-out blockade and halting of Yemeni exports.



"The battles are currently going on in Hodeidah city in the square of food stores and factories and this is a threat to food security," al-Mashat said.



He thanked the program for its efforts to alleviate the suffering of Yemeni people.



Beasley noted that the program is concerned with food security in Yemen and to provide its food needs.









BA

Saba
By SA Commercial Prop News

MAS Real Estate (JSE: MSP) buys Flensburg Galerie Shopping Mall in Germany for R1 billion.



MAS Real Estate (JSE: MSP) has expanded its presence in the German retail market through the acquisition of Flensburg Galerie shopping centre, northern Germany for R1 billion.

This means the company, which acts as a currency hedge for South African investors as it pays dividends in euros, had grown its asset base to more than R19bn.

MASs CFO and co-founder Malcolm Levy said the European-focused property counter was on track to deliver euro dividend growth in the double digits for its 2019 financial year, making it one of the most attractive offshore property stocks for JSE investors.

Levy said MAS would spend 62.55m on its latest acquisition, the 25,540m Flensburg Galerie, a popular shopping centre located near the Danish border.

The mall includes a number of blue chip tenants on long leases, meaning the company has secured a regular stream of income from the asset, he said.

MAS would also be able to enhance returns from the asset as it had vacancies for which the fund had potential tenants. There were also opportunities to add or convert sections of the mall, located in a prime area .

The centre has direct access to the prime shopping street Holm and houses one of the main car parks serving the city centre, said Levy. With a catchment area of 500,000 people within a 45-minute drive, the shopping centre is well-established in a strong retail location with solid anchor and fashion tenants.

The asset provides an ideal opportunity for significant value to be unlocked through active asset management and we are excited about the substantial interest already received from a number of potential tenants, he said.

MAS increased its dividend 30% for the year to June 2018. Levy said the groups strategy, which had seen it add assets to its portfolio at a relatively rapid pace, would enable it to achieve similar growth in the June 2019 financial year.

About 60% of MASs annual revenue is generated in western Europe, where the group has a footprint in Switzerland and Germany. The other 40% is generated from MASs PKM Developments, a joint venture with eastern Europe-focused Prime Kapital. It has co-invested with the firm in a number of assets located in countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Poland.
The joint Indo-Japanese counter-insurgency military drill -- 'Dharma Guardian' -- concluded on Wednesday at Vairengte in Mizoram.

"The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in urban and semi-urban terrain," a Defence Ministry release said here.



It is a significant step towards fostering military and diplomatic ties between the two countries, it added.



The participants were initially familiarised with each other's organisational structure, tactical drills and planning process before graduating to joint tactical exercises.





The contingents honed their tactical and technical skills in a wide spectrum of counter-insurgency operations including joint training on weapons and equipment, field training exercises and handling of improved explosive devices.



Commanders at various levels from both sides were exercised to work in close coordination to receive and collate information jointly, plan operations and issue suitable orders to respective integrated groups.



"The exercise provided and ideal platform for both contingents to share their operational experience and expertise while also instrumental in broadening the interoperability and cooperation between the armies of India and Japan," the release said.
SUVA, Fiji (AP)  Heavy rainfall was affecting some voting in Fiji's general election Wednesday, as two men who led different military coups battled for control of the island nation.

The bad weather prompted the Elections Office to close 17 polling venues, affecting some 6,000 voters, according to the Fiji Times. Those people would get a chance to vote at a later date, the Times reported.

Opinion polls indicate Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is poised to win a second term after he first held democratic elections in 2014, eight years after seizing power in a coup. His main opponent is Sitiveni Rabuka, who led two military coups in the 1980s before serving seven years as prime minister. Just this week, a judge cleared Rabuka of an electoral disclosure violation in a case many viewed as being politically motivated.

Fiji has not allowed the political tensions to take a toll on its vital tourism industry, which promotes the Pacific nation's pristine, sunny beaches and friendly, welcoming people. Given the history of coups, political stability has been a big issue leading up to the election, as have racial tensions and economic issues.

"Bainimarama does look set to secure his second victory at the polls and has already led the country for 13 years through a period of relative stability," said Jonathan Pryke, the director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.

Many people in the nation of 920,000 seem appreciative of the economic gains they've made under Bainimarama.

"There are no school fees. Before, I paid a couple hundred for school fees," said Mere Rigamoto, a 42-year-old mother of three boys. "Bainimarama's government is not bad. He's OK."

But Bainimarama has a troubled political history that has contributed to the coup culture. There are rumors he could stage another coup should he lose the election.

"We're bound to have another coup if he doesn't win," said 30-year-old Robert Lum On, a recent university graduate.

Fiji became independent from the U.K. in 1970. In 1987, Rabuka staged two racially charged coups to return the country to the hands of indigenous Fijians, called "iTaukei," and away from Fijians of Indian descent, or Indo-Fijians.

iTaukei make up about 57 percent of the country's population, while Indo-Fijians make up 38 percent.

Indo-Fijians have been a major ethnic group in Fiji since colonial times, when the British brought them in to work the sugar cane plantations. Many Indo-Fijians favor Bainimarama, whose new constitution in 2013 removed race quotas from Parliament.

"Bainimarama's key success has been to establish the name 'Fijian' for all citizens of Fiji," said Richard Herr, a professor at Fiji National University who is based in Australia. "His legislation has made campaigning on race, or even having a racially based party, illegal."

On the campaign trail, Bainimarama accused Rabuka of stoking the flames of racism that continue to divide the nation. But some indigenous Fijians believe Rabuka will help restore their prestige, and favor his promise to bring back the nation's Great Council of Chiefs, which Bainimarama disbanded.

Critics deride Bainimarama as authoritarian, but since forcing himself into power, he has refashioned his image into that of a stable, legitimate leader. His appeal was bolstered when he assumed the U.N. COP23 presidency in November 2017. In that role, which he holds until December, he shaped Fiji into a pioneer on climate change issues.

With COP23 as a platform, Fiji inserted small island developing states into the international conversation on climate change. The islands are on the front lines of global warming, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification.

After the 2006 coup, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions on Fiji, and Bainimarama reoriented regional alliances toward China. His critics accuse him of selling out the country to the Chinese.

The Lowy Institute says Fiji received about $360 million in aid from China between 2006 and 2016, putting it behind only Papua New Guinea in the Pacific region. China Exim Bank holds 39 percent of Fiji's externally held public debt, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Fiji's relations have since normalized with Australia and New Zealand, but the period of sanctions enabled China to step up its regional influence.

Fiji has one of the healthiest economies of the Pacific Islands, and GDP is predicted to grow above 3 percent annually through 2020. Tourism is the bedrock of the economy, accounting for more than 40 percent of GDP.

Bainimarama's government takes credit for increasing social services, including free primary and secondary education, free bus fares for seniors, and aid in the aftermath of cyclones. But widespread poverty persists. Bainimarama's opponents have vowed to raise the minimum wage, which remains only about $1.25 per hour.

As well as Bainimarama's FijiFirst party and Rabuka's Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa), the National Federation Party (NFP) is also expected to be an election contender. In 2014, FijiFirst won 59 percent of votes, Sodelpa won 28 percent, and NFP won 5.5 percent.
HOUSTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- A high school student was gunned down on Tuesday when he was walking with another student near a school in Houston, the southern U.S. state of Texas, police said.

In a press briefing, Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner said that the 18-year-old student was pronounced dead in hospital while the 15-year-old female student suffered a graze wound.

The shooting happened in a church parking lot near the Lamar High School and St. John's School, about 7 km west downtown Houston. According to alerts sent to parents, both schools were put on lockdown due to the shooting and after-school activities were canceled.

According to Finner, while walking near the Lamar High School, three suspects approached the victims and one suspect fired multiple shots. However, it's not clear if it was a targeted shooting.

The suspects escaped the scene in a black car. The Houston Police Department was searching the area for suspects.
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP)  After three decades of promoting free trade as a panacea to poverty, the APEC grouping of nations that includes the U.S. and China is holding its lavish annual leaders meeting in the country that can least afford it.

Barely penetrated by roads and scarred by violence, Papua New Guinea hopes the parade of world leaders will lift the mountainous Pacific nation of hundreds of tribal groups out of obscurity and attract investment.

But the expense has brought criticism when the government has a budget crisis, basic medicines are scarce, and polio, eliminated from all but a handful of countries, has returned. In 2015, the International Monetary Fund estimated that upgrading the capital for the event and hosting a year of related meetings could cost $1 billion.

Australia, the biggest foreign aid donor to Papua New Guinea and former colonial occupier, as well as China and other countries have absorbed some of the cost but critics have already been given plenty of vindication.

In an eye-popping move, the government imported 40 luxury Maserati cars to whisk VIPs among convention venues in the secure bubble of the APEC meetings. Officials said the government would sell them to recover the cost, sparking more disbelief and suspicions of a corrupt scheme.

Chinese government money, meanwhile, has built what has been dubbed a boulevard to nowhere in the capital Port Moresby, a city described by the World Bank as among the world's most violent due to high unemployment and brazen criminal gangs known as "raskols."

Construction of an iconic building "APEC Haus" for the leaders' summit was paid for by oil and gas company Oil Search, which operates all of Papua New Guinea's oil fields, in exchange for tax credits. That avoided an immediate cost for the government but will erode its revenue in the future.

"I think the money should have been used to fix our backyard instead of decorating the front porch. We have health, education and infrastructure deficiencies that need to be addressed," said activist and writer Martyn Namorong.

"Many teachers haven't been paid and hospitals lack medicines," he said. "There is so much misery experienced by ordinary Papua New Guineans while the elite party with the world like there is no tomorrow."

What the weeklong talkfest will produce, other than its signature photo of world leaders in locally themed shirts, is unclear. In the impenetrable language of APEC, the meeting is about "Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future."

Allan Bollard, executive director of the APEC secretariat, said the meeting is complicated by the tensions between China and the U.S. over trade and the broader backlash against globalization  the dominant Western-led ideology over the past four decades that freer trade and movement of people is inevitably good for all.

"This year we've had more bilateral trade friction, between the U.S. and China in particular, and that does make it more complex around the table in the sense that APEC only does initiatives where everybody agrees," Bollard said.

Port Moresby, a city where foreigners and the local elite live in homes barricaded behind high walls and barbed wire, will host more than 12,000 visitors for the meetings that end on Sunday.

Because of a shortage of hotels, many will stay in three cruise ships docked at Port Moresby and be shuttled back and forth in some of the hundreds of vehicles imported for the event. The city will be crawling with police and military, some of them from Australia and New Zealand, who are providing air force planes, navy patrol boats, special forces and other personnel.

Australian media reports say Canberra is spending more than $100 million on security and other support for APEC. The Australian prime minister's office declined to release a figure, calling the assistance an "extension of long-term cooperation."

"The security is going to be so tight," said Jonathan Pryke, a Papua New Guinea expert at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank. "This is going to be the safest time to be in Port Moresby."

Even so, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his entourage will be flying into the country each day from northern Queensland in Australia.

Outside of the spruced-up capital, 2018 has been a year of renewed tribal and political violence.

Earlier this month, rioting engulfed the coastal town of Alotau more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Port Moresby after police leaving for APEC killed a woman and her child in a road accident, said the town's Catholic Bishop Rolando Santos. Gunfights erupted when police reinforcements arrived from the capital, he said. The growth of a Chinese diaspora, said Pryke, has also fueled economic tensions that have led to protests and riots.

"There isn't much funds for education, health," said Santos, a Filipino who's lived in Papua New Guinea for 17 years. "Many were affected because of APEC."

The country's Catholic Bishops Conference has criticized dire shortages of basic services while the government poured resources into getting the capital ready for world leaders.

"We share the concern of many about the huge amount of our limited resources being expended on this event which seems designed to entertain and impress the rich and powerful," said its president Rochus Tatamai.

Papua New Guineans, he said, are "suffering and dying in order to make APEC a success."
NEW YORK (AP)  The infamous Mexican drug lord and escape artist Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was alternately portrayed at his U.S. trial on Tuesday as a calculating leader of a bloodthirsty smuggling operation that funneled tons of cocaine and other drugs into American cities and a scapegoat for a conspiracy whose actual mastermind bribed crooked Mexican officials as high as the president to keep his freedom.

In opening statements amid tight security in federal court in Brooklyn, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels told a jury whose identities have been kept secret how the man who got his start in a modest marijuana-selling business became a kingpin known for using an army of hit men to wipe out his competitors and anyone within his Sinaloa cartel who betrayed him.

"Money. Drugs. Murder. ... That is what this case is about," Fels said.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman sought to shift blame in his opening to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, another reputed drug trafficker in the cartel's leadership who is still at large in Mexico. The lawyer claimed that unlike Guzman, Zambada remains on the loose because of bribes that "go up to the very top," including hundreds of millions of dollars paid to the current and former presidents of Mexico.

He also suggested U.S. law enforcement turned a blind eye to the situation.

In a tweet, a spokesman for current President Enrique Pena Nieto called the sensational allegation "completely false and defamatory." A separate tweet by ex-President Felipe Calderon called it "absolutely false and reckless."

One of Zambata's sons is expected to be the first of several government cooperators to testify against Guzman, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Guzman, who has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition to the United States early last year, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune smuggling tons of cocaine and other drugs in a vast supply chain that reached well north of the border.

Despite his diminutive stature and nickname that means "Shorty" in Spanish, Guzman was once a larger-than-life figure in Mexico who has been compared to Al Capone and Robin Hood and been the subject of ballads known as narcocorridos. He appeared in a dark suit and tie on Tuesday as he listened to Fels describe how he started modestly in the early 1970s by selling marijuana in Mexico, but built his reputation by constructing tunnels across the Mexico-U.S. border to transport marijuana and cocaine so fast that he was "no longer El Chapo, the short one."

Instead, he became known as "the speedy one." Before his tunnels, it had taken weeks to move drugs across the border to the U.S.

Before long, Guzman was receiving 10 to 15 planes "stuffed with cocaine" each day from Colombia at landing strips in Mexico for transport to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, Fels said.

As his business flourished using the tunnels, trains, planes and vessels, Guzman began taking aim at rivals in the early 1990s, leading to bloody wars. In 1993, he fled to Guatemala but was captured and imprisoned in Mexico for eight years, where he continued running his drug empire, Fels said.

The prosecutor spoke of two dramatic escapes from prison by Guzman and said he was planning a third when he was brought to the U.S. One of his escapes in 2015 was through a mile-long tunnel dug into a shower in his jail cell that he slipped into before fleeing on a motorcycle.

The tunnel escape was a black eye for the Mexican government, an embarrassment amplified when the actor Sean Penn was able to find and interview him at one of his hideouts in Mexico while he was on the run from authorities.

Fels said Guzman used some of his wealth to pay off the Mexican military and police and to finance assault rifles, grenade launchers and explosives to engage in "war after bloody war." He accused the defendant of personally shooting two men and having their bodies burned.

Guzman's attorney told jurors it would have been impossible for him to be in charge of the cartel since he was either in jail or hiding out in the Mexican countryside during the entire time U.S. prosecutors claim he was the leader.

Some of the cooperators will "tell you he has no money," Lichtman said.

An email written by a U.S. agent who eavesdropped on Guzman for a year wrote, "Chapo was more of a myth than an actual legend," and that he was "not impressed" by him, the lawyer added.

Opening statements were delayed about six hours on Tuesday after two jurors were dismissed for hardships and were replaced in a proceeding in another courtroom. Dozens of members of the media and other spectators were left waiting in the trial courtroom and in an overflow room with a warning that they would lose their seats to people in a long line outside if they stepped away.
WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S. analysts said Monday they have located 13 secret North Korean missile development sites, underscoring the challenge that the Trump administration faces in trying to reach its promised broad arms control agreement with Pyongyang.

The administration has said it is hopeful about eventually reaching an agreement with North Korea. President Donald Trump declared after his historic summit in June that with President Kim Jong Un there was "no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea." But a report based on satellite imagery shows the complexity posed by an extensive network of weapons facilities that the U.S. wants to neutralize.

A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies has identified 13 secret facilities used to produce missiles and related technology. Although the sites are not launch facilities and in some cases are rudimentary, the authors of the report say they are hidden and illustrate the scope of the North's weapons program and the country's determination to conceal its military might.

"The dispersed deployment of these bases and distinctive tactics employed by ballistic missile units are combined with decades of extensive camouflage, concealment and deception practices to maximize the survival of its missile units from pre-emptive strikes and during wartime operations," they said.

The authors say the sites, which can be used for all classes of ballistic missiles, should be declared by North Korea and inspected in any credible, verifiable deal that addresses Pyongyang's most significant threats to the United States and its allies.

South Korea's presidential office said the report didn't include any information it didn't already know. Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said continued activity at North Korean missile sites only underlines the need for nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang to proceed at a faster pace.

Kim took exception to a New York Times article on the report that said North Korea was engaging in "great deception," saying that the North has never promised to dismantle a short-range ballistic missile base 135 kilometers (84 miles) northwest of Seoul that was highlighted by CSIS.

Kim said such suggestions can "trigger misunderstanding and potentially block dialogue ... at a time when we need dialogue between North Korea and the United States."

Seoul has worked hard to revive nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea that have reduced fears of war in South Korea following a series of North Korean weapons tests and threats of military action by Trump last year.

North Korea analysts not involved in the report said the findings were not surprising given Pyongyang's past activities but were still cause for concern. They noted that Kim had not agreed to halt either nuclear weapons or missile development in negotiations with Trump or Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"The fact that North Korea has continued to build nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in the midst of high-level diplomacy with China, South Korea and the U.S. should not come as a surprise," said Abraham Denmark, the Asia program director at The Wilson Center. "Despite all the summitry, North Korea is just as dangerous today as it was a year ago."

"Improving relations with Pyongyang may be a laudable goal, but any claim that the North Korean nuclear and missile threats have been solved is either wishful thinking or purposefully deceptive," he said.

"Interesting but unsurprising report," said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association. "Kim Jong Un only committed voluntarily to halt long-range missile tests."

The report was released less than a week after North Korea abruptly called off a new round of negotiations with Pompeo that had been set for Thursday in New York. The cancellation, which the U.S. ascribed to scheduling issues, followed threats from North Korean officials to resume nuclear and missile testing unless U.S. sanctions are lifted.

The administration has said repeatedly that sanctions will not be lifted until a denuclearization agreement is fully implemented.
This much we know. Questions surrounding the performance of one of the Governments grand inventions called Samoa Airways are not new. They have been around since the plan was announced to reinvent the airlines international operations under the Samoa Airways brand and they will continue to surface until the Government comes clean about its performance.

Which shouldnt be too hard to do.

You see all Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi has to do is to tell the people the truth. The questions are quite simple and straightforward. Is the airline making a profit, if so how much? If it is not, what is his Governments grand plan to get the airline to a stage where it would eventually become profitable?

These are legitimate questions which members of the public, who are funding the airline from their hard-earned taxes, are entitled to some answers.

Besides, we are talking about a Government that cannot stop talking about transparency, accountability and good governance. All it has to do now is walk the talk.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Samoa Airways, all Prime Minister Tuilaepa has been saying is stupid this and stupid that. Indeed, anyone who has raised questions about the operation of the airline has either been called stupid, an idiot or a fool.

For instance, at the beginning of this year, he did not hold back when he blasted this newspaper, particularly this writer, for raising these very questions. At the time, reports came through that the Airline was a long way off from meeting its monthly financial targets.

What goes in the airline business is true in any kind of business, the Samoa Observer, Time Magazine or in Playboy. And it is not uncommon that a loss made in some months may be offset in later months, Tuilaepa said.

At the time, he reminded that Samoa Airways was still a baby.

This great airline of Samoa has only started in four months and the Samoa Observer writes a stupid headline based on ignorance, he said, adding that the Airline was going through the same phase the stupid editor went through when he was a baby.

When he was just born, he rolled on his stomach, after sucking his big toes, the same toes that began to grow later, then he walked and then run.

Tuilaepa reiterated that a loss or profit could never be determined after the first five months of operation.

An ordinary person who does not understand the technicality surrounding businesses can easily make a stupid mistake on the basis of an equally stupid report that the company is broke and therefore it should wind up.

He added that people calling on the Government to be transparent with the Airlines current financial situation are also stupid.

The only business that its profit can be accurately determined is a one-day business. One that is an ice cream bar that is put up during Flag Day or a chopsuey stall. That is the only kind of business you can determine to the final cent the accuracy of the profit making. Because it is the only business where you can total up the actual revenue, minus the actual expenditure equals the actual profit.

Well that was at the beginning of the year.

This week, Samoa Airways turned a year old. And to celebrate, Prime Minister Tuilaepa joined some Cabinet Ministers and senior Government officials for a trip to Brisbane to launch the airlines newest route.

Prior to his departure, he was again asked the same questions, this time by Sapeer Mayron of Samoa Observer.

In response, Prime Minister Tuilaepa said reporters dont understand financial records.

There is no need to look at the record, because you dont understand even if you look at the record, he fired back.

Reminded that Samoa Airways is a public company, Tuilaepa said: Its not a public company. If its a public company, it is available to the public  that is my answer.

Now hang on a minute Mr. Prime Minister.

What on earth is he talking about here? As far as we know, Samoa Airways is a public company being paid for by taxpayers funds. Without those funds, that airline would have ceased to exist a long, long time ago.

By the way, those taxpayers have every right to know how the airline is performing, good or bad. That process is called transparency and accountability. It is an essential part of good governanceunless Prime Minister Tuilaepa and his administration of big lauia have forgotten.

What do you think? Write and share your thoughts with us. Have a productive Thursday Samoa, God bless!
A video has surfaced of an attempt to attack Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi in Brisbane, Australia.

The video, shared online by ET Live, surfaced overnight from the official launching of Samoa Airways Faleolo to Brisbane flights, marking the airlines first birthday.

It shows Tuilaepa addressing the Samoan community who had gathered for the event when a man called out his name and started hurling a verbal barrage at the Prime Minister.

What he said was not clear from the video.

A member of the media, Taulealea Sioeli Alofaifo of TV1, who was among the audience in Brisbane told the Samoa Observer there were two men who turned up with their faces covered in ninja like style.

He said one of the men threw an uncooked pigs head at the Prime Minister, which fell well short of the target.

Two men entered the building; one threw a pigs head and swore at the Prime Minister.

The men immediately fled the scene, the Samoa Observer was told.

The video shows that officials immediately reacted with some of them moving closer to the Prime Minister to protect him.

Tuilaepa remained calm and continued to speak over the commotion.

He did not say anything about what was happening before him.

Attempts have been made to get an official comment from the Police and the Government about the incident.
The Attorney Generals Office has filed a motion to strike out a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Samoa Solidarity International Group Global (S.S.I.G.G.).

The Group is asking the Supreme Court to rule on the legality and the constitutionality of the Land Titles Registration Act 2008 and is seeking $5 million tala in damages from the Government.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi has been named the first defendant in the Court proceedings along with Attorney General, former Attorney General Aumua Ming Leung Wai, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M.N.R.E.) and the Samoa Land Corporation.

The civil mention went before Justice Mata Keli Tuatagaloa in the Supreme Court yesterday, with the Attorney Generals Office informing the Court that it wanted to file a motion to remove the M.N.R.E. from the proceedings.

But counsel Unasa Iuni Sapolu, who is representing the S.S.I.G.G. in the matter, objected and asked for an adjournment to enable them to look at the particulars of the motion.

We have filed our opposition to the motion to strike, we received a request from the defendants yesterday, and Im seeking adjournment so we can reply to the substantial list of particulars, said the counsel.

Justice Tuatagaloa agreed and adjourned the hearing to December 10, when all the parties will return to the Court to set a date for the motion to be heard.

To argue their case, the Group claims the Government is in violation of Article 102 of the Constitution by implementing, authorising, passing and enforcing the 2008 Actwhich alienates traditional landowners of their legal rights to their customary land.

They are also arguing that Article 109 of the Constitution was violated by the defendants by passing a law that allows the alienation of customary land, without satisfying the requirement for a referendum vote before submitting the said amendment of the Constitution for the Head of States signature.

They are also arguing that with the Governments passage of the 2008 Act and its enforcement, it (Government) has for 10 years violated Article 2 of the Constitution, which states the Constitution shall be the supreme law of Samoa and also that the Government violated Article 14 relating property rights.

Also by passing the 2008 Act, the Government is in violation of Article 15 as it enforced the arbitrary elimination of customary land ownership rights, based on the availability of space on a registration document and by selecting owners based on their matai privilege as Sao of the family.

Lastly, the Group is arguing that by drafting and passing the 2008 Act as well as the L.T.R.A. 2015 to permitting the Bill in 2017 before Parliament, have all conducted themselves with either recklessness or gross negligence to the Samoa Constitution.

The S.S.I.G. is asking the following declaratory orders from the the Court: The Land Titles Registration Act 2008 is declared void; all customary land leases of customary land are returned to their original and traditional state of ownership prior to 2008; all customary land owners are returned their rightful ownership status immediately; and all others occupying said land illegally are removed.

On the whole the plaintiffs are seeking the Courts relief for an order of Declaration Judgment Act 1988, determining the construction or validity of the L.T.R.A. 2008 and the L.T.R.A. 2015 as being null, void and illegal.
The death and destruction caused by the 2009 tsunami is compelling a group of villages to embrace disaster management training.

The villages of Salelesi, Eva and Fusi located on the north coast of Upolu yesterday participated in a disaster management training program, where they were given awareness on natural disasters and trained on how to prepare themselves in the event of a natural disaster.

The two to three-hour training and simulation for disaster management was run by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (A.D.R.A.).

Salelesi mayor, Asa Michaael Leausa, said his village were serious with the training yesterday as they have not forgotten the death and destruction triggered by the 2009 tsunami.

Ever since the tsunami, we feel serious about this rehearsal and we find it so useful since natural disasters season is almost here because its always the end of the year when we get to experience these trials, he said.

The A.D.R.A has been rolling out and implementing the awareness program since 2012 with the assistance of partner agencies Disaster Management Organization, Fire and Emergency Services Authority, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Police and non-governmental organisations Faataua le Ola, Nuanua o le Alofa and Samoa Family Health Association.

A.D.R.A project manager, Tuioti Autagavaia Sakaria Taituavae said the project is a good test to raise awareness.

The purpose of this exercise is to prepare the villages for unforeseen disasters and to test the evacuation and response plans of the individuals, if they understand their roles and responsibilities in times of natural disasters, he told Samoa Observer.

Mr. Taituavae said the training program has four components and include surveys, education and awareness of the villagers roles.

First, we run the surveys to divide the people in different areas of the project, second we educate and promote on what they need to know, third is choosing committees and educate them of their roles in the simulation and finishing the program with a practice which is the most important part of the whole project, he said.

Mr. Leausa said this is the best of help they could get in times of natural disasters.

The A.D.R.A. project will go a long in enabling the villagers to know how to respond during times of natural disasters, according to Mr. Leausa.

It feels inspiring and boosts confidence and to rescue a life that might need help, he added.

The village of Salelesi is yet to be directly hit by a tsunami but Mr. Leausa said it is always good to be prepared and alert.
The Hachiya Foundation has donated $27,983.83 to the National University of Samoa and announced the end of its support as it will disband.

Magele Mauiliu Magele, Afioga Masoe Norman Wetzel, and Hideno Kobayashiwho are members of the foundations committeemade the announcement yesterday, and said the $27,983.83 is the remaining balance of the scholarship fund and it was only proper that they gave it to the university.

The committee have discussed that its best to discontinue running this organisation because most of our members have employed themselves overseas including myself, and especially that our former chairman is deceased, which is why were donating the money left in the account, said Mr. Magele, who is a former education minister and parliamentarian.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Fui Leapai Ilaoa Lai Asofou Soo, welcomed the decision of the foundations committee and long-term support, saying the funding will go to the universitys Research and Ethics Committee, as they continue to appeal for funding support for their projects and research.

This huge amount of money can be of help to the U.R.E.C with their research and it will be directed straight to their account, he said.

The U.R.E.C is a committee of staff from the N.U.S who oversee research and projects within the university campus, and work to develop and improve the University.

The Hachiya Foundation has a long association with Samoas national university, especially in early 2008-2009. In April 2010 the foundation donated $10,000 to the university to assist with the production of a C.D. on the institutions jubilee celebrations.

The foundationthrough its scholarship fundhas supported the university including its students since the appointment of Prof. Fui Leapai Ilaoa Lau Asofou Soo to the position of Vice Chancellor and President in 2009.
By the time the festive season is over, Parliament will be having their sessions in a brand new hall, built by their own people.

Head architects Harold Guida and Willam Gardner visited the site this week and they are pleased with the progress.

Project management consultant Robert Bartholomew said the building is plateauing to the finish line, with just some final touches in the paint, carpeting and panelling still to be done before December 10.

Mr Guida, an experienced designer and builder of parliament buildings (he has four under his belt now), says the new Maota Fono will be more welcoming than the last.

The building designed was heavily inspired by the last one, but with technological adaptations for which make democracy accessible.

There are improved amenities for members, for meetings, for the public, in terms of being able to record, have simultaneous translation, media coverage and so forth, said Mr Guida.

All of that is a bringing up to date that was not possible in the old building.

Lightening protection, skylights in the centre of the roof, carefully designed acoustics are all design elements the architects are pleased with.

The construction also offered an opportunity to upskill local workers in clear span architecture, which requires no support posts or columns.

So the steel frame to support the clear span roof is probably the best example of capacity building they just hadnt seen it here before, said Mr Guida.

If somebody said now, we should capitalise on our tourism with conventions or leader meetings, then someone could say yeah, we could build a building like that because weve just done it.

According to Government information, the site was initially set to be completed late 2017, but Mr Gardner and Mr Guida are not perturbed by the delays.

The pace has been conducive to a quality outcome, he said.

Mr Gardner said it is a credit to the construction company to invest in training and learning, instead of contracting experienced builders.

Just for an example, the company made us numerous prototypes of concrete columns for us to inspect, which was such a good learning process.

It may have appeared slow but the time was well spent, said Mr Gardner.

The construction was funded by the Australian Government to the tune of AUS$13 million, who will shortly begin funding the building of a new Office of the Legislative Assembly.

According to the team, the budget has not been exceeded.
When it comes to technology companies, San Diego has long been known for its giants. But the region has a crop of young  and fast-growing  startups on the rise.

The companies listed below are some of the most valuable startups in the county. All are less than 10 years old, and operate in software, hardware or computing. The companies have also grown so quickly that they needed to take money from venture capitalists to support expansion and hiring.

This list was culled from data sources including Pitchbook, CB Insights and Moneytree data, with help from Pricewaterhouse Coopers. It includes the most valuable startups in the region according to post-money valuations from venture capital deals over the past 10 years.

This list, however, is not exhaustive. Valuations for private companies are often not shared to these platforms, and some valuable tech startups never raise venture capital at all. Take video game company Psyonix, based in downtown San Diego. That company was raking in over $100 million in revenue as of 2016, but that venture was bootstrapped by the founders  never taking a dollar from investors.

Advertisement

Still, these companies should be on your radar as some of the fastest-growing tech firms in the city, and some of the most active startup employers.

Human Longevity  $310 million

Founded: 2013

Number of employees: 150

Human Longevity caught national limelight for raising over $300 million from venture capitalists to build the worlds biggest database of human genetic data. The company plays between the worlds of healthcare and technology, using advanced computing and software to try and make sense of the enormous data sets stored inside DNA. The hope is to cull insights from mass amounts of genetic information to better learn how to fight diseases tied to aging.

The companys notable founder J. Craig Venter, the San Diego genetic researcher whose drive and insight sped the sequencing of the human genome, abruptly departed from Human Longevity earlier this year and an ugly lawsuit quickly followed. Although publicly rocked by the leadership changes, the company remains the most valuable tech startup in the city.

That current valuation, determined from a recent fundraising round, is significantly lower than previous rounds estimated. In 2017, the companys valuation came in at $1.6 billion.

Tealium  $286 million

Founded: 2008

Number of employees: 375

This local tech company writes tracking software that helps companies advertise to - and ultimately drive purchases from - consumers. Tealium started out helping its enterprise clients manage tags, the snippets of code embedded in web pages that tell developers if youve visited a page or opened an email. In recent years, the company has expanded to help its clients track customers through affiliate marketing, display advertising, online search and social media, and to target market segments with specific product offers.

In 2016, Tealium raised $35 million in venture capital.

Brain Corp  $250 million

Founded: 2009

Number of employees: 200

The brainchild of computational neuroscientists, this startup is building AI software behind blue collar robots. Brain Corp makes advanced vision technology that helps robots get around, tailoring their software to machines that operate in fulfillment centers, large retailers, airports and other indoor locations. One of the companys products  BrainOS  is the software that powers the floor scrubbing bot that packs sensors, cameras, 4G LTE connectivity, and routing algorithms that allow it to learn its way around a store quickly. It has been tested in Jimbos grocery stores around San Diego.

In 2017, the company raised $114 million led by Softbanks Vision Fund and with participation from Qualcomm Ventures.

Seismic  $180 million

Founded: 2010

Number of employees: 500

From five guys working out of a basement in Solana Beach to a multimillion-dollar tech company employing hundreds, Seismic is one of San Diegos most successful pure-software companies. Like San Franciscos tech unicorn Salesforce, Seismic is serving the sales teams of massive corporations. The company makes a suite of software tools that help big teams communicate, get trained and store pitch materials, among other features. The companys clients include titans of industry such as General Electric and TIAA, a multibillion-dollar financial services firm.

Seismic just acquired its biggest competitor  Savo Group  this summer, bulking up its staff and client base. By the years end, Seismic is now expected to pull in over $100 million in revenue.

Classy  $150 million

Founded: 2011

Number of employees: 230

Founded by a group of spirited young socialites, Classys first iteration was an events company that would host pub crawls and other social gatherings to raise money for nonprofits and charities. For fun, the founders named the company Stay Classy as a nod to the 2004 comedy Anchorman, in which Will Ferrells character memorably signs off his broadcasts with, You stay classy, San Diego.

As the events business grew, the founders recognized a greater need to serve the nonprofit sector with fundraising technology and relaunched in 2011 as Classy. The startup makes software that helps nonprofits raise money online, and in recent years, its landed some big names in charity like The Salvation Army, among its 4,000 clients. The startup just celebrated a milestone of helping nonprofits raise a collective $1 billion through the Classy platform.

Business

brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeiling

ALSO

How this 37-year-old built one of the most valuable tech startups in San Diego

Who would think we needed an app for lawn care? This guy.

Moving sucks. Ex-Qualcomm engineers build AI startup Yembo to help

UPDATES:

December 7, 11:40 p.m.: This article, originally published November 14 at 6:00 a.m., included an outdated valuation for Human Longevity based on a 2017 fundraising round. A new fundraising round, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, brought the valuation down to $310 million.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a recent report concerning the alleged development of missile bases in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was inaccurate.

"The story in the New York Times concerning North Korea developing missile bases is inaccurate," he tweeted. "We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new - and nothing happening out of the normal."

"Just more Fake News. I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!" he added.

The New York Times reported on Monday that the DPRK was "moving ahead with its ballistic missile program at 16 hidden bases that have been identified in new commercial satellite images."

The New York Times published the report on analysis of satellite images released by a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Last week, the U.S. State Department said that the planned meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, has been postponed.

Heather Nauert, the department spokesperson, said in a statement that the scheduled meeting "will now take place at a later date."

"We will reconvene when our respective schedules permit," Nauert said, adding that the ongoing conversations between Washington and Pyongyang "continue to take place."

Pompeo and Kim had been expected to discuss "making progress on all four pillars of the Singapore Summit joint statement," according to an earlier statement issued by the State Department.

Pompeo himself revealed in a recent interview that he expected some "real progress" in talks with Kim, including "an effort to make sure that the summit between the two leaders can take place."

The first-ever DPRK-U.S. summit was held in Singapore on June 12. According to a joint statement signed by Trump and DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, the United States would provide security guarantee to the DPRK in return for Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization.

Following the leaders' meeting, the U.S.-DPRK talks were once stuck in an impasse due to differences over the scale of denuclearization, U.S. sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration.
San Diegans hankering for a stroll down the Champs-Elysees or a cruise down the Seine can take advantage of a rare nonstop roundtrip flight to Paris later this month, but for one time only.

Thanks to the American Society of Hematology, which is holding its annual meeting here later this month, Air France will be flying nonstop between San Diego and Paris between Nov. 29 and Dec. 4.

While the primary purpose of the flights are to accommodate overseas travelers coming from France to San Diego for the annual meeting, locals can also book their own Paris getaway, departing Thursday evening, Nov. 29 and returning on the afternoon of Dec. 4.

The roundtrip fare, as of Wednesday, was about $2,100. The flights are bookable on airfrance.com or delta.com.

Advertisement

Although there are nonstop flights to London and Frankfurt that operate out of San Diego International Airport, there are none that go directly to Paris.

Airport officials say they know of no other instance where an overseas nonstop route was arranged in conjunction with a special San Diego event.

Air France, however, has previously offered such special flights when demand dictates, as in the case of the annual Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It will do so again for next years show in January.

Hematology association events planner Bill Reed says it was something of a perfect storm that led to the nonstop flight. He said that when the convention was last in San Diego in 2016, Air France noticed an unusually high volume of passengers headed from Paris to San Diego via Los Angeles.

Thats not surprising, says Reed, given that about half the attendees come from outside North America, and France is one of the countries that sends the highest number of people (about 1,000). In all, the hematology conference will draw 28,000 attendees, said Reed the societys chief events strategy officer.

The convention will be back twice more  in 2020 and 2024. And Reed is hoping that this years Air France experiment will be successful enough to be repeated in subsequent years.

That could also bode well for San Diegans looking for an off-season visit to Paris.

If it works, this could be a model for replicating this with other countries and destinations to bring large numbers of hematologists to San Diego, Reed said. And it could be be a great way for San Diegans to get out of town while the American Society of Hematology is there.

Business

lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
The City of Solana Beach and Solana Beach Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5431 jointly hosted a Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11 at the La Colonia Community Center.

The event featured a Feathers from Heaven doves release; Camp Pendleton Young Marines participated as the honor guard; and the Santa Fe Christian School Band performed patriotic songs. Also participating in the ceremony were Solana Beach Mayor David Zito, city dignitaries, Randy Treadway, Commander for VFW Post 5431, and special guest speaker Jasmin Zehic. Docents from the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society conducted tours of the Historical Museum.

Online: delmartimes.net
The Carlsbad City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to support a request for an additional six-month delay before the countys regional planning agency chooses a course for the restoration of the Buena Vista Lagoon.

This is not going to hold a project up, said Mayor Matt Hall. I see more upside to the continuance than a downside.

Located at the boundary between Oceanside and Carlsbad, Southern Californias only freshwater lagoon is slowly filling with weeds and sediment. Ways to clean it up have been discussed for decades, so far with no resolution.

Friday, that could change, when the San Diego Association of Governments board of directors is scheduled to consider a staff recommendation to approve whats known as the saltwater alternative.

Advertisement

The SANDAG hearing already has been postponed several times. It was first scheduled in January, but was delayed then to further study the comments and requests of landowners near the lagoon who oppose the saltwater proposal.

The saltwater plan calls for the removal of the weir, a low dam near the beach, that has kept the lagoon filled with freshwater several feet above sea level since the 1940s. That would leave a saltwater marsh with a meandering channel that ebbs and flows with the ocean tides, much like the San Elijo Lagoon at the border of Solana Beach and Encinitas.

Numerous government agencies and nonprofit environmental groups support the saltwater plan because it would do the most to restore and protect a type of coastal habitat that has been largely lost to development in Southern California.

Another option studied was a hybrid proposal that would move the weir to the Interstate 5 crossing at the middle of the lagoon, making it half freshwater and half saltwater. Also considered were ways to restore the freshwater lagoon with the weir in place, or to do nothing.

The Carlsbad council voted unanimously last November to support the saltwater alternative.

Property owners who control the weir and the outer portion of the lagoon have long opposed the weirs removal. They stepped up their efforts after SANDAG released a final environmental impact report last year that showed saltwater to be the preferred alternative.

We want an open body of water and not a trickle, said Scott Sterling, a member of the Buena Vista Lagoon Foundation board of directors.

Removing the weir would be a desecration of the lagoon, Sterling told the council Tuesday, and would launch huge and expensive litigation.

Other property owners said the change would ruin their views, lower their property values, and reduce the abundance of bird species at the lagoon.

The hybrid (alternative) appears to be better for everyone, said Jim Petronella of the Save the Fresh Water Buena Vista Lagoon Association, a group of homeowners associations formed to fight the saltwater plan. The hybrid would have the best of both worlds, he said.

Petronella said state and federal agencies are unfairly biased toward the saltwater plan because it could be eligible for environmental mitigation money from regional transportation projects such as widening Interstate 5 and double-tracking the coastal railroad.

Joan Herskowitz of the Buena Vista Audubon Society, opposed the delay. The Audubon Society has a nature center at the edge of the lagoon and supports the saltwater plan.

What is so compelling or new that would warrant such an action? she asked.

The hybrid plan has been thoroughly analyzed and does not meet the goals, Herskowitz said, adding that it has few advantages and all the negative aspects of the freshwater and saltwater plans.

With the weir in the middle, the eastern half of the lagoon would have poor water circulation and would quickly fill with sediment, she said.

Supporters of the saltwater alternative say it would have the most benefits for everyone. It would reduce mosquitoes, improve water circulation, and lessen the chances of flooding.

A majority of the council members said more time could lead to a compromise with the property owners.

Councilwoman Cori Schumacher cast the only no vote, pointing out that further delays could lessen the chance of funding for the project, which may be eligible as a mitigation project for the Interstate 5 widening already underway south of Palomar Airport Road.

A project needs to be shovel ready, meaning fully planned and permitted, to qualify for mitigation money, she said.

SANDAG took over as the lead agency in 2012 after the state Department of Fish and Wildlife was unable to get all the parties involved to reach an agreement.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
Pablo Ziegler won the first Grammy Award of his career this year, earning Best Latin Jazz Album honors for his aptly titled Jazz Tango.

The Argentinian pianist, composer and band leader has been fusing those two styles  and more  since 1978.

Thats when he teamed up for 11 years with Astor Piazzolla, whose pioneering nuevo tango fusion combined infectious tango rhythms with jazz-inspired improvisations and contemporary classical music.

Since 1989, Ziegler has collaborated with such diverse artists as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Regina Carter, jazz vibraphone great Gary Burton and Argentine Rock en Espanol band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.

Advertisement

His most recent area appearance was at the 2012 edition of La Jolla Music Societys SummerFest. On Thursday night, Nov. 15, Ziegler will perform at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center with Claudio Ragazzi on guitar and and Hector Del Curto on bandoneon (a cross between a concertina and a button accordion). Expect a lively evening of borders-leaping music.

Pablo Ziegler Jazz Tango Trio: 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15. David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. $33-$52, plus service charges. (858) 362-1348. sdcjc.org

george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga
After a five-hour meeting with her Cabinet ministers, and months of struggle and delay, Prime Minister Theresa May emerged from 10 Downing Street and announced that her ministers had given a unanimous nod of approval to her Brexit withdrawal plan.

Approval of the draft agreement, negotiated by British and European Union officials, marks a major step toward finalizing a divorce. But the plan still requires endorsement by European heads of state and the British Parliament before Brexit happens at the end of March.

It marked the end of a remarkable day in British politics - a true cliffhanger, with social media and the airwaves filled with speculation about whether Mays deal would survive the day.

At noon, May was in Parliament, where she heard the roar of her own backbench, as fellow Conservative Party members heaped derision on a deal they had not yet seen - but that they feared contained too much compromise.

Advertisement

Conservative member of Parliament Peter Bone warned May that she was not delivering the Brexit people voted for. He said, Today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country.

Arch-Brexiteer Boris Johnson, who quit his job as foreign secretary over Mays proposals in July, urged Cabinet members to live up to their responsibilities and reject it.

Its vassal-state stuff, Johnson said earlier. For the first time in 1,000 years, this place, this Parliament, will not have a say over the laws that govern this country.

A Conservative member of Parliament who opposes Brexit, Anna Soubry, said Wednesday that British voters should be offered another chance to cast a ballot on whether to support Mays deal or remain in the European Union.

What I think is very important in all of this is, the best deal, of course, that we have with the European Union, is the deal that we currently have with the European Union, Soubry told the BBC.

Sammy Wilson, a Parliament member for Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which May needs to prop up her minority government, told TalkRadio that Mays plan is not so much a deal as a double-cross.

The DUPs chief whip at Westminster, Jeffrey Donaldson, said, This is not the right Brexit.

He said Mays half-in, half-out plan doesnt give the United Kingdom as a whole the opportunity to do free-trade deals and to take control of its own future.

Outside Parliament, Nigel Farage -- top Brexit campaigner and a member of the European Parliament, called Mays withdrawal agreement the worst deal in history.

What would happen at the Cabinet meeting was unknown -- although Mays supporters said the prime minister would not be presenting the draft deal if she did not think she could muscle it through.

Did anybody really think you could leave the EU without a lot of compromises? said former Conservative Party leader William Hague.

He told the BBC on Wednesday that the reported Brexit deal fulfills the mandate the British voters chose when they voted 52% to 48% in a June 2016 referendum to leave the European bloc.

If what you want is to deliver on leaving the European Union, and have frictionless trade in goods at the border for the next few years until a future free trade agreement comes into force, and have control of our own immigration policy, and keep the United Kingdom together, all at the same time -- well, then, a deal is going to look pretty much like this one seems to look like. It isnt going to be dramatically different from that, Hague said.

The next step will be a Brexit summit attended by leaders of the EUs remaining 27 member states at the unions Brussels headquarters later this month, with Nov. 24 and 25 penciled in as possible dates.

Following approval by the European leaders, the treaty would go to the British Parliament, where it would face an uncertain fate.

Whatever happens, this deal is just the first stage of the lengthy process of ratifying Britains withdrawal from the EU. To follow are negotiations over Britains future trade, security and economic relations with Europe -- including side deals about immigration levels.

For the past two years, the greatest debate over Brexit has not been waged between Brussels and London, but within Mays fractious Conservative Party, composed of leavers and remainers.

Hard-line Brexiteers have pushed for a decisive split from European bureaucrats and courts, from EU rules and regulations, while others, led by May, have sought a softer Brexit, a bundle of compromises that keep Britain more closely aligned with Europe, to better protect the British economy.

Supporters of a hard Brexit have said Mays plan would leave Britain a rule taker versus a rulemaker, subject to following Brussels laws for trade, without having much say in how they are written.

How to avoid the return to a hard border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU, has been one of the toughest issues facing the negotiators.

The Europeans have insisted that in the case that a future free-trade deal is not secured, Northern Ireland should remain in the European customs union. May has said that is not acceptable because it undercuts British sovereignty.

May has previously said that the choice is between her withdrawal deal or no deal at all, which many think would trigger severe economic disruption. But some of her critics said there were more options to explore.

The leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted on Tuesday: If the PMs deal satisfies no one and cant command a majority, we mustnt fall for her spin that the UK crashing out of EU without a deal is then inevitable - instead we should take the opportunity to get better options back on the table.

Most lawmakers in the opposition Labour Party are expected to vote against the plan if and when it reaches Parliament. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: We will look at the details of what has been agreed when they are available. But from what we know of the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country.

UPDATES:

12:10 p.m.: This article was updated with details on Cabinet approval.

This article was originally published at 6:50 a.m.
UC Berkeleys elite law school will move to drop the name of its famed Boalt Hall after a century because it honors a man now known to have been an anti-Chinese racist, the dean announced Tuesday.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said he struggled for months over the schools close ties to the name of John Henry Boalt, a 19th century San Francisco attorney who described the Chinese laborers coming into California as unassimilable murderers and thieves and successfully pressed for an 1882 federal ban on Chinese immigration.

Details of Boalts unsavory past were widely disseminated for the first time after Charles Reichmann, a Berkeley law lecturer, last year published an op-ed and, later, a law review article.

In a letter to the law school community Tuesday, Chemerinsky said he changed his mind several times as he sorted through hundreds of passionate, persuasive messages on both sides. About 40% wanted to keep the name and the rest wanted to drop it.

Advertisement

Some argued that many historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson, had mixed legacies. Others feared that dropping the Boalt brand would hurt the law school or that it would dishonor Elizabeth Josselyn Boalt, who donated $100,000 for the original law school building in her late husbands name. (The law school moved to another building in 1950.)

In the end, Chemerinsky said he was most persuaded by those  including many students and alumni of color  who were pained by the continued use of the Boalt name.

I was moved by the many who wrote me expressing their discomfort with honoring someone who expressed vile racism, especially without anything to point to that would justify honoring him as an individual, Chemerinsky wrote.

He said he would ask the campus building committee to drop the Boalt name from the law schools classroom wing. The committee will launch its own review, which will include a public hearing, with a decision by UC Chancellor Carol Christ expected next spring. UC President Janet Napolitano then would have the final say.

Chemerinsky said the law school will cease using the name in most other cases  on school directories, its Facebook page, the title of lecturer positions  and will encourage student and alumni organizations to do likewise. He added that the school will find ways to make sure that Boalts racism is remembered.

The dean made no recommendation on removing the Boalt name from two professorships endowed by Boalts widow, who is not known to have shared her husbands bigotry. (Changes in the terms of philanthropic gifts require approval of the state attorney general.) Chemerinsky said the school would continue to honor her generosity and her portrait would remain on a wall in the classroom wing.

Alumni  many of whom proudly call themselves Boalties  are free to continue using the name as they wish, the dean wrote.

Chemerinskys decision gratified Tar Rakhra, co-chair of Berkeley Laws Asian Pacific American Law Students Assn. He said he was impressed by a law school committees deliberative work in examining the issue over more than a year, with the help of a town hall and survey to students, alumni, faculty and staff. The committee made the recommendations that Chemerinsky ultimately accepted.

Rakhra, a second-year law student from Yorba Linda, said he empathized with alumni who feel a close link with the Boalt name and acknowledged that their donations to the school could drop.

Its a tough, painful thing for them, he said, but we have to do the right thing and the right thing is to acknowledge John Boalts racist past.

Reichmann, who wrote the op-ed, said he is thrilled to have made a difference. Its part of societys ongoing obligation to consider its history, he said.

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com

Twitter: @TeresaWatanabe
November 14, 1936 The San Diego Union

The San Diego Union-Tribune will mark its 150th anniversary in 2018 by presenting a significant front page from the archives each day throughout the year.

Saturday, November 14, 1936

In 1936 a Scripps institution research ship blew up and sank in San Diego Harbor following an explosion in the galley. The blast killed cook Henry Ball and severely injured Captain Murdock Ross.

It was the second Scripps research vessel to suffer a serious mishap. In 1906 the Loma, a boat given to the Marine Biological Association of San Diego by E.W. Scripps, ran aground near the Point Loma lighthouse.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the story:

BLAST SINKS S.D. SHIP; 2 NEAR DEATH

SPECTATORS RESCUE PAIR FROM BLAZE

Wreckage Hurled as Scripps Institutes Craft Plunges To Bottom; Victims Pray; Probe of Mystery Begun.

The searing flash of a terrific explosion that sent wreckage flying 50 feet critically burned two members of the crew of the motorship Scripps, research vessel of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, late yesterday. The 65-foot vessel burned and sank in the San Diego Yacht club basin at Roseville.

Origin of the blast, which ripped the crafts decking and superstructure, had not been established late last night by fire officials, who started an immediate investigation. The injured:

Capt. Murdock G. Ross, 50, Encinitas

Henry Ball, 57, 4101 Logan ave., cook.

Doctors at Mercy hospital, where the two were rushed for treatment, held little hope for their recovery.

Eyes Seared Closed

The men were burned severely from the waist up, it was reported. Balls eyes were seared closed. Police were unable to obtain any account of the accident from them as they lay on hospital cots mumbling almost incoherent prayers.

The Scripps was moored 20 feet from the end of the protective seawall at the yacht basin. At 5 p.m. both men went below deck and apparently were working on the boat, Fire Capt. Harry Doherty said.

From the deck of the yawl Novia del Mar, pleasure yacht of Robert Scripps, newspaper chain executive, which was anchored 50 feet away, Elmer Niquette and Charles Frisk, crew members, witnessed the blinding flash of the detonation which rocked the deck under them.

There was a burst of flame and a terrific roar. Niquette said. Life preservers, planking, transoms and other wreckage flew 50 feet. Then we heard awful screams.

Niquette and Frisk dashed to the near-by pier and to a rowboat tied to a float. They got aboard the Scripps as flames began to lick through the planking, managed to get hold of Capt. Ross and Ball lifted them out of the hold and onto the deck.

View anniversary front pages online at sandiegouniontribune.com/150-years. For more from the Union-Tribune digital archives, go to newslibrary.com/sites/sdub. Searching is free, with registration. A fee is required to view full stories.
Carrying blankets and backpacks, a group of 356 Central American migrants arrived in Tijuana on Tuesday, joining dozens of other arrivals from a large caravan that has been making its way to the U.S. border.

But even as authorities scrambled to find bed space for them in the citys migrant shelters, Baja California officials reported that yet another group numbering about 200 was aboard buses traveling through the neighboring state of Sonora and expected to arrive in Tijuana within hours.

The migrants, most of them from Honduras, are among thousands of Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence who are currently making their way to the U.S. border in caravans that give them protection from criminal gangs and corrupt officials as they cross Mexico. Many have said they hope to turn themselves over to U.S. authorities at ports of entry and ask for asylum.

We hope that (President) Trump sees our tranquility, and sees the needs that we have, said Mario Gonzalez Soriano, a 42-year-old subsistence farmer and evangelical pastor from Honduras who left behind his four children and pregnant wife. We want to give our families a better life, and for that reason, we risk even death.

Advertisement

The buses delivered the caravan members to the Desayunador Padre Chava, a Catholic-run soup kitchen near the U.S. border. From there, many walked to Playas de Tijuana, getting their first look at the U.S. border fence.

1 / 19 On arrival to the U.S. Mexico border, many climbed the fence with U.S. Border Patrol on the north side of the fence observing. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 19 U.S. Border Patrol on all terrain vehicles observed nearby as many of the Central American migrants climbed the fence along the U.S. Mexico border at Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 19 On arrival to the U.S. Mexico border in Playas de Tijuana, a few climbed the fence with U.S. Border Patrol on the north side of the fence observing. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop moved on walking for Playas de Tijuana along a road near the U.S. Mexico border fence. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 19 A few from the Central American migrant caravan that arrived in Tijuana venture for an up close look of the U.S. Mexico border. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 19 A group of men looked towards the U.S. Mexico border where a small group of U.S. Border Patrol agents were observing from. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop for a meal left walking for La Playa. One individual threw his arm up at the site of seeing the U.S. Mexico border. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after being offered a meal at Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava. One man split a single shoe lace to use on both his shoes before the walk to La Playa Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus. After a brief stop in Tijuana left walking for Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 19 On arrival to the U.S. Mexico border, many climbed the fence with U.S. Border Patrol on the north side of the fence observing. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Playas de Tijuana, where a small group of men prepare to setup a shelter not far from the U.S. Mexico border. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in La Playa Tijuana, where many climbed the fence and some peered through the bollard fence looking at U.S. Border Patrol agents on the north side of the fence. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 19 A group of men looked towards the U.S. Mexico border where U.S. Border Patrol agent were observing from. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop moved on walking for Playas de Tijuana along a road near the U.S. Mexico border fence. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and after a brief stop moved on foot walking for Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and waited in line to receive a meal at Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana by bus and waited in line to receive a meal at Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 / 19 Central American migrant caravan arrived in Playas de Tijuana. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

As U.S. Border Patrol agents watched, some of the youngest and most agile climbed tall bollards that form the first part of the barrier, a couple of them briefly dropping down on the U.S. side before climbing back to Mexico.

Most just stood in the sand, some playing in the waves, others getting a first look at the country they have traveled thousands of miles with hopes of entering.

Its everybodys dream, everybody wants to live in America, said a 42-year-old Honduran migrant who gave only his first name, Yarle. He lived in the United States for 32 years, but was deported three years ago, and has been surviving in El Progreso, Honduras as a bilingual teacher.

President Trump has been harshly critical of the caravans, and has sent troops to the border in anticipation of the arrival of the migrants. He has ordered that anyone caught crossing illegally be barred from even applying for asylum.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that on Tuesday it would be closing three lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and one at the Otay Mesa Port of entry to install port hardening infrastructure equipment. The move was in preparation for the migrant caravan and the potential safety and security risk that it could cause, a statement said.

Late Tuesday, at Playas de Tijuana, U.S. authorities were seen installing new layers of mesh fencing on the beach.

Tuesdays group, whose members arrived in nine buses, was mostly comprised of men, but included 36 women and 12 children, according to a tally by the Tijuana city government. They had been offered transportation from Guadalajara, and split off from the larger group that is continuing to make its way to the U.S. border, and late Tuesday were making their way through the state Nayarit, hundreds of miles away.

Shortly after arriving Tuesday morning, members of the group swarmed the Desayunador Padre Chava, a Catholic-run soup kitchen that offered them a meal. The plan was to spread them in several shelters run by church groups or civic organizations, said Cesar Palencia, the citys director of migrant services.

Shelter capacity in the city is about 1,400, he said. But many shelters currently are over capacity, especially those serving women and children, as growing numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans have come to Tijuana in recent months with plans to seek asylum in the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have said they are unable to keep up with the large volume of asylum seekers, and as a result prospective applicants must wait for several weeks before they are even admitted for processing. The migrants themselves maintain a notebook with a waiting list, which in recent weeks has grown to 2,500.

The arrival of the caravan members has been stirring anxiety of those already on the list. If they come and start making problems, they might close the border and then nobody will be able to cross, said Arlette Alvarez, 32, who came to Tijuana from the southern Mexican state Michoacan with her three children five weeks ago.

Erika Pinheiro, an attorney with the group Al Otro Lado, said the list itself is of questionable legality and added if they really cared about addressing this, they wouldnt be deploying military, theyd be deploying asylum officers to the border.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas held the fourth round of China-Germany Strategic Dialogue on Diplomatic and Security Affairs on Tuesday, with both officials vowing to strengthen all-round strategic cooperation.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi [Photo: people.com.cn]

Wang said China is willing to work with Germany to actively implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries and continuously enhance mutual political trust.

Wang called on the two sides to seize the opportunities of jointly building the Belt and Road and the fourth industrial revolution, deepen bilateral economic and trade exchanges, and expand cooperation in such areas as artificial intelligence, internet of things and digitalization.

He also urged the two sides to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, safeguard rule-based multilateral trade mechanism, and jointly build an open world economy.

Wang expressed China's support for the European integration process.

For his part, Maas said Germany regards China as a strategic partner of priority, takes a proactive and open attitude towards the Belt and Road Initiative and stands ready to speed up the negotiation process of a China-EU investment treaty.

Both sides agreed that in the face of the complex and ever-changing international situation, China and Germany should jointly adhere to multilateralism and safeguard the global free trade system.
The trial began this week for an Irvine businessman who is charged with murdering his former business partner for financial gain and making his body vanish.

The defendant, Edward Younghoon Shin, 40, faces the possibility of life in prison if he is convicted of murdering Chris Smith, who was 33 when he disappeared in June 2010.

In laying out the case for jurors Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, prosecutor Matt Murphy said that in the weeks leading up to Smiths disappearance, he had stopped trusting Shin. Shin was entangled in lawsuits that accused him of misappropriating funds from former employers, and Smith feared that he would plunder their corporate accounts to pay off his debts, Murphy said.

Each man wanted something from the other, Murphy said. Shin wanted Smiths signature on paperwork to authorize a $700,000 financial settlement in one lawsuit. And Smith, who lived in Laguna Beach, wanted Shin to agree to greater financial transparency in their businesses.

Advertisement

Chris Smith created a big problem for Ed Shin, Murphy told jurors.

The business partners ran a company called 800XChange out of a San Juan Capistrano business park, focusing on debt consolidation as well as affiliated companies, the prosecutor said.

This was kind of the Wild West, Murphy said. These guys were making money hand over fist.

Smith, a bachelor and avid surfer, appeared to be living what Murphy called a dream life, with an ocean-view Laguna Beach apartment and a serious girlfriend.

Shin is charged with murdering Chris Smith, above, whose body was never found. (File photo)

But his business partner had a serious gambling habit, and would take private jets to casinos where he wagered what a witness called obscene amounts of money, the prosecutor said.

The problem is called Viva Las Vegas, Murphy said. He had a penchant for craps.

On June 4, 2010, Smith vanished. The next day, Shin sent an email to company employees telling them to stay away from the office for the next week for privacy as he and Smith discussed the companys future.

When employees returned, they noticed an unexplained smell so foul they burned candles to counter it.

Shin told people that Smith had headed to the Galapagos Islands and planned to surf the world in the company of a new girlfriend named Tiffany Taylor, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said Taylor turned out to be a Las Vegas atmosphere model and former Playboy model denied going to the Galapagos with Smith.

Five days after Smiths disappearance, the prosecutor said, Shin rented a Dodge Ram and put 345 miles on it before returning it  far enough to take Smiths body to the desert and dispose of it, Murphy said. The remains have not been found.

Four months after he disappeared, Smiths family received an email purporting to be from him that caused them serious worry. It said he planned to take a yacht trip through the pirate-frequented waters off Somalia.

The most dangerous trip anybody could ever take, because of course hes never coming home, Murphy said.

Smiths father filed a missing persons report with the Laguna Beach Police Department, which found Smith hadnt used his credit card since June.

The prosecutor said that when forensic investigators searched the vacant San Juan Capistrano business offices the men had shared, they found Smiths blood on the walls, ceiling and desk, and in the cement under the carpet, indicating a scene of helter-skelter violence had taken place there.

Shin, 40, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney declined to give an opening statement. The trial is expected to continue this week before Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett.

christopher.goffard@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATchrisgoffard
As a third body was discovered among the ashes of a home in Agoura Hills, residents in nearby Malibu questioned fire officials about the division of resources and rushed evacuation notices during the Woolsey fires devastating march through Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The body, which has not been identified, was found by a cadaver dog searching a burned-out home in the 32000 block of Lobo Canyon Road with law enforcement Tuesday. The remains were found on an enclosed patio or what could have been a bedroom, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. Derrick Alfred of the Homicide Bureau said.

The block is on a winding road nestled among charred hillsides directly in the path of the fire as it burned southwest across Paramount Ranch and down the hills that surround Kanan Road.

Alfred said deputies from the Lost Hills station along with Malibu Search and Rescue conducted an extensive search of the home Tuesday but initially didnt find the body amid the ruins. Thats when authorities called in a dog to search.

Advertisement

It was virtually impossible for any deputy to find those remains, he said.

The home belonged to a 70-year-old man who lived alone and has been reported missing by relatives, according to authorities.

The remains of two other bodies considered fire-related deaths were found in a charred car on Mulholland Highway in Malibu last week.

As more residents in Malibu and Calabasas were allowed to return home Wednesday and firefighters continued making progress  the fire was 52% contained  questions remain over how authorities responded to the blaze.

At a town hall Tuesday night, Malibu residents pressed officials for answers about why some homes werent saved and chastised them for wasting time with platitudes instead of updating residents.

Could we please have some information? one resident repeatedly shouted. No more cheerleading. Information!

Firefighters knew they were in for a tough battle early Friday as the fast-moving blaze jumped the 101 Freeway and tore through dense brush toward Malibu with 70 mph winds bearing down. The fire stretched 14 miles on its front as it entered Liberty Canyon at Agoura Road, cresting the mountains and chewing up fuel as it sped toward the sea.

Track key details of the California wildfires 

The inferno quickly swept through the coastal city, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. People fled along congested Pacific Coast Highway as flames engulfed home after home, leaving nothing but rubble and a few charred remnants of normalcy.

The fire, which had burned 98,362 acres as of Wednesday night, has destroyed an estimated 504 structures  a number that is expected to grow in the coming days as crews continue to assess damage.

Richard Bloom, a state assemblyman who represents Malibu and neighboring communities, said that in every major fire, questions arise about the deployment of resources.

Why were they here and not here? These are important questions. They deserve answers. The responses are never quite perfect, Bloom said. What youre looking for is coverage everywhere, which is virtually impossible given the limitations of resources.

L.A. County Deputy Fire Chief Dave Richardson told residents that the agency had resources in place as the fire broke out, with more than 300 county firefighters and over a dozen strike teams, but the speed of the flames quickly made the fire a life-safety issue. They decided to evacuate residents, but some who were trapped in their homes by the raging conflagration called 911 seeking help.

Life is our No. 1 priority, Richardson said. We divert resources from protecting your structures to go get people out.

In response to questions about the deployment of resources and why there werent more fire engines defending homes, Richardson pointed to historical data mapping. He said the blaze is larger and more destructive than recent fires in the area.

Ive been in the business for over 32 years. I have never  seen fire activity and the fire spread that weve seen. Thats the reality. Our firefighters were out there putting their life on the line to protect you and the communities, Richardson said.

But he said resources for the Woolsey fire also have been limited.

Los Angeles County coroners workers on the scene where a body was found at a burned home in the 32000 block of Lobo Canyon Road in Agoura Hills. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

With the wind, the dry fuel, the vegetation and due to competing needs  due to the fires in Northern California and northern Ventura County, it tasked us, he said. It was quite the challenge.

Citing the loss of lives, destruction of property and widespread evacuations caused by the Woolsey fire, the county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to proclaim an emergency in Los Angeles County and asked Gov. Jerry Brown to do the same. They also declared a local health emergency and ordered that no debris be removed without a hazardous materials inspection.

The ordinarily humdrum government proceedings were punctuated by the appearance of celebrity residents, who appeared to ask for food, water, gas and shelter in the aftermath of the fire, as well as assistance in rebuilding.

I have witnessed many fires in my community and experienced the devastation  but none as catastrophic as the events that have taken place in our community these last five days and nights, actor Pierce Brosnan said. We beseech you to do everything in your power to save our community.

Several residents complained about not getting timely notices to evacuate and instead heard about evacuation orders from friends across the county. Others said there were not enough firefighting resources, leaving Malibu residents to fend for themselves.

The Fire Department has been depleted. They are not fully resourced  and thats on you guys, Paul Morra said. We lost 19 homes in Corral Canyon. Not one engine was up there, and we had no water. No water. And that needs to be investigated.

Times staff writers Nina Agrawal and Sonali Kohli contributed to this report.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

hannah.fry@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

javier.panzar@latimes.com

UPDATES:

6:30 p.m.: This article was updated with current statistics about the size and containment of the fire.

4:20 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional details on the third fire victim.

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with information about a third victim of the fire.

This article was originally published at 9:50 a.m.
The number of deaths from Californias deadliest wildfire rose to 48 Tuesday as authorities and family members mounted desperate searches for the hundreds still missing.

Search crews recovered six more bodies inside homes in Paradise as the Camp fire continued its destructive march, challenging firefighters battling flames near the Feather River and pushing crews to build defenses before the inferno reaches the next town.

The blaze has scorched 130,000 acres since Thursday, ripping through mountain towns in Butte County. More than 8,800 structures  mostly homes in Paradise  were turned to rubble. About 15,500 structures remain threatened.

This fire was moving so rapidly, we couldnt keep ahead of it. We did our absolute best, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters Tuesday night.

Advertisement

We were trying to move tens of thousands of people out of an area very rapidly, with the fire coming very rapidly, and no matter what your plan is to do that, no plan will ever work 100% when youre dealing with that much chaos, he said.

Suzanne Kaksonen, 54, said she had about 30 minutes to evacuate and took that time to grab seven photos off the walls of her home, along with her two birds, Buddy and Lady Bird.

It was really scary, she said. Im never going to bed without gas in my car again.

On Tuesday night, Kaksonen had found the latest temporary shelter: a Walmart parking lot. Kaksonen and her fiance pitched a tent for the night, along with about two dozen others.

Kaksonen said she couldnt comprehend the last few days of destruction.

It doesnt seem possible, she said.

For now, her friends and family are safe.

Im just trying to keep the birds warm, she said.

Crews Tuesday were working to build up defenses around the town of Cherokee near the Feather River and Stirling City, northeast of Paradise and Magalia, which were both devastated by the Camp fire.

At a Paradise Town Council meeting that evening, Steve Crowder, an incoming councilman and business owner, said he helped direct traffic out of town when the fire broke out and said there were moments he didnt know if hed make it out alive.

Mayor Jody Jones sternly defended the towns evacuation plan after a community member was critical.

It wasnt perfect, Jones said. But it worked. It was chaos, but it was sort of organized chaos.

Before the meeting, city staff, residents and council members embraced, talking about what was lost in the fire. How you holding up? they asked one another. Every council member had lost his or her home.

Lauren Gill, the town manager, told the council she had toured the town. Her voice shook at times as she described the devastation and the massive effort that will be required to clean and rebuild it.

People are working day and night to make this recovery happen as soon as they can, she said. None of us have really even had time to mourn.

As Gill spoke, people listened with tear-streaked faces in the audience of about two dozen residents.

During the meeting, Jones asked to skip the agenda item on road projects. The crowd laughed.

Authorities said they were still investigating what caused the blaze. People who lost homes have sued Pacific Gas & Electric Co., accusing the utility of negligence and blaming it for the fire. More than two dozen fire victims said the utility did not maintain its infrastructure and failed to properly inspect and manage its power transmission lines.

Amid the wreckage, search teams continued to sift through rubble and ash. The search for the dead relied on portable devices that can identify someones genetic material in a couple of hours, rather than days or weeks.

Residents are holding out hope that their loved ones who went missing when the fire tore through their towns might be found.

The confusing search for hundreds of missing people has been complicated by many factors: bad cellphone service; a lack of access to burned-out areas; and the sheer scattering of people across the region who are staying in shelters, hotels, friends houses and their vehicles and may not have gotten in touch with loved ones.

Santa Cruz reported from Paradise, Tchekmedyian from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Hailey Branson-Potts, Joseph Serna and Hannah Fry, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

Twitter: @NicoleSantaCruz

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it would begin rewriting smog rules for heavy-duty trucks, but offered little clarity on how much the initiative would seek to slash or strengthen regulations and whether it might conflict with Californias efforts to develop its own stricter emissions limits.

EPA officials said they would start work to revise truck pollution standards to lower nitrogen oxide emissions while also removing requirements industry has complained are costly and burdensome. The agency provided few specifics on what changes could ultimately result from the Cleaner Trucks Initiative, but said it plans to propose new rules in early 2020.

This initiative will help modernize heavy-duty truck engines, improving their efficiency and providing cleaner air for all Americans, acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said.

We are under no regulatory or court-ordered requirements to launch this initiative, Wheeler added. We are doing it because its good for the environment.

Advertisement

Environmentalists, who have long pressed the EPA to adopt rules slashing emissions from diesel trucks, were surprised given the Trump administrations nearly two-year push to weaken environmental protections, including those aimed at reducing other sources of health-damaging air pollution.

In this one instance theres an admission by the EPA that their job is to deal with nitrogen oxides that hurt the health of Americans and children, said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate for the group Public Citizen. If they really believe that, they should also immediately stop the other deregulatory actions.

The move was welcomed by state and local air quality regulators, who have also pushed for tighter limits and say reining in big rig emissions is one of the biggest obstacles to clean air in Southern California and other areas of the country that do not meet federal health standards.

It remains unclear if the EPA would include more stringent emissions limits or anything as strict as the 90% reduction in nitrogen oxide pollution California air quality officials say is necessary to clean smog to health standards. Millions of Californians breathe air that exceeds federal limits for ozone and fine-particle pollution, which is linked to asthma, heart disease and thousands of early deaths each year.

EPA officials referred to the truck pollution initiative as both a deregulatory and regulatory action, and presented it in the context of dozens of regulation-slashing actions completed or under development by the Trump administration. Agency officials would not say whether the rule would ultimately include a toughening of tailpipe emissions limits on trucks.

Wheeler said part of the initiative would be to cut unnecessary red tape while simplifying certification and compliance requirements. In the nearly two decades since the agencys truck pollution rules were last overhauled, requirements have been added in piecemeal fashion, he said, resulting in overly complex and costly requirements that do little to actually improve the environment.

Bill Wehrum, the EPAs assistant administrator for air and radiation, said it does not have an emissions reduction target in mind because it is at the beginning of the rule-making process. He suggested the update could involve changes to address known shortcomings in vehicle emissions-testing methods that fail to capture high pollution generated by real-world driving conditions.

Wehrum said there may be ways to reduce emissions without even changing the number, the numeric value of the standard.

Trucks remain the No. 1 source of smog-forming pollution in Southern California.

Ozone pollution exceeded the federal health limit of 70 parts per billion in the South Coast air basin that spans Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino on 141 days this year as decades of progress fighting smog has faltered in recent years.

California is already developing its own, more stringent nitrogen oxide emissions standards for trucks, raising the possibility that they could conflict with the proposal by the federal government. The state Air Resources Board is currently testing vehicles as it develops new rules it expects to consider for adoption by the end of next year.

Air Resources Board spokesman Stanley Young said nitrogen oxide pollution from heavy-duty trucks is a huge problem both as a precursor to ozone and fine particles, and also as a greenhouse gas. And the total emissions from this source are growing.

We are pleased that the agency is moving forward to address the next generation of new heavy-duty engines, Young said.

Wehrum said the agency would work with California in drawing up the new truck pollution standards, and an EPA spokesman said we are committed to setting a single, 50-state standard.

If California chooses to impose stricter emissions rules than the EPA, however, it may need a waiver  a situation that could set up another state-versus-federal legal battle.

In another recent move that has spawned a legal fight, under Trump the EPA has proposed freezing greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and trucks at 2020 levels while taking away the authority to adopt stricter rules by California and about a dozen other states that adhere to its standards.

Wed want to make sure this isnt going to be used as a device to set weak standards and then deny a future California request to set its own more aggressive standard, said Frank ODonnell, a longtime clean-air advocate and former president of the nonprofit Clean Air Watch. It could become a mirror image of the passenger vehicle battle.

EPA officials said heavy-duty trucks account for an increasing share of the nations smog-forming emissions and will be responsible for one-third of nitrogen oxide pollution from transportation by 2025. Officials said theyve heard from industry groups and states saying it was time to update rules.

This new rule will provide manufacturers with additional regulatory certainty and contribute to the cleaner environment weve promised to help deliver, said Ross Eisenberg, vice president for energy and resources policy for the National Assn. of Manufacturers.

In 2016, more than 20 state and local air quality agencies, including several in California, sent petitions urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt tougher tailpipe emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks.

In the closing days of the Obama administration, the EPA responded to the petitions by acknowledging a need for additional NOx reductions from this category of vehicles and engines, particularly in areas of the country with elevated levels of air pollution and said it intended to move forward with rules that would take effect in 2024.

tony.barboza@latimes.com

@tonybarboza
Researchers with UC San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Princeton University recently walked back scientific findings published last month that showed oceans have been heating up dramatically faster than previously thought as a result of climate change.

In a paper published Oct. 31 in the journal Nature, researchers found that ocean temperatures had warmed 60 percent more than outlined by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

However, the conclusion came under scrutiny after mathematician Nic Lewis, a critic of the scientific consensus around human-induced warming, posted a critique of the paper on the blog of Judith Curry, another well-known critic.

The findings of the ... paper were peer reviewed and published in the worlds premier scientific journal and were given wide coverage in the English-speaking media, Lewis wrote. Despite this, a quick review of the first page of the paper was sufficient to raise doubts as to the accuracy of its results.

Advertisement

Co-author Ralph Keeling, climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, took full blame and thanked Lewis for alerting him to the mistake.

When we were confronted with his insight it became immediately clear there was an issue there, he said. Were grateful to have it be pointed out quickly so that we could correct it quickly.

Keeling said they have since redone the calculations, finding the ocean is still likely warmer than the estimate used by the IPCC. However, that increase in heat has a larger range of probability than initially thought  between 10 percent and 70 percent, as other studies have already found.

Our error margins are too big now to really weigh in on the precise amount of warming thats going on in the ocean, Keeling said. We really muffed the error margins.

A correction has been submitted to the journal Nature.

According to the most recent IPCC report, climate emissions need to be cut by 20 percent by 2030 and then zeroed out by 2075 to keep warming from exceeding 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.

Authors of the recent study had previously claimed that emissions levels in coming decades would need to be 25 percent lower to keep warming under that 2-degree cap.

While papers are peer reviewed before theyre published, new findings must always be reproduced before gaining widespread acceptance throughout the scientific community, said Gerald Meehl, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

This is how the process works, he said. Every paper that comes out is not bulletproof or infallible. If it doesnt stand up under scrutiny, you review the findings.

The report relied on a novel approach that still has the potential to revolutionize how scientists measure the oceans temperature.

Much of the data on ocean temperatures currently relies on the Argo array, robotic devices that float at different depths. The program, which started in 2000, has gaps in coverage.

By comparison, Keeling and Laure Resplandy, a researcher at Princeton Universitys Environmental Institute who co-authored the report, calculated heat based on the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide rising off the ocean, filling round glass flasks with air collected at research stations around the globe.

Keeling said they will continue to experiment with the data in coming years in an attempt to fine-tune the data.

Its a promising new method, but we didnt get the precision right on the first pass, he said.

The study is still the first to confirm that the ocean is warming using a method independent of direct ocean temperature measurements.

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
Peter Lee, director of Covered California, the states health insurance exchange, stopped in San Diego Tuesday midway through a 13-city, 23-stop promotional bus tour.

His goal: to fight a big change in federal health policy change that allows people to skip health insurance without paying a penalty next year.

With San Diego Bay in the background, Lee took a temporary stage on the mezzanine at the San Diego Convention Center and noted that, though the health insurance exchange currently covers 1.4 million Californians, there are many more who qualify but havent signed up. That number is estimated to be about 100,000 in San Diego County alone.

He noted that those who have been covered by the policies his organization sells saw a total of 22,000 broken or dislocated arms or shoulders and more than 50,000 cancer diagnoses last year, hinting at the life can change in an instant theme of this years tour.

Advertisement

Not one of those people that got a cancer diagnosis, not one of those people that broke a leg thought, oh, this is the year that Im going to break a leg, this is the year Im going to get cancer, Lee said.

Before his speech, Lee said that his organization projects that the Trump administrations decision in 2017 to do away with the Affordable Care Acts individual mandate, the requirement that most Americans must buy health insurance if they dont have it or pay a penalty, is going away in 2018.

Unlike most health insurance exchanges in the United States, Covered California, because it is independent and not operated by the federal government, did not see its marketing budget cut this year and plans to spend upwards of $100 million this fall getting the word out just as it has in previous years.

Tuesdays appearance in San Diego came as the American Public Health Association was nearing the end of its 2018 annual meeting inside the convention center and Georges Benjamin, the organizations executive director, stepped out on the terrace to make it clear that Covered Californias work has been noticed beyond the Golden State.

California is leading the way. You folks have shown all of us around the nation what you can do by rolling up your sleeves and getting people covered, Benjamin said.

The Covered California tour bus was headed for Palm Desert and Riverside after departing San Diego.

Covered California open enrollment continues through Jan. 15 though those who wish to have their coverage start on Jan. 1 must select a plan by Dec. 15.
A divided San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to hire Family Health Centers of San Diego to run a homeless navigation center, paving the way for the facility to open in three or four months.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer had proposed the navigation center to lead homeless people to housing opportunities and connect them with job training, mental health help, substance abuse treatment and other services to help them with issues related to their homelessness.

In January, the council unanimously agreed to spend $7 million on a closed Indoor Skydiving building at 1401 Imperial Ave. near Petco Park and convert it to a navigation center.

Since then, some council members and others have questioned whether the city instead should be focused on creating more housing. Some speakers opposing the project Tuesday said the center would navigate people to nowhere.

Advertisement

The proposal was supported by Council President Myrtle Cole and council members Mark Kersey, Chris Cate, Scott Sherman and Lorie Zapf. It was opposed by David Alvarez, Barbara Bry, Georgette Gomez and Chris Ward.

The agreement before the council Tuesday was to spend $1.9 million from Dec. 1 through Nov. 30, 2019. The cost includes one-time expenses to prepare the building and about $1.6 million in annual operations.

Funds will come from $1 million in community development block grants, $300,000 from the general fund and $250,000 from the low-moderate income housing asset fund. The operating cost and funding sources were projected to remain the same through the end of 2023, according to the staff report.

Bry, Ward and some speakers in opposition to the project said the city should wait on the center until a strategic plan on homelessness is completed for the city sometime next year.

Speaking before the council Tuesday, Faulconer said the citys actions in the past year have created shelter for about 900 people each night, but more needs to be done to help about 5,000 still unsheltered.

What do we say to those individuals out there right now looking for help, and what do we say to our neighbors looking for action? he said.

Some council members in support of the center expressed their frustration with the opposition.

And you wonder why its so hard to get things done in City Hall, Sherman said, adding that the council had once unanimously supported the concept. Is this going to solve the problem? No. Is this going to help along the way? Yes. I know its not perfect. Nothing ever is.

Cate said the city is working to build more affordable housing and recently released $50 million for construction projects. Kersey also noted that the bulk of the money would come from community development block grant funds, which cannot be used for building units.

Alvarez countered Kerseys statement by saying that the block grants can be used to acquire property and fund other costs related to housing.

Groups speaking in opposition to the project Tuesday included the San Diego Downtown Residents Group, East Village Residents Group, East Village Association, American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and Build a Better San Diego.

Groups in support included the Alpha Project, Talmadge Community Council Chair Brian Helmich and a few formerly homeless people who said they had been helped by Family Health Services and navigators.

The citys Independent Budget Analyst office issued a report last week with some concerns about the navigation centers cost.

One concern was that no other agencies had agreed to be on the site, which the report said could create a program gap for clients at the center.

Noting that the plan called for police to regularly patrol around the center, the report cautioned against placing additional mandates on the San Diego Police Department without an analysis of the cost. The department was expected to exceed its overtime budget by $9.3 million in fiscal year 2019, with $2 million specifically attributed to patrolling around the new transitional storage center in Sherman Heights.

Like Ward and Bry, the Independent Budget Analyst Office also questioned how the center would fit in with the citys strategic homeless plan still under development.

Homeless Playlist  On Now San Diego hepatitis outbreak continues to grow: 481 cases On Now Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River On Now San Diego mayor agreed to homeless hub, then delayed, advocates say On Now Homeless outreach in San Diego On Now Video: Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #8 On Now In poverty himself, 'Water Man Dave,' is the fearless saint of San Diego's homeless 5:41 On Now Video: Homeless living in cars find safe havens 2:21 On Now Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #7 On Now Pitching a tent plan for San Diego's homeless On Now Homeless efforts get $80M boost for various services

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939




Despite a highly contentious race in the 50th Congressional District, Rep. Duncan Hunter and his Democratic challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar do agree on at least one thing  it remains important that all the votes are counted.

A week after the election, Campa-Najjar has yet to concede the race despite trailing by about 6 percentage points  or 11,559 votes.

His opponent is not calling on him to concede.

Were not calling on anything other than the registrar making sure that every vote is counted, said Mike Harrison, spokesman for Hunter.

Advertisement

Congressman Hunter believes every vote needs to be counted, theres nothing wrong with that, he added, noting that there is plenty of work for the congressman to do in the meantime with Congress returning to session.

For his part, Campa-Najjar said he is not expecting the outstanding votes to dramatically change the outcome of the election, but given the large number of outstanding ballots in San Diego and Riverside counties  299,000 and 209,000 respectively  he wanted to respect the will of the voters and hold his concession until all the votes were counted.

Im not even thinking about whether it changes or not, I just want to make sure we have the integrity of our voting process upheld, he said. The voting is over, but the counting isnt.

San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu said his office is working overtime to verify provisional ballots and conduct signature verification for the other remaining ballots. He said his office does not track how many of the remaining votes are in the 50th district.

Although Hunter placed first in the June primary by nearly 30 percentage points, the race in the 50th became one of the premiere contests in the country following the late-August indictment of Hunter and his wife on federal charges of stealing $250,000 of campaign funds. They have both pleaded not guilty, and Rep. Hunter says his prosecution is a politically motivated witch hunt.

After the indictment, Campa-Najjar saw a surge in campaign contributions and gained national media attention. However, despite tightening the polls in the weeks leading up to the election, Campa-Najjar remained a longshot to win in the Republican stronghold, represented by Hunter and his father before him for nearly four decades.

Campa-Najjar said he is very proud of what his campaign  and his supporters  accomplished in making the contest the most competitive of Hunters career. Before this year, Hunters most competitive race was a nearly 18-point win during his first race in 2008.

In an interview Tuesday, Campa-Najjar said he has no regrets about running for Congress but does think he could have done a better job conveying his vision to voters.

I think people voted their values, and I take some responsibility with the outcome and the fact there was probably a failure on my part to communicate my vision more fully, Campa-Najjar said.

The Democrat added that he believes the negative ads by both sides turned off voters. Hunter was attacked for his criminal troubles, and Campa-Najjar  a Christian and former member of the administration of former President Barack Obama  was maligned for his Palestinian roots. Campa-Najjar downplayed the perception by some that voters did not support him because of his name and ethnicity.

I dont think it was is because of racism, bigotry or Islamophobia I think a lot of people were going to their ballot and just had a hard time voting Democrat, he said.

Campa-Najjar also expressed frustration with both the Democrat and Republican parties for taking such hard-line positions just opposing each other  the people who said never Trump or never Obama, so to speak.

It is important to stand your ground on certain things, but it is also important to find common ground, he said.

UPDATES:

5:30 p.m. This story was updated to include todays close-of-business ballot counts from Riverside and San Diego counties.
An arson fire at a Chula Vista community groups office that was feared to be politically motivated was likely related to an ongoing dispute between a homeless man, who was arrested Tuesday, and the offices property management group, police said.

The fire happened at the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment on H Street near Glover Avenue shortly after midnight on Friday, police said. The office is in a complex with several other businesses.

Firefighters quickly doused the blaze, but the office, which was not occupied at the time, was seriously damaged. Investigators determined the fire was suspicious, leading some with the community organization to suspect the incident was politically motivated.

The organization works with low-income populations and communities of color, and recently supported the statewide Proposition 10 initiative and National Citys Measure W, both of which dealt with rent control. Each was defeated at the polls last week.

Advertisement

During the investigation, officers identified Christopher Jenkins, 28, as a suspect. Police believe Jenkins may have been living on the property without permission from the owners.

Officers with the homeless outreach team arrested Jenkins on Tuesday. He told detectives he set fire to the business because of an ongoing dispute hed been having with the propertys management company over the trashing of his stuff, Chula Vista police Lt. Kenny Heinz said.

Investigators suspect Jenkins targeted the office because he thought the organization was involved in the dispute.

There is no evidence that these crimes were politically motivated or related to any hate crimes, Heinz said in a statement.

Detectives also suspect Jenkins was responsible for two burglaries that occurred at the community groups office in January and June. The first resulted in the loss of about $4,000 worth of items. The second damaged property.

Jenkins is expected to be jailed on charges that include burglary and arson.

The community organization said in a statement that while it was relieved to learn the crime wasnt politically motivated, it noted with regret that the suspect was homeless.

The sad irony is that ACCE fights for housing rights, the organization said in a statement. No one should have to suffer from acts of violence like this one. And no one should be subject to the challenges that the most vulnerable sections of our society face as a result of the housing crisis.

The group thanked Chula Vista leaders and police for their quick action, and vowed to rebuild.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
A Chinese company specializing in laser technologies and weapons is promoting the use of lasers in oil exploitation and even space exploration.

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation has used the distributed acoustic sensor technology based on laser interference, the first of its kind in this country, to successfully detect the exploitation conditions of a 5,000-meter oil well in Shengli oil field, China's second largest oil field in East China's Shandong Province, Wu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Fourth Institute of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, said at the Third Optics Valley Aerospace Laser and Quantum Technology International Forum in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province on Tuesday.

The laser technology could monitor whether the oil extraction equipment is properly connected, whether the transmission of data is normal, said Wu.

Wu told the Global Times that the company is now experimenting in other oil fields in East China's Zhejiang Province, Tarim oil field in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Daqing oil field in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

"Compared with traditional drilling technology, the laser technology could detect whether there is oil underground and promote the production of oil and gas," Wu said.

Wu Chunfeng, a senior engineer at the company, told the Global Times that the laser technology could also be used in exploring other planets.

"The laser technology has high sensitivity and can carry both information and power. Using laser communication and detection to explore other planets may provide clearer imaging," Wu Chunfeng said.

In January, China successfully conducted the world's first two-way high-speed laser communication test, using a laser communication terminal installed on the high-throughput satellite Shijian-13 which is orbiting at 40,000 kilometers above Earth, marking the satellite's first official use.

The successful test shows that the country is at the forefront when it comes to high-speed space information transmission, according to an article posted on the official WeChat public account of the equipment development branch of China's People's Liberation Army Daily.

Experts said laser communication can also facilitate communication in space, laying a great foundation for the country's future space probe projects.

Earlier this month, a new study, published in the Astrophysical Journal, suggested that the laser technology could be used to produce an infrared beam bright enough to be spotted by intelligent alien civilizations. Once discovered, it would be like a bread crumb trail pointing right back to Earth, and extraterrestrials could come calling, media reported.
A retired Navy captain who was the lead public affairs officer for the U.S. Pacific Fleet pleaded guilty Tuesday to secretly providing public relations advice to corrupt Malaysian contractor Leonard Glenn Fat Leonard Francis, becoming the latest officer caught in the long-running corruption investigation.

The plea from Capt. Jeffrey Breslau, 52, not only adds another name to the lengthy list of current and former Navy officers and officials charged in the scheme, but also reveals yet another aspect of Navy operations that Francis corrupted  to the point the official was literally working for Francis.

Breslau provided advice and help to Francis on how to respond to investigations that his own service was conducting of Franciss company, according to federal prosecutors in San Diego.

Also on Tuesday, a retired master chief was sentenced to 17 months in prison after admitting he accepted gifts from Francis, such as cash and paid-for rooms in fancy hotels, in return for allowing the contractor to grossly inflate bills submitted to the Navy for services provided during port stays.

Advertisement

Breslau was the director of public affairs for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, according to federal prosecutors in San Diego. Yet while he did public relations work for the fleet, for more than a year from March 2012 to September 2013, he worked secretly for Francis  advising him on how best to respond to what was then a growing number of inquiries about Francis operation from inside the Navy.

By then Navy investigators were on to Francis years-long corruption scheme, where he bribed Navy officers and civilians with cash, services of prostitutes, fancy hotel rooms, all-expense-paid travel and other gifts.

In exchange, the Navy officials provided Francis information on upcoming port stays for Navy ships, used their influence to try to steer visits to ports where Francis controlled the ship servicing operations, bad-mouthed competitors to Franciss company Glenn Defense Marine Asia and helped him push through inflated or bogus invoices for the services his company provided.

Breslaus plea agreement said Francis paid him $65,000 for consulting services during that time period, and Breslau never told the Navy of the agreement. Among the issues he consulted on were port visit costs the Navy was billed for by GDMA, disputes with competitors and controversies over the illegal dumping of waste in ocean waters.

The plea agreement itemized some of the work Breslau did for Francis, including reviewing or editing 33 documents, writing 135 emails that provided substantive advice to the contractor, drawing up talking points for meetings with Navy officials 14 separate times and ghostwriting emails for Francis sent to Navy personnel.

Breslau pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal conflict of interest and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 9. He had initially been charged on Sept. 28 in federal court in San Diego and has been free on bond since. Prosecutors said in the plea agreement that the breadth and scope of his conduct damaged the service.

His willful illegal conduct in providing consulting services to Francis/GDMA substantially disrupted the functions of the U.S. Navy, including the discussions, meetings, and negotiations between Francis and other U.S. Navy personnel, who were unaware of the consulting services defendant was performing on GDMAs behalf, prosecutors alleged.

Breslaus role on Francis payroll as a public relatons adviser further outlines the extent of Francis network of corruption that spread throughout the Navys Seventh Fleet. He had an investigator with the Navy Criminal Investigative Services who gave him confidential files detailing ongoing investigations of Francis, logistics officers who told him about Navy efforts to control costs and how to evade them, and contracting officers who steered work to GDMA.

So far 33 people have been charged in the scheme and 22,  including Francis  have pleaded guilty. Francis was arrested five years ago and since then has been cooperating with prosecutors as they have unraveled his network.

Francis has admitted to overbilling the Navy some $35 million for services that his company provided military ships, such as trash removal, water and security.

Retired Master Chief Ricarte Icmat David pleaded guilty in September to one charge of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. He worked in logistics for the Seventh Fleet from 2003 to 2012. A master chief is the highest pay grade for enlisted personnel.

In exchange for approving the inflated invoices, he got hotel rooms and prostitutes and, according to the indictment, $40,000 in cash, most of which apparently went to build a home in the Philippines, where David lives.

Twitter: @gregmoran

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com
A pair of men in what police believe may have been a stolen vehicle led officers on a chase from Ocean Beach to downtown San Diego, crashing twice along the way before they were apprehended on Interstate 5 near state Route 94, police said.

The pursuit began just after 8:20 p.m. when a patrol officer attempted to stop a driver for operating his vehicle with no headlights on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard near Nimitz Boulevard, San Diego police Officer John Buttle said.

The driver refused to pull over, instead running stop lights and driving recklessly at speeds of more than 60 mph on surface streets, Buttle said. At one point near Nimitz Boulevard and Rosecrans Street, near Liberty Station, the suspect vehicle clipped a bystanders vehicle, but the motorist in the vehicle was uninjured.

Eventually the driver led police on eastbound Interstate 8 and then southbound I-5 at speeds nearing 100 mph, according to Buttle and police radio traffic. The chase came to an end when the suspect vehicle struck another vehicle near the ramp to eastbound SR-94.

Advertisement

The passenger bailed out, but was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit, Buttle said. Police radio traffic suggested the passenger had hopped over a barrier into northbound lanes of I-5 before being detained.

The driver stayed with the vehicle and was taken into custody without further incident, Buttle said. The woman whose vehicle was struck by the suspects was trapped for a time and sustained minor injuries.

Were trying to verify whether the vehicle was stolen or not, Buttle said.

It wasnt immediately clear what charges the suspects would face, the officer said, though it was likely the driver would at least be arrested on suspicion of felony evading and hit-and-run.

No officers were injured during the chase and no patrol vehicles were involved in any crashes, according to initial reports from officers at the scene.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com
The Rev. James Burson, a Catholic priest now living in San Diego County, has been accused of molesting a Buffalo, N.Y., high school student in the 1970s.

Burson recently was added to the Diocese of Buffalos list of priests credibly accused of sexual misconduct. The alleged molestation involved a boy at Cardinal Dougherty High School in Buffalo in 1979.

Moving from Buffalo to San Diego around 1996, Burson initially worked as a chaplain at Alvarado, Grossmont and Kaiser hospitals. He also served as a priest at San Diegos Blessed Sacrament parish until his retirement on July 1, 2009.

Then he moved to St. Patricks Catholic Church in Carlsbad. As recently as Nov. 4, the parish bulletin listed him in residence. However, a Diocese of San Diego spokesman said that poor health caused him to enter a board and care facility last year.

Advertisement

At Cardinal Dougherty, there were multiple incidents of abuse, said Mike Reck, a lawyer in the Los Angeles office of Jeff Anderson & Associates. There are probably survivors that need to know about this.

The Diocese of San Diego has received no complaints about Burson, a diocesan spokesperson said.

All we have is a letter from his order in August 1996, said the spokesperson, Kevin Eckery, saying he had a clear record.

The allegation was made this year, after the victim made a complaint to the Amherst, N.Y., police department. The victim, identified as a 54-year-old white male named Kevin, said he had not told anyone about the abuse until he began counseling this spring.

One night during a weekend retreat in January or February 1979, Kevin reported, he woke up to find Burson sitting on his bed.

Kevin further reports that Father Burson had his hand down Kevins underwear/shorts, the police report stated. When the priest began stroking the boys genitals, the report added, Kevin pretended to be asleep and rolled over, pressing the front of his body against a wall.

Burson left, but returned the next night, placing his hand on Kevins shoulder.

Kevin kept his body against the wall, though, until Burson walked out.

Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, he was ordained in 1963 as a priest in the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, an order commonly known as the Eudists. He was the librarian and vocations director at Cardinal Dougherty High from 1973 until 1979. In 1980 and 81, he was in residence at a Eudist facility in Lakeview, N.Y.

In 1983, he was attached to St. John the Baptist parish in Buffalo. He spent 10 years, 1984-1994, in Louisiana, working for St. Lawrence parish in Mowata and St. Joseph parish in Rayne.
They are activists and advocates, combat veterans, political novices and experts. And they are headed to Washington for a crash course in being members of Congress.

More than 80 representatives-elect and four senators-elect, most of them Democrats and many who have never before held elected office, arrived in Washington this week for freshman orientation. Its a speedy introduction to how to run a congressional office, what ethical rules they must follow and how to manage the whirlwind of life on Capitol Hill.

Along the way theyll pick office space, vote for who will lead their parties next year, interview staff and  if they are lucky  find a place to live. Theyll also have a chance to get to know their diverse new colleagues.

Historic firsts

The incoming freshman class includes a host of historic firsts.

Advertisement

Reps.-elect Deb Haaland of New Mexico and Sharice Davids of Kansas will be the first Native American women elected to Congress. Reps.-elect Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota will be the first Muslim American women sent to Congress. Omar is also the first Somali American elected to Congress and is expected to be the first representative to wear a hijab.

A host of other firsts include Massachusetts Rep.-elect Lori Trahan, the first Portuguese American woman elected to Congress, Colorado Rep.-elect Joe Neguse, the first Eritrean American, and Florida Rep.-elect Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the first Ecuadoran American elected to Congress.

Voters sent nine new African American representatives to Congress, including Connecticut Rep.-elect Jahana Hayes, the first African American Democrat elected from New England. The eight new Latino members include Reps.-elect Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia, the first Latinas to represent Texas.

Escobar said Tuesday that immigrant communities, including those living along the southern border in places like her El Paso district, have been maligned by the president and some in Congress.

The beauty of this historic election for me is that it is the border that is changing history during this very tumultuous time, she said.

Reps.-elect Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne are the first women to represent Iowa in Congress. Republican Sen.-elect Marsha Blackburn will be the first female senator for Tennessee. Democratic Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema will be the first female senator for Arizona.

California Rep.-elect Katie Hill is the first openly bisexual Congress member from the state, though not the first in Congress. At 31 shell also be the youngest member of the state delegation.

Shes not the youngest in Congress, however. That title goes to Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is 29.

The 116th Congress will have the greatest number of women of any Congress, as well as the most black and Latino members in history.

The diversity is one of the best things about this Congress, and its really in the number of women and minorities that stepped up to the plate and ran, said Elaine Kamarck, a governance studies fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Novices

Hundreds of people ran for Congress this year saying they were inspired to enter politics by President Trump  either for him or against him  and the incoming class includes a striking number of people who have never before held elected office.

Some made quick work of showing their willingness to operate outside the status quo. Democrat Ocasio-Cortez joined climate change activists in a sit-in at the office of her partys House leader, Nancy Pelosi, on the first morning of orientation, trying to push for a more powerful special committee to address climate change. (Pelosi has already agreed to the idea.)

But most freshmen kept their heads down as orientation began and focused on gathering as much information as they could.

The novices include activists such as Georgia Rep.-elect Lucy McBath, a former flight attendant who became politically active after her son was shot and killed, and scientists including South Carolina Rep.-elect Joe Cunningham, an ocean scientist and lawyer.

Kamarck said that with Democrats controlling only the House while Republicans control the rest of government, the freshmen Democrats in the House will have time to learn the ropes before they can reasonably be expected to pass legislation.

They would be wise to sit back and figure out the institution, she said. Things that seem crystal clear to you when you are campaigning in a suburb 2,000 miles away suddenly become very complicated when you sit down to write legislation.

Rep.-elect Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.). (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

Returning to Washington

Several Obama-era officials will enter Congress, including former Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, former senior advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services Lauren Underwood of Illinois, and former Department of Housing and Urban Development official Colin Allred of Texas. Allred is also a former linebacker for the NFLs Tennessee Titans.

The highest-ranking former official returning to Washington is Rep.-elect Donna Shalala of Florida, who was Health and Human Services secretary for President Clinton. At 77, she is also the oldest member of the freshman class.

Im delighted to be here. Ive been here before, but Ive never been an elected member of Congress, so its going to be an interesting experience. Im used to testifying before them, Im used to making policy with them, but Ive never actually been a member myself, Shalala said Tuesday. I think its going to be a lot of fun.

Veterans

A record six female military veterans will serve next year, bringing the total number of veterans in Congress to more than 90.

The new female veterans in Congress are former Air Force Capt. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) former Navy pilot Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Navy veteran Elaine Luria (D-Va.).

Several male veterans will join Congress as well, including Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who served three tours of duty and lost his right eye in Afghanistan, and Colorado Democrat Jason Crow, an Army veteran.

Two members of the U.S. intelligence community will be sworn in as well, former CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.

Rep.-elect Mike Levin (D-Calif.) addresses reporters after arriving for orientation for new members of Congress. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

New California Representatives

In California, Democrats flipped at least three Republican-held districts, further shrinking the GOP share of the states congressional delegation.

Democrats are expected to hold at least 42 of Californias 53 House districts. Races in two Orange County districts and one Central Valley district are still too close to call, so the final split could still change.

The new members of the California delegation are Hill, a former executive of a nonprofit agency that works on homelessness, in the 25th District; real estate investor Harley Rouda in the 48th District; and environmental attorney Mike Levin in the 49th District.

The latest from Washington 

More stories from Sarah D. Wire 

sarah.wire@latimes.com

Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter
The Washington Post tallied 1,218 false or misleading claims by President Donald Trump in his first nine months in office. Thats an average of five a day. In just seven weeks before the midterm elections, the Post counted another 1,419 false or misleading claims  an astounding average of 30 a day.

Its not just his increased frequency thats jarring. Its his material. His newest false claims of electoral corruption have the potential to harm America. A week after the president declared close to a complete victory for him and Republicans on election night, hes more than misleading. Hes dangerous.

On Twitter, commenting on close Senate and gubernatorial races, Trump has said it was a disgrace that Florida was all of the sudden finding votes out of nowhere, made allegations of electoral corruption in Arizona involving mail ballots and blasted Georgia officials for not declaring Republican Brian Kemp to be the states governor-elect.

The president offered no evidence of any kind for his claims about alleged fraud in the three states, which all have Republican governors and voted for Trump in 2016. Taking weeks to get it right and to finish counting ballots is not nefarious. Its normal.

Advertisement

The president should learn from Republican Rep. Martha McSally, who gracefully conceded Monday to Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, her Democratic opponent in the Arizona Senate race. Top White House and GOP officials reportedly urged McSally to question the vote count. Instead, she did the honorable thing. She promoted a centuries-old electoral process instead of corrosive conspiracies about it.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Re Probe sought over lease on liberty station chapel (Nov. 11): North Chapel at Liberty Station should continue as a church, not just as a historic site but as a lifeline of society. Church is a unique place that instills change in peoples lives. St. John Bosco Mission meets in North Chapel, promoting order, justice, culture and peace.

Church is all about being a community where inspiration takes place, deeper love is explored, enriching relationships occur, authentic living is the goal. Individuals are cared for, gifts are used effectively, people are challenged to grow beyond themselves.

Maintaining North Chapel as a chapel  enabling two churches to meet weekly, facilitating the continuance of weddings, funerals and special events  is of greater value to the community than the presence of another restaurant or retail facility with a worldly, money-making set of values.

Mel Ely

Advertisement

Point Loma

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.
An art project by dozens of students, parents and volunteers is on display in the Valley Elementary School front office.

The four-panel textile mural was started in the summer of 2017, when several Valley parents conceptualized the project. The textile murals are based loosely on traditional Latin American folk art, specifically from the Andean region, which uses scrap fabric to create scenes of everyday life, said Nila Boquin, one of the project creators. Boquin praised how colorful the art always is, and said she thought a similar project would reflect the language and culture of many of the students at Valley, which is the only school in the district with a Spanish language immersion program.

The four panels show scenes of Poway life. One panel shows Lake Poway, another Old Poway Park and a third represents the school. The final panel is the Poway oak tree as seen on the citys flag and seal. Each leaf on the oak tree was embroidered by different children, sometimes with multiple children working on a single leaf.

You can see the student imprint in every panel, said Boquin.

The project cost very little monetarily, said Boquin, as much of the fabric was donated by Valley families, but thousands of hours went into the creation of the mural by students and their families.

(The project being) textile meant it could be worked on it a lot of places, unlike a traditional mural, she said. The panels traveled to nine different homes of Valley families.

Students and parents also worked on the project at the 2017 back-to-school night, where Boquin and her fellow project planners prepared embroidery hoops for volunteers to work on the panels. Grandparents, dads and kids all worked on them, she said.

Stations were also set up at the schools Art in the Valley art night event, where more volunteers worked on sewing parts of the panels, she added. Take-home kits were also available for children to take home and work on in their free time outside of school. Kits were also prepared for Valleys ASES program, Boquin said.

(Working on the mural) resonated with some kids and not others, said Boquin. Some pieces ended up worked on by multiple people (after a child tried it out and did not like sewing).

Those working on pieces of the project were given free rein to interpret how they liked, Boquin said, which made the project organic and reflective of the Valley community.

Boquin said the pieces of the panels were gathered and assembled between February and the spring, something she called a ginormous task.

The finished mural was put on display sometime in April or May, Boquin said, but no one involved in the project had the energy to contact anyone about it until recently.

While there are no plans to exhibit the piece anywhere except the schools front office, Boquin said it is a special piece and she hopes it becomes an iconic piece of art for the school.

Hearing comments from staff and parents (about the mural) is the most gratifying thing, Boquin said. It makes it all worthwhile.

Email: news@pomeradonews.com
San Diego Police Departments Homicide Unit is seeking the publics help in solving a 14-year-old cold case of a toddlers skeletal remains found in Rancho Bernardo.

The remains were found by two hikers along a Rancho Bernardo hiking trail off West Bernardo Drive near Rancho Bernardo Community Park on May 4, 2004.

Dubbed Baby Doe, forensic testing determined the deceased child was a 2- to 4-year-old boy probably born between 1999 and 2001. Baby Does features are consistent with being mostly Caucasian and is believed to have had light to medium brown hair, according to a San Diego County Crime Stoppers press release sent out last Friday.

According to isotopic testing results, authorities also said Baby Doe was likely born on the mainland United States and his mother most likely resided in the Southeast United States during part of her pregnancy, where the child might have lived during his first year of life. After that, Baby Doe was relocated westward, toward California.

A forensic artist with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has drawn what the child likely looked like from various angles. It was released last week along with photos of clothing found with the boys remains.

According to police, the toddlers remains were discovered in a green bag with leather straps and it was perhaps dumped along the trail about a year before discovery. He was wearing three, child-sized shirts and red pants. The bag also contained an adult-sized green winter jacket with black and red paint stains and adult-sized sweatshirt with the words Kamikaze Racing Team on it.

Photos of the clothing found with Baby Doe can be viewed at tinyurl.com/BabyDoe-RB.

San Diego police Lt. Matt Dobbs said releasing the information came about after Channel 8 wanted to do a story on one of the departments cold cases. He added that investigators are hoping to soon use some genealogy testing to solve the case.

Since the story aired last week, Dobbs said several people have contacted authorities saying they think the boy is the missing Jahi Turner, but he is not that 2-year-old boy who in 2002 disappeared without a trace in San Diego.

Anyone with information about the Baby Doe case, including who he was, how he died or the identity of his parents, is asked to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. For details on how to leave a tip via web or mobile app, go to SDCrimeStoppers.org.

Tipsters may remain anonymous. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered if provided information leads to a felony arrest.

Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com
With Brexit talks ongoing, UK companies are still in a state of limbo about what Brexit will mean for trade with neighbouring EU countries. Theres no better time to establish trade links further afield, and China recently gave them such an opportunity, welcoming enterprises from all over the world to Shanghai to showcase their latest products at the China International Import Expo (CIIE).

Art Stavenka, co-founder of HyperVSN, talks to Peoples Daily Online in front of a hologram of Jinbao the CIIE mascot.

The UK already exports a myriad of products to China, representing a cross-section of British in-dustry and services, mostly machinery, electrical products and road vehicles. When it comes to what Chinese consumers know about Britain, the country is best known for its traditional elements, such as breakfast tea, the Queen and moustached men who have a knack for solving crime.

However, with a national pavilion themed on innovation, John Edwards, the British consul-general in Shanghai, explained that the CIIE was a chance for the UK to showcase itself as a player in high-tech and smart technology.

"CIIE is not a normal trade show; it is a celebration of China's 40 years of opening up. It is an amazing chance to highlight the things the UK has been working on with China in the areas of in-novation, creativity, AI, and Fin-tech," Edwards told Xinhua news before the event.

China, with the worlds largest population and fastest growing consumer market, represents a key market for British exports. According to China Daily, China imported goods worth 12.46 trillion yuan ($1.96 trillion) last year  an increase of 18.7 percent from 2016, making it an enormous draw for small countries such as the UK.

Ross McMahon at his CIIE booth.

In particular, UK-China trade reached a record 67.5 billion pounds ($89 billion) in 2017, a 15 percent increase from 2016. Moreover, British government statistics show that UK exports to China grew by 28.5 percent in 2017, reaching 22.3 billion pounds.

The above is good news for British companies such as HyperVSN, a London based company who used the CIIE as an opportunity to promote their new product, a small device that produces a ho-logram, seemingly out of thin air.

The CIIE marked the companys second visit to China, and co-founder Art Stavenka was happy with the turnout. As dozens of onlookers excitedly pointed cameras in the direction of the holo-graphic display in front of them, Stavenka quipped that soon, people would talk of Sherlock Holmes and HyperVSN in the same breath when discussing the UK.

The product is brand new, and despite that, its fast moving. We are in a very exciting stage at the moment. There are similar products on the market, but we believe we are years ahead of them, and hopefully, well maintain those gaps for years to come.

Founded six years ago in London, the company has a Research and Development centre in East-ern Europe and has already entered 70 countries, with partners and distributors in 50 countries and counting, added Stavenka.

Many British companies secured deals with Chinese counterparts during the CIIE, including Rolls-Royce, which signed an agreement worth 10.13 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) with China's Eastern Airlines, which ranked as one of the largest deals to come from the CIIE.

Ross McMahon, CEO of UK-based Kendal Nutricare, signed a 10-year MOU with Chinese based Orient International Holding Shanghai Foreign Trade Co., Ltd, explaining Its a big commitment by Orient International to work in the long term with us. It gives both companies a reason to invest and make long-term plans."

Ross McMahon says the British government are now paying more attention to China.

The CIIE wasnt McMahons first time in China, and he explained that what keeps him coming back is the fact that the Chinese market has changed so much during his career. For me as a busi-nessman coming to China over the last 20 years, Ive seen the country change enormously; its got so modern. Ive seen it change from bicycles to cars and now, at this show, I can already see CIIE is at a world standard.

According to McMahon, China, a country with over 17 million babies born in 2017, offers an enormous market for his product, a full-cream milk baby formula. The CIIE was an opportunity to make the contacts necessary to push his company further in the Chinese market.

Its been a tremendous week in terms of getting to know better my partners here, to showcase to the world audience the quality of products and the range we have - all of our organic products from England. Both teams are getting to know each other better. I think the British government will invest more in doing business in China, just as China is very interested in British quality.

Agreeing with McMahon, Stavenka explains that the Chinese market is one of the most attractive for enterprises in his sector. The Chinese market is quite favourable for new technologies like ours. You wont find that many markets that like the new tech, that like the visual appeal, who love the hologram sector; Id say Japan, China and Korea to name a few.

While the UK struggles to finalise a Brexit deal, many companies are concerned about its impact, but Kendal Nutricare isnt one of them. Domestically we sell in the UK, and after that our biggest markets are South East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, so were not that worried at all, said McMahon. Stavenka, whose company has an R&D centre in Minsk, still hopes that Brexit wont be finalised, but said even if it is, it wont be a concern for their product, which is already being sold in many countries outside of the EU.

On whether the UK will be back for next years CIIE, it was a resounding yes from everyone asked. Well be back next year. Each year well have a bigger stand, and well invite more guests. I think more of our international customers will start coming to Shanghai for CIIE next year... My custom-ers in Africa, the Middle East, and South America will travel here to meet us, said McMahon.

HyperVSN produces a hologram out of thin air.
Downed trees. Closed schools. Dead power lines. Dust-choked freeways. Frayed nerves. Pinched sinuses.

The arid Santa Ana winds made life miserable across San Diego County for a second straight day on Tuesday. But by mid-afternoon, the region had escaped what it fears most: a major wildfire.

And that was seen as something of a miracle by the National Weather Service.

The fire danger is really critical, and the winds have been really strong, said Dan Gregoria, a weather service forecaster. So far, weve been lucky.

Advertisement

The winds will be weaker Wednesday and the relative humidity wont be quite as bad. But a red flag fire weather warning will remain in effect for the county through 5 p.m.

The offshore winds roared to life before dawn. And just like on Monday, the winds struck the Cuyamaca and Laguna mountains at an angle, causing the air to shoot up, then race down the western slopes.

The wind gusted to 86 mph at Sill Hill, a peak southwest of Julian, and hit 82 mph at Hellhole Canyon, east of Valley Center, an area that has suffered many damaging wildfires.

The winds also had motorists gripping the steering wheel as they rambled along Interstate 8 in East County. The wind hit 70 mph or above at two spots in Alpine and 50 to 60 mph in other spots.

The winds kicked up clouds of dust that shrouded portions of East County and North County.

In Carlsbad and Solana Beach, joggers and surfers coped with winds gusting 35 mph and higher.

The relative humidity dropped below 10 percent across much of the county, cracking lips and parching throats.

The conditions led six rural East County school districts to close for the day. San Diego Gas & Electric turned off power to more of its customers  pushing the number to about 24,000.

The utility opted to de-energize lines located primarily in East County and the backcountry to lower the chance that active power lines would throw off sparks that could start the sort of wildfires that have caused death and destruction in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Another 7,300 SDG&E customers experienced unplanned outages in areas that dont usually experience extreme weather conditions, such as Olivenhain, Rancho Bernardo, Lake Hodges and Rancho Santa Fe, SDG&E spokesman Joe Britton said.

He added that pretty extreme Santa Ana winds in some areas reached the highest level since the utility installed its weather system in 2010.

At 10:25 a.m., winds in the San Diego neighborhood of Stockton blew a 40-foot tree onto a parked car. San Diego police reported no one was inside the vehicle.

The winds led educators to cancel classes Tuesday in some districts in the backcountry.

It was not yet clear Tuesday evening whether two other districts that closed Tuesday  Dehesa School District and Mountain Empire Unified School District  would shut down Wednesday.

The districts that will be closed Wednesday are:

Jamul-Dulzua Union School District

Julian Union High School District

Julian Union School District

Rancho Santa Fe School District

Spencer Valley School District

Other schools that will be closed Wednesday are:

Solana Santa Fe School in the Solana Beach School District

Del Lago Academy/Campus of Applied Science in the Escondido Union High School District

The county Office of Education on Tuesday morning announced it had added Dehesa School District as well as two more schools that were closed: Jamacha Elementary in the Cajon Valley Union School District and the Cuyamaca Outdoor School, which is operated by the county Office of Education.

The Jamacha campus has no power, and district officials decided to keep the Cuyamaca outdoor school in Descanso closed because of weather conditions and concerns about safely evacuating students, said Music Watson, spokeswoman for the county Office of Education.

Some students from OFarrell Charter School had planned to spend this week at the outdoor school, which hosts sixth-grade camps. Watson said it hasnt been determined when the campus will reopen.

Staff writer Teri Figueroa contributed to this report.


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.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Tuesday that any proposal to resolve the Libyan crisis must consider the political, security and economic aspects given the crisis complicated nature.

Speaking at a mini-summit on Libya held in Italys Palermo, El-Sisi said that proposals have to be in compliance with the Libyan political accord and the UN envoys plan, according to presidential spokesman Bassam Rady.

The Egyptian leader called on all Libyans to shoulder the responsibility of implementing the accord. He also urged the international community to support a settlement in Libya without bias towards any party and that this settlement should ensure that all factions are represented in the state.

El-Sisi also showcased how Egypt has worked to unify the army in Libya, as it believes that any political settlement would need a security infrastructure that would enable the Libyan authorities to secure all the countrys territories and fight terrorism.

The president revealed during the summit that Egypt has reached an agreement with most of the Libyan factions about regulating the Libyan armed forces, expressing hopes that the negotiations will end soon with an agreement to unite the Libyan armed forces.

He also stressed the importance of fighting terrorism in Libya and preventing the country from being used as a hub for terrorist groups that take advantage of the political vacuum.

El-Sisi also stated that no international or regional party involved in supporting terrorism in Libya should be treated as part of the solution to the countrys crisis.

The summit was attended by officials from Tunisia, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Italy, Russia, the UN and Libya upon an invitation from Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

President El-Sisi returned to Cairo on Tuesday after taking part in the mini-summit.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/14/2018 -- A recent report by ResearchMoz.us, titled, "Heart Failure Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2024 - Growth Driven by Rising Geriatric Population and Increasing Uptake of Recently Launched Therapy," unearths important information on the trajectory of the market. To that end, it studies the various tailwinds and headwinds to the market and also the current competitive landscape. The report also sheds light on the current and possible size of the Asia Pacific heart failure therapeutics market by examining the sales and revenues.



At the outset, the report states that the Asia Pacific heart failure therapeutics market is likely to rise at a solid 10.1% CAGR over the course of the forecast period starting from 2017 and ending in 2024. The report valued the market at US$733.7 mn in 2017 and projects it to attain a value of US$1,435 mn by 2024.



The report then attempts to find out the reasons that will drive the solid market growth. Foremost among those are changing lifestyles and eating habits leading to stress and obesity, it states. This has created problems of cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Apart from that high consumption of tobacco is also leading to various cardiovascular diseases. This, along with a large pool of elderly highly susceptible to various health conditions, are creating opportunities for various heart failure therapeutics in Asia Pacific.



Get a Sample PDF: https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1915182



Having thrown light on the factors fuelling the Asia Pacific heart failure therapeutics market, the report then goes on to add that presence of a plethora of generic, cheap drugs for heart failure is negatively impacting revenue in the market. This is also expected to pose serious challenge to launch of new drugs and therapeutics in the market. Currently, there are a host of them that are in the pipeline.



The report observes that almost half the people having heart failure die in five years' time. This comes down even further with malignancies. The poor long-term prognosis related with HF has generated a need for better the existing therapeutics. Currently, there are several products in the market. Those include ACE inhibitors, ARN-targeted therapy, ATR blockers, MRAs, Beta blockers, diuretics, and ACE inhibitors.



At present, chronic HF-REF patients are mostly being treated with Entresto, ACE inhibitors, Procoralan, beta blockers, and ATR blockers. Similarly, patients having acute HF are being provided with therapeutics such as diuretics, beta blockers, MRAs, and channel inhibitors.



As per the report, Japan is predicted to contribute the most to the Asia Pacific heart failure therapeutics market. Apart from Japan, the report finds China, India, South Korea, and Australia to be other promising markets in the region. The report also finds that licensing deals are a key method of forging strategic alliance in the Asia Pacific heart failure therapeutics market.



Contact Us:

Mr. Nachiket

Albany NY - 12207

United States

Tel: +1-518-621-2074

Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)

Email: sales@researchmoz.us

Follow us on LinkedIn at: http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG
Sarasota, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/14/2018 -- Zion Market Research has published a new report titled "Cosmetic Packaging Market by Material Type (Plastic, Glass, Paper and Others), by Container Type (Jars, Bottles, Tubes, Sachets and Others) for Hair Care, Nail Care, Skin Care, Makeup and Other Applications: China Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2016  2022" According to the report, the demand for cosmetic packaging market in China was valued at over USD 5.87 billion in 2016, is expected to reach above USD 7.75 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of slightly above 4.8% between 2017 and 2022.



Packaging is the key intermediate between the product and its target consumers. Packaging is vital in retaining loyal customers as well as inspiring new ones. Changes in packaging can expand a customer base by capturing new market segments and can manipulate shopping manners. Cosmetic packaging plays a crucial role in protecting the contents from outer environment and broadens its shelf life. Packaging helps in preventing the contamination of the contents and avoids microbial growth.



Request Free Sample Research Report @ https://bit.ly/2zPnCzn



Rapidly escalating cosmetic industry in China is expected to drive the cosmetic packaging market in coming years. Furthermore, there has been the intense rise in demand for color cosmetic which may positively influence the growth of the cosmetic packaging market in the forecast period. On the flip side, fluctuations of the raw material prices may limit the growth of cosmetic packaging market. Nevertheless, ongoing research for developing innovative, eco-friendly packaging techniques is expected to accelerate the growth of the cosmetic packaging market in coming period.



The cosmetic packaging market can be segmented on the basis of material type into plastic, paper, glass and others. Plastic was the leading segment in 2016 and is expected to maintain its traction in the forecast period. Plastic is the most preferred material in the cosmetic packaging due to its cost-effectiveness, good performance, reliable protection, color versatility, flexibility and easy transportation and storage. Some of the major container types used in cosmetic packaging market are jars, tubes, bottles, sachets and others. Bottles curled the cosmetic packaging market in 2016 owing to their ease of handling and greater volume capacity. Tubes are expected to exhibit the fastest growth in the forecast period. Some of the major applications of the cosmetic packaging are hair care, skin care, nail care, make-up, and other applications. Skin care segment is expected to be the most attractive application segment of the market over the forecast period. Continuous product innovation in skin care products and development of more effective anti-aging and sun protection product trends in the cosmetic market is expected to drive the market in the upcoming future. Makeup is expected to prosper the market growth in forecast period owing to growing demand for color cosmetics in China.



Request Free Brochure of This Report: https://bit.ly/2DisrVf



Per capita income levels are elevating continually in China, thus, the country is experiencing higher interest and shifting from the product. The rapid development of domestic cosmetics manufacturers in China has boosted the growth of domestic brands. The market share of domestic brands is growing gradually, posing competition to their foreign counterparts. Thus, the domestic cosmetic packaging industry is likely to boost the market in the coming years. Moreover, growing demand in the cosmetic market is the rapidly expanding middle class in China.



Key players operating in the cosmetic packaging market are Jiangyin Bonus Cosmetics Packaging Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Taimei Cosmetic Packaging Co., Ltd, QUEENSPACK Co. Ltd, JUMBO, Alovey Cosmetic Packaging Co.,Ltd, Rise Cosmetic Packaging Co., Ltd., BI-packaging, IMS NINGBO LIMITED, Rayuen Packaging Co., Limited , Fine Cosmetic Packaging Co. Ltd., HCP Packaging and Auber Packaging Co., Ltd among others.



Request For Customization @ https://bit.ly/2qMS5Ki



The report segments the China cosmetic packaging market as:



Cosmetic Packaging Market: Material Analysis



Plastic

Glass

Paper

Others



Cosmetic Packaging Market: Container Type Analysis



Jars

Tubes

Bottles

Sachets

Other



Cosmetic Packaging Market: Application Analysis



Hair care

Skincare

Nail care

Make-up

Others



What makes different than others, and here's the reason why

With ZionMarketResearch's wide research coverage and in-depth data analysis, you'll have the plan to execute your business strategy more effectively and efficiently.

Here is All Reports Category:-

Technology & Media

Food & Beverage

Chemical & Materials

Automotive

Heavy Industry

Life Sciences

Energy & Mining

Semiconductor & Electronics
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/14/2018 -- Coal mines in Canada stand on fifth position in the world, with around 10 bn tons, which make the 4% of the global share. Recently a novel report is published by researchmoz.us, titled, " Coal Mining in Canada to 2021 - Exports Set to Increase Supported by rising Demand from Asian Countries."



The major purchasers of coal from Canada are Japan, South Korea, Europe, and China with 27%, 24%, 16%, and 10% respectively of the overall consumption. Canada has immensely skilled workers in their mine that is likely to be one of the major factors propelling the growth of coal mines in Canada. The people working in coal mines have the double the average salaries as compared to the overall average national wages. Since past decade there has been a rise of 37% in the salary rates in Canada.



The mining business, even at the base of a downturn, has contributed significantly to Canada's financial condition. The coal sector has employed over 373,000 employees all over the nation in the field of mineral purifying, extraction, manufacturing and fabrication, and so on, along with around 190,000 employees in related industries. Relatively, the mining business has grown to be the biggest employer in private sector for the people living in Canada. This growth in employment is estimated to flourish in coming years as well.



Get a Sample PDF: https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1394068



Other factors contributing in the economic development of Canada are that the sector of mining represents more than one-portion of all rail-freight incomes of Canada's pacific, Canadian national, and other major railways. Moreover, over 3,700 providers give solutions to the mining sector, making noteworthy contributions indirectly in the nation's financial situation. On this last measure, nevertheless, Canada was taken over by Australia recently as host to the second biggest mining supply region all across the globe. The coal firms in Canada along with their employees also participate actively in helping the local communities with is anticipated to strengthen the overall growth in Canada.



As indicated by the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), the Canadian mining industry will require 106,000 new laborers in the coming few years. This shortage is intensified by the skilled employees moving towards retirement in coming years. By 2025, MiHR gauges that over 51,000 workers will resign from the sector. Since Canada' is the biggest employees of the aboriginal individuals on a relative premise, the industry is in a decent position to build aboriginal employment if it works effectively towards training and employing programs for the people. Most aboriginal people group are present around 200 kilometers of a coal mines. Curing the human resource hindrance, it will need substantial efforts by the government, industry, and all education sectors in the coming years.



Contact Us:

Mr. Nachiket

Albany NY - 12207

United States

Tel: +1-518-621-2074

Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)

Email: sales@researchmoz.us

Follow us on LinkedIn at: http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG
Houston Luxury Real Estate Includes Downtown High Rise Apartments, Chic River Oaks Real Estate, and Opulent Texas Mansions for Sale

Carnan Properties Feature Houston real estate, and particularly Houston Luxury Real Estate, from small luxury homes to mansions for sale, local experts to help find the perfect house
Fallsington, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/14/2018 -- As an industry leader in designing, installing, and supporting the sophisticated technology of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, National E Solutions is dedicated to reducing fuel costs and improving air quality across the state of Pennsylvania. Now, the company is providing information on the state's Driving PA Forward program, which offers rebates for organizations who want to take advantage of EV charging.



The Level 2 EV Charging Rebate Program offers significant incentives, including thousands of dollars in rebates, for eligible candidates who meet the application criteria and other requirements. Level 2 EV charging refers to the 240-Volt, higher-powered EV charging option, which can fully charge a car in a matter of hours, as opposed to the slower trickle of power that Level 1 charging provides.



A wide range of applicants are eligible for this rebate program. They include businesses, corporations, partnerships, and LLCs who are incorporated or registered in PA. Other eligible candidates include incorporated nonprofit organizations, state, local, or tribal government agencies, transportation organizations, and many more.



The Level 2 EV Charging Rebate Program has several specifications regarding the equipment and sites used for charging stations. For instance, there is a minimum of two plugs per project, with no maximum. All equipment must be new and meet industry standards and requirements. All projects must be installed by licensed professionals, like the experienced team at National E Solutions.



All sites must be within Pennsylvania and must include one parking space per plug, which is to be clearly marked. Additionally, all public access sites must be identified with signage, easily accessible, and well-lit.



National E Solutions is committed to reducing air pollution across the state of PA through their contributions to the rapidly growing network of EV charging stations. To apply for the program, visit the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), or view the application here.



For more information on National E Solutions' products and services, call 877-799-1840.



About National E Solutions.

The team at National E Solutions provides environmentally-friendly energy solutions and quality engineering for commercial and industrial clients. This veteran-owned business specializes in turnkey project design, detailed financial analysis, audits, expert installations, and total project funding options. National E Solutions strives to improve their client's buildings and grounds for the people that occupy them using smart engineering and proven technology.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/14/2018 -- Proppant is a solid material designed to keep hydraulic fracture open during treatment. Hydraulic fracture is a widely used process in gas companies. Under the process, chemicals, injecting sand, and water are inserted into a well under carefully controlled conditions to crack or fracture solid rocks and release trapped gas deposits. Development of the hydraulic fracturing technology has led to the usage of proppants. Proppants are used during hydraulic fracturing to keep the fissures open for oil and gas to flow toward the well head. There are primarily three types of proppants: sand, resin-coated, and ceramic. The proppants market has been expanding in most of the emerging economies. The market entails significant investment. Traditional drilling methods incur high cost and can adversely affect the availability of resources. Synthetic proppants play a vital role in the extraction process by keeping the supplies of natural gas and oil unhindered. This is fuelling the proppants market.



Read Report Overview @

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/synthetic-proppants-market.html



Various types of proppants are used in the fraction process; however, synthetic proppants provide better performance under high pressure conditions in reservoirs at greater depth. This is anticipated to augment the synthetic proppants market during the forecast period. Rise in usage of proppants in the oil & gas industry has boosted the demand for proppants across the globe. However, implementation of stringent government regulations to reduce hydraulic fracturing due to its hazardous environmental impact is hampering the market.



Global Synthetic Proppants Market: Key Segments



Based on type, the synthetic proppants market can be segmented into ceramic beads, aluminum beads, sintered bauxite, coated sand, and others. Ceramic proppants are manufactured from kaolin clay or non-metallurgical bauxite, which is sintered to reduce the water content and increase density, roundness, and strength. Synthetic proppants provide an additional benefit; their specific gravity and grain size can be matched to the viscosity of the fracking fluid. Thus, enhanced properties of synthetic proppants are estimated to drive the market during the forecast period.



Global Synthetic Proppants Market: Applications



In terms of application, the synthetic proppants market can be divided into hale gas, tight gas, coal bed methane, and others. Increase in application of synthetic proppants in shale gas extraction due to its usage in transportation and power generation is projected to augment the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, presence of unexplored shale gas reserves in economies such as China, Argentina, Australia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil is likely to boost the demand for synthetic proppants during the forecast period.



Request to view Sample Report:

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=48204



Global Synthetic Proppants Market: Regional Outlook



In terms of region, the global synthetic proppants market can be segregated into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to be a rapidly growing region of the synthetic proppants market owing to the rise in demand for these proppants in hydraulic fracturing application for exploration of unconventional natural oil and gas. Synthetic proppants are widely used, as they offer higher resistance to crushing. They also possess higher permeability under high confining stress. China, Japan, and India are the key countries of the synthetic proppants market. North America accounts for major share of the market. The market in the region is expected to expand significantly in the near future owing to the increase in drilling activities for shale gas in the U.S. and Canada. The market in Europe is anticipated to expand at a significant pace from 2018 to 2026, due to the increase in consumption of synthetic proppants in various applications in the region. Latin America and Middle East & Africa also constitute key share of the global synthetic proppants market.
London, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/14/2018 -- Choosing to raise money for their Charity of The Year Partner and a cause close to The Maine Group's hearts, Dementia UK, The Maine Group are stepping their way to 4 million steps as a company, which is approximately 2000 miles. The company are looking to raise dementia awareness as well as awareness of the admiral nurses that work hard to help and care for those with dementia, as well as providing support to their relatives.



The Maine Group are going to be keeping their clients and friends updated on their blog and social media so that everyone can see how hard they are working to meet their goal number of steps and are accepting donations for Dementia UK on their Just Giving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/themainegroupstepathon



A spokesperson and representative from The Maine Group was incredibly eager to comment saying, "We believe that everyone who needs the support of a specialist dementia nurse should get one, and we're working hard to increase the number of Admiral Nurses across the UK. We are grateful for all donations no matter how small and also would like to take this opportunity to urge other to raise money in their own ways."



About The Maine Group

The Maine Group is a company offering a full-suite of recruitment solutions in Secretarial, HR, Charity, Sales and Marketing specialisms, assisting clients and candidates in London on a daily basis. If an office recruitment London role would be perfect for you, or a role in any of the other above specialisms, do not hesitate to visit The Maine Group website today. We are certain that you will not be disappointed.



PR Contact



Company name: The Maine Group

Website: https://www.themainegroup.co.uk/

Contact person: Kate Stannard

Contact number: 020 7734 7341

Email: Kate.Stannard@themainegroup.co.uk

Address: 66-68 Haymarket

London

SW1Y 4RF

UK
The new committee will be tasked to deal with human rights issues and respond to allegations made against Egypt in respect of human rights

Egypt's Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly decided Tuesday to establish a permanent higher committee on human rights, MENA state news agency reported.

The new committee will be tasked to deal with human rights issues and respond to allegations made against Egypt in this regard.

The committee will be responsible for outlining a national strategy for human rights and plans for implementing them. It will also draw up a unified vision to be promoted in international and regional forums.

The new body will also compile Egypt's report that is submitted to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), and follow up on the implementation of the recommendations that Egypt accepts.

It will be also assigned to follow up on the implementation of Egypt's existing international obligations in respect of human rights.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Astronomers using data from ESAs Gaia satellite have discovered a new dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The dwarf galaxy, named Antlia 2, is located roughly 130,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Antlia. It has avoided detection until now thanks to its extremely low density as well as a perfectly-chosen hiding place  behind the Milky Ways bright central disk.

As structures emerged in the early Universe, dwarf galaxies were the first galaxies to form, and so most of their stars are old, low-mass and metal-poor.

But compared to the other known Milky-Way dwarf satellites, Antlia 2 is immense: it is as big as the Large Magellanic Cloud, and a third the size of the Milky Way itself.

What makes the newly-discovered galaxy even more unusual is how little light it gives out.

Compared to the Large Magellanic Cloud, Antlia 2 is 10,000 times fainter. In other words, it is either far too large for its luminosity or far too dim for its size.

This is a ghost of a galaxy. Objects as diffuse as Antlia 2 have simply not been seen before. Our discovery was only possible thanks to the quality of the Gaia data, said lead author Dr. Gabriel Torrealba, an astronomer at Taiwans Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Dr. Torrealba and co-authors searched the data from the Gaia missions second data release for Milky Way satellites by using RR Lyrae stars  old and metal-poor, typical of those found in dwarf galaxies.

RR Lyrae had been found in every known dwarf satellite, so when we found a group of them sitting above the Galactic disk, we werent totally surprised, said co-author Dr. Vasily Belokurov, researcher at Cambridges Institute of Astronomy.

But when we looked closer at their location on the sky it turned out we found something new, as no previously identified object came up in any of the databases we searched through.

Using the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope, the astronomers measured the spectra of more than 100 red giant stars in the ghostly object they spotted and confirmed that it was real  all the stars were moving together.

The team was also able to obtain the galaxys mass, which was much lower than expected for an object of its size.

The simplest explanation of why Antlia 2 appears to have so little mass today is that it is being taken apart by the Galactic tides of the Milky Way, said co-author Dr. Sergey Koposov, a scientist at Carnegie Mellon University.

What remains unexplained, however, is the objects giant size. Normally, as galaxies lose mass to the Milky Ways tides, they shrink, not grow.

A paper reporting this discovery will be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

_____

G. Torrealba et al. 2018. The hidden giant: discovery of an enormous Galactic dwarf satellite in Gaia DR2. MNRAS, in press; arXiv: 1811.04082
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday that key industries including energy and health are contributing to biodiversity loss in several countries around the world.

"The energy, mining, infrastructure, industry, and health sectors depend on the biodiversity and services provided by their associated ecosystems, but are meanwhile directly or indirectly affecting these systems through the loss or fragmentation of environments and the disruption of reproduction and migration routes of certain species," Madbouly said.

He was addressing a two-day ministerial summit of African environment ministers that began on Wednesday in the resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh as part of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 14), which runs in from 13 to 29 November.

The ministerial gathering aims to promote mainstreaming of biodiversity in multiple sectors, including energy and mining, processing industry, infrastructure and health.

Mabdouly said waste produced by these sectors cause soil, air and water pollution, negatively affecting basic materials these sectors rely on and thus impacting their sustainability.

Madbouly called on governments across the continent to work towards minimizing the negative impact of urban growth on biodiversity by adopting measures including spatial planning, urban planning, strategic environmental assessment, and fostering climate change adaptation plans.

Egypt is the first Arab and African country to host the Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 14).

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The Egyptian Ministry of Environment signed on Wednesday two agreements with the United Nations Development Fund on biodiversity and environmental conservation in Egypt.

The signing was attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

"The two agreements on the inclusion of biodiversity , environmental conservation and its sustainable use in tourism development and operations in threatened ecosystems in Egypt goes in line with the framework of United Nations Climate Change Conference agreement," said the director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt Randa Abul-Hassan.

"The first project is funded by the Global Environment Facility aiming to mainstream biodiversity in the Egyptian tourism sector and within the Egyptian government," Abul-Hassan said.

"Biodiversity represents a very important factor for life on earth and enhancing ecosystem productivity to protect the planet. Egypt is undertaking serious steps to preserve biodiversity and we are proud to receive support and share our expertise in this field."

"The first project led to significant changes for managing tourism resources and biodiversity in the future," she said.

"The second project will enable Egypt to prepare its fourth national communique and submit it to the United Nations Climate Change Conference Agreement, based on its commitments to the agreement."

The two projects, worth $3 million, are to be implemented by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency.

Egypt opened the African Biodiversity Summit on 13 November, which is held in the run-up to the UN Biodiversity Conference COP14, which runs from 17 to 29 November in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

During the African summit, environment ministers and key partners aim to tackle and offer policy and strategic guidance on Africas biodiversity priorities as well as promote synergetic implementation of the three Rio conventions; the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), according to the conference's official website.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


After five months of stumbling diplomacy rival Libyan factions have agreed a roadmap that offers hope to the war-torn country

This weeks major international conference in Palermo managed to nudge forward the UN-sponsored working plan for Libya which has been stymied in disputes since it was announced in September 2017.

Attended by key figures from eastern and western Libya and senior international representatives, the conference addressed security arrangements in Tripoli, economic reform and efforts by the UN special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, to convene a nationwide national reconciliation conference in preparation for parliamentary elections to be held in the summer of 2019.

On the sidelines of the conference Italys premier, Giuseppe Conte, hosted a high-level summit. He said it was intended to help end the armed conflicts and help Libya stabilise.

The summit was attended by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, who had arrived in Italy a day earlier for bilateral talks.

According to Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi, the president said that proposals to resolve the Libyan crisis have to be in compliance with the Libyan political accord and the UN envoys plan.

Stressing that Egypt does not side with any of the rivalling parties, Al-Sisi explained that Egypt has worked to unify the army in Libya, as it believes that any political settlement would need a security infrastructure that would enable the Libyan authorities to secure all the countrys territories and fight terrorism.

According to Radi, the president said that Egypt has reached an agreement with most of the Libyan factions about regulating the Libyan armed forces, expressing hopes that these negotiations will soon reach an agreement. Al-Sisi further added that any proposal to resolve the Libyan crisis must consider the political, security and economic aspects given the crisis complicated nature.

The president also stated that no international or regional party involved in supporting terrorism in Libya should be treated as part of the solution to the countrys crisis.

Also attending the summit were Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini.

Italy has been eager to play a bigger role in Libyan diplomacy, competing with France which held a conference in May that produced a commitment to hold elections in December 2018. That plan has now been shelved.

France has been courting Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army which controls most of the east of Libya, while Italy has backed Fayez Al-Sarraj, prime minister of the UN-backed government in Tripoli, based in the countrys west.

After initially refusing to attend Haftar, the general commander of the Libyan National Army, arrived late for the conference.

Reuters reported that a draft communique agreed by the Libyan delegations committed them to respecting the results of elections now slated for spring 2019.

An Italian diplomat said Haftar now backs Al-Sarraj remaining in office until elections can be held. You dont change the horse until you cross the river, the diplomat quoted Haftar as saying.

There is no military solution for Libya. There is only a political solution which you, yourselves, need to find. Everyday this is delayed is not good for your country, Salame told participants at the conference.

He pointed out that there is a problem concerning legitimacy and mutual accusations in this regard. The solution is to turn to the will of the people.

Official sources in Rome told Italian news agency Aki on Tuesday that the agreement reached in Palermo exceeded the expectations of the Italian government.

Aki reported that Conte, in his meeting with Al-Sarraj and Haftar, had succeeded in brokering a strong and very binding agreement that constituted a major step.

On his official Twitter account Conte posted that Italy had brought together the key players in the Mediterranean region and re-launched a dialogue for the sake of Libya.

The international conference in Palermo is the latest episode in an ongoing international drive to support the UN working plan for Libya which now has its sights set on a comprehensive national reconciliation convention in January 2019.

The hope is that this event will end the three-year-long stagnation of the political process and pave the way for parliamentary elections which Salame now envisions in June.

But for all this to occur the Libyan factions still need to bridge their outstanding differences and it remains to be seen whether this weeks Palermo conference is a concrete step in that direction.

As well as bringing together Libyas duelling factions, the conference examined the economic situation in Libya and the implementation of a new package of measures to bolster the economic reforms introduced in September. Security issues, and new arrangements for the Libyan capital Tripoli, were also addressed.

On security the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Deputy Chief Stephanie Williams lauded recent steps taken by Fathi Bashagha, interior minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord.

These steps send a strong signal that change is coming, Williams said. She did, however, warn that more needs to be done to boost logistical support and generate regular forces ready to assume security responsibilities in the capital.

Success will depend on the unequivocal and sustained support on the part of the Libyan authorities and the international community alike.

During the economic session the House of Representatives delegation presented a set of demands: to introduce a programme to compensate the victims of the war against terrorism in Benghazi, Derna, the petroleum crescent and other areas, with particular attention to compensating the families of fallen members of the Libyan Armed Forces; the equitable distribution of oil revenues across the country and greater clarity over the mechanisms in place to monitor frozen Libyan assets abroad.

The latter was a reference to a recent Belgian report on the disappearance of large sums of money accrued from the interest on frozen Libyan accounts in Belgian banks.

The High Council of State (HCS) delegation complained of the difficulties it has encountered with the House of Representatives over the process of institutional reunification. The delegation also urged the Presidency Council and Central Bank to accelerate the implementation of outstanding economic reform measures.

HCS members called for the creation of an administrative body in the south to oversee the creation of a truly national police force and other service-providing agencies, in coordination with the executive authority.

In addition, they warned of the dangers of migration as southerners move north in an attempt to flee the violence, and of the consequences of any major demographic upheaval.

They stressed that the unification of the political establishment was a prerequisite for the unification of the security forces and, above all, the armed forces, arguing that the failure to implement the security provisions of the Skhirat accord underlay the ongoing insecurity in the country, and in the capital in particular.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Awaiting spring in Libya

Search Keywords:

Short link:


World Explorer, World Voyager, World Navigator

The ships are 2019's World Explorer, 2020's World Voyager and 2021's World Navigator. World Explorer was actually due for delivery around now, and should have been headed to Antarctica for a seasonal charter by Quark Expeditions. Instead it will arrive in April, going directly into a sold-out European season for Germany's Nicko Cruises, a Mystic company.

Ferreira said he'd been working on the ICBC deal for a year, and had solicited Chinese money during a road show to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. (ICBC has also been involved with newbuilds for Silversea Cruises and Viking Cruises.)

Recruiting sales and marketing pros for Florida office

Mystic Cruises' US office, likely to be located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is scheduled to open in first quarter 2019, and will start with a staff of 10 sales and marketing professionals to work with travel agents and consumers. Recruiting is under way. Miami-based owner's representative Alberto Aliberti is helping Ferreira establish the office.

Less focus on charters

Ferreira also disclosed that Mystic is not going to be as charter-oriented as originally planned. Instead, it intends to operate most sailings on the new ships for Nicko Cruises and, newly, under the Mystic Cruises banner stateside.

'We already have charters and products serving American clients,' he said. It's just that they aren't Mystic branded.

'We need a small fleet soon,' Ferreira added, reiterating his intention to build 10 of the 9,300gt, 176-passenger ships. Nicko Cruises' 2019 European program on World Explorerin the Mediterranean, Baltic, Norwegian fjords, Iceland and Greenlandsold 'so well and so fast,' as he put it.

'Our ship size allows us to go to all these nice places and historic centers,' Ferreira said, noting that it's possible to dock in prime, city-center locations such as the heart of Russia's St. Petersburg and near St. Mark's Square in Venice.

Cuba and Costa Rica in 2020

Going forward, Mystic plans to branch out to offer itineraries to Cuba and Costa Rica with 2020's World Voyager.

However, when it comes to charters, Ferreira said Quark Expeditions is not only taking the first ship, World Explorer, for the 2019/20 Antarctica season, it also has secured the vessel for further stints in Antarctica through 2023 and for one season in the Arctic, in 2020. And this even though Quark is building its own ship, at Brodosplit in Croatia, for delivery in September 2020, in time for Antarctica sailings.
Besides cruises, 25 cruise-tours give travelers the chance to see Alaska's top two attractions: Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park, home to North Americas tallest mountain peak.

Full season of voyages from Los Angeles

Golden Princess debuts a full season of 14-day Inside Passage voyages, sailing round-trip from Los Angeles with a visit to Hubbard Glacier.

Besides Royal Princess and Pacific Princess, Grand Princess and Coral Princess will operate the seven-day 'Voyage of the Glaciers' itinerary.

Inside Passage cruises from Seattle and San Francisco

Sister ships Ruby Princess and Emerald Princess will sail seven-day Inside Passage voyages from Seattle, and Star Princess offers 10-day Inside Passage cruises from San Francisco.

Cruise-tours combine a seven-day 'Voyage of the Glaciers' cruise with three or more nights in the Alaska wilderness, including scenic rail travel and stays at Princess-owned lodges.

New 'Ultimate Cruise-tour'

New for 2020, Princess offers a 17-night 'Ultimate Cruise-tour' with 10 nights on land that includes two nights at each Princess Wilderness Lodge.

'Direct-to-the-Wilderness' rail service between the ship in Whittier and the Denali-area is a Princess exclusive, with custom-built wilderness lodges on the doorsteps of legendary national parks.

Captains Circle members (past passengers) are eligible for a discount of up to $100 when they book early. This offer can be combined with launch and group promotions but does not apply to third or fourth berth guests. Additionally, a reduced deposit is available for Captains Circle members when they book early.
The notice from law firm Rajah & Tann Singapore stated that Petrolimex was the creditor of Brightoil Petroleum Singapore and the application is scheduled to be heard on 23 November.

Stephen Qi, the acting ceo of Brightoil Petroleum Singapore, told Reuters that the companys operations remained normal and its lawyers are looking into the matter.

In 2017, Brightoil Petroleum Singapore was the 17th largest bunker supplier by volume in Singapore, the worlds largest bunkering port.

The bunker supplier is headquartered in Shenzhen and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Trading of Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Limiteds shares has been suspended since 3 October 2017 after it delayed the release of its 2017 annual financial results.

In July this year, the bunker supplier announced it was in talks to sell the assets or shareholding of its Chinas Zhoushan Oil Storage and Terminal Facilities, and 15 vessels including VLCC, aframax and bunker tanker.
Al Dyer Jr.'s process for settling in as the new director of Ypsilanti's Michigan Firehouse Museum and Education Center included getting to know the resident ghost, former Ypsilanti fire chief Alonzo Miller.

"Shortly after I became director, I was contacted by a paranormal group out of Ohio who asked if they could come and do a paranormal investigation at the museum," Dyer says. "I had no idea what that would entail  if it would be full-on ghostbusters showing up with proton packs or dudes setting out five crystals at different points around the museum. I was ignorant of the whole paranormal investigation culture, but I was curious and thought, 'Why not?'"

The idea of tapping into a new audience for the museum grew into the Old Firehouse Para-Con, a paranormal investigation convention set for Dec. 8 at the museum. Attendees can pay $30 to browse vendors and listen to a series of panels by paranormal experts or pay extra for VIP tickets to a ghost hunt in the museum from midnight to 3 a.m.

As the museum celebrates its 20th anniversary in November, it's continuing its tried and true mission of celebrating Michigan's firefighting history while also experimenting with new ideas and ways to bring in a wider array of visitors.

Museum history

Built in 1898, the core of the museum at 110 W. Cross St. is Ypsilanti's old firehouse, which continued to serve as a working fire station until the mid-1970s. The rumor that Miller died in the station and returned to haunt it is romantic but inaccurate; Miller actually died at home in his sleep after fighting a huge fire in 1936.

In 1975, the city of Ypsilanti built a new fire station and the old fire hall was sold to a family who lived on the property. In 1998, the old fire station was acquired by the Weaver family and opened as a firefighting history museum. As the museum gained popularity, a newer extension was added in 2002.

Bill Emerson, former fire chief for the city of Belleville, became a volunteer at the museum in 2013 after retiring.

He serves as a docent when the museum has group tours planned and enjoys explaining how the equipment works and the history of firefighting. He especially enjoys it when former firefighters turn up.

"We still get some of the old-timers who come in fairly regularly and want to see the old place again," Emerson says.

Emerson also assists local Boy Scout troops who come to the museum for their fire safety merit badges.

"I had a parent say the other day it took forever to get her son in, because every time we offer the program, it's full up," Emerson says. "We put about 45 or 50 boys through in a four-hour time period to earn their fire safety merit badge."

While Emerson enjoys teaching others, he says what keeps him coming back is that "every time I go, I learn something new."

Museum assistant Taylor Mull has been working at the museum while taking historic preservation classes at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). She says the museum attracts visitors from all over. Just over the summer, a group from the Dallas Fire Fighters Museum came in for a tour.

Mull says she enjoys talking and is always happy to give a tour to schoolchildren who come through on a regular basis.

"Coming to the museum is every kid's best dream," she says.

Dyer came on board as the director of the museum in July 2018, having spent 22 years as a firefighter and later fire chief in Lincoln Park, followed by a stint as fire chief in Iowa.

When his wife, who is a nurse, was offered a contract job back in Michigan, Dyer began looking for work, asking a family friend if there might be an opening for an instructor at EMU. The friend said EMU wasn't hiring, but the museum was looking for a new director.

At first, Dyer couldn't see how that career trajectory, from fire chief to museum director, could possibly work. But the museum's board interviewed him and thought they'd give him a shot.

After a couple months of getting acclimated and following through with already-planned events at the museum, Dyer began making some changes and bringing in fresh new ideas.

Increasing public engagement

Dyer notes that the museum is open to the public only 16 hours a week and says the building is underutilized. He has a vision for making the museum a bustling center of fire safety and a sought-after venue for special events. His biggest goals all revolve around building partnerships and increasing public engagement.

In addition to the Para-Con, Dyer would like to emphasize the "education center" part of the museum's name by offering either free or low-cost classes in fire safety, CPR, and related topics. He also hopes to host a murder mystery dinner, remodel the educational center in the basement, create short videos about local firefighting history, and heavily promote the museum as a rental venue for special events like weddings, or even a funeral for a retired firefighter.

Dyer plans to achieve many of those goals by reviving and expanding on existing partnerships. For instance, the museum recently partnered with EMU's Alpha Phi Omega coed service fraternity, which adopted the landscaping around the museum, tearing up overgrown plants and planting new ones this fall.

Dyer says he sees an opportunity to work with the EMU theater department on a murder mystery dinner, or work with EMU's historic preservation department on a video project. He suggests that as an alternative to a traditional written thesis, students could do a series of podcasts on each piece of equipment in the museum, making exhibits fresh and interactive while earning class credit for college students. The project could be paired with a phone app, so that when visitors scan a QR code, a professionally-made recording would appear.

"There's an immense amount of history on each piece of equipment, and they each have a story to tell," Dyer says.

Dyer hopes to use fees from special events not just to keep the doors open but to take care of some needed repairs.

Mull says when she first was hired at the museum, one of her duties was to empty a bucket in the attic that filled up with rainwater. The roof was fixed recently, but more repairs are still needed.

For instance, the platform in the museum's tower is unsafe, suffering from cracked joists. If that could be repaired, the museum could offer VIP passes to the tower for paranormal investigators who love the museum's ambience.

Dyer respects the work that went into making the museum what it is today, but he doesn't believe in resting on your laurels.

"It's good, but there's no reason we can't make it great," he says.

Museum hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. For more information, call 734-547-0663, visit http://michiganfirehousemuseum.org, or check out the museum's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MichiganFirehouseMuseum.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township and the interim project manager of On the Ground Ypsilanti. She has served as innovation and jobs/development news writer for Concentrate since early 2017 and is an occasional contributor to Driven. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.

All photos by Doug Coombe.
WORKERS TO GET BIGGER 13TH MONTH PAY, CHRISTMAS BONUS STARTING THIS YEAR -ANGARA

Workers from both public and private sectors will be getting bigger 13th month pay and Christmas bonuses because of the law that raised the tax exemption cap of bonuses and benefits.

Beginning this year, pursuant to Republic Act 10963, the 13th month pay and other benefits, including productivity incentives and Christmas bonuses, are exempted from tax if they do not exceed P90,000.

"Buong-buo nang maiuuwi ng mga empleyado ang kanilang bonus sa kani-kanilang pamilya. Tiyak na makadaragdag ito sa kanilang panggastos para sa pagdiriwang ng Pasko at bagong taon," Senator Sonny Angara said.

Angara is also responsible for the law that raised the tax exemption of 13th month pay and other benefits to P82,000 in 2015.

Before RA 10653 was signed into law three years ago, only bonuses not exceeding P30,000 were tax-exempt.

According to the Department of Budget and Management, government workers will receive their 13th month pay starting November 15.

Meanwhile, for private sector employees, the 13th month pay should be given not later than December 24.

The 13th month pay must be equivalent to one-twelfth (1/12) of the basic salary of an employee within a calendar year.

The senator reminded employers that they must pay their rank-and-file employees a 13th month pay regardless of the nature of their employment and whatever the method their wages are paid, provided they worked for at least one month during a calendar year.

"Hindi lamang mga regular na empleyado ang dapat makakuha ng 13th month pay. Kahit mga contractual, casual, fixed term, probationary, seasonal employees ay dapat din makatanggap ayon sa ating Labor Code," said Angara, a champion of labor reforms that ensure decent jobs in the country.
This week, the two-week-long Arab Shield-1 joint military drills came to an end. The exercises attracted widespread attention in view of the participants, the timing, the aims and the nature of the drills.

The name of the exercises is significant in and of itself. It underscores Arab solidarity in the face of threats that have reared their heads in virulent forms in the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen, often the result of and/or fuelled by non-Arab interventions.

According to the communique released by Egyptian Army Spokesman Colonel Tamer Al-Rifaai, Arab Shield-1 aims to develop and strengthen military cooperation between the Egyptian Armed Forces and the armed forces of brotherly Arab nations, and to develop joint Arab action in the framework of the challenges that face the region.

The exercises can also be seen as an attempt to address the problems facing the creation of a joint Arab defence system and mechanisms for collective Arab action.

That Cairo hosted the first in a planned series of Arab military drills is testimony to the status of the Egyptian military establishment which has long occupied a revered place in Arab consciousness.

It reflects the growing strength of the Egyptian military, a result of the comprehensive upgrading and modernisation it has undergone during the last five years.

It is noteworthy the drills were organised at the Mohamed Naguib Military Base, the largest in the Middle East and host to the Bright Star manoeuvres.

The assistant director of the Egyptian Armed Forces training authority described Arab Shield-1 as one of the most sophisticated drills to take place at the Arab national level, engaging the most modern and advanced defence equipment and military technologies in a way that maximises benefits for all participant forces.

Six Arab nations  Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan  participated in the exercises. Morocco and Lebanon attended as observers.

The participation reflects shared positions on a range of regional issues. Most of the participant states have taken part in military exercises with Egypt before, most frequently on a bilateral basis, and commentators expect more countries to join in future exercises.

Participant and observer countries account for a third of the members of the Arab League. This has significant ramifications, not least of which is the possibility the exercises could evolve into a framework for an Arab defence alliance.

Harmony between the policy outlooks of the participant states, especially when it comes to Arab security, favours this. Such an alliance need not originate as a unified or unanimously created extension of the Arab League but could originate with a smaller group of states that have the will and capacity to build a collective security project.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the two key participants in the recent drills, would be the central poles of any such group, the two largest Arab forces in terms of the balance of military power as well as political influence.

Naturally, a lot more is involved in building a defence alliance: the development of an organisational structure, a command hierarchy, headquarters, the composition of troops drawn from member states and the budget.

When considered in such terms, the concept appears close to the Joint Arab Force Cairo proposed some years ago and the recent drills can be seen as a qualitative step in this direction.

There are also ramifications that stem from Egypts central position in the region, its military capabilities and Cairos consequent political weight.

Egypts fixed foreign policy principles offer a kind of compass, one that takes as its reference points the emphasis on regional stability and the need to resolve conflicts through peaceful mechanisms, as evidenced by Cairos reluctance to engage militarily, its engagement in peace-making efforts while simultaneously developing autonomous defence and deterrent capacities.

The Egyptian military spokesman provided details of the drills: the first stages involved theoretical lectures supported by practical exercises intended to unify operational concepts and better coordinate the execution of assigned tasks.

At a general level, the drills aimed to strengthen interoperability between the participants, hone their skills in planning and managing combat activities on land, in the air and at sea, and promote the exchange of expertise between the different air, naval and ground forces.

The special forces that took part in the exercises performed a range of training tasks to improve their camouflage and concealment techniques, exploiting features of the terrain.

Paratrooper units performed drills equipping and carrying personnel and dealing with emergency situations that could arise during high-altitude jumps under daytime, night-time and different weather conditions. The joint skydiving drills profiled the proficiency of the participant forces and their precision in reaching designated targets.

Ground troops, supported by special forces, carried out simulations of counter-terrorist raids and urban warfare while special marine forces engaged in visit, board, search and seizure exercises.

Air force training included planning and conducting joint aerial combat manoeuvres which promoted the exchange of expertise between crews. In the course of the drills, multitask fighter jets performed various defensive sorties as well as offensive tactics against hostile targets.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Arab Shield

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Sen. Bam: Improve employability, address underemployment by passing job placement bill

As way of providing livelihood for Filipinos amid the high prices of food and other goods, Sen. Bam Aquino has renewed his push for the enactment of his measure that seeks to establish job placement offices in public high schools and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Dubbed as Trabaho Center in Schools Act, Sen. Bam's Senate Bill No. 1276 aims to establish a job placement office in every public high school, college and university in the country.

"Ang diploma hindi pwedeng nakasabit lang sa dingding, dapat nagiging trabaho," said Sen. Bam, principal sponsor of the law granting free college.

"Kailangan ang panukalang ito para makatulong sa pamilyang Pilipino na nalulunod sa taas presyo. Kailangan madagdagan ang budget ng pamilya na panggastos sa araw-araw," added Sen. Bam.

Sen. Bam added that the measure, if passed into law, will help address unemployment and underemployment, which currently stands at 2.36 million and 9.8 million Filipinos, respectively.

Under the measure, a job placement office must provide industry matching, career counseling, and employment facilitation, according to Sen. Bam.

They will also address the skills mismatch and ensure employability of students upon graduation by using feedback from employers to better develop the school's curriculum and training programs.
Press Release

November 14, 2018 De Lima warns vs 'sugarcoating' the costs of Duterte's war on drugs Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has warned the public about deliberate efforts to sugarcoat the costs of the Duterte administration's all-out war on drugs that caused thousands of casualties, including innocent children and young people. In her message during the National Human Rights Assessment Forum and ahead of the 70th anniversary celebration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), De Lima said the country is facing a human rights calamity. "With so many killings and abuses going on and with such level of impunity that this regime has ushered in, the challenge for us is not to lose track of the real numbers, the real perpetrators and masterminds, and the real and wicked agenda behind these atrocities," she said. De Lima's message during the National Human Rights Assessment Forum held at the Commission on Human Rights Building, in Diliman, Quezon City last Nov. 12 was read by Atty. Jacqueline Mejia, a representative from the Senator's office. The forum was organized to assess the worsening human rights situation in the country and to find ways how advocates and victims of abuses can find unfettered truth and exact justice and accountability. In helping attain justice for the victims of unjust killings, the Senator from Bicol underscored the need for public vigilance against fake data and disinformation peddled by no less that the President and his cohorts to advance their selfish agendas. "[This government] hides the traces of its crimes by using Orwellian nonsense, that is to say, it says one thing to mean another, a doublespeak," she cautioned. De Lima noted the government disguises the real intent of its war on drugs operation by using words such as "tokhang" -- which means to approach and talk -- while many police operatives shoot suspected offenders "point black in cold blood." She also recalled how the present administration denies accusations of extra-judicial killings using gobbledygook terms like "deaths under investigation" when there were no investigations done in the first place. "What all these (efforts) try to achieve is to mislead the fact-checkers, the human rights groups, the media and the general public," she said. Aside from the killings, the Senator from Bicol said the Duterte administration is also responsible for causing more hardships for the poor families due to its inconsiderate and failed policies. "Tila wala ring komprehensibong plano para sa daang libong urban poor na madi-displace ng mga infrastructure projects ng gobyerno. Ang mga kababayan natin at bakwet sa Marawi, isang taon at kalahati na ang nakararaan, hindi pa rin tiyak kung kailan sila makababalik para maibangon muli ang kanilang kabuhayan at mga pamayanan," she said. "Ang rumaratsadang presyo ng bilihin at tumataas pang pagbubuwis ay patuloy ding nagpapahirap sa marami na ngang nagdurusang kababayan natin," she added. Given the failures of the government, De Lima said Filipinos should concert exerted efforts in speaking out and asserting the sanctity of life, dignity and justice which is blatantly disregarded by Duterte and his lackeys. "Huwag po tayong panghihinaan ng loob dahil naniniwala akong sa pamamagitan ng sama-samang pagkilos ay unti-unting mamumulat ang ating mga kababayan at unti-unti rin tayong makakalikha ng isang malakas na kilusan ng taumbayan para sa katotohanan at katarungang ating inaasam," she said. Disturbingly, certain quarters put the number of suspected drug offenders killed either through the so-called "legitimized" police operations or vigilante style executions since Duterte assumed office at more than 27,000.
Press Release

November 14, 2018 Villanueva: 2-year job extension not enough; ensure security of tenure of our gov't contractuals Senator Joel Villanueva on Wednesday said the government should not only extend employment of contractual workers in the government but also ensure their security of tenure. Villanueva made the statement after the announcement of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that it recently amended joint Circular No.1, series of 2017, together with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Commission on Audit (COA). Under Joint Circular 1 s. 2017, government agencies are now allowed to get new contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers and to renew existing contracts until December 31, 2020. Furthermore, existing qualified COS and JO workers shall be considered for appointment to vacant positions of government agencies subject to existing civil service laws, rules, and regulations and CSC-approved merit selection plans. Villanueva, however, lamented that despite the extension granted by the amendment of the Joint Circular, the government agencies must still uphold their commitment to regularize their contractual and temporary workers which they expressed during the budget hearings conducted in the Senate. "During our participation in the Senate budget hearings with the agencies, majority of them expressed readiness to abide by the original date of regularization mandated by the Joint Circular. Despite this extension, we urge them to undertake the necessary fiscal and organizational measures to regularize these workers as soon as possible," said Villanueva, chairperson of Senate committee on labor, employment, and human resources development. "We can do more than just give two-year job extension to contractual workers in the government. Let us institutionalize the right to security of tenure of all casual and contractual employees of the government who have long been serving in the public sector," the senator stressed. Villanueva filed Senate Bill No. 1164 which aims to provide permanent positions to government workers who have long been serving as contractual workers in the public sector. Under the bill, all incumbent casual and contractual government employees who have rendered at least three years of continuous service in the national government and five years of continuous service in the case of local government units shall be given permanent appointment. Villanueva further cited the 2017 data from the CSC which showed that 660,390 or 27 percent out of 2.4 million government workers were COS or JO workers. In 2016, there were over 595,000 contractuals in the public sector. "Let us attract the best and the brightest workers in the government by giving the peace of mind they deserve in recognition of their contribution to our society be it local or national level public service," Villanueva said. "How can we expect the private sector to follow suit if the government itself implements labor contractualization?" the senator added. The Senate is currently deliberating in the plenary Senate Bill No. 1826 or the proposed Security of Tenure Act which has been certified as a priority measure by the President.
The New Zealand dollar gained against the Australian dollar after wage growth across the Tasman remained muted in the third quarter.

The kiwi traded at 93.81 Australian cents at 5 pm in Wellington from 93.71 Australian cents at 8.30 am and from 93.37 cents late Tuesday. It was at 67.78 US cents versus 67.10 US cents late Tuesday.

Australian wages rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent in the three months through September from the second quarter, and rose by 2.3 percent from a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The move was largely in line with expectations, although some economists had tipped it to be higher.

The increase is "nothing to get excited about as it was partly driven by an increase in the minimum wage. Whats more, subdued growth in real wages means that households may soon start to respond to falling house prices by curbing spending," said Marcel Thieliant, senior Australia and New Zealand economist for Capital Economics.

ANZ Bank New Zealand senior strategist Phil Borkin said the disappointing data followed a relatively upbeat attitude to the Australian economy in recent times.

"Relative to expectations, things are just disappointing a touch," he said. In New Zealand, meanwhile, the data is surprising to the upside, said Borkin.

The kiwi gained against the greenback as markets grew more optimistic about a revival of trade talks between the US and China.

However, the kiwi could fall against the Aussie if there is a dramatic improvement in the global trade dynamic, as trade tensions have weighed more on the Australian dollar than the New Zealand dollar to date, said Borkin.

For now, things are relatively cautious, he said. "Markets aren't prepared to jump on that bandwagon until we see some concrete terms."

He said the upcoming G20 meeting at the end of this month is the key focus, given US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are due to meet.

Domestically, markets will be looking ahead to the central bank's financial stability report on Nov 28, where the RBNZ is widely expected to further loosen its lending curbs on high-risk mortgages. "The surprise now would be if they didn't," Borkin said.

The New Zealand dollar traded at 52.11 British pence from 52.36 pence Tuesday, and was at 59.99 euro cents from 59.96.

The kiwi was at 4.7092 Chinese yuan from 4.6913 yuan and at 77.19 yen from 76.91 yen.

The trade-weighted index was at 74.20 from 73.97.

New Zealand's two-year swap rate fell 2 basis point to 2.17 percent; the 10-year swaps were down 4 basis points at 3.04 percent.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Arvida Group Limited (NZX: ARV) Reports Steady First Half Progress

23rd November 2021 Morning Report

Argosy Property Limited (NZX: ARG) FY22 Interim Result market release

SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) REOPENING OF SKYCITY AUCKLAND PROPERTY

22nd November 2021 Morning Report

Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) welcomes final investment decision on ITS

The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZX: NZR) Transition of Marsden Point site to a fuel import terminal

Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) reports 164% profit growth, delivers on strategy

Meridian Energy Limited (NZX: MEL) agrees terms for the sale of Australian business

19th November 2021 Morning Report


KiwiRail is planning to relocate its Palmerston North operations out of the city as part of plans to develop a regional hub to better handle freight flows throughout the lower North Island.

The company has just received a $40 million commitment from the governments Provincial Growth Fund to help it with the planning process for the project and for land purchase.

KiwiRail is now beginning detailed plans for the freight hub, which will include identifying potential sites and seeking resource consent to designate land for rail use, acting chief executive Todd Moyle said. We will work with key customers on major infrastructure requirements to encourage freight businesses into the area.

Palmerston North is KiwiRails key staging point for domestic, imported and exported freight in the lower North Island. Rail freight comes and goes from the north, Wellington, Taranaki and Hawkes Bay. About 2.4 million tonnes moved through the current facility in the past year and that is expected to grow.

This project leverages the regions strengths and will be fully integrated into the other large investments being made in the regional transport system, including the new Manawatu Gorge road, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said.

This is a future-focused investment", with freight tonnages expected to increase by 60 percent during the next 20 years.

The main trunk rail line originally ran through Palmerston North. It was diverted around the city and the current rail yard established in 1964 on what was then the citys north-western outskirts, but is now surrounded by urban development.

KiwiRail didnt immediately indicate a preference for the location of its new facility. Nor was it able to offer an expected timeframe for selecting a site, getting the land designated and then building the facility.

Moyle said the inter-modal rail and road hub needs to be near the city so it can be easily accessed by distribution companies and other businesses. It also needs to connect well with the airport north of the city, a freight ring road being planned by the New Zealand Transport Agency and the proposed replacement road for the Manawatu Gorge.

The firm would relocate from the current location over time, allowing the existing land to be used for business and housing.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Arvida Group Limited (NZX: ARV) Reports Steady First Half Progress

23rd November 2021 Morning Report

Argosy Property Limited (NZX: ARG) FY22 Interim Result market release

SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) REOPENING OF SKYCITY AUCKLAND PROPERTY

22nd November 2021 Morning Report

Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) welcomes final investment decision on ITS

The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZX: NZR) Transition of Marsden Point site to a fuel import terminal

Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) reports 164% profit growth, delivers on strategy

Meridian Energy Limited (NZX: MEL) agrees terms for the sale of Australian business

19th November 2021 Morning Report


Sanford says annual earnings fell short of its expectations due to challenging climatic conditions leading to a decline in harvest volumes.

However, that impact was more than compensated for by the companys efforts to extract more value from both its wild and farmed fish and seafood and its underlying earnings rose 1.5 percent.

The fishing company lifted net profit 12.9 percent for the year ended September to $42.3 million, but that was largely driven by an insurance settlement for damage caused to its Havelock mussel processing facility by the Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016.

Sales rose 7.7 percent to $515 million in the 12 months, driven by improved pricing across farmed and wild-caught species, an increase in our fresh sales, and its ability to produce higher-value products, primarily from its hoki catch.

The profit result coincided with disclosure this morning of the death of one of its employees on a deepwater factory vessel, the San Granit. The company said the facts were still being established.

Chief executive Volker Kuntzsch says the climate has had a greater impact than Sanford has previously experienced, with abnormally high water temperatures during summer affecting both aquaculture and fishing.

Nevertheless, the company was able to maintain profitability by earning more per kilo of fish and earnings before interest and tax per kilo rose from 57 cents to 63 cents.

Volumes were down in salmon, mussels and wildcatch, both inshore and deepwater, but our strategic focus enabled us to make progress on our goal of $1 ebit per kilo greenweight, Kuntzsch said.

That excludes commodity volumes caught by Sanfords fishing partners.

Harvest volumes of mussels fell 15.1 percent due to an autumn algal bloom in the Marlborough sounds producing bio toxins, which interrupted harvesting and led to early spawning. The Havelock processing facility also closed earlier than usual to allow for earthquake repairs.

Sanford also grows mussels in the Coromandel and Stewart Island.

The summer marine heatwave affected growth and mortality rates at its Big Glory Bay king salmon farm at Stewart Island and the company limited sales for up to 10 weeks to enable fish stocks to reach desired weights. Harvest volumes were down 4.4 percent compared with the previous year as a result.

Also due to climatic conditions, deepwater wild catch volumes were down 2 percent while inshore landings were down nearly 9 percent.

Kuntzsch said just about all Sanfords wild caught fish had been frozen five years ago but now almost 10 percent of the companys production is sold fresh.

Its incredible how much more were able to sell in New Zealand these days  domestic sales have gone from 7 percent of volume five years ago to about 40 percent - some of that is re-exported by New Zealand customers.

Sanford is both investing in branding and innovation and replacing third-party distributors internationally with direct-to-customer sales, particularly to high-end restaurants.

We dont have enough seafood anyway, so lets us try to sell it for as high a price as possible."

Highlighting the pristine waters in which its Big Glory Bay fish is farmed in marketing is part of that strategy. People associate fish with where it comes from.

So much of Sanfords production used to be sold as bait fish or in overseas markets for next-to-nothing and the company still has enormous scope to make further improvements by moving up the value chain, said Kuntzsch.

For example, Sanford will launch a nutraceuticals brand, Sea to Me, later this month to create a platform for more differentiation and improved returns from its mussel powder, which "has recognised anti-inflammatory properties and is used to support human and animal mobility.

It has added a second dryer to double capacity at its Enzaq plant in Blenheim which produces and exports mussel powder.

It will also launch a revamped Auckland Fish Market with 10 eateries and an upscale fish monger aimed at encouraging consumers to try more and varied species.

Most Kiwis dont realise were a country with so many fish species, Kuntzsch said. While Norway has about 10 species, New Zealand has 120 to 130.

While Sanford has clearly been undergoing a transformation since Kuntzsch took over the top job in December 2013, he paid tribute to his predecessor, Eric Barratt, saying he was responsible for creating the companys huge diversity from seafood farming to wildcatch operations and a platform on which to build.

But the people at Sanford are no longer grumpy fishermen, he said.

Sanford will pay a 14 cent final dividend imputed to 5.44 cents per share, taking the annual payout to 23 cents, unchanged from the previous year.

Sanford shares havent traded yet after closing yesterday at $7.35. They have fallen 11.5 percent year-to-date.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Arvida Group Limited (NZX: ARV) Reports Steady First Half Progress

23rd November 2021 Morning Report

Argosy Property Limited (NZX: ARG) FY22 Interim Result market release

SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) REOPENING OF SKYCITY AUCKLAND PROPERTY

22nd November 2021 Morning Report

Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) welcomes final investment decision on ITS

The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZX: NZR) Transition of Marsden Point site to a fuel import terminal

Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) reports 164% profit growth, delivers on strategy

Meridian Energy Limited (NZX: MEL) agrees terms for the sale of Australian business

19th November 2021 Morning Report


Pharmaceuticals and petfood company Ebos demonstrated how it will improve productivity and hinted at potential acquisitions and other avenues for growth at its latest investor day.

In its presentation filed with the New Zealand stock exchange, Ebos says that since it opened its new warehouse in Victoria, Australia in October 2015, its productivity has increased more than 50 percent.

It is expecting similar improvements in productivity and cost improvements from its new 10,000 square metre warehouse in Brisbane which opened on October 15.

Ebos is also expecting productivity at all its warehouses in Australia to improve once its $A1 billion contract to exclusively supply the Chemist Warehouse Groups more than 400 chemist stores with pharmaceutical products kicks in from July 1 next year.

That contract will make Ebos Australias largest community pharmaceutical wholesaler  it already supplies the Terry White Chemmart Group and is in the process of buying the 50 percent of the Terry White franchisor that it doesnt already own for A$50 million.

Driving efficiencies and cutting costs is a key part of Ebos strategy, as is buying add-on or adjacent businesses. The company says it is looking for other investments in community pharmacy management companies.

It is also looking for acquisition opportunities in the medical consumables sector.

Ebos, which this year expects to achieve a return on capital employed in excess of 15 percent, achieved a 15.8 percent return in the year ended June, down from 16.4 percent the previous year.

It has completed 20 deals since 2000. Recent ones include:

- buying Warner & Webster, a medical and surgical supplies wholesaler in Victoria and South Australia, in August this year,

- the purchase of the Grans Remedy brand in March

- taking a 14 percent stake in ASX-listed MedAdvisor, Australias leading digital medication management company, in October last year.

Ebos departed from its usually parsimonious approach to acquisitions when it paid A$154 million, between 11 and 12.8 times 2018 operating earnings depending on currency and earnings assumptions, for hospital pharmacy company HPS. Ebos typically pays between six and eight times operating earnings for acquisitions.

In August, chief executive John Cullity said Ebos has between $150 million and $200 million available for acquisitions without stretching net debt beyond its target of 1.5-2.3 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

Ebos has bought a number of consumer brands over the last few years, including Red Seal and Anti-Flamme for humans and pet brands such as Black Hawk, Vitapet and Animates.

The company says brands diversify its earnings, provide consistent and reliable growth, and higher gross margins.

We are deeply passionate about helping people through our brands and helping our people to reach the full potential, the company says.

We can be the best in the world at delivering trusted brands built on sincere belief.

The company estimates the Australasian pet sector is worth about $14 billion and is growing at 2 percent or 3 percent a year, driven by factors such as the humanisation of pets and the trend towards premium pet foods.

The Black Hawk pet food brand has been Australias fastest growing premium brand over the last four years, growing 23 percent in 2018 after 48 percent growth the previous year.

Vitapet claims 63 percent of the New Zealand grocery petfood market and 23 percent of Australias, Ebos says.

It estimates the consumer health and wellbeing market in Australia is worth $17.4 billion and $1.28 billion in New Zealand and that Red Seal has 22 percent of the New Zealand supermarket sales of vitamins, 33 percent of specialty tea sales and 82 percent of natural toothpaste sales.

Extending sales of its brands into Asia is a key part of Ebos growth strategy.

For example, it estimates Chinas pet food market is growing at more than 30 percent a year but that only about 5 percent of Chinese households own pets compared to about 60 percent in Australasia.

At the same time as it pursues growth opportunities, the company remains committed to paying out 60-70 percent of net profit in dividends.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Arvida Group Limited (NZX: ARV) Reports Steady First Half Progress

23rd November 2021 Morning Report

Argosy Property Limited (NZX: ARG) FY22 Interim Result market release

SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) REOPENING OF SKYCITY AUCKLAND PROPERTY

22nd November 2021 Morning Report

Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) welcomes final investment decision on ITS

The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZX: NZR) Transition of Marsden Point site to a fuel import terminal

Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) reports 164% profit growth, delivers on strategy

Meridian Energy Limited (NZX: MEL) agrees terms for the sale of Australian business

19th November 2021 Morning Report


Contact Energy is looking again at wind generation and may carry out some preliminary investigations during the next two years.

Shareholders heard today that improving technology and falling costs have the company looking again at wind  five years after it formally halted its earlier developments amid flat demand.

The company has consent to build a 250 MW geothermal plant on its Tauhara field near Taupo and has the potential to almost double its geothermal output  depending on demand growth.

Chief executive Dennis Barnes suspects wind will come back on the radar for the company. But picking the likely timing is harder given the range and scale of options the company has at its Wairakei and Tauhara geothermal fields.

At what point do we run out of options on geothermal? he said after the companys annual meeting in Wellington today.

If demand does take off in line with some predictions, then I think we will actively re-engage with wind, he told BusinessDesk.

We will probably do a little bit of investigative work in the next year or two.

Contact shares rose 3 cents to $5.83, taking their gain so far this year to 5 percent.

Solar, wind and geothermal developments are considered key to help New Zealand meet its climate change commitments by making more renewable energy available for the electrification of industry and transport.

But flat demand in recent years has limited development to smaller regional projects, during which time the consents for some long-standing wind projects have been overtaken by new technology.

Tilt Renewables and Genesis Energy are advancing a 100 MW wind farm on the southern Taranaki coast at Waverley, but Meridian Energy has said it will have to seek new consents for two major wind projects on the North Island so that it can use larger, more efficient turbines.

Contact previously had consents for about 900 MW of wind capacity. It quit the large Hauauru ma raki project on the Waikato coast in 2013 and let the consents for its Waitahora project on the Puketoi Range in northern Wairarapa lapse three years later.

Barnes said geothermal development is a core competency of the company, and it has immediate brownfield options it could move on.

But he said wind development is largely a consenting activity, which is strong skill set within the company. It also has relationships with landowners and consenting bodies and, as an example, could look to restart work on the Waitahora project near Dannevirke.

Barnes said the firm may spend the next couple of years mapping wind resources and coming up to speed on the latest technology.

If the firm was to get back into wind, he said it would likely do that as a developer, rather than as a purchaser, to ensure it captured the full value of the resource.

Earlier in the meeting, chair Rob McDonald told shareholders the New Zealand electricity market has provided generation at the right time, and at the least cost, for the past two decades.

He warned that any major changes by government should only be considered with great caution.

Questioned by shareholders on the demand outlook from the potential take-up of electric vehicles, or the potential for climate change to result in cooler temperatures, Barnes said the company and the broader industry had sufficient options and time to develop capacity to meet that need.

He also noted that the firms gas-fired peakers at Stratford are likely to have a long life, given the intermittency of renewables, and he was confident there is sufficient domestic gas available to keep them supplied.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Arvida Group Limited (NZX: ARV) Reports Steady First Half Progress

23rd November 2021 Morning Report

Argosy Property Limited (NZX: ARG) FY22 Interim Result market release

SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) REOPENING OF SKYCITY AUCKLAND PROPERTY

22nd November 2021 Morning Report

Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) welcomes final investment decision on ITS

The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZX: NZR) Transition of Marsden Point site to a fuel import terminal

Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) reports 164% profit growth, delivers on strategy

Meridian Energy Limited (NZX: MEL) agrees terms for the sale of Australian business

19th November 2021 Morning Report


Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has called for overcoming slow progress on implementing decisions concerning a controversial dam Addis Ababa is building on the River Nile during talks with his Ethiopian counterpart Workneh Gebeyehu on Wednesday.

Egypt fears the $4 billion hydroelectric Grand Renaissance Dam would threaten its waters supply, namely with a swift filling of its reservoir.

During a meeting on the sidelines of an African summit, Shoukry called for "overcoming the current slowdown" of the implementation of the outcomes of a meeting held in May between ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to iron out differences over the dam project, a foreign ministry statement said.

Shoukry said this will allow progress on technical studies examining the dam's effects, according to a 2015 agreement signed by the three countries over Nile water rights.

Decisions made during May talks, which broke months of deadlock, include setting up a scientific study group to consult the nations on the process of filling the reservoir of the 6,000-megawatt dam and that the leaders of the three nations will meet every six months for consultations.

The statement said Ethiopia promised to address the matter within days.

"The Ethiopian minister has shown interest in finding the appropriate means to move forward with the consultations between the three States...within days," the statement added.

Technical committees from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, which backs the project, have not reached a settlement regarding the filling process.

Ethiopia maintains that the 6,000 megawatt dam, which it hopes will make it the continents biggest power exporter, will not harm Egypt.

In August, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the dam, initially planned to be completed by 2020, would be delayed for several years.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


2.0, the most talked about, expensive film ever produced in Indian cinema has cleared the censors with UA certificate. The film will be simultaneously releasing in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi on November 29. Nearly 250 theaters in Tamil Nadu are now equipped with 3D technology so that they can yield extra revenue for the 3D glasses. Sources say that around 1000 new 3D screens are also added throughout India for the release of 2.0.





Directed by Shankar, the film has Indian cinemas two biggest crowd pullersRajinikanth and Akshay Kumar playing the protagonist and antagonist respectively. The film also has an ensemble of actors including Amy Jackson, Adil Hussain, and Sudhanshu Pandey in pivotal roles.





AR Rahman has locked the background score of the film and once the final sound correction gets done, the team will send the overseas copy.




Its almost official now, Thala Ajiths next will be bankrolled by Boney Kapoor and Vinoth of Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru is all set to direct the film. Boney Kapoor met Ajith and Vinoth in Chennai on Tuesday to discuss when to commence the film and the possible release date. They also finalized important cast and crew of the film which will be revealed in a few days.





Touted to be the remake of Bollywoods critically acclaimed and commercially accepted film Pink, Zee Studios is also likely to join hands with Boney Kapoor in producing the film.





If all goes well, the shoot of the new film will commence by the end of this year and the entire shoot will be wrapped up in three months. Ajith is also planning to act in Vinoths original script which will go on floors by the second half of 2019.




Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman says he is resigning in protest over the cease-fire reached with Gaza militants.

Lieberman's resignation Wednesday significantly weakens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition government and could bring about an early election.

Lieberman says the cease-fire reached with Gaza's Hamas rulers was a ``surrender to terrorism.''

Lieberman has demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day offensive on Gaza in 2014.

He says he also fiercely objected to Israel's allowing Qatar to deliver $15 million in aid to Gaza last week.

Lieberman's resignation will go into effect in 48 hours. Netanyahu will take over on an interim basis.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The Iraqi government said Wednesday it had retaken ownership of a piece of property in Baghdad worth millions of dollars after it was unlawfully sold to a government official's wife.

In a statement to journalists, the Integrity Commission said it had worked with Baghdad authorities to recover the land in Kadhimiyah district.

"The Baghdad-Karakh appeals court issued a decision to seize the property, which amounts to 12,642 square metres, from the wife of a leading official in the previous government and re-register it in the name of the Mayorality," the statement said.

"The land registration in the name of the official's wife has been nullified, as well as all subsequent registrations," it added.

The northern neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah is home to a revered Shiite shrine, as well as some of the city's most luxurious properties -- priced at up to $10,000 per square metre.

The Integrity Commission said its investigation had revealed the official had sold the property to his wife in violation of laws regulating the lease or sale of state-owned property.

It did not reveal the official's identity, but a parliamentary source told AFP the accused had briefly served as a deputy to Iraq's former prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi.

In Baghdad, abandoned homes once belonging to Saddam Hussein-era officials or to minorities who have fled abroad are regularly occupied by powerful political parties.

Iraq, according to Transparency International, is the 12th most corrupt country in the world.

The embezzlement of public goods -- from land to government funds -- is a deeply rooted problem in a country with such a large public sector.

Corruption, shell companies and "phantom" public employees who receive salaries but do not work have cost Iraq the equivalent of $228 billion dollars since 2003, according to Iraq's parliament.

That figure is more than the country's gross domestic product and nearly three times the annual budget.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


As US retreats, China touts its trade deal wares to Asia



Singapore, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



China is touting itself as the new defender of global commerce as it works with Asia-Pacific leaders to hammer out the world's largest trade deal -- with the United States relegated to the sidelines.

World leaders gathered in Singapore this week for a summit where a massive Beijing-backed agreement covering half the world's population has dominated discussions.

Diplomats have been trying to nail down details as Beijing entices its neighbours to join a pact seen as an antidote to President Donald Trump's "America First" protectionist trade policy.

The US has imposed tariffs on roughly half of what it imports from China, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies.

China, Japan, India and other Asia-Pacific countries are expected to announce progress on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) later Wednesday.

Beijing had hoped to have the meat of the deal done by the end of this year, but the timetable has now slipped to 2019. However, this has not stopped Chinese leaders from basking in the progress already made.

During a meeting with Southeast Asia leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he was hopeful talks would "break through the ceiling" and take regional trade "to new heights".

Trump is not at the summit, nor a subsequent gathering of world leaders in Papua New Guinea at the end of the week, having sent Vice President Mike Pence instead.

National Security Advisor John Bolton, however, told reporters in Singapore that the president's no-show should not be seen as a lack of commitment towards the region.

He blamed a "schedule crunch" after a particularly frenetic few weeks that included the midterm elections, attending the World War I armistice commemorations in France and preparing for the G20 in Argentina later this month.



- Rival trade pacts -



This week's meetings are the biggest in a series of annual gatherings organised by regional bloc the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), and are attended by 20 leaders.

RCEP was given extra impetus after Trump pulled the US out of the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

That deal was spearheaded by predecessor Barack Obama and aimed to bind fast-growing Asian powers into an American-backed order to counter China.

The TPP is still alive even without Washington -- and will come into effect in December -- but RCEP, if realised, will be the world's biggest trade deal.

However, the Beijing-backed pact is much less ambitious than the TPP in areas such as employment and environmental protection.

There are still major sticking points in RCEP talks -- with regional rival India particularly nervous about giving Chinese companies greater access to its markets, and wealthier nations wanting to see more progress on labour reforms.

Disagreements on intellectual property rights, goods tariffs and financial services are also on a long list of issues that still need to be concluded, according to a draft statement seen by AFP.
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fdf100950)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdf2023b8)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fdf100950)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdf2023b8)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fdf099d90)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdf2023b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fdf2023b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fde8bee68)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdf2188c0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fdf2188c0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
The escalation of violence between Israels occupation forces and Palestinian resistance factions is the result of Israels failed military operation in Khan Younis, writes Haitham Ahmed in the Gaza Strip

After an intermittent lull, firefights were renewed in the Gaza Strip between Israels occupation forces and resistance factions. Anticipation and mystery shroud the Strip after the fighting revealed a qualitative shift in the ability of the resistance to reach Israeli targets.

Since Monday, the fighting resulted in the death of six Palestinians, five of whom were fighters, and an Israeli civilian.

It appears that Israel cant pursue ceasefire talks in the Strip without first deterring the factions, prime among which is Hamas, to save its face on the domestic and international fronts.

This is the same quagmire resistance factions faced after Israel targeted a leading Qassam Brigades member, Nour Baraka, on Sunday. Shelling has intensified in the Strip since then.

Political writer Ibrahim Al-Madhoun believes this is the fiercest escalation since 2014, but that it is too early to speak of an all-out war. It is still possible to contain the situation, he added.

The resistance will continue shelling the settlements surrounding the Strip and may, in case the Israeli forces continue their attacks, widen the scope of its missiles, Al-Madhoun said.

The resistance derives its strength from the unity and power of its supporters, he pointed out. Palestinians are lined up behind the resistance and its military decisions in an unprecedented manner. They are ready to bear the consequences, and are pushing the resistance to widen the scope of its missiles and accelerate attacks, he added.

Journalist Iyad Al-Qura said, the resistance has aborted the occupations plans and Israel will have to pay the price. It is difficult to let this crime go unpunished and the resistance leaders have every right not to listen to mediators now.

Al-Qura expects the current escalation will be limited, aiming to allow the resistance to retaliate and let the occupation forces pay the price for their crime and deter them from repeating it.

Political analyst Ayman Al-Rafati pointed out that the few hours after the shelling would determine whether the Gaza Strip was heading towards confrontation or ceasefire. Confrontation means an all-out war that starts by executing assassination attempts on the part of the Israeli forces, and the resistance hitting into the depths of Israel, said Al-Rafati.

The occupation leadership was politically and militarily cornered, in and out of Israel, after its undercover operation east of Khan Younis, in which Baraka was killed, was exposed, he stated.

On Sunday an Israeli special forces unit snuck into the Gaza Strip to execute an intelligence operation, clashing in the process with Qassam Brigades fighters.

The clash resulted in the death of the Israeli operation leader and seven Qassam fighters. Had it not been for extensive Israeli air cover, the entire undercover unit could have been arrested by the resistance forces.

Apart from military analyses of the attack, the operation ricocheted strongly amid Israels political circles. A prominent Israeli analyst with Yedioth Ahronoth, Ron Ben Yishai said, Was the operation meant to eliminate or kidnap? And

Ben Yishai said the incident will open up the way for more Israeli partisan actions. This was the first military intelligence operation for Avigdor Lieberman as war minister. It ended catastrophically, he added.

Lieberman had promised he was capable of engaging in intensive military battles with Hamas in Gaza. But this incident comes at a time of calm resulting after weeks of UN-Egyptian efforts, and funded by Qatari money. This compromises the occupation forces image in front of these countries.

Where is Israels accurate intelligence information that can count the breaths Palestinians take in Gaza? Did the army and intelligence in Israel think that maybe the operation might fail and that the price to pay would be the lives of the Israeli officers and soldiers, asked Adnan Abu Amer, an expert on Israeli affairs.

How didnt the unit in charge of the operation conduct more security and intelligence measures for the soldiers that infiltrated into Gaza? How come the air force that provided heavy cover for the unit to withdraw, with all their fighter jets, didnt detect the resistance movement? continued Abu Amer.

The gravest question Abu Amer posed was, How was it that an operation with such magnitude was approved only militarily, without permission of the states leader [Benjamin] Netanyahu?

These are critical questions that prominent officers in the security and military institutions will not find easy to answer in light of the disappointment from the failure of the operation. Israel sufficed by saying it was the gravest incident in a long time.

Yasser Manaa, an expert on Israeli affairs, concurred. I have been convinced for a long time that Lieberman doesnt have a plan of war in the Gaza Strip. He failed to execute one operation in the Strip, how can he wage a war?

He added: This is a failure that accolades the career of Chief of Staff Ghadi Eizenkot as he leaves the institution. [Sundays operation] could have annihilated the entire military institution, but it only demolished part of it.

Alex Fishman, a military analyst at Yedioth Ahronoth, wrote: Since Sunday, Israel and Hamas have found themselves on a dangerous flight to nowhere.

 But he believes, Israel was obliged to hit hard, for military and domestic political reasons. Hamas and Jihads attacks [which started Monday] left the Israeli leadership with no choice. The current firefights, according to a logical scenario, will last for a day or two. But then again, the scene can easily deteriorate into an all-out war.

Fishman said Mondays events showed a weak restraining capability on the part of the Israeli political leadership, which entails that Hamas be hard hit for a ceasefire to be effected on the border.

Both sides are stuck in a place where they have to justify their actions to their supporters. Meanwhile, it was Hamas that decided on the level of violence. Israel tagged along. Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to offer the cabinet a suggestion of using adequate power in order not to find himself facing a confrontational cabinet requiring him to take military steps that he doesnt want to execute, Fishman added.

Fishman doubted Israeli decision-makers would decide on launching an aggressive military hit in the Gaza Strip, but he pointed out that Israel may resort to destroying the leaders interests in Gaza by hitting the properties of Hamas leaders and the Strips prominent stratum.

Fishman cited the shelling of the headquarters of Hamas TV channel as an example.

The current round of escalation, Fishman stressed, was the result of the failed military operation conducted by the Israeli army in Khan Younis.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Israel pays the price

Search Keywords:

Short link:


British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek her cabinet's approval Wednesday for a long-awaited divorce deal with the EU but hardline Brexiteer MPs warned they will seek to block it in parliament.

After months of talks, May's office announced late Tuesday that negotiators had finally struck a draft agreement on the terms of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union next March.

The pound surged following the news, which came just as Brussels stepped up preparations for a potentially catastrophic "no deal" exit.

But diplomats and officials warned the technical agreement, which runs to hundreds of pages, still needs political approval.

Ambassadors from the other 27 EU member states will meet later in Brussels, Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar will hold a cabinet meeting and May's ministers convene at 1400 GMT.

If the British cabinet approves the text, London is hoping for a special summit of EU leaders later this month to seal the deal.

But May has faced constant criticism from her Conservative MPs over her approach, and the deal had barely been announced when they took to the airwaves to denounce it, with many on the lookout for high-profile resignations.

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who quit the cabinet over Brexit in July, said the deal would leave Britain a "vassal state" and urged his former colleagues to "chuck it out".

Former Brexit minister David Davis, who quit at the same time, said: "Cabinet and all Conservative MPs should stand up, be counted and say no to this capitulation."

Most ominously for May, the Northern Irish party which props up her government threatened to break their alliance over reports of a special arrangement for the British province.

"This is not the right Brexit," Jeffrey Donaldson of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) told BBC Radio's Today programme on Wednesday.

"It fundamentally undermines the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK -- the UK will be faced with the choice in the future, it wants to get out of this binding agreement, it will have to leave Northern Ireland behind."

All eyes were on whether eurosceptic ministers including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab may join the chorus of disapproval and resign.

"We are clearly not out of the woods yet," the London-based Capital Economics research group said in a note to clients.

- Irish backstop -

British and EU negotiators had stepped up their talks ahead of a deadline on Wednesday to get a deal in time to call the special summit for later this month.

Failure would delay the final settlement until a formal Brussels summit in mid-December, leaving little time for May to get the deal and associated legislation through parliament.

The talks were stuck for months on how to avoid border checks between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, if and until London strikes a new trade deal with Brussels.

Ireland's RTE broadcaster reported that the final deal includes a so-called "backstop" arrangement in which the whole United Kingdom will remain in a customs arrangement with the EU.

It provides for additional "deeper" provisions for Northern Ireland on customs and regulations.

But it also reportedly allows for a review mechanism that Britain could use to try to leave the backstop arrangement -- a key demand of Conservative eurosceptics.

Pro-Brexit MPs like Johnson fear Britain could end up being tied to the EU indefinitely.

Reflecting the gravity of the moment, popular tabloid Daily Mail carried the front-page headline "Judgment Day", urging its centre-right readership to give the deal "a fair chance".

The pro-Brexit Daily Telegraph called it May's "moment of truth" while The Sun's editorial warned of a "betrayal" if Britain did not have the power to unilaterally leave the customs arrangement.

May's deputy David Lidington had earlier promised the government would publish legal analysis on the deal following pressure from Tories and the main opposition Labour party.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would wait for details, but suggested the agreement was "unlikely to be a good deal for the country".

Other elements of the divorce already agreed include Britain's exit bill of around 39 billion (45 billion euros, $50 billion) as well as a guarantee on EU citizens' rights.

It also provides for a 21-month transition after Brexit during which London would follow EU rules while both sides negotiate a new trade relationship.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


After Facebook and Twitter, another social networking site that has managed to expand in India is Instagram. From early morning tea too late nights, adorable pets to new dresses, mocking selfies to zany group pictures, celebrities publish everything on Instagram. This is the favorite application of Bollywood celebrities, who keep their fans constantly informed of their activities. The fight to get a few hundred followers is very real, but celebrities need not worry about it. This is Bollyinsides list of Top 10 Most Followed Bollywood Celebrities On Instagram in 2018

1. Priyanka Chopra  (29.1m Followers)

Priyanka Chopra is not only a Bollywood celebrity but also an international icon. His Instagram account is proof of his success, which has about 29.1 million subscribers, which is about equal to that of Deepika Padukone. Priyankas Instagram is more laid back because you can see tons of selfies and pictures with friends, as well as some movie promotions and photo shoot footage.

2. Deepika Padukone  (27m Followers)

The Queen of Bollywood Deepika has a huge fan base of 27 million and still counts Her Instagram contains images from photoshoots of movies, magazines and her brand All About You. Apart from that, she also publishes pictures of her everyday life, whether with famous friends or just behind the scenes.

3. Alia Bhatt  (24.4m Followers)

Alia Bhatt is one of the youngest superstars in Bollywood. She is admired by the whole country for her charming smile and her charming features. His Instagram account peaked at 24.4 million followers and still counts.

4. Shraddha Kapoor  (24.4m Followers)

Shraddha Kapoor is part of the league of young Bollywood stars. She is known for having one of the sweetest smiles in Bollywood and one of the main reasons she has a tendency on Instagram. Her Instagram contains a mix of casual photos of his everyday life and movie promotions. She has a fan base of 24.4 million.

5. Jacqueline Fernandez  (22.5m Followers)

Jacqueline Fernandez is one of the most prominent actresses in Bollywood. The Sri Lankan beauty ranks 5th on our list with the following 22.5 million fans on Instagram.

6. Akshay Kumar  (21.8m Followers)

Here is Khiladi of Bollywood with 21.8 million followers on Instagram. He is very popular in the industry and a leading actor. After his super-rusty Rustam movies, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, etc., he had tons of followers. It occupies the 6th position on our list.

7. Salman Khan  (19.4m Followers)

Salman Khan is in 7th position with 19.4 million followers. As a big fan next on Facebook, Twitter but on Insta, he needs more time to work on his profile.

8. Shahid Kapoor  (15.3m Followers)

Shahid Kapoor is the 8th Bollywood celebrity on Instagram with 15.3 million followers. He is best known for his informal photos of his daily life alongside movie promotions. Her publications with her lovely wife and daughter are usually on Instagram, with as many eyeballs as possible.

9. Sonam Kapoor  (15m Followers)

The Bollywood fashionista, Sonam Kapoor, must absolutely be on this list with her flawless Instagram posts. She recently passed the 11 million mark. Her Instagram feed is delicious and colorful as she presents a variety of dresses she wears in her everyday life and at events.

10. Katrina Kaif  (14.5m Followers)

Last but not least, the next Bollywood diva in our list Katrina Kaif. She is also one of the best Bollywood actresses. In Bollywood, she knew her dance, her smile, and her kindness. She recently crossed the 14.5 million followers on Instagram.
An emergency European Union summit to sign off the Brexit deal between London and Brussels could take place on November 25, Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Wednesday.

If British Prime Minister Theresa May's cabinet agrees to the deal, then the EU could publish a text later Wednesday "with the probability of a EU council on 25 November," he told Irish lawmakers

Search Keywords:

Short link:


There are more gorillas in the mist _ a rare conservation success story, scientists say.

After facing near-extinction, mountain gorillas are slowly rebounding. On Wednesday, the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature updated mountain gorillas' status from ``critically endangered'' to ``endangered,'' a more promising, if still precarious, designation. There are now just over 1,000 of the animals in the wild.

``In the context of crashing populations of wildlife around the world, this is a remarkable conservation success,'' said Tara Stoinski, president and chief scientist of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

The Atlanta-based nonprofit is named for the primate researcher whose work helped draw international attention to mountain gorillas and whose memoir became the basis for the 1988 Sigourney Weaver film ``Gorillas in the Mist.''

``This is a beacon of hope _ and it's happened in recently war-torn and still very poor countries,'' said Stoinski, who is also a member of the IUCN's primate specialist group, which recommended the status change.

In this 2016 photo provided by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a young mountain gorillas named Fasha (

Mountain gorillas live in lush and misty forests along a range of dormant volcanoes in east Africa. Their habitat falls inside national parks spanning parts of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Fossey, who died in 1985, had projected that the primates may be extinct by 2000. Instead, their populations have been slowly increasing thanks to sustained and well-funded international conservation efforts.

``We have made progress in terms of their protection, in terms of allowing an environment where mountain gorillas can continue to thrive and grow,'' said Anna Behm Masozera, director of the International Gorilla Conservation Program, based in Kigali, Rwanda. ``But it's important to note that mountain gorillas' numbers could still slip back very quickly. We still have just two fragile and small populations,'' split between two national park areas.

A gorilla named Sheila and her newborn in her arms rest in their cage at the ZooParc of Beauval in S

A few key factors have enabled mountain gorillas' modest rebound, said Masozera.

The three governments have stepped up enforcement of national park boundaries _ areas where hunting, logging and paved roads are illegal.

Tourism helps too: Visitors pay up to $1,500 an hour to watch gorillas, money that helps pay for park rangers.

``Primate ecotourism, done right, can be a really significant force for funding conservation,'' said Russ Mittermeier, chief conservation officer at Global Wildlife Conservation. ``It gives local governments and communities a tangible economic incentive to protect these habitats and species.''

There's also health care. Gorilla Doctors, a nongovernmental group, has trained veterinary staff in each of the countries where the mountain gorillas live.

Hunting in the national parks is illegal, but nearby residents still set traps to catch other animals, such as antelopes. Those traps can also grab gorillas' arms and legs.

When gorillas are found struggling with snares, the vets are called in to clean wounds. Kirsten Gilardi, U.S. director for the organization, called it ``extreme conservation.''

Other experts said the emergency vet interventions play a significant role in maintaining mountain gorilla populations.

``It's a total conservation win, and there aren't that many of them,'' said Gilardi.

A gorilla named Sheila breasts-feed her newborn in their cage at the ZooParc of Beauval in Saint-Aig

A newborn gorilla rests in her mother's arms in his cage at the ZooParc of Beauval in Saint-Aignan,

Search Keywords:

Short link:


New Amazon HQ split between New York, Washington suburbs



Arlington, United States, Nov 13 (AFP) Nov 13, 2018



Amazon's "second headquarters" is being split between New York City and the Washington suburbs, the US tech giant announced Tuesday, capping a yearlong contest that saw dozens of cities fight it out for a promised $5 billion investment and 50,000 expected jobs.

The chosen locations are Long Island City neighborhood in the New York borough of Queens, across the East River from Manhattan, and the Crystal City section of Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac from the US capital.

Both districts offered a variety of tax and infrastructure incentives to lure the huge corporate prize, but Amazon said one important element was access to a qualified workforce.

"These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come," said Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, who last year called for proposals for an "HQ2" with equivalent status to Seattle, in the northwestern US state of Washington.

"We believe Virginia has a tremendous amount to offer to Amazon," Virginia Governor Ralph Northam told a gathering in Arlington after the announcement.

Northam said the region has "one of the strongest pools of tech talent in the nation" and that even with the incentives, the deal will result in "net positive revenues" for the state.



- Walk to airport, university -



Virginia will offer $550 million in incentives over 12 years based on a similar number of job creations, contingent on adding the forecasted number of "high-paying jobs," and Amazon will get another $23 million from Arlington, where the company intends to create an entire new neighborhood called National Landing.

Amazon said it expected its investment would boost tax revenue for Virginia by some $3.2 billion over the next 20 years.

The plan calls for Amazon to create four million square feet (370,000 square meters) of office space in New York, with an option to double that, in a district with a large number of office buildings with high vacancy rates.

The state will also spend some $200 million in infrastructure improvements including in mass transit, and a pedestrian bridge to the adjacent Reagan National Airport, and create a new campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute on the site, offering masters degrees in computer science and related fields, Northam said.

"Our investments are in our people and our infrastructure," the governor said.

The US capital area -- where Maryland and the city of Washington were also finalists -- was long seen as a front-runner, in part because Bezos already has a residence in the city and owns The Washington Post newspaper.



- Critics of 'Hunger Games' -



In New York, the company will receive "performance-based direct incentives of $1.525 billion" over the next decade based on creating 25,000 jobs in Long Island City.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called New York's selection "a giant step" in the city's development.

"New Yorkers will get tens of thousands of new, good-paying jobs, and Amazon will get the best talent anywhere in the world," he said.

The competition had been derided in some quarters as a "Hunger Games" contest pitting cities against each other, with rival bidders piling up offers of incentives for one of the largest and most successful global corporations.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, elected to Congress from a district that includes part of Queens, said it was unclear if the community would benefit from the massive corporate move.

"Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Monday.

Amazon's statement said its plan would boost tax revenue by some $10 billion over 20 years.

- 'Sheer size and scale' -



Neil Saunders of the research firm GlobalData said the new locations make sense for Amazon as it seeks proximity to political power, fashion and technology talent.

Saunders said that "the sheer size and scale of Amazon and its interest across many areas of technology, retail, and various consumer services" suggests a need for multiple locations.

The analyst added that the split helps Amazon avoid a problem of too much growth or congestion in one location, noting that that had caused problems in Seattle.

"Being able to balance growth across numerous cities will help alleviate such issues," he said.

Started in the 1990s, Amazon has seen spectacular growth and earlier this year saw its valuation briefly hit $1 trillion before falling back.

In addition to its online retail operations in dozens of countries, Amazon is a major cloud computing firm and offers streaming video and music, hardware using its Alexa digital assistant and owns the Whole Foods grocery chain.
Coup-plagued Fiji goes to the polls



Suva, Fiji, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



Voters in Fiji were chosing between two former coup leaders Wednesday in only the second election since the military took control of the Pacific island nation in 2006.

The ballot pits Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, the former army chief who led a bloodless takeover of the government 12 years ago, against another coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka of the SODELPA Party.

Bainimarama's FijiFirst Party, which secured a landslide 59 percent in the last election four years ago, is favourite to retain office against a fractured opposition.

The 64-year-old has promised stability and an end to the "coup culture" that saw four governments toppled between 1987 and 2006.

Rabuka, who staged two coups in 1987 and led the country from 1992-99, was only cleared to run in the election on Monday after defeating corruption charges that government critics said were politically motivated.

Heavy rain forced the closure of 17 polling stations but Pravin Narain, one of about 550,000 registered voters in the nation of 920,000, said the process went smoothly when he cast his ballot in Suva.

"The weather failed to dampen the spirit of the people," he said.

Given the backgrounds of both major candidates, there have inevitably been rumours one of the election's major players could try to stage a coup if the vote does not go their way.

However, police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho said in the lead-up to the election that 2,000 officers were on duty to ensure there was no unrest.

"I want to reiterate again to all Fijians, forget the rumours," he told reporters.

"We are in control of the security situation here, go out and vote for the government you want. We will provide you with security you need."

- Human rights concerns -



Speaking on the streets of the capital, voter Ravai Vafoou said there was no appetite for another coup among the general public.

"Whether the party you voted for wins or not, the general notion is that as Fijians we will support whichever party forms government," he said.

FijiFirst's supporters say it has helped heal racial divisions by introducing equal rights for Indian-Fijians, a sizable minority brought in to work on sugar plantations during British colonial rule.

It has also overseen a prosperous period for the tourism-driven economy, which is growing by more than three percent a year.

Initially branded a dictator by regional powers such as Australia and New Zealand, Bainimarama has gained international acceptance since the 2014 election.

He has campaigned on the global stage for climate change action, chairing the UN's COP 23 talks on global warming and highlighting the plight of island nations threatened by rising seas.

However, Amnesty International says Bainimarama's government is yet to fully restore freedoms that were suspended for several years after the 2006 coup.

"Since the last general elections in 2014, the human rights situation in Fiji has remained under attack," it said ahead of the vote, pointing to police brutality, curbs on freedom of assembly and media, as well as persecution of rights advocates.

SODELPA is the largest of the five opposition parties, winning 28 percent of the vote in 2014.

But observers say internal divisions and a succession of corruption cases against party leaders have rendered opposition to Bainimarama's government largely ineffective.

The winner of the election is not expected to be known for four or five days as votes trickle in from polling stations on the archipelago's more remote islands.
Tencent logs big profit rise despite China game crackdown



Shanghai, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



Chinese internet giant Tencent said Wednesday it posted a nearly 30 percent profit rise in the latest quarter, handily beating expectations as new video games already in the pipeline mitigated any impact from a government crackdown on the lucrative game sector.

Shenzhen-based Tencent said net profit came in at 23.33 billion yuan ($3.39 billion) in the three months ending September 30, surpassing a Bloomberg average analyst estimate of 18.39 billion yuan.

Tencent's earnings were hotly anticipated after the company posted a two percent year-on-year fall in profit in the preceding quarter, which Bloomberg data indicated was the first such decline in at least a decade.

Known for its ubiquitous WeChat social media and messaging programme, Tencent had ridden revenues from gamers to surpass even Facebook last year and vault into the ranks of the world's most valuable companies.

But it has suffered a dramatic reversal this year after China's government effectively froze approvals of new game titles earlier this year, officially due to youth gaming addiction concerns.

The freeze, and tighter restrictions on game-playing, has seen a stunning amount lopped off of Tencent's total market value this year -- around a quarter of a trillion dollars -- as its Hong Kong-listed shares have sagged nearly 33 percent.

But there was little hint of trouble in Tencent's third-quarter results.

Tencent said smart-phone game revenue grew seven percent in the quarter to 19.50 billion yuan, though PC game revenues fell 15 percent to 12.4 billion yuan "due to user migration to mobile games and the high base in the same quarter last year."

Overall revenues grew 24 percent, including a 47 percent jump in online advertising, thanks in part to the release of 10 new titles during the quarter, Tencent said, adding that it had 15 more games ready for release.

Analysts said China's gaming industry -- the world's largest, and dominated by Tencent -- could feel a squeeze soon due to the cut-off in title approvals.



- Game on -



But they added that licensing was expected to resume possibly as early as year-end after the government finishes implementing a tightened regime of restrictions -- now being rolled out -- aimed at curb playing time among minors.

"Small players (game companies) are facing a threat, but Tencent is doing pretty well," said Charlie Chai, an analyst with 86Research in Shanghai.

"It has a deep pipeline of games which already have licences, so for the moment those games can tide them over for at least another quarter."

Tencent is generally viewed as a proxy for China's gaming market, which is estimated to be worth nearly $40 billion according to industry trackers Newzoo.

Gaming industry analysts Niko Partners said in a recent report that Chinese demand remained strong.

"Chinese gamers are still enthusiastically gaming and spending money on and in games. The market revenue continues to grow," it said.

The exact reasons for the crackdown on games remain unclear, but analysts believe an internal restructuring in the agency that approves games is also partly to blame.

Tencent still has a powerful asset in WeChat, which has more than a billion users and underpins its gaming and ads business.

"Tencent still has a great portfolio, so we're still confident on the company's outlook," said Norman Hui of Zhongtai International Securities.

dma/mtp

Tencent
Raindrops keep falling: Climate change makes storms worse - study



Tokyo, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



Climate change is increasing the amount of rain that hurricanes produce, and as warming picks up storms will become increasingly wetter and windier, according to new research.

The findings are based on extensive modelling that involved millions of computing hours on a supercomputer, and they show that climate change is already affecting the intensity of storms.

"Climate change so far -- from preindustrial to present -- has contributed to increases in total storm rainfall from Hurricanes Katrina, Irma and Maria of about 5-10 percent," said the study's lead author Christina Patricola.

"Our simulations also strongly indicate that we can expect to see even greater increases in rainfall and stronger winds by the end of the century," she told AFP.

Patricola and co-author Michael Wehner, both researchers at the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, started by analysing three major hurricanes: Katrina, Irma and Maria.

They used what Wehner refers to as a "hindcast attribution method" simulating first the scenario in which the storm occurred, and then a "counterfactual" storm in a world where climate change did not occur.

By comparing the difference between the two models, the researchers were able to determine which elements resulted from climate change.

They found climate change at the time of Katrina, which devastated parts of the United States in 2005, had increased the storm's rainfall by 4-9 percent.

It increased the rain from Irma, an immensely costly storm that hit in 2017, by six percent, and upped the rainfall from Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico the same year, by nine percent.

The models suggested climate had not so far affected wind speed, but rainfall can be more devastating than high winds, causing deadly flooding and enormous damage.



- Wetter, windier storms -



"We think that climate change has increased rainfall because the ocean and atmosphere have already started warming, which means the atmosphere can hold more moisture," said Patricola, while cautioning that other factors including changing storm dynamics could be at play.

The researchers then expanded their study and analysed a total of 15 tropical cyclones -- storms that include Atlantic hurricanes, Pacific typhoons and cyclones around Australia.

In addition to comparing the actual storms to pre-industrial conditions, they looked at how the storms would unfold under various theoretical climate change scenarios involving different temperature rises.

They found rainfall could increase between 15 and 35 percent in the future, with wind speeds increasing by as much as 25 knots.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Nature, comes after an active storm season that saw powerful hurricanes and devastating typhoons.

And it was published at the same time as another study in Nature that found urbanisation in the US city of Houston directly contributed to the rainfall and flooding in 2017's Hurricane Harvey.

The research found urban growth ate up land that could have absorbed rainfall, but also led to Harvey producing more rain for reasons including the way buildings affect air flow.

Patricola and Wehner cautioned that their work uses one climate model, and further study will be needed to see if their results can be replicated.

They also plan to study further the way climate change affects wind intensity and what other factors play a role in the impact of major storms.

"More work is needed to interpret these changes to potentially improve resilience to extreme weather events," Patricola said.
British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament on Wednesday that a draft Brexit deal struck by British and EU negotiators delivered on the result of the 2016 referendum.

"What we have been negotiating is a deal that does deliver on the vote of the British people," May told rowdy MPs after a barrage of criticism from hardliners in her own Conservative Party who said the agreement included unacceptable compromises.

In the referendum, 52 percent voted for Britain to leave the European Union after four decades of membership.

The government has said Britain will also leave the European single market and customs union.

Britain is set to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019.

May defended her agreement in front of MPs saying it would guarantee an end to unlimited immigration from the EU and would allow Britain to set its own trade policy.

She said the agreement included a backstop to avoid a hard border in Ireland but added that this would be a temporary "insurance policy" if no future relationship is agreed.

"We want to bring the future relationship into place at the end of December 2020," she said.

But Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said the agreement "breaches the prime minister's own red lines" and said negotiations with Brussels had been "shambolic".

"This government spent two years negotiating a bad deal that will leave the country in an indefinite half-way house," he said.

Conservative MP Peter Bone, a leading pro-Brexit lawmaker, also criticised May.

"You are not delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters," Bone said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


US takes aim at Hezbollah regional role, sanctioning leader's son



Washington, Nov 13 (AFP) Nov 13, 2018



The United States on Tuesday branded the son of Hezbollah's leader a "terrorist" subject to sanctions as it offered rewards to capture three militants in Lebanon with close ties to Iran.

In a series of back-to-back actions, the US vowed to aggressively counter the regional ambitions of Iran a week after imposing sweeping measures intended to cripple the cleric-led country's economy.

It also marked a new US pressure tactic inside Lebanon, whose prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri, has been at a political crossroads with Hezbollah -- considered a terrorist group by Washington but also a major political faction among the communally sensitive state's Shiite Muslims.

The State Department declared Jawad Nasrallah, the son of Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, to be a "global terrorist," meaning any US-based assets will be blocked and Americans will be forbidden from any transactions with him.

"Hezbollah's destructive actions have endangered the Lebanese people," Nathan Sales, the US ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism, told reporters.

He accused Hezbollah -- the only of Lebanon's political parties that did not disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war -- of "effectively using civilians as human shields" by hiding missiles in population centers.

"Hezbollah's ability to destabilize is not confined to the Middle East, however. It is able to destabilize inside Lebanon itself," he said.

- Rewards for three men -



Sales also held up "Wanted" posters for three men in Lebanon for which the United States will offer $5 million for information leading to their location.

They included Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri, who is seen as the key liaison between the Palestinian Islamist movement and Iran and who lives in Lebanon.

The United States linked Aruri in particular to the 2014 murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank including one, Naftali Fraenkel, who was a dual US-Israeli citizen.

Also on the posters were Khalil Yousif Harb and Haytham Tabatabai, both accused of commanding Hezbollah's growing military operations around the Middle East.

Iran's rival Saudi Arabia in 2015 imposed its own sanctions on Harb over Hezbollah's role in Yemen, where Saudi-led coalition has been pounding Huthi rebels and infrastructure in what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The United States cited the Saudi designation in its own action, despite Washington's recent criticism of the kingdom over the killing of dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate.

Hezbollah -- founded during the civil war by supporters of Iran's revolutionary government with a goal of ending Israel's occupation of south Lebanon -- has increasingly become a force around the region.

It is believed to have sent thousands of fighters to Syria in a bid to prop up President Bashar al-Assad, an Iranian ally and member of the heterodox Alawite sect who has ruthlessly tried to crush mostly Sunni rebels and the extremist Islamic State movement.

- Targeting Hezbollah in Iraq -



The Treasury Department separately placed sanctions on four men it said were key to Hezbollah's activities in Shiite-majority Iraq.

Those four were Shibl Muhsin Ubayd Al-Zaydi, Yusuf Hashim, Adnan Hussein Kawtharani, and Muhammad Abd-Al-Hadi Farhat.

The Treasury said Al-Zaydi was a key coordinator among Hezbollah, Iran's blacklisted Revolutionary Guards and their supporters in Iraq, and that the other three provided intelligence.

President Donald Trump's administration has vowed to roll back Iranian influence in the Middle East and last week snapped back sanctions, which had been lifted after Tehran entered a deal on ending its nuclear program.

Sales, using a figure previously cited by the administration, said that Iran pays $700 million a year for Hezbollah.

"Sadly, it is the Iranian people who are forced to pay this price," he said.

Hariri earlier Tuesday accused Hezbollah of holding up a new cabinet after five months of wrangling, with the group pushing for Sunni politicians allied to the Shiite movement but opposed to Hariri to be represented.
Assad calls on Syria's Druze minority to do military service



Damascus, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has called on the country's Druze community to do military service, days after members of the minority were released following a mass abduction in July by the Islamic State group.

Sweida province is the heartland of Syria's Druze minority, who made up around three percent of the country's pre-war population -- or around 700,000 people.

Since the conflict erupted in 2011, thousands of Druze, especially those in Sweida, have refused to be conscripted, instead joining local militias promising to protect the region.

Damascus has so far turned a blind eye as long as the Druze militias do not ally with rebel groups.

Speaking to a group of former hostages and their families on Tuesday, Assad thanked the army, saying that without them "the abducted people would not have been freed".

"We owe a great debt to (the army) and as for you... your responsibility is even greater," he said in a video published on the presidency's official Telegram account.

The main way the Druze community could support the army was to do military service, Assad added.

The Druze, followers of a secretive offshoot of Islam, are considered heretics by the Sunni extremists of IS.

IS militants abducted about 30 people -- mostly women and children -- from Sweida in late July during the deadliest attack on the Druze during the Syrian civil war.

Some of the hostages died while others were freed last month in a prisoner swap. The remaining 19, mostly women and children, were released last week.

Before the war began, Syrian men aged 18 and older had to serve up to two years in the army, after which they became reserves available for call-up in times of crisis.

In the past seven years, fatalities, injuries and defections are estimated to have halved the once 300,000-strong army.

To compensate, the force has relied on reservists and militias as well as indefinitely extending military service for young conscripts.
China says is no threat to EU, after Macron army call



Beijing, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



China said on Wednesday that it had never posed a threat to Europe as it responded to a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron for a "European army" to defend the bloc against China, Russia, and even the US.

"We have never posed any threat to Europe," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, when asked about the issue at a daily press briefing in Beijing.

Hua said that while "Europe has the right to decide its own foreign and defence policies", European leaders have in fact expressed a desire for closer cooperation with China.

Macron touched off a controversy last week with his proposal, which is a touchy issue among European countries keen to handle their own defence, and in light of US President Donald Trump's calls for Europe to foot more of the bill for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defence alliance.

Trump called Macron's idea "very insulting", tweeting that Europe should "first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidises greatly".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, seconded Macron's proposal.

During a European parliament session, she emphasised the need for Europe to bolster its self-defence capabilities, and said that a European army could run parallel to NATO.

"Europe must take our fate into our own hands if we want to protect our community," she said.
Israel defence minister quits after ceasefire, government in turmoil



Jerusalem, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday and called for early elections after a sharp disagreement over a Gaza ceasefire deal, throwing the government into turmoil.

Lieberman also said his party was quitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, leaving the premier with only a one-seat majority in parliament.

Elections are not due until November 2019, but Lieberman's resignation increases the likelihood of an earlier vote.

"What happened yesterday -- the truce combined with the process with Hamas -- is capitulating to terror," Lieberman told journalists in explaining his reasons for resigning.

"What we're doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet, with the price being severe long-term damage to national security."

He added later: "We should agree on a date for elections as early as possible."

Netanyahu has defended Tuesday's ceasefire deal that ended the worst escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war.

An official from Netanyahu's Likud party hit back at speculation that early elections would be called and said the prime minister would take charge of Lieberman's portfolio at least temporarily.

"There's no obligation to go to an election in this time of security sensitivity," the official said on condition of anonymity.

A Likud spokesman said later in the day that Netanyahu had begun consultations with heads of parties in his coalition to stabilise it.

The party of far-right Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a Netanyahu rival, was threatening to withdraw from the coalition if he was not given the defence portfolio.



- 'Begged for ceasefire' -



Lieberman, a security hardliner, heads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, which holds five seats in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.

Before taking over as defence minister, he said he would give Hamas leader Ismail Haniya 48 hours to hand over two detained Israeli civilians and the bodies of soldiers killed in the 2014 war "or you're dead".

He later backed off and said he was committed to "responsible, reasonable policy".

The ceasefire held on Wednesday, but Netanyahu was seeking to combat criticism of the decision.

Beyond Lieberman's resignation, several hundred Israelis living near the border with Gaza protested on Tuesday night to call for further action against its Islamist rulers Hamas.

Netanyahu defended his strategy and said: "Our enemies begged for a ceasefire.

"In times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public can't always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy," he said at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Hamas portrayed the ceasefire as a victory and thousands of residents of the blockaded enclave took to the streets late Tuesday to celebrate.

On Wednesday, Gazan demonstrators burned pictures of Lieberman and sweets were handed out in the streets, while Hamas called his resignation a "victory."

The Egyptian-brokered truce was announced by Gaza militant groups, including Hamas, on Tuesday.

A diplomatic source familiar with the agreement said it involved returning to arrangements put in place following the 2014 war, but warned: "The situation remains very precarious and can blow up again.

"What we have seen in the past 48 hours was very dangerous and no efforts should be spared to avoid similar flare-ups."



- Blown covert operation -



The violence saw seven Gazans killed in 24 hours as Israeli strikes targeted militants and flattened buildings, sending fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky.

Sirens wailed in southern Israel as militants unleashed barrages of rocket and mortar fire, sending residents rushing to shelters.

Around 460 rockets and mortar rounds were fired at Israel, the most ever in such a brief time period, the army said.

An anti-tank missile hit a bus near the Gaza border that Hamas says was being used by Israel's army. An Israeli soldier was severely wounded.

In all, some 27 Israelis were wounded, three of them severely.

A Palestinian labourer from the occupied West Bank was killed when a rocket hit a building in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

The violence had begun on Sunday with a botched Israeli special forces operation inside the Gaza Strip that turned deadly and prompted Hamas to vow revenge.

The clash that resulted from the blown operation killed seven Palestinian militants, including a local Hamas military commander, as well as an Israeli army officer.

This week's escalation came despite Netanyahu's decision to allow Qatar to transfer millions of dollars in aid to Gaza for salaries as well as fuel to ease a chronic electricity shortage.

The agreements had led to calmer protests along the border after months of deadly unrest.

But those cash transfers also drew criticism from Netanyahu's own government, and Lieberman slammed them in announcing his resignation.
Israeli defence minister quits: What you need to know



Jerusalem, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday, leaving the future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government uncertain. Here is where the situation stands:



Why did Lieberman resign?



Lieberman has long called for harsh action against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, and has recently made clear he disagrees with Netanyahu's strategy.

Their disagreement came to a head with Tuesday's ceasefire that ended the worst escalation between Israeli and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war. Lieberman called it "capitulating to terror".

Political considerations likely also played a role.

There has long been speculation that elections will be called before November 2019, when they are due.

The time was perhaps right for Lieberman to quit and seize momentum for his small, right-wing party Yisrael Beitenu, which holds fewer seats in parliament than Netanyahu's Likud and his rivals from the far-right Jewish Home.



Elections coming?



By resigning, Lieberman removes five seats from Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition, leaving the premier with a one-seat majority (61 out of 120 seats).

One of the main reasons Netanyahu negotiated with Lieberman to join his coalition in 2016 was to give himself some breathing space.

The government formed after 2015 elections was already seen as the most right-wing in Israel's history even before Lieberman joined.

It can in theory seek to survive until the end of its four-year term, but it is at the mercy of the various parties' interests and those of Netanyahu himself.

Likud says early elections will not be necessary and that Netanyahu is now seeking to stabilise the coalition.

But Jewish Home, the party of Education Minister Naftali Bennett, was threatening to withdraw if he is not given the defence portfolio.

Netanyahu would likely be reluctant to grant such a position to Bennett, one of his main rivals on the right.

No Israeli government has served out its full term in 30 years.



What are stakes for Netanyahu?



Prime minister for a total of more than 12 years, Netanyahu could surpass Israel's founding father David Ben-Gurion's record next year.

Polls suggest he and his Likud would be favourites should polls be called, with Netanyahu's reputation as Israel's "Mr. Security" still valued among voters, though it's unclear if the recent Gaza escalation will affect that.

There has been speculation for months that Netanyahu may opt for early elections, particularly with the police having recommended charges against him in two corruption probes.

The attorney general is expected to decide whether to bring charges in the months ahead, and the thinking is that he would be better placed to combat them with a fresh electoral endorsement.

But he would want to make the move at the most advantageous time and he is currently facing criticism over the Gaza ceasefire.



'Victory' for Gaza and Hamas?



After months of deadly unrest, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad celebrated Lieberman's resignation as a "victory."

Egypt and the United Nations have been attempting to mediate a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel, and Netanyahu has admitted he welcomes mediation to prevent a humanitarian collapse in Gaza.

Netanyahu has preferred to contain Hamas rather than seek to remove it from power, worried that it would leave a power vacuum in Gaza and that Israel would have difficulty assuming security responsibility for the territory it withdrew from in 2005.

"I do not shrink from a necessary war but I want to avoid it when it is not essential," Netanyahu said Saturday.

At the same time, he said there was no political solution for Gaza.

"The time has come for us to understand what every child in Gaza knows: Bibi is in favour of the Hamas regime," Nahum Barnea wrote in Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper, using the premier's nickname.

"He is in favour of the Hamas regime because he doesn't find any of the other alternatives appealing."
Mattis visits troops on US border, says mission 'necessary'



Washington, Nov 14 (AFP) Nov 14, 2018



Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that the military operation to harden the US-Mexico frontier was clearly necessary, as he visited troops deployed on the controversial mission.

President Donald Trump ordered the deployment in the build-up to last week's midterm elections, with critics assailing the move as a costly political stunt to mobilize his conservative base.

According to Mattis, some 5,900 troops are now at the border. The mission could see upwards of about 9,000 active-duty and reserve troops.

The Pentagon chief said the military was needed to provide vital support to short-handed border patrol agents ahead of the anticipated arrival of large groups of migrants in so-called "caravans."

"I think that it's very clear that support to border police or Border Patrol is necessary right now," he told reporters traveling with him as he headed to Base Camp Donna in Texas.

He said border agents need help with everything from laying barbed wire to being ferried around the frontier by helicopter, adding that the mission provided useful training to troops and enhanced their military readiness.

"We determined that the mission was absolutely legal," Mattis said.

"It's obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen."

Critics have said the deployment is a waste of money and is not needed, especially as its focus is on preventing a main caravan of migrants that might not even reach the border until after the mission wraps up on December 15.

That caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on October 13 and has covered more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) so far.

The pace picked up Wednesday as migrants were being ferried on buses toward Tijuana, where hundreds of arriving migrants have begun to gather.

At least two other caravans have since been established, defying threats from Trump -- who has decried what he describes as an "invasion."

The Pentagon still has not provided a cost estimate for the mission, but US media say it could stretch well beyond $200 million.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake told MSNBC on Wednesday that the deployment was merely political.

"It's unfortunate that we have soldiers there," he told the network.

"You can't call it anything but a stunt here, and it's unfortunate that they are going to be away from family during the holidays coming up and we just don't know what really for."

Mattis last month said the Pentagon doesn't "do stunts."

The US military has often deployed to the southern border, he said, including about a century ago to protect against raids from Pancho Villa and his Mexican revolutionaries.
Cuba announced Wednesday it will pull thousands of its doctors out of Brazil in response to President-elect Jair Bolsonaro's "contemptuous and threatening" remarks about the program.

"In the light of this unfortunate reality, the ministry of public health of Cuba has decided to discontinue its participation in the program," which sends thousands of doctors to work in rural areas of Brazil, a ministry statement said.

The statement said Bolsonaro had "questioned the qualification of our doctors and has conditioned their permanence in the program to a process of validation of their titles."

Search Keywords:

Short link:


This weeks ceremonies to mark 100 years since the end of World War I appeared to show the United States as the main enemy to the current world order, writes Manal Lotfy in London

The occasion was supposed to show unity and cooperation and to reflect on one of the most horrific events in human experience.

Yet, the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day marking the end of the First World War, celebrated in a grand ceremony hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris this week, did not show world unity.

If anything, it showed disunity and a crack in the current international order that was born from World Wars I and II. It showed that there were more differences and divergences than there was consensus and understanding on the core issues of concern to the world today.

Instead of a collective celebration in which world leaders could stand shoulder to shoulder, the dark shadows of the past were looming. US President Donald Trump, in particular, looked very much alone, standing on the outskirts of the world stage and isolated from long-time US allies.

The reason was that the new enemy of the current world order that has emerged from the two World Wars is now the US administration.

In his speech at the event, Macron rebuked Trumps America First agenda. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism, Macron told the assembled world leaders.

By saying, our interests first, who cares about the others, we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what gives it grace, and what is essential: its moral values, Macron added, warning of old demons resurging and endangering chaos.

Will today be a symbol of lasting peace or a last moment of unity before the world falls into more disorder, he asked, adding it depends solely on us.

The theme was the need for a sense of community in order to prevent a Third World War. However, Trump did not put on a smile throughout the ceremony. The only leader Trump greeted with a beaming smile was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who showed up late. Putin gave Trump a thumbs-up sign.

In her speech, German Chancellor Angela Merkel followed in Macrons footsteps by emphasising that if isolation wasnt the solution a hundred years ago, how can it be today, in such an interconnected world?

From Macron to Merkel to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the world leaders rebuked the US president. In an interview last week with the US news channel CNN, Macron said that Europe needed a European army, because it could no longer rely on the United States. Trump slammed Macrons idea as very insulting.

[Trump] is in favour of better burden-sharing within NATO, Macron said. I agree with that. And I think that in order to have better burden-sharing, all of us do need more Europe.

And I think the big mistake, to be very direct with you, what I dont want to see is European countries increasing the defence budget in order to buy American and other arms or materials coming from your industry. I think if we increase our budget, its to have to build our autonomy and to become an actual sovereign power.

Macron also talked about the need to strength the euros position as a global reference currency, not as a challenge to the US dollar, he said, but as an alternative for purposes of stability.

Responding to a question about political differences between himself and the American president, he said Im not a nationalist, which is very different, for me, from being a patriot.

He added that he viewed nationalism and populism as dangerous political ideologies. I would say Im a patriot, Macron said in the CNN interview.

I do believe in the fact that our people are very important and having French people is different from German people. Im not a believer in a sort of globalism without any differentiation it makes our people very nervous.

But I do defend my people. I do defend my country. I do believe that we have a strong identity. But Im a strong believer in cooperation between the different peoples, and Im a strong believer of the fact that this cooperation is good for everybody, where the nationalists are sometimes much more based on a unilateral approach and the law of the strongest, which is not my case.

Since Trump took office, the European countries have launched discussions on creating military and financial institutions that skirt the United States. They may have decided that they will no longer appease the American president, as they did for the first 18 months of his presidency.

In the absence of British Prime Minister Theresa May from the event, Trump did not find anyone as accommodating as May, who has wanted to preserve the UKs close relations with Washington after Brexit.

Mays avoidance of the events in Paris was a good arrangement and appropriate, according to one Western diplomat. By not participating in the Paris gathering, May did not need to appease Trump which would not have gone down well with European leaders who she needs more than she needs Trump, he told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Led by Macron, the European leaders tried to sideline Trump. Many existential issues such as climate change, Brexit, the relationship with Russia, the Iran nuclear deal, the threat of North Korea, the UN role and the future of NATO are at stake.

Trump perhaps did all he could to look uninterested during the event, and he scrapped a planned visit to the Aisne-Marne Memorial, the burial site of 2,289 US veterans killed in France during the war, because of rainy weather on Saturday.

This caused a backlash at home and in Europe. Winston Churchills grandson Nicholas Soames wrote on Twitter that 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.

Trump also skipped the inaugural Paris Peace Forum created to foster collective global action that was attended by other world leaders after the Armistice commemoration on Sunday.

His disengagement was strange since he needs the rest of the world more than ever after the US mid-term elections produced a divided Congress, limiting movement on major domestic issues for the next two years. As he mounts his re-election bid for 2020, Trump will need foreign policy breakthroughs to appear presidential. Yet he seems, instead, to be withdrawing further.

With Trump unwilling and perhaps unable to take centre stage, other world leaders are eager to do just that, and Macron is the first in line, with the French president not hesitating to show Trump that he can stand up to his agenda.

American presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama have been committed to internationalism, being ready to shape the rules of the international system, create new organisations and frame the guidelines for military cooperation and trade.

Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and George W Bush preferred hard power to achieve Americas goals, while Bill Clinton and Barack Obama preferred soft power and engagement.

However, Trump is very different from any previous American president and his policies are a break with the American tradition of the last 100 years. He is reluctant to use either soft power or hard power meaningfully, and he does not want to engage in challenges abroad, military or otherwise.

However, he does need to look as if he is doing something in a world troubled by unprecedented challenges.

So far, there are no signs of big achievements for Trump on the international stage, and there have been setbacks on important issues such as Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, Ukraine, Yemen and Syria.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Old alliances in question

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Optimization

Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should?

Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools.
Moscow Meddling The Forgotten War in Eastern Ukraine

Russia is making little effort to disguise its leadership role in the self-proclaimed people's republics in eastern Ukraine. Putin needs the regions to blackmail Kiev.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tareq el Molla on Tuesday discussed in a meeting with US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas Shawn Bennett means of boosting the Egyptian-American partnership in the fields of oil and natural gas, in addition to investment opportunities available in the Egyptian petroleum sector.

During the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC), the minister asserted that Egypt's business climate is suitable for luring more US companies to invest in the areas of oil, natural gas, petrochemicals and technology transfer, in light of the country's political and economic stability and the ministry's clear strategy for energy.

According to a statement released by the Petroleum Ministry, Molla said the state is interested in carrying out serious measures to attract foreign investors in the oil sector, citing the issuance of a law regulating the activities of the natural gas market, as well as the new investment law.

The oil sector seeks to encourage new American companies to work in Egypt and encourage existing US companies to pump further investments, he added.

In this regard, he pointed to a project to develop the oil sector, through increasing foreign investments in the oil and gas exploration.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Would better access to the Mississippi River be advantageous to Ste. Genevieve?

Yes! It would boost tourism and be awesome for locals.

Not really. Anyone who really wants to see it can drive to the ferry landing. View Results
World War I, whose end in 1918 is being marked now, set off ripples that continue to be felt in the Arab and Muslim worlds

On 11 November tens of world leaders gathered in Paris to commemorate the first centenary of the Armistice of 1918 that marked the end of World War I, or the Great War as historians have called it.

Never before had humanity seen such a war that had taken the lives of 18 million people from the military of the warring parties as well as civilian populations.

Nor had the world until then witnessed a war fought on several continents and regions at once. The Middle East had been a major theatre of war from 1914 to 1918.

The Great War heralded the coming of a new Middle East at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. It created states along the lines drawn by the great powers of the day, Great Britain and France  new frontiers drawn with only the national interests of these two European powers accounted for.

However, the end of the Great War was the beginning of an Arab awakening that endured, more or less, for the next decades.

After 500 years of despotic Ottoman rule, Arab people everywhere dreamt of achieving independence from foreign occupation by the European powers. Not only did they aspire to free themselves and their countries from the tentacles of imperialism, but they also strove to establish constitutional rule in their respective homelands.

In this historic enterprise they had been deeply influenced by Western political thought steeped in the idea of freedom and the rule of law.

In Egypt, as an example, immediately after the Armistice, a mass popular movement had begun to take shape driven by the Wilsonian concept of self-determination for people under the yoke of European imperialism.

In March 2019 Egyptians will celebrate the first centenary of what is known as the 1919 Revolution that, ultimately, led to the nominal independence of Egypt from British occupation in February 1922.

Less than a year later, Egypt had its first democratic constitution, in April 1923. Some believe it ushered in what historians have called the liberal era in modern Egyptian history, that lasted for 29 years till the July Revolution of 1952.

The Middle East that was shaped by the Great War was meant to achieve three main strategic objectives.

The first was to make sure that the region newly carved after the fall of the Ottoman Empire would remain the preserve of the European colonial powers.

The second was related to the Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917, that had promised world Jews a national home in Palestine without prejudice to the civil rights of the native population.

The third was to prevent the former Soviet Union from propagating its communist ideology in the Middle East and the Arab world. The abundance of newly-discovered oil in the Middle East and in the Arab Peninsula turned these regions into major strategic prizes for the Western powers.

The inter-war period extending from 1918 to 1939 had seen the emergence of two opposing forces and nationalist movements that would dictate in later years the course of events in the Middle East.

The gradual and determined push for the establishment of the national home for Jews in Palestine collided head-on with the rise of Arab nationalism.

The establishment of Israel in 1948 was a turning point in the modern history of the Middle East and a sad legacy of the Great War.

Some 700, 000 Palestinians were chased out of their lands of thousand years and became refugees. Seven Arab armies, including the Egyptian army, had fought in Palestine after the creation of Israel, but all odds were against them.

It was to prove the cause of many upheavals in the Middle East in the years that followed. Those years witnessed revolutions and wars till today because the forces unleashed by the Armistice of 1918 have not been reconciled.

And it is doubtful, taking the long historical view, that they ever will for the simple reason that the Israelis have negated the existence of an Arab people, the Palestinians, in Palestine centuries before they started emigrating en masse to Palestine.

The Jews have claimed history on their side. But the Palestinian Arabs also have history to buttress their historical narrative.

If the establishment of Israel was the second step in the Zionist plan to usurp Palestine from its native Palestinians, the first step being the Balfour Declaration, the Middle East is actually witnessing the third and final step in achieving the dream of the Zionists; namely, the delineation of the final borders of Israel. Israel being the only member country in the United Nations that has not, yet, internationally-recognised geographic borders.

The first centenary of the Armistice of 1918 has seen a confrontation among various isms across the Middle East. Capitalism versus socialism, and in some instances, communism. Secularism versus Islamism.

But the lasting legacy of the centenary of the Armistice of the Great War will be this irreconcilable showdown between Arab nationalism and world Zionism.

The June War of 1967 proved that Israel was an expansionist power by definition. No peace treaties with Arab countries will succeed in glossing over this historical fact.

An honest review of the aggressive behaviour of Israel after the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt on 26 March 1979 would drive the point home.

On the other hand, amid the centenary of the Armistice of 1918 the world is witnessing a destructive confrontation between secular and progressive forces and Islamists supported by petrodollars.

Across the Arab world and throughout Muslim countries forces of darkness have descended on Arab and Muslim societies, eager to hinder human progress. Religious-inspired terrorism is another threat to the security and stability of the Middle East, as has been amply proven in the last four decades.

Not only has the Middle East fallen prey to the rise of political Islam with its antiquated ideology, but it is witnessing, at the same time, another confrontation, between authoritarianism and one-man rule and the aspirations of millions in the Middle East and the Arab world for good governance.

The Middle East has not known a respite from the wars, battles and conflicts that have consumed it in the last 100 years. When will its people celebrate the Armistice of 1918 the way we have seen in Paris remains a question seeking an answer. But one thing is certain.

The early years of the Armistice saw a determined national struggle for freedom and constitutional rule, and Egypt had been in the vanguard of this national movement, and that freedom from foreign occupation and domination is not guaranteed without assuring and protecting public liberties for all citizens, regardless of race, sect, gender or colour.

Let us hope that this would be one of the basic lessons of the first centenary of the Armistice of World War I in this part of the world.

* The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline:The Middle East and the Great War

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
In order to guarantee the water resources of the River Nile, regional and international cooperation is necessary to protect them at their source

As discussions on water issues continue in Egypt, we should give pause to President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis recent and successful visit to Germany.

German friends and colleagues who occupy prominent positions there have spoken highly of this visit and commended Al-Sisis determination to safeguard the interests of the African peoples, raising hopes of an Egyptian-African-German initiative to help preserve the Nile River whose water serves 12 nations and benefits Central Africa.

The Nile provides water and life to people, animals and agriculture. It helps keep famine, poverty, desertification and drought at bay.

Protecting this river merits global attention, and the above-mentioned Egyptian-African-German initiative would help preserve the enormous quantities of Nile water that are lost at the rivers sources.

The Equatorial Lakes in Eastern Africa could be the most abundant sources of the Nile, but at present vast amounts of water are lost from them due to evaporation and other causes.

An estimated 110 km3 of rainfall feeds Lake Victoria, but only about 30 km3 of water emerges from the lake into the Nile and only about 33 km3 of water makes its way to the Sudd marshland in South Sudan, a vast area which stretches 700 km from Mongalla to Malakal and is connected with the 160 km Bahr Al-Ghazal.

Although the Bahr Al-Ghazal basin collects about 500 km3 of rainfall, only six per cent of this reaches the rivers mouth.

The Sudd marshes are also connected to another large tributary of the Nile, the Bahr Al-Arab, whose tributaries and basin extend westward to the borders with Chad and the Central African Republic.

The yield from this river is also small, and of the total amount of water that enters the Sudd, only 15 km3 a year flows northward into the White Nile.

In short, of the vast quantities of water available at the equatorial sources of the Nile only a small proportion ends up travelling north.

The need to prevent the loss of this water is a pressing concern and one that calls for close inter-African cooperation.

Fortunately, there are precedents for this, one of the most successful being the Owen Falls Dam near Jinja in Uganda where the White Nile leaves Lake Victoria. This major hydraulic project furnishes Uganda with hydroelectric power and has also made it possible to augment downriver water resources.

Another cooperative endeavour of this type started in 1967 in a partnership between Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania with the support of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) called the Hydro-Meteorological Survey of the Equatorial Lakes (Hydromet).

It was joined by Ethiopia in 1971 and Rwanda and Burundi in 1972, extending the scope of the programme to the upper sources of the Nile. In 1974, it was joined by Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), extending the scope to the Semliki River basin.

The results of this Survey, which have considerably increased our knowledge of the hydrology of the equatorial plateau, have been published in numerous journals.

However, the Jonglei Canal Project, which aimed to divert some of the water from the Sudd marshland into the White Nile at Malakal, was one cooperative endeavour that was interrupted.

Egypt and Sudan began the project in the late 1970s, but the outbreak of political turmoil and civil war in the region brought it to a halt. With the renewed cooperation between the Nile Basin countries, this project could now be resumed or other water preservation and augmentation projects could be set into motion in collaboration with donor countries.

Countries tend to fall into one of two categories on the question of the Nile. On the one side are those that seem determined to exploit it politically for unfair ends, including by withholding its water from downriver countries.

On the other are those that are eager to preserve and develop its resources and that are sincere in their concern for all the peoples of Africa.

Germany is one of the latter countries, and it has shown itself to be eager to work with Egypt in water resource and wastewater management.

The German ambassador to Cairo recently made a speech on German Unity Day on the water crisis in the region and the proper management of the Nile.

The initiative that we now propose seeks to prevent the loss of Nile water at its source in order to protect this great river, augment its supply of water, and promote the prosperity of the peoples of Africa.

Modern science and technology make this possible, and there is much potential here for taking cooperation between Germany, Egypt and the African countries further in protecting the resources of the Nile at their source.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: An initiative on the Nile

Search Keywords:

Short link:


He sat in the front row, next to President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, at the World Youth Forum (WYF) that opened in Sharm El-Sheikh on 3 November.

The next day his picture was on the front pages of all Egyptian newspapers that were covering the event. He is Oliver Roy, a Canadian from Montreal who is currently completing his studies in Russia, in public policy.

What motivated you to attend this forum? I asked him after that session had ended. He told me that he had been following this event since it first convened last year.

He was keen to acquaint himself with different societies which was why he had decided to continue his academic studies abroad, in Russia. He wanted to experience life in a society that was different to Canadian society.

It was there that the WYF Website caught his attention and that he decided to apply to the next round.

Actually, I didnt have much hope that Id be accepted, he said. The Website has about five million followers from around the world. Im merely a drop in the ocean. Who would notice me? Still, I registered and then I kept an eye on the Website until one day I had the surprise to find Id been accepted.

What was his opinion about the WYF?

I think its a unique experience. Its not just one of the largest gatherings of youth in the world; its an attempt to empower them. Theyre the ones who steer the forum and who present their views on an array of issues. They simulate international organisations and practice leading them and taking part in their activities. As I would learn while I was taking part in these activities, the organisers were also young people. The forum wasnt just a fantasy, a three-day dream in which kids make believe that they are world leaders, after which life goes on just as it was before. They watched how many of their suggestions and recommendations were heeded and could influence the issues they dealt with.

Oliver could testify to this personally. From his place right next to President Al-Sisi, he could observe how the president took notes on what the young speakers said and then took up some of their suggestions.

For example, one participant suggested that an African youth convention should be hosted in an Egyptian city since Egypt will be chairing the African Union next year.

This, she said, would give youth the chance to influence the Unions leadership and the direction this organisation takes in the future. At the end of the conference, Oliver would learn that President Al-Sisi decided to name Aswan the capital of youth next year and that this city would host the convention that the participant had called for.

I was very impressed by that decision, Roy continued, because of my interest in African affairs as well as those of China and India. I think those regions will assume a leading role in the world in the future. Naturally, Egypt will play an instrumental part in this. This is why I was also very interested in the subject of Africa 2063 which was the focus of a main session in the forum. Some important recommendations emerged from that session which I believe will help shape the future of this promising continent.

In answer to my question as to how he was selected to sit next to the president, he said, I dont know. One of the young organisers came up to me and spontaneously asked me whether I would like to sit next to the president in the session that was just about to begin. I gladly accepted, of course. This was the first time I had ever sat next to a head-of-state. The same thing happened with the girl who sat on the presidents other side.

Did you speak with the president? I asked.

No. I saw that he was concentrating on what the speakers were saying and noting down their ideas in the diary he had with him. I didnt want to disturb him.

If you had spoken with him, what would you have said?

I would have expressed how impressed I was by the great attention he dedicated to youth. But hes probably heard that from many others as well.

Our flight from Cairo to Sharm El-Sheikh was delayed. We sat in the plane with our seatbelts fastened for an hour, which is longer than the flight takes.

A young Bosnian woman next to me began to fidget, so I said something to put her at ease. She seized the opportunity to shower me with questions about Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the state of the economy, etc. She told me that she had visited Egypt once, a long time ago, with her mother, but she was a child at the time and so did not remember much.

I asked her how she became involved in the WYF. She said that she was a university student studying political science and that her university nominated her. She added that she was particularly looking forward to the workshops that would be held during the forum and that these would be useful for her studies.

After the forum, Mustafa Ihab, a 25-year old computer engineer, told me how happy he was to have had the opportunity to take part in this event.

But I asked him to tell me about any negative points that should be avoided next year. Not sticking to schedule, he answered without a moments hesitation.

The inaugural session started an hour late and the break during the closing session, during which we were not allowed to leave the hall, lasted an hour and a half.

I will add, here, another suggestion for next year: dedicating 10 to 15 minutes at the end of each general session for feedback from the youth on the speakers inputs.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura rightfully pointed out the need for this at the end of the session in which he took part. As he said to the moderator of that session, we should not end the dialogue without listening to the views of the young people.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: In the seat next to the president

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Lying 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands are a haven for some of the worlds most varied and rare wildlife known to man. It was this diversity that first led naturalist Charles Darwin to propose that species evolved in response to their environment. Darwins work also helped to alert the world to the need to preserve these islands from degradation by humans.

Today, tourism to the Galapagos is closely managed, protecting the wildlife while allowing you to experience the environment much as Darwin did. Because of this, it is difficult to bring your own superyacht to the Galapagos Islands, and there are a number of regulations that must be adhered to when in this area.

Because weather, water and wildlife conditions are so unique, it is a requirement of visitors to be very responsible and for the opportunity to visit to not be taken lightly. However, the islands are an incredible opportunity that should not be missed, so make sure to read up on the do's and don'ts before making plans for this adventure of a lifetime.

Home to an astonishing variety of endemic species  enough to inspire a theory of origin that would change the world  this archipelago is also one of the few places on earth where adventurers can observe unafraid wildlife up close.

Travel to Santa Cruz Island to meet the islands most famous inhabitants; the endangered Giant Tortoises, which can live up to 200 years, at the Charles Darwin Research Station. This iconic national park hosts incredible wildlife research and conservation projects including the giant tortoise breeding program. On this island, you will also find fascinating underground lava tunnels to explore with a naturalist guide.

Kayak from here to Eden Islet, located off the coast of Santa Cruz, where you can observe blue-footed boobies diving into the water and frigates. For an even more breathtaking experience, journey to the tiny island of Sombrero Chino, which gets its name from its appearance reminiscent of a Chinese hat. The islands cove offers excellent swimming and snorkelling opportunities amid white-tipped reef sharks, stingrays and colourful seahorses.

Take a panga (small Asian fishing boat) ride along the dramatic cliffs of Genovesa to El Barranco. Also known as Prince Phillips Steps, this 90 feet steep cliff face has narrow stairs carved into rock. Choose to disembark and climb these stairs to the Palo Santo forest, which is full of birds, including Nazca boobies, Galapagos doves, mockingbirds and storm petrels. With some luck, you may even spot a short-eared lava owl.

This destination is perfect for those travelling by luxury superyacht, as accommodation is easily located wherever you decide to anchor around this maze-like archipelago. However, for those looking for a night on land where one can be immersed in the unique eco-system, Scalesia Lodge offers a luxury safari-like tented camp experience. With fabulous views over the island and a secluded location, Scalesia will allow guests to relax and enjoy these magnificent islands at their own pace.

La Loberia and Punta Carola are just two of the most ideal spots for serious surfers to catch some waves along the Galapagos shores. The crystal clear waters and balmy temperatures make for hours of uninterrupted fun on the white sand beaches that frame the islands. From here, you can make your way back to your luxurious superyacht to unwind after a day of exploration and adventure, with a cocktail in hand and the final image of a gold and rose dyed sky as the sun sets on the Equator.
Police on the Costa del Sol are searching for a 28-year-old British tourist who disappeared two weeks ago after allegedly crashing a hire car and stabbing a friend.

The suspect arrived in Benalmadena with two friends, all from Liverpool, on 26 October, for a two-week holiday.

Before the end of their first night, one of the men, 43, was being treated for stab wounds, the Nissan Juke rented by another member of the trio had been crashed and the third man, 28, was missing, suspected of causing both incidents.

According to the reports given by the witnesses to officers from the UDEV, the National Police violent crime unit, the three tourists had arrived at their holiday apartment in Benal Beach earlier that day and planned a night out.

One of them decided to stay in but lent the other two the Nissan Juke he had rented. Hours later the younger man, now wanted by police, turned up at the apartment by himself. He was "nervous and aggressive", his friend told police, and said that he had crashed the car.

After searching for and finding the damaged vehicle, the witness went back to the partment and found the third member of the trio injured with numerous stab wounds. The alleged attacker had disappeared.

The 43-year-old was treated for knife wounds to the hands, legs and shoulder at the Clinico hospital in Malaga. None of his injuries was serious and he was discharged hours later.

The victim told police that the two had separated when they went out and he went back to the apartment by himself. The suspect was "really aggressive" he said, and attacked him after an argument.

Police have confirmed that the case is still open and the search on for the suspect.
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement
The team behind the 20th Anniversary Community Summit, being held in Atlanta this weekend and sponsored by ViiV Healthcare, knew how to open the event today on exactly the right foot. The first words attendees heard were the poetry of Mary Bowman, delivered by the award-winning spoken word artist herself.

Anyone who reads this blog knows my admiration for anyone creating art about HIV and its surrounding issues. I've had the pleasure of seeing Mary Bowman perform and have profiled her before. She is a poet and a woman living with HIV and her talent brings chills. Her delivery only adds to the experience, so be sure to check out her Youtube channel (and her book, Emerge: A Collection of Poems, might make a lovely holiday gift).

Here is the piece Mary Bowman performed for the crowd of people with HIV, community advocates, public health officials, and various allies in our collective struggle at the opening of the summit this morning. Her words manage to capture the entire history of the epidemic and they paint gorgeous verbal pictures along the way.

The Art of Possibilities

I was once told that in order to move forward

One must be aware of the past

So as not to repeat such

Sankofa, a gift from Ghana

Teaches us, it is wise

To not only peer into the past

But to also collect nuggets

Necessary for the journey

The art of living

A type of wisdom only afforded to those

Who aren't afraid of the dark

Oh, Remember how dark it was

When the boogeyman

Walked into the disco

Not too far from the hole in a stonewall

Sashayed to the rhythm of

Fresh freedom

Sexual revolution

Untelevised

When the closet doors crept open

The boogeyman tiptoed out behind Us

There was no intention on closing the door

Remember the time

we fell in love

In san francisco

Around the same time

We fell into a trap

Picture this not sicily

But the castro 1981

CDC say something

About declining immunity

In gay men

Something we knew all too well

Death is apart of life

But who wants to die

Right after one has become alive

121 people made plans for tomorrow's

That would never come

Finally a flashlight

1982

San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Gay Men's Health Crisis

The same year the boogeyman got its name

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

1984 the community joined forces

Forming AIDS Action

All while the band still played on

Maybe Reagan didn't hear about the 4251

Deaths in our nation so far

1985 we lost Rock Hudson

Gained ELISA and Ryan White

Turns out,

AIDS isn't only for the GAYS

Reagan finally has the guts to say

AIDS

The boogeyman made his way to the corners of the world

1986 Cleve Jones turns numbers into names

HIV was declared the virus that causes AIDS

NMAC comes in to help

1987 the great liberace retires permanently from life

Time to ACT UP

Take AZT

And show the world better than we can tell them

Laying out 1920 panels of names on a quilt

Down the street from Reagan

Big enough to combat the coldness of years of negligence

1988 while I was cooking in my moms belly

Elizabeth Glaser

Provided a safety net for babies like me born with HIV

Ryan White testifies to provide better tomorrows for us all

December 1 the world remembers those lost and supports those living

As a community

We turned the lights on in the 90s

When the lights come on after the party

It's not a pretty sight

But luckily we had organizations like ACTUP

Who didn't mind it sweaty, exhausted eyes

Barefooted with heels in hand

Could no longer keep quiet

Because Women get AIDS too

The 90's brought us hope

Taught us the Magic in humanity

As we watched Hydeia tearfully tell Earvin

And the World that "We're just normal people"

Art imitates life in Philadelphia

Visual AIDS launch Red Ribbons

NMAC and NAPWA build USCA

AIDS Watch

We get HAART

PACHA

At the end of the century

The boogeyman is exposed

Standing in the light of love

This is the art of living

This is the art of strength

Courage

Tenacity

Community

The art of possibility

Is pursued by those unafraid of the dark

Those who come to be a source of light

Like Viiv Healthcare

Their arms stretching the span of 20 years

Providing space to share information

Insights and experiences

Calling on the community

To drive the conversation

To provide the questions

To find answers

While remaining a resource

understanding the importance of

Intergenerational Connection

Viiv offers space for the youth

To keep the lights on

Developing leaders of tomorrow

Because the boogeyman won't live forever

We work relentlessly toward an end

No matter what color, age, sexual orientation, gender identity

The best way to eradicate AIDS is together

When it's all said and done

We will pack our pain stained posters

Pins labeled with our lives

And close doors we fought so hard to open

We will say farewell to the days

Our eyes were filled with what seemed an ever flowing river

The days when our bodies painted cities and towns the color red

When our voices strained broken yet kept speaking

Our hands blistered and bloody holding on to the promise of the end

We will throw away our stigmas as well as the world's

We will throw away the doubts and the fears

We will only hold on to our stories

The ones we carried through decades of suffering

Our ribbons, the banners of our pride

Our loss of friends and family

And I don't know

If we will have enough energy

Or even the desire to ask

What happened

Or why the world was so mean

We will probably just say thank you

Because what's a good fight

Without worthy opponents

What is love, absent of hate

What is strength without pain

What would be life without our patchwork quilt of death

We will say Thank you

Because it was all worth it

-- Mary Bowman
Diageo submits plans for Caol Ila revamp

Diageo has submitted plans to Argyll & Bute Council, to transform its visitor experience at Caol Ila Distillery.

The detailed Planning Application sets out proposals to expand and enhance the experience the distillery offers to tourists. The submission of formal plans follows a community engagement event in October, at which initial plans were shared with local residents. Pre-application consultation has also been carried out with the local authority.

If approved, the new state-of-the-art visitor experience will be created inside the Caol Ila warehouse, including a bar with views across the Sound of Islay. The visitor centre will be entered via a foot-bridge into the roof of the warehouse, linking to new parking facilities on the hill above the distillery, which will be discreetly located and carefully landscaped to manage visual impact and traffic movement.

Leigh Aitken, Caol Ila Distillery Visitor Centre manager says: We are very pleased to take this important step in the exciting journey to transform our visitor experience at Caol Ila Distillery. We have had good engagement with local residents and stakeholders on our plans so far and we will continue to work with the local authority and the community as we progress through the formal planning process.

We believe this investment will not only be great for Caol Ila Distillery but is another positive addition to the rich visitor landscape of the famous Scotch whisky island of Islay.

In April Diageo announced a 150 million investment programme to transform distillery visitor experiences across Scotland. The investment will see the creation of a global Johnnie Walker brand experience in Edinburgh.

Whisky from Diageos distilleries all over Scotland contribute to Johnnie Walker, but four distilleries  Caol Ila, Glenkinchie, Cardhu and Clynelish  will be linked directly to a new Johnnie Walker global visitor experience in Edinburgh, representing the four corners of Scotland and the regional flavour variations that are part of Johnnie Walker.

Caol Ila has supplied single malt Scotch whisky for Johnnie Walker for over a century. Along with the Edinburgh global attraction, the Four Corner distilleries will create a Johnnie Walker tour of Scotland, encouraging visitors to the capital city to also travel to the countrys rural communities.

The company is also investing a further 35 million to bring back the lost distilleries of Port Ellen, on Islay, and Brora, in the Highlands, which will even further enhance the reputation of Scotch whisky and Scotland around the world.

14 November 2018 - Sam Coyne the drinks report, editor
Canada is one of the best places in the world for new immigrants to live and work, according to a new survey.

The HSBC study ranked Canada as the fourth best country in the world for expats, behind Singapore, New Zealand, and Germany.

The global survey of 22,000 expats in 163 countries asked a range of questions on quality of life, financial well-being, and ease of raising a family.

Others in the top 10 countries for expats were Bahrain, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland

Taiwan and UAE.

For Canadian newcomers, 54 percent said they chose the country to improve their quality of life, while 24 percent came here looking to progress their careers.

Meanwhile, 68 percent said they found Canada more welcoming than their home country, and 70 percent feel safer in Canada.

The survey results show seven in 10 expats who come to Canada find a better quality of life. It means they tend to stay, with a quarter of those surveyed have been here for 30 years or more.

A further 60 percent of those survey said they saw themselves becoming Canadian citizens.

Getting used to Canadas weather was an important factor in whether expats felt at home here. Of those surveyed, some 56 percent said they felt at home within a year.

As other countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., succumb to protectionist politics, Canada stands out with its intention to welcome nearly 1 million new immigrants between 2018 and 2020.

Through innovative skilled worker immigration policies, Canada is setting about boosting its labour market by welcoming newcomers with the skills and experience it lacks.
By Mata Press Service

If you think you paid too much in visa fees to come to Canada, you are probably right.

But the Government of Canada feels that even if it did overcharge for the fees, you are not entitled to refunds.

Now, the dispute, which involves over two million people, who entered Canada between October 2009 and March 2015, is wrapped in a rare immigration class action lawsuit, the largest in Canadian legal history.

Last week, Federal Court Justice Sean Harrington approved a motion for the parties to notify eligible litigants to join the legal action.

People coming from visa-required countries, such as China, India and the Philippines, are automatically included in the class action whether they had applied to come to visit, study or work in Canada.

Those not wanting to participate in the legal action have until Nov. 30 to opt out of the proceeding.

In an Agreed Statement of Facts, that was kept secret until last week, the Government has to a large extent admitted its costs to process the visas were much lesser than the $150 it charged each applicant.

Based on the governments own numbers, the overpayment is estimated to be between $194 million and $240 million.

Most of the people who are owed money are from China, India, Philippines, and everyone else who needed a visa to come to Canada, said Richard Kurland, a lawyer for one of the lead plaintiffs.

This is not tax dollarsa large number paid to come in as students and workers, and are now permanent residents and voting Canadian citizens, Kurland told Mata Press News Service.

Kurlands representative plaintiffs are Alan Hinton and Irene Popapova of Coquitlam, B.C.

Hinton, a software technician from Coquitlam, B.C., met his future wife Irena in Moscow

in 2001 and got married the next year. Hinton paid $75, the cost at that time, to get his wife a visitors visa to Canada.

Kurland investigated Hintons application process and determined, according to court documents that Hinton, who paid a fee of $75.00 for the determination of an application to sponsor his wife...the costs of the service was $36.69. Given this cost and the fee charges, there is a profit on the service of $38.31."

After Kurland filed a lawsuit using Hinton and his wife as representative claimants in a class action application, the government reduced the current visa processing fees from $150 to $100.

Since then other plaintiffs have joined the case.

Kurland argues that the government of Canada was using the visa fees as a cash cow and was making illegal profits.

Under Canadas Financial Administration Act, the federal government can make money to offset costs of its different services, but it needs Parliaments permission.

In this case, no such permission was given, he said.

When you pay $150 fee to process an application and when the application is processed with a visa or a refusal, youre supposed to be done.

What they were doing was adding in costs for things that happened after you received your decision.

The government was using the money for issues like port of entry activities associated with processing at a port of entry secondary where no document is issued, responding to media inquiries, scanning our environment, managing public relations, processing immigration and citizenship complaints, statistics and research, outreach, promotion and recruitment of immigration officers.

This is where everything plus the kitchen sink was thrown into the cost, said Kurland.

"The activities were not required, extraneous to, and separate and distinct from, the processing of multiple entry temporary resident visa applications and single entry temporary resident visa application, he said.

The Federal Government has acknowledged this in the recently Agreed Statement of Facts but has declined to comment on the case saying its before the courts.

Kurland said the governments position is that "even if it cost less than the fees collected these excess fees are not recoverable.

That is the precedent the government is trying to establishif someone overpays the government for something, the government can keep the money, he added.

To find out more about the class action suit, your eligibility to be involved or opt out, go to http://visalitigation.com/
By Catherine Sas QC,

Special to The Post

For many international students coming to Canada, their goal is to obtain a Post Graduate Work Permit with a view to qualifying for permanent residence under Express Entry.

Yet many students, especially those who are younger and without any foreign post-secondary education nor foreign work experience, may find it challenging to score enough Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) points to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) under Express Entry - even after working in Canada for several years.

While the Post Graduate Work (PGWP) permit provides an excellent opportunity to obtain Canadian work experience, you can only ever obtain one PGWP work permit.

So before you apply for the PGWP, you need to consider how many CRS points you will likely score in the Express Entry program, and if necessary, develop an alternative strategy to be able to garner an ITA for permanent residence to Canada.

Consider the factors that lead to the highest CRS scores - a combination of both foreign and Canadian education AND foreign and Canadian work experience.

For many young people, it may be advisable to postpone coming to Canada to study until you first obtain a foreign degree and a year or two of foreign work experience in a skilled position that meets the criteria of a National Occupational Classification (NOC) occupation at level O, A or B.

(If you dont know what this means, then you need to do your homework before applying to study in Canada). Please refer to our recent blog post: When should I study in Canada? - Considerations for an International Student, posted September 10, 2018 (http://www.asianpacificpost.com/article/8387-when-should-i-study-canada....)

For those students already studying in Canada, you may defer applying for a PGWP and obtain an additional post-secondary diploma or degree.

The CRS scoring provides considerable additional points for having two or more post-secondary educational credentials - so long that one of them is at least three years or greater duration.

Without question, the greatest factor for contributing to the highest CRS score possible is language proficiency in English or French.

Obtaining an IRCC recognized language test with scores at CLB level 9 (or higher) for each of reading, writing, speaking and listening, is crucial to obtaining a CRS score that will lead to an ITA for Express Entry.

Please note, the language test that you need to get accepted into school may not be the type of test that you need for Express Entry! (Academic versus General).

It is a good idea to take a language test before you apply to study to Canada to see how much you will need to improve your language proficiency both before and after arriving in Canada.

Many prospective international students are unaware that they can only ever obtain one Post Graduate work permit in Canada. It is important to be aware of what your likely CRS point score will be before you apply for a PGWP to ensure that you will ultimately qualify for an ITA under Express Entry.

If you arent able to meet the Express Entry criteria, you need to develop a strategy to increase your CRS score. Use your Post Graduate work permit wisely because you will only ever get one!

Catherine Sas, Q.C. has over 25 years of legal experience. She provides a full range of immigration services and is a leading immigration practitioner (Lexpert, Whos Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada). Go to canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email [email protected].
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Ina Parlina and M. Taufiqurrahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 16:37 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c29aba 1 Opinion US,university,Jianmin-Qu,Tufts-University,engineers,Education,study-abroad,Donald-Trump Free

For most people Tufts University is known for its prestigious Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Some graduates have become Indonesian diplomats, while others have taken up teaching positions at some of the most prestigious universities in Indonesia. Late last week, the dean of Tufts University School of Engineering, Jianmin Qu, visited Indonesia to promote Tufts. Qu spoke with The Jakarta Posts Ina Parlina and M. Taufiqurrahman about his outreach program.



Question: This is on everybodys mind: Did the election of United States President Donald Trump give you a hard time in promoting US education abroad?



Answer: There have not been any real policy changes as to putting more hurdles or more obstacles for the students to go [to the US to study]. If anything, many universities basically make an extra effort to make it easier for the students to come to the universities to study.



But the political rhetoric from Washington, DC [] it doesnt help when the students are thinking about going to the US as they hear Well, we are not going to be welcomed in the US; the government is not going to give us a visa and so forth.



So far, we have not had problems when it comes to visas. Initially when US President Donald Trump first issued that executive order to stop issuing visas for these few countries, it had some effects. We did have some students who couldnt come back to the US, but that ban was lifted very quickly because the court overruled his executive decision.



So the answer to the question is: Yes, it has an effect, but it is a psychological effect.



So, my sense is that you may actually [] be having some real policy changes in the future, but I dont see that coming anytime [soon ] because too many universities have international students on campus, [which] is vital to build a diverse student population.



The Trump administration has different attitudes toward science or education in general; does that have any impacts on how the university operates in the US?



The higher educational system is not directly under the Department of Education. In the US, the higher education institutions are [often] private, like Tufts University; they are not taking any federal money or support of funding, except for research.



The other group is the public schools, but these public schools are funded by the states, by the individual states, not by the federal government.



But the Trump administrations bias against science, does it affect funding for research?



It does, but you have to realize [that for] federal research support [] the President can propose the budget, but the Congress has to approve the budget.



I think the research that has been affected the most are climate-related research so far and that is a big concern.



And if you read the US newspapers and the media you will see that the universities are not happy with the influence of politics in terms of fundamental research and technology development.



Tufts is a private university. If you look at the top 30 rank of [US] universities, Tufts is at 26th or 27th, depending on which year you are looking at. And we are on the smaller size of all these universities because the ranking does have something to do with the sizes of the universities. If you are bigger, you tend to reap high.



Among those top 30 universities, we call ourselves a student-centered research university, which means that we put a tremendous amount of focus on education, but we also do a lot of research.



We have the facility and expertise to conduct the research here [which allows] the students to participate in the most advanced research. Tufts distinctive [principle] is: You dont just take courses, but you actually become part of the discovery and knowledge creation.



We have what we call a constellation of schools that covers a very wide range of subjects.



Overall, the school has about 1,000 faculty members, but 10,000 students that include both undergrad and grad students.



How many Asian students are there compared to US students at Tufts?



In the undergrad population I think about 11 percent are international students [and 60 percent of the international undergrad students are from Asia]. The majority of them come from China, India, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.



We currently have quite a few from Southeast Asian countries, but not too many from Indonesia yet. We would like to see more Indonesian students come to Tufts and we do have quite a few alumni here. I think many of them have been extremely successful and obviously a lot of that is attributed to the education at Tufts.



Do you have a specific program or curriculum that is tailored toward the needs of Asian students?



Well, there are two factors. If international students come to Tufts to study, whether you are an undergrad or grad student, your life probably will be divided into two portions  academic study and the part of learning or experiencing American culture, including its history, politics and legal system.



We try to help international students to get acclimated to American culture as quickly as possible. On campus, for example, we do have an Asian student center.



Basically it is a student organization that connects Asian students together outside the classroom so that you have some group that you can go to, just to relax and be with people from your own cultural background. We have a specific building designated for that and we assign a director to help run this organization.



From the academic side, we have an Asian study program where we offer courses specifically geared toward Asian culture, Asian history, Asian languages and so forth.



So both [measures] certainly would be of the interest of students from Southeast Asia.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Julia Suryakusuma (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 15:07 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c1ce94 3 Opinion Movie,film,A-Man-Called-Ahok,basuki-tjahaja-purnama,biopic-movie,movie-review,#movies Free

After comedies, ghost horror films are the genre most liked by Indonesians, with 44 percent saying they enjoy them. Apparently they produce a thrill, stimulate the imagination, invite curiosity and induce anticipation that the protagonist will prevail over evil forces.



Personally, Im not a fan of such movies but I found myself looking forward to Nov. 8, when a ghost movie was to be screened in theatres all over Indonesia. How come? Thats because the film was A Man Called Ahok  yup, about Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, former governor of Jakarta, currently jailed on blasphemy charges. I thought he was one of the best governors Jakarta has had, indeed, one of Indonesias best leaders, someone who wasnt afraid to shake up the status quo.



It was a ghost movie in that it contained an apparition of Ahok, which embodied not just his spirit, but also the spirit of values that Indonesia seems to have forgotten, values needed to build a nation.



Controversy never seems to be far away from Ahok, from the no-nonsense way he ran his office, his zero tolerance for bad management, laziness and corruption, his unpopular policies (notably the eviction of squatters from slums), his fiery temper and tough talk (which enraptured and excited, agitated and outraged at the same time), his blasphemy trial and subsequent imprisonment, his divorce from Veronica Tan, his wife of 21 years while in prison, but also his amazing achievements during the short time he was Jakarta governor: disciplining civil servants, eliminating the ubiquitous pungli (illegal levies), transparency of the city budget, responding to citizens complaints, transforming Jakarta city transportation into one fit for a metropolitan city, cleaning up filthy polluted Jakarta rivers, beautifying and greening the city  achieving many things his predecessors were unable to do.



But youll see none of that in the film that was far from controversial. A review of the film stated that the biopic about one of Indonesias most divisive, loved and hated political figures chooses to play it safe through a family friendly narrative and storytelling (A Man Called Ahok: Journey from childhood to prominence, The Jakarta Post, Nov. 10).

Read also: A Man Called Ahok: Journey from childhood to prominence

While the review provides a good summary of the film, I dont think it was at all a matter of playing it safe. The filmmakers made a very deliberate, wise and insightful choice to portray the making of a man, from his childhood origins in Bangka Belitung, which makes us understand better why he turned into the leader that he did.



The film started when Ahok was aged 10 ( 1976 ), and stopped just about the time he became regent of East Belitung ( 2005 ). Ahok was born and raised in Gantong, East Belitung. His father Kiem Nam was a tauke (Chinese businessman), owner of a tin mining company, who raised his five children with tough love, teaching them to cooperate with each other, instilling the values of hard work and ambition, not for selfish personal reasons, but to serve others.



Kiem would drive his wife to despair, as he was always giving out money to people in need, even borrowing, so he could continue helping them. He said to her that their family still had a roof over their heads, and good food to eat. Yes, that was the case, because she sold some of her gold jewelry, so that the family could continue to eat.



While their relationship was often strained, clearly Ahok was a chip off the old block. He gave up being a doctor (his fathers dream) and a businessman (his own dream), to become a politician so that he could help people in a systematic way, unlike his father, not using his own money, but state funds.



The film is a biopic, true, but its a lot more than that. Its in fact a microcosm of Indonesia, raising issues that remain relevant.



Discrimination: despite Kiems known humanitarianism and generosity, when Ahok decided to run for office, he faced resistance because of his Chinese ethnicity. As a child, he had once asked his father, Are we Chinese or are we Indonesian?. The father responded unequivocally, We are Indonesians. The film shows clearly how his father instilled the love of people and nation in his son.



Bangka Belitung has one of the largest concentrations of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, who have helped the tin industry flourish. Indonesia is the second-largest producer of tin in the world, after China, this means the ethnic-Chinese have contributed to creating revenue for Indonesia.



Thats not the only thing they have contributed. They have contributed to our culture (look at all those dragons, phoenix, snakes and Chinese lions motifs on batik!), food (too many to mention), much needed capital, sporting prowess and guess what? Also Islam, which was brought in by Chinese traders in the 15th century. And yet the Chinese remain reviled and have been targeted as scapegoats throughout Indonesias history.



Poverty: There was clearly poverty depicted in the film throughout Ahoks life in Bangka Belitung. While in 2018 poverty has fallen to a historic low, the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) figures show that almost 10 percent (27 million) of Indonesians are poor. That is still a very large number.



Corruption: in the film, there was a corrupt government official who kept trying to extort money from both Kiem, and later Ahok when he was an adult running the company. So far, corruption is still the cancer that is eating up the nation. According to the 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, Indonesia ranks 96th out of 175 of the least corrupt countries. Well, at least its better than in 2007, when we ranked 143rd.



The lack of health services portrayed in the film is still the reality for many families in Indonesia, as are education facilities, still out of reach for many children.



Watching the film was a very emotional experience for me because of the injustice Ahok has had to endure. Talk about being punished for doing good! But it was emotional also because I thought of Indonesia and how the nation is currently ruled by mindless sectarianism, where religion is used to incite evil instead of fostering good, where selfish, narrow group interests prevail over the greater good.



A Man Called Ahok is a timely reminder of what it takes to build a nation. Hopefully, like a good ghost movie, the (good guys) protagonists will prevail over the evil forces currently haunting Indonesia.

***

The writer is the author of Julias Jihad.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin IGB. Dharma Agastia (The Jakarta Post) Cikarang, West Java  Wed, November 14, 2018 13:05 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2377b 3 Opinion sexual-abuse-on-campus,Gadjah-Mada-University,Sexual-assault,sexual-harassment,victim-blaming,university Free

The story of a female student, identified only as Lara, who claimed she was coerced by her lecturer to have sex with him, has gone viral on social media. The lecturer is said to have voluntarily resigned, but the case remains in legal limbo as the police only charged him with violating the Electronic Information and Transactions Law for publishing her nude photos online.



In Yogyakarta, a female Gadjah Mada University student, Agni, was allegedly sexually assaulted by a university mate during their mandatory fieldwork period. The university student press reported the case, triggering both protests and controversy.



The two cases are just the tip of an iceberg that represents the depravity of structural and institutionalized sexual violence within the academic community. Conducted mostly by collecting individual testimonies, independent investigations show that sexual assault and harassment are rampant on university grounds. Lara and Agni were willing to speak out, but many more victims are muffled, unable or unwilling to speak.



What makes these cases so morally appalling is that the sexual violence was perpetrated within an academic environment. Universities are supposed to be safe places for budding students to grow intellectually and emotionally with the guidance of respectable lecturers.



Such was the ideal of the university envisioned by the philosopher Plato.



However, the hierarchical environment often perpetuates obscenely imbalanced power relations between students and their lecturers. Lecturers virtually wield nearly unchecked power over their students; they can ruin their students lives with a single keystroke.



On the other end, students are virtually powerless against their professors and powerless against the machinations of the institution. If they speak up, collective institutional might pummels them into submission. Students who speak up will be blamed for tainting the reputation of the institution, even if the institution was the one to fail them.



Student victims are deprived of legal protection in the first place. Although Indonesia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), victims of sexual violence, especially students, often have to face discriminatory remarks and prejudice from law enforcers and even campus authorities.



Often, they will face statements that essentially shift the blame onto them (What were you wearing?) or belittle their traumatic experience (If you didnt fight back, you must have been enjoying it.). While rape is a crime, consensual sex is not. However, victims are often pressured, either explicitly or implicitly, into claiming the sexual relations were consensual.



This is not to generalize the entire academic community as being a part of this institutionalized sexual violence. However, there are often institutional barriers for people of goodwill to blow the whistle, such as threats of demotion and the absence of protection for calling out harassment. The same goes for writers of the student press, who may face institutional pressure to not investigate alleged harassment, let alone publish stories about it.



Simply put, there is a culture of permissive silence perpetuated by those in power. Agnis plight and that of the other muffled voices will unlikely make a large difference. So far, treatment of such cases tends to be reactionary and does not address the root causes of institutionalized sexual violence.



Undeniable sweeping institutional reform is a must if universities are truly committed to their role as bastions of progressive enlightenment and not fortresses of entrenched conservative values. Considering the highly centralized nature of Indonesian academia, there is no doubt that reforms should start from the top, although this does not mean that change cannot also begin at the bottom.



Victims and whistleblowers deserve clear, accountable and legally robust procedures to voice their grievances regarding any form of sexual assault and harassment. These procedures should guarantee anonymity, legal clarity and emotional support to protect victims and whistleblowers from potential institutional backlash.



Such procedures ought to be regulated by the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry in order for such mechanisms to be in place in all state and private universities. In fact, instead of accrediting universities simply based on their academic performance, why not include the presence of these mechanisms?



It is not just a one-way street. Universities themselves need to change. Universities need proactive measures to foster an awareness of sexual assault and harassment. Prevention can be done through continuous education of what constitutes sexual assault and harassment, conducted either by relevant faculty members, student research groups, or in partnership with civil society organizations.



For students, sexual assault and harassment seminars may serve to raise awareness of the issue. As for faculty members, a better, although slower and costlier approach would be to provide mandatory one-on-one sessions. The idea is to ensure that faculty members understand the need to uphold ethical behavior and not abuse their power.



Universities should have zero tolerance for perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment. Lecturers who commit the crime should be stripped of any academic titles or honors and even barred from re-entering academia. Students who are found guilty of the crime, too, should face justice.



Surely, we can expect institutional resistance to the tough measures. They may be deemed too much or an over-reaction to a few isolated cases. However, must we wait for another preventable incident to occur?



Universities should not be endorsing a culture of silence and permissiveness. There should be more checks on the power relations between students and their professors.



This is one of those issues in which the collective academic community and the government need to work together to foster a safe environment for academic progress.

***

The writer lectures on international relations at President University, Cikarang. The views expressed are his own.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Clothilde Mraffko (Agence France-Presse) Ein Gev, Israel  Wed, November 14, 2018 07:08 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c0d928 2 Environment Israel,environment,water,tourism,religion,Sea-of-Galilee Free

It was not so long ago when swimmers at Ein Gev would lay out their towels in the grass at the edge of the Sea of Galilee.

Today, they put up their parasols 100 meters further down, on a sandy beach that has appeared due to the shrinking of the iconic body of water.

"Every time we come we feel an ache in our hearts," said Yael Lichi, 47, who has been visiting the famous lake with her family for 15 years.

"The lake is a symbol in Israel. Whenever there is a drought, it is the first thing we talk about."

In front of Lichi, wooden boats with Christian pilgrims aboard navigate the calm waters, among groups from across the world that visit.

The Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus walked on water, has been shrinking for years, mainly due to overuse, and environmentalists are raising the alarm.

Plans are being devised to resuscitate the freshwater body known to Israelis as the Kinneret and to some as Lake Tiberias.

For Israel, the lake is vital, having long been the country's main source of water. Israeli newspaper Haaretz provides its water level daily on its back page.

Its shrinking has been a source of deep concern. When two islands appeared recently due to falling water levels, it received widespread attention in the Israeli media.

Since 2013 "we are below the low red line" beyond which "salinity rises, fish have difficulty surviving and vegetation is affected," said Amir Givati, hydrologist at Israel's water authority.

The level is only around 20 centimeters above the record low plumbed in 2001 -- except, at that time, 400 million cubic meters a year were pumped out for irrigation.

"This year, we only pumped 20 million cubic meters, but the lake is in a very bad state," said Givati.

Added to that is the 50 million cubic meters Israel sends to neighboring Jordan as part of peace agreements.

Read also: Lake Toba faces threat of water pollution: Research

- 'Valley of bananas' -

Its unique characteristics go beyond its religious significance.

It is 200 meters below sea level, located north of the Dead Sea, the River Jordan between them.

Both the Dead Sea and the Jordan have also suffered from overuse.

The Galilee covers some 160 square kilometers, roughly the size of Liechtenstein.

At the water ministry, blame for its condition is placed on five years of drought.

But "climatic factors alone are inadequate to explain the record shrinkage of the Sea of Galilee," wrote Michael Wine, Alon Rimmer and Jonathan Laronne, researchers at Israel's Ben Gurion University.

Irrigated agriculture, pumping and diversions are the main culprits, they say in an analysis.

Israel constructed a national aqueduct in the 1950s in the years after the country's birth, when it was on a quest for nation-building and sought to "make the desert bloom", as its early pioneers put it.

The aqueduct carried water from the lake towards the rest of the country.

"Lake Tiberias was used as a national reservoir," said Julie Trottier, a professor who specialises in Israeli-Palestinian water issues.

A man-made canal supplied water to the west towards the Mediterranean coast and into the Negev desert in the south, she said.

That system has not been in place for some 10 years. Now, most homes in the west of the country use desalinated water from the Mediterranean, while farms are irrigated with water that is treated and recycled.

But eastern Israel does not have access to desalinated water, said Orit Skutelsky, of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

Farmers in the region rely on rivers that provide 90 percent of the lake's input.

Dozens of pumps remove nearly 100 million cubic meters each year from those sources, whose flow has decreased and is no longer enough to supply the lake, says the researcher.

Several kilometers from the beaches at Ein Gev, at the foot of rocky hills, immense nets cover banana trees whose leaves wilt with the surrounding dry vegetation.

"We call it the valley of bananas," said Meir Barkan, tourism director for the Ein Gev resort.

"When they began planting trees, there was no water problem and the banana is the only fruit that you harvest year-round."

Read also: Kenya's Lake Turkana put on World Heritage danger list

- 'Really ashamed' -

But without desalinated or recycled water, the farms are a main player in the "competition for resources between nature, agriculture and tourism," said Eran Feitelson, geography professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

For Lior Avichai, agronomist at the Zemach Nisyonot research center, the solution is not to "kill agriculture and the local economy," but to use less water.

Authorities propose providing the region with desalinated water via the aqueduct.

Skutelsky said that to better manage the ecosystem, the water should be sent further upstream and then allowed to flow down naturally.

But "that would be very expensive," said Skutelsky.

Menahem Lev, 59, has spent 39 years of his life on the lake as a fisherman.

In his open palm, he displays a Saint Peter's fish just pulled from his nets, barely bigger than his hand.

"The solution can only come from the government -- or from the sky," he said.

He points to the half-abandoned dock which pilgrims' boats can no longer reach, forcing visitors to disembark on the bank.

"I am really ashamed when tourists see the lake in this state," Lev said.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Laurie Goering (Reuters) London, United Kingdom  Thu, November 15, 2018 05:06 1103 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c338b6 2 Health infertility,fertility,climate,climate-change,heatwave,Science,scientists Free

Would-be fathers have long been advised to wear boxer shorts and avoid hot tubs, to avoid too much heat damaging their reproductive chances.

Now it turns out the same effect - but caused by stronger heatwaves driven by climate change - may be behind huge declines in insect numbers, scientists said in a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

They found that male red flour beetles exposed to a heatwave in the lab had half the expected number of offspring, and that exposure to a second heatwave, 10 days later, virtually sterilized the males.

Male flour beetles sired by heat-damaged fathers also lived shorter lives themselves and had much less success reproducing, said Matt Gage, a biologist at the University of East Anglia and head of the research team.

While fewer pests in your flour might sound like good news, it appears the same principles might apply further up the food chain as well - including potentially to people.

Weve known for hundreds of years that male fertility is sensitive to heat, Gage told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

But, in particular, the trans-generational effect was very surprising in the new research, he said.

Effectively were heating the planet up and thats stopping us from reproducing.

A 2017 study published in Science magazine found that flying insect populations in German nature reserves had plunged more than 75 percent over about 30 years.

Read also: Nuts may boost male fertility: Study

Gages team believes that may be linked to an increasing number of heatwaves over those decades - a concern for the planets biodiversity - and potentially for would-be parents - as climate change brings hotter, longer heatwaves.

Birth rates among people already dip in very hot periods, and not just because the prospect of a particularly sweaty tryst can sound fairly unappealing, scientists believe.

A study published in the journal Demography this year found that sexual behavior probably wasnt the explanatory factor behind dips in conception during heatwaves, Gage said.

Instead, excess heat may have damaged sperm, leading to the risk of genetic damage and making a successful pregnancy less likely, he said.

Could doctors one day issue alerts warning would-be parents to avoid conceiving during heatwaves, to avoid potential genetic damage?

Gage isnt so sure.

Wed really like to know what the mechanism of this trans-generational damage is, he said. We know radiation causes mutations in offspring. Its possible heat could be doing similar things.

Regardless, the new studys findings are very important for understanding how species react to climate change, he noted.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Sharay Angulo (Reuters) Mexico City, Mexico  Wed, November 14, 2018 20:05 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c301ca 2 Food Elon-Musk,tesla,tequila,Mexico,trademark Free

Tesla Inc co-founder Elon Musk and Mexicos tequila producers could be headed for a collision after the agave-based drinks industry group opposed the flamboyant billionaires efforts to trademark an alcoholic drink dubbed Teslaquila.

One of the worlds richest people and chief executive of Tesla, Musk is known for ambitious and cutting-edge projects ranging from auto electrification and rocket-building to high-speed transit tunnels.

Now it seems that Musk could be setting his sights on disrupting the multibillion-dollar tequila industry.

On Oct. 12, he tweeted Teslaquila coming soon and an accompanying visual approximation of a red and white label with the Tesla logo and a caption that stated 100 percent Puro de Agave.

Not so fast, said Mexicos Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT). It argued that the name Teslaquila evokes the word Tequila ... (and) Tequila is a protected word.

The CRT keeps tabs on producers to assure they adhere to strict denomination of origin rules, which dictate the spirit must be made in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit or Tamaulipas, among other requirements.

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office website, Tesla has filed an application to trademark Teslaquila as a distilled agave liquor and distilled blue agave liquor. Similar applications have been filed in Mexico, the European Union and Jamaica.

Read also: Tequila sends George Clooney to top of best-paid actors list

If it wants to make Teslaquila viable as a tequila it would have to associate itself with an authorized tequila producer, comply with certain standards and request authorization from Mexicos Industrial Property Institute, said the CRT in a statement.

Otherwise it would be making unauthorized use of the denomination of origin for tequila, it said, adding that the proposed name Teslaquila could make consumers confuse the drink with tequila.

Tesla did not respond to several requests for comment.

Other high-profile celebrities have cashed in on tequilas new-found international appeal, as the spirit moves into the ranks of top-shelf liquors and sheds its image as a fiery booze drunk by desperadoes and frat boys.

Last year, Diageo Plc bought actor George Clooneys high-end tequila brand Casamigos for up to $1 billion.

Other recent deals in the industry include Bacardi Ltds BACLTD.UL January deal to buy fine tequila maker Patron Spirits International for $5.1 billion.

After years of speculation, Mexicos Beckmann family launched an initial public offering of Jose Cuervo in 2017, raising more than $900 million.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Reza Mardian (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 12:40 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2029f 3 Entertainment Festival-Film-Indonesia,Movie,film-festival,film-industry,#movies,Academy-awards,Hollywood,Oscar Free

There are several major changes in Festival Film Indonesia (FFI) this year. Not only will the awards ceremony be held at the end of the year, but the FFI committeeled by actor Lukman Sardi will have the same composition until 2020, instead of being changed every year. It has also been decided that the names of the judges will not be revealed.

To cut a long story short, FFI is becoming more like the Academy Awards an independent and the most prominent entity consisting of filmmakers whose votes determine what films deserve to be celebrated by the film industry.

Festival Film Indonesia has been trying to adapt the Academy Awards system since 2014. It is the first time in Indonesia that the voting judges will be chosen based on their professional background and involve an independent analyst to count the votes. The FFI is sending an important message to moviegoers and the film ecosystem on what films should be celebrated. Not just because they have been technically crafted, but also because the issues discussed in the films are extremely important to the context within the country.

And so how is Indonesia represented in the eye of cinema this year? What issues is FFI trying to highlight this year?

I am not a filmmaker myself, but as a moviegoer and active observant of the industry, I cant help but come up with at least five points that the committee is trying to convey in the industry.

1. That art is more than just a commodity

Unlike the Academy Awards, for which nine or 10 films are nominated in the best picture category, in retrospect, FFI can only nominate five.

Yet this year, the committee has nominated only four films in the most anticipated category. They are Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts) (2017)  this years official Indonesian submission for the Oscars; Aruna dan Lidahnya (Aruna and Her Palate) (2018)  the second feature of Palari Films that was also nominated for this category last year; a dark horse titled Sekala & Niskala (2018) directed by a daughter of a legend; and the debut of a new production house telling the untold story of Sultan Agung (2018).

Even though these films have been critically acclaimed, ironically, none of them are considered to have been widely received by a mainstream audience. Not even Indonesia's 2018 highest grossing film has been nominated in this category.

As problematic as it sounds, it seems the popularity of the films is not determined by the quality of the film made but on the marketing strategy of the studio. That is why FFI thinks its essential to educate the public that movies are also art forms that the success of which should not be measured by the number of tickets sold.

Read also: 2018 Indonesian Film Festival: Full list of nominations

2. That a great performance is a great performance

Even though it seems that FFI only wants to celebrate arthouse genre, there is meant to be leniency in some categories.

The acting category, for example, goes against the primary stance in the first place. Just when we think theres no way that a cheesy rom-com will be highlighted, it is.

Iqbal Ramadhan for his performance in Dilan 1990 (2018) and Adipati Dolken for his portrayal in Teman Tapi Menikah (Friends but Married) (2018) managed to secure best leading actor nominations.

This is something that neither the Academy nor Hollywood would do. Yet, it seems the judges argue that a great performance is a great performance. And as turns out, genre isn't a problem as long as they deliver magnificent performances worth considering.

3. That Indonesia is diverse

If anything, Indonesia should be more concerned about diversity than Hollywood. Although only three directors have been nominated in the best director category, we should be proud that two of the nominees are women.

Mouly Surya and Kamila Andini prove that women are just as good as men. These trailblazing women directed two Indonesian films set in unusual settings that capture other stories instead of just being about urban people living in the millennium era.

While Mouly captures what it means to be a woman seeking justice in Sumba, Kamila perfectly pictures what it feels like to be a Balinese child in mourning in one of the most poetic stories on screen. Their works manifest cultural and gender representation in the cinema.

Read also: Campaigning for 'Marlina' to reign at the Oscars

4. That FFI remains inconsistent

FFI is not flawless. It would be considered consistent only if it nominated five nominees in every category every year. Yet there are only four nominations in the best picture category and three directors in the best director category.

It is also confusing how six people could be nominated for the best child actor, best supporting actor and best leading actor categories. Isnt it weird that five screenwriters have been nominated in the best original screenplay category, but only three writers have been nominated in the best-adapted screenplay category?

Why would numbers matter? Because it sends a consistent message of how many works deserve to be appreciated.

Coming up with five best works shouldn't be hard. If the committee doesn't believe there are people good enough to fill the spot in the category, it could always use the spot to highlight the least prominent filmmakers to give recognition to younger and new filmmakers in the industry.

In my humble opinion, Love for Sale (2018) has been snubbed this year. I think the film argues a very important topic and deserves to be nominated in the best picture and best director category. It is also not every day that we see an independent filmmaker come up with well-crafted science fiction film.

Nominating Tengkorak (2018) should also be part of FFI committees obligation in nurturing new talents.

5. That we still have a long way to go

It is clear that we still have a long way to go in becoming a more established industry in the country.

What makes Hollywood Hollywood is the fact it has tons of film critics to influence members of the Academy to watch and to vote for certain movies. We dont.

When the Oscars were considered too "white a couple of years ago, the Academy realized that it needed to put the spotlight on diversity. It was forced to realize what it meant to tell of the human condition regardless of sex, race or socioeconomic background. It made the awards season an annual TED-like conference in which each winner should give an inspiring speech that doesn't only thank their mom and dad, but also touches on important matters like inclusion, the glass ceiling and the importance of dreaming.

Sure, our film Industry has got way better. But we should never be satisfied.

It is time to be more critical and start questioning whether the Citra Trophy is still the most prestigious award in the film industry or not. (kes)

***

Reza Mardian is a film enthusiast and big fan of Disney, Pixar, Studio Ghibli and all films in the running for an Oscar or Festival Film Indonesia award. He is also a nursing graduate who is not a practicing nurse, and likes to post anything related to books and movies on his Instagram account @mardian.reza.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) London, United Kingdom  Wed, November 14, 2018 13:03 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c22318 2 Entertainment Friends,David-Schwimmer,viral,Britain,crime Free

British police thanked Friends star David Schwimmer on Tuesday after arresting an alleged thief whose case went viral on social media because of his uncanny resemblance to the US actor.

"Following the appeal we posted looking for a man who resembles a well-known actor, we now have an update," police in Blackpool in northwest England tweeted.

Following the appeal we posted looking for a man who resembles a well-known actor, we now have an update. Thanks to our colleagues @MetPoliceUK, a 36-year-old man was arrested in Southall last night on suspicion of theft. Thanks for the support, especially @DavidSchwimmer! pic.twitter.com/sUy5XyS4im  Blackpool Police (@BlackpoolPolice) November 13, 2018

"Thanks to our colleagues @MetPoliceUK, a 36-year-old man was arrested in Southall last night on suspicion of theft. Thank you for the support, especially @DavidSchwimmer!"

Police last month asked the public to identify a man who allegedly stole a crate of beer from a shop.

They quickly found their Facebook feed inundated with replies and merriment after they posted an image of the man, who was the spitting image of the love-lorn US sitcom star.

Read also: The one where David Schwimmer had a solid alibi

Police had reassured the public their investigation concluded Schwimmer had a solid alibi.

"We have investigated this matter thoroughly and have confirmed that David Schwimmer was in America on this date," the force wrote in a statement. "We're so sorry it has to be this way."

But Schwimmer decided he would provide some hard evidence to back his claim, posting a video on his Twitter last month showing him in a US store... carrying off a crate of beers.

"Officers, I swear it wasn't me," he quipped. "As you can see, I was in New York. To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation."

"Thanks for being there for us @DavidSchwimmer," the force replied on their own Twitter account.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Geneva, Switzerland  Wed, November 14, 2018 12:07 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c1e6e8 2 Lifestyle pink-diamond,jewelry,auction,switzerland,diamond,Christies Free

An exceptionally rare pink diamond of nearly 19 carats fetched 50.3 million Swiss francs ($50 million) at auction in Geneva Tuesday, Christie's said, setting a new per-carat record for a stone of its kind.

The Pink Legacy, which once belonged to the Oppenheimer family who for decades ran the De Beers diamond-mining company, was snapped up by American luxury brand Harry Winston, part of the Swiss Swatch group.

"$2.6 million per carat. That is a world record per carat for a pink diamond," said Francois Curiel, head of Christie's in Europe, of the price that included all fees and commissions.

"This stone is for me the Leonardo da Vinci of diamonds."

The 18.96-carat diamond was discovered in a South African mine around a century ago, Christie's said. It was probably cut in the 1920s and has not been altered since.

The stone was immediately rechristened the "Winston Pink Legacy" by its buyers.

Christie's international head of jewelry, Rahul Kadakia, described it as "one of the world's greatest diamonds".

The rectangular-cut stone has been graded "fancy vivid" -- the highest possible grade of color intensity -- as it has no trace of another hue like purple, orange or brown.

Most pink diamonds weigh less than one carat and those in the top color category with more than 10 carats are virtually unheard of at auction houses.

The Pink Legacy is classed as Type IIa, meaning it is extremely chemically pure, a category only two percent of diamonds fall into.

"These are stones that have little if any trace of nitrogen," said Kadakia, adding that this often gives Type IIa diamonds "exceptional transparency and brilliance".

Read also: 'Incomparable' pink diamond could smash record at Geneva auction

- Emerald cut -

"Imagine a domino that you have cut the corners off of," Jean-Marc Lunel, an international jewelry specialist at Christie's, recently told AFP, describing the stone's unusual shape.

He pointed out that the diamond has a "classical so-called emerald cut" -- standing out from the typical cuts used today, which are more rounded and multi-faceted.

The classic rectangular cut is traditionally used for white stones, but is rare for pink diamonds.

Christie's said the Pink Legacy is "the largest and finest Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever offered at auction by the company", calling the stone "incomparable".

"It is probably the most beautiful (specimen) ever presented at public auction," Lunel said.

Christie's said only four vivid pink diamonds of over 10 carats have ever been offered at auction.

One of them, the nearly 15-carat Pink Promise, was sold last November at a Christie's auction in Hong Kong for $32.5 million.

That amounts to $2.176 million per carat, which was previously the world auction record price per carat for any pink diamond.

The Pink Legacy's record-smashing price accounted for nearly half the takings at Tuesday's auction, which saw total sales of more than $110 million, according to Christie's spokeswoman Alexandra Kindermann.

While 86 percent of the lots found a buyer, a big heart-shaped white diamond of 53 carats, expected to fetch around $3 to 5 million, went unsold.

Another Geneva auction is set cause a buzz on Wednesday when Marie Antoinette's diamonds and pearls go under the hammer at Sotheby's.

The dazzling treasures, which have not been seen in public for two centuries, are part of a 100-piece collection held by the Italian royal House of Bourbon-Parma.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Foo Yun Chee (Reuters) Brussels, Belgium  Wed, November 14, 2018 23:07 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c32650 2 Food cheese,Netherlands,copyright,Luxembourg,Europe,Heksenkaas,Levola-Hengelo,Smilde,European-Court-of-Justice Free

Europes top court dealt the food industry a blow on Tuesday as it dismissed an attempt by a Dutch cheese maker to copyright its cream cheese, saying that the taste of a food product does not qualify for copyright protection.

Dutch company Levola Hengelo, maker of a cheese spread called Heksenkaas (witches cheese), took rival Smilde to court for making what it said was a copy of its product and hence infringed its copyright in the taste of the cheese.

The Dutch court subsequently sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ).

ECJ judges backed the July recommendation of the court adviser.

The taste of a food product is not eligible for copyright protection, the ECJ said.

Read also: Cheesy music: Swiss experiment with sound to make cheese tastier

Unlike a literary, pictorial, cinematographic or musical work, the taste of a food product cannot be identified with precision and objectivity, judges said.

Furthermore, taste depends on the person tasting the product, age, food preferences and the environment and context in which the food is consumed, the court said.

Heksenkaas, now a subsidiary of Dutch food maker Salad Signature which bought it from Levola Hengelo early this year, said it was disappointed with the court ruling.

We find it a pity and incorrect that the creative expression in food and perfumes do not have copyright protection and that everyone can make a copy of it, said Heksenkaas director Michel Wildenborg.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 08:52 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c1153d 4 City ERP,trial,delay Free

The Jakarta Transportation Agency has postponed a trial of the long-delayed electronic road pricing (ERP) system that was supposed to begin on Wednesday.

Authorities hope the ERP can replace the odd-even license plate policy as a way to alleviate road congestion in Jakarta.

The schedule for the [proof of concept], which is part of the technical evaluation, is also being delayed, said the agencys acting head, Sigit Widjatmoko, on Tuesday.

Without elaborating on the reasons for the delay, Sigit said the decision had been made in accordance with a technical evaluation by one of the companies building ERP equipment to be tested.

Through the trial, the city will decide on the winner of the ERP tender.

The 20-day ERP trial was meant to commence on Wednesday with 205 vehicles. There are currently three companies competing in the tender.

The 205 vehicles comprise motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks, Sigit added, noting that if everything ran according to the plan, the ERP system could be installed at the end of this year. (vla)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 06:45 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c0d2b3 1 City Pari-island,Thousand-Islands-regency,land-dispute,verdict,North-Jakarta-District-Court Free

The North Jakarta District Court declared Sulaiman, a resident of Pari Island in Thousand Islands regency and defendant in a controversial land breach case, not guilty on Tuesday.

The defendant was not proven to be guilty of breaking into a house, presiding judge Ramses Pasaribu said as he read the verdict, as reported by tempo.co.

Sulaiman was named a suspect by the Thousand Islands Police in April last year after allegedly breaking into a house on land claimed by Pintarso Adijanto, president director of PT Bumi Pari Asri, a company which plans to build a resort on the island.

Pintarso reported Sulaiman to the police. Pintarso claimed he had bought the 4,999 square meter plot of land in 1991.

Sulaiman was charged under Article 385 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on trespass, which carries a maximum sentence of four years imprisonment.

Sulaiman claimed he been the caretaker of the house since 2013 and that it belonged to a Bogor resident named Surdin who had bought it from a Pari Island resident identified as Matlebar.

Im thankful for the judges decision, Sulaiman said after the trial. (vla)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 07:51 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c0e6fc 1 Business pertamina,LNG,shipment,Sanga-sanga-Block,East-Kalimantan Free

State-owned energy holding company Pertamina has shipped the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its recently awarded Sanga-Sanga oil and gas block in East Kalimantan in what has become the first LNG shipment for a unit operated under the gross-split scheme.

Pertamina subsidiary Pertamina Hulu Sanga-Sanga (PHSS) took over the asset from oil and gas company PT Virginia Indonesia Company (VICO), which had operated the block for more than four decades.

PHSS director Andi Wisnu expressed his appreciation to all stakeholders that had helped in the production, commercialization and monetization of LNG from the block.

We appreciate [the efforts of] all that were involved, starting from the preparation and processing to the LNG shipment from the Badak LNG refinery, which is operated by PT Badak NGL in Bontang, East Kalimantan, he said. He did not disclose the volume of LNG on the maiden shipment.

The block currently produces around 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and 70 million metric standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas.

The oil and gas blocks of East Kalimantan, including Sanga-Sanga, contribute about 35 percent to national oil and gas production, according to data from the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas).

On Oct 30, Pertamina kicked off operations at its newly awarded East Kalimantan block, run by one of its upstream subsidiaries, PT Pertamina Hulu Kalimantan Timur, by lifting 60,000 barrels of crude oil (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Bambang Muryanto and Sri Wahyuni (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 10:17 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c1ce0a 2 National UGM,sex-abuse,sexual-abuse-on-campus,#KitaAgni Free

In response to public pressure, Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta is thinking about taking steps to expel a student who is accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student last year.

Rector Panut Mulyono said Monday he was thinking about setting up an ethics committee to reinvestigate the case. If people think the punishment is not adequate, we have an ethics team that will reopen the case, he said.

Panut earlier said UGM considered the case closed and the alleged assaulters punishment meted out. However, public pressure, some taking the form of an online movement called #KitaAgni (We Are Agni), deemed the measures insufficient to deliver justice to the victim, who has the pseudonym Agni in an investigative report by Balairung Press, a student press of the university.

Panut said in Yogyakarta that he sympathized with the victim but he wanted both Agni and the alleged perpetrator, HS, to graduate and become better people. Both are our children. We want to handle this case in an educational way so both learn some lessons but no one is destroyed, Panut said to reporters last week.

The case surfaced after Balairung interviewed Agni, who told them how she was blamed by campus officials after the case. She said she was assaulted on June 30 last year during a community service project (KKN) at a Maluku village. A KKN is a compulsory school program that lasts several months, during which students live with local families in the target village.

The Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI) responded to the case by saying they suspected UGM of maladministration in handling Agnis report.

The suspected maladministration is delaying the resolution of the case, said ORI member, Ninik Rahayu on Saturday. Such delay was in violation of the 2009 law on public service, she said.

UGMs handling of the matter, called victim blaming by many, triggered an online petition on change.org demanding that UGM deliver justice for Agni, a student at the School of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol).

As of Tuesday evening, a week after the petition was made, more than 170,000 people had signed it.

Pipin Jamson, a lecturer at Fisipol, spoke on behalf of Agni, saying that Agni wanted HS to be expelled from the university without honor. An offline petition in UGM has garnered 1,600 signatures, demanding that UGM expel HS.

HS, a student at the School of Engineering, has reportedly finished his thesis and is about to graduate.

Panut said the university had actually punished HS based on a recommendation from an ad hoc investigation team looking into the case, which comprised campus officials from several internal institutions. The punishments included postponing HS graduation by one semester, pulling HS from the KKN site in Maluku and making him undergo mandatory counseling for sex abusers.

Deputy rector Paripurna Sugarda said UGM was focusing on protecting and giving Agni psychological counseling. Were looking at the possibility of bringing this case to [the police], he said.

Deputy head of the Witnesses and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK), Hasto Atmojo, visited UGM and talked to Panut and Fisipol dean Erwan Agus Purwanto. Hasto said he saw sexual assaults as a serious problem. Hasto said sexual assault happened as a result of unequal power relations in a patriarchal society, and that women were mostly the victims.

To anyone who is a rape victim, have courage to speak up because the state would give protection through the LPSK, he said.

Erwan of Fisipol spoke on behalf of Agni, saying that Agni was still considering about pursuing legal action. The process has to take into account the victims psychological condition, he said. Erwan said Agnis psychological condition was still unstable. She had received psychological support from a womens crisis center in Yogyakarta, Rifka Annisa.

Agni was still finishing her thesis, he said.

This article was originally published in The Jakarta Post's print edition on Nov. 14, 2018, with the title "UGM considers expelling alleged sexual abuser".
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Winny Tang (The Jakarta Post) Shanghai  Wed, November 14, 2018 08:19 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c0f229 1 Business Singles-Day,Alibaba,online-shopping,e-commerce,China Free

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba provided a great opportunity for Indonesian products to reach China during Singles Day, also known as 11.11, the biggest online shopping festival in the world on November 11.

Five Indonesian products were sold on the global platform of Alibabas Tmall, namely Kapal Api coffee, Yan Ty Ty birds nest, Richesse wafer, Papatonk prawn crackers and Indomie instant noodle. The company said Chinese consumers showed interest in Indonesia's instant noodle and coffee products.

We have to make a breakthrough because China is our largest trading partner. One strategy is to sell Indonesian products through Alibabas digital platform, said Djauhari Oratmangun, Indonesian Ambassador to China, in Shanghai, China, recently.

Read also: Alibaba shopping extravaganza earns US$10b in first hour

Djauhari said the collaboration with Alibaba was an early step for Indonesia to find more local products that Chinese consumers would be interested to buy.

For instance, our average export of furniture to China is about US$3 billion annually. We have the potential to increase that to $10 billion after tariff negotiations, he said.

Djauhari said the government had also discussed the possibility of exporting coal to China using a digital platform, as currently 40 percent of Indonesia's coal exports go to the East Asian country.

Alibaba posted 231.5 billion yuan (US$30.8 billion) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) during Singles Day, up 27 percent from 2017.

Yi Qian, deputy general manager of Tmall Global, said Indonesia and China could work together to develop attractive products, such as health supplements, to be sold on the Chinese market. (gda)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 13:17 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c23ca4 1 City Pejaten-Village,fire,firefighters,inspections,anies-baswedan Free

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan inspected the Jagakarsa Fire and Rescue Brigade in South Jakarta at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, not long after a fire broke out in Pejaten Village shopping center.

The inspection was broadcast live on Anies official Instagram account @aniesbaswedan.

I'm also looking at the situation in Jakarta. Stay vigilant Pak, prioritize [firefighters'] responsiveness, Anies said in the video.

He said firefighters should maintain the condition of their equipment and report any problems with it.

He also reminded the firefighters that fire was a common problem in Jakarta.

They [firefighters] are on standby 24 hours a day. In Jakarta, a lot of incidents need quick responses. They [firefighting teams] are complete and always on alert. That makes me proud, Anies said.

Before Anies inspection, a fire broke out at around 9 p.m. in Pejaten Village in Jatipadang, Pasar Minggu. Firefighters extinguished the fire by 9.15 p.m. The mall is managed by PT Lippo Karawaci.

Pasar Minggu Police chief Comr. Harsono said the fire may have been caused by a short circuit in the malls control panel room in the basement.

He said that according to a mall security guard's account, thick smoke emanated from the malls basement. By the time the security guard and the malls maintenance officer checked the control panel room, the fire had spread.

There were no casualties in the incident, Harsono said on Wednesday, tempo.co reported. (ami)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Wed, November 14 2018

This is realpolitik ASEAN has to face. Chinese Premier Li Leqiangs presence at the summits of ASEAN leaders and their meetings with their trading partners in Singapore this week will have a decisive and direct impact on the outcomes of their annual gatherings. The premier of the worlds second-largest economy carries a strong mandate from President Xi Jinping to act as his chief negotiator at the multilateral meetings.

On the contrary, the absence of United States President Donald Trump and the presence of Vice President Mike Pence will have little impact on the meetings of the 10-member regional grouping.

The summits in Singapore are shrouded by the fear of a possible global trade war, which Trump has threatened to initiate. His America First doctrine and his tendency for unilateral decision making aims at keeping the US as the worlds largest economy, but clearly its economic might has been lessening.

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 Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Kendal, Central Java  Wed, November 14, 2018 12:43 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c219a9 1 National Kendal,Central-Java,Education,classroom Free

A teacher in Kendal, Central Java, reportedly got into a fight with students in a classroom after one of them threw a paper ball at him, prompting criticism about the education system in the regency.

A video showing students of SMK Nahdlatul Ulama 03 Kaliwungu vocational senior high school punching and kicking the middle-aged teacher went viral over the weekend.

The teacher reportedly fought back with a spinning kick after allegedly getting pushed by students. None of the attacks caused injuries, while the students were said to have laughed while the teacher tried to defend himself.

Kendal Regent Mirna Annisa visited the school on Monday to seek clarification over the incident after being flooded with questions.

They have no ethics. It tarnished the education system, Mirna said.

In the video, four 16-year-old students identified as PM, SN, MM and AA appeared to be teasing Joko Susilo, 54, the teacher, while another student identified as AM, 16, recorded the incident on Thursday.

At the end of the video, the teachers shoe slips off while doing the spinning kick. He eventually returns to his desk, opens a book and carries on with his lesson.

It was just a joke, but when it went too far. There was no violence, no beating, Joko said.

He said a meeting with participants of the incident had taken place to discuss the matter.

I hope such an incident doesnt reoccur in this school or any other school, Joko said.

School principal Muhaidin said the incident had taken place during the last hour of class on Thursday.

It was just a joke. We have summoned both the teachers and students for further information because the video went viral on Friday, Muhaidin said.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 13:03 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c22e16 1 City theft,couple,nightclub,cafe,bar Free

The South Jakarta Police arrested a couple, identified only as CN, 44, and PI, 33, on Oct. 14 for allegedly stealing goods in cafes and bars located in Mega Kuningan, Jakarta.

Their modus operandi is one of them [PI] approaches and distracts the potential victim, South Jakarta Police criminal unit head Comr. Andi Sinjaya said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that once the potential victim was distracted, CN would steal their belongings.

During the preliminary investigation, he said, the suspects confessed that they stole to make ends meet. However, the police revealed later that the couple specialized in theft in nightclubs.

The couple stole valuable goods such as iPhones, Andi said.

Another suspect, identified as SS, 33, was also arrested.

According to SS' confession, he sold the stolen goods at low prices, he explained.

SS could face a maximum of four years in prison, while CN and PI could each face a maximum of seven years' imprisonment. (sau)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 16:00 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c28097 1 Politics 2019-elections,2019-legislative-election,2019-presidential-election,Democratic-party,SBY,Joko-Widodo,Prabowo-Subianto Free

Democratic Party legislative candidates have been directed to campaign by championing the achievements of party chairman and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) during his two-term presidency.

"We explain everything achieved by the Democrats over 10 years, from 2004 to 2014, when president SBY led this country," Democratic leader and SBY's son Agus Harimurti said at a party event in Central Jakarta on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com.

Despite the Democratic Party's official support for the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno presidential ticket, the party's leadership is also allowing its members to support President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's reelection bid.

"An internal Democratic Party survey shows that the majority [of party members] choose Pak Prabowo, but there are also some who, according to the culture of their region, support Pak Jokowi," Democratic executive Edhie Baskoro said. "We cannot punish [those who support Jokowi], we can only urge them [to support Prabowo]."

The Democratic Party's membership in the opposition coalition initially hung in the balance, with the party still undecided just hours before Prabowo and Sandiaga registered their candidacy with the General Elections Commission (KPU).

The Democrats' alliance with the Gerindra Party chairman was thrown into a tailspin when Prabowo informed them that he was considering then-Jakarta deputy governor Sandiaga as his running mate, when Agus had previously been among the frontrunners for the vice presidential slot.

Democratic executive Agus Hermanto said the party was focusing on both the legislative and presidential elections.

"Right now the Democratic Party is fighting for the legislative and presidential elections. We must be successful in both," he said on Tuesday. "We want to repeat our days of glory from 2009. If not, at least approaching that. Everything has to be better than in 2014."

The Democrats won 20.85 percent of the vote in the 2009 legislative election, when SBY was at the height of his popularity, giving the party more House of Representative seats than any other party. The party fell to fourth place in the 2014 election, garnering only 10.19 percent of the vote. (kmt)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 09:11 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c138cd 1 National gender-equality,house-cleaning,housekeeping,marriage,home,House,husband Free

During his childhood, 27-year-old Halim Aditya Putra was often told by his mother that being skilled at household chores in the dapur-sumur-kasur (kitchen-bathroom-bedroom) was the duty of wives, while husbands needed to earn money.



But Halim chose not to follow his mothers advice when he married Evia. Instead, the couple share housekeeping duties, with Evia, an English teacher, preparing breakfast for the two every morning and Halim cooking dinner every night.



They [my friends] say that I am a henpecked husband. I dont agree, Halim told The Jakarta Post on Monday. The dapur-sumur-kasur is a not a womans thing, but a humans thing. Therefore, we should share household chores.



Halim said he had never wanted his wife to leave her job because he saw her determination to achieve in her professional career.



Like Halim, 32-year-old Mustofa Fajri has shared domestic tasks with his wife since they tied the knot five years ago.



She cooks and I wash up afterward. She feeds our son while I sweep the floor, said Mustofa who lives in Bekasi, West Java. I do the housework because I am part of the house.



Men had become more open to sharing housekeeping responsibilities with their spouses in recent years, said New Mens Alliance, a group of fathers, husbands and single men that has been campaigning since 2009 to promote the idea that men can do more housework.



On its Instagram account, the alliance has posted several posters depicting, for instance, a couple cleaning the house together. Doing [the housework] together is more romantic, read the caption.



Aquino Hayunta of the alliance said that people should not genderize housework and that sharing the tasks with ones spouse created a better bond among house members and could prevent divorce.



Divorces mainly happen because of gender stereotyping. For example, husbands blame their wives if their children get poor grades at school, or wives blame their husbands for not earning enough. Those problems will not emerge if they are aware of gender equality, he said.



The Supreme Court recorded a total of 415,848 divorces in 2017, an increase from 403,070 in 2016. Most divorces were caused by marital discord.



Initiatives to improve the role of fathers in family development have also emerged, such as the group AyahASI, which was started about seven years ago to unite fathers to support their breastfeeding wives.



Some multinational companies have started to provide around two-months paternity leave for male employees.



The government, on the other hand, has no regulation granting paternity leave for male civil servants, but a heavily restricted National Civil Service Agency (BKN) regulation stipulates that men can take leave for urgent needs, including to tend to their wives in hospital during and after a babys delivery.



Yet, some men continue to oppose the idea of doing housework.



Hafidz, 27, cited a Quranic verse to support his idea that men and women had different duties. Men are breadwinners. Women take care of the children and serve their husbands. That is what I call equality.



Hafidzs wife resigned from her job two years ago and now runs a small hijab store near their house in Depok, West Java.



For Hafidz, his wife can earn money but should not abandon her homemaking responsibilities.



She should choose between being a fulltime housewife, or juggling her business with the housework and taking care of the children. I know the second option seems difficult, but thats the consequence. Thats a form of devotion to a husband, he said.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Wed, November 14, 2018 17:04 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2b604 1 National murder,North-Sumatra,crime Free

The number of murder cases in North Sumatra has increased significantly in the past year with another two cases involving multiple homicides last month.

In October, a family of three in Deli Serdang was murdered, allegedly by neighbors who were reportedly mocked by the family. The police arrested three people, but shot a fourth to death when the person allegedly resisted arrest.

Another family of four in Samosir was also murdered the same month, but no suspect has been named so far. The head of the family was suspected to be involved, but he committed suicide after his wife and their two children were killed.

The North Sumatra Police reported that this year alone, as of October, they had handled 96 murder cases, an increase of 18 cases compared to the same period last year.

Of the cases, 98.5 percent can be solved by the police, said the head of the violent crimes sub-directorate of North Sumatra Polices general crimes investigation directorate, Adj. Sr. Comr. Maringan Simanjuntak.

The police also said that the motive for the murders was most often robbery or revenge and most of the perpetrators were under the influence of drugs.

Drugs, however, were not necessarily involved in the last two cases.

Psychologist Irna Minauli of the Medan Area University said drugs make people lose control of their emotions.

They become impulsive and they will react negatively to unpleasant things. They are even capable of killing people they consider to be hampering their interests, Irna said.
TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.

Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14 2018

High school sweethearts Intan Indah Syarii and Rio Nanda Pratama were set to marry in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung, over the weekend. However, their plans were thwarted when Rio boarded Lion Air flight JT610 on Oct. 29 to return to Pangkalpinang after attending a seminar in Jakarta.

The airplane crashed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff, and none of the 189 passengers on board survived.

Despite the tragic loss of her husband-to-be, Intan went through with a wedding photo shoot wearing her wedding gown to honor a request that had been intended as a joke by Rio just before he left for Jakarta. Wedding organizers Adiela Organizer posted photos from her wedding shoot on its Instagram account on Sunday with a caption telling Intans story.

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 Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 14:59 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c26233 1 National sexual-harrasment,ITE-Law,Mataram,SAFEnet Free

A teacher from Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, who has been jailed for spreading a recording revealing alleged sexual harassment by her former superior, has pleaded to President Joko Jokowi Widodo to release her.

The Supreme Court found Baiq Nuril Maknun, a high school teacher, guilty of defaming Muslim, the former principal at the school, by spreading a recording of a reportedly sordid phone call between the two of them, overturning a lower court's not guilty verdict.

In a controversial verdict that has incriminated a victim of sexual harassment, the court ruled on Friday that the 37-year-old must serve a six-month sentence and pay a Rp 500 million (US$33,749) fine after being found guilty of violating Article 27 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.

Wearing a black headscarf, Nuril sat and sobbed in front of her rented home in Mataram on Monday afternoon while a camera recorded her message to the President.

Mr. President, I only ask for justice. Because I am the victim here. Is it my fault if I, Nuril stopped her stammering words to take a breath and wipe her tears. And then, closing her eyes tightly to prevent the tears from falling she continued, Is it wrong for me to try and defend myself in my own way?

Her 7-year-old son was standing near her and looked puzzled as he did not really understand what was going on.

The video was published on YouTube on Tuesday by @contactsafenet, an account managed by the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet).

The ITE Law has been controversial for years, as it has jailed people for expressing their opinions, thoughts and complaints on the internet and social media, accusing violators of defamation.

SAFEnet recorded that the law had imprisoned at least 381 people since it was first deliberated in 2008, 90 percent of those imprisoned had been charged with defamation while the rest with hate speech.

In Nurils case, the recording, which had been spread in the school circle and local education agency, had caused Muslim to be removed from his job, and prompted him to report her to police. But Muslim was later promoted to a position at the local education agency.

Furkan Rudy Ermansah, a SAFEnet volunteer who recorded the video and had also been accompanying Nuril since the case emerged at the end of 2014, said he believed Nuril was a victim of sexual harassment and the tyranny of her principal, who fired her for something that was not her fault.

We want President Jokowi and anyone with power in this country to help Nuril. She is innocent, she is the victim and yet she is the one who is being punished. Where can her family get Rp 500 million when it is already difficult for her, her husband and three children to pay for their daily needs, Rudy told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Rudy said when the case came to light, Nuril not only lost her job but her husband had to resign from his to care for their three children. After the recent Lombok earthquake, which also damaged part of their home, Nuril's husband took a part time job as an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver.

Separately, a crowdfunding campaign initiated by the Victims of UU ITE Community (PALU ITE) began on Tuesday to raise money to help Nuril pay the fines.

Muhammad Arsyad, the head of PALU ITE, said help began flooding in from across and outside the country only a day after the campaign commenced.

The link had been shared 1,654 times on Facebook, with more than Rp 24 million collected as of Wednesday morning.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Rachmadea Aisyah and Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 09:29 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c17dbe 1 Business Jokowi,Jokowi-administration,Trade,trade-agreement,Australia,New-Zealand,India,Korea,ASEAN,China Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has ratified seven bilateral and multilateral trade agreements by signing a presidential regulation in a bid to boost trade, according to a senior trade official.

Trade Ministry secretary-general Karyanto Suprih confirmed on Tuesday that he had been informed about the ratification.

This morning, I heard that the President had signed a presidential regulation regarding the ratification of the deals [...] The only thing left to do is to forward the regulation to the Law and Human Rights Ministry to have it promulgated, Karyanto said at a press gathering on Tuesday.

The news about the ratification broke out less than a week after a group of Cabinet ministers agreed to accelerate the aforementioned agreements in a meeting led by Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution.

The ratified agreements, which include free trade agreements (FTAs), are the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), ASEAN-India FTA (AITISA), ASEAN-Korea FTA, ASEAN-China FTA, ASEAN agreement on medical device directive, the ninth protocol of the ASEAN framework agreement on services and the Indonesia-Pakistan preferential trade agreement (IP-PTA).

Karyanto reaffirmed that the Presidents move was in accordance with Article 84 of Law No. 7/2014 on international trade agreements, which stipulates that the executive is authorized to ratify an agreement if the House of Representatives as the legislative body fails to make a decision within 60 working days after the agreements are signed.

All of the aforementioned agreements have surpassed the 60-day period. Since 2015, several pacts, such as the first protocol to amend the AANZFTA and agreement on trade in services under the AITISA, have been proposed by the government to the House to be ratified into law.

Jokowi, who is seeking reelection next year, appears to show a pro-international trade stance, which he implied in his speech during the plenary session of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in October of the importance of stronger global cooperation against rising protectionism.

However, at the same time, Jokowi has on many occasions called for the safeguarding of domestic interests, such as by nationalizing oil and gas assets and acquiring the majority ownership of the Grasberg mine from United States company Freeport-McMoRan.

The cost of not ratifying the seven agreements was high, according to the government. For example, not ratifying the latest protocol of the IP-PTA would have automatically terminated the agreement, closing access to the US$1.46 billion crude palm oil (CPO) market in Pakistan at a time when neighboring CPO producer Malaysia is seeking to upgrade bilateral trade ties with Pakistan.

Meanwhile, not ratifying the latest protocol of the AANZFTA will mean that Indonesian products exported to Australia or New Zealand will not benefit from preferential tariffs under the pact, effectively putting a barrier up to exported goods worth $1.76 billion.

When The Jakarta Post requested comment, Presidential spokesperson Johan Budi said in a text message that he would check on the information.

Responding to the news, Indonesian Employers Association chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said the business community welcomed the ratification as it would bring them opportunities to balance out trade transactions with the countries involved in the agreements.

For example, through the AANZFTA, Indonesia would be able to export consumer goods to Australia with the advantage of lowered import tariffs, with which Indonesia has been recording a trade deficit, whereas Indonesia would maintain its import of raw materials, such as salt and wheat, from Australia.

The ratified agreements had considerably less challenges compared to the other ongoing talks, such as the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, Hariyadi told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a seminar on Tuesday. With opened markets, their import tariffs will also be lowered.

He reminded that businesses, as well as the government, should also be prepared by improving the quality of exported commodities and policies.

Do not leave our exports under prepared when the market is ready, he added.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 18:04 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2e365 1 National Eddy-Sindoro,Lippo-group,KPK Free

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has summoned four police officers in relation to a graft case involving former Lippo Group executive Eddy Sindoro.

The four officers were formerly aides of former Supreme Court secretary Nurhadi, who allegedly accepted bribes from Eddy in connection to the handling of a case review involving Lippo Group companies.

"Until this afternoon, the four police officers who used to be Nurhadi's aides have not yet arrived," KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah said in a statement on Wednesday. "Investigators will wait for them until this evening."

The KPK had sent a letter to the National Police requesting that the four officers be made available for questioning. The antigraft body has not yet explained what specifically the officers are to be questioned about.

Eddy was named a graft suspect in November 2016. He was alleged to have instructed Doddy Ariyanto, who worked for Lippo subsidiary PT Paramount Enterprise International, to bribe Central Jakarta District Court registrar Edy Nasution. Both Edy and Doddy were sentenced to prison in 2016.

After being named a suspect, Eddy fled abroad for two years before eventually surrendering to Indonesian authorities in Singapore last month. (kmt)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 08:38 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c101ee 1 City Lippo-group,lippo,real-estate,Pejaten-Village,flood,fire Free

In a double blow to the Lippo Group on Tuesday, its flagship property, Lippo Karawaci, in Tangerang regency, Banten, was flooded after heavy rain fell in the afternoon, while its commercial property, Pejaten Village, in South Jakarta caught fire later that evening.

The floodwaters, up to 50 centimeters deep according to tribunnews.com, brought traffic to a halt in the area.

"This is bad luck, this is unusual, the floodwaters were quite high. Usually, it never floods here," motorcyclist Gozali, whose bikes engine seized up after he was caught in the flood, said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

At around 9 p.m., Pejaten Village, which is managed by publicly listed PT Lippo Karawaci, caught fire. About 20 fire trucks were on the scene. At around 9:30 p.m., the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) posted a tweet on its account, @BPBDJakarta, that the fire had been extinguished and that firefighters had evacuated all the customers.

The Jakarta Police also posted a video on its Twitter account, @TMCPoldaMetro, that showed customers exiting the mall.

21.55 Situasi terkini Kebakaran di Mall Pejaten vilage pic.twitter.com/dckakoP8z7

 TMC Polda Metro Jaya (@TMCPoldaMetro) November 13, 2018

A security officer, Dede, told The Jakarta Post that smoke was first detected on the third floor. He said by 10 p.m., all the customers had been evacuated, adding that there were no casualties. (evi)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Shaun Tandon (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Wed, November 14, 2018 09:09 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c12a00 2 World #France,#USA,DonaldTrump,insult,Emmanuel-Macron,Twitter Free

President Donald Trump's Twitter-lashing of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron is only the latest insult by the US leader against longstanding allies.

Here are some memorable barbs from Trump, who has brazenly defied traditional diplomatic convention not to speak ill of allies in public:

- FRANCE -

Trump had once seen Macron as a budding friend, with the two inviting each other for high-profile visits, but the tycoon president was apparently incensed by the French leader's rejection of Trump-style nationalism in a speech marking 100 years after the end of World War I.

Trump, whose Armistice Day trip to Paris drew domestic criticism after he skipped a cemetery visit due to rain, ridiculed Macron for his low approval rating and said there was "no country more nationalist than France."

He threatened to slap tariffs on French wine and again criticized Macron for supporting European-wide defense outside NATO, the alliance to which Trump says the United States pays too much.

- CANADA -

Trump has shown open disdain for the youthful, left-leaning prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, as the US president revises the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he sees as hurting US manufacturing and farming.

Trump refused to sign a customary statement by the Group of Seven industrial nations after a June summit in Quebec led by Trudeau.

Leaving early to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Trump tweeted that Trudeau was "very dishonest and weak" and had acted "mild and meek" in meetings before criticizing US tariffs at a news conference.

- GERMANY -

Trump's relationship was strained from the start with Chancelor Angela Merkel, who unlike Macron did not attempt to forge a chummy relationship with the right-wing populist.

Trump has repeatedly intervened rhetorically in Germany's sensitive debate over immigration, after Merkel in 2015 opened Germany's borders and ultimately let in more than one million asylum seekers.

Trump in June tweeted that Germans were "turning against their leadership" over the "big mistake" on immigration and incorrectly said that crime was "way up" in Germany.

- BRITAIN -

Despite Prime Minister Theresa May's efforts to preserve Britain's "special relationship" with the United States, Trump has openly criticized her handling of her top issue -- Britain's planned exit from the European Union.

Just as he was visiting Britain this year, on an invitation for which May faced domestic criticism, Trump told a London newspaper that May's party rival Boris Johnson would be a "great prime minister" and poured cold water on May's hopes for a trade deal with the United States if Britain stayed in the EU single market.

Trump has also repeatedly assailed London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, taking out of context Khan's calls for calm after an attack and then calling Khan's explanation "pathetic."

- AUSTRALIA -

Trump opened on the wrong foot with Australia, one of the most pro-US countries which boasts of fighting alongside the United States in every major conflict in modern times.

Trump hung up on Australias then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, after brusquely criticizing a deal on refugee settlement reached under previous US president Barack Obama, according to The Washington Post.

The two leaders later appeared to patch up through a series of friendly encounters, arranged in part by Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-born media mogul who owns Fox News, Trump's favorite channel.

- MEXICO -

Trump launched his presidential campaign by branding undocumented Mexican immigrants as criminals and has maintained racially charged rhetoric since entering the White House.

Trump, however, has been unusually restrained in his public remarks about Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador and his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, who reportedly had a contentious phone call with the US leader.

- JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA -

Trump has managed cordial public interactions with the leaders of key Asian allies Japan and South Korea but has been blistering in his criticism of their trade policies.

Trump at a news conference last week said that Japan "has treated us very unfairly" and, according to The Washington Post, startled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a June summit by quipping, "I remember Pearl Harbor," imperial Japan's 1941 sneak attack on the US Pacific fleet.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 09:36 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c19d64 4 Business pertamina,private-oil-companies,oil,purchase Free

State-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina has made agreements with nine private oil companies to buy their export quotas of crude oil production to help reduce crude oil imports.

I just received a report from Pertamina about its agreements with nine private oil companies,

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Oil and Gas Director General Djoko Siswanto said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He failed to mention the companies and the volume of oil involved.

Pertamina spokesperson Adiatma Sardjito confirmed the deals, but said the volume of crude oil involved was not significant.

We are in process of sealing a deal with one company that involves a large volume, he told the media on Tuesday.

Adiatma did not mention what currency the payments would be in, while Djoko said it was not the government that would decide on the currency.

Adiatma said the nine companies would start supplying crude oil to Pertamina next year because Pertaminas integrated supply chain, a unit in charge of crude oil procurements, counted crude purchases per annum.

The agreements are in line with Ministerial Regulation No.42/2018 issued in September, which stipulates that Pertamina must purchase domestic crude. The regulation also requires private oil firms to offer their oil production to Pertamina. (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Aidan Jones (Agence France-Presse) Singapore  Wed, November 14, 2018 18:16 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2eba6 2 World #USA,#Myanmar,Pence,orders,Aung-San-Suu-Kyi,Rohingya,treatment,ASEAN,summit Free

The violence which drove 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh was "without excuse", US Vice President Mike Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi in stinging comments on a summit sidelines on Wednesday.

Suu Kyi has seen her reputation as a rights defender destroyed by her refusal to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless group reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Pence added to the pressure on Suu Kyi, who this week has had an Amnesty International honour revoked and faced sharp words from Malaysia's premier at a usually tame meeting of Southeast nations in Singapore.

Sitting next to Suu Kyi, Pence -- who has joined the summit for bilateral meetings -- condemned the "violence and persecution" against the Rohingya as "without excuse".

Then in a front-on challenge to Myanmar's civilian leader, Pence said he was "anxious to hear about the progress" being made to hold the perpetrators accountable.

A crackdown led by Myanmar's army last year sparked an exodus of the Muslim minority into neighbouring Bangladesh, taking with them accounts of atrocities -- rape, murder and arson of their villages.

UN investigators say the army's actions amounted to genocide.

On Thursday a long-delayed -- and heavily criticised -- plan to repatriate Rohingya was set to begin, despite dire warnings their safety will be in jeopardy if forced to return to Myanmar.

- Jailed journalists -

The Rohingya crisis has decimated Myanmar's reputation among large sections of an international community which has supported its transition from outright military rule.

Suu Kyi has no power over the army, which retains autonomy over all security matters.

But she has come under fire for not doing more to speak out against the generals' excesses.

She has also been criticised for her failure to speak up for two Reuters reporters jailed for seven years for breaching a colonial-era state secrets act after reporting on the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya men during a military crackdown last year.

The sentence prompted a storm of global outcry as an assault on freedom of speech, casting doubt on the direction and depth of Myanmar reforms.

In a stark defence of the verdict, Suu Kyi -- herself once a political prisoner held under house arrest by the former junta -- said the pair were jailed under a fair legal process.

"They were not jailed because they were journalists" but because "the court has decided that they had broken the Official Secrets Act", she said.

Suu Kyi's civilian government had the power to drop the charges.

Reuters have appealed the verdict and have been lobbying for the release of the pair who they say were set up by police and arrested to silence their reporting.

The High Court is likely to take up to five or six months to rule on the appeal, during which time the reporters will remain in Yangon's notorious Insein prison.

After numerous delays, the first significant group of Rohingya -- some 2,000 strong -- is due to return to Myanmar on November 15 as part of a repatriation deal signed with Bangladesh a year ago.

However, the UN and rights groups maintain that conditions for their "safe, dignified and sustainable" return are still not in place.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 17:34 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2c62b 1 City Bekasi,homicide,family,police,suspect Free

The police are looking for more than one suspect in an investigation of a murder of an entire family in Bekasi, West Java.

Yes, [the suspects] are more than one person, Bekasi City Police chief Sr. Comr. Indarto said on Wednesday, as reported by tempo.co.

Our team has found a clue, hopefully we can soon reveal who the suspects are, he added.

On Tuesday, a husband and wife Diperum Nainggolan, 38, and Maya Boru Ambarita, 37, as well as their two children Sarah Boru Nainggolan, 9, and Arya Nainggolan, 7, were found dead at 6.30 a.m. at their house on Jl. Bojong Nangka in Jatirahayu.

Jakarta Police and Bekasi City Police have set up a joint task force to investigate the case. Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said that the police had questioned up to 12 eyewitnesses.

Two people have been [recorded] in the investigation report [BAP], Argo said.

The bodies of the family will be buried in Samosir, North Sumatra. (ami)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 16:51 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2a562 4 Business RCEP,negotiation,failure,Enggartiasto-Lukita Free

Negotiators of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have been unable to reach an agreement on the issue of fair competition, failing to meet a deadline set during the 2017 RCEP Summit in the Philippines.

According to Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, Japan was the only country who did not agree with the specific chapter in the document.

In this phase, ministers must offer solutions and be ready to adjust their ambitions to reach an agreement for our mutual interest, Enggartisto said as reported by kontan.co.id.

The RCEP involves 10 ASEAN member countries plus China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Once it is agreed, the RCEP will cover 48 percent of the worlds population and 38 percent of the worlds gross domestic product (GDP) and 25 percent of trade.

Enggartisto added that negotiators had so far agreed on seven chapters, five of which were completed after the 2017 RCEP Summit, including deals on small and medium enterprises, customs and trade facility procedures, government procurements, institution provisions and dispute settlements.

China and India, who are known to staunchly defend their positions, agreed to be more flexible in the latest negotiation, while Japan has been insistent on putting its own national interest ahead, he said.

However, Enggartisto said he was optimistic that the negotiations, which are also closely related to the political issues of each participating country, could be settled by 2019. (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 11:03 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c1db45 1 News AirAsia,AIDS,HIV,health,#health,Airlines,travel,ASEAN Free

Low-cost carrier AirAsia is collaborating with non-profit organization (RED) to support fundraising to fight AIDS in ASEAN.

The funds raised from the collaboration, called (AirAsia)RED, are to be channeled directly to support HIV/AIDS-related programs in ASEAN, where according to UNAIDS' 2017 data 1.8 million people are HIV positive.

(RED) CEO Deborah Dugan said her organizations is excited about working with AirAsia. This partnership, (AirAsia)RED, will bring the fight against AIDS to the next level, she said in a statement.

Meanwhile AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, "This global partnership aims to give birth to new opportunities for HIV/AIDS sufferers, as well as to boost positive messages and changes in ASEAN. This is only the beginning; wait for our upcoming programs that we are currently preparing together with (RED) and 88rising."

Read also: AirAsia X named worlds cheapest airline for international flights

AirAsia has committed to set aside a portion of its revenues from the ongoing Free Seat promotions and various activities in 2019. It reportedly would donate 20 US cents, sufficient for one day of antiretroviral treatment for HIV positive patients, for every seat sold through airasia.com and the AirAsia app for a 24-hour period starting in the afternoon of Nov. 13.

Additionally, AirAsia and (RED) will collaborate with Asian music label 88rising to launch an ASEAN music and arts festival in 2019 to encourage awareness about HIV/AIDS in the region.

The collaboration was introduced at the RED LIARE (WEAREALLCHAMPIONS) launch at Sepang Aircraft Engineering (SAE), Malaysia, on Monday. Los Angeles rapper Dumbfounded, an 88rising collaborator, performed at the event. (iru/kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 17:50 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c2e0b3 1 News Nias,Gunung-Sitoli,Garuda-Indonesia,Airlines,travel,new-route Free

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is set to operate a new service from Jakarta to Nias in North Sumatra starting Thursday.

This direct flight will allow travelers to visit the regency's capital Gunung Sitoli, access Nias' world-famous surfing spots and lompat batu (stone jumping) tourist attraction.

Using the CRJ Bombardier 1000 Next-Gen that can accommodate 96 passengers, the route will operate three times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Marking the launch of the new route, a cooperation agreement was signed on Wednesday between the carrier and the Nias Island administration.

Read also: Nias to lure tourists with cultural festival, surfing competition

"This service is part of our effort to strengthen connectivity that is also part of Garuda Indonesia's support for the development of the economy and tourism in Nias Island," said Garuda Indonesia commercial director Pikri Ilham Kurniansyah in a statement.

The flight from Jakarta will depart at 7:35 a.m. local time and arrive at Nias' Binaka Gunung Sitoli Airport at 9:55 a.m. Meanwhile, the return trip will include transit in Padang, leaving Nias at 10:50 a.m., arriving in Padang at 12 p.m., and depart for Jakarta at 12:50 p.m. and arrive at the capital's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 3 p.m. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, November 14, 2018 12:42 1104 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877c20ce3 4 News Zanzibar,tourism,travel,Indonesia Free

Zanzibar, where the late legendary rock star Freddie Mercury of Queen was born, is aiming to attract Indonesian tourists to the semi-autonomous archipelago off the coast of Tanzania.

According to kompas.com, only a small number of Indonesians have visited Zanzibar, despite the many similarities between the two countries and its peoples.

"Zanzibar and Indonesia have enjoyed relations for 400 to 500 years. Cloves in Zanzibar came from Indonesia. In the past, Indonesians traded spices with Zanzibar by sailing during the Musson wind," said Zanzibar Information, Tourism and History Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo during the Zanzibar Tourism Show in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Mahmoud said that one similarity was that Zanzibar's population was also predominantly Muslim and it would therefore be easy for Indonesian Muslims to enjoy halal tourism there.

Business meetings were held between officials of the Zanzibar Tourism Ministry and Indonesian tourism players to introduce Zanzibar's tour packages. A plan to introduce direct flights from Indonesia to the state are among the efforts conducted by Zanzibar to lure Indonesian tourists.

"About 2 million Indonesians travel abroad. If we can attract just 1 percent of them, which is 20,000, it would be very good," said Mahmoud, adding that fewer Asians visited the archipelago than people from other regions.

Read also: Ministry optimistic about meeting 17 million foreign tourists target

Chinese tourists account for the largest number of Asian tourists to Zanzibar with 7,000 visitors per year, followed by India with 6,000 visitors.

According to the latest data, only 60 to 65 Indonesians have visited Zanzibar this year.

Known as a spice producer, Zanzibar boasts many destinations, including history, cultural, marine and adventure destinations as well as annual festivals.

Visas on arrival are available for Indonesians to enter Zanzibar. (kes)
More vendors announced for the Market Line, the underground food, retail and art complex coming to Essex Crossing next year.

Yudai Kanayama and Keisuke Kasagi will be opening a sake bar called Gouie New York when the first phase of the Market Line debuts at 115 Delancey St. Theyre the team behind Davelle, the Japanese cafe on Suffolk Street; Izakaya in the East Village; and Samurice in the Canal Street Market. According to a press release, the restaurant will include a chefs table serving Japanese-American and Japanese-European style small plates. There will be a line of sake specifically created for the Market Line.

We would like to establish a place in between a restaurant and a bar, Kanayama and Kasagi explained, where people can eat after dinner, but before going home. In Japan, there are many places where you can have a couple drinks paired with small delicious dishes. Here, we do not have many places where we can do that. They say the new spot will be, a sake bar with small but serious eats.

The Market Line also announced an agreement with Kevin Liang of the Brooklyn-based wholesaler Southeast Asian Market to open a Lower East Side retail outpost. S.E.A. Market will be a grocery store specializing in imported Southeast Asian products. Liang said, This is like going back to my roots. Not only did I grow up in the neighborhood, my parents owned a grocery store here where I worked starting at age 7 by packing shelves, tagging, etc. The business has grown and changed a lot since then and being able to come full circle is both exciting and nostalgic.

The Market Line previously announced its first 15 vendors, including Cafe Grumpy, Ends Meat, Essex Pearl, Kuro-Obi by Ippudo, Nom Wah, Pilot Kombucha, Schaller & Weber, Tortilleria Nixtamal, Veselka, The Pickle Guys, Doughnut Plant, Castania Nut Boutique, Substance Vitality Bar, Moon Man, Pho Grand, Rustic Table Shuk, the Tenement Museum, and Ample Hills.

The shopping pavilion will stretch for three blocks between Essex Street and Clinton Street. The first phase of the project, located beneath the new Essex Street Market will debut no earlier than the spring of next year. The Essex Market was supposed to be open in its new space already, but as we reported a few weeks ago, its been delayed due to construction complications.

The Market Line is a centerpiece of Essex Crossing, the large residential and commercial project in the former Seward Park Urban Renewal Area.
Standing outside Jermyn Street Theatre, actor, Charles Aitken is approached by an older gentleman with a bike. The older man, Adam, looks both happy and emotional as he tells the actor playing Billy Bishop of his grandfathers adventures as a pilot in WW1. He was my best friend and I just want to ask.. Can I give you a hug?. The two men embrace and part, the young actor standing outside the theatre, the audience member jumping back on his bike and riding out in the streets of London. Jimmy Walters version of Billy Bishop Goes To War does something as rare building a bridge between generations, and that is just one of the things making this production a must-see. When John Maclachlan Gray, in collaboration with the original actor, Eric Peterson, created Billy Bishop Goes To War, the show was a two-man show, with Peterson playing the role of Billy multi-rolling as all other characters, and Gray accompanying on piano and supporting during the songs. Director Jimmy Walters has reformed the original idea by creating a version where Billy Bishops story is told by two men, making the role of the Piano Player much more central than it was first intended.As the musical opens on Daisy Blowers realistic set design of a memory filled living room, an older Billy Bishop (Oliver Beamish) is walking around mumbling to himself. As he touches objects you see memories spark in his eyes, and he sits down at the piano and starts singing and telling the story. Soon the door opens and the young Billy Bishop, played by Charles Aitken, enters bringing to life the youth in the story. The narrational shifts between the two characters are so slick that the idea of them being the same person isnt questioned for a moment. The Piano Player has become the Billy Bishop of the present and, as the story continues, the two Billys deliver with verve and vigour, sharing the supporting characters, singing the songs beautifully and telling the story extremely effectively. Both actors transition in and out of the characters fluently and the relationship between the two is amazing. They are so in tune with each other that there isnt even the smallest hint of a slipup, even when they share lines or have quick changes in character. What really has to be highlighted is the amazing performance of Aitken. He manages to be theatrical but still so real that you feel every moment of Billys journey. What is truly captivating about Aitkens is how youre never in doubt that this is Billy telling the story. It doesnt feel like an actor portraying other characters, but Billy finding his way in telling his life story, with whatever devices needed to make an impact. There is no doubt that this is a portrait of an amazing man and storyteller (however much is truth or fiction) and, with this pair of actors telling the story, the audience is crying one moment and laughing the next. This is a story of an older man looking back at his younger self, reminiscing about the life he has led and making peace with it. Aitken's passionate portrait of the young, charming Billy becoming a man through the terror and fear of war is something that every theatre lover should go to see.Billy Bishop Goes to War is at Jermyn Street Theatre until November 24th. For more information and tickets click here.
Time magazine described it as a tour fit for a rock star. This is not how book promotional outings are usually billed  but then this is no ordinary tome. The memoirs of Michelle Obama comprise one half of a US$65m joint publishing deal for the former first couples autobiographies.

Shutterstock Michelle Obama: on the campaign trail.

One measure of predicted global interest is that Michelle Obamas book, Becoming , will be translated into 28 languages. The month-long tour plan is bold, taking in ten major arenas, with an all-star line-up of moderators including Oprah Winfrey, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, businesswoman Valerie Jarrett, actress Sarah Jessica Parker and more. One is left in absolutely no doubt that the legacy of this First Lady stands robustly alongside that of her husband. Very few of her predecessors can make this claim.

Before Barack Obama entered public life, Michelle was his mentor. When he was elected to the Senate, she earned more than him . Many said that she was smarter than him, and he was very smart indeed.

The American Dream

Michelle Obama is a potent symbol of what is good about America. She reminds us that an African American girl from the poorer end of town has the potential to do and be anything. And not to simply become First Lady, which was a role forced upon her. By determination and hard work, she got to Harvard and Princeton and carved out a highly successful career in her own right.

When obliged to embrace the role of presidential wife, her reluctance was palpable in those early days. Such caution was well founded. Her dynamism and ability were on display throughout the 2008 election, and she campaigned energetically for her husband. But even prior to his victory, she got a taste of the vitriol that would come later. In one unguarded moment, for example, she said during the presidential primaries in 2008

For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.

Her comments were made in relation to high voter turnout in the primaries but her opponents were not concerned with the context. Immediately, she was chastised and the criticism from some quarters continued unabated.

The Angry Black Woman

Traditionally, the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) has been presented as an appendage of the president, whose priority was spousal loyalty, whatever the challenges involved. She spent her time entertaining, engaging in charitable endeavours, and attempting to provide some sort of normality to children being raised in a profoundly abnormal environment.

Adichie talked of Michelle Obama having to flatten herself to better fit the mould of First Lady. She reminds us that because Michelle Obama did not smile constantly and vacuously, but only when she felt like it, she was given that cheapest of derogatory labels  the Angry Black Woman. Adichie added

Women, in general, are not permitted anger  but from black American women, there is an added expectation of interminable gratitude, the closer to groveling the better, as though their citizenship is a phenomenon that they cannot take for granted.

In Michelle Obama, the nation suddenly was faced with this stunning, independent entity  and not everyone was pleased. Others, however, were thrilled as they watched her blow the doors off what was previously the suffocating confines of the First Ladys office.

FLOTUS and Feminism

Prior to Michelle Obama, the First Lady story was too often one of wonderful, capable, intelligent women being shoe-horned into a claustrophobic position with no formal office, portfolio, title or, of course, salary. They simply had to button their lips and smile. But Michelle Obama revolutionised the role of the First Lady and, as a result, its as though feminism has finally been recognised as a part of what the FLOTUS could be.

We must also now recognise the meaningful impact that a First Lady can have in getting legislation passed, and implementing significant policy change. However humble Michelle Obamas family origins on the South Side of Chicago were, she has a platform like few others, and she uses her voice to promote a positive message on a range of key issues, including her FLOTUS project on child health and nutrition. Indeed, she reveals in the book how she offered her successor, Melania Trump, help or advice  a gesture so far ignored by Mrs Trump

In her final year as First Lady, one Gallup poll reported a 64% approval rating for her (noticeably higher than that of her husband). In her post-White House role, Michelle Obamas approval ratings have remained strong and even increased since she left the White House . When compared to her deeply uncontroversial predecessors, such as Laura or Barbara Bush, however, her poll numbers were relatively low. Its clear that anyone who pushes boundaries and breaks down barriers isnt not going to please everyone. Hillary Clinton learned this lesson the hardest of ways, when she lost the presidency to Donald Trump.

But Michelle Obama is extraordinarily relatable, down to earth, too. Its refreshing to see in her memoir, for example, an acknowledgement that when their marriage needed it, the Obamas sought professional help.

Michelle has continuously demonstrated the capacity to lead by example, to balance conflicting roles, to raise two strong and capable daughters, and to clearly still be in a loving marriage, despite the strain that comes with eight years of scrutiny and criticism. In the words of her husband

The way in which she blended purpose and policy with fun so that she was able to reach beyond Washington on her health care initiatives, on her military family work was masterful.

She remains an inspiration for future First Ladies, and women and girls everywhere.
Verdict: darkly funny British comedy is a pleasant surprise

Dead in a Week is certainly an unusual premise: after failing to commit suicide seven times, 10 if you count cries for help, William (Aneurin Barnard) enlists the help of aging assassin Leslie (Tom Wilkinson) to do it for him. Complications arise when William begins to doubt whether he actually wants to die, and Leslie is adamant to fulfill his contract within the week no matter what. This bizarre summary doesnt sound like it could successfully make an entire 90-minute movie, and yet, surprisingly, it does.

As you would expect, the film is full of dark, dry humour: from Williams failed suicide attempts, to choosing the way he wants to die, to casually accepting his fate. Despite this, it never borders on being offensive. If youve suffered from depression, you will probably sympathise with William and often find yourself thinking I really shouldnt be laughing at this, but I am. After William, a failed writer, has signed his death contract, he gets offered a meeting with a publisher; everyone can probably relate to this kind of irony, if not to such an extreme extent.

As well as William, the film also follows the life of Leslie, who has to fill one final quota in order to keep his job or else face retirement. His home life is relatively normal, and the juxtaposition of Leslies family life to his job as a hitman is amusing to say the least. While his wife is worrying about winning an embroidery competition, Leslie is considering the best way to kill someone.

Leslies boss, Harvey, is played by Christopher Eccleston, who is almost unrecognisable to those of us who know him from his days in Doctor Who. He nails the gangster-like voice so well that I began questioning if I was actually watching the same actor. The confrontation scenes between him and Leslie have the look of a crime thriller but the dialogue of a comedy, making for an interesting dynamic.

Theres also a hint of romance when Ellie, interested in turning Williams work into a book, comes into his life. Again, this couldve gone terribly wrong - not wanting to die anymore because youve fallen in love? So cliche. Yet this isnt the focus of the movie, and it doesnt become overwhelmingly romantic.

Perhaps some people may think the subject matter inappropriate; maybe you have to have suffered from depression to be able to appreciate the irony and humour. The film could have easily gone into cheesy or cringe-worthy territory, but it manages to avoid that and still keep an overall suitably serious tone.

With good performances all round, the film nails the approach it was aiming for: sombre, but still humorous, with a nice amount of action too. Overall, a very British comedy that was a pleasant surprise.

Dead in a Week (Or Your Money Back) is in cinemas on November 16th.
Steve Bannon // Credit: Gage Skidmore on Flickr

The event, as advertised, will consist of Bannons opening remarks, followed by questions from the [OU] President before opening the floor to the audience. The decision to announce last-minute, and with the strict attendance limit of members only, may have been influenced by the widespread condemnation of the Oxford Union caused by the announcement of Alice Weidel (leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)) as a guest earlier this month. Liberation groups had planned protests if the event went ahead. Her OU billing for the 7th of November was eventually cancelled, after Weidel cancelled her trip to the UK citing concerns with the security arrangements for aspects of her travels and engagements.There has also been an almost immediate backlash to the Bannon OU event, with protests already being organised by various groups., shared by Unite Against Fascism, already has over 100 going and 300 interested on Facebook. At midday today Oxford Stand Up To Racism posted a joint press-release to the Facebook event page. In it, Ian Mckendrick from Oxford Stand Up To Racism accused the OU of legitimising and normalising far-right, racist views by giving Bannon a platform which can only give confidence to racists and the far right to mobilise here. Meanwhile Tracy Walsh, treasurer of Oxford Unite Against Fascism, claims We cannot allow the far-right to help fascism become part of mainstream politics again. Mckendrick hopes the protests will send a clear message: racists are not welcome here. A similar protest has been organised by the, attracting similar numbers online. AFN told The National Student: "Inviting Steve Bannon is not some neutral act of "free speech". Bannon is the spearhead of a global white supremacist movement that has encouraged (and carried out) attacks on Queer people, PoC and leftists across Europe and the US. He belongs to the same ideological tradition as the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooter, and in inviting him, the OU has made itself complicit in this movement." According to Oxford student paper Cherwell, Nick Brown, OUs secretary, has already called an emergency Standing Committee meeting to vote on cancelling the event.
Learning about love

and

Making space for minorities

criticise

move,

marginalised

For

white,

The rationale for this move is clear. A study for the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign found that 90% of those who identify as LGBTI experience bullying in school, while 27% reported that they had subsequently attempted suicide. The Scottish government should be applauded for proactively looking to address this issue, by recognising the LGBTI community as a normal part of society.The question now is whether the Department for Education should consider similar steps in England. Little is actually known about the experiences of those who identify as LGBTI in schools in England, as the studies that have been done tend to focus on countries other than the UK . But it is clear that the school curriculum does ignore this part of society.As part of some initial research into the experiences of students who identify as LGBTI, I have been working with a group of young people in a secondary school in Berkshire, to support them to develop projects about issues in school that concern them. Many projects by the students actually focus on the absence of LGBTI issues in the school curriculum. Nowhere in the curriculum is there any reference to experiences, actions, feelings, thoughtsissues relating to the lives of those who identify as LGBTI. Subjects such as English and history, which are largely about the human experience, seem to be devoid of reference to LGBTI people. Other areas of the curriculum, such as Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), and Citizenship  which address issues affecting individuals and society today  are also noteworthy for the general absence of LGBTI issues.For example, PSHE is the usual place in the curriculum where sex education is taught. But as the students in the group I have worked with explained, the sex education they receive purely covers heterosexual relations  nowhere do they learn about loving and sexual relations from an LGBTI perspective. Government and other surveys estimate that the UKs LGBTI population is around 2% to 6% of the entire population, which is a significant minority who are excluded from the curriculum. Clearly, if diversity is valued in society, it also ought to be valued in schools  and this should be reflected in what is taught.Some maythisand argue that events such as LGBTI history month are enough to raise the profile of this group. But these events do little to acknowledge that for the rest of the year, the curriculum approaches its subject matter from a heterosexual perspective. By creating a place for LGBTI issues in the curriculum, it is more likely that they will come to be considered normal, and accepted within society. This approach should also be adopted more broadly to include other minority groups, who are similarlyin the school curriculum. The fact is, the curriculum adopts the default perspective of a society which is white and heterosexual. Several studies have highlighted the problems this can cause for other minority groups.example, a recent study of an English secondary school highlighted the small, everyday acts of racism experienced by students of African and Caribbean descent, especially during black history month. Even in the classroom, language was used (often unwittingly) that created a binary between black andor implied that white society was superior. Likewise, Muslims have contributed positively to British society over the centuries, yet research has found that this is seldom mentioned in the teaching of history. Rebalancing the curriculum is not a matter of political correctness. It is simply acknowledging that society is, and has always been, diverse. Richard Harris , Associate Professor in Education, University of Reading This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article
OSLO, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Norwegian navy frigate that had collided with an oil tanker last week off Norway's western coast sank almost completely under water on Tuesday, public broadcaster NRK reported.

After the collision of the KNM Helge Ingstad frigate and the Malta-registered Greek Aframax tanker Sola TS on Nov. 8 outside the Sture Terminal, an oil terminal 50 km northwest of Bergen, Norway, the Norwegian Navy has been working on securing the frigate with wire ropes.

Early Tuesday morning, however, all the wire ropes holding the frigate to the land broke and now there were only radar tower and parts of the fence above the water, NRK wrote.

"It is unbelievably sad. First and foremost, we are pleased that the crew is well. Losing a vessel is unbelievably sad. There are great values and an important military capacity," said Norwegian Chief of the Navy Nils Andreas Stensones.

Stensones confirmed that the goal was to save the vessel, but that the extent of the damages was till unknown.

He also said that the Norwegian Navy, in accordance with the Accident Investigation Board, decided to conduct an internal investigation of the accident.

The frigate took a lot of water as the collision led to a large hole in its side. Eight people on board the navy ship suffered minor injuries while the tanker sustained only slight damage.


Multi-type attack helicopters attached to an army aviation brigade with the PLA Xinjiang Military Command (MC) lift off for a coordinated flight training exercise in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on January 24, 2018. Photo: courtesy of Wu Shike

A Chinese army aviation brigade stationed in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has upgraded its training in high-altitude and in adverse weather, a move that experts say will facilitate counter-terrorism and border patrol missions under extreme conditions.

The brigade conducts 44 percent of its training at night. High-altitude and tactics training increased by 40 percent compared to last year, the Xinjiang Daily reported on Sunday.

Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military analyst, told the Global Times on Monday that frequent exercises in an area with extreme weather and a complicated geographic environment prepare the military unit for different combat situations at any time.

The biggest challenge for aviation units in Xinjiang is low visibility caused by sandstorms and contrasts in temperature between night and day, Wei said.

"The training guarantees the aircraft are well maintained and soldiers are ready for combat," he noted.

In addition to training under extreme weather conditions, the army aviation unit also improved takeoffs and landings in varying terrain, like hillside slopes and narrow spaces. The stability of flights in valleys also improved, the newspaper reported.

The report said the 12-hour flight exercises have become a new norm, which Wei said "enhances the unit's ability to transfer soldiers at far distances within a short time span."

The aviation forces will quickly deploy soldiers, and will therefore be "efficient in strikes against terrorist activities," Wei said.

The region's long border and complicated topography means effective aviation forces are necessary in routine missions like border patrols, he noted.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

A few clouds. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 6C. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low -4C. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.


China and the US could aviod Thucydides' Trap, said Chinese experts. Photo: VCG

On the 100th anniversary of the World War I (WWI) Armistice, some voices in the West are hyping a China-US war, and implying that China is "a threat to world peace." However Chinese experts said that China is a key power to safeguard world peace rather than "another German Empire before WWI."

A century after WWI, the Western world should wake up from the dream of hegemony, Chinese analysts said on Monday.

Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon professor of government at the Harvard Kennedy School, said in his article, "The next great war," that China and the US are unlikely to avoid the Thucydides' Trap. Unless China "fails in [its] aim to 'make China great again,' China will continue to challenge, and in many arenas, displace the United States from its accustomed position at the top of the global pecking order."

The article was published on the Washington Post Friday.

Thucydides' Trap is a phrase coined by Allison who postulates that "when one great power threatens to displace another, war is almost always the result," according to Allison's article published on Foreign Policy on June 9, 2017.

"Thucydides' Trap is only Allison's personal conclusion based on the Western world's experience, not necessarily suited to the Eastern world," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, told the Global Times.

Li noted that they could only partly reflect China-US relations when US scholars use "Thucydides' Trap" to explain the bilateral ties.

The US considers China a strategic competitor, but this doesn't necessarily mean that they will become enemies preparing to fight with each other, he said.

Li Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday that such a theory is only another form of the wheezy "China threat theory".

Allison said in his article that China and the US are facing a similar situation that Athens and Sparta or Great Britain and the German Empire had faced in the past. "The past 500 years have seen 16 cases in which a rising power threatened to displace a ruling one. Twelve of these ended in war."

However, Li Haidong opposed such comparison, saying that European hegemonic powers at that time were struggling for territories, resources and colonies, but today's international community are cooperating and working together with each other for a common development.

"The old world is divided, but now, due to globalization, the members of the international community are closely connected to each other," Li Haidong told the Global Times on Monday.

Li Daguang also said that the current international community stresses multilateral "checks and balances" and is no longer a world where a hegemonic power can act without constrains.

It was the leaders of the German Empire who misjudged their country's situation, so much so that they made a wrong strategic decision that brought wars between Germany and other major European countries, Li Haidong noted. "On the contrary, China upholds globalization, free trade and multilateralism, highlights mutual trust in dealing with the rest of the world, including the US."

Li Haidong noted that WWI was caused by many accidents. But as China and the US move to establish an accident prevention mechanism with many communication channels to manage and control crises and frictions from escalating, the possibility of a war between the two is low.

A key power for peace

Since the late 1980s, China has never used war to solve problems in Asia, although the region has many unsolved "powder kegs" that would potentially cause wars, such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, China-Japan disputes in the East China Sea, the Taiwan question, the South China Sea issues and China-India border issue.

"All of these issues involve China's national security or sovereignty, and China has the most powerful military force in this region, but it still insists on using political and peaceful measures to deal with these issues. This is enough to prove China's determination to safeguard peace and regional stability, because a peaceful environment in the region is essential for everyone," said a military expert at a Beijing-based PLA academy. He asked anonymity.

Unfortunately, unlike Asia, other regions like Europe, the Middle East and Africa are suffering from regional conflicts, and many of them are directly related to the US, he told the Global Times.

He said China has never sent naval vessels to provoke the US in its territorial waters, but the US is strengthening its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and makes many dangerous moves that threaten China.

"So if the US and China could not avoid the Thucydides' Trap someday, it would not be China's fault. The US is the one that should be blamed."
Acclaimed playwright Oren Safdie may call Los Angeles home, but he will forever consider himself a Montrealer. For his latest play, Gratitude, having the world premiere anywhere but here was never an option. Safdie describes Gratitude, which will run from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 at the Mainline Theatre, as capturing sexual awakening with all its passions and insecurities to devastating effect. It is a provocative story exploring the realities around sex, love, consent, duty, gender roles and rebellion.

The storyline revolves around 15-year-old Dariya, who attends an exclusive Montreal private high school where she becomes infatuated with a handsome looking and popular male student named Drew. Safdie brings two other males into the picture and all four grapple with their newfound urges while discovering the power their bodies have on others. The elements of first love, peer pressure, sexual identity and cultural discrepancies are woven into the script as well.

While the show is recommended for those aged 16 and older, Safdie insists that everything is done tastefully. Everything is suggestive, he said. There is no nudity.

That being said, Safdie said he might not be able to sell the play for senior high school students to see.

I expect a good response from the CEGEP and university crowed, he noted. For parents of teens this is highly recommended.

Safdie bases a lot of the scenarios back to his days in a private Montreal high school in the 1970s and 80s. Local playwright and actress Michaela Di Cesare, who in fact is much older than 15, portrays Dariya. This play is a crucial examination of what happens to young women when autonomy and choice are taken away from them, she is quoted as saying.

Patrick Keeler plays Drew while Laurent Pitre and Patrick Emmanuel Abellard portray Josh and Ben respectively.

Safdie attended the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University. It looked like he would follow in the footsteps of his famous father Moshe, who designed Habitat 67 in Montreal, Yad Vashem in Israel and many other international projects. Instead he turned to playwriting and received his Masters in Fine Arts, also from Columbia.

Gratitude runs at MainLine Theatre (3997 St. Laurent Blvd.) Wed. through Sun. Nov. 21 to Dec. 2. For more information call 514-849-FEST (3378) or log on to mainlinetheatre.ca/en/spectacles/gratitude


A model of a passenger jet made by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China attracts visitors at a technology exhibition in the China Science and Technology City in Mianyang, Sichuan province.Pu Tao / For China Daily

Mianyang's reputation as a leader in science and technology has grown in recent years, but the city's involvement in the sector actually stretches back decades.

The city is home to many key research institutes and enterprises with national defense contracts, such as the China Academy of Engineering Physics, which developed the country's first nuclear bomb.

Several have successfully adapted military technology for commercial markets.

Many of the city's research institutes and enterprises were set up during the Third Front Movement, a major industrial program launched in 13 inland provinces and autonomous regions in 1964.

In the face of soured Sino-Soviet relations and threats from the United States, which had been staging military exercises in the Taiwan Straits, the movement involved large-scale investment in national defense, technology, manufacturing and transportation in China's interior.

Thanks to the development during the Third Front Movement, Mianyang was ideally placed to lead the charge in the integration of civil and military industries when the country launched reform and opening-up in the late 1970s.

Sichuan Jiuzhou Electric Group, established in 1958, developed China's secondary surveillance radar system, a tool for detecting and measuring the position of aircraft. Now it makes a variety of commercial products, such as broadband network devices and digital television equipment.

Shanghai-listed tech company Sichuan Changhong Electronic Co, also set up in Mingyang in 1958, is another example of the integration.

In 1982, top leader Deng Xiaoping called on the national defense industry to allow military enterprises to make products for civilian use. Soon after, Changhong, which made firing control radar for planes, started to research, develop and produce TV sets.

Today, Changhong is one of the country's best-known home appliance makers, with a brand value of nearly 121 billion yuan ($17 billion), according to World Brand Lab, an independent consultancy based in New York.

Zhu Jiade, deputy secretary-general of the Sichuan government, said the company has contributed to Mianyang's position as one of China's major centers for electronics and the electronic information industry.


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.
Bridging Gaps in local history Throughout Burke County a number of bridges and roads stand as monuments, honoring the legacies of those who played a significant role in the countys history. Many local citizens and visitors to the county pass over those bridges and highways every day without knowing the significance of those being honored....

Gearing up for the holidays Waynesboro is kicking off the holidays this Sunday with one of the communitys favorite shopping days  Downtown Open House, and other events will follow as the Christmas season draws near. The Annual Downtown Open House, which is sponsored by the Waynesboro Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the Burke County...

Shadrack rumored to get liquor store The Waynesboro City Council voted to appoint Rob White to the Historic Preservation Commission Monday. The HPC has five voting commissioners and two ex officio commissioners who do not vote. Ex officio members are not required to live in the county and as long as they have something to contribute,...

Sardis Breast Cancer Walk A crowd of people participated in The Reduce Your Risk Breast Cancer Walk November 13 at 9 a.m. at the SGA Elementary School, Sardis. We're sorry! This content is only available to online subscribers. Please login below or Subscribe today! Username Password Remember Me Forgot Password
ZHEJIANG, Nov. 14 (ChinaMil) -- A villager, surnamed Yang, in Yaodong Village of Xiaguan Town of Cangnan County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China, received a special reward for reporting information about a suspicious submersible vessel, according to reports on the website of Wenzhou Daily on Tuesday.

The official in charge of the National Security Bureau in Wenzhou City made a special trip to Xiaguan Town on Monday to commend Yang, who made positive contributions to national security.

In mid-September this year, Yang noticed an unknown machine looked like an underwater detector suspiciously placed on the beach in Beiguan Island, Xiaguan Town, and he reported it to the relevant authority immediately.

The national security bureau attached great importance to the information, carried out verification without delay and retrieved the original submersible detector for a technical test.

According to the preliminary investigation, the machine is a submersible detector developed by a Canadian company. Its detection depth can reach between 300 to 600 meters underwater. Equipped with high-resolution cameras, the machine can be used for underwater target detection tasks such as search, investigation and identification.

Chinas current counter intelligence situation is grim and complicated. The equipment for stealing Chinas marine and hydrological environment is constantly evolving and never ending. Such equipment can collect various important marine environmental data as well as to detect and obtain the movements of the Chinese Navy for close-range reconnaissance and intelligence gathering tasks.

The Chinese national security bureau reminds every Chinese citizen that safeguarding national security is everyones obligation. If a citizen discovers any suspicious object and monitoring equipment, he/she must report it immediately to the national security authority and hand it over without any disassembly. Reward is offered to anyone who could provide valuable information to counterespionage.
MBABANE - The voting process for Africas best beauty queen is in favour of Eswatini.



Top Model Eswatini model Pamela Lukhele and now Miss Africa Continent finalist, has literally placed Eswatini on the map by being number one on the voting process.



Lukhele is leading with 780 votes and she is followed by Miss Africa Continent Burkina Faso with 577. The top five is also composed of Ghana with 269 votes, Botswana with 117 votes and Tanzania with 66 votes.



The Eswatini beauty was revealed almost two weeks ago among other African beauties who are to battle it out for the ultimate crown.

Lukhele showed her diversity by branching from walking the ramp as a model to accepting the challenge of being a beauty queen, which is slightly different from the latter.



Miss Africa Continent is an annual African event. Its objective is to advocate for plights facing Africa, such as poverty and xenophobic mentality to unify Africa.



Joined



In a brief interview with this publication, Lukhele said she joined the pageant to be part of the move in changing the African continent and she was happy that the whole of Africa was noticing her and her abilities, as shown by the number of votes.

The number of votes encourage me into thinking that attaining the crown might not be impossible after all. I urge emaSwati to support me and continue casting their votes said Lukhele. Top Models Eswatini Director Mbali Manana, said she was over the moon. I did not believe it when I learnt that she was taking the lead as the votes multiplied after she sat at positon three, and this means something about her and Eswatini as a whole.

I kindly urge emaSwati to continue voting for her as this is not just for her but the nation at large, she said.

Miss Africa Continent is slated for 2019.
MBABANE - Despite that today is their chance to charm legislators to vote for them, the 20 aspiring women Members of Parliament (MPs) have no clue about the whole process.



This transpired yesterday when some of them were called to determine if they had been given guidelines on how todays campaign process would be conducted.



While it is believed that the aspiring legislators would each be given a few minutes to make presentations and convince MPs that they deserved the four available seats in Parliament, some of them said they did not know if what they had planned would work.



They confirmed that they were of the idea that they would be given a chance to address the MPs but did not know if there would be a stipulated topic.

One of the hopefuls stated that she felt it was a bit unfair that they had not been given guidelines on how to prepare themselves for the session.



Unfair



It would be unfair because you may find that what I have prepared is not exactly what the MPs who are expected to vote for me are looking for, she said.

Another aspiring woman MP said she was prepared for anything despite that they had not been given the guidelines.

It is a wait and see situation, sesitawubona khona (we will see), she said.



According to the Election of Women Members of the House of Assembly Act No.9, 2018, a nominated candidate has the right to canvas for votes from the members of the House at anytime after nominations.

The Act further stipulates that for purposes of canvassing for votes, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) may, in consultation with the returning officer, allow the nominated candidates to address the members of the House prior to the polling day. However, the new Act does not specify what exactly the 20 women are expected to do in order to win the hearts of the over 50 legislators. Instead, it provides that the commission should publish the list of nominated candidates in at least two local newspapers and in the electronic media for at least three consecutive days something which has already been done.



It should be noted that the recent national elections which took place in the country were in accordance with the Elections Act, 2013 where the part of canvassing for votes only applies in the secondary elections.



Voting



Another aspect to note is that unlike in the main national elections where the people are responsible for the voting, this time it is the MPs. The Elections Act provides that candidates contesting at secondary elections have the right to conduct campaigns freely.



A candidate may, during an electoral campaign, publish campaign materials of such a nature and in a manner that may be approved by the commission. The commission shall prescribe a code of conduct to be complied with by all candidates during an election campaign, reads part of the Act.



Information gathered was that before the campaign session, the MPs will first have a caucus where they will discuss and agree on how the process would be conducted. After the caucus, which would also be guided by the EBC, the MPs would then call the aspiring MPs one by one to the Parliament canteen where they would be expected to make presentations. Efforts to get a comment from Clerk to Parliament, Ndvuna Dlamini, were not successful as his phone rang unanswered.



This reporter wanted the clerk to specify what exactly was expected from the aspiring legislators when they campaign today. According to an impeccable source, the aspiring legislators would each be allowed to present on the countrys economic recovery for between five and 10 minutes. The election of the four women is undoubtedly the biggest step towards fulfilling Section 95 and 86 of the Constitution of Eswatini of electing four women into the House, if the female representation was under 30 per cent of those elected after a general election.



Forming part of the 20 hopefuls are former legislators who include Hlobisile Ndlovu, Trusty Gina and Jennifer Du Pont. After the campaign process today, MPs will be expected to vote for the four women who would join the House of Assembly.

If the provisions of the Election of Women Members of the House of Assembly Act No.9, 2018 are anything to go by, the voting will take place next week.

The polling day for election of women shall in the case of an election, a day appointed for the taking of the poll which shall be 10 days from the date of the last publication of the list of nominated candidates, the Act provides.





...
The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States have relaunched the Marine Corps joint exercises this month. The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK)s official media published an article on November 12, accusing the exercises of being openly targeted at the DPRK, which is against the spirit of the military agreement signed by the DPRK and the ROK in September and the trend of peaceful dialogue on the Korean Peninsula issue.

This is the first time that ROK and the US have resumed their Marine Corps joint exercises since their suspension of relevant military exercises in June.

Analysts believe that the ROK and the US intend to use these drills to pressure the DPRK into taking more practical actions in negotiations on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, judging from official reactions, the DPRK dont see similar military actions as conducive to the continued peaceful development in the resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue.

The DPRK condemned the joint exercises as being incommensurate with the current situation

Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper that is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of the DPRK, published an article on November12 condemning the ROK and the US for restarting the Marine Corps joint exercises. The article said that both the DPRK and the ROK should pour more efforts to maintain trust and achieve permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula than ever before, and that the resumption of joint exercises by the ROK and the US marines are not commensurate with the above requirements and the current situation.

The article pointed out that, in current time, it is imperative to completely abide by and conscientiously implement the Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain signed by the ROK and the DPRK in Pyongyang on September 19 and to actively take measures to turn the Korean Peninsula into a lasting peace zone. The ROK and US Marine Corps joint exercises run counter to the promises made in the agreement. The DPRK and the ROK should ensure that the peninsula situation progresses in the direction of dialogue and peace. Military actions against each other should not be taken, while rational actions that are conducive to easing tensions should be taken.

As denuclearization is lagging, the ROK and the US have taken a tough posture

Wang Junsheng, an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (NISS CASS), believes that from a military perspective, voices in both countries calling to resume joint exercises to deal with emergencies on the Korean Peninsula have always been strong in the context of the close military alliance between the ROK and the US. From the perspective of political diplomacy, voices in the ROK and the US that call on both governments to take a tough stance are gradually increasing in view of the recent lagging process of solving problems related to the denuclearization of the peninsula.

Since the beginning of this year, the DPRK-US relationship has made a historic breakthrough. The leaders of the two countries met in Singapore in June to establish a new relationship that will contribute to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. Despite this, there are always obvious differences between the two countries in the path to be taken to realize the denuclearization of the peninsula.

Wang said that in the context of the lack of mutual trust between the DPRK and the US and the gradual stalemate in the process of denuclearization of the peninsula, both conservatives and hawk forces in the ROK and the US demand that both governments resume joint military exercises to pressure the DPRK into taking more practical actions in the coming denuclearization negotiations.

However, under the active mediation of various countries in the region, the ROK and the US still tend to suspend large-scale joint military exercises in the near future, with a view to gradually solving the peninsula nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means.

Dialogue, not military action, can resolve concerns

Boththe ROK and the US believe that the restart of the Marine Corps joint exercises are an annual routine military exercise to maintain a coordinated defense posture within the scope of the ROK-US military alliance, which are only defensive, small-scale military exercises, and will not pose any security threat to the DPRK.

However, seeing from the recent tough stance of the DPRK, we can be certain that against the backdrop of the ever-easing situation on the Korean Peninsula and the stalemate in the DPRK-US denuclearization negotiations any military actions of this kind will have a negative impact on the peace and stability of the peninsula and deepen the destabilizing factors in the peninsula security, both of which are unfavorable for the peninsula situation moving forward in the direction of dialogue and peace.

The DPRK nuclear issue is complex and sensitive. The establishment of a new DPRK-US relationship, the building of a lasting and stable peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, and the early realization of the peninsula denuclearization, require all parties concerned to resolutely work together in the same direction.

Since the beginning of this year, the ever-easing situation in the peninsula has been a hard-won gain. Parties concerned should adhere to the direction of political settlement, continue to enhance mutual trust between the DPRK and the US, implement existing consensuses and solve their respective reasonable concerns through various levels of dialogue, including leaders meetings, and jointly push the processes of Korean Peninsula denuclearization and political settlement of the peninsula nuclear issue to make constant progress.

Disclaimer: The author is a reporter with the Xinhua News Agency. The article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by China Military online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinamil.com.cn does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. If the article carries photographs or images, we do not vouch for their authenticity.
PIGGS PEAK  Businessman Mduduzi Mphinjana Kunene may not look anything like a violent movie star, but when he heard that his daughter had been traditionally wed, he became just as dangerous.



In an incident that left many residents of Ndzingeni shocked, Kunene, who is said to have been armed with a knife, forcefully took away his daughter from what would have been her marital homestead.



His daughter, who is aged 22, was traditionally wed at an area known as Mvuma near Ndzingeni.

Trouble is said to have started last Friday when his daughter, who is a University of Eswatini (UNESWA) student, could not be reached on her mobile phone.



Puzzled



A relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this puzzled Kunene because he regularly communicated with his daughter.

Kunene is said to have continued searching for his daughter but failed to reach her on her cellphone.



However, the following day, Kunene was informed by his wife that his daughter had been traditionally wed at a certain homestead around Mvuma.

Kunene is then alleged to have reported the matter to the police to intervene.



He later went with police officers to the homestead where his daughter had been traditionally wed, and found that most of the rituals regarding the ceremony had been concluded. Kunene who was furious at the time, is said to have produced an Okapi knife, which he used to cut off the traditional wrist band, referred to as siphandla, which is normally put the womans wrist during the ceremony.
MBABANE  Employees of a reputable government parastatal are still reeling from shock after they witnessed a businessman assaulting their chief executive officer.



The names of the businessman and the CEO are known to this publication but will not be revealed as the matter has not been heard in court yet.

The jaw-dropping incident reportedly happened on Monday at the parastatals premises, where the businessman, who is in the construction industry, reportedly physically assaulted the CEO with open hands and fists. The violent incident happened in the afternoon, in full view of the entitys employees.



According to sources, the incident, which left them dumb founded, happened after the government entity allegedly failed to pay the businessman for work his company had done. The sources alleged that the businessman had been informed that the parastatal would not pay him anytime soon and this did not sit well with him.



Allegations are to the effect that certain employees of the parastatal were heard saying the businessman would not be paid. The message reportedly came across as though the decision not to pay the supplier was deliberate and meant to frustrate the businessman. This then prompted some people to inform the construction company boss about the matter.



The livid businessman reportedly went to the public entitys offices to enquire about his payment.

When he got there, he did not find the CEO and was ushered in to wait for him at the parastatals boardroom.



When the CEO eventually came through, he was informed about the businessmans, and the intention of his visit.

The CEO is said to have proceeded to the boardroom to address the businessmans presence and that is when tempers flared.

Apparently the businessman did not take kindly to responses he received from the CEO, which resulted in him allegedly assaulting the head of the parastatal with open hands several times.
The Herald decided to add some bathroom humor to the polls this week

You voted:
The rise is mainly attributed to local consumption, which is in turn connected to the number of tourists visiting the island

Beer deliveries during the period of January - October 2018 reached 37.10 million litres, recording an increase of 3.6% compared to the same period of 2017, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service on Tuesday show, CNA reports.

The rise is mainly attributed to local consumption, which is in turn connected to the number of tourists visiting the island. Local consumption was during the same period 36.14 million litres, recording an increase of 3.71% on an annual basis.

On the contrary, beer exports in the same period recorded a small decline of 0.60% on an annual basis and fell to 0.96 million litres.

Total beer deliveries (local consumption and exports) in October 2018 rose to 3.58 million litres, which constitutes a historic record high and observes an increase of 18.6%.

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: Uri Tours License: CC-BY-SA
Leading panellists and experts highlighted the importance of investments in startups at the 7th Mena Angel Investors Summit held in Bahrain recently.

Tenmou, Bahrains first Business Angels organisation, as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, hosted the summit in strategic partnership with Tamkeen, and with the support of Alba and Bahrain Development Bank (BDB), along with Rowad as event partners and various other community partners.

Known for its success in bridging the gap between angel investor networks and venture capitalists within the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, this years theme revolved around strategic investments and investors education, and the role of an investor that goes beyond cash investments, but ensuring the continued success for start-ups by providing them with the necessary expertise, intelligence and network, said a statement.



The summit featured eight panelists that each provided their perspective on the importance of investing in startups, along with two 'break out sessions' aimed at both investors and start-ups; managed by Brian Frankel, a consultant from America with multinational marketing experience alongside BDB, it said.



The attendees were given the opportunity to gain insights from engaging discussions and exchange ideas in a collaborative environment.



Venture Souq, an investment platform for global early-stage technology businesses, also discussed the basics of angel investing, such as valuations, terms sheets and due diligence, and shared the best practices associated with past success stories.



A key highlight of the summit was the Start Up Pitches, which provided 23 start-ups with the golden opportunity to pitch their ideas and get funded, the entrepreneurs were also given the chance to network at the Start Up Roundtables, enabling them to connect one-on-one with investors, mentors, get diverse feedback, and showcase their idea in a more relaxed setting.



Nawaf Al Kooheji, chief executive officer, Tenmou, said: We had such an exciting line up for this years summit, and this years theme could not be more relevant to today, by hosting this landmark event we aim to encourage investors to shift their mindset and realise the importance of giving start-ups the business opportunities they deserve.



We would like to thank our strategic partner, Tamkeen, and our event partners for their support, he added.



Dr Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, chief executive of Tamkeen, said: The summit demonstrates the true potential of the kingdom and its dynamic startup ecosystem.



This partnership comes in line with our aim to establish Bahrain as a leading entrepreneurial hub in the Mena region, he added.



Nearly 300 guests attended the summit which featured industry experts and panelists to address the importance of the role angel investors play to ensure better business performance through knowledge sharing, implementing best industry practices, and sharing experience relevant to the start-up ecosystem, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service

Tenmou, Bahrains first Business Angels organisation, as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, recently hosted
U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in on a report that North Korea has at least 13 undeclared bases capable of hiding missiles, calling the report "fake news."

"The story in the New York Times concerning North Korea developing missile bases is inaccurate," he said, referring to information revealed in a report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and shared by the New York Times.

"We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new -- and nothing happening out of the normal." He added in his tweet, "I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!"

The report released Monday said its conclusions are based on commercial satellite imagery, interviews with North Korean defectors and interviews with U.S. intelligence and government officials.

Joseph Bermudez, one of the authors of the study, said the findings are noteworthy. "I would say that North Korea's basic missile threat and its nuclear threat which would use the ballistic missiles as its delivery system remains very significant and has not changed in the last 10 years," Bermudez said.
The fifth edition of the Bahrain International Airshow kicked off today with outstanding participation from regional and international countries and leaders and global executives from the aviation sector in attendance.



Held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad, the three-day show - taking place at the Sakhir Air Base - will see 11 out of the worlds top 15 aerospace companies exhibiting and more than 100 aircraft flying and on static display.



Coinciding with the opening of the airshow, the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications' (MTT) Bahrain Post issued a commemorative stamp to mark the 100th anniversary of the first ever flight to Bahrain in 1918.



The airshow has lined up a packed schedule of events including a three-day delegation programme, a focused conference programme and an insightful exhibition showcasing the latest in technology and innovation.



Air Display



To mark the opening today, three fast-jet aerobatic teams will take to the skies for a spectacle of flying expertise. The Russian Knights will be joined by the UAEs Al Fursan display team, as well as Italys Frecce Tricolori, which is making their debut at the show.



Conferences



On November 15, BIAS will again unite aerospace and airport infrastructure with a conference entitled Into the Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Gulf Region Airports and Airlines, inviting industry leaders and experts to share experience and expertise. This conference continues a theme started in 2016 when the show served as the backdrop to around $1.1bn in contracts being signed as part of the upgrade to Bahrain International Airports infrastructure and services.



A Women in Aviation conference on the third day of the show will serve as a valuable forum for women across the industry to discuss seizing opportunities for career development in the aviation field.



The BIAS FINN Sessions, held on the second and third day of the show, are a free-to-attend programme of conferences located in a theatre in the heart of the exhibition hall.

Organised in conjunction with FINN  the Farnborough International News Network, the BIAS FINN Sessions will enable exhibitors to share their knowledge and experiences.



Interested visitors can purchase tickets to the show online via the Bahrain International Airshow website or through select Batelco retail shops. Tickets are priced at BD10 for Adults and BD5 for children aged 2-17. A 5 per cent discount will be applied for purchases of 20 tickets or more.



The show will run till November 16 for trade visitors, with live music performances lined up for the public through to November 17. - TradeArabia News Service


14 November 2018 - UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have kicked off a project under the GEF-financed, World Bank-led Global Wildlife Program that aims to curb maritime wildlife trafficking, targeting key routes and transit points between Africa and Asia.

Spanning over a period of 36 months, the US$2 million initiative will aim to reduce maritime trafficking of wildlife between Africa and Asia by strengthening wildlife law enforcement at ports and increasing cooperation between ports and other maritime stakeholders. In cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Royal Foundation, the Global Wildlife Program, and other partners, the project will increase awareness of port stakeholders about wildlife crime and build capacity of law enforcement agencies to detect and intercept illegal wildlife products. It will primarily target two key African exit ports  Mombasa (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)  regularly used by traffickers for illegal transportation of poached African wildlife such as ivory, pangolins, and rhino horns to Asia. At the same time, the project will strengthen cooperation between key African and Asian ports to prevent illegal wildlife trafficking.

Increasing demand for illegal wildlife products is threatening to drive species such as the black rhinoceros and the African elephant to extinction, impoverishing communities that rely on healthy ecosystems to survive and feeding corruption and lawlessness in many countries around the world. In Kenya and Tanzania, for example, the widespread loss of elephants could be devastating for the national economy, as 90% of their tourism industries depends on wildlife. The project will contribute to addressing the global problem of unprecedented illegal wildlife trafficking from Africa that has surged over the last 10 years.

The vast majority of ivory (72% in 2014) is trafficked by sea due to the large volumes of ivory involved and minimal risk of interception and arrest. According to the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), 403 tons of ivory were seized from 2007-2017  equivalent to about 54,460 killed elephants. At the same time, interception capacity at African ports is particularly low  with merely one third of wildlife seizures made at exit ports in Africa 2000-2017  and only 19.3% of all seizures have led to convictions, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). By targeting these transit points and strengthening law enforcement, we can disrupt profits and incentives for wildlife poaching and end this evil trade.

For further information, please contact Tamara Tschentscher, UNDP-GEF Knowledge Management Officer, e-mail: tamara.tschentscher@undp.org.

The Global Wildlife Program: The GEF launched the 7-year GWP in June 2015, bringing together funding from the GEF and a wide range of partners, including the Governments of participating countries, GEF Agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, the private sector and civil society. Participating countries include Afghanistan, Botswana, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe, each implementing targeted measures to counter wildlife poaching and trafficking. UNDP is supporting thirteen of the GWP national projects.
UNHCR High Profile Supporter Helena Christensen visits Burundian refugees in Rwanda.  UNHCR/Hector Perez

UNHCR High profile supporter, model and photographer Helena Christensen is calling for urgent funding and global attention for Burundian refugees living in Rwanda following a trip with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Christensen has just returned from Rwanda, where she met and photographed refugees who fled violence and persecution in Burundi and are now living in Rwandas Mahama refugee camp. Helena said, The Burundian refugee crisis is now the most under-funded in the world. It is a crisis that people have not heard of and for which there is little attention. This needs to change. Because without funding, these refugees who have fled terrifying violence in Burundi  although they are now in safety in camps like Mahama they will not receive the basic shelter, food and support they need. I am supporting UNHCRs urgent call for funds and hope that I can bring attention to this situation through my photography work and by sharing the stories of the refugees I have met.

There are nearly 366,000 Burundian refugees living in neighboring countries including Rwanda, which has been hosting refugees for decades. The Government of Rwanda has generously maintained open borders and refugees in Rwanda and ensured they have access to the right to work as well as being progressively integrated into host communities, national health and education systems,as well as in their national development plans. But international funding for UNHCRs work with Burundian refugees throughout the region is currently only at 28 per cent of what is needed and funding is also needed to better support Burundi refugees in the region who are choosing to return.

Speaking to Helena on her trip, UNHCRs camp manager in Mahama Camp, Rwanda, Paul Kenya detailed the impact this lack of funding is having on the lives of refugees.  We have to make difficult decisions every day about how to spend this very limited funding on things that should have equal importance, Kenya said. Do we build toilets, offer a variety of foods, do we build a classroom, do we buy clothes for a newborn baby? Whatever you choose affects the quality of peoples lives.

Rwanda hosts some 172,000 refugees, including nearly 46 per cent from the Democratic Republic of Congo hosted in five camps, and 53 per cent from Burundi hosted in Mahama camp and urban areas.

To donate to help Burundian refugees please visit donate.unhcr.org/helena

To learn more about Helenas work with UNHCR visit: unhcr.org/helena-christensen

Please visit media.unhcr.org/gwa to access Helenas photographs from Rwanda and images of Helena in Rwanda.

Media contact:
Backgrounder: ASEAN plus China, Japan, S. Korea cooperation mechanism (10+3)

Singapore, Nov 14 (UNI) Leaders from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Japan and South Korea meet here from Wednesday to Thursday for the 21st ASEAN plus three summit (10+3) as well as their respective ASEAN plus one summits (10+1).

The ASEAN plus China, Japan, South Korea cooperation mechanism incorporates the 10+3 as well as the 10+1 framework. The latter stands for ASEAN's respective cooperation mechanism with China, Japan and South Korea.

The two frameworks were established in the late 1990s when ASEAN countries decided to enhance cooperation with other major economies of Asia against the backdrop of economic globalization.
CNN has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in an effort to restore access for its chief White House correspondent who had his press credentials revoked.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders is dismissing the lawsuit as "more grandstanding from CNN," saying the administration stands by its decision to revoke Jim Acosta's credentials.

"After Mr. Acosta asked the President two questions -- each of which the President answered -- he physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters," Sanders said in a statement.

President Donald Trump, when asked at the conclusion of a White House Diwali ceremony about the legal move by CNN, replied: "We'll be talking about it."

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, and the case has been assigned to the docket of Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee to the bench.

"The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process," CNN said in a statement. "We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process."

On CNN's legal team for the case is former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson. "The First Amendment requires robust, aggressive reporting," Olson said, appearing on the network. "We cannot allow public officials to discriminate on the basis of their personal prejudice or feelings toward a reporter."

Acosta is one of CNN's highest-profile reporters and has a reputation for tough questioning of Trump and other top White House officials. His critics say his questions are opinionated, rather than objective, and that he routinely cuts off other reporters who try to ask questions so he can pursue his own follow-up queries.

The Trump administration last week suspended Acosta's "hard pass," which granted him access to the White House. The suspension came after the reporter challenged Trump's portrayal of a caravan of Central American migrants as an "invasion."

White House officials have also accused Acosta of "placing his hands" on a White House press aide who had tried to take the microphone from him during the interaction. Video showed that Acosta was not aggressive with the aide.
Everyone's participation is necessary for the eradication of leprosy: CMO 23 Nov 2021 | 12:25 AM Ashok Raina

Dharamsala, Nov 22 (UNI) Everyone's participation is necessary for the eradication of leprosy, everyone should co-operate to eradicate the discrimination of leprosy from the society Chief Medical Officer Dr Gurdarshan Gupta said this as chief guest on Monday during a day long training for Medical Officer, Community Health Officer, Supervisor, Health worker and ASHA worker under National Leprosy Eradication Program. see more..

Man arrested with Heroin at Kangra 23 Nov 2021 | 12:23 AM Ashok Raina

Dharamshala : November 22 (UNI) Kangra police on Sunday arrested a Khadnal Baijnath resident at Jaikli Baid village falling under Baijnath police station in this district and recovered heroin from his possession and registered a case under different sections of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances ( NDPS) Act, police said here Monday. see more..

Sitharaman interacts with women entrepreneurs of J&K 23 Nov 2021 | 12:21 AM Srinagar, Nov 22 (UNI) Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday interacted with a number of women entrepreneurs of Jammu & Kashmir at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Complex. see more..

Digital x-ray machine at Shahpur Hospital, new admin building of ITI Shahpur inaugurated 23 Nov 2021 | 12:15 AM Ashok Raina

Dharamsala, November 22 -( UNI) Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Sarveen Choudhary on Monday said that the state government is determined to provide better health facilities to the people of the state at their doorsteps and Special emphasis is being laid on strengthening medical institutions and medical colleges by providing them modern specialist services and strengthening them. see more..
22 Nov 2021 | 11:38 PM

Panaji, Nov 22 (UNI) Satyajit Ray broke all stereotypes, making his films unique, with a language of their own, said Associate Professor, Department of Direction and Screenplay Writing, Film and Television Institute of India Ganga Mukhi, here on Monday.

Satyajit Ray believed that our cinema must have a language of its own. Through his self-study, he created his own style of filmmaking. Rays films are a must-watch for all film lovers, students and film makers. His films connect with everyone in spite of geographical and language barriers. Ms Mukhi said during a master class on

Directorial Practices on Satyajit Ray, held on Monday at the 52nd International Film Festival of India.
Huge quantity of foreign liquor seized, two arrested

Patna, Nov 14 (UNI) Police today seized 24 cartons of foreign liquor and arrested two people in this connection near Railway overbridge under Bihta police station area in Patna district.

Police said here that acting on a tip off, a car was searched near Railway overbridge, leading to recovery of 24 cartons of foreign liquor from the vehicle. Two people travelling in the car were arrested soon after recovery of the foreign liquor, police added.

"Seized liquor was manufactured in Haryana", police said adding that the arrested were being interrogated in this connection.
Never posed threat to Europe: China

Beijing, Nov14 (Sputnik) China has never posed a threat to Europe but notes that the continent has the right to make its own choices on particular issues, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday, commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to create a pan-European army.

Earlier this month, Macron called for the establishment of an EU army that would be independent of the United States, stressing that France had recently faced multiple attempts by outside forces to meddle in its domestic affairs and cybersecurity. He, in particular, mentioned threats allegedly coming from Russia, China and the United States.

"I would like to note that European countries are independent and sovereign states, and they have the right to make their own choices. And as for China, we have never posed any threat to Europe," Hua said.
Damascus, Nov 14 (UNI) Nearly 1,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their home country from Jordan and Lebanon over the past 24 hours, in parallel to the evacuation of rebels from southern Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for the Reception, Allocation and Accommodation of Refugees said on Wednesday.

"Over the past day, a total of 1,021 people returned to the Syrian Arab Republic from the territory of foreign states: 116 people (35 women and 59 children) left Lebanon for Syria via the Jaydet-Yabus and Talkalakh CPs [checkpoints], and 905 people (272 women and 462 children) from Jordan via the Nasib CP," the center said in its daily bulletin.

In addition, 236 internally displaced Syrians returned to the places of their permanent residence in Syria over the past 24 hours, according to the bulletin. Over the past day, no refugees have left the Idlib de-escalation zone, sputnik reported. According to the center, Syrian sappers continued their mine clearance operations. Over the past 24 hours, they have cleared 10 hectares (24.7 acres) of territory, nine buildings and two kilometers (1.24 miles) of roads in the Syrian provinces of Homs, Damascus and Quneitra. They have also found and defused 50 explosive devices, including three improvised explosive devices, the center added.

As the Syrian government has regained control over most of the country's territories that were seized by terrorists, it is now focused on creating favorable conditions for repatriating refugees. Moscow is assisting Damascus in this process, along with providing humanitarian aid to civilians and being a guarantor of the ceasefire.

UNI XC JAL 1608
Maldives, India agreement on developing Uthuru Fila Falhu (UTF) base has no clause of concern: Panel 22 Nov 2021 | 10:42 PM Male, Nov 22 (UNI) The Parliament Committee on National Security of the Maldives, also known as the 241 Committee, has stated that agreements between the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) and the Indian military do not contain any clauses that cause concern. see more..

Pakistan to allow 50,000 MT of wheat from India for Afghanistan to pass, says Imran Khan 22 Nov 2021 | 8:52 PM Islamabad, Nov 22 (UNI) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced that Islamabad will allow 50,000 MT of wheat from India as humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan to go through Pakistan as soon as modalities are finalised with the Indian side. see more..

Pakistan ranks 153rd among 156 nations in gender gap index 22 Nov 2021 | 8:26 PM Islamabad, Nov 22 (UNI) The tall claims of Imran Khan-led government regarding providing equal opportunities to women have fallen flat, as the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 has placed the country at 153rd rank in 156 countries.

Meanwhile, an analysis of the latest data of voters also pointed out towards 81 districts having gender gap of over 10 per cent, local media reports said on Monday. see more..

Thanks to Babar Azam for his 'Pakistani supporters' 22 Nov 2021 | 8:08 PM Dhaka, Nov 22 (UNI) The Pakistan cricket team has received more support than expected in the Bangladesh tour, officials said on Monday. see more..
The European Union and Britain have agreed to a draft text of a Brexit withdrawal deal and Prime Minister Theresa May will present it to her senior ministers Wednesday.

While officials choreograph the first withdrawal of a sovereign state from the EU, it remains unclear whether May can get any deal approved by the British parliament. "Cabinet will meet at 2 p.m. tomorrow to consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels, and to decide on next steps," a spokesman at May's Downing Street office said.

"Cabinet ministers have been invited to read documentation ahead of that meeting," the spokesman said, after British media were leaked details of the breakthrough. Sterling, which has seesawed since reaching $1.50 just before results of the 2016 referendum vote for Britain to leave the EU, surged to $1.3036.

Brexit will pitch the world's fifth-largest economy into the unknown and many fear it will help to divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China. Others says it will offer opportunities for Britain to develop new trading relationships beyond Europe.

The EU and the United Kingdom need an agreement to keep trade flowing between the world's biggest trading bloc and the United Kingdom, home to the biggest international financial center. But May has struggled to untangle nearly 46 years of EU membership without damaging trade or upsetting the lawmakers who will ultimately decide the fate of the divorce deal.
New Delhi, Nov 14 (UNI) Amid the hustle and bustle of 'Ram bhakts', all what you could see at Safdarjung railway station on Wednesday were people adorning haldi-roli tilak on their foreheads, marigold garland around their necks, luggage by their side amid soothing shlokas of Ramayana for their unique 'religious' train journey on Sri Ramayana Express.

The Express will cover all important destinations associated with the life of Lord Ram in a 16-day all inclusive tour package which is spread in India as well as Sri Lanka, having four destinations.

It was a treat for your eye if you missed watching Ramleela this October. You could have met Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Hanuman and his 'vaanar sena' for reel before the much-awaited train's arrival at the platform.

The passengers, mostly elderly, were present at the platform much before the train's arrival and seen all decked up for their journey, witnessing their cultural performances in their colourful attires as you enter the station.

Band-baja triumphs and elated people -- passengers and onlookers -- were scattered around the small railway station.

The all inclusive tour package will cover all meals, accommodation and wash and change facilities in dharmashalas, all transfers, sight-seeing arrangements and dedicated tour manager of IRCTC who will be travelling with the tourists during the entire tour, official sources said.

Named as Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka, the pilgrimage circuit will have two travel components - one each in India and Sri Lanka.

After leaving Delhi, the train will make its first stop in Ayodhya followed by Hanuman Garhi Ramkot and Kanak Bhawan temple. The train will then cover the important destinations of Ramayana circuit such as Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi, Prayag, Shringverpur, Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi and Rameshwaram.

The Ramayana Express train has an overall capacity for 800 passengers. Attractively priced at only Rs 15,120 per person, the tour package will is going to be a favourite pick for the tourists aspiring for the same. The Sri Lanka leg of the tour has been charged separately.

The passengers opting for Sri Lanka leg of the Ramayana Yatra package can take a flight to Colombo from Chennai. IRCTC presently offers five-night six-day Sri Lanka tour package at a cost starting from Rs 36,970 per person.

The tour package will cover destinations like Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo and Negombo.

UNI AE RSA 1757
UN calls for free, fair elections in Somali regional state

MOGADISHU, Nov 14 (Xinhua) A senior UN envoy in Somalia has called on presidential candidates in the country's South West State to promote a free, fair and transparent vote in the state's regional assembly.

Raisedon Zenenga, UN secretary general's deputy special representative for Somalia, stressed the world body's stance of impartiality in the elections which are very crucial for stability of the Horn of Africa nation.

"We are there to support the process and make it more transparent and more credible so that the result is not contentious and is accepted widely," said Zenenga in a statement released by the UN mission in Somalia on Tuesday evening.
Watchdog Says CIA Considered Using Truth Serum on Terror Suspects Following 9/11 Attacks

MOSCOW, Nov 14 (Sputnik) The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been considering the use of a drug that should have worked like a "truth serum" in interrogation of terror suspects following the September 11 attacks, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on Wednesday, citing an obtained CIA report.

ACLU has received a 90-page declassified CIA report proving the existence of a research program dubbed "Project Medication" at the judges order following victory in the US court. The watchdog has made the report public.

"The history reveals that CIA doctors were hunting for a truth serum to use on prisoners as part of a previously secret effort called Project Medication. The CIA studied records of old Soviet drug experiments as well as the CIAs notorious and discredited MK-Ultra program, which involved human experimentation with LSD and other drugs on unwitting subjects. The CIA doctors involved in Project Medication wanted to use Versed, a psychoactive drug similar to some of those used in MK-Ultra, on prisoners," the union said.
Four North Koreans workers died while trying to patch up a decrepit factory North Korean leader Kim Jong-un singled out for being "shabby" during a recent site visit.

The Daily NK online newspaper on Tuesday quoted sources in North Hamgyong Province as saying the accident occurred at a bag factory in Chongjin in mid-September when the ceiling collapsed during construction.

The daily said four workers died and dozens were hurt, 10 of them seriously.

Kim had paid a visit to the factory in July and told workers, "Looking at the shabby condition, there are clearly problems in the way the regional party committee is doing things."

He ordered a thorough review of the factory's operations and said officials responsible for the condition of the facility must be identified. The workers were apparently in a rush to refurbish the factory when the accident happened.
A report raising suspicions that North Korea has at least 13 secret missile sites has alarmed the U.S. government and casts doubt on another U.S.-North Korea summit early next year.

The report by the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies singled out an "undeclared" short- and mid-range missile base in Sakkanmol, North Hwanghae Province where it identified the entrances to several underground tunnels and mobile launchers.

The U.S. State Department on Monday said "a much brighter future" lies ahead for North Korea if it abides by its denuclearization pledges and stressed that the scrapping of ballistic missiles is included in that pledge.

Until now, the U.S. has focused its efforts on scrapping North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles that could launch a nuclear attack on the continental U.S. But the Sakkanmol site is only for short to mid-range missiles and was the launch base in 2016 of eight Scud and Rodong missiles into the East Sea.

The report nonetheless highlights how difficult it would be to verify any inventory of North Korea's nuclear and missile sites it could provide in the course of negotiations.


North Korea has been running more than a dozen secret missile development sites, according to a report by the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies. The CSIS, which analyzed satellite images, accused North Korea of deception by destroying one missile engine test facility in Tongchang-ri and making it appear as if that was a huge step toward giving up its missile program.

North Korea has blown up two facilities -- the Tongchang-ri test site and the obsolete Punggye-ri nuclear test site -- and invited only non-experts to witness their destruction. In return, it got the U.S. to halt large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea and is now demanding a formal declaration of an end to the Korean War and eased sanctions. At the same time, North Korea says it is afraid to submit an inventory of its nuclear stockpiles and facilities because that would automatically make them targets for attack, though in fact it is probably refusing because it is unsure how much information the U.S. has.

Yet a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman responded to the report about the secret missile sites by saying it contains "nothing new" and that the North never promised to destroy any missile sites other than Tongchang-ri. A North Korean government spokesman would have said the same thing. In September, President Moon Jae-in told Fox News that North Korea will be unable to conduct any more missile tests if the Tongchang-ri site is demolished. Did he know about the other missile bases when he said that? Either North Korea or Moon was lying.

One of the secret missile sites, the Sakkanmol base, is just 135 km away from Seoul. The Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said Sakkanmol does not contain intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are a main bone of contention for the U.S. But that sounds like Cheong Wa Dae is not at all concerned about the threat to the South. Are South Koreans supposed to keep living with the threat of missile attacks hanging over their heads? The South Korean government is busy defending North Korea against all critics to the point where it is fast becoming part of the problem the international community has to contend with.


This is definitely a value wine. It was picked up by my wife while grocery shopping as a backyard casual sipper. In fact, this can be ...
Tourism industry opening on agenda

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-11-14 07:32

Beijing will further open its market by allowing a number of wholly foreign-owned companies to provide outbound travel services to customers, a senior official of the city's tourism authority said on Tuesday.

Cao Pengcheng, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, said the commission was awaiting approval after submitting the document to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

According to the plan, once the foreign travel agencies meet certain requirements, they will be qualified to take visitors on outbound travel, which means foreign-invested travel agencies will take a share from China's huge overseas tourist market.

In 2003, the first wholly foreign-owned travel agency was set up in China. However, there were limitations on its service, as it could not offer outbound travel products.

Shi Jianzhong, secretary-general of the Beijing Tourism Industry Association, said once the document is approved, domestic travel agencies' businesses could possibly be affected, but the new measure is the trend of the industry.

Zhang Guodong, a publicity official at online travel agency ly.com, has a positive view of the new policy.

He said it will not have too much of an impact since China's tourism industry grows 10 percent annually, which is a big market. Online travel businesses develop even faster, with an annual growth rate of 35 to 40 percent.

"Compared with the United States and Europe, whose online travel market is growing at 45 percent to 50 per-cent annually, we still have big growth potential," he said. "Therefore, the new policy is not a big threat to online travel agencies like ly.com."

"Together with foreign-owned travel agencies, we should cooperate and make the market bigger and better."

As incomes grow and consumption is upgraded, China's outbound tourist market has grown rapidly in recent years.

According to data from the ministry, the number of outbound trips by Chinese tourists was 130 million in 2017, up 9 percent year-on-year. Chinese visitors spent $258 billion during their overseas trips, up 5 percent year-on-year.
Autumn Poetry & Bookmark Competition 2018

The annual Poetry Competition organised by Gibraltar Cultural Services on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and the Gibraltar Chronicle, attracted a total of 233 entries.

HE The Governor Lt Gen Ed Davis CB CBE and The Minister for Culture, the Hon Steven Linares MP, presented the awards on Tuesday 13th November 2018 at 4.30pm at the Convent.

Overall Winner and Best Poem in the Spanish Language: Levi Attias Esclavo en La Infancia

Overall Runner-Up: Elena Scialtiel Guilty Dark Pleasures

Winner Best Poem in English Language Category: Rebecca Faller The Quandary

Spanish Poem Runner-Up: Mark Montovio

Spanish Poem Highly Commended: Bathsheba Peralta Mi Ninez

Winner School Years 4  5:

Shimon Reuben from the Hebrew Primary School The Night

Runner Up:

William Felice from Bishop Fitzgerald Middle School Yellow, Yellow

Highly Commended:

Dylan Parker from St Josephs Middle School Mr Negative

Winner School Years 6  7:

Alana Sacarello from St Josephs Middle School Fruit!

Runner Up:

Isabelle Ramos from St Bernards Middle School Shifting Seasons

Winner School Years 8  11:

Louis Bruce from Prior Park School The Piano

Runner Up

Pierre Leroy from Bayside Comprehensive School Alameda

Highly Commended

Gabriel DeVincenzi from Bayside Comprehensive School

Winner School Years 12  13:

Carmen Anderson from Westside Comprehensive School All Make of Shoes

The overall winner received a 500 cash prize and a trophy whilst the entry for the Best Poem in the English Language received a 50 cash prize and a trophy donated by the Ministry of Culture. The winners in each school year category also received a trophy donated by the Ministry of Culture, as well as a voucher and a pen kindly donated by the Gibraltar Chronicle.

All winning entries will be published in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

The Prize winners in the Bookmark Competition are:

Overall Winner : Mia Hook, St Annes Middle School

Winner School Years 4 7 : Mia Hook, St Annes Middle School

Winner School Years 8  13 : Erin Brion, St Bernards School

Adult Winner : Geraldine Martinez

Highly Commended:

Daniella Dian Mead

Adrianne Duarte

Danille Gafan

Jeanette Newnham

Sara Rumford Morejon

Kate Piner

All runner up and highly commended winners in both competitions, also received their corresponding certificates from the Ministry for Culture and a pen.

Commenting on the competitions Mr Linares said:

The Poetry and Bookmark Competition gives another dimension to culture and adds a literary angle to HM Government autumn cultural programme. I am extremely pleased with the high number of entries, but more importantly, with the quality of the entries.

I would like to thank everyone involved in this venture, including the Gibraltar Chronicle, the Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group, the Department of Education and especially the adjudicators who judges both competitions. However, I would like especially thank the many individuals who put pen to paper and in doing so allowed us to enjoy their excellent work.
Positive Ministerial Level Meetings in London Today

The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia completed a busy schedule of different engagements at ministerial level in London today.

These were all related to Gibraltar's departure from the European Union and set the scene for the future UK-Gibraltar relationship in that context.

They were accompanied throughout by the Attorney General Michael Llamas and Financial Secretary Albert Mena.

The meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council last month was postponed given the intensity of work in the run up to the conclusion of the Withdrawal Agreement, however the meeting with different UK Ministers today follows on from the discussions that would have happened then.

The Gibraltar delegation today met with Europe Minister Sir Alan Duncan MP, with Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union Robin Walker MP and with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen MP.

The UK Ministers present thanked and congratulated the Gibraltar Government for the positive and constructive manner in which the negotiations with the European Union and Spain had been dealt with to date. In turn, the Chief Minister said that Gibraltar and been fully involved in those negotiations which was exactly what the Prime Minister had promised.

The Chief Minister made the point that, in respect of Gibraltar, the Agreement that had been concluded was better than the potential uncertainty that a no-deal scenario might generate. The Deputy Chief Minister then updated the meeting on UK-Gibraltar Brexit contingency planning and on Gibraltars EU Withdrawal Bill.

Given that the technical agreement on Withdrawal was concluded yesterday, there has been considerable press interest and the Chief Minister was interviewed on leaving the meeting.

The Chief Minister said:

The process of a Joint Ministerial Council between the UK and Gibraltar Governments on Brexit has worked very well. The UK, both at Ministerial and at official level, has understood our concerns and our issues very well and this has been reflected in the outcome we have achieved and in our full and detailed involvement in all Brexit matters related to Gibraltar.
New Counsellors for Schools

Government has today announced that it will be engaging four qualified Counsellors to work full time in the schools, as part of its initiative to improve the way it supports the provision of mental health support in young people.

The need for counsellors to assist teachers in themselves supporting children with mental health issues has long been called for by the profession and mental health community groups and is a Government Manifesto Commitment.

The announcement was made this morning by Minister for Education John Cortes as he opened a training seminar on Mental Health, Social and Emotional Wellbeing in Special and Additional Needs at the University.

While the operational details are still under discussion with teaching and mental health professionals, it is envisaged that the team of four will divide its work to cover both Secondary and Primary (First and Middle) schools.

It is part of a wide-ranging initiative to respond to the growing needs of society in mental health, recognising the importance of the education sector in the process. Training sessions for teachers and the setting up of Core groups for Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education are some of the steps already being taken, with the engaging of Counsellors being an important practical step.

The Minister for Education, Heritage, Environment, Energy and Climate Change, the Honourable Dr. John Cortes MP commented: This is a tremendous step forward in responding to the needs of teachers and in particular for our young people who will soon have the counsellors available to support them from an early age and through their school years. The benefits to young people as they develop, and the long-term benefits to our community of being able to assist children with mental health issues will be tremendous.

The Minister for Health, Care and Justice, the Honourable Neil F. Costa MP said: I wholeheartedly welcome my colleagues very important announcement of engaging qualified counsellors to work full-time at our schools. I have no doubt that that this much-needed service will prove extremely beneficial in providing structured communication between Education and the GHAs Mental Health Services in order to identify, as soon as possible, pupils that may benefit from therapeutic, psychological or psychiatric services. This deeper collaboration reflects our strongly held view that preventative medicine is best.
Delta pilot aborts takeoff to avoid another aircraft

From:Shine | 2018-11-14 02:29

A QUICK-THINKING Delta Air Lines pilot avoided what could otherwise have been a catastrophic incident when he aborted takeoff after spotting a Japan Airlines aircraft entering the runway at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai yesterday.

Flight DL582, an Airbus 350, scheduled to fly from Shanghai to Detroit, was forced to abort takeoff around noon due to a possible runway incursion, Delta said in a statement. No passengers were injured and the aircraft completed inspections afterward, it said.

The East China Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement that a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 entered the end of the 34L runway at the Pudong airport when the Delta aircraft was taxiing for takeoff on the same runway.

The Shanghai Fire Control Bureau said on its official Weibo account that its fire truck sprayed water onto the landing gear to prevent fire. The tires of the jet were later replaced.

A post on the Chinese social media site Weibo claimed that the nose of the aircraft was almost up when the pilot suddenly aborted takeoff. The post said passengers on board were told that the aircraft would return to the boarding gate.

The flight, scheduled to take off at 11:40am, was later canceled. A Delta customer service staff said the flight had been rescheduled for today. Passengers were told they could take alternate flights or travel today.

The civil aviation authorities are investigating the incident, and no official statement has been released.

An industry insider, who claimed anonymity, said the air traffic controller had ordered the Japan Airlines aircraft to wait at the R6 taxiway.

The flight crew asked to run across the 34L runway, but the controller failed to stop them on time. The sharp-eyed Delta pilot saw the incursion and aborted the takeoff.

Japan Airlines has a history of failing to follow the ATCs instructions. A report on the official website of the East China Civil Aviation Administration said the airlines Boeing 787 crew failed to follow the instructions of ATC at the Pudong airport five times between May and September 2017.

It was not known how many passengers were on board but a Boeing 787 can carry 375 passengers while an Airbus 350 can carry 306 passengers.
The 16th Meeting of the Heads of Asia/Pacific WCO Regional Training Centres (RTCs) was held at the Shanghai Customs College (SCC) on 24-25 October 2018. The meeting was opened by Dr. Cong Yuhao, President of the SCC and was chaired by Mr. Jizheng Zheng, Associate Professor of the SCC. All the heads of RTCs in the region (RTC China , Shanghai and Xiamen; RTC Fiji; RTC Hong Kong China; RTC India; RTC Japan; RTC Korea and RTC Malaysia), representatives from the WCO Secretariat, Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair Office and Asia/Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB A/P) participated in the meeting.

The heads of RTCs at the meeting exchanged views on how to enhance Customs capacities through strengthened professionalism and human resource networks so as to ultimately contribute to Customs modernization efforts in the region. The delegates intensively discussed topics such as the development and the use of e-learning programs, application of the WCO Training Strategy, the way forward to optimize the benefits of hosting WCO workshops, and the enhancement of the RTCs functions, amongst others. The meeting provided an opportunity to further discussion on the Centre of Excellence concept of RTCs that has been in place in the region and to learn from each other on training strategies and activities of the respective RTCs, especially the RTC China, host of the meeting.

During the meeting, the SCC kindly arranged a campus tour including a visit to the SCC Library and a field trip to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, which showcased a series of reform measures taken to facilitate and promote trade for furthering economic growth.

At the invitation of the RTC Korea, the next RTC Heads Meeting will be held in 2019 in Korea. All the delegates and the WCO appreciated the warm hospitality, excellent coordination of the meeting, and the field visits organized by the General Administration of China Customs and the SCC.
Calvert City Jingle All the Way 5k and Fun Run set for December 4
Import enterprises enter trading hub

By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2018-11-14 09:29

The Greenland Global Commodity Trading Hub kicked off on November 13, the third day after the curtain fell on the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE).

As a service platform built by Greenland Group for extending the CIIE, the Hub is next to the main venue of the Expo to provide one-stop services for the import enterprises.

Up to now, 112 enterprises from 41 countries have entered the new exhibition platform.

Neato Robotics, a manufacturer of robotic vacuum cleaners from Silicon Valley has opened its first real store here. According to Zhu Jie, the general manager of Neato Robotics China, the company has confirmed thousands of purchase intentions at the Expo and as a brand having only recently entered the Chinese market, it is satisfied with the result.Next, we have a more arduous task of realizing these intentions. At the same time, we hope to add more physical stores to deal with more customers, because the Chinese market is so large, said Zhu.

The 58 world-renowned organizations which have signed entry agreements with the Hub include the Canadian Beef International Institute, the Belgian Beer Association and the China-Spain Chamber of Commerce.
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Nov. 13, 2018 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 13, 2018 | 09:06 PM | PADUCAH

The 7th Annual Festival of Trees celebration has started, making it look a lot like Christmas at Mercy Health.



The Festival of Trees is a decoration of Christmas trees by hospital departments to raise money for the Mercy Health Associates Christmas Giving program. The departments donate the decorations and the community is invited to buy a ticket to win their favorite tree. Tickets are $1 and can be purchased in the hospital gift shop.



The Festival of Trees features 20 trees, including Polar Express, Canine Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Farmhouse Christmas, plus many more whimsical trees. They will be on display until December 13th in the Marshall Nemer Medical Office Building Plaza. The winners will be announced December 14th.



Tickets can also be purchased at the Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital Christmas Market on Saturday, November 17th from 9 am to 4 pm in the Marshall Nemer Medical Office Building Plaza. The event is free and features more than 40 vendors with jewelry, childrens clothing, handbags, scarves, and Christmas decor.



The Christmas Market benefits the Mercy Health Associates Christmas Giving Program.
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.
Home  Just In  35 children rescued from Kathmandu dance bars

Kathmandu, November 14

Police in Kathmandu say they have recently rescued 35 children who were working at various dance bars in Lainchaur area of Kathmandu.

As laws bar children from working in any sector, the dance bar atmosphere keeps them at a greater risk of sexual and labour exploitation. Therefore, police have recently launched Operation Rescue Underage, according to security officials.

Meanwhile, police arrested three bar operators for illegally employing children in work and various sexual activities.

DSP Gautam KC, Chief of Lainchaur-based Metropolitan Police Range, says, We will expand the rescue campaign in upcoming days.

He informs that the campaign is underway in other parts of the district as well.
Major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Wednesday have given priority to a host of issues from sociocultural, political and economic affairs. The dismissal of Sudurpashchim Provincial Minister for Social Development Dirgha Sodari has been covered on the front pages of most of the newspapers. Likewise, the appointment of first Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police has also been significantly covered.

Most of the newspapers have published photographs about people offering prayers to the Sun God on the occasion of Chhath festival on their front pages.

Important

Officials accused of receiving double benefits from state

Nagarik and Republica report on their front pages that many former bureaucrats, who later got appointments at various constitutional bodies, have been found getting both pension for their previous roles and salary for current roles as well.

One of such officials is Deep Basnyat, who stopped claiming pension for his previous job as secretary during his tenure as CIAA chief, but claimed it again after completing the term, according to the reports.

Other persons on the list are former Vice-President Paramananda Jha and NHRC Chairman Anup Raj Sharma.

Federal govt to address tax overlapping issues

Following criticisms from various sectors of society, the federal government has finally come up with a plan to scrap taxes the taxes imposed unconstitutionally or illegally by provincial and local governments while the central government was also collecting them, according to a five column story in The Kathmandu Post.

A Cabinet meeting recently endorsed the proposal of the Finance Ministry about implementing the report of a high level panel in this regard, according to the report.

Ignored

International airlines not ready to operate nighttime flights at TIA

Few months back, the government excitedly announced that the countrys sole international airport in Kathmandu would operate its service for 21 hours every day. The announcement, however, has turned ineffective as most of international airlines did not become ready enough to operate nighttime flights, according to Karobar lead story.

Only one international airline, Qatar Airways, has changed its schedule after the announcement six months ago, the report informs.

Bamdev Gautam gets another jolt

Nepal Communist Partys leader Bamdev Gautam is apparently sad after he was denied an opportunity to contest a byelection in Kathmandu. Now, he has received another jolt as Prime Minister and party Chairman KP Sharma Oli did not agree to form a National Development Authority under his leadership, Naya Patrika reports in its lead story.

An angry Gautam, therefore, announced to establish a private company to establish his vision, the report adds.

Dr KC preparing for 16th fast

Medical education reform activist Dr Govinda KC is preparing to stage another round of fast-unto-death, 16th in past few years, demanding the implementation of an agreement the government signed with him earlier, reports Nagarik in a two- column story.

Dr KC has been telling his supporters and aides that he would stage the hunger strike again as he did not have any hope that the government would implement the deal, the report adds.

Oli criticised for repeatedly postponing party meeting

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is under fire inside his party for being unable to hold the partys Standing Committee meeting, The Himalayan Times reports in its lead story.

At a time when many have raised questions over the governments performance, the standing committee meeting is crucial, the report quotes a leader to say.

Interesting

Proposals floated to operate cable cars in 25 new places

More private companies have expressed interest in operating cable car services in various places of the country in a bid to attract more tourists, Rajdhani reports in its anchor story, adding they have proposed operating the service in 25 new places.

The Department of Transport Management, however, has been unable to make any decision on issuing the permit for the lack of operating procedure.
Home  Business  Need more support from close neighbours for prosperity, PM tells Chinese minister

Kathmandu, November 14

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli says the country needs greater support from its immediate neighbours as it is heading towards prosperity.

Receiving visiting Chinese Minister of Culture Luo Shugang at his official residence in Baluwatar of Kathmandu today, the Prime Minister said, We have expected support from our friends to achieve the goal of prosperity. We need additional support from close neighbours.

Prime Minister Olis foreign affairs advisor Rajan Bhattarai told media after the meeting that the Prime Minister also remembered various dimensions of the ties that Nepal and China share for centuries.

During the meeting, the Chinese Minister said his government would send as many tourists as possible to Nepal to make the countrys Visit Nepal 2020 a success.

He also informed the PM that the number of Chinese tourists in Nepal increased by 48 per cent this year.

Luo had met his Nepali counterpart Rabindra Adhikari yesterday.
A nephrologist with a vision for justice in health care

Dr. Nolubabalo Unati Nqebelele has been awarded a PhD in nephrology. She is the first black woman to earn a PhD in internal medicine at Wits University.

A first at Wits

Nqebelele has been awarded a PhD in nephrology, becoming a specialist in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). She has also been recognised as this years recipient of the Ken Huddle Clinical Role model award. She is the first black woman to earn a PhD in internal medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand.

With a heart for social justice in medical and health care, Nqebelele says physicians are not only about treating individual patients. We also must pursue universal health care for everyone as a fundamental human right. The unacceptable inequalities in health care are a moral, political, social, and economic obligation of every doctor.

Her achievement is no small feat. Nephrologists holding PhDs in South Africa are a select group of fewer than 10 physicians. Nqebelele follows in the footsteps of other medical women firsts at Wits, including legendary Wits alumnae Dr. Mary Susan Malahlela and recently elected Chancellor, Dr. Judy Dlamini.

While she is proud of her achievement, Nqebelele wonders why it has taken so long for women at Wits. There have been many women before me who could have achieved the same qualification. Women doctors face social pressures and professional prejudices on their path to becoming specialists, she says.

The importance of mentorship

She knows for sure that one way to boost the number of women doctors moving beyond their first degree into specialisations is through mentoring. Even though it is not easy to be what you havent already seen, a mentors encouragement makes a big difference. Because women are traditionally encouraged to pursue non-science careers, when one person stands out, that inspires others. Even though the road is tough with barriers and hurdles, winning against many odds inspires others to dream; to have limitless ambition," says Nqebelele.

Nqebelele is grateful for the support and encouragement from her mentor, Emeritus Professor Saraladevi Naicker in the School of Clinical Medicine, under whose guidance and support she realised the importance of mentorship. From her own experience, and recognising the value of mentorship, she is a host mentor for the International Society of Nephrologys Fellowship programme, whose goal is to provide relevant nephrology training to specialist physicians from countries in the global South. She has mentored doctors from Uganda, Mozambique, and Nigeria who successfully completed their studies and have become Fellows of the International Society of Nephrology.

Despite a study in 2016 that indicated more women than men are enrolled in undergraduate medical studies in South Africa, women face challenges moving beyond their first degree. Fewer women than men are moving into medical specialisations and, when they qualify, they are not automatically accepted as specialists. Men are still perceived to be better suited as medical specialists. Additionally, there are few women doctors in leadership positions in academia and professional societies.

As in many professions, womens determination and passion are the qualities needed to deal with cultural prejudices. Having supportive family and friends is also critical, says Nqebelele. We need buffers to cushion us after long hospital hours, and often with very limited resources. A special ring of caring individuals is important to support women doctors to believe in themselves and persist beyond the challenges. It encourages us to keep working hard.

Kidney credentials

Nqebelele was born in Umtata where she often visited the local hospital with her mother, who is a nurse. Nqebelele qualified as a doctor at the University of Cape Town in 2000 and began her medical career at the Umtata General Hospital in 2001. After a short stint as a medical officer at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Gloucester, UK, in 2003, she moved to Gauteng and worked at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

Her career at Wits has included serving as Registrar in the Department of Internal Medicine and leader of the Chronic Haemodialysis Unit at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Before turning to full-time PhD studies in 2014, she served at the CMJAH as a Specialist Physician and Senior Consultant Nephrologist.

Nqebelele is a Nephrology fellow and a fellow of the College of Physicians. She has won local and international medical awards and scholarships, beginning with the Noristan Award for Best Medical Student in 1995. Her research has been recognised by the South African Medical Research Councils National Health Scholarship Programme; the US-based Carnegie Foundation; the AstraZeneca Research Trust; the David Hepburn Memorial Award; and the KwaZulu-Natal Kidney Foundation and National Kidney Foundation/Adcock Ingram Research grant. Her research has been shared and published at various local and international conferences and in journals including the African Journal of Nephrology and at the World Congress of Nephrology in Mexico City. In addition to her medical qualifications, Nqebelele has also attended self-initiated learning in medical teaching, finance, management, and leadership.

A member of South African, pan-African and International nephrology associations, she also serves as Chair of the Wits Clinical Medicine Research Committee and is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Organ and Tissue Transplantation, and the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Renal Dialysis. Her teaching experience includes training undergraduates, medical interns, officers, registrars, and nephrology fellows, and she serves as an examiner of undergraduate and postgraduate students at Wits.

A vision for health care and the skills to realise it

When a patient walks into a clinic, they not only walk in with an ailment but everything else in their world that impacts their health. When an institution does not provide equal health care to everyone and does not relentlessly work and make changes, it is committing structural violence against its clients. We must not stand by and say there is nothing we can do. While making a difference to one person is great, imagine making a difference to everyone who walks into a hospital. That must be our goal and vision as doctors, says Nqebelele.

Her vision is serious but is delivered with generous amounts of positive attitude and enthusiasm. Fluent in five South African languages, she also communicates her optimism with her patients in their own language preference. The frequent wedding, birthday and graduation invitations from patients tell the stories of grateful people.

Mum keeps us in stitches, said her children, Wonga and Kholo. We love her company because she is very funny with us. Nqebelele maintains her positive outlook with travel, family fun, and adventure. She is an intrepid traveller who has made solo adventures to several African countries, including Gabon. She holds a Diploma in French so that she can travel to both English and French-speaking African countries and communicate with patients from Francophone Africa.

At the SA Renal Congress held in October, Nqebelele presented her research findings. Even though South Africa has been on the path towards quality universal medical care for decades, and the resources required to fulfill this national goal are obtainable, quality healthcare still eludes many patients, particularly those with CKD. Nqebelele feels that the unacceptable inequalities in the provision of and access to health care are a political imperative.

Nqebelele serves on several committees in government, university and international organisations, such as the International Society of Nephrology and the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Renal Dialysis of SAs Department of Health, South Africa.

These are not for boosting my CV. There are more women becoming doctors and specialists but few are rising in leadership positions at universities and professional organisations. Women must get into public office in order to effect change. Our voice matters.

If she were the health minister for just one hour, Dr. Nolubabalo Unati Nqebelele would make drastic policy changes to ensure equity, equality and universal access to dialysis for all kidney patients throughout the country. Dr. Unathi has a vision for social justice in health care and medicine.

Getting kidney dialysis in South African is often a matter of chance; like a lucky draw. The criteria for selecting which patients go for dialysis is interpreted in different ways. Being selected for dialysis depends on who is interpreting the criteria  today you can be luck but tomorrow your luck could run out.
Kathmandu, November 13

After weeks of investigation into the report filed by ruling Nepal Communist Partys lawmaker Niru Devi Pal that two unidentified persons threatened to kill her in the first week of August, police have concluded that the incident she described did not occur in reality.

However, police have not said anything about the incident officially though it had earlier informed that it began the probe.

Metropolitan Police Range in Kathmandu had formed a three-member team under the leadership of SP Ram Datta Joshi to look into the case. The team had concluded that though Pal met two unidentified people while she was on her way to a local grocery, they did not issue any threat to her.

However, Joshi could not submit the report before he was transferred to the Secretariat of Inspector General. His predecessor did not take care of the incident.

Now, officials of the Range say the issue was over now.




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
New strategy aims to help preserve and develop opportunities from Wrexhams heritage

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Nov 14th, 2018

A new strategy that aims to safeguard and preserve Wrexhams heritage for future generations has been backed by councillors.

Executive Board members yesterday unanimously voted in favour adopting the Wrexham Heritage Strategy 2018  2028: Making Connections.

Wrexham County Borough is full of heritage  from historic buildings in the town, two National Trust sites, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Wrexham Museum, two Victorian Markets, Brymbo Steelworks and many more buildings, landmarks and objects.

However over the years some of local heritage sites have been closed to the public due to cutbacks, with the council keen to point out buildings have been made watertight or preserved for future generations when hopefully the resources will be around to make best use of them.

Across Wales the heritage sector supports close to 40,000 jobs and is claimed to generate 749m a year. It is also one of the reasons North Wales is a top visitor destination (it was recently cited by Lonely Planet as the fourth best place to visit in the world).

It has been 13 years since the local authority published its last heritage strategy, however pressure on public spending has been cited as a reason for the closure of some local sites.

The new strategy  known as Making Connections  aims to bring together groups and individuals who are passionate about Wrexham County Boroughs heritage to help conserve and promote local history.

It is hoped that this collective approach could attract significantly increased levels of external funding which can benefit the sector as a whole and mark a step change in the contribution heritage can make to the County Boroughs visitor economy.

Overall there seven objectives outlined in the strategy to help achieve the overall aspirations:

 Establish a new coordinating body, The Wrexham Heritage Partnership to drive forward the strategy

 Undertake an audit of key monuments in order to identify and cost their conservation needs. Funding will then be applied for to support a rolling programme of work over the life of the strategy

 Establish of a network of Heritage Hubs and seek new and imaginative ways of linking heritage sites with associated services and businesses

 Identify and seek funding for key developmental opportunities to strengthen the Heritage Hubs

 Develop a distinct Heritage Brand for Wrexham County Boroughs heritage and seek new and imaginative ways that the brand can be marketed and promoted

 Develop County Borough wide projects to celebrate each communitys unique heritage

 Identify key educational opportunities to increase the number of school visits to key heritage assets

Speaking at the meeting Cllr Hugh Jones, lead member for communities, partnerships, public protection and community safety, said: We cannot underestimate the importance of our built heritage and environmental heritage.

In Wrexham we have one of the most significant industrial heritages in the whole of the United Kingdom, it is equal to Iron Bridge and Coalbrookdale and stems back to the same period of time.

We are very fortunate to have the support of a number of private and volunteer organisations that help us in the task of maintaining our heritage so that we can hand it onto future generations.

What we want to try and achieve is something more than heritage. We want it to become a living part of our community and that heritage will come back into life by giving access to younger people.

I hope as a result of the strategy we can work in partnership with a number of organisations across the county borough to deliver that objective.

When I first became lead member for this area, Ive tried to create an ambition where the heritage sites that had been closed will be reopened.

Cllr Jones added: We have something really significant and important that we should hand onto future generations.

Leader of Wrexham Council, Cllr Mark Pritchard added: Wrexham is hotbed of historial sites and monuments. The industrial revolution and heavy industries in Wrexham shaped and moulded what Wrexham is today.

I hope going into the future we can protect, preserve and support as many sites as we can.

You can view the Wrexham Heritage Strategy 2018  2028: Making Connections in full here.
#Korea-Costa Rica relations Costa Rican President Alvarado given honorary Seoul citizenship President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica was given honorary Seoul citizenship Monday as South Korea and the Central American country seek to broaden bilateral ties. Alvarado was...

#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...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Florida A&M University now has a special way to remember one of its veterans.

A historical marker at the FAMU Village student housing complex was created for Lieutenant James Polkinghorne.

The Purple Heart recipient, was entering his senior year at FAMU when he enlisted in the military.

Lieutenant Polkinghorne was the first Rattler accepted into the U.S. Army Air Corps and the first from FAMU to become a Tuskeegee Airman.

He was the flight leader of a squadron of fighter planes when he was shot down in 1944 at 23-years-old.
(WTXL) - Some are calling the damage caused by Hurricane Michael unprecedented.

Now, state representatives in Georgia are looking at a proposed bill that could potentially fund a little under $300 million in storm recovery efforts.

But representatives said this funding would just be the start. They said this is actually a small amount of money when compared to the economic hit the Southwest Georgia region took after Michael.

"What Michael did was just add to a problem that was already existing in Southwest Georgia," said Winfred Dukes, Georgia State Representative of District 154. "So I think it would be an excellent opportunity for us to be able to address some of those concerns we had before Michael and now those things that have just been accentuated after Michael."

Representatives said it should take at least five days to look at this proposed bill.

They will come back and reconvene each day, taking new looks and approaches at the legislation.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) -- Chief Meteorologist Casanova Nurse returned to the Brandon's Place preschool at Lincoln Center in Tallahassee to contribute to the annual "Thanks for Reading" series at the Early Head Start educational center operated by Kids Incorporated of the Big Bend.

Casanova was one of several community volunteers who read various children's books to preschool classes around the Big Bend region, emphasizing the importance of, the the joy in, reading at an early age.

Cas read I Was Walking and The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear to six kids and their teachers at the Brandon's Place classroom. The book described colors, animals, and behavioral skills.

This was Casanova's fifth consecutive year as a volunteer reader in the event.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - U.S. Senator Bill Nelson is asking a federal court to waive the state's recount deadlines, arguing that there isn't enough time to count all the votes.

Nelson filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday arguing election precincts should not have to rush and cut corners to get the results in by 3:00 Thursday afternoon.

Nelson's lawsuit also said votes thrown out because of mismatched signatures on mail-in ballots should ultimately be counted.

Leon County's Supervisor of Elections, Mark Earley, testified Wednesday in court.

Earley said he wants voters to be more careful when signing mail-in ballots to avoid their vote not being counted because of a sloppy signature.

He said these ballots can be traced back to anyone from the elderly to young people to minority voters.

"I think there needs to be some kind of a validation or verification that vote by mail ballots are coming from the voters themselves instead of being some kind of a voter fraud," said Earley. "The whole vote by mail process is the one most subject to fraud because the ballots are not in our control."

Earley stated the board matches signatures on file with those on the mail-in ballot.

This year, Leon County received about 27,000 vote-by-mail ballots and rejected fewer than 100 for mismatched or missing signatures.

Earley said under Florida law, if any county fails to finish a recount by the deadline, the state reverts back to previously reported results.

Unofficial results have Nelson currently trailing Governor Rick Scott for his Senate seat by razor thin margins.

As of right now, no ruling has been made in the case.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WTXL) - The man accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school is facing new charges after allegedly attacking a guard in jail.

Nikolas Cruz, 20, allegedly attacked a officer inside the Broward County Jail. Cruz was jailed being charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for the Valentine's Day mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

There are three new charges listed under Cruz' name on the Broward County jail website, including battery on a law enforcement officer, firefighter or paramedic.

The other charges include aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, firefighter or paramedic and use of electric or chemical weapon against a law enforcement officer.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office is working on getting details on what happened.
WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A second person has been arrested in the theft of prescription drugs from the Crawfordville Pharmacy.

Zachary W. Babcock was charged with robbery and grand larceny on Nov. 9, 2018, after Wakulla County detectives returned to Florida from Blount County, Tennessee. There Babcock was being held for unrelated charges, the WCSO said in a Facebook post.

Babcock is incarcerated in the Blount County Jail, and a hold has been placed on him to be returned to Wakulla County in the future to face the charges.

A woman, Shelby Lynn Higdon, has already been charged in the robbery on November 1. Deputies say Higdon showed a clerk a note threatening that she was armed and demanded a specific prescription opiate and an over-the-counter substance.

Deputies arrest woman in Crawfordville Pharmacy prescription drug theft

WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A woman accused of showing a note at a local pharmacy demanding prescription drugs and threatening that she was armed with a gun has been arrested.

The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office says they have arrested Shelby Lynn Higdon. She has been charged in a robbery at the Crawfordville Pharmacy.

On Nov. 1, deputies say a woman went into the Crawfordville Pharmacy, showed the clerk a note threatening that she was armed with a gun, and demanded a specific prescription opiate and an over-the-counter substance.

The clerk obeyed the woman's commands and after receiving the requested items, the woman ran away.

WCSO says detectives immediately responded to the area, but the woman had already left the area, so an investigation was opened. That same day, the sheriff's office shared a picture of the suspect on Facebook.

By the afternoon of the next day, deputies say they identified the suspect as Higdon and found probable cause to charge her with the robbery. They also learned that she and her boyfriend, Zachary W. Babcock, had traveled together from Indiana to Wakulla County.

Detectives later received information that Higdon and Babcock were in Leon County the evening of Nov. 2, so investigators from WCSO and the Leon County Sheriff's Office began searching for her. They checked five motels in Leon County where the two may have been staying, but postponed the search after a mass shooting at a yoga studio in Tallahassee.

On Sunday, WCSO says they got information that Higdon was in Blount County, Tennessee. That afternoon, around 5 p.m., detectives got a warrant for Higdon's arrest, they entered her as a wanted suspect in law enforcement databases and the sheriff authorized national extradition.

Exactly one hour after providing Tennessee law enforcement agencies with information, deputies say Higdon, who had already changed her hair color from red to blonde, was arrested and booked into the Blount County Jail.

Deputies say Babcock is also in the Blount County Jail for unrelated charges.

WCSO says the arrest was a collaboration between citizens, and law enforcement agencies in Indiana, Florida and Tennessee.

WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office is asking the public's help in identifying a woman regarding a prescription drug theft from a local pharmacy.

On Thursday, the woman showed a note to a pharmacy clerk at Crawfordville Pharmacy, which indicated she had a firearm and demanded prescription drugs and an over-the-counter substance.

WCSO said after being provided the prescription drugs and over-the-counter substance, the woman ran from the pharmacy.

After the theft was reported to law enforcement, deputies quickly responded and searched the area, but the woman had already left the area.

Anyone with information pertaining to the identity of the woman or any other information regarding the theft, please contact the WCSO at 850-745-7100.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 05:24:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over the NATO burden share, bilateral trade deficit and Macron's remarks against nationalism.

Accusing Macron of suggesting building its own army to protect Europe against the United States, Trump tweeted that "it was Germany in World Wars One & Two."

"How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along," he said. "Pay for NATO or not!"

Speaking of trade, Trump said that "France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S."

"The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!" he said.

Noting that Macron "suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%," Trump said the French leader "was just trying to get onto another subject."

"By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!" he added.

This was not the first time Trump has attacked Macron recently. Before arriving in Paris on Nov. 9, he tweeted that Macron's suggestion of building military to protect Europe from the United States was "very insulting."

"But perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!" he said.

After returning from France, he again tweeted that "never easy bringing up the fact that the U.S. must be treated fairly, which it hasn't, on both Military and Trade."

"We pay for LARGE portions of other countries military protection... hundreds of billions of dollars, for the great privilege of losing hundreds of billions of dollars with these same countries on trade," he said. "I told them that this situation cannot continue - It is, and always has been, ridiculously unfair to the United States."

"Massive amounts... of money spent on protecting other countries, and we get nothing but Trade Deficits and Losses. It is time that these very rich countries either pay the United States for its great military protection, or protect themselves... and Trade must be made FREE and FAIR!" Trump added.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office on Tuesday papered over U.S. President Donald Trump's series of tweets criticizing France's trade and security policies, saying the two leaders maintained their bilateral ties.

"The relationship between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump is not always easy, but it is continuous," a source from the Elysee was quoted as saying by BFMTV news channel.

Macron on Sunday called on world leaders, gathering in Paris to join a global tribute to soldiers killed during World War I, to promote multilateral policy and to avoid the errors that led to the outbreak of the grinding conflict in 1914-1918.

He also reminded the world that "during these four years, Europe had come close to committing suicide. 10 million dead, 6 million injured," sounding the alarm for rising nationalism, which, according to him, would jeopardize fragile world peace.

One hundred years after World War I, the two-day Paris Peace Forum following the Armistice Day commemorations brought together 70 heads of state and government, civil society and regional and international organizations to promote multilateralism and collective action to preserve calm over the globe.

With notable exception, Trump did not attend the forum.

While in France, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said that "multilateralism is no longer just a hope, it is more than ever a necessity."

"Unless we have a multilateral system, the risk will be that we go back to relations based on strength only, and a spiral of budding conflict," he said.

Since assuming office last year, the Trump administration has long accused Europe of failing to pay enough for NATO, and of causing large trade deficit on the U.S. side through unfair trade practices. The traditional cross-Atlantic alliance has also been tested by differences over the Iran nuke deal, the Paris climate agreement, and the status of Jerusalem, among others.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 05:41:53|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

Military vehicles of Yemeni pro-government forces move from government-controlled areas to the battlefield with Houthi rebels in Hodeidah, Yemen, on Nov. 13, 2018. The Yemeni government forces managed Monday to recapture a number of neighborhoods from the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah amid fierce street-to-street battles that left 139 killed from both warring sides. (Xinhua)

ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition started Tuesday securing several institutions, factories and private facilities after the withdrawal of Houthi rebels from neighborhoods in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

According to a statement released by the government forces, soldiers backed by armored vehicles started protecting several institutions and private facilities including factories following days of fighting with Houthis.

The statement said that the government forces are attempting to bring life back to the areas and neighborhoods freed from the Houthi rebels in Hodeidah.

"Major companies belonging to the government or to local investors are now under full protection of the armed forces in Hodeidah," it reads.

Fighting against Houthis will continue, the government forces said, adding that "liberating the key port is the main military goal."

But local sources said that some of the factories were badly affected by the ongoing armed confrontations taking place in Hodeidah.

Airstrikes and artillery shelling partially destroyed some factories specialized in manufacturing local dairy products, according to the sources.

All shops were shut down and most of the city's streets remained blocked with barricades amid complete absence of daily life activities in Hodeidah.

Many families started fleeing their houses and took shelter in other neighboring safe areas, while many faced difficulties and did not afford transportation costs to flee Hodeidah, according to local residents.

The Saudi-backed government forces vowed to continue in pushing forward in an attempt to seize full control over the city's strategic port, but Houthis face the offensive with stiff resistance.

Yemen's internationally-backed government and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly accused the Houthi rebels of using Hodeidah's port to smuggle Iranian weapons. Both Houthis and Iran denied the accusation.

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 Arab coalition intervened in Yemen's conflict in March 2015 to roll back Iran-allied Shiite Houthi rebels and reinstate Hadi.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 05:40:16|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

by Xinhua writer Chen Wenxian

JERUSALEM, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Huge market potentials of China's health care sector were discovered at the just-concluded first China International Import Expo (CIIE), Yacov Geva, president and CEO of Israeli G. Medical Innovations Ltd, told Xinhua in an interview.

This is one of the best exhibitions in the world and actually the biggest one with huge market opportunities and cooperation potentials, said Geva, after returning home from the six-day CIIE that ended in Shanghai on Nov. 10.

Geva's company is one of thousands of exhibitors from across the world which participated in the event. His company, focusing on developing and marketing clinical and consumer mobile health monitoring solutions, presented two products at the CIIE.

One is the G. Medical Patch, a modular, easy-to-use clinical-grade solution for monitoring patients throughout the health care life cycle; and the other is the individual Prizma, which turns individual smartphone into his own mobile medical monitor with all personal vital signs and biometric parameters.

The whole atmosphere at the CIIE was "fantastic" and "unbelievable", noted Geva, adding visitors' reaction to his company's exhibition was "so good and so positive."

Lots of Chinese companies showed interest in his products and wanted to do business with his company, said Geva.

A total of 172 countries, regions and international organizations, and more than 3,600 enterprises participated in the six-day event, which attracted more than 400,000 domestic and overseas purchasers, according to the CIIE Bureau.

Deals for intended one-year purchases of goods and services worth a total of 57.83 billion U.S. dollars were reached at the expo, including 5.76 billion dollars of medical equipment and health care products.

"The purpose of attending the exhibition is to expose yourself to the world and many companies, distributors, potential customers, potential investors, potential strategic partners are coming to look for interesting products and interesting companies," said Geva.

Geva said he talked a lot about the great potentials of China's medical and health care market and cooperation opportunities in China with his neighboring exhibitors.

In their eyes, China is the biggest market in the world and the Chinese health care market is also huge because China has a huge aging population and Chinese people want to have a better health care system.

Geva, who visits China almost once a month, didn't have any hesitation in booking a space at the first expo. Next year, Geva plans to have a bigger booth, as his cimpany has already signed a contract to attend the second CIIE in 2019.

"China today is not anymore the biggest manufacturer of the world but the biggest consumer of the world. This is why it's so important for us and other companies to be in China. If they want to do business in China they have to be in China," said Geva.

G. Medical Innovations has built a joint venture and its products will be soon assembled in Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong province. It also has a plan for expansion in the future.

At present, the company's products are mainly marketed in Europe and the U.S., but it is now applying for license from the China Food and Drug Administration to market them in China. The license is expected to obtained in 4-6 months from now.

As early as in 1994, Geva started doing business with Chinese partners. During the past decades, he has witnessed the significant changes in China.

The Chinese market is a "growing and dynamic" market and the evolution is "so quick" in China, said Geva.

Geva said he was inspired by the positive message issued by the Chinese government that pledges to open China's doors wider to attract more and more foreign companies.

China is expected to play an increasingly important role in pushing forward the development of global economy, he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 05:35:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

LONDON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was the first big-name politician to say on Tuesday night that he would vote against a so-called Brexit agreement brokered between Brussels and the British government.

Prime Minister Theresa May spent Tuesday night meeting her top ministers one by one at 10 Downing Street to discuss details of a draft agreement for Brexit. It was worked out with negotiators from both sides aimed at paving the way for Britain's exit from the bloc next March. Each minister was allowed to read the draft agreement.

May has called an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday afternoon to get approval from her top ministers for what would be an historic agreement.

The pound sterling surged on the currency market following news of the breakthrough, but financial observers said the rally could be short lived depending on how the cabinet votes on Wednesday.

Within minutes of details being announced about the breakthrough, questions and doubts were being raised both in the British mainland and across the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland.

Boris Johnson said he would vote against the deal, claiming it would transform Britain into a vassal state of Europe, and be the biggest change in the UK for a thousand years.

"For the first time in a thousand years, this (British) parliament will not have a say in the laws of this country, something which would be utterly unacceptable. I hope the cabinet will do the right thing and I hope they will chuck it out," Johnson said in a media interview.

Conservative MP and influential Brexiteer, Jacob Rees-Mogg described the draft agreement as a failure of the government's negotiating position and a failure to deliver on Brexit. He added that the deal, as reported, would keep Britain in the European Customs Union and "de facto" in its single market.

More troubling for May was a comment made by Northern Ireland politician Nigel Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party. His party shores up May's minority government in the House of Commons.

"We have to see the details, but it appears to be a UK-wide customs agreement but deeper implications for Northern Ireland both on customs and single market. If that means that we're taking the rules and laws set in Brussels, not in Westminster or Belfast, then that's unacceptable," he said on Tuesday night.

The document, said to run to 500 pages, outlines how one of the trickiest issues of the negotiations, the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, would be resolved.

It raised even more questions about what would happen if the deal is rejected when it is put before the British Parliament before the end of the year.

Many of Britain's leading politicians and political commentators, as well as constitutional experts are waiting to read the small-print of the draft document before passing judgement.

Few commentators predicted it would spark a snap general election on the basis the last election called by May backfired when she lost an overall majority in the House of Commons.

The big fear is that another election now could see the main opposition Labor Party winning, putting left-winger Jeremy Corbyn in No.10.

Labor's chief Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said: "Given the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country. It's not in the national interest to vote for a bad deal."

Labor Leader Jeremy Corbyn said "We will look at the details of what has been agreed when they are available, but from what we know of the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country."

The leader of the minority Liberal Democrat Party, Vince Cable, who backs a new referendum, said: "Before the ink is dry, the Conservative Party will tear into what little Theresa May has been able to agree. "The prime minister now faces a defeat in Parliament, as a majority will be hard or impossible to secure for what she has come up with."

In London on Tuesday night Mayor Sadiq Khan said Cabinet ministers must put aside their personal interests and ambitions and do what's in the national interest.

"It's clearer than ever that the British public must now be given a say on the terms of the final deal, with staying in the EU an option," Khan said.

In Dublin Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told his ministers to be on "standby" for a special cabinet meeting Wednesday to update them on Brexit.

The next 24 hours will prove pivotal in the long process of Britain's exit strategy after 45 years of EU membership.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 05:56:49|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

Iraqi Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom addresses the Security Council on the situation in Iraq at the UN headquarters in New York, the United Stetes, Nov. 13, 2018. At Tuesday's council meeting, the UN top envoy for Iraq Jan Kubis called on the international community to support Iraq in rebuilding the country. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The UN top envoy for Iraq Jan Kubis on Tuesday said the international community must continually support Iraq in rebuilding the country.

Kubis, the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for Iraq, said the new government of Iraq intends to start rebuilding immediately, particularly on the delivery of services and jobs, on reforming and energizing the economy, fighting corruption and administrative red tape.

The Iraqi parliament elected Barham Salih as the country's new president and confirmed Adel Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister in October, and 14 cabinet ministers were endorsed.

While the government formation process has not been without controversy, "competition and differences have been largely political and not sectarian, and in this way, a break from the past," said Kubis.

Kubis said the government's program outlines specific plans for reforms, investment, and for transitioning Iraq from a crisis context to sustainable development, and it recommends steps to tackle corruption across all sectors, and sets out a framework to guide the planning and work of each ministry.

The program also aims at strengthening security and fighting terrorism. "The new government intends to introduce robust measures to further improve and achieve sustainable security throughout the country, intensifying efforts to uproot Da'esh terrorist cells to counter this insurgency," he said.

"Iraq will require and counts on the continued support of the international community, we must not let them down," Kubis said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 05:56:12|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

MOSCOW, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denounced a senior U.S. official's claim about Russia's interference in negotiations over the Afghan issue as Washington's attempts to shift the blame for its own policy failures in the country.

On Thursday, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale accused Russia of supporting conflicts in Afghanistan.

"We regard Hale's statement as a clumsy attempt to shift responsibility to the Russian side for U.S. own failures in Afghanistan and the lack of achievements in Washington's efforts to find a solution to the Afghan issue," a ministry statement said.

The ministry said the accusation could only cause "bewilderment" as Moscow is making consistent efforts to facilitate the intra-Afghan reconciliation process, citing the recently held second meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan.

The meeting was held on Friday in the Russian capital with the participation of deputy foreign ministers, special representatives and observers from 11 countries including the United States.

The meeting also marked the first time that representatives of both the Afghan government and the Taliban participated, the ministry noted.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 06:02:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BERLIN, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Education Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) aims to increase financial support for students and plans to reform a law that regulates subsidies for education (BAfoG), newspapers of the German Funke media group report with reference to a draft paper from the ministry on Tuesday.

According to the cited paper, Germany's governing parties intend to spend an additional one billion euros (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) on the reform.

Prices for student apartments are rising in Germany, especially in popular university cities such as Berlin and Munich and the number of jobbing students has increased. About two thirds of German students are working part time in addition to their studies.

Education minister Karliczek wants to raise financial support which has a maximum monthly rate of 735 euros (828 U.S. dollars) to each student by 15 percent. According to Funke media, the CDU politician also wants to increase the number of recipients, and take away students' fear of indebtedness.

In order to be entitled to financial student support in Germany, students need to have the German citizenships, be generally suitable for the selected course and not exceed the general age limit of 30. However, non-German citizens can also apply for financial student support if they have prospects of staying in Germany and are already integrated into the German society.

The reform will "significantly increase" financial support to students in 2019 and 2020, Karliczek told Funke media. Based on the draft paper, the reform is expected to come into effect in the fall of 2019.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 06:20:40|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

Nathan Sales, U.S. State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, Nov. 13, 2018. The U.S. Department of State on Tuesday designated a Hezbollah-related individual and an organization as "global terrorists," imposing sanctions on both. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of State on Tuesday designated a Hezbollah-related individual and an organization as "global terrorists," imposing sanctions on both.

The State Department said in a statement that it had designated Jawad Nasrallah and Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

Jawad Nasrallah is the son of Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, and AMB is a military organization that received funding and military training from Hezbollah, according to the statement.

"Today's actions maintain the momentum of the Administration's snapback sanctions on Iran," said the statement.

All of their property and interests subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury had announced sanctions to other four Hezbollah-related individuals "who lead and coordinate the group's operational, intelligence, and financial activities in Iraq."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 06:18:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

OSLO, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Norway said on Tuesday that Russian armed forces in the Arctic region disturbed GPS signals during a recent NATO military exercise in Northern Europe, news agency NTB reported.

The Norwegian Ministry of Defence confirmed that the jamming took place between Oct. 16 and Nov. 7 and originated from Russian ground forces in the Kola Peninsula, the report said.

NATO held the Trident Juncture 2018 military exercise, its biggest drill since the end of the Cold War, between Oct. 25 and Nov. 7 in Norway and nearby areas.

"We follow closely the situation with relevant authorities. As previously known, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken the matter with the Russian authorities on previous occasions," the Norwegian Ministry of Defence said in an email to NTB.

Svein Johan Pedersen, department leader from the Civil Aviation, confirmed Monday to NTB that they had also noticed interference in GPS signals.

"The disturbances in the airspace have been marked in several cases where the GPS signals have been abnormally weak or have not been received during flights. The equipment in the airplane indicates immediately when GPS signals are missing", he said.

Online newspaper Barents Observer wrote in early November that passenger aircraft in Norway's northeastern county of Finnmark had experienced loss of GPS signals. Recently, aircraft in northern Finland have also experienced unstable GPS signals.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila has said the authorities were still investigating the issue and "it is possible that Russia is behind it."

A Kremlin spokesman on Monday denied knowledge of Russia's alleged role in the recent disruption to GPS signals in the Arctic region, according to Russia's Sputnik news agency.

"We have no knowledge of Russia's alleged role in GPS glitches. You should ask experts or the Defense Ministry. But there is an obvious trend to blame Russia for everything. As a rule, these accusations are baseless," Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 06:17:08|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

A man walks on the platform of railway station Ostendstrasse in Frankfurt, Germany, on Nov. 13, 2018. An urban rail vehicle, or S-train, hit people Tuesday afternoon at the railway station Ostendstrasse near the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, leaving one dead, two injured, the local fire department reported via twitter. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)

FRANKFURT, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- An urban rail vehicle, or S-train, hit people Tuesday afternoon at the railway station Ostendstrasse near the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, leaving one dead, two injured, the local fire department reported via twitter.

The accident took place around 4:15 p.m., when the train was approaching, hitting the three people involved, who stood on the platform, but too close to the track, according to the initial investigation of the fire department.

The train driver had suffered a shock, before he received medical treatment on the platform, like the two injured.

The accident interrupted the operation of the urban and suburban train tunnel service in Frankfurt, affecting lots of commuters in rush hour.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:08:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government is banking on enforcement of stringent regulations to weed out malpractices in the real estate sector and hasten regeneration of cities, officials said on Wednesday.

James Macharia, cabinet secretary for housing and urban development, said that improved governance in the land and property markets is key to realize Kenya's development blueprint, the Big Four Agenda on affordable shelter for all alongside urban renewal.

"The property market in this country has experienced rapid growth, hence the need to tighten regulations in the wake of ethical breaches that have led to collapse of buildings and encroachment into riparian land," said Macharia.

He spoke in Nairobi during the Institute of Surveyors of Kenya regional conference whose theme was "Land and Property Sector: Delivering on Sustainable Development and the Big Four Agenda".

Senior policymakers, investors, engineers and valuers attended the three days forum whose objective is to discuss the contribution of the real estate sector to Kenya's transformation agenda.

Macharia said that a vibrant regulatory framework is required to ensure that ethical standards are maintained during construction of buildings.

"A regulated property market will attract investments required to help us bridge a housing gap in the country. We must therefore act on rogue developers responsible for polluting the urban environment," said Macharia.

He said that both the national and county governments are harmonizing laws to ensure that growth of real estate sector is not detrimental to environment, human safety and health.

Professionals in Kenya's property market that include land surveyors and valuers have developed a code of conduct to eradicate malpractices that have dented the sector's image.

Abraham Samoei, chairman of Institute of Surveyors of Kenya, said that adherence to regulations will halt construction of structurally weak buildings that are a threat to public safety.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:19:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

JAKARTA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian state power firm of PLN obtained more funding backups to finance power transmission and substations projects, a PLN director said on Wednesday.

PLN Financial Director Sarwono Sudarto said the latest syndication loans of 4.5 trillion rupiah (about 304.4 million U.S. dollars) received by PLN were from three state banks, namely Bank BNI, Mandiri, BRI and 1 private bank, Bank Central Asia (BCA).

"Besides providing more competitive cost of funds, the national syndication loans would expand national currency loan portfolio in PLN's debts related to mega power plant projects," he said in a statement.

The loans from national banks were guaranteed by government, reiterating PLN's crucial role in carrying out the massive project, Sarwono added.

The loans from national banks would be used to finance transmission grids and substations in transferring power supply from east, central and west parts of key Island of Java to the capital city of Jakarta.

Besides securing power supplies to the capital city, the transmission and substation projects were also designed to ensure reliability of power supplies in Java and Bali, he added.

PLN initially received 1.62 billion U.S. dollars of syndication loans provided by 20 international banks to finance 35,000 MW power plant projects.

The mega power plant projects have been carried out in several areas across the country with 31,977 MW of power projects having been approved as of April this year.

Power plants designed to produce 17,192 MW from the planned total capacity have been built so far.

Indonesia expected to see national power capacity to reach up to 80,000 MW next year from 63,000 MW at present. The government has planned to expand more power production from renewable fuels, adding national power capacity by up to 42,000 MW from 2024 to 2025.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:21:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BERLIN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- German health minister Jens Spahn, one of the three likeliest candidates to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), attacked his competitors Friedrich Merz and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in an interview on Wednesday.

Spahn told the editorial network Germany (RND) that CDU members would not know what Merz would actually stand for and accused Merz of inconsistency. In the interview, he criticized statements made by Merz, who expressed sympathy for a European unemployment insurance system three weeks ago, but partially revoked his comments last week.

The acting health minister distanced himself from Merz whose interaction with the party would differ from his own. "I have campaigned for the party in good as well as in bad times," said Spahn. "I offer a perspective that goes beyond four years."

Merz, a former CDU parliamentarian and faction leader of Germany's conservative union (CDU/CSU), retired from politics in 2009 and has since worked at various senior management positions, most recently as active chairman of investment company BlackRock. At the end of October, Merz announced his intention to run as successor to Merkel as CDU chairman.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, current secretary general of the CDU, was also accused by Spahn who attacked her backward-looking social policy.

"I voted for the opening of marriage out of conviction," Spahn, who lives an openly gay life and is married to his partner, told the RND network.

Kramp-Karrenbauer had stated in 2015 that marriage was clearly defined as a union between man and woman.

Spahn is considered an outsider in the fight for the CDU presidency in Germany. In the latest survey of the opinion research institute Emnid conducted for the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, 9 percent said they would elect Spahn as Merkel's successor. Spahn came in third place behind Merz, who achieved 30 percent in the survey and the poll winner Kramp-Karrenbauer with 32 percent.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:18:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (5th L) poses for a group photo with other leaders at the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) summit, which is also held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, in Singapore, Nov. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called for deepening cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and lifting their strategic partnership to a higher level.

Li made the remarks at the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) summit, which was also held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership.

China firmly supports the building of ASEAN community and firmly supports ASEAN in playing a central role in regional cooperation, Li said at the summit co-chaired by him and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

China and ASEAN should deepen all-round cooperation, join hands to establish higher-level strategic partnership, and build a closer community with shared future, Li said.

Urging China and ASEAN to enhance strategic planning, Li said the two sides should, under the guidance of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the ASEAN Vision 2025, and strengthen the building of the three pillars -- the political security, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges, so as to lift China-ASEAN relations to a higher level.

To deepen economic and trade cooperation, Li expects China and ASEAN to work with other relevant countries to substantially conclude negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at an early date, expand cooperation areas, and break down trade barriers to promote trade and investment.

On cultivating new areas of innovation cooperation, Li said, as this year is the China-ASEAN Year of Innovation, the two sides should discuss the establishment of a new mechanism for science and technology innovation cooperation, implement the science and technology partnership program, conduct research and prepare to sign the cooperation documents on smart cities, and support the establishment of a digital platform for tourism in ASEAN.

To consolidate the pillar for people-to-people exchanges, Li said China will set up a China-ASEAN scholarship, carry out a research and study program for about 1,000 youth leaders from China and ASEAN, and invite another 1,000 outstanding young people from ASEAN to take training programs in China.

The Chinese premier also proposed expanding security cooperation, saying China is ready to work with ASEAN to institutionalize the joint naval drills, set up a direct hotline between their defense ministries at an early date, carry out friendly exchanges between defense think tanks and junior officers and deepen cooperation in disaster prevention and reduction, humanitarian aid and counter-terrorism.

Calling the summit a milestone for bilateral strategic partnership, ASEAN leaders said ASEAN-China relations have been upgraded due to frequent high-level contacts, strong economic connection and close personnel exchanges.

Safeguarding multilateralism and free trade serves the interests of both sides, the leaders said, adding that ASEAN is ready to align its development strategies with the Belt and Road Initiative and open up more space for cooperation.

They also agreed on enhancing collaboration in connectivity, innovation, smart-city construction, e-commerce, digital economy and other areas so as to facilitate regional economic integration and the building of an East Asian Community.

At the summit, China and ASEAN adopted the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, issued a joint statement on science and technology innovation cooperation, and declared the year 2019 as the Year of Media Exchanges between the two sides.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:24:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BERLIN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) declined for the first time in over three years during the third quarter (Q3) of 2018, figures published on Wednesday by the country's Federal Statistical Office (Destasis) show.

According to the Wiesbaden-based government agency, German GDP was 0.2 percent lower on a price- and seasonally-adjusted basis between July and October compared to Q2.

The surprising slip into negative growth territory was the first observed in the Eurozone's largest economy since Q1 2015 and came after having measured increases in the previous two quarters of 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.

Destasis reports that the fall in GDP in Q3 largely reflected a weakening of domestic growth impulses from foreign trade during the period. The statisticians cited preliminary estimates that exports declined, while imports continued to rise.

Private consumption was also down during the past three months. The development was partially offset by higher investment in equipment and construction, as well as a simultaneous uptick in government expenditure.

On an annual basis, price- and seasonally-adjusted GDP was still 1.1 percent higher in Q3 2018 than it had been in Q3 2017.

The latest quarterly output was contributed by 45 million inhabitants who were officially employed in Germany between July and October, marking an annual increase of 1.3 percent or 556,000 and a new record high in absolute numbers.

Commenting on the official figures published on Tuesday, the German central bank (Bundesbank) president Jens Weidmann argued that the 0.2 percent decline mainly reflected a short-term slump in automotive industry production.

"Upward and downward swings in the number cannot disguise the fact: The economic recovery in Germany and the Eurozone remains intact," Weidmann said. To the extent that German growth had generally begun to lose some steam in 2018, this was caused by businesses reaching the limits of their productive capacities and struggling to find qualified workers.

Speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday, Oliver Holtemoeller, Vice President and Head of Macroeconomics at the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), similarly attributed the decline in GDP in Q3 to problems in Germany's automotive sector which in turn resulted in weaker exports.

"A new certification process for newly-registered vehicles has created significant delays here. Due to the relatively high importance of automotive production in Germany, this is affecting the entire economic production," Holtemoeller explained.

The IWH vice president expressed confidence that certification-related issues experienced by carmakers would prove to be "temporary in nature". He noted that future-oriented economic indicators currently suggested that German GDP would rise significantly again in Q4.

Nevertheless, Holtemoeller warned that capacity bottlenecks made it unlikely that productive losses in the automotive industry in Q3 would be reserved again entirely during the final quarter of the year. The economy was also still exposed to risks stemming from developments in foreign trade which "remained high".
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:27:58|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

COLOMBO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said on Wednesday that a no-confidence motion presented against the government had been passed in the parliament with a majority vote.

In a statement released by the Speaker's Office, he said a majority of the members of parliament had voted in favor of the no-confidence motion.

According to the motion, new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and his cabinet appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena were unconstitutional.

The speaker said that he would send President Sirisena a copy of the motion and the decision of the 225-member unicameral chamber, along with a copy of the letter signed by 122 members of parliament.

Both of sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and new Prime Minister Rajapakse claimed they would continue to be in office following the no-confidence vote which ended in chaos in the parliament on Wednesday.

Hours after the parliament was adjourned, Wickremesinghe said the motion had been passed with a majority through a "voice vote."

"Now that the motion has been passed, the government which ruled before Oct. 26 will come back into effect. I am informing the police and state officials not to carry out any orders handed over by the illegal government," he said.

However, Dinesh Gunawardena, legislator from Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna headed by Rajapakse, said the vote of no-confidence had been invalid as the parliament speaker had not followed the normal parliamentary traditions by calling for an electronic vote.

He said the new government led by President Sirisena and Prime Minister Rajapakse would continue in office and all ministries would continue to function under the new regime.

The no-confidence motion was presented by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and seconded by JVP legislator Vijitha Herath.

However, when the motion was taken up for a vote, legislators from Rajapakse's party broke out in protest, prompting the prime minister to leave the floor of Parliament and the parliament session was adjourned till Thursday.

Sri Lanka has been embroiled in a political unrest since Oct. 26, when President Sirisena surprisingly sacked Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Rajapakse to the post and appointed a new caretaker government.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party called the sacking illegal and called for the parliament to convene to prove their majority.

President Sirisena dissolved the parliament last Friday and called for a snap parliamentary election in January next year, but the decision was overturned by the Supreme Court in a ruling on Tuesday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:26:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ANKARA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkey seeks to drop investigation on its state-owned Halkbank by the United States justice bodies for the alleged evasion of Iran sanctions, a new litmus test on recovery of ties between the two NATO allies.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he had discussed Halkbank case with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in a meeting at the weekend and the latter promised to solve the issue.

The Turkish president demanded the suspension of moving the Halkbank case, an investigation carried on by the U.S. Treasury in Washington, to a court in New York, local media quoted Erdogan as saying.

Ankara also expects either no fine or a very low one on Halkbank for alleged evasion of Iran sanctions between 2012 and 2015.

Turkey also demands the bank's former Deputy General Manager, Hakan Atilla, to be sent back to serve his remaining jail sentence.

The crucial topic was previously discussed between Turkish and U.S. finance and foreign ministers, but the U.S. action to end troubles on Halkbank is still delayed, Erdogan told reporters.

Citing a phone call with Trump one week ago, Erdogan said that Trump pledged to solve the issue.

"After we made a phone call, Trump instructed the U.S. Treasury secretary to call our Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak in 24 hours," said Erdogan.

"They discussed the possible steps on this issue. Afterwards, our Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had a phone call with (U.S. Secretary of State) Mike Pompeo," he added.

A U.S. court sentenced the deputy general manager of Halkbank to 32 months in jail earlier this year for helping Iran to evade U.S. sanctions, a decision which Turkey dismissed as politically motivated.

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces U.S. economic sanctions, is likely to impose a heavy fine on Halkbank.

There is a second investigation that has been carried out by the prosecutors at the U.S. Court of Southern District of New York, which will be a "real trouble," according to Hurriyet Daily News Columnist Cansu Camlibel.

"Rumors say they are ready to release their indictment on Halkbank, which would yield a new court case," she said, recalling that this New York court is where the U.S. president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen pled guilty for criminal charges.

Therefore, any administrative decision by Trump will hardly convince the court to drop the case, according to Camlibel.

The bilateral ties of the U.S. and Turkey are in recovery process after a dispute over the detention and trial on terrorism charges of a U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson.

Brunson's release on October paved way for an ad hoc meeting between Erdogan and Trump at the weekend in Paris during a dinner.

Local media reported that Turkey has not released Brunson until October, because Ankara urged Washington to spare any other investigation on Halkbank and return of its deputy manager to Turkey in return for release of Brunson, yet the negotiations failed in summer.

Now, Erdogan expects a gesture from Trump to close other files against Halkbank.

Elaborating on the investigation file against Halkbank that is reportedly submitted to New York court, an U.S. official said the U.S. justice will decide if they will file a court case against the bank.

"There are speculations about a possible court case against Halkbank, but the independent U.S. judiciary" will decide whether to open a court case in the U.S. against Halkbank, Anadolu Agency quoted a anonymously senior U.S. official on Wednesday as saying.

The official also said another ongoing investigation against Halkbank by the U.S. Treasury has not finalized yet and noted these are two separate cases.

Asked if Trump can intervene into the court cases filed by prosecutors, the official said that Trump cannot influence those cases.

In the U.S. system, the administration has no say over the federal court's actions, the official added.

Asked if Trump can influence the investigation carried out by the OFAC, the official said that OFAC is under the Treasury which is part of the administration and the president is at the helm of the administration.
Palestinian demonstrators burn pictures of Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman in front of the house of Ismail Haniyeh, the Head of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in Gaza on November 14, 2018. (AFP photo)

JERUSALEM, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned from the government on Wednesday, reiterating that the government lacks hard hand against Gaza's Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to go toward a long-term cease-fire agreement with Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, was "caving in to terror," Lieberman said in a broadcast press conference.

He criticized the government's decision to agree to halt a two-day airstrike in Gaza in order to stop barrages of rockets from Gaza at southern Israel, instead of launching a fully-fledged war against Gaza.

He urged the government to dissolve the parliament and go to early elections as soon as possible.

The resignation will come into effect in 48 hours.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:46:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and head of a CMC leading group for deepening reform on national defense and the armed forces, attends and addresses a CMC meeting on the reform of policies and institutions in Beijing, capital of China. The meeting is held in Beijing on Nov. 13 and 14. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has highlighted the significance and urgency of pushing forward reform on military policies and institutions to build a socialist system of military policy and institution with Chinese characteristics.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and head of a CMC leading group for deepening reform on national defense and the armed forces, addressed a CMC meeting on the reform of policies and institutions held in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Xi called for consensus, firm confidence, concerted action and effective implementation to carry out the reform.

He stressed that a systematic and profound reform is urgently needed to address deeply-rooted problems in military policies and institutions, fully release the efficacy of national defense and military reforms, open a new ground for building strong armed forces, and seize the initiative in military competition and warfare.

The reform should be guided by the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, ensure the Party's absolute leadership over the military, aim for combat effectiveness, and enhance the motivation, initiative and creativity of service personnel, Xi said.

Xi stressed safeguarding the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership and ensuring the Party's absolute leadership over the military, while deepening reform on the institution of Party building in the military.

Xi ordered efforts to innovate the policies and institutions on the application of military strength, adapt to the needs of national security strategy and focus on how to win when it is called on.

He called for restructuring of policies and institutions on military strength building, strengthening institutions and system-designing for military human resources, and focusing on combat, innovation and military-civilian integration.

Xi also called for reform on policies and institutions of military management, including establishing a system to manage military spending and further reform on the military judicial system, in order to enhance the efficiency of the whole military system.

"Implementing the decisions by the CPC Central Committee and the CMC on the reform is a major political responsibility," Xi said, ordering the military to strengthen their sense of duty, as well as carefully and orderly implement the decisions.

They should fully recognize and grasp the significance of the reform, understand, support and comply with the reform, he said.

Noting that pushing forward the reform is the common mission of both military and civilian authorities, Xi asked both central and state organs and local Party committees and governments to support the military reforms.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:47:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

LAGOS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's anti-graft body said Wednesday that it would probe the allegation of corruption leveled against the chairman of the country's ruling party during the recently concluded party primaries.

Rasheedat Okoduwa, spokesperson for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other-Related Offences Commission (ICPC) told reporters in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, that Adams Oshiomhole, chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), would be investigated.

The ICPC's decision to investigate Oshiomhole came barely one week after he was quizzed by the country's secret police over alleged anomalies in the APC primaries.

He was quizzed by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) over a complaint from some aggrieved governors that he allegedly received bribes during the recently held primary elections of the party.

Oshiomhole, during the DSS interrogation, was asked to resign from his position as national chairman, according to reports.

The APC chairman has been engaged in a war of words with some state governors.

At least two governors had openly criticized the party chairman for rejecting their preferred candidates for the 2019 general elections.

The country's next general elections are scheduled for February-March 2019.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:46:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ANKARA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has sent extradition requests to 83 countries for 452 people linked to Gulen movement, Turkey's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the parliament, Mevlut Cavusoglu said that a total of 104 supporters of Gulen in 21 countries had been brought to Turkey.

Those Gulen-linked schools and language schools have been closed in 21 countries, Cavusoglu said, as quoted by NTV broadcaster.

According to the minister, Germany was one of the countries that are far from meeting Turkey's demands regarding alleged Gulenists.

Some 23 percent of the foreign ministry staff were dismissed over links with Gulenists, he added.

Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based preacher, is accused by Ankara of orchestrating a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. At least 251 people were killed and nearly 2,200 people were injured in the coup attempt.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:48:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese research team Wednesday unveiled its concept design of a huge electron positron collider, which could be used in solving many problems in physics.

The Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), with a perimeter of 100 km, could help scientists study the properties of the Higgs particle, the early evolution of the universe, the loss of antimatter and search for dark matter, said Wang Yifang, director of the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The discovery of Higgs particle on the Large Hadron Collider in Europe in 2012 ushered in a new era of particle physics. After that, Chinese scientists from IHEP proposed the construction of CEPC that consists of two parts: an accelerator for high-speed collision of electrons and a detector which works like a high-speed super microscope.

Many physicists believe the high-energy collider will help reveal many of the mysteries of nature. But whether China should invest a huge amount of money in constructing it has aroused controversy in academic circles.

The research team from IHEP plans to develop the prototypes of a series of key components of the collider by 2022 to validate the technical feasibility of the project.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:51:01|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

PARADISE, the United States, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The raging wildfire in California has left 48 dead as rescuers continue to search for missing residents in and around the town of Paradise, local authorities said Tuesday.

An additional six bodies were discovered Tuesday in Paradise, which has been nearly been completely razed by the deadliest fire in the state's history, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea at a daily media briefing, adding that all victims were found in their homes.

More than 200 still remain missing in the area and the name list would be made public soon, Honea said, adding that recovery teams are identifying victims with "cutting-edge technology" as the bodies are badly burnt.

A Rapid DNA Analysis System was set up in the town, said local media, adding that portable devices can identify human genetic materials in hours while sample tests in labs usually take days or weeks.

There have been 208 suspicious incidents reported in the evacuation zone, Butte County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday. Of those reports, 18 were linked to looting. Deputies arrested four suspects on Monday.

The wildfire scorched 130,000 acres (526.1 square km) with 35 percent contained, according to a Tuesday update from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 5,600 firefighters are battling the blaze.

The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco on Tuesday warned Chinese citizens to follow the latest development and avoid heading to restricted areas.

Many survivors in Chico, a small city with 90,000 residents near Paradise, have been living in shelter centers for five days. Some hoped to return home soon while some wondered if they can restart lives in Paradise in the future.

"I haven't been home since the fire started. I expect to go back home as soon as possible. My dog is still there," Cynthia Rowe,a 61-year-old resident of Paradise, told Xinhua. She spent eight hours in reaching Chico after driving through burning wood.

"It was terrible," she said. "I had to spend two nights in the camp at the church in Chico, as it was the only place to go."

Another resident of Paradise watched her home completely burn down.

"It was just one hundred percent devastating," said Tonya Boyd. She had no plans to go back to Paradise again since all her relatives' houses in the town were damaged.

"There's nothing left. Everything's just completely destroyed," she said. "We're all gonna look for a place in Chico. I don't want to go too far because we've been here (for) twenty plus years."
Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (L) meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore, on June 12, 2018. (Xinhua/Ministry of Communication and Information of Singapore)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a recent report concerning the alleged development of missile bases in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was inaccurate.

"The story in the New York Times concerning North Korea developing missile bases is inaccurate," he tweeted. "We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new - and nothing happening out of the normal."

"Just more Fake News. I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!" he added.

The New York Times reported on Monday that the DPRK was "moving ahead with its ballistic missile program at 16 hidden bases that have been identified in new commercial satellite images."

The New York Times published the report on analysis of satellite images released by a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Last week, the U.S. State Department said that the planned meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, has been postponed.

Heather Nauert, the department spokesperson, said in a statement that the scheduled meeting "will now take place at a later date."

"We will reconvene when our respective schedules permit," Nauert said, adding that the ongoing conversations between Washington and Pyongyang "continue to take place."

Pompeo and Kim had been expected to discuss "making progress on all four pillars of the Singapore Summit joint statement," according to an earlier statement issued by the State Department.

Pompeo himself revealed in a recent interview that he expected some "real progress" in talks with Kim, including "an effort to make sure that the summit between the two leaders can take place."

The first-ever DPRK-U.S. summit was held in Singapore on June 12. According to a joint statement signed by Trump and DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, the United States would provide security guarantee to the DPRK in return for Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization.

Following the leaders' meeting, the U.S.-DPRK talks were once stuck in an impasse due to differences over the scale of denuclearization, U.S. sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 07:56:14|Editor: Liu

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The number of new international students enrolling at U.S. high education institutions fell by 6.6 percent during the 2017-18 academic year, on top of a 3.3 percent decline the year before, a report showed on Tuesday.

China remained the largest single source of international students, accounting for about a third of all students who came to the United States for postsecondary degrees, followed by India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada, said the report.

The 2018 Open Doors Report was released jointly by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The total number of international students in the United States surpassed 1 million for the third consecutive year, increasing by 1.5 percent to reach a new high of 1,094,792, the report showed.

China sent the most students in 2017 -- 363,341, marking a 3.6 percent enrollment hike, according to the report.

Current gains in the total number of international students studying in the United States are due primarily to increased participation in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, said the IIE in a press release.

The OPT program allows international students to practice their skills in the country for up to 12 months during or after they complete their academic programs, or up to 36 months for students who have earned a degree in STEM fields.

OPT participation grew by 15.8 percent in 2017/18. Among enrolled students, drops were seen primarily at the graduate and non-degree levels, according to the IIE.

As for U.S. students, the number grew by 2.3 percent to 332,727 Americans studying abroad for academic credit at their home institutions in 2016/17. Approximately one in 10 U.S. students study abroad during their undergraduate career.

Concerning the fall of new enrollment, some experts said the current political climate in the United States has made international students feel unwelcome, leading some to enroll elsewhere.

Others noticed that though the United States remains the top host of international students globally, it is losing students to other English-speaking countries such as Canada, Australia and Britain, which have all seen growth in the past year.

Allan Goodman, IIE president and chief executive, said that global competition for students is intensifying.

"We're not hearing that students feel they can't come here," Goodman said. "We're hearing that they have choices. We're hearing that there's competition from other countries, and that, in this very sophisticated, very competitive market for the first time, we have real competition."

International students made a significant financial impact on the United States, contributing 42.4 billion dollars to the U.S. economy in 2017 through tuition, room and board, and other expenses, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

"International students studying alongside Americans are a tremendous asset to the United States," said Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. "We want to send a message that international education makes us stronger as a country."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 08:05:27|Editor: Liu

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday outlined the security and public health challenges as well as ethnic tension confronting the African country's upcoming elections.

"In many parts of the country, these long-awaited elections will take place in a volatile security environment," Leila Zerrougui, the UN Special Representative for the DRC, told the Security Council.

In particular, she underscored the situation in Beni, where civilians, the Congolese force, and the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO are targeted by rebel groups.

Moreover, MONUSCO is also coping with supporting a major Ebola response effort in Beni, said the Algerian legal expert, who also heads the mission. "We are still seeing a growing number of cases in the major population centers in Beni and Butembo and significant community resistance to response efforts."

The UN envoy pointed out that women are disproportionately affected by the epidemic, representing about 60 percent of all probable and confirmed cases, due to a number of factors, including their roles as caregivers of the diseased.

Returning to security issues, the UN envoy warned a potential for armed group interference in elections in specific areas throughout eastern DRC, particularly in Tanganyika, South Kivu, and the Grand and Petit Nord ares of North Kiva.

"Armed group violence in these key provinces could affect the secure deployment of electoral material and may prevent certain parts of the population from voting on election day," she said.

In addition, she took note of the forced return of Congolese migrants from Angola to the Kasais, saying given the pace of returns and the capacity to receive returnees on the ground, "there is the possibility for ethnic tension to flare up in certain areas of the Kasais."

Concluding her briefing, Zerrougui appealed that collective focus be put on ensuring the credibility of the electoral process, stressing the need for candidates to have equal access to political space during the campaign period, which starts in days.

The DRC's elections were long overdue. A political agreement on Dec. 31, 2016 allowed President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, to stay on after his term of office expired, on the condition that elections would be held within 2017. But elections were delayed on the grounds of logistics.

On Nov. 5, 2017, the country's electoral commission published an electoral calendar for the combined presidential, legislative and provincial elections on Dec. 23, 2018.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 08:11:24|Editor: Liu

Video Player Close

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Mexican agents assigned to the Interpol arrested a fugitive from Peru who was wanted for his involvement in a 2002 fatal nightclub fire that killed 29 people, the country's Attorney General's Office (PGR) said Tuesday.

Edgar Jesus Paz was arrested by the police in Tlalnepantla, a municipality in the state of Mexico, without using violence or affecting third parties.

The PGR said in a statement that the arrest was based on an extradition request submitted by Peru.

Paz was one of the owners of the nightclub Utopia. Authorities have been looking for him since he was sentenced in 2004 to four years in prison for manslaughter for the accident in July 2002, in which 29 young people died asphyxiated or burned, according to Peruvian press.

A federal judge of Mexico ordered his detention for extradition at the request of Peruvian authorities.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 10:57:47|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

KHARTOUM, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Tuesday reiterated readiness to begin process of removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"The United States is prepared to initiate the process of rescinding Sudan's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism -- if the determination is made that all of the relevant statutory criteria have been met, and if Sudan makes progress in addressing each of the six key areas of mutual concern prioritized by the Phase II framework," U.S. Charge d'Affaires Steven Koutsis said at a press conference here on Tuesday.

The United States has therefore launched the "Phase II" framework, which is designed to expand cooperation, facilitate meaningful reforms in Sudan, and achieve further progress in a number of areas of longstanding mutual concern, he said.

He added that the United States remains committed to positive engagement with Sudan and to achieving their shared goals on the basis of mutual understanding and respect.

The United States believes that Phase II has the potential to make the U.S.-Sudan relationship more productive than it has been over the past 30 years, Koutsis said.

Phase II includes expanding counter-terrorism cooperation, enhancing human rights protections and practices, improving humanitarian access throughout Sudan, ceasing internal hostilities to create a conducive environment for progress in Sudan's peace process, taking necessary steps to address certain outstanding terrorism-related claims and adhering to the UN Security Council resolutions related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The first phase of the strategic dialogue between Khartoum and Washington, the "Five-track Plan", culminated with the lift of the U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 11:21:24|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Japan and South Korea meet here from Wednesday to Thursday for the 21st ASEAN plus three summit (10+3) as well as their respective ASEAN plus one summits (10+1).

The ASEAN plus China, Japan, South Korea cooperation mechanism incorporates the 10+3 as well as the 10+1 framework. The latter stands for ASEAN's respective cooperation mechanism with China, Japan and South Korea.

The two frameworks were established in the late 1990s when ASEAN countries decided to enhance cooperation with other major economies of Asia against the backdrop of economic globalization.

The first ASEAN plus three summit was held in Malaysia in 1997, a time when countries in the region were facing an economic setback. The financial crisis was regarded as having provided the impetus for this summit.

The two frameworks, initially focused on economic cooperation, have expanded in recent years to the fields of politics, security and culture. Nowadays, they have developed into mechanisms of great significance in strengthening and deepening regional cooperation, particularly in economic, social and political areas.

A number of dialogue mechanisms at various levels have been established within the framework of 10+3, covering diplomacy, economy, finance, agriculture, labor, tourism, environment, the fight against cross-border crime, health care, energy, telecommunications, social welfare and administration innovation.

Within the framework of 10+1, great emphasis has been put on cooperation in the sectors of agriculture, information and communication industry, human resources development, mutual investment and development of the Mekong River Basin.

State leaders, ministers and other high-ranking officials from 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan and South Korea meet annually to discuss cooperation and major international and regional issues.

Apart from the above-mentioned three countries, ASEAN has also carried out 10+1 dialogues with some countries outside the region on a periodic basis.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 11:23:51|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday called for global efforts to uphold free trade and multilateralism so as to realize world peace and global common prosperity.

Li made the remarks in a speech titled "Pursuing Open and Integrated Development for Shared Prosperity" at the 44th Singapore Lecture.

It is the international order based on multilateralism and free trade that has helped humanity maintain lasting peace and reduce poverty since the end of WWII more than 70 years ago, he said.

Amid international vicissitudes, the international community needs to firmly follow multilateralism, adhere to principles of mutual respect and equality between big and small countries and insist on solving problems through dialogue and managing disputes via negotiations, said the Chinese premier.

It is free trade that promotes the process of globalization, Li said, noting that free trade has underpinned the growth and prosperity of Singapore, and also constitutes the necessary condition for forging ahead with China's opening-up.

Though some say that problems occurred in the process of globalization and free trade rules need adjustments, China believes that generally speaking, globalization has been adapting to the direction of human development, the premier said.

Stressing that China has always advocated just and fair trade, Li said free trade is the prerequisite for all trade.

"Without free trade, it means no trade, then how can there be just and fair trade? Meanwhile, just and fair trade is an important basis for the continued development of free trade," Li said.

He called for reform measures to address problems that occurred in the process of globalization, adding that those measures should not run counter to the basic rules of multilateralism and free trade and should not, in particular, discard the current regime and start all over again.

"China is willing to discuss with all sides ways to improve free trade and promote the development of globalization," said Li.

"We also stand ready to talk about just and fair trade so as to make free trade more robust and develop at a higher level," he added.

During his speech, the premier said that China expects to finalize negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019.

The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the six Asia-Pacific states with which ASEAN has free trade agreements -- Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

The RCEP, once agreed upon, could cover nearly a half of the world's population and a third of the world's trade, Li noted, adding that the agreement, based on the rules of the World Trade Organization, will benefit the economic integration among regional countries.

Focusing on mutual benefit and flexibility, China will continue the RCEP negotiations with all parties. China hopes to work together with all parties to conclude the negotiations next year to reach a comprehensive, modern, high-level and mutually beneficial agreement, Li said.

During Li's first official visit to Singapore, he is also scheduled to attend a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation to further promote China-ASEAN relations.

China hopes to complete talks on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea within three years, clinching a final deal that will keep enduring peace in the region, Li said in his speech.

Joint efforts of China and ASEAN have stabilized the South China Sea. Both sides should seize the opportunity to push for substantial progress on the COC talks, Li said.

The COC talks between China and ASEAN countries are a mechanism of equal participants, independent of external interference, he added.

Li also highlighted the significance of the recent adoption of a single draft negotiating text of the COC.

"The single draft negotiating text is not merely a technical term, but an indication that China and ASEAN have reached consensus on ensuring peace and stability, freedom of overflight and navigation in the South China Sea," he said.

Reaching agreement on the COC will not only be beneficial to China and ASEAN countries but also conducive to free trade, which is in the interest of all sides, Li said.

At the Singapore Lecture, the Chinese premier also stressed that China's development is achieved by the hard work of its people over the 40 years of reform and opening up, rather than by taking advantage of others.

Li reiterated that China will open its door to the world even wider in the future. "We welcome Singaporean and ASEAN enterprises to seize the opportunity and increase investment in China."

The Chinese premier also visited a biopharmaceutical company in Singapore on Tuesday. As he learned that the company is willing to cooperate with China to build clinical laboratories and serve patients around the world, Li pointed out that such cooperation can ease the pain of patients and relieve the burden of their families, as well as open up space for the company's research and development results.

The two sides can also discuss the possibilities of multi-party cooperation and combination of multiple therapies so as to contribute to human health, he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 11:25:46|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

SYDNEY, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Seven million hectares of koala habitat in Australian State of New South Wales (NSW) is located in deforestation hot spots, according to a report released by conservation groups on Wednesday.

Compiled by The Wilderness Society, WWF Australia and other prominent conservation groups, the report revealed that 17 of the top 20 deforestation sites in NSW contain substantial areas of koala habitat.

WWF Australia conservation scientist Martin Taylor told Xinhua that "there's coincidence of clearing hot spots and koala habitats which we believe explains why the koalas are in such trouble."

According to Taylor, not just koalas, but all manner of native Australian fauna are killed when deforestation takes place, and even if they are displaced, conflict with other animals can mean an unhappy ending regardless.

The Wilderness Society National Director Lyndon Schneider said, "The koala is facing an extinction epidemic in NSW, with some estimates saying this iconic animal could be extinct in the state by 2050."

"A third of the koala population has been wiped out in NSW in just 20 years, while the North Coast koala population has been slashed in half."

Both sides of government in NSW have plans to create koala sanctuaries if they gain power in next year's state election, which Taylor said his organization strongly supports, although more could always be done to protect the species.

"That's great to have more national parks to protect koala habitat, but ultimately we also need strong laws for all the koala and wildlife habitat that's outside national parks."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 11:38:29|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

by Xinhua writer Yang Jingzhong

PORT MORESBY, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG) offers a historic opportunity for bilateral relations, said Xue Bing, China's ambassador to the largest and most populous Pacific island state.

According to Xue, PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has made developing relations with China a diplomatic priority. An important partner of China in the region, PNG is the first Pacific island country to sign up to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Xi's state visit, the first to the country by a Chinese president since the two sides established diplomatic relations in 1976, will further promote the bilateral strategic partnership and South-South cooperation, Xue said.

"China is ready to expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, production capacity and education within the BRI framework to help PNG achieve sustainable development and realize common development in this region," Xue told Xinhua in a recent interview.

During his visit, which starts Thursday, Xi is also scheduled to attend the 26th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and meet on the sidelines with the leaders of Pacific island countries that have diplomatic ties with China.

"The strategic partnership featuring mutual trust and common development between China and Pacific island countries conforms to the trend of the times, and China is ready to work with all Pacific island countries to build a community with shared future for mankind," said the Chinese diplomat.

Reviewing the China-PNG friendship, Xue said bilateral ties have been defined by equality, mutual benefit and mutual political trust. He spoke highly of the island country's adherence to the one-China policy and close high-level exchanges with China.

With PNG being rich in natural resources and China having strengths in capital, technology and market, the two economies are complementary and have great potential for cooperation, Xue said.

PNG is a major trading partner of China in the region. Official data showed bilateral trade in 2017 amounted to 2.836 billion U.S. dollars, up 24.4 percent year on year, with a surplus on the PNG side.

At the same time, PNG has attracted the highest amount of Chinese investment in the region, with an estimated 3.04 billion dollars in direct investment as of October 2018. About 40 Chinese companies are now operating in the country, creating a large number of local jobs.

The two countries have also witnessed increasingly close people-to-people exchanges and growing military, law enforcement and inter-party ties, Xue said, citing the visits in 2014 and 2018 by Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark on medical service missions.

Xi's trip, said the ambassador, will be a success with far-reaching influence on the development of China's relations with PNG and other Pacific island countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 12:06:39|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

SUVA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The general elections started in the South Pacific island nation of Fiji on Wednesday as voters across the country braved the rainy weather to cast their votes at polling stations open from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. local time.

About 550,194 registered Fijian voters are heading to the polls, excluding those who have already voted via pre-poll and postal voting. About 44,708 voters have taken part in the pre-poll, which was a 63 percent turnout and more than 6,000 people took part via postal ballot.

Fiji's Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem said that they have 1,503 polling stations and encouraged registered voters to come out and exercise their constitutional right.

Saneem reminded voters that it is important to follow all the rules while at the polling stations to avoid being penalized.

"Due to the weather, we are currently advising voters to come prepared for rain, bring a raincoat to avoid getting wet. Come line up in the cue, vote and have the rest of the day off."

Saneem also reminded Fijians that the rules that were in place during the 48-hour black out period still applies until the close of poll at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

More than 2,000 Fijian police officers have also been deployed around the island nation to provide security and maintain peace at polling stations.

Fiji's Commissioner of Police Sitiveni Qiliho said on Tuesday that they will bring additional manpower from the Fiji Military, if the need arose, to assist them with maintaining security during the 2018 general election.

Political parties are contesting these elections including the FijiFirst Party, the Fiji Labour Party, Hope Party, the Freedom Alliance Party, among others.

While having 51 provisional candidates for the 2018 general elections, the FijiFirst party's 2018 Manifesto plans to build upon the success of the last four years of governing, based on the party's 2014 Manifesto, which brought in free bus fares and free education paid by Fijian taxpayers.

FijiFirst Party said that through Voreqe Bainimarama's leadership, they fulfilled 99 percent of the promises made in the 2014 Manifesto but also delivered even more.

The party has already laid the foundation for a more prosperous Fiji and the 2018 Manifesto continues that program, said their party leader and current Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.

Fijian President Jioji Konrote announced on Sept. 30 to dissolve the parliament immediately for the general elections.

According to his order, the registration of voters for the election stopped on Oct. 1 and the Fijian Elections Office stopped receiving the nominations of candidates by midday on Oct. 15.

A total of 235 candidates are vying for 51 parliamentary seats in Fiji.

Despite the bad weather, a lot of voters with umbrellas were lined up at the polling stations and were happy to cast their votes.

Sefanaia Joseph, a first time voter from a suburb outside the capital city of Suva, braved the rain to cast his vote.

He is looking forward to entering university next year. He said he was excited and hopes the process would be peaceful.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 12:09:51|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Four Cambodian civilians working for the UN's mine-clearing operation were among the victims in a suicide attack in the conflict-torn West African nation of Mali, a defense ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

"One Cambodian was seriously wounded and three others sustained minor injuries," Chhum Socheat, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said in a statement.

He said the seriously wounded victim were rushed to the Chinese peacekeeping Level 2 Military Hospital in the city of Gao, while the slightly injured persons were admitted to a nearby hospital.

According to the spokesman, the vicinity of a UN's residential complex in Gao was attacked Monday night in a car bomb blast, killing a suicide bomber, two Malian people, and leaving 14 others injured.

Socheat said the Cambodian military personnel who were on mission in Gao had not been hurt in the terrorist attack.

The attack was claimed by a group linked to al-Qaida.

Mali was plunged into turmoil after Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaida jihadists took control of the north in March 2012, and France launched a military operation in January 2013 to oust them.

Cambodia has sent troops to join a UN peacekeeping force in Mali since 2014. Currently, 309 Cambodian peacekeepers are on a mission in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 12:20:22|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

TOKYO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks were practically flat Wednesday morning as investors buying back issues oversold in the rout a day earlier were balanced out by selling on global economic concerns.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 26.35 points, or 0.12 percent, from Tuesday to 21,784.17.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, edged up 0.11 points, or 0.01 percent, at 1,638.56.

Air transportation, electric power and gas and metal product-linked issues led notable gainers, while oil and coal product, mining, and services issues comprised those that declined the most by the morning break.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 13:06:58|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

CANBERRA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Energy Minister Angus Taylor has said a plan to expand the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme is a "fundamental part of our future energy needs."

In a speech on Wednesday Taylor said that proposed expansion of the scheme would benefit "many future generations."

The Snowy Mountains scheme is a series of 16 dams, seven power stations, 225 km of tunnels and one pumping station in southeast Australia. It has a power generation capacity of 4,100 megawatts (MW) and is the largest engineering project in Australian history.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2017 announced a 2-billion-Australian dollar (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) plan to expand its capacity by 2,000 MW, a plan that was endorsed by Taylor on Wednesday before the Snowy Hydro Limited board votes on it in December.

Taylor said "the Snowy region will play an even more important part in supporting our nation in the future" because the scheme "has unrivaled capacity to store power when it is not needed, and generate it when it is needed."

However, the minister acknowledged that "the business case must stack up" before the board could approve the expansion, which would add enough capacity to power a further 500,000 homes.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 12:53:03|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- As the diplomatic wrangle between Qatar and several Middle East nations continues to cut, the U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said here Tuesday that the United States sought to build a strategic alliance in the region.

Speaking to the media with his Qatari counterpart Khalid bin Mohammed al-Atiyya at the Pentagon, Mattis said that the U.S. side recognizes Qatar as "a long-time friend and military partner for peace and stability in the Middle East and a supporter of NATO's mission in Afghanistan."

"The United States supports exploring an inclusive Mid East strategic alliance, a concept borne in your region and one that brings together all partners to address shared challenges," he said

"We are committed to working by, with, and through allies and partners across the region to make this concept a reality and to deter hostile actors," he added.

When asked about the continuous blockade of Qatar by nations like Saudi Arabia, an apparent obstacle to the U.S. initiative to build such an alliance, the senior Qatari official said that the issue was a "concern" to him and part of the reason for his visit to the United States.

"Actually I am here today to discuss our mutual cooperation and the way forward," he said. "And this is what's, to be honest with you, concerning me today, how to alleviate our relation and mutual cooperation together with the United States."

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and jointly imposed a trade, land and air traffic embargo against the nation.

The four accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.

However, Doha has rejected the accusations, calling them "unjustified" and "baseless."

Despite the U.S. calls for all parties concerned to solve their problem soon, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in September that "there is still no solution to the spat in sight."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 12:59:28|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been processing the largest number of trade disputes in 16 years, its director-general, Roberto Azevedo, told an agribusiness summit in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

The WTO is currently handling a total of 35 disputes sparked by a rise in protectionism and global tensions in trade, the Brazilian-born Azevedo said via videoconference call, as he called on business leaders to counter the trend.

"The rise in such measures and counter measures is a possibility. We have to take action to reduce these tensions," said Azevedo.

Brazil's incoming administration, which is set to take office on Jan. 1, should work to boost Brazil's presence in global trade and strengthen agencies such as the WTO, he said.

"The change in government in Brazil offers an opportunity to reflect a little on international trade and the country's insertion into the world," said Azevedo.

"The WTO is ready to deepen dialogue with the Brazilian government and contribute to the country's progress, especially in the area of economy and trade," said Azevedo.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 13:06:40|Editor: Yamei

Video Player Close

A booth of Alipay is seen during the Alibaba E-commerce Expo in Sydney, Australia, Sept. 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

by Xinhua writer Fei Liena

PORT MORESBY, Nov. 14 (Xinhnua) -- Against the backdrop of an unpredictable world economic prospect, this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic leaders' meeting is expected to highlight regional economic integration, digital economy and structural reform, and thus to give the world economy a much-needed boost.



The South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is hosting the APEC meeting on Nov. 12-18, with a theme of "Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future."

REGIONAL INTEGRATION

The APEC meeting has three priority areas -- improving connectivity and deepening regional economic integration, promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, as well as strengthening inclusive growth through structural reform.

For more than a decade, APEC has been devoted to harmonizing the "spaghetti bowl effect" in the Asia-Pacific region and integrating numerous bilateral, trilateral and sub-regional free trade treaties into one.

Experts believe the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), a high-quality free trade arrangement covering all APEC economies, not only helps promote the free flow of trade and investment in the region, but also supports a more open Asia-Pacific economy.

The proposal of building the FTAAP was initiated in 2004 and written into the declaration of the APEC meeting in 2006. In the 2014 APEC meeting in Beijing, the initiative made a breakthrough with APEC members unanimously adopting the FTAAP Beijing Roadmap to achieve the goal.

In the following Lima APEC meeting and Da Nang APEC meeting, all member economies pledged to continue to support the multilateral trading system, promote the building of the FTAAP and push forward the realization of the Bogor goals for realizing free and open trade in the Asia Pacific.

At the 2017 APEC CEO Summit held in Da Nang, Vietnam, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a full implementation of the 2014 Beijing Roadmap, and said the building of the FTAAP has been a "long cherished dream of the business community in our region."

Facing the challenges of anti-globalization and the trend of global trading system being fragmented, China's firm stand helps converge the political consensus among Asia-Pacific economies to realize the Bogor goals.

"The FTAAP is a strategic choice for long-term prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. It will provide institutional guarantee for our region's open economy," said Tang Guoqiang, co-chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

Alan Bollard, executive director of the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore, told Xinhua: "It's been a year of trade frictions and some different views on regional economic integration, so I'm expecting we'll have more discussions on whether or not APEC will be given a signal on a multilateral trading system, on how we will talk about a free trade area for Asia and Pacific, and on how we'll handle the new range of complicated issues around the digital economy."

DIGITAL ECONOMY

Under the theme of "Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future," this APEC meeting is the first to put the digital economy a priority, showing the PNG's high emphasis on its impact and influence on the nation's economy.

"This is the first time that an APEC host has put the digital economy front and center as part of their overarching theme for the year. Obviously, this is the priority for the government of Papua New Guinea," said APEC Economic Committee Chair Robert Logie.

"They want to have their people take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital economy as soon as possible. For that, you need certain policy reforms. You need policies that encourage the rapid rollout of high-speed internet, for example," Logie said.

"Digital trade and e-commerce are creating more opportunities for our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME)," noted PNG Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Rimbink Pato. "We need to keep our markets open and make necessary investments to develop our domestic infrastructure and human resources to ensure that the benefits from open and free markets are diffused to all segments of our society."

According to APEC statistics, there are currently 110 million MSME in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for 97 percent of the region's total enterprises, and creating jobs for over half of the total population.

APEC Business Advisory Council's senior official Stan Joyce said digital innovation and platform developed at present are a stepping-stone for APEC economies to embrace and use to expand their opportunities.

"ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructure is key to digital inclusion. In many economies, digital infrastructure is concentrated only in urban areas. What is required is all ways of thinking to deliver infrastructure to everybody in our economies," he said.

"Recommendations such as regional benchmark and internet speed and minimum internet penetration must be integrated into the national broadband plans of individual economies," he said.

According to Joyce, digital technologies will facilitate MSME to get quick access to finance and market, help them harness opportunities in e-commerce, digitization, regulation and capacity building, and enable budding entrepreneurs to participate more in this sector.

STRUCTURAL REFORM

This year's APEC agenda also highlights sustainable growth and economic inclusion. To achieve these goals, Logie said, APEC economies need to undertake structural reforms to support increased trade and investment, including digital trade, and make sure that everyone benefits from the digital economy.

"Structural reform means promoting competition, making it easier to set up and operate a business while ensuring that people have access to necessary services," he explained.

He said APEC economies are now "more deliberate" about implementing structural reforms in such areas as public sector management, as well as strengthening economic and legal infrastructure and the overall regulatory process and so on.

"This approach has real benefits," he said. "It could help bring groups who were previously excluded into the formal economy -- women, indigenous people and small businesses, for example -- and help them access the digital economy."

According to a mid-term review in August, APEC economies continue to make progress in implementing structural reforms meant to expand opportunities and promote inclusion across the Asia-Pacific region.

The review said that APEC's structural reform agenda is organized into three pillars: developing more open, transparent and competitive markets; deepening the participation of all segments of society; and establishing sustainable social policies.

However, the report noted that more work is needed to strengthen markets. "The assessment indicates that we should do more to deepen the participation of wider segments of society in the market," co-author of the review Andre Wirjo said. "More could be done to remove barriers to the economic participation of women, youth, and small businesses."

The APEC meeting will also discuss a wide range of issues including regional interconnectivity, economic rights of women, youth and aboriginal groups, climate change on Pacific island countries, disaster relief, among others.

(Xinhua reporters Wang Lili in Singapore, Zhan Yan in Hong Kong also contributed to the report.)

(Video editor: Zhu Cong)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 13:11:11|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said here Tuesday that Poland has "invited the U.S. troops to be forward-stationed" in the European nation.

Speaking to the media at the Pentagon, Mattis said he would discuss with visiting Polish Defense Minister Marius Blaszczak about the details of the plan "at length."

The two defense chiefs are scheduled to meet later in the day.

"We are working out the details on what the offer is, what can best contribute to alliance unity, to alliance security and to the continued strengthening of the bilateral relationship," said Mattis.

According to a statement issued by Pentagon's spokesperson Dana White later, Mattis and Blaszczak met to "reaffirm the strong defense relationship between the United States and Poland and continuing commitment to work bilaterally through NATO to deter Russia."

During their meeting, Mattis thanked Blaszczak for his offer for increased U.S. forces stationed in Poland, the statement said.

Poland currently hosts up to 4,500 U.S. troops on a rotational basis.

Poland reportedly planned to permanently hosts a U.S. division on its territory. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Oct. 24 that this plan was a threat to regional security.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 13:28:26|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United States is working on a multi-pronged infrastructure plan -- one that involves improving the nation's aging roads, bridges and airports, as well as increasing energy exports -- to further boost economic growth, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday.

Top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told CNBC news channel that Washington is "looking at infrastructure in many different ways."

"I'd like to do energy infrastructure. I'd like to do pipeline," he said. "I'd like to do anything that will help LNG, terminals, shipping. We'd like to revise the U.S. shipping industry, which has been dormant for many years. We'd like to export oil, natural gas to Europe and to Asia."

Kudlow's remarks came as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled his willingness to reach across the aisle to congressional Democrats, who retook House majority in the 2018 midterm elections, for infrastructure investment legislation.

Both Trump and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic congresswoman widely expected to become House Speaker, have said the two parties are able to reach consensus on a potential infrastructure package.

One key element in the U.S. want list, as Kudlow has highlighted, is increasing U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, especially to Europe. "They want LNG, they want it badly, and we're going to do everything we can to accommodate them," Kudlow said.

The Trump administration has long been urging European Union (EU) member states to buy more LNG from the United States.

In particular, Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Germany's reliance on natural gas originating from Russia, at one time accusing Berlin of becoming "totally dependent on Russian energy," while criticizing it on another occasion for being a "captive" to Moscow.

At a meeting with Trump in July in Washington, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU will build more terminals to import LNG, a pledge on which he didn't elaborate, and which experts viewed as a gesture to Washington in exchange for a temporary detente in bilateral trade disputes.

At home, Trump's 200-billion-U.S.-dollar federal fund, which he proposed in February to underpin a grand infrastructure scheme worth 1.5 trillion dollars in total, has faced sustained filibusters in Congress and gone nowhere.

What lies at the center of the infrastructure blueprint is where to solicit funding. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross addressed this concern in a speech at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in Washington on Tuesday.

"As you know, the president is very keen to have an infrastructure program, and the only real issue is how do you pay for it. How much does the federal government do, how much is done by the private sector," Ross said.

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood suggested Thursday that Trump raise the federal gas tax, which has remained static since 1993, but that may add burdens to middle- and working-class Americans.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 13:29:01|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

OTTAWA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- An average of 10 people die from illicit drug overdose every day in Canada, according to a study released by the Public Health Agency of Canada on Tuesday.

The study, using data from the two years till March 2018, showed that nearly 75 percent of those who died during the period were men aged between 25 to 54, and most overdoses happened when people were using alone indoors.

Almost a quarter of those who died visited an emergency room in the year before their death. Around 17 percent of those hospitalizations were for opioid poisoning or mental health issues.

The study also shows that in British Colombia, the number of people who died of an illicit drug overdose more than doubled over five years from 293 in 2011 to 639 in 2016.

The British Colombia Coroners Service said earlier that more than half of those who died from drug overdoses in British Colombia province in 2016 and 2017 had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder or had evidence of being mentally ill.

The study found only a quarter of people who died from drug overdoses were employed in their last five years of life. Those who did have a job made a little more than 28,400 Canadian dollars (about 21,460 U.S.dollars).

About a fifth of those workers had jobs in construction, with 13 percent working in building maintenance, waste management and other support service industries.

Around 40 percent of those who died of an overdose didn't receive any social assistance benefits in their last five years.

The majority of people who died of an illicit drug overdose didn't have any contact with police in their last two years of life.

Those who were accused of a crime in their last two years were most often accused of shoplifting.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 13:29:42|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

CANBERRA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced 2 billion Australian dollars (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) in funding to lower the cost of borrowing for small businesses.

Frydenberg said the government would establish the Australian Business Securitisation Fund (ABSF) with the aim of injecting more money into the small business sector that employs 7 million Australians.

The initiative will be a key pillar of the governing Liberal-National Party coalition (LNP)'s pitch to small businesses ahead of the 2019 general election, having already passed tax cuts for companies with an annual turnover lower than 50 million Australian dollars (36.1 million U.S. dollars).

"Small businesses find it difficult to obtain finance other than on a secured basis - typically, against real estate," Frydenberg said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Small businesses that have already obtained finance secured against real estate, but wish to continue to grow, also find it difficult to access additional funding."

"To overcome this and ensure that small businesses are able to fulfill their potential and continue to underpin economic growth and employment, the ABSF will invest... in the securitization market, providing significant additional funding to smaller banks and non-bank lenders to on-lend to small businesses on more competitive terms."

In addition to launching the ABSF, the treasurer on Wednesday announced that regulations would be overhauled to encourage banks to put money into a growth fund, the Australian Business Growth Fund, to support small employers.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 13:29:18|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

TRIPOLI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Red Crescent said Tuesday that it recovered 22 unidentified bodies in the eastern city of Darna.

The bodies were recovered in southern Darna after local authorities notified Red Crescent teams, the Red Crescent said.

Since the beginning of November, a total of 50 unidentified bodies have been recovered in the city so far.

Darna was taken over in July by the eastern-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, which defeated armed groups accused of being loyal to terror group al-Qaeda.

The city still sees clashes in small areas between the army and the last fortresses of the terrorists.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:02:08|Editor: mym

Video Player Close

DALLAS, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese supercomputer manufacturer Sugon demonstrated its new high performance computer called Silicon Cube at an on-going international supercomputer conference in Dallas.

Silicon Cube adopted the phase-change liquid cooling technology with the high energy efficiency, reducing the power usage effectiveness to 1.04.

Li Bin, general manager of High Performance Computing (HPC) Division at Sugon, told Xinhua at the conference named SC18 that only 4 watts power would be used to cool down equipment of 100 watts while 50 to 100 watts power might be used for an ordinary system.

As the supercomputers are eying a billion billion calculations per second benchmark, one challenge lies in its large power consumption and limits on system scale, according to Li.

"It's no longer possible to improve the performance of supercomputers by simply enlarging system scale or increasing power dissipation," said Li. "Higher performance has to depend more on lower power usage effectiveness."

Sugon scientists developed the immersion phase change liquid cooling technology. They soaked the mainboards with CPUs and GPUs into a specific fluids that may bubble up to air in a constant temperature, bringing away more heat than air-cooled technology while not causing short-outs of the circuits.

Also, the new computer applied the heterogeneous computing architecture, improving its supports for artificial intelligence applications, according to Sugon.

Ye Jian, Sugon's Chief Operating Officer, said that the popularity of artificial intelligence, largely represented by machine learning and deep learning, had boosted the explosive growth of computing resources demands, offering more potential for Silicon Cube's application in many industries.

Sugon is one of China's earliest and largest HPC vendors. It produced 57 supercomputers in the latest Top 500 supercomputer rankings.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:02:46|Editor: mym

Video Player Close

GABORONE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Sidilega Private Hospital, being constructed by a Chinese company in the capital, is marvelous, said a Botswana minister here Tuesday.

Alfred Madigele, Botswana's health and wellness minister, said he is certain that the construction by the Red East Construction Ltd will be completed within the planned budget and the hospital will be handed over on time.

According to Madigele, the construction of the 110-bed hospital is expected to be completed in March 2019.

It will be the third private hospital in the capital and will reduce the overcrowding in the two existing ones and the state owned hospitals, he said.

Sharkil Rasul, executive director of the hospital, said the hospital will be equipped with advanced facilities to enhance the service quality for patients.

He said the hospital will introduce 24-hour laboratory and pathology services as well as 24-hour pharmacy.

Steven Zhang, a senior worker of the Red East Construction Ltd, said they had completed several large projects in the country, including the Broadhurst Magistrate Court.

As part of its social responsibility, the Chinese company has always trained local laborers on skills they lack in their job, said Zhang.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:14:57|Editor: Liangyu

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday published a signed article titled "Set Sail on a New Voyage for Relations Between China and Pacific Island Countries" on two newspapers in Papua New Guinea (PNG) ahead of his state visit to the Pacific island country.

The full text of the article, carried by Post-Courier and The National, is as follows:

Set Sail on a New Voyage for Relations Between China and Pacific Island Countries

Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

I will soon pay a state visit to Papua New Guinea, famed as home to the birds of paradise, and attend the 26th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting there. It will not only be my first visit to the country, but also the first-ever state visit by a Chinese President. I have great expectations for this trip.

Being the largest and most populous Pacific island country and endowed with abundant natural resources, Papua New Guinea has enormous potential for development and is truly a land of great promise. In recent years, thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and great work of the government and the industrious and enterprising people of this country, Papua New Guinea has thrived in national development and its society has taken on a new look. I sincerely wish Papua New Guinea even greater achievements in economic and social development and full success in hosting this year's APEC meeting.

China's friendly interactions with Papua New Guinea go a long way back. More than 100 years ago, there were Chinese travelling across the seas to Papua New Guinea who settled down and, with their hard work, made important contribution to the economic and social development of the country. China and Papua New Guinea established diplomatic relations in 1976. Since then, our two countries have treated each other with respect and as equals, and have pursued mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. Our relationship has stood the test of changing international circumstances and stayed as strong as ever.

In recent years, bilateral ties have entered a new stage of rapid growth. Today, Papua New Guinea is China's largest trading partner in the region, while China is the biggest foreign investor and project contractor in this country. For example, the Independence Boulevard and International Convention Centre, which will play an important role in Papua New Guinea's hosting of the APEC meeting, are both built with Chinese assistance. For sixteen years running, Chinese medical teams have provided humanitarian health services to the people of Papua New Guinea. Hydropower stations, hospitals and school dormitories financed by Chinese government concessional loans have become landmark buildings across the country. And in an active response to the PNG government's Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030, Chinese companies have taken part in the construction of roads, bridges, airports and docks locally.

Eighteen years ago when I was Governor of China's Fujian Province, I personally pushed for a demonstration project to help the Eastern Highland Province with mushroom and upland rice planting. I am glad to learn that this project, still in operation to this day, has produced good economic and social benefits for the local community and become a success story in the growth of China-Papua New Guinea relations.

In my upcoming visit, I look forward to working with your leaders to cement mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, and increase people-to-people exchanges in order to take our bilateral ties to a new level.

The rapid growth of China-Papua New Guinea relations is an epitome of China's overall relations with Pacific island countries. Four years ago in Nadi, Fiji, I had a group meeting with leaders of the eight Pacific island countries having diplomatic ties with China, during which we agreed to forge a strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development, thus heralding a new dynamic stage in our relations. The following principles have been adhered to in the development of relations between China and Pacific island countries.

-- We have stayed committed to treating each other with mutual respect. China and Pacific island countries take each other as true friends and good partners. China believes that all countries are equal, regardless of their size. We support the people of Pacific island countries in pursuing development paths suited to their national circumstances and support Pacific island countries in playing a due role in international affairs. On their part, Pacific island countries have, for decades, lent valuable support to China on issues involving China's core interests and major concerns.

-- We have stayed committed to deepening cooperation. Closer business ties and deeper economic and technological cooperation have made the pie of common interests between China and Pacific island countries even larger. A number of island specialties, including liquefied natural gas of Papua New Guinea, mineral water of Fiji, squash pumpkin of Tonga, and tuna fish of the Federated States of Micronesia, have made their way into the Chinese market. China has done what it can to support and assist in the development of the island countries, thus contributing to economic growth and people's welfare in this part of the world.

-- We have stayed committed to building people-to-people links. Over 100,000 Chinese tourists visit Pacific island countries each year. Students, government officials and technicians from Pacific island countries also visit or study in China in large numbers. There have been frequent exchanges between cultural and art troupes of the two sides. China's hospital ship "Peace Ark" has visited Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu, providing humanitarian medical services to more than 20,000 local people.

The Chinese often say, "Distance cannot separate true friends who remain close even when thousands of miles apart." The vast Pacific Ocean is indeed a bond between China and Pacific island countries. As the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation gains momentum across the world, our two sides face the common task to seize opportunities, overcome difficulties and speed up development, as this meets the shared aspiration of both our peoples. During my visit to Papua New Guinea, I will invite leaders of the eight Pacific island countries that have diplomatic relations with China to join me once again in a gathering to renew friendship, explore new ways of development and chart the course for future growth of our relations.

First, we need to bring our strategic trust to a higher level. China will stand firm with Pacific island countries and all other developing countries. Following a policy of pursuing the greater good and shared interests under the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, China will enhance solidarity and cooperation with Pacific island countries, support their development, and help narrow down the development gap between the North and the South. China will work with Pacific island countries to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind.

Second, we need to lend fresh impetus to our common development. China will expand practical cooperation with Pacific island countries in trade and investment, and encourage their active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in line with their own national conditions, strengths and development strategies. I am convinced that the BRI will open up new pathways for Pacific island countries to enhance business ties and connectivity with China, among themselves and with the rest of the world, and for the island countries to take a greater part in economic globalisation.

Third, we need to write a new chapter in people-to-people friendship. As an island idiom goes, "Friendship is a furrow in the sand." China will continue to increase exchange and cooperation with Pacific island countries in culture, education, medical services, sports, youth and human resources training and at the sub-national level. We also welcome friends from these countries to visit, study, invest or do business in China. This will help deepen mutual understanding and friendship between our peoples and carry forward our friendship from generation to generation.

During my upcoming visit, I will attend the 26th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. It will be the first time for Papua New Guinea, and indeed for a Pacific island country, to play APEC host. It will be a huge event for the entire region. Under the theme of "Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future," I look forward to an in-depth exchange of views with other member economies on regional economic integration, digital economy, connectivity, and sustainable and inclusive growth, so that we could jointly contribute to peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

The relations between China and Pacific island countries are now better than ever and face important opportunities of development. China will work with Pacific island countries to brave the wind and waves and set sail for a brighter future of our relations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:20:08|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

FARAH, Afghanistan, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces fought back powerful militants attack in the western Farah province, killing at least seven insurgents and wounding three others, an official said Wednesday.

"Militants loyal to the Taliban group launched a massive attack on a security check post, late on Tuesday, in Deh Yak district of Farah province, but faced strong counterattack and dispersed, after leaving seven fighters dead and three others wounded," Mohebullah Moheb, the provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua.

The Taliban militants fighting government forces in the area, have not immediately commented on the incident.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:21:38|Editor: Liangyu

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua)-- President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory letter to the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), which held a conference for its 10th anniversary Wednesday.

Xi said outer space is the common wealth of humanity and it is the pursuit of mankind to explore, develop and utilize outer space peacefully.

China advocates joint efforts from nations around the world to build a community with a shared future for humanity, and to enhance international exchange and cooperation in outer space on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use, and inclusive development, said Xi.

China has consistently advocated the rational development and utilization of space resources and the protection of the space environment, in order to make space industry benefit all mankind.

Xi pointed out that APSCO and its members play an active role in promoting close cooperation in fields including space exploration, the development and application of space technology.

China will continue to provide active support for APSCO, and in the spirit of consultation and collaboration for shared benefits, boost the progress of space cause and economic and social development, as well as contribute wisdom and efforts for a better world, Xi said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:57:03|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

COLOMBO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's parliament was thrown into chaos on Wednesday after a no confidence motion against new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse was presented to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, which prompted the parliament to be adjourned till Thursday.

Following the parliament's adjournment, legislators made contradictory claims of the results of the no confidence vote.

The no confidence motion on the new prime minister and the newly elected government was presented by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and seconded by JVP legislator Vijitha Herath.

However, when the motion was taken up for a vote, legislators from Rajapakse's party broke out in protest, prompting the prime minister to leave the floor of the House.

Lakshman Kiriella, legislator from the United National Party led by sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, told journalists following the adjournment that the no confidence vote had been passed with a majority and the new prime minister and government would cease to exist.

"We have the majority and the proper parliamentary procedures were followed. The new government is no more. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will once again be the prime minister of the nation," Kiriella said.

However, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna legislator Dinesh Gunawardena said the vote had not been passed as the parliament speaker had not followed normal parliamentary traditions by calling for an electronic vote.

Sri Lanka has been embroiled in a political turmoil since Oct. 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena surprisingly sacked his prime minister Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Rajapakse to the post.

Sirisena who was supposed to address the parliament on Wednesday remained absent.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:54:11|Editor: Liangyu

Video Player Close

NEW DELHI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Four border guards, a policeman and a civilian were wounded Wednesday after Naxals triggered an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeting a truck carrying them in central Indian state of Chattisgarh, police said.

The vehicle was blown up at Bijapur Ghati in Bijapur district, about 415 km south of Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

"Today Naxals triggered an IED blast in Bijapur. Four BSF (Border Security Force) personnel, one policeman from DRG (District Reserve Group) were wounded in the blast, besides a civilian driving the truck," P Sundarraj, deputy inspector general, anti-Naxal operations told media. "The wounded were admitted in a hospital in Bijapur."

Reports said, following the blast an exchange of fire broke out between Naxals and government forces.

Last week five people including a paramilitary trooper were killed and two others wounded after militants blew the bus they were travelling on with a similar IED attack.

Currently the Naxalites are active in more than a third of India's districts across central and eastern India.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 14:55:48|Editor: Liangyu

Video Player Close

PARADISE, the United States, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the raging Camp Fire in the U.S. state of California has increased to 48 as rescuers continue to search for missing residents in and around the town of Paradise, local authorities said Tuesday.

An additional six bodies were discovered Tuesday in the town, which had been almost totally burned down by the deadliest fire in the state's history, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea at a daily media briefing.

All the six victims were found in their homes, the officer said.

More than 200 people were still missing as a result of the fire and the list of names would be published soon, said Honea.

He also said the recovery teams were using "cutting-edge technology" to identify the badly-burnt bodies.

According to local media, a Rapid DNA-analysis system is set up in the decimated town, equipped with portable devices that can identify someone's genetic material in hours, rather than the days or weeks it takes to test samples in labs.

Xinhua reporters met these teams Tuesday in Paradise, who were scouring ruins wearing white protection suits.

There had been 208 suspicious incidents reported in Camp Fire's evacuation zone, with 18 of them linked to looting, according to an announcement by the Butte County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. Deputies arrested four suspects on Monday.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) updated details on the fire Tuesday evening, saying it had scorched 130,000 acres (526.1 square km) with 35 percent contained.

More than 5,600 firefighters from other western states in the country are battling the blaze.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 15:18:44|Editor: Yurou

Video Player Close

MANILA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen peppered the car of a town vice mayor with bullets in the northern Philippine province of La Union on Wednesday morning, killing him and his bodyguard instantly.

Local Police said Balaoan town Vice Mayor Alfred Concepcion died from multiple gunshot wounds, but his daughter, the incumbent Mayor Aleli Concepcion who was also in the car, survived the ambush.

One of their security escorts was also killed in the attack, according to the police.

The ambush took place around 8:20 a.m. local time while the father and daughter were on the way to the municipal hall, police added.

The Concepcions are seeking reelection in the 2019 midterm elections.

Alfred Concepcion is the latest local official to be killed in La Union. Mayor Alexander Buquing of Sudipen town was shot dead on Oct. 1 on the way home with his wife. His wife was also wounded in the attack.

On Monday, Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde said they are looking into the links between some politicians to gun-for-hire groups, ahead of the 2019 midterm elections to elect half of the members of the senate, new members of the House of Representatives and local provincial, town and village officials.

Albayalde said the police will also carry out "aggressive operations" to control the thousands of loose or unlicensed guns in the country in the hands of gun-for-hire groups.

The number of political killings is increasing in the Philippines in the run up to the May 2019 election. Many of the victims are seeking reelections in the local levels.

The official campaign will begin in February next year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 15:42:14|Editor: Yurou

Video Player Close

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have agreed to hold working-level talks on aviation cooperation later this week, Seoul's unification ministry said Wednesday.

The aviation dialogue will be held Friday at the joint liaison office of the two Koreas at the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

The five-member South Korean delegation will be led by Son Myung-soo, a senior official of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The DPRK delegation will be represented by Ri Yong Son, deputy director-general of the General Administration of Civil Aviation.

The Seoul ministry said the two sides would discuss the issues of mutual concern about aviation cooperation during the upcoming talks as well as what cooperation could be made possible in the aviation field at the current stage.

Possibly on the dialogue agenda would be the opening of a direct air route between the two Koreas, according to local media reports.

After the second inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in October, 2007, the two Koreas agreed to push for the direct air route across the border and the decrepit airport repair, but it was halted under the conservative South Korean governments.

Another possible agenda item could be the DPRK airplanes to be allowed to fly through South Korea's airspace to third countries. The DPRK already submitted a request for it to the International Civil Aviation Organization earlier this year, according to local media reports.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 15:43:53|Editor: Yurou

Video Player Close

JERUSALEM, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Right-wing candidate won a tight race for Jerusalem Mayor, Israel's official Central Elections Committee said on Wednesday morning.

Moshe Lion, a businessman supported by right-wing and Jewish ultra-Orthodox parties, won the elections, defeating his rival, a 35-year-old secular activist Ofer Berkovitch.

Residents of Jerusalem, a diverse city torn between Israelis and Palestinians, cast their ballots on Tuesday.

Initial results suggested Berkovitch has won. But the race was concluded with a dramatic shift on Wednesday early morning as more votes were counted, showing Lion won with some 52 percent of the votes, which represent some 6,526 individual votes.

"Jerusalem chose unity, the sense of togetherness, the good," Lion told a crowd of supporters, mainly ultra-Orthodox men, while declaring his victory.

"I intend to be the mayor of all of Jerusalem's residents, whoever they may be. Those that voted for me, and those that didn't," Lion said.

Israeli Interior Minister Arye Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox party of Shas which supported Lion in the recent race, posted a video on his Twitter account, congratulating Lion for his victory.

"I congratulated my friend, Moshe Lion, the elected mayor of the Jerusalem municipality," he said.

Lion is also a close associate of Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's defense minister and leader of "Israel Our Home" party, which supported Lion in the race.

Lion, 57, is an accountant, a veteran political activist, and a former director of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. He currently sits in the Jerusalem Municipality Council as part of the incumbent Mayor Nir Barkat's coalition.

Berkovitch has rejected his defeat, saying some 8,500 votes of soldiers and prisoners have yet to be counted. He also suggested that breaches were made in some of the ballots and vowed to his supporters that his legal team will work to re-check suspected ballots.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 15:55:45|Editor: Yamei

Video Player Close

A Chinese air force plane takes off to conduct drills in international airspace over the Sea of Japan, Dec. 18, 2017. The Chinese Air Force announced a roadmap for building a stronger modern air force in three steps. The building of a stronger modern air force is in line with the overall goal of building national defense and the armed forces, Lieutenant General Xu Anxiang, deputy commander of Chinese Air Force, said at a press conference on celebrating the 69th anniversary of the establishment of Chinese Air Force held in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 11, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Haishen)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 16:02:40|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

Sri Lankan Special Task Force officers stand guard outside the Parliament in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Nov. 14, 2018. Both Sri Lanka's sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse claimed they would continue to be in office following a no confidence vote against Rajapakse ended in chaos in the parliament on Wednesday. (Xinhua/A.Hapuarachic)

COLOMBO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Both Sri Lanka's sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse claimed they would continue to be in office following a no confidence vote against Rajapakse ended in chaos in the parliament on Wednesday.

Hours after the parliament was adjourned, Wickremesinghe said the motion had been passed with a majority through a "voice vote."

He told journalists in a media briefing from the parliamentary complex that 122 legislators in the 225-member parliament had signed a motion favoring the no confidence vote, and it was handed to Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

"Now that the motion has been passed, the government which ruled before Oct. 26 will come back into effect. I am informing the police and state officials not to carry out any orders handed over by the illegal government," Wickremesinghe said.

However, Dinesh Gunawardena, legislator from Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna headed by Rajapakse, said the vote of no confidence had been invalid as the parliament speaker had not followed the normal parliamentary traditions by calling for an electronic vote.

He said the new government led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Rajapakse would continue in office and all ministries would continue to function under the new regime.

The parliament was thrown into chaos earlier on Wednesday after a no confidence motion against Rajapakse was presented to Speaker Jayasuriya.

The no confidence motion was presented by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and seconded by JVP legislator Vijitha Herath.

However, when the motion was taken up for a vote, legislators from Rajapakse's party broke out in protest, prompting the prime minister to leave the floor of the House and the parliament session was adjourned till Thursday.

Sri Lanka has been embroiled in a political unrest since Oct. 26, when President Sirisena surprisingly sacked his cabinet and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Rajapakse to the post and appointed a new caretaker government.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party called the sacking illegal and called for the parliament to convene to prove their majority.

President Sirisena last Friday dissolved the parliament and called for a snap parliamentary election in January next year, but the decision was overturned by the Supreme Court in a ruling on Tuesday.
Sorry, this news has been deleted.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 16:34:59|Editor: Yamei

Video Player Close

TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 fighters from both sides have been killed in a clash between government forces and the Taliban outfit in Ashkamish district of Afghanistan's northern Takhar province on Wednesday, provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jawad Hajari said.

The clash, according to the official, broke out after the Taliban militants stormed security checkpoints in Chokht area of Ashkamish district early Wednesday and police returned fire which had left seven Taliban fighters dead and five others injured.

Three police personnel lost their lives and four others sustained injuries, the official said.

Taliban militants who have intensified activities since late April, are yet to make comments.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 17:34:43|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

by Levi J Parsons, Zhang Ning, Yang Jingzhong

PORT MORESBY, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Nestled away in tropical waters off the east coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Kiriwina Island, a palm tree laden paradise, is largely untouched by the modern world.

Most of the island residents still live a tribal life, hunting, fishing and hand-making their clothing and huts.

But despite the beauty and allure of this idyllic South Pacific setting, the island and its people have been plagued by the devastating disease of malaria for years.

With a population of around 40,000 people, there were 179 reported cases per 1,000 people in 2016, according to the figures from a Chinese anti-malaria team, co-organized by China's Guangdong New South group and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine.

Last year, the Chinese anti-malaria team chose Kiriwina Island to start a treatment project, using a combination of modern medical science and the wisdom of ancient Chinese medicine.

Dr. Deng Changsheng, a key member of the Chinese team, told Xinhua that his squad helped the island set up an anti-malaria working task force, including a supervisor in charge of the whole island system, scores of regional operators and medics in almost all villages.

From March to June this year, the village medics, under the supervision of the Chinese team, distributed the anti-malaria medicine with Artemisinin as its main ingredient, for three rounds.

Now the island is over 99 percent malaria free, according to the statistics from the Chinese medical team.

MODERN MEDICINE INSPIRED BY ANCIENT WISDOM

The Chinese cure is mainly focused on plasmodium-killing, rather than eradication of mosquitoes, "as mosquitoes are impossible to eradicate," according to Zhu Layi, head of the anti-malaria mission and president of the New South group.

Up until 1969, researchers around the world had screened over 240,000 compounds during the fight against malaria, according to the World Heath Organization.

Seeing no progress, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou decided to dig in the traditional Chinese medicine for a solution.

In an ancient Chinese medical book, she found a treatment for severe fever which mentioned the use of a particular plant called Artemisia annua - more commonly known as sweet wormwood.

High fever is a major symptom of malaria. She thus decided to do further research, and eventually developed an effective cure for the deadly disease.

Credited with saving the lives of countless people around the world, in 2015, Tu was awarded with a Nobel Prize for her research into malaria and became the first Chinese woman ever to be granted the prestigious honor.

CHINA'S "ARTEMISININ MISSION"

Since the start of this century, the Chinese anti-malaria team has been implementing the "Artemisinin mission" in malaria-plagued countries including Cambodia, Comoros, Malawi, Togo and Kenya, achieving outstanding results.

Causing a wide range of extremely severe symptoms including vomiting, muscle pain, headaches, convulsions, delirium and coma, the mosquito-borne disease is responsible for the deaths of over 1 million people per year.

With the majority of deaths occurring in Africa, the region was prioritized by the Chinese medical team. In Comoros, before the operation started in 2007, there were 100,000 cases of malaria every year, but as of 2017, the figure dropped over 98 percent to 1,300 cases and the government now believes Comoros will be completely malaria free by 2020.

Zhu, the major sponsor of the Chinese anti-malaria effort, told Xinhua that "we made it in Comoros and we will make it in PNG."

ANTI-MALARIA MISSION SET TO EXPAND ACROSS PNG

Accessible only by a plane trip to a separate nearby island followed by hours of boat journey, the remoteness and isolation of the Kiriwina Island allows Chinese scientists to track data and measure the effectiveness of the project more easily, as the island acts as a controlled environment with few variables.

Philon Tivirari, a Papua New Guinean working at the local anti-malaria center, told Xinhua that "there was a time I was attacked by malaria once every month. When I heard the anti-malaria project succeeded in Kiriwina, I came here immediately to apply for a job because I think it's so meaningful."

"My family and I all took the Chinese anti-malaria medicine, and I want to tell Papua New Guineans, the Chinese medicine is really working."

With an effective rate of 99 percent on the Kiriwina island, the Chinese medical team is now preparing to extend the "Artemisinin mission" to the whole province, then throughout the country, with an ultimate goal of eradicating malaria in PNG, said Li Guoming, a research member.

"As the governments of China and PNG have been enhancing their cooperation, we are confident that the mission will be accomplished across the nation," said Li.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 17:37:40|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

Policemen stand guard as opposition activists hold a demonstration in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov. 14, 2018. Police fought with the opposition activists Wednesday with tear gas in Dhaka. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters on Wednesday afternoon marched towards their party office in a pre-election showdown, demanding level playing field in the upcoming national elections slated for Dec. 30 and release of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from jail. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Police fought with the opposition activists Wednesday with tear gas in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters on Wednesday afternoon marched towards their party office in a pre-election showdown, demanding level playing field in the upcoming national elections slated for Dec. 30 and release of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from jail.

As the opposition started the showdown, battle between police and the activists erupted.

The activists fought police with brickbats in front of their headquarters at Naya Paltan in Dhaka, leaving dozens of people including law enforcers and BNP activists injured.

Television footage showed the fighting between police and opposition activists who reportedly set fire to a police van and several private cars in the area.

They have also vandalized several vehicles. The street battle last for about an hour.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 17:46:47|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's financial regulator ruled on Wednesday that the biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung Group, the country's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, breached accounting rules.

The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that its regulatory probe came to a conclusion that Samsung BioLogics "intentionally" violated accounting standards by arbitrarily interpreting and applying the standards.

Samsung BioLogics, set up in 2011, launched a joint venture, Samsung Bioepis, with the U.S.-based Biogen in 2012.

The biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung altered the method to evaluate its affiliate, Bioepis, into the mark-to-market valuation in 2015, leading to a net profit of 1.9 trillion won (1.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the year after years of losses.

Samsung BioLogics has been suspected of committing the fraudulent accounting to help Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, an heir apparent of Samsung Group, inherit a management control over the entire group from his ailing father Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

In 2015, Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T merged into Samsung C&T, the currently de-facto holding company of Samsung Group that was evaluated bigger than Cheil Industries, controlled by the Samsung heir at the time.

By overvaluing Cheil Industries through the overvalued Samsung BioLogics, the Samsung heir was believed to have controlled the de-facto holding company, one of key shareholders of Samsung Electronics.

The Samsung family has been controlling the Samsung Group with a fraction of shares through cross-shareholding.

FSC Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom told a press briefing that the financial regulator will cautiously review whether a separate regulatory probe into Samsung C&T would be needed as Samsung Biologics is an affiliate of Samsung C&T.

The FSC referred the case to the prosecution office. The Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator, suspended after-hours trading of Samsung BioLogics right after the FSC ruling.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 18:21:07|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

MOSCOW, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Armed Forces are taking measures to protect their communications as a number of countries have increased their ability to commit cyberattacks, a Russian senior official said Wednesday.

"Currently, a number of foreign countries are developing their information technology ... for military purposes," Yuri Kuznetsov, head of Russian Service for Protection of State Secrets, told the Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper.

He noted that considering new threats to information security, the Service is currently working on ensuring the security of information within the Russian Defense Ministry.

Work is also underway to detect, prevent and eliminate cyberattacks against the Russian Armed Forces, added Kuznetsov.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 18:17:34|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland's deepened reform and wider opening-up will provide Taiwan compatriots and enterprises with more opportunities and benefits, a mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference when introducing the participation of Taiwan companies at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai last week.

Enterprises from the mainland and Taiwan signed a batch of purchase agreements, indicating the huge potential in cross-Strait business cooperation, Ma said, adding that Taiwan companies and their products are widely welcomed at the expo.

The Taiwan exhibition area showcased the achievements of cross-Strait business cooperation over the 40 years of reform and opening up.

A number of Taiwan enterprises have already signed up for next year's import expo, according to Ma.

The CIIE, the first of its kind in China, attracted representatives from 172 countries, regions, and international organizations and more than 3,600 enterprises.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 18:22:56|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The long-awaited trial of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman began here on Tuesday, increasing traffic congestion in the already-crowded cosmopolitan.

Guzman, the man behind the world's largest drug trafficking organization Sinaloa cartel, was put on trial in a federal courthouse in New York City's borough of Brooklyn.

The 61-year-old was charged with 17 criminal counts including drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiring to murder in the past three decades. He faces a potential life sentence if convicted.

The Sinaloa cartel has trafficked a large amount of heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine from Mexico into the United States over the years, according to federal prosecutors.

Opening statements scheduled for Tuesday morning were delayed until the afternoon, as two jurors were dismissed due to personal reasons and replaced, according to local media.

In order to transport Guzman from Manhattan to Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge, a city landmark as well as a vital traffic connection between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was shut down early Tuesday morning, leading to a nightmare for those who often drive to work across the bridge.

The trial is expected to last up to four months, during which the Brooklyn Bridge will be forced to close twice a day as Guzman is transported under heavy security through the two boroughs, local media reported.

Unlike other criminals who stay near the courthouse in which they stand trial, Guzman has been held in solitary confinement in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan since his extradition to the United States in January 2017.

The drug lord has successfully escaped from prison twice in Mexico in 2001 and 2015. The Manhattan facility is considered among the most secure in the United States.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 18:18:14|Editor: Yamei

Video Player Close

SYDNEY, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A record breaking frost event has left the Frankland River wine region in Western Australia with a significant loss to a number of its world-class wine producing vines.

Due to its occurring late in the year, the unseasonal cold snap took its toll across the region, with winemakers and fruit growers still tallying the cost.

"I think everyone's still taking stock, but at the moment we have losses of about 25 to 30 percent across the region," Frankland River Grape Growers and Winemakers Association president Hunter Smith told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Those figures are as high as 80 to 100 percent for some growers, which Smith says will be noticeable in terms of this season's output.

It was an inopportune time for the frost to strike with young shoots being particularly vulnerable to environmental anomalies.

"A lot of those vine leaves are quite thin, so it actually doesn't take much of a frost event to totally freeze those, and kill those shoots right off," Smith said.

"We are probably a week away from some of the early varieties, like chardonnay, going into flowering, so it's a really critical time of year, and that's where we'll see the most significant losses."

The region has only recently recovered from a hail event in 2014 which caused similar widespread damage to crops, and just like then, Smith said that winemakers would rally and carry on.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 18:41:37|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department said here Tuesday that it has not heard the audio recording related to the death of a Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. However, it hinted that the U.S. side would take more action against the kingdom over the case.

In a press briefing, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that "the State Department has not heard any audio. There was one report about that, and I think we attempted to clarify that. I think the secretary was very clear that he had not heard any audio."

"That still stands today," she added.

However, she said that the U.S. actions "will not end with the visa revocations and the blocking of certain Saudi officials from coming into the United States."

Speaking to journalists earlier on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the audio recording of Khashoggi's case had been shared with Saudi Arabia, the United States, France, Canada, Germany and Britain.

The audio recordings were so "atrocious" that a Saudi intelligent officer was shocked and speculated that one perpetrator was perhaps using heroin, he added.

However, the French side has reportedly denied having received any audio recordings from Turkey.

In the press briefing, Nauert added that during his telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Nov. 11, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "has spoken to the fact that the United States government is compiling some of its own data and taking a look at those facts."

"We're getting information from a variety of sources, as any government would," she noted.

The U.S. Congress has urged a thorough investigation in the murder of Khashoggi, and threatened to take more actions against Saudi Arabia if those responsible were not held accountable, such as suspending the U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia and sanctioning the kingdom.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 19:03:50|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

GABORONE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi officially opened the 2018 Diamond Conference here on Tuesday to deliberate on market trends and the industry's outlook.

The annual conference, which is in its 4th edition this year and is under the theme of "Leading Business for Social Capital" this year, brings together key diamond industry players from across the globe.

In his keynote address, Masisi said social capital speaks directly to the sustainable production and the growth of the communities in which companies operate.

"The phenomenon forces all players to honor their licenses to operate and create lasting legacies and goodwill in those communities. This can only be realized fully, if we collaborate and work together throughout the entire diamond pipeline," Masisi said.

"By doing so, we will ensure that these finite resources are mined safely and traded in accordance with international practice, in this case, the Kimberley Process Certification and System of Warranties," Masisi said.

Beneficiation remains a key objective of the country's economic diversification drive in the diamond sector, Masisi said.

"We need to move further up the pipeline to jewelry manufacturing and retail," he said. "We are committed to the ideal of bringing Botswana out of the middle-income trap and transforming her into a high-income country."
Sources: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 18:57:50|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday adopted their first medium and long-term plan to guide the future development of their strategic partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation.

The China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 was endorsed at the 21st China-ASEAN summit on Wednesday.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose country holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship this year, said in the opening remarks of the summit that the plan will chart the future direction of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership.

He said ASEAN and China share a strong, substantial and mutually beneficial relationship and bilateral economic ties are "robust," adding that China has been ASEAN's top trade partner for continued years and the upgraded bilateral free trade agreement will open up new opportunities for businesses and further increase two-way trade.

The Singaporean prime minister also highlighted the progress made by the two sides over negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which he said is close to finishing line.

He said the two sides have also deepened mutual trust and understanding to manage their differences peacefully and in a spirit of goodwill, adding that they have announced a single draft negotiating text to commence the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership. China has pledged that ASEAN is a priority of China's diplomacy and will support the construction of the ASEAN Community and its centrality in regional cooperation in East Asia.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 19:12:12|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday adopted a key document to chart the course for their ties till 2030.

The China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 was approved at the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting held in Singapore.

At the 20th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting held in Manila, the Philippines in 2017, China and ASEAN agreed to issue the vision on their future ties and contribute to building an open, inclusive, and sustainable world that enjoys peace, security and common prosperity.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 19:37:29|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Two men, charged with economic "corruption," were executed in Iran on Wednesday, official IRNA news agency reported.

Vahid Mazlumin, known as the "sultan of coins," and his accomplice Mohammad Ismail Qasemi were found guilty of economic crimes and convicted to death sentence by an Iranian court in August.

The ruling was later upheld by Iranian Supreme Court.

Mazlumin and Qasemi were charged with forming "a corruption network, disrupting the country's economic, foreign currency and monetary system by carrying out illegal transactions and major smuggling of foreign currencies and coins," according to Press TV.

A total of 11 more defendants in the case have received jail terms of up to 10 years, said Judiciary Spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 19:36:32|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

MOGADISHU, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior UN envoy in Somalia has called on presidential candidates in the country's South West State to promote a free, fair and transparent vote in the state's regional assembly.

Raisedon Zenenga, UN secretary general's deputy special representative for Somalia, stressed the world body's stance of impartiality in the elections which are very crucial for stability of the Horn of Africa nation.

"We are there to support the process and make it more transparent and more credible so that the result is not contentious and is accepted widely," said Zenenga in a statement released by the UN mission in Somalia on Tuesday evening.

"We have a stake in the election in the sense that we want to see a credible one, (but) we don't support any particular candidate," the UN official said in Baidoa, the interim capital of South West State.

South West State elections are the first in a series to be held around the country - both at the regional level next year and national level in 2020 and the UN says there is a real need to set the precedent for credible and peaceful electoral processes.

The election is scheduled to take place in the state's 149-seat regional assembly on Saturday, but the resignation of most of the members of the election's organizing committee earlier this month has cast doubt on the timing of the vote.

"The date is not a priority for us - the priority is to ensure that a proper process is followed and that all stakeholders are consulted," Zenenga emphasized.

"Our role is to support the Somalis, who own and lead this process, to ensure that the election is free, fair and devoid of violence," he added.

The state's former president Sharif Hassan resigned on Nov. 7 and withdrew from the upcoming election, citing widespread interference in the poll.

Major contenders for the presidential election include former finance minister Mohamed Aden Fargeti and Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, a co-founder of the al-Shabab. Robow has since abandoned the terror group.

While in Baidoa, the UN official met with senior federal and state government officials, as well as a dozen presidential candidates. Zenenga also met with six clan elders from the Federal Member State.

During his meetings on Tuesday, Zenenga offered the resources of the UN to conduct capacity-building workshops for members of the election organizing committee, with a focus on their duties and responsibilities.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 19:35:10|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

KABUL, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Fighting between government forces and the anti-government militants have left more than 50 people dead in the insurgency-battered Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday.

In the latest hostility, Taliban insurgents stormed security checkpoints in Ashkamish district of the northern Takhar province early Wednesday, triggering gun battle which lasted for hours, leaving seven insurgents and three security personnel dead, provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jawad Hajari has confirmed.

Five militants and four security personnel sustained injuries in the fighting, the official said.

Similarly, one Afghan police and two national army soldiers lost their lives outside Ghazni city, the capital of eastern Ghazni province Wednesday morning and the Taliban attacks on security checkpoints have been repulsed, police said.

A total of 24 insurgents have been confirmed dead and 19 others injured as fighting aircrafts pounded Taliban hideouts in Arkalik area of Qaisar district in the northern Faryab province over the past 24 hours, an army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said Wednesday.

Identical fighting in Mizan district of the southern Zabul province has left two police and eight insurgents dead and nearly a dozen more from both sides injured since Tuesday, provincial police chief Mohammad Mustafa Mayar reported Wednesday.

Eight more militants affiliated with the Taliban outfit have been killed in Mohammad Agha district of the eastern Logar province since Tuesday morning, security sources said.

Both the Taliban and government forces have stepped up operations to gain more ground and consolidate positions ahead of snowfall in the mountainous Afghanistan, observers said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 19:32:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

by Yoo Seungki

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's financial regulator ruled on Wednesday that the biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung Group, the country's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, breached accounting rules, deciding to refer the case to prosecutors for criminal investigation.

The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that its regulatory probe came to a conclusion that Samsung BioLogics "intentionally" violated accounting standards by arbitrarily interpreting and applying the standards.

Samsung BioLogics, set up in 2011, launched a joint venture, Samsung Bioepis, with the U.S.-based Biogen in 2012.

The biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung altered the method to evaluate its affiliate, Bioepis, into the mark-to-market valuation in 2015, leading to a net profit of 1.9 trillion won (1.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the year after years of losses.

Samsung BioLogics has been suspected of committing the fraudulent accounting to help Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, an heir apparent of Samsung Group, inherit a management control over the entire group from his ailing father Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

In 2015, Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T merged into Samsung C&T, the currently de-facto holding company of Samsung Group that was evaluated higher than Cheil Industries, controlled by the Samsung heir at the time.

By overvaluing Cheil Industries through the overvalued Samsung BioLogics, the Samsung heir was believed to have controlled the de-facto holding company, one of key shareholders of Samsung Electronics. The Samsung family was believed to have controlled the Samsung Group with a fraction of shares through cross-shareholding.

FSC Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom told a press briefing that the financial regulator will cautiously review whether a separate regulatory probe into Samsung C&T would be needed as Samsung Biologics is an affiliate of Samsung C&T.

The FSC referred the case to the prosecution office. The financial regulator estimated the fraudulent accounting at about 4.5 trillion won (4 billion U.S. dollars).

The financial regulator fined Samsung BioLogics 8 billion won (7.1 million U.S. dollars), recommending the sacking of its chief executive for accounting fraud responsibility.

Two of the biopharmaceutical company's accounting auditing firms were barred from auditing Samsung BioLogics for the next three and five years, respectively. One of them was fined 170 million won (150,000 U.S. dollars).

The Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator, suspended after-hours trading of Samsung BioLogics right after the FSC ruling. The Korea Exchange will review whether to delist Samsung Biologics for the next two weeks.

A possibility seemed low for the biopharmaceutical company, listed on the main bourse in November 2016, to be delisted since no company has been delisted since the relevant regulation was introduced in early 2009.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 20:46:24|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

BEIRUT, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Director of the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Lebanon, Claudio Cordone, visited Mieh Mieh camp on Wednesday to check the refugees' urgent needs after clashes in the area.

"We came to check what people need, mainly on the level of infrastructure, while focusing mostly on humanitarian needs," he was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper.

Cordone also noted that schools and the medical clinics in the camp opened again on Monday.

On his visit, Cordone discussed the situation of Palestinian refugees in the camp and the efforts that the UNRWA is doing to secure people's basic needs in the camp.

Clashes between members of Fatah and Ansar Allah started on Oct. 15, killing at least five and injuring 26 people in the camp.

According to an agreement reached few days ago, Ansar Allah leader, Jamal Suleiman, and 20 of his family members and other supporters withdrew from Mieh Mieh in return of Fatah relaxing its pressure on Ansar Allah's position inside the camp.

Suleiman and the others left Lebanon for Syria.

The camp's Fatah leader, Ghaleb Dinan, said in a speech Sunday that his group's only goal was to ensure Mieh Mieh's security until the time comes "for us to return to our home, Palestine."

Mieh Mieh camp is a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, located in the outskirts of Mieh Mieh village, four km east of Sidon city.

The camp has witnessed tensions among its refugees in the past years.

Some 450,000 refugees are registered with the UNRWA in Lebanon, with many living in the country's 12 refugee camps.

Palestine refugees represent an estimated 10 percent of the population of Lebanon.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 20:32:53|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

MANILA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday it is considering a 400-million-U.S. dollar emergency relief package to assist in the rebuilding and rehabilitation of war-ravaged Marawi City in the southern Philippines.

The Manila-based bank said the ADB's package of assistance, which is expected to be approved and signed in early December, seeks to help provide flexible and immediate financing for the city's rebuilding and rehabilitation, including the improvement of the city's connectivity through better public infrastructure.

ADB added it is also preparing to help restore water utilities and health infrastructure, improve the delivery of social services, and provide livelihoods to affected residents of Marawi in Lanao del Sur province.

Lanao del Sur is the poorest province in the southeast Asian country, with nearly three-fourths of its population living below the poverty line.

The Islamic State-linked terrorists attacked Marawi in May 2017, triggering a five-month firefight that displaced more than 300,000 people and destroyed much of the city. More than 1,200 people, including soldiers and terrorists, were killed in the wake of the fighting.

Large swaths of the city, especially in the city's central business district, are a pock-marked moonscape of heavily damaged buildings, shops and houses.

"ADB is committed to helping rebuild the city of Marawi into a thriving economic center where people live in peace and prosperity," ADB Vice President Stephen Groff said in a statement.

Groff added ADB is "preparing a comprehensive assistance package that seeks to help ease the adverse social impact of the armed conflict on the city and its residents."

Established in 1966, ADB has 67 members, 48 of them from the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 20:41:17|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

by Xinhua writer Gu Zhenqiu

LONDON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A new round of political battle just began on Wednesday as British Prime Minister Theresa May is working very hard to sell to her cabinet members the new draft Brexit agreement between London and Brussels.

The draft divorce deal, also known as the withdrawal agreement, represented a technical breakthrough after weeks of tense negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) on how Britain can leave the regional bloc on March 29 next year.

The prime minister, who vowed to deliver Brexit in accordance with the referendum outcome two years ago, is facing a crunch cabinet meeting later as she tries to win colleagues' support for the agreement amid calls to reject the deal from both senior Brexiteers and some Remain supporters.

The draft agreement needs the support of the divisive cabinet and approval of the British parliament. It also requires a green light from all the 27 remaining EU member states.

Beginning Tuesday night, May called the cabinet members into 10 Downing Street one by one to get their first look at the agreement amid speculation about further resignations. The briefing is continuing on Wednesday morning before ministers are to gather in Downing Street at 14:00 GMT.

Hard Brexiteers reacted negatively to the proposed deal and indicated that they intended to vote against it if it came to parliament.

"I hope cabinet will block it, or if not, parliament will block it," said Jacob Rees-Mogg, a member of the parliament and chairman of the European Research Group.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, who resigned as foreign secretary, said that he believed the deal was "vassal state stuff." He said that the UK would be bound by laws over which it had no say, which was "utterly unacceptable."

As British ministers are sitting down for the cabinet meeting, ambassadors from the 27 EU member states will meet in Brussels to discuss the possibility of organizing an emergency summit later this month, earmarked for Nov. 25, to sign off on the withdrawal agreement.

If the agreement is ratified by both sides, Britain will enter a 20-month transition period after it leaves the EU next March.

Key elements of the draft agreement began to leak on Tuesday night. Britain is believed to have agreed that an independent arbitration committee will judge when a UK-wide customs backstop can be terminated. It will comprise an equal number of British and EU representatives plus an independent element.

The so-called "UK-wide backstop" would mean the UK remaining in an EU customs union for an undefined period up and until the point that it is agreed it is no longer necessary. It is deemed necessary to avoid a hard border in the Island of Ireland if London and Brussels cannot reach a free trade agreement by the end of the Brexit transition period in 2020.

For May, who has been long under intense pressure at home over Brexit, to negotiate with the EU is an uphill struggle. At the same time, to win support from her fellow cabinet members is not easier, either.

As a fierce debate is under way in Britain, the EU also struck a note of caution over whether the blueprint would ultimately win cabinet support in the UK.

The European Commission has just published an extensive series of contingency plans and draft legislative measures to prepare for a no-deal Brexit and the abrupt UK departure from the regional bloc at the end of next March. European officials stressed the importance of no-deal planning by national authorities and business.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 20:48:23|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

MOSCOW, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey on Monday, Nov. 19, the Kremlin said in a statement on Wednesday.

In Istanbul, Putin, together with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will take part in a ceremony marking the completion of the construction of the offshore section of the TurkStream gas pipeline in a video-conference, it said.

The two leaders will also have a meeting, during which issues of further development of Russian-Turkish relations and current regional and international problems will be discussed, the statement said.

The construction of the TurkStream, a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea, started in May 2017. Russian gas giant Gazprom plans to begin supplying gas through the TurkStream at the end of 2019.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 20:51:19|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

LAGOS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government announced on Wednesday that it has shut down 109 health facilities found to be operating illegally in the central north Nasarawa state.

Most of the facilities were operating without the necessary approval from the state government, Haruna Ekom, state director of clinical service told reporters in Lafia, the state capital.

Others defaulted in reviewing their operation licence, he added, noting that the action was based on information gathered from the various locations as well as on-the-spot assessment by the inspectorate team from the ministry of health.

He said that the ministry would not relent in sanitizing the sector by ensuring strict adherence to standards in line with global practice.

Ekom warned illegal operators and those practicing beyond their scope of training to desist as the law would catch up with them.

Quack doctors are known for posing to offer medical help and services to patients in return for money in the West African nation.

In October 2017, the Nigerian Medical Association publicly called upon the Senate to pass a "Medical Anti-Quackery Bill".
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:10:50|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

ROME, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Italian police raided 80 premises, arrested 68 suspects and seized assets worth about 1 billion euros (1.13 billion U.S. dollars) in Italy and abroad, the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Office said in a statement Wednesday.

The suspects were described by the statement as "leading organized crime figures, businessmen, and front men". Charges against them include mafia racketeering, money laundering, and tax evasion in connection with an illegal betting ring worth 4.5 billion euros.

"The lucrative earnings...were reinvested in real estate and in financial positions abroad," according to the statement.

The assets are being seized in cooperation with some foreign governments, including that of Switzerland, the Netherlands and Britain.

"If we don't beat the mafia, Italy's economy won't take off," National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho told reporters at a televised press conference.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 20:49:57|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

RIGA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Latvian prime minister-designate Janis Bordans' attempts to form a new center-right coalition government failed on Wednesday as three political parties walked out of the talks, local media reported.

The liberal alliance For Development/For, the center-right New Unity and the right-wing National Alliance announced they were ceasing negotiations with Bordans' New Conservative Party and called on President Raimonds Vejonis to nominate another candidate for prime minister.

Representatives of the three parties explained that the talks on Latvia's new government failed amid disagreements about the government's work plan proposed by the New Conservative Party. The potential coalition partners found the plan unsustainable and excessively costly.

For Development/For noted already on Tuesday that the proposals included in the draft government declaration would cost the state budget between 1.7 and 2.4 billion euros, which Latvia cannot afford.

Daniels Pavluts, leader of For Development/For, also said on Facebook that allegations made by New Conservative Party during the talks had wrongfully hurt some newly elected parliamentarians' reputation.

President Vejonis is now expected to name the next candidate for prime minister after Latvia's Independence Day celebrations on Nov. 18 and consultations with political parties.

Bordans was designated by president on Nov. 7 as the country's new prime minister and was given two weeks to form a coalition government by Nov. 21.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:16:33|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

Ethiopian police officers attend a drone piloting training program organized by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security at an aviation school in Fangshan District of Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 14, 2018. Besides learning how to operate drones, the Ethiopian police attendants also watched demonstrations of applied drone usages in scenarios such as rescue, fire emergency and scouting during Wednesday's training program. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:09:41|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

Cai Mingzhao (L), president of China's Xinhua News Agency, meets with Michael Moller, director-general of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 14, 2018. "With firm support to multilateral rules with the United Nations at the core, Xinhua has forged close cooperative relations with many UN organizations," Cai told Moller. As Xinhua has an edge gathering information and publishing news in various languages around the globe, Cai promised the state news agency would continue to make UN work better known to the public. Cai also called for closer cooperation and exchanges through new media platforms. Moller praised Xinhua's comprehensive and objective coverage of the UN, saying he hoped to seek new cooperation approaches with Xinhua for human progress and development. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- President of China's Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao met with Michael Moller, director-general of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) on Wednesday.

"With firm support to multilateral rules with the United Nations at the core, Xinhua has forged close cooperative relations with many UN organizations," Cai told Moller.

As Xinhua has an edge gathering information and publishing news in various languages around the globe, Cai promised the state news agency would continue to make UN work better known to the public.

Cai also called for closer cooperation and exchanges through new media platforms.

Moller praised Xinhua's comprehensive and objective coverage of the UN, saying he hoped to seek new cooperation approaches with Xinhua for human progress and development.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:17:29|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian prosecutors are expected to add new charges to Rosmah Mansor, wife of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, while another former senior minister was arrested for prosecution on Wednesday.

Rosmah and her former special officer will face charges in connection with a solar power project for schools, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) said in a statement.

Rosmah and the officer had been summoned to complete the final process of the investigation and prosecution.

It had been previously alleged that the solar panel project, involving more than 300 schools, was awarded to a company without an open tender with the endorsement by Najib.

Rosmah already faces 17 money laundering and tax-evasion offences involving 1.6 million U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the federal territories minister in Najib's government who had served as secretary-general of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), was arrested by MACC.

"MACC has been given consent to prosecute former Federal Territories Minister, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, related to the sale of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall land," said the anti-corruption body.

It added that Tengku Adnan is expected to be charged jointly with a businessman at a Kuala Lumpur court.

UNMO has led a coalition to govern Malaysia for 60 years until suffering defeat in the general election in May.

Najib himself faces 38 corruption charges involving billions of dollars in public funds connected to the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:19:41|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China is preparing to set up a professional committee of synthetic biology, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The committee aims to push forward the basic research and application of the country's synthetic biology and explore its development direction as well as discipline construction.

The committee will have 49 members and invite 11 academicians to be consultants, according to the CAS.

It will run under the guidance of the Chinese Society of Biotechnology.

Synthetic biology, an interdisciplinary area that involves the application of engineering principles to biology, has a wide application in industry, medicine and environment monitoring.

China has been conducting synthetic biology research since 2008, according to the CAS.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:37:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and head of a CMC leading group for deepening reform on national defense and the armed forces, attends and addresses a CMC meeting on the reform of policies and institutions in Beijing, capital of China. The meeting is held in Beijing on Nov. 13 and 14. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has highlighted the significance and urgency of pushing forward reform on military policy and institution to build a socialist system of military policy and institution with Chinese characteristics.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and head of a CMC leading group for deepening reform on national defense and the armed forces, addressed a CMC meeting on the reform of policies and institutions held in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Xi called for consensus, firm confidence, concerted action and effective implementation to carry out the reform.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:50:33|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

By Xie Meihua, Zhao Qing

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted here Wednesday the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, widely seen as an ideal model for cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The vision comes in a year that marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership, reflecting the common aspiration of both sides to build a region of enduring peace and stability.

This new cooperation framework from two sides is supported by the three pillars of political and security cooperation, economic ties and people-to-people exchanges.

In 2003, China and ASEAN decided to establish their strategic partnership, ushering in a new chapter in their relations. Over the past 15 years, the partnership has endured a changing international landscape and cooperation has continued to deliver real benefits to the countries and peoples of the region.

China and ASEAN are firmly committed to good-neighborliness and friendship while enhancing political and security ties to create stability across the Asia-Pacific.

Under this partnership, the two sides have properly managed sensitive issues and disputes through dialogue and negotiation in order to keep their relationship on track.

While first implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), China and ASEAN arrived at a single draft negotiating text of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea in August this year. Tensions in the South China Sea have significantly cooled down, generating positive regional momentum.

Breakthroughs have also made in maritime cooperation. Both held their first ever large-scale joint exercises on maritime search and rescue in October 2017 and first-ever maritime drills in October this year.

The two continue to work together on fighting terrorism, disaster relief, combating transnational crimes and dealing with cross-border communicable diseases and other challenges.

China and ASEAN both promote trade and investment liberalization, an approach that has provided the backbone and engine for development and prosperity in the region.

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), the largest regional FTA in the world in terms of population, went into effect in 2010, removing tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods traded between China and ASEAN members Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Moreover, an updated FTA was hammered out late in 2015, further facilitating trade, scaling up bilateral investment and encouraging technological cooperation.

China and ASEAN are now working together to speed up establishing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade area made up of the 10 ASEAN member states and its six FTA partners -- China, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, in order to further facilitate trade and investment in the region.

Trade between China and ASEAN countries hit a record high in 2017, totalling 514.8 billion U.S. dollars in value, the fastest pace of growth between China and any of its major trading partners, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce early this year.

Based on the principle of collaboration, China and ASEAN have worked to align the former's Belt and Road Initiative with the latter's development plans. Connectivity projects include the China-Laos Railway, the China-Thailand high-speed railway, and Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway.

China and ASEAN have advocated people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning among their different and numerous civilizations. Ties have rapidly developed in the areas of culture, education, tourism, media, science and technology, environmental protection, disaster relief, poverty reduction and youth, among others.

Commenting on the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, Phay Siphan, Cambodia's secretary of state and spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the vision is a concrete roadmap for both sides to work together to build a closer community with a shared future

He stressed that the China-ASEAN strategic partnership "should serve as a model for countries all over the world".
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 22:10:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun

Video Player Close

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The 20th extraordinary session of the African Union (AU) Executive Committee on Wednesday kicked off at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, ahead of the heads of state summit scheduled for Nov. 17-18.

In their two-day meeting, foreign ministers of the 55-member pan-African Union are expected to consider the draft agenda, decisions and declarations by the session of the Permanent Representative Committee (PRC) held from Nov. 5 to 6 focusing on AU institutional reform, AU Development Agency (AUDA), and financing the Union.

In his opening remarks, Moussa Faki Mahamt, Chairperson of the AU Commission, noted that the Executive Council session being held within the framework of the AU extraordinary summit came at a time when there are progresses on the continent and also pressing issues at both international and continental level.

He underlined the need to enhance the efficiency of the Union to effectively deal with development initiatives and multifaceted challenges faced by the continent.

Chairing the session, Rwandan Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera reiterated that self-financing the Union in a sustainable and predictable manner is key in the implementation of the reform program.

He underlined the need to create the necessary growth with the ratification of the continental free trade area (AfCFTA), and by honoring the financial obligations, including by adopting the 0.2 percent levy through national legislative bodies.

"An AU process goes beyond the Commission alone, even if it has been the predominant focus of our talks this year. We know that the entire institutional architecture of our Union has to be addressed," he said.

"Our work over the next two days will be demanding, but we can aim to complete our Executive Council session with clear recommendations to our leaders on the AU Commission reforms, AU development agency mandate, and proposals on the division of labor among key African institutional stakeholders," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 21:53:10|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (7th L) poses for a group photo at the 2nd leaders' meeting on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Singapore, on Nov. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on parties involved in talks on a new Asia-Pacific free trade pact to keep up with their efforts so as to clinch the deal next year.

Talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have reached the final stage, Li said in the 2nd leaders' meeting on RCEP in Singapore on Wednesday.

"We must build on the momentum and unleash a strong finishing kick, striving to complete the deal within 2019," he told leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India in the meeting.

ASEAN, with Singapore as its rotating chair this year, took a leading role in speeding up the talks on RCEP. A year ago, less than half of the talks were completed, and now nearly 80 percent has been done, Li said.

The deal, once reached, would boost trade and investment, promote regional economic integration and benefit the people of all participating countries, Li said.

Leaders in the meeting expressed a strong will to reach the deal as soon as possible, which will send a strong signal on preserving multilateralism and free trade and to boost economic growth and globalization.

RCEP is being negotiated among the ten ASEAN countries plus Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. It is expected to be one of the world's largest trading blocs, accounting for nearly half of the world's population and around a third of the global GDP.

Li, who arrived in Singapore on Monday, is scheduled to attend the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting, the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) leaders' meeting and the 13th East Asia Summit during the five-day trip.

It is the first official visit to Singapore by a Chinese premier in 11 years.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 22:46:56|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

FUZHOU, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Seven people have been arrested for a chemical leak on Nov. 4 that affected around 20 hectares of fish farms in east China's Fujian Province, local authorities said Wednesday.

Police in the city of Quanzhou arrested three people from Fujian Donggang Petrochemical Industry Co. Ltd., which caused the leak when loading C9 aromatic solvent into a tanker at a local port, as well as three crew members on the vessel.

A massive cleanup operation was initiated after the leak. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, all chemicals in the fish farming area have been cleared, according to the local information office.

A total of 53 people were sent to a local hospital after suspected contact with the chemicals following the incident, and 11 stayed in the hospital for further observation. So far, two of the patients remain hospitalized.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 22:09:17|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

MOGADISHU, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) confirmed Wednesday the arrest of an Islamic State (IS) operative in Mogadishu on Tuesday night.

NISA said that the IS militant operative who was in charge of finance used to transfer money to other extremists in countries across the world, adding that the latest arrest would help dismantle the group financially.

"Security forces arrested IS militant operative in an operation in the capital of Tuesday evening. He used to transfer money to the other extremists in other countries and his arrest would damage the group's economic route," NISA said.

The arrest came five days after the deadly attack on Nov. 9 on Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu in which more than 50 people were killed and several others injured by al-Shabab militants.
File Photo: A U.S. soldier walks to the welcoming ceremony at polygon near Orzysz, Poland, April 13, 2016. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said here Tuesday that Poland has "invited the U.S. troops to be forward-stationed" in the European nation.

Speaking to the media at the Pentagon, Mattis said he would discuss with visiting Polish Defense Minister Marius Blaszczak about the details of the plan "at length."

The two defense chiefs are scheduled to meet later in the day.

"We are working out the details on what the offer is, what can best contribute to alliance unity, to alliance security and to the continued strengthening of the bilateral relationship," said Mattis.

According to a statement issued by Pentagon's spokesperson Dana White later, Mattis and Blaszczak met to "reaffirm the strong defense relationship between the United States and Poland and continuing commitment to work bilaterally through NATO to deter Russia."

During their meeting, Mattis thanked Blaszczak for his offer for increased U.S. forces stationed in Poland, the statement said.

Poland currently hosts up to 4,500 U.S. troops on a rotational basis.

Poland reportedly planned to permanently host a U.S. division on its territory. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Oct. 24 that this plan was a threat to regional security.
File Photo: A Palestinian medic transfers a wounded man during the clashes near the Gaza-Israel border, east of the southern Gaza Strip City of Khan Younis, on Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council added to its Tuesday schedule a discussion on the escalation of violence in Gaza, where the idea of visiting the occupied Palestinian territories was raised.

The closed-door meeting was requested by Kuwait, an Arab member on the council, and Bolivia, following one of the greatest surges of violence in the Palestinian enclave in years.

Both the Kuwaiti and Bolivian UN ambassadors as well as the UN envoys of Palestine and the Arab League met the press outside the council chamber after the meeting.

"The council is unable to find a solution to the situation in Gaza," said Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi, yet expressing his hope that the most powerful body of the UN could take action on the issue that keeps coming back to its members.

The idea was raised again that the council members go on a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories, he said, adding though not thoroughly discussed, the proposal was supported by many members at the meeting.

On behalf of the four ambassadors at the press counter, al-Otaibi condemned Israel's attacks on civilians and infrastructure in Gaza and expressed concern over its indiscriminate, excessive and disproportionate use of force.

Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour, for his part, said "the council is paralyzed ... for reason that you all know" on resolving the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinian envoy also expressed his gratitude to Egypt, which acts as a mediator between the Palestinians and Israelis, and "our friends in the United Nations," for their efforts to de-escalate the situation.

Since Sunday night, unprecedented barrages of some 400 Gaza rockets have hit southern Israel, killing a Palestinian man in the city of Ashkelon and wounding at least 85 others, most of whom sustained light injuries.

In Gaza, the Israeli Air Force carried out more than 150 airstrikes, bombing Hamas' al-Aqsa TV and Hamas' headquarters in Gaza, as well as dozens of other sites including tunnels and military positions.

On Monday, the Israeli attacks killed at least three men and on Tuesday five more, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

The abrupt violence was sparked by a failed Israeli undercover raid in Gaza on Sunday night. The undercover troops were exposed by Hamas militants, prompting a fire exchange that cost the lives of seven Palestinian militants and an Israeli officer.
File Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani take part in a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- As the diplomatic wrangle between Qatar and several Middle East nations continues to cut, the U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said here Tuesday that the United States sought to build a strategic alliance in the region.

Speaking to the media with his Qatari counterpart Khalid bin Mohammed al-Atiyya at the Pentagon, Mattis said that the U.S. side recognizes Qatar as "a long-time friend and military partner for peace and stability in the Middle East and a supporter of NATO's mission in Afghanistan."

"The United States supports exploring an inclusive Mid East strategic alliance, a concept borne in your region and one that brings together all partners to address shared challenges," he said

"We are committed to working by, with, and through allies and partners across the region to make this concept a reality and to deter hostile actors," he added.

When asked about the continuous blockade of Qatar by nations like Saudi Arabia, an apparent obstacle to the U.S. initiative to build such an alliance, the senior Qatari official said that the issue was a "concern" to him and part of the reason for his visit to the United States.

"Actually I am here today to discuss our mutual cooperation and the way forward," he said. "And this is what's, to be honest with you, concerning me today, how to alleviate our relation and mutual cooperation together with the United States."

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and jointly imposed a trade, land and air traffic embargo against the nation.

The four accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.

However, Doha has rejected the accusations, calling them "unjustified" and "baseless."

Despite the U.S. calls for all parties concerned to solve their problem soon, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in September that "there is still no solution to the spat in sight."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 22:34:31|Editor: Yurou

Video Player Close

KIEV, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- This season's first snowfall hit the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Wednesday, causing 294 traffic accidents, Interior Ministry said in a statement on Facebook.

At least four people were injured in the accidents, said the Kiev-based information portal dpt.kiev.ua.

The index of traffic congestion in Kiev has reached 9 out of 10, according to local media.

Kiev city state administration said 287 vehicles and 61 cleaning teams are working in the city to remove the snow.

Despite the snowfall, the Boryspil International Airport and the International Airport Kiev are working in a regular mode.

Weather authorities have warned that the snowfall in Kiev will continue into Thursday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 22:35:22|Editor: Yurou

Video Player Close

PARIS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday unveiled a plan worth 500 million euros (563.5 million U.S. dollars) to help motorists with the lowest incomes, in a move to appease angry public at increasing fuel tax.

Speaking to RTL radio, Philippe said the current 2,000-euro bonus offered to low-income drivers would be doubled to encourage them to change their old and polluting vehicles for cleaner ones.

The package of measures also included an extension of kilometric allowances system to help the motorists who use their cars a lot, especially the small vehicles, as well as a special aid for low income families who use diesel fuel to heat their homes.

Philippe said the new plan which would cost the government 500 million euros, would be effective at the start of next year.

The government's new measures come as France was bracing on Saturday for nationwide protest against tax increases on petrol, with which the government hoped to accelerate energy transition and fight climate warming.

Created on social media, several groups have called for blockades and go-slow operations across the country to oppose the planned fuel tax and the rise in diesel's price, the most commonly used car fuel in France.

"The majority hears the remarks, the emotion, sometimes the anger expressed by the French, but going from a system such as it was conceived to a new one always causes difficulties," the prime minister said.

He added that doing nothing against CO2 emission would not be up to the challenges. (1 euro = 1.126 U.S. dollar)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 22:41:14|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday adopted a key document to chart the course for their ties till 2030.

The China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 was approved at the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting held in Singapore.

At the 20th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting held in Manila, the Philippines in 2017, China and ASEAN agreed to issue the vision on their future ties and contribute to building an open, inclusive, and sustainable world that enjoys peace, security and common prosperity.

Hailing the vision as a blueprint for the long-term development of bilateral ties, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said at the meeting that the two sides should, under the guidance of the vision, synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the ASEAN Vision 2025, and strengthen the building of the three pillars -- the political security, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges, so as to lift China-ASEAN relations to a higher level.

Co-chairing the meeting with Li, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose country holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship this year, said in the opening remarks that the vision will chart the future direction of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership.

He said ASEAN and China share a strong, substantial and mutually beneficial relationship and their bilateral economic ties are "robust," adding that China has been ASEAN's top trade partner for continued years and the upgraded bilateral free trade agreement will open up new opportunities for businesses and further increase the two-way trade.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership. China has pledged that ASEAN is a priority of China's diplomacy and will support the construction of the ASEAN Community and its centrality in regional cooperation in East Asia.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 22:42:16|Editor: mmm

Video Player Close

HARARE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe on Wednesday held an investment forum for a visiting business delegation from China's Anhui Province that is seeking trade and investment opportunities in the country.

Zimbabwean deputy minister of industry and commerce Raj Modi urged the Chinese firms to take advantage of Zimbabwe's improving business environment to invest in various sectors of the country's economy.

He said Zimbabwe was keen to partner with Chinese firms to build its industrial capacity to export processed goods so that it can achieve its vision of becoming a middle income economy by 2030.

"I invite investors from China to partner us in the development of special economic zones and in exploring investment opportunities in Zimbabwe. I believe that the interaction between our two business delegations will bring opportunities for our two countries to foster economic and trade cooperation in various fields," Modi said while opening the investment forum.

Chinese Charge d'affaires in Zimbabwe Zhao Baogang said Zimbabwean government's commitment to reform and opening up should encourage more Chinese companies to tap abundant investment opportunities in the southern African country.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is running on the mantra "Zimbabwe is open for business" as he seeks to woo foreign investment that is critical to the revival and growth of the economy.

Zhao said the Zimbabwean government's zero tolerance to corruption would also help lure foreign investment.

"I hope entrepreneurs from China could tap the potential of the good polices being implemented by Zimbabwe to invest in the country," he said.

Zimbabwe's trade promotion body chief executive Allan Majuru said Zimbabwe needs Chinese investment to develop its capacity to produce high-quality and sustainable exports.

The business delegation is being led by Anhui Province deputy governor Zhou Xi'an, who has since voiced China's willingness to help Zimbabwe establish an agricultural hub for value addition and beneficiation of its agricultural produce.

Meanwhile, the two sides signed Memoranda of Understanding on the construction of a dam and auto assembly plant in Zimbabwe by Anhui Shui'an Construction Group and JAC Auto, respectively. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:05:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

JAKARTA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian police have identified the remains of an Italian national onboard a crashed Lion Air flight, which would be returned to his family in Italy, a police official said on Wednesday.

"To fly back the remains we are now conducting a coordination with the Italian embassy here," head of Indonesian Police's Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) unit Lisda Cancer said.

Remains of Italian Andrea Manfredi was identified on Tuesday along with two other remains of passengers aboard the Boeing 737 plane, which crashed into Indonesia's West Java waters on Oct. 29.

Manfredi is one of the two foreigners onboard the crashed plane. Another one is captain pilot Bhavye Suneja from India.

As of Wednesday, the DVI has identified 85 remains of those victims, including 64 males and 21 females.

Flight JT 610 with 189 people aboard crashed into waters off West Java province shortly after taking off from the international airport in Jakarta late last month.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:05:06|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill receives an interview with Xinhua in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Nov. 11, 2018. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

by Xinhua writers Fei Liena, Yan Hao, Levi Parsons

PORT MORESBY, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Papua New Guinea (PNG) is committed to cementing friendship with China, promoting Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation and building a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

He spoke to Xinhua ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to PNG, which starts Thursday and will mark the first of its kind since the two countries established diplomatic ties 42 years ago. PNG attaches great importance to it, he said.

Noting that bilateral friendly exchanges date back to 150 years ago, O'Neill said the PNG-China relationship has been very cordial, strong and growing every year since 1976.

The two sides now share the same stances and values on many global issues, and PNG is committed to the one-China policy, said the prime minister.

Meanwhile, "businesses are starting to grow, a lot more investment is coming into Papua New Guinea as we speak, and of course more and more of our people are visiting China," said O'Neill, who has visited China for several times.

Speaking highly of the tremendous changes China has experienced since its reform and opening-up 40 years ago, he said, "I think China has had great development for its country and its people. It is something I don't think human history will ever repeat."

"Within a short period of time, you have been able to lift six or seven hundred million people out of poverty into a middle class. No other country in the world can achieve that, and this is a great example for any developing country, and we can learn from the success of China and build our own countries using that kind of experience and capacity," he added.

In May, PNG officially joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. During O'Neill's last visit to China in June, PNG became the first Pacific island country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on BRI cooperation. Of that, O'Neill said he is very proud.

"I think that many countries in the region can benefit from the (Belt and Road) Initiative," he told Xinhua. "For international developing countries like Papua New Guinea, this is a great initiative because of the access to capital and infrastructure-building capacities that we are now developing together with China. It is able to open up markets and improve the standard of living for our people."

He noted that BRI cooperation projects have helped PNG build up a series of infrastructure like ports, roads and bridges for the benefit of the PNG people, particularly those living in remote areas, where many villages have been connected to the outside world by road for the first time.

"I think globally it will continue to promote trade and investment for all countries. So we support that," added the prime minister.

PNG also looks forward to boosting financial cooperation with China, said O'Neill, stressing that his county is one of the few developing countries that have never defaulted on debt and a cooperation partner with a good credit standing.

PNG is blessed with rich resources in fishery, agriculture, tourism, mining and petroleum; what it lacks is capital and market, he said. "We know that China has got a huge market for these resources, so it's pleasing to know that the Chinese business community has started to take an interest in Papua New Guinea and started to invest in PNG."

"At the same time, more and more of our citizens are going to work and live in China, and this is growing each year, so I think the future looks very bright," said the PNG prime minister.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:10:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ZHENGZHOU, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A total of 681 Australian alpacas have arrived in Zhengzhou, the capital city of central China's Henan Province, on a chartered flight from Melbourne, Australia.

It is the province's first time to import Australian alpacas, according to the local customs.

The alpacas, 54 males and 627 females, will be sent to the city of Xinzheng for quarantine.

The alpacas that pass a health test will be distributed to a farm in north China's Shanxi Province for breeding.

Alpacas are one of the major domestic animals of South America. Because the animal reproduces slowly, countries often impose export restrictions on the species.

In the 1980s, Australia introduced the alpacas to improve its breedings and fiber quality.

Henan has received about 68,000 imported animals since January 2016, including giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers, leopards and elephants.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:11:41|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan said Wednesday that the ministry would provide full support for the development of private enterprises.

Since the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy, private companies have become a new force for commercial development, contributing to 90 percent of domestic trade, 48 percent of export and 49 percent of overseas investment, Zhong said in an interview.

"To support the development of the private economy, the ministry will encourage private firms to participate in trade fairs, including the China International Import Expo and the Canton Fair, take part in the Belt and Road Initiative, and go to free trade zones and overseas economic and trade cooperation zones," Zhong said.

"The ministry will also give them better policies, including the implementation of policy on export rebates, trade financing and trade facilitation," he said.

A more amicable environment will be created for the better development of private enterprises by further relaxing market access, improving filing-based management and promoting fair law enforcement, according to Zhong.

"The ministry will also support private firms to explore overseas market and search for new methods of product distribution to expand consumption," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:14:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

KIEV, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Sunday's elections in insurgent-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine have not altered the situation in the conflict-hit region, the commander of the Ukrainian government's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Serhiy Nayev said on Wednesday.

"As for the overall situation -- nothing has changed for us," Nayev said in an interview with the government-run Ukrinform news agency.

When asked if the elections could further inflame the conflict, Nayev said the Ukrainian military will continue the policy of containment.

"We prioritize political and diplomatic means of the settlement because our Ukrainian citizens live in the occupied territories," Nayev said.

On Nov. 11, the conflict-hit Donetsk and Lugansk regions, together known as Donbas, elected new "presidents" and members of "parliaments" of the self-proclaimed republics.

Ukraine has voiced protest in the wake of the elections, saying that their results will be "null" and "void" and would have no legal consequences.

In April 2014, armed groups seized the cities and villages in eastern Ukraine and declared independence from Kiev. The Ukrainian army launched the "anti-terror" operation (ATO) against the insurgents.

In April this year, the government replaced the ATO, which was ruled by the State Security Service, with the army-led JFO.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:45:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ANKARA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that Turkey was making efforts to get the U.S. Congress to drop bills targeting Ankara.

Turkey is working to keep economic ties with the U.S. without being impacted by political issues, Cavusoglu said in his speech text at a parliamentary committee.

The U.S. Senate initiated to block sales of F-35 jets to Turkey unless U.S. President Donald Trump certifies that Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems is not threatening NATO.

"In 2019, we have the will to realize normalization of our relations with the U.S. and we will make progress as our constructive attitude corresponds (by the U.S.)," Cavusoglu said.

He added that Turkey is in close cooperation with the U.S., the EU and other parties to decrease the negative impact of U.S. sanctions on its relations with Iran.

The U.S. reinstated sanctions on Iran's oil sector on Nov. 5 after Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May.

Turkey was among the eight countries exempted temporarily to keep importing Iranian oil.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Singapore, Nov. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and New Zealand agreed here Wednesday to promote bilateral efforts on upgrading free trade agreement (FTA), showing their determination to further open markets and safeguard free trade.

The agreement came as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on the sidelines of a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation here this week.

China-New Zealand FTA, signed in 2008, is the first FTA between China and a developed country.

"China is willing to work with New Zealand to continue advancing the upgrade of the FTA in a positive and pragmatic spirit so as to further expand the two-way trade and investment," said Li.

Ardern said that by promoting FTA upgrading, New Zealand and China have sent a clear signal to the world that the two nations are committed to upholding free trade and further opening markets.

Hailing the steady development of bilateral ties, Li said China-New Zealand cooperation has always led in China's cooperation with western developed countries.

China stands ready to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation with New Zealand to better benefit the two peoples and contribute to regional development, said Li.

Li said Chinese government supports Chinese companies to invest in New Zealand and hopes that New Zealand can provide a fair and transparent business environment for them.

He also encouraged New Zealand companies to expand investment in China and boost technological cooperation with China, saying that China will conduct the cooperation on the basis of strict protection of intellectual property rights.

Li said that facing the current international political and economic situation, China stands ready to work with all relevant parties to push for an early conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) talks so as to safeguard multilateralism and free trade.

The RCEP is a proposed FTA between the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the six FTA partners of ASEAN -- China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

It is expected to be one of the world's largest trading blocs, accounting for 45 percent of the world population, 40 percent of global trade and one third of the global GDP.

Noting that New Zealand has attached great importance to its ties with China, Ardern said the bilateral cooperation has yielded fruitful results as the two nations created many "firsts," which are not only conducive to both sides' development but also to the regional prosperity.

New Zealand will continue its positive policy toward China, which includes the cooperation with China on the Belt and Road Initiative, promoting the trade on dairy and wooden products and sharing the technology and experience in the areas such as agriculture, Ardern said.

She said New Zealand would like to strengthen cooperation and coordination with China under multilateral frameworks, and enhance communication on the issues including the reform of the World Trade Organization and climate change in order to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Asia Pacific region.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:44:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday to lift a nearly decade-old arms embargo and targeted sanctions on Eritrea after the country's recent rapprochement towards neighbors in the Horn of Africa.

In a unanimous vote, the council approved Resolution 2444 to lift arms embargoes, travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions, which had been imposed on Eritrea since 2009.

The removal of the sanctions was the culmination of regional political developments that unfolded since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace agreement in Asmara on July 9, ending a 20-year conflict.

Furthermore, the two countries signed an Agreement on Peace, Friendship and Comprehensive Cooperation on Sept. 16, which was welcomed by council members.

In addition, Wednesday's resolution urged Eritrea and Djibouti to work towards normalizing ties and settling their 2008 border dispute.

The council imposed sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support of Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia. The UN's most powerful body slapped more sanctions on the Horn of African country in three other resolutions from 2011 to 2013.

Wednesday's resolution recognized that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:44:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

MOSCOW, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Moscow hopes that the cease-fire achieved between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will last, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

"We expect it to be sustainable and long-term, and to enable the international community to step up work aimed at rectifying the dismal humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and achieve a just Palestinian-Israeli settlement on a well-known international legal basis," it said in a statement.

Over 450 missiles have been launched from the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave on the Mediterranean coast, to Israel in the last few days, while Israel struck more than 160 targets in the territory in response to the attacks.

According to media reports, eight Palestinians were killed and 35 injured as a result of an exchange of fire in the past few days while one person was killed and 56 injured from the Israeli side, the ministry statement said.

The Israeli government and Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic group governing the Gaza Strip, and other militant groups agreed on Tuesday to stop hostilities.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman tendered his resignation protesting against the government decision to halt the airstrikes.

The Russian ministry severely condemned the attacks in the statement "actions leading to civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian objects in the Gaza Strip and in Israel" and welcomed the meditation of Egypt and UN to restore the cease-fire.

"We hope that the largest-scale armed confrontation between the Israelis and the Palestinians since 2014 will be stopped," the statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:48:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

KUNMING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province arrested two suspects for drug trafficking and seized around 40 kg of drugs, local police said Wednesday.

The police in Changning County received a tip-off in mid-September that drug dealers were planning to smuggle drugs from Myanmar to southwest China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality via Yunnan.

On Nov. 10, police apprehended two suspects who were transporting drugs with a motorcycle. The police found 13 blocks of heroin and 34 bags of methamphetamine, weighing about 40 kg in total.

The suspects surnamed Ran and Tang respectively, have been detained and further investigation is underway.

Yunnan is a major front in China's battle against drug crime as it borders the Golden Triangle, an area notorious for rampant drug production and trafficking.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:46:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

SKOPJE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Macedonian Criminal Court ordered on Wednesday a 30-day detention for the former officials from VMRO-DPMNE opposition party accused in the "Titanic" named case, Mile Janakieski and Kiril Bozinovski as they were deemed flight risks.

The court said in a statement that it was the Macedonian Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) that requested the detention.

The Macedonian Interior Ministry confirmed that Janakieski and Bozinovski were detained in Skopje prison this morning.

After the escape of the former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said Tuesday that defendants in SPO cases should be detained.

Also on Tuesday, Janakieski declared that he strongly condemns Gruevski's escape and that he does not intend to run, and that he will be in Macedonia and will come to court at the scheduled hearing for the "Titanic" case.

"I condemn this act, because it will negatively affect all of the court cases, especially in those cases where we are accused together," stated Janakieski.

Janakieski served as Minister of Transport and Communications in the cabinet of Gruevski until May 2015, whereas Bozinovski as the former government secretary-general.

In February 2016, the Macedonian Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva announced the first operation undertaken by her office dubbed "Titanic". The Special Prosecutor explained that in the operation, official investigations were launched into former Macedonian Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska, Janakieski and Bozinovski, for criminal conspiracy, violations of the right and freedom to vote, bribery and the destruction of election material in 2012.

They are all being investigated for electoral fraud.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:47:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WUHAN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese version of the Goncourt Prize, the most prestigious award in French literature, will be presented for the first time on Nov. 24 in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, according to a press conference held in the city Tuesday.

The winner of the "Le Choix Goncourt de la Chine" prize will be selected from four French literary works, designated by France's Goncourt Academy, by a jury comprised of celebrated professors in francophone literature from Chinese universities, including Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Wuhan University.

Such prizes have been founded in over 10 countries and regions, including Belgium, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, whereas China is the first in Asia, said Didier Kimmoun, cultural attache of the French consulate general in Wuhan.

"China has been a major importer of French literature in the past few years, and the establishment of Le Choix de la Chine will further enhance the exchange between French and Chinese literary circles," said Olivier Guyonvarch, French consul general in Wuhan.

A variety of sideline activities will also be held, including lectures and film screenings.

The Goncourt Prize is France's oldest prize in literature, and given by Goncourt Academy to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 00:50:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday the United States will fail to achieve its goals by imposing sanctions on Iran.

"The Americans will definitely be defeated on this path. The path they have chosen is wrong," Rouhani was quoted as saying by IRAN daily.

If they are honest and concerned about regional security, this is not the path, he said, adding that the "cruel" U.S. sanctions will only harm the Iranian people.

By returning sanctions on Iran and Iranians, the U.S. officials hurt their own reputation in the world, he pointed out.

The Iranian president made the remarks in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The first part of the U.S. sanctions on Iran snapped back on August 7, targeting Iran's automotive sector, trade in gold, and other key metals.

Washington imposed second round of sanctions on Nov. 5, targeting Iran's energy, financial and shipping sectors.

Rouhani also hit back at the U.S. restrictions on Iran's oil exports, stressing that Iran will overcome the restrictive measures and will continue to sell its oil.

"The Americans thought they could completely cut Iran's oil exports, but they realized that this is neither practical nor possible," he was quoted as saying.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. (Reuters photo)

TEHRAN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday the United States will fail to achieve its goals by imposing sanctions on Iran.

"The Americans will definitely be defeated on this path. The path they have chosen is wrong," Rouhani was quoted as saying by IRAN daily.

If they are honest and concerned about regional security, this is not the path, he said, adding that the "cruel" U.S. sanctions will only harm the Iranian people.

By returning sanctions on Iran and Iranians, the U.S. officials hurt their own reputation in the world, he pointed out.

The Iranian president made the remarks in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The first part of the U.S. sanctions on Iran snapped back on August 7, targeting Iran's automotive sector, trade in gold, and other key metals.

Washington imposed second round of sanctions on Nov. 5, targeting Iran's energy, financial and shipping sectors.

Rouhani also hit back at the U.S. restrictions on Iran's oil exports, stressing that Iran will overcome the restrictive measures and will continue to sell its oil.

"The Americans thought they could completely cut Iran's oil exports, but they realized that this is neither practical nor possible," he was quoted as saying.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 02:10:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran has taken a leap towards producing radioactive iodine which is a main therapy for thyroid cancer, IRAN daily quoted an Iranian medical official as saying on Wednesday.

Although producing radioactive iodine is a difficult process, Iran has become self-sufficient in its production and continues doing so despite U.S. sanctions, said Shahram Alamdari, secretary of Iran's ongoing 12th International Conference of Endocrine Disorders.

Production of the medicine is among the peaceful uses of atomic energy, Alamdari said, adding that "use of radioactive iodine is among the main methods for treating patients suffering from thyroid cancer."

When someone gets a small dose of radioactive iodine medicine, scanners can pick it up, and it can help reveal certain illnesses. Larger doses can attack thyroid cancer, prostate cancer and other diseases.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 02:14:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

PRAGUE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Czech government will not join the UN global migration pact, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday.

He said the pact does not include some Czech priorities such as a clear distinction between legal and illegal migrants as well as the denotation of illegal migration as undesirable.

The UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was criticized by the Czech foreign ministry for obscuring the differences between legal and illegal migrants, encouraging greater migration, including illegal migration.

The Czech Foreign Ministry said the final document lacked a clear position that illegal migration is undesirable, on which the Czech Republic insisted in the negotiations.

The EU proposed that the final document should speak about forced return of illegal migrants as a legitimate part of migration policy, but it was not eventually accepted.

The UN approved the text of the unbinding agreement in 2016 and it should be finally adopted at a conference in Marrakesh next month.

In September, the Czech Chamber of Deputies asked the government to tell it by mid-November what would be the Czech stance in Morocco.

Last year, the United States announced its withdrawal from the pact. Austria and Hungary refused to sign it. Poland, Italy, and Switzerland also have reservations about the pact.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 02:13:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

SKOPJE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Macedonian government will allocate 98 million Macedonian Denar (about 1.8 million U.S. dollars) to tackle air pollution, a press release said Wednesday.

"Curbing air pollution is set as a strategic priority of the Macedonian government for 2019," read the release.

Moreover, the Macedonian government recommended that additional funds for this purpose should be provided from the donors community.

On Wednesday, the government also reviewed the draft program for reducing air pollution and tasked the Ministry of Finance to include the document in the 2019 draft budget.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 02:16:19|Editor: Liangyu

Video Player Close

Participants listen to a presentation at a symposium on the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Vietnam Cooperation in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on Nov. 14, 2018. A symposium on the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Vietnam Cooperation was jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. (Xinhua/Ngo Minh Tien)

HANOI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative has witnessed pragmatic achievements over the past five years and has become an important platform for cooperation between Vietnam and China, Vietnamese officials said on Wednesday.

A symposium on the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Vietnam Cooperation was jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

Assistant to the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Van Thao and director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Ngo Vu Tung delivered speeches at the symposium.

According to them, the current international situation has undergone profound and complex changes, and the interests of various countries have become more closely intertwined.

In this context, strengthening mutual understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and China is conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.

Chinese Ambassador Xiong Bo pointed out that it is China's important measure to implement a new round of high-level opening-up, which reflects China's insistence on opening-up and its determined position of firmly supporting economic globalization, the multilateral trading system, and free trade.

According to the ambassador, China-Vietnam cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and the "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan has unique advantages.

China is willing to work with Vietnam to implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two parties and countries, and to expand cooperation between China and Vietnam under the framework of the initiative and the "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, he said.

Hu Zhengyue, vice president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, said in his keynote speech that the initiative is based on the principle of equality and mutual benefit, with the goal of win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness.

The initiative has received a lot of positive response and support, he said, noting that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an important participant of its construction.

In the last five years, many large-scale projects have been incorporated into the Belt and Road cooperation framework, and more pragmatic cooperation is being actively explored.

It is believed that with the advantages of the two sides in the fields of politics, institution, geography, market and humanities, China and ASEAN will achieve greater results in Belt and Road cooperation, Hu said.

Some 80 representatives from China and Vietnam attended the event.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 02:12:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

PARIS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A French prosecutor on Wednesday asked for six years jail term on former conservative junior minister Georges Tron, who was charged with sexually assault on two women working for him.

After three weeks of hearing, Frederic Bernardo also demanded to jail Brigitte Gruel, ex-secretary of state for public service's assistant for culture, for four years.

"My deep conviction is that Brigitte Gruel and Georges Tron are guilty of rape and sexual touching," he was quoted as saying by local media.

In May 2011, Tron was arrested following allegations that he sexually assaulted women who worked in the town hall in Draveil, south of Paris, where he is mayor.

Facing charges of rape and sexual assault by "a person in authority," the 61-year-conservative politician was released on bail.

The court will announce its decision on Thursday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 02:19:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

VALLETTA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Malta and Italy are tightening their cooperation in the fight against illegal betting after dozens were arrested and millions of euros in assets seized, Malta's Digital Economy Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri told Parliament on Wednesday.

Schembri said the Malta Gaming Authority will be entering into an information exchange agreement with Italy's Guardia di Finanza for investigations on illegal gaming activity.

The cooperation agreement between the Maltese and Italian authorities, which is set to be signed in the coming days, will cover the analysis of information for the purpose of detecting illicit activity.

The announcement was made just hours after an Italian investigation into illegal betting, in which Malta cooperated, leading to the arrest of 68 people and the seizure of over 1 billion euros (one euro currently equals to 1.13 U.S. dollars) in assets in Italy and elsewhere.

Around 80 search operations are also being carried out in various cities around Italy.

The investigation was spearheaded by prosecutors from Bari, Reggio Calabria and Catania, under the coordination of the Italian National Anti-Mafia and Counter-Terrorism Directorate.

The total value of the bets discovered by the Italian authorities was reportedly over 4.5 billion euros, according to Italian news agency Rai News.

The collaborative investigation involved Eurojust and the judicial authorities of Austria, Malta, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Netherlands, Curacao, Serbia, Albania and Spain.

Italian investigators say that criminal groups had adopted Mafia style methods to control the online clandestine betting market, using several different platforms managed by the organisations, while laundering the illegal proceeds through real estate assets and overseas foundations and companies.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 03:10:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) meets with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob in Singapore, on Nov. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and Singapore vowed to work together to promote bilateral ties and help boost relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is on an official visit to Singapore, met with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob Wednesday. During their meeting, Li first extended President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to her.

Upholding the tradition of friendship, China and Singapore have had frequent high-level visits and close personnel exchanges, with pragmatic cooperation expanding to new areas and benefiting people of the two countries, Li said.

China is willing to work with Singapore to achieve greater progress of bilateral relations in the new era, he said.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership. Li said China always views ASEAN as a priority in foreign relations, and appreciates Singapore's active role in promoting China-ASEAN relations as the China-ASEAN country coordinator and the ASEAN's rotating chair.

China is willing to work with Singapore to promote further development of China-ASEAN relations and make new contributions to the peace and development of the region and the world, Li said.

For her part, President Halimah Yacob said the reform and opening-up that China launched 40 years ago has not only put China on a fast track of growth, brought about benefits to China and the world, but also started a new journey for Singapore-China ties.

The more than ten cooperation deals signed during Premier Li's visit will not only provide a new platform for deepening bilateral cooperation, but also lift Singapore-China relations to a new level, she said.

The Singaporean president also expressed hopes that the two countries expand cooperation areas and deepen people-to-people exchanges in the fields of culture and tourism, so as to consolidate the foundation for bilateral relations.

Singapore is ready to work with China to promote greater development of ASEAN-China relations, the president said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 03:13:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- President Donald Trump's administration said on Wednesday that it has "broad discretion to regulate access to the White House for journalists" as it fends off a legal challenge from CNN over the revocation of its reporter Jim Acosta's press pass.

"No journalist has a First Amendment right to enter the White House," three Justice Department lawyers wrote in a legal filing released hours before a federal court hearing on CNN's request for a temporary restraining order to restore Acosta's access.

"The president and White House possess the same broad discretion to regulate access to the White House for journalists (and other members of the public) that they possess to select which journalists receive interviews, or which journalists they acknowledge at press conferences," the lawyers said.

Acosta, CNN's chief White House correspondent, was denied access to the White House on Nov. 7, hours after his heated exchange with the president.

CNN on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over the suspension of Acosta's press pass, claiming the decision violates the reporter's First and Fifth Amendment rights to free speech and due process.

CNN said both the company and Acosta are plaintiffs. They are seeking a temporary restraining order from a federal judge that would immediately restore Acosta's press pass. If CNN prevails, Acosta would be allowed back into the White House while the lawsuit proceeds.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:41:46|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) shakes hands with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Khalid Al-Attiyah during their meeting at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., the United States, on Nov. 14, 2018. The U.S. Department of State said Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and visiting Qatari deputy prime minister discussed building a regional alliance. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of State said Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and visiting Qatari deputy prime minister discussed building a regional alliance.

A statement issued by the State Department said that Pompeo and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Khalid Al-Attiyah discussed working toward a Middle East Strategic Alliance that anchored by a united Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and reaffirmed their mutual interest in promoting regional security and stability.

The statement said the two discussed the upcoming bilateral strategic dialogue and the expansion of Al-Udeid Airbase, which stationed scores of U.S. combat and supporting aircraft.

While the continuous blockade of Qatar by other regional countries might hinder the U.S. regional alliance initiative, which Khalid Al-Attiyah on Tuesday termed a "concern" for him and part of the reason for his visit to the United States.

Another statement issued by the State Department said that Pompeo had a phone conversation on the same day with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa over bilateral and regional issues.

The United States has a significant military presence in both Qatar and Bahrain. The former is the headquarters of U.S. Air Force Central Command and the latter for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and jointly imposed a trade, land and air traffic embargo against the nation.

The four accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.

However, Doha has rejected the accusations, calling them "unjustified" and "baseless."

Despite the U.S. calls for all parties concerned to solve their problem soon, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in September that "there is still no solution to the spat in sight."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:43:09|Editor: Yang Yi

Video Player Close

Zahir Tanin (C, Front), Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), addresses a Security Council meeting on Kosovo at the UN headquarters in New York, on Nov. 14, 2018. The top UN envoy in Kosovo on Wednesday called for social engagement for the success of negotiations on a possible new comprehensive agreement between Pristina and Belgrade. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy in Kosovo on Wednesday called for social engagement for the success of negotiations on a possible new comprehensive agreement between Pristina and Belgrade.

After meetings between Serbian and Kosovo leaders in the past few months, there is momentum for political dialogue between the two parties, Zahir Tanin, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN mission in Kosovo, told the Security Council.

At a European forum in Austria in August, both sides advocated a new framework for a comprehensive agreement, including the possibility of territorial exchange, said Tanin.

The addition of this new dimension generated new impetus, as well as apprehension among political actors and the populations on both sides as well as within the region and international community, he said, adding that the discussion has opened space for debate and consideration regardless of the underlying challenges and concerns.

Last week in Brussels, Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic and the President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci met and confirmed their intention to continue the dialogue and to work toward a settlement, within the EU-facilitated process, Tanin noted.

He stressed the need for social engagement for such an agreement to succeed, particularly given the fact that the political talks in Brussels took place against a situation still dominated by frequent adversarial actions on the ground.

"Any process of political negotiation, if it is to succeed, requires the full engagement and buy-in from societies, as well as from leaders and political representatives," he said.

"Top-level commitments that may be reached via political negotiations, no matter the strength of international and regional support, are unlikely to stand unless backed up by full understanding and confidence among communities and individuals across society."

With this in mind, his mission, known as UNMIK, continues to prioritize trust-building in Kosovo particularly at the grassroots level in close cooperation with all international partners on the ground, said Tanin.

Other key objectives of the mission's ongoing work include promoting the use of innovative communication technologies to support constant interaction of all groups and communities across Kosovo, he said.

Without social reconciliation, involving people, communities and civil society, progress can falter, regardless of the best efforts and work of political stakeholders. Trust-building requires patience and persistence, to raise and empower the voices of understanding and compassion, that may help shape a future different from divisions and conflict, he said.

He warned that actions which attempt to pre-empt agreement are not conducive to achieving political compromise. "Whether on larger or smaller issues, one-sided actions carry the constant potential to inflame the situation on the ground."

The recent approval by the Assembly of Kosovo of three draft laws on the Kosovo Security Force that aim to significantly enhance the strength and responsibilities of the force has caused renewed tensions, said Tanin. "This matter needs to be handled with utmost care, to ensure that steps taken are the result of a fully inclusive, fully representative political process respecting relevant legal frameworks."

The announcement by the Kosovo government that a 10 percent tax would be imposed on Serbian and Bosnian goods further increased tensions between Pristina and Belgrade and created instability for business and people, he said.

Reform in Kosovo's rule of law institutions has been undermined by ethnic tension and by political agendas, said Tanin.

The resignation of a Kosovo special prosecutor over alleged threats connected to the investigation of major cases led to public protests and harmed public confidence in the strength and impartiality of the justice system, he said.

Protecting the independence of the judiciary and fighting organized crime and corruption require continuous and strenuous effort -- in Kosovo as they do everywhere. The European Union and the United Nations continue to place resources at the disposal of the authorities to help in this difficult but essential endeavor, he said.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia 10 years ago.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:40:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Republicans on Wednesday elected Kevin McCarthy as the House minority leader, the top Republican in the lower chamber in the new Congress starting January.

The No. 2 spot of House minority whip was claimed by Representative Steve Scalise.

McCarthy, 53, prevailed 159-43, according to the House press gallery. He fended off a challenge from Jim Jordan, the co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Unlike the 218 votes needed to become Speaker, McCarthy only needed to secure a simple majority of votes from his Republican colleagues to become minority leader, according to a TheHill news daily report.

A Washington Post report said McCarthy beat Jordan with the backing of retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan and benefits from a close relationship with President Donald Trump.

McCarthy has been the House majority leader for four years. He made a bid for speaker in 2015 but stepped aside amid pressure from conservatives.

Also on Wednesday, both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer won the votes to keep their posts next year.

House Democrats will not hold their leadership elections until later this month, according to local media reports.

Republicans lost the control of the House for the first time in eight years but remains the majority in the Senate during the midterm elections held last week.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:45:03|Editor: Lu Hui

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (5th L) poses for a group photo with other leaders at the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) summit, which is also held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, in Singapore, Nov. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called for efforts to upgrade the strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as the two sides adopted a key document to chart the course for their ties till 2030.

The China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 was approved at the 21st China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting held in Singapore. The summit was also held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership.

Co-chairing the meeting with the Chinese premier, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose country holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship this year, said that the vision will chart the course for the future ASEAN-China strategic partnership.

UPGRADING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

At the summit, Li called upon China and ASEAN to boost all-round cooperation, join hands to establish higher-level strategic partnership, and build a closer community with shared future.

Urging China and ASEAN to enhance strategic planning, Li said the two sides should, under the guidance of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the ASEAN Vision 2025, and strengthen the building of the three pillars -- the political security, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges, so as to lift China-ASEAN relations to a higher level.

To deepen economic and trade cooperation, Li expects China and ASEAN to work with other relevant countries to substantially conclude negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at an early date, expand cooperation and reduce barriers to trade and investment.

Li said, as this year is the China-ASEAN Year of Innovation, the two sides should discuss the establishment of a new mechanism for science and technology innovation cooperation, implement the science and technology partnership program, conduct research and prepare to sign the cooperation documents on smart cities, and support the establishment of a digital platform for tourism in ASEAN.

To facilitate the key pillar of people-to-people exchanges, Li said China will set up a China-ASEAN scholarship, implement a research and study program for about 1,000 youth leaders from China and ASEAN, and invite another 1,000 outstanding young people from ASEAN for training programs in China.

The Chinese premier also proposed expanding security cooperation, saying China is ready to work with ASEAN to institutionalize the joint naval drills, set up a direct hotline between their defense ministries at an early date, carry out friendly exchanges between defense think tanks and junior officers and deepen cooperation in disaster prevention and reduction, humanitarian aid and counter-terrorism.

Calling the summit a milestone for bilateral strategic partnership, ASEAN leaders said that it is in the interests of both sides to safeguard multilateralism and free trade and that ASEAN is ready to align its development strategies with the Belt and Road Initiative and open up more space for cooperation.

They also agreed on enhancing collaboration in connectivity, innovation, smart-city construction, e-commerce, digital economy and other areas so as to facilitate regional economic integration and the building of an East Asian Community.

REAFFIRMING COMMITMENT ON SEALING SOUTH CHINA SEA COC

The Chinese premier also stressed China's commitment to finalizing a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea as he met with leaders of Southeast Asian countries on Wednesday.

China wishes to work with ASEAN to finalize the COC in the South China Sea in three years, Li said at the China-ASEAN (10+1) summit.

China and ASEAN have arrived at a single draft negotiating text of COC and agreed to complete the first reading of the pact in 2019, Li noted.

China and ASEAN already reached a Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) years ago, and have been seeking a more robust code of conduct.

Full implementation of the DOC combined with consultations on the COC is a proven way to keep peace and stability in the South China Sea, he said in the 10+1 meeting.

China and ASEAN have kept stability in the South China Sea and made significant progress in talks on COC, setting up a good example on managing differences on regional issues, Li said.

Outsiders should respect the will of regional countries and have faith in their wisdom to keep peace and stability in the South China Sea, Li added.

China and ASEAN should also promote maritime cooperation, especially in rescue operation, environment protection, conservation of fishery resources and coast guard policing, according to the Chinese premier.

In addition, China and ASEAN should institutionalize their joint maritime drills, he said, referring to the first joint maritime drill between China and ASEAN in October.

ASEAN leaders agreed to push for the completion of talks on COC and expand maritime cooperation with China so as to ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea.

"FINISHING KICK" OF RCEP TALKS

Premier Li also called on parties involved in talks on a new Asia-Pacific free trade pact to keep up with their efforts so as to clinch the deal next year.

Talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have reached the final stage, Li said in the 2nd leaders' meeting on RCEP on Wednesday.

"We must build on the momentum and unleash a strong finishing kick, striving to complete the deal within 2019," he told leaders of ASEAN as well as South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India in the meeting.

ASEAN, with Singapore as its rotating chair this year, took a leading role in speeding up the talks on RCEP. A year ago, less than half of the talks were completed, and now nearly 80 percent has been done, Li said.

The deal, once reached, would boost trade and investment, promote regional economic integration and benefit the people of all participating countries, Li said.

Leaders at the meeting expressed a strong will to reach the deal as soon as possible, which will send a strong signal on preserving multilateralism and free trade and to boost economic growth and globalization.

The RCEP free trade talks involve the ten ASEAN nations as well as partner countries such as Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. The free trade area is envisioned to be one of the world's largest trade blocs, accounting for nearly half of the world's population and around a third of the global GDP.

Li, who arrived in Singapore on Monday, is also scheduled to attend the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting (10+3) and the 13th East Asia Summit during the five-day trip.

Full text of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's speech at China-ASEAN Summit
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:55:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

by Wang Zichen, Jeremy Allan Hawkins

BRUSSELS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Nobody knows exactly what a full-fledged European army looks like, but the talk of it has rocketed to the sky.

Shortly after French and German leaders voiced support for a European army, a chief spokesperson of the European Commission, when asked by a reporter on Wednesday, wanted to make sure the credit for the idea go to his boss.

"First let me clarify that the first one who has spoken on the EU army four years ago was someone called Jean-Claude Juncker. Memory (is) short nowadays in Brussels and capitals, but people here present, you are aware who launched the idea," said the chief spokesperson.

"We are delighted that both the president of the French republic and the German chancellor, with a few days interval, publicly backed this idea," he added.

That follows the Tuesday statement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an address to the European Parliament, that "one day, we should work on a vision to create a real, true European army."

Merkel's words are viewed to echo those of French President Emmanuel Macron, who in an interview on radio called on the formation of "a true European army" last week, ahead of the weekend's centenary celebration of the end of the First World War in Paris.

BACKLASH AGAINST TRUMP

United States President Donald Trump has lambasted the talk, but it is exactly the row with Trump that prompts increasing urgency for autonomy on the part of Europe.

"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 shortly after landing in Paris, "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!"

Trump often complained that the U.S. paid for too much of NATO's defense funding, and he again touched on the subject after leaving Paris.

"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia," Trump tweeted on Tuesday, "But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!"

It is in the wobbling trans-Atlantic relationship caused by words like these that Europeans have found the need to take greater responsibility for their defense, experts said.

European common defence would be "to increase EU strategic autonomy" and "not to be dependent on a Trump-led White House," said Steven Blockmans, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the EU Foreign Policy Unit at the Center for European Policy Studies.

"America First has brought us the revival of the spirit of De Gaulle. More evidence of a post-American world," Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in a tweet. "America First" refers to a major theme in Trump's policy.

"The days where we can unconditionally rely on others are gone," Merkel said on Tuesday. "That means that we Europeans should take our fate more into our own hands if we want to survive as a European community."

Another angle has less to do with the U.S., as Merkel said on Tuesday that "Juncker some years ago already said a common European army would show the world that there will never again be war between European nations,"

PIPE DREAM?

Despite all the talks about it, it's unclear what a European army or EU army would actually entail, perhaps because deep down Europeans know such a military force is still quite distant.

Blockmans noted a European-level trend since 2017 for increased cooperation on defence and security, saying that "what they (Macron and Merkel) want to see is a defence capability and a forward-leading expeditionary capability at the disposal of the European Union, in a much leaner and meaner fashion than exists today."

Their statements may have been intended as a signal to fellow European leaders, Blockmans told Xinhua, "it may have a sort of disciplining effect, saying we want to create a more efficient and effective European Union in the sphere of foreign affairs, security and defence, and if you object to this, what are you willing to offer in exchange?"

What about a EU military force to replace national armies? A "pipedream" for European federalists, said Blockmans.

But probably not for Guy Verhofstadt, former Prime Minister of Belgium and now a key member of the European Parliament, who wants to see "a new Europe, a truly sovereign Europe, able to protect its borders, able to protect its interests, is the next thing we need to do."

"Twenty-eight different armies. It's a waste of money and at the same time it's also a danger for our collective security and that has to change in Europe. So, that's our project," Verhofstadt said in a speech which he tweeted on Tuesday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:54:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic voters are almost evenly split over whether Nancy Pelosi, the currently House minority leader, should be the next Speaker of the House, according to a CNN poll released on Wednesday.

Among Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents, 44 percent said Pelosi was the best choice for Speaker, with 46 percent saying they would prefer a different Democrat, the poll found.

Among all voters, 30 percent said Pelosi should be Speaker, and 59 percent said a different Democratic lawmaker would be a better choice.

Pelosi, however, remained confident that she'll be elected to the House top post.

"I'm just going to say that I will be Speaker," Pelosi was quoted by a TheHill news daily report as saying on Wednesday morning.

Local media also said a number of House Democrats were planning to oppose Pelosi when the House votes for the Speakership on Jan. 3.

The survey, conducted by SSRS, re-interviewed 677 adults who participated in a nationally representative pre-election survey between Nov. 8 and Nov. 12. It has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:53:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

by Nick Kolyohin

JERUSALEM, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israeli activists for animal rights are demanding a fundamental change in the regulation of the animal tests in Israel.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of animals used for experiments by 50 authorized companies, universities, and research centers, according to the activists.

"Until 2016, the average number of victims (animals) in labs was around 300,000 per year. In 2016, the number went up to 517,000," said Oren Ben-Yosef, CEO of the Israeli Society for the Abolition of Vivisection.

"In 2017, the number doubled to over 1 million victims," added Ben-Yosef. The activists are worried about the further growth.

Israel has a leading number of non-meat eaters around the world, with around 15 percent of the population are vegetarians or vegans.

In Israel, any issue involving animal suffering is controversial. There are constant protests around the country calling for stopping animal suffering.

On the other hand, Israel is also a growing global center of cutting-edge technologies in life science. Some researches and experiments demand tests on animals.

The exact data about these experiments have been a secrecy. Jacob Gopas, head of the National Agency of Ethics in Animal Experimentation (IACUC) at the Israeli Ministry of Health, said that the reason for secrecy is to protect patents, knowledge, and researchers.

"It is concerned that the activists for animal rights will cross the line and harm scientists and researchers because of their tests on animals," said Gopas.

However, the activists believed there are other reasons for the secrecy.

Over the years, Israeli activists for animal rights succeeded a few times to secretly record the experiments on animals in major Israeli universities.

The footages were broadcasted and published on main Israeli news media, and it shocked the public. After that, the animal test industry shifted to act much more secretly behind a well-closed door.

Gopas stands in the head of the governmental agency IACUC that is in charge of regulating and managing the way experiments on animals are done in Israel.

Most of the IACUC members do not find it a problem to do tests on animals. From their perspective, it is a crucial practice to advance science, improve the medicine and promote biomedical knowledge, said Gopas.

Nevertheless, Gopas believes that animals' suffering is sometimes more important than the tests on them.

There was an experiment that demands to crack the head of an animal without painkillers "to find ways of treating head trauma, and we didn't approve it," said Gopas.

Moreover, Gopas opposes using the same animal for more than one test because of ethical and moral reasons.

The IACUC is working on examining non-animal alternatives to each test and ways to reduce the suffering of the animals.

There are more to be done, according to Andre Menache, a former worker of IACUC.

The idea itself of whether the animal tests are necessary for the progress of science or medicine is not discussed during the meetings of IACUC, according to Menache.

Activists said that another main problem is that the IACUC itself has the conflict of interests, as many members are researchers and they are doing experiments on animals.

"The IACUC's dominant members are doing themselves experiments on animals because they are researchers in their profession," said Anat Refua, a well-known activist against the experiments on animals.

"The other members of IACUC are governmental representatives with no interest in the issue at all, and animal rights activists have only three sits in the committee," added Refua.

The Israeli Association for Ethical Science (AES) tries to change from the inside of how the system works by legal means.

AES approached the Israeli court to order the state to disclose the names of the committees' members who can approve the requests for animal experiments.

"The members of the committees approve experiments for the institutions and companies they are working in," said Gilad Heller, legal advisor of AES.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:52:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday to lift nearly decade-old arms embargoes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea after the country's recent rapprochement toward neighbors in the Horn of Africa.

In a unanimous vote, the council approved Resolution 2444 to lift arms embargoes, travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea, which had been in place since 2009.

The removal of the sanctions was the culmination of regional political developments that unfolded since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace agreement and announced normalization of ties in Asmara on July 9, ending a 20-year conflict.

The thaw also led to friendlier relations between Eritrea and other countries in the region, namely Djibouti and Somalia.

The British-drafted resolution urged Eritrea and Djibouti to work toward normalizing ties and settling their 2008 border dispute, and requested the UN secretary-general to report to the council on the issue by Feb. 15 2019 and then every six months.

In the meantime, the text extended the arms embargo on Somalia, imposed in 1992 with the aim to cut Al-Shabaab rebels off from any source of arms.

As a measure to withdraw monitors from Eritrea but keep them in Somalia, the document terminated the mandate of the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group and established the Panel of Experts on Somalia in its stead.

The council imposed sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support of Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia, an accusation Asmara has long denied. The UN's most powerful body slapped more sanctions on the Horn of African country in three other resolutions from 2011 to 2013.

Wednesday's resolution recognized that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab."

After the vote, British Ambassador to the UN said the agreement to lift sanctions on Eritrea recognizes the improvements in regional peace and security and the positive steps that Eritrea had taken to meet the demands of the council.

Taye Atske Selassie, the Ethiopian envoy to the UN, said "it is highly appropriate for the Security Council to take this decisive judgment when countries of the region are turning a new page in their relations."

"The council's decision today will help to capitalize on the opportunity we are now creating to transform the region into a zone of peace and prosperity and usher a new area of friendship between all countries of the region," he added.

Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993 after 30 years of fighting. It had a decades-long border dispute with Ethiopia, during which a war went on from 1998 to 2000 and some 80,000 people died.

After Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed office in April, the four countries in the Horn of Africa region underwent unprecedented rapprochement due to their reformist moves.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:49:19|Editor: Liangyu

Video Player Close

British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a Brexit statement outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on Nov. 14, 2018. Theresa May announced Wednesday night that the cabinet has given its backing to her Brexit deal. (Xinhua/Stephen Chung)

LONDON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May announced Wednesday night that the cabinet has given its backing to her Brexit deal.

May delivered her message outside 10 Downing Street after an emergency meeting of her cabinet that overran by more than two hours.

She acknowledged the difficulties facing the government and the country over Brexit, adding: "I firmly believe with my head and my heart that this is a decision that is in the best interests of the whole United Kingdom," she said.

May said the cabinet had had a long, detailed and impassioned debate and the draft withdrawal agreement was the best that could be negotiated with Brussels.

May said she will make a full statement to the House of Commons on Thursday.

Political observers are now waiting to see if any of her dissenting ministers have quit.

The next 24 hours could also determine whether May could face a vote of no confidence among her Conservative ranks in the House of Commons.

Media speculation in London has it that a number of MPs are considering whether to send in letters that would trigger a vote among all of the Conservative MPs.

Just 48 names are needed to start the process, and if a vote does take place it could either secure May's position at Number 10 for at least a year, or see her deposed and replaced.

It would depend on whether she could survive a no-confidence vote and whether she would decide to face a challenge in an election among leadership contenders.

In a commentary on Wednesday, Peter foster, Europe editor of The Daily Telegraph wrote: "Theresa May must come clean: her Brexit deal is a dog's breakfast (but is still the best thing on a desultory menu).

"...The Brexit deal is indeed a bit of a mess, but it does put the UK on a road to an EU exit as mandated; it preserves trade continuity and it respects the Good Friday Agreement."

"There never was a perfect Brexit. It is time Mrs May, however belatedly, owned up to this fact and put these hard choices in front of the electorate. She may fail yet, but spin and half-truths are a guaranteed recipe for disaster," he concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:50:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

LONDON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday that "I firmly believe the draft agreement is the best result" of the Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels, but acknowledged that "there will be difficult days ahead."

May, speaking to reporters shortly after the end of a full cabinet meeting in Downing Street, said that the cabinet has backed the draft Brexit agreement, reached on Tuesday by negotiators from both Britain and the European Union.

May described the cabinet support as "a decisive step" which enables the country to move on to leave the European Union in March next year.

"The decision is in the best interest of the entire UK," she said in her short statement after the cabinet ended the meeting. "The decision is not taken lightly."

"The draft agreement is the best that could be negotiated," she said. "The deal enables us to take back control."

Earlier Wednesday, the prime minister defended the draft agreement when speaking to the parliament.

"I am confident that this takes us significantly closer to delivering what the British people voted for in the referendum," she said, referring to the vote for Brexit in the country two years ago.

The British people voted by a 52-48 margin in June 2016 to leave the world's largest trading bloc.

"We will take back control of our borders, our laws and our money, leave the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy while protecting jobs, security and the integrity of our United Kingdom," she said.

The cabinet meeting, which kicked off at 1400 GMT to discuss the draft deal, last some five hours, longer than expected.

The cabinet gathering was a "long, detailed and impassioned debate" on Brexit, she said.

She said it was a "decisive step" in the progress of Brexit, and would allow the agreement to be finalized in the coming days.

"I firmly believe, with my head and my heart that this is a decision which is in the best interests of the United Kingdom," she said.

The draft divorce deal represented a technical breakthrough after months of tense negotiations between Britain and the EU on how Britain can leave the regional bloc on March 29 next year.

The draft agreement is understood to involve the UK remaining in a customs union and committing to a "level playing field" on EU rules in areas such as environmental and workplace protections during a backstop period after Brexit.

The agreement was released by the European Union in Brussels late Wednesday shortly after the conclusion of the British cabinet meeting.

Hard Brexiters reacted negatively to the proposed deal and indicated that they intended to vote against it if it came to parliament.

"I hope cabinet will block it, or if not, parliament will block it," said Jacob Rees-Mogg, a member of the parliament and the chairman of the European Research Group.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, who resigned as foreign secretary, said that he believed the deal was "vassal state stuff." He said that the UK would be bound by laws over which it had no say, which was "utterly unacceptable."

The draft agreement needs the support of the divisive cabinet and approval of the British parliament, it also requires a green light from all the 27 remaining European Union member states.

If the withdrawal agreement is ratified by both sides, Britain will enter a 20-month transition period after it leaves the European Union next March.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:51:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison hold the sixth annual meeting between the heads of government of the two countries on the sidelines of a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation in Singapore, Nov. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Wednesday that there are far more common interests than differences between China and Australia, calling on both sides to see the bilateral ties from a perspective of win-win cooperation.

Li made the remarks in a meeting in Singapore with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison on the sidelines of a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation.

Li said that China and Australia have been "important partners to each other" and that the meeting with his Australian counterpart is the first annual meeting between the government leaders of the two countries since the current Australian cabinet was inaugurated in August.

The meeting on Wednesday was the sixth annual meeting between the heads of government of the two countries. The fifth was held in Canberra in March 2017.

Li also said the meeting was held at a turning point after the relations between China and Australia went through a period of twists and turns, referring to the strained bilateral ties since last year.

The common interests far outweigh the differences between the two countries, the Chinese premier said, adding that cooperation is the right choice for the two sides.

Li said China is ready for the two sides to treat each other on an equal footing, have dialogues in a candid way, properly handle their differences and see the bilateral relations from a perspective of win-win cooperation so as to forge ahead the steady development of China-Australia ties.

It is not only conducive to both nations, but also the world, he added.

The development of the bilateral ties shows China and Australia bring opportunities to each other, said Li.

China is willing to work with Australia so that the two sides can make use of their complementary strengths, tap the potentials of cooperation and expand the two-way investment and trade, he said.

China welcomes quality Australian products in its market, which means more varieties for Chinese consumers, and will continue to expand access to its market and build a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment that gives equal treatment to domestic and foreign companies, Li said.

He called on the Australian side to provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese investors and facilitate investments in both directions so that they can have stable expectations.

China is willing to enhance communication and coordination with Australia in multilateral affairs, jointly support multilateralism and free trade, as well as safeguard a rules-based international order and stability and development in the region and the world, Li said.

Morrison said Australia sees China's development as one of the most remarkable achievements in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia welcomes China's positive role in global and regional issues, he said, adding that China's prosperity has a spillover effect in the region and benefits countries including Australia.

Noting that his country attaches great importance to its relations with China, Morrison said Australia will continue to welcome Chinese investments, further enhance cooperation with China in areas of economy and trade, innovation, mining, tourism, energy and people-to-people exchanges and beef up communication on global challenges including climate change.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 05:56:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced to add 26 tourism-related subentities into its sanction list by barring Americans from visiting them.

According to a statement issued by the State Department, it was "adding 26 subentities to the Cuba Restricted List, including 16 hotels owned by the Cuban military."

The State Department was also updating the names of five already listed subentities to ensure they remain current, according to the statement.

The 26 names included the new five-star Iberostar Grand Packard and Havana Paseo del Prado hotels, as well as resorts and modest shopping centers.

The State Department said that direct financial transactions with these targeted entities and subentities were generally prohibited "because they would disproportionately benefit those services or personnel at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba."

The sanctions, part of the Trump administration's efforts to prevent U.S. funds from reaching the Cuban military, intelligence and security services, would take effect on Thursday, the State Department said.

Even U.S. people's travel to Cuba remains legal, the sanction were still expected to give a blow to the island country's tourism industry by dampening interests of U.S. citizens to travel there.

Over 20 U.S. diplomats in Cuba suffered from what Washington called "acoustic attacks" between November 2016 and August 2017. The incidents led to the partial closure of the U.S. embassy in Havana, expulsion of 15 Cuban diplomats who worked at the embassy in Washington, and a halt to the issuance of U.S. visas in Havana.

Cuba rejected the accusation, initiated an investigation, and urged the United States to present evidence of the alleged attacks.

Though denying the U.S. accusation, Cuba reiterated its commitment to cooperating with the U.S. authorities to clarify this situation and its willingness to guarantee the health and safety of Cubans and foreign citizens in the island nation.

Wednesday's action came after U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Nov. 1 unveiled a hard-line policy toward Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

Bolton said in a speech that the State Department would sanction over two dozen entities owned or controlled by the Cuban military and intelligence services, with which U.S. persons are banned from doing business with.

The goal is to prevent money from being gotten by the Cuban military, security and intelligence services, Bolton said, adding that the U.S. administration would review whether to allow U.S. citizens whose property was seized by the Cuban government to sue foreign companies that have invested in the properties in Cuba.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:08:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of the joint statement between the government of the People's Republic of China and the government of the Republic of Singapore issued on Wednesday during an official visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Singapore.

1. At the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of the Republic of Singapore, Premier Li Keqiang of the People's Republic of China paid an official visit to Singapore from 12 to 16 November 2018.

During the visit, Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and met with President Halimah Yacob. Both sides discussed the progress of cooperation in various fields, the future direction of bilateral relations, and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

2. Singapore congratulated China on its achievements over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, and wished the Chinese people progress in China's development goals and continued peace, prosperity and stability. China appreciated Singapore's contributions to China's reform and opening up, and expressed support for Singapore's continued growth, development, and prosperity.

3. Both sides agreed that China-Singapore relations have been progressive, forward-looking, and strategic. Practical cooperation between both sides has yielded fruitful results and has a demonstrative effect, which not only brings tangible benefits to the two countries and their peoples, but also contributes to the prosperity and stability of the region and the world. Both sides affirmed the significant contributions of the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), co-chaired at the Deputy Prime Minister/Executive Vice Premier level, in promoting and giving guidance to bilateral cooperation in a wide number of areas in line with our joint commitment to further the development of the China-Singapore All-Round Cooperative Partnership Progressing with the Times.

4. Building on the foundations laid by past generations of leaders of the two countries, both sides agreed to maintain frequent high-level exchanges, promote mutual understanding and mutual trust. Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to the development of friendly relations based on the principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Singapore will maintain its consistent "One China" policy.

5. Both sides agreed that cooperation along the Belt and Road is a new highlight of China-Singapore relations. Both sides will continue to strengthen cooperation in the platforms of infrastructure connectivity, financial connectivity, third party collaboration, as well as in the new key area of legal & judicial cooperation under the Belt and Road framework. In line with the development needs of both sides, the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity-New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and a third party collaboration project will be new highlights in our bilateral cooperation. Both sides agreed to strengthen connectivity across all modes of transport, which will improve the flow of goods and people by air, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and grow tourism, all of which support the Belt and Road Initiative. Both sides recognised the importance of a rules-based business environment to support the Belt and Road, and agreed to strengthen legal and judicial exchanges and cooperation.

6. Both sides agreed that economic, trade and investment cooperation between China and Singapore has yielded fruitful results. Both countries signed the Protocol to Upgrade the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) during this visit, bringing bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation to new heights. Both sides will continue to further the development of the three Government-to-Government projects of China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city and China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity, promote and replicate successful experiences from the three projects, and enable them to play a demonstration and leading role. Both sides welcomed the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city this year, and looked forward to the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park in 2019. Both sides welcomed the upgrading of the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City to a state-level bilateral cooperation project, and will continue to deepen collaboration in its joint development, and expand cooperation in the fields of technology innovation, advanced manufacturing, intellectual property rights and talent development. Both sides will continue to pursue new areas of cooperation through the seven Provincial Business Councils in China and inject new impetus into Singapore's participation in China's local economic development. Both sides also welcomed the discussion between Shanghai and Singapore to establish a comprehensive mechanism for cooperation.

7. Both sides will strengthen cross-border financial supervision cooperation to address financial risks and continue to enhance financial cooperation. Both sides welcomed the signing of the People's Bank of China (PBOC)-Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) China-Singapore Fintech Cooperation Agreement, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC)-MAS Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation and Exchange of Information on the Regulation of Derivatives Activities. Both sides will continue to encourage financial institutions in both countries to work together to provide financing solutions to support trade and investment, including the financing of Belt and Road Initiative projects in the region. This will be done in line with market and commercial principles. China welcomes Singapore's agreement to become a party to the Guiding Principles on Financing the Development of the Belt and Road.

8. Building on close cultural cooperation, both sides agreed to further deepen and broaden exchanges and people-to-people ties through the implementation of the 8th Executive Programme for the years 2018-2020, under the China-Singapore Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation. Both sides will continue to engage in exchanges and visits between officials at all levels, including the China-Singapore Forum on Leadership and China-Singapore Social Governance Forum, and the Framework Agreement on the exchange of mid-level and senior officials. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in education and start discussions for a bilateral agreement to facilitate internships between university students from both countries on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit.

9. Both parties agreed to deepen collaboration in urban governance through mutual knowledge-sharing and joint initiatives to create new knowledge, insights and innovative solutions to address the current and future urban challenges facing the cities of both countries. Such collaboration would also support the creation of highly liveable cities that are economically competitive and environmentally sustainable with a high quality of life.

10. Both sides recognise the importance of Research and Development (R&D) and innovation to economic and societal development, and agreed that China and Singapore have strong complementarities and potential for cooperation. Both sides will continue to foster scientific R&D cooperation through the China-Singapore Joint Research Programme, facilitate talent exchanges and training, and share best practices in technology transfer. Both sides will continue to strengthen cooperation in ecological civilisation, circular economy, environmental research and development as well as environmental governance, and advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, implement the Paris Agreement, promote China-ASEAN cooperation in environmental protection and work together to support the launching of the International Coalition for Green Development on the Belt and Road.

11. Both sides agreed to enhance legal and judicial cooperation. Both sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation on disaster management and emergency rescue, and law enforcement cooperation, including combating transnational crimes, corruption, money laundering, cybercrime and narcotics. Both sides have agreed to commence negotiations on a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. Both sides affirmed the annual China-Singapore Legal and Judicial Roundtable as a key platform for bilateral legal and judicial cooperation as well as in Belt and Road cooperation. Both sides welcomed the Memorandum of Guidance on the Recognition and Enforcement of Money Judgments in Commercial Cases signed between both Supreme Courts. Both sides looked forward to stronger legal and judicial cooperation along the Belt and Road.

12. Both sides will continue to strengthen bilateral defence relations through continuing high-level visits and mutual attendance of multilateral defence platforms such as the Beijing Xiangshan Forum and the Shangri-La Dialogue, expanding practical cooperation between the PLA and the SAF, and institutionalising exchanges between defence think tanks. In particular, both sides have agreed to the conduct of bilateral Army exercise Cooperation in 2019 and to refresh the Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation (ADESC) which was signed in 2008. Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen China-ASEAN defence cooperation, and continue to conduct the China-ASEAN Maritime Exercise.

13. Both sides agreed that China-ASEAN relations have made good progress. China appreciates Singapore's contributions to promoting the development of China-ASEAN relations in its capacity as the coordinator for China-ASEAN dialogue relations over the past three years. China welcomed the achievements made and key initiatives launched under Singapore's ASEAN Chairmanship. As this year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, both sides welcomed the adoption of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 Statement at the 21st China-ASEAN Summit and commended the substantive outcomes from the China-ASEAN Year of Innovation 2018, including China's support for the ASEAN Smart Cities Network. Both sides also reaffirmed their shared commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, security and stability in the region.

14. Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to rules-based multilateralism, support for the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, adherence to international law, and would continue to maintain close communication and cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral organisations. In this vein, both countries agreed that instruments such as the United Nations Convention on Mediation are important to the multilateral rules-based order and will consider signing it.

15. Both sides share the view that as contributors and beneficiaries of free trade, China and Singapore share a wide range of common interests. Both sides will work together to uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied by the WTO, and make economic globalisation more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. China and Singapore are also working closely to achieve the swift conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

16. The two sides welcomed a series of bilateral cooperation agreements signed during the visit, as listed in the Annex.

17. Premier Li Keqiang thanked the Singapore Government for the warm reception and invited Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to visit China for the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong accepted the invitation.

Annex

Premier Li Keqiang's Official Visit to Singapore

Deliverables

1.Protocol to Upgrade the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Singapore

2.Memorandum of Understanding on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Singapore

3.Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Elevated China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Singapore

4.Guiding Principles on Financing the Development of the Belt and Road

5.Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Collaboration in Urban Governance, Urban Planning and Management between the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of National Development of the Republic of Singapore

6.Executive Programme for the Years 2018 to 2020 of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic China and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Communications and Information of the Republic of Singapore

7.Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Cooperation between the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources of the Republic of Singapore

8.FinTech Cooperation Agreement between the People's Bank of China and the Monetary Authority of Singapore

9.Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation and Exchange of Information on the Regulation of Derivatives Activities between the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Monetary Authority of Singapore

10.Framework Agreement on "Single Window" Cooperation in International Trade between the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and Singapore Customs

11.Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Cooperation on Developing the Sino-Singapore International Technology Innovation Cooperation Demonstration Area between the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City Administrative Committee and Ascendas-Singbridge Pte Ltd.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:05:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

PARIS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said he had no comment to make in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's series of tweets attacking him, arguing he preferred to hold out his diplomacy via dialogue rather than tweeting.

Speaking on the Charles de Gaulle vessel, Europe's only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Macron said he didn't conduct diplomacy via tweets or comments.

"All this does not matter. I will not have a debate with the President of the United States through tweets," he said, adding that Trump "is playing American politics, and I let him play American politics".

"At every moment of our history, we have been allies. Between allies, we must respect each other, I do not want to hear about the rest," he added.

In a series of tweets he sent shortly after Paris visit, Trump mocked Macron for falling approval ratings and criticized his recipe for Europe's defense cooperation and global trade.

"It was Germany in World Wars One and Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not," he tweeted.

In other message, he wrote: "The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26 percent, and an unemployment rate of almost 10 percent. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people - and rightfully so!"

"I think that what the French expect me to do is not responding to tweets, but pursuing this important story of our common security," Macron said.

Macron has made clear his differences with Trump notably on climate change, nuclear deal and nationalism approach. But, at the same time, he developed a strong relationship with him at a time when many European leaders are keeping a distance.

"The United States is our historic ally and will continue to be. It's the ally with which we take all the risks, with which we carry out the most complicated operations. But being an ally doesn't mean being a vassal state," the French President said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:03:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and Singapore said in a joint statement on Wednesday that their cooperation along the Belt and Road is "a new highlight" of bilateral relations.

"Both sides agreed that cooperation along the Belt and Road is a new highlight of China-Singapore relations," said the statement issued by the two sides during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's official visit to Singapore.

It said both sides will continue to strengthen cooperation in the platforms of infrastructure connectivity, financial connectivity, third party collaboration, as well as in the new key area of legal and judicial cooperation under the Belt and Road framework.

In line with the development needs of both sides, the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity - New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and a third party collaboration project will be new highlights in the bilateral cooperation, it said.

Both sides agreed to strengthen connectivity across all modes of transport, which will improve the flow of goods and people by air, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and grow tourism, said the statement.

All of these support the Belt and Road Initiative, said the statement.

The document also said that both sides recognized the importance of a rules-based business environment to support the Belt and Road Initiative, and agreed to strengthen legal and judicial exchanges and cooperation.

The Chinese premier extended an invitation to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for a visit to China for the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019, which Lee accepted.

The two sides agreed that economic, trade and investment cooperation between China and Singapore has yielded fruitful results.

"Both countries signed the Protocol to Upgrade the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) during this visit, bringing bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation to new heights," the statement said.

It said the two sides will continue to further the development of the three government-to-government projects of China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city and China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity.

The two sides will promote and replicate successful experiences from the three projects so that they play a demonstration and leading role, it said.

Both sides welcomed the upgrading of the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City to a state-level bilateral cooperation project, and will continue to deepen collaboration in its joint development, and expand cooperation in the fields of technology innovation, advanced manufacturing, intellectual property rights and talent development.

The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in innovation, finance, people-to-people exchanges, urban governance, law enforcement and defense.

On international cooperation, the two sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to rules-based multilateralism, support for the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, adherence to international law, and would continue to maintain close communication and cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral organizations, it said.

As contributors and beneficiaries of free trade, China and Singapore share a wide range of common interests, said the statement, adding that both sides will work together to uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied by the World Trade Organization (WTO), and make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.

China and Singapore are also working closely for the swift conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), it said.

The two sides signed 11 cooperation documents during Li's visit, including a protocol to upgrade China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, an MOU on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity and others on youth and cultural exchanges, environment, finance and trade cooperation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:02:51|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Kenya hopes more Chinese investors will come to the east African country to boost its industrial capacity, officials said on Wednesday.

Peter Munya, cabinet secretary in the ministry of trade, industry and cooperatives, told a trade forum in Nairobi that so far approximately 400 Chinese businesses are operating in the country with positive results for Kenya's economy.

"We are actively pursuing Chinese investors who can benefit from the opportunities presented in the special economic zones and export processing zones to help Kenya expand its industrial base," Munya said during the opening ceremony of the China-Kenya Industrial Capacity Cooperation Expo.

The four-day event has attracted 81 mega-enterprises from China to showcase the latest technologies in infrastructure, energy, machinery and equipment, agricultural processing as well as in transportation and logistics.

Munya said that Kenya's manufacturing sector has averaged less than 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the past five years due to high production costs as well as competition from imported goods.

He said that manufacturing has been identified as one of the four pillars of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four Agenda due to its huge impact on job creation and foreign exchange earnings potential.

The country lacks the necessary capital to set up large-scale manufacturing plants that can produce globally competitive goods, he said.

"We are therefore keen to partner with foreign investors including the Chinese to help Kenya accelerate its industrialization process," he said.

He noted that a number of Chinese investors have expressed interest in investing in the agro-processing, cement, steel, leather and textile sectors.

Munya said studies have indicated that countries which attract foreign direct investment achieve faster economic growth as compared to those with closed economies.

Guo Ce, economic and commercial counsellor at the embassy of China in Kenya, said that the China-Kenya Industrial Capacity Expo is set to provide a unique platform for both government and private sectors from the two countries to cooperate in the area of manufacturing.

Guo said that Chinese enterprises have come to participate in the expo where seminars and exchange activities will be undertaken for enterprises to showcase their accomplishments and exchange experiences.

The Chinese diplomat urged Kenyan enterprises to use the expo to generate business deals with Chinese enterprises.

He noted that as the Chinese market is opening wider and wider, more and more Kenya products will be exported to China with the support of upgraded manufacturing and agri-processing capacity.

"With our cooperation deepening, and Kenya attracting more Chinese investment, I also hope that Kenya will have its business environment improved, aiming to build itself not only as the perfect destination for tourists, but also as the friendly and attractive destination for foreign investment," he said.

Organizer of the expo, China International Exhibition Center (CIEC), said that in December 2017, with the support from the governments and business organizations of both China and Kenya, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) held the first expo in Nairobi.

Wang Xiaoguang, head of exhibition delegation and vice president of CIEC, said that the expo has become a new platform for Sino-African economic and trade cooperation in the new era.

Wang said that in the future, CCPIT will make full use of the expo to deepen mutual benefit and cooperation as well as enhance the friendship between China and Kenya.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:02:02|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

DAMASCUS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed over the past 24 hours as a result of U.S.-led airstrikes on IS-held areas in eastern Syria, a war monitor group reported on Wednesday.

The IS militants were killed as the U.S.-led coalition has been pounding the IS-held areas in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province as a prelude to a campaign to dislodge IS from its last strongholds in eastern Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is a Kurdish-led group, is bracing to launch a second wave of attacks against IS in the last IS-held pocket on the eastern bank of Euphrates River near Iraq.

The airstrikes have recently intensified as the Kurdish-led group's attack on IS seems imminent after a failing attempt that has dragged on since Sept. 10.

In the process, civilian casualties have fallen, with tens of civilians reportedly killed earlier this week by the U.S.-led strikes.

The Syrian government has for long questioned the intentions of the U.S.-led coalition as the area in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour is a strategic one due to its proximity to the Iraqi border and the oil-rich fields.

Earlier on Wednesday, Syria's state news agency SANA said the U.S.-led warplanes are targeting residential areas in eastern Deir al-Zour with cluster bombs and white phosphorus.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry renewed in a statement Saturday calling on the UN to form "an independent international mechanism" to investigate into the "crimes of the Washington coalition" and punish the perpetrators.
Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C., the United States on Nov. 14, 2018. (AFP Photo)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of State said Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and visiting Qatari deputy prime minister discussed building a regional alliance.

A statement issued by the State Department said that Pompeo and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Khalid Al-Attiyah discussed working toward a Middle East Strategic Alliance that anchored by a united Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and reaffirmed their mutual interest in promoting regional security and stability.

The statement said the two discussed the upcoming bilateral strategic dialogue and the expansion of Al-Udeid Airbase, which stationed scores of U.S. combat and supporting aircraft.

While the continuous blockade of Qatar by other regional countries might hinder the U.S. regional alliance initiative, which Khalid Al-Attiyah on Tuesday termed a "concern" for him and part of the reason for his visit to the United States.

Another statement issued by the State Department said that Pompeo had a phone conversation on the same day with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa over bilateral and regional issues.

The United States has a significant military presence in both Qatar and Bahrain. The former is the headquarters of U.S. Air Force Central Command and the latter for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and jointly imposed a trade, land and air traffic embargo against the nation.

The four accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.

However, Doha has rejected the accusations, calling them "unjustified" and "baseless."

Despite the U.S. calls for all parties concerned to solve their problem soon, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in September that "there is still no solution to the spat in sight."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:19:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BRUSSELS, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- French and German governments said Wednesday night that they welcomed the decisive progress made in Brexit negotiations, warning that there is still a long way to go.

"We welcome the substantial progress obtained thanks to the work Michel Barnier has accomplished for more than a year," Nathalie Loiseau, France's EU affairs minister, told European media POLITICO.

"France ... is examining very carefully the draft agreement," said Loiseau.

"We want a good text which will painstakingly make sure that the interests of the EU are respected. We will be particularly vigilant when it comes to maintaining the conditions of fair competition," POLITICO quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, Germany is "very relieved" to hear of the Brexit deal, said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in a statement.

"After months of uncertainty we finally have a clear signal from Britain of how their departure can be carried out in an orderly manner. There is still a long way to go, however," said the statement.

"Britain's exit from the EU is and remains regrettable. Despite that, we want to retain the closest possible links with our British friends," read the statement.

Earlier in the day, the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters that the EU and Britain have made decisive steps to end Brexit negotiations, sending a clear signal for an upcoming special summit later this month.

"We have reached a crucial stage, an important moment in this extraordinary negotiation," said Barnier in a press conference conveyed shortly after Britain's cabinet approved the draft Brexit deal.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:19:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

MINSK, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian Economy Minister Dmitry Krutoi said on Wednesday that Belarus plans to make investments doubled by 2025.

Belarus seeks to increase the volume of total investments to 53 billion Belarusian rubles (about 24.85 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025, which is almost twice the current level, Krutoi said at the parliamentary hearings in Minsk.

The official said that Belarus also intends to enter the top 30 in the Doing Business ranking and create the best conditions in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

To reach the set goals, the minister said the government needs to update the legislative framework, adjust a number of regulations governing conclusion of investment agreements, implement the roadmap to remove barriers and exceptions in the EAEU.

The minister said Belarus witnessed the 9.8 percent growth of total investments in Jan.-Sept. 2018. The country attracted 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in foreign direct investment at the same term, he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:17:08|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

YAOUNDE, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon is striving to "significantly" reduce the number of children and mothers dying in the two war-torn English-speaking regions of the country, the Minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda said on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, 40 percent of health centers have been shut down in the regions following clashes between government forces and armed separatist groups.

"Several pregnant women and newborns have no medical follow-up in the regions," Fouda said in the capital Yaounde at the start of consultative talks on how to check maternal and infant deaths in the troubled regions.

"We have seen the necessity to have a working session with the different health partners both national and international in order to harmonize and reinforce our capacities in solving the problems." Fouda said.

Fighting between government forces and armed separatists started in October last year after the separatists declared "independence" of the two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest.

Over 200,000 people have been displaced internally by the conflict, according to the United Nations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:15:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

CAPE TOWN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- South African parliament on Wednesday called for political leadership to address the worsening crisis at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

The Ministry of Communications can and should do more to assist with the crisis at the public broadcaster, Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) said.

This came after the state-run SABC, which has failed to recover any of the money it lost due to irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, announced plans to retrench 981 employees (almost half of its staff) and 1,200 permanent and freelance employees, drawing wide criticism.

On Tuesday, the SABC board appeared before Parliament to present a plan regarding the looming retrenchment of staff.

The SCOPA said it is of the view that the SABC should be creative enough to find ways of avoiding "day zero" when it comes to retrenchments.

As a public broadcaster, the SABC can save all jobs and find solutions to the retrenchments so that the anxiety that everyone is feeling can pass, the SCOPA said.

Suspected corruption and poor management at the SABC has led to irregular expenditure of 4.9 billion rand (about 343 million U.S. dollars) and fruitless and wasteful expenditure of 54 million rand (about 3.8 million dollars), according to the SCOPA.

The SCOPA requested the SABC to furnish it with all the names of those that signed off on the contracts that led to the irregular expenditure and provide monthly reports on irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

As the country's biggest public broadcaster, the SABC provides news services to 19 radio stations and five television broadcasts. SABC television has also been widely available in neighboring Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-15 06:45:19|Editor: Chengcheng

Video Player Close

CAIRO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Trade and Industry Minister Amr Nassar said on Wednesday that his country will host an international forum for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in June 2019, with 52 countries participating in.

In an official statement, Nassar said that Egypt will host the meetings next summer in conjunction with a United Nations celebration on the same day at its headquarters in New York.

The minister said SMEs are a main pillar in boosting economic growth globally.

Nassar said that developing SMEs is a priority for the Egyptian government, pointing towards an initiative by Central Bank of Egypt to fund the enterprises.

The minister said that his ministry is keen on giving all the necessary support to these enterprises, which he said make up 80 percent of the country's national economy.

Egypt has been working to strengthen the booming sector over the past few years.

Last May, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi promised a five-year tax exemption for SMEs that register their businesses in the formal economy.

Egypt has been suffering an economic recession because of political instability and relevant security challenges following uprisings that have toppled two heads of state since 2011.

The turmoil led to a decline in the country's foreign currency reserves, foreign investments and tourism revenues.

In addition to floating its local currency to deal with dollar shortage, Egypt started in 2016 a strict three-year economic reform program, including austerity measures, fuel subsidy cuts and tax increase.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-14 23:13:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

PALERMO, Italy, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A two-day international conference on the Libyan crisis in the southern city of Palermo closed on Tuesday, registering a positive climate among Libyan parties involved, according to the Italian authorities and the United Nations.

UN Special Envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame said the talks helped him feel "reassured" about the prospects of a new UN transition plan, which calls for a national conference in Libya at the beginning of 2019 to outline a path toward elections.

"I believe the Libyan national conference we are planning for the first weeks of next year will be made easier by this summit," Salame told a press conference jointly held with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

"I say this because I have seen a unanimous support from the international community, and because of the clear commitment of the Libyans present here that they will attend and contribute to the national conference," the UN envoy added.

Participants in the Palermo meeting included Libya's four key actors: Prime Minister of UN-backed Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj, Head of the High State Council Khalid al-Mishri, President of the House of Representatives Ageela Saleh and General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army.

In all, 38 delegations took part in the summit, including representatives from France, Russia, China, the United States, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as from the European Union, the Arab League, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

"The substantial and highly-qualified presence of the Libyan parties here in Palermo has been a very encouraging signal, and a strong message of hope," Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at the press conference.

"We leave from Palermo feeling confident in the prospects of the stabilization of Libya," Conte added.

Giuseppe Dentice, associate research fellow at the Milan-based Italian Institute for International Political Studies, told Xinhua the conference seemed to be "a good step towards stabilization," given its negative premises due to the absence of major leaders such as U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

"Overall, it proved a summit that put Libya's interests at the core, and involved Libyan parties as much as possible, which indeed marked a discontinuity with previous conciliation attempts," Dentice explained.

"If we judge by the degree of involvement of the local actors, the fact that Gen. Haftar did not take part in the plenary session was not a good sign, but at least all Libyan contenders have addressed each other, and had an opportunity to express their requests."

On Tuesday morning, Tripoli-based PM al-Sarraj and General Haftar of the eastern Libyan National Army, two major rivals in the Libyan political spectrum, held talks on the sidelines of the conference in a encounter painstakingly brokered by Italy's Conte.

This informal meeting was also attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

This was seen as a good sign in terms of reconciliation efforts, since General Haftar had made clear that he would not join the roundtable talks here in Palermo and had indeed left before the plenary session started.

However, it triggered a negative response from the Turkish delegation, which withdrew from the summit before closure for not being invited.

"The informal meeting held this morning was presented as a meeting among prominent protagonists of the Mediterranean region, but this is a misleading and harming stance that we strongly condemn," Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said in a note, as reported by Turkish news agency Anadolu.

Speaking to Turkish reporters before leaving, Oktay added that "any meeting without Turkey would prove counterproductive in the perspective of solving the (Libyan) issue."

At the press conference, Conte said he was sorry for this withdrawal, but added that Turkey's step did not modify the "positive spirit" of the conference, and that such reactions were sometime possible considering the delicacy of the issue and the region.

Conte stressed that Rome aimed at taking the most inclusive possible approach. "Within the Libyan scenario, Italy can be a factor promoting stability, and we do have the clear goal of talking with all Libyans (parties), which we see as equally important," he said.

Libya's stability and security are also in the primary interests of Italy, which was Libya's former colonial ruler and has seen the most part of a large influx of migrants and refugees in recent years departing from Libyan shores.

The oil-rich country fell into chaos after its former ruler Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 and remains divided till today. It has turned into a key hub for human trafficking from Africa into Europe.
Magyar Posta will modernise its letter delivery system in a Ft 5.7 billion project, with the help of Ft 2.4 billion in EU and state support, the state-owned company announced yesterday.

Customers will be able to track the delivery of registered letters on the Magyar Posta website or with a mobile app.



Some 8,000 letter carriers will be given personal digital assistants. Those in larger towns will also be provided with a small printer to leave official notice of registered mail delivery in postboxes.



The paper slip signed by the addressee on delivery of registered letters will be phased out in 2019, to be replaced by an electronic system.



Magyar Posta will start to test the new system in selected districts in Budapest, Ercsi, Gyongyos, Miskolc, Monor, Sopron and Nagykata in the second half of November.
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto urged the diversification of central Europes energy supply at a joint press conference they held after talks in Budapest.

Perry expressed Washingtons opposition to the construction of a Russian pipeline that would supply gas to central Europe, saying that it did not want Hungary to be involved in the project.

Szijjarto named the LNG terminal under construction on the Croatian island of Krk and the exploitation of the Black Sea gas field as potential projects that could help improve Hungarys energy security.



He added, at the same time, that the former project appeared to be very expensive at the moment while investment in the latter depended on the decision of an American and an Austrian company. Hungary is therefore counting on the US to help mediate in both projects, the minister said.



The Hungarian government has done its duty and concluded its talks with the parties involved in the various energy projects, Szijjarto said, adding that Hungary would do its part in creating the necessary infrastructure.



He added, however, that Hungary would also continue to rely on traditional energy sources and considers the criticism of central Europe for its import of Russian gas a double standard. Szijjarto argued that western Europe was in the middle of putting together a major energy deal with Moscow.

In response to a question, Perry said the US would continue to help Hungary and the regions other countries with their energy agreements, as Washington considers energy supply important.



As regards Hungarys upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant, which also involves American subcontractors, Perry said Washington respects the project, but added that Hungary and the US would have to discuss the instalment of small modular reactors.



The US is doing extensive research in this field and is also developing a variety of other technologies that can help it become the worlds leading oil and gas producer, Perry said. This way the US could also be of help to the central and eastern European countries, he added.



On the topic of US-Russia relations, the secretary said both sides must respect the rule of law. But, he added, since Russia had breached this principle, the sanctions that have been imposed on it are justified.

Szijjarto said Hungary would benefit from the Turkish Stream gas pipeline extending to its border, adding that this cannot be a problem since western Europe is expected to get a much higher capacity pipeline.

MTI photo: Soos Lajos
Lidia Buble trimisa in judecata de DIICOT sub acuzatia de dare de mita

Procurorii DIICOT au decis trimiterea in judecata a cantaretei Lidia Buble, sub acuzatia de dare de mita. Aceasta este acuzata ca ar fi dat 900 de lei unor agenti de politie pentru a nu fi testata cu aparatul etilotest si pentru a nu fi sanctionata ca [citeste mai departe]
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- Conflictul a pornit dupa ce Comisia Euroepana nu a blocat fondurile europene in cazul unor incalcari ale statului de drept. Regulamentul, care a fost adoptat in decembrie anul trecut, permite UE sa suspende platile din bugetul UE catre statele membre in care statul de drept este amenintat. Instrumentul

- Noul magazin functioneaza in sistem de franciza si are asociat un centru de well-being Farmec, una dintre cele mai mari companii romanesti din piata, deschide primul magazin de brand in Baia Mare. Magazinul functioneaza in sistem de franciza si are asociat centrul de cosmetica si well-being Cobo Spa,

- Transelectrica and Delgaz Grid have signed an agreement for the implementation of the Carpathian Modernized Energy Network - PCI Smart Grid Initiative (CARMEN) project, worth 150 million euros, according to a Transelectrica press release sent on Thursday to AGERPRES. CARMEN is a project developed

- Joi, 7 octombrie, la ora 18.15, vor avea loc noi trageri Loto 6/49, Noroc, Joker, Noroc Plus, Loto 5/40 si Super Noroc. Numerele castigatoare vor fi afisate mai jos.Loto 6 din 49: Loto 5 din 40: Joker: Noroc Plus: SuperNoroc: Noroc: Rezultate Loto 6/49 din 3 octombrie 2021:La tragerile loto de duminica,

- Save Romania Union - Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (USR PLUS) co-chair Dacian Ciolos said he is not taking into account being prime minister, as he has responsibilities in the European Parliament, and if he wins the USR PLUS presidency, he wants to take over the party. "There are many

- The control teams of the National Environment Guard (GNM) have issued, in the first eight months of the year, fines worth 73.89 million RON, a 43.6 pct increase over the same interval of 2020, the periodic report published by the institution shows. According to centralized data, in the January 1

- Anuntul CE arata ca cel putin 225 de milioane de persoane au primit doua doze din vaccinurile Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca sau Moderna ori doza unica de vaccin Johnson & Johnson.70% of all adults in the EU are now fully vaccinated.This is a great achievement but we need more  the pandemic is not over.Let's

- Health Minister Ioana Mihaila said on Tuesday that the latest report received from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) shows that, during the pandemic peak of the fourth wave, it is possible to reach approximately 4,000 of hospitalized patients. "The latest report from the National Institute
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- The European Commission announced on Friday it has referred Romania back to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully comply with a 2018 judgement that said the country was obliged to close and rehabilitate all landfills that did not obtain a permit to operate, according to a press

- The Acting Minister of Environment, Water and Forests, Tanczos Barna, deems "a harsh, but not at all unexpected lesson" the decision of the European Commission (EC) to send Romania to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not closing the landfills of non-compliant waste. "It is a

- Conflictul a pornit dupa ce Comisia Euroepana nu a blocat fondurile europene in cazul unor incalcari ale statului de drept. Regulamentul, care a fost adoptat in decembrie anul trecut, permite UE sa suspende platile din bugetul UE catre statele membre in care statul de drept este amenintat. Instrumentul

- Conflictul a pornit dupa ce Comisia Euroepana nu a blocat fondurile europene in cazul unor incalcari ale statului de drept. Regulamentul, care a fost adoptat in decembrie anul trecut, permite UE sa suspende platile din bugetul UE catre statele membre in care statul de drept este amenintat. Instrumentul

- Romania has lost 4.7 million euros this year meant for the settlement of RT PCR and rapid antigen tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection, interim Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Thursday, claiming that the reason was the fact that the former Minister of Health Ioana Mihaila did not hasten the signing

- The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday having distributed a new batch of 5,692 vials of Remdesivir to healthcare facilities in Romania with beds that treat COVID-19 patients. According to an information note from the Ministry of Health, they are 5,692 vials of Remdesivir 100 mg out of 24,160

- President Klaus Iohannis will receive, on Saturday, in Germany, the International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen - for European unification. According to a release of the Presidential Administration, the board of directors of the Charlemagne Prize decided to confer to President Klaus

- With a 1.1 billion euro budget from European funds, the Danube Delta has become in recent years Romania's largest investment project, shows a Sierra Quadrant expert analysis released on Monday. According to the cited document, more than 900 projects in the private sector and 123 public administration
Starting on Wednesday, Nov. 14, Gayborhood mainstay Woody's will host Philly Vogue Nights 2.0, a monthly series of vogue nights for the ballroom scene  a global community built by queer and trans people of color. As this subculture has been brought to the forefront via shows like Elegance Bratton's My House on Viceland and Ryan Murphy's Pose on FX, organizers of Philly's scene have begun to revive their own community, which dates to 1989.

"There really wasn't a frequently occurring vogue night here in the city, and there hasn't been for quite some time now," said Rich LaBoy, known to the ballroom community as Rich Miyake-Mugler. "There was a real need because there's been an empty hole for so long."

Vogue nights allow participants to gather and hone their skills on the ballroom floor in a low-impact setting while competing for small trophies and cash. Competitions include voguing; "realness," a type of identity performance; runway walk; fashion; and appearance.

Though balls were thrown as far back as the Harlem Renaissance, the house-ballroom scene began in New York City in the early 1970s. Kicking off with the House of LaBeija, the scene started in uptown Manhattan, becoming the home of the then-new dance style "voguing." And though that story is often told, Philadelphia's role in the growth and expansion of this long-running subculture is less known.

"We were actually the second ballroom city in the country," LaBoy said. Philadelphia's first ball was the Onyx Ball in August 1989, which will be celebrated in a 30th anniversary weekend featuring historic memorabilia next August.

Philadelphia is an integral part of the history of ballroom. Paris Dupree, an iconic voguer and reported originator of the "old way"  the original style of voguing that focuses on a more static series of poses mimicking things one might see in the pages of Vogue magazine  is originally from Philadelphia. It was her series of balls that gave Paris Is Burning, the 1991 documentary that was the world's first on-camera look into ballroom, its name. "Love is the Message," a song routinely played at balls since its release, is by MFSB, otherwise known as Philadelphia International Records' house band.

One of the pioneers of ballroom in Philadelphia is Alvernian Davis, known in the ballroom community as Alvernian Prestige, founder and reigning father of the Philly house of Prestige. "I'm quite sure that history will tell  other people in New York will say they had mini-balls before, probably in the 1980s  but history will tell that I was the first person to create a mini-ball series," he said about balls that have fewer categories and that are generally shorter than the main events.

Alvernian founded Elements of Vogue, a weekly vogue night originally hosted at the now-shuttered dance club Nile in 1991 that ended three years ago after various venue shifts. Though offshoots of ballroom, like the next-generation kiki scene (a subset of ballroom for younger participants), flourished, there was a dearth of regular events for ballroom competitors and attendees.

But Philadelphia remains active and a part of the now-international community in other ways. Davis hosts one of a few major balls in Philadelphia  the annual Dorian Corey Awards Ball, which will take place Feb. 2. Houses in the city like Prodigy (which began as the Philadelphia chapter of the House of Ebony) and Lanvin are well-known throughout the subculture. Ranika Camille, known to the community as Ranika Prodigy, is a Philly commentator who will receive the "Voice of a Generation" award in February at the Ballroom Throwbacks Awards Ball. "Her sound really comes from Philly," said Philadelphia DJ Deelish, who DJs various ballroom events.

Vogue Nights 2.0 is not only a frequent space to gather, commune, and compete, but for Woody's, it is also an effort to recontextualize its space and make inroads with a community that once might not have felt welcome. Ballroom as a community is a creation of people who were being excluded from other queer spaces. Philadelphia's Gayborhood has had high-profile issues with racism, and Woody's is actively trying to fight the perception that the club discriminates against people of color.

Of Philly Vogue Nights 2.0's various categories, one will include a cross promotion with the More Color, More Pride campaign: For team face, a competition in which pairs compete on skin clarity, symmetry, and bone structure, contestants are asked for one member to dress in all brown and one in all black and to use the More Color, More Pride flag as a prop to sell their faces.

"[Woody's] went through some really extensive training provided by the City of Philadelphia and really wanted to make sure that people of color would feel comfortable in their space," LaBoy said. "They came to me and my partners in this, wanting to do something to highlight how important it is that [the entire community] all feels included."

DANCE

Philly VOGUE Nights 2.0
A view of the Philadelphia skyline can be seen from the top of the tower at City Hall. Read more

Amazon's expansion of its headquarters to New York City and suburban Washington, made public just a week after Google's announcement of a planned expansion in Manhattan, shows that the rich are getting richer: That is, only well-developed urban areas are benefiting from the growth of the tech industry.

Right? Not exactly. As well-compensated employees drive up costs in these cities, they will create incentives for workers and companies who can't afford San Francisco rents or Google salaries. "Trickle-down economic development" will create winners out of the cities that aren't landing new tech jobs or headquarters.

First, it's noteworthy that tech companies are looking outside of the Bay Area and Seattle to begin with. This suggests that, as costs and competition for talent escalate, there are limits to expansion in any one metro area.

What's less apparent are the second-order effects that will be set in motion by Amazon and Google's expansion plans. Higher costs and congestion brought about by all these new tech workers in Northeast hubs will inevitably lead to some other workers and companies deciding against moving to New York and Washington. The costs might even prompt existing workers and companies to start searching for cheaper pastures.

Some may move to similar metro areas such as Boston, Philadelphia, or Chicago, while others may go to smaller areas such as Raleigh, Nashville, or Atlanta. Perhaps the $150,000 tech jobs will go to the richest cities. But the $90,000 tech jobs, unable to compete on cost, will have to go somewhere cheaper. The ripple effects will spread prosperity to more metro areas.

There's an analogy here with higher education. As the number of high school graduates and educational attainment rates have increased, the number of spots at elite colleges and universities has been relatively flat. Many more talented and capable students apply to Harvard than will be accepted, and those rejected students bring their talents to less prestigious universities and communities. And their presence, in turn, raises the quality and prestige of these colleges.

The University of Georgia system shows how this works as it manages enrollment growth across its campuses. A decade ago, the system explicitly decided to increase capacity in the metro Atlanta area, both to better serve its growing population and as an economic development strategy. Since 2008, the main campus of the University of Georgia in Athens has seen its student body grow by just 12.8 percent. Enrollment at Georgia State in downtown Atlanta, meanwhile, has grown by 87 percent, and Kennesaw State, to the northwest of the city, has grown by 65 percent.

One could argue that this "displacement effect" was visible in last week's midterm elections. Democrats flipped House districts in the wealthy suburbs of Atlanta and Houston, places that tend to attract people priced out of New York and California.

Economic development, unlike politics, is not always a binary choice. Communities don't need an Amazon headquarters to succeed. As wealth moves in, costs will rise, congestion will increase, and incentives will change. Then growth and development really will spread throughout the country.
A South Kensington apartment project that was to have included free ground-floor coworking space for use by local entrepreneurs is being put on the market after the death of one of the partners on the building, slain developer Sean Schellenger.

Property investor Sean Frankel, who planned to build the project he was calling "Techadelphia" with Schellenger on North American Street near Oxford Street, said he is selling the property because of issues involving its financing after the partner's death.

The project site at 1525 N. American St. is being sold with plans for the five-story, 68-unit apartment building that Frankel and Schellenger had received zoning permission to build. Frankel said there is no way of requiring a buyer to include the free coworking space, which was presented to community members during the project's permitting process.

In a sales brochure prepared by Rittenhouse Realty Advisors, which is marketing the property for $3.9 million, the project is shown to include 13 lower-story offices to be made available for rent, in addition to the apartments.

Schellenger, 37, had been working on Techadelphia separately from his main homebuilding business, South Philadelphia-based Streamline Group, which continues to develop projects throughout the city. The developer was stabbed to death in July during an altercation with a bicycle courier who allegedly became involved in an argument the developer was having with another person near Rittenhouse Square.
David's Bridal Inc. is nearing an agreement with lenders to cut debt through a bankruptcy filing and keep its chain of wedding-gown stores in business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The talks involve a restructuring deal that would hand ownership in the reorganized company to senior lenders that include Oaktree Capital Group LLC, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The Conshohocken-based company is currently owned by the Clayton Dubilier & Rice buyout firm and carries about $760 million in debt. As part of the agreement, David's is preparing to file for court protection from creditors as early as next week, they said.

David's, which has been considering bankruptcy for weeks, doesn't expect major store closures or liquidations. The Chapter 11 filing would allow the business to keep operating with funding from existing lenders, and thus avoid the calamitous and sometimes tearful impact on brides that often accompanies the collapse of wedding retailers.

Discussions between the company and its creditors are ongoing, with talks revolving around the idea that first-lien loan holders will provide new money in the bankruptcy that would pay all David's vendors in full. Existing senior lenders would wind up owning about 90 percent of the company, with less than 10 percent going to unsecured noteholders, the people said.

In one of the recent drafts, the unsecured holders might receive around 8.7 percent, but could find their stake cut to as little as 2 percent if they resist the deal, according to two people. The sum creditors are arguing about amounts to less than $1 million, the people said.

The company would receive a second debtor-in-possession loan facility from its existing asset-based lenders, the people said. All general unsecured claims would pass through bankruptcy unimpaired, one person said.

"Our financial outlook is strong and we have ample liquidity to meet our key business objectives today and in the future," the company said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg. "We do not expect this process to materially impact our business or interfere with day-to-day operations or our relationships with customers and vendors."

A representative for Clayton Dubilier & Rice declined to comment. Oaktree didn't immediately return requests for comment.

David's expects to seek a court order that allows it to stay open and fulfill all customer and vendor claims, the people said. The company plans to move quickly through Chapter 11 with the aim to finish before the its crucial selling season after the New Year's holiday, the people said. An out-of-court settlement is no longer being considered, they said.

Wednesday marked the end of a 30-day grace period David's had been operating under after it skipped an Oct. 15 interest payment on its $270 million of 7.75 percent unsecured notes.

The in-court version being pursued envisions new debtor-in-possession financing from Oaktree and other existing first lien lenders of about $60 million, which is still being negotiated, the people said. Oaktree, based in Los Angeles, is one of the biggest investment firms specializing in troubled companies. Support would also come from cash on hand and financing from asset-based lenders who would roll over their commitments in the restructuring, the people said.

David's was founded in 1950 as a neighborhood bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It now operates more than 300 stores throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, according to the company's website.

Marriage rates have fallen since the 1980s, and though the amount that Americans typically spend on weddings has risen, the industry has been thrown into chaos by intense competition, online options, and shifting fashion tastes. Unlike some competitors, however, David's Bridal is planning to stay open.

In April, Gap Inc.'s Weddington Way bridal brand announced plans to close within the next few months, following J. Crew Group Inc.'s decision in 2016 to shutter its wedding-dress business. David's competitor Alfred Angelo closed its doors in 2017, leaving brides stranded as orders went unfulfilled.
I can't imagine what it's like to lose even one child.

Quana Garner of West Philly has lost not one, not two, but three of her sons. Three! Her fourth child  the tall one she called her "gentle giant"  was fatally wounded on Oct. 31 around 10 p.m. as he stepped outside of a Chinese takeout at Chew and Chelten Avenues in East Germantown, not far from where he grew up. Rohquan Gardner was just 18. (His last name is spelled differently because of a mistake on his birth certificate.)

Rohquan was killed in a hail of bullets. His mother suspects warring neighborhood factions were to blame, but police have not confirmed that. No arrests have been made.

I tagged along with Garner Monday as she finalized details for her son's funeral, scheduled for the following day. Over lunch at the Chili's on City Avenue, she talked about organizing a double funeral in November 2009 for her sons Kiheem McBride, 21, and Sharif Garner, 18, who died nine days apart. Garner said Sharif was killed Nov. 1, 2009, following an argument with a friend over a bike in North Philly, and McBride was shot for unknown reasons around 1 a.m. Nov. 10 in West Philly. They were buried the same day. Their funeral program showed a photo of the brothers side by side.

I asked, "How did you get through that?"

"I never really did," Garner replied. "I hated God for a little while, but then I got over that."

Rohquan, who was 9 at the time of his brothers' deaths, had a lot to do with helping Garner heal. He would call her from his father's house and ask: " 'Are you having a moment?' That's what he would say when I would cry."

After we left the restaurant, someone from Ricks Funeral & Cremation Services in Olney called and asked if she wanted to see him before the viewing. Garner hesitated. I really felt for her. No mother should have to see her young son laid out in a casket. She called her daughter, who agreed to meet her at the funeral parlor.

Once inside, Garner was struck by how the corners of Rohquan's mouth were lifted in a tiny smile. To her, he looked like he was smirking, the way he would when he was teasing her or telling one of his infamous tall tales. Rohquan was handsomely dressed in a classic gray suit with a crisp white shirt and necktie. She leaned over her son's body and kissed him repeatedly, talking to him quietly, mother to son. She touched his hands. Her face was wet with tears.

"He just was a normal 18-year-old boy, that wanted to do what he wanted to do," said Rohquan's older sister, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation.

Watching Garner and her daughter say goodbye to "Man Man," as they called him, I marveled at the mother's strength. She'd been through this twice before, and here she was a third time. Garner, who married two years ago, still has a young son at home  15-year-old Jihad Garner. She told me she wished she could wrap him in bubble wrap to protect him.

As I drove Garner home, her cell phone kept ringing. I listened as she went back and forth over who got to ride in the funeral car and as she arranged to pick up funeral programs. A neighbor called to say the food for the repast was ready. Before long, there was nothing left to do.

Finally, everything was in place  except for the final payment. A GoFundMe account helped offset her portion of the funeral expenses.

Before she got out of my car, Garner told me that because she had previously buried two sons, people assumed that she was a pro at this.

But she says it never gets easy.
Phiiladelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput had harsh words for journalists during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore . Read more

BALTIMORE  Inside a hotel ballroom along the waterfront here, many of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops have repeated a single, anguished refrain this week: Humility is in order. We, the high priests, are no longer trusted. The faithful see us as complicit in crimes against children for our handling of clergy sexual abuse. We must finally include ourselves in the firing line of justice.

Then there was Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

In an encounter that lasted all of 83 seconds, the not-one-to-mince-words prelate spoke instead like a Jimmy Cagney brawler.

It happened during a break at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting on Monday. The bishops had been told that day that the Vatican wanted them to delay a vote on any proposal that would subject bishops to investigations run by lay people. I wanted Chaput's reaction.

I have been critical of the archbishop's efforts to block victims from suing the church. He was now among his peers at a historic gathering whose aim had been to reform church leadership. The Pennsylvania grand jury report in August had named hundreds of abuser priests across six dioceses. The U.S. Justice Department subsequently subpoenaed all eight of the state's dioceses. The faithful were fed up. How about Chaput?

"Maria Panaritis. Philadelphia Inquirer," I said. "Pleasure to meet you, archbishop." I found him in an aisle seat.

"Hi, Maria," Chaput said. "I've seen your stuff, of course. Never positive about us. Always negative."

"Well," I replied, "this is a tough scandal. This is a tough one."

I had just approached two other Pennsylvania bishops, Lawrence Persico of Erie and Edward Malesic of Greensburg. Both said they were surprised and distressed by the pope's request. I asked, why does the church need to delay action on a problem so well known since at least the 2002 Boston scandal?

For Chaput, the outrage was media coverage. He brought up an Inquirer story Monday that disclosed details of his handling of a seminarian harassment complaint in Colorado, when he was leader of the Denver Archdiocese.

"Did you see, you saw the job they tried to do on me this morning?" Chaput said.

No. I was in the car driving down here, I said.

A few hours earlier, this ballroom had filled with the monotone of hundreds of holy men chanting and praying. Now, I was in what felt like a scene from The Wire, with the archbishop playing the role of a disgruntled Baltimore City Hall politico.

"What do you think of the delay?" I asked of the Vatican shocker.

"I'm not going to say a word to you," Chaput replied. "I don't trust the Inquirer. You're out to get the church."

"Meaning what?" I asked.

"I'm not going to respond anymore," he said. "Your paper wants headlines and wants news."

"This is, I will tell you, the hardest story, journalistically, to do because of all of the broken hearts," I said.

"It is a lot of broken hearts," Chaput agreed. And we cordially parted ways.

Chaput, I later learned, was turning down all requests for interviews from Philadelphia journalists at the conference  an audacious move at a meeting whose primary function was to increase transparency.

There were many contradictions all week: Calls by some bishops for urgent action, gripes by others over the relentless scrutiny of their affairs. One bishop even praised the Trump presidency for taking the spotlight off the church.

The most deeply spiritual group I found, though, was outside. On the icy-cold waterfront.

A group of 33 Philadelphia-area parishioners had come to protest on Tuesday. They were demanding that the bishops listen to the laity. They were with a beloved priest, the Rev. Christopher Walsh, a straight talker of a more gentle ilk. Walsh often speaks, from the pulpit of St. Raymond of Penafort in Mount Airy, of the church's sins.

"Every other week, he's apologizing," said Geri Dennis, a parishioner and protester. "It's almost as if he's so ashamed that he can't change anything. But we are the change. That's what he tells us. We are the change."

In a YouTube video a few months ago, he said the laws of morality apply to all  even bishops.

For the Tuesday trek, Father Walsh chartered the bus, held a morning Mass for the group in Philly first, then breakfast, then prayer.

Ordained in 1999, Walsh, 49, has ministered mostly amid the winds of scandal. And yet, the son of a scaffolding man has been steady and calm.

"I'm called," he said, "to shepherd people through a very difficult time in the history of the church."

It is a humble message. One that his own bishop would do well to emulate.
Manny's Blue Room Lounge in Robbins on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. A police officer fatally shot an armed black security guard while responding to an early-morning shooting at a suburban Chicago bar, investigators said. It is the latest police-involved shooting to rock the black community. Read more

Thanks in large part to the African American vote, Democrats have taken the House of Representatives, and though there are many issues they must use their new majority to address, none is more important than policing.

Police hold life and death in their hands, and when they do their jobs honorably and without bias, they represent the height of public service. But when they are driven by corruption and racism, police are a danger to every American  and African Americans, in particular. Blacks are 2.5 times as likely as our white counterparts to be shot and killed by police, and for young black men, the danger is even more acute. They are 21 times as likely as their white counterparts to be shot dead by police.

That truth was hammered home early Sunday morning when a 26-year-old black security guard who was licensed to carry a gun was shot dead by police at a suburban Chicago bar. The guard, Jemel Roberson, clad in clothing marked with the word, "Security," was holding a suspect at gunpoint when police arrived. But, according to witnesses, an officer shot Roberson even as people in the crowd tried to tell officers that Roberson was a security guard who worked for the bar.

Unfortunately, Roberson's story is not unique. His is yet another chapter in the ongoing saga that is police brutality in the black community. Linked by hashtags and social media outrage, the names of black victims cry out from the grave. Alton Sterling, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Philando Castile. The list is seemingly endless, and so is the specter of police brutality.

But if Democrats claim to believe in racial justice, they must go beyond the half-hearted rebukes they typically deliver about police brutality in black communities. They must stop allowing criticism of bad policing to be painted as a stand against all policing. Instead, Democrats must stand for the principles they claim to hold so dear.

That means Democrats must use their new House majority to protect the people from the kind of discriminatory police practices that cost black people their lives. So perhaps while Democrats are holding hearings about the president's treatment of corporate entities like Amazon and the Washington Post, they could also hold hearings to determine why African Americans are more likely to face police brutality than their white counterparts.

Perhaps while House Democrats are introducing legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia, Democrats can also introduce federal legislation to address police brutality.

Those on the other side aren't waiting to make their move. They're working to protect bad cops right now.

On Tuesday in Philadelphia, the Fraternal Order of Police filed suit against Mayor Kenney, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and Police Commissioner Richard Ross. The police union claims in the suit that Kenney, Krasner, and Ross failed to give sufficient due process to officers who are placed on the district attorney's "do not call" list. The list is meant to keep officers off the witness stand who have been accused of serious misconduct or who have been charged with lesser offenses, sometimes while off duty.

The suit said that officers' reputations were ruined when they were placed on the "do not call" list. That confused me, since the officers already had bad reputations, and that's why they were placed on the list in the first place.

But the protections for bad policing don't end with the actions of local police unions. Last week, just before Trump fired him as attorney general, Jeff Sessions penned a memo to severely limit the use of consent decrees to make police departments stop abusive practices.

Consent decrees  court-monitored agreements between the Justice Department and local police departments meant to stop patterns of abuse  were used to great effect by the Obama administration. Fourteen departments across the country had entered into the agreements and were working to change past patterns of abuse.

Sessions obviously believed it was more important to protect police from facing the consequences of abusive behavior than it was to protect citizens from being abused.

Bad cops have friends in high places. But now that the Democrats have taken the House with the help of black voters, we have friends in high places, too.

The question now is a simple one: Will Democrats use their House majority to address the life-and-death issue that is police brutality, or will they once again leave black voters twisting in the wind?

Solomon Jones is the author of 10 books. Listen to him weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon on Praise 107.9 FM. sj@solomonjones.com @solomonjones1
Chinese middle class shops at new 7Fresh supermarkets, the equivalent of Whole Foods, with packaged Lychees and live fish to choose from. Read more

YANTAI, China  They shop in malls and high-end supermarkets, buy condos by the seaside, attend wine tastings, vacation abroad, and push their kids to apply to Harvard. But they aren't American suburbanites; they are China's huge and growing urban middle class, which Beijing hopes will eventually consume enough to lower the country's dependence on exports.

Whatever the outcome of the U.S.-China trade war  and any tete-a-tete between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping at the upcoming G-20 meeting in Argentina  China's urban middle class is set to become a major driver of the global economy. And a major force in the wider world.

If you trust Chinese government figures, the middle class already tops 400 million, larger than the entire U.S. population. Even if you cut that figure in half, it outstrips the U.S. middle class of roughly 120 million. Moreover, despite far lower earnings than their Western counterparts, lower costs in China give them living standards approximating southern Europe.

And unlike their frugal parents and grandparents, who lived through China's poverty years and Cultural Revolution and are avid savers, younger Chinese are more eager to spend.

On a trip to Beijing, to Chengdu in western China, and to Yantai and Qingdao on the east coast, I saw a booming consumption culture that outstripped anything I'd seen in previous visits.

High-end, indoor malls everywhere sporting luxury western brands are already old news. Add to that a new chain of high-tech supermarkets called 7Fresh  the Chinese version of Whole Foods. I visited one in Beijing replete with glitzy packaging and lighting, and mobile shopping carts that follow you around. I watched sales people inform Chinese shoppers of every detail of where and how live lobsters, stone crabs, and other sea creatures were caught and delivered still breathing.

7Fresh is an offshoot of JD.com, an Amazon wannabe and part of China's e-commerce explosion, that has a China-wide delivery network replete with drones and bikes that can reach 90 percent of the country with same- and next-day delivery.

By the way  and this made me feel really archaic  almost no one pays with cash or credit cards these days in China: I watched everyone from kids to old ladies pull out cell phones and flash their Alipay mobile app (from Alibaba, the e-commerce giant). Payments are deducted from their bank accounts.

Old ladies with phones? As of early 2017, mainland Chinese consumers accounted for an estimated 243 million iPhone users, a third of all iPhones in use globally, according to research firm Newzoo. But there are excellent, far cheaper Chinese brands for those who want to spend less.

On the weekend, Beijing's 798 art district, in a decommissioned military factory, is jammed with Chinese spenders browsing its galleries, cafes, and restaurants. So is the area around Beijing's Beihai Lake, where old Chinese houses have been converted into shops. Young people eat ice cream in the shape of flowers and Peking duck shredded into Mexican-style tortillas.

And how does the middle class spend its vacations? In Yantai, a lovely port city 350 miles from Beijing, newish seaside hotels and restaurants line the oceanfront. Row after row of luxury apartment towers overlook white sandy beaches and the Yellow Sea across from South Korea; they are snapped up by well-heeled urban Chinese seeking to escape awful urban pollution  and find cheaper real estate.

Chinese tourists who want greater rustication can visit Majiagou Village, a former collective farm that has been converted into a tourist destination, as part of a government project to revitalize the countryside. Visitors can stay in a two-story hotel and take their children to pick Yantai's famous Fuji apples in local orchards (I picked some, and they were delicious.) Villagers said 300,000 visitors had arrived from all over China, as well as South Korea, since 2016.

On the more upscale end, I visited Yantai's Changyu winery, dating back to 1892, but now prospering from the new Chinese middle class's widening tastes. The Changyu Noble Dragon cabernet went down well in a lavish tasting room; reviews say that Chinese wine quality is seriously improving and exports to Europe are growing.

None of this is meant to disguise China's problems, including rural poverty and frayed social safety nets. Middle-class Chinese worry about an economic slowdown and about getting their kids into good schools or getting them visas to U.S. colleges (Some enroll their kids as young as 1 year old in weekday boarding schools with names such as Harvard Cradle, to expose them to intensive language and music training and boost their chances of winning admission to the best U.S. universities.)

In my conversations, worries about freedom of speech or political liberalization appear subordinated these days to economic concerns. No one can be certain what will happen in the future. But what impact this ambitious middle class will have on its own government and the world is the most fascinating question in China today.
Cuban triplets (from left) Cesar, Marcos, and Angel Ramirez, are studying at the Rock School for Dance Education. Read more

Angel, Cesar, and Marcos Ramirez danced with the Cuban National Ballet, in their home country, last year.

But even as professionals at one of the world's finest companies, their dream was to move to Philadelphia and study at the Rock School for Dance Education "because we saw the movie," Angel said.

Not Rocky, in this case.

Philadelphia's renowned Rock School had been featured in First Position, a documentary about Youth America Grand Prix, a prestigious student ballet competition. And so this summer, after one frustrating delay, they came.

The identical triplets, 18, will be dancing as a trio Thursday night at the Come Together Dance Festival at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. They also have featured roles in the Rock's Nutcracker 1776, which will be performed Nov. 23 and 24 at the Merriam Theater.

The three young men look so much alike that their friends and teachers at the Rock School are still trying to tell them apart. Angel's hair swoops to the right, Marcos' hair swoops to the left, and Cesar's is brushed straight back. Rock School directors Bojan Spassoff and Stephanie Wolf Spassoff say they fear the day the Ramirez brothers opt for new haircuts.

Another hint is in their spectacular dancing: Angel turns to the right. Cesar and Marcos to the left.

"Technically, we are almost the same," Angel said, "but Marcos is more power, I'm more prince, and Cesar is in between."

The three had joined the Cuban National Ballet as a backup to their Philadelphia dream after the American embassy in Havana withdrew most of its personnel following mysterious sonic attacks last September. The American diplomats left two days before the triplets were scheduled for visa interviews to come here.

The opportunity came up again this year, and they leapt.

There are more options to dance professionally here than in Cuba, and the pay is better. And despite being good enough to have danced professionally with a world-class company, the triplets chose to go back to ballet school because they thought it would set them up to one day become principal dancers at a top company in the United States or Europe.

The Rock School teaches a variety of techniques that most companies want.

But none of that was the driving incentive.

First Position showed the three brothers that they could learn to dance like Michaela DePrince and brothers Isaac and Esteban Hernandez, established ballet stars who trained at the Rock School.

DePrince and Esteban Hernandez were both in the film. DePrince is a soloist with the Dutch National Ballet. Madonna is making a movie about her life.

The Ramirez brothers were especially impressed by the Rock School's record with great male dancers. Isaac Hernandez is a principal dancer with the English National Ballet and an international star. His brother Esteban is a soloist with San Francisco Ballet.

The Ramirez brothers actually have a movie of their own. They have enjoyed some level of fame since they were 11, when a documentary, To Dance Like a Man, was made about them.

Even before that, the three boys seemed destined for careers in the arts. "My parents are artists, so they were always are trying to introduce us in the arts  in the ballet, opera, or painting, something like that," Marcos said.

When they were about 8 or 9, "we went to a performance of Nutcracker, and we were like in love. We spent all the day, all week dancing," he said.

"My mom, she talked to my dad. 'I think the kids want ballet.' And he was like a little sad  because he's a painter."

Cuban dancers no longer need to defect to work abroad. But the Ramirez brothers can't go home for five years without putting aside ballet to serve in the Cuban military.

After two years away from Cuba, they will lose their national status, meaning they likely would not be able to buy a house or a car there.

"I miss so much my home, my family," Marcos said. "But I feel, here, like this is my other family."

"These guys take care of each other," Stephanie Wolf Spassoff said before their interview with the Inquirer and Daily News, as the triplets tucked in tags on each other's T-shirts.

So what have they been doing in Philly besides dancing?

"We tried the famous cheesesteak," Cesar said, "and we like like travel." They've also gone to a Phillies game, to museums, and to Terror Behind the Walls.

This year is dedicated to refining their technique. They will compete in Youth America Grand Prix. (The Philadelphia semifinal is Feb. 28 to March 3, 2019, at the Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts at William Penn Charter School).

But the goal for the year, Cesar said, is not to win a gold medal. It is to continuously improve.

In 2019, they will audition for companies. They have a list of dream troupes  English National Ballet, Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, or San Francisco Ballet. But mostly they would like to stick together.

"Three contracts for men can be so hard for companies," Angel said, "but it's our dream. If not, we'll have to [accept other jobs], but we want to fight for it."

"We'll fight for you" to stay together, Stephanie Wolf Spassoff said, noting that the Rock School had contacts at ballet companies all over the world. "No really, we will."

Ayaooluwa Ariyo contributed to this report.

DANCE

Come Together Dance Festival

Through Sunday at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. Tickets: $30-$35. Information: 215-985-0420 or koreshdance.org/come-together-dance-festival

Nutcracker 1776
It had been a few years since Deanie Gauntlett's last mammogram, so when the X-ray showed a few unusual spots, her doctor ordered a follow-up diagnostic scan.

The diagnostic test had that same uncomfortable, is-this-over-yet squish, but was different in one discernible way: its price tag.

Though Gauntlett's screening mammogram was covered in full by her health-insurance plan, she owed a $65 co-pay for the diagnostic version.

The scan's fee wasn't a big deal for the 45-year-old Exton mom, who does her best to follow doctor's orders. But when the doctor suggested she come back every six months for diagnostic mammograms to keep an eye on the cysts it showed, she balked.

"Do I really need to do this every six months?" she recalled asking.

Most insurance plans cover screening mammograms in full. They're among the basic, preventive services that the Affordable Care Act mandated its marketplace plans cover without a co-pay or co-insurance, even if the member's deductible hasn't been met yet. Pennsylvania law requires most other insurance plans to do the same.

Diagnostic mammograms, however, are not covered the same way. Patients who have them may owe co-pays at their doctors' offices and receive bills if the scans are subject to their plans' cost-sharing terms and they haven't yet met their plans' deductibles.

The nuance is confusing and can result in unexpected bills.

"They all say, 'Well, I thought mammograms were free,' " said Pat Halpin-Murphy, president of the PA Breast Cancer Coalition, who says confusion about mammogram costs is a common question the patient group receives. "The words screening mammogram and diagnostic mammogram don't have meaning to the average person."

Screening mammograms are X-rays of breast tissue recommended for women to have annually beginning in their 40s.

Diagnostic mammograms use X-ray imaging to show different angles and are ordered if a doctor notices abnormalities on a routine scan.

Most women who go to the doctor for the routine test will have screening mammograms, but not always. Women who have a history of breast cancer or who have breast implants may receive diagnostic mammograms instead of screening mammograms, said Debra Somers Copit, an independent radiologist and former director of breast imaging at Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia.

"There's a gray area," Somers Copit said of the standards for ordering a screening or diagnostic mammogram for some patients.

Even a patient who knows she is having a diagnostic mammogram may not have realized it would be covered any differently than a routine mammogram.

Insurance companies commonly negotiate "allowed rates" for diagnostic mammograms that are lower than the amount the imaging center billed for, but you may be responsible for part of the cost.

Insurers often require members to pay a greater share of the cost for diagnostic scans to combat overuse of such tests and steer patients to preventive services whenever possible, said Beth Virnig, a professor and senior associate dean of academic affairs and research at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health.

"What it probably means is no one has considered the barriers to actually following up on a screening, and that's this push-me-pull-you that happens in health care," she said. "We have overuse, we're going to curtail it, but something curtailing overuse puts barriers in other parts of the process."

Some plans have separate deductibles for imaging services, meaning you may still owe money, even if you've hit your plan's overall deductible, she said.

Though Gauntlett wasn't too worried about her $65 co-pay this year, she's concerned about how much she'll spend on her diagnostic mammogram next time.

The family has insurance through her husband's employer, and next year the plan will require members to pay a greater share of imaging costs.

The imaging center billed Gauntlett's insurance $459 for her screening mammogram, which the plan negotiated down to $353 and paid in full.

The diagnostic test was more expensive  it was billed at $651, and her plan reduced the rate to $471. Gauntlett owed a $65 co-pay for that scan.

Her doctor had also ordered a breast ultrasound, for which the imaging center charged $4,468. Gauntlett's insurance negotiated a rate of $248 for the scan and paid it in full.

Gauntlett doesn't know exactly how much of that the family's health plan would require her to pay in the future, but she's expecting to owe more than the $65 co-pay.

"I'm really frustrated, yet as a consumer I don't have a lot of options," she said.

Though her doctor urged her to have the scan every six months, Gauntlett plans to go just once a year. It's the most she's able to stretch the carefully planned budget she maintains for her family and is also concerned about over-testing.

Some doctors worry that costs associated with breast cancer tests are becoming an issue for a growing number of women.

In 2014, Pennsylvania enacted a law that requires doctors to notify women if their routine mammograms show dense breast tissue, which appears white on mammograms and can obscure abnormalities.

Some women with dense breasts may benefit from breast MRIs or ultrasounds, which use magnets and sound waves to capture images that show greater detail.

But like diagnostic mammograms, these tests are typically subject to a health plan's cost-sharing terms.

"That's one of the problems with passing these density laws," said Somers Copit. "Imagine you get this information, and you literally can't pay  your insurance won't cover it and you can't afford it."

State Rep. Isabella Fitzgerald, a Philadelphia Democrat, proposed legislation during the last session that would require insurance companies to cover breast ultrasounds and breast MRIs for women with dense breasts. The bill didn't make it out of committee, but she plans to reintroduce the measure next year because, she said, she worries that women who can't afford the follow-up tests will skip them, possibly delaying care for a cancer that has a high survival rate when detected early.

In the meantime, it's important for women to try to understand  and plan  for costs associated with breast cancer screening, Halpin-Murphy said.

That's Gauntlett's plan.

Next year, the family's premium is going up, though the deductible will go down, and it's unclear how big a deal the new cost-sharing for imaging services will be.

"We've been blessed to be able to absorb some of these higher costs," she said.

But eventually, you have to make trade-offs.

She plans to budget less for family vacations and summer camp, instead padding out their emergency fund for any unexpected health costs that may arise.
Julien Lavandier, a Colorado State University student, started smoking e-cigarettes as a high school sophomore. He says he's now hooked on Juul and has been unable to quit. Read more

The debate over the health risks of Juul, vaping and e-cigarettes is now spilling into the public square.

In one of the most restrictive measures nationwide, San Francisco voters this week upheld by what looks to be a large majority  nearly 70 percent in a preliminary tally  a ban on the sale of flavored vaping products, as well as conventional menthol cigarettes.

Even before that, federal agencies had launched a wave of crackdowns against retailers that sell e-cigarettes, including the popular Juul brand, to minors. Public health advocates and officials worry these sales could be an emerging disaster, reversing years of declines in smoking.

>> READ MORE: Juuling, the latest e-cig craze that has Philadelphia area schools worried

E-cigarettes can be tiny  they might look like a pen or flash drive. When someone vapes, there's no fire, ash or smoky odor. Instead, the devices heat up and vaporize a liquid or solid. And vaping appears to have taken off among young people.

"Believe it," said Julien Lavandier, 21. "It's a habit for me, you know  all the time, when I set down my schoolwork to do homework, take a rip of the Juul. When I get in my car, take a rip of the Juul."

Lavandier, now a student at Colorado State University, started vaping when he was a sophomore in high school. He said he'd go to parties where it was common to smoke an e-cigarette.

"At first," he said, "it was a lot of, you know, chasing flavors, or doing smoke tricks and that was really what impressed me. I thought, you know, this is cool, this looks like something fun."

>> READ MORE: How safe is the flavor you're vaping?

He said students at his high school vaped in class without teachers knowing. He estimated a quarter of his classmates were habitual e-cigarette users. Lavandier started vaping regularly and later began smoking traditional cigarettes.

When Juul arrived on the market, he took that up too, and found it habit-forming. He liked it more than marijuana or alcohol.

"It's impossible to let go once you started using," Lavandier said. "I'll tell you  after even an hour and a half or two, I am chomping at the bit to find my Juul."

Stores aren't supposed to sell e-cigarettes to minors, but Lavandier said he has been buying them for years and was never once carded. In April, the FDA asked the firm behind Juul for documents to see if it's intentionally marketing to underage teens.

The company has online testimonials and has built an online community around their product. In one video, a woman in her 30s named Lauren says she's constantly "encouraging people to use this and not smoke your cigarettes."

Representatives from Juul Labs declined repeated requests for an interview. In a written statement, the company said its product offers a "true alternative to adult smokers, not anyone else, not minors."

Other companies that make e-liquids also say their products are not for minors. The companies do offer a wide range of sweet flavors, however, like cotton candy, caramel, cherry, cookies and milk, and creme brulee.

"If it tastes good and a kid might get their hands on it  that's not our goal," said Jameson Rodgers, the VP of business development for NEwhere Inc., a California-based maker of e-cigarettes and vaping products.

"Also," Rodgers said, "I feel like some of the responsibility has to fall on some of the parents of any kid that's deciding to walk into an adult store, whether that's a liquor or a tobacco store."

The head of Colorado's health department, Dr. Larry Wolk, said he finds it hard to believe industry claims that it isn't marketing to kids.

"I have to call BS on that," he said, "because the flavors are cotton candy, 'frutti tutti' and they have cartoon characters on their labels and you can mix flavors and strengths. It's really appealing to kids, whether or not they are intentionally marketing to kids."

Wolk also pointed to research that suggests youth vaping leads to traditional smoking. A January report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine made that conclusion. "Among youth  who use e-cigarettes at higher rates than adults do  there is substantial evidence that e-cigarette use increases the risk of transitioning to smoking conventional cigarettes," the report found.

One of the benefits of e-cigarettes, according to the industry, is that the devices can help people quit their use of tobacco products. When it comes to that habit, the advice from Ray Story, the founder and CEO of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, is "don't start at all."

"But if you're going to smoke or do e-cigarettes," Story said, "then certainly take an e-cigarette because it's vastly less harmful  if you consider both of them contain nicotine, and both of them are addictive. It's vastly less harmful than conventional tobacco."

Dr. Deborah Liptzin, a pediatric pulmonologist at Children's Hospital Colorado, sees the evidence differently. E-cigarettes, she said, have become "the new way to get kids addicted to nicotine." There's been scant e-cigarette research, she noted, including on Juul and the ingredients in the e-liquids used in the devices.

"They specifically use nicotine salts," Liptzin said. "We have no research that I could find on nicotine salts that are inhaled, because it's so new."

Data from the 2015 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey found that nearly half of Colorado high schoolers reported that they've vaped. One in 4 said they had used an e-cigarette in the previous month. That's three times the rate of traditional cigarettes, which has raised concerns among public health officials.

"The Juul has definitely been a game changer," said Jen Bolcoa, a health education coordinator with Jefferson County Public Schools. The tiny pod of e-liquid in a Juul has the equivalent nicotine of approximately 20 cigarettes  an entire pack  according to the company's website.

Most educators, parents and students "don't realize how much nicotine is in there, or that there's even any nicotine," she said. "That's what the research tells us."

Bolcoa works with students as part of the Breathe Easy team, a club at high schools backed by Jefferson County's Tobacco-Free Youth program, to educate students, parents and administrators about the larger risks of tobacco use and Juuls. An educational video the team posted on Facebook tells viewers that "Juuls and other e-products are disguised to look like pens, flash drives."

But their video competes with others posted by teens on social media sites. On YouTube, there's a video called the Juul Challenge. Two guys sit in the smoke-filled front seat of a car, competing, pulling on Juuls.

"Cheers, guys. Let's see how many hits I can do? You got five," one of the video performers says. "How many hits can you do? Write in the comments."

That video had more than 230,000 views, and 380 comments in seven weeks. Teresa Kenison, a volunteer on the Breathe Easy team, said social media helps drive the vaping trend. She has seen frequent use of the devices in classrooms, bathrooms and parking lots. All sorts of students are using e-cigarettes and Juuls, from those in AP classes to athletes.

"It's really everywhere," she said. "Students are getting hooked."

She has noticed older kids making runs to the convenience store for younger ones.

Lavandier can attest to the power of e-cigarettes as a gateway to tobacco use. The college student said he's now hooked on both cigarettes and e-cigarettes. He has tried to quit, but said he now can't go three days without using a Juul. On a typical day, he'll take upward of 300 puffs.

"So my biggest concern," he said, "is, you know, right now I'm puffing, puffing, happy, worry-free, and then in 20 years I'll have to explain to my kids why I've developed popcorn lung  or some new form of lung cancer," Lavandier said. "Because I didn't know what the risks were of e-cigarettes. It terrifies me."

This story is part of a partnership that includes Colorado Public Radio, NPR and Kaiser Health News. Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. KHN's coverage of children's health care issues is supported in part by the Heising-Simons Foundation.
A big change is in the works for people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

Starting in January, 127,000 Medicaid recipients in Southeastern Pennsylvania who also get Medicare will have to get their Medicaid coverage from one of three managed-care plans. New rules apply as well to about 14,000 people who have Medicaid alone and receive long-term care services. The deadline for choosing a plan for the new Community HealthChoices (CHC) program is Saturday, Nov. 17.

The program, which began last year with 80,000 subscribers in Southwestern Pennsylvania, is designed to improve care coordination and efficiency in a population that often has complex needs, said Kevin Hancock, deputy secretary of the Office of Long-term Living in the state Department of Human Services. It creates incentives for providers to care for older or disabled people in their communities, rather than in nursing homes, and to foster innovation in helping subscribers with housing, employment, and technology. Saving money is not the primary goal of the program, Hancock said.

He said the state learned from the western Pennsylvania rollout to start educating consumers and medical providers earlier. It is too early to tell, he said, how well CHC is performing in the Pittsburgh area.

Currently, the state administers the Medicaid program, which provides health benefits for poor people, in this "dual-eligible" population, as people who qualify for both forms of insurance are known. (Younger, healthier people on Medicaid already choose managed-care plans.) Medicare is the insurer for the disabled and people ages 65 and up. Medicare is the first to pay, and Medicaid then picks up bills for cost-sharing, doctor visits, home care, and nursing-home care. CHC does not include dual-eligibles who need services for intellectual disabilities.

If you find all that confusing, you're not the only one. Advocates for Medicare subscribers said many are having trouble understanding that this year they may need to choose not only a Medicare Advantage plan, but also a Medicaid managed-care plan  possibly, but not necessarily, from the same company.

"People are really confused out there," said Diane Menio, executive director of Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE).

Menio said both consumers and providers are having trouble understanding the changes. She worries that some doctors could find billing under the new program too much of a hassle and decide not to care for dual-eligible patients.

As of last week, 90,000 people affected by the new program had yet to choose one of the three insurers: Keystone First, PA Health & Wellness, or UPMC Community HealthChoices. If they don't make their choices by Saturday, the state will assign them to one of the three insurers. They'll then have until Dec. 21 to make their own choices. Patients will always have the option of changing insurance plans, but in the future it could take longer for the change to take effect.

The insurance companies, which are required to have an adequate provider network, are still assembling their panels of doctors, hospitals, and other care providers. During the first six months of the program, patients will be able to keep their current service providers regardless of whether they have contracts with their new insurers.

Hancock agreed that the need to pick both Medicare Advantage  it's open-enrollment time  and Medicaid companies at the same time of year is confusing.

The important thing is that you don't have to change your Medicare coverage. That said, you can if you want to, and it may be easier for you and your doctor if you get both Medicaid and Medicare from the same company. "This program will work better if there's an alignment between the Medicare and Medicaid products," Hancock said.

Holly Lange, president and CEO of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, said close to 30 other states have similar programs, and she's hopeful about this one's potential. "We hope it will be better because it will enhance access and improve the coordination of medical care  and the care that [subscribers] get at home when they need home care," she said.

For help with the new program, you can talk with an independent enrollment broker at 844-824-3655. The number for the hearing impaired is 833-254-0690. Or go to enrollchc.com.
Naloxone can be administered as a nasal spray to temporarily halt an opioid overdose. Read more

In response to the opioid crisis, all 50 states have changed their laws to make naloxone, the overdose reversal drug, easier to get and use.

Many states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have issued standing medication orders so pharmacists can dispense the lifesaving antidote without a prescription. Cities such as Philadelphia have campaigns encouraging family and friends of people at risk of overdose to carry naloxone.

Whether this is saving lives is just beginning to be evaluated, but one obstacle is clear: Many pharmacies haven't gotten with the program.

In California, three out of four pharmacies still required a doctor's prescription for naloxone early this year  two years after the law changed, according to a new study by the Keck Graduate Institute and the University of California, San Francisco. Only half the stores had the easy-to-administer nasal spray in stock.

In Texas, where big chains such as CVS and Walgreens were surveyed, more than 80 percent dispensed naloxone without a prescription  but a quarter didn't have it in stock, a study by the University of Texas found.

Why are pharmacies a weak link? "Lack of knowledge of legislation, lack of required training, stigma about substance use disorder, and time," the California researchers wrote Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, where both studies appear.

Recognizing ongoing access issues, a Philadelphia City Council committee on Tuesday recommended a bill that would require pharmacies to have at least one naloxone pack (with two doses) in stock. Council is expected to vote on the measure next week.

"We did a survey and found 25 percent of pharmacies don't have it," city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said. "We want 100 percent to have it on hand."

Almost 50,000 people died of opioid overdoses last year, according to federal data. In Pennsylvania, the death toll was more than 5,400, including 1,200 in Philadelphia.

Naloxone, used by medical professionals and emergency responders for more than 40 years, reverses the potentially lethal effects of opioids, which depress breathing and induce sleepiness.

Though the most popular brand, Narcan, is not cheap  about $150 for a two-dose pack of the nasal spray  public and private insurance covers the drug, and community-based prevention programs supply it free.

On Tuesday, New Jersey launched an "opioid data dashboard" to track drug-related overdose indicators. It shows that 19,809 people in the state were given naloxone by emergency responders or police between June 2017 and September 2018. That includes 600 who died.

Eventually, the dashboard may include naloxone dispensed without prescription under the state's standing order, said New Jersey Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal.

After Pennsylvania's standing order took effect three years ago, community health nurses raised awareness by going to pharmacies in each county, said Ray Barishansky, a deputy secretary with the state Department of Health.

Studies are beginning to measure the effect of access laws, as well as so-called Good Samaritan laws that legally protect laypeople who administer naloxone in an emergency.

In states with access laws, pharmacies dispensed 79 percent more naloxone between 2007 and 2016 than those in states without such laws, one study found. Another study linked access and Samaritan laws to a 14 percent reduction in opioid overdose deaths.

"It's not a magic bullet," said Corey S. Davis, deputy director of the Network for Public Health Law and a co-author of those two impact studies. "It's not going to single-handedly solve the overdose crisis. But all the data we have suggest the more naloxone dispensing we have, the fewer deaths there will be."
THE PARENTS: Amy Ginsburg, 39, and Jake Ginsburg, 33, of Lower Gwynedd

THE KIDS: Asher Bernard, 6; Leah Marie, 4; Giselle Seylah Piper, born March 20, 2018

THEIR FIRST ENCOUNTER: Amy, interviewing Jake for a law clerk position at her firm, asked about his experience in the public defender's office, representing "criminals." He shot back, "Alleged criminals," then kicked himself. He got the job.

Asher was speechless  understandably, as he was only a few days old  so he popped the question with a note in his father's handwriting. "What's that paper doing on the baby?" Amy remembers thinking. "What if it gets in his mouth?"

Then she read the message: "Will you marry Daddy?"

She planned the wedding between predawn feedings. And at the May 2013 ceremony, 9-month-old Asher was the ring bearer, riding down the aisle in a Radio Flyer wagon festooned with flowers.

Before the reception, Amy whispered a request to the bartender: Could he make sure her drinks were nonalcoholic? She was pregnant again  they'd just found out  but wasn't quite ready to share the news.

"We had so much going on," Jake remembers. "My work, our son, our house, our dog. We were already stress-saturated. This [pregnancy] wasn't supposed to happen now, but  whatever."

"We're go-with-the-flow-type people," Amy says. "We roll with things. So we went with it."

That was true nearly from the beginning  2010, when Amy, a litigation lawyer, hired Jake as her clerk. After he graduated and passed the bar, the firm offered him a permanent position. For a while, they managed to keep their romance under wraps, even when they disagreed about interpretations of the law or celebrated colleagues' birthdays with silly hats and mock trials that morphed into improv skits.

"A couple months into dating, we posted our first picture [as a couple] on Facebook. That's when we made it public," Amy says. "But people at work already knew."

They had only recently said "I love you" for the first time when Amy realized she was making increasingly frequent trips to the bathroom. It took three test sticks  two with plus signs and one that unequivocally said "pregnant"  to convince them.

"It was a little bit of a shock to find out we were expecting, but then we were both really excited," Amy says. Jake recalls a trip to Babies R Us, where a store clerk proffered long lists of must-have items that literally made him dizzy.

The pregnancy forced the couple to reckon with their disparate faiths: Amy was raised Lutheran in a family that helped build her childhood church; Jake, son of a rabbi and a Jewish educator, grew up observing Shabbat and keeping kosher.

Before the pregnancy, each had lobbied for his or her religious traditions to prevail. But once Asher was born, it was clear their family would span both faiths. "We just kind of said that we'd make it work," Jake says.

Their wedding, outside the Reading Museum planetarium, included a Jewish cantor and a Lutheran pastor, the seven Hebrew blessings, and a unity candle. And then they turned their attention to baby No. 2. Unlike her brother, who had to be coaxed from the womb a week after his due date, Leah arrived early, in the midst of a snowstorm.

The births were different in other ways. With Asher, the delivery room was packed with doctors and nurses who swarmed in every time his heart rate dropped. Leah's birth  just one or two pushes  was quiet and quick.

Life at home, though, was anything but tranquil, with a 17-month-old who invariably needed a snack or a drink or a cuddle at the precise moment his infant sister was screaming with colic.

For a while, Jake says, he couldn't imagine having a third. But then both kids became potty-trained. They became best friends. The couple bought a 150-year-old house in Lower Gwynedd with a giant yard and woodsy trails. "We were in a better school district, we were more comfortable, the kids were growing up. I felt like, 'Yeah, we could swing a third, now.' "

Amy had never abandoned her hope for three; she was so ecstatic to see the positive pregnancy test she immediately texted a photo to Jake while he was at work. At their low-key gender reveal party  guests bit into pink cupcakes from Alice Bakery  Asher wept when he realized he wouldn't have a brother.

But the kids loved the idea of choosing middle names for their sister. Princess Poppy and Moana were on their shortlist, and the two ultimately could not agree, so Giselle ended up with Seylah (Asher's choice) and Piper (Leah's pick). The hardest thing about the pregnancy for Amy was managing the needs of two older kids while struggling with sciatica and full-time work.

At Abington Hospital, she asked everyone in her path  the security guard, the nurse's aide pushing her wheelchair  when and where she could get her epidural. Giselle, like her sister, emerged after two pushes. "She was perfect. Absolutely beautiful," Amy remembers. She was also the calmest of the three; Amy recalls feeling bored in the hospital because the infant slept so much.

By five months, Giselle was already a seasoned traveler, with trips to Virginia, the Poconos, and Florida. Those vacations yielded golden moments  Giselle responding gleefully to new sights and sounds, or paddling in a floatie while her brother and sister swam  and nightmarish incidents, such as the time at the airport check-in counter when an officious clerk told Amy she had to check her diaper bag. Giselle's diaper needed changing already, the older kids were chasing each other around the ticket line, and the worker chided, "What are you doing, traveling with three kids by yourself?"

Amy and Jake want their kids to explore the world. They've already taken the older ones to El Salvador, Ireland, Canada, and seven national parks. But now, they cherish what's close at hand: mornings, before sunup, when Amy is nursing Giselle in bed, with Jake beside her, Asher and Leah draped over her legs, and the dog, Tex, curled on her ankles. Maybe Amy's arm goes numb; maybe the tangle of limbs nudges her half off the bed. It doesn't matter, she says; those moments are full, and fleeting, and sweet.
Voodoo Queen Bloody Mary's Haunted Museum is filled with dolls, Marie Laveau artifacts, and other memorabilia that speak to the spirit world. The medium also holds Victorian-style seances in the parlor. Read more

On St. John the Baptist's Day this past June, seven spirit-seekers and three mediums gathered around a table inside a 200-year-old haunted house in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Candles flickered on a wine-colored tablecloth. A cat mewed. Marie Laveau, the 19th-century voodoo queen reimagined as a doll, stood quietly in the corner, bearing witness to the seance-in-progress.

One by one, the guests reached out to their deceased loved ones. The mediums received visions of green olives (a message from a mother fond of them), embroidered cloth (from a great-grandmother of Latin-American descent), and a limping animal (a family's golden retriever that had been hit by a car). When my turn arrived, I did not shake the family tree or poke empty dog beds. Instead, I attempted to rouse a figure who has been garnering a heap of attention this year in New Orleans.

"I would like to speak to Bienville," I told the trio of women, uttering the surname of the French-Canadian who established the port city in 1718. "I want to know what he thinks of New Orleans now."

The medium Juliet spoke from her position behind a black lacy curtain that partially obscured her face and body.

"I saw him shaking his head," she said. "He is in shock and disbelief that, after 300 years, we are still here."

Voodoo Queen Bloody Mary, who ran the seance, said that she had once tried to find Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville in Paris' Montmartre Cemetery, but failed to locate his remains. (She was looking in the wrong resting place.) On this occasion, Bienville materialized with little prodding. Lucy the dog took longer to show up.

So, why was Bienville so quick to return? Perhaps he was curious about all the fuss the city is making for the tricentennial, with special art exhibits, celebratory cocktails and festive signage on buses, lamp posts, and lawns. Maybe he wants to don ropes of Mardi Gras beads and dance on 300 years of history, some of which he made.

If he does decide to join the party, he will find himself on a crowded stage. New Orleans has accumulated a lot of characters over three centuries, and not all require a medium to contact.



Soft, soggy, swampy. The area's boggy terrain was better suited for spotting gators than establishing an urban center. But that didn't stop the French. The colonizers first started sniffing around the Louisiana coast in 1682, back when its primary inhabitants were Native Americans. Decades later, the French established La Nouvelle-Orleans on the eastern banks of the lower Mississippi River, a move that many consider a folly.

"It's a very strategic site for a city," said Richard Campanella, a geographer and professor at the Tulane University School of Architecture. "It made sense at the time."

I met Campanella in his office, where he rattled off a whiplash version of the city's history. The French ran New Orleans till the 1760s, followed by the Spanish (1762-1800), then back to the French. In the early 1800s, President Thomas Jefferson expressed interest in purchasing New Orleans. Napoleon, distracted by a slave uprising in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) and tensions with England, sold Louisiana for $15 million. In 1803, the countries signed the Louisiana Purchase, and the rest is U.S. history.

"This was the dawn of the American Era and the Antebellum Age," Campanella said.

We hopped into his car for a tour. To get my bearings, he mapped out the city: South is toward the river; north is toward Lake Pontchartrain; east is downtown or downriver; and west is uptown or upriver. He told me that most locals provide directions based on bodies of water, not compass points, so I should learn my Pontchartrain and my Mississippi before setting out.

On the drive, he pointed out significant sights, with commentary: Magazine Street ("At five miles long, it's one of the great American streets"), Bywater ("the Williamsburg of New Orleans"), City Park ("the fifth-largest in the country"), Old Ursuline Convent ("You could drop it into the outskirts of Paris and you wouldn't even bat an eye").

In Treme, we passed a church and his professorial tone turned giddy. "Oh look at that," he exclaimed. "It's a funeral. I wonder if there is going to be a jazz funeral afterward."

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to idle by the steps. We were barely through our first century. Onward to the antebellum.



Back at Tulane, I switched cars (minivan), guides (John McCusker) and focus (music). The New Orleans native runs several excursions, including the "Cradle of Jazz" and the "Katrina Eye Witness Tour." (The former Times-Picayune photographer is the eyewitness in the title.) En route to Louis Armstrong Park, McCusker, a cool cat in a straw fedora, explained the history of jazz, a musical mutt of blues, ragtime, dirges, and marches.

"It was a new tradition that grew out of other cultural traditions that intersected," he said. In Congo Square, inside the park, McCusker tapped into jazz's forebears, the slaves who gathered on Sundays to sing, dance, and play their ancestral music from West Africa. A sculpture depicts the jubilant scene: The women, swathed in headscarves called tignons, moving their mouths and legs to the beat; the men pounding on drums and plucking on stringed gourds.

"The grandfathers of jazz hadn't even been born yet," he said.

Many of those grandfathers  Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong  lived in New Orleans, and McCusker deaccelerated near several sites where they once performed or resided.

"This is the only vacant lot on the tour," he said, as we looked through the car window at the former home of Bechet, the legendary saxophonist and clarinetist.

To nudge our imaginations, McCusker turned up "Cake Walking Babies" on the car stereo.

"OK, here is where the fireworks start," he said. "That's Sidney, that growl thing."

We braved the heat to check out Storyville, the city's red-light district from 1897 to 1917, and the black vice district, which was active from the 1880s to the 1950s. The latter is home to a quartet of buildings whose shabby states belie their earlier vitality. (Preservationists are doing their darndest to protect the structures, which include the Eagle Saloon, where Buddy Bolden performed, and the Karnofsky Tailor Shop, whose Jewish owners provided Armstrong with a second home.)

We stood outside the boarded-up Iroquois Theater, a movie palace and jazz concert hall that catered to African Americans.

"This was the first stage Louis performed on," he said.

For his debut gig, the 11-year-old trumpeter powdered his face in flour and competed in a talent show. The boy wonder won.

Back in the car, McCusker slowly passed by the former residence of trombonist "Kid" Ory. "This was a crack house," he said of the home's 1990s period, which preceded its 2002 renovation.

In Central City, all the stars collided.

"This is the neighborhood where jazz was born. Not Treme. Not the French Quarter," he said. "This has the highest concentration of jazz pioneers who would go on to take the music to the rest of the world." Seven names rolled off his tongue.

To honor the moment, McCusker pressed play on "Struttin' With Some Barbecue," and let Louis take us home.



Her name was Mary Harris and though she was 86 years old, her memories were vivid. She clearly remembered her childhood  how she used to haul in the kindling and light the fire and hold the fan that shooed the flies away from her masters' food.

"It wasn't hard work," she recalled, "but my arms used to get tired 'specially at dinner when they set so long at the table."

Mary, long gone, accompanied me on the guided tour of the Whitney Plantation, about 45 miles west of New Orleans. I wore her story around my neck, on a card dangling from a braided lanyard.

Several plantations along the river invite visitors inside the opulent Faberge eggs the wealthy planters called home. And in New Orleans, Le Musee de f.p.c. shares the accomplishments, and hardships, of free people of color, many of whom prospered in the port city known for its thriving slave market. The Whitney museum covers similar themes but turns the lens on the slaves and relegates the owners, the Haydels, to the sidelines.

"We're one of the few plantations telling the story of slavery, of how it was," said Matthew Ward, a guide and PhD student in history at Louisiana State University.

From 1752 to 1865, the plantation possessed more than 350 slaves, who toiled in its indigo, rice and sugar-cane fields or in the Big House as domestics. Mary was not one of the Whitney's slaves  her oral history was collected through Federal Writers' Project interviews of individuals who had spent their childhoods enslaved  but the plantation no doubt had several of its own Marys.

After handing out umbrellas as sun protection, Ward led us inside the Antioch Baptist Church, where we were not alone. Dozens of statues depicting children born into slavery sat on pews and stood in loose clusters around the altar and in the aisles. Their sculpted faces were full of expression; some looked defiant, others withdrawn.

Outside, the Wall of Honor, one of three memorials on the property, was a silent roll call of the Whitney's slaves. The first granite slab was empty, a tribute to the men and women who did not appear on the ship manifests but deserve recognition. The other panels were covered with first names, countries of origin, dates of birth, and skills. I started reading from the top:

Achille, Mandingo Nation, Carter, Ploughman, Domestic, Born ca. 1797; Alexandre, Bambara Nation, Carpenter, Barrel Maker, Domestic, Born ca. 1789; Francois, Grif (Black and Native American), Born ca. 1769.

And on and on it went.



To get a jump-start on the next centennial, I squeezed up as close to the Mississippi River as possible without falling in.

"The riverfront is the 21st century," said Sean Cummings, a New Orleans real estate developer.

I could tick off several of his projects from Crescent Park, the one-mile-long green space that opened in 2014 and goes with the flow of the Mississippi. I followed the path from Bywater, through the Marigny riverfront and to the lower edge of the French Quarter  specifically, the takeout window at Cafe du Monde.

To reach my chicory coffee, I had to climb up and over the railroad tracks on the Piety Street Bridge, the rainbow-arched overpass created by David Adjaye, lead designer of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. I had to swing on the swings at Mandeville Wharf. And I had to resist the temptation  twice  to jump the fence and stick my toes in the sandy beach.

From the French Quarter, I circumvented Governor Nicholls Street Wharf terminal and jumped back on the riverside trail to Woldenberg Riverfront Park. Here, my allegiance to the tricentennial was rewarded with a giant NOLA 300 sign. I celebrated by diving barefeet-first into a 90-foot-long string of water spouts.

For longer distances, I rented a Blue Bike, the city's bike-sharing program. In the cooling night air, I pedaled to Bayou St. John, where voodoo priestess Sallie Ann Glassman was leading a St. John's Eve head-washing ceremony. I returned, head dry, on the Lafitte Greenway and passed the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the burial place of Laveau and possibly Nicolas Cage, who commissioned a pyramid mausoleum suitable for the Conehead clan.

On a Sunday afternoon, I cycled to a Second Line parade in Uptown. I found the start of the procession but no docking station. I had breached the boundaries and, to avoid a penalty, had to retreat several blocks.

I caught up with the procession midstream, and the brass band and jubilant revelers pulled me into the current.

For blocks, we commanded the streets, forcing cars to wait or detour. I walked between two men pulling a cooler filled with beer and a guy singing on a loop: "skip, hop, skippity, hop, hop."

I looked up and spotted three wiry kids with rubbery limbs dancing on a construction site. They reappeared on the rooftop of a fast-food restaurant. As we neared a cemetery, I watched them scramble onto the gravestones and let loose. I couldn't see him, but I sensed that Bienville was grooving right alongside them.

Information: neworleans.com
Bishops descend the escalator for a lunch break Tuesday during the second day of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops fall meeting in Baltimore. Read more

BALTIMORE  A day after the Vatican derailed plans by the nation's Catholic bishops to endorse broad reforms this week of their handling of sex abuse cases, there was little disagreement that they must do something to increase accountability.

What was missing was a consensus on what, when, and why.

Some members of the hierarchy balked at how rapidly leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops acceded Monday to a Vatican request that they hold off on any binding votes until after a February summit in Rome, where Pope Francis hopes to discuss the clergy sex abuse crisis on a global scale.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., pressed his colleagues not to leave their fall conference  scheduled to end Wednesday  without something concrete to take back to their dioceses.

"We are not branch managers of the Vatican," he said in a morning session. "Our people are calling out for action."

Others questioned the need for some of the proposals under consideration, which include a new code of bishop conduct and a review board that would give Catholic laity a role in investigating the church hierarchy.

"It seems like we're adding something that doesn't have a particular purpose," said Gerald F. Kicanas, former bishop of Tucson, Ariz.

Even one of the most widely supported measures  establishing a hotline for churchgoers and clergy to lodge complaints against problem prelates  had its detractors.

Bishop Donald Trautman, who was lambasted by a Pennsylvania grand jury in August for mishandling abuse claims in the 1990s as the church leader in Erie, described the idea as "dangerous and unjust."

Conference chairman Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, made clear that in deference to the Vatican's request he won't schedule a vote on any of the reform measures before the meeting concludes. But Tuesday's wide-ranging discussion hinted at more fundamental disagreements on the causes of the crisis.

Several younger bishops could be seen shaking their heads as one older colleague blamed the wave of sex abuse on the sexual revolution in the 1960s. Others, echoing calls of a group of conservative activists protesting outside of the conference hotel, blamed what they said was a generation of closeted homosexuals who joined the clergy.

Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the national lay board appointed to advise bishops on sex-abuse policies, described even the measures up for discussion this week as "incomplete."

He cited the Inquirer and Boston Globe report this month that more than 130 bishops  about a third of those still living  had faced accusations of mishandling abuse complaints at some point in their careers.

Trautman urged the bishops not to believe everything they read in grand jury or media reports, a note that earned a round of applause from the room.

Despite the amorphous form of much of Tuesday's discussion, the day offered the first detailed glimpse of how some of the boldest reform measures might work  and exposed what some victim advocates and even some prelates described as obvious flaws.

As they reviewed a proposal that would limit the ministry of bishops forced from their jobs by abuse-related claims or those credibly accused in retirement, a handful of bishops to whom the new policy might apply mingled among the crowd.

Bishop Robert Finn  former head of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., and the only American bishop convicted of failing to report child sex abuse  was there, as was Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned last month amid grand jury accusations he covered up abuse decades ago while leading the Pittsburgh Diocese.

The same Pennsylvania grand jurors also sharply criticized James Timlin, former bishop of Scranton, for his record in handling abuse claims in the 1980s and '90s. Yet he defied a request from that city's current bishop, Joseph C. Bambera, to stay away from this week's meeting.

"While Bishop Timlin has been forbidden from representing the Diocese of Scranton, [his] attendance at conferences is beyond the control of Bishop Bambera," a spokesman for the Scranton Diocese said.

Meanwhile, one line in the current proposal for a civilian-led commission to investigate bishop misconduct raised eyebrows from outside observers. The plan would only grant board members authority to conduct a full investigation  with access to diocesan records  in cases where bishops voluntarily submitted to their scrutiny.

"That would not be acceptable to us," said Regina O'Reilly of Fox Chase, who protested in the icy wind outside with a group of Philadelphia-area parishioners. "They can walk away from it."

Inside, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, a member of the committee that drafted the review board policy, said he favored a different strategy, too  one that would empower regional archbishops to police the conduct of their neighboring prelates. That change, Chaput acknowledged, would require a rewriting of longstanding Vatican rules.

"Some thought it would be easier for us to implement this independent commission than to change canon law," he said.
Bishops gather for the third and final day of the annual fall conference of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Wednesday in Baltimore. Read more

BALTIMORE  Leaving their most closely watched gathering in years without acting to address the sex-abuse crisis roiling their dioceses, the nation's Catholic bishops seemed gripped by dismay Wednesday at the prospect of returning home to their parishioners empty-handed.

Despite a last-minute push for something, anything, that might show they were taking the problem seriously, the prelates cast no votes and adopted no new accountability policies. Even a referendum on whether to push the Vatican to release files on disgraced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick split the room.

"I'm convinced that there has to be some sort of consultative  or straw  vote," said Bishop Kevin Vann of Orange, Calif. "We can't just sit back and do nothing. We have to make a statement."

Still, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he found reason for optimism.

"What we have done here is a sign of hope for me, not a disappointment," he said. "We leave this place committed to taking the strongest possible action at the earliest possible moment."

DiNardo's upbeat comments as the bishops closed their annual fall gathering stood in contrast to his clearly deflated demeanor Monday as he told his colleagues about the last-minute Vatican order that they cancel their plan to vote this week on a slate of reform proposals.

The bishops nonetheless debated the measures over three days  and that discussion suggested the Holy See may have done them a favor by intervening. Their talks revealed a broad consensus that something has to be to done to address growing outrage from Catholics in the pews, but deep rifts on how to solve the problem.

One marquee reform proposal  a call to establish a laity-led review panel for investigating problem bishops  sharply divided the conference even Wednesday.

Strike the entire idea, more than one bishop wrote anonymously on a list of amendments to the proposal that circulated Wednesday morning.

Others suggested that bishops' conduct should be judged by their colleagues, not by lay members of the church.

"We deserve to be evaluated by a jury of our peers," said Bishop Greg Hartmayer of Savannah, Ga. "There's no one who understands a bishop more than another bishop."

DiNardo said Wednesday that he had appointed a task force to consider fresh input from the bishops this week. He also said he will retool the proposal for a review board before taking it and other suggested reforms to Rome early next year for a global summit on clergy sex abuse.

"I am sure that under the leadership of Pope Francis, the conversation that the global church will have in February will make a serious step toward eradicating sexual abuse in the life of the church," he said.

Francis has indicated he hopes for a worldwide response to the problem, though he has not specified why he urged the U.S. bishops to delay acting on their reform plans this week.

Citing unnamed sources, Vatican reporter and insider Andrea Tornielli reported that some within the church hierarchy have concerns that the measures under consideration by the American prelates went beyond the bounds of canon law.

And there's no guarantee their proposals  which also include a new code of conduct for bishops and the establishment of a third-party hotline for complaints against problem prelates  will be endorsed by Catholic leadership half a world away.

Discussing his trip to Rome last month for a synod on Catholic youth, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia told his fellow American bishops that he struggled to engage prelates from other parts of the globe on the topic of abuse.

"There was little appetite," he said. "People in some parts of the world say it's not an issue for them. Others don't seem to want to talk about it in public."

As the hours counted down to their adjournment, Chaput's colleagues signaled a growing sense of alarm that they hadn't said enough.

As if to prove the point, a small group of abuse victims resumed the near-constant vigil they have maintained outside the conference hotel since Monday, while lawyer Jeff Anderson invited reporters to a news conference at which he unveiled his latest lawsuit against bishops he blames for cover-ups and inaction.

"Yes, it's opportunistic," said the Minnesota attorney, who has devoted most of his practice to clergy sex-abuse cases. "But we are taking the opportunity to do everything we can together to protect kids, to disgorge the secrets."

Anderson planned to make a similar announcement about a Pennsylvania-based lawsuit in Philadelphia on Thursday.

That reception outside the building wasn't new for many bishops who spent their time cloistered in a hotel ballroom this week. It's also why they were reluctant to return home to without clear answers.

"Our credibility has not been proven to the people sitting in the pews," said Richard Stika, bishop of Knoxville, Tenn.

With no votes on the table, discussion turned to alternatives. McCarrick  whose alleged sexual misconduct with seminarians and younger priests made him the poster child for this new era of the U.S. clergy abuse crisis  became a frequent target.

Bishop Liam Cary of Baker, Ore., said he was astounded that four months after allegations against the cardinal became public, the pope had asked him to resign but the U.S. conference had not made any formal statement about his behavior.

"What are people to make of our silence?" he asked. "Could it lead them to believe we don't take shame seriously?"

Cary's call for a formal vote of censure and a ban preventing McCarrick from attending any future meeting of the U.S. bishops' conference echoed suggestions by others that he should be laicized  and drew a round of applause.

"He is not welcome," said Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, of the cardinal, who was not seen at the conference this week. "We should say that out of respect for his sake and respect for those he harmed."

On even that note, they could not agree on the appropriate action.

Still, after the conference concluded, Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington, Vt., said the week's debate had been fruitful.

"All of us were disappointed that we weren't able to do as much as we wanted," he said. "But I think we did the best that we could."
A retired Philadelphia police officer has been charged with civil rights violations for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman while on duty more than two years ago, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Thomas O'Neill, 47, is accused of assaulting the woman inside his squad car on July 3, 2016, court documents show. The woman, who is black, claims the officer, who is white, rubbed his gun on her body during the alleged assault and made racist remarks, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.

O'Neill, who retired in September 2016, was indicted with deprivation of rights under color of law. He would face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The charges stem from claims outlined in a civil lawsuit filed by the unidentified woman against O'Neill and the city in 2017. That lawsuit is still pending in Common Pleas Court.

"No matter who you are, if you commit a violent crime, we are committed to holding you accountable and keeping our community safe," U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said in a news release.

O'Neill's attorney, Nicholas Cummins, declined to comment on the charges.

In an interview Wednesday, John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, called it a "sad story" and indicated O'Neill would be unable to count on support from the union.

"If what they're saying is true, that's a horrendous crime," McNesby said. "It is what it is. He's on his own."
Late on a Tuesday last November, a Drexel University graduate named Joseph Howanski encountered Merlos Mukaj and his girlfriend arguing on the street. Howanski, 24, tried to intervene, but the 21-year-old Mukaj shoved Howanski and took a swing at his head.

Howanski, who had a concealed-carry permit, pulled his gun and shot Mukaj three times, killing him.

Howanski stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, telling detectives he acted to protect himself. Still, he was arrested, charged with murder, and denied bail.

Then the District Attorney's Office leadership changed  and in August, the office unilaterally dropped the lead charge against Howanski to third-degree murder. That meant Howanski could be released on bail, and it reduced his potential sentence from life in prison to as little as six years.

District Attorney Larry Krasner, who made that call, said Howanski's case is an example of a broader policy shift at his office about how to properly and fairly prosecute defendants who kill.

In the past, Krasner said, "it was essentially, 'How high a charge can we get away with?'" His approach  which he believes is long overdue  is to utilize the spectrum of possible homicide charges, and proceed on what he thinks the evidence supports.

That can range from involuntary manslaughter (reckless or negligent killing) to voluntary manslaughter (unjustified killing in self-defense or in response to an extreme provocation) to third-degree murder (unpremeditated killing), all the way up to first-degree (malicious and intentional killing).

Since Krasner was sworn in Jan. 1, his office has reduced charges to third-degree murder or manslaughter in at least six cases initially filed as "murder generally"  an umbrella that encompasses first-, second-, and third-degree. In other cases, it sought lesser charges from the start.

The new strategy aligns with Krasner's oft-expressed belief that former prosecutors were out for wins  in the form of excessive prison sentences  rather than for justice. The way Krasner sees it, what looks like a radical shift is merely restoring balance  moving away from overcharging, which he called a "gutless" abdication of responsibility.

"Part of the motivation for always charging the highest charge was the political management of victims. It became very easy to always say what aggrieved, traumatized victims want to hear," Krasner said. That meant charging first degree in every case, he said: "Then, when a jury or judge a year or two later has to straighten that out and knock it down to size, you just raise your fist and shake it at the judge or jury."

Krasner's desire to upend the system has made him a darling of progressives and a high-profile national figure in the movement for criminal-justice reform. But it's been unpopular with victims' families  and with current and former prosecutors who argue that there are valid reasons for charging murder generally.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who was Philadelphia district attorney from 1978 to 1986, noted that many cases depend on nuanced factual determinations that may best be reserved for a judge or jury to decide.

"The downside is that someone escapes the appropriate punishment," Rendell said. "You've taken the charge off the table, so neither the jury nor the judge has the right to impose it."

George Fisher, a Stanford University law professor and codirector of the school's Criminal Prosecution Clinic, said the approach Krasner outlined is ethically sound.

"The general ethical principle is that the crime should be charged according to what it is," Fisher said.

Defining intent

The difference in Pennsylvania between first- and third-degree murder is that first-degree is intentional killing. But proving intent is complicated.

Case law suggests a bullet or knife to a fatal organ can demonstrate intent, but Krasner pointed out that most killers are not trained marksmen. And although prosecutors often argue that intent can be formed in an instant, Krasner offered a different interpretation.

"We all recognize there's a big difference between going out and buying a pair of gloves and a ski mask and a gun  and carrying out an assassination, as opposed to the kind of things that can unexpectedly occur when two people who don't know each other spontaneously meet," he said.

His willingness to make those distinctions has impacted cases such as that of Michael White, the bike courier who is accused of fatally stabbed developer Sean Schellenger during an altercation near Rittenhouse Square in July. Three weeks after White's arrest, the office reduced the charge against White from murder generally to third-degree.

Similarly, the district attorney opted to lodge a charge of third-degree murder against Letoya Ramseure, who shot her ex-boyfriend with his gun after he allegedly burst through her front door and assaulted her. Krasner insists that in "a previous administration, [it] would have been charged as murder generally." Ramseure's lawyer argued it was a clear case of self-defense, and a judge reduced the charge to voluntary manslaughter.

A notable side effect is that bail is permitted in third-degree cases.

That benefited Rashaun Sanderlin, a 22-year-old man who allegedly stabbed Wayne Wright, his mother's boyfriend, to death in August.

Richard Giuliani, Sanderlin's lawyer, said that under a previous administration Sanderlin likely would have been locked up while awaiting trial. But there's evidence the victim had threatened Sanderlin, Giuliani said. He believes the district attorney took that into account in charging the case as third-degree.

"He has no record," Giuliani said of Sanderlin. "To spend the time until trial, maybe 18 to 24 months [in jail]  even if you walk, you're never the same."

Still, the simple act of acknowledging a spectrum of culpability in homicide cases can put a district attorney in a tough position. Each fact-specific judgment invites comparisons to other cases, raising questions of consistency.

Howanski's lawyer, Fortunato Perri Jr., said he repeatedly asked prosecutors to drop the first-degree count against his client. He renewed his request after the office downgraded the charge against Michael White, who also had used a deadly weapon from a defensive posture in a fight.

Two weeks after White's charges were modified, so were Howanski's.

The challenge also can be seen in the cases of Charles Bowers and Shihed Tomoney.

Bowers, 60, allegedly intervened in a May dispute between neighbors in Bridesburg and ended up punching a man twice. The man, William Stephens, fell, hit his head, and died. Charged with involuntary manslaughter, Bowers is free on bail and faces a maximum five-year penalty.

Tomoney, meanwhile, is in jail facing a count of murder generally for allegedly shooting Mahdi Bey in North Philadelphia in May. According to court documents, surveillance video captured Bey approaching Tomoney and pistol-whipping him. The two struggled over Bey's gun before Tomoney gained control and pulled the trigger. If convicted, Tomoney, 40, gets an automatic life sentence.

Tomoney's lawyer, James Berardinelli, said the district attorney offered to let Tomoney plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Tomoney, who views the case as self-defense, rejected the offer.

No criminal culpability

Anthony Voci, chief of Krasner's homicide unit, said the office's new approach has allowed it to work more efficiently, building trust with opposing lawyers, and in some cases advancing investigations more quickly. More pragmatically, Voci said, the number of cases resolved by plea deal has increased.

Of 171 homicide cases resolved this year, 83 were guilty pleas, 60 guilty verdicts, 17 not-guilty verdicts or hung juries; the office decided not to prosecute 11 others.

But determinations to drop or reduce charges  whether during charging or, later, during plea bargaining  can be difficult for families.

Crystal Lewis, for one, will never understand how the killing of her mother, Pamela, was not premeditated murder.

Pamela went missing in November 2013, and Crystal immediately suspected her mother's boyfriend, Jermele Hudson. But when she confronted him at his North Philadelphia home, he insisted that Pamela was visiting family in New Jersey. And when Crystal tried calling her mother, she received texts confirming the story.

But the Lewises didn't have relatives in New Jersey. And Pamela, who was illiterate, had never texted a word beyond "CAL ME."

Crystal Lewis said she shared all of this with detectives, but the case was not closed until last October, when a contractor found Pamela's body chopped up and buried in a vacant lot in Tioga. Hudson had killed her, disposed of her body, and drained her bank account.

Hudson, now 44, was charged with murder, but in September was allowed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Lewis feels cheated  out of a trial that could have revealed exactly what happened to her mother, and out of the security of knowing that Hudson would be jailed for life. Instead, he could be out in 11 years. She thinks her mother wasn't a priority because of her race, income level, and drug use.

Ben Waxman, Krasner's spokesperson, said the case against Hudson lacked physical evidence or eyewitness accounts. "Voluntary manslaughter was the only charge that our office felt could stand up in court," Waxman said.

Still, what Lewis finds particularly unfair is that her own father is serving a life sentence. Mark Mobley was 19 when he shot a cab driver during a fight in 1991.

"My father got locked up for protecting himself and he's away for life," Lewis said. "How could you let someone like [Hudson] be able to walk free?"

Fisher, the Stanford law professor, noted that what a killer does after the fact  disposing of a body, for example  doesn't determine whether it counts as murder. That's much more about the defendant's mental state at the time of the killing.

That's the challenge Krasner faces  to make decisions based on facts that aren't perfectly knowable.

But he said that should not prohibit prosecutors from making the best choice they can with the evidence they have.

"People who think you should use every tool in the toolbox when you go to fix something are not going to be happy when we only use the tools that are appropriate," he said. "It's a fundamental philosophical difference."
Nadia Malik was found dead inside a car belonging to her boyfriend's father in 2014. Malik's family was recently awarded $10 million in damages from a Philadelphia common pleas judge. Read more

For 10 maddening days in 2014, Nadia Malik was missing from her home in Broomall, Delaware County. Then, on a lonely side street in University City, she was found.

The discovery was as sudden and blinding as her disappearance, her body slumped in the passenger seat of an abandoned car covered in snow and papered with parking tickets.

The mystery of Malik's death has only deepened in the intervening years. Investigators still don't even know how the 22-year-old died. There were no visible signs of trauma to her body, and after an autopsy, the city medical examiner listed the cause of death as undetermined.

In 2016, Malik's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bhupinder Singh, Malik's longtime boyfriend, the father of her children, and the person she was last seen with before her death. Singh has long been the focus of the family's suspicions: It was his father's car Malik was found in, and he admitted to police that he had sent bizarre, threatening text messages to Malik's family as they searched for her. One message taunted the family, saying they would never find Malik without meeting his demands for money.

In the lawsuit, the family contended that Singh was responsible for Malik's death. They said he "intentionally harmed [her] and left her dead or near-dead" in the car, abandoning her without her identification, cell phone, or even the keys for the vehicle.

The family hoped the legal action would finally compel Singh to talk, to address the burning questions of how Malik spent her final hours. Those answers never came.

Singh, 30, didn't respond to the lawsuit. He didn't even hire a lawyer to represent him. That absence left unchallenged the suit's disturbing suggestion that he played a role in the death of the mother of his children.

Finally, in July, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge issued a default judgment and ordered Singh to pay the Malik family $10 million, damages they had sought to offset the emotional hardship and financial strain Malik's death had caused.

To them, it's a hollow victory, and they have little hope of ever collecting the money. Anything they do receive will go to the couple's 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, now living with Malik's parents.

"The only reason we did this was thinking he'd come and defend himself," Nadia's brother Khaled said in a recent interview. "We just wanted some explanation, some words out of him, but we didn't even get that. You could have a $100 million award. It doesn't mean anything."

Singh did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Nor did his father, Davinder, who is also named in the lawsuit.

>> READ MORE: A year later, death of Nadia Malik is still a mystery

Malik's relatives said in the suit that Davinder Singh shared blame for the events that led to her death and that it "should have been forseeable [to him] that harm would come to" her if he allowed his son to borrow his car.

The suit faulted the elder Singh for allowing his son to use the car even though he had a suspended license because of a DUI conviction. The family also blamed Davinder Singh for sheltering his son in his Ohio home after he ditched the vehicle in University City and fled Philadelphia.

Common Pleas Court Judge Denis P. Cohen did not rule on the merits of the family's contention that Singh intentionally harmed Malik or the assertion that his father should have foreseen danger. Nor did he outline his reasoning for awarding the $10 million, damages the family's attorney said they were seeking to support her two children, recover the cost of her medical expenses and funeral, and balance their emotional distress.

In court, Habeeb Malik, Nadia's father, told the judge her death had devastated the family.

"My wife and I, my children and my grandchildren, all of us are suffering and going through the pain of her absence every day and hour in our life," he said at a May hearing to assess damages in the case. "These two criminals, they have taken away the happiness, they snatched it from our lives and we can never be fully happy again."

Two months later, Cohen ordered Singh and his father to pay the family.

The Malik family's attorney, Brian Mildenberg, said he viewed the decision as an indication that the judge believed Singh and his father bore some responsibility for her death.

"The family views the judgment as a record that the defendants' actions contributed to the death of Nadia, and has found some modicum of justice in the court's judgment," he said. "You can't bring her back to life, but we were able to at least secure this judgment."

It's unclear how the family would collect the judgment. Singh's whereabouts are unknown. He didn't respond to the subpoenas in the civil case, and he has an active warrant for his arrest in Delaware County dating back to April 2016, when he failed to report to his probation officer, officials said last week. Singh's father has been similarly elusive. He didn't respond to subpoenas in the civil case or hire a lawyer to counter the Malik family's contentions.

As for the criminal case, no one has been charged in connection with Malik's death, which remains under investigation by Philadelphia police and the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Their work is complicated in part by the fact that her death has not been ruled a homicide.

The official cause and manner of Malik's death is listed as "undetermined," according to Jim Garrow, a spokesman for the city Medical Examiner's Office. It's a rare determination, and law-enforcement sources familiar with the case say the ruling can be changed if new evidence emerges.

>> READ MORE: Mystery surrounds death of young mother

As Malik's family hopes for a break in the case, they cannot help but focus on a relationship they say led their daughter to ruin.

In the weeks leading up to her death, Malik and Singh had been fighting, her relatives said. They said in the lawsuit that she had suffered a broken rib at his hands a month before her death. She was prescribed narcotic painkillers for her injuries, the suit said, and later told her family that she believed Singh was trying to poison her by slipping the pills into her food.

Malik also told her family that she wanted to separate from Singh and had refused his repeated overtures to marry her, according to the suit.

Records from the Delaware County Register of Wills show that Singh had applied for a marriage license in July 2009, but the completed application was never returned to the county with the required signatures.

Another marriage certificate, this one signed only by Singh, was found near Malik's body inside the Singhs' vehicle, her family said at the hearing in May.

Malik and Singh had dated for about seven years after meeting as teenagers, her family said. In court, Habeeb Malik told the judge Singh met his daughter when she was a junior in high school and continued to pursue her even though he implored him to stop.

Malik said he and his wife wanted their daughter to attend the University of Pennsylvania and pursue a medical career. But her high school grades slipped, he said, after she met Singh. His daughter and Singh continued their romantic relationship, which led to a pregnancy in Nadia's freshman year at the University of the Sciences, court records show. The couple hid the pregnancy from their families until Malik gave birth to their son when she was 18.

The couple had two more children, daughters, the family said. One, Alina, died suddenly three months after her birth in 2011, according to the Delaware County medical examiner.

The baby was found unresponsive inside a car parked near a Chinese restaurant in Springfield, Delaware County, in February 2012. Her cause of death was listed as cachexia, a type of muscle atrophy colloquially called "wasting syndrome." The manner of death was ruled undetermined, just as her mother's death would be almost exactly two years later.

The last time Malik's family heard from her was in early February 2014, the lawsuit said. Malik called her brother and told him she was with Singh and he was forcing her to stay with him. Then, the line went dead, her older sister Naalia later told the judge in the civil case. They filed a missing person's report with police in Marple Township the day after the aborted phone call.

>> READ MORE: Brother of woman found dead speaks out

While Malik's relatives were searching for her, Singh sent them antagonizing text messages, saying he was traveling with her around the East Coast.

Copies of those texts, obtained by the Inquirer and Daily News, show that Singh said he would let them talk with her in exchange for $100.

When they balked, Singh threatened to break the phone. He later wrote: "Okay think whatever bye I promise u this now u wont hear her ill make sure bye u lost the chance."

"Look for us in the whole United States, I guarantee my life u wont find us," he said in another message.

Investigators tracked Singh to Ohio using Malik's cell phone, which he had taken with him to his parents' house in Solon, a suburb of Cleveland. He was arrested there for violating his probation on the DUI conviction after trying, unsuccessfully, to escape from the police by running out the home's back door.

Singh later admitted to sending the messages and told police he had traveled to Ohio on a bus from New York after getting into an argument with Malik "concerning their relationship," according to an affidavit of probable cause for his arrest on Feb. 12 on the probation violation.

Days later, a passerby spotted the black Nissan Altima that belonged to Singh's father parked outside a bar on 30th Street in University City. The tipster called police after recognizing the car from a description printed in a local newspaper story about Malik's disappearance.

The car, which had been towed from 23rd Street for snow removal during a winter storm, had been issued eight parking tickets, the first written on the same day that Malik's family had filed their missing person report.

Inside, investigators found Malik, her body partially obscured by a backpack and some clothing. And their long search for answers began.
Andy Kim, right, the Democratic candidate in the U.S. Congressional District 3 race, speaks during a debate with Republican candidate Tom MacArthur, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, in Newark, N.J. The tight race still hasn't been called as ballots are still being counted. Read more

The majority of the 4,500 paper ballots cast in Burlington County in the close Third District congressional race likely will be counted in the final tally, the county superintendent of elections said Tuesday after his staff had worked 10- to 12-hour days since Saturday analyzing the ballots.

Those provisional ballots, and 2,400 more in Ocean County, are expected to be examined Wednesday so that an official winner can finally be declared in the race where Democrat Andy Kim, a newcomer to politics, challenged two-term Republican U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur.

The race, which is being watched nationally, includes most municipalities in Democratic-leaning Burlington County and part of Republican-leaning Ocean County. Kim has an unofficial 3,427-vote lead against MacArthur.

Some Burlington County election officials say Kim's lead should hold after all the provisional votes are counted because most are in Burlington County and they should follow the trend at the polls and via Vote-by-Mail in favor of Kim.

Election officials said the counting by the two counties' Boards of Elections could last into the evening Wednesday.

"Probably 90 to 95 percent of the provisionals would be counted," said Burlington County Superintendent of Elections George Kotch. "If people go to the polls, usually they're permitted to vote."

Many of those voters had a recent change in address, which is why their names were not included in the heavy, bound poll books at their new voting place, he said.

He recalled that at least one ballot had to be stamped "unregistered voter" because the person who cast it on Election Day is a convicted felon and not eligible to vote.

On election night, MacArthur was leading by 2,300 votes, but Kim declared victory the following night after Burlington County finished counting its Vote-by-Mail ballots, which gave him a 2,600-vote lead out of 295,000 votes tallied.

MacArthur has not conceded, saying he wants to wait until all of the votes are counted.

Late last week, Kim's margin grew to about 4,300 votes after Burlington counted additional votes that were found on machine cartridges that had not been delivered by poll workers to election headquarters on Election Night. That number dropped after Ocean County added hundreds of mail-in votes had that arrived within 48 hours of Election Day and then hundreds of military ballots from overseas.

Kotch said the 17 employees in his office have spent the last four days investigating the reasons 4,500 voters in Burlington County were handed provisional ballots. These voters were not permitted to go behind the curtain in their polling place, and had to fill out paper ballots because their names were not in the poll books. The research involves a time-consuming process designed to make sure every eligible vote is counted, Kotch said Tuesday.

"We're doing a lot of work to check to see if a person should vote or not vote," he said.

In Ocean County, assistant elections supervisor Jason Varano said Tuesday that most of the provisional ballots cast in the Third District were already analyzed and that representatives of the two candidates were invited to review the ballots and findings. He said Ocean County does not have a superintendent of elections, but the Board of Elections staff worked 12-hour days over the weekend to go through the ballots and poll books. The final decision will rest with the board on Wednesday, he said.

"We have to investigate if you applied for a mail-in ballot, or if you moved, and we have to verify this," Varano said.

Kotch said the Vote-by-Mail ballots and provisional votes played a big role in this year's elections because of record-breaking voter turnout in the midterms. But he predicted that in a few years, voting procedures may change radically. In Florida, he said, convicted felons who have served their sentences may be eligible to vote under a change in the law. "Some people estimate that could add one million voters to the rolls," he said.

According to the New Jersey Division of Elections, the Third District has 220,586 unaffiliated voters, 159,869 registered Democrats, and 147,691 registered Republicans.
Democrat Andy Kim announces that he is the projected winner of the NJ 3rd District Congressional race. The announcement was before a packed crowd at his Mt. Laurel headquarters on November 7, 2018. Read more

After a hard-fought race against a two-term Republican congressman, Democrat Andy Kim was officially declared the winner of New Jersey's Third Congressional District seat in his first bid for public office, and his opponent, Rep. Tom MacArthur, said Wednesday night that he had called Kim to concede.

"Tonight, I called Congressman-Elect Andy Kim to congratulate him on his victory," MacArthur, 58, wrote in a Facebook post shortly before 7 p.m. "Enough provisional ballots have been counted to make the outcome clear. My staff and I will work with him to ensure a smooth transition in every way."

Kim, a former national security aide to President Barack Obama, had declared victory on Nov. 7, a day after the election, after Vote-by-Mail ballots put him ahead of MacArthur, a former insurance executive and an ally of President Trump.

The Associated Press declared Kim the winner at 2:44 p.m. Wednesday, though election boards in Ocean and Burlington Counties have not completed counting provisional ballots.

Kim's victory means that New Jersey will have only one Republican in its 12-member congressional delegation in January: U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, who won reelection.

When Kim takes office in January, it will be just the second time in at least 34 years that Democrats will hold the South Jersey seat. He also will be the first Asian American elected to the House from New Jersey, and the first Korean American elected to Congress in two decades.

"This campaign was never about the politics," Kim said in a statement Wednesday. "It was always about the people of New Jersey and who would best advocate for the hopes and needs of our community in Washington. Our campaign was about the issues  about affordable health care for all Americans; about fair taxes for New Jersey families; and about a government that works for the people."

Kim pledged that he would work on those and other issues "while representing my home district with integrity and civility in Washington."

Wednesday night, one week after Kim declared victory in a Mount Laurel campaign office crowded with supporters, MacArthur said in the statement that he was proud to have represented the district "with honesty and integrity," and that he and wife Debbie's commitment to helping others "has never been defined by politics or elected office."

"I am also a firm believer that good can come out of life's disappointments, and I look forward to what the future holds for us," said MacArthur.

Kim, 36, of Bordentown, had declared victory when he edged ahead by 2,600 votes out of about 295,000 tallied. His margin had grown to 3,427 after all of the mail-in ballots were counted, along with about 1,000 machine ballots that were not delivered by poll workers to election headquarters in Burlington County on election night.

In recent days, Kim had conducted himself as if victory was assured  he has been in Washington this week joining fellow election winners in an orientation for incoming House members.

About 7,000 provisional ballots in the race are still being counted and are expected to determine the official winner in the next couple of days. Some election officials have said Kim's lead would continue even after the count because most of the provisional ballots are from Democratic-leaning Burlington County. The Third District is comprised of the majority of towns in Burlington and some towns in Republican-leaning Ocean County.

MacArthur said in a statement last week that he wanted to wait for the final tally before he would make an announcement. On election night, as his supporters waited for him to speak at his watch party in Toms River, he declined to address the crowd.

MacArthur at one point was seen as a potential Republican candidate for governor or Senate, and early in his congressional career, he focused on crafting a centrist image that fit with the tradition in the moderate South Jersey district.

But as Trump took office and the GOP took control of Congress, MacArthur not only supported Trump's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he forged a compromise with the hard-right Freedom Caucus that helped revive the effort after it appeared dead.

The move thrust MacArthur into the national spotlight. He had a speaking role at a Rose Garden ceremony alongside Trump after the House passed the repeal plan, but it also roused fervent opposition within his district  including from some voters who previously supported him and later became dedicated to his defeat.

MacArthur was the only Republican in the Philadelphia area to back the repeal of the health-care bill, and his deal cost him a leadership slot in the centrist GOP Tuesday Group.

MacArthur later became the only New Jersey lawmaker in either party to support the tax bill, which limited the deduction for state and local taxes  a valuable and popular provision in the Garden State. He negotiated for a cap on the deduction, rather than a full elimination.

In both cases, MacArthur became part of high-level talks in Washington. For someone in just his second term, he enjoyed an outsize role in influencing major legislation and was seen as a deal maker. He argued that by not just offering a blanket "no," he could help shape the bills to make them better.

But the attention brought a backlash and helped power Kim's campaign. Critics accused MacArthur of undermining vital health care safeguards and supporting a tax bill that could cost his constituents.

On Wednesday, the counting of provisional ballots continued into the evening. Ocean County had 2,400 provisional ballots to consider. It disqualified about 20 ballots that were cast by voters who had already submitted a Vote-by-Mail ballot before showing up at the polls. It also debated whether to ask a judge to decide whether 45 provisionals that were brought to headquarters in an unsealed bag should be counted.

In Burlington County, Superintendent of Elections George Kotch sent about 4,500 provisionals to the Board of Elections Wednesday morning after his staff had spent 10- to 13-hour days since Saturday analyzing them to see if they were valid.

Kotch said about 95 percent of the provisionals were deemed eligible to be counted and were stamped "registered voter" in red before they were turned over to the board.

Board Chairman Joseph Dugan said Wednesday that the board would begin its count on Thursday morning.

"We expect to have it done by the end of the day, possibly late into the night," Dugan said.

Staff writer Amy S. Rosenberg contributed to this article.
HARRISBURG  After nearly a decade of being largely shut out of leadership positions, lawmakers from Philadelphia and its suburbs will soon be flexing political muscle in Democratic circles in the state House of Representatives.

On Tuesday, three Philadelphia legislators were elected to leadership spots in the House's Democratic caucus. Rep. Jordan Harris will be the caucus' new whip  the No. 2 leader, whose job is to persuade members to vote on bills important to the party. Rep. Joanna McClinton was chosen to be the caucus chair, and Rep. Rosita Youngblood was reelected to be its secretary.

Rep. Matt Bradford of Montgomery County will be the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, through which all bills requiring approval to spend taxpayer money must pass. He is taking over the spot vacated by retiring Rep. Joe Markosek of Allegheny County.

As expected, Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D., Allegheny) retained the top leadership job in the caucus.

The ascent of the legislators from the southeastern part of the state was notable: For the last six years, the power base of Democratic leaders in the House has been firmly planted in Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh.

(After Tuesday's votes, Allegheny went from holding three of seven Democratic leadership spots to one of seven.)

The new leadership slate elected Tuesday reflects the shift ushered in by midterm election voters: more women and more progressive candidates from the populous Southeast.

Though Democrats still are outnumbered, 110-93, in the House, they netted 11 seats  all from Philadelphia and Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and Delaware Counties. They also gained nine women, the majority from the Southeast.

On the flip side, Republicans in the House lost a number of critical suburban Philadelphia seats, and their caucus will now be more conservative. Only one of the eight GOP leadership positions is held by a legislator in the Southeast: Rep. Marcy Toepel (R., Montgomery), who was reelected caucus chair on Tuesday.

GOP House members also chose Rep. Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) to be the new majority leader. Rep. Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny), a fiscal conservative, was nominated as their choice for speaker  although the speaker position isn't finalized until the new legislative session begins in January, and the full chamber votes on it.

Leadership elections in the state Senate are scheduled for Wednesday.
In this Sept. 24, 2018, a sign posted on a drink cooler in a store gives information about a soda tax that took effect in January, in Seattle. Washington voters last week approved a statewide ballot measure that bans new taxes on soda and other groceries. Seattle's tax remains in effect. Read more

Philadelphia is not the only place where the beverage industry continues to fight local officials and health advocacy groups over taxes on soda.

Last week, voters in Oregon and Washington state had a chance to weigh in. Washington voters approved a ballot measure that bans new taxes on food and beverages, while Oregon voters rejected a similar ban.

Despite the mixed results, the ballot questions demonstrate that the beverage industry has gone on the offensive to prevent cities from taxing their products. Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to pass a tax on soda and other sweetened beverages in 2016  and it's still often cited in fights over similar taxes elsewhere.

Six cities in addition to Philadelphia now tax soda, including Boulder, Colo.; San Francisco; and Seattle. Some recent efforts to oppose such taxes have been successful; Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago, passed and then repealed a tax last year, and California lawmakers passed a law this year that bans new taxes on soda while allowing existing levies to remain in place.

Yet Philadelphia's 1.5 cents-per-ounce levy  which funds pre-K, community schools, and improvements to parks, recreation centers, and libraries  has withstood repeal efforts. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the levy this summer, and a bill introduced in Harrisburg that would have eliminated Philadelphia's beverage tax did not gain enough traction to get to a vote.

Nonetheless, William Dermody, a spokesman for the American Beverage Association, said groups pushing to ban soda taxes use Philadelphia as an example, because the beverage and grocery industries have said that they laid off workers and cut back hours after it went into effect. Mayor Kenney's administration is also watching what happens elsewhere and keeping in touch with other cities that have passed similar taxes.

"We absolutely keep close tabs on beverage tax initiatives in other cities," said city spokesman Mike Dunn. "We do this in part to have a better understanding of the beverage industry's ceaseless and well-funded efforts to undermine such proposals and derail vital programs like pre-K and community schools."

Dunn said the city's Revenue Department also participates in monthly phone calls with other cities that have beverage taxes to discuss regulations and enforcement and attempt to keep similar standards.

Anthony Campisi, a spokesman for the Ax the Philly Bev Tax Coalition, said last week's success in Washington state is a sign of hope.

"We've had a lot of success nationally in either rolling back [soda] taxes or stopping the spread of taxes," he said. "So what happened this past Election Day is heartening for tax opponents here in Pennsylvania."

Campisi declined to comment on the next steps to fight the tax in Philadelphia, but said repeal efforts would continue.

One potential twist: the 2019 mayoral and City Council election. State Sen. Anthony H. Williams, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2015 and opposes the city's beverage tax, said last week that he is thinking about running again. The Kenney campaign responded by accusing Williams of "aligning himself with greedy soda CEOs."
Marty Martinez, left, with other passengers after a jet engine blew out on the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737. Read more

Anna Montie, a passenger aboard Southwest Flight 1380, was watching an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on her laptop when she heard a loud thud.

The plane rocked like it had hit a giant pothole in the sky.

A man behind her screamed.

The takeoff Tuesday had been uneventful, the Boeing jet flying out of New York City's LaGuardia Airport, rising toward 32,500 feet, heading to Love Field in Dallas carrying 144 passengers and a crew of five.

Then the left engine blew apart, firing metal fragments into the plane and punching out a window, passengers said. The two-engine 737 lurched down and hard to the left, its left wing nearly pointing at the ground. Smoke and debris blew in through the hole.

Oxygen masks dropped as the cabin lost pressure. People began to scream. And weep.

"This is bad, like really bad," thought passenger Timothy Bourman, a 37-year-old pastor from New York City.

Some passengers heard the commotion, but couldn't see what was happening:

In Row 14, Jennifer Riordan, 43, had been sucked partially through the now-open window headfirst. Desperate passengers clung to her, trying to drag her back. Riordan, a Wells Fargo bank executive and mother of two, had been making her way home to New Mexico.

Passenger Tim McGinty, in a cowboy hat, wouldn't let go of Riordan, USA Today reported. But he also wasn't able to move her.

Andrew Needum, a firefighter from Celina, Texas, grabbed hold and helped to pull Riordan back inside, this time successfully.

Blood was everywhere. A flight attendant started to cry.

Needum and passenger Peggy Phillips, a retired nurse from Dallas, pulled off their oxygen masks and began performing CPR on Riordan.

"It just wasn't going to be enough," Phillips later told the newspaper.

Montie, 23, who was heading home to Dallas, sat three rows in front of the shattered window. She knew her life was over.

"I wasn't praying for the plane to land safely. We were past that. I was praying to be accepted into heaven." Anna Montie, passenger

"I wasn't praying for the plane to land safely," she said by phone. "We were past that. I was praying to be accepted into heaven."

It was so loud inside the plane, like white noise on steroids. The cabin smelled like fire. A woman two rows in front of Montie was becoming hysterical. A crew member grabbed her: "Look at me," she told the woman. "You are going to be fine. I promise you."

Montie thought of her mother's face  and how it would look when she learned her daughter was dead. She thought of her friends attending her funeral. And of her nephew, not yet 2, who would never know her.

In the cockpit, multiple alerts and warnings sounded around the pilot, Tammie Jo Shults.

As one of the Navy's first female fighter pilots, she had served in a tactical electronic warfare squadron out of Point Mugu, Calif., that helped train ship crews to respond to Soviet missile threats.

Now, she talked to air traffic control about what was happening inside on the plane and to prepare for an emergency landing.

Her tone was as calm and flat as a pond.

No one yet knew it, but the No. 13 fan blade  out of 24 total  had separated from the hub at the base. Investigators would find evidence of metal fatigue.

Falling to Earth

Now parts of its broken engine were falling to Earth. Investigators would find a cowl, a piece that surrounds the engine, in Berks County, about 70 miles north of Philadelphia.

Kathy Farnan, 77, had been looking forward to getting home to the high desert of Santa Fe, N.M.  the name means "Holy Faith"  as she sat on the aisle in Row Three. As the extent of the danger became clear, Farnan stayed calm. She held the hand of a younger woman in the next seat, trying to reassure her.

A passenger stood with his lower back pressed against the jagged window. It made no difference, but the pressure inside and outside soon equalized.

You do not panic. You are trained for this.

No transcript has been released that describes Shults' first steps after the explosion. But Robert Hulse, a retired Continental Airlines pilot and former Navy pilot, has lost engines twice before. He explained by phone: Both pilot and co-pilot would have felt a jolt, then automatically checked their dials.

"You do not panic. You are trained for this."

The priority, he said, is to get the plane level, contact air-traffic control, and divert to an airport.

On board, three rows in front of the missing window, Jim Demetros texted his wife, Cindy, in Stamford, Conn:

"There was an emergency, problems with the plane, and I love you and the kids."

Matt Tranchin, 34, of Dallas, carefully considered what would be his last words to his wife, pregnant with their first child, and to his parents.

The simplest phrasing seemed best. He told them goodbye, and that he loved them.

For those on board the peril would play out for what felt like hours.

Only that morning, passenger Marty Martinez, 29, had taken to Facebook to celebrate the contacts he'd made on a quick business trip and how that would help Social Revolt, his Dallas-based digital marketing agency.

"I'd say this 24-hour trip to NYC was successful," he wrote at 10:33 a.m.

At 11:03, the plane was cruising at 32,580 feet when the engine came apart. One minute later, it had dropped to 29,300. Two minutes later, at 11:06, it was at 21,500 feet.

The yellow cup of an oxygen mask covering his mouth, Martinez took out his cellphone, purchased WiFi service, and went live on Facebook  certain this was the end.

"Something is wrong with our plane!" he typed. "It appears we are going down! Emergency landing!! Southwest flight from NYC to Dallas!!"

A grainy, intermittent Facebook video shows him looking stricken.

At 11:14, with the plane now diverting to Philadelphia, air traffic control and the pilot talked out what was happening:

ATC: Southwest 1380, you'll be landing 2 7 left, 2 7 left today, and you just let me know when you need to turn base. Right now, I only have one person in front of you, which is a Southwest, but I'm sure he'll pull off if you need to go right in.

Shults: OK.

A minute later:

ATC: Southwest 1380, I understand your emergency. Let me know when you want to go in.

Shults: Yeah, we have, uh, part of the aircraft missing, so we're going to need to slow down a bit.

ATC: Southwest 1380, speed is your discretion. Maintain any altitude above 3,000 feet, and you let me know when you want to turn base.

Shults: All right, down to 3,000 [inaudible].

ATC: Absolutely, you just let me know anything you need.

At 11:16:

ATC: Southwest 1380, turn, uh, just turn southbound there. Start looking for the airport, it's off to your right and slightly behind you there and, uh, altitude is your discretion.

At 11:17:

Shults: OK, could you have the medical meet us there on the runway as well? We've got, uh, injured passengers.

ATC: Injured passengers, OK. And are you  is your airplane physically on fire?

Shults: No, it's not on fire, but part of it's missing.  They said there was a hole and, uh, someone went out."

The controller's voice catches for a half-second.

ATC: Um, I'm sorry, you said there was a hole and somebody went out?  So the airport's just off to your right, report it in sight, please.

Shults: Southwest 1380, airport's in sight.

The cabin was now largely silent. Everyone wore oxygen masks.

Flight attendants ordered passengers to brace for impact. People could see water below.

We are almost there

"Everybody breathe!" a crew member yelled, in a video posted by a passenger. "We are almost landing. Everybody breathe. We are almost there."

The plane, shaking hard, rushed toward the runway. "Brace! Brace!" some shouted. Others hollered encouragement.

Over the sound system: "Heads down! Stay down!"

The plane came in fast, about 165 knots, or 190 mph, instead of the typical 135 knots. The wheels touched and rolled. Emergency vehicles surrounded the aircraft. Riordan, the Albuquerque bank executive, would soon be pronounced dead  killed, according to the Philadelphia medical examiner, by "blunt impact trauma of the head, neck, and torso."

Others were treated for minor injuries.

"I didn't even feel the landing," Montie said. "I heard someone clapping, and I looked up and we were on a tarmac."

She immediately called her mother.

"Where are you?" her mother asked.

"I don't know," Montie responded. "But we're fine. That's the thing. We're fine."

Staff writers Mari A. Schaefer, Jan Hefler, Erin McCarthy, Jason Laughlin, and Tauhid Chappell contributed to this article.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has attracted national attention for his policy changes. His office's new strategy for homicide prosecutions may make him a darling with progressives, my colleagues Samantha Melamed and Chris Palmer report this morning, but it's not popular with everyone. Elsewhere in Philly's justice system, former City Representative Desiree Peterkin Bell is facing public corruption charges for use of the Mayor's Fund  more on that below. Plus, we also have news this morning on the Philadelphia Archdiocese's fund for sex abuse victims.

Reading this online? Sign up here to get this newsletter delivered to your inbox every morning.

 Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)

 READ MORE: When is killing murder? Philly DA Larry Krasner rethinks homicide prosecutions

District Attorney Larry Krasner has a different approach to prosecuting homicides than his predecessor.

In the past, Krasner said, "It was essentially 'How high a charge can we get away with?' " But his new approach  which isn't all too popular with victims' relatives  is to proceed on charges he thinks the evidence supports.

Krasner's "Do Not Call List" of tainted cops kept from testifying in court has also proved unpopular with certain groups. The Philadelphia Police officers' union is suing Mayor Kenney, Krasner, and Police Commissioner Richard Ross over it.

 READ MORE: Public corruption charges for former City Rep Desiree Peterkin Bell

Former City Representative Desiree Peterkin Bell is facing a half-dozen state felony corruption charges and stands accused of misusing nearly $250,000 in public money.

Peterkin Bell, a member of Mayor Michael Nutter's cabinet, would face up to 35 years in prison if found guilty of all charges.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday that Peterkin Bell used money from the Mayor's Fund, a nonprofit that has come under scrutiny in recent years, to "fund her own lavish lifestyle."

 READ MORE: Philadelphia Archdiocese opens claims process for sex abuse victims compensation fund

Earlier this month, several of Pennsylvania's Catholic archdioceses announced plans to financially compensate victims of clergy sex abuse whose claims are too old to be taken to court.

Tuesday the Archdiocese of Philadelphia opened its claims process and announced the compensation fund will not put a cap on payouts to victims.

Meanwhile, a conference of the nation's Catholic bishops has agreed they need to do something to increase accountability among their ranks. But so far, there's no consensus about what that should look like.

What you need to know today

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Who can resist Philly's historic charm? Glad you didn't, @positivemag1.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we'll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

Thats Interesting

Opinions

"Some supporters of Fair Workweek legislation have tried to demonize anyone who quibbles with specifics of the law. Instead of arguing, we'd prefer to work together to enact legislation that is fair for everyone."  Melissa Bova, vice president of Government Affairs for the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, on the  Melissa Bova, vice president of Government Affairs for the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, on the business community's support of Fair Workweek initiatives.

Christopher "Flood the Drummer" Norris, an award-winning journalist and CEO of Techbook Online, writes that a productive meeting between Mayor Kenney and South Philadelphia residents was a glimmer of hope that the city can move the needle on poverty, and thus on gun violence.

Congressional Republicans who won elections in suburban districts would do well to engage with LGBT groups like Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick did in Bucks County, writes Philly-based political consultant Albert Eisenberg.

What were reading

Your Daily Dose of | Shifting Tides

After a few years of rough seas, the Independence Seaport Museum is turning the ship around with a new $5 million exhibit about the Delaware River.
Frieda Lefeber, 103, of Wynnewood, a Holocaust survivor, registered nurse, and painter who attributed her long life to staying active, died Monday, Nov. 5, at her daughter's home in Penn Valley.

Mrs. Lefeber was born in 1915 to a Jewish family in Wissek, a city now in Poland that was then part of Germany. She was training at the Nursing School in the Jewish Hospital of Berlin when world events intervened.

In November 1938, a 23-year-old Frieda Graumann witnessed Germany's Kristallnacht  the night of broken glass  when the Nazis vandalized Jewish shops, homes and schools, burned synagogues, and murdered nearly 100 Jews.

"They beat the people up on the street, and we got them" in the hospital," she said in 1996. Uninjured Jews were hidden there. They were told to "lie down and don't move" so they would not be taken to concentration camps.

She immigrated to the United States on a working visa in April 1939.

"I was one of the last nurses to get out of Germany," she said. "All I had was my little valise and $4."

She worked as a nurse in New York before joining the Coast Guard in 1946. Deployed as a nurse on a minesweeper in the Mediterranean Sea, she was reunited with what was left of her family who had fled Europe for what was then Palestine.

The meeting was bittersweet. She had lost 15 close relatives in the Holocaust. Despite that, she remained positive.

"I keep busy every hour of the day," she once told a TV interviewer. "I don't baby myself. I think it's foolish."

She attributed her positive attitude to staying so active that she wouldn't have time to think bad thoughts.

In 1948, she married Hans Lefeber, her boyfriend from prewar Germany. The couple moved to New York and then Morristown, in North Jersey. They had a daughter. For the next three decades, she worked as an electrologist with businesses in New York, Morristown, and Philadelphia. She commuted to Philadelphia on weekends starting in 1986 and moved here in 1991.

That same year, Mrs. Lefeber decided to learn painting. She began art classes at Rosemont College at age 76 and earned a certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1998 at age 83. She took classes at the Barnes Foundation and enrolled for a time in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Her portfolio contains over 300 works of art, mostly oil paintings, which she debuted in a solo art show at age 100 at Rosemont College. Some were landscapes painted while abroad. She won the 1998 Arco Chemical Purchase Prize and the Mable Woodrow Wilson Award.

In 2001, she began writing, which she found therapeutic. In October 2003, Frieda's Journey was published by Xlibris Corp.

"Writing this book has given me a better understanding of how things happen to you and how your overcome your challenges," she told the Morristown Daily Record in 2004.

Mrs. Lefeber educated the public about the Holocaust. She spoke at places of worship and universities and offered herself as an example of someone who had forgiven her persecutors.

According to family, when asked about losing her relatives in the Holocaust, she said: "I have never been resentful, I can't hate people, even if they hurt me. I am not made that way."

"She advocated for a culture of education and acceptance, believing that knowledge of other religions could diminish the hatred that she witnessed," her family said.

Mrs. Lefeber's 2014 oral history, on file at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, can be heard at https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn84822.

Later, Mrs. Lefeber learned Hebrew and studied the Torah. She was a member of Main Line Reform Synagogue, Congregation Rodeph Shalom, and Har Zion Synagogue.

She was a member of the International Women's Club and donated generously to ORT, a nonprofit that fosters education and Hadassah.

She enjoyed attending the Walnut Street Theatre and visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Mrs. Lefeber's husband died in 1975. She is survived by a daughter, Hope; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were Wednesday, Nov. 7.

Contributions may be made to the U.S. Holocaust Museum at https://donate.ushmm.org/6hRw6kqugUOvJLNKCIbD1g2 or the Main Line Home Care & Hospice Foundation at https://www.mainlinehealth.org/ways-to-give/homecare-and-hospice-foundation
Coun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs

07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0)

Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na...
NEW YORK: Donald Trump  the outspoken US President - is being trolled on the social media for calling Diwali a "holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains" and not mentioning the Hindus in his tweet concerning the festival of lights.

Donald Trump's tweet on Diwali triggered a storm on Twitter with users slamming the US President for not mentioning the Hindu community members who celebrate this festival with great fervour and gaiety.

The Twitter community also slammed the US President for omitting Hindus in his first tweet, then deleting it and then re-tweeting it again mentioning the community this time.

''Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year,'' Trump said in the first tweet.

Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year. https://t.co/epHogpTY1A pic.twitter.com/9LUwnhngWJ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

However, in another tweet though, Trump said, "It was my great honour to host a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in the Roosevelt Room at the @WhiteHouse this afternoon. Very, very special people!"

It was my great honor to host a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in the Roosevelt Room at the @WhiteHouse this afternoon. Very, very special people! https://t.co/kQk7IvpSFo pic.twitter.com/tYlBABg4JF  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

The US President had started his speech kicking off grand Diwali celebrations at the White House on Tuesday mentioning Hinduism.

But the problem apparently began as his first tweet, which was not in sync with the US President's prepared speech, appeared on Twitter and then deleted and reposted.

After telling people assembled for the celebration, they were a "very impressive group; now I know you are very important, very impressive", Trump read out from his prepared text, "I am thrilled to be here for the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights and I am honoured to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House."

Then veering off his text, he added, "Very, very special people."

However, during his Diwali speech, Trump made a brief mention of the raging wildfire in California, which has so far claimed the lives of at least 40 people, thanked the firefighters and offered support to the victims.

He then picked up his Diwali speech, and continued by saying, "We are gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains throughout the US and around the world."

The users on social media immediately responded to Trump's tweets and trolled him for committing the gaffe.

The issue was also picked by the Time magazine and HuffPost.
COLOMBO: In a huge blow to President Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan Parliament voted against the newly-appointed government led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a landmark vote on Wednesday.

The Parliament has approved a no-trust vote against Prime Minister Rajapaksa, Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya said in the House.

"According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority," Jayasuriya said amid protests from Rajapaksa supporters.

On Tuesday, the island nation's Supreme Court had overturned President Maithripala Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament and ordered a halt to preparations for snap elections on January 5.

A three-member bench including the country's chief justice Nalin Perera delivered its ruling after two days of deliberations on as many as 13 petitions against and five for Sirisena's November 9 decision to dissolve Parliament.

All petitions filed against Sirisena's decision will now be heard on December 4, 5 and 6, the apex court ruled.

The petitioners included a member of the independent election commission Ratnajeevan Hoole.

President Sirisena had dissolved the Parliament and ordered snap polls on January 5, plunging the country's into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises since October 26 when he sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa.
NEW DELHI: The two main Congress faces in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, will both contest the upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan. Gehlot made the announcement at a press conference at Congress headquarters in Delhi.

Both the Congress leaders are top contenders for the Chief Ministerial post if the party comes to power in the state. But with a strong backing for both Gehlot and Pilot, the Congress is unlikely to announce a CM face ahead of the polls. When asked about the same, Gehlot said such an announcement had never been done in Rajasthan.

Gehlot also rubbished reports of a rift in the Congress and termed it as false news. "We are all united. It is BJP's conspiracy to spread false news that the Congress is divided," he said.

The party is banking heavily on the anti-incumbency factor against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia in the state. Pilot attacked Vasundhara saying she had betrayed the trust of the people of the state. He also said that the tension was evident in the BJP camp with many senior leaders sidelined and not given tickets, showing that "all is not well".

In the same press conference, the BJP received a setback after its Member of Parliament from Dausa, Harish Meena, joined the Congress party. BJP MLA from Nagaur, Habibur Rahaman Ashrafi Lamba also joined the grand old party on Wednesday.

Rajasthan is scheduled to go to polls on December 7. The last date for filing nominations in the state is November 19. The counting of votes will take place on December 11.
HYDEBARAD: Congress on Wednesday released a list of 10 candidates for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections. The party had earlier released a list of 65 candidates on Monday.

The list comes amid opposition from party members over the distribution of tickets in the state. Many party workers in the state had protested at the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) headquarters - Gandhi Bhawan - on Monday against the manner in which the tickets were being distributed for the elections that are due to be held in the state next month.

INC COMMUNIQUE Announcement of second list of Congress candidates for the ensuing elections to Legislative Assembly of Telangana. pic.twitter.com/Wi2Y0XwUcK  INC Sandesh (@INCSandesh) November 14, 2018

The disgruntled leaders and their supporters had climbed trees to make their voices heard and urged Congress high command to give tickets to leaders who have worked hard for the party's progress.

The Congress has teamed up with TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) to form a "grand alliance" for the upcoming polls. It has allotted 14 seats to Telugu Desam Party (TDP), eight to Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and three to Communist Party of India (CPI). However, the CPI has been pushing for at least five seats, though it said it would remain in the alliance.

"From one seat, only one person will get the ticket. Ability to win the election is the only criteria for giving tickets. In some cases, the party has to give seats to the alliance partners. As a result, some leaders are agitations. Many of them were called to Delhi and were counseled not to accept the party decision," TPCC spokesperson Gudur Narayan had said amid agitation.

"However, each and every competent leader will get some responsibility once the government is formed. It is very sad that some people, who have really worked hard, have been deprived of a chance to contest the polls. These leaders will be taken care of in a big way," he said.

The election to the 119-member assembly of Telangana is scheduled to be held on December 7. The counting of votes will take place on December 11.
Bhilai: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being arrogant, adding the latter "doesn't understand that India has progressed due to the sweat and blood of the common man".

Addressing a campaign rally here for the second phase of Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Gandhi said the country can't be run by a single person or a party.

"The common citizens have given their sweat and blood for the development of the country. The prime minister doesn't seem to understand this because he is arrogant," he told the gathering.

"When Modi spoke from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi that before he became the prime minister in 2014, the elephant (India) was sleeping, he was insulting people of the country," Gandhi said.

"By making such comments, he has insulted you, the workers of Bhilai steel plant who have worked here since 1955," Gandhi said.

Gandhi spoke of "two Indias coexisting", saying "One India is of the rich: Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and another India is of common people like you and me - farmers and labourers. We don't want this. We have one 'tiranga' (national tricolour) and the country should also be one," he said.

"If the rich are given benefits, the common people should also get the same. If you don't want to waive loans of farmers, you should not do so for the rich as well. For a handful of rich whose NPAs total Rs 12 lakh crore, Rs 3.5 lakh crore have been waived off," he said.

Targeting Modi, Gandhi asked the audience to question him when he visits them next. "On my behalf, ask Modiji why doesn't he speak of the promises he made in 2014 about depositing Rs 15 lakh in your bank accounts, about giving employment to two crore people, fair price for farmers produce and about being the 'chowkidar' of the country," he said.

Modi did 'chowkidari' of Anil Ambani and made crores of honest ordinary citizens stand in queues outside banks, he said. "Rs 30,000 crore was given to Ambani in the Rafale deal. This is the truth of the 'chowkidar", Gandhi said.
In a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly elections, partys Member of Parliament from Dausa, Harish Meena, on Wednesday joined the Congress party. BJP MLA from Nagaur, Habibur Rahaman Ashrafi Lamba also joined the grand old party on Wednesday

The two BJP leaders joined the Congress party in the presence of former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in the national capital.

The fresh setback for the ruling party comes just days after party MLA Surendra Goyal resigned from the primary membership of the party.

Another BJP leader, Hanuman Beniwal, had last month parted ways with the saffron party, following which he launched his own political front  Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP). He had said that his party, along with other like-minded ones would emerge as the alternative to the BJP and the Congress.

Earlier in October, the BJP had suffered a massive setback with former Union minister Jaswant Singhs son Manvendra Singh joining the Congress. An MLA from Sheo in Barmer, Manvendra Singh had announced in September that he was quitting the BJP. "Kamal ka Phool Badi Bhool", he had said then, claiming that going with the BJP's election symbol, the lotus, was a "big mistake".

Rajasthan is scheduled to go to polls on December 7. The last date for filing nominations in the state is November 19. The counting of votes will take place on December 11.
New Delhi: Actress Yami Gautam, who will next be seen in the upcoming film "Uri", says there is a need for stories of more stronger women on the silver screen.

Yami is excited to be a part of a real-life story based on the armed forces. So much so, that it instantly inspired her to hope to bring forth stories of women who have been trailblazers and pioneers in the armed forces in India.

"With the way content is evolving and such compelling stories coming out, there`s a great need for stories of more stronger women. Some amazingly strong powerful women characters have been seen in recent films," Yami said in a statement.

The 29-year-old actress is inspired by two women Punita Arora, the first woman in India to attain the rank of Lt. Genaral in the Indian Army and Priya Jhingan who wrote a letter to the then Army Chief in 1992 to be accepted as a woman in the armed forces and a year later she was, becoming the first Indian woman to have joined the Army.

Yami said that when she was shooting for "Uri", she was very intrigued largely with the stories of personnel from the armed forces.

She said: "It truly does make me wonder if stories of women from such background is something that could make for compelling stories. We have incredible women heroes from the army, navy who have done incredible acts in their careers.

"I think these stories must be done and Uri has really been a reason to bring forth such a thought to me."

"Uri" also stars Vicky Kaushal, who will be seen playing the role of an Indian commando who is involved in the 2016 surgical strikes.

Based on the surgical strikes of 2016 carried out by the Indian Armed Forces, "Uri" traces the significant event.

It also features Kirti Kulhari and Paresh Rawal in lead roles. Produced by RSVP movies, "Uri" will hit the theatres on January 11, 2019.
Mumbai: The reunion of 'Golmaal' cast with filmmaker Rohit Shetty for his next venture "Simmba" was so much familiar fun that actor Arshad Warsi says the film's lead pair Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan looked out of place.

Ranveer recently uploaded a video on Instagram where him and Sara are seen performing with the "Golmaal" team -- Arshad, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Kemmu, who all are making cameos in the new film.

Arshad says the atmosphere on set was such that the team could have easily shot the next "Golmaal" instalment.

"It was so much fun. It feet the same, the energy was same. If someone told us the next day you have to shoot for 'Golmaal 5', we could've done that. We are all very familiar with the entire crew so it felt like home. The fun part or the interesting part was interacting with Ranveer," Arshad told PTI.

The "Munna Bhai" actor says Ranveer's energy and dedication to his craft is "insane."

"I really love him, what a guy! He is complete mad and his passion for work is insane. His combination with Rohit will be very nice. They'll be so good together. Even Sara was really sweet," he adds.

Arshad says the "Golmaal" team felt at home when they shot for the scene.

"While we were shooting, more than us, they looked out of place there in their own film! We were all familiar with the unit so they, because they are the new lot, were looking at us! But it was damn fun. 'Simmba' will be good a film, it has some crazy action," he says.

Arshad will be next seen in "Bhaiaji Superhit", which features Sunny Deol and Priety Zinta. The actor says it's extremely important to have the right co-stars and crew as everything can fall flat.

"Sunny's politeness and goodness has stayed with me. He is so calm when it comes to work. It's right to have the right co-stars, it's extremely important your cast and crew is nice because you'll be spending so much time. If you don't have the right people around you, it's going to be a tough ride," he adds.

The film is scheduled to release on November 23.
Ranveer Singh upcoming action-masala film 'Simmba is one of the most awaited clicks of this year. The movie has been helmed by Rohit Shetty, who is one of Bollywood's best action movie directors, and will see Saif Ali Khans daughter Sara Ali Khan making her debut on the big screen.

Sara will be seen romancing Ranveer in 'Simmba', which will be her second film. 'Simmba' has been in the news ever since its incpetion. However, going by a DNA report, the film has landed itself in a legal trouble after the Delhi High Court sought Rohit Shetty Picturez' response to a plea alleging that the film infringes the trademark of a beverage company.

Justice Pratibha M Singh has asked the production house to respond to the notice sent by the Chhattisgarh-based beverage company and made it clear that if they dont respond to the notice, then the matter will be presented before the court on December 4.

"It has also been impressed upon the counsel for the defendant (Rohit Shetty Picturez) that the defendant ought to respond to the plaintiff's notice and also explore the possibility of an arrangement being entered into, failing which, on the next date, the matter will be heard," the court said in its order.

The beverage company has alleged that the film, which is set to release on December 28, has used their registered trademark 'Simba', used for wide variety of products including beers, mineral and aerated water and other non-alcoholic drinks.

We are waiting for a response from Rohit and his production house on the matter.

Coming to Ranveer, the actor is currently in Italy and is set to walk the aisle with his ladylove Deepika Padukone, whom he has been in a relationship for six years.
Mumbai: Cash-strapped Jet Airways Tuesday said it is at various stages of discussions with multiple "interested parties" for capital infusion and partial stake sale in its loyalty programme Jet Privilege.

The Naresh Goyal-run airline is looking for investors to tide over the liquidity crisis, which has resulted in delayed payments to some vendors and salaries to a section of its over 16,000 employees.

"We are working towards various liquidity initiates to

Bridge the gap. We have engaged the services of experts to help in the turnaround plan and enhance liquidity," deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Amit Agarwal told analysts in a post-earnings concall Tuesday.

These measures include sale of aircraft, monetization of its stake in Jet Privilege and fresh equity infusion, the official added.

"We are actively pursuing both the transactions and are currently at various stages of discussions with multiple interested parties for both part stake sale in Jet Privilege and fresh inclusion of equity into the airline," Agarwal said.

He said the company has hired investment bankers and consulting firms to carry out these tasks, adding, "six wide- body Boeing 777s have already been put on sale."

On Monday, the airline reported its third consecutive quarterly loss at Rs 1,261 crore in three months to September, roiled by higher fuel cost that soared 59 percent, a steep rupee fall that led to a seven-fold spike in forex loss as well as airline's inability to increase fares in the face of excess capacity and stiff competition.

Airlines are battling for market share over profitability by dumping capacity into the market at unprecedented levels enabled by fare regimes that are unsustainable, chief executive officer Vinay Dube said.

"The rupee fell by about 10 percent during the quarter over the same period last year while Brent jumped almost 50 percent. However, instead of witnessing an increase in fares to recover cost, the industry fares and yields are in fact down," he said.

Such a low fare regime is not sustainable for either the industry or the consumer in the medium-term, he said adding, "it is imperative that fares rise in the short-term."

Agarwal admitted that the airline has delayed payment to vendors and a section of the employees, but quickly added that it is current on payment obligations to banks, fuel companies and airport operators as well as statutory dues.

Acknowledging that the employees are not happy with salary delays, Dube said, "almost 15 percent employees have not been receiving their salaries on time and I am sure they are less than happy. But let me add that our employees are extremely committed and dedicated."

Net debt during the quarter rose by Rs 690 crore to Rs 8,052 crore over the June quarter, while gross debt came down by Rs 200 crore to Rs 8,411 crore from what it was in the year-ago period, Agarwal said, adding 60 percent of debt is dollar-denominated.

"Since a large part of the debt is dollar-denominated, the rupee depreciation has impacted our closing debt balance by Rs 530 crore," he added.

Despite heavy loss, the airline counter rallied 5.21 percent at Rs 254.65 on the BSE while the index gained 0.95 percent.
Mumbai: The Ministry of Corporate Affair's western region director had raised questions on some of the grounds Registrar of Companies (RoC) used to declare that the sacking of Cyrus P Mistry as chairman and director of Tata Sons and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) violated Companies Act and RBI rules, according to an RTI reply.

In response to a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry Group, which is the single largest shareholder of Tata Sons with 18.4 percent shareholding, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs last month furnished two letters - a January 25, 2017 letter of the RoC, Mumbai and a February 17, 2017 letter from the Office of the Regional Director, Western Region of the ministry.

Responding to the observation of RoC, Mumbai on the procedural aspects like documents submitted or the signing authority, in removing Mistry as chairman and director of TCS, the Regional Director, Western Region, Ministry of Company Affairs -- the senior reporting authority, raised doubts on the efficacy of the findings.

A spokesperson for the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group stated, "The RoC having identified the gross violations, had referred the matter to the Regional Director under Regulation 11(2) of the Companies (Registration Office and Fees) Rules, 2014. Under these rules, it was incumbent upon the RD to provide an opportunity to the Director so removed (in this case, Mr. Mistry) to be heard in the matter and to seek his views with respect to such removal. However, in the present case that has not been done.

"The NCLT did not have the benefit of these documents before it passed its order. In any event, these documents are now placed on record before the Hon'ble NCLAT. We are confident that justice will prevail."

According to the RTI response, the Regional Director (Western Region) asked RoC, Mumbai if a similar standard was followed or prescribed by RoC in all other cases of removal of directors.

It also asked RoC to furnish a list of companies where directors were removed under the Companies Act, 2013 and the details of documents furnished/called for in such cases.

In addition, the Regional Director questioned RoC on whether as per law, many documents which were not annexed to the Form DIR 12 filed by TCS pursuant to the removal of Mistry as director, were mandatorily required to be annexed. If not mandatory, whether RoC can insist on the same, it asked.

As per law, Form No. DIR-12 is to be filed with the Registrar within 30 days of the appointment/removal of a director.

According to the letter furnished in the RTI reply, RoC cited not sending of representation made by Mistry against his sacking to all shareholders but instead making it available for inspection at the company office as a violation of the Companies Act.

Other violations, according to it, were that the Special Notice for the sacking was not "properly authenticated". Also that the Article of Association of Tata Sons prescribed process of removal of the Chairman and that such a removal required prior approval of RBI as Tata Sons was registered as a non-banking finance company.

A Mumbai-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in July this year dismissed a petition by Mistry who had alleged oppression of minority shareholders and mismanagement.

NCLT ruled that the board of directors is competent to dismiss executive chairman, adding that Mistry's conduct does not augur well for the smooth functioning of the group.

Mistry, who was ousted from the board of Tata Sons after a four-year stint in October 2016, claimed in his petition to NCLT in December 2016 that he was illegally removed as chairman of the software-to-salt conglomerate. He has challenged the NCLT order in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

The RTI query was filed more than a month after the NCLT verdict, on August 31, 2018 and the reply was submitted to the applicant on October 3.

Tatas had vehemently denied any violation when the contents of the RoC letter revealed in the RTI were reported late last month.

Tata Sons had said all the requisite processes under the Companies Act were followed in removing Mistry as the group chairman and also from the board of TCS.

"The respective board of directors acted as per the provision of the Companies Act as well as in compliance of the articles of association of the company. This was subsequently approved by both the shareholders of Tata Sons and TCS the NCLT has also confirmed that the process followed for removal of Mistry was valid and accordance with law," a Tata Sons spokesman had said. "All requisite processes were followed in line with the Companies Act in case of Mistry's removal from the board of TCS as also as the chairman of TCS and Tata Sons."
New Delhi: In a massive crackdown on Amrapali Group for "wilful disobedience" of its orders, the Supreme Court on Tuesday attached the company's 100-bed multi-speciality hospital, bank accounts, the building which houses its office, certain firms and a "benami" Villa in Goa.

The top court asked the Chief Financial Officer Chander Wadhwa to deposit Rs 11.69 crore with its registry within three weeks. It also asked a statutory auditor Anil Mittal to pay Rs 47 lakh.

It restrained the realty firm from alienating its companies through which it had transactions and ordered attachment of such firms.

It also restrained Amrapali Group from creating any third party rights for 86 luxury cars and SUVs purchased from the company's funds.

The court sought the presence of CMD Anil Sharma and two directors Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar on November 19.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit said that Amrapali Group has deliberately not complied with its earlier order and committed a "serious fraud" by diverting home-buyers' money from one company to other.

The bench ordered that attachment of the group's state-of-the-art, multi-speciality, 100-bed hospital situated at Greater Noida for which funds from Ultra Home Construction Pvt Ltd were utilised.

The bench also attached the bank accounts of GauriSuta Infrastructures Pvt Ltd, its director Sunil Kumar and its assets after forensic auditors disclosed that Amrapali transferred home-buyers' money from one firm to sister companies using it as conduit.

The top court also directed attachment of towers which housed the company's office and 'Aqua Fortis' villa in Goa for no one came forward to claim ownership.

Forensic auditors Pawan Kumar Aggarwal and Ravi Bhatia, appointed by the court to look into the affairs of embattled firm, said that home-buyers' money was given as advances to the tune of Rs 442 crore to 15 companies and nine individuals from Amrapali Saphire project.

The report of forensic auditors said that Amrapali Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was the main company and around Rs 2,000 crore were transferred from it to other sister companies.

Bhatia told the bench that a firm called 'Stunning Construction Pvt Ltd' did some "stunning work" as it paid income tax returns of the companies as well as directors and other individuals, for which it received Rs 500 crore.

The bench then asked the forensic auditors to ascertain the investment of Amrapali in its projects and the "ghost" home buyers as the properties could have been sold to such benami persons to augment the value of company.

"They have created web of companies since 2010 to transfer funds from one project to another to circumvent the restrictions enforced in the Company's Act," the auditors told the bench, adding that promoters have also tried to avoid stamp duty by transferring the high value property to other company.

Aggarwal said that in the forensic audit they have found transactions of the Group with other 27 "dummy companies" and since last year the promoters of Amrapali have started withdrawing money from bank accounts of such companies.

The court also pulled up the Group for filling 3000-4000 page affidavit with no requisite information and warned that directors may be sent behind bars for not disclosing the details sought by the court.

"We are giving one last opportunity to explain everything to the concerned directors and the Amrapali Group and comply with the orders of the court. It should also be explained as why contempt action should not be initiated against them," the bench said.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on November 20.

On October 31, the apex court had directed the Amrapali Group to disclose the names of all the companies with which it had any kind of transactions after forensic auditors pointed out that there may be a web of more than 200-250 such firms where home-buyers' money was transferred.

The two forensic auditors, appointed by the court to look into the affairs of Amrapali Group had said besides 47 sister companies, they stumbled upon 31 companies whose names were never disclosed by the embattled real estate firm.

The court was also told that there may be a case of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), as large amount of money was transferred to a multinational company based in Mauritius.

It questioned Wadhwa as to how a group company paid his Income Tax amounting to Rs 2 crore, when he was earning only Rs 50,000 per month.

It had also initiated contempt proceedings against Sharma and its directors for prima facie violating court's order and thwarting the course of justice. The matter is listed on November 20.

The court is seized of a batch of petitions filed by home buyers who are seeking possession of around 42,000 flats booked in projects of the Amrapali Group.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday delivered the keynote address at the Fintech Festival in Singapore. Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi urged investors to venture in to the Indian market, saying, I say this to all the fintech companies and startups  India is your best destination.

Explaining the role of his government in ensuring financial inclusion for all India, the Prime Minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government provided a solid foundation.

My government came to office in 2014 with a mission of inclusive development that would change the lives of every citizen, even the weakest in the remotest village. That mission needed a solid foundation of financial inclusion for all  a task that wasn't easy in a country of India's size, said Prime Minister Modi.

Honoured to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival. Watch my speech. https://t.co/HtlY1xmjLP  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

He added that his government launched the Jan Dhan Yojana, which connected even the poorest to banks, giving them more financial security and opportunity.

The Prime Minister also referred to Aadhaar in this regard, saying, Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities - Aadhaar, in just a few years.

Modi lauded the role of technology in transformation of global economy. He said that technology defined competitiveness and power in the new world.

We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives, said the Prime Minister.

We see inspiring stories of extraordinary innovation changing ordinary lives. But, there is much to be done. Our focus should be on development for all through development of the marginalised, he added.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Modi also launched APIX, an online global fintech marketplace, which is aimed at benefitting those without bank accounts.
NEW DELHI: Amid an ongoing war between the ruling BJP and the main Opposition party Congress over the controversial Rafale deal, the Supreme Court is set to examine on Wednesday the sensitive pricing details of the 36 Rafale fighter jets submitted by the Centre in a sealed cover.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph will hold a crucial hearing in the case during which the petitioners, who have sought a court-monitored investigation into the deal, will also make submissions.

The Narendra Modi government had on Monday handed over a 14-page document titled "Details of the steps in the decision-making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order" to the petitioners in the case.

The government had also filed in the court the pricing details of the 36 Rafale jets in a sealed cover.

The petitioners are likely to respond to the contents of the documents in which it has been stated by the government that the deal for 36 Rafale jets was negotiated on "better terms" and the Defence Procurement Procedure laid out in 2013 were "completely followed".

In its submission to the top court, the Centre also stated that the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was secured before the deal was inked with France.

The details of the decision-making process and pricing were placed in the court in compliance with its October 31 order.

India signed a defence agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment.

The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

The petitions seeking the probe in the Rafale deal were first filed by advocates Manohar Lal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda.

Later, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had also filed a petition.

Former union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan had also filed a joint petition in the apex court.

In a fresh twist to the Rafale row, Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Trappier had on Tuesday categorically rubbished kickback allegations made by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

"I don't lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I don't have a reputation for lying. In my position as CEO, you don't lie," Trappier said when asked to respond to Rahul Gandhi's charge that Dassault was covering up for possible cronyism in awarding the offset deal to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

Rahul Gandhi had earlier alleged that the Dassault CEO lied about the details of the Dassault- Reliance Joint Venture (JV) for offset contracts in the Rafale fighter Jet deal.

Trappier further said that that the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get the first delivery of Rafale fighter jets in September 2019 as per the contract.

The Dassault top executive said that ''the delivery is totally in time.''
New Delhi: CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana Wednesday claimed before the Delhi High Court that the FIR lodged against him on bribery allegations was a backlash to complaints of criminal misconduct by the probe agency's chief Alok Kumar Verma.

Asthana also said that prior approval from the competent authority is mandatory to initiate probe against a public servant which was not taken in this case.

He further said that the CBI avoided this issue in its response filed earlier to his petition seeking quashing of the FIR against him. Asthana made these claims in his rejoinder to CBI's response to his petition.

The rejoinder was filed before Justice Najmi Waziri who extended till November 28 its order asking the CBI to maintain status quo on proceedings against Asthana.

Asthana also claimed that the FIR was ante-dated and the question of merits of the FIR cannot be looked into as it was registered whilst showing complete disregard to the statutory procedure.

He said the statement of complainant Sathish Babu Sana was recorded under section 164 CrPC on October 4 and after 11 days, without obtaining the mandatory prior approval under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the FIR was purportedly registered on October 15 at 8 PM.

Sana had alleged to have paid bribe CBI officials to settle a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

The FIR reached the concerned magistrate only after 51 hours of the registration of the FIR on October 17 at 11:51 PM, the rejoinder stated.

"This goes to show that the FIR was ante-dated. This was done to firstly defy the legal and binding directions of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and was also due to the futile attempts of the respondents to extract a confession from Manoj Prasad (alleged middleman and accused) to falsely implicate the petitioner (Asthana)," he said.

He added that though the FIR has to be uploaded on the agency's website within 24 hours, it was uploaded after five days on the night of October 21.

"The FIR deserves to be quashed as it was a mere backlash to the various complaints of criminal misconduct on the part of respondent no. 2 (Verma)," he said.

The rejoinder claimed that the FIR was a "malicious intent" to malign Asthana's reputation.

It said the CBI's averment that the FIR cannot be challenged is liable to be rejected, in as much as, Verma directed registration of the FIR despite the fact that he had been directed by the CVC to obtain prior approval under Section 17A of the PC Act.

"Filing of charge sheet and other procedural requirements cannot be allowed to be proceeded with in view of the gross illegalities of procedure adopted by the respondent agency in the registration and investigation of the FIR," it added.

CBI has opposed in the high court Asthana's plea seeking to quash the FIR against him, saying that allegations against the officer and others show cognisable offences.

The agency has also said the investigation in the case was at nascent stage and it was "handicapped" in the probe as certain files and documents were under the CVC scrutiny.

The files and documents have been sent to the CVC as the Supreme Court has directed the vigilance body to conduct enquiry against Verma.

CBI had filed the reply in response to the notice issued to it on the petition filed by Asthana against the lodging of case.
Kolkata: The first joint military exercise of Indian and Japanese armies concluded in Mizoram on Wednesday, a defence statement said.

The two-week exercise 'Dharma Guardian 2018' commenced on November 1 at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte with India describing it as a significant step towards fostering military and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Emphasis was laid on enhancing tactical skills to fight against global terrorism and on increasing interoperability between forces of both countries, the statement said

"The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in urban and semi urban terrain," the statement said.

The contingents honed their tactical and technical skills in a wide spectrum of counter-insurgency operations including joint training on weapons and equipment, field training exercise and handling of improved explosive devices, it said.

Commanders at various levels from both sides were exercised to work in close coordination to receive and collate information jointly, plan operations and issue suitable orders to respective integrated groups.

The Japanese contingent was represented by 32nd Infantry Battalion, while the Indian side was represented by 6/1 Gorkha Rifles.

Approximately one platoon strength each of the battalions participated in the exercise.
The cyclonic storm 'Gaja' over the Bay of Bengal lay at about 470 km south-east from Chennai and is set to make landfall between Cuddalore and Pamban on Thursday evening bringing heavy rainfall to Tamil Nadu.

According to news agency ANI on Wednesday evening, the Eastern Naval Command has been monitoring the developments closely and the Flag Officer Commanding of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area has been in constant communication with the state administration. At least one P8I aircraft, Dornier aircraft and helicopters are also standing by to undertake rescue operations.

A total of two Indian Naval ships Ranvir and Khanjar are on standby to proceed to undertake humanitarian aid distress relief, evacuation, logistic support and medical aid. Ships will be embarked with additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats, integral helicopters and relief materials.

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Twitter, the Spokesperson of the Indian Navy tweeted, "Indian Navy on the alert for Cyclone Gaja relief efforts as the cyclonic storm is approaching the coast of South Tamil Nadu & Pudducherry - likely poised to cross East coast on the evening of 15 Nov."

'Gaja' that lay over southwest and adjoining southeast and west central Bay of Bengal is about 550 km northeast of Nagapattinam and is very likely to cross the coast between Pamban and Cuddalore on Thursday evening or night with a wind speed gusting up to 100 kmph, the Met office said.

With the Tamil Nadu government already declaring that 30,500 rescue personnel were on standby, the district collectors of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and Ramanathapuram have declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Thursday. All educational institutions in Puducherry and Karaikal regions would remain closed tomorrow in view of the cyclone.

Against the backdrop of the Central Water Commission advising constant vigil over dams, Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister R B Udayakumar told reporters that dams, lakes and rivers channels were being monitored continuously.

The CWC had advised action as per the Standard Operating Procedure as heavy rainfall in catchment areas could fill up the dams fast in less than 24 hours.

The Minister said mobile operators have assured to move 'Cell on Wheels,' mobile platforms to provide uninterrupted mobile connectivity to Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts which are likely to witness the cyclone impact during landfall.

The government has also held discussions with oil marketing companies and they have been advised to maintain sufficient fuel stock, he said. While reiterating caution to fishermen to not venture into the sea, Udayakumar said a comprehensive list of do's and don'ts have been circulated to the people on cyclone eve.

The red column in the Met bulletins only indicate that steps to mitigate possible disaster should be taken by the government which has already been done and people should not panic, he underlined. The Met office had warned storm surge of about 1.0 metres likely to inundate low-lying areas of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal district of Puducherry at the time of landfall.

The IMD also cautioned about major damage to thatched huts. "Rooftops may blow off," and communication and power lines may be affected it had said adding standing crops could also be hit besides water intrusion in low lying areas.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who recently triggered a controversy with scorpion jibe on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has said that it is because of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that a chaiwala is the PM today.

Speaking at an event in the national capital, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala said that former prime minister Nehru created the institutional structures which enabled any Indian to aspire to reach the highest office.

If today we have a 'chaiwala' as Prime Minister, it's because Nehru ji made it possible to create the institutional structures through which any Indian can aspire to rise to the highest office in the land, said Tharoor at the relaunch of his book, Nehru: The invention of India.

Expressing concerns about alleged anti-Nehru campaigns on social media platforms, the Congress MP said that astonishing amount of lies are there on the internet. He further alleged that theres a consorted campaign of vilification, of calumny against the countrys first Prime Minister.

We've seen a consorted campaign of vilification, of calumny, astonishing amount of lies that are out there on internet...Why is there this desire to undermine such a great son of India (Jawaharlal Nehru), somebody who laid the foundations for what we have created? the Congress leader said.

Lauding the contributions of the former prime minister to different fields, Tharoor added, If today the government can boast about Mangalyaan, ask who created ISRO. Who decided that even poor India could dare to aim for the skies? Who created the IITs that sent so many bright young men to Silicon Valley where 40% of the start-ups are helmed by Indians?

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was also present on the occasion, said that precious legacy of Nehru is being undermined daily by those who rule us today. She added, They express disdain for Nehru for all that he did to build India that they are bent upon changing for worse.
In the wake of an avalanche warning, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued a directive to the Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir to monitor the situation in prone areas and take appropriate precautionary measures.

The directive comes at the heels of an avalanche warning by Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) valid from 5 pm on November 14 to 5 pm on November 15. The MHA has asked these states to keep a close watch in the said areas.

In wake of Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) warning, Ministry of Home Affairs has directed Chief Secy of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand & Jammu and Kashmir to keep a close watch, monitor the situation in prone areas regularly & take appropriate precautionary measures pic.twitter.com/lxE6g0X9RM  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

In Jammu and Kashmir alert has issued in Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Anantnag, Kulgam, Badgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kargil and Leh.

Alert has been issued in Himachal Pradesh in Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, Kinnaur, and Shimla.

In Uttarakhand alert has issued in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pithorgarh, and Tehri Garhwal.

However, in Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora the alert has been pegged at level two which means unsafe conditions.

The MHA has asked state governemnts to inform the ministry about any developments pertaining to this issue.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of severe thunderclouds over Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi, Una and Kangra. The IMD of rain or thundershower at many places over these districts during the next 2-3 hours. It has also warned of snowfall in Lahul and Spiti, Kullu and Kinnaur during the next 3 hours.

Authorities in the Kashmir Valley on Tuesday had issued a low-danger avalanche warning for seven districts after fresh snowfall in the higher areas, an official had said.

A low-danger avalanche warning was issued for 24 hours in avalanche-prone areas of Bandipora, Baramulla, Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Kupwara and Ganderbal districts in view of fresh snowfall, he had said.

People of these areas have been asked not to go in the avalanche-prone areas, the official had said.

Most of the higher reaches of the Kashmir Valley have been witnessing snowfall or rain since Monday, forcing closure of many roads, including the Srinagar-Leh highway and the Mughal road, which connects the valley to Poonch-Rajouri region in Jammu division of the state.
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday slapped a Rs 50 crore fine on the Punjab government over pollution in Beas and Satluj rivers.

According to news agency ANI, the NGT imposed the heavy fine on the Captain Amarinder Singh government in the state and gave it two weeks to submit the amount. The pollution in NGT had taken a grim view of pollution levels in the two rivers after fishes were found floating in Beas in the Gurdaspur district.

Following this, members of AAP in the state had asked NGT to save the two rivers from pollution - primarily caused by sugar mills. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Board had been directed to inspect the problem at hand by taking samples from various places along the rivers.

The Punjab government is also under fire for not being able to control pollution caused by the burning of stubble in farms across the state. Despite its claims, there have been widespread farm fires here and in neighbouring Haryana which have engulfed Delhi and adjoining areas in a toxic haze.
New Delhi: The NIA Wednesday filed a charge sheet against pro-Pakistani separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat head Aasiya Andrabi and two of her associates for allegedly "waging war" against the country using Internet platforms, officials said.

In a statement, the NIA's spokesman said Andrabi, Sofi Fehmeeda and Naheeda Nasreen were using various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TV channels including some in Pakistan to spread "insurrectionary imputations and hateful messages and speeches against India".

The Dukhtaran-E-Millat, a banned terrorist organisation, through Andrabi and others, openly advocates secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India and its merger with Pakistan through violent means. It is engaged in anti-India activities and has been inciting the general populace of Kashmir for an armed rebellion against the Government of India with aid and assistance of terrorist organizations based in Pakistan.

The three were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police in April and the case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July.

The spokesman said the investigation has established that Andrabi, as the chief of Dukhtaran-E-Millat, used social media and other platforms to abet waging of war against the Government of India.

"She is spreading seditious and insurrectionary imputations against the Government of India. She is promoting ill-will and enmity between different communities in India on religious grounds. Investigation has also established that she has close contacts with designated global terrorist Hafeez Mohammad Saeed who is the head of Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Lashkar-e-Taiba, internationally designated terrorist organizations that are based in Pakistan."

The NIA said that Sofi Fehmeeda, personal secretary to Andrabi, and Dukhtaran-E-Millat's general secretary, Naheeda Nasreen, have been instrumental in the use of social media and other platforms to abet waging of war against the Indian government besides spreading seditious and insurrectionary imputations against it, and are promoting ill-will and enmity between different communities in India on religious grounds.

They have collected funds to carry out terrorist activities of Dukhtaran-E-Millat and have used public platforms to incite Kashmiri youths to rise in armed rebellion against the government with the objective of securing cessation of Kashmir from India and its merger with Pakistan.
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Singapore on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

PM Modi will deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet.

"The Prime Minister landed in Singapore a short while ago. He will be joining a series of programmes through the day, beginning with the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival," PMOIndia@PMOIndia said.

I will be in Singapore tomorrow and the day after to take part in the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summits as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders' Meeting. India strongly values the close ties with ASEAN nations. This augurs well for our citizens.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2018

At 7:45 AM IST tomorrow, I will be delivering the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival. I would be talking about various issues relating to the sector. Indias prowess in the Fintech Sector will also be showcased during the festival. https://t.co/G5r5jKozlX  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2018

Later, in a tweet, the PM thanked the Indian community for a "warm welcome amidst the rain".

"Extremely touched by the affection of the Indian community in Singapore. Their warm welcome, so early in the morning amidst the rain, was touching. India's diaspora makes our nation very proud. They have succeeded all over the world, in a wide range of areas," PM tweeted.

Extremely touched by the affection of the Indian community in Singapore. Their warm welcome, so early in the morning amidst the rain, was touching. Indias diaspora makes our nation very proud. They have succeeded all over the world, in a wide range of areas. pic.twitter.com/lEFnx0qcFn  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2018

Before leaving for Singapore, PM Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

The PM also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.



The Prime Minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, the WH said.

(With PTI Inputs)
NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress party on Wednesday paid tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru  country's first prime minister  on his 129th birth anniversary.

Both President and the PM recalled the role of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the country's struggle for freedom and his contributions and the first prime minister of India.

''Remembering our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary. We recall his contribution to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister,'' the PM said in a tweet.

Remembering our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary. We recall his contribution to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

Paying homage to Pandit Nehru, President Ram Nath Kovind said, ''Remembering Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, on his birth anniversary.

Remembering Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, on his birth anniversary #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 14, 2018

Pandit Nehru was extremely popular among children who used to refer him as 'Chacha Nehru' and his birthday on November 14 is celebrated as Children's Day.

This day is also known as ''Bal Diwas''.

After the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, it was decided to celebrate his birthday on November 14 as the 'Childrens Day' in India. Nehru is often cited as saying that children should always be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow.

Nehru took a special interest in the education system of the country. He not only ensured that every child in the country gets a free primary education, but also established several higher educational institutions including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

Being the first prime minister of India, Nehru made the best possible efforts to bring positive changes that India needed to see in terms of the growth, nourishment and development of children and youths.

The famous FiveYear Plans, which were initiated by his government, made provisions for ensuring free primary education for children. He introduced a plan of building thousands of schools and also brought in a scheme to distribute free meals including milk to school children.

On this day, most schools have cultural fun programmes like plays, dance and songs. Parents and teachers offer gifts and chocolates to children. Children dress up as Jawaharlal Nehru with a red rose pinned to the collar of their Nehru jacket.

India had till 1959 celebrated Childrens Day on November 20, as observed by the United Nations.

However, after Nehru's death, India adopted November 14 as 'Childrens Day' in the honour of the first prime minister.
California: As the Woolsey Fire blazes through Southern California, actor Liam Hemsworth has shared heartbreaking pictures of his Malibu home in shambles.

Taking to social media, the actor appealed to his fans to help those affected in the calamity and gave an insight into the current situation in Malibu.

"It's been a heartbreaking few days. This is what`s left of my house. Love. Many people in Malibu and surrounding areas in California have lost their homes also and my heart goes out to everyone who was affected by these fires," read a post penned by Hemsworth.

" I spent the day in Malibu yesterday and it was amazing to see the community pulling together to help each other out in any way they can. Malibu is a strong community and this event is only going to make it stronger."He also thanked all the "hero firefighters" around California.

"Thankful for the all the great local guys that helped keep smaller fires out around my property. I love u guys. I love you Malibu. Thank you to all the hero firefighters around California. It`s going to be a journey to rebuild. Stay strong all," read the post.

It's been a heartbreaking few days. This is what's left of my house. Love. Many people in Malibu and surrounding areas in California have lost their homes also and my heart goes out to everyone who was affected by these fires. To help: https://t.co/YQCE1cLaej & @happyhippiefdn pic.twitter.com/vtLFytFmNw  Liam Hemsworth (@LiamHemsworth) November 13, 2018

I spent the day in Malibu yesterday and it was amazing to see the community pulling together to help each other out in any way they can. Malibu is a strong community and this event is only going to make it stronger.  Liam Hemsworth (@LiamHemsworth) November 13, 2018

Thankful for the all the great local guys that helped keep smaller fires out around my property. I love u guys. I love you Malibu. Thank you to all the hero firefighters around California. It's going to be a journey to rebuild. Stay strong all.  Liam Hemsworth (@LiamHemsworth) November 13, 2018

Over the weekend, Hemsworth's fiancee Miley Cyrus had also shared her thoughts on the devastating wildfire and appealed to her fans to contribute in rebuilding Malibu.

Apart from Cyrus and Hemsworth's USD 2.5 million four-bedroom pad, residences of a number of Hollywood and television stars have been destroyed in the wildfire which is wrecking havoc in California.

Earlier in the week, actor Actor Gerard Butler had shared some upsetting images of his Malibu home which was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire.

As many as 23 people have died so far in the catastrophic fires which have burned over 1, 70,000 acres of land. Nearly 300,000 people have been displaced, including celebrities like Kim Kardashian West and Lady Gaga.

The blaze had started on Thursday night (local time), and moved towards Malibu and the Pacific Ocean, prompting evacuations in Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and other neighbouring regions.
New Delhi: Bollywood A-lister Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh got married in a traditional Konkani wedding ceremony at Lake Como, Italy. The couple has managed to keep their wedding a well-guarded affair with no inside pictures flooding the internet, sending netizens into a tizzy.

Filmmaker and chat show host Karan Johar happens to be the first ones amongst the film fraternity to have extended the congratulatory message on social media. As soon as he tweeted about the wedding and blessed the couple, fans thronged his timeline asking for the couple's pictures.

Check out Twitter thread here:

Such a stunning gorgeous and beautiful couple!!!! Nazar utar lo! @deepikapadukone and @RanveerOfficial !! Badhai ho !!! Love you both!!! Heres to a lifetime of love and joy!  Karan Johar (@karanjohar) November 14, 2018

Did you see them? Please ask them to post the pictures  nagashree || Deepveerkishaadi (@NagashreeM2) November 14, 2018

Congratulations couple...... Hate you @deepikapadukone for breaking so many hearts...... But looking your gorgeous smile makes us feel that you guys are made for each other...... Post the pics immediately  girish (@karamchetigiris) November 14, 2018

Did you get the pictures please share with us karan  Sunil gupta (@its_sunilgupta) November 14, 2018

Can we get at least one picture to "Nazar utar lo"  #Ladkiwale| Sneha (@snehaprasadv) November 14, 2018

Well, we don't blame them. After all, DeepVeer fans want to see how their favourite couple looks as man and wife.

A few days back, pre-wedding festivities kicked-off in both the households with an auspicious Nandi Puja at Padukone's house in Bangalore and a Haldi ceremony at Ranveer's residence.

On Tuesday, the couple got engaged in Phool Muddi ceremony in Lake Como, Italy. Reportedly, the couple will get married according to Sindhi tradition on November 15, 2018. The two dated each other for nearly six years before entering matrimony.

The couple made their relationship official by announcing the wedding dates. The couple is going to have two receptionsin Bangalore and Mumbai respectively.

Their Mumbai reception is going to take place on November 28, 2018, at The Grand Hyatt.
CHENNAI: There was a lot of excitement among AIADMK members and supporters when late J Jayalalithaa's statue was unveiled at party headquarters in Chennai in February this year. However, the party came under severe criticism shortly after the unveiling with people claiming that the statue barely looked like the iconic leader.

Embarrassed, the party announced that it will be installing a new statue to replace the old one.

On Wednesday, the new statue was unveiled by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam among cheers from party supporters.

Tamil Nadu: CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam unveil a new statue of former CM Jayalalithaa at All India Anna Dravida Munnetra (AIADMK) headquarters in Royapettah, Chennai. pic.twitter.com/D7PMYaXLy0  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

The old life-size statue of the late leader in February was unveiled at a grand event on the occasion of her 70th birth anniversary. The bronze statue with a rose garland was placed next to that of AIADMK leader MG Ramachandran at the party office.

Social media was filled with outrage after pictures of the statue were shared, prompting the party to re-install the sculpture after the necessary changes are made.

I congratulate the dedicated sculptor and the ADMK visionaries who commissioned this wonderful two-in-one statue- Place a hat and darkglasses, It will resemble MGR. Remove them, It can be called Amma.#JayalalithaBirthday #Amma70thBirthday #AdmkFails #JayalalithaaStatue pic.twitter.com/LgmxIDlX6i  Kasturi Shankar (@KasthuriShankar) February 24, 2018

Is this a conspiracy to project chinamma's face onto amma... starting with her hairstyle, naamam, blouses, now statue...completing sasikala's metamorphosis into jayalalitha ! https://t.co/YXnaGtDESS  Kasturi Shankar (@KasthuriShankar) February 24, 2018

As per reports, the statue was made in Andhra Pradesh.
With the death of two minors after dining at a high-end restaurant in Karachi triggering outrage Pakistan, the authorities conducted raids at the Arizona Grill restaurant and its godown. According to a report in Pakistan-based Dawn News, meats that expired in 2015 and squash bottles were recovered during the raids.

The report quoted Sindh Food Authority director for operations Abrar Shaikh as saying that the restaurant, located in the Defence Housing Authority area of Karachi, served three-year-old meat to its customers. He said that almost 80 kg of rotten meat was recovered during the raids.

According to the report, the restaurant was recently issued a directive by the authorities to improve its hygiene conditions. Though the cause of the death of the minors is yet to be officially confirmed, authorities suspect it to be a case of food poisoning.

The family, which lost the two children, had consumed food at the restaurant on Sunday. The kids also ate candies from a nearby candy shop after their dinner. But soon after they reached home, the kids and their mother complained of stomach pain and vomited.

They were rushed to a nearby hospital. While the kids died while undergoing treatment, their mother was kept under medical observation. Samples of their vomit and clothes with blood stains were sent for forensic tests.

The restaurant was sealed by the police after the incident and an investigation was launched.

Arizona Grill restaurant, however, claimed that there was nothing wrong with the food served, even as it offered condolences to the family of the children.

In a statement released after the incident, the restaurant said, Healthy and nutritious food are the fundamental pillars of any restaurant. Arizona Grill proudly upholds these values and provides every customer with safe and healthy food. Last night, the esteemed police officers of Karachi conducted their investigation, and moved on after clearing the restaurant. We wish them well on the finding of the root cause and upon hearing the dreadful news, Arizona Grill would like to offer their heartfelt condolences.
In a direct military conflict or an all-out war between the two countries, the United States could face defeat at the hands of China.

According to a report published by The Washington Post, a commission set-up by US Congress to study defence strategy of Donald Trump found there was an urgent need to reshape American military so that it can compete with China and Russia in current times. The National Defence Strategy Commission found that that complacency may be hampering the US military and its clout and capabilities the world over. "The US military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict. It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia," it said. "The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously."

The commission, while urging for a re-look into American military and defence policies, also took note of how China and Russia are on the fast track towards assuming dominance in their respective regions and are looking to portray a strong military outlook globally.

The commission also makes as many as 32 recommendations in a bid to ensure US is able to defeat its enemies in case a war breaks out. This includes lifting budget caps on defence spendings and allocate proper resources and in the right measure.

It is also stated that China and Russia have learnt from American successes and then built upon it even as Washington has left critical questions unanswered. It further took note of repeated warnings of American military might eroding and said that it is time that the concerns voiced are addressed urgently.

While Russia has been a traditional military might which has often been compared to the US, China has emerged as a major military power with the country spending extensively on both imports as well as on in-house defence equipment. Security analysts around the world have also warned of China developing cutting-edge weapons which could be used on land, air and sea in the times to come.
Open source

Last week, the US resumed sanctions against Iran. November 5, the Americans have restored restrictive measures that acted against Iran during the period of UN Security Council sanctions in 2006  2015. All the countries are forbidden to import Iranian oil. Eight countries, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan, and Turkey can continue imports without penalty. They received a deferment of six months to prevent a crisis in the world oil market. Some Iranian banks were disconnected from the SWIFT payment system, used for the foreign economic activity. It is forbidden to cooperate with 700 individuals and legal entities of Iran, including the Central Bank, shipowner companies, tanker companies, and shipyards. November 8, US President Donald Trump decided to extend the "emergency" in relations with Iran, introduced in 1979 by former President Jimmy Carter in response to the seizure of American diplomats in Tehran during the Islamic revolution. The US continues to block Iranian assets on its territory, accounts in the American banks and their foreign branches. Those who violate the sanctions against Iran are threatened with penal measures.

The US is demanding that Iran stop sponsoring terrorist organizations in Palestine, Lebanon, and Shiite militias in Yemen and Syria. Since 2012, Iran has spent $ 16 billion to support Islamic extremists and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Another reason for the anti-Iranian sanctions, which is not voiced by US officials, is the interests of the United States on the world oil market.

Business, which follows Trump's lines

There is no unequivocal opinion on how the sanctions against Iran could influence the United States, given that this is an energy-dependent state and last year ranked second after China in terms of oil imports. Iran is a major player in the global oil market, and in 2017, it ranked 6th in terms of oil export volumes. Reducing the supply of oil on the world market should lead to higher prices. During the 1973 oil crisis, when the countries of the Middle East and North Africa stopped supplying oil to the United States, UK, Canada, Holland, and Japan in response to Israels support during Operation Doomsday, the price rose from $ 3 to $ 20 per barrel.

In May-August 2018, oil exports from Iran fell by 62% - from 2.7 million to 1.6 million barrels per day under the influence of US sanctions against 41 Iranian citizens and firms. According to economist Mikhail Krutikhin, the November sanctions might entail a decrease in exports of Iranian oil to 500 thousand barrels per day.

In 2017-2018, the United States increased its oil exports from 1 million to 1.76 million barrels per day. In June, the Americans set a record and supplied 2.2 million barrels of oil a day abroad. American oil companies work with the same countries as competitors from Iran do: China, South Korea, India, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Holland. Sanctions are a tool for ousting Iranian oil from Europe and Asia. More than 20 countries of the world have already reduced purchases of Iranian oil due to the growing tensions between the US and Iran.

Energy lever of pressure against China and Turkey

Sanctions against Iran are used to indirectly leverage pressure on China and Turkey, buying large amounts of Iranian oil, with which the White House has a rather complicated relationship. The US-China trade war is in full swing due to the disagreements over the economic issues. The US is demanding that China stop stealing American technology, obliges US firms to share technical documentation with the Chinese side, in order to get permission to do business in the Middle Kingdom. The US has also increased import duties to push Chinese goods out of the American market. In September, the United States imposed new duties on Chinese goods for $ 200 billion, while China introduced duties on American products, equivalent to $ 60 billion. Relations between the United States and Turkey are also rather problematic. Turkish President Recep Erdogan distances himself from NATO, emphasizes strengthening regional influence in the Middle East, rapprochement in the military-political and energy sphere with Russia and Ira (in opposition to the strategic alliance of the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia).

The White House wants to use sanctions to deprive China and Turkey of access to Iranian oil and increase their energy dependence on American allies in the Middle East and, possibly, the American suppliers. If China and Turkey continue to buy Iranian oil, they may face US restrictive measures.

Trumps maneuver

It seems that the Republicans want to tighten the pressure against Iran to the full extent until January 1, 2019. Then the composition of the House of Representatives of the US Congress (which is now dominated by the Democrats) would change. Following the midterm elections, the Democrats will form a majority in the House of Representatives (they to receive 226 of 435 seats), and they will head all the committees. Republicans managed to save the majority only in the Senate.

Under the Democrats dominance in the House of Representatives, sentiments towards the return of the United States to the observance of a nuclear deal with Iran might reveal and increase. Any bill requires the approval of both houses of the Congress, and it will not be easy to gain Democrats support. Trump has restored the sanctions in advance, while the initiative is still in the hands of Republicans. Although despite disagreements with the president on the issue of a nuclear deal, both Republicans and Democrats support sanctions against Iran. In October 2017, the House of Representatives unanimously supported the bill on sanctions against Iran in response to the development and testing by Iran of ballistic missiles. No matter how skeptical the US lawmakers are about Trumps withdrawal from the nuclear deal, both Republicans and Democrats are worried by Irans behavior.

Read the original text at 112.ua.
On November 13, Russian militants attacked Ukrainian positions in Donbas four times. None of the Ukrainian defenders were wounded or killed in action over this period. The Joint Forces Operation HQ reported this on Facebook.

On two occasions, the enemy used Minsk-banned weapons. The militants fired 82 mm mortars in the area of Krymske; BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle opened fire near Chermalyk. In Krasnohorivka, hostile troops fired grenade launchers.

Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraines Ombudswonman said earlier that some 900 prisoners complain about detetion conditions in the militant-held areas of Donbas.

'The Secretariat received 895 of such complaints from the Ukrainians (imprisoned in occupied Donbas). 470 [are held] in Donetsk region, another 425 in Luhansk. Ukraine is ready to take all the prisoners, any number they are ready to provide. Yet, the illegal armed formations slow down this process,' Denisova noted.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman reported that he will sent an offer from the Cabinet of Minister to the National Security and Defense Council on the basis of the demands of the defense minister for the further consideration of the possibility of reallocation of the funds for the defense

Open source

Stepan Poltorak, the Defense Minister of Ukraine thinks that the financing of the defense in the draft state budget for 2019 is insufficient as 112.ua reported.

We have worked over the state budget for 2019 for a long time. According to my opinion, the financial resource provided in the budget for 2019 for defense, not security but defense is insufficient, Poltorak said.

According to the minister, the funds are necessary for the purchase of the weapon and hardware and the infrastructure projects.

In his turn, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman reported that he will send an offer from the Cabinet of Minister to the National Security and Defense Council on the basis of the demands of the defense minister for the further consideration of the possibility of reallocation of the funds for the defense. At the same time, he added that intends to order to hold an audit of all expenses of the Defense Ministry.

Earlier Oleksandr Tyrchynov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) claimed that the financing of the defense and security sector of Ukraine can reach $7.1 billion in 2019.

As we reported Viktor Muzhenko, the Head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that the funding in the sum of at least $4 billion is needed for the army in 2019.

Earlier U.S. President Donald Trump signed the act which provides expenses on national defence in the amount of $716 billion. Moreover, the act provides allocation for Ukraine in the amount of $250 million for the defence sector.
Open source

The so-called elections on Nov. 11 in the unrecognized peoples republics of eastern Ukraine wouldnt be worthy of discussion if they werent further evidence the Kremlin plans to hang on to the territories. In the absence of any international deal he could accept, President Vladimir Putin can only move toward the full recognition of the puppet states, on the model of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The elections conferred a questionable legitimacy on Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk Peoples Republic, and his counterpart Leonid Pasechnik of the Luhansk Peoples Republic. Both were already running the self-proclaimed Donbass statelets. Pushilin acquired power after his predecessor was blown up in a restaurant in August and Pasechnik has been in place since he deposed the previous leader in a bloodless coup a year ago. Both had already been approved by the Kremlin, where Vladislav Surkov, a longtime Putin aide, is in charge of administering the peoples republics. So there was, strictly speaking, no need for the electoral farce.

The show vote took place, nonetheless. Official Russian agencies reported an 80 percent turnout and overwhelming support for the Kremlins candidates. The progress of the election campaign and the unprecedented turnout have shown a high level of popular support for the direction chosen by the republics authorities in 2014, Alexey Chesnakov, a commentator close to Surkov, said to the state-owned TASS news agency. Kiev should stop wasting precious time and start a direct dialog with Donbass.

But the election marks a return to this message after exploring a different solution. In April, Kurt Volker, the U.S. special envoy for eastern Ukraine, pinned a a tweet that said, US remains ready to help negotiate peace for all Ukrainian citizens  but still waiting for a serious Russian response to January proposals. Those proposals concerned a United Nations peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine that would keep Ukrainian troops and Russian proxies from fighting and seal the Russian border with the so-called republics. Surkov promised a prompt answer, but it hasnt come. Since then, rumors have circulated of various neutral countries offering soldiers for the force, but the Kremlin appears to have cooled on the very idea of UN peacekeepers. Putin never really wanted them anywhere except the separation line, and certainly not on the border.

The election essentially tells the world that Russia is moving on from the notion of a peacekeeping force and even from the Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, which called for local elections under Ukrainian law. Chesnakov told TASS that the elections didnt run counter to the Minsk agreements because the republics werent subject to them when it came to electing their parliaments and leaders. That, however, is just insulting nitpicking; Elections by the republics merely confirm that no Ukrainian ones will be held in the near future, otherwise the votes would be even more redundant than they actually were.

The other leaders involved in the Minsk deal reacted promptly and unequivocally. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the elections in a joint statement. Volker, for his part, tweet that Russia was violating the Minsk agreement and added:

The people in eastern Ukraine will be better off within a unified Ukraine at peace rather than in a second-rate police state run by crooks and thugs, all subsidized by Russian taxpayers.  Kurt Volker (@SpecRepUkraine) 11  2018 .

In fact, the people of eastern Ukraine would probably be better off with any clear outcome, including absorption into Russia, than with the status quo of living in countries no one recognizes.

According to the official statistics, there are still a total of 3.7 million people living in the would-be republics. Although this is probably an exaggerated number, its safe to say that millions havent moved to either Ukraine or Russia in the four years of near-lawlessness and arms-length Kremlin rule. There isnt much work for them in the statelets. Much of the heavy industry, which used to provide about 15 percent of Ukraines economic output, is stalled because the factories are in ruins, the equipment has been broken or stolen and Russia  pretty much the only market open to its products  doesnt need them.

Last year, the republics nationalized the industrial companies, which have since been handed over to a firm called Vneshtorgservis, registered in South Ossetia (that way, it can officially trade with Russia). The company has links to Sergey Kurchenko, an exiled Ukrainian oligarch; it has little interest in keeping any businesses going except the coal mines: Theres a reliable demand for coal. Although the statelets report fast economic growth, they offer no absolute numbers. The official justification is that Ukraine has to be kept in the dark about the economic situation in the territories, but the real reason is that actual numbers would allow anyone with a calculator to divine the amount of Russian aid, a closely kept secret.

Volker is right about Russian taxpayers being on the hook. South Ossetia, a region of 54,000 people that is considered part of Georgia by almost the entire world, but is recognized by Russia as independent, receives about 6 billion rubles ($89 million) a year from Moscow; eastern Ukraine, with its much bigger population, must be far costlier. And yet the elections suggest that Putin is leaning toward a South Ossetian scenario for eastern Ukraine.

The only reason the Kremlin hasnt recognized the statelets is that Putin finds it hard to admit the failure of his earlier plans to use eastern Ukraine as a bargaining chip in a deal with the U.S. and its Western allies that would involve handing back Donbass to Ukraine in exchange for recognition of the Crimea land grab. No such agreement seems forthcoming, and even Ukraines 2019 presidential election offers Putin no chance to trade eastern Ukraine for anything useful: Voters reject any kind of compromise with Moscow. This means the Russian dictator must resign himself to institutionalizing the statelets and making sure people there can survive the long haul. The manipulated elections are a reluctant step in that direction as much as a signal to Western powers that Putin will only negotiate on his own terms.

Read the original article at Bloomberg Opinion.
Open source

Belarus is ready to provide its all developments, documents and recommendations on an organization of effective transplantation system to Ukraine. Olha Bohomolets, MP and Chairman of Committee of Ukrainian Parliament for Health Care reported this on Facebook.

I am talking productively to Belarusian medics for a long time, they promised us a full support and help. Today, kidney transplant in Belarus for its every citizen is carried out in every regional hospital. Heart, livers and other organs transplant are undertaken in the transplant center. Everyone who needs this will receive assistance in the most compressed timeframe in the most compressed timeframe and free of charge, parliamentarian claimed.

Related: More than 1,500 people got sick with measles during last week, - Health Ministry

She has also added that the neighbor country makes hundreds of millions of dollars carrying out paid surgeries for foreigners, including Ukrainians. Ukraine transferred $36 million to Belarus, in order to pay the transplants for our patients.

We can only welcome the goodwill of Belarusian colleagues and their readiness to help us, since, we have been behind them for decades in the medical field. But, unfortunately, we were not prepared to accept such assistance. The Ministry of Health aborted the preparation of donors and recipients register adopted by the Parliament law on transplant will enter into force from January 1, 2019, in dangerous for people regime, since precisely this donors and recipients register protects from black transplantation, the politician believes.

Related: 45 pupils, pregnant teacher sickened with measles in Ukraine's Chernivtsi region

According to the MP, line ministry hasnt created a transplant-coordinator service yet, hasnt purchased equipment and medical supplies for hospitals, necessary sub-decrees are not adopted, nothing is done to fulfill the law.

And all this means, that sick kids and adults will be waiting in dead queues of the Ministry of Health for a treatment abroad, and Ukrainian taxpayers will fund other countries, which develop their transplant system for our money. The leadership of the Ministry of Health has proved again that they cant hold proper reforms for the sake of people. Neither the President, nor the Prime Minister pay attention to this at all. It is shameful and offensive to see how a lie in power overcomes common sense and the ability to preserve the most precious thing in our country - the lives of people, Bohomolets summarized.
Trident Juncture drills in Norway Deutsche Welle

Norwegian defence ministry claims that Russian ground forces interfered with the GPS signals during NATO's Trident Juncture drills. Aftenposten outlet reported that on Wednesday morning.

'We're monitoring the situation along with other involved agencies. It is well known that the Foreign Ministry previously brought up this issue in contacts with the Russian government,' the message said.

The aviation security chief also confirmed that the signal jamming action took place. According to him, the violations in the airspace were observed on several occasion, when GPS signals were too weak or absent at all during the flights', the message said.

Earlier, Finland also blamed Russia for damping the GPS signal during Trident Juncture.

Previously, Jens Stoltenberg, the Alliance's Secretary-General said NATO allies in Europe are not going to place any new nuclear arms - even in the view of the latest decision of the U.S. government to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

'The NATO chief also said that the United States was in full compliance with the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and that Russias decision to develop what he said was a ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile meant that the treaty was no longer 'effective'. 'All allies agree that the United States in full compliance ... the problem, the threat, the challenge is Russian behavior,' Stoltenberg said', Reuters' article reads.
The former head of Inspection of State Architectural and Construction Control in Kyiv is charged for having committed a criminal offense. Press Secretary of Ukraines Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko Larysa Sargan reported this on Facebook.

As a result of unlawful actions of the official, who acted for the benefit of the inner circle of the president-fugitive, who refused to stop the unauthorized building at Parkova Doroha in Kyiv, to issue illegally approval documents for carrying out preparations and construction works of Amadeus Ko, brought to partial destruction of cultural attractions and monuments of archeology of national importance, as a result of which the territorial community of the city of Kyiv suffered damage of more than USD 6,8 million, she claimed.

Related: Prosecutors office charges three officials from Kyivavtodor company

The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceeding continues

As it was reported earlier, in October 2017, the National Corps political party took the helipad of Yanukovych under its own control and demanded to nationalize it. Later, it was reported that a cinema was planned to be settled on the helipad.

In October 2018, the helipad was passed into the ownership of the community of Kyiv.
The government made the decision at the Wednesday session, disbanding the predecessor of this authority, the State Service for War Veterans and Members of Counter-Terrorism Operation

The Ukrainian Cabinet created the State Service for Veteran Affairs of Ukraine. This agency is to operate instead of the State Service for War Veterans and Members of the Counter-Terrorism Operation. The latter was disbanded by the government during the session on Wednesday.

The maximum staff capacity of the new agency makes 150 people.

Last week, the representatives of the nationalist groups showed up near the government building in Kyiv. They demanded the creation of a new ministry in Ukraine, as Informator reported. Around 300 people showed up at the rally. They surrounded the building of the Cabinet of the Ministers, holding flags and posters, demanding to establish a ministry of veterans in Ukraine. Besides, picketers said that the process of its creation is being delayed due to political purposes. The participants were convinced that the new structure has to be responsible for the provision of social protection of those who participated in combat actions on the east of the country. In particular, the veterans need support with employment and social benefits.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has upheld the amended draft law about the country's state budget in 2019. The document is now ready for the second reading in the Parliament. Acting Finance Minister Oksana Markarova reported that the budget deficit level in this edition of the bill remains the same as it was, 2.3 percent from the GDP. The Finance Ministry reported that the current edition of the draft law considers changes in terms of incomes, which took place particularly due to the draft law on increasing excise duties and bid rents for land.
The American military bases will be deployed in Poland in soon

Open source

The Pentagon claimed that Poland and the U.S. will cooperate in the sphere of defense for the deterrence of the aggression of Russia as the press service of the U.S. Department of Defense reported.

Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Polish Defense Minister Marius Blaszczak today at the Pentagon to reaffirm the strong defense relationship between the United States and Poland and continuing commitment to work bilaterally through NATO to deter Russia, the message said.

Mattis thanked Blaszczak for the offer of Poland to extend the possibilities of the U.S. in this country and for the role of Warsaw for the deployment of 4,500 American soldiers in Central Europe.

The United States is considering a request from Poland for a permanent U.S. military presence in the fellow NATO country, acknowledging that he shares Polands concerns about possible Russian aggression.

Earlier it was reported that Albania is intended to build the first NATO airbase in the Balkans in Kucove city. The investments of NATO for the first stage of the project will amount to 58 million USD, the project to start at the end of 2018.
Particularly, the delegation follows closely the situation with the rights of Crimean Tatars

David Stulik, the spokesperson of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine stated that the delegation monitors the developments in annexed Crimea as Krimea.Realii reported.

We usually followthe issue of the Crimean Tatars and their state in Crimea...We monitor the violations of the human rights, national minorities in Crimea, Stulik said.

According to the spokesperson, the representatives of the Crimean Tatars, Mejlis and its representatives in Kyiv provide information to the delegation.

He emphasized that the monitoring of the situation in Crimea is permanent.

On November 8, Russian law enforcers held the search at the house of Khalil Ablyamitov, which is located in the urban-type settlement of Azovske, Dzhankoy district of the Russian-occupied Crimea. After the search of at the apartment of the son of the house owner, Ablyalim Ablyamitov and his wife Aidzhan were taken to an unknown destination by the law enforcers.

Earlier, the searches were conducted in the house of Osman Belyalov in the annexed Crimea. It was noted that cars and minibuses of Russian security agencies were near Osmans house. Almost everyone who approached the house was recorded on video.

Crimea was annexed by Russia by way of the illegal referendum, held at the peninsula in March 2014. Earlier the Russian militaries that stayed there without any marking conquered all strategic military objects and building of the force and state bodies. The results of the referendum were not recognized by Ukraine and the world society. The number of the European and world countries, including Ukraine imposed the economic sanctions against Russia.

Related video:
In case of emergency, please appeal to the Embassy of Ukraine to Israel calling hotline: +972 546-676-782

Open source

The citizens of Ukraine were recommended to refrain from visiting the southern territories of Israel, in particular, Sderot and Netivot cities, in connection with the exacerbation of the confrontation of Israel and Palestine and massive rocket and mortar fires on specified territories. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.

Related: Ukraine-Israel free trade zone agreement to be signed in late November, - PM Groysman

In case, an air warning announced, the citizens who will be nearby the Gaza Strip are recommended to immediately take cover in a bomb shelter.

In the event of an emergency, a threat to life and health, citizens of Ukraine are advised to contact the Embassy of Ukraine to Israel by calling the number: + 972 546-676-782, and mailing to [email protected], or to the 24/7 hotline of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine: +38 (044) 238 16 57, e-mail address [email protected]

Related: Ukraine, Israel ready to sign agreement on free trade area by late 2018

As we reported earlier, on November 12, Hamas militants launched more than 80 missiles at southern regions of Israel from the territory of Gaza Strip. As a result of the shelling, more than 50 people injured. Later, Israel paid a return air strike.

It should be noted that the Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have declared that they have concluded truce on a ceasefire with Israel.
This is the first time the Ukrainian airport enjoys a direct international connection with the UK

Ukraine's city of Kharkiv and London are now linked via the direct international connection between the airports. On November 13, Wizz Air launched flight from Kharkiv International Airport to London Luton.

According to the airport's press office, the flight will be conducted three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On certain weeks, it will be condicted twice a week, except Thursdays. The flight time makes approximately four hours.

The one-way ticket without any baggage costs USD 21,75. This is the fifth of six new directions that Wizz Air opens jointly with the airport of Kharkiv in 2018.

Previously, flights to Dortmund, Katowice, Gdansk and Wroclaw were launched. Vienna is next, with the flight to be launched on November 25.
The bill is at the committees of the Verkhovna Rada at the moment

The bill On the defense of the information space is another step to close the opposition TV channels. Lawyer Vasyl Smetana made such statement as 112 Ukraine reported.

The bill is really dangerous. As for today, it is at the committees of the Verkhovna Rada. Due to the previsions initiative of the Verkhovna Rada, the TV channel was forced to appeal with a petition to the president, come to Europe and tell about this danger to the members of the European Parliament and other partners of Ukraine, he said.

Today we see another threat to the freedom of speech in Ukraine and it is connected, probably, with the fact that the ownership structure of one of the TV channels that can be closed, does not correspond to the law on the sanctions. This bill was specially submitted, most likely, due to the fact that they (the Verkhovna Rada, - 112.international) understood that they cannot close one of the TV channels. It means that the threat of the close of the TV channel is serious, he added.

Particular political forces seek to implement this initiative. This bill is another step to close the TV channel. It is a great risk for NewsOne TV channel as it is also planned to impose sanctions against the TV channels with the Ukrainian form of the ownership, he concluded.

The Verkhovna Rada is offered to impose the censorship under the cover of the fight against aggression of Russia by the adoption of the bill #9275 On the defense of the information space.

Earlier, Ukraines Verkhovna Rada urged the countrys National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to introduce sanctions against several Ukrainian TV channels. 229 MPs supported the draft law No. 9157 on 'Approval of recommendations to introduce personal special economic sanctions and other restrictive measures (sanctions)'.

Thirteen European parliamentarians appealed to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to revoke the decision on imposing sanctions on 112 Ukraine and NewsOne TV channels. The leaders of 112 Ukraine and NewsOne channels arrived in Brussels personally to talk to the lawmakers and get their support. The issue of freedom of speech in Ukraine is raised at the international conferences, forums, and in the offices of European parliamentarians. The MPs carefully study the situation regarding the sanctions against Ukrainian broadcasters and sign the petition.

As it was reported earlier, European parliamentarians David Coburn, Jonathan Arnott visited the main office of 112 Ukraine TV channel on October 30. Their goal was to personally find out the reasons for the scandalous voting on sanctions against 112 Ukraine and NewsOne and to monitor the situation with the freedom of speech in Ukraine.

112 Ukraine is an informational and analytical TV channel which broadcasts 18,5 hours per day on air and uses modern technologies to be the first channel to provide the unbiased information on important and interesting events going on in Ukraine and in the world. This is mentioned in the respective statement by Artem Marchevskyi, the Chief Producer, and Yehor Benkendorf, Director General of 112 Ukraine.

Related video:
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Open source

The Verkhovna Rada was proposed to introduce media censorship under the disguise of fighting Russian aggression. The bill On protection of the information space was registered in the Parliament on November 7. This is stated by the FreeNet Ukraine Coalition, which condemned such actions of the MPs.

At the same time, the Law of Ukraine "On sanctions" provides that special measures can be applied to the citizens only if they carry out terrorist acts.

Despite this, the draft law authors propose to consider providing information support to the terrorist organizations, illegal armed groups, other entities that commit, take part in or assist terrorist activities, support the occupation of Ukraines territory and armed aggression against Ukraine as an element of terrorism. Such support includes creation or spreading the information that supports, promotes, popularizes, and shows them in positive light," the coalition statement says.

The coalition also says that provisions of this bill create opportunity for the authorities to arbitrarily and illegally interfere in the work of media (including Internet agencies), which is a threat especially in the upcoming elections. In addition, the application of the Law "On sanctions" towards media contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine (Article 34).

Giving to the Verkhovna Rada an exclusive right to determine which media can be sanctioned, not only continues the practice of illegally obstructing and terminating media activities, but also creates real threats of political censorship and pressure on the media during the electoral process. This bill does not introduce procedures and clear criteria of sanctioning the media. The proposed definition of information support for terrorism allows arbitrary interpretation, according to which even mentioning the illegal groups in the media can be considered as popularization and equated to terrorist activities. Thus, the deputies will have an almost unlimited right to interfere in the media activities, based only on their own political will, "the activists warn.

The organization stressed that in order to limit illegal content in the internet, it is necessary to develop judicial mechanisms that will meet international standards on protection of human rights.

In connection with this, the FreeNet Ukraine Coalition called on the authors of the bill to withdraw it and called on the MPs not to support it.

Earlier it was reported that the bill No.9275 proposes to extend the concept of funding and other ways of facilitation of terrorism of the counter-terrorism law. In particular, to specify that it is also about the informational support of the terrorist organizations or illegal armed formations. Therefore, production and distribution of the information which positively covers occupation of Ukrainian territories and armed aggression against Ukraine is a service to terrorism.

It also provides that only Ukraines Parliament can offer the National Security and Defence Council to impose sanctions against mass media, broadcast, television and radio organizations and other subjects of informational activity in television and radio sector, their founders, beneficiaries, who are Ukraines residents.
The parties agreed to work on a positive agenda of the bilateral cooperation

Vasyl Bondar, Deputy Head of Foreign Ministry, and the new Hungarian Ambassador to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto Vasyl Bodnar Facebook

The new Hungarian Ambassador to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto presented the copies of the credentials to Vasyl Bondar, Deputy Head of Foreign Ministry, as the latter reported on Facebook.

Today I have received the copies of credentials from the newly appointed Hungarys Ambassador to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto. We agreed to work on positive agenda of the bilateral cooperation, Bondar wrote.

He stressed that Istvan Ijgyarto is learning Ukrainian, which, according to Bondar, would help the Ambassador in his professional activity.

The new Ambassador of Hungary in Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto was born on the territory of modern Ukraine, he learns Ukrainian. The diplomat was born in Berehove, Zakarpattya region; he graduated from a local Hungarian school.

It was also noted that the Ambassador was reportedly visiting Ukrainian language courses, which are held in the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.

As we reported, Hungary has changed the name of the minister for Zakarpattia. The decision was published by the Hungarian Justice Ministry on October 29.

Earlier, Ukrinform agency published a video where a few Ukrainians receive the Hungarian passports and owe allegiance to Hungary in the Consulate in Berehove, Zakarpattia region, western Ukraine. The Hungarian diplomat recommended not to inform the Ukrainian authorities about receiving the new documents.

Yuriy Lutsenko, Prosecutor General, claimed that Ukraine's Security Service investigates this case; however, the service denied this.

Tamas Menczer, Hungarys Foreign Minister Spokesperson, later reported that Hungary would not withdraw its consul from Berehove due to the scandalous video about the issuance of Hungarian passports to the Ukrainians.

In its turn, Ukraine claimed that in case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary does not withdraw their consul from Berehove, the Ukrainian side will offer him to abandon the territory.
Ukraine violated the article No.6 (the right for fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights in his regard

Open source

The European Court of Human Rights obliged Ukraine to pay $8,400 of compensation to the Chinese man, who was wrongly convicted of murdering a Ukrainian in Kharkiv, as Ukrainian News reported referring to the courts decision as of November 13.

According to the factual allegations, the complainant Zhang is a Chinese citizen, born in 1983. He lives in Tianjin, China.

The incident happened on May 1, 2009 in Kharkiv. Four Ukrainians and a group of Chinese students started a fight, Zhang was among them. As a result, one of the Ukrainians was stabbed and died in the hospital. Zhang was detained and arrested on suspicion of murder.

Judicial proceeding lasted for three years, but in November 2017, new Ukraines Code of Criminal Procedure came into force. Under its regulations, the Ukrainian court refused to take into account all the testimony of the Chinese people  the witnesses of the crime, as they have already left Ukraine. The court insisted that their testimony can not be interpreted in favor of protecting, as they were not made in the court.

Therefore, in July, 2013, the court sentenced Zhang to 12 years behind bars. His appeals were overruled.

The accusation was based on the testimony of two Ukrainians, the participants of the fight, who were under the influence of alcohol during the incident.

In his turn, Zhang filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in January 2015. In 2016, the Chinese man was released. He went to China afterwards.

The European Court of Human Rights unanimously decided that Ukraine violated the article No.6 (the right for fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights in his regard. The representatives of ECHR believe that the complainant was sentenced based on controversial and inconsistent testimony of the prosecution witnesses. Besides, the testimony of the defence witnesses was not taken into the account, the message says.

The European Court stressed that the new norms of Ukraines Criminal Code were applied to the Chinese in a wrong way. Therefore, the court ruled that Ukraine must pay $8,400 of compensation to the complainant for moral damage.
Each of the providers will pay $413 to the state budget.

Open source

The National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine imposed fines on two program service providers from Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region for rebroadcasting Russian TV channels, as Sergiy Kostynsky, the member of the Council, reported on Facebook.

The providers were rebroadcasting foreign channels, including those of the aggressor state, which were not permitted for rebroadcasting on the territory of Ukraine and were limited for rebroadcasting by Councils decision, the message says.

The regulator reports that this way, each of the providers will pay $413 to the state budget.

Earlier, Kostynsky said that the broadcasting in Crimea would have 75% of Ukrainian content since October.

As it was reported, the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine issued new permission for temporary broadcasting under a facilitated procedure in occupied Donbas and Crimea.
Poroshenko assured the bishops that the state will defend the right of the clergy and lay people for the free choice of the church jurisdiction

Open source

Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) informed President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko about unprecedented pressure of Moscow on the bishops who are ready to join United Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine as presidential spokesperson Sviatoslav Tseholko reported on Facebook.

The Russian scenario was disrupted. The representatives of the group of the bishops of the UOC-MP who support the appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch on the provision of the autocephaly met at the Ukrainian House with the president of Ukraine. Petro Poroshenko informed the bishops on his negotiations with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, on the agreement between Ukraine and Constantinople Patriarchate and on the readiness of Ecumenical Holy See to promote the holding of the consolidation council, Tseholko wrote.

According to him, the Lords told the president about the unprecedented pressure of Moscow on the bishops of the UOC-MP who are ready to join the creation of the unifed church.

President Poroshenko assured that the Ukrainian state will defend the right of the clergy and lay people for the free choice of the church jurisdiction. He also told that the Ecumenical Patriarch, for his part, guarantees the full canonical protection of the supporters of the autocephaly in Ukraine, Tseholko noted.

On October 11, the Synod lifted the anathema from Filaret, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, and Makariy, the Primate of Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Filaret stated that a united Jubilee Bishops' Council would take place soon to create a unified Ukrainian local church.

Related video:
It is noted that one more athlete is in serious condition in hospital

A car accident happened in Rivne region, as a result of which two people died, one more is in serious condition in a hospital. The press office of the National Police in Rivne region reported.

According to preliminary information, a 26-year-old famous Ukrainian athlete from Ostroh District was the driver of Citroen. He lost control over the car on a highway between Hai-Lev'yatyns'ki and Krupets villages, drew on oncoming traffic and collided with a truck driven by a 30-year-old resident of Chernihiv region, reads the message.

Related: Four Ukrainians die, one gets injured in car accident in Czech Republic

As a result of the car accident, the driver of the car was delivered to a medical facility in serious condition. Two more passengers were in the car: the father of the driver, 50-year-old resident of Ostroh District, and a 33-year-old athlete from Ternopil region. They sustained injuries incompatible with life.

The Police didnt voice the names of the deceased, at the same time, the agency of investigative journalism Chetverta Vlada reported on Facebook that world arm wrestling champion Andriy Pushkar died in the car accident and another athlete Oleh Zhokh is in serious condition in a hospital.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
In the past weeks, Portuguese and Spanish judicial authorities, along with the Portuguese Judicial Police and the Spanish Guardia Civil, joined forces to dismantle an international criminal network specialised in trafficking in human beings (THB) in Spain. The criminal network, which was active in the Spanish province of Segovia, forced people into labour in agricultural fields. Eurojust contributed to the successful outcome by coordinating the actions of the national judicial and law enforcement authorities.

The Portuguese Criminal Investigation Department of Coimbra (Departamento de investigacao e acao penal de Coimbra) initiated and organised the investigation. Eurojust facilitated the investigation by coordinating and supporting the Spanish and Portuguese national authorities.

During the operation, the authorities performed nine searches of private residences in Spain and Portugal and seized a large amount of documents, including records of the trafficked people and of their current work situation, as well as material on the organisation of the criminal network. Two firearms were also confiscated.

Following the searches, five people were detained and another three members of the criminal network were identified. Further, four people were arrested in Spain and one in Portugal.

The operation resulted in the release of ten victims of the criminal network, four in Spain and six in Portugal.

Photo  Shutterstock
Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has pulled no punches in his criticism of Esteban Ocon's driving in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Force India driver went a lap down during a pit stop, and attempted to get back on the lead lap with a pass on race leader Max Verstappen.

Instead, the two cars made contact and spun off onto the run-off area. Although both were able to carry on, it cost Verstappen the lead and ultimately victory in the race which went to Lewis Hamilton.

Ocon was handed a ten second stop-and-go penalty in the race for causing the collision, and also had three penalty points added to his superlicence for the offence.

Palmer said that Ocon's move had been "one of the most brainless acts of driving I've seen in a long time in Formula 1."

"Ocon is super-talented," the former Renault driver turned commentator and pundit wrote in his regular column for the BBC Sport website. "It's a real shame he's not going to be on the grid in 2019.

"But his collision with Verstappen put a real taint on his driving skill," he continued. "He's had his fair share of incidents, mainly with his team-mate, and that's been a focal point of his career.

"[It's] one of the reported reasons Mercedes were reluctant to promote him to their team for next year, because they were worried about team harmony," Palmer suggested.

He added that there was nothing wrong in principle with Ocon wanting to unlap himself - it was just the way he had gone about it.

"Drivers are allowed to unlap themselves in F1, but they have to do it cleanly," he explained. "It should have been obvious to Ocon that he should not compromise the leaders' pace when at the back of the field by scrapping as he took advantage of a brief new-tyre performance peak.

"For that reason, the FIA was right to give Ocon a 10-second stop-go penalty. He didn't just compromise the lead battle margin, he lost Verstappen a win by hitting him!

"His move on Verstappen on Sunday was just plain wrong," Palmer asserted, suggesting that even if he had pulled it off at the time, the Frenchman would have found the advantage of his new tyres short-lived.

"Ocon was briefly quicker. Midfielders can do that on fresh tyres," he acknowledged. "But after one or two quick laps, they have to get into their own race-management mode, saving a bit of tyres, fuel, energy on the battery, and their pace drops back to a more normal midfield level.

"Had Ocon passed Verstappen, he would have had to let him by again a lap or two later. That would have cost Verstappen time.

"[Ocon] was down in 14th place. His chances of even a single point were looking very slim. He was 10 seconds down on his team-mate Sergio Perez before they pitted, with two cars in between.

"Perez went on to claim that final point - it's hard to envisage Ocon would have beaten him."

While Palmer didn't think there has been a 'conspiracy' in the Mercedes ranks to use one of their junior drivers to compromise Verstappen's race, Palmer did speculate about whether the affiliation had played a less overt role in the incident.

"He wouldn't have pulled the move on Hamilton because of Mercedes politics," he said. "He absolutely knew it would compromise the race leader's race. If it was Hamilton, he would have just kept his head down behind him."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
I was born in 1956 in Madison, Tennessee, while my parents were attending Madison College. I grew up along the Front Range in Colorado, attending schools in Longmont, Brighton, Boulder and Loveland, Colorado. Two years after graduating from Campion Academy, I married my sweetheart, Regina. We lived in Loveland, Colorado for six years before moving to Mena in western Arkansas.





I love the people of Mena and the friendly easy going way of life here. I have owned and operated my own business since moving to Mena. I enjoy the natural beauty of western Arkansas and being out of doors.




After having fled to Japan and traveled to Chile from where he was extradited to Peru the Fujimori patriarch was sentenced for crimes against human rights and corruption committed during his term in office.

In 2017, he was pardoned by ex-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski , who later stepped down amid a political scandal.
Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: El proximo 9 de diciembre, dia del #referendum, los ciudadanos podran manifestar su opinion sobre las reformas constitucionales que se han planteado. pic.twitter.com/lUhQCODgDr
While touring the facilities, they were joined by Repsol CEO Antonio Brufau who gave explanations about the refinery and the recently-inaugurated low-sulfur fuel production unit.

The new unit places the refinery out in front among the most advanced installations in environmental terms.

Thus, the royal activities in the Inca country have concluded.

El presidente @MartinVizcarraC y el rey Felipe VI inauguraron las unidades de desulfuracion de combustibles en la refineria La Pampilla, Ventanilla (Callao). pic.twitter.com/innYA8o8P2
Hoy se firmo el Memorando de Entendimiento (MOU) entre @UKBorder ???? y @SUNATOficial ????. El documento versa sobre Cooperacion y Asistencia Mutua en Temas Aduaneros. Entre los asistentes se encontro la Embajadora Britanica en el Peru, Kate Harrisson. pic.twitter.com/SfyhGBBoWq
Philip Metres

Documentary poems

by Keith Taylor

From the November, 2018 issue

Philip Metres has become one of the leading poets and critics discussing the position of Arab American writers in post-9/11 America. His work articulates the role pacifism could play in contemporary culture, and he is an advocate and occasional practitioner of documentary poetry.



Documentary poetry does use documents, the kind that are often thought of as "unpoetic," but it also includes the voices of people who witnessed a cultural or historical event. A documentary poem can also include more traditional lyrical or descriptive moments. These devices are often placed side by side, in a kind of collage, to create a picture of an event that can be more complete and truthful than any other way of depicting a moment or an idea.



Metres has used this approach in his work about the Iraq War, where he attempts to approach the crimes that were perpetrated in Abu Ghraib prison through the voices of both the tortured and the torturers. But his most recent attempt at this method is in a very different kind of book, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Petersburg Album. Metres is a leading translator of contemporary Russian poetry, and in this collection (if it can be called thatit is difficult to label), he combines the fragmented voice of a tour guide describing moments in St. Petersburg, letters to contemporary Russians whose work he is trying to translate, bits on the difficulty of the Russian language, descriptive moments, and small narratives of his own experience.



In "Promenade: Nevsky Prospekt," Metres combines some of these devices to capture a moment in one of the most famous settings in St. Petersburg:

Elixir of walking



gulyat': to stroll



or to get drunk



we drink in the light



& light, & drink again



no negative to burn



in the urn of us, sun-



stunned dream-walkers



along the Prospekt.

...continued below...

Outside the Hermitage, drunk again



on images and the unceasing light



rivering through the profligate museums



open windows, flooding the black holes



of Rembrandts, the dark matter giving way



to ghosts of faces in burnt umber:



we lay ourselves down, surrendering to gravity,



hypnotized by the rivers thousand guises...

Some of the poems are difficult to connect at first, but eventually the poets experience of St. Petersburg emerges clearly. My favorite poem is printed with one line on the bottom ofeach page. It describes what seem to be young lovers emerging from the famous museum:The young would-be lovers eat and have their deep, tenuous conversations. It seems exactly right.Metres reads his work at UMMA as part of the U-M Zell Visiting Writers Series on Thursday, November 15. [Originally published in November, 2018.]
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The second session of the four-day sitting of Parliament kicked off on November 14, reports Armenpress.

The lawmakers debate the 2019 state budget draft, as well as a number of other bills.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. State Department on Tuesday designated Jawad Nasrallah, son of Lebanons Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a terrorist and accused him of carrying out attacks against Israel in the West Bank, Reuters reports.

The department also blacklisted Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB), which it said had links to Hezbollah and had plotted a number of attacks against Israeli targets from a base in the Palestinian Territories.

Todays designations seek to deny Nasrallah and AMB the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, the State Department said in a statement. It said the actions denied Nasrallah and AMB access to the U.S. financial system.

Later, the State Department announced it was offering up to $5 million each for information leading to the locations of Hamas leader Salih al-Aruri, Lebanese Hezbollah leaders Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb and Haytham Ali Tabatabaei under the agencys so-called Rewards for Justice Program.

The department said both Hamas and Hezbollah receive weapons, training and funding from Iran.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on four people linked to Lebanons Hezbollah who coordinate the Iran-backed groups activities in Iraq and designated the son of the groups leader as a global terrorist.

The United States has recently re-imposed all sanctions on Iran.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. A T-38 Talon supersonic jet has crashed at the Laughlin Air Force Base in southern Texas, the US Air Force said, CBS News reported.

The rescuers are working on the scene.

The base is located near the US-Mexico border.

There was no immediate report on the condition of the pilot and whether there was any one else on board.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. A bill on amending the law on Ensuring the activities of officials, service and social guarantees has been put into circulation.

According to the bill, the government is recommending the introduction of a new tool in the state pension system  a maximum amount of pension that cannot exceed the 10-fold of the minimum pension, caretaker minister of labor and social affairs Mane Tandilyan said on Facebook.

The polarization of pension amounts continues being one of the systems problems. Alleviating the polarization and overcoming the imbalance of pension amounts is considered to be highly important. Despite the average state pension being around 42,000 drams, there are state officials who are receiving even more than 1,000,000 drams pensions, she said.

The bill envisages directly connecting the pensions of officials to pensions of ordinary citizens, thus, the officials who are responsible for the countrys social-economic situation will be able to increase their pensions only while simultaneously raising the pensions of citizens.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The agricultural insurance pilot project will be introduced in Armenias 2-3 provinces in 2019, acting agriculture minister Gegham Gevorgyan said during the debate of the 2019 state budget draft in Parliament, reports Armenpress.

Several actions will be taken aimed at reducing the risks of natural disasters. This process continued for already two years. The agricultural insurance system will be installed next year. It will be a pilot program in two or three provinces for two or three crops, he said.

The international consultants will submit the final package, the version discussed with the insurance companies in November.

The acting minister also commented on the issue of anti-hail stations. He said it is necessary to understand the efficiency of anti-hail systems and the appropriateness for creating a network. The effective approach for installation of anti-hail network is the provision of state assistance. But the state will promote the installation of these networks, he noted.

The acting minister added that today Armenia already produces these networks, and the market allows the farmers to use them.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker minister of culture Lilit Makunts is participating in the VII St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum in Russia.

Within the framework of the event the Armenian caretaker minister will have meetings with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Medinsky, Hermitage Museum director Mikhail Piotrovsky, as well as officials and cultural figures from other countries taking part in the event, the culture ministry said.

On the sidelines of the forum Armenia and Russia will sign the Armenian Culture Ministry and Russian Culture Ministry 2019-2021 Cooperation Program."

The St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum annually attracts thousands of experts in the field of culture from all over the world: starts of theater, opera and ballet, renowned directors and musicians, public figures, representatives of authorities and business and academic communities. The Forum is organized by the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Forum is developing in three directions at the same time. A large-scale business programme will be of interest to specialists in different areas of culture. The festival programme includes multiple cultural events for city residents and guests of St. Petersburg. The business platform creates conditions for implementing projects and signing agreements in the field of culture.

This year there will be a large-scale professional and public flow programme, with a number of Russian and international premieres of shows, concerts, exhibitions and many other events for various audiences. Guest countries of the VII St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will present their business and cultural programmes and various theme programmes, such as the Festival of Festivals.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia says it has revealed fraud at Gazprom Armenia.

SRC said it has inspected Gazprom Armenia as part of ongoing anti-fraud operations of the agency and discovered a number of violations and major tax evasion cases.

SRC said that in 2016 and 2017 Gazprom Armenia has reported fake data in its VAT and profit tax calculations to taxation authorities which resulted in several billions drams less calculated tax obligations.

The State Revenue Committee said that the research data on the volumes of supplied natural gas to filling stations (natural gas stations) also prove fraud. SRC said that Gazprom Armenias volume of loss in the distribution network reduced on an average of more than 3 times in June-July 2018 compared to January-May of the same year. At the same time, according to the SRC, the volumes of Gazprom Armenias supplies to the filling stations in June-September 2018 has increased nearly 37% as compared to the first five months of the year.

The SRC said it has launched a criminal investigation on major tax evasion based on the findings.

UPDATES:

19:17 - Gazprom Armenia denies the accusations.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. ProWine China 2018, one of the largest international exhibitions, launched in the Chinese city of Shanghai on November 13.

Armenian wine and strong alcoholic beverages producing companies are taking part in the exhibition for already the second time by the initiative and support of the Viticulture and Winemaking Foundation of Armenia, the agriculture ministry told Armenpress.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by Armenias Ambassador to China Sergey Manasaryan who visited the Armenian pavilion to meet with the company representatives. The Ambassador said he attaches importance to such initiatives and added that the Embassy is always ready to support such programs which aim at developing Armenias economy.

10 Armenian companies are participating in the ProWine China 2018 in a single pavilion representing various types of wine, as well as other alcoholic beverages.

The ProWine China 2018 is attended by more than 15.000 buyers, representatives of import and export companies from over 40 countries of the world, and the participation in such exhibition is an opportunity for the Armenian companies to find new partners and enter new markets.

The following Armenian companies are participating in the event: Proshyan brandy factory, Van Ardi, Vedi Alco CJSC, Gevorgyan wine factory, BH Brandy Company, Voskevaz Winery, Ijevan wine-brnady factory, Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka OJSC, Merdzavan Brandy Factory and Noah of Arenia LLC.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Prosecutor-General Arthur Davtyan and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jafar Montazeri held a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Davtyans office said. The Armenian Prosecutor-General is on a working trip to Iran.

During the meeting Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri highlighted the historic and cultural relationships of millennia between Armenia and Iran, the present-day warm and friendly relations based on mutual respect in terms of discussing prospects for deepening cooperation between the prosecutions in an atmosphere of sincere dialogue.

Davtyan in turn thanked for the warm reception and said that this meeting will be the beginning of a new phase of cooperation and will contribute to further development and strengthening of cooperation between the law enforcement systems of both countries.

The sides discussed the prospects of creating technical opportunities for audio-video questioning of citizens from both sides in each others countries undergoing investigation.

They also discussed the issue of optimizing the deadlines of implementing motions on legal aid under criminal cases.

The sides reached agreements around various issues.

They also signed the 2019-2020 cooperation program between the Armenian and Iranian General Prosecutions. Several joint events are planned to be held in Yerevan and Tehran by the program.

The deal relates to partnership and exchange of experience in combating narcotic smuggling and trafficking, illegal border crossing and illegal migration investigations, discovery, seizure and confiscation of illegal assets etc.

Davtyan also invited his Iranian counterpart to visit Armenia.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan delivered opening remarks at the Energy Week Armenia 2018 today, the government's press service said.

Avinyan welcomed the guests and noted that the high number of participating companies, investors and experts at the event proves the significant interest that has developed toward Armenias energy sector.

He noted that Armenia, by not having its own fuel-energy resources, attaches great importance to using the potential of renewable energy. With this goal, the government prioritizes the development of renewable energy in economic development. All steps, including the improvement of the legislative field, predictable tariff policy and works with investors, are aimed for this. A favorable environment is being created for investments in the sector, which will result in increased levels of energy security and independence of the country.

Avinyan said that Armenia is monitoring the regional development trends of the energy sector in order to effectively realize competitive advantages and for mutually beneficial cooperation to be established with other countries of the region.

In this context, the Armenia-Iran and Armenia-Georgia high voltage electricity line construction programs will continue, the commissioning of which will have positive impact on economic development of the country.

The government has kicked off the gradual liberalization process of the countrys electricity market, which will enable the access of major consumers, suppliers and traders into the market.

Shifting to the liberal market mode will enable inter-state trade.

Avinyan stressed that energy saving and energy efficiency are also among the governments priorities.

He said that it is necessary to gradually introduce the expand the energy saving culture by using new technologies because all areas of Armenias economy have great potential.

The Armenian government is open for cooperation and encourages active dialogue and partnership in all directions, he said.

Avinyan said that sustainable, smart energy is one of the most important factors for the dynamic development of the countrys economy  aimed at improving living standards of the people.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar) made a decision not to participate in the December 9 early parliamentary elections, the party said in a statement, reports Armenpress.

People have great expectations from the early parliamentary elections scheduled on December 9, 2018. It is supposed these elections will be the continuation of the Velvet revolution, and the changes launched in the country will result in their logical end.

The Ramgavar party made a decision not to participate in the elections for several objective reasons. At the same time, committed to its belief with the people, for the people, the party urges its members and supporters to vote in favor of the Im Kayl (My Step) alliance. In other words, to vote in favor of those who express the desire of the people, the positive reforms and progress.

The party hopes that by this it brings its modest contribution to the further development of the Homeland and the implementation of centuries-old dreams of the Armenian people, the statement says.

Early parliamentary elections in Armenia will be held on December 9. The parties and party alliances can submit their applications before November 14, at 18:00. The registration will be carried out by the Central Electoral Commission before November 19, at 18:00. The election campaign launches on November 26 and will end on December 7.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Gevork Vermishyan was elected as CEO of MegaFon by shareholders from November 14, 2018, the operator said on its official website.

In July 2011, Gevork Vermishyan was appointed Chief Financial Officer of MegaFon; on November 30, 2017 he was elected as the Companys Executive Director.

From 2002 to 2007, he held several management positions at OAO LUKOIL, advancing from an analyst role to Deputy Head of the corporate borrowing department responsible for banks and financial markets.

Gevork Vermishyan has been a member of the Management Board since November 2011. He was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of PJSC MegaFon in July 2011. From 2002 to 2007, he was at LUKOIL OJSC where he rose from the position of analyst to Deputy Head of Corporate Borrowings. From 2007 to July 2011, he was the Head of Corporate Debt at AFK Sistema. Mr Vermishyan graduated from the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation in the faculty of International Economic Relations.

MegaFon is leading Russian integrated telecommunications operator that holds leading positions in the telecommunications market of Russia and the world. The company and its subsidiaries provide services in all regions of Russia, as well as in the Republic of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Tajikistan. At the end of 2016, the total subscriber base had more than 77.4 million people  more than half the countrys population.

The companys shares have been traded on the stock exchange in Moscow and London since 2012. In June 2014 the securities of MegaFon made it to the top quotation list of the Moscow Stock Exchange. MegaFon is one of the companies with the highest credit rating in the Russian telecommunications industry and in Russia overall.

The main shareholders of the MegaFon are USM Holdings Limited Company Group (approximately 56.32%) and Gazprombank Group (about 18,79%). The remaining shares are held by the 100% subsidiary of the Company (3.92%); shares are in free circulation in the public market and account for approximately 20,97% of the total number of outstanding shares.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. A 36 year old man has been charged for the killing of a 34-year-old man in Yerevan on November 9.

The victim, S. Barseghyan, was taken to the Armenia hospital in the evening of November 9 from the H. Emin Street in Yerevan with multiple stabbing wounds. He died during the emergency surgery after being admitted.

Police said they identified the suspect and revealed circumstances surrounding the murder after large scale operations.

Based on sufficient evidence, the 36-year-old suspect was charged with premeditated murder. A court issued an arrest warrant and he was placed under pre-trial detention.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian and Georgian customs services will soon introduce an electronic data exchange system which will accelerate the cargo inspections at the border, the Armenian Embassy in Georgia said on Facebook.

Georgian customs agents will send an encrypted digital code on checked cargo at the Armenian border to Armenian counterparts, thus enabling the Armenian side not to double-check the same cargo, or to do so only in case of extreme necessity, according to the embassy.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations informs that on November 14, as of 14:00, roads are mainly passable in Armenia.

The ministry told Armenpress that snowfalls are reported in Aragats and Dilijan.

The drivers are urged to use winter tires when traveling to provinces.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government is considering cutting the number of ministries, caretaker First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told reporters today. The government is planning to reduce the number from 17 to 9 or 11, he said.

We have a very inflated public administration system, he said. We must revise it all and reconsider the activities of all ministries. This will enable to raise the salaries of civil servants because turns out the person carrying out the same work in the ministry is getting less money than the person carrying out the very same work in any foundation. We have several options about optimization of ministries on the table, all of which are 90% matching. We are talking about having 9 or 11 ministries, meaning the number will be reduced from 17, Mirzoyan said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will run from parliament from the Im Kayl (My Step) alliance in the #3 electoral district in Yerevan.

I will be nominated in the number 3 electoral district, the Shengavit and Malatia-Sebastia district, where I was elected Member of Parliament last time, he said today.

He said that they have been guided by a clear principle while deciding the district lists nominations, and advised to address the Central Electoral Commission for the names in the proportional list of the bloc.

We have tried to be guided by the principle of people who are known in the given district to run from this very area, he said. The list includes people who are members of various factions of the incumbent parliament, he said.

Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resigned on October 16 to trigger the process of disbanding the parliament.

Pashinyan took office after massive protests in April forced president-turned PM Serzh Sargsyan to resign. But Sargsyans Republican Party (HHK) still has most seats in the 105-seat parliament. Since taking office, Nikol Pashinyan has numerously said that the incumbent parliament doesnt represent the people and that early elections should take place as soon as possible.

In accordance to the Constitution, when a Prime Minister resigns the parliament must elect a new PM within two weeks. Lawmakers deliberately failed to elect a new PM as a formality in order to pave the way for dissolution.

The last round took place on November 1 and the parliament was dissolved by virtue of law.

Later on the same day, President Armen Sarkissian signed an order on dissolving the parliament and calling early elections on December 9.

The parliament will function until the new parliament is elected.

The government is formally a caretaker government until a new government is formed after the election.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The European Union, the German, UK and Swedish governments will provide support to Armenia for holding the upcoming early parliamentary elections, reports Armenpress.

A joint document between these structures was signed in Yerevan on November 14.

Armenia has officially applied to several international partners, and some of them agreed to provide support for holding the December 9 early parliamentary elections. This document officially signals the launch of a program for support of electoral processes in Armenia which aims at having transparent, reliable, free and fair elections on December 9. I am confident that all these efforts are not only just technical, working commitments, but a sincere dedication to support democratic elections in Armenia. We have quite long-term plans to develop the electoral processes in Armenia. If we have a majority in the Parliament by the upcoming election results, next elections in Armenia will be held by a new Electoral Code, acting first deputy prime minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said.

Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski said the EU has also taken part in the previous elections in Armenia, and this participation will continue. The efforts initiated by the government and the UNDP aim at making you be confident that your votes will fairly reach their place. Dont sell your votes, dont take bribes and every time you receive such an offer, please inform. Let these elections be the best not only in Armenias, but also other nations history, the EU Ambassador said.

German Ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kiesler noted that this is going to be a very important day for Armenia. We managed to implement this program within a record time. Germany has provided 700.000 Euros for the installation of identification devices and cameras, he noted.

UK Ambassador to Armenia Judith Farnworth stated that these elections will signal the beginning of a new development stage for Armenia. I think the speed we, the donors, have put speaks about the fact how we highlight this program. All these aim at making the voter be confident that their votes will be taken into account that day. The elections signal the beginning, rather than the end of the new development stage of Armenia. The UK supports the Armenian government. We see a stable and democratic partner in the person of Armenia, she said.

Charge d'affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Armenia Martin Fredriksson expressed hope that the elections will raise the level of public trust. During the previous elections the final result of the international donors showed that there was a lack of public trust. I hope this year after the elections we will be able to confirm that the public trust level was higher, Fredriksson said.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Armenia Shombi Sharp said they attach great importance to the strengthening of democratic structures in Armenia.

We want to be confident that we will achieve our goals and we see this desire among everyone. This is not the first time that assistance is provided by our donors for holding elections. We are trying to move forward step by step and further improve the previous positive practice. We want to raise the awareness level of voters about the participation in elections. The outcome of these elections is in the hands of the people, Shombi Sharp said.

The program is funded by the Armenian government (0.7 million USD), the European Union (1.5 million Euros), Germany (0.7 million Euros), UK (0.5 million pounds) and Sweden (1.5 million Swedish kronas).

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenian lawmakers Samvel Farmanyan and Mihran Hakobyan are introducing a legislative initiative proposing to prohibit bookmaking and online gambling in Armenia.

Farmanyan presented the bill on amending the law on gambling in parliament.

The bill refers to banning the activities of bookmakers in Armenia, he said. The activities of both local and international bookmaking companies should be banned by law. Both their office presence and online presence must be banned, Farmanyan said.

He argues that 99,9% of the society in Armenia agree that bookmaking must be banned. He even proposed the ruling party to raise this issue in one of its campaigning rallies.

The prime minister, on various occasions, has also noted that gambling is harmful not only from the perspective of economic development, but also inflicts irreversible losses to the moral description of our people, he said.

Farmanyan said he has worked on the bill for more than five years.

Different governments have brought different arguments on why banning the existence of these bookmakers would be wrong in Armenia. I believe that the parliament can make this important step, for which all of us can sleep calmly, knowing that we are saving people from a potential sinkhole, he said, adding that bookmaking offices exist in almost all regions of the country.

He added that upon his recommendation the minimum required age for betting was raised from 18 to 21 previously.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Acting justice minister of Armenia Artak Zeynalyan met with justice minister of Italy Alfonso Bonafede during his working visit to Rome on November 13, the Armenian justice ministry told Armenpress.

Artak Zeynalyan thanked for the warm reception and attached importance to the steps aimed at deepening the cooperation between the two ministries, adding that there is a great potential for expanding the mutual partnership.

During the meeting the two officials discussed a number of issues and attached importance to providing legal support for promotion of investments between the two countries.

The Italian minister assured that Italy will ask for the EUs support to implement programs in Armenia in the fields of anti-corruption fight and justice taking into consideration the results of this meeting.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, 14 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 14 November, USD exchange rate down by 0.72 drams to 487.96 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.90 drams to 549.93 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 7.21 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.83 drams to 632.69 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 82.03 drams to 18858.88 drams. Silver price down by 2.52 drams to 219.95 drams. Platinum price down by 160.91 drams to 13225.22 drams.
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The Court of Appeal of the Netherlands decided on November 14 not to change the verdict of the court of first instance appealed by Ilham Askn , chairman of the Turkish-Azerbaijani cultural union in The Hague.

On March 17, 2017 the court of 1st instance of Almelo made a verdict against Ilham Askn with charges of provoking violence against Armenians, President of the Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands Mato Hakhverdyan told ARMENPRESS.

The trial of the Court of Appeal took place on October 17, 2018 and the verdict was published on November 14.

Ilham Askn is blamed for having chanted Karabakh will be the grave of the Armenians during a Turkish rally in Almelo. The court of 1st instance has sentenced Askn to 120 hours of community service and a suspended imprisonment of 1 month with a probation of 2 years, which is a more severe punishment than the prosecutor demanded.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Gazprom Armenia is denying the State Revenue Committees tax evasion accusations.

Gazprom Armenia issued a statement the same day a criminal investigation was announced against the company.

In the statement, Gazprom Armenia said that the SRC began complex inspections since October 1, 2018 on accuracy of budget relations. Afterwards, on October 17, the inspection duration was extended for 30 consecutive business days. The complex tax inspection is factually ongoing at the moment and until now the SRC has not presented any instance of tax legislation violation to Gazprom Armenia. Instead, without discussing with the company and without notifying, the SRC distributed totally unsubstantiated information through the press, Gazprom Armenia said in a statement.

Gazprom Armenia reminded that for many years it has been the largest taxpayer in Armenia and it has carried out its operations exclusively within the law, for which it has regularly been awarded certificates of appreciation.

The company said that the comparative studies mentioned in the SRCs statement have been carried out based on incomparable time periods and incomparable volumes, and that the company has not received any evidence from the tax authority which led to ridiculous conclusions.

This kind of a conduct by the SRC might jeopardize the reputation of the company and cause failure in its normal functioning, Gazprom Armenia said.

Gazprom Armenia said it is organizing a press conference on the matter on November 15, and invited SRC officials to be present and substantiate their conclusions.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The general prosecution of Armenia has dropped the criminal investigation against Kevin (Kemal) Oksuz based on absence of criminal offense, according to prosecution spokesperson Arevik Khachatryan.

Oksuz is a Turkish-American lobbyist wanted by the United States for perjury regarding a controversial trip he organized for American lawmakers to Azerbaijan.

At the time of his arrest he was running a business in Yerevan.

He was arrested in the Armenian capital in late August this year. Shortly after his detention in pursuance of the American warrant, Armenian law enforcement agencies too launched an investigation and said that he is suspected in tax evasion.

Earlier Armenia approved the extradition motion of the U.S.

CORRECTION:

21:10 - The criminal investigation was dropped by the State Revenue Committee, not the prosecution - as reported initially.

Read more on the story:

Oksuz case, PART 3: Arrested Turkish mystery-man under investigation by Armenian law enforcement for tax evasion involving Yerevan-based business

Kemal Oksuz case, part 2: Top level anti-Armenian Gulenist lobbyist tied to infamous Azerbaijani Laundromat case

Yerevan Police catch huge fish: Kemal Oksuzs controversial past raises eyebrows

United States requests Armenia to extradite Kevin Oksuz.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
Planning Minister Richard Maru and Treasurer Charles Abel (ABC)

PAUL FLANAGAN | PNG Economist | Edited extracts

CANBERRA  In this analysis of Tuesdays Papua New Guinea budget for 2019, I conclude there is a distinct risk that the country is moving away from fiscal discipline and back into a boom-bust cycle.

The planned 21% increase in expenditure from 2017 is risky and depends on the achievement of high oil prices and GDP growth, both outcomes far from certain.

The fiscal anchor underpinning the 2019 budget was severely breached due to the government spending almost the entire K1 billion bonus from higher oil prices (expenditure, I would note, probably illegal under PNGs Fiscal Responsibility Act).

The sudden reversal in fiscal policy towards a loose setting in the 2019 budget is probably the major short-term policy concern. The budget strategy released in August indicated expenditure in 2019 of about K14,960 million, a modest increase from 2018s expected K14,718 million. That seemed fine.

But the actual budget announced on Tuesday turned out to foreshadow spending of about K16,130 million, an increase of 9.6% - a variation that has occurred in less than three months.
In my thesis, and also noted by Chris, I show that Australian kiaps and New Guinea police used a wide variety of enforcing tactics to stop armed conflict.

I used repression in the sense of the repression (or suppression) of warfare, not the repression (or oppression) of people.

I am grateful to the comments from Chris Overland and Philip Fitzpatrick which made me aware of potential misunderstandings that can emerge from my use of the word repression.

I welcome this interest and hope that some readers will consider buying the book I am currently working on once it is published.

LUCERNE - I am rather pleased that my research has caught the attention of someone from PNG Attitude and that it decided to showcase this on its website .

Australian historian Warwick Anderson amongst the Fore people of Okapa in the PNG highlands, also studied by Tobias Schwoerer

These were for the most part benign uses of police in the form of arrests and imprisonment, in a few cases destruction of property (burning houses) or corporal punishment (caning), and only rarely (and then mostly in cases of self-defence) involving the use of potentially lethal force by firing guns.

Let me also state that I have the utmost regard for the work of the Australian kiaps, as they operated in sometimes very difficult and hostile circumstances and mostly went out of their way to prevent situations in which they would have to use firearms.

The number of victims of pacification in the area I studied is small (I have collected testimonies for a total of 32 deaths) and pales in contrast to those that would have died had indigenous warfare continued.

There were, however, a few isolated incidents in the late 1940s and early 1950s that warrant the term excessive violence.

These incidents were mostly perpetrated by unsupervised New Guinean policemen, which is why there is hardly any documentary evidence and why so little is known about them (even by ex-kiaps).

My case study of Obura, which I briefly mentioned in my summary, is one such incident.

Police posts, only occasionally visited by kiaps, existed in the Eastern Highlands until late 1952.

A coastal policeman stationed at the Omaura police post together with some local villagers mounted a punishment expedition against Obura. At dawn and without warning the party opened fire on a mens house.

This resulted in the death of 13 men, the largest death toll in any of such encounters.

I would like to emphasise, however, that this was an exception and that, for the most part, positive material incentives, the promise of wealth, the introduction of courts and the support by local leaders led to a quick end to warfare, a development that was accepted by all.

If someone would like to know more about these positive processes, I suggest reading my article The Red Flag of Peace: Colonial Pacification, Cargo Cults, and the End of War among the South Fore which is available here.
China has been violently trying to suppress on a new target: A vocal group of student communists campaigning for workers' rights.

Student activists fighting for labour rights around the country have been beaten up and detained. Witnesses have also been attacked.

The Chinese Communist Party's crackdown on the student group, who describe themselves as Marxists and Maoists, appears counterintuitive.

But China has long opposed of all kinds of grassroots protests for the sake of maintaining the country's stability.

China's Communist Party is cracking down on a new target - student communists campaigning for workers' rights.

At least a dozen student activists campaigning for workers' rights in China are missing, their friends have told outlets including Reuters, The New York Times, and The Guardian.

Over the past week agents of the Chinese government violently rounded up the young activists in major cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Wuhan, and detained them. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Their friends and associates told Reuters this was likely a coordinated effort to silence their campaign.

More than ten people wearing dark clothing beat and dragged one activist, Zhang Shengye, into a black car last Friday night,Agence France-Presse reported, citing Zhang's associates.

Zhang, a recent graduate of the prestigious Peking University, was taken from the school's campus. His associates alleged that the university "acquiesced to the kidnapping," according to Agence France-Presse.

Other students passing by were also beaten up and stopped from taking photos or speaking, Agence France-Presse reported.

22-year-old witness Yu Tianfu, who was studying in a nearby cafe, told The New York Times agents threw him to the ground, covered his mouth, kicked his head, and threatened to attack him more if he shouted again.

At least four other Peking University students and alumni were rounded up that day, Reuters reported.

Story continues



Read more: Here's what China does to people who speak out against them



Peking university china

Why is the Communist Party cracking down on communists?

The missing activists formed part of a vocal group of campaigners who have since this summer staged protests around the country to support workers' rights.

The student activists describe themselves as Marxists and Maoists, and say their support of workers' rights were part of their communist agenda, The Guardian reported.

They originally formed their campaign to support workers at Jasic Technology, a welding machinery company in Shenzhen, who were fired and arrested for trying to form a labour union.

But their protests have since expanded to other causes, including alleged worker abuse at an unnamed Chinese supplier for Apple, and for miners suffering from lung disease, The New York Times reported.

But this new crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party - formed decades ago to reflect Marxist theory and to support land workers' rights, and who still requires universities to give lessons on Marxism - is not as surprising as it sounds.

The Chinese state today, keen to maintain one-party order, disapproves of all kinds of grassroots protests as they are seen to undermine the party and disrupt the country's stability. Additionally, while China's communist party retains the central government and economic planning of Marxist governments, it's widely embraced capitalism and private enterprise.

This opposition to grassroots organisations extends to labour activists and independent unions.

In August Chinese riot police detained at least 40 of those student activists who were planning a demonstration for Jasic workers in Shenzhen.

Video footage showed riot police, wearing helmets and carrying shields, bursting into the students' apartment and scuffling with them.

Some of those students remain missing, the Financial Times reported.
Several people, including a state senator, were arrested during protests inside Georgia's state capitol on Tuesday.

The protests come on the last day of ballot counting in Georgia's tight gubernatorial race.

Republican Brian Kemp is leading Democrat Stacey Abrams with 50.3 per cent of the vote, but the race would go to a runoff if Kemp is pushed below the 50 per cent mark.

Several people were arrested during protests inside Georgia's state capitol on Tuesday, the last day of ballot counting in Georgia's tight and contentious gubernatorial race.

State Senator Nikema Williams was arrested after she refused to leave the floor of the capital, despite the fact that she said she was not actively protesting.

"I'm being arrested because I refused to leave the floor of a body I serve in. I'm a state senator. I was not yelling. I was not chanting. I stood peacefully next to my constituents because they wanted their voices to be heard, and now I'm being arrested," Williams told reporters.

https://twitter.com/MurphyCBS46/status/1062425579465654273?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

The arrests sparked immediate outrage from the left online.

https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/1062428301581524992?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

As of Tuesday, Abrams is trailing Kemp, who has 50.3% of the vote, by about 58,000 votes - or 1.5 percentage points.

Ballots continue to be counted in the state, and a runoff would be triggered if neither candidate earns 50% of the vote in the final count. While Kemp has called Abrams' refusal to concede "a disgrace to democracy," thousands of provisional ballots have been counted since election day - including at polling sites that initially said they had completed their counts.

Despite the ongoing count - which will end on Tuesday, both Kemp and Trump have declared Republican victory in the race.



Read more:





Hotly contested recounts are underway in Florida, as Georgia and Arizona scramble to finalise results in key races



Story continues

A federal judge Monday night ordered all of the state's provisional ballots to be counted and prevented the state from certifying the election before a Friday deadline. Still, Abrams would need over 20,000 more votes to trigger a runoff, which would be held on December 4, and it's unclear whether there are enough uncounted votes to narrow the gap between Abrams and Kemp.

"We will continue to fight for each and every eligible vote to be counted because in a democracy, every vote should be valued. Georgians deserve nothing less," Abrams' campaign manager told NBC News on Saturday.

Further intensifying the contentious battle are charges that the state has engaged in widespread voter suppression. As Georgia's secretary of state, Kemp purged an unprecedented 1.5 million inactive voters from the rolls and classified over 50,000 voters - the vast majority of whom are black - as "pending" because their information did not precisely reflect data in government records.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was willing to discuss a peace treaty with Russia -- two countries still technically at war with each other -- during a meeting with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The two leaders met face-to-face on the sidelines of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore. Both countries are seeking to try to end a thorny territorial row that has dogged relations since the end of World War II. The dispute between Russia and Japan centres on four islands in the strategically-located Kuril chain which the Soviet Union occupied at the end of the war in 1945 but are claimed by Japan. It has kept the two countries from signing a peace accord that would formally end their wartime hostilities. "We hope to discuss not only bilateral cooperation, including our economies... but also the issue of the peace treaty," Abe told Putin, according to a Russian translation of his words at the start of the meeting. "I am ready to give enough time to this, the peace treaty," he added. Putin first suggested the two countries sign a peace treaty "without any preconditions" in September. The proposal was initially received coolly in Japan, where a government spokesman said the two countries should first resolve the dispute before signing a peace deal. But in recent months, diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue appear to have accelerated, at least to the point where Japan is willing to discuss what a treaty might look like. In his response to Abe on Wednesday Putin said: "I am delighted to be able to discuss with you all the angles of our cooperation, including those that you personally consider to be priorities." Historically, Japan insists the islands, which were once inhabited by the Ainu indigenous people, have never belonged to anyone else. Russia considers them spoils of war as agreed between then US president Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1945. Strategically, control of the islands gives Russia year-round access to the Pacific Ocean for its Pacific fleet of warships and submarines based in Vladivostok, as the surrounding water does not freeze in winter. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) told Russian President Vladimir Putin he was willing to discuss a peace treaty between the two countries, which are still technically at war
Hundreds of fluttering red flags, buses emblazoned with "China Aid" logos and even a purpose-built pagoda: driving around Port Moresby, you could be forgiven for thinking that Xi Jinping is hosting this week's APEC summit of Asia-Pacific leaders. US President Donald Trump's decision to skip the summit in Papua New Guinea has allowed the Chinese leader to take centre stage, an opportunity that Beijing is seizing with relish. Xi will embark on a state visit a day before the rest of the delegates descend on this dusty sun-baked city -- and host a meeting with Pacific leaders -- a schedule designed to emphasise growing Chinese influence in the region. On Friday, he is expected to open a new road and be treated to a traditional "sing sing" -- a tribal welcome complete with Birds of Paradise-feathered headdresses and grass skirts, underscoring his status as the man of the moment. In front of the plush Stanley Hotel where Xi and the Chinese delegation will stay, dozens of red flags surround a pagoda, every bit as ostentatious as Xi's diplomatic gambit. Beijing has been working hard to expand its influence across the Pacific, securing new markets for Chinese firms, snapping up rights to mine, cut and harvest raw materials and developing a deep network of political influence. Poor countries like Papua New Guinea -? craving investment and much-needed capital -? have welcomed the Chinese government with open arms. Total trade between China and the Pacific islands reached $7.25 billion in 2017, plus another $3 billion in investment, according to official data from Beijing. "Relations between the two sides have entered a new stage of rapid development," said Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheng Zeguang of China's ties with the Pacific. Port Moresby is replete with evidence of that investment, from Chinese-built dual carriageways, Chinese-built convention centres and even a Chinese-built supreme court. - Turning up - Increasingly, Beijing appears to be rivalling Washington as the region's pre-eminent economic power, even if it is still eclipsed militarily. Trump's decision not to attend the summit, and to send Vice President Mike Pence in his stead, has left Washington scrambling to convince allies that it has not conceded the battle for influence in the Pacific. The president pulling out of a US-led Asia-Pacific trade pact days after entering office and his willingness to question decades-old treaty obligations to defend Asian allies had already soured the mood. Instead of deepening ties, Pence's first task at the APEC summit will be to "try to reassure people about the continued US commitment to the region" said William Alan Reinsch, a former US trade official. On Saturday, Pence and Xi will give back-to-back speeches at the Asia-Pacific CEO summit aboard the Pacific Explorer, a cruise ship docked in Port Moresby's harbour. The rivalry between Beijing and Washington has only deepened as the two countries exchange tit-for-tat trade sanctions and barbs, with Pacific islands caught in the crossfire. "Tensions between the US and China are making it increasingly difficult for Asia-Pacific countries to maintain what has always been a delicate diplomatic balancing act" of maintaining good ties with both capitals, said Merriden Varrall of Australia's Lowy Institute. Senior White House officials speak darkly about Chinese financing coming with strings attached and of "protecting the sovereignty and independence of countries" so they can have "the freedom to be themselves without political and other forms of interference from abroad, from other powers". In Beijing, the tone is equally combative: "No country should try to obstruct the friendship and cooperation and exchanges between China and the island countries," said Zheng. But as Matthew Goodman, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, put it: "in Asia, 80 percent of life is showing up." If that is true, it may be advantage Beijing at this week's summit. Beijing has been working hard to expand its influence in Pacific nations like Papua New Guinea President Xi Jinping's schedule in Papua New Guinea is designed to emphasise growing Chinese influence in the region Xi Jinping will be treated to a welcome that will underscore his status as the man of the moment in Papua New Guinea Donald Trump's absence at the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea has allowed China to take centre stage Poor Pacific countries like Papua New Guinea, craving investment, have welcomed the Chinese government with open arms Pacific nations like Papua New Guinea have been caught in the crossfire as the Beijing-Washington rivalry intensifies
Former Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left prison for the first time in seven months on Wednesday as he faced questioning over corruption and money laundering in relation to the wide-ranging "Car Wash" graft probe. A massive security operation was put in place in the southern city of Curitiba, where the 73-year-old has been held since April, as press and around 100 devoted supporters flocked to the federal court where he and 12 others were interrogated by Judge Gabriela Hardt. Lula was questioned over refurbishments to a farm believed to belong to him, paid for by major construction companies between 2010 and 2014 in exchange for big contracts with state oil giant Petrobras. The afternoon hearing, which was closed to media, lasted around three hours. The leftist icon, already serving a 12-year sentence for accepting a seaside apartment as a bribe during his 2003-10 presidency, was then returned to his cell. Lula's defense lawyers maintain he is innocent of all charges against him and have accused authorities of harassment. Experts don't expect a decision before the end of the year. A lawyer for one of his fellow accused said Lula looked well but thinner than before. - Moral support - His supporters are convinced he's done nothing wrong and have held a vigil outside the federal police jail where he has been held since he was detained. He was brought to and from the court in a convoy of black vehicles and without being seen. "We knew they wouldn't give Lula the pleasure of seeing us but we still encourage him so that he can feel our presence," said Susi Montserrate, who was amongst a group of supporters stationed close to the prison. Earlier in the day, 54-year-old history teacher Eduardo Coelho, who was dressed in a red top emblazoned with Lula's image, said: "Today is an important day, it's the first time that he has left his political imprisonment." "We hope to see him but the important thing is that he sees he's not alone." Roberto Baggio, coordinator for the Landless Farmworkers Movement (MST) in Parana state, told AFP on Tuesday that Lula would be able to "see how much gratitude the people are showing him." Lula is credited during his two terms as president with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and the landless movement is a close ally to his Workers Party (PT). Hardt replaced Sergio Moro, the judge who jailed Lula and who has since been named justice minister by far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro swept to victory in last month's election, helped in no small part by Lula being barred from running due to his incarceration. During a campaign meeting in October, Bolsonaro had said Lula "will rot in jail." Lula's lawyers have accused Moro of bias and demanded the leftist leader's release. "Lula is the victim of a judicial witch-hunt unleashed by an agent wearing a judge's gown... who sought to cancel his freedom and rights," said the lawyers. Before being questioned, Lula met with his lawyers and the man who replaced him as the PT candidate during last month's election, Fernando Haddad. In addition to the current court case, Lula faces four others for passive corruption, influence peddling, money laundering and forming a criminal organization. He insists he is innocent of all accusations and has denounced the charges as political persecution. Lula has been incarcerated since April for having accepted a bribe from a major construction firm during his presidency Supporters of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demonstrate outside a federal court in Curitiba
China said on Wednesday that it had never posed a threat to Europe as it responded to a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron for a "European army" to defend the bloc against China, Russia, and even the US. "We have never posed any threat to Europe," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, when asked about the issue at a daily press briefing in Beijing. Hua said that while "Europe has the right to decide its own foreign and defence policies", European leaders have in fact expressed a desire for closer cooperation with China. Macron touched off a controversy last week with his proposal, which is a touchy issue among European countries keen to handle their own defence, and in light of US President Donald Trump's calls for Europe to foot more of the bill for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defence alliance. Trump called Macron's idea "very insulting", tweeting that Europe should "first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidises greatly". German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, seconded Macron's proposal. During a European parliament session, she emphasised the need for Europe to bolster its self-defence capabilities, and said that a European army could run parallel to NATO. "Europe must take our fate into our own hands if we want to protect our community," she said. French President Emmanuel Macron (L) riled US leader Donald Trump with his call for the creation of a European army
Cuba announced Wednesday it will pull thousands of its doctors out of Brazil in response to president-elect Jair Bolsonaro's "direct, contemptuous and threatening" remarks about its medical aid program. The far-right leader has repeatedly criticized the Communist-run island's "More Doctors" program -- which sends thousands of Cuban doctors to work in deprived areas of Brazil -- and said his government would introduce changes. "In the light of this unfortunate reality, the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba has decided to discontinue its participation," Havana said in a statement. Bolsonaro has been scathing about Cuba's management of the five-year-old program, known in Brazil as "Mais Medicos," saying the doctors received only a quarter of what Brazil was paying the Cuban government for their services. His government would counteract that by directly hiring doctors who wanted to remain in the country, but would first demand they submit to a "capacity test." The Cuban health ministry angrily accused Bolsonaro of questioning its doctors' qualifications, and said all Cuban cooperation workers had been paid "their full salary in Cuba." Bolsonaro hit back on Twitter. "We made continuity of the More Doctors program conditional on a capacity test, (payment of) full salary to Cuban professionals, most of which is currently going to the dictatorship, and the freedom to bring their families." "Unfortunately Cuba did not accept," he wrote. In another tweet, he accused Cuba of exploiting its citizens by not fully paying their salaries and said Havana was "irresponsibly" ignoring the negative impacts its decision will have on Brazilians. Cuban President Manuel Diaz-Canel jumped to the program's defense, paying tribute on Twitter to the doctors' "dignity, deep sensitivity, professionalism, dedication and altruism." They had "rendered a valuable service to the people of Brazil," he added. In a pointed response to Bolsonaro, he said their work "must be respected and defended." The program has been in place since August 2013, and since then nearly 20,000 Cuban doctors have treated 113.5 million Brazilians, according to the ministry. - Strong words - In its strongly worded statement, Cuba said the conditions being imposed by Bolsonaro -- who takes office on January 1 -- were "unacceptable." It added Cuban doctors, currently serving in 67 countries, have brought medical care to areas of "extreme poverty" whether in Rio de Janeiro's favelas, Sao Paulo, Salvador de Bahia or the 34 Special Indigenous Districts, particularly Amazonia. "More than 700 municipalities were able to count on a doctor for the first time ever." The Brazilian people "recognized their virtues," the health ministry said, and knew who should be "held responsible for our doctors not being able to continue offering their fraternal contribution in that country." Cuba's "white-coat diplomacy" began under Fidel Castro after the 1959 revolution, and has grown to become the island's most valuable export, bringing in an estimated $11 billion a year. Cuban media reported this week that Havana is sending 500 more doctors to crisis-wracked Venezuela. Cuba had held out hope of being able to work with Bolsonaro's government after years of cooperation with his leftist predecessors, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. The More Doctors program began when Rousseff was president. "We have no problems in having relations with people who think differently from us," said Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca ahead of the Brazilian election. However, the withdrawal of its doctors, and Bolsonaro's barbed comments on Twitter, sets relations at a new low even before the right-winger has officially taken power. Cuban physicians in Brazil marking the passage of a law on October 22, 2013 that set up a program enabling them to work in deprived areas of Brazil Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has pledged to make changes to a program that pays Cuba for the services of thousands of doctors working in deprived parts of the South American giant


The mother of a woman who was bludgeoned to death in a violent attack 34 years ago has paid a tearful tribute to her daughter as police launch a fresh bid to find her killer.

Leslie Patricia Larkin was brutally attacked and left for dead at her Noosa Heads unit on November 9, 1984.

The 31-year-old yoga instructor died in hospital the next day, after a neighbour found her lying naked, with severe head injuries, in a bedroom.

Leslie Patricia Larkin was brutally attacked and left for dead at her Noosa Heads unit on November 9, 1984. Source: Queensland Police

On Wednesday, Queensland Police reminded the public of the $250,000 reward to solve her murder, calling her death a horrific, callous homicide.

(Her mother) is an elderly lady, she cant really get closure, Sunshine Coast Detective inspector David Drinnen told reporters on Wednesday.

She doesnt know what the reason is behind what has happened.

In a tearful video, Leslies mother Pat Lleiss paid tribute to her daughter.

She was so gentle, so beautiful, so naive, and she died such a terrible, terrifying death, she said.

It just makes absolutely no sense to anybody that knew Leslie.

In a tearful video, Leslies mother Pat Lleiss paid tribute to her daughter. Source: Queensland Police

Police said that the front door to Ms Larkins apartment was open but there were no signs of a struggle. Nor was she sexually assaulted, her family said.

Det Insp Drinnen said new information had prompted cold case detectives to reopen the case in January.

Information provided to us is that Ms Larkin had experienced some distressing incidents in the weeks prior to her death, Det Insp Drinnen said.

We believe Ms Larkin confided in the people closest to her about these incidents.

Police said that the front door to Ms Larkins apartment was open but there were no signs of a struggle. Source: Queensland Police

Detectives are now desperate to hear from those who were closest to Ms Larkin, and who might know details of incidents that marred Ms Larkins life before she was killed.

Ms Larkin, who was a regular at Franks Gym in Noosa, also worked in local restaurants and at the time of her death, she was visiting restaurants in the area looking for a new job.

She was energetic and full of life, the detective said.

She was certainly someone who was well-known in the community and her circle of friends, which is why we are appealing to those people out there that had contact with her in the two to three weeks prior to her death to come forward, he said.

Story continues

On the 30th anniversary of her death, Ms Larkin was remembered by her sister, Juanita Wotherspoon, as a vivacious and beautiful young woman with a great smile and gentle eyes.

She did not deserve this. We still wait hoping that one day we will know who and why, she told told The Sunshine Coast Daily.

A reward of $250,000 remains on offer for information that leads to Ms Larkins killer.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
President Donald Trump accused France on Tuesday of unfairly hindering US wine exports by imposing higher tariffs on the American product than those the United States places on imports of French wine. The president is partly right: officially, France and its territories are part of the EU Customs Union and Paris does not set customs policy for the 28-member block. But EU import duties on wine are higher than those imposed by Washington, which could be one reason that Europe, a historic center of wine production, buys less of the American product. - What are we verifying? - After participating in the weekend's centennial World War I commemorations in France, where bitter divisions among the transatlantic partners were on full display, Trump fired off a tweet accusing Paris of taking advantage of the United States in the wine trade. "On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the US," Trump said on Twitter. "The problem is that France makes it very hard for the US to sell its wines into France and charges big Tariffs, whereas the US makes it easy for French wines and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!" The presidential tweet was entirely consistent with Trump's long-held view of international commerce: in his eyes, a trade deficit -- i.e. when one country imports more than it exports -- means that country is getting "killed," "ripped off" or "crushed." Economists dispute the idea that trade deficits are entirely negative, as they allow industries and consumers access to lower-cost goods, especially when domestic production is not enough to meet demand. - What do we know? - As a member of the European Union, France does not set the economic bloc's uniform system for handling imports and exports. All 28 national customs services act in unison, applying common tariffs to all goods entering their borders that then move unhindered throughout the EU. US border taxes on imported wine are nevertheless lower than those imposed by the EU. Depending on the nature of the wine and its alcohol content, at the US border imported wine is dutiable at a rate of 5.3 cents to 12.7 cents per 750 ml bottle, according to the US International Trade Commission. Bubbly is taxed a higher rate of about 14.9 cents a bottle. On the other hand, according to the Wine Institute, a trade body promoting American exports, US wine entering Europe faces duties ranging from 11 to 29 cents per bottle depending on alcohol content. Furthermore, Americans drink far more European wine than the other way around. The Wine Institute says that in 2017, the United States imported $4.5 billion in European wine but sold only $553 million intended for European drinkers. For sparkling wines, the trade gap even more severe: $1.2 billion in champagne, prosecco, cava and other fizzy tipples went to America but only $3.5 million in American spumante was offloaded in the EU. "Wine Institute believes the upcoming trade negotiations between the US and EU will create market opportunities by reducing tariffs and addressing other market access issues," Robert Koch, the institute's president and CEO, said in a statement. An aerial view taken on September 24, 2018 shows a man standing past a vehicle with a trailer during the harvest in a vineyard of Saint-Emilion, south western France, known for its Grand Cru Saint-Emilion wine
France, Russia and the United States were locked in negotiations Wednesday to overcome differences over peace efforts in the Central African Republic ahead of a deadline for renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there. The Security Council must vote on prolonging the 12,000-strong MINUSCA mission in the Central African Republic by midnight Thursday, when the mission's mandate expires. Russia and the United States have raised objections to a French-drafted text presented last week that would see UN peacekeepers offer support to newly-trained national troops as they deploy across the country. The draft resolution, seen by AFP, also takes aim at recent Russian efforts to broker peace deals in CAR by specifying that an African-led initiative is "the only framework" for a solution. Working with Sudan, Russia in August convened talks in Khartoum of Central African militias who signed a preliminary agreement, drawing criticism from France of unhelpful meddling. "It's a kind of jealousy that we see," Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told AFP. "We think that the efforts that were deployed in Khartoum don't contradict the African initiative." "We do not like the current draft," Polyanskiy said, adding that he was hopeful that a compromise could be reached. The European Union has trained more than 3,000 men and women to serve in the Central African armed forces while Russia and France have provided them with weapons and other military equipment, with UN approval. Russia has also provided training to hundreds of troops and is insisting that MINUSCA support those forces, diplomats said. - Clock ticking - The proposal is facing resistance from the United States, which says it is seeking to streamline peacekeeping operations to reduce costs and make them more effective. Washington is insisting that any logistical support provided by MINUSCA should not lead to additional expenses for the mission, diplomats said. The US mission to the United Nations declined to comment on negotiations. A French diplomat said the council was holding "extensive discussions on the text, with the aim of agreeing on a draft by tomorrow that will accommodate everyone." If no agreement is reached by Thursday however, the council could adopt a temporary renewal of MINUSCA to allow negotiations to continue. The Central African Republic is struggling to recover from the bloodletting that exploded in 2013 after the ouster of leader Francois Bozize, a Christian, by mainly Muslim Seleka rebels. The current president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, controls only a fraction of the country, most of which is overrun by militants who claim to protect either the Christian or Muslim communities. MINUSCA is the UN's fourth largest mission, after the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Mali. France, Russia and the United States are struggling to overcome differences at the UN Security Council on renewing the mandate of the MINUSCA peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic
Forces loyal to Yemen's government on Wednesday halted an offensive on the lifeline port of Hodeida as the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the pro-government coalition, threw its weight behind "early" UN peace talks. Three military officials told AFP that pro-government forces were "ordered" to stop their assault against the Iran-linked Huthi rebels until further notice, but would resume operations should the insurgents attack. The UAE state minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said meanwhile his country welcomed the "early convening of UN-led talks in Sweden" and urged warring factions to take advantage of diplomatic efforts. The UN is pushing for peace talks by the end of the year, and Sweden said it is ready to host them. The developments came after the offensive on Hodeida by pro-government forces and the Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, appeared to stall. After 12 days of clashes, Hodeida was "quiet" and its port was "operating", Gargash tweeted. "We are working closely with the UN on expanding humanitarian assistance for all areas of Yemen," he added. On the ground in Hodeida, a relative calm was holding for a second full day, and despite the thundering sound of jets flying overhead, no major fighting was reported. Burnt out cars were seen on the streets of the city, whose port serves as a key lifeline to the impoverished country. Speaking to AFP earlier, a military official said pro-government forces had temporarily stopped their advance into the port to allow safe passage for civilians, humanitarian staff and wounded. One military official said however that the pro-government forces would be launching major operations "in the coming days". "The battles will not stop, except with the liberation of Hodeida and the whole west coast," he said. On Tuesday, a Huthi spokesman had told a news conference broadcast on the rebels' Al-Masirah TV that they were ready for "war in the streets" of Hodeida. - 'Mining the port' - The Huthis, who seized the port in 2014, said they were mining across Hodeida province, airing footage late Tuesday of what they said were landmine explosions targeting pro-government forces. Three port employees reached by telephone said they had also begun to mine entryways to the port overnight. The Huthis had planted explosives near two of the port's gates, one that leads to Jizan Road, a main street in the city's north, and the other near the Alsanabel flour mill company, they said. "There is only one entrance left into the port, and that is the main gate that leads to Mina Street that trucks use," one employee, who requested anonymity, told AFP. Hodeida port came under attack late Monday for the first time since June, when government troops supported by a Saudi-led coalition launched an assault on the city. The port's deputy director, Yahya Sharafeddine, said the main entrance to the docks had been hit, but it was fully functioning. Residents in Hodeida say they had feared a siege on the city, home to some 600,000 people, with only one major exit route in still open to traffic, on the northern edge. - Conditions 'extremely bad' - According to the UN's office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday, 34 people were killed among 92 civilian casualties in the first week of November in Hodeida province. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said about 445,000 people have fled Hodeida province since June. Nearly four years into the war, there has been an increase in international pressure to end the fighting in Hodeida, whose docks are the entry point for some 80 percent of food imports and humanitarian aid into impoverished Yemen. The UN has warned an attack on the port would be "catastrophic" in a country where half the population is at risk of starvation. World Food Programme chief David Beasley, who is visiting the country, said up to 14 million Yemenis were on the brink of starvation, and 18 to 19 million were now "food insecure". "Conditions on the ground are extremely, extremely bad," he told the BBC on Wednesday. "Bottom line, we need for this war to end." Hodeida port is under a near-total blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies, who accuse Iran of smuggling arms to the Huthis. Tehran denies the accusation. According to UN figures, nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the conflict in 2015 to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Rights groups fear the actual toll is a lot higher. Hodeida port is the entry point for nearly all food imports and humanitarian aid into impoverished Yemen Map of Yemen locating Hodeida, where a relative calm is holding after days of clashes Yemeni pro-government forces gather in a street on the eastern outskirts of Hodeida as they continue to battle for the control of the city from Huthi rebels A man sells fish at a market in the northern district of Abs in Yemen's northwestern Hajjah province on November 13, 2018 A Yemeni child plays in Sanaa's old city on November 13, 2018


The federal government has agreed to extend the opt-out deadline for the controversial My Health Record system until the end of January.

The opt-out period for the program (which began in July) was initially extended by a month, pushing it out until Thursday, November 15.

Now, a day before the deadline, the Senate has voted to accept a new deadline of January 31.

The system  which is an online summary of an individuals health information, including allergies, medical conditions, treatments, medicines and test reports  raised concerns about the level of security and privacy surrounding the data.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has extended the opt-out period for the My Health Record system

Another concern was that domestic violence perpetrators might be able to find the addresses of former partners, particularly if both are parents and have access to their childrens health data.

There are also fears private health insurers may one day be able to access the data.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced changes based on two Senate reviews and other feedback, including harsher penalties for those who misuse the system.

Victims of domestic violence would also be better protected, and private health insurers would be unable to access data even when it had been de-identified.

The website to opt-out of the system crashed on Wednesday afternoon before the Senates vote, prompting a further push to have the deadline extended.

Hearing reports of people having trouble opting out of #MyHealthRecord today as the website keeps crashing and the phones have a recorded message that they are too busy.

Government needs to extend the opt out period until parliament votes on amendments and public better informed  Prof Kerryn Phelps AM (@drkerrynphelps) November 14, 2018

Labors push to have the deadline extended by 12 months was denied before One Nations amendment for a January 31 deadline was approved.

So far, about four per cent of Australians (1.147 million) have opted out of the electronic health record system. The final opt-out figure is expected to hit 10 per cent.

People that do opt-in are able to remove themselves from the program and permanently delete their records at any time.
Italian far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Wednesday met dozens of African migrants, recently evacuated from Libya by the UN, and sought to reassure them that Italy is "a welcoming, generous and supportive country". Salvini, who has been at the forefront of the country's hardline approach to immigration, met the group of 51 migrants, mostly families or women with children, on the tarmac at a military airport near Rome. "For women and children in difficulty, the only way to arrive is by plane, not by inflatable dinghy, because the dinghies are operated by criminals who in exchange for trafficking in human beings, buy weapons," he said. "This is a demonstration that Italy is a welcoming, generous and supportive country, where I have been entrusted with the duty of bringing back some rules and order." Almost all those in the group of 32 adults and 19 children came from Horn of Africa nations Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, as well as Sudan. They were among more than 2,300 vulnerable people who have been evacuated from Libya via Niger by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, since December. They will be placed with host families in Italy by a Catholic association. Salvini, the head of the far-right League, which is in a coalition government with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), has vowed to stop migrant arrivals and Rome has moved to close its ports to rescue boats. He supports a deal between Italy and Libya, forged under the previous, centre-left government, under which the Libyan coast guard intercepts migrants and returns them to the conflict-torn country. In return, Italy is developing initiatives to legally accept vulnerable people stranded in Libya, where thousands of migrants face arbitrary detention, extortion and violence. The UNHCR has estimated there to be 679,000 migrants registered living in Libya as of June 2018, though the actual number could be closer to a million. The situation in Libya's detention centres "continues to deterioriate" because of food scarcity and the spread of diseases including tuberculosis, the UNHCR's special envoy for the Central Mediterranean, Vincent Cochetel, warned Wednesday. Last month the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned the "political discourse concerning refugees and migrants, particularly those arriving by boat, has become dangerously toxic", adding that while boat arrivals had fallen deaths at sea had risen. On Tuesday Italian police bulldozed a symbolic makeshift camp in Rome, where about a hundred migrants had been living after leaving -- voluntarily or otherwise -- Italy's reception system. Italy?s Interior Minister and deputy PM Matteo Salvini (C) welcomes on November 14, 2018 a group of 51 migrants from Niger, entitled to international protection, upon their arrival at the Mario De Bernardi military airport in Pratica di Mare, south of Rome.
The Kremlin hit out Wednesday at the "unpredictability" of the United States under the Trump administration, saying it was causing "deep global concern". "The fact that America has become unpredictable lately is no secret to anyone," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Dozhd TV during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to a regional summit in Singapore. "Such unpredictability from the largest country, the most powerful economy in the world, is the subject of deep global concern," he added. Peskov's comments come two weeks ahead of a slated face-to-face between President Donald Trump and Putin at a G20 summit in Argentina. Relations between the two countries have hit new lows with American officials planning to roll out fresh sanctions against Moscow in response to the botched poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain. Western governments have accused Russia of being behind the plot which saw Skripal and his daughter poisoned with a nerve agent. Two British citizens were also poisoned, one of whom died. Moscow has denied being behind the brazen hit and has condemned efforts to sanction it over the incident. "We do not recognise these unilateral restrictions... and we consider them illegitimate," Peskov said of the threatened sanctions, adding they would only "further complicate" Russia-US relations. World leaders are currently meeting in Singapore, which is hosting the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. Trump is not at the gathering and has sent Vice President Mike Pence instead. Peskov said "no separate meeting" was currently planned between Putin and Pence. But he added that there was no need for a face-to-face given Trump and Putin will soon meet in Buenos Aires. There is 'deep global concern' about US 'unpredictability' under President Trump, the Kremlin spokesman said
(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 23, 2017 A photo released on the Facebook page of Libya's Ministry of Interior's Special Deterrence Force on May 24, 2017 claims to shows Hashem Abedi, the brother of the man suspected of carrying out the bombing in the British city of Manchester, after he was detained in Tripoli for alleged links to the Islamic State (IS) group.Hashem Abedi, brother of the Manchester bomber, was found guilty by an Old Bailey jury on March 17, 2020 of the murder of 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert

Libya is planning to extradite the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi to Britain by the end of the year, Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj told the BBC in an interview on Wednesday. Britain last year submitted a request to extradite Hashem Abedi after the bombing in May 2017 in which 22 people -- many of them minors -- were killed. Abedi detonated the bomb, killing himself, outside one of the arena exits shortly after the end of a concert by pre-teen idol Ariana Grande. Hashem Abedi is suspected of involvement and is wanted by Manchester police on charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause explosions. In an interview with the BBC on the sidelines of an international conference in Italy, Sarraj said: "I think from here to the end of this year we will finish all the legal procedures in Libya. "We are fully cooperating because we understand the suffering of the families of the victims of this terrorist attack. "According to the general prosecutor we can extradite. After we complete the legal process in Libya it is only a matter of time." When Britain first made the extradition request in November 2017, the armed group holding him refused it. The Manchester Arena bombing was Britain's worst terror attack in more than a decade. Salman Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994, to parents who had been granted asylum after fleeing Moamer Kadhafi's regime. He was in Libya just days before the attack. Britain submitted a request in 2017 to extradite Hashem Abedi (pictured May 2017) on suspicion of involvement in the bombing in May of that year in which 22 people -- many of them minors -- were killed
A man has been arrested after he allegedly tried to burn down a traffic camera in Adelaide twice in one night.

The speed camera at the intersection of Anzac Highway and Greenhill Road in Wayville was smashed and set alight at about 12.20am on Wednesday, South Australia Police said.

Police and fire crews were called to the scene and quickly extinguished the small fire but roughly three hours later it was alight again.

Witnesses reported seeing a man throw flaming underwear at the device and called the second fire into police.

The fire burns at the base of the speed camera and (right) an MFS firefighter inspects the damage. Images : 7 News

A 40-year-old Reynella man has been arrested and charged with two counts of arson. Image: 7 News

A 40-year-old Reynella man was arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of arson.

A spokesperson for SA Police told Yahoo7 News that closer inspection revealed the charred garment at the base of the speed camera was more likely to be socks and not underwear.

Police said they are are now investigating just how much damage was done to the camera and whether or not it is still operational.

The mans vehicle was seized for forensic examination and he is expected to front court on Wednesday.
Advertised as the most magical place on Earth, Disneyland is the stuff of dreams for many of its visitors worldwide.

But the enchantment was lost for one visitor to Floridas Walt Disney World after he was banned from the park for brandishing a pro-Trump banner, Fox29 reported.

Images taken at the park show Dion Cini holding a Trump 2020 banner as he hurtles along the log flume attraction at the Orlando amusement park.

An annual passholder at Disney parks for 24 years, Cini had been warned before over his use of Trump memoribilia and had recently had a previous ban overturned, WFTV reported.

According to strict rules at Walt Disney World visitors are prohibited from organising unauthorized events, demonstrations or speeches and must refrain from the usage of any flag, banner or sign for commercial purposes, or to incite a crowd.

Cini had been warned previously over his behaviour at the park. Source: Getty

Cini was handed the photo of himself on the ride with a notice attached saying he was trespassed from all Walt Disney World properties.

Cini shard the image on Facebook, drawing a mixed reaction from the online community.

Not all heroes wear capes! one supporter of Cini quipped.

People come to Disney to escape the world, not deal with some boomer a**hole on Splash Mountian blocking their view with a Trump sign, one disapproving user wrote.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that the military operation to harden the US-Mexico frontier was clearly necessary, as he visited troops deployed on the controversial mission. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment in the build-up to last week's midterm elections, with critics assailing the move as a costly political stunt to mobilize his conservative base. According to Mattis, some 5,900 troops are now at the border. The mission could see upwards of about 9,000 active-duty and reserve troops. The Pentagon chief said the military was needed to provide vital support to short-handed border patrol agents ahead of the anticipated arrival of large groups of migrants in so-called "caravans." "I think that it's very clear that support to border police or Border Patrol is necessary right now," he told reporters traveling with him as he headed to Base Camp Donna in Texas. He said border agents need help with everything from laying barbed wire to being ferried around the frontier by helicopter, adding that the mission provided useful training to troops and enhanced their military readiness. "We determined that the mission was absolutely legal," Mattis said. "It's obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen." Critics have said the deployment is a waste of money and is not needed, especially as its focus is on preventing a main caravan of migrants that might not even reach the border until after the mission wraps up on December 15. That caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on October 13 and has covered more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) so far. The pace picked up Wednesday as migrants were being ferried on buses toward Tijuana, where hundreds of arriving migrants have begun to gather. At least two other caravans have since been established, defying threats from Trump -- who has decried what he describes as an "invasion." The Pentagon still has not provided a cost estimate for the mission, but US media say it could stretch well beyond $200 million. Republican Senator Jeff Flake told MSNBC on Wednesday that the deployment was merely political. "It's unfortunate that we have soldiers there," he told the network. "You can't call it anything but a stunt here, and it's unfortunate that they are going to be away from family during the holidays coming up and we just don't know what really for." Mattis last month said the Pentagon doesn't "do stunts." The US military has often deployed to the southern border, he said, including about a century ago to protect against raids from Pancho Villa and his Mexican revolutionaries. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks to the press outside the Pentagon this week
Drug baron Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's defense told his New York trial Tuesday that his cartel bribed Mexican presidents, painting the absent co-defendant as a ruthless criminal who murdered in cold blood. Opening statements finally got underway after two jurors were dismissed from the lineup, forcing lawyers and the judge to re-interview potential candidates before the full panel could be sworn in. One woman was struck after complaining that the trial was causing her health problems, along with a man who said he would not be able to support himself financially during the trial. Two replacements were subsequently found. Guzman, one of the world's most notorious criminals, is on trial in New York after twice escaping from prison in Mexico. He faces 11 trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges in what is expected to be a more than four-month trial. He is accused of leading the Sinaloa cartel and turning it into the largest criminal organization on the planet. He is considered the world's largest drug trafficker since the death of Colombia's Pablo Escobar. But in opening statements, the defense alleged that Guzman's co-defendant who remains at large, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, was the real culprit. "The truth is he (Guzman) controlled nothing, Mayo Zambada did," Jeffrey Lichtman told the US federal court in Brooklyn. Zambada, he alleged, bribed everybody, "including the very top, the current president of Mexico and the former," he added in reference to Mexico's outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto and his predecessor, Felipe Calderon. Both Calderon and Pena Nieto swiftly denied taking any bribes from the Sinaloa cartel, the former calling the allegation "absolutely false and reckless" and the latter saying it was "completely false and defamatory." - Gold-plated Ak-47 - "Mayo can get people arrested and get the Mexican army and police kill who he wants," Lichtman added. Instead, Guzman, who has been in solitary confinement in America and whose trial is accompanied by massive security, is a "scapegoat," the lawyer claimed. "Why does the Mexican government need a scapegoat? Because they're making too much money being bribed by the leaders of drug cartels." The 12 jurors who will determine the 61-year-old defendant's guilt or innocence have an enormous and onerous task before them. During jury selection last week, several potential jurors were dismissed because they feared for their lives, as was another who suffered a panic attack. Their names will be kept anonymous. They will be partially sequestered, escorted to and from court every day by armed US Marshals. Prosecutors contend that Guzman spent a quarter of a century smuggling cocaine into the United States. They say that from 1989 to 2014, the Sinaloa smuggled 340,892 pounds (154,626 kilograms) of cocaine into the United States, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, raking in $14 billion. "Money, drugs, murder; a vast global narcotics trafficking organization. That is what this trial is about and that is what the evidence in this case will prove," Assistant US Attorney Adam Fels told the court. Guzman, he alleged in his opening statements, had his "own private army" of hundreds of men armed with assault rifles, as well as his own diamond-encrusted pistol branded with his initials and a gold-plated AK-47. - 'In his own words' - US prosecutors have spent years piecing together a case that they hope will end with Guzman spending the rest of his life behind bars in a maximum-security US prison, accumulating more than 300,000 pages and at least 117,000 recordings in evidence against Guzman. While he is not on trial for murder, They contend that he ordered or committed at least 33 homicides. "You'll see how Guzman pulls the trigger," the prosecutor told jurors. Prosecutors promised to discuss "this global narco empire in his own words" and from witnesses detailing how he would receive $10 million from a single shipment of cocaine. More than a dozen of the several hundred witnesses expected to testify are in witness protection programs or are already in jail, housed in special wings to protect them from reprisals. "You'll have the chance to read his text messages, evidence of drug deals, killings, corruption," Fels said. "He was indeed the boss of his organization," the prosecutor added, saying Guzman "used planes, trains, automobiles, fishing vessels, trucks, even submarines," to traffic drugs to the United States. Guzman arrived in New York in January 2017. He twice escaped from prison in Mexico, once hidden in a laundry cart and the second time slipping down a tunnel that reached his prison shower. In New York, he spends 23 hours a day in his cell. The only visitors he is allowed are his lawyers and daughters, from whom he is separated by thick glass. Drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, one of the world's most notorious criminals, is on trial in New York after twice escaping from prison in Mexico Guzman's lawyer Eduardo Balarezo claims his client is a "scapegoat" The prosecution team (center in black) walks past a line of people outside the Brooklyn federal courthouse before opening arguments in Guzman's trial on November 13, 2018 Mexican drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman
How did Hodeida become the main frontline in Yemen's devastating war? Who is winning, and what's next for the crucial port city? After nearly four years of conflict between Yemen's Huthi insurgents and a pro-government military alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the fight is now closing in on the rebel-held Red Sea city. The battle for Hodeida has sparked UN warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe -- and unprecedented diplomatic pressure to end the war. - What's happening in Hodeida? - Hodeida is the sole remaining rebel enclave on Yemen's Red Sea coastline and a valuable geopolitical prize. The Hodeida port, the entry point for some 80 percent of food imports and aid into Yemen, has been under blockade by the Saudi-led coalition since last year. The alliance has waged an intermittent five-month campaign to seize the port. It accuses Riyadh's regional rival Tehran of using it to smuggle arms to the Huthis, which Iran denies. "Most of the momentum we have seen on the frontlines in the last year has been along the Red Sea coast, leading northward to Hodeida -- the biggest strategic prize," said Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. "But the same reason that Hodeida is so strategic militarily is why humanitarian workers are so alarmed by the prospect of a military campaign," she added. "Any shock to the port's operations and the outflow of goods could devastate not only Hodeida itself, but Yemen's entire north, which relies on it as a gateway for nearly all food and other goods." - Who's winning? - The Huthi rebels and Saudi-led coalition bring very different strengths to a complex conflict. The coalition, which edged a few kilometres into eastern Hodeida city this month, has US-backed, UAE-trained boots on the ground and the strength of Saudi Arabia's air force, also assisted by the United States. The Huthis however have a history of guerrilla warfare, an advantage in a fight for control over one of Yemen's most densely populated cities. The rebels, who have confirmed the use of landmines in areas under their control, say they are ready to fight to the end. Coalition troops were ordered this week to halt their advance on Hodeida, according to three field commanders contacted by AFP on Wednesday. So for now, there is neither victor nor vanquished in Hodeida. A coalition attack on the docks remains a possibility, which would put at risk 14 million aid-dependant Yemenis already on the verge of mass starvation. "Fighting is fierce. There have been gains on the coalition side over the last year as they've moved up the coast towards Hodeida, but the Huthis are fighting back," said Kristine Beckerle, Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch. "So the winners aren't clear, not yet. The losers: Yemeni civilians." - What next? - Kick-starting peace talks is now a key goal for Western powers, who turned their focus to Yemen after the high-profile murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The UN is pushing for yet another round of negotiations by the end of the year, a move publicly supported by the UAE. But that doesn't necessarily rule out a move on the Hodeida port. "The coalition sees military pressure as key to ensuring the Huthis come to the table and are ready to compromise," said Dickinson. "They have repeatedly argued that taking Hodeida out of Huthi control would reduce the rebels' income and encourage them to negotiate in good faith." The US, Britain and France are leading the calls to halt hostilities in Yemen, where the US has for years provided military support to and shared intelligence with Saudi Arabia (which, in turn, has landed on a UN blacklist for the maiming and killing of children in air raids). Washington has, however, ended its aerial refuelling support for Saudi planes engaged in the Yemen war. Western powers now "have real leverage", Beckerle said, "but that requires the US, UK and France actually show the coalition they are serious." "They could do so by finally halting weapons sales and pushing strong language in a new UN resolution," she added. "For example, by asking for a UN expert panel, which already exists ... to lay out which individuals are responsible for violating the laws of war and obstructing humanitarian aid, and then sanctioning them." After nearly four years of conflict between Yemen's Huthi insurgents and a pro-government military alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the fight is now closing in on the rebel-held port city Map locating Hodeida in Yemen, where pro-government forces are attempting to retake the city from the rebels
The French government on Wednesday attempted to head off planned protests over rising fuel costs by announcing a series of measures to help poorer families pay their bills. A surge in the price of diesel has provoked an uproar in rural and small-town France, with citizens' groups threatening to block roads and highways on Saturday over what they call President Emmanuel Macron's anti-car policies. The "yellow vest" movement, named after the high-visibility jackets worn by protesters, is the latest to rattle Macron's centrist government. Around 600 protests are planned around the country on Saturday. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday ruled out a U-turn on higher taxes on diesel, considered a major source of air pollution, but promised to do more to help poor families shoulder the cost. "We have heard the need of the French to be assisted in the (ecological) transition, which is difficult," he said. With the rising cost of living emerging as one of the biggest challenges of Macron's presidency, Philippe announced that 5.6 million households would receive energy subsidies, up from 3.6 million currently. The state will also double the scrappage bonus on polluting vehicles for France's poorest families, expand the scheme to target one million motorists in total over five years and introduce fuel tax credits for those who use their cars a lot for work. - 'Fed up' - The measures appeared unlikely however to appease the "angry vests", who have tapped into frustration with Macron's policies, seen as favouring high-earners in cities over the rural population and the poor. The leader of the protests in the central-eastern Dole region, Fabrice Schlegel, said he hoped some 1,500 cars would turn out to snarl traffic on Saturday. "We've been scorned for years; for years we've been talked down to. It's time for us, the little people, the non-political, non trade-union people, to rise up," he told a recent rally. In 2013, a protest by the Breton 'Red Caps' over an environmental tax on trucks led to running battles between police and demonstrators. The Socialist government of then President Francois Hollande eventually backed down. During a tour of the provinces last week to try reconnect with rural voters, Macron -- whose approval ratings have sunk to under 30 percent -- was repeatedly harangued over fuel prices. The price of diesel has risen around 23 percent over the past 12 months to an average of 1.51 euros ($1,70) per litre -- its highest point since the early 2000s. But France's reform-minded president is also taking heat from environmentalists, who accuse him of not living up to his promise to "Make Our Planet Great Again". Opposition parties from both the left and the right have sought to tap into the discontent. Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the main opposition Republicans party, on Wednesday called on the government to cancel another planned increase in the carbon tax on fossil fuels to offset rising petrol prices. "This government is going to take 15 billion euros from French pockets and the prime minister this morning talks of handing 500 million back, that's not even three percent," Wauquiez, a conservative, said on BFMTV. Eric Coquerel, a law-maker from the radical left France Unbowed, said the French were "not just mobilising because of petrol prices. "They are fed up," he declared. France's "yellow vest" movement, named after the high-visibility jackets worn by protesters, is the latest to rattle Macron's centrist government Protester Jacline Mouraud has become a symbol of the discontent against the fuel price increases in France with citizen groups threatening to block roads and highways
Climate change is increasing the amount of rain that hurricanes produce, and as warming picks up storms will become increasingly wetter and windier, according to new research. The findings are based on extensive modelling that involved millions of computing hours on a supercomputer, and they show that climate change is already affecting the intensity of storms. "Climate change so far -- from preindustrial to present -- has contributed to increases in total storm rainfall from Hurricanes Katrina, Irma and Maria of about 5-10 percent," said the study's lead author Christina Patricola. "Our simulations also strongly indicate that we can expect to see even greater increases in rainfall and stronger winds by the end of the century," she told AFP. Patricola and co-author Michael Wehner, both researchers at the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, started by analysing three major hurricanes: Katrina, Irma and Maria. They used what Wehner refers to as a "hindcast attribution method" simulating first the scenario in which the storm occurred, and then a "counterfactual" storm in a world where climate change did not occur. By comparing the difference between the two models, the researchers were able to determine which elements resulted from climate change. They found climate change at the time of Katrina, which devastated parts of the United States in 2005, had increased the storm's rainfall by 4-9 percent. It increased the rain from Irma, an immensely costly storm that hit in 2017, by six percent, and upped the rainfall from Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico the same year, by nine percent. The models suggested climate had not so far affected wind speed, but rainfall can be more devastating than high winds, causing deadly flooding and enormous damage. - Wetter, windier storms - "We think that climate change has increased rainfall because the ocean and atmosphere have already started warming, which means the atmosphere can hold more moisture," said Patricola, while cautioning that other factors including changing storm dynamics could be at play. The researchers then expanded their study and analysed a total of 15 tropical cyclones -- storms that include Atlantic hurricanes, Pacific typhoons and cyclones around Australia. In addition to comparing the actual storms to pre-industrial conditions, they looked at how the storms would unfold under various theoretical climate change scenarios involving different temperature rises. They found rainfall could increase between 15 and 35 percent in the future, with wind speeds increasing by as much as 25 knots. The study, published Thursday in the journal Nature, comes after an active storm season that saw powerful hurricanes and devastating typhoons. And it was published at the same time as another study in Nature that found urbanisation in the US city of Houston directly contributed to the rainfall and flooding in 2017's Hurricane Harvey. The research found urban growth ate up land that could have absorbed rainfall, but also led to Harvey producing more rain for reasons including the way buildings affect air flow. Patricola and Wehner cautioned that their work uses one climate model, and further study will be needed to see if their results can be replicated. They also plan to study further the way climate change affects wind intensity and what other factors play a role in the impact of major storms. "More work is needed to interpret these changes to potentially improve resilience to extreme weather events," Patricola said. The study suggests that climate change will increase the amount of rain produced by tropical storms and hurricanes Researchers say that climate change will lead to more rainfall and stronger storms by the end of the century The study concludes that rainfall could increase between 15 and 35 percent in the future Scientists have found that climate change increased the rainfall in Puerto Rico's storm Maria in 2017 by nine percent
A nine-year-old schoolgirl riding her bike has been targeted in a terrifying abduction attempt in Melbournes northeast.

The girl was en route to Mernda Primary School when she was approached by a man at about 9am.

The man, believed to be in his 50s, produced a knife and grabbed the girls bike, threatening to stab her.

The man approached the girl just metres from her primary school. Source: Google Maps

The girl managed to break free after her mother called on her mobile phone and ran to her school where she reported the abduction attempt.

Dozens of police swamped the area in a massive manhunt.

The incident that has shocked local families of the normally quiet suburban neighbourhood.

The girl was riding along this path when she was approached. Source: 7News

You feel safe in a community like this so to know that kind of thing is happening in the community is kind of sickening really, one resident said.

(I feel) scared that someone like this is in the community and scaring the kids, another said.

A man has been taken into custody where he is being questioned by detectives from the sexual offences and child abuse investigation team.

Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the incident to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
Sri Lanka's parliament on Wednesday voted out the bitterly disputed government of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, removing one controversial figure but triggering another showdown with a hostile president. Colombo was in the grip of a power vacuum as a 19-day-old government was defeated on the floor of the legislature, effectively leaving the country without a prime minister and a cabinet of ministers. The island nation has been in crisis since the president sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with Rajapakse, who served as president until being voted out three years ago. On Tuesday the Supreme Court overruled President Maithripala Sirisena's dissolution of parliament and halted preparations for a snap election, in a major boost for the ousted prime minister. In stormy scenes Wednesday, legislators gave their verdict on the two rivals -- with a majority in the 225-member assembly supporting a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse. Parliament also passed motions declaring illegal the November 9 proclamations made by Sirisena to enshrine the power shift. However, the result does not yet mean that Wickremesinghe, who has refused to leave the prime minister's residence, has won the constitutional showdown. In his first response to the tumultuous events in parliament, Sirisena accused Speaker Karu Jayasuriya of violating legislative traditions. He said signatures of 122 legislators who opposed Rajapakse had not been certified as genuine, but stopped short of an outright rejection of resolution against his nominee for prime minister. An aide of the president had earlier suggested that Sirisena was likely to hand over power to Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), which remains the largest single group in the assembly, after the vote. Day-to-day administration in Sri Lanka remains paralysed as the crisis drags on. Constitutionally, it is the president who is empowered to appoint a new prime minister. The UNP said that Sirisena must now call on Wickremesinghe to form a new government. Wickremesinghe, who left his bunker at the Temple Trees official residence for the first time in nearly three weeks to go to parliament, hailed the vote. "This is a victory for the people," Wickremesinghe told reporters, condemning the president's actions as "illegal". He said officials should no longer take orders from the Rajapakse-led "purported government". - Loyalists flee - In a chaotic session, 72-year-old Rajapakse and his legislator son Namal walked out of the red-carpeted chamber just before the vote was taken. "The ayes have it," the speaker announced. "I rule that this House does not have confidence in the government (of Rajapakse)." Several Rajapakse ministers came out of parliament accusing the speaker of violating parliamentary norms. "He has no bloody business calling a vote," Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena said. Shortly after the collapse of Rajapakse's administration, three of his ministers switched to Wickremesinghe's side. Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday, shortly after an admission that Rajapakse did not have a majority. Several UNP legislators said they were offered up to $2.8 million to defect. Sirisena ordered a snap election on January 5, a move the independent Elections Commission announced was unconstitutional and illegal. A dozen petitions were filed in the Supreme Court which on Tuesday restored parliament and suspended the January 5 vote. Parliament held its first session following the court ruling under tight security. Thousands of armed police, including commandos, deployed along the key approach roads to parliament, which is located on a man-made lake island, with several anti-riot units on standby. Parliament officials had feared that supporters of Rajapakse's party might try to stop legislators from getting to parliament, but those concerns proved unfounded. A majority of Sri Lanka's parliament supported a no-confidence motion against former president and currently appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse (C) A majority of Sri Lanka's parliament supported a no-confidence motion against former president and currently appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse (C) Sri Lanka has been in crisis since the president sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (L) Several Rajapakse ministers accused Sri Lanka's parliament speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, of violating parliamentary norms by holding the crucial no-confidence vote
A teenage driver is lucky to be alive after crashing into the rear of a stationary tow truck south of Melbourne.

The 19-year-old Tyabb woman had just finished her night shift and was on her way home when she smashed into the bed of the truck as it was waiting to turn right off Coolart Road in the Mornington Peninsula.

Images shared by Mornington Peninsula Police revealed the extent of the damage.

The passengers side of the blue Holden Commodore sedan was caved in as a result of the impact.

The passengers side of the door was completely caved in. Image: Facebook/Mornington Peninsula Police

The 19-year-old smashed into the back of the tow truck as it was waiting to turn. Image: Facebook/Mornington Peninsula Police

It only takes a momentary break in concentration for things to go wrong, police wrote on their Facebook page.

Please drive safely.

The driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The UN Security Council will on Wednesday vote to lift sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa. Diplomats say they expect the council to unanimously adopt a British-drafted resolution that would lift the arms embargo and all travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea. The council slapped sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support of Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia, a claim Asmara has long denied. The draft resolution acknowledges that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab" and declares that the sanctions and arms embargo will end on the day of the adoption of the measure. Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace deal in July that ended two decades of hostility and led to friendlier relations with Djibouti, shoring up prospects for stability in the Horn of Africa. The draft resolution calls on Eritrea and Djibouti to continue efforts to settle a 2008 border dispute and asks Asmara to release information concerning Djiboutian soldiers missing in clashes a decade ago. At France's request, the council will hear a report every six months on Eritrea's efforts to normalize relations with Djibouti, where France, the United States and China all have military bases. - Look to the future - Ethiopian Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie said the end of sanctions will "definitely open up a lot of possibilities for Eritrea," drawing foreign investors and bringing Asmara back into the international fold. "The decision will give an impetus for us to look to what the future can offer to the people of the region while at the same time send a message for us to engage in solving current problems and challenges," the ambassador told AFP. Eritrea and Somalia strongly supported calls to end sanctions, and negotiations over the past two weeks focused on addressing concerns about Djibouti. "There were concerns by Djibouti," the ambassador said, "but these concerns are not insurmountable. We strongly believe that the leaders of these two countries are willing to deal with the issues." In his address to the General Assembly in September, Eritrea's Foreign Minister Osman Mohammed Saleh slammed the sanctions as "unwarranted," saying they had caused "considerable economic damage" and hardship for Eritreans. Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, and war broke out later that decade over a border dispute. A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it. A turnaround began in June when Ethiopia announced it would hand back to Eritrea disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme, where the first shots of the border war were fired. The leaders of Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia met last week in northern Ethiopia to push for regional economic development. The draft resolution however maintains an arms embargo on Somalia, imposed in 1992. Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki (L), Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (C) and Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed met in northern Ethiopia to push for regional economic development
The UN Security Council on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa. The council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution lifting the arms embargo, all travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions against Eritrea. Eritrea and Ethiopia hailed the decision as a boost for regional stability, four months after the two countries signed a peace deal that ended two decades of hostility and led to friendlier relations with Djibouti. Addressing the council after the vote, Eritrea's Charge D'affaires Amanuel Giorgio said his government had long considered the sanctions "unwarranted" and declared: "the long overdue call for justice is finally answered." Eritrea "is determined to redouble its own efforts and work closely with its neighbors to build a region at peace with itself," said Giorgio. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement that "the lifting of sanctions will have far-reaching effects in improving the stability of the Horn of Africa" and normalizing relations. The council slapped sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support of Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia, a claim Asmara has long denied. The resolution acknowledged that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab" and declared that the sanctions and arms embargo ended with the adoption of the measure. "The current developments will have, definitely, ripple effects in terms of economic progress, prosperity as well as human rights," Ethiopian Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie told reporters. UN officials have reported serious abuses by the Eritrean government that have triggered a major exodus of Eritreans from their country. - UN keeps eye on Djibouti - Ethiopia and Somalia strongly supported calls to end sanctions, and negotiations over the past two weeks focused on addressing concerns about Djibouti. The resolution calls on Eritrea and Djibouti to press on with efforts to settle a 2008 border dispute and asks Asmara to release information concerning Djiboutian soldiers missing in clashes a decade ago. At France's request, the council will hear a report every six months on Eritrea's efforts to normalize relations with Djibouti, where France, the United States and China all have military bases. Djibouti is asking the United Nations to help broker a final settlement with Eritrea to agree on land and maritime boundaries and resolve a dispute over the Doumeira Island, Ambassador Mohamed Siad Doualeh told the council. The fate of 13 remaining Djiboutian prisoners in Eritrean custody must be addressed, he added. Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, and war broke out later that decade over a border dispute. A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it. A turnaround began in June when Ethiopia announced it would hand back to Eritrea disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme, where the first shots of the border war were fired. Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki (L), Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (C) and Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed met in northern Ethiopia to push for regional economic development
Spain may be the EU's poster child for economic recovery, but impressive growth rates have failed to make a dent in the number of people struggling to make ends meet despite having jobs, the "working poor". A combination of low wages and reliance on temporary contracts is keeping millions of workers stuck below the poverty line -- nearly one in six, according to labour ministry figures. The country has the European Union's highest proportion of workers at risk of poverty, 13.1 percent, after Greece and Romania, according to 2016 Eurostat figures. Spain's economy shrank during the financial crisis from 2009 to 2013 but rebounded in 2014. Its rate of expansion has since outstripped much of the EU with growth of more than 3 percent. But the recovery has bypassed many workers like Elisabet, a 44-year-old Madrid waitress who is employed on a three-month contract. She earns just 950 euros ($1,100) per month. Nearly half of her salary, 400 euros, goes on renting a room she shares with her eight-year-old daughter. Another 130 euros is swallowed up by school canteen fees, 100 euros goes to childcare, leaving just over 300 euros for food, transportation and other expenses. "I can't save, it's a bit complicated," Elisabet, who asked that her last name not be published, told AFP, adding she has not been able to go on holiday with her daughter for two years. - 'Freeze on wages' - Spain's economic downturn sparked a "freeze on wages" and salaries did not recover when the economy returned to growth because unemployment has remained high, said Florentino Felgueroso of Madrid-based think tank Fedea. While Spain's jobless rate is down from a peak of nearly 27 percent in 2013 to 14.5 percent in September, it is still the second-highest in the eurozone after Greece. Real wages actually declined in the last two years, the OECD said in a report published in July. This contrasts with the jump in salaries before the crisis, especially in the construction sector, said Felgueroso. Part of the problem is that many of the newly created jobs are temporary rather than permanent, and their duration has been reduced considerably, with some lasting just "a week, sometimes less", he added. Spain is more reliant on temporary contracts than any other EU nation. More than one in four workers, 26.9 percent, was employed on a temporary contract in the second quarter, according to Eurostat. The percentage of workers in Spain employed part-time when they would rather work full-time accounted for 8 percent of the total labour force in 2016, compared to 6 percent in the entire eurozone, according to the Bank of Spain. - 'Difficult to correct' - Elisabet is a good example. Despite her 15 years' experience, since the end of the crisis she had only one permanent contract -- and was fired after just one year. She said she feels lucky to have a temporary contract, instead of working under-the-table as in the past. Felgueroso said "job precarity has become generalised" and especially affects women. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took office in June, has vowed to fight for change. Under Spanish law temporary workers have to be considered permanent after a period of two years, except in the case of short-term projects or seasonal jobs. But loopholes in Spain's complex labour framework, which comprises dozens of different contract types, allow many firms to circumvent the rules. The labour ministry in August contacted nearly 80,000 firms it suspects of abusing short-term contracts. Some 47,000 of these contracts were converted to permanent ones the following month. The government also wants to increase the number of labour inspectors to crack down on abuse. "It's very difficult to correct, it is part of regular practice," said Felgueroso. Sanchez's minority government has also proposed in its draft 2019 budget -- which faces an uphill battle to be approved in parliament -- raising the minimum age from 858 euros a month to 1,050 euros. This would bring it a step closer to Britain's minimum wage of 1,401 euros, or Germany of 1,498 euros. Although much improved, Spain's jobless rate is still the EU's highest bar that of Greece A combination of low wages and temporary contracts is keeping millions of workers below the poverty line Plugging loopholes in Spain's labour laws is an uphill struggle
Yemeni rebels are planting landmines around the key port of embattled Hodeida, employees said Wednesday, as a loyalist push to take the insurgent-held city appears to have stalled. The Huthi rebels, who seized the Red Sea city in 2014, have claimed the mining of areas across Hodeida province, airing footage late Tuesday of what they said were landmine explosions targeting pro-government forces. Three port employees reached by telephone said the rebels had also begun to mine entryways to the port overnight. The workers said the Huthis had planted explosives near two of the port's gates, one that leads to Jizan Road, a main street in the city's north, and the other near the Alsanabel flour mill company. "There is only one entrance left into the port, and that is the main gate that leads to Mina Street that trucks use," one employee, who requested anonymity, told AFP. Hodeida port came under attack on Monday night for the first time since June, when government troops supported by a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive to take the city from the Iran-backed Huthis. The port's deputy director, Yahya Sharafeddine, said the main entrance to the docks had been hit but was fully functioning. Nearly four years into the war, diplomatic pressure is rising to end fighting in Hodeida, whose docks are the entry point for nearly all food imports and humanitarian aid into impoverished Yemen. The United Nations has warned an attack on the port would be "catastrophic" in a country where half the population is at risk of starvation. The UN is pushing for peace talks by the end of the year. Hodeida port is under a near-total blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies, who accuse Iran of smuggling arms to the Huthis. Tehran denies the accusation. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the conflict in 2015 to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Hodeida port is the entry point for nearly all food imports and humanitarian aid into impoverished Yemen
The Theatre Association of New York State's annual festival will return to Cayuga Community College this weekend with another sampling of community theater from across the state.

Themed "TANYS & the Chocolate Factory," the festival begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, at the college, 197 Franklin St., Auburn. It continues Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 17 and 18.

Highlights of this year's festival will include "Every Brilliant Thing," a show about depression, when the festival opens. Performed by Lori Schneider, the show depicts a 7-year-old girl making a list of everything that's brilliant in the world as a way to cope with her mother's attempted suicide. The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Cayuga County is promoting the show, as Schneider is a member of NAMI Sullivan County.

Cayuga Community College theater performers honored Cayuga Community College theater group Harlequin Productions has earned several awards from 

The morning of Sunday, Nov. 18, Cayuga Community College's own Harlequin Productions will perform "Foreclosure," one of six one-act plays from the theater group's fall production, "Rooms." Eight students from the group received acting awards from TANYS for their work in the show, whose playwright, George Cameron Grant, is expected to attend the festival to see the performance.

The festival will feature a total of nine performances, as well as discussions, awards and other programming. It is the sixth consecutive year the festival has been held at Cayuga Community College.

For more information, including ticket pricing and a full schedule of events, visit tanys.org.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
The state Attorney General's Office ordered an Ithaca auction house Tuesday to pay nearly $250,000 in restitution for tricking customers into giving up their property for auction without returning the proceeds.

Finger Lakes Estate and Auction and owner Charles Dorsey were ordered to pay $237,739 in customer restitution and $12,000 in civil penalties and costs, Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced.

Since October 2015, the auction house sold the property of 24 different consumers without returning any of the proceeds, and continued to take in property for auctions knowing they would not be paying.

The Attorney General's Office cited one instance in which the businesses sold a customer's 1965 Austin Healey automobile for $39,000, but failed to pay any of the proceeds despite also taking over $9,300 in commission and sales expense from the customer and an additional $3,900 commission from the buyer.

New York consumers rely on companies to be trustworthy and responsible, said Underwood. No matter the industry, my office will continue to protect New Yorkers from businesses that defraud their customers.

As part of the judgment, the auction house, through a trustee, will also be required to pay 20 percent of the proceeds from future auction sales to the Attorney General's Office for restitution to the previously injured consumers.

Anyone who believes they may have been defrauded by the business may file a complaint with the Attorney General's Binghamton office online at formsnym.ag.ny.gov/OAGOnlineSubmissionForm/faces/OAGCFCHome;jsessionid=7ckPG5ZdvV73bGdjoV_gKqt-TF1EtsEwX_s-hz6yXv9qFeE08Byi!1687050520 or by calling 1(800) 771-7755 or (800)788-9898 for the hearing impaired.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4
The city of Toowoomba, in southern Queensland, Australia, with a population of about 130,000, wants to become the countrys first porn-free city. At recent rally held in a municipal park there, city mayor Paul Antonio handed out pre-printed cards saying, I commit that I wont view porn and I will help create a city free from porn.

The gathering was the third annual anti-porn rally held in the city.

But Australian porn performer Kiki Vidis visited Toowoomba this week to deliver a message: The citys crusade against porn is ridiculous.

Porn isn't a crime, the Bad Girls Down Under star told the local media, according to the Daily Mail newspaper. My parents put the restrictions on the computer in the family room when I was growing up. If you choose to put a computer in a child's room and no filters on, you are bringing it upon yourselves.

Vidis, who hails from the Queensland city of Gold Coast about 110 miles east of Toowoomba, blames the Toowoomba anti-porn drive on the citys women, who she says simply dont want their husbands and boyfriends watching pornography, saying that anti-porn sentiment is driven by jealousy from women, and they need to learn about forgiveness.

Despite the citys anti-porn drive, Toowoomba is home to several adult shops, a brothel and a strip club, according to Australias ABC TV.

"We're not talking about the people who are visiting the brothel or going along to the strip club," Antonio said. "We're talking about the people who are impacted by pornography, and its impact on relationships.

Apparently, relationships in Toowoomba involve plentiful use of sex toys, because according to a recent study by online adult retailer Femplay, the city leads Australia in the number of purchases of adult toys.

Were quite surprised by the result, but were proud to crown Toowoomba as the nations sexiest town to live in, Femplay said in a press release.

An unscientific reader poll conducted in October by the Toowoomba newspaper The Chronicle had 77 percent of respondents saying that porn should be banned throughout Australia, while just 22 percent said that porn should not be banned.

Photo via Kiki Vidis Facebook
MONTREALManyVids CEO and co-founder Bella French has issued a statement regarding a fraudulent account that was posting and selling unauthorized copies of her explicit photos and videos.

The fake account, which had been active since December 2016 on the OnlyFans platform, has since been removed after French contacted the site.

French, a former full-time cam model, only recently became aware of the account when a fan informed her of it. She has an extensive library of content accessible to her fans worldwide and exclusively on ManyVids.com.

French said she reached out to OnlyFans and requested that the fraudulent account be removed but did not receive a timely response.

Pirated content is rampant in the adult industry," she said in a statement. "It is so commonplace that it has bred complacency. There is reluctance to demonstrate a sense of urgency or proactiveness in these situations to protect the content creators. If it can happen to me, how many others have also experienced this type of frustration?

To say I am disappointed with OnlyFans response is an understatement. I am frustrated by OnlyFans reaction and their unwillingness to cooperate for many days. I will not stay silent, this is about injustice and content creators like myself being ignored. Business owners in the adult community have a responsibility to set up processes to address the issue as proactively and respectfully as possible. I call upon our community in the adult space, OnlyFans included, to collaborate and introduce protocols that will serve to protect the performers and not the criminals that are profiting from them.
LOS ANGELES  Italian transgender performer Eva Paradis was interviewed on the Mr. Skin Podcast. Listen to the show here.

I enjoyed the Mr. Skin Podcast experience this week. The hosts were so very cool and gracious to me, says Paradis. We talked about my love for being with virgins, transgender actors in mainstream movies and television, and so much more. Please listen and tell me what you think of it!

Follow the Mr. Skin Podcast on MrSkinPodcast.com, on Twitter @mrskin, and on Instagram @mrskincelebs.

Follow Eva Paradis on EvaParadisXXX.com, on Twitter @evaparadisxxx, and on Instagram @evaparadis.
On December 8, UFC 231 will take place in Toronto, Canada. The company has come a long way from UFC 1 in 1993, but there were plenty of times between now and then that could have spelled doom for Dana Whites mixed-martial-arts promotion.

One of the key moments for the combat company came between November 2000 and March 2001, when they held UFC 28, UFC 30, and UFC 31 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. At the time, UFC wasnt welcome in many states or venues, but this felt a coming out party of sorts for the brand and for the company. Pretty soon they were hosting events in Las Vegas and major arenas around the nation.

So its a bit understandable why UFC President Dana White has a soft spot in his heart for the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. White, who has stumped for Trump (including at the 2016 Republican National Convention) and been a vocal supporter, is now getting ready to release a documentary about the relationship between Trump and the UFC.

White has previously mentioned that UFC was working on a badass documentary about Trump and that badass film will be the very wordy Combatant In Chief: The Story of Donald Trumps History in Combat Sports.

The doc is actually one of 25 the UFC has in store for their 25th anniversary this year, much like ESPNs initial 30 for 30 run during the companys 30th anniversary.

Its the 25th anniversary of the UFC and were doing 25 documentaries with 25 badass directors for the 25th anniversary and one of them is the story of how President Trump let us come to the Taj (Mahal) for the first fight and he and I went to the residence after that, and he and I both shot for the documentary, White told UFC Unfiltered in August.

Heres the documentary description from the YouTube page:

When Donald Trump opened his Atlantic City casino to the struggling UFC, it was the start of an unlikely friendship between the current POTUS and UFC president Dana White. UFC 25 Years in Short is a 25-part documentary series celebrating the UFC silver anniversary. This compilation of short films presents 25 captivating UFC stories, one for each year of existence, and every piece stands alone as an independent feature. Viewed as a whole, these films form a larger, mosaic narrative of the UFCs amazing evolution, fascinating characters and lasting influence.

While its just a trailer and doesnt seem to give too much insight into the details, it does appear that the film will be something of a hagiography about not only Trump but also White.

All of the documentaries that are part of the series will be available exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.

[UFC]
Bakers from Glastonburys Burns the Bread have stripped off in the name of charity.

Third-generation bakers Max and Casey Stoddart posed nude with carefully placed bread loaves as part of a calendar for Cancer Research.

A few months ago we were approached by the ladies at the Cancer Research Shop in Glastonbury who asked if wed like to take part in a calendar shoot to raise awareness for prostate cancer, said Casey Stoddart, who handles the retail side of the business. Max, meanwhile, looks after production.

Mr Burns, having already taken part in a nude calendar a couple of years previously kindly turned down the offer and asked us grandsons to take part instead.

Staff at other local businesses  including Apple Tree Therapies, Laura Lou Lous Vintage & Retro Boutique and jewellery shop The Magpie Nest  also stripped off for the calendar.

Over the years Burns the Bread has helped countless charities, and we always like to do our bit for the community whether thats donating cakes for a coffee morning, giving prizes for raffles or - in this case - taking our kit off for the camera, he added.

The calendar is available now at the Glastonbury Cancer Research shop.

Burns the Bread was founded by Bob Burns in 1983, with his daughter and grandsons since joining the business. British Baker subscribers can read more about the history of the firm here.
Greggs pastries are now be delivered to Londoners in a trial partnership between the food-to-go business and Deliveroo.

The delivery service is available from two Greggs shops in the capital  243 Whitechapel Road and 143 Strand. Menu items including breakfast, coffee, savoury pastries and sausage rolls, as well as salads and sweet treats, can be ordered via the Deliveroo app or website.

The service has also launched in Newcastle and Bristol following a successful trial in Birmingham.

When it comes to food-to-go, our customers tell us convenience is key. Weve been working hard to make Greggs available to our customers when and where they want it, whether that be in offices, industrial estates, retail parks, travel hubs and at home, said Greggs CEO Roger Whiteside.

Weve been working on our delivery services over the past year and, following a successful trial in Birmingham, were excited to launch a Deliveroo trial for our customers in London.

Greggs has been shaking up its service model recently with trials in major cities.

In September it launched a click and collect trial for breakfast orders in Manchester city centre and in 2017 it announced its first UK drive-thru on the outskirts of the city. Late last year Greggs also teamed up with UberEats in Newcastle to trial a home delivery service.
Just seven weeks remain for veto-proof Republican supermajorities in the N.C. General Assembly. That gives GOP lawmakers plenty of time to craft, unveil, and approve new legislation.They don't need support from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. They need no input from Democratic colleagues in the House or Senate. Acting on their own, Republican legislators face a relatively clear path to enact their favorite policies.The urge to end the 2017-18 legislative session with a bang will prove tempting. Lawmakers should fight the temptation.Regardless of the supermajorities, the General Assembly has plenty of work to do when it reconvenes Nov. 27 in Raleigh. The post-Thanksgiving session also offers lawmakers a chance to practice for the new political reality voters have created for 2019.That reality includes a House and Senate still under control of Republican leadership. But GOP members will no longer enjoy the luxury of sidestepping all objections from the Democratic caucus. Nor will Republican leaders be able to ignore complaints from the Executive Mansion.With a new legislative lineup taking office next year, a united GOP will need at least one Democratic senator and a half dozen Democratic representatives to help them override a Cooper veto. That's not impossible. But it will require work.In other cases, legislative leaders can strive to bring the governor on board to support their plans. Any time he's willing to leave the veto stamp in his desk drawer, lawmakers can spend less time worrying about counting to 72 and 30 - the number of House and Senate members needed to override Cooper's objections.New legislative constraints take effect Jan. 1. There's no reason why lawmakers have to wait until the new year to test those constraints. They will have multiple opportunities in the weeks ahead to conduct practice runs.Three of the four constitutional amendments voters approved last week could require new laws. The tax-cap amendment offers the single exception. That amendment simply changed one word in the existing N.C. Constitution.It's not entirely clear whether new amendments promoting crime victims' rights and hunting and fishing rights require immediate action. If so, Republicans need not craft measures that would bring their supermajorities into play.Forty-six legislative Democrats - 77 percent of that party's caucus - approved placing the crime victims' amendment on the ballot. Twenty-seven Democrats backed the hunting and fishing amendment. One suspects well-drafted implementing legislation for both measures could win a fair amount of bipartisan support.The voter ID amendment presents a different story. No legislative Democrat supported placing the measure on the ballot. Recent debates for and against a photo identification requirement have tended to emphasize partisan division.But the same electorate that gave Democrats victories in every contested statewide election also approved the voter ID amendment with more than 55 percent of the total vote. More than 2 million people cast ballots favoring the measure. It clearly has a degree of bipartisan support.Now that the constitution mandates a voter ID, lawmakers must fill in details. As they decide which forms of identification will prove acceptable, and as they consider possible exemptions, Republican leaders might find some support from open-minded Democratic colleagues.It wouldn't hurt to start discussions by looking at requirements that have cleared legislatures and survived court challenges in the 34 other states with voter ID. With 70 percent of states now enforcing some ID rules, the issue clearly goes beyond basic red-versus-blue partisan fights.Three of our four neighboring states employ the strictest form of photo ID requirement, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That includes blue-trending Virginia. As North Carolina sheds its status as the only Southeastern state with no voter ID rules, Republicans can invite their colleagues from across the aisle to help the state re-enter the electoral mainstream.Beyond the constitutional amendments, lawmakers need to take some action soon on the future of state elections oversight and ethics enforcement. Voters rejected a proposed amendment creating a new bipartisan board to deal with those issues. Meanwhile, a state court has struck down the current elections and ethics board. It's slated to go away in early December.If GOP legislators seek input from Democratic counterparts on a replacement, they could find some takers. There must be bipartisan interest in creating some certainty in elections and ethics enforcement before the next electoral cycle begins.Bipartisan outreach undoubtedly would catch some Democrats off guard. During a presentation last week for the Institute of Politics at UNC-Chapel Hill, Cooper strategist Morgan Jackson indicated that the governor expected lawmakers to engage in "payback" when they returned to Raleigh. GOP legislators want to punish Cooper for campaigning against their supermajorities, Jackson argued.At least one lawmaker is on record expressing similar sentiments.Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, told Raleigh's News and Observer.Jackson and McKissick might be correct. Like the teenager approaching his 18th birthday and adulthood, some GOP lawmakers might relish a chance to run wild before the new circumstances of Jan. 1 rein them in.Those seeking a productive 2019 legislative session ought to pursue an alternative course.
N.C. Railroad Co.'s role in promoting Randolph County location may have cost state Toyota/Mazda assembly plant, records suggest

North Carolina officials insist the state is prime territory for the next big industrial manufacturing facility - most likely an automaker.Auto assembly plants can attract billions of dollars in investment, create hundreds of high-paying jobs, and revitalize a local economy.But we keep losing the competition for new auto plants to nearby states. South Carolina has BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo. Tennessee has Nissan and Volkswagen. Georgia has Kia.And Alabama has become an auto-making giant, hosting assembly plants for Honda, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz. Most recently, state officials landed a joint-production deal involving Toyota and Mazda.The Tar Heel State reportedly was a finalist for the Toyota/Mazda plant. N.C. Department of Commerce documents show company officials considered at least three locations here. In September 2017, they focused on the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite near the Town of Liberty. State officials were promoting the Liberty site over others, and it has received considerable financial backing - about $26 million - from the N.C. Railroad Co., a private company owned by the state and controlled by political appointees.State officials seem to be promoting the Liberty site over others, based on a review of Commerce Department documents, such as an Oct. 13, 2017, proposal from Commerce to a Toyota/Mazda consultant.Megasites are large tracts with infrastructure in place to accommodate an automotive plant or other large manufacturer. Other locations may be appropriate for smaller manufacturing operations, but only a few are considered megasites.The joint assembly plant represented a $1.6 billion investment that would have employed 4,000 workers. The state of North Carolina ultimately offered an incentives package that was worth the same amount - $1.6 billion.But the favored site has a major blemish. It is bisected by a 2-mile section of a major Duke Energy transmission line. Toyota and Mazda officials said it needed to be moved. Even though the Liberty megasite seemed to have an upper hand over other, perhaps more appropriate locations, it has not undergone a certification process. Certification is considered essential by many economic development officials to show a location has access to enough energy, water, and transportation outlets to justify a major manufacturing facility.Duke Energy developed a plan to relocate the line to the northern boundary of the site and said the project would be completed by October 2018. Duke put the plan on hold in January when Toyota and Mazda announced they were headed to Alabama.The state's apparent interest in pushing the Liberty location may have cost North Carolina its best opportunity to land an automaker.Barry McClelland, a retired Honda facilities manager and now an independent plant location consultant, told Carolina Journal the Duke transmission line needs to be moved.he said.McClelland said that he is aware of three major site searches in North Carolina in the past few months, and state officials need to show a company all three sites.The other two megasites are in Chatham County - one near Siler City and the other near Moncure.A fourth megasite - the 1,500-acre Kingsboro site in Edgecombe County - landed a major tenant in January. The Chinese tire manufacturing company Triangle Tyre announced it will build its first manufacturing plant outside China on part of the Kingsboro site.The Liberty site was the brainchild of former Piedmont Triad Partnership CEO David Powell. In 2011, he began advocating for a regional megasite south of Greensboro.Powell resigned from the organization in January 2015 and later was investigated over allegations of embezzlement. Former Greensboro mayor Jim Melvin set up the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation and assumed the advocacy role from Powell.Powell was indicted in 2016. His trial was postponed several times, and he committed suicide in April 2017.In May 2015, NCRR, a quasi-state organization, decided to buy land for the megasite project.NCRR owns and manages a 317-mile rail corridor connecting Morehead City to Charlotte. NCRR is unique because it's a private company, but the state of North Carolina owns all its stock. The governor and legislative leaders appoint the 13-member board of directors. Its primary income comes from leasing some of its tracks to Norfolk Southern Railway.CJ hasn't been able to determine how NCRR became involved in the project. The organization would not disclose meeting minutes. In 2016, Chairman Frank Rouse said NCRR doesn't have to comply with the laws that apply to all state and local government agencies, such as the state's public records law, because it's a private company, not a state agency.CJ first wrote about the NCRR's unusual plan to buy land for the project in 2016. Since Norfolk Southern Railway owns the rail line bordering the megasite, and the NCRR track is about 15 miles away in Greensboro, NCRR would not receive any direct benefit from its spending.The stated mission of NCRR is to develop its own corridor. NCRR president Scott Saylor told CJ the megasite project is part of his organization's broader economic development mission.County property tax records show NCRR owns about 1,200 acres of the site. In October 2017, Saylor, Randolph County Commission Chairman David Allen, and Foundation President E.S. Melvin pledged to give the Greensboro-Randolph Mega Site, worth $48 million, to Toyota and Mazda if the automakers chose the location for the assembly plant.The N.C. Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, a private nonprofit established by the General Assembly in 2014, are responsible for recruiting industries to come to North Carolina.On Sept. 15, 2017, EDPNC CEO Christopher Chung wrote Commerce Secretary Anthony Copeland about the Liberty site. "Discussion at the Liberty site focused heavily on the relocation of the high-voltage transmission line bisecting the north and south halves of the site. This is clearly an issue that the client team highlighted as needing to be resolved within the required time frame (18 to 24 months) and at minimum cost to the client. Duke Energy is aware of the need for this matter to be addressed and how critical it is to the Liberty site's viability; they are reviewing what can be done," said Chung.In a Sept. 25 letter from Duke Energy N.C. President David Fountain to Greensboro Chamber of Commerce President Brent Christensen, Duke Energy Chief Executive Officer Lynn Good agreed to move the line and said it would be done by Oct. 1, 2018.According to Duke, a new industry couldn't tap directly to that line. "Our 525 KV transmission system is for bulk transport and voltage stability only. It is not designed for retail service and has never been used in that manner," spokeswoman Meghan Miles said.CJ asked Miles about the status of the relocation project. She said the project is no longer moving forward since the potential customer selected another site. She also said the estimated cost of the moving the line as proposed would be $25 million and that Duke customers wouldn't pay for the project.She said Duke would move power lines, if needed, at other megasites.she said.The EDPNC runs the state's site certification program.EDPNC's website says.North Carolina has 24 certified sites, including the Siler City site and the Moncure site. The Greensboro-Randolph site isn't certified.Brent Christensen, president of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, is one of the local marketing contacts for the site. He said the state hasn't certified it.he said.Meantime, Greensboro-Randolph site officials have obtained separate certification from the business consulting firm KPMG and hired the company to review the Liberty site. On June 30, 2016, KPMG consultant Hartley Powell reported Randolph County Economic Development Corporation President Bonnie Renfro the site had been named a "KMPG Certified Site."CJ hasn't found any information about KPMG's certified site program. Spokeswoman Katy Reddin said,It's unclear whether this outside certification holds much sway over companies looking for a place to build a major manufacturing facility.
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported on a development students of American governance have known about for years, but politicians have studiously avoided doing anything about: the United States' debt will cost us more in the near future than our own national defense. Thanks to the weakness of the global economy in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, tremendous appetite for American debt shielded us from the fallout from our $20 trillion debt - but that could soon be ending. When it does, there will be fiscal hell to pay.Kate Davidson and Daniel Kruger report:In the early 1990s, President George H.W. Bush agreed to tax hikes that killed his political career thanks to the burdens of the national debt. President Trump is highly unlikely to do the same - and neither are Congressional Republicans, whose only major legislative achievement is the tax cuts passed last year.Moreover, Democrats have no interest whatsoever in paying down the national debt. In fact, it's exactly the kind of lever they're looking for to raise taxes should they gain office in the near future. Instead of blaming the actual culprit of our national debt - out of control entitlement spending - Democrats have spent the last decade falsely blaming the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and tax cuts. They're currently proposing an exponential expansion of our spending on entitlements with programs like "Medicare for All" and free college tuition, which won't be paid for by anything other than a tremendous middle class tax hike. Democrats want Nordic social democracy; they're going to have to push Nordic tax rates in order to achieve it.Furthermore, as the Journal reports:By way of contrast, Spain, a country with serious fiscal problems, stood at debt-to-GDP of 99.6 percent last year.Now, some commentators have been sanguine about the possibility of such debt. They say that a little fiscal handiwork will do the trick - simply cut the budget a little, revert to strong economic growth, and the rest will be fine. But that's ignoring the structural problem of our debt, which is far more ruinous than it was in 1991. We can only stave off serious restructuring for so long.But there's no political benefit to staving off the debt for either side. Republicans lose ground when they talk about restructuring entitlements; Democrats want to expand entitlements. The American public is simply unready to talk about doing what we must in order to ensure America's continued economic growth and strength, particularly at a time when our population is rapidly aging. That's why Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) will leave Congress with his chief political ambition, entitlement reform, unfulfilled.What will the consequences be? The continued Europeanization of American politics, as taxes and spending inevitably rise in tandem. The only difference between the parties will be Republican calls for austerity measures at the margins, and Democratic calls for massively higher taxes and higher spending.We've been playing a pyramid game. In the next decade, that pyramid is going to cave in on us.
Should Beaufort County elected officials demand that every alleged incident of Child Rape be investigated in Beaufort County?

Yes, without fail, irrespective of the parties involved; this heinous crime must be investigated, and the truth be known, and responsible parties prosecuted.
Trump's tweets on Canada? All about immigration, trade and Justin Trudeau

Video by Dell Rasmussen and Jesse Tahirali, Text by Josh Dehaas CTVNews.ca

What does U.S. President Donald Trump think about Canada? We sifted through his Twitter feed looking for clues. It turns out that, since taking office nearly two years ago, Trumps mentions of Canada mostly revolve around three topics: trade, immigration and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.



IMMIGRATION If theres one Canadian policy that Trump seems to admire, its our approach to immigration. Two-thirds of Canadian immigrants are admitted under economic streams that prioritize people with education and job offers. Thats in contrast to the U.S., where two-thirds of immigrants are based on family ties, an approach Trump calls chain migration.



Trump has praised Canadas system, which he calls merit-based, as far back as 2011.



He did it again early in his presidency, on March 3, 2017, when he recommended the book Green Card Warrior. Trump wrote that the merit-based system is the way to go. Canada Australia! @foxandfriends.



Less than a month later, Trump again highlighted Canadian immigration. Mexico & Canada have tough immigration laws whereas ours are an Obama joke. ACT CONGRESS, Trump wrote.

TRUDEAU Trump mostly ignored Trudeau for his first full year in office, but he did call the prime minister his new found friend on Canada Day that year. Happy Canada Day to all of the great people of Canada and to your Prime Minister and my new found friend @JustinTrudeau. #Canada150, he wrote on July 1, 2017.



The president didnt mention Trudeau again until more than eight months later, at which time NAFTA negotiations were underway. On March 15, 2018, Trump called Trudeau a very good guy but added that Trudeau doesnt like saying that Canada has a Surplus vs. the U.S.(negotiation)...

Trump appeared to turn on Trudeau at the G7 summit in June. On the 7th, he tweeted that Trudeau was being indignant. Two days later, he called Trudeau so meek and mild and very dishonest and weak.



On June 9, he wrote: Fair Trade is now to be called Fool Trade if it is not Reciprocal. According to a Canada release they make almost 100 Billion Dollars in Trade with U.S. (guess they were bragging and got caught!). Minimum is 17B. Tax Dairy from us at 270%. Then Justin acts hurt when called out!

TRADE



The first Trump tweets about trade with Canada date back to 2011 and 2012, when he tweeted several times about the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry Alberta crude to refineries in Texas.



@BarackObama wont approve the Keystone Pipeline so Canada is now looking to sell their oil to China, he wrote on Jan. 17, 2012. Overturning Obamas rejection of Keystone ended up being one of Trumps first acts as president. The fate of the project remains unclear after a U.S. federal judge ordered a halt to construction last week.



Trump didnt say much about trade with Canada again until March 3, 2017, when he wrote: Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch! He went mostly silent for another year, until March when he signalled his intention to put tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada.



On March 5, three days before he signed an executive order authorizing the tariffs, he wrote: We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA which is under renegotiation right now has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies &; jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed.



A trickle of tweets about trade in the spring turned into a flood by June, with more than a dozen missives sent around the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Que., which was June 7-9.

JUNE 1

JUNE 4

JUNE 8
This resource is no longer available

This resource is no longer available. Return to previous page.
Chinas retrogressive move to allow the sale of tiger and rhino parts for medicinal use opens up a legal market for the sale of these products, at a time when both tigers and rhinos are hovering on the brink of extinction. Photo by Alamy

191 shares







China has sent out conflicting messages over the past few weeks over its decision to lift a 1993 ban on the sale of tiger bones and rhino horns for medicinal use. Last month, its government formally rescinded the ban, and then earlier this week, a spokesperson suggested that the country might reinstate the ban. But the devil, as always, is in the details, and without a permanent ban in place, there is no guarantee that China will indeed continue to respect global efforts to conserve two of the worlds most at-risk species. That is why we are asking the Trump administration to impose trade sanctions on China until it amends its law to reinstate a complete ban on the sale of tiger and rhino parts.

The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, Humane Society Legislative Fund, and the Center for Biological Diversity this week filed a legal petition with the U.S. secretary of the interior and the U.S. secretary of state requesting that the United States prohibit imports of fish and wildlife products from China under the Pelly Amendment, which allows the president to impose such sanctions against a country that is undermining an international conservation treaty. Chinas retrogressive move to allow the sale of tiger and rhino parts for medicinal use opens up a legal market for the sale of these products, at a time when both tigers and rhinos are hovering on the brink of extinction.

In 1993, the United States certified China over that countrys continued trade in tiger bone and rhino horn under Pelly, a law approved in 1978 that authorizes the president to take action when the secretary of the interior, in consultation with the secretary of state, certifies that nationals of a foreign country are engaged in trade or take that diminishes the effectiveness of an international program that the United States also enforces for the conservation or endangered or threatened species.

At the time, China agreed to enact the relevant conservation measures on tiger bone and rhino horn trade and trade sanctions werent imposed. However, these are the same measures that China has now rescinded, at a time when tigers and rhinos are at even greater risk than they were in 1993.

Our petition calls for a U.S. ban on wildlife imports that China routinely exports to the United States, including several species of squid, macaque monkeys, bullfrogs, snakes, octopus, abalone and oyster, which are the most profitable wildlife exports from China to the United States.

China said the tiger and rhino parts and products for sale would be derived from so-called farms where these endangered species are bred for commercial purposes. These places breed thousands of captive rhinos and tigers so their bones and other body parts can be sold for tiger bone wine and other medicinal products. They are not only unethical and cruel, but its also the case that a market for rhino and tiger products in China will undoubtedly lead to the poaching of these animals in the wild. With just 30,000 rhinos and less than 3,500 tigers left in the wild, this is a risk we cannot afford to take. Tigers and rhinos are majestic wild animals who should not be bred for profit.

The international community has uniformly recognized that swift action is needed to protect tigers and rhinos from the threat of commercial trade and poaching before its too late. Many countries globally, including the United States, outlaw the sale of tiger and rhinoceros parts and products for alleged medical benefit. There is no scientific evidence supporting the touted benefits of these products for conditions ranging from hangovers to cancer and insomnia to arthritis, and HSI has worked for years to educate consumers about the facts and turn peoples thinking away from such false beliefs.

In recent years, China has made efforts to portray itself as a global leader on conservation, with the country enacting a ban on the commercial ivory trade in 2017: this was a move that global animal protection and environmental groups welcomed. But this latest move on tigers and rhinos is irresponsible and it is one that the worlds wildlife cannot be permitted to suffer. It needs to be met by the rest of the world, and particularly by the United States, with the harshest condemnation and, as weve argued in our petition, with action.

Urge the United States to hold China accountable for lifting a ban on rhino and tiger parts
Massachusetts Gun Restrictions Don't Violate 2nd Amendment

A federal appeals court upheld gun restrictions in Massachusetts, saying the Second Amendment is strongest inside the home -- not outside.

In Gould v. Morgan, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a trial judge in upholding a firearms licensing statute. The law allowed gun owners to carry firearms in certain activities only.

The First Circuit said the statute had a substantial relationship to the government's interest in promoting public safety and preventing crime. That's also what Boston and Brookline said in defending their local laws.

"A Reason to Fear"

Under Massachusetts state law, people may apply for a license to carry a firearm in public in specific cases. In Boston that is restricted to:

Employment

Hunting

Target practice

Sport

Brookline also restricts transport, use in and around a home, and collecting. In either city, applicants must "articulate a reason to fear" injury to self or property that is distinct from the general population.

Over a challenge by gun advocates, the appeals court said the gun laws pass "muster under the Second Amendment." The judges said the right to self-defense is at its "zenith inside the home," but the right is "plainly more circumscribed" outside.

"Not Shocked"

The plaintiffs, members of nonprofit Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc., wanted unrestricted licenses for self-defense. They emphasized the "uneven" nature of regulations in cities and towns.

In a statement on Twitter, the plaintiffs said they were "not shocked" by the court decision.

Related Resources:
BGP is a notoriously insecure process by which routes for internet data are advertised and discovered by routers; its ubiquity and insecurity make it a prime suspect whenever it seems that national spy agencies might be diverting traffic.



So when bad BGP routes caused traffic destined for Google to be briefly routed through China on Monday, there was widespread suspicion that Chinese state actors were experimenting with, or sending a message about, their capacity to surveil Google traffic.

Now a Nigerian cable operator, Main One, has taken responsibility for the traffic diversion, claiming that it was the result of an accidental misconfiguration created during a network upgrade. Main One's upstream provider is China Telcom, and Main One's error caused Google traffic to be diverted to China Telcom's network for 74 minutes.





Google has not commented extensively on the diversion except to acknowledge that it occurred. Reuters spoke to Tel Aviv University security researcher Yuval Shavitt an expert who said that the diversion might still have been deliberate  Shavitt recently published a paper alleging that China military agencies have routinely engaged in BGP-based traffic hijacking.



Glitches in border gateway protocol filters have caused multiple outages to date, including cases where traffic from U.S. internet and financial services firms was routed through Russia, China and Belarus. Yuval Shavitt, a network security researcher at Tel Aviv University, said it was possible that Monday's issue was not an accident. "You can always claim that this is some kind of configuration error," said Shavitt, who last month co-authored a paper alleging that the Chinese government had conducted a series of internet hijacks. Main One, which describes itself as a leading provider of telecom and network services for businesses in West Africa, said that it had investigated the matter and implemented new processes to prevent it from happening again.

Nigerian firm takes blame for routing Google traffic through China [Jane Lanhee Lee and Paresh Dave/Reuters]

(via /.)
The American Cable Association (ACA) represents 700+ small/medium US cable operators; they've written to the Assistant Attorney General calling for an "immediate" antitrust investigation into Comcast's business practices, a call that was supported by Donald Trump in a tweet.

The ACA claims that Comcast's market dominance gives it the potential to get preferential treatment for "must have" channels, and that its past conduct (including violations of its consent decree) put it at a high risk of these abuses (Trump claimed that the abuses were already "routine," which is not what the ACA alleges).





Comcast owns NBC, one of the many media companies that Trump has vocally denounced.



The Justice Department is currently trying to stop a merger between AT&T and Time Warner, and the ACA strategically argues that Comcast is more dangerous than those companies combined. But the department may already have its sights on Comcast. In August, Delrahim warned Comcast that it would continue monitoring potential antitrust threats even after the consent decree expired. Last month, Delrahim also said the Justice Department would investigate whether Comcast was using its 30 percent share in Hulu to undermine the streaming video service, which competes with traditional cable. The ACA's letter also raises concerns involving Hulu, suggesting that Comcast could effectively hold the service hostage. "We have heard from ACA members that they fear that ComcastNBCU may restrict, if it is not already restricting, their ability to access Hulu and make it available to their customers as an alternative to their cable offerings," reads the letter. (Hulu is generally found on the web, but cable operators can add it as a "channel" for more traditional TV viewing.) However, Comcast only holds a minority share in Hulu, and it will have even less influence after a Disney-Fox merger gives Disney control over 60 percent of the service.

Comcast should be investigated for antitrust violations, say small cable companies [Adi Robertson/The Verge]





(via /.)

(Image: Mike Mozart, CC-BY)
This is for everyone who follows me on social media, or who has read my press criticism. All my former students. Fans of my blog, PressThink. Anyone who owns my book. Anyone who's heard me speak. It is a personal statement, from me to them.

I have never asked you for anything. Except maybe to read this, or share that. I don't push products, or join campaigns. But today, after 32 years as an observer and critic of the press, I am breaking with that policy. Breaking it in half.

Today I am asking you to do what I have done: join The Correspondent. If you have ever wondered what I would recommend to public-spirited people who want a better press, this is it. Go here, read about the site's founding principles, and if they move you become a member.

I won't make a dime if you do. I am not getting paid to tell you this. I have no stake in the company. I am not an officer or an employee. I just believe in what they are doing, and I have tried to advise them on how to do it better.

After the shock of the 2016 election, I felt I had to find something more useful to do than criticize the performance of the news media. (I do that, as well.) So I decided to work with The Correspondent on its membership campaign, which launches today. Now I am asking you to participate, for reasons I will explain.

Journalism is in a jam. I don't think better practices are enough. Better principles are needed too. The principles I would add are visible in the design of The Correspondent, and in the membership campaign that starts today. So I'm saying something stronger than, "I endorse this." I'm saying: This is what I would do

The Correspondent is the extension into English-language publishing of decorrespondent.nl, the world's most successful member-funded, ad-free news site. It launched with a crowdfunding campaign in the Netherlands in 2013. Publishing daily in Dutch, they now have 61,000 members supporting 21 full-time correspondents on a broad range of beats. (List of Dutch beats here. It tells you the kind of journalism they do.)

Their model is working in the Netherlands, but that's not the exciting part. The exciting part is the principles that make it go. These are different from any news site you can name.

Start with no ads, the key move the Dutch founders made. Downstream from that original "no" are others, equally welcome. No click-baity headlines. No auto-play videos. No ugly promos sliding into view as you try to read the article. No "sponsored content." (No sponsors at all.) No third party  the advertiser  in between you and the people trying to inform you. No need to track you around the internet, or collect data on your browsing habits. No selling of your attention to others.

Also: no controversy-of-the-day coverage, which happens when editors from different newsrooms react to the same data showing clicks and taps going to a few "hot" stories. These are typically the stories that trigger outrage in the most people. The people at The Correspondent have a phrase for it. "Your antidote to the daily news grind." If that's an idea you can get behind, then get behind The Correspondent. Join our club.

Now for the next principle, equally basic. This is not an exclusive club. It's extremely inclusive. Two reasons I can say that. Yes, you have to pay to be a member. But you pay what you feel you can afford. The Correspondent believes you are smart enough to figure this economy out. A paying membership is the other side of the coin that reads: no ads. And no ads, as we have seen, has all those welcome effects downstream.

The other reason I can say "extremely inclusive" is that The Correspondent is not selling digital subscriptions, as the Washington Post, the London Times, and most local newspapers nowadays do. Paid subscription is a product-consumer relationship: your pay your money and you get the product. If you don't pay you don't get it. Membership is different. You join the cause because you believe in the importance of the work. If you believe in the work, you want it to spread, including to non-members.

If The Correspondent's membership campaign reaches its goal of raising $2.5 million by December 14, it will hire a staff and start publishing, in English, in 2019. When that happens, there will be no "meter" measuring how many articles you have read this month. No one will ever get that notice, "you have used four of your five free clicks." Any link that comes to people in their social feeds will be clickable and shareable, without limit. In this way it is more like public radio in the U.S. Members who believe in the public radio mission support their NPR station, but everyone can listen.

The differences compared to the NPR system are important too: The Correspondent will have no corporate sponsors. No government funding. And thus no fear of that money getting cut off. Which in turns means no tendency toward false equivalence, no incentive system for "he said, she said" journalism. These are deeply-woven patterns for which I have often criticized NPR.

Built into The Correspondent are other ideas I have tried to speak up for in my work as a critic. For example: In 2003 (here) and in 2010 (here) and at other points in my writing, I have attempted to point out that the "view from nowhere" is getting harder and harder to trust.

But journalists who can say "here's where I'm coming from," and then combine that act of transparency with high standards of verification (reporting, digging, presenting the data) stand an increasingly better chance of gaining trust. This philosophy is coded into The Correspondent. Number six on their list of ten founding principles says, "We don't take the view from nowhere. We tell you where we're coming from."

In 2006, I wrote The People Formerly Known as the Audience, probably my most well-known post. Seven years later, the founders of De Correspondent (who had read that post) asked the people formerly known as the Dutch audience to support a new kind of journalism platform: member-funded, ad-free and participatory. Which is another key principle. They required the writers they had hired to treat the former audience as a knowledge community, people who ought to be listened to because they know things that can make the journalism better.

I had been pushing that principle for years. They wove it into their operating style. Reporters treat members as sources of knowledge and feedback. They share what they're working on, and ask for help.

From the moment it "jumped" to the internet, journalism has been trying to figure out how to become more two-way. The Correspondent has the best answer I have seen. Its writers are given freedom to define their own beats, and pick their own reporting projects. But in exchange for that extraordinary latitude they are expected to spend 30 to 40 percent of their time interacting with members and drawing knowledge from them.

No one else in journalism does it this way. If they did, I would know about it.

For you as a member it means this: You are not just expected to give money. You are also expected to testify when you know something the writers should know. If you have expertise, you may be called upon to share it. Members follow writers at the site, not just topics or sections. The writers are required to send their followers a weekly email updating them on their reporting projects. It's a more intimate relationship with journalists, the opposite of yelling at them on Twitter and hoping to be heard.

One more principle. The Correspondent practices "constructive journalism." That means no treatment of a problem is complete unless it includes what can be done about it. What we as individuals can do (like reducing your carbon footprint) and what we as a society can do (like requiring more energy-efficient products.)

Are you starting to get the idea? Hope so. There's a lot more to why I support this project. You can read my fuller explanation here: What The Correspondent will add to the American press. ("It reconfigures how a live public stands toward the makers of journalism.") What I want you to know is that I not only endorse what they are doing. It is what I would do if I started my own site.

Join us.

Jay Rosen teaches journalism at New York University and writes the blog, PressThink. He has been working with The Correspondent on their expansion to English-language publishing for two years. On Twitter he is @jayrosen_nyu.



(Image: Leon Postma and Harald Dunnink (Momkai)))
Lyudmila Pavlichenko was training for a career as a history teacher when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. She suspended her studies to enlist as a sniper in the Red Army, where she discovered a remarkable talent for shooting enemy soldiers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the career of "Lady Death," the deadliest female sniper in history.

We'll also learn where in the world futility.closet.podcast is and puzzle over Air Force One.

Show notes

Please support us on Patreon!
Kylie Jenner is just 21 years of age and as of now creating a property empire  here's a voyage through her lavish homes.

PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed!

Kylie Jenner is 21 years of age. She's likewise worth about $900 million.

As per Forbes, the youthful multimillionaire owes the vast majority of her riches to her cosmetics line, Kylie Cosmetics, which is worth $800 million alone.

In any case, Jenner likewise realises how to use her great online presence. People magazine announced in May that Jenner, who has more than 150 million devotees on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (excluding the millions she has on Snapchat), could accrue up to $1 million per post.

The "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star has possessed five houses in her short lifetime, while moving into her first when she was only 17.

After her most recent property purchase  a $13.45 million buy with boyfriend Travis Scott in Beverly Hills  obviously Jenner is as of now building a property empire.

At this rate, shes on track to becoming 1 of the youngest billionaires ever.

Briefly.co.za presents a sneak peek at her homes thus far.

READ ALSO: Video emerges of woman hijacked and kidnapped in front of her house

House 1

Jenners first home was purchased for $2.7 million and sold for $3.15 million to Nikki Eslami in 2017.

The home is based in the Oaks neighbourhood in California.

House 2

In May 2016, she also purchased a mini-mansion in Hidden Hills within California as well.

Bought for $6.03 million, it was eventually sold for $6.7 million two years later.

The house had 6 bedrooms, a home cinema and a massive garage.

House 3

Within 3 months of purchasing house number 2, she bought her third property  right next door.

The purchase price was $4.5 million. Amazingly, she sold it again within a few months and pocketed $5.26 million.

It was initially purchased as her home office while she lived at house number 2.

House 4

Jenner then purchased another Hidden Hills mansion. This time for a whopping $12 million.

The lavish home features a home cinema, spa, gourmet kitchen and fabulous views of LA.

Plot

It seems anything Jenner touches turns to gold  even property without a house built.

In 2017, she purchased a large plot for $5 million.

It was sold at the end of the year for a profit of 350 000 dollars.

House 5

Last, but not least is the home she co-owns with partner Travis Scott.

Their home was purchased for $13.45 million and is based in Beverly Hills, California.

They share the home with their daughter, Stormi Webster.

Jenner has already made millions thanks to her property flips but she still owns property valued at $25.5 million.

PAY ATTENTION: Save mobile data with FreeBasics: Briefly is now available on the app

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
A 13-year-old girl from Limpopo was named best young female scientist at the Eskom Expo in Boksburg recently.

PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed!

Tumelo Ramokone, a grade 7 student at Mapudithomo Primary School in Nobody village earned the amazing accolade with her innovative cooler box.

The science fair allows pupils to share innovative and ground-breaking inventions based on their scientific findings.

Judges voted her the best of the talented bunch thanks to her solar-powered device which keeps food, beverages and medicine cool.

In addition, its able to charge mobile phones as well.

READ ALSO: South Africans react to Blade Nzimande's appointment and Gigabas exit

The Sowetan Live reported that Tumelo got the inspiration following a trip to Mpumalanga in 2016.

She said the familys ice melted in the standard cooler box they had.

It then took them a lot of time and effort to find a shop with ice and this led her to realise the need for one driven by solar energy.

The humble young lady credits her sister for her efforts in creating the breakthrough device.

Tumelo said, "After my teacher told us about the expo I wanted to create a solar-powered umbrella but she convinced me to follow my long thought project. Kgaugelo is into arts but she really helped and encouraged me in completing my project. She would be searching information on the internet while I tried to assemble the parts."

Beverages can stay cool for 1 whole day when the cooler box is fully charged.

Her parents funded the project and confirmed the total cost to be R2500.

The prize for the familys hard work was a laptop, R500 prize money, a gold medal and the prestigious prize for Tumelo.

PAY ATTENTION: Save mobile data with FreeBasics: Briefly is now available on the app

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 / Local

by Thembani Dube, 1893 MHRRM Secretary for Information and Publicity

The 1893 Mthwakazi (Matebeleland) Human Rights Restoration Movement (1893 MHRRM) would like to thank each and everyone who attended and participated at its 1st Matebeleland "Gukurahundi" Genocide Conference in the United Kingdom on the 3rd November 2018 in Luton.Special thanks go to our main speakers, Mr Moses Mzila Ndlovu, who travelled all the way from Matebeleland, Zimbabwe to speak at this conference in the United Kingdom and Dr. Admore Tshuma, resident in the United Kingdom. They all gave inspirational and moving presentations on the Genocide.Our special thanks are extended to the Labour Party MP, Hon. Kelvin Hopkins who made a huge effort to attend the conference at short notice. Our special thanks also go to St Andrews University in Scotland that has been hugely supportive.Special thanks are also extended to Zapu and Nations without States organization representatives that attended and participated at the Conference.We thank all attendees for participating and sharing great ideas on this unresolved and burning issue in Matebeleland.Our special thanks also go to the 1893 Mthwakazi Human Rights Restoration Movement UK membership that has fully funded the conference with meagre resources and for making great preparations and commitment to make it a success. The spirit of Ubuntu is winning. Martin Luther King Jr reminds us that, "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."Those resident in the UK are requested to stay tuned to the announcement of future 1893 MHRRM events in the UK as the organization has a rolling programme of events throughout the year meant to engage the Matebeleland community and friends of Matebeleland in the United Kingdom and beyond.Meanwhile the 1893 Mthwakazi Human Rights Restoration Movement Student Wing in South Africa is preparing to host an 1893 MHRRM Matebeleland Gukurahundi Genocide Conference in Joburg. Preparations are gathering momentum. Details of the Conference will be availed to the public soon.And finally our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Wisdom Mkhwanazi who is being persecuted and prosecuted in Zimbabwean courts tomorrow for daring to demand accountability for the deaths of his parents during the Matebeleland "Gukurahundi" Genocide. His sacrifice for justice is a tributary to the overall cause of Matebeleland Peoples' Demand for Truth, Justice, Reparations and Healing for the Genocide. It is therefore being rightfully registered in our collective efforts.The 1893 Mthwakazi Human Rights Restoration Movement is unequivocally behind him and the rest of Matebeleland people in their pursuit for Truth, Justice, Reparations and Healing while strongly condemning the Motlante Commission for failing to offer Mr Mkhwanazi protection for testifying before it.
News / National

by Staff reporter

WATCH:

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa can be arrested any minute for his role in the violence but Police CG is giving chance to President ED's intention to accommodate the opposition leader in parliament

(Live on ZTV) pic.twitter.com/rfNtETdJYO  Larry Moyo (@larry_moyo) November 12, 2018

POLICE Commissioner-General Godwin Tandabantu Matanga yesterday warned that police are ready to arrest opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa for allegedly inciting the August 1 post-election violence which left six people dead and several others injured.According to NewZimbabwe.com, Matanga was testifying at the Kgalema Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry into the disturbances of the 1st of August 2018.Matanga claimed that the only basis the law enforcement agents have not arrested Chamisa is that of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's proposed plan to constitutionally formalise the position of Leader of the Opposition."I still feel that it would be very improper to arrest the leader of the opposition party in the name of Nelson Chamisa because this is a position that was formed by the President," said Matanga.Matanga told commissioners that Chamisa had incited violence with the support of a Kenyan activist the ZRP boss identified as Silas Jakakimba.
News / National

by zimlive

WATCH:

CDF PV Sibanda says they would have been out of their minds to order the shooting of civilians when the country still had lots of foreign observers and journalists pic.twitter.com/r9q2TuxEOW  Larry Moyo (@larry_moyo) November 12, 2018

WATCH: Can i be honest as a General Part 2:

Brig Gen Sanyatwe says any killings were before military joined pic.twitter.com/AaCMCWOAeh  Larry Moyo (@larry_moyo) November 12, 2018

WATCH: Zimbabweans always want to blame the army...



CDF PV Sibanda says had the army shot at rioters then the death toll would have been much higher than what happened on August 1 pic.twitter.com/8RL6dsNg5C  Larry Moyo (@larry_moyo) November 12, 2018

WATCH:

ARMY commander PV Sibanda says he heard gunshots from his town office way before military was deployed and he has NO reason to believe that army killed pic.twitter.com/3xoFZO6zZn  Larry Moyo (@larry_moyo) November 12, 2018

WATCH:

CDF PV Sibanda says MDC Alliance leadership of Chamisa, Biti, Komichi and Bvondo were iciting violence pic.twitter.com/3wc2mdCpMx  Larry Moyo (@larry_moyo) November 12, 2018

WATCH:

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa can be arrested any minute for his role in the violence but Police CG is giving chance to President ED's intention to accommodate the opposition leader in parliament

(Live on ZTV) pic.twitter.com/rfNtETdJYO  Larry Moyo (@larry_moyo) November 12, 2018

On an extraordinary and defining day in the quest for the truth over the August 1 military massacre on the streets of Harare, the men who made the key decisions on that day all totally denied they had signed off on the killing of opposition protesters.Zimbabwe Defence Force Commander General Phillip Valerio Sibanda and Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga both admitted the legality of the army's deployment in Harare was questionable, but they both believe President Emmerson Mnangagwa authorised the brutal clampdown at the end of which at least six people were dead and dozens others injured."There was no space for discussions (following legal procedure)," Matanga testified on Monday to a commission of inquiry chaired by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, which is investigating the events of that day.Earlier, the commission heard from Chief Superintendent Albert Ncube, the officer commanding Harare district, and the man who was responsible for policing on the day as hundreds of opposition supporters marched through central Harare demanding the prompt release of presidential election results.Ncube said he only had 167 police officers on crowd control duties, and they were overwhelmed by what he said were riotous opposition marchers. His discussions with his bosses leading up to Matanga had set of a chain of events, which ended with the military deployed.Under the Public Order and Security Act, cited by both Matanga and Sibanda as the legislation used to deploy the soldiers, Ncube said he well understood that any troops deployed at the request of the police had to be under the command of the most senior police officer in that district.Yet Ncube admitted the soldiers did not operate under his command. Had they been, he told the commission, he would have told then to use fire arms as a last resort.Both Matanga and Ncube, without actually saying it, had pointed the finger for the killings at the military.But if the Motlanthe Commission was finally hoping to get some answers, a wall of denial was soon to envelope the room at Cresta Hotel in Harare as an angry Brigadier General Anselem Sanyatwe took the stand.All the dead people were killed before the military arrived at the scene, Sanyatwe said. The shock in the room was palpable.Commissioner Lovemore Madhuku had to ask again. "If we go by your evidence at this stage, we simply know as a commission that certain people were shot in town, but this was not by the military. Is that your evidence?""Members of the National Reaction Force, from the military, no-one shot at any civilians," Sanyatwe said.Asked about a video showing a soldier kneeling and shooting straight in the general direction of protesters, Sanyatwe suggested the soldier was ducking from stones thrown by opposition "rioters". He beseeched the commission to watch the video in the company of "military experts" who would tell them, he promised, that the soldier was shooting with the gun tilted at a 45-degree angle.The police were "static in their vehicles" and some were "standing hopeless, waiting for us to rescue them", he said.It might not have been his intention, but with his account, the "hopeless" police could not have been the shooters.Sanyatwe's impatient testimony was soon replaced by the quiet, measured delivery of General Sibanda, a soldier who has avoided the limelight, cultivating a belief among Zimbabweans that he is the good guy."If there's anyone who saw a soldier shoot a rioter and the rioter dropped there or ran bleeding then they should come forward. In the absence of that, I think there's just too much speculation. Generally in this country, we believe that when something bad happens, especially to human beings, it is the military. That is wrong," Sibanda said, setting an impossible measure of determining his troops' culpability.He continued: "I have no reason whatsoever to believe that one of the soldiers could have shot and killed those people, I have no reason whatsoever. The orders were very clear and I can't see what could have happened."Yes, I know they were pummelled by the rioters with stones and various other missiles but I don't think that was enough justification for them to use weapons on those rioters. Let me just say from where I sit in my office in town, I heard gunfire well before the troops deployed, so I think it would be wrong for people to take it for granted that yes because the soldiers went into town, they are the ones who killed the people. I have no reason of putting this blame on the military."Sibanda accused MDC leader Nelson Chamisa of inciting violence on the campaign trail, while lauding Zanu PF leaders whom he said preached peace instead."Before the elections, I had three or so groups of election observers coming to see me. I'm sorry to say but they seemed to be interested in knowing whether we would accept Chamisa if he won the elections and I said to them we would be guided by the constitution," the ZDF commandeer said."We were disappointed that when the MDC-Alliance was talking violence and so on, very few of these groups took the trouble to sit down with him and advise him that what he was doing was wrong. Further, we would have been very foolish as a defence force to give orders to our troops to open fire on civilians with all these people in the country. We still had a lot of observers, we still had a lot of reporters and really we would have been out of our minds to give such an order."Sibanda said he had four letters showing how the army deployment happened  but he is still unsure if Mnangagwa gave the go-ahead to send troops on the streets."I have four letters  one from the Commissioner General of police to the Home Affairs Minister indicating that the situation was getting out of hand; a second letter is from the Minister of Home Affairs to the Minister of Defence indicating the same and there was need for troops or support from the military; there's another letter from the Vice President to the President requesting that authority."What I cannot say is whether that letter was responded to because it would not get to me, that correspondence would go from the President to the Vice President and the Vice President would give me instructions to go ahead. Whether there was verbal communication I don't know, but I can imagine that because of what was happening it's probable that there were consultations verbally and the go ahead given by the President to the Minister of Defence who was the Vice President (Constantino Chiwenga) who then gave me the instructions to deploy."The commission, Madhuku in particular, probed and probed but Sibanda stuck to the script. A third force, not soldiers, had killed people om August 1.Like Sanyatwe, Sibanda just fell short of accusing MDC activists of being behind the killings. The MDC was arming its supporters, he said."There is no hard evidence but a belief in the intelligence services that members of the Vanguard (an MDC affiliated group) have got some weapons. That belief is there, and I'm sure we will get to know about it. It won't be long before somebody gets arrested and we get to prove this point," Sibanda warned.Sanyatwe claimed the MDC was getting help from military deserters. The evidence, he said, was in the behaviour of the protesters on August 1: they had no fear."The behaviour of those rioters it was an indication of what we have all along received that the opposition have to an extent a militant organisation because knowing by the nature of Zimbabweans there is no civilian who can brave it to stone at a military vehicle, to make matters worse an APC (armoured vehicle) and those soldiers armed with AK47 assault rifles," said Sanyatwe."These militant groups according to the intelligence we have are basically members who could have deserted from the army and other institutions because they were advancing, braving even warning shots in the air shouting bata musoja'. That behaviour is a characteristic of a really trained member of the society and not civilian."The hearings continue.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zanu-PF Masvingo Province has passed a resolution endorsing President Mnangagwa as the party's Presidential candidate in the next elections in 2023 to afford him ample time to fulfil his vision of making Zimbabwe a middle-income economy by 2030.The party's Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) on Sunday said President Mnangagwa's endorsement was the first among several resolutions from Masvingo Province that will be tabled at the forthcoming Zanu-PF Annual National People's Conference to be held in Esigodini.The development comes as the Zanu-PF Youth League here recently announced that they were backing President Mnangagwa to be the Zanu-PF Presidential candidate in the next polls due five years from now.Speaking after the PCC meeting held at Victoria Junior Primary School, Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chair Ezra Chadzamira said the province endorsed President Mnangagwa to remain at the helm of the party.Chadzamira, who is also Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, said the province also stood guided by the national Constitution that allowed a President to serve for not more than two terms.President Mnangagwa's first constitutional Presidential term started from this year and will run until the next polls in 2023. The Zanu-PF leader will be eligible to run for another five-year term up to 2028, which will be his last according to the national Constitution."We came up with resolutions for our forthcoming Annual National People's Conference and President Mnangagwa's endorsement as our party leader into the 2023 elections is actually on top of the resolutions that will be tabled by Masvingo Province," said Chadzamira."Our national Constitution is very clear that a President can only serve for two terms, which means we have our President for the next two terms in President Mnangagwa. So, as Zanu-PF Masvingo, we feel there is no need now to talk about who will be the Presidential candidate in 2023 because we already have someone there, who is President Mnangagwa."So, what we are saying clearly as Zanu-PF Masvingo is that our resolution is that our Constitution is very clear that President Mnangagwa is there until 2023 when we will have elections again."Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial spokesperson Ronald Ndava said President Mnangagwa's endorsement to remain at the helm of the party was motivated by the sterling job he was doing as the country's leader."We resolved that President Mnangagwa should remain at the helm because of the good work that he is doing to develop the country's economy," he said."There are many positive things that the President is doing such as re-engaging the international community and rolling out programmes such as Command Agriculture to make sure Zimbabwe achieves food self-sufficiency."Ndava said the ruling party in Masvingo fully backed President Mnangagwa's anti-corruption crusade. He said laws should be tightened to make sure those caught in the anti-graft dragnet were jailed.In his address at the PCC meeting, Zanu-PF secretary for security Lovemore Matuke said now that the ruling party won the July 30 polls, focus should be on developmental projects that uplift the lives of ordinary people.Matuke suggested that a separate PCC meeting, devoid of political issues, be scheduled, whose beat will only be to discuss developmental projects that economically benefit the province.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and his lieutenants are living in fear of an imminent government crackdown, after army and police chiefs suggested this week that a militant wing in the MDC was responsible for the August 1 killings which left six people dead and dozens others injured, the Daily News reported.This comes as a Commission of Inquiry appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to probe the deadly shootings - which followed ugly demonstrations in the capital city soon after the disputed July 30 national elections - begins to wind down its investigations.Appearing before the commission on Monday, the commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Phillip Valerio Sibanda, and police commissioner-general Godwin Matanga, wholly absolved the army of the cold-blooded killings of innocent civilians.Instead, they appeared to blame the MDC and Chamisa for the deaths, after suspected opposition supporters clashed with police two days after the polls - culminating in the deployment of soldiers in the Harare CBD to quell the violence.In ominous remarks, Sibanda said the military would soon be availing evidence showing that the army did not kill people on the day - instead, fingering an outfit called the Vanguard, which is a militant group linked to the MDC youth wing."The possibility of the Vanguard, a militant group within the MDC Alliance youth league, having weapons and having used these weapons during the disturbances on that day cannot be overruled."There is no hard evidence that the army shot at the civilians, but it is also believed that members of the MDC's Vanguard could have been armed," the reclusive general told the commission which is chaired by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe.Matanga also told the commission that police had temporarily shelved plans to arrest Chamisa because of ongoing political talks which were aimed at giving the youthful politician a top post in Parliament."I still feel that it would be very improper to arrest the leader of the opposition party in the name of Nelson Chamisa because this is a position that was formed by the president."I still feel today that the president's doors are open and (so) I cannot arrest Chamisa. But all the same, I can say crime does not rot like meat and anytime he can be arrested," he said.The revelations by both the military and police chiefs came as the opposition leader claimed at the weekend that his life was in danger.Chamisa narrowly lost to Mnangagwa in the hotly-disputed July 30 election, and went on to accuse the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of manipulating the results in favour of the Zanu-PF leader.However, Mnangagwa's victory was upheld by the Constitutional Court which ruled that Chamisa had failed to provide evidence that he had won the election.Yesterday, Chamisa moved to accuse Mnangagwa's government of trying to engineer his arrest, as well as his lieutenants."I see the effort to nail the innocent, exonerating the guilty. A ploy to weaken and eliminate MDC faces in the democratic alternative. Was briefed of this strategy 3 months ago. Soon you will see vindictive arrests, hired witnesses' making stories to victimise."Yes, we are human and not entirely perfect but violence against citizens and spilling of blood are not some of our imperfections."We only carry open palms, not even clenched fists. We have our bare arms, not arms of terror," Chamisa said on micro-blogging platform Twitter.On its part, the MDC drew parallels between Sibanda and Matanga's testimonies on Monday with what ousted former president Robert Mugabe's government had done to Zapu and its leader late revered leader, Joshua Nkomo, soon after the country's independence.Then, arms caches were found on the farms that were owned by Zapu, even though the then opposition party denied ever hiding the weapons - in events that were followed by the Gukurahundi atrocities of the early 1980s, where an estimated 20 000 innocent civilians were killed by government forces."It is clear that the security forces intend to harm Chamisa. They have increased their rhetoric in the past few days, like what they did with PF Zapu."They are intent on clamping down on the leader and then his supporters. If we are not careful, the international community will start counting bodies very soon," MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume warned.At the same time, the MDC said yesterday that it had disbanded the Vanguard, which has previously been accused of unleashing terror on dissenting party members and the media."The MDC categorically states that there is no outfit called Vanguard, an otherwise peaceful and disciplined team of MDC youths which has since been disbanded on the orders of the national council - the party's supreme decision-making body in between congresses," Lovemore Chinoputsa, the secretary-general of the MDC Youth Assembly, said.Meanwhile, the government said yesterday that Chamisa was overrating himself by fearing "an imaginary" crackdown on him and his lieutenants."Chamisa must not behave like a prophet of doom unto himself. Government does not see Chamisa as a threat in any way, as he lost in free and fair elections and has no chance of winning in any future elections."There is no one planning to arrest him. Only if he commits crime will he face the ugly side of the law and I know he won't dare do that," deputy Information minister Energy Mutodi told the Daily News.On Monday, the MDC said it was fearing for its leader's life following what it said were attempts to abduct Chamisa at the weekend, as he was coming from Marondera, where he had gone to address a rally at Rudhaka Stadium.It alleged that suspected security agents had tried to block Chamisa's motorcade and to seize him in Harare's Mabvuku suburb.However, the government robustly dismissed the allegations as "baseless".
News / National

by Staff reporter

Not afraid of anything https://t.co/bAaWPMJh5Y don't incite.They give insight.Violence and power at all cost is not my type of politics.Before God and before men, I didn't actually know about the August 1 demonstrators until I received a call alerting me about it!That is a fact!  Nelson Chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) November 13, 2018

Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has said that he was not aware of the demonstrations which took place on August 1 in Harare which led to the killing of six civilians.The deaths occurred after the demonstrations became violent and soldiers were called in to restore order.The MDC boss was responding to @TSupada who had said, "U're now afraid bcoz u are the one who incited pple that day. No way to condemn the soldiers without condemning u."Responding on Twitter, Chamisa said, "Not afraid of anything http://mate.Winners don't incite.They give insight.Violence and power at all cost is not my type of politics.Before God and before men, I didn't actually know about the August 1 demonstrators until I received a call alerting me about it!That is a fact!"Meanwhile, Chamisa and his lieutenants are living in fear of an imminent government crackdown, after army and police chiefs suggested this week that a militant wing in the MDC was responsible for the August 1 killings which left six people dead and dozens others injured.The MDC Alliance is concerned that the army would soon launch a crackdown to decimate the party after senior army and police officials blamed it for the deadly shootings.Giving their testimony before the Motlanthe Commission in Harare this week, army and police chiefs accused an MDC wing, the Vanguard, of being responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians soon after the July poll. However, it has been reported that the deaths happened after a crack army unit descended onto the CBD and fired live ammunition indiscriminately at fleeing civilians.General Phillip Valerio Sibanda, the commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, told the Commission that, "The possibility of the Vanguard, a militant group within the MDC Alliance youth league, having weapons and having used these weapons during the disturbances on that day cannot be overruled. There is no hard evidence that the army shot at civilians, but it is also believed that members of the MDC's Vanguard could have been armed."On the fateful day, a group of protesters besieged the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's Results Centre at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in the capital, Harare. They protested peacefully and co-operated with police. It was quite an incredible sight, watching protesters pave way for traffic, taking turns with the police to open and close the gate.Some 20 minutes later, they left. Some one hour later they returned, with new company. Armed with sticks and stones. This time cars were blocked, police were stoned. A few colleagues and I received a few bricks to the back as we fled.Police did not retaliate. They considered the violence to be bait. The protesters soon left. Although with promises to return with reinforcements.My cameras were rolling the entire time. A running video of all the protests can be found on my Facebook TimeLine here.An hour later, the protesters, now clearly in their thousands returned. They erected burning barricades. They tore down Zanu PF campaign posters, which they burnt. They vandalised traffic lights and launched missiles into the Zanu PF Headquarters, located just outside Rainbow Towers.Police reacted by launching water cannons. The protesters bricked the muzzle of both trucks, incapacitating them and causing them to flood."We will need to get reinforcements. These trucks are no good now", one officer said to me.At this point the protesters had branched out into three different groups. Launching a cow horn formation. Police tried to move into the centre. To protect the ZEC results centre, Zanu PF HQ and ZEC's Head office.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A CHISHAWASHA woman is at loggerheads with her elder sister who snatched her husband.Muchaneta Zhou opened up at the Harare Civil Court where she applied for a protection order against her sister Vongai."In April, I gave birth to my third child and I had to go and stay with my parents for a couple of months leaving my husband behind with my sister."I spent four months at my parents' home because my baby was sick and when I came back, I noticed my husband had changed his attitude towards me."I then asked my sister if something was going on but she denied."A few days later, the two then disclosed their affair to me," said Muchaneta.In response, Vongai confirmed bedding her sister's husband on several occasions when she was away."The least I could do was to help him to fulfil his needs like any other man."I played the role of his wife when my younger sister was not there so I don't think there is anything wrong with me helping him."Everyone is now calling me a husband snatcher and to maintain my dignity in the society I have to be his second wife."I am not going to vacate the house; it is also my matrimonial home," said Vongai.Presiding Magistrate Noah Gwatidzo, who presided over the matter, granted the protection order in Muchaneta's favour.The two were also advised to resolve their conflicts amicably for the sake of their relationship.
News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is alleged demanding President Mnangagwa to resign from the Presidency in 2022 so that he can assume the leadership of the country and of the Party pending his substantial endorsement at the plebiscite pencilled for 2023.A ZANU PF source who spoke to us on condition of anonymity revealed us the details of the move."The General is very clear these days that he did not do the coup so that someone else may enjoy the fruits of his efforts. In a heated meeting held after the politiburo meeting held end of october the General told the President to his face that he was a compromise candidate after the initial deal the he had with former President Mugabe had failed. He reminded the President that Grace Mugabe was his own project which he had suggested to Mnangagwa and Mugabe to stop Mujuru."According to our source Chiwenga ,who has always been know with the nickname Zim 2, had planned to remove Mujuru then succeed Mugabe making Mnangagwa one of his Vice Presidents. However the plan backfired when Mugabe reneged from the deal and started cosying up with people like Jonathan Moyo, the deal had to backfire."So the fight is real its not imaginary. The source said. But Mnangagwa will not take the pressure lying down. He is willing to use all legal and political means to entrench himself against any plot that might be threatening his political power base."Earlier this month, there were reports that ZANU PF Youth had planned a demonstration against Chiwenga, however in response Secretary for Youth affairs Lewis Matutu downplayed the reports calling them a mischievous MDC plot."Please be informed that ZANU PF Youth league can never undermine the leadership of the party in any way and VP Chiwenga is part of the party's presidium which is doing great work for the people of Zimbabwe and young people, in particular."Matutu fingered the opposition MDC as being suspected to be behind the reports of the alleged demonstration."It is our strongest suspicion that opposition forces are responsible for the confusion and this can never be allowed ,MDC Alliance have failed to destabilise our country after a lot of effort they must stay away from ZANU PF and it s leadership because they are not our members."Matutu further added, "Speculating false, divisive and misleading information about our leadership is unacceptable, there is no and will never be any demonstration against anyone in the hierarchy of the party by the youth league."
News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu



Find Below the Full letter:

We have quickly come to realise that Operation Restore Legacy meant Zanu PF perpetuating it is stay in power. It is nothing to do with Zimbabwe at all.A white Zimbabwean woman Nanette Allmark has written an emotional letter to President Emmerson Mnangagwa telling him that his commission into the 1st August shootings and the parade of barefaced lies is nauseating.Zimbabwe has never been at the selfish heart of Zanu PF. It is all about a small elite clique who have managed to destroy an entire nation and bring suffering upon millions.Have you any idea what respect a tad of honesty would bring? Honesty about the past 38 years and a bit of humility to boot. The EU: USA and the Commonwealth have all found the 2018 elections to be unacceptable.Zimbabwe knows what Justice Chigumba and the Constitutional court did. We know about 2002/05/08/13/18. We hear the lies. We hear the propoganda. Nothing you and your lot do surprise us anymore.Your commission of Inquiry into the 1st August shootings and the parade of barefaced lies is nauseating. Do you know how passing the buck and finding scapegoats makes you look? None of you deserve any respect. Not one iota of justice has ever been done in Mugabe Zimbabwe or yours. Not one of you has the courage or the leadership to stand up and be accountable and to humble yourselves to take responsibility as any good leader should.You need to find the balls to stand before the nation & God and admit that Zimbabwe is an unmitigated disaster and that the elections were a farce. You need to find your conscience, if there is one, and find the man in you. You need to engage with the opposition to find a way forward. Zanu PF does NOT own Zimbabwe and one day you are all going to find that out: maybe on the wrong side of eternity.If Zanu PF had nothing to hide things would be totally different. Instead you have everything to hide and you are digging your holes deep & dark.The wounds of a friend are faithful but the kisses of the enemy are deceitful. Methinks you are surrounded by the bootlickers only. A dangerous place to be. He or she who cares for you would tell you the HARD truth.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

A total of 41 officers from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) have received certificates after completing a Joint and Command Staff Course aimed at equipping them with knowledge on aspects of staff work in administration of the army in peace and war time.Two female students were among the 41 who received certificates at the Zimbabwe Staff College.It is a percentage which does not tally with government's national policy on gender equality as enshrined in Section 17 of the constitution.Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, who graced the occasion, says the college should reserve a certain quarter for women as a form of affirmative action which is in line with government's gender policy."It is pleasing though that there is a deliberated effort to enlist more females to meet the expected 50 percent gender participation," said Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri.She emphasized the need for the ZDF to become mechanised and modernised as the country aims to become an upper middle income society by 2030."This is in recognition of the fact that most technological development initiatives the world over originate from the military," she added.The Zimbabwe Staff College is an associate of the University of Zimbabwe and Chinhoyi University of Technology with the assistance of defence attaches from the People's Liberation Army of the Republic of China.The ceremony also saw two students from Nigeria and one each from Lesotho, Tanzania and Zambia receiving certificates.
Opinion / Columnist

For Zimbabwe to achieve stability, there was to be a return to constitutionality. Sanity had escaped the political landscape. The operation restore legacy was not be complete without order and a conclusion of presidential elections. So 2018 completed the legacy legitimises the government beyond any doubt.On 15th November 2017 the people of Zimbabwe and the international community were surprised by a military intervention Otherwise known as an operation restore legacy. There has been a coup since the country fired the Vice president Joyce Mujuru. The only difference was that the coup was military less. No single short was fired. It was a strategy used by a cabal to capture the then head of state and his government.A group known as the G40 led by the clever but not wise professor had taken over the party and the country. To make their coup legitimate they had to make the then president believe that he was still in power. They realised his popularity and indeed exploited it. They have to put the first lady in their bag and they have to use her to achieve their goals. The idea was well strategised such that when people in each and every province protest agains the G40 the voices of the people were ignored. The protests against Kasukuwere were poured cold water at one rally. How could the nation protest against the kingpin.Ten provinces called for NPC to Be fired but the first lady overturned the majority vote. All those who took part in the push for restoring order in the party were fired. They were all labelled Lacoste. The fight for succession was brutal but very political and only those near it would understand the dynamics. Even the then President did not understand what was going on. In reality the centre was not holding. Mugabe was captured but the ones who captured him made a fatal mistake of allowing the first lady to believe that she was above the law. She got a false sense of security. Every ZANU PF member including the majority in the to offices today literally worshipped the first lady. What destroyed Mugabe was those people who got to him through his wife. They created the office of the first lady to be at par with the presidium. Even in the politburo the sitting arrangement had changed.This bottom power rule should be shunned by any president no matter how the first lady pretend to be nice, only Mugabe can tell you that if not controlled the first laddies will pull you down very fast.There was indeed a coup with no soldier involved. The biggest problem was that this went beyond party politics. The first lady became the judge, the police, the court, the mother, all in one. While ZANU PF has become accustomed to violence and tragic events this one led by the first lady was the lowest point of all. Unfortunately the first lady was being used and too much power she got was used to elbow out the perceived enemies. It came to an extent where the nation was told that vice presidents took notes from the first lady. You would see big bosses in the party kneeling down before he Grace the Grace. Do not be fooled all those acting brave now went on their knees and elbows before the first lady and indeed the land scape of the politics in ZANU PF took a sharp dimension.The country was turned to a personal property and every one was an employee of the husband of the first lady. and the firing of another vice president and other high state officials, including several chiefs of staff of the armed forces) no one was prepared for this event. The country was a few months away from the presidential elections set for 2018.Among diverse explanations, It should be good to distinguish between those given by the instigators of the coup, and those advanced by those couped. Among the latter, there is consensus that there are multiple causes, some with deep historical roots. From a holistic perspective concerned with the deeper causes of a political unrest prevalent in society, The army had to come in firstly having been concerned with the immediate motivations, while the second refers to older and more structural causes. Although they are of different nature, function, and range, the factors that explain the coup cannot be understood separately, as they are different links on the same chain.In terms of the immediate causes, it is important to recognize the deterioration of relations between the executive and the military elite. The deterioration can be traced to public castigation of the military at rallies. Accusing the army of wanting to bomb the Gushungo dairy. With all their ammunition the soldiers were accused of wanting to use petrol bombs to bomb the dairy. The first lady was made to believe that her life was in danger and the CIO was ordered to beef up her security. She now had security as strong as that of the president. In actual fact she was the president. This signified the take over of the state.The first lady got unconstitutional powers to fire executive. You cross her path you are gone. The country was put where the Those controlling the first lady wanted it.Great enmity between the army and other security services was made very wide. Security officers were now reporting to the minister of Higher Education and to the first lady. The governance system was a big joke. The president's age was not helping and the country resembled a dogs dinner table.The mission to restore order was instigated.This mission was created aiming at stabilization, peace, and support for reforms in security and defense sectors. The hotly discussed 'special' relationship between the party and the army. the principle of making a peacekeeping and stabilization force in the country became forcing power which led the international community to consider this as a stabilisation process. Zimbabwe's situation was becoming embarrassing. It needed some strong willed Zimbabweans to restore political sanity. Zimbabwe was becoming a laughing stalk. Therefore the establishment the restore legacy was rooted in the will of the international states and in the best interest of the nation.Though these forces were established legally, given the hesitation expressed by some leaders as to the adequacy, correctness, and opportunity of this decision, many have denounced Mugabe and those surrounding him for mismanagement. Along with allegations that the country was now under the few none combatant egoistic thugs. They have taken full advantage of first lady's mental instability.The country has been plunged in a unprecedented chaos.There were allegations that The G40 has committed (or allowed others to commit) crimes such as the beatings and disappearances of prominent political and military figures, expulsions from the party became the norm. The party constitution was trampled and the national constitution was thrown out through the window.Still others allege rampant clientalism and nepotism in public administration, and party politics. Together these allegations have fanned the flames of discontentment, not only within the military but also among the political class-- even among personalities from the same political establishment. The decline in relations between the government and military elite reached its lowest point when certain sectors of the same elite began to feel uncomfortable with the presence of the then first lady and her influence she has over elected members. The heart of discord appeared to be the fact that such a presence voted to fail, 'a priori', any attempt to change the constitutional order or advance any acts contrary to the normal functioning of institutions. To add to the tension, the center of certain political and military circles has developed a certain paranoia - a mental process highly influenced by anxiety and fear, with practical consequences resulting in efforts to prevent ED from acceding to the presidency. The same anxiety has allowed the military elite to believe there has been a conspiracy on the part of the President against military leaders and all war veterans. This saw a spirited fight against the first lady and her cabal by the war veterans. In a bid to silence the descending voices war vets like Mahiya Matemadanda and the team were arrested. While these were being persecuted a number of high ranking ZANU PF cadres remained in the skirts of the first Lady Amai as she was affectionately known.This process deteriorated in part because of the reasons analyzed above, but also because of the deliberate effort to instrumentalize ethnic identity in favor of the petty interests of one group, which can only lead to nonsensical accusations and irrational situations. The strong statements of the of The first lady not only reflects this way of thinking, but also reveals a desire to create a big gap between the military elite and a part of the political elite. This has fuelled tensions and all trust between each other was eroded. Zimbabwe was divided into Zezurus and KarangasBeyond this, there are three other reasons that may explain the coup as the culmination of a situation of instability and the deterioration of the conditions under which state power is exercised. The first arose in the mismanagement of the resources from the national liberation struggle to the construction of a modern state. The polices and measures implemented by the powers was not likely to ensure a clear separation between civil and military affairs or permit the military contingent from the national liberation struggle to be transformed into a truly republican armed force. At the same time, for many years political life and the management of public services were dominated by the paradigm of the single-party state existing in a multiparty democracy.The take over of state apparatus by the G40 was opposed by elements that one belonged to the military wing of the liberation struggle but have been loyal to the first lady. After liberation, the party continued to be seen as a kind of a guide with ability to act widely despite emancipation. On their side, the armed forces were more committed to the ideology and interests of the party than to the norms and rules that politics must rule the gun. To them the gun was to be respected together with its handlers. This resulted in a somewhat incestuous relationship between the political and military elite - a tendency that was reinforced during the mandate of Mugabe. It has since become one of the cornerstones in the relationship between civilian and military leaders.Some analysts have focused more specifically on the breakdown of the hierarchical order and the political turmoil caused by the state of the party. This poisoned legacy is certainly not unfamiliar to the politico-military situation that preceded the 2017 coup. Who does not remember something funny about the rallies. Every person would know that rallies became battle grounds. The only problem was one person suffered the sharp edge of the other.The behaviour was un African and it turned the hearts of many against the first lady. Some even doubted her sanity. Her handlers missed the point.Indeed, the strong presence of the state party has constricted the space that could be filled by a civil society (which could serve as a counterweight to the excesses of a state party that became hegemonic.)The second structural reason has to do with the mismanagement of crises and conflicts (violent or not) that have periodically developed in the political scene involving on one side politicians properly speaking, and on the other, politicians who were aligned with the military and not allowed to talk.This eventually undermined the foundations of leadership at the height of the challenges facing ZANU PF. The heart of the crisis was the deposition of ED. under the pretext that the first had acted in a 'deviant' and 'reprehensible' manner. Whether or not these allegations are true, we should ask why it is permissible for a Party to fire without following procedure. in a state of law that is guided by the regular functioning of institutions, and in which military power is subordinated to a civil power, the lawlessness demanded the army to stand up and restore order.With this act, a dangerous and irreparable precedent was set; in the very center of the armed forces, scrupulous respect for hierarchy was abandoned, along with the knowledge that the military is subordinated to political stakeholders. Acts like this certainly serve to explain the behavior of soldiers that subvert not only the military hierarchy but also undermine the rule of law.Another explanation for the army involvement has to do with the degeneration of the state apparatus, and the state itself. It is common knowledge that the embryo of the modern state, initially forged in the first years following independence, has suffered weakness without precedent in the last few years, especially under the first lady being handled by Jonathan Moyo. The situation resembles that of a country in which neither the law or hierarchies are respected - the combination that puts things near, if not identical to that of failed state.That is why many voices claiming to reestablish the state are premised on strengthening national unity, on reinventing the political system, and on building a functional and independent justice.For this coup to happen exactly when the country was preparing for the presidential elections is, at least, an 'unhappy' coincidence. It was clear from the beginning that the electoral process itself would be disrupted.For the country to find the path to stability again, the exit from the crisis must include a return to constitutional order.Everything has been done both nationally and internationally to bring the military to reason. The process of building lasting peace, democracy, and the rule of law is incompatible with any compromise to those that would usurp power through a coup. It is essential that the international community does not turn its back on Zimbabwe. The operation was an opportunity to ensure that Zimbabwe returns to stability and a civil peace that is sustainable. This opportunity was well taken.The elections came and for the first time they were so peaceful and any legitimacy lost was restored. It is the Zimbabweans doing the same.Zimbabwe was captured already before the army took over and the same Zimbabwe was returned back to the people by the people. The army wrestled the power from those who had taken it from the constitutional system which was in place.As to whom did they give after the restoration of order is a question which is already known. The majority party had the mandate to finish their term. So they appointed an interim president who was later confirmed at congress.That president became the president of the country. He was then voted in during the general elections. There was no need to create a power vacuum. So Mnangagwa was duly sworn in as the president of the country.Saying now that the ascendance was unlawful is in itself mischievous.The army has a constitutional right to maintain peace and order in the country. Their duty is to the country and indeed they stood their constitutional ground.Even though they targeted the criminals surrounding the president it was not the duty of the army to replace Mugabe with ED.If the truth be said Mugabe resigned when the MDC populace in towns led by Chamisa marched in to state House. It was the army who stopped and addressed them. The rural populace did not take part. So for MDC to say the current government is illegitimate it is cheap politicking.Mnangagwa is not in the office by force. The procedure was constitutional and very lawful.The former president had been removed by those he believed he was working with. People took advantage of him and things fell apart.Now it is not correct to say that the country was taken by force. The decision to make Chiwenga a Vice president soon after the operation was not a wrong move. It is indeed an unwise move but very legal. By the time of his appointment Chiwenga was not a soldier he had retired. So his appointment was not a military one.We need to come together as a nation and work towards oneness and success of the nation.Declaring that elections were not be free and fair is wrong and obviously not in the spirit of progress.Now the country needs unity of purpose. The economic problems we are facing are birth pains they will go away soon and we will enjoy the fruits of our resilience.- Those who stand aside and wait to see the country fall are not Zimbabweans at heart. You can not celebrate at the suffering of the nation. It is a highly irresponsible stunt to try and portray the country in a bad name.- Zimbabwe now needs the support of each and every Zimbabwean. Iwe neni tine basa. We can go through these short lived economic problems if we unite beyond and above party politics. Even if you hate ZANU PF your co-operation is highly needed. Zimbabwe needs you.- It is important to ask yourself one question. What am I doing for my country and my people. You can make a difference.Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk
One of the most remarkable things about the Quebec market is the fact that most Quebecois are incredibly loyal to Quebec-based companies. In a way, theres a moat built around the province of Quebec thats insulating Quebec-based firms from other competitive forces.

You might think of Quebec as its own market within the Canadian market. While non-Quebec-based Canadian companies are still cherished in Quebec, its the homegrown Quebec companies that I believe have the widest of moats and the most stable customer bases.

Many non-Quebec-based Canadian investors may be unaware of the brands that have been thriving in the province for decades. Whether its due to their lack of understanding of the Quebec market, many Canadians may be unjustifiably shunning Quebec-based stocks due to their unfamiliarity or unwillingness to venture into what seems like a foreign market.

Without further ado, here are three top Quebec-based companies that have unbelievably wide moats around the province of Quebec:

Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD.B)

Couche-Tard is a global convenience store giant and a king of extracting synergies through M&A activities.

Although Couche-Tard c-stores are wildly popular in the province of Quebec, its the companys continued growth outside of Quebec thats resulted in the most remarkable growth over the last few years.

The management team knows how to find the unique needs and wants of the local markets it breaks into. They tailor their local stores such that each one can command the optimal level of sales for a given geography.

Over the last several years, the company has been rolling out its Circle K banner across the globe to consolidate its large number of banners. Circle K isnt coming to Quebec, however, as management knows how much the Quebecois people cherish their homegrown Couche-Tard (meaning night owl) brand with the friendly winking owl. If Quebec-based Couche-Tard locations were to turn into Circle Ks, there would undoubtedly be very strange things afoot at these Circle Ks!

Story continues

Quebecor (TSX:QBR.B)

If youve never been to Quebec, then odds are youve never heard of this company. Its a Quebec-based communications company behind Videotron, a cellular, cable TV and internet service provider.

While the Big Three telecoms are playing game theory with a new entrant threatening to disrupt their collutive efforts, Quebecor is continuing to build upon its already wide moat through continued infrastructure upgrades across the province of Quebec.

To sum up Quebecors unique growth prospects and why its a superior telecom relative to the Big Three incumbents, consider the following commentary from my colleague here at the Motley Fool Canada, Mat Litalien:

Quebecor has been growing earnings by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% over the past five years. In certain cases, some of the Big Three have been posting negative earnings growth. said Litalien. Furthermore, Quebecors growth has been accelerating, while the opposite is true of Canadas Big Three.

At todays levels, investors have the opportunity to get unmatchable growth at just 15.6 times forward earnings. I think thats a steal, especially when you consider that most analysts would discount Quebecors unique advantage of being a Quebec-based operator thats allowed the company to shut out the competition. When it comes to household penetration, nobody even comes close.

Foolish takeaway

Theres a moat around Quebec and its working in favour of the Quebec-based firms operating in the market.

While theres nobody stopping competitive forces from entering the hot Quebec market, prospective competitors know that its going to take a heck of a lot of effort to get around the language barrier to get through to the Quebecois people who are incredibly loyal to existing local brands. Its these Quebecois people who will be reluctant to try a non-Quebec-based substitute product, even though it may be superior in some regard.

Simply put, expanding into the Quebec market is no easy task. Quebec-based companies expanding outside of Quebec will have an advantage in that their home turf will be relatively insulated as they pursue growth opportunities outside of the Quebec border.

Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

More reading

Fool contributor Joey Frenette owns shares of ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD INC. Alimentation Couche-Tard is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.


(Bloomberg) -- ServiceTitan Inc. is the newest startup unicorn out of the Los Angeles area, proving that even plumbing can be a billion-dollar technology business.

The company, which makes software for plumbers, electricians and other home-services companies, plans to announce Wednesday that it was valued at $1.65 billion in a new venture capital infusion. Index Ventures led the funding round, which totaled $165 million.

The deal adds to a growing list of Southern California startup success stories. But unlike consumer product makers Snap Inc., Sonos Inc. and Ring, ServiceTitan aims to be a backbone for basic, back-office functions. Co-founder Ara Mahdessian said ServiceTitan will increase headcount in Glendale, California, where most of its 600 employees are based, and in Atlanta, but has no plans to open an office in Silicon Valley.

The feedback were getting is that its costly; the competitive landscape is brutal; and its very hard to attract and retain talent, said Mahdessian. Well have better luck going elsewhere.

Mahdessian started ServiceTitan with Vahe Kuzoyan in 2012. They initially bonded in college over their shared Armenian heritage and how they were both building software for their fathers companies. Kuzoyans dad, a plumber, and Mahdessians, a home contractor, were the first customers, helping test the softwares ability to schedule and dispatch service technicians, search and order inventory, and manage customers. It was personal for us, said Kuzoyan.

Nina Achadjian, a principal at Index Ventures, is also Armenian and has known the duo since college. She said she camped out at their office in Glendale, home to a large Armenian American community, for four days to secure the deal and spent even more time on the ground in Armenia scouting software engineers for a possible ServiceTitan satellite office.

Earlier this year, Achadjian made a small investment on behalf of seed fund Hive Ventures. This new deal is the first one shes led for Index, and shell join the board. Dragoneer Investment Group and T. Rowe Price also participated in the round, along with existing investors Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and Iconiq Capital.

Story continues

ServiceTitan said it has more than 1,000 customers using its software, generating an estimated $100 million in annual recurring revenue. The company, which previously raised about $160 million, will use the new funds to target industries, such as pest control and carpet cleaning, and expand internationally. According to Achadjian, the founders have a certain advantage, which she calls Armenian hustle.

(Updates with additional investors in the sixth paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Lizette Chapman in San Francisco at lchapman19@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2018 Bloomberg L.P.
A Toronto student with multiple sclerosis has a message for Premier Doug Ford: "Get in my chair" and see how you experience the province.

Kathleen Lynch, a journalism student at Humber College, is one of some 74,000 post-secondary students with disabilities in Ontario.

She says if Ford could only see the daily challenges she faces, he'd work much harder to ensure the province accomplishes its goal of becoming fully-accessible by 2025.

"Do you know how quickly he'd be snapping his fingers saying, 'We need to do something about this?'" she said.

And Lynch isn't alone in her criticism.

Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC

Accessibility advocates say the government hasn't put several Standards Development Committees (SDCs)  special groups looking at how to get rid of accessibility barriers in the province  back to work five months after the spring election.

Their work is an essential part of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), passed in 2005. All the parties voted to work toward making the province barrier-free by 2025.

Creating a standard

The SDCs are meant to study barriers in different sectors to make recommendations for an accessibility standard.

The three still paused  looking at health care, schools K - 12 and post-secondary institutions  are the most recent to begin their work.

They stopped work on May 8, 2018, when the provincial election campaign officially began.

Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC

In a statement, the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility said they've resumed some of the other committees, but they'll have more to say on the ones still paused "upon further consideration."

That doesn't sit well with David Lepofsky, the chair of the AODA Alliance.

He said as the official opposition, the PCs had previously criticized the former Liberal government for not moving fast enough to create the committees.

"On our behalf they slammed the former government when it delayed," he said. "The Conservative Party that used to press to move forward on this has frozen our work ... That's not fair."

Story continues

When he inquired, Lepofsky said a spokesperson told him the government needed time to brief the new minister before resuming the committees' work.

John Sandeman/CBC

"It doesn't take four months to brief a new minister," he said. "Our students with disabilities have been facing this uphill situation in schools for years. It's long overdue time to fix it, so we can't afford a delay."

Why the standards matter

In the absence of a standard, Lynch feels she's been left to fight her own battle.

As a result of her disease, she isn't able to move her left arm and uses a power wheelchair to get around.

Most of her classrooms are not equipped with automatic door openers, which she said makes it extremely difficult to get through them.

"If there is an automatic button  that's my independence," she said. "There's a lot of handicapped kids, and I don't know if their needs are being met."

CBC

On top of that, she said other students are often using the barrier-free washrooms, which are the only ones she can use.

"Several times I've come here and I'm waiting 10, 15 minutes for somebody to walk out that door. And it's kind of demoralizing, it's kind of dehumanizing and it's a basic need to go to the washroom," she said.

As a fix, she'd like to see the college give out key cards to students with disabilities so only they can use those washrooms.

In a statement, the Humber College said Lynch's building exceeds accessibility standards, and has automatic door openers installed at all public entrances and at barrier-free washrooms.

But an accessibility standard might require them to do more.

When a student with a physical disability enrolls in a program, the standard might require the school to offer those classes in rooms already equipped with automatic openers.

Lynch said those openers would give her back her independence, which is why she's also eager for the SDCs to get back to work.

"It's 2018. They're too far behind," she said.

'We're disappointed to still be waiting'

Sandi Bell, the chair of the Health Care Standards Development Committee, agrees.

"We're disappointed to still be waiting," she said. "I have been particularly concerned because we are one of the most recent ... committees to have been formed. So we're still working on our very first set of recommendations."

Bell said they're looking at complex barriers, such as what a hospital might do with a person's service animal should they experience an emergency.

"The issues are huge," she said. "Every day that goes by, someone may not be being afforded the accessibility, the accommodation that they need."

Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC

Jeanette Parsons, the chair of the Inter-University Disability Issues Association and a member of the post-secondary SDC, is also eager to resume.

"We really, really do want to come back to the table with this and we're looking forward to the resumption of this work," she said.

Parsons's committee had just begun to identify some of the biggest barriers facing post-secondary students with disabilities, such as transitioning from high school, accessible learning materials and mental health.

"It's valuable for universities to sort of have a road map as to how they can enhance accessibility generally," she said.

Many hospitals and schools have created their own accessibility standards, but according to Lepofsky: "There's no specific accessibility standard regulation that's enforceable in Ontario for schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and other health care providers."

Grant Linton/CBC

There are accessibility requirements for buildings under the Ontario Building Code, but they're "completely inadequate," Lepofsky says.

People can also file complaints under the Ontario Human Rights Code, but it's up to the individuals to fight those battles.

"If we set one provincial standard then everyone will know what they've got to do," Lepofsky said.

"We're eager to get back to work so we can give this government good recommendations ... but we can't do that until they lift their freeze."
A Canadian war veteran is being denied access to a Halifax veterans hospital even though there are empty beds in the facility  all because he wasn't Canadian at the time of his wartime service.

Sitting recently in his home in Hubbards, N.S., 91-year-old Gordon Smith showed off the medals on his tunic. There's one for good conduct in the Royal Canadian Air Force and one representing his time in the fire service.

There's a war medal from the British Royal Navy for service during the Second World War and the one that means the most to him  a medal representing his volunteer service in the British Civil Defence Corps.

When he was just 14 years old in London, England, Smith signed up to carry stretchers.

"I carried so many injured and dead," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "It stays with me."

Kayla Hounsell/CBC

When he was 17, Smith enlisted in the Royal Navy, sailing the North Sea searching for debris and bodies. He was on guard on VE Day. After the war, he immigrated to Canada and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a firefighter for 18 years.

Kayla Hounsell/CBC

Upon retiring from Canada's air force, Smith volunteered for another 20 years with the Royal Canadian Legion, visiting veterans in long-term care to ensure they were getting the care they needed.

Smith has been a Canadian citizen for 51 years, and he always thought he would end up in a place like Camp Hill Veterans Memorial in Halifax. But it isn't working out that way.

Smith's granddaughter, Sabrina Smith, said Veterans Affairs has told her family her grandfather can't go to Camp Hill because the majority of beds at the facility are for war veterans. And because Smith's service during wartime wasn't with the Canadian Forces  but rather an allied force  he isn't considered a Canadian war veteran.

"They're completely disqualifying him on the fact that he wasn't with the Canadian Forces at the time," said Sabrina Smith.

Story continues

Not Canadian during wartime

Eric Woolliscroft/CBC

Gordon Smith does have a letter and a certificate from the Canadian government, signed by former prime minister Stephen Harper, recognizing his "service and sacrifice during the Second World War, in defence of Canada and our shared values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law."

Submitted

His granddaughter said she is disappointed in the Canadian government.

"He went out there in 1945 as a 17-year-old, he enlisted on his own, of his own free will, and he risked his life for us," she said. "So for me, it's not acceptable that he doesn't get, number one, the recognition that he deserves, and number two, the services that come along with that."

Adding to the family's frustration is the fact that 29 of the beds designated for Canadian war veterans at Camp Hill are empty.

A spokesperson for the Minister of Veterans Affairs said allied vets can only have access to those beds if there is no other place for them to receive the care they need, which is not the case for Smith.

Smith's Member of Parliament, Bernadette Jordan, said she is aware of the situation and is working with the Minister's office to try to find a solution.

"Our view is that any veteran, regardless of their age, when they're in need of special care, should be entitled to have a special care bed," said Mel Crowe, president of Nova Scotia Nunavut Command of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Smith is not the first veteran to face difficulties accessing a bed at Camp Hill. In 2016, Norwegian-Canadian war vet Petter Blindheim was denied access to the facility, until public protests prompted a review by Veterans Affairs, which increased access to the facilities for some veterans.

Expanded access

As of June 2016, there are actually 25 beds set aside at Camp Hill for any veteran who is eligible for care, including Canadian Armed Forces veterans and allied veterans. That doesn't help Gordon Smith, because those beds are currently all in use, and his family has been told the wait list is so long, there's no point in being on it.

The Minister's office says there are 30 people on the wait list and placement is not determined by the person who is next on the list, but rather by the person in greatest need. Veterans eligible for these beds also qualify for any other provincially licensed long-term care bed.

But that's not what Smith wants.

Eric Woolliscroft/CBC

"It's the comradeship," he said. "It's the fact that you'll be talking to people that had similar experiences  not the same, but similar experiences to what you have. You already have something in common."

Smith said his health is declining, and he has decreased mobility.

"I've recently had an operation for cancer. I've had my right shoulder replaced, my right hip replaced, and I know that my health will not improve," he said.

Smith said he's not bitter about the government's decision, because he's happy to be recognized as a Canadian. He just wants to finish his days in a place where he feels comfortable.

His family wants Veterans Affairs to count his wartime service and reverse its decision. They know time is not on their side.

"I'm grateful that my grandfather has people to advocate on his behalf," said Sabrina Smith, "and it makes me really worried for the people who don't."
About 50 students and adults gathered outside Glace Bay High School on Tuesday in support of a bullied teen.

A video of students taunting Grade 9 student Brett Corbett and using him as a stepping stone shocked the community last week.

Organizers said the rally was intended to send a message to Corbett and other students being bullied that they are not alone.

Sydney boxer Ryan Rozicki also made an appearance. He said he could relate to Corbett after hearing about the bullying.

"I was a victim myself and it definitely changed my life and I ended up making the most of it," Rozicki said. "It's just not right."

Organizer Dionne Dermody also said Corbett's story touched her deeply, especially because she has first-hand experience dealing with people who have intellectual and physical challenges.

"Brett suffers from cerebral palsy and my mother has worked at L'Arche Cape Breton for 11 years now, and I have some experience working there," she said.

"We also work with people who have cerebral palsy and to see Brett hurt like that really pulled at my heart."

Surprised and grateful

Corbett and his mother, Terri McEachern, said they were surprised and grateful for the support.

Corbett said he has accepted apologies from several students, but he just wants all bullying to stop.

"When I return to school it better change," he said. "Not a lot of kids getting bullied and if they do. I want people to stick up for them."

Corbett still being bullied

McEachern said despite the apologies, her son is still being bullied online.

She said she keeps him away from social media, but he can't even play games on his Xbox.

"He's not on it because they're saying, 'You did this for attention. You wanted this out there. You wanted this public attention.' They're still ridiculing him and he doesn't want to go on there."

Tom Ayers/CBC

McEachern said the students involved in the initial bullying incident were only given light punishment and school officials are not doing enough to support her son.

Story continues

"The school doesn't seem to be doing anything, and just, 'Don't be doing that again,'" she said. "This is what they do, it was a tap on the hand, don't do it again."

McEachern said she intends to launch a formal complaint.

Glace Bay principal Donald Holland did not return phone calls from the CBC.

School leading 'restorative process'

Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Education Centre has issued two statements on the bullying incident, and spokeswoman Michelle MacLeod declined any further comment.

She wouldn't say whether any students have been disciplined, and wouldn't say whether Corbett or his mother had been contacted.

In the second statement, issued Tuesday afternoon, education officials said school staff are "leading a restorative practice process" that will include students, staff, parents and members of the community.

The process will acknowledge the harm done and help plan "a respectful, safe and secure learning environment."
By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman told a New York jury in opening remarks that his client was a scapegoat for the real leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. "He's blamed for being the leader while the real leaders are living freely and openly in Mexico," attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said on the first day of Guzman's trial for drug smuggling in Brooklyn federal court, which is expected to last up to four months. "In truth he controlled nothing. Mayo Zambada did." Lichtman also said that Zambada had been left free because he "bribes the entire government of Mexico including up to the very top, the current president of Mexico," Enrique Pena Nieto. Pena Nieto's spokesman said of the accusation: "That is false." Lichtman's statement came after Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels laid out the U.S. government's case, describing how prosecutors would prove that Guzman rose from a low-level marijuana trafficker in the 1970s to lead the powerful Sinaloa Cartel. Fels said that Guzman, 61, eventually established relationships with Colombian cartels that allowed him to make billions of dollars moving cocaine. He said jurors would see evidence of seized cocaine shipments adding up to "more than a line of cocaine for every single person in the United States." Fels told jurors that Guzman left a trail of violence, turning parts of Mexico into war zones as he fought rivals to expand his reach. He said jurors would hear of how Guzman personally shot two members of a rival cartel and ordered them thrown into holes and burned. Guzman faces 17 criminal counts and a possible life sentence if he is convicted. The prosecutors' witnesses are expected to include former Guzman associates who are now cooperating with the U.S. government in exchange for more favorable treatment, likely including Zambada's brother Jesus "El Rey" Zambada and son Vicente Zambada. Lichtman spent much of his opening statement attacking their credibility. "Why is the government going so far in this case using these gutter human beings as the evidence?" he asked. "It's because the conviction of Chapo Guzman is the biggest prize this prosecution could ever dream of." Lichtman urged jurors to "keep an open mind" and consider that both Mexican and U.S. law enforcement could be corrupt. "They work together when it suits them, Mayo (Zambada) and the United States government," he said. Lichtman also strove to humanize the defendant, describing his childhood selling oranges, cheese and bread door to door in a poor village. Tuesday's opening statements were delayed by hours when two of the jurors chosen last week dropped out of the case, forcing lawyers and U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to select two new jurors. Lichtman did not finish his statement and is expected to resume Wednesday. Guzman, who twice dramatically escaped from Mexican maximum security prisons, has been kept in solitary confinement in Manhattan. His trial is surrounded by extraordinary security measures, with jurors escorted to and from court by armed federal marshals. In addition to Lichtman, Guzman's lawyers at the trial include Eduardo Balarezo and William Purpura, who previously defended Mexican drug lord Alfredo Beltran Leyva, once a partner and later a rival of Guzman. Beltran Leyva pleaded guilty to U.S. drug charges and was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Washington last year. (Reporting by Brendan Pierson, additional reporting by Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Rosalba O'Brien)
Police to use naloxone without risk of criminal investigation

The Ontario government made a regulatory amendment Tuesday that will allow police officers to administer the life-saving medication naloxone without facing a criminal investigation if the patient dies.

The SIU, Ontario's police watchdog, was previously required to investigate any incident where naloxone was administered and the patient was seriously injured or deceased. Officers could previously face criminal charges if the use of the medication was not successful.

"No one should face unfair repercussions just because they are doing their job and trying to save a life," said Sylvia Jones, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, in a statement.

"This amendment will enable police officers to carry out their duties without fear of facing a criminal investigation, but more importantly, it will also help save countless lives."

The SIU will still be notified if a person dies after naloxone is administered and there was use of force or the person was in custody or detention.

Naloxone is used to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose for drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone and heroin.

Chiefs of police will no longer have to notify the SIU when an officer uses naloxone or other emergency first aid and the patient dies or suffers a serious injury.

"When this regulation was written, naloxone was rarely used as a life saving measure," said Rob Jamieson, president of the Ontario Provincial Police Association, in a statement.

"We are very pleased that the government is taking a fair and common sense approach to oversight with this update to the Police Services Act."

The SIU will continue to investigate civilian deaths in other instances where police officers are involved.
A cannabis store operating outside the Saskatchewan government's regulatory framework is now open in a First Nation community 70 kilometres northeast of Regina after the band passed its own cannabis legislation.

Justice Minister Don Morgan said Tuesday the province wants the store to shut down.

Morgan said the federal government gave each province the responsibility of setting up and enforcing regulations for cannabis retailers, which includes First Nations reserves.

"It would be our position that somebody setting one up without a provincial licence would not be legal, would not be authorized," Morgan told reporters after Tuesday's question period at the legislature.

"I would urge them to stop going ahead with it."

Morgan said more permits will likely become available "over the next coming months."

He said anyone wanting to open a shop, including the Muscowpetung First Nation, should apply for a licence rather than hurt their reputation by opening a store illegally.

Morgan said he will let the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) decide how it wants to move forward to address the shop.

"I don't want this to become an enforcement issue. We're looking for this to be a compliance and licensing issue moving forward," he said.

The Muscowpetung First Nation issued a news release after Morgan spoke to reporters, saying "In the interim, we can advise that we are waiting to hear from Canada concerning our request to sit down, in the spirit of reconciliation, and negotiate First Nation's jurisdiction over cannabis."

Band passes its own cannabis act

According to a previous news release issued by the Muscowpetung First Nation, the band passed its own cannabis act on Monday, Nov. 12. A spokesperson for the band confirmed 86 per cent of band members voted in favour of the new legislation.

A spokesperson for the First Nation confirmed the Mino-Maskihki Cannabis Dispensary opened Tuesday for band members and medical patients and will open to the general public Wednesday.

Story continues

A November 6 letter from Muscowpetung First Nation chief Anthony Cappo asking band members to vote in favour of the legislation states the band turned to the numbered treaty documents to find a way to bring about their own legislation.

"Within the numbered treaties and inclusive of the treaty right to health (medicine chest), the elected leadership understand that as a sovereign treaty nation, Muscowpetung has the authority to regulate the use and sale of Cannabis/Hemp within our Nation," Cappo's letter read.

Cappo said leadership within the First Nation have consulted with elders in their community and a legal team to "ensure this initiative has the strongest legal arguments" possible.

A focus on healing and economic development

Cappo's letter states the legislation is looking to address accessibility, affordability and responsible or safe consumption of cannabis and hemp both recreationally and medicinally.

The First Nation will be looking to cannabis to "promote overall community health benefits," by using the most current information available to identify its healing properties in terms of harm reduction, mental health, pain and diabetes management and cancer treatments.

According to Cappo's letter, the band is looking to address addictions and how childhood trauma plays a role in substance misuse.

"Research shows that addictions have been linked to childhood trauma," Cappo wrote. "Our people's history and the legacy of government imposed residential schools is filled with traumas and their effects."

He said cannabis can be used as a medicine to heal the long-lasting traumas the community has experienced in terms of addictions  which could be related to the residential school era  while benefiting the community in an economic development sense.

As a revenue source, cannabis could benefit the community through employment opportunities and by injecting money to underfunded programs like mental health and youth and elder programming, the letter said.
Heavy winds are hammering Newfoundland on Wednesday evening while Labrador hunkers down under multiple winter storm warnings.

The winds  up to 130 km/h in some parts of the Avalon Peninsula  and snow are part of what meteorologist Alex Kaminski says is a "double-bomb" winter storm.

"It's going be a long-winded storm," Kaminski said  and he means that literally.

Afternoon winds blew across most of the Avalon Peninsula at around 100 km/h and then picked up, with weather causing multiple cancellations and delays in both arrivals and departures at the St. John's International Airport, already stretching into Thursday morning.

The Goose Bay airport has also cancelled several incoming and outgoing flights for Wednesday afternoon and evening, but as of 6 p.m. Wednesday were still listing Thursday morning flights as being on time.

Environment Canada has issued wind warnings for most of the Avalon, with storm surge warnings affecting the northeast and east coasts of the peninsula.

The Northern Peninsula and west coast of the island are under winter storm warnings.

Wind warnings have been issued for Makkovik and Rigolet, while the rest of the Labrador coast braces under winter storm warnings.

In the St. John's metro area, Wednesday morning's snow turned into rain and then, in the evening, that rain will turn back into snow, said Kaminski.

'Double-bomb'

A pressure drop of 24 millibars in 24 hours is known as a "weather bomb." But Kaminski is expecting that by Wednesday night, the pressure will have dropped 48 millibars in 24 hours.

"This is actually a double bomb," he said. "It's significant."

Damian Morrissey/CBC

The double-bomb will hit particularly hard in towns and areas along the northeast and east coasts of the Avalon, he said: Grates Cove, Cape St. Francis, Twillingate and the Bonavista Peninsula.

Those areas will be swept by very high winds, he said  "a bit more wind than what we're accustomed to."

Story continues

All that wind will keep picking up throughout the afternoon, evening and night on Wednesday and continue into Thursday, he said.

"It's not going to be until [Thursday] afternoon that we see those winds start to subside," he said.

Saved by the moon

All that wind will cause storm surge, he said, but the current phase of the moon is in our favour.

Storm surges are worse in the early days of a full moon or new moon, he said, and with the moon is in the first quarter stage right now, it may not be as bad.

But there is still a chance of damage by pounding surf or flooding, he said, especially around high tide Thursday morning.

"Tie everything up," he said.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's parliament passed a no-confidence motion against newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday, presenting a standoff with the opposition and throwing the country deeper into turmoil. Deputies from Rajapaksa's party rejected the voice vote as illegal, saying it wasn't scheduled and that the pro-China former strongman would remain in office. President Maithripala Sirisena, who triggered the crisis by firing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and naming Rajapaksa to the job last month, said in a letter to the speaker he appeared to have ignored the constitution, parliament procedure and traditions on how no confidence votes were held. It was not immediately clear if president would accept the sacking of Rajapaksa by the parliament vote and appoint a new prime minister. Government officials said there was confusion about who was in charge. "We need cabinet approvals to go ahead with large value projects," one told Reuters. "We don't know if a cabinet exists or not." Sirisena dissolved parliament last week and ordered elections as a way to break the deadlock but the Supreme Court ordered a suspension of that decree on Tuesday until it had heard petitions challenging the decree as unconstitutional. Wickremesinghe, who had refused to vacate the prime minister's residence, said he intended to discharge his official responsibilities now that he had proved his majority in parliament. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said the no-confidence vote against Rajapaksa was supported by 122 members of the 225-member house. "A majority voted in favor of the no-confidence motion and thus the no-confidence motion was passed," Jayasuriya said in a statement. But Rajapaksa's son Namal, who is also an MP, said the vote had not been put on the day's business and hence was not valid. Father and son left the chamber before the vote was taken and their supporters shouted slogans in support. The instability in the island nation of 21 million people has raised concerns for its tourism-dependent economy, already expanding at its slowest pace in more than a decade. On Wednesday, the central bank unexpectedly raised its key policy rates, a move aimed at defending a faltering rupee as foreign capital outflows picked up. But the currency , slid further to a record low. Sri Lanka, located just off the southern coast of India, is also an arena of contest with China. Beijing invested billions of dollars in ports and other infrastructure when Rajapaksa was president, raising concerns in India about losing political influence in its backyard. WAR HERO Rajapaksa, under whose rule Sri Lanka achieved its 2009 victory in a decades-long conflict against rebels from the Tamil minority, is seen as a hero by many among Sri Lankas Buddhist majority. He has been accused by diplomats of human rights abuses during the war, which he denies. Wickremesinghe, who has sought to promote ties with India and the West to balance Sri Lanka's relations with China, said he intended to do his job. "We will now take steps to ensure that the government in place before the 26th Oct will continue. I wish to inform all government servants and police that you cannot carry out illegal orders from the purported government that has failed to demonstrate the confidence of the people," he tweeted. According to the constitution, the president has to appoint a prime minister who in his opinion can command the majority in parliament. Sirisena has said he will never appoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister again. The parliamentary speaker has called the president's sacking of the prime minister to bring a former leader back to power a non-violent coup. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani, Nick Macfie and Richard Balmforth)
As Toronto's Jewish community reels after an alleged attack on a group of Jewish teenagers in the city's north end Sunday night, an alleged victim says he is not afraid or discouraged.

The boy says he was brought to the ground and beaten up in Sunday's incident and that his glasses were taken and broken. CBC Toronto is not naming the alleged victim to protect his identity as he is underage.

He claims he was among the four 17-year-old boys who were targeted by another group of teenagers who began to make fun of them for wearing yarmulkes in the Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West area.

The boy says he came to Canada from Santa Monica, Calif., to study to become a rabbi and tells CBC Toronto he hasn't experienced anything like what happened on Sunday night before.

"It was a very big shock to me," he said. "When I came to Canada, I heard that Canada was not anything like that, especially the city of Toronto.

"Jews went through this all our entire history. That's what we've gone through. And we're here still to talk about it," he added. "I'm not afraid, so I think people should just know that."

Two of the four teens were beaten and one of them robbed, police say. Officers are investigating the incident as a hate crime and have arrested a 17-year-old boy.

Police say they're also looking for nine others who allegedly instigated the hateful attack.

Police Chief Mark Saunders addressed the alleged assault in a video statement on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.

"I want to reassure the public that we will un-turn every stone to locate and apprehend every person that is a suspect to this investigation," Saunders said.

"A hate crime is one that we will never normalize in this city, and I want to reassure the public that we would do anything and everything to conclude this investigation."

Community remains defiant

While shaken up, some in the community have expressed relief that the incident wasn't any worse.

Story continues

"They knew how to fend them off and wave down some support and get someone to help them out," said Rabbi Mendy Lieberman, who is a teacher at Yeshivas Lubavitch Toronto.

"Our message is that obviously we grow from these situations and we only try to increase the message of love, the message of light and positivity and peace."

'We have all the right to be who we are.' - Barbara Ouanounou of Eitz Chaim Schools

Barbara Ouanounou, principal of general studies of Eitz Chaim Schools' Patricia Campus, said she took the alleged attack on a personal level, adding that her parents were Holocaust survivors.

"No matter what, we have all the right to be who we are and free to practise our religion," she said. "No one could take that away from us."

CBC

The incident also brought up a lot of emotion for those at the school, and on Tuesday the school held an anti-Semitism presentation.

The students, pre-teen and teen boys like the four who were allegedly beaten and kicked Sunday, were tasked with learning about children who died in the Holocaust.

Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz, the dean of Eitz Chaim Schools, told CBC Toronto that while society has come a long way since the Holocaust, there are still lessons that apply today.

"They can see the courage and the support that we get from the surrounding community in a way that we did not have in Europe in the 1940s," he said.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  The audio recording of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is so "atrocious" that a Saudi intelligence official who heard it speculated that "only someone who took heroin" could carry it out, Turkey's president was quoted as saying Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists on board his plane while returning from World War I commemorations in Paris, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that Turkey had shared audio recordings relating to the killing with Saudi Arabia and other nations, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Canada.

"The recording is truly atrocious. In fact, when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recording he was so shocked that he said 'this one probably took heroin. Only someone who took heroin would do it,'" Erdogan was reported as saying in comments published in pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak.

Erdogan did not elaborate on how and when the Saudi official heard the recording of the killing of the Saudi citizen.

Turkey says Khashoggi, who wrote for The Washington Post columnist and often criticized the crown prince, was killed by a 15-member assassination squad sent from Riyadh. Ankara insists the orders for the killing came from the highest levels of the Saudi government, but not King Salman.

Turkey has said a 15-member Saudi "hit squad" strangled and dismembered Khashoggi at the consulate. Media reports have suggested that his body could have been chemically dissolved as it has not yet been found.

Erdogan also said Turkey was "patiently" waiting for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to shed light on the killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month.

The crown prince has come under scrutiny for having knowledge of the killing, which involved some members of his security entourage.

Pressing ahead with moves to maintain pressure on Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said the crown prince had told Turkish envoys that he would shed light on the Oct. 2 killing at the kingdom's consulate and do what was "necessary."

Story continues

"He said this to my special envoys," Erdogan was quoted as saying. "We are waiting patiently."

Under mounting pressure, Saudi Arabia has changed its narrative about Khashoggi's killing. It first said he walked out of the embassy the day he disappeared before eventually acknowledging Khashoggi died inside the consulate. Now, it acknowledges that the journalist's death was premeditated.

Saudi officials characterize the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority.

On Tuesday, Sabah newspaper, which is close to Turkey's government, printed airport security X-ray images of the luggage that the 15-member Saudi team reportedly took back with them to Saudi Arabia.

The luggage contained five walky-talkies, 10 phones, two electric shock devices, two syringes and scissors, the paper said.
By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said recordings related to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, which Turkey has shared with Western allies, are "appalling" and shocked a Saudi intelligence officer who listened to them, Turkish media reported on Tuesday. Khashoggi, a critic of de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2 in a hit which Erdogan says was ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government. Six weeks after Khashoggi's death, Turkey is trying to keep up pressure on Prince Mohammed and has released a stream of evidence that undermined Riyadh's early denials of involvement. Prine Mohammed won support on Tuesday from U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, who said he did not think recordings of the killing shared by Turkey implicated the young crown prince. Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from a weekend visit to France that he discussed the Saudi journalist's killing with the U.S., French and German leaders there, adding that Turkey had played the recording to at least six countries. "The recordings are really appalling. Indeed when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recordings he was so shocked he said: 'This one must have taken heroin, only someone who takes heroin would do this'," he added. Khashoggi's murder has provoked global outrage but little concrete action by major powers against Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and a strong proponent of U.S. policy to contain Iranian influence across the Middle East. President Donald Trump has expressed reluctance to punish Saudi Arabia economically, citing its multi-billion-dollar purchases of military equipment and investments in U.S. firms. Bolton said he did not think that people who heard the recordings concluded that the crown prince was linked to the killing. "And certainly that is not the position of the Saudi government," he said in Singapore. Asked again if the audio tape provided by Turkey did not link Prince Mohammed to the killing in any way, Bolton said: "I havent listened to the tape myself but in the assessment of those who have listened to it, that is right." Bolton shares with Saudi Arabia a hawkish stance against Riyadh's biggest Middle East rival Iran, and he championed Washington's resumption of sanctions on the Islamic Republic. ELECTRIC SHOCK DEVICES The New York Times, in a report confirmed by a Turkish official, said a member of the Saudi team which was sent to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi told one of his superiors after the killing to "tell your boss" - which the newspaper said was believed to be a reference to Prince Mohammed. The individual was identified as Maher Mutreb, who reports to an aide to the crown prince, Saud al-Qahtani. Mutreb was also quoted as saying words to the effect that "the deed was done". In his comments to reporters, Erdogan said it was clear the killing was planned and that the order came from the top level of Saudi authorities, but that he could not think such a thing of King Salman, for whom he has "limitless respect". "The crown prince says 'I will clarify the matter, I will do what is necessary'. We are waiting patiently," Erdogan said, adding that the perpetrators of the killing were among 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia. "It must be revealed who gave them the order to murder." Last month two separate intelligence sources told Reuters that Qahtani gave orders over Skype to Khashoggi's killers at the consulate. More recently, a government source familiar with the matter said Qahtani featured prominently throughout the recordings. Saudi state media said King Salman sacked him and other officials over the killing, and a senior Saudi official said last month that Qahtani had been detained. But four sources based in the Gulf told Reuters this week that he was still at liberty and continued to operate discreetly. "He still has the same influence," one of the sources said. Qahtani has wielded that influence over the last three years, with his authority growing alongside that of the young prince. He ran social media for Prince Mohammed, masterminded the arrest of hundreds of Saudi Arabia's elite late last year in a campaign Riyadh said aimed at rooting out corruption, and took a harsh line against neighboring Qatar when Saudi Arabia imposed an economic boycott of the Gulf state in June 2017. He also supervised the brief detention, humiliation and beating of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri last year. Turkey's pro-government newspaper Sabah reported on Tuesday that the luggage of the Saudi team that was sent to Istanbul at the time of Khashoggi's killing contained syringes, large scissors, staple guns, walkie-talkies, electric shock devices and a signal jammer. It published photos of X-rays of bags taken as the Saudis passed through security checks at the airport when they left. Reuters could not immediately verify the Sabah report. Saudi Arabia initially denied any knowledge or involvement in Khashoggi's killing, but Saudi public prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb later said it was planned in advance. Another Saudi official said Prince Mohammed had no knowledge of the specific operation. (Additional reporting by John Geddie in Singapore; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans and Mark Heinrich)
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh. blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

.

..13 November '18..Theoften downplays Palestinian extremism or violence if the emphasis cant be placed on Israel, Israeli counterattacks, or Israeli blame for ongoing violence. A case in point is the attention given to the escalating violence from the Gaza Strip.From start to finish, todaysarticle about fighting between Hamas and Israel downplays the extent of Hamas violence while suggesting Israel is responsible for the groups rocket attacks. Meanwhile, Israeli retaliatory strikes on Hamas targets are portrayed as being no different than the Hamass indiscriminate attacks on Israeli civilians  largely because the article fails to mention even once that Hamas is a terror group, that it is sworn to Israels destruction, or that the rockets it fires are indiscriminately lobbed toward Israeli civilians in their towns and cities in violation of international law.The pieces opening paragraphs set the tone, with the reporter suggesting Israeli responsibility by insinuating Israels prime minister is failing to prevent pointless shooting:
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh. blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

.

..Algemeiner..13 November '18..Sundaystravel section features an article suggesting Five Places To Go In Jerusalem. But readers curious about which country Jerusalem is in get no help from the: the article, strangely, doesnt mention the word Israel.Refusing to acknowledge the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel is a departure from the way thetreats other countries. The sameSunday travel section, for example, also includes an article about Oslo. A Times headline refers to it as the Norwegian capital, and the article describes it as this compact Norwegian city.  Norways forward-thinking capital. Earlier pieces in the Times Five Places To Go series included articles about cities that theidentified as Dusseldorf, Germany, and San Jose, Costa Rica.If you are tempted to give thea pass on this on the basis that Jerusalem is so well known as Israels capital that it goes without saying, think again.
A new collection by British high-end fashion brand and CBI member, Burberry, that was only available to buy through Chinese social media apps, has sold out in one month.

Named the B Series, Burberrys new line aims to better cater towards the Chinese fashion market by following a new and unique production cycle, which matches the monthly launch schedule of the Asian fashion world rather than the Wests seasonal timeframe. On top of this, the B Series also features a new way of reaching out to customers and selling into the China market. Burberrys latest collection takes advantage of Chinas booming e-commerce industry and is only available through social media shopping platforms.

Burberrys shift in how it sells into the China market brought results  the collection sold out in four hours.

The fashion house has made clear that it is in the midst of a transition and repositioning phase that places a greater emphasis on the China and wider Asian markets.

Over the last couple of months, Burberry have announced a series of partnerships with social media apps that are particularly popular with Chinese consumers - such as WeChat and Weibo - in an attempt to develop to build customer loyalty through increased engagement on social media.

Burberry has also taken steps to change its concept and design process to better cater to the China and Asian markets by bringing in Riccardo Tisci from Givenchy  where he is credited as having successfully led the French fashion houses transition from European to Asian fusion.

Burberry point to the gothic touches and minimalism in their new B Series collection as evidence that the brand has successfully transitioned towards an aesthetic preferred in Asia. Furthermore, the new collection places more emphasis on items which are ready to wear rather than high fashion pieces. This is because of the fact that in the China market branded sweatshirts and T-shirts appear to be held in much higher regard than in Europe, where the same products are considered to be comfort wear and not fashion statements.

The next B Series collection will be launched on November 17th.

Burberry executives are confident that the line will enjoy repeat success because the new sales concept of selling through social media platforms has prompted much higher levels of engagement online and attracted twice the number of new and younger customers to the brand compared to statistics from February.

Burberry also said that comparable store sales in the Asia-Pacific were outpacing figures from Europe, as spending rose in Mainland China and Chinese travellers shifted their spending from European to Asian tourist destinations, particularly Hong Kong.

Burberry has plans to expand its physical presence in China also, and has an upcoming store opening in Xian.

Please read more here .
Photo - Tronson du Coudrays Rain Storm

In one world, we have millions of Muslims, who simply want to live in peace with their community and the nation in which they live. In the other Muslim world we have the likes of Melbourne Islamic terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali (last weekend).

Moreover, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called it out for what this was. A politician who tells the truth on this matter, who does not shy away from the obvious.

The reality is that unless moderate Muslims are backed up militarily against the radicals such as in Morocco, Indonesia (and such like), in effect they are forced to fall within the types of political movements such as ISIS. They can never have a Reformation unless it comes with a political and physical sword.

Italy is swinging the political sword  boats being turned back, Muslims being sent back. Sweden and Germany are already along this track. There may be a great deal of bloodshed should the physical sword option be taken. In C15th (1450s) Islam was stopped at the gates of Vienna by the sword. These are hard realities to take-in.

Australia too has political history  Eureka is an example of this. We dont kick-out Muslims for being Muslims, rather - anyone for being terrorists and / or being criminals (example Federal Minister Peter Dutton has announced 150 criminals have been deported). Thats the compromise, live in peace and in good-will, otherwise the Courts will deal with you. Why  the reality is that the Australian Constitution (status quo) have the guns (Military, Police).

Christians are the major part of the Australian community. A theological and historical perspective of democracy sustains this nation through its Christian heritage. Australia has always had a strong military / police - for the foe without and the foe within. Only the lefties dont comprehend this and their justice conferences where the need for national security is somehow mislaid.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison hit it on the head (as it were), the moderate Australian Muslim leaders themselves are at risk as they tackle the radicals in protecting their communities and their own children from this scourge.

The other world

This next section is an adaptation of a previous article from a report and book by Danish psychologist Nicolai Sennels, an expert in working with Muslim youth criminal offenders, has written a book entitled Among Criminal Muslims.

In an essay supporting the book, A Psychologists Experience from the Copenhagen Municipality, claims - found that devout Muslims were more prone to violence than the non-Muslim participants in the study and states Islam creates monsters and in a study out of Germany supports Sennels statement.

What do we as a society do about this? How do we deal with people living with in our city's suburbs where a section of the community, unlike any other, are out to do harm. Australia is loathe - that anyone that go overseas to fight Jihad - is then allowed back into Australia.

In this report, Sennels says Islam is different from other religions because the way it is taught - brainwashes its youth with violent messages. It seems as though parents inflict 'political violence' on their children repeatedly, and at the same time, deliver religious ideology. He says this behaviour makes Muslim extremists far more violent than extremists of other religious faiths.

The brainwashing, as Sennels terms it, begins very early-on in a childs life, and religious messages are repeated vigorously along with a heavy dose of physical discipline. It is this combination of pain and reinforcement, Sennels claims, that creates Islamic monsters who then feel justified in torturing and killing innocent people.

Sennels points out that parents want to indoctrinate their children into the religion as early as possible so that the kids will remain Muslim instead of looking to another faithunder Sharia law, turning against Islam is a crime punishable by death.

Photo - Tronson du Coudrays Spin

Constructive Criticism doesn't exist

He goes on to point out that Muslim culture lags far behind in the understanding of human development, and therefore, the techniques that Westerners would call child abuse are deeply ingrained and normalized among Muslim parents as correct child-rearing strategies.

Sennels says that in Muslim culture, the idea of constructive criticism doesnt exist, and any criticism of Muslim identity will result in extreme anger and quite possibly, physical violence. The Quran itself, Sennels claims, does not allow for the idea of tolerance, and calls for Muslims to separate from non-Muslims and view people of other faiths as inferior. This, in turn breeds hatred, Sennels claims.

He explains - the cultural and psychological cocktail of anger, low self-esteem, victim mentality, a willingness to be blindly guided by outer authorities, and an aggressive and discriminatory view toward non-Muslims, forced upon Muslims through pain, intimidation and mind-numbing repetitions of the Quran, is the reason why Islam creates monsters.

Supported by larger German study

The report says that Sennel's remarks have stirred up a great deal of controversy, but a large study out of Germany, involving 45,000 teens, seems to support Sennels claims. In that study, a strong link between the level of religious Muslim belief and the willingness to participate in violence was revealed. 1 million Muslins refugees  now there is climate for disaster.

Notably, the studys author undertook the project hoping it would prove the opposite outcome. Christian Pfeiffer, a scientist who works at the Criminal Research Institute in Saxony, said that he has been active in opposing any campaign to denigrate Muslims or other foreigners, and he was disappointed by the study results.

Studies and the opinions of experts like psychologists that show a correlation between Islam and violence are widely criticized by supporters of Islam, and are often described as Islamaphobia no matter how scientific the claim.

Photo - Tronson du Coudrays Standout

Not meant to be

Islamic studies professor Waleed El-Ansary in an interview with NPR stated that the Quran forbids the killing of innocent people and sets clear distinctions between Jihad and terrorism. Jihad is considered to be legal war with set parameters and rules, while terrorism is expressly condemned by the Quran, he says.

Muslim scholar Anas Hlayhel, an Imam dedicating to eradicating Islamphobia, states that the Quran dictates peace toward those who also show an inclination for peace and forbids any violence toward innocent civilians.

Sounds like the words of Australian Muslim ALP politician Anne Aly, an apologist for Islam as and when Islamic terror occurs. Anne Aly in The Australian last weekend roundly railed against Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his strong words, words applauded around the nation and on social media. The words Islamic Terrorism were somehow missing from dialogue with opposing Australian political luminaries.

Nicolai Sennels says Islam creates monsters; a statement that has strengthened the raging debate about the link between Islam and violence (a proclivity for its people to towards violent behaviour). The very thing moderate Australian Muslim leaders are so afraid of.

There you have it. You be the judge.

Certainly, Australias Christian heritage with its history of a strong military / police who have the guns protecting us  (the nation within and without) .. this is the reality. I get numerous Facebook feeds of Christians being beheaded in radical Islamic controlled areas, and why: they have the guns.

Make no mistake, our heritage is protected by our military / police and the unmistakable prayers of Christians.

Photo - Tronson du Coudrays Sun Raise

Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand.

Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html

Photo - Tronson du Coudrays Rain Storm
Towards the end of last year I was finishing a degree full-time, working two jobs, doing additional ministry, and because Im entirely extroverted, trying to spend as much time with as many friends as I could.

Cracks began to appear after I graduated. Through divine providence I went on a two-week holiday to Thailand instead of a mission trip to Thailand for a month. I came home from my holiday after lazing on beaches and drinking juices all day still completely restless and so exhausted.

I hardly wanted to spend time with any people and I regularly rushed to hide in the bathroom after church on Sundays in order to avoid people and be alone for a while before pasting on my friendly, smiling face and wading into the masses.

This behaviour finally came to a breaking point one evening in church after I realised the magnitude of another commitment I had taken on. I sobbed my eyes out very unprettily, crying out to God to help me.

I knew there was something wrong with me. Id just had a wonderful holiday, just celebrated a great achievement, had wonderful friends and a great life and I was so exceptionally tired and overwhelmed. I didnt know what to do but I wanted things to change.

Voice of reason

I went about chatting with one of my wonderful loving mentors and praying that God would speak to me and show me what to do. I did have an inkling God wanted to teach me a bit about rest but Im a slow learner and I absolutely did not care to learn how to rest.

I needed to get a job and over the next few months I set about applying for literally hundreds of jobs. I felt so sure that God was actually closing every door of opportunity for me seeing as I could not even get part-time work in retail which I had done for over 6 years.

Battling insecurities

I found out pretty quickly that we in Western society really value usefulness. Lots of people were really good at encouraging me to find work and I grew more frustrated at my lack of purpose. I needed to get on with doing Gods work, because life is short and there isnt much time you know!

I read Gods word more intensely and thoroughly than I ever had before and I did continue to know his presence even as I began to understand that His plans were not my plans. I struggled to understand who I was to God if I couldnt do anything for Him.

Finally, a ray of hope

I attended a Youth camp as a leader in a really rural setting with hardly any Wi-Fi at all. Being early to rise and late to bed each night there was hardly any time to use it anyway! What I did have the opportunity to do was to be immersed for a full week in hearing from God.

I began to feel a filling up in my Spirit. And I heard God speak really clearly to me. He said everything we have been through these last months have not been me trying to take things away from you but to instead to give you freedom and to give you rest.

Swallowing the embarrassment of finally beginning to get a grasp on something that God had continued to tell me and show me for six months, I felt the weight and importance of this. If God had spent such a long time trying to help me to understand rest, how crucial must it be for my life!

Im still learning and exploring what rest is and how that plays out in my life. And I am continuing to look at rest as not a taking away but a filling up. A filling up of my emotional life spending time cultivating deep friendships, filling up spiritually just being in Gods presence and contemplating His love for me even though I have done nothing to deserve it and filling up physically leaving a margin between my to do list and my actual capacity.

A special verse God gave to me illustrates this journey They found grace in the desert, these people who survived the killing. Israel, out looking for a place to rest, met God out looking for them. (Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 2) Hallelujah!

Hannah Edwards is a graduate in theological studies, turned Human Resources professional, is an avid shopper and animal lover. She is currently ministering to women in Brisbane in both church and community spheres, empowering women to reach their fullest potential. Hannah is also the founder of the online community Harvest Joy Women. Further material is available from www.harvestjoywomen.com
(Photo: Facebook/Franklin Graham) Franklin Graham delivers an Operation Christmas Child

gift-filled shoebox to a child in Belize on Dec. 28, 2015.

Samaritan's Purse, the organization behind the Operation Christmas Child project, has responded to accusations that it's anti-gay and anti-Muslim.

The Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee argued in an article on Thursday that the gift boxes sent to children, many in Muslim countries, stem from an organization that holds anti-Muslim and anti-homosexual sentiments.

Samaritan's Purse, which is led by evangelist Franklin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham, responded to the op-ed in an email to The Christian Post on Friday, stating that Operation Christmas Child is "aimed specifically to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas  the birth of Jesus."

"Our purpose is to show God's love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. We do this by distributing millions of shoebox gifts to children who are affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine to let them know that they are not forgotten," the group said.

"No matter where we go, we don't hide the fact that we are Christians. As our name illustrates, we are upfront about who we are," it told CP.

"Shoebox gifts are given to children regardless of religious affiliation and with no strings attached. Our method is demonstrated in love and we hope that our acts of compassion are an example of our faith."

The Guardian op-ed made several accusations against Samaritan's Purse, positioning that it's ran by "fundamentalist American evangelical Christian missionaries."

It took issue with the Bible stories and books dispatched alongside the children's gifts, arguing that such a strategy targets Muslim families.

Graham, who's also CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, was further accused of being anti-gay for adhering to biblical teachings on marriage  that it's is a union between one man and one woman. The op-ed also highlighted several of his Facebook posts opposing radical Islamic extremism as an example of perceived anti-Muslim sentiment.

Toynbee, then accused participants in the annual Operation Christmas Child shoebox project of participating in "anti-Muslim proselytizing."

Graham recently faced similar controversy in the U.K. when he preached in Blackpool in September at the invitation of local churches, but was accused by a small group of LGBT activists of promoting "hatred" and "bigotry."

The evangelist declared earlier in the year that that is far from the truth, however.

"I'm not coming to preach hate, I'm here to preach about a Savior, Jesus Christ who can make a difference in our lives if we put our faith and trust in Him," he told Premier of his intentions.

"We're not here to preach against anyone, we're here to talk about God," he added.

In December 2017, the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District in Canada ended its participation in Operation Christmas Child over complaints against the evangelical group's stance on same-sex marriage.

Director of Education Tony Stack said at the time: "For example, a child with two moms or two dads, unfortunately, has been put in the position of choosing between fitting in and partaking with other classmates in an activity, or supporting an organization opposed to the very existence of that very child's family unit."

Samaritan's Purse amended its statement of faith in 2016 to say that "human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage," and that a marriage by biblical definition is between "a genetic male and genetic female."

Samaritan's Purse Canada spokesperson Jeff Adams said: "We included these specifics NOT because our views on these issues had changed, but simply because the world's views on these has changed to the point where we felt the need to again remind our volunteers that our organization accepts the Bible as the inspired and infallible word of God."

Courtesy of The Christian Post
Theres a mass exodus happening across the Western church, and anti-intellectualism could be to blame.

As Ive been reading (and writing) about trends in the modern church, I noticed a recurring theme. More and more people are giving up on church because they cant get adequate answers to questions.

In the book Life After Church, Brian Sanders writes:

So many leavers express that they need to move on because they arent able to ask the serious questions that deeply disturb their hearts and the simple faith they have always known. As their faith moves beyond conversion, they begin to ask deep and more destabilising questions  finding that cliches about God no longer seem to satisfy  Some leavers call these answers Sunday-school answers, a pejorative expression that simply means answers that would be given to a child.

Theres been a worrying anti-intellectual trend in Christianity in the past century. Firstly, we dont talk about the importance of good thinking and seeking knowledge. Secondly, we tend to think of our intellect as a stumbling block. We think of simple faith as not asking too many questions, and we try to content ourselves with pat answers that dont satisfy.

When we do question, we can feel outnumbered by others in our church who are nodding and smiling. We wonder if something is wrong with us. In the end, we get really good at hiding what were thinking.

Meanwhile, the world tends to regard Christian thinking as terrible  and not without reason. One writer observed that were at a point the term Christian scholarship sounds like backsliding to members of the church, and a hilarious oxymoron to everyone else.

Learning how to approach faith intellectually has been neglected in the church, but it shouldnt be this way. Not only is it selling our faith short  its just plain dangerous. Heres why.

Anti-intellectualism denies a key part of the faith experience

In Western culture, most people see reason and faith as concepts on two different planes  two concepts that cant be reconciled.

Theres some truth in this. Using our brainpower cant give us every answer about our faith. But that doesnt mean human wisdom has no value.

Looking at the Bible, you can see all kinds of intellectual objections from believers. Think of Job, who argues with God. Or Moses, who questioned God relentlessly. And Paul did intricate mental gymnastics to reason with his Gentile and Jewish audiences.

Engaging our intellectual faculties is a key part of the experience that God has given us. The more you think about God with a desire to learn, the bigger God becomes. One writer put it this way:

The Christian religion flourishes not in the darkness but in the light [T]he true remedy [of unbelief] is consecration of intellectual power to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We shouldnt shut off our minds but submit them. Surely this is the real meaning of 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5:

 we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Anti-intellectualism means youre less defended against a faith crisis

Being convinced of your beliefs is one thing, but sometimes, Christians are content to sit back and let their church leadership do their thinking. We get intellectually lazy, uncritically accepting Christian writers and leaders, because, well, theyre Christian.

But as one person put it,

Intellectual slothfulness is but a quack remedy for unbelief.

If you havent put in the time to think intellectually about your faith, youre left defenceless to respond to intellectual questions when you hit a crisis. As another person said:

 you can practice Christianity without knowing much theology, just as you can drive a car without knowing much about internal combustion. But when something breaks down in the car, you go humbly to the man who understands the works; whereas if something goes wrong with religion, you merely throw the works away and tell the theologian he is a liar.

How do we expect to demolish  every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5) without the knowledge in the first place?

Anti-intellectualism prevents understanding of others

In the past, most people in the West were nominally Christian and knew the basic tenets of Christianity. Thats no longer the case. For years, Christians have been pegged as gullible and naive. But as society abandons cultural Christianity, it will surely get worse.

William Lane Craig describes it like this:

A person raised in a cultural milieu in which Christianity is still seen as an intellectually viable option will display an openness to the Gospel which a person who is secularized will not. For the secular person you may as well tell him to believe in fairies or leprechauns as in Jesus Christ.

Remember those naff bumper stickers that proclaimed, The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it? Thats great and all for Christians, but to anyone else, it sounds mad. (Its true because  you believe it? Bit circular, isnt it?!)

Its just an example of how Christian anti-intellectual rhetoric puts up barriers. When were making an argument for our faith, whether its in politics or anywhere else, we will be playing on an intellectual playing field. If we believe but cant explain to others, how can we have a meaningful conversation?

So what do we do?

Places of worship may serve many functions. But we cant underestimate the importance of learning, questioning and critical thinking. As Jaroslav Pelikan, a Yale historical theologian, said once:

The church is always more than a school But the church cannot be less than a school.

We can be conscious of taking questions seriously, not dismissing them or treating them as heresy. Faith evolves over time, and its important to engage with those questions honestly.

We can also think humbly about our own presuppositions and keep weighing them up. What are our intellectual blind spots?

God isnt scared of my questions. Lets read widely, think critically, and remember to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind.

Cheryl McGrath is a communications professional with a background in editing and publishing. She works as a copywriter at a major non-profit in Melbourne, and blogs at Twenty-Six Letters ( twentysixletters.org). You can follow the blogs Facebook page.
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Record Number of Tick-Borne Disease Cases in U.S. Last Year: CDC

The number of Americans with tick-borne diseases reached a record high of nearly 60,000 in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Most of those cases (42,743) were Lyme disease. There were 36,000 cases of Lyme disease in 2016, NBC News reported.

Other tick-borne disease cases in 2017 included: Ehrlichiosis (7,700); Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (6,200); babesiosis (2,300); tularemia (239) and Powassan virus (33), according to the CDC.

The 60,000 reported cases of tick-borne diseases last year is likely much lower than the actual number.

"The true number of cases is probably 10 times that," Dr. John Aucott, director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center and chair of the federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, told NBC News.

A report issued Wednesday by the working group says that state and federal agencies need to increase funding to track, prevent and treat tick-borne diseases.

"There are more cases. Every year, the geographic distribution expands," Aucott told NBC News.

The working group was created in 2016 and this is its first report.

"There are so many questions out there that haven't been answered," Aucott said. "We heard comments from hundreds and hundreds of patients. It is obvious that this is a real problem, that people are really suffering."

The reasons for the rise in tick-borne diseases is unclear, according to the CDC.

"A number of factors can affect tick numbers each year, including temperature, rainfall, humidity, and host populations such as mice and other animals," the CDC said in its report on the number of new cases, NBC News reported.

-----

Primary Care Doctors Should Screen Adult Patients for Unhealthy Drinking: Task Force

Primary care doctors should screen all adult patients for unhealthy drinking habits, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says in new statement.

It also said doctors should provide brief counseling for those who drink more than the recommended limits, CNN reported.

The statement was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Among men aged 21 to 64, unhealthy alcohol use is defined as more than four drinks in a single day and 14 drinks in a week, according to the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

That definition for women and older men is more than three drinks in one day and more than seven drinks in a week. There is no safe level of alcohol use for pregnant women, because drinking during pregnancy increases the risk of birth defects and developmental problems in children, CNN reported.

Unhealthy alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States, according to the task force.

-----

AMA to Collect Data on Suicide Among Doctors-in-Training

By collecting data on suicides by medical students, residents and fellows, the American Medical Association (AMA) hopes to identify ways to reduce suicides among doctors-in-training.

The data collection policy was approved at a meeting Tuesday.

"Studies have shown that physicians face a higher rate of suicide than any profession in the United States. While we have been working hard to reduce burnout and increase access to mental health services for physicians and medical students, it is imperative that we also work toward fully understanding the problem," AMA Board Member Dr. Ryan Ribeira said in an association news release.

"We believe that collecting data on the incidence of suicide among physicians-in-training will help us identify the systemic factors that contribute to this problem, and ultimately save lives," Ribeira added.

As part of its efforts to reduce suicides among doctors, the AMA offers online modules meant to prevent burnout, increase resilience and boost wellness.

-----

FDA Bans Six Artificial Flavors

Six artificial flavors that have been linked to cancer in animals must be eliminated from food products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

They have names like methyl eugenol, benzophenone, ethyl acrylate and pyridine and simulate cinnamon or spices, fruity or minty flavors, and even balsamic vinegar, according to the Associated Press.

Food makers have two years to stop using the artificial flavors. It's not clear which food products currently contain them.

When asked by the AP for examples of products in which the six ingredients are used, the FDA and the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association did not respond.

The FDA believes the six ingredients are safe in the small amounts they're used, but ordered them out of the food supply due to a lawsuit brought by consumer advocacy groups. They cited a rule prohibiting additives shown to have caused cancer in animals, even if that occurred at far higher amounts than what people would consume, the AP reported.

Critics of the rule say it's too strict.

But animal studies provide the strongest evidence about cancer risk in humans, and it is better to err on the side of caution, Christopher Kemp, a professor of cancer biology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, told the AP.

The Natural Resources Defense Council was one of the groups that sued over the six artificial flavors. Along with the cancer risk in animals, it's not known what effect the six additives might have when used combination with other ingredients, according to the council's Erik Olson.

He also noted that the six ingredients are listed on food labels only as "artificial flavor," which means there's no way for consumers to know in what concentrations they're used in specific products.

"It's all secret. You can't pick up an ice cream or chewing gum or a baked good and have any idea what chemicals are in there," Olson told the AP.
The joint military exercise between Indian and Russia EXERCISE INDRA 2018 was conducted at Babina Field Firing Ranges, Babina Military Station Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. It was tenth exercise in the series of Exercise INDRA aimed at increasing interoperability between Indian and Russian Armies.

EXERCISE INDRA 2018

The aim of the exercise was to practice joint planning and conduct to enhance interoperability of between two armies in peace keeping/ enforcement environment under aegis of United Nations. For this exercise, India was represented by Mechanised Infantry Battalion of Indian Army, while Russia was represented by company sized contingents of 5th Army.

It focused upon training on enhancing team building, special tactical level operations such as Cordon and Search, house intervention, handling and neutralisation of Improvised Explosive Devices and integrated employment of force multipliers. The primary focus of tactical field exercise was to share best practices amongst militaries and hone existing skills of troops.
David the chimp - who starred in Dynastieswith David Attenborough - has been beaten to death.The 'aggressive' leader had been alpha male of his troop for three years before younger apes 'jumped' him.He hit screens this weekend in the show's first episode, but was found dead seven months after filming concluded.Younger males beat their leader to death, according to Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project director Jill Pruetz.She told The Daily Telegraph: 'He died from wounds inflicted from what I'm sure are these young males.'There aren't other animals that would have inflicted wounds like that  especially when you have multiple individuals attacking a single individual.'She said that the evidence pointed to adult males 'jumping' him, adding that a chimpanzee called Jumkin had taken over as alpha male.But she said his leadership was under threat from beta male Luther, who she said is 'already challenging him a bit'.David - who led the troop in the jungles of Senegal and Guinea, West Africa - was the longest-reigning alpha in the group's history.The new BBC show also explores the lives of Emperor penguins in Antarctica and lions in Kenya as well as tigers in India's Bandhavgarh National Park.
Paul Pogbahas opened up on the joy he felt when Manchester Unitedresigned him from JuventusThe midfielder, who is currently recovering from a thigh injury, recalled the emotions he felt at returning to Old Trafford.He told the club's magazine: 'When I came back to United, it was the best feeling ever.'I came back home. I always dreamed of playing for United, to have many games and score goals.'Nothing had really changed, except for maybe the team and the manager, but the rest of the club was the same.'I just came back home, it was like I didn't really leave  I just went on holiday! [laughs]. It was a great feeling to come back home.''It was great to come back, to feel the air of Manchester,' he added. 'That has never changed,' he added.The Frenchman cost United 100million to bring back from Juventus and he has enjoyed mixed fortunes for the club in his two years since.Pogba missed the 3-1 derby defeat by Manchester City due to his injury sustained against the Bianconeri in the Champions League.The muscle problem has also led to him withdrawing from the France squad for clashes with the Netherlands and Uruguay in the next week.


Sanchez himself was accused of choosing United because of the money they were prepared to pay him.

But the Evening Standard

say a main factor was what Mourinho told him.

The Red Devils boss reportedly promised him a starring role, guaranteeing him he would become the club's talisman.

Yet that, so far, has not been the case.

Alexis Sanchez at Man Utd: The dire stats you MUST read

Premier League: 19 matches, three goals, five assists.

Champions League: Four matches, no goals, no assists.

International Champions Cup: Three matches, two goals, one assist.

Wages: 350,000-a-week.

Sanchez's path to the left-wing has been blocked by the in-form Anthony Martial, who has six goals from nine Premier League matches this season.

And, up top, Romelu Lukaku remains Mourinho's go-to man.

As things stand, the chances of the player rediscovering his Arsenal form with United appear slim.

But what happens regarding his next move remains to be seen.

Manchester United lured Alexis Sanchezaway from Arsenal back in January but, since then, the Chile international has endured a nightmare run of form.The Chile international, who pockets a huge 350,000-a-week, has managed just four goals since his move - with just one coming this season.Sanchez reportedly wants to leave Manchester Unitedwhen the transfer window reopens in January, such is his unhappiness with life at Old Trafford.And the London Evening Standard have now delved into how the player chose to move to United in the first place.Back in January, Sanchez's transfer was seen as a significant coup for the Red Devils.Not only had they signed one of the Premier League's most standout players in recent times.But they had also poached another player from one of their fierce rivals, six years on from Robin van Persie's own arrival from Arsenal.Manchester City were also rocked with Pep Guardiola's side previously being confident of securing the 29-year-old's signature.What should United do with Sanchez?Our man says: Sanchez was a truly blockbuster player during his time at Arsenal and when United got him, they thought they had pulled off a huge coup.But it has not worked out and keeping him could have consequences.Sanchez has no chance of getting in the team on the left wing, with Anthony Martial simply too good to drop.Romelu Lukaku, for all his shortcomings, is also better-suited to the No 9 role.So cutting him loose may be the only way to go. And something that could work out for both parties.
Michael Obafemi will not make his competitive debut for Republic of Irelandduring this international break - meaning he remains eligible for England and NigeriaThe Southampton striker, 18, has trained with the squad in Dublin since Monday and looks set to feature when the Republic take on Northern Irelandin a friendly at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday.However, boss Martin O'Neill has confirmed that Obafemi will not travel with the squad to Denmark for Monday's Nations Leaguefixture, where a cap would confirm his allegiance.That leaves Ireland exposed to the risk of England or Nigeria making an approach for the Dublin-born teenager, although O'Neill remains hopeful.'I haven't spoken to his parents but I've spoken to him and I think he's enjoyed training, he's been really good, he's done very well and settled in nicely,' said the manager.'In terms of decisions for tying him down, that's a bit of a distance off. He has things to think about and I certainly will not be rushing him.'I want people to want to play for us and that they feel right for the rest of their time.'The situation is similar to that of Declan Rice, the West Ham midfielder who won three caps in friendlies for Ireland but is currently considering an approach from England.O'Neill revealed this week that Rice is yet to make up his mind and it is likely any decision will be delayed until the New Year at the earliest.
 



Our Divisions

Copyright  2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved

This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics.
Myanmar: Danish Ambassador visited Burmese fishing communities

by Lrke Weensgaard

November 14,2018 | Source: Scand Asia

Denmarks Ambassador to Myanmar John Nielsen visited local fishing communities in Dawei, Myanmar, during the first week of November. The Ambassador visited the fishing communities because they are pilot sites for Danish support to sustainable coastal fisheries in Myanmar, according to the Embassy of Denmark in Myanmar.



Denmark supports the establishment of fisheries co-management committees which will work together with the Department of Fisheries in developing plans for more sustainable use of fisheries resources. Activities includes combating illegal and unregulated fishing as well as support to better handling and processing of fish after capture so losses will be reduced and quality improved.
Iran has executed the 22 people it arrested in late September for alleged involvement in a deadly shooting at a military parade in the southern city of Ahvaz, multiple sources told 2 rights groups on Sunday.





"It seems that authorities executed all of them on Thursday," one of the sources told Iran Human Rights (IHR). After the executions, the group said, authorities "told the prisoners families" of the hangings in Ahvaz Central Prison (ACO) and warned them "against public mourning."





Multiple activists also told a 2nd group, Iran Human Rights Monitor (I-HRM), that Ahvaz's Ministry of Intelligence Office phoned some of the families of the prisoners and informed them of their relatives' executions.





On Sep. 22, 4 men dressed in military uniform opened fire on a viewing stand where Iranian officials were seated to observe a procession held yearly to mark the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. The attack resulted in the deaths of 25, 12 of which were members of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Dozens more were injured.





After the incident, the Islamic State (IS) published a statement on their propaganda website, Amaq agency, in which they claimed responsibility for the attack. A day later, they posted a video as alleged proof.





In response, the Aerospace Force Division of the IRGC launched several ballistic missiles into eastern Syria, later saying they had killed multiple IS members in the operation. An Iraqi commander of a militia in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), many of which receive direct backing from Iran, claimed while speaking to local media that the strikes nearly missed the organization's elusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.





Weeks later, the IRGC also said that they had killed 5 "terrorists," one of whom they asserted was the "mastermind" behind the attack, in Iraq's Diyala Province.





However, well before IS' initial statement on the attack, an Iranian Arab opposition group announced that they, in fact, had coordinated the parade shooting. The group, known as the Ahvaz National Resistance, claims to represent Iran's Arab community that has "long been neglected by the central government" and has poorer living standards in comparison to the rest of Iran.





Since the attack, security forces have arrested nearly 800 people, alleging connections to the parade attack. Some of the detainees have been transferred to unknown locations and most of them have previously been reported to be ethnically Arab Iranians.





Woman Hanged at Sanandaj Prison





A woman was hanged at Sanandaj Prison this morning.





According to the IHR sources, Sharareh Elyasi was executed on a murder charge at Sanandaj prison this morning. Civil activists and the prisoner's family tried a lot until the last minutes to obtain a consent from the victims family, the source said, "but they failed to win the consent."





The Penal Code of Iran does not specifically state that convicted murderers are subject to the death penalty, but rather to qisas which means retribution in kind or retaliation. In this way, the State effectively puts the responsibility for executions for murder on the shoulders of the victims family.





The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned execution so far.





According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges.





There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and intent.

Sharareh Almassi, 85th woman executed in Iran under Rouhani

A young woman by the name of Sharareh Almassi was hanged on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, in the Central Prison of Sanandaj after 5 years of imprisonment.





Sharareh Almassi, 27, was arrested and jailed for 5 years for killing her husband, Kaveh Gholam Veissi in a family fight.





A group of civil and human rights activists and campaigners against the death penalty gathered outside the Central Prison of Sanandaj since 4 a.m. to prevent execution of Sharareh Almassi. Their efforts, however, did not manage to stop the execution.





Sharareh Almassi is the 85th woman who is executed under Hassan Rouhani, the mullahs president.





Last month, another young woman, Zeinab Sekaanvand was also hanged in the Central Prison of Urmia.





The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet issued a statement on October 5, 2018, condemning the execution of Zeinab Sekaanvand, in which she stressed that the UN Human Rights Office opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, as no judiciary in any part of the world is mistake-free.





The death penalty violates the most fundamental human rights, the right to life and the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The death penalty is also considered discriminatory as it is often used against the most vulnerable in society, including the poor, ethnic and religious minorities, and people with mental disabilities.





Execution is a tool which helps the mullahs regime hold its grab on power. Over 3,600 people have been executed over the past five years under Hassan Rouhani. In the same period, 85 women have been executed.





Iran is the worlds leading per capita executioner. It also holds the record in the execution of women and minors. Among the reasons that lead to the execution of women are early forced marriages, being deprived of the right to divorce, domestic violence against women, and poverty.

 | 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

kurdistan24.net, Iran Human Rights, November 13, 2018: ncr-iran.org, November 14, 2018
Iran Human Rights (Nov 14, 2018): Two Prisoners were hanged on economic corruption charges in Tehran this morning. They had been sentenced to death by the newly established Special Court on the Economic Corruption.





Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns today's executions for the charges of economic corruption. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director and spokesperson for the organization, said: "The death penalty is an inhumane punishment, and the international law prohibits death sentence for economic corruption, which is not considered as the most serious crimes. Besides, the prisoners were sentenced to death as a result of an unfair trial in an illegal Court. The primary purpose of the execution of these two people is to create fear in society, not to combat corruption. Iranian authorities know that the system, with corrupt organs such as the Judiciary and the Supreme leader who has absolute power and zero accountability, are the main sources of corruption in the country. We call on the Iranian authorities to put an end to the policy of using the death penalty as a solution to all its problems".





According to a statement by Tehran Prosecutor's Office, this morning (Tuesday, November 14), two prisoners were executed in Tehran.





The two prisoners were sentenced to death on charges of "corruption on earth" through the formation of a network of corruption disturbing the country's currency through illicit and large-scale smuggling of gold coins.





The prisoners were identified as Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi.





Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of coins" by media, a trader accused of manipulating the currency market, according to Mizan, the news site of the Iranian judiciary.





Mazloumin was allegedly caught with two tons of gold coins, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).





The second man was part of Mazloumin's network and had been involved in the sale of gold coins, Mizan reported.





The executions were carried out in the presence of a number of people in Tehran, said the report.





The Tehran Prison Statement did not mention the exact location of the two prisoners' execution.





Death penalty on the charges of economic corruption in Iran is not unprecedented. Mahafari Amir Khosravi was executed on such charges in 2014.





Several people have recently been sentenced to death for economic corruption. Among them, Hamid Bagheri Dermiani, sentenced to death in preliminary hearings, and Dariush Ebrahimian Bilandi and Younes Baha'd-dini, sentenced to death on similar charges in Fars province.

 | 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
Iran Human Rights (IHR); November 12, 2018: An Iraqi citizen was hanged at Zanjan Central Prison on a murder charge.





According to the IHR sources, Soran Rashid Zahedi (Nickname: Soran Holiri), 33, was executed on the morning of November 6, 2018.





The Iraqi national was a resident of Iran for almost three decades. The source who doesn't want to be named, told IHR, Four years ago, Soran was working in a cement factory in Zanjan city where he killed a person over there.





The victim owed Soran three million and a half Tomans. On the day of the incident, the victim received seven million Tomans loan but refused to pay his debt to Soran. They fought and the person was killed.





Sorans family could not obtain a consent from the victims' families to stop his death sentences. The Penal Code of Iran does not specifically state that convicted murderers are subject to the death penalty, but rather to qisas which means retribution in kind or retaliation. In this way, the State effectively puts the responsibility for executions for murder on the shoulders of the victims family.





The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned execution so far.





According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges.





There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and intent.





 | 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 decision to abolish the death penalty is a collective one by the Cabinet, said Datuk Liew Vui Keong.





The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said all the ministers would have to accept the decision.





"It is collective responsibility where all the Ministers would have to accept the decision made by the Cabinet.





"We have to be strong, united and stand firm on the decision that we already made," he said.





"At this stage, the decision made on Oct 10 to abolish the death penalty will still stand," the de facto law minister told reporters after a packed town hall session on the issue at UiTM Shah Alam on Wednesday (Nov 14).





He said he has spoken to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on this earlier Wednesday who told him that the decision made by the cabinet was a collective one.





On Tuesday (Nov 13), Dr Wan Azizah said that the government will reconsider abolishing the mandatory death sentence for those convicted of murder.





When asked about child murder, Liew said that they would probably look at it again but not necessarily divert from the decision made.





He also said all those who committed murder would be imprisoned for a minimum of 30 years if not their natural life.





"They will have no opportunity of getting out of prison. We just want to keep them in prison," he said, adding that there would be no possibility of parole.





"The law is very clear, if you have committed a very serious crime. I have instructed the Pardons Board to look into the various prisoners on death row to see how severe the offences they committed were and decide if the prisoners will serve life in prison or 30 years," he said.





In October, Liew said that the Cabinet had decided to abolish the death penalty, with a moratorium for those on death row.





A proposed bill to abolish the death penalty is expected to be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.





However, in a recent survey of 3,600 respondents conducted by The Star Online, almost 1/2 of Malaysians surveyed were against the Cabinets plan to abolish the death penalty.





About 45% felt the death penalty was needed to keep hardcore criminals at bay while 32% said it was still needed for violent crimes, especially crimes against children.





 | 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

thestar.com.my, November 13, 2018
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and the US Vice-President Michael Richard Pence, on the sidelines of East Asia Summit, in Singapore on Wednesday. (PTI)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US vice-president Mike Pence in Singapore on Wednesday, with Mr Modi saying there was only one source of global terror attacks  Pakistan. On trade  on which the Trump administration has adopted a strident position globally  Mr Modi reminded the US vice-president that American exports to India had risen by 50 per cent in the past two years, with India importing $4 billion of US oil and gas this year.

Giving details of the meeting, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters that Mr Modi also hoped the US would take into account the rich contribution of Indian-Americans in every sphere while deciding on the H-1B visa issue.

The India-US strategic partnership and a free and inclusive Indo-Pacific region was also discussed, something that is seen by observers in the context of increased Chinese military assertiveness. The two also discussed enhancement in defence ties with India having acquired billions of dollars of US defence platforms, equipment and weaponry in the past decade. But significantly, Mr Modi pitched for US cooperation in making India a hub for making defence equipment.
Employees work at the assembly plant of a foreign direct investment car factory in Vietnam. Photo by Reuters/Kham

Vietnam continues to be plagued by foreign company chiefs fleeing the country without paying off debts or workers salaries.

Last month Kim Dae Gun, a South Korean national and director of the Cho Won Textile Company in southern Dong Nai Province, disappeared after a business trip abroad leaving the company owing VND23 billion ($990,138) to banks and VND120 million ($5,150) in employees social insurance premiums.

The police are investigating the incident, the latest in a slew of such incidents in the country.

Canadian steel-manufacturer Metacor Vietnam based in southern Ba Ria  Vung Tau Province was deeply in the red by mid-2018.

It had racked up nearly VND150 billion ($6.4 million) worth of debts in the form of social insurance obligations, income tax and loans from banks.

Denis Piche, its general director and a Canadian national, was summoned thrice in June this year by the Ba Ria  Vung Tau Industrial Zone Authorities but he failed to respond.

Piche had already left Vietnam, in early June, through the Moc Bai border in Tay Ninh Province, according to local authorities.

In Ba Ria  Vung Tau alone, nearly 20 foreign-owned companies owing taxes worth VND30 billion ($1.28 million) no longer operate at their registered addresses, while another three owing VND60 billion ($2.56 million) have ceased operations completely.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre newspaper, Nguyen Minh Cuong, deputy head of the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Tax Department, said some companies take advantage of lax policies and work online to avoid financial obligations, making it difficult for authorities to properly monitor them.

Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, blamed the problems on poor management of foreign firms by authorities.

Most of the firms are based in industrial zones, each with their own management, and the average size of a zone is only 100-150 hectares, yet foreign enterprises vanish, he said.

"The reason why foreign businesses are able to disappear is because of lax monitoring of their business activities by authorities."

Pham Minh Huan, a former deputy labor minister, said foreign enterprises have been shutting down surreptitiously for years but the issue has not been resolved.

Since there are no specific regulations, local authorities have had to deal with disappearing businesses on an ad-hoc basis, using taxpayers money to pay employees salaries, encouraging local businesses to recruit the abandoned employees or freezing and liquidating companies assets under the Bankruptcy Law.

"But if a business had rented its fixed assets, there is nothing we can do," Huan pointed out.

Phan Huu Thang, former head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, explained that foreign business executives are able to flee because industrial zone managements, tax authorities and insurance agencies do not supervise their activities closely enough.

In the long term the solution lies in tightening the FDI licensing process by factoring in the history of the investor, he suggested.

Foreign companies activities should be assessed every three months to prevent them from disappearing. Though it seems fairly simple to do, the difficulty lies in selecting the government agency to implement it, he said.

Disbursed FDI in Vietnam reached $15.1 billion in January-October this year, up 6.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency.

FDI pledges for new projects, increased capital and stake acquisitions downed 1.2 percent from a year earlier to $27.9 billion in the 10 months.
Experts feel Vietnam cant carry the financial burden of the high speed railway project, given significant difficulties in attracting funds.

High project costs and slow returns on investment make it difficult to attract investment, and since public debt is already very high, using state funds could break the proverbial bank, they said at a recent forum.

The consortium of consultants tasked with carrying out a pre-feasibility study for the project said in its final report presented at the forum that the project would cost $58.71 billion.

The consortium, comprising three Vietnamese construction firms TEDI, TRICC and TEDISOUTH, proposed three funding options.

In the first option, the state budget would pay for the whole project. In the second, the funding would be split between state coffers and official development assistance (ODA) loans. The third option would be for the state to pay 80 percent of the project cost and the investors to raise the remaining 20 percent.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said at the forum that apart from the $58.71-billion price tag, the project will need funds to operate the route for the first 10 years.

No local investor is capable of covering the infrastructure cost, while foreign investors are reluctant as it will be a long time before they can recover their investments, he said.

Foreign investors are also concerned about how the state will assist if there is a decline in number of passengers, exchange rate fluctuation and construction delays, Dong added.

Therefore, just as other countries and territories have done, the state would have to fund the project, the deputy minister said, citing examples of China, France, Japan and Taiwan.

Too costly

Experts at the forum expressed concern that the project costs were too high for Vietnam, a developing country.

They said that the price tag means each kilometer of the railway will cost $38 million, about 1.5 times higher than that of Beijing and Shanghai in China ($27 million) and Spain ($26 million). This would add to the countrys public debt, which has now reaches 61.4 percent of GDP, they said.

Dr. Vu Hoai Nam with the University of Transport said that Vietnam should carefully consider the project as it would have to borrow money for it, pushing public debt to break the current cap of 65 percent of the GDP.

"Consultancy fees alone would be $3 billion, which is enough to upgrade the existing railway network," he pointed out.

Deputy Minister Dong said that China and other European countries already had the technology to build high speed railways, as well as professional construction companies with well-trained staff.

Vietnam, meanwhile, has just started the process of researching and training people, he said.

Vietnam will also have to purchase locomotives, cars, operation systems and technology from other countries, which will further increase project costs, Dong said.

Pricey ticket

The pre-feasibility report for the north-south high speed railway is scheduled to be presented for approval to the National Assembly in October next year.

If approved, project construction will start in 2024, the consortium said at the forum. A training academy will be established in 2026, test runs would start in 2028 and the official launch would happen in 2030.

The project will have two phases. In the first phase, from 2020-2030, two of three sections of the 1,545-kilometer long route would be completed: from Hanoi to the central city of Vinh and from Ho Chi Minh City to the central city of Nha Trang.

Vinh and Nha Trang will be connected in the second and final phase implemented from 2030 to 2045.

One operational, trains will run on standard gauge track (1.435-meter wide) with speeds up to 320 kilometers (199 miles) per hour.

The consultancy consortium estimated that a train ticket will cost 50-75 percent of an airplane ticket for the same distance.

But experts felt this might be too pricey.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, deputy head of the Investment Faculty at the Academy of Policy and Development, said he was worried that the railway route would be less competitive than aviation.

Vietnam currently has over 3,000 kilometers of railway tracks, none of them high-speed. The railway accounts for just 1.9 percent of the transportation sector in the country, according to the Vietnam Railway Authority.
With average monthly earnings of $1,200, Japan and South Korea have become the most attractive labor markets for Vietnamese workers.

People walk past a barber store in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Reuters/Thomas Peter

A Vietnamese migrant worker can make $1,000 to $1,200 a month in Japan and South Korea, four times the average monthly salary in Vietnam, which was VND6.5 million ($290) last year.

The average wage that Taiwanese employers pay to Vietnamese workers is around $700- $800 a month; and $400-$600 in the Middle East, the National Assembly (NA)s Committee for Social Affairs reported at a conference last week.

The attractive salaries have made Japan and South Korea the largest export labor markets for Vietnam and witnessed the fastest growth in recent years among Vietnamese citizens going abroad to work.

Last year, 54,504 Vietnamese workers went to Japan, a 36.5 percent increase from a year ago, ranking second in the list of countries and territories receiving Vietnamese migrants workers after Taiwan, according to official reports.

South Korea, meanwhile, continues to be a promising job market for Vietnamese after the South Korean government re-launched its Employment Permit System program in 2016.

The program allows 15 countries including Vietnam to send workers to South Korea. The EPS is valid for two years and renewable on expiration. Last March was the sixth time that Vietnam and South Korea signed the memorandum on the scheme, following signings in 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2016.

As of June this year, there were over 45,398 Vietnamese migrant workers in South Korea. The majority of them were registered under the Employment Permit System. South Korea is set to take 7,900 workers this year.

Remittances from Overseas Vietnamese remain a key source of funds for the national economy, accounting for about 8-10 percent of the gross domestic product.

The increase in Vietnamese going abroad to work ranked Vietnam among worlds top 10 remittance recipients in 2017. Last year, the remittances reached $13.8 billion.

According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 100,000 Vietnamese people leave the country each year to live in more developed nations.

The trend is also apparent in the growing number of Vietnamese investors moving overseas and wealthy families deciding to emigrate, despite the higher costs of living, cultural differences, language barrier and complex visa requirements.

According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs, Vietnam sent more than 102,000 workers abroad in the first nine months this year, including more than 9,000 to Japan and 510 to South Korea.

Vietnamese workers leave the country mainly for labor-intensive and low-skilled jobs overseas. Vietnam's total workforce is around 50 million.
Saigon driver flees after car ploughs into bikes, kills one, injures four

The injured victims sit on the sidewalk after the fatal crash in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday night. Photo by VnExpress/Son Hoa

At least one person was killed and four others were seriously injured when a seven-seater car slammed into several motorbikes in Saigon Tuesday night.

Tran Van Hoang, 43, was driving the car on Nguyen Huu Tho Street in District 7 when he lost his control and crashed into a couple on a motorbike at the crossroads of Nguyen Thi Thap Street.

The car then hit at least three other motorbikes and a victim was swept on the underside of the car and dragged for over 30 meters, eyewitnesses said. Many motorbike drivers were knocked down.

The car then mounted the sidewalk and hit a street divider before plunging down a slope.

The car that hit many motorbikes, killing one person and injuring four others, stopped after plunging down this grassy slope Tuesday night. Photo by VnExpress/Son Hoa

One motorbike driver, Mai Tan Nha, 33, died on the spot, while four others suffered serious injuries and were hospitalized.

The car driver fled the scene following the accident, which is being investigated.

He was arrested on Wednesday morning. He said after hitting the first motorbike, he had tried to stop the car but stepped on the accelerator instead.

Last month, a woman driving a BMW car after drinking beer crashed into several motorbikes at an intersection in Saigon, killing one person and injuring many others.

Nguyen Thi Nga, 45, was arrested and could be charged with traffic offences that can carry sentences of three to 10 years in jail.

Road crashes are a common cause of death in Vietnam, killing almost one person every hour on average, according to official figures.

Flouting road safety norms and causing deaths is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.
Police on Wednesday arrested former head and a deputy head of state-owned telecom giant MobiFone for violations in a television acquisition.

Cao Duy Hai, former general director of MobiFone, and Pham Thi Phuong Anh, deputy general director of the company, both face charges of "violating regulations on the management and use of public capital, causing serious consequences."

Cao Duy Hai, fallen CEO of telecom giant MobiFone. Photo by VnExpress/Dan Viet

Last August, Hai, 57, had been removed from the companys board after being found responsible for "serious violations" in the acquisition of private pay TV firm Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG).

The Central Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam had said Hai personally worked with the MobiFone council on the acquisition and signed many documents in violation of laws to come up with a deal that caused a significant losses to the government.

Anh was directly involved in negotiations for the deal, investigation found.

MobiFone, the country's third largest telco, had made headlines early in 2016 when it announced it was breaking into the pay TV market with the acquisition of a 95 percent stake in AVG.

But the Government Inspectorate concluded the deal, which had not been approved by the prime minister, had violated investment laws and caused an estimated loss of around VND7 trillion ($307 million) to the government.

In August 2016, the Vietnamese government ordered an across-the-board inspection into the acquisition. MobiFone in May this year said it had been refunded in full by AVG after the deal between the companies fell through.

For their responsibility in the acquisition, former Minister of Information and Communication Nguyen Bac Son has been restropectively fired from his post for the term 2011-2016 and Truong Minh Tuan also lost his post as minister last July for signing the decision to approve the acquisition when he was serving as deputy minister.

Son directly approved the AVG acquisition against regulations and asked his subordinates to sign documents that did not abide by regulations, investigation found.

Actions in the MobiFone case 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 General 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.

Last Friday, police arrested former deputy labor minister Le Bach Hong to investigate violations at Vietnam Social Security.

Investigation found the agency had lended VND1.05 trillion ($45 million) to state-owned finance leasing firm, the Agribank Financial Leasing Company No 2 (ALC II) while it was only allow to lend money to state-run commercial banks. The company later went bankrupt, still owing VND770 billion plus interest.
Crippled youth goes the extra mile to help an old man

Finding an old man wallowing in his own filth, a young man with an amputated leg stepped in to help.

His stomach heaved and his heart broke.

Luu Nguyen could not hold back his tears as he beheld the sight before him.

It stank badly. An old man was curled up on a filthy cot. The floor was dirty with urine and feces. A piece of bread mixed with cat poop.

"I had smelt something unpleasant on the second day I got here. When I remarked on it, my teacher said it came from a lonely old man next door."

Luu decided to call on the old man and the filth and stink that greeted him was overwhelming.

The old man's situation before Luu did him a favor. Photo courtesy of Luu Nguyen

Over the next two nights, he stayed in bed, thinking about what had happened to him threes year earlier.

Personal tragedy

On September 12, 2016, when Luu, then 20, was working for a jewelery store in Ho Chi Minh City, he was hit by a 7-seater car.

"I begged the couple and their two children in that car to take me to the hospital, but they just looked at each other with fear. I begged the crowd as well, but they just looked away and avoided me. Fifteen minutes later, as I became desperate, a waiter working for a nearby restaurant took me to the hospital in a taxi. Until now, I dont know who he was, so I can thank him."

Badly injured, a major part of his left leg had to be amputated. Luu cried for hours in the operating room. Finally, he came to terms with his fate as his karma. After the accident, Luu went back to his hometown Binh Dinh Province, to recover.

Early this year, he started a new career as a tattoo artist. And early this month, he arrived in Vinh Yen, Vinh Phuc Province to attend a course to develop his skills, hoping to open a store in his hometown later.

And then, he ran into this old man living in his own filth. Luu could not get him out of his mind.

"I remembered leaving the operating room with no one by my side. Then I thought of my disability. If I dont get married, I might be like him  lying in urine and feces," said Luu, fighting back tears as he spoke.

His own disability would not allow him to help the old man on his own, but luckily, some of his female colleagues, moved by the plight described by Luu, decided to pitch in.

On the fourth of this month, Luu and his friends spent half a day to get he old man out of the house and cleaned the house and all the furniture over the next two days. He gave the old man a shower, bought him new clothes as well as blankets and pillows to prepare for the upcoming winter season.

A routine

On the morning of November 9, Luu woke up to an alarm. Hed been used to getting up later after the accident. Now he had something to do before starting classes.

Rubbing his left leg amputated below the knee, he put on his prosthetic leg, and then a shoe on one foot and a sandal on the other.

"Grandpa, have you woken up? Luu shouted. No answer. Just the noise of wild cats. He entered the old mans house and turned on the light. The old man, body wrapped in a blanket, looked up and seemed unconcerned. A strong unpleasant smell was in the air.

"Have you just pooped on the bathroom floor? Its getting clogged again. Please use the potty Ive just bought for you," Luu said, as he checked the old mans blanket and changed his clothes. Then he cleaned the old mans face and fed him.

Wearing a face mask and gloves, he started to clean the house. One hour later, Luu had finished his chores. He returned to the store where hed come to learn tattooing, after spraying the house with disinfectant and offering incense to mans dead wife. It was 9:30 am already, all the other students were present and the teacher had already called Luu four times.

Over the last 11 days in Vinh Yen, Luu has spent a week taking care of the old man. He buys and feeds him breakfast and cleans the house every morning. He also buys lunch and dinner.

Luu visits the old man and takes care of him at least three times a day. Photo by VnExpress/Phan Duong

Luu said, the old man can walk with a walker but has trouble in remembering things. Because of the broken toilet, he poops in the bed.

"His name is Tien and he is 87 years old. His wife passed away five years ago and they dont have children. He has to live on government aid," said Pham Quy Loi, head of Residential Group 11, Ngo Quyen Commune, Vinh Yen.

"He is very irritable, so his neighbors dont want to help him anymore. Even though I help him, he swears at me sometimes. If I am lucky, he would ask me to stay for dinner or stay overnight," said, Luu grinning.

Luus teacher, Hong Sen, 35, said that she first thought the young man was helping the old man to attract attention online, but her doubt turned to admiration on seeing him visit and take care of the old man at least three times a day.

"Luu said he helped the old man out of sympathy. But I told Luu, the fact that you help others does not guarantee someone will help you in the future.

"He can only rely on himself; for example, in this career, he must become outstanding, not just average," she said.

Luu will finish his course in 20 days.

These days, many people have offered to help Tien after Luu shared his story online.

Luu does not know what the future will bring.

"He doesnt like it, but I would like him to stay in a nursing home; otherwise, I will hire a maid to help him clean the house. I dont know what the future will bring, but I will help him as long as I stay here."
A rulebook to settle disputes in the hotly contested South China Sea should be finished in three years, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday.

China does not seek "hegemony or expansion," he insisted.

Li's comments appeared to be the first clear timeframe for finishing the code of conduct. Talks have dragged on for years, with China accused of delaying progress as it prefers to deal with less powerful countries on a one-to-one basis.

Ownership of islands and waters in the South China Sea is disputed by several nations.

China, which claims virtually all of the sea, has established military positions on disputed outcrops and intimidates fishermen and naval vessels from rival countries.

Tensions have soared with nearby countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as the United States, which has traditionally been the dominant military power in the area. Vietnam calls the waters the East Sea.

Beijing and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have for years sought to hammer out a code to govern disputes in the disputed waters, but the process has moved slowly.

Speaking in Singapore ahead of the opening of an ASEAN summit, Li said: "It is China's hope that the (code of conduct) consultation will be finished in three years' time so that it will contribute to enduring peace and stability in the South China Sea."

"We are not and we will not seek hegemony or expansion. That is something that we will never do," he added.

"What we hope is to have a harmonious relationship with our neighbors."

Warships and drills

There have been small signs of progress in recent months.

China and Southeast Asian nations announced in August that they had agreed on their initial bargaining positions as they work towards a code.

While both sides hailed it as a vital step, critics said that some of Beijing's proposals in the agreement were clearly aimed at expanding its influence in the region at the expense of Washington.

Navies from China and Southeast Asia also staged their first joint drills last month in the South China Sea, which is criss-crossed by busy shipping lanes and home to abundant natural resources. in an effort to ease tensions.

Opposition has weakened in many parts of Southeast Asia to China's aggressive behaviour in the waters in recent years, with countries keen to attract investment from Beijing and worried about U.S. commitment to the region under President Donald Trump.

Nonetheless Washington and other western allies like Britain and Australia have ramped up freedom of navigation exercises in recent months.

The sailing of warships through the strategic region is a bid to enforce the idea that the sea is international waters and open to all, a stance that infuriates Beijing.

National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters in Singapore that any code of conduct deal struck between China and Southeast Asian nations should not be allowed to restrict access to the sea.

"It also has to be acceptable to all the countries that have legitimate maritime and naval military rights to transit and other associated rights that we don't want to see infringed," he said.

He also took a swipe at China for using the years of negotiations to build up its military installations across the sea.

"Not just by creating facts on the ground but by creating ground and then putting the facts on top of them," he added.
Washington has not detailed potential actions but one way in which the United States could undermine the project would be by penalizing big multinational firms working on it.

The United States could yet impose new sanctions to try to block construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea to the European Union, the U.S. ambassador to the EU said on Tuesday.

Asked if Donald Trump could take further measures to thwart a project which the president has said would leave EU countries even more beholden to Moscow for their energy, Gordon Sondland said: "We have not deployed the full set of tools yet that could significantly undermine if not outright stop the project," as reported by Reuters.

Addressing an audience at the European Policy Centre think-tank in Brussels, Sondland added: "We're hoping that the opposition to the project works organically, because the EU and its member countries agree that dependence on Russian energy is not a good long-term geopolitical decision."

"If that philosophy is not adopted and Nord Stream continues, then the president has many, many other tools at his disposal  I'm not going to go through the litany  to try and curb and stop the project."

Read alsoU.S. opposes Nord Stream 2, Turkish Stream - Rick Perry

Washington has not detailed potential actions but one way in which the United States could undermine the project would be by penalizing big multinational firms working on it.

Sondland stressed that U.S. opposition was not based on hopes of exporting more U.S. gas to Europe but on concern that Russia could increase its leverage on key allies in NATO through its control of their energy supplies.

"We don't want to see someone's gas turned off in the middle of the winter when there is a political crisis," he said.

"When Europe is vulnerable, the United States is vulnerable and we don't want to put ourselves in that position."
What do you think about our new website?

Share your opinion
Cabinet approves revised draft state budget for 2019

According to Markarova, the revenue and expenditure parts of the state budget for the next year were brought in line with the recommendations of the parliament's budget committee.

If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter
U.S., Europe discuss sanctions against Russian ports in Sea of Azov  Ukraine's minister

According to Omelyan, the Russian blockade has caused losses worth about $35.8 million.

If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter
The UK Supreme Court will review the appeal no earlier than in June 2019.

Moscow has appealed a British ruling on the $3 billion Russia lent to Ukraine in 2013 by purchasing its eurobond, Russia's Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said that the UK Supreme Court will review the appeal no earlier than in June 2019, Reuters said.

Read alsoUkraine places two issues of eurobonds worth about US$2 bln

As UNIAN reported earlier, in September Britain's court of appeal ruled that Ukraine had a justiciable defence in a $3 billion eurobond case that was originally brought by Russia and said the case should be allowed to go to full trial.

The English Court of Appeal on September 14 given its long awaited judgment in Ukraine's appeal against the Summary Judgment entered in Russia's favor in March 2017 in the case concerning the so called Russian debt, and the decision to reverse Summary Judgment and permit Ukraine to argue its case before the court of first instance represents a significant victory for Ukraine.

"The unanimous findings of the Court of Appeal mean that Ukraine will have a full opportunity to prove at trial its long held position that the contracts for the $3 billion eurobonds are invalid and unenforceable," Acting Minister of Finance of Ukraine Oksana Markarova said. "This is because of the egregious threats and acts of aggression perpetrated against Ukraine by Russia not only in the lead up to and which procured the entry of the relevant contracts, but also in the period after their entry and continuing until the present day. Ukraine welcomes the opportunity to make a full evidentiary showing concerning Russia's unlawful actions. Russia must be held accountable for its internationally wrongful acts and the English Court has made clear that it will not shy away from doing so."

The Judgment of the Court of Appeal was delivered following the hearing of Ukraine's appeal held in London from January 22 to 26, 2018. The appeal justices hearing the appeal, and who have now released their unanimous verdict, are Lady Justice Gloster (then Vice President of the Court of Appeal, Civil Division), Lord Justice Sales and Lord Justice David Richards.

The Court of Appeal issued a fully reasoned written judgment which is publicly available.

In a unanimous decision in favor of Ukraine all three Judges of the English Court of Appeal agreed that the first instance judge was wrong: (1) to decline to permit Ukraine's defense of duress to proceed to trial; and (2) to refuse to grant Ukraine a permanent stay of the proceedings if Ukraine's defense of duress could not be adjudicated by the English Court.

Ukraine has therefore succeeded in its appeal and the Summary Judgment of Mr. Justice Blair is to be set aside.

"Ukraine welcomes this important outcome, which reflects the strength of the case that Ukraine has made at this stage in the proceedings," the ministry said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved bill No. 9000 on the national budget of Ukraine for 2019 for second reading at a meeting on Wednesday, instructing to review it within three days.

Acting Finance Minister of Ukraine Oksana Markarova said that the deficit of the budget remains at 2.3% of GDP.

She said that the revised bill takes into account changes in revenues, in particular, in accordance with bill No. 9260 adopted by parliaments on raising a number of royalties and excise rates. The document also takes into account the expected income from the legalization of cars with foreign license plates in accordance with the adopted changes in the legislation.

At the same time, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said that the budget financing in the defense sector is insufficient.

"Financing does not allow us to fully purchase the necessary equipment," he said.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said that the draft budget envisages financing of the defense sector at 5.3% of GDP, although legislation provides for a lower limit of 5% of GDP.

Earlier, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy said that the parliament would consider the bill on the national budget for 2019 on Thursday, November 22.
The European Commission has decided to approve the maps of the Trans-European Transport Network (the TEN-T core network) in the Eastern Partnership countries, including Ukraine.

"For the first time, the Ukrainian transport network is becoming part of the strategic transport and logistics corridors of the European Union," Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan said.

According to him, this is an important step towards the infrastructure European integration of Ukraine, indicating that the Ukrainian infrastructure is considered by the European Commission as an integral component of the EU transport and logistics system.

"The Council of Europe and the European Parliament currently have two months for checks before the act can come into force," the EC's official website says in connection with the adoption of this decision.

In addition to Ukraine, TEN-T maps have also been approved for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova.

As reported, in November 2017 Ukraine and the EU signed the document on the extension of indicative maps of the European transport network TEN-T to Ukraine.
Poroshenko assures hierarchs of UOC (MP) that the state will protect their right to free choice of church jurisdiction

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at a meeting in the Ukrainian House on Tuesday assured a group of hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) that the state would protect the right of clergy and laity to free choice of church jurisdiction, presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko has said.

"He [the president of Ukraine] also said that the Ecumenical Patriarch, for his part, guarantees complete canonical protection for supporters of autocephaly in Ukraine," the presidential press secretary wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Representatives of a group of hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) supporting an appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople regarding the granting of autocephaly met with the Ukrainian president at the Ukrainian House, he said.

Poroshenko informed the hierarchs of his talks with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, of an agreement between Ukraine and the Constantinople Patriarchate, and the latter's willingness to facilitate the organization of a unifying assembly, Tsegolko said.

"The bishops told the president about unprecedented pressure being put by Moscow on those bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) who are willing to join the establishment of a unified church," he said.

A meeting previously planned on Tuesday between Poroshenko and Ukrainian Orthodox Church top bishops was canceled. While an absolute majority of hierarchs of the canonical church gathered at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), where a conversation was expected to take place, Poroshenko changed his mind and did not arrive there but insisted that the hierarchs come to meet him at the Ukrainian House, which they refused to do.

Poroshenko still met behind closed doors with some hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) at the Ukrainian House on Tuesday evening.
Russia refuses holding TCG extraordinary meeting in connection with fake elections in Donbas  Iryna Gerashchenko

KYIV. Nov 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) - First Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament and Ukraine's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group's humanitarian subgroup Iryna Gerashchenko has said that the Russian Federation refused to hold an extraordinary meeting of the TCG in connection with the fake elections in Donbas.

"Russia, despite the willingness of OSCE representatives to immediately convene an extraordinary meeting of the TCG in connection with the fake elections in Donbas, categorically rejected this Ukraine's initiative, saying that it "doesn't consider it as necessary." The OSCE received a letter from the Russian representatives," Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

As reported, the Ukrainian side in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) sent an official note with a proposal to hold an extraordinary meeting in connection with the fake "elections" in Donbas and received the consent of the OSCE representatives.
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ombudswoman Liudmyla Denisova has said 895 prisoners held in prisons in Russia-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine have asked to be transferred to territories controlled by Ukrainian authorities. She said officials in Kyiv support their transfer.

"Since the end of 2014 to the present, the ombudswoman's office has received appeals from 895 citizens, of which 470 are from Donetsk region and 425 are from Luhansk region," Denisova said in Kyiv on Tuesday. She added, "Ukraine is ready to take away all prisoners."

According to her, these prisoners are used in uncontrolled territories as free labor, as well as in hostilities.

First Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament and Ukraine's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group's (TCG) humanitarian subgroup Iryna Gerashchenko said repeated attempts to arrange the transfer in TCG talks have been unsuccessful.

"Denisova is ready even to leave tomorrow and pick up these hundreds of convicts who will move and serve their sentences under Ukrainian law in Ukrainian prisons. But we don't see the answer from Kremlin puppets (in Russia-occupied Donbas) and there are already political games in Moscow that require Denisova conduct direct negotiations with the so-called representatives of occupied Donbas," Gerashchenko said, adding that Ukraine's international partners should "take a more active position on issues, including access, to prisons in Russia-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine."
Hungary continues to block meetings of the Ukraine-NATO Commission with the aim of pressuring Ukraine to repeal its law "On Education," Ukraine's Ambassador to NATO Vadym Prystaiko has said.

"Hungary's goal is to put pressure on weak points" until we abandon the implementation of the law "On Education." Indeed, the meetings of the Ukraine-NATO are blocked above the ambassador level. This is a serious political problem in our relations with NATO. We are working on its solution," Prystaiko said in an interview with the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Prystaiko said Ukraine's NATO partners explain to Hungary that the issue of the language of education should be returned to the bilateral format.

"The position of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjartois supported by top Hungarian politicians. Hungary is abusing the principle of consensus in NATO," the diplomat added.

Prystaiko said Ukraine's Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin, had already received an invitation to participate in the meeting of the foreign ministers of the contributing countries of NATO's "Resolute Support" mission in Afghanistan," which will be held on December 4-5.
New Hungarian Ambassador presents copies of credentials to Ukraine's Deputy FM, discusses schedule of bilateral events

Hungary's new ambassador to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto has handed over copies of his credentials to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar.

"Today I've received copies of credentials from new ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine Istvan Ijgyarto. We have agreed to work on a positive agenda for bilateral relations. Mr. Ambassador is studying the Ukrainian language, which will undoubtedly help him in his professional activities," Bodnar wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press service said the new ambassador pledged Hungary's unwavering support for Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity within internationally established borders and Ukraine's desire to expand Ukraine-Hungary cooperation in economic and humanitarian spheres. Ijgyarto expressed interest in implementation of several joint projects in Ukraine.

"The sides emphasized the importance of having an active dialogue on the level of heads of their respective foreign ministries because it is a deciding factor in the search for mutual solutions in regulating controversial issues. In this context, a plan for bilateral events for the near future was discussed," the note said.

Bodnar expressed the Ukrainian side's readiness to support Hungary's initiatives, which will facilitate deepening bilateral cooperation.

As earlier reported, the previous Ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine Erno Keskeny recently completed his diplomatic mission in Kyiv and left Ukraine on November 5.

Istvan Ijgyarto was born in Berehove of Zakarpattia region on December 26, 1963. He was the Hungarian ambassador to Russia (2011-2014), secretary of state at the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.
Forty civil society organizations, including Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the New York based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) have signed a letter deploring violation of human rights by the Islamic Republic in Iran and urging UN member states to support human rights efforts in the country.

Meanwhile they have called upon UN General Assembly to support Canadas resolution on human rights in Iran that is scheduled to be presented to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on November 14, 2018.

The resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran was presented to the Third Committee in the framework of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

This annual resolution provides an opportunity for the General Assembly to review human rights violations in Iran over the last year and the many other human rights concerns that persist in the country, as reflected in reports issued by the UN Secretary-General and the Iran Special Rapporteur. The resolution also outlines how Iran should implement its national and international human rights obligations, AI said in a report late Monday, November 12.

We echo the UN Secretary-Generals observation that this year has been marked by an intensified crackdown on protesters, journalists and social media users, in the wake of the wave of protests that erupted across Iran in December 2017 and continued into 2018, the signatories have assert.

On October, 24, the new UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman said in his first report, "Mounting challenges in Iran should be met by a constructive response which places international human rights law at its heart.

Presenting his first report to the General Assembly following his appointment in July, Javaid Rehman noted, The challenges facing people in Iran these past months has been illustrated by numerous protests across the country"

The Special Rapporteur also said, "The protests were fueled by discontent relating to the enjoyment of economic and social rights" and urged the Government to both address the grievances underlying the protests, and also safeguard the right to freedom of association and assembly. In challenging times, the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, and access to information are all the more important. he added.

Tehran has repeatedly dismissed UN reports on human rights situation in Iran as "biased" and unfounded.

Irans Counsellor and Permanent Representative to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly Mohammad Hassani-Nejad went even further by accusing United Nations of having double standards towards human rights.

Speaking at the meeting of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, October 16, Hassani-Nejad slammed the UN Secretary-General's report on human rights in Iran, saying "it once again revealed the inaccuracy and politicization of human rights processes in the United Nations."

He continued "the presentation of four similar reports annually on the situation of human rights in Iran reflects only selective approaches and dual standard policy of the organization; an approach that most of all undermines the credibility and integrity of UN human rights processes."

The Iranian diplomat said no country can claim that it is perfect regarding human rights, and Iran is no exception, while in Iran it is possible to amend laws and regulations to the point where it is not contrary to the social norms.

However, the signatories to the new letter addressed to UN, have listed a series of human rights violations across Iran.

"Violence and discrimination, in law and practice, against individuals on the basis of gender, religion, belief, ethnicity, language, political opinion, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, also remain widespread and continue to be sanctioned by laws, policies and government practices" the signatories have stressed.

The signatories have concluded, "The continued attention of the international community is required to ensure Iran upholds its international human rights obligations. By supporting resolution A/C.3/73/L.42, the UN General Assembly will send a strong signal to the Iranian authorities that the promotion and respect of human rights is a priority, and that genuine and tangible improvements to the situation are expected to ensure the dignity inherent to all persons in Iran."
The Tehran City Council, deep in debt, has elected a pro-reform technocrat as the Iranian capital's new mayor on Tuesday, November 13.

Pirooz Hanachi, 54, was elected through a time-consuming process that has been characterized by a member of the Iranian Parliament as "non-democratic," and "non-transparent."

This is the third mayor elected by the reformist-dominated city council in less than two years. The reformists swept up all the seats on Tehrans city council in general elections in May 2017.

Hanachi, who has been Tehran's deputy mayor under the last two mayors, was a candidate before, but did not get the post for what has been described by a conservative news agency, Young Journalists Club, as "lack of strong political connections."

The agency reported that Hanachi is Tehran's first mayor with a background appropriate for his post. He has studied urban development and restoration and has served as deputy minister of housing.

The Tehran Municipality, an organization in charge of running the day to day affairs of a capital city with 12 million residents is known for alleged financial corruption in the past, yet to be verified in court.

The city council's failure to appoint a mayor, having in mind a long-term perspective, has been widely criticized by Iranian media.

The first mayor elected by the city council that took office in 2017, resigned last summer in a controversial development which turned out to be a family drama rather than a political stand-off, as portrayed by the council.

His replacement, elected through a lengthy process, held the office for only a few months as a new law banning retirees from public service led to his resignation, after his efforts to get some kind of an exemption failed.

Many critics have attributed the failure of the city council and the two previous mayors to the council chairman's desire to become mayor himself. The media charged repeatedly that Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, has always wanted to be the mayor, but the council's partisan nature prevented him from standing as a candidate for the post, because if he left the city council, he would have been replaced by a well-connected conservative figure who might undermine the reformist's 2017 "conquest" of the City Council.

Critics have also likened the political drama, scandals and lack of transparency at the Tehran city council to a miniature model of the way Iran is being run.

But the confusion and the messy politics of the council does not reflect positively on Irans reformists. The Tehran city administration is the only powerful body they really hold in the country, but they have not proven capable of effective leadership.

Hanachi was one of the two finalists among some thirty nominees for the post and won the position with an edge of only one vote. The MP who criticized the election, pointed out that the criteria for the selection of the new mayor was never clear. It appeared that instead of asking about the plans each candidate had, the city council was more interested in their political connections.

Habachis, was former Housing Minister, Abbas Akhoundi, also a reform-minded politician, but the difference, according to conservative media was that unlike Akhoundi, who is a political figure, Hanachi is a technocrat with little partisan baggage and political affiliation.

As a result, the new mayor, who will take office after being endorsed by the interior minister, may be in a better position to interact with the troubled Rouhani administration.

Rouhani has appointed Hanachi as a member of the High Council of Cultural Heritage, and he was reportedly one of Rouhani's choices for the post of housing minister.

Although the mayor of Tehran has always been a big-wig in Iran, the post gained further prominence as a launching pad for upward mobility to the post of president of the republic after hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used the position to rise to the presidency in 1985.
BEIRUT, Nov 13 (Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Tuesday blamed the Iran-backed Hezbollah for what he called a "big obstacle" in efforts to form a new government, indicating there could be no solution if it did not back down.

Hezbollah, a heavily armed Shi'ite Muslim group backed by Iran, has been pressing a demand for one of six Sunni Muslim lawmakers allied to it to get a cabinet position. Hariri has refused to give up one of the seats allocated for his mainly Sunni party.

"The truth is that government formation has hit a big obstacle," he told a televised news conference in Beirut, six months after a parliamentary election that triggered complex negotiations to form a government.

"The consequences that the country will bear is upon Hezbollah's responsibility" if a new government cannot be formed, Hariri added in English.

He said that if Hezbollah was so concerned that one of its Sunni allies take a cabinet post, it should give them one of its own. Hezbollah, proscribed as a terrorist movement by the United States, is expected to take three ministries in the new cabinet.

A new government must be formed before any moves can be made towards fiscal reforms, which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in June are needed immediately to improve debt sustainability in Lebanon. Reforms would also unlock more than $11 billion of donor funding.

Lebanon has the world's third largest public debt as a proportion of the economy, stagnant growth and what the IMF has said are increasing vulnerabilities in its financial system.

"The economic situation is embarrassing," Hariri said.

Lebanon's cabinet is supposed to reflect both the parliamentary representation of Lebanon's main parties and its major religious sects.

Rival parties have jostled over how many cabinet positions each faction should get in the new national unity government, and over the most important jobs.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah insisted on Saturday that one of its Sunni allies be given a portfolio in the new cabinet. He indicated Hezbollah would be ready to go back to square one in negotiating a government if necessary.

In his first public statement since Nasrallah's speech, Hariri said there could be no solution to the impasse as things stood and reiterated that he would not accept Hezbollah's demand regarding the cabinet portfolio.

"The government is a national, security and social need ... This mission is for me and President (Michel Aoun). I have done everything I can and everyone has to shoulder his responsibilities," Hariri said, adding that a government plan was ready to go should Hezbollah back down.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Lisa Barrington and Ellen Francis, Writing by Lisa Barrington and Angus McDowall Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Bakcell, the First Mobile Operator and the Fastest Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan, contributes largely to the development of the telecommunications industry on local and international level by taking an active part in the most prestigious global telco and innovation events.

Chief Executive Officer of Bakcell Nikolai Beckers was invited to take part in the prestigious Total Telecom Congress event, together with the top-tier decision makers from worlds leading telecommunication companies. This years event, held in London from 30 to 31 of October, was dedicated to Strategy, Innovation and Partnerships for the Telecom Industry.

During the panel discussion held under the title of Beyond technology: How should telcos evolve corporate strategy and structure to enable digital transformation? Nikolai Beckers has provided his expert opinion on such crucial for the whole industry topics as the growing role of the Chief Digital Officer, softwarising the workforce, digital investment strategies, new operating models, learning from established DSPs and automation of internal processes. The discussion was also joined by Industry Leader & Head of Tech and Telco at Facebook Daniel Augsten, Chief Transformation Officer at Cable & Wireless Christian Rotter, Chief Strategy, Transformation & Wholesale Officer at OTE Group Yannis Konstantindis.

Within the frames of the event, Bakcell CEO gave an extensive interview to the Total Telecom YouTube channel to discuss what digital transformation means for telcos, customer experience strategies, the importance of changing organizational culture and give an insight into Bakcell's plans for the next 12-24 months

Digitalization is one of the major topics of the whole telecoms world at the moment, and I think it should be implemented in various areas of the business to be efficient. First of all, digitalization should be implemented within telcos core business including the network. Also, telcos interaction with customers should be digitized as well to make it smoother and more convenient. Another area where digitalization should be applied is the company culture. Traditional telecom operators are bureaucratic and it is exceedingly difficult to apply innovations and drive digital transformation within the existing organization, and at the same time continue running important processes in terms of the network and marketing. Even though the telecom operators are efficient in their core business, they still need to be flexible enough, and digitalization will help them address the needs of customers faster and more efficiently. Digitalization requires different mentality and different mindset of people who work in the organization. This means the people need more freedom and a defined purpose said Nikolai Beckers.

The full version of interview to the Total Telecoms YouTube channel can be viewed at this link: http://bit.ly/bakcell

Nikolai Beckers was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Bakcell in 2016. Prior to that, he held key posts in leading telecommunications companies in countries of Western and Eastern Europe and Southeastern Asia. His extensive work experience and telecoms expertise covers implementation of activities and projects that played a strategic role in achieving substantial business success in the most competitive telecommunication markets across the world.

***

About Bakcell

Bakcell, the First Mobile Operator and Leading Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan, offers a wide range of products and Services to users of modern mobile communications Services. The company provides its customers with the best-in-class 4G mobile internet.

The 4G services of Bakcell are already available in Baku and Absheron peninsula, as well as central parts of more than 40 regions of Azerbaijan.

With more than 7000 base stations, Bakcell network covers 99% of the population and 93% of the land area of the country (except for the occupied territories). In 2017, Bakcell network has been recognized as the Best in Test in Azerbaijan by P3 Communications, being one of the most trusted independent authorities in mobile benchmarking. Bakcell has been recognized as the Fastest Mobile Network in Azerbaijan. This award, presented by world-famous Ookla company, recognizes Bakcells commitment to delivering fastest speeds to customers all across Azerbaijan.

For more information about Bakcell products and services, please visit www.bakcell.com or call 555. For press releases please see www.bakcell.com/az/news (or www.bakcell.com/en/news for press releases in English).

If you are not a Bakcell subscriber, but wish to find out about Bakcell and its products and services, please call 012 498 89 89.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

The ceasefire monitoring at the contact line between the troops of Azerbaijan and Armenia, in the direction of Fuzuli district, held in accordance with the mandate of Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on November 14, ended with no incident, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said in a message on Nov. 14.

The Personal Representative's field assistants Mihail Olaru, Simon Tiller and a representative of the High-Level Planning Group (HLPG) Lt Col Alexander Nepokrytykh carried out the monitoring from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk and his field assistants Ghenadie Petrica, Ognjen Jovic and the representative of the HLPG Lt Col Harry OConnor carried out the monitoring on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan occupied and controlled by the armed forces of Armenia.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) face a number of difficulties financially, said Azay Guliyev, Azerbaijani MP, chairman of the Council of State Support for NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan, at a plenary session of the Azerbaijani parliament.

Guliyev noted that state support has been provided to civil society institutions, in particular, the countrys NGOs, for ten years under the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

I think this is a very important point, he said. The countrys public, in particular, the public sector, highly appreciates the state care.

He urged Azerbaijans Finance Minister Samir Sharifov to pay attention to this issue.

Especially considering that the funds allocated to the Council over the past three years havent increased, but decreased, Guliyev said.

He reminded that if in 2015, 6.6 million manats were allocated, now this volume amounts to 5.6 million manats.

It is necessary to consider that NGOs that protect the interests of the state, especially need support, he said.

NGOs in many spheres receive only state support, they have no other financial source, said Guliyev. Azerbaijani NGOs need financial support to protect state interests both in Azerbaijan and abroad.

He once again appealed to the minister of finance to provide the Council of State Support for NGOs with additional 4.6 million manats from the state budget and consider the issue of financing the general budget of the council in the amount of 10.2 million manats.

I hope that the Azerbaijani government will support the raised issue to a certain extent, said Guliyev.

The Azerbaijani parliament started to discuss the state budget for 2019 on Nov. 13.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Over 60 people were arrested in Azerbaijan in connection with the events in Ganja city, and five persons who showed armed resistance were eliminated, said Colonel General Madat Guliyev, head of Azerbaijans State Security Service.

He was speaking Nov. 14 at the 21st meeting of the Conference of Special Services of Turkic-speaking States in Bishkek, Azerbaijans State Security Service said in a message.

Guliyev spoke at the event on the topic dedicated to some trends in international terrorist organizations and attempts to violate social and political stability in Azerbaijan. He said that in a number of regions of the world, in particular in the Middle East, the military-political situation continues to remain tense.

Despite completion of the active phase of military operations in Syria and Iraq, there have been attempts by extremist religious organizations to create their cells outside the region, he noted.

He said that in Azerbaijan, illegal actions of religious radicals and extremists were most clearly manifested in July this year. Attempts were made to violate social and political stability in Ganja, which is the second largest city in the country, he noted.

Guliyev noted the need to strengthen international cooperation and implement collective measures to prevent terrorism and religious extremism.

He stressed the relevance and need for cooperation between the security agencies and the special services of the Turkic-speaking states. He noted the importance of further enhancing the exchange of information to effectively ensure the safety of these countries.

Prospects for security cooperation were discussed with delegations of the bodies of special services at bilateral meetings of Madat Guliyev as part of the event.
Details added (first version posted on 10:35)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Over 60 people were arrested in Azerbaijan in connection with the events in Ganja city, and five persons who showed armed resistance were eliminated, said Colonel General Madat Guliyev, head of Azerbaijans State Security Service.

He was speaking Nov. 14 at the 21st meeting of the Conference of Special Services of Turkic-speaking States in Bishkek, Azerbaijans State Security Service said in a message.

Guliyev spoke at the event on the topic dedicated to some trends in international terrorist organizations and attempts to violate social and political stability in Azerbaijan. He said that in a number of regions of the world, in particular in the Middle East, the military-political situation continues to remain tense.

Despite completion of the active phase of military operations in Syria and Iraq, there have been attempts by extremist religious organizations to create their cells outside the region, he noted.

He said that in Azerbaijan, illegal actions of religious radicals and extremists were most clearly manifested in July this year. Attempts were made to violate social and political stability in Ganja, which is the second largest city in the country, he noted.

Guliyev noted the need to strengthen international cooperation and implement collective measures to prevent terrorism and religious extremism.

He stressed the relevance and need for cooperation between the security agencies and the special services of the Turkic-speaking states. He noted the importance of further enhancing the exchange of information to effectively ensure the safety of these countries.

Prospects for security cooperation were discussed with delegations of the bodies of special services at bilateral meetings of Madat Guliyev as part of the event.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.14

Trend:

Azerbaijan always declared its readiness for meetings with the Armenian foreign minister for the purpose of holding substantive negotiations aimed at achieving result, not only within international events, but also outside their format, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys acting spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend Nov. 14.

She was commenting on the information spread in the media about the meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan within the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting to be held in December in Milan.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are conducting the relevant work in organizing such meetings, she said. The Azerbaijani side supports the proposal of the co-chairs on the progress of the peace talks [on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] and on the invitation of Armenia to take constructive position in this process.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Belarus has held a conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Belarus, the Embassy said in a statement Nov. 14.

The Deputy Chairwoman of the Upper Chamber of the Belarus Parliament Marianna Shchetkina, the Deputy Chairman of the Lower Chamber of the Belarus Parliament Boleslav Pirshtuk and the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Andrei Yeudachenka made speeches as special guests at the conference.

The event was also attended by the ambassadors of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to Belarus, Russia's permanent representative to the CIS, the first deputy chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, rectors of leading universities of Belarus, scientists and culture figures, representatives of the public.

Opening the event, Ambassador Latif Gandilov described the participation in the conference of high-ranking representatives of the state and government of Belarus as an indicator of great respect for and attention to Azerbaijan.

Assessing personal friendly relations between heads of state as an important factor in bilateral relations, Latif Gandilov noted that these relations are a good example of interstate cooperation.

The ambassador stressed that the heads of state, thanks to their wise policy, eliminating the difficulties of the transition period, turned their countries into the states that deserve respect in the world, raising the bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership.

The Deputy Chairwoman of the Upper Chamber of the Belarus Parliament Marianna Shchetkina and the Deputy Chairman of the Lower Chamber of the Belarus Parliament Boleslav Pirshtuk noted in their speeches that the relations between the two states in all spheres, including the inter-parliamentary relations, are at a high level.

In connection with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the embassy also organized a presentation of the book titled "The 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Belarus" and a silver memorial sign.

For their merits in the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Belarus, Gandilov awarded the first ambassador of Belarus to Azerbaijan Nikolai Paskevich, the First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Yeudachenka, and the Head of the Belarus-Azerbaijan Friendship Group in the Parliament of Belarus, Chairperson of the Standing Commission of the Lower Chamber of the Parliament of Belarus for National Security Valentin Mikhnevich with silver memorial signs.

For their merits in the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Belarus, other representatives of state agencies and governments of Azerbaijan and Belarus will be awarded with memorial signs.

After the event, a reception was arranged for the conference participants.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order appointing Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov as Azerbaijans plenipotentiary representative in the High-Level Working Group for the Caspian Sea.

The Cabinet of Ministers has been tasked to resolve issues arising from the order.

Also the order instructs the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry to send notifications to the Caspian countries that Deputy FM Khalaf Khalafov has been named Azerbaijans plenipotentiary representative in the High-Level Working Group for the Caspian Sea.

On August 12, 2018, the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea was signed and the Communique of the Fifth Caspian Summit was adopted in Aktau.

According to these documents, a decision was made to create a mechanism for regular five-sided consultations of plenipotentiaries of the Caspian countries. Thus, under this decision, foreign ministers of the Caspian countries created the High-Level Working Group for the Caspian Sea.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Fifth-year Chemical Engineering students of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) Elmar Askarzada and Alexander Oborovsky represented BHOS and Azerbaijan at the Grand Final of the ClimateLaunchpad, the worlds biggest clean-tech business idea competition, which was held in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

They presented an innovative ThermoNorth project, which took them more than a year to develop, among over 135 projects submitted by the participants from 45 countries. It attracted attention of the Grand Final guests and visitors who were particularly interested in the innovative technology behind the project idea.

Moreover, the BHOS students were invited to the international conference to be held under the title TRANS/SUM: Transportation and Mobility Technology Summit in Tokyo on December 6-8, 2018.

The ThermoNorth project aims at developing micro-encapsulated phase change material, which helps to keep cars engine at optimal temperature for a long time even in cold weather, while automotive technologies do not work to their full potential in cold climate conditions. As expected innovative idea will be interest to logistics and transportation companies attending the conference in Tokyo.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Further strengthening of bilateral cooperation between Belarus and Azerbaijan will contribute to enhancing integration processes in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee - CIS Executive Secretary Viktor Guminsky said at a conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Belarus-Azerbaijan diplomatic relations, BelTA reported.

The relations established during this time are based on the traditions of friendship between the peoples of the two states, common interests and the mutual desire to build up mutually beneficial cooperation in various directions, he said. Having passed the 25-year path of productive bilateral relations, Belarus and Azerbaijan set an example of constructive partnership.

He noted that the issues discussed at the conference not only go beyond the framework of bilateral relations and their prospects, but are also directly related to the history of the entire CIS.

On one hand, without the independence of the states, there would be no CIS, he added. On the other hand, the CIS played and continues to play a significant role in the development of diverse interstate cooperation on a new basis.

He noted the importance of the fact that Azerbaijan actively participates in the activities of the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Ministerial Council and the Economic Council of the CIS.

Giving priority to economic interaction and cooperation in the field of security, Azerbaijan makes a significant contribution to the implementation of a number of humanitarian projects of general significance for the CIS, he said. For example, the cities of Gabala and Ganja were awarded the status Cultural Capital of the CIS within the program with the same name. Azerbaijan regularly hosts the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, the Uzeyir Hajibayli International Music Festival, the International Vocalists Competition named after Bulbul and the Baku International Theater Conference.

Azerbaijan pursues a policy of broad cooperation in the CIS in both multilateral and bilateral formats, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Azerbaijan needs to increase investment in science and education, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Science and Education Bakhtiyar Aliyev said at a plenary meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliament on Nov. 14.

"Nowadays, large-scale reforms are being conducted at Azerbaijan's National Academy of Sciences. To continue these reforms, it is necessary to provide major financial assistance at the initial stage," Aliyev said.

Aliyev also noted that allocating ANAS at least 50 million manats at the initial stage will make a great contribution to the development of Azerbaijani science, strengthening the country's economy.

Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan's economy is rapidly developing and this is seen in all spheres of public life.
The decision of the electronic commerce and cloud computing company Amazon to set up its new headquarters in New York will bring the city over $13 billion in taxes, Mayor of NYC Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday, Sputnik reported.

In New York City, we measure success by how many everyday New Yorkers benefit, and Amazon's #HQ2 will bring us $13.5 billion in tax revenue and as many as 40,000 new jobs - the biggest move of new jobs to our city in our history, de Blasio wrote on Twitter.

Later, he also thanked Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, for the partnership and commended the company on his Twitter account.

On Tuesday, Amazon announced that it has picked NYC and Arlington, Virginia, as the locations for new corporate headquarters. The new offices will join Seattle as Amazons three headquarters in the United States. According to the company, the decision will create 25,000 jobs in each location.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

On Nov.13, execution of the Uzbek state budget for the first nine months of this year and the draft state budget for 2019 were discussed at the expanded meeting of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek Parliament on Labor and Social Affairs, Uzbek media reported.

The Uzbek MPs noted that due to changes in consumer prices, real growth rates of the total income of the population compared to the same period last year amounted to 111.4 percent (110.6 percent for the first nine months of 2017, according to the Uzbek State Statistics Committee), and the real growth rate of the total income per capita amounted to 109.5 percent (108.8 percent for the same period of 2017).

In the reporting period, funds in the amount of 53.4 percent of total expenditures were spent to finance social expenditures from the state budget. These expenditures amounted to 11.8 percent of the GDP. As much as 19 trillion soums, or almost 65.8 percent of the funds allocated to the social sphere and social support of the population, were allocated to financing salary and deductions for salary payments.

Considering the draft budget for 2019, as well as the budget policy goals for 2019-2021, the Uzbek MPs discussed improving the housing and social conditions of the population, the system of social support, achieving sustainable economic growth and the creation of new jobs.

In 2019, 54 percent of the state budget expenditures will be directed to these goals while maintaining the priority of funds for the social sphere and social support of the population. It is planned to allocate 57.8 trillion soums for social expenditures in 2019.

(8,271.27 soums = 1 USD on Nov. 14)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

It is proposed to restructure the National Air Company "Uzbekistan Airways" OJSC in Uzbekistan, Gazeta.uz reported.

The draft presidential decree on measures to promote tourism in Uzbekistan in the period up to 2025 has been published on the portal for discussion of draft legal and regulatory documents.

The measures for development of the national civil aviation system are proposed in the draft decree.

In particular, the authors of the decree propose restructuring the national air company into several competing companies that would allow for dividing duties between the areas of aviation, management of airports and the aviation regulatory body.

Also, the measures will be taken to improve the competitiveness of the national air company, in particular by improving the service, quality and quantity of multimedia services in various languages on board, by organizing the serving of national dishes, by conducting a more flexible pricing policy, by expanding the use of online services for booking and buying of air tickets.

Uzbekistan plans to increase the number of foreign airline companies operating regular flights to and from regions of the country by introducing the "Open Skies" regime on the territory of some international airports of the country with the involvement of low-cost airline companies.

These measures will help increase the competitiveness of the national air company and to increase the flow of foreign tourists, as well as to reduce the tariffs for air transport services, the draft decree reads.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Sara Israfilbekova - Trend:

Azerbaijan can export more agricultural products to China, including cotton, tobacco, grapes, as well as aluminum and chemical products, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev said in an interview with the Chinese newspaper Global Times.

"We have taken a number of measures to increase the mutual trade with China. In particular, at the end 2017, a trade representative of Azerbaijan in China was appointed. In September 2018, we opened a wine house in Urumqi, a trading house in Luzhou, and another wine house in the Shanghai free trade zone. Azerbaijani products are also available at DIG supermarkets and will soon be sold at G-Super supermarkets in Shanghai as well," the minister said, adding that Azerbaijan will continue to open trade and wine houses in China.

Mustafayev also touched on issues of investment cooperation, noting that Chinese companies have invested $800 million in the economy of Azerbaijan and 112 companies with Chinese capital operate in the country.

The minister added that the government of Azerbaijan is also taking measures to improve the business environment in the country.

Thanks to the measures taken, in the Doing Business 2019 report, Azerbaijan improved its position by 32 steps and took the 25th place.

"We hope that Chinese companies will be able to take advantage of favorable conditions in Azerbaijan. In turn, the government is ready to support the investments of Chinese companies," Mustafayev said.

The minister noted that China and Azerbaijan can also cooperate in high technologies. As an example, Mustafayev cited the successful work of two Chinese IT companies, Huawei and ZTE, in Azerbaijan.

Further, the minister noted the successful cooperation in tourism, adding that last year alone, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Azerbaijan increased by 62 percent.

"I think that there is a potential for expanding cooperation in this sector," he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Valiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan intends to organize the visit of 25 export delegations in 2019 through the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), Azerbaijani Deputy Economy Minister Rufat Mammadov said at a briefing in Baku on Nov. 14.

He said that local entrepreneurs are also expected to participate in 10 international exhibitions.

"It is too early to say which countries the export delegations will visit, Mammadov added. While determining the countries, first of all, the export strategy of the country and priority markets are taken into account. These are traditional markets. The markets of China, the Gulf countries and others are interesting and important markets for us. Moreover, along with determining the potential markets for export delegations, we create a list of products as export prospects may differ in different countries."

This year an export delegation has visited Switzerland to which only hazelnuts are exported, he said.

"Azerbaijan, as is known, ranks third in the world in the export of hazelnuts, Mammadov added. We have explored potential markets with the purpose to export this product. On the basis of the analysis, we have chosen Switzerland. Despite we have arranged export of hazelnuts to this country, we are not fully pleased with that. There is even bigger potential in Switzerland. To realize this potential, we organized the visit of an export delegation in connection with this product and we obtained quite good results."

However, export delegations will visit both traditional markets and markets that have great prospects for Azerbaijani products, he said.

In turn, Acting Director of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev added that Azerbaijani entrepreneurs are expected to participate in ten exhibitions in 2019.

"Azerbaijani entrepreneurs are expected to participate in three big exhibitions to be held in Russia, the UAE and Germany in February 2019, he added. The Republic of Korea will become a new market, where we will also take part in the food exhibition to be organized in May 2019."

----

Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev
Details added (first version posted on 14:16)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Valiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan intends to organize the visit of 25 export delegations in 2019 through the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), Azerbaijani Deputy Economy Minister Rufat Mammadov said at a briefing in Baku on Nov. 14.

He said that local entrepreneurs are also expected to participate in 10 international exhibitions.

"It is too early to say which countries the export delegations will visit, Mammadov added. While determining the countries, first of all, the export strategy of the country and priority markets are taken into account. These are traditional markets. The markets of China, the Gulf countries and others are interesting and important markets for us. Moreover, along with determining the potential markets for export delegations, we create a list of products as export prospects may differ in different countries."

This year an export delegation has visited Switzerland to which only hazelnuts are exported, he said.

"Azerbaijan, as is known, ranks third in the world in the export of hazelnuts, Mammadov added. We have explored potential markets with the purpose to export this product. On the basis of the analysis, we have chosen Switzerland. Despite we have arranged export of hazelnuts to this country, we are not fully pleased with that. There is even bigger potential in Switzerland. To realize this potential, we organized the visit of an export delegation in connection with this product and we obtained quite good results."

However, export delegations will visit both traditional markets and markets that have great prospects for Azerbaijani products, he said.

In turn, Acting Director of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev added that Azerbaijani entrepreneurs are expected to participate in ten exhibitions in 2019.

"Azerbaijani entrepreneurs are expected to participate in three big exhibitions to be held in Russia, the UAE and Germany in February 2019, he added. The Republic of Korea will become a new market, where we will also take part in the food exhibition to be organized in May 2019."

----

Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend:

Azerbaijan has started organizing buyers missions, Deputy Economy Minister of Azerbaijan Rufat Mammadov said at a briefing in Baku on Nov. 14.

The deputy minister noted that the rules on the organization of buying missions are reflected in the relevant document approved by the Azerbaijani government and the presence of such a document is important for implementation of this mechanism.

"We are already implementing them and periodically organize import missions through our trade missions in various countries. The trade missions of Azerbaijan determine potential foreign importers, conduct negotiations with them, after which their mission is sent to Azerbaijan. In turn, the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) accepts these missions in Azerbaijan and organizes bilateral meetings with local producers," Mammadov said.

During 2018, as the deputy minister said, a number of import missions were organized from Poland, China, Russia and the UAE.

"That is, even in the absence of mechanisms, we have already begun to organize import missions," Mammadov added.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev
Tehran, Iran, Nov.14

Trend:

An Iranian official has ruled out rumors of ban on cargo export from UAE to Iran due to pressures of US re-imposed sanctions.

"There is no prohibition, restriction or commodity separation between Iran and the UAE, export and import are in progress according to the previous procedures," ILNA reported quoting Director General of the Port Division of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, Ravanbakhsh Behzadian as saying.

"The rumors have not been confirmed on the official Iranian customs website, and the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Customs Administration did not confirm it," he said.

According to the official, the trade between Iran and the UAE is currently is in place.

"It's possible that someone has issued this news and maybe it was about specific problem concerning the vessel of a cargo owners that led to ban of their cargo from Emirates to Iran," said Behzadian.

"Currently there is no problem or ban on import of cargos from Emirates ports to Iran, while Iran export to the UAE continues without limitations," he said.

The UAE imported about 126,000 bpd of Iranian condensate through the first nine months of 2018, up from 102,000 bpd in 2017, according to cFlow data.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend:

Azerbaijan is taking the necessary steps to increase freight traffic along the Middle Corridor of the East-West route, the Azerbaijani Deputy Economy Minister Rufat Mammadov said at a briefing in Baku Nov. 14.

Mammadov said this issue was one of the key topics discussed with the railway administration of China, during the visit of the Azerbaijani delegation to this country in the current year.

The goods between China and Europe are transported through the "Middle Corridor" and the increase in freight traffic was the key topic of discussion in negotiations with the railway administration of China. China supports our route, and we are in specific negotiations on what steps need to be taken to further increase freight traffic, Mammadov said.

The close coordination on this issue is conducted with Chinese and European partners, as well as with other countries, the deputy minister said.

"Azerbaijan is an active participant and initiator of international transport corridors, in particular an active participant in the East-West international transit and transport corridor. There are three transport corridors, the Northern Corridor, the Southern Corridor and our Middle Corridor. And we will organize various events in order to increase freight traffic between the East and the West along this route," Mammadov said.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

During the working government meeting in Ashgabat, Myratgeldy Meredov, Turkmen deputy prime minister for fuel and energy issues, reported on the progress of construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, being built in accordance with the approved schedule, the Turkmen government said in a message.

Having heard the report, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stated the progressive dynamics of the implementation of the TAPI project.

The deputy prime minister was instructed to further diversify the oil and gas sector, modernize its infrastructure, control the timely implementation of major investment projects, including the creation of new routes for the supply of Turkmen energy carriers to global markets and the construction of modern gas processing facilities, the message said.

The construction of the pipeline began in December 2015.

The possible costs of the TAPI project vary within $7-10 billion.

The consortium, with the participation of the Asian development Bank (ADB), continues active negotiations with all interested parties. Various options of participation in the project, such as participation in the company's share, project financing, financing through international development banks and with the help of export credit agencies from around the world are being examined.

As the leader of TAPI Pipeline company Limited, Turkmengas State Concern, which has a controlling stake, acts as the main financier and project manager.

The consortium also includes the Afghanistan Gas Corporation, Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited and Indian GAIL.

The total length of the pipeline, with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year will be 1,840 kilometers. The fuel will be supplied from the Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan, the second largest in the world.

The length of the Turkmen section will be 205 kilometers.

Then, this energy bridge will pass through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar (816 kilometers), through the cities of Quetta and Multan across Pakistani territory (819 kilometers), and reach the settlement of Fazilka in India.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 13

By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:

Iran's electricity industry has reached the level of self-sufficiency in the construction of power plants, power transmission and distribution equipment after the Islamic Revolution, therefore, the US sanctions have no effect on this industry, executive director of the Iranian company Tavanir, Mohammad Hassan Motevalizadeh, said in an interview with IRNA.

He said that in some areas of the electricity industry, including supply of raw materials, there is certain dependence on other countries. However, with the cooperation of citizens in electricity consumption, these sanctions can be overcome, because Iran provides itself in many areas of the electricity industry, he added.

Despite the decline in output of thermal and hydroelectric power plants last summer, efforts were made to minimize power cuts, he said. Next year, serious measures will be taken in the summer to prevent electricity cuts, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Turkey has acquired a second vessel for oil and gas exploration, the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said.

The test work is currently underway to start the operation of one vessel, said the message from the ministry.

"The second vessel will conduct oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea," the ministry stated.

Earlier it was reported that on October 30, Turkey embarked on oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean sea.

A new seismic survey vessel entitled as Fatih, was set afloat in order to begin oil and gas exploration.

The law permitting oil exploration in forests and national parks came into force in Turkey in April 2014.

The ministry said that a total of 56 wells have been drilled as part of exploration of new oil and gas fields in Turkey since 2014, of which 54 are onshore, and two are offshore.

In 2017, 1863 exploration projects were carried out in Turkey to search for new oil and gas fields.

Turkey also plans to establish a new company for the exploration of oil and gas abroad.

The new company is expected to be engaged in oil and gas exploration in Central Asia and Africa.
Tehran, Iran, Nov.14

Trend:

National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company(NIOPDC) has warned over possible misuse of fuel cards for smuggling gasoline, Tasnim reported quoting the company's statement.

The government seeks to confront the gasoline traffic by creating more strict rules on use of fuel cards that are currently being bought and sold multiple times. Iran's economic downturn has led the card owners to sell their cards to smugglers.

"Considering the capacities of fuel card system there is no possibility that a person can use two cards", the NIOPDC statement added.

The fuel card program was launched to subsidized gasoline quotas to car owners as a means to curb consumption, adjusting prices and cutting down fuel smuggling.

"To issue a replacement card, the owner must file for a lost card first and demand for the replica of the old card to be canceled and then the process of issuing a new card begins", said the statement.

Due to low value of fuel, some file for replacement card to use it alongside the original fuel card to purchase more gasoline and sell it to smugglers.

More than one billion liters (roughly 265,000 gallons) of gasoline have been smuggled out of Iran in the past few months, Reuters quoted Iran's anti-smuggling police chief IRGC Briadier-General Ali Moayyedi saying in October 10.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.14

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Global oil supplies are growing rapidly, as record output from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US more than offsets declines from Iran and Venezuela, the International Energy Agency said in its Oil Market Report.

October output was up 2.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) on a year ago. Non-OPEC output will grow by 2.4 mb/d this year and 1.9 mb/d in 2019, said the report.

Today, the Big Three, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States, all see output at record levels. Total non-OPEC production in August, the latest month for which we have consolidated data, was 3.5 mb/d higher than a year ago, with the United States contributing an extraordinary 3.0 mb/d. Russia's crude output has hit a new record of 11.4 mb/d, with companies suggesting that they could produce even more.

This is while OPEC crude output rose 200 kb/d in October to 32.99 mb/d, up 240,000 b/d on a year ago, according to IEA estimates.

Losses of 0.4 mb/d from Iran and 0.6 mb/d from Venezuela were offset by increases from others. The call on OPEC crude falls to 31.3 mb/d in 2019, 1.7 mb/d below current output, said the agency.

IEA believes that although the oil market appears to be more relaxed than it was a few weeks ago, and there might be a sense of "mission accomplished" that producers have met the challenge of replacing lost barrels, such is the volatility of events that rising stocks should be welcomed as a form of insurance, rather than a threat.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Malaysias national oil and gas company Petronas doesnt rule out possibility of re-entering Uzbekistan and is in constant search for new opportunities, the company representative told Trend on Oct. 2.

In mid-September 2018 the Malaysian national information agency Berita Nasional Malaysia (BERNAMA) published an article about bilateral relations with Uzbekistan. Author of the article underlined that the relations can be expanded through increased trade, economic and investment cooperation, including through resumption of the presence of Petronas in the oil and gas sector of Uzbekistan.

According to the article, based on the current political and economic spheres in both countries, it was imperative that Petronas re-established its footprint in Uzbekistan after significant reforms were adopted by the two-year-old government of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The company representative said that Petronas is always open for new partnerships. He, however, didnt comment on whether Petronas is currently holding any negotiations with Uzbekistans oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz.

"Petronas regularly reviews its business portfolio group-wide and is always open to partnerships that can bring value and more opportunities that fit our business requirements," the rep said.

The Malaysian company previously participated in implementation of a number of projects in the oil and gas sector of Uzbekistan. In 2008, Petronas and Uzbekneftegaz signed an agreement on the Surkhan investment block in the Surkhandarya region.

In 2010, the government of Uzbekistan and Petronas signed a production sharing agreement (PSA) to develop oil and gas fields of the Boysun investment block for a period of 35 years.

However, as early as May 2011, Petronas withdrew from the international consortium for exploration and development in the Uzbek part of the Aral Sea in the framework of the PSA, and in June 2011 reduced its share from 33.3 percent to 11 percent in the construction of a plant for production of synthetic fuel in the south of Uzbekistan.

In April 2013, Petronas ceased exploration work on the investment block in the Surkhandarya region in the south of Uzbekistan due to optimization of business in the republic. In May 2014 the company withdrew from two PSAs in Uzbekistan - Baysun investment block and Ustyurt.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend:

Azerbaijan is making great efforts to digitally transform the economy in order to remain a competitive and prosperous state, Dmitry Berestnev, the director for cybersecurity, licensing compliance and management of software assets of Microsoft CIS company told Trend.

He noted that Microsoft company is working closely with Azerbaijans government agencies in specific areas, for example, on the issue of modernization of healthcare, introduction of best practices for knowledge management in education system, etc.

"The Microsoft company has extensive experience of joint activity with businesses and governments in the area of support for and creation of the most efficient conditions for digital transformation, the development of the IT market and the corresponding services in the field of "electronic government". Obviously, our cooperation in this area is mutually beneficial. Azerbaijan holds one of the leading positions in the CIS and Eastern Europe in terms of quantity, quality and depth of such decisions," Berestnev said.

As for cyber security issues, he said, not only the issue of protection of the new and ICT-rich industry from possible threats, but also the issue of its correct and safe development arises in this area.

"Therefore, the fight against cyber attacks has become a priority task for us, and there are a lot of such attacks are being committed currently. Several recent cyber incidents in Azerbaijan have caused serious damage. First of all, this was due to the fact that the country still has a high level of piracy. The most common pirated build of Windows OS contains 63 different keyloggers, trojans and backdoors. Therefore, on one hand, we continue to work to reduce the level of piracy, and at the same time a specific agenda arises for business sector and the government regarding the artificial intelligence, big data, etc.," Berestnev said.

An important component, he said, is the provision of the security of personal data, and in this regard, Microsoft offers advanced solutions which allow for providing the competent authorities with 100% secure control over all data used in the country.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

On Nov. 24, the Google Developers Groups (GDG) Developer Fest will be held for the first time in Uzbekistan, the press service of the Ministry of Public Education announced.

According to the information, GDG Tashkent Group, Inha University in Tashkent (IUT) and the Youth Union of Uzbekistan will hold the GDG-Tashkent  DevFest with the support of Google, the Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan and the UNDP Office in Uzbekistan.

DevFest is a global event held worldwide by the GDG communities with the support of Google. As part of these events, the latest Google technologies and developments are presented and discussed with the participation of developers, IT specialists, students of IT specialties and people who are not indifferent to modern technologies.

Google expert Eli Kaplan is expected to arrive in Uzbekistan to participate in the GDG-Tashkent  DevFest.

The participants of the GDG-Tashkent  DevFest, including local and foreign specialists, will discuss the latest trends in the field of information technology during the day.

In particular, participants will consider the use of the blockchain, the creation of mobile applications, the use of VR/AR technologies in business, etc.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

Trend:

Uzbekistan plans to bring the number of foreign tourists visiting the country to 9.09 million by 2026, UzDaily.uz reported.

A draft presidential decree on measures to promote tourism in Uzbekistan in the period up to 2025 has been published on the portal of discussion of draft legal and regulatory documents.

Uzbekistan plans to increase the number of foreign tourists visiting the country from 2.69 million in 2017 to 9.09 million in 2025, the document reads.

According to forecasts of the Government of Uzbekistan, 4.8 million foreign tourists will visit the country in 2018, and 5.89 million foreigners - in 2019.

The number of domestic tourists is expected to grow from 10.56 million in 2017 to 18.95 million in 2025. This figure should reach 14 million in 2018, and 14.7 million  in the next year.

The number of hotels and similar accommodation facilities is projected to increase from 816 units in 2017 to more than 1,600 units in 2025, and the number of beds in the accommodation facilities - from 39,800 to 84,400.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

In September 2018, 3,735,801 of 5,425,845 tourists who visited Turkey arrived in the country via air transport, which accounted for 77.95 percent of the total number of tourists arriving in the country, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend on Nov. 14.

"In September 2018, 144,224 tourists arrived in Turkey by sea, which is 3.01 percent of their total number," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the remaining 1,545,820 tourists arrived in Turkey by road and rail transport.

In September 2018, 1,894,451 tourists arrived in Antalya by air. In Istanbul this figure stood at 1,232,278.

According to the ministry, during the first nine months of 2018, 10,621,151 tourists arrived in Antalya by air transport, and while 10,082,808 arrived in Istanbul.

The ministry noted that 5,425,845 tourists visited Turkey in September 2018, which is 15.64 percent more than in the same period of 2017.

Some 589,754 tourists from Germany, 317,748 - from the UK, 308,066 - from Bulgaria and 195,850 tourists from Georgia visited Turkey in September 2018.

During the above-mentioned period, 1,899,103 tourists, accounting for 39.62 percent of the total number of tourists, visited the Turkish province of Antalya.

In September 2018, 1,235,301 tourists, accounting for 25.77 percent of the total number of tourists, visited Istanbul.

As of January-September 2018, 31,815,952 tourists visited Turkey, which is 22.08 percent more than in January-September 2017.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
A military delegation led by Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic, Major General Rayimberdi Duishenbiev, paid an official 3-day visit to Turkey on November 12, 2018, kabar.kg reports referring to the press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic.

As reported, the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic met on Tuesday with Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Turkey, Army General Yasar Guler.

During the meeting, the sides discussed issues of the military cooperation between the defense ministries of Kyrgyzstan and Turkey and outlined future prospects. The meeting participants noted the high level of mutual understanding and support between the two countries, as evidenced by reciprocal visits at the level of top political and military leadership in 2018.

During the visit, Duishenbiev also intends to meet with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, visit the Department of Defense Industry, the command of special forces, the Army School, as well as the National Defense University of Turkey, etc.

The bilateral military cooperation between the armed forces of Kyrgyzstan and Turkey is developing in such areas as military-technical cooperation, military education, combat training, conducting joint exercises and trainings.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has officially launched a new five-year project, the Agribusiness Competitiveness Activity in Tajikistan, in Bokhtar City, news.tj reports.

According to the U.S Embassy in Dushanbe, Charge dAffaires of the U.S. Embassy Kevin Covert and Deputy Governor of Khatlon Province Rajabali Rajabov welcomed more than 170 participants at the ceremony, including representatives from the Khatlon government, the private sector, and local entrepreneurs and traders.

The project, funded by USAID, will work to enhance the competitiveness of Tajikistans agricultural sector, especially in dairy and horticulture, to stimulate economic growth, increase employment and improve livelihoods for farmers. By providing a wide range of support in these sectors, USAID will partner with farmers and entrepreneurs to improve efficiency by introducing better technologies, management practices, and market linkages in order to help Tajik agribusinesses compete in both domestic and international markets.

The project will have a geographic focus in twelve districts in southwestern Khatlon (Khuroson, Abdurahmoni Jomi, Yovon, Kushoniyon, Vakhsh, Levakand, Jaloliddini Balkhi, Jayhoun, Dousti, Qubodiyon, Shahritous, Nosiri Khisrav) where USAIDs food security efforts have been focused since 2012 through Feed the Future, Americas global poverty initiative that seeks to improve agriculture and nutrition around the world.

The Agribusiness Competitiveness Activity in Tajikistan will build on many of the successes of Feed the Futures integrated program, helping Tajik farmers and producers take their business activities to the next level.
A group of journalists arrived in the Roghun hydropower plant site on November 14 in order to see firsthand how the first facility of the Roghun power plant is being prepared for introducing into operation, news.tj reports.

An official launch of the first unit of the Roghun HPP into operation is set for November 16 and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon will unveil the first facility of the plant.

Officials from foreign countries, including nations participating in the CASA !000 Project, and senior representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations active in Tajikistan have been invited to attend the event.

Saidsho Okhounov, Leading Engineer at the Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) NBO Roghun, says the current volume of water in the reservoir powering the Roghun HPP is 214 million cubic meters that is enough for introducing the first unit of the plant into operation.

Since 2008, some 12 billion somoni have been spent for construction of the Roghun HPP, Okhounov said.

According to him, the current height of the Roghun dam is more than 75 meters that allows ensuring regular operation of the unit. The final height of the rockfill dam is expected to be 335 meters.

Besides Italian Salini Impregilo, which is constructing the plants dam, more than 70 sub-contractor companies from Iran, Russia, China, Germany and other counties are working at the Roghun site, Okhounov added.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

The Chairman of the Parliament of Turkmenistan Gulshat Mammadova received credentials from the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Tunisia Mohamed Ali Chihi, the state news agency Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary reported.

The Tunisian diplomat expressed willingness to contribute fully to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Information about the main directions of Turkmenistan's state policy was presented during the meeting.

Mohammed Ali Chihi was acquainted with projects implemented in Turkmenistan in various sectors of economy and social fields, as well as with the structure and activities of the Turkmen Parliament, the report said.

The diplomat was also received at the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan. The sides expressed satisfaction with the positive dynamics of political and diplomatic relations, as well as cooperation within various international organizations, the Turkmen foreign ministry said.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 14

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The 17th ministerial meeting of the CAREC (Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation) program will begin work in Ashgabat tomorrow, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The conference is expected to be attended by ministers of investment and economy of the CAREC countries, heads of a number of international organizations, such as ADB, ECO, EBRD, IMF, IDB, SCO, UNDP, ESCAP, USAID, World Bank, WTO.

It is planned to review the strategic action plan for 2018-2030 of the CAREC program. The discussion of work to be implemented in the framework of cooperation in the areas of investment, economy and banking will take place during the meeting.

The Integrated Trade Program will be examined at the meeting, which will allow the countries of the region to expand their presence in the world markets.

The CAREC program initiated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) includes 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Since 2001, in the framework of CAREC, more than $31.5 billion of investment has been mobilized in order to develop a multimodal transport route in the region, to address the issues of energy trade, security, etc.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

The Iranian Guardian Councils remarks about the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) bill will be considered in the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ardeshir Nourian, a member of the Commission, said in an interview with IRNA.

He said the Guardian Council considered the Parliament's decisions, including four FATF bills, whether they are in conformity with Sharia law and the Constitution, and voiced its remarks regarding 23 provisions.

Nourian said the Guardian Councils remarks will be considered on Nov. 18 at an extraordinary session.
Baku, Azerbaijan, November 14

By Azer Ahmadbayli  Trend:

By rejecting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) bill, Iran runs the risk of losing the fragile support that the international community is still lending to it.

Iran's Parliament has endorsed the FATF bill on combating the financing of terrorism (CFT); however the bill failed to pass the Guardian Council  a supervisory body overseeing the Iranian Parliament.

The bill, passed by the Parliament on October 7, is one of four put forward by the government of President Hassan Rouhani in order to meet demands set by FATF.

Even Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is used to deal with diplomatic language, could not keep his regret about the rejection of the CFT bill, and criticized the current negative attitude in some circles of the Iranian society against the approval of the documents, saying that there are groups in the country that profit from money laundering.

Pointing to the confidential facts in this case, he admitted: "Even if I have any proof of it, I will not be able to make it public, but there are many cases that show the volume of money laundering in the country."

"I don't want to point finger at someone, but there are some places where thousands of billions of rials is laundered, Zarif said. I do not accuse any organization. I think of individuals who benefit from this negative atmosphere."

Iranian hardliners believe, sincerely or not, that accepting FATF demands is a threat to the national sovereignty and may lead to losing it.

Kazem Sedighi, one of the well-known clerics, has praised Guardian Council for rejection of the 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 (the so-called capitulation law - diplomatic immunity from the local jurisdiction, granted by the Shah to American military personnel in Iran in 1964), 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.

The bill should finally be sent to Expediency Discernment Council to decide its fate. The Council is an advisory body in Irans political structure acting as an arbiter, in which the Conservatives make absolute majority.

Meanwhile, 40 conservative MPs have sent a letter to the Expediency Council, urging it to reject a package of bills making Iran a party to international agreements on combating terrorism financing and money laundering, Radiofarda reported.

I think the opinion of the Expediency Discernment Council, according to the position of Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani has already been announced, MP Jalal Mirzaie said. It is clear that this dispute is not supposed to be resolved.

In the meantime negative effects were just around the corner.

Due to the rejection of the CFT bill, the UAE banks have blocked more than 1,500 Iranian bank accounts, and their condition to re-open the accounts is joining FATF, the head of Iran - UAE Chamber of commerce Masoud Daneshmand said in an interview with Trend.

The Emirates bankers said that any financial transfer must be transparent and within the framework of FATF, and since Iran is not a member of it, they cannot have any bank account in the UAE, he added.

The CFT bill has passed in the Parliament by low votes and had many opponents who supposed to be following the benefits of specific groups that seek lack of transparency of financial transactions, weakening government and capital accumulation by creating fluctuations in the market, Iranian economist Mahmoud Jamsaz told ILNA.

"Some of these groups have benefited greatly from the previous sanctions," he added.

"Although the Europeans are looking for resolutions like Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to facilitate the banking transactions, their decision will be weakened by such Irans approaches and lead the US to claim that Iran lacks financial transparency. This will hurt the small and medium European companies so they might refuse to invest in Iran," the expert said.

Referring to the remained time of passing the FATF bills (February is a deadline), Jamsaz says that if the FATF bills will not go through in the upcoming 4 months, even Europe, Russia and China won't support Iran, since they are also following their own interests and will not get into a trade war with the US because of the Islamic Republic.

Another economic expert, Kamran Nadri, also believes that if the FATF requirements and recommendations are not met by Tehran, the financial relations of such friendly countries as Russia and China with Iran will become very complicated, according to Khabarfarsi.

Even the neighboring countries wont cooperate with Iran if it doesnt have financial transparency, Member of the Iranian Parliaments Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee Jalal Mahmoudzadeh said in an interview with ILNA last week.

Without financial transparency, European banks wont cooperate with us, he said. FATF projects should be approved if we want to carry out banking operations with other countries.

Today, Iran is not in a position to ignore the support from major world powers such as the EU, Russia or China, and risks being targeted by them. Perhaps, the issue can go even further and the EU, as well as others may at some point decide to entirely join the US sanctions.

So after all, there is a question: which one is a real threat to the national sovereignty  enactment of CFT bill or inability of the Iranian foreign minister to make the ugly facts public?
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Samir Ali  Trend:

The European Parliament Member Eleni Theocharous has exchanged European values for extremism and separatism, head of SES Media Holding, political expert Bahruz Guliyev told Trend Nov. 14.

He said the Azerbaijani public knows Theocharous very well.

"The member of the European Parliament from Cyprus, known to many people for her unlawful visit to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, for being included to Azerbaijan's list of undesirable persons and for a criminal case against her under the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, has made a hype again," the expert noted.

"This time, Theocharous, because of her speech full of extremism and hatred, and threatening the Albanian constitution, security and order in that country, was declared an undesirable person by the joint decision of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Albania, he said.

The extremist, nationalist speech of the MEP containing territorial claims against the southern lands of Albania was regarded by Albania as an attempt to violate its territorial integrity and constitution, and a decision was made - of course, this decision of Albania is not surprising, Guliyev said.

Guliyev added that Theocharous can get the status of the first member of the European Parliament placed on an international wanted list based on appeals from a number of countries.

It is also worth adding that Eleni Theocharous has close ties with Kaspar Karampetyan, who is involved in diamond trading. It is clear that Theocharous has exchanged the European values for extremism and separatism, and the philosophy of her political activities is to spread extremism on the European continent," the expert added.
The largest Indian low cost airline Indigo plans to launch flights between India and Georgia starting from February 2019, announces TAV Georgia, the sole operator of Tbilisi and Batumi International Airports, agenda.ge reports.

Daily flights on the route Delhi-Tbilisi will be performed by Airbus 321 type aircraft.

"A second meeting was held at Tbilisi International Airport with TAV Georgia today. Operational details regarding the flights were discussed. The largest airline of India first showed its interest in the Georgian aviation market back in the summer of 2018. The meetings with the Georgian side in August were organised by TAV Holding", read the press release published by TAV Georgia.

As of today Indigo operates flights to 59 destinations  48 domestic and 11 international.
About 100,000 visitors in China are able to taste and enjoy Georgian wine at leading international trade fair for wines and spirits ProWine Shanghai in China's biggest city, agenda.ge reports.

30 Georgian wine companies have been participating in the trade fair, which is taking place between November 13-15 in Shanghai.

With the support of the Georgian National Wine Agency, Georgian companies are participating for the third year in a row at ProWine China.

Besides Georgia, about 700 wine companies from about 40 countries are also showcasing their products at the fair.

China remains one of the largest importers of Georgian wine.

In the first 10 months of 2018, over five million bottles of Georgian wine were exported to China, says the Georgian National Wine Agency.

With these numbers, China takes third place as the largest importer of Georgian wine.
Member of the European Parliament Clare Moody has stated that Georgia is a star of the region for its commitment to European values, agenda.ge reports.

Moody made the statement yesterday at the European Parliaments plenary session, during the discussion and debates of the report drafted by MEP Andrejs Mamikins regarding the implementation process of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

It is really a very important report which shows what has been done by Georgia since signing the Association Agreement with the EU. We welcome the achieved success and the reforms Georgia has carried out. The report speaks about the Georgian territorial issue. We should continue to firmly support Georgias territorial integrity, Moody said.

Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy, stated that the report shows the progress Georgia has made concerning the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area deals.

Georgia and the EU relations are close. The EU is the top trade partner for Georgia. The scheduled meeting on 21 November in Brussels between EU commissioners and members of the Georgian government also indicates about the close ties. The meeting will be an opportunity to discuss future cooperation between Georgia and the EU, Hahn said.

He stated that the Georgian government should take further steps in the reforms regarding the law enforcement and judicial fields. Hahn also stated that the protection of human rights and different types of discrimination still remain challenges for Georgia.

We will continue our non-recognition policy to the occupied territories of Georgia and their involvement in sectoral programs, Hahn added.

MEP Heidi Hautala stated that Georgia ranks higher in certain international rankings than many of the EU member states.

She stated that as reported by the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2017, Georgia ranks 46th, while Romania ranks 59th.

MEP Victor Bostinaru praised Georgian reforms and stated that the 28 October presidential elections in the country emphasized the advances Georgia has made towards democracy. He also said that Former Russian ambassador and the presidential candidate of the United National Movement [Grigol Vashadze] will not be an acceptable figure in the role.

MEP Ana Gomes also mentioned the democratic and fair elections held in Georgia and stated that it is unacceptable when a female presidential candidate [referring to the ruling party supported presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili] is being attacked and verbally abused by her opponents.

The author of the report, Mamikins, stated that despite the fact that Georgias EU membership is not on the agenda, Georgia reveals huge efforts to this direction and it needs to share our knowledge for energy, environment protection and others.

Mamikins particularly underscored Georgian reforms for democracy and justice.

Head of the Georgian Parliaments European Integration Committee Tamar Khulordava stated that Georgia has been praised many times for its democratic progress at the EP plenary session.

A major message is that the European Parliament gives positive assessments to the Georgia-EU relations. Georgia- EU relations have never been at such [a] high, she said.

Vice Parliament Speaker Tamar Chugoshvili said that Mamikins report is very balanced and that MEPs statements towards Georgia were definitely positive.

Debates were held both about Georgia and Moldova and the contrast was very obvious-Georgia has received positive assessments and Moldova-negative. It was very important that EU commissioner Hahn spoke about [the] increase of the EU role for creating jobs in Georgia, Chugoshvili said.

MEPs discussed the state of play of the EUs Association Agreements with Moldova and Georgia yesterday, and will be followed by voting on resolutions today.

MEPs welcomed Georgias efforts in sustaining the reform track, which makes the country a key EU partner in the region, EP official webpage reads.
When passengers for Air France flight AF116 boarded their aircraft in Paris last Saturday night, they expected to land in Shanghai on Sunday evening after an 11-hour journey, CNN reports.

Instead, for three days, more than 200 passengers became stuck in a remote town in Siberia, where overnight temperatures plunged to nearly -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit).

The original Boeing 777-300ER plane was diverted to Irkutsk on Sunday after experiencing "a technical problem", Air France said in a statement.The plane landed safely after reporting smoke in the cabin and none of the 280 people on board were hurt, Russian news agency Sputnik cited a local airport official as saying.

After realizing repairs couldn't be done quickly enough on the ground, the airline sent a second B777 from Paris to the Russian city to pick up the stranded passengers.

But that plane broke down as well upon arriving at the Irkutsk airport, according to the statement, forcing the French flag carrier to send a third B777 to Siberia.

Posting on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform in China, one Chinese passenger complained about the chaos after the unscheduled landing -- including two lengthy waits for hotel rooms, while lacking access to both their luggage and passports, which were withheld by local officials.

"I'd like to ask Air France: Don't you perform regular maintenance on your aircraft? Why are they experiencing such a high rate of mechanical problems?" wrote the passenger.

"Can you just waste your customers' time and energy like that?"

The first two aircraft had been in service for more than 14 years, and the third one joined the Air France fleet nearly a decade ago.

The twin-engine, widebody B777s are the workhorses of many airlines around the world. The three Air France B777-300ERs involved seat up to 318 passengers.

The third and final aircraft finally made it to Shanghai on Wednesday afternoon with the unlucky fliers on board.Air France expressed regret over the "exceptional situation" and apologized to the passengers in its statement, stressing safety was its top priority.

It added that its team in Russia worked with local authorities to accommodate the affected customers, who would be contacted for "suitable" compensation.
The former Prime Minister of Macedonia Nikola Gruevski requested asylum in Hungary, according to official sources here on Wednesday, Xinhua reports.

"Nikola Gruevski has submitted an asylum request to the competent Hungarian authority. The former prime minister of Macedonia has made a declaration of his intention to submit a request for refugee status in Hungary," according to a statement published by the Prime Minister's Office.

"Given that he was prime minister of his country for ten years, for security reasons the Hungarian authorities have allowed Mr. Gruevski to have his asylum request submitted and heard at the headquarters of the Immigration and Asylum Office in Budapest," the statement added.

"The Immigration and Asylum Office will conduct the asylum assessment procedure in accordance with both Hungarian and international law," the statement specified.

The statement recalled that Macedonia was a strategic partner and an important ally of Hungary.

The statement underlined: "Good cooperation between the two countries is an important cornerstone for the development of the Balkans region and the security of Europe. The Macedonian government of the day is a partner of Hungary in interstate relations, and therefore we in no way wish to intervene in the internal affairs of sovereign countries, and we consider the assessment of the former Macedonian prime minister's asylum request to be solely a legal issue."

"In accordance with Hungarian law, the Hungarian authorities shall not provide further information relating to the details of the asylum procedure prior to completion of that procedure," the statement concluded.

On Tuesday, the Macedonian Ministry of Interior confirmed that Nikola Gruevski has fled to Hungary.

In a post on Facebook, Gruevski wrote that in the last few days he received numerous threats.

"I am in Budapest now and I have asked for a political asylum from the Hungarian authorities. I will remain loyal to Macedonia' cause. I will never give up," wrote Gruevski.
Hamas begged for a ceasefire, and they know very well why, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday morning, in his first public statements since the government agreed to a ceasefire in the south that went into effect Tuesday evening, The Jerusalem Post reports.



Speaking at Sde Boker at the annual memorial for David and Paula Ben-Gurion, Netanyahu said that he cannot detail Israel's plans for the future regarding the situation in Gaza. But, he said, we will set the conditions and the right time for Israel, and for the security of our residents.

Netanyahu, who has come under criticism from his right and from some residents of the south who wanted to see a much more aggressive Israeli response to the Hamas terror from Gaza, drew parallels with Ben-Gurion.



In times of trial, Ben-Gurion made fateful decisions. Sometimes he did so contrary to popular opinion, but over time, these decisions turned out to be correct, he said.



In routine times, a leader has to be attentive to the feelings of the people, and we are a wise nation. But in times of crisis, at a time of fateful decisions regarding security, the public at times cannot be a partner to decisive considerations that must be hidden from the enemy.



At these times leadership is not doing the easy thing, but the right thing, even if it is hard, he said. Leadership is standing up to criticism when you know things that are secret and sensitive, and which you cannot share with the citizens of Israel and in this case the residents of the south, whom I love and greatly appreciate.



Turning to the residents of the south, some of whom took to the streets in protest Tuesday evening when the ceasefire went into effect, Netanyahu said that he hears them. Your words penetrate my heart, but together with the heads of the security branches, I see the wider picture, and I cannot share that with the public.
The head of the Yisrael Beitenu party has accused Netanyahu of surrendering to terrorists and called for new elections, en.globes.co.il reports.

Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has resigned over his opposition to the ceasefire with Hamas and called for new Knesset elections as soon as possible.

Liberman, head of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of surrendering to terror. He said, "500 rockets were fired on Israel's south and the response was not sufficient and not appropriate."

Earlier today, when rumors began circulating about Liberman's imminent resignation, Minister of Education and leader of the Jewish Home party Naftali Bennett said that if Liberman goes then he would demand the defense ministry portfolio. However, a spokesman for Netanyahu said that the defense ministry would remain in the hands of the prime minister.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Nobody will destroy what Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has built, head of the Israel-Azerbaijan International Association AzIz Lev Spivak told Trend on Nov. 14.

He was commenting on the resignation of the Israeli defense minister because of disagreement with the decision on a ceasefire regime in the Gaza Strip.

Spivak said that Liebermans resignation in the current situation was absolutely expected.

Just imagine that 400 rockets suddenly fall on you in two days from the neighboring country to which you have recently donated $15 million in cash, and in response you received such a gift, he said.

As far as I know Liebermans position as a politician, as a person, and, not to mention his position as minister of defense, he had no other options than resignation after the authorities announced the truce with the Palestinian militants, Spivak said.

He added that it would be difficult to replace Lieberman because not every politician, and even a professional military man, would agree to take the post of defense minister in the current circumstances.

Spivak stressed that no matter who will be appointed Israeli defense minister, Liebermans resignation will not lead to changes in military-technical cooperation with Azerbaijan or the rejection of any contracts.

"Everyone understands the importance of this cooperation, he said. Over the past years, Lieberman managed to bring the importance of ties with Azerbaijan to almost all Knesset members attention. Nobody will destroy what Lieberman has built because everyone understands that this is good and right."

The armistice agreement between Israel and Palestine was concluded on Nov. 13 after severe aggravation of the conflict since 2014.

In response, Lieberman announced about his resignation and called the truce and the beginning of negotiations with HAMAS capitulation to terror, he added.

"Lieberman added that now, as a country, we are buying short-term rest, and long-term harm to national security will be the payment for this," Spivak said.

In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he agreed to HAMAS proposal for ceasefire as it is necessary to make "difficult but correct decisions".

Netanyahu said that "the enemies begged for ceasefire," BBC Russian Service reported.

On Nov. 12-13, the Palestinians fired 460 missiles at Israel, the Israeli military attacked and hit 160 targets in the Gaza Strip. As a result of mutual shelling, eight people were killed.

----

Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Wednesday there was no change to the view that the countrys economy was recovering moderately, despite data released earlier showing a contraction in July-September gross domestic product (GDP), according to Reuters.

Japans economy is expected to recover driven mainly by domestic demand, Motegi said in a statement issued after the data release.

But we need to be vigilant to the impact of overseas uncertainties, financial market volatility and how trade problems affect the global economy, he said.
The Kremlin keeps a close watch on the situation with the oil market prices, but for now refrains from any assessment, Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday, TASS reports.

"We are closely observing how the situation is developing on the energy markets" said Peskov, while commenting on the position of the US President Donald Trump, who called on Saudi Arabia and OPEC not to restrict oil production. "There is a certain volatility present, but the market is what it is. No other comments are possible right now."

On November 12, US President Donald Trump expressed the hope that Saudi Arabia, as well as other OPEC will not cut oil production. In his opinion, oil prices should be much lower, based on supply.

However, Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said at the ADIPEC conference on November 12 that it is reasonable for OPEC+ agreement participants to cut daily production of oil by 1 mln barrels from the last-month level.

"If all things remain equal, and they almost certainly will not, technical analysis from OPEC and JTC [Joint Technical Committee - TASS] tells us there will need to be a reduction in supply from October levels close to 1 million barrels per day. Were going to be flexible, there is a consensus we need to do whatever it takes to balance market," the minister said.

Saudi Arabia expects that OPEC+ countries will reach a consensus on action in 2019 at the meeting in December, Al-Falih said. A certain decision will be made definitely, he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on November 19 to discuss the development of bilateral relations and topical regional and international issues, the Kremlin press office reported on Wednesday, TASS reports.

"Putin and Erdogan will hold a meeting to discuss the issues of further development of the Russian-Turkish relations and topical regional and international problems," the press office said in a statement.

On this day, the Russian and Turkish leaders will also take part in the ceremony of completing the construction of the offshore section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline via a video conference.
Turkey sent extradition requests and files on hundreds of people linked to the Gulenist Terror Group (FETO) to 83 countries, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, Daily Sabah reported

"Within the scope of the investigations into the ringleaders of FETO's foreign structures, extradition files related to 452 people were prepared. These were sent to 83 countries where (the suspects) were found," Cavusoglu told a parliamentary committee Wednesday.

According to the minister, Germany was one of the countries that are far from meeting Turkey's demands regarding alleged FETO members.

In September, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Berlin to extradite hundreds of FETO terrorists residing in Germany, while Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany needed more evidence if it was to class the movement as a terrorist organization, as Ankara is demanding.

Speaking about Turkish-U.S. ties, Cavusoglu said Turkey was making efforts to get the U.S. Congress to drop bills targeting Ankara.

The U.S. Senate has demanded a block on sales of F-35 jets to Turkey unless U.S. President Donald Trump certifies that Turkey is not threatening NATO, purchasing defence equipment from Russia or detaining U.S. citizens.

Cavusoglu also said in the text of his speech, which he is delivering to a parliamentary commission on Wednesday, that Turkey is working to keep economic ties with the U.S. from being impacted by political issues.

FETO, a criminal enterprise founded by fugitive Fetullah Gulen, has been directly implicated in the December 2013 judicial coup attempt and the July 15, 2016, military coup attempt against the democratically elected government of Turkey.

With its media and business arms, the terrorist group created significant public clout, which was augmented by infiltration in state institutions, principally the judiciary, police and military. Many of its most senior members fled abroad on the eve or soon after the coup attempt in 2016.

Over the years, FETO transformed into a behemoth, with finance, business, education and media arms spread across the globe. It has charter schools in the U.S., mainly used to collect and siphon federal funds for various FETO projects, while its schools in the rest of the world are usually used for recruiting.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

As many as 123,870 Turkish citizens were provided with workplaces in Turkey in October 2018, which is 9.2 percent more than in the same period last year, the Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR) told Trend on Nov. 14.

Out of the total number of the employed, 35 percent are women and 65 percent are men, according to ISKUR.

"Among the jobs provided in October 2018, 99.2 percent accounted for the private sector," ISKUR said.

"A total of 3.215 million people were registered as unemployed in Turkey in October 2018," ISKUR said, adding that 52 percent of them are women and 48 percent are men.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
KYODO NEWS - Nov 14, 2018 - 08:43 | All, World

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left Wednesday for a tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania to attend annual regional summits and hold bilateral talks with world leaders on the sidelines.

During his five-day trip, Abe plans to discuss regional challenges including the denuclearization of North Korea and the importance of free trade amid the rise of protectionism under U.S. President Donald Trump.

Abe is scheduled to take part in a meeting in Singapore later Wednesday involving the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with this year marking the 45th anniversary of Japan-ASEAN friendship and cooperation.

The Japanese prime minister is then expected to join the summit of the leaders of the 16 member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The trade deal is aimed at creating one of the world's largest free trade blocs, although the Asia-Pacific member nations are unlikely to achieve their target of a substantive deal by the end of the year.

Abe may hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the meetings. A long-standing territorial row over a group of islands off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido is expected to be high on the agenda if the meeting takes place.

"I am determined to make progress in our negotiations, aiming to address the issue of signing a peace treaty (with Russia) by working with President Putin," Abe told reporters before departure.

The group of islets is called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia. The Soviet Union occupied them at the end of World War II and the territorial row has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a postwar peace treaty.

On Thursday, Abe is expected to take part in a summit with the leaders of the ASEAN countries and China and South Korea, as well as the East Asia Summit that brings together the 10 ASEAN members with other regional powers such as Russia and the United States.

The Japanese leader is also expected to meet separately with Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Moving to Darwin, Australia, on Friday, Abe is likely to hold his first summit with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who took office in August.

He plans to visit a war memorial site in the northern Australian city that was bombed by the Japanese military during World War II.

On Saturday, Abe will fly to Papua New Guinea to attend the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit that will bring together 21 member economies, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence expected to take part.
KYODO NEWS - Nov 14, 2018 - 22:45 | Urgent, All, Japan

A Japanese high court on Wednesday overturned a lower court decision and acquitted a tattooist for operating without a medical license, ruling the process is not a medical practice.

"The tattooing procedure is not relevant to medicine and it does not constitute a medical act controlled under the medical practitioners' law," said the Osaka High Court's Presiding Judge Masaki Nishida when ruling on tattoo artist Taiki Masuda's case.

(Taiki Masuda at a press conference in Osaka on Nov. 14, 2018)

In September last year, the Osaka District Court ruled Masuda had performed an unlicensed medical practice when he tattooed the arms and other body parts of three women between July 2014 and March 2015 at his home and studio in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. Masuda was ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 yen ($1,300).

The district court reasoned "the treatment could possibly cause a skin lesion or allergy," and tattooists need medical knowledge and expertise to understand the risks and properly judge and deal with situations.

The case went to trial after Masuda refused to pay an initial fine of 300,000 yen under a simplified criminal proceeding called a summary indictment in August 2015.
The identity of the office-bearer has not been disclosed as his identification parade has to be conducted as part of the investigation.
Chhath festival is being celebrated with religious enthusiasm and gaiety in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh. Standing in knee-deep water at different ghats of rivers, ponds and water reservoirs, devotees with all respects paid oblations to the setting sun on Tuesday evening.

Worth mention here The Chhath festival is also being celebrated in Nepal. Thousands of devotees thronged at the banks of various rivers, ponds and water reservoirs to celebrate the festival of Sun God.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari also took part in the festival and offered prayer to Sun God in Kathmandu.

For those who dont know Chhath Puja is one of the most major festivals of India. This festival is celebrated in most parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and also in some parts of Nepal. The festival starts in the month of Kartika on its sixth day. The festival lasts for four days and is dedicated to worshipping Lord Sun for seeking his blessing and praying for keeping the family hale, hearty and well-heeled. This auspicious day is observed by offering prayer to Lord Sun and taking dips into the sacred waters of the Ganga. The day celebrates the compassionate act of Lord Sun and his wife for granting this attractive life on the soil.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reached Singapore. He will be participating in the East Asia Summit as well as the India ASEAN Summit.Prime Minister Modi delivered the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival which has an Indian Pavilion. This festival is one of the major events on financial technology.

In addition, Prime Minister will also take part in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Leaders' Meeting. In his departure statement, Prime MInister stated that 'My participation in these meetings symbolizes our continued commitment to strengthening our engagement with ASEAN Member States and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.'

Prime Minister will take part in the India-ASEAN Summit that will be held on the 14th November. He will also hold bilateral talks with Singapore and Thailand.

Establishing peace and stability as well encouraging mutual and inclusive growth in the Indo-Pacific region is high on PM Modi's list of items. He will also take part in the East Asia Summit on the 14th November. The issues which are on the table include Russia, America and Japan are also playing a part in this Summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold bilateral as well as pull aside conference with President Putin, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well other world leaders. He will also be attending the second RCEP Summit Meeting. PM Modi would also be meeting the participants of India Singapore Hackathon. This hackathon was agreed to in June this year during Prime Minister's Singapore visit.
When university education is described as second-rate goods

VietNamNet Bridge - The number of universities in Vietnam has increased rapidly, but the training quality has not, experts say.









The number of university students has increased rapidly









The mushrooming of university training establishments recently is the result of the policy on expanding higher education to increase the proportion of university students in the population.

Duong Van Sau, Tourism Culture Dean of the Hanoi Culture University, said that Vietnam has many training establishments, but the training quality cannot satisfy societys requirements.Too many universities have been launched into the market. Universities exist in every province. However, the training quality is problematic, thus creating rubbish to society, he said.Sau went on to comment that Vietnam has shifted from elite university education to universal large-scale education, which generates second-rate goods or counterfeit goods.Nguyen Ngoc Vu, director of Da Nang University, also commented that Vietnam has too many universities, but most of them are mostly small and single-disciplinary.An analyst said the mushrooming of university training establishments recently is the result of the policy on expanding higher education to increase the proportion of university students in the population.University education was once considered elite because universities were selective when enrolling students, and only the best could enroll at universities.Sau from the Culture University pointed out six problems of Vietnams higher education. First, the system is closed, with lack of connection among education levels and training modes. In addition, the curricula are unreasonable with too much academic and no practical knowledge.Second, there is no close link between training and scientific research and production, which has resulted in the overabundance of bachelors degree graduates and deficiency in skilled workers.Third, the current university education does not pay appropriate attention to personality, morality, lifestyle and working skills.Fourth, the training method being applied at most universities is out of date. Lecturers just give lessons and transfer knowledge, while there is no interaction and exchange of views between lecturers and students.Fifth, there are big problems in the structure and number of teaching staff. Sixth, the policies on investments in higher education are unreasonable.In general, our university education quality is still low compared with the requirements in the renovation period. It is necessary to reform everything, including mindset, Sau commented.Do Van Dung, rector of the HCMC University of Technology Education, commented that though universities have been warned of the big impact from the 4.0 industry revolution, they are very slow to reform and the leaders thoughts do not change to catch up with the times.Dung suggested that there should be a mechanism which allows schools to recognize credits granted by other schools. For example, students of other schools can go to HCMC University of Technology Education to obtain credits to be granted by the school.
Amazon will get up to $2.2 billion in incentives from New York City, Northern Virginia and Nashville

Amazon will receive up to $2.2 billion total in performance-based incentives from the three cities where it plans to build new offices, the company announced Tuesday.

Amazon ended its year-long search for a new headquarters Tuesday, splitting the headquarters between Long Island City in New York and National Landing in Arlington, Virginia.

It also announced a new Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville, Tennessee.

Amazon AMZN is receiving up to $2.2 billion in performance-based incentives from New York City, Northern Virginia and Nashville, according to a release from the company.

Amazon ended its year-long search for its "second headquarters" with an announcement Tuesday morning.

Amazon says it's investing $5 billion and will create more than 50,000 new high-paying jobs in two new main offices in Long Island City, a neighborhood in Queens, New York; and National Landing, a neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia. It also announced a new Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville, Tenn., which it claims will create 5,000 more jobs.

Long Island City, New York

Amazon will receive more than $1.5 billion in performance-based incentives over the next ten years for its investment in Long Island City, the company said in a blog post announcing the news.

This includes up to $1.2 billion worth of refundable tax credits through New York State's Excelsior Program based on a percentage of salaries Amazon expects to pay employees there for the next ten years. Amazon estimates this will be an incentive of $48,000 per job out of the 25,000 jobs it plans to create there with average wages over $150,000.

Another part of the incentive comes from Empire State Development, which will award Amazon a cash grant of $325 million. This incentive is based on the square footage Amazon plans to operate over the next 10 years.

The company still plans to apply for additional as-of-right incentives from New York City's Industrial & Commercial Abatement Program and its Relocation and Employment Assistance Program, Amazon said in the blog post.

Story continues

National Landing, Virginia

Amazon will receive $573 million in performance-based incentives for its investment in National Landing in Arlington, Virginia.

That number includes a workforce cash grant worth up to $550 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia based on the 25,000 jobs Amazon plans to create there. The company said average wages will also be $150,000 in the Arlington location, bringing the cash grant value to $22,000 per job created over the next 12 years. This incentive is contingent on Amazon creating the high-paying jobs it promises.

The incentive also includes a $23 million cash grant from Arlington over 15 years based on incremental growth of an existing local tax on hotel rooms.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam called the deal a "win-win for all of Virginia" in a TV interview on CNBC after the announcement.

"I think we put a modest and disciplined package on the table," Northam said. "Over 70 percent of [the] commitment is focused on education, workforce training for those 21st century jobs, and also infrastructure and transportation."

Nashville, Tennessee

Amazon will receive up to $102 million in performance-based incentives for its investment in Nashville. While the Nashville location will be a new Operations Center of Excellence, rather than a headquarters, the company plans to bring 5,000 full-time jobs there with an average wage over $150,000.

The incentives include a $65 million cash grant for capital expenditures from the state of Tennessee. This incentive is based on Amazon building the 5,000 jobs over seven years, which comes to $13,000 per job.

It also includes a cash grant up to $15 million from the city of Nashville based on $500 for each new job Amazon creates over the next seven years.

Finally, the incentive includes a tax credit from the state of Tennessee worth $21.7 million based on $4,500 per new job over seven years. This credit is meant to offset franchise and excise taxes, Amazon wrote.





More From CNBC


New York City and Crystal City in Arlington, Va., are officially the joint winners of a year-long race to be home to Amazon HQ2. But the cost of winning seems very different for the two cities.

On average, an Amazon job could cost New York taxpayers more than double what it is for Virginia taxpayers. Amazon says it will receive performance-based direct incentives of $573 million from Arlington, based on the company creating 25,000 jobs with an average salary of over $150,000. Meanwhile, for the same number of jobs in Long Island City, N.Y., Amazon will be granted $1.525 billion in performance-based direct incentives.

That means New York is offering $61,000 in incentives for each job at Amazon while Arlington is shelling out about $23,000 for each new job.

Amazon announced Tuesday it has selected the Queens neighborhood as one of two sites for its headquarters. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Why is New York paying more? A large chunk of its incentive package comes from the states Excelsior Jobs Program, which will provide up to $1.2 billion in tax credits to Amazon over the next 10 years. The program has been providing job creation and investment incentives to firms in certain industries when they come to New York State. Since Excelsior launched in 2010, it has granted $121.7 million in tax credits to 157 companies (as of June).

Amazon (AMZN) is poised to be the biggest beneficiary from the program for the scale and high pay it vows to offer. Its just rare for companies to create this amount of jobs with relatively high wages. Thats why the price tag is so big, said Joseph Parilla, a fellow at the Brookings Institutions Metropolitan Policy Program.

Virginia has been historically stingier

Crystal City, in Arlington, Va. is one of Amazons new headquarters. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

When asked why New Yorks bid was so much higher than Virginia, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pointed to the higher personal income tax in New York at a press conference on Tuesday. We dont start in the same place with Virginia, Cuomo said.

Part of the gap also reflects the significant difference in property values and rental prices, according to Thomas Cooke, a professor at Georgetowns McDonough School of Business. Cooke says the 30% price gap between the real estate markets in the two regions required Amazon to do the math and look for different sizes of incentives, as its upfront investment may vary.

Story continues

Amazon studied it very, very carefully, in terms of what it would get and what it would need, said Cooke. He believes the infrastructure investments in New York may also be bigger.

Both New York City and New York State have been known for offering big incentive packages for mega deals. Amazon will become the third-most-subsidized company in the states history. Before the Amazon deal, Virginias biggest incentive package was $110 million offered to Rolls-Royce, which opened a plant in 2011.

Virginia has never spent as much on these deals as New York has. It has benefited from its proximity to Washington and has been historically stingier, said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, a group that tracks economic development incentives.

Amazon also selected Nashville as the home for a new operations center with more than 5,000 jobs. (The company is getting $102 million in incentives from the city and state government, according to The Tennesseean.)

While some describe bidding for Amazon as a race to the bottom, tax breaks arent the only deciding factor in its year-long search. Virginias and Arlingtons incentives were significantly lower than what Maryland and New Jersey have offered$8.5 billion and $7 billion, respectively, in incentive plans. (Though Arlington County also pledged to help Amazon secure approval to build a helipad).

The total incentive is likely to be bigger than the number Amazon claims in the announcement. Amazon could qualify for an additional $1.3 billion in as-of-right incentives in New York as long as the development complies with zoning regulations. LeRoy also cautions there could be other hidden supports from governments to help Amazons $5 billion investment.

Krystal Hu covers technology and economy for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.

Read more:

Some Amazon employees say they will make less after the raise

Amazon bought Whole Foods a year ago. Heres what has changed

We entered the multi-million dollar business behind your Amazon returns
Amazon announced it has selected New York City and Arlington, Virginia, as the locations for new headquarters, with hiring at both locations beginning in 2019.

Amazon will invest $5 billion and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new headquarters.

In addition, it selects Nashville as new Operations Center of Excellence with more than 5,000 jobs. The new Washington, D.C., metro headquarters in Arlington will be located in National Landing.

Amazon will receive performance-based direct incentives of $573 million based on the company creating 25,000 jobs with an average wage of over $150,000 in Arlington.

The New York City headquarters will be located in the Long Island City neighborhood in Queens. Amazon will receive performance-based direct incentives of $1.525 billion based on the company creating 25,000 jobs in Long Island City.

We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia, said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come.
(Reuters) - Shares of Boeing Co <BA.N> fell on Tuesday on concerns related to last month's deadly crash of a 737 MAX, the newest version of the planemaker's best-selling jet, operated by Indonesia's Lion Air.

Indonesian investigators said on Monday more training was needed for 737 MAX pilots after discovering the situation believed to have faced the crew was not contained in the flight manual. U.S. pilots were also not aware of potential risks, two pilot unions told Reuters.

Boeing shares were down nearly 2 percent at $350.30 in afternoon trade.

Investigators are preparing to publish their preliminary report on the crash on Nov. 28 or Nov. 29, one month after the Lion Air jet dived into the Java Sea, killing all 189 on board.

The accident is the first to be reported involving the widely sold Boeing 737 MAX, an updated, more fuel-efficient version of the manufacturer's workhorse single-aisle jet.

Until now, public attention has focused mainly on potential maintenance problems including a faulty sensor for the 'angle of attack,' a vital piece of data needed to help the aircraft fly at the right angle to the currents of air and prevent a stall.

The investigation's focus appears to be expanding to the clarity of U.S.-approved procedures to help pilots prevent the 737 MAX over-reacting to such a data loss, and methods for training them.

Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg told Fox Business Network on Tuesday that Boeing provides "all of the information that's needed to safely fly our airplanes" and that the 737 MAX was a "very safe" airplane.

"This comes out of thousands of hours of testing and evaluating and simulating and providing the information that our pilots need to operate our airplanes safely," Muilenburg said. "In certain failure modes, if there's an inaccurate angle of attack sensor feeding information to the airplane, there's a procedure to handle that."

Story continues

Earlier on Tuesday, the world's largest planemaker said it delivered 43 of its 737 aircraft last month, up from 37 a year ago, helped by a booming global market. That puts it on track for another year of record deliveries as it battles European rival Airbus SE <AIR.PA>.

Investors and analysts watch the number of planes Boeing turns over to airlines and leasing firms as customers pay the bulk of the money for new planes on delivery.

The number of 737 deliveries was down slightly from the 61 delivered in September due to lingering supplier problems, flagged by a Boeing executive last week.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Bill Rigby)
By Tatiana Bautzer and Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Decades-old regulations barring foreigners from owning Brazil's airlines are outdated and "might make no sense anymore," the top executive of Brazil's largest airline, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, said on Wednesday.

Foreigners are limited by law to a 20 percent stake in any Brazilian airline's voting stock. But while Brazil may be entering an economic liberalization phase - far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to cut spending and privatize state companies - Gol Chief Executive Officer Paulo Kakinoff said it is unclear whether the new administration will seek to loosen the existing regulations.

"Our company has always been in favor of bringing to our country all the conditions to have access to foreign capital without any kind of restriction," Kakinoff told Reuters in an interview. "This should be one of the positive effects of having some change in the current legislation."

Outgoing President Michel Temer has said he is in favor of allowing full foreign ownership. In 2017, he said he would enact this change through executive action, only to change his mind and submit a bill to Congress, where the plan has stalled.

Kakinoff added that Gol is not currently in talks with Delta Air Lines Inc, which owns a 9.5 percent stake in Gol preferred shares, or any other entity, about taking a bigger stake in the Brazilian carrier.

In October, Gol said it planned to acquire full control of its listed loyalty program, a subsidiary called Smiles Fidelidade SA.

Gol's stock surged in response, while Smiles' plummeted almost 40 percent in one day.

Gol Chief Financial Officer Richard Lark said the airline needed to incorporate Smiles to avoid "competitive disadvantages," especially with its largest local rival, Latam Airlines Group SA, which earlier this year decided to gobble up its loyalty program company, called Multiplus SA.

A key difference in the transactions, however, is that Latam offered cash to investors, while Gol is offering only its own preferred stock, with the exchange ratio yet to be defined.

Some minority shareholders have criticized the transaction, saying they will lose voter rights if their Smiles shares are exchanged for Gol shares, a charge the airline disputes.

"Although the company owns preferred shares in the operational company, decisions about the airline and the loyalty program will continue to be taken at the board of Gol. It won't be a shell company," Lark said. (Additional reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Shares of electric utility providers in California, particularly PG&E Corp (PCG) and Edison International (EIX) plunged on concerns that the wildfires ravaging the state could cost them billions of dollars.

In the most destructive wildfire in the states history, Camp Fire ravaged extensive parts of Northern California, claiming 48 lives so far. Meanwhile, Woolsey Fire caused two deaths in Southern California, with a whopping 57,000 structures still threatened by the fire, per a CNN report.

Needless to say, utilities operating in California are likely to bear the brunt of the losses caused by these wildfires.

Economic Impact

While the deadly blaze continues in parts of Northern as well as Southern California, disaster modeler CoreLogic predicts that 48,390 homes in the state are at "high or extreme risk" of damage. This is likely to bring potential reconstruction costs to $18 billion.

AccuWeather believes the total damage and economic impact of the California wildfires has already exceeded $80 billion. It may exceed $150 billion and possibly reach $200 billion by next week based on AccuWeather forecast conditions of strong winds and very little rain in the inferno affected areas.

If these conditions persist at least partially into December, this could turn out to be one of the costliest weather and climate disasters in the United States, exceeding the damage caused by recent major hurricanes such as Katrina, Sandy and Harvey.

Impact on Utilities

Shares of electric utility providers in California, particularly PG&E Corp PCG and Edison International EIX plunged on concerns that the wildfires ravaging the state could cost them billions of dollars. Notably, PG&E Corp. and Edison Internationals subsidiary, Southern California Edison (SCE) have recently released reports suggesting that their equipment may have started the deadly fires now burning at both ends of the state.

Both utilities are currently grappling with power outages affecting tens of thousands of customers. They have submitted initial incident reports to state regulators, which have started investigations.

Consequently, both these Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks have witnessed more than 15% decline in their share price since Nov 8, when the wildfire started to spread widely. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Story continues

It is imperative to mention in this context that PG&E Corp is already facing liability issues associated with wildfires in wine country that caused damage of up to $17.3 billion in October 2017, per a JP Morgan Chase & Co. estimate. The company recorded a charge of $2.5 billion in the final quarter of 2017 in connection with the Northern California wildfires. Now that it has accepted its role in the latest fire, the company is likely to face more losses in the coming days.

In December 2017, several wind-driven wildfires impacted portions of Southern California Edisons service territory and caused substantial damage to both residential and business properties and service outages at its customers. During the third quarter of 2018, Moody's and Fitch downgraded the companys credit ratings due to the exposure related to wildfires. The latest announcement made by the company, in relation to the Woolsey Fire, will make its position in the credit market no better.

Another utility operator in the region, Sempra Energys SRE subsidiary, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), is also likely to incur huge loss due to the latest wildfires that have destroyed 8,800 structures in Northern California and 435 in Southern California. This companys shares have lost only 1.7% since Nov 8. However, shares can fall further considering the fact that the blaze has already torched 97,114 acres in Southern California.

Is There a Silver Lining?

Although utility providers are trying to restore their systems, it is difficult to forecast the time needed for full restoration. Moreover, as the fire continues to rage, delayed restoration is likely in most areas, leading to new outages.

The fate of utilities in California hangs in balance for now, since the complete impact of Camp Fire along with Woolsey Fire cannot be gauged at the moment.

3 Medical Stocks to Buy Now



The greatest discovery in this century of biology is now at the flashpoint between theory and realization. Billions of dollars in research have poured into it. Companies are already generating revenue, and cures for a variety of deadly diseases are in the pipeline.



So are big potential profits for early investors. Zacks has released an updated Special Report that explains this breakthrough and names the best 3 stocks to ride it.



See them today for free >>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PCG) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Edison International (EIX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Sempra Energy (SRE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Paradise is gone, resident Sue Brown told the Los Angeles Times after witnessing the devastation from the Camp fire, which is now the largest fire in California history. Brown said she and her husband had planned to spend the rest of their lives in Paradise, a city of about 27,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills about two hours north of San Francisco. But now the entire town is in ashes. The Camp fire has burned more than 110,000 acres and consumed 6,713 structures. Twenty-nine people have died. And its still burning. Southern California is also ablaze. In the hills around Malibu, the Woolsey fire has consumed 83,000 acres and forced more than a quarter-million people to evacuate.

I remember Paradise. I have driven through it while visiting family, who live just north of the town, or on my way to a cabin we used to have in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I remember Paradise because the name always struck me as so hopeful, even if the town, itself, seemed ordinary, with modest ranch houses set among scattered oak trees and pines. People have ATVs in the garage and horses on a few acres of land out back. On clear days, you can see the outline of the Sierra Nevada mountains on the horizon. This is not elite treehugger California; Butte County, which includes Paradise, was a Trump stronghold in the 2016 election.

President Trump, however, doesnt know this, or if he does, he doesnt care. Over the weekend, while Paradise was aflame and people burned to death in their cars as they tried to escape, Trump was flopped in a posh hotel room in Paris, where, on account of rain, he skipped out on ceremonies to honor American soldiers who had died in World War I. Instead, he tweeted about fires in California, blaming it all on forest management and threatening to withhold federal aid from the state:

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

If Trump had ever been to Paradise, or if he spent 30 seconds considering the fate of the people who lived there, he would know that there are no forests to manage in Paradise, just as there are none in Malibu. Professional Firefighters President Brian Rice called Trumps tweet dangerously wrong. Rice ripped the president for playing politics with fire, especially when peoples lives were on the line. The presidents message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the cataclysmic fires is ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as to the men and women on the front lines.

Story continues

In 2018, fighting wildfires is inseparable from fighting climate change. As climate scientist Danial Swain points out in an excellent thread, subtle changes in wind and rainfall patterns in California, as well as the fact that 2018 was the warmest summer since 2014 (four of the five warmest summers on record in California have occurred in the last five years), have turned the state into a tinderbox.

But Trump cant talk about that, and not just because he doesnt understand the difference between science and voodoo. He cant talk about climate change because if he did, he would have to answer questions about why his administration is so deeply soaked in fossil fuel money, why he installs fossil fuel industry bag men like Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler to run the EPA, and why his administration has tried to undermine or kill virtually every climate-related policy on the books, including the Paris Climate agreement. Talking about climate change would also force Trump to admit that climate change is a global problem that he needs to work together with other nations to solve, and most of all, that he gives a shit about the kind of world our kids will inherit.

Instead of doing any of that, Trump threatens to withhold aid from people who are literally burning to death in wildfires. And some of those people, presumably, voted for him. This is a thank you note, Trump-style.

But as grotesque as his behavior has been, Trump is not responsible for the burning of the Golden State. We  and when I say we, Im talking about rich westerners who dump the majority of CO2 pollution into the atmosphere  have known about the risks of climate change for 30 years or more, and we have collectively decided to do virtually nothing about it. Sure, there have been marches and rallies and speeches and books and movies about the risks of climate change. And yes, California has passed landmark legislation to reduce carbon pollution in the state. But climate change is a global problem. And globally, we have shirked our responsibility to reduce the fallout of climate chaos. The levels of CO2 in the atmosphere just keeps going up, up, up.

Consider the 2018 election results. In Washington state, hardly a stronghold of Big Coal and Big Oil, a carbon tax initiative failed. In Arizona, a proposal to require 50 percent of solar power by 2050 was defeated. Neither of these were radical ideas, and neither were close to the scale of change necessary to deal with the climate problem. The fossil fuel industry spent millions of dollars fighting these measures, but, if voters really believed climate change was an urgent problem, they would have voted yes. They didnt.

So here we are, watching California burn once again. And when these fires are extinguished, new fires will ignite soon enough and more homes will burn and more people will die. On the coasts, the seas will rise and bigger storms will hit. Droughts will parch cities. Intense heat waves will cook peoples lungs. This is the world we have created for ourselves. We all live in Paradise now.
Citigroup is getting out of Amazons way.

The bank is moving about 1,100 employees out of the One Court Square office building in New Yorks Long Island City neighborhood as Amazon.com Inc. makes plans to occupy space in the tower as part of one of its two new headquarters.

Citigroup Inc. occupies 30 stories of the buildings 42 office floors, all of which it leases. Amazon wants to take 23 stories, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. To make room, Citigroup will move employees to its headquarters in Tribeca, in lower Manhattan, or other nearby offices, the New York-based lender said Tuesday in a statement.

Given what it would mean to New York and Long Island City to have Amazon establish a significant presence here, we want to do our part to make this possible, Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat said in the statement.

Amazon announced its formal plans Tuesday to split its second headquarters between Long Island City, in New Yorks Queens borough, and Arlington, Virginia, ending months of speculation. The tech giant also will create more than 5,000 jobs in Nashville, Tennessee, at a new operations center.

Making Space

Amazon would like to occupy 15 floors of One Court Square by the second quarter of next year, and will occupy eight additional floors by early 2020 as the e-commerce giant hires more New York-based employees, said the person with knowledge of the plans, who asked not to be identified because they arent public.

Citigroup has been consolidating employees at its headquarters, at 388 Greenwich St., since it began redoing that building in 2015, one of the largest private-sector renovations in New York Citys history. When the work is complete, the tower will house 12,000 employees, up from 9,000.

For now, Citigroup will keep about 1,900 employees in the Long Island City building, which houses employees from the companys consumer banking, financial technology, risk, internal audit and finance groups. Citigroup has occupied most of One Court Square since the tower opened in 1990. As the lender moved more employees to its headquarters, it has subleased out some of its space in the building, which is owned by New York-based real estate investment firm Savanna.

Amazon entered into a letter of intent to lease about 1 million square feet (93,000 square meters) at the building, Savanna said in a statement Tuesday, calling One Court Square a critical component of Amazons Long Island City HQ2 plans.
Connecticut Supreme Court in Hartford.

Connecticut Supreme Court in Hartford. Courtesy photo



From legal questions regarding zoning issues to attorney fees and whether a black defendant received a fair trial from a jury that was underrepresented by minority jurors, the Connecticut Supreme Court will wrestle with 32 cases during its fourth term beginning Dec. 10.



The court's fourth of eight terms is the last one of the calendar year and runs from Dec. 10 through Dec. 21. The court will hear oral arguments in the 32 cases during that time frame.



The Connecticut Law Tribune broke down the more notable cases.





State v. Darnell Moore





The state's high court, led by recently installed Chief Justice Richard Robinson, will hear arguments from Darnell Moore, a black male who claims the trial court which found him guilty of murder violated his Sixth Amendment and equal protection rights regarding a lack of black male jurors on his case.



It's not clear how many black jurors, if any, served on the jury, but Moore claimed in his appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court that the way jurors were selected in New London County was unfair.



The Appellate Court ruled that Moore's rights were not violated. It reasoned that Moore failed to present evidence that the representation of black males in voir dire panels was not reasonable in relation to the number eligible to serve as jurors.



The Appellate Court also found that Moore's equal protection claim failed because he did not present evidence of discriminatory intent and didn't demonstrate that substantial underrepresentation of black males had occurred over a significant period of time.



The state Supreme Court will decide whether the Appellate Court properly found that census data were not probative of the claim that black males were underrepresented in the jury pool in his case.





State v. Tony Moreno





The state's high court will hear from attorneys representing a man who was convicted of murder and risk of injury to a child after he threw his 7-month-old son from a bridge before jumping from the bridge himself. The father survived, but the baby died.



At issue are the Miranda rights and whether Tony Moreno was adequately provided his rights.



Moreno was read his rights and submitted to a videotaped interrogation by the police while in his hospital bed. Because Moreno had a breathing tube in place that required the hospital to bind his hands with medical restraints, he did not execute a written waiver of his Miranda rights.



To complicate matters, due to an officer's inability to operate the video recorder, certain portions of the interrogation were not recorded, including the portion where Moreno was read and orally waived his rights.



The trial court denied Moreno's motion to suppress, stating that he was in custody, had been provided with Miranda warnings and had knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights despite being on certain medications due to his suicide attempt.



The state's high court will decide whether the trial court incorrectly denied Moreno's motion to suppress and whether his waiver of his Miranda rights were involuntary, which would have then made them invalid.





Story continues

Sylvester Traylor v. State





The state's high court will hear from attorneys representing Sylvester Traylor in a medical malpractice action.



At issue are Connecticut General Statutes requiring that a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case obtain and attach to the complaint a written and signed opinion of a similar health care provider that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence.



In 2006, Traylor brought a medical malpractice suit against his wife's psychiatrist following her suicide, but the complaint didn't include the opinion letter as required by the general statutes. While Traylor subsequently obtained an opinion letter, the trial court dismissed the action on the grounds that no opinion letter was attached to the original complaint. Traylor brought several lawsuits challenging the dismissal of his medical malpractice action.



Traylor is asking the state's high court to declare the statute in question unconstitutional.





Netscout Systems v. Gartner





Netscout Systems brought an action alleging defamation, asserting that statements about its business in a research report by Gartner, an information technology firm, were false. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted.



As to the defamation claim, the trial court found that the statements, including comparing and ranking competing vendors, were entitled to heightened First Amendment protection and required proof of actual malice because, among other things, Netscout, the court said, is a "limited purpose public figure."



The trial court concluded the statements were not made with actual malice. The state's high court agreed to take on the case and give its opinion.
Joseph Lubin Ethereum ConsenSys

Blockchain technology will power a monumental shift in society from a scarcity to an abundance mindset. These were the words of Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin speaking last week at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

Lubins Blockchain Impact Theory

Delivering his keynote address at the event, Lubin, who is also the co-founder of Ethereum development startup ConsenSys, stated that Ethereum is likely to play a key role in the redevelopment of the internet as a fully decentralised ecosystem.

In Lubins opinion, the continued growth of blockchain technology will act as a catalyst for increased innovation at all levels of human society by creating a framework for what he describes as a self-determined, sovereign identity.

In other recent remarks, Lubin explained that the evolution of blockchain technology and enhanced decentralisation would lead to a future where individuals will exert greater control over their identity and agency, which will lead to wealth creation as people seek to express themselves more through a number of avenues including an increased appetite for luxury.

Ethereum Scaling Will Take Time But Will Result in Radical Future

ethereum eth crypto

During his keynote address at Web Summit, Lubin opined that Ethereum would play a significant role in developing the so-called Web 3.0  a new generation internet experience that will utilize decentralization to a high degree. Expanding on this point, he said:

Ethereum is far in the lead as a viable candidate for web 3.0 largely because of its interoperable and radically decentralized nature. It may be a few years before our ecosystem achieves profound interoperability and decentralization in the base and higher layers. But that is okay. We can grow into the radical future we imagine as we take care of adoption, use case exploration, user interface and user experience definition  all of which will keep us busy for years.

Story continues

According to Lubin, there is a difference between wealth generation in the existing paradigm and in a tokenized economy which can be explained by a qualitative shift in the nature of money moving society away from a centralised model toward a system of global villages.

Lubins optimism over the growth of Ethereum is underlined by recent events that indicate that large power players are backing the blockchain to power large-scale disruptions. CCN recently reported that financial giant JP Morgan Chase unveiled a plan to use Quorum, its enterprise version of the Ethereum blockchain, to tokenize gold bars. Speaking recently to Financial Review, JP Morgans head of blockchain initiatives Umar Farooq also praised Quorum and described JP Morgan as big believers in Ethereum, which is a marked departure from the language used by JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon when referring to Bitcoin.

Featured Image from Collision Conference/Flickr



The post Ethereum is a Few Years from Profound Decentralization  But Thats OK: Co-Founder Joseph Lubin appeared first on CCN.


* Cabinet meets this week to agree AI strategy

* Stretched economy struggling to plan for digital future

* Mature businesses dominate German economy

* Germany risks losing out if it does not embrace change

By Paul Carrel and Douglas Busvine

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Germany's thriving economy has lulled the country into a false sense of security that is hindering government efforts to close a digital technology gap with other leading economies, Chancellor Angela Merkel's digital czar said on Tuesday.

Merkel's cabinet is holding a retreat on Wednesday and Thursday, after which it wants to present an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy to help Europe's biggest economy adjust to the digital era.

Germany has been at the forefront of industrial innovation for decades, but policymakers have been late to realise that its export model, based on traditional manufacturing, is vulnerable, and it is struggling to catch up.

Solid growth - the economy is in its ninth year of expansion - has left many businesses too busy meeting orders today to have time to plan for a digital future.

"Unlike other countries, a majority here do not feel that there needs to be great change," Dorothee Baer, Merkel's Minister of State for Digital Affairs, told a business conference hosted by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Invoking a need to act induced by the global financial crisis a decade ago, she added: "I'm not saying 'unfortunately we don't have a crisis', but rather 'unfortunately the need to change things is not there'."

Merkel has made fixing Germany's digital deficiencies a priority for her fourth and almost certainly final term, saying the country's future prosperity depends on it.

Sketching out the government's AI strategy, Merkel's chief of staff said last week the plan would focus on how to gather more data, support research, retain skilled workers and encourage them to found start-ups.

Extensive surveillance, first by the Nazis and then by Communist East Germany's Stasi secret police, has led to Germans closely guarding their privacy and personal data.

Story continues

Merkel believes it is time to move forward, but the chancellor faces an uphill struggle.

Inadequate investment, a skills deficit and lack of digital innovation are problems in Germany, people in the sector say.

"We don't have an ecosystem in Germany where these people want to go and build, and find the next 10 people with talent like that," said Gabriel Matuschka, general partner at Fly Ventures, a Berlin-based seed-stage investment fund.

DEVELOPING NATION

Lars Klingbeil, a senior member of Merkel's Social Democrat coalition partners, said Germany must commit billions of euros to back its AI strategy or risk falling further behind the United States and China.

But Baer complained there were always other pressures to spend Germany's budget surplus.

"It is always easier to say 'we have sparkling tax revenues, we could also dole some out'," she said.

Germany, hampered by an outdated research infrastructure and restrictive data protection laws, has yet to produce a world-beating start-up that pioneers the use of AI, although 120 companies have formed a lobby group to further the process.

The group's head, Joerg Bienert, said it was important that policy makers had recognised the scale of the challenge but to tackle it they needed to back AI research with heavy investment.

"I fear that we wont make a big enough leap, he told Reuters.

Chris Boos, the founder of AI company Arago who sits on a panel that advises Merkel on hi-tech issues, said Germany must get to grips with digital technology or risk slipping into a steep post-industrial decline.

"The price of inaction is that you will be a developing nation in 10 years," Boos said. (Writing by Paul Carrel, editing by Ed Osmond)
JERUSALEM (AP)  The Latest on the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers (all times local):

8:35 p.m.

A prominent Palestinian human rights group says dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed in Israel's two-day offensive in the Gaza Strip this week.

The Israeli military says it hit 160 targets, saying they were militant facilities like training camps, weapons facilities or military command centers.

But the Palestinian Center for Human Rights says three houses and a six-story apartment building were destroyed. Dozens of other homes near Israeli targets were damaged.

In the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, two bombs destroyed all 18 apartments in the Yazji building. A kindergarten in the building was severely damaged.

Children's crayon paintings were charred, and baby bottles were strewn among the debris.

"What is there in a kindergarten to be targeted," said Mariam Hamed, a parent. "No place is safe in Gaza."

___

8:10 p.m.

Israeli demonstrators have blocked roads in two southern cities to protest the cease-fire deal with Hamas.

Protesters set bonfires in the southern town of Sderot on Wednesday night, while about 70 people took to the streets in the city of Ashkelon, waving Israeli flags and calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign.

Netanyahu has come under heavy criticism for agreeing to a cease-fire with Hamas after two days of heavy fighting. His defense minister resigned in protest on Wednesday, sparking a political crisis.

___

4:40 p.m.

The Israeli military says a Gaza fisherman killed by Israeli fire in northern Gaza Strip was illegally advancing toward the security fence dividing Gaza and Israel.

The military said in a statement that the army shot him Wednesday in adherence with military protocol for anyone approaching the fence at that range.

The fishermen's union says the 20-year-old man was working on the beach near the land-maritime fence separating Gaza from Israel when he was shot in the stomach.

Story continues

It marks the first fatality since Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies toward the brink of another war.

___

3:30 p.m.

Palestinian officials say a Gaza fisherman has been killed by Israeli fire in northern Gaza Strip.

The fishermen's union says the 20-year-old man was working Wednesday on the beach near the land maritime fence separating Gaza from Israel when he was shot in the stomach.

It marks the first fatality since Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies toward the brink of another war.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while Israel carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed. In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike.

___

3:25 p.m.

The leader of a major Israeli opposition party says the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman shows that the current government has run its course.

Yaid Lapid, head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, says Wednesday "the countdown has begun" to the end of Benjamin Netanyahu's term in office. Lapid considers himself a potential successor to the longtime Israeli leader.

Lapid says "the journey to restore security, responsibility and leadership for Israel begins today."

Lieberman's resignation significantly weakens Netanyahu's ruling coalition government and appears likely to bring about an early election.

Lieberman says the cease-fire reached with Gaza's Hamas rulers was "surrender to terrorism." Lieberman had demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014.

___

2 p.m.

Hamas says the resignation of Israel's defense minister after a two-day bout of heavy fighting is a "political victory for Gaza."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri says Avigdor Lieberman's resignation Wednesday marked "recognition of defeat and failure to confront the Palestinian resistance." He says "Gaza's steadfastness sent a political shockwave" in Israel.

Lieberman says he is resigning in protest over the cease-fire reached with Gaza militants on Tuesday. Lieberman had advocated for a more decisive blow against Hamas in response to the fiercest wave of rocket attacks against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014.

The latest fighting was triggered by a botched Israeli raid into Gaza on Sunday that ignited clashes and left seven Palestinian militants and a senior Israeli officer dead.

Lieberman's resignation delivers a major blow to Israel's ruling coalition and appears likely to spark early elections.

___

1:15 p.m.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman says he is resigning in protest over the cease-fire reached with Gaza militants.

Lieberman's resignation Wednesday significantly weakens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition government and could bring about an early election.

Lieberman says the cease-fire reached with Gaza's Hamas rulers was a "surrender to terrorism." Lieberman has demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014. He says he also fiercely objected to Israel's allowing Qatar to deliver $15 million in aid to Gaza last week.

Lieberman's resignation will go into effect in 48 hours. Netanyahu will take over on an interim basis.

___

Noon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Gaza's militant Hamas rulers "begged for a cease-fire and they know why."

His comments Wednesday at a memorial service for Israel's first leader, David Ben-Gurion, were his first since the two sides ended their most intense round of fighting since a 50-day war in 2014.

Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while the Israeli military carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed. In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike and three were critically wounded.

Netanyahu has come under heavy political pressure for not delivering a more decisive blow against Hamas. He responded that "leadership is not doing the easy thing; it is doing the right thing."

____

10:00 a.m.

The Israeli military says it has shot at and captured a Palestinian who approached the Gaza perimeter fence and hurled grenades into Israel.

Wednesday's incident marked the first unrest since Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies to the brink of another war.

The military says it spotted the assailant with a knife and wire cutters. The grenades he hurled failed to explode.

The Israeli military says Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while it carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed. In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike and three were critically wounded.
After being infected with a flesh-eating bacteria, Josh Munoz is lucky to be alive. Now friends are trying to raise money for the father of three and his wife to pay for their medical bills. (Photo: GoFundMe).

A Michigan man discovered that he had a flesh-eating disease shortly after pieces of his skin started falling off in the shower.

Josh Munoz told the Houston Chronicle that he was visiting Houston with his wife to celebrate their first anniversary when he noticed that he was losing flesh in the shower. My skin was being washed away, Munoz said. Not like a sunburn, like enough for me to know something was majorly wrong.

Munoz said he was losing meat off my leg, you could see everything. He consulted with his doctor and was told to go to the ER ASAP. There was no way I was going to the emergency room 1,500 miles away from my three kids, Munoz said. So we jumped in the truck and drove as fast as we could.

Munozs wife Sarah drove the 20 hours back to Michigan and he said he started to feel tired and delusional along the way, along with losing consciousness. At one point, he asked his wife if they could stop at a hotel. My wife said no, Munoz said. She said we had to drive further, we have to make it to the ER.

Within 20 minutes of seeing me, the doctor said he was going to prep for emergency surgery, Munoz said. He said I had necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease, and that he needed to save my life. After surgery, Munoz said the doctor told him there was an 80 percent chance he would have died in his sleep if he had stopped on the way back from his vacation. I was so thankful to my wife for being persistent and keeping me going, he said.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare bacterial infection that spreads quickly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although more than one type of bacteria can cause the condition, group A Streptococcus is thought to be the most common.

The bacteria have to get into a persons skin somehow. It can be due to an injury such as a cut or burn, something as trivial as an insect bite that pushes bacteria under the skin, and sometimes you dont know what the inciting incident is, William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Story continues

In general, people usually develop symptoms like a red or swollen area of skin that spreads fast, severe pain and a fever, infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Typically, someones skin wouldnt fall off early on, but if its progressing rapidly, it could happen, Adalja says.

Heres why someones skin can fall off, according to Adalja: Necrotizing fasciitis is a deeper infection of the skin and skin structure. Things are detaching from one another. If youre scrubbing at it, the pressure can cause the skin and surrounding tissue to actually detach. However, in most cases, people with necrotizing fasciitis are too sick and in too much pain to be in the shower, Schaffner says.

Given that the early symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis are nonspecific, the infection can often spread fairly substantially before it becomes evident that the patient has an infection, Schaffner says. But as the disease progresses, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and cause sepsis (a life-threatening infection), the persons blood pressure can drop, the person may feel woozy and start fainting, he says.

Necrotizing fasciitis is usually detected through a blood test and CT scan, which can show the infection, Schaffner says. As for treatment, two things are critical: antibiotics and surgery to remove the dead tissue. Necrotizing fasciitis is a serious infection and its crucial to act quickly. People can recover, but sometimes they have to have plastic surgery because the damage is so severe.

Munoz has had three surgeries and a pigskin graft, and will be bedridden for up to six months. Its also likely that hell have more surgeries in the future. One of his former customers from his work as a contractor set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for his family while he recovers.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.




Rep. Warren Davidson ICO regulation

Now that Bitcoiner Jared Polis has left Congress for the Colorado Governors Mansion, support both moral and material for the crypto industry in Washington, DC may be seen as lacking. While it is largely unelected bureaucrats who rule the financial arena in this country and occasionally make brash decisions in regards to innovative technologies like cryptocurrency, all agencies and employees of the federal government eventually answer to Congress and its purse strings.

Recently re-elected Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from the 8th district of that state, is remarkably opposed to regulations which may have a strangling effect on the economy  particularly regulations as regards the nations vibrant ICO scene and cryptocurrencies more broadly. A recent article in the Washington Examiner confirms that Davidson remains committed to the cause of restricting repressive regulations at the federal level, perhaps even more so than he had originally signaled.

CCN earlier reported that Davidson had invited a number of crypto companies to Capitol Hill to discuss the situation on the ground on September 25. His office issued a press release on that day summarizing Davidsons stance as favoring light touch regulation, and a representative from his office confirmed to the Examiner staff that he would be introducing a bill  a timeline was not set, but Congress will only be working a few weeks out of the remainder of the year, so its safe to expect something next year, but perhaps unreasonable to expect anything this year.

The bill Davidson aims to introduce will seek to exempt ICOs from securities legislation by legally defining them as products, enabling them to skirt several forms of regulation which currently bedevil many in the cryptocurrency ecosystem as well as add various types of costs to the industry  for example, securities lawyers.

From the report:

A spokesman for Davidson confirmed that the Ohio Republican plans to introduce a bill that would allow ICOs to sidestep securities law, including at the state level, and eliminate the SECs jurisdiction over the industry by treating the currencies as products, rather than securities.

Story continues

Davidson has not named any co-conspirators in his intended legal hack of the financial system. And while his intentions may be genuine and certainly worthy of note within the crypto space, the Examiner notes that it is unlikely that the incoming Democratic majority will get joyfully on board with any form of crypto deregulation strategy, though the Congressional Blockchain Caucus has historically featured a bipartisan membership.

New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney, for instance, kept her house seat in a landslide of more than 85 percent. She has previously gone on the record as being wary of cryptocurrencies and ICOs.

Maloney serves alongside Warren Davidson on the House Financial Services Committee and has been in Congress more than 20 years to Davidsons few years. While this is perhaps not remarkable to most crypto enthusiasts, it certainly means something in practice, and Maloney is but one of cryptos many less-than-friends in the House of Representatives.

Featured Image from Warren Davidson for Congress/YouTube



The post Ohio Congressman Wants to Eliminate SEC Jurisdiciton over Crypto Industry: Report appeared first on CCN.


Owens-Illinois (OI) Acquires 50% Stake in Empresas Comegua Owens-Illinois' (OI) acquisition of Empresas Comegua will help expand its presence into new and growing glass markets in Central America.

Owens-Illinois, Inc. OI has acquired 49.7% interest in Empresas Comegua S.A. for $119 million from Fabricacion de Maquinas, S.A. de C.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V.



Empresas Comegua S.A. is the leading manufacturer of glass containers, which operates two glass manufacturing facilities  one in Costa Rica and another in Guatemala. Empresas caters to Owens-Illinois global strategic customers and various segments, including food, soft drinks, beer, spirits and pharmaceuticals.

The buyout will help Owens-Illinois expand its presence into new and growing glass markets in Central America, and extend the companys market presence in the Caribbean. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings and cash flow from the first year of the acquisition.

Owens-Illinois, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Owens-Illinois, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Owens-Illinois, Inc. Quote

Notably, Owen-Illinois acquisition of Vitro's food and beverage business in 2015 provided the company a competitive edge in the attractive and growing glass segment of the packaging market in Mexico. The company anticipates to realize around $30 million in run-rate cost synergies by 2018 through both procurement savings and operating efficiencies. It should contribute about 50 cents per share in 2018.

Moreover, the companys extension of the 50-50 joint venture (JV) with Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ for an additional ten years (to 2034), and expansion to include an additional furnace will be earnings accretive moving ahead. The JV was formed in 2014 and currently operates a glass container production plant in Nava, Mexico. Per the terms of the original JV agreement, the glass production plant was to be expanded from one furnace to four furnaces by 2018.



Share Price Performance



Shares of Owens-Illinois have dropped 27% in the past year compared with the industrys decline of 26%.

Story continues





Zacks Rank & Key Picks



Owens-Illinois currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



Some better-ranked stocks in the same sector include RBC Bearings Incorporated ROLL and Mobile Mini, Inc. MINI. Both stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.



RBC Bearings has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.9%. The companys shares have been up 28% during the past year.



Mobile Mini has a long-term earnings growth rate of 14%. Its shares have rallied 23% in the past year.



3 Medical Stocks to Buy Now



The greatest discovery in this century of biology is now at the flashpoint between theory and realization. Billions of dollars in research have poured into it. Companies are already generating revenue, and cures for a variety of deadly diseases are in the pipeline.



So are big potential profits for early investors. Zacks has released an updated Special Report that explains this breakthrough and names the best 3 stocks to ride it.



See them today for free >>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Mobile Mini, Inc. (MINI) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Owens-Illinois, Inc. (OI) : Free Stock Analysis Report



RBC Bearings Incorporated (ROLL) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
The search for UFOs is on in Ireland after several pilots reported seeing something flying around last week.

At least four pilots confirmed to air traffic control that they saw a very fast and very bright unidentified flying object (UFO) over Ireland on Friday. According to CNN, which earlier reported on the audio logs between the pilots and air traffic control, none of the pilots were able to identify the object.

It came up on our left hand side (rapidly veered) to the north, we saw a bright light and it just disappeared at a very high speed  we were just wondering, one pilot said, according to the network. We didnt think it was a likely collision course .. (just wondering) what it could be.

Of course, there have been reports of UFO sightings for decades and people around the globe are actively seeking proof that aliens exist and could be monitoring us from above. Often times, however, UFO sightings are human objects, military tests, or other phenomena that can be readily explained.

There are always going to be a few hoping that the sightings point to possible alien activity. But, in this case, another pilot who saw the fast-moving object said it was likely a meteor or some kind of object re-entry, according to the audio logs. Scientists on Twitter and elsewhere have also suggested that it was likely a meteor, as well.
Region is Known for High Grade Vanadium and Uranium Deposits.

Vanadium Prices have Risen by Over 150% in the Past Year Current Price US$32.90/Lb

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 14th, 2018 / Primary Energy Metals Inc. (CSE-PRIM FSE: 1WZ:GR OTC: PEMTF) ("Primary" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed an arms length purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement"), dated effective November 6th, 2018, with the shareholders of Prost Vanadium Ltd. ("Prost Vanadium"). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company will acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Prost Vanadium. Prost Vanadium holds the rights to 176 vanadium and uranium lode claims in La Sal District of San Juan, Utah.

Patrick Morris, CEO of Primary states: "We are very pleased to increase our land position in Utah with these additional past producing mines. With our neighbours, Energy Fuels, coming online as front runners in Vanadium - Uranium production in North America, we believe this strategic acquisition will not only be good for our shareholders but for the supply chain for these much needed battery metals globally."

Prost Vanadium is a privately-held exploration-stage resource company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Due to its stage of development, Prost Vanadium does not yet generate revenue from operations, and is not expected to in the near term. The Company will issue 12,000,000 common shares to the existing shareholders of Prost Vanadium, in consideration for the acquistion, and will assume liabilities of approximately US$150,000 incurred by Prost Vanadium in connection with the maintenance of the lode claims. The common shares to be issued by the Company will be issued at a deemed price equivalent to the market price of the Company's common shares at the time of issuance. No finders' fees are payable in connection with the completion of the acquisition, and the acquistion is not expected to result in a change of control of the Company.

Story continues

Highlights

Located in the Colorado Plateau Geological Region Claims are located just outside of Moab Utah and fully accessible.176 claims covering multiple historic shallow artesian production sites with high grade Vanadium outcrops

Historically Vanadium and Uranium was processed at the nearby Denison Mill that is now owned and operated by Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR)

Easy permitting with multiple mines in the area

Numerous High-Grade Vanadium Outcrops as well as past producing mines

(176 claims X 20.66 acers = 3,636 acres Total)

Although vanadium and uranium occurrences are ubiquitous and are known to exist in over 20 distinctly different sedimentary units in the Uravan belt, the Pennsylvanian-Permian Rico Formation and the Upper Jurassic Entrada Sandstone are the only formations which have been mined previously for vanadium and uranium. Most of the past production has come from the Entrada Sandstone. Historically, there have been a number of uraniferous vanadium deposits developed in the Entrada Sandstone along a sinuous trend extending in a north-south direction for over 100 miles. This trend coincides with a major structural feature representing a transitional zone between the Colorado Plateau and the Southern Rocky Mountain physiographic provinces.

Energy Fuels Inc.(NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) recently announced that they expect to resume vanadium production at their White Mesa Mill in mid-November 2018, producing significant quantities of salable V2O5 product by the end of December 2018. When production begins, Energy Fuels will be the newest vanadium producer in the World and the only primary producer of V2O5 in North America. Following the acquistion of Prost Vanadium, the Company intends to conduct a test-mining program that selectively targets high-grade V2O5 resources at the La Sal Complex, with the goal of significantly increasing productivity and mined grades and reducing mining costs per pound of V2O5 and U3O8 recovered.

Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill, located near Blanding, Utah, is currently the only facility in the United States capable of processing conventional mined vanadium resources.

Vanadium prices have risen by over 150% in the past year due to a number of factors, including production cuts and significant increases in demand due to the implementation on November 1, 2018 of new rebar standards in China that can only be achieved through increased use of vanadium (with limited substitution). In addition, vanadium demand could increase significantly in the coming years due to the commercialization of vanadium batteries used in connection with renewable energy generation. As of September 23, 2018, the mid-point price of V2O5 as reported by Metal Bulletin was $22.63 per pound, as compared to $9.00 per pound on September 29, 2017.

VANADIUM PRICE-PER-POUND HITSNEW ALL TIME HIGH

About Primary

PRIMARY Energy Metals Inc. (CSE: PRIM FSE:1WZ:GR OTC: PEMTF) is a listed junior exploration and development company and is engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring and developing ethically sourced Cobalt, Copper, Nickel and Vanadium focussed mineral resource properties to create value for its shareholders. Current projects include Cobalt in Hazelton British Columbia, and 2 cobalt and 2 vanadium permits in Spain, and 199 vanadium and uranium claims in Utah.

ACQUISITION FOCUS - Other projects Primary is investigating are in the clean energy sector. In this sector, the Company is focused specifically upon exploration opportunities to source green energy power minerals for use in battery production. Primary's interests in this sector are guided by the following:
- By Holly LaFon





This week I saw this article in the Financial Times about Washington's reaction to the working relationship between Chinese tech companies and the Chinese military. Today, on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, I reflected on the horrors of modern war and the path we are on today.





The FT article does a good job exemplifying the differences between China and the US perspectives. From spending time in both countries, I've come to see that China and the US have different ways of doing things that they each deeply believe works best. China's approach is top down, designed to create the coordination of its parts in pursuit of the best interests of China, much like a big, great company would do. This top down way of operating has been deeply imbued in the Chinese psyche over the centuries (going back to Confucius and through many dynasties) and has worked remarkably well for them for a long time, so it won't change much.

In contrast, the United States has a more individualistic, bottom up culture in which individuals' and companies' ideas bubble up and compete so the best ones win out. The US system discourages cooperation (in fact it makes it illegal between companies in the same industry) and discourages top down government economic guidance. This more individualistic, bottom-up approach is imbued in the American psyche as strongly as the top down approach is imbued in the Chinese psyche and it won't materially change. So, the sort of cooperation between China's tech companies and its military described in the FT article is natural to the Chinese and at the same time seems inappropriate and threatening to Americans.

To be clear, I am not saying that either approach is better or worse or whose perspective is right. I am just saying that these different ways of seeing things are big, deep-seated ones that won't change, even if trade or other agreements are made. And on this 100-year anniversary of World War I, as I reflect on how the war came about and transpired, I'm saying it's important to consider the horrors of war and savor the peace that most of us have come to take for granted.

Story continues

As you know, I believe that the same things happen over and over again because the cause-effect relationships that drive them are timeless and universal. Now, like in the times prior to a number of wars, we are at a juncture in which we will choose how we approach deep-seated differences. At the big picture level, if there is acceptance and respect for healthy competition in which self-interests are pursued simultaneously with the overarching goal of not having wars, there can be great productivity growth that will lift the whole world's living standard in many ways. On the other hand, if these two sides try to force changes in the others' intrinsic ways of operating and believe that the best way to do this is through threats and painful actions, there will be various types of war. This situation is especially risky because these different ways of approaching things exist between the two biggest powers in the world that are now economically comparable in size--and because China will become bigger and stronger in many or even most ways.

Because I study these cause-effect relationships that repeat through history, I have recently spent a lot of time closely examining the last 500 years, which led me to read and study a lot of statistics which I will soon share with you in a report that I'm now working on. In doing that, one book I reread and recommend to you is "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" by Paul Kennedy, which will show you most of the history of the last 500 years in detail and will help you see the patterns of events and the reasons for them. I also continue to recommend that you read "Destined for War" by Graham Allison, which focuses on the US-China relationship with reference to these patterns in history. I also recommend Hank Paulson's and Wang Qishan's recent speeches to Bloomberg New Economy Forum, which I think did a great job of providing an accurate picture of the US-China challenge.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






ISTANBUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said recordings related to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, which Turkey has shared with Western allies, are "appalling" and shocked a Saudi intelligence officer who listened to them, Turkish media reported on Tuesday.

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.

Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from a weekend visit to France that he discussed the Saudi journalist's killing with the U.S., French and German leaders at dinner in Paris.

"We played the recordings regarding this murder to everyone who wanted them from us. Our intelligence organisation did not hide anything. We played them to all who wanted them including the Saudis, the USA, France, Canada, Germany, Britain," he said.

"The recordings are really appalling. Indeed when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recordings he was so shocked he said: 'This one must have taken heroin, only someone who takes who heroin would do this," he added.

Khashoggi's killing has 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.

Erdogan said it was clear the murder was planned and that the order came from the top level of Saudi authorities but that he could not think such a thing of King Salman, for whom he has 'limitless respect'.

"The crown prince says 'I will clarify the matter, I will do what is necessary'. We are waiting patiently," Erdogan said, adding that the perpetrators of the killing were among 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia.

"It must be revealed who gave them the order to murder."

Erdogan has not given details of the contents of the tapes but two sources with knowledge of the issue have told Reuters that Turkey has several audio recordings.

They include the killing itself and conversations before 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. (Reporting by Daren Butler Editing by Dominic Evans)
Leading Health Plan Expands Use of Inovalon Platform to Add Automated Clinical Data Extraction and Natural Language Processing Toolsets



BOWIE, Md., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inovalon (INOV), a leading technology company providing advanced, cloud-based platforms empowering data-driven healthcare, today announced Virginia Premier has entered into an engagement to activate Inovalons Clinical Data Extraction as a Service (CDEaaS) and Natural Language Processing as a Service (NLPaaS) toolsets within the Inovalon ONE Platform. Implementation of these solutions will empower Virginia Premier to automate the identification, collection, and analysis of clinical data found within electronic health records (EHRs) at large scale to support improved clinical quality, risk score accuracy and financial performance.

Inovalons Clinical Data Extraction as a Service (CDEaaS) solution facilitates data exchange with over 150,000 providers connected to the Inovalon ONE Platform today and delivers digital patient records 10 times faster and at a cost up to 70 percent less than traditional, manual retrieval. Data retrieved through the CDEaaS solution will play an integral role in supporting Virginia Premiers quality measurement, reporting and improvement initiatives and financial performance by streamlining and enabling greater flexibility within the medical record retrieval process and delivering more comprehensive results through a leveraging of data targeting algorithms powered by analysis of Inovalons massive propriety dataset, the MORE2 Registry, which includes over 40 billion medical events.

Inovalons Natural Language Processing as a Service (NLPaaS) solution applies highly adaptive Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities to identify and convert structured and unstructured data within clinical medical records into meaningful clinical insights within seconds, enabling significant improvements in clinical quality, risk score accuracy, and financial performance. As one of the only NLP vendors in the market that supports all medical record formats, Inovalons solution delivers substantial value to its clients at a cost up to 25 percent less than manual methods.

Story continues

We have been impressed by Virginia Premiers commitment to leveraging innovative technologies in order to provide its members with the highest level of service and quality care while also focusing on the efficiency and effectiveness of programs, said Robert Wychulis, president of Inovalon. The achievement of fully automated clinical data aggregation and unstructured data analysis is a significant advancement for those needing to apply medical record data to reach their corporate, regulatory, clinical, research, and economic goals.

Virginia Premier is committed to superior quality for our members, support for our providers, and the achievement of strong financial performance as we do so, said Dr. John Johnson, Chief Medical Officer of Virginia Premier. The analytics and data-driven platform provided by Inovalon are a key part of this strategy. We value our relationship with Inovalon as we continue to partner together, advancing our mission and leadership in the marketplace.

About Virginia Premier

Virginia Premiers mission is to inspire healthy living within the communities we serve with a focus on those in need. We do this through innovation, strategic partnerships, industry-leading health care and the power of VCU Health. Formed in 1995 as a Medicaid HMO, Virginia Premier is the first and only university-based, nonprofit managed care organization in the Commonwealth, now serving roughly 220,000 members statewide. In addition to its Medicaid and Medicare plans, Virginia Premier provides third-party administrative services and runs the Virginia Premier Neighborhood Health Center in Roanoke. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of VCU Health System. For more information, visit VirginiaPremier.com.

About Inovalon

Inovalon is a leading technology company providing cloud-based platforms empowering data-driven healthcare. Through the Inovalon ONE Platform, Inovalon brings to the marketplace a national-scale capability to interconnect with the healthcare ecosystem, aggregate and analyze data in real-time, and empower the application of resulting insights to drive meaningful impact at the point of care. Leveraging its platform, unparalleled proprietary data sets, and industry-leading subject matter expertise, Inovalon enables better care, efficiency, and financial performance across the healthcare ecosystem. From health plans and provider organizations, to pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics companies, Inovalon's unique achievement of value is delivered through the effective progression of Turning Data into Insight, and Insight into Action. Supporting thousands of clients, including 19 of the top 25 U.S. health plans and 22 of the top 25 global pharma companies, Inovalon's technology platforms and analytics are informed by data pertaining to more than 955,000 physicians, 499,000 clinical facilities, 261 million Americans, and 40 billion medical events. For more information, visit www.inovalon.com.

Contacts:

Kim E. Collins

Phone: 301-809-4000 x1473

kcollins@inovalon.com
Tucked in a valley in the remote highlands of central Afghanistan, Jaghori has been a safe haven in recent years for members of the country's beleaguered Hazara minority.

But the peace in Jaghori, a district in Ghazni Province heavily populated by the mainly Shi'ite Hazara, was shattered last week when Taliban militants launched a major offensive to seize it. Afghan special forces and pro-government Hazara militiamen continue to battle the militants, with clashes killing hundreds of people and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

When asked why the Taliban would try to take an area that has long been considered unattainable, analysts suggest that the hard-line Sunni movement is emboldened by territorial gains made elsewhere in the country, and has something to prove.

Expanding its reach into a central region inhabited by an ethnic group renowned for its opposition to the Taliban could be a game changer in the battle for national influence.

The Taliban terrorized Hazara during their oppressive 1996-2001 rule, when the militants wrested control of central Afghanistan through brute force and a campaign of targeted killings. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have been unable to make inroads in Hazara-dominated areas.

"The Taliban want to prove that they are capable of governing non-Pashtun territories," says Haroun Mir, a Kabul-based political analyst. "They have been able to govern ethnic Tajik and Uzbek areas in the north, and they want to govern Hazara-dominated districts, as well."

Apart from Jaghori, the militants have also attacked the district of Malistan, also in Ghazni. Fighting erupted two weeks ago in the Khas Uruzgan district, which has a sizable Hazara population in neighboring Uruzgan Province.

'Alternative Governing Force'

The Taliban have traditionally drawn on Pashtuns to back their insurgency, but the group has successfully recruited disgruntled members of other ethnic groups as it has expanded its reach. Recruits have boosted the Taliban's ability to seize territory beyond the Pashtun-majority areas in the country's south and east that serve as their base of power.

To this point, Hazara areas have been the exception.

Analysts note that the Taliban have tried to portray themselves as a genuine national movement, and to bolster that image they have tried to attract members of other ethnic groups. The hard-line movement has also distanced itself from sectarian and ethnic-driven attacks, although it is in fact often blamed for orchestrating incidents.

"Unlike in the case of ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks, the Taliban don't have Hazara in their ranks, which is a big challenge for them," Mir says. "However, if they are capable of controlling and governing Hazara territories without brutality and abuses, then it might play well in their strategy, which is to portray themselves as an alternative governing force not only in the south but in the entire country."

'Never Accept Taliban Rule'

Taliban rule would be difficult to sell to Hazara. Aside from past Taliban atrocities against the community, the group's strict interpretation of Shari'a law and its policies on women and education would threaten advancements seen in Hazara areas in recent years.

In Jaghori, for example, there is near-universal girls' education, and the number of boys attending school is higher than the national average. Women also work outside their homes and can drive cars, as is the case in most urban areas of Afghanistan but which is banned in areas under Taliban control.

During its draconian rule, the Taliban denied girls the right to go to school, and women were not allowed to work outside the home. If they ventured outside, women had to don a burqa and be escorted by a male relative. Although the Taliban have relaxed some of its strictest positions, their restrictions on education and women persist.

"Hazara will never accept Taliban rule willingly, and will do their best to resist them," says Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul. "Hazara do not want to have any reversal on their civic gains."

Highlighting the anti-Taliban sentiment among Hazara, civilians took up arms against the insurgents before the central government belatedly sent reinforcement troops, including special forces and warplanes, to besieged districts this week.

The fighting between the mostly Pashtun Sunni Taliban and Shi'ite Hazara has heightened fears of ethnic and sectarian violence, even as the Taliban have denied they are specifically targeting Hazara.

Pashtuns are the biggest ethnic group in Afghanistan, constituting some 40 percent of the 30 million population. Hazara make up around 10 percent.

'Try Their Chances'

The districts of Jaghori and Malistan in Ghazni Province are strategic because they are considered the gateway to the Hazara-dominated provinces of Bamiyan and Dai Kundi, peaceful areas where the Taliban currently have no influence.

Large parts of Ghazni are under the control of the Taliban and the militants briefly overran the provincial capital, Ghazni city, in August before they were beaten back by Afghan special forces backed by U.S. air strikes. Ghazni is strategically located on the main highway linking Kabul with the southern city of Kandahar.

"The Taliban may want to try their chances at wresting control of the Hazara areas from the government as they already control large parts of the non-Hazara districts in Ghazni Province," Adili says.

The Ghazni fighting prompted demonstrations in Kabul and Ghazni by Hazara, who have complained of official neglect after a string of militant attacks targeting the community. A suicide attack close to where demonstrators had been gathering in Kabul killed at least six people on November 12.

A recent U.S. government watchdog report said the number of districts under government control or influence was at the lowest level since 2015. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said only 55.5 percent of the total 407 districts were under government control or influence, with the rest either contested or controlled by the Taliban.
A day after the news of an apparent brutal murder of a senior Pakistani police office first emerged, the case is still shrouded in mystery.

As officials prefer to remain vague at most over the killing of Tahir Dawar, questions, anger, and speculations surround the murder, which followed his kidnapping from the capital, Islamabad, on October 26.

Lawmaker Mohsin Dawar confirmed that Tahir had been murdered and his body was being transferred from eastern Afghanistan to northwestern Pakistan, where he will be buried.

On November 13, alleged photos of Tahirs mutilated corpse went viral. A handwritten note reportedly found alongside his body claimed he was killed by the Islamic State (IS) militants. The ultra-radical group has carved out a safe haven in the region since 2015.

But Mohsin is not convinced. He holds the Pakistani state responsible for failing to protect a senior police officer who had survived several attacks by militants, including two suicide bombings.

For more than 15 years, we have seen this deceptive drama that people are murdered and then their corpses are left with a note from militants, he told Radio Mashaal. We will not be deceived. How was he taken from Islamabad [to Nangarhar]?

Mohsin represents Khyber Pakhtunkhwas North Waziristan tribal district in the National Assembly or lower house or the Pakistani Parliament. Tahir, too, was a native of North Waziristan. Dawar is a Pashtun tribe whose members mostly live between the towns of Mir Ali and Miran Shah in North Waziristan.

There are hundreds of [surveillance] cameras in Islamabad and there are numerous check posts between Islamabad and the Afghan border [nearly 250 kilometers away], Dawar said. Ordinary citizens are humiliated daily along these check posts, but how can no one notice a kidnapped senior police officer?

Shehryar Afridi, junior interior minister, declined to comment. "It is a matter of national security and someone's life, and cannot be discussed in an open forum," he told journalists on November 13.

But on November 14, Islamabad acknowledged that the slain officers body was being transported from Afghanistan.

[The] Afghan Foreign Ministry confirms recovery of a body with the service card of SP [Superintended of Police] Mr. Tahir Khan Dawar, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on November 14. The service card is a government identity card that carries the bearers name, rank, and photograph.

The statement said the Afghan Foreign Ministry had informed the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul that locals found the body in the remote Dur Baba district of eastern Nangarhar Province, which shares a border with northwestern Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Later that same day, Khyber Pakhtunkhwas information minister, Shaukat Yousafzai, said the authorities were expecting to receive Tahirs body on November 15.

Islamabads cautious handling of the situation has raised many questions.

Journalist Syed Talat Hussain says that Pakistan has fenced off its nearly 2,500-kilometer and once-porous western border with Afghanistan in recent years.

We [Pakistan] are trying to convince the world that no illegal cross-border activity is happening from our country, so [cross-border] terrorism is nearly impossible, he said in a video posted on Twitter. But then we are unable to save a police officer who is killed across the border.

Since 2001, Afghan and U.S. officials have accused Islamabad of sheltering Taliban and allied militants while also bankrolling or turning a blind eye to cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies supporting the militants.

Hussain says Tahirs gruesome murder will have far-reaching consequences. He mentions the January murder of Naqibullah Mehsud, an aspiring model who was killed in an alleged staged police shoot-out in the southern seaport city of Karachi.

The murder prompted a massive protest in Islamabad outside the press club, from where the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement emerged, he noted. Now a [Pashtun] police officer has been abducted and brutally murdered, and no one has addressed [his familys complaints].

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) or Pashtun Protection Movement has already announced countrywide protests against Tahirs murder on November 15.

We are determined to question and protest this murder in such a forceful way that this state is going to remember it forever, Mohsin, also a senior member of the PTM, told Radio Mashaal.

Journalist Samiullah Dawar, a close friend of Tahir, is skeptical that Tahir was killed by IS or other Islamist militants because senior police officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had assured him on November 12 that Tahir was still in either Islamabad or the adjacent city of Rawalpindi. He says they had told him Tahir was safe and that his friend would soon be recovered.

Most of the militant groups including the various factions of the [Pakistani] Taliban including the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan [TTP] have dissociated themselves from his murder, he told Pakistans Dunya TV.

Samiullah cast doubt over the handwritten note claiming Tahir was killed by IS.

As a journalist, I have a very good idea of how the militants operate. They are eager to claim the acts they commit, he said.

Radio Mashaal correspondents Shaheen Buneri, Umar Daraz Wazir and Zaland Yousafzai contributed reporting to this story.
Add turkey, placing a large heavy pot or sealed zip-top bag filled with cold water on top to keep bird submerged. Place pot in refrigerator and marinate overnight.

Place salt, sugar and 1 quart hot water in a large deep pot and whisk until salt and sugar crystals dissolve. Whisk in 4 quarts cold water. Pin bay leaves to onion halves with cloves and add them to brine. Let mixture cool to room temperature.

TURKEY SMOKED

TURKEY SMOKED

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

1 (10 to 12-pound) brined turkey (recipe above)

2 cups wood chips soaked in water

1 stick butter melted

Procedure:

Set up an outdoor grill for indirect grilling, placing a large foil drip pan in center. (If using a smoker, light and set it up according to manufacturer's instructions and heat to 275 degrees. In a smoker, you will need to cook bird longer, 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.)

Drain bird. Blot dry inside and out and truss if desired. Place in center of grill grate, over drip pan and between mounds of natural lump charcoal. Toss 1/2 cup of soaked wood chops on each mound of coals. Place lid on grill. Adjust vents to keep temperature between 325 and 350 degrees.

Grill turkey until darkly browned and cooked through, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Baste turkey with melted butter after first hour and every hour thereafter. If skin starts to brown too much, loosely tent bird with foil. Use an instant-read thermometer to test for doneness; turkey is ready when internal temperature of the thigh is 180 degrees. Replenish charcoal every hour, adding 8 to 10 lumps of charcoal to each mound of coals and leaving grill uncovered for a few minutes to allow charcoal to light. After 1 hour, add 1 1/2 cups of soaked wood chips.

Transfer turkey to a platter, loosely tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Reserve any drippings in drip pan for gravy.

Source: "BBQ USA" by Steven Raichlen
Colorados voter turnout Nov. 6 was second highest in the nation, with 61.9 percent of active voters participating in the midterm election, the Secretary of States Office reported Tuesday.

Minnesota ranked No. 1, at 64.3 percent.

The high turnout is a likely result of the all-mail ballot system that Colorado adopted in 2014.

The state also lets people register to vote up to 6:59 p.m. Election Day  one minute before polls close.

This year in Colorado, women voters outpaced men by 112,000 ballots.

In all, 2,581,426 Coloradans voted last week, the newest ballot counts show. Thats 974,000 more voters than in 2014.

By age, the biggest group consisted of voters 41 to 60 years old, and the second largest was voters aged 26 to 40.

Ballots still are being counted, partly because federal law requires an eight-day wait after Election Day to process all military and overseas voters ballots.

About 50,000 ballots have not been added to the final totals, the Secretary of States Office reports.

That period of processing and curing signatures to ensure their legitimacy ends at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

County clerks will update results Thursday, which could resolve close races:

In House District 47, covering Otero, Fremont and rural Pueblo counties, Democrat Brianna Buentello leads Republican Don Bendell by 306 votes.

In Greeleys House District 50, Democrat Rochelle Galindo defeated Republican Michael Thuener by 1,468 votes.

In House District 27, which covers northern Jefferson County and Arvada, Republican Vicki Pyne has conceded the race to Democrat Brianna Titone.
Todd Tarbox, author of several books including Orson Welles and Roger Hill: A Friendship in Three Acts, lives in Colorado Springs.
This law firm's opulent office building stands as the headquarters of hate, as the lid comes off the Southern Poverty Law Center. The hate group cleverly disguises itself as an enemy of hate, but the emperor has no clothes.
A man with some of his belongings hangs out on one of the downtown benches on North Tejon Street in Colorado Springs.
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Democratic Gov.-Elect Jared Polis stopped to thank Marlon Reis, his partner and fellow father to their two children.

Heavy applause from the energized crowd gave Polis  the first openly gay governor elected in the U.S.  time to break away from the dais to hug Reis, Colorados first first man.

In the days since, Polis election has made national headlines, and his office has been flooded with interview requests, many to discuss the landmark moment in Colorado and the nations history.

For gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders across the land, his victory brings hope where once there was none.

What a wonderful, wonderful result from the state that gave us Amendment 2. I can remember reading about that and saying, What is wrong with these people? said Kris McDaniel-Miccio, a lesbian and University of Denver law professor who now is on leave in her home state of New York.

Only 26 years ago, Colorado was branded the Hate State after passing Amendment 2, which denied state and municipal benefits for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Huge conferences were canceled, costing the state millions of dollars. Celebrities refused to come to Colorado, and many leaders called for boycotts. The U.S. Supreme Court deemed the amendment unconstitutional in 1996.

We must conclude that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everybody else, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote when he delivered the opinion of the court. This Colorado cannot do.

That ruling might have shattered Colorados wave of anti-gay sentiment, said Anton Schulzki, a Palmer High School teacher and board member of Inside/Out Youth Services, the Colorado Springs nonprofit for LGBTQ youths.

Now all of a sudden it becomes, OK, you cant do it. That kind of legal discrimination is, in fact, illegal, Schulzki said. And from there it does become the kind of slow turnaround.

Much of that turnaround came from increased exposure across the board, McDaniel-Miccio said.

People started to realize that they had gay people in their families, that their favorite person at work was a lesbian or a gay man or a transgender person, she said. Their favorite doctor, their favorite lawyer  if people do have favorite lawyers  their favorite baker  we were everywhere, and the world didnt end.

She said she never flaunted her sexual orientation but was surprised to learn that one students grandfather accepted her sexual orientation.

He came to my office and said, My grandfather found out that my teacher was Italian American, and he was so proud  And then when I told him you were a lesbian, he said: So whats the difference? She didnt change did she? I almost fell out of my chair.

Part of Colorados progress came as a concerted effort, Schulzki said.

In the early 2000s, four multimillionaires  Rutt Bridges, Tim Gill, Polis and Pat Stryker  shared their resources and contacts to try to spur an ideological shift.

Bridges, Gill, Polis and Stryker, dubbed the Gang of Four, created what became known as the Colorado Model, which established political infrastructure to push Democrats into public offices across the state.

The gang saw results.

Polis was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Even Colorado Springs elected progressive politicians, such as Mary Lou Makepeace  the citys first and only female mayor  and City Council President Richard Skorman, who also was on the council from 1999 to 2006.

President Donald Trump has further catalyzed that leftward shift, said Robert Duffy, a political science professor at Colorado State University.

Educated voters, younger voters and a majority of unaffiliated voters do not embrace the culture war, anti-immigrant, climate denialism pushed by the (Republican) partys leadership, Duffy said. Colorado is not yet as blue as California, but if these trends continue, it will be.

Even some organizations of faith have changed perspectives.

New Life Church founder Ted Haggard, known for his anti-gay rhetoric, was ousted by his Colorado Springs church for having sex with a male prostitute.

The Rev. Brady Boyd, who took over as head pastor, still defines marriage as between a man and woman. But he said spiritual leaders can work with those who have different perspectives.

It doesnt mean we affirm their lifestyle, but it doesnt mean were pushing them out, Boyd said. Were not the gay-hating, gay-bashing New Life Church.

Echoing McDaniel-Miccio, Boyd noted that much of the shift can be attributed to increased exposure. Friends, family members and even those among his 12,000 active congregation members have differing sexual orientations and gender identities, he said. And all are welcome.

There are plenty of pastors willing to come to the table for the betterment of Colorado, he said. (Polis) wont find me difficult to work with.

But that doesnt mean the clash between religious rights and gay rights is over.

Jack Phillips Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood continues to roil in controversy. In 2012, he refused to make a custom wedding cake for two gay men, citing his religious beliefs. The men, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, sued, and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in Phillips favor in June.

The court didnt rule on the merits of the case, McDaniel-Miccio said, but rather determined that Phillips did not receive due process. A similar case likely will go before the Supreme Court too, she said.

Phillips, who could not be reached, also was sued in July 2017 after he refused to make a cake for a transgender woman, Autumn Scardina.

Colorado was late to adopt same-sex marriage; Massachusetts first legalized it in 2004.

McDaniel-Miccio joined a group of plaintiffs in 2014 in a lawsuit seeking to end the states same-sex marriage ban, which was lifted that October. The Supreme Court less than a year later deemed marriage a fundamental right, guaranteed to same-sex couples in the landmark decision Obergefell v. Hodges.

.

McDaniel-Miccio reiterated Schulzkis point, noting that Polis will act as a governor for all Coloradans. She said while shes forever loyal to New York, she wishes her home state had a Gov. Polis.

Fuhgetaboutit, she said. Colorado is on the cutting edge and should be very proud of itself.

Also in last weeks election, Brianna Titone, an Arvada Democrat, became the first known transgender person elected to the Colorado General Assembly.

Titones Republican opponent, Vicki Pyne, conceded the race Saturday after the Colorado secretary of state posted that Titone led by 368 votes.

All Coloradans arent on board with the ideological shift, however.

Evangelical chaplain and former state Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt said hes pushing for redder state, though hell work with Polis when possible.

Klingenschmitt once accused Polis of wanting to join ISIS in beheading Christians but later said the statement wasnt meant seriously. His organization, The Pray in Jesus Name Project, is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBT hate group.

Im actually hopeful that in the future Colorado will return to our conservative roots, Klingenschmitt said.

Klingenschmitt said hes concerned about three issues: whether Polis will try to force Phillips to bake cakes against his will, will work to ban conversion therapy and will allow transgender people to lie on their new birth certificates.

Polis election came as a Democratic wave crested across the state, replacing Republican incumbents. Polis will have a Democratic-controlled state Senate for his first term. The election also marks the first time that Democratic women outnumber men in the state Senate.

With those numbers, Schulzki said, conversion therapy likely will be banned. That programming to change sexual orientation has psychologically damaged many people, reports the Human Rights Campaign. For many, particularly children, the process leads to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness and suicide.

Yet such a change could set Polis up for blowback, McDaniel-Miccio said.

He could face charges that hes only doing it because hes a gay man, which is absurd.

The turn toward acceptance can be slow, but as long as Coloradans continue to participate in the democratic process, theyll see change, Schulzki said.

Twenty-five years ago, Jared Polis might have imagined running for governor one day. But the possibility in Colorado probably didnt exist. It was a pipe dream, he said. In 2018, its reality.

conrad.swanson@gazette.com @conrad_swanson
TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magnolia Colombia Limited (Magnolia or the Company) (TSXV: MCO) is pleased to welcome Chris Eben to its board of directors effective immediately.



Mr. Eben is a Managing Partner at TWG, a product consultancy with deep expertise in digital strategy, product design and engineering. He is a board member, speaker and active investor with a portfolio of more than 25 startups throughout the US and Canada.

Mr. Eben joined TWG after a lengthy career running product teams in the Enterprise Software Market, focused on Business Intelligence, Analytics and Performance Management. He has worked for startups and with large organizations and has helped to build teams in Silicon Valley, London, England and his hometown of Toronto. At TWG, he leads a growing team of 140 product managers, user researchers, designers and engineers that work with innovators from funded startups to large enterprises building software used by millions. Mr. Eben holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.

The appointment of Mr. Eben follows the resignation of Algimantas Didsjuliz as a director of the Company.

The management and board of Magnolia would like to thank Mr. Didsjuliz for his service and the contributions he has made to the Company and wish him well in the future.

About Magnolia Colombia Limited:

Magnolia Colombia Limited is a Canadian independent oil exploration company.

For further information, please contact:

James Lanthier, President & CEO

Email: james.lanthier1@gmail.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the appointment and resignation of directors of the Company. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: financing not being available at desired prices; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations; competition; future prices of mineral prices; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; and, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or required financing or in the completion of activities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
DENVER, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TriMetals Mining Inc. (TSX: TMI, OTCQX: TMIAF) (the Company) reports the release of its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and the related managements discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations (MD&A). In this press release, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.



During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported net loss of $0.20 million ($0.00 per share) compared with net loss of $2.63 million ($0.02 per share) for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. During the three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported net loss of $2.53 million ($0.01 per share) compared with net loss of $2.60 million ($0.02 per share) for the three months ended September 30, 2017. A primary driver in the results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 were the non-cash changes in the fair values of the Class B shares.

The Company continued to reduce its level of operations from previous years and manage its costs structure which resulted in a decrease in cash outflows from operations from $1.17 million to $0.79 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

Exploration spending during the nine months ended September 30, 2108 decreased to $1.17 million from $2.39 million incurred in the first nine months in 2017. The 2018 costs included $0.88 million incurred at Gold Springs and $0.29 million incurred at the Escalones property in Chile.

The Company continues to seek a partner to help advance Escalones towards development.

Subsequent to September 30, 2018 the Company closed a private placement of 6,428,571 units priced at Cdn $0.07 per unit for total gross proceeds of $343,900 (Cdn $450,000). Each unit consists of one common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company at an exercise price of Cdn. $0.11 per share for a period of 24 months from the closing date of the private placement.

In addition, the convertible note holders converted 100% of the outstanding balance of the Notes, plus accrued interest, into an aggregate of 33,398,487 common shares of the Company at an amended conversion price of Cdn $0.07 per common shares, and the Notes and the security interests provided to secure payment of the Notes, were thereby extinguished.

Arbitration against the Government of Bolivia

On July 12, 2018, the Arbitral Tribunal informed the Parties that it had completed the award, that it had been transmitted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), that the award was being translated and that it expected to issue the award by no later than August 2018.

On August 2, 2018, one of the arbitrators advised that he had seriously fallen ill and was unable to continue with the arbitration. On August 7, 2018, TMIs wholly owned subsidiary South American Silver Limited (SASL) wrote to the PCA and to the Arbitral Tribunal seeking confirmation that this illness would not affect the expected timing for the issuance of the award. On August 12, 2018, Bolivia wrote to the PCA requesting that a replacement arbitrator to be appointed and that the reconstituted Tribunal consider the possible repetition of the hearing and subsequent stages of the arbitration. In response, on August 14, 2018, SASL wrote to the PCA and to the Arbitral Tribunal objecting to Bolivias requests and noting that, if necessary, Articles 14(2) and 34(4) of the 2010 UNCITRAL Rules expressly permit the two other arbitrators to sign and issue the award.

On November 8, 2018 the Company received correspondence from the Permanent Court of Arbitration advising that the Arbitration Tribunal will issue the arbitration award (the Award) on a date prior to the end of November 2018.

TMI will provide additional information as it becomes available.

About TriMetals Mining Inc.

TriMetals Mining Inc. is a growth focused mineral exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the near-surface, oxide, heap-leachable Gold Springs gold project in mining friendly Utah and Nevada, USA, and the Escalones copper-gold skarn/porphyry deposit in Chile. The Company combines a track record of discovery and advancement of large projects, mining and exploration supportive jurisdictions, low political risk areas, key operational and process expertise, and a focus on community relations and sustainable development. Management has extensive experience in the global exploration and mining industry.

The Companys common shares and Class B shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TMI and TMI.B and the common shares and Class B(1) shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol TMIAF and TMIBF. Additional information related to TriMetals Mining Inc. is available at www.TriMetalsmining.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

TriMetals Mining Inc. Contact:

Eric Edwards

President & CEO

eedwards@trimetalsmining.com

Forward-looking Statements

Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as expect, plan, seek, continue, typical, will, intention, creating, and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Gold Springs project, including possible variations in mineral resources or grade, recovery rates, metal prices, availability of sufficient financing to fund further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms, availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and other risks more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form filed and publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the continuing support for mining by local governments in Nevada, Utah and Chile, the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Gold Springs project; and the execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for the Gold Springs Project, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.
News release from Vestas Asia Pacific

Singapore, 14 November 2018

Vestas has received its first Australian order for the largest turbine in its product line, the V150-4.2MW. The turbines, ordered by long-term customer Tilt Renewables for the 336 MW Dundonnell Wind Farm, feature the latest Vestas technology, proven to optimise asset performance and lower the cost of energy. This played a crucial role in the customer securing the project under the Victoria Renewable Energy Auction Scheme.



Located 23 km north-east of Mortlake in the Western District of Victoria, Dundonnell Wind Farm will feature 80 Vestas V150-4.2 MW turbines with a 114-meter hub height tower design to maximise performance under the sites specific wind conditions. Towers will be partially sourced from local Victorian suppliers.

The project is the largest of six successful bids under Victoria's 928 MW Renewable Energy Auction Scheme, and the second winning project backed by Vestas customised solutions.

Clive Turton, Vestas Asia-Pacific President said Two Vestas-backed projects have been awarded under Victorias Renewable Energy Auction Scheme, which underlines Vestas ability to offer customers customised solutions that ensure the lowest cost of energy, highest quality of technology, and optimal park performance.

Vestas is a long-term trusted partner of Tilt Renewables, with a proven track record in the market and the capabilities to support this projects successful auction outcome, said Tilt Renewables CEO Deion Campbell. Together, we are proving that wind energy is a critical part of the solution to meet Victorias energy needs.

The Dundonnell Wind Farm will also facilitate and take advantage of the Vestas Renewable Energy Hub in Geelong, a Vestas initiative to support the state governments ambitious renewable target, creating local jobs and boosting local businesses. The Hub involves several local partnerships to help Victorian industry build capabilities within turbine assembly, subcomponent supply, wind park maintenance, logistics and advanced materials and manufacturing science.

Together with our partners, Vestas is fully committed to the Victorian Renewable Energy Target, and we support the state governments approach to secure competitively-priced renewable energy while maximising the positive impact on the community, said Clive Turton.

The contract includes the supply, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, electrical balance of plant infrastructure, as well as a minimum 15-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to maximise energy production of both the wind turbine and Balance of Plant assets.

Commercial operations at Dundonnell Wind Farm are scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Rebecca Zhang

Vestas Asia Pacific

REZWE@vestas.com

+61386987339

About Vestas

Vestas is the energy industrys global partner on sustainable energy solutions. We design, manufacture, install, and service wind turbines across the globe, and with 97 GW of wind turbines in 79 countries, we have installed more wind power than anyone else. Through our industry-leading smart data capabilities and unparalleled 83 GW of wind turbines under service, we use data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind power solutions. Together with our customers, Vestas more than 24,400 employees are bringing the world sustainable energy solutions to power a bright future.



For updated Vestas photographs and videos, please visit our media images page on:

https://www.vestas.com/en/media/images .

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com and following us on our social media channels:

Attachment
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SETDA, the principal membership association representing U.S. state and territorial digital learning leaders, honored St. Albans City School, Vermont as the winner of the 2018 Student Voices Award . U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, introduced the schools students and provided remarks for an audience of 250 education leaders during the Education Forum awards luncheon at SETDAs Leadership Summit in Arlington, Virginia. The Education Forum is an annual event that shines a spotlight on the full scope of digital transformation of policies and practices currently underway to empower learners in K-12 education.



Each year for the past decade, SETDA has honored one school across the United States with the Student Voices Award; this is the first time a Vermont school has received the award, and the first PreK-8 school ever to be recognized. St. Albans City School students presented to an audience of state leaders and guests from national education organizations, the U.S. Department of Education, policy makers and corporate partners. The students highlighted specific examples of how technology tools and resources provided them with personalized learning opportunities infused with innovative, project-based learning. Students led a presentation about their projects, demonstrating pride and caring for their school community and environment, while emphasizing the role technology had in making those projects possible. They also shared the e-portfolio system that captures the many dimensions of each childs learning pathway through their years from PreK-12.

During her opening remarks, Secretary DeVos shared the following hopes for transformed learning experiences with the St. Albans students, Learning is fun, and it can be interesting and exciting. School should be too. We want to empower you to make it so. You are 100 percent of our future; you deserve 100 percent of our effort.

Technology is such a big part of our school that we often forget it is there, until the network goes down and we have to use the backup link. It is just the way we do things. It doesnt replace other ways of working, it enhances them. It is an honor and privilege for our school and our students to be at the conference sharing our story, said Joan Cavallo, Principal St. Albans City School.

"I am pleased and proud that St. Albans City School has been recognized as both the first Vermont school and the first PreK-8 school nationwide to receive the SETDA Student Voices Award, said Vermont Secretary of Education, Dan French. Its a testament to the innovative spirit of #vted educators, who are constantly finding new ways to integrate technology into the classroom at every level. Its just one of the many ways we are building a world-class education system that guarantees quality and equity for all Vermont learners. St. Albans method, incorporating technology at the core of the student experience, is outstanding and worthy of emulation," French continued.

Today, technology is making it easier for everyone  regardless of age, gender, income or geography  to learn anytime, anywhere, said Mylayna Albright, assistant vice president, AT&T Corporate Social Responsibility. The conversations and collaboration happening at SETDA are critically important for ensuring that technology can continue to remove barriers to learning, by connecting students and teachers with educational content wherever they are.

It has been so inspiring to hear from these students at the elementary and middle school levels about the ways students and teachers are leveraging technology to innovate and collaborate, stated Dr. Tracy Weeks, Executive Director, SETDA.

The full press release is available here: https://www.setda.org/outreach/press-releases/press-release-2018/pressreleasestudentsfromstalbans/

Learn more about the Student Voices award and past winners here: https://www.setda.org/outreach/awards/student-voices/

Support

Thank you to AT&T Aspire for supporting the Student Voices 2018. AT&T invests in education and job training to create a skilled and diverse workforce that powers our country for the future. Technology is making it easier for everyone  regardless of age, gender, income or geography  to learn anytime, anywhere. Through the AT&T Aspire initiative, AT&T brings together the power of its network  its employees, its technology and organizations  to connect people to opportunities through education and job training. Since 2008, AT&T has committed $450 million to programs to help millions of students in all 50 states and around the world. Learn more at att.com/aspire .
New York, NY, USA, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



United Religions Initiative (URI) and the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect have signed a partnership agreement, enhancing their working partnership at the national, sub-regional and continental level in Africa, to promote a culture of peace and to prevent atrocities before they take place.



The agreement was signed at the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 20, 2018 by the Rev. Victor H. Kazanjian, Jr., Executive Director of URI, and H.E. Mr. Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations.



The partnership agreement offers an opportunity for the two organizations to collaborate at the local, national, sub-regional, regional, and international levels to maximize implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence, which is specifically designed to enable religious leaders to prevent and counter the violent acts that spark atrocities.



Religious leaders, faith-based, and interfaith organizations have a responsibility to contribute to the building of peaceful, inclusive, and cohesive societies that are resilient to conflict, violent extremism, and atrocity crimes, said Ambassador Mussie Hailu, Global Envoy of URI and Representative at the African Union and UN Office in Africa, and Regional Director for URI-Africa.



The two organizations share a commitment, as stated by the objectives in their respective charters, to promote the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of dignity, respect and equal opportunity. Motivated by this shared commitment, the organizations agree to work together:

To collaborate on implementation of the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence

To work together to counter hate speech and prevent instances of incitement to violence

To promote implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 16 (concerning building peaceful, inclusive, and just societies)

Through its 956 member organizations in 108 countries across the world, URI is cultivating peaceful coexistence among different religions and cultures by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the environment.



MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH

###

ABOUT THE UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE



The United Religions Initiative is the largest grassroots interfaith network in the world. It cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities. We implement our mission through local and global initiatives that build the capacity of nearly 1,000 member groups and organizations, called Cooperation Circles, in 108 countries, to engage in community action such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, womens and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights.



URI holds the prestigious distinction of being a non-governmental organization (NGO) with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and has long-standing partnerships with several other UN agencies, including the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI).



Learn more at URI.org.

CONTACT:

Gaea Denker

URI Communications Manager

United Religions Initiative

415-762-2710

gdenker@uri.org

Attachment
Re: Canadian scientists have calculated that one human being should be [ #permalink

5 Kudos 6 Bookmarks
nakib77 wrote:

In a plan to stop the erosion of East Coast beaches, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed building parallel to shore a breakwater of rocks that would rise six feet above the waterline and act as a buffer, so that it absorbs the energy of crashing waves and protecting the beaches.

(A) act as a buffer, so that it absorbs

(B) act like a buffer so as to absorb

(C) act as a buffer, absorbing

(D) acting as a buffer, absorbing

(E) acting like a buffer, absorb

ideom + parallelismIdeom:you say "act AS", not "act LIKE" in this context. "You act like a crazy person" means you act in the same way that a crazy person does. You "act AS a crazy person" means you act as if you are a crazy person. The buffer is not supposed to mimic some other things MO, it is supposed to completely be the same as that other thing. So the breakwater functions precisely the same way that a buffer does, in this context.Parallelism:look to the right of the underlined portion.. We have protecting.. This is a present participle. So, we need a present participle in the underlined portion. Only C and D have this, the problem with D is that act is not supposed to be present participle, it distorts the meaning of the author.So, C is our choice
charliethebanana wrote:

So I haven't yet decided if I'm going to push through applying for MBAs (still trying to figure out if all the expenses are worth it). In any case, I'd like to get an honest opinion on which schools I should be targetting if I do push through (and which schools I shouldn't bother looking at).



I'm from South East Asia (think Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines) and graduated with a management/business degree from one of the top universities in my country. The goal after the MBA is to get into either a Hedge Fund or an Asset Management fund either in the US or back in Asia.



GPA : 3.1 (on the low end, and I don't have a legitimate reason for it aside from slacking off - will have to figure how to spin this though)

GMAT : 750

Work Experience : 4 years in Equity Research at a Bulge Bracket (think Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, UBS...). Started as an associate and got promoted to a writing analyst after 2 years.

Other qualifications : CFA Charterholder



Main question really is whether or not I even have a chance at the M7. If not, then what schools are likely going to accept such a profile?




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
NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is investigating potential claims against The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS). Our investigation concerns whether Goldman has violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices.



Since at least 2016, the company has been the subject of investigations by the U.S. Justice Department regarding a multibillion-dollar fraud and money-laundering scheme involving a Malaysian government fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), for which the company was the primary bond underwriter.

On November 2, 2018, U.S. federal prosecutors unsealed indictments against two of the companys former managing directors, Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, related to the probe that explicitly described them as agents acting within the scope of their employment on behalf of the company with the intent, at least in part, to benefit the bank.

On November 8, 2018, a report by Bloomberg detailed the personal involvement of the companys then-CEO Lloyd Blankfein in a meeting to establish ties with Malaysia and its new sovereign wealth fund that was referenced in the court documents unsealed the prior week.

On this news, the price of Goldman shares fell over 4%, closing at $222.65 on November 9, 2018.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired Goldman shares and suffered a loss, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at investigations@bespc.com , or telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form . There is no cost or obligation to you.

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a New York-based law firm concentrating in commercial and securities litigation. For additional information concerning our investigation into Goldman please go to http://www.bespc.com/gs/ . For additional information about Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., please go to www.bespc.com . Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contacts
Unsurprisingly, one of the most prominent sources of such public statements is White House National Security Advisor John Bolton. In addition to well-known and longstanding hawkish views regarding traditional adversaries of the Islamic Republic, Bolton is also reportedly close to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of democratic opposition that believes Western pressures could help to promote ongoing domestic unrest in the Islamic Republic, thereby facilitating popular overthrow of the theocratic dictatorship.

The Trump administration has mostly kept its distance from NCRI talking points and references to regime change, though the president and some of his foreign policy principals have affirmed American support for the mass uprising of Iranian anti-government activists at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. In the context of that support, public statements from Bolton and other officials do arguably point to the expectation that forthcoming US-led pressure will constitute aid to the Iranian Resistance, which has remained highly active in various localities ever since the nationwide uprising.

On Tuesday, Voice of America News quoted Bolton as saying, We think the [Iranian] government is under real pressure and its our intention to squeeze them very hard. As the British say, squeeze them until the pips squeak. Boltons further remarks only made reference to expansion and tough enforcement of economic sanctions. But in light of his participation, in recent years, at a number of international gatherings organized by the NCRI, it is probable that he also expects pressure to continue to mount from the drivers of Irans domestic unrest, principally the NCRIs main constituent organization, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

In January, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei publicly acknowledged that the PMOI (MEK) had planned for months to organize and promote the nationwide uprising. In so doing, he broke with longstanding regime propaganda that portrays the PMOI (MEK) as a small, cultish organization with little support within Iran, and little capacity to affect change. The regimes betrayal of its own talking points is particularly significant in view of current circumstances because government officials have not deviated in such a noticeable way from their propaganda regarding the effects of US sanctions.

After the US finalized its withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal last week with the re-imposition of the last of the formerly suspended sanctions, the supreme leader was joined by President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and others in saying that financial pressure would not change the regimes behavior in any degree. A minority of those statements anticipated increased economic strain, but they insisted that the Islamic Republic would be fully capable of weathering the storm.

In contrast to the traditional Iranian talking points regarding the PMOI (MEK) and the prospects for popular overthrow of the clerical regime, there is presently a good deal of foreign support for the regimes talking points regarding sanctions. That is to say, a number of European nations continue to stand by Iran in its conflict with the US over the future of the nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The leadership of the European Union has even gone as far as to say that it intends to put into place a special purpose vehicle that would facilitate transactions with the Islamic Republic and help its government to evade US sanctions.

But the duration of that support for Irans position is a matter of some dispute. In his remarks on Tuesday, Bolton stated that Europe as a whole was coming around to acceptance of the new situation regarding the JCPOA, with many European entities having already worked through denial and anger to get to that point. Indeed, a large number of European companied halted their business dealings with Iranian counterparts in between Trumps announcement of withdrawal in May and the re-imposition of oil and banking sanctions last week. As a result, US officials have been able to estimate that Irans global oil exports have already been cut nearly in half.

To whatever extent European businesses and government remain committed to opposing American pressure tactics, the Trump administration is reportedly unconcerned. This was the message of Sigal Mandelker, the US Treasurys undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, when she spoke to the media at the start of a European tour that is aimed at fostering international support for existing and forthcoming sanctions.

Im not concerned about the SPV actually at all, and I do believe that were going to find additional mechanisms by which we can work together, she said according to Bloomberg. I very strongly believe that we have a common picture with our European allies.

Mandelker also emphasized that this common picture partly consists of a shared understanding of national security threats emanating from the Islamic Republic. Those threats have been moved more directly into the spotlight in recent months by the revelation of foiled plots to assassinate Iranian opposition activists in Europe and to set off explosives at a compound and an international rally associated with the NCRI and the PMOI (MEK) . In October, the arrest of an Iranian operative in Copenhagen led Danish authorities to begin exerting pressure on the European Union to sanction and isolate the Iranian regime.

Although it is not clear whether the perceived terrorist threat influenced the decision, one key EU member state appeared to take a stand against European collaboration with the Islamic Republic this week, thereby lending credence to the Trump administrations notion that the SPV and other sanctions-busting measures will ultimately prove ineffective. Agence France Presse reported on Tuesday that the Austrian Foreign Ministry had rejected the EUs suggestion that Austria play host to the SPV.

The Austrian capital of Vienna might have been a natural choice of location, considering that the city already contains the headquarters for a number of international organizations and previously served as the location of nuclear negotiations that led to the JCPOA. But the Iranian embassy in Vienna was also the workplace of Assadollah Assadi, the high-ranking Iranian diplomat who was arrested in Germany for his lead role in planning the would-be terrorist attack on the NCRIs Iran Freedom rally outside of Paris.

Rising concerns about such terrorist attacks may lead other Europeans to drift away from former commitments to opposing the US sanctions. Pressure from the White House and from other critics of the Iranian regime might have a similar effect, as might the growing recognition of opportunities to use financial and diplomatic pressure as a means of supporting and facilitating the ongoing unrest inside the Islamic Republic.

But at the same time, EU efforts to counteract US sanctions may simply be constrained by practical considerations regarding enforcement and evasion. With full-scale sanctions just coming back into force, opinions seem to vary on this point. On Sunday, NPR reported that a number of analysts expect Iran and its partners to find ways of skirting the sanctions. But that same report called attention to improvements in such areas as satellite monitoring of oil tanker traffic, which could put the Iranians in the position of experimenting to determine which evasions tactics work and which do not.

The NPR piece credits Tehran with enduring international sanctions until the JCPOA was implemented in 2016. But it is widely understood that the Iranian regime came to the negotiating table approximately three years earlier because it was compelled to do so by the cumulative effects of those sanctions. In this sense, the regimes former sanctions-busting measures may not have been as effective as NPR implies. Thus, the newfound pressures on that regime may prove to be even stronger than the previous sanctions, if Tehran finds that foreign partners are either unable or unwilling to follow through on their plans to evade American pressures.
Well, luckily, Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the Iranian Resistance, has a simple plan; one that she laid out for the world in a video message to the Brussels-based conference Irans New Wave of Terrorism  The EU and US responses in October.

Maryam Rajavi says that the only way to effectively counter the mullahs terrorism is to stand firm against the Iranian Regime, rather than being compelled into silence and surrender.

Maryam Rajavi said: The mullahs have repeatedly announced that they can achieve victory through terror. As a result, imposing silence on western governments has been a significant achievement for them. Remaining silent vis-a-vis terrorism is the most damaging form of appeasement of the mullahs theocratic regime. Unfortunately, this is currently the prevalent policy in Europe. This is a mistake which costs not only the security of Iranian people but the security of Europe.

Maryam Rajavi explained that the Iranian Regime is highly motivated for terrorism right now, especially as their domestic situation is so untenable; with nationwide protests, a failing economy, and a strong opposition. On the international front, the mullahs are also facing major trouble, with the end of the appeasement policy (which cultivated in the 2015 nuclear deal) and the reimposition of meaningful sanctions against the Iranian Regime by the US.

Maryam Rajavi said that the mullahs have increased suppression at home and are trying to blackmail the international community through its expansion of terrorist actions in order to return to the status quo they enjoyed in 2016. These are not rogue individuals, but the systematic actions of the Regimes leaders; although they will try to shift the blame, even onto the victims.

Maryam Rajavi said: The regimes diplomats are systematically engaged in terrorism and espionage. In reality, terrorism is a key instrument for advancing their foreign policy. The decisions for terrorist operations are made at the National Supreme Security Council presided by Hassan Rouhani, and subsequently approved by [Ali] Khamenei.

Maryam Rajavi issued a list of ways that European governments could confront and contain the Iranian Regimes terrorism, which are noted here:

1. Stand firm against the mullahs

2. Make the dossiers on Irans terrorist activities public

3. Close the regimes embassies and other centres of espionage and terrorism

4. Dont deal with companies owned or affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or Khameneis executive staff

5. Speak out against grave human rights violations in Iran, like the executions and torture of political prisoners

6. Prosecute the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in Iran

7. Enforce the EU declaration of April 29, 1997, in dealing with the MOIS intelligence personnel and agents, which calls for:

a. The suspension of official bilateral Ministerial visits to or from Iran under the present circumstances

b. Confirmation of the established policy of EU Member States not to supply arms to Iran

c. Cooperation to ensure that visas are not granted to Iranians with intelligence and security functions

d. Concertation in excluding Iranian intelligence personnel from EU Member States
This crisis has led them to do what they do best: attack the Iranian people. Iran Human Rights Monitor reported an increase in executions, repression, and human rights abuse during October, with at least 22 executions, including political prisoners and juvenile offenders, as well as arbitrary murders, deaths in custody, inhuman treatment, cruel punishments, appalling prison conditions and the continued persecution of religious minorities.

This is not something new, but rather has been going on since the start of the Regime. However, we are now living in a time when the appeasement of the Iranian Regime is starting to end and the international community, led by the US, is starting to exert pressure on the mullahs to reform and act like a normal country.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: The Islamic Republic of Iran is not a normal state. Normal states do not attack embassies and military installations in peacetime; fuel terrorist proxies and militias; serve as a sanctuary for terrorists; call for the destruction of Israel and threaten other countries; aid brutal dictators such as Syrias Bashar al-Assad; proliferate missile technology to dangerous proxies; conduct covert assassinations in other countries; and hold hostage citizens of foreign nations. Normal states do not support terrorism within their armed forces, as Iran has done with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force. Normal states do not abuse the international financial system and use commercial industry to fund and support terrorism. Normal states do not squander their own natural resources. Normal states do not violently suppress legitimate protests, jail their own citizens or those of other countries on specious crimes, engage in torture, and impose severe restrictions on basic freedoms.

Everything in that statement is true: normal states do not behave as Iran does. Even in its desperation to cling onto power, the Regime exhibits the abnormal behaviour of repressing its citizens and using cyber warfare against the rest of the world. One of their key targets is the Peoples Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the main democratic opposition movement.

The Regime spreads fake news about the Resistance, even wrongly labelling them as terrorists, in order to make them less sympathetic to the West, so that the Regime can launch terrorist attacks against them in Western nations  as it has tried four times this year  with impunity.

In March, they tried to attack the MEK at their refuge in Albania, during Iranian New Year celebrations.

In June, the Regime tried to bomb an NCRI rally in Paris, which was attended by hundreds of foreign dignitaries, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. This resulted in the arrests of Assadollah Assadi, a diplomat from the Iranian Embassy in Vienna, two Iranians living in Belgium, and one other accomplice in France.

In August, two Iranians were arrested in the US for spying on the MEK. While in October, one Iranian agent was arrested for plotting to kill an anti-regime activist in Denmark.

Struan Stevenson, the coordinator of Campaign for Iran Change and a former MEP for Scotland, wrote: Despite such outrages, there are still appeasers in Western political circles who are prepared to close their eyes to the Islamic Republic of Irans human rights abuse, aggressive military expansionism, sponsorship of terrorism and cyber warfare. They believe that constructive dialogue with one of the worlds most evil regimes is preferable to taking a firm line and demanding that Iran behaves like, in the words of Pompeo, a normal state. The political appeasers have their willing media cohorts, who naively lap up every shred of misinformation about the Iranian opposition and every iota of propaganda about the regime.
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovative Properties Inc. (CSE:INR) (Innovative Properties or the Company) is pleased to provide a business update and announce a non-brokered private placement offering of 23,333,333 shares (the Share) at a price of $0.15 per Share for gross proceeds of approximately $3,500,000 (the Offering). Eventus Capital Corp. has been appointed as a finder in connection with the Offering.

Business Update

Further to the Companys news release dated November 5, 2018, the Company is pleased to highlight the successful careers and achievements of its new officers Mr. Shay Shnet and Mr. Mark Krytiuk, formerly at MPX Bioceutical Corp. (MPX).

Mr. Shay Shnet has over 20 years of experience in business and was most recently a founding partner and Vice President of Operations of MPX. While at MPX, Mr. Shnet spent the last 5 years of his career focused on the North American cannabis space helping build MPXs portfolio of international cannabis assets. Shay is highly skilled in finding unique opportunities and has been directly involved with the development, branding, importing, consumer packaging and distribution of a wide variety of product lines.

Mr. Krytiuk is a very successful cannabis operator and was a founding partner of MPX. Mark has over 5 years of experience as the Vice President of Grow Operations of MPX overseeing the production of medical marijuana and pharma-grade products across North America. Mark has been directly involved overseeing the rapid expansion and build out of nine facilities in three different countries, with ranging budgets of up to $30 million. Mark also has over 10 years of experience consulting and working with customers to develop their individual requirements for their indoor & outdoor cultivation processing space with all required design, workflow and equipment along with working with federal regulators and licensing bodies to ensure compliance.

The new management team led by Mr. Shnet and Mr. Krytiuk will be focused on investments in leading vertically integrated multi-state owner and operators of cannabis assets in the United States, Canada and globally.

The Company intends to change the name of its business to Nabis Holdings Inc. (Nabis) and CSE ticker symbol to NAB. The Company also announces that it has granted an aggregate of 5,300,000 incentive stock options to directors, officers, and consultants to purchase up to 5,300,000 common shares in the capital of the Company. The incentive stock options have an exercise price of $0.16 per share and expire five years from the date of grant. As a result of this option grant, Innovative Properties has 5,300,000 stock options outstanding, representing 7.76% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company.

Non-Brokered Private Placement Offering

All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. In addition, the Shares will be subject to a 10-month restricted hold period and will be available for resale in accordance with the following schedule: (i) 1/3 subject to voluntary hold period of 7 months expiring from the date of issuance, and (ii) 1/3 subject to voluntary hold period of 10 months expiring from the date of issuance, provided that all Shares will be released upon a change of control.

The net proceeds from the Offering are expected to be used for investments in cannabis-related companies and for general corporate purposes. Closing is anticipated on or before November 21, 2018.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma

Interim CEO and Director

For inquiries, please contact Mario Vetro at 604 687 7130 or 778-846-9970. Email contact is mario@skanderbegcapital.com

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ, materially from the Companys expectations are disclosed in the Companys documents filed from time to time with the Canadian Securities Exchange, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and the Alberta Securities Commission.

None of the securities issued pursuant to the Transaction have been or will be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws, and any securities issued pursuant to the Transaction were issued in reliance upon available exemptions from such registration requirements pursuant to Rule 506(b) of Regulation D and/or Section 4(a)(2) of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable exemptions under state securities laws. In addition, the securities issued under an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act are restricted securities as defined under Rule 144(a)(3) of the U.S. Securities Act and contain the appropriate restrictive legend as required under the U.S. Securities Act.
However, it would be naive to think that the Iranian Regime will reform because of these sanctions or any sanctions. The Mullahs Regime is built on the export of terrorism and domestic repression and nothing will change while they are in power.

The only way to stop the political, economic and international pressures currently facing Iran would collapse the Regime and so, the mullahs have expanded their terrorist operations across Europe, with a special focus on targeting the Iranian opposition. The Regime hoped to save the nuclear deal by exploiting the US-Europe divide on the matter, but the mullahs fanatic need to silence its opposition has caused Europe to turn against the Regime too.

The real question is not will sanctions cut down funding for Irans terrorist proxies?, because the mullahs now that if they accept restrictions over regional policy, they would lose control over the repressive forces.

Iran stands on the brink of a revolution and its people are already hungry for change. Their nationwide protests, supported by the US, are taking hold of Iran and will soon bring real change to the country.

Thats what the mullahs are truly scared of, which is why so-called moderate President Hassan Rouhani has instructed his Intelligence Ministry to assassinate dissidents abroad and threaten neighbours. In fact, the mullahs have been involved in at least four plots to murder its opposition en-masse in 2018 alone.

In October, the French government said that Irans Intelligence Ministry was undoubtedly behind the June plot to bomb an exiled opposition groups rally outside Paris, so they froze assets belonging to Tehrans intelligence services and two Iranian nationals, including an Iranian diplomat.

Hamid Bahrami, a human-rights and political activist who was previously held as a political prisoner in Iran, wrote: President [Donald] Trump should consider tough political sanctions toward Iran parallel with targeting its propaganda machine in either inside and outside the country. Hoping to change Irans unacceptable behaviour solely through economic sanction is like beating the air.
The clerical regimes controls over online access, content, and communications have been steadily expanding since the inception of the World Wide Web. Globally popular information sources and social media sites have generally acquired their own popularity inside the Islamic Republic, but many such outlets have been subjected to formal bans by Irans dedicated cyber police authorities. Twitter and Facebook, for instance, have both been banned since the 2009 Green Movement, although many young Iranians continue to routinely access those social networks through virtual proxy networks.

According to the CHRI report, the prospective legislation strives to address this, among other familiar issues that the regime encounters in its efforts to enforce restrictions on foreign-based information and modes of communication. The Managing Social Messengers Bill reinforces the bans by criminalizing the mere act of accessing a social messenger that has not been state approved. In this sense, reading a single Facebook post could be grounds for a person to be imprisoned for up to two years.

Furthermore, the text of the bill reportedly designates a very broad range of activities as punishable offenses. The use of domestically made but independent messaging apps could be grounds for arrest on the basis of the fact that many of those apps include built-in circumvention tools. In other words, potential access to foreign information is criminalized right alongside actual access. This lack of discretion also applies to internet service providers, for whom the legislation specifies prospective jail time and fines for the crime of failing to block unapproved content, even by mistake.

The breadth of potential enforcement is made even more troubling by CHRIs conclusion that while the text of the bill explicitly targets social messengers, its definition of that term is so broad as to potentially include the internet as a whole, and not just popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, and the much more recently banned Telegram.

Chapter two of the Managing Social Messengers Bill gives the General Staff of the Armed Forces absolute authority to protect the countrys digital borders  a term that can easily be interpreted as referring to the severance of Iranian information networks from the global internet.

Indeed, this is a goal that the Iranian regime has been pursuing for a number of years. Officials have repeatedly boasted of plans for a national information network, or halalnet, that would be entirely contained within the Islamic Republic and would only host content that has been approved by the government. The NIN launched on a limited basis in 2016, and CHRI described it as having significantly enhanced the governments ability to restrict, block and monitor internet use in Iran.

Naturally, the pending legislation would move the country even further in that direction, effectively putting all internet users activities within easy reach of a designated military authority. Already, online communications are regularly used as grounds for prosecuting Iranian citizens for vague national security crimes such as insulting the supreme leader or insulting the prophet [Muhammad]. This phenomenon would certainly grow very rapidly if all domestic use of the internet was mediated through the NIN or other easily monitored resources.

Fortunately for advocates of free speech and an open internet, the CHRI report notes that the Managing Social Messengers Bill has not yet been formally introduced to the parliament. But with the Iranian regime facing ongoing anti-government protests and general unrest, it is difficult to imagine that officials would not want to move quickly to exert control over the online tools that are widely credited with helping to organize public demonstrations and to disseminate information about them.

At the same time, these protests and the underlying social phenomena highlight the fact that Tehrans hoped-for isolation of the Iranian internet from the global internet would only work in one direction. This is to say, while the regime is clearly pushing for more control over the information to which Iranian citizens have access, that same regime still wishes to reach international audiences with propaganda and disinformation regarding the Iranian Resistance movement.

The regime has somewhat effectively managed the promotion of that disinformation even in the presence of its earlier, more limited controls on domestic information networks. But the regimes efforts would presumably be strengthened if it succeeded first in limiting challenges to its propaganda narratives from a reasonably informed Iranian public.

The potential consequences of this situation were roughly highlighted by UPI on Tuesday, in the form of an editorial by Struan Stevenson, a former member of the European Parliament and current coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change. The article credits Iranian propaganda networks with a long history of finding appeasers and useful idiots in the global media to carry its talking points regarding the Iranian Resistance and the supposed absence of prospects for domestically driven change.

Naturally, the current unrest, which stems from a nationwide uprising in December and January, makes it more difficult to convince foreign observers that such change is out of reach. For that reason, Stevenson argues, the clerical regime is desperate to cling to power and so it has ramped up repression and turned to the exploitation of cyberwarfare to spread propaganda, influence events, shape foreign perceptions and counter perceived threats.

If this is true, it stands to reason that the regime will be similarly motivated to move toward the implementation of the plan it has already carefully laid out for the expansion of controls on the flow of information and dialogue throughout the Islamic Republic, as well as from the free world into the Iranian nation.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S.



EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bri-Chem Corp. (Bri-Chem or Company) (TSX: BRY), a leading North American oilfield chemical distribution and blending company, is pleased to announce its third quarter financial results.

In $'000s For the three months ended

September 30, Change For the nine months ended

September 30, Change (except per share amounts) 2018 2017 $ % 2018 2017 $ % Revenue $ 31,159 $ 30,542 $ 617 2 % $ 93,731 $ 88,293 $ 5,438 6 % Adjusted Operating income/(loss) (1) 1,047 1,935 (888 ) (46 %) 1,311 4,227 (2,916 ) (69 %) Adjusted EBITDA(2) 1,376 2,337 (961 ) (41 %) 1,870 5,158 (3,288 ) 64 % Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue 4 % 8 % - 2 % 6 % - Adjusted Net earnings/(loss) (3) 353 921 (568 ) 62 % (920 ) 1,352 (2,272 ) 168 % Net earnings/(loss) $ 61 $ 921 $ (860 ) 93 % $ (3,785 ) $ 1,352 $ (5,137 ) 380 % Per Share Data (Diluted) Adjusted EBITDA $ 0.06 $ 0.10 $ (0.03 ) (31 %) $ 0.08 $ 0.22 $ (0.14 ) 64 % Adjusted Net earnings/(loss) $ 0.01 $ 0.04 $ (0.02 ) 62 % $ (0.04 ) $ 0.06 $ (0.10 ) 169 % Net earnings/(loss) $ 0.00 $ 0.04 $ (0.04 ) 93 % $ (0.16 ) $ 0.06 $ (0.21 ) 380 % Shares Outstanding Basic 23,932,981 23,632,981 23,932,981 23,632,981 Diluted 23,932,981 23,962,981 23,932,981 23,962,981 Financial Position Total Assets $ 80,469 $ 61,251 $ 19,218 31 % Working Capital 20,589 14,513 6,076 42 % Long-term debt 8,425 143 8,282 5792 % Shareholders Equity 25,305 28,282 (2,977 ) (11 %)

(1) Represents operating income before financing costs, foreign exchange, and income taxes and adjusted for restructuring charges, share-based payments and lost margin on one-time sales of product below cost (See page 15 for a further explanation of this non-IFRS measure).

(2) Represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, impairment and restructuring charges, share-based payments and lost margin on one-time sales of product below cost (See page 15 for a further explanation of this non-IFRS measure).

(3) Represents net earnings adjusted for one-time sales below cost and restructuring costs, net of tax. (See page 15 for a further explanation of this non-IFRS measure).

Q3 HIGHLIGHTS

Key Q3 2018 & YTD highlights include:

Bri-Chem generated consolidated revenue of $31.2 million, an increase of 2% from the third quarter in 2017, resulting primarily from higher business activity levels in three of our four North American business segments;

Sales from the USA fluids distribution division increased 23% and the USA and Canadian blending divisions increased 12% and 21% respectively over the third quarter of 2017. Revenue decreased by 28% in the Canadian fluids distribution as a result of a slow starting and wet summer drilling program which resulted in lower demand for drilling fluids products;

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $1.4 million versus $2.3 million in the comparable period in 2017. This decline is mainly due to the decrease in Canadian fluids distribution sales in Q3 and additional operational costs required to support the increased business demand throughout our USA drilling fluids distribution division;

Adjusted operating earnings was $1.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 compared to operating earnings of $1.9 million in Q3 2017, representing a $0.9 million decrease;

Bri-Chem reported adjusted net earnings of $0.4 million or $0.01 earnings per share diluted compared to net earnings of $0.921 million or $0.04 earnings per share diluted in 2017.

Working capital, as at September 30, 2018, was $20.6 million compared to $24.3 million at December 31, 2017. The Companys current ratio (defined as current assets divided by current liabilities) was 1.44 to 1 compared to 1.56 to 1 as at December 31, 2017.

Summary for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018:

During Q3 2018, drilling activity levels remained stable in the United States as the USA rig count averaged 1,051 rigs operating, while Canada experienced a wet summer drilling program, particularly in the month of September. Bri-Chems Q3 2018 consolidated revenues from its North American oil and gas drilling fluids distribution, blending and packaging businesses was $31.2 million compared to $30.5 million in the same prior period in 2017, while the Company had sales of $93.7 million for the nine months of 2018 compared to $88.3 million for the same nine month period of 2017. This revenue increase is a result of an increase in drilling fluid demand in the United States, while Western Canadian activity levels declined due to unfavourable weather conditions and overall Canadian oil and gas industry uncertainty.

Bri-Chem's Canadian drilling fluids distribution division generated sales of $8.6 million and $24.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, compared to sales of $12.0 million and $35.1 million over the comparable periods in 2017. Q3 2018 and year to date sales were lower as many customers were adequately stocked and the industry experienced a significantly wet summer drilling program, particularly in the month of September which experienced unusually wet weather throughout Alberta, resulting in many rigs sitting idle during that period. The number of wells drilled in Western Canada for the three month period ended September 30, 2018 was 1,880, representing a decrease of 2.5% over the comparable quarter in 2017. Bri-Chems United States drilling fluids distribution division generated sales of $16.8 million and $53.4 million for the three month and nine months ended September 30, 2018, compared to revenues of $13.7 million and $38.7 million in the comparable periods of 2017, representing increases of 23% and 38% respectively.

Bri-Chems Canadian drilling fluids blending and packaging division generated sales of $4.2 million and $11.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to the prior year same period sales of $3.4 million and $11.3 million respectively, representing a 21% increase quarter over quarter and a 1% decrease year over year. The Q3 increase relates to customers requiring more production chemicals, which resulted in more blending of those products during the quarter. Year over year, sales for the division have remained consistent. Bri-Chems USA fluids blending and packaging division, generated sales of $1.6 million and $5.0 million for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018, compared to $1.4 million and $3.2 million for the comparable periods in 2017 as the division has seen customer growth with the return of well abandonment work in California.

Adjusted operating earnings this quarter was $0.755 million compared with operating earnings of $1.9 million in the third quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.4 million and $1.9 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to $2.3 million and $5.2 million in the same comparable prior year periods; decreases of $0.96 million quarter over quarter and $3.3 million year over year. The third quarter adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales was 4% compared to 8% from the prior year quarter. This decrease in quarter over quarter adjusted EBITDA is mainly attributed to lower sales in the Canadian fluids distribution division as the industry experienced a decrease in rig activity during the quarter due to wet weather conditions experienced in Western Canada and additional operational costs required to support the increased business demand throughout our USA drilling fluids distributions. The Company had non-adjusted net earnings of $0.061 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 compared to net earnings of $0.921 million in the same prior year period. Adjusting for one-time sales below cost and restructuring costs, adjusted net earnings was $0.353 million for the third quarter while the adjusted net loss was $0.920 million for the first nine months of 2018.

OUTLOOK

In Canada, despite overall improvement in commodity price levels during 2018, a lack of consistent market access has impacted drilling activity during the third quarter of 2018 and has caused oil price differentials to widen significantly. Looking to 2019, PSAC has forecasted 6,600 wells to be drilled in 2019, which represents a 5% reduction over 2018s forecast. In addition, many Canadian companies are strategically shifting capital, curtailing volumes, shutting in production and delaying completion of recently drilled crude oil wells due to lack of market access for its oil, regulatory uncertainty, lack of fiscal competitiveness and stressed pipeline takeaway capacity. Our USA operations remains steady and we expect oil and gas drilling activity levels to stay consistent for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019. We will aim to stay focused on our strategy, maintain our market share and seek to increase margins in the near term.

About Bri-Chem

Bri-Chem has established itself, through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic growth, as the North American industry leader for wholesale distribution and blending of oilfield drilling, completion, stimulation and production chemical fluids. We sell, blend, package and distribute a full range of drilling fluid products from 27 strategically located warehouses throughout Canada and the United States. Additional information about Bri-Chem is available at www.sedar.com or at Bri-Chem's website at www.brichem.com.

To receive Bri-Chem news updates send your email to ir@brichem.com .

For further information, please contact:

Jason Theiss

Bri-Chem Corp.

CFO

T: (780) 571-8587

E: jtheiss@brichem.com

Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.




TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orca Exploration Group Inc. ("Orca" or the "Company") (TSX-V:ORC.A) (TSX-V:ORC.B) announces that it has filed its condensed consolidated interim financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018 with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.



Q3 2018 Financial and Operating Highlights

(all amounts are in United States Dollars ($) unless otherwise indicated)

Revenue for the quarter decreased by 1% to $15.1 million from $15.3 million in Q3 2017 and decreased 12% to $44.3 million over the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to $50.2 million for the comparable prior year period. The decrease for the quarter and year-to-date is a result of lower power sales volumes and lower Cost Gas allocations which resulted in an increase in Profit Gas allocations to the Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and a lower current income tax adjustment. Additional Gas deliveries and sales for the quarter averaged 43.6 million standard cubic feet per day (MMcfd) a decrease of 3% over 45.1 MMcfd in Q3 2017 and decreased 10% to 38.3 MMcfd for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to 42.7 MMcfd for the comparable prior year period. The decrease in Additional Gas volumes for the quarter is a result of a decrease in industrial volumes due to maintenance at a cement plant. The decrease in Additional Gas volumes for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 to the comparable prior year period is primarily a result of reduced consumption of natural gas volumes by the Tanzanian Electric Supply Company (TANESCO). The decrease in volumes having been partially offset by a 17% rise in the weighted average price for the quarter to $5.12/mcf from $4.38/mcf in Q3 2017 and an 8% rise to $5.21/mcf for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 from $4.82/mcf for the comparable prior year period. The increase in price is a result of the change in sales mix and the increase in price of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) during the last quarter.

The Company had a net income attributable to shareholders of $2.6 million for the quarter ($0.07 per share diluted) compared to a $0.03 million loss in Q3 2017 ($ nil loss per share diluted) and $10.5 million net income attributable to shareholders ($0.30 per share diluted) for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to $2.2 million ($0.06 per share diluted) for the comparable prior year period. The increase in net income for the quarter was a combination of the reversal of the provision for doubtful accounts of $1.4 million related to the collection of TANESCO arrears previously provided for and cost savings primarily in relation to general administrative expenses. The increase in net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was primarily a result of the increase in finance income as a result of the reversal of the provision for doubtful accounts of $14.9 million related to the collection of TANESCO arrears previously provided for being offset by increased stock based compensation costs and increased interest expense.

Net cash flows from operating activities for the quarter decreased by 27% to $10.5 million ($0.30 per share diluted) in the quarter compared to $14.4 million ($0.41 per share diluted) in Q3 2017 and decreased by 30% for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 to $24.7 million ($0.70 per share diluted) from $35.3 million ($1.01 per share diluted) for the comparable prior year period. The decrease for the quarter is primarily the result of the collections from TANESCO being offset by payments to creditors. The decrease for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 from the comparable prior year period is primarily a result of the payments for stock based compensation.

Funds flow from operations (1) for the quarter increased by 7% to $4.5 million ($0.13 per share diluted) from $4.2 million ($0.12 per share diluted) in Q3 2017 and decreased 87% for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 to $1.9 million ($0.05 per share diluted) from $14.8 million ($0.42 per share diluted) for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. The decrease for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 from the comparable prior year period is primarily due to the lower net cash flows from operating activities combined with an increase in interest expense.

Total capital expenditures for the quarter were $1.4 million compared to $0.6 million in Q3 2017 and $3.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to $1.1 million for the comparable prior year period (excluding transfers of workover costs into the Cost Pool that were incurred in 2015). The capital expenditure in the quarter and first nine months ended September 30, 2018 relate primarily to costs for the installation of a refrigeration unit.

Working capital increased 15% to $80.0 million as at September 30, 2018 compared to $69.6 million as at December 31, 2017. The increase is primarily due to the cumulative cash collections from TANESCO for current deliveries and arrears offset by an increase in stock based compensation during the period. The closing cash at September 30, 2018 was $61.4 million (December 31, 2017: $122.3 million). The decrease in cash is primarily a result of the investment in short and long-term bonds of $70.4 million at September30, 2018 (December 31, 2017: $ nil) of which $3.8 million matures in October 2019 and has been classified as non-current assets.

At September 30, 2018 the current receivable from TANESCO was $ nil (December 31, 2017: $ nil). During the quarter the amounts received from TANESCO continued to be in excess of the revenue recognized for gas sales to TANESCO. As a result, an additional $1.4 million of excess receipts over sales invoiced during the quarter has been allocated to the long-term arrears together with the associated reversal of the provision for doubtful accounts. During Q2 2018 $13.4 million of cumulative excess receipts over sales invoiced since Q3 2017 was allocated to the long-term arrears together with the associated reversal of the provision for doubtful accounts. The TANESCO long-term trade receivable at September 30, 2018 was $59.5 million with a provision of $ 59.5 million compared to $74.4 million (with a provision of $74.4 million) at December 31, 2017. Subsequent to September 30, 2018 the Company has invoiced TANESCO $3.6 million for 2018 gas deliveries and TANESCO has paid the Company $4.4 million.

On June 18, 2018 the Company received the preference share consideration of $4.0 million relating to the sale of 7.933% (7,933 Class A common shares) of its subsidiary, PAE PanAfrican Energy Corporation (PAEM), to Swala (PAEM) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Swala Oil & Gas (Tanzania) plc. (Swala). The net consideration received by the Company for the transaction was $19.7 million of which $15.7 million cash was received on closing of tranche 1 in January 2018. The preference shares entitle the holder to a 10% per annum distribution payable 15 days after each quarter end. The Company has indefinitely extended the outside date to complete tranches 2 and 3 of the transaction pursuant to which Swala would acquire up to 40% of PAEM (an additional 32.067%) on the same terms and conditions as tranche 1. The Company has retained the right to terminate the extension for tranches 2 and 3 at any time. There are no assurances given that one or more of the tranches will be completed on the terms previously disclosed or at all. During the quarter a dividend of $0.5 million was paid to Swala (PAEM) Limited from PAEM.



(1) Please refer to the Management Discussion &Analysis (MD&A) for the definition.



Operating and Financial Highlights



THREE MONTHS ENDED % NINE MONTHS ENDED % SEPTEMBER 30 CHANGE SEPTEMBER 30 CHANGE (Expressed in $000 unless indicated otherwise) 2018 2017 Q3/18 vs

Q3 /17 2018 2017 Q3/18 vs

Q3 /17 OPERATING Daily average gas delivered and sold (MMcfd) Additional Gas 43.6 45.1 (3)% 38.3 42.7 (10)% Industrial 10.8 14.0 (23)% 13.0 12.7 2% Power 32.8 31.1 5% 25.3 30.0 (16)% Average price ($/mcf) Industrial 9.23 7.65 21% 8.20 7.69 7% Power 3.78 3.63 4% 3.68 3.59 3% Weighted average 5.12 4.38 17% 5.21 4.82 8% Operating netback ($/mcf) (1) 2.38 2.94 (19)% 2.49 3.23 (23)% FINANCIAL Revenue 15,124 15,287 (1)% 44,306 50,223 (12)% Net cash flows from operating activities 10,483 14,447 (27)% 24,667 35,272 (30)% per share - basic and diluted ($) 0.30 0.41 (27)% 0.70 1.01 (30)% Net income (loss) attributable to shareholders 2,637 (34 ) n/m 10,519 2,184 382% per share - basic and diluted ($) 0.07 (0.00 ) n/m 0.30 0.06 382% Funds flow from operations (1) 4,536 4,241 7% 1,880 14,777 (87)% per share - basic and diluted ($) 0.13 0.12 7% 0.05 0.42 (87)% Capital expenditures (excluding transfers) 1,354 603 125% 3,215 1,073 200% AS AT SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 DECEMBER 31, 2017 Working capital (including cash) 79,955 69,575 15% Cash 61,441 122,322 (50)% Investments in short term bonds 66,599 - n/m Long-term loan 58,603 58,518 0% AS AT Outstanding Shares ('000) SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 Class A 1,750 1,751 0% Class B 33,506 33,106 1% Total shares outstanding 35,256 34,857 1% Weighted average of outstanding Class A and Class B shares (000) 35,256 34,857

(1) The funds flow from operations and operating netback are non-GAAP measures which may not be comparable to other companies. Please refer to the MD&A for Information on non-GAAP measures.

The complete condensed consolidated unaudited interim financial statements and MD&A for the three and nine month periods ending September 30, 2018 may be found on the Companys website www.orcaexploration.com or on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Orca Exploration Group Inc.

Orca Exploration Group Inc. is an international public company engaged in natural gas exploration, development and supply in Tanzania through its subsidiary PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited. Orca trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbols ORC.B and ORC.A.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.



Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company discloses several financial measures herein that do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). These financial measures include funds flow from operating activities, funds flow per share, and operating netbacks.

Funds flow from operating activities represents cash flow from operations before working capital changes and demonstrates the Company's ability to generate cash necessary to achieve growth through capital investments. Funds flow from operating activities per share is calculated on the basis of funds flow from operating activities divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding.

Operating netbacks represent the profit margin associated with the production and sale of additional gas and is calculated as revenues less processing and transportation tariffs, government parastatals revenue share, operating and distribution costs for one thousand standard cubic feet of additional gas. This is a key measure as it demonstrates the profit generated from each unit of production and is widely used by the investment community.

Management believes that these financial measures are useful supplemental information to analyze operating performance and provide an indication of the results generated by the Companys principal business activities. Investors should be cautioned that these measures should not be construed as an alternative to net income or other measures of financial performance as determined in accordance with IFRS. The Company's method of calculating these measures may differ from other companies, and accordingly, they may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Please see the Companys MD&A, which is available at www.sedar.com for additional information about these financial measures.
- Actor Keempe De Leon was seen part of the annual Station ID of the Kapamilya network

- He stayed in GMA-7 for 16 years as he became part of the noontime show, Eat Bulaga

- Now, he is part of an upcoming drama series in ABS-CBN

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Former Kapuso actor Keempe De Leon is part of the recently-produced ABS-CBN Christmas Station ID together with more or less 400 Kapamilya stars.

KAMI learned of this information when the son of Eat Bulagas mainstay Joey De Leon was seen in the shooting of the much-awaited music video.

Keempe surprised everyone earlier in October as he made a transfer to ABS-CBN from his home network for 16 years which was GMA-7.

In an Instagram post, the comedian was spotted having a nice bonding with fellow celebrities Cristine Reyes, Matet de Leon, RK Bagatsing, Enzo Pineda, and child star Sophie Reola.

He and the Kapamilya stars mentioned above are set to star in an upcoming drama series, Nang Ngumiti Ang Langit to be directed by FM Reyes.

It can be remembered that in 2002, Keempe made his last appearance as an ABS-CBN artist in the now-defunct comedy gag show, Klasmeyts.

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!

In a previous article by , the actor-comedian revealed that he and Ara Mina were in a relationship before.

Keempe, or Joseph Joachim Tugas de Leon in real life, was born on January 8, 1973. Aside from being an actor, he is a TV host and former matinee idol. He is the son of Joey to Daria Ramirez.

Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news!

The topic of this episode is a day we are waiting for the whole months. Yes, Im talking about the PayDay in the Philippines. Have you ever promised yourself to start making savings? Click Play to watch our hilarious expectations vs. reality video about PayDay in the Philippines.  on HumanMeter!

Source: Kami.com.ph
- Kris Aquino filed 44 counts of theft against her former business partner and talent agent, Nicardo "Nicko" Falcis II

- According to court documents Kris filed, Falcis allegedly used funds from her production company

- Falcis was the managing director of KCAP or Kris Cojuangco Aquino Productions

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed!

It has been weeks since Kris Aquino shared about a former business partner and talent agent who betrayed her. The identity of the person who allegedly stole from her has been revealed to be Nicardo "Nicko" Falcis II.

Falcis allegedly used funds from Kris Cojuangco Aquino Productions (KCAP) for his personal expenses. This was based on the court documents of the filed complaints by Aquino.

According to a report by CNN Philippines, Kris filed 44 counts of qualified theft, as well as violation of the Access Devices Regulation Act agaisnt Falcis who used to manage KCAP. Previous reports showed that Kris filed the complaints on October 12 before city prosecutors in 7 different cities including Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, Makati, and Manila.

Money amounting to P1,270,980.31 were charged to corporate card under KCAP which he allegedly used for his personal expenses without Aquino's consent.

Prior to my discovery of these expenses and demand for their payment, respondent neither informed me about them nor undertook or made arrangements to settle them."

It is also revealed in the complaint that Falcis tried to return the money through a check worth P437,000, but this does not change the fact that he committed a crime through serious breach of trust.

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!

Kris's Instagram post looked like it was regarding the case. The clip she shared showed images of credit card statements showing a corporate card apparently used for expenses including flights, hotel accommodations, food and shopping.

Kris Aquino is the daughter of the late former President Cory Aquino. Her father is the late former Senator Ninoy Aquino.

She is also the sister of former President Noynoy Aquino, who was succeeded by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Queen of All Media has a son with Philip Salvador named Josh and a son with James Yap named Bimby.

POPULAR: Read more about Kris Aquino 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
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Body and Mind Inc. (CSE: BAMM, US OTC: BMMJ) (the Company or BaM) has filed its audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2018. The financial statements are the first reported audited consolidated financial statements of the company since the acquisition (Acquisition) of Nevada Medical Group LLC (NMG) by BaM on Nov. 14, 2017. It should be highlighted to readers of these consolidated financial statements that the consolidated statement of operations reports NMGs revenues and expenses from November 15, 2017 to July 31, 2018, which is approximately 8.5 months. NMGs revenues and expenses prior to the Acquisition date from August 1, 2017 to November 14, 2017 have been recorded as part of the acquisition.



Financial highlights

Record quarterly revenues of USD $1,073,982 million for fiscal Q4 2018 compared with USD $789,209 for fiscal Q3 2018;

Significant inventory as at July 31, 2018 of USD $953,417 compared to USD $691,709 as at April 30, 2018;

Total Sales for Fiscal Year USD $2,692,979

Gross Margin for Fiscal Year USD $1,196,197

One time listing and transaction costs of USD $795,805; and

Non-cash share-based compensation of USD $789,679 and accretion expense of USD $277,219

Basic Loss Per Share $(0.05)

"Our last quarter was the best quarter on record and closed with July being our best month to date, stated Robert Hasman, a director of Body and Mind. Our Nevada operations are cash flow positive and are realizing efficiencies from our Phase II expansion. We anticipated continued sales growth as the increased cultivation from Phase II expansion is harvested and translates to sales in December. Our strategy is to leverage our deep experience of cannabis operations as we pursue low cost entry into new markets and grow our premium Body and Mind brand. The recent strategic financing of Body and Mind with Australis Capital Inc. is a testament to our strong operations, first class team and numerous growth opportunities.

The audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2018 are available on SEDAR and should be read in connection with this release.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Michael Mills 778-389-0007

mmills@bamcannabis.com

About Body and Mind Inc.

BaM is a publicly traded company investing in high quality medical and recreational cannabis cultivation and production and retail. Our wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary was awarded one of the first medical marijuana cultivation licences and holds cultivation and production licenses in Nevada and partial ownership of a production and dispensary license in Ohio. BaM products include dried flower, edibles, topicals, extracts as well as GPEN Gio cartridges. BaM marijuana strains have won numerous awards including the Las Vegas Hempfest Cup 2016, High Times Top Ten, the NorCal Secret Cup and the Emerald Cup.

Body and Mind continues to expand operations in Nevada and Ohio and is constantly reviewing accretive expansion opportunities.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as expects or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, estimates or intends, or stating that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation of activities, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release.

Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may constitute forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Companys ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
English French

QUEBEC CITY, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LeddarTech, an industry leader in providing the most versatile and scalable automotive LiDAR development platform, announces that as part of the LeddarTech Mobility Leadership Series, two of its experts, Pascal Tousignant, senior product line manager and Frantz Saintellemy, president and COO, will take the stage at two different key European industry events this month : the DVN Conference on LiDAR and the Telegraph Smart Mobility Summit 2018.



DVN Conference on LiDAR

On November 20, 2018, in Frankfurt, Germany, LeddarTechs Senior Product Line Manager Pascal Tousignant will present Demystifying LiDAR Technologies and Business Models for Automotive AD Applications. This presentation explains LeddarTechs technology choices and their competitive advantages. It also provides details on the LeddarTech LiDAR solution that enables customers to design custom automotive LiDARs with the leverage of LeddarTechs reliable, safe and flexible platform. More specifically, this presentation will show how LeddarTechs technology can evolve and scale-up from Level 2 to Level 5 of vehicle automation and will present the different business models that can bring the LiDAR to the mass market.

The DVN Conference on LiDAR brings together worldwide LiDAR and automotive lighting experts. It features lectures that cover topics such as LiDAR technology, LiDAR integration in headlamps and rear lamps, LiDAR simulation and testing, as well as market challenges and opportunities; some round tables on the pros and cons of different technologies, as well as an exhibit that will present the most recent LiDAR automotive technologies and their integration process into cars.

With technology becoming more and more at the forefront of the automotive industry, the rapid pace of change also brings some misconceptions on LiDAR technologies, stated Pascal Tousignant, senior product line manager at LeddarTech. I look forward to bringing some clarity on LiDAR technologies and sharing with attendees of the DVN Conference on LiDAR LeddarTechs insights on a winning business model for LiDARs in autonomous-driving applications.

The Telegraph Smart Mobility Summit 2018

On November 21, 2018, in London, UK, LeddarTechs President and COO, Frantz Saintellemy will address the key opportunities and challenges related to the commercial deployment of active safety and autonomous driving (AD) technologies into production vehicles. His presentation, Market Forces Driving the Future of Autonomous Driving and ADAS, provides an overview of the significant new business opportunities that autonomous driving brings, discusses the disruptive business model based on a LiDAR development platform that enables mass-market applications in the automotive industry, and explores the LiDAR technology roadmap to meet key requirements of automakers in terms of performance, cost, scalability and functional safety.

The Telegraph Smart Mobility Summit is a forum for business leaders and policymakers to accelerate consumer confidence, demonstrate real world benefits and optimize commercial opportunities from the revolution in connected-autonomous-electric cars.

LeddarTech offers a go-to-market strategy that is geared to meet industry challenges through its unique technology and LiDAR development platform offering, as well as through a distinctive business model that leverages win-win partnerships with leading industry players to enable the large-scale deployment of solid-state LiDARs in production vehicles, said Frantz Saintellemy, president and COO of LeddarTech. Mr. Saintellemy added, Our Leddar Ecosystem also uniquely positions LeddarTech to navigate the complexity and face the challenges that come with bringing LiDAR solutions from the lab to market. The Telegraph Smart Mobility Summit 2018 is a great forum to exchange on best practices with the key influencers of the autonomous-driving and ADAS industry.

About LeddarTech



LeddarTech is an industry leader in providing the most versatile and scalable automotive LiDAR development platform based on the unique LeddarEngine, which consists of a suite of automotive-grade and functional safety certified SoCs working in tandem with LeddarSP software. The company is responsible for several technological innovations in cutting-edge mobility remote-sensing applications. Automotive active safety, autonomous driving, intelligent transportation, inner-city fleet vehicles, and more, are being enhanced using patented LeddarTech technologies.

Additional information about LeddarTech is accessible at www.LeddarTech.com, and on LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.

LeddarTech, Leddar, LeddarEngine, LeddarSP, and LeddarTech logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeddarTech Inc. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.
KELOWNA, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GOLDEN RIDGE RESOURCES LTD. (TSX-V: GLDN) ("Golden Ridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed its option agreement with Lac Properties Inc. (LAC), a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation, and now has earned a 100% interest in the Hank Project, located in BCs Golden Triangle District. The Company is eagerly awaiting assays for the remaining holes from its 2018 drilling campaign at Hank and these results will be released immediately following receipt, review and QA/QC checks.



This is a milestone achievement for our Company and I would personally like to thank our staff, board, contractors and Barrick Gold for their hard work and belief in the Hank project. We have now completed approximately $4,000,000 of exploration expenditures at Hank since 2015. In that time, we have completed nearly 11,000m of diamond drilling, as well as several geophysical and geochemical surveys. This methodical and systematic exploration work has led us to new discoveries at Hank, including the Williams Zone and the Boiling Zone, as well as greatly improved our geological understanding of the property, stated Mike Blady, President and CEO of Golden Ridge Resources. All the assay results and geological data from our 2018 drill program will assist us in vectoring toward higher grades at the Williams and Boiling Zones as well as extending the systems laterally and to depth.

LAC will continue to hold a 2% NSR on the project as well as certain back-in rights. Under the terms of a Back-in Right Agreement between the Company and LAC, LAC has the option to purchase a 51% interest in the Hank Project upon a mineral resource of at least 3 million ounces of contained gold or gold equivalent (Hurdle Notice) being generated. LAC shall have the right to exercise for a period of one hundred and fifty (150) days after the Hurdle Notice has been delivered to LAC. If the back-in right is exercised, Golden Ridge will receive two times its expenditures in cash, the 2% NSR will be cancelled and 51/49 joint venture will immediately be formed. These royalties and back-in rights will be filed with the mineral titles online registry maintained by the chief gold commissioner of British Columbia.

About Golden Ridge

Golden Ridge is a TSX-V listed exploration company engaged in acquiring and advancing mineral properties located in British Columbia. Golden Ridge owns a 100% interest in the 1,700-hectare Hank copper-gold-silver-lead-zinc property located in the Golden Triangle district, approximately 140 kilometres north of Stewart, British Columbia.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

GOLDEN RIDGE RESOURCES LTD.

Mike Blady

Mike Blady

President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information regarding this news release, please contact:

Mike Blady, CEO and Director

T: 250-717.3151

F: 250-717.1845

W: www.goldenridgeresources.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release, constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including: that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, that the Company obtains required regulatory approvals and that the Company continues to maintain a good relationship with the local project communities. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in delays, or cessation in planned work, that the Company's financial condition and development plans change, delays in regulatory approval, risks associated with the interpretation of data, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company as set forth in the Company's Managements Discussion and Analysis reports filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than 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 release.
Congressional Black Caucus Responds to Trumps Disrespect Towards Black Women Journalist

Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02), Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, released the following statement in response to Donald Trumps repeated verbal abuse of black women.

ADVERTISEMENT

This president is an insecure bully and lacks basic respect for others. In recent days, while nursing wounds from a major political rejection this week, he has found a way to say abusive and disrespectful things about the former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, and three reporters who have been ably and professionally doing their jobs, April Ryan, Abby Phillip and Yamiche Alcindor. This is just the latest series of aggressive and unhinged attacks from a president that consistently fails to set a good example for this country. He has also repeatedly attacked Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Reps. Frederica Wilson and Maxine Waters. This president clearly has demonstrated animus toward women in general, but black women in particular. This has to stop. I would call for him to apologize for his various disrespectful statements, but I know he lacks the compassion, self-awareness, and magnanimity to do so. Instead, I urge him to study these intelligent, strong, and accomplished women in order to learn lessons in grace, class, and dignity.
HHS Secretary Azar declares Public Health Emergency in California due to Wildfires

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar today declared a public health emergency in California due to wildfires. The declaration follows President Trumps emergency declaration for the state and gives the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services beneficiaries and their healthcare providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs created by the wildfires.

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, Secretary Azar said. 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.

So far, the wildfires have forced the evacuation of at least two hospitals and eight other healthcare facilities. A smoke advisory was issued for portions of Los Angeles County. Smoke can present a significant health threat for people with asthma and other lung conditions.

ADVERTISEMENT

HHS has deployed regional emergency coordinators ( REC s) to coordinate with state and local health authorities and emergency response officials. RECs serve as HHS primary representatives for emergency response and recovery throughout the country at the regional level and work with federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officials and healthcare representatives to plan for public health and medical emergencies.

Staff from HHS National Disaster Medical System and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are prepared to provide medical care and public health support if needed.

In addition, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations Disaster Distress Helpline is available to assist residents in the impacted areas in coping with the stress of the wildfires. The Disaster Distress Helpline provides immediate 24/7, 365-days-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. This toll-free, multilingual, and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. Stress, anxiety, and other depression-like symptoms are common reactions in disasters. Call 1-800-985-5990 toll free or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.

In declaring the public health emergency in California and authorizing flexibilities for CMS beneficiaries, Secretary Azar acted under his authority in the Public Health Service Act and Social Security Act. These actions and flexibilities are retroactive to Nov. 8, 2018.
This is Whats Trending Today.

The European Unions highest court has dismissed an attempt by a Dutch cheese maker to copyright its cream cheese. The ruling means that a person or company cannot legally own the taste of food and prevent others from copying it.

Dutch company Levola Hengelo makes a cheese spread called Heksenkaas, or witches cheese. The company claimed that cheese maker Smilde copied its product with another cheese spread called "Witte Wievenkaas," or white women's cheese.

So, Levola took its competitor to court. The company said the competitors cheese was a copy of its product and violated its copyright of the cheeses taste.

The Dutch court asked for guidance from the European Court of Justice, or ECJ. The ECJ judges said, The taste of a food product is not eligible for copyright protection.

They said unlike works of writing, photography, movies and music, the taste of a food product cannot be identified with precision and objectivity.

The judges added that the taste of food depends on personal taste and experience.

This is not the first time that the court had to rule on a dispute about food. Last July, the ECJ ruled that Nestle could not trademark the four-finger shape of its Kit Kat chocolate bars.

Michel Wildenborg of Levola disagreed with the cheese ruling. He said, We find it a pity and incorrect that the creative expression in food and perfumes do not have copyright protection and that everyone can make a copy of it.

And that Whats Trending today.

Hai Do adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on Reuters, Associated Press and other news reports. Mario Ritter was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

eligible adj. able to do or receive something

precision n. the quality of being exact or accurate

trademark n. something that identifies a particular companys product and cannot be used by another company without permission

pity n. something that causes sadness or disappointment
American television network, CNN, took legal action against the administration of President Donald Trump Tuesday over one of its reports press documents.

CNN demanded that reporter Jim Acostas press pass, which permits him to enter the White House, be returned. CNN said the action by White House officials violated the constitutional right of freedom of the press. The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution bars Congress from passing laws that harm the freedom of the press.

The administration removed Acostas press pass following a heated news conference last week.

Acosta had questioned President Trumps use of the word invasion to describe groups of migrants heading to the U.S. Acosta then refused to give up a microphone when Trump said he did not want to hear anything more from him.

Trump said, CNN should be ashamed of itself, having you work for them. You are a rude, terrible person.

The White House took away Acostas pass later in the day. At the time, officials said he placed his hands on a woman working for the White House who was trying to take the microphone. White House spokesman Sarah Sanders also shared a disputed video of Acostas movements toward the woman.

The AP said action in part of the video was made to appear faster than it really was, making Acostas actions look more threatening.

CNN also said Acosta was not given warning of the action or a chance to appeal the decision.

Trump has repeatedly used the term fake news to describe CNN and its reporters. The president has also called some members of the media enemy of the people.

Theodore Olson is representing CNN in the legal case against the Trump administration. He said, Mr. Acostas press credentials must be restored so that all members of the press know they will remain free to ask tough questions, challenge government officials and report the business of the nation to the American people.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said this is just more grandstanding from CNN. She said the administration would defend against the legal case.

She added, The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor.

The White House Correspondents Association supported CNN in the legal case in Washington. Olivier Knox is president of the reporters organization. He said the president should not choose some reporters who cover him over others for no reason.

During the weekend, Acosta received permission from the French government to report on Trumps visit to Paris. But the U.S. Secret Service, which protects the American president, denied him entrance.

CNN said in the legal case that without his press pass, a daily White House correspondent like Acosta effectively cannot do his job. The network also asked the court for a ruling to immediately stop the action and to return the pass to Acosta.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Hai Do adapted this AP story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

ashamed adj. feeling shame or guilt

rude adj. not having or showing concern or respect for the rights and feelings of other people; not polite

credentials n. a document which shows that someone is qualified to do a certain job

challenge v. to question the action or authority of someone

grandstanding v. to behave or speak in a way that is intended to impress people and to get public approval

monopolize v. to do something in a way that prevents others from doing the same thing
Four years after taking office, Indonesian President Joko Widodos goal of food sovereignty continues to be a work in progress.

The president, known locally as Jokowi, believes Indonesians should be able to produce as much rice, corn and soy as the country needs. But the governments decision to import 100,000 tons of corn for animal feed through the end of 2018 shows how far Indonesia is from the goal.

The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture said the decision was made because the price of corn has risen as a result of transportation costs and other issues, not a decrease in production.

Agung Hendriadi is head of the Food Security Agency at the Ministry of Agriculture. He said that Indonesia produces enough corn to meet the local demand. In fact, our production has a surplus, he said.

As of 2018, the country produces 28.48 million tons of corn.

Food sovereignty vs. security

Dwi Andreas Santosa is a professor at the Bogor Agricultural Institute in Bogor, Indonesia. He says the idea of food sovereignty includes protecting farmers against what he called an unfair international trading system.

Santosa said that importing large amounts of commodities almost always hurts farmers. The goal of food sovereignty is different from food security, he added. Food sovereignty means a country can produce as much food as it needs. Food security means a country will find the food it needs, whether it be from production or imports.

The Indonesian National Statistics Agency reports that Indonesia increased its farm exports by 24 percent from 2016 to 2017. But Santosa argued the countrys needs for imported commodities has also increased.

(Importing of) seven main commodities rose from 21.7 million tons in 2014 to 25.5 million tons in 2017. Last year, Indonesia became the biggest wheat importer, he said, adding that Indonesia imported 12.5 million tons of wheat in 2017.

Wheat imports

Indonesian farmers cannot grow wheat in the country. And because the government reduced imports of corn by 60 percent, wheat imports for animal feed jumped by 1,500 percent between 2015 and 2016.

Hendriadi explained that his ministry has a program to change the commodities used in food production to reduce imports. They will use locally produced crops instead of using imports.

Widiyanto is with Oxfam, an alliance of 20 independent aid groups. He said Jokowis government needs to create a national food agency if it really wants food sovereignty.

In Indonesia, the agriculture ministry supervises the production of crops, while prices are controlled by the trade ministry. Farm stock is the responsibility of the Logistics Affairs Agency.

Widiyanto noted that Indonesia has lost more than 600,000 hectares of farmland over the past five years. That leaves the country with 7.1 million hectares of active land. But the majority of the farmers own less than 2 hectares of land.

The Oxfam official agreed with a presidential decree announced on October 10. The measure will guarantee land certification for farmers, enabling them to borrow money and take on more land. It also gives Indonesians rights to deal with local forestry issues.

Truthful information about production

The government has also admitted that a lack of correct, detailed information is one of the biggest problems for Indonesian agriculture.

Starting this year, rice production numbers will come only from the National Statistics Agency or BPS. Santosa said that the BPS does not have conflict of interest concerns, but other agencies might.

Santosa said the idea of food sovereignty should aim to increase the earnings of farmers since they are the most important people in food production.

Fewer farmers

At present, Indonesian agriculture is losing money and many farmers have left their fields for other work. Yet the government seems mainly concerned with the amount of production and export.

Indonesia lost 5 million farmers who stopped farming activity in the last 10 years, Widiyanto said.

But Hendriadi said he sees an improvement since the presidential decree.

Jokowis program (for food sovereignty) is running well, we are already self-sufficient in rice, he added.

Im Susan Shand.

VOAs Amanda Siddharta reported this story. Susan Shand adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

sovereignty  n. a country's independent authority and the right to govern itself

logistics  n. the things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity

stock  n. a share of the value of a company which can be bought, sold, or traded as an investment

decree  n. an official order given by a person with power or by a government

self-sufficient  adj. being able to meet ones needs

certification  n. the act of documentation

commodity  n. a product of agriculture or mining
The number of new international students attending American colleges and universities has dropped for the second straight year.

Newly arriving foreign students fell about 7 percent in the 2017-2018 school year, a not-for-profit research group found. The number of students dropped to about 271,000. The latest decrease followed a 3 percent drop during the 2016-2017 school year.

The information was released Tuesday in the 2018 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. The report is a project of the New York-based Institute of International Education, or IIE, and the U.S. Department of State.

The report said sharper competition from schools in other nations  for example Australia and Canada  was a major reason for the drop in international students coming to the U.S. It also said rising education costs in the U.S. compared to other countries played a big part.

International students have more choices than ever before on where to pursue higher education, said IIE president Allan Goodman in a statement.

The organization largely dismissed the opinion of some education experts that the decrease is linked to statements and policies of the current U.S. administration on immigration issues.

Were not hearing that students feel they cant come here. Were hearing that they have choices, Goodman told reporters while discussing report results. For the first time, we have real competition, he said.

U.S. policy changes

Cary Jensen is an administrator who works with international students at the University of Rochester in New York. He told Reuters he believes there are other reasons for the drop in students besides increased competition. He said a major issue currently facing American universities is the lack of clear and steady policies by the current U.S. administration.

One of those policies was a travel ban ordered by President Donald Trump on people from several Muslim-majority nations.

In addition, U.S. officials have said they plan to seek a new limit on how long international students will be permitted to stay in the U.S. Currently, students can stay as long as they are continuing their studies.

Jensen said such proposals and policies have created an overall political environment seen as unfriendly to immigrants and foreigners. That has kind of been the worst part of this, the uncertainty, Jensen said. That breeds fear and people tend to overreact.

Doug Rand is a former official who worked on immigration issues for former president Barack Obama. He said he believes the current situation is not a welcoming environment for foreign students interested in studying in the U.S.

Rand called it an act of willful ignorance to suggest U.S. immigration policies are not having a direct effect on foreign student numbers. He noted that the Trump administration has moved to restrict the number of skilled worker visas and permanent residency permits. Many incoming international students would be seeking such approvals in the future.

Caroline Casagrande is a State Department official in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She told reporters the flattening of international student attendance actually began with the 2015-2016 year, before the start of the Trump administration. That year, the number of new international students rose by 2.4 percent compared to the previous year.

Casagrande said she found it unwarranted for people to say that the continued drops are completely the result of a political environment.

The latest Open Doors Report did find that overall, the total number of international students increased slightly during the 2017-2018 school year. The 1.5 rise meant the total number of international students in the U.S. during the period passed one million for the third straight year.

Similar to in the past, the largest numbers of students last year came from China, India and South Korea. The three countries combined made up 56 percent of all international students.

The top school for international students was New York University. This was followed by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. At number three was Bostons Northeastern University, followed by Columbia University in New York City.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and the Institute of International Education. Hai Do was the editor.

What are your thoughts and experiences on studying abroad? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_________________________________________________________________

Quiz - Number of International Students Coming to US Continues to Drop Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz



________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pursue  v. follow in an attempt to get of accomplish something

breed  v. to cause something to develop

ignorance  n. not enough knowledge, understanding, or information about something

unwarranted  adj. without a good reason


A United States official says a new trade agreement with Japan is the best way to deal with a trade imbalance between the two countries.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made the statement during a visit Tuesday to Tokyo. He spoke at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Pence pressed for a new U.S. trade deal with Japan.

American products and services too often face barriers to compete fairly in Japanese markets, Pence said. He called on the two sides to negotiate a new trade deal that will be, in his words, a model, for other nations.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have criticized existing trade agreements with Japan and other allies. Trump has said these agreements are not fair or balanced. He also has said that he believes bilateral trade agreements are better for the United States.

Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Japans $69 billion trade surplus with the U.S. He accuses Japan of setting up barriers to imports of U.S. automobiles and agriculture.

Japanese officials say the countrys markets are open; however, the Japanese government does protect some farm products.

The government has been unwilling to negotiate a bilateral free trade deal. It also has hoped that the United States would return to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with Japan and 10 other nations.

After speaking with reporters, both Pence and Abe traveled to Singapore for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

North Korea also discussed

During their Tokyo meeting, the two men talked about efforts to remove nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula. Pence praised Abe for providing leadership while working with U.S. and South Korean officials to make progress on the issue.

Last week, North Korea cancelled planned talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. However, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said those would likely take place at a later date. Haley also said she expects President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet early next year.

On Sunday, a U.S.-based research group said it had identified at least 13 North Korean missile bases that the North has yet to declare. The Center for Strategic and International Studies prepared a report on the missile sites. Its writer, Joseph Bermudez told VOA that the threat from North Koreas nuclear and missile programs remains very significant and has not changed in the last ten years.

In Washington, Trump criticized a New York Times newspaper report on the findings.

We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new  and nothing happening out of the normal, Trump wrote in a message on Twitter. He added, I will be the first to let you know if things go bad.

ASEAN meetings

In Singapore, Pence was expected to talk about the new U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. The new $60 billion effort supports private investments for transportation and other infrastructure projects around the world. It seeks to give nations choices for development financing and to compete with Chinas Belt and Road Initiative.

After the ASEAN meeting, Pence will travel to Papua New Guinea for a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group.

Im Mario Ritter.

Steve Miller reported this story for VOA News with information provided by Nike Ching, Ira Mellman and Lee Ju-hyun. Mario Ritter adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

bilateral  adj. involving two groups or countries

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.
English French German Spanish Italian Russian Dutch

Register Now Through December 2 to Save 200 on Briefings Pass

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the world adapts to GDPR and puts more attention on personal privacy and security, Europes top information security professionals still have doubts about the industrys ability to protect critical infrastructure, corporate networks, and personal information.

Black Hat Europes new research report entitled, Europes Cybersecurity Challenges, details the thoughts that are keeping Europes top information security professionals awake at night. The report includes new insights directly from more than 130 survey respondents and spans topics related to GDPR, personal privacy, current industry challenges, and what Europeans should anticipate in the years to come.

Is GDPR Worth the Effort?

While respondents noted that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented in May, is top of mind, there is an emerging lack of confidence in its potential effectiveness. There is no doubt changes have been made to comply with GDPR  a solid 70% confirm they have dedicated resources to GDPR initiatives. However, interestingly enough, only more than a third say theyre confident in their organizations state of GDPR compliance. And among those who think GDPR could potentially help privacy efforts, fewer than one in four believe that help will be substantial.

What is the Greatest Threat to Europeans Personal Information Protection?

As GDPR goes into full effect and consumers read news headlines about the misuse of personal information by social media organizations, security professionals are becoming increasingly sensitive to the challenges of personal privacy. Among their greatest concerns is the use of personally-identifiable information by commercial organizations. Nearly 60% of respondents cited collection and/or sale of personal information by enterprises and social media organizations that dont properly protect privacy as the biggest danger to personal data. These concerns have driven more than 40% of information security professionals to plan to minimize their own social media usage, and many are advising their users and business units to do the same.

Europes Critical Infrastructure Still a Concern One Year Later

Nearly two-thirds of security professionals (65%) believe that a major attack on critical infrastructure spanning multiple European countries will occur in the next two years. This figure indicates that concerns over such an attack have not ebbed since last years survey. A chief concern appears to be cyber threats from large nation-states such as Russia and China: 30% believe large nation states are the greatest threat  followed by 17% citing financially motivated, organized criminals.

Why Are European Cybersecurity Teams So Doubtful About Their Defenses?

Similar to last years report, Europes weak defenses still relate to lack of funds, unequipped professionals and ineffective technology. 42% of respondents believe the weakest link in their defenses are end users who violate security policy and are too easily fooled by social engineering attacks. Meanwhile, 20% blame a skills shortage for failed IT security strategies, and less than half think they have enough budget to defend against todays threats.

Additional Key Findings

Only 15% personally participate in cryptocurrency buying or selling

personally participate in cryptocurrency buying or selling 70% are urging users to rethink the data theyre sharing on social networks

are urging users to rethink the data theyre sharing on social networks When asked about the most effective security tools professionals ranked: multifactor authentication (88%) , encryption (87%) , and firewalls (75%)

, encryption , and firewalls 52% say sophisticated and targeted attacks are their No. 1 cybersecurity concerns

Download the Full Research Report

Insights from Black Hat Europes latest report draws attention to critical industry concerns and flaws on both a national and global scale. To learn more about these findings and other reported intel, download a copy of Europes Cybersecurity Challenges, here: messages.blackhat.com/eu18-report

Black Hat Europe 2018: December 36, London, UK

On the heels of this new research, Black Hat will host some of the brightest minds in the InfoSec community at Black Hat Europe 2018. The event will feature a robust program, spanning everything from popular social media platforms, mobile devices, widely used operating systems and more. The event will take place December 3-6 at the EXCEL London, in London, England. For more information and to save 200 on your briefings pass by December 2, please visit: blackhat.com/eu-18/

Connect with Black Hat (#BlackHat)

Future Black Hat Dates and Events

Black Hat Europe 2018 , London, England, December 3-6, 2018

, London, England, December 3-6, 2018 Black Hat Asia 2019 , Singapore, March 26-29, 2019

, Singapore, March 26-29, 2019 Black Hat USA 2019, Las Vegas, Nevada, August 3-8, 2019

About Black Hat

For more than 20 years, Black Hat has provided attendees with the very latest in information security research, development, and trends. These high-profile global events and trainings are driven by the needs of the security community, striving to bring together the best minds in the industry. Black Hat inspires professionals at all career levels, encouraging growth and collaboration among academia, world-class researchers, and leaders in the public and private sectors. Black Hat Briefings and Trainings are held annually in the United States, Europe and Asia. More information is available at: blackhat.com. Black Hat is organized by UBM, which in June 2018 combined with Informa PLC to become a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organizer in the world.

To learn more and for the latest news and information, visit www.ubm.com and www.informa.com.
English French

Geneva - Convinced that the exposure of Midcaps to European investors is essential, CF&B Communication brings together more than 90 listed companies for its 10th edition of the Geneva European 'MidCap Event', on 4 & 5 December 2018.

In a tough market context, the number of companies taking part in the event will be the largest since the event was created.

150 Swiss institutional investors are awaited at the event and will meet for 2 days, the Top Management of listed companies from Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, during pre-organized one-to-one meetings.

INTERMONTE (Milan), INVEST SECURITIES (Paris) and QUIRIN PRIVATBANK (Frankfurt) are the main Partners in this edition, and they will share their analysis, know-how and knowledge on their markets.

BME BOLSAS Y MERCADOS ESPANOLES and DEUTSCHE BORSE CASH MARKET will be the Partner Stock Exchanges for the Event.

Registration is free for investors.

The next events organized by CF&B Communication in 2019 are already open to registration, among which the Frankfurt European 'Midcap Event' in February, the Paris 'SmallCap Event' mid-April, the Copenhagen European 'Midcap Event' mid-May and the Paris European 'Midcap Event' Spring end June.

For further information and queries, please contact Caroline BADER - c.bader@cfbcom.fr
LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On November 12, Rosevrobank and Sovcombank merged together, after a process that took less than four months. The entire business will now be carried out under the single license of Sovcombank.



The merged business has already unified its retail line. Roservobank has also integrated its medium and large business block into the new structure. Ilya Brodskiy, ex-Chairman of the Management Board of Rosevrobank, is now President of Sovcombank. He will supervise the servicing of businesses and corporate clients. Dmitry Gusev, the banks Chairman of the Management Board, will still function as the sole executive body.

Speaking about the merger, Gusev said it was an important development stage for us, adding that: uniting the business of two banks allows us to implement even more ambitious and large-scale projects.

As far as the banks clients are concerned, the merger merely representatives a change of the banks name and payment details. In all other aspects, everything will stay the same for Roservobanks clients, including all the rates for existing deposits and loans.

Brodskiy noted: This merger became a logical development state for Rosevrobank, and we could not wish for a more suitable partner than Sovcombank, which is one of the most profitable private banks in Russia. I am sure [its] teams experience with medium and large corporate clients will help Sovcombank become a leader among universal banks.

Sovcombank purchased its first minority interest in Rosevrobank in 2015, and has gradually increased its share in capital over the last few years. The unified capital of the merged business will exceed RUB 100bn, while assets will amount to RUB 1trn.

Sovcombank is a full-scale universal bank that offers a full range of services both to its individual and corporate clients. This new merger will enhance its capacities all the more.

For more about Sovcombank, check out an exclusive interview in the latest issue of World Finance magazine, available in print and online now:

www.worldfinance.com

World News Media is a leading publisher of quality financial and business magazines, enjoying a global distribution network that includes subscriber lists of prominent and senior decision-makers around the world.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis at the Hrzan's Palace in Prague, Czech Republic, on July 31, 2018. (David W Cerny/Reuters)

Czech Republic Joins Other EU States in Rejecting UN Migration Pact

PRAGUEThe Czech Republic has joined the growing ranks of European Union countries that reject a United Nations pact to regulate the treatment of migration worldwide.

The Czech cabinet voted early on Wednesday, Nov. 14 not to sign the United Nations Global Compact for Migration (GCM), a government source told Reuters, in line with indications earlier this month.

The Czech Republic has long favored the principle of separating legal and illegal migration, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Brabec told a news conference.

That is what the Czech Republics and other European countries suggestions aimed for. The final text does not reflect those proposals.

Its not clearly interpreted and it could be abused. The United States has pulled out, Hungary too, now Austria, and Poland is debating it as well, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Nov. 1, according to the Irish Times.

I dont like the fact that it blurs the distinction between legal and illegal migration  I will propose to partners in the government that we should do the same as Austria and Hungary, he added.

The GCM is scheduled to be signed in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Dec. 11-12, and is the first of its kind to set global standards and guidelines for countries to address migration.

On July 13, with the exception of the United States, all other U.N. member nationsof which there are 192approved the GCM.

Other Countries Reject Pact

The Czech decision to vote down adoption of the agreement adds to the growing list of European governments that have said they will not sign the migration pact.

Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz and vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache have both said the country wont sign the document or send an official representative to Morocco in December.

There are some points that we view critically and where we fear a danger to our national sovereignty, Kurz said.

Hungarys Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said in an earlier statement that the agreement is totally at odds with the countrys security interests.

The primary issue for us is the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people, Szijjarto said in the statement. According to the governments position, the U.N. Global Compact for Migration is in conflict with common sense and also with the intent to restore European security.

Bulgaria has also said it plans to drop out of the accord, and its parliament was due to vote on the issue on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

Poland, too, has said it may follow suit.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Polands prime minister, said that it was very likely that Warsaw would not take part as it wanted to prioritize its own migration controls.

Our sovereign principles on securing our borders and controlling migration flows are absolutely the priority for us, he said at a joint press conference in Warsaw with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in early November.

Morawiecki said Poland would help reduce migration-related pressure by providing local aid to the countries of origin.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic wrote about her intention to reject the plan: Be assured I will not sign the Marrakesh Agreement, Croatian journalist Velimir Bujanec reported on Oct. 31.

What Does the Pact Say?

The non-binding U.N. pact came about following the adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants on Sept. 19, 2016, by 193 U.N. member states.

According to the U.N. website, the GCM provides a framework for facilitating safe and orderly migration globally, with an effort to deal with migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

It also sets out a range of actionable commitments, which could possibly influence legislation and policymaking for member states.

The compact has 23 objectives that seek to boost cooperation among countries to manage migration, and includes such aims as to strengthen the transnational response to smuggling of migrants and combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the context of international migration.

The pact has been criticized on grounds that it fails to draw a clear distinction between legal and illegal migration, that it could serve as an inspiration for individuals to engage in irregular migration, and that it purports to give trans-national bodies a say in how any given sovereign country manages its borders.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Dublin, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Japan Coffee and Tea Capsules Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2018-2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The large working population in Japan has majorly contributed in propelling the demand for capsule beverages. It is traditionally a tea-consuming nation and has been experiencing growth in the demand for tea capsules owing to the associated advantages provided by them. On the other hand, the young Japanese are increasingly preferring coffee which is stimulating the consumption of coffee capsules.



This report provides a deep insight into the coffee and tea capsules market in Japan covering all its essential aspects. This ranges from macro overview of the market to micro details of the industry performance, recent trends, key market drivers and challenges, SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces analysis, value chain analysis, etc. This report is a must-read for entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who have any kind of stake or are planning to foray into the coffee and tea capsules market in any manner.



Key Questions Answered in This Report:



How has the coffee market in Japan performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

How has the tea market in Japan performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

How has the milk powder market in Japan performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

How has the coffee capsules market in Japan performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

How has the tea capsules market in Japan performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the coffee and tea capsules market in Japan?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the coffee and tea capsules market in Japan?

Who are the key players in the coffee and tea capsules market in Japan?

What is the degree of competition in the coffee and tea capsules market in Japan?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology

2.1 Objectives of the Study

2.2 Stakeholders

2.3 Data Sources

2.3.1 Primary Sources

2.3.2 Secondary Sources

2.4 Market Estimation

2.4.1 Bottom-Up Approach

2.4.2 Top-Down Approach

2.5 Forecasting Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Japan Coffee, Tea and Milk Powder Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Japan Coffee Market

5.2.1 Current and Historical Performance

5.2.2 Market Forecast

5.3 Japan Tea Market

5.3.1 Current and Historical Performance

5.3.2 Market Forecast

5.4 Japan Milk Powder Market

5.4.1 Current and Historical Performance

5.4.2 Market Forecast



6 Japan Coffee and Tea Capsules Market

6.1 Market Overview

6.2 Japan Coffee Capsules Market

6.2.1 Current and Historical Performance

6.2.2 Market Forecast

6.2.3 Key Players

6.3 Japan Tea Capsules Market

6.3.1 Current and Historical Performance

6.3.2 Market Forecast

6.3.3 Key Players

6.4 SWOT Analysis

6.5 Value Chain Analysis

6.6 Porters Five Forces Analysis



7 Consumer Habits in Japan



Companies Mentioned



Nestle Nespresso Corporation

Nescafe Dulce Gusto

Caf Bonini

Caf Royal

Kimbo

Royal-T Caf

Hills Bros Coffee

Illy Australia

Antico Caff Greco. On the other hand

Nescafe Dulce Gusto

Lipton

Caf Bonini

Royal-T Caf

Special. T by Nestle

Yamato Tea.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/drm6nz/japan_coffee_and?w=12





Did you know that we also offer Custom Research? Visit our Custom Research page to learn more and schedule a meeting with our Custom Research Manager.
TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LSC Lithium Corporation (LSC or together with its subsidiaries, the Company) (TSXV:LSC) is pleased to announce that it has received the remainder of the results from two exploration holes completed at the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes (PPG) Project.



HIGHLIGHTS

Pozuelos - Hole PZ-18-02

Lithium values show minimum of 434.4mg/l and maximum of 621.5mg/l, with an average of 582.2mg/l

Confirmed the salar extends to a depth of 329.45m below surface in the north east section, more than twice the depth previously estimated in current Pozuelos resource 1

Average RBRC2 values of 4.2% with a maximum value of 17.7% compared to previous average of 3.8% estimated in the current Pozuelos resource1

Pozuelos - Hole PZ-18-01

Lithium values from two bailer samples of 697.6mg/l and 619.2mg/l, higher than previously reported average lithium estimate of 314.3 mg/l in the current Pozuelos resource 1

Average RBRC values of 5.6% and a maximum value of 16.0% compared to previous average of 6.2% estimated in the current Pozuelos resource1

LSCs President and CEO Ian Stalker, noted, These are excellent exploration results and continue to increase our confidence in the PPG Project. It underscores the robustness of the Project and our decision to take this Project towards a PEA.

These results will be incorporated into an updated resource estimate for the Salar de Pozuelos, which is expected to be released before the end of November. These new holes and pump tests recently completed at Pozuelos reflect the potential of high grade lithium brine in the central section of the salar. They also open up a new zone of higher grade lithium brine with excellent porosities in the north east of the salar.

Pozuelos Hole PZ-18-02

Hole PZ-18-02 was drilled down to a depth of 358m below surface. The aim of this hole was to explore the north east section of the salar, where previously only limited information was available. This hole was sited using the previously obtained seismic data and was aimed to explore for brine as well as to determine the actual depth of the basin in the north east sector. The intersected lithologies in this hole are clastic sediments from surface down to a depth of 329.45m below surface and basement from 329.45m to the end of hole at 358m.

The hole was drilled in HQ size and reamed to 5.5 thereafter. The brine was sampled via a packer system and 86 samples were taken, and Li values returned varied form a minimum of 434.4mg/l and a maximum of 621.5mg/l, with an average of 582.2mg/l. These Li values are much higher than originally anticipated and extend the known higher-grade area towards the north east of the salar, with a subsequent corresponding positive impact on the resource estimates expected. A total of 21 core samples were submitted for RBRC analyses and values returned a minimum value of 0.8% and a maximum value of 17.7%, with an average of 4.2%. This hole penetrated basement rocks, and although poorer RBRC values were obtained in the basement, well mineralized Li brine was intersected. The occurrence of Li carrying brine in the basement adds further potential to the resource.

This hole will be incorporated into the upgraded resources in the north east section of the salar. Subsequent airlift testing, between 46m and 358m below surface returned a Li value of 506.2mg/l.

Pozuelos Hole PZ-18-01

Hole PZ-18-01 was drilled to a total depth of 380.3m below surface. The aim of this hole was two-fold, both as an exploration hole and as a monitoring well in the central section of the salar. The intersected lithologies in this hole are chemical evaporites from surface down to a depth of 80.3m below surface, and clastic sediments, with very minor chemical evaporites in the upper portion, from 80.3m to the end of hole at 380.3m.

The hole was drilled in HQ size up to the end of hole and reamed thereafter to 6.5. Two brine samples were collected by means of a bailer at 303.8m and 378.8m respectively below surface, within the deeper clastic sequences. The Li values obtained were respectively 697.6mg/l and 619.2mg/l. Both these Li values are noticeably higher than previously reported Li values. A total of 24 core samples were selected throughout the hole, and were submitted for RBRC analyses, with values returned ranging from a minimum of 0.5% and a maximum of 16.0%, and an average of 5.6%. The RBRC values obtained indicated a number of lithologies with excellent porosities occurring in this area.

Subsequent airlift testing, taking cognizance of the limitations thereof, between 269m and 380m below surface, returned a Li value of 553.4mg/l.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Brine samples were collected in 1 litre sample bottles, sealed and transported daily to the assay laboratory. Sample data for collection date and time, sample number, pumping rate and other factors were recorded in a data base. Sample assays were undertaken at Alex Stewart Argentina (ASA) in Jujuy, Argentina using ICP, gravimetric, potentiometric and volumetric methods as detailed in a press release from LSC dated April 10, 2017. ASA is independent of LSC and has significant experience in assaying lithium brine and is certified to ISO 17025 and ISO 9001 standards for quality control and quality assurance.

LSC has a well-developed program of QA/QC. Certified standards are inserted in sample batches at a rate of at least 1 in 20, sample duplicates are run at a rate of at least 1 in 20. Blanks are inserted at a rate of at least 1 in 20 samples. LSC uses distilled water for blanks. ALS Global or SGS Argentina are used as secondary check laboratories to monitor primary laboratory results. Both ALS Global and SGS Argentina are certified to ISO 17025 and ISO 9001 standards and are independent of LSC.

Qualified Person

This press release is based upon information prepared and approved by Donald H. Hains, P.Geo. Mr. Hains is a qualified person, as defined in NI 43-101 and is independent of LSC. Mr. Hains has verified all sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information contained in this press release by on-site inspection during drilling and brine sampling; review of drill core photographs to verify lithology; review of certified assay certificates against the assay data base; review of pump test data. There are no drilling, sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy and reliability of the data.

ABOUT LSC LITHIUM CORPORATION:

LSC Lithium has amassed a large portfolio of prospective lithium rich salars and is focused on developing its material projects: Pozuelos and Pastos Grandes Project, Rio Grande Project and Salinas Grandes Project. All LSC tenements are located in the Lithium Triangle, an area at the intersection of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile where the worlds most abundant lithium brine deposits are found. LSC Lithium has a land package portfolio totaling approximately 300,000 hectares, which represents extensive lithium prospective salar holdings in Argentina.

For further information please contact:

LSC Lithium Corporation

Ian Stalker, President & Chief Executive Officer

40 University Avenue,

Suite 605, Toronto

ON Canada M5J 1T1

+416 306 8380

Email: info@lsclithium.com

Web: lsclithium.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance, including statements as to the timing and expected completion of delivering a PEA for the PPG Project and upgraded resource at Pozuelos, results and use of data from the exploration holes at Pozuelos, ability and likelihood to incorporate results into the updated Pozuelos resource, timing of completing engineering work on the PPG Project, LSCs overall contained lithium inventory, and ability to produce more results on the Companys properties. The use of any of the words could, anticipate, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on LSC's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Whether actual results and developments will conform with LSC's expectations is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including factors underlying management's assumptions, such as risks related to: title, permitting and regulatory risks; exploration and the establishment of any resources or reserves on the LSC properties; volatility in lithium prices and the market for lithium; exchange rate fluctuations; volatility in LSCs share price; the requirement for significant additional funds for development that may not be available; changes in national and local government legislation, including permitting and licensing regimes and taxation policies and the enforcement thereof; regulatory, political or economic developments in Argentina or elsewhere; litigation; title, permit or license disputes related to interests on any of the properties in which the Company holds an interest; excessive cost escalation as well as development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any of the Company's properties; risks and hazards associated with the business of development and mining on any of the Company's properties. Actual future results may differ materially. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and LSC is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. For more information, see the Company's filing statement on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. 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. The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

1 See Mineral Resource Estimate & Technical Report on the Salar de Pozuelos Project, Salta Province, Argentina dated February 28, 2018 and filed on LSCs SEDAR profile.

2 RBRC means relative brine release capacity.
PUEBLO, CO , Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE  SGD Holdings, Ltd. (OTC PINK: SGDH), a Lessor and Consultant in the Cannabis Industry in the State of Colorado, acting on behalf of Property Owner/Developer, NuGro Industries, Inc., has received the Approved Building Permit and engaged a Commercial General Contractor to begin renovation on a Retail Marijuana Dispensary in Walsenburg, Colorado.

Delmar Janovec, CEO, states, After submitting all of the building plans and mechanical drawings to the Walsenburg Building Department, a Building Permit has been approved and issued. We feel very confident in our design choices and that we will be entering the retail distribution arena with a very modern and upscale dispensary.

Janovec went on to say, The new dispensary will be conveniently located at the Northern Walsenburg I-25 exit where our signage will be visible to approximately nine million plus vehicles a year. We feel that the local traffic of approximately one million five hundred thousand vehicles passing directly in front of the retail location each year will create exposure that will certainly give us the boost we need in opening our first retail dispensary.

SGD Holdings, Ltd. encourages the public to read the above information in conjunction with its year-end statement for December 31, 2017, and the quarterly statements filed in calendar year 2018, at: www.otcmarkets.com .

Forward-Looking Statements: The statements in the press release that relate to the Company's expectations with regard to the future impact on the Company's results from acquisitions or actions in development, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements in this document may also contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and factors include, but are not limited to, future capital needs, changes and delays in plans and schedules, or market acceptance. SGD Holdings, Ltd. undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements.
James Peck to retire as President and CEO on May 8, 2019; Chris Cartwright, Executive Vice President of TransUnions U.S. Information Services, appointed successor

CHICAGO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) announced today that James M. Peck will retire as President and CEO on May 8, 2019. The Board of Directors has appointed Christopher A. Cartwright to succeed Peck effective on his retirement date. Cartwright, who joined the company in 2013, currently leads TransUnions largest division, U.S. Information Services (USIS) as well as the Global Product Development organization. TransUnion is filing a current report on form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission that includes additional information about the companys ongoing arrangements with Peck and Cartwright.

Peck will continue to lead TransUnion through the Annual Shareholders meeting in May 2019. He will remain on the TransUnion board. Upon Cartwrights election as a director at the annual shareholders meeting, he will join the board.

On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Jim for his leadership as CEO, said Leo Mullin, chairman of the board of directors. TransUnion has undergone a significant transformation into a high growth and diversified business during Jims tenure, and since the 2015 IPO has created substantial shareholder value. We are especially proud of the management team Jim has built and of the companys disciplined succession planning process. We look forward to seeing Chris continuing TUs track record of success.

Pecks tenure has been a period of evolution and growth for TransUnion. Under his leadership, TransUnion has evolved into a diversified, fast growing global information company intensely focused on client and market needs. Peck led the transformation of TransUnions core technology to a modern, flexible platform, implemented a global operating model and created a culture of innovation.

Peck joined TransUnion in 2012 when it was privately held by Advent International and Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group and successfully led the companys IPO in June of 2015. During this time, TU has increased financial opportunity to its customers, to its associates and to people around the world. TransUnions enterprise value has increased during his tenure from slightly more than $3 billion in 2012 to over $16 billion today. Public shareholders have enjoyed a return of nearly 300% since TUs 2015 IPO.

I am incredibly proud of what the executive team and all our associates have accomplished and I am excited about TransUnions strategy going forward, said Peck. Now is the right time for the company to transition to the next chapter of leadership under Chris. I view our entire executive team as the best in the industry and the board identifying Chris as the next leader was the result of a deliberate succession planning process. He has successfully led our largest business unit and produced market-leading results; his division represents more than 50% of consolidated TU revenues. Equally important, Chris has led our enterprise product development organization supporting our markets globally. Chriss expertise, strategic acumen and leadership, as well as his experience working side-by-side with the rest of the management team, make him ideally suited to continue driving our vision forward.

Jim has led TransUnion through a period of strong company results and I look forward to sustaining the momentum forged under his leadership, Cartwright said. In the months ahead, I will be focused squarely on ensuring a seamless leadership transition and on working closely with Jim to drive performance for our associates, our customers, and our shareholders.

About James M. Peck

James M. Peck joined TransUnion in December 2012 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Peck has more than 20 years of information management, global product development and engineering experience. He has led TransUnion through a transformation into a higher-growth, higher-margin business by setting and executing a strong strategy focused on enhancing the Companys data, technology and analytics capabilities and achieving growth in key industry verticals and international markets.

Prior to TransUnion, Mr. Peck was with Reed Elsevier, a FTSE 100 company, where he served as CEO of the LexisNexis Risk Solutions business from 2004-2012. Prior to 2004, Mr. Peck was the Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer for the LexisNexis group. Previously, Mr. Peck was the Senior Vice President of Product Development with Celera Genomics, a bio-technology firm that sequenced the human genome. Prior to that, he spent a decade at LexisNexis in engineering and executive roles to manage and build information solutions.

Mr. Peck serves on the Board of Directors of Sun Life Financial as well as CCC Information Services. He also serves on the board of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Peck holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Dayton, and an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University. He received a CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight, issued by the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

About Christopher A. Cartwright

Christopher A. Cartwright joined the Company in August 2013 as Executive Vice President-U.S. Information Services. Prior, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Decision Insight Information Group, a portfolio of independent businesses providing real property information, software and services to insurance, finance, legal and real estate professionals in the United States, Canada and Europe. Previously, he held a variety of positions at Wolters Kluwer, a global information services and workflow solutions company, where he was CEO of Corporate Legal and Financial Services Division of North America and Shared Services. Prior to Wolters Kluwer, he was Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning & Operations for Christies Inc. and Strategy Consultant for Coopers and Lybrand.

Mr. Cartwright holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from the University of Texas at Austin.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

Information is a powerful thing. At TransUnion, we realize that. We are dedicated to finding innovative ways information can be used to help individuals make better and smarter decisions. We help uncover unique stories, trends and insights behind each data point, using historical information as well as alternative data sources. This allows a variety of markets and businesses to better manage risk and consumers to better manage their credit, personal information and identity. Today, TransUnion has a global presence in more than 30 countries and a leading presence in several international markets across North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Through the power of information, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies and families and safer communities worldwide.

We call this Information for GoodSM.

http://www.transunion.com/business
Dublin, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Telecom Managed Services Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global telecom managed services market is expected to reach revenue of $26.03 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of around 12.1% during the forecast period.



Managed services have now become essential criteria for organizations who primarily want to focus on their core business functions, improve agility, customer service, and reduce costs & complexity. Managed services are much more radical in the present connected world, in which cloud, analytics security, and IoT all play an important role. They enable organizations to get benefits from operational and network transformation. It is estimated that the internal IT costs within organizations can be reduced by almost 30-40% with managed services, while improving efficiency by approximately 50%.



Telecom industry has witnessed extensive growth during the past few years. Telecommunication companies are facing constant pressure to deliver innovative services at lower costs to retain their customers in the competitive market. For addressing a complex competitive environment, managed services have become a widespread demand for operators. Telecom companies, due to lower margins, are focusing on minimizing their costs, maximizing customer satisfaction & loyalty, and thereby generate maximum revenue.



The market is expected to witness a surge in the next few years. The factors such as the continuous need for network optimization & high level of network performance, advancements in technologies such as 5G, SDN, & NFV, rising smartphone usage & BYOD trends, and increasing number of cyber-attacks will further foster the growth of the telecom managed services market during the forecast period.



Competitive Analysis

The report covers and analyzes the telecom managed services market. Major vendors across different verticals are planning for high investments in this market, and as a result, the market is expected to grow at an impressive rate in the upcoming years. The key players are adopting various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, collaboration & partnerships, joint ventures, and few other strategies to be in the strong position in the market.



The report contains an in-depth analysis of the vendors profile, which includes financial health, business units, key business priorities, SWOT, strategies, and views. The prominent vendors covered in the report include Cisco Systems, Huawei Technologies, Ericsson, Fujitsu, ZTE, Tech Mahindra, Comarch, Subex, NCS, Unisys, and others. The vendors have been identified based on the portfolio, geographical presence, marketing & distribution channels, revenue generation, and significant investments in R&D.



Cisco Systems, Huawei Technologies, Ericsson, and Fujitsu are the key players in the telecom managed services market. Cisco has signed a 3-year managed service agreement with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) to transform STC's core network and operations, and prepare it for the digital era. Huawei has partnered with various carriers to jointly build premium broadband networks and to implement the approach of value-driven network deployment.



Regional Analysis

North America held the largest market share in 2017 and is expected to dominate the telecom managed services market during the forecast period. The market will experience a steep rise in this region. The factors driving the growth of the market in North America include rapidly evolving technological developments, the presence of the world's largest telecom companies looking for optimizing their network investments & enhance customer satisfaction, and growing network cyber-attacks in this region.



Key Topics Covered:



1 Industry Outlook

1.1 Industry Overview

1.2 Industry Trends

1.3 PEST Analysis



2 Report Outline

2.1 Report Scope

2.2 Report Summary

2.3 Research Methodology

2.4 Report Assumptions



3 Market Snapshot

3.1 Total Addressable Market (TAM)

3.2 Segmented Addressable Market (SAM)

3.3 Related Markets



4 Market Outlook

4.1 Overview

4.2 Market Trends and Impact

4.3 Market Segmentation



5 Market Characteristics

5.1 Ecosystem

5.2 Value Chain

5.3 Market Dynamics

5.3.1 Drivers

5.3.1.1 Growing demand for high productivity & improved network performance

5.3.1.2 Improving Quality of service (Qos) and Quality of experience (QoE)

5.3.1.3 Increasing need for CAPEX and OPEX savings

5.3.2 Restraints

5.3.2.1 Privacy and Security Issues

5.3.3 Opportunities

5.3.3.1 Growing demand for cloud based offerings

5.3.3.2 Ability for disaster control and recovery

5.3.4 DRO - Impact Analysis



6 Service Types

6.1 Overview

6.2 Managed Network Services

6.3 Managed Data Center Services

6.4 Managed Security Services

6.5 Managed Mobility Services

6.6 Managed Communication Services



7 Regions

7.1 Overview

7.2 North America

7.2.1 Market Size and Analysis

7.2.2 DRO For North America

7.2.3 US

7.2.4 Canada

7.3 Europe

7.3.1 Market Size and Analysis

7.3.2 DRO For Europe

7.3.3 UK

7.3.4 Germany

7.4 APAC

7.4.1 Market Size and Analysis

7.4.2 DRO for Asia Pacific

7.4.3 China

7.4.4 India

7.4.5 Japan

7.5 RoW (ME, Latin America, Africa)

7.5.1 Market Size and Analysis



8 Vendor Profiles

8.1 Cisco Systems

8.2 Huawei Technologies

8.3 Ericsson

8.4 Fujitsu

8.5 ZTE



9 Other Prominent Vendors

9.1 Tech Mahindra

9.2 Comarch

9.3 Subex

9.4 NCS

9.5 Unisys



10 Competitive Landscape



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/l6j65n/global_telecom?w=12





Did you know that we also offer Custom Research? Visit our Custom Research page to learn more and schedule a meeting with our Custom Research Manager.
Interview with Ebenezer Saka Addo-Mensah, CEO and Founder of Saka Homes

What is your assessment of the real estate sector in Ghana? What are the latest trends? How has the sector evolved?

The demand for the type of homes I am developing is increasing. Most people now want to live in a community of a sort. Communal living has become more appealing to people. Initially, we were building our own houses anywhere we could get a plot. But, I realized that the community feel brings a sense of security and most people are gearing towards that. Generally, there is a growth for real estate businesses, but the challenge now is an affordability issue. So, we are trying to produce houses to meet the budget and the price ability of those who are looking to buy these houses. That is where the business finds itself at the moment.

Are there many competitors in the market and new entrants?

Currently we are looking to expand and expansion requires funding. We are looking for a partner who can come in with equity or who will give us debt so that we can build more than we are building now.

Generally, the number of entrants is increasing. There is a lot of competition. In Ghana, when people with money find out there is gold in a sector, everybody jumps in. So, we have a lot of people going into real estate and building now. But, to be fair, the market is big enough for all of us to share. The deficit on houses is quite high. If competition can drive prices down and help people buy houses, why not? But, generally, the caliber of building and the finishing separates the men from the boys. People who have money and are looking for good products to buy know where to go. So, though we have many, there are some that are thriving and selling very well.

What are your current projects?

Mainly, I build for middle income families. I specialize in three-bedroom houses. I build for a price range between $65,000 to $195,000. I build in very nice neighborhoods that are already developed. I look for land in such a location, buy the land, and develop it. Instead of outskirt areas, I look at places like East Legon, West Legon, North Legon. These are areas that already have infrastructure, that have been developed. I find a couple of plots there and put up a community. In the past, I was doing a lot of work outside of the main city, such as in Oyarifa. I would find pieces of land and put three or four houses on it. But lately, I have gotten into small communities and that is my focus now. I do anywhere between 8 and 22 houses gated, mainly three-bedroom houses, and a few of them have maids rooms. They sell quite well.

Is the land acquisition difficult?

For the new market I have targeted, land is not really an issue because most of the land that is left is secured land. This area is quite well-developed. There may be somebodys land that has a property already on it. I tear the property down and I put more houses on it. We have people who might build a three-bedroom house on an acre and then I go in and I buy that property for the acre of land, not the property itself. Recently, I have also been going into joint ventures with land owners which has reduced my land stress. These are lands that are properly titled, properly walled, and even have a property already on them. So, I just go in and tear down what is there and put more houses up.

How many projects do you work on at the same time?

On an average year, for example, 2018, we are currently working on 4 projects at the same time in Dome, East Legon Hills, Oyarifa, and West Legon. The smallest of these has 8 houses, the biggest has 17 houses. We are only doing about 40 houses at the moment.

Who are your clients? Are they local, from outside, the diaspora, middle income?

We have a mix. We are selling primarily to people between the ages of 30 and 45 now. Most of them are local in Ghana. We have a few who live in England and America who buy from us, but they mainly buy for investments. When they buy, we manage the property for them, get them clients. Some are using them for Airbnb. Most of the people we sell to in Ghana live in the houses themselves. It is mainly the properties in Oyarifa that people buy for investments. These are people who have risen in banking, insurance, oil and gas, and they have some extra money and want to buy a property. So, they buy these houses and we let them out for them.

What are the range of services you provide?

We do not just build and sell. We take an interest in the community, we manage the community. Because we are encouraging investment, we take an interest in getting the clients to feel that these houses that they have bought are being well managed. The value of the property stays high and appreciates hopefully and you get new clients to live in them. We take care of them. So, for instance, if you are in America and you want to buy a property in Ghana, you come to us and we sell to you. That is not the end of the relationship. If you need us to send your money to America, we have arrangements to get the money to you and all you need to do is pay our management fees and the community fees and that is all, your property is safe. Every now and then, we go into these properties to check on them and find out how they are doing and we send you a report.

What are you looking for and what are your main challenges?

Currently we are looking to expand and expansion requires funding. We are looking for a partner who can come in with equity or who will give us debt so that we can build more than we are building now. For what we build and the rate at which we sell, it is amazing when we speak to our competitors and others in the business. What we are doing now is in house funding. Whatever we build we reinvest. Even though we have viable projects, they are just waiting for us to be able to collect the money from what we are doing now to start those. It is not the best process. I have a prime project in East Airport where I am going to build 24 houses. Within 6 months of proper marketing, all 24 will be sold. I have a development in East Legon where we are going to do 12 houses gated. But now, because I do not have the money, I have to wait to mop up cash from East Legon Hills, Oyarifa, and Dome before I can start. That is where we are hoping in the next few months we will be able to raise money or find a partner to do this.

What are the fundamentals of being good at this business?

One thing that I want to avoid in my lifetime and in my career is selling to someone who is not happy with their house. I want to sell you a house that ten years later, when I see you, I will walk up to you and we will have a decent conversation and you will be happy with me and I will be happy with you. So far, for all the houses that I have done, I am still very close to the people I sold them to. I go into the communities that I built, I do not shy away, I do not hide from them. When they have issues that we are responsible for, we take care of them. I have come to realize that that is key to the business because we do not do a lot of marketing or ads, but we are able to sell. We sell because of the references these people who have had experience with us put out there. They sell the houses for us. They are the key to our progress. For us, the key is that we build very well. That is it. Build right, build very durable houses that will stand the test of time.

What is your vision for the company medium term? What would you like to have achieved in two to three years time?

In two to three years time, we would like to have developed about 200 homes that we have earmarked in East Airport, East Legon Hills, North Legon, and West Legon. We hope that we will be able to finish these projects simultaneously and move on to build in other areas.

Will this be through investors or something similar?

If we can find some investors, yes.

FAIR USE POLICY

This material (including media content) may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the page (including the source, i.e. Marcopolis.net) is permitted and encouraged.
November 14, 2018 10:27

A British tourist died after she contracted rabies when she was bitten by a cat during a vacation in Morocco, officials announced.



Health officials in England said there was no risk to the public following the death. The persons name was not released.



There is no risk to the wider public in relation to this case but, as a precautionary measure, health workers and close contacts are being assessed and offered vaccination when necessary, Public Health England said in a statement.



No further information on how the British resident came in contact with the infected animal was released.



Health officials announced the death to warn other travelers from coming into contact with animals during their vacations.



This is an important reminder of the precautions people should take when traveling to countries where rabies is present, said Dr. Mary Ramsay, the agencys head of immunizations. If you are bitten, scratched or licked by an animal you must wash the wound or site of exposure with plenty of soap and water and seek medical advice without delay.



Travelers are urged to stay away from dogs, cats and other animals when traveling to countries, especially in Asia and Africa, where rabies is common.



Rabies is a viral infection that affects a persons brain and central nervous system. The infection passes to people through scratches and bites from another infected animal.





Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The cognitive skills and personality of a future employee are examined during a job interview: Does the candidate have the right training? The right career history? Does he present himself well? And is he affable? However, qualifications and a pleasant character don't necessarily mean that the interviewee will be a good boss or a competent colleague, especially in professions where social interactions play a pivotal role. The individual's emotional intelligence has to be factored inthat is, his or her capacity to understand, regulate, recognise and manage emotions in the specific context of the work environment. Researchers at the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Berne (UNIBE), Switzerland, have devised an emotional intelligence test that measures emotional competencies at work. Known as the Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECO), it is now available for research purposes and commercial use. Its results are reported in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

The importance of emotional intelligence is widely acknowledged today, whether it's about recognising and understanding emotions, regulating one's own feelings or managing those of others. But up to now, there has never been a scientific, empirically validated test for measuring these skills in the specific context of work and the standards that govern it.

"In fact, someone may behave in a totally different way with their family or at work. They might be authoritarian in one environment and submissive in another," points out Marcello Mortillaro, a researcher in UNIGE's Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (SCAS). "That's why we were so keen to develop an emotional intelligence test focusing exclusively on situations specific to the professional environment. The aim was to assess a person's level in this area and provide both individuals and organizations with a scientifically based description that could help in personal development, in hiring the right candidate for the job, and in giving the right job to the person."

The Geneva Emotional Competence Test

The Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECO) consists of four tests for evaluating the different parts of emotional intelligence, namely: understanding emotions, recognising emotions, regulating one's own emotions and managing other people's emotions. Katja Schlegel, a researcher at UNIBE's Institute of Psychology, explains: "We concentrated on problematic situations that involve negative emotions: fear, sadness, anger and inappropriate happiness or schadenfreude."

"The GECO results were controlled and validated by additional tests, and they are very convincing," continues Mortillaro. "The more emotional intelligence skills you have and the better those skills are, the better your work outcomes are, above and beyond your cognitive intelligence or personality." The researchers also found that a superior ability to regulate one's own emotions is linked to earning a slightly higher salary. In fact, emotional intelligence goes hand-in-hand with a higher degree of empathy, openness to others, respect for moral rules and, in overall terms, a positive temperament.

"We tested GECO on people aged 20 to 60, and the results show that emotional intelligence increases with age and experience, meaning it's a faculty that can be improved and developed," says Mortillaro. Women on the whole obtain better results than men, notably when asked to interpret nonverbal emotional expressions. "Emotional intelligence is also linked to a person's well-being and satisfaction with his or her lifestyle," adds Schlegel.

"We also noted that managers who perform well on GECO have better results in standardized leadership tasks and students with higher GECO scores get better grades," says Schlegel. This finding explains why GECO is now being marketed by a Bern-based company and is being used for recruitment and career guidance assessments. The test currently exists in French, English and German with an Italian version being developed. "We now want to analyse the data to see whether there are differences across different language regions. We're continuing to develop GECO so that it can support the role of emotional intelligence in recruitment and scientifically validate the predictive aspect of a person's abilities in their professional careers," says Mortillaro.

1000 people to validate GECO

The questions included in GECO were drawn up using interviews with over 40 managers working in Swiss-based firms. Participants were asked to explain situations involving fear, sadness, anger or inappropriate happiness. They then presented the answers specific to these situations, which were validated by emotion experts and other managers as well as representatives of the general public. More than 1000 individuals then completed the four tests that make up GECO.

During the first subtest, which focuses on understanding emotions, participants are presented with 20 emotional scenarios and are asked to choose from 15 possible options which emotion was probably experienced in each scenario. The second test, designed to assess the recognition of emotions, consists of 42 videos of a person expressing a particular emotion. Once more, participants had to select the right emotion from 14 suggestions. The third test was geared toward the ability to regulate emotions: 28 scenarios portrayed a particular situation, with participants having to choose how they would behave. There were four possible answers, but subjects were only allowed to choose two, the objective being to reduce the negative emotion rather than maintain it. Finally, the fourth test evaluated the management of other people's emotions.

Mortillaro says, "This was the most important and meaningful test, especially in a professional context." In each of 20 scenarios, a person expressed fear, sadness, anger or inappropriate happiness. Participants had to choose from five possible courses of action the one they thought most effective to manage the emotional state of the other person: cooperation, compromise, acceptance, avoidance or assertiveness. "In this instance, context is everything. You might think that cooperation is always the right solution, but that's by no means the case," says the UNIGE researcher.

Explore further Four signs you have high emotional intelligence

More information: Katja Schlegel et al, The Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo): An ability measure of workplace emotional intelligence., Journal of Applied Psychology (2018). Journal information: Journal of Applied Psychology Katja Schlegel et al, The Geneva Emotional Competence Test (GECo): An ability measure of workplace emotional intelligence.,(2018). DOI: 10.1037/apl0000365
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100 million Americans are either living with diabetes or have higher than average blood sugar levels consistent with prediabetes.

Management of these chronic conditions requires consistent monitoring of blood sugar levels, robust medication regimens and frequent health care appointments, all of which take time, resources and money. Because of these barriers, many Americans with diabetes often go undiagnosed or ignore necessary treatment options altogether.

A study published online in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine has confirmed one way to ensure broader usage of preventive and disease management services for diabetes patients: access to affordable health care.

sing electronic health record data, Nathalie Huguet, Ph.D., and a team of researchers at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, compared changes in insurance and primary care visit rates among patients diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, and individuals with no diagnosis. Patients received care at community health centers in 13 U.S. states, nine of which have Medicaid expansion programs.

Researchers found that the rates of uninsured visits to Community Health Centers decreased in all states across the three patient groups. Further, consistent with national averages, patients previously diagnosed with diabetes had higher clinic visit rates when compared with prediabetes or undiagnosed patients.

While the researchers did not find an overall increase in visits among this population, Huguet, a research assistant professor of family medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine, says that due to higher rates of obtained insurance, many patients were able to receive critical treatments and services, including preventive screenings, lab testing, specialized care and some medication not accessible to them before.

"This is particularly true for patients with lower socioeconomic status," she said. "The utilization rates of these services prove how critical programs such as the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion are to a growing and vulnerable patient population."

Explore further Affordable Care Act expands health coverage to more patients, although differences remain

More information: Nathalie Huguet et al, The Impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid Expansion on Visit Rates for Diabetes in Safety Net Health Centers, The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (2018). Journal information: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Nathalie Huguet et al, The Impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid Expansion on Visit Rates for Diabetes in Safety Net Health Centers,(2018). DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2018.06.180075
Cara Tannenbaum. Credit: Andre Gamache

Pharmacists are pivotal in the process of deprescribing risky medications in seniors, leading many to stop taking unnecessary sleeping pills, anti-inflammatories and other drugs, a new Canadian study has found.

Published today in the Journal of the American Medical Society (JAMA), the study by researchers at Universite de Montreal (UdeM) took place in Quebec, Canada. The D-PRESCRIBE clinical trial followed 489 patients aged 65 year and older, involving 69 local pharmacists.

Half of the pharmacists distributed an educational brochure on deprescribing to their patients and also sent their family physician a pharmaceutical opinion to recommend deprescribing. The two-pronged approach sparked deprescribing conversations with eight out of every 10 patients.

More importantly, within six months, 43 per cent of users of sedative-hypnotics, 58 per cent of users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and 31 per cent of users of glyburide (a.k.a. glibenclamide), an anti-diabetes drug, had safely stopped taking their medications.

No adverse events requiring hospitalization were reported, although 38 per cent of patients who attempted to gradually reduce their sedative-hypnotic medication reported transient withdrawal symptoms.

Education and outreach

"The D-PRESCRIBE study proves that community pharmacists can successfully lead the deprescribing of risky medication, by combining patient education with evidence-based outreach to physicians," said lead author Cara Tannenbaum, a medical professor and geriatrician who heads the Canadian Deprescribing Network.

"Seniors in Quebec have some of the highest rates of use of sedative-hypnotics in Canada," said Tannenbaum, who is also a researcher at UdeM's Institut universitaire de geriatrie de Montreal and the Michel-Saucier Endowed Chair in Geriatric Pharmacology, Health and Aging at UdeM's pharmacy faculty.

"These are powerful medications that are not meant for long-term use, and they have also been linked to accidental opioid overdose," she said. "Some patients in our study had been taking these pills for decades, yet were able to gradually taper their dose over several months and completely stop." She added: "Deprescribing is possible at any age, as long as you have a good plan in place with your pharmacist or physician. You simply have to ask: 'Do I really still need this medication?'"

Mr. Yvon Quenet did. The patient participated in the D-PRESCRIBE study and discovered that "Deprescribing is a great big word for a great cause," he says. "We must denounce the excessive consumption of medications among seniors."

An all-time high

Worldwide, experts say the number of pills being prescribed to older people is at an all-time high, as are drug-related hospitalizations and deaths due to drug interactions or side effects. Seniors are especially at risk due to age-related changes in the body. Sedative-hypnotic sleeping and anxiety pills can contribute to memory problems, falls, fractures and motor-vehicle accidents. NSAIDs increase the risk of bleeding and heart failure. Glyburide (or glibenclamide) is yet another medication listed on the American Geriatrics Society 'Beers' list of drugs for the elderly to avoid, as it has been associated with excessively low blood sugar, dizziness, falls and lack of concentration.

"There's no question that pharmacists can play an active role in deprescribing and collaborate efficiently with their patients' physicians to reduce their risk of medication harm," said Bertrand Bolduc, President of the Ordre des pharmaciens du Quebec.

At the global level, the World Health Organization has also begun to address unsafe medication practices and medication errors  a leading cause of injury in health-care systems in many countries  through a patient-safety program called Medication Without Harm. "A concerted response is now needed to answer the WHO's call to action," said Tannenbaum.

More information: Philippe Martin et al. Effect of a Pharmacist-Led Educational Intervention on Inappropriate Medication Prescriptions in Older Adults, JAMA (2018). Journal information: Journal of the American Medical Association Philippe Martin et al. Effect of a Pharmacist-Led Educational Intervention on Inappropriate Medication Prescriptions in Older Adults,(2018). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2018.16131
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Age-related declines in abstract reasoning ability predict increasing depressive symptoms in subsequent years, according to data from a longitudinal study of older adults in Scotland. The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

"Mental health in later life is a topic of increasing importance given aging populations worldwide," says researcher Stephen Aichele of the University of Geneva. "Our findings suggest that monitoring for cognitive decrements in later adulthood may expedite efforts to reduce associated increases in depression risk."

Many adults will experience some degree of cognitive decline in the latter decades of life. Research has also shown that cognitive impairments and depression are correlated in older adultsgenerally, as cognitive abilities decline, depressive symptoms increase. Yet, researchers have not been able to conclusively determine the direction of causation. That is, does cognitive decline lead to depression, does depression lead to cognitive decline, or do the phenomena mutually reinforce each other?

To achieve a clearer picture of the dynamics of this relationship over time, Aichele and colleagues examined data collected as part of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, a longitudinal study of adults in Scotland. Their analyses included data from 1,091 adults who were assessed at age 70 and up to three additional times in roughly 3-year intervals until age 79.

Although other work has examined depression risk in relation to memory deficits and other cognitive impairments associated with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, the researchers chose to look at participants' abstract reasoning, a cognitive ability that is closely related to functioning in daily life. Participants in the study completed several measures of abstract reasoning, performing tasks such as identifying missing elements from geometric patterns and reproducing visuospatial models using component parts.

The participants also provided information about their depressive symptoms via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

On average, participants' abstract reasoning ability and depressive symptoms worsened over the course of the study. Additionally, relatively lower cognitive function at each assessment was associated with subsequent increases in depressive symptoms, and this association became stronger over time.

Aichele and colleagues used advanced statistical models to analyze the dynamic relationship between these two measures over time. They found that lower abstract reasoning scores at one assessment were associated with increased depressive symptoms at later assessments; increased depressive symptoms at a given assessment were not linked with subsequent changes in abstract reasoning.

Sociodemographic and other health-related factorssuch as education level, socioeconomic status, and diagnoses related to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetesdid not appear to influence the relationship between abstract reasoning and depressive symptoms.

Understanding why age-related decrements in abstract reasoning lead to increased depressive symptoms remains a question for future research. Aichele and colleagues note that there are several potential mechanisms that could be at work, including unmeasured disease processes, genetic susceptibility, and declines in daily functioning.

The researchers hope to continue this work by examining factors such as training, treatment, and social support that might weaken the link between cognitive decline and depression.

"We hope this research will be of broad interest, both for individuals directly affected by age-related cognitive decline and also for family members and care providers who wish to help older persons adversely affected by changes in mental health," Aichele says.

More information: Stephen Aichele et al, Fluid Intelligence Predicts Change in Depressive Symptoms in Later Life: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, Psychological Science (2018). Journal information: Psychological Science Stephen Aichele et al, Fluid Intelligence Predicts Change in Depressive Symptoms in Later Life: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936,(2018). DOI: 10.1177/0956797618804501
Schematic model of this study. Credit: Kanazawa University

A research team based in Japan led by Kanazawa University has demonstrated the effect of osteopontin on hepatitis C virus replication and interferon signaling in cancer stem cells. Their research sheds light on a novel therapeutic target for treating hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and was estimated to be responsible for 745,000 deaths in 2012. Recently, highly efficient and direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have been able to eliminate HCV from infected livers in more than 90 percent of cases. However, emergence of HCC at a rate of about 1 percent per year is now reported in HCV-infected livers. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies are needed to prevent HCV infection, HCC recurrence, and hepatocarcinogenesis.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional cytokine and is involved in normal physiological processes, as well as in numerous pathological conditions, including inflammation, fibrogenesis, and carcinogenesis. In liver diseases, OPN plays an important role in acute liver injury, viral replication, liver repair, fibrosis, and HCC.

Recent work has identified CD44 as the most common marker for cancer stem cells (CSCs) in several human cancers. CD44 has a pivotal role in regulating the properties of CSCs, including their self-renewal, tumor initiation, metastasis, and chemoradioresistance, and OPN reportedly interacts with CD44.

(A) Immunofluorescence staining of HCV-core protein in HCV replicating Huh7 cells. (B) FACS analysis of EpCAM and CD44 expression in HCV replicating Huh7 cells. (C) RTD-PCR analysis of HCV-RNAin EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs and EpCAM?/CD44? cells. (D) ELISA analysis of the level of OPN in EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs and EpCAM?/CD44? cells. (E) RTD-PCR analysis of HCV-RNA, MX1, and ISG20 in Huh7, EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs, and EpCAM?/CD44? cells following IFN treatment. Credit: Kanazawa University

In HCC, enrichment of several stem cell markers, including CD133, CD90, CD13, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), CD44, CD24, and oval cell marker OV6, is reported in certain side populations of CSCs. However, CSCs represent only a minor population of the cancer cells and there is currently no evidence for a role for CSCs in supporting HCV replication. Therefore, identifying the underlying mechanism of HCV pathogenesis and its relationship to CSCs is an important research challenge.

In this study, a group from Kanazawa University evaluated the significance of the OPN-CD44 axis for HCV replication in EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs, and investigated the role of OPN in the regulation and maintenance of EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs.

EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs showed marked HCV replication when compared with EpCAM+/CD44 cells. In addition, the levels of OPN mRNA and protein were higherin EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs than in EpCAM+/CD44+ cells. OPN significantly enhanced HCV replication in EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs and markedly suppressed interferon (IFN)-stimulated gene expression. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitor 6-bromoindirubin-3-oxime increased the EpCAM+/CD44+ CSC population and OPN expression and impaired IFN signaling via signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) degradation. Furthermore, OPN regulated stemness of EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs, which led to inactivation of IFN signaling and enhanced HCV replication.

The Kanazawa University group focused its attention on CSCs, as HCC is proposed to develop from CSCs, even though they represent a small part of the HCC cell population. However, HCV replication in CSCs is still poorly understood. This study showed the significance of the OPN-CD44 axis for HCV replication in EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs.

The results of the Kanazawa University group highlight a new role for OPN in supporting HCV replication in EpCAM+/CD44+ CSCs through a reduction in STAT1 activation. They also provide evidence that OPN has the potential to maintain CSC phonotypes, and identify the OPN-CD44 pathway as a potential target for regulating HCV replication and stemness in HCC cells.

Explore further Anticancer drugs delivered by a new drug delivery system reduce tumor size

More information: Takayoshi Shirasaki et al, The osteopontin-CD44 axis in hepatic cancer stem cells regulates IFN signaling and HCV replication, Scientific Reports (2018). Journal information: Scientific Reports Takayoshi Shirasaki et al, The osteopontin-CD44 axis in hepatic cancer stem cells regulates IFN signaling and HCV replication,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31421-6
TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canntab Therapeutics Limited (CSE: PILL, FSE: TBF1) (Canntab or the Company) is a company with a clear vision of becoming the leader in solid oral dosage formulation of cannabis. Their unique products offer advantages to the medical community, patients, adult use consumers and governments. Canntab is pleased to provide this corporate update to its shareholders.



This includes;

An excellent capitalized structure of approximately 28.6M shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis with no need for short term financing of its business plan.

A strong intellectual property portfolio with 13 patents pending in the United States and Canada pertaining to the formulation of tablets including instant release, extended release, flash melt and bi-layered. The products will be available in 2.5g, 5g and 10g tablets.

An application to become a Licensed Producer (Non Grower) under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations and has confirmation from Health Canada that its application had been received.

A notice that it is now a part of the Composite Index of the Canadian Securities Exchange as part of their quarterly rebalancing.

Reaching a milestone in its development of a patent-pending oral extended release formulation for cannabinoids in collaboration with Emblem Corp. ( TSXV: EMC , OTCQX: EMMBF). Dissolution testing indicated that the Extended Release Tablets released cannabinoids consistently over a 12-hour period. Given these positive test results, Canntab is manufacturing pivotal batches of these tablets for further clinical testing. This will lead to the filing of dossiers with regulatory agencies around the world for approval of Canntabs unique solid oral dose delivery systems.

, OTCQX: EMMBF). Dissolution testing indicated that the Extended Release Tablets released cannabinoids consistently over a 12-hour period. Given these positive test results, Canntab is manufacturing pivotal batches of these tablets for further clinical testing. This will lead to the filing of dossiers with regulatory agencies around the world for approval of Canntabs unique solid oral dose delivery systems. Health Canadas approval of Canntabs 420 Therapeutics brand of Cannabis wellness products. These capsules are made with purified organic hemp seed oil and are an easy and convenient way to enjoy the health benefits of hemp oil. This is an important milestone achievement for Canntab in their move towards manufacturing full spectrum hemp derived CBD.

Announcement of the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent with NewCanna S.A.S of Bogota, Colombia for the establishment of a significant bi-lateral relationship covering the sale and distribution of Canntabs products in Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Spain with a one-time, non-refundable license fee ($2 million US) payable to Canntab by NewCanna.

Announcement of the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent with Labsco Promedic SA for the establishment of a joint venture relationship covering, on an exclusive basis, the sales and distribution of Canntab products in Mexico.

Jeff Renwick, CEO of Canntab Therapeutics Ltd., says, In our short history on the public markets, Canntab has already reached a number of significant milestones. Canntab is leveraging its first mover advantage and developing an important IP portfolio to actively pursue other high-level discussions for partnerships with industry leaders. CBD and THC in tablet form is an important category with few worldwide players at this time and Canntab believes that it is well positioned to build significant shareholder value by aggressively pursuing these opportunities.

About Canntab

Canntab Therapeutics Limited is a Canadian cannabis oral dosage formulation company based in Markham Ontario, engaged in the research and development of advanced pharmaceutical grade formulations of cannabinoids. Canntab has developed patented technology to deliver standardized medical cannabis extract from selective strains in a variety of extended/sustained release pharmaceutical dosages for therapeutic use. In doing so, Canntab has developed a suite of precision oral dose products that are unavailable elsewhere in the marketplace. Canntabs primary focus is on providing cannabis-based products to medical professionals that can be used to deliver therapeutic treatments to their patients.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Canntab Therapeutics Limited

Richard Goldstein, CFO

Office: 416 957-6303

Email: info@canntab.ca

Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking information or statements (collectively, forward-looking statements), including those identified by the expressions anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, should and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future results or events. This press release contains forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated, or intended.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (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.




Does engaging patients in research projects improve health? A comprehensive collection of 17 innovative demonstration projectsfrom youth involvement in mental health services to suicide prevention, Indigenous health, children with complex medical needs and morehighlights the value of patient engagement in research.

Engaging Patients in Health Research: the Ontario Experience, a special patient-oriented research supplement in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), features in-the-trenches experiences, tips and challenges from 17 IMPACT projects funded by the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU). It is a resource for researchers and others interested in this growing approach that involves patients and caregivers as partners in health and health systems research.

"The innovative, collaborative approach of these projects underscores Ontario's role as a leader in putting patients first and in seeking ways to improve patient health and the way health care is delivered," says Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, Chair, OSSU's Board of Directors. "We expect that OSSU's IMPACT projects will live up to their name as they will impact the way we deliver health care, from emergency services to mental health, hip fracture care to heart failure care and more."

Lived experience of patients and caregivers can make health research more relevant to patient needs by focusing on patient-identified priorities, which can improve health and the health system.

Examples:

Youth-determined study outcomesability to function in daily life was the most important outcome in a study to help youth access mental health and addiction services, recommended by youth rather than researcher-identified symptom relief. ("Youth engagement in the YouthCan IMPACT trial") Podcast

Novel recruitmentin a study looking at providing access to essential medicines, with the advice of patient partners, researchers hit the streets of Toronto wearing branded T-shirts to ensure diverse representation. ("Community members co-designing a trial of medication access") Podcast

Partnerships are keya study looking at diabetes in First Nations people involved a close partnership with Chiefs of Ontario, which co-developed the study with an Elder, First Nations patient navigators and researchers. ("Describing the process of ethical conduct of research in an Ontario-wide First Nations diabetes research project")

Create a safe environmentpeople with lived experience helped design a smartphone app to help men seeking help after self-harm and at risk of suicide. A key lesson was "the need to create a safe environment where patients are able to share their personal experiences through the power of 'testament.'" Flexibility and support were also important to allow patient partners to withdraw or rejoin the project depending on their mental health. ("Involving people with lived experience in research on suicide prevention")

Lived experience of older adults and caregiversthe transition from hospital to home can be difficult for older adults with multiple illnesses and symptoms of depression. Older adult patient partners and caregivers contributed insights into the unique challenges facing them and their caregivers in a support program to help ease the transition. "Patient and caregiver partners have also helped researchers and trainees to better understand issues older adults face with transitional care." ("Engaging older adults as partners in transitional care research")

In 2014, OSSU issued a call to fund translational research projects that aimed to conduct Innovative, Measurable, Patient-oriented, Appropriate, Collaborative and Transformative (IMPACT) research to improve patient health in Ontario. The complete list of 17 IMPACT projects in pediatrics, mental health, Indigenous health, chronic disease and health systems research is available here.

"Just as the patient experience in clinical care is important, so too is the patient perspective in research," says Dr. Diane Kelsall, editor-in-chief (interim), CMAJ. "Asking patients and families about what is important to them results in better research studies that address patient health priorities, which can benefit the health system. CMAJ sees patient-oriented research as an important, emerging research area, and we hope this supplement will be a resource for researchers."

Funding bodies such as the National Institute for Health Research in the United Kingdom and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) in the United States are supporting patient-oriented research, along with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Journals are increasingly asking how patients were involved in the research. CMAJ Open, a sister journal to CMAJ, has launched a patient-oriented research section to attract and publish this type of research.

"Engaging patients as partners makes them active, rather than passive, participants whose experience and ideas can enrich research projects," says Frank Gavin, patient partner and chair, Citizen Engagement Council for the CHILD-BRIGHT SPOR Network. "We hope this publication will be a resource to anyone interested in conducting patient-oriented research."

Explore further Engaging patients in health care redesign improves outcomes
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

People who disclose that they have recently been released from prison are significantly less likely to be offered an appointment when seeking care from a family doctor compared to other patients, suggests new research from the University of British Columbia.

The findings suggest that discrimination on the basis of imprisonment is a significant barrier for people trying to access physician care upon release, even in a country with a universal health care system like Canada.

"People who have spent time in prison have substantially higher risks of illness and death than the general population," said Dr. Nahla Fahmy, the study's lead author who conducted the research as a postgraduate student in UBC's family medicine residency program. "Being able to access a health-care provider upon release is vitalso it's alarming to see that these patients could be facing discrimination."

For the study, researchers called the offices of 250 family physicians listed as accepting new patients on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia website.

In half of the phone conversations, callers presented themselves as being recently released from prison a few months ago before asking for an appointment with a family doctor. The other half of callersthe control groupsimply asked for an appointment with a family doctor without providing any background information.

The researchers found that the control group of callers were nearly twice as likely to be offered an appointment than those who mentioned that they had recently been released from prison.

Dr. Ruth Elwood Martin, the study's senior author and clinical professor in the school of population and public health at UBC, said the findings underscore a need for programs to support people accessing health care during the high-risk transition from prison to the community.

"Our ongoing research in the community shows that many people face major challenges at the time of release from prison, like accessing housing and reuniting with families. We need to support people as they seek to meet their health needs," said Elwood Martin, who has worked in provincial correctional facilities in B.C. "We need to ensure that our health care and social services are accessible to people who spend time in prison, and that people don't have to deal with discrimination in addition to the other barriers they may face in accessing care when they leave prison."

The study was published this week in the Annals of Family Medicine.

Explore further Removing Medicare exclusion would improve prisoner health

More information: Nahla Fahmy et al. Access to Primary Care for Persons Recently Released From Prison, The Annals of Family Medicine (2018). Journal information: Annals of Family Medicine Nahla Fahmy et al. Access to Primary Care for Persons Recently Released From Prison,(2018). DOI: 10.1370/afm.2314
(HealthDay)Yoga has many benefits, from increasing flexibility to reducing stress.

The practice offers so much because of its multi-dimensional nature. In addition to its fluid exercises, called asanas or poses, it focuses on correct breathing, posture and meditation with a philosophy that strives for a balance of body, mind and spirit.

There are many styles of yoga offered in the United States, most of which are rooted in the classic hatha yoga.

Popular hatha yoga styles include: Ananda, Anusara, Ashtanga, Bikram, Iyengar, Kripalu, Kundalini and Viniyoga.

Not every style is right for every body.

For instance Bikram, or "hot yoga," is done in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit to encourage heavy sweating. This can raise your own body temperature well over 100 degrees F, and that's not safe for everyone. There's also been some criticism about not enough water breaks being offered during sessions at some studios. Because of its excessive heat exposure, Bikram yoga may not be appropriate for people with heart or lung disease, or who have experienced heatstroke in the past.

Fortunately, there are many other interesting styles to explore.

For instance, Iyengar (pronounced eye-n-gar) yoga incorporates props into poses and focuses on symmetry and body alignment. Viniyoga (pronounced vee-knee-yoga) is a very gentle style, often recommended for beginners and when yoga is used as a healing therapy. Sivananda (pronounced siva-nanda) also focuses on gentle movement along with an emphasis on deep relaxation.

At the other extreme, Kundalini (pronounced kun-doo-lini) is designed to release a flow of energy through breathing and chanting.

These are just a few of the options. Be sure to ask questions as you investigate yoga classes and studios so you know where the emphasis is placed and that your personal goals will be met.

More information: The magazine Yoga Journal has an online tool to help you locate information on The magazinehas an online tool to help you locate information on yoga teachers , trained in various types of yoga, across the country.

Copyright  2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Invited to share their personal stories, victims of urban gun violence describe living with violence as a "common everyday experience" and feeling abandoned by police and other societal institutions, reports a study in the November/December Journal of Trauma Nursing, official publication of the Society of Trauma Nurses.

"Victims of gun violence experience challenges related to poverty, deficient educational preparation, and community neglect," according to the narrative inquiry study by Mary Francis, RN, Ph.D., ANCP-BC, of Widener University, Chester, Pa. "The presence of gun violence in their neighborhoods has had an everlasting impact on their well-being."

From the Voices of Gun Violence Victims, Four Themes Emerge

Dr. Francis conducted face-to-face, confidential interviews with 16 victims of gun violence. Participants were recruited during follow-up clinic visits to a level I trauma center clinic in a US Mid-Atlantic city. They ranged in age from 18 to 71 years; most were African American men.

Participants were asked to share their personal accounts of being a victim of gun violence. Interview transcripts were analyzed to identify underlying patterns or themes that cut across the stories. The analysis identified four main themes:

Prevailing Nature of Everyday Violence . Participants described gun violence as an "ordinary occurrencepart of their everyday lives. As witnesses of gun violence from a young age, "They described feelings of hopelessness and felt as if they had no options to escape the violence in their neighborhoods," Dr. Francis writes.

. Participants described gun violence as an "ordinary occurrencepart of their everyday lives. As witnesses of gun violence from a young age, "They described feelings of hopelessness and felt as if they had no options to escape the violence in their neighborhoods," Dr. Francis writes. Feeling Abandoned by the Institutions of Society . The respondents described "an absence of police force or a lack of faith in the effectiveness of police to help them." They also reported a lack of support by school systems and community organizations, leading to a more violent community.

. The respondents described "an absence of police force or a lack of faith in the effectiveness of police to help them." They also reported a lack of support by school systems and community organizations, leading to a more violent community. Living in a Context of Reactive Violence . Participants believed that living in poverty and lack of education contributed to limiting their options for the future. They described a "cascade of circumstances...eventually increas[ing] their potential to become victims of gun violence."

. Participants believed that living in poverty and lack of education contributed to limiting their options for the future. They described a "cascade of circumstances...eventually increas[ing] their potential to become victims of gun violence." Evolving Psychological Effects. Participants said that their emotions and behavior had changed since they became victims of gun violence. Some reported symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as increased vigilance and being afraid to leave home.

"The participants voiced feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness regarding their situations," Dr. Francis writes. "They described a life embedded in poverty and violence in which they could identify no strategies to improve their lives."

Gun violence is a public health crisis in the United States, leading to thousands of injuries and deaths each day. The risk of violence involving a firearm is substantially increased for low-income individuals, and especially for African American young adults. "Gun violence is part of a vicious cycle of race and poverty in the US, reflecting a social inequality," according to Dr. Francis.

The study lends new insights into the challenges faced by survivors of gun violence. While limited to an urban, mainly African American population, the findings may help in understand the factors contributing to the ongoing cycle of race, poverty, and violenceand in developing strategies to reduce the prevalence of deaths and injuries due to firearms.

"Community leaders and community members need to work together to improve the living conditions of people in poverty and improve education for further prevention," Dr. Francis concludes. "Health care policy changes and community programs that assist in decreasing violence and availability of guns need to be developed and implemented."

Explore further Why stigma against victims of domestic violence persists in Indonesia

More information: Mary Francis, A Narrative Inquiry Into the Experience of Being a Victim of Gun Violence, Journal of Trauma Nursing (2018). Mary Francis, A Narrative Inquiry Into the Experience of Being a Victim of Gun Violence,(2018). DOI: 10.1097/JTN.0000000000000406
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veritas Pharma Inc. (CSE: VRT; OTC: VRTHF; and Frankfurt: 2VP) (Veritas or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding share purchase agreement (the Agreement) to sell 100% of the outstanding common shares of Sechelt Organic Marijuana Inc. (Sechelt) to Leis Industries Limited (Leis). The Company previously announced on September 13, 2018 that it had entered into a Non-Binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Leis.



Proposed Acquisition

Under the terms of the Agreement, Leis will acquire all of the issued and outstanding Sechelt common shares for an aggregate purchase price of $350,000. Leis will advance $180,000 to Veritas within the next 24 hours and the remaining $170,000 is payable in shares that are to be released upon the receipt of an occupancy permit post-construction.

The completion of the Sechelt sale is subject to several conditions, including:

Receipt of regulatory approval, including a change of Leis business;

Compliance by the parties to the share purchase agreement with all covenants and agreements in such agreement; and

Other conditions precedent set forth in the share purchase agreement.

Completion of the Sechelt sale is subject to a number of conditions, including CSE acceptance. There can be no assurance that the Sechelt sale will be completed as proposed or at all.

About Veritas Pharma Inc.

Veritas Pharma Inc. is an emerging pharmaceutical and IP development company, who, through its 100% owned subsidiary Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd. (CTL), is advancing the science behind medical cannabis. It is the Companys aim, through its investment in CTL, to develop the most effective cannabis strains (cultivars) specific to pain, nausea, epilepsy and PTSD, solving the critical need for clinical data to support medical marijuana claims. CTLs unique value proposition uses a low-cost research and development model to help drive shareholder value, and speed-to-market. Veritas investment in CTL is led by a strong management team, bringing together veteran academic pharmacologists, anesthetists & chemists. The companys commercial mission is to patent protect IP (cultivars & strains) and sell or license to cancer clinics, insurance industry and pharma, targeting multi-billion-dollar markets according to Deloittes Insights and Opportunities.

Veritas Pharma Inc. is a publicly traded company in Canada, on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the ticker VRT; in the United States, on the OTC under the ticker VRTHF; and in Germany, on the Frankfurt exchange under the ticker 2VP.

For more information, please visit our website: veritaspharmainc.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors

" Dr. Lui Franciosi"

Dr. Lui Franciosi

President and Chief Executive Officer

Further information about the Company is available on our website at www.veritaspharmainc.com or under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the CSE website at www.thecse.com.

Investor and Public Relations Contact

Veritas Pharma Inc.

Sam Eskandari

Telephone: +1.416.918.6785

Email: ir@veritaspharmainc.com

Website: www.veritaspharmainc.com

The CSE has not reviewed, nor approved or disapproved the content of this press release.
NOTICE:

TO BE CLEAR:

WE HAVE OUTLINED UNDER OUR RECORD MAINTENANCE POLICY WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE A FAIR PROCESS FOR ALL. SIMPLY PUT: IF THE COURT SAW FIT TO EXPUNGE YOUR RECORD,SO WILL WE, FREE OF CHARGE. ARRESTS DO NOT IMPLY GUILT AND CRIMINAL CHARGES ARE MERELY ACCUSATIONS,EVERYONE IS PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW AND CONVICTED. FCRA DISCLAIMER: MUGSHOTS.COM DOES NOT PROVIDE CONSUMER REPORTS AND IS NOT A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY. OUR DATABASE CANNOT BE USED TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT CONSUMER CREDIT, EMPLOYMENT, INSURANCE, TENANT SCREENING, OR ANY OTHER PURPOSES THAT WOULD REQUIRE FCRA COMPLIANCE. MUGSHOTS.COM PARTICIPATES IN AFFILIATE PROGRAMS WITH VARIOUS COMPANIES. WE MAY EARN A COMMISSION WHEN YOU CLICK ON OR MAKE PURCHASES VIA LINKS. MUGSHOTS.COM IS AN AGGREGATOR OF THE TODAYS CRIME NEWS. IN EACH FRONT-PAGE POST, THE HYPERLINK TO THE PRIMARY SOURCE IS SPECIFIED. ALL TRADEMARKS BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS, ALL MATERIALS TO THEIR AUTHORS. IF YOU ARE THE OWNER OF THE CONTENT AND DO NOT WANT US TO PUBLISH YOUR MATERIALS, PLEASE CONTACT US BY EMAIL mugshots.com1@gmail.com. THE CONTENT WILL BE DELETED WITHIN 48 HOURS.

MUGSHOTS.COM IS A NEWS ORGANIZATION. WE POST AND WRITE THOUSANDS OF NEWS STORIES A YEAR, MOST WANTED STORIES, EDITORIALS (UNDER CATEGORIES - BLOG) AND STORIES OF EXONERATIONS. OUR CONTENT REVOLVES AROUND CRIME, ARRESTS AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT. WE BELIEVE IN THE CONSTITUTION AND OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO PUBLISH UNPOPULAR SPEECH. OPEN RECORD LAWS WERE WRITTEN TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC; BY INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF ARRESTS AND TO HOLD LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF ARRESTEES. MOST OF, IF NOT ALL MUGSHOT LAWS WERE CRAFTED TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM FEES FOR REMOVAL OF ONLINE MUGSHOTS AND TO FURTHER PROTECT THE PRESS FROM THOSE VERY SAME "MUGSHOT LAWS".WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR REMOVAL OF ARREST INFORMATION AND/OR BOOKING PHOTOGRAPHS. MORE...
Hamilton, Bermuda, November 14, 2018.

Nordic American Tankers Limited (the "Company") (NYSE: NAT) today announced that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has scheduled the Company's 2018 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting"), to be held on December 11, 2018 at 12:00 noon, local time, at the Radisson Royal Hotel, Hammerichgade 1, Copenhagen, Denmark. The Board has set a record date of October 26, 2018 for the determination of the Company's shareholders entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

The Company's Notice of the Meeting and Proxy Statement were furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") on November 13, 2018 and can be found on the Commission's website at www.sec.gov . The Notice of the Meeting and Proxy Statement may also be found on the Company's website at www.nat.bm .

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and world wide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts:



Gary J. Wolfe

Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, USA

Tel: +1 212 574 1223

Bjrn Giver, CFO

Nordic American Tankers Limited

Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91

Herbjrn Hansson, Chairman, President & CEO

Nordic American Tankers Limited

Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91
Acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola will be on hand for a special screening of a restored version of 1984s The Cotton Club at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Cameo Cinema.

Do you remember that moment when the beautiful Lila (Lonette McKee)  a mixed-race chanteuse passing for white in 1920s New York  performs a show-stopping rendition of Stormy Weather, sung with the melancholic passion of a woman who cant express herself any other way? No? Thats because that sequence and more than 20 minutes of scenes with Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines and Maurice Hines ended up on the cutting-room floor amidst post-production squabbles between Coppola and the films producers.

With painstaking archival research and digital restoration, Coppolas original vision for The Cotton Club has been restored with The Cotton Club Encore.

Following the screening will be a Conversation with Coppola, winner of five Academy Awards and a longtime supporter of the Cameo Cinema.

Tickets are $10 and likely to sell out. Rated R (2H 19M). Go to CameoCinema.com.
Seeking special people for recognition

With the holiday season approaching, the St. Helena Star is asking readers to suggest people of exceptional generosity and community spirit for stories that will run in December.

We are seeking nominations of mostly unsung individuals or groups whose actions have made a difference in the lives of others during 2018.

Suggestions can be emailed to Editor David Stoneberg at editor@sthelenastar.com.
For eight months in 2004, Elle Snow was trafficked throughout the Bay Area against her will as a prostitute. She worked in a brothel in Walnut Creek, where every half hour there was another man, willing to pay for sex. Three women were lined up and the man would pick one of them, Snow said last week during a St. Helena presentation.

The pimp told Snow that prostitution was just what she was made for, that she was oversexualized and thats why her uncle sexually abused her when she was young. After that first day in the brothel, Snow said, I believed him. And then the pimp broke her in, just like a horse, Snow added.

Eventually, she escaped the brothel and contacted law enforcement. She testified against the pimp in 2014 and he was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison. He served four years and was released earlier this year. She didnt realize it at the time, but the pimp targeted her, romanced her and then, on a three-day vacation turned her into a prostitute. She was physically and mentally abused.

Soroptimist International of St. Helena and St. Helena Sunrise sponsored a panel on human trafficking Thursday at the St. Helena High School Performing Art Center. It included a panel discussion, How to Keep Napa Valley Safe, with Lt. Gary Pitkin with the Napa Special Investigations Bureau and Laurel Botsford, founder and president of Wisdom International; an update of Congressional action by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena; and Snow as the keynote speaker.

Today Snow is a survivor and is fighting sex trafficking through her nonprofit, Game Over, whose mission is to provide education on how to prevent, identify and assist those who have been sex trafficked. She provides training to youth groups, community members, service providers, social workers, foster parents, medical staff and law enforcement agencies throughout the nation.

Takeaways include:

- The federal Violence Against Women Act that Congress authorized in 1994 is temporarily funded until Dec. 8. Earlier this fall, the U.S. Senate extended the VAWA with a continuing resolution with the same level of funding as is in 2018. Thompson said more funding is needed. We need to make sure to adapt to the needs of the issue and provide the adequate funding to ensure these victims get the help they need, he said.

- Congress recently passed and the president signed a bill, Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2107, Thompson said. The bill allows states and survivors to sue websites for anything they do to facilitate sex trafficking. As you know, the best ways to get to an issue is through the pocketbook, Thompson said. So hopefully, that will bear some fruit.

- Sex trafficking is definitely here, Botsford said. With all the bridges it is really easy to transport victims to other areas, from Napa to Bay Area cities. Pitkin agreed, saying that Napa County victims are being transported to the Bay Area and out-of-county pimps are coming to Napa County. Modern-day kidnapping is happening through the Internet.

- The Napa Special Investigations Bureau was formed in 1976 and over the years, it morphed into a drug task force, Pitkin said. At the end of 2016, its members started to hear about human trafficking and commercial sex workers. We started sending our folks to training, Pitkin said, and found out the sex workers use the Internet for advertising. We were blown away by the commercial sex workers offering services in Napa County, he said. In the North Bay, hundreds of people were advertising their services. Recently, NSIB detectives posted a fake ad telling of their services online and within hours, 185 people texted and another 100 people called, Pitkin said.

- Trainers were sent to a briefing of night-shift patrol officers, who didnt believe sex trafficking was happening in Napa County. They received training for 15 to 20 minutes and about four hours later, at midnight, Pitkin said the patrol officers got a report of a pimp and a victim. They rescued her, put the pimp in jail, then went to the victims best friend, rescued her and arrested the pimp, Pitkin said.

- Of the cases the NSIB detectives have prosecuted, every one of the pimps has pleaded guilty and sentenced to three years, six years or 20 years in state prison, Pitkin said.

- In April, the Justice Department announced the seizure of Backpage.com, the Internets leading forum for prostitution ads, and seven people were charged in a 93-count federal indictment. Snow, who works for Erik Bauer, the lawyer who helped shut down Backpage.com, said the site made half a billion dollars in 10 years. Trafficking will not stop, she predicts, but will move overseas, back into the streets, in brothels and deeper into the web.

- Snow is co-creator and one of the playwrights for Jane Doe in Wonderland, Theater Against Sex Trafficking. She is a two-time Soroptimist Ruby Award winner and has been recognized by Congress and the Senate for her work in the anti-trafficking movement.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
How do you think gang violence affects the citizens of El Salvador?

The gang violence in El Salvador has been greatly affecting citizens and families. As a group we studied the issues in El Salvador including gang violence. For example, there are approximately 6.5 million people living in El Salvador, and 500,000 are involved with the gangs, whether theyre members, relatives of gang members, or children that have been involved. The two largest gangs in El Salvador are Mara Salvatrucha also known as MS-13 and 18th street. In El Salvador there are approximately seven murders per day. Gang violence has been traumatizing families and causing them to leave their homes.

Many citizens see the acts that these gangs have been doing to people they know and love. A lot of members have been forced into it by being threatened (by gang members) to harm their families or loved ones. This has been tearing families apart.

How did these gangs get so big? Well, it all started during the Civil War, when 75,000 Salvadorans were killed causing many immigrants (approximately 100,000) to come from Central America to California. Many Salvadoran families lived in poverty and started street gangs (MS-13 and 18th street) for protection, to make money, and to have food and water. We can infer the acts they did were influenced by the intense things that they saw growing up during the Civil War.

Then a law was passed stating that any illegal immigrants with criminal records would be deported, tens of thousands of gang members were sent back to their home countries spreading the gangs further. Once they returned to El Salvador, they carried on with their gangs and recruited more people, including many teenagers. When recruiting Salvadorans, many joined because they were threatened that if they didn't, they would be killed. It was easy for these countries to be taken over because of the poverty and the lack of opportunities. The gang MS-13 has spread from Los Angeles to other parts of the US, Canada, Mexico and countries in Central America.

Very similar things happened to the gang 18th street. Large parts of the gang are located in the same areas as MS-13 which is one of the reasons theyre rivals.

We wanted to get the closest thing to an inside perspective of El Salvador. So, two members of our group got on the phone with local priest Amy Denney Zuniga at St. Helenas Grace Episcopal Church. We looked over and discussed basic information in an interview asking her about her experience in El Salvador, and how it has deeply affected her as a person. In the interview, she gave some information about a family who lives in a neighborhood being controlled by a gang. She explained how someone in her church, who she knew very well, had been murdered. The man was young and newly wedded ready to start a family of his own. His life was taken away. He was a target for gang violence, the gang MS-13 had had sent in recruits to kill this young man whom was not associated or had any association to anyone in the gang. His mother and sister saw their family member die before them.

Every day families like this are bestowed upon with grief and sadness. What are some problems in El Salvador? What do you think of the situation? What can you do to help? What can we, as a community that doesn't live in constant fear, do to help the people of El Salvador? Where you are not scared of roaming the streets? Where you can't decide either to eat or starve because youre too scared of being harassed, raped, threatened, wounded, or being shot dead on sight during a quick trip to the market? What can you do when every right, a citizen, a human, is stripped away from you because you have no choice, or you die?

These problems are not recognized by the public, or even by a friendly neighborhood. Because they think that they cant make a difference, but the truth of the matter is that every time you shine light on the gang violence or raise awareness to the cause, you are helping. Ask yourself this, are you safe? Are you scared? Are you mourning? Can you help save people who are in desperate need of you?

You can help by going to Save the Children to help children in El Salvador get an education, protection from violence and help give kids a meal to eat every day.

Weston Staid, Stevie Alvarez, Emilia Verdin Bernal, Dulce Velazquez, Sebastian Gallegos-Casas, and Fredy Ramirez Palma

Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School
Several years ago, Professor Richard Light wrote Making The Most of College, a book based on interviews he conducted over 10 years with Harvard seniors.

Professor Light asked students about their most memorable learning experiences and expected them to describe something that happened in a classroom. However, he wrote, When we asked students to think of a specific, critical incident, or moment that had changed them profoundly, 80 percent chose a situation or event outside of the classroom.

Rare are alums who look back on their college days to recall a life-changing lecture on ionic bonding. What we remember are professors who challenged, encouraged, even frustrated us; long hours spent in late night discussions with roommates when we should have been preparing for classes; and, yes, the parties, big games, and relationships begun in youth that strengthened over the years.

This past weekend, eight guys I met at USC gathered again to celebrate friendships stretching back 50 years. Seven grew up in the gritty neighborhoods of Compton and South Central Los Angeles and each has achieved remarkable success in life.

Brian is a physician, father and grandfather. James, a former IBM engineer, recently completed a term on the San Jose Grand Jury. My roomie, Michael, was a longtime partner in his law firm who travels annually to Uganda to support struggling families.

Joe C. is a marine biologist and college professor who continues to inspire students from backgrounds like his own. Larry, is longtime investment advisor enjoying retirement; Joe R., a recently retired San Jose orthodontist, handcrafts custom knives. Stan is a videographer, who faced down cancer this past year.

We also raised a toast to Otis, who died at 28 at the beginning of a promising career at 20th Century Fox.

As a college dean, I frequently told stories about my classmates to inspire and motivate countless students. I spoke about their successes and shared their trials and tribulations as models of what can be achieved through determination, persistence and hard work.

Professor Light is among researchers finding that students who study together are more successful. I once asked our group for advice for success to share with students and those seeking to advise and guide students. They talked about the support we provided for each other beyond the classroom.

We were what have come to be called posses on college campuses. Since our majors ranged from English to Psychology to Physics, and business, we didnt provide much subject matter assistance. However, after classes we often met in the Tutorial Office initiated by Joe C., where bid whist and tall tale telling re-energized us after long days of classes and labs, as we struggled to thrive on a campus very different from our neighborhoods and communities.

Like most students, our families provided the foundation, examples, and sustenance needed to travel the long road to our goals and destinations. Although I was a journeyman cashier at a Berkeley Co-op supermarket, my long Afro prevented me from getting hired in Southern California. So, Mike and I spent many cool evenings waiting in my car in front of the Western Union Office for my mom to wire extra money for food and rent.

Several of us remembered sitting together when an Admissions Office tour stopped by with a group of high school girls, one of whom Michael later married. Last weekend, Jimmy showed a photo he and his wife, Susan, had recently taken at the same campus spot where they met nearly 50 years earlier.

We also talked about the different world todays students experience  both on and off-campus. I recollected early morning street races against LA police officers. Our Black Student Union members gathered with Young Republicans to protect Tommy Trojans statue from UCLA vandals.

We chose majors based on what excited us and none of worried about getting jobs after completing our studies. Tuition was affordable with financial aid, work study, summer jobs, and some help from families. Most of us hadnt borrowed to pay for undergraduate school.

We never doubted but that we would own our homes and be able to provide greater security for our families than we had experienced. While worrying about the futures for our children and grandchildren, each of us takes pride in what they have managed to accomplish.

Like many college kids from back in the day, we are forever grateful for the days of our youth when our paths first crossed, and for all that still binds us together these many years later.

Note: A group of my St. Marys High School buddies continue to gather several times a year and we are thinking of our classmate, Joe McNally, and all the people of Paradise and elsewhere who have lost their homes and loved ones in the recent fires.

Tom Brown is a St. Helena resident who served as a dean at Saint Marys College of California for 27 years. He is currently a consultant and speaker at colleges and universities that are seeking to help more students to succeed. Send comments, questions or suggestions for future columns to: thedean@tbrownassociates.com
At least 50 complete sets of police uniforms, boots and belts will be headed from Napa to Butte County.

Current and former Napa police officers have donated their equipment to help officers affected by the Camp Fire, the deadliest in California history. The fire left the city of Paradise in ruins.

Sgt. Ryan Cole began coordinating donation efforts after a colleague's wife shared a Facebook post from Dusty D Work Wear, which bills itself as a uniform supply store.

The store posted on its profile that it was trying to get patches for the Butte County Sheriff's Office and Paradise Police Department uniforms and called for uniform donations. Police departments as far as Wisconsin reached out, according to another post.

The first delivery was headed to Butte County on Wednesday, according to the profile.

"For us, it was simple," Cole said. "A year ago, we went through a very similar event."

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.
As part of this years allocation of funds from Auction Napa Valley, Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) announced $4.1 million in grants for 15 Napa County healthcare nonprofits.

This is in addition to the final $2 million of a $6 million grant to OLE Health for its new medical facility in south Napa, expected to open in 2019 and to serve more than 15,000 patients annually, NVV said.

Earlier this year, NVV made grants totaling $2.5 million to childrens education. Since the wine auction started 38 years ago, the NVV has invested more than $185 million in the Napa Valley.

NVV funding supports primary healthcare, pediatric dental needs, mental health, family strengthening and other facets of creating a healthy, vital community, the wine trade group said.

The NVV is grateful for the opportunity to support the dedicated, resourceful and impactful nonprofits working to improve community health in Napa County, Carol Kingery Ritter, an Auction Napa Valley Community Board member and chairwoman of the NVVs Grants Review Committee, said in a news release.

This opportunity wouldnt be possible without the generosity of our members, bidders and the dedication of every member of this community in making Napa Valley a unique place that cultivates the spirit of giving.

Affordable healthcare and access to quality mental health services, especially affecting youth, are concerns that shaped this years allocations, NVV said.

Napa Valley Vintners noted that:

One in five Napa County residents use OLE Health as their primary care provider. OLE Health is the largest recipient of NVV funding and Napa Countys only nonprofit health clinic.

Every child in Napa County has access to health insurance through the Community Health Initiative, of which NVV is the largest local private funder.

Nonprofit partners including Aldea, Inc., Cope Family Center, Mentis and NEWS provide a wide net of mental health services for children and their families throughout Napa County.

NVV offers stories of their grants impacts at auctionnapavalley.org/giving.

This years healthcare grant recipients are: Aldea Children & Family Services, $835,000; Collabria Care, $500,000; Community Health Initiative Napa County, $250,000; Cope Family Center, $400,000; Girls on the Run Napa & Solano, $50,000; Lilliput Childrens Services, $60,000; Mentis, $325,000; NEWS, $185,000; OLE Health, $500,000; ParentsCAN, $115,000; Pediatric Dental Initiative, $75,000; Planned Parenthood of Northern California, $230,000; Puertas Abiertas, $100,000; Rianda House Senior Activity Center, $85,000, and UpValley Family Centers of Napa County, $400,000.

Pop the cork on Napa Valley wine! Discover the hidden stories of Napa Valley wine and the people behind it -- plus expert analysis from our columnists and more with our weekly email newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
OXFORD, U.K., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sophos (LSE: SOPH) today launched its 2019 Threat Report providing insights into emerging and evolving cybersecurity trends. The report, produced by SophosLabs researchers, explores changes in the threat landscape over the past 12 months, uncovering trends and how they are expected to impact cybersecurity in 2019.



The threat landscape is undoubtedly evolving; less skilled cyber criminals are being forced out of business, the fittest among them step up their game to survive and well eventually be left with fewer, but smarter and stronger, adversaries. These new cybercriminals are effectively a cross-breed of the once esoteric, targeted attacker, and the pedestrian purveyor of off-the-shelf malware, using manual hacking techniques, not for espionage or sabotage, but to maintain their dishonorable income streams. - Joe Levy, CTO, Sophos, as referenced in the SophosLabs 2019 Threat Report

The SophosLabs 2019 Threat Report focuses on these key cybercriminal behaviours and attacks:

Capitalist cybercriminals are turning to targeted ransomware attacks that are premeditated and reaping millions of dollars in ransom - 2018 saw the advancement of hand-delivered, targeted ransomware attacks that are earning cybercriminals millions of dollars. These attacks are different than spray and pray style attacks that are automatically distributed through millions of emails. Targeted ransomware is more damaging than if delivered from a bot, as human attackers can find and stake out victims, think laterally, trouble shoot to overcome roadblocks, and wipe out back-ups so the ransom must be paid. This interactive attack style, where adversaries manually maneuver through a network step-by-step, is now increasing in popularity. Sophos experts believe the financial success of SamSam, BitPaymer and Dharma to inspire copycat attacks and expect more happen in 2019.



2018 saw the advancement of hand-delivered, targeted ransomware attacks that are earning cybercriminals millions of dollars. These attacks are different than spray and pray style attacks that are automatically distributed through millions of emails. Targeted ransomware is more damaging than if delivered from a bot, as human attackers can find and stake out victims, think laterally, trouble shoot to overcome roadblocks, and wipe out back-ups so the ransom must be paid. This interactive attack style, where adversaries manually maneuver through a network step-by-step, is now increasing in popularity. Sophos experts believe the financial success of SamSam, BitPaymer and Dharma to inspire copycat attacks and expect more happen in 2019. Cybercriminals are using readily available Windows systems administration tools - This years report uncovers a shift in threat execution, as more mainstream attackers now employ Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) techniques to use readily available IT tools as their route to advance through a system and complete their mission  whether its to steal sensitive information off the server or drop ransomware: Turning admin tools into cyberattack tools

In an ironic twist, or Cyber Catch-22, cybercriminals are utilising essential or built-in Windows IT admin tools, including Powershell files and Windows Scripting executables, to deploy malware attacks on users. Cybercriminals are playing Digital Dominos

By chaining together a sequence of different script types that execute an attack at the end of the event series, hackers can instigate a chain reaction before IT managers detect a threat is operational on the network, and once they break in its difficult to stop the payload from executing. Cybercriminals have adopted newer Office exploits to lure in victims

Office exploits have long been an attack vector, but recently cybercriminals have cut loose old Office document exploits in favour of newer ones. EternalBlue becomes a key tool for cryptojacking attacks

Patching updates appeared for this Windows threat more than a year ago, yet the EternalBlue exploit is still a favourite of cybercriminals; the coupling of EternalBlue to cryptomining software turned the activity from a nuisance hobby into a potentially lucrative criminal career. Lateral distribution on the corporate networks allowed the cryptojacker to quickly infect multiple machines, increasing payouts to the hacker and heavy costs to the user.

This years report uncovers a shift in threat execution, as more mainstream attackers now employ Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) techniques to use readily available IT tools as their route to advance through a system and complete their mission  whether its to steal sensitive information off the server or drop ransomware:

The continued threat of mobile and IoT malware  Malwares impact extends beyond the organizations infrastructure as we see the threat from mobile malware grow apace. With illegal Android apps on the increase, 2018 has seen an increased focus in malware being pushed to phones, tablets and other IoT devices. As homes and businesses adopt more internet-connected devices, criminals have been devising new ways to hijack those devices to use as nodes in huge botnet attacks. In 2018, VPNFilter demonstrated the destructive power of weaponized malware that affects embedded systems and networked devices that have no obvious user interface. Elsewhere, Mirai Aidra, Wifatch, and Gafgyt delivered a range of automated attacks that hijacked networked devices to use as nodes in botnets to engage in distributed denial-of-service attacks, mine cryptocurrency and infiltrate networks.

For additional and detailed information on threat landscape trends and changing cybercriminal behaviours, please reference the entire SophosLabs 2019 Threat Report at www.sophos.com/threatreport .





Read the latest security news and views on our award-winning Naked Security News and read more about Sophos on our News blog .

Protect every Mac and PC in your home with the next generation of centrally managed free internet security software, Sophos Home .

Connect with Sophos where you are

Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook , Spiceworks , YouTube , Google+

About Sophos

Sophos is a leader in next-generation endpoint and network security. As the pioneer of synchronized security Sophos develops its innovative portfolio of endpoint, network, encryption, web, email, and mobile security solutions to work better together. More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos solutions as the best protection against sophisticated threats and data loss. Sophos products are exclusively available through a global channel of more than 39,000 registered partners. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, UK and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "SOPH." More information is available at www.sophos.com .

Press Contacts:

Sara Eberle, senior public relations manager, Americas

Sara.eberle@sophos.com

339-223-9265
ST. HELENA  In a win for student activists, the St. Helena City Council agreed Tuesday to suspend the citys 10 p.m. curfew for youth younger than the age of 18.

The curfew had been an obscure issue for adults  Councilmember Peter White said he hadnt even known St. Helena had one  until St. Helena High School students raised it at an Oct. 17 mayoral debate between Alan Galbraith and Geoff Ellsworth.

Junior Larkin Dewyer, speaking on behalf of the student body, told the council the curfew violates teens constitutional rights, strains relations between youth and police, and criminalizes looking young or being young.

In St. Helena, looking young is probable cause, she told the council. In our view, being young should not be a crime.

She also questioned the curfews effectiveness, noting that American Canyon, the only Napa County jurisdiction without a curfew, has a lower juvenile arrest rate than the city of Napa, which has a 10 p.m. curfew.

The curfew begins at 10 p.m. in St. Helena, Yountville and Napa, and at 11 p.m. in Calistoga and Napa County. Violations are considered infractions in St. Helena and misdemeanors in Calistoga, Yountville, the city of Napa and Napa County.

Councilmember Geoff Ellsworth praised students like Dewyer for raising the issue, and said hes since heard from parents who worry about minor curfew violations damaging their kids future job and college prospects.

Were having this discussion tonight because you spoke up, Ellsworth told students.

Interim Police Chief Tim Foley said St. Helena officers havent issued any citations for curfew violations in the last 10 years. The department uses the curfew mainly as a tool to contact parents when youth are out late making noise or causing other trouble, he said.

In the last three years, St. Helena police have contacted juveniles 41 times during curfew hours. Thirty-one of those incidents were triggered by non-curfew-related complaints like vehicle code violations, noise complaints and shoplifting.

The suspension wont take effect immediately because it has to come back to the council in the form of an ordinance for a first and second reading.

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.
Hooray, the election is over. Welcome to all the new members of Congress, Senate and governors.

I really hope the voice of the American people, as expressed through their votes, sends a message that President Trumps behavior, his constant lies and his divisive actions are not acceptable. I would suggest that all of our elected officials take note that all the hyperbole, all the name calling, the lies, the racist comments did not further his agenda to retain control of both houses. The 35 to 40 seats in Congress that turned blue are one of the largest swings ever.

I want all the senators and the congresspeople (that feels good) to take a deep breath and consider working together across the aisle for the common good. Our nation was founded through compromise creating a living Constitution. The founders worked together, worked through their differences to create a nation still unique in all the world.

I have never believed that the means always justifies the end. Winning should not come at the expense of civility and cohesion. Winning is best when both parties believe they benefit from the result of the process.

The antipathy felt and expressed over the last two years was accomplished by the president through his divisive, insulting tweets, hateful rhetoric, and block-headed acceptance of white supremacists and totalitarian leaders around the world.

So, lets go all you newbies and old timers. Welcome each other and lets put this wonderful country back together.

Best wishes, good luck and God bless.

Ed Estin

Napa
A consultative meeting to discuss the State- Specific Rules in regards to implementation of HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 as passed by the Parliament of India was on Tuesday conducted at a city hotel in Naharlagun (Arunachal Pradesh).

Attending the programme as Resource Person, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) Deputy Director General Dr Naresh Goel informed that the HIV and AIDS Bill 2014 passed by the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha and assented by the President of India was notified on e-gazette on April 21, 2017 and came into force on September 10, 2018.

Highlighting the objective of the Act, Dr Goel said that it aims at addressing the stigma and discrimination to the disease thereby creating an enabling environment for enhancing access to services while safeguarding rights of persons living with HIV and those affected by it. It also aims at providing free diagnostic facilities and ART also called antiretroviral therapy to persons living with HIV and also to promote safe workplace, occupational exposure and strengthen system of grievances redressal.

NACO consultant Garima Sharma, while explaining the gist of the Act, said that the Act need to be enacted after going through formal procedure in every State within a given time frame of 180 days. States Health Services Director, Dr M Lego, while chairing the session, said that the HIV/AIDS Act 2017 is an important one which will help in removing the stigmatisation of persons living with HIV.

Certain provisions may be added as per State-specific requirement with regards to Ombudsman, he said. Arunachal Pradesh State AIDS Control Society Project Director, Dr Riken Rina, in his speech said that the Act requires cooperation and inputs from all stakeholders in order to finalise the State-specific rules for the Act.
Armenia National Academy of Sciences Physiology Institute wins Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's grant

Armenian military servicemen score medals at championship in Iran

Armenian soldier who died in Armenia's Gegharkunik Province was Yezdi by nationality, was in army for a year

Taliban want to establish 'fraternal' ties with Turkey

Letter addressed to UN Security Council President about Azerbaijani attack published as SC official document

Armenia, India to end process of mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates soon

Syrian mercenaries who fought on Azerbaijani side during 44-day war complaining about not having received 'salaries'

Armenia Ombudsman: Videos about captured Armenian servicemen being explored, translated from Azerbaijani and identified

Armenian MFA on news about Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting

Armenia Parliament Deputy Speaker receives ARF-D Lebanon Central Committee member Hagop Pakradouni

Armenia MOD: Conscript dies after Azerbaijani soldier's gunshot fired in Gegharkunik Province

Did the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan speak about 'the liberated territories'?

Armenia PM appoints new head of Vedi village

Armenian army's General Staff chief holds working consultation, presents current situation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Armenia Deputy PM receives Eurasian Economic Union's minister in charge of integration and macroeconomics

Armenia's new Ambassador to Iran presents credentials to FM

Aysor.am: Armenia MOD: Exchange of fire began near Norabak village on border with Azerbaijan

Ambassador to Baku: United States makes persistent efforts for Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders' tete-a-tete meeting

Azerbaijan's special detachment soldiers conducting exercises under Turkish specialists' supervision in Nakhchivan

Armenian movement leader: If Armenian parliamentary opposition can't do anything, why is it in parliament?

Armenia MP to protesters: Our sovereign territories can't be transferred illegally and behind people's backs

Iranian FM, Azerbaijani Deputy PM discuss situation in Caucasus

Karabakh emergency situations service: Remains of another serviceman found in Varanda region

Armenia Parliament Speaker meets with French Senate President Richard Ferrand

Yerevan protesters demand to declassify content of Armenian-Azerbaijani document

G7 FMs to discuss human rights protection issue in Liverpool

Exchange rates in Armenia

Level of Armenia's Lake Sevan drops by 2 cm in one week

Armenia is interested in Russia's Ka-52M and Mi-28NE attack helicopters

Azerbaijan President invites South Korean companies to work in Nagorno-Karabakh's occupied territories

Opposition 'Armenia' faction MP: Azerbaijanis built customs terminal in Nakhchivan, will try to obtain road

Armenia PM, Belarus President hold phone talks

Syria Ambassador to Armenia Parliament Deputy Speaker: Turkey's actions are fully targeted against regional stability

Armenia applies to ECHR for ensuring fundamental rights of Armenian soldiers captured on Nov. 16

Armenian Ombudsman presents Azerbaijani aggression facts to US Congressman Adam Schiff

More than 40 people killed in heavy rains in southeastern India

Opposition 'Armenia' faction MP Armen Charchyan greeted with applause in courtroom

Australia, UK and US sign first agreement under AUKUS

Armenian PM to hold online Q&A conference Tuesday

Armenia opposition member says Azerbaijani ex-FM expresses gratitude to Pashinyan

Gas prices in Europe drop below $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters

Erdogan and Turkish ministers to discuss situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Citizens who blocked one of Yerevan avenues are apprehended

Defense ministry: Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable

U.S. Embassy in Israel advises diplomats not to visit Jerusalem's Old City

Covid-19 in Armenia: 30 new deaths

18 citizens are apprehended for participation in Yerevan protests

Russian peacekeepers ensure control in Nagorno-Karabakh

Carbon monoxide causes death in Yerevan

In Yerevan, citizens block main streets to draw attention to the situation at the border

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
CognitiveScale to provide expertise, technology support, and internship opportunities to accelerate MSUs efforts in Digital Ethics

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Michigan State University (MSU) officials announced a $1 million gift to the Eli Broad College of Business from alumnus Manoj Saxena, executive chairman of CognitiveScale and founding director of the Saxena Family Foundation . The gift will establish the Omura-Saxena Endowed Professorship to permanently support a faculty position in Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The professorship honors Glenn S. Omura, a leading expert and professor at the Broad Colleges Department of Marketing and the recently retired associate dean for MBA and masters programs. Omura is widely recognized for his work on market creation and entrepreneurial marketing, particularly those driven by emerging technologies.

Endowed faculty positions guarantee a strong future for Michigan State, and we are honored that Manoj and the Saxena Family Foundation have chosen to come alongside us to advance MSUs leadership in business ethics related to AI, said John Engler, interim president of MSU. Their generosity will create extraordinary learning opportunities for students at a time when the impact of artificial intelligence is rapidly permeating into all industries.

According to economic projections , AI will increase the global gross domestic product by 14 percent, or an additional $15.7 trillion by in 2030, making it the biggest commercial opportunity in todays economy. Harnessing AI in the coming years requires the creation of a workforce that has the skills and understanding needed to build and manage AI systems that are secure, transparent, explainable and accountable, so that we can avoid unintended consequences that can be harmful to individuals, businesses, and society, according to the Saxena Foundation.

We are deeply grateful to the Saxena Family Foundation for this visionary endowment, said Sanjay Gupta, Eli & Edythe L. Broad Dean of MSUs Eli Broad College of Business. This gift underscores Manoj Saxenas forward-looking commitment to support teaching, and benefits research that recognizes the tremendous importance of digital ethics in an era when AI technology will fundamentally redefine how we learn, work, and play. This gift jump-starts the ability of the Broad Colleges faculty to play a leadership role in this exciting new area to build a better world."

Saxena earned his MBA from MSU in 1991 and has since worked as a serial entrepreneur, an IBM executive, a venture capitalist, a Federal Reserve Board member, and philanthropist. While at IBM, Saxena served as the first general manager of IBM Watson, where his team built the first cognitive systems. Prior to IBM, Saxena successfully founded and sold two venture-backed software companies within a five-year span.

I am very grateful for the support and education Professor Omura gave me during my time at MSU, said Saxena, who came to MSU from Hyderabad, India. There has never been a more important time than now to educate future business leaders on the promise and perils of AI and train them in digital ethics as it will greatly influence the kind of world we will live in. This gift is just a beginning and it is my familys hope that this will serve as a seed crystal for growing a world-class program in Responsible AI at MSUs Broad College of Business.

CognitiveScale , a leader in Augmented Intelligence and Responsible AI, will provide expertise, technology support and internship opportunities to accelerate MSUs efforts in this area.

"Artificial intelligence will affect every aspect of modern life and it is critical that informed participation in this field expands from technologists to future business leaders and enablers, said Dr. Joydeep Ghosh, chief scientific officer, CognitiveScale. CognitiveScale, along with Saxena Foundation and other partners recently took a pledge to positively impact one billion lives by 2020 through the application of Responsible AI. We are delighted to see Michigan State University take a lead in this area and we look forward to supporting this initiative.

The Eli Broad College of Business has earned accolades as a global research institution focused on instilling an entrepreneurial, global, and ethical mindset in students. Omuras work at MSU has centered on creating and growing markets, entrepreneurial marketing and brand strategy, as well as building immersive learning experiences in the Broad MBA program.

I am honored that Manoj and the Saxena Family Foundation have chosen to name this professorship after me, Omura said. This endowment is timely for MSUs students as the impact of artificial intelligence permeates into all industries.

About the Saxena Family Foundation

The Saxena Family Foundation was established in 2002 by the technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist Manoj Saxena. Mr. Saxena and his family believe in doing well by doing good and founded the charity to focus on initiatives that promote empowerment of women and at-risk children so that they have equal rights and opportunities later in life.

Over the past 14 years, the 501(c) (3) registered non-profit charity has partnered with various social and academic agencies in US, Africa, and India. The Foundation awards grants and supports programs that focus on empowerment of women through STEM education and digital technologies to effectively design, create, communicate, and responsibly use data and information. For more information, please visit saxenafoundation.com

About CognitiveScale

CognitiveScale's Augmented Intelligence software helps businesses apply Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technology to solve complex business problems at scale for financial services, healthcare, and digital commerce markets. The company's award-winning software is being used by global leaders such as USAA, Morgan Stanley, NBC, JPMorgan Chase, ExxonMobil, and MD Anderson to increase user engagement, improve decision-making, and deploy self-learning and self-assuring business processes.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, CognitiveScale has offices in New York, London and Hyderabad, India, and is funded by Norwest Venture Partners, Intel Capital, IBM Watson, M12, and USAA among others. For more information on the company, please visit cognitivescale.com and follow @cognitivescale on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Michigan State University

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Media Contact:

Cassady Nordeen

Blast PR on behalf of CognitiveScale

718-644-0273

Cassady@blastpr.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/15dffc22-74ef-4574-8fa8-283b37587694
EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlas Biotechnologies Inc. (Atlas) and its subsidiaries, including Atlas Growers Ltd., are pleased to announce the signing of a long-term sales agreement (the Agreement) valued at a minimum of 38,500,000 Euros ($58 million CAD) with avaleaf GmbH (avaleaf), a German pharmaceutical importer and wholesaler of medical cannabis.



This Agreement further strengthens Atlas emerging position as an industry leader with a focus on developing the medicinal qualities of cannabis and related extracts. Atlas intends to commence sales under the Agreement around Q2-2019 and supply avaleaf with a wide range of cannabis flowers, oils and pills. The Agreement has minimum annual purchase commitments by avaleaf, which ramp up each year and total a minimum of 38,500,000 Euros over the initial 5-year, renewable term. Deliveries of product will be subject to Atlas completing the process of obtaining its Sales License from Health Canada and meeting EU GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards.

Sheldon Croome, Atlas President & CEO states: We are excited to secure avaleaf as a partner for European distribution of Atlas superior-quality medicinal cannabis products. Our goal is to diversify our sales channels outside of Canada, and we look forward to further expanding our international customer base for delivery of products from our Alberta production laboratory, and from Atlas future production locations in Canada, the EU, and Central America. Atlas continues to attract top tier talent who are actively developing and researching the medicinal properties of cannabis and associated phytochemicals.

The process of Atlas obtaining and exceeding GMP certification in North America and the EU is well underway. Atlas is positioning itself to be well established in the emerging European market, which has a population exceeding 700 million people, regulations that are becoming increasingly more favorable towards cannabis for medical use, and minimal legal domestic cannabis production.

Dr. Sven Sauer, avaleaf co-founder and managing director states: We are very excited to partner up with Atlas. Both of our companies share the same vision of quality and medical research for the benefit of patients. We look forward to bringing high-quality medical cannabis solutions to patients in need across Germany and Europe.

About Atlas Biotechnologies Inc. and Atlas Growers Ltd.

Atlas is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and its wholly owned subsidiary, Atlas Growers Ltd., is federally licensed for Cultivation and Production of medical cannabis products. Atlas currently has a purpose-built, 38,000 square foot facility and laboratory where it can produce over 5,000 kg of dried cannabis annually as well as refine cannabis into isolated concentrates in mass capacity. Further, Atlas owns a 160-acre site that could allow for significant future expansion of cultivation capacity in Alberta, with a development permit in place for up to 1,000,000 square feet of additional construction. Atlas also owns 50% of Coastline Canada Inc., a late stage applicant with Health Canada that is anticipated to be licensed for cultivation on Vancouver Island in late 2019.

Atlas is well financed, raising over $24.3 million in equity to date, including $7.6 million related to acquisition of land and strategic investments, and also has available for future use a largely unutilized $6.25 million bank term loan facility.

About avaleaf GmbH

avaleaf is a privately-owned company based in Ruelzheim, Germany. avaleaf is currently obtaining all necessary licenses for importing and distributing medical cannabis into the European Union in general and Germany in particular. avaleaf is part of a network of licensed labs, warehouses, and distributors which allows avaleaf to flexibly react to increasing and changing demand in Germany as well as across Europe. Its founders have a proven track record as senior executives and business entrepreneurs, combining more than 40 years of experience in pharma, healthcare, investment management, business development and international investor relations.

For further information, please contact:

Jeffrey R. Gossain, P. Eng.

Vice President of Operations

Phone: 780-784-5920

Email: invest@atlasgrowers.com

Website: www.atlasgrowers.com

Graeme Dick, BMgmt

Colwell Capital Corp.

403-561-8989

graeme@colwellcapital.com

Dean Stuart

403-617-7609

dean@boardmarker.net
IS Supporter Incites for Lone-Wolf Attacks on Churches in Egypt and Western Countries
Dublin, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Thailand Diesel Genset Market (2018-2024): Market Forecast By kVA Rating, By Applications, By Regions and Competitive Landscape" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Thailand diesel genset market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.1% during 2018-2024.

Thailand is one of the major tourist destinations of the world, recording around 35 million international tourist arrivals in 2017. This number is expected to grow substantially in the future, creating more opportunities for the growth of the hospitality and commercial sectors in the country. The development of new hotels, resorts and other related infrastructure would require power backup solutions such as diesel genset in the country. Further, expansion of SME market along with surge in industrial activities would provide the necessary boost to the market.



Diesel gensets in the 375.1kVA-750kVA power rating range accounted for majority of the market revenue share in 2017 on account of their wide utilization across several application areas such as hospitality, retail, manufacturing units and healthcare segments. Additionally, growing social infrastructure in the country would further spur the demand for diesel gensets as an auxiliary power support system in the country.



The development of the Eastern Economic Corridor, with a total investment of more than $50 billion, would increase urbanization, regional commercial centers and tourism spots in the Eastern Region of Thailand and create more demand for diesel gensets. Projects such as the U-Tapao International Airport, Map Ta Phut Port (3rd Phase) and the Sattahip Commercial Port would also contribute towards the increase in the market for diesel gensets in Thailand over the next six years.



The report thoroughly covers Thailand diesel genset market by KVA ratings, applications and regions. The report provides an unbiased and detailed analysis of the on-going trends, opportunities / high growth areas and market drivers which would help the stakeholders to device and align their market strategies according to the current and future market dynamics.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Introduction

2.1 Report Description

2.2 Key Highlights

2.3 Market Scope & Segmentation

2.4 Research Methodology- Sources of Information

2.5 Assumptions



3. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Overview

3.1 Thailand Country Indicators

3.2 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Revenues & Volume, 2014-2024F

3.3 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Revenue & Volume Share, By kVA Rating, 2017 & 2024F

3.4 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Revenue & Volume Share, By Applications, 2017 & 2024F

3.5 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Revenue Share, By Regions, 2017 & 2024F

3.6 Thailand Diesel Genset Industry Life Cycle, 2017

3.7 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Porter's Five Forces, 2017



4. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Dynamics

4.1 Impact Analysis

4.2 Market Drivers

4.3 Market Restraints



5. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Trends



6. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Overview, By kVA Rating

6.1 Thailand 5kVA - 75kVA Diesel Genset Market Revenues & Volume, 2014-2024F

6.2 Thailand 75.1 kVA - 375kVA Diesel Genset Market Revenues & Volume, 2014-2024F

6.3 Thailand 375.1kVA - 750kVA Diesel Genset Market Revenues & Volume, 2014-2024F

6.4 Thailand 750.1 kVA - 1000kVA Diesel Genset Market Revenues & Volume, 2014-2024F

6.5 Thailand Above 1000kVA Diesel Genset Market Revenues & Volume, 2014-2024F



7. Thailand Diesel Genset Price Trend, By kVA Rating, 2014-2024F



8. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Overview, By Applications

8.1 Thailand Residential Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.2 Thailand Hospitality Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.3 Thailand Commercial Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.4 Thailand Healthcare Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.5 Thailand Retail Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.6 Thailand Manufacturing Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.7 Thailand Oil & Gas and Power Utilities Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.8 Thailand Infrastructure & Transportation Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F

8.9 Thailand Other Application Diesel Genset Market Revenues and Volume, 2014-2024F



9. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Overview, By Regions

9.1 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Revenues, By Regions, 2014-2024F



10. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Key Performance Indicators

10.1 Thailand Government Spending Outlook

10.2 Thailand Infrastructure and Transportation Sector Outlook



11. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Import - Export Statistics

11.1 Thailand Import of Gensets, 2017

11.2 Thailand Export of Gensets, 2017



12. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Opportunity Assessment

12.1 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Opportunity Assessment, By kVA Rating, 2024F

12.2 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Opportunity Assessment, By Applications, 2024F



13. Thailand Diesel Genset Market Competitive Landscape

13.1 Thailand Diesel Genset Market Revenue Share, By Company, 2017

13.2 Competitive Benchmarking, By kVA Rating



14. Company Profiles

14.1 Caterpillar Inc.

14.2 Cummins Inc.

14.3 Deutz Asia-pacific (Pte.) Ltd.

14.4 Denyo United Machinery Pte. Ltd.

14.5 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Thailand) Ltd.

14.6 FG Wilson Asia Pte Ltd.

14.7 MTU Onsite Energy

14.8 Perkins Engines Co. Ltd

14.9 Scania AB

14.10 Namsang Engineering Co. Ltd.



15. Strategic Recommendations



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/kv58q8/thailand_diesel?w=12





Did you know that we also offer Custom Research? Visit our Custom Research page to learn more and schedule a meeting with our Custom Research Manager.
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.
Seattle, Washington, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Young Survival Coalition (YSC), the nations premier organization for young women affected by breast cancer, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with 10 events across the country, including one in Seattle, Washington. This free gathering to honor breast cancer survivors, co-survivors and supporters will take place at the Lagunitas Brewing Company TapRoom & Beer Sanctuary on Monday, November 19, with live music by Tekla Waterfield.



Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has issued an official proclamation declaring Nov. 19 Young Survival Coalition Day in the City of Seattle  that certificate will be on display at the event, which in addition to honoring those touched by breast cancer will provide opportunities for networking and education, as well as the chance to remember those who are no longer with us.



YSC began in 1998 as a grassroots support network founded by 3 young women, each diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 35, who were discouraged by the lack of available resources and support for young women facing a breast cancer diagnosis.



Twenty years ago, says Jennifer Merschdorf, chief executive officer at YSC, young adults affected by breast cancer had few resources for their specific needs. Now, YSC serves as a national united voice and a way for thousands of young breast cancer survivors to find each other.



The 10 celebration events will feature educational programming about the effects of breast cancer on young adults and their loved ones. YSC will also honor a series of Game Changers - survivors, supporters, local partners and healthcare providers - who dedicate their lives to transforming the future of breast cancer in young women.



Interview opportunities (both at and prior to the event) will be available with YSC representatives, as well as breast cancer survivors, co-survivors and Game Changers.



Details about the YSC 20th Anniversary event in Seattle:

Date: November 19, 2018

Time: 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Lagunitas Brewing Company TapRoom & Beer Sanctuary, Seattle, WA

RSVP at 20years.youngsurvival.org

Free and open to the public



For complete information about all 10 events hosted by YSC, please visit 20years.youngsurvival.org or call 877.972.1011.



About Young Survival Coalition (YSC)

Now in its 20th year, Young Survival Coalition (YSC) is the premier organization dedicated to young women with breast cancer. Founded by three young survivors, YSC began as a grassroots organization to advocate on behalf of all young women diagnosed with breast cancer to increase their length and quality of life. Based in New York City, with networks nationwide, YSC provides free resources, connections and educational materials so young women with breast cancer feel supported, empowered and hopeful. YSC seeks to educate and influence the medical, research and legislative communities to address breast cancer in young women and to ensure that no young woman faces breast cancer alone. For more information, visit youngsurvival.org.



YSCs 20th-anniversary events are generously supported by sponsors AstraZeneca, Celgene, Eisai, Genomic Health, Lilly Oncology, Pfizer Oncology and TerSera Therapeutics.





Attachments
Albany, N.Y., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CDPHP Insights, a vibrant online community made up of health care consumers sharing valuable feedback with CDPHP, is hosting a membership drive during the month of November to benefit the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region. For every person who joins CDPHP Insights, CDPHP will donate $1 to the YWCA, up to $2,500.



Im excited that CDPHP is partnering with the YWCA of the Capital Region for this inspiring membership drive, said Victoria Carosella Baecker, director of community relations and corporate events at CDPHP. We both win  CDPHP Insights, with more people whose opinions were interested in hearing, and the YWCA, with donations that will help further their mission of eliminating racism and empowering women within our community.



I am thrilled that CDPHP selected the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region to benefit from this years CDPHP Insights membership drive, said Daquetta P. Jones, executive director of the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region. This is an opportunity to bring awareness to our mission and the services and programs we offer to empower women and create opportunities to help them reach self-sufficiency. On behalf of our board, staff, and those we serve  thank you!



CDPHP launched CDPHP Insights in the spring of 2016 as a way of gathering opinions on a variety of topics, from health care and insurance, to nutrition and fitness, and more. The community currently has more than 1,400 active participants providing important feedback.



About CDPHP

Established in 1984, CDPHP is a physician-founded, member-focused and community-based not-for-profit health plan that offers high-quality affordable health insurance plans to members in 26 counties throughout New York. CDPHP is also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.


Good Earth Gingerbread Family program donates funds to local food banks



CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The recipe for gingerbread is getting a little bit sweeter this holiday season as Good Earth Coffeehouse (Good Earth) returns with its Gingerbread Family program. For every package of Gingerbread Family cookies sold, Good Earth will donate $1 to the local food bank.

The goal of the campaign is to raise over $11,0000 and to help broaden awareness around the importance and role local food banks play in in supporting families in need.

We believe in making choices that have a positive impact on the communities we serve, said Nan Eskenazi, Good Earth co-founder. Our Gingerbread Family program does just that by turning a traditional holiday treat into something that helps others.

According to Food Banks Canada , over 850,000 people turn to food banks for help every month. Of this number, more than one-third are children and youth. Partnering with local food banks is an example of the like-minded organizations Good Earth seeks out in an effort to improve communities and cultivate positive relationships.

Canadians can also show support for their community by sharing a photo of their purchased Gingerbread Family cookies with the hashtag #FamiliesFeedFamilies on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. Good Earth will donate $1 for every social media post up to $2,500.

From November 12 to December 31, Good Earth Gingerbread Family cookies will be up for grabs to purchase in all Good Earth locations across Canada. Customers can enjoy their cookies and give them as gifts knowing they are helping their community.

For nearly 30 years, our mission has been to offer great coffee and food, while being good community partners, said Michael Going, Good Earth co-founder and CEO. We are happy to engage with our customers and help our local food banks. 

Each Gingerbread Family package includes a trio of fresh-made cookies with wholesome ingredients from Good Earth kitchens. These holiday treats are available at all Good Earth locations and can also be purchased online by visiting www.goodearthcoffeehouse.com/we-cater/order-online .

About Good Earth Coffeehouse

Good Earth is a network of authentic coffeehouses with 49 locations throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Manitoba. The first Good Earth Coffeehouse opened in Calgary in 1991. Founders, Nan Eskenazi and Michael Going, began with a desire to serve exceptional coffee and wholesome food, with a down-to-earth attitude. The company has grown through franchising, and remains true to the original mission... to be a coffeehouse with good food.( www.goodearthcoffeehouse.com ).

For media inquiries, please contact:

Ashley Tymko

Brookline Public Relations

(403) 538-5641 ext. 111

Cell: (403) 608-0392

atymko@brooklinepr.com
ATLANTA, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VDart is proud to announce the newest addition to our leadership team, Puneet Soni, as Vice President of Strategic Customer Relationships. Puneet brings 25+ years of leadership experience from global corporations like Cognizant, Home Depot, Genpact, GE & Birlasoft focusing on selling IT, BPO, Infrastructure, Digital and Cloud solutions. Most recently Puneet served as Vice President & Head of Salesforce Practice for Birlasoft. He was instrumental in expanding the CoE for Salesforce, and other Cloud Systems off Force.com platform. He has been trusted advisor for key customer executives in defining their Digital & Cloud strategies, technology roadmap, implementation & support engagements. Recognized as a turnaround specialist to generate 18-20% average yearly revenues growth for the assigned business units. He has strong experience in managing large multi-million-dollar engagements, with a proven track record of generating progressive growth. He offers structure, insight and creativity in addressing evolving customers expectations. In this new role, Puneet will head a Strategic Business Unit and contribute to VDart s growth strategy.

VDart Inc. is proud to have Puneet join our leadership team, says Sidd, President and CEO of VDart Inc. His vast experience in Sales, Strategy and Large Customer Relationships along with his experience will be of immense value add to VDart s vision. Our ability to attract right leaders reflect our culture and staying true to our vision.

VDart has grown consistently through its deep expertise in fulfilling talent gaps for large Fortune 1000 customers, leading system integrators, and managed service providers. As an organization, it has consistently embraced emerging technologies including Blockchain, RPA, Analytics, Cloud, IoT, Cybersecurity, and Artificial Intelligence. Our digital expertise help organizations become intelligent organizations and create a unique customer experience by providing top notch talent in emerging technologies.

"VDarts commitment to evolve as a leading digital player is very exciting. The inroads in Blockchain and RPA reflects the unwavering commitment to be future-ready and consistently deliver value to the customers. I am thrilled to be part of this exceptional team of leaders who continue to inspire, partner & execute VDart s growth strategy, Puneet says.

About VDart:

VDart Inc. is a Global Digital Staffing & Solutions provider based out of Atlanta, Georgia with expertise in staffing Digital & Emerging technology skills. We specialize in providing Fortune 1000 companies, niche hard to find skills in technologies including Blockchain, RPA, Analytics, Cloud, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. We have deep industry expertise and focus in BFSI, Manufacturing, Energy & Utility, Healthcare and Technology domain. With our Core focus in emerging technologies we have provided global technology workforce solutions in USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, Japan, Australia & India. We take pride in delivering world class solutions, specialized talent, superior performance and seamless execution to meet challenging business needs of customers worldwide.

Visit us at

www.vdartinc.com

www.vdartdigital.com

Contact

Gopi Pasupathi

6787406406

gopinath@vdartinc.com
HTS Deployments & Key Verticals Make Ground Segment a Key Driver for Satellite Industry Return to Growth

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NSRs Commercial Satellite Ground Segment, 3 rd Edition report, released today, forecasts annual global revenues for the Commercial Satellite Ground Segment will grow to $15.71 billion by 2027. Set top boxes (STBs) and antennas capture the largest share of revenues, leveraging the volumes of Satellite TV.

The Ground Segment is a key enabler in the return to growth for the satellite industry. As the focus shifts from satellites to networks, VSAT platforms are more strategic than ever. Antennas have a critical role to play, unlocking verticals like Mobility or enabling new architectures like MEO and LEO constellations. With new bands growing in popularity, and throughputs skyrocketing, RF Chains need to evolve rapidly. Smallsat EO constellations are also building up demand for the EO Ground Segment.

Terminals are to Satcom what picks and shovels were to the gold rush. During the HTS rush, it is a good time to be in the Ground Segment business, states Lluc Palerm , NSR Senior Analyst and report author. From infrastructure use cases, like Earth Stations or Baseband Equipment, to emerging mass markets like Consumer Broadband; or high-end applications like Aero connectivity, HTS is the common denominator driving growth, according to Palerm.

The entire satellite industry is in the midst of a profound transformation, and the Ground Segment is no different. New technological requirements (networking, higher throughputs, sophisticated traffic manipulation tools), new architectures (FPAs, V-HTS, Non-GEOs) and evolving business models (infrastructure-as-a-service, risk sharing schemes, fewer-larger deals) will shape the future of the Ground Segment.

Multiple actors proposing revolutionary satellite systems often fail to recognize the importance of the Ground Segment. While committing billions to develop Space-segment technologies, they wrongly evaluate the state of development of the ground. The truth is that today, critical ground segment technologies are not ready for next-generation HTS systems (FPAs, SDN/NFV), and there will be a time lag while these technologies develop.

About the Report

NSRs Commercial Satellite Ground Segment, 3 rd Edition is the only industry analysis and forecast of the commercial satellite ground equipment sector. The study leverages NSRs extensive and in-depth satellite industry knowledge, providing shipment and equipment revenues for all key industry segments. It is the first and only report to segment equipment shipments and revenues into STB, modems, antennas and RF Equipment. The report covers shipments and equipment revenues in five regional markets, investigates trends impacting market growth and business models, and surveys technological trends shaping the future of the ground equipment and impacting the satellite industry.

For additional information on this report, including a full table of contents, list of exhibits and executive summary, please visit www.nsr.com or call NSR at 617-674-7743.
$39.4 million in cash and short-term investments, pre-development activities continue

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (Sabina) or (the Company) (SBB  TSX) reports the interim financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.

During the third quarter the Company continued advancing the Back River Project, said Bruce McLeod, the Companys President & CEO. A significant milestone during the quarter was the receipt of a positive Type A Water License recommendation, a key license in authorizing construction and operations activities. We anticipate the receipt of this license shortly. Also during the quarter, the construction of our port in Bathurst Inlet was completed and two major sealifts were received. This is not only a major de-risking component of the project, but also was completed in line with Feasibility Study estimates and ahead of schedule. We also were successful on the exploration front with the new discovery at Nuvuyak. The Nuvuyak zone continues to demonstrate the significant gold endowment of the Back River District and the ability to extend mine life with new discoveries. We look forward to more exploration results and other news through the remainder of the year.

Q2 2018 Highlights:

During the quarter, the Company continued to advance pre-development activities for the Back River Project, including the selection of the single major vendor that will supply the gold plant equipment, completion of the construction of the Marine Laydown Area (the Port) and shipment of equipment and supplies via sealift to the Port.



A new discovery at the Nuvuyak zone at the Goose Project was made where discovery hole 18GSE 545 intersected 11.58 g/t gold over 39.50 meters with abundant visible gold. This zone sits approximately one kilometer to the West of the Goose Main Deposit.

On September 24, 2018, the Company announced that the Nunavut Water Board (NWB) had provided a positive recommendation to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and International Trade that the Type A Water License for the Back River Project should be issued to the Company with proposed terms and conditions. The Type A water License represents a key step in the environmental permitting process enabling activities at the site including both mine construction and operations.

On Sept 28 and October 1, 2018, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement for 1,048,702 flow-through common shares at a price of $1.56 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $1.6 million. The proceeds must be used to incur Canadian exploration expenditures as defined by the Income Tax Act (Canada) by December 31, 2019.





For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported net losses of $1.5 million or $0.01 per share and $1.5 million of or $0.02 per share, respectively.

Financial Results

For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported a net loss of $4.7 million compared with $2.5 million in the comparative period in 2017. The difference was largely the result of higher operating expenses (share-based payments, professional fees, and listing and transfer fees), a smaller gain on marketable securities and higher income tax expense, all partially offset by an increase in net finance income.

For the full September 30, 2018 interim financial statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis, please see the Company website at www.sabinagoldsilver.com or on SEDAR.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is well-financed with approximately $39.4 million (September 30, 2018) and is an emerging precious metals company with district scale, advanced, high grade gold assets in one of the worlds newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada.

Sabina released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years (see Technical Report for the Initial Project Feasibility Study on the Back River Gold Property, Nunavut, Canada dated October 28, 2015) (the Study). At a US$1,150 gold price and a 0.80 (US$:C$) exchange rate, the Study delivers a potential after tax internal rate of return of approximately 24.2% with an initial CAPEX of $415 million.

The Project received its final Project Certificate on December 19, 2017 and its Type B Water License in March 2018 and a positive recommendation for its Type A Water License expected before the end of the year.

In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencores Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett Rivers silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter.

All news releases and further information can be found on the Companys website at www.sabinagoldsilver.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . All technical reports have been filed on www.sedar.com

For further information please contact:

Nicole Hoeller, Vice-President, Communications: 1 888 648-4218

nhoeller@sabinagoldsilver.com

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (the forward-looking statements), including our belief as to the extent, results and timing of exploration programs and various studies including the FS, and exploration results, reserves estimates, potential production from and viability of the Companys properties, production and operating costs and permitting submission, timing and receipt of necessary permits and project approvals for future operations and access to project funding. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the effects of general economic conditions, commodity prices, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government and regulatory authorities and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources and reserves; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licences and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers or directors; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of the our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Back River Project and general risks associated with the mineral exploration and development industry described in our Annual Information Form, financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2017 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Bruce McLeod, President & CEO

1800-555 Burrard Street, Two Bentall Centre

Vancouver, BC V7X 1M9

Tel 604 998-4175 Fax 604 998-1051
English French

JCDecaux wins exclusive bus and tram shelter advertising contract in Berlin

Paris, November 14th, 2018  JCDecaux SA (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announced today that its German subsidiary Wall GmbH has won both contracts put out for tender by the Berlin Transport Authority (BVG). The first contract includes the exclusive advertising rights for 6,200 2m2 advertising panels on over 4,600 bus and tram shelters in the German capital. The second contract covers the cleaning and maintenance of the shelters. Both six-year contracts, including a three-year extension option for the BVG, will begin on January 1st, 2019 and end on December 31st, 2024.

Following the new contracts, Wall GmbH successfully continues its 34-year partnership with the BVG. In 1984, Wall GmbH installed the first 1,000 of its bus shelters in what was then West-Berlin after winning a tender put out by the BVG. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the company extended its network of bus and tram shelters to the eastern part of the city. In 2007, Wall GmbH acquired the BVG advertising subsidiary VVR-Berek, which was bought by JCDecaux in 2006.

This year, Wall GmbH has already successfully retained two existing long-term contracts in Berlin in EU-wide tenders:

In January 2018, Wall GmbH signed an exclusive 15-year advertising contract with the city of Berlin, including more than 1,000 backlit and digital advertising panels of different sizes on public land and property;

Furthermore, in June the company was awarded a 15-year contract to supply and operate up to 370 public toilets in the German capital.

Dr Daniel Hofer, CEO for Germany, Austria, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and member of the Executive Board of JCDecaux, said: After successfully renewing two important contracts with the city of Berlin earlier this year, we have once again confirmed the quality of our outdoor advertising solutions and services by winning both contracts put out for tender by the Berlin Transport Authority. Being a partner of the city of Berlin for more than 30 years, we are very pleased that, following a competitive tender process, the BVG has decided to continue our successful collaboration. The new advertising concession paves the way to strategically expand our existing digital portfolio in the German capital.

Key Figures for JCDecaux

2017 revenue: 3,493m*, H1 2018 revenue: 1,643m

JCDecaux is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris and is part of the Euronext 100 and Euronext Family Business indexes

JCDecaux is part of the FTSE4Good index

N1 worldwide in street furniture (543,050 advertising panels)

N1 worldwide in transport advertising with more than 215 airports and 250 contracts in metros, buses, trains and tramways (356,320 advertising panels)

N1 in Europe for billboards (141,630 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Europe (672,220 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Asia-Pacific (216,290 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Latin America (77,190 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Africa (26,770 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in the Middle-East (18,650 advertising panels)

Leader in self-service bike rental scheme: pioneer in eco-friendly mobility

1,074,113 advertising panels in more than 80 countries

Present in 4,033 cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants

13,040 employees

* Restated from the retrospective application of IFRS 15, applicable from January 1st, 2018

Communications Department: Agathe Albertini

+33 (0) 1 30 79 34 99  agathe.albertini@jcdecaux.com

Investor Relations: Arnaud Courtial

+33 (0) 1 30 79 79 93  arnaud.courtial@jcdecaux.com





Attachment
COVER STORY: Lady Gaga will never be the same after "A Star Is Born" https://t.co/weiZSINGnK pic.twitter.com/kMByRdM7Fj  Variety (@Variety) November 13, 2018

seems like lady gaga is doing the chair challenge pic.twitter.com/EYaKkeOhzp   (@HausofMiren) November 13, 2018

ariana grande flew so lady gaga could soar pic.twitter.com/lHwxGQCwlj  COXOCHARY (@COXOCHARY) November 13, 2018

Come for the revealing portrait of a deeply private pop icon. Stay for pictures of Lady Gaga balancing on a stool in suede knee-high boots with stiletto heels https://t.co/n6ZLxURrOX  Brent Lang (@BrentALang) November 13, 2018

Are you perplexed by these poses ONTD?



covers Variety in a photoshoot wearing's character Jackson Maine's shirt- Journalist mentions the previous talks of ASIB remakes before this final one, withas the intended lead because Cooper wanted an actual musician to play the part. Chairman of Warner Brothersshares alternative endings to the film, but changed as they were on set.- Gaga said she kept souvenirs from the movie - including Ally's songbook, a bottle of Mr. Bubble, and Jackson's shirt, to hopefully share with her future kids- She mentions a scene that was cut from the film that included Jackson giving her a pair of ruby slippers under the bed - Gaga insists's transformation to pop (performing "Why Did You Do That" on SNL) was supposed to be shallow, while Cooper considers otherwise saying I dont necessarily view her music as superficial, I think shes performing with all her heart.- Gaga's photoshoot sparked comparisons to's confusingalbum cover shoot, questioning the odd choice of positioning on a stoolsource: 1
At the end of 2016, Indonesiawhich had rejoined OPEC just several months before thatrefused to take part in the production cut deal and suspended its membership in the organization.

Now Indonesia says that it would be happy to rejoin the cartel if it manages to boost its crude oil production and diminish its imports.

Indonesia is currently a net importer of crude oil, while under OPECs statute any other country with a substantial net export of crude petroleum and similar interests can join the cartel, pending approval by the members. Its called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, after all.

Indonesia first joined OPEC in 1962, becoming the first Asian member of the organization outside the Middle East. It suspended its membership in 2009, when declining domestic oil production made it a net importer of crude oil. Indonesia then rejoined OPEC in January 2016, aiming to use its membership in the organization to sign bilateral cooperation deals to increase its falling oil production.

But while OPEC and the ten non-OPEC nations led by Russia were forging the production cut deal in November 2016, Indonesia decided that joining the cuts would not be in its interests and suspended its membership at the meeting on which the deal was signed.

Indonesia is now aiming to cut crude oil imports and its crude oil import bill amid deteriorating government finances due to weak local currency. The two pillars of this policy are boosting biofuel use in the transport sector and prioritizing the supply of domestically-produced crude to the local market before considering exports.

If we can increase our production, we are more than happy to rejoin, Ir Saleh Abdurrahman, the secretary general of Indonesias National Energy Council, told S&P Global Platts on the sidelines of the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Indonesias current domestic crude oil production is around 800,000 bpd, while its imports are roughly double that volumeat 1.5 million bpd-1.6 million bpd, Abdurrahman told Platts. Related: Aramco CEO: Expect IPO In 2021

I think we are on massive way of introducing the biodiesel and bioethanol to our transport sector, Abdurrahman told Platts on Monday.

Two months ago, Indonesia introduced mandatory use of 20 percent bio-content (B20) biofuelmostly palm oilfor use in all diesel machines, including power plants, heavy equipment, and trains locomotives. Indonesian officials have estimated that the mandatory biodiesel content would save the country some US$6 billion in diesel costs annually, Reuters reports.

Indonesia is also studying the possible conversion of two of its old oil refineries into biofuel plants, an Indonesian minister said in October.

Indonesias government and Italys oil and gas major Eni are studying the possible conversion of two refineries of Indonesian state-held energy firm Pertamina built in the 1930s, Indonesian minister for state-owned enterprises, Rini Soemarno, said, as quoted by Reuters.

In September, Eni and Pertamina signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore opportunities in Green Refinery, in which the Italian major will lend its expertise in studies for converting and operating bio-refineries.



For Indonesia, converting oil refineries into biofuel plants would fit several strategic objectivesabsorbing more of its palm oil production (of which it is the worlds largest producer), cutting expenses on crude oil and thus trying to reduce a swelling current account deficit, and reducing crude oil imports while trying to prop up domestic production. Related: Permian Drillers Prepare To Go Into Overdrive In 2019

Indonesia introduced in September new legislation to prioritize local crude oil production over imported crude oil. The new regulation stipulates that oil and gas operators in Indonesia must first sell their production to Pertamina in Indonesia before considering exports of crude oil.

However, if it wants to reduce dependence on imported crude, Indonesia needs to attract more foreign investments for boosting its domestic productionand despite some recent efforts, it has failed so far.

Pertamina would need US$100 billion to increase oil production if it were to meet domestic oil demand, but 70 percent of this spending is expected to come from external funds and partners, Pertaminas vice president of corporate business strategic planning, Ernie D Ginting, said in September.

Indonesia has to compete with natural decline and compete for foreign investment to significantly increase its oil production. But if OPEC and Russia institutionalize their cooperation pact for years to comeas widely expectedIndonesia may not be all too happy to be asked to cut production if it joins the cartel again.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In what can only be called a rebuke over American oil and gas companies lack of commitment to climate change concerns, a new report released late last week by CDP, a climate-focused research provider that works with major institutional investors with some US$87 trillion in assets, reported that European companies have outspent their U.S. rivals on clean energy investments.

According to the report, top oil and gas companies jointly spent around 1 percent of their 2018 budgets on clean energy. The study comes as European oil and gas heavy weights such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total, BP and others have in recent years accelerated spending on wind and solar power as well as battery technologies. The companies increased green investment shows that they are seeking a larger role in global efforts to slash carbon emissions to battle global warming, the report added. However, U.S.-based oil companies are just now bowing to pressure from investors who are calling on boards to spend more investment dollars on low-carbon energy and increased disclosure on climate change.

With less domestic pressure to diversify, U.S. companies have not embraced renewables in the same way as their European peers, CDP said, adding that Europes oil majors account for around 70 percent of the sectors renewable capacity and nearly all the capacity under development today.

ExxonMobil, the worlds largest traded publicly owned oil company, for its part, was heavily criticized over its slower move to embrace the concerns of climate change. However, the company said in August that it was looking to secure between 100 and 250 megawatts of delivered solar or wind power in Texas. According to Bloomberg, Exxons request for proposals closed June 8 and asked for contracts lasting 12, 15 or 20 years. It wasnt clear what the electricity would be used for, or even if it would go to Exxon. The company declined to comment to Greentech Media but said it continually evaluate[s] opportunities to supply power for our facilities.

Related: Aramco CEO: Expect IPO In 2021

Also, earlier this year ExxonMobil announced a $500 million joint venture (JV) with Synthetic Genomics to genetically engineer photosynthetic algae to produce renewable crude from sunlight and carbon dioxide. U.S.-based Chevron announced earlier this year small investments in projects spanning wind power, solar, and geothermal that can power a combined 113,000 U.S. homes; leader in renewable diesel infrastructure.

Not only are oil companies bowing to pressure from board members and investors but the threat of lawsuits are mounting. Several oil companies breathed a sigh of relief in June when a federal judge dismissed New York's lawsuit against five big oil and gas companies for their role in climate change. New York had claimed that five of the biggest oil companies  BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell  should compensate the city for the cost of mitigating the effects of global warming.

European oil majors take the lead

Moreover, European companies are still outpacing their U.S. counterparts. Shell plans to spend $1-2 billion per year on clean energy technologies out of a total budget of $25 to $30 billion. Norways Equinor plans to spend 15-20 percent of its budget on renewables by 2030, according to the report. French oil major Total has since 2010 spent the most on low-carbon energy, around 4.3 percent of its annual budget.

Related: Could Brazil's Oil Sector Trigger An Economic Miracle?

Yesterday, France's Engie said it plans to invest 902 million over the next five years in the development of green gases as it looks to support a French government target of at least 10 percent green gas penetration by 2030. A S&P Global Platts report said the development of green gases (such as biomethane, hydrogen, power-to-gas projects and other forms of gas decarbonization) is a growing trend in the European gas industry as it looks to retain a role for gas in a decarbonized future Europe.

More is still needed

As a whole, the worlds top 24 publicly-listed companies spent only 1.3 percent of total budgets of $260 billion on low carbon energy in 2018. However, that amount is still nearly double the 0.68 percent of investments the group made between 2010 and 2017. Meanwhile, low-carbon and clean energy investments increased quickly in the aftermath of the U.N.-backed 2015 Paris Climate Agreement where governments agreed to reduce net emissions to zero by the end of the century in order to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius (35.6F).

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
With an eye on last winters natural gas supply debacle, Chinese state-owned energy giant CNOOC has pledged a 20 percent rise in gas supply, the company said on Tuesday. The company, one of three state-run oil majors, said that it will supply 24.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas during the heating season that kicks off this week, up 20 percent year-on-year, to meet rising natural gas demand in the country.

China is in the process of replacing over reliance on coal usage for both industrial and residential end users to offset rampant air pollution, particularly in its larger urban centers. By government mandate, at least 10 percent of the countrys energy mix needed for power generation by 2020 must be natural gas, with further earmarks set for 2030.

CNOOC, the countrys largest oil and gas producer, said 6.1 bcm of natural gas will be supplied to seven northern provinces and municipalities, up 63.5 percent from last year. The company added that most of the natural gas its supplying this year is from offshore fields, coal bed gas and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to reports, CNOOC has also been negotiating with LNG suppliers to ensure gas supply, including dealers from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, Nigeria and Russia. However, due to the ongoing trade war between the US and China, CNOOC spot purchases of LNG is coming to a halt amid Beijings retaliatory tariff on US-LNG imports.

LNG tariffs will also come full circle, since other LNG producers will likely increase their spot prices in the mid-term to a point just under US LNG prices including a tariff, with Chinese firms being forced to pay the extra price. Yet, unlike last year when China relied more on spot purchases to fill supply gaps, the country's oil companies have largely been filling up storage more than last years levels. Also, putting downward pressure on LNG spot prices in Asia are forecasts for a warmer winter in the Northern hemisphere.

Warmer temperatures

El Nino, the warming in Pacific Ocean sea-surface temperatures, has emerged and theres an increased chance of it continuing through the Northern Hemisphere spring, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on Friday. The weather pattern usually causes warmer temperatures during winters in Japan. With warmer weather expected now, the demand pull from China would be even less, Xizhou Zhou, an analyst at IHS Markit, told Bloomberg. The kind of tightness in the market we had seen last year will unlikely repeat. Related: Saudis Scramble To Stop Oil Price Slide

Na Min, a senior analyst for oil and gas at Bloomberg New Energy Finance said the chance of a cold winter is quite small this year.

LNG prices have tumbled for the past seven weeks amid weaker demand from North Asia while companies in Japan, China and South Korea (the worlds three largest LNG importers) already nearing full storage capacity. LNG prices in Asia, which are either linked directly to an oil price formulation or the global oil price trajectory, are extending its longest losing streak since January 2016, when Brent crude prices dipped below the $30 per barrel price point.

Other Chinese oil companies are also gearing up for the winter season. Sinopec, the world's largest refiner by volume, said on Monday it would supply 18.17 billion cubic meters of natural gas during the heating season, up 17.7 percent year-on-year, with supplies to seven northern province-level regions set to increase by 29.1 percent. A report on Tuesday in the China Daily said that Sinopec has been speeding up the construction and operation of new pipelines in northern regions in addition to increasing its spot purchases of LNG. All of the company's three LNG terminals are expected to run at full capacity.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a sizeable crude oil inventory build for the week ending on November 9th. The build of 8.79 million barrels was the sixth in as many weeks. The report was significantly higher than analyst expectations of a smaller build in crude oil inventories of 3.012 million barrels.

Inventories in the Cushing, Oklahoma facility this week had climbed by 726,000 barrels, adding to the inventory builds this week, while analysts had estimated a 2.419 million build this week.

Prices were in a downward spiral on Tuesday as OPEC cut its demand forecast by 400,000 bpd in its monthly Oil Market Report, which also showed a pretty sizeable increase in non-OPEC supply growth of 2.31 million bpd. Halting the slide, OPEC and its non-OPEC partners allegedly discussed a production hike of 1.4 million bpd, according to multiple Reuters sources.

At 10:20 am EST, WTI was trading up 2.41% (+$1.34) at $57.03still nearly $5 per barrel lower than this time last week. The Brent crude benchmark was trading up 2.80% (+$1.83) at $67.03, also a roughly $5 per barrel decline week on week.

The API reported a build in gasoline inventories for week ending November 9 in the amount of 188,000 barrels. Analysts had predicted a draw of 1.375 million barrels for the week.

US crude oil production as estimated by the Energy Information Administration was also bearish in nature, showing that production for the week ending November 2 stood 11.6 million bpda brand new high for the United States.

Distillate inventoriesthe only draw this weekwere down by 3.224 million barrels, compared to a smaller expected draw of 1.610 million bpd.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration report on crude oil inventories is due to be released on Wednesday at 10:30a.m. EST.

By 4:40pm EST, WTI was trading up for the day at $56.23 and Brent was trading up at $66.10.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Cyber attacks have grown bolder and increasingly creative and some of them target the shutting down of entire countries, not just disrupting oil and gas assets or stealing identities, according to industry experts.

At some point (hackers) were after a quick buck, just wanting to make some money and steal a few identities, Wael Fattouh, a partner with PwC in Saudi Arabia, said at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

But now you have teams of people dedicated to coming up with creative ways of shutting down entire countries  not just companies, CNBC quoted Fattouh as saying at the event.

Experts have been warning for some time that oil and gas companies and entire countries that are big oil producers could be vulnerable to cyber threats. An analysis of data collected from 134 countries by the International Telecommunication Union has revealed that some of the worlds biggest oil producersincluding Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, and the UAEare lacking in the cybersecurity department.

In addition, oil companies put investment into boosting cyber security on the back burner during the worst of the oil price plunge in 2015 and 2016, as they were striving to adapt to the lower-for-longer oil prices with cost cuts, while hackers grew increasingly inventive and bolder at the same time.

Earlier this week, the Regional Risks for Doing Business report by the World Economic Forum showed that executives cited cyber attacks as the number one risk to doing business in Europe, North America, and East Asia and the Pacific.

Cyber-attacks are seen as the number one risk for doing business in markets that account for 50% of global GDP. This strongly suggests that governments and businesses need to strengthen cyber security and resilience in order to maintain confidence in a highly connected digital economy, said Lori Bailey, Global Head of Cyber Risk, Zurich Insurance Group, and Member of the Forums Global Future Council on Cybersecurity.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Indias crude oil imports from Africa jumped in October to their highest level in three years as Indian refiners rushed to secure more African barrels amid uncertainties over the U.S. waivers for Irans oil, while a narrowing premium of Brent Crude prices over Dubai swaps made Brent-linked African grades more attractive for buyers in Asia.

Indias imports of African oil more than doubled from October 2017 to 874,000 bpd in October 2018, Reuters reported on Wednesday, quoting data obtained from industry sources.

Indias total crude oil imports increased by 14.1 percent on the year to 4.7 million bpd last month, according to the data.

Crude oil imports in India usually start to increase again in October as industrial activity accelerates following four months of monsoon rains and as festival season drives fuel demand higher.

This October, Africas oil was a more popular choice than in previous months and compared to a year ago because Indian refiners werent sure if they would get U.S. waivers for Iranian oil imports. Eventually these waivers were secured.

Another factor, however, weighed more heavily in Indian refiners decision to buy more crude oil from Africa delivered in October. The Brent/Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS)a key indicator of Brent Crudes premium to benchmark cash Dubaidropped to around $2.5 a barrel in July and $1.8 per barrel in August. The narrowing Brent premium to Dubai makes crude grades priced off the Brent benchmarks, such as the Atlantic Basin in Africa, more advantageous for Asian buyers to buy.

The share of African oil in Indian crude oil imports nearly doubled last month from one-tenth in October 2017. The share of Middle Eastern oilwhich is priced off Dubai and Oman benchmarksin Indias imports was around 57 percent in October 2018, down from 69 percent in October 2017, according to the data from Reuters industry sources.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
India is ready to import more crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to expand bilateral trade, Indias Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Wednesday.

Speaking after a meeting between Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Singapore, Gokhale said, commenting on the topics discussed:

There was a lot of discussion on energy, this is a new sector in the Indo-US relations. We have begun importing oil & gas from United States.

It is expected to be valued about $4 billion this year and we expressed our readiness to import more oil and more gas from the United States as a way of expanding our trade, Gokhale added.

Two months before the U.S. sanctions on Irans oil were re-imposed, IndiaIrans second-biggest oil customer after Chinasaid that it would be looking at the economicsand not the politicsof importing U.S. crude oil, and Indian imports of American oil should not be seen as a replacement for Iranian barrels.

India was one of eight Iranian oil buyers that received waivers to continue importing Irans oil at reduced volumes until May next year.

This year, India has become a regular customer of U.S. crude oil, with American crude exports significantly rising from May 2018 onwards, EIA data shows. According to the latest available EIA data, the U.S. sent 196,000 bpd of oil to India in August, up from 102,000 bpd in July, but down from the current high of 261,000 bpd from June.

As far as natural gas is concerned, India aims to more than double the share of natural gas in its energy mix, to 15 percent by 2022. To accommodate expected growing volumes of LNG imports, India plans to build 11 LNG import terminals over the next seven years, which would add to the four existing facilities.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Nigeria will raise its crude oil production to 1.8 million bpd in 2019 from around 1.6 million bpd currently, the head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) told Reuters on Tuesday.

The African OPEC member also aims to increase its production of condensatea type of ultra light oilto 500,000 bpd next year from 400,000 bpd now, NNPC Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru said.

The Nigerian state-controlled oil company also expects to sign this month agreements with various consortia to help it overhaul the old and inefficient oil refineries in the country, Baru told Reuters.

Following a wave of militant violence in 2016 and early 2017, Nigerias oil production started to recover in the latter half of 2017, when attacks on oil infrastructure subsided.

This year, after some hiccups and pipeline outages during the spring and early summer, Nigerias crude oil production was on the rise in August and September.

Nigerias crude oil and condensate production, however, dropped in October to 2.09 million bpd, oil ministry data showed last week, with output down by some 70,000 bpd compared to September, due to increased sabotage attacks on oil infrastructure by oil thieves.

The NNPC warned earlier this month that sabotage attacks on oil pipelines were on the rise, while analysts also warn that violence may return in Nigerias oil industry ahead of the general elections in February.

According to OPECs November Monthly Oil Market Report published on Tuesday, Nigerias crude oil production dropped by 17,000 bpd from September to stand at 1.751 million bpd in October.

Nigerias Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu is optimistic about Nigerias plans to lift production and expects relative stability in the oil industry ahead of and during the February elections. Nigerian crude and condensate production is expected to rise to 2.2 million bpd by early next year, thanks to the imminent start-up of the Total-operated Egina oil field, Kachikwu told S&P Global Platts in an interview last week.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
TO be honest this is my fourth time to visit Bangkok, and every time it gets better and better.An enchanting city, it is full of warm smiles and a positive energy with a mystical vibe.Growing up, I used

TO be honest this is my fourth time to visit Bangkok, and every time it gets better and better.

An enchanting city, it is full of warm smiles and a positive energy with a mystical vibe.

Growing up, I used to watch the 1956 film The King and I starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, one of my top 10 movies of all time. Although in Thailand, this film is banned due to its representation of the king. In Thailand, love for king is a way of life as evidenced by pictures of their King plastered all over, as well as by the practice of wearing yellow shirts on Mondays, because the color yellow in Buddhist tradition represents Monday, which happens to be the day the King was born.

When my sister called and told me she wanted to go to Bangkok, I immediately looked for flights. I thanked my lucky stars because Philippine Airlines now flies direct to Bangkok from Cebu. Through Skyscanner, I was able to get tickets for P10,000. Booking a hotel in Bangkok is a no brainer, we stayed at the Asia Hotel for around P3,500 per night with breakfast for two included. Asia Hotel has always been my go to hotel for its location and affordability.

Since we arrived in Bangkok on a Sunday, we immediately went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Known as the largest market in Thailand, with over 15,000 stalls selling different goods, from food, clothing, electronics, antiques, souvenirs, plants to furniture. Haggling here is a definite must. Wear comfortable clothes and dont wear jewelry, to not attract pickpockets.

After the market, we decided to go to the MBK Center, a large air-conditioned shopping mall, eight stories high with 2,000 shops and restaurants. Some people call it the place to shop til you drop. MBK used to be the largest shopping mall in Asia during the 80s.

After cooling down at the MBK Center, we then moved to the River City Pier along the Chao Phraya River to grab some mango sticky rice and a glass of Yuzu lemon iced coffee. If there is one thing I keep coming back for, it is the Chao Phraya River Cruise, a two-hour dinner cruise with an international buffet and live band. The beauty of Bangkok is seen from a different angle, cruising along historic landmarks like the Emerald Buddha Temple and Grand Palace by night.
STERLING HEIGHTS, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- We welcome, Centra Management Associates, our new member firm in Sri Lanka, to the global accountancy network UHY, extending our coverage within the Asia-Pacific region.

Centra Management Associates, with a team of 41 including two partners, is based the capital city of Colombo with another office in Kandy, and was established in 2012. The firm provides a full suite of audit and assurance, accounting and business advisory services to a diverse portfolio of SMEs to large multinationals from predominantly the following sectors: manufacturing, services, construction and real estate, pharmaceuticals and non-governmental organisations and associations.

Partner, Abdul Sathar Mohamed Ismath of Centra Management Associates comments: Our country is a success story under development, whilst facing important political and environmental challenges, Sri Lanka is transitioning to a more competitive, inclusive, and resilient economy. Our firm has joined the UHY network for many reasons. The global presence of the network combined with the expertise and knowledge of UHYs colleagues around the world not only strengthens our own capabilities, locally and internationally, but also these of our clients and their operations.

Bernard Fay, chairman of UHY comments: We are delighted to welcome Centra Management Associates to the UHY network. The firms membership reinforces our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region and strengthens UHYs regional market expertise and capabilities to support clients needs and opportunities.

The firm is in the process of adopting the UHY branding.

ENDS

About UHY LLP

UHY LLP is a licensed independent CPA firm that performs attest services in an alternative practice structure with UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities. UHY Advisors, Inc. provides tax and business consulting services through wholly owned subsidiary entities that operate under the name of UHY Advisors. UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities are not licensed CPA firms. UHY LLP and UHY Advisors, Inc. are US members of Urbach Hacker Young International Limited, a UK company, and form part of the international UHY network of legally independent accounting and consulting firms. UHY is the brand name for the UHY international network. Any services described herein are provided by UHY LLP and/or UHY Advisors (as the case may be) and not by UHY or any other member firm of UHY. Neither UHY nor any member of UHY has any liability for services provided by other members.

Liaison office for Asesores Y Consultores, S.A De CV:

Contact: Omar Perez, operez@uhy-sv.com, +503 2260-9000

About UHY

Established in 1986 and based in London, UK, UHY is a leading network of independent audit, accounting, tax and consulting firms with offices in over 325 major business centres across more than 95 countries. Our staff members, over 7,850 strong, are proud to be part of the 16th largest international accounting and consultancy network. Each member of UHY is a legally separate and independent firm. For further information on UHY please go to www.uhy.com.

UHY is a member of the Forum of Firms, an association of international networks of accounting firms. For additional information on the Forum of Firms, visit www.forumoffirms.org.

UHY press contact: Dominique Maeremans on +44 20 7767 2621 Email: d.maeremans@uhy.com.
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte's absence in at least four major events in line with the 33rd Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) Summit and Related Summits in Singapore has no connection with his "physical

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte's absence in at least four major events in line with the 33rd Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) Summit and Related Summits in Singapore has no connection with his "physical health and well-being," Malacanang said on Thursday, November 14.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said there should not be a cause for worry as he reassured that the 73-year-old Chief Executive remains in good health.

He merely "took power naps to catch (up) on sleep," Panelo explained.

"We assure the nation that his aforementioned absence has nothing to do with his physical health and well-being which have been the subject of speculation," the Palace official said in a statement.

"The Presidents constantly punishing work schedule is proof that he is in top physical shape," he added.

Duterte skipped the Asean-Australia Informal Breakfast Summit, the 20th Asean-Republic of Korea Summit, the Working Lunch hosted by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the Second Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. attended the said four meetings on Duterte's behalf.

Panelo noted that Duterte was able to attend important events like the Asean-China Summit and the signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Commission and Asean.

Panelo also stressed that Duterte even had a bilateral meeting with Asean chair and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss concerns "that are mutually beneficial for the countries that they represent."

He added that Duterte also attended "important gatherings" of Asean member-states with their dialogue partners such as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We find it amusing that some quarters are making a big fuss of the Presidents skipping a few meetings in today's Asean Related Summits," Panelo said.

"[Duterte] will also not attend the gala dinner scheduled tonight and will instead rest. Last night, the President worked late and had only less than three hours of sleep. It is unfortunate that the first event scheduled today was at 8:30am.," he added.

Panelo assured that Duterte would participate in the rest of the summits and hold a bilateral meeting with Abe on Thursday, November 15. (SunStar Philippines)
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte's decision to bar any country from stockpiling weapons in Palawan reflects his "acumen and diplomacy" in resolving the South China Sea disputes, Malacanang said

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte's decision to bar any country from stockpiling weapons in Palawan reflects his "acumen and diplomacy" in resolving the South China Sea disputes, Malacanang said on Wednesday, November 14.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo noted that "well-meaning" dissertations had been put forward on the issue of sea disputes, but these "lack the pragmatism and the reality of geopolitics."

Panelo hence said Duterte had decided to embark on a "cautious, pragmatic, diplomatic yet independent stand" on how to deal with the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea, which is "favorable" to the Philippines.

"The President has a wealth of information at his disposal, which is not readily available to ordinary citizens or foreigners, hence he is in the best position to decide on international matters that affect the welfare of the nation," Panelo said.

"The President not only steers clear of a potential warfare with China but anticipates any armed conflict between two powerful countries," he added.

Panelo's statement came after international political risk analyst Anders Corr warned that Duterte's recent pronouncement would make Palawan "militarily vulnerable to the advantage of China."

In a speech delivered in Palawan on November 10, Duterte said he would not let any country to stockpile arms and ammunition in Palawan, in case war breaks out in the South China Sea.

Duterte made the remark, as he reiterated that the Philippines would stay away from trouble, since it cannot afford to go to war with any country.

Panelo said Palawan, given its proximity to its "giant neighbor" China, "could be a flaming collateral damage if not an object of a strategic assault," should tensions in the contested waters lead to an armed conflict.

"It is in the best interest of the nation that the President maintains constructive dialogues with China through a bilateral consultation mechanism," he said.

Story continues

In the same speech in Palawan, Duterte floated the possibility of inviting "big" players to end the rotational power outages in the province.

The President then bared that China was "itching" to get a hold of developments in Palawan.

Corr cautioned that China's possible entry as power producer in Palawan could bolster Beijing's South China Sea claim.

Panelo, however, said the possibility that China would be an electricity producer in the province "is merely a business matter owing to their technical knowhow on power outages."

"All projects, whether proposed by domestic or foreign entities, shall undergo strict legal processes before any approval is given by the government," Panelo said. (SunStar Philippines)
CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma has urged the faithful to pray for the blessings they received in 2018 and for President Rodrigo Duterte.He appealed to the public not to cheer on the chief executives unflattering

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, November 13, expressed satisfaction over the "positive developments" in the Korean peninsula in the past months.

In his intervention during his working dinner with Southeast Asian leaders in Singapore, Duterte was optimistic that "lasting peace and stability" would flourish amid commitment of North Korea and South Korea to stop denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"The Philippines welcomes positive developments in recent months in the Korean Peninsula," Duterte said.

"We urge concerned parties to continue working towards the realization of lasting peace and stability, and reiterate our support for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Peninsula," he added.

Tensions elevated on Korean peninsula over the decades amid North Korea's ballistic missile program.

Pyongyang's tests of nuclear weapons that pose global security risks have caused "grave concern" among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

In April, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in made a historic move when they signed a declaration that seeks "peace, prosperity, and unification" of the Korean peninsula, thus putting an end to decades-long conflict in the region.

Two months after, Kim and United States President Donald Trump vowed to work toward a "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula during their landmark June summit in Singapore. (SunStar Philippines)
IT has been said that a nation's greatest asset is its people. Indeed, in times of global economic downturn, the Philippines has managed to go against the trend and even produce growth.There are several

IT has been said that a nation's greatest asset is its people. Indeed, in times of global economic downturn, the Philippines has managed to go against the trend and even produce growth.

There are several reasons for this, some of which include remittances and the expansion of the business process outsourcing industry.

A key factor to this economic resilience is the countrys relatively young population, which significantly adds to the workforce each year.

These factors, along with many others, lead to a generally positive outlook for the economy.

Positive, too, has always been the outlook of many citizens for their own futures. In times of plenty, the Filipino thrives. In times of hardship, the Filipino remarkably endures, all the while still managing to share what little they might have with the community  bayanihan at work.

It is for the hardworking Filipino that Primeworld Land Holdings Inc. was established.

Inspired by the Filipinos perseverance and optimism in the face of adversity, Primeworld Land found a calling in building sturdy homes that are within the reach of more people socioeconomically and geographically.

Primeworld Land has gone to great lengths to achieve just that, with residential communities scattered across Luzon to Visayas and to Mindanao.

The national real estate developer sees itself as a stepping-stone on the journey towards a brighter future, and a partner in the Filipinos pursuit of a better quality of life.

Learn more about Primeworld Land and the developers upcoming projects by visiting the official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/primeworldofficial.(Sponsored Content)
Substantial progress has been made on hammering out a China-backed trade deal, Singapore's leader said Wednesday, driving ahead the world's largest commercial pact which the United States is excluded from. World leaders gathered in the tropical city state this week for a summit where a massive Beijing-backed agreement covering half the world's population has dominated discussions. Diplomats have been trying to nail down details as Beijing entices its neighbours to join a commercial alliance seen as an antidote to President Donald Trump's "America First" protectionist trade policy. The US has imposed tariffs on roughly half of what it imports from China, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies. Beijing's leaders have recast themselves as the defenders of global commerce -- with the United States under Trump relegated to the sidelines. China, Japan and India are among 16 Asia-Pacific countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). "Substantial progress has been made this year to advance the RCEP negotiations," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Wednesday evening, adding talks were now "at the final stage". "With the strong momentum generated this year, I am pleased to note that the RCEP negotiations are poised for conclusion in 2019," he added. But he cautioned any further delays could risk "losing credibility" for a deal -- which has already taken six years to negotiate. - Trump absent - This week's meetings are the biggest in a series of annual gatherings organised by regional bloc the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), and are attended by 20 leaders. RCEP was given extra impetus after US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in early 2017. That deal was spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama and aimed to bind fast-growing Asian powers into an American-backed order to counter China. The TPP is still alive even without Washington -- and will come into effect in December -- but RCEP, if realised, will be the world's biggest trade deal. However, the Beijing-backed pact is much less ambitious than the TPP in areas such as employment and environmental protection. Beijing had hoped to have the meat of the deal done by the end of this year, but the timetable has now slipped to 2019. However, this has not stopped Chinese leaders from basking in the progress already made. During a meeting with Southeast Asia leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he was hopeful talks would "break through the ceiling" and take regional trade "to new heights". Trump is not at the Singapore summit, nor will he attend a subsequent gathering of world leaders in Papua New Guinea at the end of the week, having sent Vice President Mike Pence instead. National Security Advisor John Bolton, however, told reporters in Singapore that the president's no-show should not be seen as a lack of commitment towards the region. He blamed a "schedule crunch" after a particularly frenetic few weeks that included the midterm elections, attending the World War I armistice commemorations in France and preparing for the G20 in Argentina later this month. - Sticking points - There are still major sticking points in RCEP talks -- with regional rival India particularly nervous about giving Chinese companies greater access to its markets, and wealthier nations wanting to see more progress on labour reforms. Disagreements on intellectual property rights, goods tariffs and financial services are also on a long list of issues that still need to be concluded. Also, the spectre of possible leadership changes with several general elections scheduled early next year -- India, Thailand and Indonesia -- have also complicated the timeline for a deal. Aaron Connelly, an expert on Southeast Asian politics at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the fact that RCEP negotiations were not concluded at this year's ASEAN could indicate China has some way to go to convince neighbours to sign up. "It's interesting that when Beijing is at its most vulnerable on trade, with US tariffs biting, they werent willing to concede enough to their neighbours in terms of market access to get a deal done," he told AFP. At the same time, trade ministers across Asia Pacific have sounded a largely positive tone this week, saying they expect the pact to be agreed sooner rather than later. "The future lies in RCEP," Indian trade minister Suresh Prabhu told reporters earlier in the week.
Three young men have been found guilty of plotting terror attacks in Australia's second-largest city, intending to inflict mass casualties during the Christmas festive season. The court was told the men -- Hamza Abbas, 23, Ahmed Mohamed, 25 and Abdullah Chaarani, 27 -- bought machetes and ingredients to make homemade bombs, and wanted to target major Melbourne sites including a train station and a church. The verdict came as Australians were reeling from last Friday's Islamic State-inspired knife attack and attempted car bombing in Melbourne, which left two dead including the attacker. Hamza Abbas' older brother Ibrahim Abbas pleaded guilty earlier this year to the Christmas plot, which was to be carried out in December 2016. The Supreme Court of Victoria jury decision was handed down in early November but only permitted to be published Wednesday after the lifting of suppression orders. Ibrahim Abbas had told the court he "wanted to make sure that the casualties would be high", Melbourne's Herald Sun reported. "The bigger the better. The bigger the more terror is achieved, and that's the point." Police uncovered the plot after monitoring the Australian-born men's phone conversations, text messages and emails, and all four were arrested on December 22, 2016. Prosecutors had also alleged a link to the Al-Qaeda magazine Inspire's article "How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom", which was found on one of the men's phones. Then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called their plans "one of the most substantial terrorist plots that have been disrupted over the last several years". Authorities say more than a dozen terrorist attacks have been prevented in recent years, but several have taken place, including a cafe siege in Sydney in 2014 where two hostages were killed. The men are due to be sentenced at a later date, and face life imprisonment.
Chinese badminton great Lin Dan said he expected an uphill battle to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after he crashed out in the Hong Kong Open's first round on Wednesday. The former world number one had the backing of a raucous crowd against top-ranked Kento Momota, who was left flat-footed in the second game before wearing out Lin in the decider 21-19, 12-21, 21-15. Lin was agile but inconsistent on court, twice yielding leads of five or more points over his Japanese opponent before the second game's blowout and faltering in the final minutes of the 76-minute match. "I'm a bit sorry for the third set. There were two unforced errors that I made that changed the lead," he told AFP afterwards. It was Lin's third straight loss from four matches against Momota, who has been in searing form this year and is favourite to take out his fifth World Tour title for the year this week. Momota, who was expelled from the Japanese team for the 2016 Rio Olympics and banned for over a year for visiting an illegal casino, has shot to the top of the world rankings since returning to the sport. Lin, a gold medallist at both Beijing and London, is not counting out the prospect of a fifth Olympics appearance in 2020 but the 35-year-old is guarded about his chances. "It all depends because there are very many strong players in China," he said. "They're very strong so I have to be on top of them." Now 28th in the world rankings, Lin would have to climb back into the top 16 to secure a second spot on the Chinese singles squad. He also faces a top-flight Chinese squad brimming with young talent including second-ranked singles player Shi Yuqi and number five Chen Long. Shi retired with injury four minutes into his first match Wednesday while Chen sailed into the second round with a 21-16, 21-16 victory over Malaysia's Daren Liew. India's Srikanth Kidambi saw off local challenger Vincent Wong within half an hour while third-ranked Chou Tien Chen couldn't maintain his dominance over Korea's Lee Dong Keun, who bounced back to see off the third seed 8-21, 23-21, 22-20. In the women's singles, China's Chen Yufei lost her first round match 21-14, 10-21, 20-22 after squandering an early advantage against 24th-ranked Pornpawee Chochuwong. Taiwan's top-ranked Tai Tzu Ying, Indian superstar P.V. Sindhu and second seed Akane Yamaguchi all saw off spirited challengers to make the final 16.
Vietnam on Wednesday issued arrest warrants and placed two top telecom bosses under investigation for suspected involvement in a loss-making private TV deal, authorities said, as a crackdown on graft gathers pace. A conservative leadership that came to power in the one-party state in 2016 has carried out the sweeping campaign, going after high-rolling executives once thought to be untouchable in Vietnam, one of Asia's most corrupt countries. State-run Mobifone telecommunications has come under particular scrutiny after an attempted purchase in 2015 of loss-making private TV firm Audio Visual Global (AVG). The former director general of Mobifone Cao Duy Hai and deputy director general Pham Thi Phuong Anh were accused of "violating regulations on managing and using public investment capital", said a statement on the website of the powerful Ministry of Public Security. In August Hai was sacked from Mobifone as the communist party blamed him for his role in the proposed deal with AVG -- which the government argued would have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars if the sale had gone through. Deputy director general Anh was accused of "lack of responsibility in negotiating and directing negotiation with AVG's shareholders", media reports said. It is not clear if the two are in custody. Mobifone said it spent around $385 million for the purchase of 95 percent of AVG shares in 2015 despite the company recording losses of about $70 million. The government stepped in to halt the final deal and state media reported in May that AVG shareholders had refunded all the money. The two executives were only the latest to get ensnared in the Mobifone clampdown. Information and Communications Minister Truong Minh Tuan was dismissed from his position in October over the deal. In a similar move, Mobifone's former head Le Nam Tra and a senior communications ministry official have been put under detention in connection with the case. Observers say the unprecedented corruption crackdown by Vietnam's communist government shows few signs of slowing, and that the onslaught of cases is more tied to rivalries within the communist party than illegality. Vietnam is ranked 107 out of 180 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, among the lowest in the region.
Spain may be the EU's poster child for economic recovery, but impressive growth rates have failed to make a dent in the number of people struggling to make ends meet despite having jobs, the "working poor". A combination of low wages and reliance on temporary contracts is keeping millions of workers stuck below the poverty line -- nearly one in six, according to labour ministry figures. The country has the European Union's highest proportion of workers at risk of poverty, 13.1 percent, after Greece and Romania, according to 2016 Eurostat figures. Spain's economy shrank during the financial crisis from 2009 to 2013 but rebounded in 2014. Its rate of expansion has since outstripped much of the EU with growth of more than 3 percent. But the recovery has bypassed many workers like Elisabet, a 44-year-old Madrid waitress who is employed on a three-month contract. She earns just 950 euros ($1,100) per month. Nearly half of her salary, 400 euros, goes on renting a room she shares with her eight-year-old daughter. Another 130 euros is swallowed up by school canteen fees, 100 euros goes to childcare, leaving just over 300 euros for food, transportation and other expenses. "I can't save, it's a bit complicated," Elisabet, who asked that her last name not be published, told AFP, adding she has not been able to go on holiday with her daughter for two years. - 'Freeze on wages' - Spain's economic downturn sparked a "freeze on wages" and salaries did not recover when the economy returned to growth because unemployment has remained high, said Florentino Felgueroso of Madrid-based think tank Fedea. While Spain's jobless rate is down from a peak of nearly 27 percent in 2013 to 14.5 percent in September, it is still the second-highest in the eurozone after Greece. Real wages actually declined in the last two years, the OECD said in a report published in July. This contrasts with the jump in salaries before the crisis, especially in the construction sector, said Felgueroso. Part of the problem is that many of the newly created jobs are temporary rather than permanent, and their duration has been reduced considerably, with some lasting just "a week, sometimes less", he added. Spain is more reliant on temporary contracts than any other EU nation. More than one in four workers, 26.9 percent, was employed on a temporary contract in the second quarter, according to Eurostat. The percentage of workers in Spain employed part-time when they would rather work full-time accounted for 8 percent of the total labour force in 2016, compared to 6 percent in the entire eurozone, according to the Bank of Spain. - 'Difficult to correct' - Elisabet is a good example. Despite her 15 years' experience, since the end of the crisis she had only one permanent contract -- and was fired after just one year. She said she feels lucky to have a temporary contract, instead of working under-the-table as in the past. Felgueroso said "job precarity has become generalised" and especially affects women. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took office in June, has vowed to fight for change. Under Spanish law temporary workers have to be considered permanent after a period of two years, except in the case of short-term projects or seasonal jobs. But loopholes in Spain's complex labour framework, which comprises dozens of different contract types, allow many firms to circumvent the rules. The labour ministry in August contacted nearly 80,000 firms it suspects of abusing short-term contracts. Some 47,000 of these contracts were converted to permanent ones the following month. The government also wants to increase the number of labour inspectors to crack down on abuse. "It's very difficult to correct, it is part of regular practice," said Felgueroso. Sanchez's minority government has also proposed in its draft 2019 budget -- which faces an uphill battle to be approved in parliament -- raising the minimum age from 858 euros a month to 1,050 euros. This would bring it a step closer to Britain's minimum wage of 1,401 euros, or Germany of 1,498 euros.
Body-recovery specialists will enter a New Zealand mine where 29 men died in a 2010 explosion, officials said Wednesday after years of heated debate about retrieving the workers' remains. The blast at the Pike River colliery in November 2010 was New Zealand's worst mining disaster in almost a century, killing 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Britons and a South African. It was triggered by a build-up of methane and the South Island mine was permanently closed amid fears the flammable gas remained, angering the families of the dead who wanted the entombed remains removed. The controversy was so intense that when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was elected last year she appointed Andrew Little to the specially created portfolio of Minister for Pike River Re-entry. Little announced Wednesday that a plan to go into the mine had been finalised after consultation with mining safety experts from around the world. "To the Pike River families - and to New Zealand -- we are returning," he said, revealing re-entry would take place in February next year and continue until December. Little said the aim was to not only recover any remains but also try to determine the cause of the deadly explosion. He said the safety of those entering the mine would be paramount. "There is a lot that we do not know and will not know until we confront it underground," he said. "This will require agile thinking, the courage of all to say no if we are uncomfortable... and knowing when to call it quits." Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton died in the disaster, said it had been a long journey. "We've waited eight long years for this, we stood up for our men and we have achieved something they would be so proud of," she said.
Students select from four learning formats for each course to meet schedules, goals



IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The University of California, Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE) announced today that their flagship Project Management Certificate Program will now feature four tracks for aspiring or experienced project managers. Students can mix and match from within the available tracks in order to build the program that best suits their needs and schedule.

Each of the tracks within the project management certificate program cover A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)Sixth Edition, and will prepare students to sit for the Project Management Professional exam. Whatever personal and professional demands they face, from course to course and quarter to quarter students will be able to choose the option that best meets their needs.

Skilled project managers are in high demand right now, and the comprehensive, in-depth level of study that students receive in the project management certificate program will contribute to their improved career prospects, said Stephane Muller, UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education director of Business Programs. Our goal is to help project managersnew and veteranto prepare for the next steps in their careers. Our customizable format selection is designed to allow them greater control over their education.

The Project Management Certificate Program is comprised of the following course formats for students to choose from:

Campusa six-week, face-to-face option scheduled on recurring weeknights; allows students to complete coursework both at home and online

Onlinean entirely online option, courses run over six weeks, and students have regular weekly deadlines

Hybridfeatures three on-campus, full-day classes scheduled on Saturdays; online access to course materials one week before the course begins

Global Acceleratedfull-time, face-to-face, immersive experience; students learn alongside professionals from around the world

To receive the Project Management Certificate, students must complete four required courses for a total of 12 units in the campus, online, or hybrid formats. To receive the certificate through the Global Accelerated format, students must commit to three months of full-time study.

Enrollment for campus, online, and hybrid tracks is available for winter quarter now. Applications for registration in the Global Accelerated format are due by December 7 for winter quarter. For more information, please visit the website, or contact Chris Casas at chris.casas@uci.edu.

About UCI Division of Continuing Education

The University of California, Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE) provides lifelong learning opportunities to thousands of students worldwide each year  fulfilling the schools 60-year curriculum platform to connect degree programs to the world of work and achievement after graduation. The Division offers a broad range of certificate programs, specialized studies, and sequential courses to local, regional and global markets through online, on-campus and on-site delivery. A leader in the open education movement, the Division offers free Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and content through the UCI Open initiative. For more information about UCI Division of Continuing Education, visit ce.uci.edu .

About the University of California, Irvine

Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. Located in one of the worlds safest and most economically vibrant communities, its Orange Countys second-largest employer, contributing $4.8 billion annually to the local economy.
Phuket, Thailand, October 2018  On Thursday 22 November 2018, Angsana Laguna Phuket invites you to celebrate one of Thailands biggest cultural festivals, Loy Krathong, with special dining promotions, Krathong-making classes and a floating ceremony on the resorts breath-taking lagoon.

At THB 250 per person, start the days celebrations by learning how to design and make your own Krathong. Take your cultural experience up a notch in the evening with an authentic Thai set dinner from THB 990++ per person at the resorts signature restaurant, Baan Talay. As a special gift, each table will receive one Krathong. At the end of dinner, make your way to the resorts jetty and participate in the floating ceremony. Under the bright moon, make a wish, release your Krathongs, and watch them light up the lagoon.

Also known as the festival of lights, Loy Krathong falls on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month when the moon is at its brightest and the tides are at their highest. It is traditionally a festival to pay respects to the Water Goddess, thanking her for a year of great supply. The Krathongs themselves are baskets containing flowers, incense and candles. They are lit and floated away to symbolize letting go of bad luck and embarking on a fresh start.

For reservations, please call (66) 76 358 500, email reservations-lagunaphuket@angsana.com or visit our website at https://www.angsana.com/en/thailand/laguna-phuket/offers/book-direct
Artist's impression of the surface of Barnard's star b. Credit ESO-M. Kornmesser. Credit: Credit ESO-M. Kornmesser

Astronomers have discovered a planet in orbit around one of the closest stars to the Sun, Barnard's star.

The study was co-led by researchers from Queen Mary University of London, and from the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya and the Institute of Space Sciences/CSIC in Spain.

The potentially rocky planet, known as Barnard's star b, is a 'super-Earth' with a mass of at least 3.2 times that of the Earth, and it orbits around its host star once every 233 days.

The results, published in the journal Nature, show the planet lies at a distant region from the star known as the 'snow line'. This is well beyond the habitable zone in which liquid water, and possibly life, could exist.

The planet's surface temperature is estimated to be around -170 degrees Celsius meaning it is likely to be a frozen world which is uninviting to Earth-like life.

However, if the planet has a substantial atmosphere the temperature could be higher and conditions potentially more hospitable.

Dr. Guillem Anglada Escude, from Queen Mary's School of Physics and Astronomy, said: "Barnard's star is an infamous object among astronomers and exoplanet scientists, as it was one of the first stars where planets were initially claimed but later proven to be incorrect. Hopefully we got it right this time."

Artists impression of Barnards Star planet under the orange tinted light from the star. Credit: IEEC/Science-Wave - Guillem Ramisa

At nearly six light-years away Barnard's star is the next closest star to the Sun after the Alpha Centauri triple system.

It is a type of faint, low-mass star called a red dwarf. Red dwarfs are considered to be the best places to look for exoplanet candidates, which are planets outside our solar system.

Barnard's star b is the second closest known exoplanet to our Sun. The closest lies just over four light-years from Earth and was also discovered by a team led by Queen Mary's Dr. Anglada Escude in 2016. That exoplanet, called Proxima b, orbits around the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri.

The researchers used the radial velocity method during the observations that led to the discovery of Barnard's star b. This technique detects wobbles in a star which are likely to be caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet.

These wobbles affect the light coming from the star. As the star moves towards the Earth its spectrum appears slightly shifted towards the blue and, as it moves away, it is shifted towards the red.

This is the first time that this technique has been used to detect a planet this small so far away from its host star.

The researchers re-examined archive data obtained over a 20-year period, and added new observations with the latest generation of instruments, namely the CARMENES spectrometer in Spain, the ESO/HARPS instrument in Chile and the HARPS-N instrument in the Canary Islands.

Graphic representation of the relative distances to the nearest stars from the Sun. Barnards star is the second closest star system, and the nearest single star to us. Credit: IEEC/Science-Wave - Guillem Ramisa

This wealth of data provided the extraordinary accuracy needed to identify the influence of the planet with near certainty. The wobble observed in the star's motion corresponds to speeds of only just over 1 metre per secondabout walking speed.

Dr. Ignasi Ribas, from Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya and the Institute of Space Sciences in Spain, said: "After a very careful analysis, we are over 99 per cent confident that the planet is there, since this is the model that best fits our observations. However, we must remain cautious and collect more data to nail the case in the future."

Further observations to increase the confidence of this result are already under way at various observatories, and the system is an excellent candidate for observation by the next generation of instruments specifically designed to image exoplanets directly, such as NASA's planned Wide Field Infra Red Survey Telescope (WFIRST).

If the planet can be observed directly it will provide vital information about its properties and extend our understanding of the kinds of planets that form around red dwarf stars.

An award-winning public engagement campaign, known as Pale Red Dot, allowed the public to follow in real time the observations and analysis that led to the discovery of Proxima b.

The public have also been able to follow the observations leading to this new discovery, a result of extending the search to other very nearby red dwarfs, via a similar web-based campaign known as the Red Dots project, @reddotsspace on Twitter).

The study includes contributions from Professor Richard Nelson and research student John Strachan, both members of Queen Mary's School of Physics and Astronomy.

This research was supported in part by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council and a Queen Mary University of London Principal's Postgraduate Studentship.

More information: I. Ribas et al. A candidate super-Earth planet orbiting near the snow line of Barnard's star, Nature (2018). Journal information: Nature I. Ribas et al. A candidate super-Earth planet orbiting near the snow line of Barnard's star,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0677-y
Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar (L), appearing at Hong Kong's Legislative Council with CEO Rupert Hogg, described the crisis as 'one of the most serious' in the airline's history

The top two executives at Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific on Wednesday apologised for the firm's handling of the world's biggest airline hack that saw millions of customers' data breached but denied trying to cover it up.

The CEO and chairman also said the crisis "was one of the most serious" in the embattled firm's history and would act differently in a similar situation in future.

The pair were summoned to the city's legislative council to explain to lawmakers why it had taken five months to admit it had been hacked and the data of 9.4 million customers compromised, including passport numbers and credit card details.

Lawmakers slammed the delay as a "blatant attempt" to cover up the incident and thereby deprive customers of months of opportunities to take steps to safeguard their personal data.

However, Chairman John Slosar said: "I'd like to make it absolutely clear that there was never any attempt to cover anything up."

He added: "I see it as one of the most serious crises that our airline has ever faced."

Earlier he had read a statement to the LegCo in which he said: "I must personally apologise directly to you and the people of Hong Kong."

It emerged this week that the breach was the result of a sustained cyber attack for three months.

The airline had discovered suspicious activity on its network in March and confirmed unauthorised access to certain personal data in early May but did not make it public until October 24.

CEO Rupert Hogg explained the company needed time to establish the nature of attacks, contain the problem and identify stolen data, but said they "did regret the length of time" it took.

"We've learnt a lot of lessons from trying to do what we believe was right, which was to get accurate information about our customers, make sure that we knew what information pertained to them. We would do it a different way tomorrow indeed," Hogg said.

When pressed by lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki on whether Cathay would report to its customers immediately if there was another leak, Slosar said: "We will report instantly, yes."

Slosar also told lawmakers that the data breach issue was of great public interest but the information was not material or price sensitive.

The airline says it has contacted the customers affected, but it still has not mentioned financial compensation and the possible costs that may arise.

The firm is already battling to stem major losses as it comes under pressure from lower-cost Chinese carriers and Middle East rivals.

It booked its first back-to-back annual loss in its seven-decade history in March and has previously pledged to cut 600 staff including a quarter of its management as part of its biggest overhaul in years.

Hong Kong-listed shares in the firm were up four percent in afternoon trade.

 2018 AFP
In seeking to pinpoint why black or African-American scientists are less likely than their white counterparts to receive National Institutes of Health research funding, a group of researchers has identified early career publications as a likely contributor to the gap.

"We found that because publications explain so much of the gap in funding, an intervention that focuses on how to convert research funding into publications seems to be warranted," said Donna Ginther, University of Kansas professor of economics and corresponding author of the forthcoming study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The findings are the latest in a stream of research Ginther has led on the topic dating back to a 2011 Science study commissioned by the NIH that found a 10 percentage point gap in research funding between NIH grants funded to white applicants versus black or African-American scientists.

Co-authors on the most recent study are Jodi Basner, Unni Jensen and Joshua Schnell, of Discovery Logic and Clarivate Analytics in Rockville, Maryland; Raynard Kington, president of Grinnell College and former principal deputy director of NIH; and, Walter Schaffer, current NIH senior adviser.

The researchers collected data from nearly 2,400 NIH biographical sketchesknown as a Biosketchessubmitted between 2003-2006 as part of new applications for NIH Type 1, or R01, awards. They used the Biosketches to obtain detailed information on the applicants' training and scholarly activities, including publications.

Then they examined the association between each applicant's race or ethnicity and the probability of receiving an R01 award. The researchers also performed a counterfactual analysis that found if the average black or African-American investigator had publications at the same rate at those receiving R01 awards, it would effectively close the gap as well.

The analysis revealed black or African American applicants reported fewer papers on the Biosketches, had fewer citations and papers reported appeared in journals with a lower influence in the field. The researchers concluded these predictors could influence the funding gap, but they cautioned the findings do not fully address race and ethnicity differences in receiving a priority score.

Ginther said the research team did identify the scientists' careers seem to diverge during their postdoctoral scholarship periodknown as the postdoc when scientists after earning their doctorate professionally conduct research.

"That seems to be the obvious place to start intervening," Ginther said. "Right around the postdoc and early career period to try to make sure that black or African American investigators have the tacit knowledge needed to generate competitive publication records."

The researchers suggest that mentoring interventions that help scientists more effectively convert grant funding into publications would be beneficial.

"The NIH already has a national mentoring network," Ginther said. "Emphasizing that seems to be an appropriate next step."

Another key finding was the funding and publication gaps were larger among experienced white and black or African-American investigators who had received at least one previous R01 grant.

"This suggests that once an investigator gets his or her first R01 award, they may be diverted from their science into fulfilling a role that the university might value, such as serving on committees or mentoring students of color," Ginther said. "While valuable, these could also take them away from their ability to publish their science."

As the NIH tries to address and eliminate bias in its grant review process, Ginther said that type of bias can also be difficult to tease out. Their recent findings do point to some alternative possibilities and potential fruitful strategies to help encourage minority scientists, she said. However, another word of caution is the NIH has since changed its review process when compared with the current dataset the researchers used.

"The gap between NIH funding for black or African American and white investigators is very complicated," Ginther said, "and so you need to take a multi-pronged approach. Our research has identified where the careers start to diverge, and that seems to be the obvious place to start intervening, right around the postdoc and in the early career period to try to make sure that black and African American investigators have competitive publication records."
NASA Goddard scientists, in summer 2018, climb to a geothermal site on Kverkjokull glacier. Credit: Molly Wasser / NASA Goddard

Violent and destructive, active volcanoes ought to be feared and avoided. Yet, these geological cauldrons expose the pulse of many planets and moons, offering clues to how these bodies evolved from chemical soups to the complex systems of gases and rocks we see today.

Unearthing these clues is what motivates planetary scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to venture to inhospitable places on this planet that most people try to avoid: smoldering lava fields and glacier-covered volcanoes.

"You can use Earth science to study volcanoes on this planet and then apply that knowledge to the Moon, Mars and other bodies," said Patrick L. Whelley, a Goddard planetary geologist. "Plus, we don't have the luxury of watching volcanic eruptions up close anywhere besides Earth."

What's clear about volcanoes on this planet is that Earth would have been desolate without them. By belching molten rock onto its surface from deep inside, these underground furnaces helped build Earth's continents. Moreover, they released gases that helped form our oceans and our atmosphere billions of years agotwo features that enabled life to thrive here. To this day, volcanoes help keep Earth warm, wet and habitable.

Could volcanoes have played a similar role on other celestial bodies? Do they still?

These are some of the questions Whelley and his colleagues are trying to answer by studying the composition and geometry of Earth's volcanoes and the lava they spew. The better we understand Earth, they reason, the sharper the rest of the solar system will come into focus.

To find clues about how planets and moons evolved from chemical soups to the complex systems of gases and rocks we see today, scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, venture to inhospitable places on Earth that most people try to avoid: smoldering lava fields and glacier-covered volcanoes. In this video, NASA Goddard volcanologists are traveling to a fresh lava field in northeast Iceland, called Holuhraun. While there, in summer 2018, the scientists measured how much heat the lava is still releasing after a historic eruption between 2014 and 2015. They also measured, using lidar to map terrain in 3-D, how the hardening lava is changing the local landscape, information that will provide context for future observations of existing or old volcanoes on various celestial bodies. Credit: Molly Wasser / NASA Goddard

Evidence abounds that volcanoes dot the solar system. The dark patches on the Moon, where volcanoes are inactive, are made of lava that hardened billions of years ago. Mars boasts the solar system's largest (though, now, likely inactive) volcanoes. Mercury hosts remnants of volcanoes that lost steam billions of years ago; Venus does, too, though its volcanoes could be active today.

Some solar system volcanoes, besides our own, are clearly erupting. Jupiter's moon, Io, is a volcanic wonderland, with hundreds of active plumes. Europa, another Jovian moon, appears to have active vents shooting water vapor through cracks in the shell of ice enveloping the moon.

In fact, Europa is an intriguing case. Scientists believe that it's one of the strongest candidates for extraterrestrial life because it harbors a liquid water oceanor a lubricant for life's most essential processesthat could be rife with sulfur and other elements that living things need. Europa's ocean is possibly up to twice as large as Earth's in volume. Scientists hope to study Europa more closely in coming years by sending a spacecraft, called Europa Clipper, to study the cracked moon from the orbit of Jupiter.

Some scientists also hope to send a lander to probe the ice on Europa in search of chemical clues, called biosignatures, that could reveal whether the moon could harbor life.

But first, they must practice looking for life in remote and harsh regions of Earth. Goddard researchers did so this summer by traveling to a location in Iceland that's the closest we can ever get on Earth to replicating Europa, trekking for miles to a glacier-covered volcanic region called Vatnajokull.

"These types of icy environments are rare, so they're very fascinating," said Dina Bower, a Goddard astrobiologist. Vatnajokull, she explained, offers scientists a rare opportunity to observe the chemistry that unfolds when geothermal heat interacts with ice, like it does on Europa.

NASA Goddard astrobiologist, Dina Bower, is using a technique called Raman spectroscopy to analyze the chemistry of ash-covered ice in a glacier-covered volcanic region in Iceland called Vatnajokull. Credit: Molly Wasser/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Bower tested a technique in Iceland called "Raman spectroscopy," using a handheld instrument that resembles a price scanner to measure the scattering of light from ice to learn what the surface is made of. A similar technique could someday help spacecraft at Europa identify chemical signatures of life in its ice and ocean. For now, Bower's Raman spectrometer found lichen, which are communities of fungi and other microbes, living in the ice, likely deposited there by volcanic ash. She also found various species of this hardy organism thriving on the lava.

Lava is also of interest for Goddard scientists, so it helps that Iceland is a lava paradise. Indeed, the island was composed in the last 15 to 20 million years of hardened lava from continual volcanic eruptions. This makes the island a good proxy for planets like Mars, too, which, like Iceland, are covered in a volcanic rock called basalt.

In Iceland, Goddard planetary geologists also visited the highlands region, near Vatnajokull, to investigate a large, fresh lava field called Holuhraun. Lava erupted from fissures in the ground there and flowed across 85 square kilometers (53 square miles) in a historic eruption between 2014 and 2015. Now, in their third visit to the main eruption vent in Holuhraun, planetary geologists sought to document how the terrain had changed since their last visit.

"The vent is still degrading in spectacular fashion" said Jacob Richardson, a Goddard planetary geologist, alluding to the active rockfalls off the vent walls. "This erosion is a sign that volcanic vents take more than just a couple of years to settle down; they might take decades."

Whelley, Richardson and their team measured how much heat the lava is still releasing and how the hardening lava is changing the local landscape, information that will provide context for future observations of existing or old volcanoes on various celestial bodies.

"We rarely get to see fresh deposits anywhere in the solar system; we're always looking at billion-year-old lava," said Whelley. "But if you can tell how much heat there was in any given eruption throughout a planet's history, you might be able to determine the rate at which the planet was getting rid of heat. This, in turn, will tell us how long it was producing volcanic eruptions that were releasing gases that were maintaining its atmosphere, which enabled conditions for life on the planet."

NASA Goddard scientists drill through ice on top of glacier-covered volcano in Iceland to collect samples from deep below. During this summer 2018 research trip, the scientists sought to examine the life forms that could survive in the solar system's harshest environments. Credit: Molly Wasser / NASA Goddard

Even if Mars never had conditions suitable for life on its surface, despite volcanic eruptions, life could have flourished beneath, NASA scientists suspect. Below the surface of Mars there could be water, plus protection from harsh solar radiation, and heat from nearby magma chambers, said Richardson.

"If you only look at the surface rock that we can see today, you'll lose a lot of the story of how these planets evolved," he said.

This is why NASA will drop its InSight lander on the surface of Mars on November 26, 2018 to listen for tremors on Elysium Planitia, a volcanic field similar to Holuhraun, to study the planet's crust, mantle, and core.

In the meantime, Goddard scientists will continue hunting for secrets of the evolution of our home planet and its inhabitantsan ideal laboratory for studying the cosmos.

Explore further Research finds evidence of 2 billion years of volcanic activity on Mars
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Online social networks, such as the well-known Facebook, allow users to form connections with each other quickly and easily. A user might invite another to become their "friend," "like" a page they have created on the system, or join a group that forms a community within the overarching community. Of course, it is implicit that one should only "friend" people one knows. But, there are millions if not billions of connections where a user may not be even a passing acquaintance in the offline world and yet well connected to another person in the online.

Researchers in Switzerland, David Weibel and Bartholomaus Wissmath of the Department of Psychology, at the University of Bern, have investigated what inspires a person to accept a friendship request from another on Facebook. It seems that there is something of a stereotypical response: "men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends," the team has found. The research builds on earlier work from Wang in 2010 that used fictitious user profiles to study what kinds of response to friendship requests might be seen in an online social network.

In the new work, the team sent out actual friendship requests to 800 Facebook users from male or female profile owners who were considered either attractive or unattractive. The study corroborated Wang's 2010 finding and showed that approximately one in ten users responded to the cold calls, the unsolicited friendship requests from previously unknown users. They also demonstrated, as had Wang, the way in which men responded. However, they found that female users accepted invitations from unattractive profile owners rather than from attractive profile owners, regardless of the profile owners' gender.

"Unlike our offline appearance, the shape of our online appearance is much more malleable and can be rapidly adapted in more subtle ways. Moreover, we believe that this study also raises in offline friendships," the team adds.

Explore further On Facebook, beauty is more than screen deep

More information: David Weibel et al. Friendship acceptance on Facebook: men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends, International Journal of Web Based Communities (2018). David Weibel et al. Friendship acceptance on Facebook: men prefer cold calls from attractive women while women favour unattractive friends,(2018). DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2018.094919
Fred Gmitter, a geneticist at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, right, visits a citrus grower in an orange grove affected by citrus greening disease in Fort Meade, Fla., on Sept. 27, 2018. "If we can go in and edit the gene, change the DNA sequence ever so slightly by one or two letters, potentially we'd have a way to defeat this disease," says Gmitter. (AP Photo/Federica Narancio)

The next generation of biotech food is headed for the grocery aisles, and first up may be salad dressings or granola bars made with soybean oil genetically tweaked to be good for your heart.

By early next year, the first foods from plants or animals that had their DNA "edited" are expected to begin selling. It's a different technology than today's controversial "genetically modified" foods, more like faster breeding that promises to boost nutrition, spur crop growth, and make farm animals hardier and fruits and vegetables last longer.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has declared gene editing one of the breakthroughs needed to improve food production so the world can feed billions more people amid a changing climate. Yet governments are wrestling with how to regulate this powerful new tool. And after years of confusion and rancor, will shoppers accept gene-edited foods or view them as GMOs in disguise?

"If the consumer sees the benefit, I think they'll embrace the products and worry less about the technology," said Dan Voytas, a University of Minnesota professor and chief science officer for Calyxt Inc., which edited soybeans to make the oil heart-healthy.

Researchers are pursuing more ambitious changes: Wheat with triple the usual fiber, or that's low in gluten. Mushrooms that don't brown, and better-producing tomatoes. Drought-tolerant corn, and rice that no longer absorbs soil pollution as it grows. Dairy cows that don't need to undergo painful de-horning, and pigs immune to a dangerous virus that can sweep through herds.

Scientists even hope gene editing eventually could save species from being wiped out by devastating diseases like citrus greening, a so far unstoppable infection that's destroying Florida's famed oranges.

First they must find genes that could make a new generation of trees immune.

"If we can go in and edit the gene, change the DNA sequence ever so slightly by one or two letters, potentially we'd have a way to defeat this disease," said Fred Gmitter, a geneticist at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, as he examined diseased trees in a grove near Fort Meade.

Fred Gmitter, a geneticist at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, holds an orange affected by citrus greening disease at a grove in Fort Meade, Fla., on Sept. 27, 2018. "If we can go in and edit the gene, change the DNA sequence ever so slightly by one or two letters, potentially we'd have a way to defeat this disease," says Gmitter. (AP Photo/Federica Narancio)

GENETICALLY MODIFIED OR EDITED, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Farmers have long genetically manipulated crops and animals by selectively breeding to get offspring with certain traits. It's time-consuming and can bring trade-offs. Modern tomatoes, for example, are larger than their pea-sized wild ancestor, but the generations of cross-breeding made them more fragile and altered their nutrients.

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are plants or animals that were mixed with another species' DNA to introduce a specific traitmeaning they're "transgenic." Best known are corn and soybeans mixed with bacterial genes for built-in resistance to pests or weed killers.

Despite international scientific consensus that GMOs are safe to eat, some people remain wary and there is concern they could spur herbicide-resistant weeds.

Now gene-editing tools, with names like CRISPR and TALENs, promise to alter foods more precisely, and at less cost, without necessarily adding foreign DNA. Instead, they act like molecular scissors to alter the letters of an organism's own genetic alphabet.

The technology can insert new DNA, but most products in development so far switch off a gene, according to University of Missouri professor Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes.

Those new Calyxt soybeans? Voytas' team inactivated two genes so the beans produce oil with no heart-damaging trans fat and that shares the famed health profile of olive oil without its distinct taste.

The hornless calves? Most dairy Holsteins grow horns that are removed for the safety of farmers and other cows. Recombinetics Inc. swapped part of the gene that makes dairy cows grow horns with the DNA instructions from naturally hornless Angus beef cattle.

This Sept. 27, 2018 photo shows petri dishes with citrus seedlings that are used for gene editing research at the University of Florida in Lake Alfred, Fla. Gene-editing tools, with names like CRISPR and TALEN, promise to alter foods precisely, and cheaplywithout necessarily adding foreign DNA. Instead, they act like molecular scissors to alter the letters of an organism's own genetic alphabet. (AP Photo/Federica Narancio)

"Precision breeding," is how animal geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam of the University of California, Davis, explains it. "This isn't going to replace traditional breeding," but make it easier to add one more trait.

RULES AREN'T CLEAR

The Agriculture Department says extra rules aren't needed for "plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding," clearing the way for development of about two dozen gene-edited crops so far.

In contrast, the Food and Drug Administration in 2017 proposed tighter, drug-like restrictions on gene-edited animals. It promises guidance sometime next year on exactly how it will proceed.

Because of trade, international regulations are "the most important factor in whether genome editing technologies are commercialized," USDA's Paul Spencer told a meeting of agriculture economists.

Europe's highest court ruled last summer that existing European curbs on the sale of transgenic GMOs should apply to gene-edited foods, too.

But at the World Trade Organization this month, the U.S. joined 12 nations including Australia, Canada, Argentina and Brazil in urging other countries to adopt internationally consistent, science-based rules for gene-edited agriculture.

ARE THESE FOODS SAFE?

Fred Gmitter, a geneticist at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, holds citrus seedlings that are used for gene editing research at the University of Florida in Lake Alfred, Fla., on Sept. 27, 2018. Gene-editing tools, with names like CRISPR and TALEN, promise to alter foods precisely, and cheaplywithout necessarily adding foreign DNA. Instead, they act like molecular scissors to alter the letters of an organism's own genetic alphabet. (AP Photo/Federica Narancio)

The biggest concern is what are called off-target edits, unintended changes to DNA that could affect a crop's nutritional value or an animal's health, said Jennifer Kuzma of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University.

Scientists are looking for any signs of problems. Take the hornless calves munching in a UC-Davis field. One is female and once it begins producing milk, Van Eenennaam will test how similar that milk's fat and protein composition is to milk from unaltered cows.

"We're kind of being overly cautious," she said, noting that if eating beef from naturally hornless Angus cattle is fine, milk from edited Holsteins should be, too.

But to Kuzma, companies will have to be up-front about how these new foods were made and the evidence that they're healthy. She wants regulators to decide case-by-case which changes are no big deal, and which might need more scrutiny.

"Most gene-edited plants and animals are probably going to be just fine to eat. But you're only going to do yourself a disservice in the long run if you hide behind the terminology," Kuzma said.

AVOIDING A BACKLASH

Uncertainty about regulatory and consumer reaction is creating some strange bedfellows. An industry-backed group of food makers and farmers asked university researchers and consumer advocates to help craft guidelines for "responsible use" of gene editing in the food supply.

"Clearly this coalition is in existence because of some of the battle scars from the GMO debates, there's no question about that," said Greg Jaffe of the food-safety watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest, who agreed to join the Center for Food Integrity's guidelines group. "There's clearly going to be questions raised about this technology."

In this July 11, 2018 photo, animal geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam of the University of California, Davis, points to a group of dairy calves that won't have to be de-horned thanks to gene editing. The calves are descended from a bull genetically altered to be hornless, and the company behind the work, Recombinetics, says gene-edited traits could ease animal suffering and improve productivity. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

SUSTAINABILITY OR HYPE?

Gene-editing can't do everything, cautioned Calyxt's Voytas. There are limitations to how much foods could be changed. Sure, scientists made wheat containing less gluten, but it's unlikely to ever be totally gluten-free for people who can't digest that protein, for exampleor to make, say, allergy-free peanuts.

Nor is it clear how easily companies will be able to edit different kinds of food, key to their profit.

Despite her concerns about adequate regulation, Kuzma expects about 20 gene-edited crops to hit the U.S. market over five yearsand she notes that scientists also are exploring changes to crops, like cassava, that are important in the poorest countries.

"We think it's going to really revolutionize the industry," she said.

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Houston's urban landscape directly contributed to the torrential rainfall and deadly flooding experienced during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, according to Princeton and University of Iowa researchers. The researchers report in the journal Nature Nov. 15 that Houston's risk for extreme flooding during the hurricanea category 4 storm that caused an estimated $125 billion in damage and killed 68 peoplewas 21 times greater due to urbanization.

Using computer models and weather data, the researchers recreated Hurricane Harvey and compared the total rainfall with urban buildup to total rainfall without urban buildup. The results indicate that human-made development helped create a wetter hurricaneone that dropped 40 to 60 inches of rain over four daysas well as more serious flooding, with higher flood peaks and greater overall damage.

The results highlight the human role in extreme weather events, as well as the need to consider urban and suburban development when calculating hurricane risk and preparing for hurricane damage and recovery, the authors said. The study also accentuates the need to understand the compounded human impact on rainfall and flooding caused by urbanization and climate change.

"Our focus on the role of urbanization was aimed at providing a fuller perspective of human activities on Harvey's rainfall and flooding," said co-author Gabriel Vecchi, a Princeton professor of geosciences and the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI). "Humans have influenced both climate, through greenhouse gas emissions, and the local environment around Houston through urbanization in ways that we thought could have affected rainfall and flooding from Harvey."

The researchers found that as Houston's urban center grew upward and outward, flood risk changed, including a greater risk of higher flood peaks and more serious and dangerous flooding overall. As the city's miles of impervious sidewalks and streets increased, heavy rainfall could not be absorbed into the ground.

"Given that hurricane winds and rainfall are projected to intensify in the future, and that urbanization along our coasts is also expected to continue to increase, our work highlights the need to understand the risks and to implement appropriate flood-mitigation strategies," said lead author Wei Zhang, an assistant research scientist at Iowa's IIHRHydroscience and Engineering research center.

Much of the scientific analysis that followed the 2017 hurricane season focused on the role of climateincluding the overall warming of the planetin determining a hurricane's physical strength and total amount of rainfall. The Princeton and Iowa researchers decided to take a different, but complementary, tack and looked at urbanization's possible role.

"Hurricane Havey's impacts on Houston highlight hazards to coastal cities along the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard of the United States," said co-author James Smith, a Princeton professor of civil and environmental engineering and PEI associated faculty. "An unfortunate repeat performance from Hurricane Florence this year underscores the problems of extreme tropical cyclone rainfall in urban settings."

The researchers experimented with different computer models to simulate Hurricane Harvey's rainfall in Houston, first looking at total rainfall with the city's current urban profile, then at rainfall for the same geographic area but with open fields and crops in place of streets and skyscrapers. They found that the non-urban areas received significantly less rainfall, and that rainfall patterns were significantly different than in the urban areas.

The reason was that "surface roughness" due to the presence of human-made structures create a "drag effect" on hurricanes. This effect occurs when high winds strike tall buildings, creating friction. In the case of Hurricane Harvey, winds shifted warm surface air farther up into the atmosphere, thereby creating an optimal situation for cloud formation and precipitation.

"When Hurricane Harvey blew into Houston, it literally got snagged on the city's tall skyscrapers and towers," said Gabriele Villarini, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of IIHR. "The friction caused by high winds buffeting tall buildings created a drag effect that influenced air and heat movement and resulted in optimal conditions for precipitation."

Using statistical models, the researchers also looked at year-over-year changes in flood peaks and compared them to rainfall amounts and population growth, a proxy for urbanization. They compared these results to flood peaks from the 1950s, a period that predates urban development in Houston, and again found a positive correlation between urban growth and increased flood risk.

"Urbanization is generally associated with a significant reduction in storm-water infiltration," Villarini said. "Houston has experienced one of the most impressive urban-development booms in U.S. history, and with growth comes an increase in impervious surfaces. This increase in urbanization, combined with the region's flat clay terrain, represents a very problematic mix, even with flood-mitigation measures in place."

The researchers caution that failure to account for urban factors in terms of hurricane preparation could present serious and costly problems for coastal cities.

"While this research can't be extrapolated to every coastal urban area in the nation, it does highlight the unexpected costs of development," Villarini said. "For every new roadway poured and for every new high-rise erected, there is an increased risk for more adverse rainfall and flooding, and that's certainly something that city officials and residents should consider when they contemplate future growth."

The paper, "Urbanization exacerbated the rainfall and flooding caused by hurricane Harvey in Houston," was published Nov. 15 by Nature.

Explore further Federal report shows punch of last year's Hurricane Harvey

More information: Urbanization exacerbated the rainfall and flooding caused by hurricane Harvey in Houston, Nature (2018). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0676-z Journal information: Nature Urbanization exacerbated the rainfall and flooding caused by hurricane Harvey in Houston,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0676-z
Geomorphological and glaciological setting of Hiawatha Glacier, northwest Greenland. (A) Regional view of northwest Greenland. Inset map shows location relative to whole of Greenland. Magenta box identifies location of panels B-D. (B) 5-m ArcticDEM mosaic over eastern Inglefield Land. Colors are ice surface velocity. Blue line illustrates an active basal drainage path inferred from radargrams. (C) Hillshade surface relief based on the ArcticDEM mosaic which illustrates characteristics such as surface undulations. Dashed red lines are the outlines of the two subglacial paleo-channels. Blue lines are catchment outlines, i.e., solid blue line is subglacial and hatched is supraglacial. (D) Bed topography based on airborne radar sounding from 1997-2014 NASA data and 2016 AWI data. Black triangles represent elevated rim picks from the radargrams and the dark purple circles represent peaks in the central uplift. Hatched red lines are field measurements of the strike of ice-marginal bedrock structures. Black circles show location of the three glaciofluvial sediment. Credit: University of Kansas

A survey of ice in Greenland has uncovered evidence suggesting a kilometer-wide iron asteroid slammed into that island, perhaps as recently as 12,000 years ago during the end of the Pleistocene. The resulting 19-mile-wide impact crater has remained hidden under a half-mile-thick ice sheet until now. It recently was exposed by an ultra-wideband chirp radar system developed at the Center for the Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) headquartered at the University of Kansas.

The impact crater beneath the Hiawatha Glacier in remote northwest Greenland is detailed in a new paper in Science Advances published today.

It was identified with data collected between 1997 and 2014 by KU for NASA's Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment and Operation IceBridge, and supplemented with more data collected in May 2016 using the Multichannel Coherent Radar Depth Sounder (MCoRDS) developed at KU.

"We've collected lots of radar-sounding data over the last couple of decades, and glaciologists put these radar-sounding datasets together to produce maps of what Greenland is like underneath the ice," said co-author John Paden, courtesy associate professor of electrical engineering & computer science at KU and associate scientist at CReSIS. "Danish researchers were looking at the map and saw this big, craterlike depression under the ice sheet and looked at satellite imagery andbecause the crater is on edge of the ice sheetyou can see a circular pattern there as well. The two combined made a really strong case for this being an impact-crater site. Based on this discovery, a detailed radar survey was conducted in May 2016 using a new state-of-the-art radar designed and built by KU for the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany."

Photo illustration of the airplane during the survey, radar waves and the actual radar image. Credit: NASA

Paden, who helped develop the MCoRDS radar signal processing software, participated in low-altitude flights in a grid pattern over the impact crater to detail its dimensions.

"You can see the rounded structure at the edge of the ice sheet, especially when flying high enough," he said. "For the most part the crater isn't visible out the airplane window. It's funny that until now nobody thought, 'Hey, what's that semicircular feature there?' From the airplane it is subtle and hard to see unless you already know it's there. Using satellite imagery taken at a low sun angle that accentuates hills and valleys in the ice sheet's terrainyou can really see the circle of the whole crater in these images."

Video taken by University of Kansas researcher John Paden during a radar survey of the impact crater in Greenland. Credit: John Paden/University of Kansas

To confirm the satellite and radar findings, the research team performed subsequent ground-based studies of glaciofluvial sediment from the largest river draining the crater. The work showed the presence of "shocked quartz and other impact-related grains" that include glass. The research team believes these rocks and glassy grains are likely produced from impact melting of grains in the meta-sedimentary bedrock.

Work remains to determine with more precision the timing of the asteroid impact on Greenland. The authors write evidence "suggests that the Hiawatha impact crater formed during the Pleistocene, as this age is most consistent with inferences from presently available data." However, even this broad range in time remains "uncertain." Southwest of the crater, the team has found a region rich in possible debris ejected from the impact, which could help to narrow the date range.

An artists depiction of a possible impact into the Greenland Ice Sheet. The iron meteorite penetrated seven kilometers into the Earths crust, creating a crater that was initially 20 kilometers wide and collapsed within minutes into the final 31 kilometer crater we see today. Credit: Carl Toft

"There would have been debris projected into the atmosphere that would affect the climate and the potential for melting a lot of ice, so there could have been a sudden freshwater influx into the Nares Strait between Canada and Greenland that would have affected the ocean flow in that whole region," Paden said. "The evidence indicates that the impact probably happened after the Greenland Ice Sheet formed, but the research team is still working on the precise dating."

Other KU personnel involved in the research that revealed the impact crater include Rick Hale, Spahr Professor and chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and associate director of CReSIS; Carl Leuschen, associate professor of electrical engineering & computer science and director of CReSIS, and Fernando Rodriguez-Morales, courtesy assistant professor of electrical engineering & computer science. The KU researchers collaborated closely with colleagues from the University of Copenhagen and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany.

Map of the bedrock topography beneath the ice sheet and the ice-free land surrounding the Hiawatha impact crater. The structure is 31 kilometers wide, with a prominent rim surrounding the structure. In the central part of the impact structure, an area with elevated terrain is seen, which is typical for larger impact craters. Calculations show that in order to generate an impact crater of this size, the Earth was struck by a meteorite more than one kilometer wide. Credit: Natural History Museum of Denmark, Cryospheric Sciences Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

Paden said during the three years between the crater discovery and publication of the team's findings, it was gratifying and exciting to be part of the exclusive group of scientists that knew of the massive impact.

"It was really coolit was the kind of thing where I went home and told my kids about it," Paden said. "I said, 'Look at this! It's underneath the ice.' It's one of those fun moments. They were impressed. A lot of times, my research isn't that interesting to them, but this impact crater was something they could connect to."

Map of bedrock topography, but with the view towards the Nares Strait, the narrow sea that links Baffin Bay and the Arctic Ocean. Credit: Natural History Museum of Denmark, Cryospheric Sciences Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

Map of Greenland showing the location of the Hiawatha impact crater in Inglefield Land, along the northwest margin of the Greenland Ice sheet. Credit: The Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Explore further NASA support key to glacier mapping efforts

More information: K.H. Kjr el al., "A large impact crater beneath Hiawatha Glacier in northwest Greenland," Science Advances (2018). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar8173 , Journal information: Science Advances K.H. Kjr el al., "A large impact crater beneath Hiawatha Glacier in northwest Greenland,"(2018). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar8173 , advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaar8173
The Armillaria gallica fungus, which is growing in a forest on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, is at least 2,500 years old, weighs 400,000 kilograms and covers about 70 hectares. Credit: James B. Anderson

A giant individual of the fungus, Armillaria gallica, or honey mushroom, first studied 25 years ago by James B. Anderson, a professor emeritus of biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, is not only alive and well but is older and larger than Anderson originally estimated.

The fungus's cellular mutations may offer an interesting counterpoint to cancer cell growth, says Anderson, a specialist in fungal genetics, population biology and evolution.

"I assumed it would still be there nearly three decades on and realized it would be a great opportunity to study the dynamics of naturally occurring mutations in a cell population that is spatially organized," he says.

In 1992, Anderson and his colleagues estimated that the honey mushroom, which is growing in a forest on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, was 1,500 years old, weighed 100,000 kilograms and covered 15 hectares. Using current research and analytic techniques, Anderson took additional samples in between 2015 and 2017 and can say with confidence that the mushroom is at least 2,500 years old, weighs 400,000 kilograms and covers about 70 hectares.

"I view these estimates as the lower bound," Anderson says. "The fungus could actually be much older. However, we think we have circumscribed its entire dimensions, which wasn't the case in 1992."

Although A. gallica, like most fungi, produces mushrooms above ground, it also has a network of underground tendrils called the mycelium that keeps the fungus alive by searching for food sources. The mycelium feeds on soil or decaying plant matter. A. gallica's tendrils are organized into organs called rhizomorphs and, unlike other fungi, its rhizomorphs also seek out live wood as a source of nourishment. Armillaria can infect a live tree until it dies and then continues feeding on it afterward.

"It has a large role in decaying wood and in causing root disease," Anderson says.

Given major advances in genetic research techniques, Anderson was especially eager to sample the fungus and compare it to a reference genome to see whether variation had occurred over time and discern the extent of that variation. To do so, he needed a search strategy, and he turned to a former student-turned-professor, Myron L. Smith of Carleton University, and two other colleagues at Carleton, for the computational analysis.

Anderson, Smith and Professor Johann Bruhn from the University of Missouri-Columbia collected 245 samples during four visits to the site of the fungus over three years, "each of which led to many months of work in the lab," Anderson says.

He found that the mutation rate was very low and that even frequently occurring mutations "didn't have much of an impact on the fitness of the organism or on its appearance. What we think that tells us is that there must be some mechanism by which the fungus protects itself from mutations."

The researchers suspect that the fungi may localize mutations in areas where they couldn't cause much damage. "In Armillaria, this would mean that cells in the rhizomorph tip would retain the old DNA, whereas the subtending cells (committed to local, dead-end development) would receive the new DNA. In this way, the rhizomorph tips perpetuating the lineage would retain fewer mutations than cells committed to local differentiation," the researchers write in their article, published online in a preprint by bioRxiv.

Anderson believes it would be an interesting exercise to examine the DNA mechanisms at work in stable A. gallica and in cancer cells, which are highly unstable.

"It could be an interesting point of comparison," he says. "Cancer is so unstable, mutates at a high rate and is prone to genomic changes, while A. gallica is a very persistent organism with few mutations."

Anderson, who has since retired from U of T Mississauga, says it was the perfect note on which to end his formal career since "I was just doing what I love."

Explore further White rot fungi's size explained by breadth of gene families involved

More information: James B Anderson et al. Clonal evolution and genome stability in a 2,500-year-old fungal individual, bioRxiv, (2018). www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxi  0/04/377234.full.pdf James B Anderson et al. Clonal evolution and genome stability in a 2,500-year-old fungal individual,, (2018). DOI: 10.1101/377234
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diabetes Canada and JDRF Canada are working together to light the province blue in celebration of World Diabetes Day on November 14th.



November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, which is celebrated across the world as a month to educate and raise awareness about the disease. On November 14, 2018, millions of people around the world will mark United Nations (UN) World Diabetes Day, honouring the birthday of Dr. Frederick G. Banting (the Canadian co-discoverer of insulin) as part of an international campaign to raise public awareness about this chronic disease.

World Diabetes Day was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to the alarming rise of diabetes around the world. This day is celebrated worldwide in 160 countries and territories. Blue-lit public monuments and other lighting ceremonies on November 14th have long symbolized an international gesture of solidarity for diabetes awareness.

In Canada, Diabetes Canada and JDRF are key players leading National Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day awareness campaigns  both online and through grassroots events across the country.

Diabetes Canada is focusing on the prevention of type 2 diabetes, through educating the province around the lifestyle and genetic factors that are involved with the onset of type 2 diabetes. They will be hosting risk assessment stands in community centers across Vancouver in partnership with Cities Changing Diabetes and the City of Vancouver. To come speak to member of staff or a health care professional about your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, please drop by! A full list of the scheduled assessment centers is listed at www.diabetes.ca/wdd . We are also hosting a healthy banquet series for the South Asian and Chinese communities, to demonstrate that celebration meals can still have healthy alternatives. Please contact infobc@diabetes.ca for further information.

Whilst JDRF continues to build awareness about type 1 diabetes with its annual T1D Looks Like Me campaign throughout the month of November and encourages Canadians to share their pictures of blue-lit monuments in their cities on social media with the hashtag #T1DLooksLikeMe. In B.C., blue-lit sites include BC Place, Bloedel Conservatory, Whistler Creekside, Sails at Canada Place, Olympic Cauldron (VCC), District Makers (VCC) and the Legislature Building.

For more information about JDRFs National Diabetes Awareness Month fundraising campaign, please visit www.jdrf.ca/t1dlookslikeme. To find out more about World Diabetes Day visit www.worlddiabetesday.org to register your local awareness event and to see what people are doing around the world to celebrate.

About JDRF

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. JDRFs goal is to progressively remove the impact of type 1 diabetes from peoples lives until we achieve a world without this disease. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, regulatory influence, and a working plan to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure type 1 diabetes. JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of type 1 diabetes research. For more information, please visit www.jdrf.ca.

About Diabetes Canada

Diabetes Canada is the registered national charitable organization that supports those with all types of diabetes and is making the invisible epidemic of diabetes visible and urgent. Diabetes Canada partners with Canadians to End Diabetes through:

Resources for health-care professionals on best practices to care for people with diabetes;





Advocacy to governments, schools and workplaces;





Funding world-leading Canadian research to improve treatments and find a cure.

To donate and for more information, visit diabetes.ca or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).

Media contacts:

Soledad Vega

Manager, Marketing and Communications

JDRF Canada

647-459-7881

svega@jdrf.ca

Kathleen Powderley

Media Relations

Diabetes Canada

416-803-5597

Kathleen.powderley@diabetes.ca
Tata Group is said to be eyeing a stake in cash-strapped Jet Airways, which has seen millions of dollars wiped off its market capitalisation this year

Shares in India's second-largest airline Jet Airways jumped almost three percent Wednesday following reports that salt-to-steel conglomerate Tata Group might invest in it.

Tata is reviewing Jet's accounts with a view to potentially buying a stake, Bloomberg News reported, while on Tuesday the Mint daily said Tata's finance chief and Jet's chairman were leading the talks.

A spokesperson for Jet termed the reports "speculative in nature" in a statement to India's stock exchange. The cash-strapped firm was not immediately available for further comment.

After reporting a loss of $178 million for July-September, Jet on Monday announced it would cut flights on less profitable routes as part of a plan to reduce costs.

Tata already operates two airlinesVistara in partnership with Singapore Airlines and AirAsia India with AirAsia Group.

India's aviation sector is projected to become the world's third-largest by 2025.

But high oil prices, fierce competition, a weak rupee and price wars have hit the country's carriers including the largest airline by market share, IndiGo, and loss-making national carrier Air India.

India's passenger numbers have grown six-fold over the past decade with its middle-class taking advantage of better connectivity and cheaper flights.

In August, Jet hit a media maelstrom after failing to report its quarterly earnings and failing to pay its staffers.

Subsequently, CEO Vinay Dube released the earnings and announced a "comprehensive cost reduction programme" amounting to 20 billion rupees ($280 million) over the next two years.

Dube had also sought investments to help turn around the firm's fortunes, having seen millions of dollars wiped off its market capitalisation this year.

"Tata Group has a long-term interest in India's aviation sector and any potential investment in Jet Airways will only consolidate that position," Devesh Agarwal, editor of the Bangalore Aviation website, told AFP.

 2018 AFP
Credit: University of Manchester

Jodrell Bank is releasing audio recordings of a Soviet space mission from fifty years ago, just as the race to the moon was approaching the finish line.

On November 10th 1968, the Soviet Union launched Zond 6. Its mission was to loop around the moon and return to Earth safely. Although there was nobody on board, it was planned as a precursor to a crewed flight around the moon, racing to beat the American's Apollo 8 whose launch was scheduled for December 1968.

Throughout the space race, the astronomers at Jodrell Bank, led by Sir Bernard Lovell, had tracked both American and Russian spacecraft. Zond 6 was no different.

Professor Tim O'Brien, Associate Director Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, has been exploring Jodrell Bank's archive working towards the opening of a major new exhibition in early 2021.

"Amongst the many interesting documents in the archive, there are a number of audio recordings of the spacecraft signals picked up by the Lovell Telescope during this crucial period of human history."

In the newly released audio file, Sir Bernard narrates the flight of Zond 6, from 13th Nov to 17th Nov, when the spacecraft returned to Earth.

The recording opens with the beeps of the telemetry being received from the spacecraft followed by Lovell's unmistakeable voice:

Credit: University of Manchester

"This is Zond 6. This is the Russian probe Zond 6. November the fourteenth 1968. The time is 01:52 UT. The probe is about one hour's travel away from the moon."

The audio also includes a human voice speaking in Russian. A similar voice had been picked up by Jodrell Bank during the flight of Zond 5 in September 1968. It is thought to have been either a recorded message on the spacecraft, broadcast in order to test communications, or personnel on the ground relaying their voices via the spacecraft in training for a future crewed mission.

Tim: "I'd read about these voices but I'd never actually heard a recording or seen a transcript. I don't speak Russian, so I asked Kostya, one of my colleagues here in the School of Physics & Astronomy, if he would translate."

Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov, who shared the Nobel Prize in 2010 with Professor Sir Andre Geim for their work on graphene, was very happy to help. He provided a detailed transcript of what is thought to be simulated instrument readings: "It was definitely a great fun and honour simultaneously to transcribe and translate these records. Touching this great piece of history is thrilling. You almost travel back in time to the era of great space exploration."

Jodrell Bank archive audio recordings of a Soviet space mission from fifty years ago, just as the race to the Moon was approaching the finish line.On November 10th 1968, the Soviet Union launched Zond 6. Its mission was to loop around the Moon and return to Earth safely. Sir Bernard narrates the flight of Zond 6, from Nov. 13th to Nov. 17th, when the spacecraft returned to Earth Credit: The Jodrell Bank Observatory, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester

Zond 6 flew around the moon on 14 November 1968, reaching a closest approach of 2420 km. Unfortunately, during the return to Earth, the spacecraft depressurised, killing the biological specimens on board (thought to be similar to those carried on Zond 5, a payload including tortoises, worms and seeds). Then the parachutes failed and it crash landed, although photographs of the moon were retrieved from the wreckage.

This and other failures meant the Soviet Union were forced to delay a crewed flight. When Apollo 8 became the first piloted circumlunar mission in December of 1968, that signalled the end of their ambition to send cosmonauts to the moon.

Explore further Image: Apollo 7 crew trains to test technology for missions to the moon
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers from Australia, Indonesia, Italy and Denmark has learned more about Komodo dragons in their search to better understand reduced island dispersal in island species. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study of the world's largest lizard and what they found.

Prior research has shown that creatures that have evolved on islands are reluctant to disperse, which some have found ironic due to the very nature of their existencesome degree of willingness was required for their ancestors to migrate from their original homes. To better understand why island species are so reluctant to venture far from home, the researchers carried out a study of one such species, the Komodo dragon.

Komodo dragons live in Indonesia, on the islands of Flores, Komodo, Rinca Padar and Gili Motang. They have strong legs and can grow to be 10 feet in length. But they do not like to travel. The researchers with this new effort found that they rarely if ever venture out of the valleys in which they were born.

To better understand their reluctance to travel, the researchers studied them for 10 years on all four islands. As part of their observations, they also subjected several specimens to testssome were transported to distant locales, for example. Such testing showed that the lizards were capable of travelingone walked back 13.7 miles to its home after being carted to a different site. They can swim quite a distance, as wellone was carried to another island and swam back. The researchers report that every single time they moved one of the lizards, it made its way back home.

Unfortunately, long-term observation of the lizards offered no explanation regarding their reluctance to travel. This proclivity, the researchers found, actually causes harm to the lizards. Their unwillingness to travel puts them at risk of inbreeding, and at times food is hard to come by due to competition among groups.

The researchers suggest the reluctance to migrate is possibly due to the nature of island livingmoving could carry unknown risks, such as having to deal with predators, finding food or even a mate.

Explore further Komodo dragon attacks tourist in Indonesia

More information: Tim S. Jessop et al. Exploring mechanisms and origins of reduced dispersal in island Komodo dragons, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Tim S. Jessop et al. Exploring mechanisms and origins of reduced dispersal in island Komodo dragons,(2018). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1829

Provided by Science X Network

 2018 Science X Network
After a comprehensive review of their scientific merits and technical status, the SPC has decided to extend the operation of the five missions led by ESA's Science Programme: Cluster, Gaia, INTEGRAL, Mars Express, and XMM-Newton. The SPC also confirmed the Agency's contributions to the extended operations of Hinode, Hubble, IRIS, SOHO, and ExoMars TGO.

This includes the confirmation of operations for the 20192020 cycle for missions that had been given indicative extensions as part of the previous extension process, and indicative extensions for an additional two years, up to 2022.

The decision was taken during the SPC meeting at ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre near Madrid, Spain, on 14 November.

ESA's science missions have unique capabilities and are prolific in their scientific output. Cluster, for example, is the only mission that, by varying the separation between its four spacecraft, allows multipoint measurements of the magnetosphere in different regions and at different scales, while Gaia is performing the most precise astrometric survey ever realised, enabling unprecedented studies of the distribution and motions of stars in the Milky Way and beyond.

Many of the science missions are proving to be of great value to pursue investigations that were not foreseen at the time of their launch. Examples include the role of INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton in the follow-up of recent gravitational wave detections, paving the way for the future of multi-messenger astronomy, and the many discoveries of diverse exoplanets by Hubble.

Collaboration between missions, including those led by partner agencies, is also of great importance. The interplay between solar missions like Hinode, IRIS and SOHO provides an extensive suite of complementary instruments to study our Sun; meanwhile, Mars Express and ExoMars TGO are at the forefront of the international fleet investigating the Red Planet.

Another compelling factor to support the extension is the introduction of new modes of operation to accommodate the evolving needs of the scientific community, as well as new opportunities for scientists to get involved with the missions.

Every two years, all missions whose approved operations end within the following four years are subject to review by the advisory structure of the Science Directorate. Extensions are granted to missions that satisfy the established criteria for operational status and science return, subject to the level of financial resources available in the science programme. These extensions are valid for the following four years, subject to a mid-term review and confirmation after two years.
Credit: Leiden University

Soil salinity is affecting large areas in the world and millions of farmers are faced with decreasing yields and many are even forced to migrate. Dutch scientists (Prof Dr. Gerrit van Straten (Wageningen University), Prof. Dr. Peter van Bodegom (Leiden University), Prof. Dr. Jelte Rozema (VU University Amsterdam), Dr. Arjen de Vos (Salt Farm Texel) and Dr. Bas Bruning (Salt Farm Texel, Salt Farm Foundation)) introduce an improved methodology to evaluate crop salt tolerance, that can alleviate and overcome many of the causes of the inconsistent data.

Soil salinity is affecting large areas in the world and millions of farmers are faced with decreasing yields and many are even forced to migrate. In coastal Bangladesh alone, 27 million people may need to migrate by 2050 due to increasing salinity. Salt tolerant crops can help these farmers to increase their yields and provide a good livelihood in salt affected areas. One of the problems is that crop salt tolerance is a complex matter and numerous publications show great differences in reported salt tolerance levels between crops, between (similar) varieties, and between locations or years. This inconsistent data is holding back the development of salt tolerant crops and saline agriculture in the field.

Now, Dutch scientists (Prof Dr. Gerrit van Straten (Wageningen University), Prof. Dr. Peter van Bodegom (Leiden University), Prof. Dr. Jelte Rozema (VU University Amsterdam), Dr. Arjen de Vos (Salt Farm Texel) and Dr. Bas Bruning (Salt Farm Texel, Salt Farm Foundation)) introduce an improved methodology to evaluate crop salt tolerance, that can alleviate and overcome many of the causes of the inconsistent data. In short, the article provides a robust methodology and focusses on a new parameter to determine the level of salt tolerance, the ECe90, or the salinity level at which 90 percent yield is reached. This method is solid and can be a new generic basis for reliable assessment of the cultivation potential of varieties and crops on salt-affected soils.

The results also show that the potato variety in the study is moderately tolerant rather than the common believe that potato is moderately salt sensitive. This makes this potato variety suitable for cultivation under saline conditions in many areas worldwide. A robust and uniform approach to evaluate crop salt tolerance can be the starting point for the development of new salt tolerant crop varieties that can help millions of farmers and contribute to global food security and zero hunger.

Explore further Plant growth-promoting bacteria enhance plant salinity tolerance
Bottlenose dolphins of Bunbury, Western Australia. Credit: Delphine Chabanne, Murdoch University

An analysis of dolphin genes has revealed information about their past migrations, showing just how crucial migrants might be for other populations.

A new study by an international team of researchers found that one Western Australian dolphin population was once an important source of migrants  that is, dolphins that support nearby populations.

The researchers analysed the genetic variants in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) to find out about past dolphin migration.

"These dolphin migrants from Bunbury were likely important in supporting the stability of nearby populations," says lead author Dr. Oliver Manlik, Conjoint Associate Lecturer at UNSW Sydney, who is also an assistant professor at the United Arab Emirates University.

"Dolphins have no borders, and persistence of animal populations often depends on a 'rescue effect', a scenario in which a declining population is 'rescued' from extinction by immigrants from other populations," he explains.

That's why it is important for scientists to identify 'source' populations, populations from which individuals emigrate, and 'sink' populations who receive the migrants.

"These coastal dolphins do not go on any migration 'journeys', like some whales and offshore dolphins do," Dr. Manlik says.

"Rather, they disperse, which means that some dolphins move from one population to another and reproduce with individuals of the other population, and leave their offspring and genes behindthat's how we detected this pattern."

Worryingly, a previous study had shown that the Bunbury dolphin population may decline because they were not producing enough offspring.

"If that is now true, then the Bunbury dolphins may no longer be able to continue supplying emigrants to support other populations, putting these other dolphin populations at risk as well," explains Dr. Manlik.

The previous study also showed that reproduction is key to the persistence of the Bunbury population, and, if undisturbed, it is possible that the Bunbury dolphins produce more offspring again.

"In that case, the Bunbury population might be OK, and will be able to support its neighbouring populations again," Dr. Manlik says.

Dr. Delphine Chabanne of Murdoch University, a co-author on the study, has been studying these dolphins in Australia for more than a decade.

"For the conservation of these dolphin populations, it is important to monitor them closely, and in particular, to keep a close eye on the reproduction of the Bunbury dolphins," she says.

Co-author Professor Bill Sherwin from UNSW adds: "Genes are information. They can tell us whether populations are isolated or connected, and shed light on migration patterns of the past  important information for wildlife conservation.

"We now know that we need to focus on the Bunbury dolphins, and especially on their reproductive rates, to protect several dolphin populations."

The new study, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, is an illustration of how modern genetics can use information from genes to gain a glimpse into the past, unravelling past migration patterns of animals, and therefore help inform the future.

Explore further Dolphin and bear studies pave the way to improved population forecasting

More information: Oliver Manlik et al. Demography and genetics suggest reversal of dolphin source-sink dynamics, with implications for conservation, Marine Mammal Science (2018). Oliver Manlik et al. Demography and genetics suggest reversal of dolphin source-sink dynamics, with implications for conservation,(2018). DOI: 10.1111/mms.12555 Oliver Manlik et al. The relative importance of reproduction and survival for the conservation of two dolphin populations, Ecology and Evolution (2016). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2130 Journal information: Marine Mammal Science , Ecology and Evolution
An artist's concept of interstellar asteroid 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua) as it passed through the solar system after its discovery in October 2017. Observations of 'Oumuamua indicate that it must be very elongated because of its dramatic variations in brightness as it tumbled through space. Credit: European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser

In November 2017, scientists pointed NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope toward the object known as 'Oumuamuathe first known interstellar object to visit our solar system. The infrared Spitzer was one of many telescopes pointed at 'Oumuamua in the weeks after its discovery that October.

'Oumuamua was too faint for Spitzer to detect when it looked more than two months after the object's closest aproach to Earth in early September. However, the "non-detection" puts a new limit on how large the strange object can be. The results are reported in a new study published today in the Astronomical Journal and coauthored by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The new size limit is consistent with the findings of a research paper published earlier this year, which suggested that outgassing was responsible for the slight changes in 'Oumuamua's speed and direction as it was tracked last year: The authors of that paper conclude the expelled gas acted like a small thruster gently pushing the object. That determination was dependent on 'Oumuamua being relatively smaller than typical solar system comets. (The conclusion that 'Oumuamua experienced outgassing suggested that it was composed of frozen gases, similar to a comet.)

"'Oumuamua has been full of surprises from day one, so we were eager to see what Spitzer might show," said David Trilling, lead author on the new study and a professor of astronomy at Northern Arizona University. "The fact that 'Oumuamua was too small for Spitzer to detect is actually a very valuable result."

'Oumuamua was first detected by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Haleakala, Hawaii (the object's name is a Hawaiian word meaning "visitor from afar arriving first"), in October 2017 while the telescope was surveying for near-Earth asteroids.

Subsequent detailed observations conducted by multiple ground-based telescopes and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope detected the sunlight reflected off 'Oumuamua's surface. Large variations in the object's brightness suggested that 'Oumuamua is highly elongated and probably less than half a mile (2,600 feet, or 800 meters) in its longest dimension.

But Spitzer tracks asteroids and comets using the infrared energy, or heat, that they radiate, which can provide more specific information about an object's size than optical observations of reflected sunlight alone would.

Scientists have concluded that vents on the surface of 'Oumuamua must have emitted jets of gases, giving the object a slight boost in speed, which researchers detected by measuring the position of the object as it passed by Earth in 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The fact that 'Oumuamua was too faint for Spitzer to detect sets a limit on the object's total surface area. However, since the non-detection can't be used to infer shape, the size limits are presented as what 'Oumuamua's diameter would be if it were spherical. Using three separate models that make slightly different assumptions about the object's composition, Spitzer's non-detection limited 'Oumuamua's "spherical diameter" to 1,440 feet (440 meters), 460 feet (140 meters) or perhaps as little as 320 feet (100 meters). The wide range of results stems from the assumptions about 'Oumuamua's composition, which influences how visible (or faint) it would appear to Spitzer were it a particular size.

Small but Reflective

The new study also suggests that 'Oumuamua may be up to 10 times more reflective than the comets that reside in our solar systema surprising result, according to the paper's authors. Because infrared light is largely heat radiation produced by "warm" objects, it can be used to determine the temperature of a comet or asteroid; in turn, this can be used to determine the reflectivity of the object's surfacewhat scientists call albedo. Just as a dark T-shirt in sunlight heats up more quickly than a light one, an object with low reflectivity retains more heat than an object with high reflectivity. So a lower temperature means a higher albedo.

A comet's albedo can change throughout its lifetime. When it passes close to the Sun, a comet's ice warms and turns directly into a gas, sweeping dust and dirt off the comet's surface and revealing more reflective ice.

'Oumuamua had been traveling through interstellar space for millions of years, far from any star that could refresh its surface. But it may have had its surface refreshed through such "outgassing" when it made an extremely close approach to our Sun, a little more than five weeks before it was discovered. In addition to sweeping away dust and dirt, some of the released gas may have covered the surface of 'Oumuamua with a reflective coat of ice and snowa phenomenon that's also been observed in comets in our solar system.

'Oumuamua is on its way out of our solar systemalmost as far from the Sun as Saturn's orbitand is well beyond the reach of any existing telescopes.

"Usually, if we get a measurement from a comet that's kind of weird, we go back and measure it again until we understand what we're seeing," said Davide Farnocchia, of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at JPL and a coauthor on both papers. "But this one is gone forever; we probably know as much about it as we're ever going to know."

Explore further 'Oumuamua one year later

More information: David E. Trilling et al. Spitzer Observations of Interstellar Object 1I/'Oumuamua, The Astronomical Journal (2018). Journal information: Astronomical Journal David E. Trilling et al. Spitzer Observations of Interstellar Object 1I/'Oumuamua,(2018). DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aae88f
The Bochum research team: Julian Szczesny, Nikola Markovic, Felipe Conzuelo, Wolfgang Schuhmann and Adrian Ruff (from left). Credit: RUB, Marquard

Fuel cells that work with the enzyme hydrogenase are, in principle, just as efficient as those that contain the expensive precious metal platinum as a catalyst. However, the enzymes need an aqueous environment, which makes it difficult for the starting material for the reaction  hydrogen  to reach the enzyme-loaded electrode. Researchers solved this problem by combining previously developed concepts for packaging the enzymes with gas diffusion electrode technology. The system developed in this way achieved significantly higher current densities than previously achieved with hydrogenase fuel cells.

In the journal Nature Communications, a team from the Center for Electrochemical Sciences at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion in Mulheim an der Ruhr and the University of Lisbon, describes how they developed and tested the electrodes. The article was published on 9 November 2018.

Advantages and disadvantages of gas diffusion electrodes

Gas diffusion electrodes can efficiently transport gaseous raw materials for a chemical reaction to the electrode surface with the catalyst. They have already been tested in various systems, but the catalyst was electrically wired directly to the electrode surface. "In this type of system, only a single layer of enzyme can be applied to the electrode, which limits the flow of current," says Bochum chemist Dr. Adrian Ruff, describing a disadvantage. In addition, the enzymes were not protected from harmful environmental influences. In the case of hydrogenase, however, this is necessary because it is unstable in the presence of oxygen.

Redox polymer as an oxygen protection shield

In recent years, the chemists from the Center for Electrochemical Sciences in Bochum have developed a redox polymer in which they can embed hydrogenases and protect them from oxygen. Previously, however, they had only tested this polymer matrix on flat electrodes, not on porous three-dimensional structures such as those employed in gas diffusion electrodes.

The researchers carried out biofuel cell tests in this electrochemical cell. Credit: RUB, Marquard

"The porous structures offer a large surface area and thus enable a high enzyme load," says Professor Wolfgang Schuhmann, Head of the Center for Electrochemical Sciences. "But it was not clear whether the oxygen protection shield on these structures would work and whether the system would then still be gas-permeable."

Applying enzymes to electrodes

One of the problems with the manufacturing process is that the electrodes are hydrophobic, i.e. water-repellent, while the enzymes are hydrophilic, i.e. water-friendly. The two surfaces therefore tend to repel each other. For this reason, the researchers first applied an adhesive yet electron transferring layer to the electrode surface, onto which they then applied the polymer matrix with the enzyme in a second step. "We specifically synthesised a polymer matrix with an optimal balance of hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties," explains Adrian Ruff. "This was the only way to achieve stable films with good catalyst loading."

The electrodes constructed in this way were still permeable to gas. The tests also showed that the polymer matrix also functions as an oxygen shield for porous three-dimensional electrodes. The scientists used the system to achieve a current density of eight milliamperes per square centimetre. Earlier bioanodes with polymer and hydrogenase only reached one milliampere per square centimetre.

Functional biofuel cell

The team combined the bioanode described above with a biocathode and showed that a functional fuel cell can be produced in this way. It achieved a power density of up to 3.6 milliwatts per square centimetre and an open circuit voltage of 1.13 volts, which is just below the theoretical maximum of 1.23 volts.

Explore further A protective shield for sensitive enzymes in biofuel cells

More information: Julian Szczesny et al. A gas breathing hydrogen/air biofuel cell comprising a redox polymer/hydrogenase-based bioanode, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications Julian Szczesny et al. A gas breathing hydrogen/air biofuel cell comprising a redox polymer/hydrogenase-based bioanode,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07137-6
Fig.1: Overview of the privacy-preserving framework for image recognition services. Credit: Osaka University

From just a quick snapshot on a smartphone, image recognition technology can provide a wealth of information to help shoppers find in-store bargains and inform tourists of the name of a landmark. But these photos may be giving away more information about users' preferences and tendencies than they want to share.

Researchers at Osaka University have proposed an encryption-free framework for preserving users' privacy when they use photo-based information services.

Artificial intelligence, such as deep learning, has dramatically improved the performance of image recognition. Users can send a photo to a server, which identifies the content using an image recognizer and returns relevant information. This is advantageous to shoppers, tourists, and others, but the results can disclose private information, such as a user's current location. The server can also use identifiers from the smartphone to link current results with past results to build a location history that contains even more private information: "Photos reflect private aspects of their owner, such as interests, preferences, and tendencies," explains co-author Naoko Nitta, "which can be leaked by web-based image recognition services. To address this problem, we developed an encryption-free framework for privacy-preserving image recognition called EnfPire."

To use the framework, the user extracts a feature from the photo. EnfPire transforms the feature before it's sent to the server. Because the server cannot uniquely identify the transformed image, it returns a set of candidates to the user, who compares them with the original feature using a simple recognizer. "With our framework, the provider of the photo-recognition services is unable to receive enough information for unique image recognition, while the user obtains the correct recognition result and its related service information," says lead author Kazuaki Nakamura.

Fig.2: Example of image recognition services that can leak users privacy information about their private aspects such as interests, preferences, and tendencies. Credit: Osaka University

EnfPire successfully abstracts location information, but this is not sufficient to protect the user's history, which could still be approximated from geographical relationships between results. So, the research team proposed a countermeasure by which dummy requests are automatically sent from the smartphone to the server, which returns results based on the dummy requests that are automatically removed from the device without the user being aware of the process. The dummy features are chosen carefully so that the server does not identify them as such.

In real-world experiments, EnfPire degraded the server's recognition accuracy from 99.8 percent to 41.4 percent, but the user's accuracy was 86.9 percent. "We expect this framework to make a major contribution to research, development, and application of safe and secure artificial intelligence," adds senior author Noboru Babaguchi.

More information: Kazuaki Nakamura et al. Encryption-Free Framework of Privacy-Preserving Image Recognition for Photo-Based Information Services, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (2018). Kazuaki Nakamura et al. Encryption-Free Framework of Privacy-Preserving Image Recognition for Photo-Based Information Services,(2018). DOI: 10.1109/TIFS.2018.2876752
The fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, generated political and media backlash that continues to erode law enforcement legitimacy today. As a result, the Taskforce on Twenty-first Century Policing was mandated to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

A key recommendation from the taskforce was to equip police departments with body-worn cameras and commit to purchasing 50,000 cameras for police officers nationwide. To date, between 4,000 and 6,000 body-worn cameras have been adopted by the nearly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S., and these numbers are expected to rise considerably in the coming years.

Body-worn cameras are believed to increase law enforcement transparency and accountability, and by proxy restore law enforcement legitimacy. But are they really a game-changer in contemporary policing? There are many claims about the perceived benefits and drawbacks of body-worn cameras, which stem from the media and public opinion. There also is extensive discussion about the potential existence of a so-called "Ferguson Effect," which is long on anecdotes but short on data. Furthermore, research is sparse on the experiences and attitudes of law enforcement officers in response to the growing demand for this technology.

To address this knowledge gap, a study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University and the University of the West of Scotland, is the first to use ethnographic or qualitative research to provide deeper insight into law enforcement officers' personal experiences with and perspectives on body-worn cameras. The study, published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, illustrates police officers' perspectives on one of the most overt strategic changes to modern American policing.

Results of the study reveal that overwhelmingly, body-worn cameras have prompted a new consciousness in law enforcement, and according to one police officer, "have compelled changes in officer behaviors." While the researchers found an increased conceptual awareness of procedural justice, they also found a reduction in police morale and an emphasis on proactive policing strategies. They note that Ferguson often is drawn upon as a reference point among police officers.

"It is clear that police officers are grappling to understand and come to terms with their diminished role, and declining levels of public respect and cooperation," said Seth Wyatt Fallik, Ph.D., lead author and an assistant professor in FAU's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice within the College for Design and Social Inquiry. "Solutions for healing the rift between police and citizens should not solely be the responsibility of police."

The study is based on a long and deep immersion in the field in two counties in a Southern U.S. state as a means of generating insider knowledge. Both counties fully deployed body-worn cameras in early 2016. Field observations included ride-alongs, covert surveillance work, pre-deployment briefings, and rest breaks with officers and sheriff's deputies of various ranks and responsibilities. In addition to adopting the "participant as observer" role, field experiences were probed with in-depth semi-structured interviews. Questions focused on the impact of officer confidence, morale, and policing strategies in the post-Ferguson era.

"Being accepted by the study participants prompted our formal and informal dialogs and allowed the police officers to share their body-worn camera insights without repercussion," said Ross Deuchar, Ph.D., co-author and an affiliate professor in FAU's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and a professor and assistant dean at the University of the West of Scotland, who conducted the four-month field work as a visiting Fulbright Scholar at FAU. "Officers were under no obligation to participate in the study and couldwithout penaltywithdraw their consent to be included in these analyses at any time."

Deuchar observed citizen behavior through car windows, engaged in informal dialog with local people on the streets, visited people's homes to respond to local reported crime issues, and even wore a police ballistic vest. During this time, he also routinely observed officer behavior and listened to officer dialog with other officers and with citizens.

In general, the study shows that police officers' perceptions of body-worn cameras were positive. Officers believe that the cameras protect them like an "extra set of eyes" and provide a better idea of what really happens during their public encounters, offering a more complete narrative of what actually transpired when the facts of an incident are contested. Among their concerns are that the body-worn cameras restrain their work and will not overcome public attitudes toward police and public bias against police officers. Most of the officers felt that focusing on a few rogue cops and playing negative images across multiple news cycles do little to improve public perception of the police.

Other results of the study show that body-worn cameras also prompted changes in citizens' behaviors and resulted in reduced numbers of complaints levied against the police because they knew that the officers were wearing cameras. Regarding the use of force, the researchers note that Taser use also declined with the adoption of body-worn cameras. Collectively, police officers believe that body-worn cameras have the ability to foster a culture of accountability for law enforcement as well as citizens.

"One of the interesting aspects from our study is that during the interviews many of the officers went out of their way to report that most law enforcement officers are good or are doing the right thing," said Vaughn J. Crichlow, Ph.D., co-author and an assistant professor in FAU's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. "One detective even told us that he believed that 'no good cop should fear a camera.'"

Explore further Study reveals public perception of police and body-worn cameras

More information: Seth Wyatt Fallik et al, Body-Worn Cameras in the Post-Ferguson Era: An Exploration of Law Enforcement Perspectives, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology (2018). Seth Wyatt Fallik et al, Body-Worn Cameras in the Post-Ferguson Era: An Exploration of Law Enforcement Perspectives,(2018). DOI: 10.1007/s11896-018-9300-2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- O2 Investment Partners (www.o2investment.com) announced today that it has partnered with Dick Corbett, Brian DeWolf and the team at Vessco Inc. (www.vessco.com), a leading water treatment company serving municipal and industrial markets.



Pat Corden, Vice President at O2 Investment Partners, commented, Dick Corbett and Brian DeWolf have built Vessco into the leading supplier of water and wastewater treatment technology in the Midwest. We are thrilled to partner with them and look forward to supporting them as they continue to build on the companys impressive history.

Vessco is the only company in the Upper Midwest to offer a full suite of products covering the entire spectrum of water and wastewater treatment. Over the past 35 years, the company has built a reputation for representing the best equipment and overall solution including initial consultation, design partnering, installation assistance, field service and parts delivery. Vessco is headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota (Metro-Minneapolis) with additional offices in Ames, Iowa, Council Bluffs, Iowa and Independence, Missouri.

Vessco has grown into one of the premier suppliers of water and wastewater treatment technology in the Midwest and Central U.S. by building on our reputation of stellar customer service throughout the entire water treatment project, said Dick Corbett, CEO of Vessco. Brian DeWolf, President of Vessco, added, Our company is in a tremendous position to scale, and were confident O2 is the right partner to help support us in achieving our goals for the future. We look forward to an incredible partnership with O2.

About O2 Investment Partners: O2 Investment Partners is a Midwestern based private equity firm that seeks to acquire interest in lower middle market manufacturing, niche distribution, and select service and technology businesses. The firm invests in businesses with earnings growth potential and a clear path to the creation of shareholder value.

O2 invests with a view toward partnering with management to build and grow the business and take it to its next stage of development. This requires not only a clear vision and strategic plan to create shareholder value, but a close partnership and alignment of interest with management.

One of Michigans most active private equity firms, O2 was recently the proud recipient of ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) Detroits 2017 All Star Dealmaker of the Year Award. Vessco represents O2s third platform investment in 2018.

About Vessco: Vessco is a multifaceted water treatment company providing value-added distribution and engineering services for municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment projects, primarily in the upper Midwest and central United States. The Company implements a highly technical sale process that requires a consultative, engineering-centric approach. This effort is supported by Vesscos outstanding reputation as industry experts with its over 3,500 past customers. Vessco is headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

Additional information is available at www.o2investment.com; www.vessco.com
Dr Michael Warne taking water samples in the field. Credit: University of Queensland

Environmental water quality is set to improve in Australia and New Zealand thanks to research transforming water quality guidelines.

The University of Queensland has been part of collaborative research effort to develop a new method to help set the maximum acceptable concentration of chemicals in waterways.

UQ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences researcher Dr Michael Warne said the work, which would help protect aquatic ecosystems, was part of a revision of the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality.

"Australia and New Zealand are leading the way with our new guidelines incorporating scientific developments since the year 2000, when they were last updated," he said.

"We can now be much more confident that our waterway ecosystems will be protected.

"The new method is helping develop guidelines for approximately 60 high-priority chemicals, particularly pesticides, metals, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

"This means we can continue to make sure our waterways aren't toxic to the thousands of species, from fish to microalgae, that we share these resources with."

Dr Warne said his decades of work to clean Australia's waterways was inspired by the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.

"It made me realise the importance of water quality to ecosystem health and the harmful effects of pesticides," he said.

"When I learned about the USA water quality criteria for chemicals in water it suddenly clicked  by working in this space I could help protect aquatic ecosystems."

Dr Warne said there was still room for improvement.

"These guidelines are designed to protect organisms from the effects of individual chemicals, but organisms are generally exposed to mixtures of different chemicals," he said.

"I'm now focusing my research, along with my colleagues from DES, on developing a method to estimate the effects of mixtures of chemicals.

"There's simply no room for complacency, particularly with issues like the quality of water discharged on the Great Barrier Reef and the water quality in many urban waterways.

"We need to keep working towards better water quality, for not only our own sake, but for the life that thrives in our waterways."

Explore further Toxic chemical cocktails: scientists want safety overhaul
New project will use robots to monitor the condition of sewers. The robots risk meeting a little of everything down below. Credit: Aarhus Water

In the future the country's sewer systems will be inhabited by surveillance robots. Using robots, big data and artificial intelligence (AI), a new Danish research project will save hundreds of millions of kroner on maintaining sewers.

Lack of knowledge about sewer pipes means that Danish water suppliers must replace pipes long before expected. Even a small improvement in the service life of pipes can mean a savings in the three-digit millions; that is the ambition of a new joint research project that includes Aalborg University (AAU), water suppliers and technology companies, funded by Innovation Fund Denmark.

One of the most expensive infrastructures in Denmark lies beneath the ground. Today, the Danish water suppliers that own and are responsible for the sewer networks use manual TV inspection to examine the condition of sewer pipes.

"The latest computer vision and AI algorithms we are researching enable the automation of complex tasks. Based on our experience from other research projects, we expect to be able to automatically find errors in the sewer network based on the sensor data that the new robot will deliver," says Thomas Moeslund, Professor at Aalborg University.

Water suppliers do not have the capability to constantly monitor all sewer lines; this means that wear and damage to a pipe are not detected before they become very critical and the pipe must be replaced. The vision is that monitoring sewers with robots be done automatically, and that water suppliers will only have to intervene right before a pipe needs renovation or replacement.

New project will use robots to monitor the condition of sewers. The robots risk meeting a little of everything down below. Credit: Aarhus Water

Potential for an export adventure

The goal of the project is to automate the entire inspection process. Robots must be put down in the sewers to collect data on the pipes, and computer algorithms will then analyse the data to find irregularities in the pipes.

The main objective is to minimize the costs to water suppliers on their sewage networks, but in addition, the project can also lead to increased profits from exports for the companies involved because sewage networks the world over are experiencing the same challenges as Denmark.

New project will use robots to monitor the condition of sewers. The robots risk meeting a little of everything down below. Credit: Aarhus Water

"With this project, sewer systems will be more transparent because we are using the latest research and technology to gather data and then analyse this data. The savings potential for Danish water suppliers is big. Then bearing in mind that the problem is the same throughout the entire world, the potential is enormous," says Jens Peder Kristensen, CEO of TinyMobileRobots ApS.

Research and intensive testing are necessary in order to achieve the goal. With the investment by Innovation Fund Denmark, the project partners will have the opportunity to do research and testing that ultimately will show that Denmark is in the absolute elite in high-tech product development.

The project partners have extensive experience in their respective fields, and will jointly put together a product with some of the most promising technologies being worked with and studied.

Aalborg University and the University of Southern Denmark's vast experience and knowledge in computer vision and robotics will help businesses develop a high-tech solution that can work and be sold on the commercial market.

New project will use robots to monitor the condition of sewers. The robots risk meeting a little of everything down below. Credit: Aarhus Water

New project will use robots to monitor the condition of sewers. The robots risk meeting a little of everything down below. Credit: Aarhus Water

Explore further How to tell when a sewage pipe needs repairbefore it bursts
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Slow-motion collisions of tectonic plates under the ocean drag about three times more water down into the deep Earth than previously estimated, according to a first-of-its-kind seismic study that spans the Mariana Trench.

The observations from the deepest ocean trench in the world have important implications for the global water cycle, according to researchers in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

"People knew that subduction zones could bring down water, but they didn't know how much water," said Chen Cai, who recently completed his doctoral studies at Washington University. Cai is the first author of the study published in the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Nature.

"This research shows that subduction zones move far more water into Earth's deep interiormany miles below the surfacethan previously thought," said Candace Major, a program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the study. "The results highlight the important role of subduction zones in Earth's water cycle."

"Previous estimates vary widely in the amount of water that is subducted deeper than 60 miles," said Doug Wiens, the Robert S. Brookings Distinguished Professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences and Cai's research advisor for the study. "The main source of uncertainty in these calculations was the initial water content of the subducting uppermost mantle."

To conduct this study, researchers listened to more than one year's worth of Earth's rumblingsfrom ambient noise to actual earthquakesusing a network of 19 passive, ocean-bottom seismographs deployed across the Mariana Trench, along with seven island-based seismographs. The trench is where the western Pacific Ocean plate slides beneath the Mariana plate and sinks deep into the Earth's mantle as the plates slowly converge.

The new seismic observations paint a more nuanced picture of the Pacific plate bending into the trenchresolving its three-dimensional structure and tracking the relative speeds of types of rock that have different capabilities for holding water.

Rock can grab and hold onto water in a variety of ways.

Ocean water atop the plate runs down into the Earth's crust and upper mantle along the fault lines that lace the area where plates collide and bend. Then it gets trapped. Under certain temperature and pressure conditions, chemical reactions force the water into a non-liquid form as hydrous mineralswet rockslocking the water into the rock in the geologic plate. All the while, the plate continues to crawl ever deeper into the Earth's mantle, bringing the water along with it.

Previous studies at subduction zones like the Mariana Trench have noted that the subducting plate could hold water. But they could not determine how much water it held and how deep it went.

"Previous conventions were based on active source studies, which can only show the top 3-4 miles into the incoming plate," Cai said.

He was referring to a type of seismic study that uses sound waves created with the blast of an air gun from aboard an ocean research vessel to create an image of the subsurface rock structure.

"They could not be very precise about how thick it is, or how hydrated it is," Cai said. "Our study tried to constrain that. If water can penetrate deeper into the plate, it can stay there and be brought down to deeper depths."

The seismic images that Cai and Wiens obtained show that the area of hydrated rock at the Mariana Trench extends almost 20 miles beneath the seafloormuch deeper than previously thought.

The amount of water that can be held in this block of hydrated rock is considerable.

For the Mariana Trench region alone, four times more water subducts than previously calculated. These features can be extrapolated to predict the conditions under other ocean trenches worldwide.

"If other old, cold subducting slabs contain similarly thick layers of hydrous mantle, then estimates of the global water flux into the mantle at depths greater than 60 miles must be increased by a factor of about three," Wiens said.

And for water in the Earth, what goes down must come up. Sea levels have remained relatively stable over geologic time, varying by less than 1,000 ft. This means that all of the water that is going down into the Earth at subduction zones must be coming back up somehow, and not continuously piling up inside the Earth.

Scientists believe that most of the water that goes down at the trench comes back from the Earth into the atmosphere as water vapor when volcanoes erupt hundreds of miles away. But with the revised estimates of water from the new study, the amount of water going into the earth seems to greatly exceed the amount of water coming out.

"The estimates of water coming back out through the volcanic arc are probably very uncertain," said Wiens, who hopes that this study will encourage other researchers to reconsider their models for how water moves back out of the Earth. "This study will probably cause some re-evaluation."

Moving beyond the Mariana Trench, Wiens along with a team of other scientists has recently deployed a similar seismic network offshore in Alaska to consider how water is moved down into the Earth there.

"Does the amount of water vary substantially from one subduction zone to another, based on the kind of faulting that you have when the plate bends?" Wiens asked. "There's been suggestions of that in Alaska and in Central America. But nobody has looked at the deeper structure yet like we were able to do in the Mariana Trench."

Explore further Is there an ocean beneath our feet?

More information: Chen Cai et al. Water input into the Mariana subduction zone estimated from ocean-bottom seismic data, Nature (2018). Journal information: Nature Chen Cai et al. Water input into the Mariana subduction zone estimated from ocean-bottom seismic data,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0655-4
Credit: Chris Austin via Flickr

Most areas of California farm country have a significant lack of information about their groundwater use. The water managers responsible for putting California's depleted aquifers on the path to sustainability now need to get the data to do the job. Running the new agencies created under the state's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, these managers must first decide what they need to know, and how to get the information.

The measuring gauges they need would ideally give two different views of groundwater reality. First, account for withdrawals by identifying who is taking the water, then control the withdrawals to ensure sustainability, now required in 109 of the state's 517 groundwater basins. Second, monitor the overall health of the aquifer to ensure it is not trespassing over the various boundaries of unsustainability now carved into state law.

Before they can explore the technical answers to measuring options, managers must wrestle with local attitudes about privacy that have prevailed in areas subject to chronic over-pumping. Heavy users have for decades ardently resisted any accounting. Well meters were anathema. Newly drilled wells were reported to the state, but by law, that information was kept private.

Such confidentiality restrictions ended in 2015, after the passage of the groundwater act; and in early 2017, the State Water Resources Control board made public its digital map of state wells. But just knowing where the wells are isn't the same as knowing how much they pump, or their impact on the aquifer below.

Pistachio trees growing on the Harter family's farm in Kern County. Credit: Andrew Harter

"As long as nobody was measuring or monitoring groundwater, it was to the advantage of any farmer to pump as much as they could," said Peter Gleick, the co-founder of the Pacific Institute, who has deep expertise on water issues. The system, he said, "was designed to favor ignorance." Other experts reject such a blunt anti-farmer viewpoint. Both agricultural use and urbanization, they say, expanded groundwater use beyond sustainability: fingers could point anywhere.

Even With Pumping Unmetered, Remote Sensing Technology Had Lifted the Veil on Groundwater Depletion

The intransigence of some groundwater users became less of an obstacle with the rise of options for remote observation. For instance, a pair of twin satellites launched by NASA were able to estimate that Central Valley aquifers had, just between 2003 and 2010, lost 25 million acre-feet of groundwater  well more than half of California's annual groundwater use around that time. The GRACE satellites showed the world the depletion many Central Valley farmers were already beginning to tackle.

By the time the GRACE program went out of service last year, even finer-grained analysis was possible using data from additional satellites, like NASA's Landsat orbiters. Such remotely gathered data, along with the need to comply with the new law, has made on-farm metering more palatable. Some managers are learning from areas that have already collected abundant data about groundwater use. Before the new law, the courts spurred the work.

Under State Adjudication for 22 Years, Mojave Agency Keeps a Clear Tally

Credit: Idaho Department of Water Resources; ESRI Earth Imagery; Natural Earth Data, Bill Lane Center for the American West

Ignorance is not something judges accept as an excuse for inaction. Data on wells and groundwater usage is plentiful in groundwater basins that were subject to water rights lawsuits in past years. The Mojave Water Agency works a basin covering 4,900 square miles of desert spreading west from the intersection of California, Nevada and Arizona. The adjudication of its water was handed down in 1996. Every year since, it has duly reported the number of wells drawing groundwater and their annual "production," or withdrawal.

For example, Mojave's report shows that Joe and Sue Harter, proprietors of Harter Farms, in Needles, have 11 agricultural wells and two for domestic use. The Harters took 2,361 acre-feet of water from underneath the desert last year, less than half as much as the 5,234 they pumped in 1990.

Joe Harter's son, Andrew, who grows pistachios and bermuda grass with his father, said that the 1996 court order requiring well accountability "made us progressive about controlling our use," he said. "We had to do more with less." He added, "At the end of the day, we have to have sustainability." What irritates him is the seemingly constant construction of new housing subdivisions, each of which creates new demand for water. "I think sustainability is the best thing. My problem is they put it on the backs of the farmers."

Credit: Bill Lane Center for the American West

At the time of the court order, there was little consistency about measuring and reporting withdrawals of groundwater in the Mojave Water Agency's area. An engineering firm was charged with verifying claims about how much had been pumped. When there were no records, the firm assembled aerial photos of plantings, and used those to estimate how much water different crops used. This prompted most users, like the Harters, to begin collecting their own records, often by using flow meters on their wells.

Electricity consumption is a commonly used proxy for groundwater use, said Mojave's general manager, Tom McCarthy. Water is heavy, and pumping groundwater from depths of dozens or even hundreds of feet is energy intensive. The more electricity used, the more water has been pumped. "We tend to use methods that are tried and true," he said.

The more depleted basins now have new agencies managing them. In less than two years, they must produce plans for long-term sustainability. Some users may find their pumping sharply restricted. Some may trade their water rather than farming with it. All will need good data.

More Accurate Measurement Leads to More Efficient Management

Zbeda said that day-to-day management of the groundwater controlled by the water district is made easier by knowing how much each customer uses. Like McCarthy, he finds that his biggest agricultural users are cooperative, sharing their pumping data. Why? Amidst a groundwater crisis almost two decades ago, a local cooperative formed in the Indian Wells basin and began measuring and sharing their consumption data.

Their two decades of data show that groundwater pumping overall is down 17 percent in the last decade; the biggest agricultural user, Meadowbrook Farms, has cut its annual consumption by nearly a third percent in the same period, from 9,270 acre-feet to 6,387 acre-feet. Mr. Zbeda's water district used 29 percent less over that period. His big agricultural users, mostly pistachio and alfalfa farmers, have been open and cooperative, he said.

Less cooperative, he said, are small users. "Someone saying: 'How much are you pumping?' doesn't play well with a lot of private well owners." He added, "The challenge for us locally is [all users] recognizing there's a need to know who is pumping how much."

Resistance to Individual Measurements Begins to Fade

What Mr. Zbeda faces with some of the smaller agricultural users in his district is what Eric Averett faced 25 years ago. Averett, the general manager of the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District, remembers, "there was a hesitancy to share a lot of different types of data. There was more of a private-property mindset, people felt it was confidential, and might affect competitiveness."

But even before the 2014 passage of SGMA, he said, those attitudes began to change, both because of the brutal five-year drought, and the rise of technologies for remote sensing of groundwater levels. He has been to meetings recently when "landowners have called me every name in the book and accused me of being big government."But, he said, general acceptance of accounting for water use has spread widely, even as resistance lingers.

So the transformation in attitudes that began in adjudicated districts in the desert is now spreading to the agricultural heartland of the San Joaquin Valley. Here, the favored method is not meters, but a measurement derived from satellite images. Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo Irrigation Training and Research Center uses the "METRIC" method  originally developed at the University of Idaho  for areas in Kern and Tulare Counties.

The idea is to use high-resolution satellite images of farm fields to pinpoint what crops are using water. Knowing how much water is released into the air (or "transpired") by a given crop, and combining that with the rate of evaporation from the soil at specific temperatures, lets researchers turn satellite photographs into water-use data. The combination of these two losses of water to the air  from both the plant and the soil  is called "evapotranspiration."

Accurate Measurement of Water Use Will Often Force Farmers to Cut Back Groundwater Use

This technique accounts for something that simple pumping records can't measure  the amount of irrigation water from underground that seeps back through the soil and returns to the aquifer. This is commonly known as "recharge," and mirrors how aquifers refill with water under natural conditions. Kern County farmers, said Dan Howes, an engineer at Cal Poly, said that Kern County's farmers "know we don't have enough water to recharge the basin year after year and sustain the groundwater we are pumping.

"The main issue farmers are coming to grips with is we have too much evapotranspiration and not enough water supply," said Howes. Put another way, too many thirsty plants in too hot a climate use too much water and deplete the aquifer. He added, "once they come to grips with that," there are only two optionsreduce evapotranspiration, perhaps by leaving fields fallow or planting less thirsty cropsor find more surface water. For farmers without surface-water rights, that may be hard.

Howes won't hazard a firm estimate on how much of a cutback in agriculture the groundwater-dependent areas will need, other than to say the cutbacks will be significant. He works with water agencies in Tulare, Fresno, and Merced counties, and the new groundwater authority for the Kern County basin hired him to do a historical review of water use with the years of Landsat images now available. He has over 23 years' worth of data in the region from Fresno to Bakersfield.

How are the local farmers reacting to the prospect of pumping reductions? "The ones that I've talked to with very little surface water, they are very depressed." But they are realistic. "Some say, 'I have about 20 years and then I'll retire and give it up.'" He added, "I'm surprised at how many people I talk to who say, 'It's about time this came about. We all knew it was coming.'" Such comments, Howes said, most often come from farmers with rights to surface water.

Gleick, of the Pacific Institute, said, "California groundwater was a classic tragedy of the commons." Now, "the smart farmers are going to get jump on how to manage their water resources under a sustainable set of rules."

Explore further Researcher gives a glimpse into a limited resourcegroundwater
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a tool that speeds up the analysis and publication of biomedical data from many months or years to mere minutes, transforming the way researchers communicate results of their studies. Until now, the primary method available to share biomedical research data has been through print publication in scientific journals. The new tool, BioJupies, relies on cloud technologies to analyze and visualize large amounts of data, such as that acquired by genome sequencing, as described in the November 2018 issue of Cell Systems.

RNA sequencing is the most common experimental method used to profile cells in biomedical research. In recent years, sequencing technology has revolutionized the way scientists examine genetic data, and this advancement plays a crucial role in drug discovery and development. Traditionally, RNA sequencing analysis requires extensive computer programming skills and access to local high performance computing facilities, slowing down the speed at which biomedical data can be analyzed, shared, and published.

Through the creation of BioJupies, users can now upload and analyze their RNA sequencing data in a fraction of the time as done previously. The platform utilizes a cloud computing pipeline that reduces the cost of RNA-sequencing data processing to less than one cent per sample. BioJupies also produces a complete, open source, interactive report from the processed data allowing for 300,000 publicly available RNA sequencing datasets to be fetched, reanalyzed, and reused to bolster biomedical research.

"As the amount of biomedical data generated continues to climb exponentially, so should the tools used to analyze and share them," said Avi Ma'ayan, Ph.D., Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Professor, Department of Pharmacological Sciences, faculty of Icahn Institute for Data Science, and senior author of the publication. "BioJupies not only accelerates the manner in which we analyze and interpret data, but it also provides a completely new way to share results with the global research community."

As new genomic technologies have allowed for the collection of massive amounts of biomedical information that can be harnessed for precision medicine efforts, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of this data has become crucial to scientific research. BioJupies paves the way for researchers with no computational background to perform RNA sequencing analysis without the need to collaborate with bioinformaticians, enabling more medical and scientific advancements to flourish in our data rich world.

Explore further Furthering data analysis of next-generation sequencing to facilitate research

More information: Denis Torre, Alexander Lachmann, Avi Ma'ayan. "BioJupies: Automated Generation of Interactive Notebooks for RNA-seq Data Analysis in the Cloud" Cell Systems, DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2018.10.007 Journal information: Cell Systems Denis Torre, Alexander Lachmann, Avi Ma'ayan. "BioJupies: Automated Generation of Interactive Notebooks for RNA-seq Data Analysis in the Cloud"
Atmospheric Science graduate student Kyle Chudler releases a weather balloon from the deck of the R/V Thompson.

As field researchers know, sometimes the science you set out to do is not what you end up doing. But the drive for knowledge is unwavering, and scientists find a way to get the job done, even if it means changing course, maneuvering bureaucratic hurdles and waiting out setbacks. Flexibility is key to field campaigns, and sometimes the reward is in the unexpected discoveries.

One team of Colorado State University scientists can attest to this recent experience. Department of Atmospheric Science researchers set sail on U.S. research vessel the R/V Thomas G. Thompson in August and September to study precipitation in the tropical west Pacific. Their project, the Propagation of Intra-Seasonal Tropical OscillatioNs, or PISTON, seeks a better understanding of precipitation processes in this area, in order to better understand weather across the Maritime Continent, in southeastern continental Asia, and even in the U.S.

"PISTON had lots of challenges because it was a complex, international experiment. But many of the challenges we faced come with the business of doing this type of science," said Professor Steven Rutledge, lead principal investigator for PISTON's atmospheric component. "In the end, it all worked out."

A complex set of factors contribute to tropical weather, requiring PISTON to be an extensive field campaign involving intensive numerical modeling and observation. Fourteen universities and several national and international organizations collaborated on the project, with funding for the U.S. portion provided by the Office of Naval Research.

Taking a detour

As with any job so large and complicated, PISTON encountered some challenges along the way. PISTON was rerouted to international waters far east of the Philippines after the Philippines denied the collaboration permission to conduct research in the South China Sea just west of the country's largest island, Luzon.

"The change in location allowed us to do different science, to examine the atmosphere and ocean before, during and after the passage of typhoons," Rutledge said.

The CSU SEA-POL radar aboard the R/V Thompson, with Palau in the background. Credit: Colorado State University

Rutledge's research group deployed PISTON's two main instruments for measuring atmospheric properties, the new SEA-POL C-band polarimetric radar  on its second assignment since it was designed and built at CSU  and a CSU radiosonde system. The team conducted continuous radar and atmospheric sounding observations on two 30-day cruises, gathering a wealth of data that will take at least two years to analyze. Some of the typhoon observations were the first of their kind.

"Going east of Luzon into international waters allowed us to collect some unique, first-time observations where a ship-based polarimetric radar, SEA-POL, documented the precipitation patterns of spiral and outer bands associated with several typhoons."

Experiencing technical difficulties

Before the CSU researchers were able to collect any data, however, they dealt with another setback. One of the R/V Thompson's main engines overheated while sailing from the Bay of Bengal to pick up the PISTON crew in southern Taiwan. It took a full week to replace all the cylinder heads on the engine, while the CSU team waited out the delay in port city Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

"When technology is used in the field in stressful conditions, things occasionally break, which is hard to appreciate for a modeler like me, who mostly sits in front of his computer screen all day," said Professor Eric Maloney, who led development of the science plan for PISTON. "It is good for deskbound people like me to go into the field and appreciate this occasionally."

Once underway, researchers tracked large rainbands and their interactions with the daily cycle of rainfall, typhoons and atmospheric waves, using a variety of tools and sophisticated regional models, including the RAMS model developed and maintained by Professor Sue van den Heever's research group at CSU. Maloney and scientist Emily Riley Dellaripa headed a major modeling component, and Associate Professor Michael Bell and his group led forecasting, providing daily forecast summaries to researchers on the R/V Thompson. Van den Heever and her group were involved in PISTON's numerical modeling activities, and Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor V. Chandrasekar led the SEA-POL engineering team (Jim George, Francesc Junyent and Alex Morin) to ensure that SEA-POL was in top condition for the rigorous deployment. More than 20 other graduate students and researchers from the Maloney, Bell, Rutledge and van den Heever research groups contributed to field observations, forecasting, data processing and modeling.

Modeling and data analysis activities will continue for the next few years, including analysis and comparison of model results to observations taken in the field. And PISTON scientists might get a chance to revisit the research goals they originally proposed. There is a possibility that the Philippines will approve a voyage into the South China Sea, the project's original destination, next summer. Regardless, the scientists are prepared to adapt and improvise as needed, because, as Rutledge points out, that's an essential part of the job.

"Fieldwork is all about adapting on the fly."

Explore further World's most advanced shipborne radar ready to set sail
Representative of the TSU Biological Institute Danil Vorobyov

Representatives of the TSU Biological Institute Danil Vorobyov and Andrey Trifonov meet in Moscow with Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro, the Ambassador of Portugal in Russia, and Joao Carlos Mendonca, the Attache for Scientific and Educational Relations. The parties agreed on collaboration in marine ecology. The first joint project of scientists from Russia and Portugal could be the creation of an automated complex for diagnosing bottom sediments of offshore shelf areas.

The head of the Embassy of Portugal in Russia got acquainted with the developments of the TSU Biological Institute in October during the visit of EU ambassadors to Tomsk. At that time, the technology of cleaning water bodies from oil pollution and aeroschup, a device for express-diagnostics of bottom sediments, caused the greatest interest. After the meeting at TSU, biologists received an invitation to the Embassy of Portugal in Russia for a substantive discussion of collaboration with Portuguese universities.

- During the meeting, we had a proposal about the joint work of scientists on a device for cleaning and diagnosing bottom sediments of the sea shelfthe aeroschup, - says Danil Vorobyev, the director of the Biological Institute. - The automated complex will be in demand in the global market for environmental services, especially in areas prone to the adverse effects of oil spills. In addition, we are ready to adapt the technology for purification of bottom sediments, created in the Biological Institute and tested on continental waters, for marine conditions. So far, the pollution that is at depth, no one eliminates due to the lack of effective methods.

According to the agreement reached with the Ambassador of Portugal to the Russian Federation, TSU biologists will collaborate with the Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA), which has core competencies in marine biology, the ecology of aquatic environments, and engineering. The Center is a leading interdisciplinary research unit of the University of Algarve. In addition to conducting extensive research and educational activities, CIMA staff is engaged in environmental monitoring. Their activities focus on two areas of researchocean and coastal dynamics, systems, and environmental resources.

- We plan also to collaborate in education, - says Danil Vorobyev. - The Portuguese side was interested in the English-language Master's program Biodiversity. It includes more than 20 courses, accumulating advanced knowledge in environmental protection and evolutionary biology. Specialists in this area are becoming increasingly in demand, so the head of the diplomatic mission expressed readiness to send students from Portugal to study at Tomsk State University.

Provided by Tomsk State University
English French

Villers-les-Nancy, 14 November 2018 - 6:00 p.m. (CET)

PRESS RELEASE

Q3 2018 revenue: + 19.20 %

9 month revenue: + 15.69 %

Very positive outlook for international markets

m (IFRS 15) 2018 2017 Change Q1 34.59 30.83 + 12.19 % Q2 37.56 32.44 + 15.81 % Q3 (unaudited) 35.43 29.72 + 19.20 % 9 month YTD 107.58 92.99 + 15.69 %

Application of IFRS 15 "Revenue from contracts with customers" as from 1 January 2018. All figures presented in the press release have been restated to eliminate the impact of IFRS 15's application.

In Q3 2018, the impact for the Group of IFRS 15's application is 5.03 million on a restated basis. Year-to-date at 30 September 2018, the impact for the Group of IFRS 15's application is 16.96 million on a restated basis. These changes are derived almost entirely from the Fintech Division, with the impact on the other activities nonsignificant.



 Pharmagest Group achieved excellent performances in Q3 2018 with revenue reaching 35.43 million up 19.20% from Q3 2017 (29.72 million).

Like-for-like (restatement of CAREMEDS-MULTIMEDS, AXIGATE, MACROSOFT HOLDING), Q3 2018 revenue amounted to 34.09 million, already representing solid growth of 14.69% vs. Q3 2017.



 All Pharmagest Group Divisions registered gains and contributed to this performance.



 For the first nine months of 2018, revenue reached 107.58 million with 15.69% growth same period last year. Like-for-like (excluding the acquisitions of CAREMEDS-MULTIMEDS, AXIGATE, MACROSOFT HOLDING), revenue year-to-date was 101.11 million, up 8.74% compared to the first nine months of 2017.



********

Operating highlights at 30 September 2018

The Pharmacy - Europe Solutions Division was up 14.63% (vs. Q3 2017) on revenue of 27.20 million. At 30 September 2018, the Division sustained a good level of growth (+11.77% in relation to 30/09/2017) with revenue of 83.53 million; the Italy Pharmacy Business Line contributed 3.65 million since its integration on 01/04/2018. This Division accounts for 77.65% of the Group's total revenue.



The Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division confirmed its very strong momentum in Q3 2018, up 61.36% with revenue reaching 5.10 million. This excellent performance was boosted by the effects of MALTA/DICSIT's commercial entities restructuring and the integration of the first results of the AXIGATE solution linked to the call for tenders of the Armor regional hospital group awarded in 05/2018 (1.9 million in Q3 2018). At 30 September 2018, this Division had revenue of 13.95 million, up 47.64% from 30 September 2017 and representing 12.97% of the Group's total revenue.



The e-Health Solutions Division had revenue of 2.76 million, up 8.71% from the Q3 2017. The e-Connect Business Line, benefiting from the impact of the SMR (Shared Medical Record), contributed 2.09 million. At 30 September 2018, this Division had revenue of 8.83 million (including 0.95 million from the integration of CAREMEDS-MULTIMEDS), up 13.33% from one year earlier and representing 8.21% of the Group's total revenue.



The Fintech Division achieved further gains in Q3 2018 with revenue maintaining the pace of 25% registered at 30 June (revenue: 0.37 million). This Division at 30 September 2018 had revenue of 1.27 million compared to 1.01 million one year earlier and representing 1.18% of the Group's total revenue.





Significant events after 30 September

As part of its strategy to build a global European ecosystem, the Group is continuing to develop additional technological building blocks to reach new users. On that basis, its subsidiary MALTA INFORMATIQUE recently confirmed the launch of a new innovative tele-consultation solution for elderly assisted-living facilities (EHPAD) for improving continuity of care and facilitating communication between the patients and their care network (medical and family).

At the same time, Pharmagest Group is opening up its healthcare platform and building a genuine portfolio of collaborative partnerships. Most recently, the Group has announced the signature of decisive strategic partnerships:

through the agreement with Korian (manager of the largest European network of nursing homes, specialised clinics, assisted living facilities, home-based care and hospitalisations), Pharmagest Group reinforces its position as a leading provider of innovative assisted living solutions by helping seniors remain in their homes while demonstrating CareLib home-based care digital solutions in action;

by partnering with the Nancy Regional and University Hospital in implementing a remote monitoring solution for chronic kidney disease patients through its eNephro solution, the Group demonstrates the efficacy of its telemedicine and AI solution when applied to a chronic illness. This system was moreover qualified for the French ETAPES programme (experimental telemedicine solutions for improving health care pathways) spearheaded by the French Directorate-General for Healthcare Services ( Direction Generale de l'Offre de Soins or DGOS). This entity ensures the coverage of financial costs and reimbursement by the French health insurance system for monitoring patients in certain dialysis units (UAD - autonomous dialysis units), (UDM - medical supervised dialysis). This advance thus highlights the originality and innovation of this technology and supports Pharmagest Group's ambitions to develop and test new telemedicine and remote monitoring solutions;

by combining its software expertise with that of Cegedim, these major two providers of technological innovations for healthcare will propose a reliable and secure system for exchanging information providing interoperability for all healthcare professionals in both the non-hospital and hospital segments, and in this way contribute to greater efficiencies across healthcare pathways in France and improve patient care.

Outlook

With solid growth to date that will contribute positively to FY 2018 earnings, Pharmagest Group's management is confident in meeting its targets at year-end.

In Europe, Pharmagest Group has ramped up communications initiatives and the presentation of its innovative solutions and will continue its policy of developing strategic technological partnerships.

In international markets, the recent expansion of the Group's offerings is opening up new opportunities and growth prospects for its businesses outside of Europe. The Group confirms its upcoming participation in leading international trade fairs (MEDICA in Dusseldorf, 12-15 Nov. 2018 and CES Las Vegas, 8-11 Jan. 2019). It also intends to build on the recent achievement of Box Noviacare(TM) as the Product of the Year Award and Gold Award Winner in the Innovation and Technology category at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair to raise the visibility of its offering and illustrate the relevance of its solutions. This recognition further bolsters its promising growth prospects, particularly in Asia, for all its innovative technologies.

Financial calendar:

Publication of 2018 annual revenue: 14 February 2019

About PHARMAGEST Group :

Pharmagest Group is the French pharmacy information technology leader, with a market share of more than 42% and more than 1,000 employees. The Group's strategy is based on a core business of improving healthcare through information technology innovation and developing two priority areas: 1/ Services and technologies for healthcare professionals, with a focus on assisting pharmacies in the area of patient medication compliance; and 2/ technologies for improving the efficacy of healthcare systems.

This strategy is executed through specialised business lines developed by Pharmagest Group: pharmacy IT solutions, e-Health solutions, solutions for healthcare professionals, solutions for pharmaceutical laboratories, connected health devices and apps, and a sales financing marketplace...

These businesses are divided into four divisions: Pharmacy - Europe Solutions, Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions, e-Health Solutions and FinTech.

Listed on Euronext Paris(TM) - Compartment B

Indices: CAC SMALL and CAC All-Tradable par inclusion

Eligible for the Long-Only Deferred Settlement Service (SRD)

ISIN: FR 0012882389 - Reuters: PHA.PA - Bloomberg: - PMGI FP

For all the latest news go to www.pharmagest.com
St. Louis, MO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smith Management Group (SMG), an Associa company, hosted its disaster preparedness seminar for board members.



Disaster preparedness is key for a successful response and recovery process for all community associations dealing with an unexpected emergency. The event hosted more than 30 board members and discussed the following topics:





What qualifies as a disaster

Different types of disasters

Why your community needs a disaster plan

What should be included in a disaster plan

How to develop a disaster plan that fits your communitys needs

Smith Management Group is dedicated to providing residents and board members with the most up-to-date industry information and offering them opportunities to prepare with comprehensive disaster preparedness information, stated Roger Kinney, SMG president. This seminar allows them to develop a strategy and make a disaster plan before a crisis hits. The safety and well-being of our communities is our top priority and we are dedicated to providing them with the tools and information they need to protect their property and loved ones.



With more than 180 branch offices across North America, Associa delivers unsurpassed management and lifestyle services to nearly five million residents worldwide. Our 10,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise and trailblazing innovation. For more than 40 years, Associa has provided solutions designed to help communities achieve their vision. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com.



Stay Connected:

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmithManagementGroup

Subscribe to the Blog: https://hub.associaonline.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/associa

Join us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa
11 hours ago

Wall Street Just Upgraded These 3 Large Caps to Buy

Not even a pandemic could stop the U.S. stock market from finishing in the green last year. Stocks have built off 2020s remarkable recovery this year and barring a disaster will finish higher for the third straight year. With the major indices setting fresh record highs seemingly at will, talk that some areas of the market are as frothy as a poorly dispensed beer have picked up in recent days.

Read Article
English Spanish

More than 60 luminaries will share innovative ideas with thousands of attendees at the forum and tens of thousands more through TV Azteca platforms

Ricardo Salinas, sponsor of the event, promotes better understanding of humankind and the environment to generate greater prosperity and progress

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Salinas, a group of dynamic, fast-growing and technologically advanced companies, deeply committed to the modernization of the countries where they operate, announced today that Ciudad de la Ideas 2018 (www.ciudaddelasideas.com)  The International Festival of Bright Minds, sponsored by Ricardo Salinas and Grupo Salinas  will disseminate cutting-edge knowledge that will promote advances in science, the arts and culture, as well as pluralistic debate.

Held at the Auditorio Metropolitano of Puebla from November 16-18, with the theme "Burning Questions," more than 60 international luminaries will present individually and in debates with innovative ideas regarding science, technology, human behavior, philosophy, sustainability, sociology, art and culture.

Participants include: Barry Barish  Nobel Prize in Physics for the detection of gravitational waves; Carol Guzy  the only journalist to receive four Pulitzer Prizes; Aaswath Raman  a passionate scientist who has studied climate change; and Jose Villela  a successful psychiatrist preparing for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Other notable figures include: Andrew von Oeyen  a virtuoso musician who has played the piano since age five; Gerardo Jimenez  a scientist and entrepreneur who carried out the first medical analysis of the human genome worldwide; and Isaac Lidsky  the only blind person to work as a legal assistant to the US Supreme Court.

Given that La Ciudad de la Ideas is always at the forefront of the dissemination of technology, it will also feature Sophia, an advanced humanoid robot, endowed with extraordinary expressiveness, aesthetics and interactivity. Sophia can recognize faces and maintain natural conversations with people. She has also participated in television programs, conferences, and has addressed members of the UN and NATO.

Close to 5,000 people will be present at the Auditorio Metropolitano of Puebla. Additionally  thanks to the commitment of Ricardo Salinas to promote greater dissemination of knowledge  tens of thousands of people will be able to follow the event through network television and digital media through adn40 and watch updates on Azteca Uno.

Ricardo Salinas promotes open forums that strengthen the understanding of humankind and the environment to generate higher levels of prosperity and progress.

About Grupo Salinas

Grupo Salinas (www.gruposalinas.com) is a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating: economic value through market innovation and goods and services that improve standards of living; social value, to create social capabilities to improve communities; and environmental value, by reducing the negative impact of business activities. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com), Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include: TV Azteca (www.TVazteca.com; www.irtvazteca.com), Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx), Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx), Advance America (www.advanceamerica.net), Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx), Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx), Punto Casa de Bolsa (www.puntocasadebolsa.mx), Totalplay (www.totalplay.com.mx) and Totalplay Empresarial (http://totalplayempresarial.com.mx). TV Azteca and Grupo Elektra trade on the Mexican Stock Exchange and are part of its Sustainability Index. Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings. The group of companies share a common vision, values and strategies for achieving rapid growth, superior results and world-class performance.

Press Relations:

Luciano Pascoe, +52 (55) 1720 1313 ext. 36553, lpascoe@gruposalinas.com.mx

Daniel McCosh, +52 (55) 1720-0059, dmccosh@gruposalinas.com
A Robust Program at Command Alkon Equips Young Graduates with the Experience They Need to Build Amazing



BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Command Alkon , the global leader in integrated supply chain technology solutions for the Heavy Building Materials industry, is partnering with the School of Concrete and Construction Management at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) to combat an issue that has been plaguing the industry for quite some time  the skilled labor shortage. The recently developed Graduate Development Program at Command Alkon provides the opportunity for graduates of the school to gain real-world industry experience, rendering a workforce that is qualified to fill in the gaps caused by the labor shortage.

Currently, thousands of construction jobs are added each month. Construction recruiting has been burdened by the fact that relatively few colleges and universities offer construction skills or counsel students to consider high-paying construction careers.

The School of Concrete and Construction Management at MTSU offers a Concrete Industry Management (CIM) Program designed to combat the anticipated shortage of managers needed to support the expected growth of the concrete industry. Command Alkon has fostered a close relationship with the CIM Program over the years and has developed a program designed to arm students with the experience that they need to be successful.

A lot of the time, we look to hire individuals with experience in the industry  but, that might be a little difficult to find in a student who just graduated, said Michael Wolfe, People Business Manager at Command Alkon. The whole point of this program is to provide an opportunity for these students to gain the experience that they need. Each department in the company has made the commitment that we are all going to contribute to the students success in some way.

This is the first year that this 24-month program has been put into effect. For the first 18 months, students rotate between different departments to get a flavor for the contributions that each team makes to the company and the industry as a whole. The student will ultimately choose an area of the company where they feel they can thrive for the last 6 months of the program.

What Ive noticed since Ive been here is a very positive environment, said Taylor Northern, who is currently a student in the Graduate Development Program. This is a great opportunity because I get the chance to continuously learn and work with various departments and technology systems to determine where I would excel in the industry.

For more information regarding the Graduate Development Program, please contact Michael Wolfe at mwolfe@commandalkon.com.

ABOUT COMMAND ALKON

At Command Alkon, we believe in building an amazing world with solutions that deliver automation, visibility, collaboration and simplification to the Heavy Building Materials industry. Our integrated, digital supply chain solutions create an ecosystem for producers, suppliers and haulers of ready-mixed concrete, aggregates, asphalt, cement, and manufactured concrete, where operational transparency and efficiency drive profits. For over 40 years, our people, software and automation have kept clients moving to build the things that matter. Command Alkon is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama and has offices in locations around the globe. For more information, visit commandalkon.com .

For More Information, Contact:

Becky Boyd

MediaFirst PR

(770) 642-2080 x 214

becky@mediafirst.net

Ed Rusch

Command Alkon

(205) 879-3282 x 2965

erusch@commandalkon.com
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX Symbol: NWC): The North West Company Inc. (North West) will host a conference call for its third quarter results on December 11, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. (Central Time). To access the call, please dial 647-484-0473 or 800-289-0459 with a passcode of 836373. The conference call will be archived and can be accessed on or before January 11, 2019 by dialing 905-694-9451 or 800-408-3053 with a passcode of 3004686.



Corporate Profile

The North West Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading retailer of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighbourhoods in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. North West operates 240 stores under the trading names Northern, NorthMart, Giant Tiger, Alaska Commercial Company, Cost-U-Less and RiteWay Food Markets and has annualized sales of approximately CAD$1.8 billion.

For further information, please contact: Amanda E. Sutton, Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary of The North West Company Inc. at (204) 934-1756, email asutton@northwest.ca.

Visit us on-line at www.northwest.ca




One of the biggest tech industry stories of next year will likely be 5Gthe next-gen of cellular technology that will redefine speed and responsiveness, making connections up to 100 times faster.

Now, its a heated race to see which provider is going to roll out true 5G, fastest and farthest. Verizon promises to launch its 5G service next year, while AT&T has vowed to launch it this year in 12 markets, successfully testing it last month in Waco, Texas, and eyeing launch in 19 cities next year.

But for investors, getting in on the 5G revolution might require thinking outside the box and looking not just at the providers, but at the backbone of this technology.

Case in point: Intel, which has just announced plans for its new XMM 8160 5G modem, set for release in the second half of 2019. Intels acceleration plans could make it the first tech company to actually power 5G iPhones (but the trick here is Android vs iPhone).

So the race isnt just about providersits about the tech behind 5G and their race to secure market share.

5G could be the thing that catapults Intel ahead of Qualcomm, for instance, which has dominated the LTE market.

Intels new modem will support the at the new 5G specs and still include support for 2G,3G and 4G.

"Intel's new XMM 8160 5G modem provides the ideal [hardware] to support large volumes for scaling across multiple device categories to coincide with broad 5G deployments," Dr. Cormac Conroy, Intel's corporate vice president and general manager of the firm's Communication and Devices Group, said in a statement.

We are seeing great demand for the advanced feature set of the XMM 8160, such that we made a strategic decision to pull in the launch of this modem by half a year to deliver a leading 5G [product]." Related: Trump Lashes Out As Stocks Slip

But whats got everyones attention is the fact that this new modem is being fast-tracked after Apple switched to exclusively using Intel modems for its 2018 iPhones. And rumor has it that Apple will stick to Intel when everything goes 5G, the Verge reports.

But the trick is in the timing. While Apple switched from Qualcomm to Intel earlier this year, going with Intel for 5G means waiting until 2020 to release the first 5G iPhone. Qualcomm already has its 5G modem out there, and if Apple went back to Qualcomm it could get a head start on 5G phones in 2019. Committing to Intel means waiting a bit longer. With Intels modem set for release in late 2019, then on to testing, the real roll-out would be 2020.

And there are plenty of other companies to keep a close eye on in this space, too, including Samsung, Nokia, Sony, LG and Huaweialong with a host of others. And they joining forces with Qualcomm to get 5G smartphones on the market in late 2019.

So, the race is on, and its nearing the finish line, with investors wondering whether Intel is the safe bet thanks to Apple, or whether Apple will bow to the pressure of timing. At the end of the day, this is another Android vs Apple race.

By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:
Chinas Alibaba e-commerce giant launched the Singles Day shopping event in 2009, with $7.8 million in sales. The same event in 2017 brought in over $25 billion, but this years eventon Sundaywent even further, with Alibaba selling almost $31 billion in goods.

That means it outsold Amazons biggest day, the Prime Day sale in July, in 10 minutes, with Amazon estimated to have made some $4 billion in sales that day. And last years Black Friday and Cyber Monday events in the U.S., combined, saw sales of around $14.5 billion.

While Singles Day was originally launched in the 1990s as a celebration of bachelorhood for young men, it has since metamorphosedthanks to Alibaba--into Chinas biggest shopping day.

Alibabas promotional efforts ended up being soothing words to singles who are often shamed over their non-married status, with the very first festival opening with the slogan: Even if you dont have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you can at least shop like crazy.

And they did.

And they do.

In fact, the day has become part of Chinese folklore, as Quartz points out.

Indeed, it is now shaping up to be the biggest shopping day in the world. Even a handful of U.S. retailers have started participating, and its now known as the 11:11 Global Shopping Festival.

It helps that Alibaba boasts 666 million mobile monthly active usersa figure that represents twice the population of the United States. Related: Dollar Rally Drags Down Commodities

But it also speaks to the state of the Chinese economy, because nothing serves as a barometer of Chinese consumer spending like 11:11, and Sundays sale shows that Chinas middle class isnt backing down, despite a trade war and despite Chinese government data that is showing economic uncertainty.

I think you have to understand Alibaba and what Alibabas doing in the context of the long-term secular trend thats developing in China, which is the rise of the Chinese middle class, Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai said in a company blog post after the event. That trend is not going to stop, trade war or no trade war.

Alibaba also noted that this years Singles Day saw over 40 percent of consumers buy from international brands, including Apple, Dyson, Kindle, Estee Lauder, LOreal, Nestle, Gap, Nike and Adidas. And the top-selling countries to China were Japan, the U.S., South Korea, Australia and Germany.

There will always be skeptics, thoughmany of them pointing out that Alibaba is using GMV (gross merchandise value) as the metric that came up with sales of $30.8 billion this weekend. Bloomberg, for one, says the GMV is an unreliable metric that doesnt necessarily correlate with revenue.

But after 10 years of building up the Singles Day shopping event, there is no denying that its dwarfing major American shopping days.

Its also a good omen for Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang who will take over as chairman for legendary founder Jack Ma next year. After all, Ma credited Zhang with the idea for turning Singles Day into the biggest shopping day of the world.

Earlier this month, Alibaba reported its quarterly earnings, showing lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, while its stock has taken a bit of a beating this year. Part of the reason for that is extensive acquisitions. Still, the companys core e-commerce revenue, which accounts for 84 percent of its total revenue, jumped 54.5 percent.

(Click to enlarge)

Indications of a Chinese economic slowdown helped along by a trade war might be a festering wound for the e-commerce giant, but its banking on the middle class to override this.

As Tsai pointed out recently, Chinas middle-class consumers have experienced significant real wage growth over the past decade, and they are looking for high-quality products to satisfy their discretionary spend and an increasingly sophisticated lifestyle.

The bigger picture? Tsai is eyeing a Chinese middle class that is set to nearly triple by 2030, growing from 300 million to 850 million.

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.
WAYNE, N.J., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the first time, radiologists will be able to view motion from standard X-ray images without fluoroscopy. Konica Minolta Healthcare is bringing digital radiography (DR) to life with the ability to visualize movement using conventional X-ray. Known as Dynamic Digital Radiography (DDR)* or X-ray in Motion, this revolutionary new modality captures movement in a single exam and allows the clinician to observe the dynamic interaction of anatomical structures, such as soft tissue and bone, with physiological changes over time. The value of DDR in thoracic imaging is promising, allowing clinicians to observe chest wall, heart and lung motion during respiration. DDR goes beyond pulmonary function; Konica Minolta is exploring its use in orthopedic applications of the spine and extremities. This new capability will be showcased at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), being held November 25-29 in Chicago, in Konica Minoltas booth 1919.



DDR may dramatically change the diagnostic and patient management paradigms for respiratory diseases and other pathologies including orthopedic injuries, says Kirsten Doerfert, Sr. VP of Marketing, Konica Minolta Healthcare. With X-ray images in motion, clinicians can see structures in a way they have never been able to see before, enhancing their ability to better manage patients based on individual characteristics and bringing precision medicine further into focus for radiology. The potential benefit is significant."

DDR is an enhanced version of a standard DR system that rapidly acquires up to 15 sequential radiographs per second for up to 20 seconds of physiological movement, resulting in 300 X-ray images with a dose equivalent to about two standard X-rays. Since the DDR system also performs all conventional X-ray studies as well as motion radiographic studies, it is a cost-effective solution that provides greater diagnostic capability in an economical package.

In the US, 74% of all radiologic studies are radiography1 and nearly 44 percent of hospital-based X-ray imaging exams are thoracic2. While access to CT, MR and nuclear medicine may be limited in regions throughout the world, X-ray is an essential primary diagnostic tool that is widely available in developed nations at a fraction of the cost. There are also potential cost savings for healthcare systems globally by reducing the need for more advanced, and more expensive, imaging techniques.

We are enabling clinicians to see more than a static image," says Guillermo Sander, Director of Marketing, Digital Radiography, Konica Minolta Healthcare. "By digitally capturing movement, DDR may deliver quantifiable clinical information that has the potential to increase the quality and specificity of diagnosis. With DDR, clinicians may better understand the pulmonary effect of neuromuscular disorders, diagnose and manage patients with respiratory conditions, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and evaluate post-operative changes in patients with lung cancer, lung cysts and other pathologies."

Konica Minolta developed DDR with the global healthcare goals of higher quality care, greater access and lower cost in mind, supporting clinicians throughout the world in making better decisions, sooner.

1 Herrmann TL, Fauber TL, Gill J, et al. Best practices in digital radiography. Radiol Technol. 2012 Sep-Oct;84(1):83-9.

2 IMV Market Research, 2017 X-ray/DR/CR Market Outlook, Sept. 2017.

*Dynamic Digital Radiography is not FDA cleared.

About Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc.

Konica Minolta Healthcare is a world-class provider and market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and healthcare information technology. With over 75 years of endless innovation, Konica Minolta is globally recognized as a leader providing cutting-edge technologies and comprehensive support aimed at providing real solutions to meet customer's needs and helping make better decisions sooner. Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., headquartered in Wayne, NJ, is a unit of Konica Minolta, Inc. (TSE:4902). For more information on Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., please visit www.konicaminolta.com/medicalusa .

Contact:

Mary Beth Massat

Massat Media

224.578.2388

www.konicaminolta.com/medicalusa
 Circuit judges Diane Sykes and William Pryor reportedly on top of Prez-Elect's SCOTUS short-list | Main | Noticing that other states are now messing with Texas for being capital punishment's capital 

The title of this post is the headline of this effective new Marshall Project analysis by Bill Keller, which carries the subheadline " Four reasons a bipartisan bill has a better chance than you think." Here are excerpts:

Its no wonder criminal-justice reformers woke up from Election Day 2016 with a sense of existential gloom. Given candidate Donald J. Trumps law-and-order bluster, his dystopian portrayal of rising crime and an ostensible war on the police, and a posse of advisers who think the main problem with incarceration is that we dont do enough of it, the idea that justice reformers have anything to look forward to is at best counterintuitive.

It is reasonable to expect that President Trump and his choice for attorney general, Jeff Sessions, will dismantle at least some of what their predecessors leave behind. Based on what they have said, the Trump-Sessions Justice Department may well roll back federal oversight of troubled police forces, escalate the war on drugs, enlarge the share of the corrections business that goes to private companies, accelerate deportations of undocumented immigrants and use the threat of financial sanctions to challenge so-called sanctuary cities....

But those inclined to look for silver linings may find one on Capitol Hill.... I can think of four reasons the prospects of federal reform are actually better in 2017.

First, it is not an election year. Nothing makes members of Congress squirm like the specter of attack ads portraying them as coddlers of criminals. There is reason to think those Willie Horton-style gotchas have lost some of their potency, but the prospect tends to make members of Congress more risk-averse in even-numbered years. And the lobbying alliance in favor of reform has grown and diversified and offers supportive candidates some political cover. It now includes significant numbers of police executives and prosecutors, who say our tendency to over-criminalize and over-punish wastes money and human potential without making us safer.

Second, President Obama will be gone. Some of the resistance to this years sentencing bill was a reluctance to give the president a parting victory. His heartfelt embrace of criminal-justice reform in the final years of his presidency was  through no fault of his own  the kiss of death in a hostile Congress.

Third, at least one of the hard-core Senate opponents of sentencing reform will no longer be there. That would be Jeff Sessions, the Republican senator from Alabama. True, as attorney general he will be in a position to encourage a presidential veto. But he will not be joining the obstructionists who this year never let a bill come to a vote at all. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles Grassley, said in October that if his party leadership had brought the bill to the floor, it would have garnered 65 to 70 votes  enough to override a veto.

And fourth, the Republican leadership will be looking very hard for bipartisan successes to demonstrate that Washington is no longer in a state of ideological paralysis. On the short list of things Congress could do to reassure voters that government is back in business, criminal justice ranks near the top. The subject attracts libertarians who have come to see the machinery of criminal justice as another example of overbearing government, conservative Christians who see the criminal justice morass as dehumanizing, fiscal conservatives who have noticed that incarceration is expensive, and policy wonks who see a corrections system that largely fails to correct.
 Senator Mike Lee makes the "conservative case for criminal justice reform" | Main | "The Second Chances Gap" 

This new CNN article, headlined "President Trump to announce support for criminal justice overhaul proposal," reports on encouraging news regarding efforts to get major federal criminal justice reform enacted in coming weeks. Here are the details:

President Donald Trump is expected to throw his support behind bipartisan criminal justice legislation during an event at the White House on Wednesday, two sources close to the process said.

Trump is scheduled to announce on Wednesday that he is supporting the latest iteration of the First Step Act, a bill that his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, has been working to craft and build support for alongside a bipartisan group of senators, the sources said. The President will be joined by supporters of the legislation during the White House event, the sources said.

Supporters of the measure expect that Trump's explicit backing will help propel the prison and sentencing overhaul bill through Congress. The President has wavered on whether to throw his support behind the bill in recent months, but the sources said he was swayed to back the bill on Tuesday after meeting with Kushner.

Trump's support came after several law enforcement associations announced their backing for the legislation. The National District Attorneys Association, which represents 2,500 district attorneys and 40,000 assistant district attorneys, became the latest law enforcement organization to support the bill, according to a letter the group's president addressed to Trump....

The prosecutors' association's support for the legislation came on the heels of backing from several other law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, which also penned a letter of support to Trump.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association and Major County Sheriffs of America also withdrew their opposition to the legislation, writing in a letter to Kushner dated Tuesday that they "endorse the objectives of the First Step Act" and the legislation "strengthens how Federal prisoners may be integrated into the community and set on a path to live positive and productive lives." Less than two weeks ago, the groups wrote to Kushner to say they could not back the bill.

Opposition from since-ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, in particular, served as key stumbling blocks to advancing the legislation, with both touting opposition within law enforcement circles -- an argument that is quickly fading as groups back the proposal. Sources close to the process said the support from law enforcement associations is key to advancing the measure and securing the President's full-throated support.

Proponents of the bill made several changes to it to win backing from law enforcement groups, including stiffer sentencing guidelines for fentanyl-related offenses and a compromise provision to modestly expand the definition of a serious violent crime.

Now the question is whether enough Democrats will rally to support the compromise package or hold out for a more ambitious overhaul of the nation's sentencing laws. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who had announced his opposition to a previous version of the bill because he felt it did not go far enough, said Tuesday that he is still looking to get more changes to the bill.
 Prez Trump reportedly to announce support for FIRST STEP Act with sentencing provisions, greatly increasing its prospects for swift passage | Main | Prez Trump about to "make an announcement on H.R. 5682, the 'First Step Act'" ... which was a strong endorsement 

The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper now available via SSRN authored by Colleen Chien. Here is its abstract:

Over the last decade, dozens of states have enacted second chance reforms that increase the eligibility of individuals charged or convicted of crimes to, upon application, shorten or downgrade their past convictions, clean their criminal records, and/or regain the right to vote. While much fanfare has accompanied the increasing availability of second chances, less is known about their uptake.

This study introduces the concept of the second chance gap  the gap between eligibility for and award of certain forms of second chance relief, and sizes it in connection with several initiatives (Obamas Clemency Initiative, Californias Propositions 47 and 64, and Maryland and Pennsylvania records clearing provisions). It finds approximate uptake rates to be low (less than 20% in most cases) suggesting that among the studied initiatives, the majority of second chances have been missed chances, apparently due to administrative factors like low awareness and high-cost, high-friction application processes and backlog.

To narrow second chance gaps and unlock opportunities and equal access to benefits for individuals with criminal histories, this Essay argues, policymakers should embrace automation, burden-shifting, centralization, and consistency in the implementation of second chance laws. Ensuring that the design and administration of second chance laws reflect their intent can help remove the red tape, not steel bars, that stand in the way of second chances.
Women in Singapore and anywhere else face the challenge of choosing between contributing to family income and raising kids. Research shows that most women in Singapore quite their careers in the thirties to start families. However, others decide to work from home so that they juggle between being productive and being a mother.

Paradox of working women

Interestingly, women in Singapore face the common paradox of a working woman. In particular, the society expects a woman to work diligently while being a traditional woman at home. Since such expectations are next to impossible, women have to choose either to work or raise families.

However, the high standards of living in the city-state demand that at least one finds a source of income. Therefore, women have to find work either way.

Fortunately, there are companies that are going out of their way to make it possible for women to work. In particular, the companies provide an environment for them to be productive while still being effective mothers.

Interestingly, there are various awards that encourage companies to provide flexible work arrangements (FWA) for women. In particular, the awards recognize the organisations effort to help working mothers achieve work-life harmony. Most of the best companies to work for are recipients of such awards, some of which feature below.

Identifying the best companies for women to work for

Recognising an organisation that supports women does not have definite criteria. However, any company that allows a woman to compress their work week is a good place. Further, some companies allow women to work from home while others have lactation rooms. These are efforts that point towards making women comfortable in their careers.

KK Womens and Childrens Hospital (KKH)

KKH makes the top of our list. The organisation has an elaborate work-life harmony strategy that facilitates women careers. Being a womens hospital, the organisation understands exactly what it means for work-life harmony for a working woman. It is without surprise that the organisation has programs in place to female employees ease the burden of family commitments.

Story continues

Firstly, KKH has a flexible work arrangement where it has a 5-day compressed work week. This incorporates the flexi-time program or the part-time program. An employee is free to choose a program that best works for them. Also, one can choose to work as per a shift rotation that takes 12 hours each.

Secondly, the organisation has a dependent care which takes care of infants and young children of employees. With the program, working women do not have to spend most of their post-pregnancy time at home. Interestingly, the dependent care facility is akin to a children nursing program.

In particular, the dependent care incorporates an on-site childcare centre which supports children from 2 months old to six years. Interestingly, the centre has employee friendly rates that do not eat into their income.

In addition, the organisation maintains a safe working environment. It is important to note that women are at a higher risk of injury from occupational hazards. However, KKH maintains an Environmental, Health and Safety system to keep high safety standards.

Further, the organisation consists a facility management and safety committee that comprises senior and middle management employees. In essence, the committee oversees, monitors and reviews issues related to safety at work.

DBS Bank

The organisation is one of the most frequent recipients of Best Company for Mums award. Awarded by Singapore National Trades Union Congress and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices the prize recognises efforts to facilitate women work-life balance.

In particular, 58% of the banks employees were women as at 2013. Further, one-third of the women are in leadership positions within the organisation. Interestingly, as at 2013, 6 of the banks 19 most senior leaders were women.

The significance of this is that having more women in leadership positions facilitates better work-life harmony strategies. This is because women leaders understand better the hassles of a working woman. Unsurprisingly, DBS Bank continues to score high in terms of providing best working conditions for women.

Similar to KK Womens and Childrens Hospital, DBS Bank maintains a flexible work arrangement. Here, workers have a range of options to choose from in terms of the work shift that best suits them.

Other initiatives that DBS Bank applies to improve work-life harmony include allowing staff to leave work early. Normal work hours end at 6.30 pm. However, DBS allows workers to leave at 5 pm on Fridays after which lights go off automatically.

Hitachi Asia

Human Resources Online ranks Hitachi Asia very high in terms enabling work-life balance for women. In particular, the company has elaborate strategies to facilitate high productivity in women.

In particular, the company has a basic approach to work-life balance which includes prevention of long work hours. Further, the company has in place leave systems that allow employees time to rejuvenate.

During the FY2015, the company began an initiative dubbed 20-20 Project. At the core of the initiative is the desire to display abilities of each employee. In particular, the project came up with well-modulated working styles that suited each employee.

Specifically, the goal was to limit average monthly overtime to no more than 20 hours per month. Further, the project would increase annual leave taken in a year to 20 days.

Further, the company has in place various initiatives that spread awareness about work-life balance. With such initiatives in place, the organisation makes a great place for women to work in.

Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC)

This is another institution that ranks high in terms of work-life balance according to Human Resources Online. In particular, the organisation introduced a work-life programme back in 2004 focusing on four major themes. These included family, work, wellness and community.

Specifically, the work-life balance initiative that the organisation supports includes the PSLE Leave Scheme. Basically, this supports women who have a child sitting for the examination in that particular year. This way, the scheme allows time for the parent and the child for moral support.

Similar to KKH and DBS Bank, OCBC has an in-house childcare centre to support women nursing younglings.

(By Neha Gupta)

Related Articles

- Are women as prepared as men for retirement?

- The most powerful women in the world

- TPP is a boost for women  a bold claim from a senior US official
English French

PRESS RELEASE - november 14, 2018

Information about IHS holding

As of November 14, 2018, all IHS Banks in Nigeria have now released all cash previously restricted in connection with Post No Debit Orders received from the EFCC. As a reminder, to IHS' knowledge, no formal allegation or investigation against IHS has been notified to them as part of the EFCC's enquiries.

Agenda

11.29.2018

2018 Investor Day / Publication of NAV and trading update (pre-market release).

03.21.2019

2018 Full-Year Results / Publication of NAV as of December 31, 2018 (pre-market release).

About Wendel

Wendel is one of Europe's leading listed investment firms. The Group invests in Europe, North America and Africa in companies which are leaders in their field, such as Bureau Veritas, Saint-Gobain, Cromology, Stahl, IHS, Constantia Flexibles and Allied Universal. Wendel plays an active role as a controlling or lead shareholder in these companies. We implement long-term development strategies, which involve boosting growth and margins of companies so as to enhance their leading market positions. Through Oranje-Nassau Developpement, which brings together opportunities for investment in growth, diversification and innovation, Wendel is also a shareholder of Mecatherm in France, Nippon Oil Pump in Japan, PlaYce and Tsebo in Africa.

Wendel is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris.

Standard & Poor's ratings: Long-term: BBB-, stable outlook - Short-term: A-3 since July 7, 2014

Moody's ratings: Long-term: Baa2, stable outlook - Short-term: P-2 since September 5, 2018

Wendel is the Founding Sponsor of Centre Pompidou-Metz. In recognition of its long-term patronage of the arts, Wendel received the distinction of "Grand Mecene de la Culture" in 2012.



For more information:

Follow us on Twitter @WendelGroup
Groups aligned with the Islamic state have warned of further attacks on Australia and other Western nations in online posters featuring the deadly lone wolf stabbing rampage in Melbourne last week. "Australia, don't think you are away from our attacks," read one poster, which showed a photo of a vehicle the Melbourne attacker set alight during his attack last Friday. The SITE Intelligence Group which monitors jihadist threats said the graphic was issued Wednesday by the Sunni Shield Media Foundation, which is aligned with the Islamic State. Another graphic posted online and distributed by SITE showed an image drawn from social media showing the Melbourne attacker, Hassan Khalid Shire Ali, trying to stab a policeman before he was fatally shot. A text overlay on the image says: "Melbourne today - What is the next city tomorrow??!" Shire Ali stabbed and killed one man during the incident and wounded two others before being killed by police. Australian police characterised the attack as "terrorism" and said the 30-year-old Somali-born Shire Ali was inspired by the Islamic State, but acted alone and had no known ties to the group. On the day of the attack, Islamic State (IS) said via its propaganda arm that Shire Ali was an "Islamic State fighter and carried out the operation", but provided no evidence to back its claim. Australia is a member of the US-led coalition that has been fighting IS in Syria and neighbouring Iraq since 2014. The jihadists took large swathes of Syria and Iraq that year, proclaiming a "caliphate" across land it controlled. But the jihadist group has since lost most of that territory to multiple offensives on both sides of the border.
Hong Kong government hits back after US report warns Beijings encroachment on citys freedoms could erode its status as global business hub and affect import of American technology

The Hong Kong government has expressed regret over biased conclusions and unfounded accusations after a body advising the United States Congress said Beijings encroachment on the citys political system could diminish its standing as a global business hub and affect the export of American technology to the city.

In its latest report, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended an assessment of the countrys export control policy on technology as it relates to US treatment of Hong Kong and China as separate customs areas.

The report also accused the Chinese government of taking additional steps toward undermining Hong Kongs legal autonomy. It cited as an example the controversial joint checkpoint arrangement allowing mainland Chinese authorities to operate in the Hong Kong terminus of the high-speed cross-border rail.

Under the so-called co-location arrangement, passengers clear both Hong Kong and mainland border checks at the West Kowloon terminus, meaning mainland laws have been enforced on Hong Kong soil for the first time.

Beijing facilitated a controversial rail terminal project that for the first time institutes mainland law in a small portion of the territory. Beijing also passed a National Anthem Law that makes disrespecting Chinas national anthem a criminal offence, and compelled Hong Kong to pass similar legislation, the report stated.

But in a statement released late on Wednesday night, a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the Hong Kong special administrative region (HKSAR).

Since the return to the motherland, the HKSAR has been exercising Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law. The one country, two systems principle has been fully and successfully implemented, the spokesman said.

Story continues

Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong is a separate customs territory and we remain committed to enforcing strategic trade controls. Hong Kong has, and will continue to maintain, close cooperation with the United States on the matter.

The US is Hong Kongs second-largest trading partner, behind only mainland China. Last year, the value of US-Hong Kong bilateral trade amounted to HK$544 billion (US$69 billion)  including HK$327 billion in re-exports and HK$214 billion in imports.

The ongoing decline in rule of law and freedom of expression is a troubling trend

US-China Economic and Security Review Commission

In the document, the commission said the Chinese government had encroached on Hong Kongs rule of law and freedom of expression, and the trend serves as a cautionary example for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region.

Citing the Hong Kong governments unprecedented ban of the separatist Hong Kong National Party, the commission said challenges to freedom of speech and assembly in Hong Kong continue to increase.

In September, the Hong Kong National Party was officially banned on national security and sovereignty grounds, with Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu saying its willingness to use force meant its pro-independence calls could not be regarded as mere political rhetoric.

The commission said: [The ban raised] concerns that it may lead to the passage of national security legislation that would allow the government to further silence pro-democracy organisations and supporters.

In a reference to the local governments refusal to grant Foreign Correspondents Club vice-president and journalist Victor Mallet a visa renewal, the report noted that observers believe the denial was in retaliation for the clubs August 2018 event hosting the head of the Hong Kong National Party.

The report also recalled how law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, co-founder of the 2014 pro-democracy Occupy movement, was strongly rebuked by the local government after he suggested in a seminar that Hong Kong could consider becoming an independent state when China became democratic.

Beijing and the Hong Kong governments harsh criticism and attempted silencing  marked an expanded effort to prevent the open discussion of ideas, the report said.

On these accusations, the governments spokesman insisted that it had all along been handling Hong Kong affairs strictly in accordance with the one country, two systems principle, under which Beijing governs the city while guaranteeing it a high degree of autonomy.

In a reference to the citys mini-constitution, the spokesman added: Any suggestion for Hong Kongs independence is a blatant violation of the Basic Law and a direct affront to the national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the Peoples Republic of China.

The HKSAR government attaches great importance to freedom of speech  However, the relevant international human rights convention and court cases have clearly pointed out that freedom of speech is not absolute.

In the conclusion of its section on Hong Kong, the commission noted that some observers argued Hong Kong was losing the unique characteristics and legal protections that make it important to US interests.

The territory also faces growing economic competition from mainland cities  Over the long term these trends could diminish Hong Kongs standing as a global business centre.

Considerations regarding the export of sensitive US technology to Hong Kong are also predicated on the territorys separation from the mainland  The ongoing decline in rule of law and freedom of expression is a troubling trend, it added.

In a statement, Hong Kong political activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung said it showed US authorities were going to reconsider Hong Kongs customs status in relation to that of mainland China.

[The Hong Kong] establishment has only itself to blame. I call upon the Hong Kong government to stop undermining the citys international reputation, which will hamper our economy too, Wong added.

This article Hong Kong government hits back after US report warns Beijings encroachment on citys freedoms could erode its status as global business hub and affect import of American technology first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
Former Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left prison for the first time in seven months on Wednesday as he faced questioning over corruption and money laundering in relation to the wide-ranging "Car Wash" graft probe. A massive security operation was put in place in the southern city of Curitiba, where the 73-year-old has been held since April, as press and around 100 devoted supporters flocked to the federal court where he and 12 others were interrogated by Judge Gabriela Hardt. Lula was questioned over refurbishments to a farm believed to belong to him, paid for by major construction companies between 2010 and 2014 in exchange for big contracts with state oil giant Petrobras. The afternoon hearing, which was closed to media, lasted around three hours. The leftist icon, already serving a 12-year sentence for accepting a seaside apartment as a bribe during his 2003-10 presidency, was then returned to his cell. Lula's defense lawyers maintain he is innocent of all charges against him and have accused authorities of harassment. Experts don't expect a decision before the end of the year. A lawyer for one of his fellow accused said Lula looked well but thinner than before. - Moral support - His supporters are convinced he's done nothing wrong and have held a vigil outside the federal police jail where he has been held since he was detained. He was brought to and from the court in a convoy of black vehicles and without being seen. "We knew they wouldn't give Lula the pleasure of seeing us but we still encourage him so that he can feel our presence," said Susi Montserrate, who was amongst a group of supporters stationed close to the prison. Earlier in the day, 54-year-old history teacher Eduardo Coelho, who was dressed in a red top emblazoned with Lula's image, said: "Today is an important day, it's the first time that he has left his political imprisonment." "We hope to see him but the important thing is that he sees he's not alone." Roberto Baggio, coordinator for the Landless Farmworkers Movement (MST) in Parana state, told AFP on Tuesday that Lula would be able to "see how much gratitude the people are showing him." Lula is credited during his two terms as president with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and the landless movement is a close ally to his Workers Party (PT). Hardt replaced Sergio Moro, the judge who jailed Lula and who has since been named justice minister by far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro swept to victory in last month's election, helped in no small part by Lula being barred from running due to his incarceration. During a campaign meeting in October, Bolsonaro had said Lula "will rot in jail." Lula's lawyers have accused Moro of bias and demanded the leftist leader's release. "Lula is the victim of a judicial witch-hunt unleashed by an agent wearing a judge's gown... who sought to cancel his freedom and rights," said the lawyers. Before being questioned, Lula met with his lawyers and the man who replaced him as the PT candidate during last month's election, Fernando Haddad. In addition to the current court case, Lula faces four others for passive corruption, influence peddling, money laundering and forming a criminal organization. He insists he is innocent of all accusations and has denounced the charges as political persecution.
The Guardian

The Azeem Rafiq affair shows how we can be alert to racism in one context and blind to it elsewhere Azeem Rafiq apologised immediately for sending antisemitic texts a decade ago, but critics used the affair to downplay his allegations of racism. Photograph: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images For some, it was a gotcha moment. For others, an occasion to parade their own prejudices. Yet others celebrated the end of the attempt to destroy English cricket. On Tuesday, Azeem Rafiq gave devastating testi
He said both countries understand that the strength of their economy comes from having diverse groups of people working together

Although Singapore and Canada are two countries separated by vast geographical distances and cultures, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has many reasons to feel right at home in Singapore.

Both countries share a core belief that strong economic growth comes from a diverse group of people  of different cultures, religions, languages and origins  working together to solve common problems.

That is something these places [Singapore and Canada] do extraordinarily well. In Canada, we demonstrated that differences are a source of strength; and here, the kind of resilience you built in Singapore from people of different perspectives and background, is an example, said Trudeau.

Canada has a skilled and diverse workforce  we are in great shape to become a global hub for innovation right across the board, he added.

Trudeau was addressing a packed modest-sized room at the Canada Fintech Forum, a side event held at this years Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF).

We are two countries that understand the importance of trade, he said.

He noted that Singapores reason for being was because it positioned itself as a successful trading hub facilitating connections from across the Asia-Pacific region.

And in Canadas case, its pool of natural resources outstrips its domestic market, so the country mines and sells natural resources such as lumber to overseas markets.

But like Singapore, Canada has also recognised that its people are the most invaluable assets.

Our human resources are the most important thing in Canada. That is where our investments in education, in skills, in research and science have brought us to a place that is pretty exciting right now in Canada, said Trudeau.

Canada is also a signatory to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade pact between 11 countries including Singapore and Canada.

Story continues

The lowering of trade barriers would enable closer collaborations between businesses from the two countries  and this would ultimately lead to greater prosperity for all parties.

Also Read: Florian Cornu teaches finance masterclass in e27 Academy

Its a smart move for Canada and Singapore to work together. It is how we can create the right conditions for our fintech sector grow and prosper; build shared success, not just here, but around the world, said Trudeau.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)s managing director, Ravi Menon, in his opening address to introduce Trudeau, cited two examples of how Canada and Singapore are working together to develop digital solutions.

First MAS and the Bank of Canada are working together to build a blockchain-based payment platform. Second, a Canadian insurtech startup called Box Insurance made a connection with insurance company AXA Singapore by attending this years SFF. Together, they will work on an SME-focused solution.

Singapore businesses may also be able to harness the talent of Canadian entrepreneurs in the coming years, as the government continues to pour heavy investment to support the growth of its ecosystem.

We are making historic investments in cleantech. We are putting together a national strategy on AI to catalyse on being the world leader in the field, said Trudeau.

In his closing statement, Trudeau reaffirmed his countrys commitment to innovation, and even made a slight jab at countries who are not so forward-thinking (one does not need to think hard to figure out which countries he is referring to)

We are a country that has decided, that despite all the anxiety about the future, and the transformations on the workplace and economies, that while some people seem to be trying to drag out the last of the way things used to be and hold on to the old ways as long as possible, Canada is much better doubling down on the future, to invest in the kinds of solutions that we need tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, he concluded.



The post Canadian PM Justin Trudeau sees Singapore, Canada as strong business partners appeared first on e27.
Chinese consumer spending slowed in October, official data showed Wednesday, adding to worries over the world's second-largest economy, but investment and industrial production appeared to stabilise. Concerns about China have increased in recent months after third-quarter growth came in at its slowest pace in nine years, and as trade frictions with the US have ratcheted upwards. Chinese officials are currently engaging with their US counterparts as the two economic giants try to work out a compromise on trade ahead of President Xi Jinping's meeting with Donald Trump later this month at the G20 gathering. The National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday that retail sales slowed to an 8.6 percent year-on-year increase in October, slightly short of estimates and down from 9.2 percent in September. The NBS blamed the deceleration on consumers holding off from making purchases until Singles Day, China's annual discount shopping bonanza that was held on November 11. "Given uncertain and unstable factors abroad, there are concerns over the slower though stable economic development which is facing downward pressure," bureau spokeswoman Liu Aihua told a news briefing. "The world economy and trade growth momentum have weakened while international financial markets have been turbulent." Exports to the major United States market have held up so far but analysts forecast a dimming picture in the months ahead, reinforcing the need for China to rely on its legions of domestic consumers to grow the economy. The trade row with the US has sapped market confidence, dragging down Chinese equities and the yuan currency. On the positive side, fixed-asset investment, a key economic driver, showed signs of rebounding. It expanded 5.7 percent on-year for the first ten months of the year, picking up after hitting record lows this summer as Beijing's push to get big projects moving this autumn lifted infrastructure spending. Output at factories and workshops ticked up 5.9 percent in October, an improvement on the 5.8 percent in September, according to the NBS, and ahead of the 5.8 percent forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. "Despite the uptick in industrial output and investment, we doubt that economic growth has bottomed out just yet," Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics wrote in a research note. He said local governments had held off on issuing bonds in recent weeks as they face budget limits. "US tariffs have, if anything, acted as a prop to exports recently (due to front-loading by US importers) but are set to become a drag early next year," he said.
Nextech and its vice president of engineering, Brian Sobus, have been nominated for Workplace Culture Program of the Year and Technology Leader of the Year in Tampa Bay Techs 2018 awards



TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nextech Systems, a leading provider of healthcare technology solutions for specialty physician practices, announces it has been named a finalist in two categories in the annual Tampa Bay Tech (TBT) awards. TBT, Floridas largest and most influential technology association, has honored Nextech executive Brian Sobus, vice president of engineering, as a Technology Leader of the Year finalist and Nextech as a finalist for Best Workplace Culture Program of the Year award.

The Technology Leader of the Year award recognizes a leader who consistently drives change and has made significant impacts within their organization, field and Tampa tech community. Brian Sobus, a finalist for this award, has more than 15 years of technology experience and leads two teams at Nextech to streamline and grow Nextechs Practice+ Software solution. Sobus has fostered a highly collaborative and constructive environment within these teams. Each member on his team has unique opportunities to lead meetings and work together to accomplish goals. Further, Sobus is actively involved in the local community, currently developing a program to interest Florida youth in math and technology careers.

Tampa Bay is a growing hub for technology and healthcare companies, alike. As the area continues to expand, I am deeply humbled and honored to be recognized as a leader in this community and field, said Brian Sobus, Vice President of Engineering, Ive loved working with Nextech to expand their practice management (PM) offerings into other areas, and I look forward to continue furthering Nextechs potential in the healthcare and technology sectors.

Nextech was also chosen as a finalist in the Workplace Culture Program of the Year award, which acknowledges an organization whose culture is unique, inclusive and ever-evolving and has a demonstrable impact to the business, programs or projects undertaken.

This year, Nextech took their employees well-being to the next level by developing the People and Culture department, which prioritizes the employees experience within Nextech. Through this, Nextech has continuously driven a culture of innovation across the company, which allows team members to develop into strong leaders for their peers and the technology and healthcare industries. This includes a structured program around their core values (Integrity, Collaboration, Respect, Empowerment, Accountability, Trust & Excellence) known as iCREATE, and new benefits such as paid parental leave for all new parents and paid volunteer time.

Tampa holds more than a quarter of Floridas technology businesses and careers. Its a great honor to have our leadership and organization be named a finalist in these awards knowing that in Tampa were working alongside some of the states  and the countrys  best technology entities, said Mike Scarbrough, Nextech president and CEO. These nominations are a clear testament to the hard work Nextech individuals and teams alike, have put into improving technology, healthcare and the surrounding community this year. We look forward to continuing to innovate and make both Tampa and Nextech one of the best places to live and work.

The TBT awards are the regions longest-running technology honors program and is judged by the leaders of the membership-based technology council to recognize the shining stars, both individuals and businesses, within the Central-Florida area.

The awards show announcement of the winner of each award was held on Friday, Nov. 9, at Armature Works near downtown Tampa.

About Nextech

Nextech is the complete healthcare technology solution for specialty providers. Since 1997, Nextech has been focused on delivering intelligent, intuitive, integrated solutions that empower specialty physicians to maximize efficiency, optimize charting accuracy and increase overall practice profitability. Nextech services more than 7,000 physicians and over 50,000 office staff members in the clinical specialties of Ophthalmology, Dermatology and Plastic Surgery.

For more information contact:

Wyn Partington

Chief Marketing Officer

(813) 425-9260

marketing@nextech.com




Cuba announced Wednesday it will pull thousands of its doctors out of Brazil in response to president-elect Jair Bolsonaro's "direct, contemptuous and threatening" remarks about its medical aid program. The far-right leader has repeatedly criticized the Communist-run island's "More Doctors" program -- which sends thousands of Cuban doctors to work in deprived areas of Brazil -- and said his government would introduce changes. "In the light of this unfortunate reality, the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba has decided to discontinue its participation," Havana said in a statement. Bolsonaro has been scathing about Cuba's management of the five-year-old program, known in Brazil as "Mais Medicos," saying the doctors received only a quarter of what Brazil was paying the Cuban government for their services. His government would counteract that by directly hiring doctors who wanted to remain in the country, but would first demand they submit to a "capacity test." The Cuban health ministry angrily accused Bolsonaro of questioning its doctors' qualifications, and said all Cuban cooperation workers had been paid "their full salary in Cuba." Bolsonaro hit back on Twitter. "We made continuity of the More Doctors program conditional on a capacity test, (payment of) full salary to Cuban professionals, most of which is currently going to the dictatorship, and the freedom to bring their families." "Unfortunately Cuba did not accept," he wrote. In another tweet, he accused Cuba of exploiting its citizens by not fully paying their salaries and said Havana was "irresponsibly" ignoring the negative impacts its decision will have on Brazilians. Cuban President Manuel Diaz-Canel jumped to the program's defense, paying tribute on Twitter to the doctors' "dignity, deep sensitivity, professionalism, dedication and altruism." They had "rendered a valuable service to the people of Brazil," he added. In a pointed response to Bolsonaro, he said their work "must be respected and defended." The program has been in place since August 2013, and since then nearly 20,000 Cuban doctors have treated 113.5 million Brazilians, according to the ministry. - Strong words - In its strongly worded statement, Cuba said the conditions being imposed by Bolsonaro -- who takes office on January 1 -- were "unacceptable." It added Cuban doctors, currently serving in 67 countries, have brought medical care to areas of "extreme poverty" whether in Rio de Janeiro's favelas, Sao Paulo, Salvador de Bahia or the 34 Special Indigenous Districts, particularly Amazonia. "More than 700 municipalities were able to count on a doctor for the first time ever." The Brazilian people "recognized their virtues," the health ministry said, and knew who should be "held responsible for our doctors not being able to continue offering their fraternal contribution in that country." Cuba's "white-coat diplomacy" began under Fidel Castro after the 1959 revolution, and has grown to become the island's most valuable export, bringing in an estimated $11 billion a year. Cuban media reported this week that Havana is sending 500 more doctors to crisis-wracked Venezuela. Cuba had held out hope of being able to work with Bolsonaro's government after years of cooperation with his leftist predecessors, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. The More Doctors program began when Rousseff was president. "We have no problems in having relations with people who think differently from us," said Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca ahead of the Brazilian election. However, the withdrawal of its doctors, and Bolsonaro's barbed comments on Twitter, sets relations at a new low even before the right-winger has officially taken power.
Chung Sze-yuen, a Hong Kong political icon and a pivotal figure in the fight for city residents rights in negotiations for their return to Chinese rule, died on Wednesday morning, two weeks after his 101st birthday.

Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum for the former Executive Council convenor, often dubbed the godfather of local politics, who died after a short illness at St Teresas Hospital in Kowloon City.

Allen Lee Peng-fei, Chungs long-time protege and a senior member of the citys legislature in the 1980s, said: He checked in to the hospital on Tuesday and was surrounded by his family when he passed away peacefully.

It came all of a sudden. We were originally scheduled for lunch yesterday but he told me he couldnt make it.

On November 3, Chung, affectionately known as Sir SY, attended a lunch hosted by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor at Government House to mark his birthday. Some 30 guests, including former judges and politicians, attended.

The city leader said on Wednesday: With distinguished achievements in areas including politics, education, medical care and engineering, he earned deep respect from members of the public.

Chung, she noted, made numerous trips to Beijing and London during the talks on the citys post-handover future, to reflect Hongkongers views.

The spirit of Dr Chungs selfless sacrifice for Hong Kong will always be in our hearts, she said.

David Wilson, who was governor of Hong Kong from 1987 to 1992, said Chung had an outstanding career of public service.

He was determined that the objective of continuing prosperity [after the handover] and a high degree of autonomy should be a practical reality for the people of Hong Kong, Wilson said, adding that he benefited personally from Chungs wisdom and common sense when he was governor.

Few can match his contributions to Hong Kongs political transition, to his own chosen profession, engineering, and to the development of Hong Kongs educational and medical and health services

Story continues

Anson Chan, former chief secretary

Amongst many acts of public service, the role of Sir SY in the creation of the highly successful Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the establishment of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority stand out as great achievements, he said.

Wilson added that Hong Kong owed an enormous debt of gratitude to Chung for his remarkable record of public service and commitment to Hong Kong and its people. His warmth and strength of personality will be sadly missed, the former governor said.

Former Hospital Authority chairman Edward Leong Che-hung, who attended the birthday celebration, said: He was sharp and made a short impromptu speech thanking everyone for coming.

He recalled working with Chung in the 1990s to set up the authority, which manages the citys public hospitals.

SY is a man of vision and Im most impressed how he worked to retain doctors, Leong said. When he feels something needs to be done, he will go against all odds and do the right thing for Hong Kong.

Chung Sze-yuen, voice of Hongkongers in colonial corridors of power

Former chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang praised Chung, who was knighted in 1978, as a man of the utmost integrity who served Hong Kong selflessly. He said he worked with Chung closely in tertiary education, especially in the planning for the HKUST in the late 1980s.

I learned a great deal from him. He always had a masterly grasp of the issues and was fair-minded, he said.

Chung was one of a select few who served in both the legislature and Executive Council for the colonial government before Hong Kongs eventual return to Chinese rule in 1997.

He was a senior member of the Legislative Council from 1974 to 1978 and of the Executive Council between 1980 and 1988.

In June 1984, leading a delegation to Beijing, Chung had a frank exchange with Chinas paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping.

Chung told Deng that Hongkongers lacked confidence in the citys future, to which Deng had only a blunt reply: It is you who have no faith in the Peoples Republic of China.

In 1990 he became the founding chairman of the Hospital Authority, a body he served until 1995.

After the handover, he became convenor of then chief executive Tung Chee-hwas Executive Council. He held the post until 1999, when Leung Chun-ying took over.

Chung retired from the Hong Kong political scene that year. After releasing a memoir in 2001, he rarely publicly commented on local politics.

The Democratic Partys founding chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming said nobody would dispute Chungs contribution in the run-up to Hong Kongs handover.

But the partys former chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing said Chung had not done enough to fight for democratic elections in the city.

Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang said Chung would always be a towering figure in Hong Kongs history.

Few can match his contributions to Hong Kongs political transition, to his own chosen profession, engineering, and to the development of Hong Kongs educational and medical and health services, she said.

In a statement, Lydia Dunn, who was an executive councillor along with Chung, praised his deep and widespread contribution to Hong Kong.

Recalling the time during Sino-British negotiations, Dunn said: I saw at first hand the courageous way he reflected the concerns of Hong Kong people during those anxious times to both the British and Chinese governments. His leadership and example were inspirational to all those of us who witnessed the always honest, principled, selfless and fearless way that he spoke up for Hong Kong.

Dunns husband, former attorney general Michael Thomas, similarly praised Chung.

[Former British prime minister Margaret] Thatcher held him in the highest regard for his contributions and advice. The legacy he leaves is the example he set for others to follow in putting their talents to serve the public at large, Thomas said.

This article Former Hong Kong Executive Council convenor Chung Sze-yuen, godfather of local politics, dies aged 101 first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
Hong Kong youngsters will no longer be allowed to buy alcohol from shops when a new law kicks in on the last day of this month.

But youngsters will still be able to drink liquor at family gatherings or social events, officials said.

Although the citys bars and clubs are already banned from serving or selling alcohol to minors, retailers do not have to follow the rule. Leading chains such as 7-Eleven have for some time voluntarily refused to sell liquor to anyone below 18.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Department of Health noted its Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office would enforce the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 from November 30. The new law specifically prohibits the sale and supply of intoxicating liquor to anyone under 18.

The new legislation aims to prevent young peoples access to alcohol, said Dr Jeff Lee Pui-man, the offices head. We also urge everyone, especially young people, to adopt an alcohol-free healthy lifestyle.

Lee noted the law covered all kinds of sale and supply, irrespective of whether payment is involved. It included alcoholic drinks sold or supplied for commercial purposes at fairs, celebrations or exhibitions.

But he explained that the law did not apply to family gatherings or social events with no business intent.

Family doctor Dr Cheng Chi-man said the move was in the right direction.

Easy access to booze for minors in Hong Kong

Family gatherings and social events might be exempted due to difficulties in enforcing the law in these situations, as they could be private events, he said.

While this could be a loophole in the law, in deciding what is exempted and what is not, Cheng believed authorities should be given some time to go ahead with the law before assessing its effectiveness.

The maximum fine for anyone breaking the new law is HK$50,000 (US$6,400) on summary conviction.

Stores selling alcohol are also required to display a sign containing both the Chinese and English versions of a prescribed notice about the law, in a prominent location.

Story continues

The maximum fine for non-compliance with the notice requirement is HK$25,000 on summary conviction.

This article Hong Kong to ban under-18s buying alcohol in shops first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
Hungary confirmed Wednesday that it had received a request for political asylum from fugitive former Macedonia prime minister Nikola Gruevski, in a case that could prove a diplomatic headache for Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Budapest said it would consider the application from Gruevski, who dominated Macedonia for nearly a decade until 2016. The move is likely to enrage Skopje, which has issued an international warrant for the former premier's arrest after he failed to show up for his two-year jail term. A day after the 48-year-old said on Facebook he had fled a prison sentence for abuse of power, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office confirmed that Gruevski "has submitted an asylum request" and had declared that he intended to "submit a request for refugee status in Hungary". "Given that he was prime minister of his country for 10 years, for security reasons the Hungarian authorities have allowed Mr Gruevski to have his asylum request submitted and heard at the headquarters of the Immigration and Asylum Office in Budapest," it added. Budapest declined to reveal details of Gruevski's whereabouts, or how the Macedonian -- who has been stripped of his passport -- entered Hungary. Gruevski had announced via Facebook on Tuesday that he had fled to the Hungarian capital. "I am now in Budapest, where I have requested political asylum from the Hungarian authorities," he wrote. Skopje has called on Budapest not to grant his request. On Wednesday, Macedonian premier Zoran Zaev urged Hungary to "respect international practice, international law" and not provide "a refuge shelter for criminals". In the past Gruevski, an opponent of Macedonia joining the European Union and NATO, had indicated he was close to Hungarian premier Orban. Both have accused US liberal billionaire George Soros of stoking illegal immigration -- claims that Soros denies. In 2017, Orban publicly supported Gruevski during his campaign for municipal elections in which the Macedonian's right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party lost to Zaev's ruling Social Democrats. Budapest insisted that it wanted to keep on good terms with Skopje. "We in no way wish to intervene in the internal affairs of sovereign countries, and we consider the assessment of the former Macedonian prime minister's asylum request to be solely a legal issue," said the government statement. - 'Persecuted and threatened' - Nevertheless, a spokesperson for Orban's ruling party Fidesz said Wednesday that Gruevski was "persecuted and threatened by a left-wing government, which clearly has the support of George Soros". The application will also test Budapest's willingness to apply harsh asylum rules and anti-migrant measures like border fences and detention camps for asylum seekers that have drawn fierce criticism from Orban's opponents at home and abroad including Brussels. Since 2015 Hungary has built a fence fitted with heavily guarded so-called "transit zones" on the border with Serbia where asylum-seekers are detained until their cases are judged. "Will they lock Gruevski up or is a VIP-asylum procedure possible in Budapest?" asked Dutch Green MEP Judith Sargentini on Twitter. Sargentini wrote the report which formed the basis of the European Parliament's decision in September to launch an unprecedented "Article 7" legal action against Budapest. The report accused Hungary of a slew of alleged breaches of civil liberties and EU values, including its harsh treatment of asylum-seekers. Andras Racz, an analyst with the Political Capital think tank in Budapest, said that the one-day delay in confirmation indicated that Budapest was probably "taken by surprise" by Gruevski's sudden announcement. "I don't expect the government will move quickly, it will try to measure the international feedback, to weigh the pros and cons, all the while keeping Gruevski on Hungarian soil," he told AFP.
Among Sri Lankans, political veteran Mahinda Rajapakse earned the nickname "Lord of the Rings" thanks to his taste for gem-laden rings and an epic battle. But the former strongman president lost his magic in his latest comeback bid. Renowned and feared for his brutal ending of the country's prolonged Tamil separatist war in 2009, Rajapakse is a big believer in fate. With nearly every finger bearing a lucky gem, the 72-year-old consults astrologers even for political decisions. But something went wrong when he agreed to become prime minister on October 26 after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe. The strategy failed and the numbers in parliament did not add up. Wickremesinghe refused to leave the official residence, and the assembly voted Rajapakse's rival government down on Wednesday. It was the latest blow for the politician who ruled Sri Lanka for a decade up to a surprise defeat in a 2015 presidential election. Since then, Rajapakse and his family and allies have faced increasing legal and political pressure over fallout from the years in power. Several face legal action for corruption. - Political pedigree - Rajapakse comes from a well-connected political family in the southern district of Hambantota. His father, D.A. Rajapakse, was a prominent independence activist and cabinet minister. The younger Rajapakse studied law but at 24 -- before he had even qualified as an attorney -- he became an MP. Using his expert espousal of conservative Buddhist values, Rajapakse became prime minister in 2004 and narrowly beat Wickremesinghe to the presidency a year later in their first showdown. His two terms made him one of Asia's most controversial leaders. His name is feared by Tamils and his battles with the United Nations have become legendary. Rajapakse ordered the military campaign to end the 37-year-old Tamil conflict in May 2009, although he has rejected allegations that at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by government forces in the closing weeks of the civil war. More than 100,000 people died during the whole conflict. He fought off UN demands for an investigation and some international leaders boycotted a Commonwealth summit that he hosted in November 2013. But his action to end the threat from Tamil Tiger suicide bombers made him a hero among the majority Sinhalese community. He won a huge majority for his second term and blamed the Tamils for voting against him when he was beaten in 2015 by Maithripala Sirisena. Highlighting the tumultuous state of Sri Lankan politics, Sirisena was an ally who turned against him for the 2015 race -- before changing allegiance again to make Rajapakse his prime minister last month. - 'Charismatic leader' - The Sri Lankan strongman is still beloved by many of the country's Sinhalese population. Political commentator Kusal Perera called him "the most charismatic Sinhala Buddhist leader." "You are the father of our nation," wrote Shehan Udayanga, one of 1.3 million followers of Rajapakse on Facebook. As president he oversaw rapid economic growth, built Sri Lanka's first expressway and rolled out new highways and railroads. But critics say Rajapakse lost the 2015 elections in a pushback against nepotism and massive corruption. His ambitious infrastructure projects ended up as white elephants and left the country facing a mountain of debt -- mainly to China. Unable to service the loans, the Wickremesinghe government last year leased a Chinese-built port at Hambantota to a Beijing company for $1.12 billion. Sirisena's government launched several investigations into charges Rajapakse and his family siphoned off billions of dollars, but prosecutions were extremely slow. Rajapakse says his family is the target of a political vendetta. His potential return had worried Tamils in Sri Lanka as well as foreign governments. The International Crisis Group had warned Tamil activists and journalists "will be at risk of increased harassment or worse" and "so too will critics of the Rajapakse family and dissenters throughout the country." But while he might have been voted down in the most recent parliamentary poll, few doubt that Rajapakse is consulting his astrologers about his next move.
With the beverage industry in a period of disruption, Isodiol is expanding its opportunities to research and develop diverse alternative beverages that utilize its proprietary CBD ingredients.



VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Isodiol International Inc. (CSE: ISOL ) (OTCQB: ISOLF ) (FSE: LB6B.F ) (the Company or Isodiol) announced today that it has entered into an agreement on November 12, 2018 with Record Street Brewing Co. (Record Street), a music culture and lifestyle branded craft-beer company based in Reno, Nevada, for the research and development of hemp-based beers and functional beverages.

On August 20, 2018, the Company announced its hiring of a lead brewer and the acquisition of a pilot brewing plant, including a 7-bbl brewhouse, four 15-bbl fermentation tanks, a 30-bbl fermentation tank, a 15-bbl brite tank, and a 30-bbl brite tank. In addition, the Company acquired a 12-ounce bottling line and a 22-ounce bottling line.

This partnership with Record Street will give that equipment and Isodiols internal R&D operations a strategic home in a state that has legalized both adult and medicinal cannabis use and embraces the sale of both hemp-derived and cannabis-derived CBD products. While federal and state regulatory restrictions generally prohibit cannabis activities by licensed breweries, there are significant opportunities to develop both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in which Isodiols hemp-derived ingredients can be utilized.

This relationship also will integrate seamlessly with Record Streets pre-existing contract brewing relationship with Brew Hub LLC (Brew Hub) and the exclusive hemp-derived and cannabis-derived beverages production deal announced yesterday between Brew Hub and Isodiols wholly owned subsidiary IsoBev International Inc.

We are very excited about the ability to have research and development space for both brewed and carbonated beverages and to utilize Record Streets brewing and market testing knowledge in Nevada and California, said Marcos Agramont, CEO of Isodiol. This opportunity will allow us to further innovate products utilizing Isodiols proprietary CBD ingredients that can be transitioned into commercial opportunities at scale through Brew Hub as consumer trends and the regulatory landscape continue to evolve.

Jesse Corletto, President of Record Street, stated, It is obvious that beverage consumers want new product innovation involving hemp and cannabis ingredients. But, it is too early to tell exactly what those products will be and where trends will go without additional research and development. This partnership with Isodiol is a real learning opportunity for Record Street and will provide us with access to high quality traditional ingredients for new product launches like coffee porters and seasonal offerings, as well as the use of some great brewing and bottling equipment.

This partnership with Record Street also provides a West Coast complement to IsoBevs East Coast operations in brewed beverages through Brew Hub (Lakeland, Florida), water-based beverages through the Azure Bottling LLC subsidiary (Leesburg, Florida), and coffees, teas, and beverage flavorings through the Culinary Coffee division (Stuart, Florida).

Isodiol, through its IsoBev subsidiaries and partnerships, utilizes novel CBD ingredients to enhance beverage flavors and provide health and wellness benefits to consumers, said Mr. Agramont. We look forward to bringing these products to market and staying in front of consumer trends.

As part of Isodiols partnership with Record Street, Isodiol will own all formulas and other intellectual properties that include Isodiols proprietary ingredients and will supply Record Street with Culinary Coffees proprietary coffee, tea, and beverage flavoring ingredients for its beers. The parties will co-share the production space and equipment in Record Streets Reno, Nevada facility. The deal has an initial term of three years.

About Isodiol International Inc.

Isodiol International Inc. is focused on the nutritional health benefits that are derived from hemp and is a product development, sales, marketing and distribution company of hemp-based consumer products and solutions.

Isodiol has commercialized a 99%+ pure, naturally isolated CBD, including micro-encapsulations, and nano-technology for quality consumable and topical skin care products. Most recently, the Company received approval for its CBD designated as an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient for use in Finished Pharmaceutical Products, as was announced on April 26, 2018 .

Isodiols growth strategy includes the development of over-the-counter and pharmaceutical drugs and continued international expansion into Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

Join Us On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsodiolInternationalInc/

Twitter: @Isodiolintlinc

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Marcos Agramont , CEO & Director

INVESTOR RELATIONS:

Ir@isodiol.com

604-409-4409

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christopher Hussey

media@isodiol.com

Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to statements regarding the Company's business, products and future the Companys business, its product offerings and plans for sales and marketing. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance and developments to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risks that the Company's products and plan will vary from those stated in this news release and the Company may not be able to carry out its business plans as expected. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation and does not intend, to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information in this news release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and makes no reference to profitability based on sales reported. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release.

The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this press release.
New report to US Congress supports an increasingly hawkish view on China

Chinas global rise has undoubtedly put at risk the national security and economic interests of the United States, its allies, and its partners, according to a commission that advises the US Congress on national security implications of the US-China trade and economic relationship.

The warning came in a 525-page report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which calls on lawmakers to enact a broad range of measures to better monitor and counter Chinas global expansion strategies, trading practices, and influence campaigns abroad.

The commission contends that Chinese President Xi Jinping is seeking to fundamentally change the global order to facilitate Chinas ambitions and warns US policymakers that the country is on track to reverse the strategic philosophy once espoused by the reform-minded leader Deng Xiaoping that China should hide [its] capabilities, bide [its] time, and never take the lead in international affairs.

The report offers a hawkish view on China that is finding increasing resonance within mainstream US politics, against the backdrop of an administration pursuing  with broadly bipartisan support  an aggressive rebuke of perceived unfair trade practices on the part of China.

Why the US could lose a war against China

The report, to be delivered on Wednesday to Senator Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the Finance Committee, and House speaker Paul Ryan, was compiled on the basis of classified and unclassified hearings with witnesses from government, academia and the private sector, as well as research trips to Taiwan and Japan.

Commission members were not granted visas to visit China to conduct research in-country.

Senior Chinese officials have on a number of occasions denied that Beijing seeks to challenge US global dominance, and have played down the geopolitical and strategic nature of foreign policy endeavours like Xis signature Belt and Road Initiative.

That campaign, launched five years ago, partners China with dozens of countries around the world through largely state-facilitated infrastructure and development programmes.

Story continues

Such declarations have been met with scepticism in Washington, with the USCC telling Congress that belt and road objectives included bolstering energy security, expanding Chinas military reach and advancing geopolitical influence by moving China to the centre of the global order.

The report concludes that such criticism will likely be met with strong opposition from Beijing. China, it says, will be quick to cast any pushback or legitimate criticism as fear, nationalism, protectionism, and racism against the Chinese people.

The commission called on Congress to insist that the director of national intelligence investigate the security ramifications of Chinas growing access to the countries and regions along the belt and road route.

The commission also recommended that Congress establish a fund to provide assistance to countries deemed to be a target or vulnerable to Chinese economic or diplomatic pressure.

China asserts itself with unique leverage in countries unable to raise funds anywhere else due to poor credit ratings, said Robin Cleveland, the chairwoman of the USCC.

Were not going to be able to dollar-for-dollar compete when it comes to the trillion that the Chinese are willing to put on the table, said Cleveland, who was appointed to the position by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

But I think that we can target assistance in the same way we did in Ukraine, Georgia and some of the Eastern European countries post-wall, she said, referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

USCCs recommendations come two days after the US governments Overseas Private Investment Agency (OPIC) signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Japan and Australia, which, according to OPIC, will see that the three countries collaborate on urgent issues facing the Indo-Pacific including enhancement of connectivity, shared development objectives, and the promotion of womens economic empowerment.

OPIC was initially earmarked for erasure in the early part of Donald Trumps presidency, but was given a lifeline this summer as part of the administrations Indo-Pacific Economic Strategy  widely regarded as a counter to Beijings belt and road plan, albeit on a much smaller scale, and will see OPICs finance cap double to US$60 billion, from US$30 billion.



The commissions wide-reaching recommendations included a call to examine the security threat posed by Chinese technology or services being put to use in 5G networks around the US.

Another recommendation was to investigate whether the intellectual property of US researchers and firms is adequately protected in cases of US-China joint ventures and whether the Chinese military is benefiting from US taxpayer-funded research.

The commission also wants a determination on the applicability of US laws to sanction Communist Party affiliates involved in the coercion or threatening of US residents.

We are no longer considered outliers, and its not because weve changed our views. Its because the debate has shifted

Carolyn Bartholomew, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission vice-chairwoman

The USCC also calls on the Department of Justice to clarify that materials disseminated by bodies determined to be foreign agents  a classification recently imposed on Chinese state news agency Xinhua and television broadcaster CGTN  must carry a prominent label identifying the publisher as such.

The commissions members were once considered to be outliers and very hawkish, said Carolyn Bartholomew, the bodys vice-chairwoman. We are no longer considered outliers, and its not because weve changed our views. Its because the debate has shifted.

The depth and breadth of the issues the report raises add weight to analysts warnings that any deal Trump and Xi might strike as a result of their expected meeting at the G20 summit at the end of the month will fail to resolve many of Washingtons fundamental grievances against Beijing.

Even simply within matters of trade, according to Justin Thomson, chief investment officer of equity at the asset management firm T Rowe Price, the two sides will be able to agree on 70 per cent of the issues but not the rest.

China isnt going to back down on what makes China China, which is to advance its technology.

In remarks delivered at the Asia Society in New York on Tuesday, former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson warned that underlying tensions will persist beyond any resolution to the trade war, but said leaders should make it a priority to alter the downward spiral for the well-being of all nations of the world.

Speaking out against advocates of an economic decoupling between the US and China, Paulson, who served under George W. Bush and later founded the Paulson Institute, called on the Trump administration to dial down the rhetoric and suggested that perceptions of Chinas threat to the US were overblown.

Strategic competition is a fact, he said.

But China does not pose an existential threat to American civilisation. In the 242nd year of our great democratic experiment, we should have more confidence in America and the resilience of our system.

Additional reporting by Jodi Xu Klein



This article New report to US Congress supports an increasingly hawkish view on China 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 Russian-controlled branch of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine said Tuesday that it would not participate in the establishment of a unified church there as Kiev seeks to cut spiritual ties with Moscow. The announcement came after a planned meeting between top pro-Moscow clerics and President Petro Poroshenko fell through. In a historic decision last month, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, considered the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide, agreed to recognise the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's independence from the Moscow Patriarchate. The decision sparked rage in Moscow and prompted the Russian Orthodox Church to cut all ties with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Orthodox church in Ukraine is divided between a branch whose clerics pledge loyalty to Moscow and one overseen by the Kiev-based Patriarch Filaret that Moscow does not recognise. The split deepened after Russia annexed Crimea and a separatist uprising broke out in eastern Ukraine, a conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives since 2014. On Tuesday, the branch loyal to Moscow said that granting the Ukrainian church independence was an "artificial process that has been imposed from outside" and would only deepen divisions. "Joining this process is impossible," the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate said in a statement. The Moscow-affiliated branch added that it was breaking communion with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate. Its top clerics had met at Kiev's Pechersk Lavra monastery, Ukraine's most important Orthodox shrine. Poroshenko was to have met with them but declined to do so there, though spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko said the president was prepared to attend a meeting elsewhere. Tsegolko accused Moscow of seeking to "disrupt the process of creating" a unified church in Ukraine. "An absolute majority of citizens of our state support this process," he said on Facebook. "So going against the will of your own people is obviously a path to nowhere." Patriarch Filaret, the 89-year-old head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, has said he was prepared to lead a unified Ukrainian Church.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Select Sands Corp. (Select Sands or the Company) (TSXV: SNS, OTC: SLSDF) today announced operational and financial results for Q3 2018 and the filing of its financial statements and associated managements discussion and analysis on www.sedar.com . The Companys financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars to better reflect Select Sands operations and to improve investors ability to compare the Companys financial results with other publicly traded silica sand businesses in the U.S. Prior to reporting its Q4 2017 and full year results, Select Sands financial statements were stated in Canadian dollars. The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 10:00 A.M. Central to discuss its Q3 2018 results (see Conference Call Information section in this release for access information).



Q3 2018 Highlights

Sold 81,626 tons of frac and industrial sand during Q3 2018, with the decrease in frac sand demand from Q2 2018 levels primarily driven by an accelerated slowdown in well completions in the Permian Basin as a result of temporary takeaway capacity constraints, exploration and production budget exhaustion for 2018 and in-basin supply additions;

Q3 2018 Q3 2017 Q2 2018 Frac sand 81,604 114,567 164,848 Industrial sand 22 283 24 Frac and Industrial sand 81,626 114,850 164,872 Other sand & gravel 2,165 3,632 1,401 83,791 118,482 166,273

Generated revenue of $4.0 million and gross profit of $0.7 million in Q3 2018, as compared to $9.5 million and $3.0 million, respectively, in Q2 2018;

Reported a net loss of $0.1 million, or $0.00 per basic and diluted share, in Q3 2018 versus net income of $1.6 million, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, in the preceding quarter;

Generated Q3 2018 adjusted EBITDA (1) of $0.2 million as compared to $2.9 million in Q2 2018; and

of $0.2 million as compared to $2.9 million in Q2 2018; and As of September 30, 2018, cash and cash equivalents were $5.3 million, inventory on hand was $2.6 million, accounts receivable was $0.8 million and working capital was $6.4 million. This is compared to cash and cash equivalents of $4.2 million, inventory on hand of $1.8 million, accounts receivable of $4.0 million and working capital of $7.0 million as of June 30, 2018.



(1) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure and is described and reconciled to net loss in the table under Non-IFRS Financial Measures.

Recent Updates

On October 18, 2018, the Company announced it had placed certain employees at its Arkansas operations on temporary furlough until further notice. Shipments and limited production continue, and Select Sands is pursuing additional opportunities, including evaluating sand production and sand-related business opportunities in or near other basins.

The Companys Independence property expansion project remains on hold, with progress resuming once frac sand demand reaches appropriate levels.

Zig Vitols, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, Along with other frac sand producers in the industry, we were not immune to the widespread disruptions that impacted demand during the third quarter. Given this backdrop, we quickly took the necessary steps to manage costs and preserve working capital, including moving to single shift operations to ensure optimal control of overhead. As one would expect, this has been a difficult situation for our employees and contract-personnel and I want to thank them for their continued assistance and hard-work.

Financial Summary

The following table includes summarized financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2018, September 30, 2017 and June 30, 2018:

Select Sands Corp.

Summarized Consolidated Interim Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income

(Expressed in United States Dollars)

(Unaudited)

For the Three Months Ended September 30, September 30, June 30, 2018 2017 2018 Revenue $ 3,992,438 $ 5,135,956 $ 9,504,445 Cost of goods sold (excluding depreciation and depletion) 3,295,315 3,941,999 6,457,938 Gross Profit $ 697,123 $ 1,193,957 $ 3,046,507 General and administrative ("G&A") expenses (1) 640,063 240,078 625,164 Depreciation and depletion 243,818 149,499 235,293 Interest on long-term debt 44,840 - 40,741 Operating (Loss) Income $ (231,598 ) $ 804,380 $ 2,145,309 Interest income 9,076 3,106 872 Foreign exchange gain (loss) 44,000 (444,985 ) 97,073 Share of (loss) in equity investee (17,815 ) (40,449 ) (51,904 ) (Loss) Income Before Income Taxes $ (196,337 ) $ 322,052 $ 2,191,350 Provision for income taxes 60,197 - (586,272 ) Net (Loss) Income $ (136,140 ) $ 322,052 $ 1,605,078 Foreign currency translation adjustment 10,930 (16,554 ) (159,991 ) Comprehensive (Loss) Income $ (125,210 ) $ 305,498 $ 1,445,087 Basic (Loss) Earnings Per Share $ (0.00 ) $ 0.00 $ 0.02 Diluted (Loss) Earnings Per Share $ (0.00 ) $ 0.00 $ 0.02 Basic Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding 88,501,033 87,003,316 88,313,316 Diluted Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding 95,845,596 97,044,429 98,102,429 Adjusted EBITDA (2) $ 171,046 $ 339,005 $ 2,945,343 (1) Includes non-cash share-based compensation of $60,915, ($172,995) and $426,055 for the third quarter 2018, third quarter 2017 and second quarter 2018. (2) Excludes depreciation and depletion, non-cash share-based compensation, interest on long-term debt, share of (loss) in equity investee and provision for income taxes. See table under "Non-IFRS Financial Measures for reconciliation to net (loss) income.

Outlook

Mr. Vitols concluded, Given the strong underlying long-term fundamentals of the North American oil and gas industry, we view the decrease in demand faced by frac sand producers as transitory in nature. While it is difficult to estimate the specific timing, we currently expect market conditions to improve in early 2019, as budgets for E&P operators reset and well completion activity accelerates. We also anticipate further expansion of offtake capacity in the Permian, which will improve pricing differentials and thereby drive more activity in the region. Given the high-quality silica offerings we produce and our strategic location near key oil and gas basins in the U.S., in this improved environment we expect to return to full rate production. In addition, we will be in a better position to move forward with the Independence property expansion project, which will increase our production capacity to one million tons per year  a 67% increase over current capacity  and significantly lower the cost profile of our overall operations.

Elliott A. Mallard, PG of Kleinfelder is the qualified person as per the NI-43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Central (CT) to discuss Q3 of 2018 results. To access the conference call, callers in North America may dial toll free 1-855-669-9657 and callers outside North America may dial 1-412-542-4135. Please call ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time to ensure a proper connection and ask to be joined into the Select Sands call.

A playback of the conference call will be available in MP3 format by contacting investor relations below.

About Select Sands Corp.

Select Sands Corporation is an industrial silica product company, which owns a number of properties in Arkansas and is currently in production at its 100% owned, Tier-1, silica sands property located near Sandtown, Arkansas, U.S.A. Select Sands goal is to become a key supplier of premium industrial silica sand and frac sand to North American markets. Select Sands Arkansas properties have a significant logistical advantage of being significantly closer to oil and gas markets located in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana than sources of similar sands from the Wisconsin area. The Tier-1 reference above is a classification of frac sand developed by PropTester, Inc., an independent laboratory specializing in the research and testing of products utilized in hydraulic fracturing & cement operations, following ISO 13503-2:2006/API RP19C:2008 standards.

Select Sands Sandtown project has NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resources of 42.0MM tons (TetraTech Report; February, 2016) and Bell Farm has Inferred Mineral Resources of 49.6MM tons (Kleinfelder Report; April, 2017). Both deposits are considered Northern White finer-grade sand deposits of 40-70 Mesh and 100 Mesh.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Information and statements which are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release relate to comments that include, but are not limited to improved customer demand for frac sand, returning to full production levels, further capacity expansion and a lower cost profile. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

Company Contact

Please visit www.selectsandscorp.com or call:

Zigurds Vitols

President & CEO

Phone: (604) 639-4533

Investor Relations Contact

Arlen Hansen

SNS@kincommunications.com

Phone: (604) 684-6730

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.

Select Sands Corp.

Consolidated Interim Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(Expressed in United States Dollars)

(Unaudited)

Three months Three months Nine months Nine months ended ended ended ended September 30, September 30, September 30, September 30, 2018

2017

2018

2017

Revenue $ 3,992,438 $ 5,135,956 $ 19,152,293 $ 8,539,797 Cost of Goods Sold (excluding depreciation and depletion) 3,295,315 3,941,999 14,084,597 6,908,187 Gross Profit 697,123 1,193,957 5,067,696 1,631,610 Operating Expenses Compensation and consulting 292,768 396,888 744,239 698,346 Depreciation and depletion 243,818 149,499 704,344 382,381 Interest on long-term debt 44,840 - 117,750 - Selling, general and administrative 286,385 16,185 429,528 484,894 Share-based compensation 60,910 (172,995 ) 488,154 1,948,213 Total Operating Expenses (928,721 ) (389,577 ) (2,484,015 ) (3,513,834 ) Operating Income (Loss) (231,598 ) 804,380 2,583,681 (1,882,224 ) Other (Expense) Income Interest income 9,076 3,106 12,731 16,948 Foreign exchange gain (loss) 44,000 (444,985 ) 40,207 (790,266 ) Share of (loss) in equity investee (17,815 ) (40,449 ) (67,548 ) (201,292 ) Total Other (Expense) Income 35,261 (482,328 ) (14,610 ) (974,610 ) Net Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes (196,337 ) 322,052 2,569,071 (2,856,834 ) Provision for income taxes 60,197 - (526,075 ) - Net Income (Loss) $ (136,140 ) $ 322,052 $ 2,042,996 $ (2,856,834 ) Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income Foreign currency translation adjustment 10,930 (16,554 ) (153,507 ) 19,525 Comprehensive Income (Loss) $ (125,210 ) $ 305,498 $ 1,889,489 $ (2,837,309 ) Basic Earnings (Loss) Per Share $ (0.00 ) $ 0.00 $ 0.02 $ (0.03 ) Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share $ (0.00 ) $ 0.00 $ 0.02 $ (0.03 ) Basic Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding 88,501,033 87,003,316 88,376,576 86,488,031 Diluted Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding 95,845,596 97,044,429 95,721,139 86,488,031

Select Sands Corp.

Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position

(Expressed in United States Dollars)

(Unaudited)

As at September 30, December 31, 2018 2017 ASSETS Current Cash and cash equivalents $ 5,299,781 $ 2,047,515 Accounts receivable 756,137 3,385,597 Inventory 2,560,041 1,961,573 Prepaid expenses 83,446 83,223 Total Current Assets 8,699,405 7,477,908 Deposits 320,994 364,580 Deferred income taxes 2,165,121 2,356,000 Investment in Affiliate 1,270,603 1,275,409 Property, Plant and Equipment 15,631,747 13,415,238 Total Assets $ 28,087,870 $ 24,889,135 LIABILITIES Current Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,122,994 $ 1,418,182 Current portion of long-term debt 1,170,616 778,051 Total Current Liabilities 2,293,610 2,196,233 Long-term Debt 2,955,388 2,284,096 Total Liabilities 5,248,998 4,480,329 EQUITY Share Capital 34,803,675 34,717,344 Share-based Payment Reserve 5,328,477 4,874,231 Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income (95,969 ) 57,538 Deficit (17,197,311 ) (19,240,307 ) Total Equity 22,838,872 20,408,806 Total Liabilities and Equity $ 28,087,870 $ 24,889,135

Select Sands Corp.

Consolidated Interim Statements of Cash Flows

(Expressed in United States Dollars)

(Unaudited)

For the Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2018 2017 Operating Activities Net income (loss) for the period $ 2,042,996 $ (2,856,833 ) Adjustments for non-cash items: Depreciation and depletion 704,344 382,381 Share-based compensation 488,154 1,948,213 Foreign exchange 101,011 204,735 Gain on sale of equipment - (1,196 ) Share of loss in equity investee 67,548 201,292 Accretion on finance leases 55,171 - Provision for income taxes 127,152 - Changes in non-cash operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable 2,629,460 (2,473,237 ) Inventory (598,468 ) (1,953,157 ) Prepaid expenses (223 ) 4,380 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (558,455 ) 749,900 Total Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities 5,058,690 (3,793,522 ) Investing Activities Deposits 43,586 (231,928 ) Investment in affiliate (100,000 ) - Proceeds from disposal of equipment - 5,955 Property, plant and equipment (1,155,800 ) (3,612,562 ) Total Cash Used in Investing Activities (1,212,214 ) (3,838,535 ) Financing Activities Warrants exercised 37,279 796,776 Options exercised 15,144 297,805 Proceeds from short-term loan 900,000 - Repayments of short-term loan (900,000 ) - Proceeds from long-term debt 266,558 - Principal repayments of long-term debt (759,684 ) - Total Cash (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities (440,703 ) 1,094,581 Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash (153,507 ) 354,365 Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents 3,252,266 (6,183,111 ) Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period 2,047,515 8,770,627 Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Period $ 5,299,781 $ 2,587,516

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The following information is included for convenience only. Generally, a non-IFRS financial measure is a numerical measure of a companys performance, cash flows or financial position that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance (nor does it have a standardized meanings) under IFRS. In evaluating non-IFRS financial measures, investors should consider that the methodology applied in calculating such measures may differ among companies and analysts.

The Company uses both IFRS and certain non-IFRS measures to assess operational performance and as a component of employee remuneration. Management believes certain non-IFRS measures provide useful supplemental information to investors in order that they may evaluate Select Sands' financial performance using the same measures as management. Management believes that, as a result, the investor is afforded greater transparency in assessing the financial performance of the Company. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, nor superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Reconciliation of Net (Loss) Income to EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA:

For the Three Months Ended September 30, September 30, June 30, 2018 2017 2018 Net (Loss) Income $ (136,140 ) $ 322,052 $ 1,605,078 Add Back Depreciation and depletion 243,818 149,499 235,293 Share-based compensation 60,910 (172,995 ) 426,055 Interest on long-term debt 44,840 - 40,741 Provision for income taxes (60,197 ) - 586,272 EBITDA $ 153,231 $ 298,556 $ 2,893,439 Add Back Share of loss of equity investee 17,815 40,449 51,904 Adjusted EBITDA $ 171,046 $ 339,005 $ 2,945,343

The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net (loss) income before finance costs, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash share-based compensation and share of loss from equity investee. Select Sands uses Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental financial measure of its operational performance. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA to be an important measure as they exclude the effects of items that primarily reflect the impact of long-term investment and financing decisions, rather than the performance of the Companys day-to-day operations. As compared to net income according to IFRS, this measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in the Company's business, the charges associated with impairments, termination costs or Proposed Transaction costs. Management evaluates such items through other financial measures such as capital expenditures and cash flow provided by operating activities. The Company believes that these measurements are useful to measure a companys ability to service debt and to meet other payment obligations or as a valuation measurement.

Indicated Resources Disclosure

The Company advises that the production decision on the Sandtown deposit (the Companys current Sand Operations) was not based on a Feasibility Study of mineral reserves, demonstrating economic and technical viability, and, as a result, there may be an increased uncertainty of achieving any level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, including increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit. Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure. There is no guarantee that production will occur as anticipated or that anticipated production costs will be achieved.
SingHealth was the subject of Singapores largest ever cyberattack. Yahoo News Singapore file photo.

Given that a major corporation like Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific took months to inform millions of its customers about a data breach, the Singapore government reported the SingHealth cyberattack in a remarkably short time, a Committee of Inquiry (COI) was told on Wednesday (14 November).

On the final day of hearings looking into Singapores largest ever data breach, SingHealth counsel Dr Stanley Lai noted that SingHealth had informed affected patients of the attack on 20 July, 10 days after it was classified by authorities as a cyberattack.

Lai suggested to Cyber Security Agency (CSA) chief executive David Koh that this represented a remarkable turnaround period.

Koh concurred, saying, The general consensus among the professionals, not just in Singapore, (is) that the Singapore government reported the incident in a remarkably short time.

The CSA chief was the 37th witness to testify before the COI over 20 days of hearings starting from the first in camera session on 28 August. The COI has also received 26 written submissions from individuals, organisations and industry associations.

From 27 June to 4 July, the personal particulars of 1,495,364 unique patients  including that of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong  were stolen from SingHealths database. The data comprises the patients demographic records and the dispensed medication records of about 159,000 of them.

In October, Cathay Pacific belatedly informed more than 9 million customers that they were affected by a sustained cyberattack that had gone on for months.

Rapidly evolving cyber threat

Koh, who is also Defence Cyber Chief at the Ministry of Defence, told the COI that since the CSA was set up in 2015, cyber threats faced by the Republic have grown in scale and sophistication, with new types of malware, vectors of attack and vulnerabilities.

Singapore has been the target of cyberattacks by Advanced Persistent Threat (APT groups), such as those targeting the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University in 2017.

Story continues

And given the large scale of operations of the healthcare sector  more than 60,000 endpoints, 6,000 servers and three terrabytes of Internet traffic passing through its networks daily  safeguarding the sector presents a huge challenge, said Koh.

The CSA chief provided three recommendations in the wake of the SingHealth cyberattack: firstly, cybersecurity should be seen as a risk management issue, not just a technical issue. While it requires a balance between security, usability of systems and cost, cybersecurity needs to be managed at the appropriate level of leadership.

Senior leadership needs to have line of sight of the cybersecurity issues, said Koh, who also advocated an independent line of reporting to senior management.

Secondly, the Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS) should adopt a defence-in-depth approach when developing and upgrading their systems and networks. IHiS is the central IT agency for the healthcare sector

Using the analogy of a safe in a bank, Koh said the cyber-equivalent of tripwires, surveillance cameras and alarms should have been in place to protect the crown jewels of IHiS: the electronic medical records (EMR) of all SingHealth patients.

Privileged access to these records should have been behind locked doors, only accessible to a tightly-controlled group of people. Koh noted that abnormal large queries to SingHealths EMR database were not flagged until performance issues arose.

In September, an IHiS database administrator with more than 20 years experience testified that she did not immediately recognise that the multiple failed attempts to log-in to the SingHealth database she had encountered on 4 July amounted to a serious security incident.

Gaps between policy and practice

Thirdly, the gaps between policy and practice need to be addressed. Citing different witnesses testimony, Koh noted the lack of clear understanding of SOPs and reporting protocols for security incidents, compounded by an initial failure to recognise that a malicious attack had occurred.

For example, a suspected security incident in January 2018 involving a workstation at the Medical Records Office thought to have been infected with malware was not escalated as it did not fall under reporting parameters for security incidents.

Koh therefore urged IHiS to conduct a thorough review of its processes, followed by a thorough and systematic training process for staff to be familiar with these processes.

Nevertheless, he noted that IHiS has launched several cybersecurity initiatives in recent years. For example, following a spate of ransomware attacks in the healthcare sector in 2016, IHiS implemented security measures to guard against such attacks. It also shared its experience with other Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) sectors to raise awareness of the threat.

Koh concluded, CSAs view is that the healthcare sector has made progress in its cybersecurity efforts over the years. It was moving, and is continuing to move, strategically in the right direction.

The closing submissions from the Attorney-Generals Chambers, SingHealth, Integrated Health Information Systems, MOH Holdings and Ministry of Health will be heard on 30 November.

Related stories

SingHealth cyberattack: Malware used was initially thought benign by antiviral experts

SingHealth cyberattack: Database administrator did not immediately recognise serious security incident

Initial responses to SingHealth cyberattack piecemeal and inadequate: Solicitor-General

COMMENT: SingHealth cyberattack throws up leadership issue
Sri Lanka's parliament on Wednesday voted out the bitterly disputed government of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, removing one controversial figure but triggering another showdown with a hostile president. Colombo was in the grip of a power vacuum as a 19-day-old government was defeated on the floor of the legislature, effectively leaving the country without a prime minister and a cabinet of ministers. The island nation has been in crisis since the president sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with Rajapakse, who served as president until being voted out three years ago. On Tuesday the Supreme Court overruled President Maithripala Sirisena's dissolution of parliament and halted preparations for a snap election, in a major boost for the ousted prime minister. In stormy scenes Wednesday, legislators gave their verdict on the two rivals -- with a majority in the 225-member assembly supporting a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse. Parliament also passed motions declaring illegal the November 9 proclamations made by Sirisena to enshrine the power shift. However, the result does not yet mean that Wickremesinghe, who has refused to leave the prime minister's residence, has won the constitutional showdown. In his first response to the tumultuous events in parliament, Sirisena accused Speaker Karu Jayasuriya of violating legislative traditions. He said signatures of 122 legislators who opposed Rajapakse had not been certified as genuine, but stopped short of an outright rejection of resolution against his nominee for prime minister. An aide of the president had earlier suggested that Sirisena was likely to hand over power to Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), which remains the largest single group in the assembly, after the vote. Day-to-day administration in Sri Lanka remains paralysed as the crisis drags on. Constitutionally, it is the president who is empowered to appoint a new prime minister. The UNP said that Sirisena must now call on Wickremesinghe to form a new government. Wickremesinghe, who left his bunker at the Temple Trees official residence for the first time in nearly three weeks to go to parliament, hailed the vote. "This is a victory for the people," Wickremesinghe told reporters, condemning the president's actions as "illegal". He said officials should no longer take orders from the Rajapakse-led "purported government". - Loyalists flee - In a chaotic session, 72-year-old Rajapakse and his legislator son Namal walked out of the red-carpeted chamber just before the vote was taken. "The ayes have it," the speaker announced. "I rule that this House does not have confidence in the government (of Rajapakse)." Several Rajapakse ministers came out of parliament accusing the speaker of violating parliamentary norms. "He has no bloody business calling a vote," Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena said. Shortly after the collapse of Rajapakse's administration, three of his ministers switched to Wickremesinghe's side. Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday, shortly after an admission that Rajapakse did not have a majority. Several UNP legislators said they were offered up to $2.8 million to defect. Sirisena ordered a snap election on January 5, a move the independent Elections Commission announced was unconstitutional and illegal. A dozen petitions were filed in the Supreme Court which on Tuesday restored parliament and suspended the January 5 vote. Parliament held its first session following the court ruling under tight security. Thousands of armed police, including commandos, deployed along the key approach roads to parliament, which is located on a man-made lake island, with several anti-riot units on standby. Parliament officials had feared that supporters of Rajapakse's party might try to stop legislators from getting to parliament, but those concerns proved unfounded.
The state of Texas was preparing Wednesday to execute a Mexican man sentenced to death in 1993, despite objections from human rights groups. Roberto Moreno Ramos, 64, was due to be put to death by lethal injection at 6:00 pm (0000 GMT Thursday) in the penitentiary at Huntsville, Texas. He was sentenced to death for bludgeoning his wife and two of their children, aged seven and three, with a sledgehammer in 1992 in the town of Progresso, near the Mexican border, where the family had been living for several years. He hid the bodies under the tiling of the bathroom in their house and three days later married his mistress, who had no idea he was married. The bodies were only found two months later. During his 25 years on death row, his lawyers have argued in vain that he suffers from brain damage and is bipolar. Mexico, and its human rights defenders, have long decried the fact that Ramos was not informed that he could have access to legal aid from the Mexican consulate, a right guaranteed by the 1963 Geneva Convention of which the US is a signatory. His execution would constitute "a flagrant violation of human rights and international law," said the Mexican government on Monday. UN experts have said the execution would be "arbitrary" while the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called on Texas to "fully respect its international human rights obligations." In 2003, the Mexican government took Ramos' case, and the cases of 50 other Mexicans on death row in the United States, to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The court agreed that they had been denied their consular rights and ordered their cases to be re-examined. But the US Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that US states were not obliged to implement decisions of the ICJ. Since then, five Mexican nationals have been executed, all of them in Texas, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Twenty people have been executed so far this year in the United States, 10 of them in Texas.
Also, Singapore and Bahrain to forge a fintech collaboration, and Indias omnichannel self-checkout retail Perpule raises US$4.7M

Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations [e27]

Despite absence of evidence over the recent allegations, Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal decided to step down from his position in the Indian company. On a statement released by Walmart as the owner of Flipkart group yesterday, the retail behemoth said Bansals decision was made over the possibility of the event becomes a distraction.

An investigation has been launched following the emerging sexual assault allegations towards the CEO from a few years ago. Reuters reported that the allegation of sexual assault against Bansal came to the company in July from a former Flipkart associate.

He strongly denies the allegation. While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainants assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation. Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign, the statement reads.

Also Read: Two blockchain-powered startups partner for technologies concept-proofing

Kalyan Krishnamurthy will continue to be CEO of Flipkart, which will now include Myntra and Jabong, continuing to operate as separate platforms within the Flipkart business.

SoftBank loves WeWork to the point of additional US$3B investment made [TechCrunch]

Freshly out of US$1 billion convertible note funding in August, Japan-based Softbank Corp has invested another US$3 billion to co-working startup WeWork, this time in a warrant form. The form will allow SoftBank to pay US$3 billion for the opportunity to buy shares before September 2019 at a price of $110 or higher.

This move helps to place WeWorks value at $42 billion minimum.

SoftBank is said to pay WeWork US$1.5 billion on January 15, 2019 and another $1.5 billion on April 15.

Story continues

Before the funding in August, SoftBank Vision Fund has supplied the company with a total of US$4.4 billion just last year despite WeWorks yet to reach profitability.

Bahrain and Singapore join forces in fintech [Press Release]

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) on the sidelines of the Singapore FinTech Festival 2018, marking the collaboration focussing on fintech innovation between the two countries.

With this MOU, the two countries will support the sharing of information on emerging fintech trends and developments, and facilitate co-operation on innovation projects in Bahrain and Singapore.

It also establishes a common framework to help fintech companies to prepare for regulatory requirements in both countries.

In recent years, FinTech has created new linkages between the Middle Eastern and South East Asian regions. With this MOU, we look forward to strengthening these linkages and expanding opportunities for FinTech firms in Bahrain and Singapore, said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of MAS.

Also Read: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau sees Singapore, Canada as strong business partners

China-based co-working startup Ucommune now valued at US$3B after recent fundraise [Deal Street Asia]

Chinas co-working startup Ucommune has raised US$200 million Series D round of funding led by All-Stars Investment joined by CEC Capital.

The funding by Hong Kong-based investment company reportedly has put the companys valuation in US$3 billion. The company plans to use the funding for expansion and supporting its research and development.

The first Chinese co-working unicorn claimed to cover over 200 locations in over 37 cities globally, including Singapore, New York, Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. It plans to be available in 350 cities in 40 countries around the world over the next three years by acquiring a series of fellow co-working spaces providers like Fountown, Woo Space, Wedo Space, Workingdom, and New Space

Indian omnichannel retail Perpule raises US$4.7M in Series A round [Press Release]

Perpule, the omnichannel retail tech company enabling self-checkout, has raised US$4.7 million in a Series A funding led by Prime Venture Partners with participation from Kalaari Capital and Venture Highway.

The company plans to use the fund for expansion into thousands of retail outlets across 10 cities in the next year.

Perpule works by giving the control of offline commerce in the hands of customers by enabling Self Checkouts and Self Ordering solutions for offline stores, food outlets, malls, and cafeterias. Perpule claimed to have served around 500,000 active users.

Singaporean EDBI backs digital adoption WalkMe in Series F round [Press Release]

WalkMe, US-based AI-powered digital adoption platform, has added to its Series F round of funding an investment from EDBI Singapore, raising a total of US$50 million. EDBI joined the funding round led by Insight Venture Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners.

WalkMe plans to expand its digital adoption platform in Asia Pacific via localisation in Singapore.

To date, WalkMe has raised to $217.5 million to date and has offices in Australia and Japan.



Image Credit: Perpule

The post Todays top tech news, November 14: Flipkart CEO resigned over sexual assault allegation, SoftBank invests again in WeWork appeared first on e27.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States was aware of undeclared North Korean missile bases revealed by US researchers but insisted all was fine. "We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new -- and nothing happening out of the normal," Trump, who is seeking a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, wrote on Twitter. "I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!" he said. Researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a prominent Washington think tank, on Tuesday said that satellite imagery had found 13 missile bases undeclared by North Korea. The bases can be used to hide mobile, nuclear-capable missiles, the study said, warning that North Korea could preserve the sites -- and the ability to attack -- even as it negotiates with Trump on a potentially landmark accord. Trump described a report on the findings by The New York Times as "inaccurate" and "fake news." South Korea also earlier played down the study, saying that the sites had been known for years. Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for South Korea's dovish president, Moon Jae-in, disputed that North Korea was being deceptive as Pyongyang had never promised to get rid of short-range missiles. The CSIS report said that the bases were scattered around North Korea and at times in narrow mountain valleys, meaning they could be quickly moved to launch strikes. CSIS expert Victor Cha, who was a top adviser to former president George W. Bush, said the report underscored the risk of Trump accepting a "bad deal" in which North Korea only dismantles its most visible weapons infrastructure. Trump has declared himself "in love" with Kim after a first-ever summit between the two nations' leaders held in June in Singapore. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has visited North Korea four times this year in hopes of preparing an agreement, in which the United States could formally declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War -- a longtime goal of the dynastic Kim regime as it seeks to safeguard its survival. Trump, however, told a news conference last week that he was in "no rush" on North Korea after a senior delegation abruptly canceled a meeting planned with Pompeo in New York. North Korea has boasted of its missile prowess and said that it can hit the continental United States, although many experts are skeptical of the claim. Less disputable is that North Korea could quickly assault South Korea, including its capital Seoul, and Japan in a crisis. North Korea deploys medium-range missiles just 55 to 100 miles (90 to 150 kilometers) from the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.
HOPE NOW disaster relief events to provide support and assistance to help homeowners rebuild their lives



WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN), a leading financial services holding company, today announced that members of the Companys home retention team will attend three upcoming HOPE NOW disaster relief borrower outreach events in North Carolina and Texas to help homeowners impacted by Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Harvey. While these disasters occurred in August 2018 and August 2017, respectively, many impacted homeowners are still rebuilding their lives and continue to need assistance from their servicer and other third-party stakeholders.

The three upcoming HOPE NOW events are:

Saturday, November 17 : Hope For Texas Homeowners , at the Cathedral of Faith Family Life Center Beaumont, located at 3755 Fannett Road, Beaumont, Texas.

: , at the Cathedral of Faith Family Life Center Beaumont, located at 3755 Fannett Road, Beaumont, Texas. Thursday, November 29: Disaster Relief Help For North Carolina Homeowners, at First Presbyterian Church of Lumberton, located at 1002 N Chestnut St, Lumberton, North Carolina.

Disaster Relief Help For North Carolina Homeowners, at First Presbyterian Church of Lumberton, located at 1002 N Chestnut St, Lumberton, North Carolina. Saturday, December 1: Disaster Relief Help For North Carolina Homeowners , at St. Andrews Covenant Presbyterian Church, located at 1416 Market St., Wilmington, North Carolina.

HOPE NOW is a non-profit alliance between counselors, mortgage companies, investors, regulators and other mortgage market participants who come together to address challenges in the mortgage market. Ocwen customers who attend the events will meet one-on-one with Ocwen home retention agents, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved counseling agencies. Homeowners will have the opportunity to discuss their personal situations and receive information about potential options to address their unique situation, which may include a loan modification or assistance with their insurance reimbursements.

These unfortunate events cause significant hardship for families, who often have difficulty rebuilding their lives, said Jill Showell, SVP, Government and Community Relations at Ocwen. By working closely with non-profits in local communities, Ocwen provides customers impacted by these natural disasters one-on-one assistance to explore options to stay in their homes and guidance on other solutions that may be available to them.

To address the complex customer needs stemming from these unfortunate disasters, Ocwen proactively communicates to its customers in areas affected by disasters and provides dedicated resources such as a toll-free disaster assistance line to provide prompt responses to questions regarding the status of an Ocwen customers loan. The Company also ensures immediate protections are put in place to assist affected customers. These may include, but are not limited to, forbearance plans, protections from late fees, extended repayment plans to help them recover from missed payments, or potentially pursuing a loan modification.

In 2017-2018, Ocwen participated in disaster-focused community outreach events in and around Houston, TX; Miami, FL; Orlando, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Ft. Meyers, FL; and Santa Rosa, CA, and met with more than 440 customers face-to-face at these events.

For more information on upcoming Ocwen events and how the Company is helping customers remain in their homes, visit www.OcwenCares.com .

About Ocwen Financial Corporation

Ocwen Financial Corporation is a financial services holding company which, through its subsidiaries, services and originates loans. We are headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, with offices throughout the United States and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and operations in India and the Philippines. We have been serving our customers since 1988. We may post information that is important to investors on our website ( www.Ocwen.com ).
TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Community and labour groups will hold Peoples Hearings on November 15 across Ontario, in protest of Ford governments decision to limit Thursdays Bill 47 hearing by the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs to a mere five hours.



The people of Ontario, the same people Premier Ford had promised to govern for, are being shut out of the hearings on Bill 47, said Jessa McLean, organizer of the York Region $15 & Fairness Town Hall. Weve decided to hold our own hearing here in Newmarket, because we believe the voices of the people most impacted by this dangerous legislation need to be heard.

There is little opportunity for public input on Bill 47. This is in stark contrast to the 14 days of province-wide committee hearings the previous government held to discuss Bill 148, as well as the two-year long Changing Workplaces Review that preceded it. That review had involved 12 public consultations, 200 oral presentations, and nearly 600 written submissions. This rigorous process laid the foundation for the employment and labour law reforms that Ontarians currently benefit from. These are the very laws the Ford government seeks to undo with Bill 47.

Cancelling decent work laws and a $15 minimum wage for Ontarians is wrong. This government must do the right thing: stand up for workers and withdraw Bill 47, said Ontario Federation of Labour President Chris Buckley. Right now, workers are only 7 weeks away from getting the increase to $15, yet Fords government wants to delay it by 7 years. This real dollar cut in the minimum wage is a callous act that will push people further into poverty. When workers have money in their pocket, they spend it, building local economies. It is no surprise that Ontario hit its lowest unemployment numbers in a decade, after $14 came in.

In addition to imposing a real dollar wage cut for Ontarios lowest paid workers by delaying $15 to at least 2025, Bill 47 would also eliminate the two paid sick days, reduce the number of unpaid personal emergency leave days, lower fines for employers who break the law, scrap equal pay rules and make it easier for employers to fire workers who decline last minute shifts, and do away with measures that made it easier to join and keep a union.

Its the beginning of the holiday season. What the lowest-wage earners in Ontario need is a $15 minimum wage on January 1, as scheduled, not an income tax cut that will do nothing for two-thirds of those earning the minimum wage, said Pam Frache, Coordinator of Fight for $15 & Fairness Campaign.

Brantford, Newmarket, Ottawa, Scarborough, St. Thomas and Toronto are some of the locations where local community and labour groups will be speaking out. See event details below.

BRANTFORD, Morning transit outreach

Thursday, 8:30AM - 9:30AM, Brantford Transit Terminal, 64 Darling St

Click here to see additional event details



BRANTFORD, Afternoon canvass& Speak-out

Thursday, 12:00PM - 2:00PM, RCW Lobby, 154 Dalhousie St

Click here to see additional event details

NEWMARKET, York Region Peoples Hearing Town Hall

Thursday, 4:00PM - 7:00PM - CUPE 905 Hall, 165 Pony Dr

Click here to see additional event details



OTTAWA (Nepean), The Peoples Hearing on Bill 47: Speak out for fairness!

Thursday, 1:30PM - 3:30PM - 1580 Merivale Rd

Click here to see additional event details



SCARBOROUGH, Outreach & Speak-out

Thursday, 5:30PM - 7:00PM - Intersection of Markham & Ellesmere, 2100 Ellesmere Rd

Click here to see additional event details

ST. THOMAS, Outreach & Speak-out

Thursday, 3:30PM  4:30 PM  750 Talbot St

Click here to see additional event details



TORONTO, Bill 47 "Mock Committee" Peoples Hearing

Thursday, 12:30PM - 1:00PM - Queen's Park front lawn

Click here to see additional event details

TORONTO, Flu Fighter Outreach led by health providers

Thursday, 12:00PM - 2:00PM - Corner of College St & University Ave

Click here to see additional event details

TORONTO, Outreach at York Lanes & Speak-out

Thursday, 12:30PM - 2:30PM - York Lanes Mall, 4700 Keele St

Click here to see additional event details

TORONTO, Downtown outreach & Speak-out

Thursday, 5:30PM - 7:00PM - Spadina and Bloor intersection

Click here to see additional event details
The many ways climate change worsens California wildfires

Posted on 14 November 2018 by dana1981

This is the first entry in a Dana's new monthly column with Yale Climate Connections

Now designated as Californias deadliest fire, the still-raging Camp Fire by November 13 had led to 42 deaths, with many residents still unaccounted for and more than 7,000 structures destroyed. (Image credit: NASA)

California has been ravaged by record wildfires in recent years. 2017 was the states costliest and most destructive fire season on record. The Mendocino wildfire in July 2018 was Californias largest-ever by a whopping 60 percent.

Even though Californias wildfire season has traditionally ended in October, the Camp Fire raging in November 2018 is the states most destructive on record.

The data tell the story: Six of Californias ten most destructive wildfires on record have now struck in just the past three years.

President Trumps tweets suggesting forest mismanagement is to blame for Californias wildfire woes, and threatening to withhold federal funding, have prompted widespread rebukes for their insensitivity as thousands of citizens flee the fires  some, tragically, unsuccessfully  and as an affront to thousands of weary firefighters.

The reality is that about 57 percent of the states forests are owned and managed by the federal government, and another 40 percent by families, companies, and Native American tribes. Forest management does play some role in creating wildfire fuel, but some wildfires arent even located in forests. Moreover, scientific evidence clearly shows that climate change is exacerbating Californias wildfires in different ways:

Higher temperatures dry out vegetation and soil, creating more wildfire fuel.'

Climate change is shortening the California rainy season, thus extending the fire season.

Climate change is also strengthening the Santa Ana winds that fan particularly dangerous wildfires in Southern California.

The warming atmosphere is slowing the jet stream, leading to more California heat waves and high-pressure ridges in the Pacific. Those ridges deflect from the state some storms that would otherwise bring much-needed moisture to slow the spread of fires.

The Golden States hotter, drier conditions

Global warming causes higher temperatures, and 2014 through 2018 have been Californias five hottest years on record. This pattern leads to an increase in evapotranspiration  the combination of evaporation and transpiration transferring more moisture from land and water surfaces and plants to the atmosphere. Essentially, global warming causes plants and soil to dry out as the atmosphere holds more water vapor.

On top of this direct drying effect, climate change is causing a shift in rain patterns. Northern California has received only one inch of rain this season, which is about one-fifth of normal. A 2018 paper published in Nature Climate Change, led by UCLAs Daniel Swain, found that as a result of global warming, Californias rainy season will become increasingly concentrated in the winter months between December and February. April, May, September, October, and November will become increasingly dry, meaning that the states wildfire season will start earlier and end later. As Swain noted in an informative Twitter thread about Californias November 2018 wildfires,

If Northern California had received anywhere near the typical amount of autumn precipitation this year (around 4-5 in. of rain near #CampFire point of origin), explosive fire behavior & stunning tragedy in #Paradise would almost certainly not have occurred.

With these hotter, drier conditions extending late into the year, wildfires have become larger, and they spread faster, cause more damage, and are more difficult to contain.

In Southern California, stronger Santa Ana winds

In a 2006 paper published in Geophysical Research letters, Berkeley scientists Norman Miller and Nicole Schlegel predicted that global warming would push the Southern California fire season associated with Santa Ana winds into the winter months. Those Santa Ana fires are especially costly because of the speed at which they spread due to the winds and because of their proximity to urban areas. The November 2018 Woolsey fire around Malibu and Thousand Oaks, California, is a tragic example.

Researchers of a 2015 study published in Environmental Research Letters, led by Yufang Jin at UC Davis, forecast that the area burned by Southern California wildfires will increase by about 70 percent by mid-century as a result of the drier, hotter, windier conditions caused by global warming. And these Southern California wildfires often occur outside of forests, according to the president of the Pasadena Fire Association.

Connections to the Arctic and jet stream

Rutgers climate scientist Jennifer Francis over the past decade has been researching the connection between changes in the Arctic and extreme weather patterns throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In recent years a growing number of climate scientists have found evidence supporting her groundbreaking research.

The Northern Hemisphere jet stream is a result of the temperature difference between the cold Arctic and warmer lower latitudes in regions like North America and Europe. But the Arctic is the fastest-warming region on Earth, largely because as reflective sea ice disappears, the Arctic surface is increasingly covered by dark oceans that absorb more sunlight. The rapidly-warming Arctic is shrinking the temperature difference between that region and the lower latitudes, which in turn weakens the jet stream. As a result, rather than a fast-moving flow of air, the jet stream increasingly is taking a slow, meandering path across the Northern Hemisphere.

Click here to read the rest
Crystal City, the Arlington, Virginia, neighborhood picked this week to anchor one of Amazons two new East Coast headquarters, has never really lived up to its dreamy name. Walk around its concrete-block buildings and youll find no glitzy surfaces or hum of urban activity other than the buzz of cars going from somewhere else to anywhere but here. Instead, you encounter the quiet remnants of what mid-20th-century developers once thought contemporary cities should look like.

Advertisement

Frankly, thats probably selling it a bit high.

For anyone between D.C. and points south, Crystal City rises up as an orderly field of harsh brown towers filled with an assortment of midpriced business hotels, aging apartment buildings, and possibly office space. But its just as likely as not that those commercial floors have sat empty and unused for years. Around Washington, its known as that part of Arlington thats never quite popped like the rest of the affluent, diversifying, and economically humming county.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

In other words: Crystal City is a perfect place for a corporate behemoth like Amazon to remake in its own image.

On Tuesday, Amazon and its local-government partners gleefully announced that Crystal City will be the core of a new place called National Landing, a crescent of close-in suburbs that also includes Arlingtons Pentagon Cityaka office and apartment buildings but really close to the Pentagonand Potomac Yards, a big-box retail district in next-door Alexandria that has long been rumored to be getting its own Metro station.

Advertisement

A decade out, if the digital renderings are accurate, the new neighborhood will be full of stylish residential buildings, cool shops and restaurants, bike lanes and pocket parks, and, well, Amazon employees.

Of course, thats the sunny forecast. Northern Virginia split the Amazon sweepstakes with New York City in no small part because it put together an attractive financial incentive package, offering the company $573 million if it eventually hires 25,000 workers who earn salaries averaging $150,000. The bid also offered several hundred million more in transportation improvements. (Which is frustrating: Did the fast-growing D.C. area really need to wait for one of Jeff Bezos golden tickets in order to embark on a new big infrastructure project?) Aspirants like Philadelphia and Atlanta mightve offered billions of dollars more than Virginia, but they couldnt compete on proximity to power.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Amazons bake-off approach to picking sites for its new corporate campuses feels, as Henry Grabar wrote in Slate on Tuesday, like a shakedown. Indeed, even though New York Gov. Andrew Amazon Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio spent Tuesday celebrating Amazons designs on Long Island City, other elected officials from New York like City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and U.S. Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezwholl soon represent neighboring Astoriaslammed the plan to give Amazon $1.7 billion in tax incentives.

Advertisement

Around the future National Landing, though, the public mood was only jubilantperhaps in part because the neighborhood can only stand to become less boring. The age of Amazon was ushered in with big speeches from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and congratulatory addresses from sweepstakes losers like D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

Advertisement

But perhaps the difference in reactions from Amazons designated second and third homes is evident in their very different histories. Fast-gentrifying Long Island City, while starting to resemble a mini-Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in recent years, has undergone more than a century of evolution from New York Citys industrial core to a residential and commercial hub anchored by museums, film studios, and corporate headquarters. Crystal City has a vast, largely abandoned underground mall.

Advertisement

In fairness, Crystal City wasnt always a ghost town. Built up in the 1960s by developer Charles E. Smith, the neighborhood thrived as the federal government expanded and started needing office space beyond those stately marble buildings across the Potomac River. (It got its name from Smiths first building, the Crystal House, which featured a large crystal chandelier in the lobby.) The development eventually sprawled to 22 commercial buildings, totaling about 7 million square feet. The subterranean mall connecting many of the structures arrived in the mid-70s along with the Metro.

Advertisement

Even in its heyday, though, Crystal City lacked for personality. The downturn came in the early 2000s, when the Defense Departments Base Realignment and Closure Commission moved 17,000 workers out of the neighborhood. Other federal agencies that called those buildings home, like the General Services Administration and Environmental Protection Agency followed, too. The underground mall hollowed out. Nowadays, its a lonely concourse lined with empty storefronts, aging civic art, and a few random shops that feel appropriate to the desolation, like the Washington areas only puppet dealer.

Advertisement

Above ground, there are a few signs of life in street-level restaurants like an outpost of Jose Andres tapas joint Jaleo. While the office buildings sit largely empty, a few are sparsely inhabited by gyms and coworking spaces. And Crystal Citys not without its eccentricities: You can eat at one of the countrys last revolving restaurants, where a congressman from Pennsylvania was once arrested for getting in a drunken brawl. A few locals swear by the breakfast at the Crystal City Restaurantwhich is a strip club that opened in 1963.

Advertisement

Advertisement

If you wanted excitement pre-Amazon, youd have to cross the highway into Pentagon City, which has a Whole Foods, a smattering of well-regarded restaurants, and an above-ground, noncreepy shopping mall. But maybe thats part of the reason everyone is excited about rebranding Crystal City. Even the strip clubs owner is ready for a reset, telling the Washington Post, Whatever Jeff Bezos wants is fine with me.

Thats exactly the kind of mood that clears urban spaces for the likes of Amazon. In Crystal City, its getting a neighborhood thats fallen into disuse but not disrepair. In the wake of Northern Virginia and New York winning, proposals from a few of the also-rans have surfaced, like Philadelphias, which wouldve offered up the citys old shipping and rail yards for redevelopment. Or look at Toronto, where Sidewalk Labs, the urban technology division of Alphabet Inc., is transforming docklands into a gadget-laden smart city called Quayside.

Advertisement

In transforming Crystal City and its surroundings into National Landing, Amazon will rebuild as it sees fit: sweatshirted tech workers zipping between buildings on their e-scooters; trendy restaurants that nudge up market prices of cocktails, tacos, and salads; promises that despite the high incomes and high rents, the company is creating community; and cashless payments everywhere. Its easy to make Twitter riffs about how hokey the new name soundsI will punch my screen if I see one more suggestion that Amazons new digs be called Reagan Landingbut itll stick quite easily.

So maybe 10 years from now, when Washington is home to 25,000 new Amazonians, rents are even more astronomical than today, and Alexa has become the voice of the Metros public-address system, well hunger for the pre-HQ2, preNational Landing days. But when asked to name what we miss about Crystal City, what will we say? It wont be the puppet shop.
Heist thriller is not the first genre that would have come to mind when imagining the next project for the Oscar-winning English director Steve McQueen. His previous three features, 12 Years a Slave, Shame, and Hunger, were all very differenta historical drama based on an antebellum slave narrative, a character portrait of an alienated sex addict in present-day Manhattan, and a chronicle of the last days of an Irish political prisoner on a hunger strike, respectivelybut they had in common that they stood far outside the world of Hollywood genre filmmaking, with its archetypal characters, familiar story beats, and twist-based suspense. They were art films, serious in intent and somber in mood, sometimes (as with Shame) to the point of po-faced humorlessness.

Advertisement

Widows is not quite a caper film, insofar as that word suggests the cavorting of baby goats. Theres little about this dark vision of urban corruption and do-it-yourself grand larceny thats fun, per se. But working with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, with whom he adapted the script from a 1980s British television series by Prime Suspect creator Lynda La Plante, McQueen has created a tense and satisfying action drama with a decidedly feminist bent.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

His heroine, Veronica Rawlings (Viola Davis) is a representative for the Chicago Teachers Union who finds herself forced into the world of high-end thievery when her husband Harry (Liam Neeson), a professional criminal, leads one last job that leaves the whole team reduced to ashes. After his memorial, she arranges a meeting with two other women widowed by the same incident: Linda (Michelle Rodriguez), a mother of two who runs a quinceanera dress shop, and Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), who was abused by her late husband and, in his absence, finds herself broke and adrift. This tense meeting takes place in a Finnish-style sauna, a location which seems like a nod to the many Mafia and cop movies with similar scenes in all-male steam rooms. When a stranger briefly interrupts their conversation, Veronica ladles an unseemly amount of water onto the steam-producing coalsa way of chasing out the intruder while also proving to the two other women that she wont hesitate to turn up the heat when necessary.

Advertisement

McQueen has created a tense and satisfying action drama with a decidedly feminist bent.

Veronica, a woman of few words whose main emotional connection is with the small dog that accompanies her everywhere, doesnt reach out to these women to form a grief support group. She reaches out because a gang boss with political aspirations, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), is putting pressure on her to come up with the $2 million her dead husband owed him. If she doesnt pay up in a month, he warns her in a menacing uninvited visit to her home, he will do much worse than just momentarily suspend her whimpering dog by its collar. We know Jamal means business because weve seen how he treats his underlings at the black church hes commandeered for his gang headquarters. When his henchmen get out of line, Jamals brother Jatemme (a terrifying Daniel Kaluuya) dispatches them with an immoderate degree of sadistic pleasure.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

While Veronica attempts to organize a grand heist that will pay back her husbands debtors and also provide a nest egg for herself and her co-conspirators, we also meet Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) and his father, Tom (Robert Duvall), Irish ward politicians of the old school, who are attempting to hang on to the alderman seat their family has held for generations in a district thats now majority black. The upcoming election between Jack and Jamal structures the whole film, though McQueen seems sometimes to forget about this storyline for long stretches, understandably preferring to spend time with the dynamic trio of Davis, Rodriguez, and Debicki. A scene where the gawky but intermittently overconfident Alice visits a gun show to buy weapons for the big job achieves something no moment in a Steve McQueen film has before (at least on purpose). It made me laugh.

Advertisement

The 130-minute Widows keeps a lot of story plates spinning, with subplots about a transactional relationship between Debickis Alice and a wealthy land developer (Lukas Haas), as well as a hard-up hairdresser (Broadway musical star Cynthia Erivo) who agrees to work as a getaway driver for the lady heist gang and in the process pulls off the impressive feat of staring down Viola Davis. At times Widows can feel overstuffed and slackly paced, but theres at least one third-act twist thats genuinely shocking, and the energy never flags when the wounded, smoldering Davis is on screen. Without giving too much away, the act of orchestrating a complicated armed robbery with three normally law-abiding women becomes much more for Veronica than a means of securing the money she needs to save her life. Its also a way of lending meaning to that life, of proving she can be tougher and smarter than her late husband (who at first appears to us in hunky dreamboat mode, but later, through flashbacks, acquires more dimension and more darkness).

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The energy never flags when the wounded, smoldering Davis is on screen.

McQueens commentary about race and class is seldom overt, but it infuses the whole film, starting with an opening scene in which Davis and Neeson do some hot and heavy making out in their marital bed. The fact that the frank sexual pairing of a middle-aged black woman with a middle-aged white man feels at all groundbreaking in 2018 is itself a damning statement on how far Hollywood has yet to go in the representation of race, gender, and age all at once. Later on, Farrells shady politico takes a chauffeured car from the rundown neighborhood he represents to the posh one he lives in. Hes conversing with his assistant the whole time about the impending election, but we never see them. Instead the camera stays outside the car, observing the change in the city streets as they drive.

Advertisement

Not every attempt the director makes to broaden the focus in this way works. The juxtaposition of the climactic political debate with the long-awaited heist feels somehow unfocused and rushed, and I wished I had known more of the details of how the robbery was supposed to work, if only to add to the sense of panic when things went inevitably wrong. But McQueen largely succeeds at something few directors even try: to set a satisfyingly twisty crime plot in the broader social context of political corruption and systemic racial and gender bias. Late in the film theres a moment when Davis Veronicaa woman whos been defined by her ferocity and refusal to breakoffers another female character a rare, hard-won smile. This female-driven heist drama may not end on a vision of matriarchal utopia, but it offers a glimpse of something outside the rotten system that we, like the widows, have lived in for so long weve forgotten theres any other way.
For a few hours on election night, it appeared as though the midterms had turned disastrous for Democrats: The early returns suggested the partys long-assumed House takeover might not happen after all, and that their performance in Senate races could turn out to be so bad that it would put the upper chamber out of reach not just for the next two years, but for the next four.

The Democratic nightmare was over by Wednesday morning, but the memory of it lingered. Mixed with their expectations-inflating thirst for a historically unique rebuke of Donald Trump, many on the left felt as though the party had blown it, even as plenty of key races were still undecided. In the end it was only a blue ripple, Nicholas Kristof declared in a New York Times op-ed under the headline: Forget Excuses. What Counts Is Winning Elections.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The Democrats midterm performance, though, has looked better with each passing dayand with a few more, may look even better still. As of last Wednesday morning, Democrats had picked up 26 seats in the House; as of this Tuesday, theyd extended their gains to 32 seats. Another 10 GOP battleground races remain too close to call, including four in which the Democrat is in the lead and a fifth, in Maine, where the states new ranked-voting system is expected to turn the district from red to blue.

While the topline result remains the same in the SenateRepublicans will keep the majoritywhat looked briefly like a potential five-seat massacre on election night now looks like an admirable defense a week later. With Kyrsten Sinemas win in Arizona on Monday, Senate Democrats have now limited their net loss in the upper chamber to a maximum of just two seats. They could yet whittle that down to a single lost seat or even break even in the unlikely scenario that the Florida recount goes Sen. Bill Nelsons way and/or Democrat Mike Espy manages to pull off a stunner in the Mississippi runoff later this month. But even a two-seat loss is incredible when you consider just how horrible the Senate calendar was for Democrats, who had to defend a total of 10 seats in states Trump won, four of which he did so by landslides of 18 percentage points or more.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Add that to their gains at the state level, where they flipped seven governors seats to likely winnow Republicans advantage in the gubernatorial department to only 2723the smallest margin since after the 2010 midtermsand theres no disputing Democrats had a great night.

One major reason the early narrative missed the mark, though, was because real-time coverage of Election Day returns largely failed to account for Democrats advantage out West, as Voxs Matthew Yglesias notes. Forecast models like FiveThirtyEights overreacted to some early House returns, and then the chattering class freaked out as a few key battleground Senate racesTennessee and Indiana among themturned red faster than most had expected.

Advertisement

Id argue there was another major contributing factor as well, one that helps explain why so many on the left have been unable to fully shake the notion that Democrats should have done better in the midterms even as it has become clear that they actually did quite well: For all the partys midterm success, almost none of it was had by its popular stars.

Advertisement

Beto ORourke came up short against Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, and Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillums bids to make history as the first black governor of Georgia and Florida, respectively, appear likely to do the same as vote counting continues in those states. Those results have so far denied the party the kind of marquee victory its rank-and-file craves, the one that become shorthand for sweeping success. (Meanwhile, Democrats most crucial victories were less about their own candidates and more about who they defeated, like Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Kris Kobach in Kansas, and Dean Heller in Nevada.)

Advertisement

The only House candidate who could rival the ORourke-Abrams-Gillum trio in terms of national attention heading into Election Day was probably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but her midterm victory was assured as soon as she stunned Rep. Joe Crowley in New Yorks Democratic primary. Meanwhile, those other congressional challengers who popped up on the national radar from time to time during the past year fell off it for the foreseeable future on Tuesday.

Advertisement

Randy Bryce became a mustachioed folk hero to the left beginning last year, but he failed to flip outgoing Speaker Paul Ryans congressional district. Amy McGrath in Kentucky and MJ Hegar in Texas, likewise, made a name for themselves with inspiring campaign videos that went viral, but they too were unable to win battleground districts. Its largely the same story as you move further down the list of notables: Kara Eastman lost in Nebraska, Dan McCready fell in North Carolina, Danny OConnor was defeated (again) in Ohio, etc.* Those individual losses in places where most experts were watching combined to obscure what was happening in places they werent. But the good news for Democrats is that the election night narrative matters far less than the final results.
A group of CNNs competitors, including Fox News, joined together to support CNN and Jim Acosta in their lawsuit against the White House seeking to regain Acostas press access there.

Fox News President Jay Wallace said in a statement that while the network doesnt condone the growing antagonistic tone by both the President and the press, it does, however, support a free press, access and open exchanges for the American people. Wallace also said Fox would file a brief in support of CNNs suit in federal court in Washington.

Advertisement

Divide and conquer only goes so far. Statement from Fox: pic.twitter.com/Wib5Zun9KJ  Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 14, 2018

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Despite rumblings that some of Acostas fellow reporters did not particularly like or appreciate his confrontational made-for-TV approach to dealing with the president during press conferences and media availabilities, a broad swath of media organizations have stood behind Acosta and CNN to oppose the nearly unprecedented revoking of access based plainly on the fact that the White House didnt like a reporter.

Advertisement

The White House, meanwhile, argued in a brief that its sanctions for Acosta were viewpoint- and content-neutral and are evident from the video of the November 7 press conference. The White House had initially claimed that it had banned Acosta because he had placed his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.

When this explanation was almost universally rejected (despite an altered video shared by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders), the White House said in a subsequent statement Tuesday that Acosta inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters and had physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions.

Advertisement

While Trumps base of support has continued to be riled up in anger against CNN, the media has not taken the bait. Everyone from the news-wire services to the owner of the Intercept signed on to a joint statement in support of CNN, saying, Our news organizations support the fundamental constitutional right to question this President, or any president.
That didnt take long. On Tuesday, Maryland asked a federal court to rule that Matthew Whitaker may not lawfully serve as acting attorney general. The states motion has a real chance of success. Whitaker, whom Donald Trump elevated to the role after firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week, does appear to be exercising his power illegally. If a court agrees, it could replace Whitaker with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensteinallowing the deputy AG to resume oversight of Robert Muellers Russia investigation.

Advertisement

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, assisted by the law firm Goldstein and Russell, filed Tuesdays motion as part of ongoing litigation over the Affordable Care Act. The state is defending the ACA against attacks by Republican attorneys general, as well as the Justice Department itself, which asserted that large swathes of the law are illegal now that Congress has effectively repealed its individual mandate. (That argument should be considered nonsense.) Maryland, in other words, is going up against the attorney general. But it believes that Whitaker, who purports to be acting attorney general, has assumed this role unlawfully. And it wants U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander to rule that Rosenstein, not Whitaker, is the true acting AG.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The state puts forth two main arguments, both of which I explained here, to claim that Whitakers service violates the law. First, it argues that Trump has ignored the Attorney General Succession Act, which Congress passed to clarify rules of succession in the Justice Department. This law states that, in case of a vacancy in the office of Attorney General, the deputy attorney general may exercise all the duties of that office. This rule would require Rosenstein, not Whitaker, to step in as acting attorney general, since Rosenstein is deputy AG, and Whitaker previously served as Sessions chief of staff.

Advertisement

Trump believes he can appoint Whitaker under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which would allow Whitaker to serve as acting AG temporarilyif it applied here. But it shouldnt. The FVRA notes that it is not the exclusive means for filling a vacancy. Rather, when a different statutory provision expressly  designates an officer to step in temporarily in an acting capacity, that other provision should control. The Attorney General Succession Act does just that: It explicitly assigns the deputy AG the duties of the attorney general when he leaves office. Maryland therefore claims, quite sensibly, that the FVRA yields to the Attorney General Succession Act, making Rosensteinnot Whitakerthe real acting attorney general.

Advertisement

Theres a second, even more powerful argument Maryland raises to challenge Whitakers authority. Under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, any principal officer must be confirmed with the Advice and Consent of the Senate. The attorney general is undoubtedly a principal officer, yet Whitaker has not been confirmed by the Senate for this position, or any other in the Trump administration. How, then, can he serve lawfully? According to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, he cannot. In 2017, the justice wrote that the president may never appoint a principal officer without Senate confirmation. The fact that an appointee serves in a temporary acting capacity does not change the analysis, Thomas wrote. I do not think, he concluded, that the structural protections of the Appointments Clause can be avoided based on such trivial distinctions.

Advertisement

Advertisement

If the FVRA truly does allow Whitaker to serve as acting AG, then, the law itself may be unconstitutional. Congress cannot authorize a president to appoint a federal officer in violation of the Constitution. But under the longstanding canon of constitutional avoidance, the courts should attempt to interpret statutes in a way that avoids constitutional issues. Here, that requires Hollander to hold that federal statute makes Rosenstein, not Whitaker, acting attorney general.

Advertisement

Rod Rosenstein, not Mr. Whitaker, is the Acting Attorney General as a matter of law, Maryland concluded, with the attendant responsibility to enforce federal law and oversee this litigation in particular. The court should find that the Constitution cannot be so easily circumvented.

Hollander, a Barack Obama appointee, may hesitate to take the unusual step of disqualifying the acting attorney general from his position. She really shouldnt have any such qualms. Its quite likely that a majority of the Supreme Court would rule to do just that, with Clarence Thomas joining the more liberal justices to hold that Whitaker cannot constitutionally perform the powers of the office he purports to occupy. Trump is simply not authorized to short-circuit the Attorney General Succession Act and the Appointments Clause to install Whitaker at the head of the Justice Department. The courts should not shy away from their duty to enforce the law against the man illegally serving as the nations chief law enforcement officer.
A group of about 80 LGBTQ migrants who splintered off from the caravan traveling through Mexico toward the United States has made it to Tijuana, according to NPR. They say they plan to enter the United States on Thursday and seek asylum based on their LGBTQ identities and the corresponding threat to them in their home countries.

The ad hoc group was assisted by nongovernmental organizations and given bus tickets to help them get to the border more quickly, NPR reported, while the remainder of the 3,600-strong caravan trails 1,000 miles behind, mostly in Guadalajara. Members of the loosely organized LGBTQ group said they suffered discrimination while traveling with the larger caravan and broke off to avoid further marginalization and to get a jump on entry into the U.S.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

U.S. policy now dictates that migrants can apply for asylum only at official ports of entry. There are already long waits for asylum interviews at border crossings, which will likely only increase as migrants are directed toward ports of entry, which could mean the group in Tijuana may have to wait until the end of the year for asylum interviews, NPR reported.

In anticipation of the migrant flows, Customs and Border Protection has started to harden the border between San Diego and Tijuana, according to BuzzFeed News. This has meant shutting down roads between the two cities in order to install wires, barriers, and fencing. While this is directed at the possible incursion of migrants, it has also meant delays for regular commuters and those who go through the busy border crossing legally.

Advertisement

BuzzFeed also reported that another group of about 350 people who were at one point part of the main caravan making its way north arrived in Tijuana on Tuesday.

The other main policy response to the migrant caravan was a large deployment of active duty military to the border, with a large contingent in Texas. The more than 5,000 troops, who are not allowed to engage with migrants directly or apprehend them, have mostly been laying down concertina wire and setting up their own shelters to house them during their deployment, which could end up costing more than $200 million.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen visited the troops in Texas on Wednesday. When Mattis was asked what the goals of the deployment were by one soldier, he responded: Short term, get the obstacles in. Longer term  it is somewhat to be determined.
Three years ago, when Netflix first launched Narcos, its widely successful series on the history of Latin Americas drug trade, I approached the show with a certain uneasiness. In Mexico, after all, the glorification of the drug business has led to the growth of the countrys narco cultura, a dangerous fad that has turned demented kingpins into role models and drug dealing into an aspirational vocation for thousands of disenchanted youths in areas of the country increasingly ruled by the narcos. In northern Mexico, narcocorridos sing of the daring exploits of glorified criminals while their extravagant sartorial choices become narcomoda. Meanwhile, on Mexican television, barely fictional crooks lead lives of enviable luxury in successful telenovelas, their brutality glossed over for the sake of ratings. I had no reason to expect anything better from Narcos, aimed at a U.S. audience.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

I was wrong.

In its first three years, the show has given its audience an unflinching look at the madness that was Colombia in the time of Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura), the psychotic leader of the Medellin Cartel who ruled the hemispheres drug trade in the 1980s, and his conflicts with the equally ruthless but craftier gentlemen of the Cali Cartel.

In its heyday, Escobars cartel was responsible for more than 80 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States. It made him an insanely rich man, his fortune worth at least $20 billion. An eloquent speaker, Escobar was flamboyant, charming, and a man of deep political ambitions. In many ways, his life is the ideal canvas for the kind of banal worship that has made the nasty business of drugs a sadly desirable career path for Latin Americas youth over the past few decades.

Advertisement

Many of those involved in what happened in the 80s are still there, dressed in suits and making decisions. Im not sure theres any resolve to really fix anything.  Diego Luna

Thankfully, Narcos has refrained from indulging in irresponsible fan gratification. Instead, it shows Escobar as the ruthless drug lord that he was, a criminal capable of violence so atrocious that he became, in effect, a one-man terrorist organization. Escobar killed and tortured opponents, assassinated political antagonists, planted car bombs, blew up airplanes, and helped organize a brutal assault on Colombias Supreme Court, which killed 12 magistrates. He also led a life of extravagant luxury. Narcos captures it all, along with Colombias struggle to contain Escobars destructive ambitions and the countrys battle against the booming drug trade, including the role played by U.S. authorities both in Colombia and the United States. In the end, Escobar turns out to be a wretched, tragic figure, his bloated body sprawled on a rooftop, a perfect image of narcotic excess killed in the last few moments of the shows second season.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

In its new season, titled Narcos: Mexico, which launches on Friday, Narcos turns its attention to a new country, with new characters but the same tragic consequences. It centers on drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, played with feline concentration by Mexican actor Diego Luna. In a recent interview with me, Luna described Gallardo as a loyal, reserved man of incommensurate ambition who very much wanted to be a part of Mexicos elite. To do so, he carried out a bold criminal venture in the early 80s: a reshuffle of Mexicos structure of marijuana production and distribution, eventually building the countrys first cartel, out of the city of Guadalajara. With Gallardo as its mastermind, the Guadalajara organization grew into a toxic juggernaut, moving thousands of tons of marijuana and cocaine into the United States. Gallardos criminal reign came to an end only when, among others, he ordered the assassination (and torture) of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena (played, in Narcos, by a tragic Michael Pena).

Advertisement

And yet, neither Gallardo nor Camarena is the main character of Narcos: Mexico.

The shows Colombian arc drew a portrait of a country contending with a cancer deep within itself: the Colombian state clashing against the countrys merciless criminal organizations.

Its a violent tale of national survival. However flawed, Colombian authorities appeared willing to lead the struggle versus Escobar and his Cali rivals. The Mexican story is quite different. Narcos presents Mexico as a country beyond saving.

Advertisement

No authority figure eludes the grip of corruption. Local law enforcement, governors, Cabinet members, prominent businessmen, the armed forces, and the most fearsome intelligence agency in the country all protect Gallardos Guadalajara Cartel. Gallardo and his accomplices, fellow kingpins Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Don Neto Fonseca Carrillo, seem able to buy anyone and everyone to further what Gallardo calls his empire. Unlike the Colombian side of the story, there are no courageous politicians or clean law enforcement officials even remotely willing to face the narco menace. The Mexican state is not a victim of crime; instead, it seems to be fully complicit and even co-responsible. Authorities in Mexico played an active role in Felixs criminal operation, Luna told me. Officials high up in the food chain got rich along with the cartels. The state protected the business, a business so lucrative that everyone got their share.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Behind it all is the actual villain of 20th-century Mexico and the real protagonist of the show: the countrys political system. With the PRI party at the helm of Mexicos government for more than 70 uninterrupted years, this system enabled the rise of men like Gallardo and the many others who followed, including the infamous Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, currently on trial in New York. Although the show takes a number of creative licenses, Narcos shows in almost journalistic detail why the magnitude of Gallardos cartel cannot be understood without the active collaboration of Mexican authorities, all of them under the PRIs tutelage and with its corrupt backing.

Advertisement

That story might seem less exciting than following Pablo Escobars operatic adventures, but its certainly no less dreadful and, for the United States at least, far more relevant. The war that Gallardo began is still raging south of the border. The PRI is no longer in power, but corruption in Mexico is still a fierce tormentor.

Many of those involved in what happened in the 80s are still there, dressed in suits and making decisions, Luna told me. Im not sure theres any resolve to really fix anything. This is the Mexico Narcos has chosen to portray: a country beyond saving. As a Mexican journalist, watching Narcos tackle the history of my countrys past four decades was a harrowing experience. Its not a fun ride, but its a necessary one.
A version of this article was originally published by the Trace, a nonprofit news organization covering guns in America, and NBC Philadelphia. Sign up for the newsletter, or follow the Trace on Facebook or Twitter.

Ian Hirst-Hermans lay on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound to his chest. He had been shot after leaving a house party just after 2 a.m. Within seconds, as he remembers, a police car came racing down the one-way North Philadelphia street in the wrong direction. Two police officers jumped out and, with the help of his friend, lifted Hirst-Hermans into the back.

Advertisement

Blood pooled beneath the 20-year-old on the hard plastic back seat. He was sure he was going to die. Then, from the front of the car, came a calming voice: One of the officers was asking him questions about his college classes, telling him he was going to make it. Hirst-Hermans last memory of the drive was the siren of an ambulance blaring past and one of the officers saying, There goes your ride.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Had he been shot in another city, Hirst-Hermans might have died. The bullet hit a major artery in his chest, and hed lost a lot of blood. A surgeon later told him that hed made it to the hospital with less than a minute to spare.

Advertisement

Among cities with the highest rates of homicide, Philadelphia is the only one where police routinely rush gunshot and stab wound victims to the nearest trauma center instead of waiting for an ambulance. The practiceknown as scoop and run or scoop and gois deeply entrenched among the citys law enforcement, who focus their patrols in areas with the highest instances of violent crime and, as a result, frequently beat EMS to crime scenes. The sense has always been, get that person to the hospital quick, says John Stanford, a captain and 16-year veteran of the police department. Its just something you do.

Last year, one-third of Philadelphias 1,223 shooting victims were delivered to a city trauma center in the back of a police cruiser or wagon. At Temple University Hospital, the busiest hospital for gunshot patients in the state, about 70 percent of victims of penetrating trauma arrive by police vehicle or private vehicleor simply walk in.

Advertisement

Though Philadelphia police officers receive basic training on treating gunshot wounds, including how to apply a tourniquet, most of the victims they transport receive little or no medical care until theyre through the hospital doors. The practice challenges how most people think victims should be cared for. Yet trauma doctors in the city are effusive about scoop and run and believe it saves lives. Patients often survive the initial gunshot, but unfortunately a large number of them bleed out fairly quickly, within seconds and minutes, says Dr. Marcin Jankowski, the head of trauma and surgical critical care at Hahnemann University Hospital, one of the citys eight trauma centers. Doctors say the faster these patients can get to a trauma center, the better their chances at survival.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Philadelphia is unique. The police have definitely taken ownership of getting patients to us as quickly as possible, he adds.

Beyond its life-saving potential, some say scoop and run could enhance public safety in communities with broad distrust of police. When officers lift victims into the back seats of their cars, they become true first responders, shifting roles from enforcer to guardian, from soldier to protector.

As intuitive as scoop and run is among Philadelphia officers, police departments in other cities have little appetite for the practice. They argue that police have other important responsibilities, like solving crimes; they lack the advanced medical training required of EMTs and paramedics; and there could be liability issues when victims dont survive.

Advertisement

Advertisement

In certain circumstances, police in other cities already embrace scoop and run. Reports from the scenes of mass shootings include numerous examples of officers rushing victims to the hospital. And departments surveyed by the Trace and NBC Philadelphia pointed to another exception: Police officers sometimes rush their wounded colleagues to the hospital.

Beyond its life-saving potential, some say scoop and run could enhance public safety in communities with broad distrust of police.

Research suggests cities should consider innovative transport methods for all shooting victims. A recent national study found that the rate of gunshot patients who died en route to the hospital quadrupled between 2007 and 2014. Their injuries are so severe that by the time they come to us, its very difficult to save their life, said Dr. Joseph Sakran, the studys author and a trauma surgeon at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Advertisement

After the two Philadelphia officers delivered Ian Hirst-Hermans to Temples trauma center that night eight years ago, surgeons got to work, removing an artery from his thigh to replace the destroyed one in his chest. He awoke the next day shaken. But his mood brightened when the two officers who scooped him up came to visit. One joked that Hirst-Hermans needed to hurry up and get well so he could clean the blood out of their car.

Advertisement

Hirst-Hermans texts the officers every holiday season to thank them for getting him to the hospital. A few years ago, he had their last names tattooed in thick black cursive beneath his clavicle. Theyre my heroes, he says. Im eternally grateful to those guys.

Advertisement

In Philadelphia, scoop and run is such a long-held tradition that many officers cant imagine their jobs without it. It was just something that was understood, that getting the person to the hospital was part of your duties, says Kevin Bethel, a former deputy police commissioner who joined the department in the mid-80s. Steven Davidson, a retired emergency physician and former EMS medical director for Philadelphia, remembers being a medical student in 1973 at Temple. He recalls how police would put the victim of violence on a stretcher, throw em on the floor of the police van, and drive like crazy to the hospital.

Last year, police drove 408 gunshot victims to Philadelphia trauma centers, according to the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation, the states accrediting agency for trauma centers. In the past decade, police scoop-and-runs of gunshot victims have nearly doubled, even as shootings have remained fairly level. The practice has become so common, one Level I trauma center recently designated a drop-off lane for cop cars. Officials say that even when a Philadelphia police officer shoots a civilian, another officer will scoop them.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Davidson helped lead one of the first systematic evaluations of scoop and run, a 1995 study that compared mortality rates of assault victims transported by police to those driven by medics. The researchers found no significant differences in survival. A year later, the Philadelphia Police Department formalized its policy, which instructs officers to transport gunshot and stabbing victims and not wait for EMS. In the years since, research on the citys practice has reached similar conclusions.

Advertisement

The studies are far from perfectthey did not control for transport times or medical interventions in the fieldbut many clinicians interpret the findings to mean police transport is safe for patients, and in some cases advantageous.

One citywide study included a subset of people severely injured by gunshots. Compared to those transported by EMS, patients ferried by police had higher rates of surviving their wounds.

Advertisement

Philly police officers interviewed by the Trace and NBC Philadelphia consider scoop and run a natural part of their role. The only protective gear they carry are medical gloves; they expect to get bloody. We dont join the police department to watch people die, says Stephen Clark, a captain for the 24th District, which has seen some of the highest numbers of shootings in the city.

Advertisement

To residents on the other end of a scoop and run, its logic may be less obvious. Rather than being tended to by trained EMTs and paramedics with a range of medical supplies and equipment, they are hoisted into the back of police cars, where they may not even receive direct pressure to their wounds, not to mention a buckled seat belt. You hitting bumps, you bleeding, your bodys going all over the place, says Terry Starks, who was transported by a cop after being shot five times in 2002. Philadelphia officials say to the best of their knowledge, neither the police department nor the city have been sued over police transport of victims. The Trace identified two civil lawsuits brought against the city by individual families who alleged the actions of policeincluding transporting and not applying pressurecontributed to their sons deaths. Neither went to trial.

Advertisement

According to some trauma doctors, the lack of medical intervention that victims receive during the typical scoop and run is part of what makes the practice beneficial. Advanced procedures like breathing tubes and IV fluids, while helpful for certain kinds of patients, may actually do more harm than good for shooting and stabbing victims in urban areas.

Advertisement

Advertisement

To residents on the other end of a scoop and run, its logic may be less obvious.

Id love to debunk the myth that you need a person on the scene who has all this advanced medical training and that is going to make the difference for this specific kind of injury, says Dr. Elliott Haut, a Johns Hopkins trauma surgeon. For a presentation he gives at conferences, he shows a slide that asks whats the best fluid to give victims of penetrating trauma. Then he clicks to the next slide, which reads diesel fuel. Haut says, Yes, youre going to get less medical care on the street and in the back of the car, but Im OK with that because the shorter time is going to make a difference.

Advertisement

Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel, who oversees the citys EMTs and paramedics, says his ranks share a mutual understanding with the police when it comes to gunshot patients. Based on the medical evidence, the goal of our entire public safety enterprise is to get those penetrating trauma patients to the nearest trauma center, he saysregardless of whether thats in an ambulance or a cruiser. And with the hundreds of thousands of medical and fire calls his department responds to each year, everything helps.

To understand how other cities regard scoop and run, the Trace and NBC Philadelphia surveyed police departments in more than a dozen cities with the highest homicide rates in the country. While several police departments have policies permitting their officers to conduct transportsincluding Chicago, Detroit, and Stockton, Californianone reported transporting victims on a regular basis.

Advertisement

Culture eats policy for lunch, says Rick Myers, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents the largest law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada. The culture of the organization, the this-is-how-we-do-stuff-around-here, is a far more powerful factor in behavior than whats stuck up on the wall.

Advertisement

In Cleveland, a directive gives officers the option to transport a victim after assessing the totality of the circumstances (e.g., location of incident, proximity of a hospital, proximity of EMS, nature of injury). Officers found themselves weighing those factors last winter when they discovered a gunshot victim in Euclid, a suburb just beyond Clevelands city limits. Hed been shot 16 times. In footage captured by a responding officers body cam, the victim lies on a snowbank, his face blurred out. Lights from police vehicles strobe as officers ask him questions and count his wounds. He groans and begs to be taken to a hospital.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

A minute passes, then another. No sign of EMS. At one point, Euclid patrolmen use the victims belt to make a tourniquet for his leg. A third minute goes bystill nothing. What are we waiting for? asks one cop, her voice pitched with incredulity. This kid needs a fuckin hospital, says another.

After four minutes, the officers decide to take the victim themselves. One drives and another sits in back, putting pressure on the victims wounds. They arrive in less than two minutes.

The man survived, and a local columnist hailed scoop and run as a life-saving procedure for which police fail to get nearly enough credit. But in a subsequent op-ed, a representative of the citys paramedic and EMT union attributed the incident to dispatch confusion between the two cities, and argued that Cleveland residents would not benefit from a Philadelphia-style police transport program. Among his reasons, he pointed out that Philadelphia has five adult Level I trauma centers all within close proximity, while Cleveland has just two on opposite sides of town.

Advertisement

Police departments in Memphis and Cincinnati cited other reasons for not regularly practicing scoop and run, arguing that EMS units are better trained to handle severely injured patients. The New Orleans Police Department says its first priority is to secure the scenehard to do if theyre speeding to the hospital. Philadelphia officers would dispute that; they see a public safety benefit to scoop and run. Part of our transporting people helps decrease civil unrest, said Verdell Johnson, a Philadelphia police inspector, at a recent trauma conference. When we get out there and we have a shooting victim, if hes shot by another person, its really chaotic, so we get them out of there.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Myers, the chiefs association director, questioned the wisdom of devoting resources to training police to scoop, especially at a time when were trying to train our officers to be better at de-escalation, reducing the use of force, be better communicators, get out of their cars, and develop a relationship with community members to develop more trust.

Advertisement

Neighborhoods with disproportionately high gun violence are often the same places where residents fear and distrust the police. The tension can make both law enforcement and residents skeptical of scoop and run. In Sacramento, California where the killing of an unarmed 22-year-old by officers in March became yet another public symbol of police brutality against young black men, a spokesperson for the department said scoop and run could be a big challenge because of the scrutiny right now. Evin Johnson Sr., a gunshot survivor who works with other victims in the city, echoed the sentiment. I dont think the community would receive that well, he said. [Cops] dont care if you die, they just want the information for who shot you.

Advertisement

Philadelphia experiences the same dynamics: In April, two black men waiting for a friend in Starbucks were arrested for trespassing. I can tell you about times where theres a victim in the back of my car and every other word is an expletive to us. F you, Im not snitching, punk-ass cop,  says Stanford, the Philadelphia captain. And Im still driving like a bat out of hell to get this guy to the hospital to save his life.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Neighborhoods with disproportionately high gun violence are often the same places where residents fear and distrust the police.

Some scoop-and-run proponents hypothesize that having an officer spirit you or a loved one to the hospital at a life-or-death moment might have an unexplored power to help mend trust between police and residents of high-crime neighborhoods. Being able to say to the community, here are instances when police have saved the lives of these frequently young victims of gun violence, I think is another justification for doing this, says Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation, a policing innovation nonprofit.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Bueermann speaks about scoop and run in existential terms. On this issue, he says, the Philadelphia Police Department is directly connected to the spirituality of policingthe point of police work, to protect and serve. The things cops see day in and day out are frequently negative, he adds. Having an opportunity to save a life in the performance of their duties gives officers a tremendous emotional boost. Still, he thinks that more widespread adoption of scoop and run will require buy-in not just from police chiefs but also city managers, city attorneys, mayors, and other local leaders. Doesnt mean youre going to mandate it, but you have to allow in your policy, practice, training, messaging, and culture that if the officers do this, theyre not going to get in trouble.

A few weeks ago in Philadelphia, Penn Medicine hosted a conference where clinicians held a debate and panel on police transport for trauma victims. Dr. Dan Holena, a trauma surgeon at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, conceded that scoop and run would probably not work in certain places, like cities with a lower concentration of trauma centers. I can think of half a dozen major U.S. cities where this could work and really should work, and the only reason that its not are thingslike local policies, culture, and legal concernsthat really dont have to do with care of the patient.

Officials in Camden, New Jersey, decided to take a chance on scoop and run a few years ago. The chief of police, Scott Thomson, had gotten the idea from the citys neighbor, Philadelphia, and hoped it would help build officers credibility among residents.

At first, some officers were wary. Anytime you implement something new and fundamentally different, theres hesitation and some folks resist, Thomson says. But he says they came around, and now his officers scoop about 1 in every 5 of Camdens gunshot and stab wound victims. In a few cases, officers even transported victims who were shooting directly at them.

The streets are always watching, Thomson says. And they see your behavior, and actions speak far louder than words.
Over the weekend, the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, made his views on President Donald Trumps recent appointee for acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, clear. Hes totally unqualified, Nadler said. And his only qualification seems to be that he wants to bethat the president wants him to be the hatchet man to destroy the Mueller investigation.

Given what the president and Whitaker have stated publicly about special counsel Robert Muellers probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, this hatchet man designation might be spot-on. Whitaker has both prejudged the investigation as having failed to produce evidence of collusion and obstruction of justice and laid out what he called a crafty approach to kill the probe by starving it of funding.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

These are a few of the ways Whitaker could attempt to sabotage the probe if he doesnt recuse himself from overseeing the special counsel. Whitaker has the power to bar Mueller from publicly releasing his report on possible presidential malfeasance or sending the document to Capitol Hill for lawmakers to review. He could even attempt to water that report down. He would also be able to approve or deny Muellers major prosecutorial decisions, such as future indictments and cooperation deals.

Newly empowered Democrats, meanwhile, have promised to protect Mueller from being arbitrarily fired or otherwise interfered with in the event that Whitaker does not recuse himself. But say, in the months before Democrats take office in January, Whitaker issues Mueller what he views as an obstructive order, which Mueller then ignores, and Whitaker fires him. How could Democrats protect Mueller then? Could they go so far as to rehire the former FBI director and his team to finish their work, for example? The answer is: Yes, they could do a version of that.

Advertisement

The House could vote to create a Special Select Committee on Russian Election Interference and put Mueller and his team on the case as lead investigators. Alternatively, lawmakers could simply subpoena Muellers work product and hire him to complete any unfinished report with whatever material he already has.

House Democrats are unlikely to want to let Trump get away with firing Robert Mueller and ending his investigation when they now have the power to stop him.

Indeed, the only thing that might prevent an appointment of Mueller to helm a congressional investigation along the lines of the current Russia probe would be Muellers own reluctance to take that job.

If he did take the position, though, there would be a critical constraint on Muellers power: He would no longer be able to seek indictments from a grand jury. Mueller has secured more than two dozen indictments so far, winning a number of high-profile convictions and guilty pleas against a number of the presidents former top aides. This approach has resulted in cooperation deals with former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and deputy chairman of Donald Trumps inaugural committee Rick Gates. Without the ability to issue new indictments, a Mueller commission will not have as much ability to turn the pressure up on potential cooperators.

Advertisement

Advertisement

There are those subpoenas, though, which Mueller could request and a Democratic-led committee could approve. Under such a scenario, he could continue to seek document production and testimony from key witnesses using the committee-approved subpoenas. His current subpoena power is generally considered to be broadhaving defeated long-shot legal challenges, few witnesses have actually resisted him. Any new Congress-based subpoena power, though, would come with a set of obstacles Mueller will not have previously faced if obstinate Trump officials, former officials, and affiliates were to attempt to ignore the documents.

Advertisement

Like a court, Congress is able to enforce its subpoena power by holding violators in contempt. Doing this requires a mere majority vote of the entire House of Representatives. Bush White House counsel Harriet Miers and Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, for example, were held in contempt by respective opposing House majorities in recent years. You probably dont recall seeing either Miers or Holder being frog-marched to prison. Thats because, for the past century, the enforcement mechanism for congressional contempt has been criminal proceedings pursued through the Justice Department, which has a policy of not prosecuting congressional contempt when witnesses cite executive privilege. It seems unlikely that a Trump DOJparticularly one that would fire Muellerwould change that policy. Indeed, its possible to imagine Trump loyalists in such a department attempting to expand this policy, refusing to prosecute witnesses who reject House subpoenas regardless of executive privilege claims. As law professor Steve Vladeck has written, Its not hard to imagine a scenario in which this Justice Department would be in no particular hurry to prosecute executive branch officials who, at the presidents insistence, have defied congressional subpoenasperhaps even after the courts have rejected the grounds on which the subpoenas were defied..

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Still, contempt of Congress proceedings could end up in court, where Democrats might get a more favorable outcome, such as a court issuing heavy fines or jail sentences. This hasnt been tested before, because when these types of proceedings were initiated in past administrations, the issues involved were eventually made moot for two main reasons. First, congressional contempt citations expire after a term of Congress is up. Second, because these citations come with a clock, courts have never been forced to decide how to enforce them.

Courts have consistently maintained, though, in recent rulings that contempt disputes between the executive and legislative branches of government are justiciable by the third branch. While the judiciary has maintained its constitutional role in resolving these disputes, it has generally sought and received settlements between the other two branches without having to enforce anything. If there were a Mueller firing followed by a wholesale rejection of congressional subpoena power by witnesses in a House Russia probe, courts would almost certainly be asked to act with greater urgency. If Trump administration officials invoke privilege claims to defy subpoenas, the courts would be asked to resolve whether those claims are valid, Vladeck wrote. But while President Trump may think the odds are in his favor at that point, the court has, historically, generally recognized a broad congressional subpoena powerand limited presidential authority to resist otherwise valid subpoenas. In other words, its not necessarily a given that even judges and justices appointed by Trump would side with him in such a case.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Even if this constitutional crisis were too slow-moving, there could be a last-ditch political remedy for House Democrats, short of impeachment. For most of the countrys history, Congress enforced its own contempt citations through whats known as the inherent contempt power that can come with a majority of one House of Congress holding an uncooperative witness in contempt. Congress has never used that power to levy fines, but it might be able to, according to a Congressional Research Service study, which observed that multiple Supreme Court opinions from the early years of the republic indicated that the 19th-century court viewed contempt fines to be within Congress powers.

Advertisement

What the court definitively viewed to be within Congress powers was jailing witnesses who disobeyed congressional subpoenas. For most the 19th century and part of the 20th, either branch of Congress could issue a majority vote to order the sergeant-at-arms to arrest and imprison recalcitrant witnesses. Again, this used to be fairly standard practiceCongress even had its own prison, the Old Capitol Jail. But the Old Capitol Jail was sold not long after the Civil War and demolished in the first half of the 20th century. The last time Congress actually exercised its power to arrest people was in 1935, with the legislature opting to utilize an 1857 law that allowed it to refer contempt citations to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecutions. Its unlikely that Nancy Pelosi wants to be remembered as the House Speaker who brought back the practice of hauling in recalcitrant witnesses to be jailed by the Houses sergeant-at-arms on the orders of a vote by the Democratic Caucus. There would certainly be the potential for a political uproar if we were to see Donald Trump Jr. in cuffs based on a vote by his fathers opposition party.

Even so, House Democrats are similarly unlikely to want to let Trump get away with firing Robert Mueller and ending his investigation when they now have the power to stop him.
TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Labour and community activists will fill the committee rooms at Queens Park tomorrow, as the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs hears deputations on Bill 47, a bill which will strip Ontario workers of basic workplace rights.

Ontario Federation of Labour President Chris Buckley will present to the committee at 9:00 a.m. on November 15.

When our employment and labour laws were updated in 2017, that update was the result of more than two years of consultations, said OFL President Chris Buckley. This government is ramming through Bill 47, a Bill that will affect Ontario workers for years to come, without hearing from people across the province. In fact, 77 per cent of Ontarians agree that two paid sick days are needed for workers and the majority agree with an increase to a $15 minimum wage.

The committee hearings are being held on the same day as the government delivers its fall economic update.

Bill 47 will be felt by most workers in Ontario who will be losing the upcoming increase to a $15 minimum wage, paid sick days, and equal pay for temporary, part-time, and full-time workers, and laws that make it easier to join and keep a union. Precarious and low-wage workers will be disproportionately affected.

Bill 47 must be withdrawn. This government must do the right thing and stand up for workers, said Ontario Federation of Labour President Chris Buckley. Taking basic rights away from the most precarious and low-paid workers in Ontario is a dirty trick for this government to play. Removing the $15 minimum wage, taking away paid sick days, and removing equal pay for equal work provisions is a betrayal of workers in this province pure and simple, he added.

Ontarios economy is doing well, having added 83,000 jobs since this time last year, and an increase in full-time work across the province. Unemployment is at a record low.

Its very clear that decent work laws are not hurting the economy, said Buckley. Greater fairness in the workplace and a $15 minimum wage means that workers are better able to feed their families, have dollars to spend in the community which boosts the economy. Doug Ford said, help is on the way for Ontarians, but what he is doing by cancelling a wage increase for low-income earners and cutting basic workplace rights isnt helpful for workers, and its not helpful for the economy.

The OFL represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information visit www.OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter .

For further information, please contact:

Meagan Perry

Director of Communications,

Ontario Federation of Labour

mperry@ofl.ca l 416-894-3456

cope343
When Donald Trump finally spoke during this weekends celebration of the end of World War I, he did a boilerplate job. On Sunday, at the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial near Paris, Trump praised the Marines who fought through hell to turn the tide of the war. He told the assembled listeners that through their sacrifice, [the Marines] ascended to peace in heaven, and added, It is our duty to preserve the civilization they defended, and protect the peace they so nobly gave their lives to secure one century ago. Sure, goodthe president got it together to speak. But this is the wrong way to commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War I. A better way would be to reckon with the fact that, as Slates Jack Hamilton said on Twitter, WWI is really the OG modern war in terms of sending off massive amounts of young people to die for no real or clear purpose.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The conflict that became known as the Great War had obscure and complex roots in empires and alliances. If its hard to explain its causes without putting students to sleep, its even harder to recount the way the war was conducted in a manner that gets its full scale across. A recitation of the conflicts manifold horrors calls forth every bit of historians creativity, lest the reader zone out on so much death. Millions of people killed, miles of trenches, even more miles of barbed wire, the legions of disabled and widowed and orphaned. Its all too much, and too meaningless, given the lack of a true difference in ideology between combatants and (contemporary atrocity propaganda aside) the absence of a real villain to battle.

Advertisement

Writing in the New Yorker, Adam Hochschild ended his review of some recent commemorative books on the armistice with a story of what happened on the last day of fighting, when everyone knew the end was coming but kept fighting anyway, for no political or military reason whatever. Hochschild describes the experience of the troops of the American 92nd Divisionblack soldiers, led by white officers, often Southerners resentful of being given such commands. These troops were sent into German machine-gun fire and mustard gas a half-hour before the armistice was meant to take effect. The division recorded 17 dead that day. Why? The war, Hochschild writes, ended as senselessly as it had begun.

Advertisement

After all that suffering, what good did the war do? The effects of the conflict on Europe are well-known: desperation, poverty, resentment, the advent of fascism, more war. (Hochschild: It is impossible to imagine the Second World War happening without the toxic legacy of the First.) Stateside, we exited our own briefer involvement in the conflict into some of the worst racial violence of the early 20th century. During the war, more than 6,000 dissidents who publicly criticized the draft had been arrested under the Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918, and this erosion of civil liberties continued in the postwar period.

Advertisement

Advertisement

How, then, to commemorate a useless war that shouldnt have happeneda black hole in history? In an interview on the blog Ethics & International Affairs, given when we were beginning this anniversary period back in 2014, historian Mary Dudziak said that World War I should be commemorated by remembering the way the American people were deeply engaged with questions of war and peacea contrast to today, when one of the most unfortunate aspects of contemporary war politics is that most Americans seem content to leave the issue to leaders and experts.

Advertisement

Indeed, some of the writing for and against American intervention in the war is indelible. In 1917, the young progressive journalist Randolph Bourne, who stood against American involvement until the endeven as his mentors, including John Dewey, reversed their earlier opposition, and the magazines he had written for one by one refused to publish him or foldedwrote a scathing polemic denouncing growing liberal and intellectual support for American intervention. The pacifist is roundly scolded for refusing to face the facts and for retiring into his own world of sentimental desire, Bourne wrote.

Advertisement

But is the realist, who refuses to challenge or criticize facts, entitled to any more credit than that which comes from following the line of least resistance? The realist thinks he at least can control events by linking himself to the forces that are moving. Perhaps he can. But, if it is a question of controlling war, it is difficult to see how the child on the back of a mad elephant is to be any more effective in stopping the beast than is the child who tries to stop him from the ground.

We could look back at the way people in Europe and the United States responded to the war after it ended to see how they perceived its meaning. Some artists and writers responded to their war experiences by breaking decisively, in form or in theme, with 19th-century cultural traditionsespecially those that venerated abstract concepts like duty and honor when describing conflict. Brutal art like Englishman Wilfred Owens poem Dulce et Decorum Est and the German painter Otto Dixs The Trench (I cant link you to an image of that one, because the painting was later destroyed by the Nazis for being degenerate) stripped away every bit of pomp, circumstance, and patriotism from the experience of war.

Advertisement

Advertisement

How, then, to commemorate a useless war that shouldnt have happeneda black hole in history?

In the United States, the war stoked pacifist sentiment. Over time, historian John Kinder writes, millions of Americans came to believe that the Great War had served no redeeming purpose whatsoeverother than to remind them why future conflicts needed to be avoided. Kinders book on the place of the disabled veteran in public conversations about the war has an unsettling chapter on the way pacifist groups used images of maimed men to mobilize anti-war sentiment in the 1920s and 1930s. Perhaps these documents are the ones that we should revisit on the centenary of such a horror. We now see, as Kinder points out, that their explicit nature was exploitative and demeaningbut in their forcefulness, the images show how serious some people were about peace, after this useless war came to a close.

Advertisement

The content and style of these pacifists ads, posters, and books were blunt and bloody, to the point of extremely poor taste. (Eager to debunk wars romance, Kinder writes, peace groups believed that no sane young man would ever rush off to war if he truly grasped the mutilation and long-term suffering awaiting him.) Pacifist photo books sold in Europe and the United States in the 20s and 30s gathered the worst images of battlefield casualties. Ads and posters, most notably those produced by the publicity-savvy group World Peaceways, which was very effective in its efforts to get these images into mainstream media, showed the worst of those injuries in full. A poster created by a student participating in a contest meant to recruit young people to the pacifist cause depicted a soldiers face in the very moment a bullet goes through his eye, as his helmet spins off and his gloved hand flies up in protest. The posters slogan: Oh Godfor What!

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

But the bigger shock I experienced on encountering these documents is the realization that these ads ran in big publications, and the photo books sold well. As Kinder writes, the peace movement World War I inspired in this country was a real force right up until Pearl Harbor. The war against Hitlerthe good warwiped American pacifism off the map for decades, especially because some small number of American anti-interventionists proved to be fascist sympathizers.

Later, the youth movements of the 1960s revived the tradition in protesting the war in Vietnam. But reading, and looking at, these documents, you realize that Dudziak is correct: Our contemporary pacifist movement and our conversation about the very nature of war and peace are now absurdly minimalist in comparison. When liberals on Twitter respond to Trumps failure to show up at the first round of armistice commemorations with pious platitudes about the troops, remembering, and sacrifice, it feels like weve lost more than we can even remember.
The most eastern point of Slovakia is worth seeing

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

More information about travelling in Slovakia

Please see our Please see our Spectacular Slovakia travel guide

A new shelter hut and hotel for insects was established in a relaxation zone in Nova Sedlica village in eastern Slovakia, which is part of the Poloniny national park.

The structure is located in the locality of Polana on the way to Medova Baba. From the main road it is about 700 metres from the last house in the village, on the right side over the river, said Vasil Dinic, the mayor of Nova Sedlica.

The shelter hut measures 3x4.5 metres. There is no furniture inside and more than 10 people can sleep in it. A campfire ring, benches and a table are located outside the structure and a small lake is nearby.

Tourists used the locality to sleep even before the shelter hut was constructed there. When new wooden bus stops replaced the old ones six years ago, the village moved the old tin one to Polana. It served as a shelter for visitors during the bad weather.

Tourists may use four other shelter huts located in Poloniny on the tourist route, which is about 50 kilometres long. It leads from Osadne to Kremenec, which is where the Slovak, Polish and Ukrainian borders meet.

The shelter huts are located in the saddle under Ciertaz, with two others in the villages of Runina and Zboj, and one in Ruske Sedlo. Poloniny is great for stargazers since there is a locality with the darkest night sky in Slovakia. Visitors usually look for spectacular nature and unique wooden architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries.
She has been trying to find him the moment she learnt about his existence a few months ago.

News: Receive favorite authors articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

I am looking for my half-brother, who was born in Krupina around 1949 or 1950, Jennifer Brooks from Florida wrote in her e-mail sent to the Slovak Spectator.

Before her father escaped to the USA during communism, he had been in a relationship. What he did not know was that his girlfriend, who remained in Czechoslovakia, was pregnant.

It was only this summer that Brooks found out that the girlfriend had visited her aunt and grandmother, saying that she had a baby her father did not know about.

Brooks knows very little, though. Her half-brother was born in Krupina and he should be 68 years old. She is now asking for help with finding him.

Koloman had to flee to survive

Koloman Vladimir Bodo is Brooks father. He was born in Lazany, near Prievidza in central Slovakia. During his time spent in the country, Bodo had a girlfriend, whom he met in Krupina.

Her brother was working at the Ministry of Agriculture at that time, and Bodo somehow used to be working there between 1946 and 1949 as well. When the communist purges took place after the coup in 1948, the lives of many people abruptly changed.

My father was threatened to death by the communists, so he had to escape one night in 1949, Brooks wrote. The girlfriends brother was arrested, but Bodo managed to swim the Danube River from Bratislava to Austria.

He did not have time to learn that he would become the father to a baby boy. The girlfriend returned to Krupina without him.

Koloman Vladimir Bodo (Source: Jennifer M. Brooks)

She hopes to meet him

Brooks has already tried to ask the town of Krupina for help, unsuccessfully. The city could not pass on information about babies due to privacy policy.

However, she thinks her half-brother may carry his mothers name since she did not find any boy named Bodo born around that period.

She has asked the local paper and people on Facebook for help, which has not turned out to be successful. However, Brooks hopes he may follow The Slovak Spectator if he left Slovakia in the past.

I just hope he is alive, and I can meet him, she wrote at the end of her e-mail.

If you have any information that could help Jennifer in her search, please contact editorial@spectator.sk.
A criminal complaint has been rejected, the Stop Corruption Foundation wrote on its blog.

News: Receive favorite authors articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

Former interior minister Robert Kalinak and ex-transport minister Jan Pociatek, who are both members of the ruling Smer party, will not face any prosecution over bribery allegations.

The criminal complaint filed by Vasil Spirko regarding the investigation over alleged corruption of former ministers in [Robert] Ficos cabinet was rejected, the Nadacia Zastavme Korupciu (The Stop Corruption Foundation ) wrote on its blog.

Vasil Spirko, a prosecutor of the Special Prosecutors Office who brought the suspicion to spotlight this March, is filing another complaint against the decision, the Sme daily reported.

Money for Robo and Jano

Spirko stepped forward back in March to explain what happened between him and a witness who testified on alleged fraud at the Interior Ministry, after which he stood accused of an attempt to exert pressure on the witness. At the same time, the prosecutor wanted to say how the testimony of that person led to a criminal complaint regarding a scheme at the Interior Ministry, related to the purchase of IT and network devices.

Precitajte si tiez:

Precitajte si tiez: Prosecutor Spirko found guilty of disciplinary transgression but not punished Read more

Finally society can understand who governs this state and how, and to whose benefit, Spirko said, announcing he was filing a criminal complaint against Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, Police Corps President Tibor Gaspar, NAKA head Peter Hrasko, and the national anti-corruption unit head, Robert Krajmer.

The witness described specific companies who took part in the order, the people involved and the relations between them within the scheme.

Spirko said the witness in his testimony brought up two key individuals: the first mentioned is Milan (whom he only describes by his first name), who allegedly oversaw the entire scheme and the people involved in the order, a close person of Interior Minister Robert Kalinak and Finance Minister Jan Pociatek. Based on Spirkos account, Milan was in charge of making sure the two ministers would have their interests satisfied. Milan was also close to people at the Governments Office.

The other person Spirko mentioned as a key person is only nicknamed Penazenka (Slovak for "wallet"). Spirko did not give the name of this person as he is not a public figure. The role of this person was to create the transaction history of the money in the books.

This money was mostly meant for Jano and Robo, Spirko said. The only role of Penazenka was to control the flow of money and the legalisation of the money for the interior minister and the finance minister (Kalinak and Pociatek), both of the ruling Smer party.

Problems after meeting journalists

Spirko faced several problems after the March press conference. Finally, the disciplinary committee claimed in June that he had violated the duties of a prosecutor and hence committed a disciplinary transgression against the law.

However, the committee chose not to impose a punishment, even though Special Prosecutor Dusan Kovacik had originally proposed a financial penalty.
Seven out of ten job applicants in Slovakia claim to speak English.

News: Receive favorite authors articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

Sofia Fall is an American who came to Slovakia to teach English for one school year at a high school in Nitra.

I think my students are really good at communicating what they mean in English, even if they don't have exactly right word or grammar structure, Fall, who teaches 14- and 19-year-olds, told The Slovak Spectator.

She is one of the several Americans that come to exchange every year within the Fulbright Program. Her students have a chance to improve their English skills through conversation with her as a native speaker.

The data of the recent research EF English Proficiency Index (EPI) have shown that there is indeed room for improvement of English skills among Slovaks.

Slovakia scored 24th among the 88 countries that participated in the research, with a score of 58.11 points. Czechs improved best among the neighbours, jumping 2.12 points and scoring 20th position. Poland scored best among the Visegrad Group countries, at 13th. Sweden, the Netherlands, Singapore and Norway dominated the overall ranking.

(Source: EF EPI 2018)

Research showed that Slovak women speak English slightly better than men. The knowledge is balanced among generations, with the age group 21 to 25 years having the best English, but there is no significant difference between them and people ages 26-40. The overall language skill is described as high.

Most of my students probably wouldn't say they're fluent in English, but I think it's amazing how much they do know how to say, Fall said, adding that for many of her students she is probably the first native speaker they have ever spoken with in depth.

In Falls experience, grammar is the tricky area for her students, but the important thing is that they are able to get their point across. She is impressed by their ability to have complete and interesting conversations.

Language teaching changes

In Slovakia, English is currently compulsory for pupils from third grade (around 9 years old) and they can choose a second language to learn in seventh grade. This is likely to change soon, after Education Minister Martina Lubyova (SNS nominee) announced that the ministry wants to open up the possibility of students choosing their first foreign language as of the 2019/2020 school year.

We want to let parents and also schools choose. We do not want to force all children to learn English as the first language, said Lubyova as quoted by the TASR newswire. She argues that the level of German language skills has worsened among Slovak students. I n the new system, children could also choose German, French, Italian, Spanish or Russian as their first foreign language.

While school systems all around the world make English a compulsory language to teach children to understand each other and work in, Slovakia may go in the opposite direction, reads the press release of the EF EPI. The organisation stressed that English is an important asset on the labour market.

The times when English was required only in top management, diplomacy or - very logically  translation, is gone, said Linda Pfefferova, manager of EF Slovakia.

English supports global investment, improves the business environment and contributes to economic growth, Pfefferova noted.

The number of international companies in the world over increased between 2006 and 2016 by 25 percent, the press release reads. Ignorance of English is often a barrier in reaching a new and better position at work, especially since many foreign employers consider Central Europe an interesting area for expansion.

Required on the job market

Nikola Richterova from the Profesia job-search website explained that knowledge of English is considered almost a matter of course at some positions.

It is mainly the result of many private foreign employers, she explained for The Slovak Spectator, adding that this goes mostly for the Bratislava Region, where English was required in 46 percent of job ads in 2017.

Employers in the Kosice Region require English in 30 percent of ads. The majority of the ads fall under the field of marketing or management. The rate of German required in ads in 2017 was 11 percent around Slovakia.

The English language skills of job applicants differ between Bratislava and other regions. Profesia's statistics show that 80 percent of job applicants in the region around the capital state in their CVs that they speak English. The second and third highest are Zilina and Kosice regions, respectively.

On the contrary, the lowest rate of English speakers is in the Nitra Region, with 70 percent of applicants claiming to have English language skills.

Recently, however, employers seem to be easing up on their requirements, Richterova noted. This is due to the lack of available workers. Fewer and fewer job ads require language skills, but speaking a foreign language remains an important asset.

If we talk about ambitious employees who would like to reach company management, knowledge of a foreign language, mainly English, is almost necessary, Richterova said.
This warm summer with an early harvest was a blessing for young wine.

News: Receive favorite authors articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

While Beaujolais Nouveau will go on sale from midnight tonight, the Slovak wine legislation has enabled the selling of young local wines already on November 5.

Young wine is as charming and attractive as a 16-year-old girl, Milan Kovacik of Svatokatarinske Vino told The Slovak Spectator, adding that young wine must be fresh, clean with fruit and primary flavours. But youth does not last forever.

The wine trademark Svatokatarinske Vino, or St Catherines Wine, has been the response of a group of wine experts regarding the sales of young foreign wines here in Slovakia. It is similar to an older tradition in the Czech Republic. There, they have named their young wines after St Martin.

Young wine In order for wines to be labelled young, the bottles must be filled by December 31 at the latest. Such wines are intended for immediate consumption and do not have the potential to mature in bottles. Wine makers recommend drinking them by the end of February of the following year at the latest.

St Catherines is a common brand of winegrowers, which takes care of marketing support and sale of wines with this trademark, said Kovacik. This group is open, and the only condition is to produce high quality young wines of specified varieties.

These are early varieties such as Irsai Oliver, Muller Thurgau or Sauvignon, which are maturing in the middle of the summer. Red wines need to mature a longer time and thus they were excluded from St Catherines.

The trademark is a quality label and so each young wine to be labelled must meet strict requirements.

Read also:

Read also: Touring wine cellars in Bratislava Read more

Not all registered wines have passed through the degustation jury, said Kovacik. It is very important for us to say that St Catherines is the best young wine of the season.
Dave Rubin came to Slovakia ten years ago and has lived in Bratislava ever since.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/529828551&color=%23096f52&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true

Dave Rubin was a Manhattan-based lawyer when he landed in Bratislava during his travels around the world. That was ten years ago. Dave has since founded a successful language school in downtown Bratislava and spends his free time exploring his new town and country. How does a city boy from Brooklyn fall in love with castle ruins in the Small Carpathians? Dave names most of them in this episode - and there is more of them than you might think.

The Spectacular Slovakia travel podcast is the latest addition to our range of travel-related products. This programme is part of The Slovak Spectator subscription and our readers receive it every Thursday morning as part of their subscription.

More information:

Print+audio: shop.spectator.sme.sk/newspaper

Online+audio: www.sme.sk/predplatne-spectator
In cities large and small across the US, workers rights violations have long been so commonplace within the service industry that they frequently go unchallenged. Service employees often lack the time, energy, knowledge, or money to fight violations. But as more and more workers find a permanent or semi-permanent home within the service industry, more workers are learning that they do have rights in the workplace, including the ability to organize and fight for fair treatment free of retaliation. When Julia Baker and Lou Kramer, baristas and labor organizers in Pittsburgh, PA, were terminated from their positions at specialty coffee shop Tazza DOro (full disclosure: my former employer five years ago) for reasons they believed to be unlawful, they researched their options and pursued fair treatment, ultimately winning a lawsuit against the company with the help of restaurant worker rights advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC).

Baker joined Tazza DOro in the early summer of 2017, adding barista work to her roster of work as an organizer, which includes running an organization called Open House PGH and working as a member of both Socialist Alternative and ROC. At a staff meeting about six months into her tenure, Baker tells Sprudge, she and several other staff members brought up issues they were experiencing in the workplace, including lack of clear raise schedules and job descriptions, concerns around reduced management hours, and questions about promotion to management positions. The day after the meeting, Baker claims via email, I started experiencing retaliation in the form of harassment and intimidation by management at work. Baker claims this retaliation came in the form of false claims in their personnel file regarding workplace performance. Following another staff meeting in December of 2017, they fired me out of the blue claims Baker. Another coworker who was vocal about similar issues, Lou Kramer, was fired on the same day, as per Baker.

When Baker was fired, she drew on her background as a labor organizer in formulating next steps. As an experienced organizer who has worked on several labor rights issues in the past, she tells Sprudge, I knew there was something very wrong about what we had experienced and wanted to learn more about our rights. This fell under the purview of ROC, whose work includes taking on individual cases of worker violations, fighting for better wages across the board, and fighting discrimination in the industry. Baker reached out to a local ROC representative, who felt their claim fell under a protected right to speak with coworkers about workplace issues and to discuss those issues openly at work. The local Pittsburgh ROC representative encouraged Baker and Kramer to file an Unfair Labor Practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that exists to examine cases of worker violations, including retaliation.

In the six months that followed, Baker and Kramer went through the process of pursuing legal action with their NLRB caseworker. ROC national lead organizer and caseworker Jordan Romanus described cases like what Kramer and Baker experienced to be as common as potholes in Pittsburgh. Seeing cases like this all the time, he was prepared to help and thought the case was a great example of why its important to fight workers rights violations. Its important to exercise your rights in the workplace, Romanus tells Sprudge. Youd be surprised how much power you have when you organize collectively. Fellow ROC organizer Bobbi Linskens, who got into ROC after winning a similar case against restaurant chain EatN Park with Romanuss help, agrees that these cases are painfully common. But I dont see as many cases as I should, because most people dont realize that they have rights and can stand up for themselves in the workplace, she said.

After several months of investigation, the NLRB found merit in the charges Baker and Kramer brought against Tazza DOro. At that point, Tazza could either choose to settle with us out of court or we could bring the issue to federal court with the NLRB representing us for free, said Baker. The NLRB was extremely helpful with the suit. We also had the advice and assistance of our ROC representatives throughout. If we won the case, Tazza would be required to pay us back-pay from the day we were fired until the day we found equal employment and also offer us reinstatement to our positions, adds Baker. We ended up settling with out of court with the same conditions, totaling about $10,000 each for Lou and me. Both Baker and Kramer have found new jobs since their termination.

In addition to paying out back-pay, Tazza DOro was also required to put up a poster visible to employees for 60 days, explaining employees federal rights to advocate for workplace needs, bargain collectively, and specifically to form, join, or assist a union.

Tazza DOro owner and founder Amy Enrico agreed to comment on this story, in the form of a written statement. Were publishing that statement in full below.

For 19 years, Tazza DOro has been a leader in creating community and providing all of our employees with decent paying jobs, opportunities within and outside of the company and in other parts of the coffee industry. We provide many hours of professional barista training with the goal of developing skills so baristas can be proud of their craft and connection to coffee. We have always strongly believed in and provided a diverse, inclusive work environment. We have been committed to all fair labor practices; while constantly striving to provide and move toward a living wage and professional training for all our employees  these practices we hold dear and abide by according to the law. Also, in our 19 years of operation, with hundreds of employees through the years, we have never had a complaint or charge filed against us about an employment issue or unfair labor practice. Termination of employees is always difficult and sometimes complicated; something that we have never taken lightly and only done when serious infractions were found. Thus, we were disappointed that NLRB charges were filed by two former employees and that this investigation occurred. And, as much as we would have wanted to present our full defenses to the investigation, the costs attendant to fully presenting our side were just too high. Staggering legal costs, time and emotional energy required us to make the very hard business decision to resolve the matter before heading to litigation. We have worked diligently and in 100% compliance to resolve all matters with all parties so that we could move forward in a positive way. At Tazza DOro, we will continue to follow our passion in building community, provide opportunities for our baristas and commit each and every day to do our best by respecting the coffees, respecting the craft and trying to brew the best cup possible for our customers.

This story is bigger than just one suit, or any one labor dispute at a single coffee company. Indeed, it speaks to much larger issues in the service industry related to workers rights and the role of workplace advocacy resources. Baker wants her story to encourage others to stand up for their rights in the workplace and to become active workers rights advocates. Everyone who has worked in the restaurant industry knows how common it is to hear stories of violations at work or unacceptable working conditions, Baker tells Sprudge. If we build a strong national movement of restaurant workers, we can revolutionize the industry. We can address the rampant racism and sexism in the industry, we can fight for better wages, and we can raise the standard of expected working conditions. The official homepage for ROC is here, and it includes local and national resources for those looking to learn more. ROC is also a non-profit, and you can learn more about donating here.

I want workers to realize that they do have rights and ROC is here to help them, says ROC organizer Linskens. If they exercise their rights in the workplace, theyd be surprised by how much power they have when they organize collectively. Reach out to us immediately. As the watchdog of the restaurant industry, we will do everything we can to help.

The more that workers know and share, the more power they have. The work of Baker, Kramer, Romanus, and Linskens offers service workers a powerful hospitality industry example of what it looks like to recognize your rights, organize collectively, and pursue justice for yourself and others.

RJ Joseph (@RJ_Sproseph) is a Sprudge staff writer, publisher of Queer Cup, and coffee professional based in the Bay Area. Read more RJ Joseph on Sprudge Media Network.
Parked to the quarter in :28.3, Roddys At It Again powered to control and to a 1:56.1 victory in the first of two divisions of the DSBF Two-Year-Old Filly Pace at Dover Downs on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

After taking command, Roddys At It Again, by Roddys Bags Again out of Terro Franco N, never looked back and won by 11 lengths for driver Art Stafford, Jr. and trainer Tim Torbert. It was her first DSBF win for 30 something first-time horse owner Katie Killen of Felton.

Sharon White's homebred Vistamista, by Powerful Mist out of Yankee Vista and co-owned by Legacy Racing of Delaware Inc., took the second division in 1:55.1 by nosing out DSBF champ The Lady Sheriff at the wire. Victor Kirby sat in the bike for trainer Wayne Givens.

Round two of the DSBF will go on Tuesday, Nov. 20. The final will be contested on Thursday, Nov. 29 in conjunction with Dover's signature event: the Hap Hansen Progress Pace, named for the late Brandywine Raceway President.

(With files from the DSBF)
Chronic Spawned by Greg Ricciardi, Founder of Award-Winning Branding Firm 20Nine

Company Launches with Two National Clients and Seven Employees

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Identifying an opportunity in the rapidly emerging multi-billion dollar cannabis industry, Greg Ricciardi, founder of the award-winning branding agency 20Nine, has launched Chronic  wearechronic.com, Philadelphias first branding agency centered on the cannabis industry.

20Nine has created and rebranded global brands across a diverse number of industries using a proprietary suite of methodologies that have been designed to yield sustainable and impactful results.

Chronic is tapping into those best practices to drive brand development in the cannabis category  a sector that has recently seen significant growth including Constellation Brands recent investment of $3.8 Billion into Canopy Growth Corp.

The service set and structure of Chronic has been designed to service a heretofore-unmet need in the cannabis marketplace  centering on three main pillars:

Business and Operational Intelligence A relentless passion for seeing the word through the eyes of the consumer Brand building through visual storytelling, innovation, experiential and digital tactics that connects to the target consumer

Chronic recently finalized the identity, brand story and website for Seven Point Packaging (sevenpointpackaging.com) and is currently developing the Good Harvest Co. brand.

The cannabis industry has been developing for several years but 2018 has seen the most expansive activity to date with sales of medical and recreational marijuana to reach $4.75 and $6 billion this year alone  and that trend will only continue to expand, said Ricciardi. This industry is going from a cottage industry to a board room industry very rapidly and emerging brands will need a powerful strategic business, branding and design partner and that is exactly why I formed Chronic.

Philadelphia Business Journal Covered this launch today: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2018/11/14/new-branding-agency-may-be-philadelphias-1st-to.html

About Chronic

A strategic brand and marketing agency created from the award winning Creative Brand Agency, 20Nine. Based in Philadelphia, Chronic is dedicated to helping businesses in the cannabis market build strategic brand foundations, connected brand stories, cohesive identity systems, and engaging marketing executions focused on actionable responses.

About 20Nine

Success has a need for speed, agility and creativity. 20Nine delivers on all three. 20Nine is a highly collaborative and caffeinated group of brand strategists, writers, designers, technologists, and insight gatherers committed to creating charismatic brands, products, services and experiences that stand out and stand for something important in the minds of consumers.
The publicity department for the Grand Circuit has sent out its weekly recap and preview of Grand Circuit races.

This Week: Matron Stakes, Dover Downs, Dover, Del. and Fall Four eliminations, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit returns to Dover Downs this Thursday (Nov. 15) for four Matron Stakes for three-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. The three-year-old colt pace carries a purse of $193,750, the three-year-old colt trotters will race for $210,150, the purse for the three-year-old filly pace is $159,350 and the three-year-old filly trotters will race for $183,900.

On Saturday night (Nov. 17) Meadowlands Racetrack will host eliminations in each of the Fall Four events for freshman pacers and trotters. There will be two $20,000 eliminations in the Valley Victory for two-year-old male trotters and a single $20,000 elimination in the Governors Cup for two-year-old male pacers. Eliminations were not required in the Goldsmith Maid for two-year-old filly trotters and the Three Diamonds for two-year-old filly pacers.

Last time: Trainer Jimmy Takter and driver Yannick Gingras teamed up for a Grand Circuit double in Thursday evenings (Nov. 8) Matron Stakes for two-year-olds at Dover Downs, combining with Super Schissel and Blood Money in their respective divisions.

Super Schissel made his move from the pocket with five-sixteenths to go en route to an easy 1:56 win in the $158,000 Matron two-year-old colt and gelding trot, contested as a non-wagering event before the main program.

After yielding early control to Lindys Crazy Hall (driven by David Miller) on approach to the first turn, Yannick Gingras kept Super Schissel close from the pocket through early splits of :28.2 and :58.1. Midway up the backstretch, the son of Uncle Peter and Bavarde angled out and strode to the lead immediately, putting a quarter-length on Lindys Crazy Hall by three-quarters in 1:27.2 before drawing off handily. Holiday Hangover (Tim Tetrick) rallied belatedly from last to take second, three and a half lengths back, while Union Forces (Scott Zeron) took third over the fading Lindys Crazy Hall.

Super Schissel is trained by Jimmy Takter for owners Al Libfeld and Perry Soderberg.

Blood Money ($8.00) sustained an uncovered bid out of midfield through the final half-mile of the $213,000 Matron two-year-old colt and gelding pace and held off a late charge from Sugar Factory to narrowly prevail in 1:51.1.

Gingras, wearing the colours of Diamond Creek Racing, floated Blood Money up the pegs to protect a close stalking spot behind duelling leaders Love Me Some Lou (Corey Callahan) and Mangogh (Brett Miller) through a sharp :26.3 quarter, but the pair were relegated to fourth when No Mas Amor (Tim Tetrick) pushed clear with nine-sixteenths to go after losing cover.

At the :54.3 half-mile juncture, Gingras angled the Sweet Lou-Blood Diamond colt off the pegs, and he responded immediately to accelerate, press the pace, and take the lead under urging past three-quarters in 1:22.4. No Mas Amor gave way on the far turn, but Sugar Factory (David Miller) loomed off live cover to pose a late threat. Blood Money was driven out off the home turn and all the way to the winning post to keep the lunging Sugar Factory a head at bay. Reigning Deo rallied from last down the grandstand side to take third.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2018, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2018 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders following the past weekend.

Drivers: 1. Tim Tetrick  1,462.5; 2. Yannick Gingras  1,450; 3. David Miller  1,182.5; 4. Scott Zeron  709; 5. Andrew McCarthy  653.5.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke  1,344.5; 2. Jimmy Takter  1,168; 3. Tony Alagna  721.5; 4. Julie Miller  481; 5. Jim Campbell  437.

Owners: 1. Fashion Farms  325; 2. Diamond Creek Racing  294.6; 3. Burke Racing Stable  283.5; 4. Weaver Bruscemi  262; 5. Robert Key  234.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at the Meadowlands Racetrack with the finals for the Fall Four for two-year-olds  the Governors Cup, Valley Victory, Three Diamonds and Goldsmith Maid  along with the TVG finals for older trotters and pacers of both sexes. In addition, Dover Downs will host eliminations for the Progress Pace for three-year-old male pacers.

(Grand Circuit)
The message has been shared at an official ceremony, for the launch of Kmart Bethlehems annual Wishing Tree Appeal.

The incentive, run in partnership with the Salvation Army, is now in its 25th year and is New Zealands largest and longest running Christmas gift appeal.

The idea is those who wish to get involved can either leave a gift under the tree or make a monetary donation.

Store manager Chris Keyte says the team is upping its stakes this year, with their end goal being to help relieve the pressure for more families.

The main thing we want to do is get the word out and build community support, he says.

Theyre usually pretty giving anyway. A lot of the time you find people who donate are actually struggling themselves, but they still do what they can to help.

Seeing that generosity and the effort people put in is one of the most valuable parts of being in my position during this appeal.

He says the store has once again appointed Gary Taylor as its Wishing Tree champion.

Its a coveted role which Gary says is all about driving the team to get amongst the fundraising efforts.

The role is all about helping to make Christmas possible, getting the team involved and building an atmosphere of generosity and Christmas spirit.

This time of year is always busy but we are trying to make it fun. Were getting the staff more involved but the main thing is building awareness.

Himself, and a group of helpers, are the team behind the launch event, which included the Salvation Army Band, cake, and carols.

A lot of people do the best they can to give something. They understand people are in need and that any bit helps.

Salvation Army community ministries manager Davina Plummer says she is appreciative of the communitys support during the appeal.

Families out there are struggling, there are grocery prices going up every week, rent costs are on the rise and so are living costs.

Everyone wants to be able to afford the nice to have items and Christmas is a time to relax and celebrate.

Sadly, there is a lot of stress due to the financial pressure at this time of year. We dont want families to have tension, or parents to fear their children will be disappointed so through Kmart we are able to minimise this and ensure there is peace, love and joy for families during this time of year.

Shes hoping for another successful appeal.

Wed appreciate donations of all sorts too  it doesnt have to just be gifts, it could be anything  cello tape, gift wrap or Christmas Decorations.

The appeal is running from today until Friday December 21.

Donations can be made by adding an extra sum to each purchase made in store, by purchasing a bauble tag to hang on the tree, by dropping money into any coin collection box at the register or by donating online.

Alternatively, gifts can also be donated into the gift boxes, located under the tree at the front of the store.
The so far unnamed robot at the Asean conference provides additional security at the meeting of world leaders

Hi-tech Singapore has deployed an autonomous robot with a swivelling camera for a head and flashing lights to patrol a summit venuearresting the attention of amused passers-by who stopped to snap selfies.

The white, four-wheeled buggy, measuring about five-feet (1.5 metres), trundled around the perimeter of a convention centre in the city-state, providing additional security at a meeting of world leaders.

The so far unnamed robot, decked out with flashing blue and red lights, is a prototype reportedly developed by the police, which can transmit a 360-degree picture of the area it is patrolling.

It navigates independently on a pre-mapped route and can avoid obstacles, local media reported, citing police.

But rather than fearing the long robotic arm of the law, many passers-by were amused by the device, with some mistaking it for a gigantic toy.

A handful stopped to snap selfies, while one man marched next to it grinning broadly as it wheeled slowly around near the convention centre.

"It's so cute, it looks like a toy," said Chinese holidaymaker Ruan Min, taking a picture as her four-year-old daughter chased the robot down the street.

Singapore, known for its strict law and order, has rolled out a major security operation to secure this week's meetings, which are organised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and attended by 20 world leaders.

Explore further First robotic cop joins Dubai police

 2018 AFP
Boston, MA, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reputation Institute (RI), the worlds leading provider of reputation measurement, management, and intelligence services, today announced the appointment of Thomas McNeill as Vice President and Market Lead Benelux. Based at the regional headquarters in Amsterdam, Thomas will assume responsibility for leading and growing RIs intelligence and consultancy services in the Benelux.

Thomas McNeill, who joined the Benelux team as Consulting Director in August, is an executive with with more than 25 years experience in reputation management and corporate and brand communication. Before joining RI, Thomas served as Director at the Amsterdam office of communication and marketing consultancy Edelman, where he specialized in corporate and executive profiling. Thomas helped launch, shape and grow the agencys global executive positioning practice. In this capacity, he served as part of the firms core team at the World Economic Forum in Davos, working directly with CEOs and the senior leadership of leading global companies to help them optimize their engagement before, during and after the event. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Princeton University. Born and raised in Chicago, he has lived and worked in the Netherlands for more than 25 years.

Were delighted to have Thomas as the leader of the Benelux market, said Dr. Cees van Riel, Co-Founder of Reputation Institute and Professor Emeritus at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Thomas has a wealth of experience in reputation management. Im convinced that he will make an essential contribution to helping our clients and inspiring the RI team in Amsterdam and Brussels.

Im excited about my new role and the opportunities that lie ahead in this market, said Thomas McNeill. Were operating in a market where theres a deeper understanding at company leadership level than elsewhere of the dynamics and impact of reputation and reputation management. At RI, we have recently developed technology that enables us to combine perceptual and media research. This sets us up ideally for continued growth of our research and consultancy services in the Netherlands and Belgium. We remained focused on our two priorities: first, delivering excellent service to our clients, earning their trust every day, and second, building our talent base to give us a solid foundation for growth.

Attachment
AVENTURA, Fla., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orbital Tracking Corp. (OTCQB: TRKK) (Orbital Tracking or the "Company") today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018.



Sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $4,654,507 compared to approximately $4,547,491 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, a $107,016, or 2.4% increase in total revenues. During the three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported revenue of $1,386,927 compared to approximately $1,588,466 for the three months ended September 30, 2017, a decrease in total revenues of $201,539 or 12.7%. The Company recorded a net loss of $593,465 as compared to a net loss of $3,609,339 for the three months ended September 30, 2017. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company recorded a net loss of $593,465 and $3,609,339, respectively, a decrease of $3,015,874 or 83.7% from the prior year.

The Company attributes the decrease in comparable revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2018 to unprecedented sales recorded during the 2017 hurricane season and the Companys award of a substantial lone worker tracker contract during the same period in 2017. The Companys gross operating margin of 21.1%, remained the same for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 as compared to the previous year, despite the negative impact of exchange rate variances. The fluctuation in the loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 was due to an increase in ecommerce fees as a percentage of sales, exchange rate variances, which were offset by a decrease in professional fees and certain non-cash expenses related to stock-based compensation of $600,000 and non-recurring investor price protection of $2.3 million.

Reporting on the results, the Companys Chief Executive Officer, David Phipps stated, although total sales for latest quarter declined slightly as a result of exceptional one time sales in Q3, 2017, the Company continued to attract new customers from around the world in record numbers, and underlying sales including recurring revenue continued to progress during the nine-month reporting period, resulting in us reporting our highest level of total consolidated revenue for the period. During Q4 2018, we intend to maintain our progress by launching new international storefronts, increasing product lines and pursuing opportunities to increase recurring revenue.



About Orbital Tracking Corp.

Orbital Tracking Corp. provides satellite based tracking, services as well as mobile voice and data communications services globally via satellite to the commercial and government users. Orbital specializes in services related to the Globalstar satellite constellation, including ground station construction, simplex tracking services and satellite telecommunications voice airtime. Orbital operates various e-commerce retail and tracking portals where users around the world can purchase satellite hardware and track assets in real-time on mobile devices or PCs. For more information regarding Orbital, please visit www. o rbital t racking.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements include the capabilities and success of the Company's business and any of its products, services or solutions. The words "believe," "forecast," "project," "intend," "expect," "plan," "should," "would," and similar expressions and all statements, which are not historical facts, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, any of which could cause the Company to not achieve some or all of its goals or the Company's previously reported actual results, performance (finance or operating) to change or differ from future results, performance (financing and operating) or achievements, including those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC, copies of which may be obtained from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no, and hereby disclaims any, obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Contact:

Orbital Tracking Corp.

info@orbitaltracking.com
LAFAYETTE, Ind., Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC), a diversified industrial manufacturer and a leading producer of semi-trailers, truck bodies and liquid transportation systems, today announced the appointment of Kristin Glazner as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.



Ms. Glazner will report to President and Chief Executive Officer Brent Yeagy, responsible for all aspects of the companys human resources, including recruitment and talent management, workforce planning, benefits compliance, associate engagement, and diversity and inclusion.

Ive worked with Kristin for the past eight years, and Im thrilled to have her lead human resources as we focus on people, purpose and performance, said Brent Yeagy, president and chief executive officer. She believes, as I do, that our first priority is putting people first. Her passion for diversity and inclusion, and her legal experience and business acumen, will help us advance our efforts to continue to transform the organization, scale for growth and invest in our people.

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Glazner served as Vice President  Corporate Human Resources. She joined Wabash National in February 2010 as Corporate Counsel and served in that role until October 2017, when she was appointed to the position of Vice President  Human Resources and Legal Administration. Prior to Wabash National, Ms. Glazner was an attorney with the law firm Baker & Daniels LLP (now Faegre Baker Daniels LLP) from 2002 to 2010. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Butler University.

About Wabash National Corporation

Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC) is a diversified industrial manufacturer and a leading producer of semi-trailers, truck bodies and liquid transportation systems. Established in 1985 in Lafayette, Indiana, the company manufactures a diverse range of products, including: dry freight and refrigerated trailers, platform trailers, bulk tank trailers, dry and refrigerated truck bodies, truck-mounted tanks, intermodal equipment, aircraft refueling equipment, structural composite panels and products, trailer aerodynamic solutions, and specialty food grade and pharmaceutical equipment. Its innovative products are sold under the following brand names: Wabash National, Beall, Benson, Brenner Tank, Bulk Tank International, DuraPlate, Extract Technology, Garsite, Progress Tank, Supreme, Transcraft, Walker Engineered Products, and Walker Transport. Learn more at www.wabashnational.com .

Media Contact:

Dana Stelsel

Director, Corporate Communications

(765) 771-5766

dana.stelsel@wabashnational.com





Investor Relations:

Ryan Reed

Director, Investor Relations

(765) 771-5310

ryan.reed@wabashnational.com
A net 51% of business leaders plan to raise investment levels

Vietnam and China top targets for cross-border investment

Majority of business leaders creating more jobs as a result of technology

65% call on governments to do more to develop STEM skills

Rising concerns about moving data across borders

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business leaders across Asia Pacific remain confident that their companies revenues will grow over the next 12 months despite increasing trade frictions.

In its latest survey of 1189 business leaders across the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies, PwC found that 35% were very confident of revenue growth, down slightly from 37% a year ago, while a net 51% plan to increase investments over the next year.

PwC carried out the survey in the lead up to the APEC CEO Summit which takes place this week in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

Business leaders in the United States and Thailand were among the most confident, with 57% and 56% very confident of revenue growth while respondents in China and Mexico - two of the largest trading partners with the US - showed below average confidence.

Following the imposition of further tariffs between the US and China in September, a second survey of 100 business leaders in the US showed a majority (69%) expect a positive impact on their revenues from tariffs and only 27% expect a negative impact from tariffs on company costs.

In addition to being positive on revenue growth, a net 51% of business leaders are planning to raise levels of investment, up from 43% two years ago. The biggest winners across APEC for foreign investment will be Vietnam, China, The US, Australia and Thailand, with Australia entering the top five investment destinations as a new entry among respondents, and Indonesia dropping out of the top five this year.

Business leaders are also looking beyond the largest markets for future investment targets. When asked which APEC economy (beyond the US and China) has the right conditions to spark the next fast-growing unicorn start up, Singapore and Japan top the list.

While business leaders do not like uncertainty in any aspect of business, let alone flows of trade, they are learning to adapt to the new reality and finding ways to grow and thrive, said Raymund Chao, Chairman PwC Asia Pacific and Greater China. While around a fifth of the business leaders we spoke to had experienced new barriers to trade this year the number of CEOs who are seeing new opportunities coming out of the new trade arrangements has doubled over last year.

While there are winners and losers in any trade war, our research clearly shows that businesses are uncovering new paths to growth.

The market for employment is also looking positive with 56% of business leaders creating more jobs and only 9% actively reducing headcount as a direct impact of technology on their workforce. However, the right talent is not always readily available with 34% of business leaders struggling to find the people that they need with the right skills and experience. The gap is felt acutely across science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills with 65% of business leaders stating that their governments need to do more to train STEM professionals and only 14% feeling their government is doing enough in this area.

This sentiment is also reflected when business leaders were asked what could be done to make growth more inclusive for more people across APEC. The number one factor that business leaders identified was expanded access to high-quality education at all levels followed by improved transport.

The issues of training and education are very clearly on the top of the agenda for business leaders in APEC, giving a clear message to heads of state as they meet this week in Port Moresby about what more help could be done for business to secure long term success, said Raymund Chao.

APEC business leaders are also very well aware of the need to invest more in becoming digital. With the internet economy projected to reach over US$200 billion in Southeast Asia alone by 2025, the top investment priority for business leaders is digital customer interactions closely followed by digital skills for their workforce.

Business leaders also know they need to do more when it comes to being digital. Only 15% of business leaders describe their use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as highly competitive while 33% are not making use of AI at all. Those companies that describe themselves as highly competitive at AI are clear what they need to do to build on their perceived lead: increase investments, build more capability in AI and invest in local start-ups.

But while technology can provide part of the answer to sustainable growth, it is also presenting challenges in the new trade environment with moving data across borders identified as the area where businesses have experienced the biggest increase in new barriers in the last year - 20% - up from 15% in 2017.

As APECs businesses become more digital and embrace new technologies such as AI, data flows will increasingly become the fuel that will drive global trade. Dealing with concerns about increased barriers to data flow will remain a priority for business for some time, added Raymund Chao.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Find the full report at www.pwc.com/apec

PwC is the knowledge partner to the APEC CEO Summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 16-18 November 2018.

PwC surveyed 1189 APEC business leaders from May-July 2018. And a further 100 US business leaders in October 2018.

Follow us on twitter: @PwC

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. Were a network of firms in 158 countries with over 250,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

 2018 PwC. All rights reserved

Contact



Mike Davies, PwC

Tel: +44 (0)7803 974136

mike.davies@pwc.com

More details: www.pwc.com/apec

Follow/retweet: @pwc






WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kane Biotech Inc. (TSX-V:KNE, OTCQB:KNBIF) (the Corporation or Kane Biotech) announces its Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results.



Kane Biotech Inc. is a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of technologies and products that prevent and remove microbial biofilms.

Key Highlights of Kane Biotech include the following:

Royalty-based revenue model focused on large markets for biofilm prevention and dispersion solutions that are implicated in 80% of animal and human bacterial infections

Strong patent portfolio of anti-biofilm technologies with 75 patents and patents pending

First commercial licensing and distribution agreement signed (2017)

Several anti-biofilm applications in development for large market opportunities

Targeted upcoming company milestones include the following:

Continue lawsuit against Nestle to defend Kane Biotechs intellectual property

Leverage newly-formed Scientific Advisory Board for high-yield opportunities

Secure additional non-dilutive funding opportunities

Existing license expansion for companion animal veterinary market in terms of geography and product applications

Launch DispersinB  based products with Dechra

based products with Dechra Accelerate and expand bluestem product line

Execute new technology license and distribution agreements

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights:

Note: Financial results in the first quarter of 2017 included a one-time license payment of $500,000 USD which significantly affects the comparison of the first nine months of 2018 versus 2017 for revenue, gross margin and loss.

Total Revenues:

For the quarter ended September 30, 2018 were $109,791 an increase of 81% compared to $60,727 for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.



For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $298,494, a decrease of 69% compared to $951,634 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

License and Royalty Revenues:

For the quarter ended September 30, 2018 were $9,590, an increase of 114% compared to $4,480 for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $31,904, a decrease of 95% compared to $678,560 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Product and Services Revenues:

For the quarter ended September 30, 2018 were $100,201, an increase of 78% compared to $56,247 for the three months ended September 30, 2017.



For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $266,590, a decrease of 2% compared to $273,074 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Gross Profit % (of Product Sales):

For the quarter ended September 30, 2018 was 72%, a decrease of 3% compared to 74% for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.



For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was 66%, a decrease of 5% compared to 69% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Total Operating Expenses:

For the quarter ended September 30, 2018 were $1,008,879, an increase of 11% compared to $910,168 for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.



For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $2,723,486, an increase of 2% compared to $2,673,293 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Loss:

For the quarter ended September 30, 2018 was ($996,688), an increase of 15% compared to ($869,246) for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.



For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was ($2,588,198), an increase of 36% compared to ($1,897,489) for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Select Income Statement Information:

Kane Biotech Inc.

(TSX:V:KNE/OTCQB:KNBIF) Q3, 2018

Q3, 2017

% Change Q1 - Q3, 2018

Q1 - Q3, 2017

% Change Total Revenue $109,791 $60,727 81% $298,494 $951,634 -69% License and Royalty Revenue* $9,590 $4,480 114% $31,904 $678,560 -95% Product and Services Revenue** $100,201 $56,247 78% $266,590 $273,074 -2% Gross Profit $ (Product and Services) $72,059 $41,795 72% $175,228 $188,214 -7% Gross Profit % (Product and Services) 72% 74% -3% 66% 69% -5% Total Operating Expenses $1,008,879 $910,168 11% $2,723,486 $2,673,293 2% General and Administration $822,910 $690,770 19% $2,180,565 $2,121,198 3% Research $185,969 $219,398 -15% $542,921 $552,095 -2% Loss for the Period ($996,688) ($869,246) 15% ($2,588,198) ($1,897,489) 36% Loss per Share (Post Consolidation) ($0.012) ($0.012) 5% ($0.032) ($0.035) -6% * License and Royalty Revenue in Q1, 2017 included a $500,000 USD initial license payment from Dechra. ** Product and Services Revenue in Q1 - Q3, 2018 included only a small amount of international StrixNB sales as this technology was licensed to Dechra for the North American veterinary channel in Q1, 2017.

Select Cash Flow Information:

Kane Biotech Inc.

(TSX:V:KNE/OTCQB:KNBIF) Q3, 2018

Q3, 2017

% Change Q1 - Q3, 2018

Q1 - Q3, 2017

% Change Cash, end of period $121,529 $2,527,306 -95% $121,529 $2,527,306 -95% Cash, beginning of period $342,156 $258,259 32% $1,975,723 $739,568 167% Operating activities ($666,825) ($791,371) -16% ($2,250,152) ($1,594,966) 41% Financing activities $500,000 $3,072,288 -84% $500,000 $3,546,032 -86% Investing activities ($53,802) ($11,870) 353% ($104,042) ($163,328) -36%

Detailed financial information about Kane Biotech can be found in its September 30, 2018 Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis on SEDAR and on the Corporations website. All amounts referenced herein are in Canadian dollars.

The Corporations Third Quarter 2018 Earnings Conference Call and Business Update is scheduled on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 4:30pm E.T. to discuss its financial results for the third quarter 2018, in conjunction with the filing of its Financial Statements for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018.

Marc Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ray Dupuis, Chief Financial Officer of Kane Biotech will host the call and provide an update on recent developments. Management will be answering questions live immediately following the earnings announcement part of the call.

To participate in the call, please dial +1 877-268-9044 (toll-free) in the U.S. and Canada. The conference ID number is 6370498.

Event: Q3 2018 Earnings and Business Update Conference Call Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018 Time: 4:30pm E.T. U.S. & Canada Dial-in: 877-268-9044 (toll free) Conference ID: 6370498 Webcast Link: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/otzx7rvv

A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Kane Biotechs corporate website at www.kanebiotech.com. In addition, the recorded conference call can be replayed and will be available for 90 days following the call on Kane Biotechs website.

About Kane Biotech

Kane Biotech is a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of technologies and products that prevent and remove microbial biofilms.

The Corporation has a portfolio of biotechnologies, intellectual property (75 patents and patents pending, trade secrets and trademarks) and products developed by the Corporations own biofilm research expertise and acquired from leading research institutions. StrixNB, DispersinB, Aledex, bluestem, AloSera, coactiv+ and Kane are trademarks of Kane Biotech Inc. The Corporation is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "KNE" and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol KNBIF.

For more information, please visit www.kanebiotech.com or contact:

Ray Dupuis

Chief Financial Officer

Kane Biotech Inc.

+1 (204) 298-2200 ir@kanebiotech.com

Tirth Patel

Vice President - Investor Relations

Edison Advisors

+1 (646) 653-7035 tpatel@edisongroup.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain statements regarding Kane Biotech Inc. that constitute forward-looking information under applicable securities law. These statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the Companys: (a) financial condition, including lack of significant revenues to date and reliance on equity and other financing; (b) business, including its early stage of development, government regulation, market acceptance for its products, rapid technological change and dependence on key personnel; (c) intellectual property including the ability of the Company to protect its intellectual property and dependence on its strategic partners; and (d) capital structure, including its lack of dividends on its common shares, volatility of the market price of its common shares and public company costs. Further information about these and other risks and uncertainties can be found in the disclosure documents filed by the Company with applicable securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive.

These risks and uncertainties should be considered carefully undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot provide assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.




Your browser does not support the audio element.

As Vietnam is all set for the official launch of mobile number portability (MNP) on Friday this week, the communications ministry on Tuesday released instructions on how to transfer phone numbers from one carrier to another.

In the first three months from November 16, three major mobile network operators in Vietnam  Viettel, VinaPhone and MobiFone  will offer the service to post-paid subscribers to test its impact on the telecoms market.

In the first quarter of 2019, the service will be rolled out for prepaid subscribers of the three operators as well as those of Hong Kong-invested Vietnamobile.

Meanwhile, Gtel, a mobile network operator owned by Vietnams Ministry of Public Security, has not announced any plans to offer MNP to its subscribers.

Once the service is launched on Friday, mobile users who wish to transfer their phone number to another network can register for the switch at any office of their current operator.

The transfer fee is limited to no more than VND60,000 (US$2.60), and customers will receive a blank SIM card after paying for the service.

They must then initiate the number porting process by texting YCCM to 1441 with their current SIM card.

A text message will be sent to the users mobile phone confirming the initiation. If they wish to abort the transfer at this stage, simply text HUYCM to 1441.

To complete the process, the user can insert the blank SIM card into their mobile phone, upon which they should receive a text message announcing that the transfer has been successful.

The entire procedure should take less than 24 hours, with no more than one hour of interruption during which the phone number cannot be reached, according to a Ministry of Information and Communications official.

In reality, users should expect the interruption to last for only a few seconds in the majority of cases, the official added.

There will be no limit on the number of times a mobile user can port their number to a different network, but there is a 90-day interval between the two changes.

We expect a surge in the number of applications for mobile number portability in the first few days of rolling out the service, but the demand will likely level out after a while, said Pham Hong Hai, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has officially commenced the Vietnamese Goods Week in Singapore within the framework of his ongoing visit to the city-state from November 13 to 15.

PM Phuc, along with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and Singaporean Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, attended the opening ceremony of the event on Tuesday evening.

The activity was part of the Vietnameses premier trip to Singapore to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

Vietnam is the only ASEAN member nation to organize the fair on the sidelines of the summit.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Singaporean Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong (L, 3rd) cut the ribbon to kick-start the event. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Running from November 13 to 25, the Vietnamese Goods Week is aimed at promoting hundreds of Vietnamese agro-fishery products and commodities to Singaporean and international consumers.

Themed Vivid Vietnam, the event is held by Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade, in coordination with Vietnamese retailer Saigon Co.op and Singaporean supermarket chain FairPrice.

PM Phuc holds a bottle of fish sauce made in Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

It also marks the 45th anniversary of the two countries diplomatic relationship.

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, the Vietnamese Goods Week in Singapore offers chances to expand cooperation models between the two countries businesses.

Seah Kim Peng, FairPrices CEO, stated that Vietnamese products, such as rice, seafood, and fresh fruits, have become more well known among Singaporean families.

Consumers browse for products at the Vietnamese Goods Week. Photo: Tuoi Tre

There have been positive achievements in the cooperation between FairPrice and Saigon Co.op, Peng continued, adding that the ties will continue flourishing in the future.

Nearly 700 Vietnamese products are being sold at more than 300 FairPrice supermarkets across Singapore, Nguyen Anh Duc, deputy general director of Saigon Co.op, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The number of Vietnamese students in the United States has risen for the 17th consecutive year to over 24,000, with most enrolling in undergraduate programs, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday in a media release, citing a report.

The Institute of International Educations (IIE) annual Open Doors Report for the 2017-2018 academic year shows that Vietnam remains the sixth leading country of origin for all international students in the U.S., with 24,325 students, up 1,887 students from the 2016-17 academic year, an 8.4 percent increase, the embassy said.

Of the 24,325 Vietnamese students in the U.S., 69.6 percent were undergraduates, 15.2 percent were graduate-level students, 8.6 percent enrolled in optional practical training, and the remaining 6.6 percent were pursuing non-degree programs.

Vietnamese students contribute $881,000,000 to the U.S. economy.

The data also revealed that Vietnam is becoming a more popular destination for American students.

In the 2016-17 academic year, Vietnam welcomed 1,147 students from the U.S., a surge of 13.3 percent.

Open Doors said that 1,094,792 international students came to the U.S. in 2017-2018, a 1.5 percent rise over the last academic year.

International students now make up 5.5 percent of all higher education students in the U.S., up slightly from 5.3 percent last year.

Engineering, business and management, and math and computer science remain the top selected fields of study by international students in the 2017-18 academic year.

Math and computer science were the fastest-growing fields of study with an expansion of 11.3 percent from the 2016-17 academic year, followed by legal studies and law enforcement with a climb of 10.4 percent from 2016-17.

The top 10 states for international students include California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.

The Open Doors report is released annually during the International Education Week (IEW), a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.

The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi is celebrating IEW 2018 with an open house and various information sessions in Hanoi, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri Provinces to promote study in the North American country, providing information on student visas and U.S. government scholarship opportunities, and reaching approximately 400 students and teachers in person, as well as around 1,200 online.

The U.S Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City is marking IEW 2018 with a series of activities in Hue City and at the American Center in the southern city.

The American Roadtrip at Hue University and Quoc Hoc High School is helping to advise students on U.S. exchange programs, study in the United States, student visas, and soft-skill development.

At the American Center in Ho Chi Minh City, an information session on November 15 at 2:00 pm will equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed on standardized tests required for university entrance.

A panel discussion with senior international banking executives on November 16 at 2:00 pm will help parents navigate the financial aspects of supporting their childrens overseas education.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Since the war in Vietnam ended in 1975, a Vietnamese mother has never given up her search for a daughter who was evacuated from the country during the last days of the Saigon regime.

Born in 1949 in Saigon, the former name of Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Thi Dep remembers details of her younger life as if it was just yesterday.

I loved listening to western music and learning English, which was mostly self-taught since we couldnt afford formal English lessons, Dep said.

In 1968, at 19, Dep started working as a maid at a U.S. military base in the southern province of Dong Nai.

With her good command of English, Dep was soon assigned to a new position as a call operator for the base, where she met and fell in love with a military band member.

I got pregnant with his child in 1971, Dep said, referring to her old love as Joe.

We had just learnt of the news and were still trying to figure out our future when Joe received an order to return to the U.S., as it was the end of his service, she said.

We kept in contact for another year before I stopped hearing from Joe.

Dep gave birth to her daughter, whom she names Nguyen Thi Phuong Mai, on January 5, 1972.

She quitted her job the following year after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, which aimed to end the war that had been ravaging the country and resulted in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam.

By April 1975, the war had been approaching its last days, and rumors of a bloodbath coming to Saigon began to spread like wildfire.

Dep was concerned for the safety of her daughter, a half-American girl with brown hair and brown eyes.

Then someone told me about Operation Babylift that the Americans were conducting, Dep recalled.

Operation Babylift was a mass evacuation of Vietnamese children to the U.S. and some other countries conducted by the U.S. air force under orders from U.S. President Gerald Ford during the last days of the war in Vietnam in April 1975.

I wanted to make sure that my daughter would survive, so I brought her to an orphan camp and had her airlifted to the U.S., Dep said.

I didnt want to leave Vietnam. As the oldest child, I had to stay in Saigon to take care of my parents and my younger siblings, she explained her decision to part with her three-year-old daughter.

Dep never got remarried, and Phuong Mai remains her one and only child after all these years.

A photo of Nguyen Thi Dep and her three-year-old daughter Nguyen Thi Phuong Mai, taken in 1975.

Now working as a janitor at a school in Ho Chi Minh City, Dep said never has a day gone by without her thinking about how her daughter must be living.

I hope and believe that my daughter has been loved by her foster parents and is leading a happy life, Dep said.

But there are still so many things that I want to know about my daughter, so many questions that need answering before Im laid to rest.

Dep has tried reaching out to other Babylift children who have returned to Vietnam searching for their biological parents, but her efforts have been in vain.

The only thing she could confirm was that her daughters father, Joe, passed away in 2013.

I knew my case would be difficult, as Phuong Mai was taken to the U.S. when she was only three years old, too young to have any memory of her time in Vietnam, Dep said.

With her light skin and brown hair, it would be difficult for Phuong Mai to know she was different from others if her foster parents decide not to tell her about her Vietnamese origin, she added.

When dropping her daughter off at the airbase, Dep had packed with the baby girl a photo she took of the two of them, hoping that one day Phuong Mai would see the photo and know that a mother was still waiting for her in Vietnam.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Your browser does not support the audio element.

A motorbike taxi driver from the central Vietnamese metropolis of Da Nang has won widespread admiration as he helped a passenger who lives in penury and has had a serious disease whose revelation recently petrified them.

The responsibility for a passenger may end when the service is completed, but for conventional motorbike taxi driver Nguyen Rem, 62, helpfulness should be extended even after the customer has long got off the vehicle.

One may call it friendship but kindness is the overarching word.

These days Rem often visited the hospital to look after one of his passengers, a man named N.T.H., who he had brought here several days earlier.

Oh, it isnt worth attention. Everyone would act the same way as I did, Rem answered after being told that many netizens praised his deeds toward H.

H. has a poor family and is suffering from a disease. I couldnt go away without helping him.

Rem came to H.s sickbed just several minutes after receiving a phone call from him.

Rem also visited the institution, sometimes providing the man with clothes and food, asking about his well-being and encouraging him to overcome the illness.

When H.s leg hurt, he shouted at Rem but the driver kept giving him care. This is what even I cant do here. Its so admirable, said Nguyen Thi Thu, a family member of a patient at the infirmary.

Rems thoughtfulness for H. made she mistakenly think they were brothers, she added.

Nguyen Rem carries a passenger on his motorcycle in Da Nang City, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Visiting the patient many times caused a disruption to Rems service but he accepted that.

Everyone needs money. But you should sometimes take money as less important in order to treat others nicely in life, Rem said.

Three years ago, H. approached Rem, who was awaiting customers on his motorcycle, and asked the driver to take him to the hospital for a medical checkup.

Rem noticed palpable pain on the passengers face.

When Rem arrived at H.s house at his request for following ride services, the driver knew the customer had a serious pain in the leg, a blind mother and an elder sister with heart condition and slight mental illness.

Rem said he wanted to receive a reduced price for his service but H. declined the offer and paid in full.

H. also refused to have photos of his plight uploaded to social media in order to evoke pity from the public, the driver said.

Thats why I have sympathy for him. He may be stubborn but hes a man of dignity, Rem said.

On a recent day, Rem came to H.s house again to take him to the hospital as the man was racked with pain, unable to rise to his feet.

I sometimes yelled at him angrily when I was having the agony. But then he was just beginning to talk about something else and waited for my anger to subside to give me heartening words, H. said in the hospital.

Two days ago, H. was diagnosed with bone cancer, leaving him and Rem in shock.

Now the driver has often dropped in on H. at his home, giving him encouragement in the face of adversity.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
HANOI - Police in Vietnam arrested a former deputy labour minister on Friday on allegations of economic mismanagement, as the government presses on with a crackdown on corruption.

Le Bach Hong, a former deputy minister of labour, invalids and social affairs, and former head of Vietnam Social Security, was accused of deliberate violations of state economic management regulations, causing serious consequences, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

Hongs arrest is 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, said the ministry, which is in charge of the police.

Police arrested three other former senior officials of Vietnam Social Security on Friday on the same charges, the ministry said, without giving further details.

The Ministry of Public Security said it was carrying out further investigations to retrieve state assets that had been lost.

The arrests come amid a corruption crackdown in the Southeast Asian country that has seen several senior government officials and executives of state-owned enterprises arrested and jailed.
Politics

-- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will pay an official visit to Vietnam on November 18-19 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnams foreign ministry announced on Tuesday.

-- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Shokhonn on Tuesday affirmed that his country will work to support the Vietnamese-Cambodian community in Tonle Sap Lake to resettle as he met with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Singapore.

Society

-- Ho Chi Minh City chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong will hold his third meeting with residents in the Thu Thiem area in District 2 on Wednesday morning to update them on the latest results of inspections launched into the relocation of locals for an urban area project.

- Harmful algae blooms have appeared at unusually high levels at the Van Phong Bay in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, killing fish and causing damage to aquaculture farms in the area.

-- Prosecutors in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have launched legal proceedings against seven Vietnamese accused of making VND240 million (US$10,300) worth of counterfeit money and selling it for profit.

Business

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday attended the opening ceremony for the Vietnamese Goods Week in Singapore, which aims to promote hundreds of Vietnam-made agro-fishery products and commodities to Singaporean consumers, as part of his trip to the Southeast Asian neighbor to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

-- Mobile users in Vietnam will have to pay no more than VND60,000 ($2.60) and wait less than an hour to have their phone number ported from one carrier to another after the launch of mobile number portability (MNP) in the country this Friday, according to the latest announcements.

-- Car buyers in Vietnam are decrying unreasonable registration fees that they are made to pay to own the vehicles, as the fees are calculated according to the highest price ever paid for a vehicle of the same model rather than the price they actually paid for it.

-- Overseas remittances to Ho Chi Minh City totaled $3.8 billion in the first ten months of 2018, a slight increase of six percent from the same period in 2017, and are expected to top $5 billion by the end of this year, according to the State Bank of Vietnam in the city.

Education

-- A12-year-old student in Ho Chi Minh City has died after suffering from a stroke while at school on Monday, a rare case of stroke in children reported in Vietnam as doctors warn of extreme health risks associated with the condition.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Christopher Austad, a real estate broker for Douglas Elliman who rents and sells apartments in Long Island City, said that after news leaked that Amazon was coming to Queens, his phone "has been blowing up" with calls from "friends around the country, other New Yorkers, clients, sellers, buyers, everybody wants to know what this means."

StreetEasy searches for apartments for sale in Long Island City soared roughly 300% this past week, according to a release from the website. And Ben Landy, the CEO of Lease Buyout Advisors, a company that, in his words, "helps rent stabilized tenants get the max amount of money from their buyout," said that landlords in the area now have even more incentive to try and pay their rent-regulated tenants to vacate: "Its gonna be an amazing time for buyouts."

With New York City still deep in the midst of an affordability crisisa Furman Center report released earlier this year showed that the city's population continues to outpace housing supply, and median rents have increased by around $300/month since 2000, while renters' salaries have only increased by $145Amazon is promising to bring 25,000 to 40,000 jobs to Queens with an average salary of $150,000.

The current median rent for a one-bedroom in Long Island City is $3,200, which is $1,300 higher than the median for the rest of Queens, according to StreetEasy, reflecting the neighborhood's glut of high-end, glass tower rentals.

Thanks to Amazon HQ2, these apartments "will get absorbed quicker than they planned for, which is great for the developers," Austad said.

"I dont really think that rents are gonna shoot up crazy. I think if we have a huge increase in rental prices, itll come years from now, once this supply is fully absorbed, and theres not a lot of huge projects coming to market," said Austad, who has lived in Long Island City for over a decade.

"Right now theres still a nice deal for New Yorkers to be had in Long Island City, and I think the great value that Amazon brings is all the services that come along with it. All the other companies, tech start ups, all of the cool, trendy cafes, restaurants, everything else that comes from it that that area is kind of lacking," he added. "I mean, we just got Chipotle and Starbucks recently."

Hunter's Point South, a middle class affordable housing development built on public land and started under the Bloomberg administration, offers studios for $1,862/month for New Yorkers earning between $65,726 and $120,615 a year. For those earning what Amazon says will be the average salary, there are one bedrooms for $2,992/month and two-bedrooms for $3,936. "Applications are now being accepted to replenish the waiting list," according to the development's website.

Part of the City's investment strategy for Long Island City alluded to a potential of 5,000 new housing units on private lots around Anable Basin, 1,000 of them affordable. That area is now where Amazon will build its up to 8 million square feet of office space.



Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio at Tuesday's press conference for the Amazon announcement (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

At a joint press conference with Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked about Amazon's role in worsening the affordability crisis in Seattle, where the company is currently headquartered.

De Blasio assured the reporter that New York City is "an entirely different reality," and pointed to NYCHA, the state's rent regulation laws, and his plan to build more affordable housing, as reasons why the same thing won't happen here.

"In cities that dont have substantial affordable housing, are not building a lot of new affordable housing...then its a zero-sum game where that formula you just said is true," the mayor said, adding that affordable housing "requires money."

"All of the affordable housing programs, all the people who are being subsidized to stay in their affordable apartments. All public housing requires money. The tax-base impact here is actually going to be central to allowing us to protect affordable housing, going forward."

The City and the State claim that Amazon will create $186 billion in "economic impact," and that the state and the city will eventually receive $27.5 billion in tax revenue stemming from the move. Amazon could get as much as $3 billion in state and city tax credits and incentives.

"Instead of rolling out the orange carpet for Amazon, Cuomo and de Blasio should be extracting concessions that would benefit struggling residents in Queens," Jonathan Westin, executive director of New York Communities for Change, said in a statement. "They should demand that Amazon pay a gentrification tax to offset the negative impact of rising rents and lost small businesses the company will cause in Long Island City. And they should demand that Amazon hire a significant number of local residents, with a preference for public housing residents in nearby NYCHA developments in Queens."

(De Blasio did address this last point at the press conference: "One of the biggest companies on earth next to the largest public housing unit in the countrythe synergy is going to be extraordinary.")

Paulette Soltani, the housing campaign coordinator for VOCAL-NY, called the details of the plan "devastating."

"Instead of giving away money to Amazon, they should be putting that into all of the systems that are failing people right now, like having no housing for the homeless," Soltani said. "We already have Wall Street, we have all of these corporations that have made the city their home base, the flip side of that is that there is still huge poverty across our state."

Grant Long, the senior economist for StreetEasy, says that while some of Amazon's employees will want to live in Long Island City's brand-new high rises, "even if you make $150,000 year, you're not necessarily going to want to drop $600,000 on a 600-square foot studio."

"So that is going to push demand out towards areas like Sunnyside, Greepoint, that might have a little bit more to offer for the price point," Long says. "I think [rising rents] are a fair point of concern for renters in the areas surrounding Long Island City. It will take time for Amazon to ramp up hiring, but I think once they do it will attract a lot more demand to those particular areas."

Long added that this could be the beginning of an outer-borough boom for tech companies.

"I think there's a hope here that Amazon may draw other employers as well, and we could see a big shift eastward in people who are willing to cross the East River to set up shop, so you could see other tech firms following them."

Landy, the head of the buyout company, said that the math for landlords of rent-stabilized tenants has essentially changed "overnight" due to HQ2: "I just think the surrounding areas of Long Island City, Astoria, and so forth, prices are going to go up dramatically."

"A lot of landlords are going to be able to flip the properties and get higher rents, more than they got yesterday, just off the Amazon announcement, so I think for buyout purposes, landlords will overpay for these buyouts given that they could make money on the back end immediately," Landy said.

Landy's company takes 18% of a client's buyout if one is successfully negotiated. He said his company, which he started a year ago after spending 13 years in real estate, is one of a kind. One ad for Lease Buyout Advisors shows an elderly woman being disturbed by her younger male neighbor playing guitar: "Whatever your reason is...to take the buyout."

Asked if he was merely contributing to the most vampiric impulses of New York City's already extremely cutthroat real estate market, Landy replied, "Thats a great question, and I love when I get asked that."

"Saying all I do is incentivize landlords to get tenants out, I dont believe thats the correct thought process," Landy said. "Because Im not getting rid of affordability. We help them get that money so they can do the next thing in life."

He added, "Im pro-tenants, Im pro-affordability, but Im also pro-free market...At the end of the day, these apartments are never affordable for the public. Its whoever is lucky enough to have them, and thats it. Its like winning the lottery."
A Zimbabwean man who was in September denied entry into Vietnam and has since been detained at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City is suffering from deteriorating health, as authorities scramble to have him deported.

Masenna Bokang Jon, 32, first arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on August 18 on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Jakarta, Indonesia.

The man was granted entry into Vietnam, where he stayed until September 2 before boarding an AirAsia flight to Osaka, Japan with a transit in Bangkok, Thailand.

However, Japanese immigration found that Jon was using a fake passport and denied him entry into the country, confiscating his papers as evidence.

The Zimbabwean man was deported from Japan on September 26 and arrived at his airport of origin in Ho Chi Minh City the next day.

As he did not have any international travel documents, Jon was denied entry into Vietnam this time and was detained by airport authorities.

He could not be sent back to Jakarta due to the lack of documents, officials said.

Jon has since been living in a room at Tan Son Nhat Airport meant for people who are turned away by immigration.

Since the start of his detention, Jon has not taken a shower or had his clothes laundered, posing a hygiene problem for others sharing the space, according to airport managers.

The man also refused to eat bread served by his airline, while he did not have money to buy any other food, causing his health to deteriorate quickly, officials said.

According to the Southern Airports Authority, Jon has required medical assistance several times during his stay at Tan Son Nhat, including an incident on October 30 when he was rushed to a nearby hospital after suffering from a seizure and profuse vomiting.

The man is now back at Tan Son Nhat after his condition has stabilized, but he has refused to eat anything for more than a week.

The airport management has repeatedly requested support from relevant parties to have the man deported from Vietnam, but no applicable measure has been taken as yet.

In the worst-case scenario that the foreigner dies at Tan Son Nhat, it would damage the reputation of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam as a tourist destination, the airport authority said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has requested that the border security officers stationed at Tan Son Nhat take over the management of the Zimbabwean national to provide better legal and medical support for the man.

The room where Jon is staying is designed for short-term detention of turned-away visitors and therefore not suitable for the long-term accommodation of a man in such health, CAAV explained.

The biggest challenge now is that the passenger has no travel documents with him, while the aviation authority is not authorized to verify his identity, a CAAV leader said.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The Peoples Procuracy in Tien Giang Province, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta, has finished an indictment for seven individuals involved in a ring that produced and traded counterfeit money.

The suspects, aged 24 to 46, mainly hail from provinces in the Mekong Delta, a source from the procuracy confirmed on Tuesday.

They were charged for making, circulating, and possessing counterfeit money.

According to the indictment, Tran Duy Thanh, 31, and Nguyen Long Binh, 21, were caught red-handed selling the fake cash to Dinh Vu Linh, 25, and his father, 46-year-old Dinh Van Chien, on the evening of August 30, 2017.

The exchange ratio was VND10 million ($430) of real money for VND30 million (US$1,292) worth of counterfeit cash.

Police officers later conducted a search of the suspects homes and confiscated about 186 VND500,000 ($21.5) banknotes.

At the police station, Thanh and Binh claimed they, accompanied by another man named Son Hong Vo, had made and sold approximately 240 VND500,000 ($21.5) bills in July and August 2017, pocketing more than VND58 million ($2,499) in real cash.

The production took place at their tenanted house in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The suspects added they first started faking the VND100,000 ($4.3) banknote but were unable to sell it.

In early October of the same year, Truong Vinh Thanh, 34, was nabbed for using several bogus banknotes. He said the cash was given to him by 26-year-old Phan Bao Duy.

Officers later found out that Duy had purchased the fake money from Thanh, Binh, and Vo, before connecting the two cases together.

Thanh, Binh, and Vo also said they had sold their fake money to some other people but could not remember their names.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
HANOI - Police in Vietnam have arrested two more officials of a state-run mobile carrier, the latest sweep in the nations graft crackdown that has already engulfed hundreds of government officials.

Pham Thi Phuong Anh, deputy director of MobiFone Corp., and former general director Cao Duy Hai were accused of violating regulations on the management and use of state capital, the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday.

Police have accused the company of causing losses to the state budget by overpaying for a stake of 95 percent in a loss-making pay-TV provider, the ministry said in a statement.

MobiFone, one of Vietnams three largest mobile carriers by subscribers, bought the controversial stake in Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) in 2015 for nearly 8.9 trillion dong ($386 million).

In July, police arrested a former chairman of MobiFone and a senior official of the Ministry of Information and Communications accused of involvement in the case.

Vietnams information minister was suspended that month and replaced in October over alleged ties to wrongdoing at the company.

In an unrelated investigation, police arrested a former deputy labor minister last week over accusations of economic mismanagement.

Vietnam has opened 427 corruption cases this year to investigate 889 officials, its chief government inspector, Le Minh Khai, said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Police have this year completed investigations into 212 other graft cases that involved misappropriation of more than $200 million and 300,000 square meters (3.23 million sq ft) of land, Khai added.

Preventing, and fighting against, corruption will continue to be a key task in 2019, the statement said.
Past and present reporters from 60 Minutes including Jana Wendt, George Negus, Ian Leslie, Liz Hayes, Ray Martin and pioneering producer Gerald Stone gathered for a 40th anniversary dinner in Sydney last night.

CEO Hugh Marks congratulated the teams and highlighted the enduring legacy of the program. Executive Producer Kirsty Thomson spoke about the power and importance of telling great stories

60 Minutes will turn 40 on 11th February 2019. The very first episode investigated illegal transport of cigarettes across state borders, the American television system, and story about therapies.

A special 40th anniversary edition will screen on Sunday December 2.

You can see more photos at 9Now.

Photo: Stuart Bryce
Netflix has called it quits on The Good Cop after less than 2 months.

The series dropped in late September marking Tony Danzas returns to television as the ex-cop dad to his detective son, played by Josh Groban.

Based on an Israeli format, it drew mixed reviews.

Netflix said in a statement, Were grateful to creator Andy Breckman and his fellow producers, writers, the incredible crew and especially stars Tony Danza and Josh Groban for bringing this classic odd couple father-son story to Netflix.

Source: Variety
Theres no denying a drama about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a tough sell.

Its hardly a crowd-pleasing subject when there is singing, dating, cooking and nostalgic reboots on offer.

But writer Blake Ayshford knew that Fighting Season should be told after speaking to soldiers who are largely represented on screen as action heroes or even as tragic losers. For the 6 part drama, he wove a mystery into a sensitive story subject.

I dont think of selling it when I write it, but I did try to make it as interesting and compelling as I could, he told TV Tonight.

I wanted to write an issues drama. Something that would unspool, with characters who would be revealed with a satisfying ending.

Its 6 episodes and it doesnt make sense until episode 6.

With Jay Ryan playing a soldier returning home from Afghanistan Fighting Season has won critical praise. Produced by Goalpost Pictures, the story presents an aspect of military life that is rarely dramatised.

I think the last time was Vietnam, he says referring to the 1987 miniseries starring Nicholas Eadie.

He was a boy who had trouble coming home, tried to re-integrate and re-enlisted to go back. It was a story that really stayed with me, even now.

On the question of bold drama topics he adds, I wrote The Devils Playground and Foxtel are the only network that would make that show. I have a feeling they would be the only network that would make this show as well.

I would think that The Walking Dead is a more difficult show to watch than ours, its just that ours happens to take place in the real world.

Ayshford was invited to develop Fighting Season by producers Kylie du Fresne and Rosemary Blight, having worked with them on An Accidental Soldier. Through research with serving soldiers he crafted the characters and plot.

I asked them Whats life like for a contemporary soldier? Whats life like coming back? and What sort of stories do you want to see? What stories are on that are not true? he recalls.

My father was in the armed forces so I had a lot of stories about families, wives and partners that I wanted to tell.

We tried to draw characters out of that and think of a story that would serve a bigger theme: what do we owe people who serve overseas, what do they bring back?

Its a story of how you be a civilian, not how you be a soldier.

While Ryan leads the cast, the ensemble features Ewen Leslie, Kate Mulvany, Julian Maroun, Marco Alosio and George Pullar. Rather than theatre of war action scenes, the show is dominated by domestic scenes in Australia, as a mystery unravels surrounding the death of a key character.

The home life is the majority of Fighting Season. Its a story of how you be a civilian, not how you be a soldier. The war footage merely gives a context and provides footage for the mystery of the drama.

Its more about how you survive after and how the families cope with the sudden parachuting in of a parent, who also is keeping a secret that threatens to destroy everything.

But while Ayshford was aware of the challenges in portraying patriotism without resorting to cliches, domestic scenes were integral to portray a sense of community in a time of grief.

In Queanbeyan you see lots of Australian flags and there is a real knowledge of when somebody has passed away, he continues.

Its hard to do patriotism in a way thats not like an American programme.

Its hard to do patriotism in a way thats not like an American programme. They really dominate this kind of territory.

If patriotism and PTSD do leave Fighting Season as a hard sell, Ayshford is confident it has been authentic to actual experiences, tactfully bolstered by its mystery element.

I really hope people will get to the end so they see what the point to the start has been.

Fighting Season comtinues 8:30pm Sundays on FOX Showcase.
Officers, I swear it wasn't me.

As you can see, I was in New York.

To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation.#itwasntme pic.twitter.com/EDFF9dZoYR  schwim (@DavidSchwimmer) October 24, 2018

David Schwimmer recently posted an amusing video on social media in which he mimics the theft of alcohol after UK police were hunting for a man with a striking similarity (pictured below)

Officers, I swear it wasnt me. As you can see, I was in New York, he joked.

To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation.

Lancashire police have now arrested a 36 yr old man in Southall, south west London.

We would like to thank you all for the huge response we received and a special thanks to David Schwimmer for seeing the funny side of our appeal! police said.

Source: Independent
This afternoon, the fast casual restaurant chain Dig Inn sent an email to its app users announcing that "no avocados have crossed the Mexico-US border for the past three weeks, and harvests have also been affected."

After recommending a Bloomberg News story about the issue, Dig Inn reassured customers: "Instead of serving a stockpile of frozen avocados and compromising on quality and taste, weve temporary taken avocados off our menu. The dispute between growers and packing companies ended yesterday, so we should have fresh, ripe avocados back soon. Well alert you when that happens."

You may have noticed that avocados have been getting pretty expensive, sometimes at $4 a piece. Fruit and vegetable trade publication The Packer noticed that, per USDA reports, the "Los Angeles terminal market prices for Mexican avocados on Nov. 12 reached as high as $60 per carton for size 32, while New York terminal market prices reached $65 for size 36 Mexican avocado. The New York price was about $20 per carton higher than a year ago."

Suppliers in the U.S. were reportedly "stretching" available avocados by getting more from Chile. But The Packer's editor in chief warned, "Avocado shortage becomes real when Chipotle says it is." (It's unclear where the Park Slope Food Coop stands.)

Francesco Brachetti, co-founder of Avocaderia, explained to us, "In the last weeks avocado farmers went on strike in the Mexican region of Michoacan to prevent avocados from other regions of Mexico coming in to Michoacan to be later exported to the U.S. under their exclusive export agreement between Mexico and U.S. Prices have considerably increased in the last 2 weeks but today the strike ended and we expect the situation to go back to normal within the next 10 days." (In the meantime, Avocaderia has absorbed the price increase.)

Apparently Michoacan growers blame corruption for allowing "imposter" avocados to be exported to the U.S. Additionally, according to Bloomberg News, "The conflict [had] entered its second week as producers [were seeking] a minimum price range of 17 to 20 pesos (84 to 99 cents) a kilo. APEAM, the association that groups producers and packers, says its nearly impossible to set a price range. The average price of avocados in Michoacan is currently 10 to 12 pesos a kilo, which according to the association, leaves a 'good' margin for producers."

Mexican avocado trade group APEAM says it's reached a resolution today with the representatives from both sides as well as the government:

#ComunicadoAPEAM: Hemos podido volver a conciliar a las partes que conforman esta gran industria.



Lee el boletin completo en: https://t.co/b5WNT1DbKy pic.twitter.com/diH0WFjkJM  APEAM, A.C. (@apeamac) November 14, 2018

We've contacted the Hass Avocado Board, which represents domestic avocado producers as well as importers, for comment, but a look at the board's detaiils on avocado shipments does show a large drop. Volume in pounds is typically around or above 40 million pounds, but in the past few weeks, it's dropped to more than 7+ million.



(Click image to enlarge table)

Currently, the U.S. is the biggest consumer of Mexican avocados, taking 77% of the fruit; Canada is second at 7%, followed by Japan at 6%, "other" at 6%, and Europe at 3%. But demand from China's "urban class" is growing quickly. And now it's time to panic about a halloumi shortage.
Flybe, the UK-based airline, is putting itself up for sale weeks after a savage profit warning triggered by currency volatility and higher fuel costs sent its shares plunging.

Sky News has learnt that the Exeter-based carrier, which said last month that it expected to lose 12m this year, will announce to the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) on Wednesday that its board has begun exploring a sale to or merger with a rival.

Bankers at Evercore have been brought in to handle the talks about a potential deal.

Sources said a combination of Brexit-related uncertainty, the weaker pound and soaring fuel costs had led Flybe's directors to conclude that a takeover was likely to be required to preserve its future.

The news will be disclosed alongside Flybe's interim results.

One potential suitor is likely to be Stobart Group, the owner of Southend Airport, where Flybe is based, bankers said on Tuesday evening.

Stobart, which is the focus of a bitter courtroom battle between board members and its former chief executive, abandoned a previous bid earlier this year.

Flybe, which is now valued at just 25m by the stock market, remains one of the UK's best-known airline brands, carrying thousands of passengers between second-tier British airports and European destinations.

The carrier has cut hundreds of jobs and closed unprofitable sites as it has sought to exert a grip on costs amid an intensifying industry price war.

At the end of September, Flybe retained a fleet numbering 78 aircraft, and has promised investors that it would continue to reduce capacity to focus on its most popular routes.

"Consumer demand in domestic and near-continent markets has weakened in recent weeks and the board now expects this to continue into the second half," the company said last month.

"This together with higher fuel prices and weaker sterling will impact the expected second-half profit performance."

Christine Ourmieres-Widener, Flybe's chief executive, said at the time that the company was focused on "stronger cost discipline...against the headwinds of currency and fuel costs".

Story continues

It was unclear which other airlines might be interested in acquiring Flybe, although bankers speculated that turnaround funds would examine offers to take the company private.

Apart from the Brexit-related impact on sterling, the UK's departure from the EU is also causing profound uncertainty for investors in British airlines with a no-deal outcome still a possibility.

A Flybe spokesman declined to comment.
Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab is moving key parts of its business out of Moscow in a bid to address the risks arising from its exposure to the Russian intelligence services.

Last year, the US Department for Homeland Security (DHS) and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued warnings regarding the use of Kaspersky software on critical government systems, citing legal powers in Russia, allowing the state to exert control over private companies.

The warnings left Kaspersky Lab needing to reassure customers that their data was handled properly in what it has called a global transparency initiative.

Crucial parts of its customer data processing and software production are being relocated to an automated data centre in a secured facility in the privacy haven of Zurich, where they will be open for inspection and audit by trusted third parties.

None of Kaspersky Lab's staff will be based in Switzerland however. The company's vice president of public policy, Anton Shingarev, explained to Sky News that only certain automated parts of its infrastructure were being moved there - being managed by the NYSE-listed Interxtion.

Despite NCSC's statement that it was working with Kaspersky Lab to develop a plan to prevent any UK data being captured by the Russian state, the company has instead offered, Mr Shingarev said, "a framework which is suicidal for us in case of abuse".

"If anything happens, it's going to be found sooner or later. And we intentionally - by ourselves, with our hands -

[are creating] such a system."

This does not meet the standard of 100% proof that any transfers would be prevented, the VP (LSE: VP.L - news) acknowledged, but he claimed it did meet the NCSC's standards for a risk-based approach towards the company's software.

Robert Pritchard, who formerly worked for the UK government and has since founded the Cyber Security Expert consultancy, noted that Kaspersky Lab's products weren't being criticised in general and were well-thought of in the community.

Story continues

"I think it was a shame that the NCSC's announcement was misinterpreted," he told Sky News, adding that on non-sensitive networks the company's products were not an issue.

That said, he added: "I have worked with clients who have very good reason to fear they're being targeted by Russian foreign intelligence, and I would encourage them to not use Kaspersky."

At a launch event celebrating the beginning of European customers' data being processed in Zurich, Mr Shingarev denounced what he saw as growing "tech nationalism" around the world with products being banned because of their country of origin, but said Kaspersky Lab would have to find a way to overcome it regardless.

The company's infrastructure, which has been moved, was implicated in media reports alleging the firm's anti-virus product was used by the Kremlin (IOB: 0Q8D.IL - news) to steal secret US hacking tools from the computer of a National Security Agency employee who had illegally taken them home.

By moving them to Zurich and keeping an audit record of all of Kaspersky Lab's Moscow-based staff's interactions with them, the company aims to preclude allegations that the Russian state could secretly interfere with its business.

Saying that the data cannot be accessed in secret is not same as saying it cannot be got at at all, and it is not clear how reassured the company's government customers will be by the proposed transparency facility.

Mr Shingarev told Sky News: "How can [the code review] guarantee that there is no GRU, GCHQ, CIA (LSE: 25754.L - news) - name them - spies in our company? It's almost impossible to have a 100% guarantee.

!Of course we've got all these checks, of course we've got audits, of course we've got all these matters, but there is no simple fast solution to remove the risk," he added.

"That's why in the risk-based paradigm we are trying to reduce the risk by a few measures. Reviewing the source code is one of the measures that helps, an independent audit another measure, data centre here another measure.

"Having all these measures we are trying to reduce the risk, reduce the window of opportunity for abusers, and to guarantee as much security as possible."
Bangladesh authorities said they are ready to begin repatriating some of the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled from army-led violence in Burma since last year, but refugees scheduled to leave said they would refuse to go because of fears for their safety.

Some said their families have fled from their shanties in the refugee camps to avoid being sent back.

Refugees, Repatriation and Rehabilitation Commissioner Abul Kalam said 30 refugee families would be handed over on Thursday at the Ghumdhum border point near Coxs Bazar, where refugees have been living in crammed camps.

The two countries had originally agreed to begin repatriating Rohingya last January, but that was called off amid concerns among aid workers and the Rohingya that their safety was not guaranteed.

Mr Kalam said about 2,260 refugees from 485 families would be sent back in an initial batch.

Nurul Amin, a 35-year-old Rohingya who is on the first list for being repatriated back to Burma (Dar Yasin/AP)

Burma officials said recently that they would receive 150 refugees each day.

But it was unclear whether the repatriation would begin smoothly amid reports that many of the refugees on the initial list have fled.

I will not go. My wife and other family members have gone elsewhere, they do not want to go, 35-year-old Nurul Amin said outside the Jamtoli camp, where he and his family have been living for more than a year.

I stayed back to guard my valuables. We are serious, we do not want to go, he said.

If you say you will shoot us if we do not agree to go back, we will welcome bullets, we still will not go.

Mohammed Selim, 23, said his wife and seven other family members went into hiding after finding out that they would be sent back on Thursday.

We are grateful to the Bangladesh government, the Bangladeshi people for their help. Please do not force us to go, he said.

If we need to go, we demand that we go back to our homes, not to any camps there. We have our land, we have our homes, he said.

Story continues

On Sunday, the Burma government said it was ready to welcome returning refugees.

It said returning Rohingya would stay at repatriation camps for two days and receive food and clothing before moving on to transit camps.

Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Bullit Marquez/AP)

It said China, India and Japan were providing necessary assistance for the repatriation process.

Despite the promises by Burma, human rights activists say conditions are not yet safe for their return.

Last week, the UNs independent investigator for human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, called the plans rushed and said she was concerned there were no guarantees that the refugees would be protected from new persecution if they return home.

Foreign leaders have criticised Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore for her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Rohingya refugees wait at a UN World Food Programme (WFP) facility (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Rohingya began fleeing into Bangladesh after Burmese security forces launched a brutal crackdown following attacks by an insurgent group on guard posts in August 2017.

The scale, organisation and ferocity of the operation led to accusations from the international community, including the United Nations, of ethnic cleansing and even genocide.

Burmas government has denied the accusations.

Burma officials said that returnees can get an ID document called a national verification card that will allow them to travel in the Maungdaw area of Rakhine state, and that they can then begin to apply for citizenship.

But there is widespread scepticism that any of returning refugees will ever be granted citizenship.

Sewer water flows in the background as Rohingya refugees cross a makeshift bamboo bridge at Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Most people in Buddhist-majority Burma do not accept that the Rohingya Muslims are a native ethnic group.

They are viewed as Bengalis who entered illegally from Bangladesh, even though generations of Rohingya have lived in Burma.

Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless.

They have also been denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.

An elderly Rohingya refugee Noor Aisha Khatun (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Many people who fled earlier violence and moved into displacement camps inside Burma have been unable to leave those settlements for years.

Most Rohingya have lived in poverty in Rakhine, near the Bangladesh border.

Marked by their religion and their language, most speak a dialect of Bengali, while most of their neighbours speak Rakhine, they are easy to target.
Brett Corbett forgave the classmates who bullied him, but his community in Nova Scotia is demanding that the high school he attends discipline the teens who humiliated him. (Photo: Getty Images)

A high school freshman in Novia Scotia, Canada, taught the entire student body, their parents and his own mother a lesson in humanity by forgiving the classmates who bullied and humiliated him by forcing him to lie in a muddy creek. And thats before they even had a chance to apologize.

Brett Corbett, a 14-year-old with cerebral palsy who attends Glace Bay High School, was outside in the rain when a group of his peers surrounded him and order him to lie face down in the shallow water so other students could step on him to get to the other side without getting their shoes dirty. In a video shot by one of the teens, Corbett crouches down as the current washes over him, and a girl steps on his back, essentially using him as a human bridge as a crowd lingers, laughing and egging each other on.

In a second video, Corbett lifts himself up, but the cackling teens start screaming at him to get back down. Do it, you f*** b****!, one calls out. So he does, and more students walk over him  three in total, the boys mother, Terri McEachern, told the Washington Post. McEachern didnt find out about the incident until much later  and thats because her sons instinct was to protect his peers by not tattling on them.

He didnt tell [the principal] the truth about what happened to him at first because he said he didnt want the other kids to get in trouble, she told the Washington Post. When she asked him whether he had been walked on after she watched the videos, he told her, Its OK, I was already wet.' He had previously lied to her about being sent to the principals office drenched; he said he had taken up his classmates on a dare to swim in the creek.

But McEachern and school officials learned the truth when the videos the students had taken made their way to social media  and ultimately to a family friend, Brandon Jolie, who posted one on Facebook. Never in my LIFE have I ever been more disgusted, Jolie wrote, describing the disturbing scene in the clip. Parents; you failed this generation. The amount of teenagers that stood around and watched this happen, even took videos of it. I hope you watch this video, recognize your kid and feel the shame. To the little girl that stepped on him; you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.

Everyone who knows this boy knows he has a disability. How fricken hard is it to show some compassion?

Story continues

The post went viral, and commenters agreed, calling it disgusting and despicable, and calling for the teens to be disciplined. In the meantime, the students have had a change of heart, and many have personally apologized to the boy. Several girls even showed up at his house to read apology letters aloud to him, according to the Washington Post. I shouldnt have told you to go [into the creek]. I should have helped you up instead of breaking you down, one girl said. I made a really bad choice and I will live with that for the rest of my life, another girl wrote, while a boy student called it the worst decision of my life. There were tears all around.

One of the girls even asked Corbett to be her friend if youre up to it, and the two went upstairs to play Xbox together, McEachern said to the Washington Post. And while shes happy for the apologies, shes finding it hard as a mother to process the entire scenario and her sons forgiving nature. Its just breaking my heart. This is his mindset, she said. Children with disabilities have the most amazing gifts in the world. They dont see bad in anyone. They see so much good in everybody.

Community groups are outraged too. Someone organized a Stand for Brett Corbett rally outside Glace Bay High School to show Brett he is never alone, according to the Washington Post. There were student walkouts on Friday to protest the fact that the school has not taken a firm stand, beyond suspending some of the students for one day. Honestly, its sickening, a junior at the school said. Its a little upsetting to see nothing done about it. Even McEachern feels that punishment was a slap on the wrist.

A spokesperson for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education, Michelle MacLeod, sent Yahoo Lifestyle the following statement addressing the incident:

First, in no way do we condone bullying behavior. This incident is tremendously harmful to both the individual involved and the school community as a whole.

We are disappointed and saddened by the behavior that led to the incident on the video.

The negative actions of a few are not a reflection of what our Centre for Education, our schools, or staff and the vast majority of students at Glace Bay High School are all about. We are a strong community, bound by pride in our schools and compassion and care for one another. And we want to assure our parents and community that we have, and will continue to, work with the students, staff and parents to address this behavior.

In addition to specifically addressing individuals involved, Glace Bay High Schools Principal, Vice-Principals and other members of Administration are leading a restorative practice process to work collaboratively with the school community. A restorative practice approach involves students, staff, parents, School Advisory Council and members of the school community, in a process that acknowledges the harm done and gives a voice to all in planning our way forward within a respectful, safe and secure learning environment.

We all need to do better.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
The emotional first meeting of a child cancer patient and his life-saving donor has been captured on video.

Jack Withers was just 10 when was told he had six months to live, but a bone marrow donor from Germany came forward and saved his life.

Strict donation rules mean that donors and recipients cannot meet for a set amount of time, and both parties must request a meeting.

But now the restriction has lifted, blood cancer charity DKMS set up the emotional meeting at its fundraising gala in London.

The moment Jack and Michael met (PA Images)

Video shows Jack and his donor, Michael Merten, 27, embracing each other before Mr Merten is surrounded and hugged by members of Jacks family.

In 2015, Jack, from Walsall near Birmingham, was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer called MDS at Birmingham Childrens Hospital.

Jacks twin Emily had been diagnosed with the condition eight years previously.

Their mother, Jo Withers, said the news was totally out of the blue and that she never expected lightening to strike twice.

Fortunately for Emily, their twins older sister Lauren was a match and was able to give her a life-saving donation.

But Lauren was not a match for Jack, so a hunt for a donor was launched.

We were told there and then that he would only have six months to live, said Mrs Withers.

That was never an option in my head, I gave birth to three children and three children were here to stay.

Mr Merten was found to be a match for Jack after searching the international database of donors.

He said: When you think of what little it takes out of your body to save someone elses life, then its easy and good to do.

Mrs Withers encouraged people to sign up to the register, adding: To see him [Jack] well, cured, sitting here, should be enough to make anybody think well get our self on that register.

Jack, now 13, added: Do it because youll be helping lives like mine.

For more information on joining the register visit: https://www.dkms.org.uk/en/register-now
It highlights the terrifying power of solar flares (Getty)

In 1972, American pilots flying over North Vietnam saw huge sea mines detonating suddenly for no apparent reason  but researchers now believe they have solved the mystery.

Researchers from CU Boulder say that the mines may have been detonated from space  by magnetised gas hurled at our planet by a solar storm.

The research highlights the power of solar storms  and shows how vulnerable our wired world could be to a large solar storm.

CU Boulder professor Delores Knipp investigated the explosions  and found a declassified military report which linked the explosion of dozens of sea mines to a large solar storm.

MORE: Couple who named baby after Hitler convicted of neo-Nazi terror group charges

MORE: Briton dies from rabies while in Morocco after being bitten by cat

Knipp and her colleagues linked the report to reports from scientists around the world, showing large solar flares from 2 August 1972 to 4 August 1972.

Knipp said, I started reading this report, and I said wow, this really happened.

She says the find highlights the scale of the flares  and the danger of solar activity.

Knipp said, In the process of researching this event, I realized that this was, in fact, a great storm. But it was also such an odd storm in the way it developed and the way it hit the earth.

What this event does is give us a sense of range of what these great storms could look like.

Researchers warned last year that a super solar storm could burn out power stations, cut water supplies, and leave satellites dead in the skies.

The only account of a super storm striking Earth comes from more than 150 years ago  when a Victorian scientist, Richard Carrington, described an eruption known as the Carrington event.

In 1859, there were no telephones and satellites, but the power of the storm devastated communications  telegraph wires around the world burnt out, and some operators reported sheets of paper catching fire.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge first unveiled her hilarious, profane and emotionally probing one-woman play Fleabag at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013. Since then, she has performed it in London, toured the UK, South Korea and Australia, and adapted it into an award-winning BBC series (later shown on Amazon Prime). Now, she's bringing it to NYC for an off-Broadway run in 2019.

The play, starring Waller-Bridge and directed by her long-time collaborator Vicky Jones, will be staged at SoHo Playhouse for five weeks; previews begin February 28th, 2019, opening night is March 7th, 2019, and it all ends Sunday, April 7th, 2019. "I cant wait to bring the original FLEABAG to New York! Its a dream come true," Waller-Bridge said in a press release.

The play centers on a depressed, sex-obsessed woman struggling to run her guinea pig cafe, dealing with her overbearing stepmother and anxious sister, and processing the fallout from a recent trauma. Narrated through her inner monologue, it juggles several tones masterfully, ping-ponging between witty, dirty, and psychologically affecting. As the character puts it in the first episode, she has a horrible feeling shes "a greedy, perverted, selfish, apathetic, cynical, depraved, morally bankrupt woman who cant even call herself a feminist."

Waller-Bridge, who also starred as the droid L3-37 in Solo: A Star Wars Story, has no shortage of projects on the horizon. She's working on a second season of Fleabag that is supposed to come out in 2019, and she is the creator and writer of the Emmy-nominated series Killing Eve, which also has a second season coming next year.
A recent case in Co Cork sparked outrage after the underwear worn by the complainant was referred to in the trial.

Hundreds of people protested in Dublin city centre on Wednesday to highlight concerns over how rape trials are conducted in Ireland.

A recent case in Co Cork sparked outrage after a defence barrister referred to the 17 year-old complainants underwear during the trial, in which a man was acquitted of rape.

Organised by a number of feminist organisations, demonstrators held up sets of underwear and signs that read Stop victim blaming in courts while chanting Clothes are not consent.

Irish politician Ruth Coppinger holds up the thong underwear she produced to the Irish government chamber yesterday at a protest in Dublin against what she calls rape myths in the judiciary. #ThisIsNotConsent pic.twitter.com/KkF3EuNYqV  aoife-grace moore. (@aoifegracemoore) November 14, 2018

People Before Profit TD Brid Smith told the crowd that they must organise and fight back against injustice.

Consistently we see in court where womens bodies have been violated and women are made to feel like its their fault, she said.

Prejudice is at the heart of the system itself, no matter where you come from and who you accuse  there is a lack of justice in this country for women.

This is a nasty unjust system  why are the government not bringing legislation forward to stop this happening in court?

I hear cameras cut away from me when I displayed this underwear in #Dail. In courts victims can have their underwear passed around as evidence and it's within the rules, hence need to display in Dail. Join protests tomorrow. In Dublin it's at Spire, 1pm.#dubw #ThisIsNotConsent pic.twitter.com/DvtaJL61qR  Ruth Coppinger TD (@RuthCoppingerTD) November 13, 2018

The case was brought to wider public attention on Tuesday when Irish politician Ruth Coppinger held up a thong in the parliament chamber to highlight the outrage felt by some sections of the public.

Story continues

Why is nothing yet being done to stop the routine use of rape myths in trials, and how concerned is this Government about the chilling effect this is having on victims coming forward? Ms Coppinger asked the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as she held the underwear aloft.

Present at the march, Ms Coppinger told the Press Association it was clear young people will no longer stand by when they believe something is wrong.

Youre always a bit nervous when you do something like that in the Dail (parliament) because of the strict rules, but also I wasnt sure how it would go down. I wanted to do it with sensitivity she said.

Ive been amazed at the response, a massive reaction.

Normally you get some abuse, but the reaction has been incredibly positive.

People are sickened by this type of society, sexism, racism or whatever is used to divide people and people are anxious to change that.

Its reflective of the last five years in Ireland. Its been building, changing attitudes towards the position of women in society, particularly among young people.

The idea that this could happen in 2018, that what you wear somehow justifies any kind of sexual violence, its backward.

A popular social media campaign was sparked by the fall-out from the case with women from Ireland and abroad posting pictures of their underwear with the hastag #Thisisnotconsent.
Reuters

Germany will promote Moderna for Germans seeking booster shots as high demand for the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine risks depleting stocks and derailing efforts to tame a fourth wave of the pandemic, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Monday. Spahn warned during a news conference that some 16 million Moderna doses could expire in the first quarter of next year if unused, adding that some experts see Moderna as the "Rolls-Royce" of vaccines with BioNTech the "Mercedes". "Unfortunately the impression is we will insist on Moderna only to avoid the expiry of those vaccines in the first quarter of 2022," said Spahn.
By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday in protest at a Gaza ceasefire that he called a "capitulation to terror", weakening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative coalition government.

"Were I to stay in office, I would not be able to look southern residents in the eye," Lieberman told reporters, referring to Israelis subjected to a surge in Palestinian rocket attacks before Tuesday's truce took hold.

Lieberman said his resignation, which will go into effect 48 hours after he submits a formal letter to Netanyahu, also withdraws his far-right Israel Beitenu party from the coalition.

Netanyahu will take over the defence portfolio himself, his party said. The loss of Israel Beitenu's five seats will leave him with control of just 61 of the 120 seats in parliament, a year before Israel's next election.

Political commentators had speculated that Netanyahu, who has high approval ratings despite being dogged by multiple corruption investigations, might bring forward the ballot.

They also saw in Lieberman's decision to quit a bid to poach votes from Netanyahu and far-right cabinet rival Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home party, ahead of an election.

Netanyahu's Likud played down the option of an early poll.

"There is no need to go to an election during what is a sensitive period for national security. This government can see out its days," party spokesman Jonatan Urich said on Twitter.

CRACKS IN COALITION

The cracks in the coalition could soon widen, however.

In Jewish Home, which has eight lawmakers, there were calls for Bennett, now education minister, to succeed Lieberman as defence chief.

Bennett did not immediately comment. Were he to withdraw from the ruling coalition, a snap election would be inevitable. But as defence minister, he could be no less a thorn in Netanyahu's side than Lieberman.

Story continues

Lieberman and Bennett have spoken in favour of harsh Israeli military action against Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists, even as the government authorised a Qatari cash infusion to the impoverished enclave last week and limited itself to air strikes rather than a wider campaign during this week's fighting.

Israel has fought three wars in Gaza since Hamas took over the enclave in 2007.

Violence persisted on lower scale on Wednesday, with Palestinians saying a Gaza fisherman was shot dead by Israeli forces. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the troops across the border identified a suspect approaching the Gaza fence and opened fire at him.

In a separate incident, the military said troops captured a Palestinian who tried to cut through the fence and threw grenades at them.

Netanyahu cast Israel's handling of Gaza as prudence.

"Leadership also means standing up to criticism when you know things that are classified and which you cannot share with the public that you love," he said in a speech. "Our enemies begged for a ceasefire, and they know well why."

Hamas saw victory in the Lieberman's departure. On Gaza City streets, Palestinian burned Lieberman's photo and some motorists handed out candies to passersby in celebration.

"Lieberman's resignation is a recognition of the defeat before the growing force of the Palestinian resistance," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. "It also showed a state of weakness that has overcome the Israelis."

Born in the former Soviet Union, Lieberman established an electoral base among fellow Russian-speaking immigrants. He also counts among his supporters other Israeli Jews who share his suspicions of Israel's Arab minority or oppose the religious authority and political clout of ultra-Orthodox rabbis.

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Peter Graff, Richard Balmforth)
Italy refuses to back down in budget standoff with EU

Italy's populist government defied the European Commission Tuesday by sticking to its big-spending budget plan, risking financial sanctions in a high-stakes standoff with Brussels.

Despite pressure from the European Commission, which rejected Rome's budget outright last month in a first for the EU, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio vowed to stand firm on the country's anti-austerity plans.

"The budget will not change, neither in its balance sheet nor in its growth forecast. We have the conviction that this is the budget needed for the country to get going again," Di Maio, who leads the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), said Tuesday evening after a ministerial meeting.

M5S and its coalition partner, the far-right League party, insist the budget will help kickstart growth in the eurozone's third largest economy and reduce the public debt and deficit.

The Commission gave Italy until Tuesday to make changes to its 2019 plans and warned non-compliance could activate the "excessive deficit procedure" (EDP), a complicated process that could lead to fines and possibly provoke a strong, adverse market reaction.

Italy intends to run a public deficit of 2.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2019 -- three times the target of the government's centre-left predecessor -- and one of 2.1 percent in 2020.

But Brussels forecasts Italy's deficit will reach 2.9 percent of GDP in 2019 and hit 3.1 percent in 2020 -- breaching the EU's 3.0 percent limit.

League head Matteo Salvini, who is also a deputy prime minister, vowed Monday to put his back into "defending the budget, as if it were a rugby scrum".

While Rome targets economic growth of 1.5 percent, Brussels anticipates just 1.2 percent, putting Italy at the bottom of the EU table.

The IMF forecasts growth of 1.0 percent for 2020 and was sceptical of Italy's reform programme in its latest report on the country.

Story continues

'Suicide' to reduce deficit

Italy's Economy Minister Giovanni Tria has accused Brussels of getting its sums wrong.

It would be "suicide" to try to reduce the deficit to the previous goal of 0.8 percent of GDP, he has said, insisting "we must get out of the trap of weak growth".

The big problem is Italy's public debt, now a huge 2.3 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion), or 131 percent of Italy's GDP -- way above the 60 percent EU ceiling.

The fine for refusing to review the budget could correspond to 0.2 percent of Italy's GDP -- about 3.4 billion euros ($3.8 billion)

European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has said he hopes a compromise can be found to avoid sanctions.

Speaking Tuesday to the European Parliament, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU wanted to reach out to Italy, a founding member.

"But Italy also adopted the many rules that we now all have in common," she added.

EU 'First step'

The European Commission "will make the first step to move Italy into EDP" after a debt update expected on November 21, said Lorenzo Codogno, former chief economist at the Italian Treasury Department.

The country will likely be given three to six months to prepare correction plans, after which nothing will happen until a new Commission takes up office at the end of next year following European Parliament elections, he said.

"The true guardians of fiscal discipline will be, as usual, financial markets," he said.

All eyes are now on the "spread" -- the difference between yields on 10-year Italian government debt compared with those in Germany -- which has more than doubled since May, when negotiations to form the coalition government in Rome began.

Uneasy investors have already cost the taxpayer an additional 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in interest over the past six months.

A wider fear is that stress in Italy could spread to other European countries which are only just recovering from the eurozone debt crisis.

"We do not expect a crisis that would lead to a loss of market access," said Agnese Ortolani, analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit.

But the country's debt and the weakness of its banking sector mean "Italy would be too large to rescue without massive ECB support in the event of a large-scale financial crisis," she said.

(AFP)
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday he wants to discuss a peace treaty with Russia and the North Korean issue with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Putin said last week that Abe told him Tokyo could not immediately sign a peace treaty with Moscow without first resolving their territorial dispute.

Russia and Japan have been in dispute for seven decades over island territories captured by Soviet troops in the last days of the World War Two. As a result, they have still not formally ended hostilities.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Andrey Kuzmin; Editing by Toby Chopra)
FILE PHOTO - Saiful Mulook, lawyer of Christian woman Asia Bibi, addresses a news conference at the International Press Centre in The Hague, the Netherlands November 5, 2018. REUTERS/Eva Plevier

By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Netherlands recalled staff from its embassy in Pakistan following threats after providing shelter to the lawyer of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, the Dutch foreign minister said on Monday.

Hard-line Islamists in Pakistan have blocked streets and called for the killing of judges after the Supreme Court on Oct. 31 overturned the conviction of Asia Bibi, a mother of five, who had been on death row for eight years.

"Unfortunately threats have been made against the Netherlands, Dutch diplomats," Foreign Minister Stef Blok told national NPO radio. "I discussed the issue with my Pakistani colleague."

The embassy briefly closed earlier on Monday and "a large number of staff" returned to the Netherlands, Blok said.

Bibi's lawyer, Saiful Mulook, fled to the Netherlands soon after the verdict, citing death threats. The Dutch government said on Thursday that it had offered him temporary shelter.

On Friday the Dutch government said its embassy in Pakistan, which is in a tightly guarded diplomatic enclave, had temporarily halted issuing visas "due to circumstances beyond our control".

Pakistani media reported that the embassy had been forced to close because of threats. But the Dutch Foreign Ministry said reports of the embassy's closure were mistaken.

No one answered the telephone at the Dutch embassy after office hours on Monday.

Bibi, 53, was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 over allegations she made derogatory remarks about Islam, which is punishable by death in Pakistan. She always denied having committed blasphemy.

The militant Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party, which has made blasphemy a rallying cry, took to the streets after the Supreme Court ruling and blocked main cities and highways for three days.

The protests ended after the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan struck a deal with the TLP that the state would not block a petition to review Bibi's acquittal in light of sharia Islamic religious law and ensure she wouldn't leave country until that was decided.

Pakistani government officials have said Bibi is in a secure location while the court considers her case.

(Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch in AmsterdamReporting by Asif ShahzadEditing by Robert Birsel and David Stamp, William Maclean)
North Korea is hiding more than a dozen undeclared missile bases despite claiming it had dismantled its nuclear network, according to a US think tank.

A total of 13 out of an estimated 20 active sites have been identified by the Beyond Parallel programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Satellite imagery reveals North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may not have been entirely truthful when he invited foreign journalists to witness the apparent demolition of its Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

In May, Sky News' Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire was the only British broadcaster to watch a series of explosions at the facility ahead of talks between US President Donald Trump and Mr Kim.

But imagery of one of the sites identified by CSIS, located 84 miles (135km) northwest of Seoul, shows entrances to seven underground missile facilities and missile launchers hidden by camouflaged tarpaulin.

Construction began on the Sakkanmol Missile Operating Base between 1991 and 1993 and it is thought to have been completed in 2001, and added to since 2011 when Mr Kim came to power.

The CSIS report said the satellite imagery shows recent minor infrastructure changes, and as of November 2018 "the base is active and being reasonably well-maintained by North Korean standards".

Pictured in the images are barracks, a parade ground, tunnel entrances, greenhouses, headquarters, support buildings, a cultural hall, vehicle storage and agricultural support buildings.

Experts at CSIS said: "The size of the entrances - as well as known Korean People's Army (KPA) practices and the volume of soil removed - indicates that these tunnels could easily house all of the units transporter-erector launchers or mobile-erector launchers reload vehicles, other technical vehicles, and supplies."

They said the entrances are often hidden from satellite imagery sight during spring and summer due to their location in a narrow tree-lined valley.

Story continues

The Beyond Parallel programme is led by Victor Cha, who was a candidate to become Washington's ambassador to South Korea, a position which has yet to be filled by Mr Trump.

Its report could prove a sticking point for the US, whose president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are trying to hold Mr Kim to denuclearisation promises he has made since the US-North Korea summit in Singapore in June.

"We have known for some time that the North Koreans are starting to deploy and even test missiles at the unit level," Stephan Haggard, a professor of Korea-Pacific studies at the University of California at San Diego said.

"The last round of tests under Kim Jong Un were not just coming from missile test sites. What [the CSIS reports show] is how hard it will be to really cap the programme.

"And of course, no one seriously believes that North Korea's underlying capability has been neutralised. That is a fantasy.

"The only thing we have at the moment is a freeze on testing, which could, of course, be reversed easily."

In a separate report released this week, CSIS said: "After extensive research, including interviews with North Korean defectors and government, defence and intelligence officials around the world, many of these issues have been addressed and it appears that the KPA currently has approximately 15-20 missile operating bases."
Sri Lanka's parliament passed a no-confidence vote against the controversially appointed government of Mahinda Rajapakse Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse who was made prime minister on October 26 in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Parliament convened for the first time since October 27, when President Maithripala Sirisena suspended the legislature after firing the sitting prime minister and Cabinet in a power struggle and plunging the island nation into a crisis.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week in a bid to build support for Rajapaksa but the Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the presidential decree and ordered the legislature to keep working until next month.

The motion could mean that Rajapakse will have to resign from his post. But it does not automatically mean that Wickremesinghe, whose party is the biggest in parliament, has won the constitutional showdown. President Maithripala Sirisena retains the power to choose the next prime minister.

Chinese involvement in Sri Lankan economy

The political crisis in in the strategically important island nation of 21 million people has raised concerns in the international community with the US, EU and other powers calling for a resolution to the crisis.

Only China has recognised the appointment of Rajapakse, who during his decade as president until 2015 relied heavily on Beijing for diplomatic and financial support.

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.

During an earlier stint as prime minister from 2001 until 2004, Wickremesinghe is credited with pulling Sri Lanka out of its first ever recession, in part with reforms that have endeared him to the West.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)
FILE PHOTO: A police officer checks the identity card of a man as security forces keep watch in a street in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

By Patricia Zengerle and Ben Blanchard

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers will introduce legislation on Wednesday urging a stronger response by the Trump administration to China's crackdown on minority Muslims, including possible sanctions against a senior official, a move China decried as hypocrisy.

The legislation will also ask President Donald Trump to condemn China's actions in its western region of Xinjiang, call for a new "special coordinator" of U.S. policy on the issue and seek consideration of a ban on export of U.S. technology Beijing could use in surveillance and mass detention of ethnic Uighurs, according to a copy of the measure seen by Reuters.

The lawmakers want the Trump administration to consider human rights-related sanctions against Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is also a member of the powerful politburo, and other officials "credibly alleged to be responsible" for the security crackdown, the measure will say.

"Chinese government officials should be held accountable for their complicity in this evil and U.S. businesses should be barred from helping China create a high-tech police state in Xinjiang," said Republican U.S. Representative Chris Smith, one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation to be presented in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill, which is also being put forward by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the United States and its lawmakers had no right to interfere in other countries, considering their own racial problems.

"It's too strange, they always selectively overlook the various problems their own country is facing, zealously interfering in other countries' internal affairs, moreover based on wrong information and with strong ideological prejudice," she told a daily news briefing.

Story continues

Hua cited statistics on the higher rate of miscarriages of justice for African Americans versus their white counterparts and the economic disadvantages facing minority groups.

"I hope U.S. lawmakers can care a bit more about domestic U.S. matters, and do their job a bit better," she added.

SENIOR AIDES MORE VOCAL

Trump's senior aides recently have become more vocal in their criticism of China's treatment of its minority Muslims in Xinjiang, which has sparked an international outcry.

Any sanctions, however, would be a rare move on human rights grounds by the Trump administration against China, with which it is engaged in a bitter trade war.

Beijing has dismissed accusations of abuses in Xinjiang, urging the United States and other countries to stay out of its internal affairs.

The Chinese government's top diplomat said on Tuesday the world should ignore "gossip" about developments in Xinjiang and trust authorities there, when asked if Beijing would allow international observers to inspect camps for Muslims in the region.

Western countries including Canada, France, Germany, and the United States have urged China to shut down camps in Xinjiang, where activists say as many as 1 million members of the Uighur minority and other Muslims are being detained.

Far western Xinjiang faces a threat from Islamist militants and separatists, China has said in the past.

Rubio said in a statement that some Chinese officials were responsible for "possible crimes against humanity."

For several months, the Trump administration has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials and companies operating in Xinjiang, U.S. officials have said on condition of anonymity.

The new bill calls for consideration of measures under the Global Magnitsky Act, which hits rights violators with freezes on U.S. assets, U.S. travel bans, and prohibitions on Americans doing business with them, and also under a federal law to target those involved in religious repression around the world.

It will urge the administration to report back to Congress on Chinese companies involved in the camps and ask the FBI to act against any Chinese government efforts to intimidate Uighurs living in the United States.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick, and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Peter Cooney and Clarence Fernandez)
Fourteen military cadets from 12 countries in South America, Central Europe, Eastern Asia, and Africa visited the University of North Georgia (UNG) from Nov. 8-17 for professional development and cultural immersion during UNG's third annual International Cadet Week.

Cadets from the nations of Brazil, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, South Africa, and Taiwan are attending the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies Symposium Nov. 14-15, where eight cadets are presenting posters. The international cadets also took part in physical training, went to classes and attended UNG sporting events with members of UNG's Corps of Cadets.

Among the activities were an air rifle shooting competition, rappelling, taking in the Corps' Veterans Day parade, the leadership reaction course at Pine Valley, visits to the Mall of Georgia and the World of Coca-Cola, and an American dinner  including burgers, fries and baked beans  and social hosted by retired Army Lt. Col. Anthony Fritchle, assistant director of the Center for Global Engagement.

"Sending one or two cadets to an international military program provides a tremendous opportunity for the cadets to experience that country's academic, military and national culture," Fritchle said. "However, bringing 14 cadets to the U.S. to immerse them in the UNG Corps of Cadets impacts the entire Corps and allows for a wide range of diverse interaction and cultural understanding."

The visiting international cadets are capping off their week Nov. 16 with a visit to Fort Benning, Georgia, to use the simulations center, see a Rangers in Action demonstration and visit the U.S. Army Infantry Museum.

Cadet Toms Puke, from the National Defense Academy of Latvia, is an infantryman who hoped to pick his fellow cadets' brains about infantry.

"I wanted to learn the culture," Puke said. "I want to know how people think."

Cadet Yuan Ming-June, from Fu Hsing Kang, National Defense University, in Taiwan, most looked forward to Fort Benning. He was also eager to form relationships with cadets from across the world.

"We can get to know each other," he said. "Maybe in the future we can have the chance to cooperate. It's a great idea."

Fritchle said that's a major part of why UNG enjoys hosting such an event. With the countries that sent cadets being allies, the possibility of these relationships influencing military relations later is strong.

Cadets from the nations of Brazil, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, South Africa, and Taiwan participated in UNG's International Cadet Week.

Retired Col. James T. Palmer, commandant of UNG's Corps of Cadets, thanked the visiting cadets for coming to UNG and sharing their perspective and experience.

"You help our cadets see the world from a broad perspective," Palmer said. "And they benefit greatly from your visit."

Cadet Yuya Morita, from the Japanese National Defense Academy, said the chance to form friendships was a "good experience for me."

Cadet Chou Chia Hui, from the Management College, National Defense University, in Taiwan, was visiting the U.S. for the second time. She enjoyed talking about her school works and hearing from others.

"I think I can learn something from them too because they all come from different countries," she said. "I cherish this opportunity to come here and interact with them."
Fulmar chicks repel predators in an unusual way and predators who think to snack on them regret it instantly. In fact, their defense mechanism is disturbing as they do this by projectile-vomiting. And it's not your usual bit of harmless baby puke either. For feathered predators, the result of meddling with the chicks of these seabirds can lead them to their deaths.

Fulmar chicks look cute and cuddly

The young seabirds' parents raise their babies on the walls and ledges of cliffs and in rocky overhangs. Sometimes they may become inventive and actually scrape a bit of a depression or adorn the nest with a piece of seaweed.

However, the birds don't overly concern themselves with housekeeping, probably because they only return to land for breeding.

Oceanwide Expeditions explain on their website, that the birds are pelagic, which means they "live entirely at sea." Their single egg usually hatches after the parents take turns to keep it warm for about 50 days. The chicks look cute and cuddly while the parents feed them, but you won't want to get too close to them as they vomit a disgusting sticky, oily mixture that stinks to high heaven.

By the time the Fulmar chicks grow their feathers and fly away with the rest of the flock, their dangerous period is over. But for unwary seabird predators, untold numbers of them die after an encounter with the gull-like bird.

The very word Fulmar means "foul gull." Actually, while they look like gulls, they are not, and the species are related to the petrel family. The birds come equipped with a part of their stomachs called a proventriculus. Here, they manufacture and store a disgusting, stinking, foul and revolting oil. Predators like rats, squirrels, and foxes will get a face full of it and be instantly put off chowing down on a chick.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

Death vomit for predatory birds

For the predatory sheathbills and skuas, they don't just go home stinking like a hellish garbage dump. The oil can mean death. The deadly oil projectile-vomited on them covers their feathers and simply won't come off. Mens Den.com noted that the oil "glues the feathers together." Glued feathers mean they don't work and the birds can plummet to their deaths.

If the birds try and wash it off in the sea, they discover that buoyancy is gone and they drown. Predatory seabirds only get one shot at learning the fatal lesson.

Obviously, the projectile defense mechanism works as the birds breed successfully, although the Northern Fulmars far outnumber their Southern cousins. The deadly Fulmar chicks are found in the North Atlantic, the North Pacific, and in the Southern Ocean. However, they still face predation after they leave the nests - from humans. When they fall from the nests, and they are unable to fly yet, the Faeroese people hunt them for food every August.
The ULCO Federation of Christian Theological Seminaries will merge with the Global Missionary Center (GMC) in Boston on Nov. 15. This was preceded by a centralization of all courses and classes controlled by the GMC. All foreign branches had been closed in the course of the modernization of the theological teaching program and were centralized in the United States. As part of this far-reaching renewal, the e-learning services became massively increased and updated.

A new theological giant

In a further step, the majority of the ULCO Federation of Theological Seminars has now decided to enter into a firm relationship with the GMC Boston.

This will create a new force at several locations in the United States and on the internet, making them a big theological player whose special feature is not to charge tuition fees.

No tuition-fees

Theologically, the ULCO seminaries complement other educational institutions run by the Global Missionary Center in many different ways. In particular, the training of lay people in the field of biblical studies and advanced studies for pastors of smaller congregations have so far not been a strong focus of the GMC. In cooperation with ULCO, many of the group's theological seminars now offer such learning opportunities. "We complement each other like the pieces of a puzzle," said Dr. Ari Samaria, Chairman of the Board at the Global Missionary Center.

A narrow ballot

The vote for a cooperation of any kind with the ULCO Seminaries was nevertheless very narrow. In the Christian Church Central Committee, which sustains the GMC, the resolution was adopted by a majority of one single vote. Since the ballot was so close and the worldly leader of the Christian Church International did not exercise his right of veto, it was decided to evaluate the cooperation after 6, 12 and 24 months.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

The land of the free

"Despite the narrow majority in our central committee, the professional merger of ULCO and GMC has once again made it clear that the United States of America is a country of religious freedom. I don't know of any other nation where such an important process would have been possible so smoothly," Lukas Emanuel, director of Christian Church International, told CNA-NY news agency.

First initiative for Pakistani Christians

One of the first actions initiated jointly by the GMC and the coordinators of the ULCO Seminaries was a call to support endangered Christians in Pakistan. In this context, it was demonstrated that the more missionary approach of the GMC and the teaching tradition of the ULCO Seminaries work together harmoniously.
 Ivan Kurmyshov/stock.adobe.com



Another big reason for people to visit Florida is that this state gets some of the very best weather. Temperatures are high all through the year, even in the winter, and the sun never seems to stop shining all through Florida, hence the state's nickname of 'The Sunshine State'. With so much sun to enjoy, it makes sense that people who visit Florida like to make the most of the great weather and get outdoors as often as possible to beaches and bays. South of Tampa and not far from Fort Myers, Punta Gorda is one of the prettiest beach resort towns in Florida, offering warm gentle waters, soft sands, and perfect conditions for swimming, sailing, fishing, and more.

Best Beaches in Punta Gorda

The best thing about visiting Punta Gorda beaches and other beaches in the surrounding Port Charlotte area is that these locations don't attract the big crowds of tourists you would find at places like Tampa Bay or Miami Beach. Punta Gorda beaches are often quiet and calm, making this little city an ideal vacation destination for those times when you just want to get away from it all. Read on to learn some interesting details and overviews of the best beaches in Punta Gorda.

You are reading "5 Best Punta Gorda Beaches" Back to Top or More tourism, attractions for couples, food, things to see near me today




Like many towns all around the Cape Cod area, Hyannis is blessed with some truly breathtaking beaches. The Barnstable area has eleven beaches overall, but nearly half of those beaches are private and mostly reserved for residents. Fortunately, there's still a lot of choice regarding public beaches in Hyannis. These beaches have a lot of good amenities and offer plenty of activities for visitors to enjoy. Read through the descriptions and guide below to learn all about Hyannis' best beaches. Certain attractions may be temporarily closed or require advance reservations. Some restaurants are currently offering pickup only. Hours/availability may have changed.

1. Craigville Beach  ead72/stock.adobe.com

A long and large beach with a lot of good amenities, Craigville Beach is highly popular with folks of all ages but holds particular appeal for young people. The water conditions are just right for a lot of different activities here, having a nice warm temperature in the summer months for swimming, while also proposing some big waves for surfing and water sports. There's a clearly marked swimming area at Craigville Beach which can get very popular on sunny days, and the local amenities include eateries, restrooms, and showers, with lifeguards also on-duty to ensure that everyone stays safe.



2. Sandy Neck Beach  pmstephens/stock.adobe.com



If you're visiting Hyannis and looking to spend some time on the sand, Sandy Neck Beach will probably be your first port of call. This is the biggest beach in the area, running for around seven miles in total and offering some breathtaking views of Cape Cod Bay and the surrounding coastline. Big sand dunes dominate the landscape here and offer fun climbing and exploration opportunities, while the gentle, clear waters are lovely for swimming and splashing around with kids. Several food sellers can be found here, along with restrooms, showers, and other basic amenities. There's a massive parking area too, so even on the busiest days, you can always find a spot at Sandy Neck Beach. You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches" Back to Top



3. Veterans Beach  Delphotostock/stock.adobe.com

If you're looking for some of the prettiest views and best photography spots in Hyannis, Veterans Beach is the place to be. With a small grassy park right nearby for picnics and games, this beach is named due to the presence of a monument to the people who fought and died in the Korean War. A second monument, erected in honor of JFK, is also visible at this beach park, making it a nice spot to stroll around with friends, family, or a special someone. Veterans Beach looks out onto the Nantucket Sound and is a nice spot for shelling, with lots of precious ocean treasures washing up on the shores throughout the year. You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches" Back to Top , OH





4. Kalmus Beach  Diana/stock.adobe.com



This is probably the most famous beach in Hyannis. In fact, it's one of the best-known beaches in the surrounding Barnstable area and even ranks highly in full lists of best Cape Cod beaches. So what makes Kalmus Beach so special? Well, the major appeal of this beach is for windsurfing. The winds can get unusually strong around here, making Kalmus Beach a fun spot for flying kites or playing various beach games. If you're more interested in relaxing and soaking up some sun, the far end of Kalmus Beach is calmer and quieter, better-suited for swimming and sunbathing. Amenities at this Hyannis beach include restrooms, showers, and food vendors. You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches this Weekend with Friends" Back to Top or More places to see near me today, what to do, weekend trips



5. Orrin Keyes Beach  Taiga/stock.adobe.com



Orrin Keyes Beach is one of the best beaches in Hyannis for folks who just want to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. There's a very calming vibe all around this beach, with tranquil waters to match. It's a nice spot for families to come and play around in the sand or paddle in the water, while also being perfectly suitable for sunbathing and other activities. Crowds never really build up at Orrin Keyes Beach and there are some useful amenities nearby including restrooms, showers, and a snack stand. Parking is also very easy here and lots of sailboats can be spotted passing by, making this a nice spot for keen amateur photographers. You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches this Weekend" Back to Top or Restaurants near me, stuff to do near me



6. New England Beaches  Chinnapong/stock.adobe.com



New England is one of the most unique regions in all of the United States of America. It was here that the famous pilgrims first set foot on American soil after stepping off the Mayflower, with New England being home to many of Americas oldest and most historic towns and cities. The region is also well-known as a global leader in education, with renowned universities like Harvard and Yale, as well as being a prime touristic spot. One of the main tourism-based areas of New England is Cape Cod. Well-known for its world class fishing, quaint villages, and gorgeous beaches, Cape Cod is a super spot to visit on any New England vacation, with Hyannis being one of the areas most charming towns. The biggest town in the Barnstaple area of Massachusetts, Hyannis is generally regarded as the primary transportation center of Cape Cod, providing access to the cape itself and offering ferry and plane links to nearby Nantucket Island as well. Hyannis is a very popular touristic spot on Cape Cod and is even nicknamed 'Capital of the Cape', attracting large numbers of visitors each year. Fishing and boating are very popular at Hyannis, and lots of beautiful beaches are found in the town itself and the surrounding area. So if youre planning a New England or Cape Cod vacation, be sure to stop off at Hyannis along the way. You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches" Back to Top or More must do for couples, what to do near me, places to visit this weekend



5 Best Hyannis Beaches

More Ideas in MA: Heritage Museums and Gardens

The Heritage Museum and Garden campus is home to a variety of both fun and educational activities meant to allow visitors the ability to have an adventure while also learning something (although it does not often feel like that!). Visiting the grounds is the perfect additional to any vacation to the state of Massachusetts.

History

The land that now makes up the grounds of the museum and garden can be traced back to the mid-1600s, through the original residents of the land (The Wings), the Dexters, and eventually the Lillys, who founded the museum. Annually, nearly 130,000 visitors come from all over the country and the world to visit the grounds, to ride the historic carousel, and to see some interesting and original artifacts that feature American artists.

Permanent Exhibits

Heritage Collection - Boasting a collection of more than 12,000 different items, including paintings, rare artifacts, and military miniatures, all made and manufactured by American artists. The collection and the museum itself was created in honor of the founders father, JK Lilly Jr, who was himself a collector of many rare coin, stamps, books, and other memorabilia (mostly American made firearms and miniatures with a military focus), although the elder Lilly was much more private with his collection (which was kept behind his house). After taking over, the hope was that making the museum more accessible to the general public would help educate visitors who would hopefully be traveling there from further out than just the small local area it was currently available to.

He went on to continue to collect thousands more items, all from American crafters and artists. The collection is broken up into four themes:

Place.

Home.

Work.

Conflict of ideas.

Carousel - Possibly the number one attraction at the museum is the Looff Carousel, made in 1908. This hand carved beauty, which visitors can still ride on, has been located at the museum for over a hundred years and still maintains its star appeal. Guests can enjoy as many rides as they would like with the cost of museum admission.

Adventure Park - For more adventurous guests who enjoy ziplining and climbing, there is the adventure park. Enjoy an adventure with the whole family in the aerial forest, although this attraction is recommended only for guests age 7 and older due to safety restrictions. Try one of the five different trails, each varying in difficulty, climb across the tree bridges and try out the zipline! Monitored by trained staff and featuring a safety lecture and appropriate safety equipment prior to the adventure, the park is great for bonding, testing endurance and developing new skills as well as having fun!

Make sure to plan ahead by wearing appropriate clothing, purchasing tickets ahead of time via the website, and bring a camera! There are other gardens in the area to explore as well, either before or after the adventure. Make sure to plan for plenty of time and check out the labyrinth, the maze garden, and the mill!

Educational Opportunities

The museum and gardens work closely with classrooms to offer field trips that follow state guidelines while also being fun! The website has a full list of the offerings and reservations are strongly recommended as most classes and courses fill up very quickly due to their popularity. One adult chaperone (admitted to the grounds free of charge) is required for every 10 students, and additional adults are welcomed at a discounted admission price (although they are not allowed to participate). There is a picnic area located outdoors that is available, although it is not able to be reserved in advance.

The tour options are divided into two types - self guided and guided. There is a slightly increased cost for the guided tours, which are led by museum educators, and these tours last around 3 hours (as compared to the 2 hours that should be allowed for self-guided tours). There are also options at the adventure area provided the students are old enough to participate. See the website for additional information.

Shopping and Dining

For guests looking to grab a souvenir from their visit, there is the Shop (at Heritage). The Shop sells a variety of items that are locally made, including home decor, jewelry, food items, and more. If visitors get hungry, there is the Magnolia cafe, which features options like clam chowder, lobster salad rolls, quiche, salads, sandwiches, drinks, and a handful of dessert options sure to please even the pickiest of eaters.

Heritage Museums and Gardens, 67 Grove Street, Sandwich, MA, 02563, Phone: 508-888-3300

More Things to Do in Massachusetts

You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches " Back to Top



More Ideas in MA: Pilgrim Hall Museum

The Pilgrim Story is considered by many to be the United States of Americas founding story. The dramatic story of perseverance and courage, the dangerous voyage, the landing in 1620, the first fearful winter, the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock, has all inspired many Americans throughout the history of the nation. The story of the pilgrims has been represented in many major historical paintings, such as the heroic Landing of the Pilgrims by Henry Sargent and the First Thanksgiving by Jennie Brownscombe. The actual story that serves as an inspiration for these painting is a far more heroic tale. Located in the heart of historic Plymouth in the state of Massachusetts, the Pilgrim Hall Museum shares this amazing story with visitors of all ages, locals and tourists alike.

The Pilgrim Hall Museum is the older public museum operating continuously in the United States. The museum is home to an unparalleled collection of objects once owned by the Pilgrims. These artifact tell the tale of determined and brave men and women who built homes and lives for themselves and their families in a new, unknown world. Among these various Pilgrim possessions are the Bible owned by William Bradford, William Brewsters great chair, the sword used by Myles Standish, and the cradle of Peregrine White, the first Pilgrim child born in New England. The museums also features the a portrait of Edward Winslow, the only portrait of a Pilgrim that was painted from life, and an embroidery made by the daughter of Myles Standish, the earliest sample created in America.

At the Pilgrim Hall Museum, visitors have the opportunity to learn about the Wampanoag, or People of the Dawn. This Native American tribe are the people who had inhabited the area for around ten thousand years before the settlers from Europe arrived and are still reside in the area today. The interesting tale of the interrelationship between the European settlers and the Wampanoag continues up through the horrible conflict, known as King Philips War, that took place in the 1670s. Visitors are invited to come to the museum to learn and explore the history behind this story.

Displaying a collection of various Pilgrim and Native American artifact, the Pilgrim Hall Museum is a gallery-type museum that shares the story of the traditions and founding of America. The museum features two different types of exhibits: changing exhibitions and permanent exhibits. The permanent displays at the museum combine historical information and artifact from the museums collections to highlight the Native American and Pilgrim story to the year 1692, the year in which the Plymouth Colony came to its end. These permanent exhibits offer visitors a great way to learn more about the history of the Pilgrims.

Visitors can view a variety of possessions of the Pilgrims at the Pilgrim Hall Museum that came to America aboard the Mayflower. Guest can watch a short film as an introduction to the museum, as well as view temporary, changing exhibitions on different topics. These changing exhibits are often created around a particular collection segment or a specific Pilgrim-based theme.

75 Court Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Phone: 508-746-1620

More Things to Do in Plymouth

You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches " Back to Top



More Ideas in MA: Hanover Theatre

The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to expanding the appreciation of performing arts. From modern dance to theatrical plays, the Hanover Theatre offers a wide assortment of shows and events that appeal to people of all walks of life and all ages. There are also a wide variety of workshops and classes offered through the conservatory that enrich the lives of all those who are interested in discovering more about the arts.

Upcoming Shows/Events

Hanover Theatre always offers a host of upcoming shows and events for the public to enjoy. From ballets to film festivals to comedy shows, guests are sure to find something that entertains them. Visit the website for an updated listing of all the current and upcoming events taking place at the Hanover Theatre. Guests can also purchase tickets for a wide variety of events as well view a seating chart for an event prior to purchasing a ticket.

Membership Options

The Hanover Theatre offers several membership options, which allow patrons to show their continued support for the performing arts. Memberships make it possible for the Hanover Theatre to not only support and offer a variety of performing arts venues and outlets, but also continue its dedication of presenting quality art programs to the public.

They are quite a few benefits associated with becoming a member of the Hanover Theatre. Some of the membership perks include:

 Discounts on tickets

 Free parking

 Advance notice of new shows

 Complimentary ticket exchange

 Member cards

There are various levels of membership support. Visit their website to view the membership options and select the membership tier that is most applicable.

Conservatory

The Conservatory at Hanover Theatre offers people of all ages an opportunity to explore their creative sides through a wide variety of classes and workshops. Some of the classes and workshops offered via the conservatory include:

 Dance

 Music

 Technical theatre and design

 Youth ballet

 Master classes

The Hanover Theatre offers an open house to those interested in learning more about the upcoming semester of classes and workshops. For more information about conservatory classes and upcoming open houses, contact Kelly at (508) 471-1765.

Support Hanover Theatre

Hanover Theatre is owned and operated by the not-for-profit Worcester Center for Performing Arts. As a nonprofit organization, support from the local community and patrons is very important to enable it to continue offering an assortment of classes, workshops, performances, and other performing arts venues that the public so thoroughly enjoys.

The Hanover Theatre urges patrons to show support in whichever ways are most convenient and viable for them. Some ways to show support include:

 Volunteering

 Obtaining a membership

 Utilizing advertising opportunities

 Individual giving (Amazon Smile, planned giving, matching gifts, etc.)

 Corporate sponsorships

Individuals who are interested in supporting the Hanover Theatre can learn more about ways to give by contacting Director of Development Nel Lazour via email or by phone at (508) 471-1770.

Address

The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA 01608, Phone: 877-571-7469

More Worcester things to do

You are reading "5 Best Hyannis Beaches " Back to Top


 cindygoff/stock.adobe.com



New England is famously home to some of the prettiest beaches in the United States and many of the areas best coastal spots can be found at Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Various little towns line the way around Cape Cod, each having their own unique landmarks and beaches, with Wellfleet standing as one of the most interesting locations on the cape. Almost at the very end of the cape, Wellfleet was settled way back in the mid-17th century by the first English and European settlers, who originally called the area 'Billingsgate' in honor of a London fish market. Over time, Wellfleet grew and developed into one of the best fishing locations on the cape and is now seen as one of Cape Cods favorite resort towns.

Best Beaches in Wellfleet

Cape Cod is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the New England region, with some of the areas most charming spots being found in and around the town of Wellfleet. There are beaches on both side of this town, with some looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean and others focused inwards on the Cape Cod Bay. Read on to learn all about the best beaches in Wellfleet.

You are reading "6 Best Wellfleet Beaches" Back to Top or More tourism, attractions for couples, food, things to see near me today




At a separate news conference earlier in the day, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam told an enthusiastic crowd at a vacant warehouse slated to become Amazons first Arlington office building that Virginias pitch to the online retailer represents a new model of economic development for the 21st century, in that the bulk of it came from investments in our people and our infrastructure that will align with supporting the growth and competitiveness of businesses all across Virginia.

Virginia Techs Innovation Campus represents the heart of that investment, along with additional public education and higher education initiatives that aim to produce 25,000 to 35,000 new graduates in computer science and related fields over the next 20 years. Northam cited research on cancer in Roanoke and on unmanned systems and autonomous vehicles in Southwest Virginia  both conducted by Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students  as crucial elements in a culture of innovation that already exists in Virginia.

Back at the site of the future Innovation Campus, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer jokingly referred to the site as Hokie Landing, a play on the areas new name of National Landing that indicates Virginia Techs important role. Beyer heralded the 1872 founding of Virginia Tech as the transformational event in Virginia history and nodded to its future plans as an expansion of its mission.

Here in Hokie Landing, well be attracting the best digital minds in the world, Beyer said. Were going to educate them right here, and theyll stay right here.

Beyer also identified Sands expertise as a nanoscientist, specializing in the study of small things, as an apt metaphor.

Its a small thing today that we cut the theoretical ribbon on Virginia Techs Innovation Campus, but its going to lead to really big things, Beyer said.

Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg said Virginia Tech will create a revolutionary campus that will become a global center of technology excellence and talent production, while recognizing the long-term partnership between the city and university that produced it.

To our friends at Virginia Tech, and in particular to President Tim Sands, thank you very much for your visionary leadership at Virginia Tech, Silberberg said. We look forward to working with you and continuing to work with you in Alexandria city for many years.

The partnership among the commonwealth, Alexandria, and Virginia Tech was a key theme mentioned during the campus announcement.

I think this partnership with Virginia Tech is going to really be an exceptional opportunity to for us to provide a pipeline for our future innovators, said Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory C. Hutchings Jr., whose school division offices are within sight of the Innovation Campus location. The sky really is the limit.

The wide-ranging state investment in education that helped attract Amazon means that people all across Virginia stand to benefit from this push to open new pathways to technology careers.

Virginia Tech Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity Menah Pratt-Clarke said the university has an extensive program to recognize talent and to identify talent early and to cultivate talent, in communities across the commonwealth.

The days announcements, she continued, represent a powerful opportunity for Virginia Tech, for the state, to identify innovators and scientists and get them interested in the range of opportunities that higher ed offers  and to train them.
YATAI - a small, mobile food stall - has regained immense popularity in Japan in recent years in the context of grassroots, bottom-up architectural movement. Especially younger, community-based architects have taken YATAI as their new tool to make quick, yet effective intervention to Japanese changing urban space. This article will walk you through one of the very local, community-driven architectural practices in Japan.

Photo courtesy of note architects

What is YATAI anyway?

Having its roots in the Meiji period (18681912), Yatai became especially popular in countrys recovery phase after the World War II. These small, often times mobile street stalls are assembled each time to become fully functioning restaurants with chairs and counters, usually selling Ramen and other casual snacks. However, most of them gradually disappeared around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics - authorities had imposed more strict regulations citing hygiene concern. You could still see some of the original survivors in Fukuoka City, in the south part of Japan - but unfortunately, these are endangered species.

Photo courtesy of the City of Fukuoka

On the other hand, YATAI has gained its popularity again for the past few years, in a slightly different context.

Japan is experiencing a rapid degeneration due to the declining population. This decline raises a lot of social issues such as daycare, taxation and a critical labor shortage  and remarkably the increasing number of vacant homes, stores, and abandoned infrastructure.

We already have enough infrastructure, and many of them are neglected and not appreciated. Instead of building something completely new from scratch, which requires a lot of capital and time, why not using already available spaces and resources? By using YATAI, we can make small but quick actions as a test, which might lead to long-term, bigger project eventually, said Ryo Kamamatsu, a founder of note architects.

Flexible, mobile, and it can fit in in-between spaces

Ryo Kamamatsu recently designed Bonnie Coffee Stand, which he took inspiration from original YATAI in Fukuoka City.

Photo courtesy of note architects

Photo courtesy of note architects

"Bonnie Coffee Stand is installed in an otherwise-awkward in-between space among two buildings. The owner wanted to do something in that dead space but didnt know how. YATAI was a great solution to make the best use of the small space, as a quick prototype."



The YATAI was designed in, what he calls transformative way. During the daytime, it has a counter, and even some chairs and roofs against rain to serve coffee. After opening hours, it gets shuttered and disassembled into a small box shape, with chairs and kitchen equipment perfectly fit within.

Photo courtesy of note architects

He also designed another YATAI called Tomioka YATAI, which is simple enough to the point that anyone can build his or her own by using materials that you can get in regular home centers.

The beauty of YATAI is its flexibility and mobility," said Kamamatsu.

Tomioka YATAI: Photo courtesy of note architects

Photo courtesy of note architects



There are dozens of similar, aspiring YATAI projects in Japan that are initiated by grassroots, community-driven movements. YAMAGATA YATAI is a simple, rentable set of YATAI that you can use for events, workshops and festival are often used at Marche events in Tokyo. Tiny Stand is also rentable and anyone with no architectural background can easily assemble without tools. These YATAI projects are perfect for small-scale urban interventions and tactical urbanism, by proposing different ways of using spaces than the original context.

Photo courtesy of note architects

Even a famous architect like Kengo Kuma designed YATAI called Trailer in summer 2017, which serves casual streets food and drinks for people around the neighborhood.

Think and trying outside the box

YATAI might not be the most sophisticated architecture, but it offers an alternative to permanent, costly and time-consuming architecture that is bound to many restrictions. Ryo Kamamatsu explained that YATAI is also a good tool to take action within the gray zone of these restrictions, so that architects and users can let their imagination breath, and think & try outside the box.

Photo courtesy of note architects

Its been said that Japan has a unique "scrap and build" culture. However, as Ryo Hamamatsu explains, "we already have enough infrastructure, and due to the rapid depolarization of the country, it is inevitable that many of this infrastructure started to neglected. We need to appreciate what we already have, and updating it to add new value. For that purpose, YATAI is a great start to bring content and people in, allowing themselves to be an organic, personal and interactive vehicle in a community."

Top image courtesy of note architects

> via note architects
While many of the tips are nothing new to experienced travelers of any age (leave contact information with family and/or friends, for instance), some of the advice and information on a State Department website  including a useful downloadable checklist  are good reminders. Among them:

Do your research. Learn about your destination before you go at travel.state.gov/destination. After you research things to do and sites to see you'll want to get the latest information from the federal government on matters such as visa requirements, vaccination necessity, currency, safety and security and more.

Prepare for medication/medical issues. Make sure you pack enough medication, says Bernier-Toth, and maybe a little extra in case you get delayed or stranded someplace. Talk to doctors ahead of time to avoid potential problems  travel with a prescription in case a refill is needed, and discuss how traveling through time zones may affect medication schedules. And remember that Medicare does not provide coverage overseas.

Make sure your passport is up-to-date. It needs to be valid for at least six months after the date of your return. Some countries won't accept it if it's nearing its expiration date.

Watch out for scams. Check the state department site, which includes information on country-specific scams, such as thieves using distractions, posing as police or setting-up fake ATMs. There are many and it varies from location to location, says Bernier-Toth.

Talk to your bank. Let your bank or credit card company know that you will be traveling so that they do not freeze your accounts when they notice unusual activity. Ask about any international banking partnerships they have to find out where you can make deposits and withdrawals. Try a mixture of both credit cards and traveler's checks if ATM access will be limited in your destination.

Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program or STEP. The program allows U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. The benefits of enrollment include receiving safety information about a destination and the ability for the embassy or relatives to reach you in an emergency.


General Motors recent announcement that it would offer voluntary buyouts to 18,000 salaried workers was a reminder that even amid a booming economy, some companies still try to trim their labor expenses and boost their bottom lines by encouraging employees to leave. According to a new report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. employers announced in October that they plan to cut 75,644 jobs, the most in more than three years.

For older workers close to retirement, the decision on whether to accept a buyout  or stay put and risk being laid off  can be a difficult one that potentially affects their retirement income and health care expenses. Thats why financial professionals advise them to carefully weigh pros and cons and try to negotiate a package thats best suited to a workers circumstances.

Kurt Hemry, president of Ironwood Wealth Consultants in Portland, Ore., reminds older workers that taking a buyout has potential Social Security implications. Benefits are based on your 35 highest earning years. For most people, their income is higher at the end of their career, so not having those higher years could lower your future Social Security benefit, he says.



Its also important to consider how a buyout could affect health care costs. If continued medical insurance is not part of your parting package, then you must add this new expense to your monthly budget, Hemry notes.

Hemry says a worker negotiating a buyout must decide whether more money or benefits is more valuable. Perhaps your spouse is employed and you can have medical insurance on their plan, he says. In that case, go for the money. Or its the other way around, and you really need the insurance coverage more than the money.
Wolves win both games at East/West Challenge

Opening weekend in Wachs Arena saw the Northern State Wolves beating Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines in East/West Challenge.
LAS CRUCES  Dona Ana County commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday in support of a Medicaid buy-in option for New Mexico, joining a growing list of counties across the state.

Its hard to be poor in America. Its very hard to be poor in New Mexico, said Commissioner Billy Garrett after hearing from Anthony, Chaparral and Sunland Park residents who spoke in favor of the resolution.

Maria Burciaga told commissioners that when she was hospitalized for a week in 2014, I was alone, uninsured and I was scared. She was released after surgery to insert a stent.

When she returned to the hospital in pain, Burciaga said she was sent home with antibiotics because she could not afford the $4,000 needed to remove the stent.

I saved as much money as I could, she said, and returned again with $1,500 and asked if she could pay the balance in installments.

Once again, I was denied the procedure, she said.

That is beyond belief in terms of human care and respect, Garrett said after hearing her story.

Burciaga was able to get the stent that caused her incredible pain for three months removed with the help of the New Mexico Medicaid extension under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Sadly, nothing about my story is unique, she told commissioners.

In Dona Ana County, an estimated 25,000 residents do not have health insurance.

No family should go without health care because they cant afford it, said Abuko Estrada, supervising attorney for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty in Albuquerque.

Estrada attended the Las Cruces meeting to answer questions about leveraging Medicaid to provide affordable, quality care for New Mexicans.

Commissioner Kim Hakes asked if there was any downside to the Medicaid idea, since things cost money.

Estrada said a study commissioned by the state Legislature would determine the cost to consumers, impact on providers, cost to the state budget. The study is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The Bernalillo County Commission and the Albuquerque City Council approved similar resolutions earlier this fall.

Other states also are exploring a Medicaid buy-in as an affordable insurance plan option, but New Mexico is the furthest along, according to Estrada, and could be the first to pass and implement such legislation.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Theres a new twist in southern New Mexicos hotly contested congressional race, as Republican Yvette Herrell filed a court motion Tuesday seeking to impound more than 8,000 absentee ballots cast in Dona Ana County.

In an expedited petition filed in Las Cruces District Court, Herrell asked a judge to order State Police to seize the absentee ballots and related voting materials in the states second-most populous county so that potential improprieties can be investigated.

She did not cite any specific evidence of wrongdoing in the lawsuit but said impounding the ballots would ensure voter confidence in the election and that a valid democratic outcome is obtained.

Earlier Tuesday, the Dona Ana County Commission convened as the canvassing board and certified election results that show Democrat Xochitl Torres Small as the winner in the 2nd Congressional District race. Election results are not official until they are approved by the state canvassing board later this month.

Herrell delivered a victory speech on election night after several news organizations, including the Journal, projected her as the winner of a tight race that featured big spending and hard-hitting attacks by out-of-state groups.

However, the Secretary of States office announced after midnight on election night that roughly 4,000 absentee ballots in Dona Ana County still needed to be counted and an additional 4,000 absentee ballots had not yet been added to the vote tally.

Once those votes were counted, Torres Small overtook Herrell. She then expanded her lead Monday when roughly 1,100 provisional and hand-tallied ballots were added to the vote count in Dona Ana County.

The current unofficial election results show Torres Small with 100,570 votes and Herrell with 97,031 votes.

In the days following last weeks election, Herrell has refused to concede, and she and her campaign have not responded to numerous calls from the Journal, though she appeared on a Fox News interview last weekend.

During Tuesdays meeting of the Dona Ana County canvassing board, several commissioners questioned County Clerk Amanda Lopez Askin about the delay in counting the absentee ballots.

She said a shortage of poll workers and the huge number of absentee ballots made it difficult to complete the count by midnight. Ten poll workers quit right before the election, Lopez Askin added.

The final tally showed there were 2,500 absentee ballots cast in 2014, 2,900 in the 2016 general election and 8,517 in this years general election.

Based on what we have heard I dont feel there were any issues with this election in terms of it being fair, in terms of making sure every effort  humanly possible was made to make sure every vote was counted, commissioner Billy Garrett said.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, New Mexicos top election official, has said she will encourage Dona Ana County to begin processing absentee ballots earlier in the next election cycle and to hire more poll workers to avoid delays in the vote count.

But her office has also defended the integrity of the election and how the votes were counted in this and other races.

Herrells legal move is similar to one attempted by Republican Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, who dropped his court motion Monday after a judge ruled there was no evidence to justify impounding ballots there.

As of late Tuesday, Herrells lawsuit had been assigned to District Judge Manuel Arrieta, according to court records.
Many bills designed to modify the states criminal justice system that in previous years were killed by the outgoing governor will be getting new life.

Lawmakers are preparing to reintroduce several pieces of legislation that were passed by legislators but vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez and never became law.

The Criminal Justice Reform subcommittee, made up of Republican and Democratic legislators from both houses, met in Albuquerque on Tuesday to discuss several of those measures, which are likely to be packaged together in some fashion and introduced in the next legislative session, said Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, the co-chair of the subcommittee. A 60-day session starts in January.

There are about 40 criminal justice bills that passed but were rejected by Gov. Martinez, who encouraged a tough-on-crime approach to try to deter crime. Democrats, who control both chambers, have rejected that approach.

Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she plans to go through all the legislation vetoed by Martinez in search of ones she can support, especially those that were widely supported by members of both parties.

Maestas said lawmakers will focus initially on such measures.

Our main goal is to create a criminal justice system that is adequately funded and prioritizes prosecuting violent criminals, Maestas said. In order to prioritize violent crimes we have to de-prioritize certain nonviolent crimes, and thats what is difficult politically.

Crime has become a hot-button issue in Albuquerque and throughout the state. The city and state have some of the highest crime rates in the country, and polls have shown crime is at the top of voters minds. It was a frequent point of debate in the most recent local elections.

The criminal justice bills expected to be considered again address widely varied issues. For example, one discussed Tuesday would eliminate time on parole after release for inmates sentenced to a year or less. Another would create a system that would allow geriatric inmates to be released from prison before the end of their sentence. Another would allow for people sentenced to five years of supervised probation to serve the final two years unsupervised if they dont violate their conditions of release in the first three years.

That last piece of legislation, said Rep. Jim Dines, R-Albuquerque, could be billed as an incentive for good behavior, rather than an attempt to decrease criminal penalties.

The Legislative Finance Committee in a report last week said that New Mexicos prison population is increasing, even as nationwide figures show incarceration rates are on the decline. Many inmates are returning to prison within three years of their release because they violated the terms of their parole, as opposed to committing new crimes, according to the report.

Other bills that were discussed Tuesday include:

 A bill that calls for a halfway house in every probation and parole district throughout the state.

 A bill that calls for inmates be allowed to petition for DNA evidence to be tested if there is DNA evidence in their case but they were convicted prior to common DNA testing.

 A bill that expands who would qualify for a pre-prosecution diversion program.
Often people think that their small donations cant really have any impact. #GivingTuesday shows how people in the community can come together to amplify their generosity by harnessing the generosity of people around the world and the power of social media to bring about real change in their communities. It provides a platform for encouraging the donation of time, resources and talents to address local challenges. It also brings together the unique and collective power of partners  nonprofits, civic organizations, businesses and corporations, as well as families and individuals  to encourage and amplify small acts of kindness.

This demonstration of philanthropy is celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Nov. 27 this year, in conjunction with the widely recognized shopping days Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The local effort, #GivingTuesdayNM, is part of the global day. Donors can research organizations and decide how to donate time, treasure, or talent. A starting point is www.GivingTuesdayNM.org, which lists nonprofits statewide that are participating in Giving Tuesday. Click their names to visit their websites and learn more about their needs. Most nonprofits welcome conversations about how volunteers and donors can get involved.

Businesses are equally welcome and encouraged to join in the movement. Business owners or managers can connect with local nonprofits to learn how they can play a role. While donations are always welcomed, businesses can also help by providing publicity, in-kind donations of materials, volunteers and more.

The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, CFSNM, shared that last year it was able to increase engagement for donors with a $1,000 matching incentive. However, it ran into a pleasant snag when that was immediately taken by one donor. It then sought out additional funds to match other smaller donations that came in. CFSNM also reported that it was able to increase awareness by featuring board members on social media.

Since 2015, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence at United Way of Central New Mexico has coordinated the initiative locally in order to make it easy for donors, volunteers and others to find nonprofits in the state running #GivingTuesdayNM campaigns. If you would like to learn more, please visit www.GivingTuesdayNM.org

Remember, Together we can do more!

Andrew Faber, Morgan ODonnell and Rebecca Sisneros are Center for Nonprofit Excellence and #GivingTuesdayNM coalition leaders.
Theres nothing like a victory lap to get the heart rate up and juices flowing on one of those sunny but cool autumn days in New Mexico. The city of Albuquerque took one of those this past weekend with a town hall to celebrate its police departments progress on reforms in the ongoing settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Federal Monitor James Ginger, Mayor Tim Keller, APD Chief Michael Geier and U.S. Attorney John Anderson all joined to congratulate one another and APD on progress moving toward compliance with an ambitious reform agenda set out after the DOJ found a pattern of excessive force and a culture of aggression at APD.

Ginger, who had a rocky relationship  at best  with the former administration of Mayor Richard Berry, was practically gushing, calling the improvement over last year massive, with policy compliance rising by 5 percent, training compliance by 9 percent and operational compliance by 12 percent. Indeed, these are positive steps that should be celebrated.

But no one should be lulled into thinking the city is anywhere near the full compliance finish line  which will be followed by a two-year monitoring period before the investigation is closed.

A look at the report from last November compared to this year adds a bit of context to all this euphoria. This years report said APD was 99 percent compliant in the policy area compared to 97 percent last year, 75 percent compliant with secondary compliance for effective follow-up mechanisms to ensure APD personnel understand the requirements of the policies compared to 71 percent last year and 59 percent in operational compliance compared to 53 percent last year. This is progress, to be sure, but massive is open to debate. And its clear there is much ground yet to cover.

Also worth noting is the victory party didnt allow for public comment. No need to rain on this parade.

I felt talked at  it just felt like a public relations opportunity, said resident Diane McCash. I take everything with a handful of salt. And while serious crime is trending down, theres still quite enough to make residents less than ebullient at incremental, though essential, policing reforms.

Without question, APD under Keller and Chief Geier is making progress toward a standard of constitutional policing. They deserve credit for that. Even more so do the men and women of APD who patrol our streets and investigate crime in a city that has way too much of it.

But a little skepticism by folks like Diane McCash  or handful of salt  isnt a bad thing. In fact, its probably a key ingredient to keeping the reform effort on track.

editorials

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexicos closed primary system is coming under fire once again, as four registered voters argued in a petition filed Tuesday with the state Supreme Court that the states current setup unconstitutionally benefits major political parties at the expense of taxpayers.

Currently, only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective primary election in New Mexico, leaving independent voters  or those who decline to affiliate with a political party  unable to participate.

Despite that setup, the number of independent voters in New Mexico has grown steadily in recent years. There were 278,146 such voters as of last month  or roughly 22 percent of the total registered voters statewide, according to the Secretary of States Office.

Many of those independent voters are younger voters who are disillusioned with the traditional two-party system, said Heather Ferguson, the executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, a nonprofit group thats supporting the lawsuit.

We need to make sure were not depriving voters of their voice, Ferguson said Tuesday.

The petition was filed by Santa Fe attorney Paul Bardacke, a former state attorney general, on behalf of four petitioners  two registered independent voters, one Democrat and one Republican.

While previous lawsuits and legislative efforts to open up primary elections to independent voters have been unsuccessful, the new effort hinges on a different argument  that using public funds to run closed primaries violates the state Constitutions anti-donation clause.

New Mexicos closed primary elections are exclusionary and held for the benefit of major political parties, which are purely private entities, the 26-page lawsuit asserts. Even though the primary election is closed and exclusionary, primary elections are paid for by public funds and New Mexico taxpayers, while the major political parties reap the benefits.

New Mexico is currently one of only nine states with a closed primary system, according to the lawsuit.

Critics of open primaries have argued that independents should affiliate with a major political party if they want to participate in primary elections, in which political parties nominate candidates to appear on the general election ballot.

Rep. Eliseo Alcon, D-Milan, the chairman of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, said Tuesday he believes the current system works and said opening up primary elections could lead to crossover voting, in which Republicans vote in Democratic primaries or vice versa.

He also said many independent voters tend to lean one way or another, politically speaking.

Ive always felt that if you want to be part of the process, you should have the guts to say what you are, Alcon told the Journal.

However, backers point out that primary elections can be decisive in parts of the state where Democrats or Republicans have hefty voter registration advantages, as nominated candidates in such areas are often unopposed in the general election.

Meanwhile, the push for open primary elections has also drawn the support of several key figures who won election  or re-election  in last weeks general election.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who is the states top election official and is named in the petition filed Tuesday, has said she now supports the idea of open primary elections as a way to increase voter participation after years of opposing it.

Were one of the only states that does it the way we do it and its time to move forward on that, Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, told the Journal in a recent interview.

Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham, also a Democrat, has also signaled her support of the idea, saying it would force candidates to reach out to a broader electorate even before the primary election.

It will be up to the Supreme Court to decide whether to hold oral arguments on the petition filed Tuesday.

The states highest court upheld the constitutionality of the closed primary system in a February 2017 ruling on a separate lawsuit that had been appealed, finding that requiring voters to register with a major political party before a primary election was a reasonably modest burden.
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department on Wednesday released an internal legal opinion supporting the legality of Matthew Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general as Democrats press the case that President Donald Trump violated the law and Constitution by making Whitaker the countrys chief law enforcement officer.

The 20-page opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides advice to executive branch agencies, aims to rebut mounting complaints that Trump illegally sidestepped procedure by appointing Whitaker over Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker had been chief of staff to now-ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a job that didnt require Senate confirmation. He became acting attorney general when Sessions was forced out on Nov. 7 and was given oversight of Muellers inquiry.

Since then, the state of Maryland has challenged Whitakers appointment, arguing that the top Justice Department job must be held by a Senate-confirmed official such as Rosenstein. A defense lawyer in Las Vegas is similarly arguing that a drug case involving his client should be halted if Whitaker was improperly appointed to lead the department.

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, have called the appointment unconstitutional and demanded that Whitaker recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation. At least two former Republican attorneys general, Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey, have also raised questions about it, and a handful of GOP senators are urging their leadership to hold a vote on legislation that would protect Mueller.

It was unclear whether the legal opinion would satisfy opponents of Whitakers appointment, but the document does provide by far the most detailed defense from the Justice Department of a selection that has roiled Washington.

The opinion concludes that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level.

The opinion tries to reconcile two seemingly conflicting statutes by saying that even though the departments own line of succession specifies that the deputy attorney general may hold the top spot in the event of a vacancy, a more general law known as the Vacancies Reform Act empowers presidents to depart from that order and to promote officials who havent been confirmed by the Senate.

Although Whitaker is not Senate confirmed and was not the deputy, the opinion concludes that he nonetheless satisfies a third element of the law by having been with the Justice Department for at least 90 days and earning high enough pay for consideration.

As all three branches of government have long recognized, the President may designate an acting official to perform the duties of a vacant principal office, including a Cabinet office, even when the acting official has not been confirmed by the Senate, the opinion said.

The opinion identified more than 160 times before 1860 in which non-Senate officials were temporarily appointed to fill vacancies as Cabinet secretaries or equivalent jobs, including some with no prior experience in federal government.

It said that both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama had designated unconfirmed agency officials as acting agency heads and that Whitaker was not the first unconfirmed official to run an agency on an interim basis in the Trump administration.

Even so, the opinion could identify only one instance, in 1866, when a non-Senate confirmed assistant attorney general became acting attorney general. The Justice Department was not established as its own agency until 1870.

Mr. Whitakers designation is no more constitutionally problematic than countless similar presidential orders dating back over 200 years, the opinion says.

Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas at Austin law professor, said that although the Justice Departments legal analysis appeared sound, the circumstances surrounding the Whitaker appointment may be radically different from what any of these historical examples were dealing with.

The one point (on) which I can hope everyone can agree is, whatever your bottom line is, Congress should fix this, he added. Congress should limit the circumstances in which the president can bypass Senate-confirmed officers in the same agency.

A Justice Department official said the White House contacted the Office of Legal Counsel for advice, before Sessions was replaced, about options in the event of a vacancy. The department made the official available to brief reporters only on the condition that the official not be identified by name. The official would not say when exactly the White House had requested the offices advice.

The opinion didnt address the question of whether Whitaker should step aside from overseeing Mullers investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Many Democrats have called on Whitaker to withdraw from that role, citing derogatory comments that Whitaker made about the inquiry before joining the department. The investigation until now had been overseen by Rosenstein.

___

Online:

Legal opinion: https://tinyurl.com/ycc8zzad
HOUSTON  A Texas National Guard member serving at the U.S.-Mexico border is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a motel, authorities said Wednesday.

Police in Alpine, Texas, arrested Luis Carlos Ontiveros, 30, on Monday. The Texas National Guard confirmed that Ontiveros was serving in a mission launched in April following President Donald Trumps call for the National Guard to go to the border.

According to an affidavit obtained by KOSA-TV, the woman told police she had been drinking and Ontiveros offered to take her back to her motel room. The woman alleged that Ontiveros started kissing her, then removed her clothes and touched her.

The woman said she fled after Ontiveros told her he would perform oral sex. A witness told police the woman knocked on his door, saying Ontiveros had tried to rape her.

Ontiveros was released Tuesday on $20,000 bond. A message left at a number listed for Ontiveros was not immediately returned. The Associated Press generally does not identify victims in sexual assault cases.

The Texas National Guard said it would cooperate with authorities in Alpine, a remote West Texas town in the region of Big Bend National Park. The Guard would not confirm whether Ontiveros had been suspended or how long he had served in the Guard.

Ontiveros is the second guardsman in Texas known to have been arrested since the Guard was sent to the border.

Edwin Baez , 20, was charged in August with stealing 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. Federal prosecutors said Baez was detailed to an international bridge in Laredo, Texas, when he allegedly ended up in the hospital for a drug-induced emergency. Investigators determined he had taken meth from a picture frame being used to smuggle the drugs that he was supposed to have thrown away. Baez has pleaded not guilty.

About 1,000 National Guard members in Texas are currently serving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Arizona, California, and New Mexico also sent Guard members to their borders with Mexico.

Trump has since ordered the active-duty military to the border, and around 5,800 troops have deployed.
Roger Stone claimed on several occasions during the 2016 presidential race that he was in communication with Donald Trump and his campaign, including declaring that he on average spoke with Trump weekly.

The nature of that communication is now part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election. Stone is facing scrutiny for his claims to have had a backchannel to WikiLeaks during the campaign. Particularly, as CNN has previously reported, investigators are looking into whether Stone shared information that he believed was from WikiLeaks with members of Trump's presidential campaign, according to a source familiar with the probe.

2016 Presidential election Continents and regions Donald Trump Eastern Europe Elections (by type) Elections and campaigns Europe Government and public administration Investigations Julian Assange Misc people Non-profit and NGO organizations Paul Manafort Political candidates Political Figures - US Politics Roger Stone Russia Russia meddling investigation US Federal elections US Presidential elections WikiLeaks

Stone repeatedly said during the election that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through a "backchannel," "intermediary" or "mutual acquaintance."

But Stone has issued conflicting and often inaccurate statements on his knowledge about the timing and content of WikiLeaks disclosures. He's also offered conflicting information in public comments about his backchannel's relationship to Assange, repeatedly commenting in 2016 that the person spoke with Assange.

In his November 2017 Facebook post outing New York progressive activist and radio host Randy Credico as his backchannel, Stone said that Credico never confirmed WikiLeaks information with Assange himself and instead had different contacts for WikiLeaks information.

Earlier this month, Stone revealed he discussed information about forthcoming WikiLeaks dumps with then-Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon. Stone has denied he shared that information with Trump, and Trump denied to The Associated Press last year he knew about the forthcoming WikiLeaks dumps of Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta's emails in advance.

CNN's KFile reviewed Stone's 2016 media appearances that happened after he began claiming contact with WikiLeaks. In those appearances, Stone does not say whether he discussed WikiLeaks with Trump or the campaign, but repeatedly claims contact with both, including direct conversations with Trump.

Here's a timeline of Stone's comments:

August 4, 2016: Stone says on Infowars radio he spoke to Trump one day earlier. Stone claims in the same interview that Assange has proof of Clinton Foundation scandals.

"I spoke to a Donald Trump, uh, yesterday. He's in good spirits," Stone said.

"The Clinton campaign narrative that the Russians favor Donald Trump and the Russians are leaking this information, this is inoculation because as you said earlier, they know what is coming and it is devastating," Stone later adds. "Let's remember that their defense to all the Clinton Foundation scandals has been not 'we didn't do,' has been 'you have no proof, yes but you have no proof.' Well, I think Julian Assange has that proof and I think he is going to furnish it to the American people."

August 4, 2016: Stone responding on a conference call to a question about Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, says he recommend to Trump that he should hire Manafort, a former business partner of Stone's in the 1980s.

"I recommended him to Donald, because he called me on a Friday concerned about the fact that he had just been robbed of delegates in Louisiana."

Stone added later in the call, "Julian Assange is going to continue to drop information on the American voters that is going to roil this race."

August 17, 2016: Stone claims on Miami local radio he spoke in favor of adding Bannon and Republican strategist Kellyanne Conway to the campaign. Stone claims he spoke to Manafort that morning.

"I was in favor of these additions. I have spoken in favor of them internally over the last couple of days," Stone said. "Manafort's not going anywhere. I spoke to him this morning. He's very pleased with this expansion. He was in favor of it. I was in favor of it

August 21, 2016: Stone says on Baltimore local radio he was in on the deliberations about Manafort leaving the campaign. Manafort left the campaign two days earlier on August 19.

"Manafort is a close friend. I was in on his deliberations and the situation," Stone says.

August 22, 2016: Speaking again on Miami local radio, Stone claims to have repeatedly spoken to Manafort about Manafort's resignation from the Trump campaign.

"Putting the campaign and Trump first, Manafort resigned," Stone said. "It was not an easy decision. We talked about it several times. I think he's done the right thing. Steve Bannon who comes into the campaign as the new CEO, is a bomb-thrower in the Roger Stone mold. He is a good friend of mine."

September 16, 2016: Asked on Boston Herald Radio if he'd told Trump his view that he should release his tax returns, Stone said, "He is aware of my view." Stone said he's in touch with Assange "through an intermediary."

September 18, 2016: Stone says on "Morano in the Morning" on local New York radio that he spoke to Manafort the day before, adding that Manafort told him that he was "keeping in touch with a lot of friends in the campaign."

September 21, 2016: Stone claims on "The Joe Piscopo Show" on local New York radio that he spoke to Trump late the night before on the phone.

"Roger, you spoke with Donald Trump," Piscopo said. "It was like 3:00 in the morning, you told me?"

"He is, uh, very nocturnal," Stone said. "This guy gets very little sleep, he requires very little sleep. He is on the phone calling around the country to friends, talking to people. He'll call you. You don't call him at 3:00 in the morning. Three is a little bit of an exaggeration, but you know, 1:30, 1:00, 1:30, he's still up. He's still working."

November 2, 2016: Stone claims he spoke to Trump once a week on average, according to The Guardian.

November 11, 2016: Stone tells Infowars radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that he spoke to President-elect Trump the night before.

"I spoke to President-elect Trump last night at some length on a broad variety of topics and I'm not really at liberty to discuss that," Stone said. "But let me just say that he is, first of all, very grateful to the Infowars.com audience. He knows that you are the centerpiece of the resistance. He knows that he has gotten better treatment here than from anyone in the mainstream media. He is a very grateful and very thankful for your support and the support of your audience."
BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Sheriff Honea has confirmed that six people have been arrested for Camp Fire related crimes.

He says that the Butte County Sheriff's Office has received over 200 reports of suspicious incidents or people within the evacuated areas. Of those, 18 of them were specifically reported to be looting.

Jason Burns from Chico and Michael Salisbury from Reno were arrested on Monday, Nov.12 around 1 P.M. after a PG&E employee reported that he saw them looting. When deputies arrived they say that the two men ran into a house on Quail Run Drive. The deputies followed them into the home and found them hiding in the bathroom with a loaded .45 caliber handgun, methamphetamine, heroin, and other drug paraphernalia.

Inside the garage of the home, deputies located and AR-15 rifle, along with several chainsaws, and other tools suspected to be stolen. Outside the house, deputies found an ATV that was reported stolen. A records check of the handgun showed that the gun was registered to a home that was under evacuation in Paradise. Burns and Salisbury were both arrested and booked into Butte County Jail on charges of being a felon in possession of firearms, drugs, and stolen property.

Teddy King from Paradise and John Brown from Oroville were arrested on Tuesday, November 13th around 5:30 A.M. when deputies saw them in the area of the bike path on Skyway below Honey Run Road, which is currently under an evacuation order. Deputies found them carrying a laptop that didnt belong to either of the men, as well as a ski mask, drugs and drug paraphernalia. King and Brown were both arrested for possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia and booked into the Butte County Jail.

Shayne Tinnel Jr. and Tracy Sizer, both from Magalia were arrested on Tuesday, November 13th around 9:00 A.M. when deputies spotted a motorhome that had been reported stolen out of Magalia, in an evacuated area. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and spoke with Tinnel Jr. and Sizer. There wasn't a key in the ignition, and the ignition was damaged. The two suspects were both arrested and charged with vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and looting.
UPDATE 12:30 p.m. Nov. 14, 2018 - Action News Now reporter Christina Vitale spoke with FEMA representatives who told her that Pleasant Valley Baptist Church will not be the permanent location for its intake center.

FEMA set up there for evacuees that are already at the shelter. They are currently working on finding a permanent location for the intake center.

They ask that people not go to the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church location. Those needing assistance should call the hotline at (800) 621-3362 or register online.

---

CHICO, Calif. - FEMA representatives have set up at the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Chico to help Camp Fire victims.

President Trump signed the major disaster declaration on Monday, following Governor Jerry Brown's request, which provides federal emergency aid to California.

FEMA opened its doors on Wednesday at 9 a.m. to Camp Fire victims and will be available until 4:30 p.m.

Anyone who has experienced disaster or destruction as a result of the Camp Fire can register with FEMA.

Even if you do not know the status of your home due to the fire, you can still register with FEMA. However, it's important to know that when you do know the status of your home, you need to communicate that with FEMA.

You can also call and speak with FEMA representatives at 1 (800) 621-3362.
UPDATE 3:26 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018 - Cal Fire has said that the fire is now contained to the mechanical room in the building.

There is no word yet on the cause of the fire.

#ClarkFire [final] MULTI-FAMILY STRUCTURE; BEST WESTERN @ 5475 CLARK RD, Paradise, IC reporting fire confined to mechanical room  CAL FIRE Butte Unit/Butte County Fire Department (@CALFIRE_ButteCo) November 13, 2018

---

PARADISE, Calif. - Firefighters are battling a multi-family structure fire in Paradise off of Clark Road.

According to Cal Fire's twitter page, the fire broke out at a Best Western Hotel at 5475 Clark Road, Paradise.

It is reportedly in the attic area of the structure.

They are calling it the Clark Fire.

We have a reporter heading to the scene. Stay tuned for more details.
According to media reports, Apple has brought on ex-Nokia Chief Customer Operations Officer, Ashish Chowdhary as Country Manager for India. He will take over his responsibilities in January 2019. Chowdhary succeeds Michel Coulomb.

He had joined Nokia in December 2003 and had also been part of the companys executive board of Nokia Networks and NSN since 2009. Chowdhary has also served as Head of Global Services at Nokia Siemens Networks and Vice President for Enterprise Business at Hughes Communications Ltd.
Yeh daulat bhi le lo

Yeh shauhrat bhi le lo

Bhale cheen lo, mujhse meri jawaani

Magar mujhko lauta do bachpan ka saawan

Woh kaaghaz ki kashti, woh baarish ka paani...

Poignant words that portray a longing for ones childhood days. On the occasion of Childrens Day this year, Adgully and Discovery Kids speak to some well-known names in the M&E industry to relive their childhood days and share the experiences that have shaped them.

Featured first is Navin Khemka, CEO, MediaCom. Khemka has over two decades of experience across various categories and brands as well as a nuanced expertise in media strategy, planning and buying. He joined MediaCom as CEO for South Asia in July 2018.

Khemka started his career with DDB Mudra, and has worked with agencies such as Mindshare, Carat, Cheil Communications, ZenithOptimedia, and Wavemaker. A skilful problem solver and a people manager, capable of handling both creative and business fronts, Khemka brings his balanced perspective and invaluable knowledge to the company.

A childhood memory which is unforgettable?

My first holiday in Puri, when I caught the glimpse of the Bay of Bengal for the first time. It was a magical moment to see the sea, sand and blue sky!

A childhood lesson you learnt that still motivates you?

Discipline is critical for success. Have seen it in my school and also at home. I firmly believe that only if we are disciplined can we be focused in our tasks  personal or official.

A hobby that you still have?

I used to collect stamps and first day covers. Since we do not receive any physical letters nowadays, I keep adding to this collection when I visit a new country and go to the Philatelic Bureau.

A person you looked up to or a mentor who shaped you as a person?

I would not name a person. I was lucky to have a great set of teachers who did this for me.

As a child, the one thing you and your friends used to do that children today no longer do?

We used to spend a lot of time playing games and also just having an adda session. There were no mobile phones and we were never distracted.

What were the shows that you watched on television as a kid?

As a kid I would love watching the Knight Rider (Bangladesh TV) and I loved Lucy.

When it comes to kids content, what do you think is the role of the broadcaster?

Content that will shape the kids future  intriguing, safe and encourage them for a lot of outdoor activity.

How do you see the evolution of kids content in India?

A great deal of investment is going into this space. Earlier, most of this content was dubbed/ imported. Now, broadcasters are investing in local content that is well researched.

What are the 3 things from your childhood that you feel should return?

Simplicity, carefree days and a childhood full of experiences.

How do you see children of today impacting buying decisions of the family?

On products that they will consume, children are decision makers! On others, they are influencers.
Isobar, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has expanded its operations to Sri Lanka.

Last year, Dentsu Grant Group, Sri Lanka's largest integrated communications agency with a 60-year-old legacy, disrupted the nations advertising industry with the introduction of the global marketing conglomerate Dentsu Aegis Network into the country. Now, it will do so once again, reinventing Sri Lankas rapidly growing digital economy, with the launch of its full-service digital agency  Isobar.

Commenting on the prospects of Isobar in Sri Lanka, Shamsuddin Jasani, Group Managing Director - Isobar South Asia said, I am very excited to launch Isobar in this amazing country. Sri Lanka is a rising mobile economy with smartphone penetration growing by over 20% and mobile penetration growing over 120% year-on-year. With the launch of Isobar Sri Lanka we are looking at creating a leading agency for the digital age that follows a true full service model. Under the guidance of Neela and her team, I am sure we will be a force to reckon with in this market in the years to come.

Speaking on the launch of Isobar Sri Lanka, Neela Marikkar, Chairperson - Dentsu Grant Group and Dentsu Aegis Network Sri Lanka states, We are thrilled to be introducing such an iconic brand into the Sri Lankan advertising industry. We are fortunate to be working so closely with our global and regional offices; we are confident that we will be able to use their global knowledge and skills to help develop business opportunities for our clients as well as help the digital economy of the country and accelerate through Isobars experience led transformation and brand commerce expertise.

Ready to revolutionize the market, Isobar Sri Lanka will offer end to end full service digital media creative and technology services and help clients navigate the world of tangible and intangible businesses through mobile brand commerce, product innovations, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), the internet of things (IOT) and wearables.
The Printers Mysore, publisher of Deccan Herald and Prajavani newspapers and Sudha and Mayura magazines, has appointed Arpan Chatterjee as its new head of digital business.

Arpan, who joins The Printers Mysore from The Hindu Group of publications, has been designated Chief Operating Officer - Digital and will report to TPMs Chief Executive Officer Karthik Balakrishnan.

Arpan has over 20 years of experience across leadership roles in Indian media companies and new economy businesses. He has previously worked for companies such as NaiDunia, Webdunia, Dice Inc, Andale Inc and The Times of India. He has been associated with industry bodies like MRUC (Media Research Users Council) & RSCI (Readership Studies Council of India). ). Arpan has done his executive education from IIM Calcutta.

Explaining the thinking behind Arpans hiring, TPMs CEO Karthik said Arpan would play a pivotal role in driving the organisation forward on the digital initiatives the group is undertaking, We are looking to capitalise on our strengths as a legacy publisher to build a print and digital media business for the 21st century media consumer. Arpans on boarding goes to the core of our transformation, where he will drive our digital business vision, said Karthik.

Arpan, who is now a couple of weeks into his new role said, Im very excited about the opportunity to chart a digital transformation for one of Indias most respected media companies. The company has a very compelling vision of its digital future and I look forward to working with all the stakeholders in bringing this vision to life.
Going beyond mere ad campaigns, brands, agencies and media organisations have initiated CSR drives to help the little ones this Childrens Day.

Godrej Appliances has appealed to the people to break gender roles for the young with its #LetsStartRight campaign this Childrens Day. WPP India Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation, along with Genesis Foundation, has supported the treatment of 300 kids with Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) over a period of three years (2015-18). Santoor is urging people to nominate deserving girls for its special scholarship programme. Meanwhile, Radio City is out to make green crusaders out of the little ones as part of its Chipkoo Movement.

#LetsStartRight this Childrens Day: Godrej Appliances

This Childrens Day, Godrej Appliances brings #LetsStartRight, a campaign that questions the prevalent mindsets in the Indian society in terms of set gender roles and emphasising the need to break free early. The objective is to highlight an everyday story, where consciously and very often unconsciously, we condition our children with the age-old gender biases. The brand leveraged digital platforms to initiate #LetsStartRight campaign promoting gender equality.

Conceptualised by CreativeLand Asia, the campaign is set up in the familiar construct of a home, capturing a simple moment between a grandmother and her grandchildren. It does not rely on histrionics and melodrama, but nudges us subtly to rethink.

Speaking on the campaign, Swati Rathi, Head - Marketing, Godrej Appliances, said, Being in the home appliances space allows us to observe behaviours at home, including how we shape our children. As our society still grapples with gender stereotypes like women must do the cooking, we felt the problem is best tackled if we start young. Childrens Day seemed like a good day to share this point of view. We hope this simple campaign makes people reflect on the small unconscious ways in which we display our biases, re-evaluate our soch and our actions, and take small corrective steps.

Anu Joseph, Chief Creative Officer, CreativeLand Asia, elaborated, In this case, the brief made the film. The marketing team was ready with a bold and clear brief. We had to just write a little story around it. A strong insight is a great place to start. Gender inequality and biases are always passed down and a matter of nurture. The kitchen is a great place to start corrective action.

WPP India & Genesis Foundation save 300 little hearts

WPP India Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation, along with Genesis Foundation, achieved a new milestone of treating 300 kids with Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). Genesis Foundation has been working as an implementation partner with WPP India CSR Foundation since 2015 towards Saving Little Hearts.

WPP India CSR Foundation and Genesis Foundationhave been instrumental in supporting pivotal surgeries across the country. Over the span of three years (2015-18), this welfare collaboration has supported 300 kids. The average number of children treated per month has increased from 8 to 15 over the years, due to strategic partnerships with hospitals and diligent outreach through grass-root level initiatives.

Read all the stories here:

https://genesis-foundation.net/WPPIndiaProject.aspx

Sharing her thoughts on the new milestone, Rama Iyer, Director-General, WPP India CSR Foundation, said, We, at WPP India CSR Foundation feel proud to be associated with the work done by the Genesis Foundation. We work on an aligned vision of supporting young children affected by Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) through their surgeries and rehabilitating them back in their lives. Together, we believe in giving the young hearts of our children another chance to beat.

Speaking about the new milestone achieved, Jyoti Sagar, Founder Trustee of Genesis Foundation, said, CSR partnerships plays a crucial role in the work we do; raising money for critically ill children, making sure that the many families affected by CHD in turn have somebody to count on. WPP India CSR Foundation has supported us year-on-year and with them we hope to save many more little hearts in future.

Santoor urges people to support girl child education

This Childrens Day, Santoor Womens Scholarship has launched a unique initiative to involve people to nominate girls they know who might need financial assistance to pursue their higher education.

Conceptualised by ADK Fortune Communications, Bangalore, the campaign creative, set in a rustic, river side location, depicts a young girl fetching water home. When one scans the ad in print or interacts with digital banner, it opens a video that shows the girls dream of becoming an engineer turning into a reality with the help of Santoor Scholarship. The girl transforms into a student in uniform carrying books to college.

S Prasanna Rai, Vice President  Marketing, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, commented, We are committed to educating the girl child as we believe that education is a key enabler for social change. This Childrens Day, we want to create awareness about the programme and involve people to nominate someone who they know and who might need support to pursue her further studies. Our awareness campaign is an interactive digital video. To amplify the reach, the campaign has been supported by a print ad.We believe this will help us in reaching out to more girls who might benefit from this scholarship.

Santoor Womens Scholarship, launched in 2016, financially supports girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, who wish to pursue under graduate education after grade 12. This recurring annual programme offers 900 scholarships per annum across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Currently, in the third year of the programme, the total number of beneficiaries stands at 2,700. The scholarship amount of Rs 24,000 per annum is for tuition fee and any other expenses incidental to education.

Radio City invites child crusaders for its Chipkoo Movement

This Childrens Day, Radio City continues to put the power of radio to good use by motivating Mumbaikars, especially children, to fight for their environment. In the wake of Aareys deforestation for the Mumbai Metro and the recent killing of tigress Avni due to human encroachment on forest land, Radio City has initiated the Chipkoo Movement. The name is an ode to 1970s iconic initiative against deforestation.

Led by popular RJ duo, Salil and Archana, the radio channel is inviting listeners to upload their images with trees on social media, using the powerful slogan: Dont Kill my tiger, Dont kill my trees, Dont Kill my Future, tagging @radiocityindia, @salilacharya, @archanaapania, and using #RadioCitysupportsAarey and #saveaarey.

Radio City will share the impactful, crowdsourced thread with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the office of the PMO to encourage them to take corrective measures against the recent spate of environmental atrocities. For added impetus, personalities like actors Divya Dutta and Piyush Mishra are also putting their weight behind the movement.

BookMyShow makes a special appeal to parents on Children's Day

This Childrens day BookMyShow has a special message for all parents. Conceptualized and executed with BBH India, this childrens day film beautifully addresses the stigma that many Indian parents continue to face regarding the sexual orientation of their children. In consonance with the recent Section 377 verdict, it strikes an emotional chord and urges parents to love their children for who they are, regardless of who they love.

Boom Man Studios produced a Children's Day commercial for McDonald's India in association with NBA.

Red Chillies Entertainment celebrates Children's Day with a fun meme

Driving children closer to their dreams. Creative by Eicher.
The 14th edition of The Hindu November Fest comes to the cities of Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad this month. From November 15-25, The Hindu November Fest will have performances in Chennai (Nov 15-18), Bengaluru (Nov 16-18) and Hyderabad (Nov 23-25) across genres from Hindustani, Classical, Fusion to Bollywood and more. Featuring internationally acclaimed artists like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, Abhishek Raghuram, Staccato and others, this year will yet again be a true celebration of eclectic music.

As a prelude to the December Margazhi season in Chennai, The Hindu November Fest that has featured over 80 musicians over the past 14 years will begin in the city. With great line-up and music that transcends boundaries, the opening act in Chennai will feature Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with Sarod for Harmony. Other performances include Yatra: a journey within by Bombay Jayashri Ramnath and Abhishek Raghuram, Double Edge featuring Staccato and IndoSoul and Cinema Soul by Rekha Bhardwaj at Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Mukund Padmanabhan, Editor of The Hindu and curator of The Hindu November Fest says, Since its inception, the Fest has not only brought together artistes from different genres but also provided them a platform to experiment. Such collaborations have gone beyond jugalbandis, and we have tried to showcase, wherever possible, a new sound. A good example is the concert of late Mandolin Srinivas and Chineseyangqin player, Liu Yueninh, which we staged in 2011. It was an evening during which they bent genres, melded styles, and spoke the same musical language. It is this sort of eclecticism that has made The Hindu November Fest what it is.

Each year, The Hindu November Fest, South Indias most eclectic music festival, brings together an audience of over 8000 music enthusiasts, from the ages of 20 to 45 years, across the major cities of Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

This year, The Hindu November Fest is being powered by HDFC and the other sponsors include Hyundai, Joyalukkas, Indian Terrain, Apollo Hospitals, Nippon Paint, Girias, International Village School and ID Fresh Foods. Fever FM is the radio partner and I Ads and Events is the event partner. To know more about the Fest or to book tickets visit www.thehindu.com/ticket2018
WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, has released its Effective Use of Brand Purpose Report 2018, outlining successful key trends when using brand purpose in marketing strategies.

Based on an analysis of the winners of the Effective Use of Brand Purpose category of this years international WARC Awards, a global search for next-generation marketing effectiveness, the report identifies common themes from marketing initiatives that have successfully embraced a brand purpose and achieved commercial success as well as a benefit for a wider community.

Jury chair, Claudia Willvonseder, Chief Marketing Officer, IKEA, commented, In 2018 so far, I have heard purpose being discussed more often thanpositioning in marketing circles. I expect that, in the future, this year will be seen as the tipping point when purpose went mainstream.

She added, Purpose, product and profit have a symbiotic relationship: they work together. There are more than enough studies now available, thats how strong, purposeful brands enjoy positive results, not just in terms of profit, but also in terms of positive impact on the world.

Following WARCs analysis of the metadata of the entries, together with an entrants survey and contributions from the judging panel, four key themes have been identified around the Effective Use of Brand Purpose:

Purpose needs participation

Some of the top-performing initiatives were designed with peoples participation in mind, including Grand Prix-winner Bodyform/ Libresse, which increased its share of voice in the feminine hygiene sector through having its message amplified by a vocal communitysupporting the brands boldness.

Judge Jo Arden, Chief Strategy Officer, MullenLowe Group UK, said, The intersection of purpose and participation is a powerful one, which has been under-explored. There is a new mood in purpose-driven communications which is more confident, committed and clear-sighted.

Exercise caution with empowerment campaigns

While campaigns that endeavour to empower women are undoubtedly prompted by the very best intentions, this route is now becoming well-trodden and differentiation is a challenge. Many judges agreed that female empowerment campaigns are now becoming so common that, in the words of Govind Pandey, CEO, TBWAIndia, Every brand is now trying to do something for women  they all blend into each other.

Winning campaigns that took a more original approach included Microsofts #MakeWhatsNext in STEM, a plea for US high-school girls to stick with STEM subjects, and Grand Prix-winner Bodyform/ Libresse with its #bloodnormal campaign.

Purpose that demonstrates dual impact

Purpose marketing is still under attack from many quarters of the industry, so case studies that could demonstrate dual impact  a clear commercial benefit as well as a societal benefit  are crucial in proving that brand purpose is a sustainable business strategy.

A purpose-led brand should benefit society in a way that is also of commercial benefit to the business, said judge Dan Izbicki, Founder, Ethos. Winning papers that demonstrated this dual impact included Heineken-owned beer Tecate in Mexico, which grew its brand value and substantially increased calls to an NGO helping victims of domestic abuse.

TV is a popular channel choice for purpose

The reach and capacity for emotion offered by TV is still crucial in establishing purposeful campaigns. As judge Jem Fawcus, Owner and Group CEO, Firefish, commented, Purpose-led campaigns from brands, including Guinness in the UK and Vaseline in the US, used TV to pack an emotional punch and, incidentally, listed emotion as their main creative strategy.

While online video and social media played important supporting roles in the media mix, there was no denying that TV remains the preferred channel for brands looking to establish a purposeful position.

Now in their third year, the WARC Awards 2019 are open for entries. The deadline for submissions is February 19, 2019. Free to enter, there is a $40,000 prize fund for the winning papers.
By J.B. Handley

In 2015, Oregons Health Authority (the state version of the CDC) published a table for school-required vaccinations that included detail about the crude herd immunity threshold that the published science showed was required for each vaccine in order for the herd (in this case, children in school) to be protected. Mumps and Rubella? 85%. Diphtheria? 85%. Polio? 50%. Thats not a typo, the threshold for polio is a 50% vaccination rate. What about Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B? They have no threshold, theres just a little asterisk in the table next to each of them. And, why no threshold? Because the communicability for Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B is so low there is no percentage required or known, a child is more than welcome to attend school with an active Hepatitis B infection. The singular disease with a threshold over 90%? Measles.

An Op-Ed yesterday in the L.A. Times compelled me to respond. Mostly, I ignore the L.A. Times. Today, the newspaper is owned by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire who made his money in the pharmaceutical industry. The separation of Pharma and media has never been less honored than at the L.A. Times, and their articles about anti-vaxxers consistently reveal an extreme bias. The newspaper happens to be based in one of three states that dont allow schoolchildren vaccine exemptions to attend school, the other two being Mississippi and West Virginia (draw your own conclusions). Theres a new drumbeat in California, no doubt anticipating new legislation: Californias doctors arent responsible enough to be entrusted with writing medical exemptions for children, the state needs to take over this duty. The slippery slope of freedoms lost continues.

The only thing I know about Patrice Apodaca is that she used to be an LA Times staff writer. Her Op-Ed, titled, Medical exemptions threatening herd immunity, is a wonderful example of what happens when you combine extreme hysteria with wanton ignorance. Well-meaning parents turn on well-meaning parents. Ms. Apodaca is scared that the world is about to fall apart. She writes, Even with that law now established [making vaccines mandatory in California], we see how fragile remains the effort to keep herd immunity intact. Legislators pass useless laws. Children get sicker.

Ms. Apodaca tells us that Californias vaccination rates had dropped to a dangerous level of 90.4% in the 2014-15 school year, right before SB277 was passed to make vaccines mandatory in California. Of course, the number 90.4% by itself is meaningless. If were talking about Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Polio, Diphtheria, Mumps, or Rubella, that vaccination rate is more than adequate to keep those infectious diseases at bay, at least according to the Oregon Health Authority, who got their information from our national health authority, the CDC.

Most parents are shocked to learn that as late as 1986 we only had three licensed vaccines in the United States: MMR, Polio, and DTP. What were the vaccination rates for those three vaccines that year (1986)? 61%, 53%, and 63%, respectively. Just let that sink in for a moment. Were children dying in the streets in 1986? Did we return to the dark ages as many vaccine marketers tell us we will if parents exempt their children from any vaccines? I think you know the answer. Today, we have eleven licensed vaccines given 36 times to children before their fifth birthday. Many vaccines required for school arent even given to children in other first world countriesthe U.K doesnt give chicken pox, Denmark doesnt give Hepatitis B, most dont give the flu vaccine, the list is very longbut why let the facts confuse?
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.
Aiken man arrested in connection to 6-year-old bringing gun to elementary school The Aiken Department of Public Safety has charged an Aiken man in connection to a 6-year-old who was discovered to be carrying a gun in his ba

A student at Chukker Creek Elementary School was discovered to be carrying a gun in his backpack to school Wednesday morning, according to the Aiken County Public School District.

The Aiken County School District released an email to parents notifying them of the incident with the firearm Wednesday morning.

As students were preparing to exit their bus Wednesday morning, a number of students reported to their bus driver that a 6-year-old student had a gun in his backpack, according to an official statement from the School District.

"The driver alerted administration, and the Assistant Principal, who was present and supervising morning drop off procedures, immediately addressed the student and spoke with other students whod made the report," according to the statement.

"The student was not allowed to join other students in going to his classroom, but brought directly by administration to our front office," according to the district's email.

Local law enforcement was contacted and responded right away, according to the statement.

"Upon search of the students book bag, a firearm was discovered" the statement reads. "The student remained under direct supervision of administration and that of local law enforcement before being removed from the schools campus."

The email to parents stated students were safe and and the situation was being handled "as swiftly as possible."

"We certainly understand how concerning this is to our school community," the release states. "At Chukker Creek Elementary today, we are maintaining as regular a schedule as possible, keeping our students focused on learning, while addressing the needs of students with the support of their school counselor and additional staff."

The school district's statement said Chukker Creek followed appropriate procedures with full support of the Aiken Department of Public Safety.

"We are investigating an incident involving a firearm being brought to school by a student at Chukker Creek Elementary," said Lt. Jake Mahoney with Aiken Department of Public Safety. Mahoney confirmed officers recovered the weapon from the student.

The Aiken Standard originally obtained the email from a concerned parent.
Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip said Nov. 13 that they would agree to a cease-fire, possibly ending their fiercest exchange of rocket attacks and airstrikes with Israel in several years and allowing for a long-term truce that could help alleviate rampant unemployment in the strip.

The Associated Press reported the attacks had continued throughout a six-hour meeting Nov. 13 of Israel's State Security Cabinet. During that meeting, the cabinet had ordered the military to use whatever force was necessary against Hamas and the other factions.

Within about an hour of the meeting's end, the factions announced they would accept an Egypt-mediated cease-fire if Israel also agreed. Israel had not commented.

Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have been working relentlessly to secure political and security understandings between Israel and the factions. Many proposals are being made to achieve calm, such as easing the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, improving living conditions and increasing hours of electricity. Just last week, Israel allowed Qatar to provide $15 million in cash for Hamas civil servants, who hadn't been paid in months.

The State Security Cabinet had also held a lengthy session Nov. 4 to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and to consider allowing thousands of Palestinian workers from Gaza to work in Israel. During that meeting, Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Education Minister Naftali Bennett both approved of the proposal, saying they don't support tightening the noose on Gaza, which has been suffering under Israeli sanctions and the blockade for more than a decade. They said Gazans should be allowed to work inside Israel to prevent worsening relations with Hamas.

However, Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, has long opposed the idea. In July, it declared that Gazan workers pose a serious threat to Israeli security because Hamas may seek to recruit some to carry out deadly operations inside Israel.

On Nov. 4, Haaretz published a draft of a truce agreement between Hamas and Israel that includes, among other things, Israel allowing a first batch of 5,000 workers to enter. As for entrance dates, Israel is waiting until the truce efforts are completed.

The economic situation in Gaza is at its worst and the living conditions have reached unprecedented levels of hardship, making the proposal of allowing Gazans to work in Israel a welcome idea, though some skeptics downplay the proposal's value.

By allowing thousands of Palestinian workers in, Israel wants to show the world that it alleviates Gazas distress, but the actual impact of this step is minimal, because Palestinians will be working in the [low-paying] agricultural field alone, Osama Nofal, director general of the Planning and Policy Department at the Ministry of Economy in Gaza, told Al-Monitor.

Heads of Israeli towns adjacent to the Gaza Strip have demanded that the Israeli defense ministry grant permits to Palestinian workers from Gaza to work in agriculture inside Israel, because there is a real need for agricultural workers.

But Nofal said more changes are necessary: To solve the unemployment crisis, the Gaza crossings need to be opened and significant projects within the strip need to be established. We have discussed this with international delegations that arrived in Gaza in recent weeks."

A report issued in April by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics showed that the unemployment rate at the end of 2017 was at 43.9% in Gaza compared with 17.9% in the West Bank. There were 364,000 unemployed people: 146,000 in the West Bank and 218,000 in Gaza. The number of working Palestinians stood at 666,000: 221,000 in Gaza, 333,000 in the West Bank, 92,000 in Israel and 20,000 in the settlements.

Ibrahim Saleh, an unemployed construction worker from Gaza, told Al-Monitor, The Gaza Strip workers have suffered a lot since the siege was imposed [in 2007]. The Palestinian governments [Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank] have neglected us. Today we see a glimmer of hope in allowing us to work in Israel. We used to get paid $100 per day in Israel before the siege, now we have to wait months to get $100 in humanitarian aid.

Like the Economy Ministry's Nofal, Mohammed Mekdad, dean of the Faculty of Commerce at the Islamic University of Gaza, also thinks more efforts are needed.

Allowing thousands of workers from Gaza into Israel will contribute to alleviating poverty and unemployment [to an extent], but facing unemployment effectively in Gaza requires that the Palestinian government budget allocates a certain amount for specifically this purpose," he told Al-Monitor.

"In addition, the sanctions that the Palestinian Authority [in the West Bank] imposed on Gaza need to be lifted, along with the [Israeli blockade]. Gaza should be granted the freedom of import and export. Currency needs to be introduced and the strip requires immediate reconstruction.

Various parties have been discussing the possibility of Israel employing Gazans since December. At that time, Israeli Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay said the plan would help reduce the unemployment rate in the strip and fill the Israeli shortage in the fields of construction and agriculture. In March, Palestinian Labor Minister Mamoun Abu Shahla and his Israeli counterpart, Haim Katz, also discussed the issue.

In July, Mohammed al-Emadi, the Qatari ambassador to the Palestinian territories, announced an initiative to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza that included the employment plan in return for an agreement to ease tension at the Israeli borders.

However, there's still a lot of reluctance, and outright opposition, among some Israelis to Gazans working in Israel.

"Israeli security services are against allowing Gazan workers into Israel, fearing their association with [militant] Palestinian organizations," Islam Shahwan, a security expert and former spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Gaza, told Al-Monitor. "Even if they end up agreeing, the workers will be subjected to tight security measures to ensure they won't have any connection to the resistance.

He added, Those allowed to enter would have to meet specific conditions to make sure they wouldn't carry out any armed attacks [in Israel]."

Meanwhile, Hamas might be concerned about Israeli intelligence recruiting these workers to obtain security information about the Palestinian factions. Hamas and other factions have yet to comment on the possibility.

While Palestinians welcome the employment proposal, experts say more efforts must be made to alleviate high unemployment. These measures include the introduction of more goods and raw materials, streamlining security inspections at the crossings, increasing the capacity of the Kerem Shalom crossing and opening the Karni crossing east of Gaza.

Sami al-Amassi, head of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza, told Al-Monitor the employment plan is still a good first step.

If thousands of Palestinian workers are allowed in Israel, we can expect economic breakthroughs and reduced unemployment rates. The Gaza Strip doesn't have commercial and economic projects that can absorb the hundreds of thousands of unemployed people. We don't have access to Arab countries and we have no other option but to work in Israel," he said.

Employing Gazan workers in Israel wouldn't benefit just Palestinians. Israelis would make the most of the quality of the Palestinian labor force. And Palestinians' wages are cheap compared with those of Israelis and workers from other countries. In addition, Palestinian workers spend their salaries in the Palestinian market, which consumes Israeli products.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen reportedly brokered an informal deal to cease hostilities around Hodeidah on Tuesday. The deal has held for the past 24 hours after 150 people died in daylong clashes in the port city, which handles 70% of aid entering the war-torn country.

Why it matters: After Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced that the United States would stop refueling Saudi and Emirati warplanes in Yemen, the deal leaves open a tiny window for UN-led peace talks in Yemen.

Its unclear whether the Donald Trump administration, which made a full-court press for the cease-fire late last month, will make a further push for a broader peace deal, but the news could change the UNs timetable as the world body had postponed talks until December. The deal comes just one day after UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called on Saudi Arabia to end the Yemen conflict, suggesting that international pressure could help lead to a settlement.

UN reaction: The UNs envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, welcomed the cease-fire announcement, which he said opened a fresh path for peace talks. The logistical preparations are under way to prepare for the upcoming round of consultations, the veteran British diplomat said in a statement. We are in a position to move forward.

After the Houthis failed to show up for talks in Geneva in September, Griffiths got both sides to agree to confidence-building measures to set the table for a new dialogue, including UN administration of Hodeidah, prisoner exchanges and the reopening of airports in Sanaa and Aden to facilitate the delivery of aid. The UN reported that just 60% of Yemens monthly food requirement came through the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef in October.

Word on the street: Yemeni sources dont believe the cease-fire in Hodeidah will ease the countrys suffering. The cease-fire will not solve starvation in Yemen, Radhya al-Mutawakel, founder of the Mwatana for Human Rights, a Sanaa-based nongovernmental organization, told Al-Monitor. Its only a full political agreement that can rebuild a stable state in Yemen. Even if there are no strikes, and no indiscriminate shelling from Houthis, the starvation will go on.

Mutawakel said Saudi Arabias refusal to let exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadis government maintain a presence on the ground, the blockade of air and sea ports of entry and the collapse of Yemens currency after the closure of the countrys central bank had also driven the famine. The Guardian reported that the World Food Program managed to distribute aid today, despite conflicting reports of sporadic airstrikes.

Whats next: The US administration is still mulling whether or not to label the Houthis as a terrorist organization, which some experts think could shake up negotiations. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post reports that Republicans in the House of Representatives are set to beat back a Democratic effort to nix US involvement in Yemen during the lame-duck session of Congress. The UN has said that as many as 14 million Yemenis could be on the brink of starvation.

Know more: Read Jack Detschs story from Sunday for more background on the decision to stop refueling the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

-Jack Detsch
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned today and announced that his right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party was leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus ruling coalition. In a press conference, Liberman accused Netanyahu and his allies of surrendering to terrorism by agreeing to a cease-fire with Hamas and called for early elections as soon as next February.

Why it matters: The resignation throws Israeli politics into turmoil and will almost certainly trigger early elections. Netanyahu must call elections by November 2019 at the latest, but the expectation now is that they will be held within the next three or four months.

Liberman promised before he took the job in June 2016 to take a harsh stance against Hamas and retrieve the bodies of two Israeli soldiers held by the Islamist group within 48 hours. His inability to force his hawkish views fueled his decision to resign while making Netanyahu look weak in the eyes of a political base that strongly opposes efforts to placate Hamas in hopes of calming tensions in the Gaza Strip.

The fallout: Netanyahu has vowed to try to stabilize a government that now has only a one-vote majority in the Knesset. Meanwhile, Hamas is celebrating the resignation as a victory over a key hard-liner.

What's next: Netanyahu has already started consultations with leaders of coalition parties. Within the next few days, he will have to decide how long he wants to limp along with his razor-thin majority before calling elections. Meanwhile, negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed, with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on a mission to strike a deal with the help of Qatar and Egypt.

Know more: Shlomi Eldar has a good story from Tuesday on why the Israeli leadership continues to support efforts to reach an arrangement with Hamas, while Danny Zaken explains why Israel and Hamas arent itching for a fight despite the latest flare-up.

-Danny Zaken
The Donald Trump administration placed terrorist designations and bounties on several Hezbollah and Hamas officials today as part of Washingtons efforts to target Iran and its regional proxies.

The State Department slapped terrorist designations on Jawad Nasrallah, the son of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the al-Mujahidin Brigades, a military organization operating in the West Bank and Gaza. Shortly afterward, the State Department announced $5 million bounties for information about Hezbollah leaders Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb and Haytham Ali Tabatabai as well as Hamas leader Salih al-Aruri.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department placed sanctions on four Hezbollah members: Shibl Mushin Ubayd al-Zaydi, Yusuf Hashim, Adnan Hussein Kawtharani and Muhammad Abd al-Hadi Farhat.

Why it matters: While the sanctions target specific individuals, the Trump administration is framing them as part of its broader sanctions campaign against Iran.

They are designed to deprive the regime of vital revenue it uses to conduct terrorism and support terrorist groups around the world, to include Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, Kataib Hezbollah and the Taliban, the State Department said in a press release.

The US reinstated more than 700 sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities earlier this month as part of its withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

Congressional pressure: Treasurys sanctions against the four Hezbollah members are the result of recent legislation cracking down on the groups supporters and funders. Trump signed the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act into law last month.

Good to see @USTreasury squeezing Hezbollah in Iraq following recent enactment of legislation I co-authored  to increase sanctions on these deadly terrorists, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., tweeted after the announcement.

Congress has also been leading the charge against Aruri for several years amid rumors that he lives in Turkey. Aruri founded Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

Whats next? The Trump administration has vowed that the new sanctions regime will be even more expansive than Barack Obama-era sanctions, so expect a deluge of more actions targeting Iran and its proxy forces.

Know more: Some of the people designated today have long been in policymakers cross-hairs. Washington editor Julian Pecquet first wrote about Congress call for action against Aruri four years ago. For the latest, read congressional correspondent Bryant Harris on how the Trump administration is cracking the whip on Hezbollahs illicit financing activities.

- Bryant Harris
Six months after its withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, the United States has reimposed sanctions on flag carrier IranAir  including every aircraft in its fleet. The move will directly target the safety of ordinary Iranians while at the same time imposing an extra burden on a civilian airline already laden with numerous problems in its structure and business model.

In the aftermath of its pullout from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May, the United States has resumed sanctions as part of a strategy to force Tehran to accept more curbs on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its regional influence. On Nov. 5, Washington reimposed penalties on hundreds of entities and individuals related to Irans shipping, shipbuilding, banking, energy and aviation industries. The latter includes 67 aircraft operated by IranAir as well as the airline itself.

Iran has called the sanctions part of an economic war. President Hassan Rouhani said Nov. 10, On the one hand, they [the United States] name an airline company [on its blacklist] and, on the other, they specify the serial number for the planes to fill the pages. This method and the way they inform aims merely to have a psychological impact on the Iranian nation.

Its a re-establishment of all sanctions that were in place prior to the JCPOA, Saj Ahmad, chief analyst of StrategicAero Research, told Al-Monitor. Ultimately, in the case of IranAir, the US government sees the airline as an instrument of Irans government and, as such, wants to enact punitive measures that make life difficult for the airline to operate, particularly as it has such an old fleet and now cannot buy new or even used jets anywhere. The same also appears to be the case for Aseman Airlines too.

The nuclear deal promised Irans civil aviation industry a break from decades of US unilateral sanctions. After the 2015 accord was signed, IranAir placed massive orders for 100 Airbus, 80 Boeing and 20 ATR aircraft, but the carrier received only three Airbus and 13 ATR planes before such deliveries ended with the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal. France-based ATR is co-owned by the European company Airbus and Italys Leonardo. Another Iranian carrier, Aseman, also signed a contract to buy 30 Boeing planes. These plane makers, including US-based Boeing, had received permits from the US Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to enter such deals. Of note, OFAC licenses are required for sales of aircraft to Iran whose share of US-built components is more than 10%.

As such, Iranians are now deprived of the hope of flying more safely with local airlines that are being forced to use aging planes. When I flew with one of IranAirs new Airbus planes from Shiraz to Tehran back in March, it was the first time in years that I felt totally safe during a domestic flight, Amir, a 32-year-old businessman, told Al-Monitor. Matthias, a Germany-based frequent traveler to Iran, told Al-Monitor that the sanctions would force IranAir passengers to fly with other airlines because of the fear of poor safety as well as extended flight duration due to extra stops in the countries that remain willing to sell fuel to IranAir despite the US sanctions. On Matthias last trip to Iran in October, there was a two-hour delay in the Hamburg-Tehran flight simply because the aircraft landed in Belgrade, Serbia, for refueling.

The message the US is sending is clear  obey the 12 demands that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined earlier this year or well put sanctions in place that will bring the Iranian economy to its knees, Ahmad said. Irans aviation industry is really struggling. It is difficult to know how this will play out given that the EU is largely toothless in realistically keeping up its end of the JCPOA, he added.

The Trump administrations Iran policy has drawn criticism from European countries, whose aviation companies were among those benefiting from the opening of the untapped Iranian market. The European Union has moved to reduce the impact of the US sanctions in hopes of saving the nuclear deal, which it says curbs Irans nuclear activities. In this vein, the EU is working on a Special Purpose Vehicle to maintain trade with Iran.

It seems that the US government is targeting Iran's economy to make sure it will shrink, Ali Dadpay, a professor of economics at St. Edwards University in Texas, told Al-Monitor. The Trump administration wants to prevent IranAirs fleet from operating under other call signs. By sanctions on [specific] aircraft, it prevents other airlines from leasing them and generating revenue.

The US had added IranAir to its blacklist in 2011, four years before the signing of the nuclear deal. Following its withdrawal from the accord, it has also placed sanctions on Irans Mahan Air. In September, the United States sanctioned a Thai corporation, My Aviation Co. Ltd., for working with Mahan, which Washington accuses of shipping weapons and military personnel into Syria in support of the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The renewed US sanctions are likely to halt Irans plans to refurbish its lagging aviation industry and to reinvigorate the bloated structure of its flag carrier, whose business model has been costly for the Iranian government. IranAir has been accumulating losses for the past decades to the extent that one cannot consider it a business anymore. It is more like a public agency in charge of providing air services to Iranians at discounted prices, Dadpay said. Even during the JCPOA, it did not expand its international flights, except for a new service to Paris. Its main focus was to provide domestic flights and to serve airports in the less developed parts of the country.

An Iranian former airline executive told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that under the US sanctions, procurement of spare parts would become difficult if not impossible as manufacturers will fear working with Iran. This will make the situation more difficult for Iranian airlines. The first thing the sanctions target is flight safety.  If the sanctions continue, we will have to purchase aircraft manufactured in the 1990s. This pushes up costs for maintenance and overhaul up to three or four times. Last but certainly not least, even if foreign sources for parts are found, it will be difficult to complete the transaction given the absence of banking channels, he said.

[Americas] message is viciousness, Dadpay told Al-Monitor. The US government is creating a situation to have a better hand at the [potential future] negotiations [with the Islamic Republic]. If Iran concedes to their demands, the US will go back to the status quo without granting Iran any major concession. Under the JCPOA, IranAir hoped for a full renovation of its air fleet, right now it only can hope to operate its old airplanes.
Irans foreign minister has entered another tough battlefront at home, riling up relentless criticism from the country's conservative camp after speaking up against "widespread money laundering" in the Islamic Republic.

"After all, money laundering is a reality in our country," Zarif said in a Nov. 10 interview with Khabar Online, a moderate news agency. The foreign minister refused to name any individuals or institutions involved in the practice, but estimated the money involved as billions of dollars.

Zarif's comments were apparently meant to address criticism of a controversial bill that has been widening the rift between Iran's Reformists and hard-liners. Iran's parliament approved a proposed law to join the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Oct. 7 as a precondition for Iran to be fully removed from the blacklist of the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The government of President Hassan Rouhani has been pushing the measure to help fight the impact of sanctions reimposed by the United States after the latter withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The ratification of the FATF-related bills would also the Iranian government attain greater financial transparency and improve access to the international banking system. However, the country's hard-liners oppose the measure, considering the four bills  including the one on joining the terror financing convention  a concession to the West.

"Some of those concerns are rooted in honesty.  But others are voicing those concerns for their own financial interests," Zarif said, adding that there were many who benefited from money laundering  a revelation that was more than enough reason for his opponents to relaunch their attacks on the popular foreign minister.

It was no surprise that the harshest response came from parliament member Javad Karimi Ghodoousi, known for his incessant and sometimes personal attacks on Iran's top diplomat. "Zarif is the root cause of most of the woes Iran is currently facing," he said. "By accusing other institutions, he is trying to evade responsibility for the problems he created." The hard-line lawmaker even called for action to take down the foreign minister over his "countless comments against Iran's national security, adding, We have no choice but to fast-track an impeachment of this paper tiger."

Hamid Reza Taraghi from the conservative Islamic Coalition Front implied that Zarif must be removed from his post. "If he meant those comments, then the Islamic Republic needs to decide on his fate." The pressure continues to mount. Mojtaba Zolnour, another hard-line parliamentarian, demanded that Zarif offer clear evidence for his claims. "He has leveled accusations against some of the institutions of the Islamic Republic. His comments are signaling Iran's weakness to the other side." A staunch critic of the terror financing bill, Zolnour even spoke of plans to file a lawsuit against the foreign minister.

Although Zarif accused no specific institutions of money laundering, many took his remarks as directed toward such powerful entities as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a handful of other bodies reporting directly to the supreme leader and not the president. Notably, Karimi-Ghoddousi is a former member of the IRGC while Zolnour previously served as the supreme leaders deputy representative to the body.

"Slow down, Mr. Zarif! The enemy is lurking," read Javan, a conservative newspaper with ties to the IIRGC. The daily insisted that Zarif's remarks were playing into the enemy's hands.

The endless barrage forced several Reformists to come out to shield the top diplomat. Seyyed Mohammad Sadr from the powerful Expediency Council  whose members are appointed by the supreme leader  said those attacking Zarif were "indeed making revelations against themselves," implying that they are the ones who engage in money laundering. IRNA, the official news agency advancing the views of the Rouhani administration, noted that Zarif's remarks were made out of his "care" for the country and that money laundering is a hidden reality, "the denial of which is a service to the corrupt." Top parliamentarian Alireza Rahimi referred to Zarif's remarks as a "bitter truth" that is not welcomed by those who are resorting to insults to oppose new regulations against money laundering.

But not all moderates stood by the foreign minister this time. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, who chairs the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, expressed "surprise" at Zarif's "unexpected" comments. On Nov. 11, he announced that the top diplomat had been summoned for explanations before the commission on his "claims" and said that his remarks had created an excuse for the West to pressure Iran.

The foreign minister's controversial interview comes at a moment when the Rouhani administration is awaiting the Expediency Council's ratification of the terror financing bill. Zarif's comments could smooth the bill's passage or make matters worse at a critical juncture.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  The Palestinian Authority is preparing to file a formal complaint against Israel at the 14th United Nations Biodiversity Conference, to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh on Nov. 17-29, on the grounds that the Jewish state has seized the symbol of Palestinian diversity.

This Palestinian action comes in response to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) declaring the Palestine viper as Israel's official national snake. The deadly viper was renamed as "Land of Israel Viper," according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The snake was selected following an online vote, between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31, initiated by Avi Zobel, a snake catcher and activist for the preservation of reptile species in Israel. Zobels campaign was launched in partnership with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and under the auspices of the INPA. The viper won with 39% of the total of 9,419 votes, thus getting the status as a national symbol of Israeli biodiversity.

Adalah al-Atira, head of Palestines Environmental Quality Authority (EQA), told Al-Monitor that at the conference the Palestinians will argue that the Israeli action contravenes the principle of the Convention on Biological Diversity, created in 1992 under UN auspices.

The convention, ratified by 168 countries, including Israel, reaffirms that states have sovereign rights over their own biological resources.

Imad al-Atrash, executive director of the Palestine Wildlife Society, told Al-Monitor, The Palestine viper was discovered in Palestine in 1938 during the British Mandate. This is 10 years before the State of Israel was established. Austrian herpetologist Franz Werner gave it the universally recognized scientific Latin name Daboia palaestinae.

He pointed out that the viper lives in Israel, the West Bank, parts of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and that there are 30 types of snakes in the Palestinian territories, including four poisonous species, the most dangerous of which is the Palestine viper, which has three fangs.

According to Mahmiyat, an independent Palestinian website focusing on natural and cultural resources in the Palestinian territories, the Palestine viper is 1.4 meters [4.6 feet] long and has a triangle on its head with dark shapes on its back. Its color may vary from light brown to dark brown. It lays 30 eggs during the months of July and August.

Atrash said, Several countries often share certain species of animals or birds such as the German Shepherd dog that is widespread in most countries around the world, although it was first discovered in Germany. It nevertheless maintained the same name.

He added, But for Israel to change the name of the Palestine viper  which was discovered in Palestine decades ago  to the Land of Israel Viper is very disrespectful and represents a clear theft of Palestinian environmental symbols.

Atrash considered the Israeli action a theft of Palestinian identity that aims at targeting Palestinian cultural awareness by giving Israeli names to symbols of Palestinian fauna.

Atira also said that Israel was attempting to remove the Palestinian identity and to give Palestinian heritage and history an Israeli identity.

This is not the first time that Israel steals a Palestinian national symbol that expresses Palestinian biodiversity and heritage. Israel has in the past claimed the olive tree as its national tree and falafel as a national dish, she added.

Atira noted that the EQA intends to organize awareness campaigns in all Palestinian schools and cultural and environmental centers to promote the Palestine viper and confront the Israeli fraud. She also called on all international scientific and environmental forums not to adopt the Israeli name attributed to this snake.

Hani al-Wahidi, director of the Health Information Center at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, told Al-Monitor, The Palestine viper is present in various Palestinian coastal, mountainous and desert areas and valleys, and annually about 100 Palestinians are bitten by these vipers.

He said that treating this bite is very expensive, as it requires 15-20 doses of the antiserum, the cost of which is 5,000 Israeli shekels (roughly $1,350) per dose.

He explained that the ministry buys the antiserum from Israel, which developed it a few years ago, noting that it is buying 700-1,000 doses per year at an estimated cost of at least 3.5 million shekels ($950,000).
The prime minister is bankrupt. The emperor has no clothes. There has never been such a gap between meaningless talk and operational impotence.  [Hamas Gaza commander] Sinwar humiliates Bibi [Netanyahu]. He decides when to fire, when to cease fire, when to renew it. Pathetic. This was the outspoken reaction by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak to the latest cease-fire with Hamas engineered this week by his successor, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Baraks diatribe was not surprising. He has long been a strident one-man opposition to Netanyahu in almost daily interviews and taunts on social media against the Netanyahu government in general and Netanyahu specifically.

However, some of the criticism against the Israel-Hamas cease-fire that ended a 24-hour spurt of fighting on Nov. 13 emanated also from other, more unexpected places. Sharon Gal, a one-time Knesset member of the Yisrael Beitenu party led by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, dubbed his former benefactor a toy Rambo. Gal, who stepped down from his Knesset seat after only nine months, added, I am ashamed of having been a member of your party.

Knesset member Oren Hazan of the Likud, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, also took to Twitter to express shame with his government over the decision to accept a cease-fire with Hamas. If a left-wing government had been behind this security fiasco, a million people would have come out and set the town squares on fire, he tweeted, presenting a reasonable scenario.

The governments security Cabinet convened for seven hours on Nov. 13 and agreed to a cease-fire without a formal vote. Some participants claimed not even hard-liners like Liberman and head of HaBayit HaYehudi Naftali Bennett challenged the armys view that, absent government plans to launch war against Gaza, the escalation must be curbed. Spokespeople for Liberman and Bennett vehemently denied they had agreed to a cease-fire. An associate of Liberman said that he was very angry and even provoked over the publications, claiming that he had demanded a strong reaction against Hamas and rejected the cease-fire. Other participants in the Cabinet meeting complained that Netanyahu kept them for hours to discuss a possible cease-fire even as he was finalizing an Egyptian-brokered deal with Hamas.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis from Gaza border communities and southern towns, who had just sustained almost 500 rocket launches from Gaza, refused to believe that Netanyahu  Mr. Security  had agreed to yet another truce even before an Israeli knockout in this round. Only 24 hours before the clash, Netanyahu told reporters in Paris, Believe me, we were a step away from exerting maximal force and I think Hamas understood this. The next day, Hamas and its allies fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, Israel did not exert maximal force and Hamas declared victory.

In response, hundreds of Gaza border residents, many from the town of Sderot, blocked the entrance to the town, burned tires and shouted the words Netanyahu had probably never heard in the staunchly pro-Likud south of the country: Bibi Go Home. In the 2015 elections, by the way, 42.5% of Sderot residents voted Likud. Netanyahu, who has displayed a keen sense of public sentiment throughout his political career, often shifting positions to appease his political base, acted differently this time. He undoubtedly understands fully the potential political damage to his re-election prospects, especially ahead of an election year campaign expected to revolve largely around security issues. Apparently, his considerations were different or more long term.

Netanyahu has engineered Egyptian-mediated cease-fires in all the recent frequent flare-ups with Hamas, deflecting calls to inflict a heavy blow on Hamas and opting instead to seek a long-term deal with the organization. Despite heavy criticism, Netanyahu agreed for Qatar to funnel millions of dollars a month into Gaza to pay Hamas officials salaries in a move that essentially signaled Israeli acceptance of and help for strengthening Hamas control of the Strip. While Netanyahus Cabinet hawks have been spouting off militant suggestions such as retaking military control of Gaza or, at least, dealing Hamas a painful blow, the prime minister acted responsibly, cautiously and judiciously. He is not eager for another futile war with Hamas. Netanyahu clearly prefers to give a cease-fire deal a chance as long as there is no end goal to a military operation in Gaza and there is no one who wants to take control of it. A source close to Netanyahu said Oct. 29 that there are no volunteers to take Gaza off our hands.

The latest round of fighting and the massive rocket launches against Israel have exposed Netanyahu and Liberman to growing political attacks. Their voters (and others as well) regard their conduct as a violation of their promises. Already in the 2006 election campaign, Netanyahu ran under the slogan Strong on Hamas." In the 2009 campaign, a video clip showed Netanyahu standing at the entrance to Ashkelon, the closest major Israeli city to Gaza. A Grad rocket landed here this morning.  A miracle occurred, but we cannot rely on such miracles. We need action. There is only one type of action that can get the job done: bringing down the Hamas regime in Gaza. Thus, Netanyahu is being perceived as hesitant, not to mention a coward, for trying to avoid a futile war. His past pronouncements  as well as those by Liberman, who promised when he took office in 2016 to wipe out Hamas and its leader Ismail Haniyeh within 48 hours  make it hard for him to explain his considerations to the public.

Hamas is justifiably very pleased with the toughest round of fighting since the 2014 fighting with Israel, which proved a significant improvement in its firepower. It would seem Hamas has strengthened its deterrence capability vis-a-vis Israel, while at the same time actively seeking a cease-fire arrangement. It could not have asked for more. As for Liberman and Netanyahu, there is no certainty that either one will be able to portray himself in the coming election campaign as a politician who keeps his promises regarding Israels security.

On Nov. 14, Liberman announced that he was resigning from his position as defense minister. Speaking at a press conference, Liberman qualified Netanyahus behavior as capitulation to terror, adding that what Israel is doing right now is buying quiet for a heavy price with no long-term plan to reduce violence toward us. I could not remain [in office] and still be able to look residents of the south in the eyes, said Liberman, explaining his decision. Liberman understood the political damages that he and his party would suffer would he have stayed in the government  especially on the backdrop of the already poor results in polls for his Yisrael Beitenu party.

Hamas, on the other hand, can be satisfied. This recent round of violence, the harshest since the 2014 Gaza War, was marked by the groups improved firing abilities and increase in its deterrence vis-a-vis Israel. In addition, it managed to generate an important coalition crisis in Israel. Reacting to Libermans resignation announcement, the group stated that Liberman's resignation was an "admission of defeat and a sign of failure to face the Palestinian resistance  a political victory for Gaza, which succeeded in triggering a political earthquake [in Israel].

Hamas could not have dreamed of a better development.
On Nov. 9, 2016, right after the presidential elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to congratulate Republican victor Donald Trump and was one of the first world leaders to call him. On Nov. 7 of this year, right after the midterm congressional elections, Netanyahu forgot to congratulate Trump. Surely, the inveterate Twitter master from Jerusalem did not miss Trumps crowing tweet (Tremendous success tonight). It would seem, however, that there is a limit to Netanyahus willingness to make himself a laughing stock, even for his White House benefactor.

And while Trump congratulated House Minority Leader and Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on her partys success, Netanyahu did not bother wishing her luck. The veteran lawmaker is not among the prime ministers coterie of fans on Capitol Hill, and there seems to be a limit to the number of frogs Netanyahu is willing to swallow. He probably remembers that Pelosi was highly critical of his intention to address a joint session of Congress about the Iran nuclear deal in March 2015. Netanyahu has many opportunities to tell Americans what he thinks of the Iran agreement, Pelosi said prior to the speech, adding a veiled barb to the effect that the Israeli leader is a frequent guest on Sunday talk shows in the United States.

Other members of Netanyahus government from the Likud and HaBayit HaYehudi parties, chief among them Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who eagerly congratulated the Republicans on their 2016 victories, were mum this time around. Deputy Minister Michael Oren was the only politician from the ruling coalition who dared address the upset in the House of Representatives. Following the midterm elections, the US administration will have to show foreign policy results, which means the president will spearhead his ultimate deal with the Palestinians, Oren tweeted. The US-born politician, appointed by Netanyahu as Israeli ambassador to the United States, a position he held for four years (2009-2013), believes that of all the conflicts in the world, President Trump thinks our conflict in the Middle East is resolvable.

This last sentence can be interpreted as an expression of hope or concern. The same goes for the Channel 10 television report on Nov. 10 regarding comments made last week by Trumps peace process envoy Jason Greenblatt. Those who hope Trump will devote a concerted effort to pushing forward Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were encouraged when Greenblatt said, We are sure that if both sides agree to enter negotiations, they will understand why we reached the conclusions that will be presented in the peace plan. On the other hand, those whom Trump spoiled the way one does with children found cause for concern in the envoys remarks at a closed-door London event. Neither side is going to like everything written in the peace plan, and they will have to compromise, Greenblatt reportedly said. Topping the list is Netanyahu, who favors the word might (power) when speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and for whom the term compromise is a synonym of weakness. And let us not forget that Trump said on Aug. 22 that after he had recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it was now time for the Palestinians to get something very good.

Given the humanitarian crisis in the Hamas fiefdom in Gaza and the political woes of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, any peace plan would have to include generous economic aid for the Palestinians. Whenever Trump wanted to punish the Palestinians or spoil Israel, he found willing partners in Congress eager to slash US aid to the PA or to the UN Relief and Works Agency. The worriers in Jerusalem (Netanyahu) fear with good reason that if and when Trump presents a balanced and generous Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, he will be assured of Democratic support.

A Nov. 7 position paper by the Institute of National Security Studies recommends that Israel try to establish ties with the new Democrats elected to the House, including those considered among the most progressive in their party. The papers authors  former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and Eldad Shavit, formerly head of the research division in the Prime Ministers Office  espouse links with the new lawmakers in order to acquaint them more thoroughly with Israels interests.

How do they propose convincing the newly elected progressive lawmakers that the Israeli blockade of Gaza serves the interests of the children in Israels Gaza border communities who are repeatedly forced to sleep in shelters? How do you convince representatives particularly sensitive to events in our region  such as the new Muslim representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar  that Israels interest, not to mention the humanitarian aspect, requires the eviction of Muslim sheepherders from their home in the West Bank village of Khan al-Ahmar to make way for a Jewish settlement? It will be easier to convince the Israeli right that the Democrats are a bunch of leftists funded by J Street (some Democrat candidates received donations from J Street, a group that supports a two-state solution and objects to occupation policies).

Netanyahu and his associates are facing an additional challenge: how to persuade the Democrats, new and veteran, to help the Trump administration destroy every vestige of the Iran nuclear deal. The 2015 agreement bears the signature of former President Barack Obama and the backing of the 114th Congress, despite Netanyahus outspoken efforts to torpedo it. As Deputy Minister Oren hinted, Israel fears that an intensive search for foreign policy success will lead Trump to an insipid nuclear agreement with North Korea. The next logical step would be a new agreement with Iran, one that would deprive Netanyahu of his signature Iranian threat mantra.

After the sweeping Republican success in the 2016 elections, the Israeli right did not require the services of Congress to advance its interests with an administration of the opposite party. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and Israeli-born Dr. Miriam Adelson and her billionaire gambling tycoon husband Sheldon Adelson  mega-donors to the Republican Party  did the job for them. They burst through three wide-open doors at the White House, the House and the Senate. For the next two years, that last door will no longer swing open automatically. Sitting behind it will be people who do not prostrate themselves before the casino mogul in Las Vegas. It's no wonder Netanyahu did not remember to congratulate the winners of the elections to the 116th Congress.
TUNIS, Tunisia  Salma Elloumi Rekik assumed her post as head of the presidential diwan Nov. 1. She replaced Salim Elezabi, who resigned Oct. 9 due to his opposing the policy adopted by Hafez Caid Essebsi, the executive director of Nidaa Tunis and son of President Beji Caid Essebsi.

Rekik, a 62-year-old businesswoman, served as minister of tourism and handicrafts for three years. She will be the first woman to head the presidential diwan, which oversees the work of the president's advisers, since Tunisias 1956 independence. President Essebsi appointed her to the post Oct. 21.

Rekik has survived four Cabinet reshuffles, which were lobbied for by several opposition parties and the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT).

Bushra Belhaj Hamida, an official spokeswoman for the presidency, told Al-Monitor that the appointment of Rekik is an important step toward empowering women in politics. Women need to be granted sovereign ministries, she said.

Hamida added that Tunisian women still aspire to secure high-ranking political positions, especially since they accounted for 47.7% of the total winners in the municipal elections. They also headed 29.55% of the electoral lists, according to statistics announced by the Supreme Independent Electoral Commission in May 2018.

She said Rekik earned the post given her performance as minister of tourism and handicrafts.

Forbes Magazine named Rekik one of the top 10 most powerful Arab women in government for 2017 due to the success she achieved in Tunisia's public sector.

Three million Algerian and Libyan tourists visited Tunisia in 2016, while 6.7 million tourists from all over the world visited the country this year. Despite the terrorist operations witnessed in Tunisia, Rekik managed to turn Tunisia into the second destination in Africa, following South Africa.

Mounia Ibrahim, a member of Ennahda movement, which holds a majority in parliament, told Al-Monitor that Rekiks appointment marks a valuable victory for Tunisian women in politics. She pointed out that although women have managed to hold political decision-making positions, their representation within parties remains insufficient.

She added that out of 160 Tunisian parties, only two are headed by women: the Democratic Movement for Building and Reform, headed by Amina Mansour al-Qarawi, and the Tunisian Party, headed by Myriam Mnaouar.

This, according to Ibrahim, is a weak figure in a country that has come a long way in the field of rights and freedoms and that seeks to promote the role of women in decision-making positions.

Maha Jouini, a member of the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders, told Al-Monitor that Rekiks appointment was well deserved, as the post had thus far been the preserve of men.

Community growth is measured by the ability to integrate women and enhance their capacity as leaders in the political and development process, she said, adding, This appointment reflects women's role in building a democratic and political process in Tunisia in the wake of the January 2014 revolution.

Abdeljabbar Maddouri, the former editor-in-chief of Sawt Achaab newspaper, told Al-Monitor that Rekiks appointment was merely a measure aimed to satisfy her after she resigned as treasurer in Nidaa Tunis and after the Oct. 17 decision to merge the Free Patriotic Union with Nidaa Tunis.

Rekiks appointment precedes a Cabinet reshuffle that is yet to be announced by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. The reshuffle aims to fill the positions of minister of energy and minister of tourism and handicrafts.

Khaled Kaddour was dismissed from his post as minister of energy on corruption charges, and the Cabinet reshuffle might include other ministries, depending on their performance.

Political parties in Tunisia have yet to agree on the reshuffle, as the Nidaa Tunis bloc (55 parliamentarians out of 217) is calling for Chaheds departure, while Ennahda (68 parliamentarians out of 217) is seeking a ministerial reshuffle while keeping Chahed in his post.

On the other hand, Yuad bin Rajab, a member of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, a nongovernmental organization, praised Rekiks appointment in a statement to Al-Monitor. She said such an appointment is the fruit of womens efforts and successes in all fields.

She said, however, that this shall not overshadow the violations that women are still facing as part of attempts to silence their voices and isolate them in politics.

Women's gains, she added, are still at stake amid the ongoing violations and attacks carried out against women in the public sector.

The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women  an independent women's rights group that works to achieve full and effective gender equality  condemned in a statement issued Oct. 29 the violations committed against female political activists, such as verbal abuse and exposure to violence.

Yamina al-Zaghlami, a parliamentarian for Ennahda, was the subject of a derogatory media campaign due to her helping out a person whom the Ministry of Interior had banned from traveling to France for security reasons. Nidaa Tunis parliamentarian Fatma al-Massadi accused Zaghlami of helping a terrorist leave the country in a press statement to El Hasade website Oct. 29.

Rekiks appointment as head of the presidential diwan is a bold attempt to involve women in Tunisia's political decision-making process at a time when Tunisian women keep hoping for a chance to fulfill their dreams of taking over sovereign ministries and the presidency.

Correction: Nov. 15, 2018 An earlier version of this article missated the date of Tunisia's independence. It is 1956.
ISTANBUL  A Turkish court has overturned a conviction against a former Wall Street Journal reporter in a rare victory for the countrys beleaguered press, boosting hopes the government would relax its clampdown on the media as it seeks to repair relations with Western allies.

Journalist Ayla Albayrak won her appeal on Tuesday against a verdict handed down last year that she had disseminated terrorist propaganda by writing a story about clashes between the military and Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey in 2015. She faced two years and one month in prison, but was free pending the appeal.

The higher court cited procedural reasons, including the statute of limitations, in its decision, and the prosecutor now has two weeks to appeal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The ruling offers a sliver of hope to the hundreds of journalists in Turkey prosecuted in connection with their reporting. About 150 of them are behind bars, according to Human Rights Watch, making Turkey the worlds biggest jailer of journalists.

Turkeys critical press has been decimated under a wider crackdown on President Recep Tayyip Erdogans opponents in the wake of a failed military coup in 2016. Dozens of newspapers, radio stations and television channels were banned, with Kurdish journalists disproportionately affected. Owners of large media companies that questioned government policy have been pushed out, and the sectors consolidation means that 90% of news organizations are directly or indirectly controlled by the government, Reporters Without Borders says.

The Paris-based group ranks Turkey 157th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index, and a broader erosion of human rights in Turkey after the coup attempt  including the jailing of politicians and activists, purges of the civil service and reports of torture  have drawn censure from Europe. Erdogan has also faced complaints that he has used criminal prosecutions against foreign nationals or Turks working for foreign organizations to exact concessions from Western governments.

Now he is seeking to galvanize international pressure on his rival, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, over the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist with close ties to the Turkish government who was killed in a premeditated attack at his countrys consulate in Istanbul last month. Prosecuting Turkeys journalists while decrying the brutal attack on another taints the crusade for justice for Khashoggi, rights groups have said.

Albrayak expressed relief over the decision in her case, as well as concern for the plight of other journalists who have been jailed.

Unfortunately, the case was not dismissed to advance press freedom in Turkey but on procedural grounds. As a journalist in Turkey weve seen a lot, and I was lucky in so many ways compared to those in prison, but Im sorry that my family had to go through this unnecessarily, she told Al-Monitor.

Tunca Ogreten faces a combined 24 years in prison in two separate trials for allegedly insulting Erdogan and revealing state secrets by reporting on the contents of hacked emails of the leaders son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, who is his finance minister.

I believe there is a softening underway in Turkey, but this doesnt apply to everyone. If youre a reporter for a Western outlet or if you have no political engagements, then you may benefit. If youre a Kurdish journalist  you will not, said Ogreten, who spent a year in prison, including 24 days in detention in a small police cell under harsh conditions.

I have no hope in the judicial process working because the legal system remains under the sway of the government, he told Al-Monitor. He pointed to comments this week from Erdogan in which he said members of the judiciary must remain steadfast to the state.

We already see judges and prosecutors as his, and if this isnt enough, it means things could get worse, said Ogreten, who returns to court in January for the next hearings in his trials.

A Wall Street Journal editorial hailed the ruling in Albayraks case as good news for the cause of press freedom, but noted that it fails to remedy the many other Turkish offenses against a free press.

Albayrak, a seasoned reporter who covered the Syrian conflict, the ensuing refugee crisis and Kurdish issues, was charged in connection with a story about fighting between security forces and supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party, an armed group that has waged a three-decade insurgency and is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

She left her home in Turkey during the trial and parted ways with the Wall Street Journal in July. Editor-in-chief Matt Murray described her unwavering bravery and grace  throughout this long and painful ordeal. Albayrak was convicted for honest, objective and irrefutable reporting. In other words, the kind of work that all of us strive to produce every day, he said in a statement.

Ogreten returned to work four days after walking out of prison and now writes for the independent portal Diken and the German newspaper Tageszeitung and hosts a weekly political podcast.

If journalisms main mission is to reveal the truth, then this is the most important time to be a journalist in Turkey. What matters is doing your job during difficult times, he said, even as the fear he could return to prison for his work haunts him.

When there is a late-night knock on the door, I always think they are coming to get me again, he said.
The Alabama Baptist Convention voted on Tuesday to affirm and celebrate the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, a move made earlier this year by President Donald Trump.

The State Baptist Convention, made up of delegates from Southern Baptist churches across Alabama, passed the resolution in its annual meeting held this year at First Baptist Church of Trussville.

Its something Baptists are sympathetic to, said the Rev. Jim Cooley, chairman of the resolutions committee, pastor of First Baptist Church of Birmingham and moderator of the Birmingham Baptist Convention.

It was not a political stance so much as an expression of long-standing solidarity with the nation of Israel among Southern Baptists, Cooley said.

It has been a sympathy for the nation of Israel that has been pervasive, an appreciation for the historic nature of Israel and support for them, Cooley said. They are the democracy in the Middle East. There is a recognition that our faith has sprung from there.

There are more than a million Southern Baptists in Alabama, making it the largest denomination in the state.

The convention also called for prayer and unity and urged Baptists to follow the Golden Rule in civil dialogue on matters of moral, ethical and spiritual concern.

Its just saying lets be civil to one another, Cooley said. Nobody has to be unpleasant.

That goes for people whether they support Trump or oppose him in this politically charged atmosphere, Cooley said.

Not just politically, culturally, were at a place where divisiveness just seems to be saturating the public square, Cooley said. Sometimes when I watch the news and I hear the political things and all of this rancor, I just get out and go to the mall and watch everybody being nice to one other and realize this is not what we are on the street. By and large, people are still civil to one another. More than civil, were friendly to one another.
The Alabama Baptist Convention on Wednesday elected a Chelsea pastor as president of the states largest denominational body.

The Rev. Tim Cox, pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Chelsea since 1998, has previously served two years as first vice president. Cox succeeds the Rev. John Thweatt, pastor of First Baptist Church of Pell City, who was president the past two years.

I want to just be faithful to the mission, Cox said in an interview with AL.com. I want to fan the flames of evangelism and keep the focus on the Great Commission. I want to be a servant and a prayer partner, a prayer warrior, an encourager.

Cox is the son of the Rev. Henry H. Cox, pastor of Durant Chapel Baptist Church in Bay Minette, who served as president of the state convention from 2004-2006. Its the first time a father and a son have both been elected as state convention presidents, Alabama Baptists officials announced after the election.

Cox graduated from Mobile College, now the University of Mobile, and has masters and doctoral degrees in theology from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

The state convention includes about 3,200 Southern Baptist churches throughout Alabama, with membership of about a million, making it the states largest denomination.
The news of a 9-year-old Madison Maddie Whittsetts death by suicide in Birmingham this week shocked parents and families across the state. How could such a young person die by suicide let alone even think of it?

Maddies stepfather, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Lt. Jimmie Williams, told AL.com he believed that bullying by children at school might have contributed to her death. Additionally, Lt. Williams said, Maddie had recently started a new medication to help her ADHD, but the medication had a listed side effect of possibly causing suicidal thoughts.

The bullying plus the medicine, I think, gave her the boost to do that, Lt. Williams said.

The death by suicide of children under 12 isnt unheard of but is rare. According to the Center for Disease Control, 53 children nationwide aged 5 to 11 years old died by suicide in 2016, making it the ninth leading cause of death in children in that age group.

Suicide is a public health issue not only in Alabama but across the country, experts say, and recognizing warning signs and knowing how to talk with children about suicide is key in prevention.

Katie Beaugez, a mental health therapist that works with the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition, said parents can be hesitant to talk with young children about suicide, worried that talking about it will put the thought into their heads.

Research shows the opposite is true, she said. It wont cause them to have suicidal thoughts, she said, but if they are, they will then feel like they can open up about whats going on. The result, she said, is that talking about suicide actually lowers the risk of suicide.

Even though children may not have the language skills to talk clearly about suicide, she said, Anytime someone says I want to die, its really important to take that seriously.

Around first grade and even before then, Beaugez said, children know what it means when you say kill yourself. But whether children realize that death is final is not clear, she added.

If a kid is saying that theyre really reaching out for help.

Parents should get the child professional help as soon as possible, she said. That could mean calling the childs pediatrician or reaching out to the National Suicide Prevention lifeline, she said.

The warning signs of suicide look different in younger children, she said. Though many think children must be depressed before having suicidal thoughts, that isnt true, she said.

For kids, she said, it can look more like behavior problems or anger. It can be a lot of internal problems that they dont know how to express.

If someone the child knows has died by suicide, Beaugez said, parents should talk with their child about it.

Initiate that conversation with your kid, she said. More likely than not, they have some feelings about it.

For some, mental health may be a difficult topic, but, she said, If you show your kid youre not afraid to talk about mental health, itll make them more comfortable.

Though not much research has been done on the death by suicide of children aged 5 to 11 years old, a 2016 study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal examining suicides by children, found a rise in black children dying by suicide in recent years.

The study examined the differences in suicide among children, aged 5 to 11 years old, and early adolescents, aged 12 to 14 years. Researchers reviewed 693 suicides between 2003 and 2012 in 17 states, not including Alabama. Of that number, 87 were children and 606 were early adolescents.

The study found black children who died by suicide were more likely to be male and to die by hanging, strangulation or suffocation than early adolescents who took their own lives. Children were also more likely to die at home than early adolescents.

Children who died by suicide were more likely to have recently had problems with family members and friends than early adolescents were.

The study also found that children with attention-deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity (ADD and/or ADHD) were more likely to die by suicide than early adolescents with the disorder.

Authors of the study caution that the sample they studied was not nationally representative and that more research is needed.

----------------------------------------------------------

Here are warning signs to watch for if you fear someone is suicidal and resources that can help those thinking of harming themselves or who fear a loved one might harm themselves.

WARNING SIGNS

 Threatening to hurt or kill oneself or talking about wanting to hurt or kill oneself.

 Looking for ways to kill oneself by seeking access to firearms, available pills, or other means.

 Talking or writing about death, dying, ''ending the pain'' or suicide.

 Feeling hopeless.

 Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities - seemingly without thinking.

 Feeling trapped - like there's no way out.

 Increasing alcohol or drug use.

 Withdrawing from friends, family, social support and society.

 Feeling anxious, agitated, or unable to sleep or sleeping all the time.

 Experiencing significant mood changes.

 Seeing no reason for living or having no sense of purpose in life.

 Feeling rage or uncontrolled anger or seeking revenge.

HOW TO HELP

 Ask the person directly if he or she is having suicidal thoughts, has a plan to do so, and has access to lethal means.

 If you think the person might harm him- or herself, do not leave the person alone.

 Take seriously all suicide threats and all past suicide attempts, even if he or she minimizes your concerns.

 Be direct. Talk openly and matter-of-factly about suicide.

 Be willing to listen and be non-judgmental. Don't debate whether suicide is right or wrong, or whether feelings are good or bad. Don't lecture on the value of life or whether suicide is viewed by some as a sinful, selfish or angry act. Respect that suicidal feelings are most likely related to ending emotional or psychological pain.

 Get involved. Become available. Show interest and support. Take into account other trusted friends, family members or allies who can be a part of a supportive team.

 Don't dare him or her to do it.

 Don't act shocked. This may translate as criticism or judgment and weaken trust between you.

 Don't be sworn to secrecy. Acknowledge that all suicidal risk is to be taken seriously and firmly and gently explain that you are seeking support.

 Offer hope that alternatives are available but do not offer glib reassurance.

 Take action. Remove means, such as guns or stockpiled pills.

 Get help from persons or agencies specializing in crisis intervention and suicide prevention.

Resources in Alabama

 Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition

 Crisis Center, Inc. (Birmingham) Phone: (205) 323-7777 Kids Help Line: (205) 328-KIDS (5437) Teen Link: (205) 328-LINK (5465) Senior Talk Line: (205) 328-TALK (8255) Hours of Operation: 24/7

 Crisis Services of North Alabama (Huntsville) Phone: (256) 716-1000 Toll Free: (800) 691-8426 Hours of Operation: 24/7

 Lifelines/Family Counseling Center of Mobile Phone: (251) 431-5111 Toll Free: (800) 293-1117 Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (CST) Monday-Friday

Sources: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and The Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition
The Birmingham Zoo received its first endowed gift for conservation efforts, the zoo announced Tuesday.

The endowment came from Phyllis and Larry Wojciechowski and will be named the Phyllaris Fund. The fund will support the Birmingham Zoos Passion into Conservation Action (PiCA) program that awards grants to zoo staff members in support of conservation projects and worldwide research.

The initial gift for the endowment is $250,000 and will increase over time, zoo officials said.

Larry and Phyllis moved to Birmingham from Michigan and Arizona after retiring in 2003. They soon became involved in the community and were impacted by several Zoo Animal Care Professionals.

We were captivated by the care and passion they [Animal Care Professionals] have for what they do at the Zoo every day, the Wojciechowskis said in a statement.

The PiCA grant program was founded at the Birmingham Zoo in 2012. It encourages employees to participate in projects that support the conservation of species at a local, regional and international levels. The PiCA grant provides full-time employees opportunities to research the conservation of wildlife species and habitats.

The project requires all research benefit conservation, the Birmingham Zoo and the employees professional development and passions.

It has been one of the most satisfying things of my entire career to watch my fellow employees pursue their interests, expand their professional skillsets and get the Zoo out in the field making a direct impact on conservation, PiCa Program and Conservation Manager Terra Manasco said of the program. These are truly passion projects and staff demonstrates that enthusiasm on daily basis as they share their stories from the field with our guests.

The Wojciechowskis wanted to establish an endowed gift that would provide annual income to the PiCA program. The funds will support grant awards for Zoo employees participating in the program.

We wanted to ensure that Birmingham Zoo employees will be able to fulfill their passion and research of the natural world. We are so fortunate to be able to make this gift to the Zoos PiCA program and to be able to see our legacy in action, the Wojciechowskis said.
Brenda Snipes, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, who has been made the focus of the Broward County election controversy was born and raised in Talladega, Alabama.

Her bio on the Broward County SOE website says she was born in Talladega and graduated high school from the public schools there.

After completing Westside High School, she entered the historical Talladega College where she majored in modern foreign languages, the bio reads.

She and her husband, Walter Snipes, moved to Broward County in 1964 to begin their careers as educators. She began her career in Broward County as a teacher at Blanche Ely High School.

Before she retired from the school district in 2003, she served as the area director where she was responsible for leading principals at sixteen schools and centers, according to the bio.

In 2003, then-Republican governor Jeb Bush appointed Snipes as supervisor of elections. She has been re-elected four times, most recently in 2016.

Bush called for her to step down in a tweet posted Monday, saying she failed to comply with Florida law.

There is no question that Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes failed to comply with Florida law on multiple counts, undermining Floridians confidence in our electoral process. Supervisor Snipes should be removed from her office following the recounts, the tweet read.

There is no question that Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes failed to comply with Florida law on multiple counts, undermining Floridians confidence in our electoral process. Supervisor Snipes should be removed from her office following the recounts.  Jeb Bush (@JebBush) November 12, 2018

Other Republicans, including President Donald Trump.

The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night Trump said in a tweet posted Monday morning.

The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2018

Trumps comments came just hours before Broward Chief Circuit Chief Judge Jack Tuter held an emergency hearing on a request by lawyers for Republican Gov. Rick Scott, whose lead in the Senate race over incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson has narrowed with the counting of provisional and other ballots, AP reported.

They asked for additional sheriffs deputies to be sent to Snipes' office to monitor ballots and voting machines. The lawyers requested that the deputies be present when the ballots and voting machines are not being used and until the recount is over.

Today, the court ordered Broward County to follow our request for ballots to be continuously protected by law enforcement. Ensuring the protection and security of ballots is critical to respecting the will of the voters.  Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) November 12, 2018

Snipes told the Miami Herald Tuesday its time to move on, suggesting she will not seek another term when her current term expires in 2020.

I think I have served the purpose that I came for, which is to provide a credible election product for Broward, she told the Herald.

State law requires a machine recount in races where the margin is less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Scotts lead over Nelson was 0.14 percentage points. In the governors contest, unofficial results showed Republican former Rep. Ron DeSantis ahead of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 0.41 percentage points.

Once the recount is complete, if the differences in any of the races are 0.25 percentage points or less, a hand recount will be ordered. All 67 counties face a state-ordered deadline of Thursday to finish their recounts.
A tour bus that was traveling from Huntsville, Alabama crashed in north Mississippi, leaving two people dead and dozens more injured today.

Mississippi officials have identified the two women who died in the crash. Those women are 61-year-old Cynthia Hardin and 76-year-old Betty Russell. Both women were from Huntsville.

Mississippi officials said victims remain at five different hospitals in two states.

The bus crashed around 12:30 p.m. on Interstate 269 at Highway 78 in DeSoto County, said Sgt. Joey Miller, a spokesman for the Mississippi Highway Patrol. The scene is just south of Collierville, Tennessee, which is a suburb of Memphis.

Miller said the bus, which was carrying 46 people, left Huntsville today heading to Tunica.

We have two confirmed fatalities, Miller said by phone. The 44 injuries range from complaining of pain to cuts to more.

The injured people were taken to various area hospitals. The authorities havent identified any of the victims. Miller said authorities are trying to notify their families.

The bus was operated by Teague VIP Express, an Anniston, Alabama company.

Our prayers and our hearts go out to the families, a Teague spokeswoman told AL.com by phone. Right now, our concern is the people who were on the bus.

As of Tuesday, the company had a satisfactory rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The rating is based on reviews that happened in 2017, the federal records state.

However, the company was cited for 15 violations during 2017 reviews. Those violations were not considered critical, according to the FMCSA. The violations included an oil and/or grease leak, inoperative or defective turn signals, windshield wipers and lighting, failure to maintain driver records for the previous seven days of duty status, defective or missing axle parts, a cracked or broken wheel rim, and worn, welded or missing steering system components.

Teague vehicles havent been involved in any prior crashes, federal records state.

Roads were becoming icy earlier today in DeSoto County, where sleet and snow were falling, according to the sheriffs office.

The cause of this crash is weather related, Miller said in an emailed statement.

**** Roads are getting icy and dangerous.*** UPDATE-Additional wreck on 269 both westbound lanes blocked due to... Posted by DeSoto County Sheriff's Department on Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Further details about the crash werent immediately available.

Updated on Nov. 15, 2018 at 6:12 a.m. to correct the ages of the women who died. Mississippi Highway Patrol initially released incorrect ages.
Former District Attorney and Criminal Appeals Court Judge Jimmy Fry died after having heart surgery Monday, the Alabama District Attorneys Association announced Tuesday. He was 68.

Fry was from Athens and served as the Limestone County District Attorney from 1982 to 1999 when he was appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals. He was an associate judge on the court from 1999 to 2001. He also served as an executive director of Legal Services Alabama before retiring in 2016.

Fry held several leadership positions in the ADAA, including secretary-treasurer, vice president and president.

After he left the Court of Criminal Appeals, Fry worked 10 years with Legal Services Alabama, first as director for the southern region of Alabama and then as the state executive director. Fry was a founding member of the Northwest Alabama Drug Task Force and former co-chairperson of the U.S. Attorneys Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee. He served on the Athens City School board and was a founding member of the Childrens First Foundation of Alabama.

Fry most recently served as a supernumerary district attorney in Montgomery. Supernumeraries are former or retired district attorneys who handle special cases the current district attorney cant.

ADAA Executive Director Barry Matson called Fry a dedicated lawyer, prosecutor and jurist.

Not only were we well-acquainted professionally, I also consider Jimmy a good friend. Ive known him my entire career. He worked tirelessly to promote the interest of prosecutors, victims and the citizens of the state of Alabama. We all were extremely proud when he was appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Matson said. We are truly heartbroken by his death.

Mike ODell, the district attorney for Cherokee and DeKalb counties, worked with Fry in the 1990s.

Jimmy was a great guy and an outstanding prosecutor, ODell said. He was innovative and very personable. He was a tremendous asset to the association.

In addition to his legal work, Fry was also remembered for his sense of humor, optimism and leadership

He was one of those people who were fun to be around, said Bill Baxley, a former lieutenant governor, attorney general and district attorney who served in the National Guard with Fry. He was one of the best prosecutors we ever had in this state. He tried some of the biggest cases in Alabama. He was sent all over the state to try the big cases. He had really good judgment and could readily assess things.

Birmingham attorney LaVeeda Battle served on the board of Legal Services when Fry was executive director and remembers him as an advocate for the less fortunate.

He was totally dedicated to the mission of Legal Services, Battle said in a statement. He was a strong advocate for people in poverty, especially people who needed legal services.

Funeral services for Fry have not been publicly announced.

The Alabama District Attorneys Associations membership includes the district attorneys of all 42 judicial circuits, the state attorney general and the director of the Alabama Securities Commission. The association promotes education and professionalism among prosecutors and advocates for a fair, just and effective criminal justice system.
Dont hit the gas just yet.

Just weeks after the Birmingham Jefferson County Board of Directors appeared to steady itself under new leadership following months of petty infighting, the virus appears to be affecting the entire agencywith significant repercussions.

For instance: Medical benefits to more than 300 Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority employees were restored on Tuesday after workers had been left without coverage, including prescription coverage, for more than a month due to a lapse in premium payments, interim executive director Christopher Ruffin confirmed.

Ruffin said a check for $888,000representing two months premiumswas sent to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama on Tuesday morning and the company immediately reinstated coverage, which had been suspended on October 1.

It is unclear how many employees were affected by the lapse. One current employee, who asked that their name not be used, said she took her daughter to the doctor earlier this month only to discover she had no medical insurance.

They treated her, the employee said. But I will get the bill.

Several other employees went to the doctor or pharmacist recently, she added, and discovered they had no coverage.

While coverage had lapsed, premium payments were still taken from employees paychecks on October 12, October 26 and November 9.

Any money anyone had to spend [on treatment or prescriptions] will get refunded to them [by Blue Cross], Ruffin said.

The interim executive director, who has overseen the beleaguered authority since April, says he learned of the lapse on Monday afternoon from Finance Director Gary Collins, who was hired in October to replace Karen Jacobs, who resigned in June.

He blamed the missed payments on finance department employees who remained after Jacobs sudden resignation. That was her staff, he said. The finance department got us in a rut.

There have indeed been other financial miscues. Last month, it was revealed that the BJCTA had invoiced Hoover and Vestavia Hills for amounts higher than what they had previously been told would be required to service their citiesamounts they had locked into their approved budgets.

Hoover was billed for $89,000 rather than $81,000; Vestavia Hills was billed $92,000 when the city had only allocated $69,000 in its FY19 budget.

The discrepancies have yet to be resolved.

Yet Jacobs resignation was just one of many departures and firings that have elevated tensions and turmoil throughout BJCTA ranks in recent months under the direction of Ruffin and Adrian Solomon, the agencys chief of staff. Since April, the agency has also lost department heads in Human Resources, Maintenance and Safety, along with numerous employees in various areas.

The agency also recently reported that it was down more than 20 driver/operators from its budgeted allocation.

On Tuesday, Ruffin, the former Director of Operations, acknowledged the existence of numerous email correspondences. authored by angry current and former employees, that recently flooded the inboxes of board members and city officials throughout Jefferson County. The messages were hyper-critical of BJCTA leadership, particularly its management style and practices.

[The letters] were a betrayal to some degree, Ruffin said. Most of the people who put the letters out are the same people who talked about how the [previous] board wasnt paying attention to our reports. They saw the boards inability to get along. They called board meetings ----shows.

Now theyre going back to the board when they were ridiculing the board the entire time.

AL.com reached out to authors of several authors of the correspondences but none would allow their name to be revealed.

Ruffin admitted that the strain of the task he took on seven months ago is adversely affecting him.

Your minds constantly on this stuff, he said. Its working on me.

Before anyone knew who I was, I was checking on routes, making sure they were safe, he added. I had a passion for being the Director of Operations. I never thought I would be an executive director.

Now, Im going around and looking at paperwork and spending nights reading and trying to understand what has happened at this transit authority; I realize its in bad shape and has been for some time.

Im just one person, he said. Im a human being.

The board is scheduled to hold a special call executive session on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Topics of discussion will likely include launching a national search for a permanent executive director, audits and investigations into issues involving the agencys tenuous culture.

Im gonna go through the process, Ruffin said. My hats off to anyone they bring in to try their best to do what they can in Birmingham, Alabama. I will strongly support that person. But I dont think anyone here is better at transportation for the Birmingham grid than me.

A few blocks away, the City of Birmingham issued a Request for Proposal for a company to provide micro transit services to pilot an on-demand micro transit system for the City. The deadline for proposals is November 26 at 5:00 p.m.

Interestingly, the BJCTA announced last month it had contracted with TransLoc, another on-demand micro transit service provider for a three-month pilot of a web-based system addressing what the agency calls the first-mile problemgetting people from their homes to the nearest bus stop.

It is slated to begin in early 2019.

Until then, dont expect a smooth ride.

Roy S. Johnsons column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Hit me up at rjohnson@al.com or/and follow me at twitter.com/roysj or on Instagram at instagram.com/roysj/
A man faces criminal charges after another threat was made to Eufaula City Schools Monday night, officials said.

The school system closed its doors Nov. 8 after a threat was posted to social media the night before. This second threat was posted on social media Monday night, Eufaula police said.

A man from Clayton, 19-year-old Latrell Vontae Chism, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with seven felony counts of making a terrorist threat, police chief Steve Watkins said in a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday.

The post was the second in as many weeks threatening harm to the school institutions, students and staff in Eufaula. The Eufaula Police Department aggressively investigated the latest incident into the overnight hours, culminating in an arrest Tuesday afternoon, Watkins said.

Chism is being held in the Eufaula City Jail awaiting a bond hearing. Watkins said the FBI is also reviewing the facts of the case, but federal charges have not been announced.

Eufaula City Schools operated on a normal schedule Tuesday. School officials said additional security would be at the school, according to a statement posted on Facebook.

We stringently emphasize the seriousness of threats made against our students and citizens and assure that these cases will be investigated and prosecuted swiftly and harshly. Because of the complexity and manner of threats made on social media, congruent investigations are conducted by various federal agencies, and appropriate charges filed. The motive for the threats is of no consequence to our investigations, and threats made in mimicry or jest are treated with due seriousness, Watkins said.

To reiterate for clarity, anyone communicating a threat against our students and citizens WILL be arrested and prosecuted without regard to ancillary motivations. We will not tolerate blatant disruptions and disregard for personal safety in Eufaula.

The FBI, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Fusion Center, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Clayton Police Department assisted in the investigation, Watkins said.

Further details about the threat were not immediately available.
Alabama Senator Doug Jones will reportedly seek reelection in 2020.

Zach Cohen with National Journal reported Jones, a Democrat, said hes already off and running in the race to keep the seat he won in December 2017 in an upset over Republican Roy Moore. Jones win came after Moore, the former Supreme Court Chief Justice in the state, was accused of having improper contact with teenage girls in the 1970s while he was in his 30s.

#ALsen Doug Jones (D) confirms hell seek reelection in 2020. Already off and running.  Zach C. Cohen (@Zachary_Cohen) November 13, 2018

Moore has denied the claims.

No Republicans have officially announced intentions to challenge Jones, though Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, said he is gauging support from voters before deciding on his 2020 plans.

A Byrne spokesperson confirmed to AL.com the Congressman was actively considering a run for the Senate seat.

Another potential candidate is Jeff Sessions, who vacated the Senate seat when appointed U.S. Attorney General by President Donald Trump. Sessions resigned under pressure last week and questions have risen if the Alabama Republican would make a bid for his former post. Sources close to Sessions said he is considering challenging Jones in 2020.
An investigation is underway after a 19-year-old was shot this morning in Center Point.

Just after 7 a.m. Wednesday, Jefferson County sheriffs deputies responded to a shooting complaint in the 1800 block of Martinique Drive N.E. in Center Point. A caller reported hearing two gunshots and then seeing a man with a gun in some bushes near the apartments, said Chief Deputy Randy Christian.

Deputies arrived to find the 19-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to an area hospital with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

Deputies are currently searching the area for the shooter. The motive is unknown.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office at 205-325-1450 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Chief Charles Gordon is ending his tenure as the citys 21st fire chief.

Gordon, 57, will retire effective Dec. 28 after 30 years with department. However, his last day on the job will be next Tuesday. Gordon joined the department in January 1989 and rose through the ranks until he was appointed chief by former Mayor William Bell in September 2014.

Its a bittersweet moment, Gordon told AL.com Wednesday. 30 years being a part of something, its become a big part of my life. I think about and tears come to my eyes.

Gordon likes to tell the story about how it almost didnt happen, all because of a slip on a balance beam when he was training to become a firefighter. He had completed all of the required tasks  such as running and dragging a heavy dummy  and only had to complete the required walk on an inches-wide beam toting a massive fire hose.

He fell off, not once but twice.

The battalion chief told Gordon he had not met the requirements to become a firefighter and instructed Gordon to go tell then-Assistant Chief Euel S. Laughlin what had happened and turn in his papers. Laughlin told Gordon, I dont care how many times it takes, you cross that beam, he recalled. He had a grim look on his face.

Gordon went back and did it again. He crossed the beam and crossed over into the profession he would hold dear for the next 30 years. Just think, if Chief Laughlin hadnt given me a second chance, we wouldnt be having this conversation, he said.

Gordon holds a bachelors degree in accounting from from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a bachelors degree in public safety administration from Athens State College and an associate degree in Fire Science from Jefferson State Community College. He is also a nationally-registered EMT paramedic, a certification he also received from UAB.

During Gordons tenure with BFRS, he held the positions of assistant chief of emergency medical services and fiscal operations, battalion chief of Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, EMS battalion chief, operations battalion chief, EMS field supervisor, lieutenant and station captain.

Gordon was first appointed as a battalion chief in 2000 and then served as assistant chief from 2012 until he became chief in 2014. Bell appointed Gordon to the position after former fire Chief Ivor Brooks died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack.

Gordon said when he was first told of his appointment, he wondered whether he was cut out for the job. Ive always been the person behind the scenes and I spoke with a friend about that right after being appointed, he said. They told me to just be myself and I think thats the key to what I consider being successful. Ive been open and accessible to everyone in the department. Thats been important to me.

He didnt stay behind the scenes too long. In fact, he jokes that he quickly became know as The Facebook Chief because he posts frequently on social media  both professionally and personally. Of late, the majority of his posts are about his infant granddaughter who clearly takes up the majority of his free time.

I wanted the public and our personnel to know me and know who I am, and I wanted to know them and what is going on in their lives, Gordon said. Facebook has allowed me to do that.

While heading the department of more than 700 employees  including more than 600 firefighters  Gordon from a Class 3 Public Protection Classification to a Class 2 in 2017 with expectations to reach the top classification by early 2019.

We have enhanced the safety of our personnel by the equipment we have purchased, brought in an arson canine, and provided economic opportunities through the career tech and fire schools programs, he said. Eight of our explorers are in our new fire academy class. I think weve done some good things in the community.

Also under his leadership, the department:

*Rebuilt the departments training tower in Five Points West

*Completed construction of fire station No. 8 in Kingston

*Improved the departments safety equipment for employees

*Increased involvement in the community through charitable giving, participating in events.

*Started a para-medicine program for residents to serve those lacking access to health care

I feel good about the things weve been able to accomplish, Gordon said. A lot of those things I cant take credit for, but one of my goals was to empower those under my command and it has worked.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said Gordon was a thorough, fair and great leader. Hes not a talker. Hes a doer, Woodfin said. He has the respect of Birmingham Fire and Rescue. I credit the morale of his department to his leadership. I will personally miss him.
A group of Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service firefighters are being lauded for going above and beyond when they spotted a young girl walking alone and immediately sensed something wasnt right.

What started with a gut feeling ended up with a fire captain walking the girl more than a mile to school, and others going on ahead to let the principal know the young student was on her way.

It all happened Oct. 31 when BFRS Capt. Kenneth Bailey said he and his crew - apparatus operator Brian Garvich and firefighter Darsel Hough  were finishing up extinguishing a dumpster fire on Center Street. As they were wrapping up, Bailey noticed a small child walking and knew it was already past time for her to be in school.

She should have already been in class, Bailey said. She had a backpack on and I knew there wasnt a school close by. None of it was right.

Bailey approached the girl and asked her if she was OK. She said she had missed the bus, Bailey said. I asked her where her parents were, but she said she stayed with her auntie and her auntie was asleep.

The girl  believed to be 6 or 7 years old - told Bailey she was going to Washington Elementary, which is 1.1 miles away from Elyton Village and a 23-minute walk. I knew what traffic she would face, and there were train tracks too, Bailey said. We started walking.

Bailey said he asked the girl if she was afraid when she made the walk. She said, Yeah, theres a lot of high crime and people are always talking to me, Bailey said. She pointed to certain houses and I knew for a fact they were drug houses.

When they approached the railroad tracks, Bailey asked her was she did if she was going that way and a train was stopped. She said she used the ladder, he said. I knew what that meant. She used the ladder on the side of the (train) car to cross over.

Washington Elementary School

Bailey said the girl repeatedly asked him if the lunchroom would still be open when she got to school. When we got up to the school, the first thing out of the principals mouth was, Have you had anything to eat? Bailey said.

The firefighters learned it wasnt the first time the girl had walked to school alone. School officials promised to follow up on the girls home situation.

Earlier this week, the department announced Bailey, Garvich and Hough received letters of commendation for their actions. The crew exhibited extraordinary care and concern for a young child they observed walking alone along a busy thoroughfare, the department wrote on its Facebook page. When they learned that the child was planning to walk over a mile and a half to school, they joined the child on the 20-minute walk for a safe escort to school.

The department used the hashtag #everydayheroes to describe the groups effort.

Bailey said they didnt want to make a big deal about their good deed, but word got out because they had been out of service for a while and ultimately had to provide an explanation to the department. Because of city rules, they couldnt give the girl a ride on the fire truck without permission, and Bailey said he didnt mind the walk.

She talked all the way. She was happy to have someone with her, he said. It made me feel good.
Authorities say a DNA test has confirmed that skeletal remains found in Alabama decades ago belong to a missing Louisiana woman believed to have been killed.

The Advocate reports authorities announced Tuesday that the remains belong to Mary Ann Perez, who disappeared in 1976. Mobile County Sheriff's Office Detective J.T. Thornton says he learned of the DNA match on Monday.

He says he took a fresh look last year at the unidentified skeletal remains that had been found in an Alabama cornfield. He suspected they belonged to Perez and reached out to her family, who told him Perez had previous injuries that matched the remains' and had items on her that were found with them. Perez's daughter then provided a DNA sample that led to the genetic data match with the remains.

The findings have revived the possibility that a man who claimed responsibility for Perez's slaying may be charged in her death. That man, 74-year-old David Courtney, is currently serving a life sentence in Kansas in an unrelated killing.

David Courtney and his wife, Donna, pleaded guilty in 1980 to a Wichita, Kansas, killing. Donna Courtney died shortly after being paroled in 1990. Kansas authorities have said the two also admitted to killing two people in Houston and one near New Orleans. The details of the New Orleans slaying matched those in Perez's disappearance.

News outlets at that time reported Perez was having car trouble near a New Orleans lounge in 1976 when she was spotted by Courtney. He had been on his way to pick up his wife from her job and offered to take Perez home. They say she instead was driven to the couple's home while rebuffing their sexual advances. Investigators said then that David Courtney then strangled her with a coat hanger and dumped her body somewhere.

Thornton says information from the Perez case will be forwarded to authorities in Louisiana and Alabama.
Bond is set at $1 million for a 65-year-old suspect in the beating death of a man whose body was discovered Friday in Selma.

Winston Lee Harrison, convicted of killing another person in 2001, is charged with murder in the Friday death of 43-year-old Ricky Dewayne Sanders. The victim, said Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson, lived with the suspect and his girlfriend. Authorities said the victim was beaten with a tire jack and a brick but have not yet released a motive.

Sanders body was found about 8 a.m. Friday on Lamar Avenue. According to newly-released court records, detectives  following the discovery of Sanders body  learned that Sanders lived in the basement of the Harrison shares with his girlfriend.

The couple told investigators they had last seen Sanders about 1 p.m. on Thursday when he dropped off the couple after taking them to sell a sofa, according to court records. Harrisons girlfriend, Della Olds, told police they were in the bed later that night when their motion light came on about 11:30 p.m. but they said they didnt see anyone.

Harrison, according to the criminal complaint, said he was home in bed. However, detectives canvassed the neighborhood and reviewed some footage that showed Harrison going to the area where the victims body was found at 11:47 p.m. Thursday and leaving the same area at 11:52 p.m., during the same time he said he was in his bed.

Police also interviewed the woman who discovered Sanders body and she told them she heard Harrison and Sanders arguing and then said she heard loud noises, as if people were fighting.

On Saturday, Selma police officers again questioned Harrison. He reiterated that he was home that Thursday night and didnt go anywhere. After detectives showed him video of himself in the area where Sanders body was found, Harrison the told them he went to the area to buy crack. While there, he told them, he smoked a blunt and drank beer with another man, all in less than five minutes. He maintained that he did not have contact with Sanders at all that night.

The detectives then took Harrison back to hi home and retrieved the clothing he claimed he was wearing that Thursday night. After obtaining search warrants, the detectives searched a gold Nissan Altima in Harrisons yard and found blood on the drivers seat head rest, charging documents state. There was also blood on the drivers seat, on the drivers side hood, the front fender, the drivers side door and in the trunk area.

While processing the vehicle at police headquarters, a bloody car jack was found inside the vehicle. They then obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Court records show Harrison was arrested on a murder charge but was convicted in 2001 of a reduced charge of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 20 years in that case. Additional details about that slaying werent immediately available.

Jackson said Harrison also is a convicted sex offender for a crime he committed in Connecticut.
While the West remains complacent and aloof towards the humanitarian crisis, Russia steps in.

There is something deeply unsettling about seeing a white man posing for pictures, surrounded by young African children calling for help, in the 21st century.

Last year, I covered the visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the Central African Republic (CAR). This year, we followed Jan Egeland from the Norwegian Refugee Council.

One called the CAR a forgotten conflict, the other a neglected one. Both visits were about pretty much the same thing: drawing attention to a country largely ignored by the international community spiralling into sectarian violence and on the verge of a humanitarian conflict in need of more help.

These calls for help had in most part fallen on deaf ears. Promises made were broken.

The United Nations said it needs nearly $516m to help the 2.5 million people in CAR. So far, it has received a fraction of that amount, about $123m. What this means in practice is that people are going hungry. Security is deteriorating with armed groups continuing to fight, displacing people.

{articleGUID}

Bystanders

On November 14, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on renewing the humanitarian and peacekeeping mandate of the UN mission in the country.

The UNs 12,000 troops have prevented the sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians from turning into a genocide, says Najat Rochdy, CARs humanitarian coordinator.

But some diplomats and aid workers we spoke to accuse the UN peacekeepers of being mere bystanders to the conflict, with some even calling them incompetent.

In April, UN troops stormed the Muslim neighbourhood of PK5 in the capital, Bangui, to arrest a local rebel commander who called himself General Force.

Heavily armed UN troops in armoured vehicles with aerial intelligence were overpowered by young men in flip-flops with Ak47s. Nineteen died and hundreds were injured, mostly locals.

General Force was unscathed.

West, UN fail

France, the former colonial power, is now on the retreat. They intervened when Muslim Seleka fighters took over control of Bangui in 2013. But after some of the soldiers were accused of sexual abuse, they left.

I met girls as young as 13 who said they were raped by French soldiers meant to protect them. Human rights organisations accused some of the troops of filming girls forced to have sex with dogs.

{articleGUID}

These crimes remain unpunished.

A court in France dropped the charges, saying there isnt enough evidence for prosecution. A lawyer in Bangui told me: Imagine if African soldiers raped young children in Paris. Would the crimes remain unpunished?

Since then, most of the French troops have gone. The ones left are UN peacekeepers and European soldiers in Bangui training a poorly equipped CAR army.

We saw UN and European troops on their day off, at the pool of the capitals Ledger Hotel, playing volleyball, drinking beer and listening to Eurythmics, while ordinary people in the city suffered a major water crisis, struggling to find water to drink.

The situation in the rest of the country is catastrophic. Fourteen militia groups fuel sectarian violence, forcing 1.2 million people to flee in search of a safe place to live.

Russia steps in

The UN-backed African Union peace talks have so far failed to stop the fighting. As the West remained complacent and aloof, ignoring the CAR, Russia stepped in.

{articleGUID}

At the request of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, Russian military instructors, including former soldiers who fought in Syria and Ukraine, are now in the CAR, helping the government regain control of the country.

The Russians recently opened a clinic in the rebel-held town of Bria. More of their military advisors are expected in the coming months.

Russia is supporting peace talks organised by Sudan in Khartoum to try and get armed groups around the table with the elected government.

The Russians are here in the CAR. And you wont see them at the pool of the Ledger Hotel, playing volleyball and drinking beer, or taking pictures with poor children.
Campji, a news channel in Beirut, is dedicated to stories of refugees told by the refugees themselves.

Ahmed Mansour understood the importance of media representation at an early age when he watched the Israeli assault on Gaza in 2008 on TV.

It was a turning point for me. I saw how the Israeli media twisted the reality on the ground to benefit its own narrative. We Palestinians didnt have the necessary means to refute their claims, Mansour said.

Mansour got a chance to pursue journalism when the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle started an initiative in 2013 to train refugees.

Together, these citizen journalists run Campji, a news channel dedicated stories of refugees told by the refugees themselves.

With more than 30,000 followers on Facebook, Campji is an opportunity for young Palestinians like Mansour to reclaim the refugee narrative and change stereotypes about the camps.

I want to shed light on all the positive things that exist in the camps, he said. A refugee is a normal person, a person like any other citizen in Lebanon or the rest of the world. We have stories to tell.

Filmmaker: HyoJin Park

Translator and Assistant Producer: Farah Najjar
Earlier this month, the Russian government hosted a much-awaited peace conference on Afghanistan, which was attended by representatives from the Taliban. After the event, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was photographed posing next to members of the Taliban leadership, who, paradoxically, are still on Russias terror list.

For keen observers of Russian foreign policy, it was clear that the conference was not more than a photo-op meant to publicly declare the Kremlins ambition to re-assert itself in the southern part of Central Asia and Afghanistan in particular.

The Taliban also benefited from the conference: for the first time its representatives participated in a forum organised by a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The conference was initially scheduled for September 4, but after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani personally spoke to Lavrov asking him to cancel it, it had to be postponed. That reportedly angered the Taliban who through unofficial channels made it clear to Moscow that if it does not coordinate such changes of plan under pressure from Kabul, its representatives would not show up at the next conference.

This time around, the Russian government decided to proceed even after Ghanis government refused to send an official delegation. Demonstrating growing engagement with the main military opposition player in Afghanistan was what it ultimately wanted to achieve.

Engaging the Taliban in the 1990s

The November 9 conference was not the first time Russia and the Taliban had come together to talk. The armed group sought to establish relations with Russia as early as 1995, when the armed group already controlled a number of southern provinces in the country, including Kandahar.

It was that year that I had the opportunity to visit Afghanistan and meet some members of the Taliban leadership. In August 1995, a Russian cargo plane was forced to land in Kandahar International Airport by a Taliban fighter jet and its leaders used the opportunity to send a message to the Russian government.

I was one of a group of journalists that the Taliban allowed to visit the detained crew of the plane and had the opportunity to meet some of their leadership. One of them, a man who held a position equivalent of a governor, asked me to convey a special request to the Russian government to supply the Taliban with a map of the minefields in Kandahar, which the Soviet army had set up during its military intervention in the 1980s. At that time, much work was being done to de-mine these areas.

The first unofficial contacts between Russia and the Taliban were established in the second half of the 1990s, after the latter defeated the government of the Mujahedeen in Kabul in April 1996 and sought international recognition for their regime.

Communication between the Taliban and Moscow eventually resulted in a closed meeting in Ashgabad, the capital of Turkmenistan arranged for by the late Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov. A Russian delegation met Taliban representatives who put forward one demand: that Russia backs a Taliban representative for the seat of the permanent Afghan representative to the UN  a position which at that time was still occupied by an Afghan official loyal to toppled Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

The Russian government deemed it unreasonable to accept the demand and as a result no further meetings were held. In hindsight, this decision was perhaps a major diplomatic mistake. The Taliban leadership at that time was clearly willing to engage (and was much less hostile to Russia than the current one), which Moscow could have used to its advantage.

But at that time, the Russian government insisted on maintaining relations with the government of the Mujahideen, led by Rabbani, Ahmad Shah Massoud and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, rather than with an armed group supported by the Pakistani intelligence which they hardly understood.

One of the consequences of Russia (and other countries) suspending contact with the Taliban was that it became more radicalised. Failing to secure international recognition, the leadership of the Taliban continued to host al-Qaedas leader Osama bin Laden, as he planned and coordinated the 9/11 attacks.

Russia sought to re-establish contacts with the Taliban were only in the mid-2010s, after the sharp deterioration of Russian-US relations, the start of the Russian military operation in Syria and the movement of militants from Syria to Afghanistan.

Russias re-assertion strategy in Afghanistan

After long years of having no substantial policy regarding Afghanistan, Moscow finally decided to re-engage. Its greater involvement in the Middle East has given it the confidence to re-assert itself in other parts of its immediate neighbourhood, including Afghanistan.

Part of Russias considerations are purely security-related. The increased terrorism activity in Afghanistans northern provinces, close to the borders of former Soviet republics like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Using this threat  and even exaggerating it  Moscow is likely seeking to increase its military presence in Central Asia.

At the same time, the Russian government wants to play the role of a peace-maker in Afghanistan to use it as leverage in its relations with the US. By strengthening relations with the Taliban, which is fighting the government of Ashraf Ghani, a close US ally, Moscow is seeking to become an important player in conflict resolution in Afghanistan, where the interests of various regional and world powers, including the US, come together. In this way, it gets to open yet another front through which it seeks to re-engage with the US.

The success of Russias peace-making effort in Afghanistan could not succeed without some alignment with the US, whose military presence, along with NATOs, is keeping President Ghanis government in place. The Kremlin understands that clearly and is trying to extract the maximum amount of political dividends from its cooperation with the Taliban within the framework of the Moscow conference.

That the Russian peace initiative would not amount to much without US participation is also something the Taliban leadership themselves are quite aware of. After the November 9 conference, their representatives re-affirmed that they are ready to negotiate with Washington as long as it commits to pulling out its forces from Afghanistan and announces a timetable for the withdrawal. Until then, they have vowed not establish any direct contacts with President Ghani, who they perceive as US puppet.

The purpose of their trip to Moscow was not just to reiterate this position but also to show the US that they have alternatives; that is, if Washington does not engage, then the Taliban would seek political and even military support from its perceived competitor, Russia.

In the West, there are already rumours that Moscow is sending military supplies to the Taliban  a claim that is yet to be backed by concrete evidence. While the veracity of reports about Russian arms shipments to the Taliban is under question, what has been confirmed is that Russia was able to convince its leadership to come to the November 9 conference through the use of military backdoor channels.

The Taliban, however, might soon discover that they do not need to go to these extents to pressure the US into engaging in peace talks.

So far US President Donald Trump had to go back on his promise to bring US troops back home from Afghanistan and under pressure from the Pentagon approved the deployment of additional military personnel. But his strategy could change in the second half of his presidential term. He is desperate for re-election and for that he needs a big diplomatic victory to sell to its electorate. Striking a deal with the Taliban and pulling out of Afghanistan could be that much-needed victory he is looking for.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
But every Israeli attempt to discredit the Palestinian boycott movement is helping it gain more supporters.

The Israeli war on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement took a serious turn last year when the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dedicated a largesse of about $72m to defeat the civil society-led campaign.

Utilising the ever-willing US government to boost its anti-BDS tactics, Tel Aviv feels assured that its counter-BDS efforts in the US are off to a promising start. However, it is only recently that Israel has begun to formulate the wider European component of its global strategy.

Understandably, Israel has little interest in countering BDS using grassroots efforts, which has been the backbone of the Palestinian boycott movement for years. Instead, the Israeli government has invested in persuading US, European and other western legislators, political parties and governments, in the hope of designating BDS  and any call for boycott  as an anti-Semitic one, punishable by law.

The Brussels conference

In a two-day conference in Brussels earlier this month, Israeli officials and their European supporters unleashed their broader European anti-BDS campaign.

Organised by traditional Zionist institutions, such as the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the Europe Israel Public Affairs (EIPA) group, the November 6-7 conference was fully supported by the Israeli government, featuring right-wing Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Zeev Elkin.

Under the usual pretext of addressing the danger of anti-Semitism in Europe, attendees deliberately conflated racism and any criticism of Israel, of its military occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land.

While equating the condemnation of Israels unlawful practices with racism against all Jews is at the heart of Israeli hasbara, implanting official propaganda in the political agendas of western governments is a perilous exercise.

The EJA Annual Conference has raised Israels manipulation of the term anti-Semitism to a whole new level, as it drafted a text that will purportedly be presented to prospective members of the European Parliament (MEPs), demanding their signature before running in next Mays elections.

{articleGUID}

Those who decline to sign  or worse, repudiate the Israeli initiative  are likely to find themselves fending off accusations of racism and anti-Semitism.

Defining the boycott of Israel  thus any support of the BDS movement  as equivalent to anti-Semitism, the Israeli text is likely to serve as a step towards the criminalisation of any criticism of the Israeli government.

European countries have failed, so far, to hold Israel accountable for its illegal practices against Palestinians. However, there is a budding and rapidly growing movement  centred around campuses, unions, churches and progressive political parties  that is mobilising civil society organisations throughout the world to pressure Israel to end its military occupation and discriminatory laws against Palestinians.

Though the criminalisation of BDS will not end the debate on Israel and Palestine in Europe, it will most certainly infringe upon freedom of speech and other democratic principles with which the old continent prides itself.

And, if one thinks that banning criticism and boycott of Israel are far-fetched possibilities, then, this requires further thought.

Anti-BDS laws in motion

EJA, along with Israels other Zionist supporters, are emboldened by their previous success in Europe.

In December 2016, German Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union Party adopted a resolution equating boycotting Israel and anti-Semitic views and practices.

Three years earlier, in 2013, a group of French activists were indicted under the anti-discrimination Lellouche Law for supporting the BDS movement. Their crime was applying pro-Palestinian stickers on products imported from Israel in a local supermarket in the town of Mulhouse.

Government crackdowns on BDS supporters have even extended to European countries that have been historically viewed as particularly sympathetic to the Palestinian struggle.

In the case of Italy, which is now under the tightening grip of right-wing and far-right political parties, draft law 2043 describes boycotting Israel as masked anti-Semitism. If approved, the legislation will provide legal justification for indicting and punishing BDS activists.

It seems that Europe is not far behind their American counterparts. In the United States, 25 states have already passed anti-BDS legislation, or issued executive orders targeting BDS support networks, while other states are in the process of following suit.

{articleGUID}

At a federal government level, the Congressional Israel Anti-boycott Act, which is being received with much enthusiasm among US legislators, vows to fine and imprison those who boycott Israel.

While there is a strong civil society opposition to such obvious violations of the basic tenets of freedom of speech, the pro-Israel campaigners are unhinged. In the Texan town of Dickinson, which was devastated by hurricane Harvey last year, the hurricanes victims were asked to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel in exchange for life-saving humanitarian aid.

Maccabee task force

Since it was officially established on July 9, 2005, BDS has unsettled Israel more than any other civil society initiative in the past. From the onset, the movement was structured to represent a non-hierarchical, non-centralised popular resistance model that cannot be easily dismantled, crushed or neutralised.

At a national level, the model was consistent with previous popular Palestinian mobilisation movements that galvanised the energies of all sectors of society, regardless of their political or ideological leanings.

At an international level, BDS was created with the South African anti-Apartheid movement in mind, which served as one of the main channels of resistance that eventually forced the collapse of the Apartheid regime in that country.

Israel has a poor track record of confronting civil society-based mobilisation. Despite the vulnerability of Palestinians living under Israeli Occupation, it took the Israeli government and military seven long years to pacify the popular Intifada, the uprising of 1987. Even then, there is no unified historical narrative on what actually ended the Intifada  a popular, decentralised movement that endured and defied indiscriminate Israeli violence, military closures and protracted curfews.

It goes without saying that a global Intifada is much more difficult to suppress, or even contain.

{articleGUID}

Yet, when Israel began sensing the growing danger of BDS, it responded with the same superfluous and predictable pattern: arrests, violence and a torrent of laws that criminalise dissent at home, while unleashing an international campaign of intimidation and smearing of boycott activists and organisations.

Israels wealthy supporters generously responded to Tel Avivs banging of the war drums. Gambling mogul, Sheldon Adelson, quickly moved into action, establishing the Maccabee Task Force, which raised millions of dollars to fight against what Israeli officials define as an existential threat to Israel and the delegitimisation of the country as a Jewish state.

But Israel is not the only target. BDS has also exposed the failure of the so-called peace process by choosing to chart a new path for Palestinian Resistance, independent from endless negotiations that amounted to nothing. This also makes BDS a threat to the Palestinian Authority and to the entire two-state solution paradigm which has served as the centrepiece of US foreign policy in the Middle East.

One of the early Israeli agitators against BDS is Yossi Kuperwasser, once a leading intelligence and security expert. Nearly a decade ago, he warned against Tel Avivs lacklustre response to BDS campaigners.

Soon after Israels 2008-2009 war which killed and maimed thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, in the besieged Gaza Strip, Kuperwasser wrote, The core issue is not whether they are going to boycott us or not boycott us. The core issue is whether they are going to be successful in implanting in the international discourse that Israel is illegitimate as a Jewish state.





Kuperwasser, like other Israeli experts, must have been displeased, if not somewhat bewildered, by the strong international reaction to Israels war crimes in Gaza, which led to the further rooting of BDS among many communities around the world. He argued that anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are the same idea in a new cloak, and, therefore, all supporters of the Palestinian struggle are essentially anti-Semitic, based on the so-called 3-Ds criteria to detect anti-Semitism.

The theory, invented by Natan Sharansky, surmises that anti-Semitism can be expressed through delegitimisation, demonisation, and double-standards against Israel. According to this skewed thinking, BDS fits neatly into all of these categories, thus all of its supporters are racist and anti-Semitic.

The early theorizing of Kuperwasser is now the core strategy adopted by the Israeli government, where the Ministry of Strategic affairs, led by Gilad Erdan, is principally an anti-BDS office, currently operating on a budget of $72m.

The anti-BDS euphoria that has swept Israel in recent years yielded several crowded and passionate conferences in luxurious hotels, where Israeli officials openly threatened BDS activists, such as Omar Barghouti. Barghouti was warned by a top Israeli official in a 2016 conference in Jerusalem of civil assassination for his role in the organization of the Movement.

In March 2017, the Israeli Knesset passed the Anti-BDS Travel Ban, which requires the Interior Minister to deny entry to the country to any foreign national who knowingly issued a public call to boycott the state of Israel.

Since the ban went into effect, many BDS supporters have been detained, deported and barred from entering the country.

A lost war

While Israel has demonstrated its ability to galvanise self-serving US and other European politicians to support its cause, there is no evidence that the BDS Movement is being quelled or is, in any way, weakening.

On the contrary, the Israeli strategy has raised the ire of many activists, civil society and civil rights groups, angered by Israels attempt at subverting freedom of speech in western countries.

Only recently, the UKs Leeds University has joined many other campuses around the world in divesting from Israel.

This palpable Israeli failure compelled Israeli writer and former soldier, Elisha Levy, to question her governments anti-BDS efforts in an article that was recently published in the right-wing Israeli newspaper, the Jerusalem Post.





Initially, I felt excited at the prospect that the Israeli government had finally acknowledged the need to tackle BDS, she wrote. That excitement soon turned into disappointment, as she realised that the government campaign is unable to address the far more engaging narrative presented by BDS supporters.

Levy believes that the answer lies in making every Jewish student, in Israel and everywhere else, understand the reasons why Israel is not an apartheid, racist state. That can only happen through an indoctrination process, where Jewish students become proud Zionists able to fit into any social environment so that they may convey a counter-narrative to BDS.

Levy is one of the various Israeli voices that see the futility of their governments centralised approach to BDS. But these critical voices are themselves, oblivious to the fact that decades of Zionist indoctrination also failed, not only in reversing the vastly changing public opinion on the Palestinian struggle for freedom and rights but even in preserving the once solid pro-Israel sentiment among young Jews, most notably in the US.

For BDS supporters, however, every Israeli strategy presents an opportunity to raise awareness of Palestinian rights and to mobilise civil society around the world against Israeli occupation and racism.

BDS success is attributed to the very reason why Israel is failing to counter its efforts: it is a disciplined model of a popular, civil resistance that is based on engagement, open debate and democratic choices, while grounded in international and humanitarian law.

Israels war-chest will run dry in the end, for no amount of money could have saved the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa when it came tumbling down decades ago. Needless to say, $72m will not turn the tide in favour of Apartheid Israel, nor will it change the course of history that can only belong to the people who are unrelenting in achieving their long-coveted freedom.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Tribunal to decide Friday whether Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan are guilty of genocide against Cham Muslims, Vietnamese.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia  Vang Tam, 65, is in little doubt over what he would do if he ever encountered the Khmer Rouge responsible for the death of his parents and four siblings in the 1970s.

Even if I died, I would take his head off. Id do whatever, he shouts, dragging on a cigarette inside his floating home on Cambodias Tonle Sap river.

Our ancestors were executed near the mountains, I was the only one not killed.

Tam is an ethnic Vietnamese fisherman who was born in Cambodia. Like hundreds of thousands of others, he was evacuated to Vietnam soon after the Maoists under Pol Pot took control of Cambodia, but many of his family stayed behind.

When he returned home in 1980, after the Vietnamese had overthrown the Khmer Rouge, he discovered about 40 members of his family were dead.

Those who hadnt been executed had died from overwork or starvation.

On Friday, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), better known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, will hand down its verdict on whether the regimes Brother Number Two, Nuon Chea, 92, and its head of state, Khieu Samphan, 87, committed genocide against ethnic Vietnamese and Cham Muslims, another minority.

Former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan on screen in the media centre at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal [Pring Samrang/Reuters]

Judges will also rule on whether the two men are guilty of crimes against humanity related to prisons, worksites, forced marriages and sexual violence.

The court sentenced both men to life terms in 2014 for crimes against humanity for their role in the forced evacuation of cities soon after the Khmer Rouge took power.

Accountability

Fridays decision comes with the tribunal facing widespread criticism for lengthy delays, government interference, and corruption.

While some argue the court has delivered long-awaited justice for victims, others have labelled the process a waste of time and money with convictions against only three people in 12 years.

The opinion was split among Cham and ethnic Vietnamese survivors of the regime interviewed by Al Jazeera. Many know nothing about the tribunal.

Sa Rom Ly, 62, a Cham who managed to survive mass purges in Kampong Cham by pretending he was ethnically Khmer, said he was sure the Khmer Rouge attempted to wipe out his people  something prosecutors have been attempting to prove.

The Khmer Rouge wanted to get rid of Cham because of our religion, he said, adding he supported the tribunal.

We are happy that the ECCC held a trial of the senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge because it can help hold them accountable for their actions, he said.

They deserve to be punished because they were the ones who ordered the regional chiefs to execute people and they followed their orders. If not, they would be killed too.

Talking after prayers at a mosque in Phnom Penhs Russei Keo district, Kop Math, 64, recounted similar brutality meted out to Chams in Battambang after they had been evacuated from the capital.

My father sneaked away to pray but they spotted him and took him away to be killed, said Math, who lost 16 of his 20 close family members.

Math, who visited the tribunal twice during the genocide segment, said he believed the court was delivering true justice to the victims, but he wanted to see more people in the dock.

I think they should bring regional commanders to justice  but we dont want the lower levels. If we demand [the lower levels] to be brought to justice this could result in confrontation, he said.

Kop Math, outside a mosque in Phnom Penh [George Wright/Al Jazeera]

Looking for justice

Down a winding alley that runs alongside the Mekong River, El Los, 72, explained how he lost all his parents and siblings after being told they had been taken away on a boat and executed in Kampong Cham.

Los said he knew nothing of the tribunal but that all Khmer Rouge, from top to bottom, should be made to pay for their crimes.

We really want to find justice but where are they? We are suffering but what can we do? he said. The lower levels point and say they were following orders  but all should be held accountable.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who helped overthrow Pol Pot after defecting to Vietnam, has been vocal in his opposition to further trials, claiming it could plunge Cambodia back into civil war.





Both Cambodian and international judges sit in the court and both sides have to agree on decisions. Local judges and prosecutors have been accused of being under the influence of the government, especially in ongoing investigations of mid-ranking former Khmer Rouge.

The fact such a small number from the regime have been brought to justice is a common frustration among many Cham survivors, explained Farina So, principal deputy director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia and author of The Hijab of Cambodia.

The Cham researcher said although the tribunal  particularly the genocide case  was important to many Cham, creating public forums for dialogue between victims and perpetrators and their children was vital in helping communities reconcile.

Its also effective because you need to get things out of the court and into the community. Then they can discuss openly without fear, So said.

Just a show

Back on the Tonle Sap river, barely any of the 15 ethnic Vietnamese interviewed said they knew about the tribunal.

Nobody talks about it. I have no idea what this court is, said Chroeng Yan, whose father was clubbed to death by a Khmer Rouge soldier.

Vang Tam, one of the few who was aware of the court, was scathing in his analysis.

Its just a show, its meaningless, he said.

His friend sitting next to him, Veeng Thhan Yoeng, 65, interjected.

About 40 of my relatives were killed I dont think we can get justice, he said. We want to see more on trial.
UN concerned by conflicts in DRC, warning that violence and Ebola outbreak could hamper December poll.

The United Nations has raised the alarm over fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that violence, which is unfolding alongside an Ebola outbreak, could hamper next months elections.

Leila Zerrougui, head of the UN stabilisation mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, said that the provinces of Tanganyika and South Kivu and parts of North Kivu province were most at risk.

I have grown increasingly alarmed over the situation in Beni in recent months, where we continue to face major challenges in implementing our mandate, she said.

There is a potential for armed group interference in elections in specific areas throughout eastern DRC.

Her remarks were made on Tuesday at the UN Security Councils monthly meeting on the DRC.

Inter-ethnic bloodshed

Eastern DRC has been troubled for decades by inter-ethnic bloodshed and militia violence, a crisis that has escalated this year.

The city of Beni, home to up to 300,000 people, is under threat from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group rooted in Uganda that has killed hundreds of people since 2014.

DRC is also battling the worst Ebola outbreak in the countrys history.

The unrest is running in parallel with a conflict in the central region of Kasai, casting a shadow over the countrys ability to stage elections on December 23 to choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila.

Zerrougui said many hurdles had to be overcome for the elections to proceed smoothly and be credible. The official start of campaigning is on November 22.

It will be especially important for the government to take steps in the coming weeks to secure polls, particularly to ensure the participation of women, who make up 50 percent of registered voters, she said.

Zerrougui is also the UN secretary-generals special representative in the DRC.

MONUSCO, whose mission is now 17,000 strong and among the UNs largest, has been in the DRC since 1999. It has an annual budget of $1.153bn.
Code of conduct has been under discussion since at least 2002, as China builds structures on disputed outcrops at sea.

Leaders from Southeast Asia and China say theyre making progress in keeping the peace in the disputed South China Sea as they work towards a code of conduct to govern navigation routes and other activities in the area.

Speaking at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the region has set a good example of managing territorial disputes and keeping the peace as it works towards an agreement.

We have found the way to properly manage and defuse differences, for example, on the issue of the South China Sea in the past years, Li said.

{articleGUID}

He added the situation was moving towards greater stability with progress on a single draft text on a code of conduct and hopes of having a final agreement within three years.

Serious miscalculation

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted at all cost to set rules governing behaviour in the disputed seas.

Duterte told reporters relations between China and its neighbours in Southeast Asia were excellent and friction was between Western nations and China. But he said a code of conduct was needed to avoid any serious miscalculation.

The United States has recently sent destroyers through the South China Sea on what it calls freedom of navigation operations  manoeuvres that have riled Beijing and nearly led to ship collisions.





The 10 members of ASEAN agreed to start negotiations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea in 2002, but little progress has been made amid rising tensions in the area, which is a crucial trade route for international shipping and thought to be rich in natural resources.

China claims almost the entire sea for itself and has built substantial structures on disputed outcrops and reefs in recent years.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam also claim parts of the sea, as does Taiwan.

Tensions over the maritime region have boiled over at previous ASEAN summits.

In 2012, at the meeting in Cambodia, discussions ended without a joint statement for the first time in the organisations history amid differences over the South China Sea.
Residents seek answers as statewide death toll climbs to 56 with more than 100 reported missing in northern blaze.

The remains of eight more victims were found in northern California after they were overrun by flames, raising the death toll to 56 in a wildfire disaster that ranks as the most lethal and destructive in the states history.

More than 100 people were missing early Thursday, the majority of them over the age of 65.

It [the fire] was so fast, Anna Dise, a resident of Butte Creek Cayon west of Paradise, told KRCR TV. She said her father, 66-year-old Gordon Dise, was among those who died in the fire. They had little time to evacuate and their house collapsed as her father went back in to gather belongings.

Dise said she could not drive her car because the tyres had melted and that to survive, she hid overnight in a neighbours pond with her dogs. I didnt expect it to move so fast, she said.

A firefighter extinguishes a hot spot in a neighbourhood destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California [Terray Sylvester/Reuters]

The Butte County disaster coincided with a flurry of blazes in southern California, most notably the Woolsey Fire, which has killed two people, destroyed more than 400 structures and, at its height, displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills west of Los Angeles.

US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and California Governor Jerry Brown paid a visit to both sites.

Please have him call

The fatality count far exceeds the previous record for the greatest loss of life from a single wildfire in California history  29 people killed by the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles in 1933.

Sheriff Honea said the list of the missing would be released soon and that 100 National Guard troops would help teams already looking for remains.

We want to be able to cover as much ground as quickly as we possibly can, he said. This is a very difficult task.

Greg Gibson, a survivor of the fire, searched a message board at a shelter in Chico, California, hoping to find information about his neighbours.

Wildfire evacuee Greg Gibson looks for information about his missing neighbours [Gillian Flaccus/AP]

It happened so fast, he told The Associated Press. It would have been such an easy decision to stay, but it was the wrong choice, Gibson said.

Others placed messages on the board, in hopes of getting answers about their friends and family.

I hope you are okay, said one hand-written note on the board. Another had a picture of a missing man: If seen, please have him call.

Butte County Sheriff Honea said in some cases victims were burned beyond recognition.

The search for the dead was drawing on portable devices that can identify someones genetic material in a couple of hours, rather than days or weeks.

PG&E sued

The origins of both fires are under investigation. Utility companies, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), reported to regulators they experienced problems with transmission lines or substations in areas around the time the blazes were first reported.

People who lost homes in the Northern California blaze sued PG&E on Tuesday, accusing the utility of negligence and blaming it for the fire. PG&E was not immediately available for comment.

Aided by diminished winds and rising humidity levels, fire crews had managed by late Tuesday to carve containment lines around more than a third of both fires, easing further the immediate threat to life and property.

A car destroyed by the Camp Fire is seen in Paradise, California [Terray Sylvester/Reuters]

On one small section of the fire containment lines in Butte County that crews have been erecting around the Camp Fire, wind conditions were actually helping those efforts early Wednesday morning.

Speaking to KRCR TV early Wednesday in the Feather River Canyon to the northeast of Chico, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) official Josh Campbell said strong wind gusts of up to 50kmph in the canyon were actually helping local crews by slowing the spread of the fire.

This gives us the opportunity to construct our lines, so we can be ready for the fire and put it out, he said.

More than 50,000 people remain under evacuation orders.
Central African Republic: Leader of Seleka fighters speaks up

General Force looks too powerful to be arrested as he is well-protected by determined young men who have nothing to lose.
The Trump administration vows to fight CNN lawsuit which claims the journalists constitutional rights were violated.

A federal judge will hold a hearing on Wednesday on a CNN lawsuit against President Donald Trumps administration after the White House revoked the press credentials of the networks journalist last week.

The American network said its correspondent Jim Acostas removal was a violation of his First Amendment rights to freely report on the government.

The White House dismissed CNNs complaint as grandstanding and vowed to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.

If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials A CNN statement

The dispute on live national television and Acostas resulting banishment triggered a wave of accusations that Trump is stifling the free press, and marked a sharp escalation in tensions between the president and CNN.

The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process, the news network said in a statement, announcing the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Washington.

If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials, CNN said.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump administration to respond by 11:00am (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday and set a hearing for 3:30pm.

Kelly, a former chief counsel for the US Senate Judiciary Committee, was appointed by Trump last year.

The First Amendment

The White House had suspended Acostas hard pass after he sparred at a news conference with the president, who demanded that the reporter give up the microphone and called him a rude, terrible person when he did not immediately comply.

They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern US border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable.

Hours later, Sanders announced Acostas hard pass had been suspended, in a move that she justified by claiming the reporter was inappropriately placing his hands on the intern.

The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her.

She alleged that Acosta physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, softening the earlier misconduct accusation and then casting blame on the journalist for his persistent questioning.

The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolise the floor, the press secretary said in a statement.

If there is no check on this type of behaviour, it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff and members of the media to conduct business.

CNN lawyer Ted Boutrous said the White Houses suspension of the press pass made clear it was based on the content of the reporting.

CNNs argument is very straightforward, the lawyer told the American network. We cant have the White House tossing people out because they dont like what they are saying or what they are reporting.

That is what happened. That is the First Amendment.
Decision to pull doctors comes after Brazils president-elect vowed to take action against Havana programme.

Cuba announced on Wednesday that it will pull thousands of its doctors out of Brazil in response to president-elect Jair Bolsonaros direct, contemptuous and threatening remarks about its medical aid programme.

The far-right leader has repeatedly criticised the Communist-run islands More Doctors programme, which sends thousands of Cuban doctors to work in deprived areas of Brazil, and said his government would introduce changes.

In the light of this unfortunate reality, the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba has decided to discontinue its participation, Havana said in a statement.

Bolsonaro has been scathing about Cubas management of the five-year-old programme, known in Brazil as Mais Medicos, saying the doctors received only a quarter of what Brazil was paying the Cuban government for their services.

His government would counteract that by directly hiring doctors who wanted to remain in the country, but would first demand they submit to a capacity test.

The Cuban health ministry angrily accused Bolsonaro of questioning its doctors qualifications, and said all Cuban cooperation workers had been paid their full salary in Cuba.

Bolsonaro hit back on Twitter.

We made continuity of the More Doctors programme conditional on a capacity test, (payment of) full salary to Cuban professionals, most of which is currently going to the dictatorship, and the freedom to bring their families.

Unfortunately Cuba did not accept, he wrote.

In another tweet, he accused Cuba of exploiting its citizens by not fully paying their salaries and said Havana was irresponsibly ignoring the negative impacts its decision will have on Brazilians.

Cuban President Manuel Diaz-Canel jumped to the programmes defence, paying tribute on Twitter to the doctors dignity, deep sensitivity, professionalism, dedication and altruism.

They had rendered a valuable service to the people of Brazil, he added.

Bolsonaro later said on Wednesday that he will grant asylum to any Cuban national who asks for it.

The programme has been in place since August 2013, and since then nearly 20,000 Cuban doctors have treated 113.5 million Brazilians, according to the ministry.

In its strongly worded statement, Cuba said the conditions being imposed by Bolsonaro, who takes office on January 1, were unacceptable.

It added Cuban doctors, currently serving in 67 countries, have brought medical care to areas of extreme poverty whether in Rio de Janeiros favelas, Sao Paulo, Salvador de Bahia or the 34 Special Indigenous Districts, particularly Amazonia.
Cameroon army says at least 30 separatists were killed as clashes intensify in restive English-speaking region.

Cameroon soldiers have killed at least 30 separatists in two days of intense fighting in the turbulent English-speaking region, a military spokesman has said.

The military also freed people held by separatists during its two-day operation in the Mayo Binka area near Nkambe, spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck told the Associated Press news agency on Wednesday.

In a separate incident, the mayor of Nwa, a local council in the same region, was killed by suspected separatists, Emmanuel Bunyui, mayor of the nearby town of Ndu, told the Associated Press.

When we hoist the Cameroon flag in the council premises, we are targeted by the armed men who insist that we should instead display their blue and white flag, Bunyui said.

Many mayors in English-speaking regions have been targeted by armed separatists, who in 2016 began demanding an independent English-speaking state, which they call Ambazonia.

Recently, 79 students and three staff were kidnapped from a school by suspected separatists, and later released.

Violent divide

Anglophones account for about one-fifth of Cameroons 25 million population.

The conflict has killed more than 400 people since last year and has emerged as President Paul Biyas greatest security problem in his nearly four decades of rule.

{articleGUID}

The two sides often provide conflicting accounts of the fighting, but both have reported heavier casualties in recent weeks.

The army has burned villages and killed unarmed civilians, forcing thousands to flee to French-speaking regions or neighbouring Nigeria.

In November last year, Biya declared the crisis a war.

Biya was re-elected to his seventh term in October, although few votes were cast in Anglophone regions.

Politicians have repeatedly called on Biya to initiate dialogue to stem the violence. The 85-year-old president has refused, repeatedly stating that Cameroon is one and indivisible.

The United Nations has condemned both the Cameroon military and separatists for using unnecessary and excessive force.

The linguistic divide harks back to the end of World War I, when the League of Nations divided the former German colony of Kamerun between the allied French and British victors.
PM Theresa May calls special cabinet meeting on Wednesday when she will present the text to her ministers.

After more than a year of tortuous negotiations, leaders of the United Kingdom and European Union have agreed on a draft text for Britains withdrawal from the bloc, or Brexit.

Cabinet will meet at 2:00pm [14:00 GMT] tomorrow to consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels, and to decide on next steps, a statement by UK Prime Minister Theresa Mays office said on Tuesday.

A European source confirmed to AFP news agency that an agreement has been struck on a technical level, but said it still needed political approval in London and Brussels.

Ambassadors from the other 27 EU member states will also meet on Wednesday afternoon, AFP quoted unnamed European diplomats as saying.

EU leaders could meet again on November 25 for a summit to seal the Brexit deal if Mays cabinet approves the text, diplomatic sources told the Reuters news agency.

The UK parliament is likely to vote on the issue in December.

The whole process should end on March 29, 2019 when Britain will officially leave the EU, as determined in a referendum held in 2016.

Unacceptable

Meanwhile, the UKs main opposition parties have written to May demanding she gives parliament a truly meaningful vote on the divorce deal agreed with the EU.

{articleGUID}

In a joint letter, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party in the British parliament, and Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable called for the right to put down amendments before the vote  effectively giving parliament a vote on an alternative path.

Recent interventions from government ministers have suggested that you and your government may seek to limit or constrain the process on the final vote, in an attempt to muzzle Parliament, the leaders said in the letter.

We want to be clear that this would be wholly unacceptable, it said.

Opposition, scepticism

The EU  the worlds biggest trading bloc  and Britain  home to a leading international financial centre  need an agreement to keep trade flowing.,

But May has struggled to untangle nearly 46 years of EU membership without damaging commerce or upsetting legislators, who will ultimately decide the fate of the divorce deal.

{articleGUID}

Labour, Britains main opposition party, said it doubted that the deal will be good for the country.

We will look at the details of what has been agreed when they are available. But from what we know of the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country, Corbyn said.

Cable said May will fail to get the deal approved by parliament.

The problem is it has to come to parliament, and all we know about the views of different people across the political spectrum is a deal of this kind is not going to get through, Cable told the BBC.

Boris Johnson, pro-Brexit Conservative MP and former UK foreign secretary, said the deal is just about as bad as it could possibly be.

But the kicker is  and I think people havent really grasped this  the kicker is that we havent even really managed to protect the union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, he said.

Irish border issue

Although details of the deal are not known yet, the agreement will reportedly include a solution to the Irish border issue.

Brussels and London have vowed to prevent the re-emergence of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, a British region which will leave the EU with the rest of the UK, amid fears the issue could reignite decades-old tensions.

But the two sides have so far disagreed on how to resolve the issue.

{articleGUID}

Earlier this month, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Brexit has undermined the landmark Good Friday Agreement, which in 1998 ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Extension period

Last month, May said she was ready to consider extending a transition phase after the UK formally leaves the EU next year.

Such an extension, keeping Britain under EU governance with no say in it, would be highly unpopular with hardline supporters of Brexit.

The idea of a one-year extension to the transition period had been proposed by EU Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

{articleGUID}

Without a solution, the entire divorce deal is at risk, setting Britain on track for an unregulated Brexit that would likely bring chaos and economic pain to both sides.

In October, thousands of anti-Brexit protesters gathered in London to voice their concern about the UKs planned withdrawal from the EU.

Anti-Brexit campaigners say voters were misled when they voted by a 52-48 percent margin to leave the EU in June 2016.

They also say the Leave campaigns promises to increase funding for the countrys health service and strike more favourable trade deals with non-EU countries were dishonest.
The surge in hate crimes marks the largest increase in more than a decade, with a sharp spike in anti-Semitic incidents.

Swelling by 17 percent last year, hate crimes in the United States marked the largest increase in more than a decade, according to a new report by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Released on Tuesday, the FBI report documented 7,175 hate crimes  at least 15 resulting in murders  across the country in 2017, although the number is likely higher because many agencies do not report such incidents.

Of that total, nearly 60 percent of the incidents saw perpetrators target victims based on their race, ethnicity or ancestry, while one-fifth included individuals targeted owing to anti-religious bias.

Another 15.8 percent were targeted over their sexual orientation.

The total tally included a doubling of anti-Arab hate crimes and a large swell of anti-Semitic incidents.

Racist graffiti is painted on the side of a mosque in Roseville, California [Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo]

More than 4,000 hate crimes were against people, while upwards of 3,000 were against property, including vandalism, arson and robbery, according to the FBI report.

{articleGUID}

Acting Attorney General Matthew G Whitaker, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump, described the new statistics as a call to action.

The Department of Justices top priority is to reduce violent crime in America, and hate crimes are violent crimes, Whitaker said.

They are also despicable violations of our core values as Americans.

Whitaker said he was particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes, which grew by 37 percent last year and made up the majority of crimes religious-motivated crimes.

Africans Americans made up nearly half of all hate crimes victims last year, according to the FBI.

Shocking

On Twitter, the NAACP civil rights group described the reports findings as shocking, saying that it requires Congresss full attention.

This is shocking & requires Congresss full attention. Shouldnt this urgent crisis be subject of first post-recess Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, instead of ramming through more Trump judges? Our lives are at stake. https://t.co/4gBEWqNDHn  NAACP (@NAACP) November 13, 2018

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an Alabama-based hate monitor, documented a sharp rise in hate incidents following Trumps election in November 2016, with nearly 900 incidents in the 10 days following his victory.

Last month, the Trump administration reportedly moved to discontinue funding for a programme that combats domestic terrorism, including allocating funds to groups that work to prevent and track right-wing violence.

Throughout 2018, a spate of apparent hate crimes has gripped the country, among them the deadly assault on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, last month.

During that attack, a gunman stormed the synagogue and shot dead 11 worshipers. Police arrested Robert Bowers, who had posted a string of anti-Semitic and racist comments on the social media outlet Gab before allegedly carrying out the massacre.

Days before that attack, a gunman in Louisville, Kentucky killed two elderly African Americans at a grocery store in what officials are investigating as a hate crime.
Israels defence minister quit over an Egypt-brokered ceasefire reached with armed groups in Gaza.

Hamas has described the resignation of Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman as a political victory for Gaza amid threats to an uneasy ceasefire.

The Palestinian groups spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said on Wednesday that Liebermans resignation signalled a recognition of defeat and failure to confront the Palestinian resistance, adding Gazas steadfastness sent a political shockwave through Israel.

Lieberman said he was resigning in protest against an Egypt-brokered ceasefire reached with armed groups in Gaza.

The truce, announced on Tuesday by Hamas-led factions, was intended to end two days of Israeli aerial attacks on Gaza after a covert Israeli operation inside the strip, to which Palestinian factions responded with rocket fire.

At least 15 Palestinians and two Israelis were killed in two days in the worst violence the strip has seen in two years.

Lieberman had advocated for a more decisive blow to Hamas and quit in protest.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the truce saying the leadership is doing the right thing.

Liebermans resignation significantly weakens Netanyahus coalition government and appears to bring about an early election.

Further deaths

A Palestinian fisherman in Gaza was killed by the Israeli military firing on Wednesday after the ceasefire came into effect.

The fishermens union said the 20-year-old man was working on the beach near the land maritime fence separating Gaza from Israel when he was shot in the stomach.

The fishermans killing calls into question the fragile ceasefire that began in Gaza overnight.

Should the occupation [Israel] stop its aggression and return to the ceasefire, understandings will be possible, senior Hamas official Ismail Haniya said in a statement earlier on Wednesday.

But Palestinians in the strip, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007 and has experienced three Israeli wars since 2008, told Al Jazeera they dont believe the ceasefire will hold.

A 34-year-old schoolteacher named Mohammed Baroud said he did not believe the truce would last simply because Israel has never stuck to any agreement in the past.
Investigation by the Associated Press finds that more than 30 killed in drone attacks in 2018 were not al-Qaeda members.

The United States has waged a drone war in Yemen for 16 years, trying to suppress al-Qaedas branch here. But the campaign has had a hidden cost: civilians cut down by the drones missiles.

There is no comprehensive count of civilian deaths because of the difficulty of confirming identities and allegiances of those killed. But in an examination of drone attacks this year alone, The Associated Press (AP) found that at least 30 of the dead likely did not belong to al-Qaeda.

That is around a third of all those killed in drone attacks so far in 2018. The Pentagon does not release its assessment of the death toll, but an independent database considered one of the most credible in tracking violence in Yemen counted 88 people  fighters and non-fighters  killed by drones this year.

We live in fear. Drones don't leave the sky Brother of a slain Yemeni man

The AP count gives a glimpse, even if incomplete, into how often civilians are mistakenly hit by drone attacks, at a time when US President Donald Trump administration has dramatically ramped up the use of armed drones.

It has carried out 176 attacks during its nearly two years in office, compared with the 154 attacks during the entire eight years of the Obama administration, according to a count by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

The AP based its count on interviews with witnesses, families, tribal leaders and activists. Most of those killed, 24, were civilians; at least 6 others were fighters in pro-government forces  meaning ostensibly on the same side as the US  who were hit in attacks away from the front lines while engaged in civilian life.

This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

The drone toll goes almost unnoticed in the regions conflicts. Immensely greater destruction has been wreaked by US allies in the Saudi-led coalitions air campaign against Iranian-linked Shia rebels known as Houthis.

More than 57,000 civilians and combatants have been killed in Yemens civil war, by some estimates, and thousands more may have died of starvation caused by the conflict.

Yet the killing of a single man  Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, slain by Saudi operatives in his own countrys consulate  has raised more international uproar than any of those deaths in a war waged by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the US.

In comparison, the toll from US drones in Yemen runs in the hundreds, including both fighters and civilians. Several databases are trying to track the deaths, with varying results.

The Bureau for Investigative Journalism counted up to 1,020 killed by attacks from 2009 to 2016, under President Barack Obama, compared with up to 205 killed in 2017 and 2018. Another database, by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, counted 331 killed the past two years.

Counting civilians among those numbers is complicated by the difficulty in determining who belongs to al-Qaeda in a country of multiple warring militias. Al-Qaeda has joined the battle against the Houthis, and many of its fighters are incorporated into militias armed and funded by the US-backed coalition.

The campaign has scored some military successes. In 2015, US attacks took out Nasser al-Wahishi, the top leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP as the Yemeni branch is known, and several senior lieutenants.

But drones have been most effective in forcing al-Qaeda to limit its movements and hide in the mountains, avoid large gatherings and restrict mobile phone use.

The group withdrew from areas it controlled in the south but was allowed to keep weapons and money under secret deals it struck with the United Arab Emirates, a coalition member.

Simple farmers who dont know how to read

Over the years, the cost of the pursuit of senior leadership has been high.

For example, the US has killed at least 66 civilians, 31 of them children, in the unsuccessful hunt for one man, Qassim al-Rimi, one of AQAPs founders who in 2015 succeeded al-Wahishi as the groups chief.

Those deaths came in two raids reportedly targeting al-Rimi. The first was in 2009 in the southern village of al-Majalah. The second came on January 27, 2017, only days after Trumps inauguration, in a US special forces assault on a village in Bayda province.

The civilian deaths come in a war conducted from a vast distance.

Drone pilots work remotely at American bases, most often in the US, sometimes on 11- to 14-hour shifts housed in rooms like shipping containers lined with electronics.

They operate based on intelligence from informants but they also carry out so-called signature strikes, based on observing suspicious patterns of behaviour.

They have a list of characteristics, and if a subject on the ground shows a number of them, he could be targeted, a former participant to the drone programme told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operations. Mistakes happen from bad intel or misjudging behaviour, he said.

Rights groups have expressed concern that some of the intelligence may come from prisoners held in jails run by Emirati-backed militias where torture is widespread.

Some of the attacks from 2018 that the AP examined appeared to be mistaken.

On January 1, a drone missile slammed into a farm in Bayda province where 70-year-old Mohammed Mansar Abu Sarima sat with a younger relative, killing both, according to a relative, Mohammed Abu Sarima.

The slain men had just returned from mediating a local dispute. In a country where tribal links are powerful and the justice system nearly non-existent, such mediations are common to resolve conflicts over land or deaths.

They involve large gatherings of tribesmen who are often armed, potentially raising drone operators suspicions.

We dont have any affiliation. They are simple farmers who dont know how to read or write, said the brother. We live in fear. Drones dont leave the sky.

Several weeks later, a 14-year-old shepherd, Yahia al-Hassbi, was struck by a drone as he tended goats several kilometres from a checkpoint that al-Qaeda had tried recently to seize.

He was killed along with a construction worker passing by at the time, according to relatives and three local human rights workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Lost hope

Further east, in Hadramawt province, drones carried out several consecutive days of attacks in March, targeting vehicles on a main highway. Some of the attacks killed al-Qaeda fighters, according to rights activists in the area.

But others struck down cars carrying people who had fled to the area from a nearby province, Jawf, to escape fighting.

A drones missile on March 5 killed a 10-year-old boy, Ammer al-Mahshami, and wounded the driver, according to three relatives. Four days later, another car was hit, killing six men and boys, including a 14-year-old and an 18-year-old, travelling to a funeral.

Saleh al-Wahir, the brother of one of the dead, was in a car behind them. I saw it before my eyes, he said of the blast. Bodies were ripped apart. A report from the Jawf Human Rights office concluded the men were civilians.

Survivors are rare. Adel al-Mandhari recounted how his car was thrown through the air by the blast of a drones missile. He lost his legs and an arm and was burned all over his body.

The four others in the car  his brother, uncle, cousin and another relative  were all killed. None were connected to al-Qaeda, said al-Mandhari, a civil servant. Two other relatives and the three rights workers in Bayda confirmed his account.

Since the attack, al-Mandhari has spoken to the media and rights groups, seeking ways to get compensation and an apology from the US I lost hope, he said. Nothing is going to happen.

Even some attacks that the AP did not include in its count may have killed civilians, though there is some dispute over them.

On May 14, two men, Hussein al-Dayani and Abdullah al-Karbi, were killed when a drone struck their pick-up truck truck in an area of Shabwa province where al-Qaeda is known to have a presence.

Al-Dayanis brother, Khaled, denied they were fighters. He said his brother was a fighter in a militia battling the Houthis. We are against those people, Khaled said of al-Qaeda.

Two weeks later, a 17-year-old, Mahdar Hussein al-Hag, died in a raid while driving his motorcycle in the same area. Mahdars father said he was a high school student and was returning from buying vegetables. He might have been mistaken for al-Qaeda youth who are active in this area.

A Yemeni security official said the dead in those attacks were all al-Qaeda members, though he did not provide evidence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has announced he is resigning from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government in protest against a truce in Gaza.

Addressing reporters in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Lieberman said he deemed Tuesdays Egyptian-mediated ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza a capitulation to terror.

Despite the difference in opinion, I tried to stay a faithful member of the government for as long as possible  but it has failed, Lieberman said.

He said he also fiercely objected to Israels allowing Qatar to deliver $15m in aid to Gaza last week.

From my point of view there are two critical points that made it impossible for me to carry on; the $15m that went into the Gaza Strip taken in suitcases from Qatar  what would happen with the money after it has gone across the border, the minister said.

It went to the families of the terrorists who fought on the border with Israeli soldiers throwing grenades. These families are the first who are going to receive part of this $15m  in other words we are  giving terrorists money, Lieberman added.

{articleGUID}

The second point is regarding the ceasefire  I understand all of the reasons and all of the information [behind the decision], but I would not be able to look in the eyes of the people who are within the range of Hamas, who are taken prisoner by Hamas. Hamas has to understand that nobody should go close to the frontier.

Political victory

In a reaction on Wednesday, Hamas called Liebermans resignation a political victory for Gaza.

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said it marked recognition of defeat and failure to confront the Palestinian resistance, adding that Gazas steadfastness sent a political shockwave through Israel.

The resignation, which comes into effect 48 hours after Lieberman puts it in writing, significantly weakens Netanyahus coalition government and could bring about early elections.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu will take over as defence minister on an interim basis.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv, Akiva Eldar, senior columnist at Al-Monitor, said Liebermans resignation did not come as a surprise.

It was a matter of timing. The Israeli army, the chief of staff and the Shin Bet  they all strongly supported the ceasefire and ending the closure on Gaza and allowing more goods in, Eldar said.

[Lieberman] doesnt have partners in the military establishment  they dont think that cracking down on Hamas will put Israel in a better position  it will give Israel more problems in the international arena.

Netanyahu just visited Oman, and we were playing in Abu Dhabi, so he [Netanyahu] is looking at the region and has to be careful not to cross certain red lines. Lieberman was a part of this  so it is cheap politics, Eldar added.
Latino voters increased their participation in this years elections by 174 percent compared with the last midterm elections, according to the Democratic Party.

The party credited a $30m investment in engaging Latino and other minority voters for helping the Democrats achieve a net gain of 34 House seats and improve on 2014 turnout numbers.

Representative Ben Ray Lujan, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said that, compared with the previous midterm election, Pacific Islanders also increased their numbers by 218 percent and African Americans by 157 percent.

Latino voters played a pivotal role in taking back the House, Lujan told reporters during a conference call organised by the political action committee Latino Victory to discuss the impact of the Latino vote. Evidence is clear: Early and active and robust outreach to communities of colour  in this case, into the Hispanic community  clearly pays off.

Lujan, the first Latino to head the partys arm focused on House races, said the engagement effort included an investment of at least $21m in Latino candidates and in 17 Spanish-language district-specific ads. His office also launched the first multi-state Spanish-language TV ad in the last week before the election to get out the vote in the Latino community.

A volunteer talks to a potential voter during door-to-door canvassing in Tucson, Arizona [File: Caitlin OHara/Reuters]

{articleGUID}

The Democrats targeted 111 Republican House congressional districts, 29 of which had at least a 10 percent Hispanic electorate.

Positive messaging

Dan Sena, the DCCC executive director, said the polling company Latino Decisions conducted nationwide focus groups to better identify the needs of Latino voters and to tailor a proper message.

What we wanted was a real, organic way to engage Latino voters and Hispanic voters across the country with a message that was positive and a reason to participate, Sena said. We did a fair amount of studying how to create urgency without it feeling overtly heavy.

I Voted, Yo Vote stickers sit on a table at a polling place in Georgia [Leah Millis/Reuters]

During the campaign, President Donald Trump kept up a daily drumbeat of warnings about a caravan of Central American migrants and refugees, falsely labelling them bad thugs and criminals. At the time, the caravan was still more than 1,000km away from the border. The rhetoric brought immigration to the forefront of the lead up to the elections.

{articleGUID}

Lujan highlighted the victory of Antonio Delgado in New York as an example of how a Latino candidate won by keeping a positive message even when facing racist attacks.

Delgado, a Harvard Law School graduate and Rhodes scholar, defeated Republican Representative John Faso for a congressional seat representing the Hudson Valley. Republicans seized on his brief hip-hop career to portray Delgado, who is black, as unfit for office.

Antonio did not get distracted by any of that. What he did was he talked to the American people and the people of the 19th District of New York about the economic challenges that they are facing every day, Lujan said.

The Hispanic community will have a record level of representation on Capitol Hill with at least 42 members: 34 Democrats and eight Republicans in both chambers. One House race featuring a Hispanic candidate has yet to be decided.

{articleGUID}

Among those headed to the Capitol are Texass first Latina congresswomen. Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia became the first women of Latin American origin to represent the state in the US House of Representatives.

Although the Democrats were able to win control of the House, Republicans maintain their hold on the Senate.
Thousands of families hope landmark law to probe the fate of those missing will provide some closure.

Beirut, Lebanon  Do you see the empty chair with a guitar next to it? Only the musician is missing.

In the middle of her living room surrounded by dozens of paintings in her apartment in Haret Hreik, a suburb in Lebanons capital Beirut, Mariam Saidi describes her art, which is dedicated to her son.

This one shows the Last Supper, but everything is broken, she says.

On June 17, 1982, her 15-year-old son Maher Kassir left the house to go to school but never came back. It was the day Israeli troops reached Beirut, where a massive student protest was under way.

I knew he was a communist sympathiser, but I was not aware he was also fighting with them, Saidi says.

When I asked the communist fighters where he was, they asked me to look for him. Its been 36 years and I am still looking for my son.

Landmark law

On Monday, following a divisive debate, the Lebanese parliament passed a landmark law to investigate the fate of thousands of people who have been missing since its 1975-1990 civil war, in which some 150,000 people died, and to hold those responsible to account.

The law sets up a national commission to find out what happened to those who were never found  an estimated 17,000 people, including collecting DNA samples from living family members and exhuming mass graves.

{articleGUID}

There are no public databases or exact numbers of people who went missing during the war, in which Muslims and Christians, who had lived side by side for centuries, retreated into separate enclaves controlled by sectarian militias.

Justine Di Mayo, co-president of the Act for the Disappeared NGO, called the law a real turning point.

Her organisation documents testimonies from former fighters and witnesses to the war to identify where mass graves could be located.

For decades, politicians said we should not disturb the peace, or [said] bringing up the past would be a mistake. They were only convenient excuses for them, she told Al Jazeera.

Saidis son disappeared in 1982 when he was 15 [Virginie Le Borgne/Al Jazeera]

An amnesty law was issued by the government in 1991 for crimes perpetrated before March 28, 1991.

Several mass graves were destroyed because they were located on construction sites and there was no legal framework available on the issue, said Di Mayo.

{articleGUID}

Another group, Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and the Disappeared, was launched in 1982 by activist Wadad Halawani.

We asked the families of those disappeared to meet and organise in order to put pressure on the politicians, said Saidi, who is vice president of the group.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called the passage of the latest law a positive step for thousands of families to find closure.

So far, we have documented nearly 3,000 disappeared people, said Jerome Thuet, who works for the Missing Project at the ICRC.

The ICRC is also collecting DNA samples of families with missing relatives.

Once the commission will prove its transparency and show it is not discriminatory towards any particular group, we will share the samples with it, Thuet told Al Jazeera.

Political rifts

There was no indication of when the commission would be formed, but Gebran Bassil, Lebanons foreign minister, said the country was entering a genuine reconciliation phase that would heal the families wounds.

Lebanon voted in May for its first new parliament in nine years.

With a long-entrenched political elite including local dynasties and former warlords, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has yet to form a national unity government.

For families of the disappeared, there is still a long wait for closure.

It is necessary to build a stable society which does not fall back to a cycle of violence, said Di Mayo.
Proposed bill will urge Trump to condemn crackdown on Uighurs, press for ban on sale of surveillance technology.

US legislators will introduce legislation on Wednesday urging the Trump administration to respond more strongly to Chinas crackdown on Uighur Muslims, including possible sanctions.

The bill will also ask President Donald Trump to condemn Chinas actions in the Xinjiang region, call for the appointment of a new special coordinator for US policy on the issue, and press for a ban on the export of technology that Beijing could use in surveillance and mass detention of the minority Uighurs, according to a copy seen by Reuters news agency.

The legislators want the government to consider human rights-related sanctions against Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is also a member of the powerful politburo, and other officials credibly alleged to be responsible for the security crackdown.

Chinese government officials should be held accountable for their complicity in this evil, and US businesses should be barred from helping China create a hi-tech police state in Xinjiang, said Chris Smith, a Republican representative and one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation that will be presented in both the upper and lower houses of Congress.





Trumps senior aides have become more vocal recently in their criticism of Chinas treatment of its minority Muslims in Xinjiang.

Any decision to impose sanctions, however, would be a rare move on human rights grounds against China, with which the Trump administration is engaged in a bitter trade war.

The White House and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legislative proposal, which is also being supported by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez.

Global Magnitsky Act

Beijing has dismissed accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and urged the United States and other countries to stay out of its internal affairs.

Chinas top diplomat said earlier on Tuesday the world should ignore gossip about developments in Xinjiang and trust the local authorities when asked if Beijing would allow international observers to inspect camps where Muslims are believed to be held.

Western countries  including Canada, France, Germany, and the US  have urged China to shut down the camps in Xinjiang, where activists say as many as one million members of the Uighur minority and other Muslims are being held.

The Trump administration for several months has been considering targeted sanctions against Chinese senior officials and companies linked to the crackdown, US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The measures could be imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act, a law that allows the US government to target human rights violators around the world by freezing any US assets, imposing bans on US travel, and prohibiting Americans from doing business with them.

Uighur activists in the US, meanwhile, marked their communitys independence day with a protest march in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

American-Uighur Aydin Anwar told Al Jazeera that China was attempting to wipe out the Uighur identity.

November 12 is the 74th and 85th anniversary of two short-lived Uighur republics, known as East Turkestan, which were established in territory that is now part of China.
In 2009, the UN imposed, among other measures, an arms embargo on Eritrea for allegedly supporting armed groups.

The United Nations has lifted its sanctions on Eritrea, nine years after they were imposed by the international organisation.

Wednesdays decision, made during a meeting of the UN Security Council, follows a rapprochement between Eritrea and neighbouring Ethiopia in recent months.

The Security Council welcomed the improved relationship between the two countries but added that Eritrea needs to strive for closer ties with its other neighbour, Djibouti.

Eritrea and Djibouti have been at odds over a border dispute since June 2008 that led to military clashes which killed a dozen Djiboutian troops.

{articleGUID}

Repeated violence over the disputed territory raised fears the conflict could engulf the entire Horn of Africa region.

Arms embargo

In 2009, the UN imposed a nationwide arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze on certain people and entities after accusing Eritrea of supporting armed groups in Somalia.

Eritrea has denied those allegations.

Earlier this year, Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace deal after a decades-long dispute.

Following that peace agreement, Eritrea asked the UN to lifts its sanctions, pointing to the regions diplomatic shifts.

The dispute started in the early 1990s, when Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia, after which a war broke out later that decade over border disputes.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it.

{articleGUID}

A turnaround began in June this year when Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Ethiopia would hand back to Eritrea the disputed areas, including the flashpoint town of Badme, where the first shots of the border war were fired.

In September, two border crossings were reopened just days before the countries signed a peace deal in Saudi Arabia, officially ending hostilities.

After the signing of that deal in Saudi Arabia, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists a wind of hope was blowing in the Horn of Africa.

It is not only the peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea  it is the fact that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow we will have, here in Saudi Arabia, the president of Djibouti and the president of Eritrea  two countries that have also been at odds with each other, the UN chief said.
While Macron said France shares an important relationship with the US, it is not Washingtons subject.

President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday two long-time allies like France and the US should treat each other with respect and that France was Washingtons ally, but not a vassal state.

The French presidents remarks came after US President Donald Trump attacked Macron and France over its near defeat to Germany in two world wars, its wine industry and Macrons approval ratings.

Trumps blows came in five tweets posted on Tuesday after his visit to France for the centenary of the end of World War I, during which Macron pushed his proposals for an EU army and said France has to protect itself with respect to China, Russia and even the United States.

Trump tweeted on Tuesday that Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two  How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!

Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two  How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

Trump implied Macron made the comments to distract from his low approval rating, which sits at 29 percent, according to an French Institute of Public Opinion poll released in late September.

The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!..  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

The US presidents approval rating is not far ahead. Trumps weekly average approval rating from November 5 to 11 sat at 38 percent, with a term average of 39 percent, according to Gallup.

Macron opted not to respond to Trumps Twitter challenges.

I dont think the French expect me to respond to tweets, he told TF1 in an interview on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

Trump was only playing to a domestic audience, Macron said.

I think hes playing politics, and I let him play politics.

The French leader pointed to historic support between the two countries. France played an important role in the US War of Independence and the US supported France during two world wars.

At every moment of our history, we were allies, so between allies, respect is due, Macron said

Asked about his suggestion to build a European army, Macron said: The United States [is] our historic ally and will continue to be. Its the ally with which we take all the risks, with which we carry out the most complicated operations.

But being an ally doesnt mean being a vassal state.
US Vice President Mike Pence joins chorus of criticism over Nobel laureates indifference to plight of Muslim minority.

US Vice President Mike Pence told Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday the violence and persecution by her countrys military and vigilantes that sent more than 700,000 Muslim-majority Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh was inexcusable.

Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi in a brief meeting with the media before private talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore the United States was anxious to hear of progress in holding people accountable for the Rohingya crisis.

The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse, he told Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi responded that people have different views.

Pences comments follow criticism from Malaysias Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who said on Tuesday the Nobel laureate was trying to defend the indefensible in backing Myanmars military over the brutal crackdown.

Indifference

Mahathir is known for his forthright views, but such public rebukes are rare among ASEAN leaders.

Aung San Suu Kyi became a democracy icon during Myanmars long years of military dictatorship when she spent some 15 years under house arrest.

But the treatment of the Rohingya and the response of Aung San Suu Kyis government have fuelled widespread criticism.

Human rights group Amnesty International this week stripped her of its highest honour over what it said was her indifference to the plight of the Rohingya.

Pence also said Washington wanted to see a free and democratic press in Myanmar, and the jailing of two journalists last year was deeply troubling for millions of Americans.

He did not mention by name Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists who were arrested in Yangon in December 2017 as they worked on a story about the Rohingya crackdown.

They were found guilty in September of breaching the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Bangladesh and Myanmar plan to start repatriating some Rohingya this week.

The UN has said the move would put their lives at risk and should be stopped amid ongoing attacks against the Rohingya who remain in the predominantly Buddhist country.
State Department says move against Jawad Nasrallah will deny him access to the US financial system.

The US State Department designated Jawad Nasrallah, son of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a terrorist and accused him of carrying out attacks against Israel in the occupied West Bank.

The department on Tuesday also blacklisted Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB), which it said had links to the Lebanese group and had plotted a number of attacks against Israeli targets from a base in the Palestinian Territories.

Todays designations seek to deny Nasrallah and AMB the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, the State Department said in a statement. It said the actions denied Nasrallah and AMB access to the US financial system.

The State Department also announced it was offering up to $5m each for information leading to the locations of Hamas leader Salih al-Aruri, and Hezbollah leaders Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb and Haytham Ali Tabatabaei under the agencys so-called Rewards for Justice Programme.

The department said both Hamas and Hezbollah receive weapons, training and funding from Iran.

Washington recently reimposed sanctions against Tehran after US President Donald Trump withdrew the US country from a 2015 nuclear deal.

Hariri blames Hezbollah





On Tuesday, Lebanons Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri also blamed Iran-backed Hezbollah for what he called a big obstacle in efforts to form a new government.

Hezbollah, a Shia political group with its own armed wing, has been pressing a demand for one of six Sunni Muslim MPs allied to it to get a cabinet position. Hariri has refused to give up one of the seats allocated for his mainly Sunni party.

Earlier on the same day, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on four people linked to Lebanons Hezbollah who coordinate the groups activities in Iraq and designated the son of the groups leader as a global terrorist.
Washington, DC  A Native American tribe is calling on members of Congress to help protect the status of its reservation after the Trump administration reversed an Obama-era decision to hold its land in trust.

Former President Barack Obamas administration took the land of the Mashpee into trust in 2015, giving the tribe jurisdiction over the reservation, which is located in Massachusetts.

Less than a year later, a judge ruled that the Obama administration had acted outside of its remit in entrusting the reservation to the federal government.

That ruling was based on a controversial reading of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, which does not qualify the Mashpee as Indian.

In September, the US Department of Interior, under the Trump administration, decided not to challenge the ruling. The tribe then filed a lawsuit against the administration, saying its decision was arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law, and if left unaddressed, will have a devastating impact on the tribe, according to local media.

On Wednesday, members of the tribe and supporters from across the US gathered at the Capitol to call on Congress to use its plenary powers to pass legislation that would override the Department of the Interiors authority on the issue.

If Congress does not pass legislation protecting the tribe and the legal challenge fails, the Mashpee would be stripped of their right to exercise sovereign jurisdiction over their land.

Jessie Little Doe Baird, the tribes vice-chairwoman, told Al Jazeera that loss of jurisdiction would prevent the tribe from running indigenous language schools, tribal courts, and housing projects, as well as its own police.

{articleGUID}

We have our own police force, which is important because theyre tribal citizens and since weve had our own police force, none of our men have been beaten or shot, which weve had before with non-tribal police, she said.

Baird, an MIT-trained linguist who has played a pivotal role in reviving the Wampanoag language, said she feared the governments decision was the first step in a gradual encroachment on the sovereignty of Native American reservations.

Jessie Baird Mashpee has played a pivotal role in reviving the Wampanoag language [Shafik Mandhai/Al Jazeera]

Disheartening

The Mashpee have the support of Native American organisations from across the country and Wednesdays action on the Capitol drew speakers from different tribes.

{articleGUID}

Members of the Mashpees wider Wampanoag tribe were the first to greet the pilgrims in the 17th century, and the American holiday of Thanksgiving has its roots in meals shared between the tribe and early English settlers.

Mashpee member Cameron Frye called the tribes recent experience disheartening.

Were the tribe that greeted the pilgrims, everybody knows about Thanksgiving, he said, adding, Were the tribe that welcomed them and greeted them but here we are still fighting to protect our sovereignty.

We're the tribe that greeted the pilgrims, everybody knows about Thanksgiving. We're the tribe that welcomed them and greeted them but here we are still fighting to protect our sovereignty. Cameron Frye, member of the Mashpee tribe

Frye feared that if left unchallenged, the decision would set a precedent for future government action against other Native American tribes.

Under this administration, its very frightening for all tribes, not just our own  If they can do this to us then they can do this to other tribes.

Congressional bill

Members of Congress in both the House of Representative and the Senate have introduced bills to reaffirm the decision to take the Mashpees land into federal trust.

{articleGUID}

If passed, the Mashpee Reservation Reaffirmation Act would supersede the court ruling preventing the original Obama-era decision.

Massachusetts congressmen Bill Keating and Joe Kennedy were present at the Capitol on Wednesday to show their support for the tribe. The pair are Democrats but the Mashpee cause has drawn bipartisan support.

We shouldnt have to be doing this, said Keating, who authored the House bill.

The administration has taken a decision to make one decision and Congress is here to try to straighten that out.

This is an existential issue, this is about the existence of this tribe, its that fundamental.
As relative calm sets in, residents in besieged enclave say they have little faith in Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal.

A fragile calm has taken effect in the besieged Gaza Strip as an Egyptian-brokered deal between Hamas, the group that governs the Strip, and Israel appears to be holding, but Palestinians and experts are sceptical of the agreement.

Mohammed Baroud, a 34-year-old schoolteacher, said he didnt believe the latest ceasefire deal would last long.

This is simply because Israel has never stuck to any agreement in the past, Baroud, who has witnessed the three previous Israeli assaults on the enclave, said.

My students, who are mostly 11-year-olds, were scared. I spent the day comforting them, reassuring them that it will all be OK, he said.

In reality, I know the Israelis will soon commit another crime.

The truce, announced on Tuesday by Hamas-led factions, was designed to restore calm and end two days of Israeli aerial attacks on Gaza which began after Palestinian factions fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for an undercover Israeli operation that killed seven in Gaza. At least 14 Palestinians and two Israelis were killed in the two days of violence.





A statement by Palestinian groups in Gaza said: Egypts efforts have succeeded in achieving a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy.

The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it.

But Israeli defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, resigned in protest against the ceasefire deal, precipitating a crisis for the coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

What happened yesterday  the truce combined with the process with Hamas  is capitulating to terror. It has no other meaning, Lieberman told journalists.

Netanyahu has defended the truce, saying the leadership is doing the right thing.

We were all frightened

On Tuesday night, an official statement issued by the Gaza Ministry of Education announced that schools were opening, indicating that the situation was returning to normalcy.

But 16-year-old Reem Khalla woke up with a feeling of trepidation on Wednesday morning.

Like many students in Gaza, Khalla was wary about attending school a day after the ceasefire, which came after intense Israeli bombing of the enclave that saw numerous buildings flattened, including a local television station.

When I arrived, less than half of my classmates  about 15 people  were there, Khalla told Al Jazeera.

We were all frightened, and the teachers gave those who wanted to go home permission to do so, she said.

We didnt even study much We were mostly debating if the ceasefire will hold and whether this is going to be a rerun of the 2014 war.

During the Israeli assault of 2014, more than 2,200 Palestinians were killed  the majority of whom were civilians  and tens of thousands were left homeless. Seventy-three people, most of them soldiers, were killed on the Israeli side.

Ceasefire liable to hold

Observers believe the agreement will hold, but only until the next round of attacks, which has been postponed.

The latest ceasefire agreement is liable to hold because Israel paid a considerable price for its recent provocative attacks on the Gaza Strip, Mouin Rabbani, a senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies, told Al Jazeera.

[Israel] fundamentally miscalculated in its assumption that Hamas would not retaliate in order to preserve the Egyptian-led mediation efforts, Rabbani noted.





According to him, there will be significant pressure on the Israeli leadership to perform more successfully against the Palestinians.

At the end of the day, Israel does not have credible political options vis-a-vis the Gaza Strip, but also appears unprepared to relinquish its blockade of the coastal territory, Rabbani said.

Gaza, home to more than two million people, has been under a crippling Israeli and Egyptian-imposed blockade for 11 years that has severely restricted the movement of Palestinians.

Although Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the Strip in 2005, it has maintained its control over Gazas airspace, territorial waters and land borders.

The siege has devastated the local economy, severely restricting the entry of food and access to basic services. It has also stopped the flow of construction materials needed to rebuild much of the enclaves infrastructure, which was damaged in the previous Israeli military campaigns of 2008, 2012 and 2014.

A better deal

Alaa Tartir, programme adviser at Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, believes the latest escalation by Israel was meant to retest the capabilities of armed groups in Gaza, which include Hamas al-Qassam Brigades.

The United States long-awaited Middle East peace deal pushed by US President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner has also played a role in the latest escalation and the subsequent truce, Tartir said.

A wait-and-see approach will be pursued by all actors until the Trump administration announces the pillars of its peace deal, Tartir told Al Jazeera.

They [Israel] will continue to re-position themselves to secure a better deal in the unfolding regional arrangements, he said.

Following the announcement of the truce, the UN Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the flare-up at the request of Kuwait and Bolivia.

But diplomats said an agreement was not reached on how to address the attacks.

Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that the Security Council was paralysed and laid the blame on it for failing to take adequate and immediate action.

Additional reporting by Maram Humaid in Gaza
If the UK government agrees with the draft agreement, an EU vote could take place as soon as November 25.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said the draft deal the United Kingdom has struck with the European Union with regards to Brexit will adhere to what people voted for during the 2016 Brexit referendum.

What we have been negotiating is a deal that does deliver on the vote of the British people, May told MPs on Wednesday after the UK and EU finalised the details of their plan on Tuesday.

May defended the agreement to a group of MPs from her own Conservative party ahead of a meeting with her cabinet, during which she is seeking her ministers backing for the deal.

Despite an earlier statement, Downing Street said May would not make an official statement on if the cabinet had agreed on the deal on Wednesday night.

Hardline Brexit supporters said the deal included unacceptable compromises.

May said the agreement would guarantee an end to unlimited immigration from the EU and would allow Britain to set its own trade policy, two of the main issues raised during the Brexit campaign.

She added the agreement included a backstop to avoid a hard border in Ireland but said this would be a temporary insurance policy if no future relationship is agreed.

We want to bring the future relationship into place at the end of December 2020, she said.

Accoriding to Al Jazeera correspondent Paul Brennan, the next 24 hours will be crucial for both Brexit and the Theresa May government as a whole.

We are wondering now if the Brexit piece falling into place or the British government falleng into pieces, Brennan said from London.

The reaction has been almost universally opposed to the deal, both the Brexiteers and those who want to stay in the EU are extremely unhappy, he said.

Parliament seems to be at an impasse.

{articleGUID}

The Irish border has been a key issue during negotiations between London and Brussels.

Both have vowed to prevent the re-emergence of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which will leave the EU with Britain, amid fears the issue could reignite decades-old tensions.

But the two sides disagreed for a long time on how to resolve the issue.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said the agreement breaches the prime ministers own red lines, adding that negotiations with Brussels had been shambolic.

This government spent two years negotiating a bad deal that will leave the country in an indefinite half-way house, Corbyn said.

Conservative Peter Bone, a leading pro-Brexit MP, also criticised May.

You are not delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters, Bone said.

Following the UKs announcement an agreement was signed, Irelands Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday that an emergency EU summit could be held on November 25 to vote on the deal.

UK parliament would then vote on the Brexit accord.

If successful, the whole Brexit process should be concluded on March 29, 2019, almost three years after the referendum was held.

However, Brennan said that a failure for the cabinet to approve the deal could lead to real issues for May and her government.

The timetable from now is that the cabinet has to approve, and if they dont approve she will have to review her position as cabinet leader, Brennan said.

The real problems will arise in parliament, because there is no majority and if they dont approve thats when were really in uncharted territory because we might be looking at general elections, he added.

Possible extension

The agreement comes after months of intense negotiations between UK and EU leaders and mounting pressure on May.

{articleGUID}

Last month, May said she was ready to consider extending a transition phase after the UK leaves, according to officials.

Such an extension, keeping Britain under EU governance with no say in it, would be highly unpopular with hardline supporters of Brexit.

The idea of a one-year extension to the transition period had been proposed by EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

This would buy more time to negotiate the future relationship between Britain and the EU, which could potentially help to make progress on the Irish border issue.
Qatar joins global fight against diabetes, to work with US

Stem cell therapy may hold the key to the treatment of diabetes, which has so far remained largely incurable.
Baobab is one of many informal settlements in the capital and provided a lifeline to refugees who fell out the system.

Rome  An informal refugee camp in Rome which opened at the height of the crisis in 2015 was evacuated on Tuesday, sending several vulnerable people onto the streets as winter sets in.

Located in an empty car park near one of Romes main train stations, the Baobab camp would normally host around 300 people, mostly transiting for a few days or months.

While the eviction had been expected for weeks, around 150 people were still at the camp on Tuesday morning when police vans surrounded and closed the area.

Some residents loaded suitcases and plastic bags with their belongings onto police vans before being driven away to a police station for identification.

While the Rome municipality offered places in reception centres to some of the refugees, not everyone will have a place to go after bulldozers finish clearing their tents.

We have been negotiating with the municipality for the past week, said Andrea Costa, one of the activists running the camp. We thought theyd take a few more days as we were promised 120 places. Up to this morning, the number of people relocated was 65.

According to the Rome municipality, 75 people were assigned alternative accommodation this past week, meaning at least dozens have nowhere to go.

Camps in Rome host 3,500 of at least 10,000 refugees and migrants living mostly in abandoned buildings without basic infrastructure [Ylenia Gostoli/Al Jazeera]

Originally set up to deal with the high number of arrivals to Italy, in recent years Baobab had become a transit place for refugees who fell out of the reception system, were never offered a place, or were sent back to Italy under the Dublin regulation  which allows European countries to return asylum seekers to the country where they first registered. There were also a handful of homeless people, including Italians, at the camp.

Said* (not his real name), an Egyptian man in his fifties who has lived in Italy for 20 years, dragged his few belongings on a shopping trolley down the street leading out of the camp. Some of the bags contained goods he sells without a license on the streets of Rome.

He has been homeless for the past 10 years after personal difficulties, and said he was heading to the municipalitys social services to see if they could find a temporary solution.

Theres no place for all of us, not just from Baobab. You go there and they tell you, come back tomorrow, he said.

Baobab is one of many informal settlements in the capital, which hosts 3,500 of at least 10,000 refugees and migrants living mostly in abandoned buildings without basic infrastructure, according to an MSF report published earlier this year.

The Baobab camp was aimed at refugees who have fallen out of the reception system [Ylenia Gostoli/Al Jazeera]

While some may have been denied international protection, others are simply waiting for their application to be examined and would have the right to housing.

It is absurd that the municipality is not able to find a place [in reception centres] for a few hundred people, it is absurd to continue to fan citizens fears, Costa said. Rome wont be a better place tonight.

Costa added that a team of volunteers, lawyers and medics was ready to meet the migrants and refugees upon their release from the police station.

While lacking basic infrastructure, Baobab was run by volunteers who took care of daily food distribution and provided language classes, legal assistance, and medical help through NGOs.

Salvinis threat

It is the twenty-second time the camp is dismantled since it was opened.

The Italian railway company, which owns the land, had recently started building a fence around the camp as part of a plan to turn the area into a public park.

It has been weeks that [far-right Interior Minister] Matteo Salvini and others in the governing coalition attack Baobab directly as one of those examples to persecute accomplices of the migrants, Costa told Al Jazeera.

Riportare legalita, ordine e sicurezza, quartiere per quartiere.

Dopo #Baobab arriveranno a Roma altri sgomberi: 4 edifici pericolanti e 23 interessati da iniziative giudiziarie.

Non ci fermeremo, questo e solo l'inizio, qui come in tutta Italia.#dalleparoleaifatti pic.twitter.com/ShR5lbMq7h  Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) November 13, 2018

In September, Salvini sent an official letter to local authorities across the country asking them to speed up evictions of occupied buildings, starting with around 90 housing occupations located in the capital. Most of these house low-income families and pensioners on the waiting list for social housing.

The new directives would allow local governments to bypass a circular by the former interior minister that asked them to find alternatives for residents before proceeding with evictions.

Enclaves, where the state and legality are absent, are no longer tolerated. We promised it, we are doing it. And its just the beginning, said Salvini in a tweet, as bulldozers razed the tents activists and refugees had just rebuilt after a gust of bad weather destroyed the camp last week.
Singapore summit: US-China trade war dominates talks

Will US Vice President Mike Pence and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meet to discuss the trade dispute?
Speaker says a majority of the 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against newly appointed PM.

Sri Lankas parliament passed a no-confidence motion against newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government on Wednesday, throwing the country deeper into crisis.

The move comes a day after the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature and calling for snap elections.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, 72, who was appointed prime minister on October 26 in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

I rule that this House does not have confidence in the government (of Rajapaksa) Karu Jayasuriya, the Speaker

The ayes have it, the Speaker announced over his public address system I rule that this House does not have confidence in the government (of Rajapaksa).

Opposition leader R Sambanthan told the Reuters news agency that the motion presented by an opposition party was taken to a voice vote and had the majority support.

Chaotic scenes

Amid chaotic scenes, Rajapaksa, a former controversial president, and his legislator son Namal walked out of the chamber just before the Speaker called for a vote.

Members of Parliament loyal to Rajapaksa attempted to grab the mace, the symbol of authority of the legislature, to disrupt the vote, but Jayasuriya went ahead.

Jayasuriya, the parliament Speaker, has opposed presidents decision to appoint Rajapaksa [Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]

The result does not automatically mean that Wickremesinghe, whose United National Party (UNP) is the biggest in parliament, has won the constitutional showdown.

President Maithripala Sirisena retains the power to choose the next prime minister.

Sirisenas October 26 decision has left the South Asian island nation with two prime ministers, with Wickremesinghe holed up in the official residence and refusing to step down.

The UNP had vehemently rejected the sacking of the parliament and demanded a House vote to prove that the deposed leader still had the backing of at least 113 legislators.

The United States, European Union and other members of the international community have raised concerns over the crisis.

Only China has recognised the appointment of Rajapaksa, who during his decade as president until 2015 relied heavily on Beijing for diplomatic and financial support.
A GoFundMe page crosses six figure mark after killing of Jemel Robinson while he was subduing a suspected gunman.

A fundraising page has raised more than $121,000 for a black security guard killed by a white police officer while he subdued a suspected gunman at a bar in Chicago.

Jemel Roberson apprehended the man who had fired shots inside the bar on Sunday, but when police arrived at the scene they shot the 26-year old as he held down the attacker.

The shooting suspect left at least four people inside the bar wounded.

According to local media reports, witnesses shouted security at the police officers in a vain attempt at stopping them from firing their weapons.

Everybody was screaming out, Security! He was a security guard, witness Adam Harris told WGN9.

And they still did their job, and saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him, he added.

Midlothian Police said one of their officers shot Roberson after he ignored multiple requests to put down a firearm that he was licensed to carry. The department confirmed that the officer was white.

Roberson, a father of one whose partner was pregnant with his second child, died in hospital after receiving multiple bullet wounds.

Intentional, willful, and wanton

A lawsuit has been filed against Midlothian Police for their role in Robersons death and the officer responsible has been placed on administrative leave, according to local media.

A lawyer for Robersons family said his killing was intentional, willful, and wanton, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Friends described Roberson as a church-going guy and devoted father, who had dreams of joining the police.

His death is the latest of a black man at the hands of a US police officer, and the circumstances of Robersons killing have prompted renewed focus on police violence in the country.

According to the Washington Posts Fatal Force database, at least 841 people have been killed by the police in the US this year. The Post found that more than 980 people were killed by police in 2017.

The Guardian identified more than 1,090 police killings the previous year.

Nearly a quarter of those killed by police in 2016 were African Americans, although the group accounted for roughly 12 percent of the total US population.

According to watchdog group The Sentencing Project, African American men are six times more likely to be arrested than white men.

These disparities, particularly the killing of African Americans by police, has prompted the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, a popular civil rights movement aimed at ending police violence and dismantling structural racism.

Jemel Roberson was a young father and a security guard who aspired to one day become a police officer, said Democrat New Jersey Senator Cory Booker on Twitter, adding: He was doing his job, subduing a shooter, when he was killed by a police officer.

Words cant begin to describe my horror and outrage.
Appointment of former army general John Abizaid comes after nearly two years of US ambassadorial absence in Riyadh.

US President Donald Trump has named a former army general with long experience in the Middle East as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a post that has been vacant since Joseph Westphal left in January 2017.

John Abizaid, a retired four-star army general of Lebanese Christian descent, is prominent for his stint as the longest-chief of US Central Command  of which the Middle East is part  starting shortly after the Iraq war in 2003 all the way through to 2007.

He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, after which he earned a scholarship to go study Arabic in Jordan, a language he did not speak as a child.

{articleGUID}

Abizaid also attended Harvard University where he obtained a Master of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies. His thesis focused on Saudi Arabias weapons procurement policy.

The 67-year-olds appointment, which will have to be approved by the Senate, comes at a time when relations between the longstanding allies are being put to the test following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was killed shortly after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Riyadh had consistently denied responsibility for the journalists disappearance, maintaining that the Washington Post columnist left its premises. It later admitted to the famed critics killing by what it described as a team of rogue agents.

{articleGUID}

Trump has been slow to react to evidence increasingly suggesting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans involvement in the killing of Khashoggi, in large part due to the close ties he forged with the 33-year-old heir apparent, also known as MBS.

He has gone back and forth between demanding full accountability for the journalists murder and emphasising the strategic importance of the US-Saudi alliance, going so far as to say any punishment imposed on Riyadh will not include a halt to US arms sales.

Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been acting as de facto US ambassador to Riyadh by forging a bond with Prince Mohammed. In 2017, Kushner took an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia to pay a visit to MBS.

The two men have since reportedly been exchanging text messages and speaking frequently on the telephone.
British PM wins cabinet support for the draft divorce deal with the EU, but faces rebellion within her own party.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to take her Brexit deal to parliament, where she faces tough questions from MPs.

May will set out the terms of the draft withdrawal agreement on Thursday to the House of Commons, which must approve the deal before the UK leaves the European Union on March 29.

The PM secured the backing of her cabinet for the draft agreement on Wednesday, after a five-hour meeting.

The collective decision of the government was that the cabinet should agree to the draft agreement and the outlying political declaration, May said on Wednesday.

This is a decisive step, which allows us to move on and finalise the deal in the days ahead, she added. These decisions were not taken lightly, but I firmly believe they were in the national interest.

{articleGUID}

European Council President Donald Tusk will give his verdict on the draft agreement in Brussels, with London hoping he will call a leaders summit later this month to seal the deal.

But while EU negotiator Michel Barnier applauded the decisive progress made after months of deadlock, he warned there was lots of work still to do.

The draft agreement has faced opposition from British MPs, including hardline Brexit supporters within Mays Conservative party.

I know that there will be difficult days ahead, and this is a decision that will come under intense scrutiny and that is how it should be and entirely natural, May said Wednesday.

{articleGUID}

It is my responsibility to defend any decision the government has taken and I stand ready to do that.

Border issue

In her statement on Wednesday, May said the agreement included a solution to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

The choices before us were difficult, particularly in relation to the Northern Ireland backstop, she said, without giving details about what the solution will be.

Al Jazeera correspondent Paul Brennan said Thursday will be a crucial day for both Brexit and the May government as a whole.

We are wondering now if the Brexit piece is falling into place or the British government is falling into pieces, Brennan said from London.

The reaction has been almost universally opposed to the deal, both the Brexiteers and those who want to stay in the EU are extremely unhappy, he said.

{articleGUID}

The Irish border has been a key issue during negotiations between London and Brussels.

Both have vowed to prevent the re-emergence of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which will leave the EU with Britain, amid fears the issue could reignite decades-old tensions.

But the two sides disagreed for a long time on how to resolve the issue.

Tough road ahead

Earlier on Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said the agreement breaches the prime ministers own red lines, adding that negotiations with Brussels had been shambolic.

This government spent two years negotiating a bad deal that will leave the country in an indefinite half-way house, Corbyn said.

Conservative Peter Bone, a leading pro-Brexit MP, also criticised May.

You are not delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters, Bone said.

Following the UKs announcement an agreement was signed, Irelands Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday that an emergency EU summit could be held on November 25 to vote on the deal.

The UK parliament would then vote on the Brexit accord.

If successful, the whole Brexit process should be concluded on March 29, 2019, almost three years after the referendum was held.

Possible extension

The Brexit agreement comes after months of intense negotiations between UK and EU leaders and mounting pressure on May.

{articleGUID}

Last month, May said she was ready to consider extending a transition phase after the UK leaves, according to officials.

Such an extension, keeping Britain under EU governance with no say in it, would be highly unpopular with hardline supporters of Brexit.

The idea of a one-year extension to the transition period had been proposed by EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

This would buy more time to negotiate the future relationship between Britain and the EU, which could potentially help to make progress on the Irish border issue.
Ukrainians protest as gas price dispute leaves houses freezing

People block roads as at least six towns remain without heating at a time when temperatures fall below freezing point.
When she was 12, Grace was abducted and then raped and beaten every day for 11 months.
Ah, to have an all-female workplace, full of sugar and spice and everything nice and absent #MeToo turpitude and transgressions. Are you in, ladies? Well, before signing on that dotted line, you may want to consider the experiences of the sugar-and-spice girls at Swedens new Gender Equality Authority.

Yes, that sounds like whats birthed when Orwells 1984 meets The Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (Bill Mahers most memorable movie), but it wasnt mainly men being consumed in this bureaucracy. As Swedens FriaTider reports (auto-translated and corrected for grammar):

The New Gender Equality Authority has a leadership consisting of 100 percent women. Ten months after its inception, an internal report now reveals a work environment so bad that 70 percent of its employees are distressed enough to be at risk of ill health, reports Ekot. The internal survey, Ekot also noted, shows in addition that a majority of the employees of the Gender Equality Authority suffer from sleep problems and risk fatigue. Among other things, the women-dominated workplace is characterized by bullying and harassment, according to the survey.

If this surprises you, perhaps you derived your conception of the sexes from a womens studies class (maybe the one known as modern American culture). Whether it was Aristotles observation that women are more likely to scold and to strike, Rudyard Kiplings verse about how the female of the species is more deadly than the male or statistics on bullying, it has long been known that the sugar-and-spice bit reflects marketing and male flattery, not reality.

As Forbes wrote in 2012 on inter-employee harassment, Women make much nastier office bullies than men, says psychologist Dr. Gary Namie, co-founder of the [Workplace Bullying] Institute. This behavior is particularly vicious among working women, informs Forbes, and ranges from playing favourites to badmouthing colleagues to undermining other womens careers (and mens, too).

Unsurprisingly, Forbes attributed this to conditioning (read: its our Patriarchal societys fault), writing that girls are taught to be critical about each other from adolescence. How this is taught or where its taught I have no idea, but thats their story and theyre stickin to it. Its just good the Female Criticism 101 classes dont also instruct on how to criticize men, otherwise there could actually be nagging wives in the world. (Unless theyd just skip right to the physical, as some studies show that women are more likely to initiate both domestic and teen-dating violence.)

Those adolescent girls must be quick learners, though, because experts and studies (two troubling phenomena, no doubt, but, hey, even a blind squirrel and a broken clock, ya know?) inform that bullying among girls is notably worse than among boys. Just consider the left-wing Guardian, which outlines the problems and practices of these teen Gorgons and then closes with the question: Do these realities make the normal bullying of, generally, low-level violence as used by boys seem strangely comforting?

Part of the explanation for this is that as poet William Congreve noted in 1697 (pre-gender-sensitivity training), Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. His context was affairs of the heart, of course, but it extends further. While men have their characteristic sins (lust, for example), a female one is vindictiveness. I suspect this is partially, though not completely, because women are very emotion-oriented, are easily hurt and, most significantly, are emotion-retentive. Thus, a real or imagined slight cuts deeply and doesnt just remain in a womans mind, but in her heart. Its harder to forgive when negative feelings linger  demanding retribution.

The bottom line is that, as often portrayed art-imitating-life-style in film, two men can engage in fisticuffs and be buddies an hour later. Women? Not so much.

The psychological experts will tell us this is taught, too, but its even (and especially) apparent in children. When a little boy gets upset, he may have a tantrum and explode like a volcano yet 15 minutes later behave as if nothing happened. A girl is less likely to do this but more apt to simmer for long periods, not boiling over noticeably but not cooling to a calm, either. Consequently, rifts with friends are too often permanent.

Then theres that, speaking generally, men are creatures of principle, women of preference. As I put it, treating this recently, Years ago a female writer (whose nameescapes me) discussed the different ways boys and girls settle problems. She wrote that boys are natural-born deal makers; theyll try to ensure fairness for everyone and then shake hands, saying Deal? Deal. In contrast, girls will try to ensure an outcome everyone feels good about.

Witnessed here, even from young ages, I continued, is that boys instinctively reference principles, the objective; fairness is a principle. The girls, of course, are referencing feelings, the subjective.

The point? Fair fighting or conflict resolution in the workplace or anywhere else requires adherence to principles; emotion wont secure it (which is why catfights are, well, catfights). Philosopher C.S. Lewis touched on this in his book Mere Christianity when he asked: With whom would you rather deal if your dog bit the child next door, the man or woman of the house?

Lewis explained that when the man handles what could be called the familys foreign policy, outsiders are more likely to get a fair shake; the womans extreme family patriotism often precludes this.

The latter is, of course, what can cause a woman to be wholly devoted to her children, even to the point of backing them when they do evil (serial killers mothers come to mind). For only principle instructs, Your family is wrong, and you must say so; emotion exclaims My family right or wrong!

Kipling touched on this as well, writing of man, Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands [t]o some God of Abstract Justice -- which no woman understands.

The strong, unyielding feminine emotion can provide the no-holds-barred love and devotion a child needs. But when this intense passion is turned to competition in the workplace or elsewhere, its just no-holds-barred. So I dont know about spice, but maybe, as so many today claim, sugar really is a killer.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com
New York City is experiencing an accelerated, steep decline in quality of life. NYC now has the highest homeless population in the country. It has spiked by about 50% under the leadership of ultraprogressive Mayor Bill de Blasio. Homeless people are all over the place, living in squalor, very commonly panhandling passersby, making them feel quite uncomfortable, and committing lots of crime. Many of these people are mentally and physically ill and need serious assistance.

Recently, NYC decided to no longer arrest or prosecute for public marijuana use, as well as for public urination. Even public drunkenness has been decriminalized under de Blasios lead. NYC police are now under order not to break up excessively loud parties, and stop and frisk police arrest policies have been put out of business.

In short, NYC is becoming a quality-of-life nightmare. Gone are the days of neighborhood improvement under mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg, as the city is once again becoming a cesspool of all that drives decent people away. (Mayor Bloomberg promoted stop and frisk policing and surveillance of mosques, and hired Ray Kelly as Police Commissioner -- all of which liberals harshly criticized, and all of which de Blasio scrapped -- yet it did the job.)

Those who do not live in New York are probably unaware of the recent dramatic uptick in street crime. This past Friday, two people slashed a 54-year-old man in the face in midtown Manhattan. That same day and 10 blocks away from this incident, a homeless man seriously assaulted two people while another homeless man chocked and violently robbed someone in an upscale Manhattan restaurant, and in lower Manhattan someone was thrown into the subway tracks and almost killed. Violent subway attacks have occurred as of late in Brooklyn as well. Residents are on edge, as horrific assaults have become more of a present reality than a thing of the past. Those of us who take the subways and trek through the city each day on our way to and from work are not at all surprised, as the safety landscape has seismically changed for the worse over the past several years, and nice neighborhoods are again becoming rough and ugly. We are now used to being accosted by (often aggressive) beggars, and we rarely see transit police on subway platforms and in the trains. This was not at all the case prior to de Blasio.

The New York Daily News reported on the impact of the proliferation of homeless people in NYC on local residents:

Verbal harassment and physical assaults; stoops used as bathrooms; outdoor flowerpots used to hide knives; prostitution and drug dealing; newly arrived gentrifiers unable to tell the difference between some longtime homeowners and shelter residents; real estate brokers warning that property values fall when new shelters are announced nearby; and a pastor who lost half his congregation after a parishioner was raped by homeless youths from a nearby shelter.

We recently read of a sorry situation following a string of brutal attacks at NYC bodegas:

Lara and the United Bodegas of America, which says it has roughly 100 members, are now calling on cops to install panic buttons inside city delis, train workers on how to use stun guns and allow qualified workers to obtain pistol permits for use on premises. People from the community run to us for help, said the groups president, Radhames Rodriguez, 55, during a rally held outside Laras bodega Sunday. They run into our stores begging for help. We are putting our lives in danger, too. We need the tools to defend them and ourselves. Lara says he tried in 1992 to obtain a pistol permit but was told he could only use the gun for two hours a day -- going to and from the bank. Make it easier for the people who qualify to get a gun, Lara urged the NYPD. The NYPD did not return a request for comment.

De Blasio has emasculated the police department. This mayors progressive policies have caused an explosion of homelessness, reduced quality of life, and enabled savage street crime. In fact, residents in the area where the most vicious street crimes occurred directly blame the crime on homeless people and drug dealers -- two groups that were basically set loose on the local population, courtesy of de Blasio.

In his own curious and naive way, I think that de Blasio means well -- but meaning well and acting well are often at odds. Leniency and love are not whats needed; tough love (such as Workfare), and downright toughness against evil, are missing and are sorely necessary. Reducing the NYC jail population and criminal sentences, for example, is the wrong way to go.

The Talmud teaches that one who acts with mercy toward the cruel is in truth causing cruelty to those who are merciful. Bill De Blasio would do well to heed this sage advice.

Avrohom Gordimer is chairman of the Rabbinic Circle at Coalition for Jewish Values and is a member of the Rabbinical Council of America and the New York Bar. He serves on the editorial board of Jewish Action magazine, is a staff writer for the Cross-Currents website and is a frequent contributor to Israel National News and a host of other publications. By day, he works as an account executive at a large Jewish organization based in Manhattan. The views expressed in the above article are solely those of the writer.
Over many decades, the American Left, the Democratic Party and their mutual propaganda arm, the self-styled mainstream media, have successfully portrayed conservatives and the Republican Party as a coalition of the wealthy and intolerant. Further, the Democrats and the left have claimed that they are the true champions of the working or middle class as they unceasingly fight to defeat and marginalize this evil menace.

The reality, however, is that this cabal has virtually no interest in defending or aiding the working class as they are, in fact, the party of a bifurcated constituency: the wealthy and those dependent on the largess of the government.

Of the fifty wealthiest congressional districts throughout the country, the Democrats now represent forty-one. Of the remaining nine represented by Republicans, three are in Texas, the only red state on the list of fifty districts. Not coincidentally the residents of these same fifty districts are supposedly among the most well-educated and sophisticated. This transformative process is not a recent phenomenon as the trend began in the 1980s and accelerated rapidly in the early 2000s.

Americas elites, now overwhelmingly represented by the Democratic Party, have a single overriding interest: their self-indulgent lifestyle. This is manifested in their mistaken belief that conservatives (i.e. the right) are hell bent on enforcing their version of morality on the nation, thus potentially calling into question the lifestyles of the rich and solipsistic.

The veracity of this claim is immaterial as it would require an element of deliberation not emotion -- a trait in extremely short supply among the nations privileged class, nearly all of whom have difficulty in generating an original thought due to the ill-education rampant in Americas universities. Thus, the mindless accusations of racism, misogyny and Fascism directed at the conservative rubes in middle America are acceptable, and in far too many instances believed, particularly as many had the temerity to vote for Donald Trump  who, although wealthy and Ivy League educated, is considered the ultimate unsophisticated rube.

As conservatives are the dominant force in the Republican Party and this nation cannot function politically with more than two major political parties, the alternative is the Democratic Party. An entity dominated by the American Left, an assemblage whose core philosophy is antithetical to the interests of the wealthy and privileged. Yet, determined to protect their lifestyles and vilify conservatives, they willingly ally with the left and overwhelmingly support virtually any Democratic candidate. In the recent 2018 mid-terms, Democratic House candidates outspent their Republican opponents by a two to one margin thanks primarily to this wealthy but myopic assemblage.

Their colleagues in the Democratic Party, and the preponderance of the membership, are those dependent on the largess of the federal and state governments. On the other hand, the growing segment of the citizenry who are working and self-sufficient are increasingly joining those who believe in limited government in migrating to the Republican Party-- a process that is accelerating with the policies and tactics of Donald Trump in combating the entrenched left and their determination to culturally and economically transform the nation. The Republican Party will inevitably become the party of the working or middle class. As such, they could potentially dominate the political agenda for the foreseeable future.

The left and the Democratic Party, in order to offset this possibility, must aggressively seek to increase the number of dependents by promoting the legalization and ultimate citizenship for untold millions of illegal immigrants and promising all Americans cradle to grave economic security. In order to enact this strategy to defeat the Republicans, the left must have the active participation and financial support of the nations wealthy-- which they have.

The Democratic Party has evolved into essentially an incompatible two-tier class-driven entity encompassing the nations wealthiest and the nations poorest. Nonetheless, it is at present a convenient home for the elites to hold off the imaginary horde of conservatives outside their gilded doors.

However, the voting numbers within the party are overwhelmingly with those who generally support the leftist philosophies of redistribution (e.g. socialized medicine and guaranteed incomes) and curtailing of freedom (e.g. speech, assembly and religion). While it may not manifest itself to the affluent who have cast their lot with the Democrats, the redistribution of wealth must, by necessity, come from the wealthy, as that is where the bulk of the nations wealth resides. It is also this same small-in-numbers group that benefits the most from freedom of speech and assembly.

Once fully embroiled in this marriage of convenience, a divorce will be impossible as the co-inhabitant of the Democratic Party, the dependent class, must continue grow in order to electorally defeat the Republicans and protect the lefts agenda. Further, the oversold expectations promulgated by the left will never be satisfied regardless of how many promises are made or token redistributive programs are enacted by the current ruling class. Only a complete transformation of this nation into a failed socialist state will satiate the left, their acolytes and their attendant army of dependency. A goal more in reach than ever thanks to the inability of the nations elites to give a damn about the future of the country.

There is not a more short-sighted and self-absorbed group of citizens in this nation than the white, wealthy well-educated urban and suburban voters. They are willing to rend the fabric of this nation in order to protect their privilege and lifestyle. While the vast majority of Americans will ultimately pay the price, the current ruling class and their progeny will have far more to lose.
The Honduran caravan heading towards the United States is anywhere from 7,000 to 14,000, depending on whose estimate one employs. Regardless, it is an invasion force. It may not have tanks and guns, but it is an invasion, nonetheless. Whether or not it harbors criminals or Muslim jihadists is irrelevant. Any time there are thousands of persons from another country forcing their way uninvited into another country, that is -- by definition -- an invasion.

So far, we have heard its participants snarling that they will be entering our country, whether we like it or not, and that nothing will stop them from doing so. We have also seen them burst through barriers at international borders in Guatemala-Mexico, where the local authorities did not use tear gas or bullets to stop them.

If they were indeed fleeing violence in their country, they could stay in Mexico or Guatemala. An offer by the Mexican government to give them medical aid and temporary work was turned down. That proves that the mantra that they are fleeing poverty and violence is bogus. Doubtless, the migrants have heard through the grapevine that once inside the United States, the stupid gringos will give them free housing, free food, free medical care, and free money.

Forcibly turning away these people could be embarrassing for the President, since the media will focus exclusively on the women and children (theyve already started). It will be remembered the well-organized campaign of outrage that erupted when children and adults were separated. We should be conscious of the fact that for years liberals have weaponized compassion.

However, if done correctly, this is a golden opportunity for President Trump.

First, we now have an excuse (as if we really needed one): because the governments of Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico did not help us contain this invasion, the yearly welfare payments that we make to their governments (for various bogus, Deep State, reasons) will end, once and for all. Guatemala -- $248,766,868. Honduras -- $175,115,348. Mexico -- $283,099,204. That money can be better spent at home in infrastructure, or in building the wall.

Second, in order to undercut the hostile propaganda from the media which will inevitably ensue, constantly refer to the invasion as an invasion. The leftist media will find some woman who will start whining on cue about what a terrible life she has and she just want a better life. Also, use the illustration of a hundred people breaking down a front door, bursting into a house, and making themselves at home eating the food and sleeping on the bed.

Third, when they crash through the border, declare a State of Emergency in the four border states. These are Constitutional powers that the President has and which have been used by various presidents, from FDR to Barack Obama (of course, the leftist media will howl that this is the beginning of their long awaited 4th Reich). This will eliminate the otherwise unavoidable catch-and-release policy of these 7000-14000 invaders if they -- once they crash through the border -- demand asylum, sanctuary and free stuff, not to mention the clogging up of our courts (theyve been told what to say by the organizers of the caravan).

If done correctly, and planned ahead of time, then the invaders could be rounded up, immediately shoved into standby military transport ships or planes, with no comfort whatsoever, and dumped back into Central America. In order to save space, they would take only the clothes on their backs and any money that they carry will be used to pay for their expenses, as per the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Remember, no one invited them to come. They must understand that theyre not wanted and not welcomed. And they will be treated the same way if they attempt to return in the future.

Fourth, this could also be the opportunity to use the state of emergency to round up all the illegal aliens that are already in the those states, whether in custody or not, and get them out of the country, thereby legally circumventing the costs of the courts, welfare, incarceration, etc. -- and seize their assets to pay for the cost (the government spent $943 million to detain them).

Fifth, and most importantly, exclude the enemy within from being in the front line. Do not allow the leftist media where operations are taking place. They will create massive propaganda, regardless, about how cruel and evil President Trump is, how weak and defenseless and needy the invaders are, but there is no need to facilitate their doing so (the media should never have been let in the areas where illegals were being housed). Keep in mind that in every invasion there are traitors.

We will see what happens once the caravan arrives, but this is certainly an option for Trump.
Down in Florida, and now Georgia, we have more evidence that the Democrats are engaging in the worst kind of chicanery about counting votes. They want all votes counted while suggesting that they have not been. In fact, the votes were counted, or at least the ones that were legally cast under the rules.

As in the 2000 election, the Democrats are playing games without regard to what all this does to a democracy. The Democrats' partisan words mean that the winner will walk into the job with half of the state believing that he is illegitimate.

How many more of these moments can we have before we become a banana republic? Not many. The beauty of a democracy is that the loser accepts results and wishes the best to the winner. Anything else is poisonous!

My suggestion to Democrats is to put the country first, as the late President Richard M. Nixon did after a very close election.

In 1960, the country voted and we did not know the verdict until the next day. Eventually. VP Nixon lost to Senator Kennedy by 114,000 votes (out of 76 million cast) and 303-219 in the Electoral College.

Many years later, I was taking a political science class and we looked back at that election. My professor said two things that I'll never forget: It was closer than close and thank God for VP Nixon's mature response.

Let's remember that amazing election and the day after:

The New York Times called the election for then-Senator Kennedy just before midnight on November 8, 1960. NBC News didnt call the race until 7 a.m. the following morning. All night, the newly empowered national television networks had forecast that Kennedy was leading, but in a race that was too close to call.

That's correct. It was too close to call into the next morning. Many people fell asleep watching a close election and woke up with the same reality.

None of that happened in Florida and Georgia. We had candidates declared winners and some even conceded. Now, the losers are taking back their concessions.

Nixon had many arguments about the voting in Chicago, Texas and other areas. He could have easily thrown the country into political chaos by refusing to accept defeat.

He did not and that's the lesson that some Democrats should learn today.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
It is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs glory and burden that she actually believes all the slogans that progressives mouth. She hasnt yet realized that the Democratic Party coalition has a senior partner, of the ultra-wealthy corporate elite that provides campaign funding and institutional support, and a junior partner, the poor and minorities, the electoral cannon fodder who provide votes and (lately) mobs, and get freebies from the government in return. The junior partners get noisy public support (aka, lip service) from the Dem politicians, but the senior partners get the goodies  the regulations, subsidies, and tax breaks  mostly in private.

Like broken clock that is correct twice a day, Ocasio-Cortez has taken a stand against all the corporate welfare being lavished on Amazon to induce it to locate one-half of its much-hyped HQ2  about 4 million square feet of office space to house 25,000 newly hired workers  in Long Island City, Queens, just across the East River from Manhattan. The New York Post:

Weve been getting calls and outreach from Queens residents all day about this. The communitys response? Outrage, Ocasio-Cortez, who officially takes office in January, tweeted. The 29-year-old went on to say: Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here.

Ocasio-Cortezs gifts do not include facility with numbers. Calling Amazon a billion dollar company understates its market value a thousand-fold, raising the question of her ability to grasp the federal budget on which she will be voting next year. It is unclear if she grasps that the difference between a billion and a trillion is more than one letter.

She correctly suspects that Amazon will not be hiring a lot of low-skilled people for its office jobs, other than as janitors.

Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that when it comes to bringing an influx of jobs to the community, we need to dig deep. Has the company promised to hire in the existing community? she questioned. Whats the quality of jobs + how many are promised? Are these jobs low-wage or high wage? Are there benefits? Can people collectively bargain?

She also has at least a rudimentary understanding that increased demand for housing by the newly-employed Amazon workers (Amazon claims they will earn an average of $150,000 a year) will push rents higher for her constutuents.

In another tweet, Ocasio-Cortez wrote: Displacement is not community development. Investing in luxury condos is not the same thing as investing in people and families. Shuffling working class people out of a community does not improve their quality of life. Ocasio-Cortez added: We need to focus on good healthcare, living wages, affordable rent. Corporations that offer none of those things should be met w/ skepticism. She continued: Lastly, this isnt just about one company or one headquarters. Its about cost of living, corps paying their fair share, etc. Its not about picking a fight, either. I was elected to advocate for our communitys interests  & theyve requested, clearly, to voice their concerns.

While I encourage her to continue to speak out and investigate this deal, she will get nowhere. The deal already has been struck between the Democrats leadership and the tech oligarchs. Bezos is signaling that the federal government is integral to his continuing takeover of information technology, retailing, distribution, and data mining. The Washington Post, Bezoss personal property, is integral to the propaganda campaigns of the Democrats as the local paper of the political and bureaucratic elites. Flattering or critical articles in the Post are a surprisingly effective inducement for actions desired by the Posts owner. Bezos selected Crystal City, just across the Potomac from DC, for the second half of his HQ2 in order to be able to swing a lot of wright on the local economy, and have a lot of employees on the voter rolls. Bezos also purchased the biggest mansion in DC, signaling his corporatist orientation  overseeing the federal government as his partner.

Bezos demonstrated his prowess at bending government powers to his own benefit with his skillful playing off of local governments with each other in a rush to offer incentives for HQ2. Not only did he receive a variety of tax-relief measures in the huindreds of millions of dollar each, he quietly reaped a treasure trove of data  for free. Daniel Kishi explains in The American Conservative:

The big prize Amazon has gotten out of its HQ2 stunt, tweeted Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self Reliance, is not the PR value of a bunch of city leaders singing its praises, or even the billions of dollars in subsidies that it will extort from public coffers. Its the data. Indeed, under the guise of a multi-billion dollar development contest, Amazon successfully convinced the mayors and governors of 238 North American cities and regions to voluntarily surrender a treasure trove of information ranging from future infrastructure projects to land use patterns and everything else in betweenall without being charged a dime. Armed with this detailed data, Amazon will not only have a competitive advantage over its rivals in retail and cloud computing, it will also have a serious upper hand at the negotiating table with state and local governments, as it will know precisely how much taxpayer money it will be able to extract from public funds.

As with her demonstration outside Nancy Pelosis office, complete with bullhorns, Ocasio-Cortez is a wild card in the eyes of the inner circle of the ruling class. Watch for her committee assignments next year when the Dems take over the House. They may try to co-opt her with committees that she wants to be on. But, if the decision is made that she needs to be leaned on, she can expect posts on committees that have nothing to do with the needs of her urban constituents.

Image credit: Donkey Hotey
In the midterm elections, Utah, Michigan, Missouri, and North Dakota passed laws allowing, to different degrees, marijuana to be legally grown, possessed, and sold. North Dakodas new law, the most far-reaching of the bunch, has virtually no strings attached. But then once upon a time, no law had its potential hooks in marijuana. What happened?

Many understand that after the Civil War the federal republic entered into its national state and its far-reaching hand began to govern the nation. It believed it knew what was best for the states, which were effectively no more than counties in relation to what would become known as Uncle Sam. It had to protect the states from themselves. Moreover, it had to protect the people from themselves. Now, not limited by federal restrictions, it could manage the people and they had little chance to escape.

By the end of the 19th century, a flood of laws from our "Uncle poured upon us from Washington and items which could be routinely purchased at any drug store, over-the-counter, or off-the-shelf, came under the watchful eye of the national government. Opiates and cocaine needed to be regulated. Within a few years, alcohol became public enemy number one, resulting in the greatest government boondoggle in the twentieth century, prohibition.

The government always loves a crisis because it can respond and be seen in a heroic effort to overcome it, even if it is the cause, which it usually is. Soon a new national agency, the Bureau of Narcotics, was formed within the Treasury Department.

But no crisis actually existed. There was simply a spate of new crimes, because something previously legal became, at the pronouncement of the national government, illegal.

A wily Federal bureaucrat, Harry J. Anslinger, had promoted the Bureau of Narcotics as an enforcement agency with himself as head of it in order to expand his governmental authority and his prominence. Although new illegal activities as a result of now illegal opium and cocaine came under the Bureau's control, they were relatively few. Therefore, the magic of marijuana, widely grown and used as cannabis, for hemp, as well as its smoking use, largely by Mexicans came under the control of Anslinger and the Bureau of Narcotics.

Intensely supported by the powerful and wealthy William Randolph Hearst and his hatred of Mexicans, marijuana became The Devils Weed and Anslinger was able to ultimately become the father of a massive government bureaucracy (DEA) that has become as powerful as some national armies. This bureaus virtually unfettered force has directed no-knock warrants against innocent citizens and declared war on drug gangs worldwide that would not exist were it not for the now illegal status of a hemp, which had been a common and useful fiber for centuries.

Not unlike during Prohibition, armies of drug gangs have now developed, chasing profits that would not exist except for the fact that a plentiful product has been driven to a high cost by the governments making the supply illegal.

Those armies of gangsters arising during prohibition became the kernel of crime families in the U.S. that still exist today. Today drug cartels such as the Tijuana cartel, the Gulf cartel, and the Sinaloa cartel and their spin-offs will be with us forever.

The rash of laws recently passed throughout the U.S. decriminalizing a once legal product could be the tip of the iceberg regarding the elimination of a government-knows-best policy for the people. Perhaps the people can once again go into a store and buy a product of their choice for their own reasons. Perhaps the future will reclaim the past. But only perhaps.

What about the national government and its armies -- the DEA, et al? What will they do? Not to worry. The government will always find a crisis -- especially if it has already been funded.

With relegalization of marijuana spreading, it doesnt mean you are safe from Uncle Sams protection. The new crisis is upon us. The opioid crisis. And not even your doctor is safe. And as long as there is a national government instead of a federal one, there will be nowhere to escape.
Maine Rep. Bruce Poliquin has filed suit in federal court looking to stop the secretary of state from counting "ranked choice" ballots.

Polquin won a plurality of votes on election day. But Maine's quirky federal electoral system forces the state to employ a system where a computer algorithm determines who gets votes from the minor candidates in order for one candidate to receive 50% of the vote.

Ballotpedia explains:

In a single-winner ranked-choice voting system, voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. Votes cast for the eliminated candidate are transferred to second-preference choices (if a ballot lists only the eliminated candidate, the vote is considered exhausted and is removed from future tallies). A new tally is conducted to determine whether any remaining candidate has won a majority of the remaining votes. The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority. This system is sometimes referred to as an instant-runoff system.

So Poliquin's chances for victory have been reduced considerably, despite the fact that he won the most votes on and before election day.

Portland Press Herald:

Poliquin and three other plaintiffs are asking a federal judge in Bangor to block Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap from proceeding with the nations first ranked-choice voting run-off in a congressional race. Neither Poliquin nor Golden secured a majority of the vote in the first count of ballots in the Nov. 6 election, thereby pushing the tabulation to voters second-choice candidates  or perhaps third-choice  until one of the front-runners crests the 50 percent threshold. U.S. District Judge Lance Walker scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. Wednesday on a request from Poliquins attorneys for a temporary restraining order that would force Dunlap to stop the process until the case is settled. Walker had scheduled an initial hearing in the case for Dec. 9, but the retabulation of votes could happen as soon as Wednesday unless the court intervenes. Dunlap, a Democrat, said ballot processing will continue until he hears otherwise from the court. If a judge tells us to stop, well stop.  I think we have to obey the law, and the law says that we proceed, Dunlap said Tuesday afternoon. Voters have approved ranked-choice voting twice at the ballot box, making Maine the first state to use the process in statewide primary and federal elections. Poliquins lawsuit claims the use of ranked-choice voting violates the U.S. Constitution because the document sets a plurality vote as the qualification for election to Congress. However, the U.S. Constitution does not mention plurality or ranked-choice voting, and several constitutional scholars said Tuesday that the lawsuit is not likely to prevent the state from moving forward with the run-off.

This is unnecessarily confusing, even if ranked choice voting is declared constitutional. The method was actually adopted in 2016 statewide, but the state supreme court ruled that the system violated the Maine Constitution.

But federal elections for senator and congressmen were exempt. Hence, Poliquin's suit to stop the counting.

So, are Maine voters voting for the man or the office? By applying "second choice" ballots to another candidate's totals, the idea that someone's vote should count despite the fact the candidate they voted for was not their first preference is weird.

I fail to see a problem with a winner receiving only a plurality of votes instead of an outright majority. This is what representative democracy is all about; the winner represents all voters, not just their supporters. But I guess that concept is too difficult for some voters to grasp.
If you'd like to know what real Mexicans think of the Central American caravan snaking through their country, the San Diego Union-Tribune's Sandra Dibble actually went out to Tijuana, their final destination before entering the U.S., and asked one:

Why do they have to come to this completely residential area, asked Gloria Martinez, who lives across the street. Why did they have to come here? Just now, I saw one in a bikini taking out the trash.

The residents of Tijuana, where the organizing group, Pueblo Sin Fronteras has a base, and where the migrants are camping out in an upscale Playas de Tijuana apartment or condo, are actually organizing a neighborhood group against the coming mess:

Just the prospect of the arrival of large numbers of Central Americans already has fueled opposition of some Tijuana residents. A Facebook group, Tijuana en Contra de la Caravana Migrante (Tijuana Against the Migrant Caravan)  counted more than 1,000 members. It calls for deportation of caravan members without legal status in Mexico, a measure necessary to avoid their causing a collapse of our region.

Now, I've been to Tijuana, and that includes Playa del Rey. That area is a normal place, and doesn't look all that different from San Diego. Language schools to teach English are advertised, condos and loans and mortgages are advertised on street signs, the grocery stores look normal, there are travel agencies, car repair shops, and shopping malls. The people follow traffic laws, the cafes serve normal food, the gas stations are normal, and the little Protestant churches feature Gospel singing on Sunday. It's not crime-free, given the bars on some of the windows, but there's very little graffiti, there's no trash, and you don't see idle young men standing around looking menacing. It's actually a pretty nice, pretty normal place.

I've actually been to Tijuana with Sandra Dibble, who wrote the piece, and can tell you she's by far the best border reporter there is, and is to be applauded for not trying to shield readers from unpleasant facts or inconvenient narratives. Note that she gives the flavor of the whole thing by noting that the migrants draped the Honduran flag outside their bus, a detail you'd never see CNN or the Washington Post report.

What we are seeing here with this is that the whole migrant caravan isn't just people fleeing persecution, but an organized political stunt, one that will create quite a bit of cost and mess for those caught in its tracks. The Mexican locals are onto it, they know they're going to bear most of the burden and get zero benefit from it, while others stand to reap big. No wonder they don't want it around.

Time for a little cross-border solidarity with the people of Tijuana.

Image credit: Fox News, via YouTube screengrab
On the night of 28 December 1879, a violent storm lashed across Scotland collapsing an iron bridge that straddled the Firth of Tay and plunged a train into the river killing all on board. It remains one of the worst railway disaster in Britains history. This great tragedy is remembered largely due to the work of a terribly bad Scottish poet who has achieved much fame throughout the last century as the worst poet in history. William Topaz McGonagalls poetry was so bad that he was pelted with rotten eggs and fish and the authorities banned his performances in public. His most famous piece, entitled The Tay Bridge Disaster has been hailed as the worst example of poetry in English literature.

Illustration of the Tay Bridge disaster.

The Disaster

The Firth of Tay is a long and narrow coastal inlet on Scotlands east coast. A railway bridge was built over this estuary of the River Tay between 1871 and 1878 to reduce travel time to and from the city of Dundee. The Tay bridge was nearly two miles long, and at the time was the longest bridge in the world. It was designed by a British railway engineer named Thomas Bouch, who built many notable railway lines, bridges and viaducts across the British isles, but is best known for the disastrous role he played in the destruction of the Tay Bridge.

On the evening of 28 December 1879, a fierce storm with wind blowing at 70-80 miles per hour struck the bridge at nearly right angles. Unfortunately, the bridge was designed without making adequate allowance for wind load, as a result of which the central section collapsed taking with it a train that was travelling from Wormit to Dundee. All 70 people on board perished in the cold waters of River Tay.

The incident sent a shockwave through the Victorian engineering profession and the general public. The bridge had been open for less than a year and half. An inquiry was held and the bridges designer, Thomas Bouch, was found guilty of bad design.

His reputation ruined, Bouchs health began to decline from guilt and shame. He died on 30 October 1880, a few months after the public inquiry into the disaster was over.

The Tay Bridge after it collapsed. Photo credit: National Library of Scotland

Photo credit: National Library of Scotland

Fallen girders of the collapsed first Tay Bridge, apparently drawn up on the shore to await salvage. Photo credit: National Library of Scotland

A failed iron rivet from the original Tay bridge. Photo credit: Roger Marks/Flickr

The Poem

William Topaz McGonagall was born in Edinburgh in 1825 or 1830. His father was a handloom weaver, and McGonagall learned the same trade, which he practiced earnestly for many years. Despite the industrial revolution slowly making weavers obsolete, McGonagall appeared to prosper, as there was still need for skilled workers to perform complex tasks.

Before McGonagall found his calling as a poet, he displayed keenness in performance art. He appeared on stage many times playing various roles from Shakespeare's plays, even if that meant paying for the privilege. His first public appearance, where he played the title role in Macbeth, was nearly a disaster:

The theatre was filled with his friends and fellow workers, anxious to see what they expected to be an amusing disaster. The play should have ended with Macbeth's death, but McGonagall believed the actor playing Macduff was trying to upstage him, and refused to die.

In 1877, McGonagall discovered he wanted to be a poet. The very first poem he wrote had all the characteristic styles that would define his career spanning 25 years. The poem entitled, An Address to the Rev. George Gilfillan began:

All hail to the Rev. George Gilfillan of Dundee,

He is the greatest preacher I did ever hear or see.

He is a man of genius bright,

And in him his congregation does delight,

Because they find him to be honest and plain,

Affable in temper, and seldom known to complain.

McGonagall began travelling and performing across Scotland, reciting his poems in pubs, theatres and public houses. The public was both entertained and appalled at the same time. They would often cheer him, perhaps recognizing that McGonagall was so giftedly bad he backed unwittingly into genius. Throughout his life McGonagall seemed oblivious to the general opinion of his poems, even when his audience were pelting him with eggs and vegetables. Ironically, it was persistence and the major lack of talent through which he achieved fame.

McGonagall wrote over two hundred awful poems. His best known work is The Tay Bridge Disaster, which The Guardian describes as being deaf to poetic metaphor and employing inappropriate rhythms that resulted in unintentionally amusing poetry.

Here is the entire poem:

The Tay Bridge Disaster

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvry Tay!

Alas! I am very sorry to say

That ninety lives have been taken away

On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

Which will be rememberd for a very long time.

Twas about seven oclock at night,

And the wind it blew with all its might,

And the rain came pouring down,

And the dark clouds seemd to frown,

And the Demon of the air seemd to say-

Ill blow down the Bridge of Tay.

When the train left Edinburgh

The passengers hearts were light and felt no sorrow,

But Boreas blew a terrific gale,

Which made their hearts for to quail,

And many of the passengers with fear did say-

I hope God will send us safe across the Bridge of Tay.

But when the train came near to Wormit Bay,

Boreas he did loud and angry bray,

And shook the central girders of the Bridge of Tay

On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

Which will be rememberd for a very long time.

So the train sped on with all its might,

And Bonnie Dundee soon hove in sight,

And the passengers hearts felt light,

Thinking they would enjoy themselves on the New Year,

With their friends at home they lovd most dear,

And wish them all a happy New Year.

So the train movd slowly along the Bridge of Tay,

Until it was about midway,

Then the central girders with a crash gave way,

And down went the train and passengers into the Tay!

The Storm Fiend did loudly bray,

Because ninety lives had been taken away,

On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

Which will be rememberd for a very long time.

As soon as the catastrophe came to be known

The alarm from mouth to mouth was blown,

And the cry rang out all oer the town,

Good Heavens! the Tay Bridge is blown down,

And a passenger train from Edinburgh,

Which filld all the peoples hearts with sorrow,

And made them for to turn pale,

Because none of the passengers were savd to tell the tale

How the disaster happend on the last Sabbath day of 1879,

Which will be rememberd for a very long time.

It must have been an awful sight,

To witness in the dusky moonlight,

While the Storm Fiend did laugh, and angry did bray,

Along the Railway Bridge of the Silvry Tay,

Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silvry Tay,

I must now conclude my lay

By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,

That your central girders would not have given way,

At least many sensible men do say,

Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,

At least many sensible men confesses,

For the stronger we our houses do build,

The less chance we have of being killed.

The present Tay Bridge, showing stumps of the original bridge's piers poking above the Tay. Photo credit: nz_willowherb/Flickr

Photo credit: Neil Williamson/Flickr
Huawei is working on a consumer-grade pair of augmented reality glasses, as confirmed by Richard Yu, the Chief Executive Officer of the technology giants consumer electronics division. In a recent interview with CNBC, the industry veteran said the Chinese company has been working on AR glasses for some time now but still isnt ready to release them and needs another one to two years at the very least. The executive described the project as an evolution of Huaweis existing AR efforts that most recently saw the firm implement such technologies into its Android smartphones.

The main goal of the wearable is to improve on that basic AR experience, according to the executive, with the company presumably prioritizing immersion and performance consistency. Mr. Yu didnt elaborate whether the glasses would be an entirely standalone product, though he revealed Huawei is experimenting with numerous implementations, including those that would pair the wearable with the firms smartphones. A combination of an Android handset and AR glasses could allow users to see more of a large area, the CEO said.

For the time being, Huawei is still focused on its smartphone AR efforts and will continue innovating on that front before releasing its first dedicated pair of AR glasses, Mr. Yu revealed, describing that strategy as being meant to ensure consumers are used to the concept of AR before the Shenzhen-based manufacturer asks them to spend money on a wearable solely dedicated to that technology. The executive acknowledged AR is still in its infancy, adding that Huawei remains convinced the emerging tech will play a significant role in the future of electronics. The company is also already expecting competition in the segment, with Mr. Yu predicting a number of new AR glasses from other manufacturers will also be commercialized over the next several years.

Advertisement

Background: The idea of AR glasses has yet to take off in the consumer space, in spite of some high-profile attempts at popularizing the concept made over the last half a decade. Google was the first to try doing so with a developer version of the Google Glass initially released in early 2013, though the product failed to generate significant momentum due to a variety of reasons. Poor battery life, limited applications, privacy concerns, and a high price tag were some of the most common complaints about the gadget which ultimately never launched as a consumer-grade device. Today, the Google Glass is often being described as a piece of tech that was ahead of its time, though its enterprise variant is still being used in a number of industries, particularly in the United States. Some third-party developers are also still supporting the wearable, whereas Google itself is also rumored to be working on a follow-up, albeit one with an unspecified release window. The second-generation device will presumably still run an operating system based on Android.

Three years following the debut of the Google Glass, Microsoft entered the AR game with the HoloLens, an even more futuristic-looking wearable designed for Windows-powered AR experiences. The Redmond, Washington-based company often signaled it believes the future of computing and user interfaces will be heavily reliant on AR spaces, not unlike those depicted in Steven Spielbergs Hollywood blockbuster Minority Report from 2002 (starring Tom Cruise). The HoloLens is meant to be the first step toward that vision, though the system itself remains of limited use even two years after its launch and is exclusively being advertised to enterprises with highly specific applications in mind. Microsoft is still pursuing the project and is reportedly planning to announce the HoloLens 2 in early 2019, one insider claimed this summer. As the second-generation device will likely be delivered in the form of another developer kit, it isnt expected to actually be released until the second half of the next year.

Huaweis AR ambitions have so far mostly been centered on mobile photography and things like real-time face filters. On the other hand, the companys wearable operations are yet to produce a piece of eyewear and remain largely focused on fitness trackers and smartwatches. Its newly confirmed ambitions revolving around AR glasses are in line with its established strategy thats aggressively geared toward diversification. Originally started as a telecom company in the late 80s, the Chinese firm is now one of the worlds largest smartphone manufacturers and also produces desktop computers, laptops, and a broad range of other gadgets, in addition to remaining committed to network equipment. While its consumer electronics arm hasnt been on the scene for long, its now showing encouraging growth across a variety of segments; Huaweis consolidated financial report for 2017 revealed a revenue equivalent to over $34 billion, nearly 32-percent up annually. Those results are even more impressive in light of the fact that the firm has been essentially prevented from doing large-scale business in the United States, the worlds largest market for high-end smartphones, i.e. the kind of handsets that yield the highest profit margins.

Advertisement

Impact: Huaweis interest in AR glasses shows the companys aggressive diversification strategy is continuing, which is unsurprising given the recent commercial successes it yielded. The firm is still aiming to become the worlds largest smartphone maker by overtaking Samsung after already surpassing Apple earlier this year and an increased focus on AR may help it accomplish that given how many of the worlds largest electronics manufacturers see the said tech as a significant component of the future of mobile computing. Whats still unclear is whether Huawei is primarily interested in delivering a pair of standalone AR glasses or a gadget thats meant to be paired with a smartphone, with Mr. Yus new comments on the matter suggesting both possibilities are presently under consideration. Whats certain is that Huaweis road toward consumer-grade AR glasses will involve new Android applications, many of which may end up utilizing ARCore, Googles set of development tools for mobile AR. As a result, the worlds second-largest handset maker may provide a major boost to Googles ecosystem, though it has yet to clarify whether it intends to keep its future AR apps exclusive to its own Android devices.
Huaweis President of Consumer Business for Europe, Walter Ji, got interviewed by Android Pit, and in that interview, Mr. Ji actually revealed some of Huaweis plans for next year. The companys President of Consumer Business for Europe has been with Huawei for 18 years, and he came to his current position back in 2016, and is involved in smartphones, tablet, and wearables, as hes overseeing the consumer-end side of Huaweis business in Europe. Mr. Ji confirmed that Huawei will focus on delivering even better smartphones in 2019, he has confirmed that Huawei will bring more innovation in the camera department, as he said that the company is planning to release a quad camera smartphone in 2019. He also said that three or five times the zoom is not enough, as he continued saying that the company is planning to introduce 10x zoom on its flagship smartphone(s) next year, in order to make them more unique. He basically said to expect quite a few surprises when it comes to the companys flagship smartphone offerings in 2019.

Mr. Ji has also reiterated that the company is working on its foldable smartphone, and 5G support as well. He actually said that the company is planning to introduce its foldable smartphone with 5G support in the first half of next year, contrary to previous reports which suggested that it will arrive in the second half of 2019. He said that the company is putting even more effort in the premium range of smartphones, which includes its P and Mate series device, and will probably include this upcoming foldable smartphone. The companys President of Consumer Business for Europe also touched on software for a bit, he said that the company is not seeing Android One as an ideal solution for consumers. He says that Huawei tested it in the markets that the company is active in, and says that consumers are not too happy with it, which is why Huawei is doing its best to improve EMUI in order to cater to consumers, as they seem pleased with it thus far.

Walter Ji also referred to 5G, briefly, he basically said that 5G will bring some significant differences to the table, and that it is a significant step forward when it comes to smartphone connectivity. He did say, however, that 3G and 4G will remain quite important, as the expansion of 5G may not go as far as consumers expect it to. He also said that 5G connectivity will be a huge challenge for battery life and power consumption, and that software will be the key in order to get everything just the way it should be. Mr. Ji also said that the company is adapting its Kirin chips for future challenges, while he also said that AI is an important bridge between the increasingly complex devices, and the ever-simpler operation that users desire. Mr. Ji has also confirmed that Huawei is planning to open more of its large flagship stores, as he said that the company is planning to open between ten and twenty such stores in 2019 (he was probably referring to Europe, though), while the first of them will be opened in Hamburg in the first half of the year. At the very end of his interview. Mr. Ji did also say that Huawei s putting a lot of focus on PCs and laptops, just to make sure that consumers dont forget that.

Advertisement

Background: Huawei had recently introduced its Mate 20 flagship lineup of handsets, and it seems like the company is planning to improve further next year. The Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, and Mate 20 X got introduced a while back, and all of these are flagship-grade phones, though theyre quite different one compared to the other. All of those devices are fueled by the same processor, the companys flagship Kirin 980 chip, while Huawei is actually rumored to release a new flagship processor ahead of time, the Kirin 990. The company is actually rumored to announce that chip in the first quarter of next year, and the Kirin 990 is rumored to ship with a 5G modem. Huawei usually introduces only one flagship processor per year, so this will definitely be a step away from its usual release cycle, but it would be an understandable one considering that a number of manufacturers will announce 5G-ready smartphones next year, and 5G will become available in 2019, even though it will be far from mainstream next year. It will probably take 5G several years to become a standard, in fact.

Impact: Huawei seems to be having huge plans for next year, which is not surprising considering that this is the second / third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, it is constantly trading places with Apple. Huawei reiterated a number of times that its plan is to overthrow Samsung, and become the worlds number one smartphone manufacturer. It is possible, but it will take quite a bit of time to come to fruition (if it ever does), as Samsung is still far ahead at this point. Huawei obviously plans to release compelling new smartphones in 2019, and based on Mr. Jis words, the P30 series of devices will ship with four cameras on the back, while Leicas lenses will probably be a part of the package once again. The companys foldable smartphone is also something to look forward to in 2019, as Huawei will face Samsung and LG in that market segment, while a number of other companies will probably introduce their foldable smartphones as well. Samsung had already shown off its demo device with a foldable display, and it remains to be seen what LG and Huawei are planning, as we did not see much info regarding those two devices. LG is, however, rumored to announce such a phone in early 2019, some rumors are even saying it will arrive in January, while Samsung will probably announce its offering in Q1 as well. Huawei will join those two Korea-based companies in the first half of the year, but Mr. Ji did not say when. Improvements in the AI department are also expected from Huawei in 2019, and the same can be said for AR.
Disney and mobile game development outfit Jam City have announced a long-term partnership wherein the latter will develop a number of new mobile games based on Disney properties and will also take over all duties related to publishing and maintaining the companys existing Disney Emoji Blitz game. The change will see employees from Disneys Glendale Games internal dev house heading over to Jam City to continue developing Emoji Blitz, and to aid development efforts for future Disney and Pixar licensed games made by Jam City. The first all-new game to come from this arrangement will be a mobile tie-in with the upcoming Frozen sequel.

Background: Jam City has a rich history on the Android gaming scene. The studio has brought many popular intellectual properties to life in mobile game form, responsible for hits like Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Snoopy Pop, and Family Guy  Another Freakin Mobile Game. The studio was a joint venture between a MySpace co-founder and a Fox executive that started all the way back in 2009. Disneys senior vice president of games, Kyle Laughlin, made it clear that he was excited about the deal. He also said that the company was eager to see just how the Disney Emoji Blitz team is going to grow and change under Jam Citys leadership. The companys stable of popular and award-winning games was cited as one of the primary reasons for the partnership. Jam Citys CEO, Chris DeWolfe, echoed those sentiments, saying that he was excited to work with Disney and use its beloved characters in new games.

Impact: Jam City specializes in addictive casual games, making Disney Emoji Blitz a perfect fit for its catalog. As for future games, things could go either way; we may be seeing a series of games that tell a rich story with existing Disney characters, in the vein of Hogwarts Mystery, or we could see even more of the casual fare that Jam City already pumps out. Judging from how excited both studios seem to be about this deal, it will result in much more than a few Cookie Jam reskins or inserting Disney characters in existing Jam City games, though that is certainly not only a possibility, but a highly probable outcome of this deal. Since Jam City will be developing these games with guidance from Disney, its also entirely possible that the studio will step out of its comfort zone and make some games with Disney characters that are unlike anything else in its rich catalog. While the deal is exciting in a way, those expecting something akin to Epic Mickey or Kingdom Hearts will almost certainly find themselves disappointed. In any case, this deal expands Disneys foothold in the mobile gaming world and gaming in general, which is definitely not a bad thing for Disney fans who want to see more games based on popular Disney and Pixar properties. The Wreck-It Ralph franchise, for example, is fertile ground on which to make a great game or even a series of them. Ultimately, only time will tell how well Disney and Jam City handle the deal and what will come of it.
Samsung appears ready to finally introduce the adoptable storage feature that was first introduced to Android way back at the end of 2015 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, based on recently shared images to the XDA Developers forum highlighting the companys current Android 9 Pie Beta. Specifically, the feature is said to have been discovered on a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 running Samsung Android Pie CRK3 release of the test software. That should mean that the feature will show up in the final update to the Samsung Galaxy firmware, although it also currently appears to be malfunctioning for the time being. While the problem will almost certainly be fixed before the roll-out of the finished update, the process of mounting a microSD card crashes at around 40-percent completion.

Background: For clarity, both because the feature was added to Android so long ago and because not many OEMs ever took advantage of it, adaptable storage is a way to extend internal capacity by adding a microSD card. First, Android encrypts an SD card that has been inserted into a compatible device and then the system treats it as part of the internal storage itself. For example, if a user bought an Android Go edition phone that only shipped with 8GB of storage out of the box but allowed for adoptable storage, a 32GB card could feasibly be added to increase the overall storage to 40GB  minus the storage thats taken up by the OS itself. With that said, since its introduction, adaptable storage hasnt necessarily been enabled in many handsets and even less in premium flagships. Thats in part due to problems with unmounting the SD card used, with difficulties in moving the data to a larger card or to a different device and partially because SD cards are typically slower than the flash ROM used in smartphones.

The former issue is only really pertinent if a user runs out of space despite using the feature or if the user wants to put the SD card in a different device. The second issue can crop up more frequently since inconsistent speeds between storage mediums can create bottlenecks in the execution of code on the read and write side of things. That results in lag for the smartphones owner if the SD or microSD card chosen isnt high-end enough to at least begin approaching usable speeds. Regardless, many users have still wanted a way to expand on their handsets internal storage capacity in a way thats easier to accomplish than manually moving apps and files around. Chiefly, thats because manually moving apps presents entirely separate problems since even something as seemingly benign as a new update for an SD card-stored application  without adaptable storage enabled  can mean that the app will move back internal storage. So users often have to continually move their apps back to a card after updates, if no adoptable storage has been enabled, which becomes a bigger problem the more apps a user has installed.

Advertisement

Impact: It isnt immediately clear how many Galaxy-branded handsets will receive this feature initially with its version of Android 9 Pie  or if Samsung will choose to introduce it in the final version at all. However, it would have obvious benefits for budget-friendly offerings from the company and particularly for those devices that are being sold at the very bottom of the overall Android price bracket. In all likeliness, thats where it will have the most impact and where it would be used the most since flagships can ship with more than 128GB of storage. So it may not be too surprising to see the feature making an appearance this far from its initial introduction. Adoptable storage could be a great way for the Korean tech giant to set its products apart from those of its biggest competitors in the segment where it currently needs the most help.
Withings launched a new health and fitness tracker called the Pulse HR, which is now available for online purchase at $129.95 directly from the manufacturers website, with current shipping dates ranging from three to four weeks. The wearable boasts a heart rate monitor, activity tracking and sleep monitoring, GPS tracking when connected to a smartphone over Bluetooth, and up to twenty days of battery life on a single charge. The unit has a rectangular OLED display capable of showing relevant fitness information, as well as notifications for calls, messages, apps, and events from a connected smartphone.

The wearables name is already familiar since a device referred to as the Pulse HR was approved by the FCC last month, foreshadowing the trackers potential launch before the end of the year. Now that is official, all of the technical details surrounding the Pulse HR have been revealed, and the list includes a back case manufactured from 316L stainless steel coupled with a polycarbonate top case, as well as a silicone wristband attached via anodized aluminum hinges. The device weighs 45 grams and is water resistant at depths of up to 50 meters (165 feet), while also being capable of recognizing more than ten activities including swimming. It provides a variety of metrics including calories burned, number of steps, and distances traveled, while the PPG-based heart rate monitor can track BPMs at intervals or continuously while in workout mode. The wearable takes advantage of a MEMS 3-axis accelerometer, and sleep tracking is enriched with a silent vibrating alarm alongside a Smart Wake-up feature. The battery should last for up to twenty days on a single charge in normal mode, or up to five days in workout mode. The device charges through a magnetic connector and users can expect a full recharge in roughly two hours.

The Pulse HR is the first wearable released by the company since the Nokia Digital Health arm was sold back to Withings earlier this year after it was initially acquired by the Finnish tech giant back in 2016. Following the reacquisition last May, it was confirmed that the Withings brand would relaunch before the end of the year, and the Pulse HR is proof of the companys efforts towards achieving this goal. The product seems to be feature-rich and competent for the fitness-tracker market, being priced lower than the $150 Fitbit Charge 3, although the aforementioned wearable does come with a SpO2 sensor on top of a heart rate monitor.
The Director for Theological Education in the Anglican Communion, the Revd Canon Dr Stephen Spencer, recounts a recent visit to an Anglican church in the South Sudanese Diocese of Kajo-Keji, in exile in Uganda.

In January 2017 the people of Kajo-Keji in South Sudan fled from fighting between rebels and government forces. They crossed the border with Uganda and were settled in refugee camps by the UNHCR. There were many Anglicans among them and they set up three churches in the camps. One of them now meets in a large shelter constructed with a wooden frame and covered in UNHCR tarpaulin.

The congregation had constructed the frame themselves, adding sections one by one and then persuading the UN agency to let them have enough tarpaulin, normally used for tents and shelters, to cover the frame. I was invited to preach at their Sunday morning service. When it started the shelter was less than half full. By the time it ended three hours later the place was full.

In classic Anglican fashion the backbone of the service came from Book of Common Prayer Mattins, though in the Bari vernacular, with introductory sentences, confession, responses, Bible reading, creed, collects, sermon and grace. But within this structure there were hymns and songs accompanied by a sonorous variety of drums and much exuberant singing and dancing.

The young peoples choir sang in English and Bari, the Mothers Union choir sang in gentle harmonies about resisting the attacks of the devil, and individuals came forward for prayers of blessing, healing and reconciliation (including, movingly, an abusive son and his elderly mother).

The offertory was a moment of sheer exuberance with great lines of people bringing forward their gifts while dancing, singing and sometimes just jumping around. It went on for around twenty minutes with the drumming raising the temperature all the while.

The Sunday School had their turn at the end, leading the recessional song, with the only issue being that their procession involved taking three steps forward and then two steps back with each line of the song. At this rate it seemed they would never actually leave!

The clergy looked around worriedly at each other wondering when on earth they would get out. But the joy of the congregation was triumphant and a wonder to behold.

The profound paradox of the Christian life was plain to see: here was a community of people who had been traumatised by flight from their homes and exile in another country. Yet here they were lifting hearts and souls to God in praise and thanksgiving. It was moving beyond words.

As I prepared the sermon I had looked at the set passage of scripture and was taken aback. It was the first part of Isaiah 54, written by the prophet when he and the people of Judah were in exile in Babylon. They had suffered the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Babylon and had been forced into exile.

As I read through its words of consolation and hope it came alive in a remarkable way. Here were words that spoke directly to the people of Kajo-Keji living in their own exile. As the preacher all I had to do was convey these words in a clear and direct way. I began by telling the story of the people of Israel, from their good times when David and Solomon were kings and they were settled in the own land, through the bitter division of the tribes under King Rehoboam, which connected with the tragic divisions of the tribes of South Sudan, to the disaster of the invasion of foreign powers and exile.

Having set the scene the words and images of Isaiah 54 then spoke for themselves, images of the peoples tent being enlarged to accommodate others, of God being their husband and redeemer, of his great compassion that would gather them together, of these days being like the days of hope for Noah after the flood, of Gods covenant of peace that shall not be removed, and of how he would rebuild their houses to be more beautiful than before, with the ringing conclusion in righteousness you shall be established, you shall be far from oppression, you shall not fear, terror shall not come near you (54:14).

Finally I was able to add that Isaiahs hopefulness was later vindicated when the people did indeed return home, rebuild their houses and plant their fields. This was the Lords promise to all his people including this congregation. With the help of a passionate interpreter it became clear that the sermon was being taken to heart by the congregation. It was exciting for me to see scripture come alive and speak into such a challenging situation in this way.

It was also clear from all this that being a disciple does not remove the hardships and traumas of life but, with the help of scripture and a community of faith, wonderfully finds the gift of hope and encouragement within them. The greater the hardship, it seems, the greater the potential for life transforming joy and love. The people of Kajo-Keji diocese in exile in the refugee camp in Uganda had become light and salt to the world.
Posted on: November 14, 2018 11:08 AM

The Bishop of Albany in the US-based Episcopal Church has said that he will not allow same-sex marriage ceremonies to be conducted in his dioceses churches, despite a resolution passed by the Churchs General Convention this year to make them available in all dioceses. The Church introduced trial use same-sex marriage rites at its General Convention in 2015, and said that the liturgy could only be used with the consent of the diocesan bishop. Some 93 bishops gave consent, while eight  including the Bishop of Albany William Love  did not. This year, the General Convention passed resolution B012 which said that while no clergy should be required to conduct same-sex marriages, they should be entitled to do so with or without their diocesan bishops consent.

B012 turns upside down over 2,000 years of church teaching regarding the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, and is in direct contradiction of the Episcopal Churchs official teaching on marriage, Bishop William said in a letter to his diocese. He said that his objection to same-sex marriage was rooted in a faith-based opposition to homosexuality, and to premarital sex of any kind.

Allowing gay couples to marry does a great disservice and injustice to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in Christ, by leading them to believe that God gives his blessing to the sharing of sexual intimacy within a same-sex relationship, when in fact He has reserved the gift of sexual intimacy for men and women within the confines of marriage between a man and woman, he said.

There is no doubt the Episcopal Church and now the Diocese of Albany are in the midst of a huge storm that can rip us apart if we are not careful. That is exactly what Satan wants. We dont have to play his game, Love said. If we focus on what divides us, we will be destroyed. If we focus on what unites us  our Lord Jesus Christ  He will get us through to the other side.

In response to Bishop Williams letter, the Churchs Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, issued a statement saying that he was assessing the implications of the statement will make determinations about appropriate actions soon.

The Presiding Bishop said: I have read the recent statement from Bishop Bill Love of the Diocese of Albany and am aware of the deep hurt on all sides of the issues it addresses, Curry said. I have been, and will continue to be, in conversation with Bishop Love about this matter.

He said: As members of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12), we also are committed to respecting the conscience of those who hold opinions that differ from the official policy of The Episcopal Church regarding the sacrament of marriage. It should be noted that the canons of The Episcopal Church give authority to all members of the clergy to decline to officiate a marriage for reasons of conscience, and Resolution B012 of the 79th General Convention does not change this fact.

In all matters, those of us who have taken vows to obey the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church must act in ways that reflect and uphold the discernment and decisions of the General Convention of the Church.

I ask the prayers of all in the Church at this time, as we move forward.
BarcelonaOn Tuesday, more than a year after the events, the judge investigating the baton charges by the Spanish police during the 1-Oct referendum in the Catalan capital began questioning the first policemen being investigated. According to courthouse sources, one of the inspectors that appeared before the magistrate, an officer deployed with the units operating at the Mediterranean School and the Pia de Sant Antoni School polling stations, said that he did not see "excesses" on the part of his subordinates that day, despite the images shown to him of voters bloodied after having been hit in the face.

This is the biggest case to date concerning police violence during the referendum, which now has 24 officers being investigated, including several commanders. In addition to this inspector, a deputy inspector and two more officers involved in the baton charges at the Pau Claris Secondary School, the Mediterranean School, and the Pies de Sant Antoni school took the stand.

The city council of Barcelona, which is the people's plaintiff in the case, has already announced that it will request a statement, as investigated parties, from 24 officers who have been identified from images recorded at the Pau Claris School polling place. Deputy Mayor Jaume Asens, who travelled to the Justice Complex, has once again insisted on the need for those responsible for the operation in the city, as well as the government of Pedro Sanchez, "to help name " the officers responsible for the injuries to voters.

"Alleged blood"

According to judicial sources, the inspector who led the operations at the Mediterranean School and at the Pia de Sant Antoni School said that he did not see "any disproportionate actions" at the polling stations, despite being shown images of voters bloodied after receiving a blow to their faces. In fact, according to these same sources, the commander of the National Police, identified that day by the code sign "Camel 1", spoke at all times of "alleged blood" when describing the injuries suffered by these people, as in his view it could have been "paint".

Both this commander and a deputy inspector, who testified in connection with the charges at the Pau Claris Secondary School and the Mediterranean School, talked about a "hostile" and "aggressive" attitude by voters.

The deputy inspector had been recognized in the images provided by a plaintiff who accused him of twisting her fingers and pushing her down the stairs of the Pau Claris Secondary School. The policeman, according to the same sources, denied injuring her, claiming that she was the young woman who had an "aggressive" attitude, and said that she "fell down the stairs" while resisting officers. In contrast, the officer did not recognize himself in the footage where he is seen striking the face of a voter at the Mediterranean school polling place.

They did not name the person who gave the order

One of the keys to the case is to identify the operational commanders, not only on the scene but also in the control room. The two commanders who testified today did not provide any information on this point. The inspector, according to police sources, said they received orders from a command center, but did not name who was involved.

In contrast, the deputy inspector said they had not received any concrete instructions on how to act on the ground, beyond the goal of "removing ballot boxes" and preventing voting.

"We hope that in the next few months those responsible for giving orders on those days will also take the stand, as well as those who could have prevented what happened but did not do so", announced Asens from the Barcelona City Council, while insisting on asking Spains Ministry of Interior and the government of Pedro Sanchez to stop "sabotaging" the investigation and help name the people in charge of the police operation.

Injured

Some of those injured during the baton charges gathered this morning outside the Justice complex; among them was Roger Espanol, the citizen who lost an eye to a rubber bullet fired by police outside the Ramon Llull Secondary School. He read a statement on behalf of everyone.

Espanol pointed out that the case of the baton charges of 1-O in Barcelona should not serve to pursue specific police officers, but to judge "a way of acting throughout the 1st of October" that he considers "disproportionate". He reminded that the "injuries inflicted" were intended to "cause pain", rather than just prevent the voting.
It is also a validation that Etihads customers, partners, guests and employees are at the heart of every good choice it makes. The launch is timed to coincide with the airlines birthday celebrations of fifteen years since its first flight.

The refresh sees the inclusion of the Choose Well line as part of the airlines visual identity, deployed across marketing collateral, sponsorships and events with the aim of creating greater visual impact. It recognises the decision-making power of the consumer and is the perfect complement to the line Abu Dhabi to the World.

Robin Kamark, Etihad Airways chief commercial officer, said: We are a proud advocate of choice and have introduced a range of products that allow our guests to personalise every aspect of their experience. We believe that the power of choice lies with them. Whether that's First, Business or Economy, the power is with the guest to decide what products are right for them. We are an airline of choices and our latest campaign perfectly encapsulates the decisions that our people and guests make every day.

Celebrating 15 Years Young, Etihad Airways has come a long way in a very short space of time and offers a range of products and services across cabins. Recently, new seating options in Economy have been introduced to enhance the product offering and allow for greater personalisation. With the most recent introduction of Economy Space, guests can select seats that feature an increased seat pitch of up to 36 inches. Other introductions this year include a Neighbour-Free seating option in Economy and an extended range of buy-on-board products.

Jason Foo, chief executive officer of BBD Perfect Storm, the creative agency Etihad worked with to develop the new brand platform, said: Research showed that Etihad offering greater choices was a game changer. But this brand platform is about more than just travel. In life we are all defined by the choices we make. We were incredibly inspired by the choices the late Sheikh Zayed made that not only defined his life, but the development of the UAE. This campaign is about inspiring, celebrating and offering great choices to all. Its a rallying call. Those that choose well, live well.

As part of the campaign, the airline chose to feature a range of individuals including its own staff. One person lending her voice to the power of choices is Shaima Rashed, one of the UAE's first Airbus A380 female pilots, who always dreamed of wearing the golden stripes. Through courage, conviction and choosing her own path, she fulfilled her dream and now flies the airlines flagship aircraft

The new campaign rolls out today in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Australia and will include radio, print, TV, digital and social elements.
Bahrain, as well as other countries in the Gulf region, can be further supported by Leonardos expertise in mission management and cutting-edge sensor technology to deliver high performance, integrated solutions for ISR/ISTAR missions. Leonardos turnkey ISR solutions can be provided via Manned or Unmanned platforms and are fully equipped with a range of sensors and networked capabilities, delivering a high degree of situational awareness and contributing to force protection. Also relevant for the region is the M-346FA, the new Fighter Attack configuration of the M-346, a highly efficient and reliable radar-equipped multirole combat aircraft, which meets an increasingly wide range of customer operational needs. The T-346A, which is the M- 346 Advanced Jet Trainer version of the Italian Air Force is one of the aircraft displaying in the Middle East region, together with the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Italian Aerobatic Team Frecce Tricolori, which will also participating in Bahrain Air Show.

We are proud about the partnership we have with Italian Air Force  said Lorenzo Mariani, Leonardo chief commercial officer  and they represent, also thanks to our aeronautic technologies, the Italian excellence. We put this same commitment to support all our customers, and this is why systems developed by Leonardo are high value assets, delivered with an effective operational through life-cycle.

Displayed on the static is the Leonard AW139 that is also configured for Search and Rescue (SAR).
Do it yourself if you can We accept  in principle  that private equity can deliver (somewhat) excess returns over most other asset classes. But there are a lot of qualifications attached to that, and most of them are very relevant to whether and how pension funds should invest in private equity.
A group of Harvard Law School students have urged fellow students to boycott Kirkland & Ellis.

The action, spearheaded by a student organisation called The Pipeline Parity Project, is centred on the international firms arbitration agreements in employee contracts.

Bloomberg Law said that Kirkland is the largest employer to recruit at the top law school. In June, the publication, through a survey supported by the law school, asked 374 BigLaw firms whether their employment contracts featured mandatory arbitration agreements. Kirkland was among the 188 firms that did not respond.
Andrea is a highly respected and leading practitioner in financial services. Her practice is very much aligned with our existing offering and the skills, experience and relationships she has will help us continue to build upon the foundations of our existing practice and deepen our relationships with our key clients in line with our strategic goals, said Tony Britten-Jones, Piper Alderman managing partner.

Beatty joins the firms national banking and financial services team, which includes Shannon Adams, Joshua Annese, Mark Gordon, and Martin Lovell. She is the sixth female partner appointment of the firm this year. Joanne Hardwick and Sarah Johnson moved to the firm, while Valerie Blacker, Maria Capati, and Lillian Rizio were among the seven partners promoted in the middle of the year.

Beatty advises and represents start-ups, Australian financial services licensees (AFSL), and Australian credit licensees (ACL) on all aspects of financial services regulation and corporate finance on matters including license applications, regulatory compliance projects and audits, regulatory enforcement defences, and regulator investigations and disputes. Her experience also includes advising on financial products and channels, including peer-to-peer lending platforms, crowdfunding, payment systems, cryptocurrency, rewards programs, gift cards, and financial services acquisitions, disposals and alliances.

Piper Alderman is a dynamic and progressive firm that is a true partnership. I look forward to my practice group thriving in Piper Aldermans collaborative environment and allowing greater career opportunities for my team in the post-Banking Royal Commission world, she said.

Piper Alderman has more than 320 people working out of offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Video of the incident from November 10, as shot by one of the cabin crew, is now making the rounds online. The woman was arrested when the plane landed and charged with racially aggravated public order, common assault and drunk and disorderly, and is now being investigated A fragment of the video is also available at the bottom of the page. Times of India has the rest, together with details providing context for such a strange outburst. Apparently, the woman started downing bottles of wine the moment the plane was up in the air.At one point, she headed to the toilet in economy class and emerged from there in a cloud of smoke. Since that didnt trigger the smoke alarm, she came back to her seat, where she continued to drink red wine.Since serving alcohol to passengers is limited only by the flight attendants common sense, when they saw that she was severely intoxicated, they refused to bring her more. Thats when she flew into a temper and went barefoot to the galley to confront whoever came across her.Times of India says she also spat in the face of a female attendant and twisted her arm, causing injury. She laughed when she received a written note from the captain, and launched into a tirade about how she was an international lawyer, a human rights lawyer, a barrister and a proponent of the boycott movement with connections to the Irish Republican Army.In between threatening attendants to have them sued or shot, the woman returned to her seat, where she turned her attention to her fellow passengers. She expressed disbelief that they didnt have the balls to stand up to the injustice of not being served more wine while in business class, and lashed out when one woman urged her to sit down because she was pathetic.Police have confirmed the womans arrest but would not make public her identity. Air India says their crew acted appropriately given the situation.
Camp Fire is officially the deadliest and most dangerous fire to ravage California. As of the time of writing, its less than 40 percent contained and has claimed the lives of 48 people, with hundreds reported missing.Hundreds of homes have burned so far, together with many acres of land and everything else that stood on it. The Allens home is probably among them, Whitney Allen tells KTVU , but at least she and her husband and their 2 daughters made it out alive.Whitney took their 8-month in the car on the ride out during evacuations, while Joe took the eldest, Olivia, who is 3 years old. He filmed the drive out, which included going down a road with fire burning on both sides, and sparks flying. You can see the footage at the bottom of the page.Despite the severe, dangerous situation, Joe manages to keep his cool, with one small exception, when he drops an F-bomb. He sings to Olivia and assures her that theyll be getting out safe, and that they will be returning home when the fires are no longer burning.While his calmness has earned him the title of hero online, Whitney tells the media outlet that his training must have kicked in: you see, Joe is a retired military, so if theres anything he knows, thats not losing his mind in crisis situations.The day the video was shot was also Olivias birthday. As our lives drastically changed today, we are reminded what is most important, Whitney says. Tonight we celebrated Olivias birthday because even though we lost everything today and so did my family... we didnt lose each other and that is truly what matters.
In a race led by NASA and its proposed Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, these private companies are currently caught in a race to launch various hardware to the Moon in the coming years. Among them is a startup called Lunar Outpost.Their proposal for Moon exploration, the Lunar Prospector rover, was unveiled this week at the Earth Mechanics Institute in Colorado, where it was subjected to its first field test in lunar regolith simulant.The machine is a four-wheeled rover designed to search for and map the Moons natural resources like water, precious metals, and helium-3. It has a maximum weight of ten kg (22 pounds), fully loaded with five kg of samples.Lunar Prospector was designed as a means to look for natural resources in situ, as opposed to the current method that implies scans from afar. The rover uses 3D printed wheels shaped like the paddle used on the steamers of old to move around in the dust of the Moon, while all-wheel drive and independent suspension allow it to keep moving and stay upright.Made of aluminum and carbon fiber, the rover uses 360 degrees LIDAR and a 4K camera to record and accurately map the lunar surface, making it capable of navigating in complete darkness.The rovers builders say the machine is fully autonomous, so it essentially could be dropped on the Moon and let it do its thing until humans actually arrive and take over. If need be, the Lunar Prospector can also be remotely operated from the future Gateway lunar space station.Lunar Outpost says its first mission to the Moon will be announced by the middle of next year.
While on The Ellen Show to talk about the flick, he brought gifts to the other guests, the Zezulka family, whose story inspired the movie. Paige and Daniel Zezulka are also known as the viral adoption family after they went public with their heartwarming story: they had trained to be foster parents and ended up adopting all 3 kids they took in.You can see Marks full appearance in the video at the bottom of the page. He opened by presenting the couple with a check for $25,000 on behalf of the producers and the cast of the film, and then invited them to help him shoot another commercial for his Chevrolet dealership in Columbus, Ohio.Ellen prefaced the invitation by reminding audiences that she had helped Mark shoot a commercial for it some while back, and that it had been responsible for a considerable spike in sales. She wanted the Zezulkas to help the actor sell more cars, she said.After the mock commercial was shot, Ellen asked the couple and their daughter if they had liked the car  a brand new 2019 Chevrolet Trax . Mark chimed in to say that this was his gift to them, a car they could use instead of the old one they had arrived at the studio in.While this is a beautiful gesture, it works wonderfully as cross-promotion as well. Not only is Wahlberg drawing attention to the movie hes starring in, but also to his Chevrolet dealership , which he opened in July this year and is said to be thriving because of his name on the door. At the end of the day, the new Trax is an unexpected, most amazing gift for the Zezulkas, but a drop in the bucket for Wahlberg.
Image: NASA/Ken Ulbrich

The first of three F/A-18B Hornets scheduled to join NASAs research fleet arrived at the administrations Armstrong Flight Research Center last week. The Hornet made the trip from the U.S. Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland to Armstrong, which is located at Edwards Air Force Base in California, in two days due to wind conditions. NASA expects a second F/A-18B to arrive from Patuxent River in the next few weeks and a third from the U.S. Naval Air Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas, in early 2019.

NASA says that although the aircraft are approaching the end of their service life for the military, they could still see extended use at Armstrong. According to Armstrong flight operations engineer Tim Krall, the aircraft will be assessed after arrival and the best of the first two will be readied to join Armstrongs active fleet. The process is expected to take several months.

Once all three aircraft have been evaluated, NASA says it will make decisions about how many of the F/A-18Bs will be added to the active fleet and which will be used for parts to keep the others flying. The Hornets will be used to accompany other aircraft on missions as a second set of eyes and for pilot training.
Vice President Mike Pence told Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday  while sitting next to her at a press conference in Singapore  that her country's violence against the Rohingya Muslims is "without excuse," NBC News reports.

Why it matters: Suu Kyi has remained silent as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh and thousands more were killed at the hands of Myanmar's military, causing some international organizations to strip her of awards given for her previous work on human rights. Pence also addressed the jailing of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar who had been investigating deaths of Rohingya, telling Suu Kyi it was "deeply troubling to millions of Americans."
The unlikely bond between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron  once dubbed Le Bromance by the New York Times  appears to have taken a turn for the worse following Trump's weekend visit to France.

Driving the news: Trump kicked off the trip by tweeting his frustration with Macron's proposal for a "true European army," calling the idea "very insulting." On Sunday, with Trump sitting nearby, Macron gave a speech slamming nationalism as "a betrayal of patriotism." Trump responded in a Tuesday morning tweet storm, pointing out Macron's low approval rating and claiming "there is no country more [n]ationalist than France."

Flashback: Things weren't always this tense.

Trump hosted Macron for his administration's first official state dinner in April. It was a jovial affair marked by affectionate body language and a belief that while the leaders differed widely on matters of policy, their strong personal relationship would allow them to work together constructively.

As Axios' Jonathan Swan noted, Trump views international relations as chemistry between individuals  and Macron, perhaps more than any other leader, put forth "a master class" in flattery and attentiveness to, paired with wariness of, the president.

On the last evening of his visit, Macron held a postgame with reporters in which he had this blunt assessment of Trump's "America First" approach: "It can work [in] the short term, but it's very insane [in] the mid- to long-term."

Such statements fit with Macron's ambitions "to be a strong leader that Trump disagrees with but respects for being strong, Celia Belin of Brookings says. Macron continued to charm Trump in person before turning around and bashing everything he stands for. For a while it seemed to work, even if it yielded limited tangible results.

When the divide between Trump's nationalism and Macron's multilateralism began to manifest in concrete policy, though, as with Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the Iran deal and implementation of steel and aluminum tariffs, Macron did not hesitate to voice his displeasure.

The NATO summit in July, during which Trump made veiled threats to withdraw from the alliance unless other countries boosted their defense spending, marked a turning point. The next month, Macron announced an "exhaustive review" of defense cooperation in the EU and claimed the bloc can no longer rely on the U.S. for its security  a position he continues to espouse.

The big picture: Macron is dealing with his own problems in France and in Europe, including a battle with right-wing populists that are de facto allies of Trump's. His confrontation with the likes of Viktor Orban in Hungary and Matteo Salvini in Italy would be difficult to square with amity toward Trump.

Between the lines: Macron was elected on a promise to, essentially, "make France great again," says Erik Brattberg of the Carnegie Endowment  more specifically, to make the country matter on the world stage. For a time, it seemed the way to do that was to develop influence with Trump. Now, given Trump's hardheaded approach and immense unpopularity in Europe, Macron may calculate that his best bet is to stand against him.

Go deeper: In Macron's battle for Europe, Trump is a foe.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has resigned over his opposition to a ceasefire with Palestinian militants in Gaza, slamming the move as "surrendering to terror," reports the BBC.

The big picture: Lieberman's resignation follows two days of violent clashes in Gaza that left eight people dead. Lieberman also said all members of his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, would quit the government coalition, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a slight majority in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and the looming possibility of a snap election if other coalition members should quit as well, according to Haaretz.
Monica Lewinsky, speaking in detail about her affair with former President Bill Clinton for the first time in a new documentary from A&E called "The Clinton Affair," , said that, when she was being interviewed by the FBI in its aftermath, she felt "the only way to fix this was to kill [herself]," per an exclusive clip aired on ABC's "Good Morning America."

The big picture: While this is the first detailed account of the affair that Lewinsky has given, she been part of the #MeToo era conversation in the last year after Clinton said he did "the right thing" during the scandal and Hillary Clinton defended her husband's decisions at the time. Lewinsky wrote in Vanity Fair that she chose to partake in the documentary because "[a]n important part of moving forward is excavating, often painfully, what has gone before."

During the impeachment hearings, Lewinsky said that she "still was in love with Bill at the time" and felt "really responsible."

On the first time Clinton noticed her : "He paid a lot of attention to me. He spent time sort of standing there and held my hand longer than he should have, and gave what others have described as the full Bill Clinton  it feels as if you're the only person standing there."

: "He paid a lot of attention to me. He spent time sort of standing there and held my hand longer than he should have, and gave what others have described as the full Bill Clinton  it feels as if you're the only person standing there." Of the affair, she explained: "It's not as if it didn't register with me that he was the president...but I think in one way, the moment we were actually in the back office for the first time, the truth is is that I think it meant more to me that someone who other people desired, desired me. However wrong it was, however misguided, for who I was in that very moment at 22 years old, that was how it felt."

By doing the documentary, she hopes to "ensure that what happened to [her] never happens to another young person in our country again," according to her piece in Vanity Fair.

Watch the video, via "Good Morning America":
U.S. national security is in greater peril than at any time in decades, according to a new report from a panel of top national security experts tasked by Congress with reviewing the state of American national defense.

Why it matters: The U.S. has entered into an era of "great power competition" with China, which poses an unprecedented challenge to U.S. dominance both economically and militarily, and with an increasingly assertive Russia. According to the report from the National Defense Strategy Commission, American military superiority has deteriorated to the point where the U.S. might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia. As U.S. superiority fades, the authors write, the likelihood of war rises.

More from the report

Rivals and adversaries are challenging the United States on many fronts and in many domains. Americas ability to defend its allies, its partners, and its own vital interests is increasingly in doubt. If the nation does not act promptly to remedy these circumstances, the consequences will be grave and lasting.

Authoritarian competitors  especially China and Russia  are seeking regional hegemony and the means to project power globally. They are pursuing determined military buildups aimed at neutralizing U.S. strengths. Threats posed by Iran and North Korea have worsened as those countries have developed more advanced weapons and creatively employed asymmetric tactics.

In multiple regions, gray-zone aggression  intimidation and coercion in the space between war and peace  has become the tool of choice for many. The dangers posed by transnational threat organizations, particularly radical jihadist groups, have also evolved and intensified. Around the world, the proliferation of advanced technology is allowing more actors to contest U.S. military power in more threatening ways.

Finally, due to political dysfunction and decisions made by both major political parties... America has significantly weakened its own defense.

Between the lines: Ambassador Eric Edelman, a co-chair of the commission, tells Michael Morell on the latest Intelligence Matters podcast that many of these warnings have been issued before: I think what we had to wrestle with was the consequences of all those warnings having been ignored.

Go deeper: Special report on the gravest threats the U.S. faces.
A geopolitical contest is playing out in one of the worlds least developed countries Papua New Guinea (PNG). In this case, geopolitical competition, often the source of war and strife, may be a force for good.

What's happening: Leaders from 20 countries will arrive in the island nation this weekend for the start of the annual APEC summit, a club of nations located in the Pacific region. The summit provides a backdrop to an ongoing tug-of-war over the countrys allegiance: before representatives from the U.S. and neighboring Australia touch down in Port Moresby, PNGs seaside capital, Xi Jinping will arrive on Thursday for the first ever official state visit by a Chinese president.

Xi is expected to come bearing gifts, including much-needed aid for the regions poorest nation (per capita income in PNG was $2,400 in 2017). His visit is part of a broader push to expand Chinese influence in the South Pacific that has seen Beijing dish out over $1.3 billion in loans since 2011.

For Australia, Xis visit is an unwelcome Chinese advance right on its doorstep  just 93 miles separate mainland Australia and PNG. For decades, Australia has counted itself as PNGs closest economic and strategic partner. It now fears the winds could be shifting.

In recent days, Australia launched an investment fund to counter Chinas regional economic diplomacy. It also signed an agreement with PNG to develop a shared naval base that would allow Australia to extend its military reach.

But the relationship has been marred by Australias use of a remote PNG island to house migrants that it refuses to grant asylum.

What to watch: If PNG Prime Minster Peter ONeill plays his cards right, the country could cash in by balancing the competing interests of China and Australia. Suffering from a recent outbreak of polio, a disease thought to have been all but eradicated from the world, and with electrification extending to less than a fifth of the country, PNG could certainly use the investment.

Worth noting: Papua New Guinea is the most ethnically diverse country in the world with more than 800 languages spoken across 600 sparsely populated islands.

Sign up for Signal, a thrice-weekly newsletter from GZERO Media, a Eurasia Group company.
Dan talks about Amazon heading to Long Island City, New York with one of its two new headquarters with the Deputy Mayor of New York Alicia Glen. Then in the "Final Two" Dan talks about Dell and how Democrats and Republicans see the stock market differently.

Go deeper: Subscribe to the Pro Rata podcast
The Russian military interfered with GPS signals during NATO's Trident Juncture, a massive military exercise in Norway that involved 50,000 alliance and U.S. personnel, a NATO spokesperson told CNN.

The big picture: Held between Oct. 25 and Nov. 23, it was NATO's largest military exercise since the Cold War. It came about a month after Russia held its own massive war games, which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said was in response to "the current international situation, which is often quite aggressive and unfriendly to our country."
The European Union expects the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia to be the most democratic in the countrys history, a senior EU diplomat said on Wednesday.

Piotr Switalski, the head of the EU Delegation in Yerevan, said the new Armenian government is committed to ensuring the freedom and fairness of the snap elections scheduled for December 9.

We believe that now in the new Armenia we have a totally new political climate, Switalski told reporters.

So we are looking forward to these elections and we are gearing for the best elections ever in Armenia, he said. Dont let me down please.

Switalski spoke as the EU as well as three of its member states -- Britain, Germany and Sweden -- allocated 2.9 million euros ($3.3 million) in financial aid aimed at facilitating the proper conduct of the polls. The EU envoy and senior diplomats from those states signed an agreement to that effect with Armenias First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Mirzoyan praised the EUs sincere commitment to and faith in the holding of democratic elections in Armenia. Needless to say, free, fair and democratic elections are the cornerstone of the sustainable development of our country, he said at a joint news conference with the European diplomats.

The EU already provided $7 million in the run-up to Armenias last parliamentary elections held in April 2017. The money was mainly spent on the purchase of electronic voter authentication devices and web cameras that were installed in all polling stations.

The equipment was specifically meant to prevent multiple voting, one of the most serious forms of fraud that had marred past Armenian elections. Western observers did not report significant instances of multiple voting in the 2017 polls. They cited instead credible information about vote-buying, and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies.

The fresh EU aid will also be used for voter identification and web cameras. The Armenian government will provide an additional $700,000 for the same purpose.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian discussed the upcoming elections with Switalski and the Yerevan-ambassadors of EU member states at a meeting held on Tuesday. Pashinian told them that the vote will mark an important milestone in Armenias democratization. He said his government, which took office as a result of this springs velvet revolution, has already made considerable progress on that front.

Switalski described the meeting with Pashinian as very productive. The EU is ready for elevating relations with Armenia to a new level after the December 9 vote, he said, adding that that could mean greater economic assistance to Yerevan.

The early elections, which Pashinians alliance is expected to win by a landslide, will come one year after the signing of a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Armenia and the EU. The 350-page agreement commits the Armenian authorities to carrying out political reforms and gradually approximating Armenian economic laws and regulations to those of the EU.

Just like the former Armenian government, Pashinian has pledged to seek closer ties with the EU while maintaining Armenias membership in Russian-led alliances of ex-Soviet states.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian praised the Armenian Apostolic Church and acknowledged its special significance for many Armenians when he met with its supreme head, Catholicos Garegin (Karekin) II, on Wednesday.

It was apparently the first one-on-one meeting of the two men at the church headquarters in Echmiadzin since Pashinian swept to power in May in a wave of mass protests organized by him. The premier has been very critical of Garegin in the past.

For us, for our people, for our country, the values of the Armenian Church have a pivotal significance for identity. This perception has always guided and is continuing to guide us, Pashinian told Garegin in his opening remarks.

The Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin has a special significance for the lives of our people, for every adherent of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including me and my family, he said. And in general, one must visit the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin from time to time. This is also the most convenient place to reflect on the past and the future.

For his part, Garegin wished Pashinian success in his patriotic endeavors. The Catholicos also said that he will take the opportunity to discuss with him solutions to a number of issues preoccupying our church.

Official press releases on the meeting gave no further details.

Pashinian had denounced Garegins perceived acquiescence of the deadly breakup of post-election opposition protests staged in Yerevan in 2008. The 43-year-old former journalist was one of the main speakers at those protests.

Shortly after the success of the Pashinian-led velvet revolution Garegin came under strong pressure from an obscure group accusing him of having close ties with the countrys former government and demanding his resignation. Dozens of its members partly occupied his Echmiadzin headquarters in July. Police waited for several days before forcing them out of the premises.

The slow police reaction prompted strong criticism from representatives of the former ruling Republican Party (HHK) and other conservative critics of Pashinians government. They portrayed it as further proof of what they see as government contempt for traditional Armenian values.

HHK lawmakers went on to draft a bill that would ban any protests inside church premises. Pashinians cabinet rejected the bill last month.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the worlds oldest Christian denominations to which the vast majority of Armenians nominally belong. Armenias constitution affirms its exceptional mission.
By Trend

Azerbaijan is making great efforts to digitally transform the economy in order to remain a competitive and prosperous state, Dmitry Berestnev, the director for cybersecurity, licensing compliance and management of software assets of Microsoft CIS company told Trend.

He noted that Microsoft company is working closely with Azerbaijans government agencies in specific areas, for example, on the issue of modernization of healthcare, introduction of best practices for knowledge management in education system, etc.

"The Microsoft company has extensive experience of joint activity with businesses and governments in the area of support for and creation of the most efficient conditions for digital transformation, the development of the IT market and the corresponding services in the field of "electronic government". Obviously, our cooperation in this area is mutually beneficial. Azerbaijan holds one of the leading positions in the CIS and Eastern Europe in terms of quantity, quality and depth of such decisions," Berestnev said.

As for cyber security issues, he said, not only the issue of protection of the new and ICT-rich industry from possible threats, but also the issue of its correct and safe development arises in this area.

"Therefore, the fight against cyber attacks has become a priority task for us, and there are a lot of such attacks are being committed currently. Several recent cyber incidents in Azerbaijan have caused serious damage. First of all, this was due to the fact that the country still has a high level of piracy. The most common pirated build of Windows OS contains 63 different keyloggers, trojans and backdoors. Therefore, on one hand, we continue to work to reduce the level of piracy, and at the same time a specific agenda arises for business sector and the government regarding the artificial intelligence, big data, etc.," Berestnev said.

An important component, he said, is the provision of the security of personal data, and in this regard, Microsoft offers advanced solutions which allow for providing the competent authorities with 100% secure control over all data used in the country.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Narmina Mammadova

A significant increase has been recorded in gold mining due to the optimization of operational processes by AzerGold CJSC. In particular, for the first ten months of 2018, gold production amounted to 36,632 ounces, thereby exceeding last year's figures, the company said on November 14.

In general, AzerGold CJSC plans to extract 45,000 ounces of gold by the end of this year, which is 33 percent more than last year. Currently, mining operations are carried out in accordance with the plan.

Large-scale geological exploration is being carried out in order to increase the reserves of exploited areas and the commissioning of new fields.

Currently, the drilling of 32 exploration wells with a total depth of 6,000 meters has been completed. It was carried out in order to increase reserves of sulphide ores from the Chovdar deposit of the Dashkesan region. The information collected in the framework of exploration will be used by international consulting company Micon International in the development of a feasibility study for the project.

Starting from June of the current year, based on the obtained positive results, control and assessment drilling operations are being carried out from the potentially promising Agyohush site discovered by geologists of AzerGold.

Geophysical work is undergoing at the Narchal-Agyohush site, located on the far flanks of the Chovdar deposit. On the Kapaz site, located on the territory of the Goygol region, ground geophysical studies will be carried out next year.

In order to conduct joint drilling operations at the Tulallar gold-bearing site located in the Goygol region, an agreement was signed with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and drilling is already underway.

Intensive drilling operations have also been carried out at the gold-bearing and copper-prospective section of Ortakkend-Khanag, located on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, since July.

By the end of this year, a preliminary assessment document on the Filizchay polymetallic deposit located in the Balakan region will be prepared by the influential international consulting company SRK Consulting. This deposit is of strategic importance not only for Azerbaijan, but also for Europe. At the moment, prospects for the development of nearby fields Mazymchay, Katsdag and others are being considered within the framework of the Filizchay project.

The commissioning of new fields will significantly increase production in the coming years. According to preliminary estimates, only the operation of the Filizchay deposit, as well as the oxide and sulphide phases of the Chovdar deposit, will bring the country's economy more than 10 billion manats in revenue.

AzerGold CJSC started operating in July, 2016 and is engaged in studying, research, investigation, management of deposits of precious and non-ferrous metals, their production, processing and sale, and also application of new technologies in this sphere, improvement of material and technical base and implementation of other work related to the development of this field.

Azerbaijan has its rich gold deposits. Gold mostly is produced in Dashkasan (AzerGold CJSC) and in Gadabay (Anglo-Asian Mining, Britain) regions of the country.

About 900 fields were registered in Azerbaijans state and territorial balance of reserves of mineral resources. The Ministry for Ecology and Natural Recourses estimates that the country is able to produce about 10-15 tons of gold per year.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Leman Mammadova

An Azerbaijani-Slovak business forum, organized by the Ministry of Economy and Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), was held in Baku Business Center on November 13.

The event was attended by Azerbaijani and Slovak officials, including representatives of about 200 companies operating in industry, energy, ICT, food, healthcare and other fields.

At the event, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev spoke about the importance of relations with the EU, one of the key trade partners of Azerbaijan, especially emphasizing economic relations with Slovakia.

The Minister of Economy called on Azerbaijan and Slovakia to carry out joint projects that will contribute to the development of trade and economic relations by highlighting the potential for cooperation in the fields of industry, energy, agriculture, tourism, ICT, transport and etc.

At present there are 11 Slovak companies operating in Azerbaijan, including trade, construction, transport and others.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Slovakia increased by 33 percent reaching $ 20 million for nine months of the current year compared to the same period of last year. However, the share of EU countries in the trade turnover of Azerbaijan was 42 percent ($ 9.4 billion) in 2017 and increased by 26 percent in nine months of 2018 and amounted to $ 9 billion.

Being on his official visit to Baku who attended the forum, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini expressed his satisfaction with the visit and underlined that participation of a large number of businessmen in the business forum is an indicator of the importance attached to the development of relations.

It should be noted that this is the first official visit by Peter Pellegrini to Azerbaijan as Prime Minister of Slovakia. He has been appointed as the Prime Minister as of March, 2018 after serving as Deputy Prime Minister for Investments between 2016 and 2018, as the Speaker of the National Council in 2014-2016, as the State Secretary for Finance until 2014 and as a member of the National Council from 2006 to 2012.

Speaking on priority areas for cooperation between the two countries, Peter Pellegrini noted that Slovak businessmen are interested in cooperation in energy, renewable energy, machine building, chemistry, ICT and others, stressing that the business forum will contribute to the expansion of cooperation.

Noting that Slovakian Embassy will be opened in the near future, the Minister also said that a joint intergovernmental commission will be established between the two countries to raise relations to a higher and more efficient level.

The business forum participants were informed about the Slovak companies, and bilateral meetings were held among businessmen.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Narmina Mammadova

The opening of trading houses is one of the significant events carried out within the framework of expanding the export of Azerbaijani products.

Azerbaijan can export more agricultural products to China, including cotton, tobacco, grapes, as well as aluminum and chemical products, Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev said in an interview with the Chinese newspaper Global Times.

We have taken a series of measures to increase the volume of mutual trade with China. In particular, at the end of last year, the trade representative of Azerbaijan in China was appointed. In September of this year, we opened a wine house in Urumqi, a trading house in Luzhou, and another wine house in the Shanghai free trade zone. Azerbaijani goods are also available at DIG supermarkets and will soon be sold at G-Super supermarkets in Shanghai, the minister said.

He added that Azerbaijan will continue to open trade and wine houses in China.

Mustafayev also touched upon the issues of investment cooperation, noting that Chinese companies have invested $ 800 million in the economy of Azerbaijan, and 112 companies with Chinese capital operate in the country.

The minister went on to say that Azerbaijan is also taking permanent measures to improve the business environment in the country. Azerbaijan improved its position by 32 steps and placed at 25th place thanks to the measures taken in the last Doing Business report 2019.

We hope that Chinese companies will be able to take advantage of favorable conditions in Azerbaijan. In turn, the government is ready to support the investments of Chinese companies, Mustafayev said.

The minister noted that China and Azerbaijan can also cooperate in the field of high technologies. As an example, Mustafayev cited the successful work in Azerbaijan of two Chinese IT companies, Huawei and ZTE.

Further, the Minister noted the successful cooperation in the tourism sector: for example, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Azerbaijan increased by 62 percent last year.

"But I think that there is a potential for expanding cooperation in this sphere," he added.

The two countries are carrying out comprehensive measures to further expand trade cooperation, the Trade Representation of Azerbaijan operates in China, a trade delegation was organized to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Urumqi in order to promote Azerbaijani products and the Made in Azerbaijan brand in China.

Earlier, agreements were reached with a Chinese company selling alcoholic beverages, as they expressed interest in Azerbaijani wines noting their taste and prices.

The first Azerbaijans Wine House abroad was opened in September this year in China, Urumqi. The countrys second Wine House in China opened in Shanghai on November 8.

In Azerbaijans Wine House, there were more than 120 types of grape and fruit wines, other alcohol beverages, fruit distillates produced by Azerbaijani companies.

The trade house of Azerbaijan was also opened in the Chinese city of Luzhou in late September. Azerbaijans trade houses and wine houses are planned to be created in other regions of China as well.

China became Azerbaijans 4th largest trading partner in 2017. Customs data of Azerbaijan estimated bilateral trade at a record close to $1.3 billion in 2017, up 33 percent from the previous year.

Exports of Azerbaijani goods amounted to $433.8 million (3.21 percent of total exports), while imports of Chinese products to Azerbaijan reached $854.5 million (9.73 percent of total imports).

In January-September this year, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $848.9 million.

Since 2017, Azerbaijan has a trade representative in China, which is important for boosting trade relations. About 50 percent of Chinas trade with the South Caucasus accounts for Azerbaijan.

The main export products from Azerbaijan to China last year were chemical products, fuel, and plastics. From China to Azerbaijan over the past year were imported electric equipment, vehicles and spare parts, clothing, ceramic products, household items.

There are over 100 Chinese companies operating in trade, services, industry, construction and other spheres in Azerbaijan.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Laman Ismayilova

A month ago, a fashion collection "Caspian Rose" of the honored art worker Fakhriya Khalafova was successfully presented at Milan Fashion Week.

Elegant and beautiful gowns once again were in the spotlight.

The fashion collection won the eighth season of Caspian Fashion Week with its grace and originality.

Moreover, the National Tourism Agency of Astrakhan awarded Fakhriya Khalafova the title of "Ambassador of Astrakhan Tourism", which foreign citizens are honored for particularly high services to the country.

Caspian Fashion Week was held in Astrakhan on November 1-5. This time, the epicenter of the fashionable life of the Caspian region was the new and absolutely stunning Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theater - one of the largest, most beautiful and technically equipped venues in southern Russia.

For several days, the theater became a venue for lectures from Russian and foreign designers and fashion experts, various master classes, presentations, fashion shows were held as part of the event.

More than 30 women's, men's and children's collections, exclusive colorful outfits were demonstrated by designers from Russia, Brazil, France, Austria, Ukraine, Vietnam, Georgia, Switzerland, Iran, Vietnam, Monaco, Pakistan, Belarus and other countries.

In her interview with Trend Life, Fakhriya Khalafova shared her impressions about Caspian Fashion Week.

"It was not the first time I took part in the work of the Caspian Fashion Week. The organizers are always happy to present my collections. Another interesting fact which connects me to Astrakhan is the name of my fragrance Caspian Rose," said Khalafova.

The designer stressed that the lotus or, as Astrakhan dubbed it, the Caspian rose, grows in the Volga delta. The area of lotus thickets in the Volga delta has increased hundreds of times, now lotus plantations occupy a total of about 45 square kilometers. There are more than a hundred chalets that organize excursions to lotus fields. You can also book a trip directly from Astrakhan. The trip from the city to the river delta and back takes 5-8 hours," she said.

"When seeing the lotus with your own eyes, you understand why since ancient times it is considered one of the most beautiful plants in the world. Not without reason, in the traditions of many nations, this flower was sacred and personified purity, life and rebirth," she added.

Notably, Khalafova's fashion collections can be found in Egypt, the library of Alexandria, the Cultural Center of Istanbul, and the cultural centers of various cities in the U.S.

The designer, who is also an Associate Professor of the Modeling Department at Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, took part in preparing the classic Azerbaijani operetta "Arshin mal alan" by famous composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli staged at the 100th anniversary of the State Theatre of Musical Comedy, where she created costumes.

Her works are also very popular among Turkish public figures, representatives of culture and art such as Ajda Pekkan, Emrah Erdogan, Beyazit Ozturk, Soner Sarikabadayi, and others.

Last year, fashion designer was awarded the Russian Order "Serving the Art".

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Frances policy in the South Caucasus casts doubt on its interest in impartial and peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani political analyst, Ph.D. in political science, Zaur Mammadov told Trend on Nov. 13.

First of all, France is of interest for Azerbaijan as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group that carries out a mediation mission in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said.

"French President Emmanuel Macron took part in the Francophonie summit in Yerevan, but did not visit Azerbaijan, which is a proof of double standards policy of Paris, Mammadov said. Azerbaijan, in turn, expects all the OSCE Minsk Group mediators, including France to show an impartial position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. By refusing to attend the Paris Peace Forum, the Azerbaijani president demonstrated an attitude towards such a policy of France."

France should understand that the national interests of Azerbaijan are above everything, and Baku adheres to this position, he added.

The expert pointed out that participation of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Paris Peace Forum shows that Azerbaijan complies with international etiquette.

As distinct from the French leader, the US and Russian high-ranking officials visit both Azerbaijan and Armenia while visiting the region. Such an attitude can be considered logical and impartial from the diplomatic viewpoint, as both the US and Russia are co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, Mammadov said, adding that the French president should make a proper conclusion from this situation.

There is a strong Armenian lobby in France, which sponsors candidates during presidential and parliamentary elections, so it is not worth expecting objectivity from the incumbent French president, he concluded.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Azerbaijan, which pursues a multi-vector and balanced policy in the system of international relations and global politics, has the right to expect other states to maintain balance in their relations, especially if they are members of the OSCE Minsk Group, Fikret Sadikhov, well-known Azerbaijani political analyst and former diplomat, told Trend.

He said the last visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the region can be regarded as disrespect for Azerbaijan.

As part of the recent regional visit, it was expected that Macron would visit all three countries of the region, Sadikhov noted. However, the French president participated only in the Francophonie summit in Yerevan. Considering this, I think it is logical to ask what principles the French leader was guided by when ignoring a visit to neighboring Azerbaijan. How relevant was such a step by the leading European country that co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group?

France has repeatedly stated that it is committed to the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Sadikhov reminded.

Selective attitude towards one of the parties of the conflict demonstrates disrespect for the other side, and in particular for Azerbaijan, he added.

The European politician, by ignoring the visit to Azerbaijan, made a serious diplomatic mistake as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, involved in the settlement of the conflict, Sadikhov said. As a rule, while being in the South Caucasus region, officials of the US administration, as well as Russian politicians, visit all three countries of the region. This is natural, since all these countries are involved in the OSCE MG. This was recently demonstrated by US National Security Adviser John Bolton, who visited all three countries as part of his South Caucasus trip. Russian politicians adhere to the same principle, and this is natural. Such a position of these states corresponds to their statements about the need for a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and maintaining stability in the region.

The fact that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev rejected the invitation of the French side to attend the Paris Peace Forum is an objective step and a worthy answer to Macron, Sadikhov added.

The Azerbaijani president made it clear for the French leader that the national interests of our country are above all, Sadikhov said. At the same time, Azerbaijan didnt ignore this historic event due to wise state policy, and our country was represented at the Paris Peace Forum by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. In my view, in the current situation, it was a balanced decision, and the politicians, whose behavior is far from diplomatic ethics and competent governance, should take note of this."

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) face a number of difficulties financially, said Azay Guliyev, Azerbaijani MP, chairman of the Council of State Support for NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan, at a plenary session of the Azerbaijani parliament.

Guliyev noted that state support has been provided to civil society institutions, in particular, the countrys NGOs, for ten years under the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

I think this is a very important point, he said. The countrys public, in particular, the public sector, highly appreciates the state care.

He urged Azerbaijans Finance Minister Samir Sharifov to pay attention to this issue.

Especially considering that the funds allocated to the Council over the past three years havent increased, but decreased, Guliyev said.

He reminded that if in 2015, 6.6 million manats were allocated, now this volume amounts to 5.6 million manats.

It is necessary to consider that NGOs that protect the interests of the state, especially need support, he said.

NGOs in many spheres receive only state support, they have no other financial source, said Guliyev. Azerbaijani NGOs need financial support to protect state interests both in Azerbaijan and abroad.

He once again appealed to the minister of finance to provide the Council of State Support for NGOs with additional 4.6 million manats from the state budget and consider the issue of financing the general budget of the council in the amount of 10.2 million manats.

I hope that the Azerbaijani government will support the raised issue to a certain extent, said Guliyev.

The Azerbaijani parliament started to discuss the state budget for 2019 on Nov. 13.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini have held a one-on-one meeting.

President Ilham Aliyev welcomed Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini.

The Azerbaijani President and the Slovak Prime Minister posed together for photos.

The head of state congratulated Peter Pellegrini on his appointment as the Prime Minister of Slovakia. President Ilham Aliyev hailed the fact that Peter Pellegrini is paying his first visit to Azerbaijan as the Prime Minister and that this trip is taking place shortly after his appointment to this high office. The head of state noted that Peter Pellegrini`s visit to Azerbaijan creates favorable opportunity for developing bilateral relations. President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan-Slovakia ties are also important in terms of developing Azerbaijan`s cooperation with the European Union. The head of state described the signing of the Partnership Priorities document between Azerbaijan and the European Union in Brussels this July as a sign of the EU`s attaching importance to relations with Azerbaijan.

Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini thanked for the warm words and high hospitality shown to him. Peter Pellegrini said he is pleased to pay his first visit to Azerbaijan as the Prime Minister, adding he previously visited the country as the parliament speaker during the European Games. He said this prestigious international event was excellently organized. Touching upon bilateral relations between the two countries, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini stressed the significance of an Azerbaijan-Slovakia business forum held in Baku as part of his visit, and noted that it will contribute to the expansion of the economic cooperation.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Over 60 people were arrested in Azerbaijan in connection with the events in Ganja city, and five persons who showed armed resistance were eliminated, said Colonel General Madat Guliyev, head of Azerbaijans State Security Service.

He was speaking Nov. 14 at the 21st meeting of the Conference of Special Services of Turkic-speaking States in Bishkek, Azerbaijans State Security Service said in a message.

Guliyev spoke at the event on the topic dedicated to some trends in international terrorist organizations and attempts to violate social and political stability in Azerbaijan. He said that in a number of regions of the world, in particular in the Middle East, the military-political situation continues to remain tense.

Despite completion of the active phase of military operations in Syria and Iraq, there have been attempts by extremist religious organizations to create their cells outside the region, he noted.

He said that in Azerbaijan, illegal actions of religious radicals and extremists were most clearly manifested in July this year. Attempts were made to violate social and political stability in Ganja, which is the second largest city in the country, he noted.

Guliyev noted the need to strengthen international cooperation and implement collective measures to prevent terrorism and religious extremism.

He stressed the relevance and need for cooperation between the security agencies and the special services of the Turkic-speaking states. He noted the importance of further enhancing the exchange of information to effectively ensure the safety of these countries.

Prospects for security cooperation were discussed with delegations of the bodies of special services at bilateral meetings of Madat Guliyev as part of the event.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Abdul Kerimkhanov

The South Korean delegation expressed an intention to build a 10 MW solar power plant (SPP) in the Baidibek region of Kazakhstan.

Akim of the Turkestan region Zhanseit Tuimebayev met with a delegation of South Korean businessmen headed by the director of the company "KK-KIUNSEN" John Young Sun.

They discussed the implementation of investment projects in the region, according to the press service of the regional akimat.

The head of the region said that South Korea is a country with advanced technology, agriculture and manufacturing. He expressed convinction that in the future it will be possible to establish contacts in these areas, as well as strengthen friendly relations between the two countries. Turkestan region is the most favorable region for the development of entrepreneurship. In addition, for investors who want to work and create new projects in the region, various benefits and opportunities are provided, Tuimebayev concluded.

In turn, the guests expressed their intention to build a 10 MW solar power plant in the Baidibek district. The project cost is 7.4 billion tenge ($ 19.86 million). The total area of the plant to be built in the village of Zhambyl will be 1,200 hectares. As many as 50 new jobs will be created within this project.

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and South Korea were established immediately after Kazakhstan gained independence - as early as of January 28, 1992. Embassy of South Korea in Kazakhstan was opened in Almaty in 1993, and Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul was opened in 1996.

Kazakhstan and South Korea are strategic partners and are at the stage of active deepening of their relations.

National economies are complementary. The mentality of two country peoples, ancient customs, beliefs and even Kazakh and Korean languages are very similar.

Kazakhstan and Korea share long-term interests, a common understanding of responsibility for international security and stability in Asia.

There is a bilateral Friendship and Cooperation Group between the parliaments of the two countries.

The volume of trade between Kazakhstan and South Korea is about $ 2 billion. Kazakhstan intends to establish cooperation with Korea in the field of new and digital technologies, in the field of industrialization, medicine and other areas.

---

Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

The government of Turkmenistan has signed a memorandum of understanding in Ashgabat on the further development of cooperation in the agricultural sector with John Deere International GmbH, the Turkmen Altyn Asyr TV channel reported.

John Deere high-performance equipment is actively involved in the agricultural work in the country, the report said.

The Turkmen Agriculture Ministry earlier signed a contract with John Deere, according to which 1,350 units of specialized equipment and spare parts produced by the company will be delivered to Turkmenistan in 2017-2020.

Cotton, wheat, rice and sugar beet are grown in Turkmenistan.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Iran's electricity industry has reached the level of self-sufficiency in the construction of power plants, power transmission and distribution equipment after the Islamic Revolution, therefore, the US sanctions have no effect on this industry, executive director of the Iranian company Tavanir, Mohammad Hassan Motevalizadeh, said in an interview with IRNA.

He said that in some areas of the electricity industry, including supply of raw materials, there is certain dependence on other countries. However, with the cooperation of citizens in electricity consumption, these sanctions can be overcome, because Iran provides itself in many areas of the electricity industry, he added.

Despite the decline in output of thermal and hydroelectric power plants last summer, efforts were made to minimize power cuts, he said. Next year, serious measures will be taken in the summer to prevent electricity cuts, he added.

----

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran will not change its policy under pressure from U.S. sanctions.

Earlier, the U.S. ambassador to the EU Gordon Sundland said that the U.S. does not set a goal to change the regime in Iran or harm the people of this country, Washington wants to "change the behavior of the regime." "Of course, sanctions have an economic impact, but they will not affect our policies," Zarif said in an interview with Al-Arabi al-Jadid.

Iran began to feel the consequences in the past six months after the U.S. abandoned the nuclear deal, but in fact, it all started last year, when U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of a "new strategy towards Iran.", according to Zarif.

"Since then, the consequences for the economy began, which means that the sanctions are targeted on the Iranian people. The U.S. hopes that the embargo will induce the Iranians to put pressure on the government to change its policy, or even become a threat to the entire system," Zarif concluded.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that U.S. will not achieve its goals by imposing new sanctions against Iran and nothing new will happen because of them. American sanctions, rather, will have a psychological effect, stressed Zarif.

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 aircraft 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.

---

Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Leman Mammadova

The United States will further increase its pressure on Iran to prevent oil exports.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton stated that the main target is to reduce oil exports of Iran to zero.

"Now, our intentions are to put more pressure on them," he said.

According to the first phase of sanctions imposed in August, Iran is banned from using U.S. dollars in trade operations, acquiring passenger aircrafts and importing their parts. Foreign companies are also banned to invest in Iran's auto industry.

More than 700 Iranian individuals, entities, aircraft and ships were placed on List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Parties administered by the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control. Over 300 of these designations are new targets, while the remaining ones are reinstated following their removal pursuant to the JCPOA.

In fact, all the sanctions are directed against energy, shipping, auto industries, trade area and financial transactions.

The sanctions will also be applied to third countries. The main target of new sanctions is the Iranian National Oil Company, the Iranian Oil Trading Company and the National Tanker Company. The sale of oil and oil products from Iran will be banned.

But, what will be the impact of these sanctions on Azerbaijan?

As Iran is a close neighbor of Azerbaijan, large-scale tension is an undesirable situation for the region.

Washington seeks to stop the oil export from Iran completely. However, Azerbaijan imports gas, not oil from Iran. Although 8 countries, including Turkey, have been partly excluded from the sanctions on oil and gas imports from Iran. The exact scale of sanctions has not been determined.

In August, Washington clearly stated that the Shahdeniz and the Southern Gas Corridor were free from sanctions against Iran, although Azerbaijan has not been included in this list.

Azerbaijan can benefit from sanctions due to higher oil prices in the world market as a result of sanctions on oil imports from Iran.

Richard Kauzlarich, Professor at Schar's School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, told BBC News Azerbaijan that the exclusion of the Shah Deniz project involving the Iranian state oil company has not seriously differed from the previous position of the United States, but said that future projects in Azerbaijan will not be protected from sanctions.

On May 8, Trump announced that the United States abandoned the nuclear deal with Iran. Trump criticized the nuclear agreement signed during the presidency of Barack Obama by saying that it was weak and met Irans interests. The U.S. President condemned Iran over uranium enrichment and banned arms production in violation of the terms of the agreement. In addition, Trump said he intends to restore sanctions against Iran.

On November 5, sanctions imposed by Donald Trump administration against Iran came into force. This is the second phase of the sanctions that began in August.

At the time, the U.S. has restored large-scale sanctions that have been ceased as a result of agreeing to a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Tehran's nuclear program.

Irans nuclear agreement was signed in October 2015 and came into force in early 2016 to lift sanctions against Iran. Instead, Iran has agreed to be monitored by the international community in the nuclear industry, and has promised to develop only nuclear energy. However, Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the agreement after he was elected president of the United States.

Despite the discontent of the Trump administration, other countries that have signed the agreement are reluctant to impose new sanctions on Iran. China, Russia and Turkey, have already said they will continue to trade with Iran. Only Korean, Japanese and Indian companies stated they would gradually reduce trade relations with Iran. The Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of the European Union, Britain, France and Germany states that the nuclear agreement has been worked out as intended and "fulfills its purpose".

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Turkey and Belgium will hold political consultations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry told Trend on Nov. 14.

The political consultations between the countries will be held on November 15 in Ankara during the visit of Deputy Foreign Minister of Belgium Anick Van Calster.

Anick Van Calster will meet with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakc.

"The sides will discuss international and regional issues, as well as consider opportunities for strengthening bilateral relations," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company(NIOPDC) has warned over possible misuse of fuel cards for smuggling gasoline, Tasnim reported quoting the company's statement.

The government seeks to confront the gasoline traffic by creating more strict rules on use of fuel cards that are currently being bought and sold multiple times. Iran's economic downturn has led the card owners to sell their cards to smugglers.

"Considering the capacities of fuel card system there is no possibility that a person can use two cards", the NIOPDC statement added.

The fuel card program was launched to subsidized gasoline quotas to car owners as a means to curb consumption, adjusting prices and cutting down fuel smuggling.

"To issue a replacement card, the owner must file for a lost card first and demand for the replica of the old card to be canceled and then the process of issuing a new card begins", said the statement.

Due to low value of fuel, some file for replacement card to use it alongside the original fuel card to purchase more gasoline and sell it to smugglers.

More than one billion liters (roughly 265,000 gallons) of gasoline have been smuggled out of Iran in the past few months, Reuters quoted Iran's anti-smuggling police chief IRGC Briadier-General Ali Moayyedi saying in October 10.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Global oil supplies are growing rapidly, as record output from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US more than offsets declines from Iran and Venezuela, the International Energy Agency said in its Oil Market Report.

October output was up 2.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) on a year ago. Non-OPEC output will grow by 2.4 mb/d this year and 1.9 mb/d in 2019, said the report.

Today, the Big Three, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States, all see output at record levels. Total non-OPEC production in August, the latest month for which we have consolidated data, was 3.5 mb/d higher than a year ago, with the United States contributing an extraordinary 3.0 mb/d. Russia's crude output has hit a new record of 11.4 mb/d, with companies suggesting that they could produce even more.

This is while OPEC crude output rose 200 kb/d in October to 32.99 mb/d, up 240,000 b/d on a year ago, according to IEA estimates.

Losses of 0.4 mb/d from Iran and 0.6 mb/d from Venezuela were offset by increases from others. The call on OPEC crude falls to 31.3 mb/d in 2019, 1.7 mb/d below current output, said the agency.

IEA believes that although the oil market appears to be more relaxed than it was a few weeks ago, and there might be a sense of "mission accomplished" that producers have met the challenge of replacing lost barrels, such is the volatility of events that rising stocks should be welcomed as a form of insurance, rather than a threat.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

The 17th ministerial meeting of the CAREC (Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation) program will begin work in Ashgabat tomorrow, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The conference is expected to be attended by ministers of investment and economy of the CAREC countries, heads of a number of international organizations, such as ADB, ECO, EBRD, IMF, IDB, SCO, UNDP, ESCAP, USAID, World Bank, WTO.

It is planned to review the strategic action plan for 2018-2030 of the CAREC program. The discussion of work to be implemented in the framework of cooperation in the areas of investment, economy and banking will take place during the meeting.

The Integrated Trade Program will be examined at the meeting, which will allow the countries of the region to expand their presence in the world markets.

The CAREC program initiated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) includes 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Since 2001, in the framework of CAREC, more than $31.5 billion of investment has been mobilized in order to develop a multimodal transport route in the region, to address the issues of energy trade, security, etc.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

An Iranian official has ruled out rumors of ban on cargo export from UAE to Iran due to pressures of US re-imposed sanctions.

"There is no prohibition, restriction or commodity separation between Iran and the UAE, export and import are in progress according to the previous procedures," ILNA reported quoting Director General of the Port Division of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, Ravanbakhsh Behzadian as saying.

"The rumors have not been confirmed on the official Iranian customs website, and the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Customs Administration did not confirm it," he said.

According to the official, the trade between Iran and the UAE is currently is in place.

"It's possible that someone has issued this news and maybe it was about specific problem concerning the vessel of a cargo owners that led to ban of their cargo from Emirates to Iran," said Behzadian.

"Currently there is no problem or ban on import of cargos from Emirates ports to Iran, while Iran export to the UAE continues without limitations," he said.

The UAE imported about 126,000 bpd of Iranian condensate through the first nine months of 2018, up from 102,000 bpd in 2017, according to cFlow data.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The son of a former Harris County deputy shot and killed his dad to protect his mother from him Wednesday morning at their Spring home, according to authorities.

After firing the fatal shots, the 22-year-old son dialed police around 5:30 a.m. and reported the shooting at their home in the 3400 block of Meadowhill Court. Police later identified the slain father as Brian Cannon Merritt, who the son accused of physically assaulting his mother.

Merritt, 53, left the Harris County Sheriffs Office in 2017 after three decades of service, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said his deputies detained Merritts son after the slaying, but he has not been charged with a crime. The case will likely be referred to a grand jury, authorities said.

The nature of the fight that led to the shooting was not immediately known, though Gonzalez said a history of domestic disputes may have preceded the killing.

A former neighbor to the Merritt family on Meadowhill Court in August called police at least twice about the former deputy because of his increasingly bizarre behavior.

The first time was the night of Aug. 5 when Kelly Bryant and her husband were out-of-town and their youngest daughter called them in a panic. Merritt was outside the home banging on the door, she said.

My husband called him and told him to get off the property, Bryant said, who has since moved to Colorado.

She alleged Merritt retaliated by calling the constables office two days later and accusing her husband of being in his yard, even though the couple had not returned to Texas yet.

The second time the Bryants called police was nearly two weeks later when he began yelling profanities at them during a garage sale. Then she alleged he slashed their tires.

No matter how often they alerted the authorities to Merritts behavior, it seemed no action was taken.

At the end of the day, we were terrified of him. The police couldnt stop him. A complete failure, Bryant said.

On Aug. 23., Harris County District Clerk records show the constables officer arrested Merritt for allegedly damaging a neighbors car, but not Bryants vehicle. He was charged with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. A warrant for his arrest was issued on Oct. 18 after he missed a court appearance, records show.

Another neighbor, Tabitha Lang, came home one night in September to find law enforcement officers confronting Merritt. She said when Merritt reached for what she believed was a flashlight in his pocket, one of the officers stunned him.

Before he could even get the flashlight out, they tased him. I screamed out, stop. He didnt deserve to get tased at the time, Lang said.

Despite Bryant's souring relationship, she said her ordeal was nothing compared to what his family was likely going through.

The sheriff said domestic disturbances like what may have happened at the Merritt residence take place all too often in Harris County.

Its really an epidemic, Gonzalez said. Weve seen way too many cases.

After the shooting, Merritts son, identified by neighbors as Michael Merritt, told ABC 13 his father was an alcoholic and that the alleged abuse spanned years.

The breaking point was when I left my room to find my mom covering her face and sobbing because my dad had punched her in the face, he told the TV station. The breaking point was when he was going to do the same thing to me, if not worse.
Two Beaumont attorneys joined a nationwide fight against child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in a lawsuit alleging that members of the clergy "took extraordinary measures to conceal their wrongful conduct."

The class-action lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of six male sexual assault victims, accuses church leadership of "endemic, systemic, rampant, and pervasive rape and sexual abuse."

None of the alleged abuse occurred in Texas. The accusers come from Catholic dioceses across the country, including congregations in Iowa, Mississippi, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Beaumont attorney Richard Coffman said he and his four-man legal team, including Beaumont's Mitchell Toups and two Northeast-based attorneys, have been monitoring the building "momentum" as the Catholic church finds itself embroiled in scandals over church leaders' handling of sexual assault claims.

"I believe the time is right, something needs to be done about this problem," Coffman said.

RELATED: Texas Catholics pledge to name names in abuse cases

Coffman said other people have reached out to the attorneys with stories of being abused by priests. Some are seeking to join the class action.

The lawsuit comes about a month after an announcement from 15 Texas Catholic jurisdictions, including the nine-county Diocese of Beaumont, saying that they planned release the names of priests "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors since 1950. The lists will be published by each diocese by Jan. 31.

The 80-page lawsuit begins by quoting John 3:19-20 because church leaders are "repping themselves to be men of God, yet not following the Scriptures," Coffman said.

"(B)ut people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed," the Scripture reads. Ephesians 5:11 is also cited.

The lawsuit names the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Holy See, the Roman Catholic Church's headquarters in Vatican City, whom Coffman said "allowed" and "facilitated" the abuse.

Clergy misrepresented themselves as "men of faith" who had their "best interests at heart," knowing that the victims "put their faith and trust in the Clergy as their spiritual leaders," the lawsuit states.

"There's just a louder and louder outcry going on across the United States for the Catholic church to do something about this situation," Coffman said.

Bishop Curtis Guillory of the Beaumont Diocese could not be reached for comment on Wednesday as he was attending an annual meeting with the Bishops Conference in Baltimore.

Guillory said previously that he felt "deep sadness for the severe damage that has been imposed on the lives of so many by this sinful and criminal abuse."

"I am also saddened by the violations of trust that have happened in so many other places," Guillory said in an October statement regarding the accused priests list. Guillory called child sexual abuse "a horrible, sinful, shameful thing."

On Monday, the first day of the Baltimore conference, the Vatican instructed bishops to delay voting on corrective measures related to child sexual abuse until next year, when Pope Francis plans to host a global summit in Rome, the New York Times reported.

"We are not ourselves happy about this," Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston, president of the Bishops Conference, told the Times on Monday. "We are working very well to move to action, and we'll do it. We just have a bump in the road."

Coffman said the Vatican's order was just the latest setback, but he said he believed their case would "play a significant role in moving the issue forward toward resolution."

Class-action lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church have been filed in the past, but Coffman noted that theirs was set apart because it seeks victim compensation and is broad in scope, specifically suing the Vatican rather than an individual church sect or leader.

On Wednesday, six women sued the Catholic Diocese of Austin, saying that the church took no action after a priest sexually abused them for years.

The Austin diocese said it is "difficult" to respond to the allegations "because of the lack of specificity in the lawsuit." Officials are currently reviewing the document.

Coffman's clients are requesting a court-supervised, medical monitoring program be funded by the church to diagnose and treat emotional, psychological and mental health issues stemming from sexual abuse as "monetary damages alone cannot (and would not) compensate them for continuing to suffer."

"This is an opportunity for the Catholic Church to step up to the plate, to do the right thing and compensate victims," Coffman said.

Coffman and his team accuse the church of "protect(ing) the abusive Clergy" by moving them "from parish to parish" to conceal "their wrongful conduct." Abusive clergy have even been promoted within the religious ranks, the court document alleges.

Victims have been cheated and defrauded "out of their childhood, youth, innocence, virginity, families, jobs, finances, assetsin short, their lives."

Alejandra Matos in Austin contributed to this report.
Hate crime increased 17 percent last year from 2016, the FBI said Tuesday, rising for the third consecutive year as heated racial rhetoric and actions have come to dominate the news.

Of the more than 7,100 hate crimes reported last year, nearly 3 out of 5 were motivated by race and ethnicity, according to the annual report. Religion and sexual orientation were the other two primary motivators.

In addition to the tense political climate, the increase also points to a growing awareness among various law enforcement agencies of the importance of identifying and reporting hate crimes to the FBI.

Of the nearly 200 hate crimes reported in Texas last year, two racially motivated incidents were reported in Beaumont and Silsbee. Both city police departments said they had no knowledge of the specific incidents, but said it was possible the hate crimes were reported by other reporting agencies, which include public schools, universities, counties and cities.

Reporting hate crimes to the FBI is voluntary. Last year, roughly 1,000 more agencies submitted data than those that did the previous year.

The FBI said it planned to train law enforcement officers next year on how to do a better job of identifying and reporting bias-motivated incidents. The Justice Department has also launched a new website on hate crimes.

This report is a call to action  and we will heed that call, Matthew Whitaker, the acting attorney general, said in a statement. The Department of Justices top priority is to reduce violent crime in America, and hate crimes are violent crimes. They are also despicable violations of our core values as Americans.

Black people accounted for nearly half of hate crime victims last year, the FBI said. Of those targeted based on religion, 58 percent were Jewish.

A man accused of fatally shooting 11 worshipers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last month had taken to social media to accuse a Jewish organization that helps to resettle migrants of bringing invaders to kill our people.

Rabbi Mathew Michaels, the interim rabbi at Beaumonts Temple Emanuel, called the mass shooting the worst attack on a religious affiliation in the history of America.

Michaels attributed the rise in hate crimes across the country to an environment of acceptability toward hate speech and related rhetoric that is condoned, by example, from the highest ensconce in our government.

Michaels said he believes a segment of society has become intolerant of anybody who is other than themselves, leading to isolationist attitudes that factor into hate crimes that target religious or ethnic groups.

As a religious leader, its my role to look at what advice or counsel my religious faith system offers to these complex social issues, Michaels said.

The Temple Emanuels annual Love Thy Neighbor Interfaith Sabbath Celebration is a community-wide effort to foster involvement and understanding on an interfaith level, Michaels said.

The more we understand others, the more we understand ourselves, he said.

But rising hate crimes is not just a Jewish issue, Michaels said.

Much of the countrys political discourse in recent years has been fueled by deep racial divisions.

For the NAACP, we began to see this during the presidential election in 2015, said Derrick Johnson, president of the organization. The level of tribalism that was being fueled by presidential candidates, the acceptance of intolerance that has been condoned by President Trump and many others across the country has simply emboldened individuals to be more open and notorious with their racial hatred.

This story was written by John Eligon of the New York Times. Local reporting was added by Phoebe Suy of the Beaumont Enterprise.
Patients go to to Savvy Chic Medspa to look better, but the recent arrest of a nurse might make the clinic look less than its best.

Michelle Bogle, 43, was arrested on Thursday and charged with practicing medicine without a license, which is a third degree offense.
A plan to repair Riverfront Park is coming together, but residents will likely have to wait more than a year to see it completed.

Approving a contract with a local engineering firm to continue the process of repairing the park was one of three Tropical Storm Harvey recovery-related items the Beaumont City Council approved Tuesday.

The council also approved allowing the city manager to apply for local and federal money to fund the buyout or elevation of 27 homes in the 100-year flood plain and the acceptance of nearly $70,000 for the Beaumont Public Health Departments hurricane recovery and preparedness.

City Director of Facilities Keith Folsom said the shoreline damage to Riverfront Park  up to 50 feet of erosion in some places and the complete destruction of the parks boat docking area  was some of the worst hes seen.

As a result, the park behind Beaumont City Hall to Elizabeth Street along the Neches River has been closed for several months.

Now theres a plan to change that.

The City Councils unanimous decision to approve a contract with Lanier & Associates Consulting Engineers means a crew will soon get to work surveying the site, preparing conceptual drawings for repairs, developing cost estimates and submitting permit information to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Right now, the consensus is to stabilize the bank where its at right now and not reclaim the lost shoreline, Folsom said. That would basically be putting in sheet piles or concrete pilings to stop erosion  normal river erosion or from another flood event.

The majority of the $217,500 contract will be paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The remainder will be funded by other grants or the capital program.

Folsom said he doesnt yet have a timeline for the repairs. But he anticipates the work will take at least a year.

The City Council also unanimously gave the city manager the go-ahead to apply for federal and local dollars to fund the buyout or elevation of 27 properties flooded during Tropical Storm Harvey.

Beaumont Planning and Community Development Director Chris Boone said the citys first priority in seeking funding is to find money to buy or elevate properties in the 100-year flood plain.

After talking with residents and authorities at the regional, state and federal level, the city determined 27 of these properties would likely be eligible for FEMA grant funding administered by the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

I would expect the majority of the 27 would seek to sell, he said.

But were always clear to state that this process is voluntary, he said.

If awarded, the FEMA funds are expected to cover 75 percent of the buyouts or elevations, with other federal funds administered by the Texas General Land Office expected to cover the other 25 percent  relieving the city of any financial responsibility.

Boone said no plans have been made for the land should the owners decide to allow the property to be purchased. But he anticipates the city will simply maintain it as open space.

Obviously the potential uses are very limited, he said.

The city anticipates receiving additional federal dollars in the coming months to continue to fund the elevation of flooded homes.

The third measure the council unanimously approved was the acceptance of nearly $70,000 for the Beaumont Public Health Department to focus on hurricane recovery and preparedness.

According to an email from the Department of State Health Services, $19,615 of the grant will go to health-care infection control and $50,000 will be spent on a traditional vector project.

The Beaumont Public Health Department didnt respond to multiple requests for more information regarding specific projects to be funded by the grant.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, infection control and prevention can be carried out through trainings conducted by the Texas Society of Infection Control and Prevention or a Hurricane Response Summit.

The trainings would provide information and certification in infection control, among other topics. A summit would focus on providing specific disaster recovery infection control resources and studying lessons learned from other hurricane recovery efforts to prepare response plans for future hurricanes.

A traditional vector project, according to the Department of State Health Services, would enhance mosquito control operations by setting aside money to purchase pesticide, equipment and other resources.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/KaitlinBain
A 19-year-old man was arrested in connection to a March murder, according to information from the Port Arthur Police Department.

James Earl Holloway was arrested Tuesday night for the killing of 18-year-old Kevon Washington.
Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites Administrator Greg DeConciliis detailed how the center established its total joint program, and trends and goals for ASCs moving forward.

Interested in participating in a Q&A with Becker's ASC Review? Email Rachel Popa at rpopa@beckershealthcare.com.

Note: Responses have been edited lightly for clarity and style.

Question: Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites was the first freestanding ASC in Massachusetts to offer total joint replacements. What advice would you give to other ASCs looking to start their own programs?

Greg DeConciliis: My advice for facilities is not to just jump in to this thinking it's just adding another service line. [ASCs] should be sure that they have done an accurate facility assessment, and make sure everyone is on board with this huge undertaking. [They then should] put together a group of all the key stakeholders, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and administration. [and have that group] develop a clinical pathway on how [the center is] going to take the patents through the facility, all the way from patient selection to home care and follow-up appointments. I always suggest to reanalyze the clinical pathway plan as well; we did it after 10 procedures, asking ourselves "What are we doing right, what are we doing wrong and what can we improve upon?"

You also have to establish standardization with equipment and vendors and implant type, if possible, as well as work with the insurance companies to get reimbursed. In Massachusetts, we're the only ASC that has its own fee schedule, and in order to meet with them and have them approve it, they had to go over the clinical pathway. That's why I advise completing the clinical pathway right off the bat when establishing a program.

Q: What are your goals for the total joint program moving forward? What obstacles have you faced?

GD: One of the biggest obstacles was scheduling the patients, as well a patient awareness and desire to do the outpatient surgery because it's not the norm in this area. We usually do [total joints] in the morning, so moving forward we'd like to make sure we have ample block time as we get a more consistent volume. We're hoping [outpatient total joint procedures] become a more common, more accepted care plan for our patients.

Moving forward we're hoping to double our operating room capacity as part of an expansion in anticipation of outpatient joints taking off.

Q: As the Massachusetts Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers' president, how do you advocate for the needs of ASCs in the state?

GD: Massachusetts is a very tough state to have an ASC because we're such a hospital-driven healthcare community. Oftentimes, the hospitals have political ties and strength with the insurers, so our strategy for years has been to stay under the radar. We don't want to make too much noise, because we've found that whenever things are beneficial for ASCs, the hospital associations get word of that and we weren't successful in fighting those political battles.

We recently had a 6 percent ASC tax proposed, so we hired a PR firm, and we did a lot of media outreach to talk about the benefits of the ASCs and how harmful the tax could've been, which was that it could have shut down many of the ASCs in the state. We have a more prominent seat at the table than what we had in the past.

Massachusetts is also a very referral-driven market, and a lot of patients are steered toward back toward the hospital systems, which is one of the obstacles we face more and more over the past few years.

Q. How do you see the ASC landscape changing moving forward?

GD: In my opinion, the ASC landscape will be kind of flat. I don't see many more ASCs coming about as hospitals develop more outpatient facilities. As far as the national climate, i would say Massachusetts is on par with that.
Veritas Capital and Elliott Management are purchasing athenahealth for around $5.7 billion.

Here are five things to know:

1. Evergreen Coast Capital is a minority investor in the combination of Virence, a Veritas-backed organization, and athenahealth, a network-enabled services provider for hospitals and ASCs. Veritas and Evergreen will purchase the company for around $5.7 billion, or $135 per share, in cash.

2. Shareholders will receive $135 in cash per share, a 12 percent premium over athenahealth's closing price Nov. 9, prior to the transaction's announcement. On May 17, 2017, Elliott Management acquired 9 percent interest in the company, and the current price comes at a 27 percent premium of athenahealth's stock price at that time.

3. Virence Health and athenahealth are expected to combine. Veritas acquired Virence, GE Healthcare's value-based care assets, earlier this year and the combination is expected to grow Veritas' healthcare IT business.

4. The combined company will operate under the athenahealth brand when the transaction closes and have headquarters in Watertown, Mass. Virence Chairman and CEO Bob Segert will lead the combined company alongside an executive leadership team composed of leaders from both companies.

"Operating as a private company with Veritas's ownership and support will provide athenahealth with increased flexibility to achieve our purpose of unleashing our collective potential to transform healthcare," said athenahealth Executive Chairman Jeff Immelt.

5. The companies expect to close the transaction during the first quarter of 2019. The board of directors for athenahealth approved the merger and plans to recommend shareholders vote to do the same.

6. The financial advisors for athenahealth were Lazard and Centerview Partners while Weil, Gotshal & Manges were legal counsel. Veritas reported Schulte, Roth & Zabel were acting legal counsel for the company during the transaction, and Deutsche Bank and RBC Capital Markets were acting financial advisors to Evergreen. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher were acting legal advisors to Evergreen, which maintains minority ownership.
Indianapolis-based IU Health President of System Clinical Services Ron Stiver spoke to Becker's ASC Review about Health's ASC network, patient-centered care and how the health system is preparing for a potential physician shortage.

Question: What is IU Health doing differently than other academic medical organizations?

Ron Stiver: Indiana University Health Ambulatory Surgery Centers' network integrates both independent physicians and IU Health-employed physicians as partners. The ASC network is a critical component of our system's high-quality, high-value network of care. Located in various venues within the health system, the ASCs work closely with our hospitals to offer coordinated care, as well as partner on research and education initiatives. Hospital leadership representation on the ASC boards further ensures coordination of care across settings.

Q: As a torchbearer for care in Indiana, how does the organization cater to its patients?

RS: As a system and ASC network, we relentlessly focus on the quality and safety of care provided for our patients. Our robust ASC quality program has been in place for 12 years and reports on a series of metrics across our centers. Our efforts are integrated with the system's large quality efforts. Furthermore, our common EMR system helps to ensure coordinated care across settings.

We are also committed to delivering an exceptional experience for our patients, leveraging tools such as real-time patient feedback and [providing] customer experience training for our team members. This focus has earned us a consistently high net promoter score in the mid- to high-80s.

Q: How is IU Health preparing for a projected physician shortage?

RS: We are pursuing multiple measures to prepare for shortages. These include efforts to ensure our clinicians practice at the top of their license and new uses of telemedicine. In addition, the Indiana University School of Medicine is working to increase the number of trained physicians across the state.
Sonoma (Calif.) Valley Hospital wants to raise at least $20 million to fund a new outpatient diagnostic center within the facility, according to a Sonoma Index-Tribune report.

The hospital's foundation, which announced the capital campaign on Nov. 12, said plans involve repurposing the old emergency room and surgery department, as well as adjacent space, to create the 20,000-square-foot diagnostic center. Plans include a new 128-slice CT scanner and a new MRI, along with updated ultrasound and X-ray equipment, and updated space and equipment for cardiology and laboratory services.

Hospital CEO Kelly Mather said the planned diagnostic center is part of the hospital's master plan that included renovation of the emergency department and surgery center. It is projected to increase annual net revenue by $1.5 million, partially from University of California San Francisco using the facility.

More information about donating is available here.

More articles on healthcare finance:

RCM tip of the day: Take a comprehensive approach with net promoter scores

This family only insured some members due to costs: 5 things to know

Viewpoint: Congress should broaden legislation to end medical price-gouging
New Jersey state officials heard testimony last week supporting the acquisition of the Memorial Hospital of Salem (N.J.) County by Bloomfield, N.J.-based Community Health Care Associates, which would invest up to $60 million in the ailing hospital, according to NJ.com.

The investment would come partially from CHA and include funds from the Salem Health and Wellness Foundation, a nonprofit founded with money from the $32 million sale of Memorial Hospital in 2002 to Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.

"Our plans include the renovation of a substantial portion of the existing facility, the consolidation and growth of certain medical programs and the implementation of significant upgrades to the hospital's medical equipment and information technology systems," said Steven Rosefsky, one of CHA's partners. "By focusing on revenue growth rather than cost-cutting measures, we expect to more than triple the daily [number of patients], attract and retain best-in-class nurses, physicians and staff, and expand high-quality healthcare services to the residents of Salem County."

CHA has guaranteed to maintain all 400 hospital job and add an additional 300 positions over the next three years. The system is seeking state approval to modify the hospital license for fewer medical beds while increasing adult acute psychiatric and long-term care beds. CHA is only required to operate the hospital as an acute care facility for five years, though representatives say CHA intends to offer acute services long after that.

"As part of the regulatory process the Department of Health asked CHA if it would maintain acute care for at least five years, their answer was 'yes,'" said CHA spokesperson Steven Lenox. "The very significant financial investment CHA is making to transform Salem Medical Center offers what should be seen as a definitive indicator of their commitment to serving the community for many years to come."
Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare appointed Sonia Mehta, MD, regional CEO of Lower Bucks Hospital. She is also division II corporate CMO for Prime Healthcare.

Dr. Mehta came to Prime from Loretto Hospital in Chicago, where she served as CEO and CMO. She has also held leadership roles at Victory Medical Center in Stanley, Wis., Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill., among others.

Dr. Mehta has 18 years of healthcare experience. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, American College of Physician Executives and Illinois Hospital Association. She co-chairs IHA's Safety Net Committee.

Dr. Mehta completed a hematology/oncology fellowship at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill., as well as an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Chicago.
A group of medical personnel and volunteers opened a medical triage unit and shelter for refugees from the deadliest wildfire in California history, according to The Sacramento Bee.

The blaze, Camp Fire in Northern California, began on Nov. 8 and damaged Adventist Health Feather River, a 101-bed acute care hospital in Paradise, Calif. It displaced physicians and nurses in the area, and they wanted to help others, according to The Sacramento Bee. So, they helped open a makeshift clinic for fire victims at the East Ave Nazarene Church in Chico, Calif.

"My dogs and my husband are alive, and there's a need for this," Birgitte Randall, a nurse who has worked at Adventist Health Feather River for 11 years, told The Sacramento Bee.

"We know the patients, the types of people who have had to leave their homes," she said. "They have chronic medical needs, and they need help."

As of Nov. 12, the church was housing about 200 people, according to Pastor Ron Zimmer. Patients considered too medically fragile were transported to Enloe Medical Center in Chico.

More information on the shelter at the East Ave Nazarene Church is available on the church's Facebook page.
Guy Medaglia, president and CEO of Chicago-based Saint Anthony Hospital, which broke with parent company St. Louis-based Ascension nine years ago, said the hospital has no plans to join another system any time soon.

Mr. Medaglia told Crain's Chicago Business the 151-bed hospital's board chose to break ties with Ascension and maintain its independence. Following the break, he said industry experts told him the hospital would not be financially viable on its own.

"There were a lot of bets out there that Saint Anthony wouldn't be able to make it past two years, let alone nine. I knew it was going to be a risk, but I really did believe that we could make it happen. You have to believe that, otherwise you are never going to win," Mr. Medaglia said.

Mr. Medaglia said unlike other hospitals that are part of a system, Saint Anthony has been able to stay independent because it understands its role as a community hospital and engages with the surrounding community through engagement and partnerships.

"It's tough being part of a system," he told Crain's. "When you are independent you are accountable to the community. The only people we owe are our vendors and our employees and it allows us to do more work in the community."

Saint Anthony also has the added benefit of being located down the street from academic trauma provider Mount Sinai Hospital. Mr. Medaglia said the two organizations maintain an informal partnership and provide different services for the same community. Saint Anthony refers trauma patients to Mount Sinai, while the 319-bed hospital refers all pediatric cases to Saint Anthony.

A Mount Sinai spokesperson reiterated the sentiment to Crain's, stating, "Given the volume of care [Saint Anthony provides], we rarely see ourselves in direct competition with [the] hospital."

The hospital's community focus is what led officials to create a new 32-acre campus expected to open in 2021. The campus will include a 150-bed hospital and more than 250,000 square feet of retail, a childcare center, an outpatient and specialty clinic, and recreation and education centers. Saint Anthony has also maintained a community wellness program for roughly 20 years that has expanded since Mr. Medaglia took the helm in 2007.

"I've got this belief that no one is interested in what's going on at 19th and California because we are a small facility, but as long as we are able to help people, that's why we are here," he said.

To access the full report, click here.
A former employee is suing Nashua-based Southern New Hampshire Health, alleging the system's Southern New Hampshire Medical Center fired her for accepting a hospice patient who had Medicaid coverage, according to a New Hampshire Union Leader report.

Jennifer Lafond of Merrimack, N.H., said in the civil lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated and that the hospital has an unwritten policy of denying and refusing to transfer Medicaid patients into its general admission population, the report states. She claims the hospital violated the state's Whistleblowers' Protection Act.

At issue is an incident in July. Ms. Lafond, an administrative house nursing supervisor at the time, said she was contacted about a woman with a brain disease who was dying and needed "the services of a hospital in order to be made comfortable with medication before her impending death," according to the report. She claims the medical director of the hospice provider authorized her to transfer the patient to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. While in a room at the hospital, the patient received medication that helped with her pain, and she died the next morning, according to court documents cited in the report.

Ms. Lafond alleges she was asked to resign days later but refused and was eventually terminated. Her complaint alleges she was "scolded for accepting the hospice patient because  the patient was covered by Medicaid."

"Throughout Ms. Lafond's tenure at SNHH, the defendant had an unwritten policy of denying, refusing and/or avoiding the transfer of Medicaid patients into the general admission population at the hospital, even when the hospital had services that could benefit said patients outside of the emergency room," attorney Sean List of Backus, Meyer & Branch of Manchester, N.H., wrote in the court records, according to the report. Ms. Lafond "refused to adopt this policy, choosing instead to always aim to provide the best medical care to patients, no matter their source of payment."

The hospital declined to comment to the Union Leader about the lawsuit since it is pending litigation. But it did tell the publication: "Southern New Hampshire Medical Center can state, unequivocally, that patients are never turned away based on ability to pay."

"Not only has SNHMC been aggressive, passionate and vocal advocates on behalf of those in our community who are uninsured and underinsured, including our Medicaid patients, in 2017 alone we provided more than $3.3 million in free and uncompensated care for patients unable to pay," the hospital said.

According to the report, Ms. Lafond seeks a jury trial, along with lost wages, lost benefits, lost earning capacity, compensatory damages and legal costs.
Bend, Ore.-based St. Charles Health System removed the gender designation from patient identification bracelets in October  a significant change for its transgender patients, according to the Bend Bulletin.

"It was something that everybody felt had to be on there because it was always on there," said Rebecca Scrafford, PsyD, a psychologist at St. Charles involved in recommending the change. "It's providing no benefit, but it's causing harm."

Although the ID bracelet gives providers an easy way to identify patients, hospital staff usually check a patient's name and date of birth, not their gender.

The hospital's record system did not distinguish between sex assigned at birth, legal gender and gender identity until recently. The ID bracelet would show the patient's legal name and sex assigned at birth.

"For a lot of those patients, that didn't match, and that was distressing for our patients," Dr. Scrafford said. "This is one little baby step in providing affirming care that is probably the first visible sign of many efforts that are underway at St. Charles and communitywide."

The hospital also trained staff on when and how to ask patients about gender identity and how to record that information on their record.
Cleveland Clinic-Medina (Ohio) Hospital went into lockdown Tuesday afternoon after reports of an active shooter in the hospital's medical office building, though the reports were later proven to be unsubstantiated, according to Cleveland.com.

The Medina Police Department responded to reports that a woman with a gun was going around the office threatening people, though no shots had been fired, according to the report. After searching the hospital and office building, the police cleared the area.

"The hospital has been cleared. No suspect located, and no witnesses or evidence to substantiate the initial complaint of a female with a firearm. ALL CLEAR," the police posted in a Facebook update.
CMS Administrator Seema Verma discussed the Trump administration's drug-pricing initiatives in Medicare during a speech at the Biopharma Congress in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 14.

Here are quotes on nine topics from Ms. Verma's talk:

1. Dan Best, HHS Secretary Alex Azar's senior adviser for drug pricing reform, who recently died. "For those of you who had the privilege of getting to know Dan, you know that he brought tremendous energy and passion to his role. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him. We miss Dan, and we are keeping him and his family in our thoughts and prayers," she said.

2. President Donald Trump's drug pricing blueprint. "In May, the president released the historic American Patients First blueprint, which was the most sweeping set of policies to lower drug prices ever proposed by an administration. CMS has been hard at work to make the president and Secretary Azar's vision a reality  because the status quo is simply unacceptable."

3. Why the U.S. needs to transform the way Medicare pays for drugs in the Part B program. "In Part B, Medicare pays doctors for physician-administered drugs at an amount equal to the sales price of the drug plus a percentage-based add-on fee. Medicare is simply a price-taker for these drugs. There is no competition and no negotiation. Medicare Part B, by law, pays the average sales price for a drug, whatever that price may be. As drug prices continue to rise, accepting the sales price is not sustainable for the millions who depend on Part B."

4. How the administration looks to upend the Part B payments. "Under the new model, Medicare would slowly phase in a payment level based on international prices. Why? Because other developed countries see far lower prices for these drugs than we do, even though Medicare is the single largest purchaser of these drugs."

5. How the new model will help lower prices "The model would generate savings of 30 percent for beneficiaries and taxpayers, for total savings of up to $17.2 billion over five years. Beneficiaries would potentially see lower Part B and Medigap premiums, and lower cost-sharing on the order of $3.4 billion. That could mean that a senior receiving a medicine that costs Medicare $1,800 a month but costs other countries just $300 a month would see their annual coinsurance drop from $4,400 a year to just $900 a year. That's real savings."

6. Physicians, don't worry. "The goal of the IPI [International Price Index] model is to maintain financial stability for physicians  essentially to keep doctors whole, contrary to information being put out by some stakeholders. Instead of basing physician payment on the price of a drug, physicians would receive a fixed payment amount that could vary by physician specialty, physician practice, drug class or some other variable. We are open to input, and we are working with physicians on this."

7. Adding generic competition. "Earlier this year, we finalized a rule that allows plans to substitute generic drugs for branded drugs more quickly on formularies, so beneficiaries can access low-cost generics as soon as they're approved."

8. Gag clauses are illegal. "Thanks to President Trump and bipartisan leadership in Congress, gag clauses are now illegal. I was honored to be at the White House recently for the signing of two bills to end the practice. Pharmacists can now help their patients find the best deal on prescription drugs.

9. Value-based care arrangements with drugmakers. "I'm honored to announce that today CMS is approving a proposal from Michigan to enable the state's Medicaid program to enter into value-based payment arrangements with drug manufacturers. This is the second proposal of its kind that CMS has approved, following a similar waiver from Oklahoma this summer. Michigan's waiver will empower the state to demand results from drug manufacturers in exchange for paying for medicines."
Two more children at the Wanaque (N.J.) Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation were diagnosed with adenovirus over the weekend of Nov. 11-12, according to northjersey.com.

Here are five things to know:

1. These two confirmed pediatric adenovirus cases at the Wanaque Center bring the total number of cases up to 33. Ten medically fragile children at the facility have died since the outbreak began in September.

2. The new cases have caused concern over an 18-year-old who is in recovery at a different hospital but is scheduled to return to the center. This patient was born with cerebral palsy and has stayed at the hospital for six years. Due to a cardiac arrest, she is now in a vegetative state.

3. When the mother visited her daughter on Nov. 5, a yellowish liquid dripped out of her daughter's mouth. The next day she called the Wanaque Center to be told her daughter had developed a 99.6-degree temperature. The mother thought her daughter might have developed adenovirus, so she pressed the center's staff to take her to a hospital. Once at the hospital, the staff found she had adenovirus, and she later developed pneumonia as a secondary infection.

4. The New Jersey Department of Health did not comment on how many sick children are still in their facility or how many were taken to hospitals, but the two new cases indicated the virus is still spreading through the facility.

5. Shereef Elnahal, MD, New Jersey health commissioner, said in a statement that he is hesitant about moving patients recovering from adenovirus to other facilities for fear of spreading the virus further. Another New Jersey facility, Voorhees Pediatric Facility, has confirmed eight adenovirus cases and no deaths.

More articles on clinical leadership and infection control:

Large amount of crime goes unreported in Atlanta, Grady Memorial study finds

NICU nurses' perception of daily job challenges affects patient care, study finds

Florida medical director featured on '60 Minutes' talks safety preparation for mass shootings
Phoenix Children's Hospital is harnessing data technology to improve patient outcomes and measure progress in several key ways, according to an op-ed in U.S. News & World Report.

Michael Ritchey, MD, CMO of Phoenix Children's offers three examples:

1. Monitoring pediatric medications. To address inaccurate prescribing and medication dosing, Phoenix Children's IT department worked with the hospital system's pharmacists and clinicians to design a pediatric dose range checking system, which uses patient data to create recommended medication dose ranges for pediatric patients.

If a prescribed medication exceeds that dosage, the system alerts the prescriber electronically and puts a hold on the pharmacy order. After implementing this system, dosing errors have significantly decreased at Phoenix Children's, Dr. Ritchey said.

2. Amassing data and predicting risk. In 2015, the hospital developed the Phoenix Children's data lake, which gathers patient information from 67 hospital systems. The data is continuously fed into a single repository, from which different departments can draw information. The hospital uses this information to predict and counteract negative patient outcomes.

Using the data lake, for example, the IT department worked with the division of pediatric nephrology to create a system that analyzes millions of patient records to find patients at increased risk of acute kidney injury. Every six hours, the system sifts through data from each admitted patient and calculates their kidney function, and providers get an alert about any patient at elevated risk of acute kidney injury.

In less than one year of using this system, the hospital saw a 60 percent reduction in patients developing acute kidney injury, according to Dr. Ritchey.

3. Using safety dashboards. Phoenix Children's technologists worked with physicians to create a clinical dashboard that lets clinicians access each patient's data at their fingertips, including recent surgeries, current medications and discharge instructions. The hospital's safety dashboards also monitor compliance with clinical bundles for central line infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and surgical site infections.

"Data management technology is a powerful tool in clinical settings," Dr. Ritchey wrote. "These innovative new systems offer time and support to healthcare providers striving to adhere to the highest standards for their patients. And they open the door to improved safety and better outcomes for patients."
Just weeks after its highly anticipated launch, Driver  a startup that uses an app to match cancer patients with clinical trials  has shut down, according to STAT.

The San Francisco-based startup laid off nearly all its employees Oct. 16 after running out of money. The startup launched in September.

Driver was attempting to secure another round of funding this fall but was unable to raise the money fast enough.

Before it flopped, the startup had secured financial backing from Hong Kong's richest man and partnerships with 30 cancer centers, including top U.S. hospitals like Cleveland Clinic and Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.

But none of the hospitals paid Driver as part of the relationship, and the startup was unable to finalize any deals with drugmakers or insurers.

Instead, the company first attempted to be a direct-to-consumer app, marketing its product directly to cancer patients. Driver charged cancer patients $3,000 upfront, plus a $20 monthly fee for a service that analyzes their tumor sample and medical record to recommend options for clinical trials and ease the referral process.

The company planned to eventually sign up drug companies as paying customers, because the app would help them find clinical trial participants faster. The company's co-founder, William Polkinghorn, MD, told STAT he regrets not prioritizing other revenue streams earlier.

"We needed to bring on revenue a lot sooner than we did  as opposed to maybe spending as much time and resources building such a robust solution," Dr. Polkinghorn told STAT.

Now, the startup plans to monetize as much as it can from the technology it developed, including the machine that can analyze tumors and its clinical trial navigation app.

Read the full report here.
The Red Cross announced Nov. 13 it received 21,000 fewer blood donations in the months of September and October than it needed.

Hospitals are using blood products faster than donations are replacing them. The Red Cross also indicated it has been a difficult fall season for blood collection. There have been fewer blood drives and a fair amount were canceled due to hurricanes Michael and Florence.

The Red Cross typically experiences donation decline during the holiday season due to postponed blood drives and regular donors being busy with their holiday plans and travel.

AAA estimates about 54.3 million Americans will travel to destinations at least 50 miles from home during the Thanksgiving holiday period of Nov. 21-25, 2018, according to the press release.

"Today, the Red Cross asks the American public for help. As we head into the busy holiday season, we are facing a particularly challenging situation and need blood and platelet donors to replenish the blood supply for hospital patients counting on us," Chris Hrouda, president of Red Cross Blood Services, said. "Every day, we depend on the generosity of volunteers to roll up a sleeve to help ensure lifesaving blood products are available for those in need, and today that need is urgent."

The Red Cross is asking people with all blood types to donate, but specifically type O blood, which is the universal donor.

More articels on supply chain management:

FDA's cybersecurity policies for postmarket medical devices are 'insufficient,' OIG finds

Samsung Galaxy wants to help patients manage insulin therapy

An opioid 10 times stronger than fentanyl, a reformulated asthma inhaler & more: 5 latest FDA approvals
EOS imaging named Mike Lobinsky CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2019, as the company aims to strengthen its U.S. presence and expand its shareholder base.

Here are five things to know:

1. EOS imaging's board of directors unanimously appointed Mr. Lobinsky, who joined the orthopedic medical imaging company in August 2017 as president of North America.

2. A subsequent shareholder general meeting will consider Mr. Lobinsky's nomination to the position of EOS imaging director.

3. Mr. Lobinsky has more than 20 years of medical technology industry experience. He has held leadership positions at Smith & Nephew, Brainlab, Blue Belt Technologies and Stryker.

4. Marie Meynadier will continue as EOS imaging CEO until Dec. 31. She will remain on the board of directors.

5. Valerie Worrall joined EOS imaging as CFO. Ms. Worrall has more than 20 years of experience and previously served as CFO of medical device company Balt.
Around 50 jobs could be created at a bakery in Craigavon after 25% of the business was sold to a US food giant.

Evron Foods Group said the sale of a stake to Bama Companies Inc in Oklahoma - a fourth-generation family company - would help fast-track plans for a new factory in Craigavon, bringing with it 50 new posts.

The firm, which also has a site in Wales, has been trading for 35 years.

Evron, led by Morris Evans, manufactures frozen and chilled bakery products for retail, food service, wholesale and food processing. It employs 360 people making products for customers in Ireland, the UK, Europe, USA and the Middle East.

The business had annual turnover of 44m in 2017 but a spokesman said more recent turnover was up to 49m. Pre-tax profits were 526,300 in the year to the end of August 2017.

A strategic report filed with the accounts says the company anticipated improvements to its market share and product range.

Bama Companies Inc, founded in 1927, has factories in the US, China and Europe producing two million savoury buttermilk biscuits every day.

It also makes pies, buns, pie shells and pizza crusts, and sells its products to major chain restaurants in the US.

Bama Companies is made up of Bama Pie, Bama Foods, Bama Frozen Dough, Beijing Bama and Bama Europa.

Paula Marshall, chief executive of Bama Companies Inc, said: "We are delighted to make this strategic investment in Evron Foods Group.

"Evron share our ethos of investment in people, quality and innovation.

"Working with the existing management team we have ambitious plans for the continued success of the company including expansion of the customer base, product range and manufacturing facilities in Craigavon and Pontypool."

Bama Companies Inc started out with the sweet potato pie-making activities of Mrs Cornelia Alabama Marshall in Dallas, Texas.

According to a history of the company, "she believed her pies were so good that her husband could sell them while she was at work making even more pies in the Woolworth's soda shop and drug store".

When husband Henry lost his job during the Great Depression, he began selling her pies from door to door.

Their son Paul then expanded the company with another branch in Tulsa, Oklahoma - and after its humble beginnings, it sold the first hand-held pie in 1967.

Bama made its first investment in Europe around 2013 with the opening of a manufacturing plant in Stanowice near Wroclaw, Poland.

The site was first used for the manufacture of deep-frozen pastry with fillings.
'Nuport Developments has been given the early go-ahead for 500 houses on the 45-acre site at Ballyboley in the town' (stock photo)

A major 100m housing development in Larne has won outline planning permission.

Nuport Developments has been given the early go-ahead for 500 houses on the 45-acre site at Ballyboley in the town.

The Ballyclare-based developer is now expected to progress to a more detailed plan for the housing scheme.

The company's outline masterplan includes a new neighbourhood centre, filling station, creche and changes to the road infrastructure, adding new roads, pedestrian greenways and cycle paths, as well as a children's play area.

Nuport has already been granted planning permission to build 132 homes in a development on Ballyhampton Road in Larne.

The 25m development for 28 detached houses, 98 semi-detached houses and six apartments was approved by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in June.

The Ballyboley project is expected to generate 80 to 100 construction jobs over a 10-year period, with the Ballyhampton development creating employment for 40 to 50 people during its building phase.

Launching its plan last year, Bryan Orr from Nuport indicated that construction would begin immediately once permission was granted: "The investment will mean a huge boost for the local economy," he said.

"The demand for new family homes in the Larne area is significant and these are our proposals to bring forward quality developments on land that has already been zoned for residential development."

Paul Reid, chairman of the Mid and East Antrim council's planning committee, said the project will provide valuable additions to the area and beneficial amenities for residents.

Council chief executive Anne Donaghy added: "Growing the economy is this council's number one priority and we see our role as doing our utmost to provide the best possible conditions for development and growth."

The massive Ballyboley project will feature a mix of house types, ranging from detached properties to townhouses and apartments.

Nuport's plan also includes a new spine road that will create a link into the western end of the town.

A number of public representatives had expressed concern over an upsurge in traffic at the junction of Antiville Road and Donaghys Lane. The result is that a traffic light system will be installed once 151 dwellings on the site are occupied. It was also agreed that the new facilities, shops, petrol station etc will not become operational until the traffic system is introduced.
Chancellor Philip Hammond arrived at No 10 last night as Prime Minister Theresa May dramatically summoned her Cabinet ministers for one on one talks

Theresa May's Brexit deal could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom, the DUP has warned.

The party's chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned the deal would in the "long term" leave Northern Ireland closely aligned with the EU and could increase support for Scottish independence, saying "this is not the right Brexit".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today that his party "doesn't fear a general election", when asked whether it would risk Jeremy Corbyn, a long-term supporter of a united Ireland.

He said: "It's not about who is prime minister, it's not about who governs the country, it's about the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK, that is fundamental for us.

"And it is not just us, the DUP does not stand alone on this, we have many friends within the Conservative Party and indeed in some other parties, who believe this deal has the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK.

"That is not something we can support."

DUP leader Arlene Foster, speaking at Belfast City Airport on her way to London, said it was "worrying times" for the union and repeated that the DUP's confidence and supply deal was with the Conservative Party and not Prime Minister Theresa May.

Has the PM abandoned the DUP?



Party leader Arlene Foster says Theresa May has been very clear on her commitments to the Irish border.



Deal or no deal, how could Brexit play out? https://t.co/uMmqNc4QmB pic.twitter.com/oBguL6ZeI9  Sky News Politics (@SkyNewsPolitics) November 14, 2018

The Prime Minister was faced with a Brexiteer backlash as her Cabinet began consideration of a deal with Brussels.

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and leading Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested that the deal would give Dublin more say in Northern Ireland's affairs.

Read More

The agreement includes a so-called 'backstop' which would keep Northern Ireland tightly locked to European trade rules "unless and until" another means of frictionless trade is discovered.

Ministers were invited to Downing Street last night to read documents relating to the agreement before a special Cabinet meeting today.

The Daily Telegraph revealed that Attorney General Geoffrey Cox told Cabinet that Northern Ireland will be in a "different regulatory regime" under the customs backstop and subject to EU law and institutions, something that may "cross a line" for the DUP.

DUP leader Arlene Foster MLA said the deal "handcuffed" the UK to the European Union.

"We want a sensible deal which works for Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland. But our desire for a deal will not be superseded by a willingness to accept any deal," the former first minister said.

"An agreement which places new trade barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain will fundamentally undermine the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom.

"That is not acceptable. Over time, such a deal will weaken the Union. No unionist Prime Minister could argue that such a deal is in the national interest."

Mrs Foster said it would be "democratically unacceptable for Northern Ireland trade rules to be set by Brussels".

Northern Ireland would have no representation in Brussels and would be dependent on a Dublin government speaking up for our core industries," she said.

"The withdrawal agreement is a legally binding treaty which will shape our nation for the next generation. It will bind future governments and Prime Ministers.

"Without a clean exit clause, the United Kingdom would be handcuffed to the European Union with Brussels holding the keys. At least the United Kingdom people could vote to leave the European Union."

Mrs Foster added that she was "heartened by friends of the Union on both sides of the House and across the United Kingdom who have pledged to stand with the DUP in opposing a deal which weakens the Union and hands control to Brussels rather than Parliament".

"These are momentous days and the decisions being taken will have long-lasting ramifications. The Prime Minister must win the support of the Cabinet and the House of Commons. Every individual vote will count."

The deal follows intense negotiation in Brussels, with measures to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland the main stumbling block.

Remain-supporting Tory MP Anna Soubry told Today that "the best deal we have with the EU is the deal we currently have with the EU".

She said that a customs union had to go together with membership of the single market and its regulatory framework, saying "they have to be together".

She said: "If you speak... to British business they will tell you a customs union is important, but so is the regulatory alignment as well. That is what I need to see."

Irish broadcaster RTE reported that a "stable" text had been agreed on the thorny issue of the Northern Irish border.

The broadcaster said the deal involved one overall backstop in the form of a UK-wide customs arrangement - as sought by Mrs May - but with deeper provisions for Northern Ireland on customs and regulations.

A review mechanism is understood to be part of the text, but it is unclear whether that would meet the demands of Tory Brexiteers - including some in the Cabinet - who want the UK to be able to unilaterally walk away from the deal to prevent it becoming a permanent settlement.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said that the deal as reported would leave Northern Ireland "subject to the rules and laws set in Brussels with no democratic input or any say".

He added: "We object to that on constitutional grounds that our laws would be made in Brussels, not in Westminster or Belfast. That is the fundamental red line."

Mr Dodds said that he also had concerns about the customs arrangement, saying that any special provision for Northern Ireland was "designed to solve a problem that doesn't exist" because there are already border checks. He added: "It could even be solved by a protocol which all the parties pledge in treaty form that there won't be a hard border. This is a trap."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson urged his ex-Cabinet colleagues to "chuck it out", warning that the proposals made a "nonsense of Brexit".

He told the BBC: "For the first time in a thousand years, this place, this Parliament, will not have a say over the laws that govern this country. It is a quite incredible state of affairs."

Mr Johnson added: "For the first time since partition, Dublin - under these proposals - would have more say in some aspects of the government of Northern Ireland than London.

"I don't see how you can support it from a democratic point of view, I don't see how unionists can support it, and I don't see how you can support it if you believe in the economic and political freedom of this country."

And Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the influential European Research Group of dozens of Tory MPs, said: "It is a failure of the Government's negotiating position, it is a failure to deliver on Brexit and it is potentially dividing up the United Kingdom."

"White flags have gone up all over Whitehall. It is a betrayal of the Union," he told the BBC.

He added: "It is a failure of the Government's negotiating position, it is a failure to deliver on Brexit and it is potentially dividing up the United Kingdom. It is very hard to see any reason why the Cabinet should support Northern Ireland being ruled from Dublin."

A string of diplomatic meetings are now being lined up to take place if Mrs May survives her Cabinet meeting at 2pm today.

Irish ministers have been told to be on standby for a special briefing from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Simon Coveney. And EU ambassadors are expected to be talked through the plan by chief negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels this evening. At that point they will begin planning for a special summit of EU leaders on Sunday, November 25.

The special meeting today could potentially be a flashpoint for tensions between Brexiteers and Remainers around the Cabinet table, with speculation that Leave-supporting ministers including Penny Mordaunt, Esther McVey and Liam Fox could be prepared to walk out if a deal ties the UK too closely to Brussels.
The Irish government last night dismissed reports of a breakthrough in the Brexit negotiations as "speculation".

A spokesman for the government said "no agreement" has been reached on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and that "nothing had been confirmed".

He said officials in Dublin had not been formally notified of a deal being reached in Brussels.

"We're at a stage where there is still no agreement at this point in time," the spokesman said. "There is actually no agreement."

He added: "At the moment, this is only speculation."

In another sign that Dublin may not be happy, a spokesman for Ireland's deputy premier, Simon Coveney, said: "Negotiations between the EU and UK on a withdrawal agreement are ongoing and have not concluded."

He also said a "number of issues are outstanding", adding that negotiations were at an "extremely sensitive" juncture.

In the Dail earlier, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the language around the customs arrangement was not important, so long as Irish objectives were achieved.

"Whether it is a double backstop, a backstop to a backstop or a hybrid backstop is not the point.

"The point is having a legally binding guarantee that a hard border would not emerge between Northern Ireland and Ireland," he said.

Defending his acceptance of a review mechanism, Mr Varadkar noted that the Good Friday Agreement also has one.
There must not be any "ambiguity" about Northern Ireland's place in a post-Brexit UK, Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann has said.

Mr Swann said the next 24 to 48 hours in the negotiations would set "the direction of travel for Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom for decades to come".

"The bottom line for the Prime Minister, the Conservative Government and their partners in the DUP must be the achievement of a sensible deal which respects the result of the referendum and maintains the integrity of the United Kingdom," he said.

"There must be no ambiguity, constructive or otherwise, in any deal about Northern Ireland's place within the Union in a post-Brexit UK.

"To do otherwise would be a serious blow against the Belfast Agreement and the principle of consent, and will set a dangerous precedent for the future.

"I have made my views very clear to Downing Street. Given the Prime Minister's very strong statements in support of the Union, I certainly hope that this will not be the case. We will carefully study the text of any deal when it is published."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood welcomed reports that the UK and EU had agreed a text on the border in Ireland, but he said any agreement must include a backstop.

Mr Eastwood said: "The SDLP are glad to hear that an agreement might have been reached and we look forward to reading the text of that agreement in detail.

"If the agreement involves a backstop that protects Ireland from a hard border then we would hope it will gain support in Westminster."

Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry described reports of an agreement as "encouraging" but he expressed "caution" on a number of grounds ahead of any publication of an agreed text.

"An open-ended backstop in place until or unless it is superseded is critical to protect the Good Friday Agreement and to avoid a hard border in Ireland," Mr Farry said.

He added that it was important people were "measured" in their reaction to the backstop and do not contribute further to "unnecessary dramatising of something that should be seen in pragmatic terms".

"Ultimately, the backstop is only an insurance approach to Brexit," he said.

"There is no such thing as a good or sensible Brexit."

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the deal must represent a "cast iron" guarantee that there would be no hard border.

"Last December a joint report by UK and EU negotiators was agreed in which it was stated there would be no hard border in Ireland. The Taoiseach assured us that this was a 'cast iron' guarantee," she said.

"The withdrawal agreement must give legal effect to that 'cast iron' guarantee. While we await the publication of this document, it is a matter of concern that some are presenting the backstop agreement as temporary.

"Brexit is for the long-term and what is required is a durable, permanent and legally robust agreement that safeguards Irish interests and ensures there is no hard border on the island of Ireland."

A crunch Cabinet meeting will take place today to discuss the deal reached by negotiators in Brussels. UK Cabinet ministers were invited to read the draft deal papers last night ahead of the special meeting "to decide on next steps".
Theresa May's Cabinet has backed the Prime Minister's Brexit deal after a five-hour Cabinet meeting.

Mrs May said she believed the draft text was "the best that could be negotiated".

Read More

She said there had been a "long, detailed and impassioned debate" on the Brexit deal.

Speaking outside Number 10, the Prime Minister said: "I firmly believe that the draft withdrawal agreement was the best that could be negotiated and it was for the Cabinet to decide whether to move on in the talks.

"The choices before us were difficult, particularly in relation to the Northern Ireland backstop, but the collective decision of Cabinet was that the Government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration."

Mrs May announced she will make a statement to the House of Commons tomorrow and concluded: "I firmly believe, with my head and my heart that this is a decision which is in the best interests of the United Kingdom."

Read More

Below is how the day unfolded:
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said EU leaders may now convene an emergency summit before the end of November to consider the draft Brexit deal.

Fielding questions in the Dail, Mr Varadkar said: "Back in December when the joint report - the agreement between the EU and UK - was issued I said the next step was to turn that joint report that we agreed back in December into a legally binding and legally operable withdrawal agreement and we are close to that point today.

"But it is still a draft agreement. It is yet to be agreed by the UK Government and they will discuss it this afternoon and it is yet to be agreed by the European Council and we may be in a position to have an emergency European Council meeting before the end of the month to do exactly that."

Read More

Mr Varadkar said he was confident the suggested deal would not negatively impact on the terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord - an agreement that had a strong emphasis on cros- border co-operation and linkages.

"My reading is the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this," said the Taoiseach.

"In fact it is protected by the draft agreement."

When pressed, Mr Varadkar suggested that an EU Council meeting may take place on November 25.

He said: "Should the UK Cabinet be in the position this afternoon to say it's content with the text it is proposed that the commission taskforce would be in a position perhaps tonight to publish the text with the possibility or probability of an EU Council meeting around the 25th of November."

He added that the text would have to be ratified by Westminster and the European Parliament.

While it is not necessary, Mr Varadkar said it was his view that the text should also be put to a vote in the Irish parliament.
Two west Belfast schools are mourning the death of a popular young teacher following a tragic accident at her home.

Mother-of-one Fionnuala Kennedy passed away on Monday afternoon as a result of injuries sustained in a fall on Saturday.

She was a Year Two teacher at St Oliver Plunkett Primary School, where a book of condolence was opened for her yesterday.

Principal Patrick McCabe said the school community had been left heartbroken by the tragedy.

"Death at any stage is an unspeakable tragedy, but the death of one so young, so full of life, love, compassion and beauty only compounds it further.

"This is a young, wonderful life taken too soon. I would ask that you keep Fionnuala, her family and friends in your prayers and thoughts," he said.

Her death is also being mourned at the neighbouring St Teresa's Primary School, where her husband Ciaran Hughes is a P5 teacher and her young son Lorcan a P3 pupil.

In a statement the school said: "Fionnuala was often teaching here in St Teresa's PS as a substitute teacher and also worked in our Whizz Kidz Club during the summer months.

"We, the school community, wish to send our sincere and heartfelt condolences to Mr Hughes, Lorcan and Fionnuala's entire family circle at this most difficult time."

There has also been a huge outpouring of support for Ms Kennedy's family on social media as they prepare to say goodbye to her at the funeral later this week.

Hundreds of tributes have been posted online by colleagues and parents who described the young woman as "a ray of sunshine".

One woman whose son was taught by Ms Kennedy at St Colman's PS in Lambeg said her death was absolutely devastating news.

"It's just an utter ripple of devastation for all that knew her - heaven has well and truly gained an angel," she wrote.

Another parent added: "Devastated beyond words.

"My daughter idolised this woman last year.

"She was a teacher who made a lasting impression on her forever!"

A colleague wrote: "Such a beautiful girl inside and out, always smiling. So heartbreaking."
The Presbyterian Church is taking a stand against gender-based violence in Brazil, but has also challenged "perpetrators in our pews" here at home.

Speaking at the launch of its annual World Development Appeal in Belfast yesterday, Christian Aid's Sarah Roure described the positive work being done to promote human rights and end the stigma around divorce in a country where 100,000 women have been murdered since 1985.

But she also expressed fears that a "wave of conservatism" that swept the far-Right candidate Jair Bolsonaro to victory in the recent presidential election could undo progress.

"There has been a significant backlash against these kind of policies," she said.

It is hoped that the anticipated 500,000 to be raised will help women seeking refuge in Casa Noeli Safe House in the city of Ariquemes.

However, Rev Fiona Forbes said the Church is "not naive" as she referred to domestic abuse initiatives here at home such as 'Safe Church'.

She added: "We know we have perpetrators in our pews."
Irish Senators Mark Daly of Fianna Fail (left), Independent Frances Black (centre) and Frank Feighan of Fine Gael (fourth left) with relatives outside court

Pat Quinn with an image of his brother Frank and Geraldine McGrattan with an image of her uncle Fr Hugh McMullan, who were both killed by the Army in 1971

A number of the families of 10 people who were shot dead in Ballymurphy have spoken about the impact of the massacre in court for the first time, almost five decades after the killings.

On a day that had been building for 47 years, heartbroken family members read emotionally charged statements to the packed but silent courtroom in Belfast.

The family of Fr Hugh Mullan, who was killed as he was trying to help a wounded man, found it too difficult to speak openly in court and instead a video of each statement was played.

Fr Mullan's brother Patsy described his 38-year-old brother as "very helpful and kind".

Describing the moment he learned of his brother's death, he said: "I listened to all the news reports and later that night I heard a priest had been shot in Ballymurphy.

"I knew it would be him. So I went to my mother's and told her he had been shot but that he was OK. I wasn't sure if he was dead.

"When I was later told that he was dead, I phoned our doctor and asked him to come to be with my mother as I didn't know how she would cope with this news.

"She was in a terrible state and had to be sedated."

Fr Mullan's niece Geraldine McGrattan said: "When he died it was so unbelievable that another human being could take the life of this special person who would never have hurt anyone.

"Who would happily help friends and strangers alike. I have seen people come to his door and leave much happier and comforted with his help.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Riots : Belfast. January 1971. Soldiers frisking passengers and driver of a car on the Springfield Road, near Ballymurphy. (14/01/1971) Riots: Belfast. August 1970. Soldiers shelter behind their riot shields during rioting at Ballymurphy. (04/08/70) Riots : Belfast. August 1970. The common sight in the Roman Catholic estate at Ballymurphy, Belfast, as young rioters attack the army with missiles during the troubles. (04/08/70) Ballymurphy: troops stand by at the junction of Springfield and Whiterock Roads (20/09/1970) Riots : Belfast. January 1971. Catholic housing estate, Ballymurphy. (15/01/1971) Mourners file past the coffin of Father Hugh Mullan, one of the 10 people killed (PA Archive) PA Archive/PA Images Father Hugh Mullan. Shot at Moyard Park. 9/8/1971 THE FUNERAL HEARSE CARRYING THE BODY OF FATHER HUGH MULLAN TRAVELS ALONG THE ROAD IN BALLYMURPHY ESTATE. 12/8/1971 Joseph Murphy was one of 10 people shot dead by British soldiers in West Belfast in 1971 Pacemaker Press 17/6/10 John McKerr who is one of the 11 people died in the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 in West Belfast Pacemaker Press 17/6/10 Fr Hugh Mullan who is one of the 11 people died in the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 in West Belfast Pacemaker Press 17/6/10 Joseph Corr who is one of the 11 people died in the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 in West Belfast Pacemaker Press 17/6/10 Danny Teggart who is one of the 11 people died in the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 in West Belfast Pacemaker Press 17/6/10 Danny Teggart who is one of the 11 people died in the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 in West Belfast Pacemaker Press 17/6/10 Danny Teggart who is one of the 11 people died in the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 in West Belfast Press Eye Ltd Northern Ireland - 25th January 2012 Mandatory Credit - Photo-Jonathan Porter/Presseye. Ballymurphy massacre relatives call for a meeting with the Prime Minister, David Cameron. 10 people were shot dead by soldiers in west Belfast in August 1971. The victims, which included a priest and a mother-of-eight, were killed over the course of three days in August 1971 by members of the Parachute Regiment during Operation Demetrius, when people suspected of paramilitary activity were interned. Relatives Rita Bonner, John Teggart and Briege Voyle pictured at the top of the Whiterock Road in west Belfast beside a mural depicting the shootings. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Riots : Belfast. January 1971. Soldiers frisking passengers and driver of a car on the Springfield Road, near Ballymurphy. (14/01/1971)

"My grandmother was devastated, my own mother was in shock, neither woman ever fully recovered from his untimely and cruel death and both would talk of him and cry for him right to the end of their lives.

"As a family we want this inquest to prove that my uncle was not a gunman, as was stated in some of the newspapers at the time. That he was an innocent priest going about his pastoral duties."

Fr Mullan's cousin Gabriel Ellison broke down as he recalled how Fr Mullan took him on a picnic trip when he was a child.

"I think of Fr Hugh as a very kind person who had a great brain and was very sincere," he added.

"When he would come home from his studies he would take me out sailing his witchcraft around Strangford Lough."

The brother of 19-year-old Frank Quinn, who was shot dead after trying to help the same wounded man, said he was watching the news when they heard a priest and a young man had been fatally injured in the Ballymurphy area.

Pat Quinn, who was accompanied by another brother Liam as he read out his statement in court, said: "My mother said 'someone is going to have a sore heart tomorrow'. She didn't know the tragedy was coming to our door.

"The next morning I was lying in bed. I was off on school holidays, my daddy was away to work and my mummy was working in the Monarch laundry.

"I heard banging on the front door and as I came down the stairs I could see my daddy through the glass door. I opened the door and I saw my daddy crying. He was distraught.

"I said: 'Daddy, what's wrong?'. He walked past me and sat on the stairs and said: 'Frank's been shot'. I said: 'Was he wounded? He said: 'No, he's dead'.

"Those three words changed me and my family's lives forever. My mother was brought home from work.

"She was like a ghost. It was like hell on Earth that this was happening to our family."

Frank's daughter Angela Nolan said: "(There are) so many memories that we didn't get to make because someone decided that it was OK to take him from us, because he was a kind human being, he went to help others. "I have always been proud of his bravery. Many a man would have walked away.

"Our loss was heartbreaking."

A cross-party delegation of Irish senators attended the second day of the inquests to show solidarity with the bereaved families.

The representatives from the upper house of the Irish parliament met with relatives outside the Coroner's Court in Belfast ahead of hearing to observe proceedings.

Representatives from Sinn Fein, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, the Labour Party and an independent member of the Seanad travelled to Belfast, including Sinn Fein's Niall O Donnghaile, Fine Gael's Frank Feighan and Fianna Fail's Mark Daly.
A death threat has been made against a Sinn Fein representative, the party has claimed.

In a release on Wednesday, the party said there had been threats to kill a representative in the South Down constitutency.

The party's MP for the constituency Chris Hazzard said: "Today [Wednesday] the party made a complaint to police about threats to kill a local representative.

These threats were made in a Sinn Fein office in the constituency.

They will certainly not deter our staff from providing a first-class service and continuing to stand up for the rights and entitlements of all the people of South Down.

"We do not discuss the security of any individual," a police spokesperson said.

"However, if we receive information that a person's life may be at risk we will inform the relevant persons accordingly. We never ignore anything which may put an individual at risk.

"No inference should be drawn from this."

It is the third such threat against senior republicans in recent days, with party member Bobby Storey and west Belfast MLA Pat Sheehan also targetted.

Sinn Fein has not yet clarified who the threat was made against.
The Taoiseach fielded questions in the Dail after briefing ministerial colleagues on the draft text (Oireachtas TV/PA)

An emergency summit of European leaders will likely convene on November 25 to consider the draft Brexit deal if the UK government backs the proposed text, the Taoiseach has said.

Addressing the Dail parliament in Dublin, Leo Varadkar said the European Council would meet in Brussels to potentially sign off on the 500 page document if Theresa May can secure Cabinet approval in the interim.

Back in December when the joint report  the agreement between the EU and UK  was issued, I said the next step was to turn that joint report that we agreed back in December into a legally binding and legally operable withdrawal agreement and we are close to that point today, he said.

Expand Close Taoiseach Leo Varadkar briefed ministerial colleagues on the proposed Brexit deal at an emergency meeting (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Taoiseach Leo Varadkar briefed ministerial colleagues on the proposed Brexit deal at an emergency meeting (Niall Carson/PA)

But it is still a draft agreement. It is yet to be agreed by the UK Government and they will discuss it this afternoon and it is yet to be agreed by the European Council and we may be in a position to have an emergency European Council meeting before the end of the month to do exactly that.

Mr Varadkar fielded questions in the Dail after briefing ministerial colleagues on the draft text in an emergency Cabinet meeting at Government Buildings on Wednesday morning.

He told TDs inside Leinster House: Should the UK Cabinet be in the position this afternoon to say its content with the text, it is proposed that the Commission Taskforce would be in a position perhaps tonight to publish the text with the possibility or probability of an EU council meeting around the 25th of November.

My reading is the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this. In fact it is protected by the draft agreementLeo Varadkar

Mr Varadkar said he did not want to speak publicly on the fine detail of the draft agreement, stressing that the process was at a very sensitive stage.

We do have a very important and very sensitive Cabinet meeting that will happen in London starting at 2pm today and I dont want to say anything here today that might up-end that Cabinet meeting or make things any more difficult than they are already for the Prime Minister, he said.

The Irish premier said he was confident the suggested deal would not negatively impact on the terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord  an agreement that had a strong emphasis on cross-border co-operation and linkages.

My reading is the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this, the Taoiseach said.

In fact it is protected by the draft agreement.

On the contentious backstop proposal  that would guarantee a free flowing Irish border even if a broader UK/EU trade deal failed to materialise  Mr Varadkar insisted it could not have an expiry date.

It is a fall-back, its an insurance policy, he said.

Mr Varadkar added: The backstop does have to be there. It does have to be legally operable, it cant have an expiry date and it cant be possible for any one side to withdraw from it unilaterally.

But it is important to appreciate that it is our intention that the backstop should never be invoked and that if it is invoked it should only be temporary until such a time that a new agreement is in place to supersede all or part of it.

But it must apply unless or until that is the case.

Mr Varadkar said he recognised it was a difficult time for the unionist community in Northern Ireland.

I know that for the unionist community in Northern Ireland at the moment that this quite a difficult time, I know many of them may be feeling vulnerable, many of them may be feeling isolated and many of them may be quite worried about what may be agreed in the coming days, he said.

I want to say to them that the Good Friday Agreement will be protected and that includes a recognition that we respect the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom and that we respect the principle of consent that there can be no change of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland unless a majority of people in Northern Ireland say so.

Were very happy to have that written into any agreement giving them that legal guarantee.

Mr Varadkar stressed that the draft agreement would also have to be ratified by Westminster and the European Parliament. The Taoiseach said, while not necessary, it was his view that the text should also be put to a vote in the Irish parliament.

He said the Irish Government planned to brief all the opposition party leaders and their teams on Wednesday evening if his administration was in a position to publish the text.

Mr Varadkar said his government had arranged to have a briefing with Northern Ireland parties on Thursday morning.
Theresa May will put her Brexit plans to the Cabinet on Wednesday  874 days after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Britain triggered Article 50  the formal leaving process  on March 29 last year and Downing Street and Brussels have been thrashing out a deal ever since.

Here are the key quotes from the journey towards Brexit:

 The choice is in your hands  but my recommendation is clear. I believe that Britain will be safer, stronger and better off by remaining in a reformed European Union. Then Prime Minister David Cameron announces plans for a referendum on the steps of 10 Downing Street in February 2016.

Expand Close David Cameron makes a statement announcing the date of the EU referendum (Lauren Hurley/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp David Cameron makes a statement announcing the date of the EU referendum (Lauren Hurley/PA)

 The 23rd is our golden opportunity, let battle be joined. Then Ukip leader Nigel Farage welcomes the announcement of the Brexit vote.

 I think that the people of this country have had enough of experts with organisations from acronyms saying  from organisations with acronyms  saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong. Leaver Michael Gove disputed think tank reports that Brexit would be bad for Britain in 2016.

 Brexit means Brexit and were going to make a success of it. Theresa May addresses supporters after becoming Prime Minister.

Expand Close Theresa May meets with President of the European Council Donald Tusk during bilateral talks (Leon Neal/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Theresa May meets with President of the European Council Donald Tusk during bilateral talks (Leon Neal/PA)

 Brexit means breakfast. But Andrew RT Davies gave his colleagues food for thought at the Tory conference in 2016.

 The brutal truth is that Brexit will be a loss for all of us. There will be no cakes on the table. For anyone. There will be only salt and vinegar. European Council president Donald Tusk in October 2016.

Actually what we should be looking for is a red, white and blue BrexitTheresa May

 Im interested in all these terms that have been identified  hard Brexit, soft Brexit, black Brexit, white Brexit, grey Brexit  and actually what we should be looking for is a red, white and blue Brexit. Theresa May in Bahrain.

 It is a fact that they have professionally squandered Winston Churchills legacy. European Parliaments Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt pulls no punches in comments to MEPs in January 2017.

Expand Close Britains Ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, hand delivers Theresa Mays Brexit letter in notice of the UKs intention to leave the bloc (Alexander Britton/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Britains Ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, hand delivers Theresa Mays Brexit letter in notice of the UKs intention to leave the bloc (Alexander Britton/PA)

 We already miss you. Donald Tusk after he was handed the Article 50 letter in Brussels in March 2017.

 Next week, it will be three months after the sending of the Article 50 letter. We havent negotiated, we havent progressed Thats why were ready to start very quickly. I cant negotiate with myself. Michel Barnier puts pressure on the UK in a June 2017 interview.

We already miss youDonald Tusk after being handed the Brexit letter in 2017

 National identity matters and there is no better way of demonstrating this today than by bringing back this much-loved national symbol when travelling overseas. Romford MP Andrew Rosindell on the return of blue passports post-Brexit.

 I think to go whistle is an entirely appropriate expression. Then foreign secretary Boris Johnson replies in the Commons to a question from Philip Hollobone about the size of any divorce bill in July 2017.

 If you are sitting in the bar and you are ordering 28 beers and then suddenly some of your colleagues (are leaving without) paying, that is not feasible. They have to pay. They have to pay. Jean Claude Juncker maintains Britain will have to pay a divorce bill in October 2017.
These images show how a once-grand Northern Ireland mansion has been reduced to a crumbling wreck.

Cairndhu House, off the Coast Road near Ballygalley, Co Antrim, dates back to the 19th century and was owned at one time by Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon. However, over the last three decades it has fallen into a sorry state of disrepair.

Newly-published interior photos show the roof of the abandoned mansion caved in, floors collapsed and windows boarded.

Abandoned NI - an online site which documents forgotten buildings - posted images of the ruins this week.

Urban exploration (urbex) photographer Rebecca, who did not want her second name used, is from the site. She said: "It's a disgrace that it's left like this.

"This is one of my all-time favourite buildings that I've documented.

"I've visited Cairndhu many times over the years and I'm sorry to say it's certainly on its last legs with most of the three floors now collapsed and part of the roof has caved in to the rear of the building."

Cairndhu House drew Rebecca to urbex photography in 2010 when she said the house was in a much better way with a secure, locked, metal front door.

She returned on Sunday and claimed lead had been stripped from the roof and there was some water leakage. But she said most of the top floors were accessible via the main staircase.

She added: "It begs the question why no-one in Larne and the surrounding areas is talking about the death and destruction of Cairndhu House.

"I fear it won't be long until the house either completely falls down, or is set on fire as there were signs of fires on the ground floor.

"I feel a duty to the house to highlight its current state and I sincerely hope this recent attention will start the wheels in motion in saving Cairndhu House."

The house, built as the summer residence for Scottish industrialist Stewart Clark in around 1875, has been the site of numerous reported ghost sightings.

After serving as a stately home, owner Sir Thomas Dixon, a politician who married Clark's daughter Edith in 1906, donated it to NI Hospitals Authority in 1947.

Since then it has been a convalescent home but was closed by the Department of Health in 1986.

And in 2015, parts of Ridley Scott's sci-fi thriller Morgan were filmed there.

Recent attention has mainly come from bored teenagers, who showcased their graffiti skills on the walls of the ruin.

But plans to renovate the house are underway as Manor Architects look to turn it into a nursing home.

They want the Victorian-era house to be an 80-bedroom complex with five newly-built retirement cottages in its grounds.

It is reported to require a 25-30m investment.

Johann Muldoon, managing director of Manor Architects, said: "This ambitious scheme will see the restoration of Cairndhu House and stable block facilitated by a first-of-its-kind retirement village on the Causeway Coastal Route adjacent to Carnfunnock Country Park."

She said it was a "final attempt to restore and save this piece of history".
Irish opposition leader Micheal Martin has criticised the Democratic Unionists over their reaction to the Brexit deal reached between the UK and the EU.

DUP leader Arlene Foster voiced concern about the deal, while East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson said his party will not vote for it.

All of the great and the good who were rolled out during the #EURef will be rolled out again in the coming weeks to try and get us to fall into line. We are clear - we will not be voting for this humiliation!  Sammy Wilson MP (@eastantrimmp) November 14, 2018

Some Conservative MPs have also criticised the deal, claiming it would keep the UK under EU control.

Mr Martin said the matter deserves better than that.

I was a bit dismayed to see people coming out very early  Sammy Wilson from the DUP, for example  even before they had read anything to do with the text, proclaiming they were going to oppose it, and people from the hard Brexiteer group as well, he said.

I think the issue deserves better than that, and I would hope that the other parties in Britain would stand back and look at this in detail and come to a considered position on the agreement which has been reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The Fianna Fail leader said relations between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are at their lowest in 20 years and blamed the Conservative Government at Westminster and the Fine Gael administration in Dublin for changing the overall dynamic.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin told the Irish Association conference at Queens said relations between NI and ROI are at their lowest in 20 years, adding that Brexit has no upside for Ireland. pic.twitter.com/z468iGXo8p  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) November 14, 2018

Where the Major, Blair and Brown governments had shown a deep commitment to Northern Irelands long-term progress, there was an apparent impatience in the Cameron government that they still had to spend time on the issue, he said.

In fact David Camerons approach was that Northern Ireland had to stand on its own two feet rather than expect London to help overcome every problem.

The change of government in Dublin also marked a new approach. Set-piece meetings continued but there was a clear disengagement and an expectation that it was time to just let the DUP and Sinn Fein get on with business.

Speaking to the media at an Irish Association conference at Queens University Belfast, Mr Martin said:

I welcome the fact that the European Union and the United Kingdom, it seems, have agreed on a text for the withdrawal part of the agreement.

The devil is in the detail and that is something we have got to keep an eye on, not just today but in the coming years. Brexit is going to be a long journey, this is just the withdrawal agreement.

Whats key for me is Brexit is not good for Ireland, its not good for Britain, so we have got to aim for the softest Brexit possible.

A no-deal scenario would be Armageddon, it would be ruinous for Britain.

Speaking at the same event Ulster Unionist Steve Aiken also commented on deteriorating relations both north/south and east/west.

He said: The DUP told us they were holding the Conservative Party to account. Look what they have done, they have undermined the union, they have helped destroy devolution in Northern Ireland, the DUP has been an absolute disaster.

It has been a disaster for Northern Ireland, it has been a disaster for unionism, and I think members of the DUP need to very clearly reflect on where they have got themselves in this position.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood criticised what he characterised as a knee jerk reaction to the draft deal from the DUP and Brexiteers.

We are glad to see that there may well be a deal between the European Union and the British government but we are always very concerned at the knee jerk reactions we have seen from the DUP and others, he said.

I think its important that everybody reads this deal, takes the time to digest it.

Mr Eastwood, speaking a short distance from the border in his Foyle constituency, added: Its very important that we protect people here from a hard border  that we have access to the customs union and single market.

I think it would be much more sensible if Britain and Northern Ireland had access to the customs union and single market  it would be even better if we werent having Brexit at all.

But our job today is to bank the back stop, our ultimate insurance policy. Its not the best thing that could be done, but its an insurance policy nonetheless.
Two Co Antrim men who are awaiting sentence for their roles in a gang attack on high-profile loyalist Darren Moore were remanded into custody yesterday.

David Gibson (45) and 36-year-old David Rush from Newtownabbey are two of a number of men charged with offences linked to an assault on Mr Moore.

The prominent loyalist was beaten by an armed gang while having a drink in McConnell's Bar in Doagh on the evening of March 15 last year.

He sustained multiple fractures and lacerations after he was struck initially by a hammer, then brought to the ground in the attack which continued with bats and a bar stool as he lay prone on the floor.

Rush, Gibson and a number of other co-accused are due to be sentenced by Judge Desmond Marrinan on December 14.

Gibson, from Milewater Drive, is facing sentence on a charge of aiding and abetting grievous bodily harm with intent on Mr Moore.

Rush, of Ballyvesey Green, will be sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Moore with intent.

The pair had been on bail awaiting sentence. However, a defence application was made on behalf of Gibson and Rush at Belfast Crown Court yesterday to revoke their bail.

The application was granted by Belfast Recorder, Judge David McFarland, who asked the pair to appear in the dock of the court.

After they did this, the pair were remanded into custody and were told by the judge that they will be produced in court for sentencing next month.
Police officers seal off a house in Galliagh Park, Enniskillen,County Fermanagh today in connection with the murder of Pauline Kilkenny Credit - Justin Kernoghan

Police officers and police forensic experts examine a murder scene in County Fermanagh today - A 59-year-old woman murdered in Enniskillen has been described as "quiet, helpful Credit - Justin Kernoghan

A man has been arrested after a Co Fermanagh woman was found dead in her home yesterday.

The body of Pauline Kilkenny (59) was discovered at Cornacully Road, between Belcoo and Garrison, by her sister at around lunchtime.

Concerns had been raised after she failed to show up for work.

A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, possession of cannabis and the theft of a motor vehicle.

He remained in police custody last night.

Expand Close Pauline Kilkenny. Family picture / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Pauline Kilkenny. Family picture

Police said the contents of the victim's handbag and her car had been removed from the property. They are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.

It's believed that the deceased was originally from Kinawley but had lived and worked in England for a time before returning to her native Fermanagh in recent years.

One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, told the Belfast Telegraph: "I knew Pauline well since she moved into the area many years ago.

"She was a good neighbour and friend, and a woman who would do anything for anybody.

"As a community, we are shocked by what has happened."

Another added: "Pauline was such a lovely wee woman with a great heart who always put others first and this is the way she was repaid."

Ulster Unionist MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Rosemary Barton said the tight-knit community had been left stunned by the tragedy.

"This is a very quiet and rural corner of Co Fermanagh, so news of the murder is dreadful and has caused real shock locally," she said.

"This is obviously an absolute tragedy for the victim's family and I would urge anyone with any information, no matter how big or small, to contact the PSNI immediately."

Sinn Fein councillor Barry Doherty added: "I hope Pauline's family may take some comfort from the support of their friends and the community as they attempt to come to terms with this awful tragedy that has come their way. My thoughts and prayers and those of the whole community are with them."

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, who is leading the investigation, said: "A post-mortem examination has yet to take place but I am treating this as murder.

"My thoughts go out to the victim's family, including her sister who will no doubt have been left traumatised by the discovery of her sister's body.

"I'm appealing to anyone who has any information to contact detectives at Serious Crime Branch on 101, quoting reference 573 November 13. Alternatively information can be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
A man allegedly threatened to shoot his mother if she informed police about a suspected assault on her partner, the High Court was told.

Phillip Irwin is accused of launching an attack at the couple's home in Portavogie, Co Down which left the other man with broken ribs.

Opposing Irwin's renewed bid for bail, prosecutors said he has been categorised among 33 highest-risk alleged offenders in Northern Ireland.

The 39-year-old, currently of no fixed abode, denies charges of causing grievous bodily harm, common assault and threats to kill.

Crown counsel claimed Irwin arrived in a new car at his mother's house in the village on May 7.

He had a shower, came downstairs and declared that he was heading out, the court heard.

But according to the prosecution a row broke out when his mother's partner suggested it would be foolish to drive because he may be under the influence of drink or drugs.

Irwin allegedly responded by punching the man, causing him to fall to the ground and strike his ribs against a kitchen worktop on the way down.

It was claimed the accused then hit his mother on the head before leaving the property.

"He told her he would shoot her if she phoned police," the prosecutor alleged.

Irwin is further charged with driving while disqualified, making off without paying for petrol, and breaching a Violent Offences Prevention Order (VOPO) over separate incidents on the same date.

During police interviews he claimed his mother and her partner inflicted each other's injuries in a vodka-fuelled row.

Mr Justice McAlinden was told police strongly object to the accused's release from custody.

He has been deemed by the authorities to be a category three suspected offender - the highest level within the arrangements.

"There are only 33 people deemed to be at this level in Northern Ireland, and only six are in the community," Crown counsel said.

She added: "The applicant's mother and her partner have both reported to police that they are terrified of him."

Defence barrister Barry Gibson was set to mount a fresh bid for bail based on delays in the case.

But proceedings were put on hold because the court currently has no jurisdiction to hear the application for legal reasons.

With the hearing adjourned to December 3, Mr Gibson confirmed: "The applicant will be eligible to apply for bail then."
The wreckage of the light plane in Gilford

The pilot of a light aircraft and his passenger walked away unhurt from a crash landing in Northern Ireland that wrecked their plane.

It happened on June 8 as the 1965-built Jodel aircraft, owned by George and Alan Doake of Hunters Hill Road, Gilford, Co Down, was landing at an airstrip in Gilford.

An Air Accident Investigation Branch report says the 62-year-old pilot, with 546 hours flying experience, lost control when the plane struck a hedge while approaching to land.

The report says that there was no turbulence on the approach to the airstrip, but as the aircraft neared the boundary hedge it encountered "sinking air" and the pilot was unable to prevent the left main landing gear from hitting the hedge.

It continues: "He lost control and the aircraft, struck the ground and travelled along the runway for a few metres."

When the plane came to rest it had rotated left through approximately 180 and the landing gear had collapsed.

The pilot and passenger exited the wreckage without assistance.
'When the policy came into effect at the start of this year, the constable defied his superiors by keeping the moustache'

A police officer would need "a moustache like a walrus" to stop a breathing mask working properly, an expert has told a tribunal in Belfast.

The evidence was heard at the second day of an employment tribunal where a PSNI constable is fighting for the right to sport a moustache after the force introduced a facial hair ban over safety concerns it could interfere with respiratory masks.

Evidence yesterday centred on whether a "well-trimmed moustache" was safe to use with the breathing masks.

Richard Gates, the director of the UK company Hazmat Control which sells specialist respiratory equipment, appeared as an expert witness for the constable.

He claimed "you would need a moustache like a walrus" to stop a mask working properly.

He added that it was practically "impossible" for a trimmed moustache to pose any risk.

The lawyer for the PSNI called this "an extreme point of view" that could not guarantee safety for each individual case. The Armed Response Unit (ARU) constable agreed having a full beard or goatee could pose a safety risk with masks. He also said as an older man with alopecia, growing a moustache was "the one thing I can do" for confidence issues.

He said the ban was unfair as officers in the ARU had not even been trained in respiratory equipment at the time, although this has since been corrected.

When the policy came into effect at the start of this year, the constable defied his superiors by keeping the moustache.

He was told his "non-compliance" meant he would be "temporarily" redeployed to road policing, with three days notice.

The constable said in reality this was a transfer and the notice was unreasonable for a family man with young children.

A PSNI lawyer said it was the right of the Chief Constable to redeploy officers on a temporary basis, and 15 days notice only needed to be given if it was reasonable to do so.

The constable said he had identified another suitable role closer to home, but was told this couldn't happen as other officers might grow moustaches in order to get shorter journeys to work.

Instead of redeployment, the constable was on sick leave for a month and returned clean shaven to the ARU.

He is still opposing the policy on gender and religious grounds.

The officer also accused the Police Federation of "being asleep at the wheel" for supporting the PSNI facial hair ban.

The federation represents rank and file officers and backed a change to PSNI policy in 2017 banning facial hair.

The constable said the federation had failed to consult officers over the policy, which he said was so vague it was like "the Emperor's new clothes".

A lawyer for the PSNI said the Police Federation were "very supportive" of the policy.

But the constable told the tribunal: "They were asleep at the wheel at looking after the welfare of officers. There was no real consultation... This is one person's opinion that goes against (the rest of us)."

The tribunal continues today.
The Princess Royal with Patrick Cregg (left), director of the Woodland Trust, and Dr Sam Burnside at Brackfield Wood's new poetry trail

The Princess Royal flew into Northern Ireland yesterday to give the royal seal of approval to a wood commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

Princess Anne launched the massive project in Co Londonderry to plant 40,000 native trees in memory of all Irish soldiers who died in the Great War.

Millions of trees will be planted throughout the UK to honour the number of lives lost. The Woodland Trust is creating the local woodland, Brackfield Wood, on the banks of the River Faughan.

Her Royal Highness, who is patron of the woodland conservation charity, planted the final of the bunch - a flourishing oak.

The charity has also created a special memorial area and an information hub to relay stories of Ireland's role in the 1914-18 conflict.

The trust says it will be a beautiful and flourishing place of remembrance, and a haven for wildlife.
A barrister representing some of the Ballymurphy families has said there is "widespread and deep" concern that British soldiers are boycotting the inquest.

Michael Mansfield QC, who represents a number of the victims' families, called for the coroner to take direct action on the issue.

He said: "There is widespread and deep concern from the families about what appears to be a boycott at what is a critical point of this inquest.

"The appearance of a boycott is being articulated very clearly."

He said that former soldier Alan Barry, who is involved in the campaign group Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans (JFNIV), advised soldiers involved in the Ballymurphy case not to cooperate with requests to attend the inquests.

The comments were reported in the Belfast Telegraph on Friday and later repeated in a different newspaper.

He said that these warnings to soldiers present serious risk of adverse inference.

Barrister Barry McDonald, who represents some of the other victims' families, said that at least 12 soldiers fired 117 shots into an area known as the Manse field, however he added that not one of these soldiers has provided a statement.

"The soldiers who fired are simply refusing to cooperate with this inquest and are boycotting it," he added. Continuing his opening statement, counsel for the coroner Sean Doran outlined details around the UVF's controversial claim of involvement.

Mr Doran said that in May this year the Coroner's Service received correspondence from a solicitor representing an interlocutor who claimed he had information about the possible involvement of the UVF in a number of the Ballymurphy shootings. The interlocutor, known as Witness X, said he had spoken to people he described as veterans of the UVF.

He said that information provided identified a UVF sniper, who is now dead, was active in the vicinity of where the shootings took place and may have caused some of the deaths.

It is understood the man named by the organisation, Tommy West, is a now deceased.

Mr Doran told the court that Witness X claims he was told a Mauser rifle had been used in the incident.
Police officers seal off a house in Galliagh Park, Enniskillen,County Fermanagh today in connection with the murder of Pauline Kilkenny Credit - Justin Kernoghan

Police officers and police forensic experts examine a murder scene in County Fermanagh today - A 59-year-old woman murdered in Enniskillen has been described as "quiet, helpful Credit - Justin Kernoghan

A young woman has become the second person to be arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a shop worker in Co Fermanagh.

Detectives investigating the murder of 59-year-old Pauline Kilkenny at her home in the Cornacully Road area of Enniskillen arrested the 26-year-old woman on Wednesday night.

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, who is leading the investigation, said: The woman is currently in police custody assisting us with our enquiries.

He added that a 28-year-old man arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of murder, possession of cannabis and theft of a motor vehicle remained in police custody.

The body of Mrs Kilkenny was discovered at Cornacully Road, between Belcoo and Garrison, by her sister at around lunchtime on Tuesday.

Concerns had been raised after she failed to show up for work.

Police said the contents of the victim's handbag and her car had been removed from the property. They are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.
A suspicious object has been found in Northern Ireland

Police said the security alert which closed the Magherafelt bypass for much of the day was a hoax.

A suspicious object found on the A31 Magherafelt bypass, between the Castledawson roundabout and the Aughrim Road, around 10.45am on Wednesday and examined by Army bomb squad officers.

Police thanked the public for their patience and appealed for anyone with information to contact detectives or provide anonymous information to Crimestoppers.
As Theresa May chaired an emergency Brexit Cabinet in Downing Street, fresh signs emerged of unease among her own MPs about the draft agreement reached by UK and EU negotiators in Brussels.

All 13 Scottish Conservative MPs  including Scotland Secretary David Mundell  signed a joint letter warning the Prime Minister that they could not support a deal which failed to restore complete control and full sovereignty over the UKs fishing waters.

Mr Mundell is among the few MPs to have viewed the 400-plus pages of the draft agreement finalised on Tuesday, and his inclusion among the signatories sparked speculation that he may be ready to resign from the Cabinet if he is not satisfied by its contents.

In the letter, the MPs warn: We could not support an agreement with the EU that would prevent the UK from independently negotiating access and quota shares We also cannot stay in the Common Fisheries Policy after December 2020.

The emergence of the letter came amid a febrile atmosphere in Westminster as Cabinet ministers gathered at 10 Downing Street for their historic 2pm meeting to decide whether to give their approval to the plan.

They met shortly after Mrs May urged MPs in the Commons to back an agreement which she said would bring the UK significantly closer to delivering the result of the 2016 referendum.

Tensions were heightened by reports that senior Brussels negotiator Sabine Weyand had told ambassadors the deal will mean the UK aligns its rules with Europe, while the EU will retain all the controls.

But Ms Weyand  deputy to chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier  cast doubt on the veracity of a leaked note containing her supposed comments by liking a series of tweets which said it was not an accurate reflection of the EUs position.

At Prime Ministers Questions, Mrs May told MPs: The Cabinet will decide on the next steps in the national interest.

I am confident that this takes us significantly closer to delivering what the British people voted for in the referendum.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the draft deal was a failure in its own terms and a senior spokesman said that the likelihood was that the party would vote against it in the Commons.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the draft deal could provide the basis for a summit of EU leaders by the end of the month, potentially on November 25.

He said he was confident that the proposed arrangements would not negatively impact on the Good Friday Agreement, adding that Dublin was ready to write into any deal a legal guarantee for the unionist community in Northern Ireland, who he acknowledged were going through a difficult time.

Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp (PA Graphics)

Amid feverish speculation about possible Cabinet resignations, a succession of Conservative MPs came out in opposition to the reported contents of the agreement.

Speaking in the Commons, leading Brexiteer Peter Bone told the PM: If the media reports about the EU agreement are in any way accurate, you will not be delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country.

The deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tories, Mark Francois, said Cabinet ministers should look into their hearts and decide whether a Jaguar and a red box and a bunch of sycophantic civil servants calling you Minister is more important than the destiny of your country.

And Crispin Blunt told the Press Association: No deal is a great deal better than this.

Leave-backing Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told PA: This isnt Brexit, its not even close to Brexit.

If it were darts, its not missing the board, this is not even the right wall.

Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris tweeted: If the leaked information on the proposed Brexit deal is accurate, I cannot support it The PM is not delivering the Brexit people voted for.

If the leaked information on the proposed Brexit deal is accurate, I cannot support it. A NI solution which divides the UK and a non-regression clause to ensure the UK cannot out compete the EU are completely unacceptable. The PM is not delivering the Brexit people voted for.  Anne Marie Morris MP (@AnneMarieMorris) November 14, 2018

As rival protesters chanted outside the gates to Downing Street, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox was asked as he arrived for the meeting whether the Cabinet were happy with his advice on the deal.

He replied: Well see.

The draft agreement of more than 400 pages is understood to involve the UK remaining in a customs union and committing to a level playing field on EU rules in areas such as environmental and workplace protections during a backstop period after Brexit.

Cabinet ministers are also looking at a brief political declaration  possibly as short as five pages  setting out an outline framework agreed by EU and UK negotiators for future relations on issues such as trade and security.

This outline remains open for further negotiation ahead of any summit and a final deal will depend on it being acceptable to the UK in its full form.

Addressing concerns that the UK would not be able unilaterally to withdraw from any backstop arrangement, Mrs May told the Commons: I am aware of the concerns that there are, that we dont want to be in a position where the European Union would find it comfortable to keep the UK in the backstop permanently.

Thats why any backstop has to be temporary.

Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp (PA Graphics)

The backstop is intended as a fallback arrangement to avoid a hard border with Ireland unless a wider trade agreement can resolve the issue.

Brussels is understood to have dropped its demand for Northern Ireland alone to remain within the EU customs area until a new trade deal is implemented, but the province could be subject to a different regulatory regime.

It is thought the plan envisages an independent arbitration committee to judge when the backstop could be terminated.

At Westminster, speculation over possible resignations focused on Brexit-backing ministers such as Penny Mordaunt, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey.

But sources close to Brexiteer ministers played down the prospect of walkouts, saying dont expect fireworks today.

Mrs Leadsom told ITVs Good Morning Britain she had had a good conversation with the Prime Minister and was extremely optimistic that well have a good deal, while Ms Mordaunt is understood to be still waiting for more information about the proposals.

Expand Close Protests outside Downing Street ahead of the Cabinet meeting (Andrew Matthews/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Protests outside Downing Street ahead of the Cabinet meeting (Andrew Matthews/PA)

There were doubts over whether the PM can retain the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, whose 10 MPs prop up her minority administration in the Commons.

Heading for London, DUP leader Arlene Foster said she would not agree to a situation in which Northern Ireland was left adrift from the UK.

And the partys chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the proposed deal had the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK, adding: That is not something we can support.
'Inspectors expressed concern that while 823 alleged rapes were reported to police in 2016/17, in that same 12-month period there were only 15 convictions for the crime - less than 2%'

Northern Ireland's criminal justice system is failing victims of sexual violence and abuse crimes time and time again, inspectors have warned.

Faced with lengthy delays, an intrusive court process and a low chance of securing a conviction, a high number of complainants are choosing to withdraw their evidence rather than proceed with their case, a report from Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland has said.

Inspectors expressed concern that while 823 alleged rapes were reported to police in 2016/17, in that same 12-month period there were only 15 convictions for the crime - less than 2%.

Of the 2,335 other alleged sexual crimes reported that year, a total of 228 defendants were convicted. That's less than 10%.

The conviction rates for rape and sexual offences are the lowest in the UK, CJINI said.

Chief inspector Brendan McGuigan said it was "simply unacceptable" that the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) was sometimes taking more than a year to decide whether to proceed with a charge.

Mr McGuigan, whose report is to be considered by a Stormont all-party group on domestic and sexual violence, said it was now time for a wider societal debate on the issue.

His report comes as retired Appeal Court judge Sir John Gillen leads a review into how the criminal justice system handles sexual crimes.

It follows the high-profile trial in which former Ulster and Ireland rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding were acquitted of raping the same woman.

The CJINI inspection has made nine recommendations for improvement, including radical changes to the way serious sexual offences are taken forward by the courts and improvements in the handling of "myths and stereotypes" in such cases.

Head of the PSNI's Public Protection Branch, Detective Chief Superintendent Paula Hilman, said police were "committed to putting victims' needs at the heart of what we do".

The Department of Justice said: "We are working with our criminal justice partners on an action plan to address the points raised in the report."

Chief executive of Victim Support NI Geraldine Hanna said it was "completely unacceptable" that victims of sexual offences are being failed by a system that is "not fit for purpose".

"We understand that the capacity to cope with the volume of cases simply isn't there. However, while we recognise this as a reason, it is not an excuse," she said.

"Delays in processing their cases is often given as a reason as to why victims withdraw from the system.

"As a society, we cannot be seen to be encouraging victims to come forward, and then not be in a position to support them."

Sinn Fein's Linda Dillon said the findings provided stark reading.

"Victims, who may have waited months, years or decades to report the offences against them, should not be let down by the system," she added.

DUP MLA Pam Cameron said the delays faced by many cases is something which must be tackled at the highest level.

"The CJI report has identified very serious issues and put forward recommendations, which must be taken forward as a matter of priority.

"There can be little doubt that this would be greatly assisted by having a Justice Minister back in post to oversee the process."
The Prime Minister will require a simple majority of the 650 MPs to vote in favour of her deal when it is put before Parliament.

But this will prove anything but simple, and whether she can get enough MPs into the aye lobby is now arguably the biggest question in Brexit politics.

Read More

Brexit has left both the Tories and Labour divided between those who support leaving and those who do not, and various nuanced factions in between.

While there are 650 MPs, seven Sinn Fein MPs do not take their Westminster seats and the Speaker and his three deputies do not vote.

So the magic number Theresa May needs to meet or surpass is 320 - ie more than half of 639.

Since the 2017 General Election, her party has had 315 seats, which leaves them short of a working majority alone but ahead of Labour on 257 and the SNP on 35.

This is why the Tories entered into a "confidence and supply" deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, which has 10 MPs who can take her Government over the line.

But she currently faces open revolt from both the DUP and Brexiteer and Remain wings of her party.

The European Research Group, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, has claimed it has 80 MPs ready to vote against what it sees as Mrs May's capitulation to Brussels.

Opponents suggest the number would be whittled down under a concerted offensive of arm bending by the Tory whips, so it may finally may be considerably less.

The DUP, hardcore Brexiteers, appears to be so opposed to a deal it believes casts Northern Ireland adrift from the rest of the UK that it seems at this stage unlikely they can be reconciled.

And Tory Remain supporters have bridled at the deal, with some saying the customs union gives Brussels too much unaccountable power and others who say it does not go far enough.

Pro-EU rebel Anna Soubry told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday that a customs union had to be accompanied by Single Market access for the good of trade, saying: "If you speak ... to British business they will tell you a customs union is important, but so is the regulatory alignment as well. That is what I need to see."

This means Mrs May could need to find up to 100 votes - but perhaps more realistically somewhat less - from elsewhere.

The SNP and the Lib Dems, who have 12 MPs, both support remaining in the EU and are likely to vote against it.

So the Prime Minister may well need to extend an olive branch to Labour, which also has its own divisions between those like Chuka Umunna who oppose Brexit, those like Caroline Flint who support it reluctantly because their constituents voted to leave, or those like Kate Hoey who are ardent Brexiteers.

Jeremy Corbyn's frontbench position is that they will not support a deal that does not meet its six tests, which include safeguarding worker and consumer rights and providing the "exact same benefits" as membership of the Customs Union and Single Market.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey told the BBC's Today programme on Wednesday that the proposal was "unlikely to be a good deal for the country", saying it wanted to see a permanent rather than temporary customs union.

The question is how many of Mr Corbyn's MPs are prepared to defy him and support the Prime Minister, reasoning that a no-deal Brexit, which they fear could bring about an economic disaster, would be a worse outcome.
All smiles from Arlene Foster, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Theresa May and Tory chief whip Gavin Williamson after the DUP agreed to support the minority Government

Civil servants have been told to remove DUP contacts from planning emails which the Northern Irish party would previously have been looped in to.

The Independent understands government officials were given the order on Tuesday as the Tory leadership prepared to push Theresa Mays Brexit deal through cabinet.

Read More

In another sign of deep cracks in Tory relations with the DUP, it emerged on Wednesday that the prime minister had still not spoken to the partys leader about the draft Brexit deal and it was unclear if she intended to before the document was published.

Key figures in the DUP were among the most outspoken critics of the draft agreement reached between British and EU negotiators, despite details not being available when news of the deal broke.

The instructions to officials suggest Conservative whips have accepted they will not get the support of the DUP for the prime ministers approach and are beginning to distance themselves from their Northern Irish partners.

According to Whitehall sources, officials were told not to include their usual DUP contacts in any further emails or planning documents.

Correspondence that would typically have been circulated to DUP staff was shut down as of Tuesday evening.

It comes as the prime minister prepares to announce that the cabinet has agreed to the deal struck in Brussels on Tuesday evening.

Ms Mays spokesman did not comment on the instructions given to civil servants, but at a briefing on Wednesday admitted she was yet to speak to DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Asked when the DUP might see the draft, he said: Our focus is on the cabinet and as you know cabinet members have been given the opportunity to look at the documentation in advance.

Asked twice if the confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP is operational, the spokesman said: It was signed between the two chief whips and the two parties and Im not aware of any change to it since then.

Ms May was set to make a statement from Downing Street on the draft deal on Wednesday, while officials in the EU were also preparing a press conference to announce the breakthrough in Brussels.

After the agreement came out, the deputy leader of the DUP, whose MPs prop up Ms Mays minority administration, said the deal as reported would leave Northern Ireland subject to the rules and laws set in Brussels with no democratic input or any say.

Nigel Dodds went on: We object to that on constitutional grounds that our laws would be made in Brussels, not in Westminster or Belfast. That is the fundamental red line.

The critical stumbling block has been over what happens to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic if no trade deal is secured by the end of the Brexit transition period in December 2020, with Brussels having wanted the north to stay in a customs union with the EU to keep the border open.

Under the backstop arrangement said to be in the draft text, the whole UK would remain in a customs arrangement with the EU instead  a condition sought by Ms May  until a future deal is secured, though there would be deeper provisions for Northern Ireland on customs and regulations, something the DUP find unpalatable.

A review mechanism is also understood to be part of the text, which would determine when the UK would leave the backstop arrangement, but it is unclear whether it meets the demands of Brexiteers  including some in the cabinet  who want Britain to be able to unilaterally walk away.
The DUP's Sammy Wilson has slammed the slated Brexit deal as a "punishment beating" by the EU on the UK, and said he does not believe PM Theresa May would survive losing a vote in the House of Commons.

The East Antrim MP was speaking ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the draft text of the Brexit deal, news of which emerged on Tuesday night.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Wilson said: "This is all about a punishment beating for the UK because they dared to vote to leave the EU. And unfortunately the Prime Minister has allowed that punishment beating to be administered.

"That punishment beating in my belief will damage the UK and damage the UK constitution."

Mr Wilson said his party would not support the agreement.

Although his party has not yet reviewed the full text, this stance was taken on "headlines which have been put into the public domain by the EU", Mr Wilson said, and the deal in its proposed form is "no different to the deal the PM rejected in March and said no PM could ever put her pen to".

Mr Wilson said his party had pushed for a safeguard to be added where the Northern Ireland Assembly, should it be reinstated, would have a veto over Northern Ireland's relationship to the European Union.

"What we would find in the future is that Northern Ireland would have rules about agriculture, labour, production, labour hours, all dictated by Europe," Mr Wilson said.

"We wouldn't have sight of those. We wouldn't even know what they are going to be like in five or six years time, and if they are detrimental to our economy we just have to swallow it."

On the prospect of the deal being voted down in the House of Commons, Mr Wilson said he suspected Theresa May "couldn't survive losing a vote in the House of Commons".

Mr Wilson noted he expected a number of Conservative party backbenchers and Labour MPs to also vote against the deal.
Kweku Adoboli has been deported from the UK, friends said (Lewis Whyld/PA)

A former City trader behind a 1.4 billion banking fraud has been deported to Ghana despite a campaign to keep him in the UK.

Kweku Adoboli was handed a seven-year jail sentence in 2012 after he gambled away the record-breaking sum while working for UBS.

A friend and campaigner said the 38-year-old was detained in Scotland on Monday and placed on a Kenyan Airways flight leaving Heathrow on Wednesday evening.

Nick Hopewell-Smith said friends were appalled and bereft by the Home Offices decision to approve the deportation.

He claimed Mr Adoboli was whisked away without being given an opportunity to say goodbye to his girlfriend.

Our campaign to keep Kweku will turn into a campaign to bring him home. We will be doing out best to get him backNick Hopewell-Smith

Mr Adoboli, a former public schoolboy and Nottingham University alumnus, has lived in the UK since he was 12 and left Ghana when he was aged four.

He was granted a last-minute injunction blocking his deportation in September and bailed in October after a group of school and university friends provided a surety of 120,000.

As a foreign national sentenced to a jail sentence of more than four years, he is subject to automatic deportation under UK immigration laws.

Mr Hopewell-Smith said lawyers were still hopeful his deportation would be averted following a meeting with immigration minister Caroline Nokes on Tuesday.

This is his home. Hes a Yorkshireman. He supports Leeds United, he said. This is where he has his family life.

Our campaign to keep Kweku will turn into a campaign to bring him home. We will be doing out best to get him back.

A Home Office spokesman said the department did not comment on individual cases.

All foreign nationals who are given a custodial sentence will be considered for deportation, he added.

Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them and we have removed more than 44,500 foreign offenders since 2010.

Mr Adoboli was jailed for seven years in 2012 after he brought Swiss bank UBS to its knees by exceeding his trading limits and failing to mitigate the risk of reckless deals.

He was released in 2015 and went to live with a long-time university friend in Scotland, looking after two godchildren.

More than 130 MPs and MSPs signed an open letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid asking him to block the deportation. Nearly 75,000 people signed a petition also calling for a halt to the deportation.

Adoboli previously admitted being behind UBSs losses by claimed he was pressurised by staff to take risks.

He was found guilty at Londons Southwark Crown Court of two counts of fraud by abuse of position in 2012 and freed from jail in 2015.

Since his release he has spoken to students and business and military leaders about toxic risk-taking aspects of City culture and how it can lead traders to commit financial crimes.
Ministers will lay out the Government's political and legal position on the proposed withdrawal agreement when Brexit negotiations have concluded, David Lidington has announced.

The Cabinet Office Minister said the position statement would be made available to all MPs ahead of the meaningful vote on a deal.

Mr Lidington told the Commons: "I want to give a commitment to the opposition and the House: we will make available to all members of the House, following the conclusion of negotiations and ahead of the meaningful vote, a full, reasoned position statement laying out the Government's both political and also legal position on the proposed withdrawal agreement, and that includes any protocols that might be attached to it.

"In addition, the Attorney General has authorised me to confirm to the House this afternoon that he is ready to assist further by making an oral statement to the House and to take questions from members of the House in the normal way."

It came as Labour sought to use a parliamentary procedure known as a "humble address" to ask for "any legal advice in full, including that provided by the Attorney General, on the proposed withdrawal agreement on the terms of the UK's departure from the European Union including the Northern Ireland backstop and framework for a future relationship between the UK and the European Union".

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer denied Labour was calling for draft advice, but told the Commons: "It's the final advice, it's available to every MP and it's available at the point that the final proposed withdrawal agreement that's been agreed with the EU is put to this House, for this House to consider it."

Read More

Tory Remainers appeared sceptical of Labour's attempt to force the Government to publish Brexit legal advice, including on the Irish border, despite their own anxieties.

Conservative former attorney general Dominic Grieve said: "I have great sympathy with the anxieties he is expressing about the legal issues surrounding the potential backstop, but surely he'd agree with me that the proper practice is for the Government, at the conclusion of negotiations, to publish a document setting out the Government's position on the law.

"And if that differs from what the Attorney General has advised, I'd expect the Attorney General to resign forthwith."

Conservative former minister Anna Soubry, also intervening, later asked Sir Keir: "Is this a motion that was drafted by the office of (Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) which has now subsequently been changed quite dramatically at the despatch box because of the intervention, yet again, of the shadow secretary of state to make good the failings of the leader of his party?"

Sir Keir told MPs there is a "good reason for this advice" and "good precedent", adding that publishing it was the "right thing to do".

"There is, I think, growing cross-party support for this advice to be published, and what I say to the Government is rather than fighting this unnecessary battle with Parliament, the Prime Minister should accept the motion and agree to publish the full advice."

Independent MP Lady Hermon (North Down) later asked: "Could I just be absolutely clear, could the minister be absolutely clear in what he is saying to the people of Northern Ireland?

"Can he confirm today that the people of Northern Ireland will not be kept in the dark by the British Government as to the exact legal consequences to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement of any negotiated deal by the British Government in good time before we have to vote on this deal?"

Mr Lidington replied: "I'm very happy to give that assurance and to say further that the relevant ministers will be happy to talk to her and to other...members representing Northern Ireland constituencies about exactly how the form of that analysis should be presented to the House so that people in Northern Ireland can understand clearly both what is being proposed in any potential withdrawal agreement and what the legal and constitutional and practical implications of that might be."

He added: "Our intention in Government is to provide the kind of analysis that I believe he (Robert Courts) has been seeking but which also would meet the requests and calls of honourable members of all shades of opinion on the European issue, not just in my party but in all parts of the House.

"I do also want to put on the record that there have already been some discussions through the usual channels on a cross party basis about how the Government can facilitate the briefing of..members in every party represented in this House and I can also give the House a further commitment that those contacts and conversations will also continue."

Mr Lidington later warned that if Labour pressed their motion to a vote and the party was successful then there "would be an adverse impact on the quality of discussions within Government and of Government's collective decision making".

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve said publishing the legal advice would be a mistake, despite thinking the Government appeared to be setting a "quite disgraceful timetable" to "bulldoze" MPs into supporting the deal without enough information.

He said: "There is a big difference between a break clause and a review clause as any lawyer will know, and that difference is going to be of the utmost importance."

Tory Remainer Anna Soubry intervened to ask Mr Grieve about being ordered to abstain in the vote.

The MP for Broxtowe asked: "Does he share my concern I have been told I am to abstain on this matter?

"I don't know why - I suspect it is because there isn't a majority.

"If that's the case, then who is running this country? This Government or the ERG?"

SNP Europe spokesman Peter Grant drew a comparison with the Iraq war to make the case for publishing legal advice on Brexit, adding innocent people could die as a result of a bad Brexit in an apparent reference to warnings over shortages of medicine.

He said: "Parliament was given incomplete, biased and misleading advice and made a catastrophically bad decision (on Iraq) as a result.

"I don't believe there is any chance that MPs would have supported the invasion of Iraq if they had been in full possession of the facts the Government had at the time.

"I'm not suggesting, and nobody should suggest, that a bad decision on Brexit will lead directly to thousands of deaths, but it will lead to enormous financial hardship, huge social upheaval for millions - perhaps tens of millions - of citizens.

"And a bad decision on Brexit could indeed set off an uncontrollable chain of events that eventually does have the potential to result in the deaths of innocent civilians in parts of these islands."
Populist politics are catching fire around the world, the controversial strategist who helped Donald Trump win the White House has said.

Steve Bannon also predicted next years European Parliament elections would be fought with the same intensity as a US presidential campaign, with the issue of immigration key.

He insisted the right-wing causes he supports are part of an effort to give the working class a chance, as he argued immigrant labour is leading to lower wages for workers across the world.

And he claimed Mr Trumps zero tolerance approach at the US border with Mexico is a humanitarian policy  arguing it helps deter human trafficking and people smugglers.

Expand Close Anti-racism protesters staged a demo outside the event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Anti-racism protesters staged a demo outside the event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (Jane Barlow/PA)

The former Trump aide was speaking at the News Xchange international media conference in Edinburgh  with his appearance sparking a protest outside involving about 100 people.

Police Scotland said a 56-year-old man was arrested and charged with threatening and abusive behaviour at a protest in the centre of Edinburgh.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had been scheduled to take part in the News Xchange event, but withdrew after it emerged Mr Bannon was speaking, saying at the time she would not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far-right, racist views.

Mr Bannon said that was a smear as he defended his work with the right wing, saying: These are not racist views. In fact populist nationalism, which Ive been working on for nine or 10 years, is the exact opposite.

What were trying to do in the United States is make sure were not flooded with illegal alien labour that suppresses African Americans and Hispanic citizens.

#NX18: Im not always 100% comfortable with what Steve Bannon says says Bannon when quizzed about statements made by Orban and Trump. pic.twitter.com/vjk0olTaMa  News Xchange (@NewsXchange) November 14, 2018

The whole philosophy of Trumps economic policy is to give the working class a chance. This is a working class based movement.

I think that is one of the reasons that populism is catching fire around the world.

The issues that helped Mr Trump get elected in 2016 will be fundamental in next years European Parliament elections, he added, saying they could potentially bring about a change in the direction of Europe.

Mr Bannon said: I believe, starting next March and April, there will be an intensity about these European parliamentary elections, there will be the same level of intensity of an American presidential election.

He insisted he is fighting for working people, adding: Somebody has to defend the working classes. All elites want is higher margins, all they want is bigger profits.

Expand Close Mr Bannon was questioned during the event by journalist Sarah Smith (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mr Bannon was questioned during the event by journalist Sarah Smith (Jane Barlow/PA)

On Mr Trumps tough stance on immigration into America, he said: I realise this audience is not going to want to hear this  President Trumps policy of zero tolerance at the border is a humanitarian policy.

What it stops is the cartels have turned from drugs to human trafficking, there is billions of dollars being made on human tragedy.

He added that immigration from Central America is putting the burden on the working class in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and the rest of the country and our social welfare system cant take it.

Willie Black, one of the protesters outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, claimed giving the media executive a platform at the event would normalise far-right ideology.

The 67-year-old retired electrician said: He wants to strengthen all the right-wing organisations across Europe.

We want to expose how his ideas are dangerous. We dont want these people to be accepted as normal politicians.
Steve Bray regularly protests against Brexit outside the Houses of Parliament (Rick Goodman/PA)

An anti-Brexit protester stole the show on the BBC News channel on Wednesday morning, making every effort to distract from a serious interview on Britains departure from the EU.

Brexit expert Georgina Wright had joined BBC presenter Annita McVeigh on the green outside the Houses of Parliament to unpick the complexities of the Governments proposed Brexit deal, minutes before Prime Ministers Questions in the Commons.

But stalwart protester Steve Bray, a regular feature on the green with a stop Brexit hat and a placard in each hand, raced to position himself in front of the cameras.

The charade continued for almost two minutes of the interview.

Each time producers switched to a different camera angle, Mr Bray would reposition himself to be clearly in shot.

The BBC repeatedly changing cameras to try and keep this #Brexit protestor out of shot is hilarious  pic.twitter.com/KVvuzTyy3Z  Laurie Hanna (@LaurieHanna) November 14, 2018

Mr Bray, 49, said he was not afraid to look like an idiot on television to deliver his message.

Our nation is more important than me looking an idiot on telly, far more important, he told the Press Association.

I do this for my daughter and my grandson. For the future.

If Brexit happens, we will be in years of decline.

Mr Bray, founder of anti-Brexit group Stand of Defiance European Movement, said he protests with others outside Westminster every day theyre sitting in Parliament.

He said he could see which camera the BBC was using on a monitor and shifted positions to be in each shot.

And then they pulled the plug on the monitor once they realised, he said.

He left the scene only for a religious fanatic heralding the return of Jesus Christ to appear on screen an hour later, seemingly inspired by his predecessor.

Ever the professional, McVeigh took it all in her stride.

Sun in my eyes, helicopters above and #Westminster regulars - all in a days work! #thisiswhathappenswhenIleavethestudio https://t.co/egWh9oCTfX  Annita McVeigh (@AnnitaBBC) November 14, 2018

Sun in my eyes, helicopters above and #Westminster regulars  all in a days work! #thisiswhathappenswhenIleavethestudio, she wrote on Twitter.
Rohingya Muslims use their mobile phones as they sit on a hill overlooking Balukhali refugee camp (Dar Yasin/AP)

Bangladesh authorities said they are ready to begin repatriating some of the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled from army-led violence in Burma since last year, but refugees scheduled to leave said they would refuse to go because of fears for their safety.

Some said their families have fled from their shanties in the refugee camps to avoid being sent back.

Refugees, Repatriation and Rehabilitation Commissioner Abul Kalam said 30 refugee families would be handed over on Thursday at the Ghumdhum border point near Coxs Bazar, where refugees have been living in crammed camps.

The two countries had originally agreed to begin repatriating Rohingya last January, but that was called off amid concerns among aid workers and the Rohingya that their safety was not guaranteed.

Mr Kalam said about 2,260 refugees from 485 families would be sent back in an initial batch.

Expand Close Nurul Amin, a 35-year-old Rohingya who is on the first list for being repatriated back to Burma (Dar Yasin/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Nurul Amin, a 35-year-old Rohingya who is on the first list for being repatriated back to Burma (Dar Yasin/AP)

Burma officials said recently that they would receive 150 refugees each day.

But it was unclear whether the repatriation would begin smoothly amid reports that many of the refugees on the initial list have fled.

I will not go. My wife and other family members have gone elsewhere, they do not want to go, 35-year-old Nurul Amin said outside the Jamtoli camp, where he and his family have been living for more than a year.

I stayed back to guard my valuables. We are serious, we do not want to go, he said.

If you say you will shoot us if we do not agree to go back, we will welcome bullets, we still will not go.

Please do not force us to goMohammed Selim, Rohingya refugee

Mohammed Selim, 23, said his wife and seven other family members went into hiding after finding out that they would be sent back on Thursday.

We are grateful to the Bangladesh government, the Bangladeshi people for their help. Please do not force us to go, he said.

If we need to go, we demand that we go back to our homes, not to any camps there. We have our land, we have our homes, he said.

On Sunday, the Burma government said it was ready to welcome returning refugees.

It said returning Rohingya would stay at repatriation camps for two days and receive food and clothing before moving on to transit camps.

Expand Close Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Bullit Marquez/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Bullit Marquez/AP)

It said China, India and Japan were providing necessary assistance for the repatriation process.

Despite the promises by Burma, human rights activists say conditions are not yet safe for their return.

Last week, the UNs independent investigator for human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, called the plans rushed and said she was concerned there were no guarantees that the refugees would be protected from new persecution if they return home.

Foreign leaders have criticised Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore for her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Expand Close Rohingya refugees wait at a UN World Food Programme (WFP) facility (Altaf Qadri/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Rohingya refugees wait at a UN World Food Programme (WFP) facility (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Rohingya began fleeing into Bangladesh after Burmese security forces launched a brutal crackdown following attacks by an insurgent group on guard posts in August 2017.

The scale, organisation and ferocity of the operation led to accusations from the international community, including the United Nations, of ethnic cleansing and even genocide.

Burmas government has denied the accusations.

Burma officials said that returnees can get an ID document called a national verification card that will allow them to travel in the Maungdaw area of Rakhine state, and that they can then begin to apply for citizenship.

But there is widespread scepticism that any of returning refugees will ever be granted citizenship.

Expand Close Sewer water flows in the background as Rohingya refugees cross a makeshift bamboo bridge at Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh (Altaf Qadri/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Sewer water flows in the background as Rohingya refugees cross a makeshift bamboo bridge at Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Most people in Buddhist-majority Burma do not accept that the Rohingya Muslims are a native ethnic group.

They are viewed as Bengalis who entered illegally from Bangladesh, even though generations of Rohingya have lived in Burma.

Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless.

They have also been denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.

Expand Close An elderly Rohingya refugee Noor Aisha Khatun (Altaf Qadri/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp An elderly Rohingya refugee Noor Aisha Khatun (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Many people who fled earlier violence and moved into displacement camps inside Burma have been unable to leave those settlements for years.

Most Rohingya have lived in poverty in Rakhine, near the Bangladesh border.

Marked by their religion and their language, most speak a dialect of Bengali, while most of their neighbours speak Rakhine, they are easy to target.
Frances government has fired back at a flurry of critical tweets by Donald Trump, suggesting the US president lacked common decency by launching his broadside on a day when France was mourning victims of the November 2015 terror attacks.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Wednesday: We were commemorating the assassination of 130 of our compatriots three years ago in Paris and Saint-Denis, and so I will reply in English: Common decency would have been appropriate.

Expand Close Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day (Benoit Tessier/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day (Benoit Tessier/AP)

Nursing grievances from a weekend visit to France, Mr Trump hit out at Frances President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday over his suggestion for a European defence force, over French tariffs on US wine and even Mr Macrons approval ratings.

The tweets underscored tensions between the once-friendly leaders and displayed Mr Trumps irritation over criticism of how he acted in France.
Israels defence minister Avigdor Lieberman has abruptly resigned his post in protest against a ceasefire reached with Gaza militants.

The move has rocked the Israeli political scene and seemed likely to bring about early elections.

Mr Lieberman termed the ceasefire ending two days of intense fighting surrender to terrorism, and said he could no longer serve a government that endorsed it.

Expand Close Smoke rises from a residential building that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City (Hatem Moussa/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Smoke rises from a residential building that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City (Hatem Moussa/AP)

Mr Lieberman had demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014, but appeared to have been overruled by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His resignation delivers a major blow to Mr Netanyahus coalition government and sparked immediate calls for early elections.

Mr Lieberman said he hoped that in the coming days a date would be set for a new vote and the opposition parties joined his call.

Expand Close An Israeli security officer examines the damage to a chicken coop after it was hit by a rocket fired from southern Gaza Strip (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp An Israeli security officer examines the damage to a chicken coop after it was hit by a rocket fired from southern Gaza Strip (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

The government could technically survive without Mr Liebermans Yisrael Beiteinu faction.

But with elections currently set for November 2019, it is unlikely to last that long in lame-duck form.

Mr Liebermans resignation will take effect in 48 hours and Mr Netanyahu will take over on an interim basis.

Residents of southern Israel had greeted news of the ceasefire with anger as dozens of protesters in the rocket-battered town of Sderot chanted Disgrace! at what they saw as the governments capitulation to violence and its inability to provide them with safety.

Expand Close Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Recent months have seen sporadic rocket attacks as well as militant infiltration attempts and a wave of incendiary kites that have destroyed Israeli crops.

Mr Netanyahu presented the decision to step back from a full-blown conflict as a unified one made by his security cabinet and based on the militarys recommendations.

But Mr Lieberman and education minister Naftali Bennett, another hard-line member of the Security Cabinet, later expressed reservations, saying they favoured a stronger response.

Mr Netanyahu defended his actions at a memorial ceremony for Israel first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion.

Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they know well whyBenjamin Netanyahu

I see the big picture of Israeli security that I cannot share with the public, he said.

Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they know well why. I cannot detail our plans for the future.

We will dictate the time and circumstances that are right for Israel and are right for the security of our people.

In times like these, leadership is not doing the easy thing. Leadership is doing the right thing, even if it is hard. Leadership is sometime facing criticism, he added.

The Israel-Gaza frontier remained quiet overnight.

Expand Close An Israeli soldier jumps off a tank near the Israel Gaza border (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp An Israeli soldier jumps off a tank near the Israel Gaza border (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

Palestinian militants had fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while the Israeli military carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets.

Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed.

In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike and three were critically wounded.

With air raid sirens wailing throughout southern Israel and the explosions of airstrikes thundering in Gaza, the two sides had appeared to be on the verge of their fourth war in a decade.

Instead, Gazas Hamas rulers abruptly announced a ceasefire and Israels security cabinet ended a seven-hour discussion with an apparent decision to hold its fire.

The news was greeted with celebrations in Gaza, with Hamas declaring victory in the latest round of violence, which was triggered by a botched Israeli raid on Sunday that left seven Palestinian militants and a senior Israeli military officer dead.
Italys interior minister and deputy premier Matteo Salvini speaks to children upon their arrival in Pratica di Mares military airport, near Rome (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

Italys hard-line interior minister has welcomed 51 refugees and asylum seekers who arrived in Italy after being detained in Libya and then airlifted out by the UN refugee agency.

Matteo Salvini, whose crackdown on migrants fleeing Libya aboard smugglers boats inflamed tensions across Europe, was on hand at Romes Pratica di Mare military base on Wednesday as the men, women and children disembarked from a flight from Niger.

Expand Close Matteo Salvini tries to help a young girl walk down the plane steps (Alessandra Tarantino/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Matteo Salvini tries to help a young girl walk down the plane steps (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

He tweeted that welcoming children who are truly escaping war, as I did this morning in Rome, is a pleasure.

He added that they are different from economic migrants who he believes should be expelled from Italy.

The 51 migrants were identified by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as deserving of international protection and were flown out of Libya to Niger pending relocation.
Sri Lankas Parliament has passed a no-confidence vote against the government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa, a former strongman hastily sworn in as prime minister last month.

Politicians convened on Wednesday for the first time since the president dismissed his Cabinet and suspended the legislature last month.

The motion brought by the leader of an opposition party could mean that Mr Rajapaksa will have to resign his post but does not necessarily mean the leader whose ousting set off the crisis will be reinstated.

Politicians supporting Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom President Maithripala Sirisena replaced with Mr Rajapaksa on October 26, had a visible majority in the chamber.

Many wore shawls with the words For democracy.

Expand Close Sri Lankas ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, centre (Lahiru Harshana/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Sri Lankas ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, centre (Lahiru Harshana/AP)

As Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya prepared to let the no-confidence motion be debated, the chamber descended into chaos, with politicians supporting Mr Rajapaksa filing into the centre of the room shouting political slogans and accusing Mr Jayasuriya of betraying the peoples mandate.

Mr Jayasuriya then said he had no choice but to bypass the debate and take an oral vote, with those in favour clearly voicing more support for the motion than those against it.

Before the results were announced, Mr Rajapaksa walked out of the chamber.

After it became clear last week that Mr Rajapaksa would not survive a no-confidence motion, Mr Sirisena dissolved Parliament, but the Supreme Court on Tuesday had ordered the legislature to keep working until next month.

Namal Rajapaksa, a politician in his fathers United People Freedom Alliance party, told The Associated Press that they dont accept this verdict and will continue as the government.

Lawmaker Ajith Perera, a Wickremesinghe supporter, said the results of the vote meant Mr Wickremesinghe and his government would be reinstated.

It was unclear if that would be the case.

Parliament adjourned after the vote and is to reconvene on Thursday morning.
'The report is scathing in its conclusion: the legal process takes too long and too often ends without an acceptable outcome for complainants' (stock photo)

One statistic leaps off the pages of a report by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, which concluded that victims of rape and sexual offences are failed time and time again by the legal system.

The shocking statistic is that, on average, nine cases of rape or sexual offences were reported to police every day in 2016/17. That is a horrendous litany of crime in a relatively small population. What makes it all the more disturbing is that the conviction rate ranged from less than 2% for rapes to less than 10% for other sexual crimes in the same timespan.

The report is scathing in its conclusion: the legal process takes too long and too often ends without an acceptable outcome for complainants.

However, there is some encouraging news. The CJINI report is just one of several initiatives by the criminal justice system to tackle these failings.

Retired High Court judge Sir John Gillen is next week due to reveal his wide-ranging recommendations on streamlining the legal process. He accepts the process from initial report to police to conclusion of trial takes far too long - up to 971 days - leading to many complainants dropping out.

A Ministry of Justice report in England in 2013 concluded that only 15% of rape and sexual offences were reported to police. That situation may have improved in the intervening years, but it still appears that many victims simply do not want to put themselves through the ordeal of going to trial.

It is widely conceded that giving evidence is a traumatic experience for victims where their most intimate secrets are revealed to an open court. Given that the expectation of seeing the perpetrator convicted is far from certain - in most cases it comes down to one person's word against another's - it is little wonder that the process is often shunned.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS), which is criticised in yesterday's report for the length of time it takes to decide whether or not to prosecute, recently revealed that it has built a dedicated team of senior public prosecutors to ensure best practice in building cases, supporting victims and ensuring prosecutions are brought robustly.

This three-pronged determination by the CJINI, Sir John Gillen and the PPS to tackle the failings in the system is to be welcomed but once again the absence of devolved government could mean urgently needed reforms are not enacted. Too many men will continue to get away with rape.
Nobody knows how many North Koreans celebrate the Christ. For them, displays of faith can lead to prison or worse. It is the most oppressive country in the world for Christians.

In September 2016, the Christian activist group, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, published a report which said: Among other basic human rights denied to the people of North Korea, freedom of religion or belief is largely non-existent. Denial of this right has occurred since the 1950s, and the current leader, Kim Jong-un, continues to violate citizens religious freedom.

Jang-mi, whose name was changed to protect her, is one of those Christians. She faces the threat of being persecuted for her faith every day, but she still believes in Christ.

Jang-mi was happily living in China after having escaped from North Korea. There she met and fell in love with her husband, who was also from North Korea. They both shared the same passion for Christian faith. However, her husbands heart didnt quite feel right. He wanted to go back to the persecuted country and share with his family his newfound faith.

Her husband crossed back over into North Korea, telling Jang-mi he would be back tomorrow. That day never came. She knew she had to go after him.

She knew that crossing the North Korean and Chinese border is dangerous, no matter what direction you are traveling. North Korean police are instructed to shoot on sight. Despite all this, she took the risk.

She was immediately captured by guards and taken to a prison. Jang-mi endured torture. The soldiers yelled at her, calling her  ironically  Judas for betraying North Korea and following Jesus. Luckily, a guard recognized her last name and found her uncle, who was a high-ranking official in the North Korean army. He was able to get her released and brought home.

There, he gave her a gift  her fathers old military hat. He instructed her to look inside.

Jang-mi was blown away when she noticed a small cross drawn in the hat. You mean my father was a believer in Jesus? Jang-mi asked. But how? Why did he never tell me? Her father kept it a secret to protect the family.

When a Christian is caught in North Korea, it is a death sentence. Whether you are discovered sharing the Gospel or holding a single page of Gods Word, you can be sentenced to 15 years in a labor camp. Few people in the camps survive more than a couple of years. Jang-mis father is now in one of those prison camps.

Her husband, she found out, had been caught crossing the border and was later executed for his faith.

Jang-mi was heartbroken upon returning home to China. She reflected on her late husband and her father, who were both so passionate about the Lord they risked dying for their faith. She knew she had to do the same.

Jang-mi studied Gods Word thoroughly, knowing that Bibles are few and far between in her home country. Then, she made her way across the border one more time, determined to share the Gospel with those who do not know Jesus.

Jang-mi is just one of the many brave Christians who are risking everything to bring the hope of Jesus to North Korea. In border towns like the one Jang-mi and her husband lived in, Chinese and North Korean believers wait to share food and Gods Word with those who risk their lives to escape to China.
A Bangladeshi opposition coalition on Tuesday slammed the Election Commissions decision to postpone nationwide polls until Dec. 30, saying the move to hold the vote during the Christian holiday season was a ploy to dodge international scrutiny.

Election officials announced on Monday that the parliamentary election had been rescheduled from the original Dec. 23 balloting, partly heeding calls from an alliance of opposition parties that it be given more time to campaign.

Dec. 25 is the biggest religious festival of the Christian community. Foreign observers, ambassadors of different countries, high commissioners and officials will be on holiday for Christmas and the English New Year, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, secretary-general of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said during a news conference in Dhaka.

The Election Commission has set Dec. 30 as the election date according to the government's instructions so that foreign observers cannot be present, Rizvi said, as he reiterated the oppositions demand to further reschedule the nations 11th general election, giving them more time to campaign.



According to our previous demands, the election must be delayed by one month. The schedule has to be announced again, he said. All political parties have to be given equal opportunities for election campaigning.

But K.M. Nurul Huda, chief of the Election Commission, ruled out the possibility of deferring the voting date again, citing insufficient time to adhere to a constitutional requirement that a new parliament must be formed by Jan. 29.



We dont have enough time as we will have to publish the gazette after getting the results from all 300 constituencies, which is time consuming, he said

Huda explained that officials had decided on Dec. 30 to avoid a conflict with forthcoming religious events that require deployment of security forces, such as the annual gathering of Muslims known as Bishwa Ijtema, which would take place on Jan. 11 in the outskirts of Dhaka.

The Christian community had also requested that election officials avoid setting the election date immediately before or after the Christmas season. Weve considered that as well, he said.

Obaidul Quader, secretary-general of the ruling Awami League, dismissed the oppositions demand to reschedule the polls further in order to facilitate the arrival of foreign election observers, describing such reasoning as funny, illogical and unrealistic.

A country cant defer its election just because foreign observers would fail to monitor it, Quader told reporters. There are many countries that are friends of Bangladesh and our country is not inferior to anyone in respect to dignity.

He also vowed to resist any efforts from the BNP and its allies to wage any protest movement demanding the elections deferment.

The general election will decide if Sheikh Hasina, 71, will get a fourth term as prime minister. She first served as prime minister from 1996-2001 and was elected again in December 2008.



Hasina regained power in 2014 after BNP and its 20 coalition partners boycotted the general election in protest of the ruling partys refusal to cede the reins of government to a caretaker administration during that years voting season. As a result, more than half of the parliamentary seats were uncontested, allowing Hasina to appoint her supporters.

The oppositions focus on the election date came after it announced last Sunday that it would participate in the polls despite the government rejection of a list of demands, including the abolition of parliament. The ruling party described those demands as unconstitutional.



Political analysts said they saw no legal barrier that would prevent the election commission from delaying the voting further.



The commission got an opportunity to restore peoples confidence in it by deferring the election to mid-January. There is no legal barrier to it. But they missed the opportunity again by delaying the election only for a week, Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, told BenarNews.




Rohingya Taiyeba Begum, 35, says she took shelter in her relatives house in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, with other family members to avoid forced repatriation, Nov. 14, 2018.

No Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have agreed to return to Myanmar under a proposed repatriation scheme scheduled to begin Thursday, a Bangladesh official said, as the governments of the two countries scrambled to keep the plan afloat.

Some 150 refugees from 30 families who were supposed to be the first to repatriate had refused to return, the official said, citing feedback from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UNHCR said no Rohingya families agreed to return. So, the repatriation is unlikely to start, an official with the Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRRC), speaking on condition of anonymity, told BenarNews late Wednesday (Bangladesh time).

Under an agreement between the two countries, Bangladesh was to hand over the first batch of potential returnees from among 2,260 initially identified for repatriation to Myanmar at a transit point along their common border.

Mohammad Abul Kalam, the chief of the commission, said it had not yet finalized the list of refugees slated for repatriation, but he stopped short of saying the scheduled repatriation had been put off.

Tomorrow [Thursday] we will come to know who will return, Kalam told reporters after the UNHCR handed over a report assessing the repatriation exercise. He declined to share the reports findings, which included the opinions of refugees slated for repatriation.

A Bangladeshi official told BenarNews earlier in the week that Bangladesh would only repatriate Rohingyas endorsed by the U.N. refugee agency as willing to go voluntarily.

Kalam said the plan was for returnees to cross the border via the Ghandung border crossing in Naikhongchhari, in Bandarban district.

About 720,000 Muslim Rohingyas fled Myanmars Rakhine state to Bangladesh following a military crackdown that began in August 2017. U.N. human rights investigators accused Myanmars military of committing ethnic cleansing.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet had warned this week that refugees who had been identified for repatriation were gripped with terror and panic on hearing they would be asked to return against their will.

Some of those chosen for repatriation have gone into hiding within the refugee camps at Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar border district where a small refugee city has emerged following the influx of Rohingyas.

If five people agree, we will send them

Still, Myanmar and Bangladesh officials were trying hard to keep the repatriation plans alive.

Myint Thu, the permanent secretary of Myanmars Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said officials were meeting with UNHCR at the capital Naypyidaw to find ways to launch the repatriation.

Myanmar officials have promised those who return that they would get a National Verification Card allowing them to travel in the Maungdaw area of Rakhine state, as part of a process for them to apply for citizenship.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar regard Rohingyas as Bengalis who entered illegally from Bangladesh, even though they have lived in Myanmar for generations. Most of them have been denied citizenship and prevented from traveling outside Rakhine state.

Mohammed Juha, a refugee leader from the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh, said he did not want to return because the Myanmar authorities continue to discriminate against the Rohingyas.

A coordinator with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) asked me whether we would return to Myanmar or not [and] I told him that [Myanmar officials] had asked only Bengalis to return but not Rohingyas, Juha said.

We are Rohingya and we will return only if we are recognized as citizens, he told Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews.

Khin Maung, another refugee, based at Thangkhali Refugee Camp, asked, Who would want to return without any guarantee?

Myanmar governments [dealings] have no transparency. Myanmar officials said we have to live in a reception center for a month [on our return]. We dont trust them, he told RFA.

The Bangladesh official, who spoke to BenarNews on condition of anonymity, said both Bangladesh and Myanmar wanted some of the Rohingyas to return as soon as possible so others would follow suit.

If we can send one or two batches of them, others will be encouraged to go back, the official said.

Delwar Hossain, the director general in charge of the Southeast Asia desk at the Bangladesh foreign ministry, told BenarNews that Myanmar could take up to 150 refugees every day if the repatriation plan was implemented.

But we can start the repatriation with less than that number. If five people agree, we will send them. If 10 people agree, we will send 10 people, Hossain said.

Without excuse

Meanwhile, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi continued to come under criticism at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore for her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

The violence which drove the Rohingya into Bangladesh was without excuse, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi in stinging comments on Wednesday, AFP news agency reported.

Pence also said he was anxious to hear about the progress being made to hold the perpetrators accountable. Myanmars army has been accused of committing atrocities including rape, murder and arson against the Rohingyas in Rakhine villages.

U.N. investigators say the armys actions amounted to genocide.

Aung San Suu Kyi brushed off Pences comments.

In a way, we can say we understand our country better than any other country does, AFP quoted her as saying.

A day earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also rebuked Aung San Suu Kyi, saying the treatment of the Rohingya was indefensible.

Amnesty International revoked an honor granted to Aung San Suu Kyi this week, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingyas.
Police investigate the scene of an ambush that killed Philippine politician Al-fred Concepion and an aide in the northern province of La Union, Nov.14, 2018.

Gunmen ambushed a convoy carrying politicians in the northern Philippines on Wednesday, killing the vice mayor of Balaoan and his aide and injuring eight others, including his daughter who succeeded him as mayor in 2016, police said.

The ambush in La Union province is the latest in a series of attacks on local officials in the Philippines.

Vice Mayor Al-fred Concepcion and his aide, Michael Ulep, were rushed to a hospital after the early morning ambush near the town of Balaoan in northern La Union province where they were declared dead upon arrival.

Concepcions daughter, Aleli, survived the attack along with seven others who suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to police.

I have been informed that a province-wide dragnet operation is under way while an allpoints bulletin has been raised to all municipal police stations to possibly intercept the suspects, national police chief Oscar Albayalde said.

He said additional security personnel have been deployed to protect Aleli Concepcion who survived the ambush and is now undergoing treatment.

The national police have assured the Concepcion family that additional personnel have been deployed to ensure a speedy and thorough investigation.

I am confident that we will eventually get to the bottom of this case and the proverbial long arm of the law will catch up with the perpetrators, he said.

As we speak, the provincial mobile force company and SWAT of La Union are leading massive dragnet operations, in five adjacent towns, he said.

Police suspect the attack could be tied to intense political rivalry, but are unsure of the cause. No suspects have been named, but the Cocepcions were expected to be running again for the top elective posts in Balaoan in next Mays midterm election.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo denounced the attack as he expressed condolences to the victims families.

The Philippine National Police has been directed to investigate the incident. We pursue and prosecute the persons behind these brazen murders and bring them to justice, Panelo said.

Concepcion was the 19th local official killed since Rodrigo Duterte assumed the office of president and launched a war on drugs that also targeted local government officials on a hit list he keeps. Duterte has made it a point to show the list of public officials allegedly involved in drugs. The list included police and military officers, local officials and judges.

A lawyer, Concepcion, 61, previously served three terms as Balaoan mayor and stepped down in 2016 to give way to his daughter. He was described by his constituents as a well-liked politician.

Politician deaths

Last month, Alexander Buquing, the mayor of Sudipen town in La Union province, his driver and a bodyguard were killed by gunmen. Buquings wife, Wendy Joy, suffered injuries in the attack.

Buquing, 50, was elected in 2004 after running as an independent and was re-elected in 2007 and 2010 under different political parties.

In 2007, Buquing was suspended by the government ombudsman for alleged abuse of authority, but was later cleared.

Running as an opposition Liberal Party candidate in 2016, he won again and his wife became his deputy.

In September, Mariano Blanco III, the mayor of Ronda town in central Cebu province, was sleeping inside his office before dawn when four unidentified men broke in, overpowered his bodyguards and killed him.

In July, two mayors were killed in shootings a day apart. One of the victims was Antonio Halili, mayor of Tanauan city south of Manila, who was killed by a snipers bullet in front of city employees during a flag-raising ceremony. Halili was stripped of his powers to supervise the citys police force last year because of his alleged drug links.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Partly cloudy. Low around 35F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low around 35F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, Why is Kamala Harris so Unpopular?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
For Immediate Release, November 14, 2018 Contact: Brett Hartl, (202) 817-8121, bhartl@biologicaldiversity.org Barrasso, Senate Republicans Renew Attack on Endangered Species Act WASHINGTON The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, led by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), will hold a hearing Thursday continuing its relentless attacks on the Endangered Species Act, this time under the guise of examining wildlife conservation funding. Sen. Barrasso is pushing draft legislation that would disastrously turn management of endangered species over to states even if they lack the necessary funding or legal authority for protecting them. The Center for Biological Diversity submitted written testimony to the Committee on Environment and Public Works regarding Sen. Barrassos dangerous legislative proposals. Since 2011 Mr. Barrasso has voted against the Endangered Species Act nearly a dozen times; he sponsored nine separate legislative attacks on the Act in the past two years alone. Senator Barrasso feigns concern for conservation funding, but his real goal is to take a chainsaw to lifesaving protections for wildlife provided by the Endangered Species Act, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center. Theres a critical need to increase funding for wildlife conservation, but Americas endangered species wont get any help from Barrasso. Based on a 2015 analysis of federal recovery plans, funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to recover endangered species is just 3 percent of what is needed. Full funding for recovery of endangered animals and plants would cost roughly $2.4 billion annually, compared with the less than $80 million per year the agency currently receives for species recovery. Were one of the richest countries in the world, yet the amount of money we spend on recovering endangered species is paltry, said Hartl. Senator Barrasso is a big part of why we dont have enough money for imperiled wildlife, cleaner water and air and a host of other serious environmental problems. His draft legislation to give the states more control to states would allow governors to veto scientific decisions about species protection. In addition the legislation would: Require that state and local officials be equal to, or exceed, the number of federal officials on any endangered species recovery team;

Weaken the definition of best scientific and commercial data available to give priority to data submitted by states or other local entities even if the data are of lesser quality;

Eliminate all meaningful deadlines to protect imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act, dooming most to extinction;

Prevent court challenges regarding erroneous decisions to delist, or remove protections from imperiled species;

Give states a veto on changing any recovery plan goals by requiring unanimous agreement among recovery team members regarding those changes;

Require federal efforts to reintroduce threatened or endangered species to comply with state permit requirements, giving states a veto over future reintroductions. Mr. Barrasso is also pushing the cynically titled HELP for Wildlife Act. This bill seeks to end federal protection for gray wolves and exempt lead fishing tackle from regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in exchange for reauthorizing several conservation programs. During the 115th Congress, Republicans have launched more than 115 attacks on the Endangered Species Act. Since Republicans retook the U.S. House of Representatives in 2011, nearly 350 attacks against the Act have been introduced. This is despite the fact that nine out of 10 Americans want the Act strengthened or left unchanged by Congress, according to a 2015 poll.
For Immediate Release, November 14, 2018 Contact: Kristen Monsell, (510) 844-7137, KMonsell@biologicaldiversity.org

Steve Jones, (415) 305-3866, SJones@biologicaldiversity.org California Dungeness Crab Season Opens, Endangering Whales, Sea Turtles SAN FRANCISCO Thursdays opening of Californias commercial Dungeness crab season is clouded by the outbreak of a powerful neurotoxin and continuing concerns about the fishery entangling endangered whales and sea turtles. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the Nov. 15 season opener will not include areas north of Bodega Head because of high levels of domoic acid found in crabs there. The potential for intensified crabbing activity around San Francisco and Monterey worries the Center for Biological Diversity, which last year sued the department for failing to prevent the record-breaking number of whales entangled in California crabbing gear in recent years. Dozens of humpback whales and two blue whales have been seen this week in Monterey Bay, where commercial crabbers began to set their traps today at 6 a.m., as the state allows. Crab season creates a dangerous maze of heavy gear for whales. This weeks limited opener could make Monterey Bay and other areas deadly for endangered whales and sea turtles, said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center. For years state officials have refused to change the crab fishery to prevent entanglements. That failure is compounded by opening Monterey Bay to crabbing activity when we know whales are feeding. A previous outbreak of domoic acid, a neurotoxin in algae that is dangerous to humans, delayed Californias 2015-16 Dungeness season by months so that it coincided with whales annual return to Monterey Bay. Federal officials later reported a record-breaking 71 West Coast whale entanglements in 2016, with 23 protected animals found in commercial California Dungeness crab gear (19 humpbacks, two blue whales, one leatherback sea turtle and one killer whale). Ropes connected to heavy crab traps wrap around whales and sea turtles. The ropes cut into the animals flesh, sapping their strength and often leading to drowning. Each entanglement of an endangered whale or sea turtle violates the federal Endangered Species Act. The state is liable for causing these unlawful entanglements because it authorizes and manages the fishery. The Center last month filed a motion for summary judgment in its entanglement lawsuit, which is expected to be heard early next year as the case moves forward. Were very worried about what this crab season will mean for endangered whales and sea turtles, Monsell said. State officials should act immediately to prevent whale entanglements. They shouldnt wait for a court order to do the right thing.
Geneious Biologics, an enterprise software solution for companies engaged in screening of antibodies and antibody-like molecules, has been chosen by VIB, a strategic research center in life sciences and biotech headquartered in New Zealand, to support therapeutic biologics discovery at its Discovery Sciences group.

Geneious Biologics, an enterprise software solution for companies engaged in screening of antibodies and antibody-like molecules, has been chosen by VIB, a strategic research centre in life sciences and biotech headquartered in New Zealand, to support therapeutic biologics discovery at its Discovery Sciences group.

Bruno Dombrecht, Expert Scientist at VIB Discovery Sciences said Geneious Biologics will help us scale-up our screening efforts. We are incorporating more high-throughput sequencing into our core business, and are screening increasingly large quantities of unique and complex VHH-based multi-specific biologics. We sought a bioinformatics platform that provides powerful, fast and deep sequence analysis and, importantly, allows us to consolidate and manage our sequence data in a secure environment that can be shared with our partners.

VHHs are an extremely versatile class of molecules for research, diagnostics and therapeutics in human and animal health. This powerful technology was discovered at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and continues to be the subject of intensive research at VIB and at VIB Discovery Sciences, also available to academic and commercial partners through VIBs Core Facilities.

Geneious Biologics, is a cloud-based enterprise software solution for analysis of antibodies and related constructs using DNA sequence data. The software applies intuitive visualization tools and advanced analytics to help specialist biologic drug development companies accelerate identification of therapeutic candidates.

We are proud to be working with VIB Discovery Sciences to support their mission critical workflows around therapeutic biologics screening, analysis and discovery. This is an exciting therapeutic area with much potential to solve unmet medical needs, said Jannick Bendtsen, Vice President of Technology Services, Geneious Biologics.

It is exciting to partner with institutes like VIB to help drive their biologic research and development goals. In leveraging the full power of the Geneious Biologics platform customers will make better, data driven discoveries, and bring successful biologics to market faster.
The companys sales in emerging markets were at $195 million (around 1,416 crore) for the quarter under consideration, flat over same quarter last year, Sun Pharma said.

Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 218.82 crore for the July-September quarter on account of a Rs 1,214-crore provision for the settlement of the Modafinil antitrust case in the US.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 912.12 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, company said in a BSE filing.

After accounting for the provision of Rs 1,214 crore for the estimated settlement amount payable to all the remaining plaintiffs related to the Modafinil antitrust litigation in the US, the net loss for the quarter was at Rs 219 crore, it said.

The company had entered into settlement with some complainants in the antitrust case last year.

Adjusted net profit for the second quarter of FY19 was at Rs 996 crore with resulting adjusted net profit margin at 14.5 per cent.

Consolidated revenue from operations of the company stood at Rs 6,846.48 crore for the quarter under consideration. It was Rs 6,590.06 crore for the same period a year ago.

On the results, Sun Pharma MD Dilip Shanghvi said Our soft Q2 performance is not a reflection of the underlying health of the overall business. We continue to focus on strengthening our core operations and enhancing our overall efficiencies. We are fairly positive on our performance for the rest of the year. We are excited with the successful launch of Ilumya in the US.

Sale of branded formulations in India for the second quarter of FY19 was at Rs 1,860 crore, down by 16 per cent mainly due to a planned one-time inventory reduction in the supply chain coupled with a higher base of second quarter last year, Sun Pharma said.

Sales in the US were at $342 million (around Rs 2,484 crore) for the quarter, a growth of 11 per cent over same period last year and accounting for 35 per cent of the total sales for the quarter, it added.

The companys sales in emerging markets were at $195 million (around 1,416 crore) for the quarter under consideration, flat over same quarter last year, Sun Pharma said.

Formulation sales in Rest of World (ROW) markets excluding US and emerging markets were at $108 million (around Rs 784 crore) in second quarter of FY19, a de-growth of 2 per cent from the same qurter last year, reported PTI.

Our API business imparts benefits of vertical integration for our formulations business. We continue to increase the API supply for captive consumption for key products. For Q2 FY19, external sales of API were at Rs 426 crore, up by 10 per cent over Q2 last year, Sun Pharma said.

Consolidated research and development expense for the second quarter of the current fiscal was Rs 452 crore, 6.6 per cent of sales compared to Rs 511 crore (7.7 per cent) of sales for the second quarter of the last year, it added.
Melbourne-based Advent Pharmaceuticals is engaged in developing and commercialising generic inhaled medicines for global markets.

Aurobindo Pharma has said it's wholly-owned subsidiary has entered into an agreement to acquire a product under development and related assets from Australia-based Advent Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd for $12.5 million.

"Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc., USA, has entered into an agreement to acquire a product under development and related assets from Advent Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Australia, through AuroScience Pty Limited, Melbourne, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc, USA," a regulatory filing from Aurobindo said Monday.

Based out of Melbourne, Advent Pharmaceuticals is engaged in developing and commercialising generic inhaled medicines for global markets.
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

TULSA, Okla., Nov. 13, 2018

TULSA, Okla., Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Country Club At Woodland Hills, a luxury senior living community located in Tulsa, OK, donated their community bus to Coffee Bunker, an organization for veterans integrating back into the community on November 7, The Coffee Bunker helps veterans' transition to civilian life by connecting them with people, finding them communities, and offering them ongoing support. The donated bus will help make transportation, community trips, and visits for local veterans easier.

"When I met with Coffee Bunker's Michael Horton, Executive Director, and Scott Blackburn, Operations Manager, they were overwhelmed by our generosity," said Trish Behrens, Executive Director of Country Club At Woodland Hills. "Scott said they had been talking about taking a group of veterans hunting and fishing but did not know how they would be able to do ithe said this bus will not only allow them to take the trip, but since the bus has a lift they will be able to take people they never even considered being eligible to go."

Several of the veterans who resided at Country Club At Woodland Hills joined Trish and the rest of the team to make the donation. They also were able to take advantage of the opportunity to take a tour of the bunker. The bus will be used for community trips and being handicap accessible, more veterans will be able to attend.

Richard Hutchinson, CEO, Discovery Senior Living said, "As a company, we are always looking for ways to be able to connect with and support our local community - especially our local veterans. It is truly our honor to be able to donate our community bus to Coffee Bunker."

About Coffee Bunker

Coffee Bunker was created by Mary Ligon who tragically lost her own son to battles with PTSD, exhaustion, depression, and ultimately suicide. Mary's passion to redeem the tragedy of Daniel's death by reaching out to others facing the same silent wounds of war. Coffee Bunker helps veterans with the transition to family and community life. Coffee Bunker provides a safe and relaxing atmosphere that welcomes all military servicemen and women, as well as their family members. Their services are provided free of charge. Coffee Bunker is the flagship program of Honor Bunker, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in Tulsa.

About Country Club At Woodland Hills

Country Club At Woodland Hills is managed and operated by Discovery Senior Living. Discovery Senior Living is a family of companies which includes: Discovery Management Group, Discovery Development Group, Discovery Realty Group, Discovery Marketing Group and Discovery At Home, a Medicare-certified home healthcare company. For more than 25 years, the award-winning management group has been developing, building, marketing and operating upscale, luxury senior-living communities across the United States. With a flourishing portfolio of more than 8,500 existing homes for seniors, Discovery Senior Living has become a recognized industry leader in creating world-class resort-style communities.

For Media Inquiries:

Stephanie Kling

Regional Marketing Manager

239.908.2921

[email protected]

Related Images

country-club-at-woodland-hills.jpg Country Club At Woodland Hills Donation Country Club At Woodland Hills goes on-site to donate community bus to Coffee Bunker

image2.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/country-club-at-woodland-hills-announces-the-donation-of-their-community-bus-to-veterans-nonprofit-coffee-bunker-300749715.html

SOURCE Discovery Senior Living
PR Newswire

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 14, 2018

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FreakOut, a global marketing technology company, part of FreakOut Holdings Inc [TSE:6094], has announced its expansion into Middle East, Australasia and Russia & CIS. FreakOut has appointed senior leadership to drive growth in these regions as part of its commitment to deliver best-in-class service and expanded geographical coverage.

Narayan Ivaturi, Vice President - FreakOut commented: "When FreakOut selects new geographies, the decision is based on the needs of our clients and agency partners. The demand for our mobile marketing solutions, specifically programmatically available mobile-first in-feed display and video products, demonstrates a huge opportunity in these markets. MENA has been on the cusp of a mobile advertising explosion with more brands choosing mobile first strategies in their marketing plans. Moreover, in addition to servicing local needs, FreakOut can also launch overseas campaigns in Japan, South East Asia, or globally in our 16 markets and more. To successfully harness this huge opportunity, I am excited to welcome a new senior leadership team with distinguished credentials."

Sadia Akhtar has been appointed as Managing Director, FreakOut Middle East. Sadia joins from Addictive Mobility and has over 14 years of experience in digital marketing communications. Her primary objectives will be to lead FreakOut's entry into the Middle Eastern market, onboard the best talent and collaborate with clients, agency partners and publishers on identifying customized digital and mobile strategies. With a wealth of programmatic expertise coupled with a strong local relationship network, Sadia is poised to deliver FreakOut's growth objectives and engender the FreakOut brand in the GCC market.

Tasneem Ali has been appointed as Managing Director, FreakOut Australia and New Zealand, with over 15 years of experience. Alexey Romanenkov has joined the FreakOut family as General Manager, FreakOut Russia & CIS with a remarkable 20 years of digital experience in Russia.

Ms Akhtar, Ms Ali and Mr Romanenkov will report into Narayan Ivaturi, Vice President  FreakOut.

About FreakOut

FreakOut is a global marketing technology company and the first mobile marketing platform with in-feed native ads and video products in Asia Pacific. Globally headquartered in Singapore, FreakOut has over 3000 premium publishing partners in Asia, and over 600 employees in 17 offices across 16 countries.

Visit us at http://foutap.com/. Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/FreakOutGlobal/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/freakoutglobal/ and https://twitter.com/FreakOutGlobal.
PR Newswire

LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018

"FOR THE LOVE OF GEORGE"

Available on VOD November 15th

LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vision Films and Fluffy Cat Productions are proud to present the charming romantic comedy, For the Love of George. Directed by Maria Burton and written by Nadia Jordan and Hayley Nolan, it's the perfect reminder that happiness is not dependent on finding the perfect man...even if that man is George Clooney!

Starring Nadia Jordan, Rex Lee, Rosanna Arquette, Tate Donovan, Kristen Johnston and Marina Sirtis.

For the Love of George premiere's at BFI London on November 14 and is available November 15 for 8.99 - 13.99 Rent or Buy on iTunes and Google Play. It will also be available on Amazon Prime.

Set in 2014, Poppy Wakefield's seemingly perfect life is shattered when she discovers her husband is having an affair. When she receives a well- timed invitation to visit her friend Justin in LA, she takes off on a quest to cross paths with whom she believes is the perfect man  George Clooney!

"As well as paying tribute George Clooney, the story has a timely and relevant female empowerment theme", said producer Nadia Jordan, who plays the lead and co-wrote the screenplay. "It reminds us to never compromise our happiness and that women do not need a man to make them happy".

Originally from Essex, Jordan moved to LA in 2009, when Clooney was at the height of popularity. "George was this handsome, funny, intelligent guy. The media were obsessed with him, women wanted to date him and men wanted to be him. He was the perfect subject for this film!"

She confesses that bringing the film to the screen was not easy. "I was this unknown British woman meeting with Hollywood producers and coming up against a lot of closed doors. They loved the concept but did not want to take a chance on someone with no proven track record". Fed up of being rejected, the final straw came when a male financier asked her to rewrite the film to portray the cheating husband in a more favorable light. So, just like Poppy does in the movie, Jordan decided to take control of her own destiny and she produced the film herself. She raised the entire film budget, cast herself as the lead and Rosanna Arquette and Tate Donovan as co-stars. "There are definitely similarities between myself and Poppy", Jordan states. "I also moved to LA to start a new life following the breakdown of a relationship".

However, the similarities do not end there. Jordan went to great lengths to get Clooney's participation in the film. "You could say life imitated art in some shape or form", laughs Jordan. Did she succeed? "You'll have to watch the movie!".

ORDER NOW!

iTunes: http://bit.ly/FLOG-iTunesUK

Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-George-Nadia-Jordan/dp/B07J3TN2DN/

Google Play: available Nov 15

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc1taTfRScY

We are excited to present For the Love of George for editorial inclusion and cast interviews.

Elizabeth Lloyd[email protected]+1 (323) 380-8340
PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2018

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- QuisLex, a leading legal services provider, announced today that it has been shortlisted for two awards at the inaugural FT Intelligent Business Forum. The new FT Innovative Lawyers' ranking, report, and awards will be published on Nov. 15 and highlight effective ways to solve the commercial and legal challenges that affect business operations.

In the Contracting category, QuisLex was nominated along with its client VMware, and leading legal technology providers Apttus and Mitratech. QuisLex worked with VMware in implementing and managing an end-to-end solution for efficient contracting, including an automation portal for self-service by VMware's stakeholders and a streamlined review of nonstandard language through a combination of cost-efficient resources and artificial intelligence, improving greatly the ease of doing business with VMware and supporting the ability to complete agreements anytime, anywhere on any device.

In the Managing Legal Costs category, QuisLex was nominated along with its client Deutsche Bank. QuisLex worked with Deutsche Bank on several projects that resulted in a holistic reduction of legal costs. In one, a sophisticated eDiscovery workflow was created for Deutsche Bank to use from one litigation to the next, bringing best-in-class technology, artificial intelligence tools, and superior workflow management across geographies, time zones, and external law firms and vendors. In another, QuisLex worked with Deutsche Bank using artificial intelligence and subject-knowledge based analytics to provide comprehensive yet substantively detailed insights into legal spend, which allowed Deutsche Bank to achieve significant cost savings and create a framework for continued efficiencies and savings with its legal vendors and law firms.

The related FT Intelligent Business Forum will feature QuisLex COO Sirisha Gummaregula speaking on "Costs, Value and Happy Balance Sheets" during a panel discussion examining how leveraging data and technology can bring down the costs of internal and outside legal spending without impacting the quality of legal services. The panel takes place on Nov. 14 at 3:30 p.m at DocuSign's headquarters in San Francisco. Gummaregula will be joined on the panel by Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Legal Operations, NetApp and Chief Executive Officer, CLOC; Firoz Dattu, Founder and Chair at Advance Law; and Justin Ergler, Director of Alternative Fee Intelligence and Analytics at GSK. The Panel will be moderated by Alastair Morrison, Head of Client Strategy and Board Member at Pinsent Masons.

For more information about the FT Intelligent Business Forum, please visit https://live.ft.com/Events/2018/FT-RSG-Intelligent-Business-Forum.

About QuisLex: QuisLex is an award-winning legal services provider that specializes in managed document review, contract management, compliance services, legal spend management, and legal operations consulting. Our full-time highly trained attorneys, process experts, legal technologists, statisticians and linguists work closely with our clients to reduce cost, mitigate risk and maximize efficiency. QuisLex is regularly acknowledged as a leader in the legal services industry, and is proud to be recognized by the ACC as an ACC Value Champion, Chambers and Partners as a Band 1 Legal Process Outsourcing Provider, New York Law Journal as a Top Managed Document Review Services Provider, and the IACCM as its Outstanding Service Provider for contract management solutions. To learn more, visit http://www.quislex.com.

About FT Intelligent Business Forum and Awards: As part of the FT Innovative Lawyers program, the FT Intelligent Business Forum and Awards brings together C-suite representatives from companies who are leading in their digital transformations and the new legal businesses, including technology companies and professional services firms who are helping them get there faster.

SOURCE QuisLex
Months after leaving his post as head of Keystone Agricultural Producers, Dan Mazier will represent the Conservative Party of Canada in the next general election as the candidate for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/11/2018 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Months after leaving his post as head of Keystone Agricultural Producers, Dan Mazier will represent the Conservative Party of Canada in the next general election as the candidate for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa.

Mazier, 54, won the nomination Saturday after four days of voting in Swan River, Russell, Dauphin and Minnedosa.

Former Keystone Agricultural Producers president Dan Mazier was nominated this past weekend to be the Conservative candidate for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa. (File)

The former KAP president was elected through a ranked ballot system, defeating former Mountain View School Division trustee Floyd Martens and former Manitoba Beef Producers president Ben Fox.

Mazier said the other candidates ran great campaigns and he wanted to thank the volunteers, friends and neighbours who stepped forward to help him during the nomination process.

"When you look at the whole riding after that, all the contacts Ive made, friends Ive made over the last four and a half months, it is going to be a true honour to represent the people of Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa running up into the next federal election," Mazier said.

Mazier announced his candidacy in July and was the first person to enter the race after sitting MP Robert Sopuck announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election.

Sopuck has represented the riding since 2010 after winning in a byelection and was re-elected in both 2011 and 2015.

The Conservative partys regional organizer for Manitoba and Kenora, Gus Nelson, said he could not release the results of the vote, but noted that more than 650 members participated in the election to select Mazier as the candidate for the electoral district association.

With the next federal election expected to take place a year from now, Mazier said one of the main issues he wants to focus on until then is both cellphone and internet connectivity.

"What I cant get over, the cellphone companies charge us for this coverage that were supposed to have and yet we dont have it, and thats a problem in rural Manitoba  in rural Canada  and I think this is a time (where) it needs to be addressed at the federal level," he said.

Mazier also used the example of Hamiota  which has connected residents to the internet as part of a co-op with the Municipality of Yellowhead, Prairie View Municipality and Park West School Division  and said in order to bring businesses into communities, they need to be able to communicate by modern-day means.

Another issue Mazier said he will be looking at is rural crime and public safety, specifically in finding ways to address backlogs in the justice system and help the courts and rural police forces uphold "the law of the land."

Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire is holding town halls on rural crime this week, with meetings already having taken place in Pilot Mound and Virden. Town halls are scheduled for today in Killarney, Thursday in Melita and Sunday in Souris.

"Were coming up against new challenges and I think its time to really step up and really address that," Mazier said. "Theres a lot of discussion thats needed around public safety and how we want to do this."

Mazier said with Riding Mountain National Park right in the middle of the district, he would also work with regional MLAs, reeves and mayors on managing it.

"I do want to work closer with all layers of government, so they know what Ottawa is working on and we know what were supposed to be doing here," he said.

Born and raised near Forrest, Mazier worked for Brandons Simplot fertilizer plant  now owned by Koch  and MNP as an agricultural adviser.

A biography posted on Maziers website says he served as KAP president from 2015 to 2018, after spending four years as vice-president.

Prior to that, he was on the KAP board from 2001 to 2006 and is a founding member of the KAP Young Farmers Committee.

He was a western representative to the Canadian Young Farmers Forum, represented KAP on the Canadian Federation of Agriculture board and has participated in several lobby days on Parliament Hill.

He also served as a board member for the Manitoba Sustainable Energy Association, the Mid Assiniboine Conservation District, the Assiniboine River Basin Initiative, and was a founding member of the Elton Energy Co-operative.

He is also a former trustee for the Rolling River School Division.

Mazier and his wife Leigh have a farm near Justice and are parents to two grown children.

 mlee@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @mtaylorlee
that, if there was one case that he would like to have come back to the Supreme Court bench for, it was Warner-Lambert vs Actavis. Following the Supreme Court hearing of this case in February, IPKat has spent the summer on tenterhooks waiting for the decision to be handed down.The decision was handed down this morning, and can be read here . In summary, the Supreme Court dismissed Warner-Lambert's appeal that the patent was sufficiently disclosed, and upheld Actavis and Mylan's appeal that the disputed claims were not even partially sufficient. The Supreme Court also unanimously held that, if the claims had been found valid, they would not have infringed. The Supreme Court was also unanimous on construction and found that the post-trial amendment sought by Warner-Lambert was an abuse of process.IPKat's full analysis of the decision will follow shortly. Whilst we digest the decision in full, this Kat provides some context to some of key issues of the case.Today's Supreme Court case is the latest installment in a long-running dispute between Pfizer (parent company of Warner-Lambert) and Actavisconcerning the validity of and infringement of Warner-Lambert's Lyrica patent. The patent claims pregabalin (marketed as Lyrica) for the treatment of pain using the Swiss-type style. Dependent claim 2 is limited to the treatment of inflammatory pain. Dependent claim 3 is limited to the treatment of neuropathic pain.Actavis manufactures Lecaent, a pregabalin generic. Mylan and Actavis brought separate claims for revocation of the patent in 2014, on the ground that the claims were insufficiently disclosed. Warner-Lambert brought an infringement action against Actavis later the same year. In first instance proceedings, the High Court ruled that claim 1 and 3 were insufficient ( [2015] EWHC 2548 (Pat) ). Even if valid, the claims were deemed not infringed. In 2015, the Court of Appeal upheld these findings, and ruled that a post-trial amendment filed by Warner-Lambert after the High Court decision that limited the claims to valid and infringed subject-matter, was an abuse of process.The substantive issues for the Supreme Court to consider was the role to be played by plausibility in the statutory test for insufficiency and how infringement by Swiss-style claims should be determined.First some background on insufficiency. The concept of sufficiency (and the related concepts of enablement and plausibility) have predominately been raised in the pharmaceutical and biotech arena. The sufficiency requirement is designed to ensure a patentee satisfies their side of the bargain with the state by providing a full public disclosure of their invention in exchange for the granted patent.Legal basis for sufficiency in the UK can be found inof the UK Patents Act 1977 (UKPA). This states that a patent may be revoked on the grounds that "the specification of the patent does not disclose the inventionfor it to be performed by a person skilled in the art". In other words, a patent may be found invalid on the grounds that the invention is insufficiently disclosed. The corresponding provisions in the EPC are Article 83 and Article 100(b) A patent may be insufficient because a skilled person would not be able carry out the invention, i.e. the invention is. Lack of enablement may be due to the lack of the necessary experimental details. The UK Court of Appeal has recently re-confirmed what is considered an enabling disclosure. In(IPKat post here ), a patent was found enabled and thus sufficiently disclosed despite the example methods provided in the specification being unworkable at the time of the invention. The Court of Appeal afforded the theoretical skilled person considerable time and expertise in order to find a workable method.Another form of insufficiency found in UK case law, is where an invention is found not to be enabled across. A claim to a drug for the use in treating cancer may not be sufficiently disclosed across its entire scope, for example, if the specification only provided examples for which drug is used to treat lung, but not other types, of cancer. To be sufficiently disclosed, the claim must first be, such that a skilled person would not face undue burden in using the drug to treat any type of cancer. It must also beto a skilled person from the limited data provided, that the drug would work for any type of cancer. This may be because, for example, the drug's mechanism of action is applicable to any type of cancer.Recent years have seen a growing number of plausibility objections from the EPO against biotech and pharmaceutical invention. There is a growing feeling in some parts of the patent community that the EPO has raised the bar for plausibility too high (see here ), particularly given the lack of direct basis for the concept in the EPC. Since the hearing forin February (IPKat post here ), there has been growing speculation as to how far the UK Supreme Court would adopt the EPO approach, or seek to limit the requirement for plausibility.In the Court of Appeal (, Lord Justice Floyd upheld the High Court decision that claims 1 and 3 of the patent were insufficient. The Court of Appeal held that it was implausible that pregabalin would be effective at treating any type of pain (claim 1) or central neuropathic pain (claim 3) based on the data provided in the patent specification (obtained using a mouse model of inflammatory pain). By contrast, the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain was deemed plausible. This was on the basis that there was a sufficient unifying mechanistic principle connecting inflammatory pain and peripheral neuropathic pain. The unifying principle was that both types of pain have a central sensitisation component. Lord Justice Floyd commented that the data in the specification, whilst notfor pregabalin's efficacy for treating peripheral neuropathic pain, at least rendered its efficacyThe Supreme Court held by majority (Lord Sumption, Lord Reed and Lord Briggs) that the disclosure in the specification supports the claims so far as they extend to inflammatory pain but not to any kind of neuropathic pain. The Supreme Court thus dismissed Warner-Lambert's appeal that the the claim to the use of pregabalin for the treatment of central neuropathic pain was sufficiently disclosed. The Supreme Court went even further, and upheld Actavis and Mylan's appeal that the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain was also insufficiently disclosed. The court reasoned that the mouse models used to provide the data in the specification were only relevant to inflammatory pain. The Supreme Court may have established a higher bar to sufficiency of disclosure for pharmaceutical inventions and firmly placed plausibility as a key aspect of sufficiency. The IPKat will consider the consequences of this in future posts once the team has had time to digest the Supreme Court's reasoning in full.In the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Floyd rejected arguments submitted by Warner-Lambert that the term "pain" would be understood by a skilled person as having anything other than its ordinary, broad meaning. The Judge also held that the term "neuropathic pain" in claim 3 would be understood broadly as including both central and peripheral neuropathic pain. A skilled person, the Judge ruled, would not understand the specification as excluding central neuropathic pain from the definition.Warner-Lambert argued that the construction of the claim by the Court of Appeal ignored expert evidence that should not have been disregarded.However, the UK Supreme Court unanimously agreed with the lower court that Claim 1 extends to all pain and Claim 3 to all neuropathic pain, whether peripheral or central.In the Court of Appeal Lord Justice Floyd agreed with the High Court that Warner-Lambert's post-trial amendment, limiting claim 3 to peripheral neuropathic pain, was an abuse of process. Lord Justice Floyd reasoned that Warner-Lambert had failed to provide any good reasons for not raising the amendment at trial. The Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts.The action for infringement was brought on the basis of claim 1 and 3. Both of these claims were found invalid for insufficiency by the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice Floyd nevertheless considered the issue of infringement, particularly the proper interpretation of Swiss-form claims. Lord Justice Floyd particularly provided a clear test by which infringement of Swiss-type claims by a generic could be assessed. The court should assess whether the alleged infringerthat at least some of the prescriptions written generically for the claimed drug for the claimed indication would in fact be fulfilled with the generic. The absence of the claimed indication from the label ("skinny label"), the judge suggested, could not "conceivably be sufficient to negative the intention". Instead, the test will be negatived where the manufacturer has "taken all reasonable steps within his power to prevent the consequences occurring".The Supreme Court also dismissed by majority Warner-Lambert's appeal on this point. Particularly, Lord Sumption, together with Lord Reed, Lord Hodge and Lord Briggs, found that if claims 1 and 3 had been valid, they would not have been infringed, but differed in their reasons. Lord Sumption and Lord Reed agreed that the intention of the alleged infringer is irrelevant and that the sole criterion ofinfringement is whether the product as it emerges from the manufacturing process, including any labelling or accompanying leaflet, is presented as suitable for the uses which enjoy patent protection. Lord Hodge and Lord Briggs preferred the view of Mr Justice Arnold at first instance that the test is whether the alleged infringer subjectively intended to target the patent-protected market.Stay-tuned to IPKat for further analysis of the Supreme Court decision. In the meantime, the IPKat is keen to hear readers' comments, and is looking forward to the IBIL event on the implications of the decision next Tuesday evening (sign up here ).
Some of Ireland's leading companies have agreed to significantly cut their carbon emissions between now and 2030.

43 businesses from the retail, manufacturing and transport sectors amongst others are involved.

The agreement is to be announced at a Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI) summit in Dublin today.

It is the first time that Irish businesses have made a dedicated pledge to reduce carbon emissions according to the group.

Business in the Community Ireland CEO Tomas Sercovich said: This is the first time that Irish businesses have made a dedicated pledge to reduce carbon emissions.

"According to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, we have just 12 years to make a fundamental transformation to a low carbon economy so business has a vital role to play.

He continued: "We work in partnership with business and industry to help them address climate change and play lead roles in their communities.

"The transition to a low carbon economy will also bring opportunities for business and will play a key role in ensuring Irelands future competitiveness.

We also believe that chief executives and business leaders must be proactive in todays world in leading from the front in tackling the major issues facing our communities, our country and our planet. Inspired leadership is what employees and consumers throughout Ireland are increasingly demanding, he added.

The 43 companies which made the low carbon pledge are:
Ann O'Loughlin

A businessman "afforded extraordinary latitude" to sell property to pay off a 1.8m debt to a bank has been refused any more time to organise a sale by the High Court.

Francis Harte, who owned nine properties and land in Co Meath including valuable development land in Navan, wanted the court to allow him another year on top of two years previously given to him by the court to sell off properties in settlement of a judgment obtained against him by Ulster Bank in 2015.

The execution of the judgment order had been stayed until March 2017 to allow Mr Harte to organise the sale of the properties.

Shortly after the extension, Mr Harte's loans were assigned by the bank to the Promontoria (Aran) Ltd fund. Mr Harte then engaged with Promontoria in negotiations.

Mr Justice Senan Allen, refusing Mr Harte's application to extend the stay for another year, said that having engaged for about a year with Promontoria, and having secured a number of extensions on consent, he was now making the argument that since Ulster Bank had transferred his loans, the bank could not now argue it was prejudiced by a further extension of the stay.

Mr Harte "wants it both ways", the judge said. But, under court rules, he was entitled to join Promontoria as a plaintiff with Ulster Bank and he did so.

Mr Harte had said sales had been agreed on a number of properties and others were under negotiation, but the information he provided was "rather light on detail", the judge said.

By the time the extension of the stay application came back before the court last January, none of the sales he had referred to previously had not got to the point of signed contracts, never mind completion, he said. Booking deposits had been paid in relation to two other properties not previously mentioned, the judge said.

Last February, in a letter from Mr Harte's solicitors, it was stated he was in negotiation with an unidentified major development company in relation to one of his properties.

It was said that those negotiations had reached a critical stage and that it was extremely important that the defendant could continue to negotiate with the development company.

In May, Mr Harte said he had "changed tack somewhat" from trying to sell individual properties to selling a block of development land in Navan.

He was in negotiation with a major developer with overseas operations though it was not clear if this was a different company from the previous one he mentioned, the judge said.

In September, his solicitors said he was concentrating on the sale of two properties, of 16 acres and 12 acres, on the Trim Road in Navan. He sought more time to complete those.

Promontoria expressed concern that Mr Harte might have unrealistic ideas about prices and "every offer appeared to be met with an instinctive reaction to hold out for more", the judge said.

That may be so, the judge said, but the central issue was who was to have the final say as to when, and what price, the property was to be sold for.

The judgment against him and the charge he gave the bank over the property "has the effect that he is not entitled to have the final say", the judge said.

The application to extend the stay for a further 12 months is inconsistent with Mr Harte's declared intention last September that he would dispose of the land "in the near future", the judge said.

Mr Harte had been afforded extraordinary latitude to achieve an orderly disposal of the properties but had not availed of that opportunity, the judge said.

His application was therefore refused.
Parcel service provider GLS Ireland has begun operations at a new depot based in Cork.

The move to the depot in Blarney Business Park will triple the capacity of their former Cork premises.

This step sees the company preparing for further growth as it is centrally positioned within Ireland's second-strongest economic region.

The warehouse, which is 240% bigger than the previous depot in Little Island, houses a new conveyor system which will see a faster and more efficient process.

Three times as many parcels can now be processed in the region and consignments can be quickly exported from Cork to the Dublin hub where GLS Ireland connects to the European network of GLS Groups.

The Cork depot strengthens our network for the long term, says Andreas Rickert, Managing Director of GLS Ireland.

We expect continually rising parcel numbers, and the increased capacity allows us to sustainably offer our customers a high-quality level.

Digital Desk
Facebooks decision to expand in the heart of Dublin 4 and create room for an additional 5,000 employees is a powerful endorsement of Irelands foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy and planning, writes Joe Gill.

This giant technology company has decided, presumably after extensive analysis, that a large office space in the centre of the most expensive part of the Irish economy, is worthwhile for its global expansion plans.

To understand its rationale I suspect you have to travel across to the west coast of America. There, IT companies are struggling to access office space and people at reasonable costs in support of expansion. Dublin 4 obviously offers a compelling mix when examined through the lens of a US west coast investor.

This begs another question  how many other major US-centric IT companies are weighing up Ireland as a potential landing zone for further material investment? I suspect quite a few. All of these will know about snarling commuter traffic in Dublin, high residential housing rents and a tight labour market but these issues are set against an English speaking pro-business political culture inside the EUs single market. These are compelling reasons that eclipse the logistical hurdles attached to a Dublin base.

Imagine, though, if you can have all these positive attributes without the tangible problems related to living in Dublin currently. Imagine locations with smoother commutes, cheaper houses, lower commercial property costs but in the exact same tax regime as Dublin and with ample broadband capacity to manage your international business. This is where the so-called regions come into play.

It is funny to monitor the language used within Ireland to discuss Dublin and the rest. You may note references to the regions, travelling down to other parts of Ireland and secondary cities.

This reveals a bias that is entirely unjustified. The geography of Ireland is tiny in a global context, distances are minute compared to the areas travelled in America, for example, and our entire population would fit into a modestly sized European or US city.

In assessing Ireland from afar, the distances between our major cities are not significant. Moreover, a cursory glance at quality of life indices will flag large parts of Ireland as among the highest ranked for leisure purposes in ultra low pollution environments.

In that context we should be presenting Ireland to global investors as a single offering with differing price points. Fancy an all new commercial office 30% cheaper than in the Dublin area? Try Cork. Looking for housing 50% under Dublin? Try Limerick. Need access to a steady flow of high quality third level students who would prefer not to emigrate? Take your pick from Galway, Limerick, Cork or Waterford.

The naysayers will tell you these places dont have the connectivity of Dublin or the mass of available employees. Anyone with that thought should be directed to Amazons decision last week to create two new campuses in the US. Did they pick a high profile mainstream city? Not quite. Rather, they are building a new block in Crystal City, Virginia for 25,000 employees and another one in Long Island City for a further 25,000. I never heard of Crystal City before the announcement but it has a population of 22,000. Thats half the size of Waterford.

In Ireland we should be shooting for announcements for 5,000+ employee projects across the country. Our offering is better than most countries around Europe, and especially compared to Britain, which has spancilled itself on a Brexit rope.

Settling in Ireland plants any employer inside a market of over 450 million and for English speaking American corporations you also arrive in a secure and gun free environment that has a deep rooted pro-American bias. What is there not to like?

- Joe Gill is director of corporate broking with Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal.
Ann O'Loughlin

A peat extraction company has told the High Court its business faces closure if the Environmental Protection Agency gets injunctions aimed at halting the firm's wet peat extraction activities in the midlands.

Harte Peat says 50 jobs depend on its business continuing and the injunctions would also seriously impact on the mushroom industry here as the firm provides much of the wet peat used for mushroom casings.

The EPA wants the injunctions pending a full hearing of issues between the sides.

It says the matter is urgent because it learned in September 2018 the company was engaged in the extraction of wet peat up to five metres deep at an unlicensed site at Derrycrave in Co Westmeath.

The EPAs concern is the depth at which the extraction is occurring.

It claims a 2012 water discharge licence application by the company related to the activity only covered a depth of two metres.

Peat harvesting companies are required to obtain an Integrated Pollution Prevention Control licence where peat extraction is carried out in an area of land exceeding 50 hectares.

The Derrycrave site is one of several on which the EPA argues Harte Peat is carrying out unregulated peat harvesting activities above the 50 hectare threshold.

The firm argues the areas where it is harvesting peat are individually less than 50 hectares and, as such, it does not require a license.

Today, Hartes counsel Michael McDowell SC told Mr Justice Charles Meenan the firm has been engaged in wet peat extraction activity, using diggers, 50 weeks a year for two decades and there was nothing secret about it.

The EPA had constructively known of the activity for some six years and no new game changer has arisen to justify the court making the orders sought which would close his clients business, he said.

Earlier, when moving the injunctions application, Niamh Hyland SC, for the EPA, said it was initiated following the discovery in September 2018 Harte Peat is extracting wet peat on 11 hectares up to a depth of five metres at the Derrycrave site.

The EPA claims Harte Peat is not entitled to carry out such activity on the site without IPPC and water discharge licenses and planning permission and says the company has none of those.

The EPA contends the activity is highly damaging to the environment and is causing irreparable damage to the raised bog.

The site also has potential to impact Lough Derravaragh, a protected area for the wide range of bird species that use the lake throughout the year, Ms Hyland said.

Today, Mr McDowell said Harte disputes it is required to have planning permission.

He also said the EPA had intervened to stop Harte receiving the licences at issue.

Harte also hotly disputed its activities might impact of Lough Derravaragh, he said.

He urged the judge to refuse the injunctions and said the focus should instead be on procuring an early trial of the full case when the disputes concerning the relevant legislation would be determined.

The suggestion this form of extraction must stop now because the bogs must be saved at all costs comes with some difficulty from an agency that knows this has been going on for some six years, he said.

While not criticising an EPA inspector who had said he only learned of the activity in the past two months, Harte Peat should not be visited with that inspector's unawareness, he said.

The case will conclude on Thursday after Ms Hyland makes replying arguments. Judgment on the application is expected to be reserved.
By Dorota Bartyzel and Eamon Quinn

Surging pay, Brexit and record-low unemployment in Poland have transformed what was once one of Europes most mobile workforces.

Since it joined the EU in 2004, about 2.6 million of Polands 38 million people emigrated, leaving behind low wages and double-digit unemployment for more lucrative jobs in western Europe.

But Polands unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6%, below Irelands 5.6%, and one of the lowest in the EU.

And years of economic transformation have combined with the UKs plan to leave the EU  Britain was once Poles favoured destination  for the EUs biggest eastern economy.

Now nine out of 10 Poles reject the idea of emigrating, according to a survey published by Work Service.

Thats the most since the recruitment firm began the poll four years ago, when a fifth of the population was considering leaving.

Almost 40% of those surveyed cited attractive workplaces in Poland as the main reason they wanted to stay home.

For the first time in the history of our surveys, we see a single-digit number of Poles thinking about working abroad, Work Service chief executive Maciej Witucki said.

Undoubtedly, its thanks to the improving situation on the labour market, which is not only weakening interest in foreign jobs, but its making people simply reject that idea at all, he said.

Average salaries have risen at an annual pace of 7% for the second year running, bringing the average pay at large companies to about 4,000 zloty (931) a month.

Of those 9% of Poles in the survey who were considering moving abroad to work, only a third said they might go to the UK. Now the favourite destination is neighbouring Germany, followed by Norway and Sweden, according to Work Service.

Census 2016 showed there were there were 535,475 non-Irish nationals in the Republic, or around 11.6% of the population. UK, Spain, Romania and Poland were among the largest nationalities.

The Polish population in Ireland nearly doubled between 2006 and 2011 and then remained almost unchanged between 2011 and 2016, with 122,585 to 122,515 persons respectively, the CSO said.

Bloomberg and Irish Examiner
The British Irish Chamber of Commerce has welcomed news of the progress made in Brexit negotiations between the EU and the UK.

News that an agreement has been reached at a technical level between UK and EU negotiators on a Withdrawal Agreement for the UK's departure from the EU could "potentially deliver the breakthrough that British and Irish businesses have long sought and if finalised, will allow businesses to continue to trade with confidence that a transition period will now be delivered", according to its Director General.
Cork City Council is introducing free late-night parking in the city centre in a bid to attract more shoppers into the city following the Patrick's Street car ban.

The decision comes as city centre businesses have been reportedly hit with a slump in sales since the introduction of the car ban which limits the road to buses, taxis, bicycles and emergency vehicles between 3pm and 6.30pm every day.
An emergency summit of European leaders will likely convene on November 25 to consider the draft Brexit deal if the UK government backs the proposed text, the Taoiseach has said.

Addressing the Dail, Leo Varadkar said the European Council would meet in Brussels to potentially sign off on the 500 page document if Theresa May can secure Cabinet approval in the interim.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar briefed ministerial colleagues on the proposed Brexit deal at an emergency meeting (Niall Carson/PA)

But it is still a draft agreement. It is yet to be agreed by the UK Government and they will discuss it this afternoon and it is yet to be agreed by the European Council and we may be in a position to have an emergency European Council meeting before the end of the month to do exactly that.

Mr Varadkar fielded questions in the Dail after briefing ministerial colleagues on the draft text in an emergency Cabinet meeting at Government Buildings on Wednesday morning.

He told TDs inside Leinster House: Should the UK Cabinet be in the position this afternoon to say its content with the text, it is proposed that the Commission Taskforce would be in a position perhaps tonight to publish the text with the possibility or probability of an EU council meeting around the 25th of November.

My reading is the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this. In fact it is protected by the draft agreement

Mr Varadkar said he did not want to speak publicly on the fine detail of the draft agreement, stressing that the process was at a very sensitive stage.

We do have a very important and very sensitive Cabinet meeting that will happen in London starting at 2pm today and I dont want to say anything here today that might up-end that Cabinet meeting or make things any more difficult than they are already for the Prime Minister, he said.

He said he was confident the suggested deal would not negatively impact on the terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord  an agreement that had a strong emphasis on cross-border co-operation and linkages.

My reading is the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this, the Taoiseach said.

In fact it is protected by the draft agreement.

On the contentious backstop proposal  that would guarantee a free flowing Irish border even if a broader UK/EU trade deal failed to materialise  Mr Varadkar insisted it could not have an expiry date.

It is a fall-back, its an insurance policy, he said.

Mr Varadkar added: The backstop does have to be there. It does have to be legally operable, it cant have an expiry date and it cant be possible for any one side to withdraw from it unilaterally.

But it is important to appreciate that it is our intention that the backstop should never be invoked and that if it is invoked it should only be temporary until such a time that a new agreement is in place to supersede all or part of it.

But it must apply unless or until that is the case.

Mr Varadkar said he recognised it was a difficult time for the unionist community in Northern Ireland.

I know that for the unionist community in Northern Ireland at the moment that this quite a difficult time, I know many of them may be feeling vulnerable, many of them may be feeling isolated and many of them may be quite worried about what may be agreed in the coming days, he said.

I want to say to them that the Good Friday Agreement will be protected and that includes a recognition that we respect the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom and that we respect the principle of consent that there can be no change of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland unless a majority of people in Northern Ireland say so.

Were very happy to have that written into any agreement giving them that legal guarantee.

Mr Varadkar stressed that the draft agreement would also have to be ratified by Westminster and the European Parliament. The Taoiseach said, while not necessary, it was his view that the text should also be put to a vote in the Irish parliament.

He said the Irish Government planned to brief all the opposition party leaders and their teams on Wednesday evening if his administration was in a position to publish the text.

Mr Varadkar said his government had arranged to have a briefing with Northern Ireland parties on Thursday morning.

- Press Association

Taoiseach and Tanaiste briefing Cabinet ministers on Brexit deal

A special meeting of Cabinet is underway at Government Buildings to discuss the possible Brexit deal.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Simon Coveney arrived separately at the Dublin office and did not speak to waiting media.

It follows a meeting on Tuesday night between Mr Varadkar, Mr Coveney, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee.

Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, Minister Donoghue says ministers will be briefed on the draft agreement.

He said: "The key thing for us to happen now is that the Taoiseach and Tanaiste will brief the Cabinet on where we stand and will give everybody in our Cabinet to make an appraisal of where we are, and I'm sure the same will be happening in the UK."

As he arrived, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross said he was "looking forward to the meeting" but refused to comment on whether he had seen any of the reported 500-page text.

The Cabinet has remained tight-lipped since news broke on Tuesday that a draft text had been agreed.

A spokesman for the Government said on Tuesday night that "no agreement" had been reached on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and "nothing had been confirmed".

Michel Barnier is briefing EU 27 ambassadors this morning while the Irish cabinet sits to pour over the deal.

It looks as though the British leader might get it past her Ministers, though with some resignations as a result.

The DUP has warned that Theresa May's Brexit deal could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

Martin: Relations between Ireland and the North at 20 year low because of Brexit

Opposition leader Micheal Martin said relations between the Republic of Ireland and the North are at their lowest in 20 years due to Brexit.

"No one can doubt that relations between the Government in Dublin and political unionism are at their lowest point in at least 20 years. There has been a return to rhetorical sniping which has had much more impact than various welcome but largely marginal cultural gestures," he said.

Mr Martin blamed both the Conservative Government at Westminster and Fine Gael for changing "the overall dynamic".

"Where the Major, Blair and Brown governments had shown a deep commitment to Northern Ireland's long-term progress, there was an apparent impatience in the Cameron government that they still had to spend time on the issue," he said.

"In fact David Cameron's approach was that Northern Ireland had to 'stand on its own two feet' rather than expect London to help overcome every problem.

"The change of government in Dublin also marked a new approach. Set-piece meetings continued but there was a clear disengagement and an expectation that it was time to just let the DUP and Sinn Fein get on with business."

Speaking at an Irish Association conference at Queen's University Belfast, the Fianna Fail leader said in terms of the reported Brexit deal: "Let's wait and see the exact text and the legal opinions before we can make an assessment of what is likely to happen. But it remains the bottom line is that Brexit is happening and it has no upside for Ireland."

Varadkar and May hold emergency cabinet meetings to sign off on deal avoiding hard Brexit

By Fiachra O Cionnaith, Elaine Loughlin, and Daniel McConnell

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British prime minister Theresa May will today hold crucial emergency cabinet meetings to sign off on an agreed deal to avoid a hard Brexit  and protect Ireland from its fallout.

The most important showdown since the June 2016 Brexit referendum will take place this afternoon after negotiators agreed a make-or-break legal text that will decide the future of the EU, UK and Ireland.

Following several false dawns and months of talks, officials finally agreed the draft Brexit deal text on Monday, with senior Irish government sources saying last night its what we need and it all now depends how it lands in London.

Mrs May subsequently announced the emergency meeting for 2pm today, before meeting her cabinet ministers one by one last night to try and shore up support.

However, despite similar meetings also being planned for the Irish cabinet and EU ambassadors today and with Brexit now just 136 days away, hardline Brexiteers and the DUP have threatened to torpedo the plans, claiming they will turn the UK into an EU slave state.

Under the proposed legal text deal  which was reached hours before todays deadline for organising a crucial November EU summit potentially as soon as Friday week  the UK has been offered a temporary UK-wide customs union.

This offer will include a review mechanism, in addition to a deeper series of customs and regulatory proposals for Northern Ireland to prevent a hard border return.

Officials who cut the deal  which runs to hundreds of pages  hope it will calm DUP fears as the initial customs union will be for the whole of the UK and will win over the majority of the British cabinet as it will include a get-out-clause review.

However, the DUP and hardline Brexiteers still believe the deal will treat the North differently to Britain, and will mean Britain remains the subject of EU customs union laws even after Brexit.

Hardline Brexiteer Conservative MP Jacob Rees Mogg last night said the deal  which he has yet to see  is a failure of negotiations, will mean the North is ruled from Dublin, and will turn the UK into an EU slave state.

Similarly, former foreign secretary Boris Johnson claimed the deal is vassal state stuff and urged the UK cabinet to chuck it out or resign. The DUP was equally vocal, with MP Sammy Wilson labelling it the worst deal yet.

However, British and EU sources last night warned the only alternative is a chaotic no-deal Brexit which will damage everyone.

Mrs May now faces a major battle to win over cabinet support, while she is set to hold discussions with DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose party has yet to receive the legal text wording.

Last night, Mrs Foster said: We want a sensible deal which works for Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland.

But our desire for a deal will not be superseded by a willingness to accept any deal.

At the same time as the London meeting, EU ambassadors will meet in Brussels, while Mr Varadkar will brief ministers at a special cabinet meeting at 9.30am after demanding a media blackout to prevent antagonising London.

A failure to pass the deal will leave the UK with the choice of quitting the EU without a deal, a second referendum or a general election with Mrs Mays future hanging in the balance.
Sonya McLean and Declan Brennan

A Dublin man who was convicted of having sex with his underage cousin has been jailed for three and a half years for defilement.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the now 21-year-old woman, was convicted by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury last month on four charges of defilement and one charge of sexual exploitation of a child on dates between September 2012 and February 2014.

The girl was aged 15 when her then 23-year-old cousin first had sex with her. She had been living with her grandmother because her parents were not fit to look after her.

The court heard that the pair had sex a number of times when she was a minor. There was evidence of texts sent from her to him saying they had to stop and what they were doing was wrong.

When he texted her back he asked her for her reasons and she replied: cos you're my cousin, it's kinda sick.

The man was involved with the Life Guard and Army Reserves and a reference from members of the Civil Defence was handed into court. It wasn't stated in court whether or not these referees were aware of the prosecution or conviction.

The man accepts the verdict of the jury but has not apologised to the victim or shown remorse for his actions.

Judge Elma Sheahan said the victim was a troubled child in need of parenting and support at that time and her grandparents and uncle had tried to provide her with this support.

She was vulnerable, while he was on solid ground, the judge said, referring to the accused.

"He was stable and held a solid position within the family unit. He was in a position to have known better and must, in fact, have known better, Judge Sheahan continued.

She said the offences must have created great confusion and sadness in her mind. She was playing dual roles on a daily basis.

The judge accepted that the man had a previously unblemished character and acknowledged that many testimonials handed up on his behalf demonstrated that he was both respected within his family and work units.

She acknowledged that the man never used force on his cousin but noted that there was a disparity in age between them and added that he had breached and abused the trust he had been placed in with her.

Judge Sheahan sentenced the man to three and a half years in prison for the defilement offences and a concurrent term of a year for the charge of child sexual exploitation. She said she had considered suspending a portion of the term but said she was unable to do so because the man had expressed no remorse.

He has not apologised and shown remorse, displaying a complete lack of insight into the harm he has done and despite the fact that he says he accepts the verdict of the jury," Judge Sheehan said.

In her victim impact statement, the woman revealed she lost her sense of stability and her peace of mind as a result of the abuse.

I wanted to be cared for and I was taken advantage of. I thought if I spoke up I wouldnt be believed, she said.

An investigating garda told the court that the case has ripped the family apart.
The Justice Minister wants the state to reach an early settlement with Maurice McCabe.

The whistleblower is suing former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan, the Attorney General, the Office of the Garda Commissioner and the State.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018 Odds Still Seem Against Legal Pot In NM And Why BernCo Sheriff Scared Away Dem Votes



"Her views on cannabis use mirror our organizations," said New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vincent Galbiati. He believes Lujan Grisham's win will help strengthen the industry. "We really believe in the expansion and improvement in the medical side of cannabis, and we also look at that as a stepping stone to responsible adult use," said Galbiati.



Not exactly a battle cry there for legal pot but rather a prioritizing of medical weed.



MLG has said



That's a mouthful of circumstances and likely enough for the conservatives in the Senate to grab onto and put puffing legal pot in the DOA pile but not until it flies through the state House.



MAKING A DC DEAL



Let the deal making begin.



Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos announced that she was dropping out of the race for the next Assistant Democratic leader and would instead seek to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. . . Bustos acknowledged that DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujans decision to enter the assistant leader race influenced her decision to exit it. . . ."I believe Chairman Lujan deserves a higher-level seat at the leadership table, she said. The New Mexico Democrat is coming off a strong midterm election that saw the party pick up at least 30 seats so far. . .



Rep. David Cicilline, a progressive Dem from Rhode Island, is also vying for Assistant Democratic Leader, a top position in the House leadership.



MANNY'S DEM TROUBLE



Sheriff Gonzales Democratic BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales won another four year term last week but not by an overwhelming margin. He defeated Republican Lou Golson 55-45. Golson raised hardly any money and had a near zero presence in the campaign.



The Dem candidates for statewide office all scored well over 60 percent in big BernCo. So what happened to Manny? One problem was his insistence that his deputies not be equipped with lapel cameras. So says Democratic reader Jeffrey Paul:



I voted for Republican Golson. There was one factor that made this an easy decision; Sheriff Gonzaless refusal to allow his deputies to wear body cameras. Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have not been immune to the national trend of police excessive use of force allegations. As body cameras have become the norm in law enforcement, the he said-she said defense is no longer acceptable. Body camera usage can, and has been, a deterrent to excessive use of force as well as valuable evidence in the investigation of these allegations. I asked on Facebook if any of my fellow Democrats could explain to me why I should vote for the Democratic Sheriff who refuses to allow body cameras? Not one person replied. Am I to assume that most Democrats were more concerned with protecting the Blue Wave than protecting the civil rights of those mostly affected by alleged excessive force? It pains me to think that.

HERRELLS LAWSUIT

By all means impound the 8,000 Dona Ana County absentee ballots as unsuccessful southern Republican congressional candidate Yvette Herrell is asking a District Court to do. If there is massive fraud that would overturn the 3,500 plus lead of Democrat Xochitl Torres Small we certainly need to know about it.

While there was gross incompetence in counting the votes which led to news agencies erroneously reporting that Herrell was the winner its highly unlikely that the election, as Herrell implies, was stolen.

Maybe if Yvette had shown the same moxy when it came to debating Torres Small, which she refused to do, and when she refused to refute a campaign commercial that alleged she had misused her position as a state representative to obtain contracts for her familys business, she might be in the drivers seat.

If national Dems were stupid enough to run a crooked absentee vote campaign they deserve everything the courts can give them. But if Herrell is trying to destroy the election process because she is personally bitter she will deserve the opprobrium that is sure to follow if she fails to prove her case.

THE BOTTOM LINES

We blogged last week that after the election there are not "any" Republicans in statewide offices. We should have said statewide "executive offices" such as Treasurer, Auditor, Governor etc.



ABQ attorney Ray Vargas III points out that there are still two Republicans serving who were elected statewide before this year's election. They are NM Supreme Court Judge Judy Nakamura and Court of Appeals Judge Miles Hanisee.



This is the home of New Mexico politics.







Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.



( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018 We blogged last week that after the election there are not "any" Republicans in statewide offices. We should have said statewide "executive offices" such as Treasurer, Auditor, Governor etc.ABQ attorney Ray Vargas III points out that there are still two Republicans serving who were elected statewide before this year's election. They are NM Supreme Court Judge Judy Nakamura and Court of Appeals Judge Miles Hanisee.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Legalizing recreational marijuana is on the minds of a lot of Dems in the wake of last weeks Democratic sweep but we're reading the tea leaves and still not seeing an easy path for such legalization in the state Senate. A leading marijuana advocate seems to be getting the same vibe . He talked about the stance of Gov-elect Lujan Grisham:Not exactly a battle cry there for legal pot but rather a prioritizing of medical weed.MLG has said she favors legal recreational pot "under specific circumstances, including that any law passed protects existing medical cannabis programs; addresses workplace intoxication; public safety; restricts underage use; and regulates the production of edible cannabis products."That's a mouthful of circumstances and likely enough for the conservatives in the Senate to grab onto and put puffing legal pot in the DOA pile but not until it flies through the state House.Let the deal making begin. From DC Rep. David Cicilline, a progressive Dem from Rhode Island, is also vying for Assistant Democratic Leader, a top position in the House leadership.Democratic BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales won another four year term last week but not by an overwhelming margin. He defeated Republican Lou Golson 55-45. Golson raised hardly any money and had a near zero presence in the campaign.The Dem candidates for statewide office all scored well over 60 percent in big BernCo. So what happened to Manny? One problem was his insistence that his deputies not be equipped with lapel cameras. So says Democratic reader Jeffrey Paul: Links HOME

E-MAIL ME

About Joe

Google News

Real Clear Politics

Huffington Post

Drudge Report

The Politico

NM TV stations

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham

NM Legislature Archives Select: 9/28/03 - 10/5/03 10/5/03 - 10/12/03 10/12/03 - 10/19/03 10/19/03 - 10/26/03 10/26/03 - 11/2/03 11/2/03 - 11/9/03 11/9/03 - 11/16/03 11/16/03 - 11/23/03 11/23/03 - 11/30/03 11/30/03 - 12/7/03 12/7/03 - 12/14/03 12/14/03 - 12/21/03 12/21/03 - 12/28/03 12/28/03 - 1/4/04 1/4/04 - 1/11/04 1/11/04 - 1/18/04 1/18/04 - 1/25/04 1/25/04 - 2/1/04 2/1/04 - 2/8/04 2/8/04 - 2/15/04 2/15/04 - 2/22/04 2/22/04 - 2/29/04 2/29/04 - 3/7/04 3/7/04 - 3/14/04 3/14/04 - 3/21/04 3/21/04 - 3/28/04 3/28/04 - 4/4/04 4/4/04 - 4/11/04 4/11/04 - 4/18/04 4/18/04 - 4/25/04 4/25/04 - 5/2/04 5/2/04 - 5/9/04 5/9/04 - 5/16/04 5/16/04 - 5/23/04 5/23/04 - 5/30/04 5/30/04 - 6/6/04 6/6/04 - 6/13/04 6/13/04 - 6/20/04 6/20/04 - 6/27/04 6/27/04 - 7/4/04 7/4/04 - 7/11/04 7/11/04 - 7/18/04 7/18/04 - 7/25/04 7/25/04 - 8/1/04 8/1/04 - 8/8/04 8/8/04 - 8/15/04 8/15/04 - 8/22/04 8/22/04 - 8/29/04 8/29/04 - 9/5/04 9/5/04 - 9/12/04 9/12/04 - 9/19/04 9/19/04 - 9/26/04 9/26/04 - 10/3/04 10/3/04 - 10/10/04 10/10/04 - 10/17/04 10/17/04 - 10/24/04 10/24/04 - 10/31/04 10/31/04 - 11/7/04 11/7/04 - 11/14/04 11/14/04 - 11/21/04 11/21/04 - 11/28/04 11/28/04 - 12/5/04 12/5/04 - 12/12/04 12/12/04 - 12/19/04 12/19/04 - 12/26/04 1/2/05 - 1/9/05 1/9/05 - 1/16/05 1/16/05 - 1/23/05 1/23/05 - 1/30/05 1/30/05 - 2/6/05 2/6/05 - 2/13/05 2/13/05 - 2/20/05 2/20/05 - 2/27/05 2/27/05 - 3/6/05 3/6/05 - 3/13/05 3/13/05 - 3/20/05 3/20/05 - 3/27/05 3/27/05 - 4/3/05 4/3/05 - 4/10/05 4/10/05 - 4/17/05 4/17/05 - 4/24/05 4/24/05 - 5/1/05 5/1/05 - 5/8/05 5/8/05 - 5/15/05 5/15/05 - 5/22/05 5/22/05 - 5/29/05 5/29/05 - 6/5/05 6/5/05 - 6/12/05 6/12/05 - 6/19/05 6/19/05 - 6/26/05 6/26/05 - 7/3/05 7/3/05 - 7/10/05 7/10/05 - 7/17/05 7/17/05 - 7/24/05 7/24/05 - 7/31/05 7/31/05 - 8/7/05 8/7/05 - 8/14/05 8/14/05 - 8/21/05 8/21/05 - 8/28/05 8/28/05 - 9/4/05 9/4/05 - 9/11/05 9/11/05 - 9/18/05 9/18/05 - 9/25/05 9/25/05 - 10/2/05 10/2/05 - 10/9/05 10/9/05 - 10/16/05 10/16/05 - 10/23/05 10/23/05 - 10/30/05 10/30/05 - 11/6/05 11/6/05 - 11/13/05 11/13/05 - 11/20/05 11/20/05 - 11/27/05 11/27/05 - 12/4/05 12/4/05 - 12/11/05 12/11/05 - 12/18/05 12/18/05 - 12/25/05 1/1/06 - 1/8/06 1/8/06 - 1/15/06 1/15/06 - 1/22/06 1/22/06 - 1/29/06 1/29/06 - 2/5/06 2/5/06 - 2/12/06 2/12/06 - 2/19/06 2/19/06 - 2/26/06 2/26/06 - 3/5/06 3/5/06 - 3/12/06 3/12/06 - 3/19/06 3/19/06 - 3/26/06 3/26/06 - 4/2/06 4/2/06 - 4/9/06 4/9/06 - 4/16/06 4/16/06 - 4/23/06 4/23/06 - 4/30/06 4/30/06 - 5/7/06 5/7/06 - 5/14/06 5/14/06 - 5/21/06 5/21/06 - 5/28/06 5/28/06 - 6/4/06 6/4/06 - 6/11/06 6/11/06 - 6/18/06 6/18/06 - 6/25/06 6/25/06 - 7/2/06 7/9/06 - 7/16/06 7/16/06 - 7/23/06 7/23/06 - 7/30/06 7/30/06 - 8/6/06 8/6/06 - 8/13/06 8/13/06 - 8/20/06 8/20/06 - 8/27/06 8/27/06 - 9/3/06 9/3/06 - 9/10/06 9/10/06 - 9/17/06 9/17/06 - 9/24/06 9/24/06 - 10/1/06 10/1/06 - 10/8/06 10/8/06 - 10/15/06 10/15/06 - 10/22/06 10/22/06 - 10/29/06 10/29/06 - 11/5/06 11/5/06 - 11/12/06 11/12/06 - 11/19/06 11/19/06 - 11/26/06 11/26/06 - 12/3/06 12/3/06 - 12/10/06 12/10/06 - 12/17/06 12/17/06 - 12/24/06 12/31/06 - 1/7/07 1/7/07 - 1/14/07 1/14/07 - 1/21/07 1/21/07 - 1/28/07 1/28/07 - 2/4/07 2/4/07 - 2/11/07 2/11/07 - 2/18/07 2/18/07 - 2/25/07 2/25/07 - 3/4/07 3/4/07 - 3/11/07 3/11/07 - 3/18/07 3/18/07 - 3/25/07 3/25/07 - 4/1/07 4/1/07 - 4/8/07 4/8/07 - 4/15/07 4/15/07 - 4/22/07 4/22/07 - 4/29/07 4/29/07 - 5/6/07 5/6/07 - 5/13/07 5/13/07 - 5/20/07 5/20/07 - 5/27/07 5/27/07 - 6/3/07 6/3/07 - 6/10/07 6/10/07 - 6/17/07 6/17/07 - 6/24/07 6/24/07 - 7/1/07 7/1/07 - 7/8/07 7/8/07 - 7/15/07 7/15/07 - 7/22/07 7/22/07 - 7/29/07 7/29/07 - 8/5/07 8/5/07 - 8/12/07 8/12/07 - 8/19/07 8/19/07 - 8/26/07 8/26/07 - 9/2/07 9/2/07 - 9/9/07 9/9/07 - 9/16/07 9/16/07 - 9/23/07 9/23/07 - 9/30/07 9/30/07 - 10/7/07 10/7/07 - 10/14/07 10/14/07 - 10/21/07 10/21/07 - 10/28/07 10/28/07 - 11/4/07 11/4/07 - 11/11/07 11/11/07 - 11/18/07 11/18/07 - 11/25/07 11/25/07 - 12/2/07 12/2/07 - 12/9/07 12/9/07 - 12/16/07 12/16/07 - 12/23/07 12/23/07 - 12/30/07 12/30/07 - 1/6/08 1/6/08 - 1/13/08 1/13/08 - 1/20/08 1/20/08 - 1/27/08 1/27/08 - 2/3/08 2/3/08 - 2/10/08 2/10/08 - 2/17/08 2/17/08 - 2/24/08 2/24/08 - 3/2/08 3/2/08 - 3/9/08 3/9/08 - 3/16/08 3/16/08 - 3/23/08 3/23/08 - 3/30/08 3/30/08 - 4/6/08 4/6/08 - 4/13/08 4/13/08 - 4/20/08 4/20/08 - 4/27/08 4/27/08 - 5/4/08 5/4/08 - 5/11/08 5/11/08 - 5/18/08 5/18/08 - 5/25/08 5/25/08 - 6/1/08 6/1/08 - 6/8/08 6/8/08 - 6/15/08 6/15/08 - 6/22/08 6/22/08 - 6/29/08 6/29/08 - 7/6/08 7/6/08 - 7/13/08 7/13/08 - 7/20/08 7/20/08 - 7/27/08 7/27/08 - 8/3/08 8/3/08 - 8/10/08 8/10/08 - 8/17/08 8/17/08 - 8/24/08 8/24/08 - 8/31/08 8/31/08 - 9/7/08 9/7/08 - 9/14/08 9/14/08 - 9/21/08 9/21/08 - 9/28/08 9/28/08 - 10/5/08 10/5/08 - 10/12/08 10/12/08 - 10/19/08 10/19/08 - 10/26/08 10/26/08 - 11/2/08 11/2/08 - 11/9/08 11/9/08 - 11/16/08 11/16/08 - 11/23/08 11/23/08 - 11/30/08 11/30/08 - 12/7/08 12/7/08 - 12/14/08 12/14/08 - 12/21/08 12/21/08 - 12/28/08 12/28/08 - 1/4/09 1/4/09 - 1/11/09 1/11/09 - 1/18/09 1/18/09 - 1/25/09 1/25/09 - 2/1/09 2/1/09 - 2/8/09 2/8/09 - 2/15/09 2/15/09 - 2/22/09 2/22/09 - 3/1/09 3/1/09 - 3/8/09 3/8/09 - 3/15/09 3/15/09 - 3/22/09 3/22/09 - 3/29/09 3/29/09 - 4/5/09 4/5/09 - 4/12/09 4/12/09 - 4/19/09 4/19/09 - 4/26/09 4/26/09 - 5/3/09 5/3/09 - 5/10/09 5/10/09 - 5/17/09 5/17/09 - 5/24/09 5/24/09 - 5/31/09 5/31/09 - 6/7/09 6/7/09 - 6/14/09 6/14/09 - 6/21/09 6/21/09 - 6/28/09 6/28/09 - 7/5/09 7/5/09 - 7/12/09 7/12/09 - 7/19/09 7/19/09 - 7/26/09 7/26/09 - 8/2/09 8/2/09 - 8/9/09 8/9/09 - 8/16/09 8/16/09 - 8/23/09 8/23/09 - 8/30/09 8/30/09 - 9/6/09 9/6/09 - 9/13/09 9/13/09 - 9/20/09 9/20/09 - 9/27/09 9/27/09 - 10/4/09 10/4/09 - 10/11/09 10/11/09 - 10/18/09 10/18/09 - 10/25/09 10/25/09 - 11/1/09 11/1/09 - 11/8/09 11/8/09 - 11/15/09 11/15/09 - 11/22/09 11/22/09 - 11/29/09 11/29/09 - 12/6/09 12/6/09 - 12/13/09 12/13/09 - 12/20/09 12/20/09 - 12/27/09 12/27/09 - 1/3/10 1/3/10 - 1/10/10 1/10/10 - 1/17/10 1/17/10 - 1/24/10 1/24/10 - 1/31/10 1/31/10 - 2/7/10 2/7/10 - 2/14/10 2/14/10 - 2/21/10 2/21/10 - 2/28/10 2/28/10 - 3/7/10 3/7/10 - 3/14/10 3/14/10 - 3/21/10 3/21/10 - 3/28/10 3/28/10 - 4/4/10 4/4/10 - 4/11/10 4/11/10 - 4/18/10 4/18/10 - 4/25/10 4/25/10 - 5/2/10 5/2/10 - 5/9/10 5/9/10 - 5/16/10 5/16/10 - 5/23/10 5/23/10 - 5/30/10 5/30/10 - 6/6/10 6/6/10 - 6/13/10 6/13/10 - 6/20/10 6/20/10 - 6/27/10 6/27/10 - 7/4/10 7/4/10 - 7/11/10 7/11/10 - 7/18/10 7/18/10 - 7/25/10 7/25/10 - 8/1/10 8/1/10 - 8/8/10 8/8/10 - 8/15/10 8/15/10 - 8/22/10 8/22/10 - 8/29/10 8/29/10 - 9/5/10 9/5/10 - 9/12/10 9/12/10 - 9/19/10 9/19/10 - 9/26/10 9/26/10 - 10/3/10 10/3/10 - 10/10/10 10/10/10 - 10/17/10 10/17/10 - 10/24/10 10/24/10 - 10/31/10 10/31/10 - 11/7/10 11/7/10 - 11/14/10 11/14/10 - 11/21/10 11/21/10 - 11/28/10 11/28/10 - 12/5/10 12/5/10 - 12/12/10 12/12/10 - 12/19/10 12/19/10 - 12/26/10 12/26/10 - 1/2/11 1/2/11 - 1/9/11 1/9/11 - 1/16/11 1/16/11 - 1/23/11 1/23/11 - 1/30/11 1/30/11 - 2/6/11 2/6/11 - 2/13/11 2/13/11 - 2/20/11 2/20/11 - 2/27/11 2/27/11 - 3/6/11 3/6/11 - 3/13/11 3/13/11 - 3/20/11 3/20/11 - 3/27/11 3/27/11 - 4/3/11 4/3/11 - 4/10/11 4/10/11 - 4/17/11 4/17/11 - 4/24/11 4/24/11 - 5/1/11 5/1/11 - 5/8/11 5/8/11 - 5/15/11 5/15/11 - 5/22/11 5/22/11 - 5/29/11 5/29/11 - 6/5/11 6/5/11 - 6/12/11 6/12/11 - 6/19/11 6/19/11 - 6/26/11 6/26/11 - 7/3/11 7/3/11 - 7/10/11 7/10/11 - 7/17/11 7/17/11 - 7/24/11 7/24/11 - 7/31/11 7/31/11 - 8/7/11 8/7/11 - 8/14/11 8/14/11 - 8/21/11 8/21/11 - 8/28/11 8/28/11 - 9/4/11 9/4/11 - 9/11/11 9/11/11 - 9/18/11 9/18/11 - 9/25/11 9/25/11 - 10/2/11 10/2/11 - 10/9/11 10/9/11 - 10/16/11 10/16/11 - 10/23/11 10/23/11 - 10/30/11 10/30/11 - 11/6/11 11/6/11 - 11/13/11 11/13/11 - 11/20/11 11/20/11 - 11/27/11 11/27/11 - 12/4/11 12/4/11 - 12/11/11 12/11/11 - 12/18/11 12/18/11 - 12/25/11 12/25/11 - 1/1/12 1/1/12 - 1/8/12 1/8/12 - 1/15/12 1/15/12 - 1/22/12 1/22/12 - 1/29/12 1/29/12 - 2/5/12 2/5/12 - 2/12/12 2/12/12 - 2/19/12 2/19/12 - 2/26/12 2/26/12 - 3/4/12 3/4/12 - 3/11/12 3/11/12 - 3/18/12 3/18/12 - 3/25/12 3/25/12 - 4/1/12 4/1/12 - 4/8/12 4/8/12 - 4/15/12 4/15/12 - 4/22/12 4/22/12 - 4/29/12 4/29/12 - 5/6/12 5/6/12 - 5/13/12 5/13/12 - 5/20/12 5/20/12 - 5/27/12 5/27/12 - 6/3/12 6/3/12 - 6/10/12 6/10/12 - 6/17/12 6/17/12 - 6/24/12 6/24/12 - 7/1/12 7/1/12 - 7/8/12 7/8/12 - 7/15/12 7/15/12 - 7/22/12 7/22/12 - 7/29/12 7/29/12 - 8/5/12 8/5/12 - 8/12/12 8/12/12 - 8/19/12 8/19/12 - 8/26/12 8/26/12 - 9/2/12 9/2/12 - 9/9/12 9/9/12 - 9/16/12 9/16/12 - 9/23/12 9/23/12 - 9/30/12 9/30/12 - 10/7/12 10/7/12 - 10/14/12 10/14/12 - 10/21/12 10/21/12 - 10/28/12 10/28/12 - 11/4/12 11/4/12 - 11/11/12 11/11/12 - 11/18/12 11/18/12 - 11/25/12 11/25/12 - 12/2/12 12/2/12 - 12/9/12 12/9/12 - 12/16/12 12/16/12 - 12/23/12 12/23/12 - 12/30/12 12/30/12 - 1/6/13 1/6/13 - 1/13/13 1/13/13 - 1/20/13 1/20/13 - 1/27/13 1/27/13 - 2/3/13 2/3/13 - 2/10/13 2/10/13 - 2/17/13 2/17/13 - 2/24/13 2/24/13 - 3/3/13 3/3/13 - 3/10/13 3/10/13 - 3/17/13 3/17/13 - 3/24/13 3/24/13 - 3/31/13 3/31/13 - 4/7/13 4/7/13 - 4/14/13 4/14/13 - 4/21/13 4/21/13 - 4/28/13 4/28/13 - 5/5/13 5/5/13 - 5/12/13 5/12/13 - 5/19/13 5/19/13 - 5/26/13 5/26/13 - 6/2/13 6/2/13 - 6/9/13 6/9/13 - 6/16/13 6/16/13 - 6/23/13 6/23/13 - 6/30/13 6/30/13 - 7/7/13 7/7/13 - 7/14/13 7/14/13 - 7/21/13 7/21/13 - 7/28/13 7/28/13 - 8/4/13 8/4/13 - 8/11/13 8/11/13 - 8/18/13 8/18/13 - 8/25/13 8/25/13 - 9/1/13 9/1/13 - 9/8/13 9/8/13 - 9/15/13 9/15/13 - 9/22/13 9/22/13 - 9/29/13 9/29/13 - 10/6/13 10/6/13 - 10/13/13 10/13/13 - 10/20/13 10/20/13 - 10/27/13 10/27/13 - 11/3/13 11/3/13 - 11/10/13 11/10/13 - 11/17/13 11/17/13 - 11/24/13 11/24/13 - 12/1/13 12/1/13 - 12/8/13 12/8/13 - 12/15/13 12/15/13 - 12/22/13 12/22/13 - 12/29/13 12/29/13 - 1/5/14 1/5/14 - 1/12/14 1/12/14 - 1/19/14 1/19/14 - 1/26/14 1/26/14 - 2/2/14 2/2/14 - 2/9/14 2/9/14 - 2/16/14 2/16/14 - 2/23/14 2/23/14 - 3/2/14 3/2/14 - 3/9/14 3/9/14 - 3/16/14 3/16/14 - 3/23/14 3/23/14 - 3/30/14 3/30/14 - 4/6/14 4/6/14 - 4/13/14 4/13/14 - 4/20/14 4/20/14 - 4/27/14 4/27/14 - 5/4/14 5/4/14 - 5/11/14 5/11/14 - 5/18/14 5/18/14 - 5/25/14 5/25/14 - 6/1/14 6/1/14 - 6/8/14 6/8/14 - 6/15/14 6/15/14 - 6/22/14 6/22/14 - 6/29/14 6/29/14 - 7/6/14 7/6/14 - 7/13/14 7/13/14 - 7/20/14 7/20/14 - 7/27/14 7/27/14 - 8/3/14 8/3/14 - 8/10/14 8/10/14 - 8/17/14 8/17/14 - 8/24/14 8/24/14 - 8/31/14 8/31/14 - 9/7/14 9/7/14 - 9/14/14 9/14/14 - 9/21/14 9/21/14 - 9/28/14 9/28/14 - 10/5/14 10/5/14 - 10/12/14 10/12/14 - 10/19/14 10/19/14 - 10/26/14 10/26/14 - 11/2/14 11/2/14 - 11/9/14 11/9/14 - 11/16/14 11/16/14 - 11/23/14 11/23/14 - 11/30/14 11/30/14 - 12/7/14 12/7/14 - 12/14/14 12/14/14 - 12/21/14 12/21/14 - 12/28/14 12/28/14 - 1/4/15 1/4/15 - 1/11/15 1/11/15 - 1/18/15 1/18/15 - 1/25/15 1/25/15 - 2/1/15 2/1/15 - 2/8/15 2/8/15 - 2/15/15 2/15/15 - 2/22/15 2/22/15 - 3/1/15 3/1/15 - 3/8/15 3/8/15 - 3/15/15 3/15/15 - 3/22/15 3/22/15 - 3/29/15 3/29/15 - 4/5/15 4/5/15 - 4/12/15 4/12/15 - 4/19/15 4/19/15 - 4/26/15 4/26/15 - 5/3/15 5/3/15 - 5/10/15 5/10/15 - 5/17/15 5/17/15 - 5/24/15 5/24/15 - 5/31/15 5/31/15 - 6/7/15 6/7/15 - 6/14/15 6/14/15 - 6/21/15 6/21/15 - 6/28/15 6/28/15 - 7/5/15 7/5/15 - 7/12/15 7/12/15 - 7/19/15 7/19/15 - 7/26/15 7/26/15 - 8/2/15 8/2/15 - 8/9/15 8/9/15 - 8/16/15 8/16/15 - 8/23/15 8/23/15 - 8/30/15 8/30/15 - 9/6/15 9/6/15 - 9/13/15 9/13/15 - 9/20/15 9/20/15 - 9/27/15 9/27/15 - 10/4/15 10/4/15 - 10/11/15 10/11/15 - 10/18/15 10/18/15 - 10/25/15 10/25/15 - 11/1/15 11/1/15 - 11/8/15 11/8/15 - 11/15/15 11/15/15 - 11/22/15 11/22/15 - 11/29/15 11/29/15 - 12/6/15 12/6/15 - 12/13/15 12/13/15 - 12/20/15 12/20/15 - 12/27/15 12/27/15 - 1/3/16 1/3/16 - 1/10/16 1/10/16 - 1/17/16 1/17/16 - 1/24/16 1/24/16 - 1/31/16 1/31/16 - 2/7/16 2/7/16 - 2/14/16 2/14/16 - 2/21/16 2/21/16 - 2/28/16 2/28/16 - 3/6/16 3/6/16 - 3/13/16 3/13/16 - 3/20/16 3/20/16 - 3/27/16 3/27/16 - 4/3/16 4/3/16 - 4/10/16 4/10/16 - 4/17/16 4/17/16 - 4/24/16 4/24/16 - 5/1/16 5/1/16 - 5/8/16 5/8/16 - 5/15/16 5/15/16 - 5/22/16 5/22/16 - 5/29/16 5/29/16 - 6/5/16 6/5/16 - 6/12/16 6/12/16 - 6/19/16 6/19/16 - 6/26/16 6/26/16 - 7/3/16 7/3/16 - 7/10/16 7/10/16 - 7/17/16 7/17/16 - 7/24/16 7/24/16 - 7/31/16 7/31/16 - 8/7/16 8/7/16 - 8/14/16 8/14/16 - 8/21/16 8/21/16 - 8/28/16 8/28/16 - 9/4/16 9/4/16 - 9/11/16 9/11/16 - 9/18/16 9/18/16 - 9/25/16 9/25/16 - 10/2/16 10/2/16 - 10/9/16 10/9/16 - 10/16/16 10/16/16 - 10/23/16 10/23/16 - 10/30/16 10/30/16 - 11/6/16 11/6/16 - 11/13/16 11/13/16 - 11/20/16 11/20/16 - 11/27/16 11/27/16 - 12/4/16 12/4/16 - 12/11/16 12/11/16 - 12/18/16 12/18/16 - 12/25/16 12/25/16 - 1/1/17 1/1/17 - 1/8/17 1/8/17 - 1/15/17 1/15/17 - 1/22/17 1/22/17 - 1/29/17 1/29/17 - 2/5/17 2/5/17 - 2/12/17 2/12/17 - 2/19/17 2/19/17 - 2/26/17 2/26/17 - 3/5/17 3/5/17 - 3/12/17 3/12/17 - 3/19/17 3/19/17 - 3/26/17 3/26/17 - 4/2/17 4/2/17 - 4/9/17 4/9/17 - 4/16/17 4/16/17 - 4/23/17 4/23/17 - 4/30/17 4/30/17 - 5/7/17 5/7/17 - 5/14/17 5/14/17 - 5/21/17 5/21/17 - 5/28/17 5/28/17 - 6/4/17 6/4/17 - 6/11/17 6/11/17 - 6/18/17 6/18/17 - 6/25/17 6/25/17 - 7/2/17 7/2/17 - 7/9/17 7/9/17 - 7/16/17 7/16/17 - 7/23/17 7/23/17 - 7/30/17 7/30/17 - 8/6/17 8/6/17 - 8/13/17 8/13/17 - 8/20/17 8/20/17 - 8/27/17 8/27/17 - 9/3/17 9/3/17 - 9/10/17 9/10/17 - 9/17/17 9/17/17 - 9/24/17 9/24/17 - 10/1/17 10/1/17 - 10/8/17 10/8/17 - 10/15/17 10/15/17 - 10/22/17 10/22/17 - 10/29/17 10/29/17 - 11/5/17 11/5/17 - 11/12/17 11/12/17 - 11/19/17 11/19/17 - 11/26/17 11/26/17 - 12/3/17 12/3/17 - 12/10/17 12/10/17 - 12/17/17 12/17/17 - 12/24/17 12/24/17 - 12/31/17 12/31/17 - 1/7/18 1/7/18 - 1/14/18 1/14/18 - 1/21/18 1/21/18 - 1/28/18 1/28/18 - 2/4/18 2/4/18 - 2/11/18 2/11/18 - 2/18/18 2/18/18 - 2/25/18 2/25/18 - 3/4/18 3/4/18 - 3/11/18 3/11/18 - 3/18/18 3/18/18 - 3/25/18 3/25/18 - 4/1/18 4/1/18 - 4/8/18 4/8/18 - 4/15/18 4/15/18 - 4/22/18 4/22/18 - 4/29/18 4/29/18 - 5/6/18 5/6/18 - 5/13/18 5/13/18 - 5/20/18 5/20/18 - 5/27/18 5/27/18 - 6/3/18 6/3/18 - 6/10/18 6/10/18 - 6/17/18 6/17/18 - 6/24/18 6/24/18 - 7/1/18 7/1/18 - 7/8/18 7/8/18 - 7/15/18 7/15/18 - 7/22/18 7/22/18 - 7/29/18 7/29/18 - 8/5/18 8/5/18 - 8/12/18 8/12/18 - 8/19/18 8/19/18 - 8/26/18 8/26/18 - 9/2/18 9/2/18 - 9/9/18 9/9/18 - 9/16/18 9/16/18 - 9/23/18 9/23/18 - 9/30/18 9/30/18 - 10/7/18 10/7/18 - 10/14/18 10/14/18 - 10/21/18 10/21/18 - 10/28/18 10/28/18 - 11/4/18 11/4/18 - 11/11/18 11/11/18 - 11/18/18 11/18/18 - 11/25/18 11/25/18 - 12/2/18 12/2/18 - 12/9/18 12/9/18 - 12/16/18 12/16/18 - 12/23/18 12/23/18 - 12/30/18 12/30/18 - 1/6/19 1/6/19 - 1/13/19 1/13/19 - 1/20/19 1/20/19 - 1/27/19 1/27/19 - 2/3/19 2/3/19 - 2/10/19 2/10/19 - 2/17/19 2/17/19 - 2/24/19 2/24/19 - 3/3/19 3/3/19 - 3/10/19 3/10/19 - 3/17/19 3/17/19 - 3/24/19 3/24/19 - 3/31/19 3/31/19 - 4/7/19 4/7/19 - 4/14/19 4/14/19 - 4/21/19 4/21/19 - 4/28/19 4/28/19 - 5/5/19 5/5/19 - 5/12/19 5/12/19 - 5/19/19 5/19/19 - 5/26/19 5/26/19 - 6/2/19 6/2/19 - 6/9/19 6/9/19 - 6/16/19 6/16/19 - 6/23/19 6/23/19 - 6/30/19 6/30/19 - 7/7/19 7/7/19 - 7/14/19 7/14/19 - 7/21/19 7/21/19 - 7/28/19 7/28/19 - 8/4/19 8/4/19 - 8/11/19 8/11/19 - 8/18/19 8/18/19 - 8/25/19 8/25/19 - 9/1/19 9/1/19 - 9/8/19 9/8/19 - 9/15/19 9/15/19 - 9/22/19 9/22/19 - 9/29/19 9/29/19 - 10/6/19 10/6/19 - 10/13/19 10/13/19 - 10/20/19 10/20/19 - 10/27/19 10/27/19 - 11/3/19 11/3/19 - 11/10/19 11/10/19 - 11/17/19 11/17/19 - 11/24/19 11/24/19 - 12/1/19 12/1/19 - 12/8/19 12/8/19 - 12/15/19 12/15/19 - 12/22/19 12/22/19 - 12/29/19 12/29/19 - 1/5/20 1/5/20 - 1/12/20 1/12/20 - 1/19/20 1/19/20 - 1/26/20 1/26/20 - 2/2/20 2/2/20 - 2/9/20 2/9/20 - 2/16/20 2/16/20 - 2/23/20 2/23/20 - 3/1/20 3/1/20 - 3/8/20 3/8/20 - 3/15/20 3/15/20 - 3/22/20 3/22/20 - 3/29/20 3/29/20 - 4/5/20 4/5/20 - 4/12/20 4/12/20 - 4/19/20 4/19/20 - 4/26/20 4/26/20 - 5/3/20 5/3/20 - 5/10/20 5/10/20 - 5/17/20 5/17/20 - 5/24/20 5/24/20 - 5/31/20 5/31/20 - 6/7/20 6/7/20 - 6/14/20 6/14/20 - 6/21/20 6/21/20 - 6/28/20 6/28/20 - 7/5/20 7/5/20 - 7/12/20 7/12/20 - 7/19/20 7/19/20 - 7/26/20 7/26/20 - 8/2/20 8/2/20 - 8/9/20 8/9/20 - 8/16/20 8/16/20 - 8/23/20 8/23/20 - 8/30/20 8/30/20 - 9/6/20 9/6/20 - 9/13/20 9/13/20 - 9/20/20 9/20/20 - 9/27/20 9/27/20 - 10/4/20 10/4/20 - 10/11/20 10/11/20 - 10/18/20 10/18/20 - 10/25/20 10/25/20 - 11/1/20 11/1/20 - 11/8/20 11/8/20 - 11/15/20 11/15/20 - 11/22/20 11/22/20 - 11/29/20 11/29/20 - 12/6/20 12/6/20 - 12/13/20 12/13/20 - 12/20/20 12/20/20 - 12/27/20 1/3/21 - 1/10/21 1/10/21 - 1/17/21 1/17/21 - 1/24/21 1/24/21 - 1/31/21 1/31/21 - 2/7/21 2/7/21 - 2/14/21 2/14/21 - 2/21/21 2/21/21 - 2/28/21 2/28/21 - 3/7/21 3/7/21 - 3/14/21 3/14/21 - 3/21/21 3/21/21 - 3/28/21 3/28/21 - 4/4/21 4/4/21 - 4/11/21 4/11/21 - 4/18/21 4/18/21 - 4/25/21 4/25/21 - 5/2/21 5/2/21 - 5/9/21 5/9/21 - 5/16/21 5/16/21 - 5/23/21 5/23/21 - 5/30/21 5/30/21 - 6/6/21 6/6/21 - 6/13/21 6/13/21 - 6/20/21 6/20/21 - 6/27/21 6/27/21 - 7/4/21 7/4/21 - 7/11/21 7/11/21 - 7/18/21 7/18/21 - 7/25/21 7/25/21 - 8/1/21 8/1/21 - 8/8/21 8/8/21 - 8/15/21 8/15/21 - 8/22/21 8/22/21 - 8/29/21 8/29/21 - 9/5/21 9/5/21 - 9/12/21 9/12/21 - 9/19/21 9/19/21 - 9/26/21 9/26/21 - 10/3/21 10/3/21 - 10/10/21 10/10/21 - 10/17/21 10/17/21 - 10/24/21 10/24/21 - 10/31/21 10/31/21 - 11/7/21 11/7/21 - 11/14/21 11/14/21 - 11/21/21 11/21/21 - 11/28/21 website design by website design by limwebdesign
Engineers are working on new plans to reopen a junction on the N20 Cork to Limerick road which was closed in controversial circumstances following fatal accidents.

The plan, if approved, would prevent southbound motorists from making a right turn at the Waterloo junction near Blarney.

Two US tourists in a hire car which made this right turn were killed last year. Two more US tourists were injured in another crash at the same junction making the same right turn a few months later.

Confirmation that a new plan is being prepared comes just weeks after councillors in the Blarney Municipal District formally rejected engineering proposals to close the junction for good.

The new plan is unlikely to be ready until the new year and the junction will remain closed until then.

The junction has been closed to public traffic since June 18 when work started on the resurfacing of a stretch of the N20.

It was initially described as a temporary closure but when it emerged that a council-commissioned safety-audit recommended permanent closure, locals reacted angrily and set up the Waterloo Access Group (WAG) to get it reopened.

The council subsequently launched a process, which included public consultation, seeking to extinguish the right of way at the junction.

But WAG threatened a judicial review of the temporary closure process claiming the council did not follow due process.

They said a temporary closure is legally separate and distinct from the issue of whether the public right of way should be extinguished.

But despite public and political opposition to permanent closure, the council, on foot of new legal advice, published a public notice seeking the urgent temporary closure of the road until December 31, citing public safety as the reason.

Within days, councillors formally voted to reject the permanent closure proposal.

Engineers have now confirmed they are working on an alternative design in consultation with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

Their 'left in, left out' proposal, which was one of the options considered but ruled out in the original safety audit, would allow traffic travelling north on the N20 to turn left at the junction, and would allow local residents coming from Waterloo to turn left onto the N20.

But the plan would prevent southbound motorists from making the dangerous right turn.

Engineers said they hope to complete the design, carry out a safety audit, proceed to public consultation and, if the scheme is approved, go to construction quickly.

"Our team is working as quickly as possible with a view to having these stages completed by year-end, which will be challenging. We will be dependent on availability of contractors," the council said in a statement.

"In the meantime, the junction will remain closed as it would be unsafe to open it in its current layout."
By Liam Heylin

The man who allegedly beat a woman to death told the first gardai on the scene that he just pushed her to get some more room in bed.

I tried to push her to get more room and I heard her struggling for breath. I put her in the recovery position.She was spitting up blood, the accused said to Garda Graham Desmond who gave evidence in the trial yesterday.

A member of the emergency services, Tadhg OMahony, of Cork fire service was one of the first to arrive and said in relation to the accused man: I advised him to go to another room when CPR was being carried out. He refused to go to another room and said he was used to seeing dead people and he would prefer to stay.

Cathal O'Sullivan, 45, who is originally from Charleville, County Cork, pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Nicola Collins on March 27, 2017 at a flat at 6A Popham's Road, Farranree, Cork, over the Gala store.

The late Ms Collins was a native of St Brendans Park in Tralee, Co Kerry, and had been living at Clashduv Road in the Togher area of Cork for a number of years.

The 999 call made by the accused, which lasted about 15 minutes, was played to Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and the jury of nine men and three women at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.

The officer who took the call told the caller to stay on the line until the emergency services arrived at 6A Pophams Road.

The caller said: Jesus Christ, she is not breathing, like. She is inside in bed. (Asked how old she was) 37 or eight or something like that. F***. (Asked if he tried to resuscitate) I pumped her a few times and gave her mouth to mouth. Nothing coming back. I am pumping her. She is on the bed.

The officer instructed the caller to put the woman flat on the floor and instructed him on how to pump her chest, repeatedly counting out a 1-2-3-4 rhythm to be followed. The caller said during this, Ive been doing that Ive done this already. Its not working, like There is water coming out of everywhere.

Tadhg OMahony of the fire service said: I asked him when was the last time he saw her alive? He said they went to bed at 2am and he woke some time later hearing gurgling noises. He said she had four litres of cider beforehand he said she was on medication.

Garda Stephen Aherne said he heard his colleague Garda Desmond ask the accused after caution: Was there an altercation? He replied, she came at me, I pushed her. He asked Cathal OSullivan why she was naked. He said, I washed her, we would wash each other, like'.

Garda Desmond said the accused was drinking from a can of beer at the scene. The guard told him to stop and he did.

Asked to account for some marks on the deceaseds body, Garda Desmond testified the accused said bruises were caused by him defending himself.

He said (In relation to marks to her face) he could not say exactly how they were caused. He said they were drinking and fighting since Thursday, he said no one else entered the apartment.

The trial continues today.
Latest: The Justice Minister says he is open to changing the law on how rape trials are conducted.

Charlie Flanagan is waiting for a review group to report on the conduct of trials before he makes any decision.

He says it is important to make sure women feel supported through the judicial process.

Minister Flanagan says he will amend the law if necessary.

"If there's legislative change necessary then I'd be very keen and I'd set about doing that but I believe it's more about the practice and procedure particularly in the case that you mentioned, I don't like to comment on individual cases, but it was a woman barrister who posed the question in that particular case."

Demonstrations are being held later today in four cities around the country while a protest will also be held in Waterford on Friday.

Protests to be held in five cities calling for reform of handling of rape trials

Protesters are calling for an overhaul of how rape trials are conducted, in demonstrations in five cities around the country today.

They are in response to the handling of a case in Cork where a barrister highlighted the type of underwear being worn by the 17-year-old complainant.

It has led to claims that "victim blaming" still plays a part in many rape trials.

Solidarity Councillor Fiona Ryan, one of the organisers of the Cork demonstration said it is completely unacceptable.

"This is a very common everyday practice in cases to do with sexual violence where character assassination ultimately is at the heart of the defence in everyday proceedings, unfortunately.

"We've done very little to reform and make it a more open situation for victims to come forward.

She continued: "The rallies that are happening nationally is about highlighting and demanding action on reform on these kinds of questions.

"This isn't reinventing the wheel - internationally we've seen Governments move to institute reform on the questions, where judges, in particular, get special training.

Digital Desk
After two Top 20 UK albums, including a No. 1 album in Ireland, three sold-out Japanese Tours and headline shows everywhere from the John Peel stage at Glastonbury to the main stage at Fuji Rock to Electric Picnic, Cavans very own The Strypes are announcing the break up of the band effective immediately.

Pete OHanlon on bass, Evan Walsh on drums, Josh McClorey on guitar and Ross Farelly on vocals exploded into the world in 2010 with a tv appearance on the Late Late Toy Show, but it was their 2012 debut Ep 'Young Gifted and Blue' on Reckless Records that was the key to their huge international success.

A record deal with Mercury Records, signing to Rocket Management, appearances on Later with Jools Holland, the debut album Snapshot and an arena tour with Artic Monkeys swiftly followed.

America was next to fall with SXSW, a coast to coast tour and appearances on Letterman and Conan. A Julien Temple directed documentary broadcast on BBC4 set the foundation for their second top 20 Album Little Victories.

The band attracted a huge fanbase all over the world with sold out shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, El Rey Theatre in LA, Olympia in Dublin and Studio Coast in Tokyo among the highlights.

Spitting Image, the third album, was produced by Ethan Johns in Rockfield Studios and took them around the world again with a touring schedule consisting of 2 tours of the US, 2 UK tours, a European tour, many cunning stunts and a national Japanese tour that lasted from September of 2017 until April of 2018.

A small break followed, during which the band began to look at their creativity but they have now called it a day.

In the short term Pete and Ev have signed up with J&L Associates, an acting agency in London, Josh is working on a solo album and Ross is pursuing other musical outlets.

All their music remains online, their website www.thestrypes.com and their social media outlets will remain active for merch sales and updates on what the members are up to individually.
Despite a draft agreement being reached on the UK's withdrawal from the EU, the final outcome of the Brexit process remains far from clear.

Decisions in the coming days and months could set the UK on the path for widely different future destinations.

What are the possible scenarios?

Theresa May's Deal

If Theresa May can convince first her Cabinet and then the House of Commons to back her deal, and it is also approved by the leaders of the other 27 EU nations and the European Parliament, the UK will take the orderly route to departure on March 29 2019.

This would secure the rights of EU and British expats and trigger payment of a UK financial settlement expected to reach up to 39bn (45bn) over many years.

Brexit day would be followed by a 21-month transition period until December 2020, during which negotiations would take place on future trade relations.

If no deal can be reached in that timeframe - regarded as very tight by many experts - it is thought the UK would stay in a customs union "backstop", tied to EU rules and regulations and unable to strike its own trade deals.

This would continue until a permanent trade deal is struck or a review mechanism is used to tear the whole arrangement up.

No deal

If Mrs May's deal is rejected by the Cabinet, MPs or the EU, and no alternative arrangement can be found by March 29, the UK could leave without a withdrawal agreement.

Previous bargains on expats' rights, the transition period and the financial settlement would lapse - with some Brexiteers arguing that the UK could withhold its payments.

Intensive work would take place over the coming four months to soften the impact of a 'no-deal' Brexit on the UK's ports and airports, deliveries of food and medicines and the "just-in-time" supply chains on which major industries depend.

The UK would fall back on World Trade Organisation terms, with tariffs for many imports and exports, until it could negotiate new deals with countries round the world.

Some businesses could activate plans to move activities out of the UK, while others would be on the hunt for new opportunities.

Britain would be free to strip back 40 years' worth of EU regulations in areas like environmental and workplace protections.

A Second Referendum

There are increasingly vociferous calls for any deal - or a no-deal outcome - to be put to a "People's Vote" referendum for approval by the public.

Organising a national plebiscite at such short notice would probably require delaying the official date of Brexit.

A fresh vote is firmly opposed by the British Prime Minister, and there would be a bitter fight over the wording of the question in any referendum.

Opponents of Brexit believe that this is the most likely route to prevent EU withdrawal, with opinion polls suggesting that a majority of voters now think the UK was wrong to back Leave.

But critics say it would reignite the savage battles of the 2016 campaign, dividing the nation even more deeply.

A General Election

This is Labour's preferred option, but would depend on a particular set of circumstances.

A vote of no confidence backed by more than half of MPs would force an early poll, but this scenario requires the DUP or substantial numbers of Tories to turn against Theresa May and no other leader being able to form an alternative government within 14 days.

If Mrs May's proposals are rejected, she could call a "back me or sack me" election with an appeal to voters to help her push the plan through, but she would need a two-thirds majority in the Commons, which she may struggle to achieve.

Polls currently put Tories in the lead over Labour, but in the circumstances of a chaotic run-up to Brexit it is anyone's guess which party would prevail or whether voters would deliver another inconclusive result.

A New Conservative Leader

Mrs May is vulnerable to a vote of no confidence in her leadership if 48 Tory MPs request it.

To survive, she would need the support of 158 of her MPs, though even if she reaches that number she could be fatally wounded.

Much would then depend on the leader then chosen by party members from a shortlist of two emerging from votes by the parliamentary party.

A hardline Brexiteer like Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg could take the UK out of the EU without a deal, while a moderate like Sajid Javid or Jeremy Hunt would stress the need to restore party unity.

In the highly unlikely scenario of a Remainer like Justine Greening taking the top job, the UK could take an entirely new approach to Brexit, drawing back from Mrs May's "red lines".

Extend Article 50

Under Article 50 of the EU treaties, the UK automatically leaves on March 29 - two years after formally notifying its intention to quit - whether a deal is reached or not.

Some critics of Mrs May's deal have called on her to ask for an extension of the period for a year or more to allow time for a better agreement to be reached and for business to prepare.

This would require unanimous approval from the EU27, which is far from certain to be forthcoming, particularly as it might take the date of Brexit past the 2019 European Parliament elections, the formation of a new European Commission and the beginning of the next seven-year Budget.

Break-Up of the Union

Senior figures in Northern Ireland have made clear that they regard the continuation of the United Kingdom itself as being under threat.

DUP chief whip Jeffrey Donaldson has said that many believe Mrs May's deal would lead to the break-up of the UK, and Sinn Fein has said it will call for a border poll in the case of a no-deal outcome.

Many backers of independence for Scotland - which voted Remain in 2016 - expect a surge of support if Brexit causes disruption and economic damage.

PA
Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz attacked a prison officer at the county jail and now faces new charges including use of the officer's electric stun device, authorities have said.

Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright confirmed on Wednesday that Cruz assaulted Sergeant Raymond Beltran on Tuesday.

Jail records show Cruz now is charged with aggravated assault on an officer, battery on an officer and use of an "electric or chemical weapon against an officer".

The 20-year-old Cruz already faces the death penalty, if convicted over the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 17 people and wounded 17 others.

He has pleaded not guilty in the shooting but his lawyers say he would plead guilty in exchange for a life prison sentence.

According to the assault arrest report, Cruz attacked Sgt Beltran after he was told to "not drag his sandals around" while walking in a jail day room.

Cruz responded, the report says, by showing Sgt Beltran his middle finger and then rushing the deputy and striking him with his fist.

The report says Cruz and Sgt Beltran then "got into a physical altercation" in which both wound up on the floor and Cruz was able to wrest control of the stun gun, technically called a "conducive electronic weapon".

The stun gun discharged but it was not clear from the report if it struck anyone and Sgt Beltran was able to regain control.

Sgt Beltran was also struck multiple times by Cruz using his fists, according to video surveillance cited by the report.

Finally, the report says Sgt Beltran struck Cruz in the face with a fist containing the stun gun and Cruz then "retreated to one of the seats" in the day room before he was taken into custody.

The report does not mention the severity of any injuries to either Cruz or Sgt Beltran.

An initial hearing on the assault charges is set for Wednesday afternoon.

PA
Anup Ojha is a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues and human interest stories. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years.
The guessing game is over: Amazon plans to open new corporate outposts in Northern Virginia and New York, two already-crowded metropolitan areas that are likely to become even less affordable with a new influx of tech workers.

In some ways, the decision isn't surprising, as Amazon had made it clear that the company wanted to base its new offices, nicknamed HQ2, in a metropolitan area with at least a million residents that's near universities and an international airport.

In total 238 cities bid to become the place of Amazon's new headquarters. Credit:Bloomberg

But in September 2017, when the company first announced plans to open a second headquarters outside Seattle, nothing felt outside of the realm of possibility. In total, 238 cities competed to host Amazon in a drawn-out process of elimination that felt reminiscent of "America's Next Top Model" or "The Bachelor," just with more talk about high-speed rail connectivity.

While some cities stuck to offering traditional incentives - namely, billions of dollars in tax breaks - others that weren't considered obvious front-runners turned to gimmicks and publicity stunts to try to get the attention of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
A full plate

The prime minister must understand that he cant be in charge of everything
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker renewed his threat to abandon the Oneworld global alliance, citing a letter he said partner airline Qantas Airways had sent to staff attacking his carrier's expansion there.

Al Baker's comments on Tuesday mark a further deterioration in relations with Qantas, which has a joint venture with Qatar Air's Dubai-based rival Emirates. The CEO reiterated remarks from October saying he could abandon Oneworld if other members fail to act "in the spirit" of the partnership.

Qatar Airways' CEO says its expansion on routes to Australia had been at the invitation of the government. Credit:Fairfax Media

"I don't see any point in us continuing to stay a part of Oneworld when other partners see us as a threat," Al Baker said at an International Air Transport Association conference in Madrid. "We have put the chips on the table." He added that Qatar Air's expansion on routes to Australia had been at the invitation of the country's government.
A woman claiming to be the granddaughter of Ramsay Health Care founder, the late Paul Ramsay, had her bid for a board seat emphatically rejected at its shareholder meeting, saying she was disappointed but would not rule out a bid to join other ASX boards.

The private hospital operator narrowly avoided a first strike against its executive pay with 24.88 per cent of votes going against it. A 25 per cent vote is required to lodge a first strike.

Carlie Alisa Ramsay, who also goes by the name Carlie Betzis, said she wasn't disappointed with the result which saw 98.3 per cent of the votes cast against her appointment to the board.

"It was to be expected I guess," she said after the meeting.
Tesla boss Elon Musk and Mexico's tequila producers could be headed for a collision after the agave-based drink's industry group opposed the flamboyant billionaire's efforts to trademark an alcoholic drink dubbed "Teslaquila".

One of the world's richest people and chief executive of Tesla, Musk is known for ambitious and cutting-edge projects ranging from auto electrification and rocket-building to high-speed transit tunnels.

Now it seems that Musk could be setting his sights on disrupting the multibillion-dollar tequila industry.

On October 12, he tweeted "Teslaquila coming soon" and an accompanying "visual approximation" of a red and white label with the Tesla logo and a caption that stated "100 percent Puro de Agave."
Australians have reported more than 28,000 scam attempts to the and paid almost $1 million to scammers since July 1, according to the Australian Taxation Office.

The ATO on Tuesday warned taxpayers to be on "high-alert" for scams, as the official November 21 deadline for tax payments approaches.

Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson said almost 6000 taxpayers have reported sharing personal or financial information with scammers since July.

"November is prime time for scammers as they know lots of people have tax bills to pay. Be wary if someone contacts you demanding payment of a tax debt you didn't know you owed," Ms Anderson said in a statement.

"Your identifying information like tax file numbers, bank account numbers, or your date of birth are the keys to your identity, and can be used by scammers to break into your life if they are compromised."
Sydney councils are asking telecommunications companies to provide them with customers phone records to help them chase down fines and enforce minor infringements, including littering.

Telecommunications industry group Communications Alliance has revealed local councils were among more than 80 agencies that have made requests for metadata in the three years since the federal government attempted to restrict access to such records to law enforcement agencies.

Metadata includes email addresses, phone numbers, the amount of information in text messages and the times and places from which communications are sent, but not the actual content.

The federal government restricted access to metadata to law enforcement and spy agencies in the Data Retention Act. Credit:Tamara Voninski

In 2015 the federal government passed legislation that required telecommunications companies to hold their customers' metadata for two years so that it was available to police and intelligence agencies investigating serious crimes and terrorist threats.
Jungle Without Water

Sreedhevi Iyer

Jungle Without Water. By Sreedhevi Iyer.

Gazebo Books, $24.99

Sreedhevi Iyer is described in an online biography as "an Indian-Malaysian-Australian who no longer knows what to call herself", and this complex wrestling with identity is at the heart of all the stories in this collection. The first and last stories are of characters struggling to find their way amid the unfamiliar Australian manners and streets, while in between there are stories with various settings in various modes, from a colourful realism to the sinister parable of The Lovely Village or the surreal monologue of a garrulous coconut, part of a Southern Indian Hindu ritual transplanted to Kuala Lumpur, in The Last Day of a Divine Coconut. These are all tales of displacement and cultural cross-currents, and while they feature many different characters and voices, they all reveal a restless, questing intelligence and a real gift for storytelling.
The Spotted Dog

Kerry Greenwood

The Spotted Dog. By Kerry Greenwood.

Allen & Unwin, $29.99

Lovers of Kerry Greenwood's witty and richly sensual crime novels will not be disappointed by this latest adventure in the life of Corinna Chapman, master baker and amateur sleuth. It's summer in Melbourne and a distressed and probably concussed Scottish army veteran has been directed by a kindly but knowing nun to the bakery, Earthly Delights. He is looking for Corinna's dishy boyfriend, Daniel, ex-soldier turned private detective, to help him find the devoted canine companion who has apparently been dognapped. This lively tale of drug runners, drama students, and deadly criminal gangs straight out of Underbelly is told with Greenwood's trademark wit and panache, as well as the delight in lush physical detail that shines from all her writing. The heat of a Melbourne summer wafts from these pages, as does the smell of fresh-baked bread.
Actress Paz de la Huerta filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her in 2010 and then embarking on a campaign of harassment that harmed her career.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges Weinstein raped de la Huerta twice in New York in December 2010, taunting her with phone calls between the two assaults.

New York police said a year ago that they were investigating de la Huerta's allegations. No charges have been filed in the case, but Weinstein is charged there with the rape of another woman.

In a new allegation, the suit states that the following month Weinstein exposed himself to the actress in a Beverly Hills hotel when she went to confront him. She alleges Weinstein tried to get de la Huerta to have a sexual encounter with him and another woman.
Each week, host Josh Barro and former federal prosecutor and criminal defence attorney Ken White discuss the constant and sprawling legal issues that surround the 45th president. It is remarkable to consider Donald Trump has so many ongoing legal threats that he can sustain a weekly podcast. White is a brilliantly funny and down to earth guide through the legalese, from the Russia investigation to Stormy Daniels to an emoluments clause lawsuit that argues the President is using his office to enrich his company. With Trump's recent firing of Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, and the Democrats taking the House of Representatives, All The President's Lawyers is now compulsory listening.

I thought I had no room left for another Trump-focused podcast, my slate was already full with Pod Save America, Trump Inc and Can He Do That. But I've managed to find the time for one more, KCRW's All the President's Lawyers.

Season one of Slow Burn was captivating listening for anyone who was too young to live through Watergate. The podcast provided a fascinating look at how the Nixon presidency slowly unravelled, how long it took for the various strains of Watergate to form the narrative we know today. But once it all became public, once the evidence was overwhelming and the public lost faith, Nixon's downfall was sudden. The second season focused on the second impeachment of a US president  this time Bill Clinton. Clinton's story is just as fascinating, following a similar rhythm of long, drawn out investigations that would ultimately lead to his famous denial. As someone who experienced Clinton's saga only through the prism of late-night talk-show monologues, Slow Burn revealed so much I didn't know about Clinton, Lewinsky, and the other main players.

Bag Man

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow hosts a new podcast focusing on Nixon's vice president, Spiro Agnew. Just three episodes in, I'm not sure where the show is headed, but the parallels to modern-day politics are clear. Agnew hated the press, and would rally against them at any opportunity. He would stoke the divisions of the US at the time, casting the "dirty hippies" against the "silent majority". He was also not shy about taking a bribe and that would ultimately lead to his downfall. Agnew is largely forgotten now, as Nixon's impeachment overshadowed his ousting, but in any other presidency, apart from possibly Trump's, his would have been the defining scandal.
The blowout of an oil well in the Great Australian Bight could leak for more than 100 days and foul beaches along Australia's coastline from Albany in WA to Sydney's beaches and beyond, a leaked document shows.

The draft oil pollution emergency plan for Norwegian oil giant Equinor's planned Stromlo-1 exploration drilling in the Bight, was obtained by Greenpeace. The proposed drilling is in waters about 370 km from the nearest coastline at water depths of 2239 metres.

Australia has had offshore oil drilling woes in the past, such as PTTEP's West Atlas oil rig blaze off the Kimberley coast in 2009.

Modelling for the "loss of well control" assumed average daily release of 6739 cubic metres of oil, creating a slick of "potentially high concentrations of surface oil" near Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island in South Australia, Port Fairy in Victoria and King Island in Bass Strait.

So-called weathered oil - hardened tar balls of more than 10 grams per square metre after part of the fuel evaporates - would eventually reach as far up the NSW coast as Port Macquarie north of Sydney.
Bairagi lauds France for helping Nepals development

Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, currently in France, held a bilateral meeting with French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Maurice Gourdault-Montagne at the latters office in Paris on Tuesday.
An ACT Supreme Court jury has retired to consider its verdict in the murder trial of David Harold Eastman.

Acting Justice Murray Kellam sent the twelve men and women into the jury room to begin their deliberations at about 10.30am on Wednesday.

David Eastman arrives at court on Wednesday. Credit:Karleen Minney

The marathon murder trial started nearly six months ago on June 4 with an empanelment at Albert Hall.

The jurors have sat for 58 days of evidence, heard from more than 127 witnesses, and roughly 22 days of closing addresses from prosecutor Murugan Thangaraj SC, defence counsel George Georgiou SC, and the judge.
For people with the rarest of cancers, the hope of survival or an effective treatment can be scarcer than the diagnosis itself.

But a "cracking" new trial is redefining the odds, matching one-in-a-million patients with effective treatments already being used to treat common cancers.

Sutita Otuhouma was given a "death sentence" reprieve when the trial discovered her rare uterine cancer could be treated with breast cancer therapies. Credit:Simon Schluter

The pilot phase of the Nominator trial has matched one in five patients with extremely rare "orphan" cancers to existing treatments, by genetically sequencing their cancers to identify genetic markers or mutations they share with some of the most prevalent, well-funded and highly researched cancers in Australia.

If we werent looking at the genomic profiles of these cancers we would have left these patients in the too-hard basket, said Professor Clare Scott, lead researcher from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Brisbane City Council has joined the growing ranks of public agencies across Australia requesting consumers metadata from telecoms companies, prompting calls of "Big Brother" from the council's Labor opposition.

According to the telecoms industry, Australias biggest local authority is among more than 100 bodies making thousands of requests for details of numbers called by phone users, their location, the length of calls, email addresses and other information telcos are obliged to keep for two years under national security laws passed in 2015.

Brisbane City Council says it only accessed metadata to assist police. Credit:Chris Hyde

The bodies making requests include the Queensland Office of Fair Trading and Queensland Transport as well as a range of state departments across Australia and the Bankstown, Fairfield and Rockdale councils in Sydney.

They appear on a list provided to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security this week by industry peak body the Communications Alliance.
More than $100,000 worth of drugs destined for schoolies on the Gold Coast have been seized and more than 30 arrests were made.

The police operation Quebec Persia uncovered the drugs, including cocaine, ice and marijuana.

Police said the five-month operation identified the drugs were being supplied via online apps and then being distributed on the Gold Coast. Credit:Andy Zakeli

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the drugs were packaged and ready for distribution.

Police believe these drugs would have ended up in the hands of our most vulnerable, our kids, attending schoolies celebrations, he said.
Police hope a $250,000 reward will finally smoke out the killer of former KGB Colonel Gennadi Bernovski, who died in a hail of bullets outside his luxury Gold Coast home.

It's 18 years since Mr Bernovski was repeatedly shot with a semi-automatic weapon as he took his bins out on the night of July 24, 2000.

Former KGB Colonel Gennadi Bernovski was gunned down outside his Gold Coast home on July 24, 2000. Credit:AAP

The 41-year-old martial arts expert died after staggering back to the doorway of his Benowa Waters home, telling his wife: "Call the police, there's shooting."

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan says detectives are determined to solve the crime, and hope the reward will flush out those who can identify the killer.
A New South Wales Lindsay truck driver has been found dead about 10 hours after his vehicle rolled down an embankment on the Logan Motorway, south of Brisbane.

The crash site was discovered the following morning by someone walking past the area at Tanah Merah, near Loganholme.

Emergency services were on scene after a truck rollover in Brisbane's south. Credit:9 News

Despite emergency services receiving a call about the truck crash at 10.40am on Wednesday, police confirmed the incident happened on Tuesday night.

The 57-year-old man was driving a prime-mover with a loaded trailer and traveling from Coffs Harbour to Brisbane during his regular work route.
A peak-hour train split in two with more than a hundred passengers on board last week, after Metro Trains told a driver to ignore warnings that the carriages were about to separate.

In a rare safety incident being probed by rail safety and transport watchdogs, an X'Trapolis train carrying about 150 passengers broke into two parts while travelling to Lilydale early on Friday evening.

Firefighters assist passengers left stranded on carriages that separated from a moving train at Croydon. Credit:Luke Whiteside

The last three carriages of the six-carriage train dislodged and ground to a halt between Croydon and Mooroolbark before 5pm. Passengers were on board but no one was injured.

The driver, who was apparently unaware of the dislodgement at first, continued to drive the train's first three carriages for about 300 metres until he realised what had happened and applied the emergency brakes.
ACT Policing has defended its decision to release information about crimes to the public months after they occurred, saying it will only go public when victims allow it or when all other avenues of investigation are exhausted.

During annual report hearings on Wednesday, Liberal MLA Giulia Jones pointed to three recent appeals, where the crime had taken place significantly prior to police going public.

On November 11, police release footage of CCTV footage after an aggravated robbery at a petrol station in November that happened on February 23.

On November 8 police released CCTV stills of three people suspected of throwing eggs at the Gan Yisroel Jewish Childcare and Community Centre in Giralang on May 12.

ACT Policing urged anyone with information about the vandalism attack to come forward but blurred the faces of the alleged assailants.
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace won't intervene to stop some of the state's teachers walking off the job next week to protest children in detention on Nauru.

The Queensland Teachers Union has backed any teacher who wants to participate in protests next Tuesday, with teachers from a handful of schools understood to be considering the measure.

Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace will not intervene in the planned protests. Credit:AAP

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has slammed the move, which will only go ahead if the remaining children on Nauru are not removed, while the Queensland opposition says it is "illegal".

They're calling on Ms Grace to stop the teachers but the minister says it isn't a formal strike and teachers are participating in "their own time" so she won't intervene.
Victoria Police would get new powers to put electronic monitoring devices on terror suspects and ban them from the CBD under an $89.5 million Coalition promise to guard against terrorism.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has also pledged that another 100 current police officers would be trained in counter-terrorism measures to help prevent incidents such as Fridays deadly Bourke Street attack, if the Coalition wins the election on November 24.

Mr Guy has employed tough-talking language since Hassan Khalif Shire Ali killed Sisto Malaspina, the much-loved co-owner of Pelligrinis Espresso Bar, and stabbed two other men before he was shot fatally by police.

He has pledged to use all resources available to stamp out terrorism if he wins the state election.

Mr Guy has received briefings from police about the attack under caretaker provisions with the election less than two weeks away.
The Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy still cannot leave the country. Canada has officially offered asylum, whilst the United Kingdom has refused fearing attacks against its embassies. Amid all this there is some joy as Asia Bibis husband finally embraced her again.

Islamabad (AsiaNews) - In Pakistan, negotiations have stalled over Asia Bibi's asylum. The Christian woman acquitted on blasphemy charges was freed but not allowed to leave the country after Islamic radicals who forced the government the review her sentence.

"We have no news, Joseph Nadeem, executive director of the Renaissance Education Foundation, told AsiaNews. We are unaware of any contacts between the government and foreign countries. Newspapers report many stories, but not all of them are true."

For now, the Christian woman is "hiding in a secret location but "the good news is that she was able to meet her husband after ten years, the activist said.

Asia Bibi was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to death in 2010 on the false charges of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Her case has attracted the attention of several countries around the world.

Some, like Canada, have officially announced that they are involved in confidential negotiations with the Pakistani government.

Yesterday Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in France for the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, said that his government was in discussions with the Pakistani government about offering asylum to Asia Bibi.

"There is a delicate domestic context that we respect which is why I don't want to say any more about that, but I will remind people Canada is a welcoming country," he told AFP.

Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, have categorically excluded providing protection and asylum.

Fear of unrest on British territory and the risk of attacks by Islamic radicals against its embassies around the world are given as reasons.

Recently, Asias husband Ashiq Masih appealed to the United Kingdom, later to the US, Canada and Italy.

According to Abraham Mathai, president of Indian Christian Voice, the position of British Prime Minister Theresa May is "deplorable and shocking".

It is an embarrassment that shows the country "Succumbing to extremist pressure. For him, denying asylum to Asia Bibi is a sign that the extreme radicalisation of the UK is now complete".

Meanwhile, Asia Bibis family continues to "pray for the good resolution of the situation, and is grateful to the Lord for her release, said Joseph Nadeem.

"The Christian mother is under a special security regime, he explained. We are waiting for better times. All of them hope to finally lead a free life, safe and far from Pakistan."
Banks urged to enforce system

Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) has urged the clearing banks to enforce the electronic transfer system that facilitates the online settlement of payment from the investors bank account when purchasing or selling stocks on Nepse.
Loading In his Brunswick clinic last year, there was a man so acutely depressed he had planned out how to kill himself. But when doctors tried to call the local CAT team, there was no answer. It was another two hours before they received a call back and when they did, the person on the line reportedly tried to convince them that the patient was OK to send home. It was only after the doctors insisted that the CAT team take responsibility for the patient that they responded, Dr Levick said.

He was severely depressed. He had previous suicidal attempts and he had suicidal planning, he said. It was highly likely that this patient would act on this. Dr Levick said the overwhelmed CAT service would do their best to fob off patients, including those with psychotic symptoms such as delusions, because they were so overworked. We dont believe that any mental health worker is lazy, we just think there are not enough  so they are overwhelmed," he said. The other alternative is to send the patient to hospital  but emergency departments will usually quickly assess the patient and then try to put them into a non-existent service, before sending them home because they dont have any beds to admit them into.

Again that is far from adequate. If you were suicidal or your [family member] was suicidal you would hope that there were better systems in place than hospitals sending them home for you to look after. Victoria's Mental Health Minister Martin Foley has promised the government will accept all the recommendations of the planned royal commission if re-elected. However, the AMA (which is very supportive of the commission) is concerned that action could come too late for families in crisis. Professor McGorry, a former Australian of the Year, believes the royal commission is needed to garner support for the billions of dollars needed for a system redesign. But he says if extra transitional funding is not forthcoming, more people turned away from services would take their own lives. Professor Patrick McGorry said further action is needed ahead of a royal commission. Credit:AAP

Professor McGorry said seven young people had already died this year while awaiting help from Orygen, a youth mental health service that covers Melbourne's northern and western suburbs. Demand was so great that up to 75 per cent of people referred to youth mental health services such as Headspace were being turned away, he said. We have lost seven [people] already  from patients trying to get into Orygen this year," Professor McGorry said. We are turning away three out of four currently from ... Headspace and from other referrals. This is something that didnt happen 10 or 15 years ago. We might have lost one patient every year or two, and that is always taken very seriously.

Loading Now there is kind of resignation that we are going to lose young people that dont have terminal illnesses, who if they had got the right help would have survived. A gaping hole in the system highlighted by many doctors is an absence of public psychiatrists for those with suspected serious mental illness who have become too complex to be managed solely by their GP or a psychologist. GP obstetrician Dr Ines Rio recalls a case where she was unable to get one of her patients access to a public specialist, despite his nightmares and suicidal thoughts. Eventually she was able to get him to a psychiatrist practising privately who agreed to bulk bill. That doctor concluded her patient was probably suicidal and homicidal (capable of murder).
If WA's first minister for Asian engagement has his way, Western Australians will be looking to their northern neighbours and trading partners with a fresh set of eyes.

Bill Johnston, who also holds the mining and commerce portfolios, will today release a consultation paper on the state's first Asian Engagement Strategy during a meeting of ASEAN in Perth this week.

Asian Engagement Minister Bill Johnston is preparing the state's first Asian Engagement Strategy, to guide WA's approach to its northern neighbours.

The strategy, which will set out the importance of the relationship between Asian nations, will aim to strengthen WA's relationship with Asia.

Mr Johnston said he wants work with business on how the state can expand its horizons and have a broader engagement with the region for the benefit of both sides of the relationship.
Bali Nine drug mule Renae Lawrence, who is due to land in Australia next week following more than a decade behind bars in Bali, faces arrest over an alleged high-speed car chase in NSW.

Police claim that Lawrence, 41, stole a car from Sydney's inner west and drove north with fellow Bali Nine member Matthew Norman one month before the drug smugglers were arrested in Indonesia.

Renae Lawrence, pictured in 2006 Credit:AP

The pursuit allegedly started in Enfield before Lawrence travelled through Turramurra, Mooney Mooney and Peats Ridge on Saturday, March 26, 2005. The car was later stopped by police.

Lawrence has outstanding warrants for offences including motor vehicle theft, unlicensed driving, speeding and failing to comply with police directions.
Dr Joseph Sakran Credit:Youtube/AmCollegeSurgeons Sakran knew he wanted to become a trauma surgeon almost as soon as he recovered from his own surgery. While doctors were still tearing scar tissue out of his windpipe, he successfully applied for college at George Mason University. He got his start in the business of saving lives while training as a medic and firefighter in Fairfax before he went on to graduate from Ben-Gurion University Medical School for International Health. As it happens, he completed his surgery residency at Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he had been treated. He trained alongside the same surgeons who saved his life as a teenager. "It was awe-inspiring to say the least," Sakran said. "For me the most gratifying opportunity was to give someone else the same second chance that those surgeons gave me."

Sakran's activism in gun violence prevention began early in his career, when he started giving talks to students in underserved communities about his own brush with gun violence. It became particularly visible this year, however, in wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when Sakran founded "Docs Demand Action." The network of doctors has mobilised around urging lawmakers to more robustly fund gun violence research in the same way Congress has funded research into other public health crises, such as motor vehicle fatalities or deadly diseases. Congress has not substantially funded gun violence research since 1996, when it passed the Dickey Amendment. The measure didn't necessarily ban gun violence research, but restricted research supporting "gun control," resulting in a chilling effect on funds for gun violence research more broadly. The amendment, backed by the NRA, came in response to concerns from gun rights groups that doctors would try to push anti-gun agendas - just as the NRA accused doctors of doing last week.

"People want to polarise this debate. But no one wants to take away the guns. That's not what we're saying," Sakran said. "There's not one solution to this. Part of it is developing the right data and the right research in order to understand what solutions we need to implement. We just don't want to continue seeing these senseless tragedies come into our trauma centres day in and day out." The NRA lashed out at doctors last week after the American College of Physicians published a position paper that also called for greater research into the effectiveness of various gun restrictions and other risk factors for gun violence. It included support for universal background checks; counselling patients about safe, childproof storage of guns in the home; consideration of waiting periods before purchasing guns, to possibly reduce suicides; and, perhaps incensing the NRA the most, a ban on ownership of semiautomatic weapons. "Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane," the NRA wrote in a tweet linking to commentary shredding the ACP's paper. "Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control." The #ThisIsOurLane responses from doctors invited the NRA into the hospitals, sharing photographs of blood on the floor, of blood on their scrubs, of the waiting room where surgeons must tell family members their loved one has died. The movement erupted the same night of the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, and in the days that followed.

But Sakran said part of the frustration for doctors is that the thousands of gunshot wound victims surgeons treat in their hospitals every year will never get the same attention. Loading The ones who die in his operating room become "chilled into my memory," he said. Often he is the one who tells the families in the waiting room, and sometimes his scrubs are bloody so he has to change them first. The families are sometimes inconsolable but other times, Sakran said, they want to tell him about the person they lost. Many of them are young, he said, reminding him of himself that night in 1994. "Sometimes I think about what my own family must have felt when the surgeon walked out to talk to them," he said.
Los Angeles: Victims of California's most destructive wildfire have filed a lawsuit accusing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. of causing the massive blaze.

The suit filed on Tuesday in state court in California accuses the utility of failing to maintain its infrastructure and properly inspect and manage its power transmission lines.

Alameda County Sheriff's deputy A. Gogna searches for victims of the Camp Fire. Credit:AP

The utility's president said earlier the company doesn't know what caused the fire, but is cooperating with the investigation by state agencies.

PG&E told state regulators last week that it experienced a problem with a transmission line in the area of the fire just before the blaze erupted.
Latest News Has the property market in Australia peaked? Auction data suggests property market has peaked in capital cities, but might still have legs elsewhere

Meet the new concept that could revolutionise inner city real estate 'Airspace development' could unlock millions for investors in inner city property market

Students from some of north Queensland's most remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities have taken part in their first workshop on money management, as part of an initiative jointly established by a broker and the MFAA.

Meeting at the NRL Cowboys House in Townsville, the teenage boys were given lessons on basic financial skills such as saving, budgeting, online banking and understanding payslips.

NRL Cowboys House opened in 2017 and now houses 50 teenage boys from those remote communities while they finish studying at schools in Townsville.

The workshops were held by finance broker Mhairi MacLeod, the founder and principal at Astute Ability Finance Group.

MacLeod, who in conjunction with the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) established the School Entrepreneurs Program to improve the life skills and financial literacy of Australian teenagers.

She said it was an honour for her to offer advice about money management to the boys, adding, It was a fabulous experience working with the boys at NRL Cowboys House and they were all very engaged and interested to know more about improving their financial knowledge.

I was also invited to dine with the boys and hear their stories, which was truly a gift and a privilege for me. The feedback I received was very positive and I know one of the boys said it was important to save because that way you can get rich. I hope the message will cut through.

NRL Cowboys House manager, Gary Cook, said the financial skills workshop was a fantastic addition to the centres holistic program to provide life-changing opportunities for the students, who come from some of the most remote communities in the country.

He said, The financial skills workshop is the kind of stuff that is essential for these young men who come from communities that are so remote.

Learning about how to save and better manage your money helps gives the boys aspirations and some of the older boys are in part-time employment. Were about closing the gap by providing them with an education and preparing them for their careers.

These boys are kicking goals at the moment. They have come so far in the past two years. They are a credit to their families and their communities.

Managed by the Cowboys Community Foundation, the charity arm of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, NRL Cowboys House is a joint initiative between the National Rugby League, North Queensland Cowboys, the Queensland government and the federal government.

NRL Cowboys House Girls Campus will welcome the first intake of 25 young women into its care in January 2019, with an additional 25 students expected in 2020.
Latest News Has the property market in Australia peaked? Auction data suggests property market has peaked in capital cities, but might still have legs elsewhere

Meet the new concept that could revolutionise inner city real estate 'Airspace development' could unlock millions for investors in inner city property market

A major bank has announced changes in how it calculates upfront commissions for its brokers.

CBA became the third of the big four to make a change, following ASICs review of mortgage broking remuneration, the Sedgwick Review and ongoing collaboration with the Combined Industry Forum.

Effective from 24 November 2018, the change means upfront broker commission will be calculated based on the drawn down loan balance, net of offset and redraw facility.

As one of Australias leading home lenders we recognise mortgage brokers as a key channel for customers who are looking to purchase a home. We are committed to supporting our brokers and driving good customer outcomes, said CBAs executive GM of home buying, Daniel Huggins

Since ASICs review of mortgage broking remuneration and the Sedgwick Review, we have been working with the Combined Industry Forum to ensure we continue to drive and deliver good customer outcomes, Huggins continued.

As part of our work implementing the principles developed by the Combined Industry Forum, we are making changes to the way we calculate mortgage broker commission payments, he added.

In practice, this means that if a customer receives a loan of $800,000 and there is nothing in the offset account 14 days after settlement, the broker will receive commission on the full loan amount. If, for example, there is $50,000 in the offset, commission will be paid on the $750,000 used for the property purchase.

According to the bank, the majority of customers draw down their funds within 14 days of settlement.

In September, NAB became the first of the big four banks to change how it calculates broker commissions, applicable from November 2018. The following month, Westpac announced similar changes, which are due to come into effect from January.

CBA will continue to review remunerations and also consider all broker and customer outcomes as a result of any changes made.
Latest News Has the property market in Australia peaked? Auction data suggests property market has peaked in capital cities, but might still have legs elsewhere

Meet the new concept that could revolutionise inner city real estate 'Airspace development' could unlock millions for investors in inner city property market

Small businesses will have easier access to funding after the government announced a $2billion Australian Business Securitisation Fund.

The move has been welcomed by large and small lenders and labelled a win-win.

The fund will invest up to $2billion in the securitisation market, providing significant additional funding to smaller banks and non-bank lenders to on-lend to small businesses on more competitive terms.

Small businesses currently find it difficult to obtain finance other than on a secured basis, typically against real estate.

Those that have already obtained this finance then find it difficult to access additional funding in order to grow further. Funding costs are typically higher as well.

The Australian Business Securitisation Fund will be administered by the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM), consistent with their prior involvement in the Residential Mortgage Backed Securities Market in 2008.

The government is also in consultation with APRA and a number of financial institutions about the establishment of an Australian Business Growth Fund, which would provide longer term equity funding to small businesses.

Many small businesses find it difficult to attract passive equity investment which enables them to grow without taking on additional debt or giving up control of their business.

Lachlan Heussler, managing director of business lender Spotcap, said, Mr Frydenberg's proposal meets a real financial need and is a win-win for both Australian small business owners and for the alternative lending industry in Australia.

Without sustainable lending and affordable finance options, small and medium-sized businesses will struggle to grow, innovate and create more jobs for our economy.

Australia's 2.2 million small and medium-sized businesses are the beating heart of our economy but are starved of working capital and under-served by traditional lenders who require security.

By lowering borrowing costs, the proposed fund is a good step in increasing competition between the dominant, big lenders and online, unsecured lenders, such as Spotcap.

CEO at Scottish Pacific, Peter Langham, welcomed the unprecedented effort. He said, The funds clincher is the idea of rated programs.

It means instead of supporting irresponsible lending by new players and risking taxpayers money, the government will be improving the ability of good lenders to help even more business owners.

This is one of the most measured, thought out and equitable initiatives I have seen from a government to support small business owners.

The consultation over the development of the Australian Business Growth Fund was welcomed by NAB.

This fund is expected to follow similar international precedents, such as the UKs Business Growth Fund which was established in 2011 and has invested $2.7billion in a range of sectors across the economy.

NABs chief customer officer, business and private banking, Anthony Healy, said that as the countrys largest business bank they recognised the need for SMEs to have better access to capital in order for Australia to grow.

He added, One of the ways we have addressed this is by providing unsecured lending through NAB QuickBiz, helping SMEs borrow against the strength and cash flow of their business rather than physical bricks and mortar.

The Australian Business Growth Fund can help this further by providing a way in which SMEs can receive long term equity capital investments to grow their business, invest in new technology and create more jobs, which is why NAB is supportive of the concept.

We do believe there is more that can be done to provide SMEs with access to equity capital, and we take confidence from the UK Business Growth Fund having operated successfully for several years.

We look forward to further discussions with the federal government and other participants about the funds potential establishment soon.
Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.
Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC

78th Precinct

Park Slope

Four-wheel plumber

Some whacko crawled under a mans 2017 Honda Element parked on Fourth Avenue on Nov. 4 and destroyed a pipe.

The victim told police he left his Japanese four-door between Butler and Douglass streets at 7 pm, and returned the next day to find two clean cuts in a pipe beneath the carriage.

No arrests have been made in the case, which has been closed, cops said.

Import export

A thief drove off with a womans 2007 Honda Accord she parked on Sixth Street on Oct. 31.

The victim told police she left her import sedan between Sixth and Seventh avenues at 9 pm, and returned the following morning to find an empty spot where her four-door had been.

No arrests have been made in the case, which has been closed, according to police.

Stayin alive

Police arrested a 23-year-old man for criminal possession of a firearm at his 10th Street home on Nov. 4, after his girlfriend called police claiming he was suicidal.

Officers detained the suspect at his apartment between Fourth and Fifth avenues at 11:30 am, and sent him off for a psych evaluation at a nearby medical center.

He was charged with felony criminal possession of a weapon after police recovered a black pistol from his bedroom, cops said.

Throwing things

Some jerk smashed the rear window of a womans 2013 Toyota Highlander she parked on Fourth Avenue on Oct. 29.

The victim told police the miscreant hurled an unknown object at her car between Sackett and Union streets at 6:37 pm.

No arrests have been made in the case, which has been closed, cops said.

 Colin Mixson
Chhath unites hills and plains people

It is Tuesday evening, and Kamal Pokhari is echoing with Chhati Maya hymn. Roshi Giri, a permanent resident of Naradevi, is preparing to worship the setting sun at the pond along with her son, daughter, and husband including 14 relatives.
Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
Eight Indian managed to secure funding commitments to the tune of $30 million at the 2nd Investment Seminar held at Beijing.

The event was planned to expose Chinese venture capitalists and investors to the promising Indian and also help Indian to reach out to the large for receiving investment for their

"Forty-two Indian entrepreneurs representing 20 participated in the event and pitched before to make investments in their ventures. More than 350 Chinese Venture Capital (VC) funds, angel investors participated in a day-long pitching session and seminar," the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

The 1st Startup Indian Investment event was organised in November 2017. In the first seminar, 12 participated of which 4 secured funding from Chinese VCs of $15 million.

Zheng Bin, CEO of ICBC India, shared ICBC's experience in India, gave an overview of the Indian startup ecosystem and explained the process of investment. He also informed that ICBC India has established a $200 million fund for investing in promising Indian MSMEs and ventures.

A panel discussion was also organised to discuss effective strategy for Chinese VCs to enter the Indian startup market and share their experiences about the Indian startup ecosystem.

The event was organised by the Embassy of India in China in partnership with Association and Venture Gurukool on 12 November for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among Indian youth.
Large domestic steel players see no threat to business even if Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal enters the India market. Both Sajjan Jindal's JSW Steel and Tata Steel, the countrys oldest alloy producer, see ample scope for new entities in the market, where demand is likely to grow by 7-8 per cent annually, against the global pace of 5 per cent. "The quality of steel we produce and the technology, along with cost efficiencies and product mix, are quite competent.

I dont think we have to be concerned about what others will do. In fact, we are already competing with ...
India's telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd reported a second-quarter loss on Wednesday and said it is looking to raise about 250 billion rupees ($3.5 billion). The company said its board is evaluating ways to raise the capital in which promoters Vodafone Group will chip in 110 billion rupees and Aditya Birla Group 72.5 billion rupees. This is the first quarterly result since Vodafone Plc merged its Indian operations with Idea Cellular in August, creating the country's largest telecom operator by subscribers and revenue. ALSO READ: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone ...
CIAA files graft case against Boudha Police DSP Rai

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against Metropolitan Police Range, Boudha Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shyam Kumar Rai at the Special Court.
The on Wednesday claimed the agreement to purchase the 36 French Rafale jets was not a government-to-government deal.

Keeping up the attack over the Rafale "scam", also said the French defence major was a "non-compliant" company and the Modi government should not have entered into a deal with it.

"This is not a government-to-government deal, because no such procedure exists in France. France has never entered into a government-to-government defence deal. Moreover, it was not the French government which negotiated the deal with India.

"It was a deal between the government of India on one side and Dassault Aviation, a private entity on the other. Since the French government was not involved in the negotiations, how can it be government-to-government deal?" questioned leader



Besides saying the deal was made in gross violations of the Defence Procurement Procedure(DPP), Sibal said Dassault Aviation was a non-compliant company and as such was not entitled to be awarded the deal.

"Dassault neither gave any sovereign guarantee for the delivery of the jets nor did it offer to undertake responsibility for the jets that were to be manufactured in India. This made Dassault a non-compliant company and the Indian government cannot deal with a company which had become non-compliant," he said.

Sibal also targeted Dassault CEO Eric Trappier for "lying".

"Trappier says they entered into joint venture because they knew Reliance had land. But Reliance applied for land on June 16, 2015, much later to their agreement. When they entered the joint venture, they didn't even know that Reliance was going to apply for land.

"He (Trappier) also said Dassault didn't go with HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) because it didn't have land. But the fact is HAL had not only applied for land it already had lot of land in the vicinity of the airport in Bengaluru.



ALSO READ: Govt explains to court why HAL failed to be offset partner in Rafale deal

"All of Trappier's assertions are not true," said Sibal on the Dassault CEO who has come out in support of the deal saying it was "clean".

The Congress' fresh attack came on a day when the Supreme Court reserved its judgment into a clutch of petitions questioning the and seeking a court-monitored probe into it.



Arguing in defence of the deal before a Chief Justice Ranjan Gogi headed bench, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal admitted before the court that there was no sovereign guarantee from the French government for the deal.

Congress has been going hammer and tongs against the ruling BJP over the deal alleging personal culpability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the "scam".
On October 31, a three-judge special bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar acquitted Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy. She was on death row. Many people hailed the verdict and commended the judges who were brave enough to hear Aasia Bibis final appeal in a court of law.

Justice had finally been served. Chairman of the Senates Functional Committee on Human Rights, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, said: Aasia Bibi is free because justice was dispensed wisely and without any fear. This should be the practice in all such ...

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
Prime Minister arrived here on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

Modi's first engagement here would be to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet.

"The Prime Minister landed in Singapore a short while ago. He will be joining a series of programmes through the day, beginning with the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival," PMOIndia@PMOIndia said.



In a short while from now, PM @narendramodi will deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival. pic.twitter.com/kxocAhNHtI  PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 14, 2018

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The prime minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, the WH said.
Driving licence vendor hits speed bump

Malika Incorporated, the private company that was awarded the contract to print smart driving licences for clearing backlogs dating back to almost a year, is unlikely to complete its task on time.
United States President Donald Trump has complimented Indian trade negotiators as "the best" and said trade talks between the two countries were moving along.

"We are trying very hard to make better trade deals with India," he said during a White House Diwali celebration on Tuesday.

Showing the trade negotiators as highly skilled and making the talks sound difficult for the Americans, he said, "They are very good traders, they are very good negotiators." And turning to India's Ambassador Navtej Sarna, he said, "You would say (that), right?"

They are "the best," and "so we are working and it is moving along," he added.

The annual celebration was held a week later because Diwali fell on the day after the mid-term elections when the results were still coming in.

He repeatedly spoke of his close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said, "We love your country. And I have great, great respect, as you know, for your Prime Minister Modi."

And he told Sarna, "So please give him my warmest regards. We will be talking to him soon.

"The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," he said.

He also recalled that his daughter had met Modi during a visit to India and he was now also her friend.

He said, "India is the world's largest democracy. And the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity and peace."

"We are very close and I think closer than ever before," Trump said, and Sarna agreed, saying, "Absolutely, sir."

"I think that we are looking at one of the best times we have ever had for the India-US relationship," Sarna said.

He added that the Indian-American community was a "plus plus for both India and for the United States."

Last month Trump had denounced India as the "tariff king" and asserted that he had spoke to Modi, who told him that he would reduce the tariffs on imports from the US.

Trump has made the US trade deficit a focus of his presidency, imposing heavy taxes on a range of Chinese imports, threatening other countries over trade and renegotiating trade agreements with Mexico and Canada.

The total value of US-India goods and services trade last year was $126.2 billion and the US ran a $27.3 billion deficit.

Earlier this year, Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel steel and 10 percent on aluminum imported from India and other countries.

New Delhi has threatened retaliatory duties on US agricultural products it imports like nuts and apples, as well as some chemicals.

In one concession to a pet peeve of Trump, India dropped the duties on Harley Davidson motorcycles from 75 percent to 50 percent.

Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are getting close to ironing out some of their policy differences, said two sources familiar with the discussions, as they seek to defuse worsening tensions that had threatened to unnerve investors. While the rift is far from healed, the sources said enough progress had been made to avoid acrimony at a board meeting of the RBI next Monday. The threat that RBI Governor Urjit Patel would quit, as reported by some Indian newspapers last week, is also thought to be off the table for now, they said. The uneasy truce is likely to see ...
The small and medium entrepreneurs of Dewas, an industrial cluster 33 kms away from Indore, as well as the traders of Madhya Pradeshs Malwa region are split in their views on the impact of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax regime on their businesses. In this demonstrably prosperous pocket of a state thats struggling to come out of the BIMARU quagmire, the traders have been hit much harder than the SMEs by the combined effect of the new order.

However, many of them slowly absorbed the changes and are coming to terms with them. They believe that the ...
Thousands of firefighters battled blazes in northern and southern California on Tuesday as body recovery teams searched the remains of houses and charred cars for victims of the deadliest wildfire in the history of the US state.

At least 50 deaths have been reported statewide so far from the late-season wildfires, and with hundreds of people unaccounted for, the toll is likely to rise.

Most of the fatalities have been caused by the so-called "Camp Fire" in and around the town of Paradise, population 26,000, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Sacramento.

"Today an additional six human remains were recovered, which brings the total to 48. All six of those remains were located in Paradise, and they were located within homes," Sheriff Kory Honea told a news conference.

Another two deaths have been reported from the "Woolsey Fire," north of Los Angeles.

Paradise, which is home to many retirees and has experienced an unusually dry fall, was virtually razed to the ground by the fast-moving "Camp Fire" blaze.

Residents have recounted harrowing tales of fleeing the fires on foot with little more than the clothes on their backs.

escaped by driving through tunnels of smoke and fire as flames licked at their vehicles on gridlocked roads dotted with abandoned cars.

Melissa Schuster, a member of the Paradise town council, told ABC News that the entire town "is a toxic wasteland right now." "We have teams -- you know, coroner teams -- that have to go house to house and vehicle to vehicle," Schuster told ABC.

The "Camp Fire," which erupted on Thursday, has ravaged 130,000 acres (50,600 hectares) of land and is 35 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

Butte County, where the blaze is located, has seen less than an inch of rainfall in more than 30 weeks.

The "Camp Fire" has destroyed more than 6,500 homes and 260 commercial properties. Battling the blaze are more than 5,600 fire personnel, some from as far away as Washington state and Texas.

The "Woolsey Fire," which also began on Thursday, has razed 97,114 acres (39,300 hectares) and has been 40 percent contained.

Cal Fire said more than 3,500 fire personnel were battling the "Woolsey Fire." "We're starting to get a handle on this fire," said Captain Brian McGrath of the Ventura County Fire Department in an online briefing.

"I'm not feeling nearly the amount of wind and it's a little bit cooler this morning." The "Woolsey Fire" has destroyed 435 structures including the 100-year-old Paramount Ranch where HBO's "Westworld" and other popular television shows and movies were filmed.

The fires have forced a quarter of a million people to flee their homes and seven evacuation shelters have been set up in Butte County, three of which are already full, according to the authorities.

On Monday, President Donald Trump -- at the request of state authorities -- declared that a "major disaster" exists in California.

The declaration provides for federal assistance to aid state firefighting and recovery efforts in the counties of Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles.

Trump had earlier earned the ire of state officials with a claim that "gross mismanagement" of forestry in the state was responsible for the damage.

California Governor Jerry Brown said he expects the fires could be worse in the years to come.

"Unfortunately, the best science is telling us that the dryness, warmth, drought, all those things, they're going to intensify," Brown said.

The "Woolsey Fire" on the southern end of the state has devoured mansions and mobile homes alike in the coastal town of Malibu.

Over the weekend, the "Woolsey Fire" engulfed parts of Thousand Oaks, where a Marine Corps veteran shot dead 12 people in a country music bar on Wednesday.

Among those who lost their homes was the pop star Miley Cyrus, who tweeted that her "house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends stand strong.
Law Ministrys requests fall on deaf ears

The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has reminded different ministries to review the existing Acts to ascertain the laws related to them are consistent with the spirit of the constitution and revise any that are against the constitutional provisions.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said central banks should look into issuing digital currencies. Various central banks around the world are seriously considering these ideas, Lagarde said in Singapore on Wednesday. While the case for digital currency is not universal, we should investigate it further, seriously, carefully, and creatively. ALSO READ: Here's how RBI executed decision to demonetise high-value currency notes Monetary policy makers from Uruguay to Canada are already researching the idea, with Swedens ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
American pop star Ariana Grande had every reason to expect that her new single, Thank U, Next, would race to the top of the U. S. charts when it was released earlier this month. When she checked iTunes after its release, though, she met with a surprise.

Kris Wu, a superstar in China, not only had the No. 1 spot on the iTunes singles chart but also seven of the top 10 songs. It was an extraordinary achievement for an artist with almost no North American profile, and Grande and her camp werent buying it. Rumors started flying on social media that ...
British Prime Minister Theresa May hailed her draft European Union divorce deal on Wednesday, but must convince ministers to back her plan amid open hostility from some of her own members of parliament. They say it threatens the UK's unity. Her minority government means May is the weakest British leader in a generation. Yet, she must try to get her Brexit deal, struck after months of negotiations with the EU, approved by parliament before leaving the bloc on March 29, 2019. The deal has been denounced by both supporters and opponents of Brexit. ALSO READ: Brexit ...
President celebrated at a ceremony but surprisingly omitted mentioning - the largest community in the world that celebrate the festival of lights - in his tweets, drawing severe criticism from netizens forcing him to redo his tweet.

hosted celebrations in the historic Roosevelt Room of the which was attended by prominent Indian-Americans, Indian-origin administration and diplomatic officials.

was celebrated across the world on November 7.

In his first tweet, he forgot to greet the

"Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year," said in a tweet as he posted along with a YouTube link of the event.

The alert netizens were quick in identifying that he missed greeting the 'Hindus'.

"It is a major Hindu holiday," CNN's Congressional correspondent Manu Raju said in a tweet. Trump soon deleted his first tweet, and replaced it with another one.

"Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year," Trump said in his second tweet which again missed mentioning the

"So after initially not including Hindus in his first Diwali tweet, Trump deletes that tweet and reposts another message. And still leaves out Hindus...," Raju said, as he was joined by several others on the social media.

Soon, the president deleted his second tweet and came up with the third one.

"It was my great honour to host a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in the Roosevelt Room at the @WhiteHouse this afternoon. Very, very special people! Trump said in his third tweet.

The White House did not respond to questions on the series of tweets by the president and the criticism that he did not mention the Hindus in his tweets.

"President Trump leaves out Hindus in Diwali tweets," Time magazine said in an article.

Trump had also mentioned Hindus in his November 7 Diwali greetings.

"Known as the Festival of lights, Diwali is a joyous and spiritual time marked by many Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, the president had said in his Diwali greetings last week.
Base metals seem set to end a bearish price phase, with the stage being set for a rally early next year. Since April, most metals had not been doing well, after the American government warned of raising tariffs on commodities imported from China. Tariffs have been raised but Chinas demand has not fallen as significantly as had been feared.

Analysts are, therefore, turning bullish for metals. Since April, metals are down by nine to 23 per cent. If considered from the last week of April, when the US first warned of a trade war, especially with China (the largest consumer of ...
Billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen said a bear market is coming within two years, adding to a chorus of voices who say the U.

S. economy could falter by 2020. Were definitely late cycle, and so at some point were going to enter a bear market, and its going to happen in the next year and a half, maybe two, Cohen said during a talk with MSD Capitals Glenn Fuhrman at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan on Tuesday night. I dont think the returns over the next two years are going to be very good, he said. If the ...
Baloch activists held rallies and seminars all over the to observe the 'Baloch Martyrs Day' on Tuesday.

In London, the Baloch National Movement organised a seminar to pay tributes to the activists killed by Pakistan's army and secret services agencies.

In Busan city of South Korea, a protest rally was organized by the Baloch National Movement and Baloch Students Organisation, Azad, on the eve of the Baloch Martyrs Day.

The protesters chanted slogans against Pakistan army's brutalities in Balochistan.

The Baloch nation has been commemorating November 13 as 'National Remembrance Day - Baloch Martyrs Day' for past few years.

This day's significance goes back to November 13, 1839, when the British forces attacked Balochistan and killed Baloch ruler Mir Mehrab Khan Baloch and his comrades.

The British then occupied and divided Balochistan into three parts by drawing arbitrary Gold Smith and Durand Lines which the Baloch nation never accepted as international borders and continued their struggle to regain independence of united Balochistan.

The Baloch activists paid tributes to martyrs in Vancouver city of Canada as well. Naela Quadri Baloch, president of Baloch Women's Forum, said, "Balochistan has never accepted anybody's forceful occupation. Balochistan has always resisted against each and every kind of invasion - be it Portuguese, British, Iran or Arab. Whoever tried to forcefully occupy Balochistan, we have resisted".

"Today, Balochistan is resisting against the occupation of Iran and Pakistan and Baloch people are demanding to reunite Balochistan, a democratic, a peaceful and a nuclear-free Balochistan. And for this Balochistan, we Baloch will struggle," she added.

Talking about Pakistan's ill-treatment of Baloch people, especially women and children, Naela said, "Today, Balochistan is facing nuclearisation, Iran and Pakistan are using Baloch land against our will for nuclear testing. They are also hiding their nuclear weapons in Balochistan. Today, they are trying to infiltrate religious extremism in Balochistan. We have nothing to do with Taliban, ISIS or any other religious extremism. We are pluralist people and we respect each and every religion."

Thousands of Baloch men, women, youth and elderly have sacrificed their lives in defence of Balochistan and to resist against foreign occupation of their land.

The Baloch have fought against Arabs, Mughals, Mongols, Portuguese and British invading forces and defended the region.

Currently, Balochistan is struggling with the illegal occupation in the region by Iran and Pakistan after they occupied the sovereign Baloch nation in 1928 and 1948 respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After a five-hour meeting with the British Cabinet, UK's Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the Cabinet agreed to back the draft Brexit deal that has been reached by negotiators from Britain and the European Union (EU).

"This is a decisive step, which enables us to move on and finalise the deal in the days ahead. These decisions were not taken lightly, but I believe it's a decision that's firmly in the national interest," May told waiting press outside Downing Street after the meeting, adding that the draft agreement is the best that could have been negotiated.

May is expected to address the Parliament on Thursday, according to CNN.

Speculations were strife that the British Prime Minister may face a vote of no-confidence by her Conservative party, despite the outcome of Wednesday's (local time) meeting.

On the other side, Ambassadors from 27 EU countries met at Brussels over the Brexit deal on Wednesday (local time), following which the Brexit draft deal was released by the EU.

The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, while the EU Withdrawal Bill (or the Brexit Bill) became a law in June this year after Queen Elizabeth II's approval.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Limbu declared official language in a local unit in Ilam

The ward committee of Mangsebung Rural Municipality-5, Ilam, has declared Limbu language as the official language of the ward.
Chhath, the festival dedicated to the Sun god, concluded in Nepal's Mithila in the Janakpurdham district on Wednesday morning.

People, standing in the river water, made offerings to the rising Sun.

The devotees, who have been fasting since Monday from the day of Kartik Shukla Panchami, made an offering of water 'Arghya' and broke the fast.

The festival has a special significance in the Mithila region of the Himalayan nation. Nepali people celebrate the occasion with the prayers for prosperity, happiness and longevity of the family members.

On Tuesday, devotees made offering to the setting sun, offering various delicacies made sacredly and later distributed as prasad.

The holy dip into rivers, fasting and abstaining from even drinking water is an important part of the celebrations.

The festival celebrated in Nepal's southern plains, especially in Mithilanchal - Sita's ancestral state, has lately attracted people from the hills.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
If China wants to avoid a cold-war scenario anytime in the future then it needs to make massive changes in its economic, military and political activities as demanded by the States, said Vice President of the United States Mike Pence.

In an interview to The Washington Post, Pence said that United States President Donald Trump is also ready to make fresh trade deals with China but only if the country is ready for such policy changes.

Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping are going to meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit to be held on November 30. This meeting may prove to be a good opportunity for China, if not the last. But everything depends on the country whether it wants to avoid a cold-war situation any time soon or not, Pence further added.

"I think much of that will depend on Argentina," Pence was quoted, having said in the interview.

"The president's attitude is, we want to make sure they know where we stand, what we are prepared to do, so they can come to Argentina with concrete proposals that address not just the trade deficit that we face . We're convinced China knows where we stand," he added.

The world's two largest economies are already undergoing tension, especially after the US imposed a 250 billion USD tariffs on Chinese exports.

"We really believe we are in a strong position either way. We are at $250 billion [in tariffs] now; we can more than double that," Pence said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that the Congress would never come to power at the Centre or in the state under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Yogi, who was campaigning for the BJP candidate Ajay Chandrakar in Kurud Vidhan Sabha seat in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh, said that voting was on Tuesday (November 20). "Tuesday is the day of Bajrangbali. So I appeal to all on this day that after reciting Hanuman Chalisa, first cast the vote and then have food," he said.

Targeting the Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, Yogi said that the leaders of the Congress party themselves are questioning the leadership of Rahul as there was no victory under his leadership so far. "Every time they fought the elections, they had to face the defeat," he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress, Adityanath said, "One who is not a devotee of Ram is of no use.' He further alleged that Congress always did the of caste. "Congress party ruled for more than 55 years and promoted terrorism, Naxalism and corruption in the country," he added.

The next and last phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections will be held on November 20.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Palestinian groups in violence-stricken Gaza Strip have agreed to a ceasefire mediated by Egypt with Israel on the condition that Israel respects it as well.

"Egypt's efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy," a statement issued by the Palestinian groups read. "The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it," the statement highlighted, according to Al Jazeera.

Celebrations ensued after the announcement in Gaza City, with Palestinians spilling out into the streets for the declaration of victory.

The Hamas-led groups accepted the truce on Tuesday to "restart the situation that prevailed up until this latest military escalation." It was further reported that "the Israelis do not confirm or deny such things, but Israeli media are reporting, citing an unnamed official, that Palestinian factions tried through four separate mediators to request a ceasefire".

Ismail Haniya, a senior Hamas official, had earlier said in a statement, "Should the Occupation [Israel] stop its aggression a return to the ceasefire understandings will be possible."

The Palestine Liberation Organisation blamed Israel for the increase in violence, while countries like Germany and Turkey condemned Israel's strikes that left seven Palestinians and one Israeli dead.

A Hamas military commander along with six other Palestinians died in a cross-border operation conducted by the Israeli Special Forces in Gaza on late Sunday night, provoking retaliatory fire which saw over 400 rockets or mortar bombs being launched by Hamas and other armed groups in the Strip.

11 Israelis were injured in the retaliatory fire, while Hamas' al-Aqsa TV channel's main building was destroyed by the Israeli counterattack which saw the interception of 60 rockets by Israel Defense Force's Iron Dome aerial defense system.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, while inaugurating 38th edition of India International Trade Fair (IITF) here at Pragati Maidan on Wednesday, said that the IIFT would provide an opportunity to all kinds of businesses to showcase their excellence. This year's fair is themed around 'Rural Enterprises in India.'

"It is our Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to create things, which meet international standards or are even better. And what I have been told about this place is that after completion in next one year or so, IITF will be the talk of the town with world-class facilities."

Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, through a video message, also praised the efforts of the Central government for creating conducive business atmosphere in the country. He said that thanks to fast decision-making process and trade policy of the Centre, India has witnessed unprecedented growth in business.

For this year, Afghanistan is the partner country, while Nepal is the focus country for the fair. Jharkhand is participating as a partner state in the event.

Tourism Minister Sharma also congratulated the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) officials for refurbishing the IITF venue. "At present, constructions are going on at around 72 places and still they have been able to organize the 38th IITF at a grand scale."

The 14-day annual event will conclude on November 27.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Irish verbally abused Air India crew on-board a London-Mumbai flight after she was allegedly refused more wine.

The incident, which took place on Saturday, was captured on video. The clip was made accessible on Wednesday.

In the video shot on-board, the passenger can be heard hurling abuses at the crew member and objecting to not being served more wine.

The woman passenger can be heard saying: "I'm working for all your people. The f*****g Rohingyas, the f*****g people of all Asia, for you, an international criminal lawyer. Don't get any money for it, by the way. But you can't give me a f*****g glass of wine, is that correct?"

The airline has, so far, not issued any statement with regard to the matter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, announced his resignation on Wednesday over the government's decision to call for a ceasefire, mediated by Egypt. Liberman mentioned that his resignation came weeks after continued disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the course of actions undertaken to deal with the ongoing tensions between Israel and Gaza.

On the other hand, the ceasefire that was announced by Hamas on Tuesday continued for Wednesday, however, no official confirmation was made to this effect by Israel, reported the Washington Post.

Speculations are rife that Liberman's departure from the Netanyahu government would be followed by fresh elections in the country.

Meanwhile, the Israelis staying on the southern part of the country and who have become the target of more than 400 rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip on Monday, protested against the Israeli government's move of negotiating the ongoing crisis with a ceasefire. they termed it as governments surrender to Hamas.

Liberman was heard expressing his displeasure over the ceasefire. "What happened yesterday with the cease-fire and the entire process of reaching an agreement with Hamas amounts to surrendering to terror, there is no other explanation," Liberman comment in a news conference.

" What we have done recently is buy quiet for the short term but we will end up paying a high price for our long-term quiet," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Ram Madhav fired fresh salvos at People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Conference Party (NCP) for boycotting the Panchayat polls in the state due to disagreement with the centre over Article 35 A.

Questioning the boycott of Panchayat elections by the two major political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, Madhav, who is also BJP's in-charge for the state, asked them whether they will boycott Parliament and Assembly elections in the name of Article 35A.

"They have boycotted civic and panchayat polls in the name of Article 35A. Will, they also not take part in the upcoming Parliament and Assembly elections?" he questioned.

In October, PDP and NC boycotted the civic polls accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of not taking a firm stand on the protection of Article 35(A) of the Constitution which had been challenged in the Supreme Court a few months back.

Article 35(A) article of the Indian Constitution gives the State Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir the power to define the 'Permanent Residents' of the State. The State Legislature is also empowered to give them Special Rights and Privileges.

Training guns at both the parties, the BJP leader asserted that these moves are taken by them in order to create 'obstructions' in the commencement of Panchayat Polls. He also accused them of being irresponsible and being against strengthening of democracy in the state.

Madhav also touched upon the issue of Governor's rule in the state and asserted that more developmental works have been carried since it has been imposed.

"Ever since Governor rule has been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir there has been all-round development in all the sectors. Even the public is happy. So, the party has decided that Governor's rule should continue for some more time," he said.

After BJP broke its alliance with PDP, President Ram Nath Kovind in June imposed Governor's rule in the state, which was the eighth time that the region was put under the Governor.

President Ram Nath Kovind's approval had come after state Governor N N Vohra submitted a report to him recommending imposition of Governor's rule in the state days after Mehbooba Mufti resigned as the chief minister post BJP's decision to break the alliance with her party PDP.

In August this year, Satyapal Malik had replaced NN Vohra as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for an all-party meeting to discuss the issues related to Sabarimala Temple ahead of pilgrim season.

The all-party meet will be organised on November 15.

Interestingly, the call for the meeting by the Kerala Chief Minister comes days after he had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from the state of conniving to create trouble in Sabarimala.

On November 9, Vijayan asserted that evidence has surfaced pointing that the BJP leaders in the state connived to create trouble in Sabarimala. "The odious politics and perfidious ways of BJP stand exposed. Evidence has surfaced that BJP leaders in the state connived to create trouble in Sabarimala," he had said.

Last Monday, the Kerala government had also submitted an affidavit in the High Court on Sabarimala Temple issue stating that it never interfered in religious matters and rituals in connection with the same.

The state government had also stated that some political parties with their own agenda staged protest condemning the judgment of the Supreme Court, obstructed women devotees going to the Sabarimala temple.

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 of menstruating age, between 10 and 50 years, into the shrine.

As many as 3,505 protesters have been arrested and around 529 cases were registered so far in connection with a series of incidents of violence in the state after the opening of the temple gate in October this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Max Financial Services Limited (MFS) today announced its financial results for the second quarter of financial year 2018-19 (Q2 FY2019). MFS is the holding company of Max Life Insurance (Max Life), India's largest non bank-owned life insurer.

MFS reported consolidated revenues1 of Rs. 4,075 Cr., growing 18% over the previous year. The Company also reported Profit after Tax4 of Rs. 53 Cr., 22% lower compared to the previous year due to one-off expenses for the attempted acquisition of IDBI Federal Life, higher proportion of protection sales and shift in product mix.

During the quarter, Max Life reported Revenues1 of Rs. 4,067 Cr., growing 19% over the corresponding quarter last year. Shareholders' Profit before Tax was for the quarter was Rs. 185 Cr., 42% higher compared to the previous year.

The also reported strong Operating Return on Embedded Value (RoEV) of 18.5% with Market-Consistent EV (MCEV) of Rs. 8,034 Cr. The Value of New (VNB) (pre-cost overrun) written during the first half of FY2019 (H1 FY2019) was Rs. 325 Cr. growing 41% over the previous year, mainly due to higher sales of protection products. The pre-cost overrun New Margin (NBM) stood at 22.9%. The post-cost overrun VNB during H1 was Rs. 290 Cr. growing 42% over the previous year. The post-cost overrun NBM stood at 20.4%.

Max Life's Assets under Management, as on 30th September 2018, were Rs. 56,070 Cr., growing 17% over the previous year. Max Life is one of the 5 largest fund managers among life insurers in India.

H1 FY2019 Performance

During H1 FY2019, MFS's Consolidated Revenues were Rs. 7,168 Cr, up 19% over the previous year. The Company also reported Consolidated Net Profit of Rs. 66 Cr. in H1 FY2019.

During this period, Max Life reported Individual Adjusted Premium Equivalent (APE) of Rs 1,405 Cr., growing an impressive 26%. The Gross Written Premium during this period was Rs. 5,619 Cr., growing 17% over last year.

Commenting on Max Life's performance, Mr. Rahul Khosla, President, Max Group and Chairman, Max Life Insurance said, "Max Life's financial performance is at an all-time high. Growing 26% in the first half of the year, the business has significantly outpaced the 11% growth by the Indian private life insurance sector. Shareholders' profit has also shown remarkable growth, owing largely to higher investment income. The business has notched up a gain of 90 basis points in market share to 9%, consolidating its position amongst the four largest private life insurers.

While we have experienced strong growth across all channels - proprietary channels have especially led the way with a robust 33% growth in H1, significantly exceeding the 22% growth in Banca. The e-commerce channel specifically has grown an outstanding 158% over last year. We are confident that our continued thrust towards reinvigorating these channels will create strong long-term growth for the business."

Mohit Talwar, Managing Director, Max Financial Services Ltd. said, "The impressive growth in Embedded Value and Value of New Business reflects strong fundamentals in the existing business and a continued focus on profitable new business. The health metrics of the business also continue to be solid with a Conservation Ratio of 91%, which puts us at the top in the industry; and Surrenders to GWP Ratio of only 21%, which is the third best in the industry as of date. I strongly believe that the market will take these fundamentals into cognizance very soon, which will be accordingly reflected in the Company's market cap as well.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Man assaults sister, nieces in Taplejung

A man attacked three persons with a Khukuria traditional Nepali swordin Phungling Municipality-3, Taplejung, on Tuesday morning.
US First Lady Melania Trump has called for the ouster of Mira Ricardel, a senior national security advisor in the Trump administration, following a feud with members of Melania's staff over the First Lady's trip to Africa amongst other reasons.

Stephanie Grisham, Melania's communications director stated, "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House."

Quoting a White House official, CNN confirmed that US President Donald Trump has said that the senior aide will be relieved from her duties, without mentioning a date by which the exit would take place.

Grisham's statement came on Tuesday (local time) at the same time that reports emerged about President Trump's intent for a major White House rejig.

Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump's secretary of the Department of Homeland Secretary may be asked to leave, which may be an indication for the exit of Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Nick Ayers, US Vice President Mike Pence's Chief of Staff, is reportedly one of the frontrunners to replace Kelly, should there be an exit, according to CNN.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Space enthusiasts will be able to witness the real-time landing of NASA's InSight Mars Lander on the Red Planet on November 26.

The space agency will broadcast the landing on NASA Television, its website, Twitter, and Facebook. The last Mars landing was broadcast six years ago when The Curiosity rover touched down the surface of the planet, Cnet reported.

InSight Mars Lander, which launched on May 5, will be NASA's first spacecraft to land on Mars since Curiosity. The spacecraft will study the planet's deep interior and help scientists understand the formation of the rocky worlds.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh on Wednesday said those who are levelling accusations over Rafale deal are 'illiterate'.

Slamming critiques Singh said, "Those who are making accusations are illiterate. They don't have any knowledge about it. So it won't be right to further comment on it."

Talking about the involvement of Reliance Group in the Rafale deal, Singh said that its (Reliance) officials have already spoken about it. "Now if you will keep on dragging the name again and again then I can't do anything," he said.

Singh hit out at the Congress president, after latter while addressing a campaign rally for the second phase of assembly polls in Korba, Chhattisgarh cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the fighter jet deal.

Also, the Supreme Court on Wednesday began the crucial hearing of the Rafale deal row. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S K Kaul, and K M Joseph heard a bunch of petitions pertaining to the Central government's Rafale deal with French aviation company Dassault.

The apex court while hearing the case said that a discussion on the pricing of the Rafale jets can only take place if the facts of the deal are allowed to come into the public domain.

One of the petitioners, Advocate ML Sharma asserted that reports filed by the government in the court revealed "serious fraud" in the decision making process. He also urged that the matter should be heard by a five-judge bench.

Later, the counsel appearing for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh apprised the Apex Court that pricing of the Rafale deal was revealed in the Parliament twice, hence, the submission of government that the details cannot be made public was not acceptable.

Thereafter Senior Supreme Court lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, argued that the government's argument of secrecy clause being in place is a "bogus" one.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with the United States Vice President Michael R Pence here on Thursday.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi said that India and the US share the same fundamental values and the two countries should join hands to achieve peace.

"India and the United States share the same fundamental values. India has always believed that the is one family and the first condition for that to happen is peace. You must have noted that India has always contributed in a big way for peace and India's role is a pro-active one. We would like to work together for world peace, world progress, global economic progress and poverty alleviation which is important for our values," Prime Minister Modi asserted.

The Prime Minister also reiterated that there was a great opportunity for the US in India in making defence equipment and setting up defence industry.

Conveying his regards to US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Modi expressed his gratitude for the celebration of Diwali in the White House.

The Prime Minister further offered his condolences on the California wildfire which affected hundreds and thousands of people.

Acknowledging India's economic progress, Pence said that India is a positive factor in regional and international relations. He recalled Prime Minister Modi's visit to the US and expressed gratitude for his leadership.

Talking about the denuclearisation of Korean peninsula, Pence thanked Prime Minister Modi for his support.

Besides touching upon bilateral relations apart from regional and international issues, the two leaders also discussed the issue of terrorism. Pence appreciated cooperation between US and India on counter-terrorism.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Singapore to attend the 13th East Asia Summit(EAS) on Wednesday morning.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "Good morning Singapore! PM @narendramodi arrives in Singapore, his second visit to the Lion City this year, to attend 13th #EastAsiaSummit & associated meetings. This is PM's fifth engagement at #EastAsiaSummit."

The Prime Minister was welcomed with a thunderous applause outside his hotel amid loud cheers of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to attend the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Breakfast Summit, and the 2nd Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit. He is also a keynote speaker at the Singapore FinTech Festival.

Apart from these engagements, several bilateral meetings are on the Prime Minister's agenda, including a meeting with the United States Vice President Mike Pence.

Prime Minister Modi shall begin his visit by delivering the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival, where there is an Indian Pavilion, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. He will be the first Head of Government to address the festival as a keynote speaker.

Following this, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to attend the second RCEP Summit.

Bilateral meetings shall be held afterward, followed by a dinner hosted by current ASEAN Chairman and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong on November 14.

On November 15, Prime Minister Modi will start his day with the ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit, followed by the EAS.

The EAS will be held in two segments on November 15, which is the East Asia Lunch Retreat followed by the 13th EAS in a plenary setting, after which Prime Minister Modi shall emplane for India.

The EAS is a leaders-led forum in the Indo-Pacific Region comprised of the ten ASEAN member states - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam - and its eight dialogue partners- India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.

The leaders of the member nations are slated to discuss international development issues like ICT, Smart Cities, Maritime Cooperation, Education, Finance, Food Security, Environment and Energy at the EAS.

India and ASEAN celebrated 25 years of their engagement in 2017, which culminated in the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on January 25 this year. The Summit was followed by the participation of all ASEAN leaders in India's Republic Day celebrations as chief guests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday deplored attempts to politicise the defence forces, asserting that the armed forces were meant to report only to their regimental heads and not work at the behest of the political dispensation. The Chief Minister called for an immediate end to the current cult of political interference in the functioning of defense services, to enable the officers and soldiers in the armed forces to discharge their duties efficaciously.

"This was necessary in the larger interest of the nation, and to secure its unity, integrity and security," he told a distinguished gathering at the Remembrance Day ceremony here, to pay homage to Commonwealth nations' armed forces members, who sacrificed their lives during World War I. A two-minute silence was also observed in memory of the martyrs.

The exemplary valour and indomitable courage of all those great soldiers in preserving the ethos of freedom, liberty and democratic values had remained largely unrecognised, Captain Amarinder Singh lamented, pointing out that nearly 74,000 Indian soldiers attained martyrdom and 67,000 were wounded in this historic War.

"While most Indians were quite aware of the sacrifices made by millions of known and unknown people in the Independence struggle, the supreme contribution of those brave men who fought in the Great War had been largely forgotten," said the Chief Minister. He called for the aggressive propagation of the nation's rich military history among the youth, to make them more aware of the rich and glorious legacy of the armed forces.

Underscoring the need to acclimatize the younger generation with the past events, Captain Amarinder Singh advocated the inclusion of detailed chapters on India's contribution both, World War I and II, in the school curriculum.

Referring to his recent visit to Turkey's Gallipoli's Helles and Turkish memorials, where he paid his respects to the martyred Commonwealth soldiers including Indians, Captain Amarinder Singh said that there was a marked difference in the awareness levels of youth about the military exploits than in India.

Paying his respects to the fallen soldiers, the Chief Minister said that it was a sad moment but also a day to be proud of what our valiant soldiers did in the line of duty. Quoting from his book 'Honour and Fidelity-India's military contribution to the Great War 1914-18', the Chief Minister revealed that Indian soldiers who were summoned within 20 days after the start of the war hugely aided the British in the eventual culmination of the War.

By the end of 1914, seven expeditionary forces had been sent from India to various theatres of the war. These included two infantry divisions, eight infantry brigades and one mixed force with three infantry battalions, two cavalry divisions, one cavalry brigade and the attendant administrative services, as well as four field artillery brigades in excess of the normal allotment to France, Chief Minister read out from his book.

Earlier, British Deputy High Commissioner in Chandigarh, Andrew Ayre lauded the role played by Indian soldiers in the War. He also complimented the role of Indian soldiers for immaculately handling the warfare in alien lands, to be honoured with prestigious 11 Victoria Crosses besides numerous other medals. This reflects their professional commitment, sincerity and, above all, dedication to the cause of universal freedom and liberty, he added.

Canadian Consulate General Mia Yen also paid glowing tributes to the soldiers in securing peace, prosperity and democratic freedom for their future generations. The restoration of peace and tranquility after the World War I gave a boost to the overall development, she said, adding that it was a solemn occasion to pause and reflect not only on the past but also ponder over the challenges in the future perspective.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Bench comprising of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices UU Lalit and KM Joseph are hearing a batch of petitions seeking a probe into the alleged irregularities in the Rafale deal.

After the arguments of one of the petitioner advocate ML Sharma, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh's counsel and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, it was former Union Minister Arun Shourie who made his submissions in the case.

Shourie argued to the Supreme Court that the Dassault company with its immense experience could not have chosen Reliance as its partner in the deal.

"Dassault which was established in 1929 could not have given the contract to Reliance that had no experience. The deal helped Dassault tide over its severe financial crisis, so they will support whatever the government will say," he argued.

He further questioned why the government is not disclosing pricing details of the deal. "It's public money why the pricing can't be disclosed?"

Referring to an alleged remark of Goa Chief Minister Monohar Parikkar who was then Defence Minister, Shourie claimed that the Defence ministry was not in the loop.

"The then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said Rafale deal was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision and he supports it, this shows Defence Ministry wasn't even in the loop. Parrikar had said that 126 Rafale jets cost 90,000 crores which come to about 715 crores per plane. The decision for 36 jets was of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a result of political discussions between him and President of France," Shourie told the top court.

After hearing the arguments of these four counsels, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked senior most law officer of the government Attorney General KK Venugopal if any officer from the Indian Air Force was present in the court to answer the queries on the issue.

"Is there anyone from the office of Indian Air force? After all, we are dealing with the Air Force, we would have liked to ask from the officer of Air Force on the issue," CJI says.

Making his submissions in the case, Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Supreme Court that secrecy was not on the price of aircraft but on weaponry and avionics.

"Price of Rafale with the breakup of weapons and avionics has been shared with the Supreme Court, but the court cannot sit in judicial review on it. It is a matter for experts to decide on what weaponry is to be bought. Pricing details have been given in sealed cover but there are factors like intergovernmental agreement which barred its disclosure," Venugopal submitted to the court.

He also informed the court that he also has not seen the sealed cover and may not be able to assist on price.

Following the arguments of the Attorney General, CJI Gogoi said that any debate on the pricing of the Rafale deal comes only if this court decides that those aspects need to come in the public domain.

CJI Ranjan Gogoi also asked Venugopal whether the earlier price of the Rafale deal disclosed in the public domain upon to which the Venugopal denied saying it wasn't disclosed.

After these exchange, the apex bench rose for the lunch break.

The hearing will continue after the lunch break.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Supreme Court of India on Wednesday morning began the crucial hearing of the Rafale deal row. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S K Kaul and K M Joseph are hearing a bunch of petitions pertaining to the Central government's Rafale deal with French aviation company Dassault.

One of the petitioners, Advocate ML Sharma asserted that reports filed by the government in the court revealed "serious fraud" in the decision making process after May 2015. He also urged that the matter should be heard by a five-judge bench.

Later, the counsel appearing for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh told to the apex court that pricing of the Rafale deal were revealed in the Parliament twice, hence, the submission of government that the details cannot be made public was not acceptable. Thereafter Senior Supreme Court lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, argued that there are various anomalies in the deal.

Bhushan, appearing for former Union minister and one of the petitioners Arun Shourie, submitted to the court that the government's argument of secrecy clause being in place is a "bogus" one.

"There was no sovereign guarantee from the side of the France government in the deal. On pricing, there can't be any secrecy issue when the government itself disclosed the price in Parliament. It's a bogus argument for government to say they can't disclose pricing. In a new deal, Rafale jets cost 40 percent more than earlier deal," said Bhushan.

Petitioners Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha, and Prashant Bhushan told the Supreme Court that the government short-circuited fresh tender process for 36 Rafale jets to procure them through restricted Inter-Government Agreement mechanism. Bhushan also argued that the deal was changed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to make Ambani's Reliance a partner.

"Nobody knew the change of the deal. Even the defense minister was not aware of the deal. Deal suddenly changed from 126 to 36 aircraft, from making in India to offset. The Reliance Company has no experience no credibility, it has never manufactured an aircraft," he argued.

Bhushan also stated that almost four years have passed, but no aircraft has been delivered till now. He also raised questions as to why the number of aircraft was reduced to 36 from 126.

"Who took the decision for 36 jets? On what basis did the Prime Minister announce the deal for 36 jets? He had no authority. There is a gross violation of procedure in the decision-making process. We are shown this mirage that first aircraft will be delivered by September 2019," he said.

Bhushan further argued that the government being unaware about the offset partner in the deal is contrary to the procedure laid down, as the norm requires the defence minister to approve the partnership.

Alleging that the Government tweaked rules to give Dassault authority over executing the offset contract without Defense Ministry's clearance, Bhushan said, "Government changed offset rules after a new deal on Rafale to let Dassault execute offset contracts without Defence Ministry clearing the partner. The then President Hollande said government gave the option of Reliance as the offset partner and we didn't have any other option."

"We had approached the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with a complaint under the Prevention of Corruption Act. CBI is bound to register the FIR and investigate the issue. The government has conspired with Dassault to have the Reliance as offset partner. In a new deal, Rafale jets cost 40 percent more than earlier deal. Reliance was chosen at the instance of the Indian government in the deal. It is a subject matter of investigation," Bhushan submitted in the apex court.

The hearing of the matter is still ongoing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Air Vice Marshal T Chalapathi of Indian Air Force appeared before the Supreme Court along with other senior officers on Wednesday, after the Chief Justice demanded the presence of seniors from Indian Air Force to answer queries on Rafale aircraft,

Justice Gogoi asked them about the recent induction in the country's air defence system and also the latest aircraft being manufactured in India.

Other senior officials, Air Marshal VR Chaudhari, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshall Khosla and certain others were also present in the Court.

Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Supreme Court that government had no role in selecting offset partners for Dassault for the Rafale deal. He added that the selection of Reliance as an offset partner was a commercial decision taken by the Dassault.

The Court also asked about the change in offset guidelines in 2015, Additional Secretary of Defence Ministry explained the defence offset guideline to the court and said that the offset contract runs concurrently with the main contract.

Venugopal also informed the Court that Dassault has not yet submitted details of offset partner to government.

He also said that Egypt, France, Qatar were the other countries that procured Rafale jets other than India.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S K Kaul and K M Joseph are hearing a bunch of petitions pertaining to the Central government's Rafale deal with French aviation company Dassault.

Prashant Bhushan, appearing for former union minister and one of the petitioners Arun Shourie, submitted to the court that the government's argument of secrecy clause being in place is a "bogus" one

Petitioners Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha, and Bhushan told the Supreme Court that the government short-circuited fresh tender process for 36 Rafale jets to procure them through restricted Inter-Government Agreement mechanism. Bhushan also argued that the deal was changed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to make Ambani's Reliance a partner.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that the complicity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Anil Ambani in Rafale deal would prove if the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducts a probe into the fighter jet deal.

Addressing an election rally for the second phase of Chhattisgarh assembly polls, Rahul alleged that Prime Minister Modi-led Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre was procuring each Rafale aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalized by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Gandhi has repeatedly accused the NDA government of ousting HAL as Rafale's offset partner and choosing Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Limited to save the company's debt-ridden chairperson and his business.

"CBI Director Alok Verma started an investigation into the Rafale deal. The Prime Minister removed him at 2 am. The day the investigation of Rafael deal begins, two names will be revealed--Anil Ambani and Narendra Modi," Rahul said. "The truth will come out eventually and the country will know that PM Modi gifted Ambani Rs 30,000 crore," he added.

Rahul's statement comes at a time when the Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict after hearing the petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into the Rafale deal. The three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SK Kaul and KM Joseph of the apex court heard petitioners and the government lawyers in this case.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is one of the petitioners, argued that there are various anomalies in the deal. Bhushan submitted to the court that the government's argument of Secrecy Clause in the Rafale deal is a "bogus" one.

Defending the government, Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, said: "There is no sovereign guarantee from the French government on the delivery of 36 Rafale jets but there is a Letter of Comfort from the French Prime Minister." Venugopal added that the government had no role in selecting offset partners for Dassault in the Rafale deal and the selection of Reliance as an offset partner was a commercial decision taken by Dassault Aviation.

Making his submissions in the case, Attorney General Venugopal told the Supreme Court that secrecy was not on the price of aircraft but on weaponry and avionics. He also informed the court that he also has not seen the sealed cover and may not be able to assist on price.

After hearing the arguments of the counsels, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked Venugopal whether the earlier price of the Rafale deal was disclosed in the public domain upon to which the Venugopal denied saying it was not disclosed. CJI also asked AG if any officer from the Indian Air Force (IAF) was present in the court to answer the queries on the issue.

In response to this Air Vice-Marshal T Chalapathi appeared before the Supreme Court along with other senior officials-- Air Marshal VR Chaudhari and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Anil Khosla. CJI Gogoi asked them about the recent induction in the country's air defense system and also the latest ones being manufactured in India.

Following the arguments of the Attorney General, CJI Gogoi said that any debate on the pricing of the Rafale deal comes only if this court decides that those aspects need to come in the public domain or not.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mendicant donates Rs 500,000 to Old Age Home

An 85-year-old mendicant Khina Giri of Syangja has donated Rs 500,000 to Om Old Age Home in Hetauda Sub Metropolis-2. He has been living in the old age home for the last 12 years.
The Supreme Court was on Wednesday informed by former union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan that the decision making process for acquisition of 36 Rafale aircrafts and the consequent increase in price and grant of offsets to Reliance was "not bonafide" and "requires investigation by the CBI."

In a written submission to the apex court on the documents submitted by the Centre to the petitioners, who have filed the pleas seeking court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal, the former ministers and Bhushan said that the CBI investigation was required for cognizable offenses committed by high ranking public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

"In a malafide manner HAL was dropped as the Production Agent for Dassault Aviation in India under the 126 procurement procedure and a few days old Reliance group of company which had no experience in the defense sector, was given the offset contracts amounting to thousands of crore of rupees," Bhushan said.

Earlier, there was talk with France's Dassault Aviation, the makers of the Rafale, for procuring 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). Later, it was decided to procure only 36 Rafale fighter jets against the original proposal of 126 aircraft.

Bhushan told the court that the facts and statements of the then French President Hollande showed that Reliance was proposed as an offset partner to the French by the "Indian side" as part of a "new formula" of the Indian government when the new deal was announced on April 10, 2015.

"The French have been reported to have had "no say" in the selection of the offset partner. Officials of Dassault have reportedly stated that Reliance was "imperative and obligatory" as part of the new deal. The joint venture agreement between Dassault and Reliance Aerostructure Limited was made in April of 2015 itself as per the press release from Dassault Aviation Land...the JV was applied for and granted to Reliance in June of 2015 in a record time. The said JV was formally announced within days of the signing of the main procurement contract and the concurrent offset contract on September 23, 2016," the written submissions submitted by the former ministers and Bhushan added.

The written submission further stated that details of pricing have not been made available to the petitioners by the government.

The government has repeatedly stated that the new deal for 36 aircraft had many new 'India Specific Enhancements' and additions that were not present in the old procurement process for 126 aircraft to justify the huge escalation in the price of procurement of the 36 aircraft, the documents stated.

Relying on media reports, Bhushan said that after studying the RFP issued in 2007, it was reported that the specifications of the aircrafts are the same as in the earlier procurement and that the price per unit of the aircrafts has increased from Euro 155 million per aircraft to Euro 217 million per aircraft in the new deal despite that. "This is an escalation of about 40 per cent in the price against the public interest," the written submissions added.

The written submissions added that as regards the increase in price the media report states, "The price per Rafale aircraft that the government agreed in 2016 with French company Dassault for 36 fighters is 40 per cent higher than what Dassault had offered in 2012, in a global tender for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA)."

On October 31, the government contended before the Supreme Court that details of the pricing cannot be brought in the public domain on account of the secrecy agreement between India and France of 2008. However, the secrecy agreement notes that information would be subject to the laws of the two countries, Bhushan said.

"President Macron of France had earlier stated that it was up to the government of India to decide if it wanted to make available the details as regards pricing. In light of the same, the details of pricing should be made available to the public at large. In fact, as shown in the petition, details of pricing have been revealed by the Government of India in Parliament."

"On November 18, 2016, in response to a question asked in the Lok Sabha on the acquisition of fighter aircrafts, the MoS, Defence, stated that, "Inter-Governmental Agreement with the government of the French Republic has been signed on September 23, 2016 for purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft along with requisite equipment, services, and weapons. Cost of each Rafale aircraft is approximately Rs 670 crore and all the aircraft will be delivered by April 2022." Dassault Aviation and Reliance group of companies revealed the price as about Rs 1,660 crore per aircraft in their joint press release. The issue is as regards the discrepancy in the stated prices which needs clarification," stated the written submissions.

In their written submissions, they have further stated that the decision-making process on Rafale deal submitted in the top court was "arbitrary" and "violative of the Defence Procurement Procedure" (DPP).

"Defence Procurement Procedure, 2013 on which reliance has been placed to show that the procurement for the 36 Rafale aircrafts could have been proceeded with under an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA), curiously, is not quoted in its entirety and omits the three specific pre-conditions/cases under which a procurement may be carried out through the IGA route as opposed to the competitive route under that provision. As none of the three pre-conditions existed in the new Rafale deal for 36 aircraft, the failure to quote the necessary pre-conditions that are mentioned in paragraph 71 itself is designed to mislead the court."

The former ministers and Bhushan said Indian Air Force (IAF) had given their requirement for 126 aircraft for which the deal was near completion, but the note submitted by the Centre gave no reason why only 36 aircraft were procured.

"It defies logic and reason as to why given that the IAF's requirement was for 126 aircraft was that deal summarily jettisoned and only 36 aircraft were procured all in a flyaway condition from France with no Make in India by HAL and Transfer of Technology. Nowhere does the (Centre's) note mention as to who determined that the number of aircraft to be procured would arbitrarily be lopped down to 36 severely compromising the countries Security? Nowhere does the note mention that the IAF asked for just 36 aircraft," submitted Bhushan.

He added: "The note is conspicuously silent on when, how, and by whom this number was arbitrarily arrived at. It is absolutely bizarre that the government has now again initiated a new RFP for the procurement of 110 odd aircrafts in 2018 for which the same vendors have again participated and which process has brought the country back to square one and pushed back the IAF's requirements to maintain the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons by at least another decade."

The former ministers and advocate Bhushan have filed their written submissions on the documents given by the Central government to petitioners challenging the procurement deal of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With cyclone Gaja expected to make a landfall between Pamban and Cuddalore by Thursday afternoon, authorities have stepped up their efforts to ensure that the state is ready to face any adverse situation.

As part of rescue and relief operations, the State government has set up adequate number of relief camps. Cuddalore District Collector, V Anbuselvan stated that around 20,000 families residing in the 'danger zone' near the coastline will be shifted to these camps.

In order to minimize casualties and mitigate damage of both life and property, the administration has urged fishermen to not venture into waters and has assured them cooperation in terms of compensation for the loss of business.

Cuddalore district comprises of 683 Village Panchayats, 16 Gram Panchayats, and five municipal areas.

"For the safety of the residents, we have formed 19 interdepartmental zonal teams for the rescue operations. These teams are comprised of several officers from important departments such as police, fire, Public Works Department, Electricity Department etc," said the District Collector.

Adding that the authorities are ready to combat the calamity, he added that if needed government buildings will be converted to relief camps.

"The total population of the coastal line is 6.5 lakh out of which 20,000 are living in danger zone and we are planning to evacuate them. We will soon shift these people to the relief center. We have 42 permanent relief centers in which around 25,000 people can be accommodated. If the need arises we will convert, community centers, schools and other government building to relief camps," he said.

As a part of its contingency operations, Cuddalore District Disaster Management Authority will set up a radio station to reach out to an increased number of people during emergency.

"We will start a radio station where we will make people aware of do's and don'ts during the cyclone. This step is also taken so that people don't fall into the trap of fake news," Anbuselvan said.

According to Chennai's meteorological department Director, S Balachandran, Cyclone Gaja is lying about 790 kilometers northeast of Nagapattinam and is expected to move in south-southwest direction and cross between Pamban and Cuddalore by the afternoon of November 15.

The cyclone is expected to hit with the wind speed of 80 to 90 km per hour, after which heavy downpour is expected to follow.

Heavy rainfall is expected to hit north coastal Tamil Nadu from the evening of November 14 and is likely to continue till November 16. South Tamil Nadu will also experience heavy rainfall on November 15, and isolated areas will witness rainfall on November 16.

Downpour is also expected in the south coastal region of Andhra Pradesh during the same time. Kerala will also receive rainfall on November 15 and 16, informed the Indian Meteorological Department.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Trupti Desai, founder of Bhumata Brigade, has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, stating that she would not leave the state if she were not allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple.

Seeking security for her visit to Sabarimala temple on November 17, Trupti in a letter to Kerala CM Vijayan has threatened to "not leave the state till the time she along with her delegation is not allowed to enter the shrine. Desai has said that she would be visiting the shrine with a delegation of six other women.

"It may be noted that, unless we do not worship at the Sabarimala temple by entering into the sanctum sanctorum, we will not return without worshiping God. We would never leave Kerala," she stated in the letter. She has further urged the government to arrange a vehicle for her delegation and bear the expenses of their stay as well. "Our fight for the entry into the Sanctorum of the temple is for the right of gender equality. This is not a fight against any religion or against devotees," she added.

Desai has claimed that she had been receiving threats on social media platforms. According to the letter, the threats were like, "Trupti Desai, if you ever come to Kerala, you will be cut into pieces. You will be murdered, when you come to Kerala. We will commit suicide."

It is worth mentioning that the women of menstruating age, that is, between 10 and 50, were barred from entering the Sabarimala temple by its officials, who argued that the temple deity Lord Ayyappa had taken a vow of celibacy.

However, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra in its 4:1 verdict on September 28 said that banning women's entry into the temple is "gender discrimination" and violates the rights of Hindu women. The ruling came after a petition argued that the practice violated gender equality.

Trupti Desai was detained by the Pune Police on October 19 after she along with other women activists threatened to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy. She had written to Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police, demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Modi to discuss the Sabarimala issue.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Apex industry body ASSOCHAM today welcomed the reported decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on exploring a loan restructuring package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which is likely to provide much-needed immediate relief to the segment. The Central Bank should expedite the process and complete it in a time-bound manner as it would help improve the liquidity condition of the SMEs which would go a long way in spurring job creation, giving a boost to exports and promoting India's economic growth, said The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

MSMEs are the backbone of Indian economy, contributing nearly 32 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), 40 per cent of country's exports and 45 per cent to manufacturing output. MSMEs are also the largest employers, next only to agriculture. But of late, the sector has been facing the problem of credit availability. As per latest information, micro and small scale sector's credit growth has registered negative growth rate of 1.4 per cent as on September 2018 against positive growth rate of 1.7 per cent as on September, 2017.

Besides, share of credit to micro and small scale sector declined as a proportion of overall bank credit to 4.53 per cent in September, 2018 from 5.12 percent in September, 2017. In this context, the reported initiative of the RBI to explore a loan restructuring package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a much awaited step at this juncture.

Credit flow to MSME sector has shrunk and credit growth has been feeble. Banks are not best equipped to lend to MSME sector. Some of the factors constraining credit flow to this sector include compliance and managerial costs faced by the banks, most of the MSMEs lack enough collateral or well established sale trails to justify credit appraisal. And while credit is vital, this is just one of the constraints faced by MSMEs; other includes unsatisfactory and inadequate infrastructure and access to market.

Given the importance of MSMEs in terms of contribution to output, employment and exports, it is imperative to improve the credit flow to the MSMEs. Commercial banks need to move away from traditional credit appraisals to innovative ways to enhance and expedite credit flow to the MSME sector. Also, banks need to focus on GST return filed by MSME to assess income and output rather than sale realization which in case of MSME do not reflect correct picture due to long leads and delays. The credit flow from commercial banks also needs to be supplemented by NBFCs, as they are much closer to their clients.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hong Kong share market were lower on Wednesday, 14 November 2018, on tracking weak lead from Wall Street overnight and mixed bag of Chinese economic data and ongoing U. S.-China trade war woes. Data released Wednesday showed China's industrial output and fixed-asset investment rose more than expected in the first 10 months of 2018, but retail sales were weaker than anticipated. In afternoon trades, the Hang Seng Index fell 139.28 points or 0.54% to 25,653.59. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 87.77 points or 0.84% to 10,390.94.

Market heavyweights were mixed. Tencent (00700) edged up 0.4% to HK$275.6. China Mobile (00941) rose 0.9% to HK$75.75. AIA (01299) shed 1.2% to HK$63.95.

HSBC (00005) jumped 1.7% to HK$65.85 after the UK government has reached a draft deal with the European Union regarding Brexit. Want Want (00151) edged up 0.2% to HK$5.69 after Macquarie and JP Morgan raised their target prices for the snack producer.

Shares of energy companies were lower as New York crude oil prices slumped more than 7%. CNOOC (00993) dipped 4.7% to HK$12.7. PetroChina (00857) slipped 3.2% to HK$5.69. Sinopec (00386) softened 3.3% to HK$6.44.

Shares of Aviation counters were higher on lower fuel costs due to falling oil prices. China Eastern Airlines (00670) gained 3.3% to HK$5.04. China Southern Airlines (01055) surged 5.4% to HK$5.25. Air China (00753) jumped 4.2% to HK$7.69. Cathay Pacific (00293) climbed 3.9% to HK$11.08.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A new book is being published by Penguin Random House India and The Indian Express to mark the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Titled "26/11: Stories of Strength", the book builds on ten years of reportage on Mumbai's terror survivors to find single mothers attending night school to get an education, children daring to dream big despite losing a parent and ageing parents finding new purpose to live after losing their sons.

The book is divided into 10 chapters, with each throwing light on the life of survivors after the Mumbai attacks in 2008, in which 164 people were killed and over 300 wounded.

It carries a Foreword titled "The Power of the Moderate" by Amitabh Bachchan and has been introduced by Anant Goenka, Executive Editor of Indian Express Group.

"Our 'Stories of Strength' project has, over the past three years, spent time with over 65 families impacted by 26/11. We are immensely grateful to all of them who have graciously and generously picked up the pieces of their hearts that were shattered 10 years ago and shared with us their most vulnerable and personal moments," Goenka notes in the Introduction.

--IANS

ss/in

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A four-year-old Indian boy died on a flight due to epileptic seizures on his way back from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah with his family.

The Oman Airways flight, flying from Jeddah to Kozhikode in Kerala, made an emergency landing in Abu Dhabi on Monday afternoon after the tragic incident, the airlines said.

The boy, identified as Yahya Puthiyapurayil developed epileptic seizures 45 minutes after the take-off, a relative told the Khaleej Times.

"He was running a mild fever while boarding the flight from Jeddah and developed epileptic seizures in mid-air. He died on his mother's lap. The family is inconsolable," said the boy's uncle Mohammed Nadeer, who lives in Abu Dhabi.

Puthiyapurayil was a specially-abled child who could not walk or talk.

"He was wheel-chair bound and had been undergoing treatment since his birth. He was travelling with a 13-member family pilgrimage group including his parents, uncles and cousins," the Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday.

An Indian Embassy official said the boy's body was repatriated early on Tuesday morning on an Etihad flight. The body reached Kannur and the burial was done by the afternoon, according to relatives.

"We were notified about the tragic incident on Monday afternoon. We spoke to the immigration officials in Abu Dhabi to facilitate the visa for the father. It was around 10.30 p.m. in the night when the formalities were completed," said M. Raja Murugan, Counsellor (Consular) at the Embassy.

"We opened the Embassy at night and facilitated the cancellation of the boy's passport and registration of death and issued the no-objection letter to take the mortal remains to India."

--IANS

soni/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal floats Trans-Himalayan Buddhist Circuit

While India has been working on an ambitious billion dollars plan to develop and promote the Buddhist Circuit in India with the involvement of the World Bank, Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari on Tuesday floated a new idea with China: to develop the Trans-Himalayan Buddhist Circuit.
More than 30 countries hosting the African wild dog, cheetah, leopard and the lion met here to establish the African Carnivore Initiative, it was announced on Wednesday.

The initiative constitutes the first Africa-wide commitment towards saving these carnivores.

Habitat loss and fragmentation, prey depletion, retaliatory killing of carnivores by owners of livestock and increasing trade in lion specimens and live cheetah are the main reasons for these animals' rapid decline across most of Africa.

Currently, the Red List Assessments of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are showing that the African wild dog inhabits six per cent of its historic range, while it is nine per cent for the cheetah, 51 per cent for the leopard and 17 per cent for the lion.

Supported by experts of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, the range states agreed in Bonn on establishing a work programme to guide their conservation actions in the coming years.

The countries agreed, among others, on developing and implementing conservation strategies for each of the four species; creating and maintaining a network of healthy ecosystems to address the threat of increasingly fragmented habitats and finding solutions to human-animal conflicts and facilitating coexistence.

This includes sustainable economic and livelihood benefits to communities and reducing the costs of living alongside wildlife. Improving education and awareness of the plight of African carnivores is necessary to ensure long-term success of conservation actions.

A new network should be established to provide technical support, training and mentoring to national coordinators as well as a platform for regular meetings.

A continuous information exchange will facilitate transboundary collaboration.

Closing knowledge gaps by using monitoring protocols for large carnivore populations is required to provide sufficient information to decision makers. This entails developing the capacity of the range states to monitor populations of the four species.

The African Carnivores Initiative is a unique collaboration between the only two global treaties whose mandate is to conserve endangered species.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) focuses on broad conservation measures, such as habitat protection, establishment of ecological corridors and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates international trade and seeks to stop illegal trade.

By working together, CMS and CITES can tackle the conservation of the four carnivores from two different angles.

CMS Executive Secretary Bradnee Chambers said: "In joining forces, CMS and CITES are pooling resources and expertise that will allow range states to conserve flagship African carnivores in a holistic manner."

--IANS

vg/pgh/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Andhra government on Wednesday launched a Cloud-based skill initiative with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's Cloud arm, where it will skill 60,000 students across the state's over 300 engineering and non-engineering colleges by 2020.

An MoU to build skills and literacy under the mission titled "Cloud For All-Knowledge and Skills Mission," was exchanged between Sambasiva Rao, CEO, Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) and Sunil PP, India Lead, Public Sector, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited, here.

APSSDC will build Cloud computing technology skills across Andhra Pradesh leveraging the AWS Educate programme, Amazon's global initiative to provide students and educators with the resources needed to accelerate cloud-related learning.

"APSSDC has collaborated with AWS Educate Programme to provide a skilled workforce across high-priority and emerging sectors. The learning programme has reached students in every district of the state to build critical skills in Cloud Computing," said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

With the increasing demand for cloud employees, AWS Educate provides an academic gateway for the next generation of IT and cloud professionals.

AWS has been working with the APSSDC since 2017.

"What started as a pilot has now grown exponentially in scale and depth of engagement. We commend APSSDC for their clear vision in skills enablement and cloud literacy across Andhra Pradesh, which is important as a growth engine for the state," said Vincent Quah, Regional Head-Education, Healthcare, Non Profits and Research for Asia Pacific and Japan, AWS.

As part of a pilot programme in 2017, APSSDC rolled out the AWS Educate programme to engineering colleges in the state, and enrolled more than 10,000 students into various "Cloud Career Pathways".

The Cloud Career Pathway framework enables students to put their cloud knowledge to use across 12 self-paced pathways aligned to labour market trends and workforce needs.

In May, more than 200 faculty members from over 80 engineering colleges were also trained as part of the faculty development initiative.

By September, more than 13,000 students were enrolled in the AWS Educate programme from nearly 130 non-engineering colleges.

"Skilling students presents an opportunity to drive greater creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship within the State," said Rahul Sharma, President-Public Sector, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited.

--IANS

na/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Army porter was killed on Wednesday when Pakistani troops opened fire violating the ceasefire in Rajouri district, defence sources said.

The porter was killed in the Nowshera sector along the Line of Control (LoC). He was identified as Surinder Kumar, sources said.

"The Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked firing at five locations on the LoC in Rajouri district today. Indian positions retaliated strongly," a source said, adding the firing exchanges started around 4 p.m. today.

Two Army soldiers have been killed in sniper fire from Pakistan on the LoC in Rajouri district during the last seven days.

--IANS

sq/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Arunachal Pradesh has suffered historically primarily in the absence of robust road connectivity with road density of 25 km per 100 square km area as against an all India average of 142 km per 100 sq km area, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Wednesday.

However, he said that his government has prepared a roadmap for connectivity strategy by 2022 which would ensure reliable connectivity to all administrative and commercial centres.

Inaugurating the 5th North East Connectivity Summit at Tawang district bordering China organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Khandu praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for the strong support to Arunachal in the last four years that has brought about a visible transformation.

The two-day summit is being attended by representatives and delegations from neighbouring Countries such as Bhutan and Bangladesh, besides Indian officials and representatives from the corporate and industry.

The theme for this year is 'Tourism Connectivity'.

The summit is one of the most important forums for action-oriented deliberations on sub regional economic integration and connectivity between Northeast India and South East Asia.

"Railways has also found a footprint in our state and is going to give huge fillip to the movement of passengers and cargo as well as tourists to the State," Khandu said.

On air connectivity, the Chief Minister said under the UDAN Scheme, Pasighat is now an integral part of the Indian aviation map apart from six helicopter services to Aalo, Itanagar, Tuting, Walong, Yingkiong, and Ziro.

Advanced Landing Ground at Tezu and Ziro shall also become operational soon for fixed wing aircrafts.

"There is a huge scope for development of Inland Waterways Transport and we are exploring possibility of developing floating terminals on the major rivers like Dibang, Lohit and Siang in collaboration with Inland Waterways Authority of India," he said.

--IANS

rrk/pgh/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on Wednesday discussed a proposed code of conduct for trade through the South China Sea.

The code of conduct, whose first draft is expected be ready by next year before coming into effect in 2021, will serve to iron out differences over trade and territorial disputes between China and the 10-nation regional bloc, Efe news reported.

During talks at the annual Asean summit in Singapore, the bloc leaders and Li Keqiang discussed negotiating the code to promote peace and stability in the disputed South China Sea -- one of the busiest waterways in the world.

China and some Asean members have competing territorial claims to islands in the South China Sea.

Li said the code would also help in improving trade ties between the regional bloc and China.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said he supported the plan, adding that laying down a code of conduct was necessary.

Asean and China also discussed upgrading their Free Trade Area pact which was signed in Phnom Penh in 2002 and came into effect in 2010.

The pact aimed to create free trade zones between the China and Asean -- comprising of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Territorial contentions are one of the major reasons for tensions in Southeast Asia, especially after Beijing began its infrastructure construction and military bases on several disputed islets and reefs.

China is embroiled in a dispute over the Scarborough Shoal with the Philippines, and over the Spratly islands with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

--IANS

soni/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters clashed with the police here on Wednesday, demanding a level playing field in the upcoming national elections and release of their leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from jail.

The BNP supporters marched towards their party office in a pre-election showdown in the capital. They vandalized several vehicles and clashed with the police with brickbats in front of their headquarters at Naya Paltan, bdnews24.com reported.

Dozens of people including law enforcers and BNP activists were injured.

Television footage showed the fighting and opposition activists reportedly setting fire to a police van and several private cars in the area.

Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Monirul Islam said that BNP leaders and activists engaged themselves in violence "without any provocation".

--IANS

soni/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladesh on Wednesday was preparing to go ahead with the planned repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who last year fled a violent military crackdown in Myanmar, despite concerns over their safety.

The plans to send Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar gathered momentum, with reports of Bangladesh armed forces gathering in the Cox's Bazar camps and allegations that refugees were assaulted by the authorities for refusing to cooperate, according to a report in the Guardian.

The first phase of the Rohingya's return to Myanmar will begin on Thursday, according to an agreement signed between the two countries on November 23, 2017.

"We have seen their concerns, but so far the decision has not been changed," Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam told Efe news.

The two governments agreed to repatriate 2,251 of some 723,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps in Cox's Bazaar of Bangladesh.

The Army, police and paramilitary troops moved into several of the camps in Bangladesh, where over 700,000 Rohingya have been living after fleeing a campaign of violence, described as genocide by a UN fact-finding mission.

According to the Guardian, there have been reports of Bangladesh camp officials assaulting Rohingya refugees who refused to cooperate, in a sign that the repatriations may not be voluntary, despite multiple assurances by Bangladesh that it would not force any Rohingya to go back.

Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged Bangladesh to halt the plan, warning that the repatriation would violate international law and put the lives of the refugees at serious risk.

Rohingya leaders echoed those concerns, saying it was too soon to start the repatriation.

"This repatriation is not going to be sustainable," Abdur Rahim, a leader of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, said.

"They (the Myanmar authorities) are going to keep people in camps," he said.

Another community leader, Dil Mohammad, said the situation in Myanmar was not yet conducive for the refugees' return.

"We will go back only if the security of our life and livelihood is ensured."

Spokesman of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Firas Al-Khateeb said that they started assessing "the voluntariness of the refugees cleared for return to Myanmar to ascertain if they would like to exercise their right to return at this time".

The Rohingya exodus began on August 25, 2017 when a rebel group of the mostly Muslim minority community launched a series of attacks on government posts in Rakhine state in western Myanmar.

The Myanmar Army responded with an offensive that has been condemned globally, with the UNHCR saying it had all the attributes of ethnic cleansing and bore elements of genocide.

--IANS

soni/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has appointed Adarsh Nair as the company's Chief Product Officer.

Nair, who was working with US-based Convoy Inc, would report to Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel for India and South Asia, Airtel said in a statement.

"In his new role Adarsh will be the custodian of Airtel's digital products and platforms, and play a pivotal role in the company's digital transformation journey. He will work closely with Airtel's leadership team and partners to identify and prioritize market opportunities," it said.

The post was vacant for three years after Anand Chandrasekaran quit as the Chief Product Officer in 2015.

People in the know of the developments said the company now needed a product head as it transforms from a telecom-specific firm to a digital company with the introduction of "Airtel 3.0" vision.

--IANS

rrb/mag/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The statewide death toll in Californias wildfires has reached 50 as rescuers continue to search for the missing persons, authorities said.

The deaths from the Camp fire, the deadliest wildfire in the state's history, increased to 48 on Tuesday, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.

Two people died in the Woolsey fire, a major blaze in Southern California that charred more than 150 square miles, an area larger than the size of Denver, CNN reported.

Authorities in northern California ramped up the search for more victims buried in rubble left by the blaze that incinerated the town of Paradise. The death toll increased after an additional six bodies were discovered in the town.

All the six victims were found in their homes.

More than 200 people were still missing as a result of the fire and the list of names would be published soon, said the Butte County Sheriff.

He also said the recovery teams were using "cutting-edge technology" to identify the badly-burnt bodies.

According to reports, a Rapid DNA-analysis system was set up in the decimated town, equipped with portable devices that can identify someone's genetic material in hours, rather than the days or weeks it takes to test samples in labs.

There had been 208 suspicious incidents reported in Camp Fire's evacuation zone, with 18 of them linked to looting, according to an announcement by the Butte County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. Six people had been arrested.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said the fire had scorched 130,000 acres (526.1 square km) with 35 per cent contained.

According to reports, the fire was still actively burning and more than 5,000 fire personnel were on the scene from across the country.

They continued to battle flames including in the area north of Magalia near Stirling City. With increased visibility, planes were able to deliver retardant as crews on the ground worked in steep inaccessible terrain, Cal Fire authorities said.

More than 7,600 structures were destroyed. The vast majority of those were homes in Paradise, a Sierra foothill town of 27,000 about 180 miles north of San Francisco.

--IANS

soni/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The main opposition Congress in Telangana on Wednesday released its second list of 10 candidates for the state assembly polls on December 7, re-nominating seven candidates who had lost in 2014.

With this, the Congress has so far announced candidates to 75 seats in the 119-member Assembly. The first list of 65 candidates had triggered discontent in the party, with those denied threatening to enter the fray as Independents.

The Congress is heading a four-party alliance calling 'Mahakutami' and it has left 24 seats for its three allies -- Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and Communist Party of India.

According to the second list, Congress spokesman Dasoju Sravan Kumar will contest from Khairatabad constituency in Hyderabad. Former MP Ramesh Rathod, who quit the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) after being denied a ticket, joined the Congress in September and has secured the Khanapur constituency ticket from Adilabad district.

Gandra Venkat Ramna Reddy was given Bhupalapalle ticket, while P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy will contest from Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad. Both were defeated in the 2014 elections.

The others renominated from the loser list are Jajala Surendar from Yellareddy, Adluri Laxman Kumar from Dhamapuri, K.K. Mahendar Reddy from Sircilla, K. Laxma Reddy from Medchal and C. Pratap Reddy from Shadnagar.

Kandala Upender Reddy, a prominent contractor, who had been eyeing the ticket since 2009, has been fielded from Palair constituency.

Senior leader and former minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, a stronger contender for the ticket from Jangaon, is missing from the second list too. He had earlier expressed surprise over his name not figuring in the first list announced late on Monday.

Lakshmaiah has represented Jangaon assembly constituency for four terms but this time around Congress ally TJS is keen to contest from here.

The seat sharing among the constituents of the Mahakutami was yet to be finalised. The TDP has so far announced nine candidates. TJS and CPI were yet to declare their candidates.

The last date for filing of nomination for the elections to the 119-member assembly is November 19.

The Telangana Assembly was dissolved on September 6 on the recommendation of the state government, almost nine months ahead of the expiry of its term.

--IANS

ms-bns/in/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
by Wang Zhicheng

In a rare move, China bows to strong pressures from local and foreign environmentalists. Only 30 tigers are left in the wild in China.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - China is backtracking on its decision to legalise the trade of tiger and rhino parts following criticisms against the government that such a move could increase the risks for endangered species.

Yesterday, Ding Xuedong, executive deputy secretary-general of the State Council, told Xinhua that the government decided to postpone the order issued last month to lift a ban on trading in rhino and tiger products.

The Chinese government has not changed its stance on wildlife protection and will not ease the crackdown on illegal trafficking and trade in rhinos, tigers and their by-products and other criminal activities, Ding said.

It is not clear how long the ban will last. The move appears to be a rare concession by the Chinese government under mounting pressure from domestic and international environmental advocates.

China banned trade and use of rhino horns and tiger bones in 1993.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes the animal parts have strong medicinal effects and can treat various diseases.

Zoologists estimate that there are fewer than 30 tigers living in the wild in China.
Nepal seeks access to Chinese airports

Nepal has asked China to allow Nepali carriers to fly to different Chinese cities as the government has set a target to significantly increase Chinese arrivals during the much-awaited Visit Nepal campaign version 3.0 in 2020 with the goal of attracting 2 million foreign tourists.
Looking to use Indian talent for its global development initiatives, DAI, a leader in global development, has joined hands with Sunera Technologies, Inc. to set up DAI Global Services Center.

The two companies on Wednesday announced that they have signed a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) agreement to launch the center.

DAI, headquartered in the United States, is currently executing 200 development projects with a total contract value of $3 billion in 100 countries.

Sunera Technologies, Inc. (Suneratech), also a US-headquartered firm, is leader in developing innovative technology solutions.

Beginning its operations with 50 people, the DAI Global Services Center (GSC) will focus on development of solutions using new technologies like Cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for cheaper, better and faster execution of DAI projects around the world. The facility will also work as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) for DAI's global operations.

As DAI has 50 years experience and possess lot of data, data analysts at GSC will capitalize on it to develop new solutions to address the socio-economic problems in different countries. The facility will also have project delivery teams to deliver the projects globally.

James Boomgard, President and CEO of DAI told reporters that though they have been working with Suneratech for last 10 years, the GSC is expected to serve as a platform to combine DAI's experience and knowledge with the technology and innovation in India to develop the solutions and take it to the rest of the world.

Ravi Reddy, President and CEO of Sueratech, hoped that the facility would be expended to have few hundred to 1,000 employees.

DAI, which had global revenues of $650 million last year, is working on projects on healthcare, democracy, governance and economic growth in regions like Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America.

With 4,000 employees around the world, it works on projects funded by USAID, European Union and other global donors.

Suneratech, which has 1,000 employees including 850 in Hyderabad, also plans to hire 1,500 people by December 2021, said Ravi Reddy.

--IANS

ms/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of the tabling of the Inter-State River Basin Management Bill 2018 in the forthcoming winter session of parliament, environmentalists here have said that special focus should be accorded to the issue of downstream impact of rivers, particularly in case of the rivers in the northeast India.

The Union Ministry of Water Resources recently released the draft of the bill for public comments. The Centre is likely to table the Bill in Parliament during the winter session slated for December.

"It is necessary to ensure that the downstream states do not suffer from unwanted adverse impact of river dams and other similar structures located in upstream states. In cases where such an impact cannot be avoided, efforts should be made to minimise the effect, which is agreeable to stakeholders," said a group of NGOs, which have moved the Union Water Resources Ministry recently.

The proposed River Basin Management Bill, 2018 seeks to set up 13 River Basin Authorities having a two-tier system consisting of a Governing Council and an Executive Board. According to the draft, the Chief Ministers of all the states under the particular basin will be members of the Executive Council.

The NGOs that took part in a multi-stakeholder consultation in Guwahati recently organised by Oxfam India include Aaranyak, North East Research and Social Work Networking (NERSWN), Peoples' Action for Development (PAD) and Trust for Change and Development.

The demand of the NGOs for focus on the downstream impact of the rivers assumes importance, particularly for Assam and other northeastern states. At least 10 persons died in flash floods in Lakhimpur district of Assam last year due to sudden release of water from a dam of Ranganadi hydro-electric project in the upper reaches of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.

"My suggestion is the river dam projects seeking clearance should be halted till the RBAs are set up and there should be a fresh process of seeking clearance of dam building as otherwise dam building process and river basin master plan will be conflicting to each other," said Partho Jyoti Das, an expert on water at Aaranyak.

--IANS

ah/shs/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a strike against terrorism and organised smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized a cache of arms and explosives being smuggled from Pakistan across the Akhnoor border.

The cache included 12 improvised explosive device (IED) detonators, 15 hand-grenades and an AK-56 rifle with 234 rounds of ammunition.

In a joint operation with the Indian Army conducted in the wee hours of Tuesday, the team also seized five pistols along with 60 rounds of ammunition (9mm) from a forward area in Gigrial Village of Akhnoor region in Jammu district, DRI Director General Debi Prasad Dash said on Wednesday.

He said the arms and ammunition bearing distinct Chinese markings were being smuggled from Pakistan.

"DRI had specific intelligence that some intruders from Pakistan side will attempt to infiltrate into India from a specific location at the international border in the intervening night of November 12 and 13," he said.

Dash added the information was shared with the local Indian Army unit and an ambush was laid at the specified spot.

He said the intruders opened fire at the Indian Army soldiers when they tried to intercept them, prompting retaliatory fire in which one intruder was killed while the rest fled.

"A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from his possession. The infiltrator is suspected to be of Pakistan origin," Dash said.

He said that in a similar operation last week, the DRI had seized 20.8 kilograms of high-quality heroin -- worth Rs 105 crore in the international market -- along with two foreign-made pistols with four magazines from the border area in the Akhnoor region.

"Intelligence suggested that the consignment was destined for Punjab. The contraband was in a packing which indicated that it was of Pakistan origin," he said.

Dash said that it was the fourth such seizure of heroin by the DRI in a span of three months and the involvement of Pakistan-based smugglers and agencies was also being investigated.

--IANS

vv/shs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A total of 18.78 lakh foreigners visited India this year within the first 10 months on E-visa -- four times more than the 4.47 lakh figure registered in 2015 and the highest so far. The maximum number of visitors who availed of this facility were from the UK, the US, China, France and Germany.

A home ministry release said that arrivals between January and October, 2018 also broke last year's record when 17 lakh foreigners visited India on E-visa or Electronic-visa, citing liberalization of the visa regime by India as a reason for the spike in figures.

The fee collection this year till October 31 was $ 137,527,270 which was $ 105,558,496 in 2017.

The top five countries whose nationals availed E-visa services are the UK (2,921,432), the US (2,213,393), China(1,270,224), France (1,071,855) and Germany (89,863).

Nationals of 166 countries can now enjoy these E-visa -- available for five categories such as Tourist, Business, Medical, Conference and medical attendant -- facility at 26 airports and five seaports, and can be availed three times in one year against twice a year earlier, said the release.

The local Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has been empowered now to extend the duration of electronic visas beyond 60 days upto 90 days, said the release.

"With the E-visa facility, the foreigner does not have to interact with any Indian official till his arrival at the immigration counter. For foreigners who are already in India and require any consular or visa services like extension, conversion, exit permission or any of the total 27 visa-related services, an online e-FRRO facility has now been launched throughout the country.

"The foreigners do not have to physically visit the offices of FRROs. They can apply as well as receive consular or visa services online after making online payment," it said.

To promote cruise tourism, immigration facilities have been provided at five major seaports where e-landing permits are granted to passengers for their onshore site-seeing.

"The condition of biometric enrolment for such tourists arriving at Mumbai, Cochin, Mormugao, Chennai and New Mangalore ports has also been suspended till December 2020 to ensure faster immigration clearance so that cruise tourists can spend maximum time on shore."

Foreign nationals who fall sick during their stay in India can now avail medical treatment without converting their visa into medical visa, said the release. The Centre is also allowing conversion of any category of visa of a foreigner who is married to an Indian citizen, person of Indian origin or overseas citizen of India (OCI) card holder into an entry visa at any point of time by the FRRO himself.

State governments or the FRROs can now take decision locally and grant Protected Area Permit (PAP) or Restricted Area Permit (RAP) immediately to foreigners intending to visit places which are not open for tourism. Such permits are granted only after a prior reference is made by the concerned state or Union Territories to the Home Ministry.

Earlier, foreigners visiting Andaman and Nicobar Islands required a visa as well as an RAP.

With a view to promoting flow of tourism and investment, 30 Andaman and Nicobar islands have been excluded from the RAP regime, the release said. "Foreigners will also be allowed to visit 11 uninhabited islands, to be notified by Andaman and Nicobar Islands Admn., only for day trips without any RAP."

The Ministry has also reduced minimum remuneration requirement from Rs 7.80 lakh to Rs 3.60 lakh per annum for grant of intern visa which is now available at any time during the course of study.

--IANS

rak/vsc/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Central Bureau of Investigation Special Director Rakesh Asthana till November 28 and ordered to continue the status quo in the case till the next date of hearing.

Meanwhile, CBI Joint Director A.K. Sharma's counsel M.A. Niyazi told Justice Najmi Waziri that he has incriminating evidence against Asthana.

The court asked him to file it before the CBI. Sharma's counsel responed that it is turning difficult to identify who is probing the case and who is the real agency in the present scenario. The counsel sought time to file response to Asthana's plea.

The court was hearing Asthana and suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Devender Kumar's pleas seeking quashing of FIRs against them, saying the cases were registered against them in an illegal manner with mala fide intention.

According to the CBI, Kumar had fabricated the statement of Sana Sathish Babu, a witness in the businessman Moin Qureshi case, showing he recorded the statement on September 26 in Delhi. However, investigation revealed that Sana was not in Delhi on that day. He was in Hyderabad and joined the investigation only on October 1.

The CBI registered an FIR against Asthana, Kumar and two others. The CBI has alleged that bribes were taken at least five times between December 2017 and October 2018.

Asthana, a 1984-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, is accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore from a businessman who was being probed in the Qureshi case to "wreck" the investigation. The case was being examined by a special investigation team headed by Asthana.

On October 24 CBI chief Alok Verma was divested of his charge and Joint Director M. Nageshwar Rao was made the interim Director. Asthana was also divested of all his supervisory responsibilities.

The government took the decision after Verma and Asthana accused each other of taking bribes.

--IANS

akk/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said Indian economy will quadruple to $10 trillion by 2035 riding on business-friendly policies, structural reforms and transparency in governance.

"India is growing at a fast rate and will be a $5 trillion economy in another 7-8 years. By 2035, it will be a $10 trillion economy and we are preparing for that in an aggressive way," he said in a recorded message at the inauguration of India International Trade Fair (IITF).

Prabhu said that no country can grow unless companies grow and their growth is dependent on interactions with rest of the world and the business-friendly policies of the government that saw India climb from 142 to 77 rank on Ease of Doing Business in last four years.

"India is constantly improving and we want to take it beyond 50 and later even higher. India's ranking globally is increasing due to domestic policies. We are making structural reforms, we are bringing in transparency. We deal with complete transparency in public procurement."

The Minister said IITF is India's flagship event where participants from across the globe take part. The 38th IITF, being organised in less than one-fourth of the area at Pragati Maidan due to ongoing renovation and construction, has 17 countries participating in it.

"I am sure this will showcase India's capabilities... This is an event where businesses meet, policy makers meet to exchange ideas, to shape together a good future for humanity and to make world a better place by increasing your toplines and bottomlines and that can only happen when governments allow businesses to grow," he said.

The partner country for the 14-day trade fair is Afghanistan, focus country is Nepal and focus state is Jharkhand. The theme of the international fair, with about 800 participants, is "rural enterprises" and was inaugurated by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C.R. Chaudhary along with Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma.

While Sharma said the country is fortunate to have an enterprising Prime Minister, Chaudhary said foreign investment worth more than $60 billion comes to India each year under the Make in India scheme launched by the PM and that India is set to become a manufacturing hub.

Jharkhand's Khadi Gram Udyog Board Chairman Sanjay Seth said the tribal state, which will turn 18 years old on November 15, has been growing at over 10 per cent under the current leadership of Raghubar Das with major progress in basic infrastructure like roads.

India Trade Promotion Organisation officials said while the current fair is orgainsed in only 22 per cent of the total space due to construction activities, the next IITF will be the biggest ever as a world class international exhibition cum convention centre will be ready by then.

--IANS

mgu/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the US on Wednesday discussed their roles in a free Indo-Pacific region and cooperation in defence and trade sectors during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here.

Briefing the media here following the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that Modi referred to his speech in Singapore in June at the Shangri-La Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision of the Indo-Pacific.

"We conveyed to Vice President Pence that his (Modi's) vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that we should utilise the upcoming East Asia Summit to further build up on that," Gokhale said.

"Vice President Pence also spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.

"He felt that India's contribution in ensuring this would be important and we then discussed how both sides can strengthen cooperation in this area to ensure that this is an area of growth, of prosperity, of development and of benefit for the countries of the region in the future."

India and the US, along with Japan and Australia, are part of a quad revived in 2017 that seeks to work for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Gokhale said that trade-related matters also came up for a brief discussion during the Modi-Pence meeting.

"Prime Minister remarked that in the last two years, i.e. the two years when President Trump assumed office, American exports to India have grown by 50 per cent," he said.

"It is perhaps one of the countries, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the United States has a trade deficit where the deficit has actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year and this is important from the perspective of the United States."

With India starting to import oil and gas from the US, there was a lot of discussion on energy cooperation as well.

"We have begun importing oil and gas from United States," the Foreign Secretary said.

"It is expected to be valued about $4 billion this year and we expressed our readiness to import more oil and more gas from the United States as a way of expanding our trade," he stated.

Gokhale said that another area which both sides felt would be important on the economic front would be the defence sector.

"There of course both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defence relationship, in our imports of equipment from the United States but Prime Minister in particular stressed that there was a great opportunity for United States in India in making defence equipment and setting up defence industry in India," he said.

"Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region."

According to Gokhale, "there was appreciation of the outcomes of the recently held Ministerial 2+2 and on the follow up to the 2+2, both on the foreign policy side and on the defence side".

The first ever India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue was held in New Delhi in September which was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

The Foreign Secretary said that there was some discussion on the issue of terrorism and Pence referred to the coming 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks.

"In this context he greatly appreciated the cooperation which has been built between the United States and India on counter-terrorism and in response, the Prime Minister, while thanking him for these words also reminded him that in one way or another all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately leads to a single source, a single place of origin and in that context he did point out that the mainstreaming of the people involved in Mumbai terror attacks in a political process which had taken place in a recent election in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to our two countries but to the international community."

This was a reference to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the general elections in Pakistan in July.

According to Gokhale, Modi appreciated US President Donald Trump's hosting of a Diwali event at the White House and in this connection, there was a discussion on the contributions that have been made by the Americans of Indian origin, "the Indian-American community for the last three decades economically, culturally, in terms of integration, in terms of building or helping the building of democracy and in this context Prime Minister conveyed to the Vice President that Indians when they come to the United States not only bring their talent and capacity to innovate, capacity to excel but also they are imbued in democratic values".

--IANS

ab/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chef Garima Arora, who heads the Bangkok based Gaa restaurant, has been awarded the prestigious Michelin star.

It is being claimed that she is the first Indian woman to get the honour.

Feeling proud on receiving the Michelin star, Garima told IANS: "I am humbled that Gaa restaurant has been honoured with it. I am proud of my team. It feels great when you get appreciated for your hard work, and for my team and me, the journey till now has been great. Though it was painful but all the hardships were worth it."

Hailing from Mumbai, Garima launched Gaa in 2017 in Bangkok and being an Indian, she tried to bring Indian-Thai cross culture through the restaurant's menu.

Garima, who is an alumni of Le Cordon Bleu -- Paris' popular culinary school, has worked with many renowned international chefs like Gordan Ramsay and Rene Redzepi.

But before stepping into the world of culinary and cuisines, the 30-year-old chef also tried her hand at journalism.

She studied Mass Media from Mumbai's Jai Hind college but it was food which always attracted Garima.

"I did journalism but it was not something which I was made for... after few years of my work in journalism, I realised I have interest for food and went to Paris for the culinary course."

Talking about her journey as chef and restaurateur, Garima said: "It is not an easy industry to be in but my family always supported me. It is a very demanding profession, but with dedication and hard work and focus, one can achieve whatever they want."

She also gave a piece of advice to young women who aspire to choose this profession.

"Be true to yourself and never apologise for choosing this as a profession. I know sometimes women in this field have to prove themselves in comparison to men but never quit fighting."

Asked if she has plans to open her restaurant in India, she said not anytime soon.

But she wants to see Indian restaurants expand their culture and heritage all over the world.

"Indian restaurants are doing so good. India has a rich culture, history and heritage. We (Indians) do not have any need to adapt something from western countries, we have such a diverse culture and being an Indian chef, I will always try to expand my culture across the globe and other chefs and restaurateurs should also do the same."

--IANS

sim/sug/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Infosys will soon open a technology hub at Richardson in the US state of Texas where it will hire 500 American techies by 2020, the global software major said on Wednesday.

"The new hub will drive expansion and create jobs in Texas to reinforce our commitment to workforce development in the US," said the city-based IT major in a statement here.

The new employees would include graduates from Texas universities and colleges. They would benefit from upskilling through its training curriculum.

"The new technology and innovation hub will focus on telecommunications, retail and banking sectors," said the statement.

The investment in Texas reinforces the outsourcing firm's commitment to driving digital transformation for American enterprises by leveraging talent from the area alongside the best global talent available.

The investment in Texas is part of the company's strategy to drive digital transformation of American businesses.

"Digital is changing every industry and our hubs will allow us to co-locate, co-innovate and co-create alongside our clients," said Infosys Chief Operating Officer U.B. Pravin Rao on the occasion.

The $11-billion company's foray into Texas in the southwest state is part of its strategic announcement decision on May 2, 2017 to hire about 10,000 Americans by 2023 to bridge the IT skills gap in the US.

The software behemoth on September 21 announced that it would hire about 1,000 Americans by 2023 at Phoenix in Arizona state, taking its local headcount in the US to 6,200 till date since May 2017.

The company's other hubs are at Indianapolis in Indiana, Raleigh in North Carolina, Hartford in Connecticut and Providence in Rhode island.

The hiring of Americans is seen as a fallout of US President Donald Trump's executive order on H1-B visas in April 2017, as clients in North America contribute about 60 per cent of the company's software export revenue annually.

"Infosys' expanded investment in our state will provide Texans with training and skills they need to compete in a technology-driven economy," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the statement.

Thanking the Indian IT firm for helping more Texans be part of its workforce, Abbott said the opportunity would enable them to advance economically.

Infosys President for its US operations Ravi Kumar said the educational institutions in the southwest state were key to its workforce development efforts.

"Investment in Texas will improve our ability to serve clients by broadening the STEM talent pipeline and provide training for the skills our clients need," Kumar added.

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

"Infosys will benefit from the telecom corridor area's access to companies across verticals, a pool of tech talent and academic partners for preparing professionals of tomorrow," said Richardson Mayor Paul Voelkar.

--IANS

fb/mag/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu on Wednesday said that Japan is serious about boosting connectivity in India's north-eastern states by building roads and bridges.

"We aim to support the development of this region by connecting not only the intra-regional links within the north-east, but also the links between the north-east and neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar," he said.

The Japanese diplomat, who was addressing the 3rd India International Cherry Blossom Festival in this mountainous state capital of Meghalaya, said that the road connectivity will make India's north-east a gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and will also boost the economy of the states.

"North-east is where our shared vision crystallises. The north-east as a priority is evidenced by the 'Japan-India Act East Forum'. This is a unique forum in which we test various ideas for further development of the north-east and put them into action," Hiramatsu said.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who inaugurated the Cherry Blossom Festival 2018, said, "This tree (cherry tree) binds the two countries and makes Meghalaya and Japan the home of a unique benediction of nature."

He said that India-Japan collaboration has taken a leap forward because of the efforts that have been made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, and also stated that the festival represents one of the ways of strengthening that relationship further.

"The significance of the festival goes beyond the blooming of cherry trees as it also creates a space for mutual exchange of culture and ideas... The festival will provide a mosaic of sports, culture and culinary delights of Meghalaya, India's north-east and Japan," Sangma said.

Noting that the festival will boost tourism not just in Meghalaya but in the entire north-east, the Chief Minister hoped that the state will have more visitors this year.

--IANS

rrk/shs/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NSU cadres enforce chakka jam in Banepa demanding release of its leader

Vehicular movement along the Araniko Highway and BP Highway was disrupted on Wednesday morning owing to a 'chakka jam' called by Nepal Student Union, the student wing of Nepali Congress (NC), demanding the release of its leader Krishna Dhakal.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among others who along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday paid tributes to the nation's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary.

While Kovind "remembered" Nehru in a tweet, Modi from Singapore tweeted: "We recall his contribution to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister."

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with Gandhi and senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot, P.C. Chacko among others paid floral tributes to Nehru at the Shanti Vana here.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu described Nehru as a "visionary" for his "invaluable contributions towards the building of modern India".

On the occasion, Naidu also greeted children as their much loved Chacha Nehru's birthday is celebrated as Children's Day in India since 1964.

"Let us pledge today to ensure that no child shall be denied the opportunity to live a healthy and happy life, that no child shall be left behind," he aded. The day is also known as "Bal Diwas".

Nehru was born on November 14, 1889, and was sworn in as the first Prime Minister on August 15, 1947, after the country gained independence from the British rule.

He served the country till May 27, 1964. He still remains as the country's longest-serving Prime Minister.

--IANS

aks/in

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maoists carried out two simultaneous attacks here on Wednesday injuring four Border Security Force (BSF) troopers, a civilian and one District Reserve Guard in one of the attacks, police said.

The Left wing extremists, who had asked citizens to boycott the poll process going on in the state, carried out the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast aimed at a vehicle carrying the troopers returning from poll duty.

This happened days after the first phase of assembly election to 18 seats in the state was conducted on Monday.

In the other incident a gunfight broke out during a search operation not far from the IED blast spot. The 85 Battalion of the CRPF troopers were attacked by the insurgents. "Firing is still on," Deputy Inspector General M. Dinakaran told IANS.

Both attacks took place simultaneously at 9.15 a.m. in the Mahadev Ghat area, a police officer said.

The truck attacked was a civilian store vehicle and the driver was among those ijuried.

It was the ninth Maoist attack in 19 days in the poll-bound state where the final phase of voting to 72 seats is scheduled on November 20.

--IANS

rak-som/in

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British Prime Minister Theresa May will preside over a decisive extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Wednesday in which she will seek the backing of her ministers for a draft technical deal struck between the UK and the EU on Brexit.

May was scheduled to meet Conservative Party frontbenchers at her official Downing Street residence at around 2 p.m. following the weekly Prime Minister's questions session at the House of Commons, the BBC reported.

There have been calls to reject the deal from both senior Brexiteers and some Remain supporters.

The Tory PM, whose executive wields a minority in the Commons and stays afloat with the confidence and supply of the right-wing Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), met her ministers individually late into Monday to brief them on the roughly 500-page draft deal with Brussels.

She faces the considerable challenge of securing the support of the pro-Brexit ministers in her Cabinet, which includes powerful voices like the Secretary for International Trade Liam Fox and Environment Secretary Michael Gove, as well as those seen as having a tendency towards remaining in the EU.

Numerous political analysts suggested that failure to strike an agreement in the Cabinet meeting would cast doubt on May's future in office.

Although the details of the technical deal on Brexit were yet to be made public, Ireland's national broadcaster RTE, which initially broke the story on the deal, said it comprised a solution for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, according to Efe news.

Exactly how to maintain the soft border between Northern Ireland, a UK territory, and the Irish Republic, an EU member state, was a major stumbling block in the Brexit negotiations that sparked division within the UK government.

However, even if May gets unanimous backing from her ministers, she must still pass the draft accord through the Commons.

The draft was set to come up against major opposition from the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, backbench members of the Conservative Party and depending on what the deal would mean for Northern Ireland, potentially the DUP.

The DUP said it would not back an agreement that would keep Northern Ireland in regulatory alignment with its southern neighbour as a measure to keep a tariff-free frontier and preserve the freedom of movement for goods and people in the region.

The UK is set to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, with or without a deal.

British voters narrowly opted to withdraw from the bloc in a 2016 referendum called by erstwhile Prime Minister David Cameron who resigned the day after the vote.

--IANS

soni/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday that cabinet has agreed on the draft Brexit deal with European Union (EU) after impassioned debate.

The latest development came as May was seeking cabinet's support for the Brexit deal text agreed between Britain and EU.

"I firmly believe it's the best agreement that could be negotiated," she told media shortly after the close-door meeting with the cabinet that lasted for five hours.

"This is a decisive step that enables us to move on," she said.

Earlier, the PM told the House of Commons that Britain is "significantly closer" to delivering on the result of the Brexit vote.

--IANS

ahm/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US First Lady Melania Trump has called for a top national security aide to President Donald Trump to be fired, media reports said.

"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security adviser, no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House," her spokeswoman said siad on Tuesday.

The first lady feuded with Ricardel, during her tour of Africa in October, the US media said.

The White House and the National Security Council were yet to comment.

Presidential spouses do have a long history of involving themselves in White House staffing issues.

Nancy Reagan, for instance, had an ongoing feud with Chief of Staff Donald Regan. Hillary Clinton frequently sparred with White House aides.

It's the kind of thing that never spills quite so openly into view, however, this time around its different.

The office of First Lady decided to attack the White House staff member on the record and in no uncertain terms, the BBC reported.

The statement came as the US media reported that President Donald Trump was considering a shake up in the White House West Wing, and might consider removing White House Chief of Staff John Kelly or Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

As deputy national security adviser, Ricardel has served under National Security Advisor John Bolton on the National Security Council for the past seven months.

According to the US media reports, Trump and Ricardel fell out during the former's trip to Africa and quarrelled over seating arrangements on the plane.

Melania Trump told ABC in a rare interview that there are people in the White House that she does not trust.

She said she gives the President her "honest advice and honest opinions and then he does what he wants to do".

--IANS

in/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Using the latest technology, AN-Face, Orange County, a Malaysia-based animation company has resurrected the legendary Tamil actor MGR in a two-hour long 'feature film' in 3D digital mode, to be released in Hyderabad, next month.

The digital company has used artificial intelligence to define the facial expressions and his mannerisms which made him a legend in the Indian film industry.

The film is based on movie stills, publicity photos, and films featuring the actor, who later became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The official release would be held during the 4th edition of Indywood Film Carnival to be held at Ramoji Film City from December 1to 4th.

The Film Carnival is the brainchild of Keralite, Sohan Roy, a marine engineer by profession and operates out of Dubai .

The Malaysian company has been working with a leading Hollywood VFX specialist for the past two years to create this.

--IANS

sg/pgh/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Singapore, Australia and Thailand on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here.

Modi started the day with a meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Describing it as "a very good meeting", the Indian Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted: "Subjects pertaining to India-Singapore relations, particularly trade and people-to-people ties were discussed during the meeting."

Following this, Modi had a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

"Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Later, the Indian Prime Minister met up with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha.

"Issues relating to trade, commerce and connectivity were among the various subjects discussed by the leaders," the PMO said in a separate tweet following the meeting.

--IANS

ab/shs/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prominent pro-Vidarbha activist and former Advocate-General Shreehari Aney on Wednesday demanded that the upcoming Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway (NMSCE) be named after Mahatma Gandhi for whom Vidarbha was a 'karmabhoomi'.

"Why should the NMSCE be named after Bal Thackeray? Neither the Shiv Sena nor any of its leader did anything for the cause of (separate state) Vidarbha," Aney said in a statement.

He pointed out that the promise of the late Sena founder to create a new state of Vidarbha in eastern Maharashtra was not honoured by the party or any of his leaders.

Aney said that "the late Thackeray's name is suitable only in Mumbai or Pune" and sought to know what was wrong with the existing name, NMSCE.

The legal luminary's demand came a day after the Shiv Sena asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to christen NMSCE after the late Thackeray even as a section of Bharatiya Janata Party wants to name it after the late Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.

Alternatively, Aney suggested that if the NMSCE was not acceptable, it could be simply renamed as Vidarbha Expressway as it will zip through that region.

Public Works Department (PWD) Minister (Shiv Sena) Eknath Shinde led a delegation of party leaders to Fadnavis on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum demanding that the NMSCE be named after the late Thackeray, whose sixth death anniversary will be observed on November 17.

"Balasaheb Thackeray was the architect of the country's first-ever expressway project - the Mumbai-Pune Yeshwantrao Chavan Expressway, which came up during the tenure of the first Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government which took office in 1995," Shinde said.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was implemented by the then PWD Minister Nitin Gadkari and Thackeray's dream was realised in 2000 when the project was inaugurated, he said.

He added that after the first (Mumbai-Pune) expressway, the second one (NMSCE) is also destined to come up during the tenure of the BJP-Sena government and urged Fadnavis to do the needful in the matter.

A pet project of Fadnavis, the foundation stone for the NMSCE is expected to be laid soon with most of the land acquisition work completed.

The 701-km long NMSCE Greenfield Project will zip through 10 districts, 26 sub-districts and 392 villages en route, slashing travel time between Mumbai-Nagpur from the present 18 to barely eight hours.

The Rs 46,000-crore NMSCE, likely to be completed by October 2019, will get an extra boost with a proposal to twin a railway line, a first such coordinated move to execute a transportation project in the country, and the government has urged the Defence Ministry to declare it as a 'Defence industry corridor'.

It will be a part of the proposed high speed rail corridor between Howrah-Mumbai, the diamond quadrilateral rail project.

--IANS

qn/mag/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actress Yami Gautam, who will next be seen in the upcoming film "Uri", says there is a need for stories of more stronger women on the silver screen.

Yami is excited to be a part of a real life story based on the armed forces. So much so, that it instantly inspired her to hope to bring forth stories of women who have been trailblazers and pioneers in the armed forces in India.

"With the way content is evolving and such compelling stories coming out, there's a great need for stories of more stronger women. Some amazingly strong powerful women characters have been seen in recent films," Yami said in a statement.

The 29-year-old actress is inspired by two women Punita Arora, the first woman in India to attain the rank of Lt. Genaral in the Indian Army and Priya Jhingan who wrote a letter to the then Army Chief in 1992 to be accepted as a woman in the armed forces and a year later she was, becoming the first Indian woman to have joined the Army.

Yami said that when she was shooting for "Uri", she was very intrigued largely with the stories of personnel from the armed forces.

She said: "It truly does make me wonder if stories of women from such background is something that could make for compelling stories. We have incredible women heroes from the army, navy who have done incredible acts in their careers.

"I think these stories must be done and Uri has really been a reason to bring forth such a thought to me."

"Uri" also stars Vicky Kaushal, who will be seen playing the role of an Indian commando who is involved in the 2016 surgical strikes.

Based on the surgical strikes of 2016 carried out by the Indian Armed Forces, "Uri" traces the significant event.

It also features Kirti Kulhari and Paresh Rawal in lead roles. Produced by RSVP movies, "Uri" will hit the theatres on January 11, 2019.

--IANS

dc/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A world of newly-created Bengali animated cartoon characters like Neel, Pari, Rex, Packi, Stegy, Tops and Tero under the title "Dhinchak Dino", opened up for the kids with the launch of MOOPLE television channel here on Wednesday.

Actors Dev and Koel Mullick inaugurated the channel in the presence of children, marking the Children's Day celebrations.

The Channel on YouTube would provide infotainment and also teach basic education to the kids, it said in a release.

MOOPLE TV is the umbrella brand of Hi-Tech Animation, a Kolkata-based animation firm. The Channel would flag off with a series of animated cartoons in Bengali to be followed by similar series in Hindi and other Indian regional languages.

Hi-Tech Animation has plans to invest Rs 8 crore initially in the new venture for content creation in Bengali and other regional languages. The plan is to come up with a Bengali Satellite Cartoon Channel within two years, said its founder and Managing Director Subrata Roy.

"We thought of starting in YouTube because it is a free channel and would be easily accessible to the children over mobile phones and other hand-held gadgets. Also, we thought of starting with Bengali animated cartoons because besides in Bangladesh and India, there is a huge Bengali diaspora across the world.

"We plan to come up with a Satellite Cartoon Channel within two years. Over the period of time we'll come up with merchandising and licensing of our different cartoon characters," said Roy.

--IANS

ssp/mag/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
RJP-N renews call for statute amendment

Fed up with the governments continued reluctance to address its concerns including amendment to the constitution, leaders of the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal have warned the KP Oli administration of launching a struggle as part of preparations for the partys first general convention.
Global measurement and data analytics company Nielsen and Microsoft on Wednesday announced a new enterprise data solution to accelerate innovation in retail via Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven data analytics.

The strategic alliance has been brought to life through Nielsen Connect, powered by Microsoft Azure intelligent cloud platform, the companies said in a statement.

Through advanced analytics and AI services built on Azure, Nielsen Connect is helping companies integrate data assets to easily spot emerging trends, diagnose performance gaps and act faster on opportunities to grow.

"We are helping the retail industry reimagine its approach to data by creating a truly open and global environment of collaboration, encouraging companies to evolve beyond mere data management," said John Tavolieri, President, US FMCG and Retail and Chief Technology and Operations Officer at Nielsen.

The joint Microsoft and Nielsen solution is now live to create scalable, high-performance data environments.

"Because retail happens wherever customers are and whenever they choose, Nielsen Connect provides high reliability at a global scale 24/7.

"Microsoft is a natural partner for Nielsen, trusted by global enterprises to protect their data and power their critical business solutions," informed Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President of Microsoft's Worldwide Commercial Business.

--IANS

na/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Child rights activist and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi says leaders from across the political spectrum should promise that they will pass the anti-trafficking bill in the Rajya Sabha to celebrate Children's day in the true sense as the little ones are the most affected by trafficking.

"We have rules against trafficking in bits and pieces. But there is no one law, for which we and others also are fighting," he told IANS.

The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, was passed in the Lok Sabha in July and the activist hopes that it will be passed in the Rajya Sabha as well.

"If any politician, irrespective of the party, wants to celebrate Children's Day in a true sense, he/she should promise to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha as children are most affected by trafficking," he said.

The Bill, when passed, will allow investigation of all types of trafficking and rescue, protection and rehabilitation of trafficked victims. It classified certain purposes of trafficking as "aggravated", which will attract higher punishment. These include trafficking for forced labour, bearing children, begging, or for inducing early sexual maturity.

The activist also said that the government speaks about the GDP going up, but not even four per cent of that is spent on children's education, health and protection -- and there is no child-centric development in the country.

"In India, the population below 18-years is 40 per cent, which roughly is 40-42 crore children. But we only spend 3.5 per cent of our GDP on the education, health and protection of this group. We are not able to spend even four per cent of our GDP on our 40 per cent population; how can we morally say that the children are our future and present."

He said development, for him, has nothing to do with GDP going up or down but how to secure a girl in a remote area or village feels.

He also said the main issue before the children is that they are not a priority anywhere.

"The children are not our political priority or religious or financial priority. They are also not our social priority. You may say good things one day, but that is just for formality -- which people will do on Children's Day. We should celebrate Children's Day every day, every second in the home as well as in society."

Satyarthi, who started working on children's right in the 1980s and freed over 80,000 children from slave-like conditions, said it is everybody's duty to protect a child.

"I am one person who will ask everyone, irrespective of religion, to protect children. All kids are country's children and we should work on their protection, irrespective of the religion or caste."

"There should be child-centred discussion and brain-storming in society, which will help in removing discrimination and barriers in the social mindset. Our focus should be the child and not his/her religion. A teacher does not discriminate his/her students on religion basis, so why should society?"

He also said that an individual can also do his or her bit to bring change and protect the child.

"Raise your voice, call the police if you see something wrong or a child being mistreated. Click pictures and record evidence of that mistreatment. Tell a teashop owner or restaurant owners that you will not have tea or food at their shop if they mistreat or appoint children to work."

(Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in)

--IANS

nks/vsc/sac

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday highlighted the need for an early conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement through multilateral and bilateral talks among the member countries.

According to Sudhanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary with the Commerce Ministry, Prime Minister Modi also called for a balanced and mutually beneficial RCEP pact.

"An important point that was made was relating to early conclusion of the negotiations by fast-tracking and intensifying negotiations both multilaterally and bilaterally," Pandey said at a media briefing after the second RCEP summit level meeting held here.

Further, Pandey said the Prime Minister emphasised that multilateral agreements such as RCEP, which have "diverse circumstances and developmental requirements, should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial."

However, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations was unable to conclude negotiations for the RCEP during the meet which was held alongside the ASEAN summit, postponing the agreement till 2019.

The RCEP is a proposed free-trade agreement between ASEAN and six Asia-Pacific states with which the regional bloc has existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) -- namely China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

In addition, the Prime Minister is said to have also acknowledged the progress made in negotiations on market access for goods and said similar efforts should be made in the services-sector negotiations.

"We need to make similar efforts to make progress in services negotiations as they constitute more than 50 per cent of the GDP of most of the RCEP countries, and in future services are going to play a very important role," Pandey quoted Modi as saying.

--IANS

rrb-rv/shs/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Ram Nath Kovind is scheduled to visit Bihar on Thursday where he would address convocations at Samastipur agricultural university and NIT, a communique said on Wednesday.

He will grace the first convocation of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University at Samastipur.

He will also address the 8th convocation of National Institute of Technology Patna in the state capital, before returning to Delhi.

--IANS

mak/shs/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on four petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation even as the government admitted that there was no sovereign guarantee by the French government backing the deal.

On pricing, the court asked Attorney General K.K. Venugopal not to respond to the contentions raised by the petitioners until the court decides to look into it.

"The discussion on pricing will come only if we decide... so long that is not there," the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph told the AG. The AG also opposed the judicial review of the Rafale deal.

He said that if the cost of weaponery and avionics comes in public domain, it will be used by the adverseries to make out the weaponery fitted in Rafale.

A three-hour-long hearing saw Attorney General K.K. Venugopal telling the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph that "though there is no sovereign guarantee from France (government), there is a letter of comfort."

The hearing saw counsel Prashant Bhushan and former Union Minister Arun Shourie questioning the circumventing of the procedure for aborting the process for procuring 126 aircraft (18 in a flyaway condition and 108 to be be manufactured by HAL) in favour of procuring 36 jets in a ready-to-fly condition and unloading HAL as an offset partner.

The petitions included one by Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, and others by advocate M.L. Sharma, Vineet Dhanda and AAP MP Sanjay Singh. All of them have broadly assailed the pricing and the induction of an offset partner replacing HAL.

Defending the deal on the grounds of "urgent requirement" of national security, the Attorney General justified the scrapping of the earlier deal for 126 aircraft as it was taking a long time in reaching a conclusion.

This was contested by Bhushan who had earlier referred to March 25, 2015 statement of Dassault Chief Eric Trappier saying that the deal with HAL was 95% complete and that they were in final stages of an agreement. Bhushan said the Dassault CEO had said this in the presence of the IAF Chief and HAL Chairman.

At that point of time, Bhushan contended the Indian Air Force Chief, Dassault's CEO and the HAL chairman were unaware of any new deal.

Bhushan wondered what happened in 15 says that on April 10,2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Paris the plan to procure 36 ready-to-fly Rafale aircraft.

In the beginning of the hearing, CJI inquired if any IAF officer was present in the court. The court sought their presence after Attonery General said that there was Additional Secretary Apurva Chandra and other officials.

In the post-lunch hearing, there were a number of senior IAF officers present in the court. On being asked, Air Vice Marshal T. Chalapathi told the court that last time they had inducted Mirage was in 1985 and since then there was no induction of new fighter aircraft.

Since then there is "zero addition", observed CJI Gogoi.

The hearing also saw Justice K.M. Joseph asking nearly all the questions coming from the bench, including the necessity of amending the Indian Offset Partner, thereby leaving it to the original equipment manufacturer to make a choice.

"What was the need to amend it (IOP guidelines)? What if we come to a situation the IOP is not able to carry out its obligation? What happens to national interest?" asked Justice Joseph.

The AG told the bench that IOP guidelines, which provided that the Defence Ministry will process the offset partner and would be approved after the nod by the Defence Minister, were amended on the recommendation of a committee headed by the Secretary, Defence Production.

He said the matter was referred to the committee after some of the weapon manufacturers had expressed difficulties with the earlier procedure.

"The OEM, under the current procedure, suggests the name of offset partner. We can suggest a change", AG told the bench explaining the current position on the choice of the offset partners.

The next query from Justice Joseph came as AG was addressing the submission by Prashant Bhushan that an Inter Government Agreement could be only in three circumstances: knowledge about the worth of equipment in the course of joint exercise, acquiring of a platform already in use by the owning country or where there is a need for a government waiver of restrictions.

As AG Venugopal defended the government taking IGA route, Justice Joseph asked: "You did not go for Rafale on the basis of joint exercises."

On a query by the CJI Gogoi, the court was told that the Air Force of France, Egypt, Qatar had Rafale fighter aircraft.

In the beginning as AG started making submission justifying opting for 36 Rafale instead of original 126, Justice Joseph asked: "On April 10, 2015, how could you take the decision to procure 36 aircraft without giving up earlier process for acquiring 126 aircrafts?"

As AG looked for answer, CJI Gogoi said, "The answer to the question is in the para itself you started reading."

The hearing witnessed CJI Gogoi cut short the AG as he said, "We lost soldiers in Kargil War. If there was Rafale at that time, we could have saved many lives as they could shoot up to a range of 60km."

"Kargil was in 1999 and Rafale came in 2014," CJI told the AG who tried to save the situation saying that he was speaking hypothetically.

Telling the court that the inter government agreement on Rafale was a convenient way to bring in the middleman, former Union Minister Shourie said, "You can't hide your incompetence, corruption and fool the nation in the name of nationalism always. As things are unfolding, they are exposing the gross incompetence of Modi Government in managing the transactions."

Shourie told the court that governmernt had shared all the information relating to sensitive matters, but wondered why it was shying away in the case of Rafale deal.

Bhushan referred to an interview of former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar telling a news channel that it was Prime Minister Modi's decision thereby telling the court that even Defence Minister was not aware of the decision to buy 36 ready-to-fly Rafale.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Shri Ramayana Express, a special tourist train to run on the Ramayana circuit to cover major spots related to the Hindu epic was flagged off on Wednesday from Safdarjung Railway Station here, officials said.

"The Shri Ramayana Express departed from Safdarjung railway station today with 800 passengers," a senior railway ministry official told IANS.

The train will complete its journey till Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, in 16 days covering all important destinations associated with the life of Lord Shri Ram.

The official said all the tickets for the Shri Ramayana Express were sold out within a week.

According to the railway official, the 800-seat train after leaving Delhi will make its first stop in Ayodhya followed by Hanuman Garhi, Ramkot and Kanak Bhawan temple.

"The train will then cover the important destinations of Ramayana circuit such as Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi, Prayag, Shringverpur, Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi and Rameshwaram," the official said.

Named as Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka, the pilgrimage circuit will have two travel components --one each in India and Sri Lanka.

The railways has decided the fare for the 16-day trip at Rs 15,120 per person, while the Sri Lanka leg of the tour is charged separately. The passengers opting for the Sri Lanka leg can take a flight to Colombo from Chennai.

The IRCTC currently offers five-night/six-day Sri Lanka tour package at a cost starting from Rs 47,600 per person.

The tour package includes all meals, accommodation and wash and change facilities in dharmashalas, all transfers, sight-seeing arrangements and dedicated tour manager of IRCTC who will be travelling with the tourists during the entire trip.

--IANS

aks/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The bodies of all three persons including a truck driver that were swept away by a landslide on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on November 5 were recovered on Wednesday, officials said.

A truck carrying three persons was swept away by a landslide in Battery Chashma area of Jammu-Srinagar highway on November 5.

Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were called in by the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to assist the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) when searches in the area failed to locate the bodies.

On Wednesday, the body of the driver, Manjeet Singh, was first recovered after which two more bodies were recovered from the debris.

Singh was behind the wheels of the ill-fated truck that was swept away by a landslide.

Relatives of the truck driver from neighbouring Punjab had been camping in Ramban town seeking the mortal remains of the truck driver and the other two persons.

--IANS

sq/pgh/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday told Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi that the treatment of her country's stateless Rohingya Muslim population was inexcusable.

"This is a tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of Americans. The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes which resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh is without excuse," Pence told Suu Kyi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Singapore.

"I'm anxious to hear about the progress you're making in holding those accountable who are responsible," he was quoted as saying by CNN.

Pence comments came as officials in Myanmar and Bangladesh get ready to repatriate more than 2,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017.

The Myanmar military has been accused of using rape, murder and arson in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing that drove hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they languish in what has become the world's largest refugee camp.

The Myanmar government has repeatedly denied that its soldiers deliberately attacked unarmed Rohingyas.

Pence also expressed concern over the arrest and imprisonment of two Reuters reporters who were investigating an alleged massacre at a Rohingya village by the Army.

The pair -- Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo -- was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty in September of breaching the country's Official Secrets Act.

"The arrest and jailing of two journalists last fall was deeply troubling to millions of Americans and I look forward to speaking to you about the premium that we place on a free and independent press," the US leader said.

Suu Kyi responded by saying she understood the situation better than her country's critics. "We are in a better position to explain to you what is happening," she said.

Suu Kyi has come under fierce criticism for her handling of the crisis in Rakhine and for failing to safeguard human rights in Myanmar.

A UN report released in September said that the military campaign against the Rohingyas in Rakhine had elements of genocide.

The Rohingya crisis and the trade war between the US and China are in focus at the annual summit of leaders of the countries that form the Asean, being held in Singapore this week.

Asean member countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The US, China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and Chile are also participating in this year's summit.

--IANS

soni/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The winter session of Parliament will begin on December 11, after conclusion of voting in the Assembly elections in five states on December 8, and conclude on January 8 next year.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday night.

"The CCPA has decided that the winter session of Parliament will begin on December 11 and continue till January 8. There will be 20 sittings," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said.

The session will begin on the day election results for Assembly polls to five states Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will be out. But both the houses may be adjourned for the day after offering condolences to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died during the intersession period.

Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, commonly known as triple talaq bill, will be high on government's agenda as it will try to get the Parliament's nod before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

As the government could not pass the bill in Rajya Sabha in the last monsoon session, the government had issued an ordinance on September 19 in making triple talaq a criminal offence.

"There will be three important bills in the winter session -- triple talaq bill, a legislation related to Indian Medical Council and Companies amendment bill," Goel said adding that there will be eight bills in Rajya Sabha while 15 in Lok Sabha for passage and discussion.

He expected that the opposition parties would cooperate with the government in passing the bills and vowed that the government is ready to discuss every issue raised by them.

The session is likely to be stormy as the opposition would push for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the deal for procuring 36 Rafale jets from French company Dassault, and the government is not willing to part with the price of each jet.

Also, BJP MP Rakesh Sinha has already declared that he would bring a private member bill for building Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The session would also be significant as the opposition's chemistry would be a portent of the things to come in the battleground 2019 where non-NDA parties are trying to forge a united front against the BJP.

The monsoon session of Parliament was productive for the government with 21 bills passed by Lok Sabha and 14 by the Rajya Sabha even as it witnessed clashes between the Opposition and the treasury benches on a range of issues including NRC and the Rafale fighter jet deal.

--IANS

bns-mak/vsc/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Road rebuilding crawls as blame game continues

Trading blame between reconstruction authority and departments continues to harangue construction of roads under Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project.
A few days ago, the World Bank released its annual ready reckoner on the ease of doing business in India and the world. India jumped 23 spots in the rankings, from 100 in 2017 to 77. No doubt this is a positive sign, but it is far from the last word on our economic health or the state of our business environment.

To think otherwise is a mistake. The Indian government is a complex organisation. Variations across states in machinery, process and rules abound. Painting the country in broad strokes gives us a limited if useful picture of success in creating an enabling environment for ...
On Jawaharlal Nehru's 129th birth anniversary, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said the best way to honour the country's first prime minister was by rededicating ourselves to freedom, democracy, secularism and socialism.

Nehru was born to Motilal Nehru and Swaroop Rani on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and his birthday is celebrated as Children's Day. He remained in office until his death in 1964.

"On the birth anniversary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the best way for us to honour him, is by rededicating ourselves to Freedom, Democracy, Secularism & Socialism. These were the core values he believed in and fought for. These are the core values that bind our nation together," Gandhi tweeted.
One person was killed and 12 others were injured Wednesday when a speeding car rammed into them in Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh, police said.

The incident occurred when the devotees were engrossed in the Chhath Puja celebrations near a pond in a government primary school on the Deoria-Bheekhampur road, Vijay Narayan, Station House Officer (SHO), Kotwali police station, said.

A large number of people had gathered near the pond in Pagra village for Chhath Puja when the speeding car rammed into them, he added.

Ramprasad Yadav (50) died on the spot, while 12 others, including a veterinary doctor, Samarpal Chaurasia, were injured in the incident, the police said.

The injured were rushed to the Deoria district hospital, from where Chaurasia was referred to the Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in Gorakhpur, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly 22.5 million children in Pakistan are out of school, the majority of them girls, according to a report by an international rights group.

The report titled - 'Shall I feed my daughter or educate her: Barriers to girls' in Pakistan' - by Human Rights Watch (HRW) was issued this week and is available on the website of the group.

"The new government, elected in July 2018, stated in their manifesto that nearly 22.5 million children are out of school. Girls are particularly affected," it said.

"Thirty-two per cent of primary school-age girls are out of school in Pakistan, compared to 21 per cent of boys. By grade six, 59 per cent of girls are out of school, versus 49 per cent of boys. Only 13 per cent of girls are still in school by ninth grade. Both boys and girls are missing out on in unacceptable numbers, but girls are worst affected," it said.

It said that as of 2017 Pakistan was spending less than 2.8 per cent of its gross domestic product on which is below the recommended four to six per cent.

"Political instability, disproportionate influence on governance by security forces, repression of civil society and the media, violent insurgency, and escalating ethnic and religious tensions all poison Pakistan's current social landscape. These forces distract from the government's obligation to deliver essential services like education - and girls lose out the most," said the report.

It said Pakistan was described as "among the world's worst performing countries in education" at the 2015 Oslo Summit on Education and Development.

"The Pakistan government's failure to educate children is having a devastating impact on millions of girls," said HRW women's rights director, Liesl Gerntholtz, in a press release.

"Many of the girls we interviewed are desperate to study, but instead are growing up without the education that would help them have options for their future," she said.

HRW interviewed 209 people for the report in all four provinces, most of them girls who have never attended school or were unable to complete their education.

It said there were several barriers inside the schools and outside which the girls have to face in order to get education.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Administrative clearance, besides that from the department, would soon be made mandatory to start a new school in West Bengal, minister Partha Chatterjee said Wednesday.

Only after the administrative clearance, the authorities of the prospective school will be able to seek the permission from department, he said.

He, however, did not clarify who will provide the administrative clearance.

"Necessary legislation will be framed in this regard very soon," Chatterjee told reporters on the sidelines of a merit scholarship programme here.

On a reported incident of change of name of the place of a school from Islampur to Ishwarpur, he said "In our daily correspondence with that school, we have not found any proof that the institution has done it."



"But if we find that the report is true, we will take action," he asserted.

Chatterjee said two new state-run universities will be set up in North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A large number of agitators demonstrated before the office of the deputy commissioner (DC) of Kolasib on the Mizoram-Assam border Wednesday demanding his removal for allegedly enrolling 218 new Bru voters without conducting hearing and physical verification.

This is the second instance of people demonstrating against a poll official in the northeastern state.

The protest and picketing was, however, called off in the evening by Kolasib unit of All NGO Coordination Committee, the apex body of civil societies and student bodies of the state spearheading the agitation, after a stay order by the Aizawl bench of the Gauhati High Court and holding talks with MKHC.

Mizoram police said the agitators held demonstrations in front of the office of the DC, Arun T, since morning though he did not attend office. They were demanding that the DC leave Kolasib immediately.

The deputy commissioner of a district is also its election officer for the assembly poll. Polling for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly is scheduled for November 28.

A delegation of the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee(MKHC), a conglomerate of leaders of 16 major churches in the state, led by its general secretary Rev R Lalrinsanga had been sent by the state government to hold talks with the NGO Committee's Kolasib unit today.

The HC during the day restrained the Kolasib DC from publishing the final electoral roll pertaining to Bru voters lodged in the six relief camps in Tripura before Monday.

Justice Michael Zothankhuma of Aizawl bench heard the public interest litigation filed against the DC by the Committee's Kolasib unit and ordered issuance of notice to the DC.

Justice Zothankhuma said if the final electoral has been published, the DC should bring the voters lists to the court on Monday.

The Committee district unit had demanded that the deputy commissioner leave Kolasib district on or before 5 PM on Tuesday, sources in it said.

Thousands had organised a picket in front of the Chief Electoral Officer S B Shashank's office at Aizawl on November 6 and November 7 demanding his removal.

Shashank was forced to leave the state in the face of large-scale demonstrations and the Election Commission sent two high-level ECI teams on November 6 and November 9 to check the situation.

The Kolasib DC has been accused by the All NGO Coordination Committee, the apex civil society and students body, of enrolling 218 Brus lodged in the six relief camps in Tripura without conducting any hearing and ascertaining whether they were bona fide residents of Mizoram.

The leaders of the Committee's Kolasib unit have alleged that Arun T was trying to conceal his actions and that his efforts resulted in enlisting of Bru voters who could be suspected of "not being bona fide residents of the state", the Committee sources said.

The committee leaders in a letter accused the DC of lying a number of times and that the people of Kolasib district did not have confidence in him to conduct the election to the state assembly under his supervision.

Copies of the letter were sent to the state governor K Rajasekharan, chief secretary Arvind Ray and the CEO, the committee sources said.

The alleged actions of the DC had resulted in a mob attack on the office of the Kolasib deputy commissioner on the night of November 6 in which a few people, including Commandant of the first battalion of the India Reserve Police Lalthafamkima were injured and police resorted to teargassing.

The Mizoram Joint CEO, Zorammuana had issued an order to the Kolasib deputy commissioner on November 6, asking him to delete all the 218 names and conduct a public hearing in presence of village leaders and NGOs to ascertain the true identities of the newly-enrolled voters lodged in the Bru relief camps, officials said.

The talks held between the Committee's Kolasib unit and senior district police officials besides talks with the senior home department officials on Tuesday night had been inconclusive.

Civil societies in Mizoram have been demanding that Bru voters in the six relief camps in Tripura should exercise their franchise in Mizoram as laid down by law and committed by Election Commission of India in 2014.

They also demanded that all the eligible Bru voters should be enrolled in the voters lists in Mizoram only after they return to Mizoram not "surreptitiously inside the relief camps".

The face-off between the CEO, Shashank and the state government and civil society outfits took place after he complained against Mizorams principal secretary (home), Lalninmawia Chuaungo for allegedly interfering with the election process in the state.

Shashank had claimed that Chuaungo had played an active role in the revision of electoral roll of Bru refugees from Mizoram, who were forced to flee to Tripura after facing ethnic violence in 1997.

The complaint had led to the removal of Chuaungo, which irked the state government, political parties and civil society outfits in the state.

Massive protests were held against Chuaungo's removal outside the CEOs office in Aizawl and Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding Shashanks removal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A large number of agitators demonstrated in front of the office of the deputy commissioner of Kolasib on the Mizoram-Assam border Wednesday for allegedly enrolling 218 new Bru voters without conducting a hearing and physical verification.

Mizoram police said the agitators held a demonstration in front of the office of the DC, Arun T, since morning though he did not attend office.

This is the second time when people demonstrated against a poll official in the northeastern state.

The deputy commissioner of a district is also its returning officer for the assembly poll. Polling for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly is to be held on November 28.

Thousands of people had picketed Chief Electoral Officer S B Shashank's office on November 6 and November 7, demanding his removal.

Shashank was forced to leave the state in the face of demonstrations and the Election Commission sent two high-level teams on November 6 and November 9 to check the situation.

The Kolasib DC has been accused by the All NGO Coordination Committee, the apex civil society and students' body, of enrolling 218 Brus lodged in six relief camps in Tripura without conducting a hearing and ascertaining whether they were bona fide residents of Mizoram.

The leaders of the Committee's Kolasib unit have alleged that Arun T was trying to conceal his actions and that his efforts resulted in enlisting of Bru voters who could be suspected of "not being bona fide residents of the state", the Committee sources said.

The Committee district unit on Monday demanded that the deputy commissioner leave Kolasib district on or before 5 PM Tuesday, they said.

The committee leaders, in a letter, accused the DC of lying and claimed the people of Kolasib district did not have confidence in him to conduct the election to the state assembly under his supervision.

Copies of the letter were sent to the state governor K Rajasekharan, chief secretary Arvind Ray and the CEO, the sources said.

The alleged actions of the DC had resulted in a mob attack on the office of the Kolasib deputy commissioner on the night of November 6 in which a few people, including a senior police official, were injured and police resorted to teargassing.

The Mizoram Joint CEO, Zorammuana, had issued an order to the Kolasib deputy commissioner on November 6, asking him to delete all the 218 names and conduct a public hearing in the presence of the village leaders and NGOs to ascertain the true identities of the newly-enrolled voters lodged in Bru relief camps, officials said.

The talks held between the Committee's Kolasib district unit and senior district police officials besides talks with the senior home department officials on Tuesday night had been inconclusive.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee (MKHC), a conglomerate of 16 major churches in the state led by Rev R Lalrinsanga, general secretary of the MKHC, has been sent by the state government to hold talks with the NGO Coordination Committee's Kolasib district unit today.

Civil societies in Mizoram have been demanding that Bru voters in the six relief camps in Tripura should exercise their franchise in Mizoram as laid down by law and committed by Election Commission of India in 2014.

They also demanded that all the eligible Bru voters should be enrolled in the voters' lists in Mizoram only after they return to Mizoram not "surreptitiously inside the relief camps".

The face-off between the CEO, Shashank, and the state government and civil society outfits took place after he complained against Mizoram's principal secretary (home), Lalninmawia Chuaungo, for allegedly interfering with the election process in the state.

Shashank had claimed that Chuaungo had played an active role in the revision of electoral roll of Bru refugees from Mizoram, who were forced to flee to Tripura after facing ethnic violence in 1997.

The complaint had led to the removal of Chuaungo, which irked the state government, political parties and civil society outfits in the state.

Massive protests were held against Chuaungo's removal outside the CEOs office in Aizawl and Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding Shashank's removal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told US Vice President Mike Pence that all the traces and all the leads in the global terror attacks ultimately leads to a "single source and single place of origin", in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

Modi, who held talks with Pence on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here, also expressed concern over the participation of terrorists in the elections in Pakistan.

Briefing the reporters after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said there was some discussion on the issue of terrorism. Pence referred to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly Mumbai terror attack on November 26 and hailed cooperation between the two sides on counter terrorism, Gokhale said.

Some 166 people were killed in the attack carried out by Pakistan-based 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and hanged after handed down death sentence by an Indian court.

Modi thanked Pence for his words and reminded him that in one way or another all the traces and all the leads in the global terror attacks ultimately leads to a "single source and single place of origin", without naming any country or organisation.

He was apparently referring to Pakistan.

A number of terrorist attacks across the world have been carried out by people of Pakistani origin. On December 2, 2015, 14 people were killed in a mass shooting by a Pakistani origin married couple in San Bernardino, California.

A Pakistani-origin man was among three knife-wielding militants responsible for carrying out the brutal terror attack in London that killed seven people and injured 49 in June 2017.

Prime Minister Modi also expressed concern over the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the July 25 elections in Pakistan.

"He (Modi) did point out that the mainstreaming of people involved in the Mumbai attacks in a political process which has taken place in the recent elections in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to the two countries - India and US - but to international community," Gokhale said.

Some of the dreaded Pakistani militant leaders, accused of spreading religious hatred and instigating sectarian violence, were among hundreds of candidates in the July 25 elections.

Hafiz Saeed-led banned Jamat-ud Dawah, a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, had fielded its candidates from the platform of little known political entity Allaha-u-Akbar Tehreek (AAT).

Another extremist outfit Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), which was banned in Pakistan till early this year, had also fielded dozens of candidates including those who are on Pakistan's terrorism watch list.

"There was some good understanding of the areas of how we move forward in building cooperation on counter terrorism and both countries recognised that this is a challenge which we have to fight together and to fight along with the rest of the international community," Gokhale said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scores of people reach Kanchanpur to support Pant couples sit-in

Scores of people from Dhangadhi, Nepalgunj, Butwal, Chitwan, Kathmandu, and other parts of the country have reached Kanchanpur to join in on an indefinite sit-in protest launched to press the authorities to identify and arrest the perpetrators involved in the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Panta.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Wednesday deplored attempts to "politicise" the defence forces, asserting that the personnel were meant to report only to their regimental heads and not work at the behest of the political dispensation.

He said there was an immediate end to the "current cult of political interference" in the functioning of defence services, to enable the officers and soldiers to discharge their duties efficaciously.

The Congress leader said it was necessary in the larger interest of the nation to secure its unity, integrity and security.

Singh condemned the attempts to politicise" the defence forces, asserting the personnel were meant to report only to their regimental heads and not work at the behest of the political dispensation.

He was addressing a gathering at the Remembrance Day ceremony here which paid homage to commonwealth nations' armed forces personnel who sacrificed their lives during World War I.

A two-minute silence was observed in memory of the martyrs, an official release said.

The chief minister said the exemplary valour and indomitable courage of all soldiers in preserving the ethos of freedom, liberty and democratic values had remained largely unrecognised. He noted nearly 74,000 Indian soldiers attained martyrdom and 67,000 were wounded in this war.

While most Indians were aware of the sacrifices made by millions of people in the Independence struggle, the supreme contribution of the brave men who fought in the Great War was largely forgotten, the chief minister said.

He called for aggressively propagating the nation's rich military history among the youths to make them more aware about the glorious legacy of the armed forces.

Underscoring the need to acclimatise the younger generation with the past events, Singh advocated for inclusion of detailed chapters on India's contribution both in World War 1 and 2 in school curriculum.

Referring to his recent visit to Turkey's Gallipoli's Helles and Turkish memorials, where he paid his respects to the martyred Commonwealth soldiers, including Indians, he said there was a marked difference in the awareness levels of youth about the military exploits compared to India.

Earlier, British Deputy High Commissioner in Chandigarh, Andrew Ayre lauded the role played by Indian soldiers in the war.

Canadian Consulate General Mia Yen also paid glowing tributes to the soldiers in securing peace, prosperity and democratic freedom for their future generations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Military Intelligence has detained an Army sepoy after a hoax call about arrest of ISI agents in Nagpur city of Maharashtra was allegedly made from his mobile phone, police sources said here Wednesday.

Ganeshpeth police here have registered a case under IPC sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) in the matter, an official said.

On November 8, Ganeshpeth police received a call from a person who said he was a major with Military Intelligence's Mumbai unit, and they had nabbed two agents of ISI, the Pakistani spy agency, from Nagpur city.

Police later found that no such operation had been carried out by MI or any other agency in the city.

The number from which the call was received was registered in the name of Pankaj Yergude, a sepoy posted in the Army's Supply Core in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

A senior police official said that MI's Himachal Pradesh unit took Yergude in custody for interrogation Tuesday.

He reportedly denied any knowledge about the call made from his phone, the official said.

Yergude hails from Bhadravati town in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, said inspector Sunil Gangurde.

Nagpur police commissioner Dr B K Upadhyay said the police will request the Army to hand over Yergude's custody for further probe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian pace attack has been a revelation this year during overseas tours but tougher conditions in Australia will make it a very challenging series for the fast bowlers, reckons former speedster Ashish Nehra.

Nehra, who was a part of the Indian squad that drew 1-1 during the 2003-04 series in Australia, felt the current attack "has the ability" to succeed but conditions will be different than what they got in England and South Africa.

"Australian team is going through a massive restructuring and this is India's best chance without doubt. We have the bowling attack to beat them. But we need to be mindful that conditions will be much tougher Down Under where the wickets will be flat and weather would be on warmer side," the 39-year-old Nehra told PTI in an interview.

"In Australia, you will get extra bounce but there will only be lateral movement till the kookaburra seam doesn't flatten. It won't be like England where the ball swings all day. Once you get adjusted to the bounce, batsmen can hit you all day," said Nehra, who has played 17 Tests and 120 ODIs apart from 27 Twenty20 Internationals.

The hard Australian grounds can always pose fitness challenges for speed merchants as the feet takes a lot more pounding than England or New Zealand.

"In England, if your fast bowler takes a couple of wickets in a six-over spell, the captain is tempted to give two or three more overs in lure of getting couple of more wickets in midst of a good spell. In Australia, it may not be such a good idea all the time in sultry conditions," he said.

According to Nehra, it will be Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and one between Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, who will be starting in Adelaide.

"I don't see Bhuvi starting in the first Test at least. He can struggle a bit with the old kookaburra as it will neither swing or seam unlike Dukes or SG Test," Nehra opined.

Nehra said that Umesh Yadav's supreme fitness and good skill sets should make him an asset in the Australian conditions.

"I still believe that Umesh is not a finished product after eight years but someone who has incredible skill sets. He is a strong lad and the fittest among all Indian pacers. A testimony to that is his performances in Indian conditions when he can reverse the 65-70 overs old ball at a good speed. You need both skill and strength for that. He should feature sometime," Nehra said.

The former left-arm seamer said that Mohammed Shami's fitness in England impressed him a lot.

"What I liked was Shami bowling with fire in the second innings of the fifth Test at the Oval. Now that takes a lot of doing. I hope he can keep it up in Australia also if he starts from the first Test," he observed.

Ishant Sharma's stamina will also be required as his fitness is what makes him "special", said his former state and national team team colleague.

"If you look at Ishant Sharma, the 87 Tests that he has played is a testimony to his fitness. Often people will look at the wickets column (256) but bowling 35-40 overs for more than decade requires special skills.

"Let me be honest. Whether it's me or Rudra Pratap Singh or S Sreesanth, we had more skills as fast bowler than Ishant. I had my share of injuries and RP also had fitness issues. Sreesanth was a different case altogether despite blessed with enormous skills. But then Ishant has been fit for so long, so let's give credit where it is due," said Nehra, who is still an unofficial 'go to' Man for all premier fast bowlers in the country.

It will be Bumrah's first Test tour of Australia and Nehra is confident that Australians will find it difficult to play him.

"Jasprit Bumrah is much more skilful red-ball bowler than what he is perceived to be. His yorkers will come in very handy with old kookaburra. Any batsman, who has not played Bumrah before can find it difficult to counter the awkward angle that his delivery creates.

"And in England, I found out that he can now get the ball to straighten consistently after pitching. So Bumrah is not a one-dimensional bowler," he concluded.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court here Wednesday held seven persons guilty of murdering a police constable when he was tried to save his niece from being molested in 2012.

Barrackpore Sessions Judge Tapas Kumar Mitra convicted them for killing Asim Dam, who was attached to Entally police station of Kolkata Police.

The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Thursday, the judge said.

The court found Abhijit Ghosh, Biswajit Ghosh, Debu Mukherjee, Tapan Chandra, Kuntal Chakraborti, Botu Majumdar and Prasenjit Dutta guilty.

Dam was at his residence in Bisharpara under Airport police station in North 24 Parganas district on the day of Holi on March 8, 2012.

It was alleged that some miscreants entered his house and on the pretext of applying gulal, misbehaved with his niece and tried to molest her.

Following protests by Dam, the miscreants left, only to return with some more men and attacked Dam and his other family members with iron rods and sticks.

Dam was grievously injured in the attack and died in hospital after two days on March 11.

While one of the accused is absconding, seven persons were named in the FIR and arrested and tried before the sessions court.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Lok Sabha MP from Bihar, who had won in 2014 with the BJP's support, said Wednesday the saffron party will suffer in the Lok Sabha polls for allying with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and indicated his willingness to ally with the opposition.

Arun Kumar, the Jehanabad MP, also supported RLSP leader and Union minister Upendra Kushwaha in his campaign against Nitish Kumar over his alleged insult.

Kumar, who was in the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), had rebelled against Kushwaha and floated his own party. His support to him Wednesday underscored the realignment of forces underway in the politically crucial state.

Asked if he would join the opposition alliance of Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, Kumar said he was open to it provided he gets a "respectable offer".

He also lashed out at the state government over its "rule of terror".

Arun Kumar also dismissed Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Modi's support to Nitish Kumar over Kushwaha's attack on him, saying he was merely a "courtier" who will describe day as night if the chief minister said so.

"The BJP will suffer for its alliance with Nitish Kumar. I had supported the BJP in 2014 in my fight against him," he said.

The JD(U) had contested the Lok Sabha elections independently without allying with either the BJP or the RJD.

Kushwaha has accused the JD(U) president of insulting him by allegedly using the word 'neech' (lowly), a charge denied by his party, and Nitish Kumar said the Bihar chief minister should apologise.

The RLSP president had sought the intervention of BJP president Amit Shah and had also expressed his displeasure with the seat-sharing arrangement proposed by Shah for all allies- JD(U), RLSP and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party.

The opposition, which included the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, has been wooing Kushwaha as it works to strengthen its support base in a state where caste remains a crucial factor in people's voting preference.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a setback to Rajasthan's ruling BJP ahead of next month's assembly elections, the party's Dausa MP Harish Chandra Meena and Nagaur MLA Habibur Rahman joined the Congress on Wednesday.

Meena, a former director general of police, joined the Congress in the presence of former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot and AICC's state in-charge Avinash Pande in New Delhi.

In Jaipur, BJP's Nagaur MLA Rahman returned to the Congress after a decade in the presence Ajmer MP Raghu Sharma and other leaders at the party office.

"I am happy that Harish Meena has decided to join the Congress in such times. I welcome him in the Congress fold," Gehlot said at a press conference about the new entrant who had served as DGP when he was chief minister.

Pilot and Gehlot said they will contest the December 7 polls for the 200-member assembly along with other senior leaders of the state.

"We are all united. It is BJP's conspiracy to spread false that the Congress is divided," Gehlot said.

Pilot also said the entire Rajasthan Congress was united and hoped Meena joining the party will help it throw BJP out in the state.

Meena said he had joined unconditionally and would abide by the party decision on whether or not he should contest the elections.

Rahman echoed him.

"I have returned home today. There is no condition for joining the party," he said at a press conference in the Rajasthan capital.

On whether he will contest the Assembly elections, Rahman rhetorically asked, "Who does not want to contest elections?"



Pilot attacked Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, saying she had betrayed the trust of the people of the state.

He said the tension was evident in the BJP camp with many senior leaders sidelined and not given tickets, showing that "all is not well".

Asked why the Congress had not declared a chief ministerial face before the elections, Gehlot said this had never been done in Rajasthan.

Pilot said Meena belongs to a family of Congress members and had joined the party without any conditions.

In 2014, Harish Meena defeated his elder brother and senior Congress leader Namonarain Meena from the Dausa Lok Sabha seat. Namonarain Meena came third in the electoral contest.

Harish Meena defeated his nearest rival Kirori Lal Meena, who was then a candidate of National People's Party and is now a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, by a margin of 45,404 votes.

Slamming Harish Meena for joining the Congress, Kirori Meena termed him an "opportunist" and claimed that this would not have any impact on the saffron party's performance in the state election.

Hitting back, Congress' Raghu Sharma said, "Kirori Meena's wife Golma Devi was a minister in the previous Congress government. He contested the 2013 assembly polls as the candidate of National People's party and then joined the BJP. He became Rajya Sabha MP and now his wife was given ticket by BJP in its first list. He is the finest example of an opportunist."



Sharma added that the party will release its list of candidates for the Rajasthan polls only after the final approval of party president Rahul Gandhi.

Rahman was initially a member of the Congress and was a state minister between 2001 and 2003 during the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government. He joined the BJP in 2008 after he was denied a ticket by the Congress.

He won the 2008 and the 2013 Assembly elections as a BJP candidate. But Rahman left the ruling party when it denied him a poll ticket this time and nominated Mohan Ram Choudhary from Nagaur.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve Wednesday said his party welcomed Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's decision to visit Ayodhya later this month.

He was talking to reporters here as part of his tour of Thane, Kalyan and Bhiwandi to take stock of the party's preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Replying to a query whether the Sena has hijacked the Ram temple issue from the BJP, Danve said, "Nobody can hijack issues. They do their party's work and we do ours...We welcome Uddhav Thackeray's decision to visit Ayodhya."



Thackeray had announced in his party's Vijayadashmi rally in Mumbai that he would visit Ayodhya on November 25 and "question" Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the temple construction issue.

Replying to a query related to BJP MLA Anil Gote, who has announced his resignation as member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as well as from the BJP, alleging that "criminals" were being inducted into the party, Danve said such things happen during polls.

"Such things are expected during elections, but no one should take these matters seriously," he said.

According to him, the decision of selecting candidates rested with the party's Parliamentary Board. "But we do hear local leaders and elected representatives," he said.

Gote, who represents the Dhule Assembly seat in Maharashtra, said on Monday that he would tender his resignation next week. He has been opposing induction of some NCP leaders into the BJP.

When asked about Sena's constant criticism of the BJP despite sharing power with it, Danve said his party's stand has always been to take all the NDA allies along.

On Sena's demand to name the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway, also known as the 'Samruddhi Corridor', after party's late supremo Bal Thackeray, he said, "It will be decided by the government after taking due consent from the leaders of both the parties."



He added that during his recent tour to Nagpur, Jalna, Aurangabad and other Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, he found that satisfactory work had been done by booth level party workers.

He said he was likely to complete the tour of all the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra soon and carry out a review by mid December.

Danve said the party will expand its base across all the Lok Sabha constituencies. "Our endeavour is to get the NDA candidate elected in all the constituencies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The ruling Congress in Mizoram on Wednesday alleged that the BJP would indulge in horse-trading after the Assembly polls to "grab power at all costs" and Independent MLAs would be the most vulnerable in that scenario.

The state BJP, however, vehemently denied the charge, saying the party had never indulged in horse-trading and does not have any intention to do so.

Elections to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly would be held on November 28. It is the only state in the northeastern region of the country where the Congress is in power.

The ruling party in the state also attacked the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), a conglomerate of seven organisations, as its 35 candidates are contesting the polls as Independents.

"With the BJP intending to grab power at all costs, the Independent candidates would be most vulnerable during horse-trading," state Congress spokesperson Lallianchhunga said during a press conference here.

He also alleged that if the BJP managed to win even two or three seats it would indulge in poaching in order to be in



the government through back door, as the party had done in states of the region -- Meghalaya and Nagaland.

In Meghalaya, the BJP, with only two MLAs, is now a part of the National People's Party (NPP) led government.

In the February election, Meghalaya had thrown up a fractured mandate with the Congress emerging as the largest party, marginally ahead of its rival, the NPP, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Manipur. The NPP formed government with help of the BJP and other parties.

In the 60-member Nagaland assembly election in February, the ruling Naga People's Front had emerged the single largest party with 27 seats. The NDPP-BJP alliance (29 seats) formed government with the help of an Independent and a JD(U) MLA.

The state Congress had alleged that the Mizo National Front (MNF) would form a post-poll alliance with the BJP in the event of a hung assembly. However, both the parties denied it.

The ruling party in Mizoram is now training its guns on the ZPM as its candidates are contesting as Independents.

Lallianchhunga said the ZPM is not a registered or recognised political party and all the 35 nominees were contesting the polls as Independents and, if they win, would be the "most vulnerable" targets of post-poll horse-trading.

BJP state unit spokesman Lalrozara said the allegation of horse-trading is baseless and the Congress, facing a massive anti-incumbency wave, is only trying to tarnish the image of the saffron party.

Lallianchhunga has also alleged that the BJP's campaigners from the region and Delhi were wooing Chakma and Bru people to ensure that it wins in at least five seats.

The ethnic Chakma and Bru community people are dominant factors in five constituencies of Mizoram.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British Prime Minister Theresa May has lauded the Hindu community in the UK for "sowing the seeds of integration and its desire to extend the hand of friendship."



Mat stated this in a message read out by Penny Mordaunt, Minister for International Development, who was chief guest at the Hinduja family's annual Diwali party last Thursday.

May said, "As you mark this wonderful celebration this year, I would like to thank the Hindu community for your many contributions to our country....The Hindu community is recognised for sowing the seeds of integration, as well as its desire to extend the hand of friendship and its belief in hard work".

London Mayor Sadiq Khan who spoke on the occasion, recognised the immense contribution Londoners of Indian origin make to the city.

He acknowledged the contribution and commitment of the Hinduja family to London over the decades.

Over 400 guests attended the celebration hosted by Hinduja brothers, Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok along with their families.

G P Hinduja, co-chairman of the Hinduja Group said that Diwali celebrates the "victory of light over darkness, good over evil".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has mooted a new welfare scheme - 'one family, one job' - to ensure financial security of the people of the Himalayan state.

He said that the policy decision will come into effect in letter and spirit by December 2018 to enable the first lot of beneficiaries to join their duties from January 2, 2019.

"We have taken a landmark policy decision - One Family One Job so that economically weaker families can at least have one member in government employment to ensure some kind of steady income to the families for their sustenance," he said in a Facebook post.

Chamling has also appealed to the people of Sikkim to help the government in identifying genuine beneficiaries so that only those eligible families avail of the benefit.

In case of any discrepancy arising in the implementation of this policy or if it is found that undue advantage is being taken by anyone, such information may be communicated to my office or can be directly inboxed on my official facebook page, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sudurpashchim CM sacks minister Sodari

Sudurpashchim Province Chief Minister (CM) Trilochan Bhatta relieved Minister for Social Development Dirgha Sodari of his duties on Tuesday. Provincial Assembly member Krishna Raj Subedi has been appointed for the ministerial berth the same day.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday said changing the names of cities was an attempt to change the pluralistic visage of India and a premeditated attempt to deviate the attention of people from the developmental deficit across the country.

"India is a mosaic of cultures and the contribution of Muslims cannot be belittled. Their contribution to the cultural pool of India is discernible in linguistics, crafts, food and other art forms," he said in a statement.

"Such attempts reveal the antipathy of the BJP-led state governments, including the incumbent Uttar Pradesh government, for academics and historical facts," he alleged.

Abdullah, who represents the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, said India had historically been a point of convergence of different cultures and the names of various cities reflected its pluralistic culture.

The NC president said such irrational acts bring disrepute to the celebrated traits of India's ethos known for forbearance.

"It seems to be a considered attempt to diverge the people from real issues that the country is faced with. The BJP which is at the helm of affairs has been serving people mere catchwords as development. People...are seeking answers from the BJP for not fulfilling the promises they made during the run-up for 2014 national elections," he said.

He said history bears testimony to the fact that Muslims strengthened the pluralistic values of our country.

"The contribution of Muslims in India's freedom struggle cannot be derided. People like Fakrudin Ali Ahmad, Maulana Azad, Zakir Hussain, and APJ Abdul Kalam, including others, contributed a lot towards India's development," he said.

Abdullah claimed people should remain cautious of such devious machinations that aim to divide the country on religious lines.

He also condemned a right-wing group for trying to vitiate the atmosphere of Jammu, where they had allegedly instructed a particular community not to sell properties to Muslims or rent properties to them.

"The people have always shown steadfastness in upholding secular fabric of our state in the most trying times. I am sure they will keep up with the tradition of not lending ear to such obnoxious propaganda," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police has allegedly seized around 2 kg of charas from a resident of Jammu and Kashmir in neighbouring Thane district, a senior official said Wednesday.

ATS sleuths had received information that the accused was coming to Thane on Monday to sell hashish, commonly known as charas, the official said.

He was nabbed on Monday and 1.8 kg of the contraband and a motorcycle were seized from him, the ATS official said.

The accused hails from Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

Police registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against him.

The accused was procured before a court Tuesday and remanded in police custody for ten days.

Probe is on to find out if he was going to sell the drug to anybody in Maharashtra, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chhath Puja celebrations in Mumbai concluded on Wednesday morning with lakhs of devotees thronging the Juhu beach to pay obeisance to the rising sun.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and city BJP chief Ashish Shelar attended the festival at the Juhu beach on Tuesday evening.

Fadnavis, who was invited by the organisers of Chhath Utsav Mahasangh, performed puja and offered prayers to the sun.

Chhath is a major festival in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, although it is celebrated in other parts of the country as well where Purvnanchalis are settled in significant numbers. Chhath Puja relives the age-old tradition of paying obeisance to the Sun God.

Addressing the devotees on the occasion, the chief minister said his government wanted to turn the Juhu beach into a Chhath Puja celebration point.

"We want to develop Juhu as a centre of Chhath Puja celebration so that devotees from across the country come here and celebrate it," Fadnavis said.

He assured that the government would continue to provide support in organising this festival.

Meanwhile, city Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam also performed puja at the Juhu beach.

Apart from Juhu beach, similar events were also organised at various places in the city, including Colaba, Powai, Borivali, Mulund and Chembur. In neighbouring Thane district, celebrations were held in Thane city, Dombivili, Kalyan and Bhiwandi.

Convener of Chhath Utsav Mahasangh, Amarjeet Mishra, who had last week led a delegation and met Fadnavis with a request to provide facilities like tents, potable water, mobile toilets for Chhath celebrations, thanked the government for its support.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi said Wednesday children should be saved every day from violence and fear as even a single moment lost in one's childhood is an irreparable damage to humanity.

On Children's Day, he asked people to come together to make India safe for children by protecting them from rape, trafficking, slavery and all forms of exploitation.

"Just one day in a year cannot be Children's Day. Every day, every hour and every minute, we must save our children from fear and violence," Satyarthi said in a tweet.

"Even a single moment lost in one's childhood is irreparable damage to the entire humanity. Even if one child lives in fear we all live in fear. Let's come together to make India safe for children by protecting them from rape, trafficking, slavery and all forms of exploitation. Let us all work towards making child friendly society, economy and faiths," he tweeted.

Satyarthi along with his team of Beti Bachao Andolan (BBA) activists Wednesday launched the first trailer of the film "The Price of Free".

The film shows Satyarthi along with his team of BBA activists on secret raids and quests for retracting missing children, keeping the audiences on the edge of their seat, the BBA said in a statement.

"This film shows the real scourge of child trafficking, child labour, slavery and exploitation that is ruining millions of childhoods and ruthlessly crushing their dreams," Satyarthi said.

"It tells stories of the most marginalised and vulnerable children that I have been fighting for all my life and even if one child is not free then none of us are free," he said.

The trailer has been released by Participant Media, Concordia Studio and YouTube.

Children's Day is celebrated on November 14 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A concerned China today expressed hope that Sri Lanka, where it has made huge investments, would see the return of stability as pro-Beijing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was voted out by a no-confidence motion in Parliament.

Asked about the Sri Lankan Parliament passing a resolution of no-confidence against Rajapaksa after the nation's Supreme Court issued a stay order against President Maithripala Sirisena's order to dissolve the national legislature, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said here that Beijing is closely following the evolving situation in Sri Lanka.

"China is a traditional friendly neighbour of Sri Lanka. We are closely following the situation unfolding there," she said.

"We hope Sri Lanka will see stability and we believe that parties have the wisdom and capability to deal with the situation," she said.

China has high stakes in Sri Lanka since it invested over USD eight billion in the island, including the Hambantota port and the Colombo port project, during the previous tenure of Rajapaksa as president who is widely regarded as pro-China.

Sirisena's government subsequently handed over Hambantota port on a 99-year lease to China in a USD 1.1 billion debt swap deal raising concerns in India as Beijing stepped up its presence in the Indian Ocean.

In a major setback to Sirisena, the Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against the government headed by his controversially-appointed Prime Minister Rajapaksa after the president sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as premier on October 26 and suspended Parliament, plunging the island nation into a political crisis.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese tourist arrivals in Nepal have significantly increased by 48 per cent compared to last year, the visiting Chinese tourism minister said here on Wednesday.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Luo Shugang, who is on a four-day visit to Nepal, stated this during his meeting with Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, according to Nepalese foreign ministry sources.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Nepal is increasing with every passing year. Nepal has welcomed 109,557 Chinese tourists till September. The growth has been attributed to increasing promotional campaigns in Chinese cities, designation of Rasuwagadhi entry point as international border crossing, increasing number of Chinese restaurants and other service providers, and easy availability of Chinese-speaking guides, among others.

The Nepal government expects further arrival of Chinese tourists as the country is celebrating Visit Nepal Year in 2020 with various promotional campaigns.

Luo also assured the prime minister that China would send the maximum number of tourists to Nepal during the Visit Nepal Year 2020.

On the occasion, Oli said Nepal is marching ahead for achieving development and prosperity. "We are expecting generous support from our friendly nations including immediate neighbours to achieve the goal of prosperity," said Oli.

The visiting Chinese minister also assured that his country would allow Nepal Airlines, the flag carrier, to operate commercial flights to Chinese cities during a bilateral meeting with his Nepalese counterpart Rabindra Adhikari on Tuesday.

Adhikari requested the visiting minister for initiatives for allowing Nepal Airlines to operate flights to Guangzhou and Shanghai, among other Chinese cities. Luo assured him of needful steps, according to the tourism ministry.

Nepal's ministry of culture, tourism and civil aviation (MoCTCA) has been holding discussions with Chinese authorities regarding the plan to operate commercial flights to different Chinese cities.

As China is the second largest tourist generating market for Nepal after India, increasing air connectivity with the northern neighbour will naturally boost Nepal's tourism sector.

Nepal Airlines plans to operate wide-body aircraft to long-haul destinations including some Chinese cities, though it is yet to get the green signal from Chinese authorities.

As many as four Chinese airlines are already flying to Nepal, while Nepal Airlines awaits permission to fly to China.

Air China connects Kathmandu with Chengdu via Lhasa, while China Southern operates scheduled flights to Kathmandu from Guangzhou. Similarly, Sichuan Airlines flies between Chengdu and Kathmandu via Lhasa and China Eastern flies to Kathmandu from Kunming.

Both sides have also agreed to organise tourism promotional events in the two countries to further increase the flow of tourists.

Luo also attended the 'China Festival in Nepal' at the Army Officer's Club here.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following is the chronology of events in the Rafale deal case in which the Supreme Court Wednesday reserved its order on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe in procurement of 36 fighter jets from France.

-Dec 30, 2002: Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP) adopted to streamline procurement procedures.

-Aug 28, 2007: Ministry of Defence issues Request for Proposal for procurement of 126 MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) fighters.

-Sep 4, 2008: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group incorporates Reliance Aerospace Technologies Ltd (RATL).

-May 2011: Air Force shortlists Rafale and Eurofighter jets.

-Jan 30, 2012: Dassault Aviation's Rafale aircraft comes up with the lowest bid.

-Mar 13, 2014: Work Share agreement signed between HAL & Dassault Aviation under which they were responsible for 70 per cent and 30 per cent of the work, respectively, for 108 aircraft.

-Aug 8, 2014 : Then defence minister Arun Jaitley tells Parliament 18 direct 'fly-away' aircraft expected to be delivered in 3-4 years from signing of the contract. 108 aircraft to be delivered in following seven years.

-Apr 8: Then foreign secretary says detailed discussions underway between Dassault, MoD and HAL.

-Apr 10: New deal for acquisition of 36 direct 'fly-away' aircraft from France announced.

-Jan 26, 2016: India and France sign MoU for 36 Rafale aircraft.

-Sep 23: Inter-governmental agreement signed.

-Nov 18: Government states in Parliament the cost of each Rafale aircraft to be approximately Rs 670 crore and that all aircraft will be delivered by April 2022.

-Dec 31: Dassault Aviation's Annual Report reveals the actual price paid for the 36 aircrafts at about Rs. 60,000 crore, more than double the government's stated price in Parliament.

-Mar 13: PIL in SC seeks independent probe into Centre's decision to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and disclosure of the cost involved in the deal before Parliament.

-Sep 5, 2018: SC agrees to hear next week PIL seeking stay on Rafale fighter jet deal.

-Sep 18 SC adjourns hearing on PIL seeking stay on Rafale fighter jet deal to October 10.

-Oct 8: SC agrees to hear on October 10 fresh PIL seeking direction to Centre to file in "sealed cover" the details of the agreement for buying 36 Rafale fighter Jets.

-Oct 10: SC asks Centre to provide details of decision making process in the Rafale fighter jet deal in a sealed cover.

-Oct 24: Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan moves SC seeking registration of FIR into Rafale fighter jet deal.

-Oct 31: SC asks Centre to place before it in a sealed cover within 10 days the pricing details of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

-Nov 12: Centre places price details of 36 Rafale fighter jets in a sealed cover before SC. It also gives details of steps that led to finalisation of the Rafale deal.

-Nov 14: SC reserves order on pleas seeking court-monitored probe in Rafale deal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The security of all three highly sensitive airports in Jammu and Kashmir will be taken over by the CISF, which guards major airports in the country, possibly from January 1 next year, officials said Wednesday.

The decision to deploy personnel of the Central Industry Security Force (CISF) at Jammu and Srinagar airports, in place of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and at the Leh airport, replacing the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), was taken at a high-level meeting between the Ministries of Home Affairs, Civil Aviation and security agencies recently.

"It has been decided to deploy the CISF at Jammu, Srinagar and Leh airports on the same terms and conditions which are in force for deployment of the CISF at other airports," according to an official communication.

A CISF official said a security audit of all three airports will be carried out by a multi-agency team before the deployment of its personnel.

"In all probability, the CISF will take over the security of the three airports by January 1 next year," the official said.

Pre-induction formalities, including a survey, may be conducted on priority to enable the CISF to take over the security of these airports, the official communication said.

The terms and conditions for the CISF taking over the security of the three airports include regular payments toward the cost of deployment of the security personnel at Jammu, Srinagar and Leh airports which will be ensured by the ministry of civil aviation, another official said.

All the three airports of Jammu and Kashmir are considered to be highly sensitive due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in the state.

Out of around 100 airports, currently 61 major airports are guarded by the CISF. With the addition of three airports, the number of CISF-guarded airports will go up to 64.

The central government has already taken an in-principle decision to deploy CISF personnel, who are trained in aviation security, at all airports in the country phase-wise.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday inaugurated new amenities built at a cost of Rs 35.46 crore at a 837 bed state-run hospital for children here, billed as the biggest in South Asia.

The amenities include a sophisticated cardiac operation threatre and Intensive Care Unit, set up at a cost of Rs 25 crore at the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children.

An ampitheatre set up at a cost of Rs 40 lakh with a seating capacity of 250 was also inaugurated.

The facility will entertain children who visit the hospital for treatment with short films and cartoon content.

Palaniswami, along with deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Local Administration Minister S P Velumani and Agriculture Minister R Doraikannu visited an amma canteen in the premises, ate idly and pongal and paid for it.

The low cost Amma 'unavagam' (canteens) were a pet project of former Chief Minister, the late Jayalalithaa.

The canteens were introduced for the urban poor and migrant labourers to provide food at highly subsidised rates.

The ICHHC, attached to the Madras Medical College, is a 837 bedded hosptial and is the biggest children's hospital in South Asia, according to the government.

The hospital which is celebrating its golden jubilee year, sees about 12,000 outpatients in the cardiology department alone.

Top government officials, including the Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan participated in the event.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday inaugurated the 4-day India International Cherry Blossom festival, a tourism festival that highlights the pink cherry flowers blooming all over the city in early November.

Similar festival is also held in Japan but it is celebrated in the spring when the cherry trees bloom.

"The Cherry Blossom Festival this year is being elevated to international status with the participation of the Government of Japan through its delegates. Its significance goes beyond the blooming of cherry trees as it creates a space for mutual exchange of culture and ideas," he said while addressing at the inaugural event of the festival.

The chief minister said the festival provides a platform to celebrate the autumn season and this celebration will provide a mosaic of sports, culture and culinary delights of Meghalaya, North East India beside partners from Japan.

He said that the Indo-Japan collaboration has taken a leap forward because of the efforts that have been made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

"This festival represents one of the ways of strengthening that (Indo-Japanese) relationship further," he said.

The chief minister also said that the festival will give a big boost to tourism not just in Meghalaya but in the entire North Eastern region and expressed hope that the state witnesses more visitors than the impressive footfall at the festival held last year.

Ambassador of Japan to India Kenji Hiramatsu said the festival is symbolic of the friendship between India and Japan and provides a channel for people to people and cultural exchanges between India and Japan which will in turn promote stronger bonds between the two countries.

Events including sky diving, painting and drawing competition, dog show, story telling, fashion show and kids show competition among others were part of the show.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ward official held over witchcraft allegation

Police arrested the ward secretary of Tilottama-5 along with his family from Tilottama Municipality in Rupandehi district for allegedly accusing a woman of practicing witchcraft.
: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba along with the Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Navy,Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi,flagged off a Tall Ship 'Sail-together' from the naval base here Wednesday.

The event, organised by the Indian Navy as part of the 10th Anniversary celebrations of IONS, was attended by chiefs from navies and delegates from 26 countries participating in the 10th anniversary commemorative activities, besides a large gathering of Indian naval personnel.

The Royal Omani vessel 'Zinat-al-Bihaar' along with two Indian Naval Sailing Ships 'Sudharshini' and 'Tarangini', with one "Sea Rider" each from Sri-Lanka, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, Bangladesh and Maldives are participating in the 'Sail Together', which is planned over a distance of 1200 nautical miles to Muscat and back.

It seeks to retrace the maritime trade route of yesteryears between the Malabar Coast and the Persian Gulf.

A grand fly past with nine helicopters and three fixed wing aircraft was undertaken to mark the occasion.

"The event carries with it the memories of a glorious maritime past and the ancient cultural exchange that opened long-distance political and economic relations between the great civilizations of India and those in Persia and Arabia," a Defence release said.

The route also honours the socio-cultural and maritime history that is shared among populations across the Indian Ocean as a result of this trade.

The release said having Kerala as the starting point for the sail-together was both apt and befitting. The state's coastal magnificence has been a legendary maritime hub for traders from across the world, dating all the way back to the first century, it said.

The "Sail Together" would culminate with the Tall Ships being received at Muscat on November 29.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress Wednesday alleged a "Rs 8,935.61-crore scam" in allotment of e-tendering contracts under the BJP's watch in Madhya Pradesh, which is going to polls on November 28.

Announcing that the Congress would probe the "irregularities" if voted to power, the party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the estimate of the scam could go up to "Rs 50,000 crore" after investigation.

For its part, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) said the matter was being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state police.

Surjewala claimed the Congress had in its possession documents pertaining to the alleged irregularities.

"We have documents of the e-tendering scam in which private companies were given contracts worth Rs 8,935.61 crore for various schemes of irrigation and other departments. Prima facie, the scam began in 2014," Surjewala told reporters here.

He alleged that the incumbent BJP government had hired a private company to develop an e-tendering software, which he said was "tampered with" to lower the value of the online bids quoted by select private companies so as to bring it on par with the lowest bids.

"These firms were then allotted the big-ticket government contracts," he alleged.

Surjewala said, "The value of the scam which has been executed through collusion between the government machinery and private companies could cross Rs 50,000 crore after a probe".

He said the role of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state Chief Secretary BP Singh was also suspect in the matter.

"The Congress was apprehensive that the computer hard disk and other evidence might be destroyed," he alleged.

Terming the alleged scam "an organised loot of public resources", the Congress leader said his party would constitute a "public commission" to probe the matter.

Responding to a query, Surjewala defended the Congress' poll promise to not allow holding of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) shakhas in government premises and cancel the order that allowed officers and employees to participate in shakhas.

"Congress feels that if a political organisation (Sangh) is allowed to use government offices then similar permissions will have to be given to the bodies associated with the Congress, the Left and other parties, which won't be proper," he said.

The Congress leader also dismissed Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier's statement, denying any wrongdoing in the Rafale deal.

The Congress has been alleging "corruption and cronyism" in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The party has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his "industrialist friends" over the Rafale deal, calling it a "scam".

The Centre has already denied the allegations of price escalation and favouritism.

When contacted, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesman Anil Soumitra said the e-tendering matter was being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

"We are already probing the matter through the EOW. If Congress is dreaming of coming to power, let them also investigate the matter," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former finance minister P Chidambaram targeted the government over its crop insurance scheme Wednesday, alleging that it was designed to profit insurance companies and 84 lakh farmers, including those from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, had withdrawn from it.

Taking to Twitter, the senior Congress leader claimed that insurance companies had made profits of Rs 6,460 crore in 2016-17 and were set to make profits to the tune of Rs 8,000-9,000 crore after "robbing the farmers".

"As we had cautioned, PM's Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) was designed to profit the insurance companies at the cost of the farmers.

"In 2016-17, insurance companies made a neat profit of Rs 6460 crore. Robbing the farmers to fatten the insurance companies. In 2017-18, insurance companies are likely to make a profit of Rs 8000-9000 crore," he tweeted.

"Is there any wonder that 84 lakh farmers have withdrawn from the scheme? And the bulk of them belong to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan that will vote shortly," Chidambaram said in another tweet.

The Congress has been accusing the Narendra Modi government of pushing for crop insurance, which, according to the opposition party, is helping private companies and not the farmers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk is warning that trade tensions between the United States and China could weigh on business.

The company said a brewing trade war between the two had created uncertainty and could "reduce global container trade by 0.5 to 2.0 percent during 2019-2020".

Maersk's share price was down 1 percent in afternoon trading in Copenhagen.

The warning came as the company said third-quarter revenues increased 31 percent to $10.1 billion from $7.7 billion a year earlier. That helped Maersk post a net profit from continuing operations of $191 million against last year's loss of $112 million.

Chief Executive Soeren Skou said Wednesday that the financial performance was helped by an emergency bunker surcharge and synergies related to the 2017 acquisition of German container shipping company Hamburg Sud.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 34-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide in Rajkot district of Gujarat late Sunday night as he was apparently distressed over his mounting debts, police said.

The farmer had also suffered financial losses in digging a well for farming, they said.

According to police, this is the sixth such incident reported in Gujarat in the last two months.

The farmer, Shivraj Manjaria, hanged himself at his residence in Gitanagar village in Jasdan taluka of Rajkot district, around 200 kms from here, on the night of November 11, a police officer said.

During the probe, it was learnt that Manjaria was depressed after he incurred losses in digging a well on a five bigha farm land gifted to him by his father-in-law at nearby Vinchhia village, he said.

"His relatives told us that Manjaria was already under a debt of Rs 1 lakh. In addition, he incurred losses in digging a well on the land given to him by his father-in-law. Although some amount of water was found in the well, it was not enough to irrigate his farm," said Assistant Sub Inspector Raja Vakotar.

"We believe that both these factors might have led Manjaria to take the extreme step," he added.

Police said six farmers committed suicide in different districts of Gujarat, including Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Porbandar and Amreli, in the last two months either due to crop failure or mounting debts.

As per the latest figures released by the Gujarat government, the state is staring at scarcity of water as it had received just 76.72 per cent of the average rainfall this monsoon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court Wednesday directed the city police to hand over certain documents to former TERI chief R K Pachauri in a case of alleged sexual harassment lodged by his former colleague.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar directed the investigating officer (IO) in the case to hand over mirror image/clone copies of the electronic devices, seized by police, to Pachauri.

The court took note of the submissions made by Pachauri's counsel that the accused was entitled to the complete chain of SMS and WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between the ex-TERI chief and the complainant.

Advocate Ashish Dixit, appearing for Pachauri, submitted that screen shots of the alleged messages were incomplete and manipulated by the complainant.

"I am of the view that revisionist is entitled to have the mirror image/clone copy of the items seized by the IO," the court said, directing the IO to hand over copies of electronic devices seized by him during the probe.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Pachauri against an order by a magisterial court, dismissing his plea.

Police, however, had opposed the appeal, saying that the prosecution had not relied upon the documents sought by the accused.

The court had on October 20 framed molestation charges against Pachauri, after he pleaded not guilty.

On September 14, the court had discharged him from section 354B (using criminal force against a woman), 354D (stalking) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC, saying that prima facie these sections were not made out against Pachauri.

On February 13, 2015, an FIR was registered against Pachauri and he was granted anticipatory bail in the case on March 21, 2015.

The former TERI chief had earlier secured an interim order from an additional district judge making it mandatory for media houses to publish or telecast the coverage of the case with a title that "in any court, the allegations have not been proved and they may not be correct".

This order had also said "when such information is published in any page of a magazine or report, then it should be in middle of the page in bold letters and it should be five times larger than the font in which the article is being published."



Over 1,400-page charge sheet was filed by the Delhi Police on March 1, 2016, saying there was "sufficient evidence" against Pachauri that he had sexually harassed, stalked and threatened the complainant.

A supplementary charge sheet was filed in March 2017 after the police said it had retrieved several deleted e-mails and chats exchanged between the accused and the complainant.

The final report had said the deleted WhatsApp chats, text messages, retrieved from the cell phones, computer hard disks and other devices, were "not fabricated".

The charge sheet. which was filed a year after the former research analyst of TERI lodged the complaint, had said Pachauri had committed offences under various sections of IPC. Pachauri has denied all the allegations against him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dena Bank on Wednesday said it has started an independent internal valuation for the proposed amalgamation with two other state-owned lenders, and the report is likely in the next four-five weeks.

The government has proposed the merger of Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, and the new entity will be the second largest lender after SBI, with 9,000 branches.

Dena Bank has also set an internal target to bring down its NPA by Rs 6,000 crore by March to strengthen its books prior to the amalgamation.

"We have started internal valuation and the report is expected in four-five weeks. The other two banks are also conducting such exercise," Dena Bank Managing Director and CEO Karnam Sekar said.

He was in the city to review the 14th zone of the bank.

Sekar said the lender has undertaken 'Mission Dena 9999', which aspires to reduce the NPA book below Rs 10,000 crore by March from Rs 16,000 crore.

Speaking about the proposed merger, he said though a timeline has not been finalised, it may happen in the next five-six months.

The bank is under Reserve Bank of India's PCA guidelines, which restricts lending. It would also require tier-1 capital by March, he said.

"As on the beginning of the year, we require Rs 2,000 crore and we have already asked for infusion from the government. We are not seeking a review even in the wake of a merger," Sekar said.

The head of Dena Bank said all options like NCLT, one-time settlements and selling bad assets to ARCs are being explored.

Sekar added that he does not foresee any HR-related issues due to the amalgamation but harmonising IT, loan book and other systems will be of priority.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A foreign national onboard a Mumbai-London flight allegedly turned abusive and manhandled a cabin crew member in an inebriated state after she was denied more alcohol, an Air India official said Wednesday.

The airline filed a police complaint against the woman, who was travelling in business class.

The incident took place on November 10 onboard Air India flight AI-131 to London, the official said.

The passenger already had four quarter bottles of wine. When she asked for more, the cabin crew refused to serve her as she had become completely drunk, an airline source said.

In a video clip recorded by a cabin crew member, she can be heard using expletives several times.

A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against her following a complaint by Air India and she was taken into custody on landing at London's Heathrow airport, the source said.

"As a thumb rule, a passenger can be served 2-3 pegs of hard liquor and another 3-4 glasses of wine. Passengers in business class can get a little more.

"But this passenger already had four quarter bottles of wine and was insisting for more. When denied, she started shouting and abusing the crew members," the source said.

In the video clip, which went viral on social media, the woman can purportedly be heard saying, "I'm working for all your people...for you, an international criminal lawyer. Don't get any money for it, by the way. But you can't give me a .... glass of wine, is that correct?"



The cabin crew informed the flight commander about the unruly behaviour of the passenger and he instructed the crew not to serve her more drinks.

The Civil Aviation Ministry guidelines of September 2017 state that a passenger indulging in unruly behaviour can be barred from flying for a period ranging from three months to lifetime.

Aviation regulator DGCA is supposed to maintain a record of all such blacklisted passengers, and the quantum of punishment is based on severity of the offence.

The no-fly list is applicable only if the incident takes place inside an aircraft which could adversely affect the safety of the plane and its occupants.

"The airline chairman and managing director called for all the reports after the case was brought to his notice. He is looking at the matter," said the source.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chhath Puja celebrations concluded on Wednesday morning with devotees offering prayers to the rising sun at several ghats in the national capital.

A festive look adorned the ghats where thousands of devotees broke their fast after offering 'Arghya' to the rising Sun.

The movement of devotees to various ghats disrupted traffic on the stretch from Kalindi Kunj towards Noida and other areas in the city.

Chhath is a major festival in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, although it is celebrated in other parts of the country as well where Purvnanchalis are settled in significant numbers.

Chhath Puja relives the age-old tradition of paying obeisance to the Sun God.

Political leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, greeted devotees on Wednesday and wished them health, success and happiness.

The Delhi government had declared a public holiday on the occasion of Chhath.

Agencies of the Delhi government had set up ghats for Chhath at around 1,000 locations, officials said.

Arrangements of ghats and facilities for worshippers were made by different agencies of the Delhi government as well as municipal corporations.

A monitoring committee was constituted by the Delhi government to look after preparations of Chhath including ghats and tents.

Municipal corporation officials said over 700 ghats were prepared by three civic bodies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An additional district judge in Telangana has been booked on charges of amassing disproportionate assets, by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau which searched houses of him and his associates Wednesday.

The simultaneous searches were being carried out in several places in Telangana and in Maharashtra, a day after the bureau registered the case against XIV Additional District Judge Vaidya Vara Prasad of Ranga Reddy district court based on a direction from the high court here, an ACB release said.

The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had received a complaint petition against the judge and after due preliminary verification ordered the ACB to proceed against him.

Accordingly, a case under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the judge for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets to the known sources of income.

As part of the investigation, ACB officials are conducting searches at the residence of the Judge and also at the houses of his relatives and associates at four other places in Hyderabad, three places in Siricilla district of Telangana and two in Maharashtra, the release said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a coordinated effort with the Indian Army has seized a huge cache of arms and explosives bearing Chinese markings from a village in Jammu, according to an official statement issued Wednesday.

A suspected Pakistani national was killed in the operation carried out Tuesday, it said.

The seized arms and explosives include one AK-56 rifle, 15 hand grenades, five pistols with distinct Chinese markings along with 60 rounds of ammunition, 12 detonators of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and 234 rounds of ammunition from a forward area in Gigrial village of Akhnoor region in Jammu, the statement issued by the DRI said.

"The arms and ammunition bear distinct Chinese markings and were being smuggled into India from Pakistan across the international boundary," it said.

The DRI had developed specific intelligence that some intruders from Pakistani side will attempt to infiltrate into India from a specific location at the international border in the intervening night of November 12 and 13, the statement said.

This specific information was shared by the DRI with local Indian Army unit (15 Punjab) and an ambush was laid at the specified spot, it said.

On noticing some movement at the relevant time on that night, the Indian Army soldiers tried to intercept the intruder but were fired upon.

The intruder was killed during an exchange of fire and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from his possession, the agency said, adding that the infiltrator is suspected to be of Pakistan origin.

This is the second major success achieved through the concerted efforts of the DRI and its smooth coordination with the Indian Army, the statement said.

In an earlier major strike on narcotics and arms smuggling in Jammu and Kashmir, the DRI had seized 20.8 kg of high quality heroin.

Another packet of 184 gm of opium and two foreign made pistols with four magazines were also recovered from border area in Akhnoor region of Jammu on November 6.

Intelligence suggested that consignment was destined for Punjab, the DRI said.

The contraband was in a packing, which indicated that it was of Pakistan origin, it said.

The DRI had inputs that heroin and arms were being smuggled from Pakistan through infiltrators.

In recent past too, the DRI had seized heroin in the state. This is fourth such seizure of heroin by the DRI in a span of three months.

This involvement of Pakistan-based smugglers and agencies is also being investigated, the agency said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As electioneering is gathering pace in Madhya Pradesh for November 28 Assembly polls, one thing is missing: former dacoits in the fray.

Unlike in the past decades, no known former dacoit is contesting election in the Gwalior-Chambal and Vindhya regions, once known as Madhya Pradesh's badlands.

Prem Singh, a former dacoit who had won on Congress ticket from Chitrakoot in Satna district in 2013, is no more.

With him, the age of outlaws influencing elections or even contesting and winning them has almost ended, said Satna-based journalist Rajesh Dwivedi.

Two gangs, headed by Babli Kol and Lavlesh Kol, are still said to be active in Vindhya ravines, but they do not have any political influence, he said.

In the past, former dacoits Shiv Kumar Patel aka Dadua and Ambika Patel alias Thokia used to call the shots during elections in Chitrakoot and the surrounding areas in the Vindhya region close to Uttar Pradesh border, Dwivedi said.

Both commanded some following in rural areas, especially among Patels, a powerful OBC community, he said.

Patel's younger brother Bal Kumar Patel was an MP of the Samajwadi Party from Mirzapur in UP between 2009 and 2014, Dwivedi said.

Bal Patel told PTI that Dadua's son Veer Singh was SP MLA from Karbi in UP from 2012 to 2017. "My son Ram Singh was also SP MLA from Pratapgarh in UP between 2012 and 2017," he added.

Dadua and Thokia were killed in police encounters in 2006 and 2007, respectively, in Uttar Pradesh after then chief minister Mayawati cracked the whip against the dacoit gangs, Dwivedi said.

They were involved in over 300 cases including those of murder and kidnapping in MP and UP, as per the police.

Former dacoits Malkhan Singh and Mohar Singh, whose writ once ran large in the ravines of Chambal, campaigned for the BJP in 2013 Assembly elections and in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, said Gwalior-based journalist Dr Keshav Pandey.

Malkhan Singh, known for his handlebar moustache, was known as a dreaded dacoit for two decades before he surrendered in 1982. He was wooed by several political parties and even contested an Assembly by-election in 1996 on SP ticket from Bhind but lost, Pandey said.

In the last two Assembly elections he supported BJP candidates, Pandey added.

Mohar Singh joined the BJP in his 90s and went on to become head of Mehgaon Municipality in Bhind district in 1995.

He used to carry a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head before he surrendered in 1972, Pandey said, adding that now he is not involved in politics.

Former dacoit Balwant Singh (65) told PTI that he was unhappy with the amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The amendment, which restored the provision of immediate arrest after the Supreme Court had 'diluted' it, had provoked protests from upper caste outfits in Madhya Pradesh.

Singh said he was not going to campaign for any party.

Singh is the nephew of Paan Singh Tomar, international athlete-turned-dacoit and subject of a recent Bollywood film. He surrendered in 1982, a year after Tomar was killed in a police encounter.

According to Pandey, the dacoits who operate in the region today do not enjoy the "Robinhood" image of their predecessors which fetched them respect and even popularity.

Dacoit gangs have been finished in the region, said Gwalior Superintendent of Police Navneet Bhasin.

"We rid Gwalior and Chambal region of dacoits by forming special teams," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The ongoing feud within the Chautala family escalated with jailed INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala expelling his elder son Ajay Singh from the primary membership of the party for alleged anti-party activities.

The decision was taken on Monday and announced at a press conference here on Wednesday called by Ajay's younger brother and Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly Abhay Singh Chautala.

Ajay Singh (57), who is serving a 10-year jail term along with his father and former chief minister O P Chautala in a teachers' recruitment scam in the state, is currently out on a two-week parole. He was also removed as the secretary general of the party's state unit.

Two weeks ago, the INLD chief had expelled from the party Ajay Singh Chautala's two sons, Hisar MP Dushyant and his brother Digvijay, exposing the feud to public view.

Though Ajay Singh's wife and INLD MLA Naina Chautala too has been vocal against her detractors within the party after action against her sons, she has been spared from any disciplinary action.

At the press conference here Wednesday, 55-year-old Abhay Singh Chautala, for the first time, launched an attack on his elder brother and accused him of playing in the hands of the BJP and the Congress to weaken the INLD.

Abhay said that he had never harboured any ambition to become a chief minister, but those who try to weaken the party for furthering their personal ambitions will face action.

He warned that any MLA, MP or INLD office bearers who attend a meeting called by his elder brother in Jind on Saturday will face action.

Reacting to the expulsion, Abhay Singh Chautala said that he was not aware on what charge such such an action was taken, while his son Digvijay claimed that Om Prakash Chautala "was being kept in the dark and he must not be even knowing about this (expulsion)."



Digvijay alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the entire move and claimed that the expulsion letter shown by INLD state unit president Ashok Arora to reporters was "forged".

With these fresh developments, the INLD, which is Haryana's principal opposition party, appeared to be headed for a split. The camps headed by both Ajay and Abhay have separately summoned a meeting of party's sitting and former MLAs, MPs and other office bearers in Jind and Chandigarh, respectively, on November 17.

Both the camps will attempt to parade MLAs and MPs and office bearers in their meetings as a show of strength to claim control over the party.

Arora announced the decision to expel Ajay in presence of Abhay Singh Chautala as well as nine of the 18 party MLAs and two of the three MPs. He flashed before reporters a letter signed by Om Prakash Chautala in this regard.

He said the INLD has called a meeting of the state executive as well as of MLAs and MPs in Chandigarh on November 17. On the same day, Ajay Singh has called a similar meeting in Jind.

The INLD state unit president claimed that the meeting called by Ajay Singh in Jind is in violation of the party constitution because such a meeting cannot be convened without approval of the party president."



"Therefore, any meeting which is convened without prior approval of the party's national president, shall invite disciplinary action," Arora said.

Asserting that the party is supreme and no one is above it, the letter by Om Prakash Chautala stated that the "anti-party activities" of INLD's Haryana unit secretary general Ajay Singh have "caused hurt and have become unbearable".

"Ajay Singh has convened a meeting on November 17, which is unconstitutional, and makes it clear that he is trying to run a parallel set up to weaken the party," the letter stated while announcing Ajay Singh's expulsion from the party.

He said that the INLD president had gone through lot of "pain" in view of the recent developments and had to take decision to expel his elder son with a "heavy heart".

Asserting that the party is supreme and no one is above it, the letter by Om Prakash Chautala stated that the "anti-party activities" of INLD's Haryana unit secretary general Ajay Singh have "caused hurt and have become unbearable".

"Ajay Singh has convened a meeting on November 17, which is unconstitutional, and makes it clear that he is trying to run a parallel set up to weaken the party," the letter stated while announcing Ajay Singh's expulsion from the party.

Earlier, the festering family feud saw two of Ajay's sons -- Dushyant and Digvijay -- being "expelled" from the party on November 2 by an order they have refused to accept.

While Dushyant has said that his expulsion order had not been issued officially by the INLD and the party's national executive had not met to decide the issue, Arora on Wednesday showed letter signed by O P Chautala pertaining to their expulsion.

The action against Dushyant and Digvijay was taken after their supporters allegedly shouted slogans at an INLD rally in Gohana, apparently targeting Abhay Chautala.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Eight months after thousands of farmers marched to Mumbai, another massive protest of farmers has been planned in the country's financial capital next week.

Lok Sangharsh Morcha, an organisation representing farmers and labourers, announced Wednesday that an indefinite sit-in will be staged at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from November 22.

It will be led by water conservation activist Rajendra Singh and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav, it said.

In March this year, thousands of farmers had walked all the way from Nashik in north Maharashtra to Mumbai to demand loan waiver and implementation of the Forest Rights Act, among other things.

"Farmers across Maharashtra are reeling under insensitive and anti-farmer policies of the state government and therefore we have no option but to strike the government with farmers' unity," general secretary of the Morcha, Pratibha Shinde, said at a press conference.

Protesters' demands include time-bound implementation of Forest Rights Act, total loan waiver, stopping of displacement of tribal villages due to Nar-Par, Damanganga and Vagh Pinjal river linking projects, stopping of acquisition of land for the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway and bullet train, she said.

Over 20,000 farmers from across the state will gather in neighbouring Thane district on November 21 and head for Somaiya ground in Mumbai, she said.

After staying there overnight, they will march to Azad Maidan on November 22 and stage a sit-in till all their demands are met, Shinde said.

"Our march will be peaceful and we will ensure that people in the city are not inconvenienced," she added.

Farmers sent over 20,000 postcards to the chief minister in the first week of November apprising him of their problems, but not a single farmer got a reply, she claimed.

"Government's loan waiver scheme has not given any relief to farmers," she said.

Political parties such as the Janata Dal (S), Aam Aadmi Party and several NGOs are supporting the protest, she said.

Expressing solidarity with the Morcha, general secretary of JD(S) Mumbai unit Jyoti Badekar said it was high time that politicians and government took serious steps to do justice to suffering farmers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana Wednesday claimed before the Delhi High Court that the FIR lodged against him on bribery allegations was a backlash to complaints of criminal misconduct by the probe agency's chief Alok Kumar Verma.

Asthana also said that prior approval from the competent authority is mandatory to initiate probe against a public servant which was not taken in this case.

He further said that the CBI avoided this issue in its response filed earlier to his petition seeking quashing of the FIR against him.

Asthana made these claims in his rejoinder to CBI's response to his petition.

The rejoinder was filed before Justice Najmi Waziri who extended till November 28 its order asking the CBI to maintain status quo on proceedings against Asthana.

Asthana also claimed that the FIR was ante-dated and the question of merits of the FIR cannot be looked into as it was registered whilst showing complete disregard to the statutory procedure.

He said the statement of complainant Sathish Babu Sana was recorded under section 164 CrPC on October 4 and after 11 days, without obtaining the mandatory prior approval under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the FIR was purportedly registered on October 15 at 8 PM.

Sana had alleged to have paid bribe CBI officials to settle a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

The FIR reached the concerned magistrate only after 51 hours of the registration of the FIR on October 17 at 11:51 PM, the rejoinder stated.

"This goes to show that the FIR was ante-dated. This was done to firstly defy the legal and binding directions of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and was also due to the futile attempts of the respondents to extract a confession from Manoj Prasad (alleged middleman and accused) to falsely implicate the petitioner (Asthana)," he said.

He added that though the FIR has to be uploaded on the agency's website within 24 hours, it was uploaded after five days on the night of October 21.

"The FIR deserves to be quashed as it was a mere backlash to the various complaints of criminal misconduct on the part of respondent no. 2 (Verma)," he said.

The rejoinder claimed that the FIR was a "malicious intent" to malign Asthana's reputation.

It said the CBI's averment that the FIR cannot be challenged is liable to be rejected, in as much as, Verma directed registration of the FIR despite the fact that he had been directed by the CVC to obtain prior approval under Section 17A of the PC Act.

"Filing of charge sheet and other procedural requirements cannot be allowed to be proceeded with in view of the gross illegalities of procedure adopted by the respondent agency in the registration and investigation of the FIR," it added.

CBI has opposed in the high court Asthana's plea seeking to quash the FIR against him, saying that allegations against the officer and others show cognisable offences.

The agency has also said the investigation in the case was at nascent stage and it was "handicapped" in the probe as certain files and documents were under the CVC scrutiny.

The files and documents have been sent to the CVC as the Supreme Court has directed the vigilance body to conduct enquiry against Verma.

CBI had filed the reply in response to the notice issued to it on the petition filed by Asthana against the lodging of case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The first joint military exercise of Indian and Japanese armies concluded in Mizoram on Wednesday, a defence statement said.

The two-week exercise 'Dharma Guardian 2018' commenced on November one at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte with India describing it as a significant step towards fostering military and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Emphasis was laid on enhancing tactical skills to fight against global terrorism and on increasing inter-operability between forces of both countries, the statement said



"The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in urban and semi urban terrain," the statement said.

The contingents honed their tactical and technical skills in a wide spectrum of counter-insurgency operations including joint training on weapons and equipment, field training exercise and handling of improved explosive devices, it said.

Commanders at various levels from both sides were exercised to work in close coordination to receive and collate information jointly, plan operations and issue suitable orders to respective integrated groups.

The Japanese contingent was represented by 32nd Infantry Battalion, while the Indian side was represented by 6/1 Gorkha Rifles.

Approximately one platoon strength each of the battalions participated in the exercise.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five men were arrested for allegedly robbing a constable at gun-point in a moving auto-rickshaw on highway near Wazirabad, police said Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Shankar, 23, Saddam, 24, Ashawani, 21, Ash Mohd, 23, and Kishan Kumar ,44, they said.

"On the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, a Delhi Police constable was looted by some culprits at gun-point in a moving auto-rickshaw while he was returning to his training centre at PTS Wazirabad," said a senior police officer.

The accused had dropped him near Yamuna Vihar after robbing his purse, mobile, carry bag and other articles. He managed to read some figures of the number of auto-rickshaw, he added.

After registering a case, police apprehended the accused persons from near Nand Nagri flyover with their auto-rickshaw where they were searching a person to commit another robbery, he said.

One auto, one mobile phone and a bag along with a wallet were recovered from their possession, the officer said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four men were arrested for allegedly transporting nearly two dozen stolen LPG cylinders in Gautam Buddh Nagar, police said Wednesday.

The accused would illegally sell the cylinders to people, including college students, for a cost up to Rs 2,000, they said.

They were also involved in a robbery at a LPG cylinder agency in Badalpur area on October 28, a police official said, adding the arrests were made near an engineering college police post in Dadri area.

Among the accused, two have been identified as Pradeep, Firoz, both residents of Bulandshahr, while Keshav and Rohit are locals, Dadri Station House Officer (SHO) Ram Sen Singh said.

"The four men were arrested after 22 cylinders were recovered from their pickup vehicle Tuesday night. Their vehicle was intercepted during a police check set up on a tip-off," Singh said.

He said one more man involved in the case, a resident of Aligarh, was absconding and efforts were made to nab him.

The arrested men, having criminal cases already registered against them at police stations in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Bulandshahr, have been booked for theft and remanded in judicial custody, the SHO said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The French Embassy on Tuesday hosted the screening of 'The Forgotten Army', a documentary by Delhi-based journalist Mandakini Gahlot which explores India's historic participation in World War I.

Led by military historian Rana Chhina of the United Service Institution of India, the film traverses from rural Punjab, where descendants recall stories of ancestors long gone, to the battlefields of France and Belgium.

Speaking on the occasion, Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India, said, "In this year marking the centenary of the Armistice of World War I, we all pay tribute to these valiant men who came from all parts of India to fight for our freedom."



Envoys from other countries also participated in the screening.

Last week, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu was in France to participate in the commemoration and to the Paris Peace Forum.

Naidu also inaugurated the Indian Armed Forces Memorial in the town of Villers-Guillain.

Over a 100 years ago, nearly 1.5 million men from across India were recruited to fight in the greatest war humanity had ever witnessed. They were professional soldiers from undivided Punjab, engineers from Bengal, and labourers from Northeast.

They fought in every major theatre of the war in Europe, including France, the Middle East and Africa, and nearly 75,000 amongst them lost their lives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
has stepped down as the chairman of Raymond's branded apparel arm with a view to run the company more professionally.

Nirvik Singh will be replacing Singania, as a non-executive chairman, and the latter will continue to remain on the board of Apparel, an official statement said.

Anshu Sarin has joined the board of Apparel as a non-executive director, and Gautam Trivedi has joined the board as an independent director, it added.
In a bid to showcase Goa's historical sites to the tourists, the state government has started developing two heritage tourism circuits.

State Archives and Archaeology Department has been working on creating these tourism circuits in which the visitors would be taken to different historical monuments and architectural landmarks, an official said on Wednesday.

"The first circuit will cover the Saptakoteshwar temple at Narve village in Bicholim taluka and the monuments surrounding it, including ancient caves, water tanks, springs, temples and ruins of Jain community settlement," Varad Sabanis, Assistant Superintendent Archaeologist, told PTI.

Saptakoteshwar temple was built on the orders of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1668. It is located 35 kms from Panaji, he said.

He said Saptakoteshwar temple restoration work has already begun and it is expected to complete before April next year.

"The second tourism circuit would be created in Sankhalim area in north Goa. It will showcase a Jain temple, a Sun temple and memorials of Jain monks," he said.

The tourism circuits would be developed in association with the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), he added.

According to the official, boards would be installed at these sites to give information to visitors about these places.

"The idea behind developing these circuits is to promote heritage tourism in the state. People visiting Goa are not much aware of these historical sites," he said.

Goa attracts around six million tourists every year, mainly to visit the famous beaches in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee (GPMCC) president Pratima Coutinho was on Wednesday questionned in connection with a POCSO case lodged against her for allegedly revealing identity of a molestation victim, a police official said.

Investigation officer police sub-inspector Sandhya Gupta questioned the Congress leader for over an hour at the Women's Police Station here this afternoon.

Coutinho was booked under section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act,section 4 ofthe Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 8 (2) of Goa Children's Act on complaints lodged by the Shiv Sena and some NGOs earlier this year.

She was questionned in this connection on July 14.

The Congress leader had courted a controversy after she allegedly posted a picture of her with the mother of the minor girl who was allegedly molested by a man from Jharkhand earlier this year.

The victim is a resident of Netravali village in Sanguem assembly constituency in South Goa.

A delegation of the Mahila Congress led by Coutinho had visited the victim, after she filed a formal complaint with local police station.

Meanwhile, Coutinho Wednesday alleged that she was being "harassed" by the police, "as the accused in the molestation case works with an influential minister in the Goa government".

"All attempts are being made to harass me so that my voice is suppressed. I am being targetted by using police machinery because the Mahila Congress has taken up several causes, which has caused discomfort to the Goa government," she alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government Wednesday refused to make public details related to the pricing of the 36 Rafale fighter jets in the Supreme Court, saying "our adversaries may get an advantage" by such a disclosure.

Two days after the government submitted to the apex court in a sealed cover details of pricing of the Rafale deal, Attornet General K K Venugopal defended the secrecy clause related to the pricing of jets before a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

To the government's submission, the bench, which also comprised justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, said any discussion on pricing of the Rafale fighter jets can only take place if the facts on the deal are allowed to come in the public domain.

"The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not," said bench and noted that without bringing the facts in public domain, there was no question of any debate on the pricing of the planes.

Asserting that the decision on types of aircraft and weapons that need to be bought was a matter for experts and not an issue to be adjudicated upon by the judiciary, Venugopal said, "even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of jets".

Responding to allegation by Prashant Bhushan, one of the petitioners, that there was no sovereign guarantee by France for the deal, the attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.

Venugopal also submitted that in the earlier contract (during UPA government), the jets were not to be loaded with requisite weapons system and the reservation of the government was due to the fact that it did not want to violate the clause of the Inter Government Agreement and the secrecy clause.

The top law officer said the government has already given to the court the complete details of the Rafale jets, the weapons to be fitted on the aircraft and other requirements, and added that "our adversaries may get advantages if the entire details on the pricing is disclosed".

Refusing to publicly divulge details on the pricing aspect, Venugopal said he would not be able to assist the court further on the pricing issue.

"I decided not to peruse it myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible," he said.

During the hearing, Venugopal said at the exchange rate of November 2016, the cost of a bare fighter jet was Rs 670 crore.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

He also told the court that presently three countries France, Egypt and Qatar are flying Rafale fighter jets.

Venugopal concluded his argument saying that Rafale aircrafts are potent and "had we possessed Rafale during the Kargil war, we could have avoided huge casualties as Rafale is capable of hitting targets from a distance of 60 kms".

To this the bench said,"Mr. Attorney, Kargil was in 1999-2000? Rafale came in 2014."



The top law officer replied, "I said it hypothetically".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ISRO's heavy-lift rocket GSLV-MkIII-D2 Wednesday successfully injected into orbit the country's latest communication satellite GSAT-29 that is intended to meet the communication needs of people in remote areas in the North East and Jammu and Kashmir.

The 27-hour-countdown for the launch began at 2.50pm Tuesday and the rocket blasted off at 5.08 pm from the spaceport at Sriharikota over 100 km from Chennai.

The 3,423 kg GSAT-29 carries Ka and Ku band high throughput transponders which will provide communication services to remoTe places in the North East and Jammu and Kashmir, besides aid the Centre's Digital India programme, ISRO chief K Sivan said.

ISRO scientists broke into cheers as the satellite was injected into a geosynchronous orbit, 16 minutes after lift-off.

Sivan said the country had achieved a significant milestone following the successful launch and the injection of the satellite into the GTO was 'precise.'



"I am extremely happy to declare that our heaviest launcher in its second mission has lifted the heaviest satellite, GSAT 29 from Indian soil, and after a majestic travel of 16 minutes, it precisely injected it into the intended Geo Transfer Orbit," he said.

ISRO scientists had termed the launch crucial for the space agency as the rocket would be used for the ambitious Chandrayaan-2 and the country's manned space missions.

Sivan said while the launch vehicle's first operational mission was going to be "none other than Chandrayaan" in January 2019, "this fantastic vehicle is going to carry humans to space in three years from now."



Cyclone Gaja had clouded the launch plans but with it changing course and conducive weather conditions prevailing, the rocket blasted off on schedule.

The satellite would be placed in its final Geostationary Orbit using the on-board propulsion system and it may take a few days after separation from launcher to reach the orbital slot, ISRO said.

The GSLV-MkIII-D2 is a three stage launch vehicle with two solid strap-ons, a liquid core stage and a cryogenic upper stage.

Compared to solid and liquid stages, the C25 cryogenic stage is more efficient as well as complex.

According to ISRO, the GSAT-29 satellite is intended to serve as a test bed for several new technologies.

It is specifically designed to cater to communication requirements of users from remote areas of the country.

The mission life is about 10 years.

GSLV-MkIII is the fifth generation launch vehicle developed by ISRO and is designed to place satellites of upto 4,000 kg in GTO.

The launch vehicle is the 67th launch mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota and the 33 communication satellite built by ISRO for which this will be the fifth launch this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Gujarat government has decided to wind up the Gujarat State Land Development Corporation (GSLDC) following allegations of corruption and financial irregularities, a minister said Wednesday.

The government is in no mood to tolerate any irregularity, state Agriculture Minister R C Faldu told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Formed in 1978, the state-run GSLDC's main task was to provide technical and financial help to farmers in constructing farm ponds for their irrigation needs.

"Irregularities in GSLDC have come to the government's notice. Thus, in the interest of people, we have decided to dissolve the corporation," Faldu said.

The GSLDC's staff and machinery will be shifted to other departments to continue the entity's core work, he said.

In April this year, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had raided the GSLDC's headquarters in Gandhinagar and recovered unaccounted cash worth Rs 56.50 lakh, Deputy Superintendent of Police D P Chudasama said.

Following the raid, five officials, including GSLDC's managing director K S Detroja and joint director K C Parmar, were arrested on charges of taking bribes from farmers who had applied for government grants under various schemes run by the corporation, he said.

In the last few months, the anti-graft agency raided several other district-level offices of the corporation and found financial irregularities, he said.

Over 25 cases were subsequently registered against GSLDC's employees across the state, Chudasama said.

In most of the cases, the ACB found that the corporation's officials presented forged bills for the construction of farm ponds, which only existed on paper, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed self-styled preacher Daati Maharaj's plea for review of its decision to transfer the probe in the rape case against him to CBI and cautioned the agency against starting a fresh inquiry in the matter.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao rejected the preacher's contention that facts were suppressed by the petitioner - a lawyer - while seeking transfer of the probe.

It said the investigation was handed over to CBI "after going through the charge sheet in detail" and after considering the plea moved by the "victim herself".

"The contention of the applicant (Daati Maharaj) that there is suppression of fact cannot be accepted in its totality and this submission gets diluted or becomes non-effective because of the fact that the victim herself has approached this court and it was after considering her prayer and also after going through the charge sheet in detail that the order in question was passed by us," said the bench.

It said it found "no error apparent on the face of the record to review the order" of October 3.

The preacher had also contended that CBI had started a fresh investigation in the case which was not permitted.

Dealing with the argument, the court said it had directed only for further investigation by the CBI and not a de novo (fresh) probe.

"Our intention was not at all to order a de novo inquiry into the matter. We had directed for supply of the entire charge sheet to the CBI and they were required to go through the charge sheet, conduct further investigation as is permissible under law and then submit a report to us," the bench said.

"The report submitted by them, interim in nature, only indicates that they have initiated the process and, therefore, we caution them to ensure that the investigation to be conducted by them is not a de novo inquiry but it is only a further investigation or inquiry into the matter," it said.

"In the meanwhile, based on the charge sheet already filed, the trial court shall proceed with the matter in accordance with law," it added and dismissed the application.

On October 3, the high court had said that the manner in which the probe was carried out by police "casts a shadow on the investigation" as it did not arrest the accused in the case even after recording the complainant's statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The preacher's plea against the October 3 order was initially filed in the Supreme Court which had asked him to approach the high court with his grievance.

The CBI had earlier submitted before the high court its status report of the probe in a sealed cover. The agency had registered a case of rape and unnatural sex against Daati on October 26.

The complainant's plea was earlier being heard by a single judge bench of the high court, but was transferred to the division bench after a PIL on the issue was filed.

A complaint was filed against Daati Madan Lal alias Daati Maharaj on June 7 and an FIR was registered on June 11. On June 22, police questioned the accused, who has been charged with rape of a disciple at his ashrams in Delhi and Rajasthan.

The accused has claimed that he was being framed.

The complainant has filed the case against the preacher, his three brothers and a woman at Fatehpur Beri police station in South Delhi. The case was later transferred to the crime branch.

The complaint said the FIR against him has been registered for alleged heinous offences of rape, unnatural sex, molestation and common intention under the IPC.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
: The Madras High Court Wednesday reserved orders on a petition by the DMK, challenging a G.O., directing an enquiry Commission , set up to probe 'irregularities' in construction of the state secretariat during its regime, to hand over all documents to the DVAC.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption has been entrusted with the probe.

Justice Pushpa Satyanarayana reserved orders after hearing senior counsel P Wilson, appearing on behalf of DMK President M K Stalin and Public Prosecutor A Natarajan.

On August 3, Justice S M Subramaniam had directed the state government to suspend the Justice R Raghupathi Commission of Inquiry,go through its reports and hand over all related documents to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) for further proceedings.

When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, the PP, referring to Wilson's submission that the government had not applied its mind while issuing the G.O., and had directed the Commision to hand over the records to DVAC, submitted that the state scrutinized and examined the materials submitted.

Further it could be found from the G.O that the government had directed the DVAC to conduct an enquiry and file a report only after careful consideration.

He said that the government, after going through the records, found prima facie materials and gave its approval to conduct an enquiry.

Submitting further that 'a 'scam of Rs 629 crore' cannot be left out just like that, the PP said a detailed enquiry has to be conducted. The DVAC had not even commenced its enquiry.

He said the commission had not only sent summons to the petitioners, but questionnaire and summons to all the others involved in the construction.Now the petitioner's name was not mentioned in the enquiry.

He said the enquiry was at the preliminary stage and added that the petitioner had approached the court merely on an apprehensions, which should not be entertained.

Wilson submitted that the government had passed the G.O. without applying its mind. Without considering the materials, the government cannot accord sanction or approval to DVAC to conduct an enquiry, Wilson added.

Justice Subramaniam had among other things, directed the Commission to hand over the records to the government, which in turn should scrutinize it and if a prima facie case was found, institute criminal proceedings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response of the Centre, the AAP government and the Delhi Assembly Speaker's office on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash's plea challenging the fresh breach of privilege proceedings initiated against him on complaints by two House committees.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru, while issuing notice in the matter, declined to pass any interim orders after Delhi government standing counsel Rahul Mehra said nothing was presently happening against the bureaucrat and that his plea was "premature".

Mehra said the instant petition be heard on November 27 with an earlier plea of the bureaucrat challenging another breach of privilege proceeding going on against him.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra and advocate Vivek Chib, appearing for Prakash, on the other hand urged the court to pass interim orders staying the two fresh proceedings against him and to direct that his presence be not insisted upon by the Privileges Committee.

The judge, however, did not issue any interim directions and listed the matter for hearing on November 27, saying that nothing has happened till now against the bureaucrat and if anything happens he can approach the court.

Prakash, in his plea filed through advocates Asif Ahmed and Ruchira Goel, has sought quashing of the two new breach of privilege proceedings initiated against him on the complaints by the Question and Reference Committee (QRC) and Protocol Committee of the Assembly.

During the brief arguments, Luthra contended that some members of the two committees, which lodged the complaints against him, were also part of the Privileges Committee which is a "violation of principles of natural justice".

The senior lawyer also argued that MLAs who were chargesheeted in connection with assault of the chief secretary were also part of the two committees.

He said that breach of privilege proceedings were initiated after filing of the charge sheet and alleged that they were biased against the bureaucrat and were trying to "harass and intimidate" him.

Opposing the allegations, Mehra submitted in court a list of the members of the committees and said that none of the chargesheeted MLAs were part of the House panels.

He also said that since the two proceedings were initiated on October 1 and October 11 with no summons being issued till now, the petition was "completely premature".

The chief secretary, in his plea, has also challenged the complaints made against him by the QRC and Protocol Committee on September 7 and September 14, repectively.

He has contended that the breach of privilege proceedings initiated against him based on the two complaints were "violative of the Constitution of India as well as the Rules of the House and therefore, illegal and unconstitutional".

The petition also seeks quashing of the Speaker's decision to refer the two complaints to the Privileges Committee, saying it too was in violation of the Constitution and Rules of the House.

Apart from his latest petition, the chief secretary had in the past challenged breach of privilege proceedings initiated against him in March this year by the Assembly panels for not appearing before them.

The earlier petition is at the final arguments stage and is scheduled to be heard next on November 27.

During the hearing on his earlier plea, Prakash had claimed that the entire process of summoning him before a privileges committee for questioning over certain issues was "biased" and "premeditated".

Prakash had filed the earlier plea in March this year after he was served a notice by the Privileges Committee, on a complaint by QRC, for skipping a meeting on February 20.

The meeting, in which he was asked to appear, was scheduled a day after he was allegedly assaulted by two AAP MLAs -- Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the West Bengal Government to convey their views on proposed guidelines to prevent sexual offences against pupils in educational institutions affiliated to central and state boards in West Bengal.

Justice Nadira Patherya directed handing over of a report of a court-appointed amicus curiae to the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) and asked him to get the views of the central government for implementation of proposed measures for ensuring a safe environment for students in educational institutions.

ASG Kaushik Chanda was asked to convey the views of the Centre to the court on Thursday with regard to schools under CBSE and ICSE boards.

The Additional Advocate General of West Bengal was also directed to express the views of the state government, which also has separate boards of secondary and higher secondary under which many schools are affiliated.

Hearing a case relating to alleged sexual misconduct against two physical teachers of a city-based school, Justice Patherya had appointed lawyer Firoze Edulji as amicus curiae to assist it in the matter and formed a panel of educationists to suggest steps and guidelines for schools for preventing incidents of sexual assault on pupils.

The panel included educationists from six leading schools in the city, the chairperson of West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) and representatives of UNICEF and National University of Juridical Sciences.

The amicus curiae submitted a 100-page report to the court on Monday suggesting formation of a nodal body under the SCPCR, which would work for spreading awareness among school staff, sensitise parents and set up a syllabus for awareness material for staff, students and parents.

It also suggested stringent background check of a person before appointing him/her to any position in a school.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hindus have faith that the Supreme Court will rule in favour of construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international vice president Champat Rai said Wednesday.

He told reporters here that the people of the country should understand the sentiments of the Hindus.

"The struggle for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya has been going on for 500 years and now the wait is unbearable," Rai said.

"Hindus have faith that the Supreme Court will rule in favour of construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya," he said.

He said on November 25, the VHP would organise a Dharm Sabha in Ayodhya and one lakh people would participate in it.

In similar event later in New Delhi, over 5 lakh people were expected, he claimed, adding it was being organised to apprise about the sentiments of the Hindus to the government and the court.

Replying to a question, he said the work to carve stones for the Ram temple had been completed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Had Rafale fighter jets been used during the Kargil war in 1999, the number of casualties would have been less, the Centre told the Supreme Court Wednesday while justifying the acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

"Soldiers lost their lives in the Kargil war. Had Rafale been used during the war, it could have hit the hilltops from 60 kilometers away," Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

He said that all due procedures were followed while entering into the inter-government agreement with France for acquisition of 36 Rafale jets, and all decisions were approved by the Defence Acquisition Council.

"This is a sensitive area and a necessity of the country. Even the Air Force chief has been writing to us to enhance the capability of the force owing to depleting fleet of aircraft," the AG said while concluding his arguments during the day-long hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the Rafale deal.

The CJI then said, "Mr. Attorney, Kargil was in 1999-2000? Rafale came in 2014."



Venugopal laughed and said, "I meant hypothetically, if Rafale would have been there during the Kargil war.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi have identified the 'dark' regions in the proteins of Chikungunya virus, an advance that could help design improved drugs to treat the disease.

The dark proteome is defined as proteins with structures that can not be determined by conventional methods, such as X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy.

Unlike conventional proteins, the dark proteome are unable to fold spontaneously into single, well-defined 3D structures, making it difficult for scientists to understand their properties.

The researchers led by Rajanish Giri, assistant professor at IIT Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, is aimed at understanding the structure and action of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) through computational studies.

Collaborating with Vladimir Uversky from University of South Florida, the research, published in the journal RSC Advances identified the molecular recognition features of the virus (MoRF).

"The pathogenic mechanism of mosquito-borne Chikungunya is not fully understood as yet because of the scarcity of information about the structure and non-structure of the viral proteins," said Giri.

"Our research seeks to fill this gap in knowledge," he said.

The team used multiple computational tools to identify the MoRFs in the proteins of the Chikungunya virus.

They found that all Chikungunya virus proteins have at least one MoRF crucial for signalling events during survival and pathogenesis of the virus.

Researchers hope that once all the molecular mechanisms of Chikungunya virus proteins are deciphered and protein-protein interactions are understood, there would be a better path towards design of specific drug molecules that can act against this virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 1.5 million deaths worldwide are caused by viral infections every year, researchers said.

Given that there are 320,000 mammalian viruses that can potentially infect human beings, our hope of preventing and treating virus-borne diseases hinges on rigorous research enterprise, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump created history of sorts when he invited Indian Ambassador Navtej Singh Sarna to share the podium with him at the White House Diwali event.

In fact, Trump's body language, his remarks and the atmospherics inside the Roosevelt Room of the White House where he lit the ceremonial 'Diya' to celebrate his second annual Diwali on Tuesday, reflected the significance he attaches to the India-US relationship.

"We're very close. I think closer maybe than ever before," Trump said at the White House Diwali event as he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described him as his "great friend".

"We love your country," the president told the Indian Ambassador. "I have great, great respect for, as you know, Prime Minister Modi -- tremendous respect. So just please give my warmest regards," he said, adding that he would soon be talking to Modi.

"It was a great honour to participate in the Diwali function," Sarna told PTI after the event where he was seen standing alongside Trump. The president also asked the top Indian diplomat to give some remarks on the occasion.

This was the first time that an Indian ambassador has been given such a recognition at the White House, which is generally reserved for the envoys of countries like close US ally Israel.

While Indian ambassadors have been invited a few times in the last 15 editions of the annual Diwali celebrations at the White House, this was the first time that the Indian envoy along with his spouse was seen standing along with the US president during the entire event.

"It is a great honour for India and for me personally to be invited to the White House for the Diwali ceremony at which all the top Indian American administration officials were invited," Sarna said.

In his brief remarks, Sarna said the president hosting the Diwali event is a privilege for India and for the Indian American community.

"They feel very welcome here and they are integrated into the US society. They are a plus-plus for both India and for the United States. I think we are looking at one of the best times we've ever had for the India-US relationship," said the Indian ambassador.

Trump said the US has deep ties to India. "I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," he said as he referred to the ongoing negotiations between India and the US on a possible trade deal.

Unlike his remarks in the past when he was highly critical of India's tariff policies and even described India as a "tariff king", Trump indicated that the talks are progressing quite well on the trade deal.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India, but they're very good traders," Trump said evoking laughter.

"They're very good negotiators, you would say, right? The best. So we're working and it's moving along," said the president.

"India is the world's largest democracy, and the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and Russia support the Afghan government's efforts towards the realisation of an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, Deputy National Security Adviser Pankaj Saran said Wednesday.

His remarks come days after India in a "non-official" capacity attended a meet in Moscow where Taliban representatives were also present.

Delivering the keynote address at the second round of Indian Council of World Affairs-Russia International Affairs Council international conference, Saran said India and Russia consult each other on Afghanistan.

"India had participated at an unofficial level in the Moscow format on Afghanistan. Both India and Russia support the Afghan government's efforts towards the realisation of an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process," he said.

India had Friday attended in a "non-official" capacity the 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 had made it clear that its participation was in sync with its Afghan policy and asserted that attending the meeting was not talking to the Taliban at all.

Asked about the meet on the sidelines of the conference here, Russian ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev said any level of India's participation is welcome.

Speaking on the topic 'strategic visions of Russia-India relations in a changing world order', Saran, in his address, pitched for "significantly enhancing" the economic content in Indo-Russia ties.

He said India and Russia were exploring new areas of cooperation such as railways, information and technology, innovation and infrastructure, besides strengthening traditional areas of collaboration such as defence, space and nuclear.

"The Indo-Russia ties have intensified in recent years with an emphasis on identifying and strengthening our partnership in newer areas while reinforcing our relations in the traditional strategic spheres of cooperation," he said.

Further high-level exchanges are expected before the end of this year, he said.

He also highlighted the memorandum of understanding signed between India and Russia by which Moscow would help India's human space flight programme 'Gaganyaan'.

On the Indian manned space flight, Kudashev said Russian experience on manned space flight goes back to 60 years and it would provide all assistance to India.

Asked if an Indian astronaut would go into space on a Russian craft, he said Rakesh Sharma had done so in the past and there was no problem of anyone travelling into space again be it with a Russian space craft or with a space craft developed jointly.

Saran said Russian investments in India total to about USD 16 billion.

The first-ever strategic economic dialogue or economic forum is going to be held under the chairmanship of Niti Aayog and the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japanese imaging and optical products major Canon Inc expects the Indian market to become the top performer in its Asia marketing group by 2025, surpassing China, led by a double-digit growth in the country, a top company official said.

The Tokyo-headquarterd company expects a sales turnover of USD 10 billion from its Asian marketing group by 2025 and take over other regions such as Japan, America and Europe, led by two big markets of China and India.

The company operates in India through Canon India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, which reported sales of Rs 2,614 crore in 2017 with a growth of 11 per cent.

"With Canon India continuing to grow at a double digit growth, we foresee Canon India becoming the number one contributor for CAMG (Canon Asia Marketing group) by 2025," Canon Inc Executive Vice President Hideki Ozawa told PTI.

Currently, CAMG contributes about 25 per cent to overall revenues of Canon, he added.

"Currently, China and India are the top performing markets for us in Canon Asia Marketing Group. Canon China is the leader, with India at the number two spot," said Ozawa, who is also President CAMG and President & CEO Canon China.

The Asia region includes markets of China, India, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Ozawa also pointed out the GST rate of 28 per cent on the cameras segment at par with luxury items and said that the Indian government should consider reducing it to 18 per cent.

"Camera is not a luxury item and is a part of everyday life, hence we are looking at the government to consider the industry's request to revise the GST to 18 per cent for cameras, from the current slab of 28 per cent," he added.

According to Canon India President and CEO Kazutada Kobayashi, Canon India is eyeing annual sales of Rs 3,500-crore by 2020.

"Canon India grew at 11 per cent in 2017 and is aiming a double digit growth in 2018 as well," he added.

Presently, B2B and B2C equally contributes equally to the Canon India sales.

"For India, we have a 50 per cent contribution from B2B and B2C," Kobayashi addded.

Canon India, which is largely present in the printers and imaging products business, is also looking into medical imaging systems and security and surveillance camera products.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Wednesday for collaboration in cancer research, the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement.

The pact between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) for the India-UK Cancer Research Initiative was signed here for collaboration for the next five years.

Both CRUK and DBT will invest five million pounds each in this five-year pilot project, and seek further investment from other potential funding partners.

The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative will identify a core set of research challenges that address issues of affordability, prevention and care of cancer patients by bringing together leading Indian and UK experts in clinical research, demographic research, new technologies and physical sciences, the statement said.

"The initiative will provide funding to develop new research alliances and undertake impactful research to enable significant progress against cancer outcomes," the statement added.

This is a follow-up to the joint statement issued by the premiers of India and UK during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UK in April.

Modi had then stated, "As thriving democracies, we share a desire to work closely together and with all who share our objective to support a rules-based international order that upholds agreed international norms, global peace and stability.

"Together the UK and India are a force for good in an uncertain world. We are sharing our experience and knowledge to tackle global challenges. India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Cancer Research UK propose to launch a 10 million pound bilateral research initiative which will focus on low cost approaches to cancer treatment."



Speaking at the launch of this initiative, Secretary of DBT, Renu Swarup, said, "Cancer is a global epidemic that requires radically new approaches through inter-disciplinary and multi-national efforts. The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative will provide a catalysing platform for scientists and researchers in the UK and India to co-create solutions for affordable cancer care that improve cancer outcomes around the globe."



On the occasion, Nick Grant, Cancer Research UK's executive director of international partnerships, spoke in the importance of the research partnership saying no country escapes the impact of cancer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India has voted against a UN General Assembly draft resolution on the use of death penalty, saying it goes against the statutory law of the country where an execution is carried out in the "rarest of rare" cases.

The draft resolution, taken up in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) of the General Assembly Tuesday, was approved with a recorded vote of 123 in favour, 36 against and 30 abstentions.

India was among the countries that voted against the resolution, which would have the Assembly call on all States to respect international standards on the rights of those facing death penalty and ensure that it is not applied on the basis of discriminatory laws or as a result of discriminatory or arbitrary application of the law.

First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi, giving the country's explanation of vote, said the resolution sought to promote a moratorium on executions with the aim of abolishing death penalty.

"My delegation has voted against the resolution as a whole, as it goes against statutory law in India," she said.

"In India, the death penalty is exercised in 'rarest of rare' cases, where the crime committed is so heinous that it shocks the conscience of the society. Indian law provides for all requisite procedural safeguards, including the right to a fair trial by an independent Court, presumption of innocence, the minimum guarantees for defence, and the right to review by a higher court," she said.

The draft resolution's passage followed an intense debate and Singapore introduced an amendment on behalf of 34 countries that reaffirmed the countries' sovereign right to develop their own legal system.

The Committee then approved this amendment by a recorded vote of 96 in favour to 73 against, with 14 abstentions.

India voted in favour of this amendment.

By its terms, the Assembly would reaffirm the sovereign right of all countries to develop their own legal systems, including determining appropriate legal penalties, in accordance with their international law obligations.

Tripathi said every State has the sovereign right to determine its own legal system and appropriate legal penalties and it was in this context that India voted in favour of the amendment but has voted against the resolution as a whole.

Singapore's delegate decried the draft resolution's "one-size-fits-all" approach to a delicate question, which seeks to impose a particular vision of the world onto others.

The representative of Singapore said the amendment aimed to ensure respect for the diversity of views.

The amendment is simple and neutral and it does not take a position on the substance of the draft resolution, nor make judgments about State policies, Singapore said.

Tripathi said the Indian laws have specific provisions for commutation of death penalty in the case of pregnant women and has rulings that prohibited executions of persons with mental or intellectual disabilities, while juvenile offenders cannot be sentenced to death under any circumstances.

Death sentences in India must also be confirmed by a superior court and an accused has the right to appeal to a High Court or the Supreme Court, which has adopted guidelines on clemency and the treatment of death row prisoners, she said.

Tripathi said "poverty, socio-economic, psychic compulsions, undeserved adversities in life" constituted new mitigating factors to be considered by courts in commuting a death sentence to life imprisonment.

She also said the President of India in all cases, and the Governors of States under their respective jurisdictions, have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or, to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of death penalty.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prominent Indian-American lawyer Neomi Rao has been nominated by US President Donald Trump to fill Justice Brett Kavanaugh's seat on the powerful DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

Trump during Diwali celebrations on Tuesday at the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House announced the nomination of the 45-year-old regulatory czar for the DC Circuit which is considered next to the US Supreme Court.

And, if confirmed by the Senate, Rao, who is currently administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), would be the second Indian-American judge in this powerful court after judge Sree Srinivasan, who was appointed during the previous Obama regime.

"She is going to be fantastic. Great person," Trump said on his nominee.

Rao would fill the seat vacated by Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, who served on the appeals court for 12 years.

A formal announcement on her nomination is expected to be made by the White House on Wednesday.

"I just nominated Rao to be on the DC circuit court of appeals, the seat of justice Brett Kavanaugh. That could be a big story," Trump announced.

Rao thanked the president for the "confidence" he has shown in her by nominating her to the powerful US court.

Trump made the announcement in the presence of his top Indian-American officials and Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Singh Sarna.

Called the 'regulatory czar' of Trump administration in her current capacity, she oversees implementation of the administration's deregulatory agenda and regulation-related executive orders.

She was confirmed by the Senate with a 54-41 vote in July 2017 to head the OIRA and is known among legal circles as a highly respected administrative law scholar who has distinguished herself for her right-of-centre views, media reports stated.

A former clerk for conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Rao was recommended for the post by former White House counsel Don McGahn. Trump's nomination of Rao is in recognition of her contribution in cutting down regulations.

Rao has previously served in all three branches of the federal government, and before taking on her current role in the executive branch, she was associate counsel and special assistant to the president for the George W Bush administration.

She has been known for promoting separation of powers in the three branches of government. Prior to joining the Trump administration in July 2017.

A graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago Law School, Rao also worked in the private sector, in the international arbitration group of the London-based law firm, Clifford Chance LLP.

Born to Zerin Rao and Jehangir Narioshang Rao, both Parsi physicians from India, Rao grew up in Michigan and did her schooling from Detroit High School. She is married to Alan Lefkowitz and the couple has two children.

Kavanaugh has been embroiled in a bitter battle to stave off claims of sexual assault, which he denies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A veteran Indian-origin MP in the UK has urged the British government to take a decisive action against the recent burglaries at two temples in London and treat them as a hate crime.

Virendra Sharma, a Labour Party MP who represents the suburb of Ealing Southall which has a sizeable population of the Indian-origin people, raised the issue during Justice Questions in the House of Commons on Tuesday following break-ins at two Swaminarayan temples in north London.

"Within the last week, two separate Hindu Temples, Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Willesden and Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple in Kenton, have been broken into and religious icons have been stolen," Sharma said during questions addressed to UK Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke.

"Can the minister confirm that this will be treated as a hate crime, and not just ignored by the police, since it targeted people of one faith," he asked.

The minister condemned the robberies and said that the specific incidents were a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"Activity of this sort, and if it is targeted on the basis of religious belief, is completely unacceptable. I am sure the whole House is united in condemning that," Gauke told MPs.

The latest break-in took place at the Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple on Westfield Lane in Kenton in the early hours of Tuesday. This followed a previous break-in at Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Willesden last Friday, when three Krishna idols were stolen.

Scotland Yard said that investigations remain ongoing in both cases and that they are looking into a potential link between the two burglaries.

"Police were called to an alarm activation on Tuesday, 13 November, at 03:50 hours at a temple in Westfield Lane, Harrow. Officers attended and found entry had been forced," a Metropolitan Police statement said, adding that no arrests have been made in either case so far.

Officers continued to review CCTV footage and conduct forensic searches as part of their enquiries. It remains unclear what was stolen during Tuesday's robbery but cash and idols were stolen in last week's break-in.

According to the President of the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, Kurjibhai Kerai, the Hari Krishna idols stolen last week had been with the temple since its opening in 1975.

While the idols are made of brass, the temple authorities fear the robbers may have mistaken them for gold and hope they would be returned as they are more precious to the community than in terms of their monetary value.

Both burglaries took place around the time the temples had played host to annual Diwali festivities, attended by hundreds of members of the local community.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A pregnant Indian-origin woman in the UK was killed after an arrow pierced through her abdomen in a crossbow attack by her former partner, but her baby survived following an emergency Caesarean section.

Devi Unmathallegadoo, 35, was injured in the abdomen during the attack on Monday in Ilford area of east London. She died in a local hospital, where doctors delivered her son.

On Tuesday, Scotland Yard officers charged Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 50, with the murder of the woman, believed to be her former partner.

"The victim was found suffering an abdominal injury. She was taken to hospital where she later died," the Metropolitan Police said.

"This is a tragic incident and our sympathies are with the loved ones and friends of the victim," added Detective Chief Inspector Gary Holmes of the Met Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command, which is leading the murder investigation.

Unmathallegadoo was known locally as Sana Muhammad after reportedly converting to Islam when she married her husband Imtiaz Muhammad around seven years ago.

She had three children, aged 18, 14 and 12, with her former partner and two young girls, aged five and two, with Muhammad. The baby boy who was born as a result of an emergency Caesarean operation on Monday has been named Ibrahim by his father.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said laws around crossbows would be reviewed after Unmathallegadoo's death, the BBC reported.

Ilford North MP Wes Streeting said in Parliament her death had left people in shock "up and down the country".

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Streeting said: "I know I will speak for every member of this House in expressing our deepest condolences to the family and our best wishes to the baby for a speedy recovery.

"Given these weapons, like the crossbow, used to kill my constituent are readily for sale online, can I urge the Prime Minister to urgently and seriously look at expanding the Offensive Weapons Bill so that we can toughen the scope of the laws governing the sale, the possession and the use of these deadly weapons."



May responded by saying crossbows were "subject to strict controls", but the government would "consider the risk to public safety and whether further measures are needed".

Imtiaz Muhammad told the 'Evening Standard' newspaper that Unmathallegadoo was a wonderful mother and wife.

"We were together seven years. I am heartbroken; we were inseparable," he said.

The 42-year-old was at home when he noticed the attacker in their shed with a loaded crossbow. He ran back into the home to alert his wife and children, but she was shot with the arrow in her abdomen soon after.

"The arrow went up into her heart but did not touch the unborn baby. The baby was due in four weeks. They operated with the arrow still in because it would have been too dangerous to take out," he said.

Neighbours heard Muhammad screaming for help outside the house and described seeing a 30-cm-long crossbow being carried out of the home by police officers as evidence.

Ramanodge remains in custody and will now appear before the Old Bailey court in London on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
by Pierre Balanian

Through Al Sisis mediation, Italy gets Marshal Khalifa Haftar to come to Palermo. Rome takes the Libya file from France. The UNs economic plan is accepted with a single bank collecting all oil revenues. Peace in Libya needs action on three fronts: economy, disarmament of the militias, and national reconciliation. Libyan assets frozen abroad amount to 500 billion US dollars.

Tripoli (AsiaNews) - The International Conference on Libya ended today in Palermo with an extraordinary diplomatic victory for Italy, after the two main antagonists, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sirraj, shook hands, and all the participants agreed to back the UN, which was represented by Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salame, and his deputy Stephanie Williams.

Italy was able to successfully mediate behind the scene, especially via Egyptian president Abdel Al Sisi, the only head of state present at the event, along with Libyas. Egypt is the fourth country of influence in Cyrenaica, after France, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Marshal Haftar depends on all three and could not say no to Egypt. Although he came, he snubbed much of the conference whilst smiling for photo-ops.

The Palermo Conference could not solve Libyas problems. Some of the major players were not represented by their top leaders, i.e. Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, and Angela Merkel. At the same time, local and other influential stakeholders who exert their influence in Libya discretely were also missing. Yet, Italy played an important and innovative role in setting the direction towards a long-term solution.

The UNs Ghassan Salame and Stephanie Williams were winners because they succeeded in getting Libyas oil revenue into a single central bank controlled by Al Sirraj rather than in two. This should prevent money from getting into the pockets of the militias. This is also a first step towards elections, which require a constitution backed by everyone.

Italy is also a winner, taking over the Libya file from France, an important player in southern Libya with great influence on the militias. Thus, Rome gets back its unique position in Libya, a status that is now internationally recognised.

Haftar is another winner because he gets international recognition as does Prime Minister Al Sirraj whose power is confirmed by the international community, despite lack of domestic support. However, little came out of the conference for the Libyan people, at least on the short run.

A solution to the Libyan crisis can be spelled in three words: economy, disarmament of the militias, and national reconciliation. Without them, the crisis will overwhelm the country. Implementing all three cannot be done the Libyans alone; the UN is a necessary player.

According to data from the French Central Bank, frozen Libyan assets abroad amount to about 500 billion US dollars. This alone would be enough to rebuild the country and compensate Libyans for their loss of family members, a condition needed for national reconciliation.

Libya is still subject to Article 7 of the UN Charter, which authorises the use of force to restore peace. Even if Libyans have always been hostile to foreign occupation, a legacy of Gaddafis 40-year rule and anti-colonialism, disarming the militias under the supervision of UN troops might prove necessary.

National reconciliation remains the hardest goal. It cannot be done by other countries, but only by neutral and respected NGOs, capable of building relationships with and among Libyas social, ethnic, linguistic and tribal groups. Special care should be given to the economy of the Fezzan, in southern Libya, a region that has always been marginalised and a hub for all sorts of trafficking, including humans.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned Wednesday and called for early elections, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "capitulating to terror" and surrendering before the Islamist group Hamas over a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Over 460 rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israel in 25 hours on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Israeli army.

The Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted over 100 of them. Most of the rest landed in open fields, but dozens landed inside Israeli cities and towns, killing one person, injuring dozens more, and causing significant property damage.

In response, the Israeli military targeted approximately 160 sites in the Gaza Strip connected to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups, including four facilities that the army designated as "key strategic assets".

As of a ceasefire between the Israeli government and Hamas -- which controls the Gaza Strip -- broke, Liberman's office put out a statement saying any claim that he had backed ending Israel's offensive was "fake news".

"I didn't look for reasons to quit," Lieberman said at a hurriedly called press conference.

"I tried to remain a loyal government member in the cabinet, keep differences internal even at an electoral cost.

The two turning points were the millions of dollars in cash delivered to Gaza by Qatar and the ceasefire Israel agreed to with Hamas on Tuesday, the ultra-nationalist leader said.

"There is no other definition, no other significance, but a capitulation to terror. What we are doing now as a country is buying short-term quiet at the cost of our long-term security," the defence minister said.

Lieberman's Yisrael Beteinu party also pulled out of the ruling coalition led by Netanyahu, demanding fresh elections.

The ruling coalition still holds a slender majority of 651 to 59 in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) after Beiteinu's departure.

However, another key coalition partner Habayit Hayehudi, headed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, also threatened to quit if the defence portfolio did not go to its leader.

Lieberman said: "It is no secret that there were differences between the prime minister and I. I did not agree to allow entry of Qatari money (into Gaza), and I had to allow it only after the prime minister announced it".

He said that similar differences revolved around the evacuation of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank which had also led to differences in the overwhelmingly right-wing dominated coalition.

Senior sources in Netanyahu's Likud party were quoted by the local media as saying that "elections are not necessarily the next step", adding that Netanyahu will initially take charge of Lieberman's portfolio.

Hamas said that Lieberman's resignation is a recognition of Israel's defeat in this week's military confrontation with the Islamic group.

Following the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lieberman and Bennett published statements, distancing themselves from the decision to agree to a ceasefire.

Lieberman demanded a "harsh, decisive" move against Hamas. Sources close to Bennett said his opposition to the ceasefire was crystal clear.

Certain other sources, however, said that ultimately the ministers unanimously supported the defence establishment's position that an action should be taken to restore the calm.

According to the associates of Lieberman, the claim by the Prime Minister's Office that the defence minister had supported the ceasefire agreement in Gaza infuriated him.

Lieberman and Bennett have recently traded barbs publicly with the latter charging the defence minister of going soft against terror.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five masked men laced with arms looted a jewelery store of Rs 2 crore at gunpoint in Shyam Park area, police said on Wednesday.

The showroom was located next to the Sahibabad police station, they said.

According to the owner of the shop, Rahul, they robbed all gold and diamond ornaments from the store.

Police have not received the list of looted ornaments till now, they said.

Quoting the statement of the owner, Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said around four masked men aged around 20 to 24 entered the shop and took Rahul and his employee Suraj on gun point and robbed the jewelery store.

The owner tried to oppose their bid but they threatened him to shoot. The fifth member of the gang was keeping vigil on the movement of passersby outside the shop, the police said.

After robbing the showroom, they came out in the market and brandished pistols and fired in the air. Suraj said that they fled the spot very smoothly on three bikes.

People of the area present on the spot expressed anguish against the police patrolling on the spot.

Police was monitoring the CCTV footage of all the cameras installed in the market.

Inspector General of Police (Meerut zone) Ram Kumar also visited the spot and instructed officials to solve the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day after Karan Johar was trolled on social media for allegedly "insulting" the culture and the traditional headgears of the people of the Northeast, the filmmaker apologised Wednesday for his "purely unintentional" remarks.

The director uploaded a video clip on Instagram on November 10 shot on the sets of reality talent show "India's Got Talent", where he, along with Kirron Kher and Malaika Arora Khan serve as jury.

After being severely criticised for his comments, Johar replied to an Assamese journalist, saying he would like to apologise in case he had hurt any sentiments.

"You are absolutely right and I would like to apologise if I have hurt any sentiments.

"It was purely unintentional and came from a place of no knowledge which is absolutely no excuse. I am extremely sensitive to the different cultures of our land and I am very sorry," he wrote on Twitter.

Johar also said that he had deleted the post in question from his Instagram.

The aforementioned clip showed Kher wearing a spiked bamboo Arunachalee hat and the director exclaiming, "Oh my god, what is that on your head?"



To this Kher replied, "People from Arunachal Pradesh have brought it for me and they have got this for you," showing him an Assamese Japi, a traditional hat made of bamboo, dried leaves and pieces of coloured cloth.

When the actor-politician asked why Johar was not wearing the Japi, he says, "Because you have guts, I don't.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday invited investors to explore opportunities in the state that has, of late, got a boost in transport infrastructure.

Power intensive industries and tourism are the major sectors that state has immense potential, he said.

The road connectivity has improved a lot during the last four years and the railway has also found a footprint in the state, Khandu said.

He was addressing the delegates after inaugurating the fifth North East Connectivity Summit organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), at Tawang, an official release said here.

Besides the help it is getting from the Centre, the state government has prepared a roadmap for connectivity strategy by 2022 which would ensure reliable connectivity to all administrative and commercial centres, Khandu said.

Besides roads and railway, he said, Pasighat is now on the Indian aviation map under the UDAN scheme, he said adding that helicopter services were also there at Aalo, Itanagar, Tuting, Walong, Yingkiong, and Ziro.

Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at Tezu and Ziro shall also become operational soon, he said.

"We are exploring possibility of developing floating terminals on major rivers like Dibang, Lohit and Siang in collaboration with Inland Waterways Authority of India," the chief minister said.

Drawing the attention of the delegates to the tourism potential the state offers, Khandu said Arunachal has created a niche in eco-tourism and it can also offer cultural tourism, adventure tourism and pilgrimage tourism.

"The great tourism potential of the region remains largely untapped and here lies a great opportunity to develop circuits, hotels and other infrastructure," he said.

The chief minister said more than 4,50,000 tourist arrival was recorded last year in the state in comparison to a meagre 2178 in 1999.

"This year till September we hosted 3,50,000 tourists. This figure will shoot higher as the peak season started from October. On November 2, the Arunachal Pradesh Police has also initiated Tourist Police," Khandu said.

He said the state is on the path to become power surplus with the commissioning of two hydro power plants of 110 MW in Pare and 600MW in Kameng.

"We invite the power intensive industries to come and explore the state. We are willing to create tailor made policies for industries that are non-polluting and help the state achieve its potential," the chief minister added.

The two-day summit is being attended by representatives from neighbouring countries such as Bhutan and Bangladesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A trader from Assam was kidnapped by miscreants in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district but was left off unharmed by them, a senior police officer said Wednesday.

Tapos Dey (37) of Krishnai in Assam's Goalpara district was kidnapped by the miscreants from near the village of Bansam Awe on Tuesday morning while he was on his way to the weekly market at Rongsak.

The kidnappers panicked after hearing the launch of a search operation by the police as well as villagers at multiple points, the officer said.

The kidnappers left Dey in the deep jungle on Tuesday night. He reached the village of Bansam Awe where a villager provided him food and shelter for the night, they police said.

Dey was taken to the Williamnagar police station this morning.

Meanwhile, the police has arrested one person in connection with the kidnapping of the trader.

"Last evening we apprehended one suspicious person during a search. On being questioned he admitted to knowing about the plan to kidnap someone as well as named the other gang members. A case has been registered and search is on to apprehend the remaining accused persons," said Superintendent of Police, Ringrang TG Momin.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha launched a fresh attack against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Wednesday, alleging that his government was making claims of good governance, while remaining oblivious to the prevailing "lawlessness" in the state.

The fresh outbursts of Kushwaha came during his visit to Paliganj on the outskirts of the city, where he had gone to meet the bereaved family members of his party's block president, Amit Bhushan alias Kuttu, who was gunned down Tuesday night at a public function, where a number of police officials were present.

After consoling the bereaved family members, Kushwaha told reporters, "Such incidents have become a daily occurrence. And if claims of good governance are being made amidst such lawlessness, then it means that those in power have some peculiar definition of the term."



Sub Divisional Police Officer, Paliganj, Manoj Kumar Pandey told PTI over phone, "Bhushan was fired at from a distance of about 100 metres in Mera village, where the SHO of the police station concerned, along with other personnel, was present since the village is Naxal-infested."



He said the assailants, numbering two, ran away taking advantage of the darkness, adding that their identity was yet to be ascertained since none of the close aides of Bhushan or another person who was injured in the firing and was out of danger now had come up with a complaint against anybody.

However, an FIR was lodged and the matter was being probed, Pandey said.

Meanwhile, rebel RLSP MP Arun Kumar, who was suspended from the party two years ago, following which he had floated a new outfit a few months back, came out in support of Kushwaha and attacked Kumar for allegedly calling the Union minister "neech" (lowly).

The Jehanabad MP also lashed out at Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi for defending Kumar on the issue.

Kumar had, at a function organised by a private television channel here earlier this month, refused to comment on Kushwaha, saying he did not wish to "lower the standard" of the discourse.

The RLSP chief took offence, claiming that it was tantamount to him being called "lowly".

Sushil Modi, however, came out with a tweet, asserting that Kumar's statement was made in his presence and that he had never called anybody lowly, and indirectly accused Kushwaha of posing like a "martyr".

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and MLC Prem Chandra Mishra urged Kushwaha to realise that "he stands to gain nothing and lose everything while in the NDA. He should join our Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), where he will get due respect."



The opposition Grand Alliance comprises the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Hindustani Awam Morcha of Jitan Ram Manjhi, who walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in February.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Jammu and Kashmir government Wednesday approved positioning of designated liaison officers in 10 major cities across the country to assist students of the state pursuing higher there.

The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of State Administrative Council (SAC), which was chaired by Governor Satya Pal Malik, an official spokesman said.

The SAC approved positioning of designated liaison officers of state government in New Delhi, Noida, Chandigarh, Aligarh, Bhopal, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Jaipur to coordinate with students of the state pursuing higher there, whenever they are faced with the situations related to regional identity," the spokesman said.

He said around 20,000 students of the state are pursuing higher studies in various colleges in other states. This year around 3,820 students got admission to various undergraduate courses.

Since 2012, Jammu and Kashmir students have availed opportunities to obtain admission in colleges outside the state for undergraduate courses under the Prime Minister's Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS).

The liaison officers positioned in these major cities would report directly to the resident commissioner, Jammu and Kashmir at New Delhi and coordinate with him and the state government regarding issues faced by the students, the spokesman said.

He said the higher department would be the overall coordinating department in the state government.

Each location will have a help centre, a temporary office with basic facilities, including telephone and internet, the spokesman said, adding the details about the 'help centres' would be widely published.

Student's wherever necessary would be engaged as assistant liaison officers, on a stipend or honorarium, he said.

He said liaison officers in major cities would give the state students greater sense of safety and security.

This would also remove apprehension among students keen to take up studies outside the state, the spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Maharashtra government has come up with a draft plan to modernise the Sassoon Docks in Mumbai on a Norway pattern with an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore, state Fisheries Development Minister Mahadev Jankar said here Wednesday.

The Sassoon Docks is one of the oldest fishing harbours in the country, which was built on reclaimed land in 1875 by the banking and mercantile company David Sassoon & Co.

It is said to be the first commercial wet dock in western coast of the country.

Jankar said the project would be completed within a span of two years.

"We all know about Norway's fishing infrastructure. The Sassoon Docks will be modernised in that pattern," he said.

Jankar said the entire project is expected to cost approximately Rs 100 crore and would be completed in a span of two years.

"The modernisation will include upgradation of infrastructure like landing points and cold storages. There would be a high degree of automation," Jankar told reporters.

He also said the modernised docks would also become a tourist attraction, where people can observe the work of fishermen.

Jankar said a food corner and an amphitheatre will also be built as part of the project, and that the draft plan also includes a museum.

Jankar said the modernisation plan, prepared by the Bengalaru-based Central Institute of Coastal Engineering for Fisheries, was cleared by the Centre in 2014.

Responding to a query, the minister said the government was looking for a private partner to operate the Taraporewala aquarium in South Mumbai to increase revenue.

"The state has the capacity to produce 60 crore fish seed whereas the demand for the same is 114 crore. Our aim is to increase fish seed production through the medium of feed and seed. The water storage is available in area of 4.18 lakh hectares," he said.

Jankar said a marine traffic application is being developed through which fishermen can receive information about the sea transport upto 12 nautical miles.

"A plan to develop aqua tourism is also on the cards," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Centre on Wednesday for allegedly dragging its feet in clearing a proposal to rename West Bengal to "Bangla", a proposal unanimously passed by the state assembly in July.

Banerjee said the BJP has been changing names of historical places and institutions unilaterally "almost every day" to suit its "interests" but when it comes to Bengal, the attitude is totally different.

On July 26, the assembly passed a resolution unanimously to change the name of the state to "Bangla" in the three most-spoken languages Bengali, Hindi and English and sent the proposal to the Union Home Ministry.

Banerjee's government had proposed to rename the state on three earlier occasions.

It suggested "Paschimbanga" in 2011, which was turned down by the Centre. In 2016, it proposed "Bengal" in English, "Bangla" in Bengali and "Bangal" in Hindi, which too was turned down. Finally, it proposed the name 'Bangla' in July this year.

"It is pending there (with the Home Ministry) for a long, long time," Banerjee said in a statement.

"After Independence, there have been changes in the name of a few states and cities, like Orissa to Odisha, Pondicherry to Puducherry, Madras to Chennai, Bombay to Mumbai, Bangalore to Bengaluru etc, keeping in view the sentiments of the state and local language. Those are genuine," she said.

The West Bengal Assembly had passed a resolution to change the name of the state on the basis of local sentiments related to "our mother tongue, Bangla", she added.

"The Union Home Ministry advised us to use the name Bangla in all three languages. Accordingly, our assembly passed a unanimous resolution to change the name of the state to 'Bangla' in all three languages and sent it to the Union Home Ministry again," she said.

On reservations from some quarters that Bangla would sound very similar to Bangladesh, she said names should not create a hurdle as "there is a Punjab in our neighbouring country as well as in India".

Criticising the BJP, she said a political party with "zero strength" in the state cannot decide on changing the name of that state.

The proposal to change the name was made only after a resolution was passed unanimously by the state assembly in accordance with the constitutional obligations and federal structure, which should be respected, she said.

"The people of Bengal must get a positive response immediately," Banerjee said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister Kiren Rijiju Wednesday said a mechanism will be soon worked out in Arunachal Pradesh so that army, paramilitary forces and police can work in seamless coordination in the state.

"Relation between army and police need to be cordial at the highest level for the benefit of the country," the union minister of state for home said.

His comments came in the wake of some soldiers vandalising the Bomdila police station and assaulting police personnel and civilians on November 3.

"I have already talked to Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Governor B D Mishra on the matter and will definitely work out a mechanism," Rijiju told PTI.

He was here to flag off the second edition of Dalmia MTB (Mountain Terrain Bike) Arunachal challenge, which will start on Thursday from Itanagar and culminate at Mechukha in the state's West Siang district.

On a report submitted by West Siang Superintendent of Police Raja Bantia to Arunachal Pradesh DGP SBK Singh stating that during the attack two army personnel pointed a light machine gun at him and fired two rounds in the air, Rijiju said the same report was submitted to him and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Bomdila.

"The army has instituted a court of inquiry and we will know the fact only after the inquiry report is submitted.

"... This is a sensitive matter ... Clashes between army and police are not good for the country as both are serving the nation," he said.

"The matter should not be fabricated as it is a serious matter ... There was misunderstanding as the situation could not be properly handled at the local level," Rijiju added.

Sitharaman and Rijiju during a visit to Bomdila last week took stock of the situation arising out of the clashes between the army and police personnel.

It occurred when a group of soldiers allegedly misbehaved with civilians and police personnel at the Buddha Mahotsav celebrations there.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being arrogant, adding the latter "doesn't understand that India has progressed due to the sweat and blood of the common man".

Addressing a campaign rally here for the second phase of Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Gandhi said the country can't be run by a single person or a party.

"The common citizens have given their sweat and blood for development of the country. The prime minister doesn't seem to understand this because he is arrogant," he told the gathering.

"When Modi spoke from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi that before he became the prime minister in 2014, the elephant (India) was sleeping, he was insulting people of the country," Gandhi said.

"By making such comments, he has insulted you, the workers of Bhilai steel plant who have worked here since 1955," Gandhi said.

Gandhi spoke of "two Indias coexisting", saying "One India is of the rich: Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and another India is of common people like you and me - farmers and labourers. We don't want this. We have one 'tiranga' (national tricolour) and the country should also be one," he said.

"If the rich are given benefits, the common people should also get the same. If you don't want to waive loans of farmers, you should not do so for the rich as well. For a handful of rich whose NPAs total Rs 12 lakh crore, Rs 3.5 lakh crore have been waived off," he said.

Targeting Modi, Gandhi asked the audience to question him when he visits them next.

"On my behalf, ask Modiji why doesn't he speak of the promises he made in 2014 about depositing Rs 15 lakh in your bank accounts, about giving employment to two crore people, fair price for farmers produce and about being the 'chowkidar' of the country," he said.

Modi did 'chowkidari' of Anil Ambani and made crores of honest ordinary citizens stand in queues outside banks, he said.

"Rs 30,000 crore was given to Ambani in the Rafale deal. This is the truth of the 'chowkidar", Gandhi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hundreds of people Wednesday bid a tearful adieu to army soldier Antony Sebastian who was killed in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

His body was laid to rest with full military honours at thecemetery of Emperor Emmanuel Church in Muriyad in Thrissur district Wednesday evening, officials said.

The mortal remains of the soldier were brought to Kochi Wednesday morning by an Air India flight.

Lance Naik Antony Sebastian, 34, was killed Monday by a Pakistani sniper along the Line of Control in Poonch area.

The plane carrying his body arrived at the airport in Kochithis morning.

Ernakulam District Collector Muhammed Y Safirulla, representatives of the Army and MLAs had arrived at the airport to pay their respects to the departed soldier.

The mortal remains were later taken to his residence in Udayamperoor in Thrippunithura in Ernakulam District where hundreds of people paid tributes to the departed soldier.

His body was brought to the Palam Technical Area in New Delhi Tuesday.

Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Devraj had laid a wreath on the body.

At about 5.15 PM on Monday, Pakistan Army resorted to an unprovoked ceasefire violation in Krishna Ghati Sector (Mendhar) on the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in the death of the soldier.

Sebastian was critically injured and succumbed to injuries.

"General Bipin Rawat #COAS & all ranks salute supreme sacrifice of Lance Naik Antony Sebastian KM & offer sincere condolences to the family.

#BraveSonsOfIndia," the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of MoD (Army) had tweeted Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Days ahead of the proposed rallies of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Shiv Sena in Ayodhya, three Muslim plaintiffs in the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit Wednesday claimed their community members were feeling insecure and may be thinking of migrating out of the city.

While the VHP plans to hold a "sant sammelan" in Ayodhya on November 25, the Shiv Sena has slated the same day for holding a massive rally to be addressed by its supremo Raj Thackeray, who would reach here a day earlier to felicitate over 100 Hindu seers.

The two right-wing Hindu outfits have claimed that lakhs of their activists and Ram Bhakts would reach Ayodhya to participate in the their respective functions.

Talking to PTI, three Muslim plaintiffs of the Ayodhya land dispute suit -- Iqbal Ansari, Haji Mahboob and Mohammad Umar -- claimed that their community members were fearing threat to their lives and demanded security for them.

Reacting to the Muslims' fears, Faizabad City Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar Singh sought to assure them of complete safety and security to their lives and property.

"No one need to be afraid of anything. We are arranging heavy security on the days for the proposed functions," he said.

Expressing the Muslims' fears, Ansari said Wednesday, "As the VHP and Shiv Sena are gathering their activists in large numbers in Ayodhya, the Muslim community here is feeling very much insecure. We might migrate from Ayodhya."



"We demand from the government to deploy special forces to protect the lives and properties of Muslims against the hooliganism of the VHP and Shiv Sena activists. They may attack us to serve their hidden agenda of making Ayodhya free of Muslims," he added.

Another litigant Haji Mahboob too echoed Ansari's fears.

"The Muslims of Ayodhya still remember December 6, when they were attacked. It is a fact that the Muslim population here is under the grip of fear against the possible attack by the activists of the two outfits. They are feeling quite insecure," he said.

Yet another plaintiff to the Ayodhya land title suit, Mohammad Umar too endorsed the duo's assessment.

"We do not want any disturbance here as we want to live in peace. Ayodhya is our birth place, we are here since generations. But we still remember how the VHP and Shiv Sena activists attacked Muslims after the demolition of Babri Masjid here on December 6, 1992" he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
State-owned NBCC (India) Ltd Wednesday said it has bagged a Rs 100-crore order from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi.

NBCC has been awarded the work as project management consultant for construction and development of student hostels, dining hall and faculty housing at IIT, Mandi Campus.

To be developed on a total area of 26,441 sq metres, the company will complete the project within 12 months.

Anoop Kumar Mittal, CMD, NBCC, said, "The company has extensive experience in delivering world-class educational and healthcare institutes. Sustainable development is our constant endeavour, which we institutionalise right from the concept stage and ensure quality and timely delivery."



NBCC has previously been awarded the work to construct academic building, guest house, gymnasium, hospital and auditorium at IIT, Mandi.

It has been undertaking several significant projects in educational infrastructure segment, the prominent ones being IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, NIFTEM.

NBCC (India) Ltd is a Navratna enterprise under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The company's present areas of operations are categorised into three main segments: Project Management Consultancy (PMC), Real Estate Development and EPC Contracting.

The company has an order book of more than Rs 80,000 crore.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Wednesday approved the revised bid of firm UltratTech Cement for debt-ridden

A two-member bench of NCLAT, headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya, approved UltraTech's resolution plan and said that plan submitted by the rival Dalmia Bharat group firm Rajputana Properties was discriminatory against some financial creditors.

Earlier on July 2, the Supreme Court had transferred all matters related to corporate process of to the appellate tribunal from the National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata.

The apex court had directed to hear the case on a day-to-day basis.

Rajputana Properties had moved the Supreme Court against a decision by the lenders of to consider the revised resolution plan submitted by UltraTech.

The committee of creditors had also asked Rajputana Properties to revise its offer of Rs 69.30 billion.

UltraTech Cement's revised offer was at Rs 79 billion, against its earlier bid of Rs 72 billion.

was earlier the second-highest bidder and had come up with an improved offer, backed by promoters of Binani Cements.
An umbrella organisation of major students unions of the Northeastern states on Wednesday announced that it would hold a rally in New Delhi to press for its demand for withdrawal of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.

The rally would be organised in New Delhi at the beginning of the parliament session NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa said.

The North East Students Organisation (NESO) accused the central government of threatening the identity, language and culture of the indigenous people of the NE states through the Bill.

The proposed amendment to the Citizenship Bill, 1955 seeks to grant citizenship to people from minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 even if they don't possess any proper document.

A large section of people and organisations in the Northeast have opposed the bill, saying it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971 as the cut off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.

"All the states of the North East region have faced the problem of unabated illegal immigration from Bangladesh starting from Independence. The NESO and the people of the Northeast will not accept this Bill," Jyrwa told reporters.

"Successive union governments have chosen to impose heavy burdens of foreigners on these states. We have noticed disturbing machinations of the union government to encourage further illegal immigration from Bangladesh," he alleged.

Various measures have been taken protect Hindu Bangladeshis who entered illegally into the North East region along with other parts of the country, Jyrwa claimed.

NESO advisor Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya said, "All the measures are communal in character, and therefore, unconstitutional. Illegal foreigner is a foreigner...whether Hindu or Muslim".

The measures threaten to nullify the ongoing process of preparing the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and lead to erode the demand for NRC in each of the seven states of the region, he claimed.

He said NESO leaders had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his deputy Kiren Rijiju in Delhi to express opposition to the proposed Bill.

The Centre must realise that all the states of the region united in the fight to protect the identity, language and culture of the indigenous people, the NESO advisor said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Wednesday stressed on the need for involving local leaders in addressing the challenges of under-nutrition in the country and sensitising them about the government's various initiatives in this regard.

He said the health ministry has accorded high priority to address widespread under-nutrition in the country and has initiated several focused and targeted schemes for addressing the challenge in a convergence mode with the other ministries.

"There is a need to involve local leaders and sensitise them towards nutrition initiatives of the government so that they can raise awareness about it among the people," Nadda said at the third meeting of the 'National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges'.

Union Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi was present at the meeting.

About the health ministry's schemes to address the undernutrition challenge, the minister said, "We have focussed on immunisation, detection and supplementation."



Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, Dr Vinod Kumar Paul, Member, Health and Nutrition at NITI Aayog, Rakesh Shrivastava, Secretary, WCD, Preeti Sudan, Secretary, health and Rajesh Kotecha, secretary, AYUSH, were among those present at the meeting.

Representatives of stakeholder ministries and those from Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar also were also present.

Nadda said, "During Poshan Maah (September, 2018), 1.83 lakh activities have been conducted by the Union health ministry and department of health in the states and UTs with involvement of 2.58 crore people."



In order to promote and support breastfeeding, the government has implemented "MAA - Mothers' Absolute Affection" programme to improve breastfeeding coverage and appropriate breastfeeding practices in the country, he said.

A greater emphasis is laid on capacity building of the health workers on lactation management at both community and facility levels and 360 degree IEC campaign to create awareness regarding breastfeeding, the minister said.

Nadda said under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK), systematic efforts were being made to detect nutrition deficiency among children and adolescents respectively.

He also said the ministry organises National de-worming Day twice a year and around 26.7 crore children were administered Albendazole during February this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Slamming Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for his remarks that India has a tea seller as its prime minister today because of the country's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, the BJP Wednesday retorted that rather Nehru became the PM on "compassionate grounds".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only person who became the country's PM due to massive public support and majority whereas former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru could become the first PM of the country on compassionate grounds," BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said in a conference.

"And Indira Gandhi (became the PM) due to her syndicate, he added.

Trivedi, however, did not elaborate further upon his observations.

Speaking about Nehru on the eve of his birth anniversary (November 14), Tharoor had said Tuesday that it was because of the institutional structure created by Nehru that even a "chai wala" (tea seller) can become India's prime minister today.

"If today we have a chai wala as prime minister, it is because Nehru created the institutional structures through which any Indian can aspire to rise to the highest office of the land," Tharoor had said.

Trivedi said only two prime ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, were accepted as undisputed leaders before becoming PM.

He said it was the sole example in the world of a person from a common family background becoming prime minister of a democratic India.

Talking about the "tussle" within the Congress over ticket distribution, Trivedi said its state leaders have already announced their candidature for assembly polls even before the party declaring its candidates.

He said while Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot and party's state chief Sachin Pilot have announced to contest, another leader Harish Chaudhary has filed nomination, and it's all before declaration of candidates.

Congress is taking one step forward and the next step backward. The situation seems awkward. Delay in finalising the candidates' list indicates that the ticket distribution is stuck in a tussle over the shares of its top leaders' candidates in the list, he said.

Replying to a question on BJP MP Harish Meena joining Congress, Trivedi said it was an unfair step.

He said the party had given him a lot, but he chose to quit it in "an unfair step".

His decision to leave the party, however, will make no difference to it, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
/ --



Data shows finance for coal tripled in past year, but innovative off-grid solutions and finance models offer opportunities to meet Global Goals



Finance required to close electricity and clean cooking access gaps remains dramatically short of what is needed to meet global energy goals by 2030, leaving the world's most vulnerable people behind, according to a new global report released today by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).

The Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape 2018 report analyses finance flows for electricity and clean cooking access in countries across Africa and Asia with the most significant access gaps. The report reveals alarming developments in several key areas of energy access finance that require urgent action to keep Sustainable Development Goal 7 - affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all - within reach.

Research shows annual investment of USD 52 billion is needed to meet universal electrification, yet finance commitments for electricity in the 20 'high-impact' countries - representing 76% of those without electricity access - have barely increased, averaging just USD 30.2 billion annually.

For the second year in a row, finance tracked for clean cooking revealed a deeply confronting challenge: finance committed across the 20 countries with the largest clean cooking access gaps - representing 81 % of the global population without access - actually decreased 5% to an average of just USD 30 million, compared to the estimated annual investment needed of at least USD 4.4billion.

Of serious concern, finance for coal-powered energy is increasing, at a time when the International Panel on Climate Change is issuing stark warnings about stalling progress on the Paris Agreement targets. In the countries tracked, annual commitments for coal plants almost tripled, growing from USD 2.8 billion to USD 6.8 billion. The potential impacts of this increase pose a clear challenge to climate goals, the air we all breathe and the ability to bring energy to those that need it, at the speed promised.

"The good is that renewables offer us a powerful opportunity to provide reliable and affordable clean electricity both through the grid and off-grid," said, Rachel Kyte, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.

"The bad is that we are not yet seeing a strong enough project pipeline or sufficient levels of public investment that will crowd in private finance to seize this moment of falling prices for revolutionary technology. Even more worrying is that at the same time we're seeing incremental increase in funding for renewable energy, investments in coal increased. Coal is not an answer to energy poverty."



The Energizing Finance research, conducted in partnership with Climate Policy Initiative, enables finance institutions and policy-makers to develop and implement strategies that can be scaled and refined to reach more people, more affordably, with clean and sustainable energy.

This wakeup call is especially apparent for Africa where nearly 600 million people live without energy access that allows them to improve their living standards and realize their full potential. Only 17% (USD 5 billion annually) of the total electricity finance tracked in the report was allocated to the region - down 32% from the last report.

Dr. Barbara Buchner, Executive Director, Climate Policy Initiative, said: "Our numbers paint a stark picture. We are falling further and further behind goals for energy access investment. Regions with the highest needs, like Sub Saharan Africa, are getting the smallest share, while we're seeing big gaps for some of the technologies with the most promise, like off-grid renewable energy and clean cooking. This should be a wake-up call to policy makers and investors who are working to ensure universal and sustainable energy."



Other key findings from the Energizing Finance series include:



- Off-grid solutions remain off-track: Since the last report, finance tracked for off-grid technologies nearly doubled, going from USD 210 million to USD 380 million per year. However, this is only 1.3% of the total tracked flows into energy access - a miniscule amount of finance for a solution that offers so much promise.

- Solar is soaring: 54% (USD 16.2 billion annually) of all finance committed in 2015/16 went to grid-connected renewable energy (RE); with an almost fivefold increase finance for solar photovoltaic (PV).

- Two thirds of all electricity finance tracked was concentrated in South Asia - mainly in India. The top three countries - India, Philippines and Bangladesh - received an average of USD24bn a year, or 79.5%, of finance for electricity in the reporting period.

- Investment heavily favors non-residential customers: Only 28% (USD 8.6 billion) of all grid-connected electricity finance is used to support new or improved access for residential consumers. The remainder is expanding electricity supply to support broader economic activity.

Given these stark findings, combined with the deeply concerning recent findings from IPCC's Special Report on 1.5 Degrees, Energizing Finance calls for a range of urgent actions, including the following specific recommendations:



International public financial institutions, notably development finance institutions (DFIs), should fulfil their commitments to fill continuing financing gaps for electricity access, in accordance with commitments made by their government funders under the Paris Agreement.

- Policy-makers should prioritize non-coal fired or fossil fuel power generation as part of their integrated energy planning and investment processes.

- Governments should adopt integrated approaches to energy sector policy, planning and regulation.

- Leaders, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where the shortfall in finance commitments for electricity access is starkest, should use the combination of policy, financial instruments and business model innovation required to achieve last mile access, among other approaches.

"Energizing Finance shows once again that there is huge opportunity in meeting the needs of those without sustainable energy," Ms Kyte said.

With time rapidly running out to meet global climate and energy goals, it will not only be this generation that suffers the consequences if we fail to energize finance in a way that puts those targets realistically within reach.

About Sustainable Energy for All



Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) empowers leaders to broker partnerships and unlock finance to achieve universal access to sustainable energy, as a contribution to a cleaner, just and prosperous world for all. SEforALL exists to reduce the carbon intensity of energy while making it available to everyone on the planet.

For more information, visit SEforALL.org and follow @SEforALLorg



About Climate Policy Initiative



Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) works to improve the most important energy and land use policies around the world, with a particular focus on finance. An independent analytical and advisory organization, CPI has offices and programs in Brazil, Europe, India, Indonesia, and the United States.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking the delay costs of both airlines and passengers into account can result in fewer delays and save airlines money, according to a study.

Researchers from Binghamton University in the US looked into how to make airports more efficient.

They did so by incorporating the actual cost of a delayed passenger into the equation, according to the study published in the Journal of Air Transport Management.

Currently, decision support systems (DSS) are used to help direct flights and air traffic in hopes of preventing delays.

Most of these systems use parameters such as time or distance to manage and determine the optimal schedule.

The researchers developed two models that consider the actual cost incurred when passengers and flights are delayed.

Delay costs can include numerous things such as fuel consumption, maintenance, crew costs, taxiing and additional travel time -- all of which are included in the models.

"Airports mainly focus on increasing the runway throughput and, in general, most other papers focus on delay as a time, but they don't consider the actual cost of the delay," said Binghamton University PhD student Duaa Serhan.

The researchers explained that there are normally two perspectives used when scheduling aircraft and that these perspectives focus on different parameters to either maximise or minimise.

The first perspective is the airport itself. The second is that of the airlines or the companies operating the actual aircraft.

"From the airport's perspective, the runway throughput is the most important, so they want to quickly send out as many aircraft as possible," said Binghamton University Associate Professor Sang Won Yoon.

"From the airline company's perspective, they just want to minimise the delay," Yoon said.

The airport tries to choose a schedule based on which one allows the most aircraft to leave in a given period, while the airlines want to minimise the amount of time the aircraft spends at an airport.

The researchers decided to take into account a third and often-overlooked perspective: the passengers.

Passenger delay costs can take many forms. The delay costs can represent things like missed connections or the cost associated with rebooking or compensation.

"Time is a cost, but airline companies also have to reroute passengers. If they miss the flight, then they have to schedule a new flight or provide a voucher.

"There are also immeasurable costs, like missing a call with your family, or a business meeting," said Yoon.

In the researchers' models, these inconveniences were captured by their classification of three types of delay costs: passenger delays, passenger missed connections and additional operating costs.

Two models were developed and tested under various air traffic scenarios and compared against three other commonly used scheduling methods.

One of the models that took the passengers' perspective into account displayed the overall lowest airline and passenger delay cost, reducing the costs by a minimum of 6.4 per cent compared to the other methods.

It was also able to reduce the number of flight delays by 8.6-65.4 per cent when compared to two of the other reference models, and performed similarly to the third reference model.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The NIA Wednesday filed a charge sheet against pro-Pakistani separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat head Aasiya Andrabi and two of her associates for allegedly "waging war" against the country using social media and other Internet platforms, officials said.

In a statement, the NIA's spokesman said Andrabi, Sofi Fehmeeda and Naheeda Nasreen were using various media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TV channels including some in Pakistan to spread "insurrectionary imputations and hateful messages and speeches against India.

The Dukhtaran-E-Millat, which has been banned as a terrorist organisation, through Andrabi and others, openly advocates secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India and its merger with Pakistan through violent means.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nine officials, including two joint directors, of the Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Department have been suspended for irregularities in selecting firms for testing soil samples, UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi said Wednesday.

"Following complaints that the Central government's laid down norms on soil testing were not being followed by testing agencies, a probe was ordered and the complaints of irregularities were found true. As a result, nine officials of the Agriculture Department have been suspended," said the minister.

"Among the suspended officials, two are joint directors, five are deputy directors and two assistant directors," he added.

The minister said that instructions have also been issued to register FIRs against four firms for committing irregularities in submitting tenders for their selection as soil-testing agencies and getting their tenders passed in collusion with the erring officials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Wednesday said there was no change in the state government's stand on Tipu Jayanti and defended his absence at this year's celebration of birth anniversary of controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan.

It was not necessary for the Chief Minister to attend every programme, he told reporters here when asked about his absence at the celebration on November 10 held amid protests by the BJP.

"There is no agenda before our government to bring inany change with respect to celebration of Tipu Jayanti... there is no confusion,"he said amid reports that the government might drop the celebrations in view of 'differences' over it in the Congress-JDS coalition.

He hit out at BJP, without naming it, for creating "confusion" about Tipu Jayanti for the sake of

Kumaraswamy said BJP leaders' had participated in Tipu Jayanti when the party was in power.

Tipu Jayanti has been celebrated"smoothly" by this government, without giving chance for any untoward incident, he added.

Kumaraswamy skipped the main event of Tipu Jayanti held at the VidhanaSoudha, the state secretariat, citing advice by doctors totake rest for three days till November 11, while his deputy G Parameshwarawas reportedly in Singapore to visit an ailing seniorpolitician from the state.

Voices of disapproval started emerging from within the ruling coalition over Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister's absence, with Congress MLA Tanveer Sait termingit as an "insult" to Muslim community.

According to sources, several Congress leaders,especially those from the Muslim community, were also miffedover the top two leaders not attending the event.

Defending his absence from Tipu Jayanti celebrationson Saturday, Kumaraswamy questioned if it was necessary for a Chief Minister to attend every programme.

He said "it was a government programme, there will be representatives from the government, there will be ministers. There is nothing that the Chief Minister should participate...."



While in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questionedthe need for Tip Jayanti which was started by theprevious Siddaramaiah-led Congress government from 2015.

Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to avoid the event as he did not want to antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region,as Tipu Sultan along with his father Hyder Ali had seizedpower from the Maharajas of Mysuru, who are highly reveredthere.

On the arrest of a journalistfor allegedly making an inflammatory speech against TipuJayanti in Kodagu district, Kumaraswamy pleaded ignorance about the reason for the detention.

"I will seek information and react," he said.

Santosh Thammaiah employed with Kannada daily "Hosa Digantha" was arrested Monday night under Indian Penal Code section 295(A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings).

Thammaiah has been released on bail while the BJP condemned his arrest.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government told the Supreme Court Wednesday that no "sovereign guarantee" was given by the French government on the deal for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

The French government has however given a 'letter of comfort' to India which would be good enough 'governmental guarantee', Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

"There is no sovereign guarantee but there is a letter of comfort from France dated September 25, 2015 which says that if there is any exigencies, it would be taken care of by them (France)," Venugopal told the bench.

The issue of lack of sovereign guarantee was flagged by advocate Prashant Bhushan, who has filed a petition in the apex court along with former BJP veterans Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie seeking a court-monitored CBI investigation in the alleged criminality in the Rafale deal.

Bhushan claimed before the court that the Union Law Ministry had flagged two issues -- absence of sovereign guarantee by France and international arbitration clause in IGA as per which the arbitration seat would be at Geneva -- but despite that, the government went ahead with the deal.

Taking note of Bhushan's submissions, the bench asked Venugopal to clarify on these aspects.

"You can leave the aspect of arbitration but we need you to clarify your stand on sovereign guarantee by France," the bench told the Attorney General.

Bhushan has alleged that the government has by-passed the concerns flagged by the law ministry as Union of India was paying huge money but there was no guarantee that the aircrafts will be delivered.

The apex court has reserved its order on the pleas seeking CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in multi-billion 36 Rafale fighter jets deal with France.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An alleged notorious bovine smuggler was detained Wednesday under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Khadam Hussain, a resident of Behrote village of Thanamandi, has been booked and detained under the PSA for his repeated involvement in cases of bovine smuggling in the district, a police spokesperson said.

During a recent exercise, he said it came to fore that Hussain is involved in multiple cases of bovine smuggling in Rajouri and adjoining Poonch district.

A dossier was prepared by district police and the same was forwarded by Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri, Yougal Manhas to district magistrate who formally issued the order of his detention under the PSA, the spokesperson said.

He said a police team detained the accused who has been lodged in central Jail Kot Bhalwal Jammu.

The accused stands booked in three cases of bovine smuggling in the district, he said.

The spokesperson said detention of the accused under the PSA was need of the hour as he was becoming a threat to peaceful atmosphere in the district, especially with the panchayat elections beginning on November 17.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A member of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) on Wednesday accused the Jawaharlal Nehru University Administration of "stopping a Facebook Live" on Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary.

According to varsity officials, the programme was supposed to be held within 100-metre periphery of the varsity's administrative block, which would have been against the high court's ruling in 2017.

"We were not against the programme but the venue was not appropriate because of the high court directions and academic regulations," JNU registrar Pramod Kumar told PTI.

Last year, the Delhi High Court had asked the JNU students not to protest within 100 metres radius of the administrative block, which houses several offices, including that of the vice chancellor.

"#JNU_Admin #Stops a mere #facebook_live on Nehru !! On the birth Anniversary architect of Modern India, 14 November. I have got a warning letter from JNU admin. Do not dare to speak the Truth, (they subtlely meant, don't expose RSS). Iqbal's couplet seems quite relevant here," NSUI's presidential candidate for the 2016 students' union polls Sunny Dhiman posted on Facebook.

He also shared a letter from the varsity administration addressed to him. The Facebook Live was supposed to happen near the statue of Jawaharlal Nehru outside the administrative block.

"It has come to the notice of the Administration that a programme 'Nehru-Kya Sach Kya Jooth' is being organised by Ms Priya Kumari (page Admin) at Administrative Block, JNU, on November 14 at 4 pm and you are one of the speakers in the said programme," the letter addressed to Dhiman from JNU registrar Pramod Kumar said.

"You are requested not to address the said meeting as its venue falls in the close vicinity of Administrative Block, which is a prohibited area within the University campus for holding such activity. This is in violation of Academic Rules and Regulations Etc and also directives from the high court," it said.

According to Academic Rules, all the forms of coercion such as gheraos, sit-ins or any variation of the same which disrupts normal academic and administrative functioning of the university are prohibited.

"Hunger strikes, dharnas and other peaceful and democratic forms of protest & group bargaining shall be conducted with restrain, i.e at a distance of 100 meters away from the Administrative & Academic complexes," according to the Academic Rules.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 78-day-long standoff between lawyers and police was resolved amicably in the Orissa High Court here Wednesday as both the groups expressed regrets for their conducts and the developments that unfolded after an unsavoury incident on August 28.

Three policemen had allegedly assaulted a lawyer on August 28 after his car was involved in a series of road accidents.

While the policemen tendered "unconditional apology" for assaulting lawyer Debi Prasanna Patnaik at a marketplace on August 28, the High Court Bar Association president Srikant Naik on behalf of the lawyers fraternity also expressed regrets over the assault on a policeman inside the High Court premises on October 29.

The standoff was resolved in the court of Justice C R Dash, who on Monday had suggested this compromise formula to end the statewide lawyers strike. The strike had paralysed judicial activities in all courts and tribunals of the state.

Soon after the conciliation plan was worked out under the supervision of Justice Dash, the general body of the High Court Bar Association met and unanimously resolved to call off their strike.

"We will resume court works from Thursday," said the Association president calling upon all other bar associations of the state to follow suit.

Naik further said that the high court has formed a high-level committee headed by a retired judge of the high court to look into any disputes that may arise between police and lawyers in future. The committee will have senior lawyers, top policemen and bureaucrats. "The decision of the committee will be binding on both lawyers and policemen," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Wednesday reported more than nine-folds jump in net profit in the first half of current 2018-19 financial year on the back of higher output and prices.

Consolidated net profit in April-September at Rs 1,384 crore was 878 per cent more than Rs 142 crore net profit in the same period of the previous fiscal, the company said in a statement here.

OVL is not listed on bourses and so is not obliged to give out quarterly earning numbers.

The company had a consolidated net profit of Rs 981 crore in the entire 2017-18 fiscal (April 2017 to March 2018).

Crude oil production was 2.6 per cent higher at 4.9 million tonnes but natural gas output dipped marginally at 2.1 billion cubic meters.

The output was higher "mainly due to increased production from the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia and addition of production of Lower Zakum Concession in UAE which was acquired in March 2018," it said.

The profit was higher "mainly due to higher production, higher prices and exchange variation," it said without giving details.

OVL, which has 41 projects in 20 countries, said production from Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), South Sudan resumed after prolonged shutdown since December 2013.

First crude oil from Toma South field of South Sudan was pumped in late August. "Presently the field is flowing crude oil at about 15,000 barrels per day," the statement said.

Also, the first equity cargo of Das Blend crude produced from Lower Zakum Concession, UEA arrived at New Mangalore on June 8.

"This equity crude of OVL was refined at Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), and is another step in ensuring India's energy security needs," it said. "Total Das Blend equity oil purchased by MRPL from June to October is 2.38 million barrels."



OVL said a memorandum of understanding was signed with Rosneft of Russia and PetroVietam for exploration activities in Block 06.1, offshore Vietnam for exploration in deeper Clastic prospect.

It entered into a Cooperation Agreement with UzbekNefteGaz on September 28 to "jointly explore the possibilities to assess the potential opportunities in exploration blocks, under-development assets and producing fields/blocks located within the Republic of Uzbekistan and third countries pertaining to upstream sector," the statement added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has rebuffed criticism over her government's treatment of its ethnic Rohingya Muslims.

US Vice President Mike Pence told Suu Kyi on Wednesday that the violence, which led more than 700,000 of the country's Rohingya minority to flee for Bangladesh since August 2017, was "without excuse."



Pence also said Myanmar's arrests and convictions of two Reuters journalists was "deeply troubling" to millions of Americans.

Pence and Suu Kyi met on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore. Pence said the meeting was at Suu Kyi's request.

Suu Kyi said only Myanmar was in a position to explain what happened and how it saw things, just as Americans could best understand what is happening there.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for an early conclusion of a high-quality Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement that should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial to the people of all countries.

He also called on fellow RCEP leaders to give mandate to trade ministers and negotiators to take the economic grouping forward, said Sudhanshu Pandey, additional secretary, the commerce ministry, during a media briefing here.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated that India was committed to early conclusion of a high-quality, comprehensive and balanced regional economic partnership agreement, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The RCEP, involving 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) as well as China, Japan, Australia, India, New Zealand and South Korea, would cover about half the world's population and a third of its GDP.

The RCEP has concluded seven chapters of the total 16.

Prime Minister Modi noted that significant progress has been made in market access of negotiation for goods and called on similar efforts on services sectors.

"We need to make similar efforts to make progress in services negotiations as they constitute more than 50 per cent of the GDP of most of the RCEP countries. In future, services are going to be playing a very important role," he said at the RCEP meeting.

He also stressed that any such multilateral agreement which has diverse circumstances and developmental requirements should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial only then people of all countries will be benefited by such an agreement.

Responding to questions, Pandey said the Prime Minister has very clearly exhibited his support to the RCEP agreement and urged all leaders to give required mandate for "early conclusion" which means India is strongly committed to the RCEP.

Since the developmental circumstances of each country is different, therefore he urged that any multilateral agreement finalised should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial.

At the summit, the leaders of the 16 negotiating countries reviewed the progress that has been made in the negotiations of the RCEP.

The negotiations among the countries in the bloc have been ongoing since 2012.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday held separate bilateral meetings with the premiers of Singapore, Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

Prime Minister Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.

He became the first head of government to address the world's largest event on financial technology.

Prime Minister Modi first met his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, who is also the host of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

"PM @narendramodi met with Prime Minister of Singapore @leehsienloong on the sidelines of #EastAsiaSummit. Good exchange of views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Modi then held bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia Summit here.

"PM Narendra Modi met with PM of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," Kumar said.

The Prime Minister's Office said Modi's meeting with Australian premier Morrison was "fruitful".

Prime Minister Modi discussed cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security and connectivity with Thai premier Prayut, he said.

Modi also held a bilateral meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

During his visit to Singapore, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration among its members and other Asian states.

The ASEAN members are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DMK chief M K Stalin lashed out at Prime Minister Wednesday, saying he did not like socialism, democracy and secularism and also took potshots at his foreign trips, describing him as the "non-resident prime minister".

Stalin, who has sharpened his attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led regime at the Centre ever since he took over the reigns of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in August, targeted the prime minister while addressing a wedding event here.

"Modi does not like socialism, democracy and secularism. His thoughts are about (industrialists) Adani and Ambani. We have heard about a non-resident Indian, but Modi is the non-resident prime minister," he said.



ALSO READ: AIADMK blasts Rajinikanth for saying PM Modi seems strong in elections

The DMK chief said he would have not been bothered about Modi's "84 foreign trips", had they "fetched results and brought honour for the nation".

However, it had only led to an expenditure running into crores of rupees, he said.

Accusing the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu of having an unquestioning attitude in respect of the Centre, "be it implementing NEET or imposition of Hindi", Stalin claimed that this was the reason for its government's continuation in power.

He, however, did not elaborate on how and in what manner Hindi was thrust upon Tamil Nadu.



Stalin also hit out at the AIADMK government, saying its thoughts hovered around "commission, collection and corruption", a pet slogan and summary of his slew of charges against the incumbent regime.

"The time has come to end all such things," he said and exhorted the DMK cadre to work for the party's victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and for the polls to 20 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK leader reiterated that he would not be surprised if the Assembly election and the Lok Sabha polls were held simultaneously.



His remark was an apparent indication to the question of longevity the AIADMK government faced in view of the disqualification of the 18 ruling party MLAs backing Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T T V Dhinakaran.

The Madras High Court had recently upheld their disqualification and the debarred legislators had said they would not appeal against the verdict.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday held bilateral meetings with the premiers of Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

Prime Minister Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.

He became the first head of government to address the world's largest event on financial technology.

The prime minister held bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here.

"PM Narendra Modi met with PM of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"PM Narendra Modi met PM of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha on sidelines of EAS Summit. Cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security and connectivity were discussed," he said in another tweet.

The Prime Minister's Office said Modi's meeting with Morrison was "fruitful".

Modi also held bilateral meetings with global leaders, including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

During his visit to Singapore, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other Asian states.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence held talks on Wednesday on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The two leaders had "productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues" on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"Spoke about our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific & reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen security and counterterrorism cooperation and coordination," Pence tweeted after his meeting with Modi.

In a readout, Pence's office said he encouraged "free, fair, and reciprocal trade with India."



Briefing the reporters, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale later said it was a "very good" meeting.

"There was a sense of convergence both on bilateral issues and on global issues and we look forward to taking the relationship now in the coming months and in 2019," he said.

There was some discussion on the issue of terrorism. Pence referred to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly Mumbai terror attack on November 26 and hailed cooperation between the two sides on counter terrorism, Gokhale said.

Modi thanked Pence and reminded him that in one way or another all the traces and all the leads in the global terror attacks ultimately leads to a "single source and single place of origin", without naming any country or organisation.

"He (Modi) did point out that the mainstreaming of people involved in the Mumbai attacks in a political process which has taken place in the recent elections in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to the two countries - India and US - but to international community," Gokhale said, referring to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the July 25 elections in Pakistan.

"There was some good understanding of the areas of how we move forward in building cooperation on counter terrorism and both countries recognised that this is a challenge which we have to fight together and to fight along with the rest of the international community," Gokhale said.

On bilateral issues, the two sides had brief discussions on trade related matters.

"We agreed that in a new relationship we are building with the US where trade is expanding we need to find ways in which we can help that process to take place," he said.

Prime Minister Modi said that in the last two years - since President Donald Trump has assumed office - American exports to India have grown by 50 per cent and it is perhaps one of the countries, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the US has a trade deficit where the deficit has actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year, Gokhale said.

"There was a lot of discussions on energy. This is a new sector in Indo-US relations. We have begun importing oil and gas from US worth about USD 4 billion this year. We expressed our readiness to import more oil and gas from US as a way of expanding our trade," he said.

The defence sector was another area of cooperation between the two sides.

"Both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defense relationship, in our imports of equipment from the US but Prime Minister in particular stressed that there was a great opportunity for US in India in making defense equipment and setting up defense industry in India. Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region," Gokhale said.

Prime Minister Modi said Indians when they come to the US not only bring their talent and capacity to innovate, capacity to excel but also they are imbued in democratic values. "And in that context the Prime Minister therefore expressed the hope that this would be the approach that US might take when it looks at the whole issue of the H-1B visa," Gokhale said.

Pence acknowledged that India had made substantial progress economically as well as diplomatically in regional and international affairs, Gokhale said.

Pence felt that India is a positive factor in regional and international relations and said US looks forward to working with India on various issues both on political and economic sides to ensure that "we have a fair rules-based international order", he said.

The two sides "agreed that on the international forums, we should on the basis of the shared values build up a possible cooperation in a number of areas".

The Indo-Pacific region also come up for discussion and Modi referred to his June speech in Singapore at IISS Shangrila Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision on Indo-Pacific.

He conveyed to Pence that his vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that "we should utilise the forthcoming East Asia summit to further build on that," Gokhale said, amid China flexing its muscles in the East and South China Seas.

Pence spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific. He felt that India's contribution in ensuring this would be important and "we then discussed how both sides can strengthen cooperation in this area to ensure that this is an area of growth, of prosperity, of development and of benefit for the countries of the region in the future," Gokhale said.

Pence thanked India in supporting the US on its North Korean pressure campaign.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pitching India as the "best" investment destination for global tech giants, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday the country was experiencing a digital revolution of unprecedented speed and scale that has enabled the financial inclusion of 1.3 billion Indians.

In his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival, the world's largest event on financial technology, Modi said the technology has transformed governance and delivery of public services in India and unleashed innovation, hope and opportunities.

"Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world and it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives," Modi, the first head of government to deliver the keynote address, said as he began his two-day visit to Singapore.

"With the power of Fintech and the reach of digital connectivity, we have started a revolution of unprecedented speed and scale. To begin with financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities called Aadhaar or foundation - in just a few years," he said.

Modi said technology has empowered the weak and brought into mainstream those who were on the margins.

"It has made economic access more democratic," he said.

"With our Jan DhanYojana, we aimed to give a bank account to every Indian. In three years, we have opened 330 million new bank accounts. These are 330 million sources of identity, dignity and opportunities. Less than 50 per cent of Indians had bank accounts in 2014; now, it is nearly universal," he said.

Modi said more than a billion biometric identities, more than a billion bank accounts and more than a billion cell phones give India by far the biggest public infrastructure in the world.

Modi said the festival was an acknowledgement of the financial revolution sweeping through India.

"This is an event of finance and technology and, it is also a festival. It is also a celebration of belief. Belief in the spirit of innovation and the power of imagination. Belief in the energy of youth and their passion for change. Belief in making the world a better place," Modi said.

The festival, which is in its third year, drew as many as 30,000 participants from over 100 countries in 2017.

The event involves a three-day conference, and exhibition of Fintech firms and capabilities, a global competition of Fintech solutions and a platform for matching entrepreneurs and investment capital.

Modi said the festival was a tribute to the youth of India with its eyes firmly fixed to the future.

"Financial inclusion has become reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities- Aadhaar or foundation- in just a few years," Modi said at the event.

"The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And, it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives," Modi said.

He said India is a nation of diverse circumstances and challenges.

"Our solutions must also be diverse. Our digitisation is a success because our payment products cater to everyone," he said.

"The Indian story shows six great benefits of Fintech: Access, inclusion; connectivity; ease of living; opportunity; and, accountability," the prime minister said at the event.

This enormous talent pool in India benefits from the ecosystem created by initiatives such as Digital India and Startup India, and by supportive policies, incentives and funding programmes, Modi said.

"It also helps that India has the largest data consumption in the world and the cheapest rates for data. And one of the top nations in Fintech adoption. So, I say this to all the Fintech companies and startups India is your best destination," Modi said.

"The economies of scale achieved in India by the LED bulb industry allowed this energy efficient technology to become more affordable globally. Likewise, India's vast market can enable Fintech products to achieve scale, reduce risks and costs, and go global," he said.

Modi also launched APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a global Fintech platform with Deputy PM of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam after his address at the event.

"APIX will eventually connect our companies to financial institutions globally," he said.

Modi said the digital technology was introducing transparency and eliminating corruption through innovations such as the Government e-Marketor GEM.

"There is an explosion of Fintech innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading Fintech and Startup nation in the world. The future of Fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India," he said at the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.

Modi said it was a "great honour" for him to to be address the festival.

"We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. From desktop to cloud, from Internet to social media, from IT Services to Internet of Things, we have come a long way in short time," he said.

"Just as India will learn from others, we will share our experience and expertise with the world. Because, what drives India also holds hope for others. And, what we dream for India is what we also wish for the world. This is a common journey for all," Modi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Theresa May will face a major showdown with her Cabinet ministers on Wednesday as the UK's withdrawal agreement with the European Union enters a crucial stage.

Downing Street has said that the UK and the EU have agreed an initial draft agreement on the negotiating terms for Britain's exit, the so-called divorce settlement, from the economic bloc by March next year.

Theresa May now has the tough task of convincing her deeply divided Cabinet that the agreement is the best possible outcome for Britain.

"The negotiations for our departure are now in the endgame. And we are working extremely hard, through the night, to make progress on the remaining issues in the withdrawal agreement, which are significant," May had said in a speech earlier this week.

"Both sides want to reach an agreement. But what we are negotiating is immensely difficult. I do not shy away from that," she said, hours before it emerged that Brussels was ready to publish a 500-page document of the withdrawal agreement once May is able to get her Cabinet on board.

On one of the most contentious aspects of the negotiations, the EU has reportedly dropped its demand for Northern Ireland to remain in the economic bloc's Customs Union as a "back stop" until a future trade deal is signed.

However, Prime Minister May is believed to have agreed that the region can remain more closely aligned to the EU regulations in some areas than the rest of the UK.

The deal will involve a two-year transition until 2021, followed by a UK-wide Customs Union "backstop" in the event that the Irish border issue cannot be resolved during that period.

While the full details of the agreement are yet to be published, leading Brexiteers and even some pro-Remain MPs of the ruling Conservative Party have called on ministers to reject the deal as unacceptable.

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), on whom May relies for her majority in the House of Commons, has warned that the agreement could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

An embattled May hosted one-on-one briefings with her ministers in Downing Street on Tuesday ahead of the full Cabinet meeting expected to last around three hours later on Wednesday.

Some key pro-Brexit ministers, including international development secretary Penny Mordaunt and work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, are being named as possible members of her Cabinet who might resign in protest and possibly even pave the way for a leadership challenge against May.

But May is thought to have won the support of five key ministers foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, home secretary Sajid Javid, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, environment secretary Michael Gove, and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.

If the Cabinet ends up signing off on the deal, the European Commission is expected to publish the details of the agreement alongside a much shorter declaration on future economic and security relations, which still need to be fully thrashed out.

Ambassadors from the remaining 27 EU member states will then discuss the possibility of organising an emergency summit later this month, earmarked for November 25, to sign off on it.

However, then the UK government faces a battle to win Parliament's backing on the divorce agreement, with some Tories already vowing to vote against it and the Democratic Unionist Party DUP's support being uncertain.

The crucial leg of the Brexit negotiations this week follows months of wrangles, with transport minister Jo Johnson becoming the latest minister to step down over the issue last week.

He followed in the footsteps of his brother Boris Johnson, who resigned as foreign secretary a few months ago and David Davis, who stepped down as Brexit secretary.

These ministers have vehemently opposed the withdrawal agreement and called on fellow Tory MPs to oppose it.

"This is just about as bad as it could possibly be," Boris said, calling on ministers to reject the deal.

"This is the moment of truth. This is the fork in the road. Do we pursue a future as an independent nation or accept EU domination, imprisonment in the Customs Union and second class status. Cabinet and all Conservative MPs should stand up, be counted and say no to this capitulation," Davis said.

But Conservative Party Chief Whip Julian Smith, in charge of party discipline, has said he is "confident" the deal would pass.

This critical stage of negotiations will determine the final stages of Britain's formal exit from the EU on March 29, 2019, after the June 2016 referendum in favour of Brexit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Infrastructure firm PNC Infratech Wednesday said its standalone net profit jumped over two-folds to Rs 35.11 crore during the quarter ended September 30, helped by higher income.

The company had clocked Rs 16.65 crore net profit during the corresponding period a year ago, it said in a filing to the BSE.

Its total income rose over two-folds to Rs 564.72 crore during July-September, from Rs 273.77 crore in the year-ago period.

The firm's expenses during the quarter also increased to Rs 519.96 crore, compared with 254.99 crore a year ago.

PNC Infratech Managing Director Chakresh Jain had earlier said that the company had received about Rs 60 crore as bonus from the Uttar Pradesh government for early completion of a section of the Agra-Lucknow expressway, he said.

Another bonus of Rs 34 crore was received from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for early completion of two-laning work of the 166.44 km Raebareli-Jaunpur section of NH-231.

Having presence in over 10 states of India, PNC Infratech provides end-to-end infrastructure implementation solutions that include engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services on a fixed-sum turnkey basis as well as on item rate basis.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With police officers admitting that youths were once again joining the outlawed ULFA(I), it has been proved that the BJP-led government in the state has failed to protect the interest of the state, opposition leader in Assam assembly Debabrata Saikia said Wednesday.

Police officers have recently admitted that growing public sentiment against the Centre's move to amend the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 has given a "fresh lease of life" to ULFA (Independent) that has started recruiting youths again, Saikia said in a statement.

The police officers included state DGP (Special Branch), Tinsukia superintendent of police and others, the senior Congress leader said.

"The admission by senior police officials is nothing short of a confirmation of the Sarbananda Sonowal-led Assam government's failure to protect Assam's interests and its tendency to betray people," he said.

ULFA's popularity had gradually waned during the past decade-and-a-half when the Congress was in power but the Narendra Modi government's decision to table the controversial bill and Sonowal administration's failure to oppose it are leading a section of young boys and girls to take up arms again, Saikia said.

The proposed amendment to the Citizenship Bill, 1955 seeksto grant citizenship to people from minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 even if they don't possess any proper document.

A large section of people and organisations in the Northeast have opposed the bill, saying it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971 as the cut off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.

Dwindling employment opportunities and stagnation of development activities like the MGNREGA are also creating frustration and resentment among the youths, who are moving towards the ULFA (Independent), he said.

Saikia cautioned that Assam would slide back to the days of violence and lack of development if the government led by Sonowal does not take immediate steps to stop it.

Sonowal keeps talking about zero tolerance towards corruption but the chief minister is only engaged in superficial whitewashing, the opposition leader said.

"(Sonowal) has been unable to muster the courage to conduct a CBI inquiry into the widespread reports of several syndicates operating in the state to smuggle coal, stone, sand, dried areca nut among others," he added.

Similarly, the CM has remained a spectator to the woes of the health sector, including crib deaths in medical colleges of Barpeta and Jorhat and supply of contaminated medicines which was admitted by the government in the House, Saikia said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) O P Rawat said Wednesday that proceedings at 14,000 polling booths in Madhya Pradesh will be 'webcast'.

Webcasting refers to live broadcasting through the Internet.

The measure was being taken as part of efforts to ensure free and fair elections, he said.

Talking to reporters here at the end of his two-day tour of Madhya Pradesh where Assembly elections will be held on November 28, Rawat said the Election Commission has made arrangements to webcast polling process at 14,000 booths.

During the visit, Rawat held meetings in Indore and Bhopal to review poll preparations, and also met representatives of political parties.

CEC said some political parties suggested that recounting should be conducted by default if the victory margin is less than one thousand.

They also demanded installation of CCTV cameras at all polling booths so that persons who vote for more than once can be identified, he said.

To a question about deployment of government employees having affiliation with social or religious organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Rawat said, "There is no legal issue. This depends on subjective satisfaction of the Election Commission as to whether a person can affect the conduct of free and fair election.

"The commission can take a call, if it has any confirmed information that a particular person can affect the election process," he said.

For the first time in Madhya Pradesh, the EC would appoint 'accessibility observers' who will help differently-abled persons at polling booths, Rawat said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy led the Union Territory in paying rich tributes to the first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru on his 129th birth anniversary Wednesday.

Political leaders, ministers, MLAs and freedom fighters were among those who paid floral tributes at the statue of the leader here.

PCC president and PWD Minister A Namassivayam was among those who paid floral tributes at the portrait of Nehru at a function held on the premises of the PCC earlier.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Damali Mukhaye.

Kampala Lord Mayor Erais Lukwago has warned the technical wing against what he calls over taxing city dwellers to cover up the shortfall in their 2019/2020 budget.

This is after government allocated only 371 billion shillings to the authority out of a projected budget of over Shs 950, leaving a shortfall of over 600 billion.

According to Lukwago, the technical wing should not over burden the residents of Kampala but instead utilize the limited funds to cover priorities like drainage channels, market and roads.
Delhi PWD Minister Satyendar Jain Wednesday held a meeting with his department and directed the officials to carry out repair work of roads in the city on "war-footing", an official said.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had Tuesday written to Jain, directing the Public Works Department to repair all its roads by December 15 following complaints about potholed arterial roads.

The official said, "Jain has directed the department to carry out repair work of roads on war-footing."



The official said that various teams at zonal levels will be formed to fix the city's arterial roads adding that apart from this, officers have been directed to float tenders whatever required to carry out the practice.

The chief minister Tuesday said that a team of local residents along with area legislator will inspect particular roads after December 16 and engineers concerned will be held responsible if potholes found at any stretch.

"We have also made a plan to click the pictures of potholed arterial roads before the repair work and once roads are fixed, pictures of the same will be sent to the CM and minister," official said.

The PWD owns around 1,260-km roads in the national capital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A quack in Nadia district was arrested for the death of a pregnant woman who had gone to him to abort the foetus, police said on Wednesday.

Aparna Majumder, a 35-year-old homemaker and a mother of two minor boys, went to the chamber of Sushant Poddar at Majdia on Monday seeking to medically terminate her pregnancy.

He prescribed her some medicines and after taking them, she complained of high fever, vomiting and abdominal pain.

She visited the chamber again the next day with her husband and the quack pushed two injections and sent her home, police said.

However, her condition turned serious and, when contacted by her husband, Poddar advised him to take her to a hospital.

She was declared brought dead at the Krishnaganj Rural Hospital.

The quack visited her home Tuesday and allegedly offered money to hush up the incident.

However, someone had informed the police and he was arrested.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rajasthan's former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Sachin Pilot on Wednesday declared that they both will contest the December 7 assembly election, firing up the race for the chief minister's post in the state where the party is seeking to wrest power from the BJP.

Sources said the leadership contest in Rajasthan Congress will now intensify with both main contenders throwing their hat in the ring.

Gehlot and Pilot, however, dismissed suggestions that there was any infighting among the state leaders and asserted that they will unitedly take on the BJP.

The two leaders ended the speculation over whether they will contest the polls at a joint press conference here at the Congress headquarters, where the party announced the joining of BJP MP Harish Chandra Meena from Dausa in Rajasthan.

While Gehlot is a sitting MLA from Sardarpura in Jodhpur district, Pilot has never contested the state assembly polls.

"The talk about division within the Congress is a conspiracy by the BJP which has also been exposed in last two months. There is no division in the party and all leaders will unitedly contest the upcoming election.

"Sachin Pilot ji and I will contest the assembly election, as well as all other senior leaders in the state who wish to contest," Gehlot told reporters.

He was asked about the delay by the Congress in announcing candidates and reports that claimed that infighting among the top state leaders over distribution of tickets was responsible for it.

Filing of nomination papers in Rajasthan started on Monday and will continue till November 19.

On the issue of chief ministerial candidate, Gehlot said since independence the Congress has never declared its chief ministerial face in Rajasthan and the party is happy to carry on this tradition. He also asserted there is discipline in the party and all Congressmen will abide by the party leadership's decision.

Speaking in the same vein, Pilot told reporters, "There is no division in the party in the state and all the leaders are united in the bid to defeat the BJP with a thumping majority."



"I want to make it clear that after Rahul Gandhi's direction and Ashok Gehlot's request, I will also contest the Assembly election. Gehlot sahib will also contest and all of us will together help the Congress emerge victorious with a thumping majority and defeat the BJP in Rajasthan," he said.

Pilot had earlier been an MP from Dausa in 2004. He won from Ajmer in 2009 Lok Sabha election. He unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Ajmer in 2014. He, however, did not contest the bye-election to the seat earlier this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Air Force (IAF) officers on Wednesday emphasised in the Supreme Court the need for induction of 'four plus or fifth' generation fighter aircraft like Rafale, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities.

Top IAF officers -- Air Vice Marshall J Chalapati, Air Marshal Anil Khosla and Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari -- had to rush to the apex court at short notice after a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it wished to interact with IAF officers as the controversy over the Rafale deal concerns them.

They told the bench that Sukhoi 30s is the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and said the IAF does not have fourth or fifth generation aircraft.

The bench expressed its wish to interact with the officers when Attorney General K K Venugopal commenced his arguments on behalf of the Centre.

He was opposing the pleas for a CBI probe into the 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

"We are dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue," the bench said in the pre-lunch session.

Chalapati, who appeared before the bench also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph, answered all the questions asked by the CJI about the induction of fighter jets by India.

He said the country needs the fifth generation aircraft, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities.

The CJI asked Chalapati the first question, "What is the latest induction to IAF?"



Chalapati replied that it is Sukhoi Su-30MKI, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Nashik in Maharashtra and Bangalore in Karnataka.

He said that IAF is getting new Su-30MKI aircraft each year.

The CJI then asked Chalapati that besides Su-30MKI, which aircraft are being manufactured in India.

The officer said that he himself is a pilot and has special liking for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being built in Bangalore but is yet to be inducted into IAF.

The CJI also asked the officer which generation aircraft are the LCA and Su-30MKI.

Chalapati said there is no clear definition of generation and as he has flied the LCA which according to him is three and half generation aircraft.

He said both LCA and Su-30MKI are three and half and fourth generation aircrafts respectively but the requirement of IAF at present is of four plus or fifth generations aircrafts.

The CJI asked does it mean that IAF currently requires few squadrons of fourth and fifth generation aircrafts.

Chalapati replied in affirmative and said, "the fifth generation aircraft have niche stealth technology and the electronic warfare capabilities are very very enhanced".

The CJI Gogoi then asked Chalapati was there any induction made in IAF after Mirage in 1985.

The officer replied in negative which led CJI to observe: "It means since 1985 to 2018 there is zero induction".

The CJI said it is all that they wanted to know from the officials and later asked them to go back to their offices after nearly half an hour saying, "Air Marshalls can now leave. This is a different kind of war room and you all can go to your war rooms. Thank You".

The bench then continued with the arguments on the validity of Rafale jets deal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court Wednesday said a discussion on the pricing of Rafale fighter jets can only take place if the facts of the deal are allowed to come into the public domain.

The apex court, which began its hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, also said it was dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to hear from an Air Force officer and "not the official of the Defence Ministry".

"The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not," a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said.

The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, told Attorney General K K Venugopal that there is no question of any debate on pricing without making the facts public.

The bench clarified that any discussion on price will be considered if it thinks the issue should enter the public domain.

The top court also sought the assistance of an Air Force officer on the issue.

"We are dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer on Rafale jets. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue," the bench said when the attorney general began his arguments on behalf of the Centre in the pre-lunch session.

In his arguments, Venugopal defended the secrecy clause relating to the pricing of the Rafale jets, saying adversaries may get an advantage if the entire details are disclosed.

Refusing to divulge details on the pricing aspect, he said he would not be able to assist the court further on the pricing issue.

"I decided not to peruse it myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible," Venugopal said.

The bench then told him there is no question of any debate on pricing without making the facts public.

Venugopal said these matters are for experts to deal with. "We have been saying that even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of the jets," he said.

At the exchange rate of November 2016, the cost of a bare fighter jet was Rs 670 crore, he said.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

Venugopal said the earlier jets were not intended to be loaded with the requisite weapons system and the government had reservations as it did not want to violate the Inter Government Agreement (IGA) and the secrecy clause.

The hearing saw Venugopal opposing advocate Prashant Bhushan who wanted to submit information on the secrecy clause of the Rafale agreement.

"Secrecy agreement has to be secret and how is he producing it in court?" Venugopal asked when Bhushan raised the issue.

Bhushan, appearing on behalf of himself and former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, alleged that the government was hiding behind the secrecy clause and had not disclosed the price of the fighter jets.

The CJI told Bhushan, "We are giving you full hearing. Use this opportunity carefully and cite only those things which are necessary."



Bhushan said the price per aircraft was 155 million Euros and was now 270 million Euros. This shows that there was hike of 40 per cent in its price, the advocate said.

He said the CBI was bound to register an FIR in this case.

The lawyer alleged that there was a conspiracy with French company Dassault, which granted the offset right to Reliance Defence.

He said Reliance had no competence in executing the offset contract.

Bhushan said they filed the petition after the CBI did not register the FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

He also quoted former French president Franois Hollande and other Dassault officials to impute criminal motives in granting the offset contract to Reliance.

The activist-lawyer submitted that the NDA government had "short circuited" the acquisition process by taking the IGA route.

He said there was no sovereign guarantee from the French government in the deal and argued that the Union Law ministry initially flagged the issue and later gave in to the proposal of entering into an IGA.

Six foreign companies had applied and two firms were shortlisted during the earlier process, Bhushan said.

Later, the deal went to Dassault and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd was part of it. Suddenly, however, a statement was issued which said there will be no technology transfer, and only 36 jets would be procured, the lawyer told the court.

Bhushan submitted that nobody knows about the alleged change in the deal done by the prime minister. Even the defence minister was not aware about the change, he said.

Advocates M L Sharma, Vineet Dhanda and AAP MP Sanjay Singh, also advanced their arguments.

Reliance in previous statements has said the Indian government, French government, Dassault and Reliance have clarified on multiple occasions there was no offset contract for Rs 30,000 crore to Reliance as alleged by the Congress.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be exposed if an inquiry was conducted into the Rafale fighter jets deal.

Addressing a poll rally at Bhilai in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, he also said the country could not be run by one man or one party, but the "arrogant" prime minister did not understand this.

Gandhi targeted both Modi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh over alleged scams under the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) rule.

"Modiji snatched the contract of the Rafale fighter jets from the State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and gave it to (industrialist) Anil Ambani. Under the UPA deal, 126 aircraft were to be purchased and the cost of each was Rs 526 crore.

"Modi went to France with his delegation comprising Anil Ambani and struck a deal to purchase the aircraft for Rs 1,600 crore apiece," he said.

"The deal has been given to Anil Ambani, who formed a (defence) company just a few days ago. Ambani has never made an aircraft. He had not even manufactured mobile phones because they were made in China and he (his group's telecom arm) just sold them," Gandhi said.

"It is the truth that the chowkidar (watchman, referring to Modi) gifted a deal worth Rs 30,000 crore to Ambani," he alleged.

"The day an inquiry is ordered into the Rafale scam, two names will surface -- Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani. This was the reason Modiji removed the CBI chief (Alok Verma) at 2 in the night," Gandhi said.

"Modiji had urged the people to make him the chowkidar of the country and not the prime minister. But now, he is doing chowkidari for Anil Ambani (and fugitive businessmen) Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya," he added.

Both the government as well as Ambani have denied the allegations of corruption and favouritism in the Rafale deal.

The Congress chief also targeted the prime minister over his "sleeping elephant" remark during the Independence Day speech, saying he had insulted the people of the country.

"Modiji said when he became the prime minister, the elephant was sleeping, which meant this country of crores of people, farmers, labourers and youth was sleeping and Modi woke them up in 2014.

"By making such comments, he has insulted you, the workers of the Bhilai Steel Plant who have worked here since 1955," he said.

"This country is not run by one man or one party, it is the citizens who run this country with their blood and sweat. But the prime minister cannot understand this. He is so arrogant that he cannot see the development that had taken place (before the BJP rule) in the country," the Congress chief said.

He added that there were "two Indias" -- one of the rich people like Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and another of the common people.

"If you do not want to waive the loans of farmers, you should not do so for the rich as well. For a handful of rich, whose non-performing assets total Rs 12 lakh crore, loans of Rs 3.5 lakh crore have been waived," Gandhi said.

He also targeted the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh over the alleged chit fund scam, civil supply scam and the allegations against the chief minister's son, Abhishek Singh.

"Chit fund companies committed a fraud of Rs 5,000 crore under the protection of the Raman Singh government. People's hard-earned money was snatched. Sixty people lost their lives, but no action was taken," Gandhi alleged.

"Even Pakistan's (former) prime minister (Nawaz Sharif) has been jailed for the Panama Papers scandal but no action has been taken against Raman Singh's son Abhishek Singh, who was named in the Panama Papers," he said.

The BJP has denied these allegations in the past.

Gandhi concluded his two-day campaign in Bhilai Wednesday, ahead of the second phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls on November 20.

The first phase of polling was held on November 12 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.)
A gang of robbers shot dead a man and thrashed his brother when they resisted an attempt to loot their house in Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh, police said Wednesday.

The gang entered the house in Baimyana village in the Bhamaura area on Tuesday night.

As the family members raised an alarm, the gang shot dead Chaman (38) and thrashed his brother Naseemuddin (45), the police said.

Naseemudding suffered injuries.

On hearing gun shots, neighbours came out and nabbed two members of the gang, while the rest managed to flee.

The duo, identified as Naved and Acchan, were handed over to the police.

Attempts were on to nab other members of the gang, said Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Charges and counter charges flew thick and fast during the high-voltage hearing in the Supreme Court Wednesday on the pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal.

The proceedings saw trading of charges between the Centre and the petitioners, who questioned the authority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in inking the pact with France to import Rafale fighter jets.

The arguments before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi were made two days after the government had told the apex court that it had "completely followed" Defence Procurement Procedure laid out in 2013 and approval of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was secured before the deal was inked with France.

Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who along with former BJP veterans Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie has filed a plea in the matter, alleged that there was a "gross violation" of procedure in the deal which warranted a CBI investigation.

Questioning the inking of Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and France for purchase of 36 Rafale jets, Bhushan claimed it was done only to circumvent the mandatory requirement of issuing tenders for defence procurement under the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Attorney General K K Venugopal vehemently opposed the submissions and denied any violation in the deal. He said IGA was necessary to meet the urgent requirement of the IAF to get 36 advanced fighter aircrafts for two squadrons of the force.

Venugopal also raised serious objection to Bhushan's arguments on secrecy pact between India and France saying, "Secrecy agreement has to be secret and how is he producing it in court?".

To this, the CJI told Bhushan, "We are giving you full hearing. Use this opportunity carefully and cite only those things which are necessary."



Bhushan alleged that the government's contention that IGA would help in getting delivery of fighter jets soon was "wrong" and "bogus" as the first aircraft would be delivered next year and it would go on till October 2022.

"The matter of 36 Rafale planes had never gone to the Indian Air Force (IAF). Now, they have issued tenders for 110 more planes. Who took the decision to procure 36 jets instead of 126 (as required by the IAF)? How the Prime Minister announced it? He has no authority to say or decide this," Bhushan claimed before the bench, which also comprised justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

The government, he alleged, has not disclosed that under the defence procurement procedure, there were only three conditions in which an IGA route could be resorted to for such deals.

Detailing the three conditions, Bhushan claimed that IGA could be entered into only if an equipment of proven technology was identified by forces in joint exercises, large value weapon platform was available at a much lesser price and the original equipment manufacturer was facing an embargo on sale.

"None of the three conditions were satisfied in this deal," he alleged and referred to the two issues flagged by the Law Ministry -- absence of sovereign guarantee by France and international arbitration clause in the IGA as per which the arbitration seat would be at Geneva.

On the aspect of pricing details of Rafale jets, Venugopal said it could not be made public due to the secrecy clause in the agreement and moreover, the disclosure would give advantage to India's adverseries.

"I decided not to peruse it (pricing details) myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible," he said.

Venugopal said these matters are for experts to deal with. "We have been saying that even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of the jets," he said.

The bench told him there was no question of any debate on pricing unless the court decides to make them public.

Veteran journalist and former union minister Arun Shourie also addressed the court and claimed that he has perused the details pertaining to the Rafale deal with Dassault Aviation.

He also claimed that former defence minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier said in an interview that 126 Rafale jets would cost around Rs 90,000 crore and the decision to procure 36 jets was made by the Prime Minister as a result of political discussions between him and the then French President.

He alleged that a Reliance firm, which came into being days before inking of the deal, has been given the contract of being the Indian offset partner of Dassault.

"Dassault has experience from 1929. It would never have a company here (as offset partner) and that too, one registered a few days earlier," Shourie claimed, adding that the Reliance firm has no experience in defence manufacturing.

Reliance in previous statements has said the Indian government, French government, Dassault and Reliance have clarified on multiple occasions there was no offset contract for Rs 30,000 crore to Reliance as alleged by the Congress.

Besides Bhushan and Shourie, advocates M L Sharma and Dheeraj Singh and senior advocate Sanjay Hegde also advanced arguments in the case for the petitioners.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A teacher of a private school in Sikkim's East District was arrested by police for allegedly sexually assaulting a six-year-old-girl, a police officer said Wednesday.

The teacher was arrested on Tuesday night after the parents of the girl lodged a complaint at Pakyong police station against him, the officer said.

A case under various sections of the IPC and also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was registered against the accused teacher, he said.

The girl was staying in the school's hostel and the accused teacher who was also the hostel in-charge had been sexually assaulting her for many months, the officer said quoting the complaint lodged by the parents of the girl.

The girl narrated her ordeal to her elder sister who then informed their parents about it. The parents lodged a complaint at the Pakyong police station, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Wednesday said it was sensible of BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav to clear the air about government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is under governor's rule since June.

The former chief minister was reacting to Madhav's statement that the BJP had decided the governor's rule should continue in the state for some more time.

"Sensible to clear the air about imminent government formation. There are far too many middle men and power hungry people trying to convince everyone in J&K that their entry in to the secretariat is imminent," Abdullah tweeted.

At a function in Kathua Tuesday night, Madhav had reportedly said that since the governor's rule was imposed in the state there had been development in all sectors.

"Even the public is happy. So, the party has decided that the governor's rule should continue for some more time," he had said.

Jammu and Kashmir was placed under the governor's rule on June 19 after the BJP pulled out of its coalition with the PDP and no alternative front staked claim for government formation.

However, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was placed in suspended animation, leaving doors open for efforts for fresh government formation.

As per the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the state would go under direct President's Rule on December 19 if the present situation continues.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seven persons including six students were injured when an LPG cylinder exploded in Dumka district Wednesday, police said.

The incident occurred on the first floor of a building at Baganpara locality where a small LPG cylinder exploded causing injuries to six student and a man this afternoon, said Officer-in-charge of Town police station, Debbrat Poddar.

Poddar said fire brigade personnel doused the flame. Police has recovered five small LPG cylinders from the building, he said.

District Civil Surgeon Dr Anant Kumar Jha said all the injured were rushed to Sadar Hospital, where they were admitted.

However, two seriously injured girl students were referred to other hospital for better treatment while four girl students and a man were shifted to burn unit of the Sadar Hospital, Jha said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed self-styled preacher Daati Maharaj's plea for review of its decision transferring probe into the rape case against him to the CBI.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao passed the order on Maharaj's plea seeking review of the court's October 3 order.

The court had on October 3 transferred the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the plea of a woman, who had alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the preacher.

The high court had said that the manner in which the probe was carried out by police "casts a shadow on the investigation".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With a healthy order book of over Rs 1 trillion, diversified Shapoorji Pallonji Group is eyeing Rs 45,000 crore of revenues this fiscal, a senior company official said.

The Group, which has grown at a CAGR of 22 per cent over the past five years, is also planning to enter new geographies and expects to grow at 20-22 per cent over the next two years.

"India's growth story is on track and a lot is happening on the infrastructure, renewable energy and housing fronts. We have also grown significantly over the past few years and our order book has reached a historic high of Rs 1.1 trillion," its group executive director Jai Mavani told PTI here.

He said the company had reported a turnover of Rs 40,000 crore in FY 2017-18 and and expects it to reach Rs 45,000 crore in FY 2018-19.

"Nearly 30-35 per cent of the order book is contributed from the international market. We are already present in Middle East, South East Asia, South America, Africa and want to enter new geographies including the US and Canada. Going forward, we may see the contribution increasing to 40 per cent, but our focus will always continue to be the home market," Mavani said.

Business wise, Mavani said the Group's construction division, which clocked revenues of Rs 8,000 crore is expected to to grow to Rs 12,000 crore in FY 2018-19.

He further said the solar division Sterling & Wilson Solar EPC is expecting revenues of around of Rs 10,000 crore in the current fiscal.

"The valuation of this business is between USD 3.5-4 billion as carried out by three investment bankers and we are in advanced stages of discussions with global investors for a strategic stake in Sterling & Wilson Solar EPC and a potential IPO," Mavani said.

The strategic stake sale is expected to bring in an additional amount of Rs 2,000 crore into the Group over the next few months, he added.

Commenting on the real estate business of the Group, Venkatesh Gopalkrishnan CEO of SP Real Estate, said the company has a development pipeline of over 80 million sq ft including an asset light model of development management projects of over 24 million sq ft, which have a fee potential of over Rs 4,000 crore over the next 5 years.

"We have successfully sold our IT Park in Pune and will consummate the sale of another in Chennai within the next one week. These two monetisations will yield an amount of Rs 1,300 crore for the Group with another Rs 600 crore of monetisations already contracted to be closed in the next 5 months," he said.

Gopalkrishnan further said the asset monetisation and strategic stake sale programme, as well fund infusions from the promoters of SP Group, will result in over Rs 3,000 crore being infused into the parent company of the Group over the next few months.

"This will help manage the growth. With a historically high group order book in excess of Rs 110,000 crore, with a global coverage, the SP Group is poised to continue with its profitable growth trajectory," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Social media users in Kashmir expressed their anger against the transfer of IGP Traffic Basant Kumar Rath and blamed Mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Junaid Mattu for government's decision to remove the highly popular IPS officer.

Rath, who is credited with streamlining the traffic system in Jammu and Kashmir in less than one year of being appointed as IGP Traffic, was shunted out Tuesday.

The government's decision came just four days after a Twitter spat between the IPS officer of 2000 batch and SMC mayor Junaid Mattu, leading to an outcry that he used his clout with the governor's administration to have him removed.

A Twitter user ran an online poll asking people to vote in favour of the person they support in this spat.

"They say, elected leader is more powerful than IAS/IPS. Let Kashmiris vote. Given a chance, who would they vote for?" Amit Tyagi, a frequent traveller to Kashmir, wrote in his post along with the poll.

Many users voted in favour of Rath.

Another user, naqeeyousuf1408, praised the IPS officer saying, "Maintaining law and order in J&K with respect to traffic problems a person single handedly overcame that , Now transferred #BasantRath #respect #we need officers like you."



Majidmalik40 tweeted that there was no space for Rath in "this #corrupted country".

One Mohsin Ahmed said, "Dear officer, Basant Rath @KangriCarrier, we salute you for being an honest and dedicated officer. Love you always and you'll always stay in our heart and our blessings are always with you.We are going to miss you sir."



Twitter user Shakeel Hamid said, "Cabbage unfolded his layers. #BasantRath #JunaidMattu."The tiff between the the SMC mayor and Rath began with the IPS officer hitting out at him for saying that wetlands in the city were not of much use if the city did not have proper infrastructure for expansion.

"What will you do in wetlands? Watch birds? There is a dearth of space and we need infrastructure for the city's growth. We are a poor state and have to create employment avenues," Mattu said in his maiden press conference soon after being elected mayor.

Without naming the mayor, Rath had responded on Twitter, "Wetlands are precious and a vital part of our ecosystem. Only a cabbage will think otherwise."



In another apparently related tweet, the IPS officer said, "Land grabbers don't make good policy makers. With or without a Twitter account."



A day later, the SMC mayor had tweeted about the traffic situation in the city.

"Have received numerous complaints about traffic mismanagement issues in the city. I have spoken to the SP Traffic (Urban) and sought a review of current traffic diversions and plans. The SMC has been directed to help with decongestion of alternate routes for some relief," he said.

Rath was quick to respond, saying traffic management was not the mayor's domain.

"Not your domain. Traffic diversion at Jehangir Chowk is a compulsion. The vendors have created a mess on Amira Kadal - HSHS - Maharaja Bazar - LD Hospital stretch. SMC needs to clear the mess," he replied to Mattu.

Known for his penchant for the unusual, the IPS officer would not wear his uniform while on duty and would spend most of the time on roads to monitor the traffic management done by his staff.

He invoked provisions of various laws and traffic rules to clear the pavements in Jammu and Srinagar cities, drawing protests from affected people but the general public was appreciative of his measures



His transfer was a shock that most of his fans were expecting sooner than later as they believed that he was the odd man out in the system which they alleged was corrupt and in inertia.

Rath was replaced by 1997 batch IPS officer Alok Kumar and attached with the office of Commandant General of Home Guards.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over 40 firms from across the country will showcase their latest defence technology related equipments during an expo at Jaipur military station on November 16.

South Western Army commander Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson will be the chief guest at the 'Wartech' which will be attended by senior officers of the Army and paramilitary forces, defence spokesperson Col Sombit Ghosh said on Wednesday.

He said the expo was being organised to provide an opportunity to experience developments in the field of defence and security-related technology and interact with firms dealing with these type of equipment.

"The day-long event will see over 40 firms from across the country showcasing their latest products to include radars, electro optical and night vision devices, security-related equipment, communication, fire fighting and humanitarian assistance-related equipment," he said.

Besides the civil firms, the Army units will also be displaying in house ideas and innovations during the expo.

"This being the maiden effort of its kind in the Sapta Shakti Command will be the stepping stone for similar and bigger events in the coming years," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A top police officer of Pakistan's Peshawar city has been found dead in Afghanistan, 18 days after he was abducted to the war-torn country by unidentified militants, authorities said Wednesday.

Superintendent of Police (Peshawar) Tahir Khan Dawar left his residence in Islamabad for an evening walk on October 27 but did not return home.

His mobile phone's last location was traced somewhere in Jhelum city of Punjab province. After being contacted, he said that he was fine and there was no threat to his life.

The Islamabad police had constituted various teams to trace him.

Peshawar city police in a statement said that the officer had been on a short leave to Islamabad to meet his family.

His abductors released a picture of him along with a letter of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's Khurasani group claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and the killing.

Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shaukat Yusafzai said that Dawar was ruthlessly killed by the abductors in Afghanistan. He was in captivity for 18 days.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry has confirmed the recovery of a body with the service card of Dawar.

The ministry has informed the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul that the body was found by local people in Dur Baba district of Nangarhar province Tuesday.

The body, being transferred to Jalalabad by the Afghan authorities, was yet to be received by the Consul General of Pakistan in Jalalabad. It would be subsequently transferred to Pakistan via Torkham border.

TTP Spokesman Muhammad Khalid khurasani has denied that Dawar was killed by the Taliban.

In a statement, he said that some journalists for cheap popularity attributed the murder of the Pakistani police officer to the TTP.

He said that the TTP has its own channels and websites to claim responsibility of any incident.

"We are not afraid of anyone," he said, warning the journalists of dire consequences for attributing fabricated to the TTP.

Though nobody claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and killing, the letter found along with the body carried the name of Wilayat Khorasan, which is used by the militants of the Islamic State (IS) for border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The letter claimed that Dawar arrested and killed several militants and warned other officials of the same fate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a major setback to Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against the government headed by his controversially-appointed Prime Minister

The Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when Sirisena sacked prime minister and suspended the Parliament plunging the island nation into a crisis.

Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, who was appointed by Sirisena as prime minister on October 26 in place of Wickremesinghe.

"According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority," Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard as Rajapaksa supporters disrupted the proceedings.

Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am Thursday.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa later told reporters that the Government clearly lost the floor test.

He said Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down as he does not have majority support in Parliament.

The unexpected session on Wednesday morning comes a day after the on Tuesday overturned President Sirisena's controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

In its ruling, the apex court had said Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President's decision next month before giving a final ruling.

After the court verdict, Speaker Jayasuriya summoned Parliament's session for Wednesday morning.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to instal Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as

While sacking prime minister Wickremesinghe, president Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid and domestic pressure against the move.

Major political parties, including the United National Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and an election commission member Ratnajeevan Hoole, on Monday dragged Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his decision by filing fundamental rights petitions against the move, which they said violated the Constitution.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election on January 5, plunging the country's into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that his sacking by Sirisena was unconstitutional and illegal and he was still the prime minister.

Wickremesinghe had demanded that Parliament be convened to hold a vote among the lawmakers to decide who enjoyed majority support in Parliament to be the Prime Minister.

As pressure grew and both sides claimed they had the numbers, the President dissolved Parliament and called for elections.

Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Sirisena on Sunday stoutly defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers. He said there were reports that politicians would clash during the floor test, which was due on November 14.

Rajapaksa, 72, who ruled Lanka for a nearly decades from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the held in January 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe's UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security. And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who was installed by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve Parliament and hold snap polls.

The Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when President Sirisena sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, installed Rajapaksa in his place and suspended the Parliament plunging the island nation into a constitutional crisis.

Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, the former strongman.

"According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority," Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard as Rajapaksa supporters disrupted the proceedings.

Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am Thursday.

Speaker Jayasuriya has officially written to President Sirisena asking him to take further constitutional action on the issue.

A copy of the motion with 122 signatures of Parliamentarians, who have expressed lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rajapaksa and his cabinet, has been sent to President Sirisena.

The Speaker's office said that the Speaker has requested the President to take the next step under the Constitution.

Speaking after the no-trust vote, ousted prime minister Wickremsinghe claimed that his government had been restored after extra constitutional action by President Sirisena to sack him as the premier.

"We will now take steps to ensure that the government in place before October 26 will continue. I wish to inform all government servants and police that you should not carry out illegal orders from the purported government that has failed to demonstrate the confidence of the people," he said.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa told reporters that the Government headed by Rajapaksa clearly lost the floor test.

He said Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down as he does not have majority support in Parliament.

However, Dinesh Gunawardena and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, both Rajapaksa's senior aides, said Speaker's action was illegal.

Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the floor test in Parliament was illegal and so Rajapaksa will continue as Prime Minister, further deepening the political crisis that has paralysed the government for nearly three weeks.

The Parliament session on Wednesday morning comes a day after the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisena's controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

In its ruling, the apex court had said Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President's decision next month before giving a final ruling.

After the court verdict, Speaker Jayasuriya summoned Parliament's session for Wednesday morning.

Sirisena had dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to install Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as premier.

While sacking prime minister Wickremesinghe, president Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move.

Major political parties, including the United National Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and an election commission member Ratnajeevan Hoole, on Monday dragged Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his decision by filing fundamental rights petitions against the move, which they said violated the Constitution.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election on January 5, plunging the country's into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that his sacking by Sirisena was unconstitutional and illegal and he was still the prime minister. He had demanded that Parliament be convened to hold a vote among the lawmakers to decide who enjoyed majority support in Parliament to be the Prime Minister.

As pressure grew and both sides claimed they had the numbers, the President dissolved Parliament and called for elections.

Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Sirisena on Sunday stoutly defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers. He said there were reports that politicians would clash during the floor test, which was due on November 14.

Rajapaksa, 72, who ruled Lanka for a nearly decades from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in January 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe's UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security. And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who was installed by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve the House and hold snap polls on January 5.

Amid raucous scenes, Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, installed Rajapaksa in his place and suspended the House, plunging the island nation into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member Parliament supported the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, the 72-year-old former strongman, who ruled the country for a decade from 2005.

"According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority," Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard.

The passing of the no-confidence motion comes as a major blow to president Sirisena and a victory to ousted prime minister Wickremesinghe.

The resolution was moved by left wing Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and law maker Vijitha Herath.

The Tamil National Alliance and smaller Muslim parties all supported the no-confidence motion. Three newly sworn Cabinet ministers and a state minister also crossed over to the Opposition benches in support.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa needed the support of a minimum of 113 lawmakers in the House to prove his majority.

Supporters of Rajapaksa refused to recognise the vote as legitimate, plunging the country deeper into crisis, as fears grow that the political dispute could spill into protracted instability in the island nation.

Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am on Thursday.

Speaker Jayasuriya has written to President Sirisena, asking him to take further constitutional action.

A copy of the motion with 122 signatures of lawmakers, who have expressed lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rajapaksa and his Cabinet, has been sent to Sirisena.

The Speaker's office said that the Speaker has requested the President to take the next step under the Constitution.

Speaking after the no-trust vote, ousted prime minister Wickremsinghe claimed that his government had been restored after extra constitutional action by President Sirisena to sack him as the premier.

"We will now take steps to ensure that the government in place before October 26 will continue. I wish to inform all government servants and police that you should not carry out illegal orders from the purported government that has failed to demonstrate the confidence of the people," he said.

Wickremesinghe has denounced Sirisena's attempt to remove him from office and refused to leave the official prime minister's residence, claiming the president does not have the power to take such action.

Senior leader of Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) Sajith Premadasa said that the Government headed by Rajapaksa clearly lost the floor test.

He demanded that Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down.

However, Dinesh Gunawardena and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, both Rajapaksa's senior aides, said the Speaker's action was illegal.

Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the floor test in Parliament was illegal and so Rajapaksa will continue as Prime Minister, further deepening the political crisis that has paralysed the government for nearly three weeks.

The Parliament session on Wednesday comes a day after the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisena's controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

In its ruling, the apex court had said Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President's decision next month before giving a final ruling.

After the court verdict, Speaker Jayasuriya summoned Parliament's session for Wednesday morning.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to install Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as premier.

While sacking prime minister Wickremesinghe, president Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move.

Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election, plunging the country's into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Sirisena on Sunday defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers.

Former president Rajapaksa was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe's UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security. And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A unique tractor and farm equipment rental platform of TAFE was launched in Odisha on Wednesday by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to help farmers in the state.

Christened as 'JFarm Services', the initiative is a unique effort and a CSR initiative of Tractors and Farm Equipment's (TAFE's) vision of cultivating the world to enrich the lives of farmers across India.

This JFarm Services, launched jointly with Odisha's Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment as part of TAFE's CSR initiative, aims to facilitate the hiring of tractors and modern farm machinery to farmers free of cost, said a TAFE official.

Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman & CEO - TAFE, said India is a land of small farms and almost 85 per cent of them have no access to farm mechanisation which has the potential to improve their yields and income. JFarm Services allows both farmers offering their tractors and farm equipment on rent, and smaller farmers seeking this service benefit directly from the JFarm Services app.

"It is our aim to touch the lives of millions of farmers across the country as we progress towards the vision of doubling farm income by 2022," she said.

Noting that about 91.8 per cent of the landholdings by area in Odisha are with small and marginal farmers who have limited or no access to agriculture mechanisation, she said JFarm Services aims to increase easy access to farm mechanisation through rental of tractors and farm equipment.

The JFarm Services App will connect tractor owners and Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) operated by tractors and equipment owners directly to farmers seeking farm mechanisation solutions, thereby facilitating a fair and transparent rental process.

JFarm Services offers the farmers and renters a wide range of prospects for hiring and renting of farm equipment and connects them directly to negotiate and fulfil their respective requirement.

T R Kesavan, President & COO, Product Strategy & Corporate Relations - TAFE, said: "TAFE through JFarm Services has collaborated with Government of Odisha in making farm mechanisation available to small and marginal farmers through the shared economy model, to create sustainable agricultural productivity and growth for the state."



With an initial pilot roll-out covering large states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar, JFarm Services has directly benefited and impacted around 65,000 users resulting in about 125,000 orders, adding up to about 300,000 hours in hired farm machinery usage, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telangana's caretaker Chief Minister and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao filed his nomination papers as a candidate for Gajwel Assembly constituency on Wednesday.

Rao visited Lord Balaji temple at Koinapally village in Siddipet district and offered prayers before filing his nomination before the returning officer.

The Congress has pitted Vanteru Pratap Reddy against him.

Reddy had contested against Rao unsuccessfully in the 2014 Assembly elections on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket. Later he joined the Congress.

"I took Swamy's (Lord Balaji) blessings before starting the separate Telangana movement. I always enter the battlefield (elections) with the blessings of the Swamy and you (people). The biggest battle I won is achieving Telangana statehood. With your and Swamy's blessings we are going to win 100 seats (in the upcoming Assembly polls)," Rao said.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief was accompanied by his nephew and caretaker Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who is contesting from the neighbouring Siddipet constituency.

Rao claimed that Telangana is the only state where Dalits and member of Scheduled Tribe communities are progressing and wished the farmers of the state become prosperous.

He appealed to the people to ensure Harish Rao's victory by a margin of one lakh votes.

The 119-member Telangana Assembly was dissolved on September 6 on the recommendation of the Chandrasekhar Rao-led government, more than eight months ahead of the expiry of its term, paving way for early elections.

Polls will be held on December 7 and the counting will take place on December 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"This is a different kind of war room and you all can go to your war rooms", said the Supreme Court Wednesday after interacting with senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officers in the case pertaining to import of Rafale fighter jets from France.

Top IAF officers -- Air Vice Marshall J Chalapati, Air Marshal Anil Khosla and Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari -- had to rush to the apex court at a short notice after a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that it wished to interact with IAF officers as the controversy over Rafale fighter jets deal concerns them.

The issue has become a political battlefield with Congress levelling various allegations against the Modi government on the deal.

The Supreme Court Wednesday commenced its crucial hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

"We are dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue," the bench said when the Attorney General K K Venugopal began his arguments on behalf of the Centre in the pre-lunch session.

Chalapati, who appeared before the bench also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph, answered the questions asked by the CJI about the induction of fighter jets by India and said the fifth generation aircraft have niche stealth technology and the electronic warfare capabilities are very very enhanced.

The CJI asked Chalapati the first question as "What is the latest induction to IAF?"



Chalapati replied that its Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft which is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Nashik in Maharashtra and Bangalore in Karnataka.

He said that IAF is getting new Su-30MKI aircrafts each year.

The CJI then asked Chalapati that besides Su-30MKI, which aircraft are being manufactured in India.

The officer said that he himself is a pilot and has special liking for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being built in Bangalore but is yet to be inducted into IAF.

The CJI also asked the officer which generation aircraft is LCA and Su-30MKI.

Chalapati said there is no clear definition of generation and as he has flied the LCA which according to him is three and half generation aircraft.

He said both LCA and Su-30MKI are three and half and fourth generation aircrafts respectively but the requirement of IAF at present is of four plus or fifth generations aircrafts.

The CJI asked does it mean that IAF currently requires few squadrons of fourth and fifth generation aircrafts.

Chalapati replied in affirmative and said, "the fifth generation aircraft have niche stealth technology and the electronic warfare capabilities are very very enhanced".

The CJI Gogoi then asked Chalapati was there any induction made in IAF after Mirage in 1985.

The officer replied in negative which led CJI to observe: "It means since 1985 to 2018 there is zero induction".

The CJI said it is all that they wanted to know from the officials and later asked them to go back to their offices after nearly half an hour saying, "Air Marshalls can now leave. This is a different kind of war room and you all can go to your war rooms. Thank You".

The bench then continued with the arguments on the validity of Rafale jets deal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wild tiger populations in key tiger recovery sites across Asia, including in India, have the potential to triple, contributing up to 15 per cent increase in the global tiger population, a new study said Wednesday.

Some of the tiger recovery sites cited in the study could be on track to fulfil their highest estimated tiger population capacity within the next 20 years, it said.

It, however, said this is possible only if effective efforts in anti-poaching and in stabilising prey base for the predator are maintained.

The study, conducted by 49 conservation experts from 10 tiger-range countries, developed site-specific and ecologically realistic targets and timelines for the recovery of tiger populations in 18 tiger recovery sites, identified under WWF's global tiger conservation programme.

The India sites in the study include Rajaji National Park, Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary, Valmiki national park in northern India, Manas national park in the east, Balaghat, Achanakmar Wildlife in central India, and Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve, Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Vazhachal forests in southern India.

Eighteen tiger recovery sites from 10 tiger-range countries were selected for the study, which currently support around 165 (118-277) wild tigers, it said.

These sites have the capacity to harbour up to 585 (454-739) tigers in the study's best case scenario, representing an estimated tripling of their current combined population, it pointed out.

"We are at a critical juncture for tiger conservation, where we can bring wild tiger populations back from their devastating decline but concerted effort is needed to reach it. This study has revealed tremendous potential among these sites although some areas are still lagging behind, particularly in South East Asia, several others are already beginning to experience an increase in wild tigers.

"We know this can only happen when there is strong political will, sustained investments, responsive governance and public support all critical conditions regardless of which site we are looking at," said Margaret Kinnaird, Leader of WWF's Wildlife Practice.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, both the population and range of wild tigers have been estimated to have shrunk by a devastating 95 per cent, due to rampant poaching and habitat destruction.

In 2010, the global tiger population reached an all-time low of around 3,200, prompting 13 tiger-range governments to convene and commit to TX2 - one of the most ambitious goals ever committed to for the conservation of a single species.

Lead author of the study and population ecologist at Panthera, Abishek Harihar said, "Each tiger site is unique and requires intensive efforts based on specific plans that are relevant at the site level. This study has clearly laid out different components of a tiger recovery system, with a special focus on recovery sites - areas with high potential for long-term recovery of wild tiger populations.

"Our assessment serves as a template to guide planning for population recovery in other sites globally and helps to inform more effective, integrated approaches to tiger conservation."



Increased and eventually stable prey populations are a pre-requisite, while comprehensive systems to reduce the risk of human-wildlife conflict are essential for ensuring safe co-existence among the increased wild tiger populations and local communities, which are also projected to grow in population size, the study said.

"The presence of wild tigers represent thriving biodiversity and indicate healthy ecosystems - as apex predators, tigers can only survive with a stable prey base.

"This study affirms the need for tiger-range governments to take a holistic, long-term view towards tiger recovery which must include plans for revival of prey animals and other wildlife at the site-level," said Rajesh Gopal, secretary seneral, Global Tiger Forum (GTF).

The authors of the study, concluded that although the goal to double tiger numbers by 2022 may be ambitious given the limited time frame, it is still possible as long as significant and sustained conservation efforts are taken immediately.

"Doubling wild tiger numbers is just the first step it is the very least we need to put a safe distance between wild tigers and the threat of extinction.

"As we move towards the TX2 goal, we must recognise that global efforts put into tiger recovery is aimed at the long-term survival of tigers in the wild, way beyond 2022," added Joseph Vattakaven, coordinating author and tiger biologist from WWF.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump, who has appointed more than two dozen Indian-Americans to senior positions since he assumed office in 2017, has praised them for their "incredible" performance in his administration.

Reflective of the recognition of the inherent talent that Indian- Americans have in various fields, Trump has entrusted members of this small ethnic community, comprising about one per cent of the total US population, with task of running some of the crucial departments of his administration.

"I'm grateful to have numerous Americans of Indian and Southeast Asian heritage who fulfill critical roles across my administration. And they've done an incredible job," Trump said as he hosted Diwali celebrations in the historic Roosevelt Room on Tuesday.

Except for the former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley some two dozen of his top Indian-American lieutenants were present at the celebrations.

Haley, the first-Indian-American appointed to top Cabinet-level position, resigned last month as the US ambassador to the UN.

And as a Diwali gift to the community, Trump surprised many by announcing that he has nominated his regulatory czar Neomi Jehangir Rao, to the powerful US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

Rao, 45, would replace the Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, where he served earlier before heading to the apex court.

In eight years, former president Barack Obama had appointed more than 50 Indian-Americans to key administration positions, including Raj Shah as United States Agency for International Development administrator; Nisha Desai Biswal as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia and Richard Verma as the US Ambassador to India.

By appointing more than two dozen Indian Americans in key administrative positions, Trump seems to be on the track to breaking the record set by his predecessor Obama.

At the White House Diwali event, Trump profusely praised the significant role of Indian-Americans in the development of the country and his administration as well.

"Many of them are here today, including the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commissions, Ajit Pai," Trump said as he asked him to come near him.

"Ajit, where's Ajit? Come here, Ajit. I just didn't like one decision he made, but that's all right," he said as the small audience burst into laughter. "Not even a little bit. But he's independent," said the president.

Seema Verma, who in her capacity as administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, is playing a key role in healthcare reforms, Trump said and (she) is doing a great job.

"Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Neil Chatterjee. Where is Neil? Good. Nice to see you, said the US president indicating that he personally knows each one of these Indian-Americans.

"The acting administrator of Drug Enforcement, and another person that I've become very close to, Uttam Dhillon," Trump said.

"Uttam, where are you?... Come on up here, Uttam. Look. Now you're famous. He'll do a great job," said the president.

Then he called Under Secretary of State, Manisha Singh.

"Manisha, hi. Congratulations. Great job," Trump said as he finally made a big shout-out to his close aide Raj Shah, the White House Deputy Press Secretary.

Shah is the first Indian American to hold this position.

"Deputy White House Press Secretary, Raj. We just have to say "Raj. Where's our Raj? Come here, Raj. Good job. Raj has been with us for a long time, and what a great job he does," Trump said acknowledging the key role this young Indian-American in 30s has been playing in the White House.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Social activist Trupti Desai Wednesday said she would visit the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala along with six other women in the previously banned 10-50 age group on November 17 but it was stoutly opposed by a right wing activist, sparking fears of a fresh confrontation.

Desai, who spearheaded the campaign to allow entry of women to various religious places, including Shani Shingnapur temple, the Haji Ali Dargah, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, announced the decision even as the Supreme Court once again refused to stay its verdict which allowed entry of women of all age groups to the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.

Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, meanwhile, called for a "holistic approach" on the Sabarimala issue so that the sentiments of the people were not hurt, observing the Centre would intervene in the matter at the "right time" if required.

Asked by reporters if an ordinance was required to deal with the situation, Sharma said the Kerala government had to decide on the matter.

"The state government has to take a call on that (ordinance) and the central government, if required, will definitely intervene at the right time," he said in Delhi.

The two-month-long Mandala Makaravillakku pilgrimage season in Sabarimala commences on November 17 and attracts millions of devotees from all over the country.

With no stay being given, it remains to be seen whether girls and women in the menstruating 10-50 age group will be able to enter the shrine after a 6-km arduous trek since attempts by some were foiled by protesters at the base camps in Nilakkal and Pamba when the shrine was opened for 8 days in two spells after the September 28 verdict.

Desai, in an email to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, sought security as she apprehends an attack on her life during her visit to the shrine.

"We will not return to Maharashtra without darshan at the Sabarimala temple", she said adding "we have faith in the government that it will provide security for us."



It is the responsiblity of the state government and the police to provide protection and take us to the temple as the supreme court has permitted all women to offer prayers at the shrine, she added.

The Chief Minister's office said they had received the e-mail and it has been sent to the officials concerned.

Trupti has also sent a mail to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure security for her trip to the hill shrine.

Rahul Easwar, President of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena, which is among the organisations protesting against the entry of women of all ages into the shrine, said Ayyappa devotees would resist through 'Gandhian means', any attempt by Desai and her group to trek the holy shrine and offer prayers.

"We will lie down on the floor. We will protest and at all costs prevent them from offering prayers at the shrine", he said in Thiruvananthapuram.

The temple had witnessed a string of protests from the main Opposition Congress, the BJP, RSS and right wing outfits against the CPI(M)-led LDF government's decision to implement the apex court verdict, lifting the centuries-old ban on the entry of women in the 10-50 age group.

The shrine had been opened for four days in October and two days this month for the monthly pujas when the protests were held.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked a lawyer, who on Wednesday sought stay on the court's Sabarimala verdict, to wait till January 22 when the Constitution bench will hear review petitions.

The matter was mentioned by lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara, who has filed the review on behalf of the National Ayyappa Devotees (Women's) Association.

The apex court on Tuesday declined a similar plea while agreeing to hear in open court a batch of petitions seeking review of its verdict.

The top court has fixed January 22 to hear all the review petitions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Security forces Wednesday arrested two local militants of Hizbul Mujahideen and recovered cache of arms and ammunition from their possession in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Acting on a credible input, the security forces arrested the duo at a check point at Panzgam in Awantipora area, a police spokesman said.

"During checking, security forces recovered arms and ammunition from their possession which includes UBGL, grenades and live rounds and other incriminating material," he said.

The arrested militants have been identified as Jan Mohammad Sheikh and Nasir-ul-Islam, both affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen, the spokesman said.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of law.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US government has awarded a USD 167 million contract to build 13 kilometres of border wall in south Texas.

US Customs and Border Protection announced the contract Wednesday.

Construction will begin in February. CBP already announced a USD 145 million award for another 10 kilometres in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

Galveston, Texas-based construction firm SLSCO won both contracts.

CBP says it plans to install fence posts on the levee north of the Rio Grande, the river that separates the US and Mexico in Texas, as well as lighting, patrol roads, and the clearing of vegetation.

Environmental advocates warn that construction will damage sensitive areas and endanger wildlife.

President Donald Trump has made the border wall a priority, promising during his campaign that Mexico would pay for it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said US' relationship with India can act as a "bulwark" for freedom, prosperity and peace as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with eminent Indian-Americans.

It is the second consecutive year that President Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.

Trump said he was thrilled to celebrate Diwali at the White House.

"I'm honoured to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people. We're gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world.

"This ceremony signifies the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. It is a jubilant occasion that brings loved ones, neighbours, and communities closer together," Trump said before lighting the ceremonial diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House.

He said the shining lights remind people to "seek wisdom, to give thanks, and to always cherish and love the ones who grace our lives.

"Our nation is blessed to be home to millions of hardworking citizens of Indian and South East Asian heritage to enrich our country in countless ways. Together we are one proud American family. Do we agree with that? I think so. I think we do. Right? Better, believe it," he said.

"India is the world's largest democracy, and the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said, amidst China flexing its military muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

He said the United States has deep ties with India and he was grateful for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say," said the US President as he introduced his daughter to the audience, who was present in the room.

"Absolutely," replied Ivanka, who had visited India last year. She was the first top official of the Trump administration to travel to India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad in November last year.

Trump also touched upon the ongoing negotiations between the US and India on a trade deal but indicated that the talks were moving though it was tough.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we're working. And it's moving along," Trump said.

Along with nearly two dozen top Indian American officials of his Administration, President Trump invited the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, his wife Dr Avina Sarna, and his special assistant Pratik Mathur to be present during the White House Diwali celebrations.

Sarna in his brief remarks thanks the President for the great honour for India and the Indian community.

"They feel very welcome here and so integrated with the American society," he said.

"I think, we are looking at one of the best times we ever had in India-US relationship," Sarna said, which was agreed by Trump. "I think, that's true. Very close, closer than ever before," said the US President.

In his remarks, Trump also welcomed senior Indian- American officials gathered at the White House for Diwali celebrations.

"As we light the Diya in the White House we are joined by in a fellowship with all of those who light lamps in their own home, cities and places of worship. America is a land of faith and we are truly fortunate to have these wonderful traditions woven into the tapestry of our national life. And that is true," he said.

Trump said Americans of Indian and South East Asian heritage have done an incredible job and identified several of them by name including the chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai; Manisha Singh, Acting Under Secretary of the Department of State; Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services; Uttam Dhillon, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Neil Chatterjee, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Raj Shah, the Deputy White House Press Secretary.

The first White House Diwali celebrations was held in 2003 under the then US President George W Bush, who never attended the celebrations in person. A senior administration official represented him. It was mostly held in the India Treaty Room of Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

Since 2003, Diwali celebrations at the White House has become an annual tradition. In 2009, President Barack Obama lighted the ceremonial lamp in the East room of the White House.

In 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated Diwali in the East Room. Immediately before the celebrations, she participated in a Bollywood dance with local students in the State Dining Room. In 2016, President Barack Obama celebrated Diwali in the Oval Office with a group of Indian Americans officials from his administration.

In 2017 President Trump celebrated his first Diwali in the Oval Office with Ambassador Nikki Haley, senior officials from his administration and a small group of Indian Americans.

Over the years, it is being celebrated by the Indian Americans in Pentagon and the State Department. For the past several years, Diwali is also being celebrated at the US Capitol by Rep and Senators, being hosted by India Caucus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said US' relationship with India can act as a "bulwark" for freedom, prosperity and peace as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with eminent Indian-Americans.

It is the second consecutive year that President Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.

"I am thrilled to be here for the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, and I am honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people," Trump said.

"I'm honoured to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people. We're gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world," Trump said.

"This ceremony signifies the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. It is a jubilant occasion that brings loved ones, neighbours, and communities closer together," Trump said before lighting the ceremonial diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House.

He said the shining lights remind people to "seek wisdom, to give thanks, and to always cherish and love the ones who grace our lives.

"Our nation is blessed to be home to millions of hardworking citizens of Indian and South East Asian heritage to enrich our country in countless ways. Together we are one proud American family. Do we agree with that? I think so. I think we do. Right? Better, believe it," he said.

"India is the world's largest democracy, and the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said, amidst China flexing its military muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

He said the United States has deep ties with India and he was grateful for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say," said the US President as he introduced his daughter to the audience, who was present in the room.

"Absolutely," replied Ivanka, who had visited India last year. She was the first top official of the Trump administration to travel to India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad in November last year.

Trump also mentioned the ongoing negotiations between the US and India on a trade deal but indicated that the talks were moving though it was tough.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we're working. And it's moving along," he said.

Along with nearly two dozen top Indian-American officials of his administration, Trump invited the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, his wife Dr Avina Sarna, and his special assistant Pratik Mathur to be present during the White House Diwali celebrations.

Sarna in his remarks thanked the President for the great honour for India and the Indian community.

"They feel very welcome here and so integrated with the American society," he said.

"I think, we are looking at one of the best times we ever had in India-US relationship," Sarna said, which was agreed by Trump. "I think, that's true. Very close, closer than ever before," said the President.

In his remarks, Trump also welcomed senior Indian-American officials gathered for the Diwali celebrations.

Trump said Americans of Indian and South East Asian heritage have done an incredible job and identified several of them by name, including the chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai; Manisha Singh, Acting Under Secretary of the Department of State; Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services; Uttam Dhillon, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Neil Chatterjee, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Raj Shah, the Deputy White House Press Secretary.

The first White House Diwali celebrations was held in 2003 under the then US President George W Bush, who never attended the celebrations in person. A senior administration official represented him. It was mostly held in the India Treaty Room of Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

Since 2003, Diwali celebrations at the White House has become an annual tradition. In 2009, President Barack Obama lighted the ceremonial lamp in the East Room of the White House.

In 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated Diwali in the East Room. Immediately before the celebrations, she participated in a Bollywood dance with local students in the State Dining Room. In 2016, Obama celebrated Diwali in the Oval Office with a group of Indian Americans officials from his administration.

In 2016, Vice President Joe Biden hosted a Diwali reception at his official residence Number One Observatory Circle. In 2017, President Trump celebrated his first Diwali in the Oval Office with Ambassador Nikki Haley, senior officials from his administration and a small group of Indian- Americans.

Over the years, it is being celebrated by the Indian-Americans in Pentagon and the State Department. For the past several years, Diwali is also being celebrated at the US Capitol by lawmakers, being hosted by the India Caucus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Illinois state police on Tuesday were investigating a white officer over the fatal shooting of a "brave" black security guard who had apprehended a suspected gunman at a bar outside Chicago, officials said.

The officer was placed on administrative leave after the incident, which took place in the early hours of Sunday at Manny's Blue Room Lounge in the town of Robbins, 32 kilometers south of the Midwestern city.

The security guard, 26-year-old Jemel Roberson, was working at the bar, and intervened when an argument erupted and someone started shooting.

Several local police forces responded to the incident, in which four people were wounded, including the gunman. None had life-threatening injuries.

A police officer from the nearby village of Midlothian arrived at the scene and shot Roberson, despite the guard wearing a uniform with "security" emblazoned on it, according to witnesses.

Roberson "had somebody on the ground with his knee in back, with his gun in his back, like, 'Don't move,'" witness Adam Harris told Chicago television station WGN.

"Everybody was screaming out, 'Security!' He was a security guard," Harris said, but police "saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him." Roberson died of his injuries at a hospital.

The officer under investigation has not been formally identified, but a clerk at the department confirmed the officer was white, and was placed on administrative leave pending the inquiry.

"Jemel Roberson was a brave man who was doing his best to end an active shooter situation," Midlothian Police Chief Daniel Delaney said in a statement Tuesday.

Delaney, who supervises a force of 34 officers, said state police were investigating the shooting in order to "ensure transparency and maintain public trust." "The Midlothian Police Department is completely saddened by this tragic incident and we give our heartfelt condolences to Jemel, his family and his friends," Delaney said.

The Illinois State Police has not formally commented on the incident.

Roberson's family has sued the village of Midlothian and the unnamed officer over his death, alleging that the shooting was "excessive and unreasonable." Roberson reportedly was an aspiring police officer.

An online GoFundMe campaign raised more than USD 90,000 to pay for Roberson's funeral expenses -- almost doubling the total amount of donations in less than a day, as spread on social media.

The shooting was the latest in a long line of deadly encounters between police and African Americans that have sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jimmy Shergill and Raghu Ram starrer 'Vartak Nagar', having the reference to the cotton mill strike in Mumbai in the 80s, was screened for the first time at the 'Competition on Indian Language's films' section at the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival, here.

Producer Amit Agarwal told PTI before the screening of the film on Wednesday evening, "There are many layers in the film. While the base layer is Mumbai textile strike in the 1980s, the other important layer is friendship."



He said 'Vartak Nagar' is a place in the film situated next to Thane in Mumbai where families of four workers of a mill, which is closed due to the strike in early 80s, reside.

While one layer of the film is how the lives of the children change after the mill strike, in the other layer the character of Shergill came who essayed the role of a gangster.

The film's director Atul Taishete said Vartak Nagar has three different but interlinked layers - the first of four 12-13 year old children, the second of the gangster of 80s and the third layer of the five year old Mumbai Mill strike by two lakh workers.

"Vartak Nagar is a space in which all these things happen," he said terming it as an independent film since it has been backed individually by producers but not belonging to a particular genre like a typical independent film.

"Vartak Nagar refers to the change over of Mumbai from an industrial town to a mega city of big malls. An era of today's generation does not know about," he said adding the same transition had occurred in other Indian cities including Kolkata as well.

Agarwal said the film was shot in real life locations of some yet-existing closed mills as well as in-house work to recreate the era of 80s in parts.

The film will be sent to some other important film festivals in the country and abroad in coming days.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bollywood star Varun Dhawan will attend the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for the screening of his film "October", which is a part of the festival's Panorama segment.

"It was my dad who informed me that 'October' was chosen to be part of the Panorama Section at IFFI. Since the time the film released, I have had many people come up to me and tell me how it has touched them or how they couldn't believe that a film like this was made in India. It's great that it is being showcased with the best movies this year," Varun said in a statement here.

In the Shoojit Sircar-directed film, Varun played the role of Dan, a hotel trainee who undergoes a transformation when his colleague Shuili (Banita Sandhu), is hospitalised after a freak accident. The 31-year-old actor was praised for his restrained portrayal of a man grappling with a crisis.

"A lot of aspiring actors have told me that their teachers show them scenes from this movie. All this is touching but I really didn't do much acting (in 'October'). Shoojitda just made me live the film," Varun said.

The actor is currently busy shooting for "Kalank". He has been signed up for a dance film with director Remo D'Souza and an action-entertainer with Shashank Khaitan.

IFFI will begin from November 20 in Goa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gujarat government will hold six roadshows in the country starting from New Delhi, in the run-up to the Vibrant Gujarat 2019 Summit to be held in January next year, an official said Wednesday.

The first roadshow will be held on November 16 in Delhi, which will be addressed by chief minister Vijay Rupani.

The state government has already held 24 roadshows around the world in the run-up to the biannual event.

"After organising roadshows in 24 countries, we will have curtain raiser event for the 2019 summit in New Delhi on the 16th. Chief minister Vijay Rupani will be present at the event," Industrial Extension Bureau (INDEXTb) managing director RK Beniwal said.

The other roadshows will be organised in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata, he added.

Beniwal said that the three-day Vibrant Gujarat 2019 Summit will be different as it will also focus on trade and services, other than investment.

He further said that the state government is also focused on bringing investment in defence sector and intends to develop Dholera special investment region (SIR) for defence sector manufacturing.

Beniwal said that the summit, which will start from January 18, 2019, will also focus on Africa and will have a special event called Africa Day.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 35-year-old villager was seriously injured when a pressure improvised bomb, laid by Naxals, went off in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, police said.

The incident took place in Chintagufa police station area when the victim identified as Sodi Rahul was working in his field, Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI.

As per the preliminary information, Rahul, a native of Sarpanch Para in Chintagufa village located around 500 kms from capital Raipur, came in contact with the pressure IED (improvised explosive device) planted near his field, he said.

"Rahul sustained serious injuries on his leg," Meena said.

Soon after being alerted, a police team was sent to the spot and the injured was shifted to a local hospital where he was being treated, he said.

Naxals often plant IEDs on dirt tracks adjoining fields to target security forces during their operations in the Naxal-affected region, he added.

On November 12, a villager was killed in a pressure IED blast while he was working in his field in Timmapuram village in Sukma district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A man from West Bengal was arrested for allegedly possessing ganja worth Rs 24,000 in Calangute village, 10 kms away from here, police said on Wednesday.

The accused identified as Saddam Hussain Molla, who hails from Dakshin Dinajpur in West Bengal, was arrested following a raid conducted at Calangute market on Tuesday night, a police officer said.

"Police had received a tip-off that the man was coming to the market with some drugs to give it to the prospective customers," Inspector of Calangute police station Jivba Dalvi said.

"Accordingly, a team was set up and the police waited at Calangute market in civil clothes. As soon as the man arrived at the spot, police took him into custody," he added.

During his search, the accused was found possessing ganja worth Rs 24,000 in the international market, he said.

"The accused was brought to the police station and placed under arrest," he said.

He was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, police said adding that further investigation was on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The West Bengal government is celebrating Wednesday as "Rosogolla Dibas" to commemorate the first anniversary of the sweetmeat getting Geographical Indication (GI) tag as 'West Bengal's Rosogolla'.

As a mark of its celebrations, different varieties of rosogollas are being showcased in the stalls of the 'Mishti Hub', set up in one part of the Eco Park in New Town area.

"Banglar Rosogolla got the GI tag last year on this day. We are observing this day as #RosogollaDibas at #MistiHub in #Kolkata to mark this sweet occasion. Everyone is welcome," Banerjee wrote on her Twitter handle today.

On November 14 last year, West Bengal received the GI tag for Rosogolla, a ball-shaped cottage cheese dipped in a light syrup of sugar.

The GI tag is a sign that identifies a product as originating from a particular place.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Madras High Court on Wednesday sought to know from the state Chief Electoral Officer when the Election Commission proposes to hold the by-elections to Tiruparankunram and Tiruvarur Assembly constituencies.

The assembly seats had fallen vacant after the death of DMK leader M Karunanidhi (Thiruvarur) and AIADMK MLA A K Bose (Thiruparankundram).

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, a bench comprising justices K K Sasidharan and P D Audikesavalu here expressed dissatisfaction over the by-elections for the two constituencies not being held.

It asked the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer what steps had been taken to hold the by-elections in the two constituencies.

If any by-election schedule for the constituencies had been prepared, then the CEO could submit the same to the court, the bench said.

The petitioner submitted that the constituencies were without a representative for a long time and sought a direction from the court to the EC to conduct the elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Malaysia's anti-graft agency said Wednesday the wife of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak will face new corruption charges, along with two former government officials and a businessman.

The agency said Rosmah Mansor will be charged Thursday with Najib's former special officer, Rizal Mansor, in a case linked to a solar energy project for rural schools in eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island.

The charges come over a month after Rosmah, 66, pleaded not guilty to laundering illegal proceeds and tax evasion in a multibillion-dollar graft scandal that led to her husband's shocking electoral loss in May.

The agency said in a statement that former Federal Territories Minister Adnan Mansor was detained Wednesday and will be jointly charged the following day with a businessman in another case linked to several land sales in Kuala Lumpur. The defendants are not related.

Najib, his former deputy and several high-ranking former officials have already been charged with corruption. Najib has accused the new government of seeking political vengeance.

The May 9 election outcome ushered in the first change of power since Malaysia's independence from Britain in 1957. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose alliance ousted Najib's long-ruling coalition, has said the court cases are "not about revenge" but are based on the rule of law and that those accused will be given fair trials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mexican star Diego Luna believes the cross-border politics between his country and the US is mostly about the 'you against me' rhetoric, which he believes only polarises people.

Luna, who was in India to promote the latest season of Netflix drama "Narcos", said it would be wrong to see Mexico's drug menace from a "black-and-white" lens.

He stars as notorious drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo opposite Michael Pena's DEA agent Kiki Camarena.

"We have to stop talking about it as a black-and-white, good-and-bad kind of rhetoric because that polarises things. It just radicalises positions. There's 'you against me' and 'I build the wall to protect myself from you' (rhetoric) and you are like 'No, this is an issue that we both have to work on'," he told PTI in an interview.

The 38-year-old actor, best known for films such as "Y Tu Mama Tambien", "The Terminal" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", said it was worrisome to see this rhetoric growing in politics.

"You are seeing this rhetoric in politics and it is growing in Brazil, in Colombia, the States and in my country, Mexico. I hope we find a way to realise that there is a lot in between. We don't have to think the same way to work on the same goals. We can think differently and still work together for a common goal," he said.

"Narcos" has been a major global success for Netflix, whose previous three seasons chronicled the rise of Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel and later of the Cali Cartel. With the new season, "Narcos: Mexico", the show shifts to Mexico. It starts streaming from November 16.

Luna said it was important to look at the root of the Mexican drug menace, which according to reports, is responsible for the death of over 100,000 people in the last decade.

"It is fundamental to what we are living today. It is about the time when the States closed the routes to the Caribbean for cocaine to get to the market. Mexico became like a crucial point in terms of feeding this market. It is when things started to change and create the mess we are living in today. So to understand our present, we need to go back in time and reflect on the past," he said.

While growing up in the 1980s Mexico, Luna heard stories about Gallardo's Guadalajara Cartel but Luna said he realised later that the problem was more complex than the "good guys versus bad guys" narrative.

"When you analyse (you realise) the whole structure is complicated. It involved every level of power - the politicians, the police, the military, the politicians on the both sides of the border, the police on the both sides of the border, the banks and how the money moved around in the countries.

"It (the show) reminds you that things are more complicated than we think. And in order to solve this, we should be willing to change the whole system because corruption has reached every level of power."



There seems to be a surge in Mexican stories in popular culture with the trinity of filmmakers -- Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro G Inarritu and Guillermo del Toro -- dominating the Oscars in the last few years. In television, streaming platforms have contributed a lot to the popularity of diverse stories from around the globe.

Luna said it is an exciting time to be a storyteller in Hollywood.

"There is a diversity of opinions being represented the way that was not before. All these platforms, like Netflix, are a great example of that. They are opening the spectrum of voices and of positions. I think that just enriches the conversation," he said.

The actor believes what has been explored, in terms of Mexican stories, is only the tip of the iceberg.

"It's the audiences that are changing the content, shaping it. They are saying 'we want to be represented', 'we want our point of view to be represented' and 'we want to hear the other side of the story'. That gives me hope.

"In terms of Mexico, Mexican filmmaking and Mexican storytelling, there are so many stories to tell. There is so much that is happening in Mexico that can be told today. So yeah, it is an exciting time to be a storyteller."



After "Narcos: Mexico", Luna will get busy with a series, based around his "Rogue One" character Cassian Andor.

"I am excited to go back to that world and to work with those people because it was a great experience in my life and it is also the movies that I grew up watching. So, I am glad to be a part of that universe," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A raft of profit warnings from Apple Inc suppliers this week has fuelled investor concerns that iPhone sales, in terms of volume, have hit a wall that could spell trouble for the company's plans to make services its main pillar of growth. For the past year, investors had largely been willing to overlook stagnating unit sales of the iPhone because average selling prices kept rising. But it now faces fierce competition from mid-priced phones from makers such as Xiaomi Corp. Apple has often stated its plan to increase its revenue from paid services, such as Apple Music and ...
Tata Sons Ltd is in pursuit of a controlling stake of debt-laden Jet Airways Ltd, a purchase which could transform India's largest conglomerate from airline fringe player into the country's dominant, full-service international carrier. Tata is weighing up the economic viability of a deal which would make it Jet's decision-maker, necessitating the departure of the airline's founder, people aware of the talks have told Reuters. Tata declined to comment on the matter. "There are compelling reasons but any deal with Jet is opportunistic," one of the people ...
By David Shepardson and Eric M. JohnsonWASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing Co are evaluating the need for software or design changes to 737 MAX jets in the wake of last month's deadly Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the regulator said on Tuesday.Boeing shares fell 2.1 percent on Tuesday on concerns related to the first crash of the newest version of the planemaker's best-selling jet, in which all 189 people on board were killed when it dived into the sea.Indonesian investigators said on Monday a system designed to deal with the accident scenario was ...
By Danilo MasoniMILAN (Reuters) - Oil struggled to find a floor and stocks tumbled on Wednesday as disappointing German GDP figures heightened worries over slowing global growth, while the pound eased off peaks as Prime Minister Theresa May faced the hard task of selling her Brexit deal.European shares fell as much as 1.2 percent after data showed the German economy contracted for the first time since 2015, tracking similar losses in Asia where data in Japan and China underscored worries about weaker growth.The weak open in Europe sent the MSCI's world equity index down 0.3 percent by 0930 ...
By Huw JonesLONDON (Reuters) - Global insurance regulators will put off singling out insurers deemed so important to the financial system that they are required to hold extra capital, in a victory for companies such as American International Group and Prudential.The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) said it wants to replace the list of "too big to fail" insurers, last published in 2016, with a broader framework from 2020.In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, regulators identified nine systemically important insurers which then face onerous bank-like capital ...
By Nidhi Verma and Florence TanNEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India's oil imports from Africa in October rose to their highest level since August 2015, after a fall in Brent's premium to Dubai swaps made African crude more attractive, tanker arrival data from industry sources showed.India's overall imports in October rose 14.1 percent from a year earlier to 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) with shipments from Africa more than doubling to 874,000 bpd, according to the data.Indian oil imports typically rise from October due to higher fuel demand in the festival season and as industrial ...
India is likely to produce 7.4 per cent less sugar than forecast earlier as mills are reporting a sharp drop in sugarcane yields due to a drought and white grub infestations in key growing areas, a senior industry official told Reuters. The drop will reduce exports from the world's second-biggest sugar producer and likely help support global prices that have fallen 17 per cent so far in 2018. "Almost all mills have started operations and are reporting lower cane yields," said B.B. Thombare, president of the Western India Sugar Mills ...
By P.J. Huffstutter and Karl PlumeADDIEVILLE, Ill.(Reuters) - Clouds crowded the Illinois sky as Nick Harre walked away from his combine at the peak of harvest to join four fellow farmers in greeting some unlikely visitors.Inside a nearby seed barn, they made their pitch to eight Sri Lankan government officials: Please buy our soybeans.The wooing of such a tiny market underscores the depth of U.S. farmers' problems after losing their biggest customer, China, to a global trade war. Sri Lanka bought about 3,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans last year. China bought about 32 million tons - but now ...
By Jacob Gronholt-PedersenCOPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Top U.S. importers are stocking up on Chinese goods before new import tariffs take effect, shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Wednesday, but warned a trade war would hit demand for container shipping in the coming years.Maersk's data indicated that imports into the United States from China had grown 5 to 10 percent year-on-year in the third quarter as companies such as Walmart and Home Depot built up inventories to avoid new import tariffs, Chief Executive Soren Skou said. "The irony is that after (U.S. President Donald) Trump has turned ...
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Standard Bank aims to cut 526 information technology (IT) jobs as part of plans to restructure its IT division, the lender said on Wednesday.Africa's largest bank by assets, which has more than 54,000 employees in Africa, said not all the workers affected by the restructuring might be retrenched, as it was engaging in talks with their union on exactly how many would be laid off.The new structure will remove traditional IT positions but will create more than 180 new positions in that department, in areas such as cloud engineering, data science and ...
By Rania El Gamal and Dmitry ZhdannikovABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) will remain wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government and has no plan to go public, but the firm aspires to compete with Big Oil by expanding in refining and gas, ADNOC's CEO told Reuters.ADNOC, which announced two gas deals with France's Total and Italy's Eni this week, will strike more agreements in that sector and seek investment opportunities abroad in liquefied natural gas (LNG), Sultan al-Jaber said."ADNOC will continue to be wholly owned by one and only one shareholder, and that is the Abu ...
By Rania El Gamal and Alex LawlerDUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC and its partners are discussing a proposal to cut oil output by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), three sources familiar with the issue said, although Russia may not be on board for such a large reduction.Worried by a drop in oil prices due to slowing demand and record supply from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is talking about a U-turn just months after increasing production. Such a shift could anger U.S. President Donald Trump, who urged OPEC on Monday not to ...
You need not be a doctor to be able to put a band-aid on a cut. But it seems to work a bit differently in the world of computer science. Most people tend to assume that everybody with an interest in programming wishes to become a computer scientist. It is precisely this thought that Charles Severance (a.k.a. Dr Chuck), Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, is trying to change. At the university, he teaches various technology-oriented courses including programming, database design, and web development and has been using the medium of Coursera to ensure that programming can be learnt by all. Over 1.6 million students from around the world are taking his courses, nearly19 per cent of whom hail from India. His aim is to teach everyone the basics of programming computers using Python. Today, he arguably runs the largest and most successful Python class in the world.

Python gets a new life

Speaking to Business Today, Dr Chuck says, "Python is a programming language that is 25 years old and was originally designed for young people to learn programming. This was the easiest possible programming language that was also powerful. It was not successful for many years as it was considered too easy." However, things changed.

About 10 years ago, he says, there was a renewed interest in data mining and all of a sudden it was important to analyse data and Python turned out to be really good at this and the number of people that were needed in the data mining field were just way more than what computer science could produce.

"So, there was this demand for people who could write Python. Computer science departments realised that Python helped their struggling students learn programming better. So, Python became popular as the first programming language with its best application in data-oriented things."

It could make a difference to anybody from any field. Giving an example from sales, he says, if there is a person in sales who looks at data every morning to see who performed best and spends considerable amount of time on it, he can do it in minutes with the Python programming language.

Chuck has written a number of books including 'Using Google App Engine,' and 'Python for Informatics.' His research field is in building the learning management systems such as Sakai, Moodle, Blackboard, ANGEL, and others. In the mid-1990s, he was the host of Internet: TCI, a television talk show about the Internet that ran for several years on the TCI cable system. Mention television and he smilingly says, "When I was young, about 16, I wanted to be an actor and my mother told me to be an engineer and then an actor. So, when I had an opportunity in television, I jumped at that chance."

From literature to lawyers

Dr Chuck wants to help everybody other than computer scientists to learn programming. "Anybody, be it a person handling sales or even a lawyer, will at some point need programming therefore, programming can help you in every field."

That is one reason why he wants more classes for non-computer scientists. "We do have classes for them, but they are taught by computer scientists in the same way they teach in the class for computer scientists. Not everyone may want to be a computer scientist. If you have taken psychology, you should take one programming class, if you were taking literature or if you are a lawyer, you should take one programming class too. But that class should not be a computer science class because a lawyer is never going to be a computer scientist and we need not teach them for a career in computer science."

The rigour of a computer class

Dr Chuck did acknowledge the importance of computer scientists for computer science indeed is a serious business, and needs rigour of a different kind. "If there are programmers who are going to write the code for self-driving cars, it gets serious because even a small coding error may cost life. We need highly talented and well-educated people who have deep understanding of lot of things or we shall never be able to build self-driving cars." So, in computer science it is necessary to have a high level of standard for a computer scientist and a small fraction of people are capable of doing that.

The learning curve

Ask him about programming languages and the learning curve on that path to getting to higher levels, he says, many schools tend to make mistake of teaching Java first. Chuck's programming steps i.e. the path to increasing complexity begins with learning Scratch first, followed by python, HTML, CSS, SQL, Java script, Java, algorithms and data structures, operating systems, theory of data bases, hardware, hardware architecture, machine language and performance, and Artificial Intelligence etc. "It just gets bigger and bigger."

Taking control of your data

Speaking about the direction of research in computer science, he says, it is towards enabling people to take control of their data. "If you look at privacy issues, laws are moving in that direction like the GDPR (The General Data Protection Regulation) in Europe. The trend is towards a distributed Facebook. So, instead of putting our pictures on Facebook, we have a PoD in the cloud, which is encrypted and no one can see it. You put your pictures in your PoD and you can share them with your friends through a Facebook-like application, which only you and your friends can see."

It is an interesting problem, he says. "Right now, people are dependent on Facebook and many may not be able to organise their life without it. That will be so until something else comes up and people can begin to take control over their data and still be able to organise their life. At the moment, that is an interesting trend of people trying to take control of their data and protecting it."

What does it mean for the programmers and the challenges it throws up?

Dr Chuck explains that the problem really is about building fully encrypted environments where we can have your data and software running on someone else's hardware (read: in public platforms), but they cannot see your stuff. That is a great research area. He sees parts of it already happening, but he noted that encrypting all the data and decrypting it should be done in a way that people running your data cannot see it.

"This has performance and cost implications and we are yet to create a fully encrypted environment that can store data, and run software in a way that people who own the hardware cannot see it. That is a computer science problem and a great challenge to solve."

Tech & teaching

On his research focus, he says, it is in the area of building better technology to teach people. "I build these apps for every assignment that are fun and engaging and plug them into my Coursera classes and also into my campus classes. What I want to build is a framework that is good enough so that others may want to build these same tools."

He further explained if someone has to build an app on an Apple phone, he or she may have to go to Apple and then they elaborate the rules to write an app to show up at the Apple store. "After following the rules, you submit the app to the store and it shows up. My job is same but is meant for educational applications so that those apps can easily plug into teaching and learning environments."
Hinduja Group's flagship firm Ashok Leyland's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Vinod K Dasari has quit citing personal reasons and the company board has accepted his resignation, a top official said Tuesday.

However, the board at its meeting here Tuesday asked him to continue till the end of March 2019 to facilitate a smooth transition, Ashok Leyland Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja, who was elevated as Executive Chairman in view of the resignation of Dasari, said.

The board had reappointed Dasari as Managing Director and CEO for a term of five years from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2021.

"This (resignation of Dasari) was something unexpected. The board needs time to discuss this (and find a replacement). Vinod has done an excellent job and the team in Ashok Leyland is very strong," Hinduja told reporters.

Dasari, who had been associated with the commercial heavy vehicle maker for the past 13 years, said he had been thinking about quitting for some time.

"When we came to India 17-18 years ago, it was family decision. To come to Ashok Leyland and not go back to United States was my family decision. So, now my family is set by God's grace and I'd been thinking about it for quite some time (about quitting)", he said.

Noting that he was not keen on putting his papers when the company was not performing well about six years ago, Dasari said, "we turned around and our team did a fantastic job. The team is strong now".

Asked if Dasari's resignation would pose a challenge to the company, Hinduja said, "there are lot of mentorship, guidance from the board whenever needed. Of course there are challenges, but I think, we are well within meeting the timelines". He said the company had a very good board of directors and of the ten, eight were independent directors and four of them with rich credentials in the automotive industry.

He also said Ashok Leyland had aggressive plans on light commercial vehicles, Defence and electric vehicle segments.

Talking about Dasari, Hinduja said he was a people's person. "If he fixes a target, his team will do everything and achieve that. Last five years, he changed the culture in Ashok Leyland."

Noting that the focus was on making a smooth transition to find a successor to him, Dasari said the company had been his family.

"I am not running away from something. I just want to learn something else. Right now the focus is on smooth transition, internally," he said.

Replying to a question, Hinduja said the resignation of Dasari would not lead to a vacuum and it would be business as usual.

"Till we find a right person, based on the request of the Board, I will be the Executive Chairman. Vinod and I have been working closely whether it is strategy, recruitment of senior people. I think it will continue. It will be business as usual," he added.
The government will release a Rs 75 coin to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose hoisting the Tricolour for the first time at Port Blair. The Ministry of Finance has issued a notification regarding the release of the Rs 75 coin along with its specifications.

On December 30, 1943, Bose, who raised the Indian National Army (INA) to fight against the British, had hoisted the Tricolour for the first time at Cellular Jail, Port Blair.

"The coin of seventy-five rupees denomination shall only be coined at the Mint for issue under the authority of the central government on the occasion of '75th Anniversary of Hoisting of Tricolour' for the first time by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Port Blair," the Finance Ministry notification said.

The commemorative Rs 75 coin will be made out of 50 per cent silver, 40 per cent copper, and 5 per cent each of nickel and zinc, and will weigh 35 grams, a PTI report said. This coin will bear the portrait of 'Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose' saluting the flag on the background of Cellular Jail in Port Blair.

A numeral 75th along with inscription "anniversary" will be depicted below the portrait. The coin will carry an inscription saying 'First Flag Hoisting Day' in both Devnagari script and English.

On October 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hoisted the National Flag at Red Fort and unveiled the plaque to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of formation of Azad Hind provisional government, formed by Bose.

Edited by Vivek Punj
Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his discipline and crucial policy changes, like the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Murthy expressed his support towards PM Modi for a second term, saying that continuity of the present government will be good for India.

"We must be grateful that there is at least a national leader of Modi's calibre who is interested in improving India. Looking at last 5 years, I feel that having a leader who is focussed on nation, focussed on discipline, cleanliness, and economic progress is a good thing. Continuity of government would be a good thing," Murthy said.

Murthy also commended the Modi government for bringing corruption under check at the central level. He refused to comment on the alleged scam in the Rafale deal, saying that he doesn't know "what the truth is unless there is data," Murthy said during the interview.

ALSO READ: Centre defends secrecy clause relating to pricing of Rafale jets in SC

Murthy said that the Prime Minister cannot be held accountable for every lacuna in implementation and execution of key reforms like GST or Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). "I broadly feel that PM has led a strong economic progress minded government. We cannot hold the PM responsible for execution; it's the bureaucracy that has to do it. It's not Mr Modi's responsibility to go to every village and keep it clean," he said.

"The problem is with the Indian mindset and psyche, we are apathetic and indisciplined. We don't put the interest of the society ahead of our personal interest. We urgently need a cultural transformation before we can achieve an economic transformation," Murthy added.

Commenting on the present tension between the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Murthy hoped that the both parties will come to some form of compromise.

"We must do whatever is necessary to ensure that all institutions are strong. We have not paid the same level of attention to institutions, allowed them to become weak. This has happened right from Nehru's time. RBI vs government priorities has been bone of contention in many countries, it's nothing new. Each is doing what is legitimately their mandate. Having known people on both sides, they will come to some sort of solution," Murthy said.

When asked if he was disappointed with the Modi government, which was elected for its promises of development, but diverted its attention to statues and temples, Murthy said that these issues do not concern him.

Edited by Vivek Punj
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to meet the leaders of the countries that are negotiating a mega free trade agreement Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Singapore on November 14, trade ministers of the 16 participating countries, including India, have listed out the seven chapters in the negotiating text where they have made substantial progress.

Any announcement in the form of year-end deliverables that may come after the RCEP Leaders Summit, hence, are likely to be in those areas that are covered in the chapters on economic and technical cooperation, small and medium enterprises, customs procedures and trade facilitation, government procurement, institutional provisions, standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures (STRACAP); and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.

RCEP is being negotiated amongst 16 countries, comprising 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) plus six ASEAN FTA partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. The negotiators have so far held six Ministerial Meetings, seven Inter-Sessional Ministerial Meetings and 24 rounds of the Trade Negotiating Committee at the technical level.

In a statement issued here, Commerce Ministry said that the trade ministers took stock of the state of negotiations across the various chapters at 7th RCEP Inter-Sessional Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on 12-13 November. Indian delegation was led by Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu.

The Ministers made an assessment of the progress on 'The Package of Year End Deliverables'. Suresh Prabhu underlined that 'substantial progress' has been achieved in the negotiations which should be reported to the Leaders. He impressed upon all the trade ministers to lend political support to fast track the negotiations, the release said.

It also pointed out that India has managed to obtain balanced outcomes in the application of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism in both STRACAP and SPS negotiations. However, India showed flexibility on the principle of 'consensus' in the Institutional Provisions Chapter to help its successful conclusion.

It was also decided that the negotiators will deliberate further on E-Commerce, Competition and Investment chapters where consensus could not be reached during this meeting. "Ministers urged the negotiators to intensify their work with a view of narrowing gaps and finding balanced outcomes in the negotiations with the aim of concluding negotiations by 2019," the statement said.

Commerce Minister held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Singapore, China, Japan and New Zealand. He discussed bilateral issues and progress in RCEP negotiations. He had also pull aside meetings with Trade Ministers of South Korea, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Australia and Philippines to discuss matters of mutual interest, the release said.
Here's a prime candidate for an international no-fly list if Indian airlines ever come up with one: A drunk Irish woman who went on a rant on an Air India flight to London for being denied more wine. Videos of her expletive-laden tirade and rowdy behaviour have now gone viral on social media. The business class passenger was arrested after the Air India flight landed in London, India Today reported.

The exact sequence of events onboard the flight to Heathrow airport remains unclear but the woman's rant reportedly began when the cabin crew complained to the commander that she was too drunk. The commander then instructed his crew not to serve her more liquor, which set her off.

In a video, reportedly shot by a crew member, the woman is heard saying, "You are the captain, aren't you? You treat business class passengers like this? I work for all you f**king people... The f***ing Rohingyas, the f***ing people of all Asia, for you, an international criminal lawyer. Don't get any money for it by the way. But you won't give me a f***ing glass of wine, is that correct?" she rants.

The unruly passenger then proceeded to threaten to get people to boycott the airline. "If I say boycott Air India, done!" she said to the decidedly calm pilot. According to reports, she also spat at him at some point before directing her anger at a woman crew member. "I'll turn you inside f**king out. You f**king stupid c**t," she yelled.

In an apparent response to being told by the flight crew that the police would be informed about her behaviour once the plane landed in London, she retorted saying "You think I am scared?... All you have to do is give me a f**king drink but couldn't do that could you?"

(Edited by Vivek Dubey)

ALSO WATCH:




The Centre defended the secrecy clause related to the pricing of the 36 Rafale fighter jets in the Supreme Court on Wednesday and said it could not divulge details of the deal.

These matters are for the experts to deal with and "we have been saying that even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of jets", Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

The top law officer said the Centre has given in a sealed cover the complete details of the Rafale jets, the weapons to be fitted on the aircraft and other requirements.

The Centre on Monday had submitted to the apex court in a sealed cover, the pricing details of the Rafale jets.

Venugopal also told the apex court that the court is judicially not competent to decide what aircraft and weapons are to be bought as it is a matter for experts.

Defending the secrecy clause related to the pricing of the Rafale jets, he said, "Our adversaries may get advantages if the entire details on the pricing are disclosed."

Refusing to divulge details on the pricing aspect, Venugopal said he would not be able to assist the court further on the pricing issue.

"I decided not to peruse it myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible," he said.

While the Centre was making a submission on the issue of pricing, the bench, also comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, said any discussion on pricing of the Rafale fighter jets could only take place if the facts on the deal are allowed to come in the public domain.

"The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not," the bench said.

The top court told the attorney general that without bringing the facts in public domain, there was no question of any debate on the pricing of the planes.

However, the bench clarified to the law officer that any discussion on price would be considered if it thinks that it should come in the public domain.

During the hearing, Venugopal said at the exchange rate of November 2016, the cost of a bare fighter jet was Rs 670 crore.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment.

The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

Venugopal said earlier, the Jets were not to be loaded with important weapons system and the reservation of the government was due to the fact that it did not want to violate the clause of the Inter-Government Agreement and the secrecy clause.

He also told the court that presently three countries France, Egypt and Qatar are flying Rafale fighter jets.

On the issue of lack of sovereign guarantee, the attorney general said though there is no sovereign guarantee, there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.

Venugopal concluded his argument saying that Rafale aircraft are potent and "had we possessed Rafale during the Kargil war, we could have avoided huge casualties as Rafale is capable of hitting targets from a distance of 60 km".

To this, the bench said," Mr Attorney, Kargil was in 1999-2000? Rafale came in 2014."

The top law officer replied, "I said it hypothetically".
At the historic meeting in Casablanca, the Polish Pope spoke of the common faith in the one God and also of human rights, which "have their foundation in God": first of all, freedom of conscience and religion, "protected from external constraints" because freedom characterizes "the dignity of man". A religious freedom, he specified, that needs "reciprocity". And he also emphasized the respect due to every human person, "man or woman"

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis will visit Morocco from March 30 to 31, 2019, visiting the cities of Rabat and Casablanca. The announcement released today by the Holy See Press Office states that Francis was invited by King Mohammed VI and by the bishops.

The visit of Francis will take place almost 34 years after that of John Paul II who on 19 August 1985 was the first Pope in history to give a speech to young Muslims. The meeting took place in the Casablanca stadium, packed with young people, all in white clothes. Like King Hassan II who wanted the Pope's presence and welcomed him warmly (in the picture).

To the young people, who listened with respect and attention, the Polish Pope spoke of the common faith in the one God and also of human rights. "Christians and Muslims - he said - in general we have badly understood each other, and sometimes, in the past, we have opposed and even exhausted each other in polemics and in wars. I believe that, today, God invites us to change our old practices. We must respect each other, and also we must stimulate each other in good works on the path of God. ".

He also spoke of human rights, which "have their foundation in God": first of all, freedom of conscience and religion, "away from external constraints" because freedom characterizes "the dignity of man". A religious freedom, he specified, that needs "reciprocity".

And he also stressed the respect due to every human person, "man or woman": "each must be recognized for what he is" and must be "respected as such".
Now, we know that the Indian Railways is quite prompt and responsive on social media. But what if you are so unhappy with the state of affairs of the national transporter that you need to bring out the big guns? And no, we don't mean Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Railways, or even Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We mean a slightly different big gun - US President Donald Trump.

It may sound slightly bizarre, but it is true. An association has written to the US President because they want the Chetak Express, numbers 12981 and 12982 to stop at the Palam railway station on the Rewari route.

They believe that lakhs of passengers will benefit. So, a representative of the association has tweeted to President Trump. Also, it is in Hindi.

If you are wondering why they did not write to the railways minister or the chief minister - they did. However, they haven't received a single response.

You never know, now that the US President has been involved, Indian authorities may take notice.

But maybe the association is taking a cue from what President Trump said about America's relations with India during the White House Diwali celebrations and asked for help. During the White House Diwali celebrations President Trump said, "Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say," as he introduced Ivanka Trump to the audience.

President Trump also said that he was grateful for his friendship with PM Modi and the deep ties both the countries share before lighting the ceremonial diya in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
The Ashok Leyland stock closed lower today after the Hinduja Group flagship firm's chief executive officer and managing director Vinod K Dasari stepped down citing personal reasons. The firm also reported its Q2 earnings which came below estimates. The stock fell up to 11.13% (biggest intra day loss in over 1 month) to 105.80 level on the BSE. The stock opened at a loss of 4.33% at 119.05 on the BSE. It hit an intra day high of 113.90. Later it closed 10.46% or 12.45 points lower on BSE. The stock has lost 6.49% during the last one year and 10.61% since the beginning of this year.

The stock is trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving average of 116.21 and 130.03.

Chief executive officer Vinod K Dasari resigned after nearly 14 years with the company, the truckmaker said in a separate statement. The company board has accepted his resignation, a top official said on Tuesday.

Ashok Leyland also reported a 37.49 per cent jump in standalone net profit at Rs 459.57 crore for the September quarter fuelled by higher revenue compared to a net profit of Rs 334.25 crore during the same period of the previous fiscal.

Ashok Leyland CFO Gopal Mahadevan said while input cost increases continue, the company is attempting to neutralise this through efficient cost management.

Brokerages saw the resignation of the CEO negatively and said the firm's net profit missed estimates due to higher raw material costs.

Jefferies

"We stay cautious as we expect FY20 to be peak of cycle and valuations are not cheap in that context," said Jefferies. It cut price target of the stock to Rs 112 from Rs 120.

CITI

The brokerage gave a sell rating to the stock with a target price of Rs 100. It cut estimated earnings per share by 6%-10% over FY19-21E. It expects volume growth to decelerate, pressures on margins and perceives resignation of MD as a negative event.

Morgan Stanley

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were 4% below estimates. Near-term volumes could be volatile - but F20 prebuying, F21 scrappage opportunity, nontruck business potential, less EV risks, & valuation The brokerage is overweight on the stock with target price of Rs 171.

Credit Suisse

The brokerage has upgraded the stock to neutral from underpriced with a target price of Rs 118 . There will be no significant impact from axle load norm changes. It raised FY 19/FY20 estimates by 16%/23%.

However, the board at its meeting on Tuesday asked Dasari to continue till the end of March 2019 to facilitate a smooth transition, Ashok Leyland Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja, who was elevated as Executive Chairman in view of the resignation of Dasari, said.

The board had reappointed Dasari as Managing Director and CEO for a term of five years from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2021.

"This (resignation of Dasari) was something unexpected. The board needs time to discuss this (and find a replacement). Vinod has done an excellent job and the team in Ashok Leyland is very strong," Hinduja told reporters.

Ashok Leyland is engaged in commercial vehicles and related components. Through its subsidiaries, it is engaged in manufacturing and trading in medium and heavy commercial vehicle, light commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, automotive aggregates, vehicle financing and engineering design services. It offers a range of 18 to 80-seater buses under categories, such as city application and electric buses.

It offers a range of trucks, which include long haul trucks, mining and construction trucks, and distribution trucks. It designs, develops and manufactures defense vehicles for armed forces. It has operations in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mauritius, the Middle East and Africa.
Aviation and oil marketing companies' stocks were the top gainers in trade today as crude oil prices fell to $65.02 per barrel mark marking second consecutive day of decline after US President Donald Trump urged OPEC not to cut supplies to prop up the market. While the SpiceJet stock gained 4.24%, InterGlobe Aviation rose 7.52% on BSE. The Jet Airways stock too gained 2.24% on the BSE.

Stocks of oil marketing companies too gained in value. While HPCL rose 8.18%, BPCL gained 7.50%. State-run Indian Oil Corp was trading 6.94% higher on the BSE.

The BSE oil and gas index was among the top sectoral gainers rising 2.16% or 292 points to 13,852 level.

Oil prices posted the deepest plunge in more than three years in the international market. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped to $65.17 a barrel. Oil has now fallen roughly 30 percent for 12 straight days, driven by worries over rising oil production around the world and weakening demand from developing countries, with expectations for increased supply from the US and OPEC.

Oil prices started retreating on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump flayed Saudi Arabia's call for production cuts and pressed oil cartel OPEC for lower prices based on supply. Weak oil demand outlook by OPEC and worries about oversupply and US-China trade war also weighed on oil prices.

Trump's statement came after top oil exporter Saudi Arabia announced a supply cut in December and other producers considered reductions heading into 2019.

The Indian market too welcomed the fall in international oil prices and opened higher today. Every dollar per barrel change in crude oil prices impacts the import bill by Rs 823 crore ($0.13 billion). The same is also the impact when currency exchange rate fluctuates by Re 1 per US dollar. While the Sensex rose 106 points to 35,250, the Nifty gained 33 points to 10,615.

The decline in prices continued last week after the US said it would let eight countries keep importing Iranian oil. That eased fears that new US sanctions on Iran would cause shortages and drive prices higher.

Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday that the kingdom will reduce exports by around 500,000 barrels a day from November to December. Russian oil minister Alexander Novak said his country was open to cuts, at a meeting of oil producers in Abu Dhabi.
14 Nov 2018, 6:17 PM

Apple appoints Nokia's Ashish Chowdhary to lead India operations

Apple has appointed Nokia's Chief Customer Operations Officer (CCOO) Ashish Chowdhary as operation head for India to oversee the sales function. Chowdhary had joined Nokia in 2003 and will take responsibilities in Apple from January 2019. Apple CEO Tim Cook had recently said how the company has a "long-term focus on the market" in India. Chowdhary, replacing the company's current India operations head Michel Coulomb could be a move in this direction.

Rupee rises to 72 level against dollar as crude oil price nears $65 per barrel

The Indian rupee hit the 72 per dollar level for the first time since September 21 as oil prices posted the deepest plunge in more than three years in the international market. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 30 percent to $65.17 a barrel. Oil has now fallen for 12 straight days, driven by worries over rising oil production around the world and weakening demand from developing countries, with expectations for increased supply from the US and OPEC.

Binny Bansal quits Flipkart over personal misconduct allegations

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has resigned as the group chief executive officer following an independent probe into allegations of "serious personal misconduct", the firm's owner Walmart Inc said Tuesday. Binny, 37, has strongly denied the charges and said he was "stunned" by the allegations. Binny added that he will continue to remain a large shareholder and Board member of the company that he had co-founded 11 years ago. Walmart said Binny's decision to step down followed an independent investigation done on behalf of Flipkart and Walmart, even though the probe "did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant's assertions" against him. The company, however, did not provide details of the nature of misconduct or the findings of the probe.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey meets PM Modi

Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the importance of global conversations on social media platforms. After his meeting, Dorsey tweeted pictures from his meeting and said: "Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for having us today. I enjoyed our conversation about the importance of global conversation. Also: thanks for the ideas for Twitter!" In response, Modi said: "Delighted to meet you @jack! Happy to see the passion with which you're leading @Twitter. I enjoy being on this medium, where I've made great friends and see everyday the creativity of people."

Govt masterstroke! 14 mega employment zones expected to create 10 million jobs

The Modi government has long been criticised for jobless growth, especially after making it a key electoral promise back in 2014. But it hopes to address the issue with its ambitious plans for 14 mega national employment zones, which has finally moved a step forward. The project appraisal and management division of think tank NITI Aayog has given its go-ahead to the Rs 1 lakh crore proposal of the shipping ministry that is expected to provide direct and indirect jobs to one crore youth over the next five years, The Economic Times reported. The proposal envisages setting up 14 national employment zones in the coastal states under the special purpose vehicle route, and is expected to be rolled out ahead of general elections next year, when employment generation is sure to emerge as a key issue.

Jet Airways in various stages of talks with multiple parties for stake sale and funding

Cash-strapped Jet Airways Tuesday said it is at various stages of discussions with multiple "interested parties" for capital infusion and partial stake sale in its loyalty programme Jet Privilege. The Naresh Goyal-run airline is looking for investors to tide over the liquidity crisis, which has resulted in delayed payments to some vendors and salaries to a section of its over 16,000 employees. "We are working towards various liquidity initiates to bridge the gap. We have engaged the services of experts to help in the turnaround plan and enhance liquidity," deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Amit Agarwal told analysts
New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) Two persons, who tested positive for the Zika virus, died over the past 10 days in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal district, officials said Tuesday, as the number people suffering from the disease mounted to 109 in the state.The deceased -- an 18-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman -- were suffering from the virus and other "serious" diseases. Therefore, it cannot be said they died due to Zika , they clarified. "We cannot say these deaths were due to the Zika virus as both the deceased suffered from multiple serious ailments, besides having tested (positive) for Zika," a senior Health Ministry official said.The virus has infected 109 people, out of which 34 are pregnant women, the officials said.On November 5, an 18-year-old man died due to septic shock. He was suffering from dengue and encephalitis with brain herniation, besides being tested positive for the Zika virus, they said.In the second case, the 23-year-old woman, who also died due to septic shock, was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, besides the virus. She died in the first week of November, the officials said.Both the deaths were reported from the state's Bhopal district, the officials said.People have tested positive for the Zika virus in seven districts of Madhya Pradesh. This includes 44 cases were reported from Bhopal, 20 from Sehore, 29 from Vidisha, two each from Sagar and Hoshangabad, and one each from Narsinghpur and Raisen.On Tuesday, a central team was sent to the state to review the situation and assist the Madhya Pradesh government to replicate measures and the action plan implemented in Jaipur and Ahmedabad to contain the disease, the senior official said.In India, the first outbreak of the Zika virus was reported in Ahmedabad in January 2017 and the second in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district in July that year. Both these outbreaks were successfully contained through intensive surveillance and vector management.During the latest outbreak of the virus in the country, the first case surfaced on September 22, when an 85-year-old woman tested positive for the virus in Jaipur. Since then, the number of Zika cases have risen to 153 in Rajasthan.In Madhya Pradesh an intensive screening exercise is being undertaken and vector control measures have been intensified. The government has also issued an advisory to district administrations to take steps to check mosquito breeding.The state health department has advised pregnant women not to visit the affected areas.The Zika virus, transmitted through the aedes aegypti mosquito, causes fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain. It is harmful to pregnant women, as it can lead to microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's head is significantly smaller than expected, in newborn children.The disease is under surveillance of the Union Health Ministry although it is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the WHO notification since November 18, 2016. PTI PLB ANBANB
By Aditi Khanna London, Nov 13 (PTI) A Bollywood-loving member of the Bahrain royal family is set to fight a nearly USD 42.5-million damages claim brought by an Egyptian businessman when a four-day trial opens in the UK High Court on Tuesday.Ahmed Adel Abdallah Ahmed is suing Sheikh Hamad Isa Ali al-Khalifa, a cousin of the King of Bahrain, for allegedly reneging on a verbal agreement dating back to 2015.Under the agreement, Ahmed claims Sheikh had legally contracted his firm CBSC Events to arrange private meetings with as many as 26 famous Bollywood stars on a wish list drawn up by him.However, Sheikh reportedly went back on the deal after meetings with four Bollywood stars Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Aditya Roy Kapoor in Mumbai and Dubai for which he paid around USD 3 million.In his legal claim for damages due to inconvenience and loss of earnings, Ahmed alleges that the Sheikh breached the terms of their agreement by refusing to pay the sums for additional meetings arranged and that he made excuses not to meet two further stars Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan."This is an interesting case and involves oral agreements reached in London between two parties from the Middle East, concerning arranging meetings with famous Bollywood stars," said Pavani Reddy, the Managing Partner of Zaiwalla & Co. the London-based law firm representing Ahmed in the trial.Neither party in the case has chosen to present any of the Bollywood stars in question as witnesses as they were not privy to what had been agreed between the Sheikh and the businessman.Sheikh had an agreement with the Claimant [Ahmed] to arrange the meetings, which Sheikh Hamad later reneged on, resulting in a breach in contract and loss of business for the Claimant, the case notes state.The Sheikh, who, on his own admission had an "unbridled desire and fancy to establish contacts with Bollywood stars", accepts that an agreement was made to arrange meetings.However, he disputes the actual terms of the said agreement, Ahmed's lawyers argue.Sheikh is represented in the High Court in London by Herbert Smith Freehills law firm, after an attempt to move the case to Bahrain had failed last year.In his defence, the Sheikh argues that he pulled out of the deal after Ahmed "started to put unfair pressure" on him, "making unwarranted demands for very large sums of money and seeking to arrange meetings which were not convenient".While oral agreements are enforceable in UK courts, the judge will have to determine whether or not any such agreement was in fact breached. PTI AK MRJ AKJ MRJ
By M Zulqernain(Eds: Adding background) Lahore, Nov 14 (PTI) Pakistan has "no immediate plans" to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, a senior aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, amid the chill in bilateral ties.Asked whether the government was considering granting MFN status to India and that Prime Minister Khan was keen to hold peace talks with the Indian government, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce, Textile, Industry and Investments, Abdul Razak Dawood said, "No such plans at the moment"."At present we have no immediate plans to grant MFN status to India," he said here at an event on Tuesday.However, he said Pakistan is working out free trade agreements with different countries, especially China, and hopes to complete the second FTA with China by June, 2019.Pakistan is yet to award the MFN status to India and it maintains a negative list of 1,209 items which are not permitted to be imported from India.As per a World Trade Organisation rule, every member of WTO is required to accord this status to other member countries.India has already granted this status to all WTO members, including Pakistan.Under the MFN status, a WTO member country is obliged to treat other trading nations in a non-discriminatory manner, especially with regard to customs duty and other levies, but Pakistan is yet to transition fully to MFN status for India.Pakistan allows only 137 products to be exported from India through the Wagah border land route.Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 2.28 billion in 2016-17.India mainly exports cotton, dyes, chemicals, vegetables and iron and steel to Pakistan while it imports fruits, cement, leather, chemicals and spices. India-Pakistan relations have nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place. Ties between the two countries had been strained after terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016. The sentencing of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a Pakistani military court over espionage charges last year further dented relations. In September, India cancelled a planned meeting in New York between the two foreign ministers which was dubbed as "arrogant" by Prime Minister Khan who said he was "disappointed" by New Delhi's "negative" response.India cited the "brutal" killing of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Pakistan's release of postal stamps "glorifying" slain Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani for calling off the meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). PTI MZ KUN AKJ KUN
(Eds: Udpading with more inputs) Singapore, Nov 14 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday held separate bilateral meetings with the premiers of Singapore, Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.Prime Minister Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.He became the first head of government to address the world's largest event on financial technology.Prime Minister Modi first met his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, who is also the host of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit."PM @narendramodi met with Prime Minister of Singapore @leehsienloong on the sidelines of #EastAsiaSummit. Good exchange of views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.Modi then held bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia Summit here."PM Narendra Modi met with PM of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," Kumar said.The Prime Minister's Office said Modi's meeting with Australian premier Morrison was "fruitful". Prime Minister Modi discussed cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security and connectivity with Thai premier Prayut, he said.Modi also held a bilateral meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.During his visit to Singapore, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit. Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration among its members and other Asian states. The ASEAN members are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos. PTI MRJ AKJ AKJ
Cash-strapped Jet Airways Tuesday said it is at various stages of discussions with multiple "interested parties" for capital infusion and partial stake sale in its loyalty programme Jet Privilege. The Naresh Goyal-run airline is looking for investors to tide over the liquidity crisis, which has resulted in delayed payments to some vendors and salaries to a section of its over 16,000 employees.

"We are working towards various liquidity initiates to bridge the gap. We have engaged the services of experts to help in the turnaround plan and enhance liquidity," deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Amit Agarwal told analysts in a post-earnings concall Tuesday.

These measures include sale of aircraft, monetization of its stake in Jet Privilege and fresh equity infusion, the official added.

"We are actively pursuing both the transactions and are currently at various stages of discussions with multiple interested parties for both part stake sale in Jet Privilege and fresh inclusion of equity into the airline," Agarwal said.

He said the company has hired investment bankers and consulting firms to carry out these tasks, adding, "six wide- body Boeing 777s have already been put on sale."

On Monday, the airline reported its third consecutive quarterly loss at Rs 1,261 crore in three months to September, roiled by higher fuel cost that soared 59 percent, a steep rupee fall that led to a seven-fold spike in forex loss as well as airline's inability to increase fares in the face of excess capacity and stiff competition.

Airlines are battling for market share over profitability by dumping capacity into the market at unprecedented levels enabled by fare regimes that are unsustainable, chief executive officer Vinay Dube said.

"The rupee fell by about 10 per cent during the quarter over the same period last year while Brent jumped almost 50 percent. However, instead of witnessing an increase in fares to recover cost, the industry fares and yields are in fact down," he said.

Such a low fare regime is not sustainable for either the industry or the consumer in the medium-term, he said adding, "it is imperative that fares rise in the short-term."

Agarwal admitted that the airline has delayed payment to vendors and a section of the employees, but quickly added that it is current on payment obligations to banks, fuel companies and airport operators as well as statutory dues.

Acknowledging that the employees are not happy with salary delays, Dube said, "almost 15 percent employees have not been receiving their salaries on time and I am sure they are less than happy. But let me add that our employees are extremely committed and dedicated."

Net debt during the quarter rose by Rs 690 crore to Rs 8,052 crore over the June quarter, while gross debt came down by Rs 200 crore to Rs 8,411 crore from what it was in the year-ago period, Agarwal said, adding 60 percent of debt is dollar-denominated.

"Since a large part of the debt is dollar-denominated, the rupee depreciation has impacted our closing debt balance by Rs 530 crore," he added.

Despite heavy loss, the airline counter rallied 5.21 percent at Rs 254.65 on the BSE while the index gained 0.95 percent.
Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen yesterday commenced a two-day Enterprise Ireland trade visit of 34 companies to Germany.

The trade mission is part of Enterprise Irelands Brexit response which aims to accelerate exports to Europe by 50% by 2020.

Central to the itinerary are two world-renowned trade fairs- Medica, the leading global event for manufacturers of medical technologies, and Eurotier the worlds largest exhibition for agricultural innovations.



Medica, the world's largest medical trade fair, takes place in Dusseldorf from 12th to 15th November and will attract over 120,000 visitors. The 16 participating Irish companies will present their technology solutions in the areas of electromedicine, laboratory medicine, medical technology and diagnostics to potential buyers.



The theme at EuroTier 2018, which takes place at Hannover Exhibition Center, Germany, from 13th to 16th November 2018, is "Digital Animal Farming". Over 160,000 visitors will attend this event focused on highlighting technologies for successfully combining productivity and animal welfare, as well as information management and the sustainable use of natural resources.

18 Enterprise Ireland agritech clients will showcase their innovative products, services and technologies to potential customers at Eurotier, including Cheetah Electronics; HerdInsights and Lir Analytical which will exhibit on the dedicated Irish Pavilion.

The exhibitors on the Irish Pavilion will promote their products and services under the Enterprise Ireland #IrishAdvantage banner, a campaign promoting the advantages of sourcing suppliers from Ireland directly to buyers in key Eurozone markets.

A growth in exports of medtech and agritech products and services to Germany is part of Enterprise Irelands strategy to support clients to deliver 60,000 new jobs, increase exports to the Eurozone by 50% and add an additional 5bn in exports from 2017  2020.



Speaking on his arrival in Dusseldorf, Minister Breen said, "Germany is a key export market for Ireland. As Europes largest economy and the fourth largest in the world, it offers substantial growth opportunities and potential for increased collaboration in the agritech and medtech sectors for innovative and ambitious Irish companies. This trade visit provides a valuable opportunity for the participating Irish companies to present their innovative solutions to buyers and potential partners attending these huge fairs."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
It was announced last week that the Government of Ireland, through Enterprise Ireland, and the European Investment Fund (EIF) have signed an agreement to double the size of the existing European Angels Fund Ireland (EAF Ireland) to 40m.



The European Angels Fund Ireland co-invests alongside approved Business Angels in Irish-based internationally trading SMEs and allocates sums from 250K to 4m over 10 years to the Angels, to double their investment into the SME.

The first 20m of the fund is now fully allocated, following agreement with nine Irish Business Angels, who have invested in 20 early stage companies to date. By increasing the fund to 40m, it is anticipated that up to 100 companies will be supported over the next 10 years.

In recent years, Business Angels have become an increasingly important part of the funding eco-system for Irish SMEs. In 2017 support for Irish Business Angels through the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) totaled 43 investments and provided over 12m for Irish start-up and early-stage companies.



Speaking last week, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys said, "I know that securing appropriate finance is one of the most difficult challenges facing entrepreneurs in the start-up and growth stages of their businesses. For this reason, I am delighted with todays announcement of the extension of the European Angel Fund. The extended Fund will enhance the existing financing environment for more entrepreneurs, enabling their businesses to develop and grow and ultimately leading to the creation of employment."



Executive Director, Global Business Development at Enterprise Ireland, Kevin Sherry said, "The availability of Angel funding at the essential early stages of a companys development provides both essential capital and hugely valuable industry experience to support companies through this early phase of growth. Enterprise Ireland is very encouraged by the strong take up of the funding to date amongst the Angel community and can already see the positive impact first hand through the accelerated growth and development of Irish businesses."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Gold broker and storage company GoldCore said on Tuesday it had opened a gold vault in Dublin, aiming to attract investors looking for an alternative to London after Brexit.

Dublin-based GoldCore, which set up the facility in partnership with security firm Loomis International, said it was Ireland's first institutional grade vault.

"Brexit and other financial and geopolitical risks make asset diversification and owning assets in different jurisdictions more important than ever," GoldCore said in a statement.

London is a global precious metals trading and storage hub and GoldCore is not alone in seeking to position itself for potential new business amid the uncertainty of Britain's planned exit from the European Union next year.

Sources on Monday told Reuters the Bank of France had partnered with U.S. banking group JPMorgan to expand its range of gold bullion services for other central banks - a business dominated in Europe by London and the Bank of England.

GoldCore offers trading, delivery and storage of gold coins and bars internationally and was founded in 2003. Loomis is one of the world's largest operators of professional bullion vaults. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
The draft Brexit deal agreed between Britain and the European Union won't stop banks in London pushing ahead with relocation plans because the agreement is far from being ratified, UK financial sector officials said on Wednesday.

The deal agreed between Britain and Brussels on Tuesday includes a "business-as-usual" transition period from March to the end of 2020.

But UK ministers and parliament - or the EU itself - have yet to ratify the deal, whose details are dividing the ruling Conservative Party of Prime Minister Theresa May.

"The announcement that a draft Brexit agreement has been reached between the UK and EU is a step forward, but there is still a long way to go before the deal is done," said Catherine McGuinness, chairman of the City of London financial district.

Banks, insurers and asset managers in Britain are opening new EU hubs to avoid disruption to cross-border services next March, regardless of whether there will be a transition period.

"Our clients are continuing with their planning and execution," said Joe Cassidy, financial services Brexit lead at consultants KPMG.

"Everybody knows we are just at the beginning and not at the end, and a lot could happen in the intervening period."

Other industry source said only a legally binding divorce settlement and transition period would prompt banks to pause relocation plans.

"We are not there yet. Until we are, we would expect firms, regulators and governments to continue to prepare for all outcomes, including a no deal scenario," the source said.

McGuinness said EU regulators should in the meantime urgently mirror efforts by UK regulators to address potential no-deal "cliff-edges in markets.

The European Commission published on Tuesday its no-Brexit contingency plans that include allowing EU customers to continue clearing derivatives contracts in London.

"It's reassuring to hear increasing acknowledgment that these issues need dealing with but we need firm action, not just words. Firms cannot tackle these issues alone in the time remaining," McGuinness said.

Cassidy said the plans from Brussels lack detail in some areas, a reflection of how negotiations between Britain and the EU continue.

"It's a good direction of travel," Cassidy said.

Swiss bank UBS told CNBC on Wednesday that the next few weeks will be very important for Britain's financial markets, whose biggest customer is the EU.

"We're prepared for the worst, and we hope for the best," said Axel Weber, chairman of UBS, which is spending 100 million Swiss francs on moving some of its 5,000 staff in London to Frankfurt. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
CAMEROUN :: Cameroon: SISIKU AYUK TABES WIFE WRITES AN OPEN LETTER TO CHANTAL BIYA

The Lilian Ayuk, wife of the detained Ambazonian president, Sisiku Ayuk Julius Tabe has written an open to Cameroons face lady madam Chantal Biya.

A Call For Compassion: An Open Letter To Mrs. Chantal Biya

Madam Chantal Biya The First Lady of the Republic of Cameroon The Unity Palace Yaounde, Cameroon Central Africa November 13, 2018

A Call For Compassion: An Open Letter To Mrs. Chantal Biya

It is with greatest concern and respect for the future of women, children and people of Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) that I greet you in this unusual correspondence. It is my hope and certainly my trust that this letter finds you in the best of health. I still recall the excitement andjoyous day on April 23rd, 1994, when as a young woman you got married and became the First Lady of the Republic of Cameroon. I celebrated that day for two reasons; that the country had as First Lady a younger woman and with the establishment of the Chantal Biya Foundation that same year, you demonstrated your desire to attend to the sufferings of the vulnerable,underprivileged, the sick and weak in Cameroon. I knew that as a woman and a mother, the sanctity of life and the burning desire to protect it was very close to your heart and this has been demonstrated through your philanthropic and humanitarian efforts through the years.With your humanitarian credentials, there was no doubt in my mind that you would protect the best interest of the people of Cameroon as their First Lady.

However, I write to you today, forced into exile and no longer in Cameroon, nearly twenty-four years later with a heavy heart. I hold a heavy heart because of the desperate and horrific situation in Southern Cameroons.

The conflict in the Southern Cameroons has taken a terrible toll on the vulnerable community and the stench of death and desolation has engulfed the villages,towns and cities. The depravity and senseless disregard of human life by the security forces of the government of Cameroon is alarming. We are seeing scenes reminiscent of the Ethiopian civil war in the 80s with dead bodies abandoned on the side of our roads, charred bodies of our elderly and vulnerable, burnt alive in their homes and entire villages incinerated from the face of the earth.

The security forces are carrying out extra-judicial killings of the population, the lives of our active young men are no longer assured today than it is tomorrow, and our young women are raped with reckless brutality by the security forces of the government of Cameroon. The trauma and scars of death on the desolate eyes of our children seeing their parents savagely bludgeoned by the security forces is leaving a painful impact characterized by nightmares in these young minds. Most of the indigenous population has been forced into the open forest and exposed to the elements. Nursing mothers and women under their period are left with no

options, but to use dead vegetation for their basic hygienic needs. It is a terrible sight to behold. Cash crops like cocoa, coffee, palm kernels have been abandoned to waste in the farms because the farmers have either been forced to flee or are too afraid to even hold their artisanal tools like cutlasses to go to the farms because that is in itself a death sentence from the security forces. Almost 300,000 IDP and about 100,000 refugees living in squalid conditions in neighboring Nigeria, thousands killed, and some buried in mass graves and thousands arrested, abducted and whisked to dangerous dungeons in Cameroon. The economy of Southern Cameroons that have been systematically abandoned for the last 57 years has been completely eviscerated and devastated by the conflict, punitive curfews and road closures that make movement and commerce between villages and towns perniciously impossible and frustrating.

My hearts bleeds for the children and women rendered orphans and widows, my heart bleeds upon the dark clouds circling above Southern Cameroons, My heart bleeds for the painful and horrific burning of elderly men and women in their homes, the pain, the anger, the complete obliteration of entire communities and cultures. I weep for the mothers and wives of the young soldiers whose lives are also being wasted in this senseless war. It was permissible in the beginning of this crisis that you stayed silent, it was permissible that you remained indifferent, but it is no longer permissible in light of what we know now. It is no longer permissible as a mother of the nation who understands the pain of childbirth to remain indifferent to the plight of the people of Southern Cameroons. It is a travesty that the pain and suffering of mothers and young women who looked up to you, who sang, praised and celebrated you have been abandoned and treated with this level of disdain. How do you sleep at night as a mother knowing that young children have been deprived of education because of the security situation for the past two years, how do you wake up each morning not knowing what may happened to your loved ones in Southern Cameroons and how can you stay mute for this long with the unravelling refugee crisis in Southern Cameroons. What has happened to the humanity in you? Cry My Beloved Country!

As the wife of Sissiku Julius Ayuk-Tabe (leader of Southern Cameroons), I understand the political implication of this crisis. However, there are times when humanity and government come together for a common goal. In this case, the goal is the protection of humanity; the innocent and helpless men, women and children in Southern Cameroons. They are unable to speak or defend themselves. They live in terror because they never know when they hear the sound of guns in their village, if it is their turn to be killed or taken away in the darkness of the early morning. Imagine the terror that overcomes them when they hear the deafening screams of a sister, aunt, cousin, a playmate or a mother being brutally raped. They know then that they are next. It is compared to an execution queue where men are waiting to be taken away for execution, and they hear the deadly sound of the firing squad as they queue in and wait their turn. The torture, taunts and torments are unimaginable, and you could hear grown men crying.

I realize that I may come under criticisms and accusations for writing this letter to you. I have no other motive to write this letter, other than for you to rally the mothers of Cameroon and bring pressure to bear on your husband and the government of Cameroon for an inclusive dialogue and a negotiated solution to this crisis and the immediate release of our leaders including my husband. The deafening silence from you is no longer acceptable. The lives of 8 million Southern Cameroonians and the fate of their leaders in jail is in your hands. Madam First Lady set the example for other women to follow.

It is not too late for you to send the message; that the mothers of Cameroon will no longer tolerate thiswar. The Southern Cameroons women will applaud you and women around the world will celebrate you. The Lives of Southern Cameroons children, mothers and fathers also Matter and the continuing silence in the face of these killings is collusion. I look forward to collaborating with you to look for an inclusive and negotiated solutions to this crisis.

Respectfully, Lilian Ayuk-Tabe
Before last weeks well-publicised bushfire, not many Canberrans were even aware of Pierces Creek Forest. A number of bona fide recreation groups regularly use the forest, located between the Cotter and Tidbinbilla, and its maze of logging tracks, amongst them trail bike riders and orienteers. However, arguably the fastest growing users of the forest are geocachers. As part of a global online treasure hunt, the geocachers (or cachers for short) test their navigation skills to search for and "find" tiny containers (called caches), hidden in obscure places such as in hollow tree stumps or partially-concealed under rocks. In the same vein as many twitchers who will travel just about anywhere, risking life and limb, to try and "tick" another bird off their list, many cachers are fanatical about making their next "find". In fact, some of the more obsessive cachers meticulously plan their weekends and family holidays almost entirely around locations where they can find the most caches. One of these is Greg Shaw (aka "The Farmers 5") of Chifley, a cacher for 12 years who has chalked up more than 7000 "finds" in Canberra and beyond. I love caching as it takes you to places you otherwise wouldnt go, says Shaw, who several weeks ago went in search for a cache hidden by prolific Canberra cacher, Thomas Schulze, (aka Tankengine) in a hidden cave in Pierces Creek Forest. Shulze has found more than 12,000 and hidden more than 700. I knew the boulders were there, and when I went to investigate, I found the cave, reports Schulze, who in 2014, decided to hide a cache (each cache has a name, this one called, "Granite Grotto") there for others to find. One of the reasons Shaw went in search of "Granite Grotto" was that no one had managed to find it for a year, a rarity for a cache so close to a city. But Shaws excitement in discovering the cache was overshadowed by what he describes as a bare footprint in the sand he found at the entrance to the cave. It looked like a human footprint which was strange as there was only one, and the area is riddled with blackberries, so theres no way youd be walking anywhere near here in bare feet, explains Shaw. The footprint was exactly the same size as my shoe, further explains Shaw. Im a size 9 shoe, so this makes the print either size 11 or 12. Given the cave is off the beaten track and hadnt been visited by cachers for over a year, Shaw was perplexed as to how the footprint got there, prompting him to speculate, who knows, it could be some sort of yowie. Intrigued as to the origins of the lone footprint and keen to check-out the cave, several weeks ago (before the bushfire), I joined Shaw and Schulze on a trek to the "Granite Grotto" or, as one other cacher who found it in 2016 believes it should be dubbed, "Blackberries Revenge". Unfortunately, prior to our arrival strong wind or passing animals (there were signs a wallaby had hopped through the cave) had disturbed the footprint, rendering it almost incomparable to Shaws photo from just weeks earlier. While the possibility of it being a yowie is a far-fetched one (even for your so-named columnist), ringed by a fortress of thorny blackberry bush, the cave entrance is a definitely strange spot to find a bare human-like footprint. The most likely scenario is that someone rested in the cave and took their shoes off (perhaps to pluck blackberry thorns from their socks) and momentarily placed on of their feet on the cave floor. But why just one print? asks Shaw. It is indeed a mystery, and one which may never solved. No matter the explanation for the footprint, the cave hidden at the base of an outcrop of granite tors and about the size of a large bedroom provides excellent cover. I wouldnt be surprised if it hasnt been used as a shelter for humans at some time in the past. I wouldnt have gone there if it wasnt for caching, thats the idea of caching, it takes you these sort of places, Shaw says. According to Schulze, around eight caches were destroyed in last weeks bushfire, which thankfully spared "Granite Grotto", meaning when it is safe to return to Pierces Creek Forest, more Canberra cachers will get to experience the magic of this hidden cave. Thats if they can find it. Pierces Creek Forest: Following the bushfire, parts of the forest may be closed for some time for safety and also to allow vegetation rehabilitation. Check for track closures with Access Canberra (Ph: 132 281) before planning a trip. Geocaching: There are over 300 active geocachers in the ACT. More: geocaching.com Curious Crossings: There are two concrete crossings of Pierces Creek. The up-stream one is quite substantial in size and at first glance appears a little over-engineered. According to retired ACT Forests cartographer Bill Crowle, it is called "Quandary Crossing" and was so-named after the officer in charge over-calculated how much concrete was needed to cover pipes and construct approaches. In the 1970s, the second crossing, The Causeway, was a popular picnic area with towering pines and BBQs, but was sadly destroyed by the 2003 bushfires. Did You Know? In The Yowie: In Search of Australias Bigfoot (Strange Nation, 2006), authors Tony Healy and Paul Cropper chronicle several 19th and 20th century reports of yowies  or unidentified hairy bipedal hominids in the Brindabella Mountians just to the south-west of Pierces Creek Forest. Wheres the Castle? While the mystery of who added the googly eyes to the heritage symbol on the new sign enticing motorists to stop at Collector remains unsolved, several readers have questioned the use of the castle symbol on road signs to represent heritage in Australia. Why do we use castles to show heritage landmarks, Adam Burgess asks. I understand its an identifiable silhouette, but when I was a kid and had to drive through every town in the Southern Tablelands, I was always disappointed there were no actual castles. Meanwhile Sean Haylan, economic development and tourism manager at Yass Valley Council, agrees with Burgess sentiments. International tourists are especially disappointed when they discover there arent any actual castles, Haylan says. But with so many great heritage buildings around Yass, we keep them happy. While a castle might be associated with heritage in the United Kingdom and some parts of Europe, surely we can come up with something more relevant in Australia? Send any ideas to the address at the end of this column. On Safari Over recent months several readers, including Brad Poile of Collector and Cheryl Hodges of Jerrabomberra, have reported a giraffe lurking amongst trees on the northern side of highway between Bungendore and Braidwood. Yes, a giraffe! Intrigued, earlier this week your Akubra-clad columnist donned the safari suit and binoculars and went in search of the elusive animal. Was it the part of a private collection? After several drives along the same stretch of road, I eventually caught a fleeting glimpse of the giraffe in scrub, on private property, about 1 kilometre on the eastern side of the Manar Creek Bridge. On closer inspection with the zoom lens, far from being a real creature, the giraffe is a life-size statue, and whats more it has a companion - a baby elephant at its feet. Does anyone know the origins of the giraffe or how long its been there? Warning: The giraffe is on private property so can only be viewed from afar, and for safety reasons its best for a passenger, rather than driver to look out for it. CONTACT TIM: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick. Clue: The first and most colourful coat of arms of Australia in the Parliamentary Triangle. Degree of difficulty: Easy - MediumLast week: Congratulations to June McKenzie of Fisher who was the first reader to correctly identify last weeks photo, as the Tom Bass-designed copper coat of arms of Australia on the Treasury Building in Parkes. McKenzie beat a number of readers including Matt Nagaiya and Terence Sheales of Melba to the prize. The clue of "money" led several readers including Sandra Neville and Leigh Palmer to incorrectly think the location was the Royal Australian Mint. The photo was sent in by Anna Howe, who, on November 18 (930am-1130am), as part of the Canberra Design Festival, is leading a democracy heritage walk through the Parliamentary Triangle. The theme of the festival is The Shape of Things to Come and in looking at how the shaping of our democracy is seen in the triangle, Ill be asking those who come on the walk to look especially at the changing designs of the Australian coat of arms, reports Howe who reveals she has found eight different designs and there may well be more, making the walk something of a treasure hunt". While all have the kangaroo and emu, they are in different positions, says Howe, who points out other differences in the eight coat of arms, some of the crests have wattle in different representations, others dont, and some have Australia below the crest, some in a banner, some just the word. All the crests include the seven pointed Federation Star, one point for the six states as at 1901, and one for the federation, prompting the question as to whether the star should be updated to have two more points for the ACT and NT. For more on the festival or to book on Howes free walk, go to designcanberrafestival.com.au How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday November 10, 2018 will win a double pass to Dendy - The Home of Quality Cinema.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/92885954-1adf-43c2-99be-469abaa0d01f/r0_407_4032_2685_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
news, latest-news

A six-hectare part of Gungahlin's town centre for community services could be moved away from the town centre, while apartments would rise up to 14 storeys in the centre's urban zone and up to 10 storeys on the light rail route. The changes are contained in the territory government's final report of its Gungahlin town centre planning consultation, after the controversial approval of numerous 20 and 22 storey apartment blocks in the town centre. But the proposals have left the Gungahlin Community Council disappointed, given new building height restrictions in a key area are largely irrelevant after the government approved the higher-rise apartments. Planning Minister Mick Gentleman released the final plans and a report on consultation on Tuesday, citing 2016 Census data tipping Gungahlin's population to grow by 31,000 people to 106,000 by 2028. The changes proposed to the town centre's master plan including increasing building heights from six to 10 storeys along the light rail route on Flemington Road in the east part of the centre, and up to 14 storeys in the north-western corner of the centre. The government has also outlined plans to investigate moving the original proposal for a six-hectare community facilities precinct near the Flemington Road and Kate Crace Street intersection away from the town centre, closer to the light rail stop on Manning Clark Crescent. Gungahlin Community Council president Peter Elford said he was disappointed it had taken so long for the changes to be released, given the council had been campaigning for two years for height restrictions in the town centre. "I'm particularly disappointed as they are recommending maximum building heights of 14 storeys in the western area, despite almost every block in that precinct already having a building built, under construction or approved that is bigger than that," he said. Mr Elford also said, on his initial read of the documents, it seemed some of the wording of height limits across the centre seemed to have changed since an interim report released in April this year, suggesting height limits were higher than what was originally planned. "Not having read a lot of the detail, we already have such a density of high residential buildings in that area, the question is how do we modify the plan to accommodate that change, and address the increase in residents and vehicles," he said. The area bound by Gundaroo Drive and Anthony Rolfe Drive would be rezoned from the original business park it was meant to be before the 22-storey buildings were approved, into a new urban residential zone, with undeveloped blocks to rise to 12 storeys, while those being re-developed could rise to 14 storeys high. Those blocks would then step down from west to east of the precinct to seven storeys on Gozzard Street, and the official name of the rezoned precinct would be changed from an office park to urban residential. In the east precinct, bound by Manning Clark Crescent, Kate Crace Street, Anthony Rolfe Avenue and Camilleri Way will remove bans on residential uses in that area to make way for medium-rise mixed use buildings. In that area, the government would increase the current building height limits from six to 10 storeys along the light rail route on Flemington Road, with height limits to fall to six, then three storeys to the north and south of the precinct. According to transport modelling completed, despite existing high use of the main arterial roads in and out of Gungahlin, the increased residential growth in the town centre in the short and medium term would not "significantly add to these issues". But Mr Elford said that claim failed the 'pub test', and based on residents concerns about the town centre, it seemed unlikely there would be little impact from the higher density residential developments. "We're not traffic experts and until we had some experience of what it's going to be like we won't know whether the modelling is accurate or not, but it's hard to imagine that density of dwellings won't have an impact on traffic particularly given its location on major thoroughfares," he said. But the Gungahlin plan could also affect parking in other areas, with a recommendation to review the entire Territory Plan's parking and vehicular access general code to "determine appropriate parking provision rates for development" across Canberra. The government plans to monitor the use of long and short stay parking, the light rail effects on traffic and park and ride stations in the town centre. Mr Elford said three things still needed to happen to ensure the changes were a success: that recommendations were clearly identified and implemented, planning rules were properly written and enforced and changes were made to ensure pedestrian and car and bicycle access, and other infrastructure, was the best it could be. "There now needs to be a period of community engagement before the final rules are decided, because unfortunately to date in Gungahlin, it's really come after the horse has bolted," he said.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/b87efe85-a7ad-4538-8a57-d0067dd6af70/r0_260_5000_3085_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
news, act-politics

The ACT's $141 million Murrumbidgee pipeline was forced to shut off a month after it was fired up for the first time because of low levels of water in the river. The 12-kilometre pipeline was commissioned in 2007 at the height of the millenium drought, amid water restrictions and concerns about Canberra's ongoing water security. Construction began in 2011 and was completed in September 2012, but with the exception of routine testing every three months, the pipeline has remained dormant. That changed in July, Icon Water officials told an annual reports hearing on Monday. We did operate for a number of weeks, two or three months ago, business services general manager Jane Breaden said. We actually had to stop pumping because there wasnt sufficient water in the Murrumbidgee for us to continue safely. Again we need to allow for environmental flows also. At the moment the pipeline is in suspension mode. Ms Breaden confirmed it was the first time the pipeline had been used specifically for topping up the ACT's water storage levels, which are at their lowest point in five years at 65.43 per cent. An Icon Water spokeswoman said the pipeline had remained on standby since its commissioning due to a "stronger than anticipated water security position". Its commissioning coincided with the massive enlargement of Cotter Dam, which increased the territory's overall water storage capacity by 35 per cent. However total water levels have been steadily falling since a peak of 100 per cent in late 2016. The pipeline is supposed to kick in when total storage drops below 62 per cent. It can also be switched from standby to operating mode "as many times as required to keep Googong over 80 per cent". Googong has been below 80 per cent capacity - and dwindling - since last October. The Icon Water spokeswoman said when the pump was switched on, Googong was at 72 per cent. However the exercise served a dual purpose, allowing the pipeline's pumps to be operated for maintenance and engineering purposes. A report published in August showed all but two maintenance runs had to be postponed in the past year because of low water levels. After a month of "intermittent" pumping, and a transfer of 430 megalitres, the pump was shut down to protect the minimum daily flow in the Murrumbidgee River. When pumping began, the Murrumbidgee was flowing at 104 megalitres per day. When the pipeline was shut off, the daily flow was 165 megalitres per day. While the baseflow was lower when pumping began than when it finished, there are different rules each month for what the minimum base flow can be. In July, the minimum base flow is 89.3 megalitres per day while in August, the minimum flow is 133.6 megalitres per day. Icon Waters chief executive Ray Hezkial said these rules meant there was a "careful balance of environmental values and the communitys water security needs". "[The Murrumbidgee to Googong pipeline] is a valuable water supply option which is the best available way in which to supplement Googong Dam for the communitys water supply. The [pipeline] has allowed diversification of water supply options so that we can balance supplies and operating costs, Mr Hezkial said. The company said in September water restrictions were unlikely to be needed for 20 years based on climate modelling, current storage and consumption levels, despite farmers on land surrounding the capital struggling through drought. However an ACT government spokesman said water restrictions could be brought in sooner if dry conditions persisted. Conservation Council ACT executive director Larry O'Loughlin said the territory also needed water policies that encouraged water re-use, minimised raw water consumption, conserved water from roofs and built wetlands and stormwater ponds. "While we need to have access to secure water supplies, we should minimise our raw water use so that we are not a drain on the region around us. We need to first reduce water consumption and apply water conservation before we take water from other sources such as the Murrumbidgee," Mr O'Loughlin said.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/19abebe6-4a65-4983-a4d4-e4439364016b/r0_53_1024_632_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
Lunaticoutpost.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program , anaffiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.Don't be a pest to the forum.No profanity in thread-titles or usernamesNo excessive profanity in postsNo Racism, Antisemitism + HateNo calls for violence against anyone..This website exists for fun and discussion only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. The content of posts on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of LunaticOutPost.Com. The owners or administration of this website can't be hold responsible for content hosted on sites that posters link to in; including, but not limited to, posts, signatures, private messages and such. This site may contain content not suitable for minors and if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant portions of the article you wish to discuss (no more than 50% of the source material) provide a link back to the original articleIf you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe a post on this website falls outside the boundaries of "Fair Use" and legitimately infringes on yours or your clients copyright please contact [email protected] This website is owned by :Marco ZwaneveldDrijfriemstraat 522516 XR The HagueNetherlands.I will not rent, sell, share or otherwise disclose your personal information to any third party.We might contact you from time to time regarding your purchases or the services (like forums and announcement lists) you have subscribed to.Some of the 3rd party advertisers on lunaticoutpost.com may use cookiesto track peformance and/or to serve relevant ads.If you wish to read more and/or opt out of such cookies, please visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/
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.
GAIL India Limited, India's flagship natural gas company has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the posts of Junior Engineer, Foreman, Junior Chemist, Junior Superintendent, Technician and Assistant in various departments. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 38,500 per month. The last date to apply for this government job is 30 November 2018.

37 Technicians Wanted, Apply For KRCL Recruitment 2018

GAIL India Limited Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Junior Engineer, Foreman, Junior Chemist, Junior Superintendent, Technician and Assistant Organisation GAIL India Limited Educational Qualification Degree or diploma in engineering for engineers; ITI certification for trade technicians and BCom or BBA for others Experience Desirable Skills Required Engineering or technical skills Salary Scale INR 16,300 to INR 38,500 per month Industry Engineering Application Start Date November 14, 2018 Application End Date November 30, 2018

Maximum Age Limit: 56 years

Also Read: BEL Recruitment 2018: Engineer And Company Secretary Posts Available Under Defence Ministry

How To Apply For GAIL India Limited Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for GAIL India Limited Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the GAIL India Limited official website.

Step 2: Hover over the CAREERS tab on the home page.

Step 3: Click on the button under Join GAIL.

Step 4: Select APPLYING TO GAIL.

Step 5: The list of recent notifications will be displayed on the screen.

Step 6: Click APPLY NOW against CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN VARIOUS DISCIPLINES IN NON-EXECUTIVE CADRE.

Step 7: Read the instructions on the new page.

Step 8: Click on the declaration check box to acknowledge that you have read the instructions.

Step 9: Click START.

Step 10: Read the browser recommendation and click Close.

Step 11: The registration form will open. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 12: Enter the captcha code.

Step 13: Click Submit and complete the registration process.

Follow the link - http://gailonline.com/careers/currentOpnning/GAIL-OPEN-MISC-5-2018/Detailed Advertisement (English).pdf to read the detailed official notification.
8th International VDZ Congress

ICR Research By

Published 14 November 2018

The 8th International VDZ Congress 2018 was held at the Maritim Hotel, Dusseldorf, Germany, between 26-28 September 2018. The congress drew more than 600 international delegates who listened to two days of presentations from renowned speakers on digital measures, climate change, environmental protection, grinding technology, pyroprocessing and low-CO 2 cement and concrete.

Christian Knell, VDZ president, welcomed delegates to the 8th International VDZ Congress and assured the audience that cement will continue to have a bright future. However, he also stated that the cement industry needs to actively manage that future as companies, employees and members of society. We have to do our best to improve our processes, lower our emissions and increase safety at work to create a sustainable future for our products and for us, he added. We should not be afraid to think out of the box. Challenges for our industry are high and we certainly have to rethink and probably push even what we have proven many times.

To continue reading this story and get access to all News, Articles and Video sections of the CemNet.com website, please Register for a subscription to International Cement Review or Login
Rodney Cannon was awarded the 2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award for Lee Universitys Division of Adult Learning at a Homecoming department breakfast on Nov. 3.

Rodney returned to Lee University Online to finish the degree he started several years ago. His pastoral, civic, and interpersonal skills enriched my classroom, said Catherine Yaun, director of DAL curriculum development. He emerged as one of the most creative and persuasive writers I have ever had.

Mr. Cannon is lead pastor of Frostproof Church of God, where he has served since 2012. He also serves on the Frostproof, Florida, city council, and he previously served as the towns mayor.

Mr. Cannon first attended Lee University in 1996, concentrating on music ministry and participating in Campus Choir. He returned to complete his degree online in 2015, graduating two years later with a Bachelor of Science in ministry leadership with an emphasis in church administration. He received his ordination as a minister in the Church of God in 2010.

When he commits to something, he gives 110 percent, and I am so proud to have influenced his life in a small way as both a professor and an advisor, said Yaun. I have no doubt that he will carry that same spirit of excellence into advanced educational pursuits.
A Chicago drug dealer who prosecutors said supplied a large amount of heroin to sources in Chattanooga was found guilty by a federal jury in Chattanooga on Tuesday.

James Silas, 50, was convicted of conspiring to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.

April 24 at 2 p.m. by Judge Curtis Collier, who presided over the trial. by Judge Curtis Collier, who presided over the trial. Sentencing is set forBased on a prior drug conviction and a corresponding notice of enhancement filed by the United States, Silas faces a statutory mandatory minimum of 20 years to life in prison, to be followed by no fewer than 10 years of supervision by U.S. Probation. He also faces a fine of up to $20 million.

Witnesses at trial testified that Silas, who is reputed to be a member of the nationwide street gang Mafia Insane Vice Lords and known by the moniker the Prince, served as a multi-kilogram source of supply to heroin distributors and fellow gang members based in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Atlanta and elsewhere.

Beginning in 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted a series of court-authorized wiretaps on a number of telephones belonging to gang members as a component of the large-scale investigation. Through these wiretaps, they discovered the involvement of Silas in this interstate conspiracy. Silas was arrested in Illinois and brought to the Eastern District of Tennessee for trial.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA, in conjunction with the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, and with the assistance of local and federal law enforcement agencies in the Chicago area. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Wilson and Scott Winne represented the United States at trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Porter indicted the case and handled pre-trial matters.
Police said they found six explosive devices inside the home of a Chattanooga man after he was stopped in Nebraska by a trooper and found with 45 pounds of marijuana.

Joshua Paul Panther, 31, has since been brought back to Chattanooga to face charges of possession of explosive components and possession of marijuana for resale.

A search was made of his home at 7710 Aspen Lodge Way the same day (Oct. 29) he was stopped by the trooper.

The search also turned up 598 grams of marijuana and about $8,000 in cash.

A bomb squad was called in to remove the explosive devices.
Christian Ministries Providing Rapid Response to Aid Thousands Left Homeless by California Wildfires 14 November, 2018 by Michael Gryboski , |

Churches and ministries are gearing up to help those in California affected by the major wildfires that are devastating parts of the state.

In recent days, California has experienced the deadliest wildfires in its history, as at least 44 people have perished in the flames, 42 alone from the "Camp Fire" in the northern part of the state.

Fueled by dry weather and heavy winds, the Camp Fire is also blamed for having destroyed over 7,200 structures and burning up more than 115,000 acres, CBS News has reported.

Some ministries have already begun to send aid to the state. Convoy of Hope's Disaster Services team announced Friday that they were bringing supplies like water, food, and blankets to their facility in Chico, California, for distribution to the needy.

"We currently have product in California from our response to the Redding Fire earlier this year," said Jeff Nene of Convoy of Hope.

"Our partners in the area have immediate access to bottled water and cots and can start distributing them as needed to help those affected by the fires."

Adam Edgerly, lead pastor for the Culver City-based Newsong LA Covenant Church, told The Christian Post on Tuesday that while his church is not close to the fires, the area is still dealing with air quality issues connected to the blazes.

"There are members of the congregation, myself included, who have friends who lost their homes," said Edgerly, who explained that they're currently helping "a friend sort through the rubble of their former home."

"As soon as we know which churches close to the fire line are assisting families, it would be great for churches across the country to send donations to them," he added.

Chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team have already been deployed near Sacramento to help comfort those who are suffering due to the fires.

"The chaplains are there to try to help people get through just the next hour of their life," said Al New, the Rapid Response Team's manager of emergency response and logistics.

"We are definitely praying for the first responders, the firefighters, and that some way, somehow, the weather would change and we'd get a lot of rain."

Read more about California wildfires on The Christian Post.
Early Depiction of Jesus Discovered in Israel: Curly Hair, Long Face, 'Not Like Western Image' Christian Post Contributor | 13 November, 2018 by Stoyan Zaimov

A newly discovered artistic depiction of Jesus in the ruins of an ancient Israeli church portrays Christ differently from Western conceptions, with curly hair and a long face.

Art historian Emma Maayan-Fanar told Haaretz that the painting was discovered in the ruins of Shivta, formally a Byzantine farming village in Israel's Negev desert.

"His face is right there, looking at us," Maayan-Fanar said of the eroded painting found at the ruins of a church, meant to depict Jesus' baptism.

She explained that unlike Western perceptions that often portray Jesus with flowing long hair, the Shivta painting depicts Him with short curly hair, a long face and an elongated nose.

The exact date of the artwork is not yet known, though Shivta is believed to have been founded sometime in the 2nd century C.E.

Another painting of Jesus in the ruins of Shivta discovered earlier symbolizes the transfiguration, but does not depict His face.

Though the ancient village was first discovered in 1871 and has been the subject of much archaeological work, Maayan-Fanar believes she is the first to discover it is Christ's image underneath the centuries of dirt on the painting.

Read more about Early Depiction of Jesus Discovered in Israel: Curly Hair, Long Face, 'Not Like Western Image' on The Christian Post.
The Man Who Wants the Courts to Make Him 20 Years Younger Christian Post Contributor | 13 November, 2018 by Michael Brown

You knew it had to happen sooner or later. After all, if a biological, chromosomal male who identifies as female can have his birth certificate changed to female, why can't a 69-year-old man who feels like he's 49 have his age legally changed?

Why is one biological reality  namely, sex  changeable, while another biological reality  namely, age  not changeable? And haven't we heard for years that age is just a number? Why not change the number, especially when numbers do matter when it comes to age?

After all, there is the age when you can drive or drink or marry or vote. Then there's the age when you get pension for retirement. Why not adjust the age to correspond with how you feel? Isn't this only "logical," given the social climate of the day?

As I pointed out in 2016, if perception is substituted for reality, there is no end to the social madness that follows.

You do not just have a man being named Woman of the Year.

You do not just have a white woman who identifies as black.

You have a father of 7 who identifies as a 6-year-old girl.

You have a man who identifies as a dog named "Boomer."

You have a young lady who believes she is a cat trapped in a woman's body.

You have a man who has his ears removed because he identifies as a parrot.

You have a man who changed his identity to female but who has now had "her ears and nose REMOVED to transform into a 'dragon lady' with scales, a forked tongue and a horned skull."

And now, you have a man who not only identifies as 20 years younger but who wants the court to change his age so he won't have to "lie" on social media about his age. Why not?

As reported in the Telegraph, "Emile Ratelband, 69, argues that if transgender people are allowed to change sex, he should be allowed to change his date of birth because doctors said he has the body of a 45-year-old."

In his own words, "I have done a check-up and what does it show? My biological age is 45 years.

"When I'm 69, I am limited. If I'm 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car. I can take up more work.

"When I'm on Tinder and it say I'm 69, I don't get an answer. When I'm 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position."

And what did the judge have to say?

"The judge expressed some skepticism but also noted that changing the sex on a birth certificate, as transgender people have the right to do, once was impossible and is now allowed."

Precisely so!

As NPR explains, "Transgender people around the world have fought long legal battles for the right to change their birth certificates to match their gender identity. Where that is permitted, the legal requirements vary; in the Netherlands, transgender people need a statement from an expert affirming that they have a 'permanent conviction' that their gender does not match what is on their birth certificates, and that they understand the repercussions of their decision."

Ratelband, already the father of 7 but wanting to have more children through surrogate mothers, appears to have a "permanent conviction" to the point that, "he told the court he would be happy to delay his pension benefits for 20 years, as a logical extension of his age change."

So, why not?

After all, the Denver Post reported this week that, "Colorado residents who do not identify as male or female will be allowed to choose X as the symbol to represent their gender on their driver's licenses when an emergency rule goes into effect this month."

And a letter signed by 1,600 scientists made clear that, when it comes to biological sex, scientific fact must give way to perceptions and feelings.

So, not only do these scientists strangely claim that, "There are no genetic tests that can unambiguously determine gender, or even sex."

But they also state that "even if such tests existed, it would be unconscionable to use the pretext of science to enact policies that overrule the lived experience of people's own gender identities."

Put another way, who cares about science  about verifiable facts and data  when you have feelings and perceptions?

Read more about The Man Who Wants the Courts to Make Him 20 Years Younger on The Christian Post.
Are you lost in the wild?

Sorry, but the page you're looking for has not been found

Try checking the URL for errors, goto home or try to search below.
Israels Defense Minister resigned his post on Wednesday, citing his opposition to a recent ceasefire with militants in the Gaza Strip. He also called for new elections because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is capitulating to terrorists.

In announcing his resignation, Avigdor Lieberman slammed the governments response to the latest round of attacks from Hamas. He favors direct military action against Hamas.

Lieberman pulled no punches in his public criticisms of Netanyahus leadership. In announcing his resignation, he said The question is why, as far as Im concerned, what happened yesterday, the cease-fire yesterday, with the negotiations with Hamas, amounts to a capitulation to terrorism. There's no other way to describe it. It has no other meaning, it is simply a capitulation to terror."

He also detailed a number of areas of disagreement with the Prime Minister. He said, It is no secret that over the past few months, there have been disagreements between myself and the Prime Minister. For instance, my opposition to the [decision] to permit fuel from Qatar to be allowed into the Gaza Strip. I did not want to permit Qatari fuel in [to Gaza]. I thought that this is a mistake. Only after the Prime Minister made a formal written order was I forced to allow Qatari fuel into the Strip.

Liebermans resignation will withdraw his party from the government. Now, Netanyahus ruling coalition only holds 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Israels Parliament. Complicating matters for Netanyahu is that Education Minister Naftali Bennett is demanding that he replace Lieberman as Defense Minister or his party will withdraw from the ruling coalition.

Elections are currently scheduled for November 2019 but would be held in a few months if the coalition loses the majority.

Recent violence flared up after the Israeli Defense Force and a cell of Hamas got into a skirmish in the southern Gaza Strip. The fighting claimed the life of one IDF officer and seven members of Hamas.

Following the battle, Hamas launched nearly 500 rockets into Israel and the Israeli Air Force pounded more than 150 targets in the Gaza Strip.

One Israeli died and more than 60 were injured in the rocket attacks. A cease-fire went into place Tuesday.

Scott Slayton writes at One Degree to Another.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Lior Mizrahi/Stringer
In June Benjamin Kwashi, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Jos, Nigeria, was elected as general secretary of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). Only a few days later, his home in Jos was attacked by Fulani raiders, resulting in the death of his neighbor Adamu Dung. He was shot through the head because he flashed his light when he heard footsteps of cattle being rustled, Kwashi wrote on Facebook. The cows were mine. This is far from the first time Kwashi has been targeted for religiously motivated violence resulting in tragedy. He and his flock have been under attack for nearly two decades.

Yet external persecution is not the only pressure Kwashi feels against his evangelistic ministry. Timidity is more endemic when it comes to sharing the gospel across the globe. There was never a time when the apostles handed over anything but a hot potato gospel, one that was sizzling with excitement and power, he said two days after the raid on his compound. Woe unto us if we ever become lethargic. Alex Wilgus, pastor of Logan Square Anglican Church, spoke with Kwashi about these two immanent threats to evangelism: intense persecution and casual indifference.

What is evangelism like while shepherding the church through intense persecution?

It may surprise you to hear this, but the effects of persecution are both good and bad. Positively, it shakes the institutionalism of the church and proves to us that there is no lasting home in this world. But it also destabilizes individual human beings and raises a lot of questions in the hearts of sufferers.

The first questions we encounter with people is this: Is it because of our sins that God is punishing us? That tends to be the most common interpretation of what were going through. But the truth is that churches impacting society by exposing sin are going to make those powers that are being exposed unhappy. When the church is a light in the worlds darkness, it will suffer from the darkness.

The other question we encounter is from people who cannot make meaning out of their difficulties. A young girl came back from boarding school and arrived to find her father, mother, and sisters, everybody at home, dead. And she wanted to know why? We dont have answers to that except to continue to encourage such a person to trust God. Even though we dont know why now, we will know it in eternity.

Yet persecution has increased the love, the sharing, and the caring of people for each other. We dont love the persecution itself. But it has caused in our churches a practical demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Strong churches move in to help people and take them in.

For example, my wife, Gloria, has a habit of taking in orphans. When I was in Jerusalem this past June for GAFCON, the mother of a seven-month-old baby was shot back in Nigeria. The killers thought they had killed both of them, but later on in the day, people went searching for the corpse of this woman, and they found the baby sitting there crying with his dead mother. They immediately knew to bring him to Mama Gloria, to our house.

Showing the love of God by caring for orphans and widows is a top priority, and it is a great witness to our neighbors who are not Christians. It is a great testimony of the gospel.

How is the baby doing now?

The baby is growing fine. He is chubby, chubbythat boy eats! Everybody knows that Gloria will take in any child. There are now 51 in our house. I joke with her that, because there are so many, I am now an orphan. So she will have to take me in as well!

The power of the gospel is a big theme in your book Evangelism and Mission. That seems distinct from teaching the gospel message. What do you mean by that phrase?

It is true that teaching and preaching the Word of God is the gospel. But we cannot cause that message to break into hearts, to devastate evil and Satan, and to institute the rule of God in the hearts of people and in society. Only God can do that. We see that again and again. Without even telling people about the power of God, we see people bring out their charms, amulets, and the idols they have trusted and throw them away. We see people who were extensively addicted to drugs and alcohol restored miraculously. We see people who are sexually perverse suddenly change.

The power of the gospel transforms lives, and we have seen it. We do not scream and shout like television preachers. But because we ask God to demonstrate the power of the gospel we preachthe same gospel you preach in the Westhe does.

You also write that the institutional structures churches create in the name of evangelism can actually become barriers to evangelism. How so?

The moment you make evangelism the business of a board or committee, the rest of the congregation feels exonerated from mission. The danger is for mission to be specialized, like pediatrics or dentistry. Congregants think, Our mission board must be doing a great job so nothing more is needed. So if you are going to have a mission board or committee, its job should be to recruit and train every member, every family, every student, every child to be enthusiastic and zealous about the mission of God.

Thats a big task. Where should pastors start if they want to see this kind of complete transformation in their churches?

I started by insisting that the church ushers be trained. They are in a position to either welcome people to the kingdom or send people away. If they do not know someone, their face can drive that person away. If they are segregated in their minds, then they will welcome the sorts of people whom they know and like, and make others feel out of place or unwelcome. So the first training I conducted in evangelism was for those who wished to be ushers in the church. I told them that they hold the keys, not me. I am all the way inside by the altar! I do not know what is happening outside the door. People need to know Christ in order to stand at the door and welcome others into the church.

That may seem like a simple step, but let me tell you, it was civil war! I dissolved the Cathedral routine and started a new one. That process was locally divisive. But after it was all done, everybody was waiting to see how it would be carried out.

Practically speaking, how do you carry out evangelism?

In my leadership as bishop, I never forced anybody to join me on mission. I would say, I am going out on an outreach. Would anyone else want to join me? At first the clergy would not come, but some people did. And those who did come with me would come back telling stories and testimonies. And that enthused the younger generation. They wanted to come out and see.

Typically I take a few small groups of people to a region. We spend the first night praying all night in a central place. Then we provide transport for each of the groups to go off to various surrounding villages and preach the gospel for the next four or five nights. We all rendezvous again at that central place to take reports. Immediately we start sending missionaries to relocate to those places.

When I look for a place to go, I ask myself, How can the Lord meet the peoples needs?What is the Lord going to give these people to help them start in the faith? So we are not only leading people to Christ, we are also introducing a new way of life. In some places, we discover that basic hygiene is absent. Sometimes there are no schools. Because missionaries are Bible teachers, they naturally become head teachers of any schools that we set up. And sometimes these missionaries get basic health trainingand their wives will sometimes do so tooso that they can treat simple things like Malaria, childrens wounds, and nutritional problems. When we outfit our missionaries with these things, their churches grow.

Unfortunately we dont always get as many missionaries as we need, so we give a missionary responsibility over two or three stations, and we visit them to make sure they are nurtured, the provisions we send to the people actually reach them, and the church in that place is growing. In some places we check on a school we set up or a new clinic. In some places there are neither, but the pure gospel is preached and the people are enthusiastic enough about their salvation that it naturally leads them to live better lives. They keep their homes clean, and their farms yield more food.

Most of the missionaries we send have to build their own homes, raise their own funds, and grow their own crops.

You wrote in your book, It seems today that  there is a growing, calculated, definite inoculation against boldness when it comes to the gospel. Why do you think that is the case?

I believe any political or cultural reasons for this situation are all symptoms of failing to make the mission of God primary. God wants to solve the problems of humanity, and the only way he will solve them is through missionnot just talking about it, but actually living it.

After a hundred years of Western nations sending out missionaries to Africa and elsewhere in the world, it got to a point where, if you were talking about mission, you were only talking about going to help people out there. That was a mistake. The church in Western and non-Western nations must pursue Gods mission to the world, not just from one part of the world to another. We will put our energies together and see to it with prayers, with biblical foundations, with the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no part of the world that is impervious to the gospel.

Do you think there is an opportunity for a new kind of mission movement, one going from East to West?

That is necessary. It is the need of the hour. We must get Latin Americans, African Americans, Africans, Europeans, we must get all people to agree that we have a calling to do the mission of God. And wherever there is a need, we will go there as a team. If Africans cannot provide the money but Europeans can, then they should provide the money. If Africans can provide some money, and Europeans can provide some money, then together we should go somewhere else in need. It will be a movement of Gods people convinced about Gods mission for the world.

Alex Wilgus is pastor of Logan Square Anglican Church in Chicago, Illinois, and host of the Word & Table podcast.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Should "nationalism" be encouraged? Is it simply a matter of putting your own country's interests first and of saying "no" to an unhealthy globalism? Or is it a path to xenophobia, following in the footsteps of the Nazis? Or, perhaps, is it simply a matter of perception, the word "nationalist" meaning one thing to one group and something entirely different to another group?

On October 22, at a rally in Houston, TX, President Trump said, "A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much. And you know what? We can't have that."

He continued, "You know, they have a word  it's sort of became old-fashioned  it's called a nationalist. And I say, really, we're not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I'm a nationalist, okay? I'm a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong. Use that word. Use that word."

Not surprisingly, his comments created quite an uproar.

After all, there's a reason the word is not widely used today in a positive sense. Being a "nationalist" is often associated with White Supremacist movements in America, with anti-immigrant xenophobia, with harsh attitudes against people of color. "People like you don't belong in our nation!"

Not only so, but the term "Nazi" is simply short for "National" in German. The Nazis were the National-Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in German).

In fact, it was hyper-German nationalism that led to both World Wars, as this Wikipedia entry correctly notes: "Aggressive German nationalism and territorial expansion was a key factor leading to both World Wars. Prior to World War I, Germany had established a colonial empire in hopes of rivaling Britain and France. In the 1930s, the Nazis came to power and sought to create a Greater Germanic Reich, emphasizing ethnic German identity and German greatness to the exclusion of all others, eventually leading to the extermination of Jews, Poles, Romani, and other people deemed Untermenschen (subhumans) in the Holocaust during World War II."

This history was certainly in the mind of France's Prime Minister Macron this week when he took issue publicly with the exaltation of nationalism (with Trump and Valdimir Putin clearly in view).

Speaking on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, he said, "Old demons are reawakening, ready to sow chaos and death. History sometimes threatens to repeat its tragic patterns, and undermine the legacy of peace we thought we had sealed with the blood of our ancestors."

He added, "Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism: nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By pursuing our own interests first, with no regard to others', we erase the very thing that a nation holds most precious, that which gives it life and makes it great: its moral values."

What are we to make of this?

On the one hand, we could review the semantic history of the words "patriotism" and "nationalism," but that would prove very little for at least two reasons. First, people tend to think with their hearts, not with a dictionary. Second, much depends on how a person uses the words in question. What, after all, was their intent?

When it comes to the perception of minorities in America, the word "nationalism" can have many negative connotations. The same holds true in Europe, where an unhealthy nationalism led directly to tens of millions of deaths.

On the other hand, even within Europe, countries like Hungary have pushed back against the increasing loss of national identity in light of Islamic encroachment. As Reuters reported in May, Hungarian Prime Minister "Viktor Orban said on Monday the main task of his new government will be to preserve Hungary's security and Christian culture, sticking to his nationalist policy to keep out migrants and fend off what he calls foreign meddling."

For this he has been widely criticized by many European leaders (not to mention liberal leaders worldwide).

But are his policies that different than the European nations which have instituted burka bans? Or Chancellor Angela Merkel's determination that immigrants must learn German to receive benefits? Or Switzerland's ban on building on minarets, dating back to 2009?

In an op-ed piece on Fox News, Steve Hilton argued that Trump was right and Macron was wrong, writing that, "Macron's attack on President Trump was highly revealing. It lays bare the astonishing arrogance of the globalist ruling class who think it's their moral duty to ignore democracy and instead run the world according to whatever makes life easier for the rootless and heartless global corporations that Macron and his gang of Davos elitists cravenly serve."

And it is this mentality, quite obviously, which Trump is combating. He is saying no to a potentially dangerous globalism and yes to policies that put American interests first. In turn, a strong and healthy America brings strength and health to the entire world. And isn't every national leader appointed by his or her people to put their own country's best interests first?

It's obvious that President Trump will not back down from the term "nationalist," especially since he has come under criticism for using it. In fact, "nationalist" will now become a positive term for many of his supporters, just like "deplorables" became a term of honor, rather than shame, after Hillary Clinton's infamous comment.

That means that the key thing will be to give the most positive definition possible, at the same time directly combatting xenophobia and racism. I would therefore propose this working definition for all who choose to use the term: A nationalist is one who wants to see a strong and healthy America, to the benefit of every single citizen in our country, from every race and ethnicity. This, in turn, will contribute to a more stable, prosperous world.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

In an age of prenatal medical breakthroughsand I mean incredible breakthroughsit's hard to imagine how abortion can still be considered healthcare.

Just a few generations ago, a baby born two months or more premature was virtually doomed. Not that long ago, fetal diseases and conditions were impossible to treat. Even something as seemingly routine as a C-section was once life-threatening for both mother and child, as was a 31-hour delivery like my wife and I experienced with our first baby.

Today, the advances in prenatal medicine are simply stunning: in utero diagnostic capabilities and even surgery, quick recovery for moms, amazing neonatal intensive care units. Babies born as early as 23 weeks are routinely saved.

Recently, the New York Times reported on a team of British doctors who performed that country's first ever successful surgeries to repair the spinal cords of unborn children with spina bifida.

Thirty surgeons at the University College Hospital took ninety minutes each to treat the infants with the rare condition in which the spinal cord grows outside the body. If spina bifida isn't a death sentence for a child, then fluid accumulation in the brain and nerve damage can lead to serious impairment. Previously, doctors would attempt to correct the disorder after birth, but research shows that the earlier it's treated, the better the outcome.

And so, following the lead of doctors in Scandinavia and the United States, these British surgeons performed this life-saving surgery while babies were still in the womb. As a result, children who would otherwise not be able to walk or enjoy independence will have a fighting chance from the very start.

Thank God for the incredible lengths to which we can and will rightly go to save and treat children. Thank God for the skilled minds and hands of doctors. But God save us from the ridiculous and deadly inconsistency with which we treat children in the womb. If the mothers of these same children decide they are unwanted, they could be legally killedboth in the U.K. and here in the United States.

This staggering double standard is seen across prenatal medicine: not only with children with spina bifida but also with children diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb, with children in need of prenatal heart surgery, and with children in need of neonatal intensive care. It's also seen in laws that rightly treat the killing of pregnant women as a double homicide.

For example, take a recent case in New York, where a pregnant mother, in her third trimester, was involved in a car crash while driving under the influence. The baby was delivered by c-section, but then died six days later. Prosecutors charged and convicted her with second degree manslaughter. A New York appeals court, however, overturned that conviction because state law doesn't recognize a baby as a person until the umbilical cord is cut and the baby breathes on its own. The baby was in utero during the accident but then died after birth, and therefore according to New York law, was not a person when the crime was committed.

Everywhere in our society, when we see an expecting mother, we see at least two peopleeverywhere that is, except abortion clinics.

This frustrating and deadly double standard is a powerful opportunity for us to make the case for life with friends, neighbors, family and political leaders. It's an opportunity to demonstrate the clear monstrosity of legal abortion.

The reason we pioneer cutting-edge surgeries to save babies in the womb is because of the kind of thing they are, not because of what they might become. Babies are not potentially human or partly human, but fully, unambiguously, undeniably human.

This status has nothing to do with whether or not they are wanted. The idea that a fetus magically becomes human because of its mother's choice to keep it is indefensible, pseudo-scientific nonsense. If any unborn baby is worth saving, all of them are.

And deep down, we all know this. Why else would the New York Times of all publications report this amazing prenatal spina bifida surgery as a way to save "babies"? Not "fetuses," not "clumps of cells," not "pregnancies," or any of the other lifeless euphemisms the abortion industry constantly peddles. "Babies!"

This wasn't a case of a Times slip up because an editor didn't have a second cup of coffee. It was a truth we all know and acknowledge every day. We don't congratulate pregnant women on their fetuses. We congratulate them on their babies. These British doctors didn't treat blobs of tissue. They treated human beings.

Thank God for medical breakthroughs that save little lives. But in our world, an ethical breakthrough would save even more.

Resources

Spinal Cord Repaired in the Womb, in First Surgery of its Kind in U.K. Ceylan, Ceylan Yeginsu | New York Times | October 24, 2018

Originally posted at Breakpoint.
Cameroon kidnappers free last hostages taken from Christian school

Kidnappers freed on Monday the last of about 80 schoolboys taken hostage last week in a raid on a school in west Cameroon, said a church minister who negotiated their release and a regional official.

Armed men seized the children, their principal and other adults in Bamenda, a centre of the country's troubled English-speaking region where separatists are fighting to form a breakaway republic called Ambazonia.

Most were freed last week, but two boys, the principal and a dormitory warden remained hostage until Monday.

'I can confirm all the hostages are free,' said Louis Begne, a regional government spokesman, without providing details on their release. Samuel Fonki, the minister of the Presbyterian Church who negotiated the release, confirmed that everyone had been freed.

The military and Fonki blamed the abduction on anglophone separatists. Stopping children going to school is a favoured tactic of the armed insurgents, who say schools are being used to spread government propaganda.

A spokesman for the separatists denied this and said that the Cameroonian army carried out the kidnapping.
Christians are being 'driven from north Nigeria' by Islamist militants

The UK church has been urged to pray for persecuted Christians in Nigeria on Sunday's International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

Nigeria is the focus of Release International's prayers for the day. According to a Release partner in Nigeria, attacks by Islamist Fulani militants are continuing to have a devastating effect on Christians. 'In the first six months of 2018, some 6,000 people have been killed and close to 50,000 displaced. The escalation of killings is very clear,' the partner said.

Another Release partner, Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi, has repeatedly called for the government to protect Christians in northern Nigeria against the increasing attacks: 'I am raising an alarm  if the government will listen,' he said.

Last month, on October 18, militants killed dozens of Christians in a market place in Kaduna and burned down a church. The death toll is said to have exceeded 50.

On November 9, armed herdsmen killed seven farmers in Kaduna before fleeing to what police described as a no-go area.

'How could Nigeria allow no-go areas where militants can hide?' asked Paul Robinson, Release International's chief executive.

Release believes the attacks point to a long-running campaign to drive Christians out of the north of Nigeria.

'These murderous raids beg important questions,' Robinson said. 'Why is the military apparently powerless to stop the slaughter of unarmed farmers? Who is arming and training these Fulani militants? And whose agenda does this killing of mainly Christian communities serve?

'It all points to a strategy to drive out Christians from the north. The government of Nigeria must act now to protect its vulnerable Christian communities in the north.'

Release has produced video, PowerPoint and other resources as a focus for prayer on November 18. Release has also launched a Christmas Appeal to help Nigerian Christians.
Leadership (with a small 'l'): The gift the church has to share with the world

To say that we are suffering from a crisis of leadership might sound melodramatic. But with a lack of moral leadership in the US together with a lack of political leadership in the UK, the 'sleepwalking' and 'leaderless world' described by Gordon Brown recently doesn't sound so theatrical.

In the last year, in the US, many seasoned church leaders have written about the impact of the moral failure of those around them. Particularly challenging was the muddled response to Bill Hybels which rocked many who saw Willow Creek as a global leader on leadership.

Trust in leadership is fundamental to participation in the political process too. But Brexit deadlines passing us like service stations on the M1, many of us might be wondering where all the grown-ups have gone.

Leadership  with a small l  is about service and no organisation seems better positioned for this than the church. Today our churches represent a diverse and gifted community with the ability to demonstrate what it means to be a force for good in the world  in every sphere  from business to social welfare or climate change.

According to the Apostle Paul, when we gather together in our churches, it's the role of the preachers, pastors and prophets to prepare the saints for works of service. So that wherever we serve we have the opportunity to be of influence, and where we influence, we have the opportunity to lead. This suggests that, as the church leaves the building, we go into every city, every industry, and every community, with the opportunity to impact a nation in desperate need of leadership.

However in reality of course, it can all get a bit messy. Our model is Christ, from whom we learn love not leadership. For some of us leadership is too complicated  too corporate, too loaded. Perhaps something we were called into too young, too ill-equipped, or too often. Or perhaps something too closely tied to power, control or patriarchy. It's just not something we're comfortable with.

So we've stepped back, stepped down, or stepped out. Perhaps just for a season. But we've allowed something that's an unshakeable part of us, our faith, our witness, our mission  to be salt and light, at the very least  to be taken from us.

So it's not surprising when even the word 'leadership' might make us feel uncomfortable. But isn't it on us to wrestle with this anyway?

Imagine the difference it could make, from the boardroom to the school gate, if our churches were places where we learnt what leadership could look like  using our time, energy and money for the common good  and then we went out and did it.

So the question is, will we be the ones to lead in a way that reflects the Christ we follow? And if not outside the church, what about inside?

For a generation raised on social media a lack of traditional leadership is no obstacle to impact. Influence is demonstrated by how well you can mobilise people to a common cause.

We  the church  have done a great job of firing up each new generation and instilling them with visions of history-making grandeur. We've set light to them but then left them to burn, letting them slowly fizzle out when history wasn't made and they didn't seem to matter.

But we can't keep doing this. Every generation needs the one before it to stand alongside them, to root them in what endures, surround them with what brings life, and empower them to go further than we ever did  to serve a greater cause than they could ever imagine.

The church is called to all of that and more, but it's not an abstract organism. It's made up of living stones  you and me  overachievers, misfits, snowflakes and wannabes. And somehow in following Christ's example of service and sacrifice, it leads the way to something better. It might seem like the blind leading the blind sometimes but we do have a better way. A way of living that is desperately needed, both within our communities and at the highest levels.

In the US recently, Bishop Michael Curry has been outspoken about the lack of engagement on issues that extend beyond the walls of our churches  'We as Christian leaders must speak up and bear witness to the values that we hold based on the teachings of Jesus. And when we fail to do so, we've failed to represent the Christian faith in the public sphere.'

There is a vacancy for leadership at the heart of our public dialogue, our workplaces and  often  inside our churches too. But it's no good looking over our shoulders. What about us?

Karen Sturrock is a lawyer turned copywriter. Follow her on Twitter @karenlsturrock.
Mixed picture for CofE in latest attendance figures

Numbers attending Church of England weekly services have continued to decline, according to its latest annual Statistics for Mission report issued today.

Traditional Sunday attendance edged lower in 2017, in line with long-term trends, and  measured in October 2017  stood at 756,000.

Measured by 'usual Sunday attendance'  which parishes are invited to estimate based on their experience throughout the year  the figure is 722,000.

The report says most key measures of attendance fell by between 10 and 20 per cent from 2007 to 2017.

However, when numbers attending midweek services are added, the number is 895,000, with a further 197,000 people attending services for schools in Church of England churches.

The 'Worshipping Community', which includes those who regularly attend once a month or more, is larger still, having risen slightly to 1.14 million people. Of these, 20 per cent were aged under 18, 49 per cent were aged 18-69 and 32 per cent were aged 70 or over. This figure represents two per cent of the population, as opposed to the weekly attendance which represents 1.6 per cent.

Around 4.8 per cent of the population  2.68 million  attend CofE churches at Christmas, representing the fourth successive rise in numbers since 2013.

Combined with figures for special services in churches during Advent, including carol services, there were nearly 8 million attendances over the festive season.

The Statistics for Mission 2017 were published as #FollowTheStar, the Church of England's campaign to encourage people to attend Advent and Christmas services this year, was launched by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Meanwhile separate figures also published today show that the Church of England more than doubled its monthly reach on social media - from 1.2 million in 2017 to 2.44 million this year.

The Church of England's Advent and Christmas campaign in 2017 was four times bigger than the previous year, with reach rising from 1.5 million to 6.8 million.

And the Church's Royal Wedding prayer and videos for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were seen more than five million times on social media.

The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, said: 'We live in an age of rapid social change affecting all aspects of life  right down to people's working patterns and how they spend their weekends. It is really striking to see how churches are responding and evolving in the face of that.

'While there's a downward pattern in Sunday attendance, the fact that Worshipping Community  membership  figures are stable shows that for many people, being part of the Church is more than just a matter of what they do on a Sunday morning.

'We are also reaching more people than ever through social media, providing a Christian presence to those who might not otherwise walk through the door of a church.

'And millions encounter the Church in their daily lives, through its commitment to the most vulnerable from food bank provision to night shelters, lunch clubs and community cafes.'
NHS hopes to dispel myths around organ donation during Interfaith Week

The NHS is encouraging more people of faith to join the organ donor register by dispelling some myths and misconceptions.

It says one of the main barriers to organ donation among black and Asian communities is the belief that it contradicts cultural or religious values. According to the NHS's own figures, black and Asian families are around a quarter less likely than the rest of the population to consent to donating their relative's organs.

During Interfaith Week, which runs from 11 to 18 November, NHS Blood and Transplant is appealing to faith organisations and leaders to discuss organ donation in their communities.

Anthony Clarkson, NHS Blood and Transplant Interim Director for Organ Donation and Transplantation, said: 'Organ donation is supported by all the major religions in the UK, but we understand that a person's faith or beliefs can play a role in their decision whether or not to donate their organs.

'NHS Blood and Transplant is committed to working with faith leaders and groups, particularly in black, Asian and ethnic minority communities, to build awareness and break down perceived barriers.

'Please show your support for organ donation this Inter Faith Week. Talk to others within your own and in other faith communities and join the discussion on social media.'

He is also encouraging individuals with a faith to discuss organ donation with their families and let their relatives know if they want to be a donor.

'By having these conversations we can ensure that more lives are saved through people donating their organs to help someone else in need,' he added.

The NHS is currently working with the major faith groups on a faith and beliefs declaration on organ donation. The declaration will give the NHS permission to speak with a registered individual's family members about the relationship between organ donation and their faith or beliefs.

Jackie Doyle Price, Minister for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention, said black and Asian people were having to wait on average half a year longer than other ethnic groups for a donor match.

'Unfortunately, myths have hindered organ donation in black or Asian communities,' she said.

'This Inter Faith Week I encourage religious leaders in these communities to help spread awareness and understanding of donation so we can save more lives.'

For more information about religion and organ donation, visit the NHS's dedicated page here
Pence condemns violence against Rohingya in open remarks to Aung San Suu Kyi

US Vice President Mike Pence criticised Myanmar's military for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in a meeting with the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday, and said he was keen to hear that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable.

'The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse,' he told Suu Kyi in a brief meeting with the media before they went into private talks on the sidelines of a Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.

'I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life,' he added.

He said Washington was also keen to hear about progress in making it possible for the Rohingya to voluntarily return to the western Myanmar state of Rakhine from vast refugees camps in southern Bangladesh where they now live.

The United States has accused the military of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. UN-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with 'genocidal intent'.

Arrest of journalists

Myanmar says its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents in August last year.

Suu Kyi, responding to Pence, said: 'Of course people have different points of view but the point is that you should exchange these views and try to understand each other better.'

'In a way we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does and I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else,' she added.

Amnesty International this week withdrew its most prestigious human rights prize from Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.

Once hailed as a champion in the fight for democracy, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been stripped of a series of international honours over the Rohingya exodus.

Pence also said that Washington wanted to see a free and democratic press in Myanmar, and the jailing of two journalists last year was 'deeply troubling' for millions of Americans.

'In America, we believe in our democratic institutions and ideals, including a free and independent press,' he said.

He did not mention by name Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists who were arrested in Yangon in December 2017. They were found guilty in September of breaching the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On November 5, lawyers for the two Reuters reporters lodged an appeal against their conviction.

At the time of their arrest in December, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim villagers during an army crackdown in Rakhine state. Reuters published its investigation into the massacre on February 8.
Leading think tanks asked policy makers in Asia to consider adopting tobacco harm reduction approach and provide access and accurate information on alternative nicotine products such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and snus. This was the key message of the 2nd Asia Harm Reduction Forum held today at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City, which gathered leading thinkers from the fields of science, technology, health, policy and consumer advocacy from across Asia and the Pacific. Co-organized by the Harm Reduction Alliance of the Philippines and Yayasan Pemerhati Kesehatan Publik Indonesia (YPKP- Indonesian Public Health Observer Foundation), the regional forum builds on the success of the 1st Asia Harm Reduction Forum held in Jakarta, Indonesia last year. Participants said that despite strict government regulation, high taxes and extensive public awareness campaigns, smoking remains a major public health issue in Asia, with over half of the worlds smokers living in the region. The forum aims to educate society on harm reduction through better alternative products and to promote and advocate for practical solutions that can contribute to the improvement of overall public health. Its ultimate goal is the integration of harm reduction as a strategy by legislators and the public alike, with the end-goal of ensuring improved health and a healthy environment. Rep. Anthony Bravo of Coop-NATTCO Party-list, a leading advocate of tobacco harm reduction in the Philippines, delivered the keynote speech during the forum. Panelists from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, India and Sweden focused on identifying ways to regulate alternative products in support of tobacco harm reduction in the forums morning session. Many Asian countries remain very skeptical about tobacco harm reduction, and some have even banned alternative nicotine products. Regulators need to see that tobacco harm reduction is potentially the most effective solution to solving the smoking epidemic in Asia, and can complement existing tobacco control measures, said Harap lead convenor Prof. Ron Christian Sison. Apart from the point of view of policy makers, AHRF 2018 also presented the latest scientific developments in tobacco harm reduction from leading health practitioners and academics. It noted that there is a growing body of evidence supporting the public health benefits of tobacco harm reduction, particularly the development of less harmful nicotine delivery systems. Public Health England of the United Kingdom and the Food and Drug Administration of the United States are among the authorities that have adopted tobacco harm reduction in formulating their tobacco control policies. The forum featured a powerhouse line-up of international speakers.Prof. Tikki Pangestu of Singapore discussed evidence-informed public health policies for harm reduction while Dr. Marewa Glover shared the New Zealand Approach to Tobacco Harm Reduction. Dr. Hiroya Kumamaru talked about alternative tobacco products in Japan and their positive impact to accelerating the decline in the countrys smoking rate while Dr. Kgosi Letlape shared the tobacco harm reduction experience in South Africa from which Asian countries may learn. Prof. Helen Redmond of the New York University  Silver School of Social Work, discussed vaping and vulnerable populations. Sison said that as Asia today has the highest number of smokers in the world, the public health benefit from tobacco harm reduction in the region would be immense. The Asia Harm Reduction Forum provides a venue for scientists, health practitioners, academicians, policy observers, as well as consumers to exchange ideas on how best to advance tobacco harm reduction in Asia. We believe that this Forum will greatly benefit the public health sector and particularly smokers in Asia who deserve improved access to alternative tobacco products, he said. The quit or die approach in Indonesia does not work for some smokers. Therefore, it is time to consider the quit or try approach; that is, try alternative nicotine products, said YPKP co-founder Dr. drg. Amaliya. She said that smoking prevalence is declining at record speed in countries such as the UK and Japan where alternative nicotine products are widely available. Amaliya said that thanks to innovation and technology development, alternative nicotine products are now available to provide a satisfying and less harmful option for smokers to get their nicotine fix without the harmful tar. We need to actively inform policymakers about tobacco harm reduction and the potential benefit of alternative nicotine products to public health, she said. More than half of the worlds smokers are in Asia. In 2005, 49 percent of men and 14 percent of women in Japan smoked. In 10 years, the countrys smoking rate has decreased to 18.2 percent of the total population, according to the 2018 State of Smoking Survey. The global survey revealed that the decline in Japans smoking rate has accelerated in recent years with the entry of heated tobacco products in the market. The 2015 Global Adult Tobacco Survey showed that almost 1 in 4 (23.8 percent) Filipino adults were smokers. The smoking rate among Filipino women (5.8 percent) is among the highest in Asean. On average, smokers in the region start smoking before the age of 20. The average age of smoking initiation among Filipino daily smokers is 17.8 years. Indonesia currently has the worlds highest smoking rate of 76.2 percent among males aged 15 and above. According to the UK Tobacco Control Plan, around 3.2 million people in the UK are currently using e-cigarettes, with an estimated 40 poercent of them using e-cigarettes as a stop smoking tool and tens of thousands successfully quitting smoking each year as a result.
The secret to successful outreach: Just listen

What makes community? How on earth do we build it and sustain it? Michel Quoist was a French Catholic priest, born in 1918, who had a thought or two about the subject. He lost his father when he was 14 and entered the ministry in 1947. Very few people have heard of him these days even though his book sales once ran into the many millions. For a while he was a voice that spoke to a generation of people who felt alienated and alone.

His first book, Prayers of Life, was published in 1954 and was just that; a series of prayers that reflected the vulnerability and the appalling loneliness of the priest and extent to which those whom he ministered to were lost. Quoist's later writing never quite lived up to his first masterpiece. However, in 1965 he wrote a book about how to bring about an end to loneliness and to how to create a community that lasts.

His cure for alienation was to listen to those who had no one to listen to them: 'You have to make your way through life a bit more slowly, you have to take the trouble to stop for a moment, you have to be genuinely interested [in the other person's life].'

It is this lesson that we have decided to learn from in our little unglamorous parish church in Wembley: we listen. Three years ago we were sat in church wondering how to get people in the streets around us interested. Our parish is about 70 per cent Hindu and over the years it would be fair to say that we had drifted away from our local community. We were that building tucked away by the bus stop that people came to occasionally when it became a polling station.

We began with questions. Where is our community hurting? Is there anything we can do about it? What we knew was that we knew many older people who were suffering with Alzheimer's and we also knew that many people were living alone and didn't see a living soul all week. Out of this came the Memory Cafe. With no money to fund anything, we knew that whatever we did needed to be cheap to run. The cafe's two co-founders and I did the work and our strategy was to start quickly and see how it went.

Within three weeks we had put posters up and started the Memory Cafe. The approach we started with still exists today: we welcomed people with real warmth and sat and listened to them; we learned their names: we provided some quizzes to help stimulate the memory: and we had really good cakes, biscuits and tea and coffee. Now, we get more than 100 people each week from all sections of our multi-ethnic community. We have a choir  about to sing at Southwark Cathedral  and an exercise session each week.

It is beautiful. And we have found something most extraordinary happening; a new community involving people from across all ethnicities is thriving. And there's no reason why they shouldn't spring up everywhere. In fact, more than a dozen other cafes have started using our model and we have a website to help others to start their own cafe.

What has amazed us the most is that this is a genuine community. People mix and we hear each week that our estate is now more cohesive and, yes this an odd word, happier.

A while ago I popped over to pick up my prescription at the local pharmacy. The pharmacist, a Hindu, asked if he might talk to me in the consulting room. I was suddenly panicking that I had done something wrong. 'Father Steve,' he said, 'I just wanted to thank you on behalf of my community for doing so much for us.' The truth is that his community has blessed us more than he could ever know.

This article appears on the RSA website and is reproduced with permission.

Rev Steve Morris is the parish priest of St Cuthbert's North Wembley. Before being a priest he was a writer and ran a brand agency. In the 1980s he tried to become a pop star. Follow him on Twitter @SteveMorris214
UK government urged to offer asylum to Asia Bibi

Pressure is mounting on the UK government to declare it will offer asylum to Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman believed to be in danger after being aquitted of blasphemy charges.

Prominent religious leaders have urged her admission to the UK. In a letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Christian leaders including the Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, David Landrum, director of advocacy for the Evangelical Alliance, with Muslim, Sikh, Jewish and civic campaigners as well as 15 MPs, say: 'This country has a long tradition of offering protection, stretching back to the Huguenots. We should seek to act in this case too.

'It is essential that there is strong international pressure to ensure the Pakistani government allows Ms Bibi to leave for a place of safety if she wishes to do so. We call on you to make a clear and proactive statement, that Britain would welcome a request for sanctuary here. Many other governments may wish to make a similar offer: we wish to see our government step up and show leadership.

'We are confident that action to ensure Asia Bibi and her family are safe would be very widely welcomed by most people in Britain, across every faith in our society. If there are intolerant fringe voices who would object, they must be robustly challenged, not indulged.

'The real threat to good community relationships in Britain would arise from a failure to stand for and act upon the values we should all share.'

Separately, Scottish church leaders also wrote to the home secretary asking him to allow Asia Bibi asylum.

An open letter, signed by seven leaders including Rt Rev Susan Brown, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and Most Rev Leo Cushley, Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, says the violent protests that erupted after her conviction was quashed sharply highlight the dangers facing Christians in the country where blasphemy carries the death penalty.

The letter states: 'We stand with the Christian community in Pakistan and request that the UK Government takes action to protect minority faith communities and ensure justice for all.

'With all respect, we urge you and through you, the Home Office, to grant asylum to Asia Bibi and her family in recognition of the United Kingdom's continuing commitment to freedom of religion and belief.'

Around 70 MPs have separately written to Prime Minister Theresa May calling for her to be given asylum because of the 'exceptional circumstances' of her case.

Authored by Conservative MP Rehman Chishti, the letter says: 'There is a very clear danger to her and her family's lives in Pakistan, highlighted recently by the unacceptable and appalling actions from the mob of religious extremists and the unacceptable decision of the Government of Pakistan giving into the demands of the mob.'

It says the letter to the prime minister 'will simply ask the Government to provide asylum to Asia Bibi and her family if and when a request is made through appropriate channels'.

Chishti told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We have a moral obligation as the United Kingdom to give sanctuary to someone who's been persecuted for their faith.'

MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, said she was not being offered asylum because officials feared terrorist attacks in reprisal. Questioning Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Simon McDonald, he asked whether the episode 'does not raise the question that either staff should be withdrawn or security increased or otherwise UK policy is effectively dictated to by a mob?', according to the Guardian. McDonald stressed the importance of Britain's relationship with Pakistan, saying: 'If the objective is to protect life and some other country can provide some more complete safe harbour, why should the UK not be open to working with that country?'

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron MP has introduced a Commons Early Day Motion saying the House 'recognises that Britain's commitment to freedom of religious expression, for those of all faiths and none, is one of our most important values' andcalling on the government 'to immediately extend an offer of unconditional asylum to her and her family'. He told Christian Today: 'As a country we've always been proud to look after those are in need of help and safety  and this case should be no different.

'It's important that we demonstrate our commitment to religious tolerance and offer unconditional asylum to Asia Bibi and her family.'
US Episcopal bishop goes against the grain to ban gay marriage ceremonies in New York state

A bishop of The Episcopal Church whose diocese is based in the capital of New York has announced that his churches will not perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.

Earlier this year, the Episcopal Church General Convention passed a resolution allowing for congregations to perform gay weddings even in dioceses where leadership objects. The new policy is scheduled to take effect on the first Sunday of Advent, Dec. 2.

This stood in contrast to a resolution passed by the General Convention in 2015 that allowed bishops opposed to same-sex marriage to maintain a ban on such unions within their diocese.

Bishop William Love of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany released a lengthy pastoral letter on Saturday officially stating that the gay marriage rites approved earlier this year "shall not be used anywhere in the Diocese of Albany by diocesan clergy (canonically resident or licensed)."

"Jesus is calling the Church to follow His example. He is calling the Church to have the courage to speak His Truth in love about homosexual behavior  even though it isn't politically correct," stated Bishop Love.

"Sexual relations between two men or two women was never part of God's plan and is a distortion of His design in creation and as such is to be avoided. To engage in sexual intimacy outside of marriage between a man and women, is against God's will and therefore sinful and needs to be repented of, NOT encouraged or told it is ok."

Love also stated that he believes that both his denomination and overall Western society "have been hijacked by the 'Gay Rights Agenda,'" and that pro-LGBT Episcopalians have been "received into believing a lie that has been planted in the Church by the 'great deceiver'  Satan."

"There is no doubt The Episcopal Church and now the Diocese of Albany are in the midst of a huge storm that can rip us apart if we are not careful. That is exactly what Satan wants," added Love.

"We don't have to play his game. If we focus on what divides us, we will be destroyed. If we focus on what unites us  our Lord Jesus Christ -- He will get us through to the other side. I pray the Lord will help us to see one another as He sees us; to love one another as He loves us; to forgive one another as He forgives us."

At their triennial convention in Austin, Texas in July, the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops and House of Deputies passed Resolution B012, which allows same-sex couples to be married by clergy in eight dioceses that had previously not allowed marriage rites for same-sex couples.

While the new resolution still gives clergy the right to refuse to perform gay weddings, bishops who oppose same-sex marriage rites must call on another bishop who does not oppose such unions to provide pastoral support for the couple and a clergy for the ceremony.

In addition to the Diocese of Albany, the other impacted dioceses include Dallas; North Dakota; Springfield, Illinois; Tennessee; the U.S. Virgin Islands; and two of the denomination's Florida-based dioceses, the Diocese of Florida and the Diocese of Central Florida.

Long Island Bishop Larry Provenzano, who proposed the B012, told Episcopal News Service in an interview earlier this year that he considered the resolution "a really important moment for the church."

"We do this without there having to be one side wins and one side loses. Very much like the theme of the whole convention, there's a great movement for the church to really be the church in this time," stated Bishop Provenzano.

Courtesy of The Christian Post
Houston chemical manufacturer LyondellBasell is making steady progress on more than $3 billion in projects on the Gulf Coast.

A $725 million polyethylene plant at the La Porte complex is expected to come online by mid-2019, said CEO Bob Patel this week at 38th Latin American Petrochemical Association's annual meeting in Cancun, as first reported by S&P Global Platts.
Editor's note (Nov. 15, 2018): An update to this story, including an interview with Jeff Hill, can be found here.

A horse was found in the backyard pool of a Paradise, Calif. resident, after the animal apparently tried to find a safe space as the Camp Fire moved through town.

Paradise resident Jeff Hill shared photos of the horse Sunday on Facebook. The photos showed the horse in a pool, but entangled in the pool cover.

"There's no telling how long she was there but she was shivering uncontrollably," Hill wrote. "She was all caught up in the pool cover but her being suspended by it prevented her from drowning."

Hill said he and a friend undid the pool cover, then helped the horse out of the shallow end of the pool.

The horse got out and "loved on us for a few minutes as a thank you," Hill wrote, before walking off. The men waited until resources could help escort the horse out of the fire zone, CNN reported.

Law enforcement and firefighters have all been helping to round up many of the animals found wandering through the area. One such animal rescue showed California Highway Patrol officers attempting to round up a potbelly pig that was roaming Paradise, while Sacramento firefighters found two donkeys, pausing to feed the animals apples while they awaited animal control to take them in.

MORE ON CAMP FIRE Do you recognize any of these lost pets displaced by Camp Fire?

North Valley Animal Disaster Group is one local group organizing efforts to rescue lost animals and connect them with owners.

A temporary animal shelter is set up at the Chico Municipal Airport, while small animals are being taken to a location at 2279 Del Oro Ave. in Oroville. Larger animals, such as horses, are at Rolling Hills Casino Equestrian Center off Highway 5 in Corning. People should go to these places in person to look for lost pets.

Writer Amy Graff contributed to this report.

Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at ddeguzman@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.
Chef Brandi Key, who for more than five years has served as a chef and as head of culinary operations for Clark Cooper Concepts, has parted ways with the company.

According to an email from Clark Cooper Friday afternoon, the split was amicable. "Chef Brandi Key has played an instrumental role in the development of Clark Cooper Concepts," the email stated. "Clark Cooper Concepts wishes her the best of luck with her future endeavors."
People living in Atascocita are considered some of the hardest working people in the nation, according to a new study from Haven Life, an online life insurance agency.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2017 American Community Survey, Haven Life ranked cities as having the hardest working people based on the average number of hours residents worked plus their commute times in a week. Only cities that exceeded 46 hours per week were included, according to the report.

According to the report, average weekly work hours have been steadily increasing since 2010. The report also found that of the 12 cities highlighted that met the minimum work week requirement, the national average for time people spend working and commuting is 43.3 hours per week (38.8 working hours and 4.5 commuting hours).

"Cities whose residents put in more time working and commuting each week are more likely to have higher median incomes," the report stated.

FBI DATA: Most dangerous Houston suburbs ranked by 2017 violent crime rate

The city of Atascocita came in as No. 6 in the nation for hardest working people, with the average time spent working and commuting totaling 46.3 hours per week, just above the national average. The report also found 51.3 percent of Atascocita's population leaves for work before 7 a.m., and the median household income for the area reported at $99,789.

"Atascocita's affluencewith a median household income of approximately $100,000suggests that many low-wage earners would need to work longer hours to afford to live in the community," the report stated. "Coupled with more than half of the city's workers leaving for work before 7 a.m. and the long commute time, many of Atascocita's residents travel to Houston for work."

The other Texas city that made the list was Odessa at No. 5, where the total time spend working and commuting was the same as Atascocita's at 46.3 hours per week. Only 29.7 percent of people there leave for work before 7 a.m., and the median household income is reported at $58,919.

Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message


National wealth management firm Mariner Wealth Advisors announced that it has reached a deal to acquire Houston-based Patriot Wealth Management.

Patriot has grown to $2 billion in assets under management since being founded in 2004. The deal will bolster its financial planning services in areas such as risk management, estate planning and trust services, and tax planning and preparation.

RELATED: Insgroup expands benefits practice with Fred Brown & Cos. acquisition

"Joining Mariner Wealth Advisors allows us to reallocate time spent on back-office functions and refocus our efforts on our valued clients," Patriot co-founder and principal Todd Hanslik said in an announcement. "Mariner Wealth Advisors shares our client-first mentality. We are excited to tap into their deeper and broader pool of resources to better serve existing and prospective clients."

The company, which is managed by shareholders Todd Hanslik, Anna Jones, Bill Murski, Jeff Swantkowski and Dana Weinstein, will become part of Mariner on Jan. 1.

Based in Overland Park, Kan., Mariner Wealth Advisors has more than $23 billion in assets under advisement. The company has 26 locations in 19 states.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said its water unit finalized the P12.35-billion joint venture water project with Metro Iloilo Water District. Metro Pacific said in a disclosure to the stock exchange wholly-owned subsidiary MetroPac Water Investments Corp. signed a joint venture agreement with MWID for the rehabilitation, operation, maintenance and expansion of MIWDs existing water distribution system and construction of wastewater facilities. A joint venture corporation will be organized pursuant to the provisions in the joint venture agreement. The joint venture corporation will then implement the project including the right to bill and collect tariff for the water supply and wastewater services provided to the customers in the service area of MIWD. The project cost for the duration of the 25-year concession is estimated at P12.35 billion, with an initial equity investment of P600 million in 2019. MIWDs service area includes Iloilo City and seven municipalities including Pavia, Oton, Maasin, Cabatuan, Sta. Barbara, Leganes and San Miguel. The population in the service area of MIWD was estimated at 844,618 as of end-2017. The company said that by the end of the 25-year joint venture, the population was expected to grow to 1.4 million.The Iloilo water distribution project is the second water project of Metropac Water in Iloilo. The water utility was also awarded the development of MWIDs P2.8 billion bulk water project in 2015. Metropac Water currently bills 250 million liters per day. It plans to expand its investment portfolio with up to 393 MLD of installed capacity in the Philippines and 660 MLD in Vietnam, once these projects are completed. Another 430 MLD of projects around the Philippines are under negotiation and awaiting final award. Metro Pacific also has investments in Maynilad Water Services Inc., the water concessionaire for the west zone of Metro Manila.
If there is a big studio movie thats more generally crowd-pleasing than Green Book  this season, I have yet to find it. In this landscape of challenging, provocative, edgy films, Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and, of all people, director Peter Farrelly have come along with a movie about friendship that goes down so easy that its almost suspect, as though it were flung out of 1996 and gifted to our weary 2018 brains.

Based on a true story, Green Book recounts a 1962 road trip when a Bronx bred Italian-American Frank Anthony Vallelonga, also known as Tony Lip (Mortensen), was hired to drive a renowned black pianist, Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), to all of his concert engagements across the Deep South.

The two men are obviously mismatched  what would anyone have to learn if they werent? Tony is a working-class bruiser and world-class eater with a wife (Linda Cardellini), two sons, a limited vocabulary, institutional racism, but a generally good heart. Dr. Shirley is a wealthy, erudite dandy, a master of his art, a snob and a loner. He also knows he needs reliable protection on this journey to a segregated South, asks around and finds this Copacabana bouncer Tony Lip is the one for the job, despite the prejudices.

The constructs will feel familiar and well-worn, and surprises are few on this journey toward acceptance and friendship, but the pleasure of this film is in the larger-than-life characters created by the two leads and their perfectly askew chemistry. Mortensen is almost unrecognizable as Tony, packing extra pounds and an astute comedic sensibility. He knows just how far to push his caricature without making it cartoonish. When Dr. Shirley says to make sure that theres a Steinway piano at every concert venue, Tony scribbles down STAINWAY on a sheet of paper. His doltishness is endearing, not annoying.

And Ali, so memorable and heart-wrenching in Moonlight, puts his own stamp on a character who feels alienated from his own race and those hes performing for. Although a considerably more staid role than Tony, Ali also manages to have his own fun with Dr. Shirleys seemingly incurable snobbery, wincing at Tonys lack of decorum, or care.

In fact, this film allows everyone to play against their Hollywood-prescribed type, from the actors to the director, who is perhaps the most surprising revelation of them all.

The Farrelly name conjures up a very specific kind of movie: The big, bawdy comedies (Dumb and Dumber, Theres Something About Mary) that he and his brother made their own and, later, failed to keep fresh. If anything, the charm and success of Green Book makes a heck of a case for giving directors more room to work outside of the genres or styles that they became famous for.

There is certainly a more serious story to be told out of this road trip, and about Dr. Shirleys extraordinary life. Green Book, taken from the title of the guide Tony has to use to find the establishments and hotels where people of color are welcome at throughout the South, scratches at the surface of the horrors and indignities Dr. Shirley faced while being a guest of honor. Those range from being asked to use an outdoor toilet to being denied the right to dine in the place hes about to perform. This film chooses a different route and is in turn funny, heart-warming, illuminating and a joy to watch.
A teenager accused of killing a Texas City woman as part of a revenge plot over a stolen bank card will stand trial as an adult after being charged with murder on Monday, according to Galveston County court records.

Judge Barbara Roberts approved prosecutors' request to transfer Cindy Ana Esquivel, 17, into criminal court to face a charge of murder after a court hearing on Monday.

Galveston County prosecutors requested that Esquivel be charged as an adult for her alleged role in the killing of Lucia Bertrand inside a home on Vance Avenue in Texas City on the night of Aug. 8.

TEEN MURDERED: High school student gunned down identified

Prosecutors presented a psychiatric evaluation of Esquivel as evidence that she "did not possess any intellectual deficits 0r naivete as compared to other 17 year old adolescents," according to court records.

Esquivel is being held at Galveston County jail, with bail set at $250,000. A trial date has not yet been set.

Esquivel and her boyfriend, Cory McCray, 19, were arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on Aug. 15 after they were found on Interstate 37 between McCoy and Pleasanton in Atascosa County, south of San Antonio.

A Galveston County grand jury indicted McCray on a murder charge on Oct. 23. He is currently in custody in Galveston County jail with bail set at $250,000.

McCray's co-defendant, Amy Lynne Medina, 37, identified as Esquivel's mother, was arrested on Aug. 10, the day after Bertrand was found, and also charged with murder in Bertrand's death. Medina is also being held at Galveston County jail, with her bail set at $251,603.

Police said Medina orchestrated a plan to rob and kill Bertrand as revenge for Bertrand having used Medina's bank card without permission.

Relatives and acquaintances interviewed by Texas City Police detectives, including Esquivel's biological father, Daniel Reyes, say Medina plotted with McCray and Esquivel to break into Bertrand's home on the night of Aug. 8 while Medina was there with her to give the appearance of a home invasion.

When Medina was arrested by police after Bertrand's death, she admitted to threatening Bertrand after finding that she had used her bank card to withdraw money, and told investigators she was in the home when Bertrand was killed.

Medina told investigators that while she was laying on Bertrand's couch, two people dressed in black kicked in the door and attacked the two women, according to the complaint. Medina said the two attackers beat her and Bertrand, but that she eventually stopped fighting them while Bertrand continued fighting until the attackers killed her.

Reyes, Esquivel's father, told investigators that Esquivel admitted to him that they killed Bertrand at Medina's behest, according to the police complaint. Reyes said that Esquivel told him she stabbed Bertrand while McCray beat her with a pistol. Esquivel told Reyes they were wearing gloves during the attack.

Reyes told police that Esquivel and Reyes then fled Texas City and spent the night at a hotel in Houston before eventually being apprehended near San Antonio.

Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com
For the past 2 years, Splendora ISD has been working to find a site for the new elementary school called for in the 2016 bond election. The Tram Road site was purchased, but challenges to provide utilities to the site caused the District to seek property in the Splendora Fields area.

The District, developer, and City of Splendora could not negotiate an agreement for a secondary access road to FM 2090 to the Splendora Fields site, so the District looked elsewhere. Additional acreage was purchased adjacent to the Tram Road site that has frontage on both Tram and Hill & Dale roads and is outside of Municipal Utility District 16. Although this gave the District more flexibility in developing the site, utilities are still not available. Mayor Leah Tarrant and the City of Patton Village are working diligently to provide utilities to this site and the surrounding areas, and have been phenomenal as a partner to the school district. Land will never be cheaper than it is today, and with Mayor Tarrants diligence in getting utilities, we still consider this purchase a good investment, said Splendora ISD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Burke.
The Conroe Art Leagues Gallery at the Madeley Building is already beginning to look at lot like Christmas. Two paintings of St. Nick (aka Santa Claus) by Spring artist Betty James are on display at the Gallery at the Madeley Building through November 25. This past weekend a number of CAL artists began decorating the Gallery and courtyard in preparation for the Leagues fourth annual Christmas art show titled Christmas is for Giving, which runs November 27 through December 31. The month-long Christmas show and sale will include a varied collection of affordable (some under $125) original two- and three-dimensional artwork by CAL member artists. A special feature wall will showcase paintings with a winter holiday theme.

Starting off the Christmas is for Giving show will be a reception at the Gallery on Saturday, December 1 from 5 to 8 pm. The reception will include live music, appetizers and a special visit by a bearded man in a red suit. Award-winning area ceramics artist Carol Berger is coordinating the Christmas show this year for CAL and urges everyone to attend the no-cost opening reception or drop by sometime during the month-long art show to find that one-of-a-kind-gift for the extra special people on your Christmas list.

Once again partnering with Homestead House and The Salvation Army, the Conroe Art League will be donating 20% of all art sales during Christmas is for Giving to TOYS FOR KIDZ. For more information, see CALs website at www.conroeartleague.com, follow them on Facebook, or phone them during regular gallery hours Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm or on Fridays from 10:30 am to 8 pm, at 936-756-9572.

4th Annual Fine Art Christmas Extravaganza

The group of area artists known as 2 Girls, A Guy and a Trailer and more will be hosting their fourth annual Fine Art Christmas Extravaganza November 30 and December 1 at the Glade Cultural Center, 2000 Woodlands Parkway, The Woodlands. The show will include artwork by the thirteen-member artists and their Special Friends. Special Friends is a group of adult artists (including many from New Danville) with special needs, for whom the 2 Girls . Group provide on-going, no-cost art classes at the Glade Cultural Center. 50% of the sales of the Special Friends artwork during the Christmas Extravaganza will go to the artists and 50% will fund art supplies for future projects.

The two-day Christmas Extravaganzas opening reception, complete with live harp music by Eulice Vial, desserts and drinks, is set for Friday, November 30 from 5 to 9 pm. The opening reception will also include a special guest appearance and book signing at 5 pm by noted country musician Kevin Black, Co-Executive Editor (along with celebrated area photographer Dave Clemmons) of the book, Raising a Hand. As many know, this book was created to raise funds and increase awareness about Rett Syndrome. See more about the book at www.raisingahand.com.

The range of artwork in this years Christmas Extravaganza includes representational and abstract paintings rendered in oils, acrylics, watercolor, paper mosaics, and photography, as well as fine wood craft. The 2 Girls. group artists include: Terri Harris; Joyce Isenbarger; Wendy Moreland; Reva Power, Karsten Pukropski; Kari Schmidt-Pukropski; Janet Russell; Joe Santini; Clint Schramek, Suzanne Seiler; Shannon Siver; Anita Stevens and Lisa Waddell. See more about the 2 Girls.  group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/2girlsaguyandatrailer or contact Kari via email at kari@cornerstoneframing.com or via telephone at 936-718-7009.

Angel Show and Holiday Market

The annual Angel Show and Holiday Market will be held on Saturday, December 1 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Walker Education Center, part of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum complex at 1402 -19th Street, Huntsville. One of the areas oldest holiday markets, The Angel Show and Holiday Market features a wide variety of original art and unique hand-crafted items created by more than 30 accomplished area artists and artisans. Included for sale will be fine art paintings rendered in oils, acrylics, encaustics, collage and watercolor; jewelry made from such materials as sterling silver, stone, glass and beads; hand-blown glass items; wood crafts; a range of fiber arts, including quilts; Christmas ornaments, floral arrangements and cards; bath and beauty items such as goats milk soap, bath gels and lotions; handmade canes; scrimshaw pieces; Pysanky (Ukrainian style decorated eggs created by using a wax-resist dye technique); rag dolls and homemade baked goods.

Some of the featured artists include: Cynthia Hendrickson, whose award-winning silver and stone jewelry has been displayed at the Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival; Melissa Glasscock, a graphic arts teacher at Sam Houston State University; Marilyn Henderson who has devoted many years to interpreting and refining the Pysanky decorated egg process; and Cynthia Reid, well-known area watercolor artist, Director of Education at Glade Arts Foundation; a long-time art teacher at Sam Houston State University and the Coordinator of the Angel Show and Holiday Market.

From her decade of experience coordinating the annual Angel Show and Holiday Market, Cynthia Reid adds that one thing that sets us apart from other shows is that every artist/vendor is asked to bring refreshments, preferably homemade. The high-quality refreshments are available at no cost to patrons throughout the day of the Angel Show and Holiday Market. Additionally, each artist donates a door prize allowing for four or five patron names to be drawn each hour of the show. See more at www.facebook.com/AngelShowHolidayMarket.

LSC-Montgomery Pottery Sale

Just in time for Christmas, Robbys Clay Club will be holding a pottery sale on Wednesday, December 5 from 10 am to 2 pm outside Building A, on the campus of Lone Star College-Montgomery. The sale will offer a variety of ceramic and glass items, including mugs, bowls and plates, handcrafted by students and other members of Robbys Clay Club. Robbys Clay Club was begun by Lone Star College-Montgomery (LSC-Montgomery) art professor, Charles Robby Wood. Throughout the year, Robbys Clay Club hosts similar pottery sales to raise money for guest speakers and workshops that benefit LSC-Montgomery art students and the community. The sales also go to covering the cost of materials needed by club members to make bowls and other items they regularly donate to area food banks. For more information about Robbys Clay Club, or upcoming sales, contact Robby Wood via telephone at 936-273-7064 or via email at Charles.R.Wood@LoneStar.edu.

Maggie Gutierrez may be reached at ggutmarina@aol.com.
The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont upheld the conviction of Herman and Kathleen Hoffman on five counts of cruelty to livestock almost four years after 207 horses were seized from the couples home just north of Conroe.

In May 2017, County Court-at-Law 1 Judge Dennis Watson sentenced Herman Hoffman to one year in jail his wife was given 18 months probation due to her health condition.

In his appeal to the higher court, which was filed immediately after being sentenced by Watson, Herman Hoffman sighted four reasons why the conviction should be over turned including lack of evidence, ineffective counsel and claims the couple had been prosecuted twice for the same offenses.

However, according to the opinion from the appeals court  evidence was legally sufficient to support Hermans convictions of cruelty for each of the five horses at issue. Even if we assume Hermans trial counsels performance was deficient, Herman failed to establish he was prejudiced by any such deficiency and therefore, did not meet both prongs required to show ineffective assistance of counsel. Further, Herman failed to establish violations of the Brady or the Michael Morton Act. Finally, the civil seizure and forfeiture proceedings for cruelty to livestock animals and the criminal prosecution for cruelty to livestock animals is not violative of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States or Texas Constitutions.

RELATED: DA discovers 2,000 pages of new evidence in horse cruelty case, trial pushed back again

County Attorney J D Lambright said he hoped the opinion from the appeals court puts an end tot he criminal side of the case, adding the civil ligitation in the case is ongoing.

Ever since my office became involved in the seizure of these 207 horses in 2014, the Hoffmans have left no stone unturned in trying to avoid taking any responsibility for the horrible conditions in which we found their horses, Lambright said.

According to Lambright, the Hoffmans filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in October 2017 against a whole litany of entities and people including Montgomery County, Lambright, District Attorney Brett Ligon, two assistant county attorneys who originally tried the case, a deputy constable, the Houston SPCA, and an individual employee of the SPCA.

More than one year later, that case is still pending, although we are hopeful that todays ruling in the criminal matter may expedite a ruling from the federal court, Lambright said.

The Hoffmans property  the Calico Dairy Farm off of League Line Road  was raided in June 2015. Agents with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Precinct 5 Constable's Office and the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were on the Hoffmans' farm for days as they were executing a search and seizure warrant and gathering evidence.

The Houston SPCA seized 207 horses from the property in 2015. Thirty were euthanized and three others died naturally. The rest of the horses were adopted to new families. Nine of the 17 horses left still need rehabilitation before they can be adopted.

RELATED: Conroe couple sues deputy, Houston SPCA over seizure of emaciated horses

Herman Hoffman said during a seizure hearing in June 2015 that the state of the animals could be attributed to sabotage by his employees to sway public opinion after photos were posted on Facebook, although he later contended that the horses were simply malnourished because of how natural horse herds work.

The SPCA assessed the horses on the day of the 2015 seizure and took some to the Houston facility in order of importance of veterinary need.

One of the horses from the first group to leave the ranch suffered from open wounds on both sides of its hips, which had scabbed over. Another horse showed its skeletal structure from its ribs to its hips from malnutrition. All five of the horses from the first group had unkept hooves, causing each to walk on the bottom joints of their legs.

In 2015, a Montgomery County judge ordered the Hoffmans to pay HSPCA more than $450,000 in recuperation for their work on the horses.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack took a stand against staff changes by outgoing elected officials during the courts meeting Tuesday.

In a 4-1 vote, Noack was the lone nay vote in approving payroll changes with included the hiring of new personnel for the Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace court and the District Clerks office. Neither Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Edie Connelly nor District Clerk Barbara Adamick ran for re-election in the Nov. 6 general election.

We have a lot of turnover with elected officials, Noack said. I dont think it is right for an outgoing elected officials to continue to hire and fire and make staffing decisions on their way out the door. It puts the employee in a bad situation. Its a bad practice and I dont think it is something we should be doing as a court.

However, Assistant County Attorney Amy Dunham told the court it had little power over elected officials.

They have a wide discretion and sphere of authority to fill those positions, she said adding the court could make recommendations to elected officials.

Noack said he understood but again said he didnt support it noting one official has made many changes in the last several months. He did not say which elected official.

Outgoing elected officials include Connelly, Adamick, County Judge Craig Doyal, Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark and County Treasurer Stephanne Davenport. Each will leave office at the end of the year.

Noack originally made a motion to accept the changes without the Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace and District Clerk changes but that died for lack of second.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador then motioned to accept the changes as presented with Connelly and Adamicks changes which ultimately passed in a 4-1 vote.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
As many families look forward to a big holiday feast, some are scraping to provide just the next basic meal for their children.

Right now over 76,000 are food insecure of those 29,000 are children, Montgomery County Food Bank Director of Development Lindy Johnson said.

The food bank is encouraging a community-wide effort to collect nonperishable canned and boxed items from the neighborhood, businesses, family, organizations and more with a goal to fill the food banks truck. Those collected donations can be delivered from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Woodlands United Methodist Church in The Woodlands at the Holiday Drive event on Dec. 7.

The event will feature a visit from Santa, student choir performances from multiple schools, a fire truck, and church speaker presentations in the morning. Community leaders and elected officials have been invited.

The food bank works with over 50 partner agencies in Montgomery County which the donations delivered to the event will be distributed to, including womens shelters, youth services, church pantries, and food pantries.

MCFB President and CEO Allison Hulett reported approximately 45,000 students in Montgomery County participate in free and reduced lunches. As those students go on holiday break for a week for Thanksgiving and over two weeks for Christmas, the organization reported partners such as food pantries see an increase in the strapped families who were already stretched thin and must now provide additional meals, including during the holidays.

To paint a picture, the MCFB sourced 2,099 turkeys and hams for our partners to distribute 100 per agency, first come, first serve, Hulett stated in an email. One agency told us they passed out the 100, but had a wait list of approximately 500 more. Thats one agency.

The event falls one year after Hurricane Harvey, which damaged 4,768 homes and cost more than $450 million in damages in Montgomery County. Hurricane Harvey nearly doubled the number of Conroe ISD students classified as homeless, going from 475 in 2016-17 to 945 in 2017-18, said Chris Hines, deputy superintendent of operations.

Food insecurity is prevalent before, during, and after an event like Harvey, Hulett stated. By now, those disaster boxes have turned into poverty boxes for many who simply could not fully recover.

In the past, the holiday drive was held at the Montgomery County Court House steps and in partnership with another Houston-based organization. However, this year the food bank, which is located in The Woodlands where the event moved, decided to host its own event for Montgomery County, Johnson said.

As a former school teacher who also volunteered with Interfaith at a distribution site during Harvey, Johnson described Montgomery County as a caring community.

We really come together in times of crisis and we saw that last year with Hurricane Harvey relief when we really took care of our own and I see this food drive as another opportunity to show the strength and the leadership of this county and the great things we are able to accomplish because of the heart of the community, she said.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

The city of Montgomery and the Civic Club are kicking off the Christmas season with a light pole decorating contest at Cedar Break Park.

The deadline to have decorations up is Nov. 25. On Dec. 1, the winner will be announced with a celebration that beings at dusk at the park.
It seemed like a casual Sunday afternoon last year. Barbecue was on the grill. The Philadelphia Eagles were on television, stomping the Arizona Cardinals, 34-7. A former U.S. Marine named Joey Sees and his wife were spending the day at the house of an acquaintance, Keith James Cote.

The homeowner, an independently wealthy 62-year-old who had reportedly been confined to a wheelchair since a 2013 tumble at a Houston strip club, asked to talk to Sees alone on the patio behind his house in a leafy neighborhood in north Austin.

HOUSTON OFFICER TARGETED: Houston man maintains innocence in murder-for-hire case

That's when police say Cote floated the idea of a murder.

According to a police arrest affidavit, Cote told Sees in October 2017 that he needed a "dirty deed, done dirt cheap." He then asked the veteran if he could get a silencer and a 9mm handgun. Right there on the patio, Cote allegedly pulled out $10,000 and offered the money if Sees would kill Cote's ex-girlfriend. He allegedly offered another $15,000 "to watch him put a bullet in her head." Cote explained he wanted SanDee Jones dead because "because she is dating a black guy."

Sees wasn't sure what to think - was this a joke? Or serious? Cote said that he knew Sees had seen combat in his five years in the Marines. The murder-for-hire would "be right up his alley," he told the veteran.

"When we're in a warzone, we're just trying to get home and we're just protecting each other. I guess he thought every Marine is a hit man," Sees told Austin's KXAN recently. "We're not killers. We just do our job, but our job isn't to come home and murder someone because she's dating a black guy."

The unsettling conversation was the beginning move in a sordid tale that eventually led to secretly recorded conversations, a police investigation, and suicide.

But on that Sunday afternoon, the veteran Sees made a decision to go along with Cote. If he rejected the offer outright, Cote might find a more willing co-conspirator.

"I'm just glad he asked me," Sees told KXAN. "I felt I was the right person to do it. [Cote] trusted me enough to think that I was that type of individual to murder someone. So, I knew that I wanted to handle this myself. I knew I had to do what I had to do and contact the police."

Cote continued to ask Sees about the arrangement. Eventually, the veteran went to the police, who then contacted Jones, the target of the alleged murder plot. According to the Austin American-Statesman, she explained she had been in an abusive relationship with Cote for a number of years. He treated her like his property, she told police. But Jones said she hadn't seen her ex since 2015.

"When asked why she believed Mr. Cote would want her killed, she confirmed that Mr. Cote is a racist and confirmed that she is now dating a black man," the affidavit said. "She stated that the only thing Mr. Cote hates more than a black man was a white woman who is with a black man."

"In the beginning, the man that hired Joey to kill me is not the man I fell in love with," the intended victim Jones told KXAN. "I loved him at one point."

Sees began working with investigators as he continued to plot with Cote. The disabled man allegedly told Sees that if he wasn't in his wheelchair, he would have stabbed his ex-girlfriend himself with an ice pick and watch her die, the American-Statesman reported.

On one occasion, the two men allegedly drove in Sees's truck to scout the location of the murder, Jones's office. With a secret camera filming the conversation for police, Cote explained how Sees would need to sneak up on the woman as she was leaving work.

"That's some thick brush but I can make it through it," Sees said in his car, surveying the landscape. "I've made it through thicker."

"I would say just stay along the perimeter," Cote counseled. "It's dark and you're a ninja."

In their conversations, Cote told Sees "this ain't about revenge, it's about the reckoning," Austin's KVUE reported. Cote also allegedly told Sees he wanted to be in the truck when the hit went down so he could watch Jones's death.

In late October 2017, police had what they needed, arresting Cote on criminal solicitation to commit capital murder.

He pleaded not guilty. The case, however, would not make it to trial. According to KXAN, after spending 11 months in custody, Cote bonded out last September while awaiting trial. He committed suicide a week later. Police now consider the investigation closed.

Sees and Jones, however, met for the first time recently. As Jones told KXAN, she was only now able to properly thank Sees for saving her life.

"I'm getting to relief. I know I'm finally free because I knew I would never be free until he no longer breathed on this earth, even from jail [or] prison," the intended victim Jones told the television station. "I've lived terrified for the last year of my life, terrified for others - the people I care about, the people I love . . . I'm not in a body bag . . . Joey is the reason I'm alive."

---

https://youtu.be/3fgsN2ObxHk
A group of environmentalists on Wednesday urged the government to go after public officials and other people responsible in the smuggled garbage shipment from South Korea which arrived at a Mindanao port five months ago. The shipment arrived at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Tagaloan, Misamis Oriental in June 2018 and was consigned to Korean firm Verde Soko II Philippine Industrial Corp. Clearly, this is a violation of Basel Convention. First, the shipment contained mixed wastes; secondly, it was misdeclared, and third, it was mixed with e-waste, said Ban Toxics campaigns and advocacy specialist Anna Kapunan, whose group condemned the shipment of plastic garbage from Pyongteak, South Korea. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, or Basel Convention in short, is an agreement designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent the transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries. In a statement, Ban Toxics said the importers clearly violated the environmental rights of Filipinos in Tagaloan, Misamis Oriental as they are exposed to potentially hazardous wastes from a foreign country. It added that the incident defies the Basel Convention, an international treaty discouraging the transfer of wastes from developed countries to developing countries. We are appalled by the misinformation provided by the shipments consignee. Their documents declared that the cargoes contain plastic synthetic flakes when in fact it was full of assorted garbage, wood, and other waste materials. To add, the authorities claimed that the transaction lacks the documentary requirements needed to transport the said shipment, the group stated.. The group urged the government to act against Verde Sokor and government authorities who consented to the consignment. As with our response to Canadas waste, we likewise strongly call for the shipments return to South Korea. Now is the time for our government to forbid garbage imports from developed countries, and to protect the Filipinos rights to attain the highest possible quality of life and optimal health, it added. In February 2014, the Bureau of Customs filed criminal charges against a firm based in Valenzuela City for importing 50 40-foot container vans loaded with tons of waste materials from Canada. Charged with smuggling before the Department of Justice were Adelfa Eduardo, owner, and proprietor of Chronic Plastics, a firm based in Canumay, Valenzuela City, and the companys licensed customs brokers Leonora Flores and Sherjun Saldon. Then Customs Commissioner John Philip Sevilla said the respondents violated Sections 3601 and 3602 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP); Republic Act (RA) 6969, otherwise known as the Toxic Substance and Hazardous Wastes and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990; and Article 172 in relation to Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. Republic Act 6969 bans the importation of hazardous materials into the Philippines while the TCCP holds an importer criminally liable for unlawful importations. It is very clear that these waste materials were shipped to the Philippines illegally. There were violations in the process for importation and misdeclarations made on paper. Moreover, we must be mindful of the threat to public health and safety that these wastes could bring to our people, said Sevilla. The container vans arrived in six batches from June to August 2013 at the Manila International Container Port and were subsequently seized by Customs Police and operatives of the Enforcement Group after a spot inspection revealed that these contained used mixed and unsorted or heterogeneous plastic materials, including household garbage and even used adult diapers, and not homogeneous or recyclable plastic scrap materials as declared by the importer.The importers even declared a total value of P3.9 million for 19 of the containers. Chronic Plastic is a 150-man operation in Valenzuela engaged in the sorting and selling of recyclable materials shipped from Canada. Customs officials identified the shipper as Chronic Inc. of 95 Regency Crescent Whitby, Ontario, Canada. They said the shipment had no written approval from the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources or his duly authorized representative as required by law. In 2010, Customs agents also seized at the Port of Manila 13 container vans of iron and copper scraps from China on board s/s Uni Glory and consigned to Jowood Industries. On record, the cargo was declared as mill scales but laboratory analysis by the Philippine Nuclear Institute on the samples indicated black powder composed of iron and copper scraps prohibited under the Basel Convention. At the House of Representatives, a senior opposition lawmaker assailed the continued non-implementation of the pre-shipment inspection provision in the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act which has again allowed the entry of 51 container vans of garbage from South Korea into the country. This is a proof that we must immediately implement the pre-shipment inspection of all cargo and container vans at the point-of-origin, Atienza said. Since Republic Act 10863 was signed into law in 2016, we have been calling on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to implement this provision. But the BOC and the Department of Finance have been resistant to the idea. This is the only way that we can stop the uncontrolled entry of garbage and illegal drugs from all over the world. We simply cannot the continued footdragging of these two agencies Atienza said. Atienza also called on President Rodrigo Duterte to order the BoC and the DoF to immediately implement the pre-shipment inspection of all cargo and container vans at their ports of origin. We are banging on the doors of the BOC and the DOF. If they will not do their jobs, then maybe the President should step in and order them to do so. How hard is it to check the bill of lading of these shipments? If it says garbage and we still allow them to enter our ports, then we are stupid. Specially since this is the second incident in the last three years that our country has been turned into the dumping ground of the worlds garbage. It is ridiculous to think that nobody knew what was in those container vans. We suspect that money is probably involved, thats why this isnt being implemented, Atienza said. Atienzas statement on the South Korea garbage came as Iligan Rep. Frederick Siao on Monday delivered a privilege speech condemning the entry of this garbage shipment at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Tagaloan, Misamis Oriental. In support to Siao, Atienza saidNow it appears that the shipment contained used syringes. What were these syringes used for? What if they contained contagious diseases and pathogens? We fully support Congressman Siaos demand that the consignee, Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corporation, and its shipper be made to pay for any and all expenses for the return of the garbage to South Korea. We also support the filing of criminal charges against those responsible for this, Atienza added.
On a winter day in 1992, a neighbor heard screams coming from the home of Robert Moreno Ramos. Had they gone inside, they might have seen the bodies, the blood. And, later, the dug up bathroom floor where the slain family was buried.

Instead, it took two months for police to stumble across the murder of the Hidalgo County man's wife and children - but Ramos has long said he wasn't the one who did it.

More than a quarter-century later, the mentally ill and brain damaged Mexican immigrant was put to death Wednesday night, amid claims of lousy lawyering and international treaty violations. The execution was delayed more than three hours, as prison officials waited for the Supreme Court's ruling on the condemned man's final two appeals.

In his final words, Ramos thanked his nation's consulate for its support, and Texas prisons for their humane treatment of him.

"I am getting my gold watch that it took the governor 30 years to forge," he added. "Thank you God, Lord send me a chariot. I'm ready."

He died at 9:36 p.m., according to prison spokesman Jeremy Desel.

READ MORE: Mexican national scheduled for execution in Texas despite claims of treaty violations

"Justice had been delayed in this case for over two decades," the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office in a statement late Wednesday. "We hope that the sentence brings peace to the family of the victims."

The punishment, they said, was merited by the facts of the case and was "in the interest of justice."

Ramos was arrested for capital murder in 1992, after he was picked up on a traffic warrant. Police questioned him without a lawyer, and eventually he let them search his Progreso home.

When they found blood in the bathroom, he agreed to make them a map. Investigators followed it, and found the bodies of his wife - Leticia Ramos - and her children, Abigail and Jonathan.

Even though his drawing led police to the gruesome scene, Ramos said he wasn't the killer. Instead, he said, he found the bodies one day when he came home - and he only buried them in the bathroom so his other son wouldn't find out.

Ramos was charged, but he didn't get a lawyer until three months after his arrest, according to court records. During his trial, prosecutors argued that he'd beaten his wife and youngest children to death - then married another woman days later.

Defense lawyers argued that unknown drug dealers committed the triple slaying. Ramos was convicted in 1993 and sentenced to death in a matter of hours.

In the punishment phase - the part of the trial where a jury decides whether or not to vote for a death sentence - attorneys for Ramos offered no evidence, made an "almost incomprehensible" five-page closing argument, gave no reason to oppose a death sentence and didn't even bother to ask the jury to spare their client's life, according to court records.

The jurors never heard evidence of his brain dysfunction, lifelong mental illness or shockingly brutal childhood with a father who regularly whipped him with a chain and hung him upside down.

As a foreign national, Ramos should have been told of his right to notify his country's consulate of his arrest long before trial, as dictated by the Vienna Conventions on Consular Relations. But Mexican officials only found out through news reports nearly a year after the fact, according to court records.

During appeals, attorneys for Ramos said that late notification could have made a difference because Mexico typically provides added defense support in capital cases. And in a case troubled by bad lawyering, that support could have helped.

The state argued, among other things, that extra help from Mexico wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome of the case.

The courts refused to side with Ramos on the alleged treaty violations, in part because the Vienna Conventions are only enforceable between countries - so it's not up to American federal courts to enforce the application of international treaties in individual criminal cases.

But hours before he was set to die, the United Nations put out a statement asking Texas to call it off.

"Any death sentence carried out in contravention of a government's international obligations amounts to an arbitrary execution," U.N. officials wrote. "We call for his death sentence to be annulled and for Mr. Ramos Moreno to be re-tried in compliance with due process and international fair trial standards."

In recent weeks, Ramos has focused in on claims that his early appeals attorneys weren't up to the task. Starting in the mid-1990s, the Court of Criminal Appeals appointed Ramos a post-conviction lawyer with no experience in capital cases, who later admitted he didn't have the resources or training necessary and "was simply not equipped" to do the job. He filed a bare-bones appeal without conducting any sort of investigation or presenting any new claims outside the trial record - so he never caught the bad lawyering Ramos allegedly suffered during trial.

When the justices turned Ramos down in the days before his execution, his current attorney - Houston-based lawyer Danalynn Recer - filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday, accusing the court of violating the condemned prisoner's constitutional rights to counsel, due process and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.

"The people of Texas have a strong interest in not allowing this freakishly improbable injustice to go on any longer," Recer said in a statement early Wednesday. "Mr. Moreno Ramos is not asking for his second or third bite at the apple; he is still waiting for his first."

But a federal court rejected his lawsuit on Wednesday and, roughly three hours after the execution was slated to begin, the Supreme Court turned down his two remaining appeals.

"The death penalty is supposed to be reserved for the 'worst of the worst' murders and the 'worst of the worst' murderers," Death Penalty Information Center executive director Robert Dunham tweeted afterward. "This case was the 'worst of the worst' in another way  it represents the worst of the worst legal process."

Texas has executed 10 men this year, and - excluding Ramos - six more are scheduled to die in the coming months.
Alvin ISD Superintendent James Buck Gilcrease, who oversaw the opening of seven schools during four years in his position, has announced that he will retire in the early spring, according to a press release from the district.

Gilcrease, who has led the district since 2014 and became eligible for retirement last year, announced his decision at a Nov. 13 board meeting.

It has been the highest honor of my career to serve as superintendent in this school district, Gilcrease said. This district is unrelentingly focused on students in the classroom, which I believe is the most significant service in the world.

The Alvin ISD school board will begin the process of hiring a new superintendent in the coming weeks, according to the release.

Gilcrease said he will continue to advocate for Texas schools through working with a firm that deals with education issues in Texas. The firm, Moak, Casey & Associates, Texas School Finance and Accountability Experts, is a team of former education officials who provide research and planning services for a range of clients concerned with the financial operation and management of public school education, according to their website.

I will deeply miss the people of Alvin ISD that make this a great place, Gilcrease said at the trustee meeting.

Gilcrease led the district through successful bond elections in 2015 and 2018 to to address unprecedented growth in the district. Total enrollment in February was almost 25,000, reflecting an increase of 2,818 students in two years.

Alvin ISD schools that opened while Gilcrease was superintendent were: Shadow Creek High School; Manvel and McNair junior high schools; and Hasse, Meridiana, Brothers and Pomona elementary schools. Additionally, the Alvin ISD Heritage Complex, Bobby Verdine Agricultural Building and the JB Hensler College and Career Academy opened during that period.

The 2018 bond is a $480.5 million package to fund construction of two elementary and two junior high schools and a new high school as well as update security on campuses, acquire land for future campus growth and replace the aging E.C. Mason Elementary and Alvin Primary School campuses.

The bond money also will fund expansion and renovation at Harby Junior High School.

School board president Nicole Tonini stated in the press release, It is unquestioned that Alvin ISD has benefitted from the leadership and service of Buck Gilcrease.
A University of Texas at San Antonio professor will remain out of the classroom for the remainder of the semester as investigations are conducted after a viral video posted Monday showed her asking police to escort a black student out of her biology lecture hall, school officials said Tuesday.

The statement came a day after UTSA President Taylor Eighmy sent an email to the university community saying the school's Office of Equal Opportunity Services was investigating the incident as a possible case of discrimination. He also said the case was an example of the work the university needed to do to support students of color.

"We are concerned by what the video shows and have initiated multiple investigations into the matter," the university said Tuesday in the prepared statement shared on Twitter. "We recognize the importance of promptly gathering the facts and being transparent in the outcomes."

The student, who identified herself as @FavoritePaigeee on Twitter, said the video, shared by classmate Apurva Rawal shows police leading her out of class under the instruction of biology lecturer Anita Moss. The student, who could not be reached for comment and whose full name has not been made public, said she did not disobey any student code of conduct. Rawal said in his account that his professor called the class "uncivil" before becoming upset that the woman had her feet up during class.

The videos quickly gained steam online, with Rawal's post gaining more than 17,000 retweets and almost 40,000 by Tuesday at 5 p.m. The tweet from the woman escorted out got more than 20,000 retweets and 55,000 likes. Many in the comments were quick to excoriate the professor and UTSA, comparing the video to a number of other situations across the U.S. where police were called to respond to black people barbecuing, napping in a student lounge or selling water.

Of the more than 30,000 students enrolled at UTSA last fall, 2,674 of them were black, according to the university's website.

RELATED: UTSA issues statement about controversial video of cops escorting student out of class

UTSA said both the professor and student met with officials separately. In addition to the professor remaining out of class during the investigation, the student has been offered "multiple" options for continuing her studies.

"Once they (investigations) are completed next week, appropriate final action will be determined," the school's statement reads.

Eighmy said in his email the matter "concerns him greatly."

"While the facts aren't fully known regarding today's incident, our Office of Equal Opportunity Services is already conducting an investigation into possible discrimination," he said in the letter. "In addition, an inquiry regarding the academic management of the classroom is being conducted by Interim Dean of the College of Sciences Howard Grimes."

"Beyond this particular incident, I am very much aware that the circumstance represents another example of the work we need to do as an institution around issues of inclusivity and supporting our students of color," he wrote in the letter.

Madalyn Mendoza is a breaking news and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mmendoza@mysa.com |@MaddySkye
ATTENTIVE EAR. President Rodrigo Duterte (right) listens to Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi as they arrive on stage for a group photo before the start of the Asean -Japan summit on the sideline of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Singapore on Wednesday. AFP

SingaporePresident Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday urgedto show the way forward, now that it has occupied and built up disputed territories in the South China Sea.Youre there, youre in possession, you occupied it. Then tell us what route shall we take and what kind of behavior [is acceptable], Duterte said during an interview with Manila reporters minutes before the start of the 21st ASEAN-China Summit in Singapore. Duterte said he would push at all costs for the early conclusion of negotiations for a READ: China wants sea rulebook done in 3 years He also said he was worried about the discord between Beijing and Washington and the risks that a serious miscalculation could bring. Everything has been excellent between China and the rest of ASEAN, except for the fact that theres friction between the Western nations and China, said Duterte. I am worried. I expressed it last night because we have a mutual defense treaty with the US, Duterte said. That is why at all costs we must have the COC. He ruled out pulling out of the mutual defense treaty, saying the country could not simply shoo away the United States. On the second day of the summit, the President skipped an informal breakfast with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a session on ASEAN-Korea ties, and a nearly two-hour working lunch hosted by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for Asean leaders and guests, which was also attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. represented the President in these meetings. This was the second time this year that the President decided to not show up in a summit involving Australia, which has expressed concern over his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs. His decision to skip the Korean meeting, came after reports said South Korea dumped 5,100 tons of garbage at the Mindanao Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental. In Manila, his spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Palace found it amusing that some quarters are making a big fuss over the Presidents skipping a few meetings. In the four meetings the President did not attend, he tasked Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. to represent him and to read his remarks. [The Presidnet] will also not attend the gala dinner scheduled tonight and will instead rest. Last night, the President worked late and had only less than three hours of sleep. It is unfortunate that the first event scheduled today was at 8:30 a.m. In those instances where he did not attend, namely, the ASEAN-Australia Informal Breakfast Summit, the 20th ASEAN  Republic of Korea Summit, the Working Lunch hosted by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the Second Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit, he took power naps to catch on sleep, Panelo said. To formally open the 21st Asean-China talks, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed confidence that the Philippines would bring ties between the 10-nation regional bloc with China to greater heights. And I look forward to a substantive discussion with [Chinese] Premier Li Keqiang on how ASEAN and China can take our relations forward, Lee added.During a working dinner hours after the opening ceremony of the 33rd Asean Summit, Duterte said the Philippines will do its part as the dialogue coordinator between the Asean and China. In our role as country coordinator of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations until 2021, we are committed to working with all concerned parties in the substantive negotiations and early conclusion of an effective Code of Conduct, said Duterte in his speech Tuesday evening. To realize a more peaceful, stable and secure region, the President noted that the Asean members, with its partner countries, must intensify their cooperation and implement previously agreed-upon action plans if they are going to address the issues in the disputed South China Sea. We likewise reaffirm our commitment to the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, said the President. This includes the peaceful settlement of disputes, the exercise of self-restraint, and the freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Duterte added. The single draft document for the Code of Conduct that will serve as the basis for the claimant countries negotiations in the disputed South China Sea would be completed by 2019, the ASEAN and China said Wednesday. In a statement delivered by President Rodrigo Duterte, the 10-nation regional bloc and China stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the contested waterways. ASEAN and China have seen steady progress in the initial phase of the COC negotiations since the announcement of a Single Draft COC Negotiating Text and looked forward to the completion of the first reading of the Single Draft COC Negotiating Text by 2019, Duterte said during the 21st ASEAN-China Summit here Wednesday. ASEAN and China are committed to the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and the expeditious conclusion of an effective(COC), he added. The code of conduct, which serves as the basis for negotiations, will enable the Asean member-states and China to agree on certain formal guidelines. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, meanwhile, said Beijing is ready to work with all Asean countries to conclude the CoC consultations in three years time. It is our hope that we can set up a timeframe so that in three years time the COC will become a set of rules contributing to South China Sea [and it] will also be conducive to free trade and the further upgrading of our free trade area, he said in his statement. During the Asean summit in Manila last year, China and the 10 member-states drafted an agreement on the South China Sea, aiming to promote a peaceful, friendly, and harmonious environment in the contested waters between Asean and China for the enhancement of peace, stability, economic growth and prosperity in the region. Countries such as Brunei Darussalam, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines have claims in the South China Sea. Among the claimant countries, China has claimed almost the entire waters, including some parts and islands in the West Philippine Sea. But in 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague dismissed Chinas claim and recognized the Philippines jurisdiction over the contested waters.
The Democratic sweep of Harris County leadership posts in the midterm election could prompt a settlement in the protracted legal dispute over how judges handle bail for poor people arrested for petty offenses, according to statements made in federal court Tuesday.

The shift in attitudes became evident during an early morning hearing in Houston before Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, who has presided over the civil rights action since 2016 and ruled in 2017 that the countys bail practices discriminated against poor people. Lawyers for both sides acknowledged the proverbial elephant in the room: that all 14 county judges who oppose the bail lawsuit are Republicans who will be replaced in the new year by Democrats who have pushed for deeper bail reform.

Rosenthal congratulated the attorneys willingness to accommodate any changes that have recently occurred in a reasonable way and set a hearing for Feb. 1 where the lawyers may begin discussing plans for a possible settlement that would avert a costly trial.

In addition, Neal Manne, who represents indigent defendants who were jailed for days because they couldnt afford bail, told Rosenthal he was prepared to put the brakes on a motion to compel information about lost correspondence that was automatically erased by countys computers.

Michael Kirk, an attorney for the 14 court-at-law judges, told the judge with a smile, I find myself in the very unusual position of agreeing with Mr. Manne.

However, Kirk said his clients plan to press on with their appeal of Rosenthals revised injunction, a document that has been the flash point in the ongoing legal standoff. The county has spent nearly $8 million defending itself against the case so far, including payments to outside lawyers at Kirks top-tier Washington, D.C. law firm.

The two other current judges, a Republican and a Democrat, have sided with the indigent defendants in the case.

Manne said the county has been fighting the indigent defendants suit for more than two years, but the election results mean, Its going to be a new day.

My sense is that once the elected officials take their places, we will be able to achieve real, meaningful bail reform in Harris County, said Manne, referring to new judicial terms that begin in January.

Standing with Manne and others in the courthouse hallway after the hearing was Franklin Bynum, a 36-year-old Democratic Socialist in the mold of Bernie Sanders, who was elected last week to the misdemeanor bench for County Criminal Court No. 8. Bynum said hed read documents and sat through hearings in the historic bail case from the beginning.

It was this lawsuit that originally inspired me to run for judge, Bynum said.

He said he and his fellow Democratic candidates all promised residents on the campaign trail they intended to settle the bail lawsuit quickly.

Certainly, were going to behave differently than the current judges did, like being obstinate and defending the indefensible, he said.

In April 2017, Rosenthal ruled that the countys bail policy violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution. She wrote that misdemeanor judges bail determinations amounted to wealth-based detention for poor defendants who could otherwise qualify for pretrial release, whereas similar defendants with money could resume their lives at home on bond.

The topic of a settlement surfaced again an hour later at the start of the first Commissioners Court meeting following the election.

A lawyer for County Court at Law Judge Darrell Jordan, the only Democrat on the misdemeanor bench, implored county leaders to stop the hemorrhaging of money and end their appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Thats when the top county official, outgoing Judge Ed Emmett, said, that time and time and time again he and others on Commissioners Court said they were willing to settle for the terms the 5th U.S. Circuit had outlined for an agreement, and it was the indigent defendants counsel who balked at the idea. Emmett, and Commissioner Jack Cagle and others have both said repeatedly that all parties agreed that nobody should be incarcerated just because they cant afford bail.

This precipitated a brief sparring session between Emmett and Commissioner Rodney Ellis, the sole Democrat on the court, who said he was ready to set aside legal arguments and settle.

It takes two sides to settle  Im going to leave this up to the county attorney, Emmett said, noting that he had only two more commissioners court meetings left.

Robert Soard, of the county attorneys office, said afterwards that he would welcome input anytime from the new judges about their wishes but he cant take action on their behalf until they are sworn into office.

Emmetts replacement for county judge, Lina Hidalgo, spoke ardently to voters about bail reform. She said Tuesday that she believes the landscape has changed following the election.

Harris County voters were very clear in electing a new slate of judges: it's time to fix our broken criminal justice system, Hidalgo said. Instead of continuing to spend millions fighting reform, we should invest in policies that save us money and allow every resident of our county to have equal access to justice.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday did not rule out returning to public service after he gives up the gavel in January, but made clear he first would return to the private sector following last weeks re-election loss.

Democrat Lina Hidalgo defeated Emmett, a Republican who has helmed Harris County government since 2007. She will assume office Jan. 1. Meanwhile, Emmett said he planned to work with Hidalgo to ensure she transitions smoothly into the role.

With two Commissioners Court meetings left in his term, Emmett likely will decide on his next move in early December and told reporters he faces numerous options.

You know, I had a life before I became county judge, Emmett, 69, said after his first post-election court meeting. As Ive told many people, you know, I didnt die.

Emmett continued to attribute his defeat to what he characterized as an insurmountable straight-ticket vote deficit, pointing to Democrats countywide advantage of more than 104,000 party votes over Republicans.

PLANNING AHEAD: Ed Emmett outlines 15 proposals to improve regional flood control

The county judge position is buried way down in the middle of the ballot. I made up 87,000 of them, but that just wasnt enough, Emmett said. There arent enough non-straight-ticket voters out there to make up that difference.

Emmett also offered praise for Hidalgo, with whom he plans to meet Wednesday. The two spoke over the phone Monday, Emmett said.

She won an election. Shes bright and engaging and shell have people around her, Emmett said. You have to remember, the county has, what, 15,000 employees. Theyre professional, they do very well. So, shell be fine.

Hidalgo, 27, will become Harris Countys first female and Latina county judge. She was pursuing a joint degree in public policy and law, but put her education on pause to seek the county judge seat, her first campaign for office. She has not yet attended a Commissioners Court meeting and was not present Tuesday.

Emmett said he would remain interested in how the revamped court handles Harris Countys growing unincorporated population, and remained willing to offer anything I can do to help that. However, Emmett also indicated he would not hover over Hidalgos shoulder upon leaving office.

THE NEWCOMER: Six things to know about newly elected Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo

I dont intend to be one of those people that every day says something about whats going on in the county, he said. Im going to move on with my life and shes going to move on with the county.

Emmett, a moderate Republican, has been at odds with his partys more conservative wing, and on Tuesday offered some criticism for those at the top of the ticket, without naming names. During the campaign, he told the Houston Chronicle editorial board that he planned to vote for Mike Collier, the Democratic challenger to Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Every statewide Republican official lost Harris County, including Patrick, who faced a 14-point deficit here. Democrat Beto ORourke also trounced Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at the top of the local ballot. Republicans nonetheless won their statewide elections.

I think that people at the top of the ticket need to start looking at what theyre saying to the voters, 'cause the voters arent buying it, Emmett said. And I think voters want to pay attention to competence, and people that will address the needs of their daily lives, and get away from all this other stuff."

Emmett was swept out of office along with every incumbent Republican countywide official on the ballot. The Republican county clerk, district clerk, treasurer were ousted, while Democrats won all 59 Harris County judicial races. Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman also lost to Adrian Garcia, handing Democrats a 3-2 edge on Commissioners Court. GOP Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle won reelection; Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack, a Republican, was not on the ballot.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

twitter.com/jaspscherer
Tuesdays snowfall in Houston was the earliest ever recorded, but very few people got to experience the flakes before they melted away.

A trace of snow/sleet was reported around 10 a.m. at Bush Intercontinental Airport, where the city's official weather is recorded. Tuesday's report broke a record previously set on Nov. 23, 1979, the National Weather Service said in a tweet.

From childlike joy to bitter resentment, the snowfall brought out a range of emotions.

I was really excited when I saw it, I texted my husband like a giddy school girl, one Reddit user posted about the weather that broke a nearly 40-year record. I'm sure he's not impressed since he's from Chicago, but it totally made my day.

With temperatures in the upper 30s, nothing is accumulating, said Molly Merrifield, a meteorologist at NWS in League City.

"It's just cool to watch it fall," she said.

But other online users vented their frustrations with Houstons swift weather change, complaining that there had not been enough of a transition from nice weather days.

The regions first freeze since January was expected for Tuesday night for most of Houston except the coastal areas, reported Space City Weather. The National Weather Service also issued a freeze warning Tuesday night through Wednesday morning for the Houston area, with temperatures expected to dip down to sub-freezing levels. However, sunny skies are expected to return with a high around 49.

Agencies in the region have been making efforts to remove homeless people off the streets and into shelters to escape the cold weather.

In addition to those who already had a bed, the Salvation Army of Greater Houston counted 18 people who took shelter at their Red Shield Lodge due to Monday nights chills. The Harris County Mental Health and Jail Diversion Bureau also tweeted that The Hope Center on Cypress Creek Parkway plans to provide shelter Tuesday night.

Flurries fell in other parts of the Houston area earlier Tuesday, including Conroe and Ellington Airport. Light sleet and snow flurries hit the ground in College Station.

Lifestyle Christian School in Conroe posted pictures of snowflakes in their young students hair on Facebook, writing, Recess came early for LCS elementary...snow on the playground. #OurTeachersRock #LetsPlayInTheSnow

Some parts of the area, including Pearland, also experienced thundersleet, where in a thunderstorm, sleet falls instead of rain. A couple of lightning strikes were reported, said Merrifield, who added the phenomenon is pretty rare here.

The National Weather Service reports that since 1895, it has snowed 38 times in Houston at an average of about once every 10 years, though some decades have several instances of recorded snowfall while others have only one each. Before Tuesday, the last recorded snowfall in Houston was on January 16, 2018.

Nicole Hensley and Michela Garcia contributed to this report

samantha.ketterer@chron.com

massarah.mikati@chron.com
For many former cigarette smokers the advent of e-cigarettes and nicotine vaping devices have been a way from them to wean themselves off of traditional smoking and slowly cease all tobacco usage.

The problem for parents and health professionals has been that some below legal smoking age have also taken up the habit, and now one company has been forced to take action.

EARLIER THIS WEEK: Juul halts store sales of some flavored e-cigarettes

This week Juul Labs Inc., which makes an e-cigarette device that looks much like a USB drive and uses specially-flavored nicotine pods, announced it was halting store orders of some of its most-popular flavors so it can take steps to ensure stores are verifying buyers are at least 21. The change won't impact sales of mint or menthol flavors and online sales of all flavors will continue.

Juul (pronounced "jewel") will also voluntarily shutter its social media accounts which are accessible to teenagers. The company has been selling their devices, which are pocket-sized and discreet, since 2015. In just three years time they became the best-selling e-cigarette on the market.

FEDS STEP IN: FDA seizes e-cigarette documents in surprise inspection of Juul Labs HQ

"We don't want anyone who doesn't smoke, or already use nicotine, to use Juul products," CEO Kevin Burns told the Associated Press. "We certainly don't want youth using the product. It is bad for public health and it is bad for our mission."

Eric Reinholt, one of the co-owners of the Boomtown Vapor chain with locations in Houston and the Beaumont area, said Wednesday that his chain doesn't sell Juul devices. He says that's because the Juul devices use too much nicotine in their pods.

"They make their products too strong, but for a heavy smoker it might be a good option," Reinholt said.

ANOTHER VIEW: Don't let your teens vape

Boomtown's priority, he said, has always been to make sure kids aren't buying their products. They treat Boomtown's locations like they are liquor stores.

"No one under 18 is allowed in the shops that Boomtown operates," Reinholt said. "We card everyone that looks under 40."

Still, he thinks the recent decision by Juul and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's to stamp out underage vaping is missing one important point about would-be teenage vapers.

FROM 2013: Smokers turn to 'vaping' to give up the habit

"The government expecting adolescents to not break rules is asking them to not be adolescents," he said. "This is just another way to protect kids and punish adults in the process. Prohibition never works."

Juul user Ismine Peveto, 27, has used the device to wean herself off of cigarettes. She uses her Juul during social situations or in traffic. She agrees that she gets a more intense nicotine high from it, but she still thinks its a better alternative to cigarettes.

"I find myself using it more than I would regular cigarettes," she said.

RELATED: E-cigarette bans may lead teens to conventional smoking

Peveto said that the price point on the Juul is much better for her budget. The standard starter kit runs $40. Juul sells its nicotine pods in a four-pack that costs roughly $18. Cigarettes can be as much as $8 a pack depending on the brand.

"It takes me a week to finish a pod or sometimes longer," she said.

The FDA's Scott Gottlieb said earlier this fall that teenage vaping had become an "epidemic" and was launching a strict enforcement on stores that were alleged to be selling to minors, while also casting a watchful eye on manufacturers of flavored e-cig liquids. He also didn't rule out banning the online sale of all e-cig devices.

Reinholt doesn't think that Juul has been targeting kids with unique flavors. Many adults that come into his stores are fond of being able to pick and choose flavors that are appealing to them.

RELATED: E-cigarette sales facing severe US restrictions

"I am an adult and I would have a nice apple pie flavor than something that tastes like an ashtray," he said.

He's heard of kids that were of legal tobacco-buying age purchasing Juuls and other e-cig devices at gas stations and vape shops, and reselling them to their friends at a mark-up. Kids in previous generations would treat traditional cigarettes, alcohol, and other banned or illegal substances in much the same way. Times change, and so do the vices.

Peveto, as a parent, thinks that kids are being targeted but that this isn't anything new. She was a kid not too long ago herself.

FROM APRIL: Scientists are sounding the alarm on Juul

"The whole vape scene in general targets kids," Peveto said. "But also cigarette ads target the youth too. I honestly think kids are going to be bad, and smoking will always be cool to underage kids."

Another Houstonian, 32-year-old Bryant Talley stopped smoking cigarettes after 11 years this past summer and now only puffs on his mango-flavored Juul when he gets the nicotine jones.

"I am actually sad it's getting a bad rap because of the youth stuff when it really does help people who use it for its purpose the right way," Talley said. The Juul's exhale isn't as powerful those e-cigs that use tanks of liquid, which is a plus for Talley.

"It's also better than those tank vaporizers that make you look like a amusement park attraction when you exhale," he joked.

Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | craig.hlavaty@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message
Once a place known for its lock-em-up brand of Texas justice, Harris County is now getting a historic shot at ferreting out bad convictions and releasing wrongfully jailed prisoners, thanks to a $250,000 Second Look grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The influx of federal money to re-examine old cases will fund a two-year collaborative effort between the Harris County District Attorneys Office, the Innocence Project of Texas and the Anthony Graves Foundation, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

This is a new day in terms of criminal justice reform in the city of Houston, said Graves, a Texas death row exoneree. Hopefully thisll be the model to carry around to the rest of the state and the country.

District Attorney Kim Ogg concurred, praising the unusual alliance.

This collaboration is historic and a step toward ensuring fairness and transparency in our justice system, she said in a statement.

The funding will allow for a review of roughly 300 cases with claims of actual innocence where DNA testing was denied by courts, and will determine if the case was eligible for testing, according to Ogg. The 2001 law, known as Chapter 64 for its designation in Texass Code of Criminal Procedure, allows a convicted person to request testing of forensic evidence gathered in their case, or more technologically advanced testing than was previously done.

The money wont be used to examine death row cases, officials said, and itll zero in on convictions between the year the law changed and 2008.

Getting out of prison under the 2001 law is a two-step process. First: get the DNA testing. Then: file an appeal. The whole process can take years, but the new money could make it all move along more quickly for dozens of Texas prisoners.

Its both precedent setting and practically invaluable, said defense lawyer Patrick McCann, who is on the Graves Foundation board of directors. If youre sitting in a 5-by-8 cell, theres no better news than hearing this.

The Innocence Project got the ball rolling earlier in the year when they approached Harris County prosecutors with the idea, according to Conviction Integrity Division Chief Gerald Doyle. Prosecutors agreed, and the parties involved brought on Graves for a three-way partnership.

Well be sharing a database and doing a collaborative review, Doyle said, but were all equal partners and we have our separate role with the goal of finding wrongful convictions.

Though the DNA legislation opened new doors for the wrongfully convicted when it passed 17 years ago, it came with practical limitations, according to McCann.

First, he said, the labs are hopelessly backlogged - so its a matter of capacity.

Second, theres a dearth of qualified lawyers with the time to tackle Chapter 64 cases quickly. And, third, theres the problem of tracking down old pieces of evidence.

The grant wont boost funding to labs, but it will help lawyers file for testing more quickly. Also, the added resources could make it easier for qualified attorneys to take on these sorts of claims - and track down the requisite evidence - on top of their existing workloads.

Perry Mason had an investigator on his staff, McCann said. The average Joe defense lawyer doesnt have that, so if youve got the services of the district attorneys office and a bunch of motivated paralegals and interns and law students at a nonprofit helping you, then your life just got so much easier.

But, Graves cautioned, $250,000 isnt enough to work through all the DNA convictions in the county - and it may not even be enough to finish the roughly 300 prosecutors have already earmarked for review.

I dont want people thinking that $250,000 is going to change the world, Graves said. At the end of the day, this funding is just the beginning.
Vehicle inspection employees near Katy are accused of "clean scanning" cars during inspections, police said.

The employees worked at Katy Sticker Inspection in the 2900 block of Katy Hockley Cut Off, according to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

Deputies with the constable's office's Emissions Task Force Unit said the three employees  Eric Hassan Khorshidpanah, 22, John Leonard Atkins, 35, and Juan Israel Diaz, 41  all allegedly passed their customers' vehicle inspections without actually testing them.

Authorities said the "clean scanning" process allegedly brought in about $115,000 in illicit revenue for the shop.

"This type of criminal activity contributes to health threatening pollution," Constable Mark Herman said. "In addition, it affords the opportunity for unsafe vehicles to be driven on a public roadway due to not meeting the minimum safety standards."

All three suspects are on the run and wanted by deputies, authorities said. They are each charged with two felony counts of tampering with a governmental record.

Anyone with information about their whereabouts is urged to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

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

xx
Alyssa Quiroz thought it was September when she regained consciousness on a Houston ISD school bus that had been traveling for more than three hours on Monday, said her mother Alice Quiroz.

Alyssa, an 8th grader at The Rice School, suffers from Dysautonomia, which sometimes causes her to feel dizzy if she stands too quickly. She's also more susceptible to dehydration, her mother said.

On Monday, the 14-year-old student had been riding the bus for more than three hours when she passed out, leading to a trip to Memorial Hermann that night, her mother said.

Alice said it was the second time in two months that her daughter has been hospitalized after passing out on a late HISD bus. The mother attributed both episodes to the heat inside.

Now, the teenager is wary of taking the bus at all, Alice said.

"I am a single parent and I have two kids, so I was relying on the bus transportation for her," she said. "Because my other daughter gets out at 3:45 and [Alyssa] gets out at 3:50."

RELATED: HISD chief admits errors in bus overhaul, promises changes

Complaints of late buses have been common in HISD this year after the district revamped its bus system, according to previous reports in the Houston Chronicle.

Under the new system, magnet school students like Alyssa are picked up and dropped off at 46 hubs placed throughout the district. Students take more direct routes to campus, but many families must travel farther to reach the hubs, previous reports said.

The system's rollout was met with complaints of children arriving to school late and being dropped off well past the scheduled times. HISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby acknowledged those issues in late September.

Alice added that her daughter was late on Monday because the driver combined two routes.

It's unclear whether the Quiroz' experience is directly related to those widespread issues, but HISD spokeswoman Lorena Cozzari said the district plans to review routes and distances before combining them in the future.

"As the safety of our students is our number one priority, HISD Transportation sincerely apologizes to the family of the student," she said in an email.

RELATED: Houston ISD bus woes continue despite changes

Cozzari's email said the district plans to gather medical information on students to prioritize drop-off locations. They will also review the customer care center's training protocol related to the new GPS bus tracking system, her email said.

Alice claimed that the school didn't know where her daughter was, despite the district implementing the new system. She said Alyssa couldn't give her location because she wasn't familiar with the route.

"It took forever for [the district] to find her, and then the bus driver wasn't responding to any calls," she said.

Alice said she initially didn't want to draw public attention to the issue when her daughters passed out on the bus for the first time on Oct. 10. When it happened again, she documented the incident on social media hoping to spark change.

Alyssa has since returned to school. All Alice wants for her daughter, she said, is a permanent bus driver that makes her feel safe.

"At no point should a child be on the bus for three hours," she said.

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
Houston Police Department

A Houston security guard was charged with aggravated assault Tuesday after allegedly shooting a suspected thief and a 6-year-old girl outside a T-Mobile store at Tidwell near Airline Monday.

According to Houston police officers, Christopher Jermaine Bradley, 28, was out of uniform when he pointed his gun at Earnest Hudson, who set off security alarms while allegedly stealing an iPhone from the mobile phone store.
Former Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill is being investigated on theft and money laundering allegations, accused of misappropriating funds of at least two of his law firms clients, according to an affidavit by the Harris County District Attorneys office.

Authorities on Monday seized 127 boxes of files, six computers and disk drives from the Houston high-rise office of the Woodfill Law Firm at Three Riverway, according to the returned search warrant filed in Harris County district court on Tuesday.

In his affidavit for the search warrant, which also targeted computer logins, passwords, memory devices, and telephones owned by Woodfill or the law firm, fraud examiner Bryan Vaclavik indicated authorities were seeking evidence used to commit felony offenses of misapplication of fiduciary property, theft and money laundering.

No charges have been filed against anyone in connection with the ongoing investigation. The Harris County District Attorneys office declined comment on the investigation.

Investigators seized financial records, legal files, documents and correspondence on Monday related to two divorce cases handled by the firm, the search warrant documents show.

The ongoing investigation has nothing to do with Woodfills party activities, his attorney Jimmy Ardoin told the Houston Chronicle Tuesday.

Woodfill was chairman of the county Republican Party for 12 years, before losing the post in 2014.

Ardoin said his client had no advance notice of the search and had no details about the allegations beyond the content of the search warrant.

Ardoin said he had been in contact with the district attorneys office about its review of finances in a divorce case for three to four months and was dismayed that Woodfill was not allowed to provide information voluntarily.

We believe theres an accusation of misappropriation of client funds, Ardoin said. We have yet to get confirmation of what it is.

The search warrant indicates the district attorneys investigation began in February 2017, after Woodfills former client, Amy Holsworth Castillo, alleged that Woodfills firm misused funds from her divorce case. Castillo filed for divorce from her husband Juan Castillo in 2012 and hired Woodfill in December 2013, court records show.

Juan Castillo later had the divorce case moved to bankruptcy court in Texas Southern District in part, he claimed, because of excessive legal fees. Woodfills firm filed a motion accusing Juan Castillo of filing his bankruptcy case to skirt payments to his estranged wife, federal court records show.

At one point, Amy Holsworth Castillos trust account had less than $650 in it, according to a fact-finding ruling in 2016, in which U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeff Bohm outlined a years worth of transactions and discrepancies between bank statements and ledgers for the trust. Based on those records, Bohm concluded that Woodfills firm had taken funds from the (trust) account that have not yet been earned and, thus, several thousands of dollars have been unaccounted for.

He put the amount of unaccounted funds or overpayments to Woodfills firm at more than $140,000.

Woodfills firm disputed the findings and planned to appeal Bohms finding, court records show.

Both Castillos later filed separate complaints against Woodfill with the State Bar of Texas. In September, the bar publicly reprimanded Woodfill and ordered him to pay $3,490 in attorneys fees and direct expenses.

Woodfill had direct supervisory authority over members of his firm who violated the disciplinary rules during the representation in a divorce, the State Bar of Texas wrote, and Woodfill failed to take reasonable action.

The district attorneys office also cited a second complaint in the search warrant involving Woodfills representation of a woman named Teresa Ribelin Cook, who hired the law firm in June 2013 to represent her in a divorce. The search warrant alleges Woodfill had used more than $45,000 of Ribelin Cooks retainer for purposes not related to her case.

The warrant also cites an interview with a man identified as Woodfills controller, Kenneth Kennedy, who is quoted claiming that Woodfill often moved money around between client accounts and his own bank accounts.

Richard Orlando Rodriguez, whose ex-wife also used Woodfill as her divorce attorney, has separately accused Woodfill of taking at least $300,000 from a trust account in a divorce case, according to a March 2017 complaint he filed with the Houston Police Department. That complaint is not mentioned in the search warrant.

robert.downen@chron.com

lise.olsen@chron.com
Mike Pompeo and John Bolton: Trumps Tag Team of Death and Destruction!

With the welcome departure of war mongering UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, the Trump Administrations neocon tag team of death and destruction  Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor (NSA), John Bolton  have enthusiastically taken up where the repellent Haley has left off. It is highly doubtful that the former Ambassador will meekly return from under the rock in which she crawled, but will reappear possibly as a primary challenger to her former boss in 2020, and, most certainly, as a Presidential contender in 2024.

Last week, Messrs Pompeo and Bolton were dutifully carrying forth Haleys promises of mayhem to anyone opposed to US hegemony even if those enemies have never taken hostile action against the US mainland. Of course, threats and attacks against nations which have done nothing to America have never much mattered to the foreign policy establishment!

Haley Pompeo Bolton Neocon Triumvirate

In one of the most provocative comments ever made by a US diplomat, maniacal Mike threatened Iran with mass starvation of its population (via US sanctions) if it does not submit to Uncle Sams outrageous and humiliating demands. In a BBC interview, the Secretary of State warned that:

[Irans] leadership has to make a decision that they want their people to eat.*

Following up on his genocidal warning, the Secretary of State (with a supposedly straight face) said that Iran was a destabilizing influence in the Mideast and was a state sponsor of terrorism.

Incredibly, the sociopathic Pompeo actually believes that Iran has been the greatest disrupter of peace in the Middle East when, in fact, it has been the nation in which he represents (along with Israel) that has been the real culprit of state sponsored terrorism with its destruction of Iraq, the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and the attempted regime change in Syria to name just a few of Americas nefarious activities in the region.

A Brown University study shows the absurdity of Pompeos claims. The study estimates that between 480,000 to 507,000 people were killed in Americas post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. For the US, some 60,000 troops have lost their lives or been wounded.***

US Destruction of Iraq US Destruction of Iraq

After threatening genocide of the Iranian people, Pompeo told an outright lie as he accused Iran for the catastrophe that is taking place in Yemen:

[The] Iranians are responsible for the starvation of Yemen civilians.****

No one outside of the Western controlled press or among the clueless American populace believes such a claim and knows that the starvation which is taking place in Yemen has been caused by the USs ally, Saudi Arabia, which America has armed for decades. It is not the Iranians, but the US which is guilty as an accomplice for the genocide taking place in that misbegotten land.

Yemen Drone Stike Yemen Drone Strike

Not to be outdone by his fellow merchant of death, John Bolton focused his most recent bellicose talk on Latin American regimes that have not fallen in line with the US Empires wishes. He labeled three countries as the troika of tyranny in this hemisphere  Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua.** Big Bad John boasted that the three had finally met [their] match in the Trump Administration.

Wow, John, you are so tough, but saying that these three hellholes are a match for the US is a bit much when it is unlikely that the three combined could even defeat Rhode Islands National Guard in a pitched battle!

While Bolton ruled out (for now) military intervention, he did say that sanctions would soon be placed on the troika of tyranny. Bolton proclaimed that Under this administration, we will no longer appease dictators and despots near our shores.

Yes, by all means, a possible invasion by a Cuban/Venezuelan/Nicaraguan juggernaut rolling up to the shores of south Florida should be a concern for all Americans. No telling how much damage inflicted and territory conquered the Latin American Axis could accomplish! It is good that perceptive and ever vigilant foreign policy experts like John Bolton keep a watchful eye out for such threats!

These are dangerous and evil men who think nothing of inflicting pain and suffering upon innocent people who have little control over what their nations leadership does, just as Americans have little say in the policies and actions of their government.

A global empire attracts personality types like Haley, Pompeo and Bolton. It needs such sociopaths to provoke others and stir up troubles where there is none to justify its existence. A more peaceful world will only come about with the demise of the American Empire, not changing the personalities who guide it.

Sadly, for Americans who have to fund it and the peoples of the world who are in its path, until there is an economic collapse and/or a dollar crisis, the American Empire will continue to threaten and, in some instances, carry out those threats led by the likes of Michael Pompeo and John Bolton.

*Tyler Durden, Irans Leadership Must Decide If They Want Their People to Eat  Pompeo. Zero Hedge. 9 November 2018.

**Alex Gorka, US Declares War on Troika of Tyranny Pushing Them Closer to Russia. Strategic Culture Foundation. 7 November 2018.

*** Jason Ditz, US Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan Killed 500,000 People. Antiwar.com 8 November 2018.

****Durden, Irans Leadership Must Decide.

Antonius Aquinas@AntoniusAquinas

By Antonius Aquinas

http://antoniusaquinas.com

 2018 Copyright Antonius Aquinas - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Galveston and Copano bays will be home to 110 acres of man-made oyster reefs in the coming years as part of an effort by environmentalists to bring Texas oyster population back from the brink of extinction.

A 50-acre man-made oyster reef will be constructed in Galveston Bay this winter at a cost of $3.5 million, The Nature Conservancy announced Wednesday. A 60-acre reef will also be built at Copano Bay near Rockport.

Oyster harvests in Galveston Bay decreased 88 percent between 1999 and 2016  from 6.13 million pounds to 709,000 pounds, respectively, according to a recent report by the conservancy, a Virginia-based environmental organization.

Construction of the reefs couldnt come at a better time. Long-existing problems such as overfishing and damage from hurricanes like Ike and Harvey  which flush the salty habitat with extreme amounts of freshwater and sediment  have continued unabated. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which dumped an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, also caused problems.

We think of oysters as one of the essential building blocks of the Gulf of Mexico, said Laura Huffman, the conservancys Texas regional director. Its a big industry for the Gulf and for Texas. But ecologically, theyre extremely compromised. Theyre definitely in peril.

But Huffman added that the Galveston Bay reef build could help that. This winter, the conservancy will begin laying 50 acres of limestone boulders in the bay. Eventually half of it will be harvestable and the other half will be designated as a marine sanctuary.

Huffman said past experience dictates that oysters will begin attaching themselves to these boulders quickly and they should be ready for harvest in 2021 or 2022.

The oyster industry needs these (reefs) to move forward, Huffman said. Thats what guarantees sustainability in the future.

The Galveston Bay project will be funded with money from the 2016 settlement with BP, which leased the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in 2010. Under the settlement, BP is required to pay the trustees for Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment up to $8.8 billion over 15 years to make up for the natural resource damage along the Gulf Coast.

The project is important for the bays oyster population. Oysters improve water quality by filtering as they feed  they can filter 50 gallons of water in 24 hours  and naturally construct reefs by settling on top of each other, which not only provides a habitat for numerous species but also creates a coastal barrier during storms, according to the Coastal Conservation Association of Texas.

Oysters struggle to build these reefs on their own because overfishing and storms have completely wiped out their foundations. The limestone will help give them a starting point, Huffman said.

Through a variety of circumstances  oyster reefs have been leveled, Huffman said. In order to get the process of regeneration started, youve got to have some hard surface for (baby oysters) to attach themselves to.

The project also is important for the commercial fishing industry. In Galveston Bay, the total value of Galveston Bays oyster harvest was about $85 million in 2017 dollar values between 2007 and 2016, which accounted for about 50 percent of Texas total oyster harvest, according to a report by the Texas Sea Grant College Program, a collaboration between the state, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and universities across Texas.

On average, the report found that the total economic impact of the oyster harvest during that time period was $2.45 million per year in labor income and about 175 jobs. Galveston Bays oyster fishery contributes about $9 million to the Texas economy each year on average, the report continued.

Oyster and oyster reefs have played a critical role in the ecology, economy and culture of the Gulf of Mexico, said Bob Bendick, the conservancys Gulf of Mexico program director, in a statement. Their decline across much of the Gulf harms both people and nature.

Thats why Hurricane Harveys record-setting rainfall terrified oyster harvesters and environmentalists alike.

After Hurricane Ike in 2008, Galveston Bay lost more than 60 percent of its oyster reefs. So when Harvey wreaked havoc on southern Texas in August 2017, environmentalists initially estimated that no more than 10 percent of the bivalves in the bay prior to the storm survived. The losses, however, were far fewer than anticipated.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reported earlier this year that freshwater run off from the storms record-setting rainfall covered some oyster reefs long enough to kill the mollusks  who depend on saltwater to survive  but that most of the deaths happened in upper Galveston Bay and east Galveston Bay with reefs closer to the ship channel seeming to weather the storm better.

The 60-acre reef in Copano Bay near Rockport will begin at about the same time as the Galveston project and will cost $5 million.

Huffman said the reaction to these projects is strongly positive.

That was kind of the point, she said. We dont want to find ourselves in a situation where were creating competition between the oyster industry and we need to restore those things. They are perfectly compatible.

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.
Can the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives agree on anything? Here is a candidate: reduce paperwork mandates from the U.S. government.

Before you laugh, please consider a number: 9.78 billion. That is the number of annual hours of paperwork burdens that the government imposes on its citizens.

If you asked every citizen of Boston to spend the next three years filling out federal forms  eight hours a day, every day  you would not come close to that figure. And if you assumed, on the basis of the average hourly wage, that an hour of work is worth $22, the federal paperwork burden imposes a cost in excess of $215 billion. For comparison, thats the amount of the monthly federal budget deficit in the immediate aftermath of the 2018 tax cuts.

Actually, the harmful effects of paperwork burdens are greatly understated by these numbers. To get permits, licenses, tax deductions, jobs, educational assistance, subsidies, health benefits and job training, you have to fill out maddening federal forms. To avoid serious penalties, you have to do the same thing.

Excessive paperwork requirements do not merely take time. They impede infrastructure improvements. They increase poverty. They reduce economic growth. They make it difficult or even impossible for people to get access to opportunities and benefits that could fundamentally change their lives.

University of Chicago economist and Nobel laureate Richard Thaler has an excellent term for excessive paperwork burdens: sludge. For many Americans, sludge is a curse.

There ought to be a law. Actually there is. Its called the Paperwork Reduction Act, which was enacted in 1979. It is overseen by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (I was the administrator of OIRA during the first term of the Obama administration). Unfortunately, the law has failed to live up to its promise  creating a big opportunity for bipartisan reform.

The Trump administration has emphasized the importance of deregulation, producing results that are celebrated by many Republicans and deplored by many Democrats. The project of deregulation should include elimination of sludge. Starting now, OIRA should ramp up its efforts to control the flow of new paperwork burdens and also to reduce the existing ones.

A good first step would be for President Donald Trump or OIRA to issue a directive, calling on federal agencies to develop public plans within a short period (say, three months) to produce major reductions in sludge. Building on previous efforts, the directive could specify ambitious numerical targets. The directive could also identify ways to meet those targets  for example, through simplified forms, less frequent reporting, electronic filing and (most promisingly) ruthless elimination of unjustified mandates.

OIRA could also insist on careful pretesting of forms, to ensure that their own burden estimates are realistic. A directive on the books calls for such testing, but it is widely ignored.

Steps of this kind could be accompanied by a widely publicized call for public comments, asking Americans to specify the sludge that they hate most. Executive branch agencies that now impose serious paperwork burdens could work closely with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress, since they are in a good position to find out what most affects their constituents.

In terms of actual legislation, its past time for an overhaul of the Paperwork Reduction Act, which has not been seriously revised since 1979.

As it now stands, the law requires OIRA to scrutinize every information collection from the federal government  to minimize its burden and maximize [its] practical utility of and public benefit. Thats good.

But what happens if the office fails to do that? Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, the answer is: Nothing at all. Heres a better answer: Americans should be given a right to go to court to challenge a mandatory information collection as excessive and unjustified  in the technical jargon of administrative law, as arbitrary or capricious.

When a federal agency issues a regulation, people who are adversely affected usually have the right to make that challenge in court. At least when a paperwork burden exceeds a certain threshold, people should be allowed to require the government to justify it  or to get it struck down in court.

Congress should also amend the law to require agencies to make a reasonable demonstration that the costs of paperwork burdens are justified by the benefits  and that they have chosen the least burdensome way to produce those benefits.

Since the early 1980s, the U.S. has experienced a cost-benefit revolution, in which the costs of regulatory requirements (involving food safety, the environment, even homeland security) must usually be justified by the benefits. Unfortunately, the revolution has bypassed sludge.

Lets fix that. If, for example, the Department of Health and Human Services is imposing hundreds of thousands of hours of new paperwork burdens on hospitals and doctors, it should be required to show that the imposition is justified.

There are a lot of good ideas for changing the law, and they cut across political lines.

True, no one ever marched under a banner saying Paperwork Reduction Now! But in practical terms, an aggressive effort by the new Congress to cut sludge would make a huge difference in peoples lives.

(In the third paragraph, clarifies that the $215 billion federal deficit is the monthly figure.)

To contact the author of this story: Cass Sunstein at csunstein1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Katy Roberts at kroberts29@bloomberg.net

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Cass R. Sunstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of The Cost-Benefit Revolution and co-author of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.
20,000 Google employees recently orchestrated a global walkout after learning that the creator of Android was given $90 million upon his exit in the midst of at least one sexual harassment claim. The story that was leaked to the New York Times included a variety of other claims against leaders at the company, and so the protest took aim at a history of Google protecting executives accused of sexual harassment.

Progress doesnt come without a fight

The details of these claims and outcomes werent public before largely because of forced arbitration, the requirement for employees to waive their right to sue and to instead settle workplace disputes through an arbitrator. While some companies have taken steps to remove arbitration requirements from employment contracts, theyre still quite pervasive across tech. But, after the walkout, Google removed them, and Facebook followed suit a day later.

Is this progress? Certainly, a 20,000-person walkout coordinated across locations around the world is a big statement, and two of techs most powerful companies responded with action on what is one of the most important issues for women across industries (removal of arbitration clauses). But it begs the question why a walkout like this is required to compel companies to protect all their employees, not just the most elite and, most often, male executives.

Its because progress never comes without a fight, but a fight requires community. Consider some of the major movements throughout history: the civil rights movement, which was led by peaceful protestors but was met with violent action; the more recent LGBTQ movement that over the decades has required outspoken, courageous individuals to risk everything; and the womens suffrage movement, which required, among other things, hunger strikes. These movements embody both fight and community, the two key ingredients for progress. Today women are fighting for equal opportunity in the workplace, and it seems we may be on the precipice of a real movement.

Anger can be a catalyst for change

Its interesting that we often use the word fight to describe our work for women in tech. I always find it so combative, but the reality is that anger and frustration  that fight  is needed for a movement.

Consider that the current movement for women in tech really started to gain momentum after Ellen Pao lost her suit against VC firm Kleiner Perkins. It underscored how sexual discrimination is hard to prove and how the status quo is hard to overcome, but it did something even more important. It seeded the anger required to start a movement.

Amid the sometimes-toxic culture in tech, Im finding that women are creating and building new technologies and companies every day. But what I also find, without exception, is they have to fight for it. In one of the stories featured in The Chasing Grace Projects Episode #2 (premiering next week in New York) a woman is sued by a mens rights organization for hosting all-women events. In another story, a woman who is building self-defense technology for women is told by venture capitalists that they will invest in the company if her male co-founder will be the CEO. Yes, these things are still happening; in fact, theyre quite pervasive.

Ellen was very much alone during her suit, splattered across the pages of the NYT, WSJ and other outlets with no one else but her attorney. The women Ive interviewed for our forthcoming episode about progress and community felt alone while in the midst of their fights. But what is beginning to change is that Ellen and others like her are no longer isolated. They are surrounded by community.

The power in community

Progress can be hard to see. I dont see it yet in equal opportunity nor representation. Where I do see progress is in women coming together to build something else, something bigger than one technology or one company. The way in which community has manifested for women in tech is relatively new  womens affinity groups inside companies, groups like Women Who Code and Tech Ladies and Ladies Get Paid and many others have only just emerged in the last few years. And its these communities that can really help us recruit and retain women for the tech industry. Its very common today for young women who are interviewing with companies to ask, Do you have a women-in-tech group inside the company? While still fairly new, these communities are already helping to give us all the strength and courage to step up and, if necessary, to walk out.

The 20,000 Google employees who walked out on November 1 are a community, a community of women and men who felt empowered to take this action in an environment where they feel increasingly supported to do so. The environment is being built not by companies but by the connected individuals and communities of women and men working on these important issues. The walkout is the result of this foundation that now exists.

There is so much power in that. When we feel alone, we tend to give up or check out. We lose confidence. We dont feel like we belong. And we accept that things will never change. But when were a part of a community, a group of people with whom we connect and who we know has our back, we feel capable of doing anything. And everything.

Progress on increasing the number of women in tech is painfully slow, but we see it in the women and men coming together to support each other. It is the sure sign of a movement, and a movement means change.
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website  when visited by a user  asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies  which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting  for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
In the aftermath of last weeks devastating losses for Republicans in the state Senate, as well as losing three House seats in New York, some in the party have begun calling for a change in leadership in both the state Senate and in the state GOP. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday the conference is discussing leadership changes after last weeks election, while The Buffalo News reported yesterday of mounting calls for new statewide party leadership.

But changing leadership just for the sake of having someone new may not be the best path forward for the party, and laying the blame at the feet of the current leadership for last weeks statewide and state Senate failures is not necessarily fair.

Given the partys dire straits in the Empire State, there is broad agreement that some kind of change is likely necessary for the party moving forward  what that would look like, however, has not been decided. David Catalfamo, a Republican consultant, said that there may be room for someone new to take the helm of the now-minority conference in the state Senate outgoing state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan.

But, before that, Catalfamo thinks the party must first digest the results of the election, figure out what went wrong and consider how to move forward, something it still needs to do. More important than whether it is Flanagan or a challenger, Catalfamo said, is that the Republican state Senate leader should have something new to offer.

As of now, state Sen. Catharine Young appears to be the strongest challenger to Flanagan, with support from outside groups and one fellow member, state Sen. Rich Funke, so far. But Catalfamo said she has so far not articulated what she would do differently. Is it necessary? Perhaps, maybe even likely, Catalfamo said, of a leadership change. (But) only by understanding what we did in the past can we understand what to do in the future.

Other insiders think the reasons behind the big losses are obvious and largely attributable to two factors: the unpopularity of Donald Trump in the state and a national blue wave. Republican consultant Bill OReilly, who worked on the gubernatorial campaign of Marcus Molinaro, said that trying to blame Flanagan or state Republican Committee Chairman Ed Cox is like pointing fingers after Hurricane Sandy, and that the losses Republicans suffered had little to do with any particular failure in their leadership. He said that the debate about how to improve is healthy, but talk of personnel change is more of a knee-jerk reaction following major losses.

OReilly added that Flanagan has been fairly popular among his fellow Republicans in the state Senate and represented an improvement over former state Sen. Dean Skelos, who left following a conviction on corruption charges. But Flanagan may face some difficulty going forward as a Long Islander, given that the six of the nine seats in the long-time GOP stronghold are now held by Democrats. Upstate Republicans may be more inclined to support a fellow upstater like Young, the reasoning that Funke used when he announced his support for Young.

State Sen. Fred Akshar, who is supporting Flanagan, believes the Flanagan should fill out other leadership positions with people upstate to ensure there is a continued line of communication regarding issues of importance in that part of the state. For me personally, John has proven himself a good leader  hes a good communicator, Akshar told City & State. He has the skills to bring people together, especially in tumultuous times.

Akshars name had been floated as a possible successor to Flanagan, but since he quashed those rumors, he is now considered a top contender to replacing the outgoing state Sen. John DeFrancisco as deputy conference leader. Although Akshar said he has not spoken to Flanagan about the possibility yet, he is open to serving in whatever way would be most beneficial to the conference and his district.

Despite supporting Flanagan, Akshar thinks there is room for a change in the state party led by Cox, saying it is still using an outdated playbook. Others calling for Coxs resignation are New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich, former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino and Onondaga County Republican Chairman Thomas Dadey. Potential successors, Erie County Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy, have been floated, though they have made no moves publicly yet.

N.Y.'s GOP needs emergency surgery: Start by getting rid of Chairman Ed Cox https://t.co/4trhRCgpDJ  Eric Ulrich (@eric_ulrich) November 10, 2018

However, Cox told City & State that he is not concerned by the calls and remains confident that he is guiding the party in the right direction. He said that despite the most recent election results, Republicans put up a very strong slate of candidates that performed well considering constraints in place. He even argued that despite calls for his ousting, among the rank-and-file, the party has never been more united. We are very well positioned to be a party in opposition, Cox said. Now that we are a party fully in opposition, we can really stand up on where we think the state should go, and do it really effectively.

When it comes to fundraising, which is a large part of the job of the state chairman, OReilly said he could think of few who could do a more effective job than Cox, who has held the post for nearly a decade. OReilly added that while there is certainly plenty of room for the party to grow and reinvent itself in order to find success in the future, he sees no reason why that change cannot come about under Flanagan and Cox if they come up with good ideas.

The party needs to know what it is, and thats kind of the crisis going on state-by-state around the country, OReilly said. What are we now?

Outside groups have begun to try to exert influence on the state Senate GOP leadership race in support of Young, and the effect of the groups, like the Real Estate Board of New York and the Rent Stabilization Association, could be a wild card. Catalfamo called their involvement unprecedented and Akshar said he is deeply discouraged and disappointed that outside groups are trying to play a role.

However, the final decisions will ultimately fall into the hands of just a few people. In the state Senate, the remaining 23 lawmakers will vote on who they want to lead the conference at the start of the next session. In the state committee, GOP county leaders will vote on its leadership in 2019. But if there will be some shake ups, former state Senate Republican spokesman John McArdle suggested they be sorted out quickly. The sooner they deal with this, the better, so they can get re-organized and move forward, McArdle said. But I dont think theres any clarity as we speak right now.
The Charity Commission is assessing serious concerns about two Christian charities which claim that God can heal same-sex attraction.

According to an ITV documentary Winners Chapel International, a 10m-a-year charity based in Dartford, claims that modern social attitudes to homosexuality are scripted by Satan and that it can carry out gay conversion therapy to cure those individuals.

Another much smaller charity, Journey UK, is reported by ITV as claiming that God can heal gaps in individuals which can lead to them renouncing homosexuality.

A Commission spokeswoman said that the regulator was aware of serious concerns raised about both charities.

The public rightly expect charities to be places in which people can feel safe and free from harm, so reports of this nature are of serious concern to the Commission, she said.

We are assessing information as a matter of urgency and will be engaging with the trustees to determine our next steps.

Both charities have been approached for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.

For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here.
The Charity Commission is investigating two connected charities over financial irregularities and concerns about Gift Aid claims.

The regulator announced today that it opened a class statutory inquiry into Islamic charities Idaara Maarif-E-Islam and The Voice of Truth in October last year.

The Voice of Truth has since been removed from the register because it has ceased to operate.

Idaara Maarif-E-Islam's latest accounts show it had an income of around 225,000. Around half its income was from donations.

The Commission said had been unable to announce the inquiry before this point so as to avoid harming any investigative work.

The regulator found financial irregularities linked to Gift Aid claims involving both Birmingham-based charities.

It also found inconsistencies between the income and expenditure reported in The Voice of Truth's accounts for the year to March 2016, and the charitys bank records for the same time period.

It said substantial payments have been transferred between the charities and that at least one trustee of Idaara Maarif-E-Islam has also served as a trustee of The Voice of Truth.

The inquiry is seeking to establish whether the close relationship has been in the best interest of the charities and if any resulting conflicts of interest have been adequately managed by the trustees.

The Commission is also concerned about payments made by The Voice of Truth to individuals and a company that may be connected to the charity.

The regulator will seek to establish if these payments have been made in the best interests of the charity and if any conflicts of interests have been adequately managed by the trustees.

In January, The Voice of Truth was removed from the register of charities after the inquiry found that it had ceased to operate.
The Scout Association will extend its programme to children under six years old for the first time in its 111-year history.

The charity today announced that it will begin trialling provision for four and five year old boys and girls with a possible UK-wide roll out in 2020.

It has received 600,000 funding from the Department for Education (DfE) through the Early Years Disadvantage VCS grants to run the pilots.

Some 52 adult volunteers and parents will help to run the trials, which will operate for at least 12 months and provide services for 288 children and their families.

Childrens charity Action for Children will help to design the programme, which will test three different delivery models in 20 groups across disadvantaged areas of the UK.

Although this is the first time the charity has trialled services for early years children across the UK, its international affiliates have already done so.

The first model the charity will pilot will be similar to the Squirrels programme, run by a separate organisation working under a Memorandum of Understanding with Scouts Northern Ireland.

The second will be similar to a programme run by Scouts affiliates in Denmark and the USA called Lions.

The third will be trialling early years services in non-traditional locations, such as children's centres.

Formative stage of life

The Scouts said its new programme will help young people improve their emotional resilience, communication and language skills, independence and readiness for school.

It said it will also help young people develop their self-control, problem-solving, ability to focus, confidence to try new things and interactions with other children.

The programme is also designed to help their parents engage in activities that support their childs early development.

Matt Hyde, Scouts chief executive, said: Research has shown that high-quality early years programmes can make a significant positive impact on a young persons development.

At the Scouts, our mission is to prepare young people for the future by equipping them with the skills they need to succeed.

We believe that this early years trial will help create a programme that will support the development of young people across the UK during this key, formative stage of their life.
In the summer Greenpeace shared a video called Rang-tan: the story of dirty palm oil, highlighting the plight of orangutans who have been made homeless by deforestation. It has been viewed 280,000 times on the campaigning groups YouTube page and 636,000 people have signed its petition.

Then last week the supermarket Iceland posted the same video, with the message that it had hoped (with permission from Greenpeace) to use it as its Christmas campaign. However it said the advert had been banned by Clearcast, which passes adverts as fit for broadcast on TV, for being too political.

The story of the ban went viral. Iceland's YouTube video has been viewed over 4.1m times and a petition to overturn the ban has reached 860,000 signatories. The advert has potentially achieved more reach than it would have done if it had gone out as expected.

Full disclosure: I am a big fan of orangutans; I quite literally have the T-shirt. But the main issue here for charities is about where the lines are drawn about campaigning, lobbying, political activity and free speech.

In case you havent seen it, heres the advert in question.

Why was the advert banned?

Iceland says its advert was banned on grounds of being seen to support a political issue. This is because Greenpeace is not a charity. It's a lobby group which seeks to change the law on the environment. Although I think the sector claims Greenpeace as its own.

Iceland has committed to removing palm oil from all its own-label products because the production of palm oil is one of the main reasons for deforestation, and the destruction of the habit where orangutans live. The retailer had hoped to raise awareness and had committed 500,000 in advertising spend to do so.

Its managing director, Richard Walker, declared: This year we were keen to do something different with our much anticipated Christmas advert. The culmination of our palm oil project is offering our customers the choice of an orangutan friendly Christmas, and we wanted to reflect this in our advertising.

In the past John Lewis has used its Christmas advert to support a range of causes including an emergency appeal from a Save the Children emergency relief appeal, to Age UKs loneliness at Christmas as well as a couple of animal charities.

So it seems odd for another retailer to be punished for trying to do something similar.

This should also set alarm bells ringing for charities and campaigners who might be thinking of producing television adverts.

Yes, the orangutan film is political, but its not party political and is no more controversial than a WWF advert from last Christmas about elephant poaching.

The other side of the story

Clearcast, the body which did not technically ban the advert, but did refuse to approve for broadcast. Semantics really.

Chris Mundy, managing director of Clearcast, wrote that there has been a misunderstanding.

He agrees that the film raises an important issue but because it is a Greenpeace film it could not be cleared, even though the Greenpeace branding was removed, because Greenpeace have not yet demonstrated to Clearcast or the broadcasters that they are not a political advertiser.

This is actually a more dangerous precedent. Because now the burden of proof is now on lobbying groups to prove that they aren't political. And proving a negative is pretty hard.

It seems a ridiculous distinction. Iceland wanted to be open that this was Greenpeace's advert. So did Greenpeace. No one was trying to hide anything. Should we be banning content not because of what it says, but because of who says it?

Should we really be preventing organisations from spreading a message, if they're open about their funding and purpose, and it would be fine if someone else did it?

Would it have been ok if the advert had been produced by Greenpeaces charity wing? Or would it have been ok if such as this one from the Sumatran Organgutan Society, which has a strikingly similar message?

Are there any winners

The real cynics out there suggest that Iceland wanted to get the advert banned. It resulted in a lot of social media discussion and media coverage, which it certainly wouldnt have got if it was broadcast on TV a couple of times.

Im not sure whether Iceland, Greenpeace or the regulator can claim victory, though. In the end it's drawn attention to the plight of the orangutans, which is a good thing, but the process has been poor.

This episode highlights, again, that laws around campaigning, lobbying and charity are not fit for how people interact today and are in desperate need of reform.

Greenpeace, bizarrely, has been almost silent on the controversy  simply sharing its video again. Iceland has reached a new audience on social media, but will they lose out by not having a television advert in the lead-up to the busy Christmas period. The odd thing is that a huge campaigning opportunity is in danger of being lost.

While this may be an argument not involving any actual charities, it opens up debates around the nature of political campaigning and lobbying. Anything that makes this harder should be of concern to the wider sector.
Last week President Trump revoked a CNN reporters access to the White House after the reporter, Jim Acosta, repeatedly questioned the presidents contention that migrants are invading the United States. On Tuesday CNN filed a lawsuit challenging the White Houses action. CNN was right to file the suit, and the court should order the White House to restore Acostas accessnot just to remedy an individual violation of press freedom but to protect the ability of all reporters to do their work. This morning, the White House issued a formal response to the suit, asserting that Trump has broad discretion to regulate press access.

CNN is right that the White House acted unconstitutionally. When Acosta pursued his line of questioning about the so-called migrant caravan over the presidents objection, a visibly angry Trump called Acosta a rude and terrible person and an enemy of the people. Later that day the Secret Service informed Acosta that his hard pass press credential was being revoked, a decision that Trump subsequently acknowledged he directed.

When the government establishes an open forum for expressive activity, the First Amendment forbids it from selectively excluding speakers because of their viewpoints. As a federal appeals court held in a case decided four decades ago, this means that the White House cant arbitrarily bar a journalist from White House press facilities. In that case, Sherrill v. Knight, the Secret Service denied a request for White House press credentials from a journalist for The Nation without providing any explanation for the denial. In holding that the government was required to explain the denial and afford the journalist an opportunity to contest it, the court observed that a decision to deny press credentials based on the content of the journalists speech would raise serious constitutional questions.

ICYMI: Ive been an editor a long time and I have never seen anything like this, period

The record strongly suggests that the White House revoked Acostas access because of the viewpoint implicit in Acostas questions. Because that kind of viewpoint-based exclusion violates a fundamental First Amendment principle, CNN should prevail in court.

Of course, a win in the courts isnt the same thing as a win in the real world, and some people have questioned the wisdom and purpose of CNNs suit, arguing that it is self-serving. Others argue that revoking one reporters credentials is not a big deal because CNN can simply send in another reporter as a replacement. And many worry that even a successful lawsuit could be a strategic loss for the media, since a lawsuit captioned CNN v. Trump will feed into Trumps argument that the media is hostile to his administration.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

CNNs lawsuit undoubtedly serves its own interests as a news outlet, but it would be short-sighted to frame this as a battle between Trump and Acosta. The suit is also an important and necessary defense of press freedom. It is crucial to preserving the medias ability to ask hard questions and hold government officials to account for their decisions, and it is vital to protecting the integrity of one of the channels through which the public learns about the government.

If this kind of retaliation were allowed to go unchallenged, the White House would feel emboldened to use the threat of similar revocations as a means of discouraging critical news coverage.

If this kind of retaliation were allowed to go unchallenged, the White House would feel emboldened to use the threat of similar revocations as a means of discouraging critical news coverage. Other reporters would inevitably hesitate before asking White House officials sharp questions. If the president were allowed to ban reporters whose questions he didnt like, the result would be press conferences that served only to celebrate, and not challenge, the administrations agenda. (This is of course how press conferences work in authoritarian countries.) The real losers would be the American people, who would be deprived of reporters willing to probe and challenge the presidents perspective.

This countrys founders enshrined the freedom of the press in the First Amendment in order to ensure that the press serve the governed, not the governors. So said Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, nearly 50 years ago, in the seminal decision affirming the right of newspapers to print the Pentagon Papers. Journalists play a critical role as representatives of the public when they are granted access to the White House and to the president, and it is this role that is threatened by the presidents actions. When the court reviews CNNs lawsuit, it must consider not only the implications of the presidents actions for CNN and Acosta, but the implications for the public, for the publics right to information about the government, and for the vitality our democracy.

ICYMI: The New York Times hit with a lawsuit

Disclosure: One of the Knight Institutes board members represents CNN in the lawsuit discussed here.

This piece has been updated.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Katie Fallow and Jameel Jaffer are the authors of this piece. Katie Fallow is a senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Jameel Jaffer is director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
Perhaps its not surprising that, after two years of unrelenting hostility from Donald Trump and the White House towards the media, it would come to this: a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court by CNN, against the president and several members of his administrationincluding Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Chief of Staff John Kellyfor taking away CNN correspondent Jim Acostas press pass on November 7. The lawsuit says removing the pass was a breach of the First Amendment rights of both the network and its reporter, and also that it breached CNN and Acostas Fifth Amendment rights to due process, since they were not notified of the ban and were unable to appeal it.

CNN has asked the judge to issue a restraining order, which would require the White House to either reinstate Acostas pass fully, or give it back to him until a hearing can be held into whether the removal was justified. The network also says in the lawsuit that it tried to resolve the dispute with Kelly privately, but after getting no response felt compelled to file the suit.

As unsurprising as it might be in the current era, the lawsuit is almost unprecedented in the history of the relationship between presidents and the press, according to Jonathan Peters, CJRs press freedom correspondent and media law professor at the University of Georgia. There have only been two such cases in modern memory, and the last onewhich also involved CNNwas heard in 1981. At that time, the cable news network was new on the scene, and sued the White House and then-president Ronald Reagan, alleging that the companys First Amendment rights had been infringed because CNN was not given access to press pool events. The White House responded by excluding all the TV networks, who then sued. The court ultimately agreed they had a First Amendment right to access press events.

According to Peters and other First Amendment experts, however, the most relevant case originated more than a decade before the CNN lawsuit, in 1966, when Robert Sherrilla muckraking investigative reporter for The Nationwas denied a White House press pass. Sherrill and the American Civil Liberties Union sued in 1972, and five years later the DC Court of Appeals ruled that he had a First Amendment right of access to White House press conferences. The decision stated the conferences were designed to be open to all bona fide Washington journalists, and that this required the White House to ensure that this access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons.

In addition, as veteran First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams told CNN, case law in the US has established that before a press pass is revoked or denied, you have to have notice, you have to have a chance to respond, and you have to have a written opinion by the White House as to what its doing and why, so the courts can examine it. None of those things occurred in this case, which is why the CNN lawsuit argues withdrawing Acostas pass is a breach of the Fifth Amendment. A third claim involving the Secret Service is based on the principle laid out in the federal Code of Regulations, which states that in denying a press pass, the Secret Service will be guided solely by the principle of whether the applicant presents a potential source of physical danger to the President and/or the family of the President.

The White House responded to the lawsuit with a statement calling it just more grandstanding from CNN, and saying the Trump administration would vigorously defend itself. Press Secretary Sanders said in the statement that CNN has almost 50 other reporters who have hard press passes, and Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter with respect to the First Amendment. Sanders also referred to the recent press conference in which Acosta refused to surrender the microphone to a White House intern, saying the First Amendment is not served when a single reporter attempts to monopolize the floor.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

Heres more on the CNN suit and its aftermath:

Conduct appropriate : In a declaration included with the CNN lawsuit, veteran White House correspondent Sam Donaldson said that Acostas conduct at the press conference where he refused to give up the microphone was appropriate and within the norms of professional conduct.

: In a declaration included with the CNN lawsuit, veteran White House correspondent Sam Donaldson said that Acostas conduct at the press conference where he refused to give up the microphone was appropriate and within the norms of professional conduct. Fox says CNN will win : Judge Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News legal analyst, said he expects the lawsuit to be resolved in CNNs favor. The only grounds for revoking a press pass are, is the person a danger to the physical security of the president or his family?, he said. Acosta may have been an irritant, but he was hardly a danger.

: Judge Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News legal analyst, said he expects the lawsuit to be resolved in CNNs favor. The only grounds for revoking a press pass are, is the person a danger to the physical security of the president or his family?, he said. Acosta may have been an irritant, but he was hardly a danger. From the WHCA : The White House Correspondents Association put out a statement saying it supports the lawsuit and that the President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him.

: The White House Correspondents Association put out a statement saying it supports the lawsuit and that the President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him. Un-American: The American Civil Liberties Union said It is un-American and unlawful for the president to expel a reporter from the White House briefing room for doing his job. It shouldnt take a lawsuit to remind the president of the First Amendment.

Other notable stories:

News from my colleague Andrew McCormick: Manuel Duran, a Memphis-based journalist who was arrested by Memphis police in April and turned over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials in the wake of reporting that criticized both entities, might face imminent deportation to his home country of El Salvador. Tuesday, on a conference call with journalists hosted by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Durans lawyers said the Board of Immigration Appeals denied Durans appeal of an immigration judges decision earlier this year. His lawyers are now seeking review of the boards decision at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, with ultimate hopes of presenting an asylum case for Duran, who fled El Salvador in 2006 amid threats against him due to his reporting. Duran, who also spoke on the call, believes he was expressly targeted by US officials as a result of his work, which he framed as part of a larger effort by the government to silence dissent against the administrations immigration policies.

In a Twitter thread, Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale criticized mainstream media outlets for the way they write headlines and tweets about Trump, saying they blast out his lies to millions of people without pointing out theyre not true.

reporter Daniel Dale criticized mainstream media outlets for the way they write headlines and tweets about Trump, saying they blast out his lies to millions of people without pointing out theyre not true. Andrew McCormick writes for CJR about how many media outlets have improperly drawn a direct line from former Marine Ian Longs military service and post-traumatic stress disorder to his decision to shoot and kill 12 people at a country bar.

De Correspondent, a reader-supported news site based in the Netherlands, launched a pay what you want crowdfunding campaign on Wednesday that it hopes will raise at least $2.5 million to create an English-language version of the site.

Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan writes that the medias eagerness to discount the so-called blue wave phenomenon (a move towards the left that many hoped to see in the midterm elections) feeds into a dangerous problem.

media columnist Margaret Sullivan writes that the medias eagerness to discount the so-called blue wave phenomenon (a move towards the left that many hoped to see in the midterm elections) feeds into a dangerous problem. Axios reports that Yahoo, now part of the media arm of Verizon along with Huff Post, is launching a subscription service for its financial portal Yahoo Finance, which the company hopes will compete with Bloombergs financial information business.

Noah Shachtman, the new editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast, says on the Recode podcast that he sees the site as a successor to Gawker Media, because it likes to take a side and throw a punch and call bullshit on the things that need to be called bullshit on.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
People have been imagining driverless cars since at least 1958, when Walt Disney Co. aired Magic Highway U.S.A. Its been almost five decades, and were still talking about them.

Initially, evolution in transport had been a product of necessity: As we moved from horse-drawn carriages to horseless ones, from steam engines to internal combustion, each development improved distance and speed. Then came luxuries like comfort and fuel-efficiency.

Driverless cars could become more convenient than conventional rides, but will they ever be viewed as necessities? Depends whom you ask. At an event in Hong Kong earlier this year, Carlos Ghosn, chairman of Nissan Motor Co., said the commercial benefit of automated vehicles is huge. Removing the driver reduces a companys cost of goods by as much as 90 percent, he said.

Ghosn also acknowledged a big barrier to innovation: regulations and clearing any obstacles they raise before mass-marketing. This is more than just a caveat. Legal questions from traffic rules to liability in an accident ultimately will determine whether consumers  be they big corporations or individuals  decide if they can live with driverless cars, or cant live without them.

With autonomous vehicles, decades-old traffic rules become ambiguous. Take, for instance, the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic  a widely accepted international treaty to unify regulation. A key tenet is the responsibility of the driver. Without one, whos at fault for an accident? The carmaker? The manufacturer of the part that fails? The owner?

History shows that most transport-related regulation has been reactive. In 1965, it was Ralph Naders book Unsafe at Any Speed that helped put safety front and center for the American car industry. Decades later, Volkswagen AGs diesel-emissions scandal forced a rethink about regulatory oversight. Seat belts improved only after a neurologist studied the rise of head injuries coming into emergency rooms and basic seat-belt design. That eventually underpinned legislation around safety standards.

Every time a bill comes up for debate or a new law passes, the transportation industry is hit by rising expenses, and must adjust to changing regimes. For instance, carmakers complained the latest set of European fuel-emissions rules  the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure  would increase costs, and aggressively sold non-compliant models before the rules kicked in.

Despite increased regulation, enforcers still contend with speeding, reckless driving, basic auto-safety failures and accidents. Recalls because of faulty parts also continue  just in the last few months, companies from Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. to Hyundai Motor Co. and Subaru Corp. have announced recalls of millions of cars.

Semi-autonomous vehicles have already caused multiple fatalities. (Its ironic that testing continues with human safety drivers who can take over if the machine malfunctions.) Yet the international response is scattershot.

In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has put out guidelines on automated driving systems and American states have started passing laws. But all differ on basic issues. Meanwhile, China has been developing its own set of rules and handing out test licenses. Germanys laws require a driver behind the wheel at all times.

Meanwhile, the existing regulation on cybersecurity is far from sufficient. Chinas NIO Inc.  which has marketed itself as a smart and connected vehicle, as weve written  could face such problems. This affects the likes of Nissan, too. We [carmakers] cannot guarantee a car is not going to be hacked. Its impossible, Ghosn said. Manufacturers can make them painful to hack, but only the government can say whether a car is acceptable.

Yet companies continue to plow billions into these technologies.

There are plenty of very sensitive questions that need to be answered by the regulator before these cars go on the market, Ghosn also noted. With more than two-thirds of the global population expected to live in urban areas over the next three decades, it will be important to have a framework in place if the driverless dream turns into reality.

As technology pushes carmakers into uncharted territory, the industry and its regulators have a lot of work to do to prepare for risks both known and unknown.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Houston reported its earliest snowfall ever, beating places like New York City and Boston as a cold snap descended over Texas.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston set a new record for the first observed snowfall, breaking one set on Nov. 23, 1979, according to a Twitter post from the National Weather Service. Near record-breaking cold has swept into the South, with temperatures in the state 25 degrees Fahrenheit (14 Celsius) or more below average, according to the U.S. Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

NWS Houston @NWSHouston A trace of snow/sleet has been reported at IAH. This breaks the record for earliest observed snow, previously set November 23, 1979. IF we get a T at Hobby, it would be a record there as well. #houwx

Sent via Twitter Web Client.

You cant find any temperatures in Texas this morning that you could say are warm, said Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster at the prediction center. A pretty cold air mass sunk south over the weekend. We have gone right into a winter weather pattern across the central U.S.

Wholesale day-ahead electricity prices in North Texas surged to the highest level in more than three months for the 7 p.m. hour on Wednesday, as commuters are forecast to crank up the heat once they return home as the mercury drops. Power in Ercot North jumped 84 percent to $79.46 a megawatt-hour, according to Genscape data.

As U.S. residents turned up their thermostats in response to the frigid temperatures, natural gas exports to Mexico fell to a five-month low Monday.

New York, with temperatures just 6 to 8 degrees below normal, probably wont see its first snow until Thursday, when a mix of snow and sleet will eventually turn into rain. Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia could get a few flakes too.

Freeze watches and warnings cover a large part of Texas, stretching into New Mexico to the west and Louisiana and Mississippi to the east. Temperatures will linger in the high 30s Fahrenheit, potentially reaching 45 degrees (7.2 degrees Celsius) in Austin. Then the plunge comes, with forecasts by the National Weather Services showing temperatures below freezing late Tuesday, potentially reaching records by early Wednesday.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Edison International and PG&E Corp. may face lawsuits as soon as this week blaming them for the fires raging through communities in southern and northern California.

Each utility has reported disturbances to its equipment close to the starting points of the devastating Woolsey and Camp fires. That could be a linchpin for lawsuits. Under California law, if the equipment is found to be the cause of the fires, the utilities can be held liable for property losses even if they didnt act negligently.

We have strong evidence of Southern California Edisons responsibility for the fire, said Alex Robertson, a plaintiff lawyer who also has brought cases against the utility over the mudslides that destroyed parts of coastal Montecito, California, last year as the result of wildfires. He said he expects to file several dozen lawsuits this week in state court in Los Angeles.

Edisons Southern California Edison utility said late Friday a power outage occurred near the suspected starting point of one of the fires near Los Angeles and that a sensor detected a disturbance in its equipment two minutes before the blaze was reported. The company said there had been no determination of origin and that it will cooperate with state and local investigations that are seeking to identify the cause of the fire. The company didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the prospect of litigation.

PG&E said a transmission line in the area of the Camp blaze  about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco  went offline 15 minutes before the fire was first reported. The company also reported finding a damaged transmission tower near where investigators say the fire began.

Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers, employees, contractors and the communities we serve, PG&E said in an emailed statement. The cause of the Camp Fire has not yet been determined. Right now, our entire company is focused on supporting first responders and assisting our customers and communities impacted by the Camp Fire.

Robertsons firm, Robertson & Associates LLP, is located in the Woolsey Fire mandatory evacuation zone in Westlake Village and his home in Simi Valley was threatened as well by flames, Robertson said.

Were right in the middle of it, Robertson said. Lots of our friends and clients that know our work have reached out to us to bring claims.

Edison Unit Faces Double Legal Whammy From Fires, Mudslides

While its still early, the signs point at Southern California Edison, said Brian Panish, an attorney with Panish Shea & Boyle LLP and one of the lead lawyers involved in the litigation against the utility over last years Thomas Fire in Southern California. I think its going to be clearly on them.

Mike Danko, a lawyer representing victims of the Camp Fire, said hell file a complaint within the next two days. To him, its clear what happened based on PG&Es own report of a line outage near a high-tension tower underneath which witnesses saw a fire. That pretty much sums it up.

PG&E promised to turn its power off in areas prone to wildfires when meteorologists warn of dry conditions combined with high winds, he said. In Butte county, the company said it was inclined to cut its power but decided against it, according to Danko.

Bonuses at the company are tied to customer complaints, and PG&E managers continued supplying power to avoid complaints and risking additional income, he said.

This is the worst of them all, Danko said, referring to recent fires tied to the companys equipment. Because PG&E knew what to do to prevent the fire, knew what the risks of a fire are based on last year, and instead lined their pockets at the expense of customer safety.

Steve Campora, a lawyer who has previously sued PG&E over fires and a fatal gas leak blast, said hes received about 30 calls, many from relatives or colleagues whose homes have been destroyed in the Camp Fire. His first advice is to find a place of safety and then contact their insurance company.

The lawyer said hes drafted a complaint, and that once he gets some key facts together he will file a lawsuit within 10 days. Once I have complaint on file I can use the courts power, if necessary, to make sure things are happening, including maintaining records and preserving physical evidence, he said.

Lawyers Hunt for California Fires Ground Zero to Go After PG&E

I have people who are experts in PG&Es operations seeing what they can determine with regard of the cause of the fire, Campora said, referring to private investigators hes hired. These forensics experts wont have the access they need ahead of CalFire and Forest Service officials on the ground now, he said.

Getting to the bottom of what happened may take many months. Officials with CalFire havent announced their findings about the cause of two of last years biggest fires  Tubbs and Thomas.

The Tubbs investigation is complicated, as it relies on a large amount of physical evidence, Campora said. With leads on the fires origins possibly pointing to more than one location, investigators examine smart meters, consult experts,and examine photographs to figure out how the first fire got to where it was going, Campora said. Theres all kinds of issues. Investigators for lawyers cant complete their investigations until CalFire releases all the physical evidence, he said.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
AKRON, Ohio - Akron City Council on Tuesday approved a conditional-use request from Storage of America to turn the former Macys department store on Britain Road into a self-storage facility.

The conditional use was approved for Salt Lake City-based Storage of America immediately after a public hearing at a special meeting. Conditional-use approval was needed to convert zoning for a retail business to zoning for commercial use.

Storage of America plans to buy the building from Chapel Hill Properties LLC for an undisclosed amount of money. The company plans to create about 1,000 climate-controlled storage units on both floors of the building for residential and commercial customers.

The units will range from 5-feet by 5-feet to 10-feet by 30-feet, said Thomas Fitzpatrick, vice president of development for Storage of America.

The company specializes in converting big-box stores into alternative uses its proposal states. The buildings HVAC and lighting systems will be adapted, resulting in less energy use, the company said.

Council also approved an amendment to legislation approved in July that awarded tax increment financing (TIF) to Akron Romig Road LLC.

The amendment allows the company to add additional parcels of land to an earlier agreement so they are eligible for special financing.

Under the agreement, Akron Romig Road paid the city $600,000 for the former Rolling Acres Mall property. The city awarded a tax-increment-financing deal for development of the property for a use that has not yet been disclosed.

The developer has said it plans to construct a $100 million commercial facility at the site and bring 500 new jobs worth $30 million in payroll to one of Akron's most economically distressed areas.

Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.coms Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.
AKRON, Ohio  The city Planning Commission is expected Friday to review two proposals for new housing.

One proposal by Bob Bennett Construction of Norton aims to build 54 houses on Hickory Street and Memorial Parkway. Streets and sewer infrastructure were built on the land in 2002 in anticipation of a residential development that never happened.

A second proposal by the Crasi Company of Cuyahoga Falls, calls for building 12 houses in North Hill between Dayton and Pitkin streets, where Harris Elementary School once stood.

The original agreement for development on Hickory Street and Memorial Parkway expired, so the city recently sent out a request for new proposals to develop the parcel, Planning Director Jason Segedy told cleveland.com on Tuesday.

The city put a lot of infrastructure underground and thats been all there along, Segedy said. We liked this one. This layout made good use of the infrastructure city put in.

The city wants to sell the property to Bennett for $400,000. If the sale is approved, Segedy said, the could go up quickly since the infrastructure is in place .

The development would include 27 single- family homes and 27 townhomes, all with two-car garages. The lots would be slightly larger than standard city lots, he said, but with 75 to 80 feet of frontage the properties would be manageable for people who prefer city living over maintaining larger suburban lots.

One feature that the city found appealing is that many of the single-family homes would be ranch houses with attached garages, Segedy said, which are easily marketable, especially to Baby Boomers.

The land also is near the Towpath Trail and just across the parkway from the Akron Dog Park.

According to the memorandum submitted to the Planning Commission, the houses would range in size from 1,400 to 1,950-square feet and cost from $180,000 to $280,000.

The townhomes, with front-facing garages, would range from 1,685 to 1,728-square feet and cost from $170,000 to $250,00.

All the units would be landscaped. A park area would be developed with a pavilion and fire pit with lawn furniture.

A housing association would likely be established for the development, Segedy said.

The second proposal calls for Crasi Company to buy city-owned property - less than two acres - for about $88,000.

The development would feature single-family, detached homes, that would likely be marketed for about $180,000. They would be designed to complement the architecture of the existing homes in the North Hill neighborhood, most of which were built between 1913 and 1950.

Residents buying houses in either development would be able to take advantage of Akron's residential tax abatement program, which abates the property tax on new construction and substantial reconstruction for 15 years.

The citys Planning Department is in favor of both housing projects, Segedy said.

Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.coms Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- Senior citizens are invited to an informational event hosted by Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters and Summit County Probate Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer on Tuesday, Nov. 20 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The event will be in the Hopewell Room of the natatorium at 2345 4th St. in Cuyahoga Falls.

The meeting is expected to cover a variety of topics for seniors, including safety and communication during the holiday season.

Attendees also will learn about programs designed by Cuyahoga Falls and Summit County Probate Court for adults in their age group.

Walters will introduce these programs, which include Senior Watch, social activities offered through the Parks and Recreation Department at Quirk Cultural Center, Healthway's SilverSneakers Program and Envelope of Life.

"We are pleased to offer unmatched programs to our older adults in our community, but our programs are only as strong as the number of people who know about them," Walters said in a news release. "I am proud to partner with Judge Stormer to talk to our residents about vital services that are offered to them through our respective offices."

Stormer will share information that provides directives for clear communication on medical treatment and care for senior citizens. She also will discuss guardianship and related services offered by the Summit County Probate Court.

"We want to empower everyone to create and communicate their desire for their future in the way that best [serves] their needs and that of their family," Stormer said in a news release.

The informational session is free, but reservations are encouraged.

Contact the Department of Neighborhood Excellence, Communications and Community Outreach at 330-971-8208 or NECCO@cityofcf.com to secure a spot.

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.
BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Public indecency, Park East Drive: At 12:40 a.m. Nov. 7, a man, 35, was evicted from the Embassy Suites Hotel, 3775 Park East Drive, after he was seen urinating in public on the hotel's grounds.

Driving under suspension, Green Road: At 12:20 a.m. Nov. 8, police stopped a car that was being driven without visible license plates. The driver, a Cleveland man, 30, was found to be driving with a suspended license.

He was cited for the two offenses and turned over to Euclid police, who had sought the man on a warrant.

Theft, Cedar Road: At 3:30 p.m. Nov. 9, police arrested a Cleveland man, 18, for stealing $15 worth of merchandise from Dillard's at Beachwood Place mall, 26300 Cedar Road.

Theft, Cedar Road: At 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9, police arrested a Stow woman, 19, for stealing merchandise worth $359 from Dillard's. The woman was also charged with receiving stolen property and criminal damaging.

Driving under suspension, Park East Drive: At 2 a.m. Nov. 11, an officer stopped a car for showing expired license plates. It was subsequently found that the driver, a Las Vegas man, 27, had a suspended license.

OVI, Interstate 271: At 1:40 a.m. Nov. 11, a driver was stopped for failing to drive within marked lanes. It was then learned that the driver, an Aurora woman, 36, was intoxicated.

The woman was charged with OVI and driving with a prohibited blood-alcohol content, and cited for the marked lanes violation.

OVI, I-271: At 12:35 a.m. Nov. 12, police stopped a car on southbound I-271 that was being driven without activated headlights. It was subsequently found that the driver, a Bedford woman, 25, was intoxicated and was driving with a suspended license.

The woman was charged with OVI, driving under suspension, and for the headlight violation.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Residents made up for a low turnout from members of City Council on election eve, arriving with a variety of concerns aired during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Issues included the Top of the Hill project, parking and traffic around the Fairmount-Taylor business district, municipal broadband and the imminent closing of the Key Bank branch at Severance Town Center.

Although he has many other concerns about the project, Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood resident Dan Pentecost asked about the formula for the tax increment financing (TIF) package offered to the Top of the Hill developer.



"I think the city could do a much better job on explaining how the TIF funding works -- where it comes from, who pays for it and does the city take financial responsibility," Pentecost said.

A member of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District's Bond Accountability Commission, Pentecost asked about the financing gap for the proposed $77 million project, with the developer, Flaherty & Collins, putting up $50 million.

The gap is covered in large part by the 30-year, 100 percent "tax diversion" TIF mechanism, which differs from abatements.

Flaherty & Collins will make "payments-in-lieu-of-taxes" or "PILOTs", to the CH-UH school district, taking the current revenue on the 4-acre property from $21,000 to a projected $421,000 a year.

The remainder of the money that would have gone for taxes -- around $2 million a year -- can be put toward debt service payments to help fund construction and bridge the financing gap.

"We still have to close, but at this point the TIF is not going to cover the entire $25 million gap," City Manager Tanisha Briely said. "The remainder will be split between the developers and the city putting in some (funding)."

In terms of financial responsibility, the TIF is not being backed by the city, Briley added.

"That is not the case -- the TIF bonds are being backed by the developer, who will be responsible for the debt service," Briley said.

City officials were also planning a followup meeting with residents about traffic and parking plans for the development.

Joshua Mendel of Queenston Road attended the Nov. 5 meeting with a different set of traffic concerns -- those around the Fairmount-Taylor shopping area, where the city has already made some changes.

"Despite all the work that's been done, we are not safe," Mendel said. "I understand the need for a tax base, but it leaves us with a clogged area on weekends and during rush hour."

Mendel said street signs, no parking and no stopping zones are being ignored.

Vice Mayor Melissa Yasinow said she has a relative living on one of the side streets, so she has heard a lot about the challenges there. But city officials continue to look at other ways to "ameliorate" the situation.

In other discussion, Gary Benjamin with the Greater Cleveland Congregations noted that Key Bank plans to close its Severance branch early next month and move those customers -- and an estimated $55 million in deposits -- to the Green Road Branch in South Euclid.

In addition to advocating for a bank located north of Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights, the GCC Housing Task Force would like the city to look into Key Bank's compliance with the federal Community Reinvestment Act, requiring banks to invest in their home communities through a "loan-to-savings" ratio.

Council also heard from local businessman and resident Mark Pultusker, who has done technical consulting on municipal broadband systems, in which a city or county starts its own high-speed internet system.

Discussions are preliminary at this point in Cleveland Heights, with the first step being a feasibility study.

Pultusker said that the problem with municipal broadband is the high fixed cost, one that he's not sure can be justified in a community the size of Cleveland Heights.

"And I have yet to find a feasibility study that says 'no,' or for that matter, comes within 30 percent of the actual cost," Pultusker said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 22-year-old man convicted of raping three women at his Bay Village apartment last winter after they had passed out from drinking was sentenced to 17 years in prison Wednesday.

Yohann Palmer-Tesema must also register as a sex offender every 90 days for the rest of his life after a jury convicted him Nov. 7 of six counts of rape and three counts of kidnapping with a sexual motivation.

Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Barker could have sentenced him to anywhere from six to 33 years in prison.

Palmer-Tesema testified at his trial that he didnt have sexual contact with one of the women, and that the other two gave him their consent. He chose not to speak Wednesday and plans to appeal his conviction.

Jurors chose to believe the women, who all testified that they had blacked out and awoke to find themselves nude from the waist down, having been violated by Palmer-Tesema.

I was out cold," the woman who was first to come forward and accuse Palmer-Tesema said in court Wednesday. "He raped a corpse.

She had known Palmer-Tesema from high school but the two werent friends. She said in court Wednesday that Palmer-Tesema had tried to hit on her through her cousin in school and she found him creepy.

The night before Thanksgiving in 2017, she was home from graduate school for winter break and met her friends at West End Tavern for drinks. She didnt eat dinner and drank four Bud Lights before she got to the bar, and she said the last thing she remembered was running into a friend who bought her a shot of liquor.

She awoke Thanksgiving morning in a bedroom she had never seen before, with a man she didnt recognize who lay shirtless beside her, she said. She said she realized the man was Palmer-Tesema, whom she hadnt spoken to in years, and he smirked at her.

Then she said she realized she wasnt wearing underwear or pants. She asked if the two had sex, and he said they hadnt, she said. But she was sore, and she said the sheets were red.

She recalled the anguish of having to get a rape kit examination on Thanksgiving Day, and then go home and pretend nothing was wrong. Her parents sat in the back of the courtroom with their heads in their hands as she spoke.

Details that the woman couldnt remember were filled in with surveillance cameras and the testimony of an Uber driver.

Video from the West End Tavern showed Palmer-Tesema carrying the woman out of the bar, and the two getting into an Uber. The driver of the Uber testified that both Palmer-Tesema and the woman were drunk, but she was drunker than he was. The two kissed throughout the drive. He drove to her parents' home, but once they got to the driveway Palmer-Tesema told him to go to his apartment in Bay Village instead.

Palmer-Tesema then sent a text message from the womans phone to her brother, saying she would be staying at his place. The brother was already asleep and didnt see the message.

Palmer-Tesema testified that he had to help the woman up the stairs at his apartment, and that she almost fell over several times. But he maintained that the two didnt have sex.

Police said Palmer-Tesemas touch DNA was found on the inside crotch of her underwear, which his lawyers argued at trial could have been transferred from the womans hands when she took them off.

Two more women eventually came forward to accuse Palmer-Tesema of similar attacks -- one a few days after the Thanksgiving, and one in January. In both incidents, a night of drinking had ended with them waking up nude from the waist down next to Palmer-Tesema. One woman said she remembered waking up briefly during the encounter and told Palmer-Tesema to stop, but he did not.

Unlike the first woman, these two women knew Palmer-Tesema closely and considered him a friend. One of the women, who invited Palmer-Tesema on a party bus for her 21st birthday, said in court Wednesday that she was hesitant to come forward at first.

I feared Yohann would get in trouble, but I reported anyway," she said. I didnt want another woman to go through the same trauma that I went through. Little did I know.

The other woman, who showed up to court Wednesday in her work uniform, said she has still not told her parents about what happened to her. She told them she was at work on the day she had to testify against Palmer-Tesema.

Im trying to protect them now, she said Wednesday. The guilt that I am feeling I know matter-of-factly would hit my parents twice as hard.

Barker told Palmer-Tesema that his actions had lasting physical and emotional effects on the women.

The first woman recalled the sexual assault exam, having to have a police detective photograph her in her in her underwear and then come to court and take the stand while prosecutors showed the jury those photographs of her. But she said it was all worth it in the end, to see Palmer-Tesema held accountable.

He chose the wrong girls to prey on, one woman said. He preyed on three strong, intelligent and brave girls. He will never ever hurt another girl again.

To comment on this story, please visit Wednesdays crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Frank Russo is coming back to Ohio to appear before a federal judge.

The corrupt 68-year-old former Cuyahoga County auditor hopes he can get some time shaved off his 22-year prison sentence.

U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi on Wednesday set a Jan. 3 re-sentencing date for Russo, and ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to bring him from a federal prison medical facility in Devens, Massachusetts to her courtroom in Akron.

The hearing was expected, as Russo offered substantial cooperation to the FBI and IRS as part of a sprawling corruption probe into Cuyahoga County. As a result, the U.S. Attorneys Office asked Lioi in 2011 to consider reducing the former auditors sentence.

Lioi never acted on the request, even after Russo finished cooperating. Russos lawyer Roger Synenberg asked Lioi in July to schedule the hearing.

Lioi gave attorneys on both sides until Dec. 7 to file sentencing memos.

Russo surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in November 2012 and is currently housed in a prison with a medical facility in Massachusetts due to several serious and ongoing medical issues, arising complications, and the need for life-saving treatment, according to a court filing from Synenberg.

Russo admitted that he and his cohorts took more than $1 million in bribes, gifts and trips in exchange for jobs, contracts and political favors.

He, along with former county commissioner and Democratic Party Chairman Jimmy Dimora, were major targets of the federal corruption crackdown, which resulted in convictions against dozens of politicians, philanthropists and business people.

Among those convicted was Frank Russo's son, Vince, who served prison time after pleading guilty to giving televisions to Maple Heights schools officials in exchange for their influence in helping a company maintain a contract.

Frank Russo was a star witness in the 2012 trial against Dimora - his long-time political ally and close friend - and others. His cooperation allowed him to stay out of prison for nearly two years following his sentencing in December 2010.

Dimora is serving a 28-year prison sentence. Lioi recently rejected a request from the former commissioner to overturn his convictions.

Russo has had medical issues for many years. At the time he pleaded guilty, he told a federal judge that he takes nearly 20 different prescription medications, including treatments for diabetes and a mild form of lupus that caused a rash on his face.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Wednesdays crime and courts comments section.
BATH TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- A driver for a Stark County food delivery company was killed in an accident Wednesday morning, according to Bath Township police.

The 56-year-old man completed a delivery to a restaurant in the West Market Plaza II lot on the 3800 block of Medina Road about 9:25 a.m., Bath Township police said in a press release.

The driver was in the process of using a hydraulic hand cart to load 10 empty wood palettes onto the truck, police said. The palettes and hand cart became unstable and collapsed back onto the driver, causing fatal injuries.

The Summit County Medical Examiners Officer is investigating the incident and confirming the victims identity, police said.

Avalon Transportation Services, Inc. released a statement Wednesday afternoon lamenting their employees death.

We are deeply saddened to report that at approximately 9:30 a.m. this morning, a fatality occurred while one of our drivers was making a delivery in the Akron area, the statement said. Our hearts go out to the family, friends and co-workers of the employee during this very difficult time.

A representative from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was also on the scene to conduct an investigation into the incident, police said.

Avalon said the company is cooperating with both OSHA and police.

To comment on this story, visit Wednesdays crime and courts comment section.
LYNDHURST, Ohio -- Theft, Haverston Road: At 6:25 p.m. Nov. 11, a Lyndhurst man, 23, reported that he had left his sweatshirt and credit card in his friend's car the previous night, then later realized that the friend had used the credit card to make charges totaling $200.

The suspect, a Highland Heights man, 25, was charged with theft, misuse of a credit card, forgery and intimidation.

Suspicion, Cedar Road: At 3 p.m. Nov. 11, a woman called police stating that a nude photo shoot appeared to be taking place near the path at the Acacia Metropark, 26899 Cedar Road.

At the scene, police spoke with two clothed women taking part in the shoot. One of the women said that she had to change clothes outdoors and accidentally exposed herself.

The women were at the park as part of a photo shoot, but no photos were of nude people. The shoot was allowed to continue.

OVI, Fairlawn Road: At 2:55 p.m. Nov. 11, an officer came across an occupied car that was stopped in the road. A Cleveland man, 39, was passed out inside the vehicle.

The man failed field sobriety tests and was charged with OVI. His car was towed from the scene.

Marijuana possession, Anderson Road: At 9:30 p.m. Nov. 10, police checked on an occupied car parked at Anderson Field, 4900 Anderson Road. In the car was a Mayfield Heights man, 18, and a Wisconsin woman, 21.

The man possessed a small amount of marijuana, and the woman, drug paraphernalia. No citations were issued.

OVI, Irene Road: At 1:55 a.m. Nov. 10, police stopped a car driven by a South Euclid woman, 41, for straddling the eastbound and westbound lanes.

It was subsequently determined that the woman was intoxicated. She was charged with OVI and driving with a suspended license.

OVI, Richmond Road: At 6:50 p.m. Nov. 9, police investigated a two-car crash and learned that one of the drivers, a Lyndhurst woman, 32, was intoxicated. The woman was charged with OVI and her car was towed.

Fleeing and eluding, Cedar Road: At 10:55 a.m. Nov. 9, loss prevention at Giant Eagle, 25105 Cedar Road, reported that a man was in the store who was known from past instances to be a shoplifter.

It was not known if the man stole anything when loss prevention called police, or if he had been issued a trespass warning in the past.

The man left the store's parking lot in a van as police arrived. Police got behind the van and attempted to make a traffic stop, but the man continued on his way, reaching a speed of 60 mph on Green Road. For safety reasons, the chase was ended.

The loss prevention officer who called police knew of the man from her work at other Giant Eagle stores. She identified him as a Cleveland man, 58.

OVI, Mayfield Road: At 7:10 p.m. Nov. 8, police investigated a car crash and learned that the driver of an involved auto, a Pepper Pike man, 59, was intoxicated.

The man was charged with OVI and his car was towed.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A British lawyer is charged with sexual assault in an attack on a dancer from a strip club in the Flats and the attempted sexual assault of a second stripper, according to court documents.

Andrew Leppard, 50, of Bristol, England, is charged with rape. He is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on $10,000 bond after his first court appearance on Wednesday.

The incident happened about 2 a.m. Monday at Christies Cabaret strip club on Main Street in the West Bank of the Flats.

Leppard was at the club with two friends and was highly intoxicated, according to police reports. One of the men asked a dancer to give Leppard a dance, according to police reports.

The 20-year-old woman gave Leppard a dance. Leppard, however, sexually assaulted her during the dance, according to court records.

The woman told police she moved away from Leppard and stood next to another dancer because she was afraid Leppard would attack her again, according to police reports.

Another 20-year-old dancer told police that Leppard tried to sexually assault her earlier in the night and a third told police that Leppard inappropriately touched her after she repeatedly told him to stop, according to court records.

Club security kicked Leppard and his two friends out of the bar. While the guards were escorting them out, Leppard repeatedly threatened to knock out the three women, according to police reports.

Officers arrested Leppard, who shouted that he would kill our country and that he owned a law firm.

Police notified the United Kingdoms consulate of Leppards arrest, police reports say.

A man who identified himself as a manger for Christies declined to comment.

To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
ATHENS, Ohio  Ohio University has issued a cease-and-desist order against a fraternity at the school after an 18-year-old male student was found dead at a residence on Monday, according to reports.

Rescuers were called to a home at 6:39 a.m. to help Collin L. Wiant of Dublin, Ohio. Wiant was pronounced dead at OhioHealth OBleness Hospital, the Athens News reports.

Police are still investigating the incident and have released few details. They are waiting for a report from the Athens County coroner.

The News reports the university on Tuesday ordered the Epsilon chapter of the international Sigma Pi fraternity to stop all activities.

According to the student newspaper The Post, Martha Compton, director of the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility, says in the letter that the office has received information which alleges that (the fraternity) has engaged in conduct that puts the health and safety of (its) members at risk and is not in compliance with the behavioral expectations set out in the (OU) Student Code of Conduct.

Wiant was a recent pledge of the Sigma Pi fraternity, the News reports.

In a statement released Tuesday, university spokeswoman Carly Leatherwood says the residence where Wiant was found is allegedly an unofficial annex" of the OUs Sigma Pi chapter.

Leatherwood says the university is issuing the cease-and-desist order as an abundance of caution.

To comment on this story, please visit Tuesdays crime and courts comments page.
AKRON, Ohio  Police are searching for two men who used pepper spray on a man, then robbed him of his cash and medication.

The 65-year-old victim was getting out of his truck at about 8 p.m. Monday on the 1100 block of South Arlington Street in the East Akron area when the men approached, according to police.

The robbers pepper-sprayed the victim and threatened him before taking $150 in cash and unspecified medication.

Police say one suspect is about 5-foot-10, while the second is about 5-foot-8 and was wearing an Ohio State University hat.

No injuries were reported.

To comment on this story, please visit Tuesdays crime and courts comments page.
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio  A 44-year-old man is charged in connection in the fatal shooting of his 72-year-old father and mother.

Michael Lucak is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated burglary and felony theft, North Royalton Det. David Loeding said.

Lucak is charged in the fatal shooting of his father Dennis Lucak, a longtime deacon at Archangel Michael Church in Broadview Heights, and his wife of more than four decades, Helen, a retired school teacher.

His first court appearance has not been set.

Loeding said investigators believe Michael Lucak killed his parents because of personal issues, but could not elaborate. He said detectives are still trying to pin down an exact motive.

Michael Lucak lived with his parents for a short stint until a few weeks ago, neighbors said.

Lucak stole cash, banking items, keys, phones and other items from his parents apartment on Harbour Light Drive, Loeding said.

Officers tracked the stolen cellphones and found the phones and found Michael Lucak on Monday in a Super 8 Motel in Medina County.

Dennis and Helen Lucak were beloved members of the Broadview Heights church where Dennis worked as a deacon for more than two decades. He was also a retired RTA bus driver.

The church held a celebration for the Feast of Archangel Michael on Sunday and Dennis Lucak was supposed to be involved in the service. Both were set to attend a banquet after the services.

They never showed up and Dennis Lucaks sister, who also attends the church, became worried and went to their apartment. No one answered the door so she drove to the North Royalton Police Department.

Officers went to the apartment and found the two dead in a locked bedroom with multiple gunshot wounds.

To comment on this story, please visit Tuesdays crime and courts comments page.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday selected California's Kevin McCarthy to be their leader next year in a 159 to 43 vote, rejecting a bid from outspoken conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio by a more than three to one margin.

McCarthy, who was House Speaker Paul Ryan's top deputy as House Majority Leader, had Ryan's endorsement, as well as backing from the many Republicans whose re-election he'd supported over the years. Jordan had support from conservative organizations like FreedomWorks as well as allies in the House Freedom Caucus he co-founded.

Jordan argued that McCarthy and other Republican leaders let the party slip into the minority in last week's election by failing to make good on campaign promises and implement reforms. He also said new leadership is needed to "aggressively push back" on investigations of the Trump administration that Democrats will launch when they take House of Representatives control next year.

"We're about to enter a world with Nancy Pelosi as Speaker; Maxine Waters, Adam Schiff, and Elijah Cummings running the key committees," said a fundraising email from Jordan. "If conservatives are not willing to stand up and fight for what the American people sent us here to fight for, we're going to be in trouble."

Jordan did not speak to reporters on his way into the balloting, and other Ohio members of Congress declined to say who they planned to support.

"It's a secret ballot," said Marietta GOP Rep. Bill Johnson.

After the contest, McCarthy thanked Jordan for running, saying "it is healthy to have a debate."

"We will work with anybody across the aisle if they are there to work and move America forward," said McCarthy. "If their agenda is investigations and impeachment and not focused on the American public, we will be there to defend the American public."

Jordan congratulated McCarthy and said he was encouraged that 43 of his colleagues "went against the grain" and supported his bid.

"We knew it was going to be an uphill fight," said Jordan. "I'm going to work hard to help us communicate with the American people about why our policies are best and try to win back the majority."

Jordan has been cited as a potential candidate for the top GOP posts on the Judiciary or House Oversight and Government Reform committees, but said he hasn't decided whether to seek either one because he was focused on the race for GOP leader.

While House Republicans settled their battle for party control on Wednesday, Democrats were still feuding over whether their current leader, California's Nancy Pelosi, should become House Speaker when Democrats take charge in January.

Democrat Tim Ryan of the Niles area, who challenged Pelosi's bid for Democratic Leader two years ago, said he won't back her this time and is seeking an alternative candidate. Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge has said she'd like South Carolina's Jim Clyburn - who is currently a candidate for whip - to be Speaker - but is also thinking of seeking the job herself.

"People are asking me to do it, and I am thinking about it," Fudge told cleveland.com. "I need to give it some thought and see if I have an interest. I am at the very beginning of this process. It is just in discussion at this point."

Columbus Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty and Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur back Pelosi.

"No possible candidate can match Nancy Pelosi's indefatigable, consistent determination to restore a Democratic majority against tremendous odds," said a statement from Kaptur that Pelosi's office relayed to reporters on Wednesday. "At this critical juncture of restoring a balance of power in the Legislative branch of the federal government, our Caucus' primary consideration should be supporting a proven Leader whose batting average cannot be matched."
Turkey has walked out of Libyan political talks taking place in Palermo, Italy, over its opposition to the conference approach, which, it believes, crushes the process in line with the interest of countries that destabilized the oil-rich North African country.

Vice President Fuat Oktay Tuesday at a press conference said the Turkish delegation was going back to Ankara with deep disappointment after it was barred from attending the conference, gathering Libyas political protagonists, including East-based powerful Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and head of UN-backed Presidential Council (PC) Faiez Serraj.

The informal meeting held this morning with a number of players, presented as the prominent protagonists of the Mediterranean, is a very misleading and damaging approach which we vehemently oppose, Oktay said.

Libya cannot be stabilized as long as some countries continue to crush the process in line with their own interests. Libya needs less foreign intervention, not more, he insisted.

Italy, led by the Populist government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, organized the two-day conference seeking to relaunch fresh talks between Libyan political protagonists with the aim of stemming waves of migrants taking to the sea to join the European country.

The meeting received a blow after Haftar refused to join other key stakeholders at the roundtable talks and preferred to hold one-to-one meetings with leaders of regional countries to discuss national and international developments.

Haftar however held private talks with Serraj in an adjacent room where the military commander said, according an Italian diplomatic source, he would be happy if Serraj were to stay in power until elections are planned.

The elections according to the UN Special Envoy to the North African country Ghassan Salame initially scheduled for December this year will rather take place in Spring next year.

The Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay insisted that Turkey, unlike other countries, is open to a broad dialogue with all Libyan and regional actors, adding that it is impossible for those who are responsible for the current difficult situation in Libya to make any positive contribution to the countrys recovery.

Ankara is accused of supporting Muslim Brotherhoods that Haftar is opposed to ideologically and militarily.
WAYNE TOWNSHIP, New Jersey  Being a New York Jets fan isnt easy. Its not an excuse for driving under the influence.

But police say that was the excuse offered by Christopher Greyshock, 57, of West Milford, N.J., after he got into a crash and was arrested on suspicion of OVI following the Jets 41-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

According to nj.com, Greyshock told Wayne Police during his sobriety test, I drank too much because the Jets suck."

It apparently didnt stop with alcohol. Police say they also found a baggie of marijuana in Greyshocks vehicle, northjersey.com reports. There also was the burnt remnants of a marijuana cigarette and rolling papers in the car, reports say.

Greyshock is charged with assault by auto because the driver he hit was injured, DWI, reckless driving and drug possession. He was arrested but has since been released.

To comment on this story, please visit Tuesdays crime and courts comments page.
AKRON, Ohio -- A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Kent State University from charging a conservative student group an estimated $1,800 security fee to bring controversial alumna Kaitlin Bennett back to campus to speak.

Judge John Adams said at a hearing he was gravely concerned that charging the fees would impinge on the First Amendment rights of students and Bennett, known as the Kent State Gun Girl. The event, called Lets Talk Gun Rights," will be hosted by Liberty Hangout and is planned for Monday, Nov. 19, at Kiva Auditorium in the university student center.

There should have been more communication, Adams said. We cant allow protestors to shift the (financial) burden to the speaker and her organization.

The university claims it has a policy requiring security fees for student-sponsored events held on campus. But Adams found that the policy as written could inadvertently infringe on Bennett and students' First Amendment rights by allowing her controversial history on the campus to affect whether shes able to share her viewpoints.

If the Kent State student chapter of Liberty Hangout had to pay the fees, they wouldnt be able to hold the event, an attorney for Liberty Hangout said in the hearing.

Bennett, who gained social media fame after posting a graduation photo on Kent States campus with an AR-10 slung across her back, held an open-carry walk in September that drew hundreds of protestors to campus, leading to stand-offs with police and four arrests.

Katlin Bennett, now known as the "Kent State gun girl," posed with an AR-10 in her graduation pictures. (Kaitlin Bennett, Twitter)

The walk was not sponsored by Liberty Hangout. It cost Kent State $65,000 in security costs, officials said.

The university paid those costs, but has a policy of charging student groups for security at sponsored events. The school argued its $1,800 fee would cover only the security for Bennett and Kiva Auditorium; Liberty Hangout would not be responsible for costs or damages caused by protestors outside the venue.

Adams said the policy was too broadly written and didnt determine what would happen if protestors got inside the auditorium. The judge was openly frustrated with the lack of communication between Kent State and Liberty Hangout, asking if the group was involved in security discussions at all.

Adams wants more information about how the university calculated the security cost charge. There is a five-person team who determines the level of security for sponsored events, according to court documents.

Kent States lawyers said their numbers were based on data filed by chapter President Michael Heil and he had met with someone on staff about the event, but the group was not involved in coming up with security protocol and costs.

Sometimes some of (Kent States) policies have too many grey areas," Heil said. (This isnt) just for our club, its for any club on campus.

Heil, pleased with the judges decision, expects about a hundred people will attend the Nov. 19 event. The talk will include a question-and-answer portion which he hopes will clear up some of Liberty Hangout and Bennetts positions on the Second Amendment and what they want to happen at Kent State. The open carry walk in September was to advocate for student concealed carry on campus.

Though that protest made an impact, the message may have gotten lost, Heil said.

Adams said it seemed like the university was not making a diligent effort to make sure Bennett could voice her views on campus without being shouted down. He said the threat of violence or protestors should not be the responsibility of Bennett or Liberty Hangout.

The judge granted a temporary restraining order" on the fees. A full hearing will take place Dec. 13.

Kent State will provide the same security without cost for the organizations Nov. 19 event, and the university will withhold sending an invoice pending the outcome of the December hearing, Kent State spokesman Eric Mansfield wrote an email.

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A top official in Clevelands Public Utilities Department violated several city policies by hiring her son to work in a position she indirectly oversees, a city investigation has found.

Debra Mitchell, the departments assistant director, told a manager who directly reports to her to hire her son as an assistant administrator in fleet planning and operations, according to findings by the citys Division of Internal Audit.

Based on the support documentation provided and interviews conducted, it has been determined that the assistant director used her position and influence to secure the hiring of an immediate family member as defined in the nepotism policy, the investigation report states.

The report recommended that Mitchell be disciplined and that her son be reassigned to a position outside her supervision.

City Hall did not respond to a request for an interview with Mitchell. Mayor Frank Jacksons spokeswoman Latoya Hunter said the Human Resources Department is still reviewing the report and will come to a conclusion soon."

The investigation was triggered by a complaint sent to City Hall in August alleging that Mitchell said she would not approve another qualified candidate for an open position if the fleet planning and operational manager did not hire her son. The investigation does not name Mitchell or her son, but identifies them by their titles.

The complaint also alleged that Mitchell completed her sons performance evaluations, though the investigation did not find evidence that she did so. The report said that her son, who was hired in March 2018, was qualified for the position at the time of his hiring and that his three subsequent probationary evaluations were marked as outstanding.

During the investigation, the utilities department revised its hiring policy to require job applicants to disclose whether they are related to anyone who works for the city.

Investigators concluded that Mitchell violated nepotism and ethics policies prohibiting any employee from using his or her authority to secure employment for a family member or to supervise a relative.

Two weeks ago, cleveland.com requested public records on a half-dozen employees in the Public Utilities Department to examine their possible relationship to top officials. The city has said it is still gathering the records.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Physicians employed by the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and the MetroHealth System cannot recommend that their patients use medical marijuana, each institution said.

There are over 300 doctors throughout Ohio the state has cleared to recommend the drug, and more are being approved each month. Many of them are in private practice since many large health care systems dont want doctors they directly employ to seek certificates from Ohio to recommend medical marijuana, said Columbus oncology, palliative care and hospice physician Jerry Mitchell at an Ohio medical marijuana meeting last week.

Mitchell, who said he will at some point apply for certification to recommend, was unaware of the breakdown of how many certified doctors are direct employees of health care systems, versus independent practitioners.

At Cleveland Clinic, the decision was driven by a lack of FDA action on cannabis, said spokeswoman Carolyn Deming Glaviano.

Similar to other major physician associations, the Cleveland Clinic continues to stand by the Food and Drug Administrations approval process as the most effective way to ensure the safety, efficacy, and purity of medications provided to patients across Ohio," she said. "Until the marijuana products receive regulatory approval, we will not be involved with the distribution of unapproved cannabis products through dispensaries.

The Cleveland Clinic directly employs nearly 4,000 doctors.

University Hospitals had 3,907 total providers last year, spokeswoman Katelyn McCarthy said.

Due to the discrepancy between state and federal law with regard to the legality of marijuana use, UH employed physicians are not able to recommend the use of medical marijuana at this time," she said in a statement.

The policy does not apply to private practice physicians with University Hospitals privileges, McCarthy said, but they could not recommend marijuana on any UH campuses.

MetroHealth spokeswoman Tina Shaerban-Arundel said the systems practice was to prohibit doctors on staff from recommending medical marijuana because, she said, it has always been its protocol. MetroHealth has about 630 doctors on staff, she said.

MetroHealth is currently reviewing the available information (the current regulatory framework, the science supporting medical cannabis, and the needs of our patient population) to develop a policy, she said on Thursday.

Under Ohio law, doctors with medical licenses in good standing can be eligible for the certificate to recommend medical marijuana. The doctor has to have a bonafide relationship with the patient before recommending and has to have diagnosed or confirmed the diagnoses of any of 21 medical conditions that may qualify someone for cannabis.

Physicians submit an application for the medical marijuana patient and caregiver registry, which isnt yet activated since product hasnt yet hit shelves. The registry sends patients medical marijuana e-cards, which are good for a year, then requires the doctor to renew them.

Some marijuana may be available next month. Most of it is expected to be available next year.

Doctors are expected to discuss with patients the risks and benefits of medical marijuana. Doctors can terminate the recommendation if patients die, no longer have the diagnosis or conditions to qualify for medical marijuana or abuse or divert medical marijuana.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  The Ohio General Assembly mustered enough votes Wednesday afternoon to override a summertime veto by Gov. John Kasich of a bill centered on the power of the legislature over the governors agencies.

The veto override of Senate Bill 221 is just one strike at the outgoing governor. On Thursday, the Ohio House is expected to vote on House Bill 258, which prohibits abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected. Kasich vetoed a similar bill in 2016.

Even though Republicans have a supermajority in the Ohio General Assembly, fellow Republican Kasich fell out of favor with many party activists because of his contentious relationship with President Donald Trump.

The veto override passed the Senate 24 to 8. In the House, the override passed hours later -- 69-22.

S.B. 221 would allow anyone adversely affected by an agency rule to request that a legislative panel review it and potentially declare it invalid. In arguing for the override, sponsor Sen. Joe Uecker, a Montgomery County Republican, said the business community asked for the bill, concerned about state agencies making rules outside the bounds of law.

Kasich, in his letter to lawmakers accompanying the veto, said such a panel already exists in the legislature to routinely review agency rules, and if anyone can bring a complaint forward, rules will never be perceived as final.

Kasich also noted that in 2012, he and the Ohio General Assembly implemented the Common Sense Initiative with the goal of reducing and streamlining regulations. The initiative requires a review of all proposed rules that have a potential impact on businesses by another state panel.

However, on Wednesday, lawmakers felt differently.

Sen. Frank LaRose, a Hudson Republican who is the Ohio Secretary of State-elect, said he supported overriding the veto, even though he will be in charge of dozens of administrative laws.

I believe its important the legislature has strong control over agency rule-making," LaRose said.

Sen. John Eklund, a Munson Township Republican, said anyone with a vendetta against a state agency can petition for rules to be tossed.

Agencies could be inundated with requests to prove their rules comply with the law, he said.

I believe in this case that overriding the veto would be a mistake," he said.

Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof, a Medina Republican, said Wednesdays veto override was consistent with previous overrides.

The common thread for those is one of what I would consider a right sizing of the relationship between the legislature and executive branch. Its certainly not personal in any way. But for decades I think legislators have given up too much of their rightful responsibilities over the administrative agencies, or administrative agencies have tried to take more of the legislatures responsibility.

The override now goes to the House, which will decide whether to take the issue up.

Obhof was mum on whether the Senate would consider the Houses anti-abortion measure. He noted that theres a similar bill in his chamber.
PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Drug abuse, Pearl Road: On Nov. 9, police observed a vehicle without headlights on Pearl Road.

While talking to the Cleveland driver, the officer smelled marijuana. It turned out that the woman had THC oil and drug paraphernalia. She was cited for drug abuse, possession of drug paraphernalia and no headlights.

Drug abuse, Pearl Road: On Nov. 9, police observed a speeding vehicle without rear license plate illumination on Pearl Road. While talking to Cleveland driver, the officer smelled marijuana.

During a search of the vehicle, police found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The woman was cited for drug abuse, possession of drug paraphernalia, speeding and no rear license plate illumination.

Fraud, Stoney Creek Lane: On Nov. 8, a Stoney Creek Lane resident came to the police station to report that someone had attempted to use her personal information to open a bank account.

While the incident didn't lead to the suspect stealing money, she wanted the incident reported to the police.

Drug abuse, Pearl Road: On Nov. 5, police observed a vehicle make an illegal lane change on Pearl Road. While talking to the Hinckley Township driver, the officer smelled marijuana.

The male driver, as well as two passengers -- Middleburg Heights and Brook Park residents -- were all in possession of marijuana. All three were cited for drug abuse.

Theft, North Church Drive: On Nov. 5, police were dispatched to a North Church Drive apartment after a resident discovered that someone had stolen their recently delivered packages from the hallway.

There are no suspects. Police are investigating.

Disorderly conduct, West 130th Street: On Nov. 4, police were dispatched to a West 130th Street parking lot regarding a woman causing a disturbance. An arriving officer located the woman, who was arrested for disorderly conduct.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
COLUMBUS, OhioOhio House Republicans are kicking off lame-duck session this week with a final round of challenges to outgoing Gov. John Kasich on guns and abortion.

By a 64-26, mostly party-line vote Wednesday, the Ohio House passed a GOP-sponsored stand your ground bill that eliminates any duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, shifts the burden of proof to the state in self-defense cases, and loosens a number of Ohio gun-control rules  including allowing individuals to challenge local gun-control ordinances in court.

The final vote on the bill, House Bill 228, came over the vocal protests of state Rep. Stephanie Howse, a black Democrat from Cleveland who said that several groups, such as the NAACP, have asserted that the bill is a bad idea for people that look like me.

Howse, in a floor speech, noted that the bills sponsors represent districts that are more than 90 percent white, leading House Speaker Ryan Smith, a Gallia County Republican, to cut her mic after she ignored his warning not to refer to other House members by name.

Smith then called for a vote on the bill, which took place as Howse continued shouting at Smith.

You just dont want to have any conversation about race, she told Smith as the bill passed.

After the vote, Howse issued a statement: Black voices will not be silenced. We belong here and we deserve to be heard and have a seat at the table. Republicans have been unwilling to have an honest conversation about race and the disproportionate effects their extreme policies have had on minority communities across Ohio, and sadly, we saw that play out firsthand in the Peoples House.

Smith told reporters after Wednesdays session that it was infuriating that Howse suggested that he and the co-sponsors of the bill are racist.

The speaker said he cut off Howse because of a House rule that prohibits floor speakers from mentioning other lawmakers by name.

It was disrespectful to the chair, Smith said. You cannot do that. Thats not how we do things.

When it was pointed out that other lawmakers during Wednesdays session mentioned colleagues by name and werent gaveled down, Smith replied, When youre speaker, youre always second-guessed and [there are] armchair quarterbacks everywhere. Its a subjective situation. I try to manage it as best I can.

State lawmakers usually pass controversial legislation in the final days of a legislative session. That the House is moving ahead with these bills now, several weeks before session is expected to end, indicates lawmakers are allowing time to override gubernatorial vetoes, should they happen.

If the stand your ground legislation becomes law, Ohio would join at least 25 other states that already have similar measures in place. Such laws were thrust into the national spotlight after the 2012 Florida shooting of Trayvon Martin (even though the role of Floridas stand your ground law has been debated in that case).

Currently, in Ohio use-of-force cases, its up to defendants to prove they are not guilty because they acted in self-defense. HB 228 would shift that burden of proof to the prosecution.

It would also scrap Ohios duty to retreat before using force in self-defense. Right now, state law only allows no duty to retreat when defendants are in their home or vehicle.

The bills provision allowing individuals to file civil lawsuits challenging local governments' firearm ordinances is the latest move by state lawmakers against municipalities' power to regulate guns. In 2006, the Ohio General Assembly prohibited municipalities from passing gun-control rules that are stricter than state law.

HB 228 also would roll back a number of state gun-control laws, including:

Eliminating the rule that people legally carrying a concealed weapon must carry valid ID, as well as keep their hands during a police traffic stop;

Scrapping the requirement that signs be posted in schools, police stations, courthouses, airports and other gun-free zones stating that deadly weapons are forbidden there;

Reducing the penalty for illegally carrying a concealed weapon from a first-degree misdemeanor to a minor misdemeanor as long as the offender didnt commit a separate crime while carrying the weapon; and

Barring landlords from requiring tenants to agree to a ban or restriction on owning, using or possessing firearms in their residence.

Assistant House Majority Leader Sarah LaTourette, a Geauga County Republican co-sponsoring HB 228, said the legislation makes common-sense changes to modernize Ohio law and eliminate overly burdensome and unreasonable gun rules.

Ohio, LaTourette said, is the only state that still places the burden of proof in self-defense cases on the defendant.

LaTourette and other supporters disputed that the bill should be called a stand your ground bill. State Rep. Terry Johnson, a Scioto County Republican and the bills other co-sponsor, said it should instead be referred to as a no duty to retreat measure.

Democratic state Rep. David Leland of Columbus spoke against the legislation, dubbing it stand your ground on steroids. This shoot-first, ask questions later measure, he said, is a solution looking for a problem.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Ohio House also plans to vote Thursday on a so-called heartbeat bill that would ban abortions in the state when a fetal heartbeat can be detected  a rule that would effectively outlaw nearly all abortions performed in Ohio.

Both bills require Senate approval before heading to Kasichs desk. But if that happens, Kasich -- a Republican himself -- is likely to veto both measures: he vetoed a previous heartbeat bill in 2016, and earlier this year he vowed to block stand your ground legislation.

Meanwhile, state legislators have ignored a package of gun reforms pushed by Kasich in the wake of several mass shootings in other states.
The White House Tuesday said President Donald Trump has nominated former army general John Abizaid as US envoy to Saudi Arabia.

The appointment needs to be confirmed by the senate.

The White House descried Abizaid as a four-star army general who led the US Central Command during the Iraq war. The former army commander according to the Trump Administration is currently a visiting fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and works as a private consultant at JPA Associates.

Trump had not appointed an envoy to the Gulf key ally since taking office in January 2017 despite choosing the kingdom as the first country for his maiden foreign tour.

Abizaids appointment comes as the White House goes through domestic and international pressure to take measures against Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MbS) over his alleged involvement in the case of the killing of Saudi journalist at The Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi.

The 59-year old journalist had gone missing and confirmed killed on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Turkish authorities confirmed that the critic was killed by a death squad that was dispatched from Riyadh and that answers to someone at the top of the Saudi royal court. Ankara has also said it obtained recordings of the murder, confirming that someone from the Saudi top leadership establishment gave orders to kill Khashoggi.

President Trump has been cautious to put the blame on MbS over fears to lose lucrative arm deals. Tuesday, Trumps national security adviser John Bolton said recordings do not implicate MbS.

Turkey has said it played the recordings to several western powers including the US.

I havent listened to the tape myself but in the assessment of those who have listened to it, that is right, Bolton said from Singapore when asked if the audio tape provided by Turkey did not link the Crown Prince.

The Trump administration is also criticized for its endorsement of Saudi Arabias intervention in Yemen, which has caused death of over 10,000 people. The 3-year old crisis has been described by the UN as the worlds worst humanitarian catastrophe.
Taking time at work to focus on mastering a new skill, learning a new software program or tool, or even just reading widely about your industry can do wonders for you mentally  as well as professionally.

New research conducted by LinkedIn found that the best way to ensure that you're happy at your job is to spend more time learning.

Among the professionals surveyed, those who were "heavy" learners  devoting more than five hours a week to things like reading, taking classes and watching online courses  reported being happier, less stressed, more productive and more confident than those who spent less time learning.

For instance, when compared to "light" learners, those who commit an hour or less each week, heavy learners were:

74 percent more likely to know where they want to go in their career

48 percent more likely to have found purpose in their work

47 percent less likely to be stressed at work

39 percent more likely to feel productive and successful

21 percent more likely to feel confident in their work

And finally, 21 percent more likely to be happy at work

Heavy learners see almost three times as many positive results as light learners says Josh Bersin, an HR industry analyst who developed the survey with LinkedIn.

Those who said they spent between one and five hours a week on education also had much happier work lives than the light learners (though not as happy as those of heavy learners.) They reported being 14 percent happier than light learners did, 13 percent less stressed, 16 percent more productive and 32 percent more likely to know where they want to go in their career.

"There is a clear relationship between time spent learning and a person's career satisfaction, career prospects and general happiness," says Bersin. "People who either have the time or make the time to educate themselves are performing at higher levels."

The bad news? Few of us are actually heavy learners.

Of the 2,049 workers surveyed, including freelancers and entrepreneurs, in the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Australia, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong, only 7 percent said they spent five hours or more a week learning. That number may even skew a little high, admits Bersin, as LinkedIn only queried people who had recently paid for some form of online learning with the company.

Most of people fall into one of the two other learning groups: 47 percent are "medium" learners, spending 1-5 hours a week educating themselves, and 46 percent are "light" learners, spending less than an hour a week.

It's an understandable reality, when you consider that two-thirds of workers already spend more than 40 hours a week at work performing necessary tasks. Bersin says that one key way to free up time in your week for more learning activities is simply to cut back on communications.

"One of the big messages I took out of this research is that people are so distracted at work that they need to force themselves to limit interacting," says Bersin.

Things like email, social media and meetings eat up so much of a person's day that it leaves little extra time for this kind of learning, he adds. More than a quarter of people admit they waste a day a week on emails and messages that don't contribute to their jobs, the survey found.

"This is also a call on leaders and management to recognize that they need to give employees time to improve their core skills," says Bersin. "It will pay off."

Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook.

See also: Here are the 25 most attractive start-ups to work for, according to LinkedIn
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump (R) in the Oval Office of the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump has picked Gen. John Abizaid to be the next U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the White House said Tuesday.

Abizaid retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 after 34 years of service. At the time of his retirement, Abizaid was the longest serving commander of U.S. Central Command, from July 2003 and March 2007.

The retired general has received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star. Abizaid is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and consults on a number of international and national security issues.

He also served as director of strategic plans and policy on the Joint Staff as well as director of the Joint Staff.

Abizaid is a distinguished graduate of West Point and holds a masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University. He was previously the distinguished chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.

Abizaid's nomination comes in the wake of international outrage over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was also a U.S. resident. Khashoggi died at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.

While the U.S. revoked visas for several Saudi citizens implicated in Khashoggi's death, the Trump administration faced criticism for being too soft in its initial response to the reports of the journalist's alleged murder.

The U.S. has since said it will look into the circumstances of Khashoggi's death independently from Saudi Arabia's own investigation.
Artificial intelligence is "a big help, not a hindrance," according to a Salesforce executive.

"AI is not gonna replace people," Peter Schwartz, senior vice president of strategic planning at Salesforce, told CNBC on Tuesday at the Singapore FinTech Festival.

On the flip side, Schwartz added: "It's going to make people far more capable."

Instead of thinking about the "most mundane things," Schwartz said AI would allow people to "focus" on issues such as creativity and interpersonal skills.

Schwartz's comments on the impact of AI were in line with a report from the World Economic Forum in September, which said developments in automation technologies and artificial intelligence could result in 58 million net new jobs being created by 2022.

"We have smartphones today, but it began with the Blackberry and the Palm Pilot which was pretty crude, but you got a hint of what was to come," he said, using the development of the smartphone industry as a parallel example for where he sees the future of artificial intelligence.

In a similar manner, personal digital assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri are "the beginnings of a next wave," he added.
The UAE is in talks to reopen its diplomatic mission in Damascus as ties between the two countries edge towards normalization following seven years of tensed relations over the Gulf countrys support for rebel groups, opposed to President Bashar al-Assads regime.

Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported Monday that the move to reopen the mission closed six years ago has been initiated by the Emirati authorities who have been in negotiation with the Syrian regime.

The move heralds a change in diplomatic stance of the Gulf country, which, alongside Saudi Arabia and all Gulf countries bar Oman, cut off ties with Damascus in 2011 over Syrian regimes crackdown on demonstrators.

The report of warming ties came in the wake of pro-regime Al-Masdar Newss information that Saudi Arabia was communicating with Syrian authorities through the UAE about reconciliation.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta, quoting a source from Damascus, said the first step towards reconciliation would be the reopening of the UAE embassy in Damascus.

Abu Dhabi, according to the source which spoke to the Russian media outlet, has already positioned a diplomat permanently in the Syrian capital. Other officials make regular visits, the source added.

The closed embassy is being reopened as barbed-wire and concrete barriers installed to protect the mission have been removed.

Egypt is reportedly facilitating the normalization of ties between the two countries.
Senior U.K. ministers are busy discussing U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's plan for Brexit, with speculation that some key lawmakers could resign if they are not happy with the proposals.

A draft deal, which is believed to stretch to more than 500 pages, was signed off by negotiators from both the European Union and U.K. on Tuesday. It will now need the approval of senior lawmakers, and then the whole U.K. Parliament, before it can be put into action.

May began the crucial Cabinet meeting of senior politicians at 2:00 p.m. London time (9:00 a.m. ET) on Wednesday in a bid to persuade her inner circle to back the draft "technical agreement."

Earlier at Prime Minister's Questions, May said that Britain and Northern Ireland was now "significantly closer" to delivering what the U.K. voted for in 2016. The prime minister added that Cabinet would now "decide on the next steps in the national interest."

If May can get her Cabinet's backing, that paves the way for a special summit with the EU dedicated to Brexit at the end of November.

In response the leader of the main opposition party, Jeremy Corbyn, said May had struck a bad deal that would lead to an "indefinite half-way house without any real say" over rules from Brussels.

At the same session, a lawmaker from her own Conservative Party and Brexiteer Peter Bone told May that if her plan gave away too much to Europe, she risked losing the support "of many Conservative MPs (members of Parliament) and millions of voters."
WASHINGTON  At least 13 countries have expressed interest in buying a Russian missile system instead of platforms made by American companies, despite the potential for triggering U.S. sanctions, according to people with first-hand knowledge of a U.S. intelligence assessment.

One of the people, who declined to be named, said that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Vietnam, and Iraq have all discussed buying the S-400 missile system from Russia. However, the U.S. expects that a handful of countries will fold to diplomatic pressure.

The S-400, a mobile long-range surface-to-air missile system, is the Kremlin's answer to America's Patriot and THAAD platforms. Lockheed Martin makes the THAAD, or terminal high altitude area defense, system, while Raytheon makes the Patriot.

The Pentagon deferred questions about this story to the White House, which did not comment.

Any potential economic or political penalties would come under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which President Donald Trump signed in August 2017. In September, the U.S. slapped sanctions on China for buying fighter jets and missiles from Russia. However, the U.S. could grant waivers.

China, India and Turkey have already signed purchase agreements with the Kremlin. China, which is embroiled in a trade battle with the U.S., is in the middle of receiving its final shipment of the S-400 system. India, the top buyer of Russian arms, signed a deal with Moscow for the S-400 last month. Turkey, a NATO ally, is slated to receive its S-400 next year and is expected to have the system ready for use by 2020.

When asked why nations seek to buy the S-400 instead of America's Patriot or THAAD systems, one of the people with knowledge of the intelligence report explained that foreign militaries aren't willing to stick with the cumbersome process of buying weapons from the U.S. government.

"Many of these countries do not want to wait for U.S. regulatory hurdles," the person said. "The S-400 has less export restrictions and the Kremlin is willing to expedite sales by skipping over any regulatory hurdles. It's like buying it off the shelf," the source added.

Also, while it's not clear how much the countries would pay for either system, Russian arms are generally considered less expensive than U.S. weapons and come without extensive maintenance support.
Matthew Whitaker, acting U.S. attorney general, speaks during a meeting with local law enforcement officers in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018.

The Justice Department told President Donald Trump that Matthew Whitaker could hold the post of acting attorney general, before Trump appointed him to that post.

News of that preapproval comes as critics have said Trump violated the Constitution by installing the 49-year-old Whitaker on a temporary basis as the nation's top law enforcement official without first getting Senate approval.

That argument was based on the fact that Whitaker had not held a Senate-approved position before he was appointed acting AG. The state of Maryland cited that claim when it filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging Whitaker's appointment, calling him an "unqualified" partisan.

But NBC News reported Wednesday that the department told Trump, before he tapped Whitaker for the job, that he could appoint Whitaker as acting head of Justice.

Whitaker was named to the post a week ago, after Trump forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

His temporary appointment immediately sparked concerns that he will squelch the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller's office into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and possible coordinating with the Trump campaign in that effort.

Whitaker before joining the Justice Department had been a critic of Mueller's probe. He now has oversight of Mueller's office, due to his appointment as acting attorney general.

Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, had been Sessions' chief of staff. He will be allowed to serve as acting attorney general for at up to at least 210 days.

Steven Engel, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, said in a written opinion cited by NBC News that his office told the White House  before Whitaker was appointed  that the president "could designate a senior Department of Justice official, such as Whitaker, as acting attorney general."

According to Engel's opinion, the Justice Department has identified more than 160 occasions in which a president appointed government officials who not been confirmed by the Senate to serve in high-level positions, NBC News reported.

A senior Justice Department official told NBC that that advice was offered "after the White House asked what the president's option would be in the event the office of attorney general was vacant and who might be eligible to serve."

Trump had been angry at Sessions for more than a year because of the attorney general's decision to recuse himself from overseeing the Justice Department investigation into Russian election interference. Sessions' recusal was based on the fact that he had been involved in Trump's campaign.

The Washington Post reported, a day before Sessions announced his recusal on March 2, 2017, that he had twice met with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the campaign, but failed to disclose that fact during his confirmation hearing in the Senate.

The recusal of Sessions left Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in charge of the Russia probe. Two months after that recusal, Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Mueller to handle that investigation.

Mueller's appointment infuriated Trump, who has called the probe a witch hunt.
Dubai International Airport is on track to receive its one billionth passenger before the end of the year, underscoring a critical infrastructure challenge at one of the world's busiest international airports. "We are likely to get just over 90 million through DXB this year, that's a new record for us," Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told CNBC's "Capital Connection." He said the key factors driving that rapid growth in passenger numbers include Dubai's strategic location, its vast network of destinations and the expansion of key routes from Emirates airline and its sister company, flydubai. The airport served 88.2 million passengers last year.

Not only am I very confident about the present growth of Dubai as a hub and the contribution that we make to the GDP, but I'm even more optimistic that our position will continue to strengthen for the future. Paul Griffiths CEO, Dubai Airports

"With 280,000 passengers a day and up to 13,000 bags flown through the hub, the concentration of not only the passenger traffic through DXB, but also the major contribution that it makes to the GDP of Dubai, is obviously incredibly significant," he said. Dubai Airports owns and manages the operation and development of both of airports in the emirate  Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC). But as Dubai International Airport continues to grow, it faces an increasing infrastructure challenge, leading to capacity constraints. "We are in the midst of a new master plan at the moment for 2030, which will see us boost the capacity of this airport by a further 30 million to 120 million by 2022," Griffths said. "The newer airport, Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International, already has the capacity for a further 26 million passengers. So across the two airports, 146 million total airport capacity is a pretty impressive number and it will still give us the headroom for significant further growth here in Dubai," the CEO said.

Dubai's aviation ambition

Taking into account projected growth in passenger numbers and existing plans to expand capacity  including the development of the new Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central terminal, Oxford Economics expects the aviation sector to account for 37.5 percent of Dubai's GDP in 2020 and as much as 44.7 percent by 2030. "Not only am I very confident about the present growth of Dubai as a hub and the contribution that we make to the GDP, but I'm even more optimistic that our position will continue to strengthen for the future," added Griffiths, who believes that capacity constraints can be addressed by further expansion. Since it opened in 1960, passenger numbers through Dubai International have grown at an annual average growth rate of more than 13 percent  outpacing rival hubs such as London's Heathrow Airport.

Trade war and long haul headwinds
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing are evaluating the need for software or design changes to 737 Max jets in the wake of last month's deadly Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the regulator said on Tuesday.

Boeing shares fell 2.1 percent on Tuesday on concerns related to the first crash of the newest version of the planemaker's best-selling jet, in which all 189 people on board were killed when it dived into the sea.

Indonesian investigators said on Monday a system designed to deal with the accident scenario was not described in the flight manual. They called for more training for 737 Max pilots.

U.S. pilot unions later said they were not aware of the new anti-stall system.

Operating procedures and training for the 737 Max could also change as the FAA and Boeing learn more from the investigation, the regulator said in a statement.

Investigators are preparing to publish their preliminary report on the crash on Nov. 28 or Nov. 29, one month after the Lion Air jet crashed at high speed into the Java Sea.

Until now, public attention has focused mainly on potential maintenance problems including a faulty sensor for the 'angle of attack,' a vital piece of data needed to help the aircraft fly at the right angle to the currents of air and prevent a stall.

The focus of the investigation appears to be expanding to the clarity of U.S.-approved procedures to help pilots prevent the 737 Max from over-reacting to such a data loss, and methods for training them.

Information recovered from the jet's data recorder last week led the FAA to issue an emergency directive warning pilots that a computer on the 737 Max could force the plane to descend sharply for up to 10 seconds even in manual flight, making it difficult for a pilot to control the aircraft.

Pilots can stop this automated response by pressing two buttons if the system behaves unexpectedly, the directive said.

But questions have been raised about how well pilots are prepared for such an automatic reaction and how much time they have to respond.

Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg told Fox Business Network on Tuesday that Boeing provides "all of the information that's needed to safely fly our airplanes" and that the 737 Max was a "very safe" airplane.

"This comes out of thousands of hours of testing and evaluating and simulating and providing the information that our pilots need to operate our airplanes safely," Muilenburg said.

"In certain failure modes, if there's an inaccurate angle of attack sensor feeding information to the airplane, there's a procedure to handle that," he added.

The FAA on Tuesday denied a report that it had launched a new probe into the safety analyses carried out by Boeing on the 737 Max .

Boeing, the world's largest planemaker, said earlier on Tuesday it delivered 43 of its 737 aircraft last month, up from 37 a year ago, helped by a booming global market.

The number of 737 deliveries was down slightly from the 61 delivered in September due to lingering supplier problems, flagged by a Boeing executive last week.
Germany's economy just saw its worst quarter for several years, flash data showed on Wednesday morning, but with news of a draft Brexit deal and Italy refusing to budge on its controversial budget plans, you'd be forgiven for not noticing.

Initial third-quarter growth data showed the Germany economy shrunk by 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, the first time it has contracted since the first quarter of 2015, according to Reuters. It was also below an estimate for a 0.1 percent contraction.

More details have yet to be released, but the Economy Ministry said Germany had seen weak private consumption and strong imports in the third quarter which had a negative impact on foreign trade's contribution to growth, Reuters reported.

Germany's car industry, a key component of its export-related growth, is also seen to have struggled with new emissions standards following the "Dieselgate" cheating scandal that has rocked the sector in recent years.

German car production in September fell 24 percent from the same month a year before, data from the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) showed. Meanwhile, new passenger car registrations came in at 200,100  a decline of 31 percent over the same month in the year before.

German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier told CNBC Tuesday that he is not concerned about the economy, however.

"I'm not very much concerned because the third quarter was very much influenced specifically by the car manufacturing industries," he told CNBC's Annette Weisbach.
Michelle Obama's new memoir, "Becoming," was released on Tuesday. The book explores a range of experiences in the former first lady's life, including the difficult adjustment she had to make once she became a national public figure.

She saw firsthand how the appearance of high-profile women is often studied more carefully than their words. She would learn to use that attention to her advantage.

Obama was sometimes taken aback by the special scrutiny her clothes received. "My pearls, my belts, my cardigans  all seemed to trigger a slew of opinions and instant feedback," Obama wrote in an excerpt published on Elle.com.

At one event, she was moved to tears by girls speaking at a school in London. A reporter didn't ask what had prompted the first lady to become so emotional but instead asked who designed her dress. "It seemed that my clothes mattered more to people than anything I had to say," wrote Obama.

Obama wrote that the focus on women's wardrobes can amount to a sort of double standard and even unfair expenses for women in visible positions. Still, she used this obsession over her wardrobe to divert attention to social issues and people she thought were important.

Like other first ladies before her, she used her spotlight to give attention to American designers, especially ones that weren't yet established. But she also used her fashion choices to give added visibility to the people she was photographed with or the platform she was trying to promote.

"If people flipped through a magazine primarily to see the clothes I was wearing, I hoped they'd also see the military spouse standing next to me or read what I had to say about children's health."

Other women in high profile positions have faced this same scrutiny. In 2015, a reporter asked Amal Clooney what she was wearing while the human rights attorney walked into court to represent Armenia in a genocide denial case. Clooney laughed and responded, "I'm wearing Ede & Ravenscroft," a reference to a maker of legal robes, one of the oldest established tailors in England.

Fellow politico Hillary Clinton also faced intense scrutiny over her appearance and has said she wore her signature pantsuits in an attempt to control the conversation about her. "Since there wasn't much to say or report on what I wore, maybe people would focus on what I was saying instead," the Democratic presidential nominee wrote in her memoir "What Happened."

To be sure, Obama served as first lady, where optics are paramount. Obama wrote that her staff spent hours ensuring that the designers, colors and styles chosen for any trip paid the proper respects to the people and places she visited.

Still, the focus on her style choices could sometimes be disappointing, she wrote. That said, it pushed her to find new ways to find power in her situation as a public figure, a role she said she would not have chosen for herself.

Wrote Obama, "I tried to reframe it as an opportunity to learn."

Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook.

Don't Miss: Michelle Obama: 'It's okay to be bossy'
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the development of financial technology, or fintech, should be a movement that can improve the lives of the world's most marginalized people.

"We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology: From desktop to cloud, from internet to social media, from IT services to internet of things, we have come a long way in a short time," Modi said at the Singapore FinTech Festival on Wednesday morning.

Modi, who is in Singapore for the East Asian Summit and to meet leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said history has shown that the financial industry is often the first to embrace new technologies and connectivity.

"There is daily disruption in businesses, the character of the global economy is changing  Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the world and it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives," he said.

The Indian prime minister, along with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, formally launched on online marketplace that will connect technology start-ups and financial institutions in Asia and beyond. The platform  known as APIX, or API Exchange  was first announced in September.

One of its aims will be to drive financial inclusion across Asia Pacific, and to create a regulated space for financial institutions and fintech firms to collaborate and experiment on new technologies. It will be developed and operated by a global consortium led by technology company Virtusa.
Renowned energy trader Mark Fisher on Wednesday said the "worst is over" for the crude oil market following a six-week rout that has seen U.S. crude lose over a quarter of its value.

The MBF Clearing founder and CEO said he'd be a buyer right now rather than a seller.

The market outlook for crude oil has recently flipped. Investors were worried about a shortage of oil as U.S. sanctions shrank Iran's crude exports. But the market now expects supply to outstrip demand as the outlook for consumption growth weakens and Washington allows some Iranian crude shipments to continue.

However, Fisher theorized that much of the drop in oil prices is due to macro funds getting out of the crude trade and rotating into natural gas futures. He argued that for years, buying oil and selling natural gas has been a huge winner.

"In no short period of time this trade has imploded," he said. "And I'm sure there is a ton of people getting, you know, margin called out of this trade, where they're being forced to buy nat gas and sell crude oil, and that's added to this ... new debacle."
Morocco has reiterated its stance in support of a political, mutually acceptable and lasting solution to the crisis in Libya.

Such a solution will restore stability, ensure the unity and safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said on Tuesday at the international conference on Libya held in the Italian city of Palermo.

Morocco is ready to offer its expertise to build Libyan institutions and restructure its administration, he said.

In this respect, the adoption of a constitution will lay an institutional basis that will meet the Libyan peoples democratic ambitions, said Bourita, while stressing the need for respecting Libyas sovereignty.

The Italian initiative was the latest international effort to stabilize the North African State, which has struggled with fighting among rival factions since the fall of Muammar Gadafi in a 2011 civil war.

UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame praised the Palermo Conference as a success.

There was a much higher level of conviviality among Libyan stakeholders so I do consider this conference a success, he said.

Palermo was a milestone for Libyans to set a common framework, Salame said, referring to the plan for a national conference and subsequent elections to be held in the first months of 2019.
Sen.-elect Mitt Romney, R-Utah, leaves a meeting with other new GOP Senators and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell referred questions to Romney's team. Representatives for Romney did not return multiple requests for comment.

A Republican member is departing each of the committees. Sen. Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the Finance Committee is retiring and is being replaced in the full Senate by Romney. Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is also retiring. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is a member of the Commerce Committee, but he lost his re-election bid to Democrat Jacky Rosen.

According to two people with knowledge of the matter, Romney has told friends that he's planning to submit requests to join at least three high-profile Senate panels: the Finance Committee, the Commerce Committee, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who was elected to represent Utah in the Senate last week, is already looking to move up the GOP leadership ranks in the chamber, CNBC has learned.

Before every Congress officially begins, lawmakers have a chance to ask for specific committee assignments. Freshman lawmakers, such as Romney, usually are last in line and don't always get what they want. However, people around Romney, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the connections he has made to GOP leaders throughout the last decade could help him as he looks to join the committees.

Romney became one of the faces of the Republican Party during his two attempts at running for president. He lost to Sen. John McCain in the 2008 GOP primary, but won the nomination in 2012, only to fall to President Barack Obama. Romney also previously served as governor of Democratic-leaning Massachusetts, where he signed into law a health insurance measure that set the standard for the federal Obamacare health reform law.

If Romney does pick up a committee chair, he would follow in the footsteps of fellow Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who made his way onto the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations panels as a freshman.

Romney is known to be an occasional critic of President Donald Trump. In July, he called out the president after he appeared to side with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies on the matter of Russian attacks on the 2016 U.S. election.

"President Trump's decision to side with Putin over American intelligence agencies is disgraceful and detrimental to our Democratic principles," Romney said at the time.

Tweet:

Following the 2016 election, however, Trump considered Romney to be his secretary of State but later chose Exxon Mobil executive Rex Tillerson instead. Tillerson had a rocky tenure in the administration and was ultimately fired. Mike Pompeo now serves as the nation's top diplomat.

Beyond working the halls of Capitol Hill as he seeks committee seats, Romney is expected to hit the Washington social scene on Wednesday and attend a party honoring Hatch at the Ritz Carlton, according to one of Romney's associates, who declined to be named. Party leaders, senators and lobbyists are celebrating Hatch's four-decade tenure in the Senate. There will also be an announcement at the event of a library being named after Hatch at the University of Utah.

Lee is planning to attend the gathering, his spokesman told CNBC. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is also expected to attend the festivities, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Flake's spokeswoman, Elizabeth Jones, said he is going to be attending a reception for Hatch but did not elaborate if that was at the Ritz.

"He'll just be at the reception  he's one of the keynote speakers at the RTCA [Radio & Television Correspondents Association] dinner and will need to head over there," she said in an email.

A spokeswoman for the Orrin Hatch Foundation later confirmed Wednesday's gala.

"The Orrin G. Hatch Foundation is hosting a gala to celebrate Senator Hatch and his service in the United States. This will be a private event," the representative said.
From left, Reps. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., descend the House Steps of the Capitol after a vote on May 3, 2017.

President Donald Trump's trade deal with Canada and Mexico can't pass Congress in its current state, Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News.

The agreement needs changes not only "in the legislation but more enforcement" if House Democrats are going to pass the deal, Pascrell said.

Pascrell softened his tone in a statement to CNBC:

"I continue to review the USMCA and consult with stakeholders. I and many of my colleagues have called for higher standards in a revised NAFTA, or USMCA. A continuing concern remains stronger enforcement mechanisms, particularly in the areas of labor and the environment. These concerns are neither new nor novel."

Pascrell has been a vocal critic of Trump's trade deal, known as the United States Mexico Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which is intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. In line to become chair of the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, Pascrell has been one of the members most willing to directly challenge Trump's executive powers on trade and tariffs.

The expected leader of the Ways and Means committee, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., was also a vocal opponent of the original NAFTA deal in 1994. Neal has also said that the USMCA deal has a very high bar set to pass Congress.

Pascrell and Neal did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.

 CNBC's Ylan Mui contributed to this report.

Read the full story from Bloomberg here.
OPEC officials quickly sought to reassure energy market participants on Wednesday, as oil prices fluctuated wildly ahead of a much-anticipated meeting between the influential oil cartel and its allied partners in early December. The growing prospect of OPEC and non-OPEC members cutting output next month helped Brent crude rebound toward $66 a barrel Wednesday morning. It comes after OPEC President (and United Arab Emirates Energy Minister) Suhail al-Mazrouei and OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said there was a consensus among the group to support a decision to balance the market in Vienna, Austria on December 6. Speaking to CNBC at the ADIPEC oil summit in Abu Dhabi Wednesday, Barkindo said the Middle East-dominated group remains jointly focused with efforts to "restore stability" in energy markets. Shortly thereafter, Mazrouei told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick that OPEC would be careful not to "overreact" to this latest bout of oil market volatility. Instead, the 15-member group and its allied partners would "do what is necessary" over the coming weeks.

Russian reluctance

Since mid-October, the price of international benchmark Brent crude has fallen almost 18 percent amid escalating concerns about excess supply and growing demand. It has been one of the biggest declines in crude futures since a price collapse in 2014. That has prompted OPEC to make increasingly frequent public statements to the market, promising to do "whatever it takes" to tighten supply and reverse sharp price declines. After a Joint Ministerial Meeting Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the group again repeated this sentiment by saying they would not shy away from further production cuts. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia has signaled it could once again curtail output by as much as 500,000 barrels per day in December.

But, Russia  a key member of the OPEC and non-OPEC alliance  has urged the wider group not to overreact to short-term price movements. Speaking to reporters in Singapore on Wednesday, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said: "We remember that the oil price was sharply rising in the same way, now it is going down. We have to look into long-term development into how the price will be stabilized." "It's not right for market participants to react to any one-off fluctuations," Russia's Novak said, before adding the energy market was not able to fully comprehend the fallout from U.S. sanctions against Iran. Moscow has been cutting oil production by 20,000 barrels per day from October levels so far this month, Novak said.

Changing course

About two dozen exporting nations began capping their output in 2017 in a bid to drain a global crude glut. The group relaxed this strategy in June, but in September, some of the world's leading oil producers were talking about pumping extra oil onto the market in order to help soothe intensifying supply shock fears.

A worker walks through an oil production facility owned by Parsley Energy in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, August 23, 2018. Nick Oxford | Reuters

So, with top exporters once again talking about cutting production in December, Russia's Novak has warned against the group making any "hasty" policy changes. Speaking to CNBC on Sunday shortly after the JMMC meeting, Novak added: "We need to look at the situation very carefully to see how it will develop so that we don't end up changing our course by 180 degrees every month."

Price risks
California headquartered GlassPoint Solar has signed an agreement with Occidental of Oman that could lead to the development of a solar thermal energy plant of more than two gigawatts.



In a statement Tuesday, GlassPoint said that the prospective plant would be located at the Mukhaizna oilfield in the Sultanate of Oman.

GlassPoint develops solar steam generators that utilize big mirrors to concentrate sunlight and boil oilfield water into steam.

As lead developer of the facility, GlassPoint said it would deploy its technology at the site to produce as many as 100,000 barrels of solar steam every day.



Occidental, an independent oil producer in Oman, would then buy the solar steam and use it to "facilitate production of heavy oil." The "highly viscous" nature of heavy oil makes it difficult to both produce and refine, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The solar steam would be used as an alternative to steam produced from natural gas. According to GlassPoint, the project could help to save over 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission annually.

"As we continue to diversify Oman's economy and develop the renewable energy sector, we are also identifying ways to save our natural gas resources," Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi, the Omani minister of oil and gas, said in a statement Tuesday.

"Oman's vast heavy oilfields present one of the largest opportunities to deploy solar energy and conserve gas, which can instead be used to fuel industries and generate power," Al Rumhi added.
OPEC's secretary general told CNBC that oil price volatility is due to anxiety ahead of the 14-member oil producer group's next meeting in Vienna in December. "What is happening at the moment, in our opinion, is the normal volatility that comes in the run up to our conferences. As you know, we reconvene in Vienna on the 6th and 7th of December  And this period between now and December is a period of anxiety for all stakeholders," Mohammed Barkindo told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi Wednesday. He said the organization of oil producers, whose defacto leader is Saudi Arabia, remained focused on stabilizing oil markets, which have seen supply and demand out of kilter for several years. "We remain very focused on our principle objectives which we have made clear in the most transparent manner you can think of," he said. "We remain focused jointly with our markets to restore stability to this market and we have registered some modest, I may say, achievements in that regard." Oil prices slumped to their lowest level in more than eight months early on Wednesday, extending losses from a 7 percent plunge in the previous session. However, following the comments from oil market leaders, prices rallied. International benchmark Brent crude traded at around $66.45 at 9:30 a.m. London time, up almost 1.5 percent, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $56.21, up almost 1 percent. The recent falls had come amid heightened fears of a slowdown in global demand, with OPEC downwardly revising its projections for 2019. The influential oil cartel now expects demand to grow by around 1.29 million barrels per day (bpd) next year, approximately 70,000 bpd lower than last month's forecast.

Mohammed Barkindo, secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), speaks during a news conference following the 174th Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, June 22, 2018. Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Middle East-dominated group has made increasingly frequent public statements in recent weeks, saying it is prepared to do "whatever it takes" to tighten supply and prop up prices. OPEC and non-OPEC producers led by Russia reached a landmark deal in late 2016 to cut production by a joint 1.8 million barrels per day in order to support prices. In June 2018, they relaxed that strategy but with oil prices now falling again, Saudi Arabia has signaled it could once again curb output by as much as 500,000 barrels per day in December. Whether Russia wants to follow suit is a matter of speculation. Speaking on Wednesday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said no decision on changing the country's oil output had yet been taken, saying market uncertainty should be studied, Reuters reported. He also cautioned against market participants reacting to "any one-off fluctuations" in oil prices. Russia has been cutting oil production in November by 20,000 barrels per day from October levels so far, he said.

That has put OPEC on another collision course with President Donald Trump, who publicly supports lower fuel prices and has urged OPEC not to cut production. Asked about whether OPEC would follow Trump's "advice" not to cut production, Barkindo said OPEC is focused on "market fundamentals" and justified a possible tightening in output again. "Thanks to the decision we took in June to reverse course after 18 months of implementing the supply adjustments that withdrew an average 1.8 million barrels per day, we saw that the market was on course to reach the red line," he said. "And we, on our own (in June), consciously, pro-actively, reversed course and thanks to that decision the market remains relatively balanced in the fourth quarter," he said. "But we are looking beyond that, we are looking into 2019 and OPEC, the IEA (International Energy Agency) and EIA (the U.S. Energy Information Administration)  most of the reputable institutions, have all projected a possible oversupply."
Pfizer lost the final round in a long-running patent battle in Britain on Wednesday after the country's highest court ruled against it in a case involving its $5 billion-a-year pain drug Lyrica.

The Supreme Court decision is a blow for the U.S. drugmaker  which had sought to affirm a secondary medical use patent for the product  and a win for generic drug companies Actavis, now renamed Allergan, and Mylan.

Lyrica, known generically as pregabalin, was originally developed for epilepsy but further research showed it could also help patients suffering from neuropathic pain, which soon became its main market.

In a bid to protect this lucrative section of the market, Pfizer secured a secondary patent, valid beyond the life of the original one.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the secondary patent claims relevant to neuropathic pain were invalid.

For Pfizer, the legal fight had become a point of principle, following years of battles in lower courts, since its key secondary pain patent has now expired in Europe.
It could be a $146 billion sector in less than a decade, but for investors whose interest has been piqued by cannabis stocks, there is still no reason to rush into the publicly traded companies. For the first time since Canada legalized recreational cannabis, pot stocks are reporting earnings. While cannabis company revenue is up, share prices continue to come down. Long-term investors should not be convinced that it is time to buy on the dip. And the dips have been big. Over the last three days, some of North America's largest cannabis companies saw revenue soar  Tilray, Aurora Cannabis and Canopy Growth grew top line by 85 percent, 260 percent and 33 percent, respectively. But these cannabis companies continue to lose money.

A Tilray-owned cannabis farm in Enniskillen, Ontario. Tilray

Tilray: a net loss of $18.7 million for the third quarter. Canopy Growth: a net loss of $330.6 million. Aurora: a $112 million operating loss. While recreational cannabis use wasn't included in these figures, the numbers show that Canadian cannabis companies are spending far more than they're bringing in. All three stocks were down by at least 10 percent on Wednesday, with Canopy suffering the heaviest losses. The marijuana ETF, the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), was down 7 percent. MJ is down 21 percent in the past month and was down about 5 percent for the year through Tuesday, according to Morningstar data. "Costs are still going up faster than revenue," said Scott Willis, head of research at Grizzle, a New York-based investment research company that studies cannabis companies. "They haven't turned the corner." Even with the steep losses, the MJ ETF is still taking in money  $100 million in the past month and more than $700 million this year. That makes it the most popular consumer sector ETF in 2018, according to XTF.com data, beating out consumer sector giants like the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) and Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP). While some companies are starting to see the size of their losses slow, not one is profitable, and it could still take some time before they start making money.

These companies are better at growing their bank accounts than cannabis

Widespread shortages, bungled rollouts  in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, people must buy cannabis online, and some have had to wait two weeks to get product  and still-in-production greenhouses have made the legalization dream more of a nightmare. "Canadian producers have been better at growing their bank accounts than growing cannabis," said Alan Brochstein, a portfolio manager and author of the 420 Investor newsletter. It doesn't help that cost-per-gram is falling as Canada's provincial government is buying product in bulk and at their set prices. (Canada's cannabis companies can't sell directly to retailers.) Tilray's average per-gram price fell to $6.21 from $7.53. Many of these businesses experienced a massive run-up in their share price  the Marijuana Index is up about 538 percent over the last three years. But positive political headlines aren't business reality. "It's ironic because it's been such a great year for the industry with legalization," Brochstein said. "But it's also been disappointing."

Investors in early have made tons  the rest can wait

Investors who bought in early still have made a boatload of cash, but those wondering if they should buy now better hold off, Willis said. He said prices could fall by 60 percent from where they were trading before legalization day. Noted short seller Andrew Left of Citron Research is short Tilray, Canopy and Cronos. It will still be months before Canada's pot companies produce enough to meet what appears to be strong demand. Until then, they'll be spending big money on developing larger greenhouses. For instance, in August, Aurora announced it was starting production on a 1.2 million-square-foot facility, which will take months to build. These companies also are still trying to figure out how to market their products, while edibles, which is expected to be a $4 billion industry worldwide, according to Arcview Market Research, isn't legal until July 2019. The black market also offers more choice, cheaper prices and faster delivery. "The black market still has a good foothold, because of some of the government's missteps," Willis said. "There are delivery services that will come to your door in 10 minutes and have lower prices, so it's going to take some time for this to work itself out." Stocks may drop further after the government provides cannabis sales figures at the end of this year or early next. Those numbers won't be as strong as people had hoped, he said.

Investors need to remember that this is a new industry and Canada is the first G7 nation to legalize the drug, so hiccups are to be expected. Both Willis and Brochstein think the long-term opportunity is huge, with Grand View Research saying the global pot market will be worth $146 billion by 2025. For things to really take off, though, other countries need to legalize weed. Canada, with 35 million people, is a decent size, but it's small compared to everyone else. If the U.K. legalizes marijuana  and the country did just start allowing doctors to prescribe it  and Germany comes around, and if the United States legalizes it on a federal level, then it becomes an industry on par with tobacco or booze. It will still be years before this happens, but Canada's foray into legal weed should push other countries to get there faster, Willis said. "The U.K. did an about-face; it flipped in three months from not allowing medical prescriptions to allowing them," he said. "That shows the power of what Canada has done." Even if you believe in the long-term opportunity, Willis suggests waiting until the second half of 2019 to buy in. Valuations are still too high, with some of the big companies trading between 20 to 55 times earnings, but they will come down over the next few months. Eventually, they should be more in line with tobacco and alcohol businesses, which trade at around 10 to 14 times earnings. Any investor feeling the cannabis itch should consider some opportunities in the United States, which is less regulated than Canada. American companies have fewer restrictions on how they can market their wares, and they have more strains to sell. They're much smaller, so they carry even more risk, but companies like MedMen or iAnthus, which have operations in multiple states, trade at lower valuations than their Canadian counterparts. Both are down 7 percent on Wednesday, but still up on the year. "They're expensive, but it's not as crazy," Willis said. "It's kind of like Canada in 2013." Willis said the best advice is to look for the lowest-cost producers  it is currently Aphria in Canada  and for businesses that seem to be closer to generating a profit. Tilray had the smallest net loss among the big three reports this week, though its loss did widen from the year-ago quarter. Willis said none of them are close to making a real profit. Aphria is the closest to breaking even and should be generating net income by the second quarter of 2019 (June-ending quarter). Canopy is the farthest away from breaking even. The best advice for investors determined to bet on the cannabis sector: Be patient. "This is a long-term story," Brochstein said. "It's a huge market, and things will get better."

Top 10 holdings in MJ ETF Stock Market weight in ETF Tilray (TLRY) 8.41 Cronos Group (CRON) 8.09 Canopy Growth (WEED) 7.98 Aurora Cannabis (ACB) 7.16 Corbus Pharmaceuticals (CRBP) 3.89 Hydropothecary (HEXO) 3.83 Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD) 3.66 Aphria (APHA) 3.54 Organigram (OGI) 3.54 GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) 3.52
H/O: Nici Wonderland Doll: Miniclara the Ballerina Source: Amazon

The Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel Superstar Blade and Marvel's Black Panther Slash Claw made a consumer safety group's annual list of the "10 Worst Toys" for the holidays. The Massachusetts-based World Against Toys Causing Harm released this week its annual list of toys it says could present choking, strangulation, eye and other hazards. The list is meant to be a tool representing the kinds of toys parents should avoid buying for their kids, according to President Joan Siff. "The particular toys nominated for the '10 Worst Toys' list are illustrative of some potential hazards in toys being sold to consumers, and should not be considered as the only potentially hazardous toys on the market," W.A.T.C.H. said. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned parents about several types of toys included on W.A.T.C.H.'s list, including those with small parts and magnets. The commission also encourages parents to ensure children have proper safety equipment required for some toys. "CPSC is constantly looking for emerging hazards with toys. We will review the list and act as appropriate," said agency spokeswoman Patty Davis. Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of industry trade group the Toy Association, said the toys are safe. He said the U.S. is the toughest market in the world in which to get a toy approved and that toys approved by the CPSC are among the safest products in American homes. In a statement, the Toy Association said that all toys in the United States must meet over 100 rigorous safety standards by law. Additionally, W.A.T.C.H. does not actually test the toys to report their safety, according to the statement. Hasbro spokeswoman Julie Duffy said all of its products  including the two that appear on W.A.T.C.H.'s list, the Nerf Vortex VTX Praxis Blaster and the Marvel Black Panther Slash Claw  comply with all global safety laws, regulations and standards enforced by the CPSC. "Product safety is a top priority at Hasbro," she said. Here are the top 10 toys W.A.T.C.H. says could harm children along with the group's description of each.

Nickelodeon Nella Princess Knight Pillow Pets Sleeptime Lites Source: Target

Sleeptime Lites; $19.99

This toy projects colorful night sky images that children can see in their rooms at night. However, it comes with small detachable adornments that children could ingest. The manufacturer, CJ Products, also identifies a "battery acid leakage" hazard. Chief Operating Officer Larry Boisjolie said that the Sleeptime Lites went through rigorous and extensive testing, adding that the battery compartment cannot be accessed by anyone other than an adult with a proper tool. "It is irresponsible for a third party to insinuate that there could be harmful leaking when the converse is true," he said. Boisjolie said the company has not received a single known safety complaint since the product has been released. "CJ stands behind Sleeptime Lites and all of its products with an unconditional warranty and for unparalleled user safety and enjoyment."

Nerf Vortex VTX Praxis Blaster Source: Amazon

Nerf Vortex VTX Praxis Blaster; $34.99

This Nerf gun made by Hasbro can "fire 10 discs in a row with pump-action blasting." The force from the gun can potentially harm eyes and faces of anyone in the path of the discs.

Marvel Black Panther Slash Claw Source: Amazon

Marvel Black Panther Slash Claw; $9.99

This toy encourages young children to "slash" like Marvel's character Black Panther. But if kids are not careful, the claw could cause eye and facial injuries.

Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel Superstar Blade Source: WalMart

Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel Superstar Blade; $29.99

This spring-loaded blade can cause blunt injuries, especially when aimed at the face. The toy's warning label cautions users against poking or swinging the toy against anyone. Bandai America, the toy's manufacturer, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Cabbage Patch Kids Dance Doll Source: Target

Cabbage Patch Dance Time Doll; $14.99

This doll comes with no warning label, but the detachable parts are not suitable for young kids. Although the toy is recommended for children ages 2 and older, the removable headband could be ingested. The manufacturer, Wicked Cool Toys, said the toy has passed all of its required testing. The company also said it takes safety very seriously and hasn't had a single consumer complaint.

Zoo Jamz Xylophone Source: Amazon

Vtech Zoo Jamz Xylophone; $14.96

This caterpillar xylophone's 9-inch-long drumstick-shaped accessory could obstruct a child's airway if they put it in their mouth. The Toy Association, which spoke on VTech's behalf, said it wasn't concerned about the safety of the toy.

Nici Wonderland Doll: Miniclara the Ballerina Source: Amazon

NICI Wonderland Doll: Miniclara the Ballerina; $24.99

Miniclara's "little kitten" accessory is unsafe for the 2-year-olds the toy says it is for. The cat detaches from the doll, and could potentially be ingested. "Because the product passed the physical tests necessary to receive the allowance to be sold to consumers, we are confident that the product is safe," NICI Head of Marketing Ralph Steinert said in an email.

Stomp Rocket Ultra Rocket Source: Amazon

Stomp Rocket Ultra Rocket; $19.99

This toy can cause impact injuries to children who are instructed to "Run. Jump. Stomp!" to launch a rocket as high as 200 feet in the air. If children are not careful, this could harm their face, eyes, or anything else in the way of the launch site. Stomp Rocket said its products are developed to exceed the strictest American toy safety standards. The Ultra Rocket was designed with a nose cone larger than the eye socket of a child to prevent injuries in the case the toy is misused, the company said.

Kid O Magnetic Cutting Fruit Play Set Source: Amazon

Kid O Cutting Fruit; $39.99

The hard plastic knife that comes with this kitchen kit is supposed to be used for cutting magnetic plastic fruit. However, WATCH claims the object can cause blunt trauma injuries. "We take safety very seriously, and all of the products have been through and passed all required safety testing," the company said in an emailed statement, noting that the Kid O Cutting Fruit toy was discontinued a while ago and is no longer sold. The company said there have been no complaints other than the one from W.A.T.C.H.

Janod Pull Along Dog Source: Amazon

Janod Pull Along Dog; $14.99
In a wide-ranging interview, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff compared using Facebook to nicotine addiction.

"Facebook is the new cigarettes," Benioff told journalist Kara Swisher for an MSNBC special, "Revolution: Salesforce Changing the World," which will air on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

"You know, it's addictive. It's not good for you. There's people trying to get you to use it that even you don't understand what's going on. The government needs to step in. The government needs to really regulate what's happening," he said.

Benioff is not known to shy away from clashes with fellow tech leaders. Most recently, he successfully advocated for San Francisco to pass Proposition C, a tax on the city's biggest businesses meant to raise funds for the homeless. This put him in direct opposition to several of his peers, including Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, who argued the tax would disproportionately impact financial services companies like Square.

Benioff expressed concern over Facebook's impact on children in particular. When Swisher pushed back on the comparison of Facebook to deadly cigarettes, Benioff stood by his assessment.
Concerns over a potential slowdown in Europe are currently not great enough for the European Central Bank (ECB) to change any economic forecasts for the region, a key member of the bank told CNBC Wednesday.

"At this point in time, the impact is not such that it would take us to sort of fundamentally change our outlook," Klaas Knot, the governor of the Dutch central bank and a member of the ECB's Governing Council, told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche.

Knot accepted that there were risks on the horizon that could potentially cause growth to stall, including Brexit, Italy's budget row with the EU and the U.S. trade war with China. He said it was "inevitable" to conclude that there were downside risks for the region.
The son of Etienne Tshisekedi, the Democratic Republic of Congos late opposition leader, has withdrawn from the coalition that named a joint candidate over the weekend.

Main opposition parties in DRC have chosen Martin Fayulu as their candidate for the long-delayed December 23 elections.

The agreement was reached after talks in Geneva. However, angry opposition supporters on Monday gathered outside the UDPS offices in DRCs capital, Kinshasa, protesting the choice of Fayulu as the joint candidate. There had also been protests outside the offices of the UNC, the party headed by Kamerhe.

According to Jean-Marc Kabund, the secretary general of the UDPS the grassroots want Felix Tshisekedi to withdraw from the deal.

Felix Tshisekedi, 53, will now lead the opposition coalition in crucial negotiations over the departure of President Joseph Kabila from office.

Note that Felix Tshisekedi is a newcomer to the political scene. Although elected as a member of parliament in 2011, he never served, heeding his fathers call to boycott the legislature in the wake of a disputed vote. Prior to that, he spent some time working in Belgium, where he studied marketing.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House, November 9, 2018. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

The Federalist Society's annual convention has been called the "Super Bowl" for lawyers. This year, following the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, yet another member of the group's ranks sent to the highest court in the land, it might have been expected to be a celebration of Kavanaugh and the president who appointed him. But just days before the convention is set to begin at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, some of its most prominent members have banded together to form "Checks and Balances," a slate of like-minded attorneys who are encouraging their fellow conservatives to speak out against what they see as President Donald Trump's undermining of the rule of law. In a mission statement dated Tuesday, the group said it stands for "the rule of law, the power of truth, the independence of the criminal justice system, the imperative of individual rights, and the necessity of civil discourse." The group includes more than a dozen conservative and libertarian lawyers, many of whom who have held high-profile positions in Republican presidential administrations. The group's members have been influential in shaping conservative legal thought. Among its founding signatories are Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor who served as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under George W. Bush; George Conway, a conservative attorney who is married to Trump's senior counselor Kellyanne Conway; Peter Keisler, the former head of the Department of Justice's Civil Division; and Lori Meyer, an attorney married to Eugene Meyer, the president of the Federalist Society. Neither the White House nor the Federalist Society immediately responded to a requests for comment.

'You can't do that'

In interviews Wednesday, members of the group expressed the hope that more conservatives would join them. They said that they hoped to lower the barriers to doing so by attaching their names, in public, to a declaration sticking up for the rule of law. "We felt the need to be more activist, and what that activism will be is the expression of our views, when asked, and when able, to get like-minded people to join us in an attempt to influence a government that claims to be conservative," said Stuart Gerson, an attorney who held senior roles in the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations and as a transition advisor to George W. Bush. Marisa Maleck, a former law clerk to conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, said she was dismayed by the lack of criticism the president received from members of his own party during his first two years in office. Maleck cited the president's firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his decision to strip the press pass from CNN's chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta as recent actions she opposed. "The president is taking on more and more power, and people don't know any better if you don't have legal experts speaking up and saying: This is entirely unconstitutional, and you can't do that," she said. The Federalist Society itself does not take official positions on candidates for office, though its members have been instrumental in guiding the Trump administration's selection of judges. At its last annual convention, Justice Neil Gorsuch was a featured speaker. Some members of the group have staked out positions at odds with the president. Conway has been vocal on Twitter and in the media, recently writing an opinion article in The New York Times, co-bylined by the liberal attorney Neal Katyal, arguing that Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general is unconstitutional. (The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel signed off on Whitaker's appointment.) John Bellinger, another member of the group and a former top National Security Council lawyer, was one of the first former Republican administration officials to publicly denounce Trump.

Turning some heads

The creation of Checks and Balances, and the prominence of its members, is expected to cause a bit of a ruckus at this weekend's gathering of the conservative movement's top legal minds. "These and other names will turn heads," Benjamin Wittes, co-founder of the national security blog Lawfare and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote in a post on Twitter Wednesday. That's the point, its members say. Jonathan Adler, the director of Case Western Law School's Center for Business Law and Regulation, said he hoped the group would "create space" for conservatives who were reluctant to criticize the administration to do so. "Our hope and belief is that there are a lot more people who share these concerns than thus far have been known to raise them publicly," he said. "When lots of people who generally share the same legal philosophy about the Constitution are gathering, that's an obvious time to encourage people to be more vocal and more active." Maleck said the group was already receiving emails from lawyers hoping to join. They would be welcome to, she said. "If there is a lash, I expect it will be positive," Gerson said, about the prospects for a conservative backlash against the group. "I think a lot of people agree with us, particularly people in our profession, at least on the right, who have been quiet, and who will now be more vocal." Members expressed varying levels of disapproval of the president and his policies. Most, for instance, support his efficient appointments of judges to the federal bench, as well as his two successful Supreme Court nominations. Conservative attorneys generally favor less business regulation than their liberal colleagues, consistent with Trump's deregulatory agenda.
President Donald Trump takes a question during a news conference following Tuesday's midterm congressional elections at the White House in Washington, November 7, 2018.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his support for a bipartisan measure that would overhaul the nation's criminal justice system, saying "it's the right thing to do."

"Americans from across the political spectrum can unite around prison reform legislation that will reduce crime while giving our fellow citizens a chance at redemption, so if something happens and they make a mistake, they get a second chance at life," Trump told reporters at a White House event.

The president's support is crucial to the effort, supporters say, particularly given the limited time available before a new Congress is seated early next year.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has told reporters in recent days that he needs to be assured that any legislation would pass before he will bring it to a vote during the lame-duck session. Even then, it would be competing with other legislation and would not necessarily come to the floor.

Trump did not respond to shouted questions after his announcement about whether he had sufficient votes for the legislation to pass.

The bipartisan compromise on criminal justice reform has attracted support from a broad range of groups including law enforcement associations, the libertarian-leaning network operated by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

"These members have reached a bipartisan agreement," Trump said Wednesday. "Did I hear the word bipartisan? Did I hear that word? That's a nice word."

The president touted the overhaul's support among law enforcement and faith groups and vowed that his administration would continue to be "tough on crime."

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has emerged as the most vocal opposition in the Senate and has pushed the Trump administration to take a tougher stance on crime. But other prominent Republicans have voiced their support, particularly after some of the legislation's more aggressive provisions applying reduced sentences retroactively were dropped from its most recent draft.

Attending the White House event Wednesday were Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., was also in attendance.

The new legislation is expected to give judges more leeway to bypass mandatory minimum sentences in certain types of offenses and to reduce penalties for drug-related offenses. One key provision would lower the minimum sentence for those convicted under the "three strikes" policy from life to 25 years.

The compromise bill would also retroactively apply a 2010 law reducing the disparity in sentencing between different forms of cocaine. Critics say that sentencing disparity has contributed to disproportionate penalties against African-Americans.

The legislation would radically overhaul the nation's sentencing policies. More than 2 million Americans are incarcerated. The U.S. has the world's highest incarceration rate.

One of the measure's chief backers in the White House is Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and a senior advisor. Kushner, whose wide-ranging portfolio also includes Middle Eastern diplomacy, has made sentencing reform one of his chief priorities. His father, Charles Kushner, served time in prison.

Kushner reportedly briefed the president on the legislation on Tuesday.

WATCH: This midterm ballot initiative could swing Florida in 2020
A still image from a video footage shows Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, in central London, Britain November 14, 2018.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will give a short statement to media later on Wednesday after she finishes a meeting of her senior ministers to win their approval for a draft Brexit divorce deal, a Downing Street official said.

"The PM will make a short statement after Cabinet concludes," the official said. "The PM will make a statement to the Commons tomorrow."

"There is no press conference tonight," the official added.

Shortly before, police minister Nick Hurd had told parliament there would be no government statement on Brexit on Wednesday evening.
Ben Stansall | Getty Images

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence criticized Myanmar's military for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in a meeting with the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday, and said he was keen to hear that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable. "The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse," he told Suu Kyi in a brief meeting with the media before they went into private talks on the sidelines of a Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore. "I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life," he added. He said Washington was also keen to hear about progress in making it possible for the Rohingya to voluntarily return to the western Myanmar state of Rakhine from vast refugees camps in southern Bangladesh where they now live. The United States has accused the military of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. U.N.-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with "genocidal intent".

Arrest of journalists

Myanmar says its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents in August last year.
[The stream is slated to start at 6 pm ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is participating Tuesday in a question-and-answer session with Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan in a Global Perspectives in Dallas. Powell shook the markets in mid-October when he said the central bank is "a long way" from a neutral rate that would cause it to consider a pause.

The Fed last hiked its benchmark short-term rate in September and is expected to approve another quarter-point increase in December.

Read more:

Fed leaves rates unchanged, notes slowing in business investment

Powell says we're 'a long way' from neutral on interest rates, indicating more hikes are coming

The Fed may have to make an important adjustment to the way it's raising rates
A White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN's Jim Acosta as he questions U.S. President Donald Trump during a news conference following Tuesday's midterm U.S. congressional elections at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 7, 2018.

President Donald Trump and officials in his administration said Wednesday that the decision to revoke CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta's press credential was "lawful," arguing the White House holds "broad discretion to regulate" access for journalists.

"The White House responded to conduct that was particularly disruptive to a press conference with a decision denying one specific reporter further opportunities to cause disruptions," Justice Department lawyers wrote in a court filing Wednesday.

The administration's court filing came a day after news network CNN sued Trump, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, chief of staff John Kelly and other officials to reinstate Acosta's "hard pass," which gave him regular access to the White House grounds.

Sanders on Tuesday called the lawsuit "just more grandstanding from CNN."

The news network had asked a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., for a preliminary injunction that would return Acosta's pass, claiming violations of Acosta's free speech and due process rights protected by the First and Fifth amendments to the Constitution.

The ban, CNN's lawyers said in court documents, extended beyond the White House grounds. Acosta traveled to Paris over the weekend to report on Trump's trip for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, but "he was told that he would not be allowed to access the President's events" even though the French government had given him a press credential.

In an interview with the Daily Caller published Wednesday, Trump railed against Acosta and said his White House ought to win the lawsuit. "Is it freedom of the press when somebody comes in and starts screaming questions and won't sit down?" Trump asked.

At a news conference on Nov. 7, Acosta disputed Trump's use of the word "invasion" to describe a so-called caravan of Central American migrants traveling toward the U.S.-Mexico border.

"As you know, Mr. President, the caravan is not an invasion," Acosta said. "It's a group of migrants moving up from Central America towards the border with the U.S."

Acosta continued to ask Trump questions as the president tried to move on to other reporters. A female White House intern approached Acosta and attempted to pull the microphone from his hands. Acosta initially refused to give up the mic. "Pardon me, ma'am," Acosta said to the woman, still holding the microphone.

"You are a rude, terrible person," Trump said to Acosta at the time.

Sanders initially suggested the hard pass was revoked because Acosta was "placing his hands on a young woman," a characterization that received immediate pushback. The White House response was further criticized after the press secretary tweeted a video of the exchange, which The Washington Post and other outlets said was doctored.

On Tuesday, Sanders' language changed to accuse Acosta of having "physically refused" to surrender the microphone. The White House's court filing only cited the more recent characterization.

Sanders tweet

As part of the legal response to CNN, the DOJ lawyers argued that "Acosta's decision to engage in conduct that disrupts press events and impedes other reporters from asking questions provides a more-than-sufficient reason for revoking his hard pass." They also denied, as CNN had argued, that Acosta's pass had been revoked "because the President and his administration do not like CNN or Acosta's reporting."

Meanwhile, media organizations and journalists have offered statements of support for CNN. Fox News President Jay Wallace said in a statement that "Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized."

CNN tweet Fox

The president of the White House Correspondents' Association, Olivier Knox, said Tuesday: "Revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday. We continue to urge the Administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNN's correspondent."

In a joint statement, a bevy of other major news networks Wednesday, including NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Politico, came out in support of CNN:

"Whether the news of the day concerns national security, the economy, or the environment, reporters covering the White House must remain free to ask questions. It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the President and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons. Our news organizations support the fundamental constitutional right to question this President, or any President. We will be filing friend-of-the-court briefs to support CNN's and Jim Acosta's lawsuit based on these principles."

WATCH: Here's who President Trump targeted in his one-on-one with The New York Times
New vehicles are seen at the Horizon Terminal at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The White House is delaying auto tariffs while it puts together a report on the impact that imported vehicles have on national security, according to a Bloomberg report.

Trump administration officials met Tuesday to discuss the draft that stems from a Commerce Department investigation into the matter. The final report is likely to undergo changes before President Donald Trump orders the duties, Bloomberg reported, citing two sources close to the matter.

The president has threatened to slap 25 percent levies on imported autos, light trucks, vans, SUVs and parts. Automakers including big U.S. names like Ford and GM worry that the tariffs will increase costs by nearly $7,000 for imports and more than $2,000 even for domestically produced vehicles.

Shares of most automakers moved higher in Wednesday morning trade.

If the tariffs are implemented, they would come under the same provisions that allowed the administration to hit imported steel and aluminum with duties earlier in the year. The administration also has slapped tariffs on $200 billion worth of various Chinese imports.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross must deliver the department's report to Trump by February. The president then will have 90 days to weigh whether the imports are a national security threat and should be subject to tariffs.

For the full Bloomberg report, go here.

WATCH: Trump's tariffs could lead to unintended consequences
On Tuesday, Kudlow slammed Navarro for his remarks on the White House's ongoing trade negotiations with China. Washington and Beijing have struggled to reach a new trade deal and de-escalate tensions that have led to mounting tariffs.

Despite the tensions, neither official is expected to leave the administration soon, said the source, who declined to be named. President Donald Trump could also change his mind at any time about Navarro's role.

The White House has deliberately curtailed trade advisor Peter Navarro's public profile amid a clash with top economic advisor Larry Kudlow, a person with knowledge of the matter told CNBC on condition of anonymity.

Last week, Navarro said a potential deal with China "will be on President Donald J. Trump's terms. Not Wall Street's terms." Navarro, who has taken an aggressive stance toward changes in the U.S. trade relationship with China, contended that "there will be a stench around any deal that's consummated" because of Wall Street's involvement. The comments helped to sink the stock market.

Kudlow told CNBC on Tuesday that Navarro "was not speaking for the president, nor was he speaking for the administration."

"His remarks were way off base. They were not authorized by anybody. I actually think he did the president a great disservice," said Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council.

Trump plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Argentina this month. The leaders are expected to discuss trade.

Trump has pushed for Beijing to make changes to address alleged Chinese theft of American intellectual property and reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China. He has threatened to put tariffs on another $257 billion in Chinese imports, on top of the duties already in place on $250 billion in goods.

Navarro has reportedly been marginalized in the White House before. According to Bob Woodward's book "Fear," officials such as chief of staff John Kelly would work to limit Navarro's access to the president.

Navarro is considered the advisor who most fuels Trump's fixation on reducing trade deficits. Trump has repeatedly described trade deficits  which mean one country imports more goods and services from a trading partner than it exports to that nation  as "losing" money. It is not clear that the U.S. trade deficit with China has harmed the American economy.
Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Wednesday the country is open to importing more oil and gas from the United States.

"We expressed our readiness to import more gas and more oil from United States as a way of expanding trade," Gokhale told reporters on the sidelines of an Asian summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The United States early this month re-imposed sanctions against Iran's oil exports to punish Tehran for its involvement in several Middle Eastern conflicts and curb its nuclear programmes.

But fearing a price spike, Washington granted a sanctions waiver to eight of the biggest buyers of Iran's oil, including India.

India is expected to import about $4 billion of oil from the United States this year, Gokhale said.
Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST

Bazaar Corporate Radar

Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar.
United Nations Special Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, on Monday said violence in the North African nation had forced a postponement of the election date.

Speaking on the sideline of the ongoing Palermo conference in Italy, Salame said the election would be held between late March and late June. The envoy said 80 percent of Libyans insist on having elections.

We want to ask at the national conference: what type of election do you want, parliamentary or presidential, and what kind of law, he said.

The Palermo international conference seeks to explore a new United Nations road map for Libya. It also seeks to bring to the table the warring factions and get them behind a new UN plan for a national conference and elections.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his Tunisian counterpart, Beji Caid Essebsi, are among a number of leaders who are attending the conference. Delegates from France, Russia, the United States and other regional players are represented at the meeting.

According to Al-Jazeera, delegates on Monday discussed both economic and security measures in a series of working groups led by the UN mission to Libya (UNSMIL) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
At least 15 people have been killed in a gun battle between Cameroonian army troops and separatist rebels, Army Representative Didier Badjeck said on Tuesday.

Violence in the region surged in late 2017 after radicals declared an independent state  an entity named Ambazonia  and launched an armed campaign, which was met with a crackdown. The conflict has killed more than 400 people so far, according to official figures.

The Tuesday incident comes a week after twenty-three separatists were killed in clashes with government troops near the town of Nkambe in Cameroons Northwest region, while another six have been killed in nearby Ndu.

According to the Ivo Tapang, spokesman for the Ambazonian Defence Force (ADF), the rebels had encircled a government army truck near Nkambe after it was overturned by a roadside bomb on Saturday.

Two of our fighters were killed and we killed 13 of them, Tapang told Reuters.

President Paul Biya, who was sworn in for his seventh new term in office last week, called on Anglophone separatists to lay down their arms.

The 85-year-old president, who has ruled the West African nation for 35 years, ruled out independence for the restive, English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon but promised policies of decentralization.

Anglophones currently make up roughly 20 percent of the countrys population and are undeniably under-represented in President Paul Biyas government. Since taking power in 1982, less than 11 percent of the ministers appointed by Biya have been Anglophones.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, last week, called for a peaceful solution to the crisis and offered UN help to broker dialogue.
Its been an interesting morning, in an ancient Chinese curse kind of way. First we saw an official announcement that Windows Server 2019 was released. (Server 2019 is based on the Win10 1809 platform.) Only one problem: The bits werent available as advertised, and then the page was pulled.

Then came an announcement that Microsoft is re-releasing Win10 version 1809 today. The bits finally arrived, sooner or later, accompanied by a lengthy explanation from Microsoft Vice President Michael Fortin of the burdens Microsoft encounters servicing a $10-billion-plus user base:

With Windows 10 alone we work to deliver quality to over 700 million monthly active Windows 10 devices, over 35 million application titles with greater than 175 million application versions, and 16 million unique hardware/driver combinations. In addition, the ecosystem delivers new drivers, firmware, application updates and/or non-security updates daily. Simply put, we have a very large and dynamic ecosystem that requires constant attention and care during every single update. That all this scale and complexity can just work is key to Microsofts mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Except, of course, it doesnt just work. Which is why Win10 1809 was off the airwaves for five and a half weeks.

Part of our Windows as a Service evolution is that we do not ship Windows the same way we did before Windows 10. We leverage our real-time detection and response capabilities to roll out Windows in a careful and data-driven way, and this represents some of the most impactful changes we have made to improve the Windows experience.

Which explains why it took Microsoft four days to stop the onslaught of Win10 1809 to seekers  those who had the temerity to click Check for updates.

If this is Microsoft AI and real-time detection/telemetry at work, it needs some refinement.

The latest version 1809, build 17763.107, comes complete with one acknowledged bug:

After installing this update, some users cannot set Win32 program defaults for certain app and file type combinations using the Open with command or Settings > Apps > Default apps. In some cases, Microsoft Notepad or other Win32 programs cannot be set as the default. In some cases, attempting to set application defaults again will succeed. Microsoft is working on a resolution and estimates a solution will be available in late November 2018.

This, by the way, is the same bug Chris Hoffman talked about in HowToGeek more than a week ago.

If you should feel the need to install Win10 1809 just as soon as you can, may I suggest a chill pill? Theres very little meat on the new bones. The main feature Win10 1809 will offer  some day  is stability. As the first September Win10 update under the new regime, its supposed to be good for 30 months of corporate use.

Lets wait and see how stable itll be in the real world  let some of those unpaid 700 million monthly active users dip their toes first, eh?

Join the skeptics on the AskWoody Lounge.
After a 38-day delay, Microsoft today re-released its fall operating system feature upgrade, the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

The more-than-a-month delay had no precedent in Windows 10, something Microsoft acknowledged. And it lasted significantly longer than instances in earlier editions when updates, security fixes for the most part, had to be pulled and then later re-released.

[ Further reading: How to handle Windows 10 updates ]

"Based on (telemetry) data, today we are beginning the re-release of the October Update by making it available via media and to advanced users who seek to manually check for updates," John Cable, director of program management in the Windows servicing and delivery team, wrote in a post to a company blog.

For the moment, Microsoft has not begun serving the upgrade to PCs accessing Windows Update, the consumer and small business update service. Commercial customers running Windows 10 Enterprise can deploy the renewed 1809 immediately - most likely for limited testing - using a host of corporate tools, including WSUS (Windows Server Update Services), SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager) and Windows Update for Business (WUfB).

Microsoft also reset the release date for Windows 10 1809 - Microsoft names feature upgrades using a yymm format - and shifted end-of-support deadlines to accommodate. On the definitive source of Microsoft's support timelines, the original Oct. 2 launch date was changed to Nov. 13, while the support expiration dates in April 2020 and 2021 moved to May 12, 2020, for Windows 10 Home, Pro and Pro Workstation, and May 11, 2021, for Windows 10 Enterprise and Education.

The Redmond, Wash. company did not apologize for the problem that forced it to yank the upgrade off servers five and a half weeks ago - the initial 1809 harbored several bugs, two involving errant file deletions, one of which erased all files in a set of user-content folders - mention why it took so long to correct the problem, explain how the flaw made it through testing or spell out how it overlooked the bug when testers reported it starting months ago.

Microsoft did spend considerable effort talking up its testing processes, promising more transparency about how it approaches Q&A and defending Windows' quality.

"Over the last three years, one of our key indicators of product quality - customer service call and chat volumes - has steadily dropped even as the number of machines running Windows 10 increased," said Michael Fortin, corporate vice president for Windows, in a separate Nov. 13 post._He cited other metrics, including one based on customer ratings, that claimed Windows' quality was improving and users ranked Windows 10 higher than any earlier edition.

Fortin also admitted that Microsoft had gotten an earful, then swore things would improve. "While we do see positive trends, we also hear clearly the voices of our users who are facing frustrating issues, and we pledge to do more," Fortin said.

Microsoft had previously hinted of 1809's re-release when it rescheduled dates for two online events: a company-hosted webcast and a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" conversation. The original dates for the pair of events had been Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, respectively; Microsoft shoved them to Nov. 28 and Dec. 13. Those latter two dates implied that 1809 would be in customers' hands no later than Nov. 28.
Indian PM Modi meets Singapores PM Lee on sidelines of East Asia Summit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a successful meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong today. Both leaders discussed a range of issues, including co-operation in financial technology and regional economic integration.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong today in Lion city. Photo courtesy: Twitter@/MEAIndia

PM Modi is on a two-day visit to Singapore to attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit and hold meetings with various global leaders.

"Happy to have met PM Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore. We had fruitful talks on deeper India-Singapore friendship as well as how India-ASEAN relations contribute to peace and prosperity in the region," PM Modi tweeted on his meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.

Happy to have met PM @leehsienloong in Singapore.



We had fruitful talks on deeper India-Singapore friendship as well as how India-ASEAN relations contribute to peace and prosperity in the region. pic.twitter.com/itK4VcjZmg  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

PM Narendra Modi met with Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of East Asia Summit. Good exchange of views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

Guiding India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.

PM @narendramodi met with Prime Minister of Singapore @leehsienloong on the sidelines of #EastAsiaSummit. Good exchange of views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration. pic.twitter.com/UXobaJ5kSA  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

Indian delegation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting Singaporean delegation led by PM Lee on the sidelines of East Asia Summit. Photo courtesy: Twitter@/MEAIndia

Modi started his day by addressing the Singapore Fintech Festival which is the worlds largest gathering of the fintech community attended by both industry leaders and smaller start-ups. Incidentally, Modi became the first world leader to address the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.

It is a great honour to be the first head of government to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival. It is an acknowledgement of the financial revolution sweeping through India and transforming the lives of 1.3 billion people, said PM Modi.

India is witnessing an explosion of financial technology (fintech) innovation and enterprise. I say this to all the fintech companies and startups: India is your best destination, he said.

During the programme, PM Modi also launched APIX, a banking technology designed to reach two billion people without bank accounts worldwide.

Towards enhancing global financial inclusion.



PM @narendramodi launching APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a global fintech platform with Deputy PM of #Singapore T. Shanmugaratnam. APIX will eventually connect our companies to financial institutions globally. pic.twitter.com/cvSzG0wecX  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

Earlier, Modi arrived in Singapore this morning and touched by the presence of Indian community who came in large numbers to welcome him braving the rain.

Members of Indian diaspora accorded a huge welcome to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival in Singapore. Photo courtesy: Twitter@/MEAIndia

Extremely touched by the affection of the Indian community in Singapore. Their warm welcome, so early in the morning amidst the rain, was touching. India's diaspora makes our nation very proud. They have succeeded all over the world, in a wide range of areas, PM Modi tweeted.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhis growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations..

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by H.E. Jawed Ashraf, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, on his arrival in the Lion City. Photo courtesy: Twitter@/MEAIndia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other Asian states.

PM Modi will also attend the RCEP Summit to review the progress made on the negotiations to finalise the proposed free trade agreement. It is being negotiated amongst sixteen countries including ten ASEAN Member States and India, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea.
Indian PM Modi to launch APIX for two billion people without bank accounts at Singapore Fintech Festival

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address about 30,000 people at the ongoing Singapore Fintech Festival. He will also be launching a banking solution for two billion people without bank accounts worldwide on November 15.

Modi will be on an official two-day visit to Singapore from tomorrow. He will attend a series of summits including East Asia Summit and ASEAN meetings.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo courtesy: indianpm.gov.in

Modi will launch APIX, a banking technology designed to reach two billion people worldwide who are still without bank accounts.

APIX is a sophisticated technology developed by Boston-headquartered Virtusa, especially for smaller banks, Tier 3 and 4, to reach out to people in the remote regions. It has been designed by software experts based in Hyderabad, Colombo and London.

PM Modi will be launching the technology at the invitation of Monetary Authority of Singapore, the International Finance Corp of the World Bank and the ASEAN Banking Association.

APIX will support banks to reach out to those without bank accounts in 23 countries including the 10 ASEAN members as well as major markets such as India, and small nations including Fiji, said Menon.

Earlier, Ravi Menon, Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) informed about the launch of APIX during his address at the Singapore Fintech festival yesterday.

Ravi Menon, Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) speaking at the Singapore Fintech Festival. Photo courtesy: Singapore Fintech Festival

Talking about APIX, Menon said, It is the worlds first cross-border, open architecture platform to enhance financial inclusion. APIX is both an online FinTech Marketplace and FinTech Sandbox. As a marketplace, it will enable FIs to discover and connect with FinTech firms through APIs on a globally curated platform. As a sandbox, it provides a platform for FIs and FinTech firms to collaborate and experiment on solutions in a contained environment."

Meanwhile, India is the largest contingent at the Singapore Fintech festival with 400 exhibitors. There is also an India Pavillion of 18 companies.



By 2025, there will be a minimum of 100 unicorns in the country, up from 26 currently - Mohandas Pai, Aarin Capital. More from the #India Deep Dive coming up at @AMTDGroup Stage, #SGFinTechFest pic.twitter.com/cLKM7fdEfo  SG FinTech Festival (@sgfintechfest) November 13, 2018

Eight of these companies are from Mumbai. The Pavilion is organised by the state-owned Maharashtra Information Technology Corp Ltd (MahaIT).



Mumbai Fintechs at the festival are seeking opportunities in the global markets, said MahaIT Fintech Officer Suniti Nanda.



"Mumbai, as a financial hub, is also a gateway for international fintech companies to enter the Indian market," Nanda said, adding that the festival gives opportunities both to understand global market requirements and present the potential of large-scale Indian consumers.
Damien Phillips is a public affairs consultant.

Julian Thompson, the Major-General who led the commando landings during the Falklands War, and who now serves as Chairman for the Veterans for Britain campaign group, has been closely following the development of UK defence and security policy since the EU referendum  and his observations are disturbing as we move towards the Brexit negotiation endgame.

He believes that the UK has been ambushed over post-Brexit defence arrangements. The withdrawal proposals would keep the UK in a range of programmes and policies led by the EU. This proximity cannot be granted in the terms that the Governments proposals suggest: we would be under EU power. The practical consequence is a loss of UK sovereign foreign policy autonomy and a loss of UK political powers over its defence establishment.

The KitKat Tapes, revealed earlier this year, showed key Whitehall officials boasting that the defence and foreign policy deal sought by the UK on Brexit would be akin to a chocolate layer hiding UK ties to Brussels. Caught on tape was Alasdair Brockbank, Defence Adviser to Oliver Robbins. He claimed that civil servants are actively working to keep the UK in the EUs Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

Brockbank also said that the plan is for the UK to opt back into the EUs Justice and Home Affairs programme after the transition period comes to an end in 2021. Such an outcome would entail the UK being much more directly under the auspices of the European Court of Justice than the Prime Minister would care to admit, since the ECJ oversees large swathes of EU judicial programmes, such as the European Arrest Warrant.

The EU views security and justice as inextricably linked: its Justice and Home Affairs Council has the explicit aim of creating an EU-wide area of freedom, security and justice. And only yesterday, Angela Merkel called for a real, true European Army.

So far, the Government has presented UK cooperation with the EU on such matters as uncontroversial and desirable. Mays Chequers proposal aims for an arrangement that provides a legal basis for future cooperation on the basis of existing EU law enforcement and criminal justice tools; one that is underpinned by the principle of mutual recognition and trust between member states.

However, senior officials on both sides of the Channel are suffering under a dangerous delusion about the integrity of EU members. Take, for example, the soon-to-be anointed President of the Council of the European Union, effectively the flagship nation of the EU, which rotates every six months. From January 2019, the position will be held by Romania  recently derided by Due Process, a leading cross-party NGO, as the worst human rights abuser in the EU. Its rule of law crisis has now become so grave that the former Director of the FBI, Louis Freeh, has called for dramatic action to restore confidence in its judicial system amid escalating concerns about how its so-called anti-corruption drive has fundamentally undermined due process, basic human rights  and long been manifestly corrupt itself.

The former Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, wrote to Romanias President to express his outrage at the continuing damage to the rule of law in Romania being done under the guise of effective law enforcement. He highlighted the widespread intimidation of judges, defence lawyers, and witnesses. He also rightly decried the unconstitutional phone tapping, the forced confessions and the unfair judicial processes presided over by the former Chief Prosecutor of the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Kovesi. She is the prosecutor hilariously lauded as Miss Justice by the pro-EU Economist magazine, who erroneously claimed she had been sacked for being too good at her job.

Back in the real world, a series of secret protocols uncovered by Romanian journalists show unlawful and widespread collusion between the Romanian intelligence services and every single arm of the Romanian government and judiciary, going back as far as 2005. They reveal a country that is ruled by a shadowy, unelected cabal of intelligence officers and one that has barely moved on from the days of the old Communist deep state.

Figures from across the UKs political spectrum have been warning about the dangers of close judicial and security cooperation with EU members like Romania for several years. These include Andrew Robathan, the former Conservative Defence Minister, and David Clark, the former special adviser to Robin Cook. Indeed, their views are further reinforced by the prescient warnings of John Scarlett, the former head of MI6, as well as others in and around Britains intelligence community.

Security and justice are both areas in which the UK should be much more discerning about who it cooperates with and to what extent. Richard Dearlove, another former MI6 head, pointed out, Britain is Europes leader in intelligence and security matters and gives much more than it gets in return. Our European partners can be unreliable and, in cases like Romania, dangerously compromised. Germany is another example. Its increasing dependence on Russian energy, particularly with the two countries pressing ahead with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and a worrying pro-Putin tendency starting to dominate at the highest levels in German politics, is at odds with the UKs justified hostility to the Putin regime.

The Cabinet may thus end up backing today a very bad security deal for Britain. It is not inconceivable that Theresa May, and those senior civil servants set on a Brexit in name only, could exploit the Cabinets ignorance of the real facts on the ground to weaponise the seemingly uncontroversial need for cooperation on these issues during todays discussion of the deal overall.

A comprehensive soft Brexit package that covers trade, foreign policy, security and justice is thus set to be presented by the Prime Minister, at the eleventh hour as a fait accompli. Potential Cabinet opponents may thus be manoeuvered onto a political killing ground  pressured into voting for a take-it-or-leave-it deal, pre-emptively labelled as weak on Britains national security and soft on crime if they dont back it, with conveniently timed dire predictions made about the threat to the UK if collaboration on security and justice with the EU should cease due to Brexiteer intransigence.

To head off this potential ambush, Cabinet members must arm themselves with the arguments and the evidence that a proper Brexit is vital for UK defence, our national security and for the integrity of British justice. Should they fail, the consequences for the country may be grave.
Daniel Hannan is an MEP for South-East England, and a journalist, author and broadcaster. His most recent book is What Next: How to Get the Best from Brexit.

Try a little thought experiment. Can you imagine a Brexit outcome so appalling that Leavers would rather stay in than accept it, and Remainers would rather leave cleanly than accept it?

Its quite a challenge, but lets have a go. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that Britain ended up with all the costs and obligations of EU membership, but with no voice, no vote and no veto. Suppose we had to accept all the EUs rules  on technical standards, on environmental protection, on labour law  but no longer had any say over what those rules should be. Suppose we had to submit to a trade and tariff regime designed solely to benefit the other 27. I hope both sides could agree that such an outcome would be the worst of all possible worlds.

And yet, if reports are to be believed, that is where the talks have ended up. First, under the transition, we shall explicitly be non-voting members for two years. As Brussels has spelt out with brutal clarity, the only change will be that Britain loses its Commissioner, its MEPs and its vote in Council. Then, under the backstop, that status, or something very like it, will be imposed on us in semi-perpetuity.

Surely no one, Remain or Leave, can favour such an outcome. As regular readers will know, I have been arguing since polling day for moderation. I was prepared to accept any compromise  including EFTA and including Chequers  provided it restored the supremacy of our laws. But the purgatory that now beckons is surely, by any definition, worse than either staying or leaving.

How have we come to this point? Through cowardice and lack of vision, Im afraid. From the start, our objective was simply to reach a deal  any deal. Our negotiators, shell-shocked by the referendum result, approached the talks in a spirit of damage limitation. They never seriously contemplated walking away, and the other side smelt their desperation.

To be fair, our officials were not helped by the noises coming out of Westminster. How would you expect EU negotiators to react when senior British politicians urge them to hang tough and force a second referendum? We might view Tony Blair, John Major and Nick Clegg as has-beens but, believe me, they are seen in Brussels as men of influence.

So we fell into a pattern. Britain would make some new concession in the hope of unlocking a deal; Brussels would pocket the concession and demand more; and  incredibly  British Remainers would cheer. The UK agreed to hand over more money than was due; accepted the EUs absurd and illogical sequencing; made an unconditional security guarantee; offered to copy EU standards; and promised not to be more competitive than its neighbours. Each time, the EU brusquely demanded more movement. Each time, Britain rushed to comply.

Which brings us to where we are  facing colonial rule from Brussels, of the sort the EU imposed on Bosnia following the Yugoslav war.

I am not one of those Brexiteers who half-favoured no deal all along. On the contrary, I was proposing moderation on this website even before the vote, and have repeated that call many times since. But, paradoxically, Britains reluctance to countenance no deal has made such an outcome likelier. We have reached the point where the terms on offer are less attractive than either a WTO-based Brexit or a second referendum.

This last point is critical. I suspect that two contradictory arguments will now be wheeled out before wavering MPs. Europhiles will be told that the deal, backstop and all, is better than crashing out on WTO terms. Conversely, Eurosceptics will be told that, if they dont approve the deal, Parliament might vote to extend Article 50, thus imperilling Brexit. These two lines of argument cant both be true, of course; and, in reality, neither of them is.

Talking of Bosnia, I recall a conversation some years ago with the EUs High Commissioner there  the man with the power to sack local politicians if they didnt toe the approved Brussels line. He told me, in a pleased tone, that the Serbs thought he was too pro-Muslim while the Muslims thought he was too pro-Serb. If they are all unhappy, he concluded, genially, I must be doing something right. Or maybe if everyone is unhappy, I responded, its because youre doing something wrong.

Well, thats the point we reached with these talks. Were invited to believe that if Boris Johnson and Jo Johnson, from opposite ends of the Brexit spectrum, both oppose the deal, it cant be too bad. In fact, both Johnsons oppose it because it is a lamentable failure of statecraft. Boris was no Brexit headbanger: he came out for Leave only after the EU refused to give David Cameron any powers back. And Jo is no Remoaner: he has spent two years in government trying to deliver a reasonable Brexit. If neither of them will back the deal, that tells us something.

There is still time  just  to recover our position. As things stand, the backstop has no legal force. The moment it finds its way into a treaty, it will be binding. If any MPs or Cabinet Ministers oppose the current approach, now is their chance to act. There wont be another.
Raab, Cox, Gove, Fox, Mordaunt  all these Cabinet members, and others, should prepare to resign today

As this month began, we set five tests for any Brexit deal that Theresa May might recommend to her Cabinet members. They were as follows:

Would it hive off Northern Ireland? Will there be either an an exit date or a unilateral escape mechanism from the backstop?

Will there be either an an exit date or a unilateral escape mechanism from the backstop? Does it threaten to break up the Union? If there isnt, and Northern Ireland is effectively to be kept in the Single Market, wont that boost the SNPs campaign for Scottish independence  and the break-up of the Union?

If there isnt, and Northern Ireland is effectively to be kept in the Single Market, wont that boost the SNPs campaign for Scottish independence  and the break-up of the Union? Would it trap the country in a customs union? If Great Britain is to be put into a parallel customs union, will there be either an exit date or a unilateral escape mechanism from it?

If Great Britain is to be put into a parallel customs union, will there be either an exit date or a unilateral escape mechanism from it? Does it hand over money for nothing ? Since a future trade deal will be covered by an unenforceable political declaration  not the Withdrawal Agreement  what safeguards are there against shelling out 40 billion for nothing?

? Since a future trade deal will be covered by an unenforceable political declaration  not the Withdrawal Agreement  what safeguards are there against shelling out 40 billion for nothing? Chequers or Canada ? Given that the political declaration is likely to be written in vague, Cheqada terms, which future does it really point to  Chequers or Canada?

In the wake of the Prime Minister summoning Cabinet members for one-to-one meetings yesterday evening, with a full Cabinet meeting due this afternoon, it is possible that there are reassuring answers to all these questions.

But it is more likely that, as we wrote then, the proposed deal would wreck the prospect of meaningful trade deals, hand over 40 billion for no bankable gain, and potentially threaten the break-up of the UK.

It is early days to draw definitive conclusions either way about the draft agreements contents, but it is clear that the planned settlements for Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be different.

And Sabine Weyand suggested to a meeting of EU ambassadors yesterday that the deal would effectively keep the whole UK in the Customs Union, force EU access to our fishing waters, and align us to Single Market rules.

Such a settlement would breach the Conservative Manifesto commitments to leave the Customs Union, and arguably the Single Market too  and threaten the survival of the Government if the DUP withdrew all support, as it is poised to do.

At any rate, it is evident that the Prime Minister is no longer driven by the belief, in the famous phrase from her Lancaster House speech, that No Deal is better than a Bad Deal. Evidently, she is desparate for a settlement.

In a sense, then, one can scarcely blame her for seeking to bounce the Cabinet today. Its members are being given this morning only to examine 500 or so pages of the Withdrawal Agreement alone before it meets this afternoon.

It will be impossible for them to undertake the full timely study of this text, plus legal advice about it, within this brief time-frame  let alone to get independent advice about what it all adds up to.

It follows that when May proposes the immediate approval of the draft deal today, Brexiteering Ministers have no option but to seek to persuade the Cabinet as a whole to withold that approval  even if that means missing the November deadline for a summit.

On our count, Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab, Gavin Williamson, Liam Fox, Michael Gove, Chris Grayling, Esther McVey, Natalie Evans, David Mundell and Penny Mordaunt have all variously asked questions or expressed doubts about where the deal is going.

Add Liz Truss, Andrea Leadsom and Geoffrey Cox to the list  all these are entitled to attend Cabinet, though they are not full members  and one reaches 14 of a total of 29, just under half.

Of course, it is the Prime Minister who takes the voices and shapes Cabinet minutes: its members dont do anything so crude as cast votes. In short, if she is determined to make the proposed deal the basis for a summit, Cabinet members arent well placed to stop her.

Which leaves only one course open to them. If those resistant to approving any deal on the basis of a single meeting arent heeded, they will have no practicable alternative but to resign.

Our article of a month ago was headed: the Cabinet must stand ready to take back control. Today may be the last chance that its members have to do so.
Earlier today Theresa May was handed a letter, signed by all 13 of her Scottish MPs, threatening to vote down her Brexit deal if it doesnt match her promises on fishing.

Fishing is a very big issue in north-eastern Scotland, a newly re-captured bastion of Scottish Toryism, and the party is determined to make sure that the UK is outside the EUs Common Fisheries Policy by the next set of Holyrood elections in 2021.

This move has been prompted by reports that the Prime Minister will park the controversy over fishing rights until the negotiations on a future trade deal, which wont start until next year, and that EU negotiator Sabine Weyand had told European ambassadors that would have to swallow a link between access to products and fisheries in future agreements over market access.

As for their specific demands, they want all powers over fishing repatriated and then for the UK to be able to negotiate access and quotas the EU and other third countries independently on an annual basis, without any pre-existing arrangement being in force. That means no deal on fishing baked into the future partnership.

It isnt yet clear how much of a problem this actually is, not least because we dont know the precise details of the deal yet. Sam Coates reports that David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, and his colleagues might be satisfied simply with the Prime Minister confirming that Britain will be an independent coastal state by 2020. So it could be a face-saving or PR exercise.

However, Mays problems with the Scottish Conservatives run deeper than fishing. According to the BBC both Mundell and Ruth Davidson both indicated only last month that they might resign from their roles if the Government proposed an exit deal which undermined the territorial integrity of the UK by imposing special status on Northern Ireland. If the Democratic Unionists response is any indication, that seems to be the Prime Ministers intention.

Ross Thomson, the arch-Brexiteer MP for Aberdeen South, has said this afternoon that hell vote against the deal  is May about to lose both her partys leading Scots? Neither will be keen to leave, but both will lose credibility if they simply accept what just weeks ago was beyond the pale.

If they do go, the parliamentary arithmetic gets very tricky. Losing all 13 of the Governments Scottish MPs, as well as all ten of its Northern Irish foederati, would do more than just bolster the ranks of the committed anti-agreement Brexiteers. It would also send a very strong message to every Conservative MP of unionist conscience about the implications of the deal for the future of the United Kingdom.
Artificial intelligence (AI), long a hot topic for information technology departments (IT), is increasingly finding its way into boardroom discussions as they look to implement smart systems in manufacturing are becoming more frequent. Companies also are evaluating processes that might benefit from AI enhancement.

With the answer to both sets of questions being just about all of them, expectations are high among senior executives for AIs prospects, and the number of use-cases are rising both across the industry and enterprise. Its an optimism being expressed amid obstacles to greater uptake.

A study released at Septembers Industry of Things World (IoTW) conference in Berlin illustrates those trends. It also points the way forward for manufacturers. This involves addressing systems and human capital issues to extract more business value from AI implementation.

Our survey shows that the European industrial sector has clearly understood and embraced the strategic power of AI, said Volkhard Bregulla, vice president global manufacturing, automotive and IoT at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), which co-sponsored the research. But, it also reveals that it will be essential we close the data and skills gap to fully unleash its potential.

In conjunction with IoTW promotor we.Conect Global Leaders GmbH, HPE polled more than 850 executives, directors, and line managers on AIs impact on their companies, business processes, and bottom lines. These include double-digit growth in both profits (10.4%) and margin (11%), even as a corresponding number (11%) of the largely European survey population had successfully executed AI implementations.

HPE, which finances and sells networking solutions, found 14% will bring AI projects on-stream in their operations over the next 12 months. In total, more than 60% of those surveyed had engaged with the technology and did so at vectors that span their operations.

When they look at onboarding new technologies, companies often focus more on cost reduction and less on efficiency, Bregulla told journalists at the Berlin Congress Center. Our respondents see AI as a tool for driving differentiation.

Design, operations, maintenance

Thats evident in the spectrum of projects either completed or underway at those companies. Implementation is highest research and development, where cognitive technology combines with 3-D printing to speed prototyping and testing. The predictive analytics that are a hallmark of the technology means operations and maintenance also are experiencing high rates of onboarding.

Support also is reflected in IT budgets with respondents reporting their companies will spend 0.5% of revenues in 2019 on AI projects. In an industry that routinely devotes around 2% of annual income to IT, that reads as a significant commitment.

The success rates for AI projects are very high, said Dale Rickert, the global director for the IOTW conference series, noting 95% of respondents that had completed projects had achieved the targets set for them in the planning stages. So are the levels of satisfaction.

More efficiency

Its no mean feat, given the breadth of projects and the business goals they aim to achieve. These include increasing efficiency, improving customer relationship management (CRM) and adding new features to products and services. Companies also are implementing AI for enterprise resource planning (ERP) and to create the organizational flexibility that enables them to respond as market and business conditions change.

The locations of those projectsranging from data centers to the production lineattests to AIs scope for cutting costs and increasing efficiency in core and peripheral operations. Survey respondents were roughly split on deployments at the edgewhere data is collected and instructions executedand in the datacenter, where the computational and analytical capabilities that underpin machine learning are located.

While around a third of implementations taking place at the edge are happening right now, respondents expect that number to rise to around half by 2030. A 15% increase is forecast for data center deployments in the same timeframe, meaning hybrid strategies to AI will remain the norm as AI projects grow in number.

Legacy IT systems are necessitating this bifurcated approach with almost half of respondents reporting the quantity and quality of the data needed to run AI models as an impediment to implementation. Failings in data governance and enterprise architecture also must be addressed ahead of adoptions, respondents said.

Because algorithms are only as good as the data put through them, the ability to generate clean data across the value chain is something that manufacturers considering AI must address, Bregulla said, calling data a key success factor in scaling AI adoption.

Poll results point to the importance of human capital and overcoming the challenges to AI implementation. Contrary to popular fears about the potential job losses in the rise of the machine, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they expect the technology to create more positions than it eliminates.

Reskilling, upskilling

Because these jobs will revolve less around production technologies and more around data science means demand is high for those with the sets of skills necessary to implement and maintain AI projects. Manufacturers will be compelled to look to outside experts as they reskill and upskill workforces.

The important thing is that manufacturers get AI expertise into the business, Brugella said, who noted that the low number of completed projects indicates that its early days for AI in manufacturing. Our survey shows that the European industrial sector understands the strategic power of AI. Closing the data and skills gap is essential for fully unleashing its potential.

Rick Butler wrote this for Control Engineering Polska. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

KEYWORDS: Artificial intelligence, AI for manufacturing

AI is being explored for many areas of manufacturing.

Retraining can help in use and application of AI.

CONSIDER THIS

How are learning algorithms being applied to your operations?
Algerian border guards have thwarted about 40,000 potential illegal immigrants from reaching Europe this year, Director in charge of the migration issue at the Interior Ministry, Hassan Kacimi said, without alluding to the summary expulsions of thousands of African migrants in harsh desert climate.

According to Kacimi, the majority of people who try to enter Algeria illegally from the southern border are from 23 African countries located in West, Sahel and Central African regions.

The Algerian government has set the challenge of combating illegal immigration as a priority, he said adding that some $5 million have been earmarked in 2018 to fight this scourge.

Algeria has an agreement with Nigers government to deport its citizens by convoy directly to the city of Agadez. The North African nation has handed over to Niger about 10,000 illegal immigrants, Kacimi said.

However, the Associated Press reported in June that Algeria had left more than 13,000 migrants, including pregnant women and children, stranded in the desert without food or water and forced them to walk, sometimes at gunpoint, in the desert.

The UN migration agency IOM has rescued about 3,000 migrants in southern Algeria in the past several months, some arriving into the country and others being expelled.

Human rights watchdogs, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the UN have repeatedly denounced Algeria for its inhumane persecution of African migrants as it continues to round up and expel thousands to Niger in harsh desert climate.

In a report made public last October, Felipe Gonzalez Morales, UN special rapporteur on human rights for migrants said These collective expulsions from Algeria to Niger are in utter violation of international law.

Algeria where the media is not free to report on critical issues has sent more than 35,000 Africans to the borders with Niger without giving them a chance to apply for asylum.

I call on the government of Algeria to abide by its international obligation and halt with immediate effect all collective expulsions of migrants to Niger, said Gonzalez Morales in the report.

Anti-migrant populism in Algeria has been on the rise with some officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahya, openly espousing xenophobic stands and blaming their countrys economic hardship on poor sub-Saharan migrants.
100%

Website maloygupta.wordpress.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 136409 bytes (133.21 kb uncompressed) and 30389 bytes (29.68 kb compressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-03-15, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
We are analyzing the site. Please wait a few seconds..
Improvement of Political System Requires Immediate Reforms

Caption: TI offered its recommendations regarding better governance. Intro: TI Georgia: The judicial system must undergo a real and comprehensive reform.The events of the past several months have clearly demonstrated the systemic problems of governance in Georgia which the civil society organizations had been constantly writing and speaking about. The fact that the government has been ignoring these problems for years has created a situation which threatens the rule of law and the operation of the key institutions in accordance with the Constitution and in the interest of the public. After the first round of the presidential election, the government's representatives have indirectly acknowledged the existence of these problems, stating that they are prepared to take effective steps to regain public trust.We believe that, in order to overcome the current crisis, the government must, without delay, launch reforms with the aim of transforming the key state institutions in accordance with the fundamental principles of democratic governance  transparency, accountability and integrity.Below are the recommendations of Transparency International Georgia with regard to the steps that need to be taken in areas which, for years, have been the subject of research and observations conducted by our organization. While it is difficult to swiftly implement all of these reforms and to achieve corresponding results, there are issues where it is possible to take effective and significant steps in the nearest future. Noteworthy in this respect are the investigation of some of the high-profile cases (in which unlawful actions have allegedly been committed by high-ranking officials), which would indicate that the political will to truly rectify the situation is in place.It is important to establish, under the Prime Minister of Georgia, a group for the planning and coordination of reforms of the Georgian system of governance, with the main goal of using the existing expertise with regard to reforms in Georgia, analysing the situation that has taken shape, defining priorities for reforms, planning and coordinating the implementation of reforms. The group should be composed of the representatives of the executive and legislative branches, political parties and civil society, as well as experts.The extreme concentration of power in the hands of one political party, as well as an attempted state capture by informal groups, undermine the separation of powers and proper functioning of checks and balances between different branches of government.It is important to create a balanced system of governance, strengthen Parliaments role and its oversight function and to ensure effective control over the executive branch in practice. It is important to ensure the involvement of the opposition and groups expressing critical views in this process and to create corresponding legislative guarantees (for example, ceding some of the parliamentary committee chair positions to the opposition, increasing the oppositions role in exercising parliamentary oversight, involving civil society in the decision-making process).It is necessary to facilitate efficient and unbiased operation of independent institutions (the State Audit Office, the Competition Agency, the State Procurement Agency, the National Bank), full implementation of their functions and to strengthen parliamentary oversight over the fulfilment of their recommendations.A comprehensive reform of the electoral system in the nearest future is crucial. Specifically, the mixed system must be replaced by a fully proportional system by the 2020 parliamentary elections.Also, the system of financing political parties must be changed: on the one hand, it should strengthen the parties that enjoy realpublic support and, on the other hand, allow new parties to function.The rules concerning the composition of the electoral administration need to change: in the short run, six electoral entities which had the best results in the proportional elections should have the right to appoint party representatives as commission members, each of them appointing only one member to the commission. In the long run, this rule must be fundamentally reviewed, and the key political parties and other interested groups must be actively involved in this process. Another necessary precondition for holding fair elections is a fundamental reform the Electoral Code so that it can meet contemporary challenges.The judicial system must undergo a real and comprehensive reform. The legislation regulating the judicial system must be refined in order to ensure independence of individual judges and create a balanced system of governance in the judiciary.The government must study the problem of clan rule within the system and take effective steps to eradicate the unhealthy influence of the dominant group of judges. On the one hand, specific legislative amendments (legal regulation of the High Council of Justice, improving the rule of appointing the judges, allowing judges to elect court chairpersons themselves and other) must be implemented and, on the other hand, the government needs to express political will to stop supporting this influential groups of judges (Chinchaladze, Murusidze, Pkhakadze, Kapanadze and others) and to cease using them to promote its own interests.The government needs to begin investigating all alleged crimes related to the judicial system and to complete the ongoing investigation in a timely manner, including a timely and efficient investigation of all possible cases of corruption in the judicial system.The law enforcement bodies must be effectively reformed as rapidly as possible, with the main goal of strengthening their institutional autonomy and their protection from undue political influence, thus facilitating practical implementation of the rule-of-law principle and effective investigation of all possible crimes (including the alleged crimes with possible participation of high-ranking officials or influential politicians).The State Security Service must be reformed. The investigative powers and, especially the authority to investigate corruption-related crimes, must be separated from the Services functions. The Security Service must be subject to comprehensive oversight, and Parliament of Georgia needs to play a decisive role in this regard. It is important to reform the system of covert wiretapping and create a truly independent agency to technically carry out covert surveillance and wiretapping.The Prosecutors Office must undergo a real reform, the rule of appointing the Chief Prosecutor must be changed and the Prosecutors Office must be de-politicized. In addition, it is important to begin the reform of the system of investigation.It is important to ensure that the employees of the law enforcement institutions are accountable which, along with other measures, implies effective investigation of alleged violations committed by them. An independent investigative mechanism needs to be created, effectively separates from the Prosecutors Office and able to efficiently investigate crimes committed by the representatives of law enforcement bodies.The processes that have accompanied the investigation of several high-profile cases have been indicative of the clear flaws existing in the law enforcement system. Noteworthy among them are the Khorava Street incident, assault on General Auditor Lasha Tordia, alleged corruption-related crime in the so-called Omega case, collection and dissemination of personal recordings and other cases. It is important to conduct a comprehensive investigation of all these incidents.It is important to take into consideration the main recommendations made by Parliaments Temporary Investigative Commission regarding the Case of Khorava Street, especially the ones concerning the responsibility of public officials from the law enforcement agencies.A comprehensive investigation of the assault on former Georgian General Auditor Lasha Tordia and the indictment of the perpetrator would prove that the investigative bodies do not shy away from holding influential persons responsible.In order to ensure unbiased investigation of alleged cases of corruption (especially, high-level corruption), efficient enforcement of anti-corruption legislation and successful implementation of anti-corruption policy, the government must consider the possibility of creating an independent anti-corruption agency, taking into account the challenges Georgia is facing today and successful international practice.In order to minimize corruption risks, the public procurement legislation needs to be improved. Significant corruption risks arise from the contracting of companies which are linked to politicians and the persons that have made donations to the ruling party; the lack of transparency in the use of sub-contractors in tenders; the awarding of contracts to the companies owned by persons who were convicted for corruption-related crimes; a large share of non-competitive contracting in public procurement.The steps necessary to implement in practice the main goals of the civil service legislation and reform  the establishment of an independent (de-politicized) and professional civil service  must be taken.The unlawful interference by the ruling party into the work of the civil service and the use of civil servants to achieve the ruling partys electoral goals must stop. The instances of nepotism and favouritism in the process of hiring to the civil service must be eradicated, the meritocratic nature of the process must be ensured. The current practice of hiring by municipal N(N)LPs (Non-Commercial (Non-Entrepreneurial) Legal Entities) which, unlike the rule of appointing civil servants, does not envisage the announcement of competition, must change. The labour rights of civil servants must be firmly guaranteed. The real process of decentralization, including the fiscal one, of the local government must begin in order to provide [local authorities with] sufficient financial resources and property locally in order to exercise their powers.It is important to strengthen the local councils oversight function over executive bodies and entities established by the municipalities.The degree of transparency and accountabilities of municipalities and availability of public information must also be increased.The government must stop its attempts to obstruct and interfere in the work of independent TV channels as well as the unethical criticism and attacks against opposition TV channels and journalists. All unlawful actions against the Rustavi 2 TV Company, aimed at interfering with the editorial policy of the TV company and changing its ownership, must also stop.The problems prevailing in the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) must be comprehensively studied, including with regard to the management of the budget and nepotism. The GPB general director, who is affiliated with the government, must resign, and a new head must be selected through a transparent and open process. In addition, the GPB must be freed from the governmentspressure. The State Audit Office must implement an unscheduled audit of the GPB to detect possible violations and flawed practices within the TV station.In order to improve the quality of the critically low-level school education, such improvement must be the goal of the education policy. The government needs to elaborate budget programmes that have a time frame and are focused on the resolution of problems.The government must elaborate a social policy which would facilitate the development of a stable system of social protection instead of being limited to the increase of the amount of social benefits in the run up to elections.The legislation regulating the economic environment must be amended by means of an inclusive process. Any significant changes must be accompanied by the preliminary research concerning regulatory impact assessment, prepared by independent persons; prior to making a final decision, discussions with participation of interested parties must be held. It is important to ensure the stability and predictability of the business-related legislation, which would facilitate long-term economic development. The government should refrain from populist legislative initiatives which not only hamper the work of the operating businesses but might create obstacles to the inflow of investments in the future.Effective and impartial operation of the Competition Agency must be ensured in order to prevent the government from unlawfully favouring individual companies and harming their competitors.A commercial disputes chamber within the judiciary branch must become operational as soon as possible with the goal of restoring investors trust in Georgias judicial system.
Lelectricite est devenue, de nos jours, un besoin dune importance majeure, et cela, dans tous les domaines dactivite. Que ce soit dans les maisons ou []
Zero emissions is the cruise industrys long term ambition, both for water and air, and not only at sea, but also in port, as profiled in the 2019 Zero Emissions Target Report by Cruise Industry News, available for free download.

It may have started with wastewater discharge regulations being introduced in Alaska and the Baltic some 20 years ago, followed by air emissions restrictions in ports on the West Coast, leading to the first installations of shorepower and testing of scrubbers.

Since 2015, socalled SOx Emission Control Areas established by the IMO have restricted the sulfur content in marine fuels used to 0.1 percent, and by 2020 IMO regulations puts a global sulfur cap at 0.5 percent for marine fuels (outside of ECAs), compared to a 3.5 percent limit today, which has been in effect since 2012; it was 4.5 percent before that.

In order to comply, ships will have to operate on the low sulfur fuel or, if running on heavy fuel oil, use exhaust gas cleaning equipment (scrubbers), or alternative fuels, including LNG.

New ships also have to comply with IMO Tier III NOx restrictions in ECA areas and Tier II everywhere else.

Next comes the 2020 and 2025 Energy Efficiency Index requirements that new ships must be 20 percent and 30 percent more energy efficient, respectively, than a 2015 baseline.

New ships are well on their way to meeting these targets already, resulting from more energy efficient powerplants, HVAC systems, lighting, galleys, hull forms and hull lubrication, and more, in addition to energy management plans and more efficient operations. Advanced wastewater treatment systems cleans the discharges into the sea. New developments also promise to turn garbage into energy that can be burned as fuel rather than being incinerated and going up the funnel.

Read Now: 2019 Zero Emissions Target Report by Cruise Industry News.

At the same time, port communities are becoming more concerned about air emissions from cruise ships when in port. Norwegian authorities have gone as far as to declare that their heritage fjords, that are popular with cruise ships, shall be emission free by 2025.

Longer term, the IMO has set 2050 as the target date for a 50 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from a 2008 baseline and that will require more than low sulfur fuel and scrubbers.

Thus, the cruise industry is actively engaged in developing technologies and fuels to reduce emissions both at sea and in port. So far, the focus is on LNG as the next fuel, but work is also underway advancing fuel cell and energy storage technologies and fuels such as hydrogen, methanol and ammonia for ship applications, as well as solar and wind power.

The path to zero emissions ships may be long, but the technology insiders are confident the industry will get there.

Read Now: 2019 Zero Emissions Target Report by Cruise Industry News.
Google might not be immune to border gate protocol (BGP) hijacking and leaks.

On Monday, Google services went down for over an hour as internet traffic for some G Suite and Google search users was rerouted to Nigeria, China, and Russia. Internet research firm ThousandEyes, which suspects nation-state involvement, called the traffic misdirection the worst affecting Google that it had seen. Googles internet traffic was rerouted to the government-owned China Telecom, as well as the Russian internet provider TransTelecom and the Nigerian ISP MainOne.

Alex Henthorn-Iwane, an executive at ThousandEyes, said told The Associated Press the hijacking may have been "a war-game experiment" by a nation-state.

"This incident at a minimum caused a massive denial of service to G Suite and Google Search. However, this also put valuable Google traffic in the hands of ISPs in countries with a long history of internet surveillance. Overall, ThousandEyes detected over 180 prefixes affected by this route leak, which covers a vast scope of Google services," ThousandEyes said.

Google, however, said it has no reason to believe it was a malicious hijacking attempt. And Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince told Ars Technica that it was likely a big, ugly screw-up.

Other cybersecurity news:

U.S. aligns with Russia and China, saying no to more trust and security in cyberspace

Although 51 countries and hundreds of tech corporations (pdf) such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft supported the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace (pdf), the United States did not sign it  nor did Russia, China, Iran, Israel or the U.K., according to Wired. The initiative was primarily aimed at improving the internets security, stopping private companies from hacking back, and preventing malicious cyber activities and interference with electoral processes.

The White Company'  a new, state-sponsored APT group discovered

The Cylance Threat Intelligence team says it has discovered a new, highly sophisticated state-sponsored APT group. It was dubbed The White Company, as the group takes many elaborate measures to whitewash all signs of their activity and evade attribution.

Like other sophisticated government-backed cyber-espionage groups, The White Company is capable of developing malware and exploits made specifically for targets. However, its profile does not resemble that of the U.S., Five Eyes, or India  nor any known Russian, Chinese, North Korean, Iranian, or Israeli groups.

Cylance said the new threat actors have access to zero-day exploit developers, a complex and automated exploit system, and the capacity for advanced reconnaissance of targets. It is the first threat actor seen by Cylance to effectively evade no less than eight different antivirus products  Sophos, ESET, Kaspersky, BitDefender, Avira, Avast!, AVG, and Quick Heal  before turning them against their owners by deliberately surrendering to them on specific dates in order to distract, delay, and divert the targets resources.

To escape attribution, The White Company had four different ways within an exploit to check if the malware was on an investigators system, could clean up Word and launch a decoy document to reduce suspicion, and could completely delete itself from a targets system. Its malware had five different obfuscation techniques, with the payload buried within nesting-doll layers, and used compromised or otherwise un-attributable network infrastructure for command and control.

More details, such as the exploit kits, malware and infrastructure used by The White Company, as well as details on the year-long espionage campaign, Operation Shaheen, waged against the Pakistani government and military can be found in Cylances 138-page report.
As a whole, the restaurant industry in Connecticut is a healthy one, with thousands of new locations newly open or on the way. But for individual proprietors, even in busy downtowns with plenty of potential customers, it can be an unforgiving trade.

Connecticuts stock of eateries has increased to nearly 8,000 with continued growth slated, according to the state Restaurant Association, which projects that by 2027 the industry will grow by roughly 7 percent. But along with that growth comes a large number of new restaurants every year that will fail to make it past their first year.

Its a very difficult time in the restaurant business throughout the entire region, said Kelvin Ayala, owner of Moes Burger Joint and chair of the Downtown Bridgeport Merchants Association. In general, the restaurant business is very volatile anyway, so the mortality rate of restaurants is really high, and thats in all markets.

Finding foot traffic

Plenty of potential restaurateurs have promising ideas, even as many find that opening and running their own place comes with a laundry list of challenges.

In Bridgeports case, parking and accessibility have proven to be headaches for many, along with foot traffic that hasnt met local expectations and increased rents.

It makes people go out of business and makes customers not come down here. That doesnt help people stay in business, said Val Fernandes of Funchal Cafe, which has been a part of the local restaurant scene since 2010.

In that time, Bridgeport has seen a number of downtown establishments come and go, including Barnum Publick Houses, Amici Miei Cafe and more. While those spaces dont stay vacant for long, the obstacles to longevity remain.

For those who have been able to stick it out, being accessible to residents as well as visitors has played a crucial role in their success.

Theyve adopted us, and we try to keep the prices moderate and we try to treat everybody with regard, said Ralph n Richs co-owner Rich Ndini, who acknowledged that having their own parking lot played a crucial role in the eaterys tenure, which stands at 28 years and counting.

In lieu of more foot traffic, some restaurants have opted to use different methods to draw in business.

Now youre seeing a lot more GrubHub and DoorDash and UberEats and those types of platforms to drive traffic because the customers are no longer coming through the front door, Ayala said. But that comes at a cost.

Coming and going

Downtown Stamford continues to see noticeable restaurant turnover. Factory Bar & Grill, at 261 Main St., closed last month, only four months after its debut.

They were delayed in opening for a few months, and then it felt like they never really gained traction once they did open, said Michael Marchetti, owner of the neighboring Columbus Park Trattoria, at 205 Main St., and president of the Stamford Tables downtown restaurant association. Its unfortunate to see another dark storefront. We were excited about having them open.

Neighboring restaurateurs said they hoped another establishment could make the space work. Factory succeeded McFaddens Saloon, which closed in early 2017.

We hope that someone comes in with the same enthusiasm they brought to the neighborhood, said Victor Mathieu, co-owner of Peruvian restaurant Fiesta on Main, Factorys next-door neighbor, at 249 Main St. We will always be welcoming to newcomers to the block, as we were welcomed a little over a year ago by the established group that is there now.

The restaurant row around Columbus Park has seen this year a number of closings including Laylas Falafel at 245 Main St., Aria Restaurant at 1033 Washington Blvd., and Aguapanelas at 84 W. Park Place. Teenas Apizza moved, in June, into the Laylas space, while an Indian restaurant, Adyar Ananda Bhavan, plans to open in the building that was occupied by Aria.

Keeping up with the times

Shifting trends in what customers are looking for have also added to the mix.

Greenwich has seen encouraging changes in its restaurant scene, said Marcia OKane, president and CEO of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce.

She cited the recent arrival of several establishments that aim to serve healthier fast-casual fare, a list that includes Myx, on West Elm Street, in downtown Greenwich; Skinny Pizza, on Greenwich Avenue; SoBol, on East Putnam Avenue, in the towns Cos Cob section; and Cava, a block from Greenwich Library.

As people desire more nutritious lunches, we would expect this trend to continue, OKane said.

Along the Washington Street restaurant row in South Norwalk, eateries have taken root in some storefronts while flipping in rapid succession in others.

Only this month, Cask Republic closed quietly after a 12-year run including its prior incarnation as The Ginger Man under parent company SKAL Restaurant Group, which recently opened Evaritos Mexican Kitchen & Bar around the corner.

After a brief run in 2014 for Guvnors Brewery on Washington Street, Hell or High Water took over the space in April 2017 with a rotating menu of beers brewed both on site and sourced from other craft breweries in the region.

The venture lasting only six months, however, with the pub space snagged by Iron Brewing, which is now hitting its one-year anniversary in South Norwalk under brewers John Commander, Adam Letize and Shane Nunes. At the time, Commander told Hearst Connecticut Media we figured between the three of us, we could figure it out.

In Redding, the Georgetown Saloon is now undergoing renovations under a new proprietor who has yet to announce plans. It marks the fourth attempt in the span of six years to create a successful venue at the Main Street storefront, even as other local establishments like Milestone, the Redding Beer Co. and the Wire Mill Saloon & Barbecue have gotten off the ground; and others like Lombardis Trattoria and Rancho Alegre have shown staying power.

This story includes contributions from Paul Schott and Alexander Soule.

Jordan.grice @hearstmediact.com
CHICO, Butte County  The death toll from the Camp Fire, already the worst California has ever seen in a wildfire, grew by six to 48 on Tuesday, officials announced at an evening news conference.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said he has requested 100 National Guard troops to help with the search for human remains. The sheriff said he wants to canvass the area for bodies as quickly as possible, so that when the fire area is deemed safe to lift evacuation orders, residents can re-enter.

Were going to do everything we possibly can to search for remains, Honea said, warning that there may be cases where residents are allowed to return to an area where officials may have missed remains. He said in that case, residents should alert officials immediately.

The Camp Fire grew to 130,000 acres and was 35 percent contained as of Tuesday evening.

It had destroyed a total of 8,817 structures  including 7,600 single family homes and 260 commercial buildings, officials said. Officials said 5,615 personnel were fighting the fire; 52,000 people remained evacuated in and around Paradise and 13,085 people remained sheltered.

The conditions in Butte County are extremely dry, officials said. They said 212 days have passed since it has rained in the area.

Honea did not provide updated number of people who are missing, explaining that officials are trying to clear the list of people who already have been located.

This has been a fairly hectic day for us, Honea said.

With the cadaver dogs and search and rescue teams still scouring the obliterated structures in search for human remains, its still uncertain when property owners will be allowed to return home.

Amid the devastation and tragedy were glimmers of good news on the firefighting front, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Joshua Bischof. For the first time in several days visability was good enough to allow fixed-wing aircraft to swoop in and deliver retardants around Bloomer Mountain and an area around Cherokee.

Aviva Braun, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that no rain is expected in the next week but its possible that there could be some precipitation later in November.

Were going to continue having dry conditions tonight, tomorrow and through the week, she said. Were looking at conditions becoming more favorable for potential rain around Thanksgiving.

She said that air quality will continue to be poor as the lighter winds will allow the smoke to settle in the mornings.

While stories of personal sacrifice and neighborly heroics have been widespread in the five days since the blaze started, not all Butte County residents have risen to the occasion, according to law enforcement sources. At least six arrests have been made by Butte County sheriffs deputies in cases of suspected looting. Two intruders were arrested after officers found them holed up in someones home with handgun police suspect was taken from a different home in Paradise. Another pair of men were found with a stolen laptop, and a man and a woman were pulled over in Chico in a motor home that was suspected to have been stolen from the evacuated area.

Needless to say Ive warned people, Honea said. If youre in these evacuated areas when you shouldnt be and youre violating the law and taking advantage of these citizens who are displaced, we are going to stop you.

Honea also warned of price gouging, urging Butte County residents to call the district attorney if they feel that a local business or individual is exploiting the tragedy by charging higher than usual prices for goods or services.

Price gougers are in the same category as looters, Honea said.

Lisa Almaguer, communications manager for the Butte County Health Department, said that the evacuation order is in place for a good reason  not only are firefighters still battling the blaze but the fire-ravaged territory is far from safe. There is no power or water or phone service in most of the evacuated precincts.

Well water could be contaminated; ash and soil toxic. Any food left in a refrigerator would be spoiled by now. People attempting to return to their destroyed or damaged properties could encounter collapsed septic tanks, crumbing walls, or be injured by falling limbs or chimneys. Piles of ashes or charred wood that appear to be cool could still contain burning embers.

Todd Derum, the Cal Fire incident commander, said the news was mixed on Tuesday  hardly the end of the historic ordeal but still, a rare note of optimism after five days of devastation that has forever changed Butte County.

We feel were making good progress under the circumstances, he said. But were still in a hell of a firefight.

Between putting out hot spots within the massive perimeter of the wildfire, including homes and stands of trees that are still ablaze, and preventing the fire from spreading farther into new ground, its a lot to do, Derum added.

Kurtis Alexander and J.K. Dineen are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com and jdineen@sfchronicle.com
BRIDGEPORT  During his decade in the legislature, state Rep. Ezequiel Santiago has not been a publicity hound.

I like to think of myself as quietly effective, Santiago said this week.

That should change in the 2019 General Assembly session that begins in January. Having aced last weeks elections, Bridgeports legislative delegation  all Democrats and all, save for state Senator-elect Dennis Bradley, incumbents  met Monday to begin preparing for next year.

One of their first decisions was to choose Santiago as their chairman.

One of my tasks is to make sure we work together as a team  that the Senators and House (members) are on the same page and know what each other is doing so we can support each others efforts, Santiago said.

The chairmans role, Santiago said, also means he will be meeting more frequently with legislative leadership and generally being more visible, more up front, out there in the public eye.

At 45, Santiago is not only a local Democratic party insider, but was influenced by two veterans of Bridgeport politics  his father, Americo Santiago, and step-father Mitch Robles.

State Rep. Christopher Rosario said Santiago is a good consensus builder and always willing to lend an ear and listen.

Rosario has been one of Bridgeports more outspoken lawmakers. Asked about Santiagos ability to be more of a public figure, Rosario said, In this role, he has to be. Were working on some major pieces of legislation that will change the future of the city. Its not time to shy away from the spotlight.

Whether it is legislation to build a casino in Bridgeport, jump-starting a stalled proposal for an East Side train station or boosting the citys share of education aid, Rosario said, Ezequiel needs to be in that room brokering deals with legislators and incoming Gov. Ned Lamont.

And he wont be alone, Rosario said. Ill be right there, nudging him. Were all going to help him.

That includes Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. Santiago works for the mayor as a special projects coordinator in the Public Facilities Department.

Bridgeports delegation has increasingly been exercising its political clout. Last year, for example, with help from New Havens politicians, Rosario, Santiago and their Bridgeport colleagues in the House forced a vote on the controversial casino bill.

The 2019 session could see bigger roles for the delegation as a whole, and its individual members. State Rep. Steven Stafstrom is interested in becoming a chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Rosario would like to be a Transportation Committee Chairman.

Also, Lamont has 22,973 reasons to pay attention to Bridgeports legislators  the votes cast in Connecticuts largest city that helped the candidate from Greenwich triumph last week over Republican Bob Stefanowski.

Lamont also enjoyed early and strong support from Bridgeport state Sen. Marilyn Moore, and even considered her as his running mate for lieutenant governor before ultimately tapping Susan Bysiewicz.

Asked if he believes Lamont owes Bridgeport, Santiago said: I really do. ... This is another instance of us being there when (state Democrats) needed us. We really want to make sure they recognize that and act in kind. We can definitely improve our circumstances with some state assistance.
BRIDGEPORT  Forget about the $250,000 the school board thought the city owed it.

The district  and the city  suddenly have a deeper hole to fill due to an error made by local finance officials in calculating state aid for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

City Budget Director Nestor Nkwo and Marlene Siegel, chief financial officer for the school district both misinterpreted the total education grant passed by the General Assembly, officials say.

In May, the state announced a Education Cost Sharing Grant that for Bridgeport rose by more than $1.6 million. In July, a state Alliance Grant was announced that was $1.1 million more than the year before.

The information was interpreted at the city and board level to mean that total budget would increase by that amount plus original amount, Siegel said on Tuesday.

Only it wasnt. The May amount represented both parts of the districts increase. Instead of a $2.7 million increase from the state, the district and city officials learned late last week they are to get an increase of about $1.5 million.

The news came in a letter from Kathy Demsey, chief financial officer for the State Department of Education, giving municipalities updated education revenue estimates.

Peter Yazbak, a state Department of Education spokesman, said no other municipality has come forward indicating they had made a similar misinterpretation.

It is the only one I have heard of, he said on Wednesday.

Av Harris, a spokesman for Mayor Joseph Ganim maintains that from the way the budget read and was presented, it was easy to interpret it the way Nestor and Marlene did. Both are veterans of the state budgeting process. Nkwo has been in the role 2016 and Siegel since 2012.

It could have been a little clearer, Harris said.

For the school district, it is a case of good news/bad news.

The city may have gotten nearly $1.2 million less in revenue than anticipated, but it has already transferred $680,049 of it into district accounts. Under state law, cant take it back. That amount also becomes a permanent part of the citys portion of the school districts $248 million operating budget.

The citys share now stands at $65.5 million  or 26.4 percent, according to Siegel. Under the states Minimum Budget Requirement the city cant lower its contribution from one year to the next.

All fall, the district has been trying to get the city to make good on a City Council commitment to the MBR that school officials said fell $250,000 short. That now becomes a moot point.

The district still has a $485,000 loss to absorb, but Siegel told the school board she already has a plan to fill the gap. A district that has been forced to cut millions for three consecutive years, Siegel said her plan includes applying some additional grant and budget accruals to the wound as well as any unaccounted for savings from the districts shift to the Connecticut Partnership Insurance plan.

It is disappointing ... but we should be able to absorb it without major impact on district operations, she told the school board on Tuesday.

The city, in addition to not having to account for the $250,000, also no longer has to transfer a $235,000 state grant the district received for taking in displaced students from Puerto Rico and other hurricane victims. That too was reportedly folded into the original ECS fund.

In the grand scheme of things it is not the biggest hole to fill, Harris said, He said the city will reach out to its legislative delegation to make sure the next budget is presented in a clearer fashion.
BRIDGEPORT - A local man was sentenced Wednesday to three and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting two young sisters he contacted through Facebook.

Raymond Ortiz, 47, of Ruth Street, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Frank Iannotti to five years, suspended after he serves three and a half years and followed by 10 years probation.

The judge also ordered Ortiz to register as a sex offender.

Senior Assistant States Attorney Tatiana Messina had urged the judge to impose a 5-year prison term, the maximum sentence for the charges, on Ortiz citing the seriousness of the offense.

Police said they were contacted last year by New York City police regarding a sex assault complaint by the parents of the two girls, aged 8 and 12, who live in the Bronx.

Police said earlier in 2017, the girls had been contacted on Facebook by Ortiz. During a video chat session with the girls, police said Ortiz posted a video of him masturbating.

In response, police said the younger girl messaged Ortiz, Dont do that. My dad says Im not supposed to see that.

Police said the girls father later reported the incident to New York City police and handed over a copy of the video he had made from the Facebook message.

In August 2017, police said the two girls were attended a family barbecue here when they were approached by Ortiz who offered them cookies if they would walk with him.

Once the girls were out of sight of their parents, police said Ortiz exposed himself to the girls and touched them through their clothes.

The girls then ran and told their parents what had happened.

Police said they later identified Ortiz from the Facebook video he had sent the girls.
SAARBRUCKEN, Germany - She is the successor of Angela Merkel's dreams, one who must remind the German chancellor of a younger version of herself.

A chronically underestimated woman in a male-dominated field. A listener rather than a grandstander. A builder of consensus at a time of polarization.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's greatest asset as she positions herself to become Germany's next leader is that she is widely regarded as Merkel's choice for the job. That is also her biggest liability.

The race to be crowned chancellor-in-waiting will culminate early next month in a vote at the ruling Christian Democratic Union's annual convention. It is fast shaping up as a referendum on Merkel's 13-year run, with the chancellor's legacy and the direction of Europe's largest economy on the line.

If Kramp-Karrenbauer is chosen, Merkelism will live on in Germany and Merkel will have a shot at an exit that is gradual and graceful, potentially finishing her full fourth term as chancellor before retiring in 2021.

But success for either of the other main contenders would set Germany on a different course: an end to Merkel-style moderation in favor of ideologically committed conservatism, and a potentially messy ejection of the woman who has been one of Europe's most consequential modern leaders.

It is not clear which way the party's 1,001 delegates will swing. Merkel long held unquestioned dominance of the CDU. But that has crumbled amid backlash to her 2015 decision to allow in more than 1 million asylum seekers.

With the party's poll numbers sagging and internal discontent brewing, Merkel announced late last month that she would not run for another term as the party's leader. Along with Kramp Karrenbauer, two Merkel critics from the party's right flank - former CDU parliamentary leader Friedrich Merz and Health Minister Jens Spahn - quickly jumped into a race that is highly likely, although not certain, to determine who will lead Germany.

Merkel, 64, has not officially endorsed a candidate. But Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56 - whose tongue-twister of a name, even for Germans, often yields to the simpler AKK or "mini-Merkel" - is widely perceived to be the chancellor's pick. Merkel named her the party's general secretary in the spring, the same position that began her own rise to the top.

Merkel's blessing is, even supporters concede, a mixed one.

"People who basically want continuity but with a different face will choose Annegret," said Karl Rauber, a close ally of Kramp-Karrenbauer's within the CDU who has known her for decades. "The problem is that people don't want things to continue as they are. They want changes."

Polls of CDU members show Merz and Kramp-Karrenbauer running neck and neck, with Spahn a distant third.

Launching her campaign last week in Berlin, Kramp-Karrenbauer declared the "end of an era" defined by Merkel - and walked a characteristically pragmatic line in her pitch for how to follow it.

"Such an era cannot be simply continued or reversed," she said. "The decisive question is what you do with what you have inherited."

Should Kramp-Karrenbauer win the CDU vote, it would cap a rise nearly as unlikely as Merkel's head-spinning ascent from unknown East German physicist to leader of Germany's dominant postwar party in just 10 years.

Kramp-Karrenbauer has had little experience in the rough-and-tumble of German national politics. Instead, she has forged nearly her entire career in the tiny western region of Saarland, which both literally and figuratively sits about as far as one can get in Germany from Berlin. With just 1 million people, it is the country's second smallest state. Even its biggest city, Saarbrucken, has the coziness of a remote provincial capital - which is exactly what it is.

"Can she handle the transition from the Saarland stage to the Berlin stage?" said Daniel Kirch, chief political correspondent at the region's major newspaper, the Saarbrucker Zeitung. "That's the million-dollar question."

Within Saarland, where she served for seven years as state premier, she has legions of admirers and few enemies. Even her political opponents credit her with a consensual style of governance.

Still, few say they ever regarded her as someone with the makings of a future chancellor.

"She's very humble and very nice and you wouldn't necessarily think she's ambitious," Kirch said. "But you don't get to where she is without being very ambitious."

The second-youngest among seven siblings, Kramp-Karrenbauer grew up in Puttlingen, a modest city near the French border that was hard-hit in her youth by the closure of coal mines where her ancestors had toiled for generations.

The family was devoutly Catholic and conservative. Her mother managed the home while her father served as principal at a school for children with developmental disabilities. (Merkel's father was a Lutheran pastor at a home for the disabled.)

Kramp-Karrenbauer would passionately debate politics with her father, although she shared many of his views, said Hans-Guenther Kramp, an older brother. She was studious and sang in the church choir - while dabbling in a taste for slightly harder-edged music, including metal band AC/DC.

"She would fight with our younger brother about whose band was the best," said Kramp, who, like three of his four surviving siblings, still lives in Puttlingen. "But she would always let him finish his arguments before it was decided that both bands were equally good.

"She does this in politics, too. It's her virtue."

She also can be resolute when principle is at stake, say those who have known her longest.

When the local branch of the German Communist Party invited a Soviet official to Puttlingen's city hall in the late 1970s, Kramp-Karrenbauer and fellow young CDU activists built a Berlin Wall replica in front of the building - forcing the official into an embarrassing maneuver around it on his way inside, said Rudolf Muller, a former mayor.

As a young woman on Puttlingen's city council, Kramp-Karrenbauer was initially greeted with skepticism in a chamber dominated by older men, Muller said. But she won them over, pushing through a highly successful program to help laid-off workers.

"She really listened, and only spoke when she had something to say," said Muller, who led the city for 27 years. "It took time to convince them, but she did."

In a conservative party, some were still thrown by how she balanced the demands of her career and motherhood. She accepted an interim appointment to the German parliament only days after one of her sons was born and appeared at debates with a baby in her arms. Her husband, a mining engineer, took leave from his job to care for their three children.

Petra Berg, a leader of the center-left Social Democrats in Saarland, said Kramp-Karrenbauer was not taken as seriously as she should have been by male rivals. Merkel must also know that feeling. But Berg said the similarities between the two go far beyond gender.

"It's too simplistic to say they have a connection because they're both women," she said. "The fact is, they have very similar personalities. That's what ties them."

Like Merkel, Kramp-Karrenbauer is reluctant to rush into a decision, preferring to wait until she has considered all available data and spoken with everyone involved.

It is an approach that has served her well in Saarland, where one of her first tasks after rising to premier was to trim 10 percent from a cash-strapped state budget.

What might have been political poison became the path to a pair of decisive reelection victories, with Kramp-Karrenbauer convening roundtable meetings to agree collectively on how to mete out the cuts. Participants credited her with a process that was fair, even when it was painful.

"She's not like other politicians in those situations. She's very clear," said Volker Linneweber, a former president of the University of Saarland. "She told me, 'I don't promise anything I can't deliver.' "

Although Kramp-Karrenbauer is on the left of her party economically, she has appealed to the right on cultural issues. She opposed same-sex marriage when the parliament approved it last year. And she advocated a tough approach to asylum seekers, including mandatory age tests for those claiming to be minors.

But it is unclear whether that will be enough for the conservative wing of a party that hungers for a return to ideological roots after more than a decade camped out in the center.

On refugee politics, in particular, Kramp-Karrenbauer has not gone as far as many conservatives would like. She has stood by Merkel's decision to keep the country's borders open in 2015-16, while saying, as Merkel does, that the influx should not be repeated.

"I have a lot of respect for AKK, and really value her both personally and as a politician," said Stefan Rabel, who leads the CDU in the Saarland city of Volkingen and favors a more restrictive approach to immigration. "But after so many years of Merkel, there's appetite in the party for real change."

---

Video Embed Code

Video: After 18 years leading the Christian Democratic Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Oct. 29 to step down as chairwoman. Here's what led to that call.(Griff Witte,Rick Noack,Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Embed code:
LONDON - After months of struggle and delay, feints and setbacks, Brexit negotiators for the United Kingdom and the European Union have finally produced a draft agreement that sets out how Britain will exit the political and economic union it helped create a generation ago.

The withdrawal deal, a technical tome written in euro-legalize and said to exceed 400 pages, will be discussed at an emergency cabinet meeting called by Prime Minister Theresa May for Wednesday afternoon.

May's spokesman said cabinet ministers have been invited to begin reading the documents ahead of the meeting, where "next steps will be considered" over Britain's exit from the world's biggest and richest free trade zone.

What will happen at the cabinet meeting is unknown - although May's supporters say the prime minister would not be presenting the draft deal if she didn't think she could muscle it through.

It is possible, however, that some cabinet members, finally faced with the text of May's softer, slower-moving compromise deal, will balk - and resign or seek delay or press for a return to the negotiating table.

Yet if the cabinet endorses May's proposed withdrawal terms, the next step would be a Brexit summit attended by leaders of the European Union's remaining 27 member states in Brussel later this month, with November 24 and 25 penciled in as possible dates.

Following approval by the European leaders, the treaty would go to the British Parliament, where it would face an uncertain fate.

The Telegraph newspaper reported that there could be two cabinet meetings on Wednesday: "one to present the deal and another to approve or reject it."

Whatever happens, this deal is just the first stage of the lengthy process of ratifying the Britain's withdrawal from the EU. To follow are negotiations over Britain's future trade, security and economic relations with Europe - including side-deals about immigration levels.

For the past two years, the greatest debate over Brexit has not been waged between Brussels and London, but within May's fractious Conservative Party, composed of "leavers" and "remainers."

Hardline Brexiteers have pushed for a decisive split from European bureaucrats and courts, from EU rules and regulations, while others, led by May, have sought a softer Brexit, a bundle of compromise that keeps Britain more closely aligned with Europe, to better protect the British economy.

On Wednesday, arch Brexiteer Boris Johnson, who quit his job as foreign secretary over May's proposals in July, told the BBC that he hoped the Cabinet would "chuck it out."

"It's vassal state stuff. For the first time in a 1,000 years, this place, this parliament will not have a say over the laws that govern this country," Johnson said.

Johnson and his allies have said May's Brexit would leave Britain "a rule taker" versus "a rule maker," subject to following Brussels laws for trade, without having much say in how they are written.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a high profile Brexiteer, told the BBC: "White flags have gone up all over Whitehall. It is a betrayal of the Union."

The leaders of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which helps to prop up May's minority government, sounded skeptical about the deal.

Sammy Wilson, the DUP's Brexit spokesman, told the BBC that they will be reading the agreement closely to ensure that Northern Ireland isn't treated differently from the rest of the U.K. "The rumors we are hearing so far would indicate that that's not going to be the case," he said.

Details of the draft withdrawal were not released to the public on Tuesday.

How to avoid the return to a hard border between Northern Ireland, which will remain in the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of EU, has been one of the toughest issues facing the negotiators.

The Europeans have insisted that in the case that a future free-trade deal is not secured, Northern Ireland should remain in the European customs union. May has said that is not acceptable because it undercuts the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.

May has previously said that it would be either her withdrawal deal, or no deal at all, which many think would trigger severe economic disruption. But some of her critics said there were more options to explore.

The leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "If the PM's 'deal' satisfies no-one and can't command a majority, we mustn't fall for her spin that the UK crashing out of EU without a deal is then inevitable - instead we should take the opportunity to get better options back on the table."

Most lawmakers in the opposition Labour party are expected to vote against the plan if and when it reaches Parliament. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said, "We will look at the details of what has been agreed when they are available. But from what we know of the shambolic handling of these negotiations, this is unlikely to be a good deal for the country."

- - -

The Washington Post's Quentin Aries in Brussels and Karla Adam in London contributed to this report.
Sri Lanka's top court suspended an order by President Maithripala Sirisena to dissolve the island nation's parliament and call a snap general election after prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe mounted a legal challenge against his ousting.

The Supreme Court granted interim relief until Dec. 7, staying the Presidential notice suspending parliament and halting preparations for the poll. The court's order on Tuesday means that Sri Lanka's parliament will reconvene on Wednesday as earlier decided by the president. He was acting in response to mounting pressure to resolve the political crisis gripping the nation since his surprise dismissal of Wickremesinghe on Oct. 26 and suspension of parliament the next day.

"We will be in parliament tomorrow and we will show the majority, that we are the legitimate government in Sri Lanka," Wickremesinghe told reporters in Colombo following the court's decision.

Sirisena on Friday dissolved the 225-seat parliament and called for elections on Jan. 5 and a new legislature to reconvene on Jan. 17. He fired Wickremesinghe, who served since 2015 as prime minister in a unity government with the president, and attempted to install Sri Lanka's former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister.

The call for a fresh election came after it seemed unlikely Sirisena could prove a majority of lawmakers to support his newly appointed prime minister. The move drew strong international condemnation and stalled about $2 billion worth of projects and grants.

Sirisena said in a statement on Sunday that he dissolved parliament because he feared the eruption of "widespread violence" when the house was due to reconvene Wednesday. He also referred to allegations of bribery by saying members of the legislature now had "price tags" on them.

On Sunday, Rajapaksa, who was previously a member of Sirisena's party, announced he was joining the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, or People's Front, the party he created to defeat the Sirisena and Wickremesinghe coalition in local elections earlier this year. State-run media said the two leaders were planning to fight the election as an alliance.

Regional powers China and India have been watching the events closely while the U.S said Sirisena's moves jeopardized Sri Lanka's economic progress and international reputation.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- GAC New Energy Automobile Co.,Ltd (GAC NE) plans to launch the second-generation Gac Electric Platform (GEP) that boasts more space, lower power consumption and stronger performance, which will be put into operation in 2019, according to the report from the automakers new NEV strategy launching ceremony on November 13.







Gu Huinan, general manager of GAC NE, said that the company aims to achieve the production transformation from the 1.0 era to the 2.0 era, rolling out no less than two new models per year in the future based on the second-generation GEP.

The EV maker teams up with CATL to develop a new ternary-lithium battery with an energy density increased to 170-180Wh/g and improved safety performance, which is said to offer a range up to 600km in EV-only mode.

GAC NE is about to unveil an all-new BEV (battery electric vehicle) coupe code-named A26 that boasts a range up to 600km at the forthcoming Auto Guangzhou 2018. The A26 is likely to go on sale in April next year. Besides, the automaker plans to launch its second 2.0 era model between September and October in 2019.

As for the layout in vehicle intelligentization, GAC NE revealed that the models to be exhibited at the Auto Guangzhou 2018 will carry the L2 autonomous driving system and the L3 autonomous vehicles will be deployed next year. In addition, the system-wide OTA software capability will be added to future models.

The GAC intelligent NEV industrial park officially started construction in September, 2017 whose first phase with a planned annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles will be completed by the end of December and begin operation in 2019. The new plant is going to manufacture the A26 BEVs first and then introduce other all-electric car and SUV models covering a wide range of segments.

Moreover, the EV maker is about to unveil a new application at the Auto Guangzhou, which can provide consumers with such tailor-made services as charging, customer information management, on-line demonstration for car purchase intention, etc.
WASHINGTON - Connecticuts all-Democratic delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives have supported Rep. Nancy Pelosi as their leader in the past, but now some of those loyalists are giving that support a second thought.

Victorious House Democrats returned to Washington D.C. this week and were immediately embroiled an interparty fight over whether Pelosi should lead them as House Speaker in the next Congress.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-2nd District, is clearly in Pelosis corner, drumming up votes for her among fellow House Democrats.

Im talking to members, DeLauro said.

DeLauro has, for several Congresses, been appointed by Pelosi as co-chair of the Democratic Steering Committee, a powerful panel that, among other things, decides who will be the top Democrat on each of the committees in the U.S. House. Because Democrats now hold the majority in the House, those panels will be controlled by the party in the next Congress.

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, however, is not yet ready to declare his support.

I havent had a chance to talk to (Pelosi) yet, Courtney said. I want to talk to her and hear what she says.

Publicly, Pelosi, 78, has shown little concern about the faction organizing against her. Privately, shes been working the phones trying to lock down enough support.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, said he and more than 60 other members of a centrist group of Democrats called the New Democrat Coalition, which includes Courtney and retiring Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, also want to hear from Pelosi about her agenda for the next Congress before they make a decision on whom they will support.

I havent made any commitments on any level, of House leadership, Himes said.

Himes hopes to chair the House Intelligence Committee in the next Congress. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is the highest-ranking Democrat on that committee, which is expected to reopen the investigation into Russian election interference during the 2016 campaign and conduct other probes of the Trump administration next year.

However, the intelligence panel is a special congressional committee whose membership is term limited and Schiff would need a waiver - from the House Speaker  to stay on the panel and become its chairman.

Meanwhile, the newest member of Connecticuts delegation has said conflicting things about Pelosi.

I would not vote for Nancy Pelosi, said Congresswoman-elect Jahana Hayes, who will represent Connecticuts 5th District in the next Congress, during a debate this summer.

But now, after Pelosi donated to Hayes campaign and her lieutenant, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., traveled to Connecticut to campaign for Hayes, the freshman lawmaker says shes undecided.

Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, a Pelosi loyalist and former member of her leadership team, continues in his strong support for her, for Hoyer, and for the No. 3 person in the Democratic House leadership, Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C.

There is a lot of angst about the leadership, Larson said. Had we lost, all three of them would be gone. But we won.

Larson also said when you look at Nancy Pelosi, she comes from a state (California) that sends more Democrats to Congress than any other.

And who is running against her? he asked. So far shes unopposed.

Larson was part of a group of House Democrats who lobbied to hold House leadership elections after the Thanksgiving break, giving Pelosi more time to shore up her support and for other Democratic leaders to make their cases to members of the caucus.

In contrast, House Republicans held their leadership elections on Wednesday, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was chosen as their leader. Also, in the Senate on Wednesday, both Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, and Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., won enough votes to keep their posts next year.

A former Speaker of the House who was toppled when House Democrats lost their majority in 2010, Pelosi was seen as too progressive by conservative Democrats and by Republicans who demonized her as a San Francisco liberal.

Now Pelosi is also being challenged from the left, and the rebellion is composed of both sitting House members and from members of the incoming class of diverse new Democrats, like Hayes, who are looking for younger, different leadership of their party.

But, as Larson pointed out, the anti-Pelosi insurgency hasnt yet rallied around anyone else as an alternative.

While House Democratic leadership elections wont take place until after Thanksgiving, Democrats will fight over the rules for those elections this week.

As it stands now, to become the next Speaker of the House, Pelosi would first have to win a majority of votes in the Democratic caucus. Then, in a second election, she would need to win a majority of votes among U.S. House members as a whole. She could not afford many Democratic defections since no Republican member is expected to vote for her.

The rebellious House Democrats want to raise the threshold of the vote in the Democratic caucus to 218  the same number needed for the floor  but said they are open to a lower number. They gathered enough signatures last week to trigger a discussion about their proposal.

On Tuesday, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, one of the leaders of the Democratic rebellion, said he is 100 percent confident the group has enough commitments to block Pelosi from being elected speaker on the floor.

On Wednesday, a defiant Pelosi told reporters, I will be Speaker of the House no matter what Seth Moulton says.
Toward the end of each year, thousands of technology and finance folks converge on Las Vegas for Money20/20 USA. This years event was mid-October.

I have no idea whether Money20/20 is the biggest financial technology conference, but it certainly eclipses any of the other shows I regularly attend. It of course doesnt compare with Comdex of the late 90s in terms of size, but it does have the same feel as Comdex. This is a show where small exhibitors go big and big exhibitors go bigger.

I talked to a lot of different people about a lot of interesting topics, but a few themes seemed to bubble to the top of every conversation I had. If these topics are top-of-mind for a wide range of industry experts, Im going to go out on a limb and say they should be top of mind for you and me, too.

1. Theres cloud, then there are all the ways computing used to get done

Ive beat the cloud drum a number of times in this space. Ive talked about the need for credit unions to get out of the hardware business so they can focus on not getting their asses kicked by everyone from the bank down the street to Google and Amazon. Ive talked about all the money you save not having to spend it on hardware upkeep. And Ive talked about the scalability of the cloud, providing just as much computing power as you need, when you need it. The one area I havent really dived into is the value of the cloud as a software delivery channel.

When a vendor develops its software in and for the cloud, that software is inherently scalable. As I noted earlier, the cloud is all about scalability. And when software is very scalable, it can be sized up and down to meet the needs of a wider range of credit unions. Plus, keep in mind that the software developer isnt paying for hardware either. All that in turn means the software can be priced more flexibly, making it more accessible.

Consider, for example, artificial intelligence. Not so long ago, only the biggest of the big financial institutions were investing in AI. Thats because they were the only ones that could afford AI. Today, AI technology delivered via the cloud is within reach of even small credit unions.

As Sean Breen, Senior Director of Banking and Payments Consulting at NTT Data Services, commented to me, Why has the cloud picked up steam lately? One reason is that it makes very expensive solutions available to a wider range of institutions. The cloud gives credit unions access to these tools and lets them level the playing field. He added that because of their willingness to work together, credit unions have a natural edge.

2. Your data really is gold. Maybe even platinum.

Breen went on to say that while credit unions do a great job of managing member relationships, they need to start leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence to make better use of the data they have at their disposal.

Mickey Goldwasser, VP of Marketing for PayRailz, echoed this thought. He pointed out that machine learning and AI can leverage data to, for example, become more predictive when it comes to bill payments. Why is that important?

It means becoming more assistive to the member, Goldwasser told me. The credit union knows what bills I usually pay, so it can remind me as they become due, pay the bills as needed, or even move money from account to account to cover a bill payment.

3. A better user experience (UX) wins every time

What were trying to do at Payrailz is create a payments experience for the consumer, added Goldwasser. We can even look at your bills and say, for example, your mobile bill looks high. Do you want us to renegotiate it? He said that as credit unions look to improve the member experience, they need to carefully consider every touchpoint.

One of the hottest buzzwords in UX circles is frictionless. However, not every interaction can be frictionless, nor would you want it to be. Instead, every interaction needs the appropriate level of friction.

Say for example you transfer $50 to your son for pizza money every now and then, Will LaSala, Director of Security Solutions for OneSpan, told me. That becomes a known transaction that requires very little friction. But if youre transferring $50,000 to a person the credit union doesnt recognize, you as the consumer should want and expect some friction. He said that technologies like machine learning and AI can leverage data to determine the appropriate level of friction in any transaction, thereby creating the optimum member experience.

4. Cards will live to see another day.

I was surprised to see how many vendors there were pitching various forms of plastic. If you spend much time reading tech news, its easy to believe that every transaction from buying plastic cups for beer pong to buying a home to play beer pong in will soon be done exclusively from your smartphone.

We recently completed a global study that showed cards arent going away any time soon, said Alyssa Arredondo, Director of Financial Vertical Marketing at Entrust Data Card. Whats changing is how cards fit into the digital ecosystem. She pointed out that virtually all digital banks issue debit cards, and even companies like Venmo have started issuing plastic. What is becoming more essential in keeping pace with todays consumer, she added, is instant issuance. Nobody wants to wait for a card.

With 2019 staring us in the face, I suggest we all keep these topics top of mind in the coming months.
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger today will be on-site helping Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (NOVA) build a home for a wounded veteran and his family and raise awareness about the need for affordable housing.

Berger, in a live television interview Friday on Washingtons WUSA 9, discussed the importance of affordable housing and the work of Habitat for Humanity  especially to those in Northern Virginia, the backyard of many credit unions and NAFCU.

NAFCU and the credit union community support affordable housing, Berger said during the interview with Great Day Washington. Habitat for Humanity does such a wonderful job raising awareness for affordable housing. Veterans, servicemembers and their families really need to have that kind of support and Habitat for Humanity does a wonderful job.

Berger also said during Fridays interview, with the recipients of the house, that with all our veterans, servicemembers and their families do, we have to give back.
Cette annonce nest plus disponible et aucune proposition ne peut etre transmise.

Finance & Administration Assistant a Djibouti

Title: Finance & Administration Assistant

Location: Djibouti

Reports to: Support Service manager

Start of Contract & Duration: 2 Months

Posting date: November 12, 2018



INTRODUCTION



The Danish Refugee Council (DRC), an international non-governmental organization (NGO), has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. DRC promotes and supports solutions to the problems faced by refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and migrants. The organization has offices across the region, and has been operational in Ethiopia since 2009. With funding from bilateral and multilateral donors, DRC is currently implementing a range of activities across Ethiopia and Djibouti, including WASH and shelter provision, child and youth protection, gender based violence response, awareness-raising of migration risks, protection monitoring of migration routes, and livelihoods support for returning migrants or those at-risk of migration.



Overall purpose of the role:

The Finance and Administration Assistant will assist the Support Services Manager to ensure that the programmatic needs in Djibouti office are addressed and met in an efficient, timely, transparent, accountable and cost effective manner



RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS



I. FINANCE

1. Cash Handling

Handling the cash for all programme and operational expenses carefully and safely.

Do payments of invoices and suppliers based on DRC Finance systems and procedures

Prepare receipt, payment and other vouchers as required upon approval.

Assist monthly salary payment to staff and remit taxes to the authorities.

Handling cash using Cash Advance system and make sure that cash advance will be closed by the end of month.

Handling cash using Advance Clearance Form and ensure all financial procedures are carefully followed.



2. Bank Handling

Give assistance to Support Services Manager for handling payment by cheque / transfer payments in accordance with DRC payment guidelines and signatory of Area Manager

Withdrawals of cash from the bank if requested by Area Manager

Collecting Bank statement information by the end of month.



3. Accounting

Responsible for the monthly Cash book expense sheet report

Filing all financial documents and make sure that ail financial documents are properly filed and organized according to DRC procedures.

Scanning of all vouchers



4. Quality Management

Be aware of the potential for loss or fraud in logistical activities and procedures. Pro-actively work to prevent such occurrences by working with relevant tine managers to improve transparency and to ensure the best use of DRC assets and resources.



II. Administration / HR

Manage and monitor office filing system for efficiency and ease of retrieval.

Manage incoming & outgoing correspondence

Ensure that all visitors and guests to DRC Djibouti are logged in and treated with care and respect.

Ensure that visas, work permits and/or residency cards for international staff are timely obtained.

Ensure that personnel files for Djibouti national staff and refugee incentivized staff are complete and accurate, and that confidentiality is maintained.

Follow-up on leave management

Prepare and submit the monthly staff list.



III. Logistics and Procurement

Assist whenever required in the procurement of goods and services including filling in Purchase Requests, collecting quotations, preparing requests for payments, etc.



Striving for Excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.

Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.

Taking the Lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly.

Demonstrating Integrity: Acting in line with DRCs vision and values.





PERSONAL SPECIFICATIONS



REQUIRED

A minimum of 1 year of relevant experience is required, preferably with an international NGO and/or UN Agencies

Education:

University degree in Accounting, Finance or related field.

Relevant experience in the domain can be considered in lieu of the university degree in required fied.



Competencies:



The candidate must be fluent in French and have an intermediate English level

She/he must also have good communication skills, be able to work independently and energetically, and have a flexible approach to manage and prioritize a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines.

She/he must be confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, with advanced Excel proficiency. She/he must demonstrate high level of integrity.



TO APPLY



Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit updated CV and cover letter explaining their motivation and why they are suited for the post.



We only accept applications sent via our online-application form on www.drc.dk under Vacancies.



Please forward the application and CV, in English through the stated website no later than November 23, 2018.



For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.



We encourage only qualified Ethiopian Nationals to apply. DRC considers all applicants based on merit. It is DRC policy to recruit, hire, train and promote individuals, as well as administer any and all personnel actions, without regard to gender, race, national, clan or tribal origin, religion, age, sex, origin or ancestry, marital status, social status, sexual orientation, or status as a qualified disabled individual.



Emplois & Services, Emplois

14 novembre, 2018

1135 vues au total, 0 vues cette semaine
For Subscribers New businesses, opportunities arising in Confluence because of the GAP

Dive in for a taste of the new restaurants, art hubs and other additions to the evolving town of Confluence.
The Daily Emerald is the news division of Emerald Media Group, University of Oregons independent student media organization.



Sarah-Mae McCullough(541) 346-5511 Ext. 325editor@dailyemerald.com
ARES Shipyard from Turkey announced it signed a new contract to supply 14-off ARES 85 HERCULES Fast Patrol Vessels to Royal Oman Police (ROP). This marks the first Turkish naval export program to the Sultanate of Oman.

ARES Shipyard from Turkey announced it signed a new contract to supply 14-off ARES 85 HERCULES Fast Patrol Vessels to Royal Oman Police (ROP). This marks the first Turkish naval export program to the Sultanate of Oman.

ARES 85 HERCULES Fast Patrol Vessels to Royal Oman Police

Following an extensive evaluation process among tens of international shipbuilders, Turkish ARES Shipyard was contracted to supply Patrolling and Interceptor Vessels (PIV) to Royal Oman Police Coast Guard. (ROPCG)

The contract, signed by the Inspector General of Royal Oman Police and General Manager of ARES covers 14 (fourteen) cutting edge technology vessels to be built and delivered within a four-year acquisition program.

The ARES 85 HERCULES vessels are fully customized to meet the Royal Oman Police Coast Guards needs, and provide the agency with a much-expanded capability to patrol and secure the nations waters.

ARES Chairman & Executive Director, Mr. Kerim KALAFATOGLU: Id like to highlight with pride that this is the first ever naval export program of Turkish Republic history to Oman. And yet, another record breaking program has again been accomplished by ARES."
Dear Editor:

As is his habit, Donald Trump has embarrassed our country with his abhorrent conduct in Paris.

He arrived late and with a completely uninterested, disrespectful demeanor.

He could not be bothered to go to the American cemetery or the peace conference, using the most pathetic excuses.

All the other world leaders managed to honor their dead, but not Donald Trump. When he returned to the United States, he did not even go to Arlington Cemetery on Veterans Day.

It is my understanding that he has not visited service men and women at Walter Reed Medical Center or soldiers out in the field.

Add to all this his disgraceful decision to send thousands of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border for a fake invasion. These service men and women will be away from their families for the holidays to serve Donald Trumps political stunt.

All this coming from a man who had five military deferments.

Nancy Guski

Red Hook, N.Y.

Editors note: The president in April 2017 visited service members receiving medical care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Belgium Naval & Robotics has launched an industrial offer anchored in Belgium to respond to a call for tenders issued by the Belgian and Dutch navies for the supply of twelve mine hunters.

Belgium Naval & Robotics has launched an industrial offer anchored in Belgium to respond to a call for tenders issued by the Belgian and Dutch navies for the supply of twelve mine hunters.

Belgium Naval & Robotics offers the Belgian Navy a solution whose prime contractor is in Brussels and involves many local players spread throughout the country.  This partnership with FSR illustrates our strong relationship with the Belgian Defence Technological and Industrial Base and our desire to build a long-term relationship with the Belgian and Dutch Navies.  explains Jean-Michel Orozco, Senior Vice-President Mission Systems, Drone & Cyber Security at Naval Group.

Flanders Ship Repair (FSR) shipyards will be responsible for the manufacture of many mechanical parts and sub-assemblies, as well as the maintenance of mine hunting vessels (MCMs).  When Naval Group and ECA Group presented me with their industrial project to replace mine hunters, I obviously accepted because I found the approach innovative and very pragmatic, but above all Belgium oriented. , explains Johnny Hofman, CEO of FSR.

Through the Belgium Naval & Robotics brand, Naval Group and ECA Group are printing the identity of their innovative, sea proven, and resilient robotic mine warfare solution which is fully integrated into a drone carrier naval ship.  Moreover, this brand reflects our solution, whose industrial seeds will be planted in Belgium and which will generate numerous opportunities for Belgian industry in the field of mine warfare.  adds Guenael Guillerme, CEO of ECA Group.

This strong involvement of the Defence Industrial and Technological Base (DITB), spread throughout Belgium, in the Belgium Naval & Robotics project will make it possible to consolidate national technical and operational excellence in the field of robotised mine warfare.
Life for today's younger generation can be very tough. Finding a job and a home is not easy, with the result that many are still living in the shadow of their parents well into their 20s and 30s.

They remain perennial children for ever in thrall to the older generation. It can't be easy.

And then there's Prince Charles, who turns 70 today.

Prince Charles turns 70 today. 'The often overlooked triumph of the Prince of Wales is how much he has managed to achieve despite the constraints placed upon him.'

At an age when most people are looking forward to retirement, he is still living next door to his parents, still waiting to take on the biggest challenge of his life following one of the greatest acts in royal history.

Even if he shares his mother's good health, he will never beat her record as the longest-serving monarch. Nor, I suspect, will he ever occupy the same place in the nation's heart, certainly not while the ghost of Diana still hovers over him. But that is no reason to dismiss Charles, as so many have done over the years.

Indeed, the often overlooked triumph of the Prince of Wales is how much he has managed to achieve despite the constraints placed upon him. How, despite being seemingly locked in permanent royal limbo, he has somehow forged ahead, in his own idiosyncratic way and at his own pace, shaping his legacy before the crown has touched his head.

In fact, one might argue that had the Queen (God forbid) made way sooner, much of what he has achieved might never have happened.

He said as much himself, in a recent BBC documentary marking today's milestone: when he is King he will stop speaking out on topics he feels strongly about, as he is 'not that stupid'.

Instead, he will operate within 'constitutional parameters', avoiding politics and taking a more neutral stance on controversial issues.

It's clear why he says this: he respects the position of monarch and does not want to undermine it. But in many ways it's a bit of a shame.

For while Charles 'unleashed' hasn't always met with universal approval among the public and his critics, much of what was considered eccentric and 'meddling' about his past behaviour has, with hindsight, turned out to be rather inspired. Or certainly ahead of its time.

As he puts it himself: 'If it's meddling to worry about the inner cities as I did 40 years ago, then if that's meddling I'm proud of it.'

As well he should be. Perhaps if politicians had taken him more seriously all that time ago we wouldn't be facing this devastating epidemic of violence on our streets.

His outspoken attacks on the ugliness of modern architecture and shoddiness of modern housebuilding; his warnings about climate change, wildlife extinction and rainforest depletion; his concern for the future of farming and the rural environment; his commitment to organic food and humane husbandry; his interest in studying Islam in pursuit of cultural harmony; his commitment to improving education standards, training and employment opportunities through the Prince's Trust.

Prince of Wales poses for an official portrait to mark his 60th birthday

All of these are issues on which he has spoken out over the decades in the face of fierce opposition and ridicule. And yet, with that dogged determination that has been such an admirable feature of his mother's character, he has ploughed on, undeterred  if not unscathed  by the naysayers.

True, Charles has come across sometimes as hand-wringing and occasionally petulant. Yet it is undeniable that he has used his immense privilege to highlight important, if not always fashionable, issues  and to try to help re-shape the cultural landscape for the better.

Of course, there will always be those who will never forgive him for what happened with Diana. Their marriage was a disaster and her death a tragedy. But just as a wife should not be defined by her husband, so Charles should not be defined by that unhappy union.

Diana was always cast as the romantic in their relationship, he the cold-hearted pragmatist.

But the fact that he eventually married his true love  Camilla  in the face of sustained hostility has always struck me as one of the great romantic gestures of our time, the mark of a man clearly capable of great passion and even courage. As for his children  William and Harry  what greater expression of Charles's talents as a father could there be than these two young men who have overcome their mother's death to build useful, fulfilling lives for themselves.

In pictures released today, we see the three of them, surrounded by the women they love, looking closer than ever.

So, yes, Charles has made mistakes. But who, as they turn 70, has not? A lesser prince might have spent his life in idle luxury, waiting for his birthright, grumbling about his lot. But not Charles. Even if he were never to wear the crown, he has proven himself worthy of it.

So here's to you, Prince Charles. As Churchill said: KBO. Keep bxxxering on, and many happy returns.

Holly's mild, not wild

'Fragrant as she is, I'm not sure that replacing naughty Ant McPartlin with Holly Willoughby (left) as the I'm A Celebrity co-presenter is quite the right choice'

Fragrant as she is, I'm not sure that replacing naughty Ant McPartlin with Holly Willoughby (left) as the I'm A Celebrity co-presenter is quite the right choice.

Granted, she probably looks much better than Ant in a bikini (or, for that matter, a Marks & Spencer jumper), and she's a very professional presenter. But in terms of personality isn't she perhaps a bit . . . well, safe?

The point about Ant and Dec was that  in the tradition of all great TV duos  Ant was the cheeky chappie to Dec's straight man.

I imagine Willoughby's idea of cheeky is asking for an extra shot of decaf in her soya latte.

For many women, including myself, 'wife' can feel like a loaded word.' So says Michelle Obama in her new book, Becoming.

There are many women who will know exactly what the former First Lady means, but none more so perhaps than Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.

On a tour of France in the company of that country's President, Emmanuel Macron, Merkel was mistaken by a very determined 101-year-old lady for Madame Macron. No amount of protestations could persuade the centenarian otherwise.

A reminder, perhaps, that no matter how far she gets in her career  and Merkel has certainly achieved plenty in hers  a woman too often risks being overshadowed by the man next to her.

Even if he happens to be an undersized popinjay with a Napoleon complex.

Respect? Not from Toxic Toksvig...

The Great British Bake Off presenter Sandi Toksvig (right) has lent her name to a letter signed by fellow humanists demanding that they get a shot at the Today Programme's Thought For The Day.

'The Great British Bake Off presenter Sandi Toksvig (right) has lent her name to a letter signed by fellow humanists demanding that they get a shot at the Today Programme's Thought For The Day'

Apparently, humanists 'make sense of the world through logic, reason and evidence, and always seek to treat others with warmth, understanding and respect.'

Is this the same Sandi Toksvig who once described my husband, Michael Gove, as having a face that 'makes even the most pacifist of people reach for the shovel'? Call me old-fashioned, but that seems a very odd definition of 'warmth, understanding and respect'.

ALL 20 clubs in the Premier League have been asked for a 250,000 contribution to buy outgoing executive chairman Richard Scudamore a 5 million farewell gift. Certainly puts the average office whip-round into perspective!

A real Xmas message

Iceland's Christmas advert featuring Rang-tan, a baby orang-utan whose habitat has been destroyed by palm oil cultivation, has been deemed too 'political' to be broadcast on television.

You can, of course, see the advert on YouTube, where it is already closing rapidly on four million views.

I'll be honest: it's a little bit syrupy for my taste, and a touch self-satisfied. But as far as I know, this is the one time that an organisation has decided to use its marketing budget not to flog more pointless stuff but to convey a genuinely Christian message of love and respect for our fellow creatures.

The supermarket chain's festive commercial features the friendship between a young girl and a baby orangutan

How the advertising regulator Clearcast can justify banning that and not, say, the incessant adverts urging people to gamble online, or pushing junk food to children, is a mystery.

It's not Rang-tan who's the problem here  but the daft apes at Clearcast.

A couple from Banbury, Oxfordshire, have been convicted of belonging to a banned far-Right group. The giveaway, apparently, was naming their son after Adolf Hitler. Personally, I find this encouraging  it displays a reassuring level of stupidity.
Advertisement

Finding a house with character is the holy grail for many prospective buyers, but the latest crop of homes shortlisted for the Royal British Institute of Architect's House of the Year award have history oozing from every brick.

Kevin McCloud and the Channel 4 Grand Designs team are this week exploring five properties that have built upon an existing home to turn the old into the new for the latest phase of the prestigious competition on the show.

Among the crop of staggeringly intricate builds is a 400-year-old former farm house, that was nothing but a crumbling shell with a chimney before an architect spent five painstaking years meticulously reconstructing it in a safe and authentic manner.

There's also an old farm shed in the middle of the woods in north Yorkshire, that features a breathtaking floor to ceiling library that left the judges in awe.

Scroll down for a look inside the latest crop of contenders for the 2018 House of the Year title, ahead of the announcement of the winner.

OLD COURT HOUSE, WORCESTERSHIRE

COST: UNDISCLOSED

The Old Court House has been painstakingly restored by architect Rhys Brookes. It took a five-year archaeological process to piece together evidence and salvage everything that could be reassembled safely

Dating from the 17th Century, the 400-year-old house which was once a family home for small scale farmers had been reduced to its central brick chimney stack, a stone base and a badly deteriorated oak frame, which was teetering on one side of the house and entirely gone on the other.

Architect Rhys Brookes oversaw the painstaking five-year archaeological process of piecing together evidence and salvaging everything that could be reassembled safely after the house had been abandoned for more than 30 years.

'There were many moments of fear, and many moments of "how on earth do I deal with this?"' he explained, 'It was a storm away from complete loss.'

Now one side of the restored Old Court House is sympathetic to its original features, while the other side has been built completely from scratch.

When Rhys first took on the project the house was just four crumbling walls and an old chimney stack, he had to spend time meticulously ensuring that reconstruction techniques were authentic and safe

In the old part there is a basement and a library room and a study on the ground floor, with two bedrooms on the first floor.

The new structure is connected by a hallway running through the centre, where there is an open-plan living room and kitchen, two bedrooms on the first floor and another bedroom and study in the attic.

The judges were full of praise for how much of the original build had been saved, saying: 'Its rescue is testimony to what can only be described as a labour of love by architect and client.

'To the challenges posed by the houses Grade II listed status and its dilapidation were added those of its resident wildlife, which included bats, newts, slow worms and badgers, and its location on the edge of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest.'

The most delicate decision was how to complete the house on the side that was now entirely absent so working with the language and palette of materials of the restored wing, the architect succeeded in striking an appropriate balance between new and old

Significant experimentation in collaboration with the building team was required to test potential solutions before implementation with considerable inventiveness also needed to stay true to the houses original character whilst also meeting building regulation standards

The most delicate decision was how to complete the house on the side that was now entirely absent. Working with the language and palette of materials of the restored wing, the architect succeeded in striking an appropriate balance between new and old.

The judges commented: 'Externally, apart from the evident age of the original oak structure, the other clue to the difference between the wings are the windows, flush with the facade on the modern side and projecting as bays on the other.

'Without any intact windows or even openings to act as a guide, the form of these bays had to be reconstructed from analysis of similar historic houses and proportional systems that were typical of the era.

'Conservation in this case was more resurrection and reinvention than preservation. The architect, builder and client have clearly worked with exemplary dedication and professionalism to bring a long-neglected house and piece of local history back to life and create a home of distinctive character.'

The judges commented: 'Externally, apart from the evident age of the original oak structure, the other clue to the difference between the wings are the windows, flush with the facade on the modern side and projecting as bays on the other'

OLD SHED, NEW HOUSE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

COST: UNDISCLOSED

Owners of Old Shed New House are book-mad David and Lauren who wanted to build somewhere they could retire and spend the rest of their days with their noses nestled in a tome.

It was once a farming shed for tractors and tools, but has been reincarnated into a three-bedroom home, with guests welcomed into a gallery hallway that leads to a kitchen and dining room with a double height library, the centrepiece of the entire house.

Their architect son Greg Storrar, who worked with Mike Tonkin the lead architect to build the house admitted he had a 'mild panic when I realised I would be responsible for their whole life savings'.

He added: But growing up I was something of a nightmare child so it was nice to go some way to pay them back.'

The judges said of the home: 'Walking into the library through a sliding door from the living room brought gasps from the Awards Jury. It is the heart of the home and a showpiece for a lifetimes collection of books.

Old Shed New House was once a farmer's shed filled with tractors and tools but owners David and Lauren decided to transform it into a stunning home

Knowing how much they loved their library in their previous home, their son Greg, who was one of the architects on the project, made the new double height library the centre point of the entire house

Keeping the frame of the old shed, the house is built on the template of the structure with added flourishes like the floor to nearly roof windows bringing light into the library which is the focal point of the house

The double height library, which 'brought gasps' from the RIBA judges, features a bridge that joins the two bedrooms together on the first floor with heaps more books accessible via a rolling ladder and shelves

The rest of the decor in the house is kept the same modern and minimalistic in shades of white and touches of subtle colour throughout with most of the homeliness located in the library and living space

'A long double height gallery maintains the tree-lined approach and a tall library, bounded by mirror-backed shelving evokes the copse of silver birch found of the site.

'Clever use of light and mirrors gave the impression of an art piece itself. Otherwise it is a modest three-bedroom house, built cost effectively, but with exquisite detailing throughout inside and out.'

David said of the decision to have the library in the centre of the house occupying living space: 'I knew this would be where they spent most of their time, so we made the living space smaller because this is actually also the living space.

'Often libraries are quite dark and moody and we wanted something that spoke more of the landscape outside and so we wanted to open it up. We always saw the library as this almost like a clearing in a forest where you can sit and read a book, or under a tree reading a book.'

The house has a bedroom on the bottom floor, as well as two more spacious rooms on the top, joined together by a bridge with the library in between

Touches of colour appear sporadically throughout the spacious home which the judges rewarding clever use of light and mirrors that 'gave the impression of an art piece itself' in the otherwise 'modest three-bedroom house'

The entrance hallway is more like something belonging to an art gallery, it draws in guests towards the spacious light and airy rooms as well as the bridge which connects the top rooms together

GIN DISTILLERY, WHITECHAPEL

COST: 450,000

Having purchased a derelict former gin distillery building abutting other Victorian breweries, brave architect Rupert Scott and his wife Leo Wood, an interior designer, proceeded to transform it into their family home in the most unexpected corner of E1.

Located in the corner of a non-descript car park off the backstreets of Whitechapel, the judges said it 'is a wonderful example of exemplary contemporary architecture patched together with considered heritage reclamation and restoration'.

'We tried to hold onto some of the old scars from the building before and indicators of the history and industry it was before,' Rupert told Kevin in the episode.

The judges said they initially had difficulty finding the address of the Gin Distillery home as it was located in the corner of a non-descript car park off the backstreets of Whitechapel

The once crumbling building has been transformed by owners Rupert Scott and his wife Leo Wood who made clever use of the space inside, creating an open plan living space

The entrance opens into a spacious and light-filled open plan kitchen and dining space, an office, a TV room, while upstairs has two bedrooms a bathroom and a hidden courtyard.

Tucked in the corner of the car park the house sits discreetly between the taller brewery building it abuts and the rear residential elevation facing the site, presenting light and privacy challenges.

The couple were determined to preserve the chunky brick walls of the original building which they retained with extra interior supports.

The judges praised Rupert's handling of light and space, adding: 'Being the architect's own house, they have managed to avoid the pitfall of cramming every idea into one project inadvertently creating a cluttered architectural ideas board.'

The couple were determined to preserve the chunky brick walls of the original building which they retained with extra interior supports, and they also opted to keep the decor simple with added flourishes of colour to create flair

The couple managed to squeeze in a hidden courtyard on the second floor of their unusual home which brings in much needed extra light to the building

DUNCAN COTTAGE, BATH

COST: UNDISCLOSED

Kevin visits the glorious Bath house built across the centuries that has been commended for mixing the old with a brand new.

The ground floor features a kitchen and dining, which opens out on to an internal courtyard, while there is also a study that connects to the living space featured in the new extension. On the first floor there are five bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Owner Hilary bought the house with husband Richard, but tragedy struck when he passed away in 2010, and she had to carry on the project by herself.

Duncan Cottage is a house built across the centuries, which was bought by Hilary and her late husband Richard, who sadly passed away before he could see the finished property

'After Richard passed it was definitely something that I thought was a positive move, to carry through what his visions were, it was a therapeutic thing for us,' the widow explained.

Some features of the house have been improved on, whereas rooms like the kitchen have been revamped to bring the modern touch; with all of the work completed while Hilary was living there.

Hilary wanted to replace the seventies style conservatory with something brand new, but she met resistance from the local council in Bath, as the house is on a World Heritage Site, and strictly speaking she wasn't allowed to add to the house or take anything from it.

They delved into the history of the house and found original plans that showed the house had an extension added on which convinced the Bath council to allow her to change the design of her new home.

Initially the plans to add an extension were met with some resistance because the house was built on a World Heritage Site and was not allowed to be added to or any part of it removed

Hilary wanted to make sure she carried out her late husband's ideas for their property and so working with an architect they were able to dig up the original plans for the house and discovered that there had been an extension added to it in the past

The judges said of the interior: 'Stripping away of back extensions has exposed a courtyard to the rear, revealing openings which flood the central stair with daylight.

'Where original detail had endured, it is celebrated, whilst new interventions are generally differentiated. A state of the art kitchen is elegantly inserted into one of the historic spaces, and a series of bathrooms, previously located in the extensions, are unobtrusively threaded into the existing house.'

They added: 'Duncan Cottage demonstrates the value that architecture adds to even the most modest development, updating and transforming an eighteenth century listed home to meet twenty first century requirements.

The RIBA judges commended Hilary for the house which combined old and new saying: 'Where original detail had endured, it is celebrated, whilst new interventions are generally differentiated. A state of the art kitchen is elegantly inserted into one of the historic spaces, and a series of bathrooms, previously located in the extensions, are unobtrusively threaded into the existing house

COASTAL HOUSE, DEVON

COST: UNDISCLOSED

A 100-year-old farmhouse on the Devon coast has been reinvented and brought into the 21st century as Coastal House, an elegant home wrapped in grey slate shell.

Entering into a hallway which becomes a double height dining room, there's a kitchen and utility room; facing the sea is a double height living room with a mezzanine study to take advantage of the views.

The enormous hallway continues all the way up to the first and second floor, along with thick oak beams taking the eye up, where five bedrooms and a bathroom sit.

Owners Sally and Edward were students nearby and regularly visited the area, but the farmhouse they bought used to be completely different which they described as a 'sprawling mess of rooms'.

The Coastal House came with a lot of memories for the owners Sally and Edward who had met as students nearby and regularly visited the area, but the farmhouse they bought used to be completely different which they described as a 'sprawling mess of rooms'

A 100-year-old farmhouse on the Devon coast has been reinvented and brought into the 21st century as Coastal House

They decided to strip back the inside to uncover the best of the old building and restore the old stone walls, installing beautful woodwork to offset the stark crisp white walls

They decided to strip back the inside to uncover the best of the old building and restore the old stone walls, with architect Steph Macdonald making the most of the structure.

The RIBA judges said: 'This project has emerged from several years of dialogue between client and architect, and a brave change in direction well into the design process.

'The scheme both respects and reinvents the original house to create a timeless and beautifully made new home.'

Find out which house made the shortlist in Grand Designs: House of the Year on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm

The RIBA judges said: 'This project has emerged from several years of dialogue between client and architect, and a brave change in direction well into the design process
For centuries, Chinese medicine, homeopathy and acupuncture have been the go-to health bibles of those who shun Western medicine.

With a wealth of widely accepted benefits ranging from the alleviation of headaches and nausea to improved fertility and general pain reduction, there is little doubt alternative therapies play an important role in modern well-being.

But while these health-enriching effects were once confined to internal wellness, in recent years one particular alternative practice has transitioned into the aesthetic beauty industry.

Enter cosmetic acupuncture, an all-natural, non-toxic and painless treatment which promises to smooth, refine and enhance skin's radiance while also reducing signs of ageing.

Scroll down for video

Cosmetic or facial acupuncture is an all-natural, non-toxic and painless treatment which smooths skin, enhances radiance and reduces the signs of ageing from the inside out

Facial acupuncture has been credited with reducing blemishes and scarring, alleviating acne and tightening pores (pictured, before and after cosmetic acupuncture treatment)

WHAT CONDITIONS CAN FACIAL ACUPUNCTURE HELP WITH? * Fine lines and wrinkles * Crows feet * Sagging skin * Droopy eyelids and under-eye bags * Dry, sun damaged skin * Pigmentation * Acne and scarring * Open pores Source: Acupuncture and Beauty Centre Sydney Advertisement

Eli Huang, a Sydney-based practitioner of Chinese Medicine and beauty therapist, described the process and benefits of the procedure.

'Cosmetic acupuncture is a natural alternative to Botox for those looking at treatments to assist with reducing fine lines and wrinkles,' she said.

'It also counteracts uneven skin tone, puffiness, acne or blemishes and sagging skin.'

'Using very fine sterile needles which are inserted at specific areas around the face and body, cosmetic acupuncture aims to address skin concerns without the chemical or toxic side effects of Botox.

'With regular sessions patient's should see an improvement in their skin as well as experiencing a sense of relaxation overall calm.'

Cosmetic acupuncture aims to address skin concerns without the chemical or toxic side effects of Botox (pictured, before and after photos show a visible improvement in skin texture and tone)

Patients reportedly notice visible results after eight to 10 treatments, the effects of which last for years.

Unlike other procedures, facial acupuncture works from the inside out to give you a healthy, radiant glow by improving skin tone and texture naturally.

Benefits of cosmetic acupuncture include increased collagen production, creation of new skin cells, improved circulation, tighter muscle tone and enhanced radiance.



It is often combined with infrared light therapy, micro-needling and cupping to boost the effects of treatment.

HOW DOES COSMETIC ACUPUNCTURE WORK? Like Botox and fillers, cosmetic acupuncture aims to minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as well as dealing with the underlying causes of these facial blemishes. Acupuncture specifically addresses the primary factor for premature ageing, namely the reduction in collagen production. Cosmetic acupuncture stimulates the production of collagen by painlessly inserting fine needles into specific trigger points on the face, neck and head to promote circulation and increase the volume of elastin. It also improves local blood supply to the face which reduces the appearance if fine lines and creates better muscle tone, tighter pores and healthier facial colour. Advertisement

Gwyneth Paltrow (left, in a July 2018 Instagram post) is a long-time advocate of facial acupuncture, as is newly minted royal Meghan Markle (right)

Newly minted royal Meghan Markle is a long time devotee of facial acupuncture, and credits the Chinese practice for maintaining her radiant complexion.

In the run up to their May 2018 wedding, both the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry had regular appointments with celebrity acupuncturist Ross Barr whose treatments have been lauded as 'better than Botox'.

Gwyneth Paltrow is also an advocate of facial acupuncture and took to Instagram in July to share a photo from one of her hour-long weekly sessions.

Paltrow's go-to practitioner, New York City-based Paul Kempisty, told Glamour that facial treatments focus on 'supporting connective tissue, circulation and detoxification of the face'.

The efficacy and safety of acupuncture is recognised by the World Health Organisation.
For many modern women, it can seem like the list of attributes needed to land a man is endless.

But Australian TV star Sami Lukis decided to draw her own line in the sand when a potential suitor insisted she get a Brazilian wax - or else he wouldn't date her.

'It's one of his dating deal breakers. And he's sticking to it,' she revealed in a piece for news.com.au.

However, the 48-year-old was quick to question the man's choices and his supposed right to choose a perfectly groomed woman.

Australian TV star Sami Lukis decided to draw her own line in the sand when a potential suitor insisted she get a Brazilian wax - or else he wouldn't date her

'I tried giving him the lecture about how rejecting someone for something entirely natural is shallow minded; porn star fantasies at play,' she said.

'And how every woman has the right to do what makes her feel the most comfortable and confident with her most intimate 'ladyscaping' choices.'

And while Sami's former beau may have his preference long figured out, Vogue made waves earlier this year when it brashly told readers 'the bush is back'.

While Sami's former beau may have his preference long figured out, Vogue made waves earlier this year when it brashly told readers 'the bush is back'

One of the brand's recent articles, claimed that the natural look is 'the new Brazilian' and it's here to stay, according to experts including New Yorkbased holistic ob-gyn Dr. Eden Fromberg.

She told the site that she's observed the return of fuller hair over the past few years, saying: 'Women are becoming increasingly aware that our bodies are a lot more than the visual or sexual playthings that past cultural norms implied.'

Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga and Cameron Diaz have also spoken out in recent years about how they prefer the natural look.

In fact, the latter included a full chapter entitled In Praise of Pubes in her 2013 tome The Body Book.
She is one of the most famous women in the world with a $350m net worth to boot.

But Kim Kardashian's right-hand man nearly passed up the chance to work with her back when she was a little-known reality star.

Makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic, who is widely credited with pioneering the contouring technique, said he almost turned the job down ten years ago, as he had a prior commitment with Fox News.

Speaking on the Overnight Success podcast, the beauty guru explained that working with Kim was his 'big break' and admits he 'fell in love with her face' the first time he saw her.

Scroll down for video

Mario Dedivanovic and Kim Kardashian have been working together for ten years (pictured together in Los Angeles in June 2018). Mario admits to feeling overwhelmed on his first outing with Kim in 2008, recalling there were paparazzi 'everywhere'

Mario Dedivanovic, pictured in New York in April 2018, is widely credited with pioneering the contouring technique. The beauty guru said he almost turned the job down ten years ago, as he had a prior commitment with Fox News

Dedivanovic, 35, was in conversation with Maria Hatzistefanis, the London-based founder of Rodial and Nip+Fab.

He recalled: 'My friend Sebastian was doing a shoot for Social Life magazine cover and he called me and was like, "Hey can you do this girl, her name is Kim Kardashian, she has a show on E! which is coming out can you do it?"

'I said no because I had to do some of the anchors at Fox [News], he was like, "Please please please, youll be perfect for this job, youll be perfect".

'So I called Fox to make it later and went to meet Kim. She walked in, she was so sweet and I fell in love with her face, aesthetically for me shes like the idea of beauty, Im so attracted to her face, shes gorgeous.

'I did her make up in my usual style and she really loved it and asked me to go shopping with her after the shoot so she could buy everything I used on her and take it to her make-up artist in LA so they can do it over there.

Dedivanovic admits to feeling overwhelmed on his first outing with Kim in 2008, recalling there were paparazzi 'everywhere'.

Kim and Mario in Los Angeles, June 2018. Kim's right-hand man nearly passed up the chance to work with her back when she was a little-known reality star

Mario Dedivanovic, 35, was in conversation with Maria Hatzistefanis, the London-based founder of Rodial and Nip+Fab (the couple are pictured together in London, March 2017)

'She started working a lot after that and she kept requesting me for everything,' he said. 'I started travelling with her and that was how it all happened.

'We were both young in our careers, she was super fresh and had just started her show. it felt like it was one of those things, like it was meant to be.'

Dedivanovic explained that his 'big break' was doing a beauty tutorial with Kim for her blog which subsequently went viral.

'I didnt even know what a tutorial was, it wasnt a big thing back then,' he said. 'And we did this tutorial which was uploaded to her blog and to YouTube and got off the train received hundreds of emails and message from people asking me random questions.

'I wondered why and I realised it was because she had uploaded the video and it was then that something changed. Me teaching Kim different techniques on her blog, It was a big break I didnt even realise. Me teaching her these techniques.
Advertisement

Just when punters thought they'd seen it all during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, another racing celebration's fashions are showing a whole lot more on the field.

The Trotting Cup Day in Christchurch, New Zealand, sees women wear nothing but body paint as they take to the runway as part of the ZM Body Art contest.

The competition sees models strutting their stuff in 'costumes' made of nothing but artistically-drawn and colourful paint.

Just when punters thought they'd seen it all during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, another racing celebration's fashions are showing a whole lot more on the field

In total, around 15 models graced the catwalk on Tuesday with the event's top contender taking away a sash to wear over her painted body

This year, models bared all in creations curated under a variety of themes including Dr Seuss and symbolism inspired by the Tree of Life.

In total, around 15 models graced the catwalk on Tuesday with the event's top contender taking away a sash to wear over her painted body.

The overall winner donned a hot pink, Geisha-inspired painted creation as she sashayed along the runway.

Another bared her breasts beneath multi-coloured body paint under a sky-high head piece which was crafted in the style of a birthday cake.

Body artist Courtney Russell, from Christchurch's Yoobee School of Design, told stuff.co.nz how she concocted the idea behind her Dr Seuss-inspired creation.

This year, models strut their stuff in creations curated under a variety of themes including Dr Seuss and symbolism inspired by the Tree of Life

While the winner (pictured) went home with a sash, another bared her breasts beneath multi-coloured body paint under a sky-high head piece which was crafted in the style of a birthday cake

Another contender, Kayla Morrison, began piecing together her creation before dawn on Tuesday, as part of a design she called a 'spiritual journey'

'I like all the Dr Seuss stuff I think it's very cute and colourful and all the quotes are quite inspirational,' she said.

Another contender, Kayla Morrison, began piecing together her creation before dawn on Tuesday, as part of a design she called a 'spiritual journey'.

Similarly her model was more intrigued by the stripped-down nature of her runway-strut, telling stuff.co.nz of her excitement about baring all.

'It's just such an adrenaline rush ... and how often to do you get to be naked in public and get away with it,' she said.

'It's just such an adrenaline rush ... and how often to do you get to be naked in public and get away with it,' one of the models said of the experience

The Cup's body art competition is open to men and women, and sees thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs

'What do you have to lose? It's eye-catching and you're a walking piece of art.'

The Cup's body art competition is open to men and women, and sees thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs.

In addition to its track side delights, the event is New Zealand's richest and most prestigious harness race, consistently drawing a crowd of more than 20,000 people.
Sydney couple Lawrence and Jess have been together for more than five years.

But beyond their typical 'monogamous' relationship, the pair have been leading a life together behind closed doors as swingers.

The sexually curious duo enjoy engaging in sex with strangers so much, they decided to launch their own swingers club called Our Secret Spot hidden in Sydney four years ago.

The club connects like-minded couples and single women so they can explore their wildest fantasies, such as BDSM, fetish, orgies, threesomes or foursomes.

Swinging parties have since revamped its image from bowls of keys, to a world of private clubs, luxurious events and professionals with strict requirements for entry.

Speaking to The Sex Files podcast, the pair offered a glimpse into their spontaneous lifestyle - and how swinging has made their relationship stronger.

Scroll down for video

Lawrence, 31, and Jess, 25, started engaging in sex with other men and women five years ago

The pair met five years ago working at their 'everyday job' when they quickly discovered they shared a fondness for swinging.

Lawrence, now aged 31, openly told Jess, 25, about the idea.

'I explained to her that this was what I was interested in, this was what I want to do, and she was wanting to try it out so that's what we did and here we are,' he said.

Jess explained she didn't know anything about swinging until she met Lawrence.

'He sort of took me by the hand and led me through it, which is great because I had previously dabbled with it a little bit but didn't know what it was,' she said.

As their relationship blossomed, the pair decided to open up their own club so they could meet other couples who share the same interests.

The sexually curious couple have launched their own business - a swingers club called Our Secret Spot hidden in Sydney

Fast forward five years, the couple insist they are stronger than ever.

'The ones that are strong are usually in a better space in a relationship than people who are just I suppose, the vanillas which is your average monogamous relationship,' Lawrence explained.

'They're not hiding anything from each other, everything is open, you can discuss your fantasies and act them out in front of each other, is quite liberating. It just gives you this sense of freedom.

'I think sometimes you have to hide from your partner when you are in a monogamous relationship. So I've done both so it's easy for me to say this. I've lived both lifestyles and I know how it felt between the two.

'So when you see a hot person, you can say "she's hot" but in a monogamous relationship, you just keep your mouth shut. But in this sort of relationship, you can say "she's hot, what do you think?" and she goes "yeah".

'You have a little conversation and sometimes opportunities arises.'

Jess said she came clean about her double life to her family about two years into their relationship

While many people still believe swinging involves middle-aged people at a party putting their keys into a bowl to determine who they sleep with, Jess said this was far from the truth.

'The biggest misconception with the lifestyle is that you have to f*** the first person you see and a lot of people still think it's the bowls and the keys, even though I've never seen this move or I never really understood this term,' she said.

'I had a lot of people tell me that you grab the key out of the bowl and essentially you're f***ing some random, which is so not true.

'You get to choose what you want to do, you get to say "yes" or "no" to everything - you're basically in control the whole time.'

The couple said swinging works only if you're completely open with each other and happy to communicate about everything.

'I feel that swinging can be good or bad for a relationship. Like anything else in a relationship, if you have a good, strong, healthy relationship - swinging is only going to increase that strength of your relationship,' Lawrence said.

'As long as you can keep the communication open with each other, then you're going to have a good time.'

But if there's 'already cracks' or trust issues in the relationship, Lawrence said adopting the lifestyle would not end well for the couple.

'Some couples have come to me saying "we want to fix our relationship or spice up our relationship by coming to a swingers club", that's fine,' he explained.

'They're a great couple but they're lacking in the sex life department, then yes, this would be a great way to enhance your relationship.

'But if there's some deep problems where you don't trust each other, he has cheated on you and now you want to get your own back and sleep with another man in front of him or something like that, it's not going to work. You'd just destroy each other and in a very public way, which is not great.'

He said couples who have walked through their doors all have the same things in common - they are professionals, wealthy and well-educated.

'The average couple that we see come through the club or the lifestyle we see in general are the couples who have been together for three or four years,' he said.

'They are average to high income level but I think the biggest factor is their education level is on the high side as well. So at least finished high school, maybe tertiary education and they've got life experience so they're able to rationalise this type of behaviour with themselves and be able to verbalise it to their partners and other people they're going to meet.'

Explaining how their relationship works, the pair insisted they were not in an open relationship but they explore their sex life by mingling with other people together

Earlier this year, the couple appeared on Seven's breakfast program The Morning Show to open up about their swinging lifestyle.

'What swinging can bring to a relationship is it can bring a lot of fun, first and foremost for a lot of people,' Lawrence told The Morning Show.

'But later down the track if you continue on, the lifestyle Jess and I found could bring a lot of communication and trust.

'Honest communication helps you in all other facades of the relationships so you don't have anything to hide from your partner and you could just talk really frankly with each other.'

Explaining how their relationship works, the pair insisted they were not in an open relationship but they explore their sex life by mingling with other people together.

'We play with other people,' Jess said.

Jess said she came clean about her double life to her family about two years into their relationship.

'I explained that me and my partner were getting into the swinging and we've opened up this club together as well,' she said.

'They definitely got a little bit confused, concerned, I mean I'm their baby daughter, so of course, it's your child, you want to look after them.

'But once I explained exactly what it is, and how comfortable I'm in this lifestyle, how I can express all my feelings and emotions, they kind of warmed up to it.'

The club, which opens every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, only accepts couples and single women - no single men are allowed

As their relationship remains stronger than ever, the pair insisted they have not cast any concerns on whether one of them might meet someone else.

'That's something you're going to have to risk, that sounds terrible but I mean, I love this man to death so I don't feel like he's going to run away,' Jess said.

'But if that happens, you just have to learn how to communicate your way through it. So there are going to be hiccups and there's going to be things that you're not going to like and what's happening.

'As long as the communication level between the two of you is very strong and you're more than happy to talk about it, I think you'll be fine.'

The swingers club, which opens every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, only accepts couples and single women - no single men are allowed.

There are strict rules in place, including no photography, no prostitution, no drugs - and couples must stay together at all times.

'The most important rule is consent,' Lawrence said.

'Our club and any other club around the world is consent is key because you can't walk around and touch people, it's completely not like that.

'Most people come to the club think it is going to be like that [but] it's far more respectful than a normal nightclub where guys are just groping girls because they can.

Entrance costs between $100 to $200 a night for couples who are not members and $20- $50 for single women. The entry fee includes condoms, lubricant, towels, a locker and refreshments.
Prince Louis has been pictured for the first time since his Royal Christening in the Royal Familys official portrait marking Prince Charles 70th birthday.

The youngest royal was photographed debuting a fetching ivory blue La Coqueta Carlina Boy Ceremony Set with hand stitched detailing, at a cost of 72.

The six-month-old tot's outfit pays homage to his father William's in a similar snap taken in 1983, where he was dressed in a blue and white smocked romper suit.

The youngest royal was photographed debuting a fetching ivory blue La Coqueta Carlina Boy Ceremony Set with hand stitched detailing costing 72. The six-month-old tot has been likened to his father William in a similar snap taken in 1983

Doting mother Kate, 36, can be seen smiling ear to ear in the touching portrait that echoes Diana holding her eldest son in Kensington Palace some 35 years ago.

The Duchess of Cambridge has been known to dress her eldest, five, in hand-me-downs and replicas from William's early age wardrobe.

Meanwhile Princess Charlotte shined in a blue floral dress with peter pan collar which appeared to be the same number he wore on the palace balcony during the Trooping The Colour this year.

Princess Charlotte shined in a blue floral dress with peter pan collar which appeared to be the same number he wore on the palace balcony during the Trooping The Colour this year

Charlotte, three, sported a sheepish grin as she sat next to the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, 71, who took centre stage in the family photo arrangement.

Eldest of the brood, Prince George cut an adorable figure in Amaia while sat on Charles's knee. Wearing a long-sleeved stripped white shirt, the prince looked every inch the royal with his mop of blonde hair swept to the side.

Eagle-eyed fashion fans will also recognise his dapper black shoes worn on his first day at 3,000-a-term Thomas's Battersea school in London.

Eldest of the brood, Prince George cut an adorable figure sat on Charles's - known as Grandpa Wales - knee. Wearing a long-sleeved stripped white shirt, the prince looked every inch the royal with his mop of blonde hair swept to the side

Royal watchers tracked down George's stylish footwear - believed to be a 38.95 moccasin style shoe from Spanish retailer Pisamonas.

Royal fashion blog What Kate's Kids Wore contacted the brand on social media to ask if they were the makers behind the future king's footwear.

Pisamonas UK replied: 'Based on recent orders, we think it may be the case, yes.'

The 38.95 leather pair come in black and blue colourways and are described by Pisamonas as 'classic and elegant moccasins, premium quality and easy to combine'.

Doting mother Kate, 36, can be seen smiling ear to ear in the touching portrait that echoes Diana holding her eldest son in Kensington Palace some 35 years ago

Charles is pictured formally in a pin-striped suit, sky-blue tie and loafers, yet looks at home with his family around him.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 36, in a 1,750 polka dot midi dress by London designer Alessandra Rich, is holding Prince Louis who offers an adorable chubby-cheeked smile.

The Duchess of Cornwall, 71, sitting hip-to-hip with her husband, is wearing a cream crepe day dress by Fiona Clare, adorned with two Van Cleef & Arpels Libellule dragonfly brooches, one with diamonds and the other sapphires, which Charles bought her as a gift.

The Duchess of Sussex, 37, wearing a cream sleeveless Givenchy dress, would have been barely eight weeks pregnant.
Only parents can understand the true tiredness that waking up every hour at night to feed a screaming child causes - and then repeating that cycle for weeks on end.

But that doesn't stop everyone from the person working at the supermarket checkout to patrons sitting on the bus from making passing comments about a mother or father's parenting techniques.

The issue has frustrated one Melbourne mother to the point of exhaustion, so she decided to share her angry feelings about it to her 180,000 followers.

Scroll down for video

'Dear childless people... You don't get to judge me. Or any other parent for that matter. EVER,' Laura Mazza, 32, spelled out plainly

Ms Mazza, who runs a blog called The Mum on the Run , said that just because she speaks candidly about motherhood doesn't mean she should be subjected to criticism online

'Dear childless people... You don't get to judge me. Or any other parent for that matter. EVER,' Laura Mazza, 32, spelled out plainly.

'If I write about a bad day with my toddler, who threw a tantrum because the air blew in the wrong direction. You are not allowed to call me a sh*** parent. Why? Because you've never parented... IN YOUR LIFE.

'Because toddlers get exhausted, because TWO-year-old's have tiny little unhinged frontal lobes that are developing... BECAUSE SHE IS TWO, and you've never had a TWO-YEAR-OLD.'

'If I complain that it's been a hard day. YOU DON'T GET TO SAY "OH WHY HAVE KIDS THEN?" Why eat food Brenda, when you're just going to s*** it out?' She wrote

Ms Mazza, who runs a blog called The Mum on the Run, said that just because she speaks candidly about motherhood doesn't mean she should be subjected to criticism online.

'If I complain that it's been a hard day. YOU DON'T GET TO SAY "OH WHY HAVE KIDS THEN?" Why eat food Brenda, when you're just going to s*** it out?' She wrote.

'Okay, kids are not comparable to s***, but your attitude is, DYLAN. You sleep your eight hours a night. You don't see the struggles of being exhausted, of rocking a child to sleep for the fifth time, of trying to nurture, grow and develop a young strong willed child while surviving on left over coco pops and cold coffee.

'YOU EAT YOUR FOOD HOT. You don't see the effort we put in and the loneliness we feel. The pressure and the judgement we face. You don't.'

She argued that they also don't see how 'much they love their kids', how they teach them how to say please and thank you and to 'move out of the way'.

She argued that they also don't see how 'much they love their kids', how they teach them how to say please and thank you and to 'move out of the way'

The fiery proclamation was met with praise by other parents who were similarly sick of reactions from 'childless people'

'So if you have never caught vomit in your hands, If you have never gotten s*** stuck under your fingernail, If you've never had Dora look you right into your soul with her blank eyes and ask you where the goddamn backpack is, on REPEAT...

'Then, you my friend, should wrap your little opinion in some tin foil and shove it inside your rectum, because your opinion is null, void, for the bin... because you are not a parent,' she finished.

The fiery proclamation was met with praise by other parents who were similarly sick of reactions from 'childless people'.

One woman even admitted to being one of those overly critical people.

'I am one of those women that judged before having kids. I feel awful about it,' the commenter responded to the post.

'Now I see that mother as a strong woman! Now that I'm a mother myself I must also suggest that mother's shouldn't comment either. Don't comment on another person's children or parenting ever no matter who you are.'
The Emory community filled Cannon Chapel on Monday to honor the service and sacrifices of veterans and those currently in the U.S. military.

As cold rain fell outside, the universitys 10th annual Veteran's Day celebration  held Nov. 12 since the official holiday, Nov. 11, fell on Sunday this year  began with a solemn honor guard procession to the flag at the front of the chapel.

Jeff Rosensweig, Goizueta Business School associate professor of finance and founding faculty sponsor for the Emory Veterans Association, welcomed attendees and introduced the ceremony's first speaker: Army Capt. Jason Waidzulis, an MBA student in Goizueta Business School who has been deployed six times in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Waidzulis, who will return to active duty after completing his Emory degree, noted that Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, a commemoration of the end of World War I, that was supposed to be the war to end all wars. With 2018 marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice, today we wish that were true, he said.

He recounted the millions of soldiers and civilians who served or were killed in that war and all wars since, and noted Emorys ongoing commitment to service, from the Emory Unit that provided medical care in World War I and World War II to programs serving veterans today.

At Emory, this is not ancient history, this is our history, Waidzulis said.

After Waidzulis remarks, at approximately 11:11 a.m., ceremony attendees observed a moment of silence to mark when the armistice ending World War I took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.

Emory University President Claire E. Sterk, whose husband, public health research professor Kirk Elifson, served in the Army during the Vietnam War, discussed Emorys ongoing commitment to serving veterans, including providing financial support for veterans to attend Emory through the Yellow Ribbon program. She thanked veterans for their leadership, wisdom, experience and all that they continue to teach us.

Lt. Gen. (ret.) William Burke Garrett III, executive adviser to the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, was the final speaker. He encouraged the veterans in attendance to continue their service in three ways: leading to serve, preparing the next generation for service and taking care of those who have served.

Garrett also described how Emory is working to help veterans with issues like PTSD and other "invisible wounds, recognizing Marine veteran Timothy Banik, who struggled with PTSD until receiving treatment at Emory and now works to help let others know about the services available through the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. Banik, his wife and his therapist were asked to stand, to rousing applause from ceremony attendees.

Like all of our veterans, Tim represents the best of who we are as a nation, Garrett said. He has sacrificed for us and bears the unseen scars  and he is an example of what is possible when we express our gratitude not just in words, not just on one day, but through deeds every day.

What is clear from the legacy of Americas veterans is that what you do in life matters.
The school year isn't over yet but some Australian parents revealed a stationary checklist have already been released to get families ready for 2019.

Back-to-school items include materials such as writing books, different types of pens, rulers, binders, pencils, highlighters and more.

And one mother has revealed the total of her children's school books will set her back $400 - as she turned to social media for budget tips on getting costs down.

One mother has revealed the total of her children's school items will set her back $400 - as she turned to social media for help on getting costs down (stock image)

Money-saving tips on buying school supplies Shop around at retailers and supermarkets

Some stores offer the 'Price Beat Guarantee' incentives

Keep an eye out on clearance items and sales

Stockpile on discounted items throughout the year

Create a stationary cupboard in your family home Advertisement

She added that she has three daughters who all attend primary school.

'I've just received my girls school book lists for 2019, $400 worth if purchased through the recommended supplier,' she explained in a Facebook group.

'At the start of this year I sent the list to Officeworks and ended up getting it a bit cheaper but am curious to know what you all do in case there is a cheaper option still?'

Fellow mothers quickly shared their money-saving tricks, with many revealing they managed to slash hundreds off their shopping bills by getting school supplies from bargain stores such as Kmart, Big W and the Reject Shop.

'I only get the items I can't buy (handwriting and math's book) at the shops from the recommended supplier, the rest I get at Kmart or the cheap shop,' one woman said.

'I also stock up in stationary during the year if it's on sale during a food shop.'

Another mother said: 'Wow that is high. I usually go into Officeworks and do it myself. Last year my son was over $100 just in stationary, I got it all for around $30.'

Others suggested keeping an eye out for clearance items or sales at supermarket stores during the year.

'I grab them from the supermarket all year round when they have a sale or mark them down,' one parent said.

Another mother revealed: 'I always start at Kmart and get everything I can from there. Anything they don't have, I then go to office works. I also keep an eye out during the year for clearance items/good sales across various stores.

'I've already got one of my kids writing books, and pens, pencils and textas for all three kids for under $20 thanks to finding a stationary clearance at Coles a few months ago.'

Back-to-school items include materials such as writing books, different types of pens, rulers, binders, pencils, highlighters and more (stock image)

Another parent suggested using the 'Price Beat Guarantee' incentive where a store can slash five per cent off an item when customers find a lower priced identical stocked product at a rival.

Other mothers said they preferred stockpiling on cheap school supplies.

'I stocked up on school supplies so when they run out or needed more pens I could just hand them over without having to go to the shops,' one parent said.

'I still have a pretty good supply of books and many display folders. And pens too. I will stock up again next year too.'

Another mother said she created a stationary cupboard in her home and would stock the space with sale items she purchases through the year.

'Now my older two are in uni and have only had to buy text books and pens for years. My youngest has "shopped" the cupboard for his exercise books for the past six years,' she explained.

'Also good to keep an eye out for the school items to be on clearance at stores as well and stock up on items that are used the most.. i.e. books, folders etc that won't mind being stored.'

Amazingly, one teacher joined the thread, sharing her helpful advice to parents.

'I am a Prep teacher and just want to add that I try my best to keep the book list down and give back spare supplies at the end of the year,' she said.

'So check with your child's teacher this year before you start buying things. Also don't buy the cheap pencils and headphones because they just don't last and we nearly always have to ask parents to re-buy items.

'Having poor quality pencils and pencil sharpeners is so frustrating for the student and teacher. Check the glue too!! The cheap c*** never works!! That's super frustrating for them too.'
She was famously hailed as the 'most beautiful royal' by society bible, Tatler magazine.

But Amelia Windsor turned heads for different reasons as she attended the Chanel party at Mayfair's members only club Annabel's on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old fashion muse, who is the granddaughter of the Duke of Kent, flashed the tiger tattoo on her shoulder as she left the exclusive event, dressed in an effortlessly elegant ensemble.

Scroll down for video

Lady Amelia Windsor, the granddaughter of the Duke of Kent, flashed the tiger tattoo on her back s as she attended the Chanel party at Mayfair's members only club Annabel's on Tuesday

It's one of Amelia's three inkings; she also has a tattoo at the side of her rib cage, and three animals in a row on her wrist.

The sweet design could be a tribute to her bond between herself and her two siblings, Lady Marina and Edward Windsor.

Amelia, who is signed to Storm Models, put on a stylish display in high-waisted navy palazzo pants and stylish snake-print ankle boots.

She teamed the trousers with a nude lace vest, though she appeared to have left the buttons at the back undone.

The 23-year-old fashion muse flashed the tattoo on her back as she left the exclusive event, dressed in an effortlessly elegant ensemble

The tattoo is one of three tattoos seen on the royal, along with a delicate inking on the top of her rib cage and three animals on her wrist

Amelia, who landed a job with Tatler this year, wore her blonde hair in a loose centre parting, opting for minimal make-up.

Completing the look, Amelia accessorised with an array of gold necklaces and a small gold clutch as she left the glitzy bash.

Amelia has modelled for the likes of Dolce &Gabbana and designed her own range of accessories in collaboration with Penelope Chilvers.

She is represented by Storm models, which represents the likes of Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne.

Amelia, who is signed to Storm Models, put on a stylish display in high-waisted navy palazzo pants and stylish snake-print ankle boots

Amelia, who landed a job with Tatler this year, wore her blonde hair in a loose centre parting, opting for minimal make-up

Additionally she has been named as a contributing editor in Tatler Magazine, and reportedly interned at jewellery house Bulgari, during her time studying at Edinburgh university.

Despite most of the royals keeping their private life off social media, Amelia is a big fan of Instagram and regularly shares glimpses at her glamorous life with her followers.

She previously told Vogue UK about Instagram: 'It allows anyone to be creative and imaginative. I also love that we can share all the beautiful and meaningful things we see and hear in the world. I find it so inspiring and uplifting.'

Completing the look, Amelia accessorised with an array of gold necklaces and a small gold clutch as she left the glitzy bash

The society beauty, who is 36th in line to the British throne, was also named among Vanity Fair's 2017 Best Dressed List

The society beauty, who is 36th in line to the British throne, was also named among Vanity Fair's 2017 Best Dressed List.

Despite often rubbing shoulders with A-listers, Amelia was not on the invite list for the royal wedding in May.

She is the daughter of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, and his wife, Sylvana Tomaselli, the granddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince Harry's third cousin.

She is the daughter of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, and his wife, Sylvana Tomaselli, the granddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince Harry's third cousin
Prince Charles has some of his favourite family photos on display in the Morning Room of Clarence House, a new virtual tour of the property reveals.

The heir to the throne, who celebrates his 70th birthday today, has pictures of the Queen and snaps of his wife the Duchess of Cornwall in a touching arrangement on a side table in the corner of the sitting room.

Also on show is a formal family portrait from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding day and a handsome portrait of a young Prince Harry.

But it is is black and white photo of his grandmother, taken on her 96th birthday, that is given the honour of the largest frame - towering high above any other.

Notable in her absence is his daughter-in-law the Duchess of Sussex, however the photos inside the property might well have been taken before the royal wedding in May.

Family pictures: 1. Illustration of corgis; 2. Portrait of Prince Charles and the Queen taken to mark the Queen's 90th birthday in 2016; 3. Photo of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall on their wedding day in 2005; 4. Family portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their wedding day in 2011; 5. Photo of the Prince Charles and Prince Andrew with the Queen Mother on her 75th birthday in 1975; 6. the Queen in 2016; 7. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2015; 8. photo of Prince Harry, date unknown; 9. photo of the Queen Mother on her 96th birthday in 1996

This insight into some of the prince's favourite photos is among the many treasures offered by the new virtual tour of Clarence House, the official London residence of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, 69.

The royal allowed specialist Google photographers access to the rooms and corridors of his home so that they could document every inch on camera.

These individual images were then pieced together to create a 360-degree tour that can be taken by virtual 'visitors' from wherever they are in the world.

This particular corner display is located in the Morning Room, which is used as a sitting room by Charles and Camilla.

Two most important women: A photo of the Queen with Prince Charles on her 90th birthday sits in front of an illustration of corgis. In front is a photo of Charles and Camilla, just seen

Wedding day: Charles and Camilla emerge from St George's Chapel following the church blessing of their marriage in August 2005. The photo is framed in Clarence House

Family photo: This formal portrait from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding day is also on show. It shows William's family (left) with the Middletons (right) in Buckingham Palace

The blue-themed room has served as the backdrop for a number of important occasions, including the formal family photographs taken following Prince Louis' Christening at the nearby St James's Palace in July.

In the forefront of the nine images is a portrait taken of the Queen in 2017. The image, which is not believed to have been released to the public, was taken to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation.

To one side there is the large family portrait from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 2011 wedding, on the other is an informal snap of Charles and Camilla taken by a friend in the summer of 2015.

The touching photo, which shows the couple with their arms around each other, was chosen to feature on their Christmas card that year.

Proud: Prince Charles has a photo of the Queen taken at the same time as this one. It was part of a set to mark the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation in 2017

Charles also picked out one of his favourite photos from his own wedding to Camilla in August 2005. Although only a glimpse can be seen, it is thought to be one taken of the couple as they emerged from St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, following the Service of Prayer and Dedication.

Elsewhere there is a candid snap of Prince Harry and a formal portrait of Prince Charles with the Queen that was taken for her 90th birthday in 2016.

There is also an illustration of some Corgis - perhaps a nod to the Queen's beloved pets.

Notable in the display are photos of Charles' beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother, who features twice.

Much missed: A photo of the Queen Mother on her 96th birthday in 1996; a picture of Prince Harry from several years ago and a touching informal snap of Charles and Camilla

Affectionate: The photo of Charles and Camilla, taken by a friend of the summer of 2015, was selected by the couple for the front of their Christmas card that year, pictured

The first shows the Queen Mother standing between grandson Prince Charles and Prince Andrew at her 75th birthday celebrations at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, in 1975.

Her arm is linked lightly through Charles, a slight hint at the close bond they shared.

The second photo, also in black and white, shows the Queen Mother smiling up at the camera on her 96th birthday.

It is notable that she appears not to be wearing a hat in the image, suggesting it is one that was taken privately and not released to the public.
A mother-of-three is so desperate to drink from 'the fountain of eternal youth' that she's had 100 collagen injections in her derriere to try and defy age.

Marcela Iglesias, an Argentine living in Los Angeles, had the unusual procedure to stimulate collagen in her bottom, with the aim of tightening the muscles and keeping her skin supple.

Fearing the effects of ageing could leave her bottom droopy, Marcela underwent the non-invasive cutting-edge procedure - and said that it was 'completely painless'.

She hopes that cosmetic procedures like this - and others she's tried including leech therapy - and a healthy lifestyle will keep her looking younger for longer.

Scroll down for video

Mother-of-three Marcela Iglesias, originally from Argentina but now living in LA, shared how she's undergone a revolutionary spider web butt lift involving having 100 injections of collagen in her bottom. The trendy treatment rejuvenates skin's appearance and improves elasticity

Marcela, who won't reveal her age, claims the procedure was 'completely painless' and has left the skin on her derriere looking renewed. She's also tried other non-invasive treatments including leech therapy in a bid to stave off ageing

Dr. Aleix Bazzi performed the surgery, which is non-invasive, on Marcela; she says the procedure has helped her fight against ageing, when muscles become less full with age

Marcela underwent the 'spider web butt lift' less than two weeks ago with Dr Aleix Bazzi and Dr Payman Simoni in Los Angeles.

Named after the unusual pattern created on a patient's rear that the PDO threads (tiny lines of collagen) are inserted into, the procedure costs $3,000 (2,320) - and works by encouraging cellular renewal and renewing elasticity.

She said: 'I want to maintain the way I look and keep people guessing how old I am, people can't believe I have a 17-year-old son.

'For the past five years I have done a lot of research to maintain youthful skin from leech treatment to taking care of my body, quitting soda and meat.

HOW DOES THE SPIDER WEB BUTT LIFT WORK? Dr Aleix Bazzi explains that the procedure is based upon a spider web, one of the strongest structures in nature. He says: 'The threads of collagen are inserted apart from each other and don't touch or tie one to another once they are inserted into the skin, in the dermis. It produces collagen, leaving the skin lifted, tight and more youthful. The spider web pattern ensures that the collagen threads are evenly distributed If you look at the butt it's a circular object, so we create a swirl so to speak. The way I did it with the web allows it all to connect and form a web-like collagenesis in a circular fashion. The threads will enhance the skin colour and texture but improves the cellulite dimpling affect too. When adding collagen, which is a stimulating substance, you improve the texture and the cellulite's appearance. Because of the number of threads used, Marcela will have a better duration of improvement.' Advertisement

'I know with ageing of the muscles you start to lose volume in every part of your body, so I know this will help me.

She adds that she hopes the lift will 'prevent sagging' and 'give a bit of extra volume too'.

'I felt no pain at all, I encourage anyone who is scared of plastic surgery to try the treatment. I want to keep looking as young as I can with procedures and a healthy lifestyle, I feel more confident.

What drove her to undergo the scary-looking procedure? 'I'm looking for the eternal fountain of youth, a new way of life, so I look the best I can be without modifying or changing my body through surgery.

'I'm doing all I can to avoid ageing, I like to say I'm ageing beautifully.'

The treatment gets its name from the pattern doctors use to map out where the injections should go into the skin; a spider web is one of the strongest structures in nature

Marcela said the procedure didn't hurt but was offered some gas to help with the multiple injections, which are left in the skin for 45 minutes

Is this the secret to the perfect bottom? Dr Aleix holds the pre-prepared mini injections of collagen placed in the bottom to rejuvenate skin

Just after the procedure, Marcela was left with minor bruising from the injections...but two weeks on, she says she can already see improvements to her skin and volume

The beauty, who won't reveal her age, says people can't believe it when she tells them she has a 17-year-old son

Marcela believes her fixation for body alteration stemmed from not being allowed to play with Barbie dolls as a child, because her mother considered them to be 'too fake'.

Now she is determined to alter and prevent herself from ageing through non-invasive procedures.

Marcela said: 'Marcela Iglesias, an Argentinian living in California, is so keen to drink from the 'fountain of youth' that she underwent the $3,000 procedure, which involves having 100 mini injections in her bottom.

'The injections of collagen improve cellular renewal and improves the skin's elasticity. Mother-of-three Marcela says she'll do anything to stop the ageing process. I couldn't express myself the way I wanted.

I felt nothing, I was completely comfortable during the procedure and I will do it again if I want to... Marcela Iglesias

'Internally I would love to look like Super Girl, but as a child I couldn't go out like that nor look crazy, no one would let me and would criticise me to the point of bullying.'

Marcela underwent leech therapy seven month ago to keep her face looking youthful and now she's trying to stop her butt from sagging.

She said: 'I'm a Latina woman with round buttocks, so it has always been kind of big.

'I was ashamed back then but now I think 'Thank god big butts are in' and I would like to maintain it as much as I can.

'I've never had any plastic surgery in my life but would like to maintain what I have and make it better with non-invasive procedures.'

Marcela created the Plastics of Hollywood platform in 2016, dubbed the 'Real Life Barbie Doll House' that hosts people wanting to alter themselves through surgery.

Among the talent includes: Rodrigo Alves, Justin Jedlica, Pixie Fox, Jennifer Pamplona, Bryan Ray, Luis Padron, Nikki Exotika and many more.

Marcela said: 'My mother never bought me a Barbie doll to play with as a child because she said they looked fake, but now I have the real human dolls to have fun with.

Dr Aleix at work: The threads are inserted apart from each other and don't touch or tie one to another once they are inserted into the skin, in the dermis

'I am amazed by people who can achieve certain looks or turn themselves into characters and couldn't believe these people didn't have a platform like mine that supports them unconditionally.'

While a lot of individuals on the platform focus on going under the knife, Marcela is trying to find her way around it with as little pain and the least invasive way possible.

She said: 'But for this procedure, I was literally working on my phone and making jokes.

'I felt nothing, I was completely comfortable during the procedure and I will do it again if I want to.

'I was always scared of plastic surgery because I have seen 'the good, the bad and the ugly' and there's a lot more bad and ugly, than good.'

The procedure that typically takes 45 minutes uses polydioxanone (PDO) a strong flexible fibre that break down in the body within one to two months.

The effect can last for up to a year dependent on the amount of threads used and can be applied to any area of skin from the face to the abdomen, arms and other places.

I'm looking for the eternal fountain of youth, a new way of life, so I look the best I can be without modifying or changing my body through surgery...

It was performed by Dr. Aleix Bazzi of L'Artiste Aesthetics and Dr. Payman Simoni from Simoni Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Bazzi said: 'The threads are inserted apart from each other and don't touch or tie one to another once they are inserted into the skin, in the dermis.

'It produces collagen, leaving the skin lifted, tight and more youthful.

If you look at the butt it's a circular object, so we create a swirl so to speak.

'The way I did it with the web allows it all to connect and form a web-like collagenesis in a circular fashion.

'The threads will enhance the skin colour and texture but improves the cellulite dimpling affect too.

'When adding collagen, which is a stimulating substance, you improve the texture and the cellulites appearance.

'Because of the number of threads used, Marcela will have a better duration of improvement.'
Advertisement

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge got handy in the kitchen today before heading off to Prince Charless birthday party.

The couple were in South Yorkshire where they visited a project run by the homeless charity Centrepoint, a cause the prince was introduced to by his later mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

At the charity's the Quarry View hostel in Barnsley  where 17 young people stay - William and Kate helped prepare lunch.

The prince stirred Omeros Red Pepper and Chorizo soup as his wife sliced some breading, joking: Dont look at how evenly I cut it.

William then took a tray and gingerly walked into a second kitchen to sit down with two young people whove been helped by Centrepoint and two staffers for a bite to eat.

Im doing my balancing the soup act, the prince said as he moved down the right corridor. Sorry to keep you waiting for your lunch  weve been talking too much as usual.

The Duchess of Cambridge, pictured, apologised for her bread slicing skills, saying: I think I cut some rather big slices. The couple were visiting a project run by homeless charity Centrepoint during their whistlestop tour of South Yorkshire

The Duchess of Cambridge chats to young people at Centrepoint in Barnsley this afternoon. At the charity's the Quarry View hostel in Barnsley  where 17 young people stay - William and Kate helped prepare lunch for residents and workers

After their turn in the kitchen, William took a tray and walked into a second kitchen to sit down with two young people whove been helped by Centrepoint and two staffers for a bite to eat, pictured

Kate apologised for her bread cutting skills as she met Centrepoint staff and residents in Barnsley today. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge got handy in the kitchen today before heading off to Prince Charless birthday party

Royal blue! The Duchess of Cambridge, pictured, dazzled in a recycled 1,650 coat from Eponine this morning as she and William arrived in South Yorkshire for a busy day of engagements ahead of Prince Charles' birthday bash

Kate apologised for her bread slicing skills, saying: I think I cut some rather big slices.

Dont be put off by the size of Catherines bread. Theyre enough to wedge the door, her husband joked.

The soup the couple served is part of the Big Broth project which raises money for Centrepoint and is now on sale at Waitrose and the Ocado online grocer.

The charity also hopes people will use the soups to invite friends and family to share meals and raise some money for homeless people.

The prince and his wife also visited the Andy Norman Learning Hub, a dedicated area providing resources for young people to improve their chances of moving towards independent living.

Last year, 7,000 young people in Yorkshire and the Humber approached their local authority because they were homeless or at risk.

Centrepoint was one of the first charities that William adopted in 2005  following his mother by being royal patron.

Lunchtime! The couple take their seats after serving lunch, before talking with residents and workers during their visit to Centrepoint Barnsley, South Yorkshire, before being whisked back to London by helicopter for Prince Charles' birthday

The Duchess shows off her culinary prowess at Centrepoint today. The soup the couple served is part of the Big Broth project which raises money for Centrepoint and is now on sale at Waitrose and the Ocado online grocer

Kate cooks up a storm in the kitchen today. The couple were in South Yorkshire where they visited a project run by the homeless charity Centrepoint, a cause the prince was introduced to by his later mother, Diana, Princess of Wales

The Duchess of Cambridge whips up some homemade food. The couple were in South Yorkshire where they visited a project run by the homeless charity Centrepoint, a cause the prince was introduced to by his later mother, Diana, Princess of Wales

The couple chat to young people at Centrepoint on Wednesday. The charity also hopes people will use the soups to invite friends and family to share meals and raise some money for homeless people

Prince William, centre right and Kate, centre left, stand to reveal a sign, during a visit to open the Quarry View Centrepoint in Barnsley, in Yorkshire this afternoon. Centrepoint will work to provide homeless young people with accommodation and support to get them back into education, training and employment

Kate paired her coat dress with matching suede pumps and a clutch. William and Kate will meet those working in the factory this morning and hear about plans for the centres expansion that will provide 200 new jobs for the local area

Busy day: William and Kate, who are expected to celebrate Prince Charles ' 70th birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace tonight, were all smiles as they touched down in Rotherham on Wednesday ahead of a busy day of engagements

Twinning: The Duke and Duchess, who are fond of colour coordinating were wearing perfectly-matched shades of blue. Kate wore a recycled Eponine London coat dress while William wore a dark suit, pale blue shirt and matching tie

All smiles: The royal couple shared a giggle with their host as they arrived at the McLaren Automotive Composites Technology Centre on November 14. William's father, the Prince of Wales, will celebrate his 70th birthday tonight in London

Kate wore an eye-catching blue number in South Yorkshire this morning. The couple will officially open McLaren Automotives new Composites Technology Centre in Rotherham this morning, before travelling to Barnsleys local Centrepoint hostel

Ready to party: Kate, 36, wore her signature chestnut locks in loose curls, most likely the work of royal hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker. She is likely to undergo an outfit change tonight for her father-in-law's glittering 70th birthday bash

Earlier in the day the couple visited car-maker McLaren Automotives new Composites Technology Centre, meeting factory workers and chatting to some of McLarens STEM Ambassadors about their work encouraging children to get involved in science-based learning and careers.

After their engagements they helicoptered back to London in time for Williams fathers birthday bash.

The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled in a recycled 1,650 coat dress this morning as she and William arrived in South Yorkshire for their busy day of engagements.

The couple, who are expected to celebrate Prince Charles' 70th birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace tonight, were all smiles as they touched down in Rotherham on Wednesday.

Kate, 36, wore her hair in a bouncy blow dry which was most likely the work of royal hairdresser Amanda Cook Tucker. She is likely to undergo an outfit change tonight for her father-in-law's glittering 70th birthday celebrations.

A masterclass in McLaren! Kate and William inspect a carbon fibre tub during their visit to McLaren Automotive's new Composites Technology Centre in Rotherham this morning, the first of two pit-stops in South Yorkshire

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, opened McLaren Automotives new 50m production facility today. The centre will boost local skills and create over 200 new jobs, McLaren said

Kate and William, far right, look on during a visit to McLaren Automotive's new Composites Technology Centre in Rotherham. The couple are expected to travel back to London this afternoon ahead of Prince Charles' birthday celebrations

The Duke of Cambridge was in his element as he inspected machine parts at McLaren Automotive's new Composites Technology Centre in Rotherham on Wednesday ahead of tonight's birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace

All smiles: At one point during her tour of the factory in Rotherham Kate broke into fits of giggles. After their first pit stop, the couple travelled onto nearby Barnsley to visit a shelter run by Centrepoint, of which William is patron

Making it official: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied by the Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, unveil a plaque commemorating their visit and the official opening of the factory

The mother-of-three first wore the royal blue number from Eponine London, cut from double wool crepe and featuring a cinched-in waist, on a visit to Child Bereavement UK Centre in London last year, but she gave the look a fresh twist this morning with a 450 leather clutch from Smythson.

The couple will officially open McLaren Automotives new Composites Technology Centre in Rotherham this morning, before travelling to Barnsleys local Centrepoint hostel.

While at the hostel, the Cambridges will meet with young people who are supported by the charity - of which William has been a patron since 2005 - and visit their new Learning Hub.

Rotherham's revamped McLaren Composites Technology Centre will be used to innovate the process of designing and constructing lightweight carbon fibre tubs, which form the internal shell of all McLaren cars.

After exiting their chauffeured vehicle on Wednesday morning, the motoring-mad Duke of Cambridge couldn't help but sneak a glance at the gleaming orange sports car that was parked outside the McLaren factory in Rotheram

Old favourite: The Duchess of Cambridge teamed her recycled Eponine London frock with a pair of old Rupert Sanderson suede pumps, pictured. She is a fan of recycling pieces in her wardrobe, earning her the nickname 'thrifty Kate'

The mother-of-three wore a royal blue number from Eponine London, cut from double wool crepe and featuring a cinched-in waist. She gave the look a fresh twist this morning with a 450 leather clutch from Smythson, pictured

Back to business: The Duchess of Cambridge, who recently returned to public duties after her maternity leave following the birth of Prince Louis in April, appeared to be in high spirits as she arrived in South Yorkshire with William this morning

The Duke and Duchess appeared to be in high spirits as they arrived in Rotherham this morning. They will later travel to Barnsley where they will visit one of Centrepoints services, which supports over 60 homeless young people

Despite the gloomy weather conditions in south Yorkshire this morning, Kate was all smiles as she exited her vehicle with William ahead of their tour of the factory in Rotherham. Later the couple will visit a Centrepoint shelter

Royally nice to meet you! Kate is introduced to one of her hosts who will show them around the McLaren factory in Rotherham today. It's set to be an interesting visit for motoring-mad William, who will later join his wife at a Centrepoint shelter

Form fitting: Kate's dazzling blue coat dress, which was nipped in at the waist with a thin belt, showed off her trim post-baby body. The Duchess recently returned to public duties from her maternity leave after welcoming Prince Louis in April

The Duchess was wearing a royal blue coat dress from Eponine London, cinched in at the waist with a thin buckled belt and featuring oversized metal buttons. She last wore the structured number in London in January 2017

Kate opted for a recycled Eponine London dress in Rotherham this morning. The couple will officially open McLaren Automotives new Composites Technology Centrem, before travelling to Barnsleys local Centrepoint hostel

Mother-of-three Kate, 36, brought a touch of glamour to proceedings today as she sported a bouncy blow dry to visit the newly revamped McLaren Composites Technology Centre in Rotherham with her husband the Duke of Cambridge

Kate was sporting an enviable blow dry in Rotherham this morning. She and William will officially open McLaren Automotives new Composites Technology Centre, before travelling to Barnsleys local Centrepoint hostel

The couple (pictured leaving the McLaren Composites Technology Centre in Rotherham this morning) stayed at the factory for about an hour before travelling to their next port of call, a Centrepoint shelter in nearby Barnsley

Following their visit to Rotherham (pictured), the Duke and Duchess visited a Centrepoint shelter. Last year alone, some 7,000 young people in Yorkshire and the Humber approached their local authority because they were homeless or at risk

After lunch, the couple visited Centrepoints new Andy Norman Learning Hub in Barnsley (pictured) which has been built to provide a dedicated space and resources for young people at risk of homelessness in Barnsley, and will enable them to improve their skills and move towards independence

The Duke and Duchess were shown the prototype manufacturing line that includes industrial processes for cutting and fitting carbon fibre.

The carbon fibre car chassis produced here will then be assembled at McLarens site in Woking, which William visited last year.

William and Kate met staff working in the 50m factory in Catcliffe this morning and hear about plans for the centres expansion that will provide 200 new jobs for the local area.

Some of McLarens STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) ambassadors will also be present at the event and will speak to the royal couple about their work encouraging children to get involved in science-based learning and careers.
She was recently forced to cancel a string of engagements due to a suspected 'intestinal infection' but Queen Maxima was back to work with a bang on Wednesday.

The Queen of the Netherlands returned to her duties with not one but two engagements, kicking off the day with a finance meeting at The Hague.

She has since had a quick costume change to join her husband King Willem-Alexander to welcome the Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen and his wife Doris Schmidauer to the Netherlands.

The royal couple welcomed their visitors to the Palace Noordeinde in the Netherlands on the first day of their official visit.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands made a statement in a yellow feathered necklace as she welcomed the President of Austria to her home on Wednesday

Never a wallflower when it comes to her style choices Maxima made a bold statement in a plum coloured outfit as she welcomed their esteemed guests.

She paired her belted purple dress with an oversize silk coat in the same colour and even opted for the same shade when it came to her accessories in the form of a pair of leather gloves, a matching clutch and shoes.

The millinery loving monarch finished her look with a wide brim hat in the same mulberry tone.

Once inside the palace Maxima removed her cape to showcase a flamboyant yellow necklace made up of gems and feathers.

Never a wallflower when it comes to her style choices Maxima made a bold statement in a plum coloured outfit as she welcomed their esteemed guests

The guests joined the royal couple for a lunch reception and could be seen toasting their visit over a glass of wine

Once inside the palace Maxima removed her coat as she posed for photos with president Alexander Van der Bellen and his wife Doris Schmidauer alongside King Willem-Alexander

The president, who was sat beside the king, gave a shirt speech during the luncheon

She added a pair of matching earrings to the ensemble as she posed for photos with the President and the First Lady of Austria alongside the Dutch King.

The guests joined the royal couple for a lunch reception and could be seen toasting their visit over a glass of wine.

Earlier today the Argentinian-born royal paired her flared tweed trousers with a puffed sleeved blouse in the same material but a lighter shade as she attended a meeting at The Hague.

She cinched her waist with a skinny tan coloured belt and opted for a chic clutch and pointed court shoes in the same colour.

The 47-year-old wore her golden tresses in loose waves showcasing a pair of statement earrings.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands returned to work today after being forced to cancel a string of engagements due to a suspected 'intestinal infection'

The Dutch royal attended the launch of the Debt Lab NL in The Hague on Wednesday where she looked chic in coordinating check

Maxima appeared to be in a typically good mood as she arrived for the launch of the debt lab NL today.

The mother-of-three beamed as she arrived to cheers from local well-wishers who had gathered in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the royal.

Today sees the launch of the the debt lab which is a partnership between public and private parties and aims to make the Netherlands debt free.

The Queen of the Netherlands attended the ceremony in capacity of her role as the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.

Appointed the role in 2009, she advises the Secretary-General, and works worldwide to make financial services accessible to all, including low-income groups.

The 47-year-old appeared to be back to full health as she arrived for her meeting this morning

The Argentinian-born royal paired her flared tweed trousers with a puffed sleeved blouse in the same material but a lighter shade

Today sees the queen return to work after being forced to cancel a string of engagements due to ill-health.

The Dutch royal who recently enjoyed a state visit to the UK with her husband King Willem-Alexander, 51, is believed to be suffering with a suspected intestinal infection.

The news was announced by the royal family this week in a short statement that said: 'Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will not be carrying out any official duties for the coming period on the advice of her doctor.

'Her health symptoms point to an intestinal infection. Further tests will be done to confirm this diagnosis.'

Queen Maxima was due to undertake a trip to Tanzania in her role as the United Nations Secretary-Generals Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, which has been cancelled.

She cinched her waist with a skinny tan coloured belt and opted for a chic clutch and pointed court shoes in the same colour

Maxima has three daughters, Catharina-Amalia, 14, Alexia, 13 and Ariane, 11, with husband King Willem-Alexander, 51.

Maxima has endured a difficult few months, recently flying to Buenos Aires for the funeral of her younger sister, Ines Zorreguieta.

Ines took her own life at the age of 33 following a lengthy battle with depression.

Maxima pulled out of several state visits in the wake of Ines death in June, bravely returning to work two weeks later.
John Cleese has been slammed on social media after he branded a joke about California's wildfires 'magnificent'.

The veteran British actor, 79, took to Twitter to share a joke he'd heard while dining out at a restaurant in Sacremento, California.

The US state is currently besieged by wild fires, with the death toll currently at 50, with hundreds of animals also thought to have perished and thousands left homeless.

Scroll down for video

Poor taste? John Cleese sparked a Twitter storm after posting a joke he'd heard about the California wildfires while dining out at a restaurant in Sacremento. The 79-year-old actor called the joke 'magnificent'

Some 50 people have now died in the California wildfires with the town of Paradise - the subject of the joke Cleese shared - among the worst-hit areas, with 48 people succumbing to the raging flames (Pictured: The Woolsey Fire burns in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area)

The Monty Python actor divided opinion after he tweeted his experience after dining out at Italian restaurant Lucca.

He wrote: 'Invited tonight to a Sacramento restaurant called Lucca, by the owner Erin.

'She said that last night several people came in to eat who were from Paradise, the place that just burned to the ground.

'She told me that they wanted everything they ordered flambeed. Magnificent...'

At least 48 people have been killed in the northern Camp Fire, close to the town of Paradise, and two more have perished in the southern Woolsey Fire, which has consumed much of Malibu.

Deeply offended, @LennyBellows replied: 'As funny as the dozens of people that burned to death.'

@Jeff_in_3D agreed, saying: 'I can't tell if this is a joke in very poor taste or somehow a real story.

'The thing about good humor, even his style of humor, is that it's tasteful. dry humor can still be tasteful. There's nothing tasteful about this, especially while the fire is still burning.'

Cleese defended posting the tweet and clarified that he had genuinely been told the story by the owner of the Sacramento restaurant.

The actor said: 'But it was their joke, and they were the ones who had suffered. That's what makes it magnificent.'

Others, however, defended the joke, saying humour is necessary in difficult times.

'@gingeriffic_knh wrote: 'I'm from south Louisiana. I lived through Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and the floods that destroyed my parents' home two years ago.

'If you can't have humor after you've lost everything else, what can you have?'

MailOnline has contacted John Cleese for comment.

Earlier this year, John Cleese revealed he was leaving Britain in disgust because he doesn't like the newspapers or the voting system.

The former Monty Python comic said in an interview that he'd rather live in sun-soaked island of Nevis in the Caribbean in November.

He said he was angry that politicians hadn't brought in proportional representation or ordered a second Leveson inquiry.

John Cleese has announced he is leaving the UK for the Caribbean because he doesn't like British newspapers, the British voting system or the way Brexit was debated

The former comedian told Newsnight's Emily Maitlis he was heading off the island of Nevis

Cleese, famous for his silly walks sketch, will set up home of the beautiful island of Nevis

Cleese said he was 'so disappointed with so much about this country at the moment' and is going to 'try somewhere else'.

The Fawlty Towers comedian, 78, told BBC's Newsnight: 'I'm very disappointed with the way the country is run. My particular beef is with the newspapers.'

Cleese, who backed Brexit, said he was 'depressed' with the standard of debate around the referendum and didn't like David Cameron and George Osborne's scaremongering.

Among his other gripes, he listed bankers, the dearth of good comedy on TV and the lack of irony among 'George W Bush voters' in the US.
Advertisement

After much fan-fare, furniture from one of the world's most famous nightclubs has gone on display ahead of being auctioned off by Christie's to the highest bidders.

Annabel's, which has wined and dined famous faces including The Beatles, Naomi Campbell and even the Queen since it first opened its doors in 1963, is selling off some of its most iconic pieces of decor after moving to a new address two doors down earlier this year.

Current owner Richard Caring originally kept the old site as a venue to host private parties. However, after deciding the plan was no longer viable, the public now have the chance to purchase a little piece of London's social history.

Going under the hammer are dining sets, mirrors from the bar, and even Annabel's iconic red velvet corner sofa, which Naomi Campbell once posed on.

Scroll down for video

Annabel's, named after Annabel Goldsmith first opened its doors in 1963 and moved two doors down for a recent refurb...leaving the club's previous decor up for grabs at auction. The famous red-velvet sofa, looking remarkably plush, has seen plenty of A-lister conversation in its confines, with Naomi Campbell (pictured below) among those who've perched upon it

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, reclining on the famous red velvet sofa in 2015. The piece of furniture will go under the hammer on November 20th in a landmark auction at Christie's

The famous Bodhisattva from the Buddha Room at Annabel's nightclub is also going up for sale and is expected to fetch thousands

The Mayfair celebrity haunt, which commands an annual subscription of up to 2,750, is one of the most exclusive nightclubs in the world and has played host to the likes of Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, and even royalty such as the late Princess Diana.

The auction comprises over 250 pieces, from Old Master paintings to furniture, glassware, silver and lighting and crystal champagne coupes.

Annabel's, which once stood at 44 Berkeley Square from 1963, moved two doors down into a Grade I-listed Georgia House earlier this year.

The club was completely refurbished and its new outpost has become something of a pilgrimage for Instagrammers, thanks in part to the pink onyx oyster shell-shaped sinks in the powder room, complete with gold swan taps.

If mirrors could talk! A Christie's employee polishes candelabras on a lavish circular mirror, a feature in the Fireplace Bar, ahead of the sale. The club has welcomed royalty including Princess Diana, Prince Andrew, William and Harry and even the Queen

A set of champagne coupes that will have been used by the likes of Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, and even royalty such as the late Princess Diana, are among the lots going on sale on November 20th

Atmosphere: Items from the club's famous Buddha Room including a navy chesterfield sofa and Chinese artwork

The lot, which goes under the hammer on 20 November, also includes antique crockery and tableware that has graced the hands of some of the world's most rich and famous partygoers.

And those wanting to get their hands on a piece of history can snap up the famous red velvet sofa that patrons including Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss have reclined on over the years.

Another highlight includes a table for eight comprising eight dining chairs with the quintessential red and green upholstery, a circular restaurant table, a table lamp and eight place settings.

Grab a masterpiece: For all the frivolity of Annabel's, the Mayfair Club owned some impressive artwork before it moved to a new home earlier this year

Refined setting: Membership to the club commands an annual subscription of up to 2,750 which accounts for the lavish interiors. Those members who signed up to the club originally still pay just 5.25 a year to visit

The nation's most famous private members club, Annabel's welcomed a host of aristocratic and flamboyant revellers

These include wine glasses, plates, cutlery, table cloth, napkins, salt and pepper and a toast rack for the full Annabel's experience.

Mementos of legendary evenings in the club's private dining room include a George III silver soup tureen, which was presented by the Ambassadors to the Court of St. James to Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942).

From champagne glasses to Limoges tableware and multiple sets of bar stools, to the mirrors from Annabels infamous bar, Christie's claim the sale offers 'endless tantalising and storied delights'.

When Mark Birley and Annabel Goldsmith first opened the club in 1963, they invited 500 of their friends to become founder members  those alive now still pay a fixed annual membership of 5.25 a year.

The club has since hosted everyone from the Queen (apparently she likes a gin martini  no lemon) to Frank Sinatra (he tipped the cloakroom attendant 100 for helping him with his cufflinks), a drunken John Wayne (you can tell your buddies you hung out with John Wayne, he slurred to a surprised man alongside him at the urinals) to, most famously of all, Princess Diana and the Duchess of York disguised as giggling policewomen after failing to gatecrash Prince Andrews stag do.
Ivanka Trump flashed a smile as she strutted out of her Washington, D.C. home on Wednesday morning.

The 37-year-old first daughter looked sleek in a black patchwork plaid suit by Dolce & Gabbana as she headed to work for the day.

Ivanka's designer blazer features an oversized button that cinched her waist, and she wore the jacket over a simple black top.

Heading out: Ivanka Trump, 37, looked sleek as she stepped out of her Washington. D.C. home on Wednesday morning

All dolled up: The first daughter was wearing a Dolce & Gabbana blazer with an oversized button that cinched her waist and matching dress pants

Look: Ivanka topped off her power suit with a pair of classic black patent leather pumps

The White House senior adviser left her straight blonde hair loose around her shoulders and sported minimal jewelry aside from a pair of stud earrings.

She topped off her power suit with a pair of classic black patent leather pumps, and she carried $3,400 Chanel Executive Tote.

While the businesswoman used to promote her now-defunct Ivanka Trump brand by carrying the label's affordable handbags, she has been sporting her pricey designer tote as of late.

Ivanka looked like she was ready for the runway when she stepped out of the bottom gate of her home, which is located in D.C.'s ritzy Kalorama neighborhood.

It was another late start for the mother-of-three, who headed to work at about 9:50 a.m. for the second day in a row.

Style: The White House senior adviser carried $3,400 Chanel Executive Tote

Heading to work: Ivanka got a late start and was seen leaving about about 9:50 a.m.

Transportation: Ivanka headed straight to the Secret Service SUV parked outside of her home

Meanwhile, Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, was seen leaving bright and early on Wednesday morning.

The 37-year-old White House senior adviser flashed a smile as he walked down the front steps of his home with his work bag in his hand.

Ivanka later attended a meeting at the US Capitol, during which she discussed the future implementation of the BUILD (Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development) Act, alongside Senator Bob Corker.

The first daughter seemed delighted to be part of the meeting, and was seen laughing happily as she and Bob kicked off the conversation.

On Tuesday evening, Ivanka had joined members of the Indian and Southeast Asia community during a Diwali Festival of Lights ceremony that as held at the White House.

The five-day event coincides with the Hindu new year and is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains worldwide.

The first daughter was all smiles at the celebration, and earlier in the day, two of her three children gave her a special send-off before she headed to work.

Meetings: Ivanka later attended a meeting in the US Capitol about investments

Having fun: The first daughter was seen laughing at something Senator Bob Corker was saying as the two led the meeting, which was focused on the implementation of the BUILD Act

Ready to go: She was certainly dressed for the occasion in her businesslike suit

On the go: Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, was seen leaving bright and early on Wednesday

Ivanka's seven-year-old daughter, Arabella, and two-year-old son, Theodore, were seen standing inside the bottom gate of their home while waiting to see her go.

Arabella, who appeared to have had the day off from school, was sporting dozens of mini braids clipped into her hair as well as a floral bomber jacket, black leggings, and black laceless sneakers.

The little girl's light brown hair was pulled back aside from the clip-in plaits that were framing the front of her face.

She was carrying a small piece of paper in her hand, and at one point, she was seen reading it while she and her baby brother waited for their mom.

Theodore, meanwhile, looked like he was in the middle of breakfast.

The tot was still wearing his bib over his sunny yellow sweater while braving the morning chill.

All smiles: Ivanka joined in for a Diwali Festival of Lights ceremony at the White House on Tuesday evening

Outfit of the day: Earlier on Tuesday, Ivanka stepped out in a $1,650 boucle jacket by Escada and black dress pants, which she paired with black pumps

Siblings: Ivanka's seven-year-old daughter, Arabella, and two-year-old son, Theodore, gave her a sweet send-off before she headed to work

It's unclear if their five-year-old brother, Joseph, was also home with them.

Little Arabella had a bright smile on her face as her mother her mother stepped out of their home while on her way to work.

Ivanka was wearing a $1,650 boucle jacket by Escada and black dress pants that matched the black bow details on her ladylike white tweed topper.

The first daughter paired the look with black heels and her black Chanel handbag.

On her left wrist was a red string bracelet that she has been wearing off and on for over a year now.

Though she hasn't spoken about the purpose of the string, it does bear a resemblance to the type of red string that Kabbalah practitioners wear to ward off the 'evil eye.'

Although she is known to smile at the paparazzi waiting outside her door, Ivanka didn't even glance in the direction of the cameras as she made the short walk to the Secret Service SUV parked in front of her home.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her sister-in-law Princess Sofia both opted for pastel ensembles as they attended a lunch in Stockholm today.

Victoria, 41, looked stylish in a pink coat and a burgundy dress underneath as she arrived at Stockholm Town Hall with husband Prince Daniel.

She finished off the look with a pair of burgundy heels and a matching clutch bag, while wearing her brunette locks in an elegant up-do.

Victoria and Daniel were joined by sister-in-law Sofia and Prince Carl-Philip, along with King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, at the lunch hosted for Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

President Mattarella is currently enjoying a three-day state visit in Italy, along with his daughter Laura.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden looked stylish in a pink coat and a burgundy dress as she arrived with Prince Daniel (left) for a lunch hosted in honour of Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Stockholm Town Hall

Princess Sofia, 33, opted for a matching lilac jumper and pencil skirt as arrived with husband Prince Carl Philip for the lunch in Stockholm on Wednesday

Queen Silvia, 74, meanwhile looked elegant in a red tweed jacket as she arrived at the lunch with Laura Mattarella (left) and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (right)

Sofia, 33, opted for a matching lilac jumper and pencil skirt as arrived with husband Prince Carl Philip.

She completed her elegant ensemble with a pair of grey heels, along with an embellished clutch bag, wearing her glossy locks down in loose waves.

Queen Silvia, 74, meanwhile looked elegant in a red tweed jacket with a silk pussy-bow shirt, along with a black pencil skirt, as she arrived at the lunch with Laura Mattarella.

The lunch today came as it was revealed last week that the Swedish royals would not be attending the Prince Charles' 70th birthday dinner, hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace tonight, due to the Italian state visit.

Victoria, 41, wore her hair up in an elegant chignon as she arrived at the lunch, held in honour of the Italian president

Victoria, who is heir to the throne, finished off her ensemble with burgundy heels and a matching clutch bag

Crown Princess Victoria later removed her coat to show off her burgundy dress as she greeted President Sergio Mattarella at the lunch

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia posed for a photograph with President Sergio Mattarella (far left) and his daughter Laura (second from left). They were joined by Chair of Stockholm City Council Cecilia Brinck (far right) and Mayor of Stockholm Anna Konig Jerlmyr (second from right)

On Tuesday night, the Swedish royals hosted the state banquet at Stockholm's Royal Palace as part of a three-day tour of the country by the Italian delegation.

Having visited Gustav IIIs Museum of Antiquities, the Hall of State, and the Royal Stables on Tuesday, the Sergio and Laura pair a visit to the Nationalmuseum and Reception Italian Cultural Institute.

On Thursday, the pair will visit Lund and Malmo, before flying back to Italy later that day.

The Italian state visit is focused on digital transformation and sustainability, European co-operation, research and culture.

As the daughter of President Sergio, who is a widow, Laura has accompanied her father on many trips and has acted as the First Lady of Italy since 2015.

Princess Sofia, 33, opted for a natural make-up look for the lunch, while wearing her glossy locks down in loose waves
The year 1968, when the Femail section first appeared, was very special for one family. It was the year that saw the last of the four Cavill siblings become newlyweds  and 50 years later, all four are still happily married and have celebrated their golden wedding anniversaries.

Whats more, the Cavills all live within a few miles of each other and the home where they grew up in rural Cornwall.

The oldest of the family, John, was the first to walk down the aisle in 1966, followed almost a year to the day later by sister Mary in 1967. Then came Doreen and David, who married in 1968.

Poignantly, the siblings lost their dad when they were children. Percy Cavill, a boilermaker at Falmouth Docks, died of emphysema in 1955, aged 55, leaving his widow, Dora, then 48, to raise their young family alone.

Mum was tough. She had lived through the Blitz in London, recalls Doreen. So there was no way she was going to go under.

Here the couples tell their own stories of the past 50 years . . .

Four siblings from the Cavill family have all hit their golden anniversaries - and here they reveal their secrets to 50 years of marriage. Pictured left to right: Mary and Bill Rollason, Maureen and John Cavill, Sheila and David Cavill, and Doreen and David MacQueen

In 1968, the Sheila and David Cavill married (pictured). The siblings thank their mother for their lasting marriages by teaching them that family comes first after raising them alone following the death of their father in 1955

WEVE FOSTERED 60 CHILDREN

John and Maureen Cavill, married on March 26, 1966. John, 73, a retired theatre practitioner and Maureen, 79, a retired health care assistant, have three children: Karen, 53, a shop assistant, David, 51, a technician and Shane, 50, a former fireman, and seven grandchildren.

JOHN SAYS: It was love at first sight when I met Maureen. Her father, a colleague, had invited me for tea. Maureen was in the sitting room, hair in curlers, doing the ironing. I flipped and fell for her.

Those first years were tough. I was in the Navy, and spending 18 months at a stretch at sea. In my pocket I carried a lock of Maureens hair and a lipstick kiss on a piece of paper. I marked off the days until we were reunited, like a prisoner waiting for his release.

I missed her so much, I left after nine years and retrained as a decorator. By then we had the children. We both loved having them so much that in 1988 we decided to become foster parents, and over the next 25 years we fostered at least 60 children.

Many were very disturbed  the result of broken homes or drug-addict parents. But they would calm down as soon as they saw our lovely poodle. Within seconds, they would be burying their faces in her fur.

I still feel blessed to be married to Maureen. She cared for me brilliantly when I had a heart attack four years ago. Now, after she had a minor stroke two years ago, its my turn to look after her. Thats what love is all about.

John and Maureen Cavill, married on March 26, 1966. John believes their marriage has lasted more than 50 years because they loved having children together, and ended up fostering at least 60 kids over the years

STILL CUDDLING UP ON THE SOFA

Mary and Bill Rollason married on March 25, 1967. Mary, 70, a retired cleaner, and Bill, 73, a retired financial adviser, have two daughters: Christine, 50, a sales assistant, and Sharon, 47, a teaching assistant, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

MARY SAYS: I knew on our honeymoon our marriage was for keeps. It wasnt just the passion  it was the laughs and the fact that nothing fazed us. We still hold hands in the street and cuddle on the sofa at night.

We had a quiet wedding. I was just 19 and Bill 22, and for our honeymoon Bill hired a car so we could tour Britain for a week.

I was in charge of map reading, but was so hopeless that, after our first night in Exeter, I accidentally directed us all the way back home to Truro. Bill just laughed and said we might as well stick to day trips.

There have been tough times, of course. Bill was made redundant just as we signed the mortgage agreement on our first house in 1980. But we muddled through.

We both lost our dads when we were children  I was seven and Bill 11, and thats been a bond between us.

It may be a cliche but the secret of a good marriage is give and take. Bills always been desperate to go on safari. I was petrified. But I agreed to go to Kenya last year and guess what: I loved it and cant wait to go again.

Mary and Bill Rollason married on March 25, 1967. Mary believes the secret to a good marriage is give and take, and the pair share a special bond because they both lost their fathers as children

The family thank their mother Dora, pictured with her husband Percival, for their long marriages as she taught them to put family first

GRANDCHILDREN BROUGHT US JOY

Doreen and David MacQueen married on June 15, 1968. Doreen, 69, a retired cleaner, and David, 73, a retired postman, have two children: Ian, 47, a policeman, and Helen, 41, a human resources supervisor, and three grandchildren.

DOREEN SAYS: When I left home on my brother Johns arm on my wedding day, the neighbours came rushing out to ooh and ahh over my dress. Then I heard one of them whisper: I give it a year. I dont blame her  I was barely 19 and had known David just six months.

In fact, I told my brother that morning I wanted to call the whole thing off. He said it was far too late and virtually dragged me down the aisle. He was right, as I have absolutely no regrets.

However, any couple who says they havent squabbled in 50 years is fibbing. Weve definitely had our share of humdingers.

I was hot-tempered as a young woman. And we didnt have the easiest start. We couldnt afford our own home, so we started married life in my childhood bedroom, with my mum across the landing. Weve lived here ever since, and Mum was with us until her death.

Doreen and David MacQueen married on June 15, 1968. The pair hit a rough patch after 25 years, but they rekindled their love after becoming grandparents

So poor David had to tolerate not just a cross wife, but a mother-in-law who always took her daughters side.

We hit a rough patch after wed been married for 25 years. Wed raised the children and wondered if there was a point going on.

But then our son, Ian, announced he was to be a dad, to our first grandchild, Craig. A granddaughter, Bethany, soon followed and a whole new horizon opened.

We love being grandparents and I adored watching David with our grandchildren. It made me fall in love with him all over again.

Strangely, life has come full circle. Just like Mum, our daughter, Helen, is a single parent to her daughter, Jodie, whos 21 and has just graduated from university. For the first years they lived with us  just as we did with Mum. We celebrated our golden wedding with a holiday in Corfu.

We feel lucky for finding each other, and so grateful we didnt give up on our marriage.

QUITTING IS NOT IN OUR DNA

David and Sheila Cavill married on September 7, 1968. David, 72, a retired postman, and Sheila, 71, a retired cleaner, have two sons: Marcus, 46, a carpenter, and Scott, 44, a postman, and four grandchildren.

DAVID SAYS: I adored my mum  she was strong, loving and fought like a tiger to ensure her kids never went without anything.

As soon as I met Sheila, who was working in a local fish and chip shop, I knew I had found the woman I wanted to marry.

Like Mum, Sheila is gentle on the outside but tough inside. She dumped me countless times before she agreed to get engaged. She then spent our wedding night in tears because she missed her mum! But I understood  we both adored our mothers.

Im sure its not coincidence that all four of us siblings have notched up 50 years. Mum taught us to put family first.

I suspect weve all had to work on our marriages. Sheila and I hit a blip when I retired and we had to learn to live together again. Sheila says shed got used to her own space, and even the sound of me crunching my toast would drive her nuts!

But none of us is a quitter. Its just not in our family tradition to get divorced.

All the little irritations pale into insignificance compared with the comfort of growing old together.

David and Sheila Cavill married on September 7, 1968. David believes all the little irritations pale into insignificance compared with the comfort of growing old together




They're enjoying the glow of newly married bliss after tying the knot last month, and the honeymoon period seems to still be in full swing for Princess Eugenie and her new husband.

The couple were spotted together for the first time since their nuptials as they arrived at her uncle Prince Charles' 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace this evening.

And gentleman Jack, 32, allowed his new wife to take the front seat as they were driven out of their home at Kensington Palace to attend the glittering party.

Eugenie, 29, donned a green one shoulder gown for the proceedings and wore her locks in loose waves, pinned back from her face in a simple style.

Jack's in the back! Princess Eugenie's new husband was content to let his wife take the front seat for their journey to Buckingham Palace to celebrate Prince Charles' 70th birthday

That newlywed glow! Eugenie looked radiant in a Grecian inspired one-shoulder green gown and wore her hair in a simple style with loose waves

Wine merchant Jack was suitably smart for the occasion in a tuxedo.

The couple, who first met in Verbier in 2010, tied the know in front of a star-studded congregation at St George's Chapel Windsor last month.

Robbie Wililams' daughter Teddy was a bridesmaid while models Kate Moss, Poppy and Cara Delevingne and Naomi Campbell were among the congregation, alongside Demi Moore, Stephen Fry and Jamie Redknapp.

After lunch hosted by the Queen, the couple celebrated into the small hours at a party at her family home, The Royal Lodge at Windsor.

Here come the newlyweds! Eugenie and Jack are pictured together in public for the first time since tying the knot last month

Enjoying the newly married lifestyle! Eugenie was all smiles as she made her way to Prince Charles' 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace

Travelling in style! While some members of the royal family drove themselves to the event, Eugenie opted to be chauffeured to the palace

Next day there was more partying, at a fairground-themed bash complete with rides and food stalls.

Last week, Eugenie's mother Fergie opened up about how delighted she is to have a new son-in-law, saying: She and Jack are just meant to be. He adores her, and now Ive got a son.

He will be the best consort there is, as Prince Albert was to Queen Victoria. I know it will be that sort of love match.

Eugenie and her long-term boyfriend Jack tied the knot at St George's Chapel Windsor in October

The happy couple are joining a host of European royals tonight to celebrate Charles' landmark 70th birthday.

Denmark's royal household has confirmed to MailOnline that Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik will be attending on behalf of the Danish royal family.

And in a stellar turnout for the Norwegian royals, King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will also be at Charles' birthday bash en masse, they announced this week.

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg will also be attending tonight, along with Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex dazzled in show-stopping diamond earrings for Prince Charles' birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace last night.

Kate, 36, and Meghan, 37, both pulled out all the stops and selected some of the most sparkly jewels in their collections as they toasted their father-in-law's 70th, surrounded by friends, family and European royalty.

Princess Beatrice, 30, also opted for eye-catching earrings, sporting a pair with a dramatic spiral design encrusted with sapphires and diamonds.

But her sister Princess Eugenie, 28, who has recently returned from honeymoon with husband Jack Brooksbank, appeared to miss the memo and arrived in a much more low-key pair.

Kate, who was wearing a pink evening gown sported drop earrings featuring a pear shaped central stone surrounded by diamonds to Charles' 70th birthday party

Meghan was equally sparkling in 'borrowed' diamond drop earrings, recently seen at an official reception in Fiji during the royal tour, although Kensington Palace have not revealed the original source

Princess Beatrice, 30, also opted for eye-catching earrings, sporting a pair with a dramatic spiral design encrusted with what appeared to be sapphires and diamonds

But her sister Princess Eugenie, 28, who has recently returned from honeymoon with husband Jack Brooksbank, appeared to miss the memo and arrived without any on

Resplendent in a sherbet pink dress, Kate opted for a pair of drop earrings featuring a pear shaped central stone surrounded by diamonds, which she previously wore to the BAFTAs in 2017 and the 100 Women in Hedge Funds dinner in 2011.

They've never been identified as belonging to a particular brand, but they're thought to be part of the Duchess' own collection, rather than a loan from the Queen.

Pregnant Meghan was equally sparkling in diamond drop earrings, recently seen at an official reception in Fiji during the royal tour.

In the driving seat! Pregnant Meghan arrived alongside Prince Harry who looked dapper in a tux as he arrived at Buckingham Palace for his father's birthday bash

Something borrowed! Meghan's earrings may have originally belonged to the Queen, but Kensington Palace has refused to confirm

A close up look at Meghan's dazzling diamond arrings that Kensington Palace have previously confirmed are 'borrowed'

The mother-to-be debuted the eye-catching accessories during a reception in Fiji during the royal tour last month, pictured

At the time, Kensington Palace said they were borrowed but refused to confirm if they had come from the royal family's collection.

Meghan arrived alongside Prince Harry who looked dapper in a tux and took to the wheel to drive his pregnant wife to the party.

A host of European royals will gather tonight to celebrate Charles' landmark 70th birthday.

Despite official details being kept under wraps, kings, queens, princes and princesses from across the continent are expected to descend on Buckingham Palace for a glittering banquet held in Charles' honour.

William at the wheel! The Duke of Cambridge drove himself and his wife to the glittering party at Buckingham Palace

Adding some sparkle! Kate looked stunning in a pink ruffled evening gown, but her earrings were the real showstopper. She previously wore the statement pear-shaped diamond drops to the BAFTA Awards in 2017 (right)

A closer look at Kate's massive earrings

The guest list is shaping up to be suitably gilded, with a spate of royals set to hobnob with the likes of the Queen along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Denmark's royal household has confirmed to MailOnline that Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik will be attending on behalf of the Danish royal family.

And in a stellar turnout for the Norwegian royals, King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will also be at Charles' birthday bash en masse, they announced this week.

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg will also be attending tonight, along with Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.

The Prince of Wales, pictured in Ghana last week, will receive a host of European royals for his birthday tonight. It was revealed in September that invitations had already been sent out

IN: Denmark's Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik (pictured in Copenhagen in May) will be attending the Prince of Wales' 70th birthday party at Buckingham Palace next week behalf of the Danish royal family, they recently announced

IN: Norway's Queen Sonja and King Harald (pictured in Oslo in May 2017) as well as Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will also be there, they announced this week

IN: The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg will also be attending tonight (left, in June 2018), along with Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde (right, in May)

IN: The Yugoslavian Royal Court has indicated that the royal family have received an invitation, although they did not reveal whether they would be attending (Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine pictured in Stockholm in 2010)

The Serbian Royal Court has indicated that the royal family have received an invitation but did not reveal whether or not they would be attending.

Incidentally, Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia also celebrated her birthday this week, turning 75 on Tuesday.

Royal Central reports that the Swedish royals - King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel - will not be attending due to a prior engagement.

Sweden's most senior royals are hosting a state visit from Italian President Sergio Mattarella between 12 and 15 November.

Tonight's soiree will see hundreds of guests enjoy a reception followed by a lavish dinner, most likely in Buckingham Palace's opulent state rooms, with details kept strictly under wraps ahead of the big night.

OUT: The Swedish royals - King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia (pictured here in May 2018), and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel - will not be attending due to a prior commitment

OUT: Spain's King Felipe VI (pictured with his wife, Queen Letizia in Madrid, November 2017) is embarking on a three-day visit to Guatemala today, meaning the royal household is unlikely to be making an appearance at Charles' birthday bash tonight

OUT: The Dutch royals are also unlikely to join the celebrations tonight after Queen Maxima (pictured with King Willem-Alexander in Luxembourg) was spotted carrying out engagements in The Hague on Wednesday morning

It was revealed in September that invitations had already been sent out by the Queen, who is hosting the celebrations and is set to deliver a short speech.

As personal friends of Charles and Camilla, it is thought to be 'highly likely' that Norway's royal couple will attend.

Spain's King Felipe VI is visiting Guatemala today, meaning the royal household is unlikely to be making an appearance tonight.

The Dutch royals recently travelled to London for an official state visit to the UK, but are also unlikely to join the celebrations tonight after Queen Maxima was spotted carrying out engagements in The Hague on Wednesday morning.

MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace and the Spanish Royal Household for comment.
Photographs have emerged of Prince Harry and Meghan at a secret Kensington Palace dinner - the evening before Prince Charles' 70th birthday bash.

The Duchess of Sussex, 37, wowed in a chic black dress featuring her trademark bateau neckline at the event for non-profit organisation African Parks on Tuesday night.

She finished off her look with gold leaf earrings by Pippa Small, priced at 3,175, which she wore on the royal tour in Fiji, along with a 625 suede clutch bag by Gucci, first seen at a Commonwealth reception earlier this year.

Wearing her hair in an elegant up-do, Meghan - who is expecting her first child in the Spring - showed off her glowing complexion at the event.

The Duchess of Sussex, 37, wowed in a chic black dress at a secret Kensington Palace dinner for non-profit organisation African Parks on Tuesday night, which she attended with Prince Harry

The Duchess of Sussex (pictured with Harry and other guests) accessorised her dress with gold leaf earrings by Pippa Small, while wearing her hair up in an elegant up-do

The engagement at Kensington Palace came 24 hours before Prince Charles' glitzy 70th birthday bash, hosted at Buckingham Palace by the Queen.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex looked in high spirits at the dinner for African Parks at Kensington Palace on Tuesday night.

Both Meghan and Harry, 34, looked animated as they chatted to guests sat alongside them at the dinner.

Harry was appointed president of African Parks, an conservation NGO that manages national parks and protected areas, in December last year.

Meghan, who is expecting her first child in the Spring, finished her chic look with a 625 black clutch bag by Gucci

Both Harry, who is president of conservation NGO African Parks, and Meghan looked aniamted as they chatted with guests

The Duchess re-wore a pair of gold leaf earrings by Pippa Small, priced at 3,175, which she wore on the royal tour in Fiji (right) last month

Prince Harry and Meghan attended the secret engagement at Kensington Palace just 24 hours before Charles' 70th birthday bash

No official photographs have been released from the event but pictures, which appear to have been taken by guests, have been shared onto social media.

On Wednesday night, Harry and Meghan were pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace ahead of a banquet hosted in celebration of the Prince of Wales' 70th birthday.

Meghan dazzled in a pair of diamond drop earrings, recently seen at an official reception in Fiji during the royal tour.

At the time, Kensington Palace said they were borrowed but refused to confirm if they had come from the royal family's collection.

Meghan dazzled in a pair of diamond drop earrings as she arrived at the dinner at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday night, held to celebrated Prince Charles' 70th birthday

Prince Harry looked dapper in a tuxedo as he drove himself and Meghan to the dinner at Buckingham Palace

The Duchess arrived with Harry, who looked dapper in a tuxedo as he drove his pregnant wife to the dinner at Buckingham Palace.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were also spotted arriving for the event, along with Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, and Zara and Mike Tindall.

A host of European royals will gather tonight to celebrate Charles' landmark 70th birthday.

Despite official details being kept under wraps, kings, queens, princes and princesses from across the continent are believed to have descended on Buckingham Palace for a glittering banquet held in Charles' honour.
Two and a half years before her once-beautiful head was paraded around Paris on a spike, Marie Antoinette and her trusted lady-in-waiting Madame Campan spent a long, dark March evening secretly packing up the queen's jewels.

Every diamond, pearl and ruby was wrapped lovingly in cotton and stowed carefully in a wooden casket. There were signet rings, pearl and diamond earrings, diamond and ruby brooches and many strings of pearls.

Gems sewn to the queen's over-the-top dresses were painstakingly unpicked. Everything was done in silence and by candlelight in the decaying Tuileries Palace in Paris, where the royal family had been holed up since the mob forced them out of the Palace of Versailles in October 1789.

Marie Antoinette's jewels - spirited out of revolutionary France and hidden for centuries - are sold for 33million. Pictured: A depiction of Marie Antoinette in a film titled with her name

This 'slightly Baroque' natural pearl, 25mm high, is set with a diamond pendant and supported by a diamond bow. Sold for 28 million

In the first stage of the queen's doomed escape plan, her beloved jewels were to be passed, via the Comte de Mercy-Argenteau (the Austrian ambassador to France), to Marie Antoinette's nephew, the Emperor of Austria, in Vienna for safekeeping.

Years later they were reclaimed by Marie Antoinette and Louis's only surviving child, their daughter Marie-Therese, who became known as Madame Royale and later bequeathed some of the jewellery to her niece Louise of France, Duchess of Parma, who in turn left them to her son Robert I, the last ruling Duke of Parma (1848-1907).

Yesterday, more than 200 years after they were last seen in public, ten of Marie Antoinette's treasures, and part of a 100-piece collection held by the Italian royal house of Bourbon-Parma, were sold in Geneva in one of the most important royal jewellery auctions ever.

Those lovingly packed diamond and pearl drop earrings fetched a price of 277,000.

An impossibly tiny pinky ring studded with the initials MA in diamonds and containing a lock of her hair sold for 344,000.

A three-strand necklace consisting of 119 gently graduating natural pearls raised 1.77 million and an enormous yellow diamond, suspended from a large diamond-set bow that had been attached to one of the Queen's favourite belts, fetched 1.63 million.

But the key treasure was Marie Antoinette's Pearl, a natural pearl the size of a quail's egg, suspended from a diamond-set bow and topped with an oval-cut diamond which sold for 28 million.

Of course it did.

Because Marie Antoinette was a queen so profligate that her spending makes today's Russian oligarchs look positively thrifty.

She was never known for subtlety, whether in her absurdly lavish court, her wigs, her dresses, her lifestyle or, most of all, her beloved jewellery collection, which was the stuff of legend  by far the biggest collection of any French queen and rivalled only by that of Empress Josephine, the wife of Napoleon.

Marie Antoinette was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, who betrothed her to the dauphin King Louis XVI to strengthen ties between France and her native Austria.

She was just 14 and he 15 when they married and received two million francs worth of jewellery from her French father-in-law.

This brooch was created in the 19th century using diamonds from other royal pieces. Sold for 212,000

A pair of natural pearl and diamond earrings that once belonged to Marie Antoinette fetched 342,137 and a diamond ring decorated with the ill-fated queen's portrait, fetched 191,352

Inside this enamel and seed pearl pocket watch is a circular dial with Arabic numerals. The inside of the case is engraved 'MA'. Sold for 192,000

That was on top of a marriage contract from her mother, Maria Theresa, worth 500,000 francs, the occasional treat of a diamond ring or brooch, and the endless jewels Louis gave her over the years.

When she appeared in Paris, the crowd of 50,000 became so animated that more than 30 people were trampled to death.

For while her husband was a rather unremarkable man, with a low sex drive and a fascination for the workings of locks, she was a megastar, the original celebrity, whose smile held 'an enchantment' sufficient to win over 'the most brutal of her enemies'.

She was also vivacious, immature and filled Versailles with hangers-on who played silly games and, at her encouragement, pursued even sillier fashions.

French queen Marie Antoinette was often depicted wearing pearls and was famed for her love of jewellery

By the end of 1776 she had a dress allowance of 150,000 livres (the price of an average house in a French town was about 200 livres) but racked up bills of nearly 500,000 livres. She gambled, partied and spent a fortune on Petit Trianon, a model village in the palace grounds.

She turned Versailles into a hub for ridiculous fashions  wigs in particular. Packed with powder and decked out with ribbons, feathers, flowers, fruit, vegetables and stuffed birds, they grew bigger and bigger until women travelling from Paris to Versailles had to kneel on the floor of their carriages just to accommodate their hair. The queen's personal coiffeur, Leonard Autie, designed her own 4ft tall hair-do with a replica of the French warship La Belle Poule complete with four masts, sails and jewelled portholes.

But most of all Marie Antionette loved jewels.

She loved rubies so much that Louis raided the French crown jewels and gave her all the ruby pieces, but she particularly liked pearls and was frequently painted wearing multiple strands.

Meanwhile, outside Versailles the economy lurched, harvests failed, peasants starved and rumours began to swirl not only about her excesses, but also her serial infidelity.

It didn't help that the royal nuptials were not consummated for seven years until finally, in 1777, Marie Antoinette's mother sent one of her sons to Versailles to sort it out.

This diamond ring contains a rose diamond monogram MA and a lock of Marie Antoinettes hair. Sold for 344,000

Another item once owned by the Queen was a 300-pearl necklace which sold for 1,756,610. The pearls are natural, not cultured as most are today

(It remains unclear whether King Louis XVI underwent surgery for a painful medical condition that left him impotent, or whether the couple had just been  in the words of the emperor  'two complete blunderers'.) Later that year, Marie Antoinette gave birth to the first of their four children.

By then the Queen's once-bright star was fading. But ultimately it was neither her excesses nor the rumoured orgies that led to her downfall, but her passion for jewels.

The Affair of the Diamond Necklace in 1785 was a scandal about a stolen diamond necklace of immense value that historians claim paved the way for her execution. Made of 647 stones weighing nearly 2,800 carats, it was the most expensive in the world, valued at 1.6 million francs (35 million today).

It had been designed by Louis XV's court jeweller for the old king's mistress, Madame du Barry. But the monarch died before it was finished and an impoverished aristocrat called Jeanne de la Motte tried to steal it in an ambitious ruse involving a cardinal acting as a go-between and a prostitute imitating the queen.

This single-strand natural pearl necklace fetched 342,137. Her personal jewellery collection was smuggled out of France during the Revolution

The plotters were caught, but the necklace was never recovered (it was quickly broken up and the stones sent to London to be sold). And although Marie Antoinette had absolutely nothing to do with it, the nine-month trial  full of lies, scandal and fantasy  damaged her reputation irreparably, trumping the tales swirling from her court.

She faced public humiliation. When she visited Paris soon after giving birth to her fourth child, the crowd greeted her in 'perfect cold silence'.

She was nicknamed 'Madame Deficit'. Rumours swirled about her drinking, her lesbian tendencies and her sexual voracity  three quarters of the officers of the Gardes Francaises were said to 'have penetrated the queen'.

Even Napoleon later said: 'The queen's death must be dated from the Diamond Necklace trial.'

While only a fraction of her jewels were saved after the Revolution, this priceless cache, so carefully packed that night in 1791, finally came safely to her last surviving child, Marie-Therese, when the latter arrived in Vienna in 1796 after three years in solitary confinement. (The jewels had been kept safe by her cousin, the Austrian emperor.)

The Queen and King Louis XVI were less fortunate.

Model wearing Jewels owned by Marie Antoinette including The 'Queen Marie Antoinette's Pearl', Pair of natural Pearl and Diamond pendant earrings, late 18th Century, Important natural Pearl and Diamond necklace, Monogrammed ring containing a lock of the Queen's hair and Diamond Brooch, second half of the 18th Century Bourbon Parma Family jewellery

After the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, came bread riots and, on October 5, the stand-off between the royal family and the starving crowds in the courtyard of Versailles, where legend (incorrectly) has it that she said 'Qu'ils mangent du brioche'  'Let them eat cake'.

They were captured when they tried to flee Paris in June 1791, stopped just 30 miles from their stronghold and hauled back to the capital.

Nine months after the execution of her husband, Marie Antoinette was tried and found guilty on trumped-up charges that included high treason, sexual promiscuity and even incestuous relations with her son, Louis-Charles. At exactly 12.15pm on Wednesday, October 16, 1793, her head was cut off and exhibited to the jubilant public who had welcomed her with such hysteria just over 20 years earlier.

The last time jewellery linked to Marie-Antoinette came up for sale, buyers were squeamish. In 2007, the ruby and diamond Sutherland necklace, created by the 18th-century Countess of Sutherland and featuring diamonds given to her by Marie Antoinette shortly before the monarch's execution, failed to find a buyer when more than one potential client seemed concerned that it had belonged to someone who was beheaded. The blood-red rubies didn't help, either.

Yesterday, no one was put off and a bidding frenzy took place to secure jewels that span centuries of European history, from the fall of the last king of France to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the execution of one of the most profligate, misguided, misquoted and possibly misunderstood queens ever.

The infamous necklace created by the Paris jewellers Charles Bohemer and Paul Bassenge, which dragged Marie Antoinette into the 'Affair of the Diamond Necklace'
The world's most expensive bottle of gin costing 4,000 has gone on sale - but only 25 bottles are up for grabs.

The Morus LXIV Gin, created by London-based company Jam Jar Gin, is described as an 'exquisite rare gin', which has been distilled from the leaves of a single 100-year-old Mulberry tree.

The limited edition gin comes in a set consisting of a 70cl bottle and a 3cl bottle, which is priced at 200 alone.

The title of world's most expensive gin was previously given to Cambridge Distillerys Watenshi, which cost 2,000 a bottle.

The Morus LXIV Gin, created by London-based company Jam Jar Gin, costs 4,000 and comes in a set including a large 70cl bottle, a smaller 30cl bottle and a porcelain cup (far right)

The Morus LXIV gin went on sale exclusively at Harvey Nichol's flagship department store in Knightsbridge today, but is not available online.

According to the brand, a single batch of the cask-strength (64% ABV) gin takes more than two years of work to produce.

Explaining how the gin is made, the makers say: 'First, the leaves are harvested by hand from the ancient Mulberry Tree and complementary botanicals that grow nearby.

'These are individually hung and air-dried slowly in small batches to retain their rich flavour.

Cambridge Distillerys Watenshi, which cost 2,000 a bottle, was previously thought to be the world's most expensive gin

'When theyre just right, the very best are selected for distillation, where they are carefully balanced with further fine botanicals and gently distilled.'

Once distillation is complete, the liquid is then left to rest before being prepared for the 'intricate ageing process'.

The gin comes in handmade porcelain jars that have been embossed and polished, with the brand explaining how the containers have been 'painstakingly crafted as the liquid inside.'

The exclusive set also comes with a porcelain stirrup cup, contained in a leather hand-embossed hide.

As well as the 25 bottles of the 70cl gin, the Morus LXIV gins are also available separately in the 3cl size - with 205 of these up for grabs.
Ebola will continue to rock the Democratic Republic of the Congo until the middle of 2019, a World Health Organization boss has warned.

The outbreak has now killed 212 people out of a total 339 who have been infected, making it the worst in the African nation's history.

More than half of cases may be spreading inside pop-up 'health centres' which don't have running water and reuse needles, experts revealed today.

Peter Salama, the WHO's emergency response chief, has warned the international agency is expecting the disease to last 'at least another six months'.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now killed 212 people after infecting a suspected 339, and officials warn it will last 'at least another six months'

Of the 212 people who have died in the Ebola outbreak since it began in August, 174 of them were confirmed to have the virus, while the remaining 38 were 'probable' cases

'Its very hard to predict timeframes in an outbreak as complicated as this,' said Mr Salama.

'But certainly were planning on at least another six months before we can declare this outbreak over.'

The outbreak, which began in the north-eastern city of Beni and is taking place in the North Kivu region, has been difficult for authorities to control.

Among the 212 people who have died in the outbreak, 174 of them were confirmed to have had Ebola, with 38 of them 'probable' cases.

Of the total 339 believed to have been infected with the virus, which can cause people to bleed uncontrollably, 301 cases have been confirmed.

Many people are suspicious of health workers and avoid treatment, while armed groups in the area have kidnapped and killed people trying to treat the sick.

Now experts say one of the main places the disease is spreading is in the hundreds of unofficial, makeshift health centres in Beni.

These facilities can just be rooms in people's houses, may not even have running water for handwashing, and reuse needles for injecting medicines.

'Those facilities, we believe, are one of the major drivers of transmission,' said Mr Salama.

'Probably more than 50 per cent of cases in Beni have been driven from these tradi-modern health care facilities, and the fact that hygiene and injection practices in these areas are relatively unsafe.'

Ebola causes a fever and severe weakness  pictured, health workers carry a patient through an Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on November 3

An unusually high number of children have been infected in this outbreak, officials say  pictured, a worker carries a swaddled four-day-old baby thought to have caught the virus

Of the 339 people thought to have been infected with Ebola during the DRC's outbreak, 301 of those have been confirmed  pictured, medical workers at the Doctors Without Borders treatment centre in Butembo help a patient whose illness has not been confirmed

Experts realised the way the disease was spreading had changed in October, when unprecedented numbers of children started becoming infected.

Health workers realised these were children being treated for malaria in these unofficial health centres  they believe people are confusing the two diseases because early symptoms, including fever, weakness and vomiting, are the same.

HAS THE DRC HAD AN Ebola OUTBREAK BEFORE? DRC escaped the brutal Ebola pandemic that began in 2014, which was finally declared over in January 2016 - but it was struck by a smaller outbreak last year. Four DRC residents died from the virus in 2017. The outbreak lasted just 42 days and international aid teams were praised for their prompt responses. The new outbreak is the DRCs tenth since the discovery of Ebola in the country in 1976, named after the river. The outbreak earlier this summer was its ninth. Health experts credit an awareness of the disease among the population and local medical staff's experience treating for past successes containing its spread. DRCs vast, remote geography also gives it an advantage, as outbreaks are often localised and relatively easy to isolate. Advertisement

It was revealed yesterday that officials in the country have never seen such a devastating outbreak.

'No other epidemic in the world has been as complex as the one we are currently experiencing,' said Dr Oly Ilunga Kalenga, the DRC's health minister.

Having started on August 1, it is the 10th outbreak in the country since the disease, which causes extreme fever, bleeding and diarrhoea, was first discovered 42 years ago.

'This epidemic remains dangerous and unpredictable, and we must not let our guard down,' said Dr Kalenga.

'We must continue to pursue a very dynamic response that requires permanent readjustments and real ownership at the community level.'

He added: 'Since their arrival in the region, the response teams have faced threats, physical assaults, repeated destruction of their equipment, and kidnapping.

'Two of our colleagues in the Rapid Response Medical Unit even lost their lives in an attack.'

Dr Kalenga said teams responding to the outbreak are violently attacked, on average, three to four times a week.

In October, militants killed 11 civilians and a soldier in Beni, a city with a population of around 230,000 people where the outbreak is thought to have started.

Despite facing resistance from people who don't want health workers treating them, the government has managed to vaccinate more than 27,000 people.

Those who are known to have come into contact with others who had the disease have been targeted by the vaccination programme.

Health workers must be covered from head to toe at all times because Ebola spreads through contact with infected people  pictured, medics carry a bible to a patient in Butembo

People thought to have Ebola are quarantined in medical treatment centres like the one, pictured, run by Doctors Without Borders in the city of Bunia, 200km from Beni

Unofficial health centres are triggering the spread of around half of Ebola cases in the city of Beni, experts say, because they are unhygienic (pictured, health workers at the Doctors Without Borders treatment centre in Butembo)

Unusually, children are being badly affected because they're catching the virus while in medical clinics for other reasons, experts say.

Jessica Illunga, a spokesperson for the health ministry in DRC said in October: 'There is an abnormally high number of children who have contracted and died of Ebola in Beni.

'Normally, in every Ebola epidemic, children are not as affected.'

Dr Peter Salama, emergency response chief at the World Health Organization (WHO), last month warned the current Ebola outbreak would only get worse.

The combination of rebel violence and pre-election unrest is creating a 'perfect storm' for an even worse epidemic, he said.
US doctors have been told to screen every adult for 'unhealthy' alcohol use whether they seem to have a problem or not.

It's a subtle but important (according to health officials) change to the long-standing advice that doctors should be on the look out for alcoholism.

Every American adult is used to the standard questions about alcohol use at their annual check-up - primarily: how many units do you drink a week?

But researchers say many doctors fail to do so, and very few offer advice or counseling to patients who throw up some red flags.

As such, the United States Preventive Services Task Force has updated its 2013 advisory, urging doctors to be prepared to counsel any patient, and to be more rigorous in their screening.

The new guidelines offer a subtle but important (according to health officials) change to the long-standing advice that doctors should be on the look out for alcoholism

At least 88,000 deaths a year were attributed to alcohol in the US between 2006 and 2010.

Alcohol use during pregnancy is also one of the primary drivers of births defects.

Experts say doctors could be doing more to step in.

'In the United States, 1 in 6 patients reports having discussed alcohol with their physician; rates in Europe are similarly low,' Angela Bazzi and Dr Richard Saitz, of Boston University School of Public Health, wrote in an editorial for JAMA which accompanied the new guidelines.

They add that there is scores of evidence showing a conversation with a doctor can have a significant impact on a person's habits.

In terms of how to intervene, the task force recommended scheduling a few counseling sessions, amounting to a total of less than two hours. They said the counseling could be done in person, or even online.

'The societal context must change,' Bazzi and Staitz wrote.

The panel fell short of offering advice for teens, though the American Academy of Pediatrics has long supported screening kids for alcohol.
Thousands of diabetes patients will finally be given life-changing glucose monitors on theNHS.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, has stepped in to end a postcode lottery which saw many people denied access to the life-changing devices.

The Freestyle Libre gadget, famously used by Prime Minister Theresa May, has been available in parts of the country for the past year but many local health boards have denied it to patients.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, left, has said there should be no 'postcode lottery' when it comes to receiving the Freestyle Libre gadget used to monitor blood glucose levels for diabetics such as Theresa May, right

This has left them to either pay 96 a month to receive it privately, or miss out.

The patch, a sensor the size of a 2 coin, automatically reads blood sugar levels from the cells just below the skin and sends it to a smartphone.

It means patients no longer have to subject themselves to the frequent and painful finger pricks currently required to monitor glucose levels.

NHS watchdog NICE says 25 per cent of patients with Type 1 diabetes, about 100,000 people, should have access to the technology.

But so far only 2 per cent of people, about 8,000 patients, have received it on the NHS in England  compared to 11 per cent in Scotland, 16 per cent in Wales and 35 per cent in Northern Ireland.

Major studies have shown that the device significantly boosts patients health because they have improved information about blood sugar peaks and troughs, and are better equipped to manage their condition.

It will be available on prescription from next April.

The Freestyloe Libra device can constantly monitor the blood glucose levels of Type 1 diabetics such as Theresa May, which can improve the level of control over the illness

Type 1 diabetes affects 400,000 people in Britain, usually first striking in childhood. Sufferers of the condition have to constantly monitor their blood sugar levels to check whether they need an insulin injection. The device, made by healthcare firm Abbott, is thought to be especially useful for parents of children with Type 1 diabetes, as they are able to collect data from the patch by swiping it with a smartphone  even when their child is asleep.

And when they are at school they can monitor it remotely as data can be sent to their phone if the patch has been swiped by a teacher or nurse.

A spokesman for Abbott said: Years of clinical and real world evidence show that when people use this technology, they have both short and long term benefits to their diabetes control.

Mr Stevens said: Increasingly the NHS is going to be offering patients this sort of technology to help them more easily manage their own long-term health problem.

Supporting people with modern tools to manage conditions such as Type 1 diabetes is about to become much more widespread. Innovations such as these also free up time and resources for the NHS as a whole.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock added: I want to see innovations like these become commonplace in our healthcare system so millions of people across the country stay out of hospital and can get on with their lives.
The next generation of biotech food is headed for the grocery aisles, and first up may be salad dressings or granola bars made with soybean oil genetically tweaked to be good for your heart.

By early next year, the first foods from plants or animals that had their DNA 'edited' are expected to begin selling.

It's a different technology than today's controversial 'genetically modified' foods, more like faster breeding that promises to boost nutrition, spur crop growth, and make farm animals hardier and fruits and vegetables last longer.

The US National Academy of Sciences has declared gene editing one of the breakthroughs needed to improve food production so the world can feed billions more people amid a changing climate.

Yet governments are wrestling with how to regulate this powerful new tool.

Fred Gmitter, a geneticist at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, holds citrus seedlings that are used for gene editing research at the University of Florida in Lake Alfred, Florida

And after years of confusion and rancor, will shoppers accept gene-edited foods or view them as GMOs in disguise?

'If the consumer sees the benefit, I think they'll embrace the products and worry less about the technology,' said Dan Voytas, a University of Minnesota professor and chief science officer for Calyxt Inc., which edited soybeans to make the oil heart-healthy.

Researchers are pursuing more ambitious changes:

Wheat with triple the usual fiber, or that's low in gluten

Mushrooms that don't brown

Better-producing tomatoes

Drought-tolerant corn

Rice that no longer absorbs soil pollution as it grows

Dairy cows that don't need to undergo painful de-horning

Pigs immune to a dangerous virus that can sweep through herds

Oranges resistant to the disease that is destroying crops in Florida

Fungus-resistant bananas

First they must find genes that could make a new generation of trees immune.

'If we can go in and edit the gene, change the DNA sequence ever so slightly by one or two letters, potentially we'd have a way to defeat this disease,' said Fred Gmitter, a geneticist at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, as he examined diseased trees in a grove near Fort Meade.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED vs GENE-EDITED: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Farmers have long genetically manipulated crops and animals by selectively breeding to get offspring with certain traits. It's time-consuming and can bring trade-offs. Modern tomatoes, for example, are larger than their pea-sized wild ancestor, but the generations of cross-breeding made them more fragile and altered their nutrients.

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are plants or animals that were mixed with another species' DNA to introduce a specific trait they're 'transgenic.' Best known are corn and soybeans mixed with bacterial genes for built-in resistance to pests or weed killers. Despite international scientific consensus that GMOs are safe to eat, some people remain wary and there is concern they could spur herbicide-resistant weeds.

Gene-editing tools, with names like CRISPR and TALENs, promise to alter foods more precisely, and cheaply without necessarily adding foreign DNA. Instead, they act like molecular scissors to alter the letters of an organism's own genetic alphabet. The technology can insert new DNA, but most products in development so far switch off a gene, according to University of Missouri professor Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes.

Those new Calyxt soybeans? Voytas' team inactivated two genes so the beans produce oil with no heart-damaging trans fat and that shares the famed health profile of olive oil without its distinct taste.

The hornless calves? Most dairy Holsteins grow horns that are removed for the safety of farmers and other cows. Recombinetics Inc. swapped part of the gene that makes dairy cows grow horns with the DNA instructions from naturally hornless Angus beef cattle.

'Precision breeding,' is how animal geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam of the University of California, Davis, explains it. 'This isn't going to replace traditional breeding,' but make it easier to add one more trait.

Fred Gmitter visits a citrus grower in an orange grove affected by citrus greening disease in Fort Meade, Florida. 'If we can go in and edit the gene, change the DNA sequence ever so slightly by one or two letters, potentially we'd have a way to defeat this disease,' says Gmitter

THE RULES AREN'T CLEAR

The Agriculture Department says extra rules aren't needed for 'plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding,' clearing the way for development of about two dozen gene-edited crops so far.

In contrast, the Food and Drug Administration in 2017 proposed tighter, drug-like restrictions on gene-edited animals. It promises guidance sometime next year on exactly how it will proceed.

Because of trade, international regulations are 'the most important factor in whether genome editing technologies are commercialized,' USDA's Paul Spencer told a meeting of agriculture economists.

Europe's highest court ruled last summer that existing European curbs on the sale of transgenic GMOs should apply to gene-edited foods, too.

But at the World Trade Organization this month, the U.S. joined 12 nations including Australia, Canada, Argentina and Brazil in urging other countries to adopt internationally consistent, science-based rules for gene-edited agriculture.

Animal geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam of the University of California, Davis, points to a group of dairy calves that won't have to be de-horned thanks to gene editing. The calves are descended from a bull genetically altered to be hornless, and the company behind the work, Recombinetics, says gene-edited traits could ease animal suffering and improve productivity

ARE THESE FOODS SAFE?

The biggest concern is what are called off-target edits, unintended changes to DNA that could affect a crop's nutritional value or an animal's health, said Jennifer Kuzma of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University.

Scientists are looking for any signs of problems. Take the hornless calves munching in a UC-Davis field. One is female and once it begins producing milk, Van Eenennaam will test how similar that milk's fat and protein composition is to milk from unaltered cows.

'We're kind of being overly cautious,' she said, noting that if eating beef from naturally hornless Angus cattle is fine, milk from edited Holsteins should be, too.

But to Kuzma, companies will have to be up-front about how these new foods were made and the evidence that they're healthy. She wants regulators to decide case-by-case which changes are no big deal, and which might need more scrutiny.

'Most gene edited plants and animals are probably going to be just fine to eat. But you're only going to do yourself a disservice in the long run if you hide behind the terminology,' Kuzma said.

FARMERS ARE CREATING GUIDELINES TO AVOID A BACKLASH

Uncertainty about regulatory and consumer reaction is creating some strange bedfellows. An industry-backed group of food makers and farmers asked university researchers and consumer advocates to help craft guidelines for 'responsible use' of gene editing in the food supply.

'Clearly this coalition is in existence because of some of the battle scars from the GMO debates, there's no question about that,' said Greg Jaffe of the food-safety watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest, who agreed to join the Center for Food Integrity's guidelines group.

'There's clearly going to be questions raised about this technology.'

IS IT ALL JUST HYPE?

Gene-editing can't do everything, cautioned Calyxt's Voytas. There are limitations to how much foods could be changed. Sure, scientists made wheat containing less gluten, but it's unlikely to ever be totally gluten-free for people who can't digest that protein, for example - or to make, say, allergy-free peanuts.

Nor is it clear how easily companies will be able to edit different kinds of food, key to their profit.

Despite her concerns about adequate regulation, Kuzma expects about 20 gene-edited crops to hit the U.S. market over five years - and she notes that scientists also are exploring changes to crops like cassava that important in the poorest countries.

'We think it's going to really revolutionize the industry,' she said.
Obese children are less likely to 'flourish' at school, research suggests.

Youngsters carrying dangerous amounts of weight fail to meet the five markers of flourishing compared to those who are a healthy size or overweight.

These markers include not finishing their homework, having a disinterest in how well they do in school and failing to complete tasks they have started.

This may affect their ability to 'develop healthy relationships, positive attitudes, a sense of purpose and responsibility' as adults, according to researchers.

Youngsters carrying dangerous amounts of weight fail to meet the five markers of flourishing compared to those who are a healthy size or overweight

Lead author Dr Natasha Gill, of Brown University in Rhode Island, said: 'Childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges we face today.

'We know that children with obesity are at a greater risk for long-term health conditions that can last into adulthood.

'And we wanted to see whether obesity affects a childs immediate wellbeing as it relates to development of psychosocial skills and other signs of flourishing.'

The researchers therefore analysed 22,914 parents and caregivers of children aged between 10 and 17 who took part in the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health.

Flourishing is a rather new term that refers to a child's overall well-being, learning and resilience.

The parents were asked about their child's BMI, as well as whether he or she does the following five markers of flourishing:

Shows interest and curiosity in learning new things

Works to finish tasks he or she starts

Stays calm and in control when faced with a challenge

Cares about doing well in school

Does all required homework

Factors such as age, sex, a depression diagnosis, hours of sleep, screen time and parental education were taken into account.

Results showed that 27.5 per cent of obese children, defined as having a BMI in the 95th percentile, had all five markers of flourishing.

In contrast, 36.5 per cent of overweight children, with a BMI in the 85th percentile, had all five markers, as did 39 per cent of kids with a normal BMI.

The researchers did not state why obese children are less likely to flourish than their skinnier peers.

However, past studies suggest overweight youngsters are more likely to be bullied by their peers and may even be deemed less 'academically competent' by teachers, which may make them unmotivated to work hard.

Dr Gill and her colleagues presented the findings of the study at the American Academy of Pediatrics conference in Orlando.

'The negative relationship between obesity and flourishing markers suggests that when compared to children with a normal BMI, obese youth may be less likely to develop healthy relationships, positive attitudes, a sense of purpose and responsibility, and interest in learning,' Dr Gill said.

'Individual markers of flourishing have been shown to stay the same over time like a persons personality so it may be important to monitor these markers in childhood to ensure optimal development into adulthood.'

Dr Gill adds intervening early may help obese children to thrive.

'Now that we know childhood obesity is linked with poor coping skills and school performance, the time to act is now,' she told Reuters.

'We want all children to reach their maximum potential.

'We can promote positive physical, mental, and social development for these at-risk children and help them become responsible, hard-working members of society.'

Dr Gill also worries obese children may be more likely to take part in 'risk-taking behaviours'.

'Just like increased exposure to adverse childhood events has been associated with negative outcomes, new studies suggest that youth who display less positive attitudes are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors and avoid health-enhancing behaviors,' she said.

The researchers add the study demonstrates the need for both schools and healthcare providers to try and target obesity in order to improve the wellbeing of young people with the condition.

In the US, nearly one in five school-age children have obesity, while as many as one in five in the UK enter education with the condition.

Rather than looking at their BMI, childhood obesity is defined as being in the 95th percentile.

Percentiles compare youngsters to others their same age. For example, if a three-month-old is in the 40th percentile for weight, that means that 40 per cent of three-month-olds weigh the same or less than that baby.

Among children, research suggests that 70 per cent of obese youngsters have high blood pressure or raised cholesterol, which puts them at risk of heart disease.

Obese children are also significantly more likely to become obese adults. And if children are overweight, their obesity in adulthood is often more severe.
Stunned surgeons have removed around 3lbs (1.5kg) of nuts, bolts and jewellery from a woman's stomach.

Doctors in India spent nearly three hours extracting the metal objects from the woman, identified only as Sangita.

Incredible X-ray images showed metal zippers, hairpins, copper rings and even safety pins inside her abdomen.

The medical team at Ahmadabad's Civil Hospital even warned one of the safety pins was dangerously protruding from her lung.

Rare: Doctors at Ahmadabad's Civil Hospital in western India spent three hours extracting nearly two kilos of nuts, bolts and jewellery from the patient, identified only as Sangita (L)

Medical professionals believe the forty-something patient suffers with a rare psychological condition called acuphagia.

She was admitted to hospital last month after complaining of abdominal pains, according to local reports.

'The woman's stomach had become rock-hard,' said surgeon Dr Nitin Parmar, who performed the procedure.

'The X-ray revealed a large lump in her stomach while safety pins were protruding from her lung.

'One pin had even punctured her stomach wall, prompting us to operate upon her immediately.'

Explaining her compulsion, he added: 'Acuphagia is a rare disorder where people eat sharp [metal] objects and other indigestible items.'

Horde: An array of foreign objects, including metal zippers, hairpins, copper rings, rope and even safety pins, were recovered from the patient's digestive system

According to additional reports, authorities are trying to find the woman's relatives, but have so far been unsuccessful. She has been kept under observation and her condition is stable.

He said the condition was extremely rare and that the hospital only one case per year.

Local reports suggest authorities are trying to find the woman's relatives, but have so far been unsuccessful.

She has been kept under observation and her condition is stable.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, acuphagia is a category of the Pica condition.

Pica is described as 'eating one or more non-nutritive, non-food substances over a period of one month'.

Other categories of the diagnosis include emetophagia (the voluntary consumption of vomit), xylophagia (wood or paper) and hyalophagia (glass).
A never-before-seen defence system against germs that enter the nose has been uncovered by scientists.

Cells in the nostrils release billions of tiny bug-killing sacs into mucus when they sense dangerous bacteria have been inhaled.

Not only do these sacs, called exosomes, kill bacteria, they also warn surrounding cells to protect themselves against invading pathogens.

The fight against germs may be right under our noses, research suggests (stock)

Researchers at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Teaching Hospital made the discovery.

To determine the exact role of exosomes, they analysed nasal tissue in the lab, as well as in patients who were undergoing surgery on their noses.

Results showed within five minutes of cells in the nose being exposed to potentially-dangerous bacteria, the number of exosomes released into the mucus doubled.

Speaking of exosomes, sinus surgeon and lead author Dr Benjamin Bleier told New Scientist: 'They are as powerful at killing bacteria as an antibiotic.'

But not all exosomes destroy bacteria. Many move to the back of the nose where they fuse with other cells to warn them of invading pathogens.

They then deposit proteins and some of their genetic material into these cells so they too are armed against dangerous bacteria, the study found.

This may explain another discovery by the scientists, who also found tiny hairs in the nostrils sweep pathogens higher up into the nose rather than pushing them out.

Once the cells at the back of the nose have been made aware of this dangerous bacteria, the pathogens can then be swallowed and destroyed by the gut, according to Dr Bleier.

'We have demonstrated in a live patient that the immune system reaches outside of the body, and actually goes and attacks pathogens before they get into the body, he said.

'It is the only example of this I know of.'

The researchers plan to investigate how exosomes fuse to cells in the hope of using this process to deliver drugs more effectively.

Exosomes, which were discovered in 1983, have previously been linked to a person's overall health, including their risk of cancer.

This comes after research released earlier this month suggested llamas may hold the key to a long-lasting flu vaccine.

Laboratory tests carried out by the pharmaceutical giant Janssen, Beerse, revealed a protein produced by the fluffy animals, as well as camels, fought off the virus in mice.
Pictured is a drawing of the patch with microneedles on the surface that penetrate the front of the eye to release medication

An eye patch covered in tiny needles may sound like a particularly cruel form of torture, but scientists believe their invention could change how eye diseases are treated.

The patch, which is covered in dissolvable microneedles, gently penetrates the front of the eye to gradually release medication that could relieve everything from glaucoma to macular degeneration.

The researchers believe the patch's controlled drug release makes it more effective than existing eye drops, tablets and painful injections.

And while it may look like a miniature bed of nails, the scientists insist the patch is painless and as easy to use as putting in contact lenses.

Writing in the journal Nature Communication, scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, said: 'The flexible patch can be readily applied by gentle and brief thumb pressing on the ocular surface.

'Which is as easy as wearing a disposable contact lens without causing discomfort or requiring high skills.'

Once the patch is in place, fluid from the eye begins to seep into the space between the microneedles. This erodes away the material that holds them in place, resulting in the needles becoming embedded in the cornea.

The outer layer that surrounds these microneedles then starts to dissolve and in doing so delivers an initial strong dose of medicine.

Over the next few days, as the microneedles continue to dissolve, more medication is released.

To prove its effectiveness, the scientists, led by Dr Aung Than, tested the eyepatch on mice who were suffering from corneal neovascularization (CNV).

CNV occurs when new blood vessels grow into the cornea as a result of oxygen deprivation and cause loss of vision in up to 20 per cent of sufferers. It affects around 280,000 people in the UK and 1.4m in the US every year.

When the rodents were given just 1microgram of an anti-blood vessel drug via the patch, 90 per cent of the affected area healed.

The researchers predict a single 20mcg dose would be sufficient to treat CNV in humans.

When tested for safety in the animals, the scientists found no signs the mice were in pain, which they believe is due to the patch not puncturing the entire cornea.

Any insertion marks cleared after a day, which suggests these were naturally healed by the animal's body, the scientists claimed. They also observed no bleeding or inflammation in the rodents' eyes.

Side effects are not expected in humans due to the patch gradually releasing drugs, which eliminates the need for a large, one-off dose of medicine.

Although the patch has only been tested in CNV to date, the researchers believe it could also treat other eye diseases.

Once the patch is in place, fluid from the eye seeps into the space between the microneedles. This erodes away the material that holds them in place, resulting in the needles being embedded in the cornea. This leads to an initial strong dose of medicine being delivered

Eye diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration are on the rise worldwide due to the ageing population, growing rate of diabetes and high use of contact lenses.

Delivering drugs to the eye has traditionally been difficult due to its stubborn blood-retina barrier.

The researchers claim the patch will appeal to patients due to it being easy to use, 'minimally invasive' and suitable for at-home use.

'We believe this approach could be paradigm-shifting for long-term home-based treatment and management of various eye diseases,' they wrote.

Taking oral tablets for eye conditions usually requires a large dose, which then raises the risk of side effects.

Administering medication via eye drops is often ineffective due to less than five per cent of the treatment typically being absorbed.

And injections directly into the eye tend to be painful, as well as running the risk of infections, bleeding and even permanent damage.

The above three administration methods also give just a burst of a drug rather than slowly releasing it, which is typically what is required for chronic conditions like glaucoma, the scientists claimed.
The largest medical association in the US reaffirmed its stance stance against physician-assisted suicide, sparking dissent among members during Monday meeting.

In six states, Americans have been legally guaranteed the 'right to die,' but the introduction of these laws has intensified an already heated ethical debate among doctors.

At Monday's American Medical Association (AMA) meeting, dozens of doctors stated their fiery cases for why physician-assisted suicide does or does not comply with the first principle of the medical code: 'do no harm', MedPage Today reported.

The interim meeting was held to present the findings of a policy report on the AMA's current position on physician-assisted suicide.

After review, the report authors upheld the policy against doctors' participation in a patient's death - though they seemed to move the needle to a position more sympathetic to the plight of both terminally ill people and their physicians.

Assisted suicide, or 'death with dignity,' is now legal in six states, but the American Medical Association remains (loosely) opposed to it, to the chagrin of many doctors (file image)

End of life care is a sensitive but increasingly important subject in the US.

The American population is aging, and living longer, thanks to improvements in medicine.

But that means that more people are spending their last days (of which there are more) in long-term care, often suffering from painful and debilitating diseases of old age.

About a quarter of Americans will be in long-term care for the last portion of their lives, and by 2040 that number is expected to rise to 40 percent.

For some, death becomes a welcome relief, rather than an inevitability to avoid.

As a result a number of states have passed legislation that allows physicians to withdraw life support ('passive euthanasia') or to help patients end their lives by prescribing fatal medications.

Currently, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Washington, DC, all have laws permitting the practice under a variety of monikers, including 'death with dignity,' 'end of life options' and 'medical aid in dying,' among others.

But there are no federal laws permitting physician-assisted suicide, and doctors, who operate under codes of medical conduct and ethics, remain to torn.

Code 5.7 of the AMA's ethical guidelines states that allowing doctors to help their patient's commit suicide would 'ultimately cause more harm than good.'

This year, an AMA committee reviewed the rule and affirmed it - but sought to hone the language used to discuss these practices.

But for many physicians - on both sides of the debate - at Monday's presentation of the report, it didn't go far enough.

Geriatrician Dr Katalin Roth spoke of a patient, Mary, who came to her for palliative care and assistance in ending her life, MedPage Today reported.

'It was my profound honor to help Mary have the end-of-life care she wanted,' Dr Roth said, but added that the AMA's stance caused her 'significant moral distress.'

'I urge the AMA to respect irreducible differences without condemning or assailing one set of beliefs or marginalizing many, many ethical and caring physicians,' she said.

A Georgetown University bioethicist, Dr Kevin Donavan, argued that drawing distinctions between different terminologies and declaring that physician-assisted suicide does more harm than good was akin to being 'indifferent to suicide.'

'If you don't equate neutrality with indifference, you may be right ... [but] silence gives assent. So, to not speak against this is indirectly an endorsement,' Dr Donovan said.

Dr Jim Sabin, who presented the report and chairs the AMA's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs noted that both proponents and opponents to physician-assisted suicide (or 'aid in dying') 'base their moral reasoning on our code [of medical ethics] and in particular the values of care, compassion, respect, and dignity.'

He maintained that the amendments suggested in the report was a sufficient revision to address concerns previously expressed by pro-aid-in-dying doctors that they could be expelled from the association for their views.

Dr Roth, however, called for the report - and the code it examined - to be referred, meaning the AMA's stance would be further mired in review.
The mother of a girl with cystic fibrosis is taking legal action against the NHS after it refused funding for a drug which could extend her daughters life.

Sarah Burgwin, of Totnes, Devon, said it was 'shameful' that six-year-old Katie Stafford was being denied access to Orkambi.

The drugs high price tag of 104,000 per year for one patient means it is only available in exceptional circumstances.

Yet, despite its recommendation by a consultant, NHS England have told Katies mother her daughter does not warrant the treatment.

Legal battle: Sarah Burgwin pictured with her daughter Katie Stafford, who suffers from cystic fibrosis and has been denied access to powerful drug Orkambi

'They are putting a price on the life of my daughter. Its shameful,' said Ms Burgwin. 'What gives them the right to play God with my childs life?

'Katie is a helpless child who did not choose to have this condition. She did nothing to get it apart from to have the misfortune of being born with it.

'It is heartbreaking to see Katie suffer when I know there is a drug out there that could help prevent her torment.'

Ms Burgwin has instructed law firm Hodge Jones & Allen to seek a judicial review of NHS Englands decision.

The firm's partner, Peter Todd, said: 'Thousands of parents have been left in a desperate position of watching their children deteriorate with this life-shortening condition, while knowing that there is a drug out there that can help improve their health and extend their lives.'

Lawyers believe Katie is an exceptional case because her learning and behavioural difficulties prevent her being administered alternative treatments.

But the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which decides which treatments should be available on the NHS in England and Wales, says it is too expensive for the health service to provide.

'Katie is a helpless child who did not choose to have this condition. She did nothing to get it apart from to have the misfortune of being born with it,' says Ms Burgwin

Intervention: Lawyers believe Katie is an exceptional case because her learning and behavioural difficulties prevent her being administered alternative treatments

The drug is already available in several European countries after being approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2015.

NHS bosses have been engaged in years of negotiations with Orkambis manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, to secure an affordable deal.

This is despite the Governments claims that the company was offered the 'largest ever' financial commitment in the history of the NHS.

Earlier this year, health ministers wrote to the company urging it to drop Orkambis price, saying 'time was of the essence' for cystic fibrosis patients. A petition signed by more than 100,000 people also triggered a debate on the issue in Parliament this year.

MPs on the Commons Health and Social Care Committee leading an inquiry into the patients access to drugs, have threatened to publish the details of negotiations between Vertex, Nice and NHS England if a deal is not reached by November 30.

Ms Burgwin said: 'I hope that we can win this legal battle, not just for Katie, but also so this can be a gateway for other children also getting this drug to make their quality of life so much better.'

Treatment: Katie pictured trying to manage her condition with the aid of bronchodilators

In a statement Vertex said it held a 'productive meeting' with Nice on October 4 and that it was 'committed to continuing their discussions over the appraisal of treatments for cystic fibrosis'.

A spokesman for Nice said its guidance on Orkambi would be reviewed when it received new data or a revised price for the drug.

'We are glad Vertex has agreed to re-engage with Nice and NHS England,' he added.

A spokesman for the Department for Health and Social Care said: 'Despite being offered in the region of 500m over five years, the largest ever commitment of its kind in the 70-year history of the NHS, Vertex has refused to accept, putting Orkambi out of reach of patients.

'We urge Vertex to accept the offer.'

A NHS England spokeswoman said: 'Orkambi for the treatment of cystic fibrosis is not recommended by NICE and therefore is not routinely commissioned.

'Individual funding requests for treatments that are not routinely commissioned are difficult decisions, which is why they are taken by experienced teams on the basis of clinical evidence.'

Cystic fibrosis, a life-limiting condition which affects lung health, affects around 10,000 people in the UK.
US health officials say a record number of tick-borne diseases were reported last year.

The 2017 tally of more than 59,000 cases is a 22 percent increase from the previous year, according to numbers the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Wednesday.

Lyme disease accounted for nearly three-quarters of the illnesses. That's about 43,000 cases.

Traditionally about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported to the government each year, but experts believed there was underreporting and thought the actual number was more like 300,000.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a record number of tick-borne diseases - more than 59,000 - were reported in 2017. It's a 22 percent increase from the number reported the year before

Experts say better reporting may be a reason for recent increases, but scientists have also discovered more diseases transmitted by ticks.

Researchers also note that disease-spreading ticks have been seen over a wide range of states.

The new figures come six months after another CDC report showed the rate of tick-borne diseases reported in the US had tripled between 2004 and 2016.

More than 642,000 cases of these illnesses were reported during the 13 years studied in the Vital Signs report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cases of Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, West Nile and Zika numbered more than 27,000 in 2004, and soared to over 96,000 in 2016, it said, warning that since many cases go unreported, these numbers are likely 'substantially' lower than the true amount.

These diseases pose 'an increasing risk' and the 'nation needs to be better prepared to face this public health threat,' said the report.

'Zika, West Nile, Lyme, and chikungunya - a growing list of diseases caused by the bite of an infected mosquito, tick, or flea - have confronted the US in recent years, making a lot of people sick,' said CDC director Robert Redfield.

The most common mosquito-borne viruses are Lyme, West Nile, dengue, and Zika, while the most common disease resulting from the bite of an infected flea is the plague.

Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC division of vector-borne diseases, said increasing temperatures can help such diseases spread, though he declined to say specifically if climate change is the cause.

'Many of these diseases are sensitive to increasing temperatures,' he told reporters on a conference call.

'Increasing temperatures will tend to expand the ranges of these ticks further north as well as increasing the length of tick season.'

Other factors leading to the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like Zika include international travel, the CDC said.

'Nine new germs -- seven of them spread by ticks -- have been newly introduced or discovered in the United States since 2004,' said Redfield.

Commenting on the CDC report, Paul Auwaerter, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, called for more research money for diagnostics, vaccines and treatments for Zika, Lyme disease, and other serious vector-borne diseases.

'Vector-borne diseases such as Lyme disease and Zika virus disease can devastate patients and their families, causing significant suffering,' he said.

'We are also investigating how climate change may impact the spread of vector-borne diseases so that we can take appropriate actions to protect public health.'
As those affected by the California wildfires struggle to cope with the loss of their homes, communities, and sometimes loved-ones, fears are brewing about the long-term health impacts of the devastating natural disaster.

The death toll has hit 50, prompting Alex Azar, Health and Human Services Secretary, to declare a public health emergency.

Tragically, his department warned, the threat is multi-faceted.

Smoke, pulverized dust, burned fuel, fungal spores and more could pose severe public health risks for people in the area.

Rescuers work among debris after the wildfire in Paradise, California. The collapsed buildings and burning flames have disrupted all kinds of toxins now lingering in dust

For those who weren't close to collapsing buildings, the biggest concern is polluted, smoky air, which can also contain small dangerous particles.

Schools and public offices across California have been checking the air before re-opening.

WHAT RISKY PARTICLES COULD SMOKY AIR CONTAIN?

BURNED, COLLAPSED CONCRETE

As devastating photos have shown, the fires ravaging California have decimated buildings, creating clouds of dust for miles.

Those close to collapsed buildings may be exposed to pulverized concrete.

Our understanding of the health dangers of dust exposure primarily come from two sources: studies on workers at demolition sites and first responders to 9/11, who are at the center of the world's longest-running post-disaster study ever conducted.

The toxic cocktail they inhaled has been directly linked to a number of illnesses, including a persistant cough, bronchitis, runny nose, gastroesophageal acid reflux disease (GERD) and cancer.

In the last 20 years, these models have given us a greater understanding of how pulverized concrete - particularly the crystalline silica it contains - directly causes lung diseases and cancers.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM DUST People in affected areas need NIOSH-approved N90 or N95 masks - the best of the most 'basic' or widely accessible masks. They filter out small particles but still allow you to breath easily. Advertisement

The toxin invades the human body in a very similar way to asbestos, which causes mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the chest.

With particles small enough to invade the lungs (fewer than five millionths of a meter), crystalline silica perforates cells, allowing them to mutate and divide - laying the foundations for cancer. This process also leads to respiratory diseases like pulmonary fibrosis, asthma and silicosis by weakening the cells and damaging the lungs' function.

Sixteen years after 9/11, medics are seeing this process unfold in the men and women who mined Ground Zero for survivors.

FUNGUS

One of the most underestimated dangers to health after a natural disaster is fungus.

This was made plain after the January 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles.

Within days of the natural disaster, more than 170 people fell ill with Valley fever. Within months, dozens had died.

The deaths were traced back to a disease caused by a fungus called coccidioidomycosis, which is native to the soil of southern California.

Over the past two years, the UC Davis Center for Valley Fever has collated evidence showing that both the droughts and the wildfires in California have stirred up dangerous fungus, infecting animals and humans alike.

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU THINK YOU WERE EXPOSED TO DANGEROUS DUST?

Dr Louis De Palo, professor of pulmonary medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who has worked directly with 9/11 survivors, told Daily Mail Online last year that after dust exposure, the first step is: understand what you may have been exposed to.

'Know your city,' he said.

'If you understand your city map, and what's in the neighborhood, you will have a better idea of what you've been exposed to. What fungal organisms are in your region, and what kind of buildings were you near?'

The death toll has hit 50, prompting Alex Azar, Health and Human Services Secretary, to declare a public health emergency

Then, speak to your doctor. If they think there is cause for concern, get regular check-ups to screen for lung diseases and other dust-linked illnesses.

'What we found after 9/11 is that you can't x-ray everybody or CAT-scan everybody, so we had to work out those who were most likely to have a high risk and make sure they are getting monitored.

'We worked out regions of exposure - who was closest to the buildings? Then we monitor those people, and their symptoms. Are they developing a persistant cough? Do they have a runny nose? How is their lung function? If it's getting worse, and they're not a smoker, then that's cause for concern, so we do more tests.

'At the end of the day, the only way to protect yourself is to monitor your symptoms.'
Britain's biggest banks are trialling a new system that enables them to trace stolen money, we can reveal today.

Typically, when someone is tricked into transferring cash to a fraudster, the money is then bounced quickly from account to account so it is hard to keep track of where it goes.

The new system allows banks to see where the money ends up and act quickly to freeze it.

It is a major victory for our Stop The Bank Scammers campaign and means victims should have a far greater chance of getting their money back.

Breakthrough: A new system allows banks to see where stolen money ends up and act quickly to freeze it

We can also disclose today that banks are working with telecoms giants on a new system to stop scam text messages getting through, which is also something we called for.

It is currently almost impossible to tell if a text is really from your bank, as most appear in the same chain as genuine messages.

It means it is easy for fraudsters to convince people to call scam numbers or follow links to fraudulent websites and become a victim of a con.

One bank told Money Mail it is considering scrapping texts altogether as it may be more secure to send messages to customers through its mobile banking app.

Others have said they are considering removing phone numbers from messages, so that customers would know never to call a number included in a text message.

Meanwhile, new rules that spell out what banks must do to help prevent customers falling victim to fraud are expected to come into force at the beginning of next year.

It is hoped this new code of conduct will force banks to be consistent in how they deal with complaints about fraud. The consultation on the new rules closes tomorrow.

In September, Money Mail launched a major campaign for fairer treatment for those tricked into handing over their life savings.

It follows This is Money's campaign for banks to help phone fraud victims, started in 2014.

This scored a victory when banks and building societies stepped up their warnings to customers. We have continued to fight victims' corners and in 2016 also launched our Beat the scammers section.

Banks logged 34,128 cases of so-called push payment fraud in the year to July  almost 200 a day.

Just 31 million of the stolen 145 million was returned to customers, according to trade body UK Finance.

Our six-point plan to beat the scammers

To tackle the problem, we published a six-point action plan. Today we reveal what we've achieved so far  and what work still needs to be done.

1. Follow the stolen money

We said: 'Criminals bounce stolen money from account to account  often within the same bank  so it becomes 'lost'.

Once money leaves someone's account it is typically gone for good.

Banks must set up an industry-wide system that enables them to trace where that stolen money goes  to give them a chance of clawing it back.'

Progress: Banks last month began trialling a new system that allows them to do just this. If a bank cannot claw back a victim's money, they can now enter details of the accounts the cash was taken from into a central system run from Vocalink, part of Mastercard.

This firm then uses information provided by the Faster Payments Service, which logs all payments made by banks, to trace where the money went  even if it was split into smaller sums.

A spokesman for payment services provider Pay UK says: 'The information gathered has already been used by banks to disrupt criminals by identifying the 'mule' accounts so they can be blocked, the money frozen and further investigated'.

However, this does not mean victims are guaranteed to get their money back, as it may have been transferred abroad or withdrawn in cash.

If there is not enough money left in the account to refund all victims, it is unclear who should get the cash.The banking industry is calling on the Government and regulators for help refunding victims.

2. Make banks accountable

We said: 'If they have not done enough to stop fraudsters opening accounts they use to store stolen funds  for example if scammers have used a fake ID  the banks must be responsible for the losses and refund the money.'

Progress: New rules set to be introduced next year should mean banks are forced to refund victims when it can be proved they made a mistake.

In a draft code of conduct published in September it said that in the event banks do not meet their responsibilities they should refund victims unless they have 'good reasons' not to  such as the customer failing to take reasonable care.

Banks have admitted that it is right that customers who are victims of a scam are refunded even when the bank has not done anything wrong.

But there has been no agreement as yet on who will fund this compensation scheme.

Just 31 million of the stolen 145 million was returned to customers, according to trade body UK Finance

3. Set up fraud hotlines

We said: 'All banks must have a dedicated fraud hotline that victims can call 24 hours a day/seven days a week.

'Currently, delays reduce the already small chances of banks being able to claw back their money.'

Progress: Most major banks, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS/NatWest and Santander, have a 24-hour fraud telephone line.

TSB's fraud team, however, only works from 7am to 11pm during the week and 9am to 5pm at weekends. TSB says you can still use its out of hours service if you need to freeze your card or account.

Some banks, including TSB, will still not accept calls from non-customers. So if your money has been transferred to one of its accounts you'll be turned away.

Watchdog files reveal how banks are letting down their customers Exclusive Money Mail analysis of complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman over the past five years reveals that banks are often missing significant opportunities to stop customers losing money to fraudsters. In the worst cases, the Ombudsman accused banks of ignoring fraud happening under their noses. In others it found that banks have waited for as long as 12 days before chasing payments made to fraudsters. Banks say they cannot refund victims of bank transfer fraud because they are just doing as the customers asked. But the Financial Ombudsman says this cannot be used as a cover-all excuse to not compensate victims. So if your bank made a mistake or did not act promptly enough, you may be able to get your money back. In one case seen by the Ombudsman, Santander waited 12 days to act on a fraud report. The woman had been tricked into sending 14,600 to an overseas bank. Just two hours later, she called Santander to stop the payment. But the bank did not try to recall the payment for a further 12 days because it was short-staffed. By this time her savings were gone. The Ombudsman ordered Santander to refund the victim and said it knew  or ought to have known  the situation was time-critical. In another case Nationwide was accused of failing to stop a fraud taking place under their noses when they allowed a woman to transfer 30,000 to a fraudster. She had been told to tell branch staff she was transferring the money to her daughter but the Ombudsman said staff suspected she was the victim of a scam and could have done more to help. To compensate the customer the building society had to refund her half of what she lost. A spokeswoman for Nationwide says: She advised us the payment was for her daughter . . . as the customer authorised the payment and was untruthful about the reason she wanted to send the money, the Society held her liable for the loss.

4. Phone firms must help

We said: 'Telecom providers should identify and stop scam text messages and calls getting through.

'Untold numbers of victims are caught out because the scam message appears within a string of genuine communications from their bank.'

Progress: Banks have told Money Mail they are now working closely with telecoms firms to stamp out scam messages and calls.

One idea is for all banks to share with network providers such as EE and Vodafone which third-party companies they use to send text messages to customers.

This means that if a message claiming to be from the bank is sent via a different route the mobile firm will know to block it.

In October, the telecoms watchdog Ofcom said it will confiscate any phone numbers that have been found to cause harm and anxiety.

A spokesman says: 'Malicious number spoofing is a complex problem. We continue to work with the industry and our partner regulators in the UK and overseas to tackle it.'

Banks have told us they are now working closely with telecoms firms to stamp out scam messages and calls

5. Watchdogs with teeth

We said: 'The Payment Systems Regulator should draw up clear rules on exactly when banks should refund fraud victims  and police these rules strictly.

'The Financial Ombudsman should be given more power to investigate fraud regardless of who the customer banks with.'

Progress: City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has proposed that the Ombudsman should be able to investigate complaints about banks that receive stolen funds  even if the victim is not their customer.

Currently, you must be a customer of the bank to lodge a complaint.

The FCA is expected to announce a final decision before the end of the year. Clear rules on when banks should refund victims will be included in the Payment Systems Regulator's new code of conduct, due to be launched in 2019.

6. Compensate victims

We said: 'A total of 130 million is sitting in frozen accounts once used by criminals. With a simple change in the law, it could be used to compensate victims.'

Progress: So far, the Government has refused to refund this money to victims and banks have said they cannot do so without a change in the rules.

A Treasury spokesman said: 'We set up the Payment Systems Regulator to ensure people can move their money with confidence, but more must be done to help victims of push payment scams.

That's why we back the Regulator establishing a group of consumer and industry representatives, to look at how best to reimburse victims.'

John lost 9,000 but his bank barely seemed to care

Fraud victim: John Godden was duped out of 9,000

When John Godden first realised he had been duped out of 9,000 by scammers, he made a panicked call to his bank, write Louise Eccles and Samantha Partington.

It was just an hour after the fraud had occurred and the retired engineer assumed Santander would try to claw back his life savings as a matter of urgency.

In fact, he would later discover, his bank's fraud team made just one attempt to contact the receiving bank, TSB  and gave up when the line was engaged.

Santander did not then try again until the next morning, finally getting through at 9.07am to report that their longstanding customer had been a victim of a crime. Unsurprisingly, by then his money was long gone.

John, 71, who lives with his partner Rosemarie Harrison, 66, received a call on Saturday, October 6, at around 5pm from someone claiming to be a Sky representative.

The caller offered him a 35 per cent discount on his TV bill and seemed to know a lot about him, including bank details such as his debit card number.

John, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, did not accept the discount.

But the call had made him so nervous he rang his bank, Santander, to cancel his Sky direct debit.

Ten minutes later, he had a call from what looked like a Santander number. A well-spoken man with no hint of an accent told him someone had tried to set up a direct debit on his account for 2,000 and asked if he had authorised it.

When John said no, the man, called Michael, told him he was the victim of fraud and needed to move his money to another Santander account to keep it safe.

He quickly logged into his online banking and transferred 9,000 to the account details given. The caller stayed on the line, reassuring John until the payment was complete.

He then said he would make John an appointment at his branch for the Monday to go through what had happened.

'The man seemed to know all of the bank's procedures which made me believe I was talking to the right person. He seemed like a nice bloke,' said John.

He adds that what reassured him the most was that he was asked to write his own name in the payee box when he made the online transfer.

He thought this meant he could be sure the money was going to another account in his name.

He had no idea that banks don't check the name given as a payee matches the one on the account.

This new seemingly basic yet vital check will not come into force until next year.

As soon as John put the phone down he felt uneasy and suspected he had been scammed.

Callous: After the scam left John struggling to pay his monthly loan repayment, Santander threatened him with a late penalty charge and even tried to offer him another personal loan

He made an urgent call to Santander's fraud hotline at around 6pm and was told the bank would investigate.

By then, less than an hour after the scammer called, 8,200 of his money had already been withdrawn by the criminal. But the remaining 800 was not debited until around 20 minutes after the bank was alerted.

Had Santander responded immediately, it could have stopped the fraudsters taking that, too.

But the bank only tried to contact TSB once and, when the line was engaged, it waited until the next day to try again.

By then the account was empty. When John called to complain, Santander refused to refund him because he had authorised the payment. The bank would not even help John when he realised he didn't have the money to make his monthly loan repayment.

Instead, Santander threatened him with a late penalty charge and even tried to offer him another personal loan.

In the end John resorted to borrowing money from his son.

It was only when Money Mail intervened that Santander admitted it could have done more to help and refunded the 800, plus a 200 goodwill gesture.

John says: 'Santander was as much use as a chocolate fireguard. They told me because I had contributed to the fraud they weren't going to give me my money back.

'I've been a loyal customer for years and their attitude towards me is disgusting.

'I had to borrow money from my son until my next pension payment was paid because that was all the money I had.'

TSB says that, if it had known about the fraud within two hours of the money leaving John's account, they may have been able to get the money back.

A spokesman for Santander says: 'Having conducted a full investigation, our decision remains that by returning 800 to Mr Godden we are putting him in the position he would have been in had the attempt to contact TSB been successful.'

He adds that an alert would have flashed up on John's computer screen as he made the transfer, warning him that if he had been instructed to move money into a 'safe account' it was a scam and to stop now.
You would like to think that should you ever have the ill fortune to need to call your bank's fraud team they would act with a sense of urgency.

Ideally, someone would hit a big red emergency button to stop any cash leaving your account.

Then, you'd expect them to be on the phone like a shot to the other bank trying to claw back what could well be your entire life's savings.

It's unfathomable to think that their response might actually be to casually drop the receiving bank a line a few days, or even weeks, after the event.

Action needed: Banks need to be acting in minutes not hours  and never days  to have a chance of taking on these extremely sophisticated scammers

Yet, as we reveal today, this is the experience of our readers.

As the Ombudsman points out, banks know all too well just how quickly fraudsters move to drain a victim's account.

From there, they move the money on relentlessly until it is effectively laundered to the point of legitimacy and is impossible to claw back.

Waiting even just a few extra minutes  let alone hours  before making a phone call can be the difference between rescuing a victim's money and not.

Industry guidelines are maddeningly vague when it comes to how fast a bank should act.

It seems that the general consensus is 'within two hours'. But in this digital age, this is utterly ridiculous.

Banks need to be acting in minutes not hours  and never days  to have a chance of taking on these extremely sophisticated scammers.

Since we launched our Stop The Bank Scammers campaign in September we have been inundated with emails and letters from other victims  each with a more terrifying story than the next.

We have reported on a number of important victories, but stories such as John Godden's show us what we are up against and how much work banks still have to do.

It is very good news that they are trialling a new system to trace stolen money and working with telecoms giants to stop scam texts, but there are many more initiatives banks and ministers could try to tackle this scourge. We won't be resting until we see some clear action.

Green rip-off

While we are on the topic of conmen and charlatans, The Mail revealed on Saturday how hundreds of families in Preston have been stranded in damp and mouldy properties because of a state-backed green energy scheme.

The initiative was launched to help homeowners save money on their energy bills with free (or cheap) insulation, double glazing and better boilers. It was one of a host of schemes rolled out in a frantic bid to help reduce carbon emissions and generally save the planet.

But this pot of state support inevitably led to homeowners being hounded by door-to-door salesmen and cold callers working on behalf of providers and installers desperate to get in on the action.

Campaigners now fear that more than a million households which signed up to the scheme may have seen their energy bills soar as a result of botched work.

If you think you might be affected, email us at moneymail@dailymail.co.uk or write to Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT.

Road to recovery

We pay for breakdown cover so that should we blow a tyre on a busy road or get stranded miles from home in the middle of the night, we won't be left waiting around for hours on end while trying to track down a local garage who can send someone to rescue us.

But as Money Mail reveals on page 44, the RAC and The AA are routinely failing to hold up their end of the bargain.

Perhaps if these firms were held accountable by a regulator over wait times and service they would be as swift to send out a tow truck as they are to put up our premiums each year.

v.bischoff@dailymail.co.uk
Sainsbury's and Asda have blamed Aldi and Lidl for the loss of 'billions of pounds' in sales over the past five years as the supermarkets prepare to join forces in a 14billion merger.

Almost two-thirds of householders shop at the budget retailers, up from just under half five years ago.

Their popularity has piled pressure on the Big Four supermarkets: Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.

Pressure: Sainsbury's and Asda have blamed Aldi and Lidl for the loss of 'billions of pounds' in sales

In a statement to the competition watchdog, which is investigating the merger, Sainsbury's and Asda said the German discounters were cashing in thanks to their 'convenient locations, high quality products and the lowest prices in the industry'.

The pair are trying to convince the Competition and Markets Authority that they will not have a stranglehold over the grocery market if they team up.

They argue they will continue to face competition from the German discounters and from new rivals such as Amazon.

Their claim of billions in lost revenues comes as data from market researchers at Kantar Worldpanel showed Sainsbury's sales fell 0.6 per cent in the 12 weeks to November 4, compared with a year ago.

Waitrose was the only other supermarket to post a drop in sales, down 1 per cent, the first time they have fallen since February 2009.

Aldi and Lidl continued to storm ahead with sales growth of 15.5 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively.

Aldi increased its market share by 0.9 percentage points to 7.6 per cent  the largest annual gain by any retailer in almost four years.

Asda, however, posted the biggest sales increase of the Big Four at 2.6 per cent, while Tesco was up 0.4 per cent and Morrisons was 1.5 per cent higher.

The merged Sainsbury's and Asda group is promising lower prices for shoppers.

But a document submitted to the CMA by an unnamed supplier claimed the tie-up would be damaging for customers.

A spokesman for Sainsbury's and Asda rejected this, saying: 'Customers will be the big winners from the combination.'
Interserve is braced for a make-or-break winter as investors fear for its finances.

Less than a year after the collapse of its rival Carillion, which put thousands of jobs on the line, City investors raised fresh concerns over the construction group's finances and say it could need an emergency cash injection.

The company, which has recently taken on contracts with the Ministry of Justice, BT and Debenhams, has a debt pile of around 600million.

Share collapse: Interserve, which has recently taken on contracts with the Ministry of Justice, BT and Debenhams, has a debt pile of around 600m

That dwarfs its market value, which after two consecutive days of share price slides, stands at just 57.6million.

Shares began falling on Monday, after waste-to-fuel business Renewi  which is working with Interserve to create a plant in Derby that creates energy from rubbish  warned that the contractor had missed a deadline.

They were down as much as 26 per cent in morning trading yesterday, on top of a near 15 per cent slide on Monday.

The shares finished down by 2.1 per cent, or 0.82p, at 38.5p after the company issued a statement aimed at reassuring the market.

Investors are still worried Interserve will need to set aside more money to compensate Renewi.

Interserve brought in Debbie White, a veteran of outsourcing firms, last year as chief exec

Because the group's debt pile is so high, the concern is that it may have to raise money through a rights issue where it would sell more shares to existing shareholders at a discount.

Joe Brent, an analyst at broker Liberum, said: 'Ultimately there is little doubt that the business needs a rights issue.'

He added that it is 'hard to imagine shareholders supporting it' unless the issues with Renewi and other similar contracts were resolved.

Brent said the business should be able to survive so long as nothing gets worse, but that Renewi's announcement implied there was a risk its situation had already deteriorated.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, pointed out that Interserve only makes very slim margins  the amount of money it brings in compared with its costs  which leaves it very vulnerable.

He said: 'If anything goes wrong, as we found with Carillion where it only took two or three hospital projects to go wrong, the margin for error is very small.' Interserve itself has insisted the financial impact of the delays at Renewi will be minimal.

In a statement, the company said its improvement plan 'remains on track and the group continues to expect a significant operating profit improvement in 2018'.

The firm, which has built schools and flood barriers and helps run the Armed Forces' international bases, has already had to complete one emergency refinancing this year.

In March it agreed a deal with its banks to put off the imminent repayments and give it total borrowing facilities of 834million.

It also brought in Debbie White, a veteran of outsourcing firms, last year as chief executive.

But investors are cautious about Interserve's future.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets, said Interserve was 'not quite Carillion yet'.

Even if the company were to edge closer to going bust, he added, the Government may be forced to step in.

'The Government has blood on its hands relating to Carillion and does not want another big failure,' Wilson said.
Simply Be owner N Brown said its marketing costs will be between 6m and 9m higher from 2020 due to irrecoverable VAT

TAX PAIN Simply Be owner N Brown is braced for a 9million hit after a dispute with the taxman.

The retailer said its marketing costs will be between 6million and 9million higher from 2020 due to irrecoverable VAT.

N Brown had argued it should be reimbursed 43.8million it paid on marketing costs for the sale of goods.

But HM Revenue & Customs said the VAT paid by N Brown relates to both sale of goods and financial services.

VAT cannot be claimed back on financial services. N Brown said it planned to appeal.

LOSING GAME Video game developer Codemasters posted a 10million fall in revenues to 39.7million in the six months to September 30 as it released fewer games than a year earlier.

The company plunged to a 3million loss compared with a 6.4million profit in 2017.

STORE SLUMP Sales at John Lewis Partnership tumbled 3.3 per cent last week as an 8.3 per cent fall in sales at Waitrose dragged on the group's performance.

The company blamed Waitrose's poor sales on the unseasonably mild weather and the fact it was price matching against a competitor during the same week a year earlier.

KAZAKH LISTING Nuclear fuel uranium producer Kazatomprom listed on the London Stock Exchange yesterday. The listing valued the company at 2.3billion.

AMERICAN BOOST A strong performance in oil and gas and post-hurricane rentals lifted temporary power equipment supplier Aggreko's North American revenue by 32 per cent in the first nine months.

This helped boost group revenue by 11 per cent.

5G START BT's mobile arm EE will roll out 5G mobile services to 16 cities next year, including London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast.

BRAZIL BLUES Credit data group Experian expects full-year sales to come in at the top end of its forecasts, driven by strong performance in its North American business.

However, the company said profits fell to 363million in the six months to September 30, from 382million last year, partly due to currency costs on the Brazilian real.

ORDER JOY Scientific tools maker Oxford Instruments has increased the half-year dividend from 3.7p to 3.8p after its order book increased.

The firm said orders rose 10.3 per cent to 162.9million for the six months to September 30  however, profits fell 8.7 per cent to 11.6million.
Millennials are well on their way to becoming the next 'sandwich generation' as they financially support both their children and their parents, a new report shows.

Despite being depicted as struggling with finances, thanks largely to well-documented struggles for some getting onto the property ladder, 36 per cent already provide some sort of financial support to their parents.

This, in turn, makes those aged 18-34 the most generous generation, a comprehensive report by Brewin Dolphin shows.

In comparison, of the 5,000 people surveyed, just two per cent of baby boomers (those aged 55+) and only 15 per cent of generation X (35-54 year olds) say they financially support their parents.

Millennials are saving up, not only for their own future, but for that of their parents & children

The bi-annual family wealth report by the investment management firm also found that four in five millennials plan to financially support their own children once they leave home.

Contrary to popular opinion, and despite a tough economic climate, millennials appear to be a generation in control of their financial situation.

The majority - 73 per cent - say they put money into savings and almost half claim to be financially 'comfortable'.

Not only are they saving for themselves, but for their future families, with just nine per cent believing their children should have to financially support themselves when they leave home.

Perhaps because they have received help from their own parents, 41 per cent state that as well as helping with university costs for their children, they will also assist with everyday living costs like food, clothing and phone bills, once they reach adulthood.

This does appear to come with a catch, however. They expect the favour to be returned, with 75 per cent saying they expect to be financially supported by their children in the future.

Despite being prepared, millennials have also been found to lack financial confidence with a 19 per cent giving up on saving altogether as they feel that major life goals, such as buying a property, are unattainable.

Graph showing how millennials view their financial situation compared to Britons overall

More than a fifth also worry that they will need to work for longer to be able to lend financial support to their families and another 21 per cent worry that they won't have enough money for their own retirement.

Dr Eliza Filby, generations expert and historian of contemporary values, said: 'Millennials have been more financially dependent on their parents than any other previous generation and they recognise that they will have to reciprocate this as their parents age and they themselves become more financially secure.

'They too want to offer the same opportunities and support to their children that their parents gave to them.

'This attitude towards financial inter-generational dependence is very different behaviour we have seen from previous generations for two very important reasons; children are dependants for much longer and the elderly are living much longer.'

Graph showing how much spare money Gen X think they have, compared to other generations

In comparison, generation X feel that they are the age group most 'squeezed' for money, with many not saving as much as they would like - or need to.

As the current 'sandwich generation', they are at their earnings peak but also now have the most outgoings they have ever had, with half saying they have no spare money to save.

As a result, over a third say they are just about 'making ends meet', and a fifth say they are 'struggling'.

Out of those struggling, a third said they will sometimes go without in order to provide for the rest of their family.

Generation X are also less generous with their offers of financial support for their family.

Compared to millennials, less than a third say they would help with their children's university fees and a smaller amount said they would help with food shopping, clothing and phone bills.

Liz Alley, divisional director of financial planning at Brewin Dolphin, said: 'There needs to be a shift in the public discussion from simply insisting people save more, to making them feel more inspired, informed and encouraged to help them get their hard-earned savings working harder.

'It's very easy for life to get in the way but having clear saving goals will help to ensure that the longer-term priorities remain front of mind to help reduce future money worries.'
Georgia public safety officials say police arrested 15 protesters, including a senator, during a demonstration inside the state Capitol as they called for uncounted ballots from last week's election to be tallied.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety said in an emailed statement Tuesday that demonstrators were charged with misdemeanors under a law that makes it illegal to disrupt meetings of the state legislature with 'loud, threatening, or abusive language.'

Democratic state Sen. Nikema Williams was among those arrested and taken to the Fulton County jail. Police ordered dozens of demonstrators to disperse from the second-floor rotunda Tuesday afternoon as lawmakers began a special session to approve funds for hurricane recovery.

Sen. Nikema Williams (D-Atlanta) is arrested by capitol police during a protest over election ballot counts in the rotunda

Supporters of Democrat Stacey Abrams say thousands of uncounted votes could still tip the governor's race into a Dec. 4 runoff against Republican Brian Kemp.

Williams, a Democrat from Atlanta, was led from the statehouse with wrists zip-tied behind her back Tuesday after as Capitol police ordered demonstrators to disperse from the statehouse rotunda.

Williams said she was arrested 'because I refused to leave the floor of this building where I'm a state senator.' She said she was 'standing peacefully beside constituents I represent.'

Dozens filled the rotunda in the center of the Capitol's second floor Tuesday just as the House was scheduled to convene for a special session. People chanted 'Count every vote!' and held signs with the same slogan.

Supporters of Democrat Stacey Abrams say thousands of uncounted votes could still tip the governor's race into a Dec. 4 runoff against Republican Brian Kemp.

Williams (D-Atlanta) was pictured being led out of the Capitol in handcuffs over the protests

Democratic state lawmakers rallied Tuesday at the Georgia Capitol in support of gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, insisting that thousands of uncounted votes could still tip the governor's race into a Dec. 4 runoff.

Williams and fellow Democrats accused Republican Brian Kemp of bungling the election as secretary of state. They cited problems ranging from long lines at the polls to an 'exact match' policy that placed 53,000 Georgians' voter registrations on hold.

Kemp resigned as secretary of state last week after declaring himself the winner in the governor's race. He has insisted there aren't enough outstanding ballots to alter the race's outcome.

The lawmakers are at the Capitol for a special legislative session.

About 25 black clergy members led by Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, who heads the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia, chanted 'Count the votes! All the votes!' before the Democrats' news conference.

A federal judge has ordered a populous Georgia county not to reject absentee ballots because the voter's birth year is missing or wrong.

The order issued Tuesday by U.S. Judge Leigh May says rejecting absentee ballots solely because of a missing or incorrect birth year violates the Civil Rights Act.

Another man is arrested by Georgia state troopers during a protest over election ballot counts in the buidling

She ordered Gwinnett County election officials not to reject those ballots and to count any that were cast in the Nov. 6 midterm election. She also ordered Gwinnett County to delay certification of its election results until those ballots have been counted.

The order stems from requests filed by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and by Democratic congressional candidate Carolyn Bourdeaux.

The race between Bourdeaux and Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall for Georgia's 7th Congressional District remains too close to call.

A federal judge has ordered Georgia's secretary of state to wait until Friday to certify the results of the midterm elections that include an unsettled race for governor and to take steps to protect provisional ballots.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ruled Monday that the secretary of state must not certify the results of the election until Friday at 5 p.m.

She ordered the state to establish a hotline or website where voters can check whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, the reason why.

For all counties with 100 or more provisional ballots, she ordered the secretary of state's office to order county election officials to conduct a 'good faith review' or to do an 'independent review' itself of the eligibility of voters who had to cast a provisional ballot because of registration issues.
An apparent murder-suicide on Tuesday morning at the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico has left four dead and a woman injured, the FBI said.

One of the four said to be dead is the suspected shooter, according to officials.

A spokesman for the FBI in Albuquerque says the incident occurred inside a residence Tuesday morning in the community of Tsayatoh (say-yah-TOH'), which is near the New Mexico-Arizona border.

Four are dead and a woman is injured in an apparent murder-suicide on Navajo Nation land, according to FBI officials on Tuesday

Authorities stated that it appears the shooting was an act of domestic violence.

Autopsies are pending on the four adults who died.

An adult woman was taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds and Navajo police say she's in critical condition.

One of the people reported dead at the northwestern New Mexico scene is said to be the shooter

The names of the four dead and the wounded woman were not immediately released. But according to locals, they were all a family.

'They were really outgoing. They've done so much for our chapter and our community members and they are going through a tough loss,' Tamara Jim, of the Tsayatoh Chapter House, explained to KOB4.

The FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety are investigating the incident.
Boeing did not tell pilots about a deadly flaw in their 737 MAX jets that has been blamed for last month's Lion Air plane disaster in Indonesia, it has been claimed.

The ill-fated Lion Air Flight 610 crashed just minutes after take-off from Jakarta on Monday, October 29, killing all 189 people on board.

American pilots say they were not trained in new features of an anti-stall system in the aircraft that differ from previous models of the popular 737.

The automated system is designed to help them avoid raising the plane's nose too high, which can cause the plane to stall, or lose the aerodynamic lift needed to keep flying. The system automatically pushes the nose of the plane down.

US pilots say they were not told about features of a new flight-control system that reportedly is a focus of the investigation into last month's deadly crash in Indonesia. Pictured: Boeing's first 737 MAX 9 jet at the company's delivery centre

But if that nose-down command is triggered by faulty sensor readings - as suspected in the Lion Air crash - pilots can struggle to control the plane, which can go into a dive and perhaps crash, according to a Boeing safety bulletin and safety regulators.

The bulletin included new details on how to stop a runaway series of events from leading to a crash, pilots say.

'It is something we did not have before in any of our training. It wasn't in our books. American didn't have it,' said Dennis Tajer, a 737 pilot and spokesman for the pilots union at American Airlines. 'Now I have to wonder what else is there?'

Jon Weaks, a 737 captain and president of the pilots union at Southwest, said he couldn't recall a similar omission in a Boeing operating manual.

The ill-fated Lion Air flight JT 610 was found in the Java Sea off the coast of Karawang in West Java, Indonesia

'I was not pleased. How could something like this happen? We want to be given the information to keep our pilots, our passengers and our families safe,' he said.

Weaks said he is satisfied that 'we have been given, finally, the correct information.'

The MAX is the newest version of the twin-engine Boeing 737. More than 200 have been delivered to airlines worldwide, including American, Southwest and United.

Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Tuesday that the Chicago-based company remains confident the MAX is a safe airplane. He said Boeing did not withhold operating details from airlines and flight crews.

Divers recover crucial black box with dozens of hours of data as investigators piece together final moments of doomed flight that killed 189 people. That Boeing didn't tell airline pilots about features of a new flight-control system in its 737 MAX is reportedly a focus of the investigation

'We ensure that we provide all of the information that is needed to safely fly our airplanes,' Muilenburg told Fox Business Network.

He said Boeing bulletins to airlines and pilots 'point them back to existing flight procedures' to handle the kind of sensor problem suspected in last month's crash.

A Southwest spokeswoman said the new automated maneuvering system was not included in the operating manual for MAX models.

An American spokesman said the airline was unaware of some new automated functions in the MAX but hasn't experienced nose-direction errors. A United spokesman said Boeing and the FAA do not believe additional pilot training is needed.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency directive last week to airlines, telling them to update cockpit manuals to include instructions for how pilots can adjust flight controls under certain conditions.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg is interviewed by Maria Bartiromo, not pictured, during her 'Mornings with Maria Bartiromo' program on the Fox Business Network, in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018

'The FAA will take further action if findings from the accident investigation warrant,' the agency said in a statement Tuesday.

John Cox, a former 737 pilot and now a safety consultant to airlines, said Boeing's steps since the crash 'have been exactly correct. They have increased pilot awareness, they have reminded them of the proper procedure to disable (the automatic nose-down action), which stops the problem.'

Indonesian investigators say that the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 experienced malfunctions with sensors that indicate the angle of the nose on four recent flights, including the fatal one.

The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. and Indonesian investigators are increasingly focusing on the way that the plane's automated control systems interact.

They are also questioning whether the FAA and Boeing adequately analyzed potential hazards if the systems malfunction and send faulty data to the plane's computers, according to the newspaper.
Police are going to extraordinary lengths to crack down on drivers using their mobile phones behind the wheel - sneakily hiding on top of overpasses to catch them breaking the law.

The new tactic, revealed by a motorist's dashcam on King Georges Road, in Sydney's Beverly Hills, involves officers spotting drivers on the phone and then radioing ahead to their colleagues.

The alleged offender is then pulled over and hit with an infringement notice - which is a hefty $433 fine and the loss of five points.

The motorist whose dashcam captured the footage witnessed drivers being pulled up shortly after passing beneath the underpass.

The new tactic followed Daily Mail Australia revelations that police officers were busting phone users while disguised as window washers at a busy intersection.

In one example, a police officer was spotted in footage taken by a motorist's dashcam on September 5 standing on a footbridge (pictured) above King Georges Road, in Sydney's Beverly Hills

'It's not just window washers you need to watch for. But you tend to notice these things if you aren't on your phone,' the motorist who captured the photos said.

'Moral of the story, stay off your phone if you are operating a vehicle.'

A driver first published a picture claiming to show police dressed as window washers to a Reddit thread. The photo showed who the driver believed to be undercover police, dressed in sunglasses and with their caps on backwards and carrying squeegees.

On Tuesday, Victoria Police confirmed police had been dressing as window washers as part of a covert operation to catch drivers on their phones at the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Springvale Road in Nunawading, east Melbourne.

The driver speculated the officer was warning his colleagues positioned slightly further up the road (pictured left), alerting them to vehicles they needed to pull over

The post, shared to Reddit, read: 'This is amazing. Undercover cops pretending to be windscreen washers and catching people on their phones at the lights.'

The sting involved officers radioing their colleagues 200m down the road, who then pulled the driver over and issued them a fine.

Police issued 38 infringement notices to drivers for using their mobile phone while driving, while at least one was caught driving without their seatbelt fastened.

An undercover officer (pictured) wore hi-vis, a backwards cap, dark sunglasses and carried a squeegee while patrolling vehicles pulled up at the lights

The operation would have earned authorities about $18,390 based on a standard on-the-spot fine.

Officers posing as window washers did not actually wash any windows.

Evidence of the cunning tactic attracted mixed responses from motorists, with some praising the 'clever' plan and others condemning its 'hypocritical' nature.

'Clever! You know what, if it saves lives go for it. The amount of drivers I pass and see them look down at their phones,' someone said.

'It is meant to change the blase behaviour around touching devices. If you do it at a set of lights, you're more likely to do it whilst driving,' another wrote.

Many others however slammed the measure as an unnecessary waste of taxpayer money.

'How low can you go,' one wrote, another saying: 'Shouldn't Victorian Police have bigger fish to fry with all that's been going on of late. People don't feel safe and this is the kind of undercover operation they feel is a priority.'

Another dissatisfied commenter wrote: 'This is where all those extra police are going. Is this Victoria or The Looney Tunes?

Road users had mixed reactions to the bizarre practice, some in favour and others particularly annoyed

Some thought the officer could have improved his disguise because according to them, 'window washers don't wear hi-vis'.

The penalty for using a mobile phone or device under Victorian law is four demerit points and an on-the-spot fine of $476.

Roadside window washers are illegal in all states except for the ACT.

One Canberra coroner partly blamed the practice for distracting a driver at an intersection - who was then fatally struck by a truck with faulty brakes.
Karl Stefanovic has slammed Bunnings Warehouse for changing its sausage sizzle, labelling the decision 'un-Australian'.

The hardware giant was revealed on Tuesday to have instructed those working the barbecues at its 294 stores to add onions to the bread before placing a sausage on top - so the onions don't fall out and become a slipping hazard.

On Tuesday morning's Today Show, Stefanovic said altering how the iconic snack is prepared would 'ruin Australia'.

'Australia will not make it through today if this happened,' he said.

Karl Stefanovic has slammed Bunnings Warehouse for changing its sausage sizzle, labelling the decision 'un-Australian'

On Tuesday morning's Today Show, Stefanovic said altering how the iconic snack is prepared would 'ruin Australia'

'Bunnings, you've done a lot of things right. But, I'm sorry, you've got this one wrong. You don't mess with perfection.'

Bunnings chief operating officer Debbie Poole said safety was the company's 'number one priority'.

'We recently introduced a suggestion that onion be placed underneath sausages to help prevent the onion from falling out and creating a slipping hazard,' Ms Poole said.

'This recommendation is provided to the community groups within their fundraising sausage sizzle welcome pack and is on display within the gazebos when barbecues are underway.'

Fans of a Bunnings snag took to social media to voice their concerns about the change.

'Madness at Bunnings, the snag is getting a revamp,' one person said.

Another person posted sarcastically about their safety worries.

'It's my biggest fear when going to Bunnings, the number of onions I have tripped over... my lord, every freaking Sunday,' they said.

'The humble Bunnings snag, which in some way epitomises the Australian way of life, has been forever tarnished and will never be the same. A sad day for all,' another person said.

Fans of a Bunnings snag took to social media to voice their concerns about the change

Community groups, from school committees to sporting clubs, are given the chance each week to help raise money for their cause by getting prime position at the warehouse doors.

Despite the change to the humble snag in bread Ms Poole was still able to see the lighter side.

'Regardless of how you like your onion and snag, we are confident this new serving suggestion will not impact the delicious taste or great feeling you get when supporting your local community group,' she said.

Community groups and charities wishing to run their own Bunnings sausage sizzle need to send a written submission to their nearest store for consideration.
A nine-year-old Alabama girl intentionally hanged herself in her bedroom closet after 'being bullied at school', according to her heartbroken family.

Madison Whitsett, of Birmingham, died on Monday after her mother, Eugenia Williams, and stepfather, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Lt Jimmie Williams, took her off life support.

Eugenia found her daughter hanging in her closest on Friday, shortly after Madison arrived home from school.

The grieving family of nine-year-old Madison Whitsett, of Alabama, who intentionally hanged herself in her bedroom closet, says the child was being bullied at school

Madison Whitsett, of Birmingham, died on Monday after her mother, Eugenia Williams (both pictured), and stepfather, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Lt Jimmie Williams, took her off life support

She told AL.com that she was preparing to take Madison to Chick-fil-A when she couldn't find her daughter anywhere.

Eugenia went to her daughter's bedroom and saw the child's closest was slightly open.

She said she then went inside the closest and found Madison unresponsive.

She yelled for her friend, who was on the phone, to hang up and call 911 as she administered CPR.

The little girl was then rushed to St Vincent's East before being transported to Children's of Alabama, but the weather prevented the air flight, according to AL.com.

Madison was eventually flown to Children's of Alabama, where she remained on life support until Monday.

The family said they spoke with one of Madison's (pictured with her mother) friends who told them that the girl had been 'bullied and she looked sad while she was being bullied'

Madison had also just started a new medication for ADHD, which has a listed side effect of possibly causing suicidal thoughts

The Williams family said they spoke with one of Madison's friends who told them that the girl had been 'bullied and she looked sad while she was being bullied'.

Madison had also just started a new medication for ADHD, which has a listed side effect of possibly causing suicidal thoughts.

'The bullying plus the medicine, I think, gave her the boost to do that,' Lt Williams told AL.com.

The Williams family said Madison's death is completely shocking because she was 'so alive, energetic, funny, and loved dance'.

They are now warning other families to pay attention to their children.

'Look for changes in attitude. Changes in behavior. Support them and be there for them,' Lt Williams said, adding that it's also important for parents to beware of bullying.

For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here.
You know you're Down Under when the customer in front of you at the bar is a kangaroo.

Images that you could only ever see in Australia have been shared online, delighting social media users.

Where else would you see a man in a punch up with a kangaroo after it tried to strangle his dog?

Knock, knock: A terrifying moment was caught on camera when a large brown snake was seen climbing the door to a home

Charlotte the giant huntsman shot to internet stardom after pictures surfaced of her crawling on a broom

Some of the images are heartwarming - such as the emu family gathered outside a general store - while others are genuinely terrifying - like the snake climbing a family's front door.

Extraordinary videos have also been posted online showing Aussie animals in a variety of hilarious situations.

Footage of Rocco the boxing kangaroo went viral after Kalgoorlie local Joe Pervan took a video of him hitting a punchbag.

Like snakes, pictures of spiders are frequently shared on social media pages, with people comparing size, shape and locations.

Pictures of Charlotte the huntsman were shared thousands of times online after snaps emerged of her sitting on, and almost obscuring, a broom.

Experts said later that the ginormous spider was the biggest huntsman they had ever clapped eyes on.

Large spiders can give homeowners a fright, as one couple from Queensland discovered while they were cooking dinner.

Even their cat looked terrified when a giant huntsman landed on their window with a thump.

Another spider decided to literally chill out in a fridge, giving a hungry man a scare he went to retrieve his sausage roll.

The 'roo, fondly named 'Rocco' by Kalgoorie local Joe Pervan, can be seen forcefully hitting and kicking the punch bag

Customers at the the Donnelly River general store in Western Australia had to dodge an emu family to get inside

Attempting to remove the spider from the glass door Lauren Ansell's cat Aurora tried to scare the huntsman but appeared spooked

While the cat appears spooked as if it had seen a ghost, the 'mean' huntsman doesn't flinch

The king sized sausage roll is being guarded by a huge spider - possibly saving someones waistline

A kangaroo was a bit early for happy hour, he was seen waiting at a pub but doesn't seem to have been served

One video that has to be seen to be believed is the footage of a koala comandeering a cameraman's equipment.

The cuddly critter looks like an pro, appearing to handle the large television camera with ease.

One construction worker was late to work after a crocodile decided to roll around in a makeshift swamp on a building site, right next to his digger.

Australians are well aware traffic can occur from a variety of reasons, from kangaroos fighting in the street to alpacas escaping en masse.

One frustrated driver had to sit it out after a herd of sheep decided to block his right of way.

Could this be the cutest thing you've ever seen? A koala tries to operate a camera and he seems like a natural

Kangaroos hop out at any moment in Australia it seems. This one was found having a quick drink from a toilet
A Wisconsin veteran who was declared clinically dead when he went into cardiac arrest, shocked his family and doctors when he woke up a day after being placed on a life support machine.

Sergeant First Class Jim Bittner was scheduled for a specialized surgery that would clean plaque out from his arteries and lungs, called PTE.

But the veteran, who has had an assortment of health woes, experienced some complications that prevented the surgery from taking place.

Sergeant First Class Jim Bittner was scheduled for a specialized surgery that would clean plaque out from his arteries and lungs, called PTE

'I was having shortness of breath and I started coughing up blood,' he explained to TMJ4.

Jim went to an ER in Mosinee but doctors knew he needed specific attention and he was flown to Froedtert Hospital.

There, the veteran went into cardiac arrest and doctors feared he would also experience some form of brain damage.

'His heart did not beat just over three minutes. But it was 55 minutes that his lungs didn't send adequate oxygen to his brain,' added the man's wife, Mary Bittner.

The veteran went into cardiac arrest while at Froedtert Hospital after experiencing medical complications. It was then that Dr. Lyle Joyce decided to put the man on life support

It was then that Dr. Lyle Joyce decided to put the man on life support.

'I was in the operating room just down the hall and they called me to see if there was anything we could do,' the doctor said.

'This would at least give him a chance to say goodbye to his family. I think all of us who have lost loved ones, we always regret if he haven't had a chance to say our goodbyes.'

Mary said that the moment was a low one for her.

She said: 'I hit the wall. You go into denial, worst day of my life.'

But Mary's dark heartbreak would soon be mended as Jim woke up the next day in a much better state than doctors could have ever expected.

His health motivated doctors to arrange another surgery.

Dr. Joyce was assisted in the surgery with his son, Dr. David Joyce

Jim Bittner spent just under 33 years in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, something his doctors think helped contribute to his determination to get better

Dr. Joyce was assisted in the surgery with his son, Dr. David Joyce.

Weeks after the surgery, the veteran asserts that he has a busy holiday schedule that he was to prepare for with his wife.

He exclaimed: 'I got too much stuff to do!'

Jim spent just under 33 years in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, something his doctors think helped contribute to his determination to get better.

'There is no question that his military service prepared him for the type of resilience that he needed to survive this situation,' said Dr. David Joyce.

The veteran is back at home after being released from the hospital, a few weeks earlier than expected
A newspaper which incorrectly paid tribute to Spike Lee following the death of Marvel legend Stan Lee is being ridiculed online.

The Gisborne Herald, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, made the spectacular gaffe on its front page on Tuesday.

'Spike Lee dies at 95', the headline read, which was accompanied by a photo of Stan Lee.

Scroll down for video

Social media was sent into meltdown on Tuesday after The Gisborne Herald, a New Zealand newspaper, paid tribute to Spike Lee following the death of Marvel legend Stan Lee

Stan Lee (pictured), who revolutionised pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, died early Monday in Los Angeles

Spike Lee (pictured) is an American director known for movies such as BlacKkKlansman and Malcolm X. He is still alive, aged 61

Twitter users reacted to the front page gaffe, with comments including 'There's something different about Spike Lee but I can't quite place'

Readers quickly picked-up the mistake before posting photos of the front page and comments online.

'Oh dear', one wrote, while another said: 'Three shocks this morning! Not only is Spike Lee dead!! He was also 95 and... WHITE!'.

'There's something different about Spike Lee but I can't quite place it,' another comment said.

One commentator even offered the proofreading services of her Marvel fan son and quipped the paper should have taken cues from the 'top academics' who were also featured on the front page.

'How did you even? Perhaps if you had one of the ''top academics'' proof read it for you, pretty sure they would all know the difference between a Stan and a Spike Lee!! My 16-year-old Marvel Fan is offering his services as a proof reader,' they said.

The mistake was only limited to the front page however. The story on Stan Lee's death on page 12 referred to him by the correct name.

Twitter users described the mistake as an 'epic fail' and one added: 'Three shocks this morning! Not only is Spike Lee dead!! He was also 95 and... WHITE!'

The Gisborne Herald did have Stan Lee's name correct on Page 12, which carried the full story of his passing

Stan Lee, who revolutionised pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, died on Monday.

The face of comic book culture in the United States died in Los Angeles after suffering a number of illnesses in recent years.

Stan Lee was declared dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to Kirk Schenck, an attorney for Lee's daughter, J.C. Lee.

His death came just one day after he tweeted a photo of himself in his WWII uniform for Veterans' Day.

As the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher, Stan Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book.

Stan Lee (pictured) was the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher and widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book

The dapper, friendly comic book genius continued to work into his 90s on numerous projects, including comics, films and DVDs. He is pictured above in 1990

He revived the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action craved by younger readers while insisting on sophisticated plots, college-level dialogue, satire, science fiction and even philosophy.

Spike Lee is still alive, aged 61. He is an American director known for movies such as BlacKkKlansman, Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing.

'They didn't do the right thing,' one Twitter user wrote of The Gisborne Herald mistake, referencing the Do the Right Thing movie.
Michael Rogers was hailed a national hero after using a shopping trolley to charge at a terrorist who was trying to slash police officers with a large knife after blowing up his car on Bourke Street in Melbourne

Bourke Street hero Michael Rogers has laid bare his lonely existence as he works to pick up the pieces of his life after years on the streets.

The now famous 'Trolley Man' remains living destitute in Footscray days after he went to the aid of police in last Friday's terror attack.

Apart from various journalists, Rogers has not really sat down and debriefed with anyone about his role in the incident.

He has no friends, only acquaintances, he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're just associates. I've truly got no friends. I've got a lot of bad associates, but no good friends,' he said.

'I've been a bit of a loner. That's why I think I struggle a bit in terms of a lot of things. I struggle with adapting to society, staying off the drugs without feeling comfortable in the world.'

Rogers was uneasy returning to the scene, but felt he needed to return if nothing more than to pay his respects to Sisto Malaspina, who died in the attack.

He's off the heroin, Rogers said, which for a long-time user is a big deal.

'It's a big achievement,' he said. 'That was my soul drug for nine years and for me to not use it anymore, I congratulate myself. Now I need to be abstinent from everything. Even if I have to go to somewhere for a week just to give me that week's break from what I've been doing. I'll try anything to do the right thing.'

Scroll down for video

Grateful Australians have donated more than $130,000 towards a trust for Mr Rogers, who says he wants to use the money to stay off drugs and rebuild his life

Rogers has said he didn't know the man he was attacking (pictured) was armed with a knife and didn't even know police had shot him dead. He broke his phone during the attack and said he had no idea what had even really happened until more than a day later

Rogers took a seat next to the tram stop outside Target and recalled the moments of madness that have gone onto change his life.

'To be honest I don't even know where the trolley was. All I remember is I was rolling a cigarette and I heard the car smash,' he said.

'I've looked up and it was on fire, I heard screaming and yelling and I didn't think much of it and all of a sudden there was another bang and the car started to career out of control very slowly and came to a halt and blew again.'

Rogers said people began running towards him and he knew something was terribly wrong.

Police converged on the area and watched as police struggled to subdue the deranged terrorist.

'I've grabbed the trolley from wherever and I've pushed at him as hard as I could, fell, but I got him and I got up and pushed it at him maybe two or three more times to give the police time to try another tactic,' he said.

'The guy was shot and the rest is over. I don't know why I did it, It was just instinct. It was just get up and do it because people were running.'

Rogers said he was oblivious to the worldwide attention he had received until about 28-hours after the attack.

He had broken his phone in his trolley dash and only received a new one on Tuesday.

If the fame has gone to Rogers' head, he's still not showing it, or doesn't quite get how far his heroics have been shown.

'I'm enjoying it to be honest with you. With most people because I'm having good conversation with them about a range of things other than what's happened and they're really intrigued to know more about everything in (my) life,' he said.

Since the attack, Rogers said he had enjoyed free taxi rides and people had been paying for his food.

'People are taking my photo. I don't know how many photos I've posed for,' he said.

The shy and softly spoken hero has recounted the moments of madness that saw him charge at the killer with a trolley (pictured), and spoken about his lonely life on the streets

Rogers has also been criticized for his criminal past and drug use, but says he is 'not interested' in what people say and is only focused on putting his life back together

But with fame comes criticism and Rogers was advised to stay off social media.

'I said "I don't even know how to get on Facebook". I'm not even registered. I'm not interested in what people say,' he said.

Until Tuesday, Rogers wasn't even aware he had come under fire for everything from being a crook to claims he wasn't homeless.

'What have people been saying?' he asked.

But it was news radio's Neil Mitchell had thrown in his two cents that bit hardest.

'Bulls**t! I thought he would have backed me,' he said. 'That sucks.'

Rogers expressed dismay that critics did not think he should get the money raised for him by members of the public who went out of their way to donate to him.

The figure amounts to well over $100,000.

'Well don't give it to me then. Who should get it? The police?' he said.

Rogers, who has pledged to go straight after a life of petty crime, has already gone out of his way to help more people since the attack and promised to donate thousands more to charity.

'I'm giving it away, as well as keeping some,' he said.

While concern remains over exactly what Rogers will spend the money on, the 46-year old longs for ordinary things most Australians take for granted.

'I love clothes. I love push bikes - that's my favourite. That's my passion,' he said.

It was a passion that saw him breach his parole for aggravated burglary and wind-up back in jail.

He had only been free for five weeks when the attack on Bourke Street happened.

For a man who has lived rough and on the wrong side of the law for too long to remember, Rogers displayed amazing insight into his future prospects. He said he wanted to get clean and turn his life around, but acknowledged he needed help and time to do so

'I like whatever residence I do live in to have nice stuff and be clean. Other than that I don't know what else I'll do with it,' he said.

Rogers said he faces an uphill challenge to turn his life around after 30 years of living tough on the streets.

'It's not going to be "bang" tomorrow and I'm not going to do anything and I'm not going to do this and I'm not going to do that,' he said.

'But with support... I wanna be a good guy. Take things as they come. I'm not going to go out of my way to do anything too much different but I just want to be a good guy.'

Rogers said if he had his time again he would repeat his heroic actions.

'Definitely. My oath I would,' he said.

Rogers paid tribute to the first two officers to respond to the attack, who fought with him to bring the terrorist down.

'They should probably be with me doing this because they're the ones who did all the work. I just pushed a trolley at him,' he said.
A group of advertising executives claim they were made redundant for being white, male, straight and British.

The men lost their jobs at J Walter Thompson after creative director Jo Wallace announced she wanted to obliterate the firms Mad Men-style reputation.

The men are said to have approached lawyers about the possibility of bringing a discrimination case on grounds of gender, race, nationality and sexuality.

Jo Wallace, pictured, wanted to change the culture of advertising agency J Walter Thompson

If their complaint goes to court, it will become a test case at a time when employers are trying to close gender wage gaps. JWT has one of the most unequal salary structures in the advertising industry, according to data released under government rules. The unidentified executives are understood to have gone to their HR department with concerns about how the drive for diversity would affect their career prospects.

Miss Wallace is founder of Good Girls Eat Dinner, a series of networking events which describes itself as providing inspirational, kick-ass female role models across the creative industries (where they are sadly lacking). She has described JWTs poor performance in the gender pay league as a much-needed rocket to address the lack of diversity among senior staff.

After the pay gap figures were published JWT implemented a plan to increase diversity through methods such as unconscious bias training for staff and a blind recruitment policy which would see details such as gender removed from job applications.

The male-dominated world of advertising is epitomised in the US TV drama Mad Men which portrays sharp-suited, smooth-tongued executives plying their trade on New Yorks Madison Avenue in the 1960s.

Gender pay gap figures released in April show that almost eight in ten companies pay men more than women. It found that men also get higher bonuses.

Miss Wallace, who introduced herself as a gay woman at a recent Creative Equals conference, is a high-profile diversity campaigner who has pushed for women to obtain senior positions in advertising.

Miss Wallace said she wanted to change the agency's Mad Men 'male pale and stale' image

In an article last December she wrote: A hell of a lot of people are literally sleeping on the job when it comes to diversifying their creative department beyond white, pale, stale males.

There are still far too many creative departments with zero female or black and minority ethnic creatives.

A JWT spokesman said: Its not appropriate for us to comment on individuals in an ongoing process. Any redundancies at JWT London are handled fairly, lawfully and without any form of discrimination.

Aston Martin, Shell, Nestle and Debenhams are among the firms clients.
Passengers who complain about failing train companies are not even treated with basic courtesy, a scathing report has found.

An investigation by consumer group Which? concluded that Britains rail complaints system is broken after discovering that fewer than half of rail passengers were satisfied with how their dispute was dealt with.

Fewer than one in five passengers with three major operators - Northern, Govia Thameslink Railway and Great Western - said they were satisfied with the outcome or handling, or both, of their complaint.

But rail companies also stand accused of treating passengers with utter contempt.

Govia Thameslink - who run Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express - were among a select few accused of being particularly rude

Less than half (46 per cent) of respondents said they were satisfied that Northern has even been polite in dealing with their complaint.

In one case, a long suffering commuter on Northern reported she had been blocked on Twitter after complaining when her trains were regularly cancelled, severely delayed or too full to get on.

Around half of passengers with several other rail operators said staff failed to show them basic courtesy when they complained about poor service.

Firms accused of being particularly rude include South Western Railway, Great Western Railway, Govia Thameslink Railway, TransPennine Express, Heathrow Express and the now defunct Virgin Trains East Coast franchise.

The damning report examined official data published by the Office of Rail and Road between April 2017 and March this year - during which time more than half a million complaints about rail services were lodged.

Complaints have surged again over the summer following the shambolic introduction of a new rail timetable which caused thousands of delays and cancellations.

Delays dealing with complaints was a major source of frustration for passengers, according to the report.

Just 15 per cent of Northern passengers were satisfied with the time taken to deal with their grievance.

The other main offenders on this front were Great Western (19 per cent), South Western (22 per cent). Arriva Trains Wales (23 per cent) and Virgin Trains East Coast, which was renationalised in June and renamed LNER.

Northern was the last or in the bottom three of the 18 train companies in every aspect of the complaints process that passengers were asked about.

This ranged from politeness of staff, to whether the complaint was taken seriously, how easy it was to make a complaint, clarity of the information provided, and whether passengers were satisfied with the outcome.

With trust in the rail industry already chronically low, Which? said these huge failings in the complaints process are not helping the situation.

Customers are aggrieved at the length of time it takes to deal with their complaints - just 22 per cent of South Western's passengers said they were satisfied with the time it took to deal with their complaint

Alex Hayman, the consumer groups managing director of public markets, said:

Clearly there are serious underlying problems in the current rail complaints system, which need to be addressed. Train companies have to step up and start delivering good customer service when things go wrong - informing passengers about their rights and dealing properly with any complaints that arise.

The government has promised to set up a new independent rail ombudsman, amid criticism that complaints are handled poorly and it is too difficult for passengers to get compensation.

Frustration among rail commuters boiled over during the summer following the botched introduction of a new rail schedule in May.

This caused mayhem for commuters on Northern rail in the North of England, and on Thameslink and Great Northern in Southern England.

According to the Office of Rail and Road, complaints jumped to a six year high for the first quarter of the financial year - between April and July.

The backlash was driven by anger over punctuality, shoddy facilities on board and overcrowded trains.

Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents rail operators and Network Rail, said:

Were committed to improving the service for our customers and to upholding the highest standards in our complaints process. Thats why the rail industry has led the way on creating an independent Rail Ombudsman with powers to make legally binding rulings.
A disgruntled motorist accused of setting a speed camera on fire before returning to the scene to relight the flame just hours later has been charged with arson.

Police and fire crews were first called to an intersection at Wayville, in Adelaide, at about 12.20am Wednesday after reports of a speed camera on fire.

Fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the flames but not before the blaze destroyed the camera and its glass cover.

The firebug was understood to have fled in a vehicle before fire crews arrived.

A man, 40, (pictured in cuffs) has been arrested and charged with two counts of arson. Police allege he set alight a speed camera twice on the same night

Police and fire crews were first called to the intersection at Wayville, a suburb of Adelaide, at about 12.20am on Wednesday after reports of the camera on fire

At 3.35am emergency services were called back to the scene after reports the same camera had been set alight for a second time.

Police arrived moments later and arrested a 40-year-old Reynella man at the scene.

He has been charged with two counts of arson and is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.

His vehicle was also seized for forensic examination.
A manhunt is under way after a 26-year-old man was shot on a residential street in Melbourne's south east overnight.

Police were called to Elsmile Drive in Cranbourne East about 6am Wednesday after they received reports of loud noises.

The 26-year-old man was taken to The Alfred Hospital where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

A manhunt is underway after a 26-year-old man was shot on a residential street in Melbourne's south east overnight

The gunman fled the scene following the incident and police have since cordoned off three blocks of the street and have lunched an investigation.

Nine News reporter Lana Murphy, who was at the scene on Wednesday morning, told 3AW there were about a dozen police at the scene.

'I can see there's blood on both side of the road,' Ms Murphy said. 'There's droplets of blood everywhere.'

Ms Murphy said many of the neighbours were 'looking quite upset' and spoke of what sounded like a speeding car in the area about the time of the shooting.

'A neighbour I spoke to a little earlier said that he heard a car driving past quite quickly, revving its engine just before 6am,' she said.

A mother of two who lives in the street told The Herald Sun she was frightened and had heard what sounded like loud motorbikes just before midnight.

Police were called to Elsmile Drive in Cranbourne East (pictured) about 6am on Wednesday morning after they received reports of loud noises

'Last night I heard a motorbike noise about 11, driving very fast,' she said.

Another resident on the street, Budh Ram, 61, told the publication he was at home with his family when the shooting took place.

Mr Ram said the area was usually very quiet and, until now, he felt safe bringing up his two-year-old grandson in the area.

'If it happened again, maybe we would move out and leave the area,' he said.

Police have urged anyone with information to come forward or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The 'Pink Legacy' diamond weighing just under 19 carats fetched a record 50.375 million Swiss francs ($50 million) when it was auctioned for the first time ever on Tuesday, Christie's said.

The 'virtually unheard of' jewel was purchased by New York-based luxury jeweler Harry Winston at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva.

The company promptly renamed it 'The Winston Pink Legacy' and added it to its collection of rare jewels, the auction house said.

A Christie's employee displays The Pink Legacy, a 18.96 carat Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond during a preview at the Christie's auction house in Geneva, Switzerland. It sold for $50 million yesterday

The rectangular-cut pink stone reached the top end of its value, as it had been estimated to fetch between $30 million and $50 million. It was discovered in a South African mine around a century ago and was probably cut in the 1920s.

The semi-annual Geneva jewellery sale netted $110 million, with 86 per cent of lots finding new owners.

Francois Curiel, chairman of Christie's luxury group, told reporters that 11 lots brought in more than $1 million.

'The Pink Legacy brought this extremely high price of $50 million, so $2.6 million per carat which is a world record price for a pink diamond,' Curiel, who is also a jewel expert, said.

Vivid coloured diamonds are the most strongly saturated gems, displaying the optimum hue of the stone. Most pink diamonds of this colour weigh less than one carat, Christie's auction house said

'This stone for me is the Leonardo Da Vinci of diamonds, I don't think there is anything better.'

There were at least five people bidding by phone for the pink stone, but the winning bidder was a Harry Winston representative sitting in the front row, Curiel said.

Graded 'vivid', the highest rating for a pink diamond's colour, the gem is internally pure with a rectangular cut, and mounted on a platinum ring.

Although it was once owned by the Oppenheimer Family, who built De Beers into the world's biggest diamond trader, the identity of the seller was not disclosed.

Vivid coloured diamonds are the most strongly saturated gems, displaying the optimum hue of the stone. Most pink diamonds of this colour weigh less than one carat, the auction house said.

Before the auction, an international jewellery specialist at Christie's, Jean-Marc Lunel, called it 'probably the most beautiful (specimen) ever presented at public auction.'

Only four vivid pink diamonds over 10 carats have ever been offered for sale at auction.

Only four vivid pink diamonds over 10 carats like the Pink Legacy have ever been offered for sale at auction

Harry Winston is owned by Swatch, whose CEO is Nayla Hayek, daughter of the late Swatch founder Nicolas Hayek.

An important Asian collector was the direct under-bidder, according to Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewelry at Christie's.

'The stone is now going to be known as Pink Legacy Diamond which Mrs Hayek is thrilled to own.

'In 2013 they made their first important purchase after acquiring Winston, which was the 101 carat 'D' flawless diamond, which they named the Winston Legacy. With that stone they started the Legacy collection,' Kadakia said.

The remarkable stone will not be the most expensive diamond ever sold however.

In 2013 a pink diamond weighing 59.60 carats went under the hammer at Sotheby's for $83 million.

Meanwhile in November during a Christie's auction in Hong Kong the nearly 15-carat Pink Promise was sold for $32.5 million.
Police will be looking to better safeguard Melbourne's city centre by calling on assistance from private businesses in the wake of Friday's attack on Bourke Street.

Authorities have earmarked nine tourism hotspots, including Flinders Street Station, Queen Victoria Market and Federation Square, that require urgent security upgrades.

The instalment of 50 steel bollards down Flinders Street commenced on Wednesday, and at least 190 public service speakers will soon be placed through the CBD, Nine News reported.

Scroll down for video

Authorities have earmarked nine tourism hotspots, including Flinders Street Station (pictured), Queen Victoria Market and Bourke Street, that require urgent security upgrades

The installment of 50 steel bollards down Flinders Street (Swanston Street intersection pictured) commenced this week

The locations have been of special interest to police due the high volume of people that visit them on a daily basis - making them an attractive target for terrorists.

Flinders Street Station, right in the heart of the CBD, serves the entire metropolitan rail network, while Southern Cross station is the city's largest public transport hub.

MELBOURNE LOCATIONS REQUIRING URGENT SECURITY UPGRADES Flinders Street Station

Southern Cross Station

Queen Victoria Markets

Bourke Street Mall

Flinders Street

Princes Bridge

Federation Square

Southbank Boulevard

State Library Victoria Advertisement

Queen Victoria Market has become a major Melbourne landmark, and at about seven hectares is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere.

If the new scheme is adopted, Victoria Police would use communication lines with private businesses to transmit intelligence.

Lone wolf Hassan Shire Ali, 30, was shot dead by a police officer after blowing up his car and stabbing Sisto Malaspina, owner of nearby coffee shop, Pellegrini's.

Mr Malaspina was stabbed in an artery just above his collarbone, and bled out quickly, leaving him no hope of survival.

The attack came before Bourke Street rampage driver James Gargasoulas on Tuesday convicted of murdering six people on January, 20, last year.

Hassan Shire Ali (pictured left), 30, was shot dead by a police officer after exploding his car and stabbing Sisto Malaspina, owner of nearby coffee shop, Pellegrini's

The Queen Victoria Market will be part of the new communication model likely to be adopted in the Melbourne CBD

Southern Cross Station (pictured) was earmarked as one of many locations requiring urgent security upgrades

He claimed he had a premonition half an hour before the Bourke Street attack giving him permission to run people down in order to evade police, but that he didn't have permission to kill anyone.

The prime minister this week dismissed theories Friday's killer was mentally impared, saying 'he was a radical extremist who took a knife to another Australian.

'He'd been radicalised in this country, and we can't give him excuses,' Scott Morrison said.

Following the 9/11 terror attacks in New York, a 'Shield' program was implemented involving businesses sharing confidential reports with police on potential terror threats.

If rolled out in Melbourne, it would make communicating during high security events a more seamless process, meaning potential threats can be dealt with immediately and efficiently.

Gargasoulas drove a maroon Holden Commodore into Bourke Street, Melbourne at lunch-time rush on January 20, 2017
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The patent images of Geely's all-new SUV code-named FY11 were released from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in recent days. Unlike the fuel-burning version reported previously, the new FY11 SUV is a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle).



According to the patent images, the Geely FY11 PHEV still adopts an iconic ripple-shaped intake grille with Geely's logo sitting in the exact middle. Black elements are largely used under the main intake grille, which highlights the vehicle's sporty genes.

The body sides feature a fastback design decorated with a lot of chrome elements, no wonder the automaker positions it as a "coupe" SUV.

The rear end looks quite neat. The "GEELY" badge exists in the middle of a pulling-through chrome trim. Two single exhaust pipes are symmetrically arranged on the both sides. Different from the gasoline version, the FY11 PHEV has a charging port at the rear of the left front wing and an additional badge of "400H".

The Geely F11 SUV measures 4,605mm in length, 1,878mm in width and 1,643mm in height. Wheelbase for the new model is 2,700mm.

The new model is likely to carry the ACC (adaptive cruise control), panoramic sunroof, matrix LED headlights as well as four types of rims.

Interestingly, the MIIT official website reveals that there are 7 potential names for the FY11PHEVFengyue, Geyue, Haoyue, Jinyue, Xingyue and Zhiyue.

The Geely FY11 will be powered by a plug-in hybrid system consisting of an electric motor, a ternary-lithium battery and a 1.5L turbocharged engine pumping out 177hp and 255 Nm of peak torque. The fuel consumption reported to the MIIT is 1.2L/100km.
Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was a ruthless criminal boss who ordered hits on his own loved ones and his weapons of choice included a diamond-encrusted pistol and a gold-plated AK-47, a court has heard.

Guzman, considered the world's largest drug trafficker since the death of Colombia's Pablo Escobar, is on trial in New York under draconian security arrangements after twice escaping from prison in Mexico.

He faces 11 trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges in what is expected to be a more than four-month trial.

He waved to his beauty queen wife, Emma Coronel, with whom he has been banned from having any direct contact or communication, when he saw her in court on Tuesday.

Guzman is accused of leading the Sinaloa cartel and turning it into the largest criminal organization on the planet and using his own private army to take out his rivals.

Jurors were told they would hear chilling details of how Guzman operated during the trial - including how he turned parts of Mexico into war zones as he fought rivals to expand his reach.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels told jurors they would hear of how Guzman personally shot two members of a rival cartel and ordered them thrown into holes and burned.

But Guzman's defense claim he controlled nothing and is a scapegoat for the real leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who remains at large because he's bribed Mexican presidents.

Both Mexico's outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto and his predecessor, Felipe Calderon, swiftly denied taking any bribes from the Sinaloa cartel.

Scroll down for video

Guzman, surrounded by US Marshals, waves to his wife as he enters the courtroom at Brooklyn Federal Court on Tuesday

Emma Coronel, center, El Chapo's beauty queen wife, leaves Brooklyn Federal court after opening arguments in the trial on Tuesday

Guzman's weapons of choice were a diamond-encrusted pistol branded with his initials (pictured) and a gold-plated AK-47

'He's blamed for being the leader while the real leaders are living freely and openly in Mexico,' attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said.

'In truth he controlled nothing. Mayo Zambada did.'

Zambada, he alleged, bribed everybody, 'including the very top, the current president of Mexico and the former,' he added in reference to Nieto and Calderon.

'The affirmations said to have been made by the lawyer of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman are absolutely false and reckless,' Calderon wrote on Twitter.

'Neither he, nor the Sinaloa cartel nor anyone else made payments to me.'

Nieto said the allegation was 'completely false and defamatory.'

But Lichtman told the court: 'Mayo can get people arrested and get the Mexican army and police kill who he wants.'

Guzman, who has been in solitary confinement in America and whose trial is accompanied by massive security, is a 'scapegoat,' the lawyer claimed.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman' (center, in a courtroom sketch) controlled nothing and is a scapegoat for the real leader of the Sinaloa cartel, his lawyer has claimed

The defense alleged that Guzman's co-defendant who remains at large, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada (pictured), was the real leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel

'Why does the Mexican government need a scapegoat? Because they're making too much money being bribed by the leaders of drug cartels.'

Lichtman's statement came after Fels laid out the US government's case, describing how prosecutors would prove that Guzman rose from a low-level marijuana trafficker in the 1970s to lead the powerful Sinaloa Cartel.

Fels said that Guzman, 61, eventually established relationships with Colombian cartels that allowed him to make billions of dollars moving cocaine.

He said jurors would see evidence of seized cocaine shipments adding up to 'more than a line of cocaine for every single person in the United States.'

Prosecutors contend that Guzman spent a quarter of a century smuggling cocaine into the United States.

Guzman (pictured in January 2016), one of the world's most notorious criminals, is on trial for drug smuggling in New York after twice escaping from prison in Mexico

Emma Coronel, center, leaves Brooklyn Federal court after opening arguments in her husband's trial

They say that from 1989 to 2014, the Sinaloa smuggled 340,892 pounds (154,626 kilograms) of cocaine into the United States, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, raking in $14 billion.

'Money, drugs, murder; a vast global narcotics trafficking organization. That is what this trial is about and that is what the evidence in this case will prove,' Fels told the court.

Guzman, he alleged in his opening statements, had his 'own private army' of hundreds of men armed with assault rifles, as well as his own diamond-encrusted pistol branded with his initials and a gold-plated AK-47.

The prosecutors' witnesses are expected to include former Guzman associates who are now cooperating with the U.S. government in exchange for more favorable treatment, likely including Zambada's brother Jesus 'El Rey' Zambada and son Vicente Zambada.

Joaquin Guzman's defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman speaks to reporters as he leaves Brooklyn Federal court after opening arguments in the trial on Tuesday

A motorcade transporting the Mexican drug lord crosses the Brooklyn Bridge before arriving at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse

The motorcade crosses the Brooklyn Bridge before arriving at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse

Lichtman spent much of his opening statement attacking their credibility.

'Why is the government going so far in this case using these gutter human beings as the evidence?' he asked. 'It's because the conviction of Chapo Guzman is the biggest prize this prosecution could ever dream of.'

Lichtman urged jurors to 'keep an open mind' and consider that both Mexican and U.S. law enforcement could be corrupt.

'They work together when it suits them, Mayo (Zambada) and the United States government,' he said.

Lichtman also strove to humanize the defendant, describing his childhood selling oranges, cheese and bread door to door in a poor village.

US prosecutors have spent years piecing together a case that they hope will end with Guzman spending the rest of his life behind bars in a maximum-security US prison, accumulating more than 300,000 pages and at least 117,000 recordings in evidence against Guzman.

While he is not on trial for murder, they contend that he ordered or committed at least 33 homicides. 'You'll see how Guzman pulls the trigger,' the prosecutor told jurors.

Prosecutors promised to discuss 'this global narco empire in his own words' and from witnesses detailing how he would receive $10 million from a single shipment of cocaine.

More than a dozen of the several hundred witnesses expected to testify are in witness protection programs or are already in jail, housed in special wings to protect them from reprisals.

'You'll have the chance to read his text messages, evidence of drug deals, killings, corruption,' Fels said.

He faces 11 trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges in what is expected to be a more than four-month trial. The Brooklyn Federal Courthouse is pictured on Tuesday

'He was indeed the boss of his organization,' the prosecutor added, saying Guzman 'used planes, trains, automobiles, fishing vessels, trucks, even submarines,' to traffic drugs to the United States.

Lichtman did not finish his statement and is expected to resume Wednesday.

In addition to Lichtman, Guzman's lawyers at the trial include Eduardo Balarezo and William Purpura, who previously defended Mexican drug lord Alfredo Beltran Leyva, once a partner and later a rival of Guzman. Beltran Leyva pleaded guilty to U.S. drug charges and was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Washington last year.

Opening statements in Guzman's trial finally got underway after two jurors were dismissed from the lineup, forcing lawyers and the judge to re-interview potential candidates before the full panel could be sworn in.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman arrived in New York in January 2017. He twice escaped from prison in Mexico, once hidden in a laundry cart and the second time slipping down a tunnel

One woman was struck after complaining that the trial was causing her health problems, along with a man who said he would not be able to support himself financially during the trial. Two replacements were subsequently found.

The 12 jurors who will determine the 61-year-old defendant's guilt or innocence have an enormous and onerous task before them.

During jury selection last week, several potential jurors were dismissed because they feared for their lives, as was another who suffered a panic attack.

Their names will be kept anonymous. They will be partially sequestered, escorted to and from court every day by armed US Marshals.

Guzman arrived in New York in January 2017. He twice escaped from prison in Mexico, once hidden in a laundry cart and the second time slipping down a tunnel that reached his prison shower.

In New York, he spends 23 hours a day in his cell. The only visitors he is allowed are his lawyers and daughters, from whom he is separated by thick glass.

He's banned from seeing his wife, who stopped to take a couple of selfies when she exited court in the evening.

Emma Coronel, Guzman's third wife, married him on her 18th birthday in 2007. She gave birth to twin girls in 2011, raising his number of children to nine.
A Vietnam War veteran was turned away from an RSL Remembrance Day lunch over a dispute involving a $20,000 donation intended for diggers.

Tony Kimber, who served as an engineer at Nui Dat and Vung Tau in 1968 and 1969, had entered the Bundaberg Services Club late on Sunday morning to join other war veterans.

Instead, he and his wife were refused entry by the club's general manager Col Rankin in Queensland's Burnett region north of Brisbane, as 20 people looked on.

A Vietnam War veteran (Tony Kimber pictured) was turned away from an RSL Remembrance Day lunch over a dispute involving a $20,000 donation intended for diggers

The police were also called as Mr Kimber, a 73-year-old former Vietnam War sapper, walked through the foyer for a lunch to commemorate the centenary of Remembrance Day on November 11.

'As far as the club manager calling the police like this, it's way over the top,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

'My first thought: I was absolutely disgusted. They can't do this.

'In my opinion, this is just a revengeful act by the club manager.

'It's a special day on the RSL calendar here and everywhere.'

Tony Kimber (pictured in his youth), who served as an engineer at Nui Dat and Vung Tau in 1968 and 1969, had entered the Bundaberg Services Club late on Sunday morning

Mr Kimber, who was previously the treasurer of the Bundaberg RSL Sub Branch, angered Mr Rankin in October when told his local News Mail newspaper about a dispute involving a $20,000 bequest from a deceased former Sub Branch member in 2016.

He claimed the money, intended to help war veterans, had been mistakenly addressed to the Bundaberg Services Club when it was intended for the Sub Branch.

The Bundaberg RSL Sub Branch is the owner of the premises while the Services Club is the tenant, which makes millions from poker machines.

'Who makes out a bequeath, $20,000, for a gaming and licensed club?,' Mr Kimber said.

The police were also called as Mr Kimber (pictured), a 73-year-old former Vietnam War sapper, walked through the foyer for a lunch to commemorate the centenary of Remembrance Day

'They're making millions. The money was meant to go to the welfare of ex-vets.

'It was terribly disappointing.'

The $20,000 was initially bequeathed as a cheque in 2016, a year before Mr Kimber became the Sub Branch's treasurer.

Mr Kimber faces a disciplinary hearing with the RSL management committee on November 29.

Mr Kimber was barred from the Bundaberg Services Club (pictured) after he spoke out against the club claiming a $20,000 bequest intended for the Bundaberg RSL Sub Branch

Col Rankin declined to comment but referred Daily Mail Australia to a statement issued by the Bundaberg Services Club.

'Under the club's constitution and by-laws, a member who is temporarily suspended is not permitted to enter the licensed premises,' the club said.

It is understood Mr Rankin is not a member of the RSL.

The Bundaberg RSL Sub Branch found that launching legal proceedings to recover the $20,000 bequest would cost at least $5,000 in lawyer fees, Mr Kimber said.

'It could up costing us the $20,000 we were trying to get back,' he said.
Theresa May has finally thrashed out a draft Brexit divorce deal with the EU which she will today present to her Cabinet in a three-hour 'make or break' meeting.

But she faces the political battle of her life to get the deal signed off by her ministers and passed by Parliament amid a mutiny from her own MPs.

Brexiteers and Remainers erupted in fury as details of the text began leaking out last night - and vowed to vote it down.

Number Ten said they have won major concessions from Brussels - including killing off plans to only allow Northern Ireland to stay in a customs union with the bloc.

But Eurosceptics are furious at plans to keep the whole of the UK in an EU customs union as a backstop - warning it could leave the UK trapped and unable to strike free trade deals.

While the DUP - who are propping the Tories up in No10 - have lashed proposals to enforce more regulatory checks in Northern Ireland, warning it will drive a wedge between the province and the rest of the UK.

Theresa May (pictured today leaving No10) has finally thrashed out a draft Brexit divorce deal with the EU which she will today present to her Cabinet in a three-hour 'make or break' meeting

This is what has been agreed with the EU and the controversies surrounding the deal:

Northern Ireland:

The question of Northern Ireland and how to keep a soft border with the Republic has proven to be the single, thorniest issue - threatening to derail the entire deal.

The PM has killed off EU demands that only Northern Ireland stay in the customs union as part of a backstop plan, and instead convinced Brussels that all of the UK should stay in.

Number Ten are hailing the concession as a major win that crucially maintains the union of the United Kingdom.

This customs union will be 'temporary' and an independent arbitration committee comprising of judges from the UK, EU and a neutral country will rule on when Britain can exit from it.

It will review progress on a transition deal in July 2019 and decide if the UK is ready to switch to a free trade deal, transfer to the backstop or extend the transition period until 2021.

But this has sparked fury among Brexiteers who have said the PM has effectively locked the UK into the customs union and handed the keys to Brussels.

Meanwhile, the DUP have also lashed the plan - warning it appears Northern Ireland will have to carry out more and deeper regulatory checks on goods than the rest of the UK.

The party has warned this would cross their red line and drive a wedge through the United Kingdom.

Michel Barnier (pictured in Brussels this week) seemed to make a bid to bounce the UK into a deal, after he briefed EU ambassadors a deal was 'largely' done

Regulations:

Britain is set to follow the vast majority of single market regulations and rules during any backstop period.

Mrs May has agreed Britain will commit to maintaining a 'level playing field' with the EU during the backstop - keeping the same environmental standards, workers rights, state aid rules, and certain tax rules.

Critics warn this will leave Britain having to swallow EU rules without having a say in creating them - creating a 'slave' state.

While they are worried that the UK is surrendering any hope of gaining a competitive advantage over the continent after Brexit.

Leading Tory Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg both tore into the plans, warning it would turn the UK into a 'vassal' state of the EU's.

DUP Leader Arlene Foster and Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds talk to the media

Money:

Britain has agreed to hand over 39billion to the EU in the form of the Brexit divorce bill.

The money has been a major and highly contentious issue in the talks, with many Brexiteers urging the PM to refuse to hand over a penny more to the bloc until they agree to a free trade deal.

Mrs May has repeatedly said Britain will pay what it owes to Brussels - but said the days of the UK handing over vast sums to the EU are over.

But while the EU Withdrawal Agreement runs to come 500 pages long, the political declaration which sketches out what a future deal will look like, is just five pages.

Many on the Tory backbenches are furious that Britain has signed off on the massive cheque without getting a firm agreement on a free trade deal.

Citizens rights:

The deal will guarantee the rights of the 3.2 million EU nationals currently living in Britain, and the 1 million Britons living abroad in the bloc.

This had been widely expected to be included in the deal, and Mrs May unilaterally guaranteed the rights of EU nationals in the UK after the botched Salzburg EU summit in September.

Brussels has also conceded that UK citizens will not need visas to travel to the bloc after Brexit.

But the EU is still pushing for the UK's new post Brexit immigration system to give preferential treatment to EU citizens after Brexit.

This faces stiff opposition from politicians in the UK, who have called for Brexit to be embraced a chance to provide equal working rights for immigrants wherever they are from in the world.

What happens next?

The Prime Minister now faces the political battle of her life to get the deal approved by her Cabinet and then passed by a hugely hostile parliament.

Her senior ministers are meeting this afternoon for an emergency Cabinet expected to last a marathon three hours.

Mrs May hopes she will get their seal of approval without a wave of resignations.

If she fails, then her deal and premiership will lie in tatters.

If she succeeds, then the next major milestone will be an EU summit which will be held on November 25, where the 27 member states will decide whether or not to sign up to the deal.

If they approve it, she faces by far her biggest political challenge - to get MPs to pass it.

She faces a mutiny from Tory Brexiteers, who were quick to mobilise against it and vow to vote it.

Left: Chris Grayling. Right: Philip Hammond. Moderate Tories last night accused leading Brexiteers of 'throwing their toys out of the pram'

A draft Brexit deal agreed - but how WILL Theresa May persuade her Cabinet, Brussels and Parliament to back it (and save her job)? Theresa May (pictured at the Lord Mayor's Banquet on Monday) has struck a Brexit deal with Brussels - but now has to sell it to her Cabinet and then Parliament Emergency EU Summit, Brussels, November 25 What will happen? If the divorce package is agreed between the two sides, it will need to be signed off by EU leaders. EU council president Donald Tusk will convene a summit where formal approval will be given by EU leaders. This is expected sometime between November 22 and 25. Will the whole deal be agreed? The Brexit deal is due to come in two parts - a formal divorce treaty and a political declaration on what the final trade deal might look like. The second part may not be finished until a regular EU summit due on December 13-14. Assuming the negotiations have reached an agreement and Mrs May travels to Brussels with her Cabinet's support, this stage should be a formality. What if there is no agreement? If EU leaders do not sign off on the deal at this stage, no deal becomes highly likely - there is just no time left to negotiate a wholly new deal. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) is still a crucial figure in the Brexit drama The so-called 'meaningful vote' in the UK Parliament, December 2019 What will happen: A debate, probably over more than one day, will be held in the House of Commons on terms of the deal. It will end with a vote on whether or not MPs accept the deal. More than one vote might happen if MPs are allowed to table amendments. The vote is only happening after MPs forced the Government to accept a 'meaningful vote' in Parliament on the terms of the deal. What happens if May wins? If the meaningful vote is passed, there will be a series of further votes as the withdrawal treaty is written into British law. It will be a huge political victory for the Prime Minister and probably secure her version of Brexit. What happens if she loses? This is possibly the most dangerous stage of all. The Prime Minister will have to stake her political credibility on winning a vote and losing it would be politically devastating. Brexiteers do not want to sign off the divorce bill without a satisfactory trade deal and Remainers are reluctant to vote for a blind Brexit. She could go back to Brussels to ask for new concessions before a second vote but many think she would have to resign quickly. The Prime Minister (pictured at the EU Council in June) has made clear the UK will leave without a deal if MPs reject her package Ratification in the EU, February 2019 What will happen? After the meaningful vote in the UK, the EU will have to ratify the agreement. The European Parliament must also vote in favour of the deal. It has a representative in the talks, Guy Verhofstadt, who has repeatedly warned the deal must serve the EU's interests. Will it be agreed? In practice, once the leaders of the 27 member states have agreed a deal, ratification on the EU side should be assured. If the deal has passed the Commons and she is still in office, this should not be dangerous for the Prime Minister. Exit day, March 29, 2019 At 11pm on March 29, 2019, Britain will cease to be a member of the European Union, two years after triggering Article 50 and almost three years after the referendum. Exit happens at 11pm because it must happen on EU time. If the transition deal is in place, little will change immediately - people will travel in the same way as today and goods will cross the border normally. But Britain's MEPs will no longer sit in the European Parliament and British ministers will no longer take part in EU meetings. Negotiations will continue to turn the political agreement on the future partnership into legal text that will eventually become a second treaty. Both sides will build new customs and immigration controls in line with what this says. Transition ends, December 2020 The UK's position will undergo a more dramatic change at the end of December 2020, when the 'standstill' transition is due to finish. If the negotiations on a future trade deal are complete, that could come into force. But if they are still not complete the Irish border 'backstop' plan could be triggered. Under current thinking, that means the UK staying in the EU customs union and more regulatory checks between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland. Eurosceptics fear this arrangement will prevent the country striking trade deals elsewhere, and could effectively last for ever, as Brussels will have no incentive to negotiate a replacement deal. Advertisement
A group of men known as the Black Israelites staged a protest on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Dozens of members of the sect that is considered an extremist hate group gathered near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

They were seen dressed out in their traditional regalia and carrying megaphones, though it is unclear what it was they were protesting.

The Hebrew Israelites are considered a racist and black supremacist movement by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate speech in America.

According to Hebrew Israelite philosophy, African Americans, not Jews, are Gods true chosen people.

Members of the Black Hebrew Israelites demonstrate outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday

They were seen dressed out in their traditional regalia and carrying megaphones, though it is unclear what it was they were protesting

The Hebrew Israelites are considered a black supremacist movement by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate speech in America. Members of the sect are seen with megaphones reading from scripture

According to Hebrew Israelite philosophy, African Americans, not Jews, are Gods true chosen people

The Hebrew Israelites believe that blacks are the real descendants of the biblical Hebrews. The image above shows a Capitol Police officer speaking to their members during the rally on Tuesday

Hebrew Israelites have even shown hostility toward Jews and other whites who are referred to devilish imposters and adherents of Satan

The Hebrew Israelites believe that blacks are the real descendants of the biblical Hebrews.

That is why they shun the term Jews or Jewish even though they frequently are seen walking around with Jewish insignia on their clothing, including the six-sided Star of David.

Hebrew Israelites have even shown hostility toward Jews and other whites who are referred to devilish imposters and adherents of Satan.

The groups members are normally seen on street corners with megaphones or large loudspeakers and microphones in and around Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York City.

The movement has expanded its presence in the United States, with churches sprouting up in Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Oregon.

The groups members are normally seen on street corners with megaphones or large loudspeakers and microphones in and around Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York City

The movement has expanded its presence in the United States, with churches sprouting up in Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Oregon

Israelite preachers are seen on YouTube calling the Holocaust a joke, praising Adolf Hitler, and calling for the deaths of whites, Jews, gays, and lesbians

According to the groups ideology, every white person who doesn't get killed by Christ when he returns is going into slavery

There has even been a split within the Hebrew Israelite movement, with the mainstream Israelite Church breaking with the more extreme Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge.

YouTube video clips circulating on the internet show street confrontations that are largely nonviolent.

The clips show preachers dressed in robes harassing passersby who are usually white.

In May 2016, an Israelite group posted a YouTube clip showing a white man crying as a group of preachers runs down the litany of crimes committed against blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics.

Suffice to say, these groups are rejected by mainstream Jewish organizations since they also espouse ugly anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Israelite preachers are seen on YouTube calling the Holocaust a joke, praising Adolf Hitler, and calling for the deaths of whites, Jews, gays, and lesbians.

Among their more provocative tactics are hanging effigies of the Virgin Mary and Santa Claus in public.

According to the groups ideology, every white person who doesn't get killed by Christ when he returns is going into slavery.
One of Spitting Image's famous Margaret Thatcher puppets has been donated to Cambridge University.

It is part of a collection from the satirical TV series owned by its co-creator, Roger Law, that he's giving to the university archive.

Other items, filling three shipping containers, include puppet moulds and sketches and scripts from all 18 series from 1984 to 1996.

Law said the Thatcher puppet was one of three, adding: 'Children see that and think it's Theresa May.'

Spitting Image's co-creator Roger Law (right) stands with an iconic Margaret Thatcher puppet (left) which is being donated to the Cambridge University library

The series captured the public imagination, 10 Bafta and two Emmy awards.

In its best-remembered sketch, Mrs Thatcher orders steak in a restaurant with the cabinet.

When asked by the waiter about vegetables, she replies that they, too, will have steak.

Not all gags have aged so well. The script for the pilot episode, which was never boradcast, features Japanese politicians who are identical to each other, and an African leader eating the Israeli Prime Minister's brain.

The sketches were 'downright racist', Law admitted to The Times. 'Only in retrospect you realise it was a pretty obscene thing to do,' he added

The donation includes scripts from all 18 series, video tapes and memorabilia including a Thatcher 'toilet terror'.

As Law explains: 'You put the loo Bloo in there, you hang it in your lavatory, have a poo on Maggie and then pull the chain. Great success, very popular.'

There are also newspaper cuttings, designs and puppet moulds - including 10 large boxes of teeth moulds.

The first batch of items arrived at Cambridge University Library on Tuesday.

Over the coming months, they will be put into environmentally-controlled archival storage, catalogued, and could be displayed in future.

Spitting Image memorabilia as part of the donation to Cambridge, which includes a Margret Thatcher mug and toilet brush holder

Cambridge University Librarian Dr Jessica Gardner said it was 'such an easy decision' to welcome the collection to the university's archives.

'Immediately my eyes lit up and my sense of both the political, cultural and historical importance of this archive was immediate to me,' she said.

'I was absolutely delighted to go and speak to [Roger Law and Deirdre Amsden] in their home and to be here today now with the first tranche of the archive finally here at the university library.'

Law described the collection as the 'culmination of four-and-a-half years of work' by his wife to archive it, adding: 'It was a long time with no guarantees you were doing it for any given reason in the hope you could find it a home.

'It couldn't be a better place for it to come.'

Law first met co-creator Peter Fluck as a teenager at Cambridge School of Art, they had their first studio in the city and Law said he felt 'honoured' at the collection's inclusion in the archives.

Holding the strings of power: Maggie Thatcher is seen with her 1980s political rivals (from left) Neil Kinnock, David Owen and David Steel in Spitting Image form

He added: 'I think the only thing we actually achieved with Spitting Image, we didn't change anything, but schoolchildren knew who ran the country for the first time ever.

'Now for those who are interested they can come here and find all the scandals and nonsense that went on in the 1980s to the mid-1990s which is probably more truthful than the official archives, because we didn't stint ourselves.'

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, who was a scriptwriter on the show, said: 'I am delighted that the Spitting Image archive has gone to Cambridge University Library and that Roger Law is to be studied properly.

'It is about time.'
Military veterans will be asked to identify themselves in the census to help them receive better support.

Announcing the first national Government strategy for helping them, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said it would help ensure no one is left behind.

The full strategy, published today, sets out principles on how to treat servicemen and women after they leave the Forces.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (pictured) said asking veterans to identify themselves on the census would help ensure no one is left behind

The full strategy, published today, sets out principles on how to treat servicemen and women after they leave the Forces (pictured: Mr Williamson meets Army personnel in Wiltshire)

The majority of ex-service people adapt well to civilian life, but Mr Williamson said: We have a responsibility to ensure that any who do struggle as a result of their service, whether finding a job, getting on the property ladder or with mental health issues, get the support they need.

A new question is likely to be included in the 2021 census and the data could influence local public spending decisions.

There are around 2.5million veterans in the UK and about 50,000 have mental health issues, often sparked by combat stress.
A newborn baby has suffered a serious brain injury after allegedly being assaulted by her father inside a Western Sydney home.

The 25-year-old man was arrested and charged with reckless grievous bodily harm on Tuesday over the alleged vicious assault of the four-week-old baby.

Police first became aware of the alleged assault when the baby girl was presented to Liverpool Hospital suffering seizures last Thursday.

After carrying out tests, doctors discovered she was suffering from serious brain, rib and neck injuries.

A newborn baby has suffered a serious brain, neck and rib injuries after allegedly being assaulted by a father inside a Western Sydney home (Stock image)

The baby was transferred to The Childrens Hospital at Westmead (pictured), where she remains in a critical but stable condition

The baby was transferred to The Childrens Hospital at Westmead, where she remains in a critical but stable condition.

Shortly after detectives from State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad commenced an investigation.

Detectives arrested the father on Tuesday at Parramatta Police Station.

Later that day he appeared in Parramatta Local Court and was refused bail.

He is due to return to the same court for a mention hearing on Wednesday.

Police will allege in court that the child had been assaulted by the man at a home in Sydneys south-west.
The parents of Colorado father Chris Watts say they want him to retract his guilty plea for killing his pregnant wife and their children, claiming he was in an 'abusive' relationship with her, was 'railroaded' into taking a plea deal to avoid being executed and it was Shanann who strangled their young daughters.

Ronnie and Cynthia Watts said their son isn't a 'sociopath' despite him killing his 34-year-old wife Shanann when she was 15 weeks pregnant in August then hiding her body in a shallow grave and putting their young daughters' bodies in oil tanks.

Watts was arrested in August after making shifty television appearances pleading for them to return home when they were still missing. Once he was in custody, he told authorities that Shanann had strangled the girls in retaliation after he told her he was going to leave her for another woman.

He claimed he strangled his wife in a vengeful 'rage' then hid all of the bodies afterwards.

Last week, he suddenly changed his mind and pleaded guilty to all three murders in a deal which takes the death penalty out of the equation but will likely see him spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Now, his parents Ronnie and Cindy say that was a mistake and that there is more to the story than has been revealed including the nature of their son's marriage and how his wife 'isolated' him from them.

Scroll down for video

Ronnie and Cynthia Watts (pictured) have finally broken their silence just a week after their son, Chris Watts, pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant wife and their two children

Christopher Watts (left, and right with his family) pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and their two children Bella and Celeste last Tuesday after striking a deal with prosecutors which means he will not face the death penalty

'I know he confessed, but he was railroaded into it,' Cynthia told the Denver Post on Monday in one of multiple interviews the couple took part in.

She said her son 'changed' when he met Shanann and that their marriage was 'hard'.

'It was a very hard relationship. It was a very hard relationship with her as far as Im concerned.

'I couldnt do anything right,' his mother Cindy told ABC in a separate interview.

Ronnie, Chris' father, added: 'Shanann, she was, you have to get to know her to be around her. Put it that way.'

They said their son had always been 'easy going' and did not have a temper despite him admitting killing Shanann.

'It was a very hard relationship. It was a very hard relationship with her as far as Im concerned. I couldnt do anything right, Chris Watts' mother

'He was in sports from the age of five up until he was 17 years old.

'There is not one person you can tak to who will say anything bad about this kid.

'He was normal. He didn't have a temper. He was just like his dad - easy going, just rolls off his back.

'This is my son. He is not a monster,' Cindy said.

Despite him admitting to strangling Shanann and hiding the two girls' bodies in oil tanks then lying about it for days, they said they do not think he killed them.

'It's hard to me for believe that he would hurt those girls no matter what. The story, that he told me that night, I believed it.

'The way he was crying and everything... I believed it,' his father Ronnie said, referring to the story Chris gave him once he was arrested days after the girls were last seen alive.

The pair went on to recall what he told him after his arrest.

'He said, "Im sorry. I lost  I went into a rage, and I killed her." And he said, "I am so sorry. I ruined your life. I ruined my life"' his mother said.

Watts' parents say he 'changed' when he met his wife Shanann and that she isolated him from them

'After the fact with the bodies, he said, "Dad, I could not put the girls with her after what she did  I could not put her with her,"' Ronnie added.

'If he didn't kill the children, I want him to face that and let them prove it,' he added.

His mother added that she had tried to talk him out of the guilty plea and ask him why he took it but that she was 'shut down' by his defense attorney.

It's hard to me for believe that he would hurt those girls no matter what... The story, that he told me that night, I believed it.

'I asked Chris, "If you did not do this, do not confess to something you didnt do,"' said Cindy Watts.

'(Chris Watts' defense attorney) shut me down. She completely shut me down.'

She said the only upside to the deal was him not being executed but that the alternative - life in prison - was as bad.

They admitted that they still do not have all the answers including why he hid the bodies and appeared on national television afterwards claiming he had no idea where they were.

'Everything happened too quick there, from a case status to a plea,' Ronnie added.

'It has been so overwhelming. And I feel like I have to do something to help my son.

'I just need to do something. If hes not going to fight, Im going to fight for him.

'He's going to die in prison. I just want him to fight.

'I don't want him to take this plea deal. I want him to plead not guilty to the children,' his mother added.

Their comments about her were met with fury by her family who said their attempt to clear their son's name at the expense of her memory was 'grotesque'.

'Monday evening, the parents of Chris Watts gave an interview in which they attempted to defend their son.

'In doing so, they felt the need to make vicious, grotesque and utterly false statements about Shanann.

'Their false statements, however hurtful and inaccurate, will never alter the truth about Shanann, and will never alter the truth about the crimes committed by their son, Chris Watts.

Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with a baby boy she was going to name Nico at the time of her tragic death

'Shananns memory and reputation deserves to be protected.

'And her family is fully prepared to do so,' the family said in a statement.

Shanann, Celeste and Bella were found dead in August days after they were reported missing.

She was 15 weeks pregnant with a baby boy who she planned to name Nico. It later emerged that Watts had been cheating on his wife.

The plea deal was approved by Shanann's family who told the district attorney they did not want to end his life as he did their daughter's and grandchildren's.

They did not speak after the hearing last Tuesday but watched somberly as the DA announced the outcome of the hearing.

When the bodies were found, Watts changed his story to say his wife killed the girls after he told her he was leaving her.

He claimed he then killed her in a vengeful rage for murdering them.

The parents of Chris Watts felt the need to make vicious, grotesque and utterly false statements about Shanann Shanann's family

As part of his defense, his lawyers refused to hand over DNA samples from his hands and feet, likely to stop prosecutors from being able to match it to any found on the girls or their mother's body.

Because the girls' bodies were in oil for three days before they were found, any DNA evidence left on them is likely to have been compromised.

Last Tuesday, Watts pleaded guilty to nine counts; four counts of murder (one for each child, his wife and their unborn child), unlawful termination of pregnancy, and three counts of tampering with a deceased human body.

Before the victims' bodies were found, Watts made a shifty appearance on television pleading for his family's safe return

Shanann's parents Frank and Sandra Rzucek said the comments his parents made were 'grotesque' and 'false'

As part of the deal, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the first four counts of murder.

WIFE'S FAMILY'S RESPONSE Shanann Watts was a faithful wife, and the most gentle and loving mother in the world to her children Bella, Celeste, and Nico. She was also the best daughter any parent could ever hope for. Shanann was a wonderful soul. Everyone who knew Shanann knows this to be true. Even Chris Watts knows this to be true. Yet Chris Watts still chose to murder Shanann, Bella, Celeste, and Nico. Chris Watts still chose to dump the bodies of his own family in oil tanks. And Chris Watts still chose to lie about it until he could lie no more. He pled (sic) guilty to murdering his family because he is guilty. Monday evening, the parents of Chris Watts gave an interview in which they attempted to defend their son. In doing so, they felt the need to make vicious, grotesque and utterly false statements about Shanann. Their false statements, however hurtful and inaccurate, will never alter the truth about Shanann, and will never alter the truth about the crimes committed by their son, Chris Watts. Shananns memory and reputation deserves to be protected. And her family is fully prepared to do so. Advertisement

Sentencing will begin for the other crimes on November 19.

Weld District Attorney Michael Rourke revealed after the hearing that Shanann's family did not want her husband to be executed.

He said her mother Sandra Rzucek told him: 'He made the choice to take those lives.

'I do not want to be in the position of choosing to take his.'

Rourke added that a factor in the decision was the impending gubernatorial election which could determine whether or not a governor would even enforce the death penalty if it applied.

Taking a stab at Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, who had repeatedly opposed the execution of another death row inmate Nathan Dunlap, Rourke said: 'We explained to them the extraordinary delays that currently exist in the state of Colorado as a result of in part the actions of our current governor.

'They were very strongly in favor of a resolution in this case short of the death penalty.

'That to me was the most important consideration in deciding how to proceed in this a case.

'I don't know how I could have sat in Sandy's kitchen and asked her to commit the next 25 years of her life to the criminal justice system without any assurance that the sentence would ever actually be imposed,' he said.

The killings sparked national sympathy. Above is the family home in Greeley, Colorado

Rourke said they had established a partial motive but would not say what that was.

The victims' autopsy reports remain under seal. Rourke said he was 'sick' and 'saddened' over the case.

'No one wins today. I never wanted to have to stand up and have a press conference like this. There is no cause for celebration.'

During the plea hearing on Tuesday, he said the falsehood that Shannan killed the children was corrected.

'The spotlight that he tried to shine on Shanann, falsely and incorrectly - a flat out lie - has been corrected. The spotlight shines squarely on him,' he said.

Shanann had returned home from a business trip when she was killed.

She was reported missing by a work colleague who became worried when she did not respond to messages.

At first, Watts said he and his wife had been up all night having an emotional conversation. He said he went off to work and only knew something was wrong when he was contacted later by her colleagues.
California is paying 200 prison inmates $2 per day plus $1 an hour to fight the deadly wildfires that have been raging in the northern part of the state.

Sixteen crews of prison inmates are assisting to help contain the Camp Fire that has destroyed thousands of acres about 90 miles north of Sacramento, according to ABC 10 TV.

They are helping 9,000 other firefighters battle the deadliest and costliest wildfires in the history of the state.

So far, 48 people have died in the Camp Fire and more than 200 are missing as search teams deploy power saws and cadaver dogs to try to locate more victims.

Another two people have died in the southern Woolsey Fire, bringing the state-wide death toll to 50.

Inmate firefighters work with CAL FIRE firefighters to complete a back fire operation in Chico on Friday

An inmate firefighter removes a propane tank from a burning home while battling the Camp Fire in Paradise on Thursday

An inmate firefighter removes a wheel from a burning home while battling the Camp Fire in Paradise on Thursday

California's Volunteer Inmate Firefighters work as a group in West Hills, California to control the Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles on Tuesday

More than 7,000 residential homes have been destroyed as the blaze has decimated some 125,000 acres.

So far, the Camp Fire is just 30 per cent contained.

In Southern California, two people have died and three firefighters have been injured by the Woolsey Fire, which has destroyed 370 homes.

Inmate firefighters, who also receive reduced sentences in exchange for their volunteer work, have often been deployed alongside regular firefighters to combat wildfires that have ravaged California in recent months.

This past summer, the Department of Corrections announced that more than 2,000 inmates and 58 youth offenders were helping firefighters combat wildfires.

Inmates are given training as wildland firefighters. They receive the same level of instruction that full-time CAL FIRE personnel receive.

That includes one week of classroom instruction and a week of field exercises.

After they finish with instruction, they help in cases of wildfires, floods, and search and rescue.

The use of inmates as firefighters is nothing new.

More than a century ago, California began putting inmates to work in building highways.

During World War Two, when CAL FIRE was depleted with most men deployed overseas, the Department of Corrections sent inmates to help fight fires.

The Department of Corrections and CAL FIRE jointly manage 39 adult camps and the Los Angeles County Fire Department helps run five additional camps.

In total, up to 4,522 adult inmates and 80 juveniles can be housed in camps throughout the state.

State officials say that there are nearly 3,400 inmates currently stationed at fire camps.

Paying the inmate firefighters $1 an hour enables the state to save more than $100million in taxpayer money every year, according to ABC 10 TV.

The inmate firefighter program provides 3 million man hours in fighting fires and 7 million hours in community service projects like park maintenance, clearing fallen trees and debris, and flood protection.

The program only allows inmates who were convicted of nonviolent crimes to participate.

Inmate firefighters (like those seen above in Paradise on Thursday) are helping 9,000 other firefighters battle the deadliest and costliest wildfires in the history of the state

An inmate firefighter pours water on a hot spot while battling the Camp Fire in Paradise on Thursday

They must also be screened on a case by case basis before they get acceptance.

Inmates must meet minimum standards of emotional, physical, and intellectual fitness.

They must also have demonstrated good behavior in prison. Anyone who has committed arson, rape, or sex offenses are disqualified.

But critics argue that paying inmates $1 an hour to fight fires is tantamount to slave labor, especially when considering that CAL FIRE firefighters earn $10.50 an hour.

No matter how you may want to dress it up, if you have people working for nothing or almost nothing, youve got slave labor, and it is not acceptable, former Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin said.

But the inmates insist they do not feel taken advantage of by working so hard for so little pay, which is actually the highest wage a California prisoner can earn.

The state saves an estimated $124 million a year with this program, which has existed since 1946. Two prisoners died last year while fighting fires.

Alejandro Rangel earned $1,200 last year.

"It's hard work, a little bit of money. But it helps build you," he said.

Rangel was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of robbing a home in his hometown of San Fernando, near Los Angeles.

Being a fireman, said Rangel, who is of Mexican descent, changed his life. He said he had never worked so hard.

When I came in, I had no experience at all in anything, he said.

I enjoyed doing it, enjoyed working, helping others. Hopefully I will pursue my career, he added.
A retired US Navy captain has pleaded guilty, while another former Navy officer was sentenced to 17 months in prison in a wide-spanning Navy bribery scandal involving a Malaysian defense contractor.

Jeffrey Breslau, 52, of Georgia, pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego on Thursday to a criminal conflict of interest charge.

So far 33 people have been charged in the case with more than 60 admirals and hundreds of Naval officers investigated in the Fat Leonard Scandal.

Leonard Francis, nicknamed 'Fat Leonard,' paid Breslau to ghostwrite his emails.

Prosecutors say Francis overbilled the US Navy by more than $35million for services for ships.

Also Thursday, retired Master Chief Ricarte Icmat David, of the Philippines, was sentenced to 17 months.

Prosecutors say the 62-year-old allowed Francis to inflate invoices for services never rendered.

Retired Master Chief Ricarte Icmat David, of the Philippines, was sentenced to 17 months Thursday (left), while Jeffrey Breslau, 52, of Georgia,(right) pleaded guilty in federal court in to a criminal conflict of interest charge

Jeffrey Breslau, left, is shown here in 2012, taking command of a public affairs unit in Virginia, the same time he was moonlighting with Francis, according to his plea agreement

David's lawyer, Eliot Krieger, said the sentence was fair. 'I think the court understood that Mr. David took responsibility for his action and understood the seriousness for what he did,' he said, adding that otherwise his client 'has led an exemplary life.'

Leonard Glenn Francis, dubbed 'Fat Leonard' ) for his considerable 350lbs frame, was renowned for throwing extravagant parties for Naval officers, bribing them with booze and girls in exchange for classified information

Breslau's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'Fat Leonard' would allegedly routinely bribe sailors with prostitutes, liquor and karaoke.

He was dubbed Fat Leonard for his considerable 350lbs frame and was renowned for throwing extravagant parties which could last for days, according federal records.

Francis, who made a fortune supplying Navy vessels in ports all over the globe, had befriended dozens of admirals, bribing them with booze and girls in exchange for classified information to help his Singapore-based defense contract firm, records show.

The widespread corruption came to light after Francis was arrested in an international sting operation four years ago.

The Navy revealed earlier this month that it is currently investigating 440 other active-duty and retired personnel - including 60 current and former admirals - over their potential ties to Fat Leonard and his company.

The 'colossal bribery and fraud scandal' is one of the biggest in Naval history.

An official said the Navy has concluded that 230 of those under review were not guilty of misconduct as they had little to no contact with Francis, or had attended a dinner but under extenuating circumstances.

Fat Leonard's company provided services such as trash and sewage removal, food, water, security and fuel to US Navy ships. The USS Nimitz (pictured) is one ship it serviced

Earlier this year, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau was jailed for 18 months after admitting in 2016 that he lied to investigators when questioned over his relationship with Francis.

Gilbeau admitted lying to investigators by saying he had never accepted gifts from the man which prosecutors claim included prostitutes and parties.

The 56-year-old confessed that when the pair met three times a year, Francis always picked up the tab.

beau received gifts from Francis and met with him three times a year for extravagant dinners for at which Francis, a Malaysian citizen, always picked up the bill.

Gilbeau's business relationship with Francis actually dated back to 1997, during which Francis plied Gilbeau with expensive gifts ranging from fine dining, luxury hotels and prostitutes, prosecutors said.
Britain's new top prosecutor has admitted innocent people may be in prison because of failures to disclose vital evidence.

Max Hill QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), said it was 'impossible to know' if anyone had been wrongly convicted and locked up after blunders.

He said prosecutors and police had made errors in some 'serious and sensitive cases' which had led to the collapse of a string of rape trials.

High-ranking barrister Max Hill QC defended the large fall in the number of rape charges

In several cases, crucial texts, emails and photographs indicating a suspect was not guilty had not been handed to defence lawyers.

In his first keynote speech as DPP last night, Mr Hill - the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation - said that issues of disclosure was the 'biggest challenge'.

Earlier this year, his predecessor Alison Saunders came under fire for insisting no one innocent was in prison after being mistakenly convicted because of failures in disclosure.

A review this year into disclosure failings by police and the Crown Prosecution System (CPS) found that in 47 rape and sexual assault cases, information which should have been given to defences was not passed on. As a result, 14 people were released.

Mr Hill, who became CPS head on November 1, said he was ready to re-examine earlier cases in which potential problems emerged.

But when asked on Radio 4's Today programme, in his first interview since taking up his new post, whether any innocent people were in jail because vital evidence had been withheld, he said he did not know.

He said: 'How can I answer that question? It is impossible for me to know. In any case where an issue is raised either pre-trial, during trial or post-trial we are committed to looking into that to find out if there is anything that is hidden. I don't shirk from it. There have been failings in serious and sensitive cases.'

He also said prosecutors should not search through the mobile phones of people reporting sex offences.

'We are very clear that seeking to examine the mobile telephones of complainants and witnesses is not something that should be pursued as a matter of course in every case,' he said.

'It is of vital importance that the personal information of those who report sexual offences is treated in a way that is consistent with both their right to privacy and with the interests of justice.'

Mr Hill's predecessor Alison Saunders stood down as Director of Public Prosecutions after the Government declined to extend her contract following a string of controversies, including the scandal over evidence disclosure.

Nearly 1,000 people had charges dropped last year because police and prosecutors failed to hand over evidence to defence lawyers.

Mr Hill's predecessor Alison Saunders (pictured) announced she was quitting the post in April

Last December the trial of criminology student Liam Allan, 22, who was charged with six counts of rape, was halted by a judge after it emerged his accuser had sent hundreds of messages to friends which would have cleared him immediately.

Father-of-two Isaac Itiary, 25, who was charged with 11 crimes including the rape of an underage girl, also walked free after mobile phone messages supporting his claim that the girl posed as a 19-year-old were finally disclosed while he was in the dock.

Last night Mr Hill said prosecutors and police were under pressure when dealing with cases because the 'quantity and nature of digital material has exploded over recent years.'

In 1997, when disclosure rules were introduced, only 16 per cent of households in the UK owned a mobile phone and social media such as Facebook and Twitter had not been launched. By 2017 there were 92 million mobile subscriptions in the UK.

Giving his address to the Criminal Bar Association, he said: 'Astonishingly, the technology in most of our pockets is more advanced than that which powered the first NASA missions - and having seen the film First Man [about Neil Armstrong] recently that fact really struck home.'

He added: 'The challenges of examining enormous volumes of digital material are no longer confined to allegations of substantial fraud or terrorism.

'In more routine cases, officers and prosecutors are faced with reviewing large amounts of digital material in multiple formats, identifying the evidence, considering whether material falls to be disclosed and presenting the material at trial.

'This requires more work on every case and different skills.'

Mr Hill said the mobile phones of complainants and witnesses should not be examined 'as a matter of course'.

He said: 'It is crucial that only reasonable lines of inquiry are pursued, to avoid unnecessary intrusion into a complainants' personal life.'

Some police forces have been criticised for routinely asking rape victims to hand over smartphones, tablets and laptops for possible examination - raising concerns this is to check if a complaint can be undermined.
Police have evacuated a block of flats and arrested a man under the Explosives Act after a suspicious substance was reportedly found.

He was also detained on suspicion of making malicious communications and remains in custody after the evacuation of Roach Court in Collyhurst, north Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police said the flats, which are owned by Manchester City Council and managed by Northwards Housing, were evacuated as a precaution.

Roach Court (pictured) was evacuated and a man detained under the Explosives Act after a suspicious substance was reported at the block of flats in north Manchester

Firefighters have entered the block of flats in order to test the substance after the development was evacuated

An officer at the scene said the substance found will be analysed by fire crews. It is understood the substance is still in the block of flats and is being tested on site.

One resident, Andrew Lumley, said: 'I came home at about 4pm and then I went over to the shop. I saw all the police cars outside the flats and when I came back a policeman said: "Sorry, you can't come back."

'I've got work in the morning, I can't stand here all night. It's a concern that this has happened.'

Clare Barcoe, who has lived in the flats for five years, said: 'It is worrying. I was in work and one of the tenants said: 'Clare, you won't be able to go back into your flat'.

Police cordoned off the street in Collyhurst, where there were reports of a suspicious substance being found

A forensics officer is pictured inside the block of flats in Manchester where a substance was tested after the evacuation

'No-one knows what's going on. I'm really concerned. I've got to be up at 5am, I work early. I heard someone got took out in handcuffs. What can I do?'

Tony Wright, chair of Hamerton Road Residents' and Tenants' Association, said he became aware of the incident at around 4.30pm.

Fire and forensics officers inspected the scene at Roach Court

He said he had concerns over the lack of security around the flats and added there have been similar incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Superintendent Chris Allsop told Manchester Evening News: 'We are continuing to carry out enquiries on Hamerton Road this evening after officers responding to reports of threatening behaviour earlier today found a quantity of a suspicious substance.

'At this stage it is unknown exactly what this substance is and as such we have specialist officers from GMP and GMFRS carrying out assessments at the scene.

'Our number one priority is public safety so we made the decision to evacuate Roach Court flats as a precaution while these assessments are carried out and we are working with partner agencies to ensure that residents have somewhere to go.

'I appreciate seeing an incident such as this will cause concern to the public but I want to stress that there is nothing at this stage to suggest that this incident is terrorism related.'
A pub has been given clearance to install 45 pokie machines inside a family-friendly shopping centre opposite a food court and cinema, despite widespread backlash.

The Pig 'N' Whistle tavern, inside Brisbane's Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, had the plans approved by the Office of Liquor and Gaming.

But furious locals have blasted the plans on social media, claiming the installation of the machines could encourage impressionable youths to gamble.

Greens MP Michael Berkman said a public survey conducted in the area found 80 per cent of those polled were against the move.

He also said less than half of those surveyed were even aware of the pokie plan.

The approval of a plan to install 45 pokie machines in the Pig 'N' Whistle at the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre (both pictured) has lead to fury among residents with claims the majority of them are against it

'Our volunteer-run community survey found 80 per cent of respondents opposed the pokies, while just 4 per cent supported,' he said in a statement.

'Just 30 per cent had even heard about the application.

'This would mean 45 pokies in a family-friendly environment at the Indooroopilly shopping centre, right next to the food court and cinemas.

'The location is so grossly inappropriate that the regulator rejected an almost identical application back in 1998.'

A number of residents shared Mr Berkman's concerns.

'How are they going to keep under 18s out of there all the gambling mums will let their kids run wild,' one Facebook user wrote.

'Pokies destroyed my childhood. They took my parents. These things are evil,' another added.

'What a disgrace! And governments wonder why we have lost trust in the system. People have a right to protect their community from the scourge of pokies and have our views held above those of party donors,' wrote a third.

Queensland liquor and gaming commissioner David Ford told Daily Mail Australia the application was approved because....

A spokeswoman for Queensland Liquor and Gaming told Daily Mail Australia the application was approved in 'accordance with the requirements of the Gaming Machine Act 1991'.

'The commissioner considered that, on balance, the installation of 45 gaming machines at the premises is not likely to adversely affect the nature or character of the licensed premises,' the spokeswoman said.

She said the gaming machines would be installed in a designated gaming area which would not easily accessible from the outside.

'It is located at the rear of the premises, the gaming machines would not be visible to persons outside of the hotel, including from inside the shopping centre,' the spokeswoman said.

She also assured residents children would not be exposed to the gaming machines.

'With some very specific exceptions, unaccompanied minors are not permitted on licensed premises,' the spokeswoman said.

Mr Berkman will hold a community meeting for concerned residents to have their voices heard.

The community meeting will be held at the Indooroopilly Uniting Church from 6.30pm on November 27.
This is the moment a fox got into a childrens soft play centre and roamed around before being shooed off by staff.

Priscillas Tea Room soft play centre at Whitgift Shopping Centre in Croydon, south west London, was shut for two hours while the uninvited furry guest prowled around the empty kids' play centre.

Staff eventually left the gate open and gently coaxed the fox outside before they could clean and open up at midday.

These are the shocking scenes as a fox was discovered in a soft play centre in Croydon

Staff spent two hours trying to remove the fox, pictured, who had urinated on the floor

An employee, who found the animal inside this morning, told MailOnline: We came in at 10am and found the fox in the soft play area.

We calling security and the RSPCA, but we were told that it wasnt their policy to get involved in these circumstances. So all that we could do was leave the gate open and wait until it finally left two hours later.

We had to turn away several irate customers so we lost their business, plus we wasted two hours trying to get the fox out by leaving the gate open, and then our cleaner had to clear up after it because it had urinated there. I think its bad that no one would step in and help when its a childrens play area after all.

It was scary not knowing if it was ever going to leave or what it was going to do next.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: The RSPCA received a call to attend a shopping centre regarding a fox stuck in the centre.

An officer was tasked to attend the location, but before they arrived they were given an update from the members of the public to say that the fox had now gone as they had shooed it away and therefore our attendance was no longer needed.
Britain could be set for snow as the 'Beast from the East' dramatically slashes temperatures by 27F, bringing an end to a short lived warm spell.

Forecasters predict a blizzard and very cold winds will hit the country next week, bringing with it a big freeze after temperatures briefly rise to 65F on Thursday during an 'Indian Summer'.

The warm spell will be short-lived, as the mercury is due to swing in the opposite direction next week  with the chance of areas across the UK seeing snowfall and lows of 35F (2C).

Britain could be set for snow as the 'Beast from the East' dramatically slashes temperatures by 27F, bringing an end to a short lived warm spell. A beautiful photograph taken this morning of a murmuration of starlings near Gretna Green, in the south of Scotland

Another view of the starling murmuration near Gretna Green today, as Britain prepares to enjoy mild temperatures this week

Cold air from Russia will cause snow to fall across the country, leaving the UK feeling 'more like Moscow than the Mediterranean', says to one meteorologist.

John Hammond, chief meteorologist for Weathertrending, told The Sun: 'This week's balmy southerly winds are set to be replaced by chilly easterlies by early next week - more like Moscow than the Med.

'So while a few places may reach the high teens over the next few days, daytime temperatures for some could soon drop by as much as 15 degrees.

Rowers make their way up the River Thames in the Buckinghamshire town of Marlow in sunny conditions today

'It'll be a shock to the system after the recent mild weather.'

A temperature of 65F (17C) by Thursday would beat the 61F (16C) expected in Madrid - while daytime highs of 46F (8C) expected in London next Monday would be below the 48F (9C) forecast for Vancouver in Canada.

And, looking further ahead, the Met Office has warned that towards the end of the month there will be a 'marked increase in the likelihood and extent of frosts' along with 'an increased chance of snow'.

Autumnal colours along the River Thames at Marlow in Buckinghamshire today, as the country enjoys warmer temperatures

Walkers and joggers enjoy the improved weather and sunshine on the Long Walk at Windsor Castle in Berkshire today

Met Office forecaster Matthew Box said: 'From Tuesday we could see 15C (59F) to 16C (61F). We've got a plume of mild air pushing in on Tuesday and into Wednesday, so it will be reasonably warm.

'But there is a strong indication as we head into the following week and the latter half of November that it will start to cool down somewhat.

'The weather will be predominantly settled but the temperatures overall in this period will be below the average and could extend to frosts and snow over northern hills and mountains.'

Today will be a bright morning for most, with a few isolated showers in western parts. It will remain dry and bright for central and eastern areas, but north-western parts will become breezy with rain pushing in by the evening.

Tonight is expected to be largely cloudy and breezy, with outbreaks of rain for Wales, northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, some of which will be heavy. However it will be drier in central and southern England.

Parts of England could reach 59F (15C) today and tomorrow, compared to the usual 50F (10C) to 52F (11C). And Scotland will enjoy temperatures higher than the 48F (9C) it would typically expect in mid-November.

Tomorrow is forecast to be largely grey and overcast with outbreaks of rain for much of Wales, northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. But central and southern England will be drier and brighter with a few sunny spells.

On Thursday it will be mostly dry but cloudy with sunny spells as temperatures head towards 63F (17C). Conditions may become misty for many with spots of rain in the far west - but the winds will be gentle southerlies.

Friday will be mostly dry, cloudy and misty with a few sunny spells possible along with drizzle and gentle winds. But much colder weather is then set to sweep in from Scandinavia, with temperatures dropping by the weekend.

Tomorrow is forecast to be largely grey and overcast with outbreaks of rain for much of Wales and northern England

On Thursday it will be mostly dry but cloudy with sunny spells as temperatures head towards 63F (17C) in the South East

Friday will be mostly dry, cloudy and misty with a few sunny spells possible along with drizzle and gentle winds

Martin Young, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'After the mild conditions we've had so far this month, next week's temperatures will feel noticeably colder by contrast.

'Although temperatures will be below average, particularly in the south, the situation is not out of the ordinary for the time of year. Next week will certainly be cold.

'Although many places should be dry, showers are possible in the east. At the moment, there is very little signal for wintry conditions, with any snow more likely to be confined to higher ground.'

A plume of warm air from the Continent will bring mild temperatures this week - but it will become colder by the weekend

Looking a fortnight ahead, the Met Office forecast for November 27 to December 11 says: 'Temperatures are likely to be below average overall, with a marked increase in the likelihood and extent of frosts.'

It adds: 'With more generally colder temperatures, there will be an increased chance of snow, particularly for northern hills, during spells of more unsettled weather.'

The hottest November day recorded in the UK was 72.3F (22.4C) in Trawsgoed, Mid Wales, on November 1, 2015.
A Bandidos bikie and his associate have been jailed for the manslaughter of a young man during a botched drug deal.

Jei 'Jack' Lee was fatally shot in the head in a suburban Brisbane shopping centre car park in April 2012.

The Supreme Court in Brisbane on Wednesday heard Bandidos outlaw motorcycle gang member Bogdan Cuic and alleged associate Marko Cokara met the 22-year-old at Eight Mile Plains about 7pm.

Jei 'Jack' Lee (pictured) was fatally shot in the head in the car park of a shopping centre in Eight Mile Plains, in Brisbane's south, in April 2012

Mr Lee planned to sell two ounces worth of cocaine to the pair and turn a profit of $4,000.

But the court heard Cuic pulled a gun on the dealer in an attempt to rob him of the drugs.

Justice Martin Burns said Mr Lee was shot during a struggle with Cuic.

'I accept you had no intention to kill or cause any harm to the deceased. Rather the firearm was discharged in a grossly and criminally negligent way,' he said.

Bogdan Cuic was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years' jail in the Queensland Supreme Court in Brisbane (pictured) for Mr Lee's killing, while Marko Cokara received eight years

Justice Burns said Cuic and Cokara had shown 'callous disregard' for Mr Lee when they fled the scene without calling an ambulance or providing him with first aid.

Cuic was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years' jail for the killing, while Cokara received eight years.

Cuic will be eligible for parole in March 2020 while Cokara will be able to apply for release in May next year.
The New Jersey family that lived in the Watcher house - where they were subjected to terrorizing anonymous letters - have spoken out on their horrifying experience.

From June 2014 to February 2017, the Watcher sent Derek and Maria Broaddus four letters to their Westfield home at 657 Boulevard.

'It's like cancer,' Derek Broaddus said in an interview with New York Magazine.

'Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night thinking, 'What would my life be like if this didn't happen?' We lost Christmas a couple times, and you don't get that back.'

Derek shared that the anonymous letters really left him in a shook state.

'I was a depressed wreck,' he added.

From June 2014 to February 2017, the Watcher sent Derek and Maria Broaddus four letters to their Westfield home at 657 Boulevard

According to the Watcher, observance over the house had been passed down through the family

Maria Broaddus admitted that the letters from the Watcher left her with terrifying nightmares, including one with a man 'wearing these boots and carrying a pitchfork and calling to the kids.'

According to the Watcher, observance over the house had been passed down through the family.

'657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming,' the letters stated.

'My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time. Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I will find out.'

Police suspect that the letters came from someone who was within a 300-yard radius of the house

The letters kept the family on edge, especially around the people living in their community. Maria relived the horrors surrounding a barbecue that the family went to.

'People must have thought we were crazy,' Maria said. 'We kept screaming [at the kids] to stay close.'

And they had reason to fear for their kids as the Broaddus couple received letters that specifically mentioned their children.

'It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement?' a letter read. 'Or are they too afraid to go down there alone. I would [be] very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream.'

The couple insisted that they weren't making up the letters.

The Broaddus' (Derek Broaddus pictured right) sued the prior owners, John Woods (left) and his wife Andrea, in 2015 claiming they also received a letter from 'The Watcher' but never disclosed it

'There's a natural tendency to say, "I've lived here for 35 years; nothing's happened to me,"' Derek said. 'What happened to my family is an affront to their contention that they're safe, that there's no such thing as mental illness in their community. People don't want to believe this could happen in Westfield.'

Police suspect that the letters came from someone who was within a 300-yard radius of the house - which has a new tenant.

But Derek believes that there are a specific group of people who did the letter.

'In my view, it's one of 10 houses in the world,' he said.

They sued the prior owners of the house in June 2015, claiming that they also received a letter from 'The Watcher' but never disclosed it.

The couple eventually were able to get a family to rent out the home after they were unable to sell it.
Hackers who stole the details of nearly 244,000 British Airways customers in a cyber attack could have raised 9.4million for Russian criminals, it has emerged.

Cyber security experts found the stolen credit card details were put up for sale online for between 6.94 and 38.58.

Magecart, a Russian-linked criminal group, is said to be behind the data breach in August in which 380,000 payments were initially thought to be compromised. The breach was detected 16 days after it began.

Hackers who stole the details of nearly 244,000 British Airways customers in a cyber attack

A British Airways investigation last month found that 244,000 cards were affected. Vitali Kremez, director of research at security firm Flashpoint, said criminals sold some details for higher prices because certain European cards were considered more valuable, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Experts said Magecart was one of the major vendors of compromised payment information online. It put the credit cards up for a sale a week after the hack, under adverts titled CVV2 Dumps Update (high valid).

The hackers boasted of having the details of passengers from countries including the UK, US, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, France, Korea, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and China.

The criminal group, which has run since 2015, has also targeted other major companies, including concert tickets website Ticketmaster.

The BA data breach dealt a huge blow to the airlines reputation for customer service.

British Airways' chief executive Alex Cruz apologised over the computer hack

BA chief executive Alex Cruz said at the time: We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. We take the protection of our customers data very seriously.

Customers flooded the airline with criticism on social media, with many slamming BA for failing to contact them directly about the breach.

One tweeted: Idiots. So as an executive club member they have my card details, my passport, tel, email etc. All because you outsource IT to joke places to save money.

Alex Neill of Which? said: It is now vital that the company moves quickly to ensure those affected get clear information about what has happened and what steps they should take.

The month before the hack, BA owner International Consolidated Airlines Group said profits had hit 989million for the first half of the year. BA raked in 780million of that sum.

The hack is significant because the scale of the payment information is almost unprecedented in the UK.

Telecoms firm TalkTalk was handed a record 400,000 fine by the Information Commissioners Office in 2016 when data from 156,959 customers was leaked the previous year, but financial information from just 15,656 was accessed.

Banks are legally obliged to refund customers who have had money fraudulently taken from their account.

A spokesman for BA said: As soon as we discovered the data theft, we immediately contacted all affected customers to recommend they contact their banks to cancel or provide extra protection to their cards.

We have had no verified cases of fraud since the incident.
A federal government agency is struggling to cope as thousands of Australians try to opt out of the revolutionary My Health digital records program.

Taxpayers initially had until tomorrow to tell the Australian Digital Health Agency they didn't want all of their confidential medical records uploaded to a central database.

The biggest overhaul of Australia's health system in a generation will make it easier for doctors, with a single password, to more accurately diagnose their patients but domestic violence groups and cyber security experts are worried that safety and privacy could be violated.

Those wishing to opt out are required to provide their Medicare number and driver's licence details.

The website to opt out, however, was unreliable on Wednesday afternoon.

Health Minister Greg Hunt today announced the deadline would be extended to January 31.

By the end of this year, 17 million Australians will have their private medical records uploaded online as part of the My Health revolution - unless they object (stock image)

Felicity Vallence, an Australian woman in New York, encountered problems as she attempted to opt out, comparing the situation with the bungled 2016 online Census

The Australian Digital Health Agency's hotline and website have both been swamped with calls.

A man from Penrith, in Sydney's west, tried to opt out online on Wednesday afternoon only to discover he already had an active My Health record which he was unaware of.

'I was outraged, shocked and appalled to find out this information,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

The website also told him he needed to sign in, even though he didn't have a My Health log-in or password.

'Now I am confused as to how I am meant to opt out. It has not been properly explained,' he said.

Residents in his area, and the nearby Blue Mountains, automatically received a My Health record in July 2016 as part of a trial.

A man who tried to opt out said he called four time before being connected to opt out

Felicity Vallence, an Australian woman in New York, encountered problems as she attempted to opt out, comparing the situation with the bungled 2016 online Census.

'The site is currently crashing thanks to the influx of people trying to opt out,' she said.

'From the same government technology team who gave you Census 2016 and the NBN.'

A man who tried to opt out said he called four times before being connected to opt out.

'Phone line didn't even ring until the fourth try and then I got a recorded message asking me to opt out online,' he said.

'No option to talk to a person despite the My Health records website directing me to the phone to opt out.'

Health Minister Greg Hunt tweeted on Wednesday the deadline would be extended until January 31

By the end of this year, 17 million Australians will have all their private medical records uploaded online as part of the My Health revolution - unless they formally object by November 15.

The Senate on Wednesday voted to extend the deadline until January 31, a week after Health Minister Greg Hunt announced $315,000 fines and five-year jail terms for illegally accessing the data.

The House of Representatives won't meet until next week, however, Mr Hunt announced the government would honour the two-month extension.

'Today the government worked with the Senate crossbench to extend the opt-out period for My Health Record,' he tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

'The opt-out period will be extended until January 31, 2019, however, it's important to note that people can opt-out at any time.'

Health Minister Greg Hunt (pictured) insisted it would be 'arguably the safest system in the world' but this week flagged five-year jail terms for illegally accessing My Health data

Santosh Devaraj, the chief executive of cyber security firm Secure Logic, said the existing My Health system was flawed.

'There is no reliable mechanism to guarantee confidentiality and privacy of data,' he said.

'With the little-known 'secondary use of data' feature enabled by default, people cannot reliably manage their data use.

My Health at a glance My Health is the digitisation of every Australian's medical record. It will enable doctors across Australia to access all details about their patients with a single password. Australians have until November 15 to opt out of the system. So far, 6.2 million Australians have a My Health record. By the end of 2018, that will jump to 17 million. Fines of up to $315,000 and five-year jail terms will be imposed for those illegally accessing the data. Sources: Australian Digital Health Agency; Health Minister Greg Hunt Advertisement

'Even when the data is anonymised, the opportunities for malicious re-identification are numerous, and the consequences could be catastrophic.'

Under the new system, Australians will no longer need to contact their previous doctor every time they sign up with a new general practitioner.

And for doctors, it will mean having a complete medical history of their patients with a simple password, giving them more scope to better prescribe medicines.

Health Minister Greg Hunt insisted it would be 'arguably the safest system in the world'.

'This is about giving people, for the first time, access their own medical records when they need it, where they want to access it and importantly it's also about preventing misuse of medication,' he told the Nine Network last week.

Mr Hunt has announced more severe penalties and jail terms for those who misuse the data, just days before Australians lose their chance to opt out.

More than 6.2 million Australians already have a My Health account and 14,000 doctors are connected, the federal government's Australian Digital Health Agency said.

Domestic violence groups fear abusive husbands or boyfriends could illegally access a woman's My Health data so they could more easily control her (stock image)

However, more than 1.1million Australians have also chosen to opt out of the My Health.

Domestic violence groups have called for the government to suspend the system until serious privacy issues are addressed.

They are concerned that abusive husbands and boyfriends, with knowledge of passwords, would be able to access confidential records to track down women.

Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia feared a domineering man could illegally access sensitive details about a woman's sexual history, pregnancy status, mental health, where she lived and any reports about violence.

'The proposed My Health system presents an unacceptable safety risk for women and children experiencing violence,' it said in a submission to a Senate inquiry.

'We urge that the government suspend the system until these privacy concerns are addressed.'

The Sydney-based crisis counselling group said a doctor could also illegally access the data on behalf of a violent husband or boyfriend.

'The perpetrator may have access to his partner or children's log in details,' it said.

The Gold Coast Domestic Violence Integrated Response feared a partner's ability to gain access to personal health records could even threaten the lives of women (stock image)

'He may be a health practitioner himself and have direct access to the system, or have a family member or friend who is a health practitioner and is willing to access the system on his behalf.'

The Gold Coast Domestic Violence Integrated Response feared a partner's ability to gain access to personal health records could even threaten the lives of women and their children.

'An abusive partner's knowledge about these tests, conditions or the admissions the victim has made to health staff about the abuse they have been subjected to, could result in further or an escalation of physical or verbal abuse towards and/or increase the risk of lethality for the victim and their children,' it said in its Senate committee submission.

They also feared confidential records could be used in custody battles and also exploited to control women from culturally and religiously conservative communities if someone accessing her records discovered she wasn't a virgin.

Labor's shadow health minister Catherine King (pictured) called on the government to extend the opt-out period

In response to those concerns, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced maximum five-year jail terms and fines up to $315,000 for illegally accessing My Health data.

Employers and health insurers would also be banned from accessing the information.

The minister also responded to concerns raised by domestic violence support groups by restricting the information held by the Australian Digital Health Agency in circumstances where 'there may be a risk to a person's life, health or safety'.

Labor's shadow health minister Catherine King had earlier called on the government to extend the opt-out period.

Both houses of federal Parliament don't sit again until November 26, which is 11 days after the opt-out deadline for Australians.

If in doubt, opt out.
Police in California have released the surveillance footage of a McDonald's manager being attacked by a woman who was upset over missing packs of ketchup.

According to the Santa Ana Police Department, the suspect entered the restaurant through the back door used by employees and asked for ketchup.

But when the store's manager told the woman she couldn't be in the building, the suspect became combative.

Police in California have released the surveillance footage of a McDonald's manager (picured in blue) being attacked by a woman (pictured in pink) who was upset over missing packs of ketchup

In the shocking footage, the woman is seen pushing, punching and choking the manager near the restaurant's drive-thru window

Another employee (pictured in black) is also seen in the video trying to pull the woman off of the manager

The woman had apparently asked for ketchup when she placed her order but didn't receive it in her bag.

In the shocking footage, the woman is seen pushing, punching and choking the manager near the restaurant's drive-thru window.

Another employee is also seen in the video trying to pull the woman off of the manager.

A man, who doesn't appear to be an employee, is then seen entering the back door of the restaurant.

He immediately walks up to the attacker, grabs her and leads her out the door as other employees look on.

Santa Ana police described the woman as being Hispanic with brown hair and approximately 20 to 25 years old.

The incident occurred on October 27 around 11pm at the McDonald's located in the 1500 block of North Bristol Street of Santa Ana.

If you have any information as to the identity of this individual, please contact PIS L. Delisle at (714)245-8647 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

A man, who doesn't appear to be an employee, is then seen entering the back door of the restaurant

He immediately walks up to the attacker, grabs her and leads her out the door (both pictured) as other employees look on
The man who allegedly raped and strangled a Queens jogger and then left her body in a park two years ago researched forgiveness on his cell phone after the crime, a police detective testified on Tuesday.

Chanel Lewis, 22, faces life in prison for the rape and murder of Karina Vetrano.

Prosecutors at his trial on Tuesday introduced evidence taken from his black ZTE cell phone which they found at his Brooklyn home on February 5, 2017 - six months after the murder, according to the New York Daily News.

Josue Rivera, a detective with the NYPDs Computer Crimes Squad, testified in Queens Supreme Court on Tuesday that investigators recovered the device from Lewis dresser in his bedroom.

The phone contained two photos of the victim, Vetrano, 30, as well as a photo of the crime scene, Rivera testified.

Chanel Lewis, 22, faces life in prison for the rape and murder of Karina Vetrano. Lewis is seen after his arrest last year

Lewis is charged with sexually assaulting and strangling Vetrano as she ran on a secluded park trail in Howard Beach, Queens in August 2016

The pictures were taken from online news articles about the crime.

Prosecutors said that the phone contained a search history of 137 searches, among them the Wikipedia page for the Catholic Sacrament of Penance.

It is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church in which adherents obtain absolution for sins committed against others.

Lewis is also alleged to have searched a news article titled 'After a Crime, the Price of a Second Chance,' as well as 'Miranda warning,' 'arraignment,' and 'what happens after a felony conviction?'

Rivera was asked by Lewis' defense attorney, Julia Burke, whether the name 'Karina Vetrano' was ever searched by Lewis on his cell phone.

'You cant testify that the name Karina Vetrano was ever search by the user, is that correct?' she asked.

'That is correct,' the detective said.

Lewis is charged with sexually assaulting and strangling Vetrano as she ran on a secluded park trail in Howard Beach, Queens in August 2016.

Josue Rivera, a detective with the NYPD, testified in Queens Supreme Court on Tuesday that investigators recovered Lewis cell phone from his bedroom

The prosecutor told the court in his opening statement last Monday that the 30-year-old runner was accosted and grabbed as she jogged along Spring Creek Park on August 2, 2016.

Vetrano was punched in the face, thrown to the ground, violently raped and then strangled in a marsh, about a block away from her house, where her father, Philip Vetrano, would later find her body.

Authorities previously said that the victim desperately fought for her life until the very end.

Despite making a videotaped confession, in which he allegedly admitted to killing Vetrano, saying he was mad at his neighbor when he spotted her at random and snapped, Lewis has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and aggravated sex abuse.

In February, a judge decided to let DNA evidence and a videotaped confession be used at trial.

Lewis' attorneys previously questioned the validity of his DNA sample from a consensual cheek swab, which was compared to DNA evidence recovered from under the victim's fingernails, and the manner in which his confession was gained.
This is the tragic final photo of a British father who died of rabies two months after being bitten by an infected cat during a holiday in Morocco.

Omar Zouhri struggled to swallow or breathe in the weeks leading up to his death at John Radcliffe in Oxford, where his four-year-old daughter, Amira, also passed away 10 years ago.

The 58-year-old's nephew, Nabil Jellal, said he managed to utter a few final words asking relatives to look after his 11-year-old daughter and wife, for whom he was a full-time carer.

British father Omar Zouhri is pictured in a tragic final photo from hospital before dying of rabies contracted from an infected cat. Image undated

Mr Jellal, 38, told Mirror Online: 'He could hardly move, he was sedated, but he was still fighting and trying to get up.

'He was speaking a bit, some of his last words were to ask us to look after his family.'

Mr Zouhri died following weeks of begging for help after he contracted the disease in Mehdya.

He told A&E staff at Stoke Mandeville Hospital that a boy had died in Morocco after being bitten by a cat that also sank its teeth into him.

They gave him the all clear but he was given an injection to guard against the disease by a GP.

But he reported to the hospital again three weeks later with finger pains - only to be told he should invest in some E45 skin cream.

He was later transferred to John Radcliffe Hospital where he died two days later.

His 52-year-old widow, Chadia, from Aylesbury, said her husband was told 'you're being paranoid' as staff assured him he did not have rabies. But the full-time carer died nine weeks after he was bitten.

She said: 'The poor man begged so many for help but no one was there for him.'

Mr Zouhri (pictured in an undated photo) was staying 30 miles away from the capital Rabat, when he was infected with the disease

The kebab shop worker was bitten by a cat while visiting family in Mehdya two weeks ago, according to The Sun.

The same rabid cat is believed to have also bitten a young girl in the area, but she was treated locally and managed to make a full recovery.

Mr Zouhri, from Buckinghamshire, was staying 30 miles away from the Moroccan capital Rabat when he was infected.

Mr Zouhri managed to utter a few final words asking relatives to look after his family, according to his nephew. Photo is undated

He did receive treatment in Morocco and the UK, but allegedly was not given vital anti-viral drugs in time.

The hospital trust confirmed that it is investigating but said that it could not comment before Mr Zouhri's inquest.

The father-of-two died on November 4, leaving behind Chadia, who said: 'You have no idea how tragic this is. It will all come out at the inquest.'

His family and friends, as well as medics involved in the case, are being monitored and offered vaccinations.

Dr Tina Kenny, medical director of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said: 'We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Zouhri.

'We can confirm that Mr Zouhri attended Stoke Mandeville Hospital before being transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford as the regional referral centre for infectious diseases.

'Given that deaths from rabies are so rare in this country, we have already begun our own internal review of Mr Zouhri's care and understand that an inquest into his death will be opened in due course.

'It is therefore not appropriate to make any further comment until the inquest has concluded. However, if the family have any concerns about the care they received at our hospital, we would encourage them to get in touch and discuss them with us.'

Professor Jimmy Whitworth, professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: 'My understanding is that this is somebody who had contact with a cat that was behaving abnormally and sought care, I believe in Morocco and in the UK, but unfortunately didn't receive vaccination until it was too late. I believe that the cat bit this person a few weeks ago.'

He did receive treatment in Morocco (capital Marrakesh's main square seen in a file photo) and the UK, but allegedly was not given vital anti-viral drugs in time

He added: 'The typical time interval (for symptoms to appear) is two to three months, so you do have enough time (to seek care).

'But it can be as short as a week and that's why seeking prompt care and getting vaccination is so important. In this tragic case the person didn't get the vaccine in time.

'It is hard to know from the information provided, the delay could have been Morocco, the delay could have been in the UK.

'So one of the messages is that health workers must be clued in to the possibility of rabies. There are high stakes, you must not get it wrong.'

The UK has been rabies-free since 1922, when the last indigenous non-fatal case was recorded, with the exception of rabies-like viruses in some wild bat species.

The last bite death caused by rabies in a UK animal was in 1902, but was brought back to Britain in animals returning with soldiers from the First World War.

A map shows the risk of rabies in different countries, with darker green areas higher risk and light green lower risk. Morocco, in the north east of Africa, south of Spain, is high risk

Dog licensing, euthanasia of stray dog and quarantining were credited with killing off the virus.

Western Europe is now considered low risk by the World Health Organisation, while countries in Eastern Europe are listed as 'moderate risk' and African and Middle Eastern countries are 'high risk'.

Popular tourist destinations like Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey all carry a high risk of dogs transmitting rabies to people, but it is more rare that cat bites are the cause.

The last recorded rabies case in the UK was in 2012, when a grandmother in her 50s was bitten by a dog in South Asia.

Rabies is more commonly associated with dog bites but can also be caught from cats. Undated file photo of a cat in Morocco

She was treated in isolation at London's Hospital for Tropical Diseases but died around two months after the bite.

In 2002 David Macrae, a conservation worker from Angus, died after contracting a rabies-like virus from a bat.

Between 2000 and 2017, five UK residents became infected with rabies from animal abroad, official statistics show.

Anyone bitten should needs at least four doses of a vaccine over a month if not already vaccinated, or at least two doses a few days apart if they have.

The disease is nearly always fatal if treatment is not given soon after the bite or scratch.

PHE insisted there is 'no risk' to the wider public, but issued warnings to other people travelling to at-risk areas.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisations at PHE, said: 'This is an important reminder of the precautions people should take when travelling to countries where rabies is present.

'If you are bitten, scratched or licked by an animal you must wash the wound or site of exposure with plenty of soap and water and seek medical advice without delay.

'There is no risk to the wider public in relation to this case but, as a precautionary measure, health workers and close contacts are being assessed and offered vaccination when necessary.'
Rugby league legend Andrew Johns has shared a touching tribute after he gave an inspirational and tear-filled speech to a group of high school students.

Johns spoke to Year 10 students at South Grafton High School in northern New South Wales about his personal struggles with bi-polar disorder and depression.

The heartfelt chat brought both the students and the NRL champion himself to tears.

Johns' battle with crippling mental illness has been well documented. He previously said he deals daily with depression and will take medication for the rest of his life.

After he was caught with an ecstasy tablet outside a tube station in London in 2007, Johns revealed he had considered taking his own life more than once.

Rugby league legend Andrew Johns has shared a touching tribute after he gave an inspirational and tear-filled speech to a group of high school students

On Wednesday, Johns shared a photo to Instagram of painted fins gifted to him following his visit

On Wednesday, Johns shared a photo to Instagram of painted surfboard fins gifted to him by the students following his visit.

His trip to the school came after a chance encounter with Garry Matthews, who works with Aboriginal children in his role as chief executive officer of Abcare.

The pair met on a flight to Melbourne, where Johns was to work as part of the broadcast team during Channel Nine's coverage of the first State of Origin game in July.

Johns agreed to speak to the students at South Grafton High School, saying his meeting with Mr Matthews was a 'sign' that allowed him to open up about his mental health.

The heartfelt chat brought both the students and the NRL legend himself to tears

Mr Martin later posted a message of appreciation to Johns on Instagram

Johns agreed to speak to the students at South Grafton High School, saying his meeting with Mr Matthews was a 'sign' that allowed him to open up about his mental health

Teacher Nathan Martin said Johns spoke about his childhood and playing career with the Newcastle Knights.

'Not only were many students brought to tears, but Joey (Johns) himself teared up talking about, and obviously reliving, his journey with mental health,' Mr Martin told the Daily Examiner.

Mr Martin later posted a message of appreciation to Johns on Instagram.

'On behalf of the students and staff at South Grafton High School I would like to say a huge thank you for visiting our school,' Mr Martin said.

'I'm not sure if you are aware of the impact that you have had on our students. Many of our students that were in attendance when you visited have made positive changes to the way they approach life's challenges.'

Lifeline - 13 11 14
A 15-year-old boy has had six points slapped on his future driving licence after being caught riding an electric scooter at high speeds.

The youngster appeared at Teesside Magistrates' youth court after being caught at what police have described as 'high speeds'.

It is not known how fast he was going at the time but electric scooters can travel at speeds of up to 40mph.

He was brought before justices in October and was slapped with six points on his future driving licence.

The boy appeared in court after being caught at what police have described as 'high speeds' on his scooter. Pictured, stock picture of a scooter

Cleveland Police released details of the schoolboy's escapades saying: 'One male juvenile aged 15 has recently been caught by officers riding a scooter at high speeds.

'He appeared in court in October and has been given 6 points which will be added to his driver's license when he is able to have one.'

It comes as officers warn parents about buying children the latest electric scooters for Christmas - some of which can reach speeds of up to 40mph.

They are not permitted to be used on roads, cycle paths or pedestrian pavements, and are only to be used on authorised or private land.

Cleveland Police released details of the schoolboy's escapades saying: 'One male juvenile aged 15 has recently been caught by officers riding a scooter at high speeds. The youngster appeared at Teesside Magistrates' youth court (pictured)

PC Mike Doherty from Coulby Newham Neighbourhood Policing Team said: 'These scooters are not toys, and not only can they be extremely dangerous, but they are also not legal to ride on pavements and roads and I think many parents aren't aware of this.

'Under the Road Traffic Act we can report the individual rider for not having insurance, a licence, a number plate, helmet and MOT for the scooter.

'This person will then be reported for summons and will be given a minimum of six points on their licence or future license and a possible fine.'

The news follows a move by Cleveland Police and Middlesbrough Council to crackdown on nuisance motorbikes.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped John Abizaid, a top US general from the Iraq war who has studied the Middle East for years, as ambassador to Saudi Arabia amid growing friction between the longstanding allies.

Abizaid is a fluent Arabic speaker of Lebanese Christian descent who headed US Central Command - which covers the Middle East - during the Iraq war from shortly after the US invasion in 2003 through 2007.

The 67-year-old wrote his master's thesis at Harvard University about Saudi Arabia, studying how the kingdom makes its decisions on defense spending, in a paper that won acclaim in academic circles.

A California native, Abizaid graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point and later won a scholarship to study in Jordan, where he honed his Arabic, which he did not speak as a child.

US President Donald Trump has tapped John Abizaid to serve as his ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Trump has been slow in filling key posts amid his promises to shake up Washington. But the absence of an ambassador in Riyadh, nearly two years into his presidency, has become more glaring amid rising tensions between the countries.

Trump, who quickly forged a close relationship with Saudi Arabia upon taking office, has been forced to criticize the kingdom and its powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, after a team from the kingdom killed a US-based critical journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Amid a US souring on the heir apparent, the United States has also curbed cooperation and demanded a halt to the Saudi-led military campaign against rebels in Yemen that has contributed to a humanitarian crisis believed to be the worst in the world.

But US pleas - made by telephone rather than in person by an ambassador - have failed to sway the Saudis.

Trump has been forced to criticize the kingdom and its powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, after a team from the kingdom killed a US-based critical journalist, Jamal Khashoggi (pictured), inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul

Abizaid requires confirmation from the Senate, which would appear likely as the retired four-star general has long enjoyed respect in Washington.

Shortly after taking over as CENTCOM commander, Abizaid told reporters that US forces were facing a 'classical guerrilla-type campaign' from remnants of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.

His choice of words contradicted his bosses, who initially tried to portray the Iraq invasion as a quick victory, but then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld did not move to replace him amid admiration for Abizaid's skills.

And soon after retiring in 2007, Abizaid said that, while the United States should try to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, 'there are ways to live with a nuclear Iran,' describing the clerical state's behavior as rational and noting the United States also dealt with a nuclear-armed Soviet Union.

Trump has championed a hard line on Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival.

The real estate mogul turned president has shown a fondness for appointing retired generals, with Jim Mattis as defense secretary and John Kelly as his chief of staff.
An uncle in the infamous incestuous Colt family allegedly drove thousands of kilometres across the desert for incest with his two nieces, a court has heard.

The man, given the court-ordered pseudonym Frank Colt, is one of eight family members arrested and charged this year over allegations relating to sexual abuse of children at a farm in rural New South Wales.

Frank, 49, appeared via video link during a bail hearing in NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Frank Colt (pictured) is one of eight family members apprehended by police, and is charged with four counts of sexual intercourse with a person aged under 10 and one of sexual intercourse without consent involving an 18-year-old woman

He is charged with four counts of sexual intercourse with a person aged under 10 and one of sexual intercourse without consent involving an 18-year-old woman.

Frank, his brother Charlie and nephews Derek and Cliff have all been charged with child sex offences.

His sisters Martha, Betty and Rhonda and niece Raylene face perjury allegations.

All family members have been given court-ordered pseudonyms to protect the identity of the children.

Charges were laid more than five years after 40 family members were allegedly found living in squalor in 2012.

During the bail hearing Crown prosecutor Mardi Cartwright said Colt had breached bail before in other states and belonged to a family 'known to travel long distances to see each other'.

She said Colt was not living at the rural NSW property when the alleged offences were committed.

Charges were laid more than five years after 40 family members (pictured) were allegedly found living in squalor in 2012

He allegedly drove 4,000km from his Western Australian home for a week-long holiday where he allegedly committed the offences.

If bail is granted, Ms Cartwright submitted Colt be subject to conditions including non-contact with witnesses and reporting twice daily to police, but expressed concerns over the ability to monitor compliance in WA from NSW.

Ms Cartwright said the Crown's current intention was that the eight Colt trials would run together 'given the commonality of the evidence' but it would be lengthy and difficult and was unlikely to happen for at least six months.

Charges were laid more than five years after 40 family members were allegedly found living in squalor in 2012

His sisters Martha, Betty and Rhonda and niece Raylene face perjury allegations. Betty Colt (pictured) being led away at Moss Vale Court in southern NSW

His solicitor Robert Bucksath said his client could demonstrate he'd 'broken away' from what's been termed the 'nomadic lifestyle' or the 'living off-the-grid lifestyle' attributed to him', and he hadn't contacted 'those' family members for a number of years.

He said Colt would be 'an absolute fool' to contact associated family if granted bail.

'He's got no desire to go down that path. He just wants to get his life back on track as best as he can ... and try to salvage something that's quickly eroded over the last several months,' Mr Bucksath said.

The nieces will give evidence in a trial against their family members in a trial expected late next year.

Two Colts - both females facing charges of perjury - have successfully applied for bail.

The bail decision has been reserved until next week.
A trendy burger chain has been issued a legal threat by fast food giant McDonald's for allegedly ripping off one of their world-renowned burgers.

Brisbane-based burger joint Burger Urge was issued with a 'cease and desist' order for their promotion the 'Big Pac', requesting the burger stop being sold by Friday.

McDonald's claimed the burger franchise - which is renowned as being the only alpaca burger joint - attempted to leverage off the giant's popular Big Mac burger.

Scroll down for video

Brisbane-based burger joint Burger Urge was issued with a cease and desist' order for their promotion the 'Big Pac' (pictured), requesting the burger to stop being sold by Friday

'This is simply a marketing stunt to leverage our well-established and iconic brand,' a McDonald's spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

'We have no issue with the burger itself, however the name and promotion are infringing on our trademark by clearly mirroring our famous Big Mac.'

In a retro-themed commercial for the new burger, the Big Pac is advertised in familiar way to a McDonald's '80s commercial, which promised to reward the customer for reciting the classic ingredients.

Throughout the Big Pac commercial, which appears using a retro TV filter, the burger is advertised as containing 'two all alpaca patties, sauce, cheese, pickles, lettuce, onion, on a sesame bun'.

In the McDonald's commercial, the Big Mac was advertised as containing, 'two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun'.

Burger Urge managing director Sean Carthew told The Courier Mail he was 'perplexed' by the fast food giant's claims the Big Pac was infringing on the Big Mac.

In a retro-themed commercial for the new burger (pictured), the Big Pac is advertised in familiar way to a McDonald's '80s commercial

The Big Pac (pictured) is advertised as containing 'two all alpaca patties, sauce, cheese, pickles, lettuce, onion, on a sesame bun'

In the McDonald's commercial (left and right), the Big Mac was advertised as containing, 'two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun

'Burger Urge is the only restaurant chain in Australia that serves Alpaca burgers, so we don't think anybody could possibly confuse us with McDonald's,' he said.

Mr Carthew said he couldn't see how the anyone could confuse their 'premium and unique' product with those being sold at McDonald's.

Since being issued with the cease and desist' order, Burger Urge has agreed to remove its marketing material for the Big Pac, the McDonald's spokesperson said.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Burger Urge for comment.
Advertisement

Helpless cats, dogs and rabbits with horrific injuries including scorched eyes and paws are among the latest victims of the state's deadliest blaze to date.

Pets and wild animals became trapped as the deadly blazes closed in and now rescuers are working to save any which have defied the odds to survive.

In total, 50 people have died across the state - 48 killed in the northern Camp Fire, which torched the town of Paradise, and two more in the southern Woolsey Fire, which consumed much of Malibu.

Paradise resident Jeff Hill said he had been scouting his neighborhood over the weekend when he discovered a helpless horse trapped inside someone's swimming pool.

Hill wrote in a Facebook post: 'As I was checking to see if someones house was standing, we stumbled upon this girl who had given up and had the look of defeat in her eyes.

'Theres no telling how long she was there but she was shivering uncontrollably... she was all caught up in the pool cover but her being suspended by it prevented her from drowning.'

Hill unhooked the pool cover and assisted the horse to the shallow end and onto the steps, where helped her out of the water to safety. The horse luckily survived.

Paradise resident Jeff Hill was scouting his neighborhood this weekend after returning home. He discovered this helpless horse trapped inside a backyard pool

Hill said: 'As I was checking to see if someones house was standing, we stumbled upon this girl who had given up and had the look of defeat in her eyes'

Hill is pictured assisting the horse to the shallow end of the pool and out of the water

Thanks to Hill's efforts, the horse survived. Hill said: 'She got out, shook off, loved on us for a few minutes as a thank you and walked off assuring us that she was OK'

'She got out, shook off, loved on us for a few minutes as a thank you and walked off assuring us that she was OK,' Hill said in the post.

The happy ending wasn't the outcome for many other animals.

Tear-jerking photographs show burnt and injured cats and a crying kitten receiving treatment thanks to the Little Angels Project, which is helping animals hurt in the blazes.

The more seriously-injured cats were transported for rest to the Project's hospital in Agoura Hills.

A German Shepard was found hanging from a fence with badly-burnt paws. The dog can be seen in photos lying in his recovery bed with casts on all four legs.

A terrier was photographed getting readied for an operation to fix a broken jaw after being hit by a car fleeing the fires.

There were happier moments as well - of firefighters and residents tending to animals, feeding them and providing much-needed affection.

A traumatized kitten is pictured after receiving treatment through the Little Angels Project, which is helping animals hurt in the blazes

The kitten's burnt paws are seen in this close-up shot. An unknown number of pets and wild animals have died in the flames

Another heartbreaking photograph taken from inside the animal hospital shows the severity of the kitten's injuries

This black and white cat survived the deadly wildfires. Others were laid to rest

et assistant Sara Anderson, 28, attends to an injured cat. A disused hospital in Oroville is now the scene of an animal rescue shelter as Northern California deals with yet another wildfire

This German Shepard was found hanging from a fence with badly burnt paws this week in the California wildfires

The dog is seen laying in his recovery bed with casts covering all four legs

A terrier is also seen as it is readied for an operation to fix its jaw which was broken when the pooch was hit by a car fleeing the fire

A cat is treated for its injuries caused by the Woolsey Fire in Woodland Hills, southern California

Dakota Semler stands with 'Stanley' the giraffe at the Malibu Wine Safari in Malibu on November 13

Los Angeles County firefighter Aurelio Sanchez feeds a camel stranded by wildfires in Malibu on November 13

Deer walk through an area destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California on November 13

An injured swan is pictured inside its cage after being rescued this week from the wildfire aftermath

Meanwhile, a tabby cat found with serious injures in a wildfire ravaged street in Paradise, northern California has tragically died, animal activists said.

A picture of the cat, nicknamed Billiegirl on social media after the road where she was found on Sunday, was shared all over the world as a miracle rescue, but unfortunately the animal did not survive its injuries.

An organization of animal lovers known as California Wildfire Pets which has been trying to reunite lost animals with their owners disclosed the news on Facebook.

They had earlier posted: 'Are you missing an orange tabby kitty from the area of Billie Rd in Paradise?' with a picture of the cat in the hope its family could be found.

Billiegirl the cat became one of thousands of animals who have perished in the deadly wildfires ravaging the state of California.

More tragic images from animal clinics or during rescue efforts show a cat in a makeshift incubator, a bunny rabbit whose ears were burned off by the flames and emergency workers desperately ferrying animals from the edge of the fires to safety.

Rest in peace: The badly burned cat was pictured cowering in agony before animal rescuers could take it to a veterinary center, after it was discovered near a residential block in Paradise, California on Sunday

A local animal activist group helping to reunite pets and owners announced that the tabby cat, nicknamed Billiegirl, had not survived her injuries

A rabbit suffering from burns struggles to find safety, as the Woolsey Fire continues to burn near Malibu in California

A badly burned bunny was rescued from the fires and treated for its wounds

The Camp Fire devastating Northern California, and the Woolsey Fire, which is currently raging near Malibu in the south, have forced residents to flee their homes, and have left many unable to also save their beloved pets.

As the confirmed human death toll of the Camp Fire reached 48 as of late Tuesday, with the flames having levelled more than 7,100 homes and other buildings, it now ranks as the deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record in California.

It is not officially known how many animals - wild or pets - have been killed or injured in the wildfires, which have been raging since Thursday, but it is thought to be at least several thousand.

Urgent evacuation orders have seen many animals abandoned, including horses and other farm animals, with residents potentially underestimating how damaging the fire would become.

As well as pets, Northern California area is home to a myriad of wild animals, including several types of deer, black bears, bobcats, elks and cougars, and the Butte County area where Camp Fire burns hosts several wildlife sanctuaries.

Other common forest creatures are coyotes, raccoons, squirrels, skunks and foxes as well as a number of birds and snakes.

A dog is treated for severe burns on its paws from the Woolsey Fire. Volunteer veterinarians with Veterinary Angels and The Little Angels Project, created a mash tent at Pierce College to treat animals injured or displaced by the fires

Shiloh, a two-year-old golden retriever, has suffered burns to her face and needs veterinarian treatment, but her owner, Cathy Fallon is refusing to leave her property because authorities will then not allow her to return due to the evacuation order

Cathy Fallon pets her dog Shiloh outside their burned-down home in Paradise, California

A cat is treated by workers at the Little Animals Project in LA after they were found with burns in the Woolsey fire

Equine veterinarian Jesse Jellison carries an injured goose to a waiting transport during the Camp Fire in Paradise

Dr. Maritxu Ravenscroft with Veterinary Angels and The Little Angels Project, looks over treatment notes for animals displaced by the fire

These two cats were injured in the wildfires and volunteers posted these pictures of them to try and reunite them with their owners

Oceans 8 Sandra Bullock has donated $100,000 donation to The Humane Society of Ventura County (file photo)

Volunteers and professionals have bandied together to try to rescue as many as possible, helped by donations from animal lovers - including Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock.

The Oceans 8 actress has donated $100,000 donation to The Humane Society of Ventura County, which announced the generous boost on their Facebook page.

'Our efforts for rescuing and caring for evacuated animals from the Hill and Woolsey fires had caught her [Ms Bullock's] attention and her team reached out to the shelter to show their support,' the organization, which operates in southern California, wrote.

'Sandra Bullock and her family have reached out to other nonprofit organizations both during this incident and in the past.

'However, this time she wanted to contribute to those on the frontline rescuing animals in peril and hope others will choose to do the same.'

'The HSVC pledges to care for these animals for as long as is needed or until their owners feel comfortable in safely reuniting their families.'

Members of the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Ashley Nola, left, and Catherine McFarren, right, tend to burns on a dog that was brought in to the Butte County Fair Grounds where large animals are being sheltered during the Camp Fire

Many larger animals have been taken to the Butte County Fair as nearby communities are ordered to evacuate

Horses are evacuated by members of the Humane Society of Ventura County from an area affected by a wildfire in Malibu, California

A horse is seen as members of the Humane Society of Ventura County evacuate animals from an area affected by a wildfire in Malibu

A donkey rests on a roadside as the Camp Fire burns in Big Bend, California

A makeshift animal clinic has been set up in the Butte County Fair Grounds, 30 miles south of Paradise, at the weekend, where emergency service veterinarians tended to dogs with burned paws and fur.

Goats and horses have also found temporary shelter at the Fair Grounds as the Camp Fire continues to burn through the region, fueled by high winds in Butte County.

In Big Bend, Fire Captain Steve Millosovich carried a cage full of cats that were found abandoned in the road after the Camp Fire.

Elsewhere, celebrities including Khloe Kardashian and Ariel Winter slammed a wine estate in Malibu for allegedly abandoning a giraffe.

Malibu Wines which owns the Saddlerock Ranch where some exotic animals are kept, had reportedly abandoned Stanley the giraffe to his fate.

Stanley the giraffe, one of several exotic animals at Saddlerock Ranch, is shrouded in smoke in the aftermath of the Woosley Fire. The animals on the ranch survived, but several buildings on the property we destroyed or damaged by the fire

Images of Stanley in his pen with the fires raging behind him were shared on social media

Pictures emerging from Stanley's enclosure show him standing near a fence just meters away from scorched earth caused by the devastating fires and flames in the background.

Saddlerock Ranch claimed in a statement last week that the animals were being evacuated, however this has been disputed by activists, including actress Whitney Cummings who visited the site on Saturday and found Stanley in his pen.

The ranch said all animals on the ranch survived, but several buildings on the property we destroyed or damaged by the fire.

'House gone, hope the dogs got out': Desperate owners post images of their beloved pets on social media as they search for animals missing in the California wildfires

Pet owners across California have turned to social media in the hopes that their beloved animals lost in the wildfires may have survived the flames.

Facebook groups such as Cowboy 911 and Camp Fire Pet Rescue and Reunification are being inundated with posts by worried local residents.

Many are pleading for help to find cats, dogs, horses and even pigs which they were forced to leave behind during the urgent evacuations last week, or were unable to locate in time.

Facebook groups helping California wildfire survivors are being inundated with posts by owners from across the state who were unable to take their pets with them when they evacuated their homes

Dozens of posts are being shared online, containing pictures of pets in happier times, as owners express their hope that their four-legged friend is one of the lucky ones to have been rescued.

'Our pug Nahla was trapped in the house, if she is found or was rescued please contact me. She is very loved, she is our baby,' as a caption to a picture of an adorable pug wearing a a pink flower tiara around her waist.

'House is gone. Hoping they got out,' another writes on a post urging anyone who has spotted eight pets including a dachshund puppyu and a labrador, to get in touch.

Another missing pet is a large pig named Sumo who is still missing from near Chico, California.

Many veterinary centers and sanctuaries in the areas of the Camp Fire, Woolsey Fire and Hill Fire are in turn posting pictures of saved animals, some with horrific injuries, to try to track down their owners.

This has seen a few sunshine stories, such as that of a badly injured female cat picked up in Paradise, California.

Thanks to the cat's unique markings, its owner was able to identify it as its one-year-old pet.

The North Valley Animal Disaster Group is currently accepting donations for animal rescue efforts. To make a donation, please click here.

The North Valley Animal Disaster Group is currently accepting online donations for animal rescue efforts

The owner of Boo Boo the cat has posted a picture of their 'handsome little kitty' on a Facebook group for pet owners who are looking for their animals lost in the wildfires

Sumo the pig is still missing after the Camp Fire in northern California

The owners of this male tabby cat called 'Kitty Friend' hope to be able to find him

These two horses were found running around in Paradise, California, and an alert was posted on Facebook by a group set up to help reunite owners and rescued pets
A mentally ill South Australian man who killed his psychiatrist in 1992 has again been released back into the community and says he's 'learnt his lesson'.

The SA Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the release on licence of David Tzeegankoff, who stabbed Dr Nandadevi Chandra to death because he thought she used a voodoo doll to harm him.

After his arrest, he said voices in his head had told him to kill Dr Chandra because she was a vampire.

David Tzeegankoff stabbed Dr Nandadevi Chandra to death because he thought she was a vampire using a voodoo doll to harm him (stock image)

He was found not guilty of her murder by reason of mental incompetence, and placed on a limiting term in a secure mental health facility.

Tzeegankoff was released into the community on licence in the early 2000s but has been taken back into custody multiple times due to substance abuse.

His release was most recently cancelled when he breached a condition of his licence by using illegal drugs earlier this year.

The court heard he had tested positive for amphetamine, benodiazepine, cannabis and methadone.

The SA Supreme Court (pictured) released David Tzeegankoff back into the community, 25 years after killing his doctor

After more than six months detention, Justice Malcolm Blue again freed him on Wednesday.

'It is very important that you continue to take your prescribed medication,' Justice Blue said, before warning Tzeegankoff to stay away from illicit drugs and attend psychiatrist appointments.

David Tzeegankoff was found not guilty of her murder by reason of mental incompetence, and placed on a limiting term in a secure mental health facility (pictured)

Tzeegankoff said he understood and vowed to comply with his licence requirements.

'I have learnt my lesson,' he said.

The case will be reviewed next November.
A three-metre long crocodile has been spotted sunning itself at a popular Australian beach.

Known to locals as 'Fluffy' or in some cases, 'Gary', the aquatic reptile is a regular at Oyster Point in northern Queensland.

He is often spotted feasting on barramundi, crabs and turtles close to the water's edge.

Fluffy the crocodile sunning himself on the sand at Oyster Point, in northern Queensland

Annette Swaine, the acting officer in charge at the nearby Cardwell Police Station, stressed the need for caution.

'It is a timely reminder for locals and tourists to remain vigilant when on the beach,' she said.

'There is never a time to become complacent about the reality of crocodiles in this area, even if you haven't seen them in a while.

'All crocodiles are territorial, always keep a safe distance.'

The initial sighting on Tuesday afternoon was reported to Queensland Park and Wildlife officers, who will continue to monitor the croc's movements.

Local police also reminded anglers to avoid cleaning fish near beaches known to be frequented by crocodiles.

Since 1985, there have been 11 crocodile related human fatalities in Queensland.
[November 14, 2018] iBASEt Announces 2018 Digital Manufacturing Leadership Award Winners FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- iBASEt , a leading provider of manufacturing, MRO and quality software solutions to complex, highly regulated industries, announced today this year's recipients of its Digital Manufacturing Leadership Awards, presented at the company's business conference, Excelerate, which was held from October 22 to 26, 2018 in Dana Point, CA. The Digital Manufacturing Leadership Awards honor manufacturing enterprises that are leveraging iBASEt's Digital Manufacturing solutions to significantly improve their businesses, and leveraging iBASEt as the foundation to shape the future of their complex manufacturing operations. iBASEt recognizes leading manufacturers and MRO providers who are using iBASEt Digital Manufacturing-based solutions for transformational breakthroughs. "It's a privilege for us to recognize leaders in the manufacturing industry for their excellence in digital transformation and innovation," said Naveen Poonian, Chief Operating Officer of iBASEt. "This year's award winners have shown a proven excellence in complex manufacturing, and a dedication to operational excellence. We're looking forward to seeing how these companies can inspire others in the manufacturing space." Digital Enterprise Leadership Award Winners: Solar Turbines

Pursuit of Innovation

Solar Turbines was one of iBASEt's first customers in the heavy equipment industry, and immediately took on an aggressive project of bringing three companies together by connecting their PTC PLM platform with iBASEt's Solumina MES. Throughout the project, every member of the Solar Turbines team served as a great partnerfrom project management, to testing, coding and product development, proving themselves to be true champions. Pratt & Whitney

Broadest Adoption

Pratt & Whitney took on the bold task of broadly implementing iBASEt solutions throughout their sites, bringing disparate processes together. Although the project and implementation has changed ownership throughout the procss, Pratt & Whitney has used dedication and perseverance to expand their footprint. The company was also the first to deploy iBASEt's Solumina as a cloud-based solution. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

Speed of Deployment

In only three months, Lockheed Martin went live with iBASEt's MRO solution and Offline capabilities to manage the maintenance of one of their largest and most important programs, the F-35. Throughout these three months, the company displayed skill, dedication and trustand highlighted the benefits of a strong partnership between vendor and customer. Textron Systems

Business Transformation

Textron Systems is relentless in their drive to succeed. The company continues to onboard iBASEt Digital Manufacturing solutions across multiple divisions while always learning and applying lessons learned to the next divisions' roll-out. Textron Systems is a true example of tenacity and ambition. Parker Hannifin

Outstanding G8 Upgrade

An enterprise system upgrade can be challenging, but by developing a dedicated team with in-depth knowledge, Parker Hannifin was able to upgrade five divisions from iBASEt's G7 to G8 with minimal support from iBASEt. The company created an extensive guide that defined the processes, validation steps, check lists, and high-level overviews for the upgrade. The company's attention to detail and drive ensured the upgrade was a success. Virgin Orbit  Andrzej Goryca

Premier Partner

Andrzej Goryca, Senior Enterprise Systems Manager at Virgin Orbit, was recognized for the added value he brings to iBASEt's product and business development strategies. Goryca has helped with the company's development efforts, provided quality input on customer care and feedback, and served as a true confidant regarding iBASEt's overall strategy. Textron Systems  Todd Kackley

Premier Partner

Todd Kackley, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Textron Systems, was recognized as a valued strategic partner who provides constructive and detailed feedback on iBASEt's new processes and puts best practices to the test, supporting the company in its innovation. Resources: 2018 Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlJnDtWzSA

Conference Website: http://excelerate.ibaset.com/ About iBASEt

iBASEt is a leading provider of software solutions for complex, highly regulated industries, like Aerospace and Defense, Medical Devices, Nuclear, Industrial Equipment, Electronics, and Shipbuilding. iBASEt's Digital Manufacturing software streamlines and integrates Manufacturing Execution System and Operations Management (MES/MOM), Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and Enterprise Quality Management Systems (EQMS) for operations and Supplier Quality Management. iBASEt's software is implemented by many leading industrial organizations as part of their enterprise Digital Thread initiatives. Marketing Contact

Tom Hennessey, Vice President of Marketing

949-958-5200

thennessey@iBASEt.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibaset-announces-2018-digital-manufacturing-leadership-award-winners-300750175.html SOURCE iBASEt

[ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ]
A former Marine has been banned from Walt Disney World theme parks because he rode the Splash Mountain roller coaster while holding a Trump 2020 sign.

Dion Cini, an annual pass holder, posted a photo on his Facebook page last Wednesday showing him on the ride with the sign.

He attached a yellow Trespassed note that he received from the theme park banning him from their properties.

Trespassed from all of Walt Disney World properties to include, but not limited to, Theme Parks, Water Parks, Resorts and Disney Springs, the order from the Orange County Sheriffs Office says.

Dion Cini, a former Marine, has been banned from Walt Disney World theme parks because he rode the Splash Mountain roller coaster while holding a Trump 2020 sign

Trespassed from all of Walt Disney World properties to include, but not limited to, Theme Parks, Water Parks, Resorts and Disney Springs, the order from the Orange County Sheriffs Office says. The image above shows Splash Mountain at Disney World in Orlando

Forty Disney employees escorted me out, Cini, 49, told the New York Post.

I held up the sign for two seconds so I can take a picture.

Youre allowed to hold up signs on Disney rides - cameras, cellphones, and other stuff like that.

People have been doing it for years.

They just kicked me out cause of the context of the sign.

Forty Disney employees escorted me out, Cini, 49, told the New York Post . I held up the sign for two seconds so I can take a picture'

Last year, Disney World temporarily barred Cini for a similar stunt, according to the Post. He held a 20-foot Trump 2020 banner while standing outside the Main Street Railroad Station in Magic Kingdom

Disney rules state that visitors are not allowed to stage unauthorized events, demonstrations or speeches, or the usage of any flag, banner or sign for commercial purposes, or to incite a crowd.

Last year, Disney World temporarily barred Cini for a similar stunt, according to the Post.

He held a 20-foot Trump 2020 banner while standing outside the Main Street Railroad Station in Magic Kingdom.

Disney management eventually decided to lift the ban.

The first time might have been borderline inciting the crowd, and they called me back and said theyd let me in, Cini said.

The second time, I just help up a small sign and I did not incite a crowd. So I actually proved my own theory.

That they kicked me out cause of the context of the sign and not the policy.

Disney claims that they would have banned Cini even if he held a sign in support of other politicians or causes.

Walt Disney World welcomes all Guests to enjoy our parks, a spokesperson told the Post on Tuesday.

However, demonstrations and the display of signs and banners is not permitted on the premises.

Cini said he likes to engage in guerilla marketing. He often drives a boat on the Hudson River with a large Trump 2020 flag

The spokesperson said that holding up banners and flags on speedy rides puts others in danger.

We have previously reminded this guest about our rules, the spokesperson said.

Cini said he likes to engage in guerilla marketing. He often drives a boat on the Hudson River with a large Trump 2020 flag.

He told the Post that he specifically targeted Disney because he is just not happy with them and the way they treat the president.

Disney owns both the ABC broadcasting network as well as ESPN and other media properties.

Cini said that his ban is proof that Disney has a vendetta against Trump.

Id say the mission was accomplished, he told The Post. Time to move on to other channels.
A trendy hipster cafe in Sydney's inner-south has been the source of debate on social media after a picture was posted of their menu showing a bottle of water for sale for $10.

The Grounds of Alexandria has become a destination for locals and tourists alike hoping to enjoy a photo worthy weekend brunch  if they can endure the queues stretching along the block.

One man who made it through the lines into the inner-city farm themed sanctuary was not impressed with the cafe's offering of sparkling water at a steep $10 a pop.

A trendy hipster cafe in Sydney's inner-south has been the source of debate on social media after a picture was posted of their menu showing a bottle of water for sale for $10

The Grounds of Alexandria has become a destination for locals and tourists alike hoping to enjoy a photo worthy weekend brunch

'You've got to be kidding me Sydney?' he wrote on a picture of the cafe's menu.

Despite the cafe's claim that the water would 'refresh your soul and tastebuds' many commenters were not impressed.

'Is it the fountain of bloody youth?' one commenter said.

'Not even proper sparkling, just lightly sparkling,' another joked.

'Do you at least get to keep the fancy bottle,' another user wondered.

'At least it refreshes your soul,' one user argued.

One user joked on social media that the expensive water may be the fountain of youth

The bottle of Antipodes mineral water goes through a 'carbon neutral process' and is sourced from 'deep in the New Zealand springs.'

The Grounds launched a clapback at critics saying customers are paying for quality.

'Cry me a river (of antipodes pure artesian water) is what I would say first of all, I guess if you want a bottle of this ritzy brew you're really going to have to splash out,' the cafe's brand director told news.com.au.

Another Grounds spokesman, however, said the copywriting did not come off well.

'If anything this exercise has taught us to review our copywriting much more often, who says 'water... that will refresh your soul and tastebuds'? We're better than that! We will be amending this copy immediately,' he said.
A young driver has admitted she was distracted for 10 seconds while changing music on her car radio when she hit and killed a cyclist.

Emma Kent, 24, appeared in the County Court of Victoria on Wednesday, where she tearfully pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death.

She was trying to connect her phone's Bluetooth to the car audio when she struck 57-year-old Gareth Davies on Black Forest Drive at Macedon on December 10, 2018.

On Wednesday, Emma Kent, 24 (pictured), tearfully pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death when she appeared in the County Court of Victoria

Mr Davies, 57, died in hospital after he was stuck from behind by Ms Kent, who failed to stay in her lane on Black Forest Drive at Macedon (pictured)

'That's what I was doing that distracted me,' Kent told police after the crash.

She said she was distracted for about 10 seconds.

Mr Davies, 57, died in hospital after he was stuck from behind by Kent, who failed to stay in her lane on Black Forest Drive, The Bendigo Advertiser reported.

The 57-year-old's heartbroken daughters sobbed in the courtroom on Wednesday and brought others to tears as they recounted their loss.

'In the first 24 hours after I found out, it felt like the world and my life was ending,' Rhea Davies told the court.

'I cannot put into words the amount of complete, consuming rage I feel towards the accused.'

Before the accident, they had been looking forward to visiting Wales for Christmas with their father, who was born there.

'The last memory of my dad was coming into my room the night before the accident, so excited, telling me there were only two more weeks before we're going to Wales to see his family,' Ms Davies said, through tears.

The 24-year-old (pictured) admitted she was distracted for 10 seconds while changing music on her car radio when she hit and killed a cyclist in Victoria

'My dad is permanently out of my life solely because of the actions of the accused in this crime.'

Her younger sister, Ffion, said the memory of having to tell her grandmother of her father's death still haunted her.

'After my dad was killed, my whole world fell apart,' she said.

Kent's defence said she had always pleaded guilty and was remorseful.

'It could hardly be said she was unaffected,' he said.

The defence called for a community corrections order, but the prosecution argued the offending was serious and deserved jail.

Kent was remanded in custody for sentence on November 26.
A sick baby boy has been robbed of lifesaving medical equipment including an oxygen tank, after thieves stole his parents' car, took everything inside it, then torched the vehicle.

Four-month-old Alexander Pink suffers from Down Syndrome along with other serious conditions, and has been in and out of hospital since birth.

His mother Stacey Pink woke up on Friday morning to discover their family car had been stolen from the driveway of their home in Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

Inside was a portable oxygen tank Alexander needs with him at all times, nasogastric feeding equipment, medication, and medical paperwork.

Alexander Pink (pictured with his mother Stacey Pink) suffers from Down Syndrome along with other serious conditions, and has been in and out of hospital since birth

The family's car, with his medical equipment, was stolen from their home and found burned in a nearby pine forest

The family had just returned from a two-week hospital stay and still had suitcases of clothes in the car along with three car seats, Christmas presents, and kids' toys.

Because the family got home late from the hospital, they were leaving it until the morning to bring in all the belongings.

But it was too late.

Police found the car torched in a pine forest 7km away - so badly burned they couldn't positively identify it.

'I cried. I knew straight away it was our car and burst into tears,' Ms Pink told Daily Mail Australia of the moment she saw the family car.

'They did a nasty job of it. We've been through a lot with Alexander since he was born and this is devastating. I'm past the point of angry now, I'm just hurt.

'Whoever did this are heartless criminals.'

Alexander (pictured with his father) needs a $550 portable oxygen tank with him whenever he leaves the house

The family had just returned from a two-week hospital stay and still had suitcases of clothes in the car along with three car seats, Christmas presents, and kids' toys

The once-blue 2012 Ford Mondeo was stripped of its engine and parts, including wheels, and surrounded by ash with the forest still burning when police arrived.

Ms Pink said the family was so busy with Alexander's care they forgot to renew their car insurance and would have to replace everything themselves.

She estimated the contents would cost more than $3,500 in addition to replacing the car they needed to ferry their baby to hospital.

'I've been unable to return to work as Alexander's case is so complex, so this is financially devastating for us,' she said.

Ms Pink said the family of five, including Alexander's five-year-old brother and four-year-old sister, have been unable to leave the house together without his $550 oxygen tank.

They also face mounting expenses from Alexander's long list of medical issues including aspiration pneumonia and a hole in his heart.

Alexander was kept in hospital three weeks after he was born and needed multiple surgeries including a recent two-and-a-half week admission.

Alexander's parents will still need to drive him 50km to Lady Cilento Hospital in Brisbane every few weeks and face the prospect of more operations

The sick baby was kept in hospital three weeks after he was born and needed multiple surgeries including a recent two-and-a-half week admission.

Alexander's parents will still need to drive him 50km to Lady Cilento Hospital in Brisbane every few weeks and face the prospect of more operations.

Ms Pink said another car was stolen the same night in which some of their things were found, along with fingerprints police hope will help catch the thieves.

'Just leave the equipment by the side of the road, it's useless to anyone but a bay with specific medical needs,' she said.

'It's a wakeup call for us to be more careful about leaving our belongings where they could be stolen.'

Ms Pink said the family was so busy with Alexander's care they forgot to renew their car insurance and would have to replace everything themselves

Alexander's aunt and uncle, Matthew and Kate Pink (pictured), started a fundraiser to help the baby's parents replace what was lost

Alexander's aunt and uncle, Matthew and Kate Pink, started a fundraiser to help the baby's parents replace what was lost.

'We're a close-knit family and we're doing whatever we can to help them through this. Life is really unfair sometimes,' Mr Pink said.

'They've had so many challenges since Alexander was born and to have oxygen thieves steal everything is the worst possible luck.

'Most people are good people so we hope they will help them out too.'

Ms Pink added: 'We are so grateful to Matt and Kate, we don't know what we'd have done without them. They've been fantastic.'
Australia's most senior Sunni Muslim cleric has blamed the federal government for Melbourne's Bourke Street terrorist attack and accused cabinet ministers of encouraging more terrorism.

Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohamed said Somali immigrant Hassan Khalif Shire Ali's Friday afternoon knife rampage was a reflection on Australia's security agencies.

He called on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to 'open an investigation in his department' after Italian-born cafe owner Sisto Malaspina was stabbed to death in a terrorist attack that also injured two other men.

Scroll down for video

Australia's most senior Sunni Muslim cleric (Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed pictured) has blamed the federal government for Melbourne's Bourke Street terrorist attack

'I'd like to remind him that security agencies failed to do their job; the offender's passport had been cancelled and he was being monitored,' Dr Mohamed, who doesn't speak English, told SBS radio's Arabic 24 station late on Tuesday.

Dr Mohamed, who only speaks Arabic, has joined the Hume Islamic Youth Centre's spiritual leader Mohammed Sheikh Mohammed Omran in blaming police and security agencies for Melbourne's city centre terrorist attack.

Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, the 30-year-old terrorist who police shot dead after he had crashed a Holden Rodeo ute filled with gas cylinders, had attended Sheikh Omran's mosque at Coolaroo, in Melbourne's north.

It is run by the hardline Salafist Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah Association, which preaches a fundamentalist, seventh-century version of Islam.

He called on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (pictured) to 'open an investigation in his department' after Italian-born cafe owner Sisto Malaspina was stabbed to death

Dr Mohamed, who only speaks Arabic, has joined the Hume Islamic Youth Centre's spiritual leader Mohammed Sheikh Mohammed Omran in blaming police and security agencies

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the Pellegrini's Expresso Bar on Bourke Street on Tuesday and used the occasion to call on Muslim leaders to weed out extremists from their mosques.

Dr Mohamed said such comment had the potential to 'plant seeds of extremism'.

'Linking crime to religion is what frustrates us the most and the duty of politicians is to defuse conflicts rather than inflame them,' he said.

Hassan Khalif Shire Ali (pictured, the 30-year-old terrorist who police shot dead, had attended the Hume Islamic Youth Centre at Coolaroo, in Melbourne's north

At an Iftar dinner in Melbourne last year, to commemorate the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, Dr Mohamed jokingly called for dinner guests to 'make jihad'.

His English translator, Adel Salman, explained the Grand Mufti's humour at that Sunday night charity event, in inner-city Brunswick, organised by the Islamic Council of Victoria.

'He did make a joke at the expense of all of us and he asked you all to make jihad,' he said in June 2017.

'For the record: Muslims condemn all terrorist incidents that have happened, that are about to happen and they may never happen.
Lily O'Connell's life was changed forever on Christmas Day last year after she was rushed to hospital where she was told she had Meningococcal.

The 23-year-old woman from Paddington, Sydney managed to beat the W strain of the infection but the disease destroyed her kidneys leaving her with no choice but to endure five hours of dialysis treatment on alternative days.

'I was terrified, really terrified when I saw the rash. I'd never seen, on anyone else, a reaction like that,' she said in a video campaign for the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Department of Health.

In a heartwarming show of generosity Lily's sister Grace offered to donate one of her kidneys to save her sister the pain and indignity of her dialysis treatment.

Lily O'Connell (pictured), 23, thought she had the flu when she arrived to hospital but was diagnosed with the life-threatening Meningococcal disease

Australian parents are being urged to vaccinate their children after a spike in meningococcal cases.

The call from the Australian Academy of Science comes as it releases a new video campaign, developed in partnership with the Australian Department of Health, to educate consumers and medical professionals about the disease.

Spring is a peak time for the disease with babies, children up to the age of five, teenagers and young adults aged from 15 to 24 years among those most at risk of contracting the disease.

People with suppressed immune systems, smokers and those living in crowded accommodation are also at greater risk.

Lily O'Connell (pictured, left) was enjoying Christmas day with her family last December until she fell very ill and was urgently rushed to hospital

Professor Robert Booy, from the National Centre for Immunisation Research, University of Sydney, said there are five common strains of meningococcal disease in AustraliaA, B, C, W and Ywith an increase in cases over the last few years.

'We had a surge in W (strain) leading to nearly 150 cases last year and a surge in Y (strain) leading to 75 cases last year,' he said.

Professor Allen Cheng from Melbourne's Alfred Hospital, who also features in the campaign, said there were very few bacteria that can kill someone in hours, but this is one of them.

The video also features meningococcal disease survivors Eliza Ault-Connell, who became an amputee after contracting meningococcal disease when she was 16.

Lily O'Connell (pictured) said she could've died if she didn't get to the hospital when she did

'When you consider my caseI was in an intensive care unit for 110 days and had over 60 operationsthe financial burden of the diseases is so great.

What are symptoms of meningococcal? Fever

Lack of appetite

Leg pain

Unusual skin colour

Extreme tiredness

Vomiting and diarrhoea

Drowsiness

Convulsions, fits or twitching

Red-purple rash Source: Department of Health Advertisement

'When we look at the cost of a vaccination, it's safe and effective; I can only see prevention as being better than cure,' Ms Ault-Connell, who is also the Director of Meningococcal Australia said.

From 2014 to 2016, the number of people who were diagnosed with the W strain of Meningococcal quadrupled, with young Australians being the most at risk.

The number of Australians with Meningococcal W rose by 38.1 per cent in 2017, according to the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

Some Australian states like New South Wales and Tasmania are offering the ACWY vaccine for free to young people under the age of 21.

The ACWY vaccine costs between $38 and $120 per dose depending on the vaccine's brand and each doctor's consultation fee.
A stuffed toy that bears a striking resemblance to Donald Trump has divided the internet.

Trumpy Bear - with Trump's hair-do and his usual red tie - can be yours for two installments of $20.

The commercial for the Trumpy Bear ran on Fox News on Monday, sending social media into meltdown.

God bless America, and God bless Trumpy Bear, one woman in the commercial says.

In another scene, Trumpy Bear is riding behind the wind barrier of a motorcycle being driven down a street.

A stuffed toy that bears a striking resemblance to Donald Trump has divided the internet

Trumpy Bear can now be bought for two installments of $20. The advert shows a teddy bear with a Trump hair-do and his usual red tie

The commercial for the Trumpy Bear ran on Fox News on Monday, sending social media into meltdown

God bless America, and God bless Trumpy Bear, one woman in the commercial says

In another scene, Trumpy Bear is riding behind the wind barrier of a motorcycle being driven down a street

Im a former Marine, and Im proud to have Trumpy Bear ride by my side, the motorcycle driver who is identified as Michael Rufino says in the commercial

According to the commercial, Trumpy Bear was born on June 14th, which is Flag Day. As if to drive home the point, it comes with an American flag that can be pulled out of its back pouch

The flag also doubles as an 'ultra cozy blanket' (as seen above)

Im a former Marine, and Im proud to have Trumpy Bear ride by my side, the motorcycle driver who is identified as Michael Rufino says in the commercial.

According to the commercial, Trumpy Bear was born on June 14th, which is Flag Day.

As if to drive home the point, it comes with an American flag that can be pulled out of its back pouch.

Initially, viewers thought Trumpy Bear was a joke. Not so.

'Our target audience is anyone who is willing to pick up the phone or click,' Elliott Brackett, Vice President of Exceptional Products, told WIRED.

'Some of our customers want to buy it to keep it, and others want to buy it to burn it.'

Fox News told the Independent that the commercial aired on a local Fox News station in Washington, D.C., but it did not air nationwide.

Either way, news of the Trumpy Bear ad quickly went viral.

WARNING: Do not get Trumpy Bear wet. Even a drizzle will ruin his patriotism, tweeted Adam Best.

This was a reference to Trump not showing up for a World War I memorial at a cemetery in France over the weekend because of the weather.

Trump has claimed that Marine One was not permitted to fly in the rain and that driving to the memorial with his motorcade would have resulted in massive traffic jams in the French capital.

Twitter users had a field day mocking and ridiculing the ad and the product

Another Twitter user tweeted: Remember when Trumpy Bear was sued by the federal government because he refused to rent apartments to black bears? good times. Trump and his father, Fred, were sued for allegedly denying black people opportunities to rent their properties

Comedian Cyrus McQueen tweeted: Seriously, what parent is gonna feel comfortable putting that Trumpy Bear in the bed with their daughter?

Another Twitter user commented: Note: Actual Trumpy Bear may come with Russian Flag, not American.* Trump has been criticized for not being tough enough with Russia and for cozying up to President Vladimir Putin

Frederick Joseph tweeted: The Trumpy Bear is one of the grossest things Ive ever seen'

Another Twitter user created the answer to Trumpy Bear - the Impeachment Bunny, which is a bunny rabbit that looks like Special Counsel Robert Mueller

Scott Dworkin tweeted: Trumpy Bear is the next Chucky Doll. The Chucky Doll is a reference to the Child's Play horror movies from the 1980s and 90s

Another Twitter user tweeted: Trumpy Bear to be represented by Lawyer Bear in Porn Bear payoff. That is a reference to Trumps alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who alleges she and Trump had an affair more than a decade ago

Others noted that Trumpy Bear had a label that said it was made in China

Another Twitter user commented: *Note: Actual Trumpy Bear may come with Russian Flag, not American.*

Trump has been criticized for not being tough enough with Russia and for cozying up to President Vladimir Putin.

Fitting that Trumpy Bear s***s out an American Flag, wrote another Twitter user.

Frederick Joseph tweeted: The Trumpy Bear is one of the grossest things Ive ever seen.

Another Twitter user created the answer to Trumpy Bear - the Impeachment Bunny, which is a bunny rabbit that looks like Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump has denied colluding with Russia.

Scott Dworkin tweeted: Trumpy Bear is the next Chucky Doll.

The Chucky Doll is a reference to the Child's Play horror movies from the 1980s and 90s.

Another Twitter user tweeted: Trumpy Bear to be represented by Lawyer Bear in Porn Bear payoff.

That is a reference to Trumps alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who alleges she and Trump had an affair more than a decade ago.

Another Twitter user tweeted: Remember when Trumpy Bear was sued by the federal government because he refused to rent apartments to black bears? good times.

That is a reference to a 1973 lawsuit filed by the federal government which alleged that Trump and his father, Fred, denied black people opportunities to rent their properties.

Comedian Cyrus McQueen tweeted: Seriously, what parent is gonna feel comfortable putting that Trumpy Bear in the bed with their daughter?

Others noted that Trumpy Bear had a label that said it was made in China.

Interstingly, this would not be the first time that a toy stuffed bear would be named after a president. Teddy bears originally got their names after President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt, who served in office from 1901 until 1909

Interestingly, this would not be the first time that a toy stuffed bear would be named after a president.

Teddy bears originally got their names after President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt, who served in office from 1901 until 1909.

In 1902, Roosevelt, who was a big game hunter, went on a hunting trip in Mississippi.

One of Roosevelts associates tied an American black bear to a tree so that Roosevelt could shoot it. But the president refused, saying it was unsportsmanlike.

The bear was killed anyway to put it out of its misery, but Roosevelts gesture inspired a Brooklyn-based inventor to create a stuffed bear named Teddy.
New harrowing details of the fatal Southwest flight, where a woman died after she was sucked out of a broken window, have emerged.

The National Transportation Safety Board began a hearing on Wednesday to investigate the engine failure on Southwest Flight 1380 that carried 144 passengers and five crew members on April 17.

Officials say an engine fan blade on Southwest Flight 1380 broke off and triggered the accident. A piece of the exploded engine cover then struck and broke the window in row 14, killing 43-year-old passenger Jennifer Riordan.

Flight attendant Rachel Fernheimer was helping panicked passengers put on their oxygen masks when she spotted Riordan with her torso, head and arm out of the aircraft and the lower half of her body restrained by just her lap belt.

When she looked out the broken window she saw blood spattered on the exterior of the craft and the engine completely shattered.

New details have emerged from Southwest Flight 1380 that suffered an engine failure on April 17 and resulted in the death of passenger Jennifer Riordan on April 17 after her torso and head were sucked out of a window broken by the engine shrapnel

A flight attendant that helped pull Riordan back into the plane said she saw the victim's head, torso and arm hanging out of the window. She said she saw blood on the exterior of the aircraft and the left engine was completely shattered

Passenger Jennifer Riordan, 43, was killed in the incident on April 17 when the engine exploded and a piece of the engine cover shattered her window. The force sucked her head torso and arm out of the plane, she was restrained just by her lap belt. She later died from her injuries

Following the explosion the jet rolled 41 degrees to the left, smoke began to fill the cabin, and the shrapnel of the engine broke through a single plexiglass window.

The force of the wind from the open window pulled Riordan out. Fernheimer and fellow flight attendant Seanique Mallory grabbed Riordan's legs as two male passengers worked to pull her body back inside.

The flight attendants said a male passenger put his arm out of the window and wrapped it around the woman's shoulder to pull her back in.

One of the men began to perform CPR on Riordan. She later died from her injuries.

Mallory said it was so loud in the aircraft with the gush of wind, it took several failed attempts to reach and alert the pilots via intercom.

'We got (unintelligible words) a window open and somebody - is out the window,' she said on the intercom.

'Yeah everyone still in their seats, we have people have been helpin her get in. I dont know what her condition is, but the window is completely out,' she added, according to transcript.

The death of the Riordan, a mother-of-two from Albuquerque, New Mexico, marks the first on a U.S. airline flight since 2009.

Eight other passengers, including one of the men who helped pull Riordan back into the plane, suffered minor injuries.

After the flight emergency landed in Philadelphia, National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived to investigate the scene

Southwest Flight 1380 pictured on the runway at Philadelphia International Airport after emergency landing. A fan blade broke off the engine, triggering the accident

Pilots Tammie Jo Shults and Darren Ellisor made an emergency landing of the crippled Boeing 737-700 in Philadelphia.

The NTSB hearing in Washington on Wednesday primarily focused on the design and inspection aspects of the fan blades on the engine, which was made by CFM International.

Following the incident CFM recommended more frequent blade inspections with more advanced technology including ultrasound or electrical current tests. Regulators made those changes mandatory.

The blade that broke had made about 32,000 flights and was last inspected in 2012, according to Mark Hadebank, an engineering official at CFM.

He said an examination indicated the blade was likely beginning to suffer cracks from metal fatigue. Fan blades were previously thought to have no lifetime limit.

A spokeswoman for CFM said that the company has 'responded aggressively' to complete blade inspections after the fatal flight.

Representatives from CFM, Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration were also expected to be questioned about design of the engine housing, which is supposed to prevent pieces from breaking loose.

Since the accident regulators have mandated more advanced and frequent engine blade inspections
Three would-be ISIS terrorists joked around in court as they were found guilty of conspiring to kill Australians using machetes and suicide vests.

Hamza Abbas, 23, his cousin Abdullah Chaarani, 27, and Ahmed Mohamed, 25, were found guilty in the Supreme Court of acts in preparation for the attack, targeting Federation Square, St Paul's Cathedral and Flinders Street station on Christmas Day 2016.

Then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called their sick plan, designed to cause mass casualties, 'one of the most substantial terrorists plots that have been disrupted over the last several years'.

Ibrahim Abbas claimed he ordered his brother Hamza (pictured), cousin Abdullah Chaarani and friend Ahmed Mohamed, to cause 'high casualties' in ISIS' name, the court heard

The trio fronted the Supreme Court in Victoria on Wednesday for staging a 2016 Christmas day attack in Melbourne's CBD (Abdullah Chaarani pictured)

The verdict followed seven days of deliberations by the jury, and eight weeks of evidence - including from Hamza's older brother Ibrahim Abbas, 24 - who confessed his involvement to police and pleaded guilty earlier this year.

The trio were found guilty on November 2, but in a serious blow to open justice, lawyers for the men applied to have the verdict kept secret by way of a suppression order.

This prevented the result from being publicly revealed for almost two weeks until an appeal court tribunal overturned the suppression order, saying the verdict should be made public given the amount of publicity the trial had received.

'The trial has been fully reported and that genie cannot be put back in the bottle,' the tribunal's three judges said in their ruling.

Arrogant Mohamed and Chaarani laughed and chatted to each other between the individual verdicts. Both nodded slowly and looked indifferent as the guilty decision was given.

As they were removed from the dock, Mohamed gave his family a big, cheesy grin, while Hamza gave his a thumbs up.

Police left court carrying two machetes Chaarani and Ibrahim bought in preparation for the attack.

Ibrahim said they were for 'chopping to kill' and to slice the necks of disbelievers of their radical Sunni Islam.

The group also had the makings for pipe bombs - sparkler dust, hundreds of match heads and chemicals including hydrogen peroxide - that were intended, as Ibrahim put it, to 'wage violent jihad'.

Their plan involved buying their supplies from Bunnings.

They got the recipe from the infamous al-Qaeda magazine article 'How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom'.

Ibrahim revealed during the trial that he believed it was 'fine for me to kill Australians' because Muslims have been killed in wars involving Australia.

MELBOURNE'S CHRISTMAS 2016 TERROR PLOT WHO Hamza Abbas, 23 Abdullah Chaarani, 27 Ahmed Mohamed, 25 * CHARGES Conspiring or preparing for acts of terror. The trio, along with Abbas' brother Ibrahim Abbas, planned to target Melbourne's Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral on Christmas Day, 2016, preparing explosive devices and buying machetes. * ARREST The plot was foiled three days before it was meant to be carried out, by police who had been listening to the trio make preparations and watching reconnaissance at Federation Square. * TRIAL A jury spent eight weeks hearing evidence including the presentation of covert surveillance, secret recordings and witness testimony. Crown prosecutor Nick Papas QC said it was obvious the trio wanted to 'wage violent jihad' against non-believers. * VERDICT A Supreme Court jury deliberated for seven days before returning a verdict on November 2. The verdict was made public on Wednesday following legal delays. Lawyers for the men applied to have the verdict kept secret by way of a suppression order, which initially prevented the result from being publicly revealed. An appeal court tribunal later overturned the suppression order, saying the verdict should be made public given it was a highly publicised trial. * SENTENCE At a later date. Advertisement

'It's not hard to kill a person with a machete. It just takes one slice to the neck,' he said in his police interview.

He later said: 'I wanted to make sure that the casualties would be high. The bigger the better. The bigger the more terror is achieved, and that's the point.

He said their plan was retaliation for Australia's involvement in financing 'the war against Islamic State', and they wanted to send a 'clear message' to the Government.

'I believed that if I could do a terrorist attack here then that would prevent the Australian government from financing the war against Islamic State and it would send a clear message to the Australian public about the damage....

'The loss of lives, that occurs in the Muslim world where the Australian government is financing the war against Islamic State,' he told the court.

'The whole point of jihad is martyrdom,' Ibrahim added.

Despite Ibrahim claiming to be the main conspirer, his three sidekicks were found guilty of equal charges earlier this month after a 10 week trial (Ahmed Mohamed pictured)

Ibrahim (pictured), the key witness in the trial, failed in his attempts to convince the jury he was solely responsible for the terror plot

Police had been watching the group for six months prior to arresting them on December 22 out of genuine fear an attack would transpire if they didn't (Hamza Abbas pictured)

The plot was foiled on December 22, 2016 by police who had been listening to their preparations and watching as they carried out reconnaissance at Federation Square.

During his arrest, Chaarani asked police to 'make me a martyr', officers revealed.

In Hamza's defence, lawyer Felicity Gerry QC argued he was a 'fishbrain' and the 'idiot brother' who could not be trusted to know details of the plot.

Hamza joined in December 2016, but plans between Ibrahim, Mohamed and Chaarani had been on foot since at least October.

Mohamed and Chaarani had tried in 2015 to go overseas and fight with Islamic State.

Chaarani said he wanted to 'follow the same path' as Hamza and Ibrahim's cousin Nabil Abbas who, it was revealed during the trial, had died fighting with the terrorist organisation.

Hamza, Mohamed and Chaarani will face a plea hearing before being sentenced.
A new problem complicated Florida's ongoing recount battle as lawyers headed back to court on Wednesday: Palm Beach County's tallying machines have overheated, causing mismatched results with the recount of 174,000 early voting ballots.

Now workers are re-doing that part of the recount, making it even more unlikely that legal deadlines will be met.

A mechanic was flown in to fix the problems, but 'we don't have a lot of assurances,' Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher told WPTV Tuesday night.

This is only the latest complication in Florida's legally mandated vote recount, which is drawing national attention, including a stream of tweets from President Donald Trump.

Bucher said the county's 11-year-old machines began having problems on Monday as early voting ballots were being counted in the U.S. Senate race. They 'started overheating so as a result the tally types are not reconciling properly.'

And when the totals were added up on Tuesday, they didn't match.

An employee at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office cleans machines during a break in sorting ballots; in Palm Beach County, machines like this one are breaking down

As workers load ballots into counting machines, they're overheating  pushing back the county's timetable past where it can meet its legal deadline

Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat whose re-election contest against Republican Gov. Rick Scott is still undecided, wants Palm Beach and Broward Counties to have extra time; he's trailing in the count but the margin is tighter than it was on Election Day

Workers are feeding ballots into the machines around the clock, but the machines can only tally one race at a time, and Bucher has already said they will not meet the state's Thursday deadline to report the recounted votes.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Democrats planned to ask a federal judge on Wednesday to set aside the state law mandating that mailed-in votes be thrown out if the signature on the envelope doesn't match the signature on file with election authorities.

Trump on Tuesday called on Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson to admit that he lost his re-election bid to Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Trump implied, again without evidence, that officials in two pivotal South Florida counties are trying to steal the election.

'When will Bill Nelson concede in Florida?' Trump wrote. 'The characters running Broward and Palm Beach voting will not be able to 'find' enough votes, too much spotlight on them now!'

There have been other bumps as Florida undergoes recounts for both the governor and Senate races.

In oft-criticized Broward County, additional sheriff's deputies were sent to guard ballots and voting machines, a compromise aimed at alleviating concerns. But Broward's supervisor has said the county will meet Thursday's deadline.

Not so in Palm Beach, where Bucher said the machines aren't fast enough. The county is doing the Senate race first and will then do the governor's race. If the deadline is not met in a race, the results it reported Saturday will stand. Both counties are Democratic strongholds.

Still, the state elections department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, both run by Republican appointees, have said they have seen no evidence of voter fraud. A Broward County judge challenged anyone who has evidence of fraud to file a report.

Employees at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office have to duplicate damaged ballots during the recount, but they're watched closely by political observers from both parties

While the counting goes on, there are now four lawsuits pending in a Tallahassee federal court that seek to throw out ballot counting rules or extend deadlines for recounts.

Marc Elias, a campaign attorney for Nelson, argued ahead of the looming court battle that 'we should all be able to agree that the goal here is a legal and accurate count.' Republicans have responded by contending that Democrats want to bend or skirt existing election laws to alter the outcome.

'We got to keep the heat on these people to make sure they follow the law,' said Republican U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney to reporters on a recount update organized by Scott's campaign.

Presidents have historically sought to rise above the heated partisan drama surrounding election irregularities. Former President Barack Obama wasn't so publicly involved when a recount and legal process in the 2008 election delayed a Democrat taking a Minnesota Senate seat until July 2009. Former President Bill Clinton struck a lower tone during the 2000 presidential recount, which also centered on Florida.

But this Florida recount has been personal for Trump. He aggressively campaigned in the state, putting his finger on the scales of the Republican gubernatorial primary this summer by endorsing former Rep. Ron DeSantis for governor. After Election Day, Trump's aides pointed to the GOP's seeming success in the state as a validation that the president's path to re-election remained clear - a narrative that has grown hazier as the outcomes have become less certain.

White House spokeswoman Mercedes Schlapp said Tuesday the president 'obviously has his opinion' on the recount.

'It's been incredibly frustrating to watch,' she said.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump is attempting to bully Florida election officials out of doing their jobs. Schumer and Nelson, both Democrats, spoke with reporters Tuesday in Washington.

'It's just plain wrong. It's un-American.' Schumer said. 'If he really wants an honest and fair election, President Trump will stop bullying, harassing and lying about the vote in Florida, and let the election proceed without the heavy hand of the president tipping the scale of justice.'

State law requires a machine recount in races where the margin is less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Scott's lead over Nelson was 0.14 percentage points. In the governor's contest, unofficial results showed Republican former Rep. Ron DeSantis ahead of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 0.41 percentage points.

Once the machine recount is complete, a hand recount will be ordered in any race where the difference is 0.25 percentage points or less, meaning it could take even longer to complete the review of the Senate race if the difference remains narrow.

If the Senate race does go to a hand recount, the deadline for counties to finish is Sunday. But two of the pending four lawsuits ask that a federal judge delay the deadlines so that all counties can finish processing the crush of ballots.

Elias argued that there's no need to rush, since the winner of the Nelson-Scott race won't be sworn into office until January.
The online shopping giant ended its 14-month-long competition for second headquarters by selecting Long Island City, Queens, and Arlington, Virginia, as the joint winners. Both are waterfront communities away from overcrowded business districts, giving Amazon space to grow.

New York Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim vowed to introduce legislation that would redirect the city's economic development subsidies to buying up and canceling student debt, Splinter News reported, effectively blocking Cuomo from offering taxpayer money to Amazon. Watch their remarks in the player above. In each city, this agreement is only binding provided the average wage for jobs created is over $150,000.

When asked why New York's bid was so much higher than Virginia's at a press conference on Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pointed out that Virginia's personal income tax is lower than New York's.

Others voiced worries that the influx of workers would drive up housing costs, crowd highways and otherwise strain local resources, as Amazon's expansion has in its hometown of Seattle, where it employs more than 45,000 people. But while many see it as an opportunity, not everyone is sold on the idea. New York City changed the lights on the Empire State Building to Amazon's signature orange color.

After a lengthy selection process that preoccupied several major cities across the U.S., Amazon publicly revealed the two locations of its second headquarters.

A $2 billion question: Did New York and Virginia overpay for Amazon?

The company has more than 610,000 employees worldwide, making it the second largest US -based, publicly-traded employer behind Walmart. Arlington promised $550 million in subsidies for its, while NY will shell out three times that amount.

The site in Arlington is just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington DC, which could give Amazon greater political influence in the capital.

The funds, which have to be appropriated by the Virginia General Assembly, are created to decrease slightly in value if more than 10% of the new hires are focused on federal government contracts.

But Ocasio-Cortez sent out a series of tweets blasting the move, including one that said, "Amazon is a billion-dollar company".

The new outposts won't appear overnight.

Amazon today announced that it has selected New York City and Arlington, Virginia, as the location for its new headquarters, making official a choice that had been widely reported over the past week.

NY and Virginia beat out 18 others, including Los Angeles and Chicago, that were on a short list Amazon released in January.

The company said the new facility would create as many as 50,000 jobs and cost at least $5 billion to build and operate. It plans to hold company-wide events at the new locations, including shareholder meetings.

There were early signs that Amazon had its sights set on NY and northern Virginia. Among its 20 finalists, the company had selected two locations in the NY metro area and three in the D.C. area.

But will the Washington D.C. region be ready for it?

While it didn't win the main prize, Nashville, Tennessee, won't go empty handed.

"The state is still operating in the mindset of a New York City from 1980, where we're an economic basket case and we've lost our economic prestige and jobs", said James Parrott, director of the Economic and Fiscal Center at the New School.

- More than 25,000 full-time jobs with average wage exceeding $150,000.
The family of loathed terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali remain holed up in their modest home waiting for police to release his body so they can take him for an Islamic burial.

The Somali-born 30-year-old died after he was shot by police moments after he drove a burning ute into Melbourne's busy Bourke Street on Friday and went on a stabbing rampage.

Although Islamic custom demands burial as soon as possible after death, Shire Ali's family has to wait until the coroner is finished carrying out a forensic investigation before they get his body back.

The family of loathed terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali remain holed up in their modest home waiting for police to release his body so they can take him for burial

At his parent's home in Werribee, in Melbourne's south west, a procession of visitors came and went throughout the day on Wednesday

Ali Shire, 30, (pictured) died after he was shot by police moments after he drove a burning ute into Melbourne's busy Bourke Street on Friday then began wielding a knife

At his parent's home in Werribee, in Melbourne's south west, a procession of visitors came and went throughout the day on Wednesday.

It was unknown if Shire Ali's wife and young child were inside the house, since fleeing their Meadow Heights granny flat the day of the terror attack.

Many of the visitors to the Werribee house, some who were carrying infants and toddlers, arrived and left in fancy new SUV vehicles.

Almost all the women wore traditional Islamic dress with several in all-black niqabs and others tying scarves around their heads and faces.

Although Islamic custom demands burial as soon as possible after death, Shire Ali's family has to wait until the coroner is finished carrying out a forensic investigation before they get his body back

Many of the visitors to the Werribee house, some who were carrying infants and toddlers, arrived and left in fancy new SUV vehicles

One woman carried in an overnight bag, while another woman brought in a box containing paperwork.

Another man emerged from the home draped in a scarf, which covered his face.

He glared at reporters while talking on a mobile phone before returning to the property.

A woman fled the home with a scarf fully covering her face even as she drove off.

A man did likewise hours later.

It became a common occurrence as well wishers visited throughout the day.

Another man emerged from the home draped in a scarf, which covered his face, while a woman, also wearing a scarf, talked on a mobile phone

It became a common occurrence for for well wishers to hide their faces as they visited throughout the day

One man carried in an overnight bag, while a woman (right) brought in a box containing paperwork.

Neighbour Patricia Rouse said she was shocked by the raid across the street last weekend.

'I did hear them ask if there were any kids in 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.

It was much a much different scene to when heavily-armed officers wearing tactical gear and masks swooped on the home in Werribee about 8am on Saturday

A Muslim woman talked to police at the house of the terrorist's father on Saturday morning. His family were cooperating with police

Neighbour Patricia Rouse said she was shocked by the raid on Ali's family home across the street in Werribee

'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.'

Hassan Khalif Shire Ali attempted 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
At least 47 people and $100,000 worth of drugs have been seized by police just days before thousands of graduates attend Schoolies.

A majority of the seized illicit substances included packaged ice, cocaine and cannabis ready for distribution, along with a number of firearms.

Queensland police have arrested 31 people on 133 charges for serious drug offences as part of a pre-schoolies drug raid called Operation Quebec Persia.

Scroll down for video

Police have seized $100,000 worth of clearly packaged drugs allegedly sold online

Ice, cocaine, dried cannabis and firearms were seized by Queensland police

'We've got some good news that one of these operations has been closed - Operation Quebec Persia, ' Police Minister Mark Ryan said.

'I must firstly commend the Queensland Police Service, including Detective Superintendent John Wacker's team, as well as Gold Coast police for their success in this regard.'

Detectives have also seized five kilograms of dried cannabis and an excess of 700 mature cannabis plants over two days as part of a second drug raid called Operation Pine.

The on-going operation has led to the arrest of 17 people, who face a total of 77 charges.

The drugs were allegedly sold through various social media platforms.

'From both operations, it's very clear these products were stacked and ready to go on sale on the illicit market,' said Detective Superintendent John Wacker.

Police Minister Mark Ryan said Queensland police dedicates significant resources and time to prepare for the annual Schoolies celebrations.

700 mature cannabis plants have been seized over a two period as part of Operation Pine

'Part of that work is pre-schoolies operations about interrupting drug supply and ensuring those people who seek to peddle these dangerous substances across our state are caught and held to account,

'We want our Schoolies to be a fun and safe celebration. There are people who seek to prey on our most vulnerable. There's a clear message: don't trust these people.'

Police will be undertaking a number of covert and overt operations during the three-week Schoolies festival in Queensland from 17 November until 8 December.
A teenage girl is lucky to be alive after slamming her car into the rear of a tow truck stopped at traffic lights.

The woman, 19, from Tyabb from Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, was heading home after a night shift on Wednesday morning when her Holden Commodore crashed into the stationary truck waiting to turn right.

The P-plater driver was rushed to hospital with minor injuries.

'I am okay just shaken up and feeling sick. Couple of bruises and cuts,' the woman later posted on social media.

Luckily, no one was in the passenger side of the Holden Commodore

Luckily, she was the sole occupant in the car at the time.

Photos show extensive damage caused to the car. The passengers side was caved in as a result of the impact.

The crash forced the closure of Coolart Road for several hours, which was blocked in both directions between Mornington-Tyabb and Bungower roads south of Melbourne.

The crash prompted Mornington Peninsula Police to issue a warning to motorists on its Eyewatch Facebook page, where they also shared photos of the damaged car.

The woman was heading from night shift when she crashed into the back of a tow truck

'It only takes a momentary break in concentration for things to go wrong. Please drive safely,' the post states.

The Facebook post has since attracted almost 100 shares.

'May all drivers take care on our roads. We want to remember the end of 2018 for the right reasons,' one woman commented.
Michelle Obama has officially begun her 12-stop tour to promote her new book, 'Becoming,' by sitting for a conversation with Oprah Winfrey at the home arena of the Chicago Bulls.

The crowd of 14,000 roared as the former first lady stepped onto a stage late Tuesday at the sold-out United Center. The event felt part music concert, part talk show and part political rally.

At the start, she described the day she and her family left the White House and got on a plane.

She said she cried for 30 minutes from relief after 'eight years trying to do everything perfectly.'

Oprah Winfrey introduces former first lady Michelle Obama as she kicks off her 'Becoming' arena book tour on November 13, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois

Obama, right, is greeted by Winfrey to discusses her new book during an intimate conversation to promote 'Becoming'

Winfrey talks with former first lady Obama as she begins her Becoming book tour

Her other stops include Los Angeles, Detroit and Paris.

Her just-released memoir is already a best-seller. It topped Amazon.com's best-seller list throughout the weekend.

Winfrey on Monday told The Associated Press in a statement that she had selected 'Becoming' for her book club.

She said: 'This book is everything you wanted to know and so much you didn't even know you wanted to know. I believe it's going to spark within you the desire to think about your own becoming.

'It's so well-written I can hear her voice; I can hear her expressions; I can feel her emotion. What she allows us to see is how she was able to discover, define and then refine her voice.'

In 'Becoming,' Obama shares such deeply personal revelations as suffering a miscarriage and sharply criticizes President Donald Trump for promoting the false 'birther' rumor that Barack Obama was not a U.S. citizen.

Obama (R) hugs Oprah Winfrey at the opening of Obama's multi-city book tour

Winfrey (L) on Monday told The Associated Press in a statement that she had selected 'Becoming' for her book club

The former first lady's book is among the most anticipated political memoirs in years, topping Amazon.com's best-seller list throughout the weekend.

On Monday, Barnes & Noble announced that pre-orders for 'Becoming' were the highest for any adult book since Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman,' which came out in 2015.

Winfrey, publishing's most established hit maker, knows the Obamas well, to the point where Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres once teased each other over who was closer to her.

Obama speaks on stage as she begins her Becoming book tour with a stop at the United Center in Chicago on November 13, 2018

Winfrey was a prominent backer of Barack Obama's candidacy in 2008 and has interviewed both Obamas over the years.

'Thank you, Oprah!' Obama tweeted Monday. 'I've been so grateful for your friendship and advice for so long. And now I'm honored to join your amazing book club!'

Winfrey already has taped an interview with Obama, which airs Thursday on the OWN network, and excerpts of the book will appear in O, the Oprah Magazine and in Elle. A two-part podcast will run Thursday and the following Monday, November 19.

'Becoming' is Winfrey's first pick by an author from the political world since she started her club in 1996, although Obama has said repeatedly she has no interest in running for office.

Winfrey's previous picks have ranged from novels such as Colson Whitehead's 'The Underground Railroad' and Tayari Jones' 'An American Marriage' to Anthony Ray Hinton's memoir 'The Sun Does Shine.'
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence criticised Myanmar's military for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in a meeting with the country's leader on Wednesday.

Pence also told Aung San Suu Kyi he was keen to hear that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable.

'The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse,' he told Suu Kyi at the Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.

'I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life,' he added.

Scroll down for video

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, right, meets Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Singapore on Wednesday

He said Washington was also keen to hear about progress in making it possible for the Rohingya to voluntarily return to the western Myanmar state of Rakhine from vast refugees camps in southern Bangladesh where they now live.

The United States has accused the military of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

U.N.-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with 'genocidal intent'.

Myanmar says its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents in August last year.

Suu Kyi, responding to Pence, said: 'Of course people have different points of view but the point is that you should exchange these views and try to understand each other better.'

'In a way we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does and I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else,' she added.

Amnesty International this week withdrew its most prestigious human rights prize from Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.

Pence told Kyi in face-to-face remarks that he hopes those accountable for the atrocities will be held accountable

Myanmar's military has been accused of human rights abuses over the Rohingya violence

Once hailed as a champion in the fight for democracy, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been stripped of a series of international honours over the Rohingya exodus.

Pence also said that Washington wanted to see a free and democratic press in Myanmar, and the jailing of two journalists last year was 'deeply troubling' for millions of Americans.

'In America, we believe in our democratic institutions and ideals, including a free and independent press,' he said.

He did not mention by name Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists who were arrested in Yangon in December 2017. They were found guilty in September of breaching the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On Nov. 5, lawyers for the two Reuters reporters lodged an appeal against their conviction.

At the time of their arrest in December, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim villagers during an army crackdown in Rakhine state. Reuters published its investigation into the massacre on Feb. 8.
A four-week-old baby girl has been left with critical head and chest injuries after allegedly being assaulted by her father.

Police on Tuesday arrested the 25-year-old man, less than a week after the newborn was taken to hospital suffering seizures.

The Cartwright man, 25, from in Sydney's south west, appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm. He was granted bail.

The 25-year-old allegedly admitted to police to shaking his four-week-old daughter so hard she's now fighting for her life in hospital.

The baby girl (pictured) is fighting for life in hospital. Doctors are unsure whether she will survive and if she does, will 'more than likely' have permanent damage

He allegedly hit and squeezed her stomach and shook her back and forth after getting frustrated with the her cries on November 7, the court heard.

'He was in a position of authority where he was meant to be caring for the child,' police prosecutor Sam Kalimeris told the court.

The court heard the baby's mother was in the shower at the time.

She later noticed something was wrong and rushed the baby to Liverpool Hospital, where she suffered a seizure.

The infant also suffered swelling on the brain and serious damage to neck tissue and ribs.

The young father (pictured), 25, who can't be identified allegedly caused serious damage to the baby

She remains in a critical but stable condition at The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

Doctors are unsure whether she will survive and if she does, will 'more than likely' have permanent damage, 9 News reported.

Magistrate Tim Keady described the alleged assault as a 'extremely serious' case of domestic violence, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The man, who who can't be identified, is not allowed with 50 metres of The Children's Hospital at Westmead, must surrender his passport, report daily to police and live at his mother's house in Glenfield.

Relatives (pictured) of the man were there to support in Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday

He was supported by family members in court, who told reporters outside they didn't know what happened to the baby, but that she will live, 7 News reported.

The man remained in custody on Wednesday night while his paperwork was being finalised but is expected to be be released on Thursday.

The matter will return to Parramatta Local Court on November 28.
A 50-year-old woman has been arrested for abusing Air India staff on a flight from Mumbai to London after she was denied alcohol on the plane.

The business class passenger, who is believed to be Irish, demanded to speak to the pilot after cabin crew denied her another bottle of wine due to her level of intoxication.

Video shows the blonde-haired barefoot woman, who claims to be a human rights lawyer, swearing at crew, threatening to 'p*** on them' in court, and calling a female staff member an 'Indian f***ing money-grabbing b*****d'.

Abuse: Video footage shows the woman, who claims to be an international human rights lawyer, swearing at an Air India staff member on a flight from Mumbai to London Heathrow

The shocking incident took place on an Air India flight from Mumbai to London Heathrow last Saturday.

The footage sees the woman, hurling abuse at a crew member who is believed to be one of the pilots, shouting:'I work for all you f***ing people...

'The f***ing Rohingyas, the f***ing people of all Asia, for you, I'm an international criminal lawyer.

'Don't get any money for it by the way. But you won't give me a f***ing glass of wine, is that correct?'

She also claims to be a 'leader of the f***ing boycott movement', clapping in the air in front of the crewmember, before adding: 'If I say "boycott" - f***ing Air India, done.

'Do you understand me? You can't give me a wee bottle of wine?'

Shocking: The blonde-haired woman, who had been travelling in business class, lashed out after crew refused to serve her more alcohol on the flight, as she was 'very drunk'

The 50-year-old shouts at a female member of staff, threatening to take her to court unless she is given a bottle of wine, claiming to be a f***ing international lawyer and a barrister'

The man remains calm throughout her shocking tirade, after which she turns on another crew member, asking them if they are writing a report about her.

'F*** off! I'm a f***ing international criminal lawyer and a barrister. You will be p***ed on in court!'

She then calls the female crewmember an 'Indian f***ing moneygrabbing b*****d' before walking off back to her seat, shouting that she will 'turn you inside f***ing out, you f***ing stupid c***s!

'Give me a bottle of wine and game over!'

Otherwise, she claims, she will cause issues for the staff member upon landing, however the woman appears to be too inebriated to remember where they are flying to.

Caught on camera: Fellow business class passengers also got an earful, with the woman accusing them of not 'standing up against injustice'

The video clip ends with the 50-year-old having a rant at her fellow business class passengers for not 'standing up against injustice'.

Another video showing the continuation of the argument, which has been shared on social media by local journalist Tarun Shukla, captures the woman claiming to be the lawyer 'for the Palestinian people'.

'So, you think I'm scared when you threaten me with lawyers? Also, Irish Republican Army. You'll be f***ing shot. All you had to do was to give me a f***ing drink.'

London Metropolitan Police has confirmed that the woman was taken into custody at Heathrow Airport upon landing.

'At approximately 1.30pm on Saturday, 10 November, a 50-year-old woman was arrested after an Air India flight had landed at Heathrow Airport,' a police spokesperson told MailOnline.

'She was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order, common assault and drunk and disorderly and taken to a west London police station.

'She was subsequently released under investigation.'
Firefighters used CPR to save a chihuahua pup after its neck got stuck in a reclining sofa.

Tyson Schuman, from Brisbane, sat on the reclining lounge at 8pm on Tuesday to watch TV, but was unaware Raven was hanging from a frame inside the sofa.

'We found the lounge upturned. What we could see was a lifeless puppy hanging from inside the chair ... the neck was absolutely crushed,' Mr Hanson told ABC radio.

Raven the Chihuahua pup (pictured) was found hanging in a frame inside a reclining sofa

Firefighters quickly came to the rescue after panicked dog owner Tyson Schuman made an emergency call

Fire station officer Keith Hanson immediately received an emergency call from the panicked owner.

Two firefighters came to the rescue and dismantled the frame of the reclining sofa.

With a 'bit of brute force', the firefighters were able to gently remove the pup from the frame.

Mr Hanson raised Raven to his ear and heard the pup let out a faint breath.

The firefighter used CPR with one finger by lightly massaging the pup's heart like a small child.

An oxygen tube was placed on Raven.

One of the pup's eyes flickered and its stomach gurgled.

Firefighters used CPR to revive the pup (pictured) and was then rushed to a 24-hour vet for recovery

The firefighters rushed Raven to a 24-hour vet in their truck.

Raven miraculously jumped up after the truck accidentally bumped a curb outside the vet.

Mr Schuman was in disbelief about the remarkable recovery of his chihuahua.

Raven was expected to come home on Wednesday afternoon.
Nazi memorabilia including SS medals and trousers made by Jews at Auschwitz with a 600 price tag have gone on sale inside a former Church of England church.

Knives and other trophies were also on show at St Gregory's Antiques and Collectables, which rents space in a disused medieval church in Norwich.

But local resident Ellen Nierop, whose relatives were murdered at Belsen, was 'appalled' when she saw the items after attending a Remembrance Day service.

Nazi memorabilia has gone on sale inside a former Church of England church in Norwich

St Gregory's Antiques and Collectables rents space in the disused medieval church in Norwich

In the shop - once a house linked to a medieval church  sellers pay a fee to rent the cabinets

She called it 'deeply offensive' and angrily confronted the owner of the shop on Sunday over the display, which was a few feet from Christmas gifts for children.

Ms Nierop claimed the owner told her the reminders of Adolf Hitler's crimes were being sold on behalf of a Polish man and she should leave if she felt offended.

She said the owner also told her that the Second World War memorabilia was of 'historic value' and collectors would love them.

But Ms Nierop said: 'It's an insult to everyone. They were one of the biggest mass murderers in history.

The display cabinets are near where the altar once stood at St Gregory's in Norwich

The church in Norwich, which stands between Pottergate and St Benedict's Street, is medieval

An arts centre on the site closed in 2012, before it became an antiques centre the next year

The Grade I listed building in the city is managed by the Norwich Historic Churches Trust

'There would be a massive outcry if it was Ian Huntley, Fred West or the Islamic State instead. But the fact is the far right is growing in this country.'

Antiques are on sale near where altar stood The display cabinets are near where the altar once stood in St Gregory's, a Grade I listed redundant Church of England parish church in Norwich. The church, which stands between Pottergate and St Benedict's Street, is medieval. Some was rebuilt in the 14th century, though the tower is older. St Gregory's is noted for its wall-paintings, which include a depiction of St George and the dragon at the west end of the north aisle. There is a public passageway under the chancel, which was rebuilt in 1394. The building is managed by the Norwich Historic Churches Trust. After being made redundant as a parish church, it was used as an arts centre, which closed in September 2012. The following year it was leased out for use as an antiques centre. Advertisement

The trousers were on sale for 600, and the display cabinet also contained SS war trophies, knives and stamps.

In the antiques shop - once a house linked to a medieval church  sellers pay a fee to rent the cabinets.

Ms Nierop said: 'I decided to pop into St Gregory's to get some Christmas stuff on my way back through the city.

'I walked inside and on the right were children's games and on the left Nazi memorabilia and I was horrified and deeply offended.

'My relatives were Dutch Jews executed in Belsen, and once I saw the display I took it very personally as it's a whole family line that was wiped out that I never got to know.

'He said the items were of historic value and people collect them - which is true. But considering the climate right now, it's very inappropriate, as I'd also been at an anti-fascist demonstration in Norwich on Saturday.'

The owner has so far refused to comment, and further calls to his shop by MailOnline were unanswered today.

The shop posted a Remembrance tribute on Sunday on its Facebook page, saying: 'We give thanks for those that fought to save us.'
Danyal Bashir, 19 from Alum Rock admitted assault on the traffic warden

A teenage thug who was one of a gang who battered a traffic warden, stole his moped and left him fearing for his life, is facing jail.

Danyal Bashir, 19, and other men stamped on, punched and kicked Charlie Weston in the throat in the horrendous attack in broad daylight on September 14.

Weston, 21, was set upon by at least five men when he attempted to ticket an illegally park car in Alum Rock, Birmingham.

The warden from Wolverhampton was able to call a colleague who alerted police as Charlie lay on the ground fearing he would be killed.

Bashir admitted the attack and was told he is likely to receive a jail sentence.

Ex-security guard Charlie said he was terrified by the attack while police are yet to find the other men involved.

He said: 'I got hit by a car before, and that was life-threatening, but I feel like I was in more trouble here.

'I didn't notice people coming up behind me, I just turned and saw a man in a hoodie with the cords tightened so I couldn't see his face. The bike wasn't what they were after, they wanted to give me a kicking.'

Charlie Weston was attacked by a gang of men but so far only one has been identified

Traffic Warden, Charlie Weston, 21 from Wolverhampton, was beaten up by thugs in Alum Rock, but returned to work the next day

Video footage showed Mr Weston being attacked after he tried to ticket an illegally parked car

Mr Weston was dragged off his moped and thrown into the road. As he lay on the ground, one thug ran up to kick him in the back and another pulled up the visor of his helmet before stamping on his head at least six times.

Another joined in before running across the road to steal the moped.

Mr Weston said: 'While they were stamping on me, they kept on trying to take my helmet off but I just kept my head covered. I was on the floor for a good few minutes after it happened. I thought they'd broken my jaw. I do genuinely feel lucky to be alive  I didn't think I was going to get back up.'

Mr Weston  who works for private contractor NSL on behalf of Birmingham City Council  spent four hours in hospital.

19-year-old Bashir is facing a prison sentence after he admitted being involved in the September 14 attack in Alum Rock

But despite being left with injuries to his face and having to take painkillers, he was back on patrol yesterday.

Judge Kristina Montgomery QC told Bashir yesterday: 'Anyone committing an offence against a public servant should be under no illusion that they are likely to receive a prison sentence.

'When I know more about you I will sentence you.'

Bashir was ordered to return to Birmingham Crown Court for sentencing on November 23.
Beijing, Nov 12 China's just-concluded air show in Zhuhai city, where it displayed a host of its latest weaponry, witnessed the signing of deals worth over Dollars 21.2 billion, official media reported on Monday.

The newspaper said two J-20 fighter jets opened their missile bay doors during a flypast on Monday, revealing that each jet had four missiles in its fuselage and one on either side of the aircraft.

The J-20 missile display was easily the highlight of the Zhuhai show, which the PLA often uses to unveil new military systems.

Pilots from the Chinese Air Force opened the aircraft's missile cases to fully exhibit the functions of the latest stealth fighters.

China is believed to have at least 20 J-20 stealth fighters in service.

The 609-intelligence radar is able to detect long-range early warning of stealth aircraft such as the US F-35, tactical ballistic missiles, and targets close to space, according to its developer, the 14th Institute of the China Electronic Technology Group Corporation (CETC).

The event was held in commemoration of the 69th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, the aerial wing of the world's largest standing military force.

The J-20 can carry a variety of missiles, which indicates the J-20's strong aerial control capability, Song said.

Analysts noted that the fourth-generation fighters appeared to be powered by Russian rather than Chinese-built engines.

With upgraded engines, the J-20 will likely become a much more capable weapon.

A J-10B fighter jet of PLA's Air Force shows off "thrust vectoring" technology at Airshow China in Zhuhai last week.

"It would have been more impressive to have (thrust vectoring) shown already flying in the J-20 stealth fighter".
A schoolgirl was abducted by a man in his 50s in broad day light on her way to school on Wednesday.

The nine-year-old girl was riding her bike along Skeeter Drive in Mernda, in Melbourne's north-east, at about 9am when the man approached her and threatened her.

The man grabbed the girl's bike by its handles and then demanded she get off and follow him, 7 News reports.

The nine-year-old girl was riding her bike along Skeeter Drive (pictured) in Mernda in Melbourne 's north-east on Wednesday morning when a man approached and threatened her

The terrified girl did as she was told and began following the man until she received a call from her mother.

Answering the call she described what was happening, to which the girl's mother replied 'just run'.

She managed to get away from her potential abductor, making it to Mernda Primary School, where she reported the incident to teachers.

After being notified, police made a thorough search of the area and located the man.

The girl managed to escape the man, safely making it to her school, the Mernda Primary School (pictured) where she reported the incident to teachers

A suspect was interviewed by the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation team, but police are urging anyone with any information on the incident to call Crime Stoppers.

The man is described as Caucasian in appearance, aged in his 50s and with brown hair.

He was wearing grey tracksuit pants and black runners.
The Royal Navy has revealed its eighth Type 26 frigate will be called HMS London, but the ship will not include the city's full motto.

Instead the vessel will lose the word 'God' leaving the motto reading simply 'Guide Us' - a move which the Ministry of Defence claims has been present on all HMS London vessels since 1926.

In Latin, the motto for the City of London is 'Domine Dirige Nos' meaning 'God, Guide Us' but the Royal Navy's latest vessel will be one of a number of ships not to include this.

The new Type 26 frigate will be called HMS London (pictured is an artist's impression of how it might look). It will become the eighth Type 26 frigate commissioned by the Royal Navy. All eight are to be based at Devonport naval base in Plymouth

The City of London motto is 'Domine Dirige Nos' meaning 'God, Guide Us'. The Royal Navy has since 1926 used an abbreviated version of the motto 'Dirige Nos', meaning 'Guide Us' on ships named HMS London

The First Sea Lord announced the name of the Type 26 frigate on Monday in a tweet. A number of people commented on the tweet however, noting the shortened motto

Instead, the First Sea Lord announced on Monday that the ship would carry the motto 'Dirige Nos' - meaning 'Guide Us'.

In his announcement, the First Sea Lord - the professional head of the Royal Navy - stated that the name HMS London has featured in the fleet since 1657.

This latest ship - which will become one of eight new Type 26 frigates joining the Navy's fleet - will be the thirteenth vessel to bear the name.

The new motto, however, has come under fire with many noticing the missing word 'God'.

Guy Treweek, commenting on the First Sea Lord's tweet, said: 'Shame to see the City of London's motto has been edited to remove any reference to the Lord: Domine dirige nos. Sigh.'

While David Cottle said: 'Why has the motto been shortened (and rendered pointless and illiterate) by the dropping of 'Domine' which is in fact how the City of London's motto starts?'

Peter Heydon also picked up on the shortened motto, saying: 'But why is The City of London's motto been altered?'

Although there have been ships named London since the 16th Century, the first time HMS London bore the crest and motto was in 1926 when the eighth HMS London was built.

The last ship to bear the name HMS London (pictured) was launched in 1984. This ship was later sold to the Romanian Navy in 2003 and commissioned as Regina Maria in 2005 - after Queen Marie of Romania

This ship did not include the full City of London motto, but instead 'Domine Nos' in the same way the latest HMS London will.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: 'Since the 1926 original HMS London, the badge and motto 'Dirige Nos' has been borne by the last three ships of the name.

'Applying them to the eighth Type 26 HMS London is in keeping with this tradition.'

When asked by the MailOnline why a shortened version of the City of London motto was used in 1926 and on subsequent ships, it was told that there was immediate record.

The new warship will be used to protect the UK's nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, and can travel at speeds of up to 26 knots (30mph).

The 6,900-tonne frigate is designed for anti-submarine warfare and will enter service by the mid-2020s.

They have been ordered from the BAE Systems shipyards on the Clyde, with four already named as HMS Glasgow, HMS Cardiff, HMS Belfast and HMS Birmingham.

The First Sea Lord gave a brief history of ships bearing the name London in his tweet announcing the latest news on Monday.

The First Sea Lord gave a brief history of ships bearing the name London in his tweet announcing the latest news on Monday (above and below)

He noted that the name HMS London has featured in the Navy's fleet since 1657 and the first six ships to bear the name 'served with distinction through the age of sail' amassing 13 battle honours.

Both World Wars saw HMS London vessels in action.

The first, a 15,000-ton battleship commissioned in 1902, covered the 'Anzac' landings at Gallipoli.

Its successor, a county class heavy cruiser commissioned in 1928, won WW2 battle honours in the Atlantic, Arctic & East Indies.

The last HMS LONDON was a Batch 2 Type 22 Frigate, accepted into service in 1987.

According to the First Sea Lord, she conducted several Armilla patrols in the Gulf and was the flagship during the 1991 Gulf war.

This ship was later sold to the Romanian Navy in 2003 and commissioned as Regina Maria in 2005 - after Queen Marie of Romania.
Three hundred brides who have paid thousands of pounds for wedding dresses they will not now receive are 'tearful' and 'heartbroken' this morning after a bridal chain closed its doors.

Berketex Bride, a 50-year-old company with 15 stores across the UK, was shut this morning and insolvency practitioners have been called in. It is expected to go into administration within days.

On Facebook hundreds of customers shared their outrage that orders and payments were still being taken by the company until very recently - despite mounting debts of 7 million.

One wrote: 'I think I'm still in shock - absolutely heartbroken. I've got through and had a confirmation from the administrator that although I paid in full in August... they never made my dress.

'So I am now without my dress - beyond disappointed!

Shellie Hills, 47, pictured with daughter Georgia Hamilton-Mill, paid 1000 for her dress and her wedding is only two months away

Shellie Hills, 47, is getting married in February 2019 and was anticipating the arrival of her 1000 wedding dress in the next few days.

She visited the shop to try yesterday and get answers but was met by other crying brides-to-be and administrators advising customers that a sample dress straight from the rack could be their only option.

She told Bristol Live: 'It was ridiculous - the shop was filled with girls in tears and being offered sample dresses which are worn and dirty.

'Some women in there had paid thousands for their dream dresses, and all the shop could offer was ill-fitting dresses they hated.

'I went with the company because they had been around for so long - I trusted them and thought they would do a really professional job.

'This can't have happened overnight. I think it's incredibly irresponsible for the company to basically lead customers into a false sense of security, all while knowing that they may never see the dress they have paid for.

'It's not what you need a couple of months before your wedding. It's suddenly a huge stress that I never anticipated - I don't know whether I'll ever see the money again or what I can do. It's all up in the air.'

Shellie's daughter Georgia, whose bridesmaids dress from Berketex arrived a few weeks ago, told the site: 'I think it's awful that they have let so many women down.

'They have completely failed my mum - with just a couple of months to go until the wedding she now has no idea what she will walk down the aisle in.

The Bristol branch of Berketex was closed this morning and yesterday tearful brides-to-be were told that ill-fitting and worn off-the-rack sample dresses might be their only option

'We have been in constant communication with the store for months, and yet the way we have to find out is through Facebook.

'This has thrown so many of my mum's plans up in the air, and at the moment we have absolutely no information on how this can be fixed. She's saved up for this dress, and now to think all that effort and excitement could have gone to waste is terrible.'

Berketex Bride, which had annual sales of 4 million just four years ago, had 80 staff and 15 branches nationwide including concessions in Debenhams and stores in Scotland and Southern Ireland plus an online store.

Locations of stores include Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester, Croyden, London West End, Chester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.

A dedicated phoneline for customers who have placed orders has been set up to advise an estimated 300 disappointed brides, and a spokeswoman said that 'efforts are being made' to minimise inconvenience to customers.

In a statement the company said insolvency practitioners Wilson Field had been instructed to assist the company.

Wilson Field have asked that customers who have purchased items they have not yet received should 0114 3491388 or email berketex@wilsonfield.co.uk.

The director of the company, Taiwanese-Canadian Tsung-Hui Huang who became a director in 2013, expressed his 'sincere apologies for the abrupt closure of the store and any subsequent inconvenience this may cause to customers of the company.'

Have you been affected? Email joel.adams@mailonline.co.uk or call 0203 615 4959.
Jason Manford has hit out at the 'country we live in' after three police officers were forced to stand up on a two-hour train journey for fear of looking lazy

Comedian Jason Manford has hit out at the 'country we live in' after spotting three policemen forced to stand up for a two-hour train journey for fear of looking lazy.

The comic, 37, was on a Virgin train from Manchester to London yesterday when he saw three police officers standing in the doorway.

He was confused when he saw staff and passengers repeatedly offer them a seat, food and drink and they turned them all down.

When he asked the trio what happened they said they were afraid of 'looking lazy' if someone took a picture of them sitting down and having a cup of tea.

The Eight Out Of Ten Cats star added the officers were taking home a group of missing children who had been found in Manchester back down to London.

He wrote on his Facebook page: 'Saw three coppers today spend the whole 2 hour plus journey from London to Manchester stood up in the vestibule.

'They were offered a seat and countless brews & snacks from Virgin staff but turned them all down.

'As I was getting off I asked them if it was some sort of endurance test to stand up for that long and they replied 'no but if we sit down and have a brew and someone takes a photo for the papers, it'll make us all look lazy'.

'What a country we live in, that these people who protect ours and our families lives every day, often putting their lives on the line, can't even take the weight off their feet for fear of some grass shopping them in and it being taken out of context by the media.

'(FYI They has been taking a load of runaway kids who'd been found in Manchester, back down to London).'

The comic, 37, of Greater Manchester, posted this on his Facebook page after the train journey from Manchester to London yesterday

His post was liked and shared thousands of times, with fans praising the comedian for highlighting the issue of police scrutiny.

One person posted: 'Well done for highlighting this kind of thing!'

Another wrote: 'Unfortunately they are right and that would probably happen,

'Typical society we live in people doing anything for a Facebook like or a bit of social media attention, the worlds gone mad.'

Another person commented: 'People give them such grief but when something goes wrong they're the first to expect help. Really sad.'

Someone else on Facebook agreed: 'Just shows how pathetic our country is getting no respect anymore,' while another wrote: 'Way of the world now. People like to feel superior outing people on social media.'

The comic, 37, was on a Virgin train (file image) from Manchester to London yesterday when he saw the three police officers standing up

Several current and ex-policemen and emergency service workers also joined in the debate to congratulate Mr Manford for raising awareness of the issue.

One said: 'Thank you for standing up for our often much maligned and under valued officers.'

Another wrote: 'We are hated and criticised by some, but we are thick skinned and they always get their comeuppance !

'Thanks peeps for all your kind words and thanks Jason Manford for raising awareness! Protect and Serve - we do try honestly xx'

One other person commented: 'Thanks Jason Manford for some positive comments regarding the Police. Been in similar situations myself, sad but true.'

MailOnline has contacted British Transport Police for comment.
An aggressive flesh-eating bug is rapidly spreading across Australia, experts have warned.

Cases of the Buruli ulcer, also known as Mycobacterium ulcerans, are on the rise and Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is concerned about the outbreak.

According to Victoria Health, Mycobacterium ulcerans is a member of the Mycobacteriaceae family of acid-fast bacilli.

Jett, a 12-year-old boy from Queensland, was in hospital for three months after contracting the ulcer (pictured)

The first sign of the Buruli ulcer is usually a painless, non-tender nodule or papule, often thought to be an insect bite, the Victoria Health website reads

The mycobacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy and many other environmental mycobacteria belong to the same family.

Jett, a 12-year-old boy from Queensland, was in hospital for three months after contracting the ulcer.

He almost lost his leg and is now forced to re-learn how to walk, his mother, Arna-Leigh, told A Current Affair.

Acting chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton said although it is unknown how the bacteria is transmitted there is a theory.

'It may be that mosquitoes are biting possums and then biting people,' Dr Sutton said.

'It could also be possum faeces being contaminated it and people are getting it into their skin through cuts or scratches.'

The ABC reports there were 182 cases of the ulcer in 2016. From January to November in 2017 there were 236 cases.

Experts predict 400 new cases will be reported by the end of this year, the publication reported.

The Victorian government donated $2million for research on the ulcer and Dr Sutton said $1million has already been spent.

According to Victoria Health, Mycobacterium ulcerans is a member of the Mycobacteriaceae family of acid-fast bacilli

The lesion may occur anywhere on the body but is most common on exposed areas of the limbs, commonly overlying joints

However, experts are worried the bacteria will spread further across Victoria and the rest of Australia, as doctors have warned it is becoming more aggressive.

The first sign of the Buruli ulcer is usually a painless, non-tender nodule or papule, often thought to be an insect bite, the Victoria Health website reads.

The lesion may occur anywhere on the body but is most common on exposed areas of the limbs, commonly overlying joints.

In one to two months, the nodule may erode, forming a characteristic ulcer with undermined edges.

A simple swab test can help detect whether or not you have the disease.
Convicted murderer and former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was released from prison to attend the funeral of his grandfather yesterday.

Former Paralympian Pistorius, 31, is serving a 15-year-sentence for the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, who he blasted to death in his own bathroom in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2013.

Last month, Pistorius' unwell grandfather Hendrik Pistorius  who the former athlete called Oupa  died aged 101 just hours after going into hospital for a routine operation.

The once much-loved 'Blade Runner' was said to be devastated when Hendrik died on October 19 and he applied to the Department of Correctional Services to attend his memorial to say goodbye.

A rare glimpse of Oscar Pistorius as he covers his face arriving at the memorial service for his late grandfather in Centurion yesterday

The former Paralympian was said to be devastated when grandfather Hendrik (pictured with his son Leo) died after a routine operation last month

Pistorius was freed on 'compassionate grounds' to attend the service in the Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel in Centurion on yesterday morning.

Before the service started, mourners were served tea and scones.

He was seen arriving in a white marked Department of Correctional Services Toyota Corolla car, flanked by two prison guards.

The double-amputee was pictured sitting in the back of the vehicle, covering his face with his jacket and hand when he saw waiting photographers.

Hendrik was said to have visited his grandson during one of the prisons open days in 2017.

Hendrik's wife Gerti died in 2016 aged 92, and he is survived by seven children 23 grandchildren, including Oscar, and 30 great-grandchildren.

He ran a successful agricultural limestone supply company during his working life.

The athlete has previously been given leave to attend the memorial service of his his maternal grandmother, Gerti, in August 2016.

And in August last year, Pistorius was again allowed 'compassionate leave' to attend the funeral of his other grandmother, English-born Joyce Bekker, who died aged 93.

Pistorius has previously been given leave to attend the memorial service of his maternal grandmother Gerti (pictured, with the former athlete) who died aged 92 in August 2016

Oscar Pistorius was convicted of killing girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in their home in 2013 after she was shot through a bathroom door

Being allowed out of Atteridgeville Prison in Pretoria, South Africa, for a third time has led to questions that the former national hero may be getting preferential treatment.

But Singabakho Nxumalo, spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, told the Weekend Argus: 'An application has been made but it has not yet been fully considered.

'The Head of Centre has to consider a number of factors before an inmate is temporarily placed outside of a correctional facility as that carries risks.

'This concession is only granted when it concerns a direct family member (father, mother, child, spouse, brother, sister, grandfather and grandmother).'

Oscar last met grandad Hendrik during a prison open day visit last year and in the week before Reeva was killed in 2013 he had introduced her to both Hendrik and wife Gerti.

The Blade Runner turns 32 on November 22 and is likely to become eligible for parole around 2023.

The prisons spokesperson denied that Pistorius was getting any preferential treatment and insisted that all the inmates in the low security prison are treated equally.

Compassionate leave he said was dependent on how the inmate was responding to correctional programmes and rehabilitation on their behaviour when in prison.

The Weekend Argus quoted a source in the Department of Correctional Services who claimed Pistorius was a model prisoner who was 'humble and caring'.

Last month, Oscar's unwell grandfather Hendrik Pistorius (pictured with his son Leo Pistorius) died aged 101 just hours after going into hospital for a routine operation

Being allowed out of Atteridgeville Prison (pictured) in Pretoria, South Africa, for a third time has led to questions that the former national hero may be getting preferential treatment

The source said: 'The Oscar I've come to know in jail is kind-hearted and cares for his fellow inmates. He buys food for those who can't afford it or those who are far away from their relatives. And he does this without asking for anything in return.

'Oscar also doesn't deny what he did and shows remorse every day without faking it or to manipulate people's opinions. This is the side he shows in jail and people should stop judging him'.

The source said that Pistorius keeps a low profile behind bars and did not enjoy any preferential treatment adding: 'He likes his privacy and spends a lot of his time reading and visiting the prison library. He's a real bookworm.'.

Murdered Reeva's mother June Steenkamp, 71, recently told local media that she had forgiven Oscar for murdering her daughter but believed that he should still be punished.

Pistorius is serving a 15-year-sentence for the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

Pistorius was refused permission by the South African Constitutional Court earlier this year to make any more appeals against his conviction or sentence for murdering Reeva.

The Blade Runner was the first double amputee to race in the Olympics competing in the 2012 London games becoming a role model for the disabled worldwide.

The following year Pistorius plummeted from grace after being arrested for the brutal murder of Reeva shooting her four times including a fatal wound to the head.

Reeva's parents English born June from Blackburn, Lancs, and her South African born retired horse trainer husband Barry, 75, were always convinced she was murdered.

The couple told a TV channel that they believe Reeva had packed her bags and told Pistorius she was leaving him on the evening of her death and that he killed her.
Another boat with suspected migrants on board has been intercepted in the English Channel.

The group of Iranians, made up of seven men, a woman and a child, were picked up on a small vessel in the early hours of this morning.

Shortly after they were detained, the group was brought in to the Port of Dover where they are currently waiting to be interviewed by immigration officials.

Dover's coastguard was alerted to the vessel 'in distress in the south west shipping lane' at 4.30am, the BBC reported.

The boat of migrants was intercepted by Border Force officials in a patrol vessel called Hunter

Another boat with suspected migrants on board has been intercepted in the English Channel and brought in to Dover port (shown)

The discovery comes a day after 17 Iranians, including three children, stole a fishing boat in Boulogne and sailed it across the English Channel.

They were intercepted in a Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) by the Coastguard and the UK Border Force at the entrance to the Port.

A spokesman said: 'This morning Border Force coastal patrol vessel, Hunter, along with the RNLI and HM Coastguard, intercepted a RHIB in the Channel off the Kent Coast. CPV Hunter escorted the RHIB with nine people on board to Dover's Western Docks where they were met by Border Force and immigration officials.

'Among the nine was a family of three - a man, woman and a four-year-old boy - and six men. All presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

'After being assessed as fit and well by paramedics they were interviewed by immigration officers and their cases will now be progressed in accordance with the immigration rules.'

Another incident this week saw a lorry containing seven suspected migrants stopped at the docks.

There has been a spate of attempts in the last two weeks as desperate migrants try and reach the UK before bad winter weather sets in.

Last week, seven Iranian migrants attempted to enter the UK in a small dinghy, but were forced to call 999 after getting into difficulty in the Channel.

The discovery comes a day after 17 Iranians, including three children, stole a fishing boat (pictured) in Boulogne and sailed it across the English Channel
Iceland's controversial commercial could become the most popular Christmas advert ever after tugging at the heartstrings of more than 30 million viewers.

The 'Rang-tan' advert, voiced by actress Emma Thompson, has been blocked from TV screens for being too political.

But after pleas from celebrities including James Corden and Stephen Fry urging people to watch the advert, it is now on track to become the most popular ever by the end of Christmas.

More than 875,000 people have now signed a petition to release the palm oil advertisement.

Celebrities have rallied to lend their voices to the campaign calling upon regulators to allow the ad to be screened on TV

The 'Rang-tan' advert has been blocked from TV screens for being too political

The commercial, originally produced by Greenpeace, features a cartoon orangutan and highlights the plight of the rainforest.

Clearcast, the body which approves or rejects adverts for broadcast on television and video on demand, said it was 'concerned' that the commercial 'doesn't comply' with legislation on political advertising.

It added that Greenpeace had 'not yet been able to demonstrate compliance in this area'.

Since Iceland posted the 'banned' video online it has since received thousands of shares on social media, which is not regulated in the same way.

The company tweeted: 'You won't see our Christmas advert on TV this year, because it was banned. But we want to share Rang-tan's story with you... Will you help us share the story?'

The most popular Christmas advert on social media to date is Sainsburys 2015 advertisement featuring Mog the cat, which has more than 38 million views - a figure which could be surpassed by Iceland's offering.

A petition to release the banned palm oil advert on TV has now reached more than 785,000 signatures.

Writing on change.org, Mark Topps said: 'As a father-of-three who thinks this ad would help educate people about how their products are killing orangutans and their homes, I feel banning this advert is an injustice.

'Please sign this petition if you too believe the ban should be overturned so that this ad can be on TV screens at Christmas.'

Actor Ralf Little is among the famous faces who have lent their support to Iceland

Since Iceland posted the 'banned' video online it has since received thousands of shares on social media

The advert is now on track to become the most popular ever by the end of Christmas

The advert focuses on the impact of palm oil on deforestation, and follows the supermarket's decision to remove the product from all its own-label food by the end of 2018.

This comes as figures today show Waitrose lost market share as its sales dropped by 1 per cent, with more middle class shoppers turned to Iceland.

The frozen food retailer recorded 5 per cent sales growth and gained 0.1 per cent of the market as it appealed to a wider demographic.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said this was being helped along by the chain's Christmas advert.

'Nearly 37% of Iceland's sales come from the more affluent ABC1 social group - five years ago this was less than a third,' he said.

'Its banned palm oil Christmas advert is tugging at the heartstrings of Britain's middle classes and could translate into strong sales growth, especially if it manages to pique the interest of the half of the population who haven't shopped there in the past year.'

A giant orangutan was today spotted atop a Christmas tree along London's South Bank

Greenpeace said the commercial was not originally intended for television, but neither they or Clearcast were able to immediately confirm whether it had been previously submitted for broadcast clearance.

Iceland said it had spent 500,000 on putting its campaign together and insisted it had booked a number of prime-time TV slots with the full intention of having it cleared to air over Christmas.

Richard Walker, managing director at Iceland, said: 'Whilst our advert sadly never made it to TV screens, we are hopeful that consumers will take to social media to view the film, which raises awareness of an important global issue.'
A pervert was caught sniffing and tasting a woman's hair as they rode together in a lift after telling her she had a spider on her head.

The 23-year-old man, named in local media as Mr Zhong, crept up behind the terrified victim after she got in the the elevator in an apartment block in Yunlin County, Taiwan, on November 7.

He reportedly told her he was going to get the spider off her before spending two minutes sniffing her black hair and putting it in his mouth as she stood paralysed with fear.

A 23-year-old man, named locally as Mr Zhong, is filmed sniffing and wrapping his lips around a woman's hair in an elevator

The terrified victim stands paralysed with fear as the attacker creepily touches her for two minutes as they ride the lift

The woman told her boyfriend who reported it to police in Yunlin County, Taiwan, and had Zhong (pictured at the police station) arrested

The young woman eventually fled to the safety of her room and told her boyfriend who reported it to the building's security guards.

They called police and Mr Zhong was arrested at his room in the same block of flats.

He had reportedly performed the same creepy attack on another woman later the same day.

The boyfriend of the woman in the CCTV footage said she felt scared but was afraid of retaliating against the man in case he attacked her.

He said: 'My girlfriend met the pervert inside the elevator. After a while, he told my girlfriend that she has a spider on her hair.

'My girlfriend did not suspect at first, but after a while, she felt that something is wrong.

Zhong told the woman she had a spider in her hair and started to fondle her hair, pretending he was trying to get it out (pictured)

He had reportedly performed the same creepy attack on another woman later the same day. Pictured, he takes a chunk of hair with his fingers and puts it to his tongue

'She did not dare do any impulsive actions because there was only the two of them inside the elevator.

'The man even followed her outside the elevator, but she was able to get safely back inside our unit.

'Later that day, the man did the hair sniffing again to another tenant. This time, the woman was able to shout for help and call a friend.'

Zhong leans over and takes one last sniff of her hair as she tried to get out of the elevator

The second alleged victim told security guards that the man had fled inside a room on the third floor of the building.

The residents and security guards knocked on unit floors located on the third floor.

When they reached the new tenant's door, the girl identified him as the suspect.

The man was held temporarily in the building's security office before taking him to the police station where he was held in a cell in custody while police investigated the incidents.
A man whose neighbours built a brick wall against his bedroom window, blocking the view entirely, says he feels like a prisoner in his own home.

Oscar Gordon, 33, from Melbourne, came home from work one month ago to find builders constructing a brick wall outside his window, with the permission of Yarra City Council.

The 33-year-old says he now wakes up in complete darkness every morning - taking a toll on his health.

There's nothing Oscar Gordon (pictured) can do about his bedroom window view of a wall

Mr Gordon now describes his bedroom as a 'glorified cupboard,' which he says has been deemed inhabitable.

'Prisoners in their cell get more light than I do in my bedroom,' he told A Current Affair.

'I wake up, I open my eyes and I'm like, 'Oh yep', put the gym gear on and I'm ready to make myself a coffee. I open my bedroom door and realise that it's 2am.'

The former KISS FM executive digital content producer has been inundated with overwhelming support since taking to social media to express his frustration.

'This is OUTRAGEOUS,' radio presenter Fifi Box posted on Instagram.

Jackie O added: 'Nobody puts baby in a basement.'

Even Mr Gordon's good friend Sophie Monk was outraged.

Foreman Keith from The Block (pictured) says he's never seen anything like it

'Orange is the New Black has a better view!' she posted.

The situation stunned foreman Keith Schleiger from Channel Nine's The Block, who had to visit Mr Gordon's home to see it for himself.

'Oscar, I have never, ever seen anything remotely like this. I don't know what to say,' Keith said.

Mr Gordon has been inundated with support since taking to social media to express his frustration. Pictured is Fifi Box's reaction

Even radio personality Jackie O weighed into the debate on social media

One helpful friend suggested Mr Gordon replace his view of a blank brick wall by installing a LCD television.

Mr Gordon has asked his real estate agent Hocking Stuart Richmond to install a skylight, but claims the one proposed did not meet Building Code of Australia standards.

The real estate says it's 'working closely' with Mr Gordon to reach an 'agreeable solution'.

'Orange is the New Black has a better view!' Sophie Monk commented on Instagram. She's pictured with Mr Gordon, who's a close friend

Sophie Monk weighed into the debacle currently facing her friend Oscar Gordon

A spokeswoman said the team is doing everything it can to support Mr Gordon during this time, with ongoing discussions with the landlord and council.

Yarra City Council says the window was an 'on-boundary window' put in without its permission and the neighbours have the right to build up the boundary line.

In the meantime, Mr Gordon spends as much time as he can soaking up the views in his backyard to make up for the lack of sunlight into his bedroom.

'Fingers crossed there's a resolution soon,' he posted on Facebook after the segment aired on Wednesday night.
Whether Haftar will participate in the discussions now that he is in Palermo remains to be seen, after his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) said today that he had travelled to the conference only to "hold a series of meetings with presidents of regional countries to discuss the latest national and global developments", not to speak with rival Libyan factions, according to Middle East Eye.

Eventually, the West hopes Libyans will have a democratic election, but the conference isn't aiming to fix a date.

Head of the Libyan National Army field marshal Khalifa Haftar has said Libya is at war and has to protect its borders from illegal migrants, terrorists and extremists.

Claudia Gazzini, a Libya expert at the International Crisis Group, earlier said, "General Haftar's decision to participate or not in the Palermo conference is more about theatrics than blackmail".

"Haftar was received by the Italian Prime Minister at the guest reception podium and, after a little chat, he went away and refused to enter for a dinner hosted by the PM for all the guest delegations".

In September, Italy's defence minister and parliamentary speaker both partly blamed France for Libya's security crisis, which continues to simmer seven years after the NATO-backed uprising toppled Gaddafi.

Although he met Serraj, Haftar poured scorn on the summit.

Italy, the former colonial power which has large oil and gas interests in Libya and has been working to halt people-smuggling from the Libyan coast across the Mediterranean, had called the summit in an effort to reconcile Libya's competing factions.

"I will not take part in the summit even if it takes 100 years", he said in a television interview viewed by Reuters before it was aired.

Haftar arrived in Italy on Monday, but just held meetings with heads of neighboring states to discuss the latest regional and worldwide developments, the statement explained. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, among the participants, had recently reiterated Cairo's call for lifting the global arms embargo against Libya. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived on Monday evening.

Italy and France have strong business ties in Libya and their growing rivalry, analysts say, is hurting peace prospects.

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the United Nations envoy said all parties had agreed to a United Nations conference planned for early 2019 to prepare for elections to end the crisis.

France has been courting Haftar, who is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see his forces as a bulwark against Islamists.
Advertisement

Make the most of the glorious autumnal sunshine we are enjoying this week - for it will soon be swept away by bitterly cold weather that will last until December.

Britain is currently basking in an Indian summer and temperatures in the south could nudge 64F (18C) tomorrow - higher than Madrid (61F/16C) and Milan (57F/14C) - making it the warmest mid-November since records began.

But don't pack away your winter coat as temperatures are set to plunge by up to 27F (15C) next week when a big freeze sweeps in.

The plume of warm continental air coming from the Mediterranean will be replaced by chilly winds from Moscow, leading to widespread frosts.

A plume of warm air from the Continent is bringing mild temperatures this week - but it will become colder by the weekend

Temperatures are set to plunge by up to 27F (15C) next week - shown in the comparison above - when a big freeze sweeps in

Met Office forecaster Helen Chivers said: 'Up until Friday it will be dry and bright across England and Wales and temperatures will be well above average.

'Temperatures could reach 17C (62F) tomorrow which is well above the November average of 9C (48F).

'At the weekend the wind direction will change from warm southerly to colder winds from eastern Europe and it will start to get very chilly.

'On Saturday there will be a max of 12C (54F) and on Sunday it will barely scrape into double figures.

People walk across Westminster Bridge next to the Houses of Parliament as London enjoys sunny conditions this morning

Reporters and camera staff gather on College Green next to the Houses of Parliament on a sunny morning in London today

A murmuration of starlings near Gretna Green this morning in Scotland - where some areas face heavy rain today

'As we go in to next week it will be time to wrap up warm and will feel like winter is on its way. Temperatures will continue to fall throughout the week, and it will be frosty and bright for most of the UK.'

However the mild and pleasant weather is not being enjoyed across all parts of the country, with homes and business set to be hit by flooding in parts of Scotland amid heavy rain.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Dumfries and Galloway, Lothian and the Borders. It lasts until 1pm today, with disruption to travel and potential flooding of a few buildings highlighted as being possible.

Forecaster Martin Bowles said: 'It's a front that's aligned with the flow, so it acts like a conveyor belt which keeps bringing rain.

Today is forecast to be grey and overcast in Wales and northern England, but it will be sunny in southern and eastern parts

The highest temperatures today in sheltered places this afternoon (right) will be well above average for this time of year (left)

'One particular area, Dumfries and Galloway, is going to get this rain pretty much continuously for a few hours.

'That can cause some low-level surface water flooding, we could get enough surface water to make driving difficult.'

He added properties which are susceptible to flooding in the area may experience some issues. Sepa has also issued four amber flood alerts covering western, central and south-western parts of Scotland.

Drier weather is expected to spread north-east in the afternoon. The Met Office predicts accumulations of 0.8in (20mm) to 1.2in (30mm) in places, while it could reach 1.6in (40mm) to 2in (50mm) on higher ground.

Britain's unseasonably warm November will come to an end next week when temperatures plummet and wintry weather arrives.

Tomorrow it will be mostly dry but cloudy with sunny spells and temperatures in the south could nudge 64F (18C)

Friday will be mostly dry, cloudy and misty with a few sunny spells possible along with drizzle and gentle winds

Chilly winds will sweep in from eastern Europe, leading to a bitterly cold snap that will see the mercury stay below the November average of 48F (9C).

There is likely to be morning fog and widespread night time frosts across England, especially in the south.

Conditions will be mainly dry but grow increasingly unsettled throughout next week, with chances of heavy showers. There could also be of snow on high ground in northern England and Scotland.

Martin Young, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'After the mild conditions we've had so far this month, next week's temperatures will feel noticeably colder by contrast.

Homes and business are set to be hit by flooding in parts of Scotland as the Met Office issued a warning for heavy rain

'Although temperatures will be below average, particularly in the south, the situation is not out of the ordinary for the time of year. Next week will certainly be cold.

'Although many places should be dry, showers are possible in the east. At the moment, there is very little signal for wintry conditions, with any snow more likely to be confined to higher ground.'

Today could be the warmest November 14 since records began in 1841 if highs beat the 17.7C (63.8F) recorded in Cwmbargoed, Glamorgan, Wales.

The hottest November day recorded in the UK was 22.4C (72.3F) in Trawsgoed, near Aberystwyth in mid-Wales, on November 1, 2015.

This week's sunshine has come after Britain was lashed with heavy rain and wind, which brought flooding and travel disruption to parts of Wales last week.
A Romanian divorcee is set to keep her British child benefits despite having never lived in the UK.

Mihaela Cornienco will continue to receive 150-a-month from the UK Government following a ruling by a judge in Romania.

The mother-of-two was sent the payments by her ex-husband Bogdan, 45, who worked as a hygiene inspector in Leeds.

He has been receiving child support for eight years but his current whereabouts are unknown.

Mihaela Cornienco (pictured) will continue to receive 150-a-month from the UK Government following a ruling by a judge in Romania

However a judge has ruled that Ms Cornienco should still receive the payments, as under EU law the children remain family members of the father, who lives in the UK.

Speaking from her home in Focsani to The Sun, teacher Ms Cornienco said: 'I won my case to get the benefits but I'm still not sure I'm getting all the money I deserve.

'My ex husband has worked in the UK for more than eight years, earning around 1,500-a-month, but he resigned from his old job and now no one knows where he is.

'But I still think he is claiming more than he is sending back.'
A woman has been rescued after jumping onto the path of an oncoming train at a station in China during an argument with her boyfriend.

The woman, identified as 33-year-old Wang, told authorities that she had wanted to scare his boyfriend when she suddenly leapt onto the tracks at Nanjing South Railway Station on Monday.

The high-speed train bound for Xuzhou was delayed as a result and Wang has been fined 200 yuan (22) for the reckless act, according to Chinese media.

A woman has been rescued after jumping onto the path of an oncoming train at a railway station in Nanjing, China during an argument with her boyfriend in order to scare him

The woman, identified as 33-year-old Wang, told authorities that she had wanted to scare his boyfriend when she suddenly leapt onto the tracks at Nanjing South Railway Station

Shocking footage of the incident shows the woman, dressed in black, running away from the platform and jumping onto the tracks, with a train swiftly approaching at about 9:20pm.

Luckily, passers-by immediately pulled the woman off the tracks and the train came to a stop right in front of her.

'I did it as a joke, I'm sorry,' she was heard telling officers in an interview released by video news site Pear.

'A joke? It's not funny at all,' the officer replied.

'Someone pulled me up right after I jumped. I turned back and saw the train passing by my feet - I was so scared and my mind went blank,' she said, cited by Yangzi Evening News.

Shocking footage of the incident shows the woman, dressed in black, running away from the platform and jumping onto the tracks, with a train swiftly approaching at about 9:20pm

Passers-by pulled the woman off the tracks and the train came to a stop right in front of her

The woman was later scolded by police officers and train station workers for her rash act

She added that she was still in shock and regretted her actions. The officer said the incident could damage her social credit score - China's ranking system that monitors the behaviour of its enormous population.

Net users slammed the woman's rash act, saying that she was reckless and irresponsible.

'There's a limit to throwing tantrums. You shouldn't affect other people - we're talking about the safety of all the passengers on the train,' one user commented on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo.

'I'd say the man should break up with her,' one user said.

'Don't take life as a joke,' another said. 'She should have been arrested.'
Two Australian men on holiday together have been arrested in Bali after being accused of stealing and assault.

Aaron Paul Whitelaw, 22, and Liam Connor Leppin, 21, both from Melbourne, have been held in Kuta police station cells since Sunday morning.

Kuta Police General Crime Chief Putu Ika Prabawa said both men are suspected of separate crimes and could face time in jail if convicted.

Aaron Paul Whitelaw, 22, and Liam Connor Leppin, 21, have been locked up at Kuta police station (stock image)

Police said Whitelaw allegedly admitted to punching a local man outside a tattoo studio (Pictured is Kuta)

Police said Whitelaw, a painter, allegedly admitted to punching a victim outside a tattoo studio at 9.30pm on November 8, reports News Corp Australia.

Whitelaw was tracked down as a suspect of the assault after a local man was allegedly punched in the face, head and ear by three foreigners, who ran away.

One left a rental motorbike behind, which police allege they tracked to Whitelaw.

Several days later, police alleged Leppin, a bricklayer, stole $1,500 worth of goods at a villa complex, where he and Whitelaw were staying.

Staff at the villa noticed a safety deposit box containing a watch, mobile phone, iPad, power banks and gold earrings was missing early morning on Saturday.

A speaker also went missing from another unoccupied villa on the complex.

Police allege Leppin stole $1,500 worth of goods including power banks and a mobile phone (stock image)

Police allege Leppin was seen in CCTV footage taken in the villa.

He was tracked down and arrested.

Leppin could face a five year maximum jail term for stealing.

Assault charges carry a two-year-and-eight-month maximum jail term.

A third friend travelling with Whitelaw and Leppin has been visiting them at the jail.
An Indonesian woman whose fiancee was on a Lion Air flight which crashed into the sea killing 189 people carried on with her wedding pictures in her dress and ring.

Intan Syari was due to marry childhood sweetheart Rio Nanda Pratama on Sunday but he died coming home to Pangkal Pinang for their wedding day.

All 189 people on board the Lion Air jet were killed when the plane crashed into the Java Sea on October 29 just minutes after taking off from Jakarta.

The heartbroken bride-to-be said she wanted to fulfil his last wish, and posed for photos wearing her white gown and wedding ring.

In one photo, the would-be bride posed with her fiancee's younger sister in place of him and in another image she even managed a smile.

Intan Syari carried out her would-be husband's 'last wish' and posed for their wedding pictures without him after he died in the Lion Air disaster last month

In one wedding photo, the would-be bride posed with her fiancee's younger sister (front right) in place of her tragic would-be husband

Intan Syari (right) was due to marry childhood sweetheart Rio Nanda Pratama (left) on Sunday but he died coming home to Pangkal Pinang for their wedding day

All 189 people on board the Lion Air jet were killed when the plane crashed into the Java Sea on October 29 just minutes after taking off from Jakarta

Ms Syari wrote on Instagram: 'Even though I feel grief that I cannot describe, I still have to smile for you. I cannot be sad but should be strong like you always told me to be.

'For you my lover Rio Nanda Pratama, thank you for giving me a sister who is so great, strong, smart, merciful and kind, just like you.

'Even though you were not next to me yesterday your loyal sister accompanied me to carry out your last most beautiful request.

'I know you are happy there in eternity that surely everyone desires. Know that our love for you will not diminish at all, we love you forever.'

On her Instagram page, Ms Syari wrote that she had known Mr Pratama, who was a doctor, since middle school when they were 13 years old, and described him as her 'first love'.

She said before her fiance left for the doomed flight, he joked that if he did not arrived from the medical seminar in time she should still take the pictures and send them to him.

He was said to have told her: 'If I don't return by 11 November, you should still wear your wedding gown that I chose for you.

Police officers at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta carrying a body bag containing the remains recovered from the area where the Lion Air passenger jet crashed

Intan Syari wore the wedding gown and ring she picked out her her big day. The pictures were posted on Instagram by the wedding planner

'Wear beautiful make-up, ask for a white roses. Take good photos and send them to me.'

The wedding planner, Adiela Organizer, who took the heartbreaking pictures also posted some of them online and explained the couples tragic story.

Alongside the pictures she wrote: 'Beautiful Intan Syari, a great, strong woman.

'Dr Rio Nanda Pratamafilled every day of her life for 13 years. They knew each other since school. They were mates then friends, then close friends, and finally lovers who had a dream about getting married. But God had other plans.'

According to a technical log the Lion Air Boeing 737, which had only been in service a few months, suffered instrument problems the day before because of an 'unreliable' airspeed reading.

Search teams have filled some 186 body bags with remains found after the devastating crash, but only 44 victims have been identified so far.

Divers have recovered one of the two 'black boxes' - the flight data recorder - but are still searching for the cockpit voice recorder, in the hope it will shed more light on the cause of the disaster.
Advertisement

A Malibu Wine estate has hit back at critics after it was forced to leave some its animals behind, including its famous giraffe mascot Stanley, in the California wildfires.

After the wildfires hit near Malibu, California last week, celebrities laid into the estate on social media when pictures emerged showing Stanley the giraffe had been left in its enclosure.

But Dr. Stephen Klause, a vet responsible for the animal care on the ranch, pushed back on Wednesday, claiming it 'could have taken weeks to move the animals'.

'Exotic animals cannot simply be haltered and moved onto a trailer and off of the property,' Klause said in a statement on the company's Facebook page.

'The majority of them require anesthesia and major lifting capability to move them onto a trailer. It would take weeks to move a collection of that size and animal type, which in itself, would be an extreme risk to some of the animals.'

The animals on the ranch survived, but several buildings on the property we destroyed or damaged by the fire

Stanley the Giraffe, was one of several exotic animals at Saddlerock Ranch shrouded in smoke in the aftermath of the Woosley Fire

Whitney Cummings posted a picture of herself with the giraffe on the wine estate after going to check on it having become worried by rumours

Ariel Winter also posted about the giraffe to Twitter, sharing pictures where the fire can be seen in the background

Klause also said that no animal moved into the area perished as a result of a fire that destroyed 95 percent of the structures on the property.

He also said he had visited the ranch and administered food and drink to the animals, all of whom 'were essentially normal, calm, and eating and drinking'.

Taking to Instagram, actresses and celebs like Khloe Kardashian and Ariel Winter have slammed the wine estate for its apparent abandonment of the animal.

Pictures emerging from Stanley's enclosure show him standing near a fence just meters away from scorched earth caused by the devastating fires.

The death toll for the deadliest wildfire on record in California history reached 31 on Sunday, and rescuers have been risking their safety to save animals too.

Kardashian shared messages of her family group chat with Kourtney Kardashian as she asked followers for updates on Stanley - a giraffe from the Malibu Wines safari.

In a 2012 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Khloe's then-husband Lamar Odom gifted her an inflatable giraffe which she named Henry.

Stanley is one of several exotic animals at Saddlerock Ranch that were shrouded in smoke in the aftermath of the Woosley Fire.

Actress Whitney Cummings also hit out at the wine company, posting pictures after she went to check on Stanley herself.

'I went rogue and went to check on Stanley the giraffe myself. There were a lot of rumors and i didn't want to be contributing to untrue gossip,' she wrote in her first post.

'I didn't want to speak until i had all the information. Now I do. They didn't evacuate their animals and still won't. I wanted to be understanding and gracious, but once you treat your animals like this (when you have plenty of money) we simply aren't on the same page.

'The pastures were still burning in areas when I got there, an injured pig was found by us that nobody was looking for, and the owners of boarded horses were told they were evacuated which is a lie. So now we have a problem.'

The animals on the ranch survived, but several buildings on the property we destroyed or damaged by the fire.

Rescued animals were held on Zuma beach in Malibu as the thickness of the smoke created a hazy sky for creatures including llamas, donkeys, horses, a pig, bunnies and even a giraffe.

As fire that has already ravaged homes of many celebrities fast approached the Pacific Coast Highway, with Lady Gaga's residence very close by, the likes of Khloe Kardashian and Ariel Winter posted on social media about their well-being.

Khloe Kardashian tweeted about Stanley the giraffe, from Malibu Wines, that appeared stuck in the wildfires

Shannen Doherty reposted Cumming's Instagram photos showing the giraffe standing next to charred pieces of wood in its enclosure

Llamas were tied to a lifeguard stand on the beach in Malibu as the Woolsey Fire comes down the hill Friday

The animals dealing with the thickness of the smoke as the fire fast approached the Pacific Coast Hightway included horses

On Saturday, the likes of geese and dogs were also seen being cared for by animal lovers in the area.

Equine veterinarian Jesse Jellison carried an injured goose to a waiting transport during the Camp Fire in the Paradise area.

It's also where Officer Share from Yolo County Animal Services tended to a horse that was stranded.

The Camp Fire has already burned through 109,000 acres and destroyed 6,713 buildings - most of them homes. As of Sunday morning, it was 25 per cent contained.

As of Sunday evening, 29 people were found dead in Northern California's Camp Fire.

Woolsey had spread to 83,275 acres and was 5 per cent contained as of Saturday night. Two people were killed in Southern California's Woolsey Fire.

Authorities had four coroner search and recovery teams combing through the remains of Paradise, which was almost completely destroyed when a fire raged through the town on Thursday and Friday. A whopping 228 people remain unaccounted for since the fire began Thursday.

Members of the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Ashley Nola and Catherine McFarren, treated burns on a dog that was brought in to the Butte County Fair Grounds.

California Highway Patrol officers attempted to transfer a potbelly pig they rescued to Butte County Animal control officers in Paradise Friday

Members of the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Ashley Nola (left) and Catherine McFarren (right), tended to burns on a dog that was brought into the Butte County Fair Grounds where large animals were being sheltered

An evacuated horse had contact phone numbers written on her hooves as she waited in a shelter at the Pierce College Equine Center where evacuees were bringing their large and small animals in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles on Friday

It was where small and large animals, including goats, were being sheltered during the Camp Fire, as it continued to burn through the region, fueled by high winds in Butte County.

In a surreal scene California Highway Patrol officers attempted to transfer a potbelly pig as plumes of smoke filled the sky.

Many animals had been left to wait for things to return to normal as residents flee.

The count of destroyed homes remained at 177 but it was expected to increase when an update is reported Monday.

An evacuated horse with contact phone numbers written on her hooves waited in a shelter at the Pierce College Equine Center where evacuees were bringing their large and small animals in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles on Friday.

Evacuee Eva Loeffler was pictured walking with her 20-year-old pony Mini.

In Big Bend, Fire Captain Steve Millosovich carried a cage full of cats that were found in the road after the Camp Fire.

Firefighters in other areas were known to have suffered minor injuries as approximately 8,000 fight the blazes.

The Big Bend area also held a donkey tied to a road sign so it didn't flee and a group of deer were seen walking through destroyed properties.

Cathy Fallon was with her dog Shiloh at their home Friday in Paradise, California. Shiloh was burned when a wildfire scorched the property, burning down Fallon's home

Teresa Merritt, left helped her sister Mary Lou Miller with her dogs after being evacuated at The Pierce College Equine Center where evacuees are bringing their large and small animals in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles on Friday

Wind-driven wildfire raged through Southern California communities on Friday, burning homes and forcing thousands of people and animals to flee as it relentlessly pushed toward Malibu and the Pacific Ocean
A nurse who died on a girls' holiday in Dubai has been returned to Britain after friends and family raised almost 30,000 to bring her home.

Charlotte Carter had been 'excited' for her winter sunshine holiday with friends and was due to stay at the plush Five Palm Jumeirah hotel.

However, the 30-year-old mental health nurse began feeling ill on the flight before suffering a heart attack in a taxi to their hotel.

The nurse began feeling ill on the flight before suffering a heart attack in a taxi to their hotel, the Five Palm Jumeirah hotel in Dubai

She was taken into intensive care and resuscitated 'multiple times' but tragically died.

Charlotte, of Swansea, South Wales, did not take out travel insurance ahead of the trip and her family faced 30,000 costs to cover medical bills and to bring her home to the UK.

A crowdfunding page set up by friend, Megan Boyes, raised 28,322 in 13 days - enough to bring Charlotte home to Wales.

Friend Megan Boyes, who set up a crowdfunding page for Charlotte's family, described her as 'our gorgeous friend.. who tragically lost her life at the age of 30'

Susan Carter, Charlotte's mother, said: 'Our beautiful Charlotte crossed the Severn Bridge into Wales at 17:57.

'We could not have got this far without each and every one of you. So so many thanks.'

'We are overwhelmed by the support we have received from everyone. All your love and kindness is the only thing that is getting us through this.

As Charlotte (left and right) did not take out travel insurance ahead of her trip her family now face 30,000 costs to cover medical bills and to bring her home to the UK

'From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for helping us get our beautiful girl home to us.'

A post mortem examination is due to be held in Britain to determine her cause of death.

A Foreign Office and Commonwealth spokesman said: 'We are supporting the family of a British woman following her death in the UAE, and are in contact with the Emirati authorities.'

Charlotte had flown with two female friends on October 29 from Gatwick Airport and the group ordered bottles of champagne before taking off.

Friend Megan Boyes, who set up a crowdfunding page, said: 'Our gorgeous friend Charlotte tragically lost her life at the age of 30.

'She was so excited to go on holiday to Dubai on a girls trip but sadly she fell ill on the flight which resulted in her being taken to intensive care once arriving in Dubai.

'After being resuscitated multiple times she unfortunately couldn't be saved.

Charlotte Carter (left) died after being taken ill on her flight from Gatwick to Dubai with two female friends. One of which was Melissa Jenkins (right)

'Charlotte was the most caring, kind and thoughtful person and she dedicated her life to helping others as a mental health nurse. She was taken from us far too young.'

Friend Melissa Jenkins, who flew to Dubai with Charlotte, said she was 'heartbroken'.

She said: 'Get our girl home - Charlotte Carter we love you.

'Dubai will always have a piece of my heart but has also taken away a piece.

'Live your life you never know what's round the corner....always my angel xxx.'
A Saudi Arabian man has been sentenced to 40 lashes for sending hundreds of abusive messages to his ex-wife on WhatsApp.

The court in the port city of Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, also ruled that the woman has the right to attend her ex-husband's lashing session.

The former couple had been locked in a custody battle over their three children, during which the man sent more than 600 insulting and threatening texts to his ex.

Abuser: The unnamed man has been sentenced to 40 lashes, which his former partner will be allowed to witness, for sending her hundreds of abusive texts on WhatsApp

The messages were described as 'obscene, offensive, derogatory, sexually explicit, insulting and slandering', according to Saudi Arabian news website Okaz.

They also reportedly included 'accusations about her presentation and morality'.

This is far from the first time Saudi Arabian citizens have faced corporal punishment for sending insulting messages on WhatsApp.

Article Three of the Saudi Anti-Cyber Crime Law states that any person who commits 'defamation and infliction of damage upon others' using technological devices might have to face imprisonment for up to a year and a fine not exceeding 500,000 Saudi Riyal (90,171).

The man and his ex-wife had been locked in a custody battle over their three children, during which the man sent her more than 600 insulting and threatening WhatsApp messages

A year ago, two women were sentenced to ten lashes each after insulting each other via WhatsApp.

In 2016, two women were jailed for ten days and sentenced to 20 lashes each after they used 'impermissible expressions' in a heated text exchange on the smartphone app..

In 2015, a court in eastern Saudi Arabia sentenced a 32-year-old woman to 70 lashes and a 20,000 Saudi Riyal (3,604) fine for insulting and tarnishing the reputation of a man on WhatsApp.
British residents have told a United Nations meeting how they have been left 'homeless and hungry' in the wake of welfare cuts.

Professor Philip Alston, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, heard accounts from members of the public in Newham, east London.

The UN expert is on an official visit to the UK to examine what poverty exists in the country, its causes and the impact it has on people's human rights.

But his controversial 'fact-finding mission' is the latest in a string of UN investigations into the UK that have proved highly controversial.

Earlier this year, a UN envoy infuriated Downing Street by claiming Tory policies and the Brexit vote had made Britain more racist.

Professor Philip Alston, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, is investigating poverty in the UK

The controversial UN visit has not been met with approval from all sides, with some taking to social media to express their anger

An old image of Jawick Sands was used in the recent mid-term elections by an American political candidate to illustrate extreme poverty much to the anger of residents and local officials

Prof Alston is on a 'human rights fact-finding visit' to the UK to 'investigate Government efforts to eradicate poverty'.

He has announced that he will particularly be looking at the rollout of Universal Credit, child poverty, and the implications on poverty of Brexit.

Special rapporteurs for extreme poverty investigate impoverished countries then report their findings to the United Nations.

Prof Alston's trip to Britain is the second mission to a Western European country by a poverty rapporteur in the last 100 years, the first being to Ireland in 2011.

David Gordon, director of the Townsend Center for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol, said: 'There's an oddity to this, obviously.

'When you think of the special rapporteurs on extreme poverty and human rights, you expect them to be visiting sub-Saharan Africa or Haiti. You don't expect them to be visiting the U.K.'

Prof Alston is on a 'human rights fact-finding visit' to the UK - taking in : Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Essex, Glasgow, Jaywick, London, and Newcastle - to 'investigate Government efforts to eradicate poverty'

The UN envoy has sparked outrage among some, who are questioning why it has come to the UK

At the meeting in Newham on Monday, Prof Alston heard from a West African mother how she had to wait for 20 hours outside social services after fleeing an abusive relationship, according to The Independent.

She said while waiting she was left so hungry she had to drink her child's milk.

Another disabled man said he was fined for making a mistake on his universal credit application, and he heard how a new mother was placed in a hostel with her three-day-old son.

After hearing the witness statements Newham's mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, apologised 'on behalf of myself as mayor of Newham and on behalf of the council.'

She told the meeting: 'This treatment of our residents, regardless of their circumstances, their backgrounds, of how long they've been here, has to stop.'

On his tour, Prof Alston is to speak to pressure groups, academics, trade unions, food bank organisers, and homelessness campaigners while visiting London, Cardiff, Oxford, Newcastle, Glasgow and Belfast.

'HOSTILE' UK LABELLED 'RACIST' BY UN CHARITY OVER IN TREATMENT OF TRAVELLERS By Claire Ellicott, Political Correspondent for the Daily Mail MPs and Ministers have encouraged 'racist' reporting on critical United Nations investigations into the UK, a Foreign Office-funded charity claimed. The United Nations Association (UNA), which is tasked with promoting the UN, complained that its inspectors had been treated with hostility in Britain. UN 'special rapporteurs' have infuriated MPs in the past after they branded Britain racist and demanded better housing for travellers. In a report published earlier this month, the UNA set out the reasons for the current visit of the UN's special rapporteur on 'extreme poverty and human rights'. Former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has questioned the impartiality of the UN envoys It concludes: 'Unfortunately, several recent visits to the UK by UN special rapporteurs have been marred by misleading, hostile and occasionally racist reportage. 'At times, this reporting appears to have been encouraged by MPs and, on occasion, Government Ministers.' The UNA also published a list of times it felt its work had been challenged by British MPs, including the Prime Minister. It accused Tory MP Philip Davies of a 'racially charged attack' after he said in 2015: 'This lecture on human rights by somebody from Africa is staggering. He should clear off back to his own continent.' The note concludes: 'Such language diminishes the United Kingdom in the eyes of the international community, and can also be used to legitimise the actions of rights violators and of the UK's strategic rivals. In 2014, a visit from the UN's inspector Raquel Rolnik caused a political row after she was accused of producing a 'misleading Marxist diatribe' 'Officials in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Russia have used statements of this sort to justify negative actions with respect to human rights in their own country.' The briefing note also criticises policy in Britain, saying there is a 'misconception' in the UK that the rights to vote, worship and freedom of speech represent all human rights. It suggests that this ignores rights to 'education, food, shelter, health, work, social security, and an adequate standard of living'. Visits by the UN-appointed envoys have a long history of controversy in the UK. In 2014, a visit from the UN's inspector Raquel Rolnik caused a political row after she was accused of producing a 'misleading Marxist diatribe'. Then-work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith criticised her report as 'utterly ridiculous' following her demands for better housing for travellers. Earlier this year, a UN envoy sparked fury from Theresa May after criticising Tory policies and immigration policy. Tendayi Achiume also said the Brexit vote had made Britain more racist, and slammed the 'hostile environment' for illegal immigrants and the anti-terrorism programme Prevent. But Downing Street pointed out she had welcomed many of Mrs May's initiatives to bring about racial equality, while Mr Duncan Smith said her report was 'complete rubbish'. Mr Duncan Smith questioned the impartiality of the UN envoys, saying: 'The issue isn't that [racist reportage]. 'The issue is about the nature of the self-appointed groups who using the UN's title are often invited in by political opponents for short term political gain. 'Too often they come with the outcome of their visit already set which makes them far from impartial.' The UNA's most recent accounts, from 2016, show that it received 50,000 from the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office - its largest grant. The charity was founded in 1945 and is independent of the UN and receives no funding from it. It describes its aim as 'building support for the UN amongst policymakers, opinion-formers and the public'. Many countries issue 'standing invitations' to the UN's special rapporteurs, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, which is a body elected by the UN General Assembly. Advertisement

After hearing the witness statements Newham's mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, apologised 'on behalf of myself as mayor of Newham and on behalf of the council'

The UN expert is on an official visit to the UK to examine what poverty exists in the country, its causes and the impact it has on people's human rights

He also paid a visit to the seaside village of Jaywick in Essex.

Despite its tiny size and a population of less than 5000 people, the village has become the ultimate symbol of decline after finding itself at the centre of a furious row involving the US elections.

An old image of Jawick Sands was used in the recent mid-term elections by an American political candidate to illustrate extreme poverty much to the anger of residents and local officials.

Prof Alston went to Jawick, a post-war settlement of bungalows once described as a shanty town just a mile from Clacton on Sea, and met senior members of Tendring District Council who have in recent years launced a number of multi-million pound improvement schemes for the seaside community.

UN envoys have produced a series of controversial reports about the UK.

As well as comments about Brexit, the UN special rapporteur on racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Tendayi Achiume, said UK immigration policy was so discriminatory it might even violate international human rights laws. She had been in the UK for 12 days.

Five years ago, Raquel Rolnik, the UN rapporteur on housing, called for ministers to abandon the spare room subsidy, which was labelled the 'bedroom tax'.

Her report was dismissed as 'a Marxist diatribe' by the then-housing minister Kris Hopkins.

Residents in east London told the United Nations meeting how they have been left homeless and hungry in the wake of stringent welfare cuts

Ian Davidson, the council's chief executive, said Prof Alston wanted to see how authorities had come together to tackle the problems in Jaywick - his mandate was to look at things like the causes of poverty, such as welfare reform.

Mr Davidson said: 'Jaywick Sands is interesting because it shows that the root cause of issues around deprivation stems from poor quality homes and a shortage of housing post-Second World War rather than anything more recent.

'Tackling that and surrounding issues requires an approach much wider than we can do alone but that is why we are working with partners at county and national level to look at an holistic, long-term approach to improving quality of life for Jaywick Sands residents.'

Prof Alston will be holding a press conference on Friday, November 16 in London to announce the preliminary findings of his investigation into poverty in the UK.
Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg joined forces with the DUP to launch an ambush on Theresa May's Brexit deal within minutes of it emerging last night.

Tory rebels dramatically marched to Parliament's Central Lobby - flanked by the bloc of DUP MPs who are supposed to be propping up Mrs May in No 10 - to hold court with journalists.

In a furious briefing before a deal was even confirmed by Downing Street, they derided it as 'totally unacceptable' because it would leave the UK a 'vassal state' under the yolk of EU control.

Mr Johnson and Mr Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Brexiteer European Research Group, renewed their attack on the plans today demanding the Cabinet throw out the plan.

Boris Johnson was live on TV in central lobby within minutes of the deal emerging last night (pictured) as the Tory rebels launched an ambush on the plans

Jacob Rees-Mogg also took to the airwaves while members of his European Research Group briefed journalists in the background (pictured)

Last night's ambush began within minutes of details being leaked to the Irish broadcaster RTE at around 4pm.

Just 90 minutes later the rebel MPs were speaking live to broadcasters just feet from the Commons chamber having arrived from Iain Duncan Smith's office.

The condemnation of the plans had started before Downing Street had even confirmed it had a deal and Mrs May would meet Cabinet ministers one-on-one before a crucial meeting later today.

Mr Rees-Mogg and his deputy Mark Francois, stood side by side with the DUP's Nigel Dodds to condemn the plan.

The remarkable show of unity between the Tory Brexiteers and the northern Irish party propping the PM up in No10 will alarm Mrs May's aides.

Surrounded by over a dozen political reporters, they warned the proposal looked like it would breach their Brexit red lines and urged Cabinet ministers to rebel over it.

As the trio briefed the press, other leading Conservative Eurosceptics were stood in the busy lobby  ready to be quoted attacking the PM's plan.

Among them was Mr Johnson, who arrived shortly after details of the Brexit plan began leaking out to give an interview to Sky News to urge the Cabinet to reject it.

Last night's ambush began within minutes of details being leaked to the Irish broadcaster RTE at around 4pm (pictured)

While ex Tory leader Mr Duncan Smith stood nearby, to warn the PM's days would be numbered if she pushed on with her deal.

Mr Rees-Mogg started the briefing of journalists declaring: 'If the deal is as in the terms set out and leaked to the Irish... then the cabinet should reject it.

Mr Rees-Mogg and his deputy Mark Francois, stood side by side with the DUP's Nigel Dodds (pictured on Sunday) to condemn the plan

'It isn't a proper Brexit and would leave us more under control of the European Union than we are. They should vote it down, make it clear they can't support it.'

Mr Francois warned the Cabinet: 'What members of the cabinet do over the next 24 hours is the most important thing that they do in their lives.

'They have an opportunity to stand up for their country and defend its destiny.'

Mr Dodds - who dramatically arrived alongside the Tory rebels - declared: 'If that means taking the rules and laws set in Brussels, not in Westminster or Belfast, that's unacceptable.'

Mr Johnson renewed his attack on the plans today, warning the divorce deal was set up as the 'minimum basis for our future trading relationship' - making a Canada-style final settlement impossible.

He said: 'Cabinet must live up to its responsibilities and stop this deal.'

Mr Johnson renewed his attack on the plans today (pictured), warning the divorce deal was set up as the 'minimum basis for our future trading relationship' - making a Canada-style final settlement impossible

Mr Rees-Mogg lashed it in today's Telegraph and warned: 'The deal that is proposed is not in the national interest, does not keep faith with early commitments and will not succeed.'

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage denounced the plan as 'the worst deal in history'.

Mrs May is engaged in frantic efforts to win over wavering ministers to the blueprint ahead of the meeting this afternoon.

But she suffered a major blow this morning when it emerged Michel Barnier's deputy, Sabine Weyand, boasted about the divorce package in a briefing for Brussels officials.

She apparently claimed the UK will have to 'align their rules but the EU will retain all the controls', bragging that Britain is effectively accepting staying in the customs union for good, and will have to 'swallow' demands over fishing waters.

The extraordinary comments will reaffirm the fears of Brexiteers - and could tip ministers over the edge ahead of a potentially explosive Cabinet meeting this afternoon.
The South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency released a report Monday outlining details the phone manufacturer hasn't announced yet; now, instead of referring to the device as "Samsung's foldable smartphone", we can address it as the Galaxy F.

An in-display fingerprint reader will be part of the package and rely on an ultrasonic sensor, a significant improvement over existing implementations of under-screen authentication systems, Mr. Blass said.

The fact that the phone would have Android 9 Pie at launch should be expected - the same for the new "One UI" branded user interface, first revealed at last week's Samsung Developer Conference, too. That was the Samsung Galaxy A9, a device with four camera lenses on its back.

We fully expect the Galaxy S10 to be a powerhouse, but Samsung may shoot itself in the foot if it uses the Infinity-O display.

The company adds that the processor will go into mass production by the end of this year; that means it could find use in the company's upcoming Galaxy S10 flagship phone. The NPU will enable a variety of new experiences such as instantly adjusting camera settings for a shot based on the surroundings or recognizing objects to provide information in augmented or virtual reality settings.

Despite the expectations of an in-house manufactured GPU with this chipset, we will get to notice that the Exynos 9820 will work with the ARM Mali-G76MP12 GPU for delivering top-notch graphics quality.

The new Exynos 9820 boasts high AI performance with its integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). The newest launch is a new color scheme for the Samsung Galaxy S9 in China.

Upgrade fatigue is believed to be one of the main reason why global smartphone shipments have been stagnating over the course of the previous year, according to numerous industry trackers. It is possible that this SoC will also power the upcoming foldable smartphone from the company.

This Galaxy S10 would have an Infinity-O type display, with a hole in its corner, cut right through the display.
Women inmates at prisons in England are giving birth in their cells without access to proper medical care, it was claimed today.

Prison nursing staff are allegedly often not trained for emergency deliveries, with one pregnant women in labour told to have 'some paracetamol and a cup of tea'.

It has also been claimed women who think they are in labour do not have direct access, even by phone, to a midwife - although they can press an emergency bell.

Prison nursing staff are allegedly often not trained for emergency baby deliveries (file picture)

The concerns emerged in a report by specialist midwife Laura Abbott, a University of Hertfordshire lecturer who researched the conditions of pregnant prisoners.

She spoke to an inmate who had been in premature labour with four weeks of the pregnancy still to go, with the baby in the breech position, reported the Guardian.

The prisoner had lost her mucous plug, which happened in her first pregnancy just before a quick labour began, and insisted that she had to go straight to hospital.

She told Dr Abbott: 'I was trying to explain this to health care, they were just like, 'No, don't worry about it,' and I was like, 'No, really, I know my own body'.'

She then started to have contractions and told nurses: 'I am in labour'. But one allegedly replied: 'No, you're not. Here's some paracetamol and a cup of tea.'

ANALYSIS: 'Prisons are failing to minimise and manage these risks' By NAOMI DELAP, d irector of the charity Birth Companions, which supports women in prisons Dr Abbott's work shines a vital and long overdue spotlight on the risks mothers and babies currently face within the prison system. It appears, based on this research and our own conversations, that births may be happening in cells or during transfer to hospital in greater numbers than the prisons service or government are aware of, often as a result of slow staff responses, unqualified assessments or incorrect advice. Such situations are not only dangerous for mothers and babies, but are also highly stressful for prison staff. Any pregnancy and birth carries risks, and complications can happen for many reasons. We don't want to blame prisons for incidents beyond their control, but there seems to be a good deal of evidence suggesting that prisons are failing to minimise and manage these risks, not only in terms of physical safety, but women's mental health too. It's vital that these issues, and others affecting pregnant women and new mothers in prison, are fully addressed in the new framework for women offenders due to be published by the Ministry of Justice before the end of the year. Without urgent changes, the lives of babies and mothers will continue to be put at risk in the prison system. Advertisement

The woman claimed her waters broke ten minutes after the nurses left, who were then in 'absolute panic' as she gave birth to the baby feet first in her cell.

She said: 'I had nothing for her, no clothes, no nappies, because I was still in the main jail and I wasn't allowed any baby stuff in. It was September - freezing - so I had to just wrap her up in clothes, completely naked underneath my nightie. She had nothing.'

There are no national figures on how many births in cells occur, although they are known to be very rare - and data on pregnant inmates is held by each prison.

Jenny Earle, director of the Prison Reform Trust's Transforming Lives programme to reduce women's imprisonment, told MailOnline today: 'The findings of this report are deeply concerning.

'Women are overwhelmingly sent to prison for non-violent offences, and prison is no place for a pregnant woman, let alone a woman about to give birth.

'Unfortunately, these are not new problems and we need to see change.

'This should start by ensuring that women who are pregnant, and for whom there is no other option but to impose a custodial sentence, have their sentence deferred until after childbirth.'

And a Prison Service spokesman told MailOnline: 'Healthcare in prisons is provided by trained medics and nurses, but we have also made training on dealing with pregnant inmates available to all prison officers.

'Each pregnant prisoner has an individual care plan, while new guidance will make clear they should have access to 24-hour midwifery advice.

'We know it is extremely rare for a woman to give birth in prison - because every step is taken to get them to hospital - but those unique cases are invariably down to the unpredictability of labour.

'Our new female offender strategy made clear that we want fewer women serving short sentences in custody and more remaining in the community, making use of women's centres to address needs such as substance misuse and mental health problems.'

NHS England, which is responsible for the provision of healthcare in the female prison estate, declined to comment today.
Fashion titan Ralph Lauren is set to become the first ever American designer to be knighted by the Queen in a ceremony next year.

The 79-year-old mogul, who has built a global fashion empire and is rumoured to have a net worth of $6billion, joins a select group of American citizens to have received the honour.

A diplomatic press release revealed Lauren will be made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE).

Others to have been given the honour in the past include former President Ronald Reagan, business giant Michael Bloomberg and director Steven Spielberg.

Scroll down for video

Ralph Lauren has built a global retail empire and is rumoured to have a net worth of $6billion

'In his storied career in fashion, business, and philanthropy, Mr. Lauren has played a key role in forging transatlantic cultural and economic connections,' said Antony Phillipson, British Consul General to New York in a press release.

'As creator and visionary of the Ralph Lauren brand worldwide, Mr. Lauren has been a vanguard for the global fashion industry and American style for nearly half a century,' Phillipson added.

'In addition, monumental philanthropic efforts, especially in the realm of public health, cancer research and treatment in both the US and the UK, have led to benefits felt by citizens around the world.'

Lauren has previously been given the French Chevalier de la Legion dHonneur, the Key to the City of New York and a host of other honours.
Killer farmer Tony Martin who shot dead a teenage burglar at his home claims he has been targeted by intruders again.

Mr Martin, 74, said criminals tried to break-in to his derelict Norfolk farmhouse, which he has not set foot in since he killed 16-year-old Fred Barras 19 years ago.

He claimed he found a ladder had been moved from a tree to up against his house and said it was 'evidence' burglars had tried to break in.

Mr Martin gained notoriety after he shot dead Barras and wounded his accomplice Brendan Fearon, 29, late at night in 1999 after they broke into his run down home in Enmeth Hungate, Norfolk.

Tony Martin (left) killed Fred Barras (right), 16, in August 1999 after he found him late at night inside his home in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk. The 74-year-old now claims his property is being targeted by burglars again

Mr Martin said he found a ladder propped up against the derelict property, pictured in 2003 when police were giving him protection following his release, and said it was evidence of another attempted break-in

The house is overgrown with ivy and has its windows and doors covered by the algae-stained steel shutters that police put up to keep out intruders.

Mr Martin said he has not ventured inside since the shooting as he prefers to live with friends because he fears he will react violently if burgled again.

He revealed details of the latest alleged break-in attempt before Sunday's screening of the Channel 4 dramatisation of the incident, called The Interrogation, based on transcripts of police interviews with him.

Mr Martin said: 'I put a ladder out the other day. I put it up a tree. When I came back later on, they'd put it up against the house. They'd tried to get in the house.'

He admitted he was keen to watch the hour long documentary drama after 'all the things the police said about me'.

Mr Martin said: 'It will be interesting to see how it comes out and how it comes over. I'm just a very simple man really. I see things much more clearly than the establishment.

'I'm showing my ignorance but I really don't know what a transcript is. I really don't have a clue.

'I've had so much bumph around the years, so much paperwork. I try to be compliant and amenable but it doesn't really amount to anything. It's all just bumph, stacks and lorry loads of paper

Mr Martin, who slept with a shotgun under his bed after a string of burglaries, was jailed for life for murder in April 2000, sparking a national debate about the rights of householders to defend themselves.

The bachelor later had his sentence reduced on appeal to five years for manslaughter after a public outcry and he was released in 2003.

The incident was turned into drama The Interrogation by Channel 4 starring The League of Gentleman's Steve Pemberton (left), 51, as Martin and Line of Duty's Daniel Mays (right), 40, as the policeman who interviewed him

The farmhouse, pictured in 2003, has steel shutters and warning signs around it to deter anyone from trying to break in

Prosecutors at his trial portrayed him as an angry man, with a vendetta against burglars.

It was claimed that he booby-trapped his home and armed himself with an illegal weapon.

Mr Martin told his trial how he was woken in the night by crashing noises.

He said: 'I was taken by surprise. I saw these lights like car lights. There seemed to be a lot of lights. At that stage I started to become very frightened, fearful, terrified.

'I didn't want to go back downstairs. I couldn't face what was going to happen. I didn't know what was down there.'

Mr Martin told officers he went back and loaded the shotgun he kept in his bedroom before going out onto the landing.

He said: 'I heard this murmuring and had this light shone in my eyes. All these things happened in a flash. I couldn't stand it any longer and then I just let the gun off.'

Mr Martin is being portrayed in the Channel 4 show by League of Gentleman star Steve Pemberton. It also stars Line of Duty's Daniel Mays, 40, as the policeman who interviewed him.

Mr Martin still works on his 300 acres of land on his farm, despite not setting foot in his farmhouse for 19 years.

He said: 'I've got no end of jobs to do. I've never really caught up with the four years I lost.'

Mr Martin insisted crime was still an issue in the Fenland area ob the Norfolk - Cambridgeshire border.

Martin also wounded Barras's accomplice Brendon Fearon, 29, pictured in 1999 ahead of his trial, with his unlicensed shotgun

He added: 'I had a policeman write to me the other day and said I'd got an issue. I said I've not got an issue, I've got a problem.

'I don't take the police seriously any more. You can just see through them. We're living in two different worlds.'

Mr Martin said: 'The way I come over to me is I speak the Queen's English. I don't say 'yeah' I say 'yes', that's the only thing I know, it's what we were taught at school.

'People reckon I'm cantankerous. I'm bound to be. I went to Fakenham the other day, I went to a few restaurants and I tell you what, people don't talk any more, they shout. It's all just: 'All right mate? All right mate?'

The Channel 4 dramatisation ends with an interview with Mr Martin where he reveals he chooses to live with friends because he fears he will react violently should he be burgled again.

He told the programme: 'I don't want to get locked up. If I'm in the house and somebody comes in the house, I'm going to look after myself.

'If you think I'm going to stand there and ask them what they're doing, I'm not that stupid.'

Asked if he was troubled by the death of Barras, he admitted that he didn't give his victim a second thought because 'what goes around, comes around.'

He added: 'When I was his age I lived with my grandparents - didn't go breaking into bloody houses 16 miles down the road.'

MailOnline has contacted Norfolk Police for comment.
Boris Johnson's bungling approach to diplomacy is laid bare in a fly-on-the-wall documentary shot behind the scenes at the Foreign Office.

A film crew spent a year alongside some of Britain's top diplomats as they travelled around the world trying to broker deals between the UK government and foreign powers.

The documentary was filmed when Boris Johnson was still Foreign Secretary and shows some of his uncomfortable interactions with senior civil servants.

Boris Johnson, during his time as Foreign Secretary, with his Portuguese opposite number Augusto Santos Silva in Portugal. A new documentary shows his sometimes strained relations with civil servants at the Foreign Office

The programme starts with Boris giving a speech to nervous-looking staff at the Foreign Office after he took the post.

In the second of three episodes, he is seen filming a clip for the Foreign Office website during a trip to Lisbon and is repeatedly corrected by one of his aides.

First Boris tries to talk about the countries' previous cooperation, before breaking off and asking a diplomat: 'What happened in the Second World War?'

He then quotes a statistic that Portugal is Britain's fourth biggest trading partner, before being corrected that Britain is Portugal's fourth biggest partner. 'Okey cokey', Boris replies.

Boris then gets going again and says 'James Bond himself was born in Estoril'.

The aide again interjects, telling him the idea of James Bond came to Ian Fleming while he was in Portugal.

A bemused looking Boris replies: 'You can't put an idea in my head and then correct me.'

The programme shows Boris looking uncomfortable as he is grilled over Brexit by staff at the British embassy in Lisbon

On his way to the Portugal trip, Boris tells staff he is happy with the government aircraft they are taking, branding an alternative plane 'the extraordinary rendition', a term used to described the detaining of foreign terror suspects.

Boris is also filmed being grilled about Brexit by troubled staff at the British Embassy in Lisbon and gives an uncomfortable answer, saying he backs Theresa May's approach to Brexit. He later resigned his post over the issue.

The programme's producer Michael Waldman said: 'Boris is a fascinating figure. He's very charming and very funny. There are times when you can be in admiration of him and raise an eyebrow at his behaviour almost at the same moment.'

He said the clash in styles between Boris and civil servants was necessary, as the minister was there to be able to communicate ideas to the public, while aides are non-political advisers and experts.

The programme follows Boris and his aides during diplomatic missions around the world

The programme shows the range of work being carried out by Britain's Foreign Office, with the first episode looking at tricky relations with Vladimir Putin's Russia and Burma during the persecution of the Rohingya minority.

The second episode examines British diplomats' work around Brexit, and the third looks at helping British people in trouble overseas.

Mr Waldman said that, after months spent in negotiation getting access to the government department, he hoped the film showed the human side of the people representing British citizens around the world.

The three-part BBC Two series Inside The Foreign Office airs from tomorrow at 9pm on BBC Two.
This the shocking moment a brazen care worker is caught stealing cash from an 83-year-old woman's purse - while in the dementia sufferer's own home.

Sophy Retallick was spotted on CCTV taking cash from the purse of a vulnerable woman she was supposed to be caring for.

The crime, which has been labelled 'appalling' by the victim's son, was caught on video after he noticed his mother's purse had less money than usual.

Sophy Retallick (pictured) is seen approaching the house of the 83-year-old woman in Truro, Cornwall. Little does she know however, that the woman's son has installed CCTV around the property

Retallick (pictured) glances at the camera, seemingly unaware she is being filmed. She enters the property using a key kept in a lock box next to the door

While the 83-year-old woman is not looking, Retallick grabs the purse from the windowsill. Moments later she is seen rifling through it in search of cash

He became concerned so installed CCTV cameras in his mother's home in Truro, Cornwall, and caught Retallick in the act.

Retallick, who cared for the woman between October 2017 and May 2018, appeared at Truro Magistrates' Court on Monday where she pleaded guilty to the theft.

The court heard that at the end of last year the family of the woman began to notice that money was going missing from her purse.

Checks were made with Ivy's receipts, and there were no changes in her outgoings, so her son installed CCTV in the home.

On March 10, Retallick was described as being suspicious in her behaviour, and cash again went missing.

The son checked the carer log details, and noticed that Retallick was the person who was signing in to care for her when the money was going missing.

After checking the CCTV footage, Retallick was caught taking the woman's purse from a window sill in the kitchen.

Further incidents happened in May, when Retallick was seen on camera putting her hand in the woman's handbag and removing something.

Money continued to go missing, and Retallick was again caught on CCTV removing the woman's purse from the kitchen window sill.

Retallick was reported to police and attended a voluntary interview, in which she admitted her crimes.

Alison May, for the prosecution, said: 'She said she had recently acquired employment, and described a list of medications she struggled to pay for.

'She took the opportunity to take the money.'

Retallick (pictured) examines the purse to see if there is any money inside. She does all this before signing in for her duties using the book on the table

Retallick told police in an interview: 'I wanted to stop, but I couldn't help myself.

'Something would always come up. I wish I had never let it get out of hand. I'm truly sorry for what I have done.'

In mitigation, solicitor Patrick Haynes said: 'When her husband got a new job, the increase income affected their benefits.

'She suffers from manic depression and severe asthma. She is on a good number of medications.

'When her benefits were cut, she had to go back into work. She couldn't afford the medication.

'She went back into work not with an intention to steal. Sadly such was her condition that she felt she had no option but to do that.

'She was caught, interviewed and completely honest and open with police.'

Sentencing Retallick to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, the chair of the magistrates' bench said: 'This was extremely serious, deliberate offending over a period of time.'

Retallick quickly pockets the money (pictured) and replaces the purse on the windowsill before the 83-year-old woman can notice something is wrong

Retallick must complete 80 hours of unpaid work, as well as ten rehabilitation activity requirement sessions.

She must also pay 250 in compensation to the victim, 85 court costs and a 110 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the hearing, Ivy's son said: 'It was an appalling crime, my mother has worked hard all her life and she has little savings.

'The idea that someone who had access to her house was taking the money was very upsetting for us all.

'The worst thing I think is that in the video, the defendant is seen chatting away to my mother while pocketing the cash.

'We can see the magistrates have taken this really seriously, and it sends a message to those in positions of trust.

'Most carers do a fantastic job and this woman has brought her profession into disrepute, which the magistrates have recognised.'
Andrew Hume (pictured), 49 and from Streatham, hosted dinner parties to deal crystal meth and referred to himself as Cardinal Hume when discussing the sale of drugs in text messages

A chemsex drug dealer who called himself Cardinal Hume and revelled in his Breaking Bad image has been jailed for 45 months.

Andrew Hume, 49, hosted dinner parties to deal crystal meth and used the religious moniker in text messages about the sale of drugs.

The part-time cookery teacher also smuggled large quantities of GBL and laundered 50,000 of his profits by sending the cash to the Philippines, Inner London Crown Court heard.

Police raided Humes home in Natal Road, Streatham in December 2016 and found a bottle of GBL and 64 grams of crystal meth worth up to 12,800, hidden inside a footstool.

Hume also used a laptop with adorned with a sticker from the crime drama Breaking Bad, about a depressed teacher who turns to drug dealing.

He admitted having the GBL and crystal meth, but denied supplying it for profit.

Given the quantity, we say he was intending to supply all of it because there is too much for personal use, said Bill McGivern, prosecuting.

He was supplying to larger numbers of people, including those who attended his dinner parties.

He was the go-to person to obtain crystal meth and that was within the chemsex scene.

Mr McGivern said deal lists were found in Humes bedroom, containing a rundown of his customers.

When police raided the 600,000 home he shared with friend Simon Bennett and found nearly three litres of GBL, Hume claimed the liquid was for cleaning his friends classic car.

When police raided the 600,000 home (pictured) Hume shared with friend Simon Bennett they found nearly three litres of GBL. They also found 64 grams of crystal meth worth up to 12,800, hidden inside a footstool

Hume claimed: We have (it) for Simons classic car, a Citroen, it is used for refurbishing the wheels.

But his bank statements revealed a regular stream of money going in and out of his account despite the part-time teacher not working since 2013.

Mr McGivern told the court: Mr Hume was dealing in crystal meth for some time.

Some of the drugs clearly were consistent with personal use but the larger amount was clearly for supply.

There was a warrant issued after five litres of GBL was intercepted by border forces.

These five litres would have been the equivalent of 2,500 shots or something like that.

The prosecutor told how drugs and associated paraphernalia were found at Harmans flat.

Andrew Hume (left) and Simon Bennett (right) are pictured leaving court. Bennett, 52, who owned the three-bedroom house in Streatham, was acquitted of allowing his premises to be used for drug dealing as well as possession of cocaine and crystal meth

Also found were a series of notebooks which essentially set out a snapshot of Mr Harmans dealings over a period of time.

Humes drug supplier Nicholas Harman, 36, failed to turn up at court for sentence and was jailed for three and a half years in his absence.

Bennett, 52, who owned the three-bedroom house in Streatham, was acquitted of allowing his premises to be used for drug dealing as well as possession of cocaine and crystal meth.

Liam Edwards, defending Hume, told the court: This is as drug not widely used. It is primarily used in the gay community in small circles for chem sex.

He has come today with a bag - he knows he is going to prison, there is no other option.

The hearing was halted twice after Hume started sobbing loudly from the dock.

Mr Edwards said: Im afraid Mr Hume was very distressed, he tells me that he is able to continue.

Hume, from Streatham, was found guilty of possession with intent to supply GBL, possession with intent to supply crystal meth, smuggling and possession of GBL and two counts of possession of criminal property.

He was sentenced to a total of three years and nine months imprisonment.

Harman, also from Streatham, was convicted of possession with intent to supply crystal meth, possession with intent to supply GBL, fraudulently evading prohibition by importing GBL, offering to supply crystal meth, offering to supply GBL, possession of MDMA and possession of ketamine.

He was sentenced to three years and six months in his absence.
Israel's Defence Minister has resigned in protest over the Gaza ceasefire - calling it a 'capitulation to terror'.

Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation today and called for early elections after a disagreement over the Gaza deal.

His shock resignation has thrown the government into turmoil.

Lieberman described yesterday's ceasefire deal with Hamas, mediated by Egypt, over Gaza as a 'surrender to terrorism' after two days of heavy fighting.

But Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, called the resignation a 'political victory for Gaza' and said it was a result of Israel's 'defeat' this week.

Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman (pictured) has resigned in protest over the Gaza ceasefire - calling it a 'capitulation to terror'

Palestinians gather near the remains of a building that was completely destroyed by an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City yesterday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government has been thrown into turmoil with the resignation of the defence minster leaving him with just a one-seat majority

Lieberman also said his party, Yisrael Beitenu, was leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, leaving the premier with only a one-seat majority in parliament.

He told reporters today: 'What happened yesterday - the truce combined with the process with Hamas - is capitulating to terror. It has no other meaning.

'What we're doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet, with the price being severe long-term damage to national security.'

He added later: 'We should agree on a date for elections as early as possible.

'Despite the difference in opinion, I tried to stay a faithful member of the government for as long as possible, but it has failed.'

Lieberman also said he fiercely objected to Israel allowing Qatar to deliver $15m in aid to Gaza last week, which was said to be used to pay workers who had not received wages.

Hamas hailed the resignation as a 'political victory for Gaza'.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said in a statement: 'Lieberman's departure is recognition of defeat and failure to confront the Palestinian resistance. Gaza's steadfastness sent a political shockwave.'

Lieberman previously worked as a nightclub bouncer as a young man before embarking on a political career marked by anti-Arab tirades and strident populism.

The leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu (Israel Is Our Home) party was said to by loathed by the Palestinians as he was a security hardliner.

Palestinians inspect a crater caused by an Israeli air strike earlier this week in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip today

Residents of southern Israel protest against their government's decision to hold fire in Gaza in response to a similar decision by Palestinian militants yesterday

He also was said to have a practical side while in government and backed off from some of his most controversial comments after becoming defence minister in May 2016.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Lieberman have been bitter rivals in the past, but often worked together while in government.

Over the years Lieberman has held positions as a foreign minister from 2009 to 2012, then again from 2013 to 2015.

As Israel's top diplomat, he has criticised the European Union, accusing it of following a pro-Palestinian policy hostile to Jews - often invoking the Holocaust.

These controversial stances earned him many fans in Israel, while critics accused him of racism.

His image was tainted by a corruption scandal that saw him leave the government in 2012, but he was cleared of the charges and a year later he returned.

Lieberman says he is not a supporter of the idea of 'Greater Israel' - the biblical boundaries that include the occupied West Bank and which settlers advocate

Controversial comments by the former Israeli defence minister Born in the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova, Lieberman, 60, emigrated to Israel in 1978. Lieberman started his career in Netanyahu's Likud party and rose through the ranks to become his chief of staff during the premier's first term from 1996 to 1999. That year, he created Yisrael Beitenu, capturing the support of many of the more than one million Jews who emigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union, which is an expanding electoral base. In 2001, he advocated bombing the Aswan Dam in Egypt, accusing Israel's Arab neighbour of supporting a Palestinian uprising. In 2014, he called Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas a 'diplomatic terrorist'. A year later in 2015, Lieberman said that Israeli Arabs disloyal to the country 'deserve to have their heads chopped off with an axe'. That same year he called Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan an 'anti-Semitic neighbourhood bully'. In 2016, Lieberman accused some Arab members of the Israeli parliament of being 'representatives of terrorist organisations'. Before becoming defence minister, he also said he would give Hamas leader Ismail Haniya 48 hours to hand over two detained Israeli civilians and the bodies of soldiers killed in a 2014 war 'or you're dead'. He even once described Netanyahu as a 'liar, cheat and a crook.' In recent months, he has been seeking to have a bill approved that would make it easier to sentence Palestinian assailants to death. Advertisement

Netanyahu today defended his decision to accept the ceasefire after the worst escalation with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip since the 2014 Gaza war.

He said at a ceremony in honour of Israel's founding father David Ben-Gurion: 'In times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public can't always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy.

'Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they knew very well why.'

Elections are not due until November 2019, but Lieberman's resignation increases the likelihood of an earlier vote.

Lieberman heads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, which holds five seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament.

Angry residents took to the street yesterday chanting 'disgrace!' at what they saw as the government's capitulation to violence and its inability to provide long-term security, as many have openly vowed to never vote Likud again.

Avigdor Lieberman, who leads the five-seat Yisrael Beitenu party, called the Gaza truce a 'surrender to terrorism' after two days of heavy fighting

Residents of southern Israel protest against their government's decision to hold fire in Gaza

Angry residents took to the street yesterday chanting 'disgrace!' at what they saw as the government's capitulation to violence and its inability to provide long-term security

David Maimon, a local resident, said: 'We are third-class citizens here in Sderot and the communities on the border with Gaza.

'It's a shame. Instead of helping us and letting us live quietly, they let us suffer.'

Gaza descended into violence this week as Israel came under a heavy barrage of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip on Monday, a day after a flare-up in which an Israeli officer and seven Palestinians were killed.

Palestinian Nawaf al-Aatar, 20, was killed by Israeli fire in the area of the northern Gaza Strip today as he was fishing near the border fence.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said 'troops recognised a number of suspects who approached the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip'.

She added: 'When one of the suspects approached the security fence, (Israeli) troops fired toward him in accordance with the standard operation procedures.'

Yesterday an anti-tank missile launched from Gaza hit a bus in southern Israel, severely wounding a 19-year-old soldier.

Around sundown on Monday, militants launched 100 rockets in less than an hour, the most intense barrage since the 50-day war four years ago.

The Israel Defense Forces said the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted around 100 out of some 370 launches from Gaza.

Palestinians gather in front of a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City yesterday

Israelis run for cover after warning of 'red alert' near the southern Israeli city of Sderot yesterday

Smoke rising from the northern Gaza Strip town of Biet Hanon as seen after the violence of yesterday

Yesterday the Israeli army announced it is reinforcing Armored Corps and infantry units near the Gaza Strip, while the Israel Air Force struck over a hundred Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets on Monday night, including a munitions warehouse, weapons factory and a military compound and Hamas' Public Security offices

The fighting, triggered by a botched undercover Israeli military raid in Gaza, cast doubt over recent understandings brokered by Egypt and UN officials to reduce tensions.

A day earlier, Israel's prime minister said he was doing everything possible to avoid another war.

Late on Monday, an air strike destroyed the Gaza City headquarters of Hamas's Al Aqsa TV station.

In all, 200 rockets were fired into Israel by mid-evening, the Israeli army said as the Israeli military responded with strikes against targets in Gaza.

In recent days, Israel had allowed fuel shipments to increase the power supply in Gaza, which suffers from frequent blackouts, and agreed to additional Qatari assistance to allow Hamas to pay the salaries of its thousands of government workers.

Hamas has staged near-weekly border protests since March in an effort to lift the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after the Islamic militant group seized control of the coastal strip in 2007.

The blockade has ravaged Gaza's economy, and Israel refuses to lift it unless Hamas disarms, a demand rejected by militant group, which is pledged to Israel's destruction.

Demonstrators each week have approach the border fence, throwing firebombs, grenades and burning tires at Israeli troops. Israeli snipers have killed about 170 people, most of them unarmed.

Israel says it is defending its border against attackers, but it has come under heavy international criticism for shooting unarmed people.
Bizarre footage apparently showing a five-storey apartment building cruising down the Yangtze River in China has made waves on social media.

The unusual sight on Saturday turned out to be a large floating restaurant being pushed along the river by two smaller boats to new location in Chongqing.

The eatery, named Impression Jiangjin, had to be relocated by local authorities because it was causing too much pollution to the river, according to Chinese media.

Bizarre footage showing a five-storey building cruising down the Yangtze River in Chongqing municipality, south-west China on Saturday has made waves on social media

It turned out to be a large floating restaurant being pushed along the river by two smaller boats

The eatery, named Impression Jiangjin (pictured), had to be relocated by local authorities because it was causing too much pollution to the river, according to Chinese media

Video of the incident shows the massive structure - with a red roof and open balconies like an apartment building - being propelled by two tow boats, slowly travelling along China's famed waterway.

Such floating restaurants have recently been banned in Jiangjin district over pollution concerns, according to Chongqing maritime authorities.

It is said that customers would leave large amounts of garbage on the shore of the river after meals, causing serious pollution to surrounding areas and aquatic life.

Video of the incident shows the massive structure - with a red roof and open balconies like an apartment building - being propelled by two tows, travelling along China's famed waterway

It is said that customers would leave large amounts of garbage on the shore of the river after meals, causing serious pollution to surrounding areas and aquatic life

To protect the segment of Yangtze River running through the city, Chongqing's municipality government started a year-long inspection over local dinner cruises since 2017, according to CGTN.

A total of eight restaurants - including this eatery - was ordered to halt operation before June 16 this year and evacuate the Jiangjin section of the Yangtze River, according to Jiangjin Daily News citing a government notice.

Footage of the peculiar sight left residents and net users stunned on Chinese social media.

A total of eight restaurants - including Jiangjin Impression - was ordered to halt operation before June 16 this year and evacuate the Jiangjin section of the Yangtze River

To protect the segment of Yangtze River running through the city (pictured), Chongqing's municipality government started a year-long inspection over local dinner cruises since 2017

'This is beyond the bounds of my imagination!' one highly rated comment read.

'This is what you'd call "epic moving",' another said.

'An immovable object is now floating along a river ... amazing!' one user said.

'Chongqing is really a magical city,' another said.
Indonesian teenagers are using menstrual pads to get high by boiling the sanitary product and then drinking the water, local officials have warned.

Both new and used sanitary pads are said to be obtained by young Indonesians looking for a cheap and legal way to get high.

The chemicals in the sanitary pads give those who drink the resulting concoction a feeling of 'flying' and hallucinations, according to the Indonesian National Drug Agency (BNN).

Shocking: Teenagers in Indonesia are boiling sanitary pads and getting high after drinking the water, according to local officials

Several local newspapers, including the Jakarta Post, Jawa Pos and Pos Belitung, have reported about the worrying trend in recent weeks.

Police on the island of Java, home to the capital Jakarta, have arrested several intoxicated teenagers who later revealed they had gotten high from the unusual 'sanitary pad formula', Straits Times report.

'The used pads they took from the trash were put in boiling water. After it cooled down, they drank it together,' Senior Commander Suprinarto, head of the BNN in Central Java, said.

A 14-year-old boy from Belitung Island, east of Sumatra, who admitted to getting 'drunk' by boiling unused sanitary pads, described to a local newspaper how he creates the concoction.

Young users: A teenager living on the island of Belitung, pictured, who claimed to be getting high off the concoction said it tasted 'bitter'

A pad is removed from its wrapper and boiled for about an hour, after which the water is cooled.

The sanitary product is squeezed into the container, after which the water is drunk, he told Pos Belitung.

Describing the resulting beverage as 'bitter', he told the newspaper he and his friends drink it 'morning, afternoon and evening'.

The newspaper also reported that nappies had been used to achieve the same 'legal high' drink.

The Indonesian Ministry of Health is now investigating what chemical is extracted in the boiling process to cause the 'high', Vice reports, quoting a local news website.
Doctors have saved the life of a baby born by caesarean section after his heavily pregnant mother was shot dead with a crossbow.

Eight months pregnant Sana Muhammad was killed in front of her five children as she did the washing up at the family home in Ilford, east London, on Monday morning.

The killer was hiding inside a shed at the property and attacked her husband Imtiaz Muhammad before chasing him inside the home.

The 35-year-old mother-of-five was hit by a bolt and rushed to hospital, where medics delivered her baby son with the arrow still lodged in her abdomen.

He was fighting for his life but police have now confirmed the baby, named Ibrahim by relatives, is in stable condition.

Meanwhile friends have launched a GoFundMe page for the family to try to raise 30,000 to support them, with more than 2,000 donated so far. To donate, click here.

A shocking photo released by the family shows little Ibrahim in hospital on Monday. He was fighting for his life following emergency caesarean surgery but is now stable

Pregnant Sana Muhammad was shot and killed with a crossbow yesterday

The 35-year-old mother-of-five was doing the washing up at home when she was attacked in front of her children

Mrs Muhammad's ex-husband, Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, has been charged with murder

Father-of-three Imtiaz Muhammad shouted 'run, run, run' as the killer chased him into the kitchen and fired the weapon

An aerial shot shows a police incident tent pressed up against the window through which the killer show Mrs Muhammad

Local Muslim cemetery Guardians of Peace have also offered a funeral service free of charge.

Mr Muhammad went to the shed at 7.30am to put a box away and discovered the armed attacker hiding inside.

The father-of-three shouted 'run, run, run' as the killer chased him into the kitchen and fired the weapon.

The victim's husband told The Evening Standard: 'I can't help thinking she took my arrow. Maybe it should have hit me. The kids were all there, it was horrific.'

The arrow is said to have passed just inches from the unborn baby before his mother ran upstairs to get away, the arrow still stuck in her body.

Mr Muhammad added: 'The arrow went up into her heart but did not touch the unborn baby. The baby was due in four weeks. They operated with the arrow still in because it would have been too dangerous to take out.'

Neighbours said Mrs Muhammad's ex-husband, Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, was taken away by police. He has since been charged with murder.

Mrs Muhammad's husband, Imtiaz (right), said she was standing at the sink when the arrow hit

Mr Muhammad had been going out to the shed (pictured) to put some tools away when he spotted the attacker

After he spotted the attacker in the shed, Mr Muhammad ran in to warn his family, telling them to 'run'

Heartbroken Mr Muhammad described his partner of seven years as a 'wonderful mother and wife'.

Friends said she had five children, three with her previous partner, aged 12, 14 and 18, and two with Mr Muhammad, aged two and five.

Mrs Muhammad, who was born in Mauritius, had been a Hindu but converted to Islam in order to wed builder Imtiaz, who is originally from Pakistan.

The couple met and fell in love after her marriage to Mr Unmattallegadoo, who is also from Mauritius, fell apart.

'Sana became a Muslim so she could marry Imtiaz. Their's was a love marriage,' a close family friend, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline.

Video from the scene showed a man being taken away by police after the attack yesterday

Mrs Muhammad's husband, Imtiaz, said her killer was hiding in the shed before attacking them

Mr Muhammad said he fears the killer may have been aiming for him when he hit his wife

The friend added: 'She is from Mauritius and had previously been a Hindu. Her marriage to her first husband was arranged. He was so much older than her and they were not happy.

'They lived together in the house [in Newbury Park] but he [Ramanodge] moved out after they split up.'

The friend said of Mrs Muhammad's second marriage: 'Sana and Imtiaz were very happy. They loved having the kids around them. We all used to spend time together and share food. It is such a tragedy what has happened to her.'

A witness of the aftermath of the attack said: 'The husband Imtiaz came out the house screaming for help - he was banging on doors.

'The kids were all there and they were crying for help. Imtiaz had gone to put a cardboard TV box in his garage and he found the ex husband standing there.

'It was 7.30am, so the devil must have been there in the night, laying in wait.'

Mrs Muhammad married her husband six years ago. They have two children together and were looking forward to welcoming their third

The killing happened at the family's terraced home in Ilford, east London yesterday morning

Floral tributes have been left at the scene of the attack by Mrs Muhammad's grieving friends

Neighbour Navneet Buttar, 35, was at home at time of the incident and also saw the aftermath.

She said: 'I saw man come out he was shaking, nervous and he said 'help, help'. Then within minutes the police came.'

Ms Buttar described Sana as a 'very nice lady', adding: 'She is my friend on this road. Her kids and my kids go to nursery together.'

Friends said the victim converted to Islam seven years ago, shortly before she remarried.

The alleged murderer and his ex-wife still jointly own the house where she was killed, documents showed.

Mr Unmathallegadoo bought the home with Mrs Muhammad in 2011 for 329,950.

One neighbour described how Mrs Muhammad was not content when married to her previous husband.

'She clearly wasn't happy with her life, she married too young with a big age gap,' the neighbour said.

A Met Police spokesman said: 'A man has been charged with the murder of a woman in Ilford. This follows an incident at an address in Applegarth Drive, Ilford at approximately 07:40hrs on Monday, 12 November.

'The victim was found suffering an abdominal injury. She was taken to hospital where she later died. Detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating.

'No other persons are sought in connection with this investigation. The arrested man and woman were known to each other. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.'

A total of 121 people have been killed in London this year, with the total already beyond the number killed in the whole of last year

Mrs Muhammad became London's 120th homicide victim this year, with another killing in Balham last night taking the total number killed in the capital in 2018 to 121.

It means that with more than a month left to go until the New Year, the total is already above the 118 homicides seen in the capital in 2017.

Experienced detectives say they have been shocked by the volume of violent crime and ferocity of some attacks in the capital this year.

Steve O'Connell, Chairman of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee said: 'We have reached the depressing situation where London has seen the numbers of people killed so far this year reach the same total as for the whole of last year.

'This is a tragedy not only for those most affected, the family and friends of the victims, but for all Londoners.

'Violent crime now has to be the top priority for the capital and it is time that more action was taken by the Mayor, alongside the Met, and by central government to stem the tide of lawlessness.

'Recent initiatives like the Mayor's planned Violence Reduction Unit may be part of the answer in the long run but Londoners are crying out for urgent solutions now - not 10 years in the future.'
Pakistan's information minister, Fawad Chaudry, said pictures which claim to show Mrs Bibi meeting Pope Francis are actually of her daughter, and date from two years ago.

She spent eight years on death row for allegedly blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad-a charge that carries the death penalty in the Muslim-majority nation.

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had also said that his government is holding talks with Pakistan over potentially offering asylum to Aasia - a Christian woman accused of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to death but on October 30 she was acquitted by the Supreme Court. His comments were confirmed by a spokesman in Ottawa.

Calls to the United Kingdom government to offer asylum to Asia Bibi, the Pakistani-Christian woman who was acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court last month, have grown, as former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote to the incumbent Sajid Javid, arguing Ms. Bibi had an "overwhelming claim for compassion" from the British government.

Pakistani officials have said Bibi was released from prison but is in a secure location while the court reconsiders her case.

Qureshi said that Aasia is a Pakistani national and her legal rights would be fully respected.

Her lawyer, Saif ul-Malook, who has fled to the Netherlands following violent protests in Pakistan, told the BBC on Tuesday that she was yet to be offered a visa to any Western country, which remained the only impediment to her ability to leave Pakistan safely. The government has indicated it will bar her from travelling overseas.

This public call from progressive Muslim community activists and thinkers, urging Mr Javid to come to Asia Bibi's aid, is a clear indication, if ever there needed to be one, that there is no such thing as a single "community" with a single point of view.

The militant Tehrik-e-Labaik (TLP) party took to the streets after her acquittal and blocked main cities and highways for three days.
A heartbroken British mother has begged the British government to rescue her starving daughter from a Yemen war zone - 30 years after her husband snatched her child from the UK when she was a girl.

Jackie Morgan, from Cardiff, says her daughter Safia and four grandchildren are suffering from typhoid in their squalid home in Aden as the country faces the world's worst humanitarian crisis in 50 years.

Safia, 34, and her two sisters were abducted by their Yemeni father - Jackie's then-husband - in 1986 before he flew them to Saudi Arabia and then onto his homeland, cruelly taunting his wife that she would never see her daughters again.

One of Jackie's daughters, Nadia, has since died while she has lost contact with a second, Rahannah.

The 56-year-old has launched a desperate bid to repatriate Safia and her family - but has accused the government of abandoning them as Yemen teeters on the brink of famine.

Jackie Morgan's daughter Safia with her children (left to right) Mohammed, Jacqueline, Lucy and baby Asalah in the foreground. Safia was abducted from her home town of Cardiff 30 years ago by her father and taken to Yemen, which is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis in 50 years

Jackie Morgan was reunited briefly with two of her three abducted daughters on a trip to Yemen in 2002. Pictured left to right: Nadia (now deceased), Jackie and Rahannah

Jackie gave birth to Rahannah in 1980, when she was 18, and went on to have two more girls with Yemeni citizen Sadek - Nadia, born in 1982, and Safia, who is now 34. Sadek took the girls to Yemen in 1986 and told Jackie she would never see them again. Jackie was briefly reunited with two of her three abducted children in Yemen in 2002 (pictured). Pictured, left to right: Jackie, Nadia (deceased) and Rahannah

Jackie's rescue bid was dealt a cruel blow after Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt told her the Government was unable to help.

She said: 'They [the Foreign Office] don't want to know. Safia and my grandchildren are British citizens and they've been left there to starve to death.

'I'm dreading telling her that the Government has washed its hands of them.'

Jackie was just 15 and living with her parents when she met Sadek Saleh, a Yemeni expat eight years her senior. She gave birth to their daughter Rahannah in 1980, when she was 18, and went on to have two more girls with Sadek - Nadia, born in 1982, and Safia, who is now 34.

The couple wed in 1983 and Jackie converted to Islam the same year. But she says the marriage soon began to founder amid Sadek's heavy drinking and gambling.

Jackie spent some time in the shelter of a women's refuge with her three daughters, but said: 'Conditions were so bad I went crawling back home to try and make my marriage work for the sake of the children.'

On May Bank Holiday 1986, Sadek said he was taking the girls to stay with relatives overnight in Cardiff. It would be the last time Jackie would see them for almost two decades.

When Sadek failed to return the following day, Jackie called friends, relatives and - eventually - the police.

But he had already flown from Heathrow to Saudi Arabia, taking the children with him.

'It's still a mystery how he got them all out of the UK,' Jackie said.

Safia's son Mohammed (pictured), 12, is on an intravenous drip after the family fell ill with typhoid. Mohammed is the oldest of four. Their mother, Safia, was abducted from her home in Cardiff by her father 30 years ago and taken to Yemen

Jackie Morgan's grand daughters, Lucy (left), 10, and Jacqueline (right), 11. The children are growing up in war torn Yemen after the British government said it could not help Jackie, who is trying to bring them safely to the UK

Conditions inside the home in Aden, Yemen, when Safia lives with her four children, all 12-years-old and younger

'Rahannah and Nadia were on my passport and he'd taken that with him, but Safia wasn't, and she was only 18 months old. How was she even allowed to leave the country?

'Sadek was under no illusion that I wanted a divorce but he wouldn't give me one because he knew I would get the children.

'Then, just like that, they were gone - with just the clothes on their backs.'

Sadek flew onwards from Saudi Arabia to Yemen and later wrote to Jackie, returning her passport and boasting that she would never see the girls again.

With no extradition treaty in place, Jackie was told British police were powerless to act.

'I was devastated,' she says. 'I was their mother, and they'd been ripped from home.'

Her case has recently been taken up by Welsh Assembly Member Neil McEvoy, who is aiming to raise enough money to repatriate Safia and her children through a crowdfunding campaign.

He commented: 'It's appalling the Foreign Office won't do anything to help Safia.

'I'd like to think that the one thing you can rely on the British Government to do is try to get you out of a war zone. But they won't.'

Jackie later met someone new and had another daughter, Lucy Hewer, 30.

Conditions at Safia's home in Aden, Yemen. Her sister Lucy said: 'We've just had to send money out to them because the whole family has been poorly with typhoid and they haven't eaten properly for weeks'

But she never gave up hope of a reunion with her estranged children, and appealed to government officials, the British Embassy in Yemen and even Interpol for help.

Her efforts proved futile but in 2000 she received a letter out of the blue from Rahannah, who revealed her father had told the girls Jackie was dead.

Ignoring warnings from British authorities about her safety, Jackie flew to Yemen and was briefly reunited with Rahannah and Nadia over a two week trip.

'I was only able to see Safia for fifteen minutes before Sadek discovered I was in Yemen and came looking for me with a gun,' she recalls. 'I barricaded myself in a room, terrified that he was going to find me, before I fled to the airport.'

Later the same year, Jackie paid for Rahannah and Nadia to spend three months visiting Cardiff. Safia was stopped from joining her sisters by their father.

Jackie said: 'I wanted them to stay but they had lives back in Yemen and they were missing their husbands.

Jackie Morgan (second from left) with daughters (left to right) Rahannah, Nadia and Lucy in Porthcawl, Wales, during Rahannah and Nadia's visit to the UK in 2002. Safia was stopped from joining her sisters by their father

'It was heartbreaking when they flew home, but at least now I knew where they were, and had established some contact with them.'

As the years passed, Jackie all but lost contact with Rahannah, and she learned in 2011 that Nadia had tragically died giving birth to her fourth child. That same year, Sadek was killed in a car accident.

More than 15,000 people have been killed and thousands more have injured since 2015, when civil war escalated in Yemen after Houthi rebels - who now control the capital, Sana'a - seized control of the west of the country.

Three years of conflict have led to a severe food shortage in the country and more than one million people have been infected with cholera since April last year. An estimated 100,000 people have been forced out of their homes.

President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia, and government loyalists were pushed back to the city of Aden, where Safia lives with her son, Mohammed, 12, and three daughters, Jacqueline, 11, Lucy, 10 and Asalah, 2.

A letter from Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt regarding Jackie Morgan's daughter abandoned in Yemen, where he says the Government is unable to help because there are no evacuation procedures

Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes advised the family to apply for British passports - even though they live in a ravaged war zone in Yemen

Hadi's supporters are being backed by a Saudi-led coalition of middle-eastern countries, which has instigated a blockade of Houthi-held ports.

The UN says of those killed, at least 6,660 were civilians. The blockade means Yemen's people are also starving - with 50,000 children a year dying of 'extreme hunger and disease'.

UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock said in a recent report that 14 million people could soon be facing 'pre-famine conditions, meaning they are entirely reliant on external aid for survival.'

Last year, as Jackie and Lucy listened helplessly to news of the worsening crisis, Safia contacted them with a desperate plea for help.

Lucy explained: 'She is literally scraping by, living in squalid conditions and skipping meals because she and her husband Labib can't afford to buy food.

'We've just had to send money out to them because the whole family has been poorly with typhoid and they haven't eaten properly for weeks.

'For now, they seem to be getting food on the black market, but everything is so expensive.'

Buildings reduced to rubble in Aden (pictured) in Yemen, where Cardiff mother Jackie Morgan's daughter Safia is living with her four children after being abducted from her UK home 30 years ago

Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, told the family the Foreign Office had no evacuation procedure in place and was 'unable to provide any form of assisted departure for British nationals in Yemen.'

Meanwhile Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes suggested in a letter that Safia apply for a British passport online.

Lucy said: 'It goes to show how out of touch they are.

'It's civil war. People are starving, buildings have been reduced to rubble, and the communications system has been shattered.

'Sometimes days go by without even a WhatsApp message from Safia and we don't know if it's because of a power cut or because she's been killed in a bombing.

'Yet somehow she's expected to just pop online, pay for passports and presumably wait for the postman to arrive with a recorded delivery.

'And what is she meant to do with the passports when she's got them? She doesn't even have enough money to eat, let alone buy plane tickets.'

Jackie Morgan (left) of Cardiff, with daughter Lucy Hewer. Lucy said Safia 'is literally scraping by, living in squalid conditions and skipping meals because she and her husband Labib can't afford to buy food'

The Government inaction means the family's only hope is to raise enough money to buy flights for Safia and the children from Yemen to Cairo, and then onwards to the UK - at a cost of around 6,000.

Lucy said: 'Labib is prepared to say goodbye to his family to give them a chance of survival and a new life here in the UK.

'We managed to raise about 1,000, but with the daily problems Safia is facing, we're having to dip into that money just to keep them all alive.

'We're desperate. Safia is stuck in Yemen through no fault of her own. She was taken from the UK against her and my mum's will. We'd urge the Government to reconsider - they'll have blood on their hands if anything happens to Safia and those children.'

For now, they are pinning their hopes on Neil McEvoy's crowdfunding bid.

Mr McEvoy said: 'It's up to the community to rally together and help Jackie and Safia. It's really hard to get out of the Yemen. The flights are very irregular and expensive.

'Jackie and Safia have been through so much and I really hope they can be reunited.'

Donate to the crowdfunder here
A wildlife and exotics veterinarian has lambasted Coles' 'Little Shop' campaign after she discovered one of its plastic toys washed up on a beach in Indonesia.

Stephanie Shaw, a 40-year-old mother from Brisbane, was in Bali for a work trip this week when she noticed the familiar toy laying on the sand among heaps of plastic and rubbish.

Ironically, Ms Shaw had just finished a marine conservation and plastic pollution conference.

'I couldn't believe it. That little piece of plastic could have easily landed in a sea turtle's mouth or been swallowed by a bird,' Ms Shaw told Yahoo7 News.

Stephanie Shaw, a 40-year-old mother from Brisbane, was in Bali for a work trip this week when she noticed the familiar toy laying on the sand among heaps of plastic and rubbish (pictured)

The wildlife and exotics veterinarian Stephanie Shaw (pictured) had just finished a marine conservation and plastic pollution conference when she decided to take a walk along the beach

'It was actually kind of fitting as Nutella itself is full of palm oil, which is devastating Indonesia's rainforests and killing the orangutan population,' she continued.

Ms Shaw continued to slam the campaign, blaming Coles executives for not thinking of the aftermath of having thousands of little plastic toys, that will never break down, floating around.

'It's just a terrible campaign. We should be straying away from plastics altogether. They are not thinking about the environment. They're not recyclable at all.'

Ms Shaw wasn't able to confirm if the Coles toy had infact traveled from Australia, or had been brought to the beach by a tourist.

However, deputy director of national environmentalist group Boomerang Alliance Jayne Paramor believed the small size of the toys could make it easy for them to escape into the litter stream.

The 'Little Shop' campaign was announced by Coles in July this year.

For each $30 purchase, customers were handed a small grocery-themed plastic toy.

Despite its huge success, it sparked controversy with conservationists who condemned the campaign due to the long-term effects the plastic will have on the environment.

The campaign began just as the grocery shop giant, as well as its main competitor, Woolworths, announced a ban on all single-use plastic bags.

Just last week, Woolworths announced their own version of a 'Little Shop', offering 'pop-outs' with every $30.

However, their campaign involved 100 per cent recyclable cardboard toys.

For each $30 purchase, customers were handed a small grocery-themed plastic toy (pictured)
Police are desperately searching for a missing 23-year-old ballerina whose car was found abandoned on a boat ramp in a Missouri state park.

Raffaella Maria Stroik was reported missing on Tuesday after authorities spotted her vehicle in the Mark Twain State Park, about 120 miles north-west of St. Louis, a day earlier.

A park ranger had initially found the young woman's black VW parked on the boat ramp on Monday, but no action was taken because there wasn't a missing person's report for Stroik in the system.

Raffaella Maria Stroik, 23, was reported missing on Tuesday after authorities spotted her vehicle in the Mark Twain State Park, about 120 miles north-west of St. Louis, a day earlier

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper found that Stroik's car was still there the following morning.

Her personal belongings, including her cell phone, were found inside the locked car.

Sergeant Eric Brown told Fox2 that Stroik's keys were found outside the vehicle.

'Her keys were found laying outside the vehicle,' he said. 'They appeared to have been intentionally placed in a certain spot on the vehicle.'

Authorities then contacted her family and a missing person's report was filed.

Officials have been searching the wooded area within the state park for any sign of Stroik.

Stroik, who is originally from South Bend, Indiana, is a professional ballerina with the Saint Louis Ballet

Stroik's personal belongings, including her cell phone, were found inside the locked car. Police have been searching the wooded area within the state park for any sign of Stroik

A park ranger had initially found the young woman's black VW parked on the boat ramp on Monday. A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper found that Stroik's car was still there the following morning and her keys were on the ground outside

Courtesy of KTVI

Crews are also conducted a search of the lake.

Stroik, who is originally from South Bend, Indiana, is a professional ballerina with the Saint Louis Ballet. She joined the company last year after training with the American Contemporary Ballet and Indiana University Ballet Theater.

The 23-year-old was last seen alone on Monday morning at a Whole Foods in Town and Country - about two hours from where her car was later found.

Surveillance captured her wearing an olive-green jacket, long pink scarf, navy pants and white sneakers.

She is described as 5'7 tall and weighing about 115 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about Stroik should call 911 or the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 660 385 2132.

The 23-year-old was last seen alone on Monday morning at a Whole Foods in Town and Country - about two hours from where her car was later found at the Mark Twain State Park
A powerful photo has captured the moment an elderly farmer desperately prayed for rain.

Farmer and Australian army veteran Rhonda King was helping her dad Alf feed the bulls on their cattle farm near Bingara, in north-west New South Wales, on Sunday when he felt the sudden urge to stop.

With an eye patch covering one eye, the ailing and almost blind farmer knelt down on the barren earth in an empty dam and clasped his hands together as he made a plea for some much-needed rain.

His daughter, 59, later shared the image on social media.

Rhonda King took this photo of her father Alf, 83, desperately praying for the heavens to open

'The effects of drought. This morning I found my 83 year old father in the middle of a dry dam, praying for rain,' Ms King wrote.

The photo has since attracted almost 600 shares.

'Heartbreaking picture so hard to take after a lifetime of hard work,' one woman commented.

Another added: 'Hope he now has his prayers answered and you now get the act of god to make it rain, fill the dam and green up the parched paddocks! Plus follow up rain to keep things green and replenish your faith.'

Just two of the 35 dams on the 2,000 acre cattle farm now contain water.

'Four generations have toiled hard on this land. Never seen before, first time without water,' Ms King posted.

It's now just her and her dad on the farm.

'He comes and helps me bag out all the feed and water and he helps me do everything,' Ms King told Yahoo 7.

She said the drought 'snuck up' on the family several years ago.

Despite being almost blind, Alf (pictured) still helps out on the fourth generation 2,000 acre cattle farm

Because she is a military veteran, they aren't not entitled to farming assistance from the government.

The family only have 50 cows left after they were forced to sell 27 steers to pay for cotton seed.

'If we've got to sell animals then it's not a very good day,' Ms King told Yahoo 7.

'We just know that we've got to keep going and that if we can't provide the food and water to keep our animals healthy, then we've got to make the sacrifice and sell them.'

Roughly 99 per cent of New South Wales is in severe drought.
Michelle Obama revealed her true feelings about George W. Bush in a candid interview with his daughter Jenna, insisting that she holds the former Republican president in the highest regard, despite their differing political views.

Speaking to former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager in an interview for Today, the 54-year-old insisted that she has always maintained a close friendship with the statesman, who served for two terms before her own husband, Democrat Barack Obama, took over the White House, despite fighting on opposite sides, as it were.

'I think the political discourse, the way it's shown in the media, it's all the nasty parts of it,' she told mother-of-two Jenna, 36. 'Because I guess we've become a culture where the nasty sells so people are just gonna keep feeding that.'

Scroll down for video

Opening up: Michelle Obama has praised her close friend George W. Bush in a candid interview with his daughter, Jenna Bush Hager

Close: The former first lady, 54, who is pictured with the former Republican president in 2016, revealed that she has always remained close with him, despite their opposing political views

'We're all Americans. We all care about our family and our kids, and we're trying to get ahead. We have different ideas about what's the best way to get there. But that doesn't make me evil. And that doesn't make him, you know, stupid.

'It's just a disagreement and that's how I feel about your father. You know? He's a beautiful, funny, kind, sweet man. And I don't know that I agree with him on everything.

'I'd love if we as a country could get back to the place where we didn't demonize people who disagreed with us. Because that's essentially the difference between Republicans and Democrats.'

The pair are frequently seated next to one another at events, due to official protocol for the arrangement of former presidents, however Michelle is adamant that their friendly relationship extends far beyond public ceremony - something that she has made clear on more than one occasion.

In September 2016, she was seen embracing George W. while the pair attended the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. along with their respective spouses.

The picture sparked a surge of interest around the globe, as people questioned whether the show of affection had been put on for show, or whether it was actually genuine, as Michelle insists it was, and still is.

And as far as George W. is concerned, the friendly feeling is certainly mutual, with Jenna revealing during the interview that her father had texted her and asked her to 'send Michelle my love'.

'I was like, "Don't you call her Mrs. Obama?"' Jenna then joked. 'He's like, "No, I call her... Michelle."

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walking with former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush in 2011

Gratitude: Michelle Obama praised former first daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush and Chelsea Clinton during her appearance on Good Morning America Tuesday

'He said, "Send her my love." And I thought, you know, it's so interesting how people are so interested in y'all's friendship.'

She then said of the sweet snap of Michelle and George's embrace: 'I mean that hug was, like, the hug that went around the world. I do love that picture.'

In 2017, George W. told People that their friendship was founded on a shared sense of humor, revealing: 'She kind of likes my sense of humor.

'Anybody who likes my sense of humor, I immediately like.

'I needle her a little bit and around her, I'm fairly lighthearted. [The Obamas] are around serious people all the time and we just took to each other.'

Michelle's interview with Jenna aired just hours after the former first lady praised the former first daughter - and her twin Barbara - during an appearance on Good Morning America, telling anchor Robin Roberts how grateful she was that the sisters had shown so much kindness towards her own daughters, Malia, now 20, and Sasha, now 17.

'I am so proud of those little girls,' Michelle said of her children with former President Barack Obama. 'They have managed this situation with poise and grace, and they are normal and kind and smart and friendly and open.

'Gosh, and it couldve gone so wrong,' she added. 'But I will also say that they had support from a lot of the other former first kids  Jenna and Barbara and Chelsea.

Support system: Barbara and Jenna penned a heartfelt letter to Malia and Sasha as they prepared to leave the White House in 2017. They are pictured in 2004 (L) and in September (R)

'I love those girls. I will love them forever for what kind of support they provided to my daughters throughout that. They always had their backs.'

Michelle noted that whenever anyone would 'go after' her daughters in the press, Jenna would 'say something' and Chelsea would 'send a tweet out.'

'That made a big, big difference, so [Malia and Sasha] are doing well,' Michelle said.

In January 2017, the Bush twins penned a heartfelt letter to Malia and Sasha as they prepared to leave the White House following President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Later that year, Chelsea, 38, defended Malia after media outlets published leaked videos of the Harvard student smoking and kissing someone at a tailgate party.

'Malia Obamas private life, as a young woman, a college student, a private citizen, should not be your clickbait,' she tweeted. 'Be better.'

While speaking with Jenna, Michelle also took the opportunity to spotlight Laura Bush and her work as first lady, describing her as being a 'wonderful role model' to look up to.

'Your mom was helpful to me,' she said of her adjustment to the role. 'I did look at other first ladies and what they did. I tried not to read too much about what they were doing because I knew that I had to shape this role for myself.

'But I watched... I write about the first time that I met your mom when I was a Senate spouse and I watched her at one of the Senate spousal lunches that first ladies do - that I now know everything about, but that I'd never attended - and she sat and she took pictures so elegantly with 100 people.

'I thought to myself, there is no way I could do this... and I did! I had wonderful role models in the first ladies [that had] come.'
A remarkable tale of how a stack of coins saved the life of a Belgian World War I soldier has been revealed by his great-grandson.

Optatius Buyssens had been carrying some loose change in the breast pocket of his jacket when he went on a reconnaissance mission near the Belgian town of Lebbeke in September 1914.

The clinking noise of the metal in his pocket alerted nearby German troop, but when he came under fire, the bullet ricocheted off the coins, saving his life.

A blessing (and a curse): Belgian soldier Optatius Buyssens gave away his position to German troops when these coins began making a clinking noise in his pocket - but they also saved his life when their bullet ricocheted off them

Lucky escape: After Buyssens was shot, the German soldier who had fired kicked him in the head and left him for dead

The amazing story of Buyssens, who survived the war and died in 1958, was shared on Reddit by his great-grandson Vincent Buyssens.

Posting a photo of the coins, the 28-year-old said: 'These coins stopped a bullet and saved my great-grandfather's life during World War One.'

Vincent, who lives in Antwerp, said his father was given the coins by Optatius along with his notes and journals from the war.

'The story I shared on Reddit happened at the very early days of the war during a battle in the Belgian town of Lebbeke.

'Ironically, the coins were the reason why he got shot because it was the noise of them clinking together in his breast pocket which gave his position away.

Survivor: Optatius Buyssens was shot in September 1914, survived the rest of the war and spent a few years in the UK with his family, before moving back to Belgium

One of the coins which saved the life of the brave soldier Optatius Buyssens

'He was very lucky since the bullet that should have killed him ricocheted off of the coins, thus saving his life.

'He got kicked in the head by the German soldier who shot him, but tricked the soldier into thinking he was dead.

'When the German soldier left, he and another wounded comrade managed to crawl to safety.'

Vincent also revealed that his great-grandfather's recently unearthed correspondence had revealed that after he was shot, his family did not hear from him for a year - until he eventually sent them a letter explaining what had happened in the war.

Dear brother: After Optatius Buyssens was shot, his family did not hear from him for more than a year - until he eventually sent his brother a letter explaining what had happened in the war

Unbelievable tale: The amazing story of Buyssens was shared on Reddit by his great-grandson Vincent Buyssens, seen here holding the life-saving coins

When peace came, Vincent's great-grandfather and grandfather moved to the UK, but returned to Antwerp after WWII.

Vincent said: 'When I first heard the story years ago I couldn't believe it, but when I talked with my dad and granddad and read through his journals it became immediately clear to me that it was legit.

'Since then the story kept lingering in my head.'

Reddit users pointed out that it was not just Optatius' life that was saved by the stack of coins, but the generations who would never have been born had he died, including Vincent himself.

The incredible story has more than 131,000 upvotes on the website, with many astounded by Optatius' luck.

Vincent said: 'There were some people who were sceptical on Reddit, but when I explained to them the full story in detail they were appreciative and thought it was really cool.

'Most people found it just a cool story. Including my family. I'm sure this will be the subject of the night during Christmas Eve.'
A mentally ill man was beaten to death by six self-proclaimed exorcists during a ritual meant to rid him of 'evil spirits' in Azerbaijan.

Murad Soltanov, 25, had been taken to see the men by his father, who believed that his son's schizophrenia had been caused by demons.

The 'exorcism' allegedly saw the men beat Ms Soltanov with pomegranate tree branches for several hours, breaking his bones and rib cage in the process.

Murdered: Six self-proclaimed exorcists have been arrested after 25-year-old Murad Soltanov's body was found in a flat in the town of Shabran, north-eastern Azerbaijan

Mr Soltanov had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in his hometown of Mashtaga near the Azerbaijani capital city Baku.

He had undergone treatment, including medication, but his father did not think it sufficed, and so decided to turn to exorcists.

The father took his son to the town of Shabran, some 85 miles north of their home down, but did not tell anyone else about the purpose of their visit.

According to local media, the men told police they had started beating the 25-year-old to 'subdue his inner demons' when he began shouting and crying.

Tragic: Mr Soltanov had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but his father believed that it had been caused by demons

Arrested: Fizuli Garibov, Vusal Ibragimov, Aprel Halilov, Sahib Halilov, Afgan Tarverdiev and Jamil Gayibov admitted to beating Mr Soltanov

The six men told police they had started beating the 25-year-old to 'subdue his inner demons' when he began shouting and crying

When Soltanov began coughing up blood, the men said this was considered a good sign as it meant that the demons were leaving his body

Police arrested the six men after Mr Soltanov's badly bruised body was found in a flat in Shabran last week.

Fizuli Garibov, Vusal Ibragimov, Aprel Halilov, Sahib Halilov, Afgan Tarverdiev and Jamil Gayibov have been taken into custody awaiting a charge.

During the interrogation, they reportedly admitted to beating Soltanov with pomegranate branches which then caused his death.

Police reportedly learned that Soltanov had also been 'treated' this way at the home of his father.

The investigation continues.
Ukip branch chairman Brian Hall has been convicted of trying to smuggle an unlicenced 'wonder drug' from Britain to Europe

A Ukip branch chairman who tried to smuggle 250,000 worth of an unlicenced 'wonder drug' made of human blood is facing jail.

Brian Hall, 67, was caught with nearly 600 vials of 'GcMAF' - which was said to cure HIV, cancer and autism - as he boarded a ferry from Poole to France.

Hall had obtained the drug from a secret laboratory in Cambridge and was planning to return to the UK via a private plane later that day, a court heard.

He claimed he was trying to cure his wife's cancer but was found guilty by the jury at Southwark crown court.

A month before Hall was stopped on 21 February 2015 inspectors had found a secret laboratory in the village of Milton just outside Cambridge, where the drug which contained blood plasma, was manufactured.

The drug's creator David Noakes, 65, has admitted charges including manufacturing a medicinal product without a manufacturer's licence.

His wife Loraine Noakes, 58, has pleaded guilty to the sale and supply of GcMAF.

Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said: 'There has been nothing like this before on such a scale for a medicine which contains human plasma.'

The court heard a laboratory making the drug had been shut down by authorities.

The drug's creator David Noakes (left) and his wife Loraine (right) have admitted charges

The judge said: 'Following the destruction of Mr Noakes' GcMAF, he asked Mr Hall to carry a quantity of medicine to France where he could distribute it more easily throughout Europe.'

Hall attempted to board a ferry from Poole harbour to Cherbourg but, when he tried to go through security, officers detected the 597 vials in his suitcase.

Police traced Hall's car to Poole airport, where he had planned to return later that day.

Flight records showed that a private plane had been arranged by a company owned by Noakes to fly Hall back from Cherbourg.

Hall has previously stood as a UKIP candidate for Enfield and Haringey in the London Assembly electons.

He told jurors his wife, Janice, was diagnosed with stage 3 tonsil cancer in 2012 and he was searching for alternative treatments.

Rodney Smith, one of the scientists who worked for the company, pictured outside court

Hall said he he had known Noakes for 20 years but claimed he did not know Noakes was manufacturing the banned drug.

'I don't know anything about a secret lab in Cambridge,' he told the court.

'I didn't know it was unauthorised - I wouldn't have done it if I had known - I first found out after I was arrested.'

Hall, of New Southgate, north London, denied one count of possession of an unauthorised medical product but was convicted.

Former Guernsey resident David Noakes, of Waldershare, near Dover, has admitted two counts of manufacturing a medicinal product without a manufacturer's licence, two of selling or supplying medicinal products without market authorisation, and one count of money laundering.

Loraine Noakes, of Ringwood, Hampshire, has admitted two counts of selling or supplying medicinal products without market authorisation.

Scientists Dr Rodney Smith, 55, and Emma Ward, 44, both of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, have admitted two counts of manufacturing the drug without a license, two counts of selling or supplying and one count of possessing the unauthorised medicine.

They will be sentenced next week.
Minicab company Addison Lee could be facing a bill of 39 million after a tribunal ruled that its drivers are workers, not self-employed contractors.

The drivers' claim for employee status was upheld today by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in London, in what has been hailed as 'another huge win' for workers' rights.

The GMB union said courts had agreed 'once again' that the firm's drivers are legally entitled to rights such as the national minimum wage and holiday pay.

A spokesman for the GMB told MailOnline that the unions lawyers, Leigh Day, calculated that for Addison Lee to make good unpaid holiday pay, and make wages up to national minimum wage, going back two years, could cost around 10,285 per driver.

That would mean the company faced a bill of just over 39 million for all 3800 of its drivers. However Addison Lee said that 'the figure of 39m has no basis in fact'.

The decision from the EAT came after after similar landmark rulings over the employment status of drivers for cab-hailing app Uber and for delivery firm Hermes.

The EAT decision upheld a finding by an Employment Tribunal last year on behalf of Addison Lee drivers.

The London minicab firm Addison Lee has lost its case at the Employment Appeal Tribunal

Sue Harris, GMB union's legal director, said: 'This is another huge win for GMB over bogus self-employment.

'Once again, the courts have agreed Addison Lee drivers are legally entitled to workers' rights such as the national minimum wage and holiday pay rights.

'Other employers should take note - GMB will not stop pursuing these exploitative companies on behalf of our members.'

Liana Wood, solicitor at Leigh Day who represented the drivers on behalf of the GMB, said: 'We are very pleased that the EAT has rejected Addison Lee's appeal.

'It is clear that Addison Lee's business model of providing a fleet of highly trained, regulated drivers is incompatible with their arguments that drivers are not workers who are entitled to workers' fundamental rights.

'We hope that Addison Lee will accept this decision; drivers shouldn't have to continue to work very long hours, often in excess of 60 hours per week, to earn just enough to meet their basic living costs.'

Michaell Lange, one of the drivers who brought claims against Addison Lee, said: 'We decided to bring this claim in 2016 because we wanted Addison Lee to treat drivers fairly. We are happy that the decision that we were workers for Addison Lee has been upheld.

'We now urge Addison Lee to do the decent thing and stop denying its workforce of over 4,000 drivers their rights.'

The company has around 4,000 drivers and is now being called upon to extend all of them employment rights including national minimum wage and paid holiday and sick leave

Cab-hailing app Uber has been engaged in a similar legal fight for years now.

In 2016 its drivers James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam won at tribunal over paid holiday, arguing they were in effect employees.

Uber disputed the ruling and last November, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) dismissed Uber's appeal , finding the pair were 'workers' at the time they were operating for Uber.

But last month at the Court of Appeal Uber argued that the previous decision had 'erred in law' by ignoring its conracts, and that the relationship between the company and its drivers is 'typical of the private hire industry' and had been used for years.

Former Uber drivers Yaseen Aslam, left, and James Farrar outside the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of their legal hearing over employment rights

This June, Hermes lost its battle with 65 drivers in another blow for businesses who have thrived thanks to Britain's gig economy, which employs more than 5million people in the UK.

The courier company employs 14,500 drivers on a self-employed basis - but they are expected to do a minimum number of hours and often use company vans.

A tribunal has ruled that the 65 people who brought claims should be treated as staff with perks including sick and holiday pay and paid breaks while delivering packages for giants including Next, Asos, John Lewis, Topshop and River Island.

A spokesman for Addison Lee said: 'We note the appeal verdict, which we will carefully review.

'Addison Lee is disappointed with the ruling as we enjoy a positive relationship with the vast majority of our 3800 driver partners.

'In common with most of the industry, the majority are self-employed, and with earnings at a record high, over 60% said they were likely or very likely to recommend working for Addison Lee in our most recent driver satisfaction survey.'
A Chinese woman has become a mother again at the age of 59 after her only child suddenly died two years ago, leaving her heart-broken.

Ms Guo from Wuhan, Hubei Province, last month gave birth to a 2.8-kilogram (six-pound) boy, who brought much joy and hope to her and her 62-year-old husband, according to a local report.

The retired factory worker is one of the oldest mothers to give birth in China, where women typically have their first child at the age of 29.

Ms Guo, 59, smiles as she holds her son who was born on October 16 in Wuhan, China

Ms Guo and her husband Mr Chen, 62, look after their baby at a postpartum care center

Mr Guo is also one of a growing group of grey-haired parents in the country who have to face the bitterness of life after losing their single child.

Chinese couples have been allowed to have two children since 2016 when the controversial one-child policy was abandoned after some four decades.

According to Chutian Urban Newspaper, Ms Guo's son died in October, 2016, at the age of 29 due to a serious and acute illness.

The report did not specify the exact illness he had suffered from, but it said Ms Guo and her husband found their son, an IT entrepreneur, lying motionless in his room next to some vomit during the wee hours one day.

The couple rushed him to the hospital, but doctors failed to save him.

Ms Guo lives in the Wuchang District of Wuhan (pictured), the provincial capital of Hubei

Ms Guo was devastated by the death of her son, who had been the pride of the couple.

He sister told the reporter that in the month to follow Ms Guo cried every day and lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds). It is said that she and her husband had to be hospitalised one after another as they struggled to cope with the grief.

Seeing the couple being so depressed, Ms Guo's niece told them that medical technology was advanced nowadays and perhaps they could try for another baby.

And it wasn't until last October when Ms Guo heard a 60-year-old woman giving birth to twin daughters through IVF did she see hope in life again. Ms Guo and her husband decided to try the fertility treatment.

However, the road to pregnancy was difficult for Ms Guo to say the least. To start with, Chinese law prohibits hospitals from giving IVF to women above the age of 52 out of 'safety concerns'.

Couples in China can now have two children after the one-child policy was ditched (file photo)

Ms Guo said no hospitals were willing to receive her despite the fact that she and her husband had travelled to many big cities to seek medical advice.

Late last year, the couple decided to contact an overseas clinic for help and in February, Ms Guo successfully conceived.

On October 16, Ms Guo who was 35 weeks pregnant delivered a boy via a caesarean section at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.

Thrilled by the arrival of her second son, Ms Guo told a reporter from Chutian Urban Newspaper at a postpartum care center: 'My relatives all say after I had the baby, I look much younger than before. I even have black hair growing out now.'

Ms Guo said she would look after herself and raise the child well until he grows up.
Life in Israeli communities and towns near Gaza slowly returned to normal on Wednesday after a quiet night signaled that a tentative reported ceasefire was holding following two days of intense rocket attacks from the Hamas-ruled Strip.

Israel's hardline defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, issued a statement saying he did not support stopping the strikes.

Fighting died down at 1500 GMT and a Palestinian official briefed on the negotiations said Gaza factions ceased firing as part of a deal proposed by Egypt.

"The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it".

The UN Security Council has met behind closed doors to discuss the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip but diplomats said there was no agreement on how to address the crisis.

Kuwait, which represents Arab countries at the council, and Bolivia requested the meeting following the worst flareup in Gaza since the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel. Israeli snipers have killed about 170 people, a lot of them unarmed.

Rather, he told Ynet TV, Israel had "landed a harsh and unprecedented blow on Hamas and the terrorist groups in Gaza, and we will see if that will suffice or whether further blows will be required".

The escalation came after a truce had begun the previous...

"That's a close call", Baney said.

KHAN YUNIS, GAZA - NOVEMBER 12: Funeral ceremony for seven Palestinians, including a military commander of Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas movement, held after they were killed in Israeli attack in Khan Yunis, Gaza on November 12, 2018.

The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while it carried out air strikes on 160 targets in Gaza. An anti-tank missile hit a bus that Hamas says was being used by Israeli soldiers.

Israel said it has struck more than 100 targets it says are linked to militants in Gaza, including a strike that destroyed the TV station of the ruling Hamas group.

Israel Ziv, a retired general who once commanded the Israeli military's Gaza division, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was running out of options for dealing with Hamas.

A Hamas official said the violence erupted on Sunday when a group of its members were fired upon by a passing auto belonging to Israel forces. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed, and 26 people were wounded.

Hamas, in turn, had scaled back its mass protests that have led to weekly bloodshed along the Israeli border.

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, and protests and clashes along the Gaza border since March 30 have repeatedly raised fears of a fourth.

The standoff has produced repeated rounds of violence, including indiscriminate Gaza rocket fire at Israeli towns and cities and punishing Israeli military offensives, but Hamas remains firmly in control.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has weighed in on the sausage sizzle saga to lightly grill Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the topic.

Ms Ardern raised the issue last night when she met Mr Morrison at the East Asia Summit in Singapore, The Daily Telegraph reported.

'I don't know about you, but I've had a few phone calls,' she said at the time.

Ms Ardern (left) raised the issue last night when she met Mr Morrison (right) at the East Asia Summit in Singapore, The Daily Telegraph reported

It is the first time Ms Ardern has met the new Australian Prime Minister, and the meeting seems to have strengthened ties to say the least

'Onions on top or underneath, however you like it,' Scott Morrison wholeheartedly agreed with Jacinta Ardern in good humour

'I think we should make a commitment, a joint commitment, that on our watches the Bunnings sausage sizzle should continue.'

It is the first time Ms Ardern has met the new Australian Prime Minister, and the meeting seems to have strengthened ties to say the least.

'Onions on top or underneath, however you like it,' Mr Morrison wholeheartedly agreed in good humour.

The comment comes after Bunnings announced barbecues hosted outside its stores must now serve onions under the sausage.

The controversial call from the hardware giant was made after a farmer slipped on a caramelised onion while entering a store in Queensland.

Trevor, who cannot reveal his last name, was going into the Gympie store to buy a whipper snipper when he fell.

Lighthearted conversation aside, Ms Ardern admitted she was unable to touch on the issue of resettling refugees from Nauru because of the constrained time limit of the meeting.

Ms Ardern did indicate the matter would not be forgotten and that it would potentially be raised when she met the Prime Minister in the coming weeks.

Lighthearted conversation aside, Ms Ardern admitted she was unable to touch on the issue of resettling refugees from Nauru because of the constrained time limit of the meeting

New Zealand has offered to resettle at least 150 refugees from Nauru: about 30 asylum seeker children remain on the remote Pacific island

'There are a number of other issues that I will use the margins of other meetings to canvas with the prime minister.'

New Zealand has offered to resettle at least 150 refugees from Nauru: about 30 asylum seeker children remain on the remote Pacific island.

For a brief moment, Mr Morrison indicated he might be open to the idea but quickly walked back on the matter.

Fears remain that refugees will use the pathway as a 'back door' to enter Australia.

Ms Ardern did take the opportunity to restate concerns about Australia's hardline policy on deporting New Zealander criminals.

New Zealand has made clear it is not a big supporter of the push, and Ms Ardern has urged Australia to only deport criminals who have kept ties to the country.
Parliament's most senior official has today announced that he is retiring in the wake of the bullying and sex harassment scandals which have rocked Westminster.

Sir David Natzler, the clerk of the House of Commons, will step down in March next year after 43 years in Parliament.

Commons Speaker John Bercow made the announcement in the Chamber today and stressed that Sir David's departure is a 'long planned retirement'.

It comes just weeks after Dame Laura Cox published her damning report exposing the bullying and sexual harassment inflicted in Parliament over many years.

Dame Laura said a string of male MPs past and present have allegedly lunged, groped and propositioned women.

And she lashed the 'institutional failings' in the Commons and warned a culture of 'deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence' exists in Parliament.

Sir David Natzler, the clerk of the House of Commons, (pictured in Parliament today) will step down in March next year after 43 years in Parliament

Commons Speaker John Bercow (pictured in Parliament today) made the announcement in the Chamber today and stressed that Sir David's departure is a 'long planned retirement'

Tory MP James Duddridge said: Bercow must follow Natzler in resigning. He is part of the problem and not part of a future that deals with bullying in the way any other business would.

The fact Bercow does not get it demonstrates the problem. Speakers House needs to be renamed Ivory Towers. He is remote and isolated from reality.

In a retirement letter read out in the Commons this afternoon, Sir David admitted it has been a 'turbulent' time in Parliament.

And he addressed the sexual harassment scandal head on - calling for those in Parliament to treat each other with more respect in order to tackle it.

What are the claims of bullying and bad behaviour made against John Bercow? John Bercow has been hit by a number of bullying claims, all of which he denies. Here are the allegations: Andrew Sinclair, the former Speaker's Secretary: Said he left his post in 2010 after he was subjected to angry outbursts, foul- mouthed tirades and mimicry by John Bercow. He said was 'gagged' and stopped from speaking out about his time in the role as part of an 86,000 early retirement payoff. David Leakey, former Black Rod: Mr Leakey, who retired last year, said staff were terrified of the Speaker. Kate Emms, John Bercow's former private secretary: She took a job as Mr Bercow's private secretary in May 2010 but left her role less than a year later in February 2011 amid claims she was bullied by the Speaker. Her colleagues alleged that this was because of the behaviour of Mr Bercow after she told staff that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Colleagues told Newsnight that she was undermined by Mr Bercow in a range of ways  and he seemed to shout at her a lot. Advertisement

In his letter, read out by Mr Bercow, he said: 'It has been a turbulent four years cover three governments, two general elections and two referendums.

'The murders of Jo Cox MP and PC (Keith) Palmer, threats to our physical and cyber security and the ebb an flow of launching restoration and renewal....

'And it hardly needs saying that there may be more turbulence over the next few weeks and months.

'The last 12 months have also seen of course the surfacing in various ways of the complex issue of bullying and harassment and sexual misconduct in the parliamentary community.

'I am confident that we can deal with it if we all acknowledge past failings, as I readily do, and move beyond concerns about process to reach a place where, quite simply, everybody in the community treats everybody else with respect and dignity.

'And where they do not, they are called out and, if necessary, sanction.

'It has been a privilege, if not always a positive pleasure to do this job, and the other 14 jobs I have done here.'

He paid tribute to the support and friendship of MPs and the staff in the Commons.

Politicians flouted parliamentary convention to applaud the outgoing clerk after his letter was read out in the Chamber.

But his departure will spark questions over if he has been forced out, and if so why Mr Bercow is not going.

The Speaker has been hit by a string of bullying allegations by staff who have worked with him over the years - but he strongly denies them.

Mr Bercow paid tribute to Sir David, hailing his 'outstanding service'.

He said: 'Sir David held a number of senior appointments within the House of Commons' Chamber and Committee Services before being appointed Clerk of the House in 2015 - acting as principal constitutional adviser to the House of Commons.

'Sir David has vast experience and expertise and has served this House without interruption since 1975 - and his support and advice for me, for my deputies, for Members, and the government, on Parliamentary procedure and business, has been unswerving.

'I have known this day was coming for over a year - so it is with some sadness I announced its arrival today.

'For me personally, Sir David has been a loyal colleague and friend - and I know his calm and good-humoured presence will be sorely missed by us all.'
Today Show ratings have soared since host Megyn Kelly was given the boot from NBC for her controversial blackface comments.

While the firing cut short Kelly's three-year contract with NBC and cost the network millions, her departure is so far boosting the morning show's numbers.

Since her departure, viewership by 25 to 54 year olds - the key demographic favored by advertisers - for the third hour slot of Today is up about 10 percent, according to Nielsen.

In the last three weeks, viewers for the first two hours of NBC's morning show have surpassed that of rival ABC's Good Morning America, which typically boasts the largest morning viewership.

Today show ratings are up 10 percent following Megyn Kelly's firing from the Today Show on October 26 for her controversial remarks defending blackface. Since her departure, viewership by 25 to 54 year olds - the key demographic favored by advertisers - for the third hour slot of Today is up about 10 percent

The firing cut short Kelly's three-year $69million contract with NBC and cost the network millions in payout, but her departure is so far boosting the morning show's numbers. Kelly pictured on Monday walking through Manhattan

Today now regularly beats GMA in total viewers

In Megyn Kelly's last week, her 9am program had 675,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 and 2.52million viewers overall, according to Nielsen.

Just one week after her departure the show clocked 752,000 viewers between 25 and 54 and 2.64million viewers overall - leaping 11 percent and five percent respectively.

But last week those numbers jumped to 741,000 viewers between 25 and 54 and more than 2.63million viewers overall - a 10 and four percent jump respectively over the three week period.

From November 5 to 9, Today recorded an average of 4.25million viewers, eclipsing the 4.22million viewers of GMA. Part of the reason is attributed to the network's coverage of the California bar shooting.

Kelly's eponymous hour show was abruptly cancelled on October 26 after she questioned why blackface was controversial as a Halloween costume. NBC is trying to figure out what kind of severance to offer the host who had a combined $69million contract.

Now the network is wondering if the spike in viewership will hold.

Kelly and husband Douglas Brunt pictured out in New York on Monday. Since her departure, Today show numbers have had a three-week streak in boosted viewership

She later stepped out in a pair of sunglasses with her hair pulled back

The show hasn't seen a viewership streak like this since NBC covered the Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea, according to Variety.

NBC's number of viewers has peaked in the past recent months following moments of crisis. Viewers noticeably boosted after Today show house Matt Lauer was fired in late 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

The audience peak has also benefited Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee, who host the fourth hour of today at 10am and grabbed 1.844million viewers in Kelly's final week on air.

One week later the duo's ratings jumped to 1.964million viewers - a seven percent jump. In the second week following Kelly's departure, they clocked 1.911million viewers, slipping about three percent.

Kelly's third-hour on Today - which runs from 7am to 11am each weekday - is now run by a rotating group of anchors. It's run from her old set in Studio 6A and also has a live audience. Overall viewership in this hour-long slot rose five percent a week after Kelly left.

The third hour slot of the show is now run by a rotating group of Today Show anchors. Jenna Bush Hager helped take over the 9am program in the first episode following Kelly's firing

The show is now regularly run by Jenna Bush Hager, Al Roker and Craig Melvin. In Kelly's last week at the show she boasted 2.52million viewers. Last week the program bumped to 2.64million viewers overall (pictured: Dylan Dreyer, Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush Hager and Stephanie Gosk on November 5)

Jenna Bush Hager, Al Roker and Craig Melvin replaced Kelly on the show after she ousted.

Hoda Kotb opened the program, clearing the air saying: 'Today, as you know, we are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show. And as it evolves we want you to know the entire Today family will continue to bring you informative and important stories just as we always have.'

Kelly hasn't spoken out on her axing from the famed network. She was spotted smiling and strolling through Manhattan on Monday.

Since she was abruptly taken off the air she's been spotted on date nights with her husband Douglas Brunt and is filling her days with attending Broadway shows, romantic dinners and running errands.

Kelly and NBC are said to fighting over money and whether or not Kelly will sign a non-disclosure as part of her exit.

Its all out war in negotiations between Megyn and NBC, said one source close to Kelly.

She doesnt just want the remainder of her $69 million contract, she wants more money on top as compensation for what she believes is NBCs attempt to not just have her off the air but to end her career.

Kelly had texted Luann de Lesseps to apologize for referencing her Diana Ross costume (shown) in the panel about blackface that led to her dismissal from Today reports US Weekly

An NBC source with knowledge of the situation said that Kelly is also refusing to sign an NDA unless her monetary demands are met, although a source close to Kelly claims it is not money that is the issue.

Megyn apologized to colleagues after her comments defending racist Halloween gags prompted an immediate backlash.

Kelly made the offending remarks during an awkward roundtable discussion about inappropriate and offensive costumes on her eponymous one-hour block of the Today show, known as Megyn Kelly Today.

During the segment, Kelly said it was OK when she was growing up for white people to dress up as black characters, and she spoke out against a controversy that erupted last year over a reality star who portrayed Diana Ross.

'But what is racist? Kelly asked. Because you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface on Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween.

'Back when I was a kid that was OK, as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character'.

Later in the discussion, Kelly brought up Luann de Lesseps, a star on The Real Housewives of New York who drew a backlash last year for dressing up as Ross.

Many observers were aghast at Kelly's comments, and some noted that the panel did not include a single person of color.

Also absent from the discussion was any mention of the ugly history of blackface, a tradition spanning centuries meant to perpetuate racist stereotypes.

Kelly left Fox News in 2017 to sign a contract with NBC worth a reported $23 million a year.
The family of a woman who was found dead in a locked car under a pile of clothes in 2014 has won a $10 million civil verdict against her now-missing boyfriend, although no criminal charges have ever been filed in the case.

The family of 22-year-old Nadia Malik filed the wrongful death lawsuit against their daughter's boyfriend Bhupinder 'Gagan' Singh, 30, in 2016, alleging he 'intentionally harmed [her] and left her dead or near-dead.'

They hoped that the suit would force Singh to give them answers about their daughter's final days and hours before she was found dead in Philadelphia on February 20, 2014.

But Singh, whose disappeared in April 2016 after failing to meet his parole officer, never responded to any of the subpoenas. A judge entered the default $10 million judgement against him in July, after he failed to hire a lawyer or respond to the suit for two years.

But for Nadia's family, the compensation was disappointing.

The family of 22-year-old Nadia Malik (left), who was found dead in Philadelphia on February 20, 2014, won a default judgement of $10 million against her boyfriend Bhupinder 'Gagan' Singh, 30, (right) in a civil suit

Nadia's brother Khaled Malik (above) said of the lawsuit against Singh: 'We just wanted some explanation, some words out of him, but we didn't even get that'

'The only reason we did this was thinking he'd come and defend himself,' Nadia's brother Khaled Malik told the Philadelphia Inquirer. 'We just wanted some explanation, some words out of him, but we didn't even get that. You could have a $100 million award. It doesn't mean anything.'

Nadia met Singh when she was in junior high school, and continued to date him against the wishes of her family, her father Habeeb Malik said in court.

She was a freshman at the University of the Sciences when she got pregnant for the first time, and the couple went on to have two more children - one of whom, Alina, was found dead in a parked car in February 2012 at just three months old.

Police found the 2007 Nissan Altima (above) parked in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood, covered in snow and parking tickets - with Nadia's body face down in the front

Singh sent these chilling messages to Nadia's family while she was missing, claiming she was with him and demanding money in order to let her family speak to her

The medical examiner found Alina's cause of death to be cachexia, a type of muscle atrophy known as 'wasting syndrome'. But the infant's manner of death was undetermined, just as her mother's would be two years later.

Nadia's family last heard from her on February 9, 2014, when she called her brother in a panic, saying that she was being 'held against her will' and was 'trying to get away' from Singh, according to court documents.

The family was immediately concerned. A month prior, Nadia had suffered a broken rib at Singh's hand, according to the family's lawsuit.

Doctors had prescribed Nadia a powerful narcotic painkiller, and she told family members that she suspected Singh was trying to give her an overdose by slipping extra pills into her food, the suit claims.

The couple had been arguing because he wanted to marry and she wanted to leave him, her family said. Singh had applied for a marriage license in July 2009, but the completed application was never returned with both signatures.

Frantic with worry, Nadia's family filed a missing person report the day after her ominous call saying that Singh was holding her captive.

As Nadia's family searched for her, Singh sent them a string of taunting text messages from her phone, claiming they were traveling and demanding $100 if they wanted to talk to her.

When they refused to pay, he threatened to break the phone in text messages obtained by DailyMail.com.

Singh (left) and Nadia (right) had been arguing because he wanted to marry her, but she refused and wanted to leave him, her family said

Nadia was trying to leave Singh at the time she was found dead, according to her family

'Okay think whatever bye I promise u this now u wont hear her ill f**kin make sure bye u lost the chance dickhead,' Singh wrote to Nadia's family.

'Look for us in the whole United States, I guarantee my life u wont find us.'

Police tracked Singh using Nadia's phone signal, and found that he had traveled to east to New York City before doubling back west and taking a bus to his parent's home in the Cleveland suburbs.

Singh tried to flee police out the back door of his parents' home on February 12, which gave cops probable cause to arrest him for violating his probation on a prior DUI conviction.

Bhupinder 'Gagan' Singh is wanted for probation violation in Pennsylvania

When police searched Singh, they found Nadia's driver's license and cellphone, which Singh admitted he had used to send texts to members of the family.

Two days later, on February 14, an alert citizen called police with a tip on a vehicle that matched the description of one connected to Nadia's disappearance.

Police found the 2007 Nissan Altima parked in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood, covered in snow and eight parking tickets - the earliest of which was issued the day Nadia was reported missing.

Inside the car, face down on the front seat and covered with clothes and a gym bag, was Nadia's body. Near her was a marriage license that had only Singh's signature.

The body had no visible signs of injury. Toxicology tests were inconclusive. The medical examiner entered both her cause and manner of death as 'undetermined'.

Singh served several months in prison for the probation violation, but was never charged in connection with Nadia's death.

In May of 2014, he was released on parole, forced to surrender his passport and placed on electronic home monitoring.

In April of 2016, he failed to report to his parole officer and disappeared.

Nadia's family has never given up hope of finding justice in her case. In 2016, they filed the lawsuit against both Singh and his father, arguing that the father should not have lent the Nissan to his son knowing that he had a suspended license for a DUI.

Neither Singh nor his father ever responded to subpoenas in the suit.

In a hearing for the case, Habeeb Malik, Nadia's father, told the judge her death had been devastating for the family.

Nadia's family told the civil judge that her death had been devastating for them

'My wife and I, my children and my grandchildren, all of us are suffering and going through the pain of her absence every day and hour in our life,' he said at a May hearing to assess damages in the case.

'These two criminals, they have taken away the happiness, they snatched it from our lives and we can never be fully happy again.'

In entering the default judgement, Judge Denis P. Cohen did not rule on the merits of the family's claim that Singh was responsible for Nadia's death. He also did not explain how he arrived at a $10 million verdict.

The family says that any money they manage to recover in the suit will go to the Nadia and Singh's 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, who are now living with her parents.

Police continue to investigate Nadia's death. Singh has never been charged.

Bhupinder 'Gagan' Singh is wanted on an active warrant in Delaware County, Pennsylvania for violating his parole.

Anyone with information on Singh's whereabouts is urged to contact the Delaware County Sheriff's office at 1-877-792-6833 or email rwanted@co.delaware.pa.us.
A generous cop came to the rescue after a family of Irish tourists who waited in line for days to see legendary musical Hamilton realized they were $20 short.

After four days in line, Geraldine McKenna and her two daughters were distraught when they finally got to the box office to find they couldn't quite afford the tickets to Lin-Manuel Miranda smash hit show.

McKenna desperately began running around to see if anyone could help, which is when she ran into Officer Ricardo DiCandia.

Seeing their distress, the generous officer handed over $20 of his own cash so the mother and daughter could fulfill their dreams of watching the musical.

Officer Ricardo DiCandia (pictured) gave Geraldine McKenna the $20 she needed so she could purchase tickets to Hamilton that she had been waiting in line for four days

McKenna was traveling with her family in March and hoped to treat her daughter to the show

'We were totally overjoyed when he opened his wallet and just handed us $20,' McKenna wrote in a note to the mayor's office, according to the NYPD.

'My daughter was crying. It was without a doubt the best night and would not have been possible without Officer DiCandia's generosity and kindness,' she said, explaining that the trip had been a treat for her daughter's birthday.

Geraldine McKenna was overawed with the officer's generosity

McKenna, who did not have her Irish bank cards on her, only discovered she was missing $20 when she and her daughters got to the front of the line during the March trip.

With the show soon to begin, she did not have time to run back to their hotel, so she searched for someone who would be generous and spot them the cash.

'(The cop) understood the magnitude of the emergency and pulled a $20 out of his pocket so she didn't have to throw away her shot,' the NYPD said in a Facebook post.

McKenna was so impressed, that after she arrived back home in Ireland, she decided to write a letter to New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio to let him know about the officer's good deed.

'It was, without doubt, the best night that would not have been possible without Officer DiCandia's generosity and kindness,' McKenna explained.

'Officer DiCandia a massive thank you to you from myself and my 2 daughters.'

'He understood the magnitude of the emergency and pulled a $20 out of his pocket so she didn't have to throw away her shot,' the department wrote in a posting on social media

Geraldine sent a letter from home in Ireland to Mayor Bill de Blasio to praise her the NYPD cop

DiCandia's wife Victoria Teresa said her husband had been touched by the thoughtful note.

'Thank you so much for your kind letter!! It really meant a lot to him,' she wrote on Facebook.

The musical have said they now want to give officer DiCandia some tickets of his own as a way of thanking him for his generous act.

A spokesperson for the musical heaped praise on the cops that patrol the streets around the theater: 'The police officers on the Broadway beat are always first class.'
Jeffrey Clark, 30, (right) was arrested Friday for illegal possession of firearms. He's pictured with his fellow alt-right brother Edward Clark, 23

A Washington DC man who called the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting a 'dry run for things to come' and had social media connections with the shooter has been arrested on firearms charges.

Jeffrey Clark, 30, was arrested Friday after relatives tipped investigators off about concerning outbursts, which included his neo-Nazi hate speech and his claims that the 11 people killed at the Tree of Life synagogue last month 'deserved it'.

The family called the FBI on November 2 to report that Clark had become more outspoken about his radical views after the shooting - and his brother's suicide on the same day.

Clark and his younger brother Edward, 23, were both members of the alt-right and had 'fantasized about killing Jews and blacks', an affidavit stated.

Hours after the synagogue shooting on October 27, Edward killed himself with a Beretta pistol.

He was found dead holding eight rounds and another two fully loaded magazines.

According to documents, his family told the FBI they 'believed he may have been planning to commit an act of violence on the day that he died.'

His relatives tipped the FBI off about his concerning neo-Nazi rhetoric, saying he became more outspoken after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Edward is pictured holding a Vanguard America flag, which promotes the idea that people with 'white blood' are uniquely connected to 'American soil'

The family said the brothers (pictured with a skull and cross bones to commemorate Dylan Roof, who shot up a black church ) 'fantasized about killing Jews and blacks' and often posted hateful speech on the social media site Gab and on Twitter

Hours after the Pittsburgh massacre last month, Clark' (pictured) neo-Nazi brother Edward, 23, killed himself

Clark was connected with the Pittsburgh shooter Robert Bowers (pictured), who killed 11, on the social media site Gab

Clark was social media 'friends' with Robert Bowers - the man charged with opening fire on worshipers at the synagogue, according to court documents.

The men had been linked through the social media site Gab, which is favored by anti-Semites and members of the alt-right for its free speech platform. Both men had both openly discussed killing Jewish and black people.

Before Bowers stormed the Tree of Life synagogue, he wrote on Gab: 'I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I'm going in.'

According to court documents, Clark wrote on Gab that the synagogue attack was a 'dry run for things to come' and that 'the f***ing k***s that got shot by the hero #RobertBowers were all active supporters of pedophilia  and every last one of them deserved exactly what happened to them and so much worse.'

Clark's profile picture on Gab included a photograph him and Edward wearing masks and holding what appear to be the Mossberg Maverick 88 shotgun and the Ruger Mini 14 Ranch Rifle. The Clark brothers posed in front of a flag with a skull and crossbones with a wig of Dylan Roof, who shot up a black church.

Another photo shows Clark holding an alt-right Vanguard America flag, which promotes the idea that people with 'white blood' are uniquely connected to 'American soil'.

On his profile page, Clark described himself as: 'Aka DC Stormer (RIP), 'Meth-Smoking, Pipe Bomb making, mailman-murdering,#Fed,#DemoKKKrat, Che Guevara of the altright, Glenn beck, Not a NEET  just bathing in White priviledge, Bowlcut Nationalism is the only way forward...'

Family members revealed to the FBI the brothers' connection to the Pittsburgh shooter and their growing interest in firearms because they feared a civil war, according to court documents.

Jeffrey posted that the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue (pictured) was a 'dry run for things to come'

He called Bowers a 'hero' for killing 11 at the synagogue on October 27

Clark was arrested Friday and charged with illegal possession of high-capacity firearms magazines and unlawful possession of firearms by a person who is a user of a controlled substance.

'Agents recognized several items in the boxes as parts used to modify AR-15 assault rifles,' the affidavit said.

Investigators also recovered AR-15 rifle conversion kits and four high-capacity AR-15 magazines.

Photos from the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville show the brothers participating in the rally that left one counter protester dead.

The family said they believe there are photos online of the brothers standing next to James Alex Fields - the white nationalist who drove a car into a crowd of protestors, killing one and injuring 19.

Clark appeared in court Tuesday.
Bali Nine's Renae Lawrence could face court over theft charges once she lands on Australian soil following her release from an Indonesian jail.

The 41-year-old has been behind bars in Bali's Bangli jail since she was convicted of attempting to smuggle 2.6kg of heroin into Australia through Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport on April 17, 2005.

The drugs were found strapped to her body - and the bodies of three other drug mules - after the Australian Federal Police tipped off Indonesian authorities.

Scroll down for video

Bali Nine's Renae Lawrence (pictured) could face court over theft charges once she lands on Australian soil following her release from an Indonesian jail

The 41-year-old (pictured) has been behind bars in Bali's Bangli jail since she was convicted of attempting to smuggle 2.6kg of heroin into Australia through Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport on April 17, 2005

Before being arrested in Bali, it is alleged Lawrence stole a 1986 Ford Laser on March 26, and was due to appear in Gosford Local Court.

It is also alleged fellow Bali Nine smuggler Matthew James Norman, who was 18 at the time, drove the car when he knew it was stolen.

She was to be charged with take and drive conveyance without consent of its owner, failing to comply with a police direction, exceed speed limit and drive while unlicensed, a court spokeswoman told Sydney Morning Herald.

With her pending release, this means Lawrence could finally face the charges once she arrives home.

A NSW Police spokesman confirmed there is a woman with outstanding warrants.

'A 41-year-old woman has two outstanding warrants for offences including steal motor vehicle, drive unlicensed, speeding and fail to comply with police directions,' he said.

Before being arrested in Bali, it is alleged Lawrence (pictured) stole a 1986 Ford Laser on March 26, and was due to appear in Gosford Local Court

Lawrence was the only Bali Nine member to not receive life imprisonment and has been making the most of the rehabilitation programs while in jail (pictured are syndicate leaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran)

Norman, now 31, would have been charged with being carried in a conveyance taken without consent of its owners.

He is serving a life sentence.

On Monday, Bali officers confirmed Lawrence is due to be released from prison after spending 13 years behind bars.

Her release would make her the only member of the drug syndicate to leave jail.

Lawrence could have been freed in May, but couldn't make the $100,000 payment and opted to remain in jail for another six months.

Her father, Bob Lawrence, told the Newcastle Herald he hopes people respect his daughter's wishes and leave her alone as she rebuilds her life. He revealed they had known for a while about her release.

'We knew ages ago she was getting out on the 21st. She just wants to come home and get on with her life,' he said.

'We hope everyone respects her wishes.'

Her father, Bob Lawrence, told the Newcastle Herald he hopes people respect his daughter's wishes and leave her alone as she rebuilds her life. He revealed they had known for a while about her release

'We knew ages ago she was getting out on the 21st. She just wants to come home and get on with her life,' he said

The Daily Telegraph reported that Immigration Department officials visited Lawrence in jail to prepare for her release and deportation.

Fellow Bali Nine members Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed by firing squad in 2015, while Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died from cancer earlier this year.

Lawrence hopes to work when she returns to Australia, but believes it will not be easy to find an employer who will take on an ex-prisoner.

'In Australia, it's difficult because we already have the status of prisoner,' Lawrence told News Corp in August.

'If the owner of the company is a kind person and can accept us but that person rarely exists.'

She was the only Bali Nine member to not receive life imprisonment and has been making the most of the rehabilitation programs while in jail.
The moment a Hells Angels bikie was arrested for trying to smuggle $300million worth of ice into Australia has been captured on camera.

Perth man Luke Cook, 34, and wife Kanyarat Wechapitak, 40, were arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport in December 2017.

The husband and wife were charged with attempting to to smuggle half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine into Thailand and on to Australia in 2015.

Scroll down for video

The moment a Hells Angels bikie was arrested for trying to smuggle $300million worth of ice into Australia has been captured on camera

Perth man Luke Cook (left), 34, and wife Kanyarat Wechapitak (right), 40, were arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport in December 2017

On Wednesday, they were sentenced to death by Thai authorities but no date has been set for their execution.

In 2015 the couple attempted to import the massive ice haul into Thailand, but were not arrested until they were intercepted by Thai authorities in December.

Footage shows Thai police arrest Cook as his young son is forced to watch, Perth Now reported.

The footage shows authorities raid the family home in the tourist hot spot of Pattaya, where drug-weighing scales and guns were seized.

Cook is accused of taking a yacht into international waters off the Thailand coast to collect drugs from a Chinese trawler.

After spotting a patrol boat, he reportedly threw a large amount of the drug overboard, according to local media.

Footage shows Thai police arrest Cook (pictured) as his young son is forced to watch

The footage also shows authorities raid the family home in the tourist hot spot of Pattaya

Later, police reportedly found 50 kilograms of the drug - in four yellow sacks marked with red Chinese characters - washed ashore in Rayong in June 2015.

Following news of the couple's death sentence, a friend of Cook's told Nine News the bikie had been set up to take the fall for another's mistake.

'Luke is a family man who loves his kids,' a friend said.

'When this first happened, he did everything he could to try and get them out of the country.'

'He is innocent. He would never do something like this.'

Following news of the couple's death sentence, a friend of Cook's (pictured) told Nine News the bikie had been set up to take the fall for another's mistake

Thai authorities allege Cook is a member of notorious Hells Angels bikie gang.

They claim a high-ranking member, Wayne Schneider, paid him $US10 million to receive and store the drugs before smuggling them to Australia.

Schneider's body was found naked and mutilated in Thailand in 2015.

Cook was handed a two-year suspended sentence for Schneider's murder.

Thai authorities claim Wayne Schneider (left) paid him Cook $US10 million to receive and store the drugs before smuggling them to Australia. Cook is also believed to help convicted murderer Antonio Bagnato (right) escape to Cambodia

Authorities believe Cook helped convicted murderer Antonio Bagnato, 28, escape to Cambodia.

Bagnato was sentenced in a Thai court to death after hiring four men to kill Schneider.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed they are 'providing consular assistance to an Australian in Thailand'.
France's government has fired back at a flurry of critical tweets by Donald Trump, suggesting the US president lacked 'common decency' by launching his broadside on a day when France was mourning victims of the November 2015 terror attacks.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Wednesday: 'We were commemorating the assassination of 130 of our compatriots three years ago in Paris and Saint-Denis, and so I will reply in English: 'Common decency' would have been appropriate.'

Nursing grievances from a weekend visit to France, Mr Trump hit out at France's President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday over his suggestion for a European defence force, over French tariffs on US wine and even Mr Macron's approval ratings.

Trump and Macron's spat marks a significant falling-out for the two world leaders, who had shared a cordial friendship despite their differing views

Trump pictured with President Macron and Vladimir Putin at Armistice Day commemorations in Paris on Sunday

The tweets underscored tensions between the once-friendly leaders and displayed Mr Trump's irritation over criticism of how he acted in France.

Trump derided Macron's proposed European army in tweets  bringing up German military aggression in World War I and World War II as he accused the French president of turning on him to boost his own popularity ratings.

The dispute among friends boiled over into a full-blown diplomatic conflict, with Trump venting about the tax treatment of American-made versus French wine and complaining about the the existing NATO alliance.

'Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France?' he asked. 'They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!'

The president accused the French president of trying to change the subject and Trump called to 'make France great again' in the midst of his Twitter attack

Trump derided key U.S. allies after returning to the United States from Paris, where he joined Macron, Merkel and other world leaders for a ceremony marking the centennial of the armistice that ended World War I.

He said they were 'starting to learn German in Paris' during the Nazi occupation in the Second World War 'before the U.S. came along' and saved the day.

'The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject,' Trump said in the stunning appraisal of the leader he had praised as a friend three days prior.

'By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!' he said in a rage on Twitter. 'MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!'

The French government spokesperson said Trump comments were inappropriate as France is currently observing the Bataclan theater attack anniversary

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (center left) and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (center right) walk to the bar 'La Bonne Biere' in Paris during a ceremony on Tuesday to mark three years since terror attacks in Paris left 130 people dead

A woman touches the commemorative plaque at the entrance of the Bataclan in Paris on Tuesday during a ceremony held for the victims of the 2015 attack

Meanwhile Angela Merkel called for the creation of a 'real, true' European army during a speech to EU ministers on Tuesday in a further rebuke to Trump.

The German Chancellor also called for a European Security Council that would be responsible for coordinating defence policy across the continent.

Merkel spoke out after French President Emmanuel Macron floated the same idea last week, and hours after Donald Trump lambasted him for it on Twitter.

In her speech, which was about the future of the EU, Merkel said: 'What is really important, if we look at the developments of the past year, is that we have to work on a vision of one day creating a real, true European army.

She said the new army would work in conjunction with NATO, but added that 'only a stronger Europe is going to defend Europe.'
An Adelaide man no longer has vision in his left eye after he was blinded by thugs in a vicious road rage attack.

The student, 25, who wishes to remain anonymous, is still in hospital recovering following Saturday night's violent attack in Albert Park in Adelaide's west.

He was driving home at 11pm when he was involved in an accident with another vehicle in Glyde Street near the intersection of Herbert Street.

The road rage attack victim (pictured) is still recovering in hospital, four days after the attack

The situation turned nasty when he got out of his car to exchange details with the other motorist and was confronted by two men from the other vehicle.

The traumatised victim said the men swore at him before he was blinded by what he described as one 'nasty punch.'

'Right now if you could see me, it has a major impact on my future,' he told 9 News from his hospital bed.

'They said I lost my vision and that I couldn't see the world with my left eye forever.'

The victim's friend travelling in the car with him called emergency services while nearby residents rushed to the victim's aid.

'They said I lost my vision and that I couldn't see the world with my left eye forever,' the victim (pictured) said. He now faces an uncertain future

Resident Sandy Knights told 9 News the victim was 'dripping with blood.'

The victim was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and was transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital to undergo emergency surgery, where he'll remain for another few days.

Doctors have told the man he may need further surgery.

The road rage attack happened after the man's car (pictured) was involved in a collision

The victim said he now faces an uncertain future.

'I thought that I had a very brilliant future but all of a sudden, the completely written page has turned into a white page,' he said.

South Australia Police are investigating the incident and urge anyone with information to come forward.
As November rolls around, Thanksgiving is always something that I look forward to. It is a time that I get to spend with my family and friends and celebrate with them. To celebrate Thanksgiving, my family usually gets together at someone's house or shed.
An inquest into the second of two festival-goers who died after taking ecstasy tablets has heard that he told a friend he had taken two 'Silver Audi' pills before falling ill.

Fun-loving Tommy Cowan, died after he collapsed and began fitting at the Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth on May 26, headlined that night by Dizzee Rascal.

The 20-year-old from Hampshire died on the same day as 18-year-old Georgia Jones, also from Hampshire, who had taken two ecstasy tablets and a bag of MDMA powder.

Tommy Cowan (right) died at the Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth. His mother Brook Hoiar (left) described him as a 'fun-loving' man

The music festival was cancelled on the Sunday, which Craig David and Sean Paul were due to headline, as a 'safety precaution' following the two deaths, with a number of other people reporting to hospital with the symptoms of having taken drugs.

Detective Constable Alistair Charnley, of Hampshire police, said the two deaths were being treated as connected to ecstasy tablets and officers were investigating links between the two.

He said Mr Cowan, a father-of-one, was understood to have taken two ecstasy tablets.

The Mutiny Festival was held in Portsmouth earlier this year and the second day of the event had to be cancelled due to the deaths. Police had to cordon off the area for inspection (above)

'Police treated the two deaths as non-suspicious and are investigating any links between the two deaths.

'Several people have been arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs. They have all been released from custody under investigation.'

He added that seized drugs had been forensically examined but he was unable to release further details as the investigation was continuing.

Georgina Jones (pictured above) died at the same festival after taking ecstasy pills

The inquest at Portsmouth Coroner's Court heard from witnesses who said they got drugs through security on to the festival site.

Friend Lewis Behrens told the inquest he had seen Mr Cowan looking 'out of it' at the festival and said he had told him he had taken some 'Silver Audi' pills.

Another friend, Oliver Joell, said he saw Mr Cowan at the festival and he appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was looking to get hold of more.

He said he saw Mr Cowan later and added: 'He stumbled past us and he was completely unaware of what he was doing. He was falling backwards and stumbling, walking completely out of sync and falling into people.'

He described how Mr Cowan fell to the ground and began fitting before paramedics arrived and began treating him.

Mr Cowan's mother, Brook Hoar told the hearing she had gone to the festival but had been unable to contact him during the afternoon because of a lack of phone reception, and when her phone started working again she received 186 messages and missed calls.

The 38-year-old said: 'My phone went crazy, I opened Messenger and it just said Tommy is in intensive care and we need to go to the QA (Queen Alexandra Hospital).

'We just legged it to the car park and jumped in the car and went up to the hospital.'

Describing her son, she said: 'He was just fun-loving, he was a doting dad and boyfriend, he was loved by everyone, he was just a great lad.'

His partner, Jodie Brain, said they had been in a relationship for three years.

She said: 'Before we got into a relationship he was doing drugs a lot more, then we fell pregnant and he didn't go out much and he settled down.'

An inquest held earlier this week into the death of Miss Jones, a care assistant, concluded that she died accidentally, and coroner David Horsley criticised drug dealers as 'unscrupulous and greedy people'.

The hearing was told that Miss Jones was probably unaware that the two ecstasy tablets she took were 'double-strength' and she died from an 'extremely high' level of MDMA intoxication.

Georgia's devastated sister Danielle, who went to the festival with her, told the hearing she found her 'fitting' on the floor.

Danielle said friends described seeing Georgia, who also had a bag of MDMA in the form of powder in her bumbag, 'stumbling around' and 'slurring her words'.

The inquest into the death of Mr Cowan will conclude on Friday.
Advertisement

Home after home completely leveled, cars all burned to a crisp, everything in site either gray rubble or black ash.

This is the horrific portrait of devastation captured by new drone footage in Paradise, the Northern California town that was completely wiped out by the Camp Fire.

The Camp Fire is now the deadliest and most destructive fire in the state's history, killing at least 48 people and destroying more than 6,500 homes and 260 buildings as it burned through more than 160,000 acres.

After six days, the blaze only remains 35 percent contained and more than 200 people are still missing.

The new drone footage, obtained by ABC10, shows all that is left in Paradise, which was consumed so quickly by the Camp Fire that many victims didn't even have time to start their cars. Some bodies were found laying next to vehicles.

Scroll down for video

New drone footage has revealed the extent of devastation in the town of Paradise, which was completely wiped out by a California wildfire

The devastating footage shows home after home completely leveled, cars all burned to a crisp, everything in site either gray rubble or black ash

Plot after plot of land, where houses in the popular retirement community of 27,000 once proudly stood, are now completely empty.

What was once bedrooms, kitchens, and backyards are now entirely indistinguishable, all reduced to similar looking pieces of rubble.

In one plot, all that eerily stands is a slew of porch steps leading up to a home that no longer exists.

On the opposite end of California, there were similar scenes of devastation as a Los Angeles sheriff shared aerial images of the Woolsey Fire's destruction.

The heartbreaking photos, shared by Sheriff Jim McDonnell, show rows and rows of home reduced to rubble, the trees and vegetation surrounding them singed to nothingness.

'While touring #WoolseyFire burn areas & seeing the devastation from above it brings a greater understanding that each house is a home,' McDonnell tweeted alongside the photos on Tuesday. 'Each home has a life & memories attached to it.'

Paradise was consumed so quickly by the Camp Fire that many victims didn't even have time to start their cars and escape

The death toll for the Camp Fire rose to 48 on Tuesday night and more than 200 people remain missing, authorities said

Plot after plot of land, where houses in the popular retirement community of 27,000 once proudly stood, are now empty

The Camp Fire has destroyed more than 8,817 structures, including 7,600 homes, in less than a week since it first ignited

Aerial images have also been released that show the destruction of several celebrities' homes, including the Malibu mansions of Robin Thicke and Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus.

The Woolsey Fire has killed three people - for a statewide total of 51 victims - and tore through more than 97,620 acres.

CA WILDFIRES BY THE NUMBERS Camp Fire 88 people killed, 196 missing 153,336 acres burned, 100% contained 18,793 structures destroyed, including 13,972 homes Woolsey Fire 3 people killed 96,949 acres burned, 100% contained 1,500 destroyed, 341 damaged Hill Fire 4,531 acres burned, 100% contained 4 structures destroyed, 2 damaged Updated November 29 Advertisement

Authorities revealed on Wednesday that human remains were found in a burned home in Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.

Two other bodies were found last week in a car that had been overtaken by flames. They have not yet been identified.

It has burned an area the size of Denver and destroying more than 400 structures and 80 percent of National Parks Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains.

As of Wednesday morning it was 47 percent contained and 57,000 structures still remain under threat.

In Paradise, authorities are currently working hard to identify more victims of the horrific blaze.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said the devastation is so complete in some neighborhoods that 'it's very difficult to determine whether or not there may be human remains there'.

'In some cases, the only remains we are able to recover are bones or bone fragments,' Honea said, adding that these were so small that coroner's investigators were using a wire basket to sift and sort them.

Honea said his office had received more than 1,500 requests for 'welfare checks' from people concerned about the fate of their loved ones.

Chaplains accompanied some coroner search teams that visited dozens of addresses belonging to people reported missing.

Authorities have set up a rapid DNA analysis system and brought in cadaver dogs and mobile morgue units from the military in an intensified effort to find and identify victims. They have also requested 150 additional search-and-rescue personnel.

On the opposite end of California, there were similar scenes of devastation as a Los Angeles sheriff shared aerial images of the Woolsey Fire's destruction (pictured)

The heartbreaking photos, shared by Sheriff Jim McDonnell, show rows and rows of home reduced to rubble, the trees and vegetation surrounding them singed to nothingness

The Woolsey Fire has killed two people and tore through more than 97,620 acres, burning an area the size of Denver and destroying more than 400 structures and 80 percent of National Parks Service land

The Camp Fire, Woolsey Fire, and Hill Fire are all still blazing across California as of Wednesday morning, as the map shows

An additional 100 National Guard troops have also been asked to join teams already looking for human remains.

'We want to be able to cover as much ground as quickly as we possibly can. This is a very difficult task,' Honea said on Tuesday night.

Ernest Foss, 63, Jesus 'Zeus' Fernandez, 48, Carl Wiley, 77, Ellen Walker, Lolene Rios, 58, and Debbe Morningstar, 65, are the first six Camp Fire victims to be publicly identified.

Foss was a rock and roll musician who raised three children as a single father in San Francisco, where he built a recording studio in their small Bay Area home and taught music lessons.

He moved to Paradise eight years ago to escape the rising costs of San Francisco.

Angela Loo, Foss' daughter, said he was bedridden and had been living with advanced lymphedema for 10 years, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

His body was found next to his beloved service dog Bernice outside his home, which he shared with a stepson and caretaker, near his minivan.

Aerial images have also been released that show the destruction of several celebrities' homes, including Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus' Malibu mansion (pictured)

Aerial images also showed that the fire had completely wiped out the home Robin Thicke shared with April Love Geary

A number of celebrities have lost their houses in the Woolsey fire, including Neil Young, Kim Basinger, Robin Thicke, Camille Grammer and Gerard Butler

Loo believes his stepbrother may have been able to get him into a wheelchair and near the car. Foss' caretaker, Andrew Burt, remains missing.

Rios and her husband Rick, 69, had both relocated in Paradise after losing their home to another fire in Concow in the 1990s.

The retired couple, like many in the town, only found out about the blaze when it was too late.

Rick saw their neighbor's house up in flames and went on the roof, hoping he could still save their house by taking out any spot fires.

Rios went to the basement as she began gathering the family's dogs. In moments, their house was ablaze.

Rick was rescued by firefighters who pulled him off the roof. He is now recovering in the hospital with severe burns on his hands and face, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

'My dad is in a lot of pain,' Maria Rios said. 'He keeps saying, "I have no skin, no skin". As soon as he heard my voice, he broke down. He kept saying, "Everything is gone. Everything is gone.'''

Carl Wiley will be buried next to his wife in a cemetery in Magalia, which was also devastated by the Camp Fire.

Ernest Foss, 63, of Paradise (left), and Jesus 'Zeus' Fernandez, 48, of Concow (right), both died in the Camp Fire in California

Family members of Lolene Rios, 58, (right) have also identified her as another victim in Paradise. Her husband Rick Rios, 69, (left) barely made it out of their home alive

Debbe Morningstar, 65, (pictured) was retired and lived in Paradise for more than 30 years. While she had evacuated her home during previous fires, she decided not to leave her home on Thursday

James Wiley said his father, a former tire recapper for Michelin, will share a headstone with his wife Mary Lee, who died of cancer nearly three decades ago.

Fernandez, who also lived in Paradise, was remembered as the 'epitome of determination, respect, loyalty, and perseverance'.

'A tireless provider, a dependable and loyal friend, a considerate neighbor, and loving father, he will be sorely missed by all who knew him,' said family friend Myrna Pascua.

Morningstar was retired and lived in Paradise for more than 30 years. While she had evacuated her home during previous fires, she decided not to leave on Thursday.

Several victims of the Camp Fire filed lawsuits against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in San Francisco County Superior Court on Tuesday.

The suit accuses PG&E of being responsible for the destructive blaze, claiming it failed to properly maintain its equipment and infrastructure.

PG&E informed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that a high-voltage power line experienced a problem near the origin of the Camp Fire just minutes before the blaze broke out.

A rescuer works among debris after the wildfire in Paradise on Tuesday. Several victims of the Camp Fire have since filed lawsuits against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in San Francisco County Superior Court

The suit accuses PG&E of being responsible for the destructive blaze, claiming it failed to properly maintain its equipment and infrastructure. Pictured is Paradise on Tuesday

A volunteer search and rescue crew from Calaveras County comb through a home destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise on Tuesday afternoon

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea revealed that the remains of 13 additional people were located on Monday. Honea said 10 human remains were located in Paradise. Seven of those were found in homes and three outside

The Camp fire originated on Camp Creek Road near Highway 70 around 6.30am on Thursday.

Betsy Ann Cowley lives on 64 acres in Pulga, right next to the junction with Camp Creek Road. Cowley revealed that PG&E emailed her the day before the fire began and said it needed to investigate power lines on her land.

The email said the company was sending employees to work on the high-power lines because 'they were having problems with sparks'.

And, two days before the fire started, PG&E told customers in nine counties, including Butte County, that it might shut off their power November 8 because of extreme fire danger.

But the utility company called off the shutdown, telling customers nine hours after the Camp Fire began that the weather conditions 'did not warrant this safety measure'.

Mike Danko, a lawyer representing the Camp Fire victims, claims that the company did not go through with the planned shutdown on November 8 because company bonuses are tied to customer complaints.

'This is the worst of them all, because PG&E knew what to do to prevent the fire, knew what the risks of a fire are, and instead lined their pockets at the expense of customer safety,' he said.

Honea said his team is working to identify the remains and notify the next of kin as soon as possible.Forensic investigators search a community swimming pool for victims of the Camp Fire in Paradise on Tuesday

Danko said he expects more lawsuits against PG&E will be filed soon.

'They've destroyed people's lives, killed people and burned down many houses - in fact, an entire town,' he told the San Francisco Chronicle. 'At some point, there has to be accountability.'

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but CalFire spokesman Scott McLean said 'electric equipment' was being included in the probe.

Tensions ran high as the Paradise Town Council held a meeting on Tuesday night where resident Michael Orr called on Mayor Jody Jones, who was just reelected last week, to resign following the response to the blaze.

Orr blamed Jones for the town's chaotic evacuation and rising death toll. Jones said she has no plans to resign.

'Well people died, yes. It did not go perfectly,' she told CBS San Francisco. 'I don't know that we could have had a plan that was better. We couldn't get everyone out because you can't fit 26,000 people out of the road at the same time.'

Jones said the town had put together an evacuation plan after a fire through it in 2008.

The plan called for Paradise to evacuate neighborhood by neighborhood, and they even practiced it last year, but it fell to pieces within moments on Thursday.

Authorities believe the new flare-up (pictured) was caused by what are known as 'red flag conditions', in which low humidity and high winds combine to make the perfect conditions for a wildland fire combustion

The blaze (seen on Tuesday) has prompted new evacuations at the same time thousands of residents are finally being allowed back into their neighborhoods after the Woolsey Fire first ignited on Tuesday

The Woolsey fire continued to burn largely out of control in southern California on Tuesday night after hurricane-strength winds fanned flames in the Santa Monica Mountains, causing a flare-up which burned 50 acres in 30 minutes (pictured left)

'I don't know that you could build the infrastructure to evacuate an entire town that quickly,' she said. 'I just don't know if that's possible.'

Harold Taylor, 72, saw flames behind his house when he received a call on Thursday morning to evacuate. He left with just the clothes on his back.

'We didn't have 10 minutes to get out of there,' the Vietnam veteran, who uses a cane, told the Associated Press. 'It was already in flames downtown, all the local restaurants and stuff.'

'It happened so fast,' added resident Greg Gibson. 'It would have been such an easy decision to stay, but it was the wrong choice.'

US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will visit Paradise on Wednesday after canceling a planned trip to Asia at the direction of the White House. He then plans to visit a community devastated by the Woolsey Fire.

Zinke's visit comes nearly a week after President Donald Trump drew widespread criticism after he blamed the deadly fires on 'poor forest management' and even threatened to withhold federal funds.

Another flare-up also broke out dangerously close to homes in Rialto, California (pictured) around 9pm on Tuesday night

The Sierra Fire (pictured on Tuesday night), as its been dubbed, burned 20 acres in just minutes and tore through 147 acres by Wednesday morning

Fire crews fought against 50mph winds as a number of power lines, as well as some backyards and a palm tree, caught on fire

No evacuations were ordered, but traffic in the area (pictured) became backed up as residents scrambled to leave anyway

Trump has since approved a major disaster declaration for the state, hastening the availability of federal emergency assistance to fire-stricken regions.

The major-disaster declaration will also make victims eligible for crisis counseling, housing and unemployment help, and legal aid.

Although California's wildfires have been burning for nearly a week, high winds and low humidity are continuing to fuel the flames.

The Woolsey Fire ripped through 50 acres in 30 minutes in the Santa Monica Mountains on Tuesday afternoon as hurricane-force winds of 85mph sparked a new flare-up. It burned a total of 1,000 acres in the Lake Sherwood area.

Authorities believe the flare-up was caused by what are known as 'red flag conditions', in which low humidity and high winds combine to make the perfect conditions for a wildland fire combustion.

'It's critically dry with incredibly strong winds, so that really puts us back into a day where we could see rapid fire spread as a result of any new fires or flare-ups,' Cal Fire Division Chief Chris Anthony told the Los Angeles Times.

Rains aren't expected to hit the parched area until Thanksgiving next week, according to the National Weather Service.

'We are not out of the woods yet,' added Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen. 'We still have incredibly tough conditions ahead of us.'

Another flare-up also broke out dangerously close to homes in Rialto around 9pm on Tuesday night, burning 20 acres in just minutes and tearing through 147 acres by Wednesday morning, according to KABC.

Fire crews had to fight against 50mph winds as a number of power lines, as well as some backyards and one palm tree, caught on fire.

No evacuations were ordered, but traffic in the area became backed up as residents scrambled to leave anyway.

On Monday Liam Hemsworth shared heartbreaking photos of the destroyed Malibu mansion he shares with Miley Cyrus after it was hit by the Woolsey fire

'A lot of people lost everything and will have to rebuild from scratch,' he said. 'I am okay and so grateful for the well wishes'

Robin Thicke's home was also completely destroyed by the fire, leaving nothing more than a pile of rubble and ash behind

Camille Grammer also revealed on Sunday that she had lost her home, saying it 'couldn't be saved' and posting a picture of it up in flames

The Kardashian clan, Simon Cowell, Will Smith and Martin Sheen were also among those who had to evacuate as Woolsey tore through the star-studded Malibu, Hidden Hills, and Calabasas areas

Strong wind gusts thankfully sent most of the flames away from the homes and no structures caught on fire. As of Wednesday the fire was holding at 147 acres and has 75 percent containment.

No structures are under threat but the San Bernardino Fire Department said crews will continue to monitor neighborhoods for embers, mop up hot spots, and keep an eye on wind conditions.

Yet another flare-up occurred Wednesday morning in uninhabited areas in the Santa Monica Mountains, but the flames had mostly subsided by 6.30am and was far from any homes.

Winds are expected to significantly weaken by Wednesday afternoon and authorities plan to lift the red flag levels. But low humidity levels will keep the danger levels just one below the red flag level at 'elevated'.

Fire officials were able to lift evacuation orders early Tuesday in all or parts of about five communities in Ventura and Los Angeles counties - including the star-studded Hidden Hills, Calabasas, and Malibu.

As many as 250,000 people were ordered to evacuate when Woolsey was at its peak.

The Kardashian clan, Simon Cowell, Will Smith, and Lady Gaga were just a few of the dozens of celebrities who had to evacuate.

And Gerard Butler, Neil Young, and Camille Grammer Meyer were among those who lost their homes in the blaze.

Large areas of Los Angeles still remain off-limits due to downed power lines, embers that could re-ignite, buckled roads, and lack of power and communications.

But there was some good news for Southern California as the Hill Fire, which has also been burning through the weekend, reached 94 percent containment on Wednesday after scorching 4,531 acres in Ventura County.

The cause for the Woolsey fire remains unknown, but Southern California Edison reported to the CPUC that there was an outage on an electric circuit right by the area where the Woolsey Fire first began.

Just two minutes after the outage occurred on Thursday afternoon, the first reports of the fire started coming in.

SoCal Edison said it has received no indication that its equipment was involved in the fire, but authorities said the cause remains under investigation.

But Alex Robertson, a plaintiff lawyer who has brought cases against SoCal Edison in the past, said he plans to file 'several dozen' lawsuits against the utility company this week.
A shopkeeper and two other men killed five people by setting fire to his supermarket in a failed 300,000 insurance scam, a court heard today.

Shop owner Aram Kurd, 34, Arkan Ali, 37 and Hawkar Hassan, 33, are accused of blowing up a Polish grocery store in Leicester on February 25.

The inferno killed four members of a family living in the two-storey flat above the shop and also a shopgirl who was 'left to die' because she 'knew too much' about the insurance scam.

The trio allegedly doused the shop in 'many, many litres of petrol' before setting it on fire, causing an explosion so loud neighbours thought a bomb had gone off.

Kurd, Ali and Hassan are also accused of conspiring with shop worker Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, to bag the insurance money before leaving her to die.

Mary Ragoobeer, 46, her teenage sons Shane and Sean, and Leah Beth Reek, 18, who was Shane's girlfriend, were also killed in the horror explosion.

Scroll down for video

Leicester Crown Court today heard how some in the neighbourhood thought a bomb had exploded

Aram Kurd, 34 (right) Arkan Ali, 37 (centre) and Hawkar Hassan, 33 (left) are accused of blowing up the Polish grocery store in Hinckley Road, Leicester on February 25

Opening their trial at Leicester Crown Court today, David Herbert QC told a jury the defendants intended to maximise the damage to the premises and 'would have known' people were in the flat above, but it 'did not bother them one bit'.

Ali, Hassan, and Kurd have already pleaded not guilty to five counts of murder and five alternative counts of manslaughter at a previous hearing.

They have also denied conspiring with Ms Ijevleva to make a gain, by dishonestly pursuing an insurance claim in respect of the fire at the shop.

Mrs Ragoobeer's husband Jose escaped the blast, something the prosecution described as a 'miracle'.

Addressing the jury, Mr Herbert said: 'At 7.01pm on the evening of February 25 2018, a massive explosion occurred in the basement of premises here in Leicester.

'So massive that some in the neighbourhood thought it was a bomb that had exploded.

'The explosion and the proceeding fire demolished a building and killed five people in the building - one person who was in the shop and four who were in the flat above enjoying a peaceful night in.'

The jury was shown CCTV footage of the horror blast from a number of angles.

Mary Ragoobeer, 46, her teenage sons Shane and Sean (pictured together) and 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, 18, who was Shane's girlfriend, were killed in the blast in February

Viktorija Ijevleva (left) was 'left to die' in the building. Leah Beth Reek (right) was also killed

Mr Herbert said: 'Even on camera 50 metres away you can see the explosion and the enormity of what happened.

'It was an explosion, the prosecution say, caused by many, many litres of petrol.

'The explosion and the fire that followed was deliberately caused by these defendants who intended to profit from loss of stock, contents and future loss of business from the shop.

'The evidence indicates that, had the crime been successful, the insurance payment would have been in the region of 300,000. It boils down to greed.

'It was not an accident, the prosecution say, that the petrol used caused such devastating damage.'

A picture shows the enormity of the blast at the Polish grocery shop in Leicester that the three men are accused of blowing up on purpose

Emergency services are pictured at the scene of the explosion on February 25, with a police cordon stretched across the road in front of the destroyed three-storey building

Police cars, fire engines and ambulance vehicles are pictured parked outside the shop

An aerial view of the scene of the explosion in Leicester, where five people died

The defendants were each assisted by a separate Kurdish interpreter during the proceedings and sat in the dock flanked by four security officers.

The court was also told about the involvement of Ms Ijevleva in the alleged insurance scam.

Mr Herbert said: 'One of those who died, Viktorija Ijevleva, had assisted the defendants to obtain insurance.

'The defendants thought she knew too much and decided to leave her to die in the explosion that they created.

Mother Mary Ragoobeer was killed with her two sons while her husband Jose escaped

Victim Leah Beth Reek is pictured with her boyfriend Shane Ragoobeer before they both died in the explosion

Leah Beth Reek, 18, was in the flat with her boyfriend Shane when the explosion happened - killing them both almost instantly

'In other words, the devastation that they caused was carried out with the intention to kill.

'It is also clear that they would have known that people would have been in the flat above the shop at the time of the explosion.

'And you may think when you hear all the evidence that that fact did not bother these defendants one bit as they sought to maximise the damage caused to the shop.'

Ali, of Oldham, Hassan, of Coventry, and Kurd, of Leicester, deny all 11 charges against them. The trial, listed for six weeks, continues.
A fraudster trying to claim 700,000 compensation for severe injuries after falling off a roof was caught on camera walking around an Iceland supermarket.

Liam Jones, 34, insisted he was unable to work, needed help washing and dressing and found it difficult to negotiate stairs because of pain and breathlessness.

The roofer from Bootle, Merseyside, also claimed he was unable to stand by himself, carry a light bag of shopping or bend over - and could only walk with a crutch.

Photographs taken undercover showed 34-year-old Liam Jones walking unaided and shopping at an Iceland supermarket, with meat and poultry tucked under his arm

But that proved to be a lie and investigators caught him walking freely - for five miles on one occasion - and going up and down ladders while he worked as a roofer.

Photographs taken undercover showed Jones walking unaided and shopping at an Iceland supermarket, with meat and poultry tucked under his arm.

In other instances, footage showed he walked with a crutch, but only to and from expert medical appointments.

QBE Business Insurance, representing Jones's employers, launched a private prosecution against him, after he turned down a cash offer to settle the claim.

After a submission of medical reports, legal proceedings were received which valued the claim for damages at about 700,000.

Footage showed he walked with a crutch, but only to and from expert medical appointments

But the eye-opening footage blew apart his story that the roof fall had left him barely able to walk, and in considerable pain.

In September, Jones was found guilty of attempted fraud, and in October he received a two-year jail sentence.

But it was suspended for two years, meaning Jones walked free from Liverpool Crown Court. Following the collapsed case, Jones received nothing for his claim.

Judge Rachel Smith told him: 'Your offences are not victimless offences. Fraud causes losses that affect society at large.'

The roofer from Merseyside said he was unable to carry a light bag of shopping or bend over

Mike East, a claims director for QBE Business Insurance, said: 'Fraud, including exaggerated claims, remain a major issue in our industry and we are pleased with the sentencing of Mr Jones.

'His prosecution is another in a long line of fraud cases in which our counter fraud team have been alert to fraudulent activity and have tirelessly pursued perpetrators in defence of our customers' interests.'

Stuart Furniss, a partner for BLM, who acted for QBE, added: 'This case demonstrates how important it is to take a hard line when faced with a claim tainted by fraud or exaggeration.

'The sentence should also act as a clear deterrent to those seeking to defraud insurers and their customers and hopefully help to reduce the number of similarly fraudulent claims which continue to drive up premiums for others'.
A pensioner with Alzheimer's spent hours locked in a charity minibus after the driver forgot about her and went home for the weekend.

The family of grandmother Beryl Harris, 87, fear she could have died after she spent more than three hours abandoned in the Age UK bus after dozing off.

Beryl was left behind by the driver, who forgot to take her home, then returned to a centre run by the charity on a Friday night, locked up the van and left.

Beryl Harris (centre), 87 of Sheppey in Kent, with daughter and granddaughter Tina and Gemma Cunningham (left and right). Ms Cunningham has questioned why the driver was not sacked

Her family claim that, after she was found inside the vehicle, Age UK staff joked about the ordeal, speculating that Beryl had had a nap.

Granddaughter Gemma Cunningham has questioned why the driver was not sacked after she launched a frantic search party at around 7pm that evening, when carers who visited Beryl got no answer at her flat in Sheppey, Kent.

Relatives were initially told everyone on the bus had been dropped off at home - but it emerged Beryl was left in the van from about 3.45pm until 7.30pm.

Gemma, 34, said: 'I got a phone call to say the carers could not get in.

'I went down there and realised nan wasn't there.

'We thought she had gone walkabout or something.'

She said calls to Age UK went unanswered but she used a private number to contact a staff member.

Gemma added: 'We really started to panic. She's usually back before 4pm.'

Beryl Harris (pictured) was left spent four hours in an abandoned minibus after the driver parked up and left for the weekend

Age UK called to say Beryl was on the bus after a search party had started searching the area for Beryl - and joked about the ordeal.

Gemma said: 'They were laughing and joking saying nan probably had a kip.

'I said it's not a laughing and joking matter.

'If nan didn't have family she would have been left on there. She would not have been found until the Monday.

'An old person wouldn't have lasted more than a day. She would have been dead.'

Beryl's daughter Tina, 52, added: 'I was just numb. I couldn't believe it.'

The family made an official complaint to Age UK and said they were not happy for Beryl to keep attending the charity's centre.

She had used the charity's Sheerness branch but that provision stopped at the end of October, her family said.

An investigation was carried out after the incident in July which resulted in disciplinary action.

The charity also said changes were implemented, but Gemma and Tina say they do not understand how the driver kept their job.

Mother-of-two Gemma added: 'If I'd left the kids in the car, I'd have had social services on my back. If she'd died they'd be up for manslaughter.'

Beryl Harris's daughter and granddaughter Tina (right) and Gemma Cunningham (left) have both expressed concern over how the incident was handled. But Age UK has assured the family that disciplinary action has been taken and changes made

Age UK chairman Alan Doucy said: 'We are truly sorry for this incident and the upset caused and have apologised to our client and their family.

'Our number one priority is to ensure the safety of all older people in our care so we are very disappointed to have fallen short of that.

'Following the incident we took immediate steps to investigate how this occurred, as well as implementing our formal disciplinary procedure with the member of staff concerned.

'In line with our regulatory responsibilities we reported the incident to Kent County Council, the Charity Commission and Age UK, and continue to work closely with them.

'We have now put in place new measures and processes to try and ensure this kind of situation could not happen again.

'These include, appointing additional drivers, extra training for staff who drive minibuses, updating our record-keeping process, and ongoing discussions with Kent County Council regarding our transport to further strengthen our policies and processes.

Beryl Harris was abandoned at an Age UK centre at Leysdown-on-Sea, Sheppey after falling asleep in a minibus. The charity has since said new measures and processes have been put in place to try and ensure this kind of situation does not happen again

'We are also investing in a digital record-keeping system to further improve our systems.

'We have also met with the family since the outcome of our investigation to listen to their concerns, and took steps to ensure this was as objective and transparent as possible.

'Throughout this period we have taken every step to ensure our client was supported and that they still visited the centre.'

A council spokesman said: 'The incident is being treated extremely seriously and a safeguarding inquiry has been launched into the circumstances. This investigation is ongoing.

'KCC staff are working with the family to ensure the individual concerned continues to receive appropriate care and support.'
A billionaire winery owner and has teamed up with surfers to help deliver supplies from his 142-foot yacht to California wildfire victims.

Howard Leight, co-owner of the Malibu Rocky Oaks winery, reached out to his friend Bill Kerbox on Monday in hopes that the two could hatch a plan to use Leight's $25million yacht to bring supplies into areas devastated by the Woolsey Fire.

They put a call out on social media under the hashtag #malibuhope, asking anyone in the area to join the mission.

On Tuesday morning, a group of volunteers loaded up the Leight Star with around 3,000 water bottles, 100 gallons of gasoline, snacks, dog food, lots of beer and other necessities before making their way to Paradise Cove.

As they approached the cove, police stopped the volunteers and said they would not be allowed to ferry the goods to shore themselves.

Luckily, there were a number of surfers and paddleboarders nearby who were happy to jump in the water to transport the supplies to their final destination.

Scroll down for video

Billionaire winery owner Howard Leight used his $25million yacht to deliver supplies to victims of the California wildfires with the help of surfers and paddleboarders in Malibu

With the help of a team of volunteers, Leight and his friend Bill Kerbox packed supplies onto the Leight Star yacht on Tuesday morning and made their way to Paradise Cove

Police wouldn't allow the yacht deliver the supplies to shore so surfers had to step in and help

Leight is the co-owner of the Malibu Rocky Oaks winery in the Santa Monica Mountains

Much of Leight's vineyard in the Santa Monica Mountains has been destroyed in the wildfires, according to the Times.

He opened the winery in 2003 after selling his hearing protection company, Howard Leight Industries, for $120million.

Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate Vineyard consists of 10 planted acres sitting on a 37-acre plot.

The billionaire said he spent Friday night trying to save the vineyard and two of his homes. After the threat had passed his properties, Leight wanted to see what he could do for others.

Leight has yet to share any photos of fire damage at his winery, which is seen above in October

The billionaire's yacht, Leight Star, is 142ft long, and has its own helipad

Leight offered his boat to help transport donated supplies to areas cut off by the wildfires

The extensive civilian effort was captured by social media users and local news crews

Many communities in the area north of Los Angeles are still under evacuation orders as the Woolsey Fire rages on.

Residents have had to be resourceful in how they transport supplies to affected communities as a number of roads remain closed either by law enforcement or by flames.

'Theres been so much confusion,' Kerbox told volunteers before they set out on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

'We need to get out on social media that supplies are going to start be unloaded in a little over an hour.'

The LA County Sheriff's deputy that stopped the yacht at the cove's entrance had told the group: 'If were not letting people in by land, were not letting them in by sea.'

Thankfully the swimmers and surfers could take on the final leg of the mission.

Malibu residents spotted the civilian efforts and began sharing photos on social media, drawing in even more volunteers.

The civilian efforts in Paradise Cove caught the attention of social media and local outlets

The group brought 3,000 water bottles and countless other items to the isolated community

The map above shows the areas north of Los Angeles that have been affected by the Woolsey wildfire

The Woolsey Fire was nearly 50 percent contained by Wednesday morning but Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott told Fox News that there is 'no end in sight' for the dry weather which has turned California into a tinder-box.

'We are not out of the woods yet,' added Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen. 'We still have incredibly tough conditions ahead of us.'
A murder probe has been launched after a mother died following an alleged town centre attack last week.

Katarzyna Elzbieta Paszek, 39, died in hospital after being left in a 'serious condition' following an incident at around 6pm last Thursday evening.

Police are now investigating following the woman's death yesterday, and have been questioning two Polish men.

Both arrested in connection with the assault in the Bridge Street area of Lampeter, West Wales.

Katarzyna Elzbieta Paszek (pictured), 39, died yesterday following an alleged attack in the Bridge Street area of Lampeter, West Wales at around 6pm last Thursday evening

A 40-year-old man remains in police custody and a 27-year-old man has been released on bail. Both men are from the Lampeter area.

Two other Polish men aged 31 and 37 who were also arrested have since been released with no further action.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

The woman's family released a statement on Wednesday saying they were 'distraught' at her death.

The statement said: 'As a family we are distraught by our loss of Katarzyna who was 39 and from Lampeter area. She was a loving mother, daughter, sister and aunt and was loved by so many.

'We would now like time to grieve and would ask to be given privacy in which to do so.'

The incident is said to have taken place in the Bridge Street area of Lampeter, West Wales (pictured) on Thursday, November 8

In an appeal on Tuesday Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Evans said: 'This is now a murder inquiry and I am appealing to anyone with information that could help the investigation, no matter how insignificant you may feel it is, please get in touch.

'I would like to reassure the public that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.'
George Conway, a conservative attorney whose wife is Donald Trump's senior White House counselor, has formed an organization whose goal is to push back against the president.

Charter members of the group, called Checks and Balances, include former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, former acting Attorney General Stuart Gerson, former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and former Deputy White House Counsel Phillip Brady.

Missing from its mission statement is any mention of Conway's wife, who helmed Trump's White House quest and became the first woman to successfully bring a presidential campaign across a November finish line.

'We believe in the rule of law, the power of truth, the independence of the criminal justice system, the imperative of individual rights and the necessity of civil discourse,' the group says, seeming to spell out a list of what its members see as the president's shortcomings.

'We believe these principles apply regardless of the party or persons in power.'

George Conway, whom Donald Trump calls 'Mr. Kelleyanne Conway,' has famously jabbed the president despite being married to one of his top advisers; now he's launched an organization of conservative lawyers who object to what Trump has done to the country

George was pictured holding Kellyanne's coat in this 2017 photo, taken long before he became a visible Trump critic

'He's just trying to get publicity for himself,' Trump told DailyMail.com last week, saying he doesn't know Mr. Conway

Mr. Conway most recently took issue with Trump's appointment of Justice Department Chief of Staff Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general. In a New York Times op-ed, he and a former acting U.S. solicitor general from the Obama administration argued that the selection was unconstitutional.

His wife, a well-regarded pollster before she joined the Trump team, said Sunday in a Fox News interview that the critique from inside her own household doesn't faze her.

'It doesn't affect me or my job at all,' she said. 'I've never been doing better personally or professionally. People argue about the Constitution every day. That's why we have the United States Supreme Court. That's why we have an entire U.S. circuit court system.'

'He and his co-author have one opinion, the president and his attorneys have another,' she shrugged. 'Respectfully, I offer my advice to the president in private. I don't need to put it on the opinion pages, because I'm counselor to the president.'

The credo of 'Checks and Balances' was signed by 14 prominent right-wing attorneys including former top State and Justice Department officials and a former Bush Administration cabinet member

As he departed the White House for France on Friday, President Trump chuckled when DailyMail.com asked him if George Conway's op-ed was flawed.

'You mean Mr. Kellyanne Conway?' he jabbed.

'He's just trying to get publicity for himself. Why dont you do this: Why dont you ask Kellyanne that question, all right? She might know him better than me. I really dont know the guy.'

Ms. Conway told Fox News two days later that 'the "Mr. Kellyanne Conway" comment is instructive.'

'People describe my husband as "Kellyanne Conway's husband" more often than they describe him by his first name. So I'm sure the feminists are really cheering me on today.'

The Times was first to report the formation of Checks and Balances, which came on the eve of the conservative Federalist Society's annual meeting in Washington.

Kellyanne Conway said Sunday on 'Fox News Sunday' that her husband's constitutional quibbles don't bother her at all

The Federalist Society's executive vice president, Leonard Leo, has been all-in with Trump, collaborating on the selection of 170 federal judges. So far, 91 of them have been confirmed and seated, including Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

But Lori Meyer, who is married to Federalist Society president Eugene Meyer, is among George Conway's 'Checks and Balances' inner circle.

'My particular concerns are all the disinformation and spin that comes out almost every day,' she said, referring to the Trump White House.

'It makes it impossible for any real dialogue to be had.'

John Bellinger, a member who was once Secretary of State Condoleezza rice's top legal adviser, said that conservative lawyers 'are not doing enough to protect constitutional principles that are being undermined by the statements and actions of this president.'
Retiring Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake on Wednesday called President Trump's deployment of active duty troops to the border a 'stunt' without justification.

Flake, whose southern border state seat is being filled by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, picked up a word that former President Obama also used in the final days before the mid-terms, after the military started sending thousands of troops to confront the immigrant caravan on Trump's orders.

'I think it's unfortunate that we have the soldiers there,' Flake told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'

Frankly in Arizona they are stationed in Tucson about 90 miles from the border,' he added.

Retiring Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake (R, with Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons) called the decision to send U.S. troops to the southern border a 'stunt'

Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands trying to reach the U.S., sit on top of the border fence between Mexico and the United States, in Tijuana, Wednesday

'We don't know where the caravan  if it makes it north, is going to come,' Flake said. However above migrants can be seen speaking with troops having reached the border

U.S. Border Patrol agents, left, speak with two Central American migrants as they sit atop the border structure separating Mexico and the United States, Wednesday

The first migrant caravan advances through the northwest of Mexico as the US has reinforced its military presence at the border

'You can't call it anything but a stunt here, and it's unfortunate that they're going to be away from family during the holidays coming up, and we just don't know what really for.'

His comment followed a New York Times story by a reporter embedded with the newly-arrived troops who are living in tents without electricity as the caravan makes its way north, with the expectation they will be away for the holidays.

'We don't know where the caravan  if it makes it north, is going to come,' Flake added, the Hill reported. 'I think it could be handled by civilians that we have there in terms of Border Patrol and others. So I don't know what I could tell them other than that we shouldn't be doing this, and this wasn't an issue that Congress was involved in, it was an executive decision.'

On orders from President Trump, the Pentagon dispatched thousands of U.S. troops to the southern border

US marines place barbed wire atop fencing along the United States-Mexico border in San Ysidro, California, on November 9, 2018

Migrants from poor Central American countries -mostly Hondurans- moving towards the United States in hopes of a better life, are seen near the U.S. border in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, on November 13, 2018

Flakes comments came as the military began 'hardening' the border crossing from Tijuana, Mexico, to prepare for the arrival of a migrant caravan trekking inexorably toward the border.

Hardening operations began on Tuesday at the San Ysidro port of entry in California, where a spear-tip group of 400 migrants from the first caravan arrived the same day.

The main caravan tacked westward after departing Mexico City, opting to add several hundred miles to their trek rather than attempt a crossing into Texas, as had been anticipated in the days before the elections.

The main body of some 7,000 is now in Jalisco state, about 1,300 miles from Tijuana.

The U.S. responded by rushing troops to California, closing four lanes at the busy San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry in San Diego to lay barbed wire.

Some early arrivals believed to be part of the caravan arrived in Tijuana and climbed a tall border fence near San Diego. Their presence can be seen on video.

People on the Mexican side of the border could be seen climbing the fence near Friendship Park Tuesday afternoon after part of the Central American migrant caravan arrived in Tijuana

A few people who jumped the fence were quickly apprehended by Border Patrol

US Customs and Border Protection agent Tekae Michael walks inside the Border Infrastructure System which separates the US from Mexico with a fence and structure running for 14 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 2018 in San Diego, California a day after California rejected plans by the federal government for National Guard troops on the border

According to a local Fox News affiliate, a few of them jumped the fence or crawled through openings and briefly made it onto U.S. soil.

But they were quickly apprehended by Border Patrol agents, working on horseback, ATVs, other vehicles, and on foot. There were also trucks and helicopters deployed.

The U.S. Border Patrol sent a news release stating it believes some of the people at the fence are from the caravan that's been traveling through Mexico from Honduras. With about 20,000 agents, there are already thousands of Border Patrol agents on the southern border.

Trump warned repeatedly about the threat posed by the caravan in the days before the election, but hasn't tweeted about it since Oct. 31.

'Democrats are inviting caravan after caravan of illegal aliens to pour into our country, overwhelming your schools, your hospitals, and your communities,' Trump said while campaigning in Indiana the night before the election, although he didn't say which people had supposedly invited the caravan.

'If you want more caravans, if you want more crime, vote Democrat tomorrow. ... If you want strong borders and safe communities, no drugs, no caravans, vote Republican,' the president said.
Tourists have been drinking filthy mojito cocktails containing bacteria from human excrement on Barcelona's beaches, Spanish police have revealed.

Three people have been arrested for selling the contaminated beverages, which police said were unsafe to drink and could have been harmful to the health of those who drank them.

The drinks - which were sold for up to 10 euros to unsuspecting holidaymakers soaking up the sun - were seized during police raids and taken away for analysis.

Tourists have been drinking filthy mojito cocktails containing bacteria from human excrement on Barcelona's beaches, Spanish police have revealed. Pictured, one of the drinks

Police said filthy cocktails have been detected several times this year on the Spanish beaches, with some of the ingredients being stored down drains to avoid being detected by police.

Police say the three people arrested will face prosecution for public health offences.

The Civil Guard and Nature Protection officers have been stepping up patrols on the beaches as part of 'Operation Escherich', named after the German-Austrian pediatrician and professor who discovered the bacterium Escherichia coli a century ago.

The drinks were sold for up to 10 euros to unsuspecting holidaymakers soaking up the sun

Some of the ingredients were being stored down drains to avoid being detected by police

A police spokesman confirmed: 'Officers of the Nature Protection Service of the Civil Guard of Barcelona and Urban Guard of Barcelona, under the operation ESCHERICH II, have detained three people as presumed authors of a crime against public health.'

'After the analysis of the samples contributed, it was determined that the substances could be detrimental to health because they gave a positive result in the presence of various fecal bacteria, which means that the merchandise was corrupt and that it was not suitable for marketing.'

'We do not rule out future arrests for the sale of "mojitos" contaminated with various fecal bacteria in the beaches of the Barcelonian coast.'

The bacteria can cause severe stomach upsets, such as dysentery) diarrhea, salmonella and shigella, as well as more serious viral infections.

Three people have been arrested for selling the drinks, which police said were unsafe to drink
A worried grandson managed to rescue his stranded grandparents from the California wildfire after a social media user lent him a boat to stage a daring rescue bid.

Jamie Woolner, a pizza shop owner from Los Angeles, started an internet appeal last week after realising no-one had heard from his grandparents for several hours.

'I found out from my mom that no one had been able to reach them since 10am,' he said.

Woolner and the volunteers going ashore near his grandparents' house in Paradise Cove and rescuing his grandfather (right)

Jamie Woolner (pictured), a pizza shop owner from Los Angeles, saved his grandparents after help from strangers last Friday

'They didn't have electricity, they didn't have the news running to show that the flames had jumped over the Pacific Coast Highway.'

Woolner's grandparents are residents of Paradise Cove, which became inaccessible by road last week after wildfires engulfed the area in flames.

Luckily, Woolner quickly received a number of responses to his appeal with offers of help from people across the bay area.

On Friday afternoon one generous netizen offered to lend him use of their boat so that he could drive to their house and swim ashore.

According to Woolner, once he arrived at their house he found his grandparents unpanicked - and had to persuade them to leave.

The yacht Woolner managed to get his hands on to launch the rescue operation after the social media campaign

Woolner (left) pictured with his two grandparents after they were saved from the wildfire on Friday

'I said to my grandfather, "Grammy's really scared. She wants to leave but she's staying here because you want to stay." And he loves her so much so he said, "OK, OK, we'll leave".

'Then I went inside and I said, "Grammy, papa really wants to go but he's only staying here because you want to stay. Can you guys just go?"' Woolner recalled.

The volunteers Woolner had roped in managed to get his grandparents onto the boat and away to safety in Palm Springs.

He says they now have no plans to return to their home until after the evacuation orders have been lifted.
This is the hilarious moment an anti-Brexit protester photobombed a BBC News interview and played cat and mouse with producers who tried their best to crop him out.

Brexit expert Georgina Wright was talking with presenter Annita McVeigh outside the Houses of Parliament this morning when regular EU demonstrator Steve Bray spied an opportunity for air time.

Armed with two double-sided signs with slogans like 'save the NHS' and 'stop the Brexit mess', the 49-year-old took a prime position in front of their cameras.

Anti-Brexit protester Steve Bray photobombs the BBC News live feed as presenter Annita McVeigh (left) talks with Brexit expert Georgina Wright outside the Houses of Parliament

With Mr Bray polluting the shot with his Union flag cape and 'stop Brexit' top hat, the director decided to switch to a close-up of Wright - an attempt to crop the protester out.

But the quick-thinking demonstrator sneaked into the new shot by creeping behind Wright's shoulder.

Producers then tried a second time to switch to a different camera and freeze him out.

But the campaigner continued to stalk the camera and reposition himself to be clearly in shot during a game of cat and mouse that lasted almost two minutes.

Mr Bray, founder of anti-Brexit group Stand of Defiance European Movement, was campaigning minutes before Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.

The director switches to this close-up of Wright to crop the protester out - but Mr Bray creeps back into shot

The Welshman, from Port Talbot said he could see which camera the BBC was using on a monitor and shifted positions to be in each shot.

The father-of-one said he's had death threats after delivering his pro-Remain message on TV 'hundreds of times'.

He said: 'I've had a few threats on my life, things like that. It's in one ear, out the other with me.

He waves his 'Stop The Brexit Mess' and 'Things Have To Change It's Time To Reassess' signs behind the guest's head

'I have to be careful. They do call the police, and the police just remove me.

'So, I've learnt from that. I just go in quick, do a little bit, get off. Keep going back and forth. It's part of the protest. It's getting the message out there.

'I do this for my daughter and my grandson. For the future. If Brexit happens, we will be in years of decline.'
The Justice Department on Wednesday released an internal legal opinion supporting the legality of Matthew Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general.

The 20-page opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides advice to executive branch agencies, is aimed at addressing concerns from Democrats and even some Republicans that President Donald Trump violated the law by naming Whitaker over Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Whitaker had been chief of staff to now-ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions  a job that didn't require Senate confirmation.

The state of Maryland has challenged Whitaker's appointment, arguing that the top Justice Department job must be held by someone such as Rosenstein who has been confirmed by the Senate.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker got a boost from a legal ruling on Wednesday, finding President Donald Trump wsa within his authority to appoint him to the position after ousting former AG Jeff Sessions last Wednesday

Trump faced criticism from constitutional lawyers who believed he was required to choose a Senate-confirmed Justice Department official

A Justice Department official said the White House contacted the Office of Legal Counsel for advice, before Sessions was replaced, about options in the event of a vacancy.

The department made the official available to brief reporters only on the condition that the official not be identified by name.

The office said Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, could serve as attorney general on an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a 'sufficiently senior pay level.'

One statute laying out the department's line of succession says a deputy attorney general may hold the top spot in the event of a vacancy.

But the legal counsel's office said a president is not bound by that, and that a different law, the Vacancies Reform Act, allows the president to elevate someone without Senate confirmation.

Whitaker was AG Sessions' chief of staff, and last faced a Senate confirmation hearing a decade ago when he was appointed a federal prosecutor in Iowa

The opinion identified more than 160 times in which non-Senate officials were temporarily appointed to fill vacancies as Cabinet secretaries or equivalent jobs.

'As all three branches of government have long recognized, the President may designate an acting official to perform the duties of a vacant principal office, including a Cabinet office, even when the acting official has not been confirmed by the Senate,' the opinion said.

The opinion didn't address the question of whether Whitaker should step aside from overseeing the special counsel's investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Many Democrats have called Whitaker to withdraw from the probe being handled by Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors, citing derogatory comments that Whitaker made about the inquiry before joining the department.

The investigation until now had been overseen by Rosenstein.
Tony Blair today declared he is in an 'unholy alliance' with Boris Johnson to try to thwart Theresa May's Brexit plan getting through Parliament.

The former Prime Minister lashed the EU withdrawal deal which has been thrashed out - branding it the 'worst of both worlds'.

And he urged MPs to rise up, revolt against the deal and demand a second referendum instead.

The ex Labour leader - a leading Remainer - also tore into Jeremy Corbyn for his 'abject refusal' to lead the UK 'out of the Brexit nightmare'.

He took aim at Mrs May's plan in a speech in central London just as the PM was holding a crunch Cabinet meeting where the fate of her deal - and premiership - hang in the balance.

Mr Blair told an audience at the British Academy: 'Remainers like me, leavers like Boris Johnson, are now in unholy alliance.

'We agree this is a pointless Brexit, in name only, which is not the best of a bad job, but the worst of both worlds.'

Scroll down for video

Tony Blair (pictured at the Royal Academy in London today) declared he is in an 'unholy alliance' with Boris Johnson to try to thwart Theresa May's Brexit plan getting through Parliament

Boris Johnson (pictured today in Westminster) has torn into the PM's Brexit deal and yesterday called on Cabinet ministers to resign over it

Mr Johnson has torn into the PM's Brexit deal and yesterday called on Cabinet ministers to resign over it.

The former foreign secretary urged ministers to 'live up to their responsibilities' by blocking the agreement from going forward.

Delivering the latest in a string of speeches on Brexit in recent weeks, Mr Blair stepped up his call for another referendum, insisting it is the only way to reunite a deeply divided country.

He said: 'There is only one way of ending the argument and reuniting the country. The only route to unity is clarity. And the only route to clarify is through the people.

'Parliament must ask the British people to resolve the matter, to reconsider, to clarify their mandate, to do so in a vote which is accepted by all sides as conclusive, to give each side the chance to remake their case on the basis not on claim and counter claim, but of the experience of the past 30 months.'

He savaged Mrs May's Brexit deal, saying it amounted to 'capitulation' to the EU.

He said: 'Nothing can disguise the nature of the deal she has chosen, if reports of it are true. This deal isn't a compromise, it's a capitulation.

'The withdrawal agreement will keep us tied to EU trade policy until there is an end established by 'joint consent' - in other words, the EU has a veto.

'It is coated in heavy fudge, but that is the inedible biscuit beneath the coating.'

Mrs May is facing a barrage of attacks from all sides after details of her Brexit deal began leaking last night.

She is braced for a possible wave of Cabinet resignations today after a crunch meeting with her senior ministers where they will decide if they can back the deal or will walk.

Theresa May arrived back at Downing Street for the Cabinet meeting today after delivering an impassioned defence of the package at PMQs

Aid Secretary Penny Mordaunt was summoned to Downing Street for pre-Cabinet talks this morning, amid rumours she is considering quitting. And she was one of the first to arrive for the Cabinet meeting this afternoon

Boris Johnson highlighted the remarks by Ms Weyand as he urged ministers to 'stop this deal'

Aid Secretary Penny Mordaunt, one of those closest to the edge, was among the first arrivals for the meeting this afternoon.

And Scottish Secretary David Mundell has emerged as a potential risk after he signed a letter warning the PM against giving away fishing rights as part of the agreement.

Brexiteers are furious at backstop plans which will keep the whole of the UK tied to the EU customs union and many single market rules.

They warn this will leave the country a 'slave' to the EU - having to swallow its rules while having no say.

While the DUP - who are propping the Tories up in No10 - are fuming at reports Northern Ireland will have more regulatory checks than the rest of the UK.

They warn this could drive a wedge through the UK and have said they could pull their support for the PM over the plans.

While Brexiteers are hammering the deal on one side of the argument, Remainers are stepping up their attempts to thwart it.

They believe they have the PM on the ropes and can force a second referendum - paving the way to keep the UK in the Brussels bloc.
Advertisement

The frantic relatives of hundreds of people who remain missing since the Camp Fire razed the city of Paradise last week are appealing for information to find their lost loved ones.

More than 100 people remain unaccounted for since the wildfire torched the city last Thursday and over the weekend. The number is likely to be higher but Butte County Sheriff will only confirm 100 names.

The camp firestill not entirely contained and firefighters are working round the clock to put it out.

Forty-eight people have died but the number is likely to rise with every day that passes with no news from the 228 people still missing. Many of the people who are still missing are elderly and do not have cell phones.

Scroll down for the full list of the 100 people who are still missing

Greg Gibson searches a message board for information about his missing neighvirs in Chico, California, on November 13.

Local broadcaster KDRV.com shared a chilling newsreel of many faces of those who cannot be found. They include Joann Santos, Anna Toni Hastings and Larre Christopher (pictured left to right)

People who have been reported missing come from all walks of life and age groups. Relatives are desperate to hear from Eli Moor, Elaine Smith and Tami Vanwinkle

Their relatives have taken to social media to try to find them and are posting heartbreaking messages asking for any information that could help.

Kayla Alton, who is missing three relatives, wrote in one post that was shared on a missing person Facebook group: 'Please share! We are searching for family missing from Paradise. I ask everyone to please share and keep my family in your prayers.'

Tammy Fulton's aunt and cousin had been missing. She returned to social media after learning that they had died. She had been looking for seven relatives.

Two were found dead, four were found safe and one remained missing when she last posted on the group.

In a chaotic attempt to gather up-to-date information, people are also circulating a spreadsheet where they are trying to keep up with the number of those missing, dead and found safe.

'Our uncle (my moms brother) is still unaccounted for. All our other family has checked in. His name is Carl L Stewart...Hes 72 yrs old. He doesnt drive, no cell phone. He recently was in the hospital with pneumonia, but he was home with a care giver checking in on him.

'If anyone comes across him please have him check in somewhere; Red Cross, Butte County Sheriff, one of these sites, one of us.... Im sorry I dont have a pic (sic),' said another person in a heartbreaking post on another site.

Local broadcaster KDRV.com shared a chilling newsreel of many faces of those who cannot yet be found. They include the elderly like Mary Loucille Marso and tragically young faces like Eli Moor.

Message boards are also up at shelters across the affected area.

'I hope you are okay,' reads one hand written note on the board filled with white and yellow sheets of notebook paper. Another had a picture of a missing man: 'If seen, please have him call.'

Among the missing: Darren Morris, David Anderson and Robert Choate are among the dozens being sought

Relatives of Mary Loucille Marso, Debbie Sterling and Betty Rochambeau are among those hunting for information

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Teal Gunter is being asked to contact her desperate family

Linda Dighton is also being reported as one of several missing in Northern California

Marcie Clark, 51, with her friend Harry Junior Gramps, 61, whose son Chaz is missing

National Guard troops were due to arrive on Wednesday to help search for more victims in the ash-strewn ruins.

The Guard contingent, about 100 military police trained to look for and identify human remains, will reinforce the coroner-led recovery teams, cadaver dogs and forensic anthropologists already scouring the ghostly landscape of a fire that has killed at least 48 people.

The grim, painstaking search is concentrated in what little is left of Paradise, a Sierra foothills town in Butte County, California, about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco, that was overrun by flames and largely incinerated last Thursday.

People also took to Facebook to beg for information. Pictures is 95-year-old Dorothy Burns who was last seen in her car

The killer blaze, fueled by thick, drought-desiccated scrub and fanned by fierce winds, capped a catastrophic California wildfire season that experts largely attribute to prolonged dry spells they say are symptomatic of global climate change.

The Butte County disaster coincided with a flurry of blazes in Southern California, most notably the Woolsey Fire, which has killed two people, destroyed over 400 structures and displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills near the Malibu coast west of Los Angeles.

The origins of both the Camp and Woolsey fires were listed as under investigation.

But two utility companies, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, reported to regulators they experienced problems with transmission lines or substations in areas around the time the blazes were reported to have started.

By late Tuesday, with the help of diminished winds and rising humidity levels, fire crews had managed to carve containment lines around more than a third of both fires, easing further the immediate threat to life and property.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and California Governor Jerry Brown were scheduled on Wednesday to pay a visit to the areas, which President Donald Trump declared a disaster areas, making federal emergency assistance more readily available.

After touring some of California's earlier wildfire zones in August, Zinke blamed 'gross mismanagement of forests' because of timber harvest restrictions that he said were supported by 'environmental terrorist groups'.

While prospects for suppressing the flames grew more hopeful, authorities pressed on with the task of accounting for those listed as missing.

Some of those who had appeared for information returned to social media to sadly update the community that their loved ones had been found dead

Friends appealed on behalf of others who were looking for their relatives including this woman whose friend's father was missing

County Sheriff Kory Honea said he requested the Guard troops, along with 'disaster mortuary' crew, portable military morgue teams and specialists from a private DNA laboratory to speed the detection and identification of additional remains.

'We want to cover as much ground as we can,' Honea said at a Tuesday evening news conference where he announced that the six latest sets of remains had been recovered in Paradise earlier in the day.

'This is a very difficult task,' he added.

The fatality count of 48 in Paradise alone already far exceeds the previous record for the greatest loss of life from a single wildfire in California history - 29 people killed by the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles in 1933.

Honea said that in some cases victims were burned beyond recognition, or even beyond the use of fingerprint IDs. Dental records will be needed to positively identify some, but 'dental records might not be available if the dentist office burned to the ground', he said.

The heartbreaking posts were among hundreds written online and on message boards

'We're finding remains in various states,' he told reporters. 'People have been badly burned. Some of them, I assume, have been consumed.'

He said it was possible that some remains might turn up only once residents with homes still intact are able to return. More than 50,000 remained under evacuation orders.

Honea had previously said 228 people were listed as missing. However, he said on Tuesday night those numbers were highly fluid and that his office planned to publish a new list of missing persons soon and would ask the public to help account for them.

He said it remained unclear how many individuals whose whereabouts were unknown had perished or fallen out of touch in chaotic evacuations.

These are the 100 people who the Butte County Sheriff will only confirm as missing as of Wednesday afternoon

Wind-driven flames roared through Paradise so swiftly that residents were forced to flee for their lives with little or no warning. Bodies of some victims were found in and around the burned-out wreckage of vehicles engulfed in the firestorm as evacuation traffic ground to a half in deadly knots of gridlock hours after the fire erupted.

By late Tuesday, the Camp Fire had blackened 130,000 acres (52,600 hectares) in all. The Woolsey fire by comparison has scorched 96,000 acres (39,000 hectares) of chaparral-covered rolling hills and canyons spanning Ventura and Los Angeles counties, an area roughly the size of Denver.

On Tuesday, white-clad forensic teams fanned out to pick through the barren, fire-scorched lots in a town once home to 27,000 people.

On a residential street in Paradise lined with obliterated houses, a 10-member search crew wearing white protective suits and red helmets used a dog to scour the debris.

'Look for skulls, the big bones,' one forensics worker said to others as they used metal poles and their hands to sift through ruins.

At a nearby community swimming pool, recovery workers stirred green, darkened waters with long poles to probe for bodies.
Two moped raiders who terrorised shoppers as they smashed displays containing 1million of watches have been jailed for a total of 21 years.

Kyle Ettienne and Lookman Shekoni, both 27, targeted a Watchfinder store at the Brent Cross shopping centre in north-west London as part of a 'military campaign' of robbery.

Six men on three mopeds followed a double decker bus in through a security checkpoint and shoppers had to jump out of the way as they roared in, smashing fruit stalls out of their way.

A moped gang rode through a busy shopping centre before raiding a watch shop

CCTV footage shows gang members using a hammer and a pickaxe to attack glass cabinets displaying Rolex, Cartier, and Philippe Patek watches, while the rest gang made ready their escape.

But the security alarm was activated by single female employee who was serving a customer before shards of glass started scattering across the shop.

The alarm activated a smoke screen and gang panicked and fled empty-handed from the raid on October 9 last year.

One police officer was knocked to the ground and taken to hospital with a head injury as he collided with one of the fleeing offenders.

A woman was also injured as she hurled herself to the ground to avoid their speeding bikes.

Shekoni was part of a gang of moped robbers behind an almost identical 400,000 raid at The Jewellery Gallery shop in Kingsbury, northwest London, in September 2015.

Kyle Ettienne (left) and Lookman Shekoni (right), both aged 27, targeted a Watchfinder store at the Brent Cross shopping centre in north-west London

Ettienne began offending aged just 13, Harrow Crown Court heard.

Passing sentence, Judge Ian Bourne said: 'They are career criminals who have been released from prison months before this offence and they knew full well what they were doing.

He told the pair: 'The two of you with the others were part of a military campaign and an extremely sophisticated, professional criminal enterprise targeting the store in question.

'You intended to steal from that shop as much expensive jewellery and watches as you could obtain during the short time you intended to say in these premises.

'Armed with a hammer and pickaxe you immediately started to smash at the glass display cabinets inside the shop.'

In the raid the robbers smashed their way inside the shop with a large metal ram and used hammers and axes to threaten staff members

The judge continued: 'The total value of the watches on display has been estimated at 1 million. A single female member of staff was working behind the counter serving a customer at the time.

'She activated the security alarm which ejected fumes into the shop. Within moments police were on the scene.

'You ran desperately trying to get away. As you did, Mr Shekoni, you threw your hammer away and were trapped by officers in a canal.

'The other four offenders managed to get away and are still at large. It is clear from the female member of staff that she was terrified and feared for her safety.'

Both men have convictions for robbery and burglary and since the age of 16 have spent more time in prison than out.

It emerged during the hearing that both were released on licence in June this year following robbery and burglary convictions but within months were re-arrested.

Ettienne wrote to the court expressing his remorse for his actions saying he realised he was 'throwing his life away'.

Six men on three mopeds followed a double decker bus in through a security checkpoint and shoppers had to jump out of the way as they roared in

The father of a seven-month-old boy and a five-year-old girl hung his head in the dock as his partner wept in the public gallery.

His barrister James Hay said: 'This was the biggest mistake of his life. He recognises in that letter that he needs to grow up.

'Since he was 15 years of age he has spent the greater period of that time in custody.

'There was a lot going on in Mr Ettienne's life. It is right to say he had been released in the early summer.'

Ettienne was released from prison on 15 June this year while Shekoni was out on 26 June.

A helmet recovered from the scene. One police officer was knocked to the ground and taken to hospital with a head injury as he collided with one of the fleeing offenders

Their weapons were later recovered by officers and their DNA was found on a sledgehammer and a lock knife.

In the September 2015 raid the robbers smashed their way inside the shop with a large metal ram and used hammers and axes to threaten staff members.

Shekoni was given five and a half years for his part in the heist.

Ettienne, of Golders Green, Barnet, admitted attempted robbery and was caged for 10 and a half years.

He received four months for possession of a lock knife, but this will be served concurrently.

Shekoni, of Streatham, admitted attempted robbery and was also jailed for 10 and a half years.

Both men will be released on licence again after half of their sentence has been served.

Police are still hunting the other four raiders.

Julian Becker, from the CPS, said: 'Shekoni and Ettienne were part of a gang armed with weapons that menacingly stormed a busy shopping centre on mopeds, leaving shoppers unsafe and terrified.

'The evidence against Shekoni and Ettienne included DNA recovered from a sledgehammer and a lock knife.

'There were witness statements from police officers who pursued them and CCTV footage from multiple cameras, which together provided continuity of view from the scene of the offence to their arrest.

'The evidence demonstrated the role played by each defendant despite face coverings they thought would conceal their identities in committing this crime.'
A group of Iranian woman were angrily confronted by a man on a bus who demanded they put on hijabs and cover their heads.

The women were not using the traditional head dress which strict Iranian laws dictate they must wear.

Women face jail for breaking the rules, but growing numbers are openly flaunting the law in protest with footage of their defiance sweeping social media.

Footage of the latest confrontation between female rights activists and angry traditionalists was posted online yesterday. The clip showed an angry male bus passenger berating two uncovered women for not wearing the ultra-conservative garment.

The male passenger accused the women on a bus of 'being naked' and demanded they put on hijabs or he would call the police

Activists and TV journalist, Masih Alinejad, posted the video on Twitter to highlight the hostility towards women who ditch the veil in Iran.

She wrote alongside the footage: 'Another verbal altercation in Iran between a rude man and a group of brave women.

'On a bus trip, the man calls these women "naked" for not wearing hijab. Watch how they bravely stand their ground. Women in Iran are openly challenging their oppressors.'

In the one-minute clip the man accused the women of 'getting naked' and called them 'rude' for arguing back.

The man said: 'You're the only women getting naked here. You're rude put your hijab on. Why are you naked?'

A woman in the clip replied: 'Because we like it it's our own choice. I want to be like this, you are the one who is rude.

As the confrontation continued the angry man pointed his finger at the women and called them 'rude' for arguing back

When the women refused to cover their heads the male passenger threaten to call the authorities

'Why would our appearance concern you? I want to be unveiled like this. Hijab is a personal affair.'

Sitting in the seat in front of the angry man as he shouted at the women who filmed him on a mobile phone, were two other women wearing black hijabs.

He then threatened to call the police and tip off the authorities that the women were not abiding by the law.

The man said: 'I'll call the authorities, they'll know what to do with you. I'll make these women pay for being naked. I'll call the police.'

But the woman stood her ground and replied: 'Call whomever you want. I'm here. Go call them, go right ahead.'

During the argument the man said 'these women have no families' and another male passenger told him 'enough'

The male passenger then added, 'these women have no families', to which the women said, 'if you brag about having a family why are you staring at others?'.

At this point another male passenger intervened at the end of the clip by saying, 'hey man, enough'.

Last month Iranian police drove a van into a woman protesting against being forced to wear a hijab at university.

The shocking footage from Sohanak University, east of the capital Tehran, showed the van pushing a standing protester down a road for around 50 yards.

In June this year, a woman was filmed defying morality police in Iran after she was told to put on a veil.

Shaparak Shajarizadeh was arrested in February after she was filmed standing on a traffic island in the Iranian capital Tehran, while waving her headscarf around on the end of a stick.
Joaquin El Chapo Guzman is notorious around the world for being the suspected leader of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, one of the worlds most feared drug trafficking and organized crime syndicates.

His wife, American-born beauty queen Emma Coronel Aispuro, is much less known but has emerged into the public eye after appearing at her husbands trial in New York City.

Heres all you need to know about Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of El Chapo.

Emma Coronel Aispuro, a former beauty queen in Mexico, first met El Chapo while still a teen

Who is Emma Coronel?

Emma Coronel Aispuro is the wife of suspected Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.

She was born on July 3, 1989 near San Francisco, California.

Her father, Ines Coronel Barreras, was a high-ranking official in the Sinaloa Cartel and relocated her to the village of La Angostura in the state of Durango in Mexico.

In 2006, after meeting El Chapo for the first time, she entered the Coffee and Guava Festival beauty pageant. After a party was held in her honor in January 2007 in the town of Canelas, Durango, Mexico, El Chapo, accompanied by hundreds of armed guards, entered the town and publicly declared his intentions to marry her.

After being crowned Coffee and Guava Queen, Coronel and El Chapo married on July 2, 2007  the day before her 18th birthday.

Speaking of her husband during a 2016 interview on Telemundo, Coronel said: I would say what won me over was his way of talking, how he treated me, the way we began to get along  first as friends and from that came everything else.

She added: He tends to win over people by his manner of being, of acting, the way he treats people in general.

In the summer of 2012, Coronel traveled to Lancaster, California, just outside of Los Angeles, to give birth to twin boys. As El Chapo had a $5 million (3.8m) bounty on him at the time, she left the fathers last name on their birth certificate blank.

Following El Chapos third arrest, Coronel has appeared in court in New York City for his trial during November 2018.

How old is Emma Coronel?

Coronel is 29 years old.

She was born on July 3, 1989.

Who is El Chapo?

Joaquin El Chapo Guzman is a suspected Mexican drug lord who is believed to have formerly led the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican drug trafficking and organized crime syndicate established in 1988.

He was born on April 4, 1957 in Badiraguato Municipality, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was extradited to the US in 2017 after his third arrest a year earlier

Nicknamed El Chapo, meaning shorty, for his five-foot, six-inch stature, he was born into an impoverished family in a rural community and joined the world of organized crime in his 20s. El Chapo first worked for Mexican drug lord Hector El Guero Palma in the 1970s and eventually emerged as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, which soon garnered a reputation as one of the worlds largest and most dangerous illicit drug cartels.

He was captured in June 1993 and jailed but escaped in January 2001 after bribing prison guards at the maximum security prison in Mexico where he was detained. Following the 2003 arrest of rival drug lord Osiel Cardenas Guillen of the Gulf Cartel, El Chapo emerged as the most powerful drug lord in Mexico and soon built a criminal empire based on cocaine trafficking and the production, smuggling and distribution of heroin, ecstasy, marijuana and methamphetamines.

After a long manhunt, El Chapo was captured again in February 2014 but soon escaped once again in July 2015, believing to have slipped out of prison in Mexico through a secret tunnel. After a massive manhunt was launched, he was finally arrested a third time in January 2016 and was extradited to the United States in January 2017, where he was wanted in major cities like New York City, Chicago, San Diego, Miami and elsewhere.

He pled not guilty to a 17-count indictment in New York City shortly afterwards and is currently on trial in New York City, which started on November 5, 2018.
Barry Downs was caught selling the unauthorised brooches at a market stall

A market trader who sold knock-off poppy brooches for 2.99 and pocketed the cash in the run up to Remembrance Day has avoided jail.

Barry Downs, 64, of Kibblesworth, Tyne and Wear, was caught selling the unauthorised brooches at a market stall in nearby Stanley, County Durham.

And three days after the centenary of the end of the First World War, Downs admitted seven counts of breaching the Royal British Legion's copyright.

The military charity has trademarks on some poppy designs so their products can be sold to raise money for their charitable endeavours.

Sarah Grigor, prosecuting, said Durham County Council officers went to the market on November 2 last year after receiving a tip-off about Downs selling poppy badges and key rings.

The trader, who has worked on markets for more than 50 years, was found to have 287 poppy brooches on his stall and a further 182 in his car parked beside it. Some were Scottish poppies with four leaves, while others had two leaves.

Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court heard Downs was selling some for as much as 2.99, meaning he stood to make hundreds of pounds in profit.

When challenged by the trading standards officer, he admitted he had no affiliation with the Royal British Legion - and his stock was seized.

Downs, 64, sold knock-off poppy brooches for 2.99 at Stanley Market in County Durham

The trader had 287 poppy brooches on his stall and a further 182 in his car parked beside it

In a police interview, Downs confirmed he was aiming to make a profit on the stall but said he assumed the items he bought from a wholesaler in Manchester were not copyrighted because they were 'widely available on the internet'.

Bill Davison, defending, said: 'There has been no equivocating or attempt to deceive or mislead trading standards officers. He should have made more enquiries but did not.'

'We are not looking at someone who is involved with a national scam or anything of that nature. We're looking at a sole trader.'

Mr Davison said it was a 'shame that it's poppies in particular because it's a worthy charitable cause' - but pointed out none of the items carried the Legion's logo.

He said Downs had receipts showing he bought brooches for 150 and was looking at making a profit of around 240 - a figure disputed by the magistrates.

Downs pleaded guilty to four counts of selling goods likely to be mistaken for a trademarked item and three counts of possessing goods with a false trademark for sale.

Downs admitted he had no affiliation with the Royal British Legion - and his stock was seized

Downs admitted seven counts of breaching the Royal British Legion's copyright at court

Downs, who has no previous convictions, was ordered by magistrate Aileen Little to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, handed investigation and prosecution costs of 950 and a victim's surcharge of 85.

After the case, Peter Milne, community fundraiser for the Royal British Legion in County Durham, urged people to buy official poppy products.

I apologise profusely, it happened unintentionally. If I had realised I would not have got involved with it Barry Downs

He said: 'Money which is given to unscrupulous traders simply deprives the Legion of the opportunity to provide help and support to the Armed Forces community across a wide range of areas from benefit, money and debt advice to war pensions and care homes.'

As he left court with his face partly hidden by his hood, Downs said: 'I apologise profusely, it happened unintentionally. If I had realised I would not have got involved with it.'

Owen Cleugh, the council's consumer protection manager, said: 'Mr Downs had no links to the Royal British Legion yet sold poppy brooches which infringed the charity's trade marks for his personal gain.

'This was a truly abhorrent act as it meant money buyers thought was going to the invaluable work funded by the Poppy Appeal ended up in his pocket.

'We hope the prosecution and sentence will serve as a warning to anyone tempted to sell products which breach trade mark laws in County Durham that they will face the consequences.'
A company from Wisconsin that produces novelty gun-themed glassware which has a bullet embedded in the side, is giving each of its workers a gun as an early Christmas present.

Ben Wolfgram, who co-owns Hortonville-based BenShot, told an ABC affiliate that he'd decided to buy weapons as festive gifts because he hoped his staff could use them to go on team building trips to the gun range.

He said he also believes it is good 'or everybody's safety to have a handgun in the home.'

All but two of the the firm's 16 full-time employees, many of whom have never fired a gun in their lives, agreed to accept the gift. Wolfgram claims the two that declined are now reconsidering after attending the mandated gun-safety course.

BenShot, a Wisconsin gift company that manufactures novelty drinking glasses gave all its employees the handgun of their choice for Christmas. All staff eventually took up the offer

The company makes bulletproof drinking glass products, including whiskey glasses, beer mugs and decanters. It's known for selling its glassware with a bullet embedded in the side

'We are a small, close-knit team at BenShot. I want to make sure all of employees are safe and happy  a handgun was the perfect gift'

This is the first time his company has done anything like this, Wolfgram said.

Employees were allowed to pick their weapon of choice and then given gift cards so they can make their purchase, and the retailer could carry out the background checks.

The business was started by a father and son in 2015 out of a small garage workshop in a village about 100 miles north of Milwaukee.

The company makes 'Bulletproof' drinking glass products, including whiskey glasses, beer mugs and decanters with prices starting at $15 for shot glass to $35 for a beer glass with a bullet in the side.

Company owner Ben Wolfgram (right) isn't worried about workplace violence at because 'the business is small and everyone knows each other'. Employee Chelsea Priest (left) was thrilled with the unusual gift

It's best known for selling its glassware with a bullet embedded in the side.

'I've never been a part of anything like this,' said Chelsea Priest who works at the company to Freep.

'Thank you so much for empowering us not to be victims, because you never know,' Priest said.

'Obviously you see in the news all the time you know stuff happens and it's a tragedy that things do happen. But for Ben to stand for something and for the company to stand for keeping us safe, it's really awesome for them to do that,' Priest said.

Wolfgram said he wasn't worried about workplace violence because his business has a small staff and all of the employees know each other well.

Many employees, including military veterans and those who have never fired a gun reacted positively to the gift

Recent mass shootings at a California bar and a Pittsburgh synagogue further igniting the national debate surrounding gun access

'For us, now, we have an entire armed staff,' he said. 'I think that's pretty good.

'There are two things, I got two motivators,' Wolfgram said. 'One, we thought it would be good for everybody's safety to have a handgun in the home.

'And then also, it's kind of fun. So we have company outings planned for going to the shooting range and this kind of thing.'

Reaction online to the announcement has mostly been one of disbelief as many were stunned a company would hand out guns in the wake of so many recent mass shootings.

Guns have been in the spotlight once again a recently after an October shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue and the November shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California.
Theresa May has secured her deal in Brussels but her fight to get it actually in place in time for Brexit day is just beginning.

If the Cabinet agrees to the deal the biggest hurdle will be the 'meaningful vote' on the plans in Parliament.

This is expected to take place in December to ensure the deal is over its biggest hurdle before the end of the year.

The Prime Minister needs at least 318 votes in the Commons if all 650 MPs turns up - but can probably only be confident of around 230 votes.

The number is less than half because the four Speakers, 7 Sinn Fein MPs and four tellers will not take part.

To win, Mrs May will need to get back around half of the 80 hardcore Tory Brexiteer rebels and secure the support of the 10 DUP MPs.

Even then she will probably still need the help of dozens of Labour MPs to save her deal and possibly her job.

This is how the House of Commons might break down:

Theresa May will need 318 votes in the Commons if every single MP turns up. She can only rely on about 230 votes - meaning she will need to get back around half of the 80 hardcore Tory Brexiteer rebels and secure the support of the 10 DUP MPs, plus dozens of Labour MPs

Theresa May has secured her deal in Brussels but her fight to get it actually in place in time for Brexit day is just beginning

The Government

Who are they: All members of the Government are the so-called 'payroll' vote and are obliged to follow the whips orders or resign. It includes the Cabinet, all junior ministers, the whips and unpaid parliamentary aides.

How many of them are there? About 150.

What do they want? For the Prime Minister to survive, get her deal and reach exit day with the minimum of fuss.

Many junior ministers want promotion while many of the Cabinet want to be in a position to take the top job when Mrs May goes.

How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.

Brexiteers in the European Research Group (ERG)

Who are they? Led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the ERG counts Boris Johnson, David Davis and other former ministers including Steve Baker and Iain Duncan Smith.

How many of them are there? Estimates vary on how many members it has. It secured 62 signatures on a letter to the PM in February while Mr Baker has claimed the group has a bloc of 80 Tory MPs willing to vote against May's plans.

The group's deputy leader Mark Francois said today there were at least 40 hard liners who would vote against the deal in all circumstances.

What do they want? The ERG has said Mrs May should abandon her plans for a unique trade deal and instead negotiate a 'Canada plus plus plus' deal.

This is based on a trade deal signed between the EU and Canada in August 2014 that eliminated 98 per cent of tariffs and taxes charged on goods shipped across the Atlantic.

The EU has long said it would be happy to do a deal based on Canada - but warn it would only work for Great Britain and not Northern Ireland.

The ERG say the model can be adapted to work for the whole UK. They say Northern Ireland can be included by using technology on the Irish border to track goods and make sure products which don't meet EU rules do not enter the single market.

They also say it would give complete freedom for Britain to sign new trade deals around the world to replace any losses in trade with the EU.

The group is content to leave the EU without a deal if Brussels will not give in.

How will they vote: Against the Prime Minister.

Led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the ERG counts Boris Johnson, David Davis and other former ministers including Steve Baker and Iain Duncan Smith

Moderates in the Brexit Delivery Group (BDG) and other Loyalists

Who are they? A newer group, the BDG counts members from across the Brexit divide inside the Tory Party. It includes former minister Nick Boles and MPs including Remainer Simon Hart and Brexiteer Andrew Percy.

There are also many unaligned Tory MPs who are desperate to talk about anything else.

How many of them are there? There are thought to be around 50 members in the BDG, with a few dozen other MPs loyal to the Prime Minister

What do they want? The BDG prioritises delivering on Brexit and getting to exit day on March 29, 2019, without destroying the Tory Party or the Government. If the PM gets a deal the group will probably vote for it.

It is less interested in the exact form of the deal but many in it have said Mrs May's Chequers plan will not work.

Mr Boles has set out a proposal for Britain to stay in the European Economic Area (EEA) until a free trade deal be negotiated - effectively to leave the EU but stay in close orbit as a member of the single market.

How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.

Tory Simon Hart leads a group of Tory MPs committed to getting a pragmatic Brexit deal without pandering to ideological interests

Unrepentant Remainers in the People's Vote

Who are they? A handful of about five Tory MPs - mostly former ministers - who never supported Brexit and think the failure of politicians to get a deal means Parliament should hand it back to the people. The group includes Anna Soubry, Dominic Grieve and Justine Greening.

What do they want instead? A so-called People's Vote. The exact timing still needs to be sorted out but broadly, the group wants the Article 50 process postponed and a second referendum scheduled.

This would take about six months from start to finish and they group wants Remain as an option on the ballot paper, probably with Mrs May's deal as the alternative.

There are established pro-Remain campaigns born out of the losing Britain Stronger in Europe campaign from 2016. It is supported by Tony Blair, the Liberal Democrats and assorted pro-EU politicians outside the Tory party.

How will they vote? Hard to say for sure. Probably with the Prime Minister if the only other option was no deal.

Anna Soubry is in a small group of unrepentant Remainer Tory MPs who want a second referendum on Brexit

The DUP

Who are they? The Northern Ireland Party signed up to a 'confidence and supply' agreement with the Conservative Party to prop up the Government.

They are Unionist and say Brexit is good but must not carve Northern Ireland out of the Union.

How many of them are there? 10.

What do they want? A Brexit deal that protects Northern Ireland inside the UK.

How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister if the deal breaches the red line, with the Prime Minister if she can persuade them it does not. The group currently says No.

The DUP, led in Westminster by Nigel Dodds (right), have a deal with Theresa May but could still vote agianst her Brexit deal

Labour Loyalists

Who are they? Labour MPs who are loyal to Jeremy Corbyn and willing to follow his whipping orders.

How many of them are there? Between 210 and 240 MPs depending on exactly what Mr Corbyn orders them to do.

What do they want? Labour policy is to demand a general election and if the Government refuses, 'all options are on the table', including a second referendum.

Labour insists it wants a 'jobs first Brexit' that includes a permanent customs union with the EU. It says it is ready to restart negotiations with the EU with a short extension to the Article 50 process.

The party has six tests Mrs May's deal must pass to get Labour votes.

How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister's current deal.

Labour MPs who are loyal to Jeremy Corbyn and willing to follow his whipping orders are expected to vote against the Prime Minister

Labour Rebels

Who are they? A mix of MPs totally opposed to Mr Corbyn's leadership, some Labour Leave supporters who want a deal and some MPs who think any deal will do at this point.

How many of them are there? Up to 45 but possibly no more than 20 MPs.

What do they want? An orderly Brexit and to spite Mr Corbyn.

How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.

Other Opposition parties

Who are they? The SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Green Caroline Lucas and assorted independents.

How many of them are there? About 60 MPs.

How will they vote? Mostly against the Prime Minister - though two of the independents are suspended Tories and two are Brexiteer former Labour MPs.

The SNP led by Ian Blackford, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Green Caroline Lucas and assorted independents will almost all vote against Theresa May
Police reports conflict with the eye witness account of another security guard over whether a white Illinois cop told black security guard Jemel Roberson (pictured) to drop his gun before fatally shooting him

The white suburban Chicago police officer who fatally shot a black security guard on Sunday outside the bar where he worked while he was holding down an active-shooter suspect repeatedly told the man to drop the gun, Illinois State Police said in a news release on Tuesday.

But a fellow security guard of the slain Jemel Robinson said on Wednesday that he never heard any such order from police.

Dorian Myrickes said he had just been shot in the shoulder by a gunman inside Manny's Blue Room in Robbins early on Sunday when he saw the Midlothian police officer point his gun at the 26-year-old Roberson, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from his hospital room.

Myrickes said he could hear people yelling that Roberson was a security guard and that the officer then fired multiple shots.

Myrickes also said that Roberson had a hat and sweat shirt that both had the word 'Security' on it, but state police said Roberson was dressed in plain black clothing with no marking 'readily identifying him' as a security guard.

No mention was made in the police statement of the fact that bar patrons reportedly shouted at the Midlothian police officer that Jemel Roberson was a security guard.

The officer who shot and killed Roberson is on paid leave. His name has not been released.

A GoFundMe account has been created to help cover the burial costs associated with Roberson's death.

Witnesses reportedly said that the white Midlothian police officer who shot Roberson (pictured) while he was holding down an active-shooter suspect repeatedly told Roberson to drop his gun, but fellow security guard Dorian Myrickes said he never heard that order

The fatal officer-involved-shooting occurred in Robbins, which is a predominantly black community just south of Chicago, and the officer who fired on Roberson is from the nearby community of Midlothian.

Early on Sunday, officers were dispatched to the bar in response to a shots-fired call.

Now, people are questioning whether the shooting of Roberson was justified and whether race played a role.

According to previous reports, when officers from various departments arrived, they found at least three people had been shot inside the bar.

No mention was made in the police statement of the fact that bar patrons reportedly shouted at the Midlothian police officer that Jemel Roberson was a security guard.; This photo provided by Avontea Boose shows her baby Tristan Roberson and the boy's father Jemel Roberson

People are questioning whether the shooting of Roberson was justified and whether race played a role; Protesters rally for Jemel Roberson on Tuesday outside the Midlothian Police Department in Midlothian, Illinois

The police news release says only that Roberson (pictured) was wearing 'plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a Security Guard,' but Myrickes said he has on a sweatshirt with the word 'Security' on it

Roberson was outside, armed with a gun, holding a suspect.

An attorney who is representing Roberson's mother in a $1 million lawsuit over the shooting has said that the 26-year-old was wearing a hat emblazoned with the word 'Security' on it.

However, the police news release says only that Roberson was wearing 'plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a Security Guard.' It says nothing about a hat.

State police declined to comment beyond what was in the release.

The release did not say why Illinois State Police took the unusual step of revealing information before the agency's investigation is completed, other than to include a request for witnesses to come forward.

Attorney Gregory Kulis, who filed a lawsuit contending the shooting was unjustified and unprovoked, said the police release is woefully incomplete.

For starters, he said witnesses have told him that they yelled repeatedly both before and as the officer raised his weapon that Roberson was a security guard.

Kulis suggested it's possible there was no mention of Roberson's knit cap because witnesses said it came off as emergency workers tried to administer CPR.

Video of the shooting could reveal exactly what happened, but the agencies involved have not said whether any exists.

If any police bodycam video exists, no state law requires that it be released.

The Chicago Police Department releases video within 90 days of a shooting, but that policy does not apply because that agency's officers were not involved.

Kulis also said he doesn't yet know how many times Roberson was shot or where on his body he was shot.

'I talked to the family after they viewed his body and they said they [authorities] did not tell them how many times he'd been shot,' he said.

The police news release says only that Roberson (pictured) was wearing 'plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a Security Guard,' but Myrickes said he has on a sweatshirt with the word 'Security' on it

An attorney who is representing Roberson's mother in a $1 million lawsuit over the shooting has said that the 26-year-old was wearing a hat emblazoned with the word 'Security' on it; This photo shows a memorial for Roberson on Tuesday outside the Midlothian Police Department in Midlothian, Illinois

The Midlothian Police Department released an intermittent statement on Tuesday on the department's Facebook page , following questions about the incomplete nature of a statement disseminated on Sunday, which didn't say that an officer shot Roberson, didn't name the victim, or say that he was a security guard at the bar

The Midlothian Police Department released an intermittent statement on Tuesday on the department's Facebook page, following questions about the incomplete nature of a statement disseminated on Sunday, which didn't say that an officer shot Roberson, didn't name the victim, or say that he was a security guard at the bar.

'The initial press release that was disseminated by the Midlothian Police Department was issued hours after the incident,' Chief Daniel Delaney wrote in the post on Tuesday.

'Numerous people have commented on why there was no confirmation our Officer shot the security guard and why we have not utilized his name, Jemel Roberson.

'The Midlothian Police Department, per standard protocol, requested the assistance of the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Unit to conduct an independent investigation into this matter so we can ensure transparency to the public. Because we relinquished the investigation immediately, we did not know, at the time, the name of the deceased and there were conflicting reports of whether he was the suspect or a security guard.

'Since, we have learned that the subject our Officer shot was in fact security guard, Jemel Roberson. We intend to issue a new statement in the next couple days but we still are awaiting the completion of the State Police investigation to learn all of the facts of the incident.

'Jemel Roberson was a brave man who was doing his best to end an active shooter situation at Mannys Blue Room. The Midlothian Police Department is completely saddened by this tragic incident and we give our heartfelt condolences to Jemel , his family and his friends. There are no words that can be expressed as to the sorrow his family is dealing with.'
A couple who say they were not consulted before their newborn baby's life support was switched off have been given a five-figure compensation payout by the NHS.

Sian Hill, 26, and her partner James Towers, 29, were left heartbroken after their baby girl, Ivy, died shortly after she was born at Darlington Memorial Hospital in 2012.

After reading pathologist reports some months later, they alleged that their daughter died because her life support machine had been switched off without their knowledge and brought legal action.

Ahead of a planned court case over the tragic incident, the NHS trust which runs the hospital has agreed a damages settlement.

Sian Hill and her partner, James Towers, pictured with son Freddie, say their daughter's life support machine was switched off by medics without them being consulted

Ms Hill, pictured (left) this week and (right) during her pregnancy, says she knew something was wrong before the birth, but was assured that everything was fine

Ms Hill said she had raised concerns on a number of occasions having not felt her baby move for long periods when she had gone beyond 37 weeks pregnant.

She was finally induced at 41 weeks and 5 days on October 4, 2012. Ivy was born weighing 10.8 pounds but needed to be taken straight to resuscitation as she had suffered an infection.

When her parents first saw her, just over three hours later, she had tragically died of multi-organ failure.

Support worker Ms Hill said: 'Ivy was taken away and we understood that this was so she could be fully resuscitated.

'We were obviously extremely worried at that stage and I desperately wanted to see Ivy to see how she was doing, but the nurses kept telling me not to worry and that she would be brought back to me once she was breathing properly.

'When we were made aware that Ivy was not responding well to resuscitation and that the life support may need to be switched off both James and I made it very clear to the doctors and nurses that we wanted to see Ivy as soon as possible, and while she was still alive.'

The couple - who have since had a son - believe their daughter would still be with them were it not for medical mistakes

She added: 'When they brought Ivy into the room she had died and was in a wicker basket. They said she had died when they were bringing her to us, no mention of switching anything off.

'It was only when we were reading a pathology report months later that we saw the word "extubated" - which meant they had ended life support - that we began asking questions. We were furious and it was then we turned for legal support.'

Ms Hill - who has since had her son, Freddie, now four - says her daughter would still be alive and well if the hospital had taken a different course of action.

The family have released this heartbreaking picture of little Ivy, who lived for just three hours after her birth in 2012

The couple's lawyers, Hudgell Solicitors, alleged that medics failed to induce Sian at an earlier stage of her pregnancy as they should.

Ms Hill, who now promoted neonatal charity SANDS, added: 'I was being told everything was okay and in many ways I was made to feel daft for calling in again and asking for more checks.

'I felt at times like I was wasting peoples' time and being a typical first time mum by worrying too much. It was almost so bad that I doubted myself and felt awkward raising my concerns.

'I've since been told that the pains in my abdomen were a sign of potential infection, yet still they didn't take immediate action.

'That makes me very angry now and I want other young mums to always speak out and keep going back again and again if they are worried.'

A spokesperson for County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'The Trust wishes to extend its deepest sympathy and condolences to baby Ivy's family for their loss in this extremely sad case.

'A settlement in this case has been reached, which is not indicative of any admissions in relation to the care provided to Ms Hill or baby Ivy, but which is on terms that are acceptable to both parties.'
The son of a former federal prosecutor has pleaded no contest to murdering his father with an ax.

Frank X. Altimari, 32, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to second-degree murder and malicious wounding in the slaying of 61-year-old Nicholas Altimari at his home in Chesterfield County, near Richmond, Virginia.

Nicholas and his wife Felipita Altimari had just returned home from dinner out on November 4, 2017, when Frank pulled into their driveway and rammed the couple with his car.

Frank Altimari then used a double-bladed ax to strike his father more than 40 times as his stepmother begged him to stop. She suffered a broken leg.

Frank X. Altimari, 32, (left) pleaded no contest on Tuesday to second-degree murder and malicious wounding in the November 2017 slaying of 61-year-old Nicholas Altimari (right)

Prosecutors and defense attorneys agree Frank Altimari was mentally ill at the time, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He'll be sentenced next year.

Nicholas Altimari served the eastern district of Virginia as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1992 to 2003.

The suspect was named after his grandfather (above), who served on the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals until his death in 1998

Frank Altimari was named for his grandfather, a former New York Supreme Court justice and federal judge.

On November 4 of last year, cops were called to Nicholas Altimari's home on Black Heath Road, off Old Buckingham Road, only to find the body waiting for them.

'Upon their arrival officers located [Nicholas Altimari's] body deceased in the driveway,' a Chesterfield Police spokesperson said at the time.

'An adult female on scene supplied police with suspect information. The adult female, who was also injured in the incident, was transported to an area hospital where she was treated and released.'

Frank Altimari was then arrested at his home in Richmond, Virginia, around half an hour's drive from his father's house.

Nicholas Altimari was slain here, cops said. The stepmother was injured in the attack and was taken to hospital

He graduated from the University of Virginia in 2010, worked as an analyst for law firm Brown and Greer from 2010-2012, then started as a project manager at Capital One in 2013.

Neighbor Rob Carter said the Altimaris were close, and that the arrest made no sense to him.

'I still find the whole thing bizarre and abstract,' he said. 'I can't really process it.'

Todd Stone, a legal analyst for CBS 6, said that he met Frank around 1999, when he and Nicholas spent around a year prosecuting a case.

'He struck me as a very nice polite young man, but it was many years ago, that's what it's all the more shocking to me,' Stone said.
Britain will lose four years of economic growth if it crashes out of the EU without a deal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today warned.

The global research institute said a no deal Brexit would cost every household on average 6,000 as the UK loses 6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) compared with staying in the bloc.

But securing a trade deal with Brussels would roughly halve the damage to the British economy to 3 per cent, the IMF said.

The stark warning - laid out in a 91 page wide-ranging assessment of the UK's economic prospects - comes as Theresa May is in the political fight of her life to get her Brexit deal approved.

She is holding a crunch Cabinet meeting this afternoon and will address the nation later as she scrambles to get her plan through amid furious criticism.

Britain will lose four years of economic growth if it crashes out of the EU without a deal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today warned. Theresa May (pictured leaving No 10 today) is facing the political battle of her life to get her Brexit deal backed by ministers and MPs

The IMF said: 'Directors emphasised the importance of a timely agreement with the EU, accompanied by an implementation period to avoid a cliff-edge exit in March 2019 and to allow firms and workers time to adjust to the new relationship.

'An agreement that minimises barriers to trade in goods and services would best support economic activity and limit disruptions and global spillovers.

'Nevertheless, preparations should continue for all possible scenarios.'

After over a year of painstaking negotiations and wrangling, Mrs May has finally thrashed out a Brexit deal with Brussels.

But furious Brexiteers took aim at the plan almost immediately when details began to leak out last night - branding it a betrayal and warning the PM's days are 'numbered' if she sticks with it.

It includes plans for a backstop which will keep the UK in a temporary customs union with the EU, and accepts deeper regulatory checks will be needed in Northern Ireland.

The leaks sparked cries of betrayal from Brexiteers and the DUP - who prop the Tories up in No10.

They say it will drive a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, while keeping Britain locked to Brussels with the EU holding the keys.

Many ardent Tory Brexiteers have called for a 'clean' exit and said that cutting all ties with the bloc and trading on World Trade Organisation terms (WTO) would be better.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove (left) is said to be 'tense', while Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has deep misgivings about some of the compromises in negotiations with Brussels

Aid Secretary Penny Mordaunt was summoned to Downing Street for pre-Cabinet talks this morning, amid rumours she is considering quitting. And she was one of the first to arrive for the Cabinet meeting this afternoon

But the IMF's assessment warns that this would cause a massive shock to Britain's economy.

The report states: 'In a scenario in which the UK and EU trade under World Trade Organisation rules the level of output is likely to fall by between about 5 and 8 percent relative to a no-Brexit scenario, with an average of about 6 per cent.'

Mrs May is battling to get a Brexit transitional deal which will preserve free trade in goods, though not services, while placing controls on immigration from the EU.

The IMF said this type of free trade agreement would reduce British GDP by around 3 per cent compared with staying in the EU.

The effect of Brexit would vary widely between industries, the IMF said.

Britain's financial services, chemicals and automotive industries were likely to suffer most from new regulatory barriers and disrupted supply chains.

By contrast, farms, food processors and oil and mining companies might do better.

Government programmes would be needed to retrain British workers for these jobs, the IMF added.
Residents of Northern California communities razed by a devastating wildfire are blaming belated warnings from public officials, including the town's newly-elected mayor, for the chaotic evacuation and rising death toll currently at 48.

Survivors of the Camp Fire inferno have been left wondering why more was not done to facilitate evacuations in Paradise and neighboring towns after the fire ignited Thursday morning and ripped through the Sierra Nevada foothills at an alarming speed.

News of the fire broke on Twitter a full 80 minutes before any official warnings were sent to people living in the area.

In a matter of 24 hours, entire neighborhoods were devoured by towering flames, reducing some 7,600 homes, businesses, churches and schools to ash.

Forty-eight people have been confirmed dead and dozens are still missing in what has become the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Emotions ran high as Paradise residents held a town hall meeting in neighboring Chico on Tuesday night.

Resident Michael Orr stood up to call for the resignation of Mayor Jody Jones, who had just been re-elected last week, two days before the town of 27,000 was decimated.

Jones has said she has no plans to step down.

Victims of the Camp Fire are criticizing local public officials for not providing adequate warnings before the inferno tore through towns in Northern California last week. Residents Chris and Nancy Brown are pictured here standing in the remains of their home on Monday

Some residents of Paradise and neighboring towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills are wondering if better evacuation protocols could have prevented the still-rising death toll of 48. Sheriff's deputies are pictured removing remains of one victim on Saturday

The Camp Fire ignited Thursday morning and ripped through Butte County at an alarming speed, destroying an estimated 7,600 homes in a matter of 24 hours

One Paradise resident demanded that Mayor Jody Jones' resign during a town hall meeting on Tuesday night. Jones (pictured) has said she has no intention of stepping down

'They definitely didn't do enough,' Christina Taft, whose 67-year-old mother has been missing since the fire, said of local officials.

Taft told NBC that her mother hadn't expected the fire to be as bad as it was because there was hardly any communication.

'She expected someone would be calling, or something, if it got bad. But they didn't,' she said.

'They were negligent. They just let them go. There is a reason all these people are dead.'

On Monday a resident of Magalia, located about eight miles west of where the fire began, confronted Butte County Sheriff Kory L Honea, asking why he and his neighbors were unable to find any information about the approaching fire three hours firefighters responded to it.

'We use the emergency broadcast system for a tornado warning. But this is a deadly fire,' the unidentified man said during the meeting in Oroville.

'I don't remember any alert coming over my radio. People in the community are freaking out, you need to get some information up here.'

Coroner and rescue teams are surveying the fire damage in Paradise, a town of 27,000 people

Paradise resident Jim Clark visits what is left of his home on Tuesday. 'When the disaster's over it's about saving the life that's left,' Clark told AP

Rescue workers sift through the rubble at a home to identify human and animal remains

Krystin Harvey, left, comforts her daughter Araya Cipollini at the remains of their home in Paradise

Paradise residents held an emotional town hall meeting in Chico on Tuesday night (above)

News of the fire was first announced on Twitter at 6.51am, when officials were reportedly working to access a 10-acre blaze in the Feather River canyon near Highway 70, 20 minutes after flames had been spotted.

The first evacuation alert, also posted on Twitter, was announced about 80 minutes later at 8.03am, for Pentz Road area along Paradises eastern flank, closest to the fire.

Six miles away Zachary Byrd was sound asleep in his home. He was registered for the city's CodeRed alert system but hadn't received a message.

Then at 8.20am his girlfriend rushed hom from work yelling: 'The city's on fire! The city's on fire!'

'I ran outside and the sky was blood red. There was crashing all around,' Byrd told the Mercury News.

'Nobody knew. There was nothing  no notification. A lot of elderly folks, maybe deaf or wheelchair-bound, maybe just sitting on their couch watching TV, they had no idea.'

Byrd quickly packed a bag with essentials and got on the road, but the streets of Paradise had already erupted in chaosas there are only three main exits from the town.

'We were dead stopped in traffic and you couldnt see,' Byrd said. 'Everything was raging. Power poles were falling. It was raining ash. It sounded like a war.

'We drove straight through flames, but it was the only way to get out of town. It was the only way you knew.'

A satellite image shows Camp Fire from above as it overtook Paradise and neighboring towns

Firefighters work to corral the flames as Camp Fire quadrupled in size over 24 hours last week

During a news conference Tuesday evening, Butte County Sheriff Kory L Honea (center) said Camp Fire's speed made it difficult for officials to issue timely notifications to area residents

Butte County officials say they delivered more than 35,000 emergency notifications about the fire: 5,227 by email, 25,643 over the phone and 5,445 via text message.

'I wish we had the opportunity to get more alerts out, more of a warning out, but unfortunately we didn't,' Sheriff Honea said at Monday's public meeting.

During a news conference Tuesday evening, Honea reiterated that the fire's speed made it difficult for officials to issue timely notifications.

'You have to keep in mind that this was an extraordinarily chaotic and rapidly moving situation,' he said.

'The fire started in a remote area. It takes awhile for our fire resources to get there and from that point, trying to determine the path of travel and whether or not that's going to effect populated areas, that takes time.'

Honea also mentioned that some people who did receive warning chose not to evacuate the area immediately, putting themselves in danger.

'We were trying to move tens of thousands of people out of an area very rapidly with the fire coming very rapidly,' he said.

'And no matter what your plan is to do that, no plan will ever work 100 percent when you are dealing with that much chaos.'
A young man in India died after a cobra he had around his neck bit his hand.

Ch Jagadish, 24, had been visiting 50-year-old snake charmer Gurunadham Ramesh, also known as Ramaiah, in the village of Sullurpeta in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

A video filmed by a friend shows the snake charmer taking the reptile from his basket and handing it to Jagadish.

Ch Jagadish (pictured) died after a cobra he had been handed by a snake charmer bit him in India

Jagadish is seen trying to scare away onlookers with the cobra and when the snake charmer tells him to place the snake on his shoulders, he agrees.

He had asked for a photo with the cobra when he received the deadly bite on his hand, police said.

He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The snake charmer, who fled the scene, had claimed he had an antidote for snake bites, local media reported.

The snake charmer was filmed placing the snake around the 24-year-old victim's neck

He had asked for a photo with the cobra when he received the deadly bite on his hand

Police said Ramaiah had removed the snake's venom and fangs few weeks ago, but the cobra produced the poison again.

A case has been registered against the snake charmer.

But some online commenters branded the victim an 'idiot.'

'Hope the snake was not killed for biting an idiot,' one said.

And another added: 'He deserved the bite.'
A family of four charged over the murders of eight people in rural Ohio had been living a quiet life in Alaska and were lying low in the months following the gruesome massacre.

The Wagner family have been charged with the April 2016 execution-style shooting deaths of seven members of the Rhoden family and a fiancee of one of the victims in Pike County.

In announcing the first break in the more than two-year-old case, authorities said the Wagner family had allegedly organized an extensive plot to kill in four different crimes scenes and a cover-up that included the suspects temporarily moving to Alaska.

George 'Billy' Wagner III, 47, his wife Angela Wagner, 48, and their two sons, George Wagner IV, 27, and Edward 'Jake' Wagner, 26 are each charged with eight counts of aggravated murder.

Authorities have not publicly revealed a motive but suggested the primary intent of the killers was custody of a small child, whose father was a Wagner and mother a Rhoden.

George 'Billy' Wagner III, 47; his wife Angela Wagner, 48; and their two sons, George Wagner, 27, and Edward 'Jake' Wagner, 26, were all arrested on Tuesday for the murders of the Rhoden family in Ohio in 2016

The victims included Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his ex-wife, Dana Rhoden, 37; and their three children, Hanna, 19, Christopher Jr., 16, and Clarence, 20.

Three other victims were Christopher Sr.'s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38; and Clarence Rhoden's girlfriend, Hannah Gilley, 20.

Jake Wagner was the long-time former boyfriend of Hanna Rhoden and shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre.

The Wagner family lived near the scenes of the killings at the time but moved 4000 miles away to a mobile home in Kenai, Alaska, in June last year.

At the time, the family said they were moving to escape what they claimed was unfair speculation that were responsible for the murders.

They had first vacationed in Alaska because their family friend - a pastor of a Resurrection Bay Baptist Church - lived there. They went there while investigators were searching their home in relation to the massacre.

That pastor, Kelly Cinereski, told the Dayton Daily News he was shocked to hear news of the family's arrests.

'These people wept over dogs, I can't imagine them taking people's lives,' he said.

Locals said the Wagner family kept a low profile while in Alaska and it is not clear what they did for work.

The Wagner family returned to Ohio this past spring.

The Wagner family (pictured is Edward 'Jake' Wagner, Angela Wagner and George Wagner) are seen here in July 2017 in Kenai, Alaska after moving 4000 miles from Ohio

The Wagner family lived near the scenes of the killings at the time but moved 4000 miles away to a home (pictured above) in Kenai, Alaska, in June last year

The Wagners, from the rural southern Ohio village of Peebles, were all charged with planning and murdering the Rhoden family who lived in the neighboring village of Piketon, 11 miles away

The mothers of Angela Wagner and George Wagner also were arrested in Ohio and charged with misleading investigators.

Both Jake Wagner and Angela Wagner previously told the Cincinnati Enquirer that they were not involved in the killings.

Angela Wagner said in an email to the newspaper that what happened was devastating and Hanna Rhoden was like a daughter to her. Wagner also said that her husband, George, and Christopher Rhoden Sr. were more like brothers than friends.

A message was left on Tuesday with John Clark, an attorney who has been representing the Wagners. Clark said a year ago that four of the Wagner family members had provided laptops, phones and DNA samples to investigators, and agreed to be interviewed about the slayings.

Hanna May Rhoden, 19, was the ex-girlfriend of one of those arrested, Edward 'Jake' Wagner. They shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre

Clark said at the time that the family was being 'harassed while the real killer or killers are out there'.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said on Tuesday that the Wagners had been suspects for a long time.

'There certainly was obsession with custody, obsession with control of children,' DeWine said. 'This is just the most bizarre story I've ever seen in being involved in law enforcement.'

Investigators scrambling to determine who targeted the Rhoden family had conducted over 550 interviews and processed over 700 pieces of evidence and 1,100 tips.

Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said they ran down every single lead.

'We have been patient when it was painful to be, running down every lead, no matter how small,' he said.

'Members of one family conspired, planned, carried out and then allegedly covered up their violent act to wipe out members of another family.

'They did this quickly, coldly, calmly and very carefully. But not carefully enough. They left traces, they left a trail. The parts to build a silencer, the forged documents, the cameras, cellphones, all that they tampered with. And the lies, all the lies they told us.'

DeWine said the Wagners studied the layouts of the victims' properties, as well as their habits, routines, sleeping locations and pets.

The indictments accuse the Wagners of tampering with phones, cameras, a gun silencer, shell casings and parts of a home security system.

Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, and his ex-wife Dana Rhoden, 37, were among those killed in April 2016 in Piketon in southern Ohio

Clarence 'Frankie' Rhoden, 20, and his fiancee, Hannah Gilley, 20, were shot dead while sleeping with their child

Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44, (left) and a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38, were also shot dead.

During the investigation, authorities had refused to discuss many details about the slayings, saying they didn't want to tip their hand to whoever was responsible for the shootings.

Investigators found evidence of illegal drug activity, cockfighting and the possible involvement of a Mexican drug cartel.

Christopher Rhoden Sr. had 'a large-scale marijuana growing operation', which initially lead many to speculate that the killings were drug-related

First mention of the suspects came in June of 2017, when authorities announced they were seeking information about the Wagners, including details on their personal and business interactions, and conversations people may have had with them.

None was named a suspect at the time. Investigators also said they had searched property in southern Ohio sold by the Wagners.

Jake Wagner was a long-time former boyfriend of Hanna Rhoden, one of the eight victims, and shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre.

The daughter, now aged 5, was not with her mother on the night she was killed. The girl had moved to Alaska with her father while police were investigating the murders.

Jake Wagner has now also been charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for having sexual contact with Rhoden when she was 15 years old and he was 20 years old.

Investigators scrambling to determine who targeted the Rhoden family had conducted over 130 interviews and processed over 100 pieces of evidence. Pictured above is one of four murder scenes

The hearses carrying five members of the Rohden family are pictured above ahead of their funerals in April 2016

Autopsy reports suggested the murders were calculated and brutal with the coroner saying all but one of the victims was shot more than once.

Christopher Rhoden Sr. is the only victim who was believed to have been awake when they were shot.

The father-of-three sustained nine gunshot wounds in his forearm, torso and cheek.

Sharing a trailer with Christopher Sr. was his brother Gary, who was shot twice in the head and a third time in the face. His autopsy report says a 'muzzle stain' was left on his head, suggesting at one point a shot was fired while the gun was pressed against him.

Dana Rhoden was carefully shot four times around her head and a fifth time from under her chin.

She was sharing a trailer with Christopher Jr. and Hanna who were both shot in the head multiple times. Hanna was in bed with her five-day-old child at the time.

Frankie Rhoden and Hannah Gilley were also shot in the head, but their six-month-old child, who was sleeping between the couple, was spared. Hannah was shot five times in total, with one shot hitting her left eye.

Kenneth Rhoden was shot only once, with the bullet entering his right eye.

Three funerals were held for the victims.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon faced anti-racism protestors in Edinburgh today as he addressed an international media event hosted by the BBC.

Mr Bannon, who worked on Donald Trump's successful presidential election campaign, took part in the News Xchange 2018 conference in the Scottish capital.

He told the conference audience that populism was 'catching fire around the world' and claimed the US president's 'zero-tolerance' approach to border enforcement was 'humanitarian' as it deters human trafficking.

Mr Bannon said that immigrant labour means lower wages for a lot of workers, BBC reports.

'These are not racist views,' he said. 'In fact populist nationalism, which I've been working on for nine or 10 years, is the exact opposite.'

A protestor was handcuffed and arrested by police during a demonstration against the visit of White House strategist Steve Bannon

The protestor had been holding a sign that read 'Nae Nazis' before he was led away by officers outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre

But his support for right wing causes resulted in Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon withdrawing from the event when it was announced he was one of the main speakers.

And demonstrators outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre held up placards denouncing his visit today.

Mr Bannon (left), who worked on Donald Trump's successful presidential election campaign, took part in the News Xchange 2018 conference in the Scottish capital

One protester, holding up a 'nae Nazis' sign, was handcuffed and arrested by police. The 56-year-old was charged with threatening and abusive behaviour, BBC reports.

News Xchange is a gathering of journalists and media operators from around the world.

Mr Bannon was interviewed by the BBC's Sarah Smith, while the Corporation was co-host for the event.

Organisers last month defended the decision to invite him to take part, saying it was their 'journalistic responsibility to share and scrutinise a range of relevant viewpoints within the framework of a balanced debate'.

But Ms Sturgeon insisted at the time she would 'not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far right, racist views'.

Protestors hold up anti-racism signs and placards denouncing US President Donald Trump

Former White House advisor Steve Bannon (right) and journalist Sarah Smith, speak at the European Broadcasting Union's News Xchange event

Demonstrators outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre held up placards denouncing his visit today

Mr Bannon served as the White House Chief Strategist in the first eight months of Mr Trump's term as President.

He eventually lost his job after the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, which saw white supremacists clash with anti-racism demonstrators.

Mr Bannon was reportedly blamed for Trump's decision to blame the hatred and violence 'on both sides', which created a massive stir stateside.

After leaving the White House in 2017, Mr Bannon returned to the controversial alt-right website Breitbart News, having co-founded the organisation in 2007.

He has since turned his attentions to European politics, and announced plans to move to Brussels to launch a new enterprise uniting populist parties on the continent.

He recently formed a foundation of nationalist parties called The Movement.
Average Sunday church service attendance has fallen by nearly 18 per cent in a decade leaving just 756,000 turning up each week, according to new figures released by the Church of England today.

This is despite a rise in the number of people attending Christmas services across the country.

The shock figures revealed that average Sunday attendances had fallen for the fifth year in a row to 756,000 in October 2017.

Figures released by the Church of England today showed that average Sunday church service attendance (pictured is a stock image of Rochester Cathedral) had fallen for the fifth year in a row

Sarah Mullally (pictured), the Bishop of London, has noted how 'striking' it is to see churches responding and evolving in the face of rapid social change

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured) recently launched a campaign to encourage more people to the Church of England's Advent and Christmas services this year. But despite this, average attendance at Sunday services is falling

That is a a 17.7 per cent fall from the 919,000 average Sunday attendance recorded in 2007.

Average weekly attendance also fell. This time for the fourth year in a row, dropping 9 per cent to 895,000 in October 2017 from 994,000 million in 2013.

Bishop of London Sarah Mullally noted that regular attendance figures at church were positive. She said that being part of the church was more than just a matter of what people do on a Sunday morning

But the Church of England stressed the number of regular attenders of church rose by 2,000 from 2016 to 2017, from 1.136 million to 1.138 million.

Bishop of London Sarah Mullally said the fact the regular attendance figures were stable showed that being part of the church was more than just a matter of what people do on a Sunday morning.

She added: 'We live in an age of rapid social change affecting all aspects of life - right down to people's working patterns and how they spend their weekends.

'It is really striking to see how churches are responding and evolving in the face of that.'

As well as this, the Church of England also noted a rise in the number of people attending Christmas services.

In 2017, there was a rise of 3.4 per cent to 2.68 million from 2.60 million the previous year.

The church said it was the fourth successive rise in Christmas congregations since 2013 and the highest attendance since 2006.

Crowds pack into St Paul's Cathedral for a Christmas carol service. The Church of England revealed today that the number of people attending services at this time of year is on the rise

The choir perform from within the Dome sanctuary of St Paul's Cathedral in central London during the Christmas carol service

Combined with figures for special services in churches during the Advent period, including carol services, there were nearly eight million attendances over the festive season.

Ms Mullally continued: 'We are also reaching more people than ever through social media, providing a Christian presence to those who might not otherwise walk through the door of a church.

'And millions encounter the church in their daily lives, through its commitment to the most vulnerable, from food bank provision to night shelters, lunch clubs and community cafes.'

The new figures were published after the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby launched a campaign to encourage more people to the Church of England's Advent and Christmas services this year.
Hillary Clinton accused Georgia of throwing the election for the Republican candidate for governor as Democrat Stacey Abrams battled to keep the tabulations open long enough for her to force Republican Brian Kemp into a run-off.

Receiving an award at Abrams' alma mater, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT-Austin on Tuesday, Clinton said, 'If she had a fair election, she already would have won.'

The former first lady and Democratic presidential candidate also took a swipe at her old foe Donald Trump in the remarks, accusing him of spreading 'deliberate falsehoods that started on the first day of the current administration' when he sent his press secretary out to dispute the size of his inauguration crows.

'Ive been to many inaugurations,' said Clinton, who served as a senator and later a secretary of state, according to the Austin American-Statesman, 'The crowd wasnt that big.'

Hillary Clinton accused Georgia of throwing the election for the Republican candidate for governor as Democrat Stacey Abrams battled to keep the tabulations open long enough for her to force Republican Brian Kemp into a run-off

She also claimed that Trump, who she referred to but never directly named, was trying to 'confuse people, disorient people, and change the environment in which we make decisions' and argued that women running for office are still held to a different standard than men.

'Everything becomes a way of presenting yourself and protecting yourself. The clothes you have and the hairstyle you wear. All of that is a persona you present,' the Dallas Morning News says Clinton told the crowd. 'You're well aware you're going to be judged by it.'

The newspaper says that Clinton deflected when asked if she intended to seek political office again.

Chatter about who could challenge Trump in 2020 is on the rise, even as returns in several 2018 elections are still being assessed.

In Georgia, the race Abrams is trying to keep the race from being called for Kemp until all outstanding ballots have been counted.

Unofficial returns show Kemp leading by a margin that would make the former secretary of state -- he resigned in anticipation of becoming governor -- the victor in the acrimonious statewide campaign.

But Abrams maintains that enough outstanding votes remain to pull Kemp below the majority threshold and force a December 4 runoff.

A Federal Judge has ordered Georgia to wait until Friday to certify the results of the midterm elections amid concerns about the states voter registration system and the handling of provisional ballots.

US District Judge Amy Totenberg ruled late Monday that Georgia must not certify the election results before Friday at 5 pm, which falls before the November 20 deadline set by state law.

Totenberg also ordered the secretary of states office to establish a hotline or website where voters can check whether their provisional ballots were counted.

Democrat Stacey Abrams (left) and Republican Brian Kemp (right) will not find out if they will have to contest each other in an election runoff until Friday, a Federal court judge decided

US District Judge Amy Totenberg ruled late Monday that Georgia must not certify the election results before Friday at 5pm

Totenbergs order stemmed from a lawsuit filed November 5 by Common Cause Georgia.

It accuses Kemp, who was the states top elections official until he resigned as secretary of state last week, of acting recklessly after a vulnerability in Georgias voter registration database was exposed shortly before the election.

Kemps actions increased the risk that eligible voters could be illegally removed from the voter registration database or have registration information illegally altered, the lawsuit staes.

Sara Henderson, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said in an emailed statement that the ruling helps increase voter confidence in elections.

Oprah Winfrey and Georgia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams greet the audience during a town hall style event at the Cobb Civic Center on November 1

Former US President Barack Obama and Georgia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams pose for a photo during a campaign rally

A spokeswoman for the secretary of states office did not respond to an email sent late Monday seeking comment.

Abrams explained her refusal to end her bid to become the first black woman elected governor in American history.

In a statement she said: 'I am fighting to make sure our democracy works for and represents everyone who has ever put their faith in it.

'I am fighting for every Georgian who cast a ballot with the promise that their vote would count'.

Kemps campaign retorted that Abrams latest effort is 'a disgrace to democracy' and ignores mathematical realities.

A Fulton County election worker counts provisional ballots on November 8 in Atlanta

'Clearly, Stacey Abrams isnt ready for her 15 minutes of fame to end,' said Kemp spokesman Ryan Mahoney.

As of Monday evening, a hearing had not been scheduled for arguments in the case, but Abrams campaign was expecting a federal court in Atlanta to set a Tuesday hearing given the time sensitivity.

Unofficial returns show Kemp with a lead just shy of 60,000 votes out of more than 3.9 million cast.

Abrams would need a net gain of about 21,000 votes to force a December 4 runoff.

The Georgia race along with Floridas gubernatorial and Senate matchups that are requiring recounts are among the final measures of a midterm election cycle that already has allowed Democrats to deal serious blows to President Donald Trump.

Republican candidate Brian Kemp accused Stacey Abrams of ignoring mathematical realities

Democrats already have won the House, flipped seven governors seats and reclaimed more than 300 state legislative seats in statehouses around the country.

The GOP maintained its Senate majority, and could still expand it. But its looking to hold the governors mansions in Florida and Georgia to deny Democrats important gains in presidential battlegrounds ahead of the 2020 election.

Republicans have occupied the governors mansion in Georgia since 2003 and in Florida since 1999.

Trump has put a premium on the two states, endorsing both Kemp and Floridas GOP nominee Ron DeSantis when they were in competitive GOP primaries and then campaigning in person for them ahead of the November 6 election.

Georgias interim Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden on Monday directed county officials to count some provisional ballots that had been rejected because of voters failure to provide their year of birth, provided the voters identity and eligibility was still established.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the State Election Board asked Crittenden to send a letter instructing county election officials how to handle absentee ballots.
Donald Trump said Wednesday that CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta, who has been banned from the White House complex for the past week, is 'bad for the country.'

Acosta, he said, 'is just somebody who gets up and grandstands. He doesnt even know what hes asking you half of the time.'

The president's comments on the controversy were his first since his legal team fired a salvo at CNN hours earlier, responding to a lawsuit the network filed after Acosta lost his press credentials. That followed a clash with a female White House intern over a microphone during a Nov. 7 press conference.

'Well see how the court rules,' Trump told The Daily Caller, asking whether 'it['s] freedom of the press when somebody comes in and starts screaming questions and wont sit down.'

'He was very rude to the young lady,' he said of the intern, who the White House has declined to identify.

'I really think that when you have guys like Acosta, I think theyre bad for the country. ... Hes just an average guy whos a grandstander,' Trump said, while acknowledging that Acosta is a reporter 'whos got the guts to stand up and shout.'

Scroll down to read the White House's lawsuit response

CNN Chief White House Corresspondent Jim Acosta (center) arrived for a court hearing in Washington on Wednesday, flanked by his attorney (right) and CNN Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist (left) In the back is CNN public relations officer Lauren Pratapas

Acosta saw his press credentials revoked last Wednesday after he clashed with an intern over a press conference microphone and harangued President Donald Trump

President Trump, pictured Wednesday during a Diwali ceremony at the White House, has tussled with Acosta regularly and shows no sign of relenting

The White House argued Wednesday that it was within its constitutional rights to bar Acosta, just as it can choose who gets Oval Office interviews, who can attend press conferences and who the president will call on for questions

The government's response to CNN's lawsuit points out that the network still has 'roughtly 50 other employees' with hard passes, and that they're capable of covering the White House from inside the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue campus

In a legal filing Wednesday, the White House argued that '[n]o journalist has a First Amendment right to enter the White House.'

Trump, the administration claimed, doesn't have to justify his decision constitutionally 'whenever he exercises his discretion to deny an individual journalist one of the many hundreds of passes granting instant access to the White House complex.'

The White House's argument is centers on a reading of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees the freedom to publish, but not to attend White House functions on-demand.

'The President and his staff have absolute discretion over which journalists they grant interviews to, as well as over which journalists they acknowledge at press events,' Trump's Justice Department lawyers argued.

'That broad discretion necessarily includes discretion over which journalists receive on-demand access to the White House grounds and special access during White House travel for the purpose of asking questions of the President or his staff.'

The administration contends that CNN has't suffered from Acosta's forced exile since roughly 50 of its other employees still have 'hard passes' that grant them on-demand entry.

The network 'is not limited in what it can broadcast, or even what it can report from the numerous CNN-affiliated reporters who continue to hold hard press passes,' the response to Tuesday's lawsuit reads.

And it blames Acosta for making a 'decision to engage in conduct that disrupts press events and impedes other reporters from asking questions,' saying that's 'a more-than-sufficient reason for revoking his hard pass.'

Acosta lost access to the building hours after refusing to give up the microphone when the president said he had answered enough of his questions.

CNN sued on Tuesday on First Amendment grounds, claimed Acosta was denied a Fifth Amendent right to due process, and asked a judge for a restraining order

CNN's Jim Acosta goes through security as he enters the federal court in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, to attend a hearing in a legal challenge against President Trump's administration

Trump's administration contends it has "broad discretion" to regulate press access to the White House as it fends off a legal challenge from CNN and other outlets over the revocation of journalist Acosta's 'hard pass'

The Trump campaign started raising money over the legal battle on Wednesday

Acosta, who has frequently clashed with President Trump during persistent questioning, lost access to the White House on Wednesday night

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement last week that Acosta 'physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern.' That appeared to be softer language than her earlier claim that he placed 'his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job.'

CNN vigorously disputed the implication of anything more than minor physical contact.

The court docket was updated just as a group news organizations, including the Associated Pres and the Trump-friendly Fox News Channel, said they would file a friend-of-the-court brief backing CNN.

'Whether the news of the day concerns national security, the economy, or the environment, reporters covering the White House must remain free to ask questions. It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the President and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons,' the press outlets said.

'Our news organizations support the fundamental constitutional right to question this President, or any President. We will be filing friend-of-the-court briefs to support CNNs and Jim Acostas lawsuit based on these principles.'

The other signers included NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Bloomberg, Gannett, Scripps, USA Today, First Look Media Works, the National Press Club Journalism Institute and the Press Freedom Defense Fund.

The White House Correspondents Association's president, SiriusXM broadcaster Olivier Knox, issued a supportive statement on Tuesday.

CNN filed its federal lawsuit after the White House punished Acosta for clashing with Trump and a female intern during a November 7 press conference.

The networks' suit, filed by a team that includes former George W. Bush solicitor general Ted Olson, demands the immediate return of Acosta's credentials. The White House called it 'grandstanding' hours later.

The network claims the revocation of Acosta's press pass violates the constitutional rights to freedom of the press and due process. CNN is asking for an immediate restraining order to reinstate Acosta's access to the White House.

The suit 'demands the return of the White House credentials of CNN's Chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process,' according to a CNN statement.

'We have asked this court for an immediate restraining order requiring the pass be returned to Jim, and will seek permanent relief as part of this process.'

The suit names as defendants Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications and former Fox News executive Bill Shine, the director of the U.S. Secret Service and the uniformed officer who took away the credentials.

The network is seeking a preliminary injunction. It has already written the White House demanding an end to Acosta's punishment.

The suit was filed by Ted Boutrous, and Olson, of the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Acosta was banned from the White House last week after a heated exchange with President Trump during a press conference in which an intern tried to take his microphone away

Olivier Knox, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said in a statement that the group 'strongly supports CNN's goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House should not have taken away in the first place.'

Sanders responded: 'We have been advised that CNN has filed a complaint challenging the suspension of Jim Acostas hard pass. This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.'

She continued: 'CNN, who has nearly 50 additional hard pass holders, and Mr. Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter with respect to the First Amendment. After Mr. Acosta asked the President two questionseach of which the President answeredhe physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters.'

'The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional. The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor. If there is no check on this type of behavior it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff, and members of the media to conduct business,' Sanders concluded.

CNN's lawyers say Acosta's First and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights were violated

The White House did not respond on Tuesday to a question about whether Sanders issued the statement in her capacity as a presidential spokesperson or as a named defendant in the lawsuit.

Floyd Abrams, a veteran lawyer and expert in First Amendment law, told CNN's Reliable Sources on Sunday that the network would have a robust case.

'I think it's a really strong lawsuit,' Abrams said.

'I can understand CNN being reluctant to sue because the president keeps saying CNN is the enemy of me, and CNN might have reluctance to have a lawsuit titled "CNN vs.Donald Trump." That said, yes, I think they should sue,' he said.

Former ABC News journalist Sam Donaldson appeared on the program and revealed he had been asked to sign an affidavit in support of CNN's case.

He described the decision to ban Acosta as 'not only wrong and unfair' but also 'dangerous for the press as a whole.'

Even as he had lost his access to the White House, Acosta tweeted a defiant message to Trump from Paris Friday, saying he intended to cover the president's trip there despite being stripped of his access.

The reporter tweeted a view of the Eiffel Tower and said: 'Greetings from Paris where we are on the ground for Trump's trip to France. #1A.'

The hashtag was a reference to the first amendment, which prohibits the federal government from curtailing the publishing rights of the press.
Amidst all the reports of the White House allegedly contemplating firing officials, President Donald Trump has taken time out to try and fill the position on the DC Circuit Court left vacant by the new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Trump has announced that he has picked Neomi Rao, the Director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs as his choice to replace Kavanaugh.

Shes going to be fantastic - great person, Trump said.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, for the confidence youve shown in me. I greatly appreciate it, Rao said.

Here is all you need to know about Neomi Rao including who she is and why Trump picked her.

Donald Trump has nominated Neomi Rao [centre] to fill the vacant position on the DC Circuit

Who is Neomi Rao?

Neomi Rao was born in 1973 to Indian parents and grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She graduated from Yale University with the highest distinction in 1995, before going on to study at the University of Chicago Law School, where she edited the Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif.

Rao clerked for the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas between 2001 and 2002. Following her clerkships, Rao spent time in the London office of Clifford Chance, specialising in international law and commercial arbitration.

In her legal career, Rao has served in all three branches of government. She was an Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to President George W. Bush. She also served as counsel to the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary where she worked on judicial nominations and constitutional issues.

She is a professor at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law, where she is on a leave of absence, having been picked by Trump to become the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, within the Office of Management and Budget. She started her role in July 2017.

The OIRA is a powerful part of the Executive Office of the President that oversees the implementation of government-wide policies and examines draft regulations. Raos position at the department is often referred to as the Regulation Czar.

According to Politico, which ranked Rao as the 42nd on the Politico Magazines Politico 50 List, Raos fingerprints will be all over Trumps deregulatory agenda.

In describing her role, Politicos Danny Vinik wrote: As head of OIRA, Rao will scrutinize all significant regulations the Trump administration proposes, ensuring that agencies stick to the White Houses agenda.

She is also responsible for implementing Trumps executive orders directing agencies to repeal two regulations for each significant one they issue, and to draw up plans for regulatory reform.

Why Neomi Rao?

The DC Circuit court is often referred to as the second most powerful in the country. It is the court that makes rulings on federal regulations and decisions on Presidents legislation as in the case about undocumented teenagers requesting abortions while under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

It is seen as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court as former DC Circuit judges included Chief Justice John Roberts, Raos mentor Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

According to Buzzfeed News, the White House was unsurprisingly looking for a nominee with strong conservative credential and mentions how Trumps previous circuit court nominees have all had clerkships under conservative judges. Raos work for Republican President George W. Bush and clerkship under Clarence Thomas appears to fit the criteria.

Axios reported at the end of October that Trump liked the idea of nominating a minority woman and somebody who could be a feeder of Supreme Court.

It also cited Raos in-depth knowledge of regulatory law, her appeal to several Democratic senators as well as having been through one Senate confirmation already.
Jared E. Coburn, 37, was arrested on explosive charges Tuesday in Florida

A Florida man has been arrested after police said he manufactured enough homemade explosive, dubbed 'Mother of Satan', to blow up an entire block.

Jared E. Coburn, 37, was arrested on Tuesday in Lake Helen, Florida, after police responded to an anonymous tip about a bomb 'under the bed' in the home he shared with his cousin and the cousin's daughter.

Investigators cleared the area and called in the bomb squad when they found two jars, two vials and one baggie of the highly volatile explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP).

Coburn's motives and plans, if he had any, remain unclear. Police said they believe he worked 'packing parachutes'.

TATP, made from common household chemicals, was used in the deadly Manchester Arena bombing in the UK last year, the 2015 Paris attacks, and by the shoe bomber Richard Reid.

'Unfortunately what were learning is that this chemical is becoming more and more profound in America, because you can pull up a video online and make this stuff,' Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a Tuesday press briefing.

Police acting on a tip found two jars (above), two vials and one baggie of the highly volatile explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP)

Some of the items seized from Coburn's home are seen. TATP is made with common household chemicals, but is extremely volatile and often kills people trying to manufacture it

Though it is relatively easy to make, TATP is extremely volatile and often kills or maims those who are trying to manufacture it - the main reason why Islamic militants call it 'the Mother of Satan'.

On Tuesday afternoon, police acting on a tip responded to the home where Coburn rents a room from his cousin, a single-story stucco home in the community 30 miles northeast of Orlando.

Lake Helen police saw suspicious devices and immediately backed out of the home, setting up a perimeter and calling in the sheriff's bomb squad.

A judge signed a search warrant and a search of the house for additional explosives followed.

The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the incident.

Coburn is seen above. Police said that he may work 'packing parachutes'

Suspicious items that were found in Coburn's home are seen left and right

An evidence photo shows a modified Nerf gun that appears to be modified with metal pipe, which was seized from Coburn's home. It's not clear what the device was intended for

In addition to the TATP, investigators found, switches, wires and batteries that had been soldered together.

'He tried to explain to us that he was making his own version of a firework,' said Lake Helen Police Chief Mike Walker.

Because of the high volatility of TATP, the material was not be transported to the sheriff's blasting range, but rather detonated in a hole that the bomb squad dug in a nearby field.

'Everybody understands how volatile this stuff is,' Sheriff Chitwood said. He said the priority is to 'defuse the situation without any police officer being injured and without anyone in this neighborhood being injured.'

In addition to the TATP, investigators found two homemade explosives and bomb-making paraphernalia with explosives residue.

Cops got an anonymous tip about a bomb 'under the bed' in the home (above in file photo) that Coburn shared with his cousin and the cousin's daughter

Coburn is seen in a photo that he posted to Facebook in September. His motive or any plans for the explosives remains a mystery, and he claims he was trying to make fireworks

Coburn is in custody facing two charges of manufacturing a destructive device, along with a third charge of making, possessing or transporting explosives. Police said additional charges are possible.

'Is he a frustrated a chemist who likes to experiment, and that's what he was doing, or did he have more sinister plans? We don't know,' said Chitwood. 'He still had the potential to blow up the block.'

Investigators expressed gratitude for the tipster that alerted them to Coburn.

'This just goes to show that these anonymous tips really help us out when it comes to protecting the general public,' VCSO Bomb Squad Lt. Lou Marino said.

'If we wouldn't have gotten that tip, who would know if we would've ever found out. Or it may have been after the fact, a very volatile situation would have taken place and somebody could've gotten hurt or, God forbid, killed.'
William Robertson faces jail for beating up a nine-month-old baby after drinking strong fortified wine in September last year

A thug who claimed a lie detector test on The Jeremy Kyle Show would clear him of attacking a nine-month-old baby girl has been convicted of attempted murder.

William Robertson left the baby with a fractured skull and bruising to her forehead and ear in more than one beating last year.

He bizarrely claimed at his trial that he 'tried to get on the Jeremy Kyle Show for a lie detector test' to clear his name, but was not believed by the jury.

The 21-year-old, of Clydebank, Scotland, faces jail when he comes back before the High Court in Glasgow next month. Thankfully, the baby has recovered from her injuries.

The court heard Robertson had drunk 8% alcoholic energy drink Dragon Soop and 20% Mad Dog 20/20 fortified wine when he was looking after the child on September 9 last year.

He then arrived at his mother's house at 4am, with the seriously injured baby in his arms.

His sister Juliette Robertson, 32, dialled 999 and she told the operator : 'Oh my f***ing God. I've just seen the back of her head, it's really bad. I think it's her skull. It's misshapen.'

During the phone call the baby could be heard groaning as she regained consciousness and Robertson was crying.

Bizarrely, Robertson told the jury he wanted to go on the Jeremy Kyle show for a lie detector test to prove his innocence. Despite the claim, he was convicted of attempted murder

The court heard the baby had bruising to her forehead, a misshapen skull and 'lines - bruises - on her face that looked like finger marks.'

At the Royal Children's Hospital the baby was found to have suffered a fractured skull and extensive bruising.

The child's mother told the court that Robertson 'was trying to sound upset' when he phoned her.

She told the court: 'I could tell it was put on by the tone of his voice. It was as if he was pretending to cry.'

Speaking of her arrival at the hospital, she added: 'I could smell drink off him and his eyes were just all over the place.'

She said that Robertson gave her three different accounts of how the baby came to be injured. In the first he said she fell off the sofa head first.

Judge Norman Ritchie QC deferred sentence on Robertson for background reports and will sentence him next month.
Eight people have been arrested for looting homes evacuated in the California wildfires.

The heartless suspects were found sniffing around the few remaining possessions of those hit by the brutal Camp Fire in Butte County.

Police released mugshots of six suspects on Wednesday as a warning to other potential looters that raiding wildfire victims' properties would not be tolerated.

Authorities have released photos of people arrested on suspicion of looting communities ravaged by the California wildfires. Pictured: Shayne Tinnel Jr (left) and Tracey Sizer (right) were arrested Tuesday for stealing a motor home from someone who had evacuated the area

Deputies found Teddy King, 27, (left) and John Brown, 38, (right), in an evacuated area west of Paradise on Tuesday. They were allegedly carrying a stolen laptop, a ski mask and drugs

Jason Burns, 41, (left) and Michael Salisbury, 48, (right) were found hiding in the bedroom of a home in Paradise with a stash of meth, heroin, a stolen .45-caliber handgun and loaded magazines on Monday. A PG& E worker had spotted them and alerted deputies

A couple from the town of Magalia, Shayne Tinnel Jr and Tracey Sizer, took off with someone else's motor home after the owner had evacuated, according the the Butte County Sheriff's office.

Tinnel Jr, 22, was at the wheel of the vehicle and Sizer, 42, was sitting inside when police stopped them on Tuesday and took them into custody.

Both suspects have been charged with vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle and looting.

Also on Tuesday, deputies came across two men, Teddy King, 27, of Paradise and John Brown, 38, of Oroville, on a bike path in an evacuated area west of Paradise, a town reduced to rubble by the deadly blaze.

The men were carrying a laptop that didnt belong to them, a ski mask, drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to deputies. Both have been booked into Butte County Jail on drug charges.

Earlier this week an employee with the power company PG&E, whose electrical lines may have caused the fire, spotted two men who looked like they were looting and alerted deputies.

Jason Burns, 41, and Michael Salisbury, 48, were found hiding in the bedroom of a home in Paradise with a stash of meth, heroin, a stolen .45-caliber handgun and loaded magazines on Monday.

In the garage, deputies found an AR-15 rifle, several chainsaws and other tools that they suspected were stolen. Burns and Salisbury are facing a number of charges and are being held on $89,000 bail.

Police said Burns was related to the owners of the home, but that the relatives said they did not know he had returned to the residence after evacuating.

On Sunday, two men dressed in jackets similar to the ones worn by US Forest Service workers were arrested for looting in Paradise. Their names have not been released.

Pink's husband Carey Hart encouraged fellow victims of the California wildfires to defend their properties from looters by exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms in a threatening Instagram post on Tuesday morning (pictured)

Butte County Sheriff Kory L Honea announced there had already been 53 reports of looting in the area as of Saturday afternoon. It is unclear what the number of reported incidents has risen to.

Many are calling for a tough clampdown on looters who are taking advantage of the hardest hit.

Pink's husband Carey Hart posted a warning photo to wannabe crooks on Tuesday.

Posing up alongside other armed residents of Malibu, the former professional motocross competitor urged other residents to utilise the second amendment to defend their properties.

'There have been sightings of looters breaking in to homes. Well, if you are a looter, think twice if you are heading back into malibu (sic). #DefendYourLand #2ndamendment,' he wrote.

Large parts of Malibu have been evacuated by the Woolsey fire, a separate blaze burning 500 miles south of the Camp Fire.

Coroner and rescue teams are surveying the fire damage in Paradise, a town of 27,000 people

Chris and Nancy Brown stand in the rubble of their decimated home in Paradise on Monday
Advertisement

Members of the new House freshman class that are about to shake up Washington posed for a group photo on the Capitol steps in an official debut for giant-killer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and newly famous Dan Crenshaw.

The incoming Democrat and Republican were among the most conspicuous new lawmakers as powerful pressure seek to push their agenda and party leaders stand for election.

They are among more than 80 new members who will be sworn in in January, the largest class in more than two decades.

Ocasio-Cortez, who wore a bright red dress, who could be seen shivering on a 41-degree day even as party leaders tried to provide a warm welcome for freshman orientation.

Members of the new House freshman class posed for a group photo on the Capitol steps in an official debut for giant-killer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). From left to right, Rep.-elect Angie Craig, D-Minn., Rep.-elect Kim Schrier, D-WA., Rep.-elect Ocasio-Cortez, Rep.-elect Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., Rep.-elect Abby Finkenauer, D-Iowa, and Rep.-elect Sharice Davids, D-KS.

Representative-elect Ocasio-Cortez answers questions from members of the press after joining with other newly elected members of the House for an official class photo of new House members at the U.S. Capitol

SAY PORK! Members of the incoming 116th Congress pose in front of the Capitol for the traditional class photo. They are the largest freshman class since the 1994 elections, which brought in 110 lawmakers

On Tuesday, she showed up at an office of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to join a global warming protest.

The 29-year old from New York later donned a coat, and tried to keep warm walking with her arm around Rep.-elect Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida for the picture.

Also joining his colleagues is new Republican Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal who went on 'Saturday Night Live' to graciously accept an apology from Pete Davidson, who called him a 'war hero' following a sketch where he made fun of the wounded warrior's eye patch.

Ocasio-Cortez walks with her arm around Representative-elect Mucarsel-Powell of Florida as they arrive for a class picture

PLAINS COMMON SENSE: Representatives-elect Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) Abby Finkenauer (D-IA), and Sharice Davids (D-KS) join with other newly elected members of the House of Representatives are in Washington this week for orientation meetings. Only Davids wore a coat

Lawmakers gathered on a chilly 41-degree day. Clearly Ocasio-Cortez was not aboutto cover up her short-sleeved red frock for the occasion

Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal, was thrust into the national spotlight after Pete Davidson mocked his war injury on 'Saturday Night Live,' then later apologized on air

Ocasio-Cortez continued to use her twitter account to fire shots at rivals.

They are part of the class that includes 87 members with more races still to be decided.

In one barb, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a screen shot of a Fox News graphic showing her and other female lawmakers with their 'Radical New Democratic Ideas.'

In this Nov. 10, 2018 photo provided by NBC, Lt. Com. Dan Crenshaw, from left, a congressman-elect from Texas, Pete Davidson, Anchor Colin Jost, and Anchor Michael Che appear during Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" in New York. Davidson made his apologies to Crenshaw whose appearance he mocked, saying Crenshaw 'deserves all the respect in the world'

Occasio-Cortez mocked Fox News for a graphic listing 'radical new Democratic ideas,' writing: 'They discovered our vast conspiracy to take care of children and save the planet'

Ocasio-Cortez, 29, also tweeted about hallway sleights

On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez showed up at an office of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to join a global warming protest

Ocasio-Cortez poses up with Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey (senter) and Elissa Slotkin (right) of Michigan

She joked on Twitter how people kept directing her to intern and spouse events

It listed them as 'free college for all,' 'free healthcare for all,' 'Abolish ICE' and a 'green new deal.'

The new lawmaker, who beat powerful Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley of New York in a primary, added: 'Oh no! They discovered our vast conspiracy to take care of children and save the planet.'

The others were Reps.-elect Ilhan Omar (Minn.), who was pictured wearing her head-scarf, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Several victims of California's Camp Fire have filed a lawsuit against the power company they believe is to blame for the devastating blaze that has killed 48.

The suit accuses Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) of being responsible for the horrific fire, claiming it failed to properly maintain its equipment and infrastructure.

And one lawyer has claimed that PG&E bypassed preventative measures just a day before the fire, claiming it wanted to protect company bonuses instead.

PG&E informed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that a high-voltage power line experienced a problem near the origin of the Camp Fire just minutes before the blaze broke out.

Several victims of California's Camp Fire have filed lawsuit against the power company they believe is to blame for the devastating blaze that has killed 48, many in Paradise (pictured)

The Camp fire originated on Camp Creek Road near Highway 70 around 6.30am on Thursday.

Betsy Ann Cowley lives on 64 acres in Pulga, right next to the junction with Camp Creek Road. PG&E emailed her the day before the fire began and said it needed to investigate power lines on the land.

The email said the company was sending employees to work on the high-power lines because 'they were having problems with sparks'.

But PG&E has since said that the email was regarding a different transmission line than the damaged one that had been discovered by firefighters at the origin site of the Camp Fire beneath high-tension wires.

The utility company said the transmission line it emailed Cowley about had been 'de-energized' and was not operating when the Camp Fire began, according to the Mercury News.

'We have not seen anything that includes a discussion with the customer in question about "sparks" and PG&E infrastructure,' the utility company said. 'This is not the same line that PG&E identified in its Electric Incident Report.'

Betsy Ann Cowley (pictured) revealed PG&E had emailed her the day before the Camp Fire began and said it needed to investigate power lines that were causing sparks on her land

PG&E informed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that a high-voltage power line experienced an outage in the same location where the Camp Fire began.

The outage occurred just 15 minutes before the blaze broke out, according to the filing.

An aerial inspection also revealed that a transmission tower on that same transmission line had been damaged 'in the area of the Camp Fire'.

And, two days before the fire started, PG&E told customers in nine counties that it might shut off their power on November 8 because of extreme fire danger.

One of the counties included was Butte County, where Paradise - the town completely wiped out by the Camp Fire - was located.

But the utility company called off the shutdown, telling customers nine hours after the Camp Fire began that the weather conditions 'did not warrant this safety measure'.

Mike Danko, a lawyer representing the Camp Fire victims, claims that PG&E did not go through with the planned shutdown because company bonuses are tied to customer complaints.

'This is the worst of them all, because PG&E knew what to do to prevent the fire, knew what the risks of a fire are, and instead lined their pockets at the expense of customer safety,' he said.

Cowley, 31, lives on 64 acres in Pulga, California. Her property is right next to a junction with Camp Creek Road, where the fire first sparked around 6.30am on Thursday

Danko said he expects more lawsuits against PG&E will be filed soon.

'They've destroyed people's lives, killed people and burned down many houses - in fact, an entire town,' he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

'At some point, there has to be accountability.'

Camp Fire is now the deadliest blaze in California's history, killing 48 people and destroying more than 8,000 structures.

PG&E shares dropped more than 20 percent on Wednesday after the utility company revealed it could face a significant financial hit if found liable for the blaze.

On Tuesday PG&E informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had liability insurance of $1.4billion for wildfire events through July 31, 2019.

If its equipment is to blame, the costs could exceed the insurance coverage and have a 'material impact' on its financial condition, PG&E warned in the regulatory filing.

PG&E's stock is trading at its lowest level in more than a decade after losing about half its value in the past four days.

'We're not going to speculate or comment on what factors may or may not be impacting the market,' PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty told the San Francisco Chronicle.

'Right now, our entire company is focused on supporting first responders and assisting our customers and communities impacted by the Camp Fire.'

The company could face nearly $5billion in liabilities for the fire if it's found responsible, according to Susquehanna Financial Group.

PG&E saw its shares drop 48 percent in the first two days of trading since the Camp Fire first began. Pictured is the company's five-day market summary since the fire

California fire investigators were at Cowley's property on Monday and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

CalFire spokesman Scott McLean said 'electric equipment' was being included in the probe.

The CPUC said it plans to look into the PG&E's compliance with 'applicable rules and regulations in fire impacted areas,' according to spokeswoman Terrie Prosper.

Its investigation 'may include an inspection of the fire sites once Cal Fire allows access, as well as maintenance of facilities, vegetation management, and emergency preparedness and response'.

Sen Jerry Hill, a California Democrat and longtime critic of PG&E, called the report of troubles on the utility company's lines in the area extremely worrisome.

'At some point, we have to say enough is enough, and we have to ask: Should this company be allowed to do business in California?' Hill said.

'It takes a spark to cause a fire, and that spark seems to always be coming from PG&E lines - and that's the problem.'

'We need to see how we can hold them responsible or look at alternative way of doing business.'

PG&E isn't the only utility company facing heat for the current barrage of wildfires in the state.

Southern California Edison reported to the CPUC that there was an outage on an electric circuit right by the area where the Woolsey Fire first began.

Just two minutes after the outage occurred on Thursday afternoon, the first reports of the fire started coming in.

The Woolsey fire has since killed three people and burned through more than 97,000 acres in Los Angeles, including a number of celebrities' homes in Malibu.

Shares of SoCal Edison's parent company, Edison International, tumbled more than 20 percent since the fire started. Pictured is its five-day market summary since the Woolsey fire began

SoCal Edison said it has received no indication that its equipment was involved in the fire, but authorities said the cause remains under investigation.

Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said it would not surprise him if the Santa Ana winds caused equipment failure that could have sparked the deadly blaze.

Alex Robertson, a plaintiff lawyer who has brought cases against SoCal Edison in the past, said he plans to file 'several dozen' lawsuits this week.

Robertson told DailyMail.com that SoCal Edison could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars for the fire.

The lawyer said a resident called 911 at 2.24pm on Thursday after she saw that high winds had brought down a power line, which was in the same area where the Woolsey Fire began.

According to fire department officials, the fire was first reported at 2.24pm on Thursday at an old lab, formerly owned by aerospace firm Rocketdyne.

In an email to regulators, SoCal Edison reported that just two minutes earlier, an electrical substation on the lab site tripped. The email said Edison was investigating the incident.

Both PG&E and SoCal Edison could face severe financial pressure if they are found liable for the Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire. Pictured is Paradise on Tuesday

Photos taken from a news helicopter at 4.37pm showed the fire burning next to the substation, just 1,000 yards from the site of the 1959 partial nuclear meltdown at the lab.

The photos appear to show the source of the fire in a cluster of trees which the power lines passed through, just below the substation, backing up the neighbor's account of a fire sparked from lines downed by trees in the wind.

Robertson said he also spoke to firefighters who were on the scene that day, who confirmed the blaze was started by downed power lines.

'I spoke to firefighters who were at my neighbor's house on Friday who are from LA County,' said Robertson. 'They were up at Rocketdyne when the fire first started and they confirmed to me that it was caused by a downed power line.'

Robertson also spoke to the neighbor who made the 911 call. They revealed that the same problem had caused another fire in the same place earlier this year.

'She told me that another fire started underneath those very same power lines earlier this year during high wind conditions,' said Robertson.

California is one of just states that hold electric companies entirely liable for damage caused by their equipment, even if they followed safety precautions. Pictured is Paradise on Tuesday

'The local homeowners were able to put it out quickly when it was just a spot fire. So Edison was obviously on notice that this has been a problem in that area.'

Robertson said that due to California law, he only needs to prove that SoCal Edison equipment caused the fire to hold them liable for damages from the fire.

And he has been quick to sign plaintiffs, as he lives in the middle of the evacuation zone.

Robertson estimated that he will end up representing several hundred clients, with damages ranging from $300,000 to $500,000 per household or more in cases of multi-million dollar homes.

Shares of SoCal Edison's parent company, Edison International, have tumbled more than 20 percent since the fire started.

And both PG&E and SoCal Edison could face severe financial pressure if they are found liable for the Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire.

California is one of just two states that hold electric companies entirely liable for damage caused by their equipment, even if they followed all safety precautions.

Gov Jerry Brown signed a new law in September that would make it easier for utility companies to pass on some of these costs to consumers and help them avoid bankruptcy from a series of major fires in 2017.

But the law has a major gap: No damages specific to 2018 were included, so utilities face a higher bar to bill customers to cover those costs.

And this year has already supplanted 2017 as the most destructive in California's recorded history.
Simone OBroin (pictured), 50, was arrested after she was caught on camera shouting abuse at male and female cabin crew and demanding another glass of wine

This is the international lawyer filmed ranting at Air India staff on a Mumbai to London flight after she was refused alcohol  leaving other business class passengers holding hands in terror.

Simone OBroin, 50, was arrested after she was caught on camera shouting abuse at male and female cabin crew and demanding another glass of wine.

At one point in the footage, she is seen yelling: 'I work for all you f***ing people... The f***ing Rohingyas, the f***ing people of all Asia, for you, I'm an international criminal lawyer.

'Don't get any money for it by the way. But you won't give me a f***ing glass of wine, is that correct?'.

The shocking incident took place on an Air India flight from Mumbai to London Heathrow last Saturday.

Belfast-born Ms OBroin, who trained as a lawyer in the UK, studied international law and worked for years in Palestine, was understood to be on her way home from a two month break in Goa when she was caught on film.

Abuse: Video footage shows the woman, who claims to be an international human rights lawyer, swearing at an Air India staff member on a flight from Mumbai to London Heathrow

Passengers sitting close to the lawyer and activist, who is now based in Hove, said she was deemed to be too drunk to be given any more alcohol and was also forbidden from smoking.

They said she allegedly stole a second bottle from the service area in direct defiance of airline staff, and shouted at the cabin crew for up to five hours.

She allegedly would not settle down until she received a letter from the pilot saying that the stewards were acting within the rules in refusing to serve her.

Ms OBroin  also known as Simone Burns - was eventually taken off the plane by three armed police officers when it landed at Heathrow four hours later.

It is understood that the incident happened after Ms OBroin  who was wearing a distinctive bandage on her nose after suffering a tumour - had not slept for two nights following problems with Air India flights.

When approached by MailOnline, she replied: No comment.

A source told MailOnline: Ive never known anyone go off like that for as long as she did. She was saying she was an international lawyer whod worked in Gaza and the Palestinian strip. She was saying that she could put all of us in jail.

She was scary and out of control. It was exhausting. We were too frightened to sleep, at one point I was worried about the plane crashing it got so out of hand.

My wife and I were so terrified that we held hands and my wife told me not to look at her.

Shocking: The Northern Irish lawyer, who had been travelling in business class, lashed out after crew refused to serve her more alcohol on the flight, as she was 'very drunk'

It was like Michael Douglas losing it in the film Falling Down. I thought that she was probably normally a decent person but something had tipped her over the edge.

The couple were flying back Air India from a holiday when they said their fellow business class passenger  whod had a complimentary miniature bottle of wine  was stopped from lighting up a cigarette by the only female air stewardess looking after passengers at the front of the plane.

The source continued: She was fine when we took off, but within a couple of hours she seemed drunk. And she just got worse.

The row started when she was prevented from lighting up a cigarette. She claimed shed been travelling for so many years and that shed always smoked on planes. She then tried to go into economy and to smoke there. The stewardess refused to serve her more wine and she just became an absolute lunatic.

She was aggressive, shouting and screaming about being a lawyer and she said, I know my rights. Im a business class passenger. I should be able to do what I want.

None of the other passengers would look at her. We were all too scared! An air steward from economy kept coming into our section to help as even the staff were obviously so concerned. She got even more angry, saying that we were all snobs who were ignoring her.

She finally shut up when the hostess gave her a personal letter from the pilot reminding her that in fact the staff knew their rights and that the police would be waiting for her when we landed at Heathrow.

The 50-year-old shouts at a female member of staff, threatening to take her to court unless she is given a bottle of wine. She was later arrested

She started going mental again just before landing, I think because she was scared about what was coming.

Three armed police officers escorted her off the plane first without any fuss upon arrival at Londons Heathrow.

The source added: We paid 2,000 for flat-bed seat flights  and couldnt sleep a wink thanks to her. The air stewardess looked really upset too. But I thought the staff handled a very difficult situation as best as they could in the circumstances.

The footage sees the woman, hurling abuse at a crew member who is believed to be one of the pilots, shouting:'I work for all you f***ing people...

'The f***ing Rohingyas, the f***ing people of all Asia, for you, I'm an international criminal lawyer.

'Don't get any money for it by the way. But you won't give me a f***ing glass of wine, is that correct?'

She also claims to be a 'leader of the f***ing boycott movement', clapping in the air in front of the crewmember, before adding: 'If I say "boycott" - f***ing Air India, done.

'Do you understand me? You can't give me a wee bottle of wine?'

The man remains calm throughout her shocking tirade, after which she turns on another crew member, asking them if they are writing a report about her.

'F*** off! I'm a f***ing international criminal lawyer and a barrister. You will be p***ed on in court!'

She then calls the female crewmember an 'Indian f***ing moneygrabbing b*****d' before walking off back to her seat, shouting that she will 'turn you inside f***ing out, you f***ing stupid c***s!

Caught on camera: Fellow business class passengers also got an earful, with the Northern Irish woman accusing them of not 'standing up against injustice'

'Give me a bottle of wine and game over!'

Otherwise, she claims, she will cause issues for the staff member upon landing, however the woman appears to be too inebriated to remember where they are flying to.

The video clip ends with the 50-year-old having a rant at her fellow business class passengers for not 'standing up against injustice'.

Another video showing the continuation of the argument, which has been shared on social media by local journalist Tarun Shukla, captures the woman claiming to be the lawyer 'for the Palestinian people'.

'So, you think I'm scared when you threaten me with lawyers? Also, Irish Republican Army. You'll be f***ing shot. All you had to do was to give me a f***ing drink.'

London Metropolitan Police has confirmed that the woman was taken into custody at Heathrow Airport upon landing.

'At approximately 1.30pm on Saturday, 10 November, a 50-year-old woman was arrested after an Air India flight had landed at Heathrow Airport,' a police spokesperson told MailOnline.

'She was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order, common assault and drunk and disorderly and taken to a west London police station.

'She was subsequently released under investigation.'
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis defended the deployment of 5,800 U.S. troops on the southern border, calling it 'very good training' even as he failed to provide concrete answers on the long-term mission or costs.

Mattis visited the border along with Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, who also spoke to troops in favor of the deployment  which has come under criticism by some elected officials and retired military brass who have branded it unjustified and driven by electoral concerns.

Mattis, a former Marine general, also compared the mission to the 1916 deployment to counter the Mexican revolutionary Gen. Francisco 'Pancho' Villa.

That deployment, led by Gen. John Pershing, failed to capture the Mexican revolutionary who made incursions into U.S. territory by the time of the outbreak of World War I.

Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake on Wednesday said the deployment was a 'stunt,' a label also applied to the election-eve mission.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen tour Base Camp Donna in Donna, Texas, U.S., November 14, 2018

President Trump ordered the troops to the border to confront the immigrant caravan making its way through Mexico. Some migrants in Tijuana, hundreds of miles from Mattis and the troops in south Texas, climbed atop a border fence. Some jumped across the border but got apprehended by Border Patrol.

Mattis defended the deployment as a way to prepare troops for other contingencies.

Mattis said officers have told him that the deployment has been 'very good training' because it amounts to a rehearsal for the kind of logistical demands - such as loading aircraft - that must be met in wartime.

He also compared the mission to the 1916 deployment to counter the Mexican revolutionary Gen. Francisco 'Pancho' Villa.

U.S. Army North commanding general Lt. General Jeffrey Buchanan welcomes Kirstjen Nielsen, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security at Base Camp Donna in Donna, Texas

Migrants traveling with a caravan hoping to reach the U.S. border, wait in line to board buses in La Concha, Mexico, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. Buses and trucks are carrying some migrants into the state of Sinaloa along the Gulf of California and further northward into the border state of Sonora. The bulk of the main caravan appeared to be about 1,100 miles from the border, but was moving hundreds of miles per day

'In terms of readiness, it's actually, I believe, so far improving our readiness for deployments,' he said.

He took questions from deployed troops, including one who wanted to know if U.S. forces would ultimately have to take down concertina wire they have been stringing to protect the border.

'Well let you know,' Mattis replied, Buzzfeed reported.

Speaking to reporters on his way to visit U.S. troops along the border in south Texas, Mattis declined to provide an estimate of how much the mission will cost. He said cost figures he has received thus far are 'not anywhere near right.'

He added that he believes, 'very quickly we'll know the real cost. So we'll keep you posted as the real costs come in.'

A soldier asked Mattis if they would ultimately have to take down the concertina wire

The Pentagon chief said that within a week to 10 days the 5,800 troops currently deployed for the border mission will have accomplished all the tasks initially requested by Customs and Border Protection, although additional tasks are now being worked out between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. Mattis did not say how soon the whole mission might end; current deployments are scheduled to last until Dec. 15, but that could change.

In addition to the 5,800 active duty troops in the border area, about 2,100 National Guard troops have been providing border support since April.

Critics have questioned the wisdom of using the military on the border where there is no discernible security threat, although President Donald Trump has said that a caravan of Central American migrants traveling northward through Mexico amounts to an 'invasion.'

Since the election, Trump has said little about the matter, and no border threat has yet materialized.

Asked whether he believes there is a security threat at the border that justifies the use of the active duty military, Mattis said he defers to the judgment of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who joined him at the border Wednesday.

Nielsen and Mattis spoke with senior U.S. commanders and addressed rank-and-file troops. Mattis told the troops their mission is to 'back up' Customs and Border Protection. 'Right now that's our role and that's all our role is,' he said.

'The eyes of the world right now - certainly all of the Americans - are on you,' Mattis told the soldiers, adding that they are part of a 'non-traditional' mission. 'We're here because of the number of illegals who say they are going to illegally try to cross into our country,' he said, apparently referring to the several thousand migrants moving north through Mexico.

One soldier asked Mattis what are the short- and long-term plans for the military mission.

A migrant traveling with a caravan hoping to reach the U.S. border, holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: 'Trump, No to militarization of the border,' after boarding a bus in La Concha, Mexico, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018

US Department of Defence personnel install barriers requested by Custom and Border Protection at the San Ysidro port of entry, San Diego, US, under the Operation Secure Line anticipating the arrival of Central American migrants heading towards the border, as seen from the Mexican side of the border in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 13, 2018

Mattis said the short-term objective is to get sufficient numbers of wire and other barriers in place along the border as requested by Customs and Border Protection. The longer-term objective, he said, is 'somewhat to be determined.'

'When you're in something like this,' Mattis said, 'it's dynamic, it's unpredictable. We'll have to see.'

In an interview with reporters traveling with him to Texas, Mattis took issue with assertions by critics that the deployment undertaken shortly before the Nov. 6 midterm elections was costing the military in preparedness for combat.

Mattis said the mission, which does not include performing law enforcement tasks, was reviewed by Department of Justice lawyers and deemed a legal undertaking. 'It's obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen,' he said.

In making the argument that the military has often been used on the U.S.-Mexico border, Mattis said it is in line with missions dating back to early in the 20th century. He noted that President Woodrow Wilson deployed tens of thousands of National Guard and active duty troops to the border in 1916 in response to Mexican military raids into the U.S.

'That's over a century ago, and the threat then was Pancho Villa's troops - revolutionary raiding across the border into the United States,' he said.
Canadian Indigenous women have filed a lawsuit seeking to have it certified as a class-action over forced sterilization in Saskatchewan and other areas, dating back to the 1930s through today; The lawsuit was filed by Alisa Lombard (pictured), an associate with Maurice Law, the first Indigenous-owned national law firm in Canada

Dozens of indigenous Canadian women are suing state hospitals claiming they were manipulated into having unwanted sterilization procedures after they gave birth.

More than 60 women have come forward about the terrible practices which have reportedly occurred over the last eight decades and until as recently as last year.

At least 20 said these things occurred at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, according to theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Each woman is seeking about $7 million for a range of damages, including physical, emotional, spiritual, mental and psychological.

Many of these woman were told by medical staff that 'they could not see their baby until they agreed' to have their tubes tied, cut or cauterized, Alisa Lombard, an associate with Maurice Law, the first Indigenous-owned national law firm in Canada, told the CBC.

'In the throes of labor... they would be approached, harassed, coerced into signing these consent forms,' Lombard, who has filed the lawsuit on behalf of the women, said.

The Saskatoon Health Region admitted to the coercion in July of 2017 following an independent review of the initial claims, and apologized to the Indigenous women of Saskatchewan who had been subjected to such horrific treatment.

The practice of forced sterilization has been going on in Canada since the 1930s, with reports from the Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and the territories suggest it is still happening, the CBC reported.

The parties named in the lawsuit include the physicians involved, the province of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Health Authority, and the Government of Canada.

At least 20 women said these things occurred at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon (shown), in Saskatchewan

'I am truly sorry for the coercion for tubal ligation that you experienced while in our care,' Jackie Mann, vice-president of integrated health services, said on behalf of the health authority in July of 2017.

According to some traditional Indigenous beliefs, a woman's ability to reproduce is considered sacred.

That's the case for one woman, identified as Anishinaabe, who said she was unwillingly sterilized at the Royal University Hospital in 2008 when she was 34 years old, following an emergency C-section with her youngest son.

She said she was heavily medicated when she was given forms to sign while being rushed into a operating room, and told that sterilization procedures were reversible.

Many of the women reported being told the same thing, Lombard said.

The Saskatoon Health Region admitted to the coercion in July of 2017 following an independent review of the initial claims, and Jackie Mann (pictured), vice-president of integrated health services, apologized to the Indigenous women of Saskatchewan who had been subjected to such horrific treatment

Since then, the lawsuit alleges Anishinaabe has suffered symptoms of early menopause, hormonal imbalances, hypothyroidism and depression

Another woman, named as Cree, said in the lawsuit that she explicitly denied consent but was sterilized anyway at the age of 29 at the same hospital, after giving birth.

In addition to similar physical symptoms experienced by Anishinaabe, Cree said the sterilization led to the end of her marriage.

Another woman, identified as Liz, reported not only being sterilized at the age of 17, but being forced to have an abortion by a Children's Aid worker.

'It was a matter of me almost [being] cornered, if you will, by my worker at the time saying, "You better have an abortion because if you don't, either way, we are going to take that child from you,"' Liz said.

These are just three of the dozens of stories of women who hope to be included in the proposed class-action lawsuit.

A total of 16 Indigenous women were interviewed during the initial investigation in 2017, which led to the public apology by Mann.

'I want to apologize to the women who came forward in the review, who've come forward to us in the past, and who haven't yet been able to come forward to us,' Mann said at that time.

But in some cases, those women will never be able to come forward.

'Many have had bouts and persistent depression, anxiety  many are no longer with us because of those ailments and those circumstances,' Lombard said.

Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott called forced sterilization 'a serious violation of human rights,' in a statement to the CBC's radio show, The Current.

The impact these atrocious acts have had on the women is immeasurable, and the scope could be even larger than the city of Saskatoon, according to Dr. Yvonne Boyer (pictured), a Metis lawyer and former nurse who co-conducted the independent investigation of Saskatoon Health Region practices; Boyer, who is now a senator for Ontario, said while calling on the Senate to study the scope of the issue nationally

'We all have a role to play to ensure that Indigenous patients receive quality healthcare free of prejudice, including ensuring medical professionals receive cultural safety training, as laid out in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.'

The impact these atrocious acts have had on the women is immeasurable, and the scope could be even larger than the city of Saskatoon, according to Dr. Yvonne Boyer, a Metis lawyer and former nurse who co-conducted the independent investigation of Saskatoon Health Region practices.

'If it's happened in Saskatoon, it has happened in Regina, it's happened in Winnipeg, it's happened where there's a high population of Indigenous women,' Boyer, who is now a senator for Ontario, said while calling on the Senate to study the scope of the issue nationally.

Dr. Judy Bartlett, a physician and former professor with the College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba, also headed up the investigation, which produced a 57-page report detailing 'scare tactis' used in attempts to gain 'consent' from the women involved.

The lawsuit cites claims including abuse of power, racial profiling, violation of multiple charter rights, cruel treatment, sexual battery, negligence and misrepresentation.
The Kremlin hit out at the 'unpredictability' of the United States under Trump, saying it was causing 'deep global concern'.

'The fact that America has become unpredictable lately is no secret to anyone,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Dozhd TV today during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to Singapore.

'Such unpredictability from the largest country, the most powerful economy in the world, is the subject of deep global concern,' he added.

Trump and Putin gave nothing away when they greeted each other with smiles at the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day commemoration in Paris over the weekend.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI, President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove ahead of the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day in Paris

Poker faces: Trump, Merkel and Macron smile as Putin arrives at the Armistice Day ceremony on Sunday

But the pair are billed to have a more substantive meeting in two weeks at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, in Argentina.

Relations between the two countries have hit new lows with American officials planning fresh sanctions against Moscow in response to the botched poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain.

Western governments accused Russia of being behind the plot which saw Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, poisoned with a nerve agent.

Two British citizens were also poisoned, one of whom died.

Moscow has denied being behind the brazen hit and has condemned efforts to sanction it over the incident.

Trump places a hand on Putin's back as the Russian President greets First Lady, Melania Trump

'We do not recognise these unilateral restrictions... and we consider them illegitimate,' Peskov said of the threatened sanctions, adding they would only 'further complicate' Russia-US relations.

World leaders are currently meeting in Singapore, which is hosting the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

Trump is not at the gathering and has sent Vice President Mike Pence instead.

Peskov said 'no separate meeting' was currently planned between Putin and Pence.

But he added that there was no need for a face-to-face given Trump and Putin will soon meet in Buenos Aires.
The Russians are the likely culprits behind disruption to GPS systems over northern Scandinavia during recent NATO exercises, Norway's defence minister said on Tuesday.

Finland's air navigation services were forced to issue an air traffic warning last week due to the massive GPS interruption in the north of the country.

Norway made a similar warning last month, days before the start of Trident Juncture, NATO's largest military exercise since the Cold War involving 50,000 troops in an area stretching from the Baltic Sea to Iceland.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on Sunday it was 'possible that Russia has been the disrupting party in this. Russia is known to possess such capabilities.'

A British soldier from the Royal Irish Regiment in a defensive position with an LMG in Elval during NATO's Trident Juncture Operations in Norway on November 3

A British Army Foxhound (left) and a Land Rover (right) await Norwegian forces in Bryalden on October 31

A Russian Tupolev TU-142 flying past the US Navy's USS Mount Whitney over the Norwegian sea outside Trondheim on November 2

The Kremlin dismissed Finland's allegations on Monday as groundless.

'We have the same problem (as Finland). We think it can also be part of a Russian exercise,' Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.

'The first time it happened was during Zapad,' he said, referring to a 2017 military exercise conducted by Russia and Belarus. 'Also on later occasions ... including during Trident Juncture,' he said.

Norway's defence ministry later told Reuters that jamming took place between October 16 and November 7, and was registered as coming from 'Russian land forces on the Kola Peninsula,' a Russian region dotted with naval bases and restricted military zones.

Trident Juncture ran for two weeks from October 25, while a command post exercise, involving commanders and their staff, will continue through to November 23.

On November 2, a Russian reconnaissance warplane was spotted flying low close to USS Mount Whitney off the Norwegian coast.

Marines gathered on deck to take photos of the Tupolev TU-142 as it soared over Norwegian waters.

Nordic countries are tightening military cooperation at a time when security challenges are becoming more complex and demanding, according to a signed pledge.

Norway, Denmark and Iceland are NATO members. Sweden and Finland are not, but have been cooperating more closely with NATO and their troops are taking part in Trident Juncture.

A US Army aircrew officer walks towards his helicopter, a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk on November 2

Norwegian Home Guardsmen take up defensive positions during exercises in Elval on November 3

Finnish Defence Minister Jussi Niinisto said he was concerned about the danger the GPS jamming posed to civilian traffic.

'It worries us that civilian airplanes suffered from this problem,' he said, adding that he had raised the GPS issue at Tuesday's meeting.

Norway had done the same, Bakke-Jensen said, adding that Oslo was worried because GPS is used by civilians such as fishermen, shippers and ambulance planes.

Denmark's Defence Minister Claus Hjord Frederiksen said Russian denials of their involvement were not convincing and said the GPS jamming incident was another sign of Russia's 'aggressive' behaviour towards neighbouring countries.

'If falls in line with the intimidation that they use all the time in the Baltic States, but also when we have ships in the Baltic Sea, and they sometimes simulate attacks against the ships,' Frederiksen said.
President Donald Trump says he will make a decision 'shortly' about firing his Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Trump admitted in an interview with The Daily Caller on Wednesday that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly could also be axed in a major post-election shakeup of his administration.

'Always in an administration after the midterms we make changes,' he told the outlet. 'Were looking at a lot of options.'

The president said, 'A lot of people want to come in, a lot of politicians who have had very successful careers want to come in.'

President Donald Trump says he will make a decision 'shortly' about firing his Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

Trump admitted that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly could also be axed in a major post-election shakeup of his administration

At least four news outlets had reported in the past 24 hours that either or both officials' heads were on the chopping block, and on Wednesday Trump finally confirmed the rumors himself.

'Im looking at things. I havent made a decision yet,' he told The Caller. 'I will be making a decision on Homeland shortly. I have not made decisions yet. I will be making changes on various things.'

Trump wants a more aggressive approach to border control. A White House aide said when she was appointed that the president made the move on the recommendation of Kelly, her longtime mentor.

But the president believes the Kelly protege hasn't measured up, that same official said Tuesday.

NBC News reported that Kelly will be pushed out because of his clashes with first lady Melania Trump's office, what's known as the East Wing, and with National Security Adviser John Bolton.

'There have been instances where the East Wing staff were not treated as equals to the male-dominated decision makers in chief Kellys office,' one White House official told NBC. 'Promotions were denied then finally granted after months of requests.'

Kelly and Bolton are known to have gotten a screaming match outside the Oval last month. The White House claimed at the time that neither man was leaving over the dispute.

The president who enjoys competition among his staff members may have decided that it's time for a change, however, nearly a year and a half into Kelly's tenure.

He suggested that other senior staffers and Cabinet members could get their walking papers soon in the staff shuffle, saying, 'Overall, I think our Cabinet is great.'

'Theyre talking about a few names  theyre talking about many,' he added vaguely.

After The Daily Caller interview, DHS provided the outlet with statement recommitting Nielsen, who has been effusive in her public praise of Trump, to the president's

'The Secretary is honored to lead the men and women of DHS and is committed to implementing the Presidents security-focused agenda to protect Americans from all threats and will continue to do so,' it said.

Kelly has reportedly infuriated first lady Melania Trump because he slow-dragged promotions for her top aides

Nielsen (pictured in San Diego during a March tour of border wall prototypes) reportedly has not been enjoying her job

Kelly, Nielsen's mentor, has been fighting to keep her (pictured together October 2017) after pushing for her to get the Homeland security role

TRUMP'S DEPARTURE LOUNGE President Donald Trump's administration has seen the resignation or firing of a long series of senior officials. This is a list of the most prominent ones, in the order they left their positions: Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor Sean Spicer, Press Secretary Reince Priebus, Chief of Staff Anthony Scaramucci, Communications Director Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist Katie Walsh, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Dubke, Communications Director Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President K.T. McFarland, Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services Omarosa Manigault-Newman, Spokeswoman, Office of Public Liaison James Comey, FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Deputy FBI Director Dina Powell, Deputy National Security Adviser Walter Shaub, Office of Government Ethics Director Angella Reid, Chief Usher Rob Porter, Staff Secretary Josh Raffel, Deputy Communications Director Hope Hicks, Director of Strategic Communications Gary Cohn, National Economic Council Director John McEntee, Personal Aide to the President Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State H.R. McMaster, National Security Advisor David Shulkin, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Michael Anton, National Security Council Spokesman Tom Bossert, Homeland Security Adviser Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator Nikki Haley, United Nations Ambassador Jeff Sessions, Attorney General Advertisement

It's unclear when Nielsen and Kelly could leave the administration. Trump did not provide a timetable for his decision.

Trump is considering replacing Kelly with Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers, according to ABC News reported.

But Ayers denied that Trump had talked to him about the job in front of Kelly during an encounter with a reporter last month in the Oval Office.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, has sought to bring more stability to the White House operation under the unpredictable Trump. During his time as chief of staff, he and the president have had a rocky relationship, according to various news reports and Bob Woodward's best-selling book 'Fear: Trump in the White House.'

Trump has sought to toughen immigration policies and has been reportedly unhappy with Nielsen's efforts to tighten the border.

The president has vowed to begin cutting millions of dollars in aid to Central America over a caravan of thousands of mostly Honduran migrants who say they are fleeing violence and poverty at home. He has called the caravan, which is currently in Mexico, a national emergency and an 'invasion' that needs to be stopped.

Last week the U.S. military said over 7,000 troops would go to the border with Mexico.

Nielsen delivered an enthusiastic speech at the opening of his wall in Calexico, California recently. She also defended Trump's decision to separate families at the border

Nielsen is pictured as she takes the Oath of Office as the Sixth Secretary of Homeland Security in December 2017, joined by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (center) and Executive Clerk of the White House David Kalbaugh

Claire Grady (right), Acting Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, could be left with Nielsen's responsibilities

US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan (left) could be in the running for the role as could David P. Pekoske (right), administrator of the Transportation Security Administratio

Earlier this year the Trump administration tried to deter illegal immigrant families from traveling to the border by instituting a 'zero tolerance' policy, resulting in the separation of thousands of children from their parents as the adults were prosecuted.

Trump wants someone with a more aggressive attitude to curtailing immigration but with no deputy secretary since April, Nielsen's responsibilities could land in Claire Grady's lap.

If not the undersecretary for management, Trump is reportedly considering Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and David Pekoske.

Both have been confirmed by the Senate and Pekoske is the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and used to be a vice commandant of the Coast Guard.

The Post also reports Kris Kobach, who lost out on the Kansas governor role, could be nominated however the secretary of state may be considered too extreme for Senate approval. Trump says he could hire several of this year's mid-term losers.

After the position was created in 2003, following the September 11 terrorist attacks, George W. Bush had two Homeland secretaries over six years during his terms.

Barack Obama had two across his eight years as president and Trump is already on his second as he nears two years as POTUS.
One of the first men to spot the Camp Fire has revealed how he watched fierce winds transform it from a small fire to an unstoppable blaze within minutes.

Clay Hemstalk, a maintenance supervisor for the California Department of Transportation's Pulga station, was on call around 6.30am on Thursday when he first heard about the fire.

Hemstalk was helping remove a three-foot oak tree that had been knocked into the highway by fierce winds when a truck for the company PG&E flagged him down.

The PG&E worker told him a fire had broken out near his maintenance yard six miles away. When Hemstalk returned at 7am, it was 'just taking off'.

Clay Hemstalk, one of the first people to see the horrific Camp Fire, has revealed how he watched fierce winds transform it from a small fire to an unstoppable blaze within minutes. The Camp Fire completely destroyed the town of Paradise (seen on Tuesday)

Hemstalk, who lives in Oroville, couldn't believe what he was witnessing as he stood in his Caltrans yard, just a mile south from where the Camp Fire first ignited.

'We all just stood there and watched,' he told Mercury News on Wednesday. 'It was so windy it was hard to stand up.'

'There's nothing more anyone could have done after it started.'

'Not firefighters, no one. The wind was carrying it so hard there was nothing anyone could do except get out of town.'

Hemstalk could see the fire already forming its destructive path, which has since taken 48 lives, destroyed more than 7,000 homes, and scorched 130,000 acres of land.

The blaze was already igniting spot fires and quickly moving west, where it would completely destroy the town of Paradise.

Hemstalk's coworker had also spotted the flames while removing a rock from a road near Pulga.

Unlike Hemstalk, they were able to get cell phone service and immediately called 911.

The Camp Fire has taken 48 lives, destroyed more than 7,000 homes, and scorched 130,000 acres of land. Pictured is a car destroyed by the fire in Paradise on Wednesday

Hemstalk said the fire was so quick moving, there was nothing anyone could have done once the first got going. Pictured is the demolished Gold Nugget Museum in Paradise on Tuesday

The first flames were reported on the west side of the Feather River in Pulga. The caller said the flames had formed beneath high tension wires and that the wires were a hazard.

By the time Hemstalk returned to his maintenance yard, the smoke was too thick to see any obvious issues with electrical infrastructure.

But PG&E informed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that a high-voltage power line experienced a problem near the origin of the Camp Fire just minutes before the blaze broke out.

The utility company's regulatory filings, as well as firefighter radio transmissions, also indicate that a transmission line may have sparked the fire.

Several victims of the fire have since filed a lawsuit against PG&E, claiming it failed to properly maintain its equipment and infrastructure.

PG&E informed the California Public Utilities Commission that a high-voltage power line experienced a problem near the origin of the Camp Fire just minutes before the blaze broke out. Pictured are firefighters combing through a destroyed house in Paradise on Tuesday

Betsy Ann Cowley, who lives on 64 acres in Pulga right next to the junction with Camp Creek Road, said PG&E emailed her the day before the fire began and said it needed to investigate power lines on the land.

The email said the company was sending employees to work on the high-power lines because 'they were having problems with sparks'.

But PG&E has since said that the email was regarding a different transmission line than the damaged one that had been discovered by firefighters at the origin site of the Camp Fire beneath high-tension wires.

'Based on our initial review, the email correspondence with the customer in question was about future planned work on a different transmission line in the area,' the company told DailyMail.com.

'That line had previously been deenergized and was not operational when the Camp Fire started.'

'This is not the same line that PG&E identified in its Electric Incident Report on November 8, 2018. We have not seen anything that includes a discussion with the customer in question about "sparks" and PG&E infrastructure.'

Two days before the fire started, PG&E told customers in nine counties that it might shut off their power on November 8 because of extreme fire danger.

One of the counties included was Butte County, where Paradise is located.

But the utility company called off the shutdown, telling customers nine hours after the Camp Fire began that the weather conditions 'did not warrant this safety measure'.

Mike Danko, a lawyer representing the Camp Fire victims, claims that PG&E did not go through with the planned shutdown because company bonuses are tied to customer complaints.

Betsy Ann Cowley (pictured) revealed PG&E had emailed her the day before the Camp Fire began and said it needed to investigate power lines that were causing sparks on her land

PG&E saw its shares drop 48 percent in the first two days of trading since the Camp Fire first began. Pictured is the company's five-day market summary since the fire

'This is the worst of them all, because PG&E knew what to do to prevent the fire, knew what the risks of a fire are, and instead lined their pockets at the expense of customer safety,' he said.

Danko said he expects more lawsuits against PG&E will be filed soon.

'They've destroyed people's lives, killed people and burned down many houses - in fact, an entire town,' he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

'At some point, there has to be accountability.'

On Wednesday, the firm denied that the email to Cowley referred to the same transmission line that has been linked to the blaze.

It comes as PG&E said in a Tuesday filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that if it is found culpable in the wildfire it's insurance would not be great enough cover the costs.

'While the cause of the Camp Fire is still under investigation, if the Utilitys equipment is determined to be the cause, the Utility could be subject to significant liability in excess of insurance coverage that would be expected to have a material impact on PG&E Corporations and the Utilitys financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and cash flows,' it said.

Hemstalk and his crew helped shut down Highway 70 after the fire first began.

As the Camp Fire rages on - with only 35 percent containment - he's continuing to remove burnt trees and fallen rocks to keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles.

'It's devastating,' Hemstalk said. 'I would never have thought it would go all the way where it did from where we were at.'
The body of a missing 23-year-old ballerina has been found in a rural Missouri lake after her car was found abandoned on a nearby boat ramp.

Police found Raffaella Maria Stroik's body in the water at Mark Twain State Park, about 120 miles north-west of St. Louis, on Wednesday morning.

A private plane was flying over and spotted what appeared to be a body floating in the lake. They alerted authorities and police divers were able to retrieve the young woman's body.

Missouri Highway Patrol have not released a cause of death but they do not suspect foul play at this time.

Police found Raffaella Maria Stroik's body in the water at Mark Twain State Park, about 120 miles north-west of St. Louis, on Wednesday morning

Stroik had been reported missing on Tuesday after authorities spotted her parked vehicle a day earlier.

A park ranger had initially found the young woman's black VW parked on the boat ramp on Monday, but no action was taken because there wasn't a missing person's report for Stroik in the system.

A state trooper found that Stroik's car was still there the following morning.

Her personal belongings, including her cell phone, were found inside the locked car.

Sergeant Eric Brown told Fox2 that Stroik's keys were found outside the vehicle.

'Her keys were found laying outside the vehicle,' he said. 'They appeared to have been intentionally placed in a certain spot on the vehicle.'

Stroik, who was originally from South Bend, Indiana, was a professional ballerina with the Saint Louis Ballet

Stroik's personal belongings, including her cell phone, were found inside the locked car. Police searched the wooded area within the state park for Stroik before her body was found

A park ranger had initially found the young woman's black VW parked on the boat ramp on Monday. A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper found that Stroik's car was still there the following morning and her keys were on the ground outside

Courtesy of KTVI

Authorities then contacted her family and a missing person's report was filed.

Officials had searched the wooded area within the state park for Stroik.

Stroik, who was originally from South Bend, Indiana, was a professional ballerina with the Saint Louis Ballet. She joined the company last year after training with the American Contemporary Ballet and Indiana University Ballet Theater.

The 23-year-old was last seen alone on Monday morning at a Whole Foods in Town and Country - about two hours from where her car was later found.

Surveillance captured her wearing an olive-green jacket, long pink scarf, navy pants and white sneakers.

The 23-year-old was last seen alone on Monday morning at a Whole Foods in Town and Country - about two hours from where her car was later found at the Mark Twain State Park
Florida Gov. Rick Scott participated in a photo-op with newly-elected Republican senators even though his race is still mired in a recount.

Scott leads Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida by about 13,000 votes out of 8 million cast, with a Thursday deadline for a machine count and a Sunday deadline for a hand count, in a recount mandated by Florida election law.

But he joined five Republican senators-elect Wednesday for an appearance with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who published an op-ed Wednesday calling for bipartisanship.

'Our six new Republican Senators allow us to continue our majority and we'll be heading across the way shortly to elect the leadership team for the next two years,' McConnell told a gathering or reporters and cameras.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RECOUNT! Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (L), with Florida Governor and Senate candidate Rick Scott (R) during a photo-op for Republican Senators elect in Leader McConnell's office in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 14 November 2018

New Republican lawmakers are in town for orientation, where they learn about protocol, offices, procedure, campaign finance, ethics rules, and nuts and bolts of legislating. Scott and McConnell stood silent when a cable network producer asked Scott to defend his prior statements alleging voter fraud.

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer appeared with Nelson, who is still a sitting senator conducting business, and proclaimed there was a 'much greater than half chance' that Nelson will prevail so long as the recount is 'fair and square.'

McConnell and other GOP Senate leaders were reelected to their posts.

Scott also announced on Wednesday he won't participate in certifying his own election.

'Our six new Republican Senators allow us to continue our majority,' said McConnell, although Scott's race has yet to be certified and is in the midst of a recount

An employee at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office examines ballots during a recount, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, in Lauderhill, Fla.

HEY I WORK HERE! Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has filed suit over the rules for canvassing during a hand-count of rejected ballots. He trails Scott, the Florida governor, by about 13,000 votes

'I recused myself from certifying results on the Elections Canvassing Commission in 2014, and I will do so again this year,' he tweeted. 'This is nothing new. Bill Nelson is confused and doesnt even know how Florida works- I have no role in supervising/ overseeing the ongoing recount process,' he added.

Democrats including Nelson and Schumer have called on Scott to recuse himself from overseeing the recount. Scott previously recused himself from the governor's race recount.

Scott continues to solicit contributions for a recount fund, claiming Nelson and his allies 'area aftempting to steal this seat.'
Advertisement

Selfless veterinarians and nurses have set up a makeshift animal clinic in an abandoned hospital to treat hundreds of animals that were left to be burned alive in the California wildfires.

There are 576 at the Del Oro County Hospital building in Oroville and all are being cared for the North Valley Animal Disaster Group.

Among the residents are 258 cats, 188 dogs, 76 chickens, 41 birds  including a handful of brightly colored parrots  and five rabbits.

Larger animals have been transported to the Butte County Showgrounds in Gridley, California and another is being operated in Chico.

We work with Butte County Animal control and were sheltering close to 600 animals  chickens, ducks, geese, said shelter lead, Karen Falconer, 62, of Oroville, California.

Vets have filled the defunct Del Oro County Hospital building in Oroville to care for stranded animals that were left for dead in the Camp Fire last week and over the weekend

A veterinary assistant tend to animals in their cages in the animal hospital in Oroville on Tuesday

In addition to the dogs, cats and geese were chickens and exotic birds. Some are wild and some are pets which were left behind or whose owners perished

The shelter has been set up inside the Del Oro County Hospital building in Oroville which has not been used for years

A cat with charred paws is among the hundreds of animals being looked after inside the hospital by volunteer nurses and vets

The cat had its singed paws treated before they were wrapped up. Hundreds of animals died in the fires

The staff had to gently clean the cat's charred paws of debris and treat the burns before wrapping them up

A dog with a burned paw and nose was also treated at the clinic on Tuesday. The vets said the animals burned themselves trying to flee from the flames

We have a lot of burned animals. We have some California Veterinary Medical Corps here which is a luxury.

Any issue we have, theyre taking care of it. What we do is animals come when firefighters pick them up, and we take those.

When owners come in in a panic, were here to help them out. We try to find a way to make their life have some balance again.

The volunteers run entirely on donations through their website here. She asked the public for donations, saying: 'I really need you to help us.'

'Everything we do is out of our pockets. Driving, gas, doing evacuations. We do trainings all year long for this kind of thing.

'We have a lot of burned animals, just sensitive or not. What we do is stray animals come in or the firefighters pick them up, we take those, when owners come in in a panic - we're here to help them out.

'It's not as hard for me as it is for the evacuation teams... what they are seeing in the field is extremely bad.'

Inside the shelter, room, after room, was packed with lost pets, while in the courtyard were cages filled with burned-out chickens and geese.

Vet tech Sara Anderson, 28, of Rocklin, California, told DailyMail.com that the hardest part of her job is trying to make the animals understand that she is trying to help.

She said: They cant tell us whats hurting, they dont know whats going on, they got burned and they dont know where their family is. Its hard  thats the worst bit.

Anderson, who is working at the shelter with volunteer vet Dr. Brenda Gedhard, 58, added: They run through all that heat and stuff and it burns them.

Sara Anderson cradles a small dog whose four paws were singed in the fire. She is one of the selfless volunteers from the North Valley Animal Disaster Group

A dog with a burned nose rests on blankets inside the clinic. In addition to the 51 people who have died in the fires, California's pets and wildlife have been under immense threat

Sara Anderson feeds a cockatoo inside the animal hospital. In addition to the hundreds of cats and dogs that have been rescued, there are 41 birds inside the shelter

A dog looks forlorn in its cage in the animal hospital in Oroville. It is one of thousands around California that have been displaced

A parrot nibbles on feed inside its cage in the overrun shelter on Tuesday while assistant Sara Anderson tends to others

A litter of puppies fight for food inside their cage at the hospital. They did not appear to be seriously injures but had been left

A parrot in its cage squawks for attention at the Oroville animal shelter on Tuesday

The staff sprang into action when the fires took hold last week . They have since received help from the California Veterinary Medical Corps

Karen Falconer, a volunteer in the disused hospital, dotes on a small dog that is one of the hundreds in the shelter

Its kind of like the skin on your hands  if we were to walk on coals or fire or anything like that, we would burn all the skin on our hands.

Depending on how bad they are, we have to do daily bandages with these guys. After that, its every one or two days depending on the doctors discretion.

In Chico, California, the municipal airport has been turned into a shelter where pet owners are being reunited with their missing animals.

One of the hopefuls was Nathaniel Garrison, 31, of Paradise, whose home was razed by the Camp Fire and who was looking for his orange and white tabby cat, Nacho.

His name is Nacho, hes an orange tabby cat, Garrison said. Hes nine years old and hes an indoor-outdoor cat.

Normally when I wake up in the morning before work, Ill see him out. Hell come meet me, Ill feed him, get him water and then Ill go to work. That morning I didnt see him.

He added: We picked up the neighbor and her kids [when the fire struck] and we just had no room in the car and the cat was gone. Long gone.

Ive heard stories of people finding their cats five years after the fire. Even if I cant find him at the shelter, I still got hope.

His uncle, Gary Francisco, 74, was worried about his two dogs Fluffbutt and Brutus who he had had to leave behind in his RV when the Camp Fire arrived in Paradise.

He said: According to the maps, it didnt burn. They said it was a hotspot and it didnt burn. But if it didnt burn, theyre still in that motorhome and they need to get out of there.

But I cant go up there to get them.

Chelsea and Chris Ayres, both 30 and of Paradise, were looking for their eight-year-old Siamese-mix cat Tweak.

The morning before, hours before the fire started, she got out of our house and she didnt end up being back in time and we had to leave, Chris told DailyMail.com.

Hopefully she made it. We heard cats are resilient so hopefully she made it.

His wife added: It would be amazing to get her back. It would mean hope. Our house is gone. We just got our dogs out and our kid and that was it.

Although Garrisons two Peking ducks Donald and Daisy survived  albeit singed  he told DailyMail.com that being reunited with Nacho would be like having a missing piece back.

He said: I was born in Paradise, lived there my whole life and now everything is gone. Its amazing the ducks survived  we clipped their wings three days before.

Cody Hilgenberg donates animal food at the Chico Municipal Airport (left). A woman cradles a dog at the airport. People have been both dropping animals off there and going to look for their pets

People walk dogs on leashes at the Chico Municipal Airport in California on Tuesday

Volunteers stack up donated dog food, blankets and pillows at the Chico Municipal Airport on Tuesday

We ended up having to let them out of their pen. But having Nacho back would mean a lot to the family.

Thats one of the missing pieces. I think everyone around here has missing pieces right now.

Outside the shelter, lines of people could be seen brandishing photos of the pets they hoped to be reunited with.

Others who do not have pets of their own have been trying to help reunite owners with animals they find in their yards or near their homes.

Paradise resident Jeff Hill said he had been scouting his neighborhood over the weekend when he discovered a helpless horse trapped inside someone's swimming pool.

Hill wrote in a Facebook post: 'As I was checking to see if someones house was standing, we stumbled upon this girl who had given up and had the look of defeat in her eyes.

'Theres no telling how long she was there but she was shivering uncontrollably... she was all caught up in the pool cover but her being suspended by it prevented her from drowning.'

Hill unhooked the pool cover and assisted the horse to the shallow end and onto the steps, where helped her out of the water to safety. The horse luckily survived.

Paradise resident Jeff Hill was scouting his neighborhood this weekend after returning home. He discovered this helpless horse trapped inside a backyard pool

Hill said: 'As I was checking to see if someones house was standing, we stumbled upon this girl who had given up and had the look of defeat in her eyes'

Hill is pictured assisting the horse to the shallow end of the pool and out of the water

Thanks to Hill's efforts, the horse survived. Hill said: 'She got out, shook off, loved on us for a few minutes as a thank you and walked off assuring us that she was OK'

'She got out, shook off, loved on us for a few minutes as a thank you and walked off assuring us that she was OK,' Hill said in the post.

The happy ending wasn't the outcome for many other animals.

Tear-jerking photographs show burnt and injured cats and a crying kitten receiving treatment thanks to the Little Angels Project, which is helping animals hurt in the blazes.

The more seriously-injured cats were transported for rest to the Project's hospital in Agoura Hills.

A German Shepard was found hanging from a fence with badly-burnt paws. The dog can be seen in photos lying in his recovery bed with casts on all four legs.

A terrier was photographed getting readied for an operation to fix a broken jaw after being hit by a car fleeing the fires.

There were happier moments as well - of firefighters and residents tending to animals, feeding them and providing much-needed affection.

A traumatized kitten is pictured after receiving treatment through the Little Angels Project, which is helping animals hurt in the blazes

The kitten's burnt paws are seen in this close-up shot. An unknown number of pets and wild animals have died in the flames

Another heartbreaking photograph taken from inside the animal hospital shows the severity of the kitten's injuries

This black and white cat survived the deadly wildfires. Others were laid to rest

This German Shepard was found hanging from a fence with badly burnt paws this week in the California wildfires

The dog is seen laying in his recovery bed with casts covering all four legs

A terrier is also seen as it is readied for an operation to fix its jaw which was broken when the pooch was hit by a car fleeing the fire

A cat is treated for its injuries caused by the Woolsey Fire in Woodland Hills, southern California

Dakota Semler stands with 'Stanley' the giraffe at the Malibu Wine Safari in Malibu on November 13

Los Angeles County firefighter Aurelio Sanchez feeds a camel stranded by wildfires in Malibu on November 13

Deer walk through an area destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California on November 13

An injured swan is pictured inside its cage after being rescued this week from the wildfire aftermath

Meanwhile, a tabby cat found with serious injures in a wildfire ravaged street in Paradise, northern California has tragically died, animal activists said.

A picture of the cat, nicknamed Billiegirl on social media after the road where she was found on Sunday, was shared all over the world as a miracle rescue, but unfortunately the animal did not survive its injuries.

An organization of animal lovers known as California Wildfire Pets which has been trying to reunite lost animals with their owners disclosed the news on Facebook.

They had earlier posted: 'Are you missing an orange tabby kitty from the area of Billie Rd in Paradise?' with a picture of the cat in the hope its family could be found.

Billiegirl the cat became one of thousands of animals who have perished in the deadly wildfires ravaging the state of California.

More tragic images from animal clinics or during rescue efforts show a cat in a makeshift incubator, a bunny rabbit whose ears were burned off by the flames and emergency workers desperately ferrying animals from the edge of the fires to safety.

Rest in peace: The badly burned cat was pictured cowering in agony before animal rescuers could take it to a veterinary center, after it was discovered near a residential block in Paradise, California on Sunday

A rabbit suffering from burns struggles to find safety, as the Woolsey Fire continues to burn near Malibu in California

A badly burned bunny was rescued from the fires and treated for its wounds

The Camp Fire devastating Northern California, and the Woolsey Fire, which is currently raging near Malibu in the south, have forced residents to flee their homes, and have left many unable to also save their beloved pets.

As the confirmed human death toll of the Camp Fire reached 48 as of late Tuesday, with the flames having levelled more than 7,100 homes and other buildings, it now ranks as the deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record in California.

It is not officially known how many animals - wild or pets - have been killed or injured in the wildfires, which have been raging since Thursday, but it is thought to be at least several thousand.

Urgent evacuation orders have seen many animals abandoned, including horses and other farm animals, with residents potentially underestimating how damaging the fire would become.

As well as pets, Northern California area is home to a myriad of wild animals, including several types of deer, black bears, bobcats, elks and cougars, and the Butte County area where Camp Fire burns hosts several wildlife sanctuaries.

Other common forest creatures are coyotes, raccoons, squirrels, skunks and foxes as well as a number of birds and snakes.

A dog is treated for severe burns on its paws from the Woolsey Fire. Volunteer veterinarians with Veterinary Angels and The Little Angels Project, created a mash tent at Pierce College to treat animals injured or displaced by the fires

Shiloh, a two-year-old golden retriever, has suffered burns to her face and needs veterinarian treatment, but her owner, Cathy Fallon is refusing to leave her property because authorities will then not allow her to return due to the evacuation order

Cathy Fallon pets her dog Shiloh outside their burned-down home in Paradise, California

A cat is treated by workers at the Little Animals Project in LA after they were found with burns in the Woolsey fire

Equine veterinarian Jesse Jellison carries an injured goose to a waiting transport during the Camp Fire in Paradise

Dr. Maritxu Ravenscroft with Veterinary Angels and The Little Angels Project, looks over treatment notes for animals displaced by the fire

These two cats were injured in the wildfires and volunteers posted these pictures of them to try and reunite them with their owners

Oceans 8 Sandra Bullock has donated $100,000 donation to The Humane Society of Ventura County (file photo)

Volunteers and professionals have bandied together to try to rescue as many as possible, helped by donations from animal lovers - including Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock.

The Oceans 8 actress has donated $100,000 donation to The Humane Society of Ventura County, which announced the generous boost on their Facebook page.

'Our efforts for rescuing and caring for evacuated animals from the Hill and Woolsey fires had caught her [Ms Bullock's] attention and her team reached out to the shelter to show their support,' the organization, which operates in southern California, wrote.

'Sandra Bullock and her family have reached out to other nonprofit organizations both during this incident and in the past.

'However, this time she wanted to contribute to those on the frontline rescuing animals in peril and hope others will choose to do the same.'

'The HSVC pledges to care for these animals for as long as is needed or until their owners feel comfortable in safely reuniting their families.'

Members of the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Ashley Nola, left, and Catherine McFarren, right, tend to burns on a dog that was brought in to the Butte County Fair Grounds where large animals are being sheltered during the Camp Fire

Many larger animals have been taken to the Butte County Fair as nearby communities are ordered to evacuate

Horses are evacuated by members of the Humane Society of Ventura County from an area affected by a wildfire in Malibu, California

A horse is seen as members of the Humane Society of Ventura County evacuate animals from an area affected by a wildfire in Malibu

A donkey rests on a roadside as the Camp Fire burns in Big Bend, California

Kaley Cuoco also made a public appeal for people to support the shelters.

Khloe Kardashian and Ariel Winter slammed a wine estate in Malibu for allegedly abandoning a giraffe.

Malibu Wines which owns the Saddlerock Ranch where some exotic animals are kept, had reportedly abandoned Stanley the giraffe to his fate.

Stanley the giraffe, one of several exotic animals at Saddlerock Ranch, is shrouded in smoke in the aftermath of the Woosley Fire. The animals on the ranch survived, but several buildings on the property we destroyed or damaged by the fire

Images of Stanley in his pen with the fires raging behind him were shared on social media

Pictures emerging from Stanley's enclosure show him standing near a fence just meters away from scorched earth caused by the devastating fires and flames in the background.

Saddlerock Ranch claimed in a statement last week that the animals were being evacuated, however this has been disputed by activists, including actress Whitney Cummings who visited the site on Saturday and found Stanley in his pen.

The ranch said all animals on the ranch survived, but several buildings on the property we destroyed or damaged by the fire.
Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, will be extradited to the UK before the end of the year, the Libyan prime minister has revealed.

Mr Fayez al-Sarraj said it was 'only a matter of time' before Libyan officials working with British authorities completed the move.

'I think from here to the end of this year we will finish all the legal procedures in Libya,' he told the BBC in Italy.

There is 'clear evidence' to charge the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi, Hashem (pictured) in connection with the atrocity

'We are fully cooperating because we understand the suffering of the families of the victims of this terrorist attack.

'We as Libyans also suffer here in Libya from attacks. So the subject is important for us.

'According to the general prosecutor we can extradite. After we complete the legal process in Libya, it is only a matter of time.'

Mr Sarraj denied Libya had delayed Mr Abedi's extradition and said legal procedures were reaching their conclusion.

'We are not delaying, but this is a legal process,' he said.

'Sometimes it takes a long time, even in other countries. So the case needs time, and as a country we are following up, and working with the British Embassy.'

Hashem Abedi is the younger brother of Salman Abedi who detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22 last year.

He has been in custody in Libya since the blast and subject to a request for extradition by British authorities since November last year.

Greater Manchester Police want to arrest him for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion.

A spokeswoman for the force said: 'The extradition proceedings are in progress and we are grateful to the Libyan Authorities for considering our extradition request.

'As proceedings are ongoing, it is essential that we respect the Libyan legal process and therefore we cannot provide any further detail at this time.'

Salman Abedi, 22 (pictured) attacked the venue killing 22 men, women and children

A Home Office spokesman said: 'In the case of the Manchester Arena bombing there is an active criminal investigation ongoing and the extradition of a suspect from Libya is being sought. It is important that these processes are not prejudiced or undermined.

'This was a callous and evil act and the victims and their families deserve and demand justice. They must remain our priority and we will therefore not be commenting further on the extradition so as not to jeopardise the investigation.'

The Abedi family, originally from Libya, fled during the Gaddafi dictatorship with the father returning to fight with opposition forces when the uprising began in 2011.

Both brothers travelled to Libya in April 2017, then Salman returned alone before carrying out the suicide attack in Manchester.

He detonated his device at the end of the concert, with 353 people, including 175 children, around him in the foyer of the venue.

As well as the 22 dead, 16 people suffered serious injuries including paralysis, loss of limbs, internal injuries, and serious facial injuries involving complicated plastic surgery.
Gennadi Bernovski, 41, was believed to be a colonel in an elite military unit of the KGB before his murder 18 years ago

A $250,000 reward has been offered to help solve the brutal murder of an ex-KGB agent who was gunned down in front of his family inside their luxury home.

Mystery surrounds the death of Gennadi Bernovski, 41, who was believed to be a colonel in an elite military unit of the Russian intelligence agency before he was shot three times at his Gold Coast mansion 18 years ago.

Two bullets were pumped into Bernovski's stomach and one in his knee - before he desperately crawled to his driveway, where he died in the arms of his wife Svetlana and their six-year-old daughter.

Rumours swirled the Russian immigrant had been murdered by 'frogmen' who dived through the city's canals, swam to his home and murdered him before fleeing the scene via the same route.

While police reject that theory, the killer - or killers - have been walking free since the crime rocked Australia in July, 2000.

Bernovski (centre) died in the arms of his wife Svetlana (right) and their six-year-old daughter

Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said on Wednesday that while the murder was carefully planned and orchestrated, he didn't believe 'frogmen' were involved.

'There is nothing that we are aware of that gives credence to that version and I'm not sure exactly how that scenario came about,' he told The Gold Coast Bulletin.

Bernovski was understood to have owed fellow Russian immigrants nearly $1million - including a significant amount to his business partner, Oleg Kouzmine - after series of failed business ventures.

Kouzmine was questioned by police and told detectives his former business partner claimed to be a Russian mafia boss before his murder.

After he was shot, the 41-year-old desperately crawled to the driveway of his home (pictured), where he died

'I don't know (if he had any enemies). I know just one thing, that he didn't make any secret out of it. He just said he was the head of the Russian mafia in Yakutsk and also in Kalingrad he didn't hide this,' Mr Kouzmine said in a police interview.

Following Bernovski's funeral, another of his business partners, Michael Shnirman, returned home to find a chilling note in his letterbox.

'1. Bernovski. 2. Shnirman. 3. Starikov,' the note read, with a line drawn through Mr Bernovski's name, the publication reported.

Mr Starikov vanished, while Mr Shnirman went into witness protection.

Bernovski was understood to have owed money to his business associates, including a significant amount to his business partner, Oleg Kouzmine (pictured)

Police consider Kouzmine a prime suspect in Bernovski's murder.

In the weeks after the shooting, Kouzmine fled to Russia, which does not have an extradition treaty with Australia.

The Queensland government is set to announce a $250,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Bernovski's killer or killers.

Police Minister Mark Ryan will make the announcement on Thursday, a police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

Bernovski (pictured) was understood to have owed fellow Russian immigrants nearly $1million
About 3000 officials are expected to attend the 8th edition of the Africities Summit in Morocco next week.

The Summit will take place from November 2024, 2018 in Marrakesh, under the theme: The transition to sustainable cities and territories: The role of local and regional governments in Africa.

According to the organizers, this forum will include nearly 150 sessions and more than twenty workshops.

Africities, the flagship pan-African event of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA Africa), takes place every three years in one of the five regions of the continent.

The Africities summit aims to define the appropriate strategies and to share them in order to improve the living conditions of the populations at the local level. It also contributes to peace, integration and African unity.

The Marrakech meeting constitutes a momentous moment in the drive of the decentralization process in Africa, and in the reflection on the place and role of local governments in the governance and development of African countries.

This eighth edition of Africities features an exhibition that will display the work of 400 to 500 exhibitors from all over the continent.
The superheroes were leaping off the pages during Americas golden age of comics in the mid-20th century, with figures from Superman to the Incredible Hulk to Doctor Strange and the Fantastic Four earning legions of readers who couldnt get their hands on stories fast enough. Fan clubs materialized, letters to the editor surged and over-zealous comic junkies turned up at the Marvel offices in Manhattan, hoping to meet the people behind the plots  because many a fan felt they knew the creators practically as well as the characters.

Much of that was due to writer Stan Lee, who conjured up a whirlwind writers room in the pages of the comics that was nearly as rollicking as the adventures of their superheroes. His Bullpen Bulletins columns drew in readers with their exclamation points, all-caps letters and jocular language, bestowing nicknames on the artists and writers that made fans feel like friends as they read about Stan The Man Lee, Jack King Kirby and Sturdy Steve Ditko.

That bullpen world, however, was as fictitious as the tall tales in the comics  and the rapport between creators didnt exist at all.

Despite that, however, it was the trio of Lee, Kirby and Ditko  with their own peculiarities and talents  that formed the magic that became Marvel. Lee, who passed away this week at the age of 95, spent decades as the face and spirit of the company and is widely cited as creator  often appearing at events and having cameos in Marvel movies  but the origin of some of the best-known tales was much more collaborative.

Comics pioneer Stan Lee - who died on Monday at the age of 95 - has frequently been credited as 'creator' of popular Marvel comics, but the New York native closely collaborated with other artists at the company to create some of the world's most famous characters and narratives

Artists Steve Ditko, left, and Jack Kirby, right, were able to 'break down a basic plot into a finely paced, visually clear story over which Lee would write his dialogue' - as well as developing characters, plot twists and story lines themselves

Throughout his life, Lee remained a pop culture icon, besieged by fans, and enjoyed collaborating with modern incarnations of the comic stories, as well as attending events

Lee, who had changed his surname from Lieber, admitted as much himself decades later; during a radio interview with Kirby, he called in to concede that whatever we did together and no matter who did what, and I guess thats something thatll be argued forever, but i think that the product was really even more than a sum of its parts, he said.

I think there was some slight magic that came into effect when we worked together.

Lee, in fact, wasnt even the first of the trio to get enter the comic business  and he only got the job because he was related to the wife of the then-boss. It was Kirby  real name Jacob Kurtzberg  who first began working for the company, then called Timely, which would later be rebranded Marvel. He was industrious and had grown up in the Jewish ghettos of New Yorks Lower East Side, and he could churn out artwork at an incredible rate.

While he was drawing, Lee was initially sweeping floors and doing other menial tasks before he was given broader duties of scripting and writing. Meanwhile, the comics industry was struggling and even vilified by popular culture, when many believed that the plots were contributing to juvenile delinquency. Kirby had left to work for rival DC Comics as Lee was given more and more responsibility, and when the company was on the upswing in the late 1950s, he accepted more work from what would become Marvel  and Lee also hired artist Steve Ditko, who had worked with Kirby.

It was the beginning of a fruitful, if fractious, era for the men and the company.

Lee was becoming a larger and larger personality in the comic world, and  a frustrated writer who dreamed of one day writing the Great American Novel  continued to plot and script stories. But the work was increasing and becoming too much. He began delegating more, and the Marvel method was born.

The method required that the artists could break down a basic plot into a finely paced, visually clear story over which Lee would write his dialogue, explains Sean Howe in his 2012 book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. He wanted the panels to function like silent movies, to minimize the need for verbal exposition. Ideally, the artists would also contribute their own narrative ideas  characters, subplots  to the stories.

Thats what Kirby and Ditko were incredibly skilled at; they could take a couple sentences of plot and bring in 20 pages that Stan could dialogue in an afternoon or two, says artists Joe Orlando in the book.

Lee would credit and praise the artists in the comics, but somehow his own name and presence always loomed largest, regardless of how much  or little  he had contributed. Personalities were strong, and Lees image, among fans and the public, caused some rancor.

Amazing Spider-Man #18, Howe writes, was entirely plotted by Ditko, and even Lee eventually conceded that Ditko had basically single-handedly created Dr Strange. Tensions between the two worsened, however, and they were no longer speaking by 1965.

Ditko came up with his own plots, drew his pages, and dropped off his artwork with [another employee] Sol Brodsky to pass along to Lee, Howe writes. Early in 1966, the artist simply announced that he was leaving and took off.

Ditkos departure came right on the heels of an incident which also infuriated and alienated Kirby, with whom Lee collaborated frequently and very closely. A reporter from the New York Herald Tribune had spent time at the company offices, and the story he wrote which ran on January 9, 1966 presented Lee as the driving force behind the comics and something of a hero  while devastating Kirby. The artist was described as a middle-aged man with baggy eyes and a baggy Robert Hall-ish suit. He is sucking a huge green cigar and if you stood next to him on the subway you would peg him for the assistant foreman in a girdle factory  while repeatedly referring to Kirbys high-pitched voice.

Lee chats with actor Nicholas Hammond, who was playing Spiderman in 1978 - though it was Steve Ditko who fine-tuned the nuances of Peter Parker's character

Lee was honored in 2011 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California; he first got a job at the company which would become Marvel because he was a relative of the boss' wife

While Lee had a large personality that could be viewed as self-aggrandizing, he called in to a radio show that was interviewing Jack Kirby in 1987 and said that 'whatever we did together and no matter who did what, and I guess thats something thatll be argued forever, but i think that the product was really even more than a sum of its parts. I think there was some slight magic that came into effect when we worked together

Author Sean Howe, who published book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, wrote that Lee 'wanted the panels to function like silent movies, to minimize the need for verbal exposition. Ideally, the artists would also contribute their own narrative ideas  characters, subplots  to the stories

While Lee began giving Kirby more credit  though his name, of course, appeared first  it wasnt long before the artist, too, jumped ship. He went to work for rival DC in 1970 and, although he eventually returned to Marvel five years later, the rancor between the prolific co-creators would remain evident for decades to come  as evidenced by the 1987 radio interview in which both Lee and Kirby attempted to civilly congratulate each other.

I created the situation and I panelized him, I did him panel by panel and I did everything but put the words in the balloons. But all of it was mine except the words in the balloons, Kirby said, before Lee called in. Nearly three years after that interview, the artist also told The Comics Journal that Lee never created anything new after hed departed Marvel, adding: If he says he created things all that easily, what did he create after I left?

Kirby died in 1994, and his heirs came to an undisclosed settlement with Marvel in 2012; Ditko was found dead in July in his New York apartment at the age of 90. Comics fans marked and mourned the deaths of all three after Lee passed away earlier this week  though their legacies remain a bone of contention among many.

Others, however, are happy to credit the collective creations of the men; Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, for example, tweeted: You can debate forever who really created what  Stan or Jack or Steve  but the truth is it was some magic combination of those guys.

The trio, tweeted long-time comics writer J.M. Matteis, reshaped our popular culture and fired our collective imagination. Nuff said!
Advertisement

Instead of opening their arms to welcome Amazon, some Queens residents are fearing a 'Scamazon'.

After the Seattle-based retail giant announced plans to build part of its second headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, locals took to the street on Wednesday to decry the massive tax incentives New York offered to lure Amazon.

Hundreds gathered to protest Amazon's impending arrival in New York, condemning nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and cash grants for the company, and worried the move will drive up rents and overload public transit.

The online retail giant announced on Tuesday that it had selected Long Island City and Crystal City, just outside Washington DC, for two new headquarters that will each hire 25,000 people.

Protesters gather in Long Island City to say 'No' to the Amazon 'HQ2' decision on Wednesday in Queens, New York

It's exciting for some, worrisome for others: The arrival of a massive headquarters of technology giant Amazon in two East Coast communities is certain to bring huge changes

A demonstrator holds a sign at a rally to protest Amazon's new location workplace in Long Island City in Queens

Amazon announced Tuesday after a yearlong search that it would split its 'HQ2' between Arlington, Virginia, outside the US capital, and the Long Island City neighborhood in the New York borough of Queens (above)

NYC Councilmember Antonio Reynoso - Labor groups, community groups, residents and elected officials gathered together at Gordan Triangle in Long Island City

Protesters gathered to say 'NO' to the billions of dollars in subsidies for Amazon to locate to New York City

The provision that New York provide Amazon with helipad rights has straphangers fuming at the prospect of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (above in September) buzzing overhead while they suffer on the ailing subways

New York offered Amazon $1.525 billion in state tax incentives, plus at least $325 million in cash grants to offset building costs. The total $1.85 billion in dedicated state incentives brings the package to $74,000 per job created, assuming Amazon hires 25,000 people as pledged.

Additional city tax credits, which are available to other companies as well as Amazon, bring the total incentives to nearly $3 billion.

In contrast, Virginia offered about $596 million in cash grants and tax credits, plus $323 in infrastructure pledges - about half of New York's offer for the same number of jobs.

The Queens agreement also contained buried within its provisions a promise that the government will secure helipad rights for Amazon - a prospect that has weary 7 Train straphangers fuming at the prospect of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos buzzing overhead while they suffer on the subway.

While New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio - two Democrats who are often at odds - united in praise of the Queens deal's economic development potential, many local officials were incensed.

'I am steaming mad,' elected Democrat councilor Jimmy Van Bramer told the rally near the prospective Amazon site on the East River overlooking Manhattan.

'We at the city council are going to be looking at every aspect of this,' he said. 'We are going to see how we can reengage in a process that we were deliberately excluded from.'

John Schoettler (left), Amazon's Vice President for Global Real Estate and Facilities, shakes hands with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (right) as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo looks on following a press conference on Wednesday

Cuomo (left) and de Balsio have often butted heads, but the two came together to praise the controversial deal to give Amazon billions in tax incentives for building a corporate campus in Queens

Protesters gather in Long Island City to say 'No' to the Amazon 'HQ2' decision on Wednesday in Queens

Locals in Queens protested on Wednesday, furious that Amazon's presence will spike rents and overload transportation

New York state senator Mike Gianaris also complained about 'secrecy' behind the deal, vowed that opponents would 'go to court if we have to' to renegotiate the agreement and demanded a consumer boycott of Amazon.

Angela Tamura, a 47-year-old freelance artist who lives in nearby Jackson Heights, said she was 'very scared' that Queens will no longer be 'affordable' but was skeptical about demands for a boycott.

'They have worked themselves into our lives so deeply it's very hard to let go of Amazon,' she said.

Shawn Dixon, 35, who works at a nearby barber shop, demanded that the city and the governor change the terms of the agreement with Amazon and protect small businesses to stop them being pushed out by rising rents.

'I don't know what can happen but that's why we are here today, to properly put pressure on him (Cuomo) to change it,' Dixon said.

Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist whose district is adjacent to Long Island City, also spoke out to decry the deal.

'Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here,' she said on Twitter.

Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist whose district is adjacent to Long Island City, also spoke out to decry the deal to bring an Amazon campus to Queens

On his Tuesday show, Fox News host Tucker Carlson chimed in saying that for the first time, he agrees with Ocasio-Cortez

On his Tuesday show, Fox News host Tucker Carlson chimed in: 'Hate to admit it, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a very good point.'

'That's the only time I've agreed with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but it's hard to argue with the internal logic of her point. The richest man in the world just got two billion dollars in taxpayer subsidies, how does that work?' Carlson said.

Amazon spent 14 months selecting a new site for it's 'HQ2', starting with a list of more than 230 cities.

Critics were quick to say that the final selection - a split between the two huge centers of power and wealth on the East Coast - made the selection process smell like a scam.

'Amazon is expanding in the nation's two major centers of power, because it intends to envelope, smother and usurp that power for itself,' wrote Amazon critic Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, on Twitter, calling the search process 'a giant ruse'.

'With Amazon spreading its tentacles across D.C. and enlisting liberals like De Blasio and (Virginia Governor Ralph) Northam to fund its growth with billions of public dollars --- I fear we're no longer a democracy.'
President Donald Trump revived his call for a national voter ID requrement on Wednesday, repeating a claim he made in July that many Americans need government-issued identification to buy groceries, but not to cast ballots.

And he claimed that some illegal votes were cast last week by people who change outfits to disguise themselves so they can return to polling places and defraud the system.

Trump's return to groceries as a symbol of voter fraud was his first in more than three months.

'If you buy a box of cereal  you [must] have a voter ID,' the president said, venting about Democrats' longtime strategy of objecting to voter ID laws by claiming they disadvantage minorities.

'They try to shame everybody by calling them racist, or calling them something, anything they can think of, when you say you want voter ID. But voter ID is a very important thing,' he said.

Trump, 72, came of age in the era before the advent of credit cards, when it was common to write bank checks in grocery stores. Typical shopping trips included a comparison of a driver's license with the name and address printed on a check as a form of fraud protection.

President Trump claimed Wednesday that Americans need identification to buy breakfast cereal, but not to vote

Universal voter ID is a conservative pipe dream but some form of it is in play in most states; just seven turn voters away without a government-issued photo ID

Trump, 72, came of age in the era before the advent of credit cards, when it was common to write bank checks in grocery stores for cereal and other items; typical shopping trips included a comparison of a driver's license with the name and address printed on a check

In 2018, most shoppers pay with cards or cash. Few grocery stores require identification unless a customer is buying something age-restricted, like alcohol or cigarettes.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, the president linked a lack of voter ID requirements with Democrats' successes in last week's midterm elections.

'The Republicans dont win and thats because of potentially illegal votes,' he complained.

Trump also claimed some people cast illegal ballots by wearing disguises and voting more than once.

'When people get in line that have absolutely no right to vote and they go around in circles. Sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again. Nobody takes anything. Its really a disgrace whats going on,' he said, without citing examples.

Trump claims some people in America vote, change clothes, and vote again

A voting official handed back an early voter's ID in Valdosta, Georgia; the Peach State is one of the few that requires it

In 16 U.S. states, people can vote without any ID at all, typically providing a name and address but no proof

The president last raised voter ID as an issue in late July during a Tampa, Florida rally.

'If you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID. You go out and you want to buy anything, you need ID,' he said then.

'And you need your picture. In this country the only time you don't need it in many cases is when you want to vote.'

Voting rights groups have been challenging voter ID laws for years, arguing they disproportionately impact voters of color.

Thirty-four states request or require voters to show ID at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2000, just 14 states had such laws.

Trump claimed then that the system was needed to keep illegal immigrants from voting.

Just seven states  Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wisconsin  turn voters away if they don't have government-issued identification that inludes a photograph.

In Florida, officials 'request' IDs but don't insist on them, according to NCSL.

READY TO CAST ANOTHER BALLOT? The idea of disguise-wearing illegal voters hasn't been documented, and Trump offered no examples

Trump claimed July 31 in a Florida rally that 'in this country the only time you don't need [an ID] in many cases is when you want to vote'

The president's focus on voter ID has evolved since he proposed it nearly a year ago as a remedy for voter fraud that his own election integrity commission was unable to prove

Republicans have suggested that, along with other shortcomings, has contributed to a free-for-all atmosphere in Broward and Palm Beach Counties that is ripe for legal shenanigans and rife with official misconduct.

Races for U.S. Senate, governor and agriculture commissioner are currently in dramatic recounts.

Trump blasted Broward County election supervisor Brenda Snipes on Wednesday as a partisan 'disaster' who was unable to swing the 2016 presidential election against him statewide because 'you can only put in [fabricate] so many votes.'

'When they call this woman incompetent, theyre wrong,' he said. 'Shes very competent but in a bad way.'

'She should have been removed in the middle of this mix-up,' he added.
Donna Roberts, 65, was charged with animal cruelty after 44 dogs were found in her freezer while another 161 were still living at her home

A New Jersey dog breeder has been arrested after investigators found 44 dead dogs dumped inside freezers at her home, and another 161 canines living in 'deplorable and inhumane conditions.'

Donna Roberts, 65, of Shamong Township, faces animal cruelty charges after investigators from Burlington County Health Department went to her house for an inspection.

The overpowering smell of animal feces and ammonia was so strong inside Roberts' house that several of the investigators became dizzy and were nauseous.

Four of the dogs were in such bad shape that they had to be rushed to a veterinary clinic for emergency treatment.

The remaining dogs were treated at the scene by animal welfare workers, state police said.

'Although the circumstance surrounding the demise of the 44 dogs that were discovered inside plastic bags in freezers remain under investigation, the deplorable and inhumane living conditions the rescued dogs were forced to endure is tragic,' NJ State Police Col. Patrick Callahan said in a statement.

'Troopers take an oath to protect and safeguard life, including the lives and well-being of pets, which can be vulnerable to abuse.'

A search uncovered 161 dogs that were alive, but neglected They were rescued by the SPCA (pictured are some of her rescued dogs)

When the New Jersey State Police arrived on scene they described evidence of animal cruelty inflicted upon the animals

The odor from the kennel areas outdoors and inside the home caused many first responders to experience dizziness and nausea

The dogs lived at this home in Howell, New Jersey (pictured in an aerial view) where there looks to have been plenty of space for them to run around outside

Video courtesy Burlington County Times

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said his office obtained a search warrant for Roberts' home after concerns were raised about the welfare of animals.

'We are appalled by the horrendous conditions these dogs were subjected to, and as a result, I authorized charges against the property owner, Donna Roberts.'

Roberts was charged with animal cruelty but has been released pending a court date.

Roberts claimed that the puppies were all stillborn and that she forgot about the dead animals after putting them in bags and storing them in her freezer seven years ago.

Unfortunately, 44 dead dogs were found on the property kept in the freezer and four dogs were found in critical condition and rushed to emergency medical facilities

Monmouth County SPCA has taken in over 30 dogs and puppies from the home and will start the process of giving these animals full medical exams and treatments over the next few days

Many of the dogs and puppies that were rescued have upper respiratory infections along with skin issues, overgrown nails and untreated ear infections, among other things

Roberts raised a variety of breeds, including coonhounds, Labradors, Boston terrier mixes and Havanese, as well as poodles, boxers and West Highland white terriers

'I forgot all about them, they were in the cellar,' Roberts said. 'They were in a freezer, and that's what breeders do when dogs die. I forgot all about them. They were born dead and I didn't kill them. They're making a big deal out of nothing.'

Roberts told the New York Post how she and and her boyfriend stored the animals to be sent to a veterinarian in Alabama to be autopsied but then claims the corpses in her basement simply slipped her mind.

A variety of breeds were found at Roberts home including coonhounds, Labradors, Boston terrier mixes and Havanese, alongside poodles, boxers and West Highland white terriers.

Roberts says she plans to fight the charges insisting she didn't do anything wrong.

Anyone interested in fostering can email fostering@monmouthcountyspca.org

The dead dogs were packaged in plastic bags and stuffed in various freezers throughout the house; the smell was awful, officials said

It's still not clear how the 44 dogs died, but investigators say that's not the point
Asia Bibi had been on death row in Pakistan since 2010, Theresa May has pledged to protect her but the family's lawyer said Britain has so far refused them asylum

Theresa May yesterday pledged to protect Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi  but stopped short of offering her sanctuary.

Speaking for the first time about the case, the Prime Minister said her primary concern was the safety of the mother and her family. But Britain has so far refused to grant them asylum, according to their lawyer.

Saif ul Mulook called on Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to be bold and courageous and allow them into Britain.

As the UK drags its heels, talks are under way with Canada to secure a safe future there for Mrs Bibi and her husband and their children. France is believed to be on the brink of making an offer too.

Mrs Bibi, a Christian farm worker from the Punjab, spent eight years on death row in Pakistan convicted of blasphemy following a row with Muslim colleagues over a cup of water.

Ashiq Masih (left), Asia Bibi's husband (left) with their daughters Esha (centre) and Esham (right) at their residence in Lahore on October 31, 2014

She was sentenced to death on a charge of insulting the Prophet Mohammed but last month was acquitted on appeal.

She is in hiding to avoid being lynched by Islamic extremists.

Britain has been accused of bowing to mob rule by not offering her shelter. Imams, church leaders, MPs and human rights campaigners have all called for her to be welcomed to the UK.

Mrs Bibis lawyer, who has fled Pakistan fearing for his life, met MEPs at the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday to press the case.

Mr Mulook said: Right now, she is safe, she is being kept secure by the Pakistan armed forces. But she will leave the moment a country offers her a visa.

So far, the UK has refused. One of the British MEPs I spoke to here said it was a case of the UK government saying No, no, no, we have to spend a lot of money, and were not ready.

'But something must happen soon. My message to Mr Hunt is that he should be bold and courageous and take her and her family to safety.

A source said: The reason Britain has held back on the visa is that the British consulate in Islamabad is one of our biggest and the Foreign Office fears it would be impossible to guarantee the safety of its hundreds of staff there.

Islamist supporters of Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal protesting against Mrs Bibi's release in Pakistan's most populous city, Karachi on November 8

Mrs Bibi was sentenced to death after a group of women alleged she had insulted the prophet Muhammad at a discussion around a well

At Prime Ministers Questions, Mrs May was asked by Labour backbench MP Mike Kane to prove Britain is a beacon for human rights and those fleeing religious persecution by offering Mrs Bibi a visa.

She replied: Our primary concern is for the safety and security of Asia Bibi and her family and we want to see a swift resolution of the situation.

A number of countries are in discussion about providing a safe destination for her.

Mrs Bibis husband, Ashiq Masih, and their daughters Esha and Eisham, are in peril, said another source involved in negotiating the familys safety, adding: There are people in Pakistan who would kill Asia if they could. We need to get her and her family out.

A planned debate at the European Parliament was cancelled yesterday as negotiations continued behind the scenes.

The family source said: It would not have been helpful if the European Parliament had openly debated her case while she is still in such danger. We dont want anything to inflame tensions.

Canadas prime minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this week his government was in discussion with the Pakistani regime.
Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz texted his ex-girlfriend love notes in the hours before the Valentine's Day massacre after he spent months researching school shootings.

The state commission investigating the shooting at Marjory Stoneman High heard on Wednesday from a detective who investigated Cruz's internet searches, text messages and cellphone usage in the days and months leading up to the shooting.

Pinellas County Sgt. John Suess told the commission that on the morning of the February 14 shooting, Cruz tried repeatedly to engage his ex-girlfriend in phone and text conversations.

She told him to leave her alone and that she had a boyfriend.

He responded: 'You will always know I love you.'

Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz texted his ex-girlfriend love notes in the hours before the Valentine's Day massacre after he spent months researching school shootings

Cruz soon contacted Uber to take him to the school where he shot dead 17 people.

Sgt. John Suess also showed commissioners photos from Cruz's cellphone of the then 19-year-old with rifles, of dead animals and of racist and Nazi messages.

Suess said Cruz's earliest found internet search referencing school massacres happened three months to the day before the Parkland shooting.

On January 21, Cruz wrote himself a cellphone note saying 'life is a mess' and 'unfair' and that he was getting 'even more agitated.'

'I want to kill people but I don't know how to do it,' he wrote, adding that he thought of maybe going to a park.

Suess said Cruz frequently looked up the song 'Pumped Up Kicks,' where a shooter sings that other kids 'better run, out run my gun.'

Pinellas County Sgt. John Suess said Cruz's earliest found internet search referencing school massacres happened three months to the day before the Parkland shooting. Students are pictured above evacuating

About a week before the shooting, Cruz searched 'Is killing people easy' and for 'crime scene cleanup.'

On February 9 - just five days before the shooting - Cruz did searches seeking information about homicidal thoughts and urges and for a therapist. Some commissioners thought Cruz was having second thoughts.

But the next day, Cruz was again looking at videos about the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings.

Three days before the shooting, Cruz made previously released cellphone videos that he never shared outlining his plans. He looked up how long it takes police to respond to school shootings.

It come as Cruz appeared at a brief initial hearing on Wednesday after he allegedly attacked a detention officer at the county jail.

Cruz, who was arrrested soon after the shooting after he fled the school, is facing the death penalty over the massacre that killed 17 people and wounded 17 others

He now faces new assault charges, including use of the officer's electric stun device, authorities said Wednesday.

His bail for the assault charge was set at $200,000 but he won't be released because he's being held without bond on the murder charges.

The Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed that Cruz assaulted Sgt. Raymond Beltran around 6pm on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Cruz already faces the death penalty in the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 17 people and wounded 17 others.

He's pleaded not guilty in the shooting but his lawyers say he would plead guilty in exchange for a life prison sentence.
Advertisement

Hundreds of wildfire evacuees in Northern California have set up a tent city in a Walmart parking lot, building a new community after their old ones have been destroyed.

Some 50,000 people were forced to evacuate Butte County last week as the Camp Fire tore across thousands of acres, razing entire neighborhoods and reducing countless homes and businesses to piles of ash.

After shelters in the area reached capacity, many were forced to get creative.

An informal camp ground has been set up in front of a Walmart in Chico, located just beyond the more than 125,000 acres left in Camp Fire's wake.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

People made homeless by the devastating Camp Fire in Butte County live in a tent city growing around the Walmart parking lot

A refugee camp at Walmart, Chico, CA is accepting residents of Paradise and Magalia, California

An informal camp ground has been set up in front of a Walmart in Chico, located just beyond the more than 125,000 acres left in Camp Fire's wake

Some 50,000 people were forced to evacuate Butte County last week as the Camp Fire tore across thousands of acres, razing entire neighborhoods and reducing countless homes and businesses to piles of ash

Hundreds of wildfire evacuees in Northern California set up tents outside a Walmart in Chico

Those staying in the makeshift campsite described the sense of community and camaraderie that's grown among the victims all facing the same grim reality after losing their homes

People have fled to the makeshift camp with their pets and whatever they could carry from their homes

The small camp, which sits on a patch of wasteland next to the Chico branch of Walmart, currently contains approximately 45 tents and two RVs, although more are arriving each day.

Maggie Missere Crowder, 61, and her husband Michael, 64, moved in two days ago along with their pitbull dog Coco.

The couple were burned out of their home in Magalia and said they had initially hoped to stay at a shelter but found that all were full.

All the shelters were full or wouldnt take animals so we couldnt get into one, Maggie told DailyMail.com.

We spent five nights sleeping in our truck in a Burger King parking lot but we needed somewhere more permanent.

Then we met a pastor in Target and he bought us a tent. He sent some young people to help us get set up here and gave us these blankets and everything else we have in here.

Tammy Mezera surveys the tent city filled with homeless Camp Fire victims on Tuesday

Tommy Jones, 60, and best friend Julia Titlow, 59, (pictured) escaped the Camp Fire together. They are now living in a tent near Walmart

Maggie Misere Crowder, 61, and her husband Michael, 64, were burned out of their home in Magalia, California, and have been living in the camp with their pitbull dog Coco for two days. They previously slept in their truck because all the shelters are full

One of the residents of the makeshift camp settles into his tent

The small camp, which sits on a patch of wasteland next to the Chico branch of Walmart, currently contains approximately 45 tents and two RVs, although more are arriving each day

People at the camp don masks to stop them breathing in the fumes from the deadly wildfires

Fire refugees search through clothing donations at the camp on the wasteland near Walmart

River Valley Community Outreach has been sharing live updates of conditions in the camp

Baskets full of donated items are located around the site for evacuees in need of supplies

Volunteers wear masks while setting up racks with donated clothes in the Walmart parking lot

Supplies: People don masks as they sort out food supplies at the makeshift camp which dozens have fled to

Like others camping nearby, the Crowders are being fed by an army of volunteers who have set up shop in the parking lot.

Along with donated clothes and blankets, those in need are being given hot meals courtesy of local food trucks as well as advice on how to get help from FEMA and help with finding missing loved ones.

Volunteers are being led by Rob Busick, 36, of Chico, California, who began by giving out free meals from his food truck business on Friday and is now overseeing a makeshift donation center.

I came here to serve food and its turned into this, he told DailyMail.com. I was here from Friday providing food. I just wanted to give people some initial comfort and now its morphed into this.

He added: Ive lived in Chico for 15 years and Im proud of how people have come together. But I think any city would come together for a disaster like this.

The help is needed. Im working 15 hours a day and theres families and kids staying in tents. Ive set up tents for elderly people  they cant stay in tents.

Its cold and someone is going to die. We need the city [officials] to come out here and make some decisions.

Among the homeless being cared for by Busick and his team was Tommy Jones, 60, who was forced out of his home in Magalia by the Camp Fire.

He and close friend Julia Titlow, 59, are sharing a small tent with two of her grandchildren. They said they were forced to get out so fast, they left with virtually nothing.

Ive got two overnight bags, said Jones. Weve been here since Saturday. Its been very cold so we keep joking around to try and keep our spirits up.

We try to help people and people try to help us. These wonderful volunteers are making things better for us.

Eric Bass, left, and Troy Bledsoe, chat at their makeshift shelter in the tent city on Wednesday

Its hard enough as it is but their kindness really helps.

Student Isaac Castellon, 25, who was burned out of his Magalia home along with his mother Dora, 61, said his family were living in an RV.

Its crowded but I cant complain because it could be a lot worse, he said. Were not sure if weve lost our house  Ive seen videos but it looks like the fire was hit and miss.

Its hard but its also been amazing the way how people have been.

Pointing to the volunteers, he added: All this you see, Im not used to it. Its really nice how people have come together.

You can just walk in and get food and they dont even ask you for ID. It doesnt matter who you are  they want to help.
Texas A&M freshman Joseph Little, 18, suffered a seizure in late August after attending an event at his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, and died two days later

A Texas A&M fraternity has been suspended after an internal review found that it violated the schools policies concerning hazing and alcohol consumption in the August death of an 18-year-old pledge.

Joseph Little, a Texas A&M freshman, died on August 28, two days after suffering a seizure in his off-campus apartment.

Little had just been accepted to Phi Gamma Delta, commonly known on campus as Aggie FIJI.

Little's death is still being investigated by police, with the results of his autopsy and toxicology tests pending.

Phi Gamma Delta has appealed the suspension, which went into effect last month. If the fraternity loses the appeal, it would be barred from applying for recognition until 2022, KBTX reported.

Little, a Houston native, attended a Phi Gamma Delta event and then experienced a medical emergency on August 26 at Callaway House apartments near A&M campus.

Phi Gamma Delta has been suspended after an internal review concluded that it violated policies concerning hazing, alcohol and others

Courtesy of KBTX

He was rushed to College Station Medical Center, where he remained in ICU until his death two days later.

Brazos County Justice of the Peace Rick Hill described Littles death as 'unnatural,' but the cause and manner of death remain unknown.

Little's cause and manner of death have yet to be determined because autopsy and toxicology test results are still pending

'Joe was the type of guy that would put a smile on your face even during the the hardest moments in your personal life and would always ask how you were doing whenever he saw you,' Little's friend Jacob Miller told KBTX during a memorial service.

He is survived by his parents, Kris and JJ Little, two brothers and a sister.

His obituary described him as a proud Houstonian whose 'knowledge and adoration of all sports, especially his Houston teams, was his joy and passion.'

In late October, the Offices of the Dean of Student Life at Texas A&M conducted an inquiry into Phi Gamma Delta, which found that the fraternity violated student rules related to hazing, alcohol, university policies and standard administrative policies.

University spokesperson Kelly Brown told The A&M Battalion that it is unknown when the final ruling on Phi Gmma Delta's suspension appeal will be made.
The Queen tonight paid warm tribute to her son as she toasted Prince Charles's 70th birthday.

Speaking at a private family party at Buckingham Palace, the monarch spoke of what a 'privilege' it was for her, as a mother, to honour him on such a momentous occasion.

She described the Prince of Wales as a 'dedicated and respected heir to the throne to stand comparison with any in history  and a wonderful father'.

The Queen (right) tonight paid warm tribute to the Prince of Wales (left, earlier today during his celebrations) as he marks his 70th birthday

Charles and Camilla are pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace for his 70th birthday celebrations which are continuing into the night

Significantly, she also gave his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, the highest seal of approval, referring to Camilla by name as the woman who 'sustains' him.

And in a humorous aside she referred to her eldest son as a 'duchy original'  a reference to the organic food line he set up in 1990.

Raising a glass at the black tie dinner, the Queen said: 'It is a privilege for any mother to be able to propose a toast to her son on his 70th birthday.

'It means that you have lived long enough to see your child grow up. It is rather like to use an analogy I am certain will find favour  planting a tree and being able to watch it grow.

'My mother saw me turn 70, of course. And she was heard to observe that 70 is exactly the age when the number of candles on your cake finally exceeds the amount of breath you have to blow them out.

'Over his 70 years, Philip and I have seen Charles become a champion of conservation and the arts, a great charitable leader  a dedicated and respected heir to the throne to stand comparison with any in history  and a wonderful father.

'Most of all, sustained by his wife Camilla, he is his own man, passionate and creative.

'So this toast is to wish a happy birthday to my son, in every respect a duchy original. To you Charles. To the Prince of Wales.'

Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex are pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace this evening for the celebrations

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were among a host of Royals who turned out to celebrate the birthday

The Queen's speech came after the Prince of Wales was praised as a 'prophet' by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords.

Deputy leader of the house, Earl Howe, was a;s moved what is known as the humble address to mark the royal birthday.

The Tory frontbencher said the prince had 'set an extraordinary example of hard work and stamina in the cause of public service'.

As the Prince of Wales marks his latest milestone tonight with his family, here is the full text of the Queen's speech about her heir to the throne.
Jeremy Corbyn last night was plotting to block Theresa May's Brexit agreement - just weeks after pledging Labour would support a 'sensible deal'.

The Labour leader is set to order the party's MPs to vote down the proposals despite warnings that a failure to back the agreement will plunge the country into economic chaos and lead to us crashing out of the EU without a deal.

In his speech to Labour party conference in September, Mr Corbyn had claimed that he wanted to 'reach out to the Prime Minister' as Brexit was 'about the future of our country... not leadership squabbles or parliamentary posturing'.

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) last night was plotting to block Theresa May's Brexit agreement - just weeks after pledging Labour would support a 'sensible deal'

In a message to Mrs May, he had pledged: 'If you deliver a deal that includes a customs union and no hard border in Ireland, if you protect jobs, people's rights at work and environmental and consumer standards - then we will support that sensible deal. A deal that would be backed by most of the business world and trade unions too.'

But last night Mr Corbyn was preparing to vote against Mrs May's agreement in the hope that the turmoil created would lead to a general election.

He tweeted: 'This is a bad deal which isn't in the interests of the whole country.'

Speaking at an interview with Mirror and Express reporters he said Labour 'would do a better deal' with Brussels and would 're-open negotiations quickly' if the party won a snap election.

However he resisted increasing grassroots pressure to back a second referendum, saying a new vote was 'not a priority' and putting him at odds with former party leaders including Tony Blair.

Yesterday at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Corbyn claimed she had negotiated 'a bad deal that will leave the country in an indefinite halfway house without a real say'.

Downing Street is hopeful that a number of his MPs will defy him and support the Prime Minister, reasoning that a no-deal Brexit, which they fear could bring about an economic disaster, would be a worse outcome.

Labour MPs representing Brexit-backing constituencies, including Caroline Flint, Gareth Snell and Lisa Nandy, have suggested they could back an agreement that prevents the country from crashing out of the EU without a deal.

However, the hard-Left faction Momentum is getting ready to launch an offensive to exert pressure on the MPs not to vote for the Brexit deal in defiance of Mr Corbyn.

Pro-Brexit Labour MP Kate Hoey, who has previously backed the government in some key votes, has also signalled she would not back the deal because of concerns that it does not deliver on the referendum result.

Tony Blair yesterday urged Labour MPs to reject the deal and back a second referendum, hitting out at Mr Corbyn's 'abject refusal' to 'lead the country out of the Brexit nightmare'.

Yesterday at Prime Minister's Questions (pictured), Mr Corbyn claimed she had negotiated 'a bad deal that will leave the country in an indefinite halfway house without a real say'

In a speech in London, Mr Blair said he had some sympathy with the Prime Minister who was faced with 'an impossible circle to square' in keeping a frictionless border with Ireland but extracting the UK from the single market and customs union.

But he said: 'Nothing can disguise the nature of the deal she has chosen, if reports of it are true.

'This deal isn't a compromise, it's a capitulation.

'The withdrawal agreement will keep us tied to EU trade policy until there is an end established by 'joint consent' - in other words, the EU has a veto.

'It is coated in heavy fudge, but that is the inedible biscuit beneath the coating.'

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Corbyn denounced Mrs May's draft deal as a 'failure in its own terms'.

He told MPs: 'It doesn't deliver a Brexit for the whole country... it breaches the Prime Minister's own red lines, it doesn't deliver a strong economic deal that supports jobs and industry, and we know they haven't prepared seriously for no deal.'

Mrs May said Mr Corbyn was 'wrong' in his description and accused Labour of seeking to 'frustrate' Brexit.

Tony Blair (pictured) yesterday urged Labour MPs to reject the deal and back a second vote, hitting out at Mr Corbyn's 'abject refusal' to 'lead the country out of the Brexit nightmare'

She told the Commons: 'Time and time again he has stood up in this House and complained and said that the Government isn't making progress, that the Government isn't anywhere close to a deal.

'Now when we're making progress and close to a deal he's complaining about that.

'I think what that clearly shows is that he and the Labour Party have only one intention: that is to frustrate Brexit and betray the vote of the British people.'

A senior spokesman for the Labour leader later said that the 'likelihood' was that the party would vote against the Prime Minister's plan.

The spokesman said: 'We've set out what our priorities are and from what we know of it, it doesn't meet those priorities and it looks like a botched, half-baked deal that doesn't deliver for the country as a whole.

'Labour has an alternative plan for Brexit which includes a new and comprehensive customs union with a British say on future trade deals, and a new single market deal with full protections and guarantees on rights and standards and protections.

'We believe that package would command support in Parliament and unite Leavers and Remainers and has majority support in the country, and that is what should be negotiated.'
Fitch Ratings gave Morocco BBB- rating with a stable outlook due to the countrys macroeconomic stability, comfortable external buffers and a low share of foreign-currency debt in public debt.

The Moroccan government has prioritized social policies in the 2019 budget, said Fitch in a press release, noting that the country is planning an overhaul of social programs as well as measures to support consumer purchasing power, spur employment and reduce regional disparities.

Fitch projects a broadly stable deficit of 3.7 pc of GDP in 2019 before narrowing slightly to 3.5 pc of GDP in 2020. GDP growth will average 3.2 pc in 2018-2020, in line with the current BBB category median of 3.3 pc.

Following a bumper harvest in 2017, crop production has further increased during the current season due to supportive weather conditions and improved productivity.

As to activity in the non-agricultural sector, it is underpinned by continued foreign-financed investments in the automotive and aeronautic industries, steady growth in mining production and strong tourism, said Fitch.

According to Fitch forecast, foreign direct investments will average 1.7% of GDP in 2018-2020. Moroccos two-year precautionary liquidity line (PLL) with the IMF expired in July and the government has applied for a successor arrangement with the Fund. A new precautionary arrangement would offer a safety net against risks of external stress.
The mother of a woman brutally killed in her home 34 years ago has paid a tearful tribute to her daughter as police once again appeal to the community for information.

The body of 31-year-old Leslie Patricia Larkin was found at 12.30am on November 9, 1984, in her Kareela Court unit in Noosa Heads, Queensland.

Ms Larkin was found on her bedroom floor by a neighbour, naked and with severe head injuries.

Scroll down for video

The body of 31-year-old Leslie Patricia Larkin (pictured) was located at 12.30am on November 9, 1984 in her Kareela Court unit located in Kareela Avenue Noosa Heads, Queensland

Pat Lleiss (pictured) the mother of a woman brutally killed in her own home three decades ago has paid a tearful tribute to her daughter as police relaunch appeals to the community

Her mother, Pat Lleiss, fought back tears as she remembered her 'beautiful' daughter 34 years after her violent death.

'Its very hard for me to think about Leslie, she was soshe was so gentle,' she said.

'She was so beautiful, she was so naive, and she died such a terrible, terrifying death.'

'It just makes absolutely no sense to anybody that knew Leslie, anybody who knew her could make no sense of it.'

Ms Larkin had been seriously assaulted inside her unit and died the following day at the Royal Brisbane Hospital as a result of her injuries.

Detectives have relaunched their appeal to the public for assistance to coincide with the 34-year anniversary of Ms Larkin's death and new information coming to light.

'The information provided to us is that Ms Larkin had experienced some distressing incidents in the weeks prior to her death,' Detective Inspector Dave Drinnen of the Sunshine Coast District said.

'We believe Ms Larkin confided in the people closest to her about these incidents.'

'We are here today to make an appeal to those close to Ms Larkin as well as anyone else who may have information to come forward.'

Police believe this information may be crucial to help solving this murder and to bring answers to Leslie Larkin's family.

A State Government reward of $250,000 remains on offer for information which leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder.
A spy who had just started her job at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation spotted the vital clue which stopped the Christmas Day terror plot.

The rookie agent had been with ASIO just 'five minutes' when she noted Hamza Abbas, Abdullah Chaarani and Ahmed Mohamed making a late night trip to a chemist to pick up bomb-making ingredients.

ASIO director-general Duncan Lewis said the young analyst flagged the unusual activity at the '11th hour' to her superiors.

The agent's gut instincts lead to arrests being carried out in the following days, which may have saved Melbourne from a potential terror attack.

Hamza Abbas (pictured), Abdullah Chaarani and Ahmed Mohamed, plotted to cause 'high casualties' in ISIS' name on Christmas Day 2016 - the attack was stopped by a rookie spy

Chilling details of how the home-grown jihadis planed to cause mass devastation using vehicles, machetes and suicide vests at Melbourne landmarks were revealed Wednesday after a suppression order sustained for two weeks was lifted.

'The Christmas crowds were gathering and as a result of the exertions of a young ASIO officer  a young woman who had been with us for about five minutes  one of our analysts, had noticed a group of young men forming in an unusual way and going to a chemist shop late at night,' Mr Lewis said.

'They were in fact picking up the precursors for explosives. That was all the lead we needed.'

Their plot was foiled on December 22, 2016 by gun-wielding police officer who had been listening to their preparations and watching as they carried out reconnaissance at Federation Square.

Chilling details of how the home-grown jihadis were to cause mass devastation using vehicles, machetes and suicide vests at Melbourne landmarks were revealed Wednesday (Ahmed Mohamed pictured)

Their plot was foiled on December 22, 2016 by gun-wielding police who had been listening to their preparations (Abdullah Chaarani pictured)

Abbas, 23, his cousin Chaarani, 27, and Mohamed, 25, were found guilty in the Supreme Court of acts in preparation for the attack, targeting Federation Square, St Paul's Cathedral and Flinders Street Station.

Mohamed and Chaarani laughed and chatted to each other between the individual verdicts. Both nodded slowly and looked indifferent as the guilty decision was given.

As they were removed from the dock, Mohamed gave his family a big, cheesy grin, while Hamza gave his a thumbs up.

The verdict followed seven days of deliberations by the jury, and eight weeks of evidence - including from Hamza's older brother Ibrahim Abbas, 24 - who confessed his involvement to police and pleaded guilty earlier this year.

The trio were found guilty on November 2, but in a serious blow to open justice, lawyers for the men applied to have the verdict kept secret by way of a suppression order.

Ibrahim Abbas (pictured), the key witness in the trial, failed in his attempts to convince the jury he was solely responsible for the terror plot
The writer of an inflammatory interview which claimed Ennio Morricone branded the film director Quentin Tarantino a 'cretin' has admitted to misquoting the composer.

The interview initially claimed the 90-year-old Italian maestro insulted Tarantino and said he only made 'trash' films, before comparing him unfavourably to a number of Hollywood directing greats.

Playboy Germany initially defended freelance writer Marcel Anders and the interview but quickly acknowledged that, unbeknown to them, Anders 'falsified quotes'.

The writer of an inflammatory interview which claimed Ennio Morricone branded film director Quentin Tarantino a 'cretin' has admitted to misquoting the composer

The monthly magazine have now described it 'an intolerable breach of journalistic ethics' and promptly filed a criminal complaint against the writer.

Magazine editor-in-chief Florian Boitin said in a statement sent to their 65,000 online subscribers: 'Based on the information at our disposal, his actions have resulted in irresponsible inaccuracies at best and, at worst, in intentional deceit,'

'Whatever the circumstances, these deliberate falsifications are an intolerable breach of journalistic ethics.

'Needless to say, such actions do not in any way reflect the rigorous journalistic standards of German Playboy.'

Anders, who conducted the interview in Morricone's home in Rome, said in a statement: 'I sincerely apologize to the Maestro (Morricone) and everybody involved.

'I should have stuck to the original interview conducted in Rome and not have added anything that is incorrect. That was a terrible mistake to do. Please accept my apology. Yours sincerely, Marcel Anders.'

The interview initially claimed the 90-year-old Italian maestro insulted Tarantino and said he only made 'trash' films, before comparing him unfavourably to a number of Hollywood directing greats

The interview, which appears in the December edition of the publication, slammed the Tarentino, 55, and labelled him impossible to work with.

Morricone was wrongly alleged to have said: 'The man is a cretin. He only steals from others and puts stuff back together again. There's nothing original about that. That doesn't make him a director.

'He is nothing compared with the Hollywood greats, such as John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder. They had class. Tarantino simply recooks old dishes.'

Morricone has helped create the score for more than 500 films including Cinema Paradiso, The Good The Bad And The Ugly and A Fistful Of Dollars.

Unhappy: Maestro worked with Tarantino on latest film The Hateful Eight (pictured), and said working with him as being 'absolutely chaotic', because he does 'everything at the last minute'

The composer worked with Tarantino on his latest release The Hateful Eight, and was said to have described working with the Kill Bill director as being 'absolutely chaotic', because he does 'everything at the last minute.'

Morricone was alleged to have said: 'He calls up out of the blue and wants a complete score in just a few days. That's not possible.

'It makes me so mad. I'm not going to put up with this. And I told him so last time,' he added, seemingly in reference to when he worked on the 2015 Western.

However it has emerged the quotes were taken from previous interviews and possibly fabricated entirely.
Advertisement

All over the world yesterday, that birthday photograph of Prince Charles and his family was being analysed with both affection and fascination.

On the Clarence House Twitter account alone, the comments that poured in from every corner of the planet fixed on the warmth and happiness that radiated from the smiling faces.

Certainly with its juxtaposition of three future kings and one  possibly two  queens in waiting, it offered an intriguing glimpse of the future. Taken barely three months after Prince Harrys wedding to Meghan Markle, the picture is also eloquent testimony to the enthusiasm with which the American former actress has been welcomed into the royal fold.

Charles' clan: For many the image that resonates most is that of the Duchess of Cornwall with her arm around Princess Charlotte

Prince Charles poses for an official portrait for his 70th birthday with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Willliam, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in London on September 5

Above all, it shows three generations of royalty all very comfortable with one another which, considering the journey they have undergone to reach this point, is remarkable indeed.

No journey has been more uncertain and more dramatic than that of the Duchess of Cornwall. And for many the image that resonates the most from this gathering of Charless clan is that of his wife with her arm around three-year-old Princess Charlotte while pointing at something off camera.

Doubtless there will be some who will be uneasy at the sight of the former Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles cradling Princess Dianas granddaughter.

Yet the body language of the adults around her, particularly of the relaxed and informal William and Harry, indicates not just warmth but acceptance. The message it conveys is that if they, Dianas sons, think it is entirely natural for Camilla and her step-granddaughter to be knee to knee, then everyone else should, too.

Certainly its a picture that few would have thought possible a decade or so ago. Today it would seem churlish for anyone in royal circles to harbour resentment against a woman who is 71 and who has, quite obviously, settled comfortably into a public role that arrived late in life.

Of course the friends and admirers of the late Princess of Wales find the ease with which Camilla has been welcomed into royal life as Dianas replacement hard to swallow. That she is central to Prince Charless life is without question. But the woman whom he famously said was non-negotiable is now also at the heart of the Royal Family.

Prince Charles and Camilla today to attend a special tea party in celebration of his birthday at Spencer House in St James's, London

In the absence of Prince Philip for the Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph, it was Camilla who was at the Queens side and on hand to offer fortifying words during the ceremony. In fact, the Queen has come to depend on her.

She has been quietly impressed by the un-showy way Camilla has of going about her royal duties. Camilla doesnt like grand appearances for their own sake and is not competitive with other family members  younger royals please take note. Friends say Camilla couldnt be happier that the spotlight falls far more on Kate and Meghan than it does on her. But then even as a child, Camilla would avoid the limelight, happily letting it fall on her more outgoing younger sister Annabel.

The Queen thinks that for Charles to be a successful monarch, he needs someone to support him, as Prince Philip has done so brilliantly for her over the past seven decades.

After more than 13 years of marriage, Charles and Camilla have become an accomplished double act. Encouraged by the prince, her confidence on the public stage has grown. Last weeks appearance on the BBC documentary to mark the princes 70th birthday  from which she emerged with positive public feedback  revealed another facet as she fondly praised her husband.

Prince Charles jokes with photographers outside Spencer House, where he attended with 70 'inspirational' people also marking their 70th birthday

And it can surely be no coincidence that all those doubts raised first by Diana about Charless suitability for the throne have largely subsided in the years since Camilla has been his wife.

Perhaps her greatest success has been her diplomatically hands-off approach to William and Harry. She avoided the pitfalls of the interfering stepmother and offered counsel only if it was sought.

Her political antennae are pretty sharp, says a close figure. She knew that stepping into Dianas shoes was one thing, but then to assume her role as mother to the boys would have been positively inflammatory.

She let them know she was there if they ever wanted advice, but never tried to impose it on them. There were probably times when Charles wished she had, but the relationship with the boys has come out that much stronger as a result of her not getting involved.

Having raised two children herself  food writer Tom and Laura, who helps run a boutique in Berkshire  she would certainly have had some tips to impart.

Both are incredibly grounded and emerged remarkably unscathed from the break-up of her marriage to Parker Bowles and the fallout over her long affair with the Prince of Wales. Camilla adopted the same un-pushy strategy when it came to Charless grandchildren. And pointedly, during last weeks documentary she spoke of the princes involvement with her grandchildren  she has five.

She did help out with both Kate and Meghan as both women struggled to get to grips with the awesome reality of life as a royal princess. For Kate, who appreciated the advice, there was a very public lunch in a London restaurant. Meghan was invited to a more private tete-a-tete at Clarence House.

This Clarence House handout shows the personal Christmas card of Prince Charles and Camilla from December 2015

Timing, they say, is everything and Camillas role in her husbands 70th birthday celebrations have been noted by her mother-in-law. It was Camilla, I understand, who organised the guest list and the placement for the dinner for 300 in the Palace ballroom.

In her highly moving and heartfelt tribute to her son at a Buckingham Palace party last night, where the Queen proposed the toast to the princes birthday, she singled out Camilla.

After cherishing Charless role as a champion of conservation, she acknowledged his role as a father before adding: Most of all sustained by his wife Camilla, he is his own man, passionate and creative.

Such maternal generosity surely signalled that the deep frost that descended on her relationship with her son  largely over the unravelling of his first marriage and later over his stubborn refusal to give up Camilla  has now vanished. And for that, much is due to Camilla herself. Ever since that 2005 wedding day when the Queen memorably welcomed the newlyweds, in racing parlance, into the winners enclosure, the duchess has worked tirelessly to win both public respect and that of the monarch.

In close to 14 years she has scarcely put a foot wrong  to the relief of the Queen.

So back to that picture and what it means. Happy families, certainly, and Camilla glowing with confidence.

But it also helped pave the way for Charles to be granted the authority he has long craved  the public endorsement from his mother that she delivered so eloquently last night.

Royal photographs seldom say very much, but once in a while one comes along that says everything.

From Kate the 'team leader' to camera ready Charlotte, expert analyses family portrait to reveal what the royals' body language REALLY says about them

By Stephanie Linning For Mailonline

From the Duchess of Cambridge's role as 'team leader' to the Duchess of Cornwall's confidence with children, the new royal family portraits give an insight into their individual personalities - and hidden feelings.

Body language expert and author Judi James analysed the two photos released to mark Prince Charles' 70th birthday and shared her eye-opening findings.

She noted how Prince Harry, 34, and the Duchess of Sussex's interaction hint that perhaps they already knew they were pregnant at the time of this summer photo shoot, while Kate, 36, and William, 36, look more united than ever before.

Here, we take a look at each royal's role in depth...

KATE: THE TEAM LEADER and LOUIS: AN EASY BABY

Judi says: 'Kate's confidence and family status signals do seem to have increased since Meghan arrived and Louis was born.

'Louis shows all the signs of being a very happy and possibly 'easy' baby and Kate tends to beam with pride as she holds him aloft without any of the common anxiety signals that a first or second time mum can exhibit.

'She carries him here with no attempt to share parental duties and there's something about her upright pose and symmetric confident smile that places her in the role of team leader in the family group.'

WILLIAM: THE PROUD HUSBAND

United front: Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge are displaying mirroring skills that have become a hallmark of their relationship. Kate looks more confident than ever in her role within the family while William is happy to follow his wife, who is 'team leader' of the family

Prince William displays the sort of subliminal mirroring skills with his wife that have always been a hallmark of their relationship, Judi explains.

This suggests 'like-minded thinking' as well as a 'strong affection' between the couple, who are months away from celebrating their eighth wedding anniversary.

Judi adds: 'William matches [his wife's] smile but it's Kate that shows more independent confidence here with her two eldest children happily at ease in the front row.'

HARRY: BURSTING WITH GOOD NEWS

Father-to-be: Prince Harry and Meghan, 37, announced they are expecting their first child together next spring upon arriving in Sydney for their royal tour last month. But Harry's 'smug-looking' smile and piercing fun gaze could hint he already knew when this photo was taken

Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, 37, announced they are expecting their first child together next spring upon arriving in Sydney for their royal tour last month.

However Harry's behaviour in the family photo, taken in the gardens of Clarence House over the summer, suggest the couple might have already known the news.

'These two show they're still in the flirty stage of their marriage, with Harry's hand placed quietly on his wife's upper hip,' Judi notes.

'There's something a little smug-looking about his closed-mouth smile and piercing, fun gaze though which could hint that they were busting to share some good news at this point.'

MEGHAN: FOCUSED ON THE CHILDREN

The difference between the formality of the two photos is most evident in Meghan's body language, Judi observes.

She could also be seen to be giving unconscious signals that she already knows she is pregnant.

Judi says: 'While Harry looks like the most relaxed royal here, Meghan begins by adopting a super-elegant regal pose with one hand placed across her stomach in what could have been another hint at her existing or impending pregnancy.

'When she leans forward laughing she pulls away from Harry to share the moment with the royal children in the front row, hinting where her key focus was at that point.'

GEORGE: SHY BUT NAUGHTY

Cheeky chappy: Prince George is lively and confident while sitting on his grandfather's knee. His body language offers signals of both shyness and 'fun and naughty behaviours'

Judi points out how Charlotte's behaviour is reminiscent of Princess Anne's when she was of a similar age.

However Prince George appears 'far more lively and extrovert than his granddad Prince Charles did as a child'.

She continues: 'George is much more like his own father was as a child, blending signals of what can look like shyness with typically fun and naughty behaviours.

'He looks keen to escape his granddad's knee here but overall Kate's calm and proud-looking smile and William's focus on the camera suggests both their older children are lively but ultimately well-behaved.'

CHARLES: UNDERSTATED POWER

Birthday boy Charles has a tempered smile in the more formal portrait, making him appear happy but 'almost reluctant about all the attention'.

But the main message the future king is communicating is one of power, according to Judi.

She says: 'He quietly emphasises his status with a wide leg splay and consistently formal body posing.'

CAMILLA: CONFIDENT WITH CHILDREN

Close relationship: The Duchess of Cornwall is comfortable cuddling Charlotte in close

'Camilla uses pronounced signals of reserve or shyness, with a very self-diminished body pose with her arms pulled into her torso, her legs held straight together and her head slightly dipped,' Judi explains.

'However her steepled hand position hints at the kind of upper-hand, backseat driver dominance that we spotted in Charles's birthday documentary.

'Her hands form a precision gesture that suggests careful and strategic thinking, but at the same time this is also a self-calming ritual that suggests she could still slightly wary about her public profile.'

She adds: 'It's east to see which of the two of them is easiest with the grand kids. While Camilla hugs and chats with Charlotte, Charles appears far more tentative and awkward from the way he's holding George round the ribs.'

CHARLOTTE: CAMERA READY

Calm and collected: Charlotte, three, looks perfectly happy being in front of the camera

Charlotte sits on the far right of the photo on the bench next to the Duchess of Cornwall. In the second, more informal shot, she snuggles in close to a delighted Camilla.

Judi observes: 'Charlotte seems more than happy to sit in the front row with her arm out on the chair and with what seem like no worried glances to her mother behind her.

'She also snuggles up to Camilla quite happily and seems more than used to the camera.'
Donald Trump renewed his assault on Amazon on Wednesday, saying that cities might regret giving the e-commerce company giant tax breaks to lure them there if they get true competition.

'Theyre giving up a lot; theyre expensive deals. Only time will tell. Maybe Amazon will have massive competition and they wont be the same company in five years in which case it would be a big mistake,' Trump told The Daily Caller.

He said the business is already getting 'the bargain of the century' from the United States Postal Service and that's why he's asked for a review of their contracts.

Donald Trump renewed his assault on Amazon on Wednesday, saying that cities might regret giving the e-commerce company giant tax breaks to lure them there if they get true competition. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is pictured on the right



Trump weighed in on Amazon's new headquarters, which will be split between Queens in New York and Crystal City in Virginia, as Democrats announced plans investigate him for an alleged abuse of authority for taking adverse action against the retail giant.

California Rep. Adam Schiff said he will employ committee subpoena powers to conduct a triple-threaded inquiry into Trump's possible use of the 'instruments of state power to punish the press,' as well. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post, which the president has repeatedly called fake news.

Schiff will take over as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee when the Democrats officially take control of the House in January.

The president signed an executive order earlier this year mandating a review of what he called the 'unsustainable financial path' of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

He has reportedly met with Postmaster General Megan Brennan several times to push for hikes to the shipping rates paid by companies like Amazon.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff says he will probe Trump's possible use of the 'instruments of state power to punish the press,' including the Bezos owned Washington Post

Bezos separately owns The Washington Post. Trump has repeatedly attacked the political coverage at the Post, which is critical of the White House administration.

In an interview with Axios on HBO, Schiff claimed Trump was secretly meeting with the postmaster [general] in an effort to 'browbeat her into raising postal rates on Amazon' for shipping.

'This appears to be an effort by the president to use the instruments of state power to punish Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post,' Schiff said in the interview. 'It is very squarely within our responsibility to find out,' Schiff said.

Along with incoming House Oversight Committee Chairman Representative Elijah Cummings, and other top Democrats, Schiff will have a mandate to serve a slew of subpoenas on the Trump administration.

Trump, who has branded media outlets as 'the enemy of the people' and 'fake news', this week revoked the press credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta and berating another CNN correspondent for asking 'stupid' questions.

Trump has also feuded specifically with Amazon throughout the year, saying it is taking advantage of taxpayer-subsidized shipping rates.

In March, he argued in a series of tweets that the online retailers 'scam' shipping deal with the US Postal Service is costing the agency 'billions of dollars'.

Amazon was back in the news this week as it confirmed that the two locations for its second headquarters will be based in New York and Northern Virginia, bringing a combined 50,000 new jobs to the two areas.

The retailer plans to build a secondary headquarters site in Long Island City, Queens and another in Arlington's Crystal City neighborhood, Amazon officially announced on Tuesday.

The online retail giant will also locate its East Coast operations hub in Nashville, Tennessee, bringing an additional 5,000 new corporate jobs to the Music City.

The Nashville operations hub will be responsible for the company's customer fulfillment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities. It is separate from the new 'dual second headquarters' in New York and Virginia.

'These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities,' Bezos said in an announcement.

The decision brings to an end a year-long contest that started with 238 candidates and ended with a surprise split of Amazon's 'HQ2'.

The company says New York will give the company $1.25 billion in tax incentives and a $325 million cash grant to locate part of its new headquarters in Queens.

'This is a giant step on our path to building an economy in New York City that leaves no one behind,' New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statment. 'We are thrilled that Amazon has selected New York City for its new headquarters.'

Officials in Virginia offered Amazon cash grants totaling $573 million for siting part of their second headquarters there, the company said.

The commonwealth will also invest $195 million in infrastructure in the neighborhood, including improvements to the Crystal City and the Potomac Yards Metro stations and a pedestrian bridge connecting National Landing and Reagan National Airport.

'This is a big win for Virginia  I'm proud Amazon recognizes the tremendous assets the Commonwealth has to offer and plans to deepen its roots here,' said Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in a statement.

'Virginia put together a proposal for Amazon that we believe represents a new model of economic development for the 21st century, and I'm excited to say that our innovative approach was successful.

Both sites are forecast to employ about 50,000 people combined.

For the operations hub in Nashville, which Amazon says will bring 5,000 new jobs, the city will get $80 million in cash grants from the city and state, plus $21.7 million in tax incentives, Amazon said.

Not everyone was thrilled at the prospect of the new Queens headquarters, however.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old socialist recently elected to represent New York's 14th Congressional district in Queens and the Bronx, said that she had been hearing 'outrage' from her constituents over Amazon's plans.

'Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.

'Displacement is not community development. Investing in luxury condos is not the same thing as investing in people and families. Shuffling working class people out of a community does not improve their quality of life,' said the Congresswoman-elect, whose district will include parts of Long Island City.
Melania Trump won a White House battle to decide the fate of one of the president's national security advisers after an all-out brawl between the first lady's staff and senior aides to her husband.

Mira Ricardel was fired Wednesday evening following a public rebuke from the office of the first lady.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced in an end-of-day statement that Ricardel, the deputy national security adviser, would depart the president's service immediately.

Sanders claimed 'Ricardel will continue to support the President as she departs the White House to transition to a new role within the Administration.'

The statement made no mention of Melania but said, 'The President is grateful for Ms. Ricardels continued service to the American people and her steadfast pursuit of his national security priorities.'

Communications Director Bill Shine declined to elaborate on Ricardel's reassignment, telling reporters, 'The statement speaks for itself.'

Melania Trump won a White House battle over the future of the president's deputy national security adviser. Mira Ricardel, a Trump aide who clashed with the first lady's office, was fired at the end of the day on Wednesday

Melania Trump took the extraordinary step of making a public call for the president to fire Ricardel - one of the highest-ranking women in the White House - after clashes over seating assignments on the first lady's plane ride to Africa

Ricardel has been accused by her enemies within the White House of leaking.

Her firing took place on the same day that another fired Trump aide, Omarosa Manigault, claimed that a staffer who betrayed the president had been identified and would soon be departing.

Manigault did not identify the person, but claimed on MSNBC that a person would be fired on Wednesday for writing the anonymous New York Times op-ed trashing the president.

Ricardel's direct boss, National Security Advisor John Bolton, was out of the country when the first lady's office struck his deputy with a deafening blow. He's supporting the vice president in Singapore and at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.

In his absence, other senior aides in the West Wing came to Ricardel's defense.

In the the end, the East Wing proved more powerful at the White House than the West, and Ricardel was let go.

'Its been an honor to serve the President as Deputy National Security Advisor,' she said in a statement that was provided to DailyMail.com. 'Im proud of my tenure I admire the President and First Lady and have great respect for my colleagues who are dedicated to supporting the Presidents policies, and I look forward to working with them in the months ahead.'

It has not been said which section of the administration she will be sent to now. She was previously an undersecretary in the Department of Commerce.

Melania Trump had taken the extraordinary step of making a public call for the president to fire Ricardel - one of the highest-ranking women in the White House - on Tuesday after clashes over seating assignments on the first lady's plane ride to Africa and requests for assistance from the National Security Council.

Ricardel was also a suspected leaker, sources disclosed to the The Wall Street Journal.

She was reportedly on her way out over the dust-up until the West Wing intervened, defending her to DailyMail.com and pushing back on a false claim that she had been escorted off the premises a day before she was actually fired.

'This did not happen. She is still here at the WH,' a senior official said in a Tuesday afternoon email.

Ricardel has been accused by her enemies within the White House of leaking. She's seen here Tuesday at an event with the president

'It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,' said spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham on Tuesday of Ricardel

A second high-ranking source claimed as the battle continued, 'She is not a leaker.'

That official also claimed that Melania had never even met Ricardel, insinuating that the dispute is being driven entirely by White House staff.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the first lady's office was out for blood in the melee.

It incorrectly reported that she had been escorted out of the building later on Tuesday.

A senior White House official told DailyMail.com at the time the claim was inaccurate, and the outlet had to back track, with the author of the report explaining in a tweet that Ricardel was expected to be fired but was still at her desk.

Melania's office declined to go into detail - ignoring multiple request for comment from DailyMail.com, but bluntly told ABC News that it wanted Ricardel gone.

'It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,' said spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.

The first lady's office was out for blood after Mira Ricardel argued with the first lady's office about seating assignments on Melania's plane ride to Africa and assistance from the National Security Council

A West Wing official slapped back, telling CNBC in response: 'The East Wing speaks for the East Wing.'

Ricardel had been seen standing near Trump at a Diwali ceremony earlier in the day in the Roosevelt Room.

Melania was meanwhile tweeting about her 'Be Best' campaign and how for 'World Kindness Day' she'd surprised tourists at the White House in a twist of irony following the public knifing of a female aide.

USA Today reported that the first lady felt 'short-changed' by Ricardel over government resources allocated to her Africa trip and was angered when Ricardel disparaged two of her aides.

Melania is also said to suspect that Ricardel was leaking stories to the press misrepresenting the spat.

The Journal mentioned, but did not originally spend much time on the dispute that had initially appeared in a major report of the day. It led with claims that the president was about to fire White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen was also said to be on her way out.

Trump acknowledged that he was planning to fire both officials in a major post-election shakeup of his administration in an interview with the Daily Caller on Wednesday.

He said he will make a decision 'shortly' about Nielsen, admitting to The Daily Caller Kelly could also be axed in a major post-election shakeup of his administration.

'Always in an administration after the midterms we make changes,' he told the outlet. 'Were looking at a lot of options.'

The president said, 'A lot of people want to come in, a lot of politicians who have had very successful careers want to come in.'

Trump wants a more aggressive approach to border control. A White House aide said when Nielsen was appointed, the president made the move on the recommendation of Kelly, her longtime mentor.

But the president believes the Kelly protege hasn't measured up, that same official said Tuesday.

NBC News also reported that Kelly will be pushed out because of his clashes with first lady Melania Trump's office and with Bolton.

'There have been instances where the East Wing staff were not treated as equals to the male-dominated decision makers in chief Kellys office,' one White House official told NBC. 'Promotions were denied then finally granted after months of requests.'

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly could be fired soon over his management style and clashes he's had with National Security Advisor John Bolton and members of first lady Melania Trump's staff

Homeland Security Secretar Kirstjen Nielsen, a Kelly protege, has already found her head on the chopping block since President Trump reportedly wants a more aggressive approach to U.S. border security

The president was expected to engage in a cabinet shuffle or start a period of senior staff turnover after the midterm elections

Kelly, Nielsen's mentor, has been fighting to keep her (pictured together October 2017) after pushing for her to get the Homeland security role

It's unclear when Nielsen and Kelly might leave the administration.

Trump is reportedly considering replacing Kelly with Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers, according to ABC News. Just last month Ayers denied the claim during an Oval Office encounter with a reporter in the presence of Trump and Kelly.

TRUMP'S DEPARTURE LOUNGE President Donald Trump's administration has seen the resignation or firing of a long series of senior officials. This is a list of the most prominent ones, in the order they left their positions: Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor Sean Spicer, Press Secretary Reince Priebus, Chief of Staff Anthony Scaramucci, Communications Director Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist Katie Walsh, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Dubke, Communications Director Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President K.T. McFarland, Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services Omarosa Manigault-Newman, Spokeswoman, Office of Public Liaison James Comey, FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Deputy FBI Director Dina Powell, Deputy National Security Adviser Walter Shaub, Office of Government Ethics Director Angella Reid, Chief Usher Rob Porter, Staff Secretary Josh Raffel, Deputy Communications Director Hope Hicks, Director of Strategic Communications Gary Cohn, National Economic Council Director John McEntee, Personal Aide to the President Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State H.R. McMaster, National Security Advisor David Shulkin, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Michael Anton, National Security Council Spokesman Tom Bossert, Homeland Security Adviser Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator Nikki Haley, United Nations Ambassador Jeff Sessions, Attorney General Advertisement

Earlier this year the Trump administration tried to deter illegal immigrant families from traveling to the border by instituting a 'zero tolerance' policy, resulting in the separation of thousands of children from their parents as the adults were prosecuted.

Trump wants someone with a more aggressive attitude to curtailing immigration but with no deputy secretary since April, Nielsen's responsibilities could land in Claire Grady's lap.

If not the undersecretary for management, Trump is reportedly considering Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and David Pekoske.
Theresa May has struck a Brexit deal with Brussels - but now has to sell it to her Cabinet and then Parliament.

Here is how events could develop now a draft agreement has been reached.

Emergency EU Summit, Brussels, late November

What will happen? If the divorce package is agreed by the cabinet, it will need to be signed off by EU leaders.

EU council president Donald Tusk will convene a summit where formal approval will be given by EU leaders. This is expected sometime between November 22 and 25.

Will the whole deal be agreed? The Brexit deal is due to come in two parts - a formal divorce treaty and a political declaration on what the final trade deal might look like.

The second part may not be finished until a regular EU summit due on December 13-14.

Assuming the negotiations have reached an agreement and Mrs May travels to Brussels with her Cabinet's support, this stage should be a formality.

What if there is no agreement? If EU leaders do not sign off on the deal at this stage, no deal becomes highly likely - there is just no time left to negotiate a wholly new deal.

The so-called 'meaningful vote' in the UK Parliament, December 2019

What will happen: A debate, probably over more than one day, will be held in the House of Commons on terms of the deal.

It will end with a vote on whether or not MPs accept the deal. More than one vote might happen if MPs are allowed to table amendments.

The vote is only happening after MPs forced the Government to accept a 'meaningful vote' in Parliament on the terms of the deal.

What happens if May wins? If the meaningful vote is passed, there will be a series of further votes as the withdrawal treaty is written into British law.

It will be a huge political victory for the Prime Minister and probably secure her version of Brexit.

How can she win? The Prime Minister needs a majority of the House of Commons - excluding the Speakers, Sinn Fein and Tellers this means 318 votes.

She can rely on around 150 members of the Government and maybe another 80 Tory MPs - getting her to about 230 votes - leaving her almost 90 votes short.

Mrs May is likely to get the backing of some Labour MPs - but probably no more than 45 at the most.

This mean she can only win the vote if she can squeeze the Brexiteer rebels down from up to 80 votes and get the 10 DUP MPs in line.

Depending on the number of Labour rebels, she could have to win the support of 50 hardcore Tory Brexiteer MPs to get her

What happens if she loses? This is possibly the most dangerous stage of all.

The Prime Minister will have to stake her political credibility on winning a vote and losing it would be politically devastating.

Brexiteers do not want to sign off the divorce bill without a satisfactory trade deal and Remainers are reluctant to vote for a blind Brexit.

She could go back to Brussels to ask for new concessions before a second vote but many think she would have to resign quickly.

Ratification in the EU, February 2019

What will happen? After the meaningful vote in the UK, the EU will have to ratify the agreement.

The European Parliament must also vote in favour of the deal. It has a representative in the talks, Guy Verhofstadt, who has repeatedly warned the deal must serve the EU's interests.

Will it be agreed? In practice, once the leaders of the 27 member states have agreed a deal, ratification on the EU side should be assured.

If the deal has passed the Commons and she is still in office, this should not be dangerous for the Prime Minister.

Exit day, March 29, 2019

At 11pm on March 29, 2019, Britain will cease to be a member of the European Union, two years after triggering Article 50 and almost three years after the referendum.

Exit happens at 11pm because it must happen on EU time.

If the transition deal is in place, little will change immediately - people will travel in the same way as today and goods will cross the border normally.

But Britain's MEPs will no longer sit in the European Parliament and British ministers will no longer take part in EU meetings.

Negotiations will continue to turn the political agreement on the future partnership into legal text that will eventually become a second treaty. Both sides will build new customs and immigration controls in line with what this says.

Transition ends, December 2020

The UK's position will undergo a more dramatic change at the end of December 2020, when the 'standstill' transition is due to finish.

If the negotiations on a future trade deal are complete, that could come into force.

But if they are still not complete the Irish border 'backstop' plan could be triggered.

Under current thinking, that means the UK staying in the EU customs union and more regulatory checks between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland.

Eurosceptics fear this arrangement will prevent the country striking trade deals elsewhere, and could effectively last for ever, as Brussels will have no incentive to negotiate a replacement deal.
Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured today at 10 Downing Street) has led tributes to the Prince of Wales on his 70th birthday

Theresa May has led tributes to the Prince of Wales on his 70th birthday, praising his 'total' commitment to public service.

The Prime Minister, opening a Commons debate to mark the occasion, said the heir to the throne had spent his life 'defying expectations and refusing to be categorised'.

She told MPs his sons - the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex - were a 'true credit to their father' and said: 'We as a nation are immensely proud of them and I am sure he is too.'

Mrs May, paying tribute to Charles's role as a father and grandfather, said: 'Regardless of your background or resources, raising children is never an easy task. It is made all the more difficult when they suffer a devastating loss at an early age.

'So today, as Prince William and Prince Harry make their own way in the world and begin to raise their own families, I know I speak for all of us when I say they are a true credit to their father.'

The Prime Minister said Charles was often seen to be 'a man ahead of his time', citing his warnings on pollution, sustainable agriculture and the dehumanising effects of technology in the workplace.

And she said: 'Throughout the Prince of Wales's life, his commitment to public service has been total. That is true of his royal duties, which see him performing well-over 600 official engagements every year.

'It is true of his work with the Commonwealth in which he has played an active role for many years, and the esteem in which he is held by the Commonwealth was made clear at the Heads of Government meeting earlier this year when the member states unanimously chose to name him as the next head of the organisation.'

Mrs May also spoke of Charles's love of music, and joked that they shared a passion for dance.

She said: 'He remarked in 1974 that 'if I hear rhythmic music, I just want to get up and dance' - something I'm sure many of us empathise with.'

The humble address sends a message to the prince 'to offer His Royal Highness the warmest good wishes of the House upon the occasion of his 70th birthday, expressing the gratitude of the nation for his lifetime of service to the country and the Commonwealth and praying that His Royal Highness may long continue in health and happiness'.
NASA has announced plans to have humans on Mars in 25 years, locking it into a space race with Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The US space agency have been researching ways for humans to overcome the threat of deadly radiation, potential vision loss and bone atrophy.

NASA officials said at a press conference in Washington yesterday that it believes it can overcome the technological and medical hurdles within this deadline.

Present at the conference was former NASA astronaut Tom Jones who told reporters that under 'current or slightly expanded budgets they can solve these problems'.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk and his SpaceX Agency along with his supporters including British astronaut Tim Peake have set a famously ambitious timeline of having man on Mars by 2028.

The billionaire's long-term vision is to build a base and a multi-million person city on the planet in the next 50 to 100 years.

A lot would have to go right to hit Musk's 2028 target, with many critics arguing that this goal is impossible to achieve.

His Big Falcon Rocket is still in the development phase with projections of its first test orbital flights of the 100-passenger spaceship in 2020 at the earliest.

Musk has a history of underestimating how long his ambitious projects will take to get off the ground.

Scroll down for video

NASA has announced plans to have humans on Mars in 25 years locking them in a space race with Elon Musk's SpaceX. Pictured - Former NASA Astronaut Tom Jones speaks during a news conference on NASA's ambitious plans

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which launched for the first time to great furore in February, undertook its initial test flight five years later than planned.

Musk admitted in July 2017: 'It actually ended up being way harder to do Falcon Heavy than we thought.

'Really way, way more difficult than we originally thought. We were pretty naive about that.'

The current date set by the US government for man's first steps on Mars is the late 2030s.

NASA's Tom Jones, who completed four space shuttle flights before retiring in 2001, told reporters in Washington they 'needed to get started now on key technologies.'

At an average distance of about 140 million miles (225 km), Mars poses scientific problems an order of magnitude greater than anything encountered by the Apollo lunar missions.

With today's rocket technology, it would take an astronaut up to nine months to reach Mars - the physical toll of floating that long in zero gravity would be huge.

For instance, scientists think prolonged weightlessness can cause irreversible changes to blood vessels in the retina, leading to vision degradation.

And after a while in zero G, the skeleton starts to leach calcium and bone mass.

With gravity only one-third of Earth's, scientists don't yet know the effects of a presumed one-year mission to the surface of Mars.

NASA is trying to overcome these impediments by dramatically cut down on travel time to Mars to reduce wear and tear on the human body.

Jones called for nuclear propulsion systems that would have the added benefit of producing electricity on flights.

NASA has announced that it plans to have humans on Mars in 25 years locking them in a space race with Elon Musk's SpaceX (Stock image)

Elon Musk and his SpaceX Agency along with his supporters including British astronaut Tim Peake have set a famously ambitious timeline of having man on Mars by 2028. At nearly 348 feet tall, the firm's BFR is a truly gigantic spaceship (artist's impression)

'If we start now, in 25 years we might have these technologies available to help us and protect us from these long transit times,' he said.

'We don't have the solution yet in terms of shielding, in terms of protecting you from cosmic rays and solar flares that you experience during this transit time,' Jones said.

Aerospace experts have identified several technologies that need rapid development, including spacecraft that can survive the harsh entry into Mars and land softly enough, as well as the ability to lift people off the surface and head back to Earth.

Jone is not the first person from the agency to speak out about NASA'S plans for Mars this week.

Jim Bridenstine, NASA chief, was at the National Geographic headquarters to celebrate and discuss the second series of 'Mars'.

Bridenstine was thrilled by the return of 'Mars,' which details the competition and the steps the U.S. is taking to get back to the moon and then the Red Planet.

'We're going to the moon because there's science to be discovered there, there's risks to be retired, there's technologies to be developed, and there's human physiology that needs to be understood,' he told reporters.

'And when all of this is complete, the idea is that [traveling to the moon] is the best way, as a proving ground, to develop everything that needs to be developed so that we can get to Mars.'

Along with Mars research efforts, Bridenstones said that going to the moon will be a critical step if humans are to successfully land and live on the Red Planet.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SPACEX'S PLANS TO FLY TOURISTS AROUND THE MOON? SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launched for the first time five years later than planned SpaceX has announced it will send a tourist to the moon aboard its upcoming Big F***ing Rocket (BFR). CEO Elon Musk has previously promised the BFR would carry cargo ships to Mars as early as 2022, with manned flights scheduled for 2024. It's an ambitious project - one that could ultimately make or break SpaceX - but Musk's company stands to make billions if it can pull it off. However, Musk has a history of underestimating how long his ambitious projects will take to get off the ground. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which launched for the first time to great furore in February, undertook its initial test flight five years later than planned. Musk admitted in July 2017: 'It actually ended up being way harder to do Falcon Heavy than we thought. 'Really way, way more difficult than we originally thought. We were pretty naive about that.' The BFR has yet to undergo any engine tests - which typically take place over the course of several months - and that's before the unmanned flight tests SpaceX will need to carry out long before it can safely transport passengers. It is unlikely the rocket will fly tourists until at least the late-2020s. Other space tourism firms, such as Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, are set to launch civilians into space ahead of SpaceX - though these flights will not breach Earth's orbit. Both firms are expected to take tourists into space before 2025. Advertisement

NASA currently has a new robotic lander called InSight zooming towards Mars, due to land on November 26 after taking off from California on May 5.

The $993 million (769m) project aims to expand human knowledge of interior conditions on Mars, inform efforts to send explorers there, and reveal how rocky planets like the Earth formed billions of years ago.

Jim Garvin, chief scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, said InSight would fill in 'critical unknowns' and help build a key understanding of Mars.

In 2020, another mission will see NASA send a rover to Mars that aims to determine the habitability of the Martian environment, search for signs of ancient life, and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers.

Additionally, private firms like SpaceX and a host of other nations are building technologies that could be used on future Mars missions.

Some experts see new exploration of the Moon as key to a future mission to Mars, as astronauts there could learn about extracting water or using technology and apply those lessons to future Mars missions.
Google looks to be getting a firmer hold on NHS patient data by absorbing its DeepMind Health AI lab - a leading UK health technology developer.

The news has raised concerns about the privacy of NHS patient's data which is used by DeepMind and could now be commercialised by Google.

DeepMind was bought by Google's parent company Alphabet for 400 million ($520m) in 2014 and up until now has maintained independence.

Now the London-based lab will be sharing operations with the US-based Google Health unit.

Scroll down for video

Google looks to be getting a firmer hold on NHS patient data by absorbing its DeepMind AI lab - a leading UK health technology developer (stock image)

WHAT IS GOOGLE DEEPMIND? Google DeepMind is an artificial intelligence lab within Google, It was created after Google bought University College London spinout, DeepMind, for 400 million in 2014. Its goal is to solve general intelligence and make machines capable of learning for themselves. It wants to do this by creating a set of powerful general-purpose learning algorithms that can be combined to make an AI system. Google wants its DeepMind algorithms to make many of its products and services smarter and more responsive. Advertisement

DeepMind health works with NHS hospitals to train algorithms to diagnose disease.

The DeepMind Health brand and its medical app Streams is now being absorbed by Google Health, based at the firm's headquarters in Mountain View.

Google says that patient data remains under DeepMind's control and the move to Google does not affect this.

Founders Mustafa Suleyman and Demis Hassabis wrote in a blog post that the Streams app has already changed the lives of patients and medical staff.

'The arrival of world-leading health expert Dr. David Feinberg at Google will accelerate these efforts, helping to make a difference to the lives of millions of patients around the world', they wrote in the post.

'As a research organisation, DeepMind will continue to work on fundamental health research with partners in academia, the NHS and beyond.

'When we have promising results that could have impact at scale, we'll work closely with the Streams and transnational research teams at Google on how to implement research ideas into clinical settings.'

A research team at DeepMind will continue independently of Google but the Health brand will be taken over.

However, many experts have criticised the company for its 'brazen deception'.

'For two and a half years now, at every available opportunity, DeepMind has stated unequivocally that it will never connect the health data it collects under Streams with Google,' Dr Julia Powles, of New York University School of Law told the Telegraph.

'Today, it exposed this as a lie.

'The firm's canned response about its ongoing commitment to its NHS projects and partners is an unapologetic distraction and diversion from brazen deception.'

However, a DeepMind spokesperson told MailOnline that information governance and safety remain top priorities.

'Our contractual agreements with existing partners, and their restrictive rules on patient data, are still in force and unchanged', the spokesperson said.

'Patient data remains under our partners strict control, and all decisions about its use will continue to lie with them. The move to Google does not affect this.'

DeepMind has also been criticised by health watchdogs in the past.

Last year a British hospital trust was told it misused patient data when sharing information with DeepMind for work on the smartphone app.

The news has raised concerns about the privacy of NHS patient's data which is used by DeepMind and could now be commercialised by Google (stock image)

The Royal Free NHS Trust did not comply with the Data Protection Act when it passed on personal information of around 1.6 million patients, a British data protection watchdog found.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it found 'a number of shortcomings' in the way the data was handled, including that patients were not adequately informed their data would be used as part of the test.

'There's no doubt the huge potential that creative use of data could have on patient care and clinical improvements, but the price of innovation does not need to be the erosion of fundamental privacy rights,' Elizabeth Denham, head of the ICO, said in a statement.

The investigation found that many patients did not know their data was being used as part of a test.
Morocco remains attached to a political, consensual and durable solution in Libya, a solution that would enable the North African country to recover its stability, within the framework of its indivisible unity, irrefutable sovereignty and full territorial integrity.

The statement was made by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita Tuesday in Palermo, during the international conference, organized by the Italian Populist government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, this Nov.12-13.

The conference was meant to relaunch fresh talks between Libyan political protagonists to restore peace in the country and consequently stem the waves of migrants taking to the sea to join Italy among other European countries.

The Foreign Minister renewed Moroccos readiness to offer its expertise to support Libya in matters of institutions construction, administrative restructuring and the countrys re-building.

He voiced hope that the Palermo Conference would help restore the spirit of consensus that had prevailed in Skhirat in 2015 and that was crowned by the signing of the Skhirat Agreement by all parties that took part in the inter-Libyan dialogue, held under the aegis of the UN support mission in Libya.

The agreement has been repeatedly described by the international community and by several Libyan stakeholders as the only unifying base for all Libyans and as a political framework for a transitional phase that would enable Libya set up legitimate and strong institutions.

Several participants in the Palermo Conference, including Russias First Deputy Chief of the Russian Government Staff, actually underlined that the Skhirat agreement remains the only viable basis for achieving a long-term solution to the Libyan conflict.

Nasser Bourita who pointed out that King Mohammed VI is closely following the situation in Libya noted that Libya needs concrete, coordinated and concomitant actions. The adoption of a constitution and an institutional architecture in line with the democratic choices of the people is a pressing need. It is a Libyan responsibility, he said.

The international community can support the process but certainly cannot interfere in the process, he said.

After two days of talks, UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame praised a much higher level of conviviality among Libyan stakeholders. So, I do consider this conference a success, he said.

Palermo was a milestone for Libyans to set a common framework, Salame said, referring to the plan for a national conference and subsequent elections to be held in the first months of 2019.

Now the UN is targeting a national conference in early 2019 that would be organized to provide a platform for Libyans to spell out their vision for the future.

Seven years after the toppling of Gadafi, Libya remains divided with two rival parliaments  the internationally recognized Government of National Accord in the capital, Tripoli, and the eastern-based House of Representatives (HOR).

The UN and most of the international community support Fayez al-Serraj, the head of GNA. Al-Serraj, whose administration has been grappling with a prolonged security and economic crisis, has attempted to broaden the base of his political consensus in a bid to salvage his executive.

But the two contenders are not the only players in the Libyan chaos. There are various clans that have armed groups in their areas of influence.
Mountain gorillas have taken a vital step away from the brink of extinction as the animals have been upgraded from critically endangered to endangered.

The subspecies of gorilla, which is found in two areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, remains on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Numbers of the still at-risk animals has surpassed 1,000 individuals in central Africa for the first time in more than a decade.

Scroll down for video

The iconic and highly intelligent mountain gorillas (pictured) live in complex social groups has been upgraded from critically endangered to endangered. Numbers of the at-risk animal has surpassed 1,000 in the region for the first time in more than a decade

Anti-poaching patrols, removal of snares and work with communities who live where mountain gorillas are found have helped boost numbers from an estimated 680 in 2008 to more than 1,000 in 2018.

Dr Liz Williamson of the IUCN primate specialist group said it was 'fantastic news' the mountain gorillas are increasing in number.

But she urged people not to get complacent as the animals are still endangered and conservation efforts must continue.

Fauna and Flora International (FFI), which established the International Gorilla Conservation Programme in 1991 to protect mountain gorillas, has called for efforts to be enhanced, not weakened, following the news.

Matt Walpole, from FFI said: 'Mountain gorillas remain threatened with extinction despite significant conservation efforts over recent decades, and we have to make sure we build on these achievements and not allow this success to become an excuse for weakening protections.'

Irresponsible development, disease and climate change remain serious threats to the animals.

Gorilla tourism, observing and photographing the primates, has played an important part in boosting protection but it needs the right support and safeguards to continue to do so, he said.

'Ensuring the benefits of tourism are properly directed to mountain gorillas and local communities will remain essential to avoid undoing years of achievement,' Mr Walpole added.

There is also good news for the fin whale, which has seen its status improve from endangered to the less severe category of 'vulnerable' to extinction in the latest update of the Red List.

Anti-poaching patrols, removal of snares and work with communities who live around the protected areas where mountain gorillas (pictured) are found have helped boost numbers from an estimated 680 in 2008 to more than 1,000 in 2018

THE IUCN RED LIST Species on the endangered red list are animals of the highest conservation priority that need 'urgent action' to save. An Amber list is reserved for the next most critical group, followed by a green list. Red list criteria: Globally threatened

Historical population decline in UK during 18001995

Severe (at least 50 per cent) decline in UK breeding population over last 25 years

Severe (at least 50 per cent) contraction of UK breeding range over last 25 years In recent years, in the UK, several more species have been added to the list. These included: Atlantic puffin

Nightingale

Long-tailed duck

Turtle dove Advertisement

Its population has roughly doubled globally since the 1970s in the wake of international bans on commercial whaling.

The IUCN said that this is attributable to bans that came in to force in the north Pacific and the southern hemisphere since 1976 as well as reductions in catches in the north Atlantic since 1990.

Cath Lawson, regional manager of African conservation programmes at the WWF said: 'Today's announcement shows that these iconic species are slowly beginning to recover and demonstrates what can be achieved with extraordinary effort and when people make a conscious decision to protect nature.

'But we cannot be complacent - WWF's recently published Living Planet Report shows that the health of our planet is at serious risk and persistent threats could erode the gains made with these species if conservation efforts are not sustained and scaled up.

'For example, mountain gorilla tourism brings much needed revenue but needs to be well managed to preserve habitats and prevent disease risk whilst infrastructure development needs to be carefully managed to minimise negative impacts.'

The western sub-population of the grey whale has also improved, moving from critically endangered to endangered.

And Rothschild's giraffe, now only found in small areas in Kenya and Uganda, has seen its status improve from vulnerable to near threatened.

This rare giant has improved as a result of a combination of hunting bans, reintroductions and other conservation efforts.

IUCN's updated Red List reveals that overfishing is causing declines in important fish species in parts of the developing world.

Thirteen per cent of the world's grouper species and nine per cent of Lake Malawi fish are now threatened with extinction.

The largest North American tortoise species, the Bolson tortoise (pictured), found in Mexico's Bolson de Mapimi basin, has gone from vulnerable to critically endangered due to being eaten by local people and a loss of habitat

Illegal logging is threatening the survival of the Vene tree, a globally important timber tree which is found in west and central Africa and has been driven to endangered thanks to booming demand for its wood.

The Titan arum from Sumatra, nicknamed the corpse flower for its stench, has been assessed for the first time and has been categorised as endangered.

It has seen an estimated population decline of 50 per cent in 150 years due to logging and conversion of forest to palm oil plantations.

And the largest North American tortoise species, the Bolson tortoise, found in Mexico's Bolson de Mapimi basin, has gone from vulnerable to critically endangered due to being eaten by local people and a loss of habitat.

In total, 96,951 species are assessed on the Red List, and 26,840 are considered to be threatened with extinction.

Titan arum (pictured) from Sumatra, dubbed the corpse flower for its stench, has been assessed for the first time and has been categorised as endangered. It has seen a population decline of 50 per cent in 150 years due to logging and conversion to palm oil plantations

Animals placed in the most at-risk categories of critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable are considered to be at-risk of extinction.

Inger Andersen, IUCN director general, said: 'Today's update to the IUCN Red List illustrates the power of conservation action, with the recoveries we are seeing of the Fin Whale and the Mountain Gorilla.

'These conservation successes are proof that the ambitious, collaborative efforts of governments, business and civil society could turn back the tide of species loss.

'Unfortunately, the latest update also underlines how threats to biodiversity continue to undermine some of society's most important goals, including food security.

'We urgently need to see effective conservation action strengthened and sustained.'
A frozen 'super-Earth' has been discovered orbiting Barnard's Star, the closest single star to the sun.

Despite surface temperatures of around -150C (-238F), scientists believe pockets of liquid water could lie beneath the ice capable of harbouring life.

The newly detected planet, Barnard's Star b, is thought to be rocky and at least 3.2 times larger than the Earth.

Its host, Barnard's Star, is six light years from Earth - hardly any distance on astronomical scales - with a luminosity 0.0035 times that of the sun.

The only closer star system is Alpha Centauri, which consists of three stars bound together by gravity, around four light years away.

At 3,170 Kelvin (2,896C / 5,246F), this dim dwarf gives off most its light in the infrared end of the spectrum, bathing Barnard's Star b in a strange orange hue.

A frozen 'super-Earth' has been discovered orbiting Barnard's Star, the closest single star to the sun. Despite surface temperatures of around -150C (-238F), scientists believe pockets of liquid water could lie beneath the ice capable of harbouring life (artist's impression)

Barnard's Star b circles a cool red-dwarf star, smaller and older than the sun, completing one orbit every 233 days, an international team of researchers - including the Institut de Ciencies de lEspai in Spain - has found.

Because of the lack of heat the planet remains deep frozen despite being much closer to its parent star than the Earth is to the sun.

But astronomers have not ruled out the chances of life evolving on the icy world.

Unlike many other red dwarfs, Barnard's Star is relatively inactive and not so likely to blast nearby planets with radiation that would not give life a chance.

'While the starlight from Barnard's Star is too feeble for Barnard's Star b to have liquid water on its surface, Barnard's Star b probably has a similar temperature to Jupiter's moon Europa,' said Professor Carole Haswell, head of astronomy at the Open University and a member of the international team that announced the discovery.

'Famously, Europa has a sub-surface ocean which has been considered as a potential habitat for life. It is possible Barnard's Star b may offer similar niches for life.

'Tantalisingly, super-Earths like Barnard's Star b probably sustain geothermal activity for longer than their lower mass counterparts.

'This could be helpful to life by providing sustained heat and the chemicals needed to build complex organic molecules.

'This new discovery offers exciting prospects to learn more about the galaxy's diversity of planetary systems, starting with our own solar system's near neighbours.'

The newly detected planet, Barnard's Star b (artist's impression), is thought to be rocky and at least 3.2 times more massive than the Earth. It circles a cool red-dwarf star, smaller and older than the sun, completing one orbit every 233 days

WHAT IS BARNARD'S STAR? Barnard's Star is named after Yerkes Observatory's E.E. Barnard (1857-1923), who discovered it in 1916. It is close to not being visible to the naked eye, even though at a distance of just six light years it is the second closest star to the Earth - if you consider the three stars of Alpha Centauri system, including Proxima, as a unit. That is just what you would expect from a dim, low mass, class M (M4) dwarf. At 3,170 Kelvin (2,896C / 5,246F), this dim dwarf has a luminosity 0.0035 times that of the sun, most of the most of it in the infrared end of the spectrum. These emissions show it has a diameter only 20 per cent that of the sun and a mass 17 per cent of our nearest star. #Far from rare, the great majority of stars fall into the M dwarf category, they are just so faint - like Proxima Centauri - that they are not visible to the naked eye. Barnard's Star is old, born before exploding stars had enhanced the amount of interstellar metals to that seen today, with a metal content only 10 per cent that of the Sun. Its age is also attested to by its long rotation period of 130 days - stars slow down as they age - which is five times longer than the sun's. Barnard's Star still has some magnetic activity, occasionally popping a flare caused by the release of magnetic-field energy, has an active X-ray corona heated magnetically to two million Kelvin - as does the Sun - and starspots, from which the rotation period is inferred. Barnard's low internal temperature and resulting feeble energy-generation rate give it an incredibly long life. Indeed, no class M dwarf ever born in all the history of the Galaxy has ever died. Advertisement

The planet's existence was confirmed after two decades of observations using several different ground-based telescopes and instruments.

One of them was the new state-of-the-art planet-hunting instrument Carmenes at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain.

Even the most powerful telescopes in use today would not be able to image Barnard's Star b directly.

Instead, astronomers used the tried and trusted 'radial velocity' technique of looking for light frequency variations that betray the 'wobble' an orbiting planet imparts on a star.

From these measurements they are able to estimate a planet's mass and orbital period.

Two years ago the same astronomical team detected a planet orbiting the sun's closest neighbour, Proxima Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri system.

The planet, Proxima Centauri b, is just 4.2 light years from Earth. Although Proxima Centauri b has a surface possibly warm enough for liquid water, the chances of finding life there are reduced by hostile X-rays and ultraviolet radiation pouring out of its star.

Barnard's Star is six light years from Earth - hardly any distance on astronomical scales - a dim dwarf with a luminosity 0.0035 times that of the sun. The only closer star system is Alpha Centauri 4.4 light years away

Professor Haswell added: 'Thirty years ago, as far as we knew, our solar system could be utterly unique, with planets formed by a freak event in the sun's early history.

'Technological developments over the last 20 years have shown that planets are common, and we are now pretty sure - based on statistics - that the majority of stars have planets.

'This means we can begin to put our own solar system in context, and draw informed conclusions about just how special the Earth is.

'This discovery of Barnard's Star b, orbiting the nearest single star to the sun, shows that the statistical conclusions are correct: most stars seem to have planets.

'At a distance of only six light years, Barnard's Star b could conceivably be visited by people from Earth. Certainly, even with our current technology, we could launch unmanned probes to send back pictures of this planet.'

Lead astronomer Dr Ignasi Ribas, from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia in Spain, said the team had studied 771 measurements.

She added: 'After very careful analysis we are over 99 per cent confident that the planet is there.

'However we must remain cautious and collect more data to nail the case in the future.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature.
Human activity is causing storms to have a much more devastating impact than in the past, a pair of studies has warned.

While the effects of human activity on climate change has been widely discussed in recent years, researchers say its not just storm intensity we need to worry about.

Urbanization has made some areas far more susceptible to extreme flooding  a consequence a new study says was especially apparent in Houston during hurricane Harvey.

The new models of rainfall and urbanization show how urban development has raised the risk of hurricane-related flooding by 21 times on average.

At the same time, climate change has caused more rainfall during major storms in the recent past, including Katrina, Irma, and Maria, and the issue is only expected to get worse.

Scroll down for video

Urbanization has made some areas far more susceptible to extreme flooding  a consequence a new study says was especially apparent in Houston during hurricane Harvey. Flooded homes near Lake Houston following the August 2017 storm are shown above

The two new papers published in the journal Nature this week highlight the increasing risks posed by hurricanes in the face of climate change, much of which has been exacerbated by human processes.

In one study, researchers from the University of Iowa modelled the effects of urbanization on rainfall during hurricane Harvey, revealing how the citys layout worsened the effects of the storm.

According to the team, the topography increased atmospheric drag, promoting heavier rainfall.

And, the extensive coverage of concrete and asphalt made flooding more extreme.

Houston has had the largest urban growth and the fifth-largest population growth in the United States over the period 2001-2011, the researchers explain in the paper.

The increase in asphalt and concrete has led to an increasing runoff (that is, the ratio between runoff and precipitation) across many watersheds in the area, pointing to reduced infiltration and larger runoff for a given rainfall value.

This increase in population and urbanization, combined with the flat clay terrain that characterizes this area, represents a very problematic mix from a flood perspective, despite the flood mitigation measures that have been put in place.

In one study, researchers from the University of Iowa modeled the effects of urbanization on rainfall (shown above) during hurricane Harvey, revealing how the citys layout worsened the effects of the storm

In the second study, researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that climate change has dramatically increased hurricane rainfall in recent years.

They also warn could be even worse in decades to come.

The team estimates that rainfall was 4-9 percent higher than average during hurricanes Katrina, Irma, and Maria.

NATURAL DISASTERS HIT RECORD LEVELS DURING 2017 A total of 16 disasters cost the US $1 billion or more in 2017, said the report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The previous costliest year for the US was 2005 with losses of $215 billion driven in large part by Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita. These events included 1 drought event, 2 flooding events, 1 freeze event, 8 severe storm events, 3 tropical cyclone events, and 1 wildfire event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 362 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. Last year, the western wildfire season -- which ravaged large parts of California - cost $18 billion, 'tripling the previous US annual wildfire cost record,' said the report. Hurricane Harvey, which dumped some 50 inches (127 centimeters) of rain on Texas, cost $125 billion, second only to 2005's Hurricane Katrina in historical records of billion-dollar disasters, going back four decades. Hurricane Maria, which flattened much of Puerto Rico, cost $90 billion, while Hurricane Irma, which plowed into the Caribbean and Florida, cost $50 billion. Advertisement

While storm intensities, based on wind speed and pressure at sea level, did not appear to show substantial effects, the researchers say predicted climate change will likely cause winds to spike by 6 to 29 knots in the future.

This will also lead to a 25 to 30 percent increase in rainfall in worst-case scenarios.

These future changes in tropical cyclone intensity and rainfall could exacerbate societal impacts associated with ocean wind-waves, storm surge, flooding, and forests and ecosystems, the researchers say.
A giant meteor crater five times the size of Paris has been found half a mile (0.8 km) under the ice in Greenland.

It is one of the largest impact craters on Earth, and suggests a 3,300ft-wide (1,000-metre) object made of iron smashed into our planet during the last Ice Age.

It is believed the resulting explosion threw debris several hundred miles in every direction, reaching as far as modern day Canada.

The 12-billion-tonne meteor landed with the power of 47 million Hiroshima bombs, obliterating all life within a 60-mile (100 km) radius, scientists said.

A 19-mile-wide (30 km) impact crater left by the event remained hidden for at least 12,000 years beneath the Hiawatha Glacier in remote north-west Greenland, although scientists have not categorically dated the event. It could be as long ago as three million years when Greenland's ice sheet had already begun to form.

Scroll down for video



The 12-billion-tonne meteor (artist's impression) landed with the power of 47 million Hiroshima bombs, obliterating all life within a 60-mile (100 km) radius, scientists said

The crater was identified with data collected between 1997 and 2014, supplemented with more collected in 2016 using an advanced form of radar sounding.

Study co-author Dr John Paden, a computer scientist at Kansas University, said: 'We've collected lots of radar-sounding data over the last couple of decades.

'Glaciologists put these radar-sounding datasets together to produce maps of what Greenland is like underneath the ice.

'Danish researchers were looking at the map and saw this big, crater-like depression under the ice sheet and looked at satellite imagery and - because the crater is on edge of the ice sheet - you can see a circular pattern there as well.

'The two combined made a really strong case for this being an impact-crater site.'

The scars of the meteorite smash have been preserved since then after being buried underneath ice more than a kilometre thick.

The crater (highlighted in blue) was identified with data collected between 1997 and 2014, supplemented with more collected in 2016 using an advanced form of radar sounding (white marks) taken from a small aircraft

This image shows a regional view of northwest Greenland and the Hiawatha Glacier (A) the drainage of water caused by the impact (B) radar scans showing raised ridges that indicate area of impact (C; blue lines) and bed topography based on airborne radar sounding from 1997-2014 NASA data and 2016 AWI data (D)

It was first discovered in July 2015 when researchers from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, detected a depressed area underneath the glacier while inspecting a new map of its physical features.

A research plane then performed state-of-the-art ice radar measurements which revealed the huge crater in detail.

Scientists examined the size and shape of the crater to predict the impact that the meteor might have had.

They estimated the object hit our planet any time between three million and 12,000 years ago.

It is believed the meteor impact (artist's impression) threw debris several hundred miles in every direction, reaching as far as modern day Canada

A giant meteor crater has been found half a mile (0.8 km) under the ice in Greenland. It is one of the largest impact craters on Earth, and suggests a 3,300ft-wide (1,000-metre) meteor made of iron smashed into our planet during the last Ice Age (artist's impression)

Study coauthor Professor Kurt Kjaer, a researcher at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, said the explosion would have had a devastating impact.

He told MailOnline: 'This was a very violent explosion. The energy that came down would have been equivalent to 47 million Hiroshima bombs.

'It would have killed anything in the region within 60 miles [100 km] of the impact.'

The 1945 Hiroshima bomb released an explosion equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT - meaning the meteor hit our planet with a force equivalent to 705 billion tons of TNT.

Professor Kjr added that Inuits had not yet colonised Greenland at the time of the event, so it was unlikely that any humans were affected.

The explosion had a lasting impact because it melted swathes of Greenland's ice sheet, causing a flood of freshwater into the Nares Strait.

Pictured is a satellite view of the impact crater left by the iron meteorite. Scientists said the ridges of the crater are still clearly visible today

Explained: The difference between an asteroid, meteorite and other space rocks An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt. A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system. A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up. This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere. If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite. Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets. For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower. Advertisement

Dr Paden said: 'There would have been debris projected into the atmosphere that would affect the climate and the potential for melting a lot of ice.

'A sudden freshwater influx into the Nares Strait between Canada and Greenland that would have affected the ocean flow in that whole region.

'The evidence indicates that the impact probably happened after the Greenland Ice Sheet formed, but the research team is still working on the precise dating.'

The crater measures 19 miles (31 km) across, covering an area five times the size of Paris. Scientists examined the size and shape of the crater to predict the impact that the meteor might have had

Chemical analyses performed at Cardiff University allowed researchers to paint a picture of the type of object capable of causing the amount of destruction.

They measured the sediment from a river that drains straight through the glacier, and looked for signs of metals that would indicate it was caused by a meteorite.

A number of iron meteorites, including a 20-tonne fragment kept at the Geological Museum in Copenhagen, had previously been found in the area around Cape York, not far from Hiawatha, leading scientists to believe an impact must have occurred in the region, a theory which lacked evidence until now.

A research plane then performed state-of-the-art ice radar measurements which revealed the huge crater in detail. Pictured is a view of the crater from the aircraft

Work remains to determine with more precision the timing of the meteor impact on Greenland.

Professor Kjaer said: 'The crater is exceptionally well-preserved, and that is surprising, because glacier ice is an incredibly efficient erosive agent that would have quickly removed traces of the impact.

'But that means the crater must be rather young from a geological perspective.

'So far, it has not been possible to date the crater directly, but its condition strongly suggests that it formed after ice began to cover Greenland, so younger than three million years old and possibly as recently as 12,000 years ago - toward the end of the last ice age.'

The findings were published in the journal Science Advances.
Russia has revealed outlandish plans for a nuclear-powered spacecraft that could take astronauts beyond Mars and on interstellar missions in the future.

A research centre in the country made the bizarre claim and said it is building the rocket, which would be capable of reaching Mars in just seven months.

The alleged spacecraft is said to be able to launch only 48 hours after landing and scientists have allegedly been working on the novel system since 2009.

Roscosmos claims to have created a gas-cooled fission reactor which powers a plasma thruster in order to propel the rocket.

While the technology is possible, many will be sceptical over the secretive state's claims - particularly given the safety risks posed by a nuclear rocket.

SpaceX and Nasa both intend to place humans on Mars, and current estimates suggest the first people on the red planet will arrive by the 2030s.

Scroll down for video

A Russian research centre has made the outlandish claim that it is building a rocket capable of reaching Mars in just seven months (pictured). The proposed spacecraft is also said to be able to launch only 48 hours after landing

The space agency claimed the rocket will not need sunlight or solar batteries for operation as the fission reactor will provide ample energy.

Roscosmos claims the craft will be capable of 'interstellar' travel and added that Elon Musk is using 'old technology'.

Vladimir Koshlakov, chief of Keldysh Research Center, said: 'A mission to Mars is possible in the very near future, but that's not an aim in itself.

'Our engines can be the foundation for a whole range of space missions that currently seem like science fiction.

'Reusability is the priority. We must develop engines that do not need to be fine-tuned or repaired more than once every ten flights.

'Also, 48 hours after the rocket returns from space, it must be ready to go again. This is what the market demands.'

The state-run space agency has yet to announce a launch date for the spacecraft but has confidently stated it will revolutionise the industry.

The space agency claimed the rocket will not need sunlight or solar batteries for operation as the fission reactor will provide ample energy. Roscosmos claims the craft will be capable of 'interstellar' travel and added that Elon Musk is using 'old technology'

Mr Koshlakov added:'Elon Musk is using the existing tech, developed a long time ago.

'He is a businessman: he took a solution that was already there, and applied it successfully. Notably, he is also doing his work with help from the government.'

It is hoped the spaceship will be able to carry passengers and crew once a material is developed to protect them from the radiation.

Nasa currently has plans to launch the first manned mission to Mars sometime in the 2030s.
Google Assistant wants to help you get out of bed in the morning.

The search giant has long given users the ability to set 'routines,' or multiple tasks that are triggered by a single command, using its digital assistant.

For example, when users say 'Hey Google, good morning,' it will turn your lights on, brew your coffee and read you the news.

Now, a new addition to Google Assistant makes it so that routines are triggered after you hit snooze on your alarm.

Scroll down for video

Google Assistant wants to help you get out of bed in the morning. The firm is launching a skill that lets users set routines for the digital assistant that begin after they snooze the alarm

WHAT IS GOOGLE ASSISTANT? Google Assistant is the firm's AI-powered digital assistant that responds to voice or text commands. The company first launched it in Google apps and Pixel phones in 2016, then later expanded to Android devices, smart appliances and the Google Home Hub, its first smart display. It can tell users the weather, show them what's on their calendar, answer questions on a variety of topics and turn on smart home devices, among other things. Advertisement

This makes it so that if users have a problem with hitting the snooze button in the morning, their routine will only go off when they're actually getting out of bed.

For now, users can only take advantage of this feature if they own an Android phone.

It can be accessed by going to the Clock app on Android devices.

When users go to set an alarm, there's an option for 'Google Assistant Routine.'

From there, users can select different skills to customize their routine with, like instructing Google Assistant to them about the weather, their commute, morning meetings and other reminders.

It can also adjust smart plugs, lights, thermostats and other household appliances.

Then, once it runs through the users tasks or reminders for the day, users can configure it so that Google Assistant tells them the news and plays a podcast or an audiobook.

For now, users can only take advantage of alarm-based routines if they have an Android phone. It can be accessed by going to the Clock app and then clicking on 'Google Assistant Routine'

And that's not the only new Google Assistant feature.

The firm is also upgrading its broadcasts tool, which lets users send an audio message to other members of their household using a Google Assistant-equipped device, such as the Google Home.

It's particularly useful for parents who want to make house-wide announcements, such as letting their kids know when dinner is ready.

Now, Google is giving users the ability to broadcast messages when they're out of the house.

For example, if you're a parent on your way home from work, you can tell your kids to put the chicken in the oven, or other helpful reminders.

Spoken messages also get sent to users as transcribed messages, giving the user who sent or received the broadcast the option to reply.

It comes as Google has launched several new Assistant features in recent months.

In October, Google launched a new Call Screen feature that uses Google Assistant to block spam calls.

Users activate a feature as the call comes in, and Google will transcribe it live on screen.
Advertisement

What does your morning ritual involve? Having a cup of coffee, hitting the snooze button multiple times or plunging into the local lake for a swim?

In a bid to find out how peoples' routines vary around the world, Belgian photographer Pascal Mannaerts ventured to Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East snapping photos as the sun rose.

His candid photo series titled '8am around the world' shows what people get up to in the morning, with antics varying from praying to stretching to farming crops.

He told MailOnline Travel that he wanted to capture the 'amazing morning light' and the 'feeling to start another day in an unknown place, with an open and totally fresh mind'.

The cameraman said he felt 'an even greater closeness to people early in the day', as he saw them before their 'daily activities had taken them into their own universe'. He added that he was especially touched by the 'omnipresent spirituality' that he witnessed at the crack of dawn in India.

Scroll down to catch a glimpse of bleary-eyed citizens of the world, all going about their lives in different ways...

A young boy squints at the camera as enjoys a morning brew in the town of Kyaiktiyo, Myanmar

A group of men wash and brush their teeth before starting the day in a back street in Kolkata, India

A smartly-dressed man poses for the camera and enjoys a cigarette before heading to work in Tokyo, Japan

A young boy appears to be on a morning paper run around the streets of Dhaka in Bangladesh

A woman sits on the floor as she quietly performs some early morning prayers in Yangon, Myanmar

A young boy takes a morning wash down at a river in Kolkata, India, with the sun rising in the distance

A group of young monks perform some morning stretches outdoors in Varanasi, India

A woman smiles as she goes about some early morning chores around the farmlands of Mongolia

A pilgrim gets down on the floor to pray on the streets of Lhasa in Tibet, with her prayer beads laid out before her

A man gets an early morning shave in a small barbers shop tucked away in Jaisalmer, India

A young monk crouches down as his head is given a fresh morning shave in Amarapura, Myanmar

Commuters cram into a subway carriage in Tokyo, Japan, with newspapers and phones to distract them en route

A man smiles as he opens his coffee shop for trade in Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar (left), while a man enjoys a quick smoke before starting his day in Mandalay, Myanmar (right)

A man stares intensely as he carries out early morning prayers in the city of Varanasi, which is regarded to be the spiritual capital of India

A man stocks up on some milky-looking beverages before starting his work day in Jaisalmer, India

This candid shot captures a man lighting some candles as the sun rises in Belur, India

A group of young monks walk in procession through the streets of Mandalay in Myanmar, ready to start their day of religious worship

A group of young boys look to be having lots of fun as they go for an early morning swim in Varanasi, India

A man walks barefooted along a sandy bank as the sun breaks through a shroud of mist in the west African nation of Benin

A group of women make their way to a mosque for morning prayers in Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Crowds gather on the banks of the river Ganga which flows around the city of Varanasi in India. Their colourful outfits make for an eye-catching morning display

A man stands with his eyes closed as the morning sun kisses his body in Jodhpur, India

The morning sun casts an atmospheric glow on the waters around Dhaka in Bangladesh, with locals commuting and ferrying goods around

A woman throws a glance at the camera as she conducts some morning chores in Pangong Tso, a remote basin lake in the Himalayas

Mehrangarh or Mehran Fort, located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, seen here illuminated by the morning light, is one of the largest forts in India

A group of men read the morning news in the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal, while one man silently prays with his eyes closed

An elderly women lights an incense stick as a new day begins in the northern Indian holy town of Vrindavan

You can find more of Pascal Mannaerts' photography work via Facebook and Instagram
Advertisement

Isle of Man residents have been left mystified after a series of tiny houses popped up across the island overnight.

Taking to Facebook, locals have shared stunning images of the intricate houses - which world-renowned street artists Anonymouse Mmx have now claimed responsibility for.

Measuring on average just 12 inches high, the houses feature miniature hand-crafted pieces of furniture, from dinky beds to intricately carved front doors.

Isle of Man residents have been left mystified after a series of tiny houses popped up across the island overnight

Taking to Facebook, locals have shared stunning images of the intricate houses - which world-renowned street artists Anonymouse Mmx have now claimed responsibility for

The quirky shelters quickly caught the attention of locals and social media was abuzz trying to work out who had created them.

One tiny shelter at Bradda Head on the coastline has been designed to look like a 19th century tower, with a regal banqueting table and chairs installed inside.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the island, close to dramatic glens and waterfalls stands a more rustic abode.

It features a comfy bed and even a miniature map of the island, with all of the details marked on it.

Measuring on average just 12 inches high, the houses feature miniature hand-crafted pieces of furniture, from dinky beds to intricately carved front doors

The quirky shelters quickly caught the attention of locals and social media was abuzz trying to work out who has created them

The Swedish art collective Anonymouse Mmx started constructing mice-sized scenery in 2016.

Using a pseudonym, Anonymouse Mmx member Parlan Mousekewitz explained: 'It started with us just wanting to build something, and then the focus point shifted onto the stories of Astrid Lindgren and the movies of Walt Disney and Don Bluth.

'We believe that at some point most kids like to imagine that there is a world parallel to ours wherein small animals live quite like we do but using things that we have lost.'

All of the Anonymouse Mmx scenes are built from a mix of materials, including wire, stone and wood.

The most recent designs were built in Malmo, Sweden, before being transported to the Isle of Man.

The artists say the art works, which took four months to construct, will stay on the island.

All of the Anonymouse Mmx scenes are built from a mix of materials, including wire, stone and wood. The most recent designs were built in Malmo, Sweden, before being transported to the Isle of Man

Tiny chairs can be seen through the window of one little house (left), while a miniature artwork can be seen hanging on the wall of another shelter (right)

The artists say the art works, which took four months to construct, will stay on the island

The Isle of Man tourism board is currently creating a trail map so that inquisitive visitors will be able to easily locate the houses.

The fairy-sized shelters are certainly a fitting addition for the Isle of Man.

The self-governing British dependency is proud of its diverse culture and heritage  built on legends and folklore stories and tales of giants and fairies.

Fairies, or more accurately the 'little people', 'little ones' or 'little fellows' as they are locally referred, were said to intervene in the lives of the ordinary people and many of the original customs and superstitions live on.

Unlike fairies from English fairy tales, the little people are mischievous and spiteful creatures, most often found hunting on horseback with a pack of hounds around them.

The fairy-sized shelters are certainly a fitting addition for the Isle of Man. The self-governing British dependency is proud of its diverse culture and heritage - built on legends and folklore stories and tales of giants and fairies

One tiny shelter at Bradda Head on coastline has been designed to look like a historic tower with a tiny banqueting table and chairs installed inside (left), while on the other side of the island, close to dramatic glens and waterfalls, stands a more rustic abode (right)

The Isle of Man tourism board is currently creating a trail map so that inquisitive visitors will be able to easily locate the houses

They are to be treated with the upmost respect - ask anyone on the Isle of Man and they will tell you that it is custom for locals and visitors alike to give the Little People a greeting when passing over the famous 'fairy bridge', for various fates await non-believers.

Commenting on the arrival of Anonymouse Mmx's little houses, a spokesperson from the Isle of Man tourism board said: 'The houses that have appeared are absolutely beautiful  everyone is having lots of fun hunting them down, especially the local children.

'When we spotted them on social media the other day we couldn't quite believe it.'

Anonymouse Mmx added: 'Although we usually feel more comfortable around mice, when we discovered that the Isle of Man is one of the few places in the world where, if you look in the right places, fairies may still be found, we thought it would be fun to create some houses for their local mini inhabitants.'
She's had incredible year after being named Chanel's first black runway bride in over a decade.

And Adut Akech Bior continues to make history in the high fashion world after landing two December Vogue covers.

At just 18, the South Sudanese-born model appears on both Vogue Australia and British Vogue - months after she was hand-picked by Chanel creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, to close the Fall 2018 Haute Couture show in Paris.

'This has been a dream of mine': Adut Akech, 18, covers Vogue Australia and UK version... months after she was named Chanel's first black runway bride in a decade

'I've been dying to share with the world from the minute I found out about this shoot, to when I shot it and now I can finally show you all,' she wrote on Instagram this week.

'Ever since I started modelling back in Australia gracing the cover of Australian Vogue has been a dream of mine.

'... And I'm am beyond blessed and grateful that my dream has finally come true. This cover is so special to me.

Rising star: Last week, the statuesque beauty said landing on the cover of British Vogue is a feat for 'women of colour' around the world

Family shoot: The South Sudanese-born model posed with her family for Vogue Australia

A dream come true: 'Ever since I started modelling back in Australia gracing the cover of Australian Vogue has been a dream of mine

Last week, the statuesque beauty said landing on the cover of British Vogue is a feat for 'women of colour' around the world.

'To all the beautiful women of colour around the world, the little girls and boys whose talent have not yet been seen by the world... To those whose dreams are yet to come to life, it makes me so proud to say that I'm honouring and sharing this cover with all of you,' she wrote.

In September, Adut landed a profile feature in American Vogue.

Making history: The statuesque beauty was hand-picked by Chanel creative director, Karl Lagerfeld (right), to close the Fall 2018 Haute Couture show in Paris

'Such a great honor being profiled by @voguemagazine for the September issue along [with] 33 other global stars who are affecting change and leading conversations in where ever our careers take us,' she wrote on Instagram.

Adut moved to Adelaide, Australia with her family as a South Sudanese refugee when she was just seven.

She launched her modelling career at age 16, after signing with Chadwick Models.

Unique beauty: The last black Chanel bride was the British-Sudanese model Alek Wek in 2004. Pictured: Adut Akech at Chanel's 2018 Haute Couture show in Paris

Since then, she has become one of the most in-demand models around the world and has walked for the likes of Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and Valentino.

The last black Chanel bride was the British-Sudanese model Alek Wek in 2004.

She recently told Vogue Australia that diversity in the fashion industry has become more prevalent in recent years.

Change: She recently told Vogue Australia that diversity in the fashion industry has become more prevalent in recent years

'When I first started there were a select few black models who were doing good, and nobody else was noticed,' she said.

'But now every season there's somebody coming in, there are black girls, and Asian girls - different girls.

She added: 'I always say there's still a long way to go, but, you know, you can't take away from the fact the movement is happening.'
KIIS 106.5 FM's Kyle and Jackie 'O' show has seen a boost in ratings after Jackie 'O' Henderson announced she had split from her husband of 15 years, Lee Henderson last month.

The latest radio ratings survey released on Tuesday, revealed Kyle and Jackie O are still the number one breakfast show on FM radio in Sydney up 0.5 points to 10.7 per cent.

Jackie 'O' Henderson, 43, announced her split from Lee on-air in October which may have contributed to the station's ratings increase.

Scroll down for video

Still number one! KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O show sees ratings boost and ties with ABC's Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck in latest survey

ABC's Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck tied for marketshare with the popular radio hosts.

Radio rivals WSFM's Jonesy & Amanda, who knocked Kyle and Jackie O off their number one position for the first time in three years in August, finished in second place with 7.2 per cent audience share.

Meanwhile the struggling 2Day FM breakfast show with Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee enjoyed a full ratings point boost after the departure of their co-host Em Rusciano in early September and subsequently finished on 4.6%, according to Mumbrella.

#1 FM Sydney Breakfast radio show! The reigning FM breakfast radio champions even toppled their friendly Sydney rivals, WSFM's Jonesy & Amanda,(7.2%) who previously knocked the KIIS FM stars off their number one position for the first time in three years in the previous survey

Big announcement: Jackie 'O' Henderson, 43, announced her split from Lee on-air in October which may have contributed to the station's ratings increase

It's important to note the 39-year-old stand-up comedian was partly involved in the latest survey until she officially hung-up her headphones at the harbour city station on September 7.

The last survey ran from August 19 to November 3 this year with a one week break from 22 September to 30 September.

In the wake of Em's exit, Hit Network nights host, Ash London has been temporarily filling-in alongside Grant and Ed until a replacement for 2DAY FM's 2019 breakfast line up has been determined,' according to a press release from Southern Cross Austereo.

Drop: Radio rivals WSFM's Jonesy & Amanda, who knocked Kyle and Jackie O off their number one position for the first time in three years in August, finished in second place with 7.2 per cent audience share

The struggling Sydney breakfast show's ratings boost would undoubtedly come as a blow to the embattled radio host, who resigned from the station following the slots long history of rating woes.

In a previous radio survey released in late August, the former 2DAY FM breakfast show with Em, Grant and Ed earned just 3.3 per cent of the Sydney breakfast radio audience, dropping from a 4.3 per cent share in the previous survey.

Adding insult to injury, Em, Grant and Ed's result was lower than that of its predecessors Rove and Sam before that show was axed last year.

In January 2017, Rove and Sam were dropped after the ratings plummeted to 4.3 per cent.

The verdict: Meanwhile the struggling 2Day FM breakfast show with Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee enjoyed a full ratings point boost after the departure of their co-host Em Rusciano in early September and subsequently finished on 4.6%, according to Mumbrella




Resist the resistance to the #resistance. Photo: Larry French/Getty Images

In 2016, the Democrats sought a third consecutive term in the White House, amid mediocre economic growth, and solid  but unspectacular  levels of public approval for the partys sitting president.

The odds were against them.

Election forecasting models that ignore the idiosyncratic effects of candidates  and rely strictly on the fundamentals of macroeconomic indicators, poll numbers, and other patterns in the electorates past behavior  predicted that the GOP would win the presidency. One model commissioned by Vox estimated that the Republican candidate would capture 50.9 percent of the popular vote.

Then, the Democratic Party picked a standard-bearer who was:

 The subject of an active FBI investigation.

 A favorite target of right-wing media and GOP opposition researchers for nearly three decades.

 A policy wonk who, in her own estimation, was not an especially gifted orator or retail politician, and whose approval rating dipped underwater almost immediately after her campaign was launched.

 A longtime friend of Wall Street who spent the run-up to her campaign giving closed-door speeches to widely reviled financial firms for exorbitant sums of money.

 A woman who had been caricatured for years as a radical, man-hating feminist, and who, therefore, was likely to have an even more difficult time overcoming the electorates sexism than the median female Democratic politician.

And the Republican nominee ended up winning 2.8 million fewer votes than she did, anyway.

All of which is to say: There is little reason to believe that Donald Trump won the 2016 election on the strength of his campaign tactics. Rather, despite benefiting from favorable background conditions  and an exceptionally vulnerable opponent  the Republican nominee found a way to garner a mere 46 percent of the vote, and thus, relied on exquisite luck to eke out an Electoral College victory via an 80,000-ballot margin across three states.

Democratic operatives know all this. When they see a cable news anchor praising Donald Trumps political acumen, many will recite the aforementioned facts in retweetable indignation. And yet, they nevertheless seem to believe that Trumps narcissistic compulsion to create attention-galvanizing controversies (and/or to substitute bad insult comedy for message discipline) is a mode of politicking so effective, Democrats must strive to avoid direct confrontation with the sitting president in 2020.

Or so a new Daily Beast report titled Democrats See a Path to Victory in 2020: Ignore Trump would suggest:

A week out from a midterm election that saw the Democratic Party gain the majority in the House of Representatives, two Senate seats in the Southwest, and governorships across the nation, candidates, party officials, and the partys largest super PAC took away a clear message going into 2020: Focusing time and attention on President Trump and the activities of the White House alone is not going to cut it.

To succeed in 2020, a Democrat will need to have the skill and discipline to deftly pivot from Trumps BS to the issues that matter, Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, told The Daily Beast. If you are trying to get retweets and social engagement, you are going to optimize for all things Trump and in doing so, you are playing his game.

Its a necessary word of caution from operatives who are keenly aware of Trumps ubiquity given the mainstream medias fascination with every twist and turn of his presidency. They point to cable news segments devoted to the latest palace intrigue and stories that have already been written about the nicknames the president is crafting for prospective opponents and a core base of supporters that delight in him taking on fights.

No one has survived it, Jennifer Palmieri, former communications director for Clintons campaign, said of using Trumps tactics against him. There is evidence it doesnt work. And I think among the reasons why Democratic candidates had some success and won is that they largely stayed away from him. Look at [Montana Senator Jon] Tester. Trump went to Montana four times and [Tester] never engaged him and he won.

Many of the premises advanced in these passages are perfectly sound. The 2020 Democratic nominee should certainly have an affirmative message, inspiring policy vision, compelling persona, and preference for winning votes over retweets (although this seems like a needlessly long way of saying, The 2020 Democratic nominee should not be Michael Avenatti). And cable news certainly does provide Trump with an extraordinary amount of free media, even for a sitting president.

But why Democrats should fear the prospect of Trump dominating media coverage of the 2020 race  and/or why they should strive to speak about the president whom they are trying to oust as little as possible in 2020  is hard to understand.

Generally speaking, when Trump uses insulting nicknames (or other outrageous statements) to keep the spotlight on himself, his approval rating falls. As the political scientists John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck write in their book on the 2016 election, Identity Crisis:

Trumps dominance of news coverage was clear. He received more coverage than Clinton almost every day between June 1 and Election Day, including 63 percent of cable news mentions and 69 percent of solo-headlined storiesBut Trumps ability to generate headlines made it worse for him, not better. Apart from the period around the partys conventions, the correlation between Trumps advantage in news coverage and his standing in the polls was negative: the more Trump dominated the news, the worse he did in polls.

This pattern has repeated itself throughout Trumps first two years in the White House. While the presidents approval rating has remained relatively stable, it has consistently improved during the least interesting (and/or incendiary) moments of his tenure.

Trumps core base of supporters might delight in him taking on fights  but then, theyd probably delight in him yanking out their teeth to pocket the gold fillings. Few outside the presidents base find his cantankerous tweets compelling  and his base, by itself, isnt anywhere near big enough to keep him in the White House.

It is true that Hillary Clinton did not survive Trumps withering attacks. But while she boasted strong approval numbers as secretary of State, Clintons favorability was already underwater by the summer of 2015  when Trumps presidential campaign was still a joke that The Simpsons had already told. Further, as outlined above, there is little reason to assume that Clinton lost because she tried to use Trumps tactics against him, rather than because background conditions favored the GOP, and she had many peculiar liabilities as a candidate (many of them unfair).

Conventional wisdom, pre-2016, held that an effective way to destroy a politician was to paint him or her as corrupt and scandal-plagued. In fact, this line of attack was considered so powerful, the GOP would often fabricate scandals with which to taint their opponents. And nothing that happened in 2016 contradicted the idea that associating ones rival with corruption and scandal is an effective political tactic: Through relentless, negative messaging, the GOP convinced a majority of the public that Hillary Clintons use of private email server  and (fictional) role in abetting Benghazi  reflected the candidates personal dishonesty and corruption. Meanwhile, Clintons attacks on Trump helped render the GOP nominee the most unpopular major party candidate in the history of opinion polling by November 8, 2016.

Illustration: The Washington Post

Since that date, Trump has provided his opponents with a cornucopia of first-rate corruption scandals, which the Democratic House majority will spend the next two years exposing and promoting. There is little basis for believing that the 2020 Democratic nominee should strive to ignore this material  and forgo full-throated attacks on the incumbent president  so as to prevent Trumps unhinged counterattacks from dominating cable news coverage.

All this said, there is reason to think that Clintons 2016 messaging was too narrowly focused on attacking Trumps character. Rather than tying her opponent to the GOPs deeply unpopular fiscal and social policies, the Democratic nominee emphasized the nonideological case against the moguls fitness for high office  assuring voters that Trump wasnt a normal Republican in the process. In fact, Clinton spent much of her general-election campaign arguing that Ronald Reagan would never vote for her opponent: At the Democratic National Convention, a series of speakers  including Barack Obama  argued that the patron saint of the conservative movement would recoil at Trumps authoritarian ethos; at a September press conference, the Democratic nominee suggested that the Gipper would be incensed to see the Republican nominee praise Vladimir Putin while disparaging the American president; and one of her super-PACs final campaign ads actually cast Reagans ghost as a Clinton surrogate.

The point of all this nostalgia for the man who killed off the New Deal consensus was, ostensibly, to help moderate, suburban Republicans reconcile themselves to voting for the Democratic nominee. And this appeared to work reasonably well  in the states where Hillary Clinton did not need it to. Meanwhile, Clintons attempts to distance Trump from the GOP might have actually helped him with white working-class voters who had a taste for welfare chauvinism, but none for Paul Ryans austerity budgets or Mike Pences sexual mores.

Fortunately, the results of the 2018 midterms suggest that Democrats need not choose between savaging the GOPs economic policies and painting the suburbs blue. In many affluent, historically Republican districts, Democratic candidates ousted GOP incumbents while campaigning for universal health care and against supply-side tax cuts. Meanwhile, this same bread-and-butter message ostensibly helped the party regain some ground with white, non-college educated voters in many Rust Belt states.

Thus, Democratic operatives are probably right to think that Clintons Trump-centric 2016 message played into the moguls hands  but only because the specific Trump-centric message she decided to broadcast reinforced the demagogues own branding as an unconventional Republican.

We have evidence that painting Trump as an anomalous usurper of the GOPs proud tradition is not an optimal campaign message for the Democratic Party. But we have none to suggest that a 2020 campaign focused on defining Trump as a kleptocratic con man  who auctioned off his policy agenda to the GOP donor classs highest bidders  would be ineffective. Democratic operatives shouldnt let their traumatic (and thus, distorted) memories of 2016 lead them to think otherwise.
Mel Greig has applauded Sophie Monk for revealing her endometriosis diagnosis.

On Monday, Sophie, 38, shared confronting video in hospital following a medical procedure and Mel Greig posted a tribute to the star on Instagram.

'Incredibly proud and saddened that @sophiemonk is going through this but it took massive balls for her to do this post and talk about it,' she wrote.

'You and I have had chats and suspected it': Mel Greig applauds Sophie Monk for sharing endometriosis diagnosis following her own battle with the illness

'You and I have had chats and suspected it but not all doctors know how to diagnose or recommend treatment.

She added: 'Darling girl you aren't alone and it's more than 1 in 10. #endometriosis #nocure #7yrstodiagnose #endosisters #strength.'

Sophie underwent surgery at an IVF clinic, where she was first diagnosed with endometriosis.

Honest: On Monday, Sophie Monk took to Instagram Stories to share confronting video of herself in hospital following a medical procedure

Radio personality Mel opened up about her own health struggle in March this year, with a deeply personal post on Instagram.

'THE REALITY OF ENDOMETRIOSIS: One minute you can be getting ready to talk on a panel in Sydney for @redagencyau and @endometriosisaustralia and the next minute it feels like someone is stabbing you in the abdomen with a knife... A pain that I and many women know too well,' she wrote.

'Within 5mins my whole reproductive system was inflamed and I started to vomit. Nausea is a new symptom for me. I now can't physically sit in a car for 2hrs because the pain is too unbearable and the pain medication that I once used has now been taken off pharmacy shelves, within a few hours I predict I'll be in the emergency room begging for pain medication.

Health battle: The radio personality opened up about her own health struggle in March this year, with a deeply personal post on Instagram

'Incredibly proud and saddened that @sophiemonk is going through this but it took massive balls for her to do this post and talk about it,' wrote Mel (right) on Instagram

'This is the unpredictability of Endometriosis. It can literally come from nowhere without a trigger and render you helpless.'

She spoke about it again in September, recalling a trip to Melbourne with a former partner.

'Out of nowhere every step felt like I was being stabbed in my lower right side, I dropped to my knees to make the pain stop and he was mortified... Not out of concern, he was trying to understand why I was being so 'dramatic' my pain was fierce but it was invisible,' she wrote on Instagram.

'When people can't see the pain of Endometriosis it can be hard to comprehend, so as I told him and as we continue to tell others THE PAIN IS REAL.'
Fans are used to seeing the World's Hottest Grandma prancing around in bikinis and flaunting her curves on Instagram.

But Gina Stewart is also a doting parent to four children, including her youngest Summer, who turned five last month.

In exclusive photos provided to Daily Mail Australia, the 48-year-old is seen spending time with her dearest daughter on her 5th birthday.

Not your average granny! The World's Hottest Grandma Gina Stewart, 48, has shared sweet photos from her youngest daughter Summer's fifth birthday party

With her large doe eyes and flowing blonde hair, little Summer is the spitting image of her famous mum.

Gina has three other children; James, 27, Casey, 25, and Cody, 22.

The social media star's motherly side is world's away from the scantily-clad bombshell that shot to worldwide fame this year.

Just like mum! With her large doe eyes and flowing blonde hair, little Summer is the spitting image of her famous mother

All grown up! Little Summer clutches a balloon on her fifth birthday on the Gold Coast

Last week, the Gold Coast grandmother made history by becoming the oldest woman to advance to the semi-finals of the Maxim Cover Girl Competition.

Unfortunately, she didn't win, but Gina was able to raise money for the Wounded Warriors charity thanks to paid votes from her Instagram fans.

'A massive thank you to all my followers and friends for all your votes over the last 6 weeks, your support and love was truly uplifting,' she wrote on social media after finding out that she wasn't advancing past the semi-finals.

Day job: Fans are used to seeing the World's Hottest Grandma prancing around in bikinis and flaunting her curves on Instagram

'All donations went to the Wounded Warriors charity and Im proud to be a part of such an amazing cause.'

She may also be taking comfort in her recent success in Maxim's annual Hot 100 list, where she placed No. 90, beating the likes of Kylie Minogue and Vikki Campion.

Gina has attracted criticism for her raunchy Instagram posts, many of which feature her naked or in various states of undress.

Giving back: Last week, the Gold Coast grandmother made history by becoming the oldest woman to advance to the semi-finals of the Maxim Cover Girl Competition

However, the 48-year-old recently revealed that there was a heartbreaking 'personal reason' why she strips down online.

Speaking to the Gold Coast Bulletin in October, the stunner claimed that her scantily-clad antics began when she entered the Miss Maxim modelling competition earlier this year to try and win $25,000 to help a friend who suffered a stroke.

'At the end of the day I seriously don't know what all the fuss is about, it's unwanted attention,' she said, brushing off her international fame.
Since splitting with ex-fiancee and Instagram sensation Tammy Hembrow, fashion designer Reece Hawkins debuted his new romance with London Goheen in early October.

And on Monday, the model revealed that she had an 'emotional breakdown' on social media.

Taking to her Instagram Stories, the 20-year-old brunette shared an inspirational quote alongside a personal note.

Love triangle: Reece Hawkins' new flame London Goheen (pictured) has revealed she had an 'emotional breakdown' on Monday... while ex-fiancee Tammy Hembrow soaked up the Californian rays on luxe holiday

'One day you'll wake up and all your time will be gone, so stop waiting to live, because the time for that is right now,' the quote read, which is initially by Dane Thomas.

'Just what I needed to read...' London wrote.

'Had an emotional breakdown five seconds ago and then read this.. feel like the universe is speaking to me right now.

Heartfelt message: On Monday, the model revealed that she had an 'emotional breakdown' on Instagram

'Just what I needed to read... Had an emotional breakdown five seconds ago and then read this... feel like the universe is speaking to me right now,' London wrote beside an inspirational quote posted to her Instagram Stories on Monday

'Goodnight,' she concluded.

And London's post comes after Tammy Hembrow jetted off on a luxury trip to Los Angeles.

The blonde beauty, who has kept her millions of Instagram followers updated on her travels, appeared to be having the time of her life in the sunny States.

Living her best life! London's post comes after Tammy Hembrow jetted off on a luxury trip to Los Angeles. Pictured at the Staples Center in LA

Despite juggling business meetings with family commitments, Tammy has taken some time out of her busy schedule to relax by the poolside.

Bringing the heat, the 24-year-old entrepreneur struck a sultry pose in a sizzling leopard-print bikini.

Tammy was later pictured visiting the Staples Center and headed off to Universal Studios for a day of fun with her son Wolf, three, and two-year-old daughter Saskia, whom she shares with former flame, Reece.
Tiffany Scanlon recently paraded around in the skimpy swimsuits she would have worn on Bachelor In Paradise 2019 after she accused Network 10 of 'cruelly' dropping her from the Fiji-based reality television series.

And less than 24 hours later, Tiffany, 32, has hit back at a troll who mocked her makeshift fashion parade and attacked her physical appearance.

The cruel social media user branded the former reality TV star a 'butter face,' which refers to a female who is mostly attractive but her face.

'You have no right to hate!' Tiffany Scanlon hits back at troll who labelled her a 'butter face' after she danced in skimpy swimwear she would have worn on Bachelor In Paradise

Tiffany shared the brutal remarks to her Instagram story on Tuesday and captioned the screenshots: 'I've had trolls before and I normally just suck it up but this is just disgusting behaviour. Name and shame.'

'Umm it's fall now dear and don't give up your day job your cannot walk, pick up your boats (feet) (sic)' the Instagram user wrote.

'You're one to talk lived in Indo myself. You're a lost cause and jealous OF WHAT, your face looks like a truck hit it and get a f**king nose job honey! Butter face, look it up (google),' the same user claimed.

Public rant: Tiffany shared the brutal remarks to her Instagram story on Tuesday and captioned the screenshots: 'I've had trolls before and I normally just suck it up but this is just disgusting behaviour. Name and shame'

In a separate post, Tiffany went on to expose more of the nasty comments made by the same online troll.

'Such a dumb girl you are! You put your ass out there PUBLICLY and expect zero repercussions? Are you f**king stupid lady? Literally that dumb you are!' the user wrote.

'Can I please say that having a public profile does not automatically give someone permission to 'reprise' you,' Tiffany began in the caption.

'I actually hate the saying 'when haters gonna hate' when actually haters have NO right to hate.

'If you are THAT unhappy in your own self and life that you need to take it out on complete strangers please, please seek help!' Tiffany concluded.

Earlier this month, Tiffany went on a bitter rant alleging that Bachelor in Paradise producers dropped her from season two of the show.

Shortly thereafter, the blonde star took to the photo-sharing app to parade around in a number of skimpy swimsuits she would have worn on the series.

Seemingly still reeling from the rejection, Tiffany flaunted her slender frame on a makeshift catwalk to Lily Allen hit song 'F**k you.'

Take that Channel Ten! Tiffany Scanlon leaves little to the imagination as she parades around in skimpy swimsuits to the Lily Allen song 'F**k you' ...after bitter rant over being dropped from Bachelor in Paradise

'NOT coming soon to a screen near you,' Tiffany angrily captioned the video, with what appeared to be a message to producers.

She continued: 'I still wanted to show you the gorgeous swimwear and outfits I was sent to wear on paradise as these are some of my favourite brands.'

Tiffany finished: 'I think this song really sums up my feeling towards the franchise.'

Bitter! 'NOT coming soon to a screen near you,' Tiffany angrily captioned the video, with what appeared to be a message to producers

It comes after Tiffany announced that she would sue the people behind Bachelor in Paradise if she had the money.

Penning a lengthy Instagram rant she accused Network Ten bosses of acting 'cruelly' for dropping her from the castings line-up.

'If I had the money I'd sue them for emotional damages,' she wrote in part.

Daring to bare! In the clip, Tiffany left very little to the imagination as she paraded around in the skimpy swimsuits she would have worn on the show

Angry! Earlier this month Tiffany went on a bitter rant alleging that Bachelor in Paradise producers dropped her from season two of the show

'But I don't, so this statement is my small way of seeking justice on a company that is morally corrupt.'

She said she was left shocked, before being filled with anger and grief.

'I am mortified over what has happened and I'm scrambling to make sense of it all and try to pick up the pieces,' Tiffany concluded.
Emily Ratajkowski knows a business opportunity when she sees one.

Just a day after she was seen showing off her incredible figure in a barely-there bikini on a beach in Sydney, the 27-year-old took to Instagram to give her swimsuit a plug.

'THAT suit, now available. Our new drop is live. Link in bio,' she captioned a photo of herself modeling a red version of the bikini on Tuesday.

Flaunting it: Emily Ratajkowski knows a business opportunity when she sees one, promoting her headline-making swimsuit on Instagram on Tuesday

Her use of the word 'THAT' suggested Emily knew exactly what sort of an effect her swimsuit would have when she stepped out in it.

The Gone Girl actress made headlines when she stepped onto Camp Cove beach in an extremely revealing string bikini.

The swimsuit is from the British-born star's new swimsuit line.

Bringing in the money: 'THAT suit, now available. Our new drop is live. Link in bio,' she captioned a photo of herself modeling the bikini on Tuesday

Bottoms up: Emily's latest range of bikinis leave little to the imagination, with the actress flaunting her assets in the suit on her Instagram page

'Ok ladies and gents. Were live. Shop the new now,' she wrote on the brand's official Instagram page.

Emily is currently in Australia to attend the GQ Australia Men Of The Year Awards on Wednesday night.

But in an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Monday, she revealed she had every intention of mixing business with pleasure during her stay here.

White hot: The Gone Girl actress made headlines when she stepped onto the beach at Camp Cove in an extremely revealing string bikini. She is seen in the same swimsuit here but in white

Making money: According to the label's website, the barely-there bikini briefs and top aren't relatively inexpensive

'My best friend lives in Sydney and I have wanted to come see her for so long, I couldnt be more thrilled to finally make it Down Under,' she told the newspaper.

'I grew up in Encinitas, San Diego, California.

'Surfing and skating are everything there and the culture has definitely been compared to that of Australia. I feel especially connected to Australia.'
She's one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, known for highly-acclaimed films, including Eyes Wide Shut, The Hours and Moulin Rouge!

And this week, Australian Oscar winner Nicole Kidman revealed the very surprising thing she wanted to do before becoming an actress.

Speaking to Allure, the 51-year-old admitted she was 'very drawn' to the idea of becoming a nun.

'I was very drawn to it': Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman reveals the very surprising thing she wanted to do before becoming a leading Hollywood star... but can you guess what it is?

The blonde Big Little Lies star, who is Roman Catholic, told the publication that she 'loved the idea'.

'I'm spiritual in that I absolutely believe in God,' Nicole said.

'Obviously, I did not choose to go that path, but I was very drawn to it.'

Religious: The Roman Catholic said she toyed with the idea of becoming a nun

Latest film: Her comments come as her new film, Boy Erased, wins over critics and generates Oscar buzz. The film - which also stars Russell Crowe - centres on religion and homosexuality

Her comments come as her new film Boy Erased wins over critics and generates Oscar buzz.

The film, which also stars Russell Crowe, centres on religion and homosexuality.

In the film, actor Lucas Hedges stars as 18-year-old Jared Eamons, who is enrolled in a gay conversion therapy program by his baptist parents.

Nicole plays Nancy Eamons, Jared's conflicted mother and the wife of Russell's Baptist character Marshall.

While Nancy loves her son she struggles to come to terms with his homosexuality.

New role: In the film, Nicole plays Nancy Eamons, a conflicted mother and the wife of Russell Crowe's Baptist character Marshall (pictured in the film). They send their son to gay conversion therapy

'I was a little trepidacious about directing two masters': Director Joel Edgerton (pictured) revealed what it was like to work with Nicole and Russell

Meanwhile, actor and director of the film, Joel Edgerton, recently told KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O about what it was like working with Nicole and Russell Crowe on the film.

He admitted he was nervous about bossing around Gladiator star Russell, 54, on set.

'I was a little trepidacious about directing two masters,' he admitted.

'In all honesty, they're role models and heroes to me, as people who sort of forged a way to Hollywood.'

'And as a male actor, identifying with Russell, I think he's one of the greatest leading male actors of all time. The idea of telling Russell to do something different in a take.'
She has been dating professional wakeboarder Chandler Powell for five years now.

And fans of Bindi Irwin went into a complete meltdown on Tuesday when she posted a sweet tribute to mark her beau's 22nd birthday.

The 20-year-old wildlife warrior took to Instagram to share photo of herself cuddled up to her man, immediately sparking engagement rumours.

Scroll down for video

'Every day with you is magic!' Bindi Iriwn shares a sweet birthday tribute to her boyfriend Chandler Powell. She wrote, '5 years ago I fell in love with you.' 'Tomorrow you turn 22. Every day with you is magic'

In her caption she wrote, '5 years ago I fell in love with you.'

'Tomorrow you turn 22. Every day with you is magic,' she continued.

Several fans were quick to urge the nature-loving couple to get engaged.

One asked, 'When's the wedding??'

Sweet: Bindi's sweet message comes after the wildlife warrior's mother Terri Irwin, 54, spoke about the young couple's relationship in a recent interview with US Weekly

Another commented, 'Get married already you two!'

'When are you two going to become engaged - you are made for one another,' someone else added.

Bindi's sweet message comes after the wildlife warrior's mother Terri Irwin, 54, spoke about the young couple's relationship in a recent interview with US Weekly.

She said, 'I really think that this is a long-term situation. I mean, Chandler is perfect as well.'

'I've never heard him swear. He doesn't drink. He's just awesome. He's the kind of man you hope for your daughter, so I think I'm lucky,' she added.

Mum loves him: Terri spoke highly of Chandler in an interview with US Weekly, she said 'I've never heard him swear. He doesn't drink. He's just awesome. He's the kind of man you hope for your daughter, so I think I'm lucky'

Chandler previously discussed the story of their fateful encounter during an episode of Dancing With The Stars back in 2015.

They first met in 2013 when Chandler visited to the Irwin family-owned Australia Zoo.

'I'm a professional wakeboarder. I was there (Australia) for a wakeboard competition. We were stopping by the area where the zoo was so I thought it would be awesome to go visit Australia Zoo,' the Florida-born sportsman explained.

And she ended up giving me a tour and we ended up staying in touch ever since,' he said.
Samantha Armytage has admitted she has been busted by police for using her mobile phone while driving.

The Sunrise star made the confession during Wednesday morning's edition of her top-rated breakfast show.

Speaking during a Hot Topics segment, the 42-year-old revealed she was caught by the authorities in an undercover sting, before being slapped with a hefty fine.

'I have a confession': Speaking on Sunrise on Wednesday, Samantha Armytage revealed that she has been busted by police for using her mobile phone while driving

During the segment, Samantha and guest panelists were discussing the innovative ways police are catching drivers using their mobile devices.

The Sunrise discussion came after a Daily Mail Australia report on Tuesday that revealed undercover police officers had dressed up as windscreen washers to catch drivers on their phones.

'I have a confession, I've been done!' the bubbly blonde revealed.

Shock confession! Samantha and guest panelists were discussing the innovative ways that police are catching drivers using their mobile devices

'(It was a) police sting, a covert operation where they looking down off an overpass and then pulling you over further down the street. They caught me, and I was done!'

While Samantha didn't disclose where or when the incident occurred, it's likely that she would have lost four demerit points if she was busted in her native New South Wales.

The Channel Seven star would also have been hit with a fine of around $300.

Cautious driver! Samantha says she now keeps her phone in the back seat. She is pictured hopping into her ritzy Range Rover

And it seems the esteemed journalist has learned her lesson, claiming she now keeps her device out of arm's reach.

'Do you know what? Never done it again! I now hide my phone on the back seat, so it's not a temptation,' she stated, before adding: 'It works!'

A contrite Samantha further admitted: 'Sometimes they've got to ping you for you to learn your lesson.

'Driving and using your phone is illegal!' Samantha now obeys the road rules after her run-in with police

'Driving and using your phone is illegal!'

Samantha's confession came after Daily Mail Australia's report, which revealed that police had performed a covert operation to catch drivers using their phones.

A post shared on Facebook on Monday showed officers dressed as windscreen washers at the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Springvale Road in Nunawading, eastern Melbourne.

In a statement given to Daily Mail Australia, Victoria Police confirmed that officers were conducting a traffic operation in Nunawading targeting distracted drivers.

A spokesman said: 'Part of the operation involved covert observations of drivers in stationary vehicles.'
Pedro Pascal has been cast as the lead of the highly anticipated Star Wars TV series, The Mandalorian.

The Narcos star had been rumored to be in the running for the coveted role, but sources tell Variety that the Chilean actor was officially offered the role.

'Negotiations are underway,' the outlet reported on Tuesday.

The Mandalorian: Pedro Pascal will star in Disney's upcoming Star Wars TV series that is slated to debut on it's highly anticipated streaming service, Variety reported on Tuesday

The 43-year-old leading man spent several seasons as Javier Pena on the hit Netflix show Narcos.

He also made a name for himself in the role of Prince Oberyn in the HBO juggernaut Game of Thrones.

Fans will recall that his character left the show in a particularly gruesome fashion.

The native of Santiago will soon helm one of two major upcoming Star Wars spin-off's for Disney.

Big role: The 43-year-old previously starred as DEA agent Javier Pena in Netflix's hit drug cartel show Narcos

HBO star: Pascal's role as Prince Oberyn in Game of Thrones ended in a gruesome fashion

The Mandalorian, will chronicle the 'lone-wolf odyssey of a character who hails from the planet Mandalore,' reported Deadline.

Devotees of the George Lucas franchise will recognize the Mandalorian warriors and bounty hunters by their signature armor which was worn by the most famous Mandalorian, Boba Fett.

Jon Favreau is executive producing and writing the series, which is set after the fall of the Empire.

Favreau's previous work includes acting in hits such as Swingers and producing the blockbuster Avengers movies.

Last month he took to Instagram with a brief message about the plot of the live-action series.

'After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe:' Jon Faveau, who is producing and writing the series, dropped some plot hints on social media

'After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe,' Favreau penned.

The producer continued: 'The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order.'

He then dropped a hint about The Mandalorian's lead character, who will presumably be plaid by Pascal.

'We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic,' Favreau said on Instagram.

The show is set to premiere on Disney's streaming service Disney+ and will be a flagship of the brand which is debuting next year, according to Deadline.

Disney+: Last week Disney announced that Diego Luna will star in the second Star Wars series on their roster, a prequel to Rogue One

Last week Disney announced they would be adding a second Star Wars project to their ambitious roster.

The Hollywood Reporter said that Mouse House will start production on a Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel next year and Diego Luna will star in the live-action series.

'Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,' Luna said of the Rogue One prequel. 'I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey.

He added: 'We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.'
Caitlyn Jenner's Malibu home was nearly destroyed in the California wildfires that erupted just days ago.

On Tuesday, the 69-year-old reality star snapped a photo with two of the firefighters who saved her property from damage.

'God bless the first responders that have been working tirelessly, around the clock, to protect people and property. Thank you all so much!' she captioned the image.

Giving thanks: Caitlyn Jenner's Malibu home was nearly destroyed in the California wildfires that erupted just days ago. On Tuesday, the 69-year-old reality star snapped a photo with two of the firefighters who saved her property from damage

Jenner and partner Sophia Hutchins, 22, returned to their Malibu home on Mondayjust two days after being evacuated.

'OK, quick update,' Caitlyn said in a video. 'We finally made it back to the house. Sophia is here. Our house made it.'

The I Am Cait star added: 'It was devastating out here in Malibu. You can see the hills are just totally scorched. We're very, very lucky.'

Rescue garb: Jenner's partner Sophia Hutchins posed in a firefighter jacket on Instagram. 'Thank you to all of the first responders, volunteers, and Malibu community members for helping fight the fires,' she captioned the image

Safe and sound: Jenner and Hutchins returned to their Malibu home on Mondayjust two days after being evacuated

'OK, quick update,' Caitlyn said in a video. 'We finally made it back to the house. Sophia is here. Our house made it.'It was devastating out here in Malibu. You can see the hills are just totally scorched. We're very, very lucky'

The Woolsey fire began Thursday afternoon and has ravaged more than 96K acres of land.

Just two days earlier, Caitlyn and Sophia sent out a video, captioned: 'Were out of the fire zone and are safe. Thinking about all those that are affected and hope you all are safe too.'

'We're safe, at a safe house,' Jenner said, adding, 'Don't know if the house made it or not. It's still up in the air.'

Hutchins added: 'We're having a vodka. It's been a hell of a morning.'

Devastation: The Woolsey fire began Thursday and has ravaged more than 96K acres of land

Out of harms way: Caitlyn and Sophia evacuated with their dogs on Thursday. 'Were out of the fire zone and are safe,' they said in a video posted to Instagram. 'Thinking about all those that are affected and hope you all are safe too'

Most of Jenner's family had to evacuate their homes including ex-wife Kris Jenner and stepdaughters Kim Kardashian-West, Kourtney Kardashian, and Khloe Kardashian.

It had been reported on Friday by TMZ that Caitlyn's house had been burned to the ground, but that report was later debunked.

The New York native has lived in the 3,500 square foot, four bedroom home in the hills above Malibu since 2015.
Yes she May. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The United Kingdom and European Union have finally reached a preliminary agreement on the terms of their divorce  and it just might force Theresa Mays government to break up.

On Tuesday, the U.K. prime minister confirmed that her government had reached a Brexit deal (or, more precisely, a draft agreement on the technical terms of a Brexit deal) with E.U. negotiators. The precise details of that deal are not yet public. But according to the BBC, it includes commitments over citizens rights after Brexit, a proposed 21-month transition period after the U.K.s departure on 29 March 2019 and details of the so-called 39bn divorce bill.

The most significant provision in the draft agreement, however, concerns a backstop for preserving an open border between Northern Ireland (which, as part of the United Kingdom, would be leaving the European Union) and Ireland (which would remain an E.U. member state). For weeks, negotiators have struggled to reach a mutually satisfying solution to the problem of the Irish border. And it isnt hard to see why.

Free movement and trade between the U.K. and Ireland was a cornerstone of the Good Friday Agreement, and thus, a pillar of peace in the region ever since. Thousands of people cross the border daily for work, and many companies have built business models and supply chains that depend on the maintenance of seamless commerce between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Thus, many in Mays Tory Party insist that any Brexit deal must keep that border open.

But Ireland is not leaving the E.U., and the E.U. is, among other things, a customs union  a bloc of countries with synchronized trade rules, which applies uniform tariffs on goods produced outside the union. If Britain exits that union, then Ireland would be forced to impose tariffs on products produced in Northern Ireland, and the border between the two would harden.

The U.K. could leave the E.U. while remaining in the customs union  currently, Turkey isnt a part of the former, but still claims membership in the latter. But staying in the customs union would bar the U.K. from brokering its own bilateral trade agreements, while also compelling it to respect the European Court of Justice as the final authority in its trade disputes.

Thus, many Brexiteers in Mays party insist that any Brexit deal must include the U.K.s withdrawal from the customs union.

Squaring this circle has not been easy. The E.U. had offered to allow Northern Ireland to remain in the customs union, while letting the rest of the United Kingdom go its own way. But that arrangement would have established a regulatory and customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain  a prospect that Mays allies in the Democratic Unionist Party find untenable, and that plenty of other Tories see as an attack on the U.K.s unity and sovereignty.

Now, May has reportedly found a solution to the border conundrum that she believes both the E.U.  and her partners in parliament  can live with. As Business Insider reports:

UK and EU negotiators agreed that there will be a UK-wide backstop if they fail to negotiate a trade deal that negates the need for border checks on the island of Ireland before the end of the two-year Brexit transition period.

The backstop will take the shape of a UK-wide customs union with the EU, with Northern Ireland sticking to some of the European single market. This would guarantee no border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic. However, the backstop is not set to come with a fixed end-date  [i]nstead, it will come with a review clause for deciding when it can come to an end.



In other words: Both sides have agreed to maintain a rough approximation of the status quo, and pretend that the Tories mutually exclusive Brexit demands can still, theoretically, be fully implemented at some unspecified future date.

May spent Tuesday evening attempting to sell this plan to individual members of her administration, before a full cabinet meeting on Wednesday. As of last month, a contingent of cabinet officials  including Brexit secretary Dominic Raab  was reportedly planning to resign in protest, if May agreed to a backstop with no fixed end date.

Even if May succeeds in putting down that mutiny, her chances of beating back a parliamentary rebellion look grim.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said Tuesday that his party couldnt possibly vote for the deal  which is problematic, since the Conservatives rely on the DUPs ten votes for their majority coalition. Whats more, many of Mays own Conservatives are sure to oppose the deal; among them, the partys most ardent Brexiteers, and its most recalcitrant remainers. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson called Mays draft agreement utterly unacceptable to anyone who believes in democracy on Tuesday  while pro-remain MPs argued that democracy required May to subject her deal to a second referendum.

"It's vassal state stuff"- former foreign secretary Boris Johnson says he will vote against draft #Brexit agreement



More: https://t.co/O6t67ucsXP pic.twitter.com/7LiGMVbww6  BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 13, 2018

If the U.K. does not ink a deal with the E.U. by March 29, it will crash out of the union and into economic anarchy. Its possible that the specter of a debased pound, chaotic ports, and food shortages will transform political realities in London between now and then. But at the moment, it is difficult to see how May can possibly get a majority of parliament to vote for a diplomatically viable form of Brexit  not least, because Brexit is an objectively terrible idea. Given a choice between claiming ownership of an actually-existing Brexit, and deriding any agreement put before the House of Commons as a betrayal of the one true Brexit (or, of the emerging pro-remain majority), few savvy politicians would choose the former unless they absolutely had to. And Labor MPs, Tory backbenchers, and the DUP simply do not have that obligation; only Theresa May, and any MPs who wish to stay on the Spice Girls good side, do.
Channel Nine reporter Laura Turner welcomed twin daughters with her cameraman partner Daniel McPherson on Monday.

The 34-year-old A Current Affair journalist introduced the couple's two 'beautiful' girls, Isabel Leslie and Matilda Skye, to her 4,487 Instagram followers on Tuesday.

Sharing a black-and-white photograph of herself cradling the newborns in a hospital bed at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne, Laura wrote: 'Welcome to the world our beautiful girls.'

Scroll down for video

'We had a huge scare but theyre here now and doing well': Channel Nine reporter Laura Turner welcomed twin daughters via C-section on Monday

'Twins Isabel Leslie McPherson and Matilda Skye McPherson were born via emergency c section last night,' she explained.

Laura also revealed she experienced a 'huge scare' at the hospital before her caesarean section.

'It was a dramatic rush due to placenta abruption, and we had a huge scare but theyre here now and doing well in the NICU,' she wrote.

Baby joy! The A Current Affair journalist introduced the couple's two 'beautiful' girls, Isabel Leslie and Matilda Skye, to her 4,487 Instagram followers on Tuesday

'Dad is totally in love!' The slideshow of images included an achingly cute photo of doting dad Daniel (pictured) cuddling and gently kissing one of his newborns

The talented Channel Nine journalist, who is used to breaking some of the biggest stories in Australia, continued to dish more touching details, sharing: 'Dad is totally in love and so is mum.'

The slideshow of images included an achingly cute photo of doting dad Daniel cuddling and gently kissing one of his newborns.

Over the past year, the freshly minted mother-of-two has been documenting her pregnancy through her weekly column, #Twinning.

Delivering exciting news! The talented Channel Nine journalist, who is used to breaking some of the biggest stories in Australia continued to dish more touching details, sharing: 'Dad is totally in love and so is mum'

In June, Laura delivered possibly her most exciting bulletin yet, when she announced she was expecting twins with her partner.

The reporter thought outside the box for her baby announcement, too, enlisting colleague Peter Hitchener to deliver the news in a 'special report.'

In a cheeky video posted to Instagram, Peter excitedly delivered the news, standing in the corridors at Nine.

'Hello, I'm Peter Hitchener with wonderful news regarding two members, two much-loved members of the Nine team,' the newsreader declared.

He continued: 'I speak of Laura and Dan. They are pregnant. Not only that, it's twins! Congratulations you two.'

Big news: In June, Laura delivered possibly her most exciting bulletin yet, when she announced she was expecting twins with her partner
She was beaten by rival Nicki Minaj to the best female artist and album awards at Sunday night's People's Choice Awards.

But Cardi B might have the last laugh, with the rapper scoring a lucrative role as a judge on Netflix's forthcoming hip hop talent show Rhythm + Flow, according to Variety.

The 26-year-old 'is getting a hefty seven-figure paycheck to serve as a judge for the 10 hourlong episodes' reported the publication on Tuesday.

She makes money move: Cardi B 'is getting a hefty seven-figure paycheck to serve as a judge' for a hip hop talent show, reported Variety on Tuesday. Seen here last month

The Bodak Yellow hitmaker will be joined on the panel by fellow hip hop luminaries Chance The Rapper and T.I.

Musician John Legend will serve as an executive producer on the series which will be 'launching in fall 2019'.

According to Variety's sources, Cardi B -whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar- 'has been in talks with Netflix for quite some time regarding the show'.

Famous friends: The Bodak Yellow hitmaker will be joined on the panel by fellow hip hop luminaries Chance The Rapper [pictured in April 2018] and T.I.

Meanwhile the mother-of-one's musical rival Nicki Minaj, 35, recently beat out a best female artist field at the People's Choice Awards that included fellow nominees such as Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Camila Cabello - and of course Cardi herself.

The pair share a checkered past, that included a successful collaboration on a hit song -MotorSport- and a red carpet brawl.

Cardi B caused significant controversy after she threw one of her shoes at, and attempted to physically fight her fellow rapper at an after party during New York Fashion Week earlier this year.

Minaj subsequently described the altercation as 'humiliating'.
She's currently filming Black Widow.

And on Tuesday, Scarlett Johansson was spotted arriving at Disney Studios in Los Angeles.

The 33-year-old actress, who rocked wet hair, donned a navy jumpsuit and Converse as she walked across the lot.

Work life: On Tuesday, Scarlett Johansson was spotted arriving at Disney Studios in Los Angeles. She's currently filming Black Widow

Scarlett appeared makeup free as she toted her belongings to her trailer.

She kept a low profile in black sunglasses and was seen carrying a peacoat and matching cap.

This sighting comes just two days after Johansson won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress.

Fresh face! Scarlett appeared makeup free as she toted her belongings to her trailer

Leading lady: Johansson won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress on Sunday

'I've never won anything like this before,' she said in her acceptance speech. 'I've never wanted to do anything else but be an actor ever since I was a little girl. I could never have done it without all of your support. Thank you for making my dream come true'

'I've never won anything like this before. This kind of belongings to us,' she said in her acceptance speech.

'I've never wanted to do anything else but be an actor ever since I was a little girl. I could never have done it without all of your support. Thank you for making my dream come true.'

Scarlett dedicated her award to the men and women of the armed forces in honor of Veterans Day.

Boss babe: Johansson has played Black Widow in six Marvel films since 2010

Johansson has played Black Widow in six Marvel films since 2010.

According to THR, the NYC native will earn a whopping $15 million for the standalone feature about Russian spy turned superhero Natasha Romanoff, better known as Black Widow.

The film, set to premiere March 2019, will be directed by Cate Shortland.
Jade Thirlwall had to be comforted by her Little Mix bandmates as she broke down while mid-performance during an intimate gig.

The girlband had taken to the stage in Dalston, London on Tuesday night with an exclusive showcase, hosted by Apple Music, of their fifth studio album LM5 ahead of its release on 16 November.

However, fans were no doubt left concerned as Jade was forced to stop singing mid-track after being overcome with emotion and tearing up on stage.

Emotional: Jade Thirlwall had to be comforted by her Little Mix bandmates as she broke down while mid-performance during an intimate gig on Tuesday night

The beauty had been performing a stripped back version of Little Mix's track Only You - originally released in collaboration with Cheat Codes.

It is a romantic track that appears to detail a break up, with its lyrics including the lines: Once upon a time we had it all; Somewhere down the line we went and lost it; One brick at a time we watched it fall; Im broken here tonight and darling, no one else can fix me; Only you, only you.

Stumbling over her words, Jade couldn't continue with the song as she broke into tears. The vocalist struggled to contain her emotions, as her bandmates on either side of her - Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock - reached out towards her to show her their support.

Stumbling over her words, Jade couldn't continue with the song as she broke into tears and Leigh-Anne Pinnock reached out to comfort her

Tearing up: The girlband had taken to the stage in Dalston, London with an exclusive showcase of their fifth studio album LM5 ahead of its release on 16 November

Tearing up: Fans were no doubt left concerned as Jade was forced to stop singing mid-track after being overcome with emotion and tearing up on stage

Emotionally charged: The track includes the lyrics; 'Once upon a time we had it all; Somewhere down the line we went and lost it; One brick at a time we watched it fall'

Sweet display: In the moving moment, fans then finished Jade's lines for her as they continued to sing the song aloud, with the girls encouraging the crowd to keep singing

In the moving moment, fans then finished Jade's lines for her as they continued to sing the song aloud, with the girls encouraging the crowd to keep singing. Jade joked that they had even managed the track's ad libs, before telling the crowd she needed 'tissues for her issues'.

Her emotional moment on stage came after Jade posted to her Instagram stories late the night before, claiming she was 'digging a hole to hide from all my problems'.

The black and white video showed a dog scratching at a cushion.

It's not yet known what was behind Jade's emotional display. When contacted by MailOnline a representative for Jade declined to comment.

Cryptic: Her emotional moment on stage came after Jade posted to her Instagram stories late the night before, claiming she was 'digging a hole to hide from all my problems'

Fans were quick to show their support for Jade, with many taking to Twitter to send words of support to the starlet. They began to speculate whether Jade's tears could be over her long-distance relationship with The Struts star Jed Elliott.

The duo are often battling distance and go extended periods without seeing each other due to the nature of their work in the music industry, with Jed's band being signed over in the US.

Suggesting that Jade is missing Jed, fans petitioned for the former X Factor winner to be reunited with her beau as soon as possible.

They penned: 'Everything about this live session was amazing. I could listen to them sing all day. I love this group to bits. When Jade cried I cried. The support the girls have for each other and their fans is incredible.

'Jade is the cutest baby girl god protect her.

'Can we please get Jade to Jed!!

Romance woes? Fans began to speculate whether Jade's tears could be over her long-distance relationship with The Struts star Jed Elliott, as she had been singing romantic track Only You

Support: Fans were quick to share their concern over Jade's emotional display on Twitter

'Nah I hate Simon': One alluded to Little Mix's recent split from Syco as they blamed Jade's tears on music mogul Simon Cowell

'I know its so difficult having a relationship in the type of industry youre in but you and jeds love is so strong nothing can break that between you, not even distance. im so sorry youre hurting right now :( love you so much.

'Can we start a petition to get jade and jed to see eachother before christmas pls?

Jade and Jed marked their three-year anniversary in September, with Jade previously venting her frustration at the pair often being forced apart.

After two years of the pair being together, she claimed: 'It's sh*t - we never see each other. We've been together two years but it feels like we've only just started going out because we never see each other. It's been a bit sh*t not seeing each other I must admit.'

Difficult: Jade and Jed are often battling distance and go extended periods without seeing each other due to their work in the music industry, with Jed's band being signed over in the US

Milestone: Jade and Jed marked their three-year anniversary in September, with Jade previously venting her frustration at the pair often being forced apart

In July, Jade shared a cryptic Instagram post about 'distance', that read: 'Distance is no demon, often I think it can be a blessing for those in love, a silent underappreciated blessing.

'It will have no power over us. When you come stumbling to my door after months, with flowers and wine in hand, I will be ready. When I pick you up from the airport, the feeling will be unmatched, that feeling like birds bursting in song from beneath my lungs, that feeling unlike any other.

'We have to stay strong and remember what is most important; I love you, and you, me. The air between us is nothing but a metaphor. Nothing, not one thing, can come between us.'

Meanwhile, Little Mix have endured a difficult few months that have seen them split from Simon Cowell's record label Syco. The girls announced the shock move this month, with Simon later insisting her and Little Mix have 'never fallen out', but he made the decision to walk away from the girls' management, Modest Management, and its artists.

Determined: In July, Jade shared a cryptic Instagram post about 'distance', championing her romance with Jed despite it being challenging at times

Frustrated: Venting about the couple's long-distance love, Jade has previously said: 'It's sh*t - we never see each other'

He explained the management team and himself had been embroiled in an 'embarrassing row' over a songwriting credit for Little Mix's new single Woman Like Me that led to him re-evaluating working with the company.

Speaking to The Sun, Simon explained that he didn't like how Syco was painted as a label trying 'to rip artists off and make them unhappy'.

The X Factor judge revealed he was left annoyed as staff members who had worked hard within his label were being 'misrepresented', claiming: 'Why do artists think they're more important? They're not. They're the same.'

He added that his decision to walk away from Modest Management and its artists was not financially driven. He was left angered by them saying Syco had done a 'terrible job' and decided Syco could no longer work with the management as a result.

Split: Little Mix have split from Simon Cowell's record label Syco in recent weeks

Ouch: Simon Cowell revealed he and Little Mix's management team got into a 'row' over a songwriting credit for Woman Like Me - with Modest claiming Syco had done a 'terrible job' on the track

Had enough: In an interview with The Sun , Simon admits his decision wasn't financially motivated, but an attempt to rid himself of any toxicity in his business

Simon stressed that he and the Little Mix girls have 'never fallen out' and he plans to meet with the girlband to discuss their split from Syco and clear the air.

Branding the girls 'the hardest working bunch' he has ever worked with, Simon said: 'Everyones like, "There must have been something massive and thats why it collapsed"... I can show you all the correspondence between me and the girls - there's never been an instance when we've fallen out.'

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. 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.

Drama: Simon branded the incident 'embarrassing' and claimed Little Mix's management 'hadn't wanted' to record Woman Like Me - insisting 'no one was happy' with the hit

Strictly business: He added that his decision to walk away from Modest Management and its artists was not financially driven and he has 'never fallen out' with the Little Mix girls

'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.'

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's fifth studio album LM5 is set for release on 16 November, with the girls enjoying success with the album's first single Woman Like Me. They collaborate with rapper Nicki Minaj on the track and saw it peak to number two in the official UK music charts at the beginning of November.

Moving forward: LM5 will now be released under RCA Records, following their split from Syco

Low profile: Jade covered her face with a baseball cap as she left the band's gig

Happy: Perrie Edwards also bundled up as she stepped into the London chill
Marvel fans mourning the passing of Stan Lee will get to see the comic legend at least four more times by the Spring of 2019.

The so-called king of the cameo appears in the upcoming Ralph Breaks the Internet and Spider-Man: Intro the Spider-Verse, which both come out in 2018.

The Wrap is also reporting that he will make cameos in the Disney Marvel films Avengers 4 and Captain Marvel, set for release in 2019.

Lee passed away early Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 95.

Icon: Stan Lee to make at least four posthumous cameos in upcoming films

Lee broke into the comics business in 1939 and went on to create and co-create some of the iconic fictional characters that included: Black Panther, Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Ant-Man, Iron man and Thor.

Following his retirement he frequently and famously made cameos in many of the movies based on his creations.

His first film cameo came in the form of the 1989 TV movie The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk. Lee plays a jury member who tries to avoid the chaos caused by the Hulk.

Tradition: The Marvel founder made cameos in films based on his characters since the 1980's

Legend: Lee created and co-created iconic fictional characters like Spider-Man

Just this past year Lee appeared in Venom, Ant-Man And The Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther.

His cameos actually started in the comics in the 1960's, when he was overseeing the entire Marvel operation.

'The artists back then would draw me in as a joke or just to have fun,' Lee told Business Insider in 2015. 'And I would put some dialogue balloons there and it looked as if I intended it. I didn't try to do cameos in those days.'

The process: It has been widely reported that Lee filmed his cameos in batches; Lee is pictured with his daughter JC Lee in July 2017

It has been widely reported that Lee filmed his cameos in batches.

'Stan, typically we try to get him out, he doesnt love to fly, so we try to get him out for his cameos around the same time,' Avengers: Infinity War co-director Joe Russo told the BBC in April.

'So if we have other movies shooting on the same lot that were on, for instance Ant-man (And The Wasp) or Avengers 4; we group his cameos together and then move him from one set to the next and get him through his cameos in one day.'

You can see the first of Lee's posthumous cameos when Ralph Breaks The Internet premieres November 21. That will be followed by Spider-Man: Intro The Spider-Verse on December 14.

Captain Marvel hits theaters March 8, 2019 and the untitled Avengers 4 arrives May 3, 2019.
The daughter of late comic icon Stan Lee says they were working on a joint project involving a new superhero called Dirt Man, and vowed to see the character through.

J.C. Lee, 68, told TMZ Live Tuesday that they had hatched one last personality under Lee's vast legacy: Dirt Man.

'We have been working on a character called Dirt Man,' she told the outlet. 'The last little angel that we've got tucked away is Dirt Man.'

More to come: J.C. Lee, 68, the daughter of late comic icon Stan Lee, says they were working on a joint project involving a new superhero called Dirt Man, and vowed to see the character through. They were snapped last year in Hollywood

The New York City native opened up about her chat about the character with her father, who died at 95 in Los Angeles on Monday.

'I said, "Daddy please, no clatter, no steel no any of that - let's get down and dirty, let's do what's going on about love."'

J.C. vowed, 'It's not over yet, we've still got a little trickery,' adding that she hopes Dirt Man will be made into a feature film.

In the chat, J.C. said she takes exception to see her late father Stan billed as a co-creator for any of the work he spawned.

One last gift: J.C. vowed, 'It's not over yet, we've still got a little trickery,' in regards to the character

Legacy: J.C. hailed her father's devotion toward the fans in the chat with TMZ

'He created Marvel Comics, and forgive me, my father is not a co-creator,' she said. 'My father did not co-create Spider-Man, Hulk or any of them - he created them!'

She said her father was devoted to his fans and would answer as much fan mail as he could get to while working at Marvel.

'When my father could,' she said, 'he'd answer every fan letter that he could answer ... it's all about the fans, my father loved them so much.'

J.C. said she was planning on creating a charity in his name, the Stan Lee Childhood Literacy Foundation, to continue his legacy.

Lee has hailed by a litany of celebrities upon his passing Monday, as they marveled at his unparalleled creativity.

Among those who chimed in with memorials included Robert Downey Jr., Hugh Jackman, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Ryan Reynolds, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Rob Kardashian has allegedly filed to lower his $20,000 a month child support payments to ex-fiancee Blac Chyna.

And on Tuesday, the 30-year-old model seemed to clap back at the reality star when she took to Instagram to brag about her fleet of luxury vehicles.

'Work hard, play harder!!! My s**t!!! No help!!! No child support!!! Stop the f**king lies!!!' she captioned the clip.

Luxe life: On Tuesday, Blac Chyna took to Instagram to brag about her fleet of luxury cars after ex-fiance Rob Kardashian filed to lower his child support payments

'Work hard, play harder!!! My s**t!!! No help!!! No child support!!! Stop the f**king lies!!!' she captioned the clip that featured two Bentleys and a Ferrari

A trio of white cars with red rimsincluding two Bentleys and a Ferraricould be seen sitting in Chyna's driveway.

'Oh, hey there,' the mom of two said during the video as she giggled in background.

On Tuesday, The Blast reported that Rob can 'no longer afford' to pay his ex thousands of dollars each month and believes that Blac's increased wealth should require her to pay him.

Words: She shared the clip on Tuesday with a brief caption

Money problems: The Kardashian has allegedly filed to lower his $20,000 a month child support payments to Chyna. According to The Blast, Rob can 'no longer afford' to pay his ex thousands of dollars each month and believes that Blac's increased wealth should require her to pay him

Chyna is said to be worth more than $1.4 million, with Rob claiming his income has dwindled from $100,000 per month in 2017 to less than $10,000.

The Arthur George founder is aiming to collect $2,864 from the model who reportedly earns more than $60,000 per month.

Blac is said to be disputing the attempted modification of the child support, and has accused the star and his legal team of 'manipulating' the date to make Rob appear in dire financial straits.

A judge was said to have suspended child support obligations at a hearing earlier this year, until the battle could be settled. Both sides were then said to have handed over financial documents.

Battle of the bank accounts: Chyna is said to be worth more than $1.4 million, with Rob claiming his income has dwindled from $100,000 per month to less than $10,000. The Arthur George founder is aiming to collect $2,864 from the model who reportedly earns more than $60,000 per month

The warring pair are scheduled to meet with a judge in December for a final decision.

Blac and Rob enjoyed a whirlwind romance starting in January 2016 and resulting in an engagement come February.

The Fashionnova brand ambassador gave birth to their daughter Dream, now age two, in November of that same year.

The couple's relationship came to a tumultuous end in 2017.
Lily Collins beamed while out on Tuesday with longtime friend Johnny Harper as they spent part of his 30th birthday in Beverly Hills, California.

The 29-year-old actress and birthday boy Johnny were both smiling as they strolled in the upscale area.

Lily kept it casual in a black zippered shirt, black leggings and an olive green jacket.

Birthday outing: Lily Collins stepped out with longtime friend Johnny Harper on Tuesday as they spent part of his 30th birthday in Beverly Hills, California

The daughter of rocker Phil Collins, 67, completed her outfit with white sneakers.

Lily had her long dark brown hair down around her shoulders and accessorized with sunglasses.

Johnny also kept it simple in a plain dark blue T-shirt, blue jeans and flip-flops.

Lily earlier took to Instagram on Tuesday to commemorate his birthday and shared pics of herself and Johnny on a plane.

Casual outing: The 29-year-old actress kept it casual in a green jacket and leggings

Birthday boy: Johnny also kept it simple in a plain blue T-shirt and denim jeans

'Happy 30th birthday to my travel partner in crime and bestie of 20 years. Thank you for constantly keeping me highly entertained, never ever annoying me, and always taking advantage of every photo opportunity,' Lily wrote in the caption for her 11.6 million followers.

'I clearly never get tired of our crazy antics. But seriously... I truly can't imagine my life without you. You're one in a million. I'm eternally grateful for your support and friendship since day one and I love you more than words. Cheers to this new phase of our lives and the next decade's adventures together. It's just the beginning...,' Lily added.

Lily can be seen next year on the big screen in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile.

Social media: Lily took to Instagram and wished a happy 30th birthday to her 'travel partner in crime and bestie of 20 years'

Photo opportunity: Johnny took a selfie next to sleepy Lily that she posted on Instagram

The film tells the story of notorious serial kiler Ted Bundy told from the perspective of his girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, who struggled to accept that he was a charismatic serial killer.

Lily plays Kloepfer who ultimately turned him into law enforcement while 31-year-old Zac Efron portrays Bundy.

She also is set to appear in the upcoming biopic Tolkien about the legendary Lord Of The Rings author J. R. R Tolkien.

Busy star: Lily, shown earlier this month in Los Angeles, can be seen next year on the big screen in Tolkien and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

Lily portrays his wife Edith, Lily and will star opposite Nicholas Hoult, 28, in the titular role.

The Rules Don't Apply star also can be seen in 2019 in the six-part BBC television adaptation of Les Miserables.

The TV series will be based on the original 1862 novel by French writer Victor Hugo and will not include songs from the iconic stage show.
It's been a difficult stretch for Kourtney Kardashian, but she's still managing to get in gym time.

The mom-of-three - to son Mason, eight, daughter Penelope, six, and son Reign, three - was clad in a black Adidas windbreaker with black leggings and black Nike sneakers as she made her way out into the 90210.

The Keeping up with the Kardashians personality, 39, had her black locks pulled back and wore sunglasses on the daytime outing in the well-heeled city, toting a black leather purse.

Out and about: Kourtney Kardashian, 39, was clad in a black Adidas windbreaker with black leggings and black Nike sneakers as she made her way out into the 90210

The eldest of the Kardashian siblings was out amid a difficult period as her hometown of Calabasas, California was under evacuation orders earlier in the week amid conditions caused by the Woolsey Fire, causing her to flee the town.

Last week, the stunning TV personality took to social media as she headed to the home of her sister Kendall amid the damaging blazes.

'I pray that everyone is kept safe and protected from these fires. No Calabasas tonight,' wrote Kourtney, who shared a shot of the rear area of her vehicle packed with belongings.

She went on to say that her house had been spared in the damaging blazes, which had seared the homes of other celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Gerard Butler and Robin Thicke.

Luxe life: The reality star made her way in between a pair of luxury cars after her workout

Focused: The mom-of-three continued with her gym regimen amid a difficult time

Fashionista: The eldest of the Kardashian sisters made her way into a building after the workout

Using her voice: Kourtney took to social media to spread well-wishes to her neighbors

The reality star, who's been in relationships with Scott Disick and Younes Bendjima, revealed via social media on Saturday that her home had been spared by the blazes after a close call.

She later wrote, 'Glory be to God. Hoping that the day continues like this and that the fire gets contained.

'To everyone removed from their homes, to those who lost their homes, to those affected lets all continue to pray.'
Alessandra Ambrosio rocked a retro Michael Jackson T-shirt on Tuesday while out and about in Santa Monica, California.

The 37-year-old model wore a black shirt that featured an image of the late pop star from the cover of his 1982 all-time best-selling album Thriller.

Alessandra tucked her shirt into a pair of distressed blue jeans and had a black leather motorcycle jacket draped over her shoulders.

Thriller shirt: Alessandra Ambrosio wore a Michael Jackson T-shirt on Tuesday while out and about in Santa Monica, California

She completed her ensemble with black leather boots and also carried a black leather purse.

The Brazilian beauty showed her flawless complexion with just a hint of makeup.

Alessandra had her long brown hair down in loose curls and accessorized with sunglasses.

She sat out the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last week for the first time since 2000.

Cute smile: The 37-year-old Brazilian beauty flashed her winning smile while headed to lunch

Distressed denim: Alessandra tucked her Thriller shirt into distressed denim jeans

Natural beauty: The model showed her flawless complexion with just a hint of makeup

Alessandra told People last month how much she's enjoying having more time to spend with them now she's retired as a VS Angel.

'We love going to the beach, hanging in Malibu and playing volleyball,' she explained.

'I like to entertain in my house. I have some nice Brazilian barbecues,' she added. 'Here in California, it is just so easy. We like going rollerblading and biking, all kind of things!'

More time: Alessandra sat out the recent Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for the first time since 2000

Beach fan: The model recently told People that she enjoys going to the beach with her kids

Hot mama: Alessandra has a 10-year-old daughter Anja Louise and six-year-old son Noah Phoenix with ex-boyfriend Jamie Mazur, 37

Alessandra has a 10-year-old daughter Anja Louise and six-year-old son Noah Phoenix with ex-boyfriend Jamie Mazur, 37.

She and Jamie split earlier this year after being engaged for 10 years.

Alessandra portrayed herself in a cameo in the 2016 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

She also appeared in the 2015 comedy Daddy's Home and its 2017 sequel Daddy's Home 2.

Splits: She and Jamie split earlier this year after being engaged for 10 years

Herself: Alessandra portrayed herself in a cameo in the 2016 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Ballots from Broward County, the epicenter of the fight over Floridas first statewide recount. Photo: Joe Cavaretta/TNS via Getty Images

Bedeviled by human and mechanical errors and besieged by unfounded but loud accusations of fraud from their governor and their president, county election officials labored through Floridas very first statewide election recount (the famous 2000 recount was in selected counties, and the U.S. Supreme Court short-circuited a statewide recount, effectively awarding the presidency to George W. Bush). They face a Thursday afternoon state-imposed deadline for finishing a machine recount of ballots for three races: senator, governor, and commissioner of agriculture. After that, any contests where the winning margin is under a quarter of a percent of the total vote will proceed to a hand recount where apparent anomalies (e.g., the sizable undercount of Senate votes in Broward County) that might have been produced by faulty machines will be resolved. At this point, the Senate race is the only one that qualifies for a hand recount.

But various counties are struggling to make the initial deadline. Most famously, Broward County (Fort Lauderdale)  whose longtime elected Democratic election supervisor, Brenda Snipes, has been under fire from Republicans Donald Trump, Governor Rick Scott, Senator Marco Rubio, and former governor Jeb Bush  didnt begin its machine recount until yesterday, in contrast to neighboring Miami-Dade County, which got a head start. But as the Miami Herald explains, Broward could well get it done on time:

Broward has faster high-speed counting machines than Miami-Dade does, according to Miami-Dade officials familiar with both models. Broward is using 12 of these high-speed counting machines to mow through the 700,000-plus ballots.

And staffers will work 12-hour shifts around the clock. For the August primary, Broward only had five high-speed machines. Snipes decided to buy three more (at $115,000 a pop) to beef up for Election Day, and another four are on loan from the manufacturer.

But in Palm Beach County, another large, Democratic-leaning jurisdiction on Floridas Atlantic coast, election officials are being betrayed by worn-out machines, as the Herald reports:

Palm Beach Countys race to recount votes is heating up  literally. The countys decade-old ballot-counting machines overheated and gave incorrect totals, forcing the county to restart its recount of about 175,000 early votes, supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said Tuesday night.

The department has flown in mechanics to repair the machines. Were disappointed by the mechanical problems that are going to cause a further delay in the recount, Bucher told reporters. It became evident through the vigorous pace of counting that the machines used for the recount were starting to get stressed.

The mechanical failures cost the county a day in its race to meet the Thursday deadline, and that may mean it wont reach it at all. A state judge initially ordered an extension of the deadline for Palm Beach, but the state GOP successfully intervened to remove the case to a federal court. Counties that havent finished their recounts by the deadline will have to report the numbers as they stood before that process began (though revised numbers may be included in the final, final state results, due on November 20).

But Democratic senator Bill Nelson, who trails Rick Scott by a mere 13,000 votes in the pre-recount results (out of 8.2 million ballots cast in Florida, has sued in federal court to extend the deadlines. A hearing will be held today.

And there are reports of potentially discriminatory election administration practices by the states governing Republicans, as noted by Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum:

Mr. Gillum has raised his own claims of voting disparities. He cited a report that a handful of voters in Bay County, a predominantly white Gulf Coast area ravaged by Hurricane Michael last month, were allowed to cast votes by email or fax while voters in more diverse counties on Floridas densely populated East coast were screened more rigorously.

All this chaos could become even more intense once the hand recount (again, which at this point only involves the governors race between Gillum and Ron DeSantis) begins; the deadline for completing that process is Sunday, November 18.

Unless the machine recount uncovers some unexpected anomalies, the key moment will probably be the hand recount in Broward. And if that changes any results, you can expect the fraud chorus from GOP pols in Tallahassee and Washington to arise anew. Its a tradition among Florida Republicans, dating back to 2000.
Blanca Blanco was spotted shopping for necessities in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old actress sported a casual ensemble of graphic tee and black leggings as she stopped by a local store.

The outing comes after the beauty reported her Malibu house she shares with boyfriend John Savage burned down from the raging California wildfires.

Keeping calm: Blanca Blanco, 37, was spotted in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Keeping a modest style, the Showgirls 2: Penny's From Heaven star looked fresh faced and positive during the trying times.

She added a chic handbag to her ensemble as she donned a red leather jacket and stomped the streets in Ugg boots.

Her trademark brunette tresses were left naturally curly and loose as they cascaded over her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Blanca was told on Friday morning to leave her home in Malibu.

Casual shopper: The actress sported a casual ensemble of graphic tee and black leggings as she stopped by a local store

Laid back: Keeping a modest style, the Showgirls 2: Penny's From Heaven star looked fresh faced and positive during the trying times

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.

Hair story: Her trademark brunette tresses were left naturally curly and loose as they cascaded over her shoulders

Rear view: Blanca entered the store to stock up on necessities lost during the wildfire

'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.

Devastated: The outing comes after the beauty reported her Malibu house she shares with boyfriend John Savage burned down from the raging California wildfires

Sad day: Blanca lost her Maliby home in the wildfire on Friday; here she shares her story with DailyMail.com

'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.

'I am now homeless but reeving so much support that we feel blessed.

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

'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.

'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.
Ali Oetjen first stepped into the spotlight while competing for the heart of Tim Robards on the very first season of The Bachelor Australia.

But the Adelaide-based accounts manager was left brokenhearted when she was brutally dumped by the chiropractor, placing second-runner up.

Now, five years later, Tim has told Daily Mail Australia what he really thinks of Ali, ahead of Thursday night's finale of her star turn on The Bachelorette.

Scroll down for video

EXCLUSIVE: Speaking with Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday night, Tim Robards reveals what he REALLY thinks of Ali Oetjen... five years after he dumped her on The Bachelor

'I think Ali is completely genuine,' Tim stated, speaking with Daily Mail Australia at the launch of Nespresso's new flagship boutique in Sydney on Tuesday night.

'I think she genuinely wants a relationship and is on the show for the right reasons,' he added.

The 35-year-old also revealed that he and now-wife Anna Heinrich, who he chose over Ali and first runner-up Rochelle Emmanuel-Smith, were 'occasionally' tuning in to watch the blonde on The Bachelorette.

Happily ever after! Tim chose lawyer Anna Heinrich on The Bachelor, and the pair have been together ever since

'We will definitely be watching the finale for sure!' he enthused.

And while Tim only had kind words to say about Ali, he made sure to gush about his life as a newlywed with Anna.

'I found the love of my life on The Bachelor,' he cooed, revealing that he and his new wife have already moved into their recently-purchased $1.9 million Rose Bay apartment.

All smiles! Tim recently married Anna and the pair have already moved into their $1.9 million apartment

Meanwhile, rumours are intensifying that Ali is still single following an ill-fated venture on The Bachelorette.

Bill Goldsmith, Taite Radley and Todd King are Ali's three final suitors.

However, all three have been pictured in Fiji in recent days, where a bevvy of singles are currently filming Bachelor In Paradise.
Jordan Barrett proved that old habits are hard to break on Wednesday.

Despite being on his way to see a skin clinic in Sydney's Double Bay, the 22-year-old model was seen puffing on an unhealthy cigarette.

Dressed casually in a pair of charcoal grey pinstripe pants, a charcoal grey knit sweater and black sneakers, Jordan was seen with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth while chatting on the phone.

Scroll down for video

Contradictory: Jordan Barrett proved that old habits are hard to break, puffing on a cigarette before visiting a skin clinic in Sydney on Wednesday

The blonde was accompanied by fellow model and new mother Cheyenne Tozzi.

Cheyenne, 29, sported a chic ensemble for the outing, teaming black pants with a black T-shirt and matching black blazer.

Not a care in the world: Jordan was seen with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth while chatting on the phone

Laidback style: The model was dressed casually in a pair of charcoal grey pinstripe pants, a charcoal grey knit sweater and black sneakers

She also wore white sneakers and carried an oversized designer handbag, while clutching her phone in one hand.

Cheyenne's long blonde hair was worn loose and disheveled, and she appeared fresh-faced.

The pair had arrived together, and put on an affectionate display, with Jordan pulling Cheyenne into a bear hug and planting a kiss on the side of her head.

No smoking: At one stage, a man chatting with the young star was seen gesturing towards Jordan

Back in black: Jordan was accompanied by fellow model and new mum Cheyenne Tozzi

They were later seen deep in conversation as they left the premises.

Joining them on the outing was American model Emily Ratajkowski, who is currently in Sydney to attend the GQ Australia Men Of The Year Awards.

Emily appeared to have arrived later, accompanied by a girlfriend dressed in a similar ensemble to her and a burly bodyguard.

Hard day? Cheyenne's long blonde hair was worn loose and disheveled, and she appeared fresh-faced

Close: The pair had arrived together, and put on an affectionate display, with Jordan pulling Cheyenne into a bear hug and planting a kiss on the side of her head

Embrace: Jordan and Cheyenne were seen holding on tight to each other as they stood outside the office

Famous friends: Joining them on the outing was Emily Ratajkowski, who is currently in Sydney to attend the GQ Australia Men Of The Year Awards

The 27-year-old actress and model stepped out in a pair of light blue jeans, and showed off her incredible abs in a cropped white T-shirt and taupe-coloured blazer.

She also wore white sneakers and carried a snakeskin handbag.

Her long brown hair was worn loose, and she donned brown sunglasses, gold hoop earrings and layered gold necklaces.

Jordan is close friends with both Cheyenne and Emily, regularly sharing photos of both of them on Instagram.

Twinning it: Emily appeared to have arrived later, accompanied by a girlfriend dressed in a similar ensemble to her

Having a chat: Jordan and Cheyenne were later seen deep in conversation as they left the premises

Girlfriends: In an interview with The Cut in 2016, Jordan admitted he prefers surrounding himself with girls - particularly in the modeling industry - claiming they're more 'fun'

In an interview with The Cut in 2016, Jordan admitted he prefers surrounding himself with girls - particularly in the modeling industry - claiming they're more 'fun'.

'I suppose Im in the same scene as those girls. They have fun nonstop and they kill it,' he said.

'Behind the scenes at guys shows, everything seems a little forced and tense or competitive. Its weird energy.

'Ive seen a lot of Zoolander stuff happen, like comparing bodies with each other and with shirtless selfies.'
Emily Ratajkowski made waves earlier this week when she strutted along a Sydney beach in a barely-there bikini.

And the American model, 27, continued to flash the flesh during another outing in the harbour city on Wednesday.

The brunette showed off her incredible abs in a tiny crop top as she called in for an energy healing massage at a skin clinic in the ritzy suburb of Double Bay.

Abs-olutely flawless! Emily Ratajkowski showed some skin in a tiny crop top during an outing in Sydney on Wednesday

Before her visit to the xclinic, Emily joined a female friend as they took in some of Sydney's breathtaking views.

The pair were accompanied by a burly bodyguard, who kept close to the duo in order to offer complete protection.

After sizzling on a Sydney beach on Monday, Emily dressed somewhat more modestly for Wednesday's cooler weather.

What a view! Emily was playing tourist on Wednesday, taking in the sights of Sydney

Dare to bare! The beauty teamed her skimpy top with a beige patterned blazer and a pair of high-waisted jeans

Rock hard! Emily opted for a white crop top that showed off her tanned and toned torso

However, she still managed to show off her tanned and toned torso by wearing a tiny white crop top.

The beauty teamed the skimpy item with a beige patterned blazer and a pair of high-waisted jeans.

Opting for comfort, she added a pair of chunky white sneakers and shielded her eyes with designer shades.

Complete protection: Emily and her pal were accompanied by a burly bodyguard on their day out in Sydney

Top of the crops! Emily and her brunette pal dressed in almost identical ensembles

Later, Emily and her pal met up with Australian models Jordan Barrett and Cheyenne Tozzi at the All Saints Skin Clinic.

Emily indulged in an energy healing massage at the practice - no doubt some needed relaxation ahead of her appearance at GQ Australia's Man of The Year Awards.

Looking refreshed, the group was later pictured exiting the clinic with the trusty bodyguard in tow.

Rest and relaxation! Emily and her friend were spotted at the All Saints Skin Clinic in ritzy Double Bay

Looking refreshed: Australian models Jordan Barrett and Cheyenne Tozzi were also pictured at the clinic with Emily

Byron Bay-born Jordan travels in the same international style set as Emily, and the fashionable pair are known as firm friends.

Meanwhile, Sydney-based Cheyenne is also one of the modelling world's most famous famous.

The blonde beauty has just given birth to her first child with male model partner, Marlon Teixeira.

Emily is in Australia for GQ's Man of Year Awards, which will be held on Wednesday night

Fancy seeing you here! Jordan and Emily travel in the same trendy modelling circles

All smiles: Australian-born beauty Cheyenne has recently given birth to her first child
They were forced to flee their respective homes when the deadly and raging Woolsey wildfire threatened the Calabasas area.

Despite being on edge over the last few days, Kim Karsdashian got to share a light moment when she met up with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his two kids.

On Tuesday, the old friends were spotted outside their luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, where at one point Kim K broke out her phone and took a selfie with Barker's son Landon.

Catching up: Kim Kardashian was spotted talking with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his son Landon, 15, outside a luxury hotel in Beverly Hills on Tuesday

Dressed for casual-comfort, the fashionista was seen wearing a grey sweatsuit and white sneakers as she talked with Travis and his 12-year old daughter Alabama near the valet parking area.

At one point the reality star reached out and put her arm around Landon, 15, and took the selfie.

With the exception of his body ink, both dad and son looked nearly identical in their all-black ensembles.

Light moment: At one point Kim put her arm around Landon and took a selfie as Travis and his daughter Alabama, 12, looked on

Kim and Travis have known each other since the days when he dated Paris Hilton in 2006 following his separation from second wife Shanna Moakler.

The Kardashians have come out in recent days to thank firefighters who continue to battle the flames in and around her home in Hidden Hills and the Calabasas/Malibu regions.

On Sunday, Keeping Up With The Kardashians won Best reality Show at the 2018 People Choice Awards in nearby Santa Monica. Kim took to the podium to accept the trophy and used the time to thank the first responders.

'We would like to dedicate this win to all of the fire fighters, police offers, and first responders,' the 38-year-old said surrounded by sister Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, and mom Kris Jenner.

The family has also taken to social media to give praise and thanks to the brave firefighters and emergency workers.
The young brunettes are both Victoria's Secret runway stars - and they certainly make a fierce twosome off the catwalk.

Australian model Alannah Walton, 18, and New Zealand-born glamazon Georgia Fowler, 26, were spotted posing up a storm at the Visa x IMG Fashion Holiday Dinner at The Glasshouses on Tuesday.

With her long locks cascading past her shoulders, Georgia wore a calf-length, figure-hugging halterneck dress with matching pumps to the New York event.

Brunettes have more fun! Alannah Walton (right) and Georgia Fowler (left) struck a pose at the Fashion Holiday Dinner in New York on Tuesday

She wore minimal jewellery, save for a pair of a large drop earrings and a couple of rings on her right hand.

Her outfit was contrasted by Alannah's satin fuchsia-pink dress and light-brown strappy heels.

Like Georgia, Alannah chose to wear a pair of large drop earrings, but styled her long brunette tresses into a bun at the back of her head.

Double the love: Georgia wore a calf-length figure-hugging halterneck dress with matching pumps. Her outfit was contrasted by Alannah's (right) satin, fuchsia-pink dress and light-brown strappy heels

Georgia was no doubt still on a high from her recent Victoria's Secret catwalk debut.

The young beauty was discovered by IMG in 2014 via their Instagram scouting initiative @WeLoveYourGenes.

For Alannah, the 2018 Victoria's Secret show was her third sashay down the runway for the fashion mega brand.

Fab four: Both women posed for photos with ex Uber executive Bozoma Saint John ( second from left), 41, and IMG model Jillian Mercado (second from right), 31

Both women posed for photos with ex Uber executive Bozoma Saint John, 41, and IMG model Jillian Mercado, 31.

Jillian, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, is an activist for people with disabilities in the modelling industry.

She has appeared in ads for major brands including Diesel, Ivy Park, and Nordstrom.
Giuliana Rancic and her husband Bill Rancic were all smiles after a dinner date on Tuesday.

Giuliana, 44, and Bill, 47, were spotted leaving celebrity hot-spot Craig's in West Hollywood.

The couple seemed happy as ever, with Giuliana even blowing kisses to photographers as she left the restaurant.

Out for dinner: Giuliana Rancic and Bill Rancic were all smiles while out for dinner in West Hollywood

Happy couple: Giuliana, 44, and Bill, 47, were spotted leaving celebrity hot-spot Craig's in West Hollywood

Giuliana was spotted wearing an all-white ensemble, with a sleeveless white top with white pants that was tied off with a matching white belt.

She also wore tan heels with a black purse slung over her shoulder.

Her husband Bill kept things more casual, stepping out in a blue plaid shirt, blue jeans and dark blue loafers

The couple's dinner date comes just days after they showcased their private Idaho getaway, two years after they bought the home in 2016.

In white for dinner: Giuliana was spotted wearing an all-white ensemble, with a sleeveless white top with white pants that was tied off with a matching white belt

Dinner date: Her husband Bill kept things more casual, stepping out in a blue plaid shirt, blue jeans and dark blue loafers

Giuliana recently returned to E! News in September for the first time in three years, returning to the news desk after the resignation of Catt Salder.

She joined the network as the anchor of E! News in 2005, joined by Ryan Seacrest a year later, and she also co-hosts Fashion Police for the network.

Rancic announced in July 2015 that she was leaving E! News, while continuing to host Fashion Police.

Back to work: Giuliana recently returned to E! News in September for the first time in three years, returning to the news desk after the resignation of Catt Sadler

Heading home: She joined the network as the anchor of E! News in 2005, joined by Ryan Seacrest a year later, and she also co-hosts Fashion Police for the network

Giuliana and Bill, an entrepreneur who won the first season of The Apprentice, hosted by Donald Trump, were married in November 2007.

Two years later, they starred in their own reality series, Giuliana and Bill, which debuted on the Style Network and was later moved over to the E! Network.

The show ran for seven seasons between 2009 and 2014.

Heading home: Giuliana and Bill, an entrepreneur who won the first season of The Apprentice, hosted by Donald Trump, were married in November 2007

Waving goodbye: Two years later, they starred in their own reality series, Giuliana and Bill, which debuted on the Style Network and was later moved over to the E! Network

Back in late October, Giuliana appeared in New York to promote her new skin care line, Fountain of Youth Beauty.

She was also given a shout-out by Kris Jenner, who promoted her products on Instagram.

'Congratulations to my beautiful friend @giulianarancic for the launch of her new skincare brand @fountainofyouth!! I'm so proud of you and you are beautiful inside and out!! #fountainoftruthbeauty #family #love,' Jenner said.
He's been busy promoting his new movie The Front Runner since it's star-studded premiere in New York on October 30.

And on Tuesday night, Hugh Jackman was joined by his leading lady Vera Farmiga for another screening of the biopic in the Big Apple.

The pair posed for photos inside the movie theatre before taking part in a Q&A following the screening.

Co-stars: Hugh Jackman was joined by his leading lady Vera Farmiga for another screening in New York Tuesday night of their new movie The Front Runner

Both stars opted for checks with their choice of outfit.

Jackman, 50, wore a gray and blue check two-piece suit with a burgundy sweater underneath which he had on a pale pink shirt and a red tie.

Farmiga, 45, was also stylish in pale gray check wide-legged trousers.

She added a black t-shirt with the legend 'Remember Love' across the front in white and a black duster.

Dapper star: Jackman, 50, wore a gray and blue check two-piece suit with a burgundy sweater underneath which he had on a pale pink shirt and a red tie

On trend: Farmiga, 45, was stylish in pale gray check wide-legged trousers. She added a black t-shirt with the legend 'Remember Love' across the front in white and a black duster

In The Front Runner, Jackman stars as Colorado Senator Gary Hart who declared his intention in 1987 to run for the democratic nomination for president for the 1988 election. Farmiga stars as wife Lee Hart.

The movie, directed by Jason Reitman, follows Hart, the clear frontrunner for the nomination, as he is dogged by rumors of womanizing.

He ultimately suspends his campaign after the publication of details of his affair with young campaign aide Donna Rice.

The Front Runner opened in select theatres on November 7 and is set to go into wide release on November 21.

Insights: The pair took part in a Q&A following the screening of the film that details Senator Gary Hart's 1987 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination that was doomed by scandal

Troubled campaign: Jackman stars as the senator with Farmiga as his long-suffering wife Lee
Naomi Watts opted for a classic look when she stepped out for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in Sydney on Wednesday night.

The 50-year-old actress looked chic in a knee-length black shift dress, which featured black beading around the collar and waist.

She also wore a pair of black pointy-toe slingback stilettos with silver jeweled straps, and carried a beaded black clutch purse with green feathers.

Elegant: Naomi Watts opted for a low-key look when she stepped out for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in Sydney on Wednesday night

The Mulholland Drive star wore her lob-cut blonde hair loose with soft waves that perfectly framed her age-defying visage.

She also wore a slick of red lipstick as she walked the black carpet at The Star.

Naomi joined a host of celebrities at the event, including Emily Ratajkowski, Joel Edgerton, Jordan Barrett, and twins Jordan and Zac Stenmark.

The New York-based actress has been making the most of her time back in Sydney, spending time with family and visiting old haunts.

True beauty: The Mulholland Drive star wore her lobbed blonde hair loose with soft waves framing her face. She also wore a slick of red lipstick

Keeping it classy: The 50-year-old actress looked chic in a knee-length black shift dress, which featured black beading around the collar and waist

Earlier this week, she shared a photo of herself sitting out front of a house on Instagram, saying it was her former home.

'This is the house that I used to live in, many years ago,' she wrote.

'My very first agent and dear, dear (late friend) John Cann gave me (and others in need) a room when I didnt have a bean.

Home sweet home: The New York-based actress has been making the most of her time back in Sydney, spending time with family and visiting old haunts

Family time: She posted another photo of herself sharing a laugh with relatives, including her beloved 'Nanna' (second from right)

'Demons were slayed and dreams were made.

'P.S. It didnt look anything like this when I lived there.'

On Tuesday, she posted another photo of herself sharing a laugh with relatives, including her beloved 'Nanna'.

'#laughcry #crylaugh #family,' she simply captioned it.
Actor Pia Miller has come a long way since her time on Home And Away.

The 35-year-old set pulses racing on Wednesday when she arrived at Sydney's GQ Awards in a white halterneck dress reminiscent of the famous dress worn by Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe.

The brunette beauty stunned onlookers in the floor-length dress, which showed off her ample assets.

Scroll down for video

Some like it hot! Pia Miller (pictured) channelled Marilyn Monroe in a white halterneck dress at the GQ Awards in Sydney on Wednesday

The all-white outfit was embellished on the front with a generous ruffle detail, giving the otherwise plain dress a distinctive flourish.

Pia finished her look with a pair of Hollywood-inspired silvery high heels.

The tanned actress wore her long luscious brunette locks out as she posed for the cameras at the event.

White lightning: The brunette beauty stunned onlookers in the floor-length dress, which showed off her ample assets

The brunette beauty's silver bangle and trio of rings glittered with the straps of her heels as the flashbulbs radiated across the photo wall.

The 12th Annual GQ Awards were also attended by Emily Ratajkowski, Jordan Barrett, Naomi Watts and Joel Edgerton.

Pia has been engaged to film producer Tyson Mullane for almost a year.

Textures: The all-white outfit was embellished on the front with a generous ruffle detail, giving the otherwise plain dress a distinctive flourish

The Chilean-Australian beauty was first discovered at 14 after winning a modelling competition for Dolly Magazine.

After having her eldest son Isaiah at just 19, she went on to star in a string of campaigns for Myer, Qantas, Midas and Star Casino before turning her attentions to acting and landing her breakthrough role as Summer Bay copper, Katarina 'Kat' Chapman.

Pia recently wrapped up the first season of Channel 9's Bite Club.
Photo: Lucy von Held/Blend Images/Getty Images

You might think that a study demonstrating that venture capital-funded unicorns are overvalued, and by a stunning 48 percent on average, would shake up the industry. Yet Squaring Venture Capital Valuations With Reality, a paper announcing just that finding by Will Gornall and Ilya A. Strebulaev (professors at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, respectively), received only a perfunctory round of coverage from some important investment and tech publications when it was published.

Its no surprise that a study casting doubt on the worth of darlings like Lyft and Cloudflare didnt move investors or change the venture capital industry. Trade press reporters dont have much of a future if they take to biting the hands that feed them, and the investors with overpriced wares dont want to admit theyve been had, or, worse, that theyre part of the problem. But write-ups of this important paper, with its sensational finding, missed that the authors analysis is deadly for the venture capital industry as a whole.

The median venture capital fund loses money. Only the top 5 percent of funds earn enough to justify the risks of investing in venture capital. The nature of venture capital is that the performance of those few successful funds in turn rests on the spectacular results of a small fraction of the investments in a particular fund. Gornall and Strebulaevs finding that the performance of the winners  and even the also-rans  is overstated further undermines the already strained case for investing in venture capital. If you are Joe Retail and think this isnt your problem, think twice. If you invested in high-growth mutual funds, your holdings probably include shares in large venture-capital-backed private companies.

How does this pervasive overvaluation come about in the first place? Once you understand it, its breathtakingly simple. Venture capital-backed companies are money pits. Even if they manage to become profitable in accounting terms, they almost always need more funding to support their growth, typically every 12 to 24 months. The tech stars profiled in the paper, 135 U.S. unicorns (i.e., companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more) had undergone an average of eight rounds of fundraising.

But all these investment rounds are not equal. While the common shares of a public company are fungible, the shares issued in each money round for these venture capital-sponsored companies are unique, as reflected in the naming conventions: Series A, Series B, etc. More important, each share class has its own set of rights, including control rights, conversion, preferred payments, and downside protection, such as ratchet rights that allow for the issuance of additional shares if an IPO price falls below a certain level. These complicated mechanisms are designed to assure investors a minimum level of return.

But muddying this picture, and the valuation exercise, is the fact that each newly issued class of stock has better rights to the companys cash flow than its predecessors. That might seem counterintuitive; isnt a more seasoned new venture less risky, and wouldnt its investors therefore be more willing to accept a lower return than the earlier investors? In fact, almost without exception, the later stage investors pay a higher price for their shares, which sets them up to realize a lower return than earlier investors. The newcomers compensate for that by getting various option rights to improve their returns and protect them against specific risks, such as the founders and earlier investors selling or IPO-ing the company at a price that would lose the newcomers money.

The pervasive overvaluation results from the widespread use  by analysts, the press, the media, and often the companies themselves  of post-money valuation. They take the price per share realized in the latest funding round and use it to revalue the older classes using the higher price of the latest class of shares, even though each new round of funding effectively sucks value out of the previous ones via its superior rights. As the authors stated: Overvaluation arises because the reported valuations assume all of a companys shares have the same price as the most recently issued shares.

Why does this practice persist, particularly given the fact that finance professionals ought to know better? One factor is that its a lot of work to value every class of stock. Gornall and Strebulaev had three lawyers and three law students doing the first pass of interpreting the rights of each class of stock, which was then reviewed by at least one of the profs. That step alone took as much as 12 hours per class. The authors then used an options-based approach to extract the value of common shares from preferred shares, which typically had embedded options, as well as assigning value to contractual rights like vetoes.

But likely an even bigger factor in the use of this bad metric is that lots of players benefit from it. Private companies get to report ever-rising valuations, and at a faster clip than the actual increase in fair value, making them seem like more desirable candidates for investment. It even enables them to dress up what would otherwise be a down round by giving enough goodies to the latest investors to show a nominally higher share price, and hence a rising valuation using the misleading post-money calculation, when its fair value has fallen. Gornall and Strebulaev use the example of Elon Musks SpaceX venture, whose Series D Preferred Share issuance produced a gain of 37 percent in post-money valuation terms, but a decline of 67 percent when properly measured.

This sort of overvaluation is endemic across the venture capital industry. Even though the authors quoted venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as stating specifically that it does not base its valuations on the result of the latest fundraising and does take into account the value of contractual terms, the fact that the firms limited partners say that its valuations are lower than that of other industry players shows that it is in a minority. Another piece of evidence is how major unicorn investors avoid giving straight answers. For instance, in a Barrons article last year on unicorn valuations, Sequoia partner Pat Grady conceded that there had been an increase in financial engineering to get that big headline valuation. However, he was silent on Sequoias valuation approach and simply said that the firm tried to steer clear of that type of situation. Yet the firm hold stakes in seven companies in Gornall and Strebulaevs overvalued unicorn analysis: Houzz, Unity Software (which is elsewhere called Unity Technologies), Qualtrics, Carbon3D, Thumbtack, Medalia, and MarkLogic. Qualtrics is a case study of complex terms: participation, seniority, IPO obstruction, and an IPO ratchet. (Sequoia did not respond to a request for a comment.)

Skeptics might say, But Qualtrics was just sold at a big premium to its valuation. So why should we worry? Venture capital-backed companies are staying put longer. The average time to exit, even for high-performing companies, is over six years. Even though entrepreneurs and investors have taken to complaining about the regulatory burden of being public, if anything, the requirements have been weakened in recent years, thanks to the JOBS Act and an SEC that seems interested only in pursuing insider trading. What this suggests is that investors in these private companies arent keen about what theyd fetch if they tried selling these ventures in the public market, with full disclosure, or to another company. Remember that what matters to investors in the long run is realized gains, not paper profits. Longer holding periods require even greater gains in order to produce attractive returns. Professor Strebulaev concurs that the widespread overvaluation of venture-capital-backed companies plays a role, and probably a large one, in the lengthening of the average time to exit.

Revaluing unicorns alone would have a dramatic impact on the entire venture capital industry, particularly on the top-5-percent firms, as well as eliminating nearly half of the supposed unicorns from their over-$1-billion club. But they are far from the only venture capital companies that are widely overvalued. Professor Strebulaev points out that it isnt just companies that have undergone many rounds of fundraising that are likely to be overvalued. As he wrote, Earlier-stage companies are likely to raise more rounds of funding in the future, and so any valuation method also needs to take that into account. Our modeling on that issue suggests that earlier stage companies are substantially overvalued.

And what about mutual funds? The SEC permits them to hold as much as 15 percent of their assets in illiquid securities like unlisted shares. Many large fund managers, such as Fidelity, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, and insurers like John Hancock that sell investment products, hold shares in companies like Uber, Dropbox, BuzzFeed, and GitHub. Yet some funds hold large enough stakes in these companies that theyve been able to tarnish overall fund performance.

For instance, a Reuters story last June described how writing down the prices of the unicorn Pinterest took nine basis points off the performance of the $114 billion Contrafund in the first half of 2017. A Fidelity spokesperson had been willing to set up a call to discuss its unicorn holdings, but stopped responding after I indicated I wanted to discuss the Gornall-Strebulaev paper.

Professor Strebulaev said that his teams investigations indicated that over 90 percent of mutual funds used inflated post-money valuations. For instance, funds holding different classes of stock in the same company, which clearly should have different prices, would show the same figure. And even the funds that did show lower prices due to illiquidity or scratch and dent  the way some funds cut their prices of Uber shares as it was becoming apparent that Japanese investor SoftBank would not meet the price of the last round of funding  were still adjusting them relative to an inflated post-money valuation, not a fair-money valuation.

Could the SEC step in and remove some of those unicorns horns? Dont hold your breath. While Dodd-Frank reforms gave the agency oversight over private equity funds with over $150 million in assets, the venture capital industry has enough clout in D.C. to have gotten itself exempted. The SEC could still pursue venture capital firms under anti-fraud statutes, but the commission has traditionally used those powers only to pursue egregious abuses, like Ponzi schemes. On top of that, the agency has long taken the position that accredited investors, as in the ones who are wealthy and sophisticated enough to be allowed to invest in venture capital funds in the first place, are adults capable of taking care of themselves. The SEC has more oversight over mutual funds (and professes to care about easily-preyed-upon retail investors), but until there is a blow-up that puts illiquid mutual fund holdings in the headlines in a bad way, it looks like it will continue to defer to the big mutual-fund families.

There is still a threat on the horizon to venture capitalists astride their fake unicorns  in Kentucky, of all places, where a fiduciary duty lawsuit against three deep-pocketed hedge fund sponsors (KKR/Prisma, Blackstone, and PAAMCO) has the potential to shake up the fund management industry. The beneficiaries of deeply underwater public pension funds run by incompetents or crooks make for sympathetic plaintiffs like the ones in this case, Mayberry v. KKR. Public pension funds have also been enthusiastic investors in the hopium known as venture capital. Securities laws take a very dim view of misrepresentations made when selling funds. Venture capital funds typically raise a new fund four or five years after their last one. At that point, they would still own the overwhelming majority of the companies theyd invested in. That means their returns are based on their own valuation of those stakes, and for almost all players, significantly overvalued. If the Kentucky lawsuit against the three fund-management giants looks to be going well for the plaintiffs, the venture capital industry might find some saber-rattling securities lawyers on its doorstep.

Yves Smith publishes the finance and economics website Naked Capitalism.
They're the fashionable best friends that reunited in Sydney earlier this week.

And as supermodels Jordan Barrett and Emily Ratajkowski stepped out at GQ Australia's Men of the Year Awards, the Byron Bay native had the brunette's back.

While Emily, 27, appeared frustrated during media interviews at the A-list event, Jordan, 22, placed a friendly supportive hand on her shoulder.

Scroll down for video

Everything okay? Jordan Barrett, 22, embraced friend Emily Ratajkowski, 27, as she appeared frustrated on the red carpet at the GQ Australia Men Of The Year Awards this Wednesday

Emily's animated display certainly turned heads on the GQ red carpet.

Just moments before, Emily stunned as she led the arrivals at GQ Australia's Men of the Year Awards at Sydney's The Star on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old flaunted her washboard stomach in a partially unbuttoned top, silk skirt and metallic strappy heels while smiling for photographers.

However, as the beauty engaged in a media interview, it seemed that her mood suddenly changed while chatting to a journalist.

He's got her back! While Emily appeared very animated during media interviews at the A-list event, Jordan placed a friendly supportive hand on her shoulder

Cheers mate! Emily certainly seemed thankful, later on leaning in to give him a friendly peck

Thankfully Emily had Aussie star Jordan by her side during the awkward interview.

And she certainly seemed thankful, later on leaning in to give him a friendly peck.

Before donning his loose-fitting suit for the stylish event, Jordan joined Emily to visit an energy healer in the suburb of Double Bay at the practice of Dr David Flakelar.

The alternative medicine practitioner famously runs 1 hour 15 minute treatments to 'restore balance in the energetic system'.

Looking refreshed on Wednesday afternoon, the group was later pictured exiting the clinic with Emily's trusty bodyguard in tow.

Looking good! Emily stunned as she led the arrivals at GQ Australia's Men of the Year Awards at Sydney's The Star on Tuesday while flaunting her washboard stomach in a partially unbuttoned top, silk skirt and metallic strappy heels
Jessica Gomes pulled out all the stops for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in Sydney on Wednesday night.

The busty model wowed in a glamorous gown with a plunging neckline as she posed up a storm on the red carpet in Sydney.

The 34-year-old wore her brunette locks out in loose waves and accessorised with stylish earrings.

Gorgeous: Jessica Gomes, 34, pulled out all the stops for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in Sydney on Wednesday

Emily Ratajkowski was one of the other big names at the event, with the model and actress flying to Sydney this week specifically to attend.

Other celebrities at the event included Naomi Watts, model Lucky Blue Smith, and Kyly and Michael Clarke.

Jessica has been busy hitting the social scene this week.

Before attending the GQ Men of the Year Awards on Wednesday, the brunette stepped out in style for the launch of Sephora's new concept store in David Jones in Melbourne.

Plunging: The busty model wowed in a glamorous gown with a plunging neckline as she posed up a storm on the red carpet in Sydney

Despite working in an image-obsessed industry, Jessica has said she's 'proud' of the fact she's never succumbed to pressure to go under the knife.

'Im proud that I dont have those things in my face,' she told The Daily Telegraph last month.

'I feel its important for me to state that because now within the industry and social media Im seeing a lot of plastic surgery.

'I just want to help women feel good about themselves and not make them feel like they have to look a certain way because every body else is doing it. I want women to know that they can embrace their own unique self and not feel like they have to change themselves or be pressured to do that.'
Vicky Pattison has broken her social media silence after her fiance John Noble was filmed cosying up to a pretty blonde on a lads' holiday in Dubai this week.

The former Geordie Shore star, 31, shared a post hinting she was going through her 'darkest times' on Tuesday, before tweeting a sad face the following day.

The brunette beauty shared a post which read: 'Ah, Kindness.

Cryptic: Vicky Pattison has broken her social media silence after her fiance John Noble was filmed cosying up to a pretty blonde on a lads' holiday in Dubai this week

Rocky romance rumours: Vicky and John got engaged in July 2017 (pictured in May 2018)

'What a simple way to tell another struggling soul that there is love to be found in this world.'

The Newcastle-born star wrote an accompanying message: 'Even in your darkest times, remember that everyone is fighting a battle that you may know nothing about.'

She was soon inundated with messages of support from well-wishers with one writing 'love you kind girl' while another wrote ' sending some, keep your chin up lass'.

MailOnline has contacted Vicky's representatives for comment.

Emotional: The former Geordie Shore star, 31, shared a post hinting she was going through her 'darkest times' on Tuesday, before tweeting a sad face the following day

Post: The star was inundated with support after she shared a post for World Kindness Day

This comes a day after Vicky unfollowed John on Twitter and Instagram after the video emerged of him with the pretty blonde in a Dubai nightclub.

The reality star was said to be planning to confront her other half about the tape upon his return - with the businessman landing back in England on Tuesday.

His return aligns with Vicky - who revealed she was heading home after spending a long weekend in Brighton to celebrate her birthday.

Unfollow: This comes a day after Vicky unfollowed John on Twitter and Instagram after the video emerged of him with the pretty blonde in a Dubai nightclub

Vicky has not spoken publicly about John's recent behaviour, yet a source close to the star told MailOnline: 'Vicky is upset with the pictures and looks forward to speaking to him when he's back about it.'

Meanwhile, John appeared to hint at discontent when he shared a pained looking selfie, captioned 'mood'.

MailOnline has contacted Vicky's representatives for comment.

Shocking: Vicky is said to be planning crisis talks with John after seeing footage of him grinding with a blonde in a Dubai nightclub on Sunday

Vicky is said to be planning crisis talks with John after seeing footage of him grinding with a blonde in a Dubai nightclub on Sunday.

Her understandable distress comes as John was filmed with his lips just inches away from the mystery blonde before she started grinding on his lap.

An eyewitness told MailOnline that the scenes were 'shocking', describing the interaction as 'very flirty'.

Back home: John appeared to hint at discontent when he shared a pained looking selfie, captioned 'mood' after flying back to the UK on Tuesday

Working through it: The couple, who got engaged in July 2017, have been going through a difficult patch recently but seemed to be getting back on track

The Newcastle businessman got up close and cosy with the mystery blonde just hours before a posting a photo of Vicky on Instagram along with the words 'Can't wait to get back to this little monster'.

John had been partying at the Billionaire Mansion when he met the blonde, with an eyewitness telling MailOnline: 'I was really shocked. I recognised John as soon as he got into the club because I'm a fan of Vicky's.

'I couldn't believe that he was talking so close to her. The music was loud so he was leaning into her so that he could hear her. Then she started grinding on his lap.

'It was very flirty and they were really close.'

Very close: Vicky's understandable distress comes as John was filmed with his lips just inches away from the mystery blonde before she started grinding on his lap

John had begun the evening dining in the Taj Hotel restaurant that turns into a nightclub when he struck up a conversation with the girls on the next table.

The insider added: 'John asked the girls on the neighbouring table if they were all right and if they'd mind posing for a selfie with him and his friends, which seemed a bit strange but the girls didn't seem to mind.

'Then his group were joined by this really attractive young blonde, aged only in her early 20s, wearing a revealing nude dress and nude heels and with really long hair extensions.'

Living it up: John had been partying at the Billionaire Mansion when he met the blonde and has been documenting his holiday with his friends on Instagram

The shocking scenes come after Vicky admitted she is '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.'

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'.

Make-or-break: Vicky and John recently went on a make-or-break holiday, and she asked him to accompany her in Dubai where she was working so they could 'talk things through'

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.

It seemed the pair were back on track, however, when just last week she shared pictures of herself trying on wedding dresses at Suzanne Neville's Knightsbridge boutique.
Strictly contestant Kate Silverton promised that if she and her pro partner Aljaz Skorjanec made it to the Blackpool round of the BBC competition that she would jump into the sea.

And the broadcaster, 48, revealed she fully intends to honour that promise, now that she and Aljaz have made it through to next weekend, when the cast will be descending onto the 'Mecca of Ballroom'.

Appearing on Lorraine, she said: 'Im all up for [jumping in the sea], however, last night, Im still barely together with my steps.

Promise this! Strictly contestant Kate Silverton promised that if she and her pro partner Aljaz Skorjanec made it to the Blackpool round of the BBC competion that she would jump into the sea

'So there is a lot of pressure on this week, so Ive been told we have to get everything done before I contemplate anything else other than dancing. At the moment all we are focusing on is the American Smooth.'

She went on: 'You can see the progression... as a viewer I like to see that too.

'Im glad Im progressing. Im loving it. Its those endorphins. We have fun. It is hard work but whats not to love about it. It is such a privilege.'

Aljaz praised his dance partner, who has two young children, branding her 'Super Woman'.

The road to Blackpool: Aljaz praised his dance partner, who has two young children, branding her 'Super Woman'

Bride and groom: Following their wedding-themed dance on Saturdays show, Aljaz joked, 'I have been married FOUR times'

Following their wedding-themed dance on Saturdays show, he joked: 'I have been married FOUR times.

'Janette [Manrara] and I got married three times. We are one of the few couples that got married three times with no divorces in between.

'We have been married three times in the spate of three weeks. One in London, for all of our friends here, one in Slovenia for my family, one in Miami for her family.

'I love wedding cake, Ive probably had four wedding cakes! Last week, I got married to Kate [on Strictly] but we kept our same surnames.'

Asked if she can now fit in her wedding dress again, Kate replied: 'Yes. I had a very gleeful day. My pre-baby weight, really.

Mecca: The the broadcaster, 48, revealed she fully intends to honour that promise, now that she and Aljaz have made it through to next weekend, when the cast will be descending onto the 'Mecca of Ballroom'

Talking about her children and going to Blackpool, she said: 'Its the longest Ive ever left them for Wilbur said, "I just want you to win Mummy"'

Asked if they could win, Aljaz said: 'All of us pros say it, you want to go week by week, especially this season. 'The competition tends to get harder and harder and this year is no different really You look around and it could be anyone in that dance off'

'Im absolutely thrilled. I feel like Ive won already. Weve had such a good time. I dont want it to end at all.'

Talking about her children and going to Blackpool, she said: 'Its the longest Ive ever left them for Wilbur said, "I just want you to win Mummy".'

Asked if they could win, Aljaz said: 'All of us pros say it, you want to go week by week, especially this season.

'The competition tends to get harder and harder and this year is no different really You look around and it could be anyone in that dance off.'

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night on BBC One.
They're regulars on the London social scene and are no strangers to attending glamorous parties.

But Amy Jackson and Olivia Grant lent their support to a charitable cause as they attended the Elephant Family From India With Love dinner to celebrate Diwali at Gymkhana restaurant in London's Mayfair on Tuesday night.

British-born Bollywood star Amy, 26, turned heads in a striking gold velvet trouser suit, which she teamed with a plunging black silk printed blouse.

Girls' night: Olivia Grant (L) and Amy Jackson (R) attended the Elephant Family From India With Love dinner to celebrate Diwali at Gymkhana restaurant in London's Mayfair on Tuesday

The Supergirl actress completed her dinner date look with black pointed heels and a Gucci shoulder bag.

Amy wore her brunette locks in loose waves and accentuated her stunning features with expertly applied makeup.

Speaking at the event, the Liverpudlian beauty confirmed she has recently been appointed ambassador of Elephant Family.

Meanwhile, Stardust actress Olivia, 35, opted for a pastel pink dress with a form fitting bodice and loose skirt.

Elegant: British-born Bollywood star Amy, 26, turned heads in a striking gold velvet trouser suit, which she teamed with a plunging black silk printed blouse

Stunning: Amy wore her brunette locks in loose waves and accentuated her stunning features with expertly applied makeup

The star opted for a matching pink clutch bag and pointed heels while her beautiful red hair was styled in waves.

Keeping her make-up natural, she accentuated her blue eyes with mascara and opted a dab of blush on her cheeks.

The Indian Summers actress completed her look with pink lipstick and statement rose and diamond earrings after flying in from the US for the occasion.

Gorgeous in gold: The Supergirl actress completed her dinner date look with black pointed heels and a Gucci shoulder bag

Styled to perfection: Stardust actress Olivia, 35, opted for a pastel pink dress with a form fitting bodice and loose skirt

Model moment: The star opted for a matching pink clutch bag and pointed heels while her red hair was styled in waves as she posed with model and nutritionist Sarah Ann Macklin

Amy recently starred in her first Hollywood role which saw her take on the role of she Imra Ardeen in Supergirl.

The actress launched her modelling career at the age of just 16 when she was crowned Miss Teen World in 2009, before being propelled to fame in India when she was spotted by Bollywood producers on the pageant's website.

After securing numerous high-profile Bollywood roles, the actress is now hoping to break into the mainstream movie industry.

Pastel perfect: The Indian Summers actress completed her look with pink lipstick and statement rose and diamond earrings after flying in from the US for the occasion

The star-studded crowd at Tuesday night's invite-only dinner to celebrate Diwali and Gymkhana's partnership with Elephant Family saw the likes of model Sarah Ann Macklin and actress Camilla Rutherford show their support for the charity.

Guests enjoyed an intimate cocktail reception, before tucking into a Michelin-starred Indian feast, prepared by the restaurants new executive chef, Jitin Joshi.

Jyotin Sethi, co-founder of JKS restaurants, said: 'We are extremely proud to be supporting Elephant Family during our anniversary celebration.

'We hope that together we will be able to raise awareness about the Asian elephant, often overshadowed by its African counterpart.'
She's been sporting a number of string bikinis in Sydney since landing in Australia on Sunday.

And model Emily Ratajkowksi, 27, managed to make reference to her penchant for string swimwear while delivering a speech at the GQ Australia's Men of the Year Awards on Wednesday.

After being given GQ's International Woman Of The Year award, Emily gave a candid acceptance speech about the importance of being 'multi-faceted', telling the audience: 'It's about wearing a string bikini on the beach, and at a protest.'

'It's about wearing a string bikini on the beach, and at a protest': Emily Ratajkowski, 27, talked about the importance of being 'multi-faceted' as she accepted the top gong at the GQ Awards in Sydney on Tuesday [left].... after wearing THAT swimsuit in Sydney [right]

The self-made swimsuit designer began her address by thanking GQ Australia and the event guests at Sydney's The Star.

The British-born beauty went on to share her thoughts on what it means to be a man or woman in this day and age.

'I think Woman of the Year is a pretty crazy title. But what I think about what's important in 2018 for both men and women, it's about defying stereotypes. It's about being multi-faceted.'

Appreciative: Emily, who received the award for International Woman of the Year, began by thanking GQ Australia and the event guests at Sydney's The Star

Stance: The British-born beauty went on to share her thoughts on what it means to be a man or woman in this day and age: 'It's about defying stereotypes. It's about being multi-faceted'

Sending a message: Reiterating the importance of not confining oneself to preconceived views, Emily added: 'It's about wearing a string bikini on the beach, and at a protest'

Reiterating the importance of not confining oneself to preconceived views, Emily added: 'It's about wearing a string bikini on the beach, and at a protest.'

Prior to accepting the award, Emily stunned on the red carpet, revealing her toned tummy in a partially unbuttoned top, teamed with a psychedelic print skirt and metallic strappy heels.

The swimwear designer ran her hands playfully through her shoulder-length tresses, and smouldered at the camera, drawing attention to her striking facial features.

Oh no! Emily suffered a nip-slip at Sydney's Camp Cove beach this week

Ab-baring: The Blurred Lines bombshell revealed her toned tummy in an abstract top partially unbuttoned, teamed with a psychedelic print skirt and silver strappy heels

Model pals: Emily was joined on the carpet by her model pal Jordan Barrett, 21, who flew into Sydney earlier this week

Emily was joined on the carpet by her model pal Jordan Barrett, 21, who flew into Sydney earlier this week.

Since arriving in Sydney on Sunday, Emily, who rose to fame as a model in Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' 2013 hit Blurred Lines, has stripped down to a number of skimpy bikinis from her own label Inamorata Swim.

On Monday, the brunette sported a barely-there black string bikini at Camp Cove beach, that flaunted her incredible cleavage in a tiny top paired with minuscule G-string briefs.

Leaving little to the imagination: On Monday, Emily sported a barely-there white bikini on her hotel rooftop in Sydney that accentuated her very toned physique

And just hours later on her hotel rooftop, Emily donned the same itsy bitsy bikini, this time in white.

Emily, who wed actor Sebastian Bear-McClard, 31, in February, recently discussed how she treats her Instagram page, which is filled with racy swimwear shots.

In a chat with Paper Magazine in August, the I Feel Pretty actress said: 'I think of my Instagram as a magazine. It's a sexy feminist magazine.'

Candid comments: The brunette, who wed actor Sebastian Bear-McClard, 31, in February, recently discussed how she treats her Instagram page, that's filled with racy swimwear shots

Feminist: In a chat with Paper Magazine in August, the I Feel Pretty actress said: 'I think of my Instagram as a magazine. It's a sexy feminist magazine'

Emily, who has been criticised by some, including Piers Morgan, over whether her racy Instagram posts fit the feminist model, defended her actions.

'I think that the whole idea that because the body I was given might play into some patriarchal idea, I should be ashamed of it or be covering it up is ridiculous. I find empowerment in celebrating and sharing my sexuality,' she explained.

'I think my body is beautiful and a lot of different bodies are beautiful,' Emily added.
She is just days away from celebrating her 27th birthday.

But until then it was work as usual for Shailene Woodley, who headed to filming for her Drake Doremus directed film in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The Big Little Lies actress, 26, nailed the casual yet edgy look in an oversized scarlet sweater teamed with heavy-duty leather ankle boots as she arrived on set.

Looking good: Shailene Woodley nailed the edgy look as she headed to filming for her latest Drake Doremus directed film in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Letting her statement knitwear do all the talking, she completed her look with skintight black skinny jeans.

Styling her dark tresses in a simple topknot, she appeared to go make-up free while carrying two paper cups of tea.

Her outing comes after she was spotted filming with a fake pregnancy bump last week.

Chic: The Big Little Lies actress, 26, rocked an oversized scarlet sweater teamed with heavy-duty leather ankle boots as she arrived on set

According to IMDb, the film follows 'a 30-something woman navigating through love and heartbreak over the course of one year.'

'During that time, she will unlock the secrets to her life in a sudden turn of events and in the most surprising of places.'

The upcoming flick will also star Jamie Dornan and Sebastian Stan, both of whom starred on the ABC drama, Once Upon A Time.

Exciting: According to IMDb, the film follows 'a 30-something woman navigating through love and heartbreak over the course of one year'

In addition to her movie drama, Shailene will return to her role as Jane Chapman in Big Little Lies.

The talented actress will also lend her voice to the animated flick, Arkie.

The film, which will also feature Jai Courtney and social media star Andrew Bachelor, will hit theaters next year.
Chloe Ferry has revealed she's had most of her lip fillers dissolved - but admitted boyfriend Sam Gowland finds them 'weird' and prefers her old look.

The Geordie Shore star, who has spent 50,000 on cosmetic enhancements since 2015, exclaimed that Sam feels like he's 'going out with a new girl' since she reduced her pout.

The infuriated 23-year-old made the revelation as she flaunted her new lips and surgically-enhanced figure in a tiny bikini on Wednesday during the couple's sun-soaked trip to Dubai.

Oh dear: Chloe Ferry has revealed she's had most of her lip fillers dissolved - but admitted boyfriend Sam Gowland finds them 'weird' and prefers her old look

While lying in bed with Sam, Chloe said on her Instagram Stories: 'Basically I had most of the filler in my lips dissolved the other day. They're not as big now and Sam doesn't like them.'

Sam interrupted, yelling: 'It's like going out with a new girl!'

Chloe continued: 'Sam said "I like your old lips". The only person who I want to really impress and he doesn't like my new lips!'

Sam later pointed at her chin and lips, asking: 'It looks weird you know, have you got a bruise there?' to which Chloe replied that it was simply the dissolved filler.

Awkward: The Geordie Shore star, who has spent 50,000 on cosmetic enhancements since 2015, exclaimed that Sam feels like he's 'going out with a new girl' since she reduced her pout

Holiday: The infuriated 23-year-old made the revelation as she flaunted her new lips and surgically-enhanced figure in a tiny bikini on Wednesday during the couple's sun-soaked trip to Dubai

The beauty has openly spoken of cosmetic work she has had done in the past, with one procedure including fat - taken from her stomach and thighs via liposuction - being injected into her behind.

Chloe recently confessed she wants to have a baby with her beau come after the brunette beauty recently confessed to suffering from body dysmorphia - having spent more than 50,000 on plastic surgery to alter her appearance.

Speaking to Closer magazine, the self-confessed cosmetic surgery lover claimed she isn't happy with her appearance, but has vowed to stop going under the knife and instead just indulge in injections and fillers.

Oops: While lying in bed with Sam, Chloe said on her Instagram Stories: 'Basically I had most of the filler in my lips dissolved the other day. They're not as big now and Sam doesn't like them'

Sam's not a fan? Sam interrupted, yelling: 'It's like going out with a new girl!' Chloe continued: 'Sam said "I like your old lips". The only person who I want to really impress and he doesn't like my new lips!'

Reflecting on her previous cosmetic work and the negative reaction it has sparked from some fans, Chloe admitted: 'It's ever since I started having surgery that I've felt like this, and maybe after some of the negative comments.

'I didn't have body dysmorphia before Geordie Shore [2015] I would say it's happened since I started getting surgery - I think that's what created it.'

She went on to insist that she would never go under the knife again, explaining: 'I'm never having any more. People think I've had loads of surgery but I haven't.'

Transformation: Chloe has had rhinoplasty, liposuction, breast implants and a breast uplift as well as several fillers, injections and non-invasive procedures since 2015 (left., in 2015 and right, now)

Confidence issues: She admitted that she developed body dysmorphia when she debuted on Geordie Shore in 2015 (pictured) and went under the knife for the first time

Chloe has had rhinoplasty, liposuction, breast implants and a breast uplift in three years, as well as several fillers, injections and non-invasive procedures.

Speaking about her love of surgery, Chloe - who gets plenty of support from beau Sam as he champions her 'fake look' - previously told new! magazine: 'I just love injections and getting filler, to be honest.'

'If someone says to us they're going to give us free filler, that's totally fine. God, yeah [I'm happy with my looks].'

Self-improvement: Speaking about her love of surgery, Chloe - who gets plenty of support from beau Sam as he champions her 'fake look' - previously told new! magazine: 'I just love injections and getting filler, to be honest'

Big fan: She said: 'If someone says to us they're going to give us free filler, that's totally fine. God, yeah [I'm happy with my looks]'
She won the hearts of the nation as she was crowned the winner of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! last year.

But Georgia Toffolo admitted she endured a painful journey to victory as she branded the hunger pangs she experienced on the show as 'savage' on Wednesday's edition of This Morning.

Joined by 2015 champ Vicky Pattison, the Made In Chelsea star, 24, said: 'The hunger pains are savage. You don't know until you get there!'

Honest: Georgia Toffolo branded the hunger pangs she experienced on I'm A Celebrity last year as 'savage' on Wednesday's edition of This Morning

Reflecting on her stint in the Australian jungle, the TV personality shared: 'It gives me goose bumps to think that I'm A Celeb was a year ago.

'I didn't think I was actually going on the plane. I really struggled being locked down with all the celebrities being in different hotels. It was a nightmare', she added.

Toff also revealed she gave advice to The Vamps star James McVey before his upcoming stint: 'I spoke to James. He was really nervous but I told him everything I wanted to know beforehand.

Winner: The Made In Chelsea star, 24, won the hearts of the nation as she was crowned the winner of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! last year

Reflection: Joined by 2015 champ Vicky Pattison, she said: 'The hunger pains are savage. You don't know until you get there!'

The Devon native went on to reveal her favourite to win: 'My winner might be Fleur East, I've followed her over the years and I like strong tough girls.'

Geordie Shore star Vicky, 30, also shared her thoughts on her possible winner: 'I wouldn't mind seeing Nick Knowles win. I sat next to him at a dinner once. He's got a nice bit of kit. [I wouldn't mind seeing] him in that jungle shower!!

Putting on a typically chic display during her appearance, Georgia donned a tie-neck jumper, complete with a suede skater skirt.

Anxious: Reflecting on her stint in the Australian jungle, the TV personality shared: 'It gives me goose bumps to think that I'm A Celeb was a year ago'

The E4 star accentuated her lean legs with black tights and upped the style ante with pointed stilettos.

Georgia complemented her natural beauty with light strokes of pink-toned make-up, and styled her blonde tresses into loose waves.

Her appearance comes after she exclusively set the record straight to MailOnline, revealing that she is single and that she was never 'really together' with Jack Maynard.

Helping hand: Toff also revealed she gave advice to The Vamps star James McVey before his upcoming stint

Favourites: Georgia tipped Fleur East (L) as a favourite to win the show, while Vicky said she'd like to see Nick Knowles (R) take home the crown

Georgia said: 'We weren't really ever together, we just went on a date. I think on social media it looked like we were really, really together, so yeah.

'We're so close, I DM him most days, I adore him, but it's just not, you know, in the romantic sense. Nothing has changed, he still comes over most days, everything is really good.

The reality star met Jack, 23, on the 2017 series of I'm A Celebrity before he had to leave the jungle and she went on to win the show.

Beaming: Putting on a typically chic display during her appearance, Georgia donned a tie-neck jumper, complete with a suede skater skirt

Standing tall: The E4 star accentuated her lean legs with black tights and upped the style ante with pointed stilettos

Radiant: Georgia complemented her natural beauty with light strokes of pink-toned make-up, and styled her blonde tresses into loose waves

Off she goes: The blonde revealed that she will be returning to the jungle for the new series, but as a This Morning presenter and spectator

Yet Georgia revealed that she will be returning to the jungle for the new series, but as a This Morning presenter and spectator.

She added: 'Yes I will be, I will be doing stuff for This Morning and flying out for Australia.

'I can't wait, I think Stanley [Johnson] will be there, I think we're going to crossover for a few nights.'

I'm A Celebrity is set to kick off on Sunday 18 November, with Declan Donnelly and Holly Willoughby hosting the show, after Ant McPartlin stepped down from all his TV commitments earlier this year following a stint in rehab, divorce and hefty drink-driving fine.
Kristin Chenoweth just finished working with Ariana Grande and Idina Menzel on the high-profile Wicked Halloween special in late October.

So it's no wonder she needed some down time, as she revealed this week in new images.

The 50-year-old Glee vet has been using her Therapedic Blanket, which reduces stress and anxiety because it is a weighted throw blanket. Also in the images was her dog named Thunder Pup.

Chill out: Kristin Chenoweth just finished working with Ariana Grande and Idina Menzel on the high-profile Wicked Halloween special in late October. So it's no wonder she needed some down time, as she revealed this week in new images

Smart: The 50-year-old Glee vet has been using her Therapedic blanket, which reduces stress and anxiety

The Therapedic Blanket is for sale at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

These types of blankets have grown in popularity in the past few years as people face more and more stress.

It's been claimed that over 80 million Americans suffer from sleep deprivation, and the blanket seems to offer help.

It is called a 'therapeutic blanket' because it's made to feel one is in a secure environment.

Her love: . Also in the images was her dog named Thunder Pup.

A cure? These types of blankets - which usually weigh about 20lbs - have grown in popularity in the past few years as people face more and more stress

Pet approved: Her little dog seemed to be happy with the blanket

It simulates deep touch pressure and distributes it evenly across the body, a method proven decrease stress and anxiety.

It has been claimed that serotonin and melatonin levels go up when under one of these blankets.

That means deep sleep.

How it works: It simulates deep touch pressure and distributes it evenly across the body, a method proven decrease stress and anxiety

Kristin, born in Oklahoma, has had been in several big projects in recent years.

The beauty, who got her start on Sesame Street then popped up on Glee, played the role of Easter in the Starz TV series American Gods.

This year she joined the cast of Trial & Error as Lavinia Peck-Foster, an heiress accused of her husband's murder.

She was also in A Very Wicked Halloween, hosting and singing Popular and other numbers to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Wicked on Broadway.

Big cast: She was in A Very Wicked Halloween, hosting and singing Popular and other numbers to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Wicked on Broadway; seen with Idina and others

Chenoweth was born in the small town of Broken Arrow, OK. Soon after her birth.

The star was adopted by Jerry and Junie Chenoweth and has been open about her adoption and has been known to support various adoption causes and organizations around the U.S.

On Saturday she performed at @RMHCs Awards of Excellence. 'So thankful to have been a part of this beautiful evening, which helps families stay together when they need it most. #KeepingFamiliesClose.'
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Even before the new Democratic House arrives in Washington, the narrative has already been set: Angry Trump-hating Democrats are going to risk their partys standing by forcing their leaders to impeach President Trump. The Washington Post has undermined this narrative, examining the public statements of the 52 House Democrats, and finding that only 11 of them have called for impeaching President Trump.

Alas, in the very next sentence after reporting this figure, the Post announces that the media keep repeating the narrative anyway, regardless of whether it has any basis in reality: Nonetheless, the tension between the freshman class  many of whom rode to power on intense dislike of Trump  and the House Democratic leadership will be a big story line in the new Congress when it convenes in January.

The hypothetical impeachment of President Trump is a Washington obsession. It of course serves the interests of the Republican Party to conflate any mechanism for oversight or accountability of the administration with the most drastic possible remedy. But impeachment fervor has also been stoked by activists on the left, especially billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent a fortune promoting it, as well as the news media, which both craves the drama and falls back automatically to the most memorable historical cases of presidents fighting with Congress over scandal (Nixon and Clinton).

While we cant predict the future with any certainty, we can assume a Nixonian end to the Trump presidency is an extremely remote possibility. The House can impeach by a majority vote, but removing the president from office requires 67 senators, which means at least 20 Republicans. Trumps influence over the partys elected officials is growing, and its center of gravity is moving asymptotically toward Trumps candid observation that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue without losing any support. Democrats largely recognize the near-impossibility of removal and have internalized the pointlessness of impeaching the president to no effect. We can likewise assume with reasonable confidence that, as many lawyers have argued, the president cannot be indicted while in office.

So whats the point of all the investigation? The point is to establish legal accountability for the president. Well-functioning democracies dont have criminal oligarchies running the country with legal impunity. The kind of deep systemic corruption Trump is implementing, in which establishing a political alliance with a ruling family is a key step in amassing and protecting wealth, depends on selective legal enforcement. More to the point, it requires business partners. Maybe Donald Trump cant be hauled off to prison, but his partners can. And that prospect can scare off the collaborators Trump needs.

Second, and more to the point, even if Robert Mueller cant kick Trump out of the White House directly and the Senate wont, theres a body of people who can: the 2020 electorate. And the Trump investigations are building a powerful case that will be brought to bear on that election.

Probably the most important indicator of public opinion with regard to the Mueller probe is a poll from last spring. It found that nearly three-fifths of the public is unaware that Mueller has uncovered any crimes at all. Mueller has already produced indictments or guilty pleas from eight Americans, with more obviously looming.

The breadth of Trumps legal exposure exceeds that of any president in American history. It is so vast that it is hard to comprehend. Some, and possibly all, of the following appear to have colluded with Russia on behalf of the Trump campaign: Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., and Michael Cohen. Trump has been doing business with the criminal underworld in Russia and elsewhere for years, the secrets of which may be revealed by Mueller, or by House Democrats obtaining his tax returns. Federal prosecutors are investigating whether he violated campaign-finance laws by directing hush money to various mistresses. The state of New York is investigating the Trump Foundation for alleged misappropriation of funds and the Trump Organization for decades-long tax fraud. He is being sued for violating the Constitutions Emoluments Clause. He is also being sued for fraud.

And this is just the information we know so far, which has come out despite a Congress dedicated to protecting him from investigation, a benefit he will enjoy for only a few more weeks.

It is true that Trump did not put himself before the public as a saint, and had cultivated an image as a somewhat ruthless capitalist. But Trumps most fundamental promise was to put aside his pursuit of wealth for the public good. His wealth supposedly made him incorruptable. This was a foundation of his ability to pry away economic populist voters from Hillary Clinton, whose image had been tainted by scandals and pseudo-scandals, and to pose as an outsider who would take on big moneyed interests.

The public has not absorbed the reality that Trump has surrounded himself with criminals and continued to use his position for personal profit. Democrats will have the opportunity to undermine his pseudo-populism and portray him as a creature of the swamp, and the parade of convictions and indictments will be a convincing backdrop to this theme.

Most of this information has been filtered through the prism of impeachment, and thus turned into a story about Democrats potentially overreaching or following a quixotic strategy. It should be viewed more realistically as the shaping of a dismal news environment for Trump. The already-unpopular president is looking at two years of perp walks, incriminating testimony and  at best!  a series of suspicious presidential pardons. He barely managed to win the presidency as a brash, controversial novelty. He will have to win it a second time as a known crook.
Jonathan Cheban sure knows how to treat his mother Galina right.

On Monday evening the FoodGod was seen taking his mom to Craig's in West Hollywood for a little pasta and wine.

This comes the night after the New Jersey native was seen taking Kim, khloe and Kourtney Kardashian out for dinner at Henry's in LA as they continue to stay out of their mansions during a mandatory evacuation due to the intense California wildfires.

Dine out: Jonathan Cheban sure knows how to treat his mother right. On Monday evening the FoodGod was seen taking his mom to Craig's in West Hollywood for a little pasta and wine

Out n about in style: Jonathan looked sporty in his usual black shirt with black jeans and sneakers. He added with a chain around his neck that said FOODGOD

Jonathan looked sporty in his usual black shirt with black jeans and sneakers. He added with a chain around his neck that said FOODGOD.

His mother was all dressed up for the big night out in a Louis Vuitton scarf and skinny jeans with heels.

Craig's is one of the most popular eateries in LA, attracting Kendall Jenner, Kris Jenner, George Clooney and Lady Gaga.

The two were also seen in Beverly Hills for some shopping.

Scary: This comes the night after the New Jersey native was seen taking Kim, khloe and Kourtney Kardashian out for dinner at Henry's in LA as they continue to stay out of their mansions during a mandatory evacuation due to the intense California wildfires

Her look is different: Here Kim was seen in a hoodie, leggings and pointy points

Jonathan has been in Los Angeles to shoot scenes for Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The fires and how the family had to evacuate their homes in Calabasas and Hidden Hills will be a part of an upcoming episode.

Kris has urged fans to donate to the first responders and fire fighters and others who were a part of keeping the blaze from reaching communities.

Lifestyle of the rich and famous: Cheban also shared a video taken inside the Beverly WIlshire hotel in Beverly Hills on Tuesday

To eat? He showed how he was presented with three pumpkins on a table. He smashed open the pumpkins in his hallway

YUMMY: Inside were chocolate treats. And it seemed that the actual pumpkins were made of chocolate too as he started eating a bit of the shell

Cheban also shared a video taken inside the Beverly WIlshire hotel in Beverly Hills on Tuesday.

He showed how he was presented with three pumpkins on a table. He smashed open the pumpkins in his hallway.

Inside were chocolate treats. And it seemed that the actual pumpkins were made of chocolate too as he started eating a bit of the shell.

Cheban seemed thrilled by the entire experience, 'This is freaking AWESOMENESS!!!!! Thank you @beverlywilshire TAG someone who would LOVE this!!!!'

Happy boy: Cheban seemed thrilled by the entire experience, 'This is freaking AWESOMENESS!!!!! Thank you @beverlywilshire TAG someone who would LOVE this!!!!'

Out to lunch: Jonathan was out to lunch with a friend on Wednesday

Having a snack: He seemed to be a big fan of his noodles, and dis is best to eat as many as he could in one bite
Terry Crews and his wife Rebecca King-Crews have revealed they maintain their relationship by fighting and making up.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the couple admitted they use the unique trick to keep their romance alive just months after candidly discussing their heartache over a cheating scandal and the actor's porn addiction which nearly tore them apart.

Appearing at the MTV EMAs, the actor also discussed the heartbreaking cancellation of Brooklyn Nine Nine in May which he admitted caused his to weep before the show was recomissioned by NBC 30 hours later.

Tough: Terry Crews and his wife Rebecca King-Crews have revealed they maintain their relationship by fighting and making up

Terry has been married to actress Rebecca for nearly 30 years yet their relationship neared devastation when he admitted to cheating on his wife alongside battling a porn addiction and dealing in prostitution.

The duo spoke about their strife on Doctor Phil in March, as Rebecca confessed she nearly left her husband after the heartbreaking scandal arose which resulted in the star landing in rehab to battle his addictions.

Speaking on the show, she said: 'I said to him "you know were done rightyes Im gonna leave your raggedy behind and Im gonna take your money too... You gone pay me child support for me and my new man"'

Terry countered: 'Guys operate on pride. And youre successful you feel like that buys you a pass. I did not go to rehab to get my wife back. I went there because I needed to be a better person.'

Hold me close: The duo spoke about their strife on Doctor Phil in March, as Rebecca confessed she nearly left her husband after the heartbreaking scandal arose which resulted in the star landing in rehab to battle his addictions

Shocking: Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the couple admitted they use the unique trick to keep their romance alive just months after candidly discussing their heartache over a cheating scandal and the actor's porn addiction which nearly tore them apart

Rising above their woes, they admitted to MailOnline that they use fighting and making up as a method to remain together.

She said: 'The key is fighting and making up. He's my best friend', while Terry added: 'The making up is the best bit!'

Aside from his relationship, fans were left heartbroken to discover Brooklyn Nine Nine has been cancelled earlier this year.

And while devoted viewers were upset, none more so than Terry who candidly admitted to MailOnline that he was so devastated when the show was axed that he cried 'a lot' on the back of the news.

Happy days: She said: 'The key is fighting and making up. He's my best friend', while Terry added: 'The making up is the best bit!'

Shocker: She said: 'The key is fighting and making up. He's my best friend', while Terry added: 'The making up is the best bit!'

Terry, who stars as the lovable Sergeant Terry Jeffords in the hit show, joined legions of viewers around the world in expressing their grief over the announcement in May that Brooklyn Nine Nine would not return for another series.

News of the cancellation came after five series and was surrounding rumours of dwindling ratings due to constant scheduling changes.

When the shock reveal came, heartbroken and stunned Terry said: 'I cried a lot when it was cancelled, I cried a lot. I couldn't believe it.'

However there was light at the end of the tunnel as a huge petition from fans arose, leading to the return of the programme via NBC.

Taking a break from filming to attend the awards, he said: '30 hours later we got picked up by NBC and we're filming now. It's going so phenomenal, so amazing. The NBC love has been incredible and we're coming back in January!'

Shocker: Terry Crews candidly admitted to MailOnline that he was so devastated when Brooklyn Nine Nine was axed that he cried 'a lot' on the back of the news

It has been a tough year for Terry, who has spoken out about his alleged sexual abuse at the hands of a Hollywood agent.

In June, Crews spoke out about his alleged sexual assault by William Morris Endeavor agent Adam Venit, in an emotional testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill.

He said: 'I am an actor, author, former athlete, advocate and a survivor of a sexual assault. Hollywood definitely has been a problem area, simply because so many people who view this as a dream...

'And what happens is, someone has power over these dreams ... you get tricked into thinking that this type of behavior is expected, that it's part of the job, that this harassment, abuse, even rape, is part of your job description.
She shot to fame at the tender age of 14 and has been ruling the supermodel world ever since.

And Kate Moss cemented her model credentials on Wednesday, turning heads as she stepped out for lunch with friends in London's Notting Hill.

The 44-year-old catwalk star nailed off-duty chic in a simple pastel pink sweater and skintight blue jeans for the relaxed outing.

Looking good: Kate Moss cemented her model credentials on Wednesday, turning heads as she stepped out for lunch with friends in London's Notting Hill

The blonde beauty layered a striped top under her pink mohair knit and added height with a pair of towering suede boots.

The Croydon native carried her belongings in a tan snakeskin bag and accessorised with several decadent silver rings.

Styling her golden tresses in her signature tousled middle-parting, Kate shielded her eyes behind a pair of classic square-frame shades.

Kate wasn't joined by her boyfriend, Nikolai Von Bismarck, but appeared to be in great spirits as she chatted to her pals while eating outside.

Chic: The 44-year-old catwalk star nailed off-duty chic in a simple pastel pink sweater and skintight blue jeans for the relaxed outing

Simply stylish: The blonde beauty layered a striped top under her pink mohair knit and added height with a pair of towering suede boots

Glam: The Croydon native carried her belongings in a tan snakeskin bag and accessorised with several decadent silver rings

The model embarked on a romance with the German aristocrat in late 2015, following her split from The Kills rocker husband Jamie Hince.

Recently, Kate and Jamie were the picture of the friendliest exes in the world as they enjoy time out in Los Angeles with the supermodel's daughter Lila.

Kate and Nikolai were hit by split claims in October last year, but silenced rumours by putting on a loved-up display at a number of public events soon after.

The mane attraction: She styled her golden tresses in her signature tousled middle-parting

Preened to perfection: Kate warded off the November chill with a charcoal coat with a fur-trim collar

Pals: Kate wasn't joined by her boyfriend, Nikolai Von Bismarck, but appeared to be in great spirits as she chatted to her pals while eating outside

Proving their romance is only going from strength to strength, the pair were even seen purchasing a new puppy in London late last year.

Just last Wednesday, Kate and Nikolai looked inseparable as they got cosy inside Annabel's, London, in their first public sighting since the star-studded royal wedding after party.

The couple, who tend to shy away from the limelight, attended the star-studded Art Auction fundraiser in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

Cute couple: The model embarked on a romance with the German aristocrat in late 2015, following her split from The Kills rocker husband Jamie Hince

Still together: Kate and Nikolai were hit by split claims in October last year, but silenced rumours by putting on a loved-up display at a number of public events soon after

Happy: Proving their romance is only going from strength to strength, the pair were even seen purchasing a new puppy in London late last year

Party animals: Just last Wednesday, Kate and Nikolai looked inseparable as they got cosy inside Annabel's, London, in their first public sighting since the star-studded royal wedding after party

The couple escaped the notice and prying eyes of the public after returning from their sun-soaked romantic getaway on a yacht sailing around St Tropez, France.

Elsewhere, Kate's daughter Lila - who she shares with Jefferson Hack - recently discussed how she learnt everything she knows about modelling from her supermodel mum in a new interview with Allure magazine.

She told the publication: 'I loved going to watch her on shoots. I think because I've seen it since I was so small it's always been an interest.

'When I did my first modelling shoot, I was like, "Yeah I enjoyed it". I want to do more. And I think it's worked out really well.'

Back to the grind:The couple escaped the notice and prying eyes of the public after returning from their sun-soaked romantic getaway on a yacht sailing around St Tropez, France

Model daughter: Elsewhere, Kate's daughter Lila - who she shares with Jefferson Hack - recently discussed how she learnt everything she knows about modelling from her supermodel mum in a new interview with Allure magazine

Candid: She told the publication: 'I loved going to watch her on shoots. I think because I've seen it since I was so small it's always been an interest'
She's never gone naked on camera, but Emma Stone broke her own rule for new film The Favourite.

While filming a sex scene with co-star Olivia Colman, the actress removed a sheet covering her breasts, telling The Hollywood Reporter why she chose to expose herself.

'I had the sheet up around me, and as we were shooting it and we did a few takes, I said, "Can I please just be [naked]?" Olivia was like, 'No, don't do it!' [director] Yorgos [Lanthimos] was like, "Are you sure that's what you want to do?" And I was like, "Absolutely." I chose to do it. I was like, this makes sense to me.'

Big move: Emma Stone opens up about filming sex scenes with Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman for The Favourite... and why she showed her breasts on camera for the first time

Oscar tipped: Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone are causing waves with their new movie, The Favourite, an all-female love triangle set in the early 1700s

In the film Colman, who recently replaced Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, plays Queen Anne, while Stone plays Abigail Masham, a young woman vying for her affections.

The 1700s all-female love triangle is completed by Weisz as Abigail's cousin Sarah Jennings Churchill, ancestor of Winston, who is the Queen's closest adviser.

The trio pose together for this weeks Hollywood Reporter cover.

In the film Colman, who recently replaced Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, plays Queen Anne, while Weisz plays Sarah Jennings Churchill, ancestor of Winston, who is the Queen's closest adviser

Colman, who is being tipped for the Best actress Oscar for her role, said one thing she loved about the film was it's very real portrayal of women.

'...women fart and vomit and hate and love and do all the things men do. All human beings are the same. We're all multifaceted, many-layered, disgusting and gorgeous and powerful and weak and filthy and brilliant. That's what's nice [about The Favourite]. It doesn't make women an old-fashioned thing of delicacy.'

Weisz spoke about the role of men in the film, with no major male parts.

'I guess what's interesting to me is that the men in The Favourite are wearing lots of makeup and blusher and lipstick and high heels.

'That they're peripheral characters who are slightly ridiculous. They're an afterthought. That may not be unusual in life, but it's unusual to see in films.'
Zoe Kravitz may star in the HBO series but she believes Lily Allen is the one telling Big Little Lies.

In her tell-all autobiography My Thoughts Exactly, the then-married songstress Allen claimed they kissed in 2014 while touring together during a wild night out yet when Zoe appeared on Watch What Happens Live she boldly disputed the claims.

While blazing the promo trail for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the 29-year-old actress was asked about the kiss, to which she furiously responded: 'If by kissing she means attacking then yes, she kissed me. She attacked me.'

Big shade: Zoe Kravitz appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Tuesday night as she claimed that Lily Allen had 'attacked' her with a kiss.

Former friends: The drama began when a caller asked a question referencing Allen's autobiography My Thoughts Exactly in which she revealed that she had kissed Kravitz while still married to Sam Cooper while on tour together in 2014

The 50-year-old host went on to ask if that was portrayed in the book as Zoe answered that it wasn't and it was written 'like I wanted it.'

Cohen then queried if she read the autobiography to which the talented actress replied with the ultimate shade: 'I don't think anybody read the book.'

The drama began when a caller asked a question referencing Allen's autobiography and the X-Men: First Class star did not pull any punches as she responded: 'Who's Lily Allen?'

'Who's Lily Allen?': Zoe pretended not to know who Lily was to which her co-star Eddie Redmayne earnestly said 'she's the voice of our generation' before saying that she 'loves' her

Pulling no punches: She quickly fired back telling the 36-year-old Oscar winner 'no you don't'

Zoe's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald co-star Eddie Redmayne earnestly said 'she's the voice of our generation' before saying that she 'loves' her.

She quickly fired back telling the 36-year-old Oscar winner 'no you don't.'

In the memoir - which was released in September - Lily said they had shared a smooch while on tour together in 2014. Allen was married to Sam Cooper at the time.

'Zoe and I went out partying and ended up kissing': In the memoir - which was released in September - Lily said they had shared a smooch while on tour together in 2014

Not holding back: Then the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet then dropped the ultimate bombshell as she said: 'If by kissing, she means attacking? Then yes, she kissed me. [She] attacked me'

Burn: Cohen then queried if she read the autobiography to which the talented actress replied with the ultimate shade: 'I don't think anybody read the book'

The Smile hitmaker wrote: 'For my New York shows, Zoe Kravitz and her band Lolawolf supported me, so I got to know Zoe a bit. We became friends.

'Later in the tour, when we were in Washington, the girls and their nanny, Jess, came out to visit me for a few days, but I had to go back to New York for a day or so for work.

'Zoe and I went out partying and ended up kissing. I heard that later that same night she'd got down with A$AP Rocky.'

My Thoughts Exactly has caused ructions since its September release, with Lily detailing a host of shocking anecdotes, including an alleged romp with Liam Gallagher on a plane and a flirtation with Orlando Bloom.

Moving on: Allen was married to Sam Cooper (pictured together in January 2015) at the time of the incident as she finalized her divorce from him in June after being married in 2011 and splitting in 2016

It was during this tour that Lily admitted to sleeping with female prostitutes following the breakdown of her marriage to Cooper.

She admitted in a candid Instagram post that she slept with female prostitutes while on tour following the breakdown of her marriage.

Allen finalized her divorce from Sam Cooper in June after being married in 2011 and splitting in 2016. They have two daughters together.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Lily, Zoe and Eddie for comment.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits cinemas in the US and UK on Friday.
The best thing about making your own wine is you are never short of a gift.

And this proved the case for Kurt Russell on Tuesday night when he brought a bottle of his GoGi Pinot Noir to Jimmy Kimmel for his birthday.

The 67-year-old arrived at the Hollywood Masonic Temple looking sharp in an all-black ensemble.

Pressie: Kurt Russell gifted bottle of his wine to Jimmy Kimmel for his birthday on Tuesday night

After presenting the host with the vino, he revealed he was the first ever person to give Charles Bronson a birthday present, back in 1964 when they worked together on the Western TV series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters.

Kurt, who was 12-years-old and working on his first ever regular TV gig, gifted the screen legend a remote control aircraft.

He was dismayed when Bronson walked away without even acknowledging it.

But when the Death Wish star later summoned him to his trailer 'he opened the door, he couldn't even really look at me, and he said "nobody really ever got me a present before for my birthday,"' Kurt recalled.

He revealed that Bronson returned the favor by buying both of them skateboards to skate around the MGM lot together when Kurt's 13th birthday rolled around.

Handsome: The 67-year-old arrived at the Hollywood Masonic Temple looking sharp in an all black ensemble

Comes bearing gifts: He carried his jacket, as well as the precious GoGi Pinot Noir

Russell, who is set to play Santa Claus in the upcoming Netflix film The Christmas Chronicles, also told the host he has played St Nick many times before, for his family.

He told one story about bringing his son Wyatt to see a mall Santa, but arrived too late.

However he convinced a manager at the store to let him use the costume, and he became the mall Santa for an hour an a half.

After presenting the host with the vino, he revealed he was the first ever person to give Charles Bronson a birthday present

First gig: Back in 1964 Bronson (L) and Russell (M) worked together on the Western TV series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters

His friend: Charles Bronson seen in the 1960 movie The Magnificent Seven

Nice guy: Kurt, who was 12-years-old at the time, revealed gifted the screen legend a remote control aircraft, as was dismayed when Bronson walked away without even acknowledging it

Kurt recalled: 'But when the Death Wish star later summoned him to his trailer, 'he opened the door, he couldn't even really look at me, and he said "nobody really ever got me a present before for my birthday"'

And reindeer were not the only unusual flying objects he discussed; the Guardians Of The Galaxy star also recounted a spooky story of encountering a UFO while flying his own plane.

After agreeing to fly his son Oliver to Phoenix to see friends, they both saw six mysterious lights hovering above the airport, which flight control were completely unaware of.

Kurt admitted he had forgotten about the encounter until years later when he was watching a show about UFOs, in which 20,000 people  and only one general aviation pilot, which Kurt realized was himself  reported seeing the same phenomenon that same day.
Felicity Jones is set to honoured with this year's Variety Award at the British Independent Film Awards.

The British actress, 35 - who has starred in critically acclaimed movies such as The Theory Of Everything and The Invisible Woman - will receive the accolade during the ceremony on Sunday December 2nd at Old Billingsgate in London.

The award recognises a director, actor, writer or producer who has made a global impact and helps to focus the international spotlight on the UK. Past recipients include the likes of Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson and Kate Winslet.

'I feel very proud': Felicity Jones, 35, is set to honoured with this year's Variety Award at the British Independent Film Awards

Felicity has been performing on screen and on stage since the age of 11 and has since then has become a household name for her acting work.

And now she is set to be awarded for her sensational talents at the British Independent Film Awards - where she will pick up the coveted Variety award.

Speaking about the recognition, Felicity enthused: 'Its an incredible honour to receive this Award and, in doing so, to join such an illustrious and inspiring group of filmmakers and actors.

'To support the British film industry on the global stage is a huge privilege and something I feel very proud and lucky to be a part of,' she stated.

'Its an incredible honour': The British actress will receive the accolade during the ceremony on Sunday December 2nd at Old Billingsgate in London

Following in their footsteps: Past recipients include the likes of Keira Knightley (L) and Kate Winslet (R)

Steven Gaydos, Varietys Vice President and Executive Editor, couldn't resist gushing over Felicity, stating: 'When actress Felicity Jones first appeared on your radar, you probably knew she was destined for greatness but you probably didnt know she would impact so forcefully on all sizes of screens in all kinds of projects.

'She has infused the Star Wars juggernaut with feminine soul as well as womanly grit and she brought gravity and tenderness to the Oscar-winning Theory of Everything.

'Now she plays a brave woman whose life and achievements loom larger every day. On the Basis of Sex is a rallying cry for womens rights in a time of political crisis, but in the hands of Felicity Jones, Ruth Bader Ginsberg becomes a woman we dont simply admire, but we come to deeply understand her drives and relish the soul that sustains her commitment to justice and equality,' it was continued.

Big honour: The award recognises a director, actor, writer or producer who has made a global impact and helps to focus the international spotlight on the UK

Movie star: Felicity has been performing since the age of 11 and has since then has become a household name for her acting work in movies such as The Theory Of Everything (pictured)

BIFA also added their delighted comments: 'BIFA and Variety have been honouring British talent on the world stage for 18 years; the award recipients have all had exceptional careers spanning award-winning independent films and the biggest of Hollywood blockbusters.

'Felicity Jones is no exception: she is a remarkable actress and were delighted to be able to celebrate her spectacular international achievements on home turf.'

The talented star will next be seen in the Mimi Leders On the Basis of Sex - which is a biopic based on Ruth Bader Ginsberg struggle for equal rights.

On The Basis Of Sex will be released on December 25 in the US and hit UK screens on February 8.

The rest of the BIFA 2018 nominations will be unveiled at the ceremony on Sunday 2nd December and will mark the awards' 21st anniversary.
Do you know any of the girls in question? Email tips@dailymail.com

She removed her engagement ring for an appearance on This Morning on Wednesday.

And hours later, Vicky Pattison, 31, was seen putting on a brave face as she continued to go without her sparkler while arriving at Manchester Piccadilly train station.

The former Geordie Shore star, 31, did her best to flash a smile at photographers before taking to her Instagram account with an emotional message about 'smiling to heal the pain.'

Hard times: Vicky Pattison, 31, was seen putting on a brave face as she continued to go without her engagement ring while arriving at Manchester Piccadilly train station on Wednesday

'Don't hide the pain': Vicky also took to her Instagram account with an emotional message about 'smiling to heal the pain'

While various news outlets have reported that Vicky has split from John, a spokesperson for the star has told MailOnline this is not the case.

However, Vicky still remained without her engagement ring as she arrived with her luggage at the train station.

The reality star stuck to a low-key colour scheme as she wrapped up against the chilly weather in a a long black coat.

Vicky ensured maximum comfort in a pair of casual leggings and trainers as she strolled along with her suitcase.

Difficult: The former Geordie Shore star smiled at photographers - despite a long day which saw more snaps emerge of her fiance John Noble cosying up to a bevy of beauties

Working things out? While various news outlets have reported that Vicky has split from John, a spokesperson for the star has told MailOnline this is not the case

Solo: However, Vicky still remained without her engagement ring as she arrived with her luggage at the train station

Casual: The reality star stuck to a low-key colour scheme as she wrapped up against the chilly weather in a a long black coat

Vicky was still primped and preened from her earlier TV appearance, as she sported tumbling brunette locks.

Her stunning features were enhanced with a glamorous coat of bronzed make-up, complete with lashings of mascara and pink lipstick.

Despite her devastated state of mind, Vicky ensured that she wasn't without a smile on her face as she made her way through the station.

Vicky's engagement ring was also noticeably absent as she put her hand up to her face.

Low-key: Vicky ensured maximum comfort in a pair of casual leggings and trainers as she strolled along with her suitcase

Beauty: Vicky was still primped and preened from her earlier TV appearance, as she sported tumbling brunette locks

Looking good: Her stunning features were enhanced with a glamorous coat of bronzed make-up, complete with lashings of mascara and pink lipstick

Brave face: Despite her devastated state of mind, Vicky ensured that she wasn't without a smile on her face as she made her way through the station

Not there: Vicky's engagement ring was also noticeably absent as she put her hand up to her face

Hard: It has been a tough and trying time for Vicky in light of John's indiscretions

Doing what she can: Vicky has been trying her best to carry on about her daily life

This comes after Heartbroken Vicky continued to make a big statement to John when she removed her engagement ring for an appearance on This Morning on Wednesday.

The TV appearance came just minutes BEFORE more pictures emerged of John, 31, getting close to a second and third woman while in Dubai on Saturday.

A source told MailOnline: Vicky is totally heartbroken. She hasnt seen John since he got back from Dubai. She is 100% committed to her busy work and TV schedule but this doesnt mean she is OK. Far from it.

Over? Her sighting comes after Vicky REMOVED her engagement ring on This Morning on Wednesday following John's indiscretion... minutes before more pictures emerged of him flirting with more ladies

More! In new images, John can be seen with him arms around more ladies in a series of very flirty displays set to hurt Vicky's feelings

Actions speak louder than words: While she didn't mention John at all, she made sure that everyone could see her ring-free hand

The new images of John were taken on the same night that the original video of him grinding up against a girl was filmed.

The TV appearance was the first time she had been seen since John's indiscretion and while she didn't mention him, she did say she fancies someone new.

Vicky said this year's I'm A Celebrity contestant Nick Knowles has got a 'nice bit of kit' and she was looking forward to his shower scene as she fancies him.

Sad times: This comes a day after Vicky unfollowed John on Twitter and Instagram after the video emerged of him with the pretty blonde in a Dubai nightclub

Not too bothered? John posted this Instagram picture asking about his hair while Vicky was on television

Rocky romance: Vicky and John got engaged in July 2017 (pictured in May 2018)

Emotional: The former Geordie Shore star, 31, shared a post hinting she was going through her 'darkest times' on Tuesday, before tweeting a sad face the following day

She said: 'I wouldn't mind seeing Nick Knowles win. I sat next to him at a dinner once. He's got a nice bit of kit. [I wouldn't mind seeing] him in that jungle shower!!'

Vicky, who sat alongside Georgia Toffolo, wearing a scarf print dress from Zara, won the show back in 2017, also discussed how pressured she felt to get in shape before she went on the show herself, which she won back in 2015.

She said: 'I was so desperately pressured about the jungle shower scene, so I got very small before and it's probably the smallest I've ever been.

The calm before the storm: John didn't seem to mind who saw him as he placed his arms around another girl in the Dubai club

Leaning in: John cosied up to another girl who was sat down as he worked the room

Could it be? At one point it looked as though they could be kissing but it was impossible to say for sure

Lots to talk about: John appeared to have left his other friends behind as he spent time with the mystery female

There's the ring: The couple, who got engaged in July 2017, have been going through a difficult patch recently but had seemed to be getting things back on track

'Three meals of rice and beans, I was probably eating better before i went in!'

Watching back clips from the show, she said: 'It make me feel really emotional and really grateful for all the nice things that have happened off the back.'

Georgia also agreed that the hunger pains were savage, admitting that she had already been speaking to The Vamps guitarist James McVey and giving him tips.

Vicky added: 'Im friends with Emily Atack from The Inbetweeners and I gave her quite a lot of advice and I hope Ive not cheated at all!

Lots to think about: Vicky appeared to be putting a brave face on things as she sat on the famous This Morning sofa

Diamonds are not forever: It would appear that Vicky's decision to take off her engagement ring is a rather significant one

'I just told her to be brave and not be a girl pants in the trials and to not sleep during the day even if she is tired because nobody wants to watch you sleeping, to help out in camp'

She also said: 'My winner might be Fleur East. I've followed her over the years, we like strong tough girls.'

After the show, Vicky shared an Instagram video, saying: 'Thank you for all your support and kind words, they have been acknowledged and taken on board. I'll be back on Friday with a smile on my face... talking all things bugs and kangaroo balls!'

Something to be said? It remains to be seen whether or not Vicky will say something publicly about her romance

Just what she needs: Vicky had her mother with her on the day for support

Meanwhile, Vicky shared a post hinting she was going through her 'darkest times' on Tuesday, before tweeting a sad face the following day.

The brunette beauty shared a post which read: 'Ah, Kindness. What a simple way to tell another struggling soul that there is love to be found in this world.'

The Newcastle-born star wrote an accompanying message: 'Even in your darkest times, remember that everyone is fighting a battle that you may know nothing about.'

She was soon inundated with messages of support from well-wishers with one writing 'love you kind girl' while another wrote ' sending some, keep your chin up lass'.

MailOnline has contacted Vicky's representatives for comment.

Shock: Vicky was devastated after the original footage (taken on the same night) emerged of him grinding with a blonde (a third girl) in a Dubai nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning

Post: The star was inundated with support after she shared a post for World Kindness Day

This comes a day after Vicky unfollowed John on Twitter and Instagram after the video emerged of him with the pretty blonde in a Dubai nightclub.

The reality star was said to be planning to confront her other half about the tape upon his return - with the businessman landing back in England on Tuesday.

His return aligns with Vicky - who revealed she was heading home after spending a long weekend in Brighton to celebrate her birthday.

Vicky has not spoken publicly about John's recent behaviour, yet a source close to the star told MailOnline: 'Vicky is upset with the pictures and looks forward to speaking to him when he's back about it.'

Meanwhile, John appeared to hint at discontent when he shared a pained looking selfie, captioned 'mood'.

Very close: Vicky's understandable distress comes as John was filmed with his lips just inches away from the mystery blonde before she started grinding on his lap

Vicky is said to be planning crisis talks with John after seeing footage of him grinding with a blonde in a Dubai nightclub on Sunday.

Her understandable distress comes as John was filmed with his lips just inches away from the mystery blonde before she started grinding on his lap.

An eyewitness told MailOnline that the scenes were 'shocking', describing the interaction as 'very flirty'.

The Newcastle businessman got up close and cosy with the mystery blonde just hours before a posting a photo of Vicky on Instagram along with the words 'Can't wait to get back to this little monster'.

John had been partying at the Billionaire Mansion when he met the blonde, with an eyewitness telling MailOnline: 'I was really shocked. I recognised John as soon as he got into the club because I'm a fan of Vicky's.

Back home: John appeared to hint at discontent when he shared a pained looking selfie, captioned 'mood' after flying back to the UK on Tuesday

'I couldn't believe that he was talking so close to her. The music was loud so he was leaning into her so that he could hear her. Then she started grinding on his lap.

'It was very flirty and they were really close.'

John had begun the evening dining in the Taj Hotel restaurant that turns into a nightclub when he struck up a conversation with the girls on the next table.

The insider added: 'John asked the girls on the neighbouring table if they were all right and if they'd mind posing for a selfie with him and his friends, which seemed a bit strange but the girls didn't seem to mind.

'Then his group were joined by this really attractive young blonde, aged only in her early 20s, wearing a revealing nude dress and nude heels and with really long hair extensions.'

Living it up: John had been partying at the Billionaire Mansion when he met the blonde and has been documenting his holiday with his friends on Instagram

The shocking scenes come after Vicky admitted she is '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.'

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'.

Make-or-break: Vicky and John recently went on a make-or-break holiday, and she asked him to accompany her in Dubai where she was working so they could 'talk things through'

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.

It seemed the pair were back on track, however, when just last week she shared pictures of herself trying on wedding dresses at Suzanne Neville's Knightsbridge boutique.
Actor Joel Edgerton debuted his new girlfriend, Christine Centenera, at the GQ Man of the Year in Sydney on Wednesday.

The Boy Erased star and the Vogue Australia fashion director attended the event together at The Star in Pyrmont, where Joel was named GQ magazine's Man of the Year.

Los Angeles-based Joel told The Daily Telegraph that he intends to spend more time in his native Australia.

Making it official! Joel Edgerton (left) debuts new girlfriend Vogue Australia stylist Christine Centenera (right) at GQ Man of the Year

'My focus next is about what I can make at home that I can celebrate two of my favourite things  being at home and making stuff so that I am not always away,' he said.

The pair first sparked romance rumours in Sydney last month, when they were pictured in an intimate embrace.

Earlier this year, Joel was rumoured to be dating his Red Sparrow co-star Jennifer Lawrence, 28.

Intimate: The pair first sparked romance rumours in Sydney last month, when they were pictured in an intimate embrace

The Daily Telegraph claimed at the time the pair were spotted 'getting very cosy on the red carpet [at] the New York premiere for the spy film.'

Joel was also once linked to models Dayana Reeves and Wanessa Milhomem.

Prior to Joel, New York-based Christine was linked to fashion designer, Josh Goot, 38.

Main title: Joel was named GQ magazine's Man of the Year on Wednesday

The pair previously launched an e-commerce-only brand Wardrobe.NYC and explained their working relationship last December.

'We each have our strengths and so I think at the end of the day we complement each other, and the interest from investors has come from us combining our strengths,' Christine told Vogue Australia last year.

Josh added: 'Christine was right when she said we bring very different things to the table, and it's finding the balance that really does inform the brand's feel.

'There's a lot of both of us in the brand. It's been a huge learning curve, but it's been a great year.'
He is heading to trial for a courtroom showdown next month with Angelina Jolie in their bitter custody battle.

And Brad Pitt seems to be enjoying the calm before the storm.

The 54-year-old actor was spotted on a relaxed solo stroll in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Casual cool: Brad Pitt was spotted on a relaxed solo stroll in Los Angeles on Tuesday

The A-list actor had his hands full as he carried several items including totebag, sweater, and large notepad.

He kept his look casual sporting a white T-shirt with baggy black sweatpants, and brown suede sneakers.

Brad sported a newsboy cap over his brunette locks along with a pair of mirrored aviator shades.

Juggling act: The 54-year-old A-list actor had his hands full as he carried several items including totebag, sweater, and large notepad

Chill: He kept his look casual sporting a white T-shirt with baggy black sweatpants, and brown suede sneakers

The outing comes a week after a TMZ report that he and his 43-year-old ex are set to duke it out in court with December 4 set as the date for the start of a custody trial.

They were reported to have reached an interim custody agreement regarding their six children in late summer.

But negotiations appear to have broken down, and next month, the couple will ask a judge to rule on the custody battle over their six children, as well as their shared property, after it was revealed they had no prenup.

Bitter split: Brad and Angelina Jolie have reportedly failed to reach a permanent custody agreement over their six children. They will now battle it out in court, according to TMZ

The celebrity exes have filed paperwork in Los Angeles asking to be given until next June to hash out the details of their split with the help of a retired private judge.

The proceedings will take place behind closed doors with Jolie seeking sole custody of the children while Pitt wants shared custody.

The two, met on the set of the 2005 film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, married in an intimate ceremony on August 23, 2014 in Correns, France, and separated in September 2016.

They share Maddox, 17, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

The private judge will also oversee the division of property as part of the divorce settlement since Pitt and Jolie didn't have a prenup.

Meanwhile, Jolie, 43, has been in South Korea where she was seen taking son Maddox to visit a university in Seoul and then eating out at a local restaurant with son Pax.

Custody battle: The proceedings, overseen by a private judge, will take place behind closed doors. The exes share Maddox, 17, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne (pictured in 2011)

Pitt, 54, is currently in Los Angeles where he is filming the new Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

At the weekend he teamed up with his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio in a video urging people to get out and vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday.

And on Sunday night, he brushed shoulders with his fellow stars as he presented a trophy at the Hollywood Film Awards.

In July 2017, Angelina addressed the split in an interview with Vanity Fair.

She revealed that 'things got bad' between the two, adding that 'It's just been the hardest time, and we're just kind of coming up for air.'

On the time with her kids after the split, Angelina says she's been trying to 'be really good at just being a homemaker and picking up dog poop and cleaning dishes and reading bedtime stories.'

In September 2016, there was an alleged 'altercation' that involved Brad and Maddox aboard a private jet that was heading from Nice, France to Los Angeles, California; after they landed, Angelina 'kicked him out,' according to Vanity Fair.

Brad was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Angelina also told the magazine that her and her estranged husband 'care for each other and care for our family, and we are both working towards the same goal.'

Angelina also divulged her feelings about's Brad Pitt's explosive GQ Style interview.

When asked if she was surprised, the star simply said 'no.'

During the candid chat in 2017, Brad compared his split from Angelina Jolie to 'a death', admitting that he is an emotional 'retard' whose heavy drinking helped ruin his marriage.

He said he had since become tee-total, is in therapy and says his family has been 'ripped apart', conceding: 'I hit the lottery and I still would waste my time on those hollow pursuits.'

He told GQ Style magazine that the split was 'self-inflicted' and when asked if the last few months had felt like he was grieving a death, he simply replied: 'Yeah.'

The Fight Club star has quit alcohol since the incident, admitting it had become a 'problem' during his life with Angelina, adding: 'Truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.

The actress, who is the daughter of Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, said that she doesn't want to show too much emotion in front of the kids.

Tension: Brad and Angelina met on very sexy 2005 movie, Mr And Mrs Smith

Explaining that: 'I was worried about my mother, growing upa lot. I do not want my children to be worried about me.'

Adding: 'I think its very important to cry in the shower and not in front of them. They need to know that everythings going to be all right even when youre not sure it is.'

The Golden Globe winner recalled a conversation she had with her son Knox, where she joked that he needs to 'pretend to be normal.'

Angelina said that Knox told her '"Who wants to be normal? We're not normal. Let's never be normal.'' Thank you - yes! We're not normal. Let's embrace being not normal!'

She said her kids were 'very brave' - 'in times they needed to be' and that everyone is 'healing from the events that led to the filing...'

However the director clarified and said 'they're not healing from the divorce. They're healing from some...from life, from things in life.'

Angelina gushed about her kids, calling them 'strong-minded, thoughtful, worldly' and that's she 'very proud of them.'
Photo: Brent Lewis/Denver Post via Getty Images

On November 6, the total number of cannabis-friendly states rose to 33, as voters in Michigan passed a bill allowing recreational marijuana use, and Missouri and Utah  Utah!  legalized medical weed.

Its a far cry from the years leading up to 1996, when Californians helped precipitate a social revolution by passing Proposition 215, the medical-marijuana ballot initiative that marked the beginning of the national legalization movement as a credible entity. At the time, the War on Drugs was continuing unabated under the Clinton administration  a full-spectrum push that included draconian crime bills and Tipper Gore trying to keep pot leaves from appearing on the cover of rap albums.

But the folks behind Prop 215 had powerful allies, too  including George Soros. After the Soviet Union fell and democracy flourished in Eastern Europe, the billionaire advocate of open society ideals was looking for a new cause. And so along with the founder of Mens Wearhouse (I guarantee it!) and the chairman of Progressive Insurance, Soros threw his considerable financial weight behind a ballot initiative written by a San Francisco pot dealer and AIDS activist known for smoking up the halls of the California State Legislature.

Twenty-two years later, with dispensaries opening up in every corner of the country, we still look back at Prop 215 as the moment the drug debate changed forever.

Here is how the people who worked to legalize medical marijuana in California remember it.

Ethan Nadelmann, legalization activist and founder of the Drug Policy Alliance: What youve got to remember is that in the mid-80s and into the early 90s, the Drug War catapults into the American imagination at a hysterical pitch. There are presidential speeches, the New York Times has a special editor on it, two or three times a year the major news magazines are putting the Drug War on their covers. I refer to this stage as McCarthyism on steroids. It doesnt really drop off until the first Gulf War. Its almost as if the first Gulf War comes along and people are like, Okay, America has a real war again.

Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML and co-author of Prop 215: The legalization movement pretty much died out in 1980 when Reagan came to power. Things got worse and worse, and it was at its nadir in 1991. But 91 was also when the medical marijuana movement started, when Dennis Peron (who died in January of this year) and a bunch of his comrades put Proposition P on the San Francisco ballot. It declared that San Francisco was in favor of medical marijuana. It was symbolic because it was just a city initiative. But it was the first victory the marijuana reform movement had scored since the 1970s.

It was an incredibly hostile environment at that time, but Dennis was in a unique situation. He was a longtime pot dealer and gay-rights activist. Back in the 70s, he had a restaurant called the Big Top in the Castro, where he was basically selling pot publicly. This wasnt medical, they were just selling pot. So in 1978, Dennis gets Prop W on the San Francisco ballot, which declared the DA and the cops should not enforce the marijuana laws. It passed and Dennis was looking to Mayor Moscone to open it up more. Dennis was planning to go full steam ahead with the Big Top. But then Moscone and Harvey Milk were assassinated. Dianne Feinstein became mayor and put the kibosh on the whole thing. The whole tone of the city changed and the Big Top got shut down.

So Dennis went underground and then the 80s came along, and Reagan, and the escalating Drug War. But in 1991, the conversation surrounding marijuana legalization changed with the AIDS epidemic. There was widespread medical use of marijuana by AIDS patients suffering from wasting syndrome and other AIDS-related illnesses. Dennis saw that and knew there was a lot of support for medical marijuana used by AIDS sufferers. Prop P passes in 91 with 80 percent and Dennis opens up the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club and starts openly selling medical marijuana to medical users. Sure enough, San Francisco cops and the whole San Francisco establishment respected Denniss club.

George Soros. Photo: Sergei Guneyev/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty

Nadelmann: The next pivotal moment for the movement is the summer of 92, when I get a call out of the blue from a guy named George Soros inviting me to lunch. He knew about me because I think he asked an aide, If youre interested in the Drug War and alternative policy, who do you talk to? I would be the first name on the list.

So I meet George on some 95-degree day in New York, and we have lunch in his office. Hes not quite famous yet. And we spend two hours talking and arguing. And Im telling him what he has right and what he has wrong.

Its clear that his passion is the open society. His focus had been bringing down socialist dictatorships in the former Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. And that effort succeeded more quickly than anyone anticipated, including Soros. Now that socialist dictatorship had fallen, and open society was emergent around the world, he was asking himself the question, Well, what about America does not reflect open society ideals? And I think the first thing that hit him between the eyes was the War on Drugs. It sort of encompassed all the non-open society elements of American political culture.

So at the end of this lunch Soros said to me, Well, we basically agree on the core issues. Im a very busy man. But I have substantial resources. So lets assume that what I want to do is empower you to accomplish our common objectives.

Bill Zimmerman, political consultant and Prop 215 campaign manager: 1993 is when the seniors come into play. There was an oncology nurse named Anna Boyce, who was in her 60s, and there was an underground movement in oncology wards around the country advocating pot. So her husband got cancer. She obtained marijuana, helped him use it, and was convinced that it worked. California has an institution called the California Senior Legislature, which empowers seniors to advocate for legislation. So Anna started advocating within the California Senior Legislature that there should be a law for legal medical marijuana, and a bill was considered and got passed by the state legislature in 1993. The governor  Pete Wilson  vetoed it, but there was an indication that he did so reluctantly. So they brought it back in 94. It passed the legislature again but the governor decided he was going to run for president in 96 so he vetoed the second piece of legislation. Everything was indicating that the support was out there.

Nadelmann: Chuck Blitz. He was an interesting social-justice entrepreneur in Santa Barbara. He calls me in early 95 and says, Lets organize a retreat on your issue. So in March 95 we organize this meeting and I invite some of the key activists and the emerging major donors  Peter Lewis [the chairman of Progressive Insurance], John Sperling [the founder of Phoenix University, It didnt have a bad rep back then], and others  and then Chuck invites the political pros.

Zimmerman: Chuck calls me up to attend a meeting on the viability of the medical marijuana initiative. I had no experience on Drug War stuff, but I had a reputation for getting progressive stuff passed. I was the go-to guy for ballot-initiative campaigns.

So I show up and you have the seniors, who were very straight-laced, and Dennis Peron and his people. Theyd go to the legislature and smoke marijuana in the halls. They flaunted it. So these were not comfortable allies. And Ethan is there kind of as a representative of Soros. So there are all these different threads coming together at the Santa Barbara meeting.

Three weeks later, we mounted a public-opinion poll. I put into the poll, Do you have a family member or a friend that used medical marijuana? Thirty-three percent answered yes. Thats when I knew there was a chance of winning this thing. That 33 percent was the buffer against law-enforcement pushback.

Gieringer: At Blitzs, I was the guy wrangling the California ballot-initiative idea. I didnt know if I made much of an impression. But I did get a call afterward from Peter Lewis, who said he was impressed. He offered $50,000 in matching funds if I could get nine others to get to $500,000, which was how much money it would take to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot.

But Dennis only knew how to do things the black market way. He had no bank, he dealt in cash. I dont think he had a social security number. He didnt pay taxes! Dennis wasnt interested in fundraising. Dennis thought he could just collect the signatures himself, which is like 500,000 of them. After much discussion, we finally printed up an initiative in fall 95, which gave us November to April to get on the 96 ballot.

Nadelmann: So in December 95, I get a phone call from Ed Rosenthal [the California marijuana activist], saying, Ethan, you gotta help. You know, Dennis, hes getting these signatures, we just need a little help. Can you get some money from Soros? I call Dennis and he says, Thanks but no thanks, we really wanna do this as an activist thing. They would have ended up with 25,000 signatures and fallen short by 500,000 signatures and that would have been that. But about a month later, I get another call from Ed. I call Dennis and he says, Okay, I guess we could use a little help. So I have a green light from Dennis.

I call Bill Zimmerman and say, What would it take to do this initiative? He says, Well, youre gonna need close to 2 million bucks to get the signatures and to do the campaign.

I get Soros to put up half-a-million bucks, but its important that people in California were seen as taking the lead on this. So I also recruit George Zimmer, the founder and head of Mens Wearhouse. Hes a California guy, a big personality, and obviously a marijuana guy. He commits to give or raise half a million. And Peter Lewis also puts up $500,000.

Later on, at crunch time when were short signatures and need a little more money to get us over, I get Laurance Rockefeller onboard. I gave him a copy of the op-ed that his father, John D. Rockefeller, published in 1932. It basically said, Look, I hate alcohol, Ive been a teetotaler all my life. I was the No. 1 donor to the temperance movement and movement for Prohibition. But I have now come to the conclusion that the cure I advocated of Prohibition has done more harm than good. So I give this to Laurance and a few weeks later I call him up and I say, Laurance, you know we could really use your help with a personal contribution. And he says, You know, Ethan, I just got hit by this terrible Ponzi scheme, I lost a lot of money, but Ill give ya 50 grand.

So I hire Bill Zimmerman, another California person, to run the campaign and Bill is kind of a tough political consultant. Bill sits down with Dennis and they try to make nice, but Bill basically says, Dennis, were running this thing now. You play in San Francisco, but youre not the statewide messenger. We need to get people like doctors and patients and others to be the face of this campaign. This is when the movement has its first moment from being this kind of fringe political movement to actually playing ball in the big leagues of American politics.

George Zimmer. Photo: Mens Wearhouse

Gieringer: Our group was hoping Nadelmann would give the money to us. But they were leery of the unprofessional nature plus Dennis being an illegal drug dealer.

Dennis resented that they were hogging in on our turf. I welcomed it. But there persisted a tension between our campaign and their campaign, and that ended up in a struggle over who controlled the ballot language.

Zimmerman: Once youre qualified for the ballot, the state publishes a voter booklet with the arguments for and against the various ballot initiatives. Peron had written one that we thought was too flamboyantly arguing full legalization. Wed done another. We were arguing who should submit and agreed to let a focus group decide, and we would pay for it. After the focus group, it was clear that our statement was the most effective. When we submitted our argument to the state, we were told that Peron had already submitted an argument. So he violated the agreement.

Gieringer: At that point the secretary of state wanted to know who would be the proponent. It turned out that when Dennis filed his initiative, he included Anna Boyces name. So Anna Boyce was this nice little old grandlady co-signing with Dennis. So there were actually two proponents. In the end, when it came to deciding between Denniss team and Zimmermans group, Anna Boyce decided she would side with Zimmerman, understanding that big-time money and professionals were important. So then it was up to the secretary of state, and he awarded it to Zimmermans group because they had the money.

Zimmerman: Peron and his camp thought I was too mainstream. We made three television commercials for the campaign. We had one about a school principal in San Francisco who had been a breast cancer victim, who said the only way she could get through chemotherapy was with marijuana; we filmed Anna Boyce sitting at the grave of her husband and telling her story about how marijuana had eased her husbands suffering; and finally, we had a third commercial featuring an oncologist, an older guy with a beard, talking about how marijuana is the best drug available for dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy. All three commercials were designed to be very emotional, designed to evoke sympathy, and they were effective.

But it opened a rift between me and the HIV activists because they wanted to feature HIV victims. They were consumed by the injustice, and properly so, with which HIV victims were being treated, or not being treated. They wanted to feature that, and we realized that would turn off a good portion of the electorate, and while it was the right thing to do in some sense, it wasnt effective political strategy.

Dennis Peron. Photo: Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images

The campaign overall was pursuing a press strategy that matched the advertising strategy I just described. But Dennis Peron was off doing his own thing, getting his own kind of press within San Francisco, not only on HIV but on open consumption of marijuana. They never gave up on arguing for full legalization. Peron thought it was an effective way to convincing people that it should be legalized: just openly smoke it and dare the cops to arrest you, thereby demonstrating the absurdity of the laws. So Peron was doing that in San Francisco, but San Francisco media reaches far beyond the city limits, and covers a good portion of Northern California, which includes a lot of conservative areas, which were not sympathetic to the culture within the city limits of San Francisco. So in summer of 96 I had several meetings with Peron and tried to explain the damage he was doing to the overall statewide campaign  and he agreed to back off.

So one day in September, after Peron agreed to back off, we get a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle and there on the front page is a huge picture of Peron smoking a joint and arguing that Prop 215 should pass so anybody can do this wherever and whenever they want. That broke the relationship, and I dont think we ever spoke again after that.

Gieringer: I remember the picture in the newspaper of Dennis smoking a joint because there was a focus group organized by Zimmerman. One of the things they did was present the newspaper picture. Most people in the focus group laughed at it and werent terribly bothered by it. But there was an understandable concern by Zimmermans group. Thank goodness it wasnt until after the election when Dennis said in the paper, All marijuana use is medical.

There was also the famous raid on Denniss Cannabis Club in the summer of 96, in the middle of the campaign. Its August and we have this right-wing state attorney general, Dan Lungren. He got the state cops to raid and close down Denniss club. But it backfired on Lungren: Doonesbury did a famous cartoon about Lungren arresting sick people and he became a laughingstock.

Zimmerman: In the end we were able to isolate Peron and his people as a sideshow within San Francisco and dominate the larger story with the medical issues and the medical victims that we were featuring. We did that by increasing our advertising budget in San Francisco, which took the spotlight away from Peron. When he was the only story, the press went to him. So when we became active with our own messages we were able to prevent Peron from dominating the press coverage.

Nadelmann: Lo and behold, on Election Day 96, Prop 215 gets more votes than Bill Clinton does in California. Which was a very impressive showing.

Geiringer: Dennis staged a celebration in front of the club. He had a klieg light. We all flocked there. I remember at midnight, I lit up a joint for a cancer patient that I happened to know, because the prop became effective on midnight of Election Day.

I really thought once this happens the Feds would have to reschedule marijuana. I had no conception of how the federal drug bureaucracy would react. It went into defensive suppression mode.

Nadelmann: Around Christmastime of 96, the Clinton administration officials, the drug czar, and other drug warriors, do a press conference. They stand up and they say we want to make doctors and patients aware that any doctor that talks about the so-called benefits of medical marijuana will be subject to sanctions, ranging from loss of license to criminal prosecution.

My new legal director, Dan Abrahamson, who had been successful in death penalty cases, recruits Graham Boyd, who would go on to work with the ACLU, to brainstorm, and they come up with the idea that we need to sue the federal government for violating the First Amendment rights of doctors and patients.

The ACLU of Northern California gets involved. In early 97, we file a lawsuit. First we get a temporary restraining order, then a preliminary injunction, then we win the case in federal court, then in the court of appeals, and this goes over the next six or seven years. In 2003 the Supreme Court refuses to hear the government appeal, thereby locking in the right of doctors and patients to talk about medical marijuana. If we had lost that battle, we wouldnt be having this conversation today.

George Zimmer, founder of Mens Wearhouse and co-funder of Prop 215 Campaign: I dont remember where I was when Prop 215 passed, but I do remember where I was in November of 2016, when Prop 64 passed, legalizing marijuana across the board in California. I was at a party. What I remember about the party was that it should have been one of the most exuberant moments of all of our lives  but because Trump had won the presidency, it put a pall over the whole evening.

I dont understand why marijuana didnt become legal in the same way that alcohol is. I envisioned clubs scattered around the state where people can smoke marijuana in a collective environment, much like people go in a bar. I dont understand why that never happened, because that seems like the right application. Kind of like in Dennis Perons club in the 90s. Theres a great deal of camaraderie that can happen with people who are smoking marijuana together, for any reason. I think the idea of passing a joint is the same as what Indians would have experienced passing a peace pipe. Theres a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood that I think is good for your blood pressure and other biometrics. Its too bad that we seem to be hung up on making sure we regulate it.
Love Island's Laura Crane has confessed she 'couldn't stop crying' and 'feared for her life' during her terrifying battle with sepsis.

Speaking to The Sun the 23-year-old reality star fought back tears as she recalled the rollercoaster of emotions she felt after being rushed to hospital with the deadly disease.

Laura was finally released from hospital last week after spending 10 days battling the infection known as the 'silent killer,' and went onto say she hopes to now raise awareness and save more lives.

Tough time: Love Island's Laura Crane has confessed she 'couldn't stop crying' and 'feared for her life' during her terrifying battle with sepsis

She said: 'It was pretty scary because I kept going and down, my infection levels kept sky rocketing and then coming down a little bit, and then going back up again.

'I mentally really struggled because I didnt realise how ill I was and I didnt understand why I was in there with people that in my eyes were so ill. I think I was scared, I had never been in hospital before, I have never properly been ill before

'There were times when I was crying, it was crazy emotions. There is a bunch of different things going on in your head and you are trying to centre it all. I was lucky I had the people around me that I did or it could have been a lot worse.'

WHAT IS SEPSIS? Sepsis, known as the silent killer, strikes when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs. It is the leading cause of avoidable death, killing at least 44,000 a year, and the Daily Mail has long campaigned for more awareness. If caught early, the infection can be controlled by antibiotics before the body goes into overdrive - ultimately leading to death within a matter of minutes. But the early symptoms of sepsis can be easily confused with more mild conditions, meaning it can be difficult to diagnose. Sepsis has similar symptoms to flu, gastroenteritis and a chest infection. These include: S lurred speech or confusion

lurred speech or confusion E xtreme shivering or muscle pain

xtreme shivering or muscle pain P assing no urine in a day

assing no urine in a day S evere breathlessness

evere breathlessness I t feels like you are dying

t feels like you are dying S kin mottled or discoloured Symptoms in children are: Fast breathing

Fits or convulsions

Mottled, bluish or pale skin

Rashes that do not fade when pressed

Lethargy

Feeling abnormally cold Advertisement

Laura went onto explain that after the infection was treated with antibiotics, she was finally allowed to go home after 10 days in hospital, and said she now hopes to raise awareness by working with the UK Sepsis Trust.

She also said her ex-boyfriend Jack Fowler was a welcome support throughout the ordeal, constantly checking in during her hospital stint.

Laura had written on social media last week that her time battling sepsis was 'the worst week of her life,' as she revealed she had finally been sent home.

Horrific: Laura also took to Instagram to post a series of snaps after she told fans last week that she was finally being sent home from hospital after ten days battling sepsis

Hard time: The star told The Sun she struggled mentally with the rollercoaster of emotions that came after she was rushed to hospital to battle the illness

Posting a snap of with a drip still in her arm, Laura wrote: 'DAY 10 in hospital and your girl has FINALLY been sent home, honestly it has been the worst week of my life .. when I fell ill last Tuesday with a temperature never did I think it was about to be a week as scary as it has been.

'Being someone that never really gets ill, I never thought that something like this would happen to me, however, it has taught me how important it is to listen to your body because it can so quickly turn fatal if you dont look for the vital signs.

The professional surfer continued: 'Its going to be a slow recovery, but I am so grateful to have had the people I had around me this week that spent countless hours in my hospital room wiping my tears and making sure I didnt run away when I was told I had to stay day after day.

Supportive: Laura also said that her ex Jack Fowler has been supportive throughout the ordeal, keeping in touch despite their split after meeting on Love Island over the summer (above)

'I will be forever grateful to the doctors and nurses that looked after me you are the true angels, the hours that you work and the jobs that you do are incredibly difficult and should get more recognition for what you do because youre literally life savers THANKYOU.

'I have learnt so much this week In so many ways Ill be back stronger than ever.'

Her representative also told MailOnline a week earlier: 'Laura is still in hospital, they are testing her daily and until she is rid of the infection she is unable to leave.

'It's tough on her when she is so physically fit, so is very much looking forward to getting back to normality.'
He was performing at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas last year when a gunman opened fire, killing 58.

Now country music star Jason Aldean has opened up about his devastation following last week's deadly mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California.

'It's just such a punch in the gut,' the 41-year-old said, of learning that some of the victims had also been present at the Las Vegas massacre.

Tragic: Jason Aldean opened up to SiriusXM's Storme Warren on Wednesday about the deadly mass shooting in Thousands Oaks, California, just over a year after the Route 91 massacre in Las Vegas

Aldean sat down with SiriusXM host Storme Warren backstage in Nashville ahead of the 52nd annual Country Music Association Awards, on Wednesday.

'I hate to say this,' the rocker admitted, 'but it's almost not even surprising, anymore.'

He added: 'You know it happens so often now.

'I'm not even shocked anymore when I wake up and hear something like that. Because it just it seems like it's happening all the time.'

A dozen people were killed in Thousand Oaks after a Marine veteran opened fire with a handgun.

Several of the people who were at the Borderline during the shooting, including one man who was killed, had been present at last year's massacre, the deadliest in U.S. history.

'People go places like that to unwind and have a good time after a long week at work or school,' father of three Aldean said, calling it 'the saddest thing'.

The scene: Survivors embraced one another at the scene outside of the shooting last Wednesday in Thousand Oaks, California

'I'm not even shocked anymore when I wake up and hear something like that:' Aldean shared his feelings about the Thousand Oaks shooting while sitting down with SiriusXM; he is seen at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival last year

'For the people from Route 91, you know, it was so tough to get through that deal and then you're kind of on the back side of that and then this happens,' added thoughtfully.

'I have no words for it,' the shooting survivor admitted. I just sat there stunned.'

Aldean is nominated for three awards at the CMAs which will be hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.

On top of possibly taking home a few trophies, the rocker has another baby on the way with wife Brittany.

'It's gonna be kind of crazy around my house, three daughters and a son,' Aldean said in the interview.

Happier times ahead: Jason and his wife Brittany are expecting a baby girl after welcoming son Memphis 11 months ago

The new baby will join big brother Memphis, 11 months, as well as Aldeans daughters from a previous marriage - Kendyl, 11 next month, and Keeley, 15.

Four is definitely a crowd and the star said this new baby girl will 'officially the end of my baby makin' days.'

He did admit that he loves being a dad thinks 'that's probably the coolest thing you can be, is a parent.'

Jason and Brittany have already announced the unique name Navy for their new bundle of joy.

The CMA Awards air Wednesday night on ABC 8 pm ET, 7 pm CT.
The stunning Australian star has maintained her enviably youthful appearance on Home And Away since the day she first debuted on the soap in 2000.

And a leading plastic surgeon claims Ada Nicodemou, 41, has stayed 'on point' in her career thanks to Greek heritage and 'various non-surgical cosmetic treatments'.

Dr. Randal Haworth told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that he believes the mother-of-one has undergone a breast augmentation, as well as using fillers and Botox.

Scroll down for video

'It's provided a balanced boost to her bosom': Leading plastic surgeon claims Home and Away star Ada Nicodemou, 41, has had a boob job, lip fillers and Botox (Pictured: left in 2003, right in 2018)

The surgeon to the stars, who has not treated the actress, complimented Ada's Mediterranean heritage which he believes 'lends her olive skin a lustrous glow of a firmly elastic quality'.

'No matter how gorgeous and famous you are, no one is immune to the effects of aging. Indeed, there are signs Ada has herself explored various non-surgical cosmetic options,' said the Beverly Hills surgeon.

While Dr. Haworth rejects previous suggestions Ada has undergone a rhinoplasty or nose job, he believes there are other signs of subtle work that have been likely performed on the brunette.

'Ada's forehead and area between her eyebrows are now smoother, most likely from Botox treatments,' he said in comparison to older photographs of the star.

'Ada's forehead and area between her eyebrows are now smoother': While Dr. Haworth rejects suggestions Ada has undergone a nose job, he believes she's had Botox over the years (left in 2003, right in 2018)

'Her undereye hollows have been softened with fillers': The celebrity surgeon also suggested that subtle bulges visible when she smiles could be a sign the soap star had used filler under her eyes (left in 2005, right in 2018)

The supposed presence of subtle bulges when Ada is smiling also has the plastic surgeon speculating 'that her undereye hollows have been softened with fillers at some point- perhaps with a hyaluronic acid such as Restylane Silk or Volbella'.

'More obvious is her lip augmentation,' Dr Haworth continued, adding it was most likely performed with another a hyaluronic acid filler, such as Juvederm.

The celebrity surgeon also believes the former Heartbreak High star 'has undergone a breast augmentation to provide a balanced boost to her bosom'.

'I consider her breast enhancement as a conservative response to the stressful effects of pregnancy and possible nursing,' he said of the actress, who is the mother to six-year-old son Johnah.

'I just think everyone should do whatever makes them feel good.' Ada has previously claimed she had no judgement on people who have Botox (Pictured 2006)

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ada Nicodemou for comment.

While Ada is yet to reveal whether she has gone under the needle, she has previously supported the use of enhancements in an interview with Daily Mail Australia.

'I just think everyone should do whatever makes them feel good... I have no judgement on [Botox] whatsoever.'

Fit mama! Ada lost five kilograms by following an eight-week exercise plan in July, which focused on strength training

Back in July, Ada debuted her toned physique on the cover of Who magazine after losing five kilograms.

The actress dropped down to 47kg by following an eight-week exercise plan which focused on strength training, including push-ups and sit-ups.

Home And Away airs on Seven from 7pm Monday to Thursday
Steve Jacobs has spoken about his devastating split from ex-wife Rosie.

The 51-year-old Today show weatherman admitted that he had 'been thrown a few curve balls' recently, but has been forced to come to terms with them.

He also revealed details of their custody arrangement, saying that he now sees their two children every two weeks.

'I've been thrown a few unwanted and unexpected curve balls': Today's Steve Jacobs talks his split with ex-wife Rosie (pictured) and says he sees their children every two weeks... as she moves on with new 'viking man' boyfriend Matt

Speaking to WHO magazine, Steve said: 'I've been thrown a few curve balls, which were unexpected and unwanted.'

'But I suppose these things happen in life and they give you character and make you stronger and you move forward.'

He added: 'What else can you do?'

Family: He added that he has their daughters, Isabella, seven, and Francesca, five, every two weeks and loves spending time with them

He added that he has their daughters, Isabella, seven, and Francesca, five, every two weeks and loves spending time with them.

It comes as Rosie, 39, moves on with her new 'viking' boyfriend Matt.

Last month, a close friend of the brunette confirmed the new relationship to Daily Mail Australia, saying: 'Yes, they are super happy!'

'Me and my Ragnar,' Rosie captioned one Instagram image of herself and Matt, clearly referencing the renowned Danish and Swedish Viking hero and ruler - Ragnar Lodbrok.

New man: It comes as Rosie, 39, moves on with her new 'viking' boyfriend Matt (pictured)

Moving on: Rosie and Steve are both settling back into their separate lives in Sydney after returning from Vanuatu following their devastating split

She accompanied the pair's happy snap with a number of telling hashtags, including: 'Couldn't be happier, no regrets just love, my viking man and it's out now.'

Rosie and Steve are both settling back into their separate lives in Sydney after returning from Vanuatu following their devastating split.

The couple relocated to Vanuatu with their two daughters in mid-2017, in what friends reportedly said was a 'last-ditch attempt' to save their marriage.

However the relationship broke down within a matter of months and after the couple split, Rosie began dating Canadian commando, Dylan Nash, 32.

Rosie and Dylan, who reportedly met through mutual friends in Vanuatu, also parted ways in recent months.
She's been sporting a number of string bikinis in Sydney since landing in Australia on Sunday.

And on Wednesday, Emily Ratajkowksi, showed off her incredible figure in a dark red underwear set ahead of the launch of her lingerie line M/Rata.

The model, 27, took to Instagram and shared a photograph of herself in a seamless, plunging bralet and coordinating high-waisted thong brief, in a bid to plug her upcoming collection.

Posing in a pantry while clutching onto a packet of crisps, Emily looked sensational with her washboard abs and amble cleavage on display.

A tag on the photo lead fans to an Instagram account for the M/Rata range, which boasted a single photo, of the model flaunting her pert behind in the high-legged thong.

For the flirty photos, Emily parted her tresses in the centre, and styled her brunette locks into an effortlessly dishevelled 'do.

The model enhanced her breathtaking beauty with a sweep of mascara and a pretty pink lipstick.

Mixing business with pleasure: Emily is currently in Australia to attend the GQ Australia Men Of The Year Awards on Wednesday night

Emily is currently in Australia to attend the GQ Australia Men Of The Year Awards on Wednesday night.

But in an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Monday, she revealed she had every intention of mixing business with pleasure during her stay.

'My best friend lives in Sydney and I have wanted to come see her for so long, I couldnt be more thrilled to finally make it Down Under,' she told the newspaper.

'I grew up in Encinitas, San Diego, California.

'Surfing and skating are everything there and the culture has definitely been compared to that of Australia. I feel especially connected to Australia.'

Doing it all: But in an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Monday, she revealed she had every intention of mixing business with pleasure during her stay

While delivering a speech at theGQ Australia's Men of the Year Awards on Wednesday, Emily managed to make reference to her penchant for revealing swimwear.

After being given GQ's International Woman Of The Year award, Emily gave a candid acceptance speech about the importance of being 'multi-faceted', telling the audience: 'It's about wearing a string bikini on the beach, and at a protest.'

The British-born beauty shared her thoughts on what it means to be a man or woman in this day and age.

'I think Woman of the Year is a pretty crazy title. But what I think about what's important in 2018 for both men and women, it's about defying stereotypes. It's about being multi-faceted.'

Reiterating the importance of not confining oneself to preconceived views, Emily added: 'It's about wearing a string bikini on the beach, and at a protest.'
Worse for wear Katie Price told guests she plans to MARRY ex Kris Boyson when they both attended the same birthday party on Wednesday night, despite still being married to Kieran Hayler.

The pair arrived at Phil Turner's bash separately, but their joint appearance continued to fuel rumours they have reconciled following their split back in August.

A source told MailOnline: 'Katie appeared worse for wear when she arrived and by the end of the night she had to lean on her friend for support.'

Here they come: Worse for wear Katie Price told partygoers she plans to MARRY ex Kris Boyson when the couple attended Phil Turners 50th birthday party on Wednesday evening

Upbeat: Given the celebratory nature of the evening Katie was in high spirits as she took the short walk from her car to the venue

An insider told The Sun: 'Katie looked like shed had a few drinks before she arrived, and when she was at the party, she didnt stop drinking.

'She was sat at a table with the birthday boy and telling everyone she was going to marry Kris.

'When people would come over to say hello, shed point to him and say "thats husband number four" or "Im going to marry him".'

It comes after 40-year-old Katie's recent posts sent fans into overdrive as she dropped the bombshell that she was planning to marry for a fourth time.

Publicly reflecting on her love life, the mother-of-five insisted she was 'serious' about walking down the aisle again.

Hard to miss: The former glamour model, 40, put on a typically busty display in a fitted black vest top that accentuated her cleavage

Make way: Katie somewhat inevitably caught the eye as she made her way while leaning on the arm of a male friend

Letting her hair down: She appeared a little bleary-eyed as she was pictured outside the venue

Alongside the picture of the romantic quote about getting married, Katie simply penned with heart emojis: 'I'm serious'.

The quote read: 'I wanna marry you because you're the first person I wanna look at when I wake up in the morning and the only one I wanna kiss goodnight.

'Because the first time that I saw these hands, I couldn't imagine not being able to hold them. But mainly, when you love someone as much as I love you, getting married is the only thing left to do. So, will you, um, marry me? Definitely maybe.'

Katie examined her inner most feelings when she candidly confessed she couldn't sleep because she was thinking about a past lover.

It's all too much: Katie placed her head in her hands as she got into a waiting car

She wrote alongside a quote about missing her ex: 'In bed trying to sleep and all I can think about is you !'

The quote read: 'I won't beg for your time and attention any more. The more you ignore me, the more I will get used to being ignored.

'If you stop calling me, I will stop waiting for your calls. If you stop sending me texts, I will get rid of the habit of checking my phone all day.

'The more you stay away from me, the more I will adapt to staying away from you. One day I will learn to live without you.'

The former glamour model put on a typically busty display in a fitted black vest top that accentuated her cleavage while joining guests including Vic Reeves and Calum best at the event.

Katie added to her look with cropped black trousers, while matching kitten heels rounded things off, showing off a neon pink pedicure.

On her mind: Publicly reflecting on her love life, the mother-of-five recently insisted she was 'serious' about walking down the aisle again

Want you back: Katie examined her inner most feelings when she candidly confessed she couldn't sleep because she was thinking about a past lover

Not quite yet: Katie is still married, although estranged to Kieran Hayler

Given the celebratory nature of the evening Katie was in high spirits as she took the short walk from her car to the venue.

Struggling to contain herself, the Loose Women panellist gave onlookers a beaming smile while leaning on the arm of her male friend.

Arriving shortly afterwards Kris looked appropriately smart in a white shirt, cream chinos and a fitted blue blazer.

The personal trainer, 30, was joining Katie after they clashed over the lack of trust in their stop-start relationship, leading her to make the dramatic social media gesture proving she was ready to commit.

Other guests to attend Turner's birthday on Wednesday evening included Michelle Heaton, Jo Wood, Michelle Collins and Melinda Messenger.

Close behind: Arriving shortly afterwards Kris looked appropriately smart in a white shirt, cream chinos and a fitted blue blazer

Quite a sight: Katie's assets were hard to miss during her latest appearance in the capital on Wednesday night

Nothing to see here: Onlookers were waved away as she made her way inside with her male friend

Katie shared a slew of Instagram posts over the weekend hinting that she was ready to tie the knot again, as the messages hinted that she was mourning over an ex-lover.

A source told The Sun: 'Katie and Kris are back on, but he says it's hard to trust her because she admitted cheating on him before.

'That means if she's on her phone too much he gets suspicious and they start to bicker. After the row at the weekend, Katie wanted to prove, publicly, to Kris what he meant to her.'

She's pleased: Struggling to contain herself, the Loose Women panellist gave onlookers a beaming smile while entering on the arm of her male friend

Step back: Katie's pal acted as her chaperone ahead of the celebratory event on behalf of close friend Phil

Easy does it: He was also on hand to offer his assistance as she climbed from the rear of her car

Party time: But Katie struggled to keep her eyes open before making her grand entrance

Incoming: Kris looked serious as he prepared to join Katie at the celebratory event

Katie's recent posts sent fans into overdrive as she dropped the bombshell that she was planning to marry for a fourth time.

Publicly reflecting on her love life, the mother-of-five insisted she was 'serious' about walking down the aisle again.

Alongside the picture of the romantic quote about getting married, Katie simply penned with heart emojis: 'I'm serious'.

Trouble: The personal trainer was joining Katie after they clashed over the lack of trust in their stop-start relationship, leading her to make the dramatic social media gesture proving she was ready to commit

Commitment: Katie shared a slew of Instagram posts over the weekend hinting that she was ready to tie the knot again, as the messages hinted that she was mourning over an ex-lover

The quote read: 'I wanna marry you because you're the first person I wanna look at when I wake up in the morning and the only one I wanna kiss goodnight.

'Because the first time that I saw these hands, I couldn't imagine not being able to hold them. But mainly, when you love someone as much as I love you, getting married is the only thing left to do. So, will you, um, marry me? Definitely maybe.'

Katie appeared to examine her inner feelings when she candidly confessed she couldn't sleep because she was thinking about a past lover.

Familiar faces: Michelle Heaton (L) and Melinda Messenger (R) were also in attendance at the event on Wednesday evening

Letting her hair down: Former EastEnders star Michelle Collins was seen making her way into the venue

Joining in: Jo Wood (L) and Martine McCutcheon (R) looked typically glamorous as they helped Phil celebrate his birthday

Put me down! Lizzie Cundy was lifted in the air by a hunky guest after making her way into Proud Embankment

It's my party: Phil Turner (in black) was centre of attention after arriving for his birthday celebration with partner Gary Cockerill

That's better: Kris looked relaxed after grabbing a drink from the bar on Wednesday evening

Happy couple: Andrea Mclean attended the event with husband Nick Feeney

This is her moment.... Martine took to the stage to perform at the party

Handsome trio: Gary and Phill looked delighted as they posed up with a performer

Blonde beauties; Nell McAndrew and Melinda dazzled on the night

Scarlet siren: Nancy Sorrell looked sensational in her scarlet gown

Stunning: Lizzie Cundy and Andrea McLean looked glamorous at the party

She wrote alongside a quote about missing her ex: 'In bed trying to sleep and all I can think about is you !'

The quote read: 'I won't beg for your time and attention any more. The more you ignore me, the more I will get used to being ignored.

'If you stop calling me, I will stop waiting for your calls. If you stop sending me texts, I will get rid of the habit of checking my phone all day.

In good company: Former model Melinda Messenger was joined by a mystery male companion

PDA: Melinda packed on the PDA with the mystery man at the bash

Playful: Andrea's husband Nick struck a playful pose as he was picked up by two performers

Dynamic duo: Lizzie joined Jo Malone for a chat at the star-studded party

Thanks: Phill embraced Martine as she finished her glittering performance

'The more you stay away from me, the more I will adapt to staying away from you. One day I will learn to live without you.'

Katie doesn't make clear which of her former lovers she is referring to in the series of Instagram posts.

The former glamour model has had a turbulent love life, with five children and three failed marriages to her name.

Glamorous: Former Liberty X star Michelle caught the eye in a glittering sequinned minidress

Side by side: Tonia Buxton and Aldo Zilli (L) and Jilly Johnson and Ashley Brodin (R) partied at the milestone event

Girl squad: (L-R) Andrea Mclean, Lizzie Cundy and Jo Wood rubbed shoulders at the birthday bash

Katie's relationship with Kris first ended in September after she was spotted on a night out with businessman Alex Adderson, 25, in Essex.

The model enjoyed a brief romance with the toyboy before she went her separate ways for good from him.

Katie was previously married to Kieran Hayler, Alex Reid and Peter Andre.

Funny guy: Comedian Vic Reeves was joined by model wife Nancy Sorrell

Arm in arm: Calum Best arrived with Hannah Murrell (L) while Michelle Collins entered with a male companion (R)

Smitten: Happy couple Melinda and Chris were inseparable on Monday evening

Up on stage: Martine McCutcheon provided the musical entertainment on Wednesday evening

Thank you my friend: The singer and actress was given a big hug from Phil following her performance

Fun: Guests at the star-studded event partied well into the early hours of the morning

What a Liberty (X): Michelle took the opportunity to pose with a variety of scantily clad guests at the event on Wednesday evening

Hunky: Calum Best posed up with a glamorous blonde at the bash

Glamour: Tonia Buxton posed up with her daughter at the party

Leggy: Noelle Reno and Aldo Zilli's daughter Lauren flashed their toned pins

Tanned trio: Phill was joined by some shirtless performers at the birthday bash
Westpac could escape an agreed record $35 million fine over its lending practices after a Federal Court judge refused to approve the penalty.

Australia's second-biggest bank and the corporate regulator had agreed to the fine after Westpac conceded it had wrongly assessed the ability of borrowers to repay mortgages between December 2011 and March 2015.

The case centred on Westpac's use of a statistics-based household expenditure measure to automatically calculate a customer's ability to repay a loan - regardless of whether or not that measure was lower than what the customer had declared as their monthly expenses.

Four per cent of the 262,000 home loans automatically approved under the HEM method should have been referred to a credit officer for assessment, but weren't.

But on Tuesday, Federal Court judge Nye Perram said neither Westpac nor the Australian Securities and Investments Commission were able to explain why the bank decided to use that particular method.

"Not knowing ... makes it very difficult to assess how serious its conduct is and hence how appropriate a civil penalty of $35 million might be," he said.

"The Court is asked to say that the proposed penalty is appropriate even though it knows nothing of the respondent's motives beyond a bland agreed fact that it acted in good faith.

"In the information vacuum in which the parties have left the Court, this is not possible."

He concluded it was "unworkable to assess the reasonableness of the penalty if it is not known what is to be penalised" and refused to rubber stamp the fine.

ASIC had argued the penalty was appropriate given the relative size of home loans to other consumer loans, the sector's importance to Westpac's bottom line and the overall size of Westpac and its main competitors.

And Westpac's legal team had argued the court wasn't required to decide whether it was the appropriate penalty, but only had to be assured it was an appropriate penalty.

The matter has been stood over for a case management hearing on November 27.
A wider range of crimes - including murder and rape - will disqualify people from ever working with children in Queensland under changes before state parliament.

Eight new offences have been added to a list of crimes that prevent someone from ever working with children in the state - under what's known as the blue card system.

It comes after the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal earlier this year granted a blue card on appeal to a French student who had raped a woman, sparking outrage from the state opposition and women's advocates.
An Irish woman who killed her fiance in Sydney has told a judge she did not leave the "controlling and fairly unpleasant" man as she loved him dearly.

Cathrina "Tina" Cahill also told her sentence hearing she believed David Walsh every time he said he would change but he always returned to his bad behaviour after a few weeks.

She was giving evidence on Tuesday in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of her 29-year-old fiance.

She stabbed Mr Walsh once in the neck in the early hours of February 18, 2017, at the Padstow home they shared with two other Irish nationals.

Cahill was originally charged with murder, but the Crown accepted her plea to the less serious charge on the basis of substantial impairment due to an abnormality of the mind at the time.

Prosecutor Nanette Williams on Tuesday noted Cahill told police in September 2015, after an AVO was issued against Mr Walsh to protect her, that she held no fears against him.

"I was in fear of getting in more trouble from David if I told the truth," she said.

"He would call me a rat and a dog."

She agreed she also told police Mr Walsh was not a risk to her in any way, but she said she was trying to protect him.

She had packed her bags many times to leave him, but Mr Walsh would tell her everything was going to be different.

"He would be making me dinner, buying me flowers, buying me a teddy bear but after two to three weeks it would go back to the way it was."

She agreed with Justice Peter Johnson that her evidence revealed they had a "pretty stormy relationship" and that Mr Walsh might be seen to be a "controlling and fairly unpleasant person".

But she said she stayed with him as "I loved him very dearly" and he did have some good features.

The hearing continues.
Its almost like laziness isnt whats driving poverty. Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

As president, Donald Trump has demonstrated consistent hostility to the notion that government should provide for low-income people. That sentiment frequently expresses itself as support for work requirements, which force beneficiaries to work a certain number of hours in order to keep receiving welfare. In April, Trump signed an executive order urging federal agencies to develop work requirements for a wide range of entitlement programs, on the basis that the government should do everything within its authority to empower individuals by providing opportunities for work, including by investing in federal programs that are effective at moving people into the workforce and out of poverty.

But do work requirements really help low-income people enter the workforce and leave poverty? A new report released by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities on Tuesday morning suggests thats not the case. According to CBPP, work requirements for welfare can in fact plunge low-income people deeper into poverty. The report examines the consequences of state-level work-policy regimes as applied to the program most Americans probably think of when they hear the word welfare: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. Its findings are damning. Two million families have lost TANF benefits after their state sanctioned them for failing to meet work standards. Looking at existing work-requirement regimes, the left-leaning think tank concluded that state agencies charged with administering sanctions for TANF often do so in error, penalizing individuals who did actually meet a states work requirements. Further, the act of requiring a person to work for welfare doesnt actually dismantle certain socioeconomic obstacles that can litter paths to employment:

Studies also show that many parents who lose benefits due to work requirements have significant employment barriers, including many that would qualify them for exemptions under most states work rules. Those losing benefits are more likely than other TANF parents to have physical, mental health, or substance use issues; to be fleeing domestic violence; to have low levels of education and limited work experience; or to face significant logistical challenges, such as lack of access to or funds to pay for child care and transportation.

States are also much more likely to penalize African-American beneficiaries for failing to meet work-requirement standards, CBPP found, a trend that expands rather than resolves racial wealth inequities. And while work requirements did shrink the number of households on welfare, they dont reliably lead to higher rates of steady employment  in other words, despite what proponents suggest, the threat of losing TANF benefits doesnt goad people into finding work. Work requirements can have other unintended consequences, too. Citing pilot programs introduced in 11 cities in the 1990s, CBPP found that the programs, considered together, lowered poverty by an average of 2.1 percentage points but raised deep poverty by 2.9 percentage points.

Arguments against work requirements arent new. CBPPs researchers have previously found that work requirements keep TANF benefits from reaching Americans who need them  especially unemployed single mothers. And the think tank is hardly the only source of opposition to work requirements; In their book, $2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, researchers H. Luke Shaefer and Kathryn Edin also asserted that following the implementation of TANF (which mandates that states develop eligibility rules involving work requirements) in the mid-90s, the number of American households living in extreme poverty, on $2 or less per day, more than doubled. Other research undermines the idea that work requirements lead to, well, work. A February report released by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality acknowledged that in some of the available causal studies, welfare reform has been shown to be responsible for raising employment rates between 2.9 and 3.9 percent. But researchers added that attributing these gains to work requirements could overstate the effects of welfare reform, as there are other policies, like the Clinton-era expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, that could help explain higher employment rates.

If work requirements dont consistently usher low-income workers into work  let alone work that pays a living wage  then whats the point? The policy seems purely punitive, but dont expect the Trump administration to abandon it soon. Trump officials arent the first politicians to treat poverty like a moral failing instead of a preventable material condition.
Convicted drug smuggler Renae Lawrence is about to walk free after more than a decade in Indonesian prisons. Here's how her decision to join the Bali Nine heroin ring played out:

April, 2005:

- Lawrence and eight others are arrested at Bali airport and a local hotel over a plot to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin into Australia

- Lawrence is among those nabbed at the airport. She has more than 2kg of heroin strapped to her body

September, 2005:

- Indonesian prosecutors say all nine Australians will be charged with offences that carry the death penalty

February, 2006:

- Lawrence gets life in jail but prosecutors had argued for just 20 years because she co-operated with police

- At her trial she claimed ringleader Andrew Chan threatened to kill her and her family unless she carried the drugs

- Chan, and fellow ringleader, Myuran Sukumaran are sentenced to death; the rest get life in jail

April, 2006:

- Lawrence and four others appeal their life sentences; They win and get 20 years instead

- Lawrence decides to accept her fate and not lodge further appeals

September:

- Others try their luck but some lose spectacularly, with some jail terms upgraded to the death penalty

- Ultimately only the two ringleaders are executed

November, 2018

- Officials in Bali confirm Lawrence will be released on November 21

- Lawrence has shaved years off her sentence through remissions for good behaviour

- She could be the only member of the Bali Nine that will ever taste freedom again, with the rest to die jail unless their cases are reviewed.
Cabinet minister Michaelia Cash says she was unaware her former chief of staff had been served with legal documents over raids on union offices.

The Australian Workers' Union is pursuing Federal Court action over federal police raids on its offices in Sydney and Melbourne more than a year ago.

Senator Cash's former chief of staff Ben Davies was on Monday served with a subpoena by AWU lawyers to give evidence in court and produce documents over the matter.

The raids were about a donation made by the AWU to activist group GetUp when Opposition Leader Bill Shorten headed up the union more than a decade ago.

During question time on Tuesday, Labor's Murray Watt asked Senator Cash if she knew about the subpoena served on Mr Davies.

"You know more than me because I've only just been informed of that matter by you," she told parliament.

"I have not discussed it with my former chief of staff."

The small business minister challenged Mr Shorten to come clean over his knowledge of the donations.

"Maybe Mr Shorten ought to front up. The AWU, they can subpoena him because you can subpoena anyone," Senator Cash said.

The raids drew scrutiny because journalists arrived at the offices before police after a tip-off from Senator Cash's office.

The minister has consistently denied any knowledge of leaking from her office or being aware the raids were going to happen before they became public.

"Again here today we have Senator Cash telling the Senate she doesn't know about media reports that her former chief of staff has been served," Senator Watt said.

"Forgive me if I'm a little bit sceptical."

Senator Cash was served with a subpoena earlier in the year but flagged her intention to have it set aside.

The court case is expected to start in February next year.
An Adelaide man accused of trying to suffocate his wife with helium in order to claim her life insurance policy has been granted home detention bail.

Corbus Kenneth Bruns faced Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with attempted murder over the October assault.

Lawyers for Bruns, who appeared by video-link from prison, indicated he would fight the charge.

A police prosecutor told the court Bruns bound and gagged the woman, and put a breathing apparatus connected to a helium canister over her mouth and nose.

Bruns allegedly used his body weight to restrain her and told her "you're not going anywhere", before putting a plastic bag over her head, tightening his hands around her throat and saying "this will only take a minute".

The assault continued "for a long period of time" before the victim managed to pull her hand free from the binding and escape the house.

Police believe the alleged attack was premeditated and Bruns was motivated by financial benefit.

"They were in serious financial trouble (and) there was a life insurance policy out on the victim," the court heard.

"She is aware that he had been trying to sign over their marital home and forging documents in her name."

Opposing all forms of bail, the prosecutor said Bruns had been intimidating witnesses from jail, and his release would cause psychological trauma to the victim.

But magistrate Simon Smart granted him home detention bail on strict conditions, including restricted access to financial records.

He will reappear before the court in July, allowing the prosecution time to complete DNA analysis and access forensic banking records.
Tony Duffy survived just long enough to get a payment offer from the child abuse redress scheme. He died the next day.

The 54-year-old hung on to life in a Toowoomba hospital bed until he got a call from the redress scheme last Friday afternoon.

Abuse survivors are increasingly worried they will die before getting payments from the redress scheme, which has paid out fewer than 10 people in the four months it has been open.

One man has already died while waiting for an offer, and others fear they will die before major churches and charities officially enter the scheme.

Karen Duffy said her husband wanted closure before he died and wanted to see justice prevail.

"Tony knew that he wouldn't live to see the actual money but he wanted to ensure my financial security," Mrs Duffy said in a statement.

"So upon receiving the redress offer (on) Friday afternoon his wish was granted. Tony said: 'I'm ready to go now' and passed away Saturday night."

Despite putting in his application on the day the scheme opened, Mr Duffy spent more than four months waiting because he had been to prison for more than five years.

Care Leavers Australia Network's Leonie Sheedy said abuse survivors well understood why many of them went on to commit crimes.

"The royal commission didn't segregate people who went on to an adult life of crime, but this redress scheme is segregating us," Ms Sheedy said.

A spokeswoman for Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher said applications from people who committed a serious crime are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The process considers advice from attorneys-general, the nature of the offence, length of imprisonment, how long since the offence was committed, and community expectations.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said it is working with more than 30 dioceses to finalise its legal requirements "as soon as possible".

"We will be part of the redress scheme. Survivors deserve justice and we want this to happen," the ACBC said in a statement.

It's understood the dioceses aim to be in the scheme before the end of the year.

Opposition social services spokeswoman Linda Burney said a Labor government would address concerns about the maximum payment and access to payments for people in prison.

Independent senator Derryn Hinch failed to pass a motion in the upper house on Tuesday aiming to strip funding and charity tax concessions from institutions not in the scheme by February.

"Cases are on hold and ageing survivors are dying without redress. We've used the carrot, it's time for the stick," he told parliament.

Government minister Anne Ruston said institutions had until 2020 to join the scheme, while Labor said its policy was to not withhold charitable status or government funding from religious institutions.
NSW's top cop has acknowledged police and the community have historically failed to root out domestic violence - but he has pledged to fight the silence and crush the often unseen scourge.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, in a frank address to representatives from Australian and international law enforcement agencies, said the discourse around domestic violence had changed dramatically in his three decades wearing a badge.

"I think the greatest challenge over the last couple of decades has been the bias we've had in criminalising domestic and family violence," he told the inaugural Australasian Police Domestic Violence Forum in Sydney on Tuesday.

Domestic violence was not considered a crime in the same way as theft or other forms of violence, he told experts who had come from as far away as the Netherlands and the UK.

In 2016 NSW Police began treating domestic violence offenders like other criminals - and they found the two categories often crossed over.

"It was a surprise some of our worst domestic and family violence offenders - our most dangerous our most violent - were also some of our best criminals," Mr Fuller said.

"Members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, commercial drug suppliers, violent people in their own right. I mean - how did we miss this?"

At the time he wondered if it was police bias - or an issue with court orders.

Police were knocking on the doors of criminals to make sure they were meeting bail conditions - but when it came to domestic violence orders they "were waiting for the victim to call us".

"So we started to enforce these (bail) orders," he said.

"The first door we knocked on was a victim's house just to do a check. Who opened the door? The offender. We saw this time and time again, this lack of respect for court orders in this space."

Now remand centres and courtrooms are bursting with men who breach apprehended violence orders.

But "bystander" culture is also an issue, Mr Fuller said.

He recalled a homicide a few years ago where the neighbours never phoned police as the relationship deteriorated on their doorstep.

"I couldn't understand why they never picked up the phone in the months and months of violence," he said.

But they clearly feared the offender too, he said.

Mr Fuller admitted it had been a challenge to figure out why the community always had "venom" against thieves and violent criminals but only "silence" around domestic violence offending.

People will need to learn "there are no innocent bystanders" if domestic violence is to be reduced, he concluded.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14
Australia remains locked in negotiations to create the largest trading bloc in the world, but does not expect to finalise a deal until at least late next year.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has travelled to Singapore for talks on a 16-country agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The trade pact includes the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

If the deal comes to fruition, it will include half the world's population and one-third of its GDP.

Ten of Australia's 15 largest trading partners are included in the agreement.

Some countries wanted to conclude negotiations this week, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

But after trade ministers met late into Monday night, it was clear their hopes were dashed.

India - a notoriously challenging negotiating partner on trade - is understood to have raised serious market access concerns.

But Senator Birmingham said all countries involved had unique demands.

"It's an enormous trade agreement in terms of the scale of economies, nations, populations, and therefore issues to be resolved," he told reporters in Singapore on Tuesday.

"Sixteen different countries all at the table at the same time."

The deal - which does not include the United States - is considered increasingly important after Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

With the US and China locked in a trade war, it would also give Beijing a stronger influence.

Senator Birmingham said the "ambitious, comprehensive, groundbreaking" trade agreement would be twice the size of the TPP.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has thrown his support behind it, saying the deal will create trade and investment opportunities for Australian businesses.

Mr Morrison will meet with the leaders of all countries involved in the trade pact in Singapore on Wednesday.

"I would anticipate and hope that leaders will be able to agree that we can work towards a conclusion next year," Senator Birmingham said.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham insists the United States should not be surprised Australia is willing to co-fund infrastructure projects with China.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison must navigate rising tensions between the two regional giants during international summits in Singapore and Papua New Guinea this week.

Mr Morrison has said Australia should not feel the need to choose between the US and China, but instead seek to elevate both relationships in parallel.

He has indicated Australia may partner in one-off projects as part of China's global Belt and Road Initiative.

And yet, a rival infrastructure initiative is set to include Australia, the US and Japan.

Senator Birmingham said Australia's approach to the Belt and Road Initiative was long-standing and unchanged.

"We welcome increased investment in infrastructure to enable the economic development of third countries across our region," he told reporters in Singapore on Tuesday.

"As long as that is sustainable investment, as long as it's responsible, as long as it respects the sovereignty of those third countries."

The minister said Australia was a willing partner to encourage investment and grow economies throughout the Indo-Pacific.

"We stand ready as partners - whether it's with the US or with China - so long as those threshold questions are met," he said.

Senator Birmingham said this should come as no surprise to the US.

"We make clear the calibre, quality and responsibility we expect in terms of any such investments," he said.

"As long as those investments meet those standards, then of course we welcome them into the region, and are happy to engage in dialogue."
More asylum seekers will be spared from a fast-tracked processing system critics claim is unfair after the Senate voted to dump new migration laws.

Greens senator Nick McKim's disallowance motion passed the upper house on Tuesday night, repealing a move to put more boat arrivals on the fast-track.

"People in the fast-track process are not given a fair opportunity to put forward their case for asylum," Senator McKim told parliament.

"They're not given a fair opportunity to deal with the adverse information affecting their application."

The move would have applied to a "legacy" caseload of 108 people who arrived by boat before 2014 and were already living in Australia.

Cabinet minister Nigel Scullion said the legal instrument aimed to resolve asylum seekers' status.

He said it would ensure people would be removed from Australia in a timely manner where an unauthorised boat arrival was found not to meet the conditions to be granted protection.

Labor backed the disallowance motion, which succeeded 33 votes to 29.
The West Australian government says it will take a close look at Victoria's voluntary assisted dying laws in forming its right-to-die legislation.

The McGowan government plans to introduce the bill, drafted by an 11-member expert panel chaired by former WA governor Malcolm McCusker, next year.

It follows a parliamentary committee that received about 700 submissions and held 81 public hearings.

Premier Mark McGowan and Health Minister Roger Cook indicated Victoria's laws, which passed in an Australian first in November last year, would be closely looked at.

"We're keeping a very open mind," Mr Cook told reporters on Tuesday.

Opposition Leader Mike Nahan said he personally hadn't made a decision about his conscience vote.

"I'm going to examine the safeguards," Dr Nahan told reporters.

"The committee report was wide ranging, they've got an excellent person looking at the legislation - we're treating it objectively."

While the Greens appeared to support it, Dr Nahan said he "wouldn't even hazard a guess about the crossbenchers or let alone my own colleagues".

"There will be people who are against it for a variety of reasons, religious and other reasons, and I come from that direction.

"But nonetheless as someone whose been through the painful death of loved ones, I understand the issues.

"I won't be an advocate."

Philip Nitschke, founder of pro-euthanasia group Exit International, said WA should not restrict the laws to those terminally ill or in extreme suffering, or impose arduous requirements to demonstrate eligibility.

Dr Nitschke favours the model in Switzerland, where he travelled in July to support Perth academic David Goodall, who did not have a terminal illness but ended his life at age 104, saying he wasn't enjoying it anymore.

Go Gentle Australia founder Andrew Denton commended the WA government for its action so far, saying it was crucial safeguards were built into the system.

WA Liberal MP Nick Goiran provided the committee's only dissenting minority report, saying "assisted suicide" was a "recipe for elder abuse".

Other opponents include the Australian Medical Association and Australian Christian Lobby.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Two men have been found guilty of taking turns raping a drunk woman they picked up outside a Perth pub.

Mohamed Al Maialy and Fahed Shgahy approached the victim outside a pub in Northbridge, where she had been drinking with friends, in April 2015.

They then drove to Kings Park and each raped her in the backseat of the car.

In pre-recorded testimony played to a District Court of WA jury last week, the woman said she could only remember part of the attack.

The court heard she had a blood alcohol reading of 0.29 per cent.

She was driven back to Northbridge, where another man came to her aid.

The woman, who is now aged 28, said her stockings had been torn and she was injured.

Prosecutor Mark Hunter told the jury the central issue was whether the woman gave her consent.

"If someone is so affected by alcohol that they are unable to consent then that is rape," he said.

Al Maialy's defence counsel Anthony Elliott agreed consent was the central issue, suggesting the woman's difficulty was her "lack of recollection".

"Having sex with a person you just met is not a crime," he said.

In a police interview, Al Maialy said he didn't have sex in cars and was "more classy than that".

Shgahy's defence counsel Patti Chong said her client believed the woman "engaged fully and voluntarily" in the sex.

"He had no doubt or misgivings," Ms Chong said.

The men were found guilty of aggravated sexual penetration without consent on Monday afternoon and will be sentenced on November 27.
Photo: Edin Mejia

The revolt over the Summit Learning Program, an online learning system partially bankrolled by Mark Zuckerberg and implemented in schools nationwide, has come to Brooklyn. Last week, a group of high-schoolers at Park Slopes Secondary School for Journalism staged a walkout in the middle of the school day to have the personalized learning regimen removed from their classrooms.

Summits leaders say the schools administrators botched the rollout, introducing it to all the grades at once and not putting all of their teachers through training. But this isnt the first time Summit has earned the enmity of the communities its meant to help. Parents in many other districts throughout the country have also complained, generally with mixed success; in one Connecticut district, parents of middle-schoolers were able to get the program jettisoned after a months-long campaign. (You can read more about the Cheshire revolt against Summit here.) But Brooklyns student-led charge is a new phenomenon  perhaps because the program has been concentrated until now in middle schools, not high schools. As it continues expanding to higher grades, more teens may well become the faces of their local opposition.

Summit was designed roughly six years ago by a network of West Coast Charter schools, and developed later with software help from Facebook engineers. Its now funded by Zuckerberg and several other billionaires and foundations. The idea is to help kids take charge of their own education, in part by working independently on the software instead of listening to teachers lecture. Some families love it, and the leadership says the dissenters make up a small minority, magnified by their presence on social media. Its impossible to get an objective overall picture, because there are no empirical studies on satisfaction rates, and the data on outcomes is limited.

At SSJ in Park Slope, some of the students complaints echo those that have arisen in Cheshire and elsewhere. I didnt like that it was a more self-taught kind of thing, said Akila Robinson, a senior who helped organize the protest last week. A lot of kids are more comfortable learning the more traditional way. Other students have said it leaves them feeling stranded and requires an uncomfortable amount of screen time.

One teacher, who asked to have her name withheld, said most kids using Summit clearly havent been able to concentrate. Im walking around thinking, This is absolutely insane. Theyre not learning, she said. I tell the kids to come off that Walkman, tell them to come off the phone, tell them to come off the website theyre on and go back to their modules.

Parents also complained that the program was rushed in without much input or review  a familiar complaint if youve followed Summits implementation in school districts across the country. Annette Renaud, Robinsons aunt and part-time caretaker, believes SSJs principal, Livingston Hilaire, intentionally brought it in before the school leadership team  a consortium of parents, teachers, and administrators that makes decisions about school policies  had been formed for this year. This, too, is a direct parallel to the situation in Cheshire, where administrators said Summit wasnt subjected to the traditional curriculum-review process because it relied on the same courses and standards the schools had already been using  to local parents dismay. In Brooklyn and in Cheshire, students and parents said they were blindsided when the school year began.

But SSJs implementation of the program was hastier than in most cases. Summits leaders recommend starting small and expanding incrementally. In a letter to Hilaire, which Summit shared with New York, the organizations chief program officer criticized the principal for not following this advice. What Ive heard from your team is that while that was your original intention, the program officer wrote, the level of enthusiasm and passion you felt following summer training led you to roll out the Program to all of your students without full consideration of the program requirements nor [of the] onboarding recommendations from the Summit team.

The quick rollout also meant there werent enough laptops to go around, which sometimes left kids waiting around with nothing to do. Kelly Hernandez, Robinsons co-organizer, also said the buildings unreliable Wi-Fi has often stopped them from logging on. And due to the limited number of teachers, the students said, Hilaire replaced certain AP classes with basic courses the seniors dont need in order to graduate.

SSJ students said they tried repeatedly to explain the problems they were having. We didnt feel our voices were being heard, Hernandez said in a phone interview on Monday. SSJ has about 270 students, most of whom are minorities from low-income families. The teacher I spoke with wondered why Summit isnt being adopted by Millennium Brooklyn High School, which shares a building with SSJ and has an extremely competitive admissions process.

Renaud emailed the Department of Educations chancellor and the areas executive superintendent in early November and informed them that the students were planning a walkout. A number of them have firmly concluded that their needs are being deliberately and conveniently disregarded, she wrote. She urged the chancellor and the superintendent to intervene and broker a compromise. A superintendent met with a group of students on Monday of last week, shortly before the protest was set to begin, but the teens werent satisfied.

So during their fourth period, roughly 100 of them went outside to chant and wave signs that bore slogans like SUMMIT WILL PLUMMET. Their demonstration forced the issue onto the agenda at meetings of the parents association and the school leadership team later that week. Summit itself also urged Hilaire, in the letter, to drop the program for its 11th and 12th-graders. Otherwise, the program officer said, we will need to have an immediate conversation with you about the status of our partnership. By Saturday, the Department of Education said, SSJ had taken that advice. The DOE said the Bronx Writing Academy, a middle school near Yankee Stadium, has also dropped Summit.

One question following debacles like the ones in Brooklyn and Connecticut is whether schools that adopt Summit in the future will be more scrupulous about the programs rollout, and whether theyll seek more input from parents and students in the process. Unhappy students, on the other hand, might also take a page from SSJs example. Hernandez, for her part, says the students work isnt done. We dont want to leave behind the 9th and 10th-graders, she said, many of whom participated in the protest.Its people in all grades who dont like it, Robinson said. We want to get it out of the schools permanently.
The extinction of plant and animal species from extreme climate change could lead to a "domino effect" that annihilates all life on earth, new research has found.

The worst-case scenario is outlined in the journal Scientific Reports and describes how organisms die out because they depend on other doomed species in a process called co-extinctions.

The study found just five to six degrees in average global warming would be enough to wipe out most life on the planet.

"Our paper demonstrates that even the most tolerant species ultimately succumb to extinction when the less-tolerant species on which they depend disappear," lead author Giovanni Strona said.

In their work, researchers from Italy and Australia simulated 2000 virtual earths, linking animal and plant species.

Using sophisticated modelling, they subjected the virtual earths to catastrophic events including extreme environmental change, an asteroid strike and nuclear war.

While all such events could be devastating, the research found that climate warming creates extinction "cascades" in the worst possible way when compared to random extinctions or even from the stresses from a nuclear winter.

Co-author Corey Bradshaw, from Flinders University, said failing to take into account co-extinctions underestimates the loss of entire species from events like climate change by up to 10 times.

"Not taking into account this domino effect gives an unrealistic and exceedingly optimistic perspective about the impact of future climate change," Professor Bradshaw said.
reuters

U.S. tells Sudan that deal to reinstate PM Hamdok is only 'first step' -State Department

By Simon Lewis and Daphne PsaledakisWASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday told Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla ...
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to confront some of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing Australia as he makes his debut on the world stage.

Mr Morrison is due to hold series of critical meetings with key allies on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Singapore on Wednesday.

He will come face-to-face with Indonesian President Joko Widodo for the first time since announcing Australia might move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim country and a strong supporter of Palestine - is furious at the potential relocation.

Finalising a major Indonesia-Australia free trade deal has been put on hold until the issue is resolved.

Indonesia's Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita confirmed there will be no deal while Australia considers the Jerusalem move.

"It can be signed any time but when you will sign it ... depends on Australia's position (on the embassy)," he told Indonesian media in Singapore on Tuesday, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss the threats of terrorism, radicalisation and foreign fighters returning from the Middle East.

Mr Morrison will also meet New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for the first time as leader.

The pair are bound to discuss the issue of sick asylum seeker children on Nauru.

For years, New Zealand has offered to resettle at least 150 refugees detained on the remote Pacific island.

Mr Morrison recently signalled he may finally be open to accepting the deal, before quickly ruling it out again.

About 30 asylum seeker children remain on Nauru.

The federal government has quietly been evacuating families to Australia for medical treatment over recent weeks, but is adamant they will not stay in the country.

Mr Morrison will also meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Escalating tensions between the United States and China and disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea have emerged as key issues at the Singapore summit.

Some countries have also expressed concerns about the rapid pace of Chinese developments throughout the Indo-Pacific.

But the prime minister is careful not put Australia's key trading ally offside.

Mr Morrison has dampened any expectations of confronting Beijing over its treatment of Muslim minorities, or contested claims in the South China Sea.

He has also indicated Australia may be willing to help fund one-off projects through China's Belt and Road Initiative, despite signing a rival deal with Japan and the US.

The prime minister will also meet with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

The pair are expected to discuss the revival of an Australia-India-Japan-US security quadrilateral, informally known as the Quad.

India is believed to be holding out on committing to the deal, which is designed to counter China's growing influence in the region.

They will also discuss an ambitious 16-nation free trade deal known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

It's understood India is proving a major hurdle to the deal - which would be the largest free trade pact - being progressed.
The floral tributes have gone from outside Melbourne's popular Pellegrini's Espresso Bar but the memory of co-owner and terror attack victim Sisto Malaspina lives on.

Nursing homes and carers were invited to collect the piles of flowers overnight as the eatery gets back to business on Wednesday.

A state funeral will be held for Mr Malaspina, 74, at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral on Tuesday morning.

He was killed in a knife attack launched by 30-year-old Hassan Khalif Shire Ali who drove a burning ute into the city on Friday.

Shire Ali, whose passport was cancelled by authorities in 2015 amid concerns the Somali-born man would try to go to Syria to fight for Islamic State, was shot by police and died later in hospital.

Two other men were injured.

Tasmanian businessman Robert Patterson, 58, was released from hospital on Tuesday and a 24-year-old security guard went home on Monday.

There is a condolence book available for people to sign at Melbourne Town Hall.

Mr Malaspina's family has asked that in lieu of further flowers, donations be made to the Salvation Army.
Perth-based Fastbrick Robotics has achieved what it says is a world-first with the fully automated construction of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in less than three days.

The ASX-listed company says civil and structural engineers verified that the structure - completed on Monday in Western Australia by a robotic arm from a 3D model - met relevant building standards, setting the stage for commercialisation of the product.

The company's Hadrian X - a truck loaded with pre-cut bricks - is able to drive to a construction site, where a laser-guided robotic attachment feeds blocks through an arm and continuously places them into position.

"We now have the world's only fully automated, end-to-end bricklaying solution, with a massive market waiting for it," chief executive Mike Pivac said.

The construction means Fastbrick has met the 2015 milestone set by shareholders after the Hadrian X had previously built smaller structures in its Perth headquarters.

FBR shares jumped by more than 18 per cent when they came out of a trading halt on Wednesday.

"We now begin the next exciting phase for the company as we execute our global commercialisation strategy to capitalise on the significant demand for our technology," Mr Pivac said.

FBR says it has patterned with Wienerberger - the world's largest producer of bricks - as well as striking an agreement with Caterpillar in Saudi Arabia.

The project could improve safety by taking the heavy lifting off labourers, while its accuracy should reduce waste by better managing materials.

The bricks are laid quickly and the Hadrian X allows builders to prefabricate internal elements because they can rely on the laser sub-millimetre accuracy.

The accuracy of the build, as well as the adhesive used in place of mortar, cuts power bills by making it thermally and acoustically efficient, the company says.

FBR has plans to move beyond urban sprawl and provide fast construction to disaster-ravaged areas around the world.

And despite cutting out a chunk of the work performed by tradies, the company says it will have a minimal effect on jobs.

"The whole concept of this technology came around because there was a shortage of bricklayers," an FBR spokesman told AAP.

"The challenge for the bricklaying industry is that it is hard work on the body - it's not a career people typically have for a very long time."

Shares in FBR were up 18.2 per cent to 19.5 cents at 1306 AEDT.
Mongolian herder Munkhbat Bazarragchaa drags two sheep, which died due to severe weather, to a pile of dead animals behind his "ger" in Khuvsgul province, northern Mongolia in a photo taken on February 12, 2017

Thousands of Mongolian herders face disastrous livestock losses from a dreaded severe weather phenomenon known as the "dzud", the Red Cross said Thursday in launching an international emergency aid appeal.

Landlocked Mongolia is grappling for the second straight year with dzud conditions -- a dry summer followed by brutal winter cold that leaves livestock and other animals at risk of starvation and exposure on the country's rugged steppes.

It threatens tens of thousands of herders in a country where almost half the population depends entirely on livestock for food, transportation and income, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.

Cattle, sheep and other animals usually die en masse in the dzud, weakened by insufficient summer grazing that prevents them building up the fat reserves necessary to withstand winter temperatures as low as -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit).

"In spring, animals give birth and when the livestock are already exhausted from the winter they are at high risk without adequate feed, shelter and veterinarian care, which does not exist in some remote areas," Nordov Bolormaa, secretary-general of the Mongolian Red Cross said at a press conference.

Dead sheep lie in the snow following severe weather near a farm in Khuvsgul province, northern Mongolia, in a photo taken on February 12, 2017 and released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

As of early February, more than 42,546 livestock had perished in the current dzud, she said, citing official Mongolian figures.

Launching its appeal in Beijing, the Red Cross said the figures were expected to grow "exponentially" with the full impact likely only becoming clear by May.

More than a million animals died in the 2015-16 dzud.

The Red Cross estimated that currently more than 157,000 people are "at risk" this year across 17 of Mongolias 21 provinces.

- Climate change -

Among them is Munkhbat Bazarragchaa, a herder in a remote region who has lost 10 of his 60 livestock animals.

Heavy snows also have prevented him and his wife from travelling to see their two sons, who are away at school, since October.

"This winter has been harsh which means in the spring it will also be very difficult," he said in a video released by the ICRF.

The footage showed him hauling the stiff carcasses of goats and a dog gnawing on a dead cow.

Dead animals lie in the snow following severe weather in Khuvsgul province, northern Mongolia, in a photo taken on February 13, 2017 and released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

He said his family would use any cash assistance they receive to purchase flour and rice, plus hay and other fodder for the animals.

The dzud typically used to occur only once every 12 years, but now appears roughly once every four years, with climate change suspected in the increased frequency, the Red Cross said.

A 2009-2010 dzud brought the most severe winter in memory, leaving dead, frozen animal carcasses strewn across the plains.

At least eight million livestock animals died, according to official estimates.

- 'Inherited from our ancestors'-

Thousands of Mongolia households live as nomadic herders amid Mongolia's vast plains and mountains, and recurring dzud conditions are blamed for forcing many into a marginalised urban existence near the capital Ulan Bator.

The relief organisation hopes to raise enough to assist 11,000 of the hardest-hit herders, including provision of cash grants, first-aid kits, and funds to help communities prepare for future dzuds.

During the winter of 2015-16, many people sold off their live animals, causing a market oversupply that depressed prices and hurt many vulnerable small herders, said Gwendolyn Pang of the IFRC in Beijing.

She said "many will lose their livelihoods and will have no choice but to migrate to slum areas" outside Ulan Bator or other urban centres.

For herder Bazarragchaa, that would be unthinkable.

"This way of life is inherited from our ancestors and has been practised for thousands of years," he said. "I cant imagine Mongolia without animals."
Ethiopian soldiers, pictured in deployment on the border with Eritrea in 2005. A dispute over the frontier triggered a two-year border war -- relations remain poisoned to this day

Ethiopia's surprise declaration that it will implement a nearly 20-year-old peace agreement with its neighbour Eritrea could spell an end to a long cold war that has damaged both countries, analysts say.

Reconciliation, they say, could transform both nations' politics and economies -- but it first faces a mighty hurdle of animosity between the two neighbours.

"This is a really important first step," said Dan Connell, a researcher on Eritrea at Boston University.

"We should welcome the announcement with a degree of caution," said Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group think tank in Nairobi.

Once a part of Ethiopia, Eritrea fought a three-decade independence war against Addis Ababa.

The two then fought again, from 1998-2000 over a disputed border, and tensions have persisted after Ethiopia refused to accept the 2002 ruling of a UN-backed boundary commission that divided up contested territory.

Ethiopia's new prime minister, had promised to make peace with the country's northern neighbour after taking office earlier this year

On Tuesday, Ethiopia's new prime minister Abiy Ahmed -- a former army officer who fought against Eritrea -- declared the country would abide by the accord, handing back the occupied frontier town of Badme.

"We should end this suffering and fully return to peace," Abiy said in a speech the day after the announcement.

Eritrea is yet to respond to the announcement while Ethiopia has not said whether its troops have begun their withdrawal from Badme.

- Isolated, authoritarian -

Eritrea's president, Isaias Afwerki, has long justified restrictive rule, punishing military conscription and the jailing of dissidents as necessities to defend itself against its much larger neighbour.

His authoritarian leadership has left his country diplomatically isolated and triggered an exodus of Eritreans making the dangerous migration to Europe.

The Ethiopian move, "pushes the ball into Eritrea's court and actually puts pressure on Eritrea," said Abdi.

It could in fact undermine Isaias' rule.

"They've evolved a system of governance [in Eritrea] that has depended almost entirely on a national emergency," said Connell.

Supporters of Eritrea say it was doubly betrayed, by Ethiopia refusing to accept the boundary ruling and the international community -- chiefly the US -- failing to hold Addis Ababa to account.

The tiny Red Sea nation was once part of Ethiopia, comprising its entire coastline, until 1993 when it voted to secede, rendering Ethiopia landlocked.

Not long after, a disagreement over the demarcation of their shared border sparked a war that killed around 80,000 people.

A UN-backed boundary commission ruled in Eritrea's favour in 2002 but Ethiopia ignored the findings.

Abiy's surprise announcement was unanimously sanctioned by 36 top officials of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Connell said. A Western diplomat said Eritrea was not consulted.

Since taking office in April, Abiy has been under pressure to maintain years of rapid economic growth while addressing unrest over the EPRDF's authoritarian one-party rule.

This week, as well as announcing the unilateral detente with Eritrea, Abiy lifted the latest state of emergency imposed to quell anti-government protests, and permitted for the first time foreign investment in key state-run industries, including its sole telecom company, in a bid to address rising debt and a shortage of foreign exchange.

- 'More than lines on a map' -

Since the war with Eritrea, Ethiopia has relied on Djibouti's port most of its imports and exports, and has imposed a costly militarisation of its northern frontier, which local leaders complain is hampering development.

Abiy's "internal reforms will be incomplete while a frozen conflict [with Eritrea] remains in place," Abdi said.

But announcing compliance with 2000 peace deal and 2002 boundary ruling, and implementing them, are very different things, Connell said.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has used the perceived threat from Ethiopia to justify oppression at home, say critics

Under the UN ruling, Ethiopian troops must pull out of the disputed area and neighbouring communities will find themselves marooned in either country.

Gebru Asrat, who served as president of Ethiopia's Tigray state during the war, said the hostilities are about more than lines on a map.

He traced the conflict's roots to Eritrea's 1997 decision to introduce its own currency, enraging Addis Ababa and complicating trade.

"Future negotiations must address this important issue," said Gebru, who now leads an opposition party. "Otherwise sustainable peace may not prevail in the region by ceding land to Eritrea."

Lea Brilmayer, a law professor at Yale University, argued Eritrea's case before the boundary commission and is sceptical of Ethiopia's announcement.

Map showing Ethiopia and Eritrea

"There have been previous occasions when it seemed that things were definitively solved, only to find out that Ethiopia had a rather eccentric and self-serving idea about what it meant to treat the decision as final and binding," she said.
Chadian President Idriss Deby had previously announced that the elections would be in November

Legislative elections in Chad planned for November are set to be postponed to May, a member of the electoral panel organising the vote told AFP Monday.

The date has been pushed back several times in the central African state. The original mandate of the legislature expired in June 2015, but has been prolonged.

"We have scheduled the holding of the legislative elections for the month of May according to our timeline, which will be examined and possibly adopted on Friday," said Abdramane Djasnabaille of the election commission (CNDP).

The 15-strong National Framework for Political Dialogue was formed in April and is made up of members of the ruling majority and the opposition.

One of its tasks is to set up the Independent Electoral Committee (CENI).

The delay to the vote was because of the need to set up an electoral code, the CENI itself and also to carry out a census of the voting population that takes account of boundary changes, Djasnabaille said.

In April, President Idriss Deby Itno announced there would be legislative elections this month, the first since 2011.

Since then however, the process has been beset with delays, with parliament's mandate, which had been due to end in June 2015, extended by a constitutional law.

On Monday, a member of the government said he was not certain that the vote would be in 2019, given the financial crisis and the situation in the north of the country.

Since August, the army has been trying to deal with rebel attacks in the north bordering Libya.

Chad, which has focused its economy on oil revenue for some 15 years, is struggling with a serious economic crisis, caused mainly by the slide in the price of crude in 2014-2015.

Despite its oil resources, the country's population is among the poorest in the world.
Democrat Kyrsten Sinema will become Arizona's first female US Senator

Arizona Republican Martha McSally conceded her razor-thin US Senate race Monday, providing Democrats with a key pickup in a state that has not elected a member of the party to the Senate in three decades.

"I just called Kyrsten Sinema and congratulated her on becoming Arizona's first female senator after a hard-fought battle," McSally said in a video statement posted on her Twitter account.

"I wish her all success as she represents Arizona in the Senate."

US networks Fox and CNN called the race in Sinema's favor. She will replace outgoing Senator Jeff Flake, a conservative Republican who is a critic of President Donald Trump.

Arizona is a border state with increasing numbers of Latino immigrants. The issue is front and center in statewide elections there, and Trump has triggered a sense of nativism among his supporters.

But Sinema sought to focus on kitchen-table issues like health care, and Democrats' push to preserve protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Democrats, who reclaimed control of the House of Representatives in the midterms, have now flipped two Senate seats: Arizona and Nevada.

Republicans gained Senate seats in Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota.

The victory by Sinema, an Arizona congresswoman, will provide Democrats a critical extra vote in the 100-member chamber, which Republicans will still control when the dust settles from last week's closely-watched midterm elections.

With almost all ballots counted from the November 6 election, Sinema had expanded her lead each of the last four days. On Monday evening Sinema was ahead by 38,197 votes, or 1.72 percentage points.

Trump weighed in on the Arizona race after the election, crying foul when authorities took days to count ballots and used a procedure that allowed voters to confirm their signatures in cases where there were discrepancies.

"Just out -- in Arizona, SIGNATURES DON'T MATCH. Electoral corruption," Trump said on Twitter, citing no proof of wrongdoing.

"Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy!"

Flake has repeatedly stated there has been "no evidence" of voter fraud, and offered warm, cross-party congratulations to Sinema on her victory.

"It's been a wonderful honor representing Arizona in the Senate. You'll be great," he tweeted.

Sinema, who at 42 will be one of the Senate's youngest members, addressed cheering supporters in Phoenix, where she took a moment on Veterans Day to thank McSally -- the country's first female fighter pilot to fly in combat -- for her service to the nation.

McSally had embraced Trump and his policies during her Senate race, and Sinema appeared to call out Trump's scorched earth tactics in her remarks, as she called for healing after the tense midterm elections.

- 'Compromise instead of division' -

Arizona Republican Martha McSally conceded her razor-thin race for a US Senate seat

"Arizona rejected what has become far too common in our country: name-calling, petty personal attacks, and doing and saying whatever it takes just to get elected," Sinema said.

"It's dangerous, and it lessens who we are as a country. But Arizona proved that there is a better way forward," she added.

"We can work with people who are different than us, we can be friends with people who are different than us, we can love and care about people who are different than us."

Sinema also paid tribute to Arizona native son John McCain, the senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee who emerged as a key Trump critic and who died of cancer earlier this year.

"Senator McCain is irreplaceable, but his example will guide our next steps forward," she said.

"He taught us to always assume the best in others, to seek compromise instead of division, and to always put country ahead of party."

Sinema's race was one of three undecided Senate battles.

A fierce fight remains in Florida, where authorities are conducting a recount in the race between Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and his Republican challenger Rick Scott, who is Florida's term-limited governor.

Mississippi's Senate race is headed to a run-off, which is expected to be won by Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The US Catholic leadership has faced virulent criticism recently over its handling of sexual abuse cases

The Vatican has told the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to delay a vote, set to take place at their annual meeting, on measures to halt sexual abuse by priests.

On the eve of the conference, US bishop leaders received a Vatican order demanding they wait to vote until after a global summit on sex abuse set to take place in Rome in February, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo announced Monday in his opening remarks.

Speaking on his "disappointment" with the decision, DiNardo said: "We are working very hard to move to action."

"And we'll do it. We just have a bump in the road," he added at the conference in Baltimore, Maryland being held through Wednesday.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, said the Vatican's decision aimed to make sure that "our decisions can be informed by listening to our brother bishops from around the world."

But he also called for an interim, informal vote ahead of next year's gathering.

"It is clear that the Holy See recognizes the urgency of this issue, and is placing great importance on the February meeting, understanding that the present crisis is not limited to one or a few countries, but that it is a watershed moment for the universal Church."

After virulent criticism of its handling of cases of sexual abuse by priests, the US bishops' conference had announced in October several key measures that were to be put to a vote.

American clergy leaders proposed a new code of conduct, alert mechanism and investigative committee led by people who do not belong to the American Catholic Church.

In August, a grand jury report revealed credible child sex abuse allegations against more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania for crimes on at least 1,000 children.

The report described a Church hierarchy that often actively seeks to cover up cases of sexual abuse and protect the aggressors.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who was bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006, was repeatedly cited as one of the Church leaders who helped to cover up the scandal.

Wuerl's predecessor in Washington, Theodore McCarrick, resigned from the Vatican's College of Cardinals in July.

McCarrick, one of the most high-profile Catholic leaders to face abuse claims, was accused of sexually abusing a teenager nearly five decades earlier.

In October, the bishops' conference announced the launch of a hotline to report abuses.

Some 6,721 priests have been accused of sexual abuse in the United States for alleged acts that took place between 1950 to 2016, according to the group Bishop Accountability.

It counts around 18,565 child victims.
Amazon workers preparing shipments for customers. Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Yesterday, Amazon announced that it was opening two new campuses in Crystal City, Virginia, and Queens, New York. The preceding audition process, with dozens of local and state governments offering ridiculous financial incentives to Jeff Bezoss megalith, made Amazons power over the public sector plainly clear. Elsewhere, the parliaments of five separate countries are banding together in an attempt to force a meeting with Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Facebook, the worlds largest social network  which it became without a peep from regulators.

What happened to the antitrust movement? In his new book, The Curse of Bigness (out this week from Columbia Global Reports), Tim Wu examines the history of monopolies in America and asks why weve stopped fighting them. A century ago, trustbusters like Theodore Roosevelt took on Standard Oil and U.S. Steel, setting a precedent that would last up until the 1990s, when the government took on Microsoft. But that was 20 years ago. Since then, there have been no big antitrust cases and private power has only grown.

Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School, has been a crusader for fairness in the electronic era for decades; he coined the term net neutrality back in 2003, later advised the Federal Trade Commission and served on President Obamas economic council, and last year ran for lieutenant governor alongside Zephyr Teachout. He spoke with Intelligencer about Zuckerbergs bot-like apology tour, the case for breaking up Amazon, and his hope that the midterm elections  and even anti-corporate Trump fans  might lead to the restoration of federally-enforced competition.

What led you to write this book?

Hanging out in the White House at the very end of the Obama administration, I started thinking that the untreated problem in the American economy was over-monopolization, over-oligopolization. It has a lot to do with private power and its influence  either keeping all of the money for itself, or directing outcomes politically way, way away from what people want. I decided that was the root cause and the time had come to bring back a lost American tradition.

You write that the trust movement in the Gilded Age was guided by a belief that the economy should be centralized, run by great men, free from any government interference, but was also largely indifferent to the plight of the weak, the poor, and the unfit. Nowadays, Big Tech claims to care about everyone. Do you believe it?

I dont think a company like Google can really be compared to Standard Oil at its darkest or U.S. Steel. Those guys, when they had labor problems, they hired soldiers to shoot the workers. But if you read the work of someone like Peter Thiel  who has had such an influence over Facebook  I think he, and they, very strongly believe in the idea that there are winners and losers. Even the tech industry at its most idealistic does have a certain indifference, a certain blindness, to the consequences of what they do. Google and Facebook have taken almost all of digital advertising. What did that mean for the media? It meant that the media started to starve. YouTube gives everyone the chance to be a star, but the internet age has impoverished what was once a middle class of creators and musicians and so forth, and forced them to strive for virality. They have that engineers mindset: We solve one problem and let the chips fall where they may. Which is cool when youre a startup with a hundred guys but when you get a little bigger, not so cool.

Do you think these companies are actively seeking monopolies?

I do think people thirst for power and greatness and theres very little question in my mind that people like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have the desire to rule other men. Its not anything new, you know? They thrive on influence and the idea of their own greatness. Maybe they want to use it for good or for evil, who knows, but theres no question in my mind that they have the ancient thirst for power that characterized Alexander the Great and Napoleon and other figures. Now its more rarely found in politicians, with some exceptions, and more often found in the fully unaccountable power of the corporate executive. People of Silicon Valley, whatever they may say in public, do believe that they are more powerful and more important than government. And theres some truth to it.

Their arguments are situational. Theyre very powerful when theyre doing good for the world and yet very surprised when their ideas backfire. Zuckerberg has been on an apology tour this past year. Why even take that posture?

Somewhere he decided he needed to reprogram the robot (i.e., himself) to be apologetic. He seems to me a man who decides what he needs to believe before he believes it. I was reading Mark Zuckerbergs entry in the Wired 25th anniversary issue. Maybe he didnt write it himself but it was so devoid of anything approaching a sense of humanity, even though it was about a sympathetic topic like the Dreamers. It felt like it was written by an algorithm. The reason people dont believe it is because they can see little signs, where the metal shows through  little pauses while the algorithm calculates what to say next. Mark Zuckerberg on his apology tour reminds me of those AIs that are pretending to be human in a chat.

The dude is a recidivist. He did all of this same stuff in 2012 while I was at the FTC, and then it was all apologies, but nothing really penetrated. The apology is what you say to get back to what you were doing. Facebook gets under my skin. If were gonna talk about the case for monopolies, its usually because they do something profound that you arent able to do without that level of scale. I had friends before Facebook, I saw my friends photos before Facebook. I dont know what the case is for what one giant social network can do for us.

You devote some of your book to the subject of Teddy Roosevelt. Is there anyone who could fit that trustbuster mold today?

Currently active today? No, and we need [someone]. Every time I go to Washington, I hang out with enforcers, and the excuses for inaction are  encyclopedic. Oh, Congress took away our authority. Oh, well never win in the courts. Oh, its too expensive. We found a million reasons not to stop any tech mergers over the last ten years. Google bought its principal map competitor, Waze. How is that legal? Ultimately, it has been a decade of cravenness.

If this deep freeze started with the second Bush administration, what prevented the Obama White House from reversing course?

I think it has to do with the soul of the Democratic Party. Everyone knows Obama won the [2008] election and Hillary Clinton won the transition. I was just on a panel last week, a hearing on antitrust at the FTC, and most of the arguments were between first-term Obama people and second-term. Some of the first-term Obama staff were indistinguishable from the Bush people. People talk about the establishment, and there is one, and its approach to antitrust laws is look like youre doing a lot but do nothing. Those forces prevailed. At the very end of the administration, six years in, the ship had started sailing in the opposite direction. They were starting to challenge mergers, starting to get more aggressive, and then lost the election.

You describe how Robert Borks perspective on antitrust  that the only metric to evaluate a monopoly on is the consumer price  has penetrated so thoroughly. It seems like every judge now uses this sort of test. How do you reverse that?

Big things have small beginnings. In the 60s, people looked at Borks ideas as fringe. In some ways, Bork is my inspiration: if he can get somewhere with a theory that was much more implausible than suggesting that we should enforce the laws, then we can get somewhere too. I hope books like mine set a sort of intellectual framework. Then you need enforcers, and maybe almost as important, judges. The Democratic Party has been very focused on civil rights and civil liberties, and these are important things, but economics has been like, whatever. Usually, successful lawyers are corporate lawyers, but it cant be that every single nominee is essentially deregulationist in their economic policy.

And yet theres a Republican-controlled Senate ramming through judicial nominees at a breakneck pace.

You know, the fight is long, and not without its challenges. I dont deny it. Let me also suggest that things have gotten so extreme that the Republican party, parts of it, are also starting to switch over. For his many flaws, Trump does represent the right wings concern with economic concentration. Many supporters of Trump are dissatisfied with an economy that doesnt work for them, which has poured almost all of the proceeds into a smaller number of highly concentrated industries. Now, the way this is articulated  Immigrants are to blame, China is stealing all our money  is sometimes different than I would articulate it. There is hope for the Republican party rediscovering its own roots in trust-busting. Theyre the ones who invented this! Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican, and the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed by Republicans. Nixon brought the AT&T case.

What is the case against Facebook?

That the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were illegal at the time and should be undone. I think it would put more checks on their power. I also think that the tech-lash going on is its own power. Ultimately, when theres unaccountable power in the United States, theres a constitutional revulsion. Whoever leads the case to break up Facebook will have the political winds and the public at his back. The case against Facebook is easy.

A recent study showed that people have more confidence in Amazon than in the government. I have plenty of problems with how they treat their workers but, as a buyer, is there a downside to their monopoly?

Amazon is a more challenging case, because their argument is that their great scale allows all of these things to happen. I think, however, that everyone should be concerned about the long-term, systemic effects of an Amazon monopoly. If you let Amazon control the future of retail and insulate themselves from competition, then ultimately that will hurt the American economy in profound ways. If you have one retailer for all of the United States, you have essentially one gatekeeper for all of American sales. I dont think we should accept economic dictatorships, even if they seem well-intentioned.

Do the midterm results change anything?

The Democratic House majority has shown that people want answers that dont involve blaming immigrants for all of our economic problems. I dont think antitrust is the only solution but it targets the root problems. We can have a House that will actually tell the enforcers to do their job.

You write about the symbiotic relationship of monopolies and dictatorships. Some have described the president as dictator-esque. Do you think monopolistic companies stand to benefit from this administration?

Heres the danger, which I think is confirmed by the experience of the 30s: you have populist extremist figures come to power, often by promising some kind of vague anti-big business mandate, but in truth they seek the support of big business and monopoly. They have similar interests. If these companies enter into a union with the government, you have a union of private-public power that presents all the dangers that the fascist governments of the 30s presented. The Nazi regime was a union of the government and its major monopolists.

Today, what do we have? We have a leader with fascist leanings and tendencies, and we have a highly concentrated industrial sector. That shows that we are involved in a very dangerous experiment. The conditions are there for an intermingling of private and public power whose results would be terrifying. We have a lot of advantages over the 30s. We have an independent press, we have a large percentage of the population opposed to the president, we have institutional safeguards, we have term limits. But some of the structural factors look similar.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, is serving a life sentence for his role in atrocities committed by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge

The former chief interrogator and torturer for Cambodia's Khmer Rouge has been discharged from hospital after a health scare that lasted weeks, an official told AFP Tuesday.

Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, is serving a life sentence for managing the Phnom Penh detention centre S-21 where some 15,000 people were confined and sent to their deaths in nearby "Killing Fields" in the late 1970s.

The former mathematics teacher-turned-diehard revolutionary was the first member of the Khmer Rouge to face judgement before a war crimes tribunal in Cambodia and was sent to live out his remaining days in Kandal prison after an appeal extended his original sentence to life in 2012.

Duch fell ill with respiratory problems in late October and was rushed to hospital in the capital Phnom Penh where his condition was deemed serious at the time, but the head of the prison said he pulled through.

"I did not hope he would survive," Chat Sineang, director of the Kandal prison, told AFP.

"But he has recovered from the illness and he arrived back at the prison on Monday evening."

He said, however, that Duch -- who turns 76 in a few days -- was still weak and needed help from guards when he wanted to use the bathroom.

Duch was arrested in 1999 after being discovered working for a Christian aid agency under a false name.

His trial was a landmark for victims seeking justice for crimes under the Khmer Rouge regime, whose dreams of an communist agrarian paradise led to the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975 to 1979.

Though Duch asked for forgiveness, he also argued that he was not a senior leader of the ultra-Maoist movement and should therefore be acquitted.

But S-21 was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge's fearsome security apparatus and many inmates were tortured into signing false confessions of wrongdoing.

The UN-backed trial in Phnom Penh has been tainted by its limited scope and the age of its defendants since it started more than a decade ago, recording only three convictions -- including Duch's.

Ieng Thirith, the Khmer Rouge social affairs minister and one of the suspects on trial in the case after Duch's, was released on mental health grounds before dying in 2015.

Her husband and co-defendant Ieng Sary died two years earlier.
China is rallying support for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, billed as an antidote to Donald Trump's 'America First' agenda

The completion of the world's largest trade deal -- backed by Beijing and excluding the United States -- has been pushed back to next year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday, after Asia-Pacific trade ministers failed to agree key terms at a Singapore summit.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), covering half the world's population, is billed as an antidote to President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda, which has seen tariffs imposed on almost half of all Chinese imports to the US -- and retaliatory levies by Beijing.

China hoped to have the meat of the deal -- whose members include Japan, India and Southeast Asian nations -- done by the end of this year as ballast to US tariffs and increasingly pugnacious rhetoric on trade.

But the timetable has slipped, with sticking points over free access to markets remaining -- and a raft of general elections early next year likely to further hamper its progress.

Speaking in Singapore, Premier Li said he hoped RCEP would be signed and implemented next year.

"It (RCEP) is going to deliver real benefits to the people of our region," he said, without giving a date.

China was now the standard bearer of global free trade, he added, with the 16-member RCEP deal at the heart of its strategy.

"It's going to send a message to the international community that we stand by free trade... with rising protectionism and strains on free trade, we need to advance the RCEP negotiations," Li said, in comments delivered at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

He conceded the Chinese economy was facing "challenges" in the wake of the trade war with the US, but insisted strong fundamentals meant radical intervention was not the remedy.

"Despite downward pressures we will not resort to massive stimulus," Li said.

- 'Significant progress' -

Trade diplomats said negotiations will run deep into 2019.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said his country is now the standard bearer of global free trade

"We made significant progress," New Zealand minister of state for trade and export growth Damien O'Connor told reporters after talks late Monday, but added delegates were "hopefully ready for conclusion next year".

India's concerns over opening its markets to competition, in particular from Chinese firms, has been a key obstacle in the several years of negotiations.

But New Delhi's delegation welcomed the incremental steps towards establishing the trade agreement.

"The future lies in RCEP," Indian trade minister Suresh Prabhu told reporters, but urged a patient approach to talks to ensure "every country will benefit from it".

Several general elections scheduled early next year -- including in India, Thailand and Indonesia -- have complicated the timeframe of a deal that will open markets in countries accounting for about a third of the world's GDP.

The deal was given extra impetus after Trump pulled the US out of the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The TPP is still alive even without Washington, but RCEP is now the world's biggest trade deal.

However, the Beijing-backed pact is much less ambitious than the TPP in areas such as employment and environmental protection.

The ASEAN summit, which formally opens Tuesday afternoon, will cover trade, maritime disputes and the Rohingya crisis.

Frictions over Myanmar's treatment of the Muslim minority simmered Tuesday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad broke ASEAN's normally cordial protocols by telling reporters Aung San Suu Kyi was "defending the indefensible" by not speaking up for the Rohingya -- hundreds of thousands of whom were driven into Bangladesh in a bloody purge last year.

Shortly afterwards Mahathir stood next to Suu Kyi for a stony-faced 'family' photo.

Amnesty International on Monday stripped Suu Kyi of its highest honour over her response to the Rohingya crisis.

Other world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mike Pence -- Trump's number two -- are also in Singapore for talks foreshadowed by the China-US trade war and its ripple effect on global economies, particularly in Asia.

Pence is expected to keep pressure on Beijing over its growing aggression in the South China Sea while seeking support for Washington's approach to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
An unplanned pregnancy can be devastating for single women, who are often shunned

Eight months pregnant, shamed by her family and shunned by the father of her child, Aye Mar has accepted she will have to give up her baby to an orphanage in Myanmar, a country where single mothers are ostracised and deemed a "disgrace".

For now, she is taking refuge in a house in a leafy suburban Yangon street, away from the disparaging eyes of her neighbours and the chastisement of her aunts, her only family.

Her aunts were "furious" when the 19-year-old told them she had fallen in love with the water delivery boy and become pregnant.

"They brought my boyfriend home and asked him to marry me. He said he would but then he ran off," she told AFP.

Her aunts ordered Aye Mar (not her real name) to give up the baby and brought her to the Myint Mo Myittar Single Mothers' Foundation, where she will give birth.

Aye Mar is one of more than 100 girls and women to seek refuge at the Myint Mo Myittar Single Mothers' Foundation

"I want to take care of my baby but it is impossible," she said.

She is one of more than 100 girls and women to pass through the doors of the centre, which provides a home for those in the last few months of their pregnancy and for 45 days after giving birth.

One expectant mother is a 12-year-old rape victim, now six months pregnant.

Radiologist Myat Sandar Thant set up the foundation two years ago, appalled by the suicide of a patient who could not face the shame of pregnancy.

Most women arrive intent on leaving their babies for her to hand over to the state-run orphanage system.

One expectant mother is a 12-year-old rape victim, now six months pregnant

But the majority end up taking their children home, small victories in the battle against conservative values, which place the weight of responsibility for unwanted pregnancies on women.

"When they get here, they see other people in the same situation as them and they start feeling better about themselves," she explains.

Those who do relinquish their babies are usually forced to do so by their parents or other family members.

- Illegal abortions -

With only a handful of such organisations across Myanmar, many girls and women opt for illegal abortions.

Radiologist Myat Sandar Thant set up the foundation two years ago

In the country of some 50 million, women's rights group IPAS estimates that 246,000 unsafe abortions are undertaken every year.

Myanmar has the second-highest maternal death rate in the region.

There are no official statistics on the number of unmarried mothers in a country where data records are patchy and delicate social issues are often swept under the carpet.

But 2014 census data suggests almost 50,000 15-19 year-olds give birth each year.

An unplanned pregnancy can be devastating for single women, who are often shunned by family and community, with little chance of support from the father.

"In most communities, pregnant adolescent girls are told to drop out of school," says Yadanar, a youth programme analyst at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) who goes by one name.

Family planning clinics are few -- particularly in rural areas -- or extremely limited in what they can offer.

"The services need to be more welcoming to the youth, without any judgement, without stigma, without discrimination, keeping their confidentiality," Yadanar says.

- Glimmers of hope -

One in six women do not have access to the contraception they want, according to UNFPA.

Myanmar's strict adoption regulations mean most infants here will spend their whole childhood in state care

Although sex education is on the school curriculum teachers often ignore it, while many parents avoid 'The Talk' either out of embarrassment or a hope that silence offers protection.

A group of tech entrepreneurs are hoping an app for young women, brimming with beauty tips, fashion -- and information about reproductive health -- might help educate and break down stigma in the country, where smartphone penetration was at 80 percent last year.

The prototype of "Pyo Pyo May", meaning "young lady", was well received during a trial last month in a Yangon park.

"I just get sex education from Facebook," said 30-year-old Thazin Oo, too embarrassed to elaborate any further.

There are some signs that attitudes in Myanmar are slowly changing.

Pop star Athen Cho Swe chose to go public this year after secretly giving birth as a single mother in Bangkok.

She now posts updates for her fans, including a recent, self-filmed video of her playing with her baby girl.

"I thought people would criticise me," she told local media in August. "But people love my daughter."

Prospects are less rosy for babies born into poorer households.

Doctor Myat Sandar Thant has the grim task of handing over unwanted babies born in her centre to a government-run Yangon orphanage.

Myanmar's strict adoption regulations mean most infants here will spend their whole childhood in state care.

"This is the best that is available in Myanmar," she says. "But the children lose their sparkling eyes."
Seoul and Korea analysts have played down a CSIS report which asserted that Pyongyang is operating undeclared missile bases

North Korea is operating at least 13 undeclared bases to hide mobile, nuclear-capable missiles, a new study asserted Monday, as progress stalls on US President Donald Trump's signature foreign policy initiative.

Trump has hailed his June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as having opened the way to the North's denuclearization, defusing tensions that less than a year ago brought the two countries to the brink of conflict.

Since the summit in Singapore, North Korea has forgone nuclear and missile tests, dismantled a missile test site and promised to also break up the country's main nuclear complex if the US makes concessions.

But researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said they had located 13 missile operating bases that had not been declared by the government, and that there may be as many as 20.

"It's not like these bases have been frozen," Victor Cha, who leads CSIS's North Korea program, told The New York Times, which first reported on the study and headlined its findings as suggesting a "great deception" by Pyongyang.

"Work is continuing," said Cha, who was once in line to be the US ambassador to Seoul. "What everybody is worried about is that Trump is going to accept a bad deal -- they give us a single test site and dismantle a few other things, and in return they get a peace agreement."

But the South Korean government and analysts played down the report, saying that the facilities had been known about for years and Pyongyang had never offered to give them up.

The bases are scattered across the country in underground facilities tunneled in narrow mountain valleys, according to the CSIS researchers, and designed for mobile missile launchers to quickly exit and move to previously prepared launch sites.

Bases for strategic weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles -- whose development is the subject of sanctions -- are located deep inside the country.

Medium-range missiles capable of striking Japan and all of South Korea reportedly are deployed in an operational belt 55 to 100 miles (90 to 150 kilometers) north of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.

Shorter-range missiles fit into a tactical belt 30 to 55 miles from the DMZ.

The researchers' findings were based on satellite imagery, defector interviews and interviews with intelligence and government officials.

- 'Highly misleading' -

The South Korean government and analysts played down the report, saying there was "not much new" about the findings.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is pursuing an engagement drive with Pyongyang

"I don't see a kind of ground breaking or new information really," said Daniel Pinkston, a lecturer at Troy University in Seoul, adding the Sakkanmol site the report highlighted "has been known for a long time, for at least 20 years".

Vipin Narang of MIT tweeted: "Kim literally ordered ballistic missiles to be mass produced on New Years day 2018.

"He never offered to stop producing them, let alone give them up," he added, saying that "the characterization of 'deception' is highly misleading. There's no deal to violate."

The South's presidential office said intelligence authorities in Seoul and Washington had already been aware of the information in the report and added the Sakkanmol base had "nothing to do with inter-continental ballistic missiles".

"North Korea never promised to get rid of short-range missiles or to shut down related missile bases," presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters.

President Moon Jae-in is pursuing an engagement drive with his neighbour, and his spokesman added that the facilities' existence showed the need for talks with North Korea to eliminate military threats, warning that such "misleading information" could "block dialogue" between Pyongyang and Washington.

- Stalled negotiations -

Trump has said he hopes to meet again soon with Kim, but there are signs of growing friction in the negotiations with North Korean officials, which appear to have stalled.

Donald Trump has said he hopes to meet Kim Jong Un again, but there are signs of growing friction over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been scheduled to meet in New York last week Kim's right hand man, Kim Yong Chol, to discuss denuclearization efforts and prepare for a possible second summit, according to the State Department.

But on Thursday, US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said North Korea postponed the meeting "because they weren't ready."

The United States, meanwhile, has delayed approval of several requests for exemptions to UN sanctions to deliver tractors, spare parts and other humanitarian relief supplies to North Korea, according to documents seen last week by AFP.

While US sanctions on North Korea remain in place, enforcement by traditional trading partners China and Russia has relaxed since the Singapore summit, US officials have acknowledged.
Chris and Nancy Brown embrace while looking over the remains of their burned residence after the Camp fire tore through Paradise, California

Some plan to travel far away, while others are determined to rebuild their lives here, but most of the survivors of the deadly fire that ravaged the California town of Paradise are still in shock.

"For now, I'm so grateful to be here alive with my family," said Diane Mullin, who escaped the flames but couldn't hold back her tears.

Elizabeth Gorman, who was among tens of thousands of people who fled the blaze, said her town was now "down to nothing."

"There's whole neighborhoods that are just gone... streets, rows and rows and rows. My daughter's house, her mother-in-law and husband's house... every house on the street is just gone," said Gorman, who is in her 50s. "It's horrible."

The so-called Camp Fire has now killed at least 42 people, making the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Crews begin removing abandoned vehicles from the streets after the Camp Fire tore through the area in Paradise, California

Like many others, Gorman said she still has no idea what might remain of her house because the authorities have issued evacuation orders and barred locals from trying to return to the town.

Some stayed with friends and family elsewhere, others in hotels -- which are completely booked for miles (kilometers).

The less fortunate are reduced to sleeping in churches and schools turned into emergency shelters.

"There's close to 200 people sleeping here, and then throughout the day, a lot more coming to get information and to eat, or for a warm place to stay for a while," said Paul Stanbrook, a supervisor from the American Red Cross, which manages the center established in the Neighborhood Church of Chico.

Alameda County Sheriff Coroner officers search for human remains at a burned residence in Paradise, California

"We're doing sheltering and also assisting folks that are coming in looking for information... missing persons, help services. We're feeding people, everyone in the community," he said.

Behind Stanbrook, who came from North Carolina, a dozen evacuees finish their breakfast on camping tables, looking absent-mindedly at a television set.

Mullin, who is one of them, wants to stay positive.

- 'It's freedom' -

"We will rebuild, one step at a time. We will rebuild our home. We will be a part of rebuilding that town, because its a beautiful town," Mullin said.

"We just have to count our blessings... and not count the losses right now," she said.

Not far away, 64-year-old retiree Glenn Simmons -- who sleeps in his car for lack of space in the shelter -- doesn't know what comes next.

Most of the survivors of the deadly Camp Fire that ravaged the California town of Paradise are still in shock

"I'm here waiting for the next thing. I don't know what's gonna happen. It burned a lot of irreplaceable things. I had a lot of mementos, artwork," he said.

"It really hurts inside, 'cause I'm an artist, I lost 50-plus years of artwork, my art. I managed to save some slides, early work, and prints of other things, but everything else is gone," Simmons said.

What will he do in the coming days?

"Apply for government services, stay around here. The building here is full, so I'm sitting in my car right now, which is better than nothing... I was planning on moving out of state, or to southern California... Oregon? I don't know," he said.

"Everything has burned up, I've got my clothes, a backpack, and that's pretty much it. It's freedom, not the kind of freedom you would seek, but it's here though."
US Vice President Mike Pence and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to negotiate a bilateral trade pact

Japan and the United States will negotiate a bilateral trade agreement that will serve as a "model" for other countries, US Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday in Tokyo.

Speaking after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he reiterated Washington's position that US businesses have faced unfair obstacles in Japan.

"The United States has had a trade imbalance with Japan for too long. American products and services too often face barriers to compete fairly in Japanese markets," he said, standing alongside Abe.

"The best opportunity for free, fair and reciprocal trade will come in a bilateral trade agreement."

Abe and US President Donald Trump agreed in September to negotiate a trade pact, easing fears that Japan could be next in line in the White House's tariff offensive.

"When completed we're confident that this agreement will establish terms on goods and services," Pence said.

"The coming US-Japan trade agreement will be a model for the Indo-Pacific."

The United States and Japan, the world's first and third largest economies, together make up about 30 percent of global GDP and have long had trade ties that are both fractious and interconnected.

Under Trump's predecessor, both countries were part of the broad deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was intended to serve as a bulwark against growing Chinese influence.

But Trump withdrew from the multilateral trade agreement shortly after taking office, and has been vocal about his preference for bilateral deals negotiated on terms more favourable for Washington.

Abe had hoped to see Washington return to the TPP, but agreed to the negotiations -- expected to begin in January -- as Trump upped the ante against other trading partners.

Pence was in Tokyo on a brief stop before attending several regional summits, including the ASEAN meeting in Singapore and APEC talks in Papua New Guinea.

Trump's decision to skip the meetings has raised eyebrows in some quarters, and prompted questions about Washington's commitment to the region, where China is increasingly influential.
Chinese Premier Li's comments appear to be the first clear timeframe for finishing a code of conduct in the South China Sea

A rulebook to settle disputes in the hotly contested South China Sea should be finished in three years, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday, insisting his nation does not seek "hegemony or expansion".

Li's comments appeared to be the first clear timeframe for finishing the code of conduct. Talks have dragged on for years, with China accused of delaying progress as it prefers to deal with less powerful countries on a one-to-one basis.

Ownership of islands and waters in the South China Sea is disputed by several nations.

China, which claims virtually all of the sea, has established military positions on disputed outcrops and intimidates fishermen and naval vessels from rival countries.

Tensions have soared with fellow claimants such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan, as well as the United States, which has traditionally been the dominant military power in the area.

Beijing and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have for years sought to hammer out a code to govern disputes in the disputed waters, but the process has moved slowly.

Speaking in Singapore ahead of the opening of an ASEAN summit, Li said: "It is China's hope that the (code of conduct) consultation will be finished in three years' time so that it will contribute to enduring peace and stability in the South China Sea."

"We are not and we will not seek hegemony or expansion. That is something that we will never do," he added.

"What we hope is to have a harmonious relationship with our neighbours."

- Warships and drills -

There have been small signs of progress in recent months.

China and Southeast Asian nations announced in August that they had agreed on their initial bargaining positions as they work towards a code.

While both sides hailed it as a vital step, critics said that some of Beijing's proposals in the agreement were clearly aimed at expanding its influence in the region at the expense of Washington.

Navies from China and Southeast Asia also staged their first joint drills last month in the South China Sea -- which is criss-crossed by busy shipping lanes and home to abundant natural resources -- in an effort to ease tensions.

Opposition has weakened in many parts of Southeast Asia to China's aggressive behaviour in the waters in recent years, with countries keen to attract investment from Beijing and worried about US commitment to the region under President Donald Trump.

Nonetheless Washington and other western allies like Britain and Australia have ramped up freedom of navigation exercises in recent months.

The sailing of warships through the strategic region is a bid to enforce the idea that the sea is international waters and open to all, a stance that infuriates Beijing.

National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters in Singapore that any code of conduct deal struck between China and Southeast Asian nations should not be allowed to restrict access to the sea.

"It also has to be acceptable to all the countries that have legitimate maritime and naval military rights to transit and other associated rights that we don't want to see infringed," he said.

He also took a swipe at China for using the years of negotiations to build up its military installations across the sea.

"Not just by creating facts on the ground but by creating ground and then putting the facts on top of them," he added.
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court is hearing a petition on whether snap elections can go ahead, more than two weeks into a political crisis

Elite police commandos were on guard outside Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Tuesday as judges deliberated whether a shock call for early elections was constitutional, more than two weeks into the island nation's political crisis.

President Maithripala Sirisena Friday dissolved parliament and called snap elections for January 5, two weeks after firing the prime minister.

The moves sparked international alarm and supporters of the sacked premier as well as a member of the election commission on Monday filed legal challenges.

"We have several units of the STF (Special Task Force) reinforcing hundreds of constables," a senior police official told AFP. "We fear clashes between supporters of rival parties."

On Monday dozens of people booed a legislator loyal to Sirisena as he arrived at the court complex, prompting police to declare the site out of bounds on Tuesday.

Sirisena's opponents want the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera to declare the president's actions null and void.

But the court was set initially to decide whether it will proceed with the case.

If it decides to do so, it could order a suspension of preparations for the snap elections.

It was unclear when the judges would hand down a ruling, or what their decision might be.

Sirisena summarily dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse in his place on October 26.

Both men are claiming the premiership, and Wickremesinghe is holed up in the prime minister's official residence and refusing to leave.

The United States has led a chorus of international concern over events in the strategically important Indian Ocean island nation of 21 million people.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), the main opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the leftist People's Liberation Front (JVP), who together enjoy an absolute majority in parliament, want the assembly restored.

Legal experts say the dissolved parliament would have to be restored if the Supreme Court holds with the petitioners.

If not, the January 5 snap election called by Sirisena will have to go ahead.

Independent election monitors have also questioned the legality of the poll that would come nearly two years ahead of schedule.

On Sunday night, speaker Karu Jayasuriya urged civil servants to defy Sirisena's "illegal orders".

But later Sirisena defended his actions, saying violence among rival MPs could have led to "civil unrest" across Sri Lanka if the legislature had met as scheduled this week.

Wickremesinghe rejected this outright, saying Sirisena had "brushed aside the constitution" in sacking the legislature.
Police have cracked down on left-wing student activists in recent months, despite authorities calling for a renewed study of Marxism

Chinese police have detained three more labour rights supporters, an activist group said, in a crackdown on a workers movement that drew in students fired by an official call to return to Marxism.

The Jasic Workers Solidarity group said police in the central city of Wuhan "violently arrested" three of its members on Sunday, with one of them pinned to the ground by at least three officers.

That follows Friday's police raids on the homes of at least 10 activists who were detained in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, including students from some of China's top universities, the group had said earlier.

Jasic Workers Solidarity rose to prominence this summer when student activists threw support behind efforts to form a workers' union at Chinese welding machinery company Jasic Technology in southern Guangdong province to agitate for better working conditions.

That triggered police raids in August that swept up a number of the group's members and student activists, according to Jasic Workers Solidarity, which said some of those detained were beaten.

The three latest reported detentions in Wuhan included a member of the solidarity group and a graduate of Renmin University, one of China's top schools.

A video which accompanied the labour group's statement showed a person held to the ground by several men dressed in black.

AFP could not independently verify the group's claims or the video.

Chinese police have not responded to requests for comment.

Peking University confirmed to AFP that graduate student Zhang Shengye was among those taken away on Friday, but declined to give further details.

Another Peking University student, Yu Tianfu -- who said he had witnessed Zhang's arrest and was himself tackled Friday night by masked men in black -- has subsequently gone missing and his account on Chinese social media deactivated, classmates posted on social media.

- Marxist support -

Rights campaigners told AFP Tuesday that five activists in Guangzhou who had been detained last week have now been released.

Activism at China's top universities has surged in recent years as the government of President Xi Jinping has advocated renewed study of Marxism and young college students rally behind labour rights and other leftist causes.

But that has also put the students in the cross-hairs of authorities who have waged a broad clampdown on dissent.

Yue Xin, a Peking University student who co-authored a petition demanding details on alleged sexual abuse at the school, has not been heard from since she was detained in the August raids.

Two students from Renmin University and Peking University were also detained for several hours Thursday after taking photos at an Apple store in Beijing, while protesting the alleged exploitation of workers at a factory of one of the US company's suppliers in southwestern China.

"These latest detentions and disappearances will only make matters worse in the long run because the authorities have so far failed to address the issues that gave rise to the protests in the first place," said Geoffrey Crothall, communications director for Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, which supports Chinese workers' rights.

Those issues include poor factory pay and working conditions, and the right to unionise, he said.
The international reputation of Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi as a rights icon is in pieces

Myanmar authorities and citizens leapt to the defence of Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday after Amnesty International stripped her of its top award over indifference to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, doubling down on support for the civilian leader in the face of global ire.

Suu Kyi's international reputation as a rights icon is in pieces and Amnesty's move is the latest in a string of rescinded accolades.

Canada revoked her honorary citizenship last month and the US Holocaust Museum in March took back an award named after concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel.

Institutions that once showered Suu Kyi with titles are rapidly distancing themselves from a leader they argue is doing little in the face of alleged genocide and ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya minority.

Amnesty's "Ambassador of Conscience Award" was bestowed in 2009 and other recipients include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai and Ai Wei Wei.

"Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights," Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo said in a letter to Suu Kyi released by the group.

"Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you."

But domestically, Suu Kyi remains popular across vast swathes of Myanmar and within her party, the National League for Democracy, which won elections in 2015 ending decades of military-backed rule.

The stripping of awards not only harms the "dignity" of Suu Kyi, but also that of all NLD members, the party's spokesman Myo Nyunt told AFP, adding he thought this was all part of a wider conspiracy.

"All these organisations are working for the Bengalis who have left the country in order to get citizenship," he said, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya that is widely accepted in Myanmar and falsely implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Deputy Minister for Information Aung Hla Tun told AFP he was personally sad and disappointed by Amnesty's announcement and said Suu Kyi was being treated "unfairly".

Such moves would only "make the people love her more", he added.

People on the street in Yangon were defiant.

"Their withdrawal is pretty childish. It's like when children aren't getting along with each other and take back their toys," 50-year-old Khin Maung Aye said.

"We don't need their prize," said Htay Htay, 60.

More than 720,000 Rohingya were driven over the border to Bangladesh in a crackdown that started in August 2017, and refugees have detailed horrific testimony of murder, rape, torture and arson.

The military says it was defending itself against Rohingya militants.

UN investigators have called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide and accused Suu Kyi's government of complicity, though has stopped short of calling for her to be hauled before a court.

Suu Kyi became a democracy icon after spearheading the opposition movement to the feared military junta, which resulted in her spending some 15 years under house arrest before her release in 2010.

She has yet to comment on Amnesty's decision herself but has in the past shrugged off questions about withdrawn awards.

Calls to revoke Suu Kyi's 1991 Nobel Peace Prize have been rebuffed by the committee that oversees it.

Some think, however, that Amnesty's move will be taken more personally because she became a cause celebre for the rights group during her house arrest.

"This is effectively an excommunication of Suu Kyi from the pantheon of human rights champions," Yangon-based independent analyst David Mathieson said, adding that the decision would "sting".
Donald Trump, cereal liar. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump has expressed a number of crazy theories on Twitter about Floridas election recount. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with the Daily Caller, Trump expresses even crazier versions of those same theories.

The president shared the following beliefs:

1. Broward County elections supervisor Brenda Snipes is a brilliant mastermind. When they call this woman incompetent, theyre wrong, Trump said of Snipes. Shes very competent but in a bad way.

Most observers view Snipes as an ineffectual bureaucrat. Her countys ballots have featured a bad design format that probably resulted in thousands of voters failing to notice the Senate race, potentially costing Democrats the Senate election  18 years after bad ballot design extremely famously cost Democrats the presidency. The county has also reported its votes very slowly.

This would seem to offer Trump, who enjoys questioning the competence of highly qualified African-American women, a legitimate chance to question the competence of an African-American female official. Instead Trump is portraying her as a secret genius manipulating the election behind the scenes.

2. Voter impersonation is rampant, and often involves disguise. The Republicans dont win and thats because of potentially illegal votes, Trump asserted. When people get in line that have absolutely no right to vote and they go around in circles. Sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again.

It is not clear what role a change of appearance would play. If you wanted to vote under somebody elses name, you could just go to a different precinct rather than hope your new shirt and hat would fool the workers in the precinct you just used. In any case, numerous studies have found that voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent.

3. Cereal cannot be purchased legally without a valid photo ID. If you buy a box of cereal  you have a voter ID, Trump continued. They try to shame everybody by calling them racist, or calling them something, anything they can think of, when you say you want voter ID. But voter ID is a very important thing.

There is no requirement to present identification to purchase cereal.
Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate on October 2 to obtain paperwork for marriage procedures

Luggage carried by a 15-member Saudi team dispatched to Istanbul included scissors, defibrillators and syringes that may have been used against journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate, a pro-government Turkish daily said Tuesday.

X-ray images of the luggage were published in the Sabah newspaper as the New York Times reported that a member of the team at the consulate had told a superior by phone to "tell your boss", suspected to be Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that the operation was accomplished.

Turkish media has published gruesome details of the murder of 59-year-old Khashoggi who according to a Turkish prosecutor was strangled and dismembered soon after he entered the Istanbul consulate on October 2 to obtain paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.

After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and Riyadh critic, had been murdered at the mission in a "rogue" operation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the 15-member Saudi team travelled from Riyadh to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi.

The luggage carried by the team was loaded into two planes that left for Riyadh at 1520 GMT and 1946 GMT on October 2, Sabah newspaper said.

The luggage contained 10 phones, five walkie-talkies, intercoms, two syringes, two defibrillators, a jamming device, staplers, and scissors, the paper reported.

-- 'Tell you boss' -

The team was being led by Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, the man named by Turkish media as the head of the operation against Khashoggi.

The New York Times, quoting sources familiar with a recording of Khashoggi's killing, reported Monday that Mutreb -- a security officer who frequently travelled with Prince Mohammed -- picked up a phone at the consulate to say "tell your boss" that the operation was accomplished.

Turkish intelligence officers have told US officials they believe Mutreb was speaking to one of the prince's aides, it reported.

And American intelligence officials believe "your boss" was a reference to Prince Mohammed.

Erdogan has said the order to murder Khashoggi came from "the highest levels" of the Saudi government and he pointedly failed to absolve Crown Prince Salman of responsibility.

Ankara has shared voice recordings linked to the murder with a number of countries including Saudi Arabia as well as the United States and its Western allies.

But Turkish officials say they played them the recordings but did not hand them over.

"We played the voice recording linked to the murder with anyone who wanted," Erdogan told Turkish journalists aboard a plane returning from Paris where he attended commemorations at the weekend marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

"The recording is really disastrous," he said in quotes published by Sabah.

"When the Saudi intelligence agent listened, he was shocked and said this could only be done by someone who got heroin."

Khashoggi's body has never been found, but Sabah reported on Saturday that his killers poured his remains down the drain after dissolving them in acid.
Yemeni pro-government forces preprare to advance into the rebel-held port city of Hodeida on November 10, 2018

Two Saudi-led air strikes hit the main entrance to the rebel-held port of Hodeida but the docks were still operating normally on Tuesday, the port's deputy director told AFP.

The vital docks, through which 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN supervised humanitarian aid pass, has been at the centre of international concern about a new drive to recapture Hodeida which the Yemeni government launched with Saudi-led support on November 1.

Monday's strikes, in which port staff said four rebels were killed and four wounded, was the first to hit the docks in 12 days of intensified bombardment and ground fighting in the Red Sea coastal city of some 600,000 people, many of whom have fled or now fear a siege.

The main gate "was the target of air strikes... but the port is operating normally," the port's deputy director Yehya Sharafeddin told AFP by telephone. He said three guards had been wounded.

Four other port employees told AFP that one strike had killed a rebel commander and three of his guards, while a second strike had wounded another commander and his guards.

They said a single-storey guardroom had taken a direct hit from the strikes.

Rebel-controlled media reported two air strikes but made no mention of casualties.

Risk of famine in Yemen

Saudi-led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki had no immediate confirmation of the strikes but told AFP he would check.

Residents of Hodeida reported that the city was calm on Tuesday after a lull in bombardment during the night as Western governments stepped up calls for a halt to the offensive to pave the way for peace talks.

British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt held talks on Monday with both Saudi King Salman and his powerful son and heir apparent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"The heavy fighting stopped on Monday evening. During the night we heard sporadic gunfire but then situation seems stable todat," one Hodeida resident told AFP by telephone.

"We are not hearing explosions like we have for the past two weeks."

International concern about damage to the port has been heightened by widespread malnutrition after four years of war that has placed some 14 million Yemenis at risk of famine, according to UN agencies. Many more are dependent on food aid.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday of a possible "catastrophic situation" if the port is destroyed.

A nurse carries a Yemeni child suffering from severe malnutrition at a hospital in Abs district the northwestern Hajjah province on November 11, 2018. UN agencies say some 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine

"The fighting must stop, a political debate must begin and we must prepare a massive humanitarian response to avoid the worst next year," he said.

Hodeida has been controlled by the Huthi Shiite rebels since 2014 when they overran the capital Sanaa then swept through most of the rest of the country.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year and pro-government forces have since recaptured nearly all of the south and much of the Red Sea coast in a grinding war of attrition.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said China is investing heavily in new, modern weapons, including missiles

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday voiced concern about Chinese as well as Russian medium-range missiles and urged Beijing to join an international nuclear arms control treaty.

"We see that China is investing heavily in new, modern weapons, including new missiles," Stoltenberg said on German ZDF public television, according to the German translation.

"And half of their missiles would violate the INF treaty if China were a signatory," he said, referring to the 1987 nuclear weapons control accord that US President Donald Trump last month threatened to quit.

Stoltenberg added: "We support expanding this treaty so that China is also bound by it."

Trump warned last month the US could pull out of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces accord, a pillar of Cold War disarmament, in response to Russia's deployment of a missile system Washington says breaches the accord.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that abandoning the treaty could lead to a new arms race, and vowed to respond in kind if the US deployed any new missiles on European soil.

Stoltenberg said Tuesday that "NATO does not want a new arms race, but we are very worried about the new Russian missiles... they are mobile, they are nuclear-capable and they can reach cities in Europe like Berlin".

"So we call on Russia to make sure they stick to the INF treaty... this treaty is now in danger."
The prospect of being repatriated back to Myanmar has caused panic among some Rohinga, with some refugees fleeing camps in Bangladesh

Rohingya Muslims are fleeing Bangladeshi refugee camps to avoid a controversial drive to repatriate them to Myanmar later this week, where the UN says conditions are still not conducive to their return.

Authorities plan to begin returning Rohingya refugees, who have fled what the UN has called ethnic cleansing, to the Buddhist majority country from Thursday.

But the prospect has created panic in the camps, prompting some families who were due to be among the first to be repatriated to flee, according to community leaders.

"The authorities repeatedly tried to motivate the ones on the returning refugee list to go back. But instead, they were intimidated and fled to other camps," said Nur Islam, from Jamtoli refugee camp.

More than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar's western Rakhine state following a military crackdown from August last year, bringing with them stories of murders, rapes and torture.

They have joined some 300,000 Rohingya already living in squalid camps in Bangladesh's southeast for years.

Some 2,260 Rohingya are scheduled to enter Myanmar from Bangladesh's southeastern Cox's Bazar district in the first repatriations from Thursday.

Director general of Bangladesh's foreign ministry Delwar Hossain said the refugees would be repatriated in groups of 150 each day during the initial phase.

"Both sides have agreed to start repatriation on November 15," he told AFP on Tuesday, adding it remained a voluntary process.

- Confusion and fear -

But Nur Islam said the plan has created "massive confusion and fear" among the Rohingya and many were unwilling to return to Rakhine unless they were guaranteed citizenship and other rights.

An AFP correspondent was able to speak to three families who said they were due to leave this week.

Bangladesh says returnees will be processed through two centres at the Bangladesh border - one of which is still under construction - from Thursday

"We are truly disturbed by the entire issue. As the day is coming closer, our tension is rising," Mohammad Khaleque, a Rohingya refugee told AFP.

He said he and his family were fleeing their camp for another makeshift Rohingya settlement in Cox's Bazar, in an effort to avoid being forcibly repatriated.

"I don't see a future for my family if we're forcibly sent back home right now without confirming that we would get full Myanmar citizenship," he said.

"We don't want to go back like this."

But a small number of Hindus from Rakhine, who also fled the violence alongside the Rohingya, said they were ready to return if the passage was safe.

"We have prepared out bags. We would go today, if sufficient security was provided," said 60-year-old Jyotsna Bala Paul, one of roughly 400 Hindu refugees that community leaders say are ready to leave Bangladesh.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which received a list from the Bangladesh government on Monday to assess whether the refugees wanted to go back to Myanmar voluntarily, said the start date of November 15 was an "ambitious plan".

UNHCR senior spokesman Chris Melzer said "logistical problems" needed to be solved first.

More than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's western Rakhine state bringing with them stories of murders, rapes and torture

"This is the matter of the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Although we still think that the conditions are not conducive now for the refugees to return in Myanmar," he told AFP.

The UN assessment may take at least two more days, according to both UN and Bangladesh officials.

Bangladesh refugee commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam said the country was ready to start repatriating the refugees via two transit points they have set up at the border.

An AFP team visited both the centres. One appeared complete while the construction of the second was "over 80 percent" finished, according to builders.

A Bangladeshi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the Rohingya refugees were not "mentally ready" for returning.

"They often say to us they would rather die here in the (Bangladeshi) camps than to go back and embrace the harrowing pain they have already experienced," he said.
Mahathir Mohamad said investment bank Goldman Sachs 'cheated' Malaysia

Goldman Sachs "cheated" Malaysia, its leader Mahathir Mohamad said, after two former bankers from the Wall Street titan were charged over a scandal that allegedly saw billions looted from state coffers.

The US Justice Department unveiled criminal charges this month against ex-Goldman bankers Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa, accusing them of working with a Malaysian financier to launder huge sums allegedly stolen from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

They are accused of involvement in a sophisticated fraud linked to former leader Najib Razak, allegations that played a big factor in the shock defeat of his long-ruling government at polls in May.

In an interview with broadcaster CNBC, Prime Minister Mahathir said that "obviously we've been cheated", when asked about Goldman's dealings in Malaysia.

"There is evidence that Goldman Sachs has done things which are wrong," said the 93-year-old, who is in his second stint as premier after coming out of retirement to take on Najib, his former protege.

Asked about Goldman's compliance controls -- which are supposed to monitor and prevent risky behaviour at the bank -- Mahathir responded: "It does not work very well."

In later comments in Singapore, where he is due to attend a regional summit, Mahathir suggested Malaysia could take action against Goldman if it was found to have broken the law.

"If the law says that somebody has committed a crime, then he should be accordingly punished through the process of law," he said. "It doesnt matter who -- it may be Goldman Sachs, it may be whoever."

Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The US Department of Justice, which has also launched civil suits seeking to claw back assets in the US allegedly bought with stolen 1MDB cash, estimates that $4.5 billion was looted from the fund.

Mahathir said that it could take time, but US officials have promised to give back any money they recover.

Leissner and Ng have been charged with money-laundering and conspiring to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to hire Goldman for lucrative consulting contracts.

Goldman underwrote $6.5 billion of bonds issued by 1MDB but US authorities allege that more than $2.7 billion was siphoned off.

Goldman earned $600 million in fees for the bond issue.

Leissner pleaded guilty and has agreed to pay $43.7 million in restitution of ill-gotten gains. Ng has been arrested in Malaysia.

Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho was also charged by the DoJ. Low, allegedly a central figure in looting 1MDB, remains at large.

Goldman Sachs has not been charged over the scandal but its shares fell heavily this week after Malaysia's finance minister said he wanted a full refund of fees paid to the bank.

In a further blow to the bank's image, it has emerged that former chief Lloyd Blankfein met with Low at a private reception in a New York hotel in 2009.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the international community to listen to the government in Xinjiang

China defended its internment of Muslims in the country's northwest as a terror prevention measure on Tuesday, calling on the international community to reject "hearsay" and believe its official line.

Up to a million Uighurs and other Chinese Turkic-speaking minority groups have been placed in political re-education camps in the Xinjiang region, according to a group of experts cited by the United Nations.

After originally denying the existence of the centres, Beijing has repeatedly described the camps as vocational "training centres" that were built to help people drawn to extremism to stay away from terrorism and allow them to be reintegrated into society.

But the programme has faced rising criticism outside the country -- notably from the United States and human rights groups.

"We hope our journalist friends and our other foreign friends will take into consideration the information and briefings on the situation given by the Chinese authorities," said China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"Rumours and hearsay should not be believed," he said standing next to his German counterpart Heiko Maas at a press conference.

"It's quite clear that the government in Xinjiang knows best what is happening in Xinjiang -- not other people and third party organisations."

Critics say China is seeking to assimilate Xinjiang's minority population and suppress religious and cultural practises that conflict with Communist ideology and the dominant Han culture.

Former inmates of the camps say they were detained for having long beards or wearing the veil.

Attacks attributed to Uighurs have left hundreds dead over the last few years in China, many of them in Xinjiang, where Beijing says its concerned about a rise in Islamic radicalism.

The authorities have put in place intrusive measures of security -- ubiquitous surveillance cameras, DNA sampling, home visits by officials and GPS trackers in cars.

"We call that a combination of repression and prevention. But we place the priority on prevention. If it's done well, terrorism won't expand and take root. It's the most effective way to combat terrorism," Wang Yi said.

The German foreign minister did not mention the Xinjiang region at the press conference, but did say he had "spoken on the question of human rights" during his closed meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

A debate on the situation in Xinjiang was held in the German parliament last Thursday.

China's ambassador to Berlin expressed Beijing's "profound discontent" and put in an official protest following the "blatant interference" in its "domestic affairs".
Hodeida has been rocked by fighting between Yemeni pro-government forces such as these and Huthi rebels, some of whom have now been granted the opportunity for medical evacuations by the Saudi-led coalition

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has agreed to allow some wounded Huthi rebels to be evacuated, following a visit to the region by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, his office said Tuesday.

The issue has proved a sticking point in previous peace talks and the move could now pave the way for fresh negotiations, Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The Saudi-led coalition (has) agreed to the evacuation of wounded Huthis from Yemen, one of the key stumbling blocks to the UN Geneva talks in September," it added.

"Coalition forces will now permit the UN to oversee a Huthi medical evacuation, including up to fifty wounded fighters, to Oman ahead of another proposed round of peace talks in Sweden later this month."

During a visit to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi on Monday, Hunt met Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as leaders from the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

He was in the region to boost support for UN efforts to end the nearly four-year conflict in Yemen, and to press the gulf kingdom over the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

"In my meetings we have made progress in removing the largest stumbling block to previous proposed rounds of peace talks, and set out a credible path to a de-escalation of military activity," Hunt said following the trip.

"I leave the region encouraged by these signs of progress, and I am determined to do what it takes to convert this into a lasting peace for the people of Yemen."

Hunt also pushed Saudi rulers for "real accountability" in the Khashoggi case, according to Britain's foreign ministry.

He pointed out "both the strong international condemnation and the need for evidence that such an act could never happen again", it said.

Britain and the United States are major suppliers of arms to Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition backing the Yemen government in its fight against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.

Britain is seeking support among regional partners for new action at the UN Security Council for peace talks in Yemen.

"Diplomacy and negotiation remain the only path to ending the conflict and I am encouraged that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shown their support for the UN peace process, led by Special Envoy Martin Griffiths," Hunt added.

"I will continue talking to partners about the best way for the Security Council to support the UN special envoy's efforts on the political process and improve the humanitarian situation."

Griffiths is due to brief the Security Council on the situation in Yemen on November 16.
Palestinian protesters watch as tear gas fly overhead during a demonstration near the border between Israel and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 9, 2018

Israel and Palestinian militants in the blockaded Gaza Strip have been exchanging fire in the worst escalation since a 2014 war. Here's a description of where the situation stands:

How did this round begin?

The latest round of violence began on Sunday, when Israeli special forces were exposed operating inside the Gaza Strip. In an ensuing clash, an Israeli officer and seven Palestinian militants were killed, prompting Hamas to vow revenge.

Israel said the covert operation was an intelligence-gathering mission.

Its timing has raised questions since progress had been made in recent weeks toward ending months of unrest along the Gaza-Israel border, but the Israeli military said it was necessary to defend the country.

Palestinian militants responded with heavy fire on southern Israel, launching nearly 400 mortar rounds and rockets that wounded 27 people and killed one -- a Palestinian living in southern Israel.

An anti-tank missile also hit a bus that Hamas says was being used by Israeli soldiers. A soldier was severely wounded.

Israel hit back with widespread strikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, killing six Palestinians and wounding 25.

Israel says it has struck around 150 targets across the Palestinian enclave, including Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV building and an internal security building in Gaza City.

Efforts to prevent escalation

UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said he was working with Egypt so "Gaza steps back from the brink," and called for restraint on both sides.

Israeli officials would not confirm reports on ceasefire talks, as members of the security cabinet -- the body authorised to declare war -- convened in Tel Aviv.

Neither side is seen as wanting another war, but the violence threatened to spin out of control.

Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said they had "the intelligence and capabilities to strike a very wide range of military targets that belong to Hamas."

Hamas's armed wing warned it would expand its targets if Israeli strikes continued.

The Israeli army estimated there were 20,000 projectiles in Gaza that could be fired.

Months of unrest

The latest round of violence came after months of deadly unrest along the Gaza-Israel border, but there had been progress toward restoring calm in recent weeks.

Israel had allowed Qatar to bring $15 million into Gaza for salaries as well as fuel to ease an electricity shortage, as part of understandings aimed at calming the border, where protests have triggered frequent clashes since March 30.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the move, saying he wanted to avoid war if it was not necessary.

As a result, border protests had been calmer over the past couple weeks.

At least 233 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire since March 30, the majority shot on the border, while others have died in Israeli strikes.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that time.

Egypt and the United Nations had been brokering indirect negotiations for a long-term truce with Israel, against which Hamas has fought three wars since 2008.

Gaza in crisis

Gaza is ruled by Hamas, blacklisted as a terrorist movement by the European Union and the United States.

Israel maintains a crippling blockade of the Palestinian enclave to isolate Hamas and prevent it from building up its military capabilities.

Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from forces loyal to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which has been seeking ways to regain power over the small territory.

Multiple efforts to reconcile the Palestinian factions have failed, and with an unemployment rate of 53 percent, Mladenov recently warned of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which he said was "imploding."
Turkey has previously said it shared recordings linked to the murder of Khashoggi with officials in Riyadh, Washington and other capitals

Audio linked to Jamal Khashoggi's murder inside Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate does not implicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said Tuesday, citing others who have heard the tapes.

Turkey has previously said it shared recordings linked to the murder of Khashoggi -- a Saudi dissident and fierce critic of the crown prince -- with officials in Riyadh, Washington and other capitals.

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.

Bolton, speaking to reporters in Singapore ahead of a regional summit, was asked whether it was right to say the audio contained nothing that implicated the crown prince.

"I haven't listened to the tape myself but in the assessment of those who have listened to it thats right," he said.

Khashoggi's brazen murder has caused intense speculation over what, if anything, Crown Prince Salman might have known about the operation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the order to murder Khashoggi came from "the highest levels" of the Saudi government and pointedly failed to absolve Crown Prince Salman of responsibility.

The New York Times reported that a member of the team at the consulate had told a superior by phone to "tell your boss", suspected to be the crown prince, that the operation had been accomplished.

The Trump administration embraced the young prince as a reform-minded ally, but the murder of Khashoggi -- a US resident -- has soured that narrative.

Bolton emphasised that Trump has demanded a full investigation from the Saudis and for those responsible to be held accountable.

"The president has made it very clear that he expects were going to get the truth from the Saudis -- and the king and the crown prince, in the conversations theyve had with the president, have committed to that," he said.

But Trump has also emphasised America's important commercial, strategic and national security relationships with the petro-state as well as lucrative arms contracts.
Macron had angered Trump by saying Europe needed its own army and listing the US along with Russia and China as a threat to European security

Donald Trump on Tuesday launched another attack against Emmanuel Macron over the French president's call for a European army, a proposal the US leader earlier had dubbed "insulting."

"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France?" Trump tweeted.

"They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along," Trump said. "Pay for NATO or not!"

The Republican president has repeatedly lambasted European allies for not spending enough on their militaries, particularly Germany.

Macron had angered Trump by saying Europe needed its own army and listing the US along with Russia and China as a threat to European security.

One of dozens of world leaders attending World War I commemorations in France this weekend, Trump tweeted after landing in Paris that Macron's call for a "real European army" was "insulting."

In an interview recorded on Saturday with CNN after talks with Trump, Macron said the two leaders had spoken about what his office has portrayed as a misunderstanding.

Both leaders agree there should be "better burden-sharing within NATO," meaning Europe should be less reliant on US spending for its defense, Macron said.

But Macron told CNN: "To be very direct with you, what I don't want to see is European countries increasing the budget in defense in order to buy American and other arms or materials coming from your industry."

US officials have stressed that Washington is fully committed to the NATO alliance despite Trump's comments.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg meanwhile has welcomed stronger EU efforts on defense that could strengthen the alliance -- but warned against duplicating its work while potentially undermining transatlantic ties.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House. Photo: Ron Sachs/Getty Images

It has been a week since what President Donald Trump ominously dubbed the election of the  caravan, but nobody in the White House or Republican Party seems to be talking about the caravan anymore. This despite the imminent threat both spent weeks insisting the 7,000 Central American migrants traveling through Mexico posed. Mexicos Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States, the president tweeted on October 22. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy [sic]. Must change laws!

Trump was not alone in his outcry. Vice-President Mike Pence phoned Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez to ascertain details about the caravans origins, then told reporters on October 23 that leftist groups and Venezuela were funding it. Trump accused the Democrats of bankrolling its movements, while U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz claimed liberal billionaire George Soros was behind it. The president stated, without evidence, that [criminals] and unknown Middle Easterners [were] mixed in. Former ICE acting director Thomas Homan told Fox News, [Border Patrol agents] will defend this line  Thank God we got a president sitting in the White House who  has [their] backs.

There were, of course, no known criminals or Middle Easterners mixed in, nor was the caravan a national emergency. The fear-mongering that marked Trumps response to the migrants  many of whom were women and children, and most of whom were fleeing violence and economic hardship in Honduras  was a transparent effort to scare Republican voters. It appears to have been successful in this regard. Whats to stop them? Carol Shields, a Republican in northern Minnesota, told the New York Times in October. We have a lot of people who live on lakes in the summer and winter someplace else. When they come back in the spring, their house would be occupied. But if the goal was to land a knockout punch on vulnerable Democrats in red states, it was less so. Trump singled out Senator Jon Tester at a Montana rally as an open borders proponent, which was a lie. Tester won reelection anyway.

It seems unavoidable, at this point, that Trump did not actually believe the caravan was a threat of the magnitude he once claimed. It is significantly closer to the U.S. now, but he has discussed it just once publicly since Election Day, despite tweeting about it at least six times beforehand and bringing it up several more times at rallies and press conferences. He alluded to it in a November 9 proclamation limiting entry for certain asylum seekers. But the bigger fallout from his efforts is still being felt. The troop surge he ordered to the border to stop the onslaught looks increasingly like a political stunt with no military value. And the October 28 massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue by a man claiming the caravan was a Jew-engineered invasion has left a community terrorized and 11 families mourning dead loved ones.

A bulk of the caravan migrants were last reported heading west from Queretaro toward Irapuato, roughly 200 miles northwest of Mexico City, en route to Tijuana. About 1,600 miles stand between them and their destination at the U.S. border. If their pace so far is an indication, it will be several weeks before they arrive. As for the threat they purportedly pose, all evidence suggests they are the same mix of strivers and asylum seekers who routinely  and peacefully  come to the U.S. seeking refuge and opportunity. And absent proof they mean Americans harm, the White House has piggybacked on fear generated by their mere existence. On November 2, Trump released an ad centered on convicted murderer Luis Bracamontes, seeking to blame undocumented immigration in general for enabling the Mexican citizens crimes. It was widely panned as racist.

Meanwhile, 5,600 U.S. troops remain stationed at the border in California, Arizona, and Texas, presumably waiting for the caravans arrival. They missed Veterans Day with their families, and their December 15 deployment bookend suggests they will miss Thanksgiving too, according to the New York Times. Their duties entail things like hammering stakes into the ground and unfurling wire fencing. They are not receiving extra combat or hostile fire pay for their efforts, since they will likely not be engaging with migrants. Defense Secretary James Mattis has tried to ratchet down the missions clear political overtones, discarding its original name, Operation Faithful Patriot, in favor of the less assuming border support. But the initial fanfare and theatricality in the face of a likely non-threat thousands of miles away leaves little doubt that the deployment was more saber rattle than tactical necessity.

Those who took the prospect of a caravan invasion the most seriously turned out to be the most unhinged. Shortly before entering the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27, 46-year-old Robert Bowers posted on the social network Gab, I cant sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, Im going in. Bowers had posted regularly about Jews helping transport caravans of migrants from Latin America to the U.S., using language that mirrored Trumps. I have noticed a change in people saying illegals that now say invaders, read one of his posts, according to CNN. I like this. In apparent retaliation for his fabricated conspiracy, Bowers shot and killed 11 Jewish worshippers, some in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. He reportedly believed Trump was not anti-Semitic enough in his rhetoric, but shared the presidents delusion that the caravan warranted an armed response.

Such will be the likely legacy of the rights fear-mongering here  demonizing migrants to secure Republican electoral wins, then discarding the issue once its political value expired. Even if Trump saw it as a charade  It doesnt matter if its 100 percent accurate, one White House official told the Daily Beast. This is the play  enough took it seriously that almost a dozen people were killed for it. In the meantime, thousands of troops are performing menial tasks at the border to sustain the presidents pageant of siege, even as the political apparatus that once trumpeted their efforts has gone largely silent. A White House as dishonest as this one may see more flagrant cons. But it is hard to argue that many will be as appalling.
Members of a cell accused of involvement in a deadly 2016 attack claimed by the Islamic State group in Jordan during their trial at the military State Security Court in the Jordanian capital Amman on November 13, 2018

A Jordanian court on Tuesday sentenced 10 people to prison terms of between three years and life in connection with a deadly 2016 attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The shooting attack in Karak, site of one of the region's largest Crusader castles, killed seven policemen and two Jordanian civilians as well as a female Canadian tourist, and wounded 34 other people.

The defendants were charged in state security court, a military tribunal, with "terrorist acts", illegal possession of arms and producing explosives.

Two of them were handed life terms, while three were sentenced to 15 years in prison and five others to serve three years in jail. One defendant was acquitted.

Courts in Jordan, the target of several deadly attacks, regularly put on trial suspected jihadists.

A close ally of Washington, the desert kingdom is part of a US-led coalition fighting IS in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, and it allows coalition forces to use its bases.
President Bongo, pictured in July at a summit of emerging nations in Johannesburg

A Gabonese opposition party on Tuesday accused the government of peddling a "lie" over the health of President Ali Bongo after he was hospitalised in Saudi Arabia nearly three weeks ago.

"A group of people within the president's office has opted for evasiveness, duplicity and even (for telling) a state lie," the National Union party said in a statement.

Bongo, 59, was taken to hospital in Riyadh on October 24 after he arrived to attend an economic forum.

Four days later, his spokesman, Ike Ngouoni, said the president had been admitted for "severe fatigue".

But last Sunday, Ngouoni acknowledged that Bongo had been treated for a serious illness.

Following discomfort and "persistent vertigo... first tests revealed bleeding which justified medical surgical care in a highly specialised sector", Ngouoni said, quoting a medical bulletin from doctors treating Bongo.

Bongo's condition has now "greatly improved" and he is "recovering most of his functions," Ngouoni added.

The National Union said the two statements were "completely contradictory" and warned it would be "grave and harmful" to the country if the government withheld vital information.

It called on Prime Minister Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet to fly to Riyadh "with a nationally representative delegation" to meet Bongo, the Saudi authorities and his doctors.

A foreign source close to Bongo and his French-born wife Sylvia has told AFP that Bongo had a stroke.

Gabon's official media watchdog on Friday said it had suspended the newspaper L'Aube (Dawn) for three months for an article saying the country had been put on a dangerous "autopilot" because of Bongo's hospitalisation.

He took over from his father, Omar Bongo, who died in 2009 after nearly 42 years at the helm of the oil-rich West African state.

Gabon has large oil, mineral and tropical timber resources and its per capita national income is four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan nations.

But about a third of the population of 1.8 million still live below the poverty line -- the result, say experts, of inequality, poor governance and corruption.
Nadia Borji recites the Koran in a cemetery, in the town of Sedghiane, on the resort island of Djerba on October 22, 2018, a black Tunisian and part of a minority that is barely visible in the north African country

Tunisian Nadia Borji says she wants to be considered as equal but fears she will end up buried in her town's so-called "slaves" cemetery -- because she is black.

Black Tunisians, including some descended from slaves, make up a minority that is barely visible in the north African country.

Many hope for greater equality after a law was passed last month criminalising all forms of racism.

"This term 'slave' disturbs me enormously. It shouldn't still exist!" protested Borji, who came to her mother's grave to read a prayer.

Black residents still bury their dead in a poorly maintained piece of land, full of earthen tombs covered with parched plants near Houmt Souk, on the island of Djerba.

Two other cemeteries lie a stone's throw away -- reserved for people with light skin.

"We are accustomed to knowing that it is abnormal to suffer such discrimination," said 46-year-old Borji.

Her cousin Dorra Douiri directed her anger towards a "racist and very painful" societal schism.

"The worst thing is, it's a cemetery next to a mosque where the imams call for equality and respect," Douiri said.

A Tunisian man carries a sack on his back in Gosba, near the southeastern town of Medenine, on October 23, 2018

The head of a municipal district in Houmt Souk acknowledged that cemeteries should not be separated.

"Cemeteries for slaves and cemeteries for free people -- it is a phenomenon that exists and must be addressed," said Mourad Missaoui.

Unlike the major cities of Tunis and Sfax, Djerba residents bury their dead without requiring permission from the council.

This means their burial place can still be decided by social status and even their skin colour, he told AFP.

- Historic law -

Slavery was formally abolished in Tunis and in part of what forms modern day Tunisia in 1846.

On October 9, Tunisia's parliament adopted a landmark law penalising the use of racist words, the incitement of hatred and discrimination.

These crimes are now punishable by three years in prison and a 5,000 euro (5,600 dollar fine).

Racism remains "well anchored in the minds of many Tunisians", said Saadia Mosbah, president of M'nemty, an association that defends minorities.

Tunisian men play dominoes in Gosba, near the southeastern town of Medenine, on October 23, 2018

Last month's law is an acknowledgement by the state that racism persists -- but the law must now be applied, he added.

"The real work starts now," he said.

But there could be a long battle ahead.

"There is no harmony between legal texts and what happens" in reality, said municipal leader Missaoui.

Town halls on Djerba even use a designation widely perceived as being highly racist on slave descendants' birth certificates.

The word in question is "atig" - a prefix followed by the name of the master who granted freedom to the ancestors of the certificate holder.

In the absence of popular pressure to withdraw the designation -- or a directive from the government -- the word and "its racist connotations" will continue to be applied by town halls, said Missaoui.

- 'Second class Tunisians' -

In the city of Medenine and the large village of Gosba, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Djerba, most people are black and many of them complain of racism.

"Our village is extremely marginalised, because of the colour of our skin," decried 27-year-old Mohamed, as he played cards on the floor of shop.

Tunisian women walk in Gosba, near the southeastern town of Medenine, on October 23, 2018

"We have no cafes, no cultural houses, no proper buildings -- absolutely nothing," he complained. "There is only contempt".

"It is not this law that will protect the region. It requires above all investment... for residents, who are considered second class Tunisians," he said.

In Gosba, marriage between a black and white Tunisian is socially rejected.

"You can be the most handsome and rich man, (but) you'll always be black and they will never accept you marrying a white woman," said 61-year-old grocer Ali Koudi.
The OPCW was rocked in October when Dutch authorities said they had caught and expelled four Russian agents trying to hack the organisation's computer system

The world's chemical arms watchdog is confronting a "difficult moment" after a series of recent attacks and a Russian spy scandal, the body's new chief told AFP Tuesday.

In an interview days before a key meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, director-general Fernando Arias said attacks in Salisbury, Kuala Lumpur and Syria were "worrying".

But the Arias said the OPCW would look beyond "temporary" divisions among members because "this organisation is forever" when it came to the eradication of chemical arms.

"We are going through a difficult moment," Arias said at his office in The Hague. "But what I can say is that the general feeling of the member states of this organisation is that the OPCW is more needed than ever."

The OPCW was rocked in October when Dutch authorities said they had caught and expelled four Russian agents trying to hack the organisation's computer system using equipment in a car parked in a nearby hotel.

The hacking bid came as the OPCW was investigating a nerve agent attack in the British city of Salisbury that London has blamed on Moscow, and also a suspected chemical attack in Russia's ally Syria.

Russia has meanwhile likened the OPCW to a "sinking Titanic" after member states agreed in June, despite Moscow's opposition, to boost its powers to be able to attribute blame for chemical attacks.

- 'This organisation is forever' -

Both issues are expected to dominate the meeting of 193 OPCW member states in The Hague starting next Monday, but veteran Spanish diplomat Arias said the body had longer-term goals.

"What we are living now... is temporary, the conflicts are starting and finishing, but this organisation is forever," he said of the OPCW, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.

"This organisation is much more than Syria -- Syria is an important issue of course, Salisbury is an important issue of course, but this is much more than that," he said.

"Instead of saying 'we have so many difficulties..' no, we are adapting to these new times."

The OPCW is charged with enforcing the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the use, production and stockpiling of arms such as mustard gas, nerve agents and chlorine.

So far it has eradicated more than 96 percent of the world's declared stocks, and was instrumental in enforcing a 2013 US-Russian deal under which Damascus gave up its chemical weapons.

But after a string of further chemical attacks in Syria -- coupled with the March 2018 Salisbury attack on a former Russian double agent, and the nerve agent murder of a half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2017 -- western nations led a successful push earlier this year to give the OPCW more teeth.

Next week's OPCW meeting will discuss how to implement the body's new power of attribution, which Arias described as a "difficult task".

He said the OPCW was setting up a Syria attribution team and had a "rapid response mission" to deal with alleged chemical weapons use elsewhere, but said the body needed "more resources, expertise, equipment."

- 'Learn this lesson' -

Several member states have already pledged more funding, but on the other hand Russia has fiercely opposed the attribution power, warning that it could even pull out of the OPCW.

Russia was a "very important country and has had always an important role in this organisation", Arias insisted, saying that the key to the OPCW's success was the "universality" of having all but four nations on earth as members.

After the hacking incident, Arias said the "first reaction was to take in a very serious way anything related to cybersecurity", adding that the OPCW had suffered several such attacks since the beginning of the year.

But he stressed that it was important to try to keep all countries on board, whatever the external political tensions, adding that he was "doing the role of mediator or broker."

With the world just having marked 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Arias said it was important to keep a historical perspective of the OPCW's role.

On Sunday he had been in the Belgian town of Ypres "where chemical weapons were used for the first time on a massive scale.

"To die under an attack with chemical weapons is horrendous. We have to learn this lesson," he said.

But he played down fears that the world was entering a new era of chemical weapons attacks in the wake of Salisbury, Kuala Lumpur and Syria.

"It is worrying without any doubt. I am aware, it is worrying. But at the same time... we have the tools for reducing those risks," he said.
Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar met with his UN-backed rival in Italy on Tuesday despite showing reluctance to join the latest bid to stabilise the country

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar is a crucial player in the latest international bid to stabilise the violence-wracked North African nation, but he has shown great reluctance to be involved.

Field Marshal Haftar, whose forces control all of northeastern Libya, had said he would not join this week's talks in Palermo, Italy which hope to kick-start a long-stalled political process and trigger elections.

However he met with his UN-backed rival Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and other leaders on Tuesday ahead of more inclusive roundtable talks, an Italian official said.

Haftar, 75, presents himself as Libya's saviour in the face of a growing jihadist threat, but his opponents accuse him of wanting to establish a new military dictatorship.

The white-haired field marshal with striking black eyebrows arrived in Palermo from his Benghazi stronghold on Monday evening, but did not attend a working dinner with other leaders.

Haftar's office has denied he is attending the actual conference, saying he refuses to sit down with certain participants who he sees as close to the Islamists that he fiercely opposes, militarily and ideologically.

"Haftar is being difficult as he has done several times in the past," said Paris-based Libya specialist Jalel Harchaoui.

"This attitude cuts both ways because it has a sensational effect that momentarily ups his value, but his interlocutors who are humiliated by this will always remember," he said.

- Leading fight against jihadists -

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces dominate the east of the country

Libya fell into chaos following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

Two rival administrations emerged -- Sarraj's Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and another authority in the east backed by Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

Haftar's hostility towards the GNA has been seen as a major cause of the current crisis.

But he has gained in stature for fighting jihadists.

In 2014, Haftar launched his "Dignity" operation to retake Benghazi after it fell to hardline militias. His forces took the city in July 2017 following more than three years of deadly fighting.

After Haftar was hospitalised in Paris for two weeks earlier this year, fuelling speculation about his health, he returned to Benghazi with great fanfare in April.

To reaffirm his status as a strongman, he quickly launched a successful operation to oust Islamist militias from the city of Derna, which had been the only part of eastern Libya out of his control.

- Part of Kadhafi's rise and fall -

Haftar shakes the hand of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, as Rome aims to bring Libya's disparate and often warring factions together

Originally from Cyrenaica in Libya's east, Haftar received military training in the then Soviet Union before taking part in the 1969 coup which brought Kadhafi to power.

He served in Kadhafi's armed forces but fell from grace when he was captured by Chadian troops during Libya's ill-fated 1978-1987 conflict with its neighbour.

Tripoli denied Haftar was part of the Libyan army, and he languished in jail until Washington granted him political asylum.

After more than two decades living in the United States, where it was rumoured that he worked for the CIA, in 2011 he returned home to take part in the uprising against Kadhafi.

Italy is the latest country aiming to bring Libya's disparate and often warring factions together after a Paris summit in May saw the GNA and Haftar agree to hold national polls on December 10 -- a date which has fallen by the wayside.

Analysts say the summit risks being compromised not only by tensions between Libyan factions but also the competing agendas of foreign powers.

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 strongman, especially Islamist groups.
Some temple devotees angrily resisted the order and prevented female worshippers from entering the shrine when it reopened in October for a few days

India's top court Tuesday agreed to hear challenges to its decision to overturn a ban on women of menstruating age from entering a Hindu temple, after protests against the ruling.

The Supreme Court said it would review the petitions on January 22 but until then women and girls aged 10 to 50 could still pray at Sabarimala in Kerala.

"We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgement and order of this court dated 28 September 2018," the five-judge bench said.

The decision to revoke a ban on women of menstruating age from entering the hilltop shrine in southern India sparked a backlash among conservatives.

Some temple devotees angrily resisted the order and prevented female worshippers from entering the shrine when it reopened in October for a few days.

Another showdown looms with at least 300,000 worshippers -- including 560 women of menstruating age -- registered to visit Sabarimala when it reopens again in November.

The temple's chief priest welcomed the court reviewing its decision but rejected the notion of women entering the Hindu shrine until then.

"I am happy and don't think women will now be able to enter," Kandararu Rajeevaru told AFP from Kerala.

Traditionalists say the court ignored their beliefs and devotion to Ayyappa, the temple's celibate deity.

Those defending Ayyappa clashed with police in October at Sabarimala, prompted the arrest of more than 2,000 people.

Progressive Hindus and gender activists say the vocal opposition to certain women entering Sabarimala reflects an old but prevalent view in India linking menstruation to impurity.

Kerala police said this week thousands of extra officers will be deployed to Sabarimala and crowd control enforced at the temple to avoid a repeat of last month's violence.

Pramod Kumar, Kerala police spokesman, earlier this week told AFP that restrictions will be imposed on those wishing to visit the temple, which pilgrims can only reach on foot after a steep climb.
Palestinians gather in front of damaged buildings in Gaza City early on November 13, 2018 following Israeli air strikes

Israeli strikes kept Palestinians in Gaza on edge throughout the night over whether another devastating war was beginning, while tens of thousands of Israelis took refuge in shelters as rockets rained down.

Israeli air strikes continued sporadically in Gaza on Tuesday while bulldozers cleared rubble left behind by the previous night's bombings that flattened multi-storey buildings.

"What happened was like an earthquake," said Abu Ayman Lemzeni, who lives near Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV building in Gaza City destroyed by an Israeli strike.

"As you see, here there is no more the grocery, the pharmacy, the office, the wall, the building."

Before him, two satellite dishes could be seen in the rubble after the pulverising Israeli strike.

Flashes of fire followed by powerful explosions came one after the other at a steady pace beginning at dusk on Monday.

"The children are afraid. They are terrorised," said Gaza resident Jamal Murtaja. "We couldn't sleep last night or this morning."

Palestinians inspect the damage in a residential neighbourhood in Gaza City early on November 13, 2018, following Israeli air strikes in the worst escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants since a 2014 war

Many had only a short time to flee their homes and found themselves in the street due to a lack of secure shelters.

"As soon as we saw the missiles, we ran outside the house," said Mohammed Aboud, who lives near the former Al-Amal hotel building, which Hamas had used as an internal security headquarters before it was hit on Monday night.

"We are civilians. We don't have guns or rockets."

- 'Traumatised' -

An Israeli man removes on November 13, 2018 belongings from a house in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon damaged by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip

Just 20 kilometres (12 miles) away, on the other side of Israel's heavily guarded security fence, the more than 128,000 residents of the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon spent the night under rocket fire.

"The girls are traumatised. It's not possible," said father of three Meir Edery.

He points to the building in front of his, its top floor ripped open by a rocket that killed a Palestinian labourer and badly wounded an Israeli woman.

Edery and his family took refuge in a shelter.

A police spokesman said Israelis in Ashkelon have little more than 30 seconds to reach a secure location once an alert sounds.

"We are demanding that the government give us the ability to raise our children securely," Edery said. "It's our most basic right."

Israelis inspect the damage caused by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, on November 13, 2018

Behind him, neighbours called out "destroy Hamas," the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and with whom Israel has fought three wars since 2008.

Along the city's port, nearly all stores had their shutters closed.

Under the azure blue sky, Nissim Arzoane, 65, came to cast his fishing line in the sea, as he does each day.

"We have to show them that we are not afraid," he said.

Sitting at one of the rare open cafes, David Cohen called on the military to respond "without fear".

"They will not break us," said the man in his 50s.

- 'Rockets flying' -

Israeli authorities ordered the closure of schools and kindergartens, and many streets were deserted.

Betty Calvo, 63, could not sleep at all the previous night.

She tells her nine-year-old grandson Nahman, who lives near the Gaza border, to run to the shelter as soon as he hears the sirens.

A picture taken on November 12, 2018, shows a ball of fire above the building housing the Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV in the Gaza Strip during an Israeli air strike

He says that he saw "rockets flying in the sky".

"Is that normal that a child of that age tells that kind of thing to his grandmother?" she asks.

In Gaza, a number of buildings destroyed in the last war with Israel in 2014 still have not been rebuilt.

The streets of Gaza City, usually bustling and noisy, were deserted on Tuesday morning.

The previous night, long lines formed at bakeries and stores as residents sought to stock up on goods in case of a new full-blown conflict.

"We haven't forgotten the last war in 2014," said Mohamed Bulbul, who lives in the southern sector of the city.

"People are tired of wars. That's enough."
Saudi rulers, including King Salman, are seeking to rally domestic support following what is seen as the worst diplomatic crisis facing the kingdom since 9/11

Saudi King Salman will resume an unprecedented domestic tour next week, the royal court said Tuesday, as the kingdom grapples with an international crisis over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The 82-year-old monarch visited central Qassim province and the neighbouring region of Hail last week in what observers call a "listening tour", his first since ascending to the most powerful throne in the Middle East in 2015.

The king is now set to visit the "northern regions of the kingdom" next week to "inspect the condition of citizens and inaugurate a number of development projects", the official Saudi Press Agency said citing the royal court.

It added that the industrial city of Waad al-Shamal would be among the stops to inaugurate "mining and industrial projects".

SPA said the king is also set to address the Shura Council, a top advisory body, on Monday, in his first public comments since the murder of insider-turned-critic Khashoggi on October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The king, who was accompanied by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his tour last week, appears to be on a drive to shore up support domestically, including within the royal family, as Saudi Arabia faces international outrage over the murder.

King Salman has pardoned some "insolvent prisoners" and last month ordered the resumption of annual bonus payments to all government workers from the beginning of next year. The bonuses had been suspended under austerity measures in 2016 amid low oil prices.

The fallout over Khashoggi's murder is widely seen as the worst diplomatic crisis facing the kingdom since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

After first insisting Khashoggi left the consulate unharmed, Saudi authorities said he was killed in an argument that degenerated into a brawl before finally accepting what Turkey had said virtually from the start -- that he was killed in a premeditated hit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the order to murder Khashoggi came from "the highest levels" of the Saudi government.

The global fallout over the murder has tainted the image of 33-year-old Prince Mohammed -- the de facto ruler and heir apparent -- even though the kingdom strongly denies he was involved.

But it so far has not threatened to unseat the prince, especially after his domestic crackdown on dissent, effectively neutering his political rivals, and his tightening grip on military and security agencies.

It was unclear whether the crown prince will accompany the king next week.
The prospect of being repatriated back to Myanmar has caused panic among some Rohinga, with some refugees fleeing camps in Bangladesh

The UN rights chief on Tuesday urged Bangladesh to halt imminent plans to start returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, warning doing so risked further grave violations against the Muslim minority.

Bangladesh authorities say they will begin returning Rohingya refugees, who have fled what the UN has called ethnic cleansing, to the Buddhist majority country from Thursday.

The prospect has created panic in the camps, prompting some families who were due to be among the first to be repatriated to flee, community leaders said.

The UN rights office said it continued to receive reports of ongoing violations against Rohingya still in Myanmar and urged Dhaka to reconsider.

"We are witnessing terror and panic among those Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar who are at imminent risk of being returned to Myanmar against their will," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.

"Forcibly expelling or returning refugees and asylum seekers to their home country would be a clear violation of the core legal principle of non-refoulement, which forbids repatriation where there are threats of persecution or serious risks to the life and physical integrity or liberty of the individuals."

More than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar's western Rakhine state following a military crackdown from August last year, bringing with them stories of murders, rapes and torture.

They have joined some 300,000 Rohingya already living in squalid camps in Bangladesh's southeast for years.

Some 2,260 Rohingya Muslims had been scheduled to leave the Bangladesh border post in the southeastern Cox's Bazar district in the first repatriations from Thursday under the voluntary scheme.

Director general of Bangladesh's foreign ministry Delwar Hossain told AFP the refugees would be repatriated in groups of 150 each day during the initial phase.

"Both sides have agreed to start repatriation on November 15," he said Tuesday before the UN rights office issued its statement.

- Confusion and fear -

Refugee community leaders said many Rohingya on the returnee list were terrified and in hiding.

"They were intimidated and fled to other camps," said Nur Islam, from Jamtoli refugee camp.

An AFP correspondent was able to speak to three families who said they were due to leave this week.

Bangladesh says returnees will be processed through two centres at the Bangladesh border - one of which is still under construction - from Thursday

"As the day is coming closer, our tension is rising," said Mohammad Khaleque.

He said he and his family were fleeing their camp for another makeshift Rohingya settlement in Cox's Bazar, in an effort to avoid being forcibly repatriated.

"We don't want to go back like this," he said.

The UN pointed out several of the families apparently listed for return are headed by women or children, and some refugees had threatened suicide if forced to go back.

Around 400 Hindus from Rakhine, who also fled the violence alongside the Rohingya, said they were ready to return if the passage was safe.

"We have prepared out bags. We would go today, if sufficient security was provided," said 60-year-old Jyotsna Bala Paul.

- 'Rather die' -

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which earlier this week received a list from the Bangladesh government to assess whether the refugees wanted to go back to Myanmar voluntarily, said the start date of November 15 was an "ambitious plan".

More than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's western Rakhine state bringing with them stories of murders, rapes and torture

"This is the matter of the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Although we still think that the conditions are not conducive now for the refugees to return in Myanmar," UNHCR senior spokesman Chris Melzer told AFP on Monday.

Bangladesh refugee commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam said the country was ready to start repatriating the refugees via two transit points they have set up at the border.

An AFP team visited both the centres. One appeared complete while the construction of the second was "over 80 percent" finished, according to builders.

A Bangladeshi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the Rohingya refugees were not "mentally ready" for returning.

"They often say to us they would rather die here in the (Bangladeshi) camps than to go back and embrace the harrowing pain they have already experienced," he said.

Bachelet stressed that "the human rights violations committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar amount to the worst atrocities, including crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide."

"With an almost complete lack of accountability - indeed with ongoing violations - returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades."

burs-np/ecl
A view of the Crystal City area in Arlington, Virginia -- to be renamed National Landing -- selected by Amazon as one of its new headquarters sites

Amazon announced Tuesday it would split its "second headquarters" between New York City and a Washington suburb in Northern Virginia, with the online giant to invest some $5 billion in the two locations after a heated contest by dozens of cities.

"These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come," Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement.

The announcement comes after a yearlong search and a fierce competition between North American cities to net the estimated 50,000 jobs that will be created with the new headquarters, which had been dubbed "HQ2."

Amazon selected the Long Island City neighborhood in the New York borough of Queens, across the East River from Manhattan, and the Crystal City section of Arlington, across the Potomac from the US capital Washington, where Amazon plans to create a new neighborhood called National Landing.

These will be new headquarters with equivalent status to Amazon's home in Seattle, Washington.

According to an Amazon statement, the company will receive "performance-based direct incentives of $1.525 billion" over the next decade from New York based on creating 25,000 jobs in Long Island City.

"This is a giant step on our path to building an economy in New York City that leaves no one behind. We are thrilled that Amazon has selected New York City for its new headquarters," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"New Yorkers will get tens of thousands of new, good-paying jobs, and Amazon will get the best talent anywhere in the world."

Virginia will offer $550 million in incentives over 12 years based on a similar number of job creations, contingent on adding the forecasted number of "high-paying jobs," and Amazon will get another $23 million from Arlington.

"This is a big win for Virginia -- I'm proud Amazon recognizes the tremendous assets the Commonwealth has to offer and plans to deepen its roots here," said Virginia Governor Ralph Northam.
Illustration: Intelligencer

A Twitter mystery is afoot! The official Fox News Twitter account hasnt tweeted since November 8; the last activity on its Fox Business counterpart is dated November 9. Conspiratorially minded Twitter brainiacs have speculated that the silence is related in some way to the Mueller investigation. But  and I take no pleasure in reporting this  the Marshal of the Supreme Court has not given the Fox Twitter the death penalty. The real reason for the weeklong silence is an almost comfortingly familiar one: Fox News is furious with Twitter.

Foxs silence reportedly stems from a protest held last week outside Fox News host Tucker Carlsons home by a group called Smash Racism D.C. Protesters spray-painted an anarchy symbol on Carlsons driveway and knocked on (but didnt break down) his door, frightening his wife, who was home alone. According to the Daily Caller, the Smash Racism Twitter account  among others  had posted Carlsons home address somewhere around the time of the protest.

Carlsons address is, like many peoples, a matter of public record, but Twitters rule against posting private information extends (as it should) to private residences, personal home addresses, or other locations that are considered private. Nevertheless, when the Daily Caller News Foundation and Fox News reported to Twitter that Carlsons personal home address had been published to the platform, they were apparently told to open a ticket, and the tweets remained up. (They have since been taken down.)

While the experience of reporting a tweet in clear violation of Twitters stated rules and being politely told to fuck off is a familiar one to many individual users of the social network, it was an insult too grave for Fox News. Hence: silence.

The @FoxNews Twitter account has been silent for over 24 hours. A Fox News employee tells me Fox is choosing to stay silent while protesting how Twitter handled posts targeting Tucker Carlson  specifically the ones that included his address. address.  Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) November 10, 2018

Fox already released a statement condemning the Tucker protesters but there has been no official statement on the Twitter protest/blackout. Source says the Twitter blackout decision came "from the highest level" of the company.  Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) November 10, 2018

The boycott is an interesting gesture, if a quixotic one  at its size, and with its network effects, Twitter doesnt need Fox News. It seems self-defeating: Doesnt Fox News want people to read its stories? But it makes more sense when you stop thinking of Twitter as an infrastructural feature against which resistance is futile, and start thinking of it as just another media company in a long line of media companies to earn Foxs ire. Ten years ago, the late New York Times columnist David Carr wrote that whenever he typed the networks name, a series of alarms would go off in his head: Danger. Warning. Much mayhem ahead. At the time, under its former president Roger Ailes, Fox was notorious for its aggressive public-relations strategy, in the same way the Mafia is notorious for its aggressive debt-collection strategy; Carr, in his column, documented the terrifying tactics the network would use against reporters who had displeased it in minor ways, including slandering them on air, accompanied by photos doctored in a technique familiar to students of vintage German propaganda.

But its one thing to bring your full black-ops resources to bear to punish a reporter and bully his paper off of a story. What do you do when the target of your spite is an anonymous poster and a vast social network? Foxs image-control operation was successful because the network has a bigger platform and deeper pockets than the newspapers and blogs it has targeted. Individual reporters have audiences a fraction the size of a Fox evening show, and their editors and the institutions to which they belong are often susceptible to a relentless barrage of criticism and invective, if only because they lack the bandwidth or resources to keep up a fight. (As Carr says, I have choked a few times at the keyboard when Fox News has come up in a story and it was not absolutely critical to the matter at hand.)

Now Fox finds itself on the opposite end of stick, its audience and resources being a fraction of the size of Twitters. What options was it left with, at that point, besides walking away? A lengthy Twitter silence isnt exactly the operatic fury you might have expected from an earlier Fox News, but its also pointed in a way you dont often see in media companies dealings with social platforms. Most of Fox News peers, I think, would be very wary of stepping away from such an influential distribution network, even if their frustrations were legitimate. (Which, in this case, Foxs are, in a way that old Ailes tantrums over reporters were not.)

Which helps explain why, even if the boycott is pretty impotent as a punishment, as a symbolic gesture, its quite striking. Its so genuinely weird to see a enormous media corporation abstain from Twitter that its hard, really, to blame the conspiracy theorists. Twitters status as essential everyday informational infrastructure is so accepted, so unremarkable, that the idea of a media company challenging it on an institutional level is, at first, less believable than the idea that the Justice Department might be involved.

But Rupert Murdoch has generally preferred to fight the mega-platforms of social media as rivals, rather than regard them as neutral features of the landscape. Fox News cant bully a Twitter into submission, but its still found a way to treat it with the same bitter contempt its always treated the Times. Frankly, its refreshing to see a platform scorned rather than pandered to. Thats why the boycott is so great: Fox Newss legendary contemptuousness is better trained on wealthy and powerful social platforms not abiding by their own rules than it is on newspapers and blogs attempting to report on it. Best of all, Fox News is making the world a better place, in some small way, simply by not tweeting.
Gigaba, seen here delivering the 2018 budget speech in February, when he was finance minister

South African Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba resigned on Tuesday, the presidency announced, two weeks after a public standards watchdog said he had violated the constitution by lying under oath in court.

Gigaba, a close ally of ousted former president Jacob Zuma, had recently vowed not to step down after also being caught up in a leaked sex tape scandal.

A statement from President Cyril Ramaphosa's office announced that Gigaba said he had resigned "to relieve the President from undue pressure" and to allow Ramaphosa to focus on saving the country from "economic meltdown".

Gigaba, 47, was reprimanded last month by the public protector ombudswoman after he testified in a 2017 court case filed by a company controlled by the wealthy Oppenheimer family.

Ombudswoman Busisiwe Mkhwebane recommended that Ramaphosa take disciplinary action against the minister for "telling an untruth under oath and before a court of law".

The allegations were probed after a complaint from the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party.

The court case hinged on whether Gigaba had given the Oppenheimers approval to have a private terminal at Johannesburg airport.

Gigaba has said he was the target of extortion attempts after a private sex video was stolen by hacking.

He served as finance minister for a year under Zuma, who was ousted as president in February over mounting graft scandals.

South Africa's economy is in recession, while unemployment is at record highs of near 28 percent.
Smoke billows during Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip on November 12, 2018

Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip announced an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel on Tuesday after a severe escalation of violence threatened to descend into full-blown war.

The groups, including Hamas, issued a joint statement saying they would abide by the ceasefire as long as Israel did the same. Israel had not commented on the announcement.

"Egypt's efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy," the statement said.

"The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it."

The violent escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza was the worst since a 2014 war.

Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the course of some 24 hours as Israeli strikes targeted militants and flattened buildings while sending fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky.

Sirens wailed in southern Israel and tens of thousands of residents took cover in shelters overnight as around 400 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip, wounding 27 people, including three severely.

The violence began on Sunday with a botched Israeli special forces operation inside the Gaza Strip that turned deadly and prompted Hamas to vow revenge.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri speaks during a press conference at his residence in Beirut on November 13, 2018

Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad Hariri on Tuesday accused powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah of impeding the formation of a long-awaited cabinet after five months of wrangling.

Government formation is often a drawn-out process in Lebanon, where a complex governing system seeks to maintain a precarious balance of power between its various political and religious communities.

"It's very regrettable that Hezbollah has put itself in the position of bearing responsibility for hindering the government," Hariri said at a news conference.

"I've done my job and the government is ready" otherwise, he said.

Hezbollah has pushed for Sunni politicians allied to the Shiite movement but opposed to Hariri to be represented in the future cabinet.

Hariri, a leading Sunni politician, has refused to give up a portfolio that would otherwise go to his own party.

On Saturday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said no government would be formed if his Sunni allies were not represented.

"The lawmakers have demanded their right to be represented," he said.

"We will stand by them one year, two years, a thousand years" if needed, the Shiite leader said in a televised speech.

Hezbollah is the only political party not to have disarmed after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, and has backed the Syrian regime in the war-torn country next door.

On May 24, after parliamentary elections, President Michel Aoun nominated Hariri for his third term as prime minister and tasked him with forming a cabinet.

But debates have dragged out the process, starting with a now resolved debate over Christian representation.

In 2009 it also took Hariri five months to form a government, while his successor Tammam Salam took 10 months after he was nominated in 2013.
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer meets with Democratic senators-elect Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Jacky Rosen of Nevada in his US Capitol office on November 13, 2018

US lawmakers returned to work Tuesday for the first time since contentious midterm election campaigns, with Congress facing a spending showdown and Democrats eager to protect special prosecutor Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

Also on Capitol Hill will be the newly elected members of the Senate and House of Representatives, including the two Democrats who flipped Republican-held Senate seats, as they attend orientation sessions ahead of their swearing in next January.

Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Nevada's Jacky Rosen, both of whom ousted incumbent Republicans in their races, met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday morning.

On the Republican side, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was scheduled to meet his party's three new members Wednesday.

Democrats reclaimed the House from Republicans in last Tuesday's election, but President Donald Trump's party retained control of the Senate. The changes take effect on January 3, 2019.

One potentially controversial arrival on Capitol Hill would be that of Florida Governor Rick Scott, who is locked in an uncalled Senate race with incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and who reportedly stated he could travel to Washington this week.

The Florida race is undergoing a tense mandatory recount, with Trump and other senior Republicans openly accusing county officials of fraud.

Trump has repeatedly weighed in on the race, including on Monday when he claimed, without evidence, that an honest Florida vote count was not possible due to "massively infected" ballots.

During the "lame-duck" session -- when Congress meets between the election and the seating of the new Congress -- lawmakers face a December 7 deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown by passing a spending measure that funds the Department of Homeland Security through fiscal year 2019.

It could be tricky, as Trump has called for new funding for his wall on the southern US border with Mexico, an issue that has divided some congressional Republicans.

Meanwhile Democrats and some Republicans want to attach to the spending bill legislation that would protect Mueller and his investigation, after Trump sacked attorney general Jeff Sessions and replaced him with Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has drawn criticism over his denial of Russia's meddling in the 2016 US elections.
President Donald Trump has made a habit of lashing out at US allies, as he did after commemorations in Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I

President Donald Trump's Twitter-lashing of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron is only the latest insult by the US leader against longstanding allies.

Here are some memorable barbs from Trump, who has brazenly defied traditional diplomatic convention not to speak ill of allies in public:

- FRANCE -

US President Donald Trump (R) ridiculed Emmanuel Macron (L) for his low approval ratings after the French president cautioned against the rise of nationalism during World War I commemorations in Paris

Trump had once seen Macron as a budding friend, with the two inviting each other for high-profile visits, but the tycoon president was apparently incensed by the French leader's rejection of Trump-style nationalism in a speech marking 100 years after the end of World War I.

Trump, whose Armistice Day trip to Paris drew domestic criticism after he skipped a cemetery visit due to rain, ridiculed Macron for his low approval rating and said there was "no country more nationalist than France."

He threatened to slap tariffs on French wine and again criticized Macron for supporting European-wide defense outside NATO, the alliance to which Trump says the United States pays too much.

- CANADA -

Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau have had a rocky relationship, with the US president calling the Canadian prime minister "very dishonest and weak" after he criticized US tariffs at a June summit

Trump has shown open disdain for the youthful, left-leaning prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, as the US president revises the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he sees as hurting US manufacturing and farming.

Trump refused to sign a customary statement by the Group of Seven industrial nations after a June summit in Quebec led by Trudeau.

Leaving early to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Trump tweeted that Trudeau was "very dishonest and weak" and had acted "mild and meek" in meetings before criticizing US tariffs at a news conference.

- GERMANY -

US President Donald Trump (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) seated next to each other at a World War I commemoration ceremony in Paris; Trump has undercut Merkel by tweeting that Germans were "turning against their leadership"

Trump's relationship was strained from the start with Chancelor Angela Merkel, who unlike Macron did not attempt to forge a chummy relationship with the right-wing populist.

Trump has repeatedly intervened rhetorically in Germany's sensitive debate over immigration, after Merkel in 2015 opened Germany's borders and ultimately let in more than one million asylum seekers.

Trump in June tweeted that Germans were "turning against their leadership" over the "big mistake" on immigration and incorrectly said that crime was "way up" in Germany.

- BRITAIN -

US President Donald Trump (R) has openly criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May's (L) handling of Brexit

Despite Prime Minister Theresa May's efforts to preserve Britain's "special relationship" with the United States, Trump has openly criticized her handling of her top issue -- Britain's planned exit from the European Union.

Just as he was visiting Britain this year, on an invitation for which May faced domestic criticism, Trump told a London newspaper that May's party rival Boris Johnson would be a "great prime minister" and poured cold water on May's hopes for a trade deal with the United States if Britain stayed in the EU single market.

Trump has also repeatedly assailed London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, taking out of context Khan's calls for calm after an attack and then calling Khan's explanation "pathetic."

- AUSTRALIA -

Donald Trump hung up on Australia's former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in a call soon after the US president took office

Trump opened on the wrong foot with Australia, one of the most pro-US countries which boasts of fighting alongside the United States in every major conflict in modern times.

Trump hung up on Australias then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, after brusquely criticizing a deal on refugee settlement reached under previous US president Barack Obama, according to The Washington Post.

The two leaders later appeared to patch up through a series of friendly encounters, arranged in part by Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-born media mogul who owns Fox News, Trump's favorite channel.

- MEXICO -

US President Donald Trump has been uncharacteristically restrained in his comments about Mexico's incoming leftist president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Trump launched his presidential campaign by branding undocumented Mexican immigrants as criminals and has maintained racially charged rhetoric since entering the White House.

Trump, however, has been unusually restrained in his public remarks about Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador and his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, who reportedly had a contentious phone call with the US leader.

- JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA -

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly was startled during a June summit when US President Donald Trump quipped, "I remember Pearl Harbor"

Trump has managed cordial public interactions with the leaders of key Asian allies Japan and South Korea but has been blistering in his criticism of their trade policies.

Trump at a news conference last week said that Japan "has treated us very unfairly" and, according to The Washington Post, startled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a June summit by quipping, "I remember Pearl Harbor," imperial Japan's 1941 sneak attack on the US Pacific fleet.
UN aid chief Mark Lowcock is calling for a ceasefire around Yemen's city of Hodeida and says the United Nations could help monitor use of the port, a key entry point for humanitarian aid

The United Nations' aid chief called Tuesday for a ceasefire around Yemen's city of Hodeida, where pro-government forces are battling Huthi rebels for control of the Red Sea port.

The appeal came as Western powers stepped up pressure on the Saudi-led coalition to agree to talks with the Iran-backed Huthi rebels on ending the war.

"I ask that the parties implement a cessation of hostilities, not least in and around all the infrastructure and facilities on which the aid operation and commercial importers rely," said Mark Lowcock, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, in a statement.

Lowcock said the United Nations was ready to play a role in "ensuring the appropriate use of key facilities, especially around Hodeida" -- a key entry point for humanitarian aid and vital supplies to Yemen.

Clashes between Saudi-backed troops and rebels in Hodeida have raged for nearly two weeks, leaving nearly 600 people dead and prompting warnings from the United Nations of catastrophic devastation if fighting escalates.

Lowcock has warned that Yemen, which the United Nations ranks as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, is moving closer toward the world's worst famine in decades.

The Saudi-led coalition has been waging a war in Yemen since March 2015 to push back the Iran-backed Huthis, but the rebels still hold Hodeida and the capital Sanaa.

The coalition intervened to restore to power Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose government is recognized by the United Nations.

The United States, a key Saudi ally, has called for a ceasefire and talks on ending the war while Britain has said it is preparing a Security Council draft resolution that would pave the way to peace talks.

Hodeida was hit on Monday night by what multiple sources said were two air strikes -- the first targeting of the docks since government forces launched an offensive to retake the port five months ago.

The port's deputy director, Yahya Sharafeddine, said the main entrance to the docks had been "the target of air raids" but was fully functioning. Three security guards were wounded in the attack, he said.
US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping will have face-to-face meetings in Buenos Aires to try to cool trade tensions

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss trade on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Argentina this month, a senior US official said Tuesday.

Top White House economic aide Larry Kudlow said the high-level efforts continue to resolve the US-China trade war, and follow Trump's recent telephone call with Xi.

"Right now we're having communications at all levels of US and Chinese government," Kudlow told CNBC.

"We now know that we will in fact discuss trade at the G20 meeting in Argentina. We didn't know that before but that's a certainty."

Trump is due to arrive in Buenos Aires on November 29 for the G20 summit, which will give him the opportunity for face-to-face meetings to ease the trade tensions.

Major US corporations say they are raising prices and face higher costs due to the trade war, in which Washington has imposed steep import duties on more than $250 billion in Chinese goods. China hit back with tariffs on $110 billion in US goods.

Duty rates on a $200 billion in imports are due to rise to 25 percent from the current 10 percent, and Trump also is threatening to impose tariffs on another $267 billion of additional Chinese goods.
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, an anti-China firebrand, was rebuked by a fellow advisor for his unathorized criticisms of Wall Street's involvement in talks with China

A top White House economic advisor on Tuesday publicly rebuked a fellow aide over firebrand speech attacking Wall Street's involvement the US-China trade war.

Top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said trade advisor Peter Navarro was "way off base" in his comments, and were not authorized.

In an address to a Washington think tank on Friday, Navarro, head of a White House trade council, said Wall Street figures were pressuring the White House to reach a resolution with Beijing.

Navarro, an anti-China firebrand, said President Donald Trump's bargaining position was being undermined by "unpaid foreign agents" and Wall Street "globalists," a term which frequently draws accusations of anti-Semitism.

And Navarro said a deal with China agreed under pressure from Wall Street would bear a "stench."

But Kudlow said Navarro's comments did not represent Trump's thinking.

"He was not speaking for the president, nor was he speaking for the administration," Kudlow told CNBC. "His remarks were way off base, they were not authorized by anybody."

He said Trump speaks to people on Wall Street, union leaders and others.

"I think Peter very badly misspoke. He was freelancing and he's not representing the president or the administration."

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to discuss the US-China trade confrontation later this month during a Group of 20 summit in Argentina.
The Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II (C) said the Islamist militants would always find willing recruits unless the root causes of radicalisation were addressed

One of Nigeria's leading and respected Islamic figures on Tuesday renewed calls to tackle endemic poverty and rapid population growth to help end deadly Boko Haram violence.

More than 27,000 people have been killed since the start of the insurgency in the country's remote northeast in 2009 and 1.8 million are still homeless.

Nigeria's government and military maintains it has severely weakened the jihadists to the point of defeat but attacks remain a constant threat to civilians and soldiers.

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said the Islamist militants would always find willing recruits unless the root causes of radicalisation were addressed.

"We cannot divorce insecurity from the discourse on development and discourse on poverty," he told academics and clerics at a conference on Boko Haram in Kano city.

Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said climate change, particularly the shrinking of Lake Chad, has had a devastating effect on local livelihoods.

Northeast Nigeria is largely dependent on fishing and agriculture but nine years of fighting has blighted both industries.

The semi-desert region was impoverished even before the start of the violence and ranked consistently low on human development indices compared to the more prosperous south.

"We cannot divorce... horizontal inequalities from some of the tendencies of violence," he said.

"Therefore regenerating the lives... and bringing peace to the northeast has to be accompanied by regenerating that economy and recharging the Chad basin."

- Genuine grievances? -

Nigeria, almost evenly split between a mainly Muslim north and largely Christian south, is currently Africa's most populous nation.

Some 60 percent of its more than 180 million people are aged under 30.

By 2050, the West African giant is expected to be the third most populous country after China and India.

The emir said such demographic change would create huge social upheaval that would potentially make the effects of the Boko Haram conflict "child's play" in the north.

Nigeria needed to build a strong economy and slow population growth to avoid poverty worsening, he added.

More than 27,000 people have been killed since the start of the Boko Haram insurgency in the country's remote northeast in 2009 and 1.8 million are still homeless

Currently, some 86 million people live in extreme poverty in Nigeria -- the most in the world -- despite billions of dollars earned from oil over five decades.

Kano, northern Nigeria's largest city and its commercial hub, suffered Boko Haram's worst attacks between 2012 and 2014.

In November 2014, Sanusi called on residents of the city to rise up and defend themselves against the jihadists.

But barely two weeks after his pronouncement, the city's central mosque near his palace was targeted by gunmen and suicide bombers during Friday prayers.

More than 120 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured.

The emir called for understanding about why such violence occurs.

"We tend to dismiss extremists, we tend to dismiss radicals as insane people, as unreasonable people," he said.

"And because we have seen the violence they have perpetrated, we fail to ask ourselves if we have created bases for genuine grievances."
Sweida province is the heartland of Syria's Druze minority, followers of a secretive offshoot of Islam

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has called on the country's Druze community to do military service, days after members of the minority were released following a mass abduction in July by the Islamic State group.

Sweida province is the heartland of Syria's Druze minority, who made up around three percent of the country's pre-war population -- or around 700,000 people.

Since the conflict erupted in 2011, thousands of Druze, especially those in Sweida, have refused to be conscripted, instead joining local militias promising to protect the region.

Damascus has so far turned a blind eye as long as the Druze militias do not ally with rebel groups.

Speaking to a group of former hostages and their families on Tuesday, Assad thanked the army, saying that without them "the abducted people would not have been freed".

"We owe a great debt to (the army) and as for you... your responsibility is even greater," he said in a video published on the presidency's official Telegram account.

The main way the Druze community could support the army was to do military service, Assad added.

The Druze, followers of a secretive offshoot of Islam, are considered heretics by the Sunni extremists of IS.

IS militants abducted about 30 people -- mostly women and children -- from Sweida in late July during the deadliest attack on the Druze during the Syrian civil war.

Some of the hostages died while others were freed last month in a prisoner swap. The remaining 19, mostly women and children, were released last week.

Before the war began, Syrian men aged 18 and older had to serve up to two years in the army, after which they became reserves available for call-up in times of crisis.

In the past seven years, fatalities, injuries and defections are estimated to have halved the once 300,000-strong army.

To compensate, the force has relied on reservists and militias as well as indefinitely extending military service for young conscripts.
Long Island City, Queens. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Below, Im going to present the best argument I was able to gather for New Yorks multibillion-dollar subsidy deal to bring Amazon to Queens. I dont think its ultimately a convincing argument, but its the best one available, and its worth at least thinking about.

The idea is that its very important that Amazon is going to Queens, and that by doing so, it will serve two key development goals for the city: moving office development out of the congested Manhattan core, and building a tech cluster that can challenge Silicon Valley.

Before I get into the good argument, I need to address one of the bad arguments. And I need to note, the subsidy package Amazon has been promised is not $1.5 billion, even though thats a number a lot of people are throwing around. Its closer to $3 billion  $1.7 billion from the state and a further $1.3 billion from the city.

That amounts to over $100,000 per job, paid over a period of more than ten years. Since each job will pay about $150,000 a year, you can think of the subsidy package as roughly equivalent to forgoing nearly all the personal income tax that would be collected on Amazon workers salaries over the subsidy period  an expensive proposition.

Of course, Governor Andrew Cuomo argues you shouldnt think of it this way at all. It costs us nothing, he said at a press conference Wednesday  since, he contends, we are only forgoing taxes we wouldnt get at all if Amazon didnt come here in the first place. He says we will make back $9 for every $1 in tax forgone, give or take.

Photo: Justin Lane/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The problem with this analysis is it assumes all the economic activity were buying with the subsidy package wouldnt happen without the subsidy package. And thats not true. Googles impending expansion in Manhattan  where it will develop a campus nearly as large as the one Amazon plans  shows a megatech firm might locate here even if you dont give it billions of dollars.

Plus, when we do bring Amazon in, it will tend to crowd out other businesses and especially other people that might have located where Amazon is going. New York is crowded  theres more demand for housing than supply, and the number of top development sites is limited  so the case that subsidized economic development means more net economic activity is much weaker here than it might be in, say, Cleveland.

Amazons move to Queens is sure to significantly increase rents and home prices in the western part of the borough. Thats great news if you already own a home there. But their move will make it more expensive for people who dont work for Amazon to live in Queens, and will therefore make it more difficult for some other firms to expand and hire in New York.

So, actually this is free is not the good argument. But heres the less-bad argument.

The key to the proposition that Amazons campus is worth taxpayers paying for is that it will go in Queens, not Manhattan. To help New Yorks infrastructure work for the long run, and to reduce crowds on subway trains and traffic in the midtown core, we need a more distributed set of job centers, so more people can live and work in New York without having to come to Manhattan every day. This project will help us move toward that goal.

In Long Island City  the Queens neighborhood right across the East River from Manhattan where Amazon will locate  demand for homes is strong, and there has been a lot of residential construction in the last two decades. But the city has had difficulty retaining major corporate tenants there: MetLife moved its headquarters to LIC and then moved back to Manhattan; Citibank, which occupies the tallest building in the neighborhood, has been eager to leave and consolidate its headquarters in Tribeca.

The one major corporate success story in LIC is JetBlue  a unique case, since JetBlue has obvious and unusual reasons to strongly prefer a location where you dont have to cross a bridge or tunnel to get to JFK airport. But Amazon stands to change the market.

If Amazon builds in LIC, many of the apartments that have been built or will be built in the neighborhood will fill with employees who will walk to work at Amazon, instead of taking already-crowded subway lines into Manhattan. Amazons campus will also draw reverse-commuters, who will live in Manhattan and commute out to Queens  a rare opportunity in New York to add jobs while adding passengers to subway trains that are well below capacity at rush hour.

And with Amazon as an anchor, the city may have success in drawing other corporate tenants to LIC without multibillion-dollar subsidy packages.

For this reason, I think one of the often-voiced concerns about the Amazon campus  that it will tax already-strained transportation infrastructure  is overblown. Whats taxing the subway lines that run through LIC is residential development that causes more and more passengers to board there in the morning to ride to Manhattan. A large office campus  for which people will disembark in the morning  may actually lighten the load as the trains proceed to Manhattan.

The other reason its important Amazon will go to Queens is that the company  with its campus in a high-profile site directly on the East River  will serve as an important, physical symbol of New Yorks role in Americas tech sector.

New York politicians really, really want New York to be a leader in the tech sector. Theyre not content with a limited tech role, where we draw specific tech firms that need proximity to the finance or media or fashion industries. This is part of their sense that New York should be a leader in everything.

This is why the Bloomberg administration was so eager to bring the Cornell Tech campus to Roosevelt Island (in the East River, right near the new Amazon site). Bloomberg, and his successor Bill de Blasio, and Governor Andrew Cuomo all want an East Coast rival to Silicon Valley.

If thats your goal, this Amazon campus serves it. It will plant an important flag that may help us draw other firms that can grow up around it, much in the way Amazon and Microsoft created the tech cluster that made Seattle Americas secondmost-important tech hub after Silicon Valley. Having a neighborhood and a borough where Amazon serves as the commercial leader  unlike Chelsea, where Google basically blends in  does more to raise the profile of tech in New York.

But: Is that an important goal? Does New York need to be the leader in everything, even if that drives up rents for people who dont work in the tech industry? And even if strengthened core office districts outside Manhattan are an important planning goal for the city, is it worth paying $3 billion just to bolster one of them?

I think the answer is pretty clearly no.

The city seems to think  and the state seems to think  that were still in the 1970s, where our big problem is that large employers are fleeing the city and we need to maintain some kind of tax base at any cost, says Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, where she focuses on urban economics and finance.* Rather than chase down every last job, like its some kind of jobs crisis, we should be really looking at the real crisis, which is infrastructure: collecting all of the taxes we have a right to from these companies and using that to build infrastructure.

Gelinas gets at the real tragedy of development in New York: Our major capital projects cost about five times what they should, and that has paralyzed our ability to add capacity to move commuters in and out of Manhattan.

A much-needed project to add two railroad tracks connecting Penn Station to New Jersey stands frozen by President Trumps political vendetta against Senator Chuck Schumer  a situation that is only possible because construction costs here are so outlandishly high that we, the wealthiest city in the western hemisphere, cannot afford to build our own damned tunnel.

If we could find a way to build subway tunnels affordably, we wouldnt need to worry so much about the need to move more offices out of Manhattan  we could just move more workers into and out of Manhattan every day.

But here we are: Subways in Manhattan are so clogged, the city has decided it must find a way to get a major employer to fall in love with Queens, and so along with the state its handing out billions of dollars in an effort to achieve that goal.

*I worked at the Manhattan Institute from 2009 to 2012.
Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki (L), Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (C) and Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed met in northern Ethiopia to push for regional economic development

The UN Security Council will on Wednesday vote to lift sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa.

Diplomats say they expect the council to unanimously adopt a British-drafted resolution that would lift the arms embargo and all travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea.

The council slapped sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support of Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia, a claim Asmara has long denied.

The draft resolution acknowledges that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab" and declares that the sanctions and arms embargo will end on the day of the adoption of the measure.

Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace deal in July that ended two decades of hostility and led to friendlier relations with Djibouti, shoring up prospects for stability in the Horn of Africa.

The draft resolution calls on Eritrea and Djibouti to continue efforts to settle a 2008 border dispute and asks Asmara to release information concerning Djiboutian soldiers missing in clashes a decade ago.

At France's request, the council will hear a report every six months on Eritrea's efforts to normalize relations with Djibouti, where France, the United States and China all have military bases.

- Look to the future -

Ethiopian Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie said the end of sanctions will "definitely open up a lot of possibilities for Eritrea," drawing foreign investors and bringing Asmara back into the international fold.

"The decision will give an impetus for us to look to what the future can offer to the people of the region while at the same time send a message for us to engage in solving current problems and challenges," the ambassador told AFP.

Eritrea and Somalia strongly supported calls to end sanctions, and negotiations over the past two weeks focused on addressing concerns about Djibouti.

"There were concerns by Djibouti," the ambassador said, "but these concerns are not insurmountable. We strongly believe that the leaders of these two countries are willing to deal with the issues."

In his address to the General Assembly in September, Eritrea's Foreign Minister Osman Mohammed Saleh slammed the sanctions as "unwarranted," saying they had caused "considerable economic damage" and hardship for Eritreans.

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, and war broke out later that decade over a border dispute.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it.

A turnaround began in June when Ethiopia announced it would hand back to Eritrea disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme, where the first shots of the border war were fired.

The leaders of Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia met last week in northern Ethiopia to push for regional economic development.

The draft resolution however maintains an arms embargo on Somalia, imposed in 1992.
A majority of Sri Lanka's parliament supported a no-confidence motion against former president and currently appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse (C)

Sri Lanka's parliament on Wednesday voted out the bitterly disputed government of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, removing one controversial figure but triggering another showdown with a hostile president.

Colombo was in the grip of a power vacuum as a 19-day-old government was defeated on the floor of the legislature, effectively leaving the country without a prime minister and a cabinet of ministers.

The island nation has been in crisis since the president sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with Rajapakse, who served as president until being voted out three years ago.

No caption

On Tuesday the Supreme Court overruled President Maithripala Sirisena's dissolution of parliament and halted preparations for a snap election, in a major boost for the ousted prime minister.

In stormy scenes Wednesday, legislators gave their verdict on the two rivals -- with a majority in the 225-member assembly supporting a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse.

Parliament also passed motions declaring illegal the November 9 proclamations made by Sirisena to enshrine the power shift.

However, the result does not yet mean that Wickremesinghe, who has refused to leave the prime minister's residence, has won the constitutional showdown.

In his first response to the tumultuous events in parliament, Sirisena accused Speaker Karu Jayasuriya of violating legislative traditions.

He said signatures of 122 legislators who opposed Rajapakse had not been certified as genuine, but stopped short of an outright rejection of resolution against his nominee for prime minister.

Sri Lanka has been in crisis since the president sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (L)

An aide of the president had earlier suggested that Sirisena was likely to hand over power to Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), which remains the largest single group in the assembly, after the vote.

Day-to-day administration in Sri Lanka remains paralysed as the crisis drags on. Constitutionally, it is the president who is empowered to appoint a new prime minister.

The UNP said that Sirisena must now call on Wickremesinghe to form a new government.

Wickremesinghe, who left his bunker at the Temple Trees official residence for the first time in nearly three weeks to go to parliament, hailed the vote.

"This is a victory for the people," Wickremesinghe told reporters, condemning the president's actions as "illegal".

He said officials should no longer take orders from the Rajapakse-led "purported government".

- Loyalists flee -

In a chaotic session, 72-year-old Rajapakse and his legislator son Namal walked out of the red-carpeted chamber just before the vote was taken.

"The ayes have it," the speaker announced. "I rule that this House does not have confidence in the government (of Rajapakse)."

Several Rajapakse ministers came out of parliament accusing the speaker of violating parliamentary norms.

"He has no bloody business calling a vote," Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena said. Shortly after the collapse of Rajapakse's administration, three of his ministers switched to Wickremesinghe's side.

Several Rajapakse ministers accused Sri Lanka's parliament speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, of violating parliamentary norms by holding the crucial no-confidence vote

Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday, shortly after an admission that Rajapakse did not have a majority. Several UNP legislators said they were offered up to $2.8 million to defect.

Sirisena ordered a snap election on January 5, a move the independent Elections Commission announced was unconstitutional and illegal.

A dozen petitions were filed in the Supreme Court which on Tuesday restored parliament and suspended the January 5 vote.

Parliament held its first session following the court ruling under tight security.

Thousands of armed police, including commandos, deployed along the key approach roads to parliament, which is located on a man-made lake island, with several anti-riot units on standby.

Parliament officials had feared that supporters of Rajapakse's party might try to stop legislators from getting to parliament, but those concerns proved unfounded.
Kuwaitis gather outside the National Assembly on September 15, 2018, to protest against the government's banning in recent years of publications including the Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Kuwaiti authorities have banned a book by Russian literary giant Fyodor Dostoyevsky, one of nearly 1,000 titles blacklisted at a festival which opened Wednesday in the Gulf state.

Saad al-Anzi, who heads the Kuwait International Literary Festival, told AFP the information ministry had banned 948 books including Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, a novel set in 19th century Russia that explores morality, free will and the existence of God.

Dostoyevsky joins a growing list of writers banned in the relatively moderate Gulf state, where a conservative trend in politics and society is rising.

More than 4,000 books have been blacklisted by Kuwait's information ministry over the past five years, including Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" and "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- Gabo to his fans.

All titles on show at the 43rd edition of Kuwait's book fair, which runs through November 24, were screened in advance by a censorship committee as per Kuwaiti regulations.

The committee works under a 2006 law on "press and publications", which outlines a string of punishable offences for publishers of both literature and journalism.

Offences include insulting Islam or Kuwait's judiciary, threatening national security, "inciting unrest" and committing "immoral" acts.

Activists took to the streets of the capital twice in September to protest against rising censorship.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, Kuwait was a regional publishing hub, home to the high-brow, pan-Arab cultural journal "Al-Arabi" and a string of popular scientific and literary books.

But in recent years, religious conservatives and tribal leaders have gained ground in parliament, parallelled by changing societal trends. Kuwait is the only Gulf state with elected lawmakers.
A file picture shows a construction worker at the site of a future tower in the Iraqi capital Baghdad's central Abu Nawas street on June 28, 2018

The Iraqi government said Wednesday it had retaken ownership of a piece of property in Baghdad worth millions of dollars after it was unlawfully sold to a government official's wife.

In a statement to journalists, the Integrity Commission said it had worked with Baghdad authorities to recover the land in Kadhimiyah district.

"The Baghdad-Karakh appeals court issued a decision to seize the property, which amounts to 12,642 square metres, from the wife of a leading official in the previous government and re-register it in the name of the Mayorality," the statement said.

"The land registration in the name of the official's wife has been nullified, as well as all subsequent registrations," it added.

The northern neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah is home to a revered Shiite shrine, as well as some of the city's most luxurious properties -- priced at up to $10,000 per square metre.

The Integrity Commission said its investigation had revealed the official had sold the property to his wife in violation of laws regulating the lease or sale of state-owned property.

It did not reveal the official's identity, but a parliamentary source told AFP the accused had briefly served as a deputy to Iraq's former prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi.

In Baghdad, abandoned homes once belonging to Saddam Hussein-era officials or to minorities who have fled abroad are regularly occupied by powerful political parties.

Iraq, according to Transparency International, is the 12th most corrupt country in the world.

The embezzlement of public goods -- from land to government funds -- is a deeply rooted problem in a country with such a large public sector.

Corruption, shell companies and "phantom" public employees who receive salaries but do not work have cost Iraq the equivalent of $228 billion dollars since 2003, according to Iraq's parliament.

That figure is more than the country's gross domestic product and nearly three times the annual budget.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) told Russian President Vladimir Putin he was willing to discuss a peace treaty between the two countries, which are still technically at war

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was willing to discuss a peace treaty with Russia -- two countries still technically at war with each other -- during a meeting with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

The two leaders met face-to-face on the sidelines of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore.

Both countries are seeking to try to end a thorny territorial row that has dogged relations since the end of World War II.

The dispute between Russia and Japan centres on four islands in the strategically-located Kuril chain which the Soviet Union occupied at the end of the war in 1945 but are claimed by Japan.

It has kept the two countries from signing a peace accord that would formally end their wartime hostilities.

"We hope to discuss not only bilateral cooperation, including our economies... but also the issue of the peace treaty," Abe told Putin, according to a Russian translation of his words at the start of the meeting.

"I am ready to give enough time to this, the peace treaty," he added.

Putin first suggested the two countries sign a peace treaty "without any preconditions" in September.

The proposal was initially received coolly in Japan, where a government spokesman said the two countries should first resolve the dispute before signing a peace deal.

But in recent months, diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue appear to have accelerated, at least to the point where Japan is willing to discuss what a treaty might look like.

In his response to Abe on Wednesday Putin said: "I am delighted to be able to discuss with you all the angles of our cooperation, including those that you personally consider to be priorities."

Historically, Japan insists the islands, which were once inhabited by the Ainu indigenous people, have never belonged to anyone else.

Russia considers them spoils of war as agreed between then US president Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1945.

Strategically, control of the islands gives Russia year-round access to the Pacific Ocean for its Pacific fleet of warships and submarines based in Vladivostok, as the surrounding water does not freeze in winter.
Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki (L), Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (C) and Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed met in northern Ethiopia to push for regional economic development

The UN Security Council on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti that have buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa.

The council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution lifting the arms embargo, all travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions against Eritrea.

Eritrea and Ethiopia hailed the decision as a boost for regional stability, four months after the two countries signed a peace deal that ended two decades of hostility and led to friendlier relations with Djibouti.

Addressing the council after the vote, Eritrea's Charge D'affaires Amanuel Giorgio said his government had long considered the sanctions "unwarranted" and declared: "the long overdue call for justice is finally answered."

Eritrea "is determined to redouble its own efforts and work closely with its neighbors to build a region at peace with itself," said Giorgio.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement that "the lifting of sanctions will have far-reaching effects in improving the stability of the Horn of Africa" and normalizing relations.

The council slapped sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support of Al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia, a claim Asmara has long denied.

The resolution acknowledged that UN monitors have "not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab" and declared that the sanctions and arms embargo ended with the adoption of the measure.

"The current developments will have, definitely, ripple effects in terms of economic progress, prosperity as well as human rights," Ethiopian Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie told reporters.

UN officials have reported serious abuses by the Eritrean government that have triggered a major exodus of Eritreans from their country.

- UN keeps eye on Djibouti -

Ethiopia and Somalia strongly supported calls to end sanctions, and negotiations over the past two weeks focused on addressing concerns about Djibouti.

The resolution calls on Eritrea and Djibouti to press on with efforts to settle a 2008 border dispute and asks Asmara to release information concerning Djiboutian soldiers missing in clashes a decade ago.

At France's request, the council will hear a report every six months on Eritrea's efforts to normalize relations with Djibouti, where France, the United States and China all have military bases.

Djibouti is asking the United Nations to help broker a final settlement with Eritrea to agree on land and maritime boundaries and resolve a dispute over the Doumeira Island, Ambassador Mohamed Siad Doualeh told the council.

The fate of 13 remaining Djiboutian prisoners in Eritrean custody must be addressed, he added.

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, and war broke out later that decade over a border dispute.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it.

A turnaround began in June when Ethiopia announced it would hand back to Eritrea disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme, where the first shots of the border war were fired.
Bongo was admitted to hospital on October 24 -- his illness has spurred talk about a vacuum of power

Freedom of the press is being eroded in Gabon, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Wednesday, after the government suspended a newspaper for commenting on the hospitalisation of President Ali Bongo.

Gabon's media regulator, the High Authority for Communications (HAC), on Friday handed a three-month suspension to the L'Aube (Dawn) newspaper and a six-month suspension to its editor.

The paper had run an article saying the country had been put on "very dangerous autopilot" in Bongo's absence.

It called on Prime Minister Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet to name the speaker of the Senate, Lucie Milebou Mboussou, as interim president to fill the power vacuum.

RSF's Africa representative, Arnaud Froger, called for the immediate lifting of the suspension, "the latest act in a worrying erosion of freedom of the press in Gabon in recent months".

The HAC, created only in February, has handed out more and more suspensions, typically against media that are critical of the government, Bongo or his entourage, Froger said in a statement.

"No law empowers the media regulator in Gabon to suspend a journalist," he added.

Separately, an association of media owners, OPAM, issued a statement accusing the HAC of "authoritarian excess".

Bongo, 59, was taken to hospital in Riyadh on October 24 after he arrived in the Saudi capital to attend an economic forum.

Four days later, his spokesman said Bongo had been admitted for "severe fatigue".

But on Sunday, spokesman Ike Ngouoni acknowledged that the illness was severe -- "bleeding which justified... surgical care in a highly specialised sector."

Bongo's condition had "greatly improved" and he was "recovering most of his functions," Ngouoni said.

Ministerial meetings in Gabon are typically held every week or fortnight, but none has now taken place for three weeks.

"This creates problems for the running of the country... because most decisions, such as planned laws, are discussed in the cabinet," said Telesphore Ondo, a specialist in constitutional law.

Bongo took over when his father, Omar Bongo, died in 2009 after nearly 42 years at the helm.

Despite massive oil wealth, about a third of the West African state's population of 1.8 million still live below the poverty line -- the result, say experts, of inequality, poor governance and corruption.
Samir Geagea (pictured October 2014) was accused of leading a militia raid which killed Sleiman Frangieh's parents, three-year-old sister and dozens of rival fighters in northern Lebanon in 1978

Two rival Christian leaders in Lebanon, Sleiman Frangieh and Samir Geagea, reconciled Wednesday after four decades of enmity dating back to a massacre during the country's 1975-1990 civil war.

Geagea was accused of leading a militia raid which killed Frangieh's parents, three-year-old sister and dozens of rival fighters in northern Lebanon in 1978.

The two former warlords signed a document pledging "to turn the page on the past and move on to new horizons", in a televised meeting at the Maronite Christian patriarchate in Bkerke, north of Beirut.

Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi hailed the "historic meeting" between Franjieh, who is close to the Syrian regime, and Geagea, a fierce opponent of Damascus.
Lack of funding and shortfalls in equipment and training have led to delays in getting G5 Sahel force operations fully up and running

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is renewing his call for UN financing to shore up a regional force fighting an insurgency in the Sahel, despite opposition from the United States.

Guterres said in a report to the Security Council seen by AFP on Wednesday that security had "deteriorated rapidly over the last six months" in the area between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with attacks spreading to eastern Burkina Faso.

The three countries joined Chad and Mauritania to set up the G5 Sahel force in 2015, but lack of funding and shortfalls in equipment and training have led to delays in getting operations fully up and running.

A devastating attack in June on the force's headquarters in Mali, claimed by an al-Qaeda-linked group, destroyed the communications room, prompting a halt in operations that are now expected to resume in December.

Guterres called "for the establishment of a more extensive and comprehensive United Nations support package" for the Sahel force by setting up a UN office similar to the one operated by the UN in Somalia.

This UN presence "will allow for predictable and sustainable financing of support to the joint force, longer term planning and the consolidation of this important initiative," Guterres said.

The Security Council is due to discuss the report on Friday.

Last year, France failed to convince the United States to support UN backing for the Sahel force, even though President Donald Trump's administration has pledged $105 million in bilateral funding to the G5.

In his report, Guterres urged the Security Council "to be more ambitious in the mandate it bestows" to the Sahel force, saying it should be under chapter 7 of the UN charter, which allows for the use of force.

It remained unclear whether France would try again to win council approval for a new draft resolution on UN backing for the G5.

So far, about 80 percent of the force, or 4,000 troops, have been deployed and six operations have been carried out. Nearly half of the funding pledges ($206 million out of $416 million) have been received or will soon be disbursed.

The vast Sahel region has turned into a hotbed of violent extremism and lawlessness since chaos engulfed Libya in 2011, the Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and the rise of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.

France has a 4,500-member military mission in the Sahel and is backing the five-nation bid to roll out the joint force.
PARADISE, Calif. (AP) - The dead were found in burned-out cars, in the smoldering ruins of their homes, or next to their vehicles, apparently overcome by smoke and flames before they could jump in behind the wheel and escape. In some cases, there were only charred fragments of bone, so small that coroner's investigators used a wire basket to sift and sort them.

At least 42 people were confirmed dead in the wildfire that turned the Northern California town of Paradise and outlying areas into hell on earth, making it the deadliest blaze in state history. The search for bodies continued Monday. Authorities said they were bringing in cadaver dogs, two portable morgue units from the military and an additional 160 search and rescue personnel to help find human remains.

"This is an unprecedented event," Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told an evening news conference. "If you've been up there, you also know the magnitude of the scene we're dealing with. I want to recover as many remains as we possibly can, as soon as we can. Because I know the toll it takes on loved ones."

Officials said they did not know how many people were missing four days after the fire swept over the town of 27,000 and practically wiped it off the map with flames so fierce that authorities brought in a mobile DNA lab and forensic anthropologists to help identify the dead.

Meanwhile, a landowner near where the blaze began, Betsy Ann Cowley, said she got an email from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. the day before the fire last week telling her that crews needed to come onto her property because the utility's power lines were causing sparks. PG&E had no comment on the email, and state officials said the cause of the inferno was under investigation.

As the search for victims dragged on, friends and relatives of the missing called hospitals, police, shelters and the coroner's office in hopes of learning what became of their loved ones. Paradise was a popular retirement community, and about a quarter of the population was over 65.

Leveled residences line a block following the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Tad Teays awaited word on his 90-year-old dementia-stricken mother. Darlina Duarte was desperate for information about her half brother, a diabetic who was largely housebound because he had lost his legs. And Barbara Hall tried in vain to find out whether her aunt and the woman's husband, who are in their 80s and 90s, made it out alive from their retirement community.

"Did they make it in their car? Did they get away? Did their car go over the edge of a mountain somewhere? I just don't know," said Hall, adding that the couple had only a landline and calls were not going through to it.

Megan James, of Newfoundland, Canada, searched via Twitter from the other side of the continent for information about her aunt and uncle, whose house in Paradise burned down and whose vehicles were still there. On Monday, she asked on Twitter for someone to take over the posts, saying she is "so emotionally and mentally exhausted."

"I need to sleep and cry," James added. "Just PRAY. Please."

The blaze was part of an outbreak of wildfires on both ends of the state. Together, they were blamed for 44 deaths, including two in celebrity-studded Malibu in Southern California , where firefighters appeared to be gaining ground against a roughly 143-square-mile (370-square-kilometer) blaze that destroyed at least 370 structures, with hundreds more feared lost.

Some of the thousands of people forced from their homes by the blaze were allowed to return, and authorities reopened U.S. 101, a major freeway through the fire zone in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Malibu celebrities and mobile-home dwellers in nearby mountains were slowly learning whether their homes had been spared or reduced to ash.

All told, more than 8,000 firefighters statewide were battling wildfires that destroyed more than 7,000 structures and scorched more than 325 square miles (840 square kilometers), the flames feeding on dry brush and driven by blowtorch winds.

In Northern California, fire crews still fighting the blaze that obliterated Paradise contended with wind gusts up to 40 mph (64 kph) overnight, the flames jumping 300 feet across Lake Oroville. The fire had grown to 177 square miles (303 square kilometers) and was 25 percent contained, authorities said. Winds were expected to weaken on Monday night.

Greg Woodcox, who led a caravan of vehicles that was overcome by flames, said he heard screams and watched a friend die as the heat blew out the vehicle's windows. Four other people also died.

The 58-year-old told the San Francisco Chronicle he was in a Jeep ahead of the other vehicles and ran when the flames overtook them. He followed a fox down a steep embankment and survived by submerging himself in a stream for nearly an hour.

But there were tiny signs of some sense of order returning to Paradise and anonymous gestures meant to rally the spirits of firefighters who have worked in a burned-over wasteland for days.

Large American flags stuck into the ground lined both sides of the road at the town limits, and temporary stop signs appeared overnight at major intersections. Downed power lines that had blocked roads were cut away, and crews took down burned trees with chain saws.

The 42 dead in Northern California made this blaze the deadliest single fire on record, surpassing the toll from a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29. A series of wildfires in Northern California's wine country last fall killed 44 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Janie Har and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco; Paul Elias and Martha Mendoza in Chico, California; and Andrew Selsky in Salem, Oregon.

A member of the Sacramento County Coroner's office looks for human remains in the rubble of a house burned at the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Alameda County Sheriff's deputy A. Gogna searches for victims of the Camp Fire on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Fire crews clear rubble from the road near a building burned in the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Fire crews clear rubble from the road near a building burned in the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

As the Camp Fire burns nearby, a scorched car rests by gas pumps near Pulga, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jimmy Clements, who stayed at his home as the Camp Fire raged through Paradise, Calif., leans against his fence, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. Clements, whose home stands among destroyed residences, said he built an FM radio out of a potato and wire to keep up with news about the fire. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Anthropology students observe as human remains are recovered from a burned out home at the Camp Fire, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Deputy Coroner Justin Sponhaltz, of the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office, recovers human remains found at a home destroyed by the Camp Fire, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A welcome sign stands in front of a residence destroyed by the Camp Fire on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter battles a fire along the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Firefighters battle a fire along the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
NEW YORK (AP) - No, it wasn't a blue wave. But a week after the voting, Democrats are riding higher than they thought on election night.

As vote counting presses on in several states, the Democrats have steadily chalked up victories across the country, firming up their grip on the U.S. House of Representatives and statehouses. The slow roll of wins has given the party plenty to celebrate.

President Donald Trump was quick to claim victory for his party on election night. But the Democrats, who hit political rock bottom just two years ago, have now picked up at least 32 seats in the House - and lead in four more - in addition to flipping seven governorships and eight state legislative chambers.

They are on track to lose two seats in the Senate in a year both parties predicted more. On Monday night, Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema won Arizona's Senate race, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally to take the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.

The overall results in the first nationwide election of the Trump presidency represent the Democratic Party's best midterm performance since Watergate.

"Over the last week we've moved from relief at winning the House to rejoicing at a genuine wave of diverse, progressive and inspiring Democrats winning office," said Ben Wikler, Washington director of the liberal group MoveOn.

Rep.-elect Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., listens during a news conference with members of the Progressive Caucus in Washington, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The blue shift alters the trajectory of Trump's next two years in the White House, breaking up the Republican monopoly in Washington. It also gives Democrats stronger footing in key states ahead of the next presidential race and in the redrawing of congressional districts - a complicated process that has been dominated by the GOP, which has drawn favorable boundaries for their candidates.

Trump and his allies discounted the Democratic victories on Monday, pointing to GOP successes in Republican-leaning states.

"Thanks to the grassroots support for @realDonaldTrump and our party's ground game, we were able to #DefyHistory and make gains in the Senate!" Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted, citing Senate wins in Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Tennessee, among others.

Indeed, just once in the past three decades had a sitting president added Senate seats in his first midterm election. But lost in McDaniel's assessment was the difficult 2018 Senate landscape for Democrats, who were defending 10 seats in states Trump carried just two years ago.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in an interview: "I believe in facts. And the fact of the matter is, the Democratic Party had a historic night at the ballot box - and we are not resting,"

He said, "Our goal was to compete everywhere, to expand and reshape the electorate everywhere - and that's exactly what we've done."

The Democrats found success by attracting support from women, minorities and college-educated voters. Overall, 50 percent of white college-educated voters and 56 percent of women backed Democrats nationwide, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate.

Democrats featured historic diversity on the ballot.

Their winning class includes Massachusetts' first African-American female member of Congress, Ayanna Presley, and Michigan's Rashida Talib and Minnesota's Ilhan Omar, the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress, along with Kansas' Sharice Davids, the first lesbian Native American.

They also won by running candidates with military backgrounds who openly embraced gun ownership, such as Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb and Maine's Jared Golden, who is poised to win his contest because of the state's ranked-choice voting system.

The Democrats needed to gain 23 seats to seize the House majority. Once all the votes are counted, which could take weeks in some cases as absentees and provisional ballots are tallied, they could win close to 40.

Democrats have not lost a single House incumbent so far. Yet they defeated Republican targets such as Reps. Mike Coffman of Colorado, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Carlos Curbelo of Florida and Dana Rohrabacher of California.

They could win as many as 19 House races in districts carried by Trump two years ago, according to House Democrats' campaign arm.

Ten House races remained too close for the AP to call as of Monday evening.

Far more of the Senate landscape was decided early, although contests in Florida and Mississippi remain outstanding.

While there were notable statehouse Democratic losses in Iowa and Ohio, the party flipped governorships in seven states: Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Kansas, New Mexico and Maine.

Republicans now control 25 governorships nationwide compared to 23 for Democrats. High-profile contests in Florida and Georgia remain outstanding, though Republicans hold narrow leads in both states.

Overshadowed perhaps by the higher-profile statewide elections, Democratic gains in state legislatures could prove deeply consequential.

Overall, they flipped state legislative chambers in eight states this midterm season, including Washington state's Senate in 2017. The others include the state Senates in Maine, Colorado, New York, New Hampshire and Connecticut in addition to the state Houses of Representatives in New Hampshire and Minnesota.

With hundreds of races still too close to call, Democrats have won at least 370 new state legislative seats nationwide, according to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, although the new seats were offset by Republican wins in some cases. The pickups include surprises in West Virginia, where Democrats knocked off the GOP majority leader-designate in the House and the majority leader in the Senate.

"We have elected a new generation of inspiring leaders and we know that a new era of democratic dominance is on the horizon," said the committee's executive director Jessica Post.

Still, Republicans will control the majority of state legislative chambers, governorships, the U.S. Senate and the White House. And even before the new Democrats take office, attention has begun to shift toward 2020.

Many Democrats have yet to shake off the stinging losses of 2016. Publicly and privately, Democrats are lining up for the chance to take down Trump in two years.

"This is step one of a two-step process to right the ship," Guy Cecil, chairman of the pro-Democrat super PAC Priorities USA, said of the midterms. "Democrats have every reason to be optimistic."

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., listens during a news conference with members of the Progressive Caucus in Washington, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
PULGA, Calif. (AP) - A day before a deadly blaze destroyed a California town, the giant utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. got in touch with Betsy Ann Cowley, saying the company needed access to her property because its power lines were causing sparks.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. What is known is that it started Thursday near Cowley's property in the tiny town of Pulga, incinerated the neighboring town of Paradise and killed at least 42 people.

On Monday, fire investigators declared the area surrounding power lines on Cowley's property, in an oak-filled canyon, a crime scene. Security guards would not let PG&E inspectors pass.

Cowley said she was on vacation last Wednesday when she got a surprise email from PG&E. Details of that exchange, described to The Associated Press, combined with the utility's track record in California wildfire history has again brought the company under scrutiny.

The email said that crews needed to come to her property to work on the high-power lines, Cowley said. PG&E told her "they were having problems with sparks," she said. They visited her property but she said she wasn't there Wednesday and was not aware of their findings.

Cowley was back at the property Monday and expressed gratitude at finding most of the 65 structures on it still standing, just a few hundred feet from the crime scene where investigators worked to determine what had happened to spark the massive fire.

Private security guards block the road in Pulga, Calif., Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, to where investigators were trying to determine how the deadly Camp Fire started in Northern California that destroyed the town of Paradise. With the cause of the inferno under investigation, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. came under scrutiny after telling state regulators that it had been having a problem with an electrical transmission line in the area before the fire broke out. Investigators with the state fire agency were at the scene of the transmission line Monday. (AP Photo/Peter Banda)

The former landscaper bought Pulga, an abandoned and decrepit historic gold prospecting town, in 2015 and embarked on a project that transformed it into a picturesque private destination. She cleared overgrown brush, patched up buildings and added new ones. With Bay Area artists and architects, she recreated a town, complete with a stage and school house. And then, a year ago, she opened for business, renting out Pulga for corporate retreats.

As she reached the site of her own home, she raised her hand to her cheek.

"It's gone," she said. 'That's where all my stuff was, but it's not there anymore."

She paused and picked up a mug that somehow had survived the inferno. "It's OK," Cowley told herself quietly. "It's OK."

PG&E declined to discuss the email it sent Cowley with AP, saying it has provided an "initial electric incident report" with state regulators and will fully cooperate with any investigations.

Publicly, PG&E has said it experienced a problem on an electrical transmission line near the site of the massive fire, minutes before the blaze broke out.

In its Friday filing to the state Public Utilities Commission, it said it had detected an outage on an electrical transmission line near the site of the blaze. It said a subsequent aerial inspection detected damage to a transmission tower on the line.

The area where CalFire says the blaze started, and where PG&E says sparks were detected on Cowley's property is roughly the same, according to an AP reporter at the site.

The utility, which has been criticized and sued in a number of other large and deadly fires across California, had announced before the blaze started that it might shut down power in nine counties, including Butte County where Pulga and Paradise are, because of extreme fire danger. But it never did.

Later Thursday, PG&E said it had decided against a power cut because weather conditions did not warrant one.

State Sen. Jerry Hill, a Redwood City Democrat and longtime critic of the utility, called the report of troubles on PG&E's lines in the area extremely worrisome.

"If PG&E is found responsible for burning down the state again, at some point we have to say enough is enough and we have to ask should this company be allowed to do business in California?" Hill said. "These fires take a spark, and at least in the last few years fires have been caused by negligent behavior by PG&E. We need to see how we can hold them responsible, or look at alternative way of doing business."

California utility regulators are working with CalFire staff on their own, separate investigation into whether PG&E complied with state rules and regulations in areas that were torched in the fire.

The California Public Utilities Commission will be evaluating PG&E's maintenance of their facilities, vegetation management and emergency preparedness and response, said commission spokeswoman Terrie Prosper.

This is not the first time PG&E's management practices have come under question in the drought-stricken state.

In 2014, regulators ordered the state's investor-owned utilities to set priorities for inspecting and removing dead and sick trees near their power lines, warning that "climate change has facilitated and exacerbated numerous wildfires" that have damaged and threatened their facilities.

But after a wildfire killed two people, destroyed 475 homes and scorched 70,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills the following year, homeowners and their attorneys questioned whether PG&E had done enough to clear dry trees flanking its power lines. In 2016, Cal Fire ultimately found PG&E was responsible for that fire, after tree maintenance by PG&E and its contractors led to a tree falling on a power line.

Investigators have determined that PG&E equipment started several of the 2017 wildfires in Northern California wine country that killed 44 people. The company says it expects to pay more than $2.5 billion.

___

Burke reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker also contributed from San Francisco.
PHOENIX (AP) - Democrat Kyrsten Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat Monday in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.

The three-term congresswoman won after a slow vote count that dragged on for nearly a week after voters went to the polls on Nov. 6. She becomes Arizona's first Democratic U.S. senator since 1994. Her win cemented Arizona as a swing state after years of Republican dominance.

Sinema portrayed herself as a moderate who works across the aisle to get things done. Sinema first came to prominence as an openly bisexual Green Party activist in Phoenix.

McSally, a former Air Force pilot who embraced President Donald Trump after opposing him during the 2016 elections, had claimed that Sinema's anti-war protests 15 years ago disqualified her and said one protest amounted to what she called "treason."

Sinema and supporters rushed to a Scottsdale resort Monday night after the latest batch of ballots showed her lead to be insurmountable.

"Arizona rejected what has been far too common in our country - name calling, petty, personal attacks and doing and saying what it takes to get elected," Sinema said as scores of backers waved her purple-and-yellow campaign sign. "But Arizona proved that there is a better way forward."

U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., smiles after her victory over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

McSally posted a video message to twitter. "I just called Kyrsten Sinema and congratulated her on becoming Arizona's first female senator after a hard-fought battle," McSally said in the video, her pet golden retriever by her side. "I wish her all success as she represents Arizona in the Senate."

During her six years in Congress, Sinema built one of most centrist records in the Democratic caucus, and she voted for bills backed by Trump more than 60 percent of the time. She backed legislation increasing penalties against people in the country illegally who commit crimes.

McSally's attacks on Sinema reached back more than 15 years, when Sinema was a Green Party spokeswoman and liberal activist.

McSally backed Trump's tax cut, border security and the Affordable Care Act repeal agenda as she survived a three-way GOP primary in August, defeating two conservative challengers who claimed her support for Trump was fake. McSally also campaigned on her military record and support for the Armed Forces.

Sinema attacked McSally's leadership of last year's failed Affordable Care Act repeal effort as a sign that she would not protect Arizona residents with preexisting medical conditions. McSally argued that she would protect patients, despite her vote on the bill that would have removed many of those protections.

The contest drew more than $90 million in spending, including more than $58 million by outside groups, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Attack ads by both sides clogged the airwaves for months.

Sinema, 42, has a law degree, worked as a social worker and was a political activist in her 20s, running as an independent Green Party candidate for the Arizona House. She then became a Democrat and served several terms in the state Legislature. Sinema started as an overt liberal but developed a reputation for compromise among her Republican peers, laying the groundwork to tack to the center.

When the 9th Congressional District was created after the 2010 Census, Sinema ran for the Phoenix-area seat as a centrist and won the 2012 election.

McSally, 52, was the first female Air Force pilot to fly in combat, flying A-10 attack jets. She also was the first woman to command a fighter squadron, again in A-10s.

McSally lost her first race in Arizona's 2nd congressional district in 2012, when she was narrowly defeated by Democratic Rep. Ron Barber, who replaced Rep. Gabby Giffords after she was wounded in a 2011 assassination attempt. But McSally came back to win the 2014 election, beating Barber by a narrow margin. She was re-elected in 2016.

There's still a chance McSally becomes a senator soon. One of her political mentors, Jon Kyl, was appointed in September to fill John McCain's seat after Arizona's senior senator died following a struggle against brain cancer.

Kyl said he'd only serve through Jan. 3, which would mean the state's Republican governor, Doug Ducey, would get to select another senator. That person would run for re-election in 2020. Ducey campaigned with McSally often last month.

Flake was an outspoken critic of Trump and announced in 2017 that he would not seek re-election, acknowledging he could not win a GOP primary in the current political climate. His support of the president's initiatives, however, was mixed. He strongly backed last year's tax cut bill but criticized Trump's positions on free trade.

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2018 file photo, U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., goes over the rules in a television studio prior to a televised debate with U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., in Phoenix. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat Monday, Nov. 12, in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., declares victory over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., declares victory over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2018, file photo, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., goes over the rules in a television studio prior to a televised debate with U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., in Phoenix. Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema has won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat, defeating McSally. The race between Sinema and McSally was one of the most-watched in the nation. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks after being declared the winner over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks after being declared the winner over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2018 file photo, U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., goes over the rules in a television studio prior to a televised debate with U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., in Phoenix. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat Monday, Nov. 12, in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

An elections worker prepares ballots before inserting them into a counting machine at Pima County Elections in Tucson, Ariz., Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (Rick Wiley /Arizona Daily Star via AP)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke declared Monday he's "100 percent confident" no wrongdoing will be found in pending ethics investigations that have stirred speculation he could get ousted from President Donald Trump's Cabinet.

The former Montana congressman and Navy SEAL faces a number of probes by federal investigators, including one involving dealings between a foundation Zinke created and the chairman of an energy company.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Zinke said he has spoken in recent days with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly about the probes and they remain supportive. He denied any wrongdoing.

"I'm 100 percent confident that every investigation will always end up in the same conclusion, which is that I follow all rules, procedures and, most importantly the law," Zinke said. "I have no desire to leave. I know I'm effective and doing the right thing."

Capitalizing on their victories in last week's election, Democrats plan to launch their own investigations into Zinke in January, when they take the majority in the House.

Arizona Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, who is poised to become chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told the AP he wants the committee to investigate Zinke as well as the administration's pro-industry policies, which Grijalva said has profited mining, oil and gas and other companies.

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2018 file photo, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke arrives for an event with President Donald Trump on the opioid crisis in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Zinke says he's "100 percent confident" no wrongdoing will be found in pending ethics investigations that have stirred speculation he could get ousted from Trump's cabinet. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

"It's the conflicts that are inherent in that policy - who it favors and the undercutting of basic environmental laws," Grijalva said. He said he intends to expand the committee's staff to have the capacity to handle the investigations.

Grijalva said he's particularly troubled by the Montana land deal, which involves a foundation Zinke created and the chairman of Halliburton, a major player in the energy industry that has frequent dealings with Interior.

At least one of the pending investigations against the Interior secretary has been referred by Interior's inspector general to the Department of Justice, according to AP sources. That move signaled a potential escalation of the investigations.

Zinke said Monday he was not notified of the referral and described communications between federal prosecutors and the inspector general's office as happening routinely. He asserted that the investigations stemmed from complaints by Democrats and "radical groups" opposed to the administration's agenda to increase energy development on public lands.

Within the administration, Zinke said there's a belief that he's drawn so much criticism because he's been effective at "rolling back a lot of the regulations that were adverse to industry."

"The more effective you are, the more fire you get," he added. "The president understands."

Industry leaders and Republicans in Congress have remained supportive of Zinke notwithstanding the stream of investigations.

Since taking office, he's answered their calls to scale back Interior regulations imposed under former President Barack Obama, easing restrictions on greenhouse gas pollution and safety rules for offshore oil and gas drilling.

The president of the oil and gas trade group Western Energy Alliance said there's "no doubt" environmental groups are eager to take down Zinke, after being emboldened by the ouster of former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. Pruitt also had a suite of ethics investigations.

But the Colorado-based group's president, Kathleen Sgamma, said even if Zinke's enemies succeeded, they would be equally disappointed once one of his deputies stepped into the position. She pointed to Zinke's second in command, Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist including for oil and gas interests.

"The regulatory agenda will continue," Sgamma said. "The House can make things difficult for Interior officials by taking up their time in oversight hearings, but they don't have any real levers to change course since the Senate remains in Republican hands."

___

Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MatthewBrownAP
NEW YORK (AP) - Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker will consult with Justice Department ethics officials about "matters that may warrant recusal" amid pressure from Democrats to step aside from overseeing the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Whitaker is "fully committed to following all appropriate processes and procedures," including consulting with senior ethics officials about his "oversight responsibilities and matter that may warrant recusal," Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement Monday.

Since his appointment last week, Whitaker has faced mounting pressure to step aside from overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, due to critical comments Whitaker made about the investigation before joining the Justice Department last year.

In an interview with CNN in July 2017, Whitaker suggested the Mueller probe could be starved of its resources by cutting the budget "so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt."

He also penned an op-ed last year that said Mueller would be straying outside his mandate if he investigated Trump family finances. In an interview with a talk-radio host, Whitaker maintained there was no evidence of collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

Whitaker, a Republican Party loyalist and chief of staff to just-ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, was elevated last week after Trump forced Sessions out. Mueller's investigation had been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein until Sessions' ouster.

Acting United States Attorney General Matt Whitaker, center, and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, second from right, attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The Senate's top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, called for Whitaker to step aside from overseeing Mueller's investigation and said Democrats would seek to tie a measure protecting Mueller to must-pass legislation if Whitaker did not recuse himself.

Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats sent a letter Sunday to Lee Lofthus, an assistant attorney general and the department's chief ethics officer, asking whether he had advised Whitaker to recuse himself.

___

Follow Michael Balsamo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1 .
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California utilities again are facing severe financial pressures from the possibility that their equipment sparked catastrophic wildfires, including two that are now burning at either end of the state.

The pressure comes even though Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September giving utilities some relief beginning next year.

The law made it easier for utilities to pass along costs from fire-related damages to consumers and also avoid possible bankruptcy from a series of major fires that occurred during the 2017 fire season that produced more than $10 billion in losses.

But there was a gap in the law: No damages specific to 2018 were included, so utilities face a higher bar to bill customers to cover those costs. And this year already supplanted 2017 as the most destructive in California's recorded history.

Authorities have not determined a cause for either of two major blazes burning now, but Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison have reported irregularities with their equipment near the time and place where both ignited.

A woman who owns land near the site where a deadly wildfire started in Northern California said Monday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. sought access to her property just before the blaze started because the utility's power lines were causing sparks.

Power transmission lines crest a hilltop above Camp Creek Road, the point of origin of the Camp Fire, in Pulga, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

PG&E shares have lost more than a third of their value since the Camp Fire broke out northeast of San Francisco, destroying thousands of homes and killing dozens of people as it leveled the town of Paradise.

Moody's Investors Service said Monday that the "shortcomings" in the legislation reflect negatively on PG&E's credit rating, which is barely investment grade.

"Moody's negative outlook incorporates the view that additional financial stress for PG&E is likely," Moody's spokesman Joe Mielenhausen said in an email. "Going forward, we will look for signs of additional legislative and regulatory support for the utility as it works through various legal processes."

Last week PG&E told state regulators that it detected a problem on an electrical transmission line near the site of the blaze minutes before the fire broke out. The utility later said it observed damage to a transmission tower on the line, and a PG&E spokeswoman said the company will cooperate with any investigations.

Betsy Ann Cowley, a property owner near the site said PG&E sought access to the area before the fire started, telling her power lines were sparking.

Southern California Edison told regulators there was an outage on an electrical circuit near the site where the Woolsey Fire started in Ventura County. It quickly spread into Malibu and destroyed hundreds of homes.

SoCal Edison said the report was submitted out of an abundance of caution and there was no indication from fire officials that its equipment may have been involved. The report said the fire was reported around 2:24 p.m. Thursday, two minutes after the outage.

Shares of parent company Edison International have tumbled more than 20 percent since the fire started.

California is one of just two states that hold electric companies entirely liable for damage caused by their equipment, even if they followed all safety precautions. The new law makes it easier for them to pass some of those costs along to consumers.

Utilities lobbied aggressively to eliminate that strict liability standard but lawmakers dropped the idea amid pressure from insurers, trial lawyers and fire victims.

Instead, legislators passed a law making it easier for utilities to manage the costs without going bankrupt. They created two mechanisms for investor-owned utilities to shift the costs of wildfire lawsuits onto their customers- one process that begins in 2019, and another for the 2017 fires.

For reasons that remain unclear, they law left the rules unchanged for 2018.

"The priority was on addressing 2017 victims and putting in place some fire-safety measures," said Paul Payne, a spokesman for Sen. Bill Dodd, a Napa Democrat and the bill's author. "The focus was on making 2017 victims whole."

It's too soon to say whether the Legislature will take up another fight over the 2018 fires, Payne said.

SoCal Edison officials say the Legislature needs to do more to shield utilities from wildfire-related liability.

"SCE believes the state can do more, including enacting fire-smart building codes, particularly in high fire risk areas, and ensuring the proper allocation of risk for the often-tragic consequences of wildfires," spokeswoman Justina Garcia wrote in an email.

A PG&E spokesman, Paul Doherty, did not respond to questions about the legislation, saying "our entire company is focused on supporting first responders."

Sen. Jerry Hill, a Redwood City Democrat and longtime critic of PG&E, called the report of troubles on PG&E's lines in the area extremely worrisome.

"At some point we have to say enough is enough and we have to ask: Should this company be allowed to do business in California?" Hill said. "These fires take a spark, and at least in the last few years fires have been caused by negligent behavior by PG&E. We need to see how we can hold them responsible, or look at alternative way of doing business."

Hill said he was exploring legislative options to keep a closer check on PG&E, including the possibility of breaking up the utility.

"They are a monopoly and they act as a monopoly," Hill said. "That is a problem when the motive is profit, and that just may not be the right motive for providing utility services."

___

Associated Press writer Garance Burke contributed from San Francisco.

Private security guards block the road in Pulga, Calif., Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, to where investigators were trying to determine how the deadly Camp Fire started in Northern California that destroyed the town of Paradise. With the cause of the inferno under investigation, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. came under scrutiny after telling state regulators that it had been having a problem with an electrical transmission line in the area before the fire broke out. Investigators with the state fire agency were at the scene of the transmission line Monday. (AP Photo/Peter Banda)

A sign still stands at a McDonald's restaurant burned in the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in the northern California town of Paradise. (AP Photo/John Locher)
SINGAPORE (AP) - The annual gathering of Southeast Asian leaders began Tuesday with a warning from the host, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, about threats against international rules that underpin world stability and economic growth.

"The international order is at a turning point," Lee said at the opening ceremony of the summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"The existing free, open and rules-based multilateral system, which has underpinned ASEAN's growth and stability, has come under stress," Lee said.

U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" foreign policy and his resistance to multilateral agreements and institutions are viewed as an affront and a challenge in a region whose modern economies are largely driven by global trade.

Among issues on the agenda for ASEAN and other leaders attending meetings in Singapore this week, including U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, are talks on a new regional trade pact that would commit member countries and others in the Asian-Pacific region to opening markets further.

Lee said ASEAN and other participating countries including India and China, but not the United States, have made "substantive progress" on the market-opening initiative, called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addresses delegates during the opening ceremony for the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Singapore. The summit is expected to discuss the South China Sea issue, maritime security and terrorism. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

However, it's unclear if a deal will be reached in Singapore. Participants say India, for one, is balking at opening its markets wider to imports from China under the accord.

Trump is staying away from the Singapore summit, and also from the annual meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that will begin later this week in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Chinese leaders are busy burnishing their own free trade credentials as they speak out against Trump's efforts to get Beijing to change policies aimed at making Chinese industries leaders in advanced technologies.

Three days after taking office, Trump pulled out of a Pacific Rim trade initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has ordered punitive tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese products, among other measures, to address complaints over the U.S. trade deficit, China's technology policies and other market access issues.

"All countries are linked in the same industrial chain in the world today and China and the U.S. are an important part of it. No one wants or expects to see an interruption of it," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday in a lecture on the sidelines of the summit.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The globalization of manufacturing has been a key factor driving dynamic growth in the regional economy, which has more than doubled in size since 2007 to $2.8 trillion in 2017.

The momentum must be in the direction of more, not less, open trade, said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Otherwise, he warned, there could be a "domino effect" in which countries engage in increasingly protective measures against their rivals.

Inward-looking, protectionist policies have gained ground in ASEAN as elsewhere, he said.

"This is not the time to close our doors by invoking trade protectionism measures but instead we should be actively engaged in finding amicable solutions," Mahathir said. "It is now that we must continue to expand our intraregional trade and deepen the economic integration within ASEAN."

While talks on the ASEAN-centered trade accord stumble along, the 11 countries that have remained in the Trans-Pacific Partnership are preparing to inaugurate their revised trade deal.

Renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, it is due to take effect on Dec. 30.

Several other economies are hoping to join the pan-Pacific accord, including the Philippines and South Korea.

Japanese media reported that Taiwan's representative in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, former chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Morris Chang, plans to ask Japan to back the island's request to also become a member.

___

Associated Press video journalist Jerry Harmer contributed to this report.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, addresses delegates during the opening ceremony for the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Singapore. The summit is expected to discuss the South China Sea issue, maritime security and terrorism. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

ASEAN Leaders pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony for the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Singapore. From left Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Rodrigo Duterte of The Philippines, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha of Thailand, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
BEIJING (AP) - China is postponing its decision to allow trading in tiger and rhinoceros parts a bare two weeks after the easing of the ban had raised fears the country was giving legal cover to poaching and smuggling of endangered wildlife.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Cabinet official Ding Xuedong as saying Monday that the change had "been postponed after study."

"Relevant departments of the Chinese government will soon continue to organize special crackdown campaigns with focus on addressing the illegal trade of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts. Illegal acts will be dealt with severely," Ding, an executive deputy secretary-general of the State Council was quoted as saying.

The Xinhua report said the ban on the import and export of rhino and tiger parts and their use in traditional Chinese medicine would also be maintained. Ding's comments did not address whether the postponement meant the decision would be revived.

The traditional medicinal uses of tiger bone and rhino horn have continued despite no proof of their effectiveness and the decreasing wild populations. China has also long tolerated the farming of tigers and the semi-legal sale of their parts.

Late last month, authorities said they would allow trading in products made from tigers and rhinos under "special circumstances," bringing condemnation from conservation groups. Farming of non-native rhinos is not known in China but the changing law raised speculation it was being planned.

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2010, file photo, an endangered Siberian tiger runs away with a chicken tossed by tourists at the Harbin Tiger Park in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province. China on Nov. 12, 2018, says it is suspending rule changes allowing trading in tiger and rhinoceros parts, after the move to reverse a ban sparked an outcry from environmental groups. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

The World Wildlife Fund said overturning the ban would have "devastating consequences globally" by allowing poachers and smugglers to hide behind legalized trade.

China's authoritarian Communist Party-led government rarely responds to international pressure and the reversal appeared to reflect concerns over the country's reputation as a supporter of environmental preservation. China, home to the highly endangered giant panda, has frequently been named as a top market for endangered wildlife products including ivory and skin from African elephants and meat and scales from the anteater-like pangolin, native to Africa and southern Asia.

Reacting to the latest development, the Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States called for China to completely ban the trade in tiger and rhino products.

"To truly protect tigers and rhinos we need an official written proclamation from the State Council that permanently reinstates a complete ban. Full stop," Iris Ho, senior specialist for Wildlife Program and Policy at Humane Society International was quoted as saying in a news release. "Species extinction is irreversible and we cannot afford any missteps," Ho said.

Along with other animal protection organizations, the Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States have filed a legal appeal for a ban on U.S. imports of all wildlife and their parts from China "unless or until China formally reinstates a complete ban on domestic trade in tigers and rhinos and their parts and products," the groups said in a statement.

An estimated 3,890 tigers remain alive in the wild, according to a report presented during the Third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in 2016. Studies put the population of wild rhinos at less than 30,000, while poaching to cultivate their horns is reducing that number drastically each year.
TOKYO (AP) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday reaffirmed the need to keep sanctions on North Korea to achieve its denuclearization as they showcased their bilateral alliance, while Pence also urged Japan to do more to reduce the U.S. trade deficit.

Pence and Abe also agreed to deepen cooperation in promoting energy, infrastructure and providing loans to nations in the region.

Pence said the U.S.-Japan alliance is a "cornerstone" of the region's peace and prosperity and said Japan is not only an ally but a friend, but that Japan needs to do more to reduce the bilateral trade imbalance.

"Japan is an indispensable trade partner for the United States," he said. "The United States has had a trade imbalance with Japan for too long."

U.S. products and services often face barriers to complete fairly in Japanese market, Pence said. He said economic dialogue over the past two years have addressed some issues, but "the best opportunities for free, fair and reciprocal trade will come in a bilateral agreement."

Abe and President Donald Trump agreed in September to start bilateral free trade talks, which are expected to begin early next year. Pence also said he expected Japan's increased "investment" in stepping up the country's defense. Japan's Deputy Chief Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters later that Japan limited defense purchases to necessities and no details were discussed Tuesday.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan has faced demands that it reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. and is also concerned about the impact of Trump's trade war with China.

On Tuesday, Abe said Japan is willing to expand trade and investment "to make it mutually beneficial for Japan and the U.S. in order to seek free and open economic development in the Indo-Pacific region under fair rules."

Pence said in a recent opinion piece in The Washington Post that America will soon begin negotiations for "a historic trade agreement with Japan."

Trump's administration has made trade agreements with South Korea, Mexico and Canada. Pence wrote that the new trade deals "will put American jobs and American workers first."

Pence and Abe gave reassurances of their cooperation on North Korea's denuclearization.

Pence said the U.S. will continue to put diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea and urged all Indo-Pacific nations to maintain pressure and sanctions until the complete denuclearization of North Korea is achieved. Abe said Japan and the U.S. will continue to work together to get North Korea, which has hard-working people and rich resources, realize it has a bright future if it keeps its promise.

North Korea has embraced diplomacy this year after its repeated missile and nuclear tests have escalated tension and fears of war, but Japanese and U.S. officials remain skeptical if the North will actually abandon its nuclear weapons, suspecting that Pyongyang may be trying to get sanctions eased.

On China, Abe explained recent improvements in Japan-China relations as demonstrated in his visit to Beijing for formal bilateral summit with President Xi Jinping. Pence said the U.S. wants a relationship with China based on fairness and reciprocity, and that Japan and the U.S. will continue to cooperate closely to deal with China's increased influence in the region.

Pence was to leave later Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore and an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Papua New Guinea on behalf of Trump.

___

Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe read a joint statement at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands after they read a joint statement at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
It became easy, in recent years, to dismiss him as the wisecracking grandpa of the American comic book, a past-his-prime gimmick who cameoed alongside Earth's angstiest superheroes in the high-grossing Marvel blockbusters of the past decade.

But Stan Lee, who died Monday, was far more than that. It's no stretch to say that he helped redraw the world of American fiction. And he certainly made sure everyone knew it.

From the ashes of pulp magazines and the radioactive raw material of postwar uncertainty about science and power, he summoned - not singlehandedly, but certainly without parallel or peer - a textured, self-sustaining universe of imperfect heroes.

While Updike and Cheever were doing it in literature, while Kubrick and Lumet and Penn were doing it at the movies, the father of Marvel presented comic-book America - which meant, at the time, mostly adolescent boys - with a pantheon of deeply flawed protagonists who, despite their presence in so many tales to astonish, were in many ways just like you and me.

These outcasts and misfits rose to the alarm clock's buzzing and slogged to work each morning to get the job done, not in a fanciful Metropolis or Gotham but on the actual streets of New York City and in the imperfect America beyond it. For them, the struggle was the thing - no matter whether the task was saving the world, paying the rent or trying to make ends meet as a freelance photographer or a blind lawyer or an itinerant stunt motorcyclist.

Unlike DC Comics' iconic heroes, many of whom had been destined for greatness as the last sons of doomed planets, Amazon royalty or rightful kings of the sea, the likes of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Ghost Rider and the Incredible Hulk composed a catalog of human frailties - schmoes who inadvertently, or negligently, wandered into the traffic of destiny.

FILE - In this July 21, 2011, file photo, Stan Lee poses for a portrait at the LMT Music Lodge during Comic Con in San Diego. Comic book genius Lee, the architect of the contemporary comic book, has died. He was 95. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

Some moneyed, some working-class, all neurotic, they had powers thrust upon them by misfortune or questionable choices. Their abilities were just as often bane as boon. And sometimes it was hard to tell the heroes and the villains apart. Sort of like real life.

This was in no small measure due to Lee, who as Marvel's editor-in-chief wrote many of the books himself during comics' "Silver Age" years of the early 1960s. With seemingly boundless energy and a staggering variety of voices, he breathed personality, ambiguity and a common narrative into soon-to-be-beloved characters.

"One of the things we try to demonstrate in our yarns is that nobody is all good, or all bad," Lee wrote in a column for Marvel's March 1969 issues. "Even a shoddy super-villain can have a redeeming trait, just as any howlin' hero might have his nutty hang-ups."

It's hard to overestimate how groundbreaking this philosophy was in a nation that, with a tone set by production-code Hollywood since the early 1930s, had spent three decades positioning largely unambiguous heroes at the center of its rising mass culture. Add government efforts in the 1950s to demonize comics as the mind-decayers of America's youth, and to push publishers back toward pablum, and you'll have some idea what Lee accomplished at the beginning of the 1960s.

Suddenly here was Tony Stark, a genius inventor with daddy issues (and, we would eventually learn, an alcoholic narcissist) who fixed his literally broken heart by turning himself into Iron Man. Here was Peter Parker, a meek high-school nerd who had no clue how to handle the creepy abilities and hormonal changes bestowed upon him by the bite of a radioactive spider on a class field trip. Talk about playing to your target audience.

Here was Bruce Banner, a military scientist who tried to save someone from one of his test blasts and ended up locked in a battle with his own angry, destructive id - hardly an incidental narrative in an era when psychotherapy and self-help were sharply on the rise. And here was Matt Murdock, blinded in a horrible accident by irradiated waste, proving every night with precision radar powers, as Daredevil, that disability isn't necessarily destiny. And here were the X-Men, mutants and perpetual outsiders whose struggle to find a place in the mainstream on Earth has been variously framed as a parable for race relations, anti-Semitism and the Red Scare.

Even Steve Rogers, whose Captain America was the most Superman-like of the bunch, had demons. He was the skinny kid rejected by his World War II draft board who wanted so badly to fight that he volunteered to be a guinea pig for a "supersoldier serum" that would turn him into the ultimate fighting machine.

Captain America debuted during the war years when Marvel was still called Timely Comics, but Lee and his team updated the story for the 1960s by giving Rogers even more ghosts: He lay frozen in ice for nearly two decades after falling into the sea, and awakened out of time in a fast-changing, morally murky world he barely recognized or could navigate.

There was another, less-noticed corner where Lee was equally groundbreaking. As Marvel's editor, in an age before computers were in every pocket, he worked tirelessly to develop a relationship with his audience.

He talked about stuff behind the scenes and curated a tallish tale of a wacky, collegial studio of writers and artists who might do just about anything in their pursuit of good stories. His regular column, "Stan's Soapbox," talked directly to readers in a way that presaged the kind of access to celebrities that Twitter, Facebook and Instagram afford today.

Many felt Lee didn't share enough credit with such comics pioneers as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, who worked alongside him in those early years as he developed the "Marvel Method" of story development. Fair enough. But part of Lee's genius was his ability to be a master of collage.

Like a Bob Dylan or a Gene Roddenberry, Lee took cultural threads - elements already afoot in society - and constructed his own quilt. While his source material was sometimes derivative, what he stitched was something new under the sun.

And within his emerging pantheon of white male angst, Lee was often an enthusiastic champion of progressive views about race, if not always gender. The now-fabled Black Panther first appeared in a Marvel comic book in 1966, becoming one of the earliest mainstream superheroes of African descent, though it took until 1973 for him to snag a marquee spot in a comic entitled "Jungle Action."

"None of us is all that different from each other. We all want essentially the same things outta life," Lee wrote in the pages of Marvel Comics in February 1980. "So why don't we all stop wasting time hating the 'other' guys. Just look in the mirror, mister - that other guy is you."

Marvel is a calibrated commercial juggernaut now, its stories drowning in the merchandise that amplifies them. It has been dismissed as mass-produced storytelling for a mass-produced age. Yet somehow, among the things Lee manages to leave behind is a lingering sense - snake oil, maybe, but potent nonetheless - that with Marvel's tales, still, anything might happen.

Because, as Stan Lee knew well before America did, we still want our fantastic, unlikely superheroes to be just like us. Or, more saliently, we want to believe that we can be just like them. And who knows what they might do to prevail because, after all, who really knows what we might do? Maybe we can be heroes, sure, but the rent's still due on the 15th.

___

Ted Anthony, director of digital innovation for The Associated Press, writes frequently about American culture. Follow him on Twitter at @anthonyted

FILE - In this April 16, 2002, file photo, Stan Lee, 79, creator of comic-book franchises such as "Spider-Man," "The Incredible Hulk" and "X-Men," smiles during a photo session in his office in Santa Monica, Calif. Comic book genius Lee, the architect of the contemporary comic book, has died. He was 95. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
TOKYO (AP) - Karen Pence, the U.S. vice president's wife, announced Tuesday a $54,000 U.S. grant to a teacher at Tsukuba University in Japan for the study of art therapy, a little-known mental health profession she has championed under the Trump administration.

Pence was in Japan while accompanying her husband, Mike Pence, on a trip through Asia for a series of meetings, including a Southeast Asian summit in Singapore and an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Papua New Guinea.

Karen Pence declined to answer questions during an interview with The Associated Press about opposition in Japan to the presence of the U.S. military and about the recent U.S. midterm elections that saw her husband's Republican Party lose control of the House of Representatives. Instead, the focus was on art therapy, which uses craft work to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, autism or other mental illnesses, as well as children with cancer.

"When we go all over the world and observe art therapy, it's used frequently with people who are having some kind of depression, or stress or trauma, anxiety, anger issues," Pence said in the interview while attending a meeting with art therapists and other guests at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Tokyo.

Art therapy has also been reported as effective for people in the military dealing with suicidal thoughts, depression and nightmares. In Japan, it has also been used for hospitalized children and women experiencing domestic abuse.

Tuesday's grant goes to Cheryl Okubo, an art therapist, who will pilot a course at Tsukuba University, and introduce a two-year curriculum, taught by both American and Japanese art therapists, for students and faculty.

Second lady of the United States Karen Pence speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at the residence of U.S ambassador to Japan in Tokyo, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Japan does not yet have a system to authorize art therapists, and people who want to study it have had to go to the United States or Great Britain. Akie Abe, the wife of the Japanese prime minister, told an audience during the meeting that she appreciated Pence's efforts to promote art therapy in Japan.

Supporting the spouses of U.S. troops is another interest for Pence, who is not an art therapist. She is a watercolor artist. She met with such spouses at the ambassador's residence, and called their work as crucial as military service.

"We find it very effective with spouses and children," she said of the use of art therapy. "Probably the most important is to get it for our service members who have injuries. But the other important thing is to make spouses aware of it."

Amy Snyder, the wife of a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Camp Zama, near Tokyo, stood in line to get a special bracelet Pence hands out to spouses to show gratitude for their work.

"It was amazing, and I liked how she was talking to us," she said.

___

This story has been corrected to show the grant is going to a teacher at Tsukuba University, not the university itself.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

On Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yurikageyama/?hl=en

Second lady of the United States Karen Pence delivers a speech during an art therapy grant event at the residence of U.S ambassador to Japan in Tokyo, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
The number of foreign students heading to U.S. colleges and universities fell again last year, the second straight decline after more than a decade of growth, a new report finds.

Enrollment of new international students dropped by about 7 percent in fall 2017, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the State Department and the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit research group based in New York.

The overall number of foreign students in the U.S. still increased slightly, by 1.5 percent, fueled by growing numbers of students who stayed for temporary work after graduation. But the number of newly arriving students slid to about 271,000, the lowest levels since 2013.

The report's authors cited sharper competition from other countries including Australia and Canada, along with the rising cost of education in the U.S. They largely dismissed worries among some colleges that the White House's policies and rhetoric surrounding immigration could be driving students away.

"We're not hearing that students feel they can't come here. We're hearing that they have choices," Allan Goodman, president and CEO of the institute, said in a call with reporters. "For the first time, we have real competition."

But some schools contacted by The Associated Press say the political climate in the U.S. has made international students feel unwelcome, leading some to enroll elsewhere.

State Department officials underscored that the U.S. hosted nearly 1.1 million international students last year, more than any other country in the world.

Yet the 1.5 percent growth is the slowest since a period from 2002 through 2005, when international enrollment fell by 4 percent following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, according to data provided by the institute.

Among new students, the steepest losses came from Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Mexico, while China and India continued to send the largest numbers, accounting for more than half of all foreign students in the U.S.

The 15 percent decrease from Saudi Arabia comes a year after the kingdom scaled back a scholarship program that covered costs for Saudis studying abroad.

Although the report focuses on data from 2017, it also included preliminary findings for fall 2018. Among 540 schools surveyed, total international enrollment held level while the number of new students fell by about 2 percent, marking the third straight year of declines.

Compared to the previous year, more schools attributed decreases to challenges in the visa process, the U.S. social and political climate, and student decisions to enroll in other countries.

At the University of Central Missouri, foreign enrollment surged to 2,600 in 2016 before plummeting to just 650 this year, according to data obtained by The AP. University officials have noticed increased competition but also cite the nation's political climate.

"We have had conversations with parents who feel like their children will not be safe here, that their son or daughter may not be physically safe," said Karen Goos, the school's assistant vice provost for enrollment management. "I do think that it's a contributing factor."

At Purdue University, one of the nation's biggest hubs for international students, total foreign enrollment fell by 2 percent this year. Officials said they intentionally admitted fewer undergraduates from abroad amid worries that they might not accept the offer.

"There was concern that students might not find the U.S. to be as an attractive destination given certain political rhetoric these past two years," Michael Brzezinski, Purdue's dean of international programs, said in an email.

Losing foreign students can carry financial implications for schools that rely on them for revenue. Unlike U.S. citizens, who often get scholarships or discounts, students from abroad are typically charged full tuition.

At Central Missouri, the declines have worsened a budget hole that led to more than $20 million in cuts last year.

At the same time, some other nations have drawn surging numbers of students from abroad. Canada reported a 20 percent jump in 2017, while Australia saw a 12 percent increase. Both countries have set ambitious goals to bolster international enrollments in the coming years.

Yet officials in Australia said they shouldn't be blamed for America's slowdown. Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, said pinning it on competition is "pure blame shifting," adding that Australia hasn't significantly changed its recruiting strategy over the past two years.

"Rather, everything we hear from prospective students and their education agents in Muslim countries and Latin American nations is that they no longer feel welcome or safe studying at U.S. colleges under President Trump," Honeywood said in a statement.

Despite the downturn in new students, officials behind the report are optimistic that the U.S. will rebound. While foreign students account for a heavy share of the overall enrollment in Australia and other countries, they account for just 5 percent of all students in the United States.

"The U.S. has real competition," Goodman said. "What we have going for us, though, is we have more space and capacity."

The report also found that the number of U.S. students studying abroad ticked up by 2 percent last year, continuing eight years of slow but steady growth. Europe remained the top destination, followed by Latin America and Asia.

___

Follow Collin Binkley on Twitter at https://twitter.com/cbinkley
SINGAPORE (AP) - China's premier sought Tuesday to reassure its neighbors that Beijing will push ahead with reforms needed to support growth across the region and also keep the peace in contested waters in the South China Sea.

Premier Li Keqiang said his government will favor reforms in the world's No. 2 economy over temporary boosts from economic stimulus as China copes with a gradual slowing of growth and a trade war with the United States.

China can energize its slowing economy by adjusting policies, such as streamlining procedures like business registrations, taxes and fees, Li said in a lecture on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that brings together leaders from the U.S. and across the region.

"Despite the downward pressure, we will not resort to massive stimulus. We will make adjustments as appropriate. We want to energize the market, in particular, market entities, and we have the conditions to do that," Li said in the wide-ranging speech that touched on China's role in regional development.

Li said the government also will "crack down harshly" on businesses that infringe on patents and other intellectual property rights and engage in "other cheating activities."

"China will not stop in its opening up. The door will only open wider and China will continue to deepen reform. Reform and opening up have brought China to where it is today," Li added.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers his keynote address during a welcome banquet organized by the Singapore Business Community on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN summit in Singapore, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim)

China and the U.S. are locked in a trade dispute over Washington's complaints that China uses predatory tactics to acquire technologies that could undermine U.S. industrial leadership. The two countries have raised import duties on billions of dollars of each other's goods, including soybeans, electric cars and whiskey.

While they have rebuffed U.S. demands that Beijing tone down its technology ambitions, China's leaders have sought to enhance their own market opening credentials by lowering tariffs and easing access for foreign companies operating in China for some industries.

In the quarter that ended in September, China's economic growth slowed to 6.5 percent from a year earlier, down from the previous quarter's 6.7 percent. The deceleration reflects long-term efforts to guide the economy toward a more sustainable model of growth and away from excessive reliance on construction spending and exports. But the trade tensions with Washington are adding to the challenges for the Communist leadership, with the two countries imposing tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods.

Li expressed hopes for a compromise. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are to meet at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina this month.

"We hope that negotiations will be carried out on the basis of mutual respect, balance, mutual benefit and good faith, so that a solution can be found acceptable to both sides," he said.

The meetings in Singapore this week will be followed by an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Papua New Guinea.

Both gatherings address similar concerns about trade, economic integration, regional security and development.

Li also said China was hoping to see within three years a regional "code of conduct" governing activities in the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.

Over U.S. objections, Beijing has moved to cement its claim to most of the South China Sea, including by building artificial islands and military airstrips atop coral reefs. Talks on a code that would belatedly constrain such activities have made slow progress.

"China and ASEAN countries will benefit in that process. It will also be conducive to free trade and go on to serve the interest of other parties," Li said.

"I want to reaffirm here that China will stay firm on the course of peaceful development," he said. "What we hope is to have a harmonious relationship with our neighbors and together, we benefit from our good neighborliness."

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers his keynote address during a welcome banquet organized by the Singapore Business Community on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN summit in Singapore, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives for a welcome banquet organized by the Singapore Business Community on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN summit in Singapore, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim)

People, some wearing masks for protection against the pollution, walk across a traffic intersection at the Central Business District in Beijing, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says the country needs reforms to support business to help drive growth as it weathers a trade war with the U.S., rather than more economic stimulus. Li said Tuesday in Singapore that China can energize its slowing economy by adjusting policies, such as streamlining bureaucratic procedures like business registrations, taxes and fees. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

People wear masks for protection against the pollution as they walk by a construction site at the Central Business District chocked with haze in Beijing, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. The potential damage to global trade brought on by President Donald Trump's tariffs battle with Beijing is looming as leaders of Southeast Asian nations, China, the U.S. and other regional economies meet in Singapore this week. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Commuters with masks for protection against the pollution wait for buses at the Central Business District in Beijing, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says the country needs reforms to support business to help drive growth as it weathers a trade war with the U.S., rather than more economic stimulus. Li said Tuesday in Singapore that China can energize its slowing economy by adjusting policies, such as streamlining bureaucratic procedures like business registrations, taxes and fees. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
NEW YORK (AP) - No, it wasn't a blue wave. But a week after the voting, Democrats are riding higher than they thought on election night.

As vote counting presses on in several states, the Democrats have steadily chalked up victories across the country, firming up their grip on the U.S. House and statehouses. The slow roll of wins has given the party plenty to celebrate.

President Donald Trump was quick to claim victory for his party on election night. But the Democrats, who hit political rock bottom just two years ago, have now picked up at least 32 seats in the House - and lead in four more - in addition to flipping seven governorships and eight state legislative chambers.

They are on track to lose two seats in the Senate in a year both parties predicted more. On Monday night, Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema won Arizona's Senate race, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally to take the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.

The overall results in the first nationwide election of the Trump presidency represent the Democratic Party's best midterm performance since Watergate.

"Over the last week we've moved from relief at winning the House to rejoicing at a genuine wave of diverse, progressive and inspiring Democrats winning office," said Ben Wikler, Washington director of the liberal group MoveOn.

U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., declares victory over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The blue shift alters the trajectory of Trump's next two years in the White House, breaking up the Republican monopoly in Washington. It also gives Democrats stronger footing in key states ahead of the next presidential race and in the redrawing of congressional districts - a complicated process that has been dominated by the GOP, which has drawn favorable boundaries for their candidates.

Trump and his allies discounted the Democratic victories on Monday, pointing to GOP successes in Republican-leaning states.

"Thanks to the grassroots support for @realDonaldTrump and our party's ground game, we were able to #DefyHistory and make gains in the Senate!" Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted, citing Senate wins in Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Tennessee, among others.

Indeed, just once in the past three decades had a sitting president added Senate seats in his first midterm election. But lost in McDaniel's assessment was the difficult 2018 Senate landscape for Democrats, who were defending 10 seats in states Trump carried just two years ago.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in an interview: "I believe in facts. And the fact of the matter is, the Democratic Party had a historic night at the ballot box - and we are not resting,"

He said, "Our goal was to compete everywhere, to expand and reshape the electorate everywhere - and that's exactly what we've done."

The Democrats found success by attracting support from women, minorities and college-educated voters. Overall, 50 percent of white college-educated voters and 56 percent of women backed Democrats nationwide, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate.

Democrats featured historic diversity on the ballot.

Their winning class includes Massachusetts' first African-American female member of Congress, Ayanna Presley, and Michigan's Rashida Talib and Minnesota's Ilhan Omar, the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress, along with Kansas' Sharice Davids, the first lesbian Native American.

They also won by running candidates with military backgrounds who openly embraced gun ownership, such as Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb and Maine's Jared Golden, who is poised to win his contest because of the state's ranked-choice voting system.

The Democrats needed to gain 23 seats to seize the House majority. Once all the votes are counted, which could take weeks in some cases as absentees and provisional ballots are tallied, they could win close to 40.

Democrats have not lost a single House incumbent so far. Yet they defeated Republican targets such as Reps. Mike Coffman of Colorado, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Carlos Curbelo of Florida and Dana Rohrabacher of California.

They could win as many as 19 House races in districts carried by Trump two years ago, according to House Democrats' campaign arm.

Ten House races remained too close for the AP to call as of Monday evening.

Far more of the Senate landscape was decided early, although contests in Florida and Mississippi remain outstanding.

While there were notable statehouse Democratic losses in Iowa and Ohio, the party flipped governorships in seven states: Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Kansas, New Mexico and Maine.

Republicans now control 25 governorships nationwide compared to 23 for Democrats. High-profile contests in Florida and Georgia remain outstanding, though Republicans hold narrow leads in both states.

Overshadowed perhaps by the higher-profile statewide elections, Democratic gains in state legislatures could prove deeply consequential.

Overall, they flipped state legislative chambers in eight states this midterm season, including Washington state's Senate in 2017. The others include the state Senates in Maine, Colorado, New York, New Hampshire and Connecticut in addition to the state Houses of Representatives in New Hampshire and Minnesota.

With hundreds of races still too close to call, Democrats have won at least 370 new state legislative seats nationwide, according to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, although the new seats were offset by Republican wins in some cases. The pickups include surprises in West Virginia, where Democrats knocked off the GOP majority leader-designate in the House and the majority leader in the Senate.

"We have elected a new generation of inspiring leaders and we know that a new era of democratic dominance is on the horizon," said the committee's executive director Jessica Post.

Still, Republicans will control the majority of state legislative chambers, governorships, the U.S. Senate and the White House. And even before the new Democrats take office, attention has begun to shift toward 2020.

Many Democrats have yet to shake off the stinging losses of 2016. Publicly and privately, Democrats are lining up for the chance to take down Trump in two years.

"This is step one of a two-step process to right the ship," Guy Cecil, chairman of the pro-Democrat super PAC Priorities USA, said of the midterms. "Democrats have every reason to be optimistic."

U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., declares victory over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., listens during a news conference with members of the Progressive Caucus in Washington, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Rep.-elect Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., listens during a news conference with members of the Progressive Caucus in Washington, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
PARADISE, Calif. (AP) - The blue of an unfurled body bag has become a gut-wrenching splash of color in this apocalyptic landscape as pressure mounts to account for the hundreds of missing people after a wildfire roared through the California town of Paradise.

Coroner search teams, many accompanied by a chaplain, have fanned out across Paradise, visiting dozens of addresses that belong to people reported missing since last week's explosive blaze leveled this town of 27,000. At least 42 people were confirmed dead, making it the deadliest in state history .

The searchers use a grim calculus at each scene: No cars in the driveway is good, one car a little more ominous and multiple burned-out vehicles equals a call for extra vigilance.

When a body is found, a call goes out, yellow police tape goes up - and the blue body bag arrives. In many cases, there is almost nothing left. The long bag looks almost empty as it's carefully carried out of the ruins and placed in a black hearse.

Sometimes there are no answers.

Barbara Hall has been searching for a woman she considers her aunt, Arlene Bickel. Arlene Bickel and her husband, Paul Bickel, are in their 80s and 90s and have not been heard from since the fire. It appears they made it out of their home in a retirement community because the house is still standing and they are not home - but Hall has had no luck finding them.

A member of the Sacramento County Coroner's office looks for human remains in the rubble of a house burned at the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

"Did they make it in their car? Did they get away? Did their car go over the edge of a mountain somewhere? I just don't know," said Hall, who is 66 and making calls with her daughter's cellphone from nearby Redding, where her daughter lives.

A coroner's search team visited the address - one of dozens they had - on Monday and found the Bickels' unit still standing. No one answered the door, and it was dark inside.

"It doesn't help my worries because they're still missing," she said.

Hall planned to come to Chico, the nearest town not in the evacuation zone, on Tuesday to be closer.

Authorities were bringing more resources in to find the dead - two mobile morgue units and dozens of additional search and rescue personnel.

Some relatives have received answers, but not the ones they wanted.

Mike Carlson began looking for his mother, Barbara Carlson, her sister Shirley Haley and their dog named Strawberry after learning about the wildfire Thursday night.

He and his daughter Annika drove more than 100 miles from their home in the Central Valley to the fire zone to look for them. They made numerous calls, posted flyers and sought help on social media by creating a special hashtag.

"We checked with the Red Cross, hospitals, police, filed missing person reports, and we've got nothing," Carlson said in a telephone interview Sunday as he headed to Chico to visit makeshift shelters in the area.

He said he requested a welfare check with the sheriff's department, but was deflated when told he was 400th on the request list. He also felt discouraged when he saw his mother's address on a map of the burned area, but he held out hope.

His niece was the last person to talk to his mother by phone as flames bore down on the house.

She said she wasn't leaving, because God would save her, Carlson recalled.

But on Sunday night, two deputies came to Carlson's door with the news he didn't want to hear.

A fire engine crew doing a check of homes had found two bodies at his mother's address on Heavenly Place.

___

Associated Press writers Janie Har and Daisy Nguyen contributed to this story.

A member of the Sacramento County Coroner's office looks for human remains in the rubble of a house burned at the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Members of the Sacramento County Coroner's office look for human remains in the rubble of a house burned at the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A member of the Sacramento County Coroner's office looks for human remains in the rubble of a house burned at the Camp Fire, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
WASHINGTON (AP) - In the days after the midterm election, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker worked the phones with Democratic luminaries in Iowa. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock courted high-dollar donors in New York. Other Democrats openly mused about their White House ambitions on live television.

Motivated by an urgency to unseat President Donald Trump and the prospect of a historically large primary field, Democrats see little incentive to delay or downplay their 2020 presidential hopes. Their more transparent approach is upending one of Washington's favorite "will they or won't they" parlor games and pushed the campaign calendar up earlier than ever before.

"No one is waiting for anyone in the race to run for president," said Jim Messina, who managed President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign. "Those days are long, long over."

Running for president used to involve a familiar routine, with potential candidates spending months publicly demurring about their ambitions and professing to be content in their current roles. Advisers labored to keep meetings with donors and potential staff under wraps ahead of formal, carefully choreographed campaign announcements.

This time around, many Democrats believe it would be too risky to wait much longer before making their intentions known, particularly those with lower national profiles who could quickly be overshadowed by a field that could have more than two dozen candidates.

There are practicalities to consider, given the limited supply of money and top-flight staff available to run a campaign. But another driving factor is more visceral: Democrats are simply eager to take on the president.

FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2018, file photo, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks at a get out the vote event hosted by the NH Young Democrats at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. Motivated by an urgency to unseat President Donald Trump and the prospect of a historically large primary field, Democrats see little incentive to delay or downplay their 2020 presidential hopes. (AP Photo/ Cheryl Senter, File)

"This is starting very fast," said former Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky. She said that given the imperative to beat Trump, "it kind of needs to."

Two long-shot Democrats have already declared their candidacy.

West Virginia state Sen. Richard Ojeda, a retired Army paratrooper who lost a race for Congress last week, announced his plans to run for president on Monday. Ojeda joins Maryland Rep. John Delaney, who has been running for the Democratic nomination since July 2017, and has already traveled to Iowa 19 times and made 12 trips to New Hampshire.

Delaney said he believes that his early start will help put him at an advantage ahead of would-be rivals.

"We not only know what the talent is, but they know us and they know about our message," said Delaney, whose campaign currently has about 10 staffers in Iowa. He expects that number to grow to at least 20 by January and 100 by June.

Higher-profile Democrats have also started to lift the veil on their White House hopes.

On Monday, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, said he was "seriously looking at" a presidential campaign, saying in an interview that his election to a third term shows "a strong progressive can win." He called his Senate campaign "a blueprint for our nation in 2020."

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was also up front about her White House ambitions, telling ABC's "The View" Monday that she was indeed considering a campaign.

"I believe right now every one of us should figure out how we can do whatever we can with our time, with our talents, to restore that moral decency, that moral compass and that truth of who we are as Americans," Gillibrand said.

Unlike in 2016, when Hillary Clinton's shadow loomed large over the party, Democrats enter the 2020 campaign without a clear favorite. Former Vice President Joe Biden occupies the most similar role, with broad name recognition and a deep political network.

But Biden associates say he is still conflicted about whether to run, and he has pointedly said other would-be 2020 candidates should not defer to his plans. Biden is expected to make a decision by January.

Booker has been among the most aggressive in courting supporters in early-voting states. After the midterms, he called each member of the Iowa Democratic statewide ticket, for whom the New Jersey senator campaigned ahead of the midterm, the day after the election.

Booker was in touch with former Gov. Tom Vilsack, a veteran Democrat in the early-voting state, as well as candidates and operatives in other early-voting states he visited this fall.

California Sen. Kamala Harris, who would be considered an early favorite in the White House race, also called candidates she campaigned for in early-voting presidential states, including Deidre DeJear, who was Iowa's first African-American woman nominated for statewide office but lost in her bid for secretary of state.

Montana's Bullock, who has made several stops in Iowa this year, traveled to New York after Election Day to meet with potential donors. Though Bullock has a lower profile than many possible Democratic contenders, he has an experienced team of political advisers, including chief of staff Tom Lopach - the former executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee - and Nick Baldick, a veteran Democratic strategist.

Bullock also sent a staffer to Iowa to work for Tim Gannon, who lost his race for state agriculture secretary last week, a move aimed at giving Bullock an early foothold in the crucial caucus state.

And while the midterms showed that Trump remains a powerful force in the GOP, at least two Republicans are considering taking Trump on: retiring Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and outgoing Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Kasich will be in New Hampshire on Thursday for a speech at a First Amendment event. Ahead of his remarks, Kasich will have private meetings with several prominent New Hampshire Republicans, including state and county GOP chairs.

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

___

Follow Thomas Beaumont at http://twitter.com/tombeaumont , Juana Summers at http://twitter.com/jmsummers and Julie Pace at http://twitter.comjpaceDC
AL-MASNAA, Lebanon (AP) - Lebanese exporters rejoiced last month when the Syrian government opened a key land crossing with Jordan that had been closed by years of war, restoring a much-needed overland trade route to lucrative Persian Gulf markets.

But lingering disputes between Lebanon and Syria, and political gridlock in Beirut, mean that many Lebanese businesses still rely on longer and costlier transport by sea, further stalling efforts to restore an economy battered by years of war in its larger neighbor.

The reopening of the Naseeb-Jaber crossing allowed Mohammed Araji, owner of a trucking firm in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, to retrieve two trucks that had been stranded in Jordan since 2015, when Syrian rebels captured the crossing. Two other of his refrigerator trucks had been parked in front of his house for the last three years.

Even before the crossing officially closed, his brother was briefly abducted by rebels while driving a truck through Syria, underscoring the perils they faced in trying to keep the route open.

The crossing was Lebanon's "lung," Araji said, and its closure was a "death blow" to the economy, affecting farmers, merchants, industrialists and drivers. So he was pleased when Syrian government forces reopened the crossing and secured the route.

But for weeks he was unable to find exporters ready to give him shipping contracts. Finally, on Saturday, he sent his first truckloads to Saudi Arabia after offering an exporter an attractive price.

In this Oct. 31, 2018 photo, a Lebanese customs officer walks past trucks waiting to cross into Syria from the Lebanese border crossing point of al-Masnaa, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

"People are still waiting to see what will happen," he said.

The land route through Syria, Jordan and Iraq is vital to Lebanon, which is squeezed between Syria, the closed border with Israel, and the sea. Lebanon's exports plunged from a high of 78 percent of GDP in 2008 - three years before the start of Syria's civil war - to a low of 36 percent in 2017.

Before Naseeb's closing, more than 250 trucks a day headed from Lebanon to markets in Syria, Jordan, Iraq and the Gulf. After the closure, that dropped to some 300 trucks in a good month, bound only for Syria, customs officials said.

An estimated 550,000 tons of vegetables and fruits a year used to be exported through the Syria-Jordan crossing, according to Ibrahim Tarshishi, head of the Bekaa farmer's union. Since the shutdown, that flow has dropped by nearly 40 percent, to no more than 330,000 tons. Exports from Bekaa to Saudi Arabia have dropped by 60 percent, according to figures from the Bekaa chamber of commerce.

After the crossing reopened, Syria and Jordan imposed new transit tariffs on trucks heading to the Gulf. The Syrian increase alone was five-fold, Tarshishi said. Lebanon meanwhile subsidizes transport by sea.

Traders hope improved ties between Syria and Lebanon will lead to reduced tariffs, but Lebanon's political leaders are fiercely divided between supporters and opponents of President Bashar Assad, and they have been unable to form a government since elections in May.

Contacts among Lebanese and Syrian officials remain personal and partisan - and some complain Syria is using the tariffs to force normalization. Experts say opaque policies and decision-making have also hindered trade.

Charles Zarzour, the head of the government agency for agricultural exports and imports, said the opening of the crossing has at least offered "psychological relief" to traders.

"God willing, when we have a government in Lebanon, it lays down a wise policy that serves the country's interest," including tariff reductions, he told The Associated Press.

Syrian officials had no immediate comment.

Tarshishi has pressed for an end to the sea shipping subsidies and other government action to revive land exports, but in the caretaker government "no one wants to take responsibility," he said.

On a recent afternoon at al-Masnaa, the Lebanese side of the crossing into Syria, nearly a dozen trucks loaded with bananas were bound for Damascus. Just one truck, carrying cleaning supplies, was heading to Jordan. None were bound for the Gulf.

Talal Darwish, a produce exporter, is still sending his grapes, apples and pears by sea, and on a recent day, workers raced to prepare a shipment bound for Kuwait. By land would be cheaper and faster - a five-day trip as opposed to 25.

He has heard talk of efforts to reduce tariffs, but says "we still don't know officially, so there is no rush."

___

Associated Press writer Hiba Delwati in Beirut contributed to this report.

In this Oct. 31 2018 photo, workers pack Lebanese fruits for export from Lebanon to the Gulf and other Arab countries, at a warehouse in Bar Elias town, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

In this Oct. 31, 2018 photo, workers close the doors of a refrigerator truck loaded with fruits for export from Lebanon to the Gulf and other Arab countries, at a packaging warehouse, in Bar Elias town, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

In this Oct. 31, 2018 photo, a Lebanese customs officer stamps a truck waiting to cross into Syria from the Lebanese border crossing point of al-Masnaa, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

In this Oct. 31 2018 photo, workers pack Lebanese fruits for export from Lebanon to the Gulf and other Arab countries, at a warehouse in Bar Elias town, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018 photo, a refrigerator truck driver prepares his lunch, as he waits his his turn to cross into Syria, at the Lebanese border crossing point of al-Masnaa, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018 photo, a truck with Arabic that reads, "Dedicated for external transport," crosses the Lebanese border crossing point of al-Masnaa to Syria, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The audio recording of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is so "atrocious" that a Saudi intelligence official who heard it speculated that "only someone who took heroin" could carry it out, Turkey's president was quoted as saying Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists on board his plane while returning from World War I commemorations in Paris, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that Turkey had shared audio recordings relating to the killing with Saudi Arabia and other nations, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Canada.

"The recording is truly atrocious. In fact, when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recording he was so shocked that he said 'this one probably took heroin. Only someone who took heroin would do it,'" Erdogan was reported as saying in comments published in pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak.

Erdogan did not elaborate on how and when the Saudi official heard the recording of the killing of the Saudi citizen.

Turkey says Khashoggi, who wrote for The Washington Post columnist and often criticized the crown prince, was killed by a 15-member assassination squad sent from Riyadh. Ankara insists the orders for the killing came from the highest levels of the Saudi government, but not King Salman.

Turkey has said a 15-member Saudi "hit squad" strangled and dismembered Khashoggi at the consulate. Media reports have suggested that his body could have been chemically dissolved as it has not yet been found.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu leave the Arc de Triomphe after attending a ceremony as part of the commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the 11 November 1918 armistice, ending World War I, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

Erdogan also said Turkey was "patiently" waiting for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to shed light on the killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month.

The crown prince has come under scrutiny for having knowledge of the killing, which involved some members of his security entourage.

Pressing ahead with moves to maintain pressure on Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said the crown prince had told Turkish envoys that he would shed light on the Oct. 2 killing at the kingdom's consulate and do what was "necessary."

"He said this to my special envoys," Erdogan was quoted as saying. "We are waiting patiently."

Under mounting pressure, Saudi Arabia has changed its narrative about Khashoggi's killing. It first said he walked out of the embassy the day he disappeared before eventually acknowledging Khashoggi died inside the consulate. Now, it acknowledges that the journalist's death was premeditated.

Saudi officials characterize the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority.

On Tuesday, Sabah newspaper, which is close to Turkey's government, printed airport security X-ray images of the luggage that the 15-member Saudi team reportedly took back with them to Saudi Arabia.

The luggage contained five walky-talkies, 10 phones, two electric shock devices, two syringes and scissors, the paper said.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan arrive at the official dinner on the eve of the international ceremony for the Centenary of the WWI Armistice of 11 November 1918 at the Orsay Museum, in Paris, France, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. (Ian Langsdon/Pool Photo via AP)

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan arrive at the official dinner on the eve of the international ceremony for the Centenary of the WWI Armistice of 11 November 1918 at the Orsay Museum, in Paris, France, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. (Ian Langsdon/Pool Photo via AP)

In this photo taken Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan poses for photos with Turkish journalists aboard his plane. Erdogan said Monday Nov. 12, 2018, his country is "patiently" waiting for Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman to shed light on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month. (Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greek authorities say they have removed a suspicious package found outside the home of a senior judge in Athens, following a warning call that a bomb had been planted there.

There was no explosion, and police cordoned off the area while bomb disposal experts examined the package. The incident carried the hallmarks of attacks by small domestic far-left militant groups, who target symbols of authority but rarely cause injuries.

An anonymous phone call made to a newspaper before dawn Tuesday warned that a bomb would explode outside the residence of supreme court prosecutor Isidoros Doyiakos.

A police statement said the package was found in the storage compartment of a motorcycle parked outside the building in the eastern suburb of Vyronas.
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Millions of girls in Pakistan are still out of school, mostly because the government spends less money on education, a leading international rights group said Tuesday - a dire warning that follows Prime Minister Imran Khan's promises to offer education to all children.

With a population of about 207 million, including an estimated 80 million school-age children, Pakistan has nearly 22.5 million children out of school, the majority of them girls, according to a new report released by Human Rights Watch.

Pakistani girls are deprived of education for multiple reasons, including a shortage of government schools, the New York-based watchdog said in the 111-page report, entitled "Shall I Feed My Daughter, or Educate Her?: Barriers to Girls' Education in Pakistan."

The Pakistani government's "failure to educate children is having a devastating impact on millions of girls," said Liesl Gerntholtz, women's rights director at HRW.

For the report, HRW said it interviewed 209 people - including many girls who never attended school or were unable to complete their education and their families - in all four provinces in the country.

Human Rights Watch said that along with the government's under-investment in schools, overall lack of schools and prohibitive school fees and related costs, issues such as corporal punishment and a failure to enforce compulsory education are also contributing factors.

Girls leave their school in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Human Rights Watch released a 111-page report Tuesday, that said millions of girls in Pakistan are still out of school, mostly because the government spends less money on education. The international rights group said they are deprived of an education for multiple reasons, including a shortage of government schools. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Pakistan spent less than 2.8 percent of its GDP on education - far below recommended standards of 4 to 6 percent - in 2017, the rights group said.

New Prime Minister Khan, who has pledged that no child will remain out of school, has assigned Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood to reform the education system.

"Our main focus will be to bring the 25 million out-of-school children back to schools," Mahmood said, adding that the government would soon announce a new education policy.

HRW's report made no mention of security concerns, and though it is generally safe for girls to go to schools these days in Pakistan, dozens of schools for girls have come under attacks by militants in recent years.

In April, 11 girls' schools were torched in northern Pakistan.

The attack angered Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai, the young Nobel laureate and champion of girls' education worldwide, who demanded the schools be promptly rebuilt.

Yousafzai, 21, had also campaigned to promote education for women in the northwestern Swat Valley where she was shot and wounded by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012. She survived the horrific attack became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Yousafzai, who has been living in Britain since her attack, visited her hometown in March 2017. Her Malala Fund has invested, she said at the time, a total of $6 million for schools and to provide books and uniforms for schoolchildren in Pakistan.
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - For those hoping for ever cheaper fares on long-haul flights, this month's takeover of Icelandic airline Wow is not good news.

The struggling airline, which specializes in ultra-cheap flights between North America and Europe, was taken over by Iceland's flagship carrier, Icelandair, for just $18 million. Its rescue is a reality check for an industry hoping to apply the budget flying model to long-haul routes.

And for now it means that passengers from, say, Washington will likely have to pay more than the $99 teaser rates previously offered for the six and half-hour trip to the Icelandic capital, which serves as a stopover to mainland Europe.

"It simply costs more than $99 to fly between continents and Wow air has not found ways around it," said Kristjan Sigurjonsson, editor of local travel news site Turisti.

While Wow will continue as a separate brand for now, Sigurjonsson says it's unclear whether Icelandair will have it continue offering such low fares in an attempt to compete with Norwegian Air, which is offering cheap flights at a loss to gain market share.

But for now, the numbers don't add up for budget long-haul flying.

FILE - In this photo dated 2012, passengers wait for flights with flagship carrier Icelandair at Iceland's Trans-Atlantic hub, at Keflavik Airport, Iceland. The struggling low fair airline, Wow, was taken over by Iceland's flagship carrier, Icelandair, and Wow founder and CEO Skuli Mogensen urged his staff Monday Nov. 12, 2018, to "look at this as an opportunity to continue our journey now as a part of a much stronger group". (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason, FILE)

Part of the business model for low-cost flying across the Atlantic depends on getting cheaper airport slots, both by departing at odd hours and by flying to smaller cities in the United States. Wow flies to St Louis and Pittsburgh, for example. The low fares, in turn, mean planes are typically full.

Wow flies across the Atlantic with single-aisle, narrow-body Airbus A321 jets. Being smaller than a widebody plane makes them easier to fill, an important consideration in keeping down costs per seat. They are also cheaper than two-aisle planes. Wow's jets are relatively new, meaning they are more fuel-efficient than some competitors' fleets.

However, those savings have been squeezed in the past couple years as oil prices have risen. The U.S. benchmark for oil has risen 50 percent from late 2016 to a peak of $75 in September this year, before easing back somewhat.

For a budget airline like Wow, where margins are already tight, that means a direct hit to earnings. On top of that, wages have been rising sharply in Iceland, where its employees are based.

Founded in 2012, the airline expanded fast to 37 destinations and reported up to 60 percent annual growth in passenger numbers. Its revenue per passenger, however, has not kept up and fell by about 20 percent in 2017, according to the last earnings report.

About 70 percent percent of Wow's passengers travel between Europe and North America. Combined with Icelandair, the airlines will carry about 3.8 percent of transatlantic passengers, according to analysts at Icelandair.

Experts say that what budget airlines like Wow lack is the big source of money from transatlantic flying: business travelers. The New York-London route is the most lucrative in the world, thanks to the amount of business travelling done between the two financial hubs. British Airways takes in a reported $1 billion a year between those cities alone.

Budget airlines have been trying to tap that market. Wow created a new business-class scheme and in a presentation to investors this year it predicted that would help it make a profit this quarter. Norwegian Air has also offered "Premium class without the premium price," reportedly with modest success.

But it remains to be seen whether companies booking trips will agree to pick budget airlines over established carriers that are often seen as more reliable because they have bigger fleets and deeper pockets.

"The established airlines have loyalty programs that hold tight to the most lucrative clients," said Skarphedinn Steinarsson, former CEO of low-cost carrier IcelandExpress and the director of the Icelandic Tourist Board. "It takes longer to win this group over than the typical bargain-hunter."

For now, it is the flagship carrier coming out on top.

Wow founder and CEO Skuli Mogensen urged his staff Monday to "look at this as an opportunity to continue our journey now as a part of a much stronger group".

The charismatic boss, who has in the past mocked Icelandair as "outdated" and used his image to represent the airline, acknowledge defeat with much understatement: "It was not part of the original game plan."
MILAN (AP) - A long-running board room battle in Italy's legacy telecoms provider, Telecom Italia, has culminated with the ouster of CEO Amos Genish, effective immediately.

Telecom Italia said in a statement Tuesday that the board will meet Sunday to name a new CEO. It gave no further explanation for the move. Shares in the company sank 1.5 percent to 0.52 euros.

U.S. activist hedge fund Elliot Management, which won control of the Telecom Italia board in May from French media group Vivendi, had at the time expressed full support for Genish. Genish had been brought into the company by Vivendi.

The shake-up comes as the Italian government sets its sights on legislation merging the company's fixed-line assets with the broadband network of a smaller rival, Open Fiber.
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - Wayne Smith was hardened to a certain level of chaos here, on land the American public owns. But even he was incredulous as he surveyed an area he leases for grazing, now cleared of grass and cluttered with above-ground pipelines, a drill pad for multiple wells and other oil and gas infrastructure.

"I still pay a grazing lease right there," Smith said in May, pointing to a government map showing there should be no more than 17 acres of development on the site instead of the 125 acres he saw in front of him. "Now, what's my cow going to eat?"

This isn't what's supposed to happen on publicly owned land the federal government oversees. The Bureau of Land Management can lease the same property to more than one party at once, but if New Mexico ranchers request it - as Smith did - the agency has instructed its field offices to contact them before such a build-up occurs. Smith said no one notified him.

Violations, from oil spills to haphazard land restoration, are becoming more common in this hotbed of oil and gas activity, according to ranchers and conservation groups. One sign of the area's increasing appeal for drilling: A September federal oil and gas lease sale brought in a record-breaking $972 million. Jim Stovall, a local BLM official, admitted at a meeting in May that his team doesn't have the resources to enforce all the rules on the books, according to five people who heard his remarks.

But the Trump administration's priority is to speed up oil and gas permitting and to open tens of thousands of additional acres to drilling here. For years, the industry in New Mexico has had outsize access to local BLM officials - federal employees relying on the private sector for everything from money to expertise. Now, it's getting assistance from Washington.

"We want to make the BLM a better business partner for the oil and gas industry," Michael Nedd, then-acting director of the agency, said last year at the Carlsbad Mayor's Energy Summit.

File- This photo taken May 24, 2018 shows a flare burning on the southwest corner of the Smith Ranch. Kenneth Smith, Inc. continues to be responsible for the grazing fees associated with the lands under the facility of which no longer grow vegetation; a necessity of the grazing lease. This is the case in all development of the lands for non-agriculture related utilization approved by the Bureau of Land Management and NM State Land Office. The actual footprint of acres lost, yet still on grazing lease responsibility is 7.3 times the what the BLM is reporting; a total of 125.41 acres. (Robin Zielinski /The Las Cruces Sun News via AP)

__

This story is part of a collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity, The Texas Tribune, The Associated Press and Newsy.

__

The BLM declined to answer specific questions, instead releasing a general statement saying the agency is "committed to sustainably developing our Nation's energy and natural resources."

Conservationists, ranchers and others worry that allowing more drilling without addressing the problems already created by ramped-up production could threaten one of the most biologically diverse deserts in the world, put local water supplies and the global climate at risk and scar the land so it can't be used for other purposes afterward.

The conflict is happening against a backdrop of record U.S. production of oil and gas, juiced by demand from international markets that federal rule changes opened up to American firms earlier in the decade. Much of what's being sent abroad comes from the Permian Basin, a geologic formation in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico that includes about 2 million acres of land and 3 million acres of minerals such as oil and gas managed by the BLM around Carlsbad. In New Mexico, production is occurring ever closer to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, a United Nations World Heritage Site, threatening air quality and the habitats of endangered birds.

Government officials say accelerating permitting will bring much-needed jobs and money. New Mexico is heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue, and the permitting process, some say, has been hijacked by anti-development interests.

"Texas was blessed, not just with a larger portion of the basin, but also with no federal lands," Ken McQueen, cabinet secretary of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department of New Mexico, told members of Congress in June. "In Texas you can have a permit and a rig on location quicker than you can fill out the paperwork to drill a well on federal acreage in New Mexico."

This year, as part of its push for "energy dominance," the Trump administration eliminated a required 30-day public comment period before land is leased and directed BLM employees to skip in-depth environmental assessments for oil and gas projects whenever possible.

Robert McEntyre with the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said those moves simply require BLM to follow the law, a "prudent step." But for Brent Keith with The Nature Conservancy, it calls into question "how much they are putting a thumb on the scale in terms of energy dominance."

Some here fear their way of life will become collateral damage. Leasing public land is a key part of the Smith family's cattle operation - true of many ranchers. Before Wayne Smith died in October at age 47, he kept calling the BLM for help.

It didn't work.

"We can't stop anything that's happening now," he said about five months before his death from undetermined causes. "We can only survive. And there's a point where survival is not there anymore."
LONDON (AP) - Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday and is still heir to the throne - a role he has served since he was a young child.

He's not lacking in things to do and shows few signs of slowing down - he is wealthy, extremely active in matters of great importance to him, and preparing to welcome his fourth grandchild into the world when Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gives birth next spring.

His destiny, however, is to be king, a position he will automatically assume with the death of his 92-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

When that happens, Charles will be bound by the constitutional requirement that the monarch refrain from trying to influence policy. Until then, Charles is free to lobby for action on climate change, support organic farming, and fight genetically modified crops as he sees fit.

He's doing all that while increasingly stepping in for the queen and supervising the Prince's Trust, an ambitious charity he founded 42 years ago that has helped hundreds of thousands of young Britons.

Is the candle-crowded birthday cake a signal that it's time for the elegantly greying prince to take it easy? Not on your life, says Charles' wife, Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall.

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 5, 1997 file photo Britain's Prince Charles, right, accompanies his sons Prince William, left and Prince Harry after they arrived at Kensington Palace to view tributes left in memory of their mother Princess Diana in London. Prince Charles is sandwiched between generations, caught between his mother, a symbol of dignity and continuity who has reigned since 1952, and his two immensely popular sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who have along with their wives come to symbolize the future of the world's best known monarchy. (AP Photo/David Brauchli, File)

"I don't think he thinks he's 70," she wrote in a birthday tribute in The Telegraph Magazine. "I think it's just a number to him. There's no way that he will slow down. You must be joking. I keep saying 70 is getting on a bit. It's not very old but it is old. You have to slow down a bit."

The royal family is in the midst of a slow, understated transition. The patriarch, 97-year-old Prince Philip, has formally retired from public life, although he makes occasional appearances in support of the queen.

For her part, the queen still maintains a busy schedule, but she no longer makes long haul flights to far flung parts of the 53-nation Commonwealth, and this year she took the unusual step of lobbying the Commonwealth countries to specify that Charles would be the next leader of the group, a position that is not hereditary.

The support for Charles was unanimous, reflecting not only appreciation for the queen's work over the decades but a belief that Charles has a strong commitment to the Commonwealth.

Charles has also taken a more visible role representing the queen at some important national events, most recently during the Remembrance Day celebrations honoring Britain's fallen soldiers. He placed the queen's wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph monument while she watched from a balcony seat.

But his working trips abroad and his speeches at home generate precious little buzz as the press focuses on younger, more photogenic royals and their cute offspring.

In a way, Charles is sandwiched between generations, caught between his mother, a symbol of dignity and continuity who has reigned since 1952, and his two immensely popular sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who have along with their wives come to symbolize the future of the world's best known monarchy.

William and Harry also remind many of their mother, the late Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 after a messy divorce from Charles that for a time tarnished his standing with the British public.

It is William and Harry - along with their wives Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan - who appear on the cover of glossy magazines, not the about-to-be-70 Charles. It is the young royals who are seen as glamorous modernizers with the common touch, while Charles is sometimes perceived as dour, preachy and remote.

Camilla says the public doesn't understand how "incredibly kind" and funny Charles is, and William and Harry - taking part in a rare BBC interview to mark his father's birthday - praise the way he has used his undefined position as Prince of Wales to advocate so many important causes, such as environmental protection.

But Harry - who has endeared himself to the British public in part with his impish smile and sunny outlook - urged his dad to cut back a bit on the doom and gloom that often accompanies Charles' pronouncements.

"I would encourage him to remain optimistic because I think it can be very easy to become despondent and negative," Harry said. "But hopefully with his children and his grandchildren, and a few more grandchildren to come, he can get energy from the family side and then carry on his leadership role."

He also had this advice: don't work so hard, and have dinner earlier.

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 1999 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles and his companion Camilla Parker Bowles leave the Ritz Hotel in London, the first time that the couple, who have been friends for more than 25 years, have appeared together in public. As Prince Charles turns 70 on Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018, Camilla says the public doesn't understand how "incredibly kind" and funny Charles is. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 1981 file photo Britain's Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer pose following the announcement of their engagement. Princess Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997 after a messy divorce from Charles that for a time tarnished his standing with the British public, but as Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018, he has recently taken a more visible role representing the queen at some important national events. (AP Photo/Pool, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 1948 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth pictured with her first son, Prince Charles, her grandmother Queen Mary and father King George VI at Buckingham Palace on the day of his Christening. Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 still serving in the heir to the throne role he has filled since he was a young child. (Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this Monday, June 4, 2012 file photo Britain's Queen Elizabeth II shakes the hand of her son Prince Charles at the end of the Queen's Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace, London. Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018, serving as heir to the throne since he was a young child, but his destiny is to be king. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

FILE - In this July 27, 1958 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles walks in his school uniform. Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, serving as heir to the throne since he was a young child, but his destiny is to be king, a position he will automatically assume on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 1957 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles leaves King's Cross Station, London as the Royal family return to London after their Christmas holidays at Sandringham. Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, still serving in the heir to the throne role he has filled since he was a young child. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this July 18, 1949 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles, foreground left, the eight-month-old son of Princess Elizabeth of England, left, and his father Philip, pose for a photo, on the Windlesham Moor, their summer residence, in Ascot, England. Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018, still serving in the heir to the throne role he has filled since he was a young child. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this March 25, 1968 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles is photographed in London. Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, and his destiny is to be king, a position he will automatically assume on the death of his 92-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II. (AP Photo/Peter Kemp, File)

FILE - In this June 11, 1969 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, in the uniform of the Colonel in Chief of the Royal Regiment of Wales, salutes during the Regiment's Colour presentation, at Cardiff Castle in Wales. It was the first occasion for the Prince to wear uniform. Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, still serving in the heir to the throne role he has filled since he was a young child. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 1989 file photo Prince Charles looks over his shoulder as he plays in the first Prince of Wales Cup polo match at the Windsor Polo and Beach Club in Vero Beach, Fla. USA. Charles' wife, Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall wrote in a tribute ahead of Charles' birthday on Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018, in The Telegraph Magazine "I don't think he thinks he's 70," she wrote "I think it's just a number to him. There's no way that he will slow down. You must be joking. I keep saying 70 is getting on a bit. It's not very old but it is old. You have to slow down a bit." (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

FILE - In this 1969 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles, poses for a photo dressed in his investiture regalia as Prince of Wales. Prince Charles turns 70 on Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018, serving as heir to the throne since he was a young child, but his destiny is to be king.(Pool Photo via AP, File)
SINGAPORE (AP) - The Latest on the meeting in Singapore of leaders from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (all times local):

6:50 p.m.

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have begun their annual summit with calls to work together to resolve tensions over trade and other issues.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong welcomed fellow members of the 10-nation grouping by saying that joint efforts are more urgent than ever.

He said the international order is "at a turning point" and it's unclear if the rules of the global system that have underpinned the region's peace and growing wealth will survive.

Lee said ASEAN and several other major countries including India and China have made "substantive progress" on a market-opening initiative called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. It is unclear whether a deal on the initiative will be reached in Singapore.

ASEAN Leaders pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony for the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Singapore. From left; Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Rodrigo Duterte of The Philippines, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha of Thailand, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

___

9:40 a.m.

The potential damage to global trade caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff battle with Beijing is looming as leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, the U.S. and other regional economies meet in Singapore this week.

New tariffs imposed by the U.S. and China on billions of dollars of each other's products in a dispute over technology policy and other issues have begun to bite.

It's unclear if the region's reliance on trade will lead ASEAN to push ahead this week with a free trade pact that would commit member countries to opening their markets further. But the talk in Singapore is of freer trade.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told a business forum Monday that no country can handle trends toward more protectionism, uncertainty and other destabilizing factors alone.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan's state security court sentenced 10 defendants to prison on Tuesday, with terms ranging from three years to life, for their role in an Islamic State attack on a popular tourist site that killed 14 people, including a Canadian tourist.

The December 2016 attack on the Karak castle in southern Jordan marked the first time IS extremists claimed responsibility for a large-scale attack on a civilian site in Jordan.

The court sentenced two defendants to life in prison, while four others were given 15-year sentences. Four people were sentenced to three years each. One defendant was acquitted.

Jordan's confrontation with IS goes back to 2014, when the kingdom began carrying out air strikes as part of an international campaign to dislodge IS from neighboring Syria and Iraq.

Guards surround the defendants' cage in state security court as judges sentenced 10 defendants to prison, with terms ranging from three years to life, for their role in an Islamic State attack on the Karak castle, a popular tourist site, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Amman Jordan. The December 2016 attack killed 14 people, including a Canadian tourist and marked the first time IS extremists claimed responsibility for a large-scale attack on a civilian site in Jordan. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Guards surround the defendants' cage in state security court as judges sentenced 10 defendants to prison, with terms ranging from three years to life, for their role in an Islamic State attack on the Karak castle, a popular tourist site, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Amman Jordan. The December 2016 attack killed 14 people, including a Canadian tourist and marked the first time IS extremists claimed responsibility for a large-scale attack on a civilian site in Jordan. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Guards surround the defendants' cage in state security court as judges sentenced 10 defendants to prison, with terms ranging from three years to life, for their role in an Islamic State attack on the Karak castle, a popular tourist site, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Amman Jordan. The December 2016 attack killed 14 people, including a Canadian tourist and marked the first time IS extremists claimed responsibility for a large-scale attack on a civilian site in Jordan. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Guards surround the defendants' cage in state security court as judges sentenced 10 defendants to prison, with terms ranging from three years to life, for their role in an Islamic State attack on the Karak castle, a popular tourist site, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Amman Jordan. The December 2016 attack killed 14 people, including a Canadian tourist and marked the first time IS extremists claimed responsibility for a large-scale attack on a civilian site in Jordan. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - A Romanian man was surprised to find 95,000 euros ($107,000) stashed inside a secondhand cupboard he'd bought - and promptly returned the money.

Adela Stanici told The Associated Press Tuesday that her husband, a construction worker, had recently bought the cupboard from a popular online site. Days later, as she was making dinner, husband Samuel yelled: "come and see what I've found," a metal box in the cupboard stuffed with 500-euro notes.

She said the pair counted the money together: "We were shocked. We couldn't sleep all night."

"We thought it might be a trap, a setup, and we knew we had to get the money back to where it came from," the mother of four said by telephone.

The husband traveled from their home, in the western village of Bichigi, to the city where the owner lived. The man revealed the cupboard had belonged to his recently deceased father.

Stanici said the man, who requested anonymity, "had no idea" about the money.

He traveled to their village without knowing how much money there was. "When he saw (it), he couldn't believe it."

She said he rewarded them for their honesty, without saying how much he gave them.
LONDON (AP) - Brexit is already having an impact on Britain's labor market, with the number of people from the European Union working in the country falling by a record amount.

The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday the number of EU nationals working in Britain fell by 132,000 in the three months to September compared with the year before, to 2.25 million. That's the largest annual fall since comparable records began in 1997.

Some decline would be expected given economic improvements elsewhere in the EU over the past couple of years. However, it appears that the vote to leave the EU in June 2016 has had an impact as well. Not only did it lead to a sharp fall in the pound, which made Britain a relatively less attractive proposition, it also created more uncertainty about the future status of EU workers in Britain.

"The sharp fall in EU migrant workers over the last year shows that Britain's labor market is already changing ahead of Brexit," said Stephen Clarke, senior economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation.

EU nationals in Britain have lived in uncertainty about their future work rights since the Brexit vote, which was largely driven by concerns over immigration. One of the main tenets of EU membership is the freedom for citizens to move and work anywhere within the 28-country bloc.

Discussions over Britain's exit in March 2019 are still going on and there are doubts as to whether the British Parliament will back any deal Prime Minister Theresa May strikes. Though the government has sought to assuage concerns of EU citizens in Britain about their future, talk of Britain crashing out of the bloc without a deal on future relations is adding to uncertainty.

Passers-by are reflected in an artwork based on the European Union flag, with one star missing, in the European Commissions headquarters in Brussels, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Britain's European Union partners on Monday ratcheted up political pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May amid signs that some progress is being made in Brexit negotiations. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The departure of more EU nationals comes at a time when the U.K. labor market is doing well. The number of people in work was up by 350,000 on the year to 32.41 million, with British nationals working up by 448,000 to 29 million. Overall, the unemployment rate is super-low at 4.1 percent despite a 0.1 percentage point rise over the most recent period.

Wages are rising, too, with employers seemingly having to respond to scarce labor by giving workers more money. Average earnings over the three months to September, excluding bonuses, were 3.2 percent higher than the corresponding period a year earlier. That is the highest rate since a decade ago, before the global financial crisis pushed the economy into recession.

How the labor market performs over the coming few months will likely depend on what happens with Brexit. The government has insisted that EU citizens' freedom of movement will end after a transition period currently expected to last for 21 months past March. What rights they will get after that is still unclear.

"Firms who employ a large share of migrant workers must think now about adjusting to a lower migration environment - in terms of the workers they employ, what they produce and how they operate," said the Resolution Foundation's Clarke.

Most forecasters think that a no-deal Brexit, which would see tariffs slapped on British exports to the EU, border checks reinstalled, and restrictions on travelers and workers, would damage the British economy.

The Standard & Poor's ratings agency last month said a no-deal Brexit could push the British economy into recession and cause unemployment to spike to 7.4 percent by 2021.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis is going to Morocco in March in what is expected to be a heavy year of foreign travel for the 81-year-old pontiff.

The Vatican on Tuesday confirmed the March 30-31 visit to Rabat and Casablanca.

Previously, there were rumors that Francis would travel to Marrakesh next month to participate in the adoption of a new U.N. global compact on migration.

The March visit is likely to feature migration, as well as touch on relations between Christians and Muslims.

Francis has several trips under consideration for 2019, though Morocco is the first to be confirmed.

He is expected in Panama in January for World Youth Day. In addition, he has said he hopes to visit Japan, while a Madagascar cardinal says he's expected next year.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis is giving a prominent new role to the Vatican's most trusted sex crimes investigator as he seeks to improve the Holy See's response to abuse at a time when the church and papacy are facing a credibility crisis.

Francis on Tuesday named Archbishop Charles Scicluna as a deputy, or adjunct secretary, at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that processes sex abuse cases globally.

Scicluna had been the congregation's chief prosecutor for a decade and was credited with pushing through measures making it easier to defrock pedophiles. But Pope Benedict XVI sent him to his native Malta in 2012 as bishop after Scicluna's tough line ruffled too many feathers in the Vatican.

Scicluna's new appointment is symbolically significant and will also give him greater say in the day-to-day running of the congregation, even though he technically retains his post in Malta.

Scicluna's Valletta office said Tuesday that he'll be in Rome "on a regular basis" and that a deputy will take over running the archdiocese when he's away, suggesting Scicluna intends the job to be more than part-time.

Francis clearly trusts Scicluna after he asked him to conduct an in-depth investigation in Chile earlier this year that revealed Francis' gross misunderstanding of an abuse and cover-up scandal there.

Pope Francis waves as he arrives to recite the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Scicluna's return to Rome comes as Francis and the church at large are under fire again for the way the Vatican and religious superiors around the globe turned a blind eye to priests who raped and molested children.

The crisis is particularly acute in the U.S., where prosecutors in more than a dozen states have announced investigations into abuse and cover-up following the revelations of the Pennsylvania grand jury report.

In addition, U.S. bishops are reeling from allegations that one of their own, ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, preyed on seminarians and at least two minors, and that his misconduct with adults was an open secret in the U.S. and Vatican.

Francis' record on abuse has long been uneven, and his papacy has been rocked by claims by a Vatican archbishop that he rehabilitated McCarrick in 2013 from sanctions imposed by Benedict.

Francis' credibility took another hit this week when the Vatican blocked U.S. bishops from voting on a new code of conduct and a commission involving lay experts to review complaints against brother bishops.

Under church law, only the pope can investigate and discipline bishops.

The head of the U.S. conference, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, admitted the Vatican only received the text after it was finalized Oct. 30, and said Rome had flagged legal problems with it.
BERLIN (AP) - Authorities have searched buildings in western Germany in connection with an investigation of an Islamic association suspected of involvement in extremist activities.

The North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Ministry says some 250 police searched the Islamic association's headquarters Tuesday in the city of Moenchengladbach, as well as 15 apartments where members lived. Laptops, phones, hard drives and documents were confiscated.

The ministry says the association is suspected of being a meeting place for dangerous extremists and promoting the fundamentalist Islamic Salafist ideology.

The searches came as the ministry investigates whether the association should be banned. There were no arrests.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israelis were choosing their next mayors in dozens of locations across the country Tuesday, with the main focus on the largest city of Jerusalem.

The vote marks the second round of municipal elections in cities where no candidate secured at least 40 percent support in the Oct. 30 vote. The closest watched runoff race is in Jerusalem, Israel's proclaimed capital and a place of pilgrimage for billions around the world. While the city's mayor has little influence over Middle East politics and diplomacy, he presides over the day-to-day life in the hotbed of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has a strong symbolic presence both nationally and internationally.

The polls were taking place amid the most serious violence between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, since they fought a 2014 war. An election in one regional council in southern Israel near the Gaza border was postponed because of the incessant rocket fire and the violence could drive down voter turnout in other locations near Gaza.

Jerusalem is Israel's poorest city. Its diverse population is split nearly evenly between Palestinians Arabs, ultra-Orthodox Jews and the rest of the Jewish residents - both secular and observant.

With the incumbent Nir Barkat stepping down to run for national office, a quartet of candidates squared off in an ugly campaign to replace him. The runoff features Moshe Lion, a longtime political fixture backed by much of the country's top leadership, facing off against Ofer Berkovitch, a young secular activist pushing a progressive agenda against religious hard-liners.

Lion, a former director general of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in the 1990s, enjoys the support of key ultra-Orthodox factions and their representatives in government, as well as that of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and powerful figures in the ruling Likud party. But he has little grassroots support of his own and failed to place even a single representative in the municipal council.

Mayoral candidate Ofer Berkovitch, right, and his wife Dina pose for the media as they cast their votes at a polling station in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Israelis were choosing their next mayors in dozens of locations across the country Tuesday, with the main focus on the largest city of Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The 35-year-old Berkovitch heads a joint group of secular and modern-Orthodox Jews that makes up the largest block of the incoming council. He has also been buoyed by a historic split in the ultra-Orthodox electorate, which did not vote en masse in the first round. Many leading rabbis have refrained from endorsing a final candidate and some Hassidic Jews, whose own hopeful failed to advance to the runoff, have vowed to vote for the secular Berkovitch - previously a seemingly improbable prospect.

Avishai Cohen, who heads Berkovitch's ultra-Orthodox branch, says it's the result of vast changes in the community, with a younger generation more open to change and less reliant on the stringent all-encompassing edicts of rabbinical authorities. With many now joining the military and the modern workforce in growing numbers, he said it was natural they would also break out of their traditional voting patterns.

"There is a groundswell toward real leadership," Cohen said at a makeshift campaign office where he tried to convince fellow ultra-Orthodox to vote for his candidate. "I'm here to show that there is another kind of ultra-Orthodox Jew."

Few Palestinians vote since most consider participation as recognition of Israeli control over east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. So the result will likely come down to ultra-Orthodox turnout and how many flip to Berkovitch's side.

Either way, the winner is going to have to deal with deep divisions in the city after a hotly contested campaign.

"The number one challenge is of course the diversity of the city. Jerusalem has a very unique demographic structure, therefore every mayor who is elected will have to find a way to embrace the other side," said Lior Schillat, the director general of the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, a non-partisan think-tank.

Elsewhere in Israel, runoffs will take place in Rishon Lezion, the country's fourth largest city, and several other major cities.

____

Follow Heller at www.twitter.com/aronhellerap
NEW YORK (AP) - An upcoming biography of Angela Merkel will draw upon extensive interviews with the German chancellor and with those who know her.

Kati Marton's "A Pastor's Daughter" is scheduled for 2020, Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday. Marton herself has a long background in Germany, as a correspondent with ABC News and as the wife of a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Holbrooke, who died in 2010. Last year, she wrote a profile of Merkel for Vogue magazine. Marton's previous books include "The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World" and "True Believer: Stalin's Last American Spy."

Merkel has been German chancellor since 2005. She announced recently that she will seek neither re-election as chancellor nor as chair of her own party, the Christian Democratic Union.
BERLIN (AP) - A 94-year-old former SS concentration guard on trial on hundreds of counts of accessory to murder painted himself Tuesday as an unwilling participant in the Nazi machinery of death.

Johann Rehbogen is accused of working as a guard at the Stutthof concentration camp east of Danzig, which is today the Polish city of Gdansk, from June 1942 to about early September 1944.

In a statement read by his attorney, the defendant told the Muenster state court he was "not a Nazi."

"I've never been one and I'll never be one in the little time that I still have left to live," he said, the dpa news agency reported.

As an ethnic German from Romania, Rehbogen said he had ended up in the German military but had not volunteered to serve in the SS.

"As a Christian it was hard for me to be part of all of it," he said in the statement. "But I was too scared to protest."

Johann Rehbogen, a 94-year-old former SS enlisted man, who is accused of hundreds of counts of accessory to murder for alleged crimes committed during the years he served as a guard at the Nazis' Stutthof concentration camp, sits in a wheelchair when arriving for the beginning of the third day of his trial at the regional court in Muenster, western Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (Guido Kirchner/pool photo via AP)

Rehbogen was 18 at the time, and is being tried in a youth court because of his age during the years of his alleged offenses. He faces a maximum 10 years in prison if convicted.

He told the court he was ashamed of his actions, occasionally wiping tears from his eyes as the statement was read, but that he had feared he would be branded an enemy of the Nazi state and persecuted if he protested.

"I cannot say with certainty, with today's perspective, whether I would have had the courage to act differently," he said.

Though there is no evidence linking the former SS Sturmmann - roughly equivalent to the U.S. Army rank of specialist - to a specific crime, the prosecution argues that, as a guard, he was an accessory to the killings at Stutthof while he was there. In all, more than 60,000 people were killed in the camp.

As the trial opened last week, prosecutor Andreas Brendel detailed how prisoners were killed by being given lethal injections of gasoline or phenol directly to their hearts, shot or starved. Others were forced outside in winter without clothes until they died of exposure, or put to death in a gas chamber.

Rehbogen said he was unaware of a gas chamber in the camp but suggested he did at least know prisoners were being mistreated.

"The prisoners were in a terrible state, I was ashamed," he said in his statement. "Pity would be the wrong word; it's difficult to find the right words. We were not indifferent to the fate of the prisoners. I had great difficulty coming to terms with it."

He didn't apologize to the victims of the camp, but said he didn't expect their sympathy for his own plight.

"If I present things here today that for me at the time were unpleasant or difficult to bear, I know that in comparison to the unspeakable suffering of the camp inmates it was minimal," he said.

Johann Rehbogen, a 94-year-old former SS enlisted man, who is accused of hundreds of counts of accessory to murder for alleged crimes committed during the years he served as a guard at the Nazis' Stutthof concentration camp, waits for the beginning of the third day of his trial at the regional court in Muenster, western Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (Guido Kirchner/pool photo via AP)

Johann Rehbogen, a 94-year-old former SS enlisted man, who is accused of hundreds of counts of accessory to murder for alleged crimes committed during the years he served as a guard at the Nazis' Stutthof concentration camp, waits for the beginning of the third day of his trial at the regional court in Muenster, western Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (Guido Kirchner/pool photo via AP)
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the president's order to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections, opening the way for lawmakers to vote on whether to accept his earlier ouster of the prime minister.

Sri Lanka has been in a political crisis since Oct. 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena suddenly fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

A day later Sirisena suspended Parliament, apparently to allow Rajapaksa time to gather support among lawmakers. But Wickremesinghe insisted his firing was unconstitutional. He refused to vacate his official residence and demanded that Parliament be summoned to prove he still has support.

Amid mounting pressure from political opponents and foreign governments, including the United States and the EU, to convene Parliament to end the impasse, Sirisena announced the legislature would return this Wednesday.

But last Friday, he instead dissolved Parliament and called new elections in January. Opponents said Sirisena made the decision because Rajapaksa had been unable to assemble a majority.

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to suspend the president's order until Dec. 7, after 13 political parties and individuals filed petitions with the court calling the dissolution unconstitutional. It said it would hold hearings on the case starting Dec. 4.

Supporters of Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shout slogans as they celebrate after the Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspended dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena, outside the court complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has suspended a presidential decree dissolving Parliament and ruled that an earlier decree summoning lawmakers on Wednesday is valid. On Oct. 26, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Wickremesinghe welcomed the ruling, calling it "a resounding victory for people's franchise."

"The powers of the president are limited. The president must act according to the law, he is not above the law," he said.

Hours after the court's ruling, the office of the speaker of Parliament announced that lawmakers would meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Wickremesinghe said he was ready to "show that we have the majority and that we are the legitimate government of Sri Lanka."

After the ruling was announced, hundreds of opposition supporters who had gathered near the court cheered and lit firecrackers.

Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, said the order "proves that Sri Lanka's judiciary is independent and that they were prepared to give a judgment that went against the executive."

"That's a positive indication of the continuing strength of Sri Lanka's institutions and their independence which is important to the sustenance of our democracy," he added.

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 has repeatedly denied.

Sirisena was also critical of investigations into military personnel who were accused of human rights violations during Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war against a Tamil separatist group, which ended in 2009.

Rajapaksa, who was president from 2005 to 2015, is considered a hero by some in Sri Lanka's ethnic Sinhalese majority for ending the war by crushing the Tamil rebels.

But his time in power was marred by allegations of war-time atrocities, corruption and nepotism.

Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, center, addresses a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. The country's Supreme Court suspended a presidential decree dissolving Parliament and ruled that an earlier decree summoning lawmakers on Wednesday is valid. On Oct. 26, President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Lahiru Harshana)

Supporters of Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shout slogans as they celebrate after the country's Supreme Court suspended dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena, outside the court complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has suspended a presidential decree dissolving Parliament and ruled that an earlier decree summoning lawmakers on Wednesday is valid. On Oct. 26, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A supporter of Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe celebrates after the Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspended dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena, outside the court complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has suspended a presidential decree dissolving Parliament and ruled that an earlier decree summoning lawmakers on Wednesday is valid. On Oct. 26, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Placard reads "Respect the constitution." (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Supporters of Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shout slogans as they celebrate after the country's Supreme Court suspended dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena, outside the court complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has suspended a presidential decree dissolving Parliament and ruled that an earlier decree summoning lawmakers on Wednesday is valid. On Oct. 26, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Supporters of Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shout slogans as they celebrate after the Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspended dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena, outside the court complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has suspended a presidential decree dissolving Parliament and ruled that an earlier decree summoning lawmakers on Wednesday is valid. On Oct. 26, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

FILE - In this Monday, Nov. 5, 2018, file photo, Si Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena waves to supporters during a rally held outside the parliamentary complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspends Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament; lawmakers to meet Wednesday amid crisis. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
MOSCOW (AP) - An independent Russian magazine has raised over $370,000 to pay a fine to the government.

The New Times magazine was fined 22 million rubles last month for failing to notify authorities on time of receiving foreign funding. The fine, which had threatened to force the magazine to shut down, followed recent legislation aimed at what the Kremlin sees as foreign influence in Russian media.

The New Times' editor-in-chief, Yevgeniya Albats, said on Twitter on Tuesday that the magazine has raised more than the necessary amount in just four days after it announced the fund-raising campaign.

Government critics and media experts have viewed the fine as retribution by the government for the New Times' critical reporting.
BARABOO, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on the photo of Wisconsin high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute (all times local):

8:50 a.m.

A parent who took a photo that shows about 60 Wisconsin high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute says he simply asked the youths to wave goodbye to their parents and that he takes the blame for the timing of the shot.

Pete Gust, whose son Matthew appears in the photo, says there was no intention "in any way, shape or form to simulate anything that was offensive to anyone." Gust tells The Associated Press that the boys' arms were extended in various stages of being raised when the shot was taken.

Gust posted the photo on his website, Wheels Memories, after he took the pre-prom shot on the steps of the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo in May. The photo circulated on social media this week, drawing strong rebukes online and from Jewish organizations. Gust has since removed the photo and apologized to all who were hurt by it.

___

7:55 a.m.

Speakers at a Wisconsin school board meeting have expressed anger over a photo that shows about 60 high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute.

Some at the Baraboo School Board meeting Monday night suggested the students should be better educated so they understand the gravity of the image and what it symbolizes.

The pre-prom photo of the boys taken on the steps of the Sauk County Courthouse in May has been shared widely on social media in recent days, prompting a strong rebuke from individuals and organizations.

One attendee, Greg Sacra, told the board he grew up knowing that Nazism was wrong and that he doesn't understand how the Baraboo students in the photo don't know that too. He suggests they need extra education about the Holocaust.

___

7:10 a.m.

The photographer who took a picture of boys from Baraboo High School giving what appears to be a Nazi salute says he simply asked the students to wave goodbye to their parents.

Pete Gust told community journalism website Madison 365 that the pre-prom photo, which has been shared widely on social media, was innocent. He says he asked the boys to give him a "high five" for the photo taken in May on the steps of the Sauk County Courthouse in downtown Baraboo, about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.

Gust has removed the photo from his website, Wheel Memories, where it had been posted since May, and wrote "To anyone that was hurt I sincerely apologize."

The Baraboo School District and police are investigating the photo.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (AP) - After all else failed, National Grid is bringing in a cannon to scare away the hundreds of crows that have been hanging around an electrical substation in Massachusetts.

Don't worry, no birds will be hurt. The utility says the propane cannon being fired off in North Adams this week doesn't shoot projectiles, just makes a lot of noise that annoys the crows.

The utility said Monday it wants to get rid of the birds because there is a potential for a power loss if a crow lands on the wrong piece of equipment, and their droppings are corrosive.

National Grid says the cannon will be fired off between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. starting Tuesday and will keep going until Saturday.

Police have warned area residents.
BEIRUT (AP) - Lebanon's prime minister-designate on Tuesday accused Hezbollah of hindering the formation of a new government six months after parliamentary elections were held, a reflection of growing tensions amid serious concerns over the country's faltering economy.

At a press conference in Beirut, Saad Hariri said "it's Hezbollah, full stop," when asked who was blocking the formation of a government. He said the Shiite militant group bears full responsibility for the consequences, including Lebanon's flagging economy.

Hariri stopped short of resigning, however, saying there was still an opportunity to bridge the differences.

Hariri, the top Sunni Muslim leader in the country, is coming under increasing pressure from the Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah, which insists that six Sunni legislators allied with Hezbollah be represented in the new Cabinet. Hariri flatly rejects the demand, saying the six independent legislators are not part of a parliamentary bloc and are therefore not entitled to have a minister in the cabinet.

"The truth is that government formation has hit a big obstacle," Hariri said.

Lebanon held its first parliamentary elections in nine years in May but political bickering over the distribution has stood in the way of government formation.

Journalists and supporters of Lebanese Prime Minister--designate Saad Hariri, left, clap as he arrives for a press conference, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Hariri accused Hezbollah of hindering the formation of a new government six months after parliamentary elections. He said the Shiite militant group bears full responsibility for the consequences, including Lebanon's flagging economy. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Giving Hariri's Sunni opponents a Cabinet seat is the latest delay in the formation after months of negotiations gave the right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces four cabinet seats, including that of deputy prime minister. Hezbollah will likely get three seats, the biggest number of ministers ever for the group, including the health ministry.

Some analysts link Hezbollah's insistence on representing the independent Sunni legislators in the Cabinet to a new wave of U.S. sanctions against its patron Iran that went into effect on Nov 5.

Hariri insisted however that the obstacles were not linked to external politics.

Further delays in the government are increasing pressure on the country's struggling economy and endanger international donors' pledges of $11 billion in loans and grants to help debt-ridden Lebanon. Those projects that were agreed on during a conference in Paris in April as well as reforms to unlock those loans will have to be carried out by the new government in Lebanon.

Lebanon has the third largest debt in the world of about $85 billion or 155 percent of the gross domestic product. The economy is also suffering from high unemployment and little growth.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, speaks during a press conference, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Hariri accused Hezbollah of hindering the formation of a new government six months after parliamentary elections. He said the Shiite militant group bears full responsibility for the consequences, including Lebanon's flagging economy. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
GENEVA (AP) - The U.N. human rights chief says Bangladesh's government should halt plans to repatriate more than 2,200 Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, saying such a move would endanger their lives.

Michelle Bachelet's comments are among the strongest yet from a top U.N. official about the planned repatriation this week of some Rohingya to Myanmar. More than 700,000 fled Myanmar amid a security crackdown starting in August 2017.

Bachelet's office said Tuesday it continues to receive reports of rights violations in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, "which include allegations of killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests." It said some 130,000 people, including many Rohingya, remain internally displaced in central Rakhine.

UNHCR advised against the returns, saying Monday that safety should be assessed first. But it didn't call for a halt to the repatriation plans.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear an appeal by Virginia Republicans who are trying to preserve state legislative districts that have been struck down by a lower court as racially discriminatory.

The case involves 11 districts in the Virginia House of Delegates. Democratic voters accuse Republicans, who hold the majority, of packing black voters into certain districts to make surrounding districts whiter and more Republican.

A three-judge federal court in Virginia ruled 2-1 in June in favor of the Democratic voters and has appointed a redistricting expert to draw a new legislative map with a Dec. 7 deadline. Kirk Cox, the Republican speaker of the Virginia House, said he is weighing whether to ask the lower court to delay the issuance of a new map until after the Supreme Court rules.

Arguments probably will take place in late February, with a ruling likely by late June. The next round of elections for the state House is 2019, and candidates would normally have to register in the spring and run in primaries in the summer.

Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's office and House Democratic leader David Toscano did not immediately return requests for comment. Marc Elias, a lawyer representing the voters, predicted on Twitter that the justices would rule in his clients' favor.

The Supreme Court already has ruled once in the case. Last year, the justices voted 7-1 to throw out an earlier ruling that had upheld the challenged districts.

In this Oct. 9, 2018 photo, police office guards the main entrance to the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court will hear an appeal by Virginia Republicans who are trying to preserve state legislative districts that have been struck down by a lower court as racially discriminatory. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

When the lower court got the case back, it concluded that the 11 districts violated the Constitution's equal protection clause.

"Overwhelming evidence in this case shows that, contrary to this constitutional mandate, the state has sorted voters into districts based on the color of their skin," Judges Barbara Milano Keenan and Arenda L. Wright Allen wrote in their majority opinion. Judge Robert Payne dissented, saying he would have upheld the districts.

In addition to reviewing the lower court ruling, the justices said they also would weigh whether Cox and the GOP-controlled House of Delegates even have a right to bring their appeal. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, had urged the court not to hear the case at all. He said Virginia law makes clear that the state's elected attorney general has the authority to speak for the state in federal court.

____

Associated Press writer Alan Suderman contributed to this report from Richmond, Virginia.
ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) - A central Indiana woman who authorities say had been drinking and was taking a nap when her 2-year-old son crawled into a hot car and later died isn't getting her bond reduced ahead of trial.

The Star Press reports a judge denied a request by 29-year-old Britni Nicole Wihebrink of Daleville, who is jailed under a $50,000 cash bond. Last week, Wihebrink and her attorney, Chris Teagle tried to persuade Delaware Circuit Court Judge John Feick to approve a lower bond.

Wihebrink's trial is scheduled Jan. 14.

She's charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice. A probable cause affidavit says her son, 2-year-old Jaxon Stults, was found "very hot and stiff" in her car Sept. 5 and died in an ambulance.

___

Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A former president of Mexico warned of the possible consequences of U.S. trade policy during a lecture at Brown University in Rhode Island.

The Providence Journal reports that Ernesto Zedillo said Monday a trade war with China could reach "epic proportions, with irreversible damage."

He also criticized the attempts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying the new provisions of the latter were "damaging to American interests."

Zedillo was president of Mexico from 1994 until 2000. He currently directs the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.

Zedillo says the world can overcome economic disasters caused by a trade rivalry between the U.S. and China, but the pain would be greater if the rivalry leads to "bellicose confrontation."

___

Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.providencejournal.com
NEW YORK (AP) - In time for her 60th birthday, Barbie has a new collaborator bringing her wide-ranging style to life for humans.

One of the largest sellers of vintage-inspired clothes, Unique Vintage, is working with Barbie parent Mattel on the first women's line to meticulously duplicate some of the doll's most iconic early looks. In the process, the company also has taken care of the one thing critics love to hate about Barbie, her very plastic hourglass physique, by offering the outfits in sizes XS to 4X.

The collaboration, Barbie x Unique Vintage, celebrates 1950s and '60s Babs. The company that sells online and in about 500 boutiques around the world plans to go even bigger for Barbie's big 6-0 next year, offering key fashion moments from across the rest of her decades.

Until then, for fall, we caught up with all things Barbie x Unique Vintage in the swanky Jewel Suite designed by jeweler-to-the-stars Martin Katz in the Lotte New York Palace hotel on Madison Avenue. Katz paired a few of the looks with some of his own bling, from $36,000 button earrings in a rainbow of sapphires, garnets and tourmaline to a $48,000 cocktail ring of Bombay spinel cabochons and round diamonds.

All of the glam pleases Katie Echeverry. She's the founder, CEO and creative director of Unique Vintage, an 18-year-old company with 60 employees based in Burbank, California. With her long blonde locks and Barbie-esque dimensions, Echeverry said she was a Babs fan as a girl but was also a "tomboy" who loved to play softball.

During a recent round of media interviews explaining how the collab came about, Echeverry donned a Kelly-green shawl dress worn by Barbie in 1962 and done by Unique Vintage in a forgiving stretch fabric. Noteworthy was Echeverry's most definitely un-Barbie upper-arm tattoo, on proud display in the off-shoulder outfit, as she recalled her luck.

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, designer Katie Echeverry, seated right, join models Tiffany Hendrix, seated left, Kelsey Elliott, standing left, and Lori Moran, wearing outfits from a Barbie inspired fashion line she created in collaboration with toy company Mattel in New York. The collaboration, Barbie x Unique Vintage, is sold online at uniquevintage.com and in about 500 boutiques around the world. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

"When I emailed Mattel, I didn't think they'd actually reply back, but they did, and I was thrilled," Echeverry told The Associated Press. "They ran with it. I couldn't believe they hadn't done it before."

Echeverry worked closely with Mattel but "they didn't dictate what I chose." Mattel opened its archives to her as she went about duplicating outfits, with adjustments to account for the real human form. She said she chose looks that "spoke to me."

Barbie, the doll, first hit store shelves in 1959. That year, she stepped out in a swirl of gold and white brocade for evening. The dress was among those Echeverry picked and sells for $118 on uniquevintage.com. The matching collar coat with three-quarter sleeves trimmed in faux fur goes for $148.

Unique Vintage has brought Barbie fashion full circle, in a sense. It was a designer for actual women, Charlotte Johnson, who was hired to be the doll's first fashion creator. A Mattel team took over soon after Barbie's debut.

Echeverry's first Barbie go-around dropped in the spring. Social media fans of vintage and of Barbie took notice and sales have been brisk, she said. For fall, her prices range from $88 for an A-shaped Barbie flare skirt in green with a white hem to $198 for the doll's red matinee sleeveless sheath dress and short jacket trimmed with calico-colored faux fur.

It was important to Echeverry to choose looks that have remained iconic through the years but were wearable by women in the broad range of sizes she is committed to providing.

"I was like a kid in a candy store," she said. After the first season went on sale, Echeverry watched the response online, where nostalgia kicked in among fans who recalled favorite outfits, some gushing how they'd always wondered what it would be like to wear the looks themselves.

That goes a long way in explaining why Echeverry was more than a little dedicated to getting the clothes right.

"I went online and ordered every single vintage outfit myself. Mattel offered to lend them to me, but I was a little nervous about having some of their archives," she said. "In our fittings, we literally had the original Barbie dress next to the model. We moved Barbie. When I sourced fabrics overseas, I had Barbie clothes in my pocket and I was making sure we got as close as possible."

She was also dedicated to the price points she knows her buyers are after.

"I know our customer and she doesn't want to spend a lot of money, and I understand that," Echeverry said.

Unique Vintage sells shoes, hats, gloves, sunglasses and jewelry to complement the Barbie outfits. The company offers a red pillbox hat, for instance, to go with Barbie's 1962 red flare coat done in a soft felt with the same swing and puffy three-quarter sleeves and bow the doll wore, down to the white lining done in a white poly satin.

Barbie wore a cloche tweed hat with a rose with her "Career Girl" tweed pencil skirt set in 1963. Unique Vintage offers a black fascinator with a rose instead, for $22.

As for her afternoon of glam in the Martin Katz suite, with its shiny black grand piano and sparkling crystal ceiling decor on the 53rd floor of the Towers at Lotte, Echeverry was impressed.

"This is so glamorous. It's so much fun. The view's incredible," she said.

While noting Barbie's evolution as a "strong kick-ass woman" over the years, Echeverry said she was ready for a bit of her own reality after her recent promotional go-round.

"It's unusual to find me in a dress," she said. "As soon as this interview's over I'll be putting on my jeans and my T-shirt and be back to the regular Katie."

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Kelsey Elliott holds a Barbie doll while wearing a matching outfit from designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Lori Moran holds a Barbie doll and wears a matching outfit from designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Tiffany Hendrix holds a Barbie doll while wearing a matching outfit by designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Kelsey Elliott wears a Barbie inspired outfit from designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Lori Moran wears a Barbie doll inspired her outfit from designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Kelsey Elliott wears a Barbie inspired outfit from designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Tiffany Hendrix holds a Barbie doll while wearing a matching outfit by designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Nov. 5, 2018 photo, model Lori Moran holds a Barbie doll and wears a matching outfit from designer Katie Echeverry in New York. Echeverry's company, Unique Vintage, based in Burbank, California, is the first Mattel collaboration for a fashion line based on Barbie outfits. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - A new investigative team being set up to apportion blame for poison gas and nerve agent attacks in Syria will be ready to start work early next year, the chief of the global chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons voted in June to begin apportioning blame for attacks after Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution last November to extend the mandate of a joint UN-OPCW investigative team seeking to establish responsibility for a string of chemical attacks in Syria.

The joint team accused Syria of using chlorine gas in at least two attacks in 2014 and 2015, and the nerve agent sarin in an attack in April 2017 in the town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed about 100 people. The UN-OPCW team also accused the Islamic State extremist group of using mustard gas twice in 2015 and 2016.

OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said that a coordinator for the team has already been appointed and more experts and analysts are being hired.

"We are setting up the team of experts," Arias said, calling it a "small but very powerful team" with "high capacities that will be ready to start working in the first weeks of next year."

The organization's member states are meeting next week and must approve its annual budget, which also will cover the new team's work.

Spanish Fernando Arias, new Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), arrives for a meeting with the Foreign Press Association, (BPV), in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Arias said he was optimistic about the outcome of financial negotiations, "and I think that we'll have a budget for the organization."

The team, expected to comprise of about 10 to 12 investigators supported by experts and chemical inspectors who already work at the OPCW, will be able to look back at attacks for which the previous UN-OPCW team did not apportion blame.

One notorious allegation still being investigated by weapons inspectors is the suspected chemical attack in April in the Syrian town of Douma. An interim report said that weapons inspectors found "various chlorinated organic chemicals" at the site of the alleged Douma attack. Arias said that more samples are being studied to reach a final conclusion.

The OPCW made headlines last month when Dutch authorities revealed that they had foiled an alleged plot by Russian spies to hack into the organization's WiFi network using equipment stashed in the trunk of a rental car parked at a hotel next to the OPCW headquarters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected the OPCW spying allegation, calling the hacking claim a "misunderstanding."

Arias said the alleged plot was not the first attempted hack.

"We have had attacks since the beginning of this year - cyberattacks," he said. "We take that very seriously. It is not my mission to investigate the origin but my mission is to protect the IT system of the organization where we have confidential information. We have adopted very serious measures to guarantee that the system is very well protected."

Spanish Fernando Arias, new Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), arrives for a meeting with the Foreign Press Association, (BPV), in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Spanish Fernando Arias, new Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), gives a statement during a meeting with the Foreign Press Association, (BPV), in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - An Episcopal bishop in central New York says her diocese will continue to support same-sex marriages despite her counterpart in Albany issuing a pastoral directive against it.

The Rev. DeDe Duncan-Probe tells Syracuse.com The Rev. William Love in Albany "may have wounded people" when he said Saturday that the church has been "hijacked by the 'Gay Rights Agenda.'"

Love's opposition comes three weeks before a resolution goes into effect setting new rules for same-sex marriages in Episcopal churches nationwide.

The rules give bishops with objections to same-sex marriages the option to have other clergy perform services.

Duncan-Probe says it's too soon to tell if the Syracuse clergy would preside over same-sex marriages in Albany.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said Monday he is reviewing how the church will proceed.
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has missed a brief court session while recovering from a fall and broken ribs.

Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the 85-year-old justice would not join her colleagues Tuesday morning when the court took the bench. Arberg says Ginsburg "continues to improve and is working from home."

The court previously said Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall last week.

The court did not hear arguments Tuesday but took the bench briefly for other routine business.

Ginsburg is the Supreme Court's oldest justice. She fell in her office at the court last Wednesday, experienced discomfort overnight and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington on Thursday. She was released from the hospital on Friday.
BRUSSELS (AP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the European Union should work toward creating its own joint army, just after marking the centenary of the end of World War I with world leaders in France.

Merkel told EU lawmakers Tuesday that "we have to work on the vision of one day creating a real European army."

In a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Merkel underlined that such a force would not mean the end of NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance.

She also called for the creation of a European security council.

It's not the first time such a call has been made. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was widely criticized after suggesting the creation of a European army; notably by Britain, a staunch ally of the United States.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel debates the future of Europe with the members of the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, eastern France, Tuesday, Nov.13, 2018. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Hundreds of people filled a northern Indiana church to remember a missionary who was killed in Cameroon two weeks after arriving there with his wife and their eight children.

Charles Wesco died Oct. 30 after he was shot in the head during fighting between armed separatists and soldiers in the West African nation. The Mishawaka man was sitting with his wife, Stephanie, in a car being driven by another missionary when he was shot.

Wesco was the older brother of Republican state Rep. Tim Wesco of Osceola (o-see-O'-la).

The South Bend Tribune reports that during Monday's memorial service at South Bend's Community Baptist Church, fellow missionary Tom Needham told mourners that Wesco's widow has already forgiven her husband's killer, saying she "has no bitterness in her soul against anyone."

___

Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com

Members of the community attend the memorial service for Charles Wesco on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, at the Community Baptist Church in South Bend, Ind. Wesco died Oct. 30 after he was shot in the head during fighting between armed separatists and soldiers in Cameroon. Wesco was sitting with his wife, Stephanie, in a car being driven by another missionary when he was shot. (Robert Franklin /South Bend Tribune via AP)
PRAGUE (AP) - The coalition government of the Czech prime minister will face a no-confidence vote proposed by the opposition amid allegations that Andrej Babis' son was deliberately kept abroad to avoid being questioned about the leader's fraud charges.

Babis said Tuesday that his son, who now lives in Switzerland, went to Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, on his own will. But online news portal Seznam News said Andrej Babis Jnr. told its reporters he had been taken there involuntarily.

Babis and his family are wanted for questioning over accusations that he misused EU subsidies for a farm he transferred to his family members, including his son.

The date for the vote has not yet been set.

Babis' coalition partners, the Social Democrats have demanded explanations.

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2018 file photo Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis waits in front of his residency in Prague, Czech Republic. On Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, the office of Czech Prosecutor General says authorities are investigating allegations that the son of Prime Minister Andrej Babis was kept abroad by his father's collaborator in a case of an alleged fraud charges involving EU subsidies the premier faces. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, file)
NEW YORK (AP) - One of former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's accusers is urging him to donate millions of dollars left in his campaign coffers to programs that help abused women.

Michelle Manning Barish, a Democratic activist and writer, reiterated her demand Tuesday on CBS.

The National Organization for Women is advocating with Barish to have the money earmarked for assisting abused women. Barish says it would be a "great step toward healing."

Schneiderman's campaign said in July that remaining funds would be donated to "worthy and appropriate causes." His representative had no further comment on Tuesday.

A special prosecutor decided last week not to charge Schneiderman over allegations he abused several women he dated. The Democrat apologized and said that he didn't consider the decision an exoneration.
LONDON (AP) - The Latest on negotiations over Britain's exit from the European Union (all times local):

5 p.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's office has confirmed that the Cabinet will meet Wednesday to consider a draft divorce deal with the European Union.

Downing Street says negotiators from the U.K. and EU have reached a proposed agreement on Britain's withdrawal terms, which now needs political approval from Britain and the bloc.

May's office says Cabinet ministers are being invited to read the text ahead of their meeting.

___

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, gives a speech during the Lord Mayor's Banquet at the Guildhall in London, Monday Nov. 12, 2018. The Prime Minister traditionally gives a keynote speech to guests including top social and business leaders and banking executives at the annual Lord Mayor's Banquet. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)

4:45 p.m.

British and Irish media say U.K. and EU negotiators have reached an agreement on a proposed Brexit deal to resolve the main outstanding issue of the Irish border.

Irish national broadcaster RTE says the two sides have agreed on proposals to keep the border free of customs posts and other obstacles.

British media say the Cabinet will consider whether to agree to it at a special meeting on Wednesday. Downing St. did not immediately confirm the meeting.

Prime Minister Theresa May told the Cabinet earlier Tuesday that "a small number of issues" remained to be dealt with.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, and Britain is keen to seal a deal this fall.

If the U.K. Cabinet backs a deal, it will then need approval from all 28 EU nations and from the British and European parliaments.

___

10:20 a.m.

Prime Minister Theresa May's deputy says Britain and the European Union are "almost within touching distance" of a Brexit deal after another late-night negotiating session.

Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington says it's "possible but not at all definite" that the two sides can reach agreement this week.

Britain wants to seal a deal this fall, so that Parliament has time to vote on it before the U.K. leaves the bloc on March 29. The European Parliament also has to approve any agreement.

Negotiators have been meeting late into the night in Brussels in a bid to close the remaining gaps. May's Cabinet is meeting Tuesday for an update.

Differences remain between Britain and the bloc over how to ensure the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland remains open after Brexit.

Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab arrives for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, where troops are helping erect barriers and performing other tasks in support of border security.

Mattis gave no details in a brief comment to reporters Tuesday.

About 5,800 active duty troops are assigned to the border mission. Of those, about 1,000 are on or near the border in south Texas.

President Donald Trump ordered troops to the border in response to a caravan of migrants slowly making its way through Mexico toward the U.S.

In earlier comments, Mattis said the military's mission on the border has not changed "at this time," even though the lead migrant caravan is no longer headed toward south Texas. The caravan is now in western Mexico, with most of the migrants appearing to be headed toward Tijuana.
NEW YORK CITY (AP) - Powerful and influential women from all walks of life smiled and hugged at the 2018 Glamour Women of the Year Awards on Monday, but the devastating wildfires on the other side of the country were on a lot of minds.

Actress Alicia Silverstone had first-hand knowledge of how devastating the fires are. "I know a lot of people who were affected and evacuated and some are still holding ground and not leaving. It's really bad," she said.

"This is happening because we have a problem: global warming, and we must address it. We've been talking about this for a very long time. Brilliant scientists have been talking about this for a very long time. We have a very short window where we can make change so must do it."

The awards - celebrating "game changers, rule breakers and trailblazers" - included honorees such as Chrissy Teigen, Janelle Monae, Emma Gonzalez and Aly Raisman, as well as presenters such as Claire Danes, John Legend, Lupita Nyong'o and Padma Lakshmi.

MJ Rodriguez, who presented Monae's award, said being around so many strong women was encouraging. "I get to be around women who have implemented so much change in the world, not only through their art, but through their works, their action," Rodriqguez said. "So, to be around strong women like that, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right."

Another woman getting high praise, although not in attendance, was former first lady Michelle Obama. Monae said she can't wait to read her new memoir, "Becoming."

Political advisor Huma Abedin, left, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and producer Wendi Deng Murdoch attend the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

"I'm so excited about it. I've already preordered my copy," Monae said. "She's a phenomenal woman, whether she's writing a book or just talking to her one on one privately. She's exceptional and I'm so proud of her."

But the wildfires came up again and again, with some attendees saying the flames are part of a larger issue - global warming.

"So many people have lost their homes and it is climate change. It's a problem," said actress Andie MacDowell. "And until we start accepting and exploring that and what are we going to do, we're not going to solve the problem."

___

Online: https://www.glamour.com/inspired/women-of-the-year

Actress Claire Danes attends the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Student activist Emma Gonzalez attends the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Student activists Emma Gonzalez, left, Jaclyn Corin, Edna Chavez, Naomi Wadler and Sam Fuentes attend the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Fashion designer Christian Siriano, left, and actress Alicia Silverstone attend the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Actress Kat Graham attends the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Actress Indya Moore attends the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Actress Lili Reinhart attends the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Politician and gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords and husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, attend the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Spring Studios on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
HONOLULU (AP) - Ten Indonesian fishermen arrested in Hawaii are accused of trying to smuggle nearly 1,000 shark fins from the U.S. to Indonesia.

They had been working on a Japanese-flagged boat and were headed home via Honolulu when airport security workers found shark fins in their luggage last week, according to court documents.

At least 962 shark finds were founded in 13 pieces of luggage. Some were from oceanic whitetip sharks, authorities said.

It's against U.S law to engage in international trade of a protected species without a permit. It's also illegal to possess, sell or distribute shark fins in Hawaii, which was the first state in the nation to ban the pricey delicacy often used in soups.

The luggage included cardboard boxes, backpacks and suitcases.

"Fins were bundled together, and some were wrapped in foil. Some fins were sealed into clear and opaque bags, such as empty bags of rice, that obscured the contents, and those bags were, in turn, sealed within other opaque bags, apparently to contain odor or otherwise obscure the contents," a complaint filed in court said.

During questioning, one of the fishermen told authorities that while at sea, they cut fins off live sharks and threw the bodies back. Another fisherman said he ate sharks on the boat and cut off the fins, according to court documents, and that he didn't want dead sharks to go to waste.

Authorities estimate that the 190 pounds (89 kilograms) of seized shark fins have a street value of between $6,695 and $57,850.

A U.S. judge allowed them to be released on $10,000 unsecured bonds, each. Through an Indonesian interpreter, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang explained to them they won't have to pay any of the $10,000 if they stay out of trouble.

They were expected to be released from U.S. custody Tuesday and then taken to a Honolulu hotel.

The fishermen can't leave the island of Oahu without court permission, Chang said, and they can't discuss the case with each other.

___

This version corrects the amount of shark fins found in their luggage. There were nearly 1,000 find found, and authorities say some of them were from protected oceanic whitetip sharks.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A retired four-star general is President Donald Trump's pick to be U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, filling a key diplomatic vacancy at a time when U.S.-Saudi relations are being tested by the slaying of a journalist critical of the Saudi royal family.

Trump announced Tuesday that he is nominating John Abizaid, the longest-serving commander of the U.S. Central Command, to lead the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh. It's a post that has been empty since former ambassador Joseph Westphal left in January 2017.

If confirmed by the Senate, Abizaid would become ambassador as the Trump administration is weighing the U.S. response to the killing of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Turkish officials claim Khashoggi was killed by a 15-member assassination squad sent from Riyadh on orders from the highest levels of the Saudi government.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has revoked the visas of the Saudis implicated in the killing. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said additional measures will be taken.

Abizaid, who retired in 2007, served in wars in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Following the war in Iraq, Abizaid assumed control of CENTCOM, which overseas military operations in 20 nations stretching from northeast Africa to the Middle East to Central and South Asia.

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2007 file photo, retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, speaks in San Francisco. Abizaid is President Donald Trump's pick to be U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia. If confirmed by the Senate, Abizaid would fill a key diplomatic vacancy at a time when U.S.-Saudi relations are being tested by the death of a journalist critical of the royal family in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Abizaid, who retired in 2007, is the longest serving commander of the U.S. Central Command. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

Abizaid, of Nevada, currently works as a private consultant and is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Previously, he was the distinguished chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He also served in various senior positions on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
SUVA, Fiji (AP) - The man who first seized power in a military coup then refashioned himself as a legitimate leader appears set to rule Fiji for another four years.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and his FijiFirst party were headed for a convincing election win early Thursday as votes were tallied. Bainimarama has ruled the island nation since his 2006 coup, and won his first election in 2014 after returning democracy to the country.

With about half of the votes counted, FijiFirst was ahead with 53 percent while closest rival the Social Democratic Liberal Party, led by Sitiveni Rabuka, was at 37 percent. The margin was closer than in the last election, when FijiFirst won almost 60 percent of the vote.

Rabuka led two military coups in the 1980s before serving seven years as prime minister in the 1990s. Just this week, a judge cleared him of an electoral disclosure violation in a case that many viewed as being politically motivated.

Heavy rainfall throughout Wednesday affected voter turnout. The bad weather prompted officials to close more than 20 polling venues, affecting more than 7,000 voters who were promised the chance to vote at a later date.

Before voting ended, Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem urged voters to brave the weather, saying low turnout needed "to increase as much as possible."

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, file photo, Fiji's Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, in New York. Opinion polls indicate Bainimarama is poised to win a second term in Fiji's general election Wednesday after he first held democratic elections in 2014, eight years after he seized power in a coup. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

"The weather is a bit discouraging," said Akanisi Lal. That didn't stop the 53-year-old from taking a break from looking after her family to vote for Bainimarama.

"I have seen what he has been doing over the past four years," she said, citing policies such as free bus fares for seniors. "He will go deeper if he comes again in power."

Some voters were reluctant to say who they voted for because of fear of reprisals. "I don't want to be victimized," said Jashneel Kumar, a 24-year-old nurse.

Fiji has not allowed the political tensions to take a toll on its vital tourism industry, which promotes the Pacific nation's pristine, sunny beaches and friendly, welcoming people.

Given the history of coups, political stability was a big issue leading up to the election, as were racial tensions and economic issues.

Many people in the nation of 920,000 seem appreciative of the economic gains they've made under Bainimarama.

"There are no school fees. Before, I paid a couple hundred for school fees," said Mere Rigamoto, a 42-year-old mother of three boys. "Bainimarama's government is not bad. He's OK."

But Bainimarama has a troubled political history that has contributed to the coup culture. There were rumors he could stage another coup should he lose the election.

"We're bound to have another coup if he doesn't win," said 30-year-old Robert Lum On, a recent university graduate.

Fiji became independent from the U.K. in 1970. In 1987, Rabuka staged two racially charged coups to return the country to the hands of indigenous Fijians, who make up about 57 percent of the population, and away from Fijians of Indian descent, who make up 38 percent.

Indo-Fijians have been a major ethnic group in Fiji since colonial times, when the British brought them in to work the sugar cane plantations. Many Indo-Fijians favor Bainimarama, whose new constitution in 2013 removed race quotas from Parliament.

"Bainimarama's key success has been to establish the name 'Fijian' for all citizens of Fiji," said Richard Herr, a professor at Fiji National University who is based in Australia. "His legislation has made campaigning on race, or even having a racially based party, illegal."

On the campaign trail, Bainimarama accused Rabuka of stoking the flames of racism that continue to divide the nation. But some indigenous Fijians believed Rabuka would help restore their prestige, and liked his promise to bring back the nation's Great Council of Chiefs, which Bainimarama disbanded.

Critics deride Bainimarama as authoritarian, but since forcing himself into power, he has changed his image into that of a stable, legitimate leader. His appeal was bolstered when he assumed the U.N. COP23 presidency in November 2017. In that role, which he holds until December, he shaped Fiji into a pioneer on climate change issues.

With COP23 as a platform, Fiji inserted small island developing states into the international conversation on climate change. The islands are on the front lines of global warming, rising sea levels and ocean acidification.

After the 2006 coup, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions on Fiji, and Bainimarama reoriented regional alliances toward China. His critics accuse him of selling out the country to the Chinese.

The Lowy Institute says Fiji received about $360 million in aid from China between 2006 and 2016, putting it behind only Papua New Guinea in the Pacific region. China Exim Bank holds 39 percent of Fiji's externally held public debt, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Fiji's relations have since normalized with Australia and New Zealand, but the period of sanctions enabled China to step up its regional influence.

Fiji has one of the healthiest economies of the Pacific Islands, and GDP is predicted to grow above 3 percent annually through 2020. Tourism is the bedrock of the economy, accounting for more than 40 percent of GDP.

Bainimarama's government takes credit for increasing social services, including free primary and secondary education, free bus fares for seniors, and aid in the aftermath of cyclones. But widespread poverty persists. Bainimarama's opponents vowed to raise the minimum wage, which remains only about $1.25 per hour.

___

Associated Press writer Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.
PRAGUE (AP) - The Czech government has decided the country will stay out of a United Nations pact promoting an international approach to safe and orderly migration.

Wednesday's decision comes after Prime Minister Andrej Babis vehemently opposed the document, saying it poses a threat for his country's security and sovereignty.

Babis has argued the U.N. pact that is the subject of an adoption meeting set for Dec. 11-12 in Marrakech, Morocco, is dangerous even though it's nonbinding because "it, in fact, defines migration as a basic human right."

Babis noted that the United States, Austria and Hungary also reject it.

The Czech Republic previously refused a European Union plan to assign member states a required number of asylum-seekers to accept.
JERUSALEM (AP) - The Latest on the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers (all times local):

8:35 p.m.

A prominent Palestinian human rights group says dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed in Israel's two-day offensive in the Gaza Strip this week.

The Israeli military says it hit 160 targets, saying they were militant facilities like training camps, weapons facilities or military command centers.

But the Palestinian Center for Human Rights says three houses and a six-story apartment building were destroyed. Dozens of other homes near Israeli targets were damaged.

In the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, two bombs destroyed all 18 apartments in the Yazji building. A kindergarten in the building was severely damaged.

Palestinians survey a destroyed residential building hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Children's crayon paintings were charred, and baby bottles were strewn among the debris.

"What is there in a kindergarten to be targeted," said Mariam Hamed, a parent. "No place is safe in Gaza."

___

8:10 p.m.

Israeli demonstrators have blocked roads in two southern cities to protest the cease-fire deal with Hamas.

Protesters set bonfires in the southern town of Sderot on Wednesday night, while about 70 people took to the streets in the city of Ashkelon, waving Israeli flags and calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign.

Netanyahu has come under heavy criticism for agreeing to a cease-fire with Hamas after two days of heavy fighting. His defense minister resigned in protest on Wednesday, sparking a political crisis.

___

4:40 p.m.

The Israeli military says a Gaza fisherman killed by Israeli fire in northern Gaza Strip was illegally advancing toward the security fence dividing Gaza and Israel.

The military said in a statement that the army shot him Wednesday in adherence with military protocol for anyone approaching the fence at that range.

The fishermen's union says the 20-year-old man was working on the beach near the land-maritime fence separating Gaza from Israel when he was shot in the stomach.

It marks the first fatality since Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies toward the brink of another war.

___

3:30 p.m.

Palestinian officials say a Gaza fisherman has been killed by Israeli fire in northern Gaza Strip.

The fishermen's union says the 20-year-old man was working Wednesday on the beach near the land maritime fence separating Gaza from Israel when he was shot in the stomach.

It marks the first fatality since Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies toward the brink of another war.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while Israel carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed. In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike.

___

3:25 p.m.

The leader of a major Israeli opposition party says the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman shows that the current government has run its course.

Yaid Lapid, head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, says Wednesday "the countdown has begun" to the end of Benjamin Netanyahu's term in office. Lapid considers himself a potential successor to the longtime Israeli leader.

Lapid says "the journey to restore security, responsibility and leadership for Israel begins today."

Lieberman's resignation significantly weakens Netanyahu's ruling coalition government and appears likely to bring about an early election.

Lieberman says the cease-fire reached with Gaza's Hamas rulers was "surrender to terrorism." Lieberman had demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014.

___

2 p.m.

Hamas says the resignation of Israel's defense minister after a two-day bout of heavy fighting is a "political victory for Gaza."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri says Avigdor Lieberman's resignation Wednesday marked "recognition of defeat and failure to confront the Palestinian resistance." He says "Gaza's steadfastness sent a political shockwave" in Israel.

Lieberman says he is resigning in protest over the cease-fire reached with Gaza militants on Tuesday. Lieberman had advocated for a more decisive blow against Hamas in response to the fiercest wave of rocket attacks against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014.

The latest fighting was triggered by a botched Israeli raid into Gaza on Sunday that ignited clashes and left seven Palestinian militants and a senior Israeli officer dead.

Lieberman's resignation delivers a major blow to Israel's ruling coalition and appears likely to spark early elections.

___

1:15 p.m.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman says he is resigning in protest over the cease-fire reached with Gaza militants.

Lieberman's resignation Wednesday significantly weakens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition government and could bring about an early election.

Lieberman says the cease-fire reached with Gaza's Hamas rulers was a "surrender to terrorism." Lieberman has demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014. He says he also fiercely objected to Israel's allowing Qatar to deliver $15 million in aid to Gaza last week.

Lieberman's resignation will go into effect in 48 hours. Netanyahu will take over on an interim basis.

___

Noon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Gaza's militant Hamas rulers "begged for a cease-fire and they know why."

His comments Wednesday at a memorial service for Israel's first leader, David Ben-Gurion, were his first since the two sides ended their most intense round of fighting since a 50-day war in 2014.

Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while the Israeli military carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed. In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike and three were critically wounded.

Netanyahu has come under heavy political pressure for not delivering a more decisive blow against Hamas. He responded that "leadership is not doing the easy thing; it is doing the right thing."

____

10:00 a.m.

The Israeli military says it has shot at and captured a Palestinian who approached the Gaza perimeter fence and hurled grenades into Israel.

Wednesday's incident marked the first unrest since Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies to the brink of another war.

The military says it spotted the assailant with a knife and wire cutters. The grenades he hurled failed to explode.

The Israeli military says Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while it carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed. In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike and three were critically wounded.
BRUSSELS (AP) - The Latest on migrants in Europe (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

Italy's hard-line interior minister has welcomed 51 refugees and asylum-seekers who arrived in Italy after being detained in Libya and then airlifted out by the U.N. refugee agency.

Matteo Salvini, whose crackdown on migrants fleeing Libya aboard smugglers' boats inflamed tensions across Europe, was on hand at Rome's Pratica di Mare military base Wednesday as the men, women and children disembarked from a flight from Niger. He tweeted that "welcoming children who are truly escaping war, as I did this morning in Rome, is a pleasure," adding that they are different from economic migrants who he believes should be expelled from Italy.

The 51 migrants were identified by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees as deserving of international protection and were flown out of Libya to Niger pending relocation.

___

Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini speaks to children upon their arrival in Pratica di Mare's military airport, near Rome, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. A group of 51 refugees and asylum seekers from Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Cameroon, arrived in Italy from Niger, where they had been transferred to after being held in Libyan detention centers. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

11:55 a.m.

Greek authorities say 18 people were hospitalized after the latest in a string of often fatal road accidents involving vehicles smuggling migrants through northern Greece.

Police say a van driven by a suspected migrant smuggler and crammed with another 46 people veered off a road and crashed near the northeastern town of Didymoteicho overnight Wednesday.

Police say the migrants, who included several children, were Syrians, Iraqis and Palestinians.

Didymoteicho is very close to the border with Turkey, from which thousands of migrants enter Greece illegally every year hoping to move on to Europe's prosperous heartland.

Most pay criminal gangs to smuggle them into Greece and to drive them from the border to Thessaloniki, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) further west.

____

11:45 a.m.

The European Union's border agency says 2018 is likely to see the lowest number of unauthorized migrant arrivals in five years.

Frontex said Wednesday that around 118,900 irregular border crossings were recorded in the first 10 months of the year, around 31 percent lower than the same period a year ago.

Despite the steadily dropping numbers, EU member states are still bickering over how best to handle the arrivals and the dispute continues to fuel anti-migrant political sentiment across Europe.

Frontex notes that while entries are declining, the number of people reaching Europe across the western Mediterranean Sea - mostly via Spain from Morocco - continues to rise.

The agency says that nearly 9,400 people crossed in October, more than double the same month last year.

A family sits on a bus upon their arrival in Pratica di Mare's military airport, near Rome, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. A group of 51 refugees and asylum seekers from Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Cameroon, arrived in Italy from Niger, where they had been transferred to after being held in Libyan detention centers. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
MOSCOW (AP) - Ukraine's prime minister on Wednesday accused local officials of causing a crisis that has left hundreds of thousands without heating in freezing weather.

Several towns, and neighborhoods in two big cities, were left without heating after national gas company Naftagaz raised prices that some struggling municipalities said they couldn't afford to pay. Naftagaz refuses to resume supplies to local utility companies and power stations until they clear their debts or pay for supplies in advance.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman on Wednesday laid the blame on local officials for failing to resolve the disputes, and said the parliament should consider firing them.

"This has to be stopped," he told a televised session of the government. "If some mayors cannot make it work, we will be asking the parliament to deal with it and suspend them from their positions."

Groisman said he has intervened and spent the past 24 hours, trying to bring about a settlement between local officials and the gas supplier.

Volodymyr Mykolayenko, mayor of Kherson, where more than 100,000 people are believed to be without heating, told the 112 television station later Wednesday that thanks to Groisman's efforts the local power station has just started receiving gas and that the heating will come on in the coming hours.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 file photo, a worker at a Ukrainian gas station Volovets in western Ukraine controls a valve. Angry Ukrainians took to the streets and blocked roads Tuesday Nov. 13, 2018, as hundreds of thousands remain without heating at a time when temperatures are plunging because of a dispute between the national gas company and regional utility providers. (AP Photo/Pavlo Palamarchuk, File)

Ukraine is struggling with a flagging economy and a separatist conflict in the east, which is weighing down on the nation's finances. One of the conditions for the International Monetary Fund to continue providing Ukraine with loans was that it should increase gas prices by 23 percent starting Nov. 1. Bills for hot water and heating are expected to increase by another 15 percent on Dec. 1.

Angry Ukrainians have been rallying on the streets and blocking roads to protest the authorities' inaction. In the town of Smila, in central Ukraine, the mayor announced on Wednesday that they had to close the local hospital and take the patients out of town as the temperatures plunged and no heating was provided. Emergency officials set up tents, offering warm shelter to local residents.
Theresa May has warned Brussels she will not sign up to a Brexit agreement at any cost, amid signs of further rebellion among her senior ministers.

The Prime Minister will hold a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday after using a London speech to say she will not compromise on what people voted for in the 2016 referendum.

Ms May used her annual address to the Lord Mayors Banquet to say that while talks with the European Union were approaching the end game, there were significant issues that continue to block the path to a deal with Brussels.

Her comments seemed to extinguish hopes that the Cabinet might sign off a deal on Tuesday.

If no deal is agreed by Wednesday, the prospects of a special Brexit summit in Brussels in November will recede sharply, further reducing Mrs Mays chances of getting a vote in Parliament before Christmas.

Half a dozen Brexiteer ministers including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Environment Secretary Michael Gove are due to tell Mrs May that leaving without a deal would be better than the proposals on the table from Brussels, the Daily Telegraph reported.

It said they met for drinks at International Trade Secretary Liam Foxs office on Monday night to discuss their concerns.

Mrs May told the audience at Guildhall in London that while both sides wanted a viable withdrawal agreement, what we are negotiating is immensely difficult.

(PA Graphics)

She added: Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and I am determined to deliver for them.

I want them to know that I will not compromise on what people voted for in the referendum. This will not be an agreement at any cost.

She repeated her assertion that a deal must give the UK control of our laws, borders and money, plus the freedom to strike trade deals while protecting jobs, security and the Union.

Jo Johnson, brother of former foreign secretary Boris, left his role as transport minister over Mrs Mays Brexit plans.

Writing in The Times, he said what was being offered was a false choice between vassalage and chaos and backed the campaign for a Peoples Vote, while former Brexit secretary David Davis wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Baldrick from Blackadder would blush at the false dichotomy between Chequers and no deal.

Mr Johnson said: Were today in the extraordinary position where even the staunchest advocates of Brexit, including my brother Boris, publicly admit wed be better off staying in the EU than with the PMs deal.

Thats why the argument the government will present for its hopeless package is not that it is better for Britain than our current membership.

The only case she (Mrs May) can try to make is that it is better than the alternative of leaving the EU with no deal at all. Well, thats a low bar indeed.

How have our ambitions for our country fallen this far this fast? We can and must do better.

Both the EU and UK sides had earlier said issues remained to be settled despite weekend talks that went on into the early hours of Monday morning.

Downing Street said reports that Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier expected the parameters of a deal to be presented to ministers for approval at their regular weekly meeting should be taken with a bucket of salt.

Michel Barnier (Niall Carson/PA)

It is not thought that any deal will be on the table at the Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street, which will instead hear an update on negotiations and discuss preparations for a possible no-deal withdrawal from the EU.

In a move that could either provide a boost or an additional headache for Mrs May, senior EU officials are due to discuss whether UK citizens should be required to obtain a 52 (60 euro) visa to enter the EU after Brexit.

The college of commissioners will meet in Strasbourg where they will receive an update on Brexit negotiations from Mr Barnier.

But also due to be on the agenda is whether Britain should be treated as a third country whose citizens would require a permit to visit the continent.
The widow of a former Welsh Government minister who was found dead while facing sexual misconduct allegations is to urge the High Court to allow her to challenge the legality of an inquiry into his sacking.

A judge in London will hear a fresh application for a judicial review by Bernie Sargeant on Tuesday.

An investigation into the way her husband Carl Sargeant was treated by First Minister Carwyn Jones has been suspended pending her legal move relating to how it will proceed.

Mr Sargeant, 49, was found hanged at his home last November, four days after being removed from his role as cabinet secretary for communities and children while facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

The politician, from Connahs Quay, North Wales, was suspended from the Labour Party over allegations of unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping on November 3.

His family have said he was not told the details of what he was accused of and was unable to properly defend himself.

Politician Carl Sargeant, whose widow is going to the High Court in a bid to challenge an inquiry into his sacking (Family Handout/PA)

The father-of-two was found dead at his home on November 7.

The First Minister announced an independent inquiry into how he handled his former ministers sacking.

Mrs Sargeant is seeking to challenge the legality of the operation of the inquiry, and has spoken publicly of her concerns that the investigation could become a cover-up.

The High Court action was launched to challenge the unlawful decision-making of the First Minister of Wales and the Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Government in relation to the investigations operational protocol, which will govern how it will proceed.

Mrs Sargeants lawyers say she is challenging a number of decisions.

They include a decision to bar the familys lawyers from being able to question witnesses, another to allow the independent investigator to bar the family from hearings, and also a decision to prevent oral evidence from being heard in public.

When news of the legal action was announced, Mrs Sargeant said: We have a right to be able to hear and challenge the evidence.

Please believe me, we are not trying to be obstructive, we just want to get to the truth and feel that we have a great deal to offer the inquiry. We dont want to be excluded.

She said: All I want is to understand and process why my husband is no longer here. This whole thing just adds agony to heartbreak, but I owe it to Carl to get the full picture.

A spokesman for the First Minister has said: This is not, and was never intended to be, a public inquiry. Nor is it an investigation into the tragic death of Carl Sargeant.



He said: The First Minister established this investigation voluntarily, solely and specifically to give independent scrutiny of the actions and decisions which he took in relation to Carl Sargeant at the time of the ministerial reshuffle last November.

Mr Justice Supperstone will hear argument on Mrs Sargeants behalf following an earlier rejection of her case by another judge who reviewed her application on paper.
At least 42 people have died in a wildfire in Northern California, making it the deadliest blaze in state history.

Authorities reported 13 more fatalities as the search for bodies continued.

Victims were found in burned-out cars, in the smouldering ruins of their homes, or next to their vehicles, apparently overcome by smoke and flames before they could escape.

In some cases, there were only charred fragments of bone, so small that investigators used a wire basket to sift and sort them.

Hundreds of people were unaccounted for by the sheriffs reckoning, four days after the fire swept over the town of Paradise and practically wiped it off the map.

As the search for victims dragged on, friends and relatives of the missing called hospitals, police, shelters and the coroners office in the hope of learning what became of their loved ones.

Paradise was a popular retirement community, and about a quarter of the population was over 65.

Tad Teays awaited word on his 90-year-old dementia-stricken mother. Darlina Duarte was desperate for information about her half-brother, a diabetic who was largely housebound because he had lost his legs.

And Barbara Hall tried in vain to find out whether her aunt and the womans husband, who are in their 80s and 90s, made it out alive from their retirement community.

Did they make it in their car? Did they get away? Did their car go over the edge of a mountain somewhere? I just dont know, said Ms Hall, adding that the couple had only a landline and calls were not going through to it.

Scorched cars line the road in Paradise, California (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Megan James, of Newfoundland, Canada, searched via Twitter from the other side of the continent for information about her aunt and uncle, whose house in Paradise burned down and whose vehicles were still there. On Monday, she asked on Twitter for someone to take over the posts, saying she was so emotionally and mentally exhausted.

The blaze was part of an outbreak of wildfires on both ends of the state.

Together, they were blamed for 44 deaths, including two in celebrity-studded Malibu in Southern California, where firefighters appeared to be gaining ground against a roughly 143-square-mile blaze that destroyed at least 370 structures, with hundreds more feared lost.

Some of the thousands of people forced from their homes by the blaze were allowed to return, and authorities reopened US 101, a major highway through the fire zone in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

CAL FIRE would like to continue to thank our out of state partners that came to our aide during these powerful wildfires. We appreciate their support. pic.twitter.com/hGYtkDYY6m  CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) November 13, 2018

Malibu celebrities and mobile-home dwellers in nearby mountains were slowly learning whether their homes had been spared or reduced to ash.

In Northern California, fire crews still fighting the blaze that obliterated Paradise contended with wind gusts of up to 40 mph overnight. The fire had grown to 177 square miles and was 25% contained, authorities said. Winds were expected to weaken on Monday night.

The 29 dead in Northern California matched the deadliest single fire on record, a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. A series of wildfires in Northern Californias wine country last autumn killed 44 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes.
A 28-year-old has been found guilty of six counts of murder after driving a car through a pedestrian-only street in Melbourne.

Jurors took less than an hour to find James Gargasoulas guilty of all 33 charges against him, including 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life.

Gargasoulas pleaded not guilty to all of the counts at Melbourne Supreme Court, but admitted driving through the citys busy Bourke Street mall and along pavements in January 2017, causing death and injury.

He told the court he believed he had received Gods permission, through a premonition, to hit people with the stolen car he was driving but not to kill anyone.

Jurors heard he had a mental illness but did not use this as a defence.

He said: I apologise from my heart but thats not going to fix anything neither will a lengthy sentence fix what I done.

James Gargasoulas, who drove a car through a crowd on a pedestrian-only Australian street last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more, has been found guilty of murder (Lachlan V/AP)

Before the jury retired, Justice Mark Weinberg said they must accept Gargasoulas admissions as established facts, and that because his psychosis and delusions at the time of the rampage were drug-induced, he could not argue he was not guilty by way of mental impairment.

The victims ranged in age from three months to 33 years old, and a lawyer representing the families of five murder victims told reporters they were grateful for the verdict.

This was an intentional, callous act by Mr Gargasoulas that has stolen six innocent victims from the people that love them, the lawyer, Genna Angelowitsch, said outside court.

Gargasoulas will be sentenced in January.
The Democratic Party has claimed one of its biggest scalps of the US midterm elections by taking a Senate seat in a previously Republican stronghold.

Kyrsten Sinema won the Arizona Senate seat vacated by Republican Jeff Flake.

The race against Republican Martha McSally was so tight that a winner was not decided until Monday, after a slow count of postal ballots gave her an insurmountable lead.

(PA Graphics)

Ms Sinemas win achieves a long-time Democratic goal of making Arizona, with its growing Latino population, a competitive state.

And she did it by pointedly not running against President Donald Trump, or even criticising his hardline immigration stance.

Ms Sinema targeted moderate Republican and independent women by painting herself as a non-partisan problem solver who voted to support Mr Trumps agenda 60% of the time.

Her nearly single-issue campaign talked about the importance of healthcare and protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Ms Sinema beat Republican Martha McSally to flip the Senate seat (AP Photo/Matt York)

She knew Ms McSally was vulnerable there because she backed the Republicans failed attempt to repeal president Barack Obamas health care law.

Ms Sinema tailored her campaign for conservative-leaning Arizona rather than the national environment, but it may be a guide for Democrats who hope to expand the electoral map in 2020.

While some liberals won important races in California, Colorado and Kansas, the lefts highest-profile champions disappointed on election day.

Beto ORourke fell short in his challenge to Ted Cruz in Texas, Stacey Abrams trails her Republican opponent in the still undecided bitter race to be governor of Georgia, and Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, who once led in the polls in the race for Florida governor, is now awaiting the results of a recount.

Ms Sinema first came to prominence as an openly bisexual Green Party activist in Phoenix, and Ms McSally criticised the Democrat over her protests against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

She was elected as a Democrat to the state legislature in 2004 and carved out a reputation as a liberal who could work with her conservative colleagues.

She was elected to Congress representing a suburban Phoenix district in 2012.

She voted against Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic leader, supported relaxed regulations on banks and a law to increase penalties on people illegally re-entering the country.

She supported a bill making it easier to deport immigrants identified by police as gang members.
Whether its buying a coffee for the person behind you in the queue, leaving a book in a public place for someone else to enjoy, or simply holding the door open, being kind does not have to be difficult.

With the aim of making the world a more compassionate and connected place, November 13 was named World Kindness Day in 1998, and has been inspiring individuals towards incorporating selfless acts into their day-to-day lives ever since.

But with our hectic and crowded schedules, there is one person we can often forget to be generous to  ourselves.

According to various studies, practising self-compassion can result in an ability to cope better with stress, lessen the symptoms of depression and anxiety, alongside enhancing immune function and increasing motivation.

Therefore, far from being narcissistic, being kind to yourself is actually incredibly important. Here are six ways to do just that

1. Compliment yourself

(Thinkstock/PA)

It might sound ridiculous, but standing in front of the bathroom mirror in the morning and voicing what you love about yourself or what youre grateful to have in your life, has the power to alter your mindset.

When we look at ourselves, we tend to only focus on all the things we would change, but the mirror technique, a favourite of body-positive activist and model Iskra Lawrence, reminds you of the qualities that make you and your life amazing, which can have a positive impact on the rest of your day.

2. Skip the social gathering



Sometimes, all you want to do is put your pyjamas on, apply a face mask and lie down while eating as many chocolate-based snacks as humanly possible, rather than go to that social gathering. So do it.

Every once in a while its OK to switch off from the world. Listening to yourself and putting your wellbeing first is really important. Take some time out, you can always go to the next event.

3. Try meditation

Having gained a large following in recent years, meditation and mindfulness have proven to have a number of mental health benefits.

With free content accessible online and via dedicated apps, you can give yourself the gift of a clear mind and heightened concentration, requiring only a few minutes from your day.



4. Stop scrolling

In this current digital age we are able to compare ourselves to absolutely anyone, from an old school friend we lost contact with 15 years ago, or someone weve never met living on the other side of the world, and this can leave us feeling inferior and desolate.

Reduce your chances of developing repetitive strain injury, and do something that banishes these feelings from your mind: Go to the gym, visit your family or re-watch the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap for the millionth time, its up to you.

5. Try something new

Leaving your comfort-zone is an extremely scary prospect, but forcing yourself to mix things up can be a very rewarding experience. In giving a new activity or sport a go, you can learn a new skill, increase your confidence and feed your creativity, which can assist you in other areas of your life.

While you might end up hating the thing you pick, it could be something your future self thanks you for.

6. Treat yourself

Whether its buying that dress thats been on your ASOS wish-list for months, indulging in those cupcakes you see everyday on your walk to work, or booking a mini-break, you deserve to reward yourself from time-to-time.

Whether its an extravagant once-in-a-lifetime purchase or something that doesnt require breaking the bank, doing something you want to can boost your mood, reduce stress and remind you that youre doing great.
The armed wing of Hamas has said it will step up attacks and fire rockets at Israeli towns of Ashdod and Beersheba if Israel continues to carry out airstrikes in Gaza.

The warning was issued on Tuesday, hours after a rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli man in a direct hit on a residential building in the coastal town of Ashkelon.

The rocket was fired after an Israeli airstrike destroyed Hamas TV building in Gaza.

An Israeli soldier walks by a house damaged in Ashkelon by a missile fired from the Gaza Strip (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

The spokesman for the Hamas military wing, identified only as Abu Obeida, said in a statement that Ashkelon has entered the range of fire as a response to the bombing of buildings in Gaza.

He said that Ashdod and Beersheba are the next targets if the enemy continues bombing civilian buildings.

Of the three cities, Ashkelon is closest to Gaza.

A woman was critically injured in the rocket attack that killed a man in Ashkelon.

Palestinians check the damage of a destroyed residential building hit by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City (Khalil Hamra/AP)

The death was the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war.

Gaza militants pummelled Israel with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza.

The military said there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon.

About 100 of them were intercepted by Israels Iron Dome defence system.

Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza.
Every country nurtures its symbols of national pride. But very few have emblems as charismatic as Finlands Moomins.

The whimsical creatures created by Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson have achieved worldwide recognition since they first appeared in the 1940s  and their popularity just seems to keep growing.

Last week, Visit Finland took two key characters from the books on a tour of London to encourage British people to come and explore their magical Nordic world. Mischievous Little My and the stories key protagonist Moomintroll visited Buckingham Palace, caught a London bus and even made a few calls back home from an iconic red telephone box.

But how and why have the Moomins become such fitting ambassadors for Finland?

(David Parry/PA Wire)

Inspired by nature and attuned to the changing seasons, Jansson encapsulated her countrys lakes and forests in the pages of her Moomin books. From the endless days of summer to the snow-swathed mid-winter months, Finns celebrate and respect their environment; just like the Moomins, their lives are shaped by the great outdoors.

Written after the Second World War, the Moomin books became a form of escapism for Jansson, creating a magical world of family and inclusion. And with three-quarters of the country covered in forest, imaginations can easily run wild; towering birch trees and moss-covered boulders provide numerous hiding places for quirky characters and trolls.

But the Moomins dont just resonate with a Finnish audience  their appeal has spread worldwide with the books translated into 44 languages and animation series appearing on TV  the most famous being Japans Delightful Moomin Family which aired in more than 120 countries from the 1990s.

Next spring, new Finnish-made series Moominvalley will be broadcast on Sky, featuring the voices of Rosamund Pike, Taron Egerton, Kate Winslet, Warwick Davis and Richard Ayoade.

To celebrate the new show, the excellent Moomin Museum (moominmuseum.fi) in Tampere will be hosting a new exhibition about previous animated productions. Opening in April 2019, Moomin Animations  Thrills and Cuddles will look at the very first German black and white marionette animation filmed in 1959, right through to the latest modern-day interpretation.

Manuscripts, hand-drawn sketches, three-dimensional models, sound samples and digital mock-ups will all be on display.

Since opening last year, the museum has attracted 100,000 international visitors and the new exhibition will no doubt see that figure rise  further proof Moominmania has put Finland on the map.

How to get there

Best Served Scandinavia (best-served.co.uk) offer a 7-day Moomins in Finland tour from 765pp, including flights. Highlights include the Mumin Kaffe in Helsinki, Soderskar, believed to be the inspiration for the setting of Moominpappa at Sea, The Moomin Museum in Tampere and the Moominworld theme park in Turku.
Britain and the EU are almost within touching distance of striking a Brexit deal, Theresa Mays de facto deputy has said.

After talks in Brussels continued late into the night for a second successive day, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said an agreement was still possible this week.

However, with the negotiations now down to the most difficult issues, he said that there had to be a measure of caution.

Still possible, but not at all definite I think pretty much sums it up, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Mrs May is briefing senior ministers on the progress of the talks at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet in Downing Street on Tuesday.

Mr Lidington confirmed the final issues still to be resolved included the so-called Northern Ireland backstop, intended to ensure there is no hard border with the Republic in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

He said: We are not quite there yet. This was always going to be an extremely difficult, extremely complex negotiation, but we are almost within touching distance now.

But as the PM has said, it cant be a deal at any price. It has got to be one that works in terms of feeling we can deliver on the referendum result and that is why there is a measure of caution.

In her annual address to the Lord Mayors Banquet on Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed the negotiations were approaching the end game, but said there were still significant issues standing in the way of an agreement.

If there is no deal by the end of Wednesday, the prospects of a special Brexit summit in Brussels in November will recede sharply, further reducing Mrs Mays chances of getting a vote in Parliament before Christmas.

(PA Graphics)

Mr Lidington acknowledged it would be an important moment, but refused to be drawn on suggestions it will mark the point that the Government has to start putting into action its no-deal contingency plans if there was no agreement.

I am not going to put dates to particular ascribed actions, he said.

He added however: There does come a point at which contingency plans have to be stepped up simply so that in that eventuality, the preparations have been done.

You may have to run the two things in parallel.

Mrs May faces continuing unrest among Brexiteer ministers who fear she is preparing to give too much ground to Brussels in her efforts to get an agreement.

Around half a dozen ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Environment Secretary Michael Gove, are prepared to tell her that leaving without a deal would be better than the proposals on the table from Brussels, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The group was said to have met for drinks at International Trade Secretary Liam Foxs office on Monday night to discuss their concerns, ahead of the Cabinet meeting.

In her speech at Guildhall in London, the Prime Minister said that while both sides in the talks wanted a viable withdrawal agreement, what we are negotiating is immensely difficult.

She added: Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and I am determined to deliver for them.

I want them to know that I will not compromise on what people voted for in the referendum. This will not be an agreement at any cost.
After the exit of Sachin Bansal , soon after Walmart - Flipkart deal, his close friend, co-founder and the group CEO of Flipkart, Binny Bansal also resigned following an investigation by the company into alleged 'serious personal misconduct '. The company in a statement said "Earlier today, Binny Bansal announced his resignation as CEO of Flipkart Group, effective immediately. Binny has been an important part of Flipkart since co-founding the company, but recent events risked becoming a distraction and Binny has made a decision to step down". However, the company did not further disclose the nature of allegations that were leveled against him. Sources told Business today that the complaint was filed earlier this year in July by one of its ex-employees after which an enquiry was conducted by a law firm at the behest of the board of the company.

In an emotional email, Binny denied allegations levelled against him, and said although he was contemplating stepping away from his current role for a while, his decision was accelerated by certain personal events that have taken place in the recent past. "Events relate to a claim of serious personal misconduct made against me, which was uncorroborated after a thorough investigation completed by an independent law firm. The allegations left me stunned and I strongly deny them".

Binny further wrote "The investigation, however, did bring to light lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how I responded to the situation. These have been challenging times for my family and me".

The news of his exit came as a surprise to everyone including the employees. One of the employees who did not wish to be named said "I can't believe that Binny can be involved in anything that could amount to personal misconduct".

Unlike his friend and the other co-founder Sachin Bansal who quit the company following acquisition by Walmart and also sold his 5.5 per cent stake, Binny will continue to be a large shareholder in the company and will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

Meanwhile, the board and Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart also reached out to employees through emails.

Terming the exit as 'unfortunate and challenging for Binny , his family and Flipkart' , the board in its email said that there will not be changes to the existing structure . Krishnamurthy will continue to be the CEO of Flipkart, which will now include Myntra and Jabong, continuing to operate as separate platforms. Ananth Narayanan will continue as the CEO of Myntra and Jabong, while Sameer Nigam will continue as PhonePe's CEO. He will now directly report to the board of the company.

Although Krishnamurthy didn't go into the details of the investigations, in his email, he assured employees that it will be business-as-usual, going forward. "Flipkart's leadership position today was possible due to years of hard work and collaboration between all stakeholders of the e-commerce ecosystem, particularly you, whose ingenuity and dedication have led us to become the market leader in India," he said.

"So, I wanted to personally let you know that there will be no changes in our operating processes or to the mission of the company as a result of this news," he added.

While the details of the nature of the allegations and investigation are likely to come out in the time to come , for a company that is now fighting its biggest battle in the e-commerce space, the unceremonious exit of its founders was perhaps the least expected .
Weve happily been sipping sherry for donkeys years, and generally from a petite wine glass served at room temperature. But Harveys Bristol Cream (8.99, 75cl, Waitrose) is looking to give the cream sherry category a stylish new lease of life.

Tying in with its Spanish roots, the iconic blue bottle has been given a makeover with a thermochromic ink logo (aka a colour-changing label) that tells you when its hit the perfect serving temperature: Ice cold, the way the Spanish drink it.

While people may associate it with the family Christmas trifle recipe, sherry is being enjoyed as an aperitif before a meal, as an accompaniment to tapas dishes, or as a long drink with lemonade and fresh seasonal fruits when entertaining friends, says Jen McCormick, head of sherry brands at Whyte & Mackay.

(Harveys/PA)

Its time to start drinking Harveys the way its enjoyed in Spain  chilled, and poured over ice in a large wine glass, topped with a slice of orange.

Launched in 1882, the original Harveys The Bristol Cream recipe hasnt changed, and is still a complete, balanced and complex blend of fine wines from Spains acclaimed sherry region, Jerez, namely: delicate finos, aged amontillados, fragrant olorosos, and wine from the sweet pedro ximenez grape.

And serving it chilled opens up a whole new taste experience, unlocking the sherrys rich, mellow and long-lasting finish.

Heres what else you should know about Harveys

1. Its named after two Bristolian brothers

Harveys gets its name from two Bristolian brothers  Edward and John Harvey II  who decided to rewrite the rule-book of old-style Bristol Milk sherry. Their maverick re-invention proved such a sensation that a local aristocrat pronounced it The Cream  the name its now known by all over the world.

2. Harveys should be served cold in a large wine glass

The best way to serve Harveys is to keep it in the fridge and serve it chilled, over ice, in a large wine glass, with a slice of orange. Once opened, the sherry will last up to three months.

3. Harveys is versatile and food friendly

While we may love a well laced trifle, theres so much more to Harveys than pairing it with puddings and mince pies. The elixir of nutty raisin notes works like a dream with savoury snacks such as olives, rich and salty manchego cheese, cold meats and a generous splash will liven up a beef consomme, too.

4. Sherry has a long Royal association

John Harvey & Sons was granted a royal warrant as supplier of fine wine to Queen Victoria in 1895 and has supplied the Royal Household with sherry ever since.

5. One of the perks of being a Poet Laureate is a butt of sherry

The Poet Laureate, an official office of the Royal Household, is paid in sherry, at a rate of one butt of sherry per year, the equivalent of 720 bottles. The tradition dates back to 1619, and Carol Ann Duffy is the latest in a long line of Poet Laureates to accept an annual gift of sherry from Spain.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been stopped at the border and barred from leaving Russia as he was about to travel to a court hearing at the European Court for Human Rights in France.

Mr Navalny said in a blog post on Tuesday that he was due to attend a hearing at the ECHR which is expected to rule if his countless detentions have been politically motivated.

He was stopped by border guards and told that a ruling by court bailiffs has barred him from leaving Russia.

The hearing in Strasbourg could prove a major embarrassment for the Kremlin which routinely dismisses Mr Navalny, arguably Russias most popular opposition figure, as a trouble-maker with no political backing.

The ECHR will soon announce its ruling on whether or not my numerous detentions were politically motivated. Apparently, Putin's regime thinks than not letting me fly to Strasbourg to hear this ruling will change anything https://t.co/tKAdzI4D6E  Alexey Navalny (@navalny) November 13, 2018

Mr Navalnys lawyer Ivan Zhdanov on Tuesday posted a picture of the ruling which barred him from travelling.

It was undated and lacked any details.

Alexei Navalny at Domodedovo international airport (Alexei Navalny/Anti-corruption Foundation press service/AP)

Mr Navalny has faced numerous criminal charges in the past that are widely viewed as attempts by the Kremlin to sideline him.

Two separate criminal cases have prevented Mr Navalny from travelling in the past but the ban was lifted in spring last year when he had to leave to Spain for urgent medical treatment.

Mr Navalny, who rose to prominence thanks to his investigations into official corruption, spearheaded major anti-government protests which have attracted Russians from across the political spectrum.
Stan Lee will be with fans for some time longer after filming many cameos in future movies, fan Jonathan Ross has said.

The Marvel co-creator, who has died aged 95, was behind some of the most enduring superheroes including Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk.

And he regularly filmed cameos in Marvel universe films.

Jonathan Ross (Ian West/PA)

I believe he had already recorded, in advance, quite a lot of little cameo scenes, chat show Ross told BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast.

So he will be with us for some time longer, not that he will ever go from peoples hearts.

He added: He was a very good human being, a really lovely, warm funny man and a force for good.

Flowers were placed on Lees Hollywood Walk Of Fame star as the world mourned Marvels co-creator, whose comic book characters have spawned multi-billion dollar Hollywood franchises.

Flowers were placed on the Walk of Fame star of Stan Lee (PA)

Ross described Lee as the great showman of comics.

On discovering his work for the first time, he said: It was a moment of epiphany like an explosion.

In the 1960s, there were very staid characters. They were kind of authority figures themselves. It was like reading a story about your dad having superpowers.

Today, we pause and reflect with great sadness on the passing of Stan Lee: https://t.co/J0cwgdn677 pic.twitter.com/eOBdZAqdZ0  Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) November 12, 2018

Suddenly these were people, they seemed like real people to me. They were living in recognisable cities, living in New York, not a made-up city like Gotham City or Metropolis

And they had problems. The Fantastic Four squabble with each other. Spider-Man was a kid who was bullied at school and wore glasses and never had a girlfriend.

These were powerful ideas. the soap opera element, the melodrama that Stan Lee was probably the first person to put into comic books.

Marvel paid tribute to Lee, calling him the creator, voice and champion of the company.

Stan Lee has died age 95 (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

And hours after his death was announced, fans, some wearing T-shirts bearing his most famous creations, flocked to Lees star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Ross said: He was a first generation American Jew The fact that he was so familiar with the recent rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe  those characters (X-Men) were very clearly a group of outsiders, misfits who were hunted down by various governments and fighting back for what was right.

There was a liberal message, an anti-bigotry, anti-oppression message in his work that went all the way through all his life.

He was a very good human being. A really lovely, warm funny man and a force for good.

A statement on Marvels website said that Marvel and the entire The Walt Disney Company salute the life and career of Stan Lee and offer their undying gratitude for his unmatchable accomplishments within their halls.

Every time you open a Marvel comic, Stan will be there.

Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company, which owns Marvel, said: Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created.

A super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect.

The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart.

The cause of Lees death is not known, but earlier this year it was disclosed that he was fighting a bout of pneumonia.

Lees wife Joan died in 2017 and he is survived by his daughter Joan Celia JC Lee.
The violent death toll in London has continued to rise with more homicides so far this year than in the whole of 2017.

A grim spate of bloodshed in the capital, including the week from October 31 when there were five stab murders, has brought the total to 119.

According to Home Office figures there were 118 in London in 2017, excluding the 13 victims of the terrorist attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

The latest incident was the death of a 62-year-old woman who was found fatally assaulted at a home in Balham, south west London, at around 11.40pm on Monday.

A 66-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of her murder.

Earlier the same day, in a separate case, Devi Unmathallegadoo, 35, died from abdominal injuries in Ilford, east London.

Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 50, of no fixed address, has been charged with her murder.

Metropolitan Police headquarters, New Scotland Yard on Victoria Embankment (Metropolitan Police/PA)

The Metropolitan Police has seen a sharp rise in alleged domestic homicides in the past year, although 2017 was a record low, and the forces murder squad is looking at why the number may have risen.

In London, there have been 26 so far this year not including the two deaths on Monday, compared to a record low of nine last year. There were 16 in 2016, 27 in 2015, 16 in 2014 and 31 in 2013.

Among the 119 homicides in 2018, there have been 68 stabbings, 12 shootings and two deaths involving a knife and a gun.

A third of the cases (42) involved victims aged 16 to 24, while 20 were teenagers.

Among the victims aged 16 to 24, 30 were stabbed, nine were shot, two died in attacks involving a knife and a gun, and one died in a fall.

For the teenagers aged 15 to 19, six were shot and 14 were stabbed.

Our @metpoliceuk officers are working around the clock to keep our city safe.



Officers from the City Hall funded Violent Crime Taskforce are out across our city in force - using a range of tactics to tackle violent crime & protect our communities.pic.twitter.com/P3vG414JSQ  Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) November 13, 2018

Levels of violent crime in the capital have remained a concern throughout the year, with monthly highs in February and March, when 18 homicides were recorded each month.

These were the second highest monthly totals recorded since April 2010.

The only higher peak was in June 2017 when there were 20, a figure that includes eight people killed in the London Bridge terror atrocity.

If this is excluded, the previous monthly peak was in April 2010 when there were 16.

In total, 111 homicides were recorded in 2016 and 122 in 2015 in the capital, according to Home Office data.

Before this the number of police-recorded homicides in London had been falling, from 164 in 2007 to 91 in 2014.

Looking at official figures for financial years, there was a peak in 2003/4 when there were 212, and then, bar one rise in 2010/11, the total gradually decreased until 2017/18 when it rose by 36% to 146.

In response to the bloodshed this year, the Metropolitan Police Violent Crime Task Force was set up, seizing 340 knives, 40 guns and 258 other offensive weapons in its first six months of operation, and making more than 1,350 arrests.

Mayor Sadiq Khan also announced plans for a violence reduction unit that would adopt the public health approach to tackle violent crime that was successfully used in Glasgow.

Police have pointed to links between violence and so-called county lines drug networks, where urban dealers force children and other vulnerable people to courier illegal substances to customers in more rural areas.

They are also known to take over innocent peoples homes to use as a base for crime.

Middle class cocaine users have come under fire from a number of public figures, including the countrys most senior police officer Scotland Yard Commissioner Cressida Dick, who pointed to the misery caused by the drugs trade.

Drill music, where rappers taunt rivals with lyrics laced with violence and threats, and the role of social media in escalating disputes have also come under the microscope, as have cuts to youth services and the police.

On Monday Home Secretary Sajid Javid admitted that police officer numbers were an important part of the fight against violent crime.
Six terror attacks have been foiled in France this year, the countrys security minister said.

Christophe Castaners announcement came as France marks three years since gun and bomb attacks in Paris killed 130 people.

He said the most recent thwarted plot involved far-right extremists detained last week on suspicion of targeting President Emmanuel Macron.

One attack was said to have targeted the president, Emmanuel Macron (AP)

The minister said that three years after Islamic extremists slaughtered concert-goers at the Bataclan venue and other Paris sites on November 13 2015, the terror threat to France remains high but has changed shape, with the Islamic State group weakened and counter-terrorism efforts strengthened.

Mr Castaner said that nearly every week security services intervene on the ground to neutralise risks and that their work is dissuasive to potential attackers who know that we keep watch, that we hear.
Record-breaking hydroplane Bluebird K7 is set to return to its spiritual home in the Lake District next summer.

The jet-powered boat will provisionally undergo trials on Coniston Water in Cumbria between July 19 and 28, said the Bluebird Event Working Group.

Its pilot, Donald Campbell, died on January 4 1967 aged 45 when Bluebird flipped into the air and disintegrated as he attempted a new water speed record on Coniston Water.

Donald Campbell died while attempting a new water speed record on Coniston Water (PA)

In 2001 Campbells body, with his race suit intact, and the wreckage of Bluebird were recovered from the depths of the lake and he was buried later that year in the village of Coniston.

Volunteers have been working on the hydroplanes restoration under the leadership of Tyneside-based engineer Bill Smith.

In August, Bluebird  fitted with a new jet engine  hit speeds of around 150mph during successful tests and crew training on Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute in Scotland.

Anthony Robinson, chairman of the working group and a Bluebird K7 team member in 1967, said next years relaunch at Coniston would attract worldwide interest with a festival of events planned.

The restored Bluebird K7 takes to the water off the Isle of Bute for the first time in more than 50 years (PA).

Following the trials and decommissioning, he said Bluebird would be ready to go into the purpose-built Bluebird Wing of the Ruskin Museum in the heart of the village.

Mr Robinson said: The restored Bluebird K7 will be an inspirational exhibit to all who view her in the Ruskin Museum, especially the younger members of our society, who can learn from and be inspired by both the crafts marvellous historic achievements and the bravery of her iconic pilot Donald Campbell, who drove her, and the engineering skills of the team who have restored her.

Campbell broke eight world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s.

In his fatal record attempt, the son of Sir Malcolm Campbell, who himself held land and water speed records, had set himself a target of reaching 300mph (480kph) on Coniston Water.

An application will need to be submitted to the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) for the proving trial event to permit an exemption to its 10mph speed limit byelaw.

The authority says it also requires a thoroughly considered public event plan.

LDNPA officials say they are committed to supporting the return of Bluebird to Coniston.

An exemption to the byelaw enabled Jaguar Vector Racing to set the world electric speed record in a battery-powered boat on Coniston Water in June.

Steve Tatlock, park management team leader from the Lake District National Park, said: Although it appears dates have been agreed between the Bluebird event group and Bluebird K7 project, final confirmation lies with the Lake District National Park.

We look forward to receiving an application for a proving trial event involving Bluebird running at speeds of more than 10mph on Coniston water, alongside a thoroughly considered homecoming public event plan.

We remain very willing to work with the Bluebird K7 project and other partners to see Bluebird return to Coniston water and are committed to supporting this ambition.

North Shields-based Mr Smith said the Bluebird Project would await a final decision by the national park authority.

He said: We are not committed to anything until that process is complete.
The number of EU nationals working in the UK has registered its steepest fall on record, new figures show.

A sharp drop in employees from eight east European countries that joined the bloc in 2004 has fuelled the decrease.

Overall, there were 2.25 million EU nationals working in the UK from July to September, 132,000 fewer than a year earlier.

(PA Graphics)

The Office for National Statistics said this was the largest annual fall since comparable records began in 1997.

The figures show 881,000 of the EU workers employed in the UK in the latest quarter were citizens of the so-called EUA8 states, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

This was 154,000 fewer than in the equivalent period of last year, which was also the biggest annual fall since records started.

The number of EUA8 employees is down by 173,000 compared with July-September 2016, just after the EU referendum, when it stood at a record level of more than a million.

The year-on-year reduction seen for EUA8 workers was not replicated in employment levels for other groups of EU countries.

From July to September, there were 990,000 nationals of 14 long-term EU member states including Germany, Italy, Spain and France working in the UK, a slight increase on 986,000 a year earlier.

There were 363,000 Romanian and Bulgarian workers, up from 347,000 in the equivalent period of 2017.

Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, and restrictions on migrants from the two countries working in Britain were lifted in January 2014.

Statistics on employment levels by nationality have come under scrutiny following the Brexit vote.

Separate net migration figures have sparked claims of a Brexodus, but statisticians stressed that the estimates published on Tuesday do not measure flows of recent migrants to the UK.

Ministers are preparing to finally unveil proposals for the post-Brexit immigration regime before the end of the year.

A white paper is expected to set out plans for a system which brings an end to free movement and prioritises higher-skilled workers.

Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at Kings College London, said: The prospect of Brexit has clearly made the UK a much less attractive place for Europeans to live and work.

This will have significant negative economic and social impacts, given the dependence of sectors such as the NHS and social care on EU workers.

Alp Mehmet, vice chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: These figures are good news.

The number of UK nationals in work has risen by nearly 450,000.

Additionally, employers appear to be adjusting to the lower inflow of labour from the EU and there are welcome indications that businesses are raising wages in order to attract more recruits.

Meanwhile, the new figures show a rise in the number of workers from the rest of the world.

There were 1.24 million non-EU nationals working in the UK in July to September, 34,000 more than 12 months earlier.
Police looking for a suspected thief with a resemblance to Friends actor David Schwimmer have made an arrest in London.

Social media users pointed out the likeness to Schwimmers character Ross Geller in the popular US sitcom when police in Blackpool posted an image of a man leaving a restaurant and carrying what appeared to be a carton of cans.

Schwimmer later responded to the picture by posting a video to his Twitter account that showed him scurrying through a convenience store carrying a carton of beer before looking up furtively at a CCTV camera.

It Wasn't Me Officers, I swear it wasn't me. As you can see, I was in New York. To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation. #itwasntme Posted by David Schwimmer on Wednesday, October 24, 2018

He captioned the video: Officers, I swear it wasnt me. As you can see, I was in New York.

To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation.

He added the hashtag #itwasntme to the post.

(Blackpool Police/David Schwimmer/PA)

Following the appeal we posted looking for a man who resembles a well-known actor, we now have an update. Thanks to our colleagues @MetPoliceUK, a 36-year-old man was arrested in Southall last night on suspicion of theft. Thank you for the support, especially @DavidSchwimmer! pic.twitter.com/nOgF1KQb0X  Lancashire Police (@LancsPolice) November 13, 2018

On Tuesday, Lancashire Police posted an update on the investigation into the alleged theft in the resort on September 20.

The force tweeted: Following the appeal we posted looking for a man who resembles a well-known actor, we now have an update.

Thanks to our colleagues @MetPoliceUK, a 36-year-old man was arrested in Southall last night on suspicion of theft. Thank you for the support, especially @DavidSchwimmer!

The Met Police retweeted the post, saying: Happy to help @LancsPolice #IllBeThereForYou, referring to the Friends theme tune.
A cross party delegation of Irish senators are attending the second day of the Ballymurphy inquests to show solidarity with the bereaved families.

The representatives from the upper house of the Irish parliament met with relatives outside the coroners court in Belfast ahead of heading inside to observe proceedings in the high profile case.

The long-awaited inquests are examining the deaths of 10 people killed during shooting incidents involving the British Army in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast in 1971.

Counsel for coroner Sean Doran QC will continue with an opening statement to the court on Tuesday morning, with relations of two of the victims due to give evidence about their loved ones later in the day.

Representatives from Sinn Fein, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, the Labour party and an independent member of the Seanad travelled to Belfast for the hearing.

Sinn Feins Niall O Donnghaile and Rose Conway Walsh, Fine Gaels Frank Feighan, Fianna Fails Mark Daly and independent Frances Black met with family members ahead of the hearing.

Labours Ged Nash was due to attend court later in the day.

Mr O Donnghaile said: It is a significant morning for us that we have such a cross party and indeed such a nationally representative group of senators come here to observe proceedings at the Ballymurphy inquest, but to primarily re-engage and engage with the Ballymurphy families to continue showing solidarity with them, to hear their stories and to the ensure them of our support, the Seanad and indeed the broader Oireachtass [Irish parliament] support for them in their campaign and during what is going to be an arduous number of months for them.

On Monday, the court heard the families contention that the shootings were the result of illegitimate, unjustified and indiscriminate use of force by the [British] Army.

Inquests investigating the shooting incidents that unfolded over three days in August 1971, referred to as the Ballymurphy Massacre by bereaved relatives, are expected to last for months.

In 2011, Northern Irelands Attorney General John Larkin directed that new inquests be heard after a long campaign by family members who claimed the original coronial probes were inadequate.

The shootings took place as the Army moved into republican strongholds to arrest IRA suspects after the introduction by the Stormont administration of the controversial policy of internment without trial.

The Ballymurphy Massacre victims (Ballymurphy Families)

Soldiers have long been held responsible for killing all 10 in Ballymurphy between August 9-11 1971, but the accepted narrative became clouded earlier this year when former members of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force came forward to claim their organisation was also involved.

On Monday, Mr Doran outlined some of the evidence that will be examined throughout the inquests.

He said each individual incident and death will require careful scrutiny.

In what he described as a very broad observation on the core issues, he said: The narrative of the military is legitimate use of force was used at a time of heightened tension and response to specific threats.

He said this ran contrary to the Ballymurphy families, who say the deaths resulted from illegitimate, unjustified and indiscriminate use of force by the Army on civilians.

The families claim the military action resulted in the deaths of 10 entirely innocent civilians.

Mr Doran said the original investigations into the deaths were very limited, adding that there are multiple examples of failure to get witness accounts and examples that show forensic opportunities were missed.
A Grenfell Tower resident was told to remain in their flat more than 15 minutes after the London Fire Brigades stay put advice was changed, a public inquiry has heard.

Scotland Yards control room staff had been deployed to answer 999 calls as the scale of the disaster on June 14 last year escalated.

Some 72 people died as a result of the blaze in the 24-storey west London tower block.

Call records show people phoning within minutes of each other were given different advice even before LFB decided residents should try to escape by any means necessary by 2.47am.

Firefighters lay their helmets on the ground (Jonathan Brady/PA)

A caller at 1.28am was told: Yeah evacuate. Get everybody out, while another who rang a minute later was advised to stay.

There is someone coming up to help you, they were told.

There is nothing else I can do other than tell them that youre there. So they have been told. They are aware that youre there.

Metropolitan Police Commander Neil Jerome defended the actions of the call handlers at a public inquiry in Holborn, central London, on Tuesday.

Our operators are listening to individuals on the phone and clearly they are wanting to save their lives.

Grenfell Tower (Rick Findler/PA)

I think in each individual case they are making an assessment based on what they are hearing, he said.

They are making these flexible decisions based on what they are hearing at the time and clearly not rigidly adhering to the advice that had been given to them.

The inquiry heard a resident who rang 999 at 3.05am was told to stay in their flat, more than 15 minutes after the LFP advice changed.

Caller this is the police, the operator said.

72 people died as a result of the fire at Grenfell Tower (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Im trying to get someone to you but you need to tell me where you are.

Asked if he could account for that, Commander Jerome said: No, Im sorry, I cant.

The inquiry heard the change in advice did not go out over the police radio until 3.08am and counsel to the inquiry, Richard Millett QC, said: That particular control room operator had not yet heard or been given the message the advice was now to evacuate.

Commander Jerome said he could not account for the gap in time between the LFB advice changing and the message being given to Met officers.

PC Josh Rees, who was one of the first officers on the scene, told of the moment he heard the message that people were to self-evacuate come over the radio.

This is the point where I felt physically sick as from my view point I could see people in the windows of the tower trying to get the attention of emergency services with lights, opening the window, and all I have been able to do is watch as the fire has moved towards them, he said in a statement.

I felt complete(y) helpless not being able to do anything, and seeing the reaction of my colleagues and firefighters with paramedics will always stay with myself as the look on everyones face of helplessness.

I felt so angry that there was nothing I was able to physically do.

PC Rees had earlier entered Grenfell Tower before realising the situation was too dangerous.

I have spent a period of time helping individuals in the stairwell of the building attempting to exit this building, he said.

I could see the smoke in the stairwell and the smell at that point indicated to myself that this was a very serious situation and much worse than I initially thought.

I had grave concerns about members of public exiting this building and when I could see that the stairwell was clear at that point I have gone outside of the entrance of the tower block and I recall around 10 to 15 people there who extremely distressed and not moving to safety.

London Ambulance Service (LAS) director of operations Paul Woodrow said he could find no record the LFB formally told the service of the change to its stay put advice.

The inquiry heard the LAS received three 999 calls from people in Grenfell Tower, two of which came after the policy change.

He said: I think it was extraordinary that the ambulance service actually get calls. The majority of the time we will get information from the fire service in these circumstances.

We dont normally receive calls from victims that are trapped in a building.

But he said being told of the policy change would not have affected how 999 calls were handled by the LAS, although it may have affected the services appreciation of the severity of the blaze.

He told the inquiry the scripted critical danger message should have been read to callers telling them to leave, but admitted operators had gone off script due to the distressing nature of the calls.
The Supreme Court today reserved its order on pleas seeking court-monitored probe into the controversial Rafale deal with Dassault Aviation after a four-hour hearing. The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, made it clear that any discussion on pricing of the fighter jets could only take place if the facts on the deal were made public. "The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not," the bench told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal.

Here's a brief recap of the proceedings at the top court today:

The initial arguments today were commenced by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, one of the petitioners, who reportedly told the court that the Inter Government Agreement was "illegal" and sought an investigation in the matter. Lawyer Vineet Dhanda, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan have also filed petitions on the matter.

According to The Financial Express, while the submissions by Sharma and Dhanda focussed on Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the deal before the agreement was finalised, Singh's counsel questioned why the government reduced the deal of 126 jets to 36 given the concern that adversaries are inducting more fighter jets.

Then, Bhushan, appearing on behalf of himself and the former union ministers, alleged a hike of 40 per cent in the price per aircraft to Euro 270 million. He also claimed that apart from the issues of procedure, offset and pricing, there was a fourth issue of circumventing of tender by opting for an intergovernmental agreement, the conditions for which had not been met. He also alleged that the government was hiding behind the secrecy clause of the agreement. But when he wanted to submit information on this clause, Venugopal reportedly objected saying, "Secrecy agreement has to be secret and how he is producing it in court?"

Bhushan countered that by questioning how the price issue can compromise national security. "If I may point out, it was disclosed twice in Parliament formally. If it is a matter of national security, then the government has compromised national security twice by disclosing it in Parliament," Bhushan added. "In any case, this is covered by RTI Act and it is a bogus argument by government to say that price cannot be disclosed due to secrecy etc."

According to him, top officials have abused their authority as public servants by giving this contract to Dassault at inflated prices and by giving offset to Reliance. "It is therefore in the nature of a commission and constitutes an offence under Prevention of Corruption Act. Hence, CBI has to register an FIR ... This has not been done despite our complaint to CBI, hence we have approached this court," he said.

However, the Attorney General continued to defend the secrecy regarding pricing of the 36 jets saying "our adversaries may get an advantage" by such a disclosure. During the hearing, he mentioned that at the exchange rate of November 2016, the cost of a bare fighter jet was Rs 670 crore.

Interestingly, the Centre's stand on secrecy comes two days after the government submitted details of pricing of the Rafale deal to the apex court in a sealed cover. Venugopal, in fact, contended that "even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of jets" and asserted that the decision on types of aircraft and weapons that need to be bought was a matter for experts and not an issue to be adjudicated upon by the judiciary.

He added that he had decided not to peruse the pricing aspect himself "as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible". Venugopal concluded his argument saying that Rafale aircrafts are potent and "had we possessed Rafale during the Kargil war, we could have avoided huge casualties as Rafale is capable of hitting targets from a distance of 60 kms". When the bench pointed out that the Rafale jets came 14 years after Kargil, the top law officer replied that he had said it "hypothetically".

Today's hearing also covered inputs from top Air Force officers. "We are dealing with requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer on the Rafale jet. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the office of the Defence Ministry on the issue," the bench said after hearing the arguments submitted by the petitioners.

Air Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, Alok Khosla, Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, and two other officers from Indian Air Force then appeared in the top court. The bench asked the officers about latest induction in the Air Force, they replied it was the Sukhoi 30s, which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and added that they do not have 4th or 5th generation aircraft. The top court then pointed out that it meant "there has been no induction of aircrafts since 1985". That's something worth keeping in mind as the Rafale controversy plays out.

With PTI inputs
Theresa May has warned that although Brexit talks with the EU are now in the endgame, there are still significant issues that separate London and Brussels.

With Britains scheduled March departure from the multinational trade bloc rearing up ever larger on the horizon, questions remain over whether a withdrawal agreement can be made.

Here are answers to some of the main questions about what still separates the two sides:

 What is the biggest obstacle to a withdrawal agreement?

The main remaining issue is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, with the UK and EU sides divided on the best way of avoiding the need for checkpoints  the so-called hard border.

 Why do they want to prevent a hard border?

Regulatory and customs checks at hundreds of crossing points used by thousands of vehicles every day would cause massive disruption to individuals and businesses.

An open border was also part of the Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of violence, and there are fears that checkpoints and cameras could become the target of sectarian attacks.

 What is the UK Governments favoured solution?

London thinks the border can be kept open as part of a broader trade deal which does away with the need for checks.

 What is Brussels proposing?

The EU is insisting on a backstop arrangement as a fallback to be used until a broader deal is in place.

This would involve Northern Ireland effectively remaining part of the European customs area, with checks taking place at ports and ferries between the region and the British mainland instead of at the border.

(PA Graphics)

 What does the UK think of that?

Theresa May has repeatedly said no prime minister could accept such a plan, as it would create a customs border down the Irish Sea and undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom.

 So what does London propose?

Mrs May has put forward an alternative backstop, featuring a temporary arrangement keeping the whole of the UK in a customs union, which she expects to be lifted by the end of 2021. On Monday, she warned she will not accept an agreement at any cost.

 Is that acceptable to Brussels?

Only if there is a backstop to the backstop, so that when the temporary UK-wide arrangement runs out, the Northern Irish carve-out would come into effect.

 What do Ireland say about the backstop?

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said last week: There can be no expiry date and there can be no unilateral exit clause, and if it were to be either of those things, the backstop would not be worth the paper it was written on.

 Does Mrs May at least have support in the UK for her proposal?

A lot of Conservative MPs  reportedly including some Cabinet ministers  are concerned that a temporary backstop would become permanent and want any agreement to include a firm date for it to lapse. Others on the Remain side are concerned that Britain would be a rule-taker without a say on a major chunk of economic policy.

 If Mrs May can reach agreement with Brussels, can she get it through Parliament?

This is highly questionable. Depending on the nature of any deal, she could lose support from as many as 80 hardline Brexiteers on one side of her party or an estimated 30 Europhile Tories on the other.

The DUPs 10 MPs have made clear they will not back anything which means Northern Ireland being treated differently from the rest of the UK.

And the PM will struggle to win much support from Labour MPs, with the partys leadership insisting it will vote down anything which fails its six tests.
A teenager has been arrested after he was caught driving a fake ambulance around a Welsh village.

The 19-year-old, who has not been named, was also disqualified from driving and had no insurance.

South Wales Police posted a picture of the suspect ambulance on their Twitter page saying it was not a Welsh Ambulance Service vehicle, and confirmed the teenager was not an employee.

The driver was stopped by police in the vehicle on Monday morning in Parc Hendy Crescent in the village of Penclawdd, Swansea.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said: The arrest was made after officers attended the Penclawdd area of Swansea during the morning of Monday 12th November.

A vehicle has been seized and enquiries into the matter are continuing.

Police confirmed the ambulance was not a genuine emergency vehicle (South Wales Police/PA)

The man has been released under investigation.
A programme brought in to reduce hospital deaths has saved the lives of almost 10,000 patients, the Health Secretary has claimed.

Jeane Freeman hailed the reduction in unexpected hospital deaths as the latest official figures showed standardised mortality rates continued to fall.

A drop of 11.2% was recorded between the period January and March 2014 and April to June 2018  ahead of the Scottish Government target to cut these deaths by 10% by the end of this year.

Ms Freeman said: Our world-leading Scottish Patient Safety Programme continues to have a significant impact on the quality and safety of patient care, with these figures showing we have reduced unexpected hospital deaths by 11.2%  saving 9,750 lives since the first quarter of 2014. 

She added: This has allowed thousands more people to continue to live as full a life as possible with family and friends.

If an overall Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR) is less than one this means the number of deaths within 30 days of admission to hospital is fewer than predicted.

The Hosptial Stnardised Mortality Ration in Scotland has fallen by 11.2% (Peter Byrne/PA)

An HSMR of more than one means the number of deaths is higher than would have been anticipated.

The latest figures for the quarter April to June 2018 showed 5,920 people died within 30 days of being admitted to hospital in Scotland.

As a result, the HSMR for the period was calculated at 0.81  down from 0.87 a year earlier and lower than April to June 2011, when this was 0.99.

The data also showed for the period April to June 2018 no hospitals had an HSMR that was significantly higher than the national average.

Meanwhile, two hospitals had a significantly lower HSMR  0.66 at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh and 0.7 at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Ms Freeman said this ongoing progress is testament to the hard work of thousands of staff across the country at a time when our NHS is treating more people, with more complex needs.

The Health Secretary added: This programme continues to improve the safety of healthcare wherever it is delivered, ensuring better outcomes for some of our most vulnerable people.
The widow of a former Welsh Government minister who was found dead while facing sexual misconduct allegations has won a High Court bid to challenge the legality of an inquiry into his sacking.

Bernie Sargeant was given the go-ahead for a full judicial review hearing by a judge in London on Tuesday.

An investigation into the way her husband Carl Sargeant was treated by First Minister Carwyn Jones has been suspended pending her legal move relating to how it should proceed.

Mr Justice Supperstone granted Mrs Sargeant permission for a judicial review, ruling that she had an arguable case.

A full hearing of her action against the First Minister is now expected to be heard in Cardiff on a date to be fixed.

Mr Sargeant, 49, was found hanged at his home last November, four days after being removed from his role as cabinet secretary for communities and children while facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Politician Carl Sargeant, whose widow is going to the High Court in a bid to challenge an inquiry into his sacking (Family Handout/PA)

The politician, from Connahs Quay, North Wales, was suspended from the Labour Party over allegations of unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping on November 3.

His family have said he was not told the details of what he was accused of and was unable to properly defend himself.

The father-of-two was found dead at his home on November 7.

The First Minister announced an independent inquiry into how he handled his former ministers sacking.

Mrs Sargeant is challenging the legality of the operation of the inquiry, and has spoken publicly of her concerns that the investigation could become a cover-up.

Her High Court action was launched to challenge unlawful decision-making in relation to the investigations operational protocol, which will govern how it will proceed.

The decisions under fire include a decision to bar the familys lawyers from being able to question witnesses, another to allow the independent investigator to bar the family from hearings, and also a decision to prevent oral evidence from being heard in public.

Nathalie Lieven QC, for Mrs Sargeant, argued before Mr Justice Supperstone that the way the terms of the investigation had been set amounted to a flagrant breach of natural justice.

When news of the legal action was announced, Mrs Sargeant said: We have a right to be able to hear and challenge the evidence.

Please believe me, we are not trying to be obstructive, we just want to get to the truth and feel that we have a great deal to offer the inquiry. We dont want to be excluded.

She said: All I want is to understand and process why my husband is no longer here. This whole thing just adds agony to heartbreak, but I owe it to Carl to get the full picture.

A spokesman for the First Minister has said: This is not, and was never intended to be, a public inquiry. Nor is it an investigation into the tragic death of Carl Sargeant.

He said: The First Minister established this investigation voluntarily, solely and specifically to give independent scrutiny of the actions and decisions which he took in relation to Carl Sargeant at the time of the ministerial reshuffle last November.

Mr Justice Supperstone heard argument on Mrs Sargeants behalf following an earlier rejection of her case by another judge, who reviewed her application on paper.

He also heard from a QC on behalf of the First Minister contesting the application.

Ms Lieven said the First Minister had personally and directly been controlling and approving the terms of the operational protocol, even though he is himself the subject of the investigation.

The whole process has been fatally flawed, she argued.

Ms Lieven, who said the evidence shows that the operational protocol has been set by the First Minister, argued that the independence of the investigation has been completely undermined by his interventions.

Cathryn McGahey QC, for the First Minister, told the judge that there was nothing unlawful about his involvement, and argued that the process is a fair one.

The First Minister had the power, she said, to establish the investigation and to determine its terms.
Convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson has branded reports he has been denied a visa to the US as fake news.

The English Defence League co-founder was due to meet Republican politicians in Washington this week at the invitation of the Middle East Forum.

But Daniel Pipes, president of the conservative Philadelphia-based organisation, said Robinson had not been granted a visa in time for the meeting, Reuters reported.

Tommy Robinson surrounded by supporters. (Yui Mok/PA Images).

He said Robinson recently applied for a visa at the US Embassy in London but realised it will take a while for him to be allowed into the country.

But Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, categorically denied his visa application had been rejected.

He told the Press Association reports about it were fake news and hung up the phone without answering further questions.

Robinson is currently barred from the US after attempting to enter the country using a friends passport in 2012, having been blocked from travelling under standard arrangements because of multiple criminal convictions, including several for violent conduct and assault as well as mortgage fraud.

He gained a high profile in the US after right-wing websites took up his cause when he was jailed for 13 months for contempt of court. The sentence was later quashed and the case has been referred to the Attorney General.

The Middle East Forum on Sunday wrote on its website that Robinson will speak at the event via video link, but did not say whether this was due to his visa not being approved.

The US Embassy in London said it could not comment on individual visa application due to privacy.

Travellers with criminal convictions applying to enter the US have to go through an adjudication process and could have their visa denied.

Robinsons planned tour of the US sparked more than 50 cross-party MPs to write to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him not to permit Robinson to enter America for a fundraising tour.

The MPs asked Mr Pompeo to issue an assurance the US will not grant a waiver to allow Mr Robinson to accept invitations to speak in Washington DC on November 14.
One of Norways Navy frigates has almost completely gone under water after an oil tanker rammed into it last week, tearing a large hole in its side, authorities said.

Rear Admiral Nils Andreas Stensoenes, the head of Norways navy, said several of the wires used to stabilise the KNM Helge Instad had snapped, causing the vessel to sink further into the fjord.

Only the top of the frigate with its radar and antennae remains above the waterline.

The 442ft frigate began listing heavily after a Maltese-flagged oil tanker collided with it last Thursday in a harbour in Sture, north of Bergen.

Eight people were slightly injured in the incident (AP)

Its 137 crew were evacuated and eight people on board were injured.

The tanker was only slightly damaged in the collision.

Rear Admiral Stensoenes said plans remain to recover the vessel, and investigations are continuing into the accident.

Built in Spain in 2009, the frigate was part of a Nato fleet in the Atlantic, and had recently taken part in the vast Trident Juncture military drill in Norway.

The area surrounding the stricken frigate has been declared a military area.
A deadline to speed up the removal of harmful content on social media is among the legislative measures being considered by the government in a bid to protect young people.

Speaking at the final evidence session for the Science and Technology Committees inquiry into the impact of social media, Minister for Digital Margot James said she is interested in Germanys recent approach.

It compels social networking sites to remove illegal content within 24 hours of it being reported, or face fines.

When asked by Labour MP Liz Kendall whether the government was considering such a move, Ms James responded: Yes, I mean that would be one of the aspects of what may require new law as opposed to the many non-legislative measures that were still developing.

Social networks have previously acknowledged that regulation looks likely (Yui Mok/PA)

The minister warned there are some grey areas of what is deemed illegal content and what is not, which it is expected to be addressed in a white paper this winter.

Ms James sat alongside Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health, discussing how government and social media companies could tackle a range of issues affecting children online, particularly cyber-bullying.

I think the social media companies could do a lot more, I think theyre being very slow in this area actually, and I have no doubt that it is the stick of regulation that has focused the mind to do more, Ms Doyle-Price said.

Prior to the pairs appearance, Childrens Commissioner for England Anne Longfield told the committee that children moving from primary school up to secondary school felt an avalanche of pressure to be more socially aware on social media.

She said: There are of course huge positives, support, friendships, the learning you can get online is just unimaginable compared to ten years ago, but some of the negatives about the content, around things like self harming are clearly there.

A lot of my emphasis is about getting children the emotional resilience to be able to manage their time online positively, but then also look at all those other people, schools, government, social media companies, who have a role to play in being able to provide that positive platform for children to be able to get the most out of it rather than be drawn and sink into that negativity.

In October, technology giants including Google, Facebook and Twitter signalled they would not be opposed to the introduction of a regulator to monitor their platforms.

Karim Palant, Facebooks public policy manager in the UK, told the committee last month: Our chief executives have talked about the fact that some regulations are going to be inevitable.
Mr Kipling cakes firm Premier Foods has revealed it is to start stockpiling ingredients ahead of Brexit amid fears of gridlock at ports if the UK crashes out without a deal.

The group, also behind well-known brands including Bisto and Oxo, said it was shortly to begin building up stocks of raw materials in the absence of certainty over the arrangements for the UKs departure from the EU.

It said this could lead to a working capital hit of around 10 million over the next few months.

The group said: Like all businesses, for several months, Premier Foods have been planning on a range of scenarios subject to the nature of any Brexit deal that is reached.

In the absence of certainty for the UKs departure from the EU, Premier Foods shortly intend to begin the process of building stocks of raw materials to protect the company against a risk of delays at ports.

It stressed the move was purely precautionary.

The revelation came as Premier Foods also announced that under-fire boss Gavin Darby will leave in January and said it plans to sell off its Ambrosia brand as it looks to appease disgruntled shareholders.

Mr Darby will step down on January 31 after six years in the role, which follows a public row with activist investor Oasis Management and comes just months after he narrowly survived a shareholder rebellion against his re-election.

Premier said it was in talks with third parties over the possible sale of Ambrosia and its factory in Lifton, Devon, as it looks to boost its performance and slash its 500 million debt pile.

Chief executive Gavin Darby will leave at the end of January (Premier Foods/PA)

Mr Darby said: The board has determined that it should focus resources on areas of the business which have the best potential for growth through accelerated investment in consumer marketing and high return capital projects.

Accordingly, we are pursuing options to fund these plans as well as delivering a meaningful reduction in net debt, through discussions with third parties regarding the potential disposal of our Ambrosia brand.

He added: Having today announced a new strategic initiative for the business, I have decided to step down as chief executive on January 31 2019, which will mark the sixth anniversary of my joining Premier Foods.

Premier is now starting the hunt for his successor.

At Premiers annual general meeting in July, 41% of investors voted against Mr Darbys re-election.

Oasis had called for his departure, claiming he had presided over value destruction and having been critical of his strategy in the past when he oversaw the successful defence of a takeover tilt from US firm McCormick in 2016.

There was also investor discontent over Premiers recent decision not to sell its fast-growing Batchelors brand.

The potential sale of Ambrosia is seen as an olive branch, with the division being the groups third biggest brand.

Ambrosia, which is famous for its Devon Custard and Rice Pudding, was 100 years old last year and has been produced in Devon since the factory opened in 1958.

Premiers half-year results also announced on Tuesday showed pre-tax losses widened to 2.2 million in the six months to September 29.

On an underlying basis, pre-tax profits rose 14.3% to 30.2 million.
Donald Trump has suggested France would have been vanquished in both world wars if not for the United States.

The US president tweeted about his French counterpart Emmanuel Macrons suggestion that Europe would protect itself from the US, China and Russia.

Mr Macron argued that Europe should build up its military forces because it can no longer depend on America for defence.

Mr Trump tweeted: Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two  How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!

Mr Trump often complains that Nato countries do not pay their fair share of the defence alliances expenses.

He criticised Mr Macron before and after attending a weekend ceremony in Paris to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Donald Trump (AP)

Mr Trump and Mr Macron met on Saturday at the Elysee Palace and discussed defence, trade and other issues.

A top adviser to Mr Macron said the French position has been clarified. The official said Mr Macron explained the European army issue to Mr Trump, stressing that France was not making a choice between a European defence mechanism and multilateral organisations such as Nato.

Mr Trump also complained about tariffs on US wines sold in France, and appeared to take a dig at Mr Macrons low public approval rating.

The US leader tweeted that French tariffs on American wine is not fair, must change!

He wrote: On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!

Nearly all US wine exports to major markets, including the European Union  face tariffs, according to the Wine Institute, which represents California winemakers in Washington on matters of tax, trade and regulatory issues.

Mr Trump, who built a career as a businessman before he entered politics, opened a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2011.

The president added that The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!.MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!

Mr Macron is hovering at around 30% in popularity polls, while the unemployment rate is just above 9%.

Mr Trumps continued complaints about France and Mr Macron struck a nerve with some in the European nation, especially since the presidents latest broadsides came on the third anniversary of the Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people in 2015.

It prompted French journalist Hugo Clement to tweet in response: We are already great, especially on november 13th. Go back to your room and give the phone to an adult.

Mr Trump also defended his decision to cancel a trip on Saturday to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at Belleau Wood in Northern France after rainy weather grounded his helicopter.

The US president did go ahead with a trip and a speech in the rain on Sunday at the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial just outside Paris.

He tweeted: By the way, when the helicopter couldnt fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetary in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!
Theresa May has said a small number of issues still remain to be resolved as negotiators strive to close the gap in the Brexit talks.

The Prime Minister briefed the Cabinet on the progress of the discussions as talks continued in Brussels between senior EU and UK officials.

Earlier, Mrs Mays de facto deputy David Lidington raised hopes that a deal was close  saying they were almost within touching distance.

David Lidington, arriving for Cabinet says a Brexit deal is close (Victoria Jones/PA)

But at the weekly gathering of senior ministers in No 10, Mrs May said there was still more work to be done.

The Prime Minister told Cabinet that since it had last met, negotiations had continued in Brussels and good progress had been made, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said.

However the PM said there remained a small number of outstanding issues as the UK pushes for the best text that can be negotiated.

In Brussels, European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans said: It is clear that although we are making progress we are not there yet.

No one is fooled by this theatre. Delay after staged managed delay. A deal will be reached and it will mean surrender by the UK. We will be doomed to remain in the customs union and under Brussels regulatory control. People did not vote for colony status 1/2  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 13, 2018

Ministers remain on standby to return to Downing Street if the talks  which went late into the night for a second successive day on Tuesday  do make a breakthrough.

But amid continuing unrest among Tory MPs  including some ministers  at the Governments approach, former foreign secretary Boris Johnson accused Mrs May of deliberately stage-managing the delays for political effect.

No one is fooled by this theatre. Delay after staged managed delay. A deal will be reached and it will mean surrender by the UK, he tweeted.

We will be doomed to remain in the customs union and under Brussels regulatory control. People did not vote for colony status.

With Wednesday widely seen as the deadline for an agreement if the EU is to summon a special summit this month to approve a deal, Mr Lidington insisted it was still possible within that timeframe.

Still possible, but not at all definite I think pretty much sums it up, the Cabinet Office Minister told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

He added: We are not quite there yet. This was always going to be an extremely difficult, extremely complex negotiation, but we are almost within touching distance now.

But as the PM has said, it cant be a deal at any price. It has got to be one that works in terms of feeling we can deliver on the referendum result and that is why there is a measure of caution.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab leaves No 10 after Cabinet (Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Lidington acknowledged Wednesday would be an an important moment, but refused to be drawn on suggestions it will mark the point the Government has to start putting into action its no-deal contingency plans if there was no agreement.

I am not going to put dates to particular ascribed actions, he said.

He added however: There does come a point at which contingency plans have to be stepped up simply so that in that eventuality, the preparations have been done.

You may have to run the two things in parallel.

Nevertheless, without agreement from EU leaders on a deal in November, Mrs Mays prospects of putting it to a parliamentary vote before Christmas will recede sharply.

That in turn would raise questions as to whether the Government could get through the legislation it needs before the UK formally leaves the EU on March 29.

Mrs May meanwhile faces continuing unrest among Brexiteer ministers who fear she is preparing to give too much ground to Brussels in her anxiety to get an agreement.

Around half a dozen ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Environment Secretary Michael Gove, are said to believe a no-deal Brexit would be better than the proposals on the table from Brussels.

The group is reported to have met for drinks at International Trade Secretary Liam Foxs office on Monday night to discuss their concerns, ahead of the Cabinet meeting.

In her annual Guildhall speech on Monday, the Prime Minister insisted she was not prepared to agree a deal at any price.

Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and I am determined to deliver for them, she said.

I want them to know that I will not compromise on what people voted for in the referendum. This will not be an agreement at any cost.
Birthday wishes

Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

Happy Birthday Wishes
It is no secret that Samsung makes beautiful phones but it is its UI that has often held it back to achieve the celebrated status that the iPhones have enjoyed over the years. Samsung's Experience UI slows down the phone and comes packed with the bloatware. However, all of that could change if Samsung's new custom skin, One UI, delivers on its promise.

Last week Samsung unveiled its new look with much fanfare at its developer conference 2018 in San Francisco. It has a fresh minimalistic design and boasts of drawing users' eyes "to what matters". One of the major highlights of the One UI is the 'Focus Blocks', which groups similar setting together, simplifying navigation for its big screen phones.

Other tweaks that Samsung introduced to enhance the user experience include dividing the screen into "viewing area" and "interaction area". The idea was to declutter the screen and bringing the content to their fingertips.

Samsung has also introduced Night mode that uses black background for easier reading in the dark. The new UI will also color match the hardware using inbuilt themes.

The One UI, based on the slides that Samsung showcased, looks a lot cleaner. The widgets are also not in your face and can be easily customized. The Google search bar is very subtle like the one seen in the Android Pie OS.

There is a lot of buzz already for the Samsung's anniversary phones and the launch of One UI couldn't have been well timed. The early preview of the One UI is expected this month in the US, Germany and South Korea. The One UI will be coming with the Android Pie update on Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ and Galaxy Note 9 starting January 2019.

(Edited By: Udit Verma)
Artists around the world have paid tribute to the memory and influence of Spider-man creator Stan Lee with comic strips and artworks commemorating the comic book pioneer.

Comic and storyboard artist Charlotte Norris, a 23-year-old from California, echoed the cover of Death of Spider-man with her piece.

The original features a maskless Spider-man walking into the afterlife with the ghost of his Uncle Ben.

You did good, kid, says Ben as the characters walk away. Charlotte reversed the roles for her tribute.

It was a big moment where a beloved hero who I looked up to passed away. I guess hearing that Stan Lee had passed away filled me with that same feeling. I started making comics because of the groundwork Stan Lee laid out. I owe a lot to him, she said.

Rafael Vadelate, a 38-year-old illustrator from Mexico, pictured Superman comforting a crying Spider-man.

A wreath and other memorabilia adorn the star of Stan Lee on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, in Los Angeles. Lee, the creative dynamo who revolutionized the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human frailties in superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, died Monday. He was 95. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

I chose Superman because I think not only the people of Marvel and the followers are sad about it, but everyone, including those who prefer DC comics, he told the Press Association.

British artist James Hence drew Stan Lee with The Hulk, another of his most famous characters.

The 43-year-old, who lives in Orlando, said: Its impossible to overstate the impact that Stan Lee had on pop culture. He quite simply made generations of lost and lonely children feel like giants.

Spanish artist Daniel Romero, from Seville, drew Mr Lee saying goodbye to Spiderman.

I decided to recreate a scene in which Spider-Man was saying goodbye to his co-creator, as if he were his father, who gives him one last hug, he said.

Tenia que hacer un pequeno homenaje a Stan Lee, y aqui esta. pic.twitter.com/nJeOprD6Wh  Dani Parker (@Nasirgan) November 13, 2018

Erin Lefler, an artist and character designer at Lucasfilm, posted a portrait of Lee with his catchphrase Excelsior.

She said: If it wasnt for Stan Lee coming up with these various worlds we like to escape into, and creating these heroes that we all know and love, I wouldve never pursued my dream career of being an artist.

I wanted to create this piece as my way of saying thank you for everything he did for me, and to more importantly celebrate his legacy he leaves behind, she added.

Kat Hudson, a character designer at Warner Brothers animation, shared a picture she initially drew in 2017, featuring Lee relaxing and talking with some of his most famous female superheroes.

Hes had a hand in creating so many iconic female characters, I wanted to surround him by some of his girls, she said.

Taipei artist Jun Chius piece referenced the climactic ending of Avengers: Infinity War  one of the most recent Marvel films about Lees characters.

The piece sees Lee drawing at his desk before his hand starts to dissolve away.

The caption on the artwork reads: Maybe we will forget many heroes, but we will always remember the man who created the heroes.

Chiu said the piece is inspired by the human nature of heroes, and added: I thank him for creating so many memories in my childhood.
The number of people unemployed in Scotland has fallen by 12,000, figures show.

Data for July to September 2018 indicates unemployment decreased to 103,000 over the quarter, taking the jobless rate to 3.8%.

Unemployment fell for both men and women, with the male jobless total going from 66,000 to 63,000 and the number of women out of work decreasing by 9,000 to 40,000.

The fall in the jobless total in Scotland stands in contrast with the situation across the UK, with unemployment rising by 21,000 to 1.38 million in the three months to September  a rate of 4.1%.

The Office for National Statistics figures also show the number of people in Scotland who were in work fell by 6,000 to stand at 2,636,000.

Business Minister Jamie Hepburn said the unemployment rate was the joint lowest level on record but there would be no complacency, with work continuing to find a future for the Michelin plant in Dundee, which employees more than 800 people.

Unemployment in Scotland fell by 12,000 over July to September. (Philip Toscano/PA)

Mr Hepburn said: Although overall employment fell very slightly over the quarter and the year, on employment for women and young people we continue to outperform the UK with an employment rate of 71.2% for women, higher than the UK rate of 71.0%, and an employment rate for young people of 59.1%, higher than the UK rate of 55.7%.

Compared to the UK, we also have lower rates of unemployment for both women and young people.

Whilst the situation in Dundee with Michelin remains a concern, the Scottish Government will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find a viable and sustainable future for the plant and its highly skilled workforce.

We will also continue to urge the UK Government to commit to remaining in the EU single market and customs union to protect jobs and investment in Scotland, if remaining in the EU is not an option.

The latest figures also showed the inactivity rate, which takes in students, sick and retired people aged between 16 and 64, stood at 750,000, up 19,000 from the previous quarter.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: I welcome the news that fewer people in Scotland are unemployed. However, there is no room for complacency.

Im concerned that economic activity in Scotland is falling and that our inactivity rate is above that for the UK.

The Scottish Government needs to focus on using its extensive powers and work with us on ensuring that Scotlands economy thrives.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: While any fall in unemployment is welcome, the drop in employment once again points to the structural weaknesses in Scotlands economy.

It is extremely disappointing to note that inactivity rates have increased.

It is now clear that output, employment and productivity in Scotland under the SNP has flatlined, leading to stagnating growth.
A prison governor has told how notorious inmate Charles Bronson launched himself at him and threatened to gouge his eyes out prior to a welfare meeting.

Leeds Crown Court heard how Bronson, 65, launched himself at Mark Docherty at HMP Wakefield on January 25, having held the governor responsible for one of his visitors not being allowed to use their own wheelchair.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Mr Docherty described the relationship between himself and the defendant, who is standing trial under the name Charles Salvador, as being not good.

The governor told how, at the time of the incident, he was meeting with Bronson, who is now at Frankland Prison in County Durham, in order to discuss his welfare and engagement within the prison system.

Mr Docherty said Bronson never attended such meetings and a psychologist, members of an independent monitoring board, probation and a personal officer were all due to attend.

Describing the moment he invited Bronson into the adjudication room to begin proceedings, the governor said: I could see Mr Salvador look to draw a punch or to grab me by the neck.

I have not had the chance to move so I got hold of Mr Salvadors arm as its come round my neck.

As I grabbed hold of his arm I went back into the chair and I think the momentum of me and Mr Salvador heading in the same direction meant I fell to the floor and Mr Salvador fell on top of me.

Charles Bronson arriving at Leeds Crown Court (Danny Lawson/PA)

Giving a detailed account of the alleged attack, he added: He was just squashing my face. I could hear him say I will take your f****** eyes out.

Mr Docherty added that, with the help of custodial manager Steven Coomber and a number of his colleagues, Bronson was eventually pulled away.

Jurors were told how the defendant warned HMP Wakefields governing governor, David Harding, would be next as he was pulled away from the room.

Bronson, who is defending himself, denies a single charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

When asked whether he could see Mr Docherty well enough from his seat in the dock, the prisoner said: I dont really want to see him, but yes.

As prosecutor Carl Fitch took a gulp of water during the morning session, Bronson, who has served over 40 years in prison, was heard to say: I hope thats not gin.

The trial, which is expected to conclude this week, will continue on Tuesday afternoon, when Bronson is expected to cross examine Mr Docherty.
A barrister representing some of the Ballymurphy families has said there is widespread and deep concern that British soldiers are boycotting the inquest.

Michael Mansfield QC, who represents a number of the victims families, called for the coroner to take direct action on the issue.

The long-awaited inquests are examining the deaths of 10 people killed during shooting incidents involving the British Army in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast in 1971.

On the second day of the inquests, Mr Mansfield raised concern surrounding the cooperation of ex-soldiers.

The families of the 10 people who were killed (Cate McCurry/PA)

He said: There is widespread and deep concern from the families about what appears to be a boycott at what is a critical point of this inquest.

The appearance of a boycott is being articulated very clearly.

He said that former soldier Alan Barry, who is involved in the campaign group Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans (JFNIV), advised soldiers involved in Ballymurphy not to cooperate with requests to attend the inquests.

The comments were reported in a newspaper on Friday and repeated in a different newspaper on the first day of the inquest.

He said that these warnings to soldiers present serious risk of adverse inference.

Barrister Barry McDonald, who represents some of the other victims families, said that at least 12 soldiers fired 117 shots into an area known as the Manse field, however he added that not one of these soldiers have provided a statement.

The victims of the Ballymurphy Massacre (Ballymurphy Massacre Committee/PA)

The soldiers who fired are simply refusing to cooperate with this inquest and are boycotting it, he added.

He said that soldiers believed to be involved have not been prepared to give statements and he called for them to be subpoenaed.

Continuing his opening statement on Tuesday, counsel for the coroner Sean Doran outlined details around the UVFs controversial claim of involvement.

The court was told that an Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) sniper was active in that part of west Belfast at the time of the 10 killings in August 1971.

Mr Doran said no information as to which of these deaths may have been caused by the sniper was given.

In May this year, the coroners service received correspondence from a solicitor representing an interlocutor who claimed he had information about the possible involvement of the UVF in a number of shootings in Ballymurphy.

The interlocutor, known as Witness X, said he had spoken to people he described as veterans of the UVF.

He said that information provided identified a UVF sniper, who is now dead, was active in the vicinity of where the shootings took place and may have caused some of the deaths.

It is understood the man named by the organisation is a now deceased member called Tommy West.

Mr Doran told the court that Witness X claims he was told a Mauser rifle had been used.

The barrister also described the extensive work the coroners service has been carrying out for the inquests.

He said that they have requested 127 military witness statements and around 800 soldiers have been identified as potentially being able to assist the inquest.

As part of its scope, the inquest will examine areas of the military operations taking place at the time.
Gaza militants have fired dozens of rockets at southern Israel, killing a man in a strike on a residential building and vowing to further escalate their attacks if Israel keeps bombing the Palestinian territory.

As fighting raged throughout the day, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met his security cabinet to plot a way forward.

The heavy exchange of fire, which was triggered by a botched Israeli undercover raid into Hamas-ruled Gaza late on Sunday, marked the most serious escalation since an Israel-Hamas war in 2014.

International mediators have appealed for restraint, hoping to avert another war.

An Israeli soldier walks by a house damaged in Ashkelon by a missile fired from the Gaza Strip (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

The Israeli military said some 400 rockets and mortars have been launched from Gaza since Monday afternoon, with about 100 of them intercepted by Israels Iron Dome defence system.

Israel said it has struck more than 100 targets it says are linked to militants in Gaza, including one assault that destroyed Hamas TV station.

Three other buildings believed to be connected to Hamas were destroyed, it said.

On Tuesday, Gazas health ministry said two Palestinians in their 20s were killed in separate air strikes, raising the number killed since the Israeli offensive began to six, including four militants. At least 25 people have been injured.

Israeli medical officials said the body of a 48-year-old man was found under the rubble of a building hit by a rocket in the southern city of Ashkelon.

Palestinians check the damage of a destroyed residential building hit by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City (Khalil Hamra/AP)

Relatives in the West Bank town of Halhoul identified the man as Mahmoud Abu Asbeh, a Palestinian labourer who had been working in Israel. He left a wife and six children behind.

Nearly 30 people have been wounded in Israel, three critically, according to medical officials.

The military said jets struck several key strategic Hamas targets, including military compounds, rocket launching posts and part of its vast underground tunnel network.

Also targeted was a Gaza City building serving Hamas military and intelligence forces which houses a munitions warehouse.

Israeli firefighters work at the scene where a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck Sderot (AP)

It is unclear whether Mr Netanyahu is prepared to escalate the offensive. Earlier this week, he said he was trying to avoid an unnecessary war.

Israel has fought three wars with Hamas since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Thousands of Palestinians and scores of Israelis have been killed, while Hamas has remained firmly in power and Israel has faced international criticism.

It is unclear what either side would gain in another round of sustained fighting. But if the rocket fire persists, Mr Netanyahus coalition partners, including hard-liners on the security cabinet, are likely to press for tougher action.

Hamas faces a similar dilemma: another war would bring new devastation to Gaza, but the group does not want to be seen as caving to Israeli pressure.

The armed wing of Hamas threatened to step up its attacks and fire rockets further north towards the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Beersheba if Israel continues with its air strikes.
Healthcare professionals must not be made to force through an organ donation against the wishes of a distressed family, experts have told MSPs.

The Scottish Parliaments Heath Committee heard claims medics would be put in a very difficult position if there were any rules that compelled them to override the wishes of relatives.

The committee has been taking evidence on plans to introduce an opt-out system for organ donations in Scotland.

The change proposed under the Human Tissue (Authorisation) (Scotland) Bill would mean people would be assumed to have consented to their organs being used to help others unless they had signed an opt-out, potentially increasing the number of organ transplants that can take place each year.

Keith Brown sought views on a `family veto (Jane Barlow/PA)

In an evidence session on Tuesday, SNP MSP Keith Brown sought clarity on where the rights of the person whose organs may be donated should sit in relation to the rights of the state and the rights of their own relatives.

He also later sought views on whether a so-called family veto should be written into the Bill.

Rachel Cackett, policy adviser for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland said: Professionals who are doing this at a very difficult time for families are highly trained, sensitive to the conversations that they are having and have an ongoing relationship with the family.

But were also very clear that no practitioner should be put in the place of having to force a donation 

Certainly, our position is that if a family does not want a donation to go ahead it should not be forced.

Two other experts giving evidence appeared to share a similar view.

Mary Agnew, assistant director for standards and ethics at the General Medical Council (GMC) said: In situations of extreme distress to the family, I dont think you would want to put professionals in a position where it was felt they had to somehow override a very distressed family.

Dr Sue Robertson, deputy chairwoman of British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland, told MSPs: I think that to have the soft opt-out part of this legislation means that if the healthcare professionals involved feel that this is just going to cause undue distress to this family then I do think we have a duty of care to them as well 

If you feel its going to cause undue distress then I think there should be a situation whereby authorisation (for the donation) will not go ahead.

MSPs later heard it is relatively rare for families to override the donation wishes of their deceased loved one.

Lesley Logan, regional manager for organ donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, suggested such disagreement happens only around three times a year in Scotland.

Dr Stephen Cole, consultant in intensive care medicine at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, representing the Scottish Intensive Care Society, told MSPs: Having dealt with this on a daily and weekly basis, I would find it difficult in my profession to over-ride the wishes expressed by the relatives of those patients.

Or if a patients family said Yes, he signed up to the organ donor register, it was the expression of a wish at a point in time, I now have more information which says this is actually not what he or she wanted, then as the intensive care consultant speaking to that family, I would listen to that.

I dont think that we can push families into a situation where donation is forced through against their wishes. I would find that a very difficult situation to be in.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to attend this years Royal Variety Performance.

It will be pregnant Meghans first outing at the annual star-studded gala as she takes her place in the royal box next to husband Harry.

The couple will watch Take That and the cast of hit musical Hamilton as performers take to the stage of the London Palladium on Monday November 19.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend the @RoyalVariety Performance at the London Palladium on Monday 19th November. #RoyalVarietyPerformance #Variety4Charity pic.twitter.com/oc26pWfbba  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 13, 2018

The event is held in aid of the Royal Variety Charity, of which the Queen is patron.

Chart-toppers George Ezra and Rick Astley will also perform, while comedian and Taskmasters star Greg Davies has been confirmed as the host.

Harry attended his first Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2015.

Prince Harry on stage after the Royal Variety Performance at the Albert Hall in London in 2015 (PA)

The royal couple will be expected to meet the stars in a red-carpet line-up  with former actress Meghan well used to such appearances.

Comics at the show often take the opportunity to make jokes at the expense of any attending royals  and there is not likely to be any exception for the duke and duchess.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have recently returned from their overseas tour (Phil Noble/PA)

In 2015, host Jack Whitehall made digs at former partying prince Harry, saying they would turn the venue into a nightclub after the show in his honour.

Whitehall added: He may only be a prince, but when it comes to banter, all hail the king.

The Royal Variety Performance dates back to 1912 when King George V and Queen Mary agreed to attend a Royal Command Performance at the Palace Theatre in London, in aid of the Variety Artistes Benevolent Fund and its proposed plans to build an extension to its Brinsworth House home for elderly entertainers.

A second royal show was performed in July 1919 and billed as a celebration of peace.

It became an annual event at the suggestion of George V in 1921, when the King decreed that the monarch or a senior member of the royal family, would attend an annual performance, in aid of Brinsworth House and the Royal Variety Charity, once a year thereafter.

Laurie Mansfield, life-president of the Royal Variety Charity, welcomed the duke and duchesss support.

The Royal Variety Charity was so pleased that Prince Harry was able to attend his first Royal Variety Performance back in 2015, and that now in their wedding year, both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are attending, he said.

It will be a very memorable Royal Variety Performance.

The show helps raise money for entertainers throughout the UK, who are in need of help and assistance as a result of old age, ill-health, or hard times.

It also supports Brinsworth House, the home in Twickenham which is owned and run by the charity.
A man murdered in a violent attack was targeted by two people shortly after leaving his mothers pub, police have said.

Owen Hassan, 30, died in hospital after he was seriously injured in Greenview Street, Shawlands, Glasgow, at about 10.30pm on Wednesday.

Detectives said Mr Hassan suffered an extremely violent assault but managed to make his way back to the nearby Old Stag Inn, where his mother and customers tried to help him.

The 30-year-old had earlier met a friend for dinner in Oro in Kilmarnock Road and left around 5.30pm.

Police are trying to establish what Mr Hassan did between leaving the restaurant and arriving at the Old Stag Inn at around 10.20pm.

Owen Hassan died in hospital after a violent attack in Glasgow 9Police Scotland/PA)

He left the pub shortly afterwards and was chased by two men who attacked him.

Officers have been passed some information anonymously but have appealed for further details.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Fergus said: We need to trace the two men who are responsible for the sustained and vicious attack on Owen as a matter of urgency.

It is vital that they are held to account for their actions.

Owens family and friends have been left devastated by this terrible crime.

He added: We need to establish where Owen went after 5.30pm and who he was with. If you have any information on this please come forward.

We were contacted on Wednesday afternoon by someone who had passed on information anonymously.

I would urge that person to re-contact us as they may have further detail that will help move our investigation forward.

We will trace whoever is responsible for this murder, but we would appreciate any information that the local community can provide and I would urge anyone who saw Owen, or who was in the area of Greenview Street on Wednesday evening, to contact us.

Did you see the two men responsible in the area before or after Owen was attacked?

You may think your information is irrelevant but please let us be the judge of that as the piece of information that you hold could prove vital to this investigation.
American broadcaster CNN is suing the Trump administration, demanding the return of correspondent Jim Acostas press credentials to cover the White House.

The US administration revoked Mr Acostas access last week following President Donald Trumps controversial post-election news conference, where Mr Acosta refused to give up a microphone when the president said he did not want to hear anything more from him.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Washington DC district court.

CNN claims the revocation of Mr Acostas press pass violates the constitutional rights to freedom on the press and due process. The network is asking for an immediate restraining order to return Mr Acosta to the White House.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against his lawsuit.

Mr Trump has made CNN and its reporters a particular target of his denunciation of fake news and characterisation of the media as an enemy of the people.

CNN CEO Jeff Zucker, in a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, called it a pattern of targeted harassment.

Jim Acosta (AP)

The White House initially contended it was Mr Acostas refusal to give up the microphone that led to his banishment. CNN said it is apparent the president did not like his questions.

Theodore Olson, former US solicitor general and one of CNNs lawyers on the case, said: Mr Acostas press credentials must be restored so that all members of the press know they will remain free to ask tough questions, challenge government officials and report the business of the nation to the American people.

The White House Correspondents Association backed the lawsuit, with the groups president, Olivier Knox, saying: The president of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him.

CNN said Mr Acosta was given no warning of the action, and no recourse to appeal it.

The reporter travelled to Paris to cover Mr Trumps visit there this weekend and, although given permission by the French government to cover a news event, the Secret Service denied him entrance, the company said.

CNN journalist Abby Phillip asks President Donald Trump a question before he left for France (AP)

Without this credential, a daily White House correspondent like Acosta effectively cannot do his job, legal papers said.

CNN asked for an injunction to immediately reinstate Mr Acosta, as well as a hearing on the larger issue of barring a reporter.

In an effort to prove the administrations case last week, Ms Sanders distributed via Twitter a doctored video sped up to make Mr Acostas physical actions towards the intern who tried to take the microphone seem more threatening.

That was not mentioned by Ms Sanders in her statement on Tuesday. She cited his refusal to yield to other reporters after he asked Mr Trump two questions.

Mr Trump lambasted Mr Acosta and the CNN network (AP)

She said: The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional.

The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolise the floor.

Mr Trump told Mr Acosta at the news conference that CNN should be ashamed of itself, having you work for them. You are a rude, terrible person.

Mr Acosta has been a polarising figure even beyond the distaste that Mr Trump and his supporters have for him. The Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, editorialised last week that Mr Acostas encounter with Mr Trump at the news conference was less about asking questions and more about making statements.

In doing so, the CNN White House reporter gave President Donald Trump room to critique Acostas professionalism, it added.
Italian journalists have protested across the country against insults from prominent figures in the governing 5-Star Movement.

Journalists gathered in public squares in regional capitals in protest over statements by 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio and another prominent officials which labelled journalists as prostitutes, jackals and intellectually and morally corrupt.

Protesters called the attacks a risk to democracy and said they are sounding the alarm over a political philosophy that is emerging around the globe which aims to scapegoat journalists.

Journalists have protested across the country against insults from prominent figures in the governing 5-Star Movement (AP)

The 5-Stars platform has aimed to further reduce state support of the media.

The direct attacks on journalists heated up after Rome mayor Virginia Raggi was acquitted of a corruption charge which also risked the reputation of the 5-Star Movement, with officials subsequently lashing out at months of media coverage.
A Labour MP plotted with her brother to evade a speeding prosecution by claiming a Russian man had been behind the wheel, a court has heard.

Fiona Onasanya, MP for Peterborough, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of perverting the course of justice.

At 10.03pm on July 24 last year, her Nissan Micra was allegedly caught by a speed camera doing 41mph in a 30mph zone on The Causeway in the village of Thorney, in Cambridgeshire.

Trained solicitor Onasanya, 35, was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), which was sent back naming Aleks Antipow as the driver, jurors heard.

But the court was told he was at home with his parents in Russia at the time.

Prosecutor David Jeremy QC said Onasanya was connected with Mr Antipow through a property that she and her brother, Festus Onasanya, had rented in Chesterton, Cambridge.

Mr Antipow had lived at that address between August and September 2016, jurors were told.

The contact details given for Mr Antipow were not his true address and telephone number, but were connected to the defendants brother, the court heard.

Labour MP Fiona Onasanya is on trial at the Old Bailey (Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Jeremy said: The purpose in providing the name of a real person as the driver, but providing a false address and telephone number that were connected to Festus Onasanya, was that Mr Antipow, while a real person, would remain untraceable to the police, and so the true driver of Miss Onasanyas car on the 24th July 2017 would escape prosecution.

Festus Onasanya had deployed the tactic when his car was caught by a speed camera on June 17 and August 23 last year, jurors heard.

The prosecutor said: It must, as some of us may know, be very irritating to receive that bit of paper telling us that we have triggered a speed camera and asking us to name the driver of the car.

But while irritation is understandable, telling lies to frustrate an investigation into an offence is not.

What Miss Onasanya did when her vehicle was trapped on the 24th July 2017, was not just to own up and tell the truth, which would have been so much better, but to adopt her brothers method of evading prosecution.

The two of them were acting jointly in telling lies in order to prevent the prosecution of the true driver.

Last Monday, Festus Onasanya, 33, of Chesterton, Cambridge, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to perverting the course of justice in relation to the two occasions when his car triggered speed cameras, and in relation to the July 24 incident.

Mr Jeremy told jurors: The question for you to decide in this case will be whether Festus Onasanya was acting alone when he perverted the course of justice in relation to the trapping of Miss Onasanyas car on the 24th, or whether the two of them were acting together.

Onasanya, from Peterborough, has denied one count of perverting the course of justice.

Jurors were told that the NIP form required a declaration to confirm who was driving the car when it was caught by the speed camera.

On February 3 last year, Onasanya had no difficulty correctly filling out the form after triggering another camera the month before.

That time she had avoided points on her licence by going on a speed awareness course, the court was told.

The prosecution alleged Mr Antipow had never driven Onasanyas car, but had previously lived at an address in Chesterton rented by the Onasanya siblings.

Festus Onasanya had briefly lived at the address put down on the NIP as Mr Antipows home, it was claimed.

And the Russians contact number turned out to be for IT Fleet Automotive, where Festus Onasanya had worked as a self-employed delivery driver, the court heard.

Miss Onasanya, who was elected last June, had broken up for the summer recess the week before the speed camera incident, the court heard.

Her expense claims show that she claimed for hotel accommodation in London the Friday before, but not again until September, jurors heard.

A police investigation allegedly found her two mobile phones were in the area of the traffic camera around the time it was activated on July 24.

Mr Jeremy said: What sort of a coincidence would it have had to have been for her phones and car to be in the same area of that traffic camera?

Following the receipt of the response to the defendants NIP, the Cambridgeshire Police camera unit sent another NIP to Mr Antipow.

When it was returned to the sender, a letter was sent to Onasanya on September 14 2017, asking her for correct details.

On September 20 she replied: I have supplied the details made known to me as well as the licence informationI have provided a completed nomination previously.

Another NIP letter was sent to Mr Antipow, but again received no response.

Mark Williams , an investigator from the Cambridgeshire Camera Ticket unit, repeatedly tried to contact Onasanya by email and post.

On November 2, Mr Williams got hold of Onasanya at her Commons office.

During the phone call, he noted that she stands by her nomination, the court heard

On December 14, a letter asking her to get in touch with Detective Sergeant Mark Devine was hand delivered to her home.

The next day, Onasanya made arrangements to attend a voluntary interview at Bedford Police headquarters on January 2.

But when interviewed under caution, she declined to answer questions.

Mr Jeremy told jurors that Onasanya was a busy person as a newly elected MP, but in adopting her brothers methods of making a speeding prosecution disappear she had trapped herself in lies.

He said: This case may have started as a case about an offence of speeding.

It has become, as a result of the choices made by Miss Onasanya, a case about lying.

Lying persistently and deliberately. Lying all the way to this court, maybe about lying in this court.

Lying in a way that has had to be co-ordinated with lies told by her brother. Lying to avoid prosecution for a breach of the laws that apply, or should apply, to every single one of us, whoever you may be.

What a shame she did not tell the truth in the beginning.

The trial, which is expected to go on for a week, was adjourned until Wednesday.

Before sending jurors away, Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC told them: Im sure it does not need saying, but politics do not come into it. They cannot be a factor in the decision-making process at all.
EE has named Edinburgh as one the first cities in the UK to be chosen for 5G upgrades.

Scotlands capital will join London, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester for the network improvements.

The move comes as part of the first phase of EEs 5G rollout in 2019, with a further 10 cities  including Glasgow  to be upgraded later in the year.

Edinburgh is the only Scottish city included in the 5G upgrade first phase (EE)

Marc Allera, CEO of BTs consumer division, said: Were confident that we can bring 5G to the busiest parts of Edinburgh and the UK in 2019.

Well start with the busiest hotspots, meeting the greatest demand from our customers and keep upgrading in more places from there.

Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Connectivity, said: Commercial rollout of 5G by EE and the other mobile network operators supports our wider ambition of Scotland having an early advantage of this new and emerging technology.

We know that demands for even more data will increase and this is why we have committed to developing a forward-looking strategy on 5G.
Amazon has said it will split its much-anticipated second headquarters between New York and northern Virginia.

Each base will create 25,000 jobs.

In addition, the Seattle-based online retailer said it will open an operations hub in Nashville, Tennessee, creating another 5,000 jobs in America.

Its New York location will be in the Long Island City neighbourhood of Queens, while its Virginia offices will be in a part of Arlington which Amazon is calling National Landing, an area around Reagan National Airport that encompasses Crystal City and Potomac Yard.

The decision ends intense competition between North American cities to win Amazon and its promise of 50,000 new jobs.

The New York HQ will be in Queens (AP)

Some locations tried to stand out with stunts, but Amazon made clear that it really wanted incentives, such as tax breaks and grants.

The company received 238 proposals before narrowing the list to 20 in January.

With Long Island City and National Landing, the company is choosing two waterfront communities away from overcrowded business districts, giving Amazon space to grow.

New York, already a financial and media powerhouse, has been trying to attract more tech workers.

Northern Virginia has been looking to fill its 1980s-era buildings after thousands of federal employees moved elsewhere.

Amazon is referring to the two new locations as headquarters even though with 25,000 jobs each, they would have fewer workers than its Seattle hometown that houses more than 40,000 employees.

Amazon said Seattle will remain as one of Amazons three headquarters.

The extra space will help the rapidly growing company. Launched in 1995 as an online bookstore, Amazon now produces movies, makes voice-activated Echo devices, runs the Whole Foods grocery chain, offers online services to businesses and designs its own brands of furniture, clothing and nappies.

Crystal City is hoping to fill its 1980s-era buildings (AP)

There were early signs that Amazon had its sights set on New York and northern Virginia. Among its 20 finalists, the company had selected two locations in the New York metro area and three in the DC area.

Being near the US capital could help Amazon with lobbying efforts as the company, and other fast-growing tech giants, face rising scrutiny from politicians.

On top of this, CEO and founder Jeff Bezos has a home in Washington DC, and he personally owns The Washington Post.

Amazons workforce has ballooned to more than 610,000 worldwide, and that is expected to increase as it builds more warehouses across the country to keep up with online orders.

The company recently announced that it would pay all its workers at least 15 dollars an hour (11.60), but the employees at its second headquarters will be paid a lot more.
A Brexit deal has been reached by negotiators in Brussels and will be the focus of a crunch Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

A UK Government source confirmed that agreement had been reached at a technical level but Theresa May will need to win the support of her Cabinet.

There has been no official confirmation from either Downing Street or Brussels.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab waits to gain entry to 10 Downing Street (Victoria Jones/PA)

Irish broadcaster RTE reported that a stable text had been agreed on the thorny issue of the Northern Irish border.

The broadcaster said the deal involved one overall backstop in the form of a UK-wide customs arrangement, but with deeper provisions for Northern Ireland on customs and regulations.

The developments came after the Prime Minister told Cabinet on Tuesday morning that a small number of issues remained to be resolved and her de facto deputy David Lidington described a deal as almost within touching distance.

The agreement by officials on a draft deal came as:

 The Government was forced to agree to publish legal advice on the proposed deal

 The European Commission said UK citizens should continue to enjoy visa-free travel even in a no-deal scenario, as long as there is a reciprocal arrangement

 Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson accused the Prime Minister of stage-managing delays to the negotiations and a deal will mean surrender to Brussels.

No one is fooled by this theatre. Delay after staged managed delay. A deal will be reached and it will mean surrender by the UK. We will be doomed to remain in the customs union and under Brussels regulatory control. People did not vote for colony status 1/2  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 13, 2018

Despite UK sources insisting a deal had been done, the Irish government poured cold water on it, saying talks were ongoing.

Negotiations between the EU and UK on a Withdrawal Agreement are ongoing and have not concluded, a spokesman for deputy premier Simon Coveney said.

Negotiators are still engaged and a number of issues are outstanding. We are not commenting further on leaks in the media.
No-one has compromised the Governments position more than the Government itself in the Brexit negotiations, the DUPs Brexit spokesman has said.

Sammy Wilson argued MPs should know the full implications of any decision they were asked to take in a vote on Brexit.

Speaking in the Commons, the MP for East Antrim said: Indeed I think theres a bit of an irony that no-one has compromised the Governments position more than the Government itself in these negotiations. They willingly accepted the EU agenda and timetable and sequencing for the negotiations.

They uncritically accepted this nonsense of a backstop for Northern Ireland, a problem which doesnt exist and which can be dealt with by the existing trade facilitation measures which are in place.

He added: Lets be careful about making the suggestion that somehow or other what is being requested today is going to undermine the Governments position in negotiations.

What it is going to do is to inform this House and inform the people who are going to be affected by the outcome of these negotiations as to exactly how they will be affected.

Sammy Wilson argued MPs `should know the full implications of any decision they were asked to take in a vote on Brexit (Michael McHugh/PA)

Mr Wilson said if the Government had decided it would make legal information available, that was a step in the right direction.

He said: If were going to make a decision on this, its a most important decision, then we should know the full implications.

It should be spelt out to the public, the people of Northern Ireland and the people of the UK should know, is the Government binding you to an arrangement which will be impossible to get out of collectively or just for the people of Northern Ireland?

What will the scope of that be? And what are the lawyers saying about that?

Mr Wilson said his party would be supporting the motion if it goes to a vote on Tuesday night, adding: If the Government has decided that it will make that legal information available then I think that thats a step in the right direction and I suspect that on this particular issue it will expose, what were hearing from Europe at present, the shape of the agreement thats going to be, it will expose just how damaging that agreement is going to be to the UK.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has been urged to take action to halt the spiralling epidemic of suicides in Scotlands prisons.

The plea came after Mr Yousaf held talks with the parents of a young woman who took her own life while serving a sentence in Polmont Young Offenders Institution.

Four months after the death of Katie Allan, 21, in June, another inmate, 16-year-old William Brown  also known as William Lindsay  killed himself just 48 hours after being sent there on remand.

Stuart and Linda Allan, together with lawyer Aamer Anwar, met the Justice Secretary to plead for urgent changes to be made.

Stuart Allan (left) and his wife Linda with lawyer Aamer Anwar. (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Mr Anwar claimed there could be as many as 12 suicides in Scottish jails this year, adding this would represent the worst rate of suicides for over a decade.

The lawyer, together with Mr and Mrs Allan, demanded an immediate inspection of the young offenders institution at Polmont.

They also want a review of suicides in Scottish prisons and of mental health provision.

Mr Anwar said while 26 deaths have been recorded behind bars in 2018, only one had been formally noted a suicide.

He said: We heard today that half of the deaths so far they believe are in relation to natural causes.

That means approximately 12 deaths in Scottish prisons are potentially suicides.

We are not at the end of the year. If that is the case then this is the worst rate of suicides for over a decade.

The lawyer claimed the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) system of recording deaths in prison hides the spiralling epidemic of suicides in our prisons.

He said: They clearly havent learned lessons, William Lindsay should be alive today, he should not have died.

The care system failed him, the police failed him, the criminal justice system failed him, but ultimately Polmont Prison that should have learned lessons after the death of Katie Allan failed miserably.

Tues 13Nov we meet with Justice Minister @HumzaYousaf-We r fighting not just 4our #KatieAllanwho took her own life at 21 in Polmont-16yr old #WilliamLindsay should be alive 2day but was dead within 48hrs of going 2Polmont-How many more must die? https://t.co/v88R74trjD pic.twitter.com/09qJsRwKmE  Linda Allan (@Allan67Linda) November 12, 2018

Mr Anwar said neither the Crown Office nor the SPS had bothered to contact Mr Lindsays mother, Christine, following his death.

Locking people up in dungeons of despair doesnt rehabilitate anyone, the lawyer said.

The families of Katie Allan and William Lindsay hold the Scottish Prison Service, the health service and the care system directly responsible for their deaths, and they will fight to ensure other lives can be saved.

Mr Allan said: Its so important that people who go into the care system and people who go into prison, they are treated with respect and humanity.

We have witnessed what happened to Katie, we dont want that to happen to anybody else.

He said the family had used the talks with Mr Yousaf to highlight the catastrophic failings within the criminal justice system.

He added: We wanted to make clear to Mr Yousaf that the tragic experiences Katie endured within the Scottish Prison Service are not unique to Katie.

You only have to look at the recent tragic death of 16-year-old William Lindsay, who spent his life in and out of care, only to end up taking his own life whilst in Polmont prison within 48 hours of being placed on remand.

The long list of failings which has led to Katie, William and many others taking their own lives under the care of the Scottish Prison Service and in particular Polmont prison is simply unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue any longer.

Mr Allan concluded: We believe what we are trying to do in Katies memory for her and so many others will be a fitting legacy for our daughter.

The Justice Secretary was also questioned on the deaths by MSPs.

He told them he was aware of concerns raised through recent cases around the mental health provision in HMP Polmont.

Mr Yousaf said: Any death of a young person is a tragedy for the individual and their family.

As with any death in custody, there will of course be a mandatory fatal accident inquiry.

However, I am determined that appropriate early actions are taken to ensure the safety and well-being of young people in custody.

He added: We are determined as a government to ensure that we are taking a cross-government approach to the support that young people have when they are within the criminal justice system but importantly the preventative measures we put in place to stop them from getting into the criminal justice system in the first place.

An SPS spokesman rejected claims the way deaths are recorded masked the number of suicides.

He said: We dont describe the circumstances of any deaths in custody, we publish that a death in custody has occurred immediately after the next of kin have been informed.

All deaths in prison are subject to an FAI, with the spokesman saying one death this year had been confirmed as a suicide because an inquiry had taken place.
Convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson will speak at an event hosted by a US politician by video-link because his visa application was not granted in time.

The English Defence League co-founder was due to meet Republican politicians in Washington this week at the invitation of the Middle East Forum.

But Daniel Pipes, president of the conservative Philadelphia-based organisation, said Robinson had not been granted a visa in time for the meeting, Reuters reported.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, denied his visa application had been rejected, describing reports as fake news.

The Middle East Forum told the Press Association that Robinsons visa had not been denied but was going through administrative processing.

Executive liaison Lisa Barbounis said Robinson would take part in Wednesdays event, hosted by Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar, by videolink, and added: It wasnt denied [his visa], it has been reviewed for administrative processing.

He has other invitations to speak later in the year and isnt worried about rushing to do the event because we can do a longer tour later.

However, US sources told the Press Association that Robinsons application had been denied, although he had the opportunity for a further review.

Administrative processing is when an application is sent for further screening and evaluation, or more information is requested of the applicant.

The process is usually expected to take up to 60 days, but the US Embassy in Londons website said it can take more than six months.

Robinson told the Press Association that reports about his visa being denied were fake news and hung up the phone without answering further questions.

Robinson is currently barred from the US after attempting to enter the country using a friends passport in 2012, having been blocked from travelling under standard arrangements because of multiple criminal convictions, including several for violent conduct and assault as well as mortgage fraud.

He gained a high profile in the US after right-wing websites took up his cause when he was jailed for 13 months for contempt of court.

The sentence was later quashed and the case has been referred to the Attorney General.

The US Embassy in London said it could not comment on individual visa applications due to privacy.

A US State Department spokeswoman said its first priority was to ensure applicants did not pose a security risk.

She added: We cannot speculate on whether someone may or may not be eligible for a visa, nor on any possible limitations.

Our first priority when adjudicating visa applications is to ensure that applicants do not pose a security risk to the United States.

If an applicant needs additional screening for whatever reason, we will not issue a visa until that screening is complete.

Travellers with criminal convictions applying to enter the US have to go through an adjudication process and could have their visa denied.

Robinsons planned tour of the US sparked more than 50 cross-party MPs to write to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him not to permit Robinson to enter the US for a fundraising tour.

The MPs asked Mr Pompeo to issue an assurance the US would not grant a waiver to allow Mr Robinson to accept invitations to speak in Washington DC on November 14.
To many conspiracy theorists who peddle raw, half-baked and pernicious versions of national ideologies on social media  the most popular medium of being connected with the world in early 21st century  Raza Rumi is an enigma at best and a liberal Pakistani who is embarrassed by his national identity at worst.

Of shared cultures and entwined destinies: An artist from Pakistan paints a platform for Durga Puja. (Credit: Reuters file)

For someone who has a foot entrenched firmly in history and who believes in the futility and dangers of hyper-nationalism, Raza has to contend himself with scathing and uncouth comments and remarks, some barely attempting to hide their glee at him being painted as someone who has his head permanently and irretrievably turned backwards, in other words, towards pre-Partition subcontinent, an age most Pakistanis would conveniently treat as their forgettable past.

One nation, one religion versus art, culture and literature born out of ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity. (Credit: Reuters photo)

His perpetual angst to reject the over simplified but for six decades politically correct state narrative of one nation, one religion description of Pakistan and unveil the vast wealth of art, culture, literature and music which is born out of ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity has no happy ending, it seems.

His rejection of the mindset that is assiduously at work round the clock to ethnically cleanse the country of dissent and diversity but in a seemingly benevolent way  erroneously believed by those who practice it  is based upon the rich past and its incessant reincarnations in the present makes Pakistan a kaleidoscope of spellbinding art, poetry, customs, music and languages that transcend national boundaries.

Raza Rumis love and quest to find his national and regional/South Asian identity was clearly manifest in his seminal 2014 book, Delhi by Heart, which deceptively sounded like a travelogue of a Pakistani visiting India, particularly Delhi. The nexus he managed to create in the book  which has existed for thousands of years, quite frankly  between India and Pakistan was thoroughly misunderstood by the merchants and protectors of our national ideology.

Pakistan: Tales of a misperceived homeland. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

It is not difficult to imagine the furrowed foreheads and flushed cheeks of those who may have viewed the book as softening or even removing the international boundary between India and Pakistan, completely missing the point that bringing countries closer through shared culture and history is positively natural and evolutionary whereas nation-building on differences is reactionary and negative. Sadly, the trend continues unabated.

Being Pakistani, Society Culture and the Arts is an effort by Raza to reassure himself and his readers of the pluralistic viewpoint he holds about the country of his birth yet again. Irked by the linear and disingenuously one-sided and, consequently damaging, image of Pakistan, Rumi through a compilation of very pertinent and timeless essays, painstakingly describes plurality and diversity of his misperceived homeland to audiences across the world.

For instance, during one of his sojourns to Bangladesh he is fascinated to find out the Bengalis love for their culture, the Bengali identity and, above all, Rabindranath Tagore, whose poetry they memorise and recite despite Tagore being religiously different from a majority of the Bangladeshis. Frequently faced with the "what if" moments of history, Rumi wonders what if Muhammad Ali Jinnah had lived long enough to admit his mistake of imposing the Urdu language on East Pakistan which he believes was a distinct possibility considering Jinnahs democratic and constitutional approach.

Being Pakistani: Society, Culture and the Arts by Raza Rumi, HarperCollins India.

Similar to the Tagore phenomenon in the whole of Bengal, another example of cross-border following and, more importantly, the ownership of syncretic message in the poetry of Muslim Sufi ascetics like Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Shah Hussain and others by Sikhs via Guru Granth Sahib proves that the rich sub-continental heritage is timeless and is not bound by physical boundaries and transcends religions.

In one of the essays, while celebrating the forbidden literature about courtesans of the sub-continent or the so-called nautch girls, Raza throws light on the righteous segregation of the red light areas in South Asia and the societal disdain and rejection of this invisible class. Ghulam Abbass short story, Anandi  later made into a remarkable movie named Mandi (marketplace) by Shyam Benegal  is a painful and yet quintessentially sub-continental moralist hypocrisy.

The enthusiastic, self-righteous witch-hunt of an inquisition aimed at segregating and fencing against the dirty segment of the society often results in the mushrooming of temples, dargahs, land mafia and the trader class baying for the prostitutes blood, once again uprooting and exiling them to yet another abode set in forced seclusion and wilderness.

In Pakistans case the cycle  set in motion by the hyper-conservative regime of Zia-ul-Haq  continues with increased vengeance with the passage of time fuelled by faux moral and religious fervour. The same uber-religiosity is also reserved, it has to be said, in order to persecute religious minorities, a fascistic tool  quite disturbingly, it has to be said  also rapidly being pressed into service across the border in India, of late.

Subcontinental moralist hypocrisy: Ghulam Abbass short story, Anandi, was made into a film Mandi (marketplace) by Shyam Benegal. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Raza Rumis personal experience of forced emigration and the consequent yearning and longing it has generated within his soul for a reunion with the land of his birth is also reflected in the careful selection of essays in Being Pakistani. For example, the moving story of poet Mustafa Zaidi  amongst many a dissident literary figures like Faiz and Jalib who can be described as classic misfits in a repressed and generally indifferent society  needs a mention here who was purged for non-conformity by Yahya Khan along with 303 bureaucrats.

Raza briefly unveils the poetic genius of Zaidi while lamenting the fact that the first PhD on his work was commissioned abroad. Circumstances surrounding his tragic and yet mysterious death remain unexplained to this day.

Despite the pigeon-holing and labelling of dissident and evocative art and literature as patriotic or otherwise being a sub-continental characteristic in general, drawing of deeper lines and boundaries on creative and political thought is more pronounced in Pakistan as compared to India and Bangladesh, Rumi tells us. Despite the fast-shrinking spaces for expression, the rich folklore of the land that is Pakistan lives on and which, despite a thousand state narratives targeted to create uniformity of culture, is thankfully a part of its peoples soul.

There are stirring examples and impressive protagonists of history like Marvi of Sindh whose indomitable will despite her incarceration by Umer for a year was immortalised by Shah Latif:

Only the shameless can forget the beloved and homeland,

Condemned are those who forget the motherland.

In a vibrant country brimming with cultural richness and with a talented and successful diaspora willing to make Pakistan a progressive and prosperous country, the emphasis seems to be on pocketing their dollars to build dams rather than attracting academic excellence, which can be of immense benefit to the country in the long-term.

'Only the shameless can forget the beloved and the homeland'. A painting of Shah Latif. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Our judiciary  instead of embarking upon open-ended, futile and time-consuming fishing expeditions to bring back corrupt politicians  can take a leaf out of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh which has revered the country to being a secular republic.

In addition, radical Islamist literature has been banned while there seems no end to the publication of hate material in Pakistan.

It cannot just be fate which has forced Pakistan to be driven away from Jinnahs ideal state.

Bangladesh, which waged a struggle to free itself from us, ironically, seems to have embraced Jinnahs message by striving to be democratic, developmental, liberal and secular.

Pakistan, well, looks and desperately wants to be exactly the opposite as we speak.

Also read: Asia Bibi verdict: What is happening in Pakistan now is blasphemy
A day after Binny Bansal stepped down as Group CEO following personal misconduct allegations, Flipkart team heads are extensively engaging with staff to address their concerns and queries arising in view of the surprise development.

According to sources, various heads at the e-commerce giant have been engaging with their teams to answer any queries and address concerns related to business and operations after Bansal's exit.

Walmart -- Flipkart's parent entity -- Tuesday issued a statement saying Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal had resigned as the group chief executive officer.

The cryptic statement said an independent investigation had been conducted against Bansal following allegations of "serious personal misconduct" but gave no details about the nature of the misconduct and findings of the probe for which a global law firm had been engaged.

It gave a clean chit to Bansal stating that the probe "did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant's assertions" against him.

According to multiple sources, this was the second time that the issue had against Bansal had been raised. They said the matter was first flagged three years ago. However, it wasn't clear if any action was taken back then.

In July this year, the complainant -- an associate engaged with Flipkart and now working independently -- reached out to Walmart, following which the investigation was set up, they said.

The sources said Walmart -- which had picked up 77 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-based firm for a whopping USD 16 billion -- was upset that this development had not been disclosed when the deal discussions were on.

Binny, 37, has also strongly denied the charges and said he was "stunned" by the allegations. He had added that while had had stepped down from the lead role, he would continue to remain a large shareholder and board member of the company that he co-founded 11 years ago with Sachin Bansal (who exited Flipkart having sold his entire shares as part of the deal).

Binny had been appointed group CEO in January last year. In his email to employees Tuesday, Binny had said he had been mulling over the right time to step away from an operating role at Flipkart Group for some some time.

"My plan was to continue in my current role for a few more quarters to continue the transition after closing the deal with Walmart. However, my decision to step down has been accelerated by certain personal events that have taken place in the recent past," he wrote in his email.

Binny's exit after that of co-founder Sachin Bansal (not related) has raised questions around leadership and the course of action over the next few months for the company that is locked in an intense battle with American rival, Amazon.

Walmart has stated that Kalyan Krishnamurthy, currently chief executive of the Flipkart division and PhonePe (Flipkart's payments arm) Sameer Nigam will report directly to the board.

Also, Flipkart's operations will now include fashion portals, Myntra and Jabong even though they would continue to operate as separate platforms. Ananth Narayanan will continue as CEO of Myntra and Jabong and will report to Krishnamurthy. The sources indicated that further rejig of roles could be on the cards soon.
The deeds of Indian warriors in World War I are a testimony to their spirit despite colonial discrimination

World War I, dubbed the war to end all wars, ended with an armistice signed on November 11, 1918. The main belligerents were Britain, France, Russia (until the revolution of 1917), Italy (from 1915) and the United States (after 1917) on one side and Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey on the other. A number of other countries like India also became a part of its orbit.

No other conflict until then had involved as many countries. Nor did any till then cause such a staggering number of casualties-about 40 million including about 20 million dead (both sides included) and the rest wounded. Among the dead were 9.7 million military personnel and the rest civilians. This was the first war where technology-based military hardware was deployed on a large scale, and aircraft and tanks, the latter brought in by the United States forces, were used for the first time. The questions are: What did this massive carnage achieve? What was Indias role in it?

It did not end all wars. The League of Nations, emerging in 1919 from the Paris Peace Conference, which lead to the Treaty of Versailles officially ending it, doubtless sought to promote disarmament, prevent wars through collective security, settle disputes between countries through negotiation and diplomacy, and global welfare. Unfortunately, it never quite took off. Its credibility and effectiveness were both undermined by the United States decision to stay away-and this despite the fact that its president, Woodrow Wilson, played an important role in setting it up and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to secure peace. The League of Nations fundamental weakness, however, was that it was slow to act, and sometimes did not act at all. This was because a decision required a unanimous resolution passed by the council members, initially numbering nine and subsequently 15. Besides conflicting interests, the unwillingness of many members to have their actions externally-determined, accounted for this. As a result, wars, between and within nations, followed. Notable in the first category were the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936 and Japanese invasion of China in 1937. Wars within included the one between communists and the Kuomintang forces in China in the 1930s and the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939.

The Leagues biggest failure was its inability to prevent World War II, which involved most countries of the world and left about 55 million civilians and 21 to 25 million  including five million prisoners of war  military personnel dead. World War II witnessed, for the first time, the use of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The conflagration, which saw the emergence of the Soviet Union as a super power, had momentous consequences. If the confrontation between the blocks led by the US and the Soviet Union respectively, led to the Cold War which split the world, a third shooting World War was prevented by deterrence provided by the accumulation of missile-mounted nuclear weapons, capable of wiping out the entire world, on both sides. Post World-War II wars like those occurring in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and between India and Pakistan, India and China, Israel and Arab countries remained regional. As to the second question mentioned at the beginning, India was under British Rule during World War I, which Indian troops fought as a part of British imperial forces. The country made a signal contribution. A total of over 14 lakh men were recruited for the war, of whom over 13 lakh were sent for service in the Middle East and Europe. One of them was Kaji Nazrul Islam, the fiery Bengali revolutionary poet, who served in Mesopotamia.

Indian troops fought with tremendous gallantry in lands they had never known and under climatic conditions to which they were strangers. As many as 74,187 were killed and 70,000 wounded. Twelve Indians received the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious medal awarded by the British Army to officers and men who had performed some signal act of valour or devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. The recipients were Mir Dard, Fazal Din, Khudadad Khan, Sahamad Khan, Lala, Darwan Singh, Gabbar Singh Negi, Karanbahadur Rana, Badlu Singh, Chhattan Singh, Gobind Singh and Kulbir Thapa. Indians also fought in the air. Four of them joined the Royal Flying Corps, which later became the Royal Air Force. Lieutenants all, they were Indra Lal Roy, Hardit Singh Malik, S.C. Welingkar and ESC Sen. Roy and Welingkar were killed, the former in aerial combat, and the latter in a German hospital after crashing during a dogfight and taken prisoner. Roy was only 19 years old when he died on July 22, 1919, after having performed the incredible feat of shooting down 10 German planes in 14 days. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross given for exceptional gallantry during active operations against the enemy in the air. Britain, however, has never adequately acknowledged Indias contribution, which did not receive much attention until some years ago. Bias against Indians has been alleged. While Malik claimed six victories against the Germans, he was credited with only two. But then discrimination is integral to colonial rule.

(The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author)
US Vice President Mike Pence will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore on Wednesday during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said releasing the schedule of the Vice President on the eve of the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time.

Trump will be representing President Donald Trump at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore.

"They will talking about the bilateral relationship and defence cooperation in the kind of larger context," a senior administration official told foreign reporters last week ahead of his trip.

"They'll also be talking about their common vision for maintaining what we refer to as a free and open Indo-Pacific," said the senior Administration official.

"Prime Minister Modi has talked about his Act East policy, and there is enormous convergence in these two approaches," the official noted.

"And so lots for them to discuss," said the senior administration official.
The CBI on Tuesday registered a case against agency Deputy Legal Adviser Beena Raizada under charges of cheating and forgery for allegedly falsifying Assessment Notes of her performance.

According to the FIR, Raizada has been booked on allegation of interpolation in the assessment notes of Head of Branch, CBI, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Patna submitted along with Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) by DLA Beena Raizada.

The Assessment Notes allegedly appended by Raizada along with her APARs for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 allegedly certified as "Excellent" by forging the signature of the then DIG, CBI, ACB, Patna VK Singh.

The CBI earlier conducted a Preliminary Enquiry against Raizada during which the then DIG VK Singh who is now posted in CBI, Jaipur denied have signed her Assessment Notes. Singh also said Raizada was absent for 90 days during 2014 and 2015 and therefore there was no question of writing assessment in her favour for 2016 as he was repatriated to parent department in 2015.
As many as 60 retired bureaucrats and diplomats have questioned the unconscionable and unwarranted delay on the part of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in bringing out the audit reports on demonetisation and Rafale deal.

Expressing concern, the former bureaucrats said the audit reports on demonetisation and Rafale deal were being deliberately delayed to not embarrass the NDA Government till next years general elections. There was no immediate reaction from the CAG. In an open letter, which was also sent to President Ram Nath Kovind, former civil servants pointed out that the CAGs audit reports on the 2G scam, coal scam, Adarsh scam and Commonwealth Games, which influenced public perception of the then Governments action, had invited appreciation from various quarters.

In the letter, they said there was concern over the unconscionable and unwarranted delay in bringing out the audit reports on demonetisation and the Rafale fighter jet deal, and the reports should be tabled before Parliament in the Winter Session. The CAGs failure to present the audit reports on note ban and the Rafale deal in time may be seen as a partisan action and could create a crisis of credibility for the institution, the letter said.

The bureaucrats claimed that the CAG had been accused of nit-picking and focusing on trivial issues on the one hand, and for audit over-reach on the other, but never for having the need to be reminded of its constitutional duties, or of working under any pressure from the Government of the day.

The signatories of the letter included former IPS officer and former Ambassador to Romania Julio F Riberio, former IAS officer turned social activist Aruna Roy, former Pune Police commissioner Meeran Borwankar, former CEO of Prasar Bharti Jawahar Sircar, former envoy to Italy KP Fabian and officers from Central and all India services.

Quoting from media reports on demonetisation, the former bureaucrats said the then CAG Shashi Kant Sharma had pointed out that the audit would cover the expenditure on printing of notes, the RBIs dividend to the Consolidated Fund of India and the huge amount of data generated by banks.

They also said it was also stated that the effectiveness of the follow-up action taken by the Income Tax Department in identifying potential tax evaders and pursuing action against them, among others, would also be covered.

It is more than 20 months since the previous CAG made the above statement but there is no sight of the promised audit report on demonetisation, the letter said.

The letter claimed that there were reports that the audit of the Rafale deal would be done as late as September 2018, but the related files were yet to be scrutinised by the CAG. The precise stage of the audit is therefore unclear, it said.

The ex-bureaucrats said the CAGs audit reports on the 2G, Coal, Adarsh, Commonwealth Games scams had influenced public perception of the then UPA Governments actions and had invited appreciation from various quarters.

Due to the cacophony of claims and counterclaims, accusations and mudslinging in the media and elsewhere, citizens do not know what the reality is, the former bureaucrats said, insisting that the CAG make timely submission of the audit reports so that people can make an informed choice while voting.

The CAG functions as a watchdog and it is its duty to ensure that every financial transaction is as per rule, sanction, provision and propriety, and guided by the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

In the past, the former bureaucrats had attacked the Government over rising intolerance in the country and the Kathua gang rape case.
The 1951 Raj Kapoor classic showcasing a never forgetting chemistry between Raj Kapoor and Nargis Awaara was once again enjoyed on the silver screen by Bhopalites.

Under the Ekagra film Festival, the classic film was screened at Bharat Bhavan on Wednesday.

Awaara is a 1951 Indian Bollywood film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.

The film stars Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Prithviraj Kapoor, Leela Chitnis and K N Singh and others.

Other members of the Kapoor family make an appearance, including Raj's youngest real-life brother Shashi Kapoor, who plays the younger version of his character, and Prithiviraj's father Dewan Bashwanath Kapoor, playing a cameo role in his only film appearance. The film's music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

The film centers on the intertwining lives of poor Raju and privileged Rita (Nargis). Raju lives as a derelict as a result of being estranged from his bitter father, a district judge, who threw Raju's mother out of the house years ago.

Raju shacks up with a Dacoit (pickpocket bandit) as his surrogate father only to realize that the man is actually responsible for the original misunderstanding between his parents. Raju kills him, and then tries killing his father, but fails, is arrested, and is taken to court right before his very own father, who presides there as the Judge. Raju has his childhood girlfriend as his legal representative, and the onus is now on his father, who must pass judgment without showing any personal sentiment.

A huge crowd of film lovers as well as the city artists was observed at the hall enjoying the film.
Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested five men for allegedly robbing a constable at gunpoint in a moving auto-rickshaw on highway near Wazirabad in National Capital.

The accused have been identified as Shankar (23), Saddam (24), Ashawani (21), Ash Mohd (23) and Kishan Kumar (44).

According to a senior police official, on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, a Delhi Police constable was looted by some culprits at gunpoint in a moving auto-rickshaw while he was returning to his training centre at Police Training School at Wazirabad.

"The accused had dropped him near Yamuna Vihar after robbing his purse, mobile, carry bag and other articles. However the constable managed to read some figures of the number of auto-rickshaw which helped police to trace the accused," said the senior police official.

"After registering a case, police apprehended the accused persons near Nand Nagri flyover with their auto-rickshaw where they were searching a person to commit another robbery," the senior police official said.

"One auto, one mobile phone and a bag along with a wallet were recovered from their possession," the senior police official added.
FICCI, Schneider Electric, Yes Consultants, Tech Mahindra, Employability Bridge involved

Apart from an MoU signed between the Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) and the ITE Educational Services (ITEES), Singapore on Monday, five more MoUs were signed with different skill development institutions in the Make in Odisha Conclave here on Tuesday.

As per the MoUs signed on Tuesday, the FICCI and the OSDA would create and strengthen employers engagement programmes to promote a robust ecosystem of training and recruitment.

Under the Engage programme, the FICCI would facilitate and develop a framework for creating awareness about apprenticeship training, especially National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), and develop a pool of 'skilled master trainers' in Odisha. It will facilitate and integrate career counselling in existing institutions/training centers.

The L Schneider Electric India Foundation, Bangalore will set up modem electrical labs at the Government ITI, Cuttack, which would benefit 441 electrician trade trainees of the institute. The Government ITI s at Brahmapur and Hirakud would be supported in a phased manner.

The Yess Consultants, Delhi, the Tech Mahindra Limited, Pune and Employability Bridge/Surgeforth Technologies Private Ltd, Chennai will separately collaborate with the Central Placement Cell of the DTET, Odisha for placement of the students pursuing Diploma Education & ITI training in reputed organisations.

A session on Skilled in Odisha: Skilled for future was organised at the Make in Odisha conclave where field experts participated.

As per the MoU, the OSDA would set up a World Skill Centre(WSC) at the 18-storied IDCO tower at Mancheswar. The ITEES will provided technical support. The centre will function as a hub and all Government ITIs (71 at present) as its spokes. 1,51,000 trainees and trainers of this Skill Development initiative are set to create skilled workforce comparable to the best in the world.
Miscreants targeted a house in Alkapuri under Baghsewania police station area and escaped with valuables worth Rs 1.5 lakh on Monday. Police said that the house of Narmada Solomon at Alkapuri was burgled and valuables worth Rs 1 lakh were taken away.

According to the police, victim along with his mother had gone to celebrate Diwali in Delhi and when they returned on Monday they found that the house was burgled. The locks of the door were broken and on entering the house it was found that the house was ransacked. The family found that cash and valuables were missing. The almirah which was having valuables were targeted and broken to take the valuables.

In the initial investigation police found that apart from the cash and jewellery, other valuables of the house were not disturbed which suggests that the miscreants were aware of the valuables. The burglary took place four days. The domestic help and security personnel guards of the area would be questioned and CCTV cameras installed in the nearby areas would be examined.

Meanwhile, valuables worth Rs 65000 were burgled from Geet Homes under Ayodhya Nagar police station area on Monday. The victim Mithlesh Singh Sisodiya works with CRPF and on November 4 he had gone to Shajapur to visit his ailing grandfather and when he returned on Monday valuables were found missing.

In the complaint victim has claimed that gold and silver jewelry worth around Rs 65,000 was burgled. The police have registered a case under section 457 and 380 of the IPC and have started further investigation.
The state Cabinet gave its assent to renaming of Allahabad and Faizabad divisions as Prayagraj and Ayodhya, respectively. It also announced a new purchase policy for maize during the kharif season for 2018-19. The Cabinet also announced state-level awards for teachers of recognised but non-aided government secondary colleges. The decision was taken in the state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna said that Prayagraj division would comprise Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh districts, while Ayodhya division would include Ayodhya, Ambedkarnagar, Sultanpur, Amethi and Barabanki districts. The decision came a day after the Allahabad High Court asked the Centre and the state government to file counter affidavits within a week on a petition challenging the decision to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.

State government spokesperson and Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh said that for the first time the government had fixed the purchase rate of maize which would be Rs 1,300 per quintal besides farmers would get additional Rs 20 per quintal for cleaning and transportation. He added that the government would spend around Rs 214 crore for purchasing around one lakh metric tonne of maize. In the first phase, the purchase will be made in 20 districts and later more districts may be included as per demand.

In another decision, the government has announced awards for teachers of the non-aided secondary colleges in the state. There are 18 divisions in the state so one teacher from each division will be selected for the Best Teacher Award and will get a cash award of Rs 25,000. The function will be held every year on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 25, he said. There are 19,275 non-aided secondary colleges in the state and for the award a teacher should have a service of 15 years and a principal of 20 years.

The Cabinet also approved the report of the Justice Raj Mani Chouhan Committee to be tabled in the state Assembly, which had probed the stampede at the Jai Gurudev satsang in Varanasi on October 15, 2016. A total of 25 people were killed in the stampede at Kateshar-Dorari village where the satsang was organised.

The government also approved a proposal to amend the rule by merging the post of lecturer in the state medical colleges by creating a new post of assistant professor. Now the direct appointment by the UPPSC will be done for the post of assistant professor instead of lecturers post.

The government gave permission to hand over 48.03 sq metres of land of the Womens Polytechnic in Lucknow to the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) for the construction of a metro station while an approval was given to acquire 130 buildings in the second phase of Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor in Varanasi.

Lastly, the government has approved a proposal to set up a governing body headed by the Health Minister to run the new medical colleges at Basti, Faizabad, Farrukhabad, Ferozabad and Shahjahanpur.
Calling him a confused person, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has no idea whether onion grows in the soil or above it.

Defending his son in the Panama case, the Chouhan said, Gandhi says my sons name came up in Panama papers but we are mere farmers and added that they dont even know what Panama is. Can confused people like him run a government? Chouhan further asked.

Chouhan has filed his nomination papers from Budhni seat in Sehore district and Congress Arun Yadav, will contest against the Chouhan.

Budhni is considered as Chouhan's bastion and he was first elected as the MLA from the seat in 1990.

Chouhan is the face of the saffron party in the state and his government is facing an anti-incumbency factor after staying in power for 15 years.

Yadav is the son of former Congress leader Subhash Yadav, who served as deputy chief minister in former chief minister Digvijaya Singh's government.

Arun was appointed as the state Congress chief in January 2014 and served as an MP from 2007 to 2009 and from 2009 to 2014.

He also served as the Union minister of state, agriculture, and food processing industries in the Congress-led UPA government.

Madhya Pradesh goes to polls on 28 November to elect members of the 230 constituencies and votes will be counted on 11 December.
Imran Khan to visit Malaysia on Nov 20

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for Malaysia for an official two-day visit on November 20, it was notified on Wednesday. PM Khan will call on Malaysian counterpart Mahatir Muhammed during his visit to Malaysia, while he will also hold meetings with other state officials. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief will focus on the promotion of economic cooperation between the two sides.







The PM will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Trade Adviser Abdul Razzaq Dawood.





According to reports, Khan will also receive briefing over Malaysias model for swift development and discussions would be held on how Pakistan can benefit from Malaysias experience and bring about similar prosperity and development.


Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday mocked the Opposition Congress at an election rally in Chhattisgarh over "factionalism" in the party and demanded that it reveal the names of its Chief Ministerial candidates in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, like the BJP.

Campaigning for the second phase of assembly elections in which polling to be held for 72 seats on November 20, Singh claimed the Congress would "break into factions" the moment it announces the names of its chief ministerial candidates.

He equated the campaign rallies of Congress with marriage processions and linked the announcement of names of chief ministerial candidates to bridegroom's identity.

"If a 'barat' is taken out, then the name of the 'dulha' (bridegroom) should also be out. I want to know the name of the bridegroom from the Congress. However, the moment Congress announces its candidates for the post of chief minister, the party will break into factions," Singh said at a rally in Janjgir Champa.

He further added, "Not just in Chhattisgarh but Congress should reveal the names of their candidates for the post of chief minister in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, like the BJP. We have made it clear who would be the next chief minister of the BJP in these states and the Congress should do the same," .

The home minister also defended the Rafale jet deal with France and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the target of the Congress party over the agreement.

Singh lashed out at the Congress for using "objectionable language" against Modi and said the BJP "never abused" a prime minister coming from the Congress party.

"People are saying that Modi has taken commission in this deal. For whom would he accept the commission? He does not have a wife or children. Is he seeking commission for his almost 100-year-old mother?" he remarked.

The Congress has re-nominated party MLA Motilal Devangan from Janjgir Champa and the ruling BJP has given ticket to former deputy speaker of Chhattisgarh Assembly Narayan Chandel.

At the rally, Singh also praised the Centre's ambitious Ayushman Bharat health scheme.

"When US President Barack Obama introduced the healthcare insurance scheme, the whole world was surprised. But why not so much praise for our healthcare scheme where we are providing cover of up to Rs five lakh per person," he observed.
Lifts to remain closed for four days in Shimla

Shimla: The operation of old lifts of HPTDC in Shimla town will remain closed from on November 15, 16, 19 and 22 due to ongoing construction work of new lift adjacent to the old lifts. HPTDC managing director Kumad Singh on Wednesday informed that the decision has been taken keeping in view the safety and security of the general public and smooth completion of work. She said that heavy equipments have to be moved around and heavy steel chambers will be placed, which may endanger the occupants of the lift. She requested the general public to bear with the situation and make alternative arrangements during this period.

SJVN to organise painting competition today

Shimla: Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited is organising a state-level painting competition on Thursday at Shakti Sadan, SJVN Corporate Office Complex, Shanan, Shimla. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will be the chief guest, while the state Education, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj and Energy and MPP Minister Anil Sharma will be the guest of honour. The competition will be held under two categories  Category 'A' for Classes IV to VI and Category 'B' for Classes VII to IX  will see the participation of students from government, public and private schools.

UNDP lauds Haryana for aligning budget with SDGs

Chandigarh: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has appreciated Haryana Governments efforts to align its budget with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and setting an example for other states to mirror Haryana model of SDGs implementation. UNDPs high-level delegation met Haryana Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu and congratulated him for prioritizing SDG implementation in the state and commended all departments for being rigorously involved in formation of Haryana Vision 2030 document.

Delhi resident duping a man of Rs 1.82 cr held

Chandigarh: Haryana Police has arrested one Deepak, resident of Delhis Pitampura, for allegedly duping a Sonipat resident Jatinder of Rs 1.82 crore on the pretext of making him mobile phone companys distributor in Haryana and Punjab. Jitender had complained to the police on May 4 that Deepak had duped him of Rs 1.82 crore on the pretext of appointing him as the distributor of Josh Brand Mobile Phone Company in Haryana and Punjab. Initial probe has revealed that Deepak has already been involved in eight similar incidents of fraud, including Rs 100 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank, Delhi.

BBMB organises on-the-spot painting competition

Chandigarh: Union Ministry of Power has launched the National Awareness Campaign to promote energy conservation in the country, under which various programmes for school children have been devised to sensitize them about the need for conserving energy and also to educate and involve their parents in this cause. As a part of the same, an on the spot state level painting competition amongst school children of UT Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana was organized by the Bhakra Beas Management Board at Panchkulas Inderdhanush Auditorium on Wednesday. Over 25.50 lakh participants competed for the competition, out of which, 300 children were selected for the state level competition.
World Heritage Week to be observed

Bhopal: Like every year, the Directorate of Archaeology, Archives and Museum will observe World Heritage Week this year also from November 19 to 25, 2018.

Commissioner Archaeology Anupam Rajan has said that various programmes like exhibition, workshop and lecture-series will be organized in the museums set up in different districts including the Directorate.

Keeping in view the World Heritage Week, instructions have been given to the concerned officials to keep all the museums and memorials open despite November 19 being a weekly holiday.

Entry to all museums and memorials of the department will be free during the World Heritage Week on November 19.

Amway celebrates Childrens Day with NGOs

Bhopal: Amway India celebrated Childrens Day for the tenth consecutive year with 10 NGO partners across India.

The childrens day celebration is a part of Amways CSR project Sunrise under which Amway aims to promote the overall well-being of underprivileged children in India by providing them access to education, health and hygiene.

As a part of the celebration, multiple activities were organized which received enthusiastic participation from children.

In Bhopal Amway India partnered with Matruchhaya Shishu Kalyan Trust and organized an exclusive Bhopal Darshan for their children.

In Bhopal, the children were thrilled to take a ride in an open bus to visit some of the prominent locations like Birla Mandir, Boat club, Rani Kamalpati Mahal, Taj-Ul-Masjid, Bharat Bhavan etc.in the city of lakes.

BHEL remembers Pandit Nehru

Bhopal: The 129th birth anniversary of Indias first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was celebrated today at BHEL, Bhopal with great zeal and fervour. On this occasion DK Thakur, Executive Director BHEL, Bhopal garlanded the bust of Pandit Nehru.

HK Nigam, General Manager, EM-EMRP & President, BHECNIS; all general managers, trade union representatives and employees in large number were also present in the programme.

Later, a programme was also held in Chacha Nehru Udyan near HRDC. Childrens Day was also celebrated at creche with great fanfare and sweets along with toys were distributed to the children.

Thakur in his address said that the public sector enterprises today hold similar significance as it used to be since the time of foundation. The PSEs contribution in the building of New India is also of paramount importance. He further referred the establishment of BHEL and other public sector organisation as the foundation stone of industrial & financial development of the country.
HP CM to flag off Startup Yatra on Nov 15

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will flag off Startup Yatra from Oak Over Shimla on November 15 at 10 am. The State Government, in collaboration with the Central Governments Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, is organising the Startup Yatra across the state to showcase giant strides made by Startup India Scheme and CMs Startup Scheme in the country and in the State. The Yatra will not only encourage the youth to nurture new startup idea but will also be organising Startup contest of selected ideas.

Ayush Univ to admit students in BAMS, BHMS

Chandigarh: Shri Krishna Ayush University, Kurukshetra, is providing admission opportunity to candidates of all categories, who were deprived of National Eligible Entry Examination (NEET), on the vacant seats of BAMS and BHMS courses for academic session 2018-19, in different colleges of the State. The registration and admission process of such candidates will be completed in the mop-up round to be held on November 15, said varsity Registrar Dr Krishan Jatian adding that the decision had been taken on the interim order of Punjab and Haryana High Court under which besides the NEET exam, other candidates would be also be considered eligible for admission in BAMS and BHMS courses.

Indian Overseas Bank hands over cheque

Chandigarh: Anand Bhandiwad, Chief Regional Manager- Chandigarh Region, Upma, Manager-Urban Estate Patiala branch along with officials of Universal Sompo General Insurance handed over a cheque of Rs.10 lacs to the wife of late Arvind Kumar who died in a road accident. Kumar, 31 years old, availed IOB Suraksha policy, an accidental death insurance policy by paying just Rs.100 from Indian Overseas Bank Urban Estate Patiala branch where he was maintaining his Savings Bank account.

NGOs urge govt to save children on roads accident

Chandigarh: Committed towards the safety towards children, the Consumer Voice has urged the Government to save children on road accidents by passing the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill-2017. More than 9,000 children died in road casualties in India comprising 6.4 percent of all road users who died in road casualties. Unfortunately, these figures are increasing every year. If this road safety bill is further deferred, we will be putting at risk more precious lives before the next session of the Parliament can adopt it, said Ashim Sanyal of Consumer Voice.

146 LMT paddy procured in Punjab

Chandigarh: The Government agencies and private millers have procured 146,61,955 metric tonnes of paddy in Punjab till November 12. Out of the total procurement from various procurement centres in the State, the Government agencies procured 145,72,206 MT while 89,749 MT has been procured by the millers. Central Government agency, Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured 2,23,970 MT paddy.
The feud in the Chautala clanthe first family of the Indian National Lok Dalseems to have reached a point of no return. INLD chief and former Chief Minister OP Chautala on Wednesday expelled his elder son Ajay Chautala from the primary membership of the party for alleged anti-party activities.

Ajay Chautala (57) was also removed from the post of INLD secretary general.

INLD Haryana president Ashok Arora on Wednesday released a letter issued by OP Chautala for expulsion of Ajay from the party.

Earlier, Ajays sons, Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala and Digvijay Chautala were expelled from the primary membership of INLD on November 2 by their grandfather OP Chautala.

After coming out from the Tihar Jail on a two-week parole, Ajay Chautala had on November 5 backed his sons and vowed to wage a battle to secure their right in the INLD, Haryanas main opposition party.

As efforts of a patch-up in the Chautala family failed to make any headway, a split in the INLD now looked inevitable after Ajays sacking on Wednesday. Two factions, each headed by Ajay and his younger brother Abhay are currently squabbling over the control on the INLD.

Abhay Chautala (55), who is Leader of opposition in Haryana Assembly and partys MLA from Ellenabad, apparently has backing of his father OP Chautala.

The expulsion of Ajay Chautala, a former MP indicates hardening of stand on both sides.

Following his sacking, Ajay Chautala while talking to the mediapersons in Yamunanagar said that he is not aware on what charge such an action has been taken against him while his sons Dushyant and Digvijay claimed that OP Chautala has been kept in the dark and he must not be knowing about their fathers expulsion.

Ajay Chautala also said that the party workers will decide on November 17 at Jind who will remain in the party.

Ashok Arora, Haryana party president, who was accompanied by Abhay Chautala and other party leaders told the mediapersons here that OP Chautala had issued a letter on November 12 for expulsion of Ajay. Following this, efforts were made to resolve the ongoing feud, he said.

The current scenario is weakening the organization and it has been decided to expel Ajay, announced Ashok Arora while reading out a letter signed by OP Chautala.

At the same time, Arora announced that a party meeting of all current MPs, MLAs, ex- MPs, ex-MLAs, district presidents and zila incharges has been called in Chandigarh on November 17.

The announcement comes after a meeting of party executive committee summoned by Ajay Chautala at Jind on November 17 to decide next course of action. Abhay Chautalas decision to convene a party meeting on the same day is seen as a move to refrain party leaders and workers to attend his elder brothers meeting at Jind.

Both factions have made it clear that action will be taken against absentees. Both the camps will be attempting to muster maximum support for their November 17 meeting convened as a show of strength to claim control over the INLD.

Ashok Arora claimed that that the meeting called by Ajay Chautala in Jind is in violation of the party constitution because such a meeting cannot be convened without approval of the party president.

Any meeting which is convened without prior approval of the partys national president, shall invite disciplinary action, he said.

The letter issued by OP Chautala stated, The party is supreme and no one is above it. The anti-party activities of party secretary general Ajay Singh have caused hurt and have become unbearable.

Ajay Singh has convened a meeting on November 17, which is unconstitutional, and makes it clear that he is trying to run a parallel set up to weaken the party, the letter stated while announcing Ajays expulsion from the INLD.

Arora added that the party president had gone through lot of pain in view of the recent developments and had to take decision to expel his elder son with a heavy heart.

Abhay Chautala, while talking to the mediapersons said, We will take action against indiscipline by party leaders.

When asked if action would be taken against MLAs supporting his elder brother Ajay Chautala, Abhay said that such MLAs should give in writing that they are not with INLD. Their letters will be submitted to the Speaker and their membership will be cancelled, he said.

Ajays wife and INLD MLA Naina Chautala, who has been vocal against her detractors within the party has been spared from any disciplinary action as of now.

MLAs Anoop Dhanak, Rajdeep Phogat and Pirthi Singh besides several party leaders have lent support to Ajay Chautala.

The two factions headed by Ajay and Abhay have been apparently charting their respective future course of action to lay claims on the legacy of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, who founded the party in October 1996.

Both Dushyant and Digvijay are great-grandson of Devi Lal.

The war of succession in the Chautala clan has now put in doubt the INLDs prospects in the forthcoming general elections and assembly polls scheduled later in 2019. The INLD had been out of power for the past 14 years.

Notably, former Chief Minister OP Chautala along with his elder son Ajay are currently serving 10-year jail sentence after being convicted, in teacher recruitment scam in Haryana.

In their absence, Abhay Chautala had been steering the party.

The crisis within the party had deepened after the Gohana rally on October 7 after a group of youths had allegedly indulged in hooting at the time Abhay Chautala was speaking, while there were cheers for Dushyant Chautala as he spoke.

Following this, Dushyant and Digvijay were expelled from the INLD on November 2 after being accused of indiscipline, hooliganism and spreading disaffection.

Dushyant Chautala had however refused to accept his expulsion and that of his brother Digvijay Chautala from the INLD, claiming that the partys national executive had not met and no sack order was issued by president OP Chautala.
The Begunia police of Khordha district have arrested three persons of Puincha village in Banki of Cuttack district in connection with the loot of over Rs 60 lakh from two employees of a private cash management company near Gediapalli here on November 8.

Acting on a tipoff, the cops raided houses of Papu Martha, Sudhir Mohanty and Sunil Mohanty at Puincha village and seized stolen cash from their possession

Under the supervision of the Khordha SP, a joint team including SDPO and Khordha Town police station IIC conducted the joint raid.

However, police did not divulge the details on amount of money seized from the arrestees possession.

On November 8, six miscreants came on three bikes and looted Rs 61.47 lakh from two staffs of Radiant Cash Management Service Private Limited at gunpoint near Gediapalli while they were going to a bank in a car to deposit the money.

Further investigation into the incident is on, police said.
A total of Rs 4,19, 574 crore worth of investment proposals have so far been received through the ongoing Make in Odisha (MiO) Conclave here.

The proposals, when executed, would generate an additional employments for 5,91,000 persons, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the valedictory session of conclave on Tuesday evening. The investment intends were received in 15 diversified sectors, said the CM.

Patnaik thanked all participating delegates, including industry captains and Japan Ambassador. Japan is the partner country of the conclave.

The grounding of these projects will be rolled up until the 3rd Make in Odisha to be held from November 30 to December 4, 2020, said the Chief Minister.

He said his Government will continue to take efforts to make Odisha an iconic brand for a manufacturing hub of the east. Briefing mediapersons, Industries Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said a total of 183 proposals received out of which 53 proposals with intent of investment of Rs 2,36,435 crore.

The Halladay Petrochemicals intent of investment is the largest at Rs 70,000 crore with employment generation of 31,000. The intents includes four FDI proposals from Japan, Taiwan, Dutch and Thailand.

The Haldia Petrochemicals, Jindal Steel and Power, MCL, a Taiwanese Company and SAIL were registered as top investment intenders.

The conclave was attended by 21 States and 19 foreign countries.

In total, 5,075 delegates participated in 19 sessions. A total of 692 B2B and G2B discussions were held. A total of 31,806 footfalls were received.
After holding the first-ever successful summit for the MSME sector here in August to promote the One district one product (ODOP) scheme, UP government has decided to organise similar summits at the divisional level. The divisional summit will be organised at Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Moradabad, Agra, Kanpur and Saharanpur. The divisional summits will be held between November 29 and December 24.

The summits at the divisional level are being organised with the aim of benefiting entrepreneurs of the MSME sector where, besides the technical session, exhibitions and buyers and sellers meet will also be organised. The directions for the ODOP divisional summit were issued by Chief Secretary Anoop Chandra Pandey on Tuesday. He said the Chief Minister would be invited for the summit at Gorakhpur. He added that so far under various centrally- and state-sponsored schemes like Mudra Yojna, Prime Ministers job creation scheme, Chief Minister Yuva Swarojgar Yojana, Stand-up Yojna, 14,800 jobs had been created benefiting 4,937 beneficiaries. He said so far 74 ODOP camps and 69 ODOP exhibitions were organised in the state where over 20,000 persons participated. Pandey said during the ODOP summit in August a credit of Rs 1,006 crore was disbursed among 4,095 entrepreneurs.
In order to make schools tobacco free, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) has provided training to principals of its school to deal with students who consume tobacco.

A senior NMC official said that the school administration would ensure that no tobacco product is sold within 100 yards of the school premises. Besides, students should be sensitised about the ill-effects of tobacco products, he said,

The official also said that the Principals have been directed to organise awareness activities at regular interval. The administration will also inform parents of those children who are found consuming tobacco products. A counseling session should be conducted for such students to help them in giving up the addiction, he said.

He further said that school staffs have also taken pledge to stay away from tobacco and to motivate children to do the same. A detail guideline has also been issued in this regard, he said.

As per the guidelines, institutes will install warning boards inside and outside of the school premises, the official said.

Terming the initiative is one of its kinds, Mayor of North Delhi Adesh Gupta said that the civic body is working with some NGO to make its schools running in all six zones tobacco free.

Gupta said that according to survey done by "Global Adult Tobacco 2016-17", 12.4 per cent of tobacco users found in between the age group of 15 and 24 In India.

While in Delhi, everyday 81 students become tobacco consumers as per the report, he said.

Mayor said that as the children studying in schools run by the corporation, belong to lower income strata and are more prone to tobacco consumption at early stages. In this circumstance, it is important to have such a program in place, He said.
Outrightly rejecting the inquiry ordered by Punjab Education Minister OP Soni to fix responsibility for the mistakes in Punjab School Education Boards Class XII history books to be conducted by the education secretary, the Shiormani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday dubbed it as a major cover-up and farce as accusing fingers are raised at the Minister himself.

Former minister and SADs senior vice-president Daljeet Singh Cheema questioned Sonis rationale of ordering an enquiry while he himself is accused by none other than the chairman of the Oversight Committee appointed by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Instead of holding inquiry by a secretary at the orders of the concerned Minister, the Chief Minister should have ordered inquiry which should have been held by a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court with a clear frame of reference, the role of the concerned Minister to be probed in the larger interest of justice, said Cheema.

Moreover, how could a subordinate officer, that is departments secretary under Soni, could be objective, impartial and fair in conducting inquiry while his own boss is in the dock, he added.

Cheema pointed out that chairman of the Oversight Committee, Dr. Kirpal Singh, has revealed that he had pointed out the errors or distortions in each chapter in detail in clearly typed pages but these chapters were uploaded on PSEB website without carrying the suggested corrections under pressure from the Minister.
Ishaq Dar can no longer use his illness as an excuse to stay abroad: CJP

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to respond to a questionnaire prepared by the United Kingdom's Home Office regarding the return of former minister Ishaq Dar to the country.



A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing a case related to Dar's non-appearance before the apex court in a corruption case pertaining to owning assets approximately valued at Rs831.7 million, disproportionate to his known sources of income.



Dar was declared an absconder by the court last year when he failed to appear since he was in London, allegedly undergoing medical treatment. His absence was first attributed to ill health on Oct 30, 2017.



The additional attorney general told the bench today that the UK Home Office had sent some questions regarding Dar's return to the country, and these questions had been forwarded to NAB.



"They will submit their response to the UK Home Office," the additional attorney general added.



The CJP observed that Dar "can no longer use his illness as an excuse [to stay abroad]". "He would say that when justice will prevail, only then will he return to the country," the top judge added. The court ordered NAB to respond to the Home Office's questionnaire and to submit a report on the matter within a month.



The case was subsequently adjourned for a month.



The noose began to tighten around the former finance minister after NAB decided to reopen the Rs1.2 billion Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference against him last year.



The Hudaibya reference will be the second mega-corruption case against Dar being investigated by NAB, after the reference filed against him in the wake of the Panamagate judgement.



The reopening of the case was recommended by the joint investigation team formed by the apex court to probe the Panama Papers allegations against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members.



On July 28, a five-member Supreme Court bench had ordered NAB to file three references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and one against Dar, on petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insafs Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islamis Sirajul Haq and Awami Muslim Leagues Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.



In its reference against the finance minister, NAB has alleged that the accused has acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his own name and/or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million (approx).
The students of slum school, the Pen India located in Sapera basti Bhaniyawala took out a rally on Wednesday and appeal people to exercise their franchise in the upcoming urban local bodies elections . Holding placards like  Dear Uncle and Aunty Please Vote and  Vote to eradicate illiteracy the students impressed the passersbys. The students also organised a programme on the occasion of Childrens day in their school. Offering floral tributes to first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru on his birth anniversary, the patron of the school Prakash Keshaviah said that it is necessary that everyone should vote for development and strengthening democracy. He said that the school offers free education to poor students. The programme was also attended by Anup Rawat, Santosh Budakoti and teachers of the slum school.
Union Minister of Women and Child Development and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi has urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take urgent measures to curb elephant deaths in Odisha.

The recent electrocution of seven tuskers in Dhenkanal, which is the highest such death toll in a single incident, has caused furore throughout the nation about the reprehensible state of elephant protection in Odisha, stated Gandhi.

It comes at the back of dismal statistics wherein 124 or a whopping 28 per cent casualties have taken place due to accidents and electrocution. It is tragic to note that a dozen magnificent pachyderms are dying every year due to mismanagement and in-coordination between Government agencies, she added.

Citing reports, she alleged that distribution companies are being given a free hand in elephant corridors without necessary oversight.

In the letter, the Union Minister also mentioned that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine Rs 1 crore on Cesu while a probe has been launched into the Dhenkanal incident.

Expressing her disappointment on the elephants death, the Union Minister said that even after laying guidelines under the AK Biswal committee by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the alarming trend of elephant deaths has continued unabated.

I also urge you to take necessary action against the officials who failed to put the AK Biswal Committee recommendations into practice in the State, Gandhi wrote.

Terming the elephants of Odisha as the pride of India, she wrote, We owe a debt to our future generations for their welfare and safety.
In two sensational killings, an 18-year-old girl was found murdered under mysterious circumstances in Etawah while the body of a middle-aged woman was recovered in Mirzapur. In the first case reported from Etawah, Aradhana, hailing from Basiyapura hamlet of Barthana in Etawah, reportedly left her house on Monday night. When she did not return, her brother, who had seen her leaving the house, went out to search for her. The family said that the brother failed to trace Aradhana so he came back and informed other family members after which they also set out to search for her. When their efforts proved futile, the called the police. Later, on Tuesday morning, the body of Aradhana was found in the fields. A case was registered and the body was sent for the post-mortem.

In another case reported from Mirzapur, the body of an unknown woman was recovered from Barkhacha Pahadi area of Kotwali dehat in the district on Tuesday morning. The woman was later identified as Gama Devi (40) hailing from Datriya hamlet of Padriya in Mirzapur. Devi was a widow and she went out to sell rice on Monday evening when she suddenly disappeared. The cops during investigation learnt from the victims brother that Devi was having an affair with Girja Shankar Yadav and that he probably killed her. The cops, subsequently, picked up Yadav, who confessed to the crime. Yadav said that when Gama Devi developed relations with some other men too despite his objection, he decided to kill her. As per the plan, she took her to a secluded place and killed her and later abandoned her body and escaped.

Meanwhile, in a separate case reported from Muzaffarnagar, one person was arrested and six others booked after clashes broke out between two groups in Aterna village over the alleged sexual harassment of a minor Dalit girl, police said on Tuesday. The clash broke out on Monday evening after a five-year-old girl was sexually harassed by a villager, they said. Police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control, they added.

According to the complaint lodged by the girls family, the accused and his aides hurled stones at them when they confronted him. Amit Kumar (25) was injured in the stone-pelting and was taken to hospital, SHO Hariram Yadav said. A case has been registered under different sections of the IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. A manhunt was launched to nab the remaining six accused. Security was tightened and extra police personnel were deployed in the village.
With the tempo of urban local body (ULB) polls gaining pace, two bigwigs BJP and Congress are now busy taking members of the other party into their folds to show which way the poll wind is blowing. After suffering the switch-setbacks for some days, Congress received a shot in the arm on Tuesday as a number of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) leaders along with the leaders and activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad ( ABVP)- BJPs student wing - joined the Congress.

In a programme organised at the State Congress office, UKD leader Rajendra Gairola, UKD vice- president Surendra Singh, former block president of the same party Bhupendra Rana, district UKD vice- president Deepak Negi and district secretary UKD Jitendra Saklani joined the party. Besides, Brijesh Kumar, the university representative Rishikesh PG College and ABVP leader Ravi Kumar along with many other ABVP activists joined the party on the day. Welcoming the new entrants into the party folds, the state Congress president Pritam Singh said that many prominent UKD leaders and ABVP members from Rishikesh and Yamkeshwar have joined the Congress.

The joining spree indicates that the people of the state have made up their minds to go for a change at the ULB polls, he said. Later in the day, many BJP workers from wards 34 and 55 under Dharampur Assembly segment led by Om Sharma also switched to the Congress. Singh said that they would further strengthen the party and ensure the victory of the Congress mayoral candidate Dinesh Agarwal.

The State Congress vice- president Surya Kant Dhasmana, former MLA Rajkumar, Mahanagar president Lal Chand Sharma and state Congress secretary Azad Ali were among the senior party leaders present on the occasion.
Uttarakhand State celebrated 18 years of its existence on November 9. So much has been said in favour of the achievements of the past eighteen years from time to time, even though no less has been critically commented on the omissions and commissions of the successive governments. But the prime question making rounds among the thinking people is - this state, whither to? Ultimately, one tends to think that some new arrangement is needed now to challenge this status quo as never before. What it means for the people is to seek justice from the ruling class in order to experience the benefits for which the state was sought to be created. Clearly, the distraught and impatient people have been not only looking for that justice to take place but also wish to push the ruling elite towards accountability. They persist that culprits and corrupt must be brought to book. Now people are rearing to stand up and speak the truth about the eighteen- year-old history. It's not only about political parties and moral degradation in the Devbhoomi, its also about complete absence of ideals and ideologies.

The time seems to be approaching when masses will adopt an activist mindset to keep the rulers on their toes.

Today the general refrain seems that the unconcerned rulers should no more be allowed to ride a rough shod on the hopes, aims and aspirations of over one crore of people, most of who reside in the rugged mountainous terrains under trying circumstances. Liberation from a reconciliatory and accommodative mindset is the need of the hour.The current situation sends a clear message for the people :unite or suffer endlessly.

For nearly thirty years now here in Uttarakhand, the author has been constantly watching the successive governments both in Lucknow and Dehradun to check migration, but of no avail.

I can vividly recall how a number of big schemes for promotion of tourism , horticulture, floriculture, hydro power, bee-keeping, fishery, poultry, potable water supply, medicinal plants, tea plantation, milk production, handicrafts and others were supposed to have been launched for the mountainous region of the then western Uttar Pradesh for the over all benefit of region and its people. Some more special developmental programmes had also been put in place with the massive financial assistance from the World Bank and European Economic Community (EEC). Activities under these programmes, which were launched in the early eighties and continued into late nineties, were regularly publicised by the then Uttar Pradesh government, but with precious little impact on the ground.

Even while this is so, the fact is that contractors, middlemen and businessmen involved in various projects have made the most of it without having any illusions about what is what ought to be. But there does not seem to be a big change in the format of implementation of plans and projects.

Same age -old scripts of the plans and their implementation methodology have not yielded positive results. Therefore, today out of a total number of over sixteen thousand villages in the nascent state, fewer have some people left behind to fend for themselves. Thousands have been forced to sell their land to eke out a living both in the mountains and plain areas. The picture is really very grim.

Much water has flown through the river Ganga all these years, governments have changed ,bureaucrats have changed, but no one is there to answer for this dismal state of affairs even after eighteen years of the existence of this state. Much due to what is called democratic centralism vested interests come into existence easily.

Naturally, the issues pertaining to moral decadence and financial scandals were bound to come up. Probe panels appointed by one or the other government to fix the accountability have not been able to pronounce their findings.

Scores of bureaucrats and politicians, who could have been questioned , have either retired or are no longer in the reckoning. States political parties, which have suffered from the problems of democratic centralism, are bound to lose sight of the ground reality in toto. It is only just before the election time, that the party leaders seem to be reaching out to the people and making all kinds of promises.

(The writer is a veteran journalist and columnist based in Dehradun)
Working against all odds and often in the news for their apathy towards the patients, the doctors of the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) Hospital showed that they can rise up to a tough challenge.

The doctors of the ophthalmology department performed a complex surgery to restore vision of a seven- year- old girl.

The head of department ( HoD) of ophthalmology of GDMC Hospital, Dr Sushil Ojha said that the seven- year- old Ariba, daughter of Salim Siddiqui, a resident of Mehuwala, Dehradun had been brought to the hospital with complaints of diminution of vision.

The parents of the child had informed that she had been operated upon for congenital cataract at Sir Gangaram Hospital, New Delhi when she was aged six months. That surgery was uneventful but the lens was not implanted at the time as the eye was very small at that age, said Dr Ojha.

On examination, the doctors found that the vision of the child was blurring due to membrane in the eye. Besides, the high power glasses were hindering the childs normal activity.

The child needed membrenectomy, anterior Vitrectomy with an Intra Ocular Lens implantation which had never been done before in Doon Hospital. I had done the process while at PGI Chandigarh. After the parents agreed the child was operated upon, Dr Ojha said.

The child was given topical anaesthesia, after which left eye membrenectomy and anterior Vitrectomy was done and a foldable IOL implantation was also done, Dr Ojha informed and added that the child has started to see immediately after the surgery without using heavy glasses.

After the successful operation, the family thanked the team of the doctors and other staff members.

The principal GDMC Dr Pradip Bharati Gupta and the medical superintendent (MS), Dr K K Tamta also congratulated the doctors of ophthalmology department for the unique feat.
Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested a 21-year-old arms supplier identified as Mohit Verma who carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh over his head. He was also wanted for colluding with his brother-in-law in the murder of a well-off elderly couple. However, the plan was uncovered and his brother-in-law was arrested while the accused Mohit absconded.

"A team, led by Inspector Shiv Kumar, was tasked to arrest arms dealers including Mohit Verma indulging in supplying illegal arms in Delhi. He is wanted in many cases of arms act including a case of Special Cell," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah stated.

"Information was received that Mohit Verma would come near Timber market, Kalindi Kunj, Meethapur Road, Delhi to meet one of his contacts on Sunday. A trap was laid and he was arrested. One semi-automatic pistol along with 5 live cartridges was recovered," he said.

"During interrogation, he divulged that he was involved in arms smuggling for the last 4 years. He used to procure weapons from Sendhwa in Madhya Pradesh and Munger in Bihar and then supplied the same in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. He was working as an arms carrier for two years after which he started supplying illegal arms through his own network," said the DCP.

"He disclosed that he had already supplied more than 250 pistols in Delhi and adjoining States. Mohit Verma further revealed that he purchased a pistol for Rs 10,000 from suppliers of MP. And then,he sold these pistols for a price ranging from Rs 20,000 to 25,000," the DCP said.

"It has also been revealed that Mohit Verma was arrested for the first time in a case of arms smuggling in Fatehpur, UP in the year 2016. He was again arrested in Dewas, MP in the month of July, 2018 when he was bringing illegal arms in Delhi. He is wanted in a case of planning to kill an old couple for robbery in South Delhi. A reward of Rs 1 lakh was declared by Delhi Commissioner of Police on his arrest in this case," the DCP added.

"His brother-in-law Aakash Patel was working as nursing attendant with an old couple who were in their 90's and staying in South Delhi. They were financially well off and living alone in their house. Akash Patel conspired with Mohit Verma and planned to kill the elderly couple and rob them," said the DCP.

"Mohit Verma procured weapons but the plot was unveiled by the Special Cell and Akash Patel was arrested in May 2018. Mohit ran away and had been absconding since," the DCP added.
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.
SEPCO launched operation against electricity theft and defaulters

LARKANA: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SEPCO Saeed Ahmed Dawach, has informed on Tuesday that a grand operation has been launched against electricity theft and defaulters.



While addressing the media persons Dawach said that SEPCO is a commercial company, we procure electricity and then sell it to our consumers but we suffer huge losses due to massive theft which is borne by the company.



SEPCO is facing 36% losses out of which 19% are because of an outdated distribution system and 17% loses are due to Sepco employees and power thieves, he added.



He further disclosed that recovery in Sepco is up to 60% and the new federal government wants to improve Sepco which is why the grand operation has been launched.



The CEO went on saying that to avoid wrong meter reading, wrong billing, and the wrong detection, at least 10,000 meters have been provided alone in Larkana office.



The CEO told the media that he has instructed the Superintending Engineer and Executive Engineers to listen to the consumer complaints against over-reading, low voltage, and illegal detection bills and for achieving this purpose they are directed to organize open-courts in different areas of their jurisdictions.



Dawach said that the company aims to eliminate Kunda culture.



CEO alleged that theft of electricity in Sepco is on the right side of Indus River adding that at least 93 billion rupees are outstanding against consumers, out of which 90 billion rupees are against domestic consumers, two billion against commercial users and one billion against industrial connections for which actions are underway to realize the amount.



He further disclosed that no arrears are outstanding against Sindh Government and its any department.



Dawach claimed that the company is going to introduce new latest billing system along with Sindh Government under which meters will be installed which will tell the reading themselves and services of meters readers will not be required for which Sindh Government & Sepco will bear the costs of these meters.



Almost 50 feeders were destroyed during the megaflood of 2010 and the company have spent Rs:400 million on their repair last year and hoped other feeders will also be repaired during the current fiscal year, he added.



The CEO further said that at least 300 new Pole Mounted Transformers (PMTs) were installed and the concerned department is being requested for the installation of 200 more PMTs in different areas.



Sepco CEO confessed that his officers and employees are involved in a massive theft of electricity for which he claimed stern actions will be taken against those found guilty.
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.
Delta Galil Industries Ltd. engages in development, design, production, marketing and sale of underwear, socks, children's wear, leisure wear and Activewear as well as in development, design, marketing, distribution and sale of branded products in the category of men's and women's jeans and outerwear and related products. It operates through the following segments: Delta USA, Global Upper Market, Schiesser, Delta Israel, and Delta Premium Brands. The Delta USA Segment engages in the development, design and marketing of lingerie, socks and Activewear to Private Labels. The Global Upper Market segment develops, designs, manufactures and markets men's and women's underwear, socks and Activewear manufactured at the Company's plants and sold to retail chains and to brands in Europe and the United States. The Schiesser segment covers the development, design, manufacture and marketing of labeled women's, men's and children's underwear and Activewear under the Schiesser brand. The Delta Israel segment is involved in the development, design and marketing of labeled women's and men's underwear, socks and Activewear products, as well as children's wear under the Delta brand. The Delta Premium Brands segment engages in development, design, marketing, distribution and sale of premium products under the brands 7 For All Mankind, Splendid, Ella moss. The company was founded by Dov Lautman and Eliezer Peleg in 1975 and is headquartered in Caesarea, Israel.

Read More
8 minutes ago

Yes, there are turkeys for Thanksgiving - for a price

Turkeys may not be able to fly very far. But their prices can soar  along with the costs of other holiday staples like cranberry sauce and pie filling. The Thanksgiving table hasnt been spared the price inflation that is rampant elsewhere in the economy because of strong consumer demand and labor shortages.

Read Article
Isnt it laughable when the likes of Fadi calls people names. The same Fadi Dabbousi who failed in all his attempts to court John Mahamas administration to deal with key personalities in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) resulting in his blemish and gibberish writings about the Ex-President is today again portraying to be even more closer to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and saying Ghana is corrupt?



Lebanon is also corrupt and unruly. The 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index placed Lebanon at the 143rd spot out of 180 countries and 14th out of 20 countries in Middle East and North Africa. With a population of about 6 million which is one-fifth of Ghanas population estimated at 30 million your country is scoring these figure and you shamelessly want to tag Ghana as corrupt.



This so-called self-acclaimed politician or selective corruption crusader has unexpectedly jumped ignorantly and jealously on the fray to cast spells and unsubstantiated allegations on Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong in his dirty games and antics for fame and expects to go scot free? Bring it on we will not sit in this country and watch you junky Lebanese fool direct the pace here. I sympathise with the handlers of the Jubilee House for allowing him get closer to the presidency. If they knew what is under his sleeves they will not permit him even use any of the roads near the Jubilee House. This junky is a security threat to our nation.



Yes, this drunk of a clown is nosing for information at the presidency so that if his demands are not met he will launch virulent attacks on Nana Addo and his government and nobody notices it? Well that is the NPP and the governments problem but of course I am a citizen not spectator, if I ignore this I would be ten times foolish than he is and I wont forgive myself if ignore this.



We meet habitually at a joint but we are not friends he doesnt know my name and the things he spews out, hmmm, government has to be careful with him. I am not in though for his nonsense, if he takes it to the door steps of any respected Ghanaian again like he portrayed in his recent piece of crap against Ghanas hard working entrepreneur and most vilified Mr. Agyepong by Manasseh and now this person, I will sure match them in equal measure. What is this nonsense?



He alleges that Ghanas Members of Parliament, ministers of state and political party leaders have all been incredibly bought by one single man Jospong and that he is privy to some information that people have received Mercedes Benz vehicles from the same Jospong. This same Fadi in his bogus piece of writing, however, is worried that people are showing interest in the Kwasi Nyantakyi and the GFA/FIFA brouhaha and indicates his disappointment in the works of Ace Investigative Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Managing Editor Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako Jnr whose efforts have unveiled the rot at GFA. He thoughtlessly threatens to write an article or novel he says against them on the FIFA saga. For him Nyantakyi should not be touched and yet Jospong should be hanged by government.



Joke!



He alleges and alleges and alleges and expect legal results but come to think of it, how can the man who pretends to be fighting corruption in Ghana ever have problems with Anas in this GFA/Nyantakyi brawl. Sounds like Manasseh and the Otabil things done and yet you hate the right things when done to your closed pals, family and friends. These are the vigilantes we now have in Ghana but how can Fadi even fight corruption, a known political sycophant who does infantile analysis only against a section of society cannot be said to be fighting corruption. You should go home Fadi if Ghana is no longer friendly to you because we are even getting fed up hosting you here. You bring your untraditional life style here and expect us to just watch you?



He wrote recently fighting the Imani Africa President, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe for raising concerns about the Kelni GvG contract and the work they intend to do. Everybody monitored and any meaningful citizen knew that Cudjoe was just and fair in his analysis yet Fadi saw it the other way, is that a corruption fighter? Ladies and gentlemen I am waiting for that day when he strikes at the presidency that is when Ghana will understand me. Are there no serious and true Ghanaian NPP journalist and members who can also throng at the presidency? Why is he nosing around the presidency, the multi-million-dollar question Kwabena Baah asked worriedly and I do too. There are indeed moles among us?



There is a Frafra saying that the goat must accept to run once it gives its neck out for the rope. I read his insulting rejoinder to Kwabena Baahs article and I laughed. I said eei so this man fears this much? The ashawo broni baby doesnt want anybody to write against him and he is always insulting everyone on his way including our leaders? When you insult, allege, insinuate and lie about people beware that you are not a saint and or repository of such and know that not only you can insult or cast spells and insinuations at people, there are people who can do worse things so shut up and sit down there and receive the insults and stories people have also heard about you. Be ready to receive same because we are also capable of measuring your bluff. That is the import of my Frafra adage brother.



I usually say it is instructive to demand from the likes of Fadi and Manasseh to prove that they have not committed any crime against the state or any person here or elsewhere then we can begin to perfect the systems right away. We should not think that because we are privileged to write we should go about maligning people and postulating unsubstantiated stories about people.



Please read all the two articles of Mr. Fadi Dabbousi about Jospong and your see, I am told, it is alleged, information I gathered etc and he actually wants the Attorney General (AG) and Special Prosecutor (SP) to follow up on how he learnt somebody gave a car or bought MPs, Ministers or government officials or whoever visits Jospong house or office for whatever and nail him down? This crap of a joker thinks we are all stupid here in Ghana isnt he?



I am writing because I do have an interest in Ghanaian businesses, what happened to Agams Group has worried me over time, I sat and watched that happened, this time round I will also speak my mind so that when they do their best and the worse happens I will not be blame myself.



Recently several domestic companies are dying and foreign companies are blossoming, by 2030, there may be no Ghanaian company left and then the blame will be put at the door steps of leaders, an attitude I hate so much when it is us who contributed to the collapse and death of our own. Wherever Mr. Roland Agambiire may be, he certainly is not chopping grasses but many of those he employed are facing difficulties today. If you do your best that best is not your worst.God bless Ghana.

Source: Bawa Mashoud/Starrfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The following companies are subsidiares of Owens Corning: 0979301 B.C. ULC, AS Paroc, Asahi Glass - Composites Business, Crown Mfg. Inc., Deutsche Foamglas GmbH, Dutch OC Cooperatief Invest U.A., European Owens Corning Fiberglas SRL, FOAMGLAS (Italia) SRL, FOAMGLAS (Nordic) AB, FiberTEK Insulation, Fibreboard Corp., Finefiber (Shanghai) Building Material Co. Ltd., Finefiber Insulation Co. Pte. Ltd., IBCO SRL, IPM Inc., InterWrap, InterWrap (Hong Kong) Ltd., InterWrap (Qingdao) Trading Co. Ltd., InterWrap Corp., InterWrap Corp. Private Ltd., International Packaging Products Pvt. Ltd., Inversiones Owens Corning Chile Holdings Limitada, Northern Elastomeric, OC Canada Finance Inc., OC Canada Holdings General Partnership, OC Celfortec Company, OC Latin American Holdings GmbH, OC NL Invest Cooperatief U.A., OC PRO CV, OC Steklovolokno AO, OCCV1 Inc., OCCV2 LLC, OCV (Thailand) Co. Limited, OCV Chambery France, OCV Chambery International, OCV Finance LLC, OCV Intellectual Capital LLC, OCV Italia Srl, OCV Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., OCV Servicios Mexico S.A. de C.V., OOO Paroc, Owens Corning (Australia) Pty Limited, Owens Corning (China) Investment Company Limited, Owens Corning (Guangde) Rock Wood Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Owens Corning (Guangzhou) Fiberglas Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Hangzhou) Fiberglass Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (India) Private Limited, Owens Corning (Nanjing) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Shanghai) Fiberglas Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Owens Corning (Tianjin) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Xian) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Alloy Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Alloy Canada LP, Owens Corning Argentina Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Owens Corning Automotive LLC, Owens Corning BM (Korea) Ltd, Owens Corning By LLC, Owens Corning CV GP LLC, Owens Corning Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Canada Holdings B.V., Owens Corning Canada Holdings ULC, Owens Corning Canada LP, Owens Corning Cayman (China) Holdings, Owens Corning Celfortec Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Celfortec LP, Owens Corning Composite Materials Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Composite Materials Canada LP, Owens Corning Composite Materials LLC, Owens Corning Composites (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Composites (China) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Construction Services LLC, Owens Corning Corporate Services LLC, Owens Corning Elaminator Insulation Systems LLC, Owens Corning Enterprise (India) Pvt. Ltd., Owens Corning Fabrics (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Fiberglas (U.K.) Pension Plan Ltd., Owens Corning Fiberglas A.S. Limitada, Owens Corning Fiberglas Espana SL, Owens Corning Fiberglas France, Owens Corning Financial Services ULC, Owens Corning Finland Oy, Owens Corning Foam Insulation LLC, Owens Corning GlassMetal Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Global Holdings II Limited Partnership, Owens Corning Global Holdings Limited Partnership, Owens Corning HOMExperts Inc., Owens Corning HT Inc., Owens Corning Holdings 1 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 3 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 4 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 5 CV, Owens Corning Holdings Holland B.V., Owens Corning Hong Kong Limited, Owens Corning Industries (India) Private Limited, Owens Corning Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Owens Corning Insulating Systems Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Insulating Systems Canada LP, Owens Corning Insulating Systems LLC, Owens Corning Intellectual Capital LLC, Owens Corning InterWrap Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning InterWrap Canada LP, Owens Corning International Holdings C.V., Owens Corning Japan LLC, Owens Corning Kohold B.V., Owens Corning Korea, Owens Corning Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Owens Corning Mineral Wool LLC, Owens Corning Non-Woven - Blythewood LLC, Owens Corning Non-Woven Technology LLC, Owens Corning Receivables LLC, Owens Corning Reinforcements (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Remodeling Systems LLC, Owens Corning Roofing S. de R.L. de C.V., Owens Corning Roofing and Asphalt LLC, Owens Corning Sales LLC, Owens Corning Science and Technology LLC, Owens Corning Supplementary Pension Plan Limited, Owens Corning Technical Fabrics LLC, Owens Corning Treasury Services LLC, Owens Corning U.S. Holdings LLC, Owens-Corning Britinvest Limited, Owens-Corning Cayman Limited, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Deutschland GmbH, Owens-Corning Funding Corporation, Owens-Corning Veil Netherlands B.V., Owens-Corning Veil U.K. Ltd., Paroc AB, Paroc GmbH, Paroc Group, Paroc Group Oy, Paroc Limited, Paroc Oy Ab, Paroc Polska Sp. Z o.o., Pittsburgh Corning, Pittsburgh Corning (Suisse) SA, Pittsburgh Corning (United Kingdom) Limited, Pittsburgh Corning (Yantai) Insulation Materials Co. Ltd, Pittsburgh Corning Asia Limited, Pittsburgh Corning CR S.R.O., Pittsburgh Corning Europe N.V., Pittsburgh Corning France, Pittsburgh Corning Gesellschaft m.b.h., Pittsburgh Corning LLC, Pittsburgh Corning Nederland B.V., Pittsburgh Corning Singapore Pte. Ltd, Qingdao Novia Polymer Co. Ltd., SIA Paroc, Soltech Inc., The Modulo /ParMur Group, Thermafiber, Thermafiber Inc., Transandina de Comercio S.A., UAB Paroc, UC Industries, and Vitro Fibras.
The following companies are subsidiares of 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.
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
Tanzania's arts regulatory council, Basata, has banned a brand new hit song - Mwanza - by household musicians Raymond Shabaan Mwakyusa, famously known as Rayvanny, and Diamond Platnumz



The song, which was released over the weekend, is now strictly prohibited from being played on any TV and radio stations in Tanzania.



Basata said the song's lyrics are "encouraging sexual thrill" and therefore immoral.



The regulatory body also warned other artists from composing songs which go contrary to the laws, culture and norms of the country.



In April, Basata banned another 10 songs, including Hallelujah by Diamond Platnumz, saying the song mixed religious messages with sexual innuendo which they found unlawful and grossly immoral.



Apart from "immoral songs", the commission has also been targeting politically motivated songs, especially those critical of President John Magufuli.

Source: BBC









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
iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF's stock was trading at $21.67 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EWH shares have increased by 13.2% and is now trading at $24.53.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
iShares National Muni Bond ETF's stock was trading at $114.45 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, MUB stock has increased by 1.5% and is now trading at $116.14.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
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
Shares of United States Natural Gas Fund reverse split on Friday, January 5th 2018. The 1-4 reverse split was announced on Friday, December 22nd 2017. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the closing bell on Thursday, January 4th 2018. An investor that had 100 shares of United States Natural Gas Fund stock prior to the reverse split would have 25 shares after the split.
TC Energy Corporation operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. It operates through Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines, U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines, Mexico Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines, and Power and Storage segments. The company builds and operates 93,400 km network of natural gas pipelines, which transports natural gas from supply basins to local distribution companies, power generation plants, industrial facilities, interconnecting pipelines, LNG export terminals, and other businesses. It also has regulated natural gas storage facilities with a total working gas capacity of 535 billion cubic feet. In addition, it has approximately 4,900 km liquids pipeline system that connects Alberta crude oil supplies to refining markets in Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. Further, the company owns or has interests in seven power generation facilities with a combined capacity of approximately 4,200 megawatts that are powered by natural gas and nuclear fuel sources located in Alberta, Ontario, QuAbec, and New Brunswick; and owns and operates approximately 118 billion cubic feet of non-regulated natural gas storage capacity in Alberta. The company was formerly known as TransCanada Corporation and changed its name to TC Energy Corporation in May 2019. TC Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1951 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Read More
Israel company is looking for a reliable supplier of refined soya oil to Haifa, Israel, CIF terms. Volume required - 483 000 MT monthly during 12 months.

Packing - 1, 3, 5 liter PET bottle

Inspection: By SGS or similar at loading port of seller (quantity/quality)

Payment terms: Irrevocable L/C confirmed

Certification: SGS, ICC.

CHEMICAL REQUIREMENTS:

FFA %: max 0.1 (oleic acid)

Peroxide value (meq/kg): 0.5 - at filing stage 2.5  from filling stage until the beginning of 90-day period prior to the expiry date 5.0  during 90-day period prior to the expiry date

Iodine value (wijs): 120 - 136

Saponification value: 188 - 194

Colour (5  cell): 1.2 Red

Moisture: < 0.04 %

Purity: 100 % Refined Soya Oil

Specific gravity at 20 C: 0.919  0.925

Unsaponifiable matter: 1 % max

Phosphore (ppm): < 5
thyssenkrupp AG operates in the areas of automotive technology, industrial components, plant technology, marine systems, steel, and materials services in Germany, the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Automotive Technology segment develops and manufactures components and systems and automated production systems for the automotive industry. Its Industrial Components segment manufactures and sells forged components and system solutions for the resource, construction, and mobility sectors; and slewing rings, antifriction bearings, and seamless rolled rings for the wind energy and construction machinery sectors. The company's Plant Technology segment builds plants for the chemical, cement, and mining industries. Its Marine Systems segment provides systems in the submarine and surface ship building, as well as in the field of maritime electronics and security technology. The company's Materials Services segment distributes materials and offers technical services for the production and manufacturing sectors. Its Steel Europe segment provides flat carbon steel products, intelligent material solutions, and finished parts. thyssenkrupp AG was founded in 1811 and is headquartered in Essen, Germany.

Read More
WBI BullBear Yield 1000 ETF's stock was trading at $22.08 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, WBIG shares have increased by 21.8% and is now trading at $26.90.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides bandwidth infrastructure solutions for the communications industry in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company operates in six segments: Fiber Solutions, Transport, Enterprise Networks, Zayo Colocation (zColo), Allstream, and Other. The Fiber Solutions segment provides dark fiber, and fiber-to-the-tower and small cell mobile infrastructure services for carriers and other communication service providers, Internet service providers, wireless service providers, media and content companies, large enterprises, and other companies. The Transport segment offers lit bandwidth infrastructure solutions comprising wavelength, Ethernet, wholesale IP services, and SONET services through its metro, regional, and long-haul fiber networks for carriers, content providers, financial services companies, healthcare, government entities, education institutions, and other medium and large enterprises. The Enterprise Networks segment provides connectivity and telecommunications solutions comprising Internet, wide area networking products, managed products, and cloud based computing and storage offerings to medium and large enterprises. The Zayo Colocation (zColo) segment offers data center infrastructure solutions consisting of colocation space, and power and interconnection services to a range of enterprise, carrier, cloud, and content customers. The Allstream segment provides cloud VoIP and data solutions, such as voice offerings; and unified communications, as well as telecommunications services, including Ethernet, and IP/MPLS VPN solutions. The Other segment provides network and technical resources to customers in designing, acquiring, and maintaining their networks. Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

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.
We are Ukrainian producer interested in selling wood pellets ENPlus A1, A2 for export to Italy. We can supply on FCA terms. All certificates are available.
iShares S&P SmallCap 600 ETF's stock was trading at $62.31 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, IJR shares have increased by 88.9% and is now trading at $117.72.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2016-10-24/what-happens-to-students-who-back-out-of-early-decision-offers

Occasionally, students back out of early decision agreements without a good reason, says Richard Nesbitt, director of admission at Williams College in Massachusetts. "It would be a big ethical issue," he says.

The early decision agreement is not legally binding and the school wouldn't go after the student for tuition, but there could be other consequences.

If, for instance, they found out a student somehow had applied to two different places early decision, or even another early action and the student had broken the early decision agreement, Nesbitt says they'd call the other schools and the student would risk losing both acceptances.

It may not be that difficult for schools to determine if students are playing the system. A student's high school guidance counselor may be aware of what the student has done and contact the school, says Nesbitt.
Our company is ready to supply up to 500 m3 of spruce wood chips at a price of 180 UAH per m3 on EXW terms, Chygyryn, Cherkassky region. Loyal customers get discounts.
Were please to be able to share some good news thats perfectly timed for University Press Week#TurnItUP!

The University of Chicago Press and the Chicago Distribution Center are pleased to announce that Autumn House Press, Brandeis University Press, Carnegie Mellon University Press, Dartmouth College Press, New Issues Poetry & Prose, Oberlin College Press, Omnidawn Publishing, and 2Leaf Press, all formerly distributed by UPNE, as well as books published under UPNEs own imprint, are joining the CDC and will be marketed and sold by the University of Chicago Press. All orders for books from these publishers can now be directed to the CDC. Joseph DOnofrio, the director of the CDC, said The University of Chicago Press and the Chicago Distribution Center are pleased to welcome our new publishers from UPNE to the family. We look forward to helping them flourish, as they continue to publish great and compelling books.

Founded in 1998, Autumn House Press publishes full-length collections of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The press concentrates on publishing the work of excellent contemporary writers who have a following among readers, but whose work has been overlooked by commercial publishers. Autumn House Press believes art and literature are essential to the growth of a community and society. Autumn House authors have won or been finalists for the Whiting Award, NAACP Image Award, and many others. Poems and excerpts have been republished in the New York Times Magazine, American Life in Poetry, Verse Daily, and other venues.

Brandeis University Press was founded more than forty-five years ago and has produced critically acclaimed and award-winning books in the humanities and social sciences, as well as general interest titles, with a particular commitment to publishing compelling and innovative approaches to the study of the Jewish experience worldwide. Brandeis University Presss eight seriesthe Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life; HBI Series on Jewish Women; Schusterman Series in Israel Studies; Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry; Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought; Brandeis Series on Gender, Culture, Religion, and Law; Mandel Lectures in the Humanities; and the Menahem Stern Jerusalem Lectures (sponsored by the Historical Society of Israel)account for the vast majority of its publishing program.

Carnegie Mellon University Press was founded in 1972 by its current director, Gerald Costanzo. The Press publishes approximately twelve titles each year in regional social history, art history, the performing arts, literary analysis, education, and university history. Carnegie Mellons particular strength continues to lie in literary publishing with the following series: Carnegie Mellon Poetry Series; the Carnegie Mellon Classic Contemporaries; the Series in Short Fiction; the Series in Translation; and the Poets in Prose Series. Books under the Press imprint have included titles by Pulitzer Prize winners Rita Dove, Ted Kooser, Franz Wright, Stephen Dunn, and Peter Balakian.

Dartmouth Colleges unique focus on personalized arts and science learning has made it a global leader in liberal education. This unique focus is reflected in the books that Dartmouth College Press publishes. DCPs interdisciplinary approach to publishing touches on everything from the fine and visual arts to cross-cultural criticisms of American Studies to global health and medicine. DCP publishes a number of innovative series, including Interfaces: Studies in Visual Culture, Remapping the Trans-National: A Dartmouth Series in American Studies, Reencounters with Colonialism, The Collected Writings of Rousseau, and the Geisel Series in Global Health and Medicine.

New Issues Poetry & Prose, established in 1996, and housed on the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, publishes four to six new poetry titles a year, as well as the winner of the AWP Award Series in the Novel. The New Issues Poetry Prize and the Editors Choice Prize are awarded yearly to first books of poetry, and the Green Rose Prize to a collection of poetry by a poet who has previously published one or more volumes of poetry. Their guiding principle is to look beyond school and fashion in order to locate originaland astonishingwork. New Issues books have won the American Book Award, the William Carlos Williams Award, and the Goldberg Prize, and have been longlisted for the National Book Award. New Issues is proud of its commitment to discovering new voices and to supporting the best work of established poets and novelists.

For forty years, Oberlin College Press has been publishing poetry through its Translation and FIELD poetry series and has offered perennially valuable course readers through its FIELD Anthology series Oberlins books have won or been finalists for numerous awards, including being a finalist for the Pulitzer in 2010 and a winner of the Kingsley Tufts Award in 2015. They are committed to bringing poetic voices from around the world to English-language readers and to supporting fresh contemporary poetry written here in the United States.

Omnidawn Publishing, Inc. is an Oakland-based independent 501(c)(3) press, dedicated to publishing literature that opens readers to the myriad ways that language brings new light, compassionate insight, and a heightened respect for differences. Since its founding in 2001 by copublishers Rusty Morrison and Ken Keegan, Omnidawn has become a vibrant community of authors, editors, designers, and interns. The press has gained national recognition as both a Bay Area gem and a vital contributor to literature that confronts the issues and trials and triumphs that is life in the twenty-first century. Omnidawn books have won four PEN USA Awards, two American Book Awards, a James Laughlin Award, a Colorado Book Award, and a Landon Translation Award, while others have been finalists for Lambda Awards, PEN USA Awards, and the Kingsley Tufts Prize, and have been longlisted for the National Book Award. Currently, Diana Khoi Nguyens book Ghost Of is a finalist for the National Book Award.

2Leaf Press publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and bilingual works by activists, scholars, poets, and authors with cultural stories that inform, entertain, educate, and inspire. 2Leaf is especially dedicated to publishing scholarship regarding diversity and social justice that is accessible to the general public as they tackle the fundamental issues of our human condition in meaningful ways. 2Leaf Press is an imprint of the Intercultural Alliance of Artists & Scholars, Inc. (IAAS), a New York-based nonprofit organization that promotes multicultural literature and literacy.

For more information about the Chicago Distribution Center and the services it offers, please contact Saleem Dhamee, Director of Client Services and Business Operations, sdhamee@uchicago.edu.
Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of traditional and non-traditional life and health reinsurance products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. and Latin America; Canada; Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Corporate and Other. The U.S. and Latin America segment markets individual and group life and health reinsurance to domestic clients for a variety of products through yearly renewable term agreements, coinsurance, and modified coinsurance. The Canada segment offers individual life reinsurance, and to a lesser extent creditor, group life and health, critical illness and disability reinsurance, through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa segment serves individual and group life and health products through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements, reinsurance of critical illness coverage that provides a benefit in the event of the diagnosis of a pre-defined critical illness and underwritten annuities. The Asia Pacific segment comprises individual and group life and health reinsurance, critical illness coverage, disability, and superannuation thr

Read More
Continental Building Products Inc (NYSE:CBPX) released its earnings results on Tuesday, November, 12th. The construction company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks' consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The construction company earned $127.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.16 million. Continental Building Products had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 12.12%. Continental Building Products's revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share.

View Continental Building Products' earnings history.
CoreLogic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property information, insight, analytics, and data-enabled solutions in North America, Western Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solutions (PIRM) and Underwriting & Workflow Solutions (UWS). The PIRM segment combines property information, mortgage information, and consumer information to deliver housing market and property-level insights, predictive analytics, and risk management capabilities. It also offers proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with decision-making and compliance tools in the real estate and insurance industries. This segment primarily serves commercial banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, investment banks, fixed-income investors, real estate agents, MLS companies, property and casualty insurance companies, title insurance companies, government agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises. The UWS segment combines property, mortgage, and consumer information to provide comprehensive mortgage origination and monitoring solutions, including underwriting-related solutions, and data-enabled valuations and appraisals. This segment also provides proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with vetting and onboarding prospects, and meeting compliance regulations, as well as understanding, evaluating, monitoring property values. It primarily serves mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, credit unions, commercial banks, fixed-income investors, government agencies, and property and casualty insurance companies. The company was formerly known as The First American Corporation and changed its name to CoreLogic, Inc. in June 2010. CoreLogic, Inc. was incorporated in 1894 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Read More
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
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
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. is an insurance and financial services company. The company provides life insurance, group and employee benefits, automobile and homeowners insurance and business insurance, as well as investment products, annuities, mutual funds, and college savings plans. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Group Benefits and Hartford Funds. The Commercial Lines segment provides workers compensation, property, automobile, liability and umbrella coverage under several different products, primarily throughout the U.S., within its standard commercial lines, which consists of The Hartford's small commercial and middle market lines of business. The Personal Lines segment includes automobile, homeowners and home-based business coverage to individuals across the U.S. The Property & Casualty Other Operations segment includes certain property and casualty operations, currently managed by the company, that have discontinued writing new business and substantially all of the company's asbestos and environmental exposures. The Group Benefits segment offers group life, accident and disabi

Read More
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.
Hertz Global's quiet period expires on Monday, December 20th. Hertz Global had issued 44,520,000 shares in its public offering on November 9th. The total size of the offering was $1,291,080,000 based on an initial share price of $29.00. During the company's quiet period, underwriters and any insiders involved in the IPO are prevented from issuing any earnings forecasts or research reports for the company because of SEC regulations. Following the end of the company's quiet period, the brokerages that served as underwriters will likely initiate research coverage on the company.
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.
innogy SE operates as an energy company in Europe. The company operates in two divisions, Grid & Infrastructure and Retail. The Grid & Infrastructure division is involved in the operation of gas distribution network in Croatia, as well as electricity distribution network in Poland and Hungary; and water business. The Retail division sells electricity and gas. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and corporate customers, as well as distributors. innogy SE has a strategic partnership with Nordex. The company was formerly known as RWE International SE and changed its name to innogy SE in September 2016. innogy SE was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Essen, Germany. innogy SE is a subsidiary of E.ON Verwaltungs SE.

Read More
Gildan Activewear Inc. manufactures and sells various apparel products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It provides various activewear products, including T-shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, and sport shirts under the Gildan, Gildan Performance, Gildan Hammer, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, Anvil by Gildan, Alstyle, Prim + Preux, and GoldToe brands. The company also offers hosiery products comprising athletic; dress; and casual, liner, therapeutic, and workwear socks, as well as sheer panty hoses, tights, and leggings under the brands of Gildan, Under Armour, GoldToe, PowerSox, GT a GoldToe Brand, Silver Toe, Signature Gold by Goldtoe, Peds, MediPeds, Kushyfoot, Therapy Plus, All Pro, Secret, Silks, Secret Silky, and American Apparel. In addition, it provides men's and boys' underwear products, and ladies panties under the Gildan and Gildan Platinum brand names; and ladies' shapewear, intimates, and accessories under the Secret and Secret Silky brands. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, screen printers, or embellishers, as well as to retailers and consumer brand companies. The company was formerly known as Textiles Gildan Inc. and changed its name to Gildan Activewear Inc. in March 1995. Gildan Activewear Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Read More
iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF's stock was trading at $38.50 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EFV shares have increased by 32.6% and is now trading at $51.04.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF's stock was trading at $51.51 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EUSA shares have increased by 73.1% and is now trading at $89.14.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF's stock was trading at $158.09 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, IWF stock has increased by 93.1% and is now trading at $305.20.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
The following companies are subsidiares of Jabil: AOC Technologies Co. Ltd., AOC Technologies Inc., Badger Technologies LLC, Celetronix, Celetronix India Private Limited, Celetronix USA Inc., Clothing Plus Hong Kong Ltd., Clothing Plus MBU Oy, Clothing Plus Zhejiang Ltd., Clothing+, Eco.logic Brands Inc., Ecologic Brands, F-I Holding Company, GET Manufacturing, Green Point Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., Green Point Precision Electronic Co. Ltd., Green Point Precision Sdn. Bhd., Green Point Technology Co. Ltd., Green Prosperity Co. Ltd., Greenam Electricity (Proprietary) Limited, JCI Funding Ireland Designated Activity Company, JCI Labuan Limited, JN Global Holdings C.V., Jabil AMS LLC, Jabil Advanced Mechanical Solutions Inc., Jabil Advanced Mechanical Solutions de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil C.M. S.r.l., Jabil Canada Corporation, Jabil Chihuahua Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Circuit Austria GmbH, Jabil Circuit Belgium N.V., Jabil Circuit Cayman L.P., Jabil Circuit China Limited, Jabil Circuit Co. Ltd., Jabil Circuit Financial II Inc., Jabil Circuit Holdings Limited, Jabil Circuit Hong Kong Limited, Jabil Circuit Hungary Contract Manufacturing Services Ltd., Jabil Circuit Inc., Jabil Circuit India Private Limited, Jabil Circuit Investment Co. Ltd, Jabil Circuit Italia S.r.l., Jabil Circuit Limited, Jabil Circuit Ltd., Jabil Circuit Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Jabil Circuit Luxembourg S.a r.l., Jabil Circuit Netherlands B.V., Jabil Circuit Pte. Ltd., Jabil Circuit SAS, Jabil Circuit Sdn Bhd, Jabil Circuit Technology LLC, Jabil Circuit Ukraine Limited, Jabil Circuit de Chihuahua S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Circuit de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Circuit of Michigan Inc., Jabil Consulting Limited Liability Company, Jabil DR S.R.L., Jabil Defense and Aerospace Services LLC, Jabil Denmark Aps, Jabil Dutch Mexico B.V., Jabil EMS Switzerland GmbH, Jabil Electronics Co. Ltd., Jabil Energy Ltd., Jabil Green Point Precision Electronics Co. Ltd., Jabil Green Point Technology Co. Ltd., Jabil Guadalajara Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Healthcare DR S.R.L., Jabil Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Holdings Ltd., Jabil Hungary LP Services Limited Liability Company, Jabil India Manufacturing Private Limited, Jabil Industrial do Brasil Ltda., Jabil International Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil International Treasury Pte. Ltd, Jabil Investment Pte. Ltd., Jabil Israel Ltd., Jabil Japan Inc., Jabil Korea International Limited, Jabil Limited Liability Company, Jabil Mexico Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Mexico Investment S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Monterrey S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Nypro Holding LLC, Jabil Nypro I LLC, Jabil Nypro II LLC, Jabil Nypro International B.V., Jabil Optics Germany GmbH, Jabil Poland Sp. z.o.o., Jabil Precision Industry Co. Ltd., Jabil Science and Telecommunication Trading Co. Ltd., Jabil Sdn Bhd, Jabil Services Korea Limited, Jabil Silver Creek Inc., Jabil South Africa (Pty) LTD, Jabil Switzerland Manufacturing GmbH, Jabil Technology Co. Ltd, Jabil Technology and Trading Co. Ltd., Jabil Torres S. de R.L. de C.V., Jabil Tuttlingen Manufacturing GmbH, Jabil Umkirch Manufacturing GmbH, Jabil Vietnam Company Limited, Jabil do Brasil Industria Eletroeletronica Ltda., Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, Kasalis, Kasalis Inc., Kuatro Technologies, Kuatro Ukraine LLC, Manna Renewable Energy Investments Two (Pty) Ltd, NP Medical Inc., NPA de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Nypro, Nypro Alabama LLC, Nypro Atlanta LLC, Nypro China Holdings Limited, Nypro DR LLC, Nypro Deutschland GmbH, Nypro France SAS, Nypro Guadalajara S.A. de C.V., Nypro Healthcare Baja Inc., Nypro Healthcare GmbH, Nypro Healthcare LLC, Nypro Inc., Nypro Iowa Inc., Nypro Limited, Nypro Monterrey Management S. de R.L. de C.V., Nypro Plastics & Metal Products Co. Ltd., Nypro Plastics & Molding Products Co. Ltd., Nypro Puerto Rico Inc., Nypro Research and Developments Limited, Nypro Spain Holding S.L.U., Nypro de Amazonia, Nypro de la Frontera S. de R.L. de C.V., NyproMold Chicago Inc., NyproMold Inc., NyproMold Investment Corp., PT Jabil Circuit Indonesia, Plasticast Hungary Kft., Plasticos Castella S.A.U., Radius Chicago LLC, Radius Hong Kong Limited, Radius Product Development Inc., Roosevelt Insurance Company Ltd., S.M.R. Metal Ltd., Shay Motion Ltd., Shemer Group, Shemer Motion (2009) Ltd., Taiwan Green Point Enterprises, Taiwan Green Point Enterprises Co. Ltd., Telmar Network Technology, TrueTech, Westing Green Plastic Co. Ltd, Wolfe Engineering, Wolfe Engineering Co. Ltd., and Yen Investments 140 (Proprietary) Limited.
MAXIMUS, Inc. engages in the operation of government and human services programs. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Services; U.S. Federal Services; and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers a variety of business process services, and appeals and assessments for state, provincial and national government programs. The U.S. Federal Services segment includes process solutions, program management, as well as system and software development, and maintenance services for various United States federal civilian programs. The Outside the U.S segment comprises of national, state, and county human services agencies with a variety of business process services, and related consulting services for welfare-to-work, child support, higher education institutions, and other human services programs. The company was founded by David V. Mastran in 1975 and is headquartered in Reston, VA.

Read More
Melrose Industries PLC engages in the aerospace, automotive, powder metallurgy, air management, and other industrial businesses in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. Its Aerospace segment provides airframe and engine structures, and electrical interconnection systems for the aerospace industry in civil airframe and defense platforms. The company's Automotive segment designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates driveline technologies; and epowertrains and intelligent all-wheel drive systems. Its Powder Metallurgy segment offers precision automotive components and components for industrial and consumer applications; metal powder for powder metallurgy; and additive manufacturing parts for prototypes. The company's Nortek Air Management segment manufactures and sells ventilation products for the professional remodeling and replacement, residential new construction, and consumer DIY markets. This segment also manufactures and sells split-system and packaged air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, and parts for the residential replacement and new construction markets; and custom designed and engineered products and systems for non-residential applications. Its Other Industrial segment provides turbo generators, transformers, and switchgears; develops and manufactures security, home automation, and access control technologies for the residential and commercial markets; and designs, manufactures, and distributes ergonomic products for use in a various working, learning, and healthcare environments. The company was formerly known as New Melrose Industries PLC and changed its name to Melrose Industries PLC in November 2015. Melrose Industries PLC was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Read More
The following companies are subsidiares of Crown: Adularia Inversiones 2010 S.L., Angleboard Sweden AB, Bates Cargo-Pak ApS, Butimove, CMB Machinery and Technology (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CROWN AP (Thailand) Company Limited, CROWN Aerosols & Promotional Nederland, CROWN Aerosols Italia Srl, CROWN Aerosols Nederland BV, CROWN Aerosols UK Limited, CROWN Americas LLC, CROWN Arabia Can Company Ltd, CROWN Asia Pacific Holdings Pte. Ltd., CROWN Asia Pacific Investments (T) Limited, CROWN Bevcan Espana S.L., CROWN Bevcan France SAS, CROWN Bevcan Slovakia s.r.o., CROWN Bevcan Turkiye Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, CROWN Bevcan and Closures (Thailand) Company Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans (Cambodia) Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans (Dong Nai) Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Beijing Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Changchun Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Danang Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Hangzhou Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Hanoi Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Heshan Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Hong Kong Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Huizhou Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Malaysia Sdn Bhd, CROWN Beverage Cans Nanning Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Putian Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Saigon Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Shanghai Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Sihanoukville Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Singapore Pte. Ltd., CROWN Beverage Cans Ziyang Limited, CROWN Beverage Packaging LLC, CROWN Beverage Packaging Puerto Rico Inc., CROWN Cans Ghana Limited, CROWN China Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, CROWN Commercial Belgium BVBA, CROWN Commercial France SAS, CROWN Commercial Germany GmbH & Co. KG, CROWN Commercial Hungary Kft, CROWN Commercial Netherlands B.V., CROWN Commercial Vermogensverwaltung GmbH, CROWN Cork & Seal USA Inc., CROWN Embalagens Metalicas da Amazonia S.A., CROWN Emballage France SAS, CROWN Emirates Company Limited, CROWN Envases Mexico S.A. de C.V., CROWN Famosa S.A. de C.V., CROWN Food Packaging (Thailand) Public Company Limited, CROWN Foodcan (Hat Yai) Company Limited, CROWN Foodcan (Nakhon Pathom) Company Limited, CROWN Foodcan Germany GmbH, CROWN Foodcan GmbH, CROWN Imballaggi Italia Srl, CROWN Imgallaggi Italia Srl, CROWN Italy Finance srl, CROWN Khmer Beverage Cans Limited, CROWN Maghreb Can, CROWN Magyarorszag Csomagoloipari KFT, CROWN Metal Packaging Canada Inc., CROWN Metal Packaging Canada LP, CROWN Middle East Can Co. Ltd., CROWN Packaging (Barbados) Limited, CROWN Packaging Holdings LLC, CROWN Packaging Investment (H.K.) Limited, CROWN Packaging Ireland Ltd, CROWN Packaging Jamaica Limited, CROWN Packaging Polska Sp.z.o.o., CROWN Packaging Technology Inc., CROWN Packaging Trinidad Limited, CROWN Packaging UK Limited, CROWN Promotional Packaging UK Ltd, CROWN SIEM, CROWN Senegal, CROWN Societe Malgache d'Emballages Metalliques, CROWN Speciality Packaging BV, CROWN Speciality Packaging Investment Pte. Ltd., CROWN Specialty Packaging UK Ltd, CROWN TCP Beverage Cans Company Limited, CROWN Verpakking Belgie NV, CROWN Verpakking Nederland B.V., Caretex Asia Ltd., CarnaudMetalbox Engineering Ltd, CarnaudMetalbox Food South Africa (Pty) Limited, CarnaudMetalbox Group UK Limited, CarnaudMetalbox Overeseas Limited, CarnaudMetalbox Overseas Limited, Cierres Hermeticos S.A. DE C.V., Constar International, Crown Americas Capital Corp., Crown Americas Capital Corp. II, Crown Americas Capital Corp. III, Crown Americas Capital Corp. IV, Crown Americas Capital Corp. V, Crown Americas Capital Corp. VI, Crown Brasil Holdings Ltda., Crown Canadian Holdings ULC, Crown Closures Spain S.L., Crown Colombiana S.A., Crown Comercial de Envases S.L., Crown Commercial Italy Srl, Crown Commercial Polska Sp. z.o.o., Crown Consultants Inc., Crown Cork & Seal Company (DE) LLC, Crown Cork & Seal Company Inc., Crown Cork & Seal Deutschland Holdings GmbH, Crown Cork & Seal Receivables (DE) Corporation, Crown Cork & Seal de Portugal Embalagens S.A., Crown Cork Kuban, Crown Cork and Seal Receivables II LLC, Crown Developpement SAS, Crown European Holdings, Crown Food Espana S.A.U., Crown Foodcan Turkey Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Crown Hellas Can Packaging SA, Crown Heshan Trading Company Limited, Crown Holdings Italia Srl, Crown Holdings Spain S.L., Crown International Holdings B.V., Crown International Holdings Inc., Crown Luxembourg Holdings, Crown Mexican Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., Crown Overseas Investments B.V., Crown Packaging Commercial UK Limited, Crown Packaging Distribution UK Limited, Crown Packaging European Division GmbH, Crown Packaging European Division Services SAS, Crown Packaging European Holdings GmbH, Crown Packaging Lux I S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Lux II S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Lux III S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Manufacturing UK Limited, Crown Packaging Maroc, Crown Receivables III, Crown Services Iberia, Crown UK Holdings Limited, Crownway Insurance Company, Dacro B.V., EMPAQUE, Fabricas Monterrey S.A. de C.V., Form Koruyucu Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Foshan Continental Can Co. Limited, Foshan Crown Easy-Opening End Co. Limited, Glass & Silice S.A. DE C.V., Globoplastt s.r.o., Gunther S.A.S., Haloila Bulgaria EOOD, Interstrap B.V., Josef Kihlberg AB, Kiwiplan GmbH, Kiwiplan Inc, Lachenmeier ApS, Liljendals Bruk AB, Litec France S.A.S., Mezger Heftsysteme GmbH, Mima Films S.a.r.l., Mima Films Sprl, Mima Packaging Systems S.A.S., Mivisa, Nordic S.A.S., Norsk Signode AS, Oy M. Haloila AB, PT CROWN Beverage Cans Indonesia, Package Design and Manufacturing, Prolatamex S.A. DE C.V., Quandel Verpackungs- und Foerdertechnik GmbH, SMB Schwede Maschinenbau GmbH, SMP Schwede Maschinenbau Weischlitz GmbH, SPG Denmark, SPG France Holdings SAS, SPG Germany Service Management GmbH, SPG Industrial Packaging S.a.r.l, SPG Netherlands B.V., SPG Packaging Ireland Limited, SPG Packaging Systems GmbH, SPG Packaging UK Ltd, Scybele S.A.S., Shippers Europe S.p.r.l., Signode BVBA, Signode Brasileira Ltda, Signode Hong Kong Limited, Signode Industrial Group, Signode Industrial Group AB, Signode Industrial Group Colombia S.A.S., Signode Industrial Group GmbH, Signode Industrial Group Holdings Lux S.a.r.l., Signode Industrial Group Holdings US Inc, Signode Industrial Group Lux S.A., Signode Industrial Group Mexico, Signode Industrial Group Sweden AB, Signode International Holdings LLC, Signode International IP Holdings LLC, Signode International Investment LLC, Signode Kabushiki Kaisha, Signode Korea Inc, Signode NZ Limited, Signode Netherlands B.V., Signode Packaging (Qingdao) Co., Signode Packaging (Shanghai) Co., Signode Packaging Espana S.L., Signode Packaging Group (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Signode Packaging Group Australia Pty Ltd, Signode Packaging Group Canada ULC, Signode Packaging Group NZ, Signode Packaging Systems Limited, Signode Pickling Holding LLC, Signode Polska sp. Z.o.o., Signode Singapore Pte. Ltd., Signode Sweden Holdings AB, Signode System GmbH, Signode System Packaging GmbH & Co. KG, Signode Systems (Thailand) Ltd., Signode US IP Holdings LLC, Silice De Veracruz S.A. DE C. V., Silice Del Istmo S.A. DE C.V., Silices De Veracruz, Societe Civile Immobiliere Rousseau-Ivry, Societe Civile Immobiliere des Baquets, Societe de Participations CarnaudMetalbox, Stopak India Pvt. Ltd, Strapex Austria GmbH, Strapex Embalagem L.d.a., Strapex Holdings Limited, Strapex S.A.S., Strapex Srl, Superior Investments Holdings Pte. Ltd., Superior Multi-Packaging Limited, TopFrame LLC, V.A.C. B.V., Vichisa S.A. de C.V., and Warehouse Automation Iberia S.L..
Nevada Copper has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

According to analysts' consensus price target of C$0.56, Nevada Copper has a forecasted downside of 25.3% from its current price of C$0.75.

Nevada Copper has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.67, and is based on 2 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

5.0 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Nevada Copper has received 340 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Nevada Copper has received 88 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Nevada Copper has received 79.44% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Nevada Copper and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe NCU will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe NCU 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).
SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan ETF's stock was trading at $42.88 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, SRLN stock has increased by 6.7% and is now trading at $45.76.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
The following companies are subsidiares of SYNNEX: 2117974 Ontario Inc., Afina Peru S.A.C., Afina S.R.L., Afina Sistemas Informaticos Limitada, Afina Sistemas Informaticos S.L, Afina Sistemas Sociedade Ltda., Afina Venezuela C.A., Afinasis S.A. de C.V., Asset Ohio Fourth Street LLC, BPO Holdco Cooperatief U.A., Beijing Jumeng Technology Development Ltd., Brazil HoldCo Limited, CNX Services Jamaica Limited, Chongqing Jumeng Technologies Development Ltd., ComputerLand Corporation, Comstor Colombia S.A.S., Concentrix (Canada) Limited, Concentrix (Suzhou) Information Consulting Co. Limited, Concentrix Beteiligungen GmbH, Concentrix Brazil Outsourcing of Processes Administrative Services and Technologies to Enterprises Ltda., Concentrix Business Services UK Limited, Concentrix CMG Canada ULC, Concentrix CRM Services Germany GmbH, Concentrix CRM Services Hungary Kft, Concentrix CRM Services RO S.R.L., Concentrix CRM Services UK Limited, Concentrix CVG (Mauritius) Ltd, Concentrix CVG Brite Voice Systems LLC, Concentrix CVG CMG Insurance Services LLC, Concentrix CVG CMG UK Limited, Concentrix CVG Contact Tunisie S.A.R.L., Concentrix CVG Corporation, Concentrix CVG Customer Management Australia Pty. Ltd., Concentrix CVG Customer Management Colombia S.A.S., Concentrix CVG Customer Management Delaware LLC, Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc., Concentrix CVG Delaware Inc., Concentrix CVG Delaware International Inc., Concentrix CVG Egypt Limited Liability Company, Concentrix CVG France S.A.R.L., Concentrix CVG Funding Inc., Concentrix CVG Global Services AZ Inc., Concentrix CVG Global Services El Salvador S.A. de C.V., Concentrix CVG Global Services Honduras S.A., Concentrix CVG Global Services Hong Kong Limited, Concentrix CVG Government Solutions LLC, Concentrix CVG Group Limited, Concentrix CVG Holding LLC, Concentrix CVG Intelligent Contact Limited, Concentrix CVG International Bulgaria EOOD, Concentrix CVG International Holding Ltd., Concentrix CVG International Sp. Z.o.o., Concentrix CVG Ireland Contact Services Limited, Concentrix CVG Ireland Limited, Concentrix CVG Italy S.R.L., Concentrix CVG LLC, Concentrix CVG Learning Solutions LLC, Concentrix CVG Malaysia (Phillipines) Sdn. Bhd., Concentrix CVG Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Concentrix CVG Philippines Inc., Concentrix CVG Pte. Ltd., Concentrix CVG Services Singapore Pte. Ltd., Concentrix CVG Servicios Informaticos S.L, Concentrix CVG Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., Concentrix CVG Tunisie BPO S.A.R.L., Concentrix CVG Tunisie S.A.R.L., Concentrix Corporation, Concentrix Costa Rica S.A., Concentrix Daksh Services India Private Limited, Concentrix Daksh Services Philippines Corporation, Concentrix Digital Services Limited, Concentrix Duisburg GmbH, Concentrix Dusseldorf GmbH, Concentrix Europe Limited, Concentrix Frankfurt a. M. GmbH, Concentrix Free Trade Zone S.A., Concentrix Gera GmbH, Concentrix Global Services GmbH, Concentrix Gmbh, Concentrix HK Limited, Concentrix Halle GmbH, Concentrix Insurance Administration Solutions Corporation, Concentrix International Europe B.V., Concentrix International GmbH, Concentrix International Services Europe B.V., Concentrix Investment Holdings Corporation, Concentrix Investment Holdings Singapore 1 Pte. Ltd, Concentrix Investment Holdings Singapore 2 Pte. Ltd, Concentrix Investment Holdings Singapore 3 Pte. Ltd, Concentrix Investments Europe B.V., Concentrix Legal Services Company Limited, Concentrix Leipzig GmbH, Concentrix Logistics Corporation, Concentrix Management Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Concentrix Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V, Concentrix Munster GmbH, Concentrix New (BVI) Corporation, Concentrix NewHK Limited, Concentrix Nicaragua S.A., Concentrix Osnabruck GmbH, Concentrix Receivables Inc, Concentrix Rechenzentrum GmbH, Concentrix Romania S.R.L., Concentrix Schwerin GmbH, Concentrix Services (Colombia) S.A.S., Concentrix Services (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Concentrix Services (Germany) GmbH, Concentrix Services (Ireland) Limited, Concentrix Services (Netherlands) B.V., Concentrix Services (New Zealand) Limited, Concentrix Services (Poland) spolka z o.o., Concentrix Services (Saudi Arabia) Corporation LLC, Concentrix Services (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Concentrix Services (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Concentrix Services (Uruguay) S.A., Concentrix Services Bulgaria EOOD, Concentrix Services Corporation, Concentrix Services GmbH, Concentrix Services Holdco (Netherlands) B.V., Concentrix Services Hungary KFT, Concentrix Services India Private Limited, Concentrix Services Korea Limited, Concentrix Services Mexico S.A. de C.V., Concentrix Services Philippines Inc., Concentrix Services Portugal Sociedade Unipessoal LDA, Concentrix Services Pty Ltd, Concentrix Services Slovakia s.r.o., Concentrix Services Spain S.L.U., Concentrix Services UK Limited, Concentrix Services US Inc., Concentrix Software Technologies (HK) Limited, Concentrix Solutions Corporation, Concentrix Technologies (India) Private Limited, Concentrix Technologies Limited, Concentrix Technologies Services (Canada) Limited, Concentrix Tigerspike Technology FZ-LLC, Concentrix VN Technologies Services Company Limited, Concentrix Verwaltungs GmbH, Concentrix Wismar GmbH, Concentrix Wuppertal GmbH, Convergys, Convergys Customer Management Group Canada Holding Inc., Convergys Customer Management International Inc., Convergys Customer Management Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Convergys Holdings (GB) Limited, Convergys Holdings (UK) Limited, Convergys India Services Private Limited, Convergys International Inc., Convergys International Nordic AB, Convergys Services Denmark ApS, Convergys South Africa (Pty) Ltd., CyberLogistics Corporation, Dalian Jumeng Information Services Ltd., Dalian Jumeng Technology Development Ltd., EMJ America Inc., Encore Receivable Management Inc., Foshan Jumeng Information Technology Service Co. Ltd, GLS Software S. de R.L., Guiyang Jumeng Technology Development Ltd., Hyve Design Solutions (Taiwan) Corporation, Hyve Design Solutions Corporation, Hyve IT Solutions Israel Ltd, Hyve IT Solutions South Africa (PTY) Ltd., Hyve SNX Solutions Ireland Limited, Hyve Solutions (Taiwan) Corporation, Hyve Solutions Canada Limited, Hyve Solutions China Limited, Hyve Solutions Corporation, Hyve Solutions Europe Limited, Hyve Solutions HK Limited, Hyve Solutions Holding Company Limited, Hyve Solutions India Private Limited, Hyve Solutions Japan K.K., Hyve Solutions Korea Limited, Hyve Solutions Malaysia SDN.BHD., Hyve Solutions New Zealand Limited, Hyve Solutions Singapore Pte. Ltd, Hyve Solutions US Global Holding Corporation, IBM World Wide Customer Care, Intervoice Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., Intervoice Colombia Ltda., Intervoice GP Inc., Intervoice GmbH, Intervoice LP Inc., Intervoice Limited, Intervoice Limited Partnership, Intervoice do Brasil Comercio Servicos e Participacoes Ltda., Jack Of All Games Inc., Japan Concentrix KK, LATAM HoldCo Limited, Lasting Holdings Corporation, License Online Inc, Minacs, Minacs Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PT Concentrix Services Indonesia, PT Convergys Customer Management Indonesia, Pegasus Telecom LLC, SCGS (Malaysia) SDN. BHD., SGS Holdings Inc., SIT Funding Corporation, SYNNEX Canada Limited, SYNNEX Finance Hybrid II LLC, SYNNEX Holdco Inc., SYNNEX Information Technologies (Beijing) Ltd., SYNNEX Information Technologies (Chengdu) Ltd., SYNNEX Information Technologies (China) Ltd., SYNNEX Japan Corporation, SYNNEX Japan Holdings K.K., SYNNEX Servicios S.A. de C.V., SYNNEX de Mexico S.A. de C.V., SYNNEX-Concentrix UK Limited, Sennex Enterprises Limited, Servicios Afinasis S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Shunrong Telecommunication Technologies Ltd., Sichuan 86Bridge Information Technology Ltd., Stream Business Process Outsourcing South Africa (Proprietary) Ltd., Stream Florida Inc., Stream Global Services - US Inc., Stream Global Services Inc., Stream Holdings Corporation, Suzhou Ke Wei Xun Information Services Co. Ltd., Tech Data, The Global Email Trustee Limited, Tigerspike Co. Ltd, Tigerspike FZ-LLC, Tigerspike Holdings Pty Ltd, Tigerspike Inc., Tigerspike Ltd, Tigerspike Products Pte. Ltd., Tigerspike Pte. Ltd., Tigerspike Pty Ltd, Velami Holdings Corporation, Vietnam Concentrix Services Company Limited, VisionMAX, WG-UK Holding Company Limited, WG-US HoldCo Inc, Westcon Brasil Ltda., Westcon CALA Inc., Westcon Canada Systems (WCSI) Inc., Westcon Corporation Ecuador WCE Cia. Ltda, Westcon GDS LLC, Westcon Group Colombia Limitada, Westcon Group Costa Rica S.A., Westcon Group Inc., Westcon Group North America Inc., Westcon Group Panama S.A., Westcon Mexico S.A. de C.V., Westcon-Comstor Americas, Xi'an Jumeng Technologies Development Ltd, and eTelecare Philippines Inc..
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.
Taubman Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.70 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 6.28%. TCO has a dividend yield higher than 75% of all dividend-paying stocks, making it a leading dividend payer. The dividend payout ratio of Taubman Centers is 72.78%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on EPS estimates, Taubman Centers will have a dividend payout ratio of 97.12% in the coming year. This indicates that Taubman Centers may not be able to sustain their current dividend.

View Taubman Centers' dividend history.
The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1031387 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical, 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California, ACN Group of California Inc., AHJV, AHJV MSO, AHN Accontable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS  Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ARC Infusion, ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASI Global, ASI Global LLC, Access Administrators Inc., Access HealthSource Administrators Inc., Access HealthSource Inc., Access I.V., Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Care, Advanced Care Pharmacy, Advanced Pharma Inc., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advantage Care Network Inc., Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Sherman Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Alere Health, Alere Health Improvement Company, Alere Healthcare of Illinois, Alere Wellbeing, Alere Wellology, Alere of New York, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Healthcare of Central Florida, Ambient Healthcare of Georgia, Ambient Healthcare of Northeast Florida, Ambient Healthcare of S. Florida, Ambient Healthcare of West Florida, Ambient Holdings, Ambient Holdings Inc., Ambient Nursing Services, AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice Health Services, AmeriChoice of Connecticut, AmeriChoice of New Jersey, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Amil Lifesciences Participacoes Ltda., Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., Apothecary Shop of Phoenix Inc., AppleCare Medical Management, AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., AssuranceRx, AssuranceRx LLC, Athens ASC Holdings LLC, Audax Health Solutions, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Patient Access Program Inc., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Avella of Austin Inc., Avella of Columbus Inc., Avella of Deer Valley Inc., Avella of Denver Inc., Avella of Gilbert Inc., Avella of Las Vegas II Inc., Avella of Orlando Inc., Avella of Phoenix III Inc., Avella of Sacramento Inc., Avella of Scottsdale Inc., Avella of St. Louis Inc., Avella of Tampa LLC, Avella of Tucson II Inc., Avella of Tucson Inc., Aveta Arizona, Aveta Health Solutions Inc., Aveta Inc., Aveta Kansas City, Aveta Tennessee, AxelaCare Health Solutions, AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings, AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, Banmedica Colombia SpA, Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Behavioral Healthcare Options, Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Belleville Surgical Center Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Blackstone Valley Surgicare GP LLC, Blue Ridge GP LLC, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings III SRL, Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx, BriovaRx, BriovaRx Infusion Services, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 200 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 204 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 209 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 305 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 402 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services Inc., BriovaRx Specialty LLC, BriovaRx of California, BriovaRx of California Inc., BriovaRx of Florida, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Georgia, BriovaRx of Georgia LLC, BriovaRx of Hawaii, BriovaRx of Indiana, BriovaRx of Louisiana, BriovaRx of Louisiana L.L.C., BriovaRx of Maine, BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts, BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, BriovaRx of Nevada, BriovaRx of New York, BriovaRx of New York Inc., BriovaRx of Texas, BriovaRx of Texas Inc., CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA  Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO  Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS  Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos S.A., CNIC Health Solutions Inc., COI Participacoes S.A., COI  Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California MedTrans Network IPA LLC, California MedTrans Network MSO LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardio Management, Cardio Management Inc., Care Improvement Plus Group Management, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha S.A., Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Catamaran Health Solutions, Catamaran Holdings I, Catamaran IPA III, Catamaran Mail, Catamaran PBM of Illinois II, Catamaran PBM of Puerto Rico, Catamaran PD of Pennsylvania, Catamaran PD of Puerto Rico, Catamaran Rebate Management, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Catamaran Senior Services, Catamaran of Pennsylvania, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care - Empressa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Cemed Care  Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, Central de Compras SpA, CentriHealth Corporation, CentriHealth UK Limited, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Medico Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro Medico PJ Ltda., Centro de Entrenamiento en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada (CERP), Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica S.A., Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte-SC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, ChinaGate (Hong Kong) Limited, ChinaGate Company Limited, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Clinica Oftalmologica Danilo de Castro Sociedade Simples, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinica Alameda S.A., Clinica Bio Bio S.A., Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica San Borja (La Esperanza del Peru S.A.), Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare, Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition For Advanced Pharmacy Services, Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Coastal Physicians Management Inc., Collaborative Care Holdings, Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Care Solutions, Collaborative Realty, Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada, Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation, Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Commonwealth Administrators, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Connextions, Connextions HCI, Constructora e Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Country Scan Ltda., Crescent Drug Corp., Cypress Care, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA, DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., DaVita Magan Management Inc., Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company, Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California, Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois, Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Pharmacy, Distance Learning Network, Distance Learning Network Inc., Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duncan Printing Services, Duncan Printing Services LLC, E Street Endoscopy LLC, ELG FZE, EP Campus I, EP Campus I LLC, East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Electronic Network Systems, Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Empire Physician Management Company, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Employers Health Choice PPO Inc., Empremedica S. A., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho  Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Etho  Empresa de Tecnologia Hospitalar Ltda., Evercare Collaborative Solutions, Evercare Collaborative Solutions Inc., Everett MSO Inc., Excellion Servicos Biomedicos Ltda., Excellion Servicos Biomedicos S.A., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources, Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center LLC, Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., FMG Holdings, FMG Holdings LLC, FOR HEALTH OF ARIZONA, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice, Family Home Hospice Inc., First Rx Specialty & Mail Services, Florida MedTrans Network LLC, Florida MedTrans Network MSO LLC, For Health, For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fortified Provider Network Inc., Fortify Technologies Asia LLC, Fortify Technologies LLC, Foundation Financial Services Inc., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier MEDEX Limited, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX, FrontierMEDEX (RMS), FrontierMEDEX (RMS) Inc., FrontierMEDEX Government Services, FrontierMEDEX Government Services LLC, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center Ltd., Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa Healthcare LLC, Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology (Canada) Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Golden Outlook, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grapevine Finance LLC, Greater Hartford ASC LLC, Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., Guardian Health Systems Limited Partnership, H&W Indemnity (SPC), H&W Indemnity (SPC) Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCP ACO Nevada LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HMI NewCo LLC, Harken Health Insurance Company, Hayes-Strub LLC, Health Business Systems, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Net Insurance of New York, Health Net Services (Bermuda) Ltd., Health Plan of Nevada, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., Health Technology Analysts Pty Limited, HealthAllies, HealthAllies Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets NewCo Inc., HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Partners Plan of Nevada Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help S.A., Help Service S.A., Highlands Ranch Healthcare, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Care I.V. of Bend, Home Infusion With Heart, Home Medical S.A., Hospice Inspiris Holdings, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada de Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Maternidade Promater Ltda., Hospital Samaritano de Sao Paulo Ltda., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation (Canada), Hygeia Corporation (DE), Hygeia Corporation (Ontario), INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of New York IPA, INSPIRIS of New York Management, INSPIRIS of New York Management Inc., INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, IRX Financing I LLC, Illinois Independent Care Network, Imed Star  Servicos de Desempenho Organizacional Ltda., Impel Consulting Experts, Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., Indian River Surgery Center Ltd., Indian River Surgery Properties LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Infusource, Ingram & Associates, Ingram & Associates LLC, Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Inspiris Services Company, Inspiris of Tennessee, Instituto do Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, International Psychological Services Pty Limited, Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria S.A., Isapre Banmedica S.A., Isapre Vida Tres S.A., Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, LHI, Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., LifePrint Health, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeStyles Marketing Group Inc., LifeWell Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization, Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Lifeprint East, Lifeprint East Inc., Logistics Health Inc., Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., MAMSI Insurance Resources, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MD Ops, MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association, MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MEDEX Insurance Services, MEDEX Insurance Services Inc., MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, MXMD Centros De Cancer, Mamoeco  Mamografia e Ecografia Centro de Diagnostico, Managed Physical Network, Managed Physical Network Inc., March Holdings, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care, March Vision Care Inc., Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Maryland Ambulatory Centers, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, Mat-Rx Development, Mat-Rx Fort Worth GP, MedExpress Development, MedExpress Development LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach, MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, MedSynergies North Texas, Medalliance Net Ltda, Medalliance Net Ltda., Medica Health Plans of Florida, Medica Health Plans of Florida Inc., Medica HealthCare Plans, Medica HealthCare Plans Inc., Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Preparatory School of Allied Health, Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services, Medical Transportation Services LLC, Medication Management Systems Inc., Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memphis-SC LLC, Memphis-SP LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management, Metropolitan Medical Partners LLC, Metropolitan Medical Transportation IPA LLC, Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Surgery Holdings LLC, Mississippi Surgical Center Limited Partnership, Mobile Medical Professionals, Modern Medical Inc., Monarch Management Services, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Mountain View Medical Group LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings, NAMM Holdings Inc., NSC Fayetteville LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Nashville-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National MedTrans LLC, National Pacific Dental, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes, Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Medical Services LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., Newton Holdings LLC, North American Medical Management - Illinois, North American Medical Management California, North American Medical Management California Inc., North Puget Sound Center for Sleep Disorders LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd., Nutritional/Parenteral Home Care, Nutritional/Parenteral Home Care of Huntsville, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OSB  Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Ltda., Omesa S.A., OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., OneNet PPO, OneNet PPO LLC, Optimum Choice, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum, Optum Bank, Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics, Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Clinical Services, Optum Clinics Holdings, Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings, Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Global Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Global Solutions (India) Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions (Philippines), Optum Global Solutions (Philippines) Inc., Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Government Solutions, Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, Optum Health & Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, Optum Health & Technology (India) Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology (UK) Limited, Optum Health & Technology (US), Optum Health & Technology (US) LLC, Optum Health & Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings (US), Optum Health & Technology Holdings (US) Inc., Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health Services (Canada) Ltd., Optum Health Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions (UK) Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services, Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio, Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs, Optum Labs Dimensions, Optum Labs Dimensions Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs International (UK) Ltd., Optum Life Sciences (Canada) Inc., Optum Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Optum Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Nevada Accountable Care Organization LLC, Optum Operations (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 703 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Public Sector Solutions, Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket, Optum Rocket Inc., Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services, Optum Services (Ireland) Limited, Optum Services (Puerto Rico) LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Solutions do Brasil  Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Ltda., Optum Technology, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Women's and Children's Health, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360, Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO Florida LLC, OptumCare ACO Holdings LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Health Plan of California Inc., OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Holdings New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Financial Services, OptumHealth Financial Services Inc., OptumHealth Holdings, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight, OptumInsight Holdings, OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx, OptumRx Administrative Services, OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Illinois, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA, OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois, OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland, OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Puerto Rico LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Maryland, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada, OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings, OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet Services, OrthoNet Services Inc., OrthoNet West, OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the Mid-Atlantic, OrthoNet of the South, OrthoNet of the South Inc., Ovations, Ovations Inc., Oxford Benefit Management, Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance, Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans (CT), Oxford Health Plans (CT) Inc., Oxford Health Plans (NJ), Oxford Health Plans (NJ) Inc., Oxford Health Plans (NY), Oxford Health Plans (NY) Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, P2 Lower Acquisition, P2P Link LLC, PCCCV, PCCCV Inc., PCN DE Corp., PHC Subsidiary Holdings, PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYS Holding Corp., PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI, PMSI Holdco II, PMSI Holdings, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado, PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., PacifiCare of Nevada, PacifiCare of Nevada Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Paoli Ambulatory Surgery Center, Paoli Surgery Center L.P., Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Pasteur Plaza Surgery Center GP Inc., PatientsLikeMe, PatientsLikeMe LLC, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica - PANC., Payment Resolution Services, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Pharmaceutical Care Network, Pharmacy Review Services, Pharmacy Software Holdco Inc., PhyServe Holdings, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physician Care Partners, Physicians Health Choice of Texas, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians Plaza Holdings LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico, Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings, Plus One Holdings Inc., Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Precision Dialing Services Inc., Preferred Care Partners, Preferred Care Partners Holding, Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group, Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., Premier Choice ACO, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Prime Health, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network, PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley, PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona, PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley, PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley, PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley, PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands, PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside, PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino, PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City, PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula, PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., ProHEALTH Fitness of Lake Success, ProHEALTH Fitness of Lake Success LLC, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Medical Management, ProHealth Physicians, ProHealth Physicians ACO, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management, ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, Procura Management, Procura Management Inc., Progressive Enterprises Holdings, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical, Progressive Medical LLC, Progressive Solutions, Promotora Country S.A., Pronetics Health Care Group, Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Management Services LLC, Pueblo-SCA Surgery Center LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., Quality Software Services, QuarterMaster Newco LLC, R&H Family Fitness Unlimited LLC, Rally Health, Rally Health Inc., Real Appeal Inc., Recaudacion y Cobranzas Honodav Ltda., Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management, Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization Incorporated, Rocky Mountain HealthCare Options Inc., SC Affiliates LLC, SCA Alaska Surgery Center inc., SCA Athens LLC, SCA Austin Holdings LLC, SCA BOSC Holdings LLC, SCA California Surgical Holdings LLC, SCA Capital LLC, SCA Cedar Park Holdings LLC, SCA Clifton LLC, SCA Danbury Surgical Center LLC, SCA Development LLC, SCA EHSC Holdings LLC, SCA EWASC Holdings LLC, SCA Hays Holdings LLC, SCA Heartland Holdings LLC, SCA HoldCo Inc., SCA Holding Company Inc., SCA Holdings Inc., SCA IEC Holdings LLC, SCA Indiana Holdings LLC, SCA Nashville ASC LLC, SCA Pacific Holdings Inc., SCA Pennsylvania Holdings LLC, SCA Premier Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, SCA ROCS Holdings LLC, SCA Rockledge JV LLC, SCA SSC Holdings LLC, SCA SSSC Holdings LLC, SCA Sage Medical LLC, SCA Sage Medical MSO LLC, SCA Southwestern PA LLC, SCA Specialists of Florida LLC, SCA Stonegate Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Center of Cullman LLC, SCA Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Partners LLC, SCA Surgicare of Laguna Hills LLC, SCA Teammate Support Network, SCA eCode Solutions Private Limited, SCA of Clarksville Inc., SCA-Albuquerque Surgery Properties Inc., SCA-Alliance LLC, SCA-Anne Arundel LLC, SCA-Applecare Partners LLC, SCA-Bethesda LLC, SCA-Blue Ridge LLC, SCA-Bonita Springs LLC, SCA-Brandon LLC, SCA-Castle Rock LLC, SCA-Central Florida LLC, SCA-Charleston LLC, SCA-Chatham LLC, SCA-Chevy Chase LLC, SCA-Citrus Inc., SCA-Colorado Springs LLC, SCA-Connecticut Partners LLC, SCA-DRY CREEK LLC, SCA-Davenport LLC, SCA-Denver LLC, SCA-Denver Physicians Holdings LLC, SCA-Derry LLC, SCA-Doral LLC, SCA-Downey LLC, SCA-Dublin LLC, SCA-Encinitas Inc., SCA-Eugene Inc., SCA-First Coast LLC, SCA-Florence LLC, SCA-Fort Collins Inc., SCA-Fort Walton Inc., SCA-Franklin LLC, SCA-Frederick LLC, SCA-Freeway Holdings LLC, SCA-Ft. Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Mokena Properties LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-ND VBP Inc., SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Shelby Development Corp., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Wilmington LLC, SCA-Wilson LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SPINETRACK 20/20 Inc., SRPS LLC, SXC Comet, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Savvysherpa Administrative Services LLC, Savvysherpa Asia Inc., Savvysherpa LLC, Scanner Centromed S.A., ScripNet, ScriptSwitch Limited, Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Senior Care Partners, Serquinox Holdings LLC, Serquinox LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Limitada, Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Limitada, Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., SharedClarity LLC, Shelby Surgery Properties Inc., Sierra Health Services, Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company, Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options, Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products, Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators, Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sirona Infusion, Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam  Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad Editorial para la Ciencia Limitada., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria S.A., Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Southwest Medical Associates, Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center of Bakersfield L.P., Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits, Specialty Benefits LLC, Spectera, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA, Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Spotlite, Spotlite Inc., St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, StoneRiver P2P Link, StoneRiver Pharmacy Solutions, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Streamlines Health LLC, Summit Home Infusion, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Clarksville L.P., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of Spokane LLC, Surgery Center of Summerlin LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Center of Vero Beach Inc., Surgery Center of Wilmington LLC, Surgery Center of Wilmington Properties LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Belleville LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings, Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, Symphonix Health Insurance, Symphonix Health Insurance Inc., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologias de Informacion en Salud S.A., The Advisory Board (Chile) SpA, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Lewin Group, The Lewin Group Inc., The Magan Medical Group, The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Thousand Oaks Endoscopy Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys, Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, TriMed LLC, Trinity Infusion, Trio Motion LLC, Tucson Arizona Surgical Center LLC, U.S. Behavioral Health Plan, U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UHC Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, UHC Global Health Services BC Ltd., UHC International Services, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings (Ireland) Limited, UHCG Services (Ireland) Limited, UHCG  FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHIC Holdings, UHIC Holdings Inc., UICI Funding Corp. 2, UMR, UMR Inc., USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors L.L.C., USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD Administrative Services, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD CT (Mo), USMD Cancer Treatment Centers, USMD Cancer Treatment Centers GP, USMD Diagnostic Services, USMD Holdings, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Inc., USMD PPM, USMD PPM LLC, USMD of Arlington GP, Ultima Rx, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Administrative Services, Unison Health Plan of Delaware, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A., United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Management Services Inc., United Resource Networks IPA of New York, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., UnitedHealth Advisors, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Finance Inc., UnitedHealth Group Global Healthcare Services Limited, UnitedHealth Group Global Services, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group Information Services Private Limited, UnitedHealth Group International Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth Group International GP, UnitedHealth Group International L.P., UnitedHealth International, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services, UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealth UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service (Beijing) Co., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service (Beijing) Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Canada Limited, UnitedHealthcare Global Medical (UK) Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare India Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia, UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International I S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International II B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International V S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VI S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Services Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona, UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas, UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida, UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia, UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky, UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana, UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi, UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England, UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico, UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York, UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina, UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio, UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma, UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon, UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania, UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas, UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah, UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington, UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin, UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic, UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands, UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest, UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UpFront Insurance Agency LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings, Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO, Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network, Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vida Tres Internacional S.A., Vidaintegra S.A., Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., WebInsure Benefits LLC, WellMed Medical Management, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida, WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., WellMed Networks  DFW, West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, WillowB Labs LLC, Wilmington ASC LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, Your Health Options Insurance Services, Your Health Options Insurance Services Inc., Your Partner in Health Services, divvyDOSE, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative, inPharmative Inc., and ppoONE.
Guess?, Inc. engages in designing, marketing, distributing and licensing of contemporary apparel and accessories for men, women and children that reflect the American lifestyle and European fashion sensibilities. It operates through the following segments: Americas Retail, Americas Wholesale, Europe, Asia, and Licensing. The Americas Retail segment includes the Company's retail and e-Commerce operations in North and Central America and its retail operations in South America. The Americas Wholesale segment consists of the Company's wholesale operations in the Americas. The Europe segment comprises the Company's retail, e-commerce and wholesale operations in Europe and the Middle East. The Asia segment refers to the Company's retail, e-commerce and wholesale operations in Asia and the Pacific. The Licensing segment includes the worldwide licensing operations of the Company. The company was founded by Paul Marciano and Maurice Marciano in 1981 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

Read More
iShares MSCI Germany ETF's stock was trading at $23.17 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EWG shares have increased by 44.4% and is now trading at $33.45.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
The following companies are subsidiares of Yum China: AIR BP-PBF DEL PERU SAC, BELFAST STORAGE LTD, CANADIAN ULTRAMAR COMPANY, COLONNADE TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANY LLC, COLONNADE VERMONT INSURANCE COMPANY, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY LLC, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OF CANADA INC., DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL HOLDINGS LLC, DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL LLC, DIAMOND K RANCH LLC, DIAMOND OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., DIAMOND SHAMROCK REFINING COMPANY L.P., DIAMOND UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., DSRM NATIONAL BANK, ENTERPRISE CLAIMS MANAGEMENT INC., GCP LOGISTICS COMPANY LLC, GOLDEN EAGLE ASSURANCE LIMITED, HAMMOND MAINLINE PIPELINE LLC, HUNTWAY REFINING COMPANY, MAINLINE PIPELINES LIMITED, MAPLE ETHANOL LTD., MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT GP LLC, MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT L.P., MRP PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, NECHES RIVER HOLDING CORP., NORCO METHANOL LLC, OCEANIC TANKERS AGENCY LIMITED, PARKWAY PIPELINE LLC, PENTA TANKS TERMINALS S.A., PI DOCK FACILITIES LLC, PICKARD PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, PORT ARTHUR COKER COMPANY L.P., PREMCOR USA INC., PROPERTY RESTORATION L.P., PURE BIOFUELS DEL PERU S.A.C., PURE BIOFUELS HOLDINGS L.P., Parkway Pipeline, Premcor, Pure Biofuels Del Peru, SABINE RIVER HOLDING CORP., SABINE RIVER LLC, SAINT BERNARD PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, SUNBELT REFINING COMPANY L.P., THE PREMCOR PIPELINE CO., THE PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC., THE SHAMROCK PIPE LINE CORPORATION, TRANSPORT MARITIME ST. LAURENT INC., ULTRAMAR ACCEPTANCE INC., ULTRAMAR ENERGY INC., ULTRAMAR INC., Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, V-TEX LOGISTICS LLC, VALERO (BARBADOS) SRL, VALERO (PERU) HOLDINGS GP LLC, VALERO (PERU) HOLDINGS LIMITED, VALERO ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO ARUBA ACQUISITION COMPANY I LTD., VALERO ARUBA FINANCE INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA HOLDING COMPANY N.V., VALERO ARUBA HOLDINGS INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA MAINTENANCE/OPERATIONS COMPANY N.V., VALERO BROWNSVILLE TERMINAL LLC, VALERO CANADA FINANCE INC., VALERO CANADA L.P., VALERO CAPITAL CORPORATION, VALERO CARIBBEAN SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO COKER CORPORATION ARUBA N.V., VALERO CUSTOMS & TRADE SERVICES INC., VALERO EAST BAY LLC, VALERO ENERGY (IRELAND) LIMITED, VALERO ENERGY ARUBA II COMPANY, VALERO ENERGY INC., VALERO ENERGY LTD, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS GP LLC, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS LP, VALERO ENERGY UK LTD, VALERO ENTERPRISES INC., VALERO EQUITY SERVICES LTD, VALERO FINANCE L.P. I, VALERO FINANCE L.P. II, VALERO FINANCE L.P. III, VALERO FOREST CONTRIBUTION LLC, VALERO GRAIN MARKETING LLC, VALERO H2 PIPELINE COMPANY LLC, VALERO HOLDCO UK LTD, VALERO HOLDINGS INC., VALERO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS INC., VALERO LIVE OAK LLC, VALERO LOGISTICS UK LTD, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY (PANAMA) LLC, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY COMPANY, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPY INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO MARKETING IRELAND LIMITED, VALERO MKS LOGISTICS L.L.C., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEW AMSTERDAM B.V., VALERO OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONS SUPPORT LTD, VALERO PARTNERS CCTS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS EAST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS WEST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS EP LLC, VALERO PARTNERS HOUSTON LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LOUISIANA LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LUCAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MCKEE LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MERAUX LLC, VALERO PARTNERS NORTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS OPERATING CO. LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PAPS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PORT ARTHUR LLC, VALERO PARTNERS SOUTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS TEXAS CITY LLC, VALERO PARTNERS THREE RIVERS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WYNNEWOOD LLC, VALERO PAYMENT SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE LLC, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE OIL TERMINAL LTD, VALERO PLAINS COMPANY LLC, VALERO POWER MARKETING LLC, VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL PARTNERS LLC, VALERO REFINING AND MARKETING COMPANY, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-ARUBA N.V., VALERO REFINING COMPANY-CALIFORNIA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-OKLAHOMA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-TENNESSEE L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-MERAUX LLC, VALERO REFINING-NEW ORLEANS L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-TEXAS L.P., VALERO RENEWABLE FUELS COMPANY LLC, VALERO SECURITY SYSTEMS INC., VALERO SERVICES INC., VALERO SKELLYTOWN PIPELINE LLC, VALERO TEJAS COMPANY LLC, VALERO TERMINAL HOLDCO LTD, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO TEXAS POWER MARKETING INC., VALERO ULTRAMAR HOLDINGS INC., VALERO UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., VALERO WEST WALES LLC, VRG PROPERTIES COMPANY, VTD PROPERTIES COMPANY, WARSHALL COMPANY LLC, and ZELIG COMMERCIAL INC..
Crimea deputy prime minister to stay jailed till mid-December in bribery case

 RIA Novosti, Evgeniya Novozhenina

11:58 14/11/2018

MOSCOW, November 14 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court on Wednesday upheld detention for Crimeas deputy prime minister Vitaly Nakhlupin as part of a corruption case, the courts press service told RAPSI.

On October 18, the official was detained until December 16.

Nakhlupin stands charged with receiving bribes on an especially large scale. He pleads not guilty.

Crimean leader Sergey Aksenov earlier wrote on his Facebook page that investigation concerned other officials as well. According to the republics head, investigative actions were conducted in the committee on road industry and competition policy, highway service and in Crimeagasseti and Krymenergo companies.




Moscow businessman acquitted through intervention of ombudsman Titov

 RAPSI

16:58 14/11/2018

MOSCOW, November 14 (RAPSI)  Moscows entrepreneur Igor Sobolev has been acquitted of embezzling 1.3 million rubles (about $20,000) through the intervention of Russian business ombudsman Boris Titov, the ombudsmans press service has told RAPSI.

The businessman was held in detention nearly 2 years, the statement reads.

According to investigators, between November 2015 and June 2016, Sobolev used his job position to steal assets worth about 1.3 million rubles belonging to Rusdefense company.

A court found that no crime had been committed, and the defendants guilt had not been proven.

The acquittal of Sobolev took effect on November 12.




Patriotic Peoples Front Assam (PPFA), while expressing serious concern over mounting tensions between two valleys of the State in the recent past, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take personal initiative in defusing relentless worries among the residents. The forum of nationalist citizens asserted that few anti-national elements were working against the social harmony where the State government in Dispur shockingly remains silent.





It may be noted that on the backdrop of Centres citizenship amendment initiative in favour of religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the State witnessed an uproarious situation, where most of the Assamese speaking residents in Brahmaputra valley opposed it and those of Barak valley supported the move.





Lately a section of authors, editor-journalists, former militants and social activists have explained the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 in a biased manner for repeated times that the bill would be applicable for Assam only and once it is passed in the Parliament millions of Hindu Bangladeshi families would arrive in the State demanding Indian citizenship and the process would continue until India is made a land of Hindus.





A protester has the right to own point of view according to put his/her game plan and that also may be published in newspapers or telecast through news channels. But the authority should promptly respond to any biased views and clarify the government position. Otherwise, the common people would be misinformed and they might get confused, said a PPFA statement.





The forum expresses unhappiness that the State government was yet to make effective arrangements to enlighten the locals about the citizenship bill. The debates around the bill continue revolving with half truths and motivated facts, which had only increased the anxiety of Assamese people in the last few months, claimed the statement.





We donot know what has prevented the State government (read chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal) from clarifying to the people that most of the agitators in Brahmaputra valley were debating with imaginary facts. Sonowal should (could) have taken some initiatives to counter the campaign with disinformation and finally educate the people about actual contents of the bill, added the statement.





Taking advantage of the chief ministers silence over the citizenship bill, many started raising voices in full public view that Sonowal must clarify his stand (whether he is with the locals or Bangladeshi people). Even the separatist elements like United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent) has reportedly stepped into the trouble water to get advantage of the situation, where the rift between the Assamese and Bengali communities turn more visible.





The banned militant outfit may even try to mislead the Assamese community in Brahmaputra valley with the argument that the said bill is an imposition of New Delhi over Assam following the diktat of Bengali elements.





Hence the forum appealed to Prime Minister to clarify that the concerned bill is not at all Assam centric and there is no provision for inviting more Bangladeshi citizens after 31 December 2014. Public meetings, media advertisements and putting hoardings in responsive localities may be some affective ways for disseminating the information, stated the forum adding that PM Modi should somehow address growing anxieties of the Assamese community.





We prefer a healthy debate over the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 across the country. As Assam is boiling over the issue, the people here should get enlightened first about the bill so that they can participate in the debate with facts avoiding unnecessary emotions.




KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has hoped for generous support from neighbours to help Nepal achieve the goals of prosperity.





During his meeting with the visiting Chinas Minister of Culture and Tourism, Luo Shugang, at the Prime Ministers official residence, Baluwatar on Thrusday, PM Oli said, Support and cooperation from the neighbouring countries have been expected to meet the prosperity goals and additional support has been hoped from the close neighbours.

According to PM Olis foreign affairs advisor Rajan Bhattarai, on the occasion, the prime minister recalling the Nepal-China century-old relations, said the two countries were geographically so close that the people of both countries are drinking water from same mountains.





The Chinese minister apprised the prime minister that China was preparing to send a maximum number of tourists to Nepal in the Nepal Visit Year 2020 AD. Arrival of Chinese tourists in Nepal this year was 48 percent more when compared to figures in the previous year, he added.




Mahindra took its own sweet time to come out with its second generation - nearly 12 years.

Mahindra, as we know, is obsessed with building SUVs for India. No matter what budget you have, Mahindra has an SUV for you. However, one of its products has always had a huge fan following in India. So much so, that ever since it was first introduced back in 2002, over 6 lakh units have been sold till date. Yup, thats the Mahindra Scorpio were talking about. It is and has been Mahindras best selling passenger vehicle for more than a decade.

Mahindra took its own sweet time to come out with its second generation - nearly 12 years. However, it didnt waste much time to get a facelift up and running for the second-gen Scorpio. It was a much needed one too as many of its similarly priced SUV rivals have been eating away its market share. Speaking of which, the Scorpio competes with the Hyundai Creta, Tata Safari Storme, Nissan Terrano and Renault products - the Duster and the recently launched Captur.

In its refreshed avatar, the Mahindra Scorpio starts at Rs 9.97 lakh and goes all the way up to Rs 16.01 lakh (ex-showroom India). Before we get into the variant-wise description, lets quickly go through the standard specifications.

Vitals L x W x H (mm) 4,456 x 1,820 x 1,995 (1,930 for S3) Seating Capacity 7, 8, 9

Engine Specifications Engine 2.5-litre m2DICR 2.2-litre mHAWK 2.2-litre mHAWK Displacement 2,523cc 2,179cc 2,179cc Max. Power 75PS 120PS 140PS Max. Torque 200Nm 280Nm 320Nm

Colour options available: Pearl White, Napoli Black, Molten Red and DSAT Silver.

Please note that Mahindra has not shared the official figures for the ground clearance and the fuel efficiency of this SUV.

The refreshed Scorpio has received a host of changes, including the nomenclature of its variant names. The even numbers which followed after the S have been replaced by odd ones. Moreover, the variant list has also shrank from eight to just six this time around. The Shift-on-fly four-wheel drive (4WD) is available only in the top-end variant, with the most powerful engine. Transmission duties are handled by a 5-speed manual gearbox in the S3, S5 and S7 (120PS) variants, whereas a 6-speed manual takes over in the rest of the three variants. Lets get cracking and see whats what.

Variant: S3

Price: Rs 9.99 lakh

In its entry-level variant, the Scorpio is offered with the 2.5-litre m2DICR diesel engine, which isnt as powerful as either of the tunes of the 2.2-litre mHAWK motor. Heres a list of major features that you get for your money:

Manual AC Vinyl seat upholstery 7 and 9 side seating configuration available Tilt steering adjustment Manual central locking Headlamp leveling Remote fuel lid opener Engine immobiliser Micro hybrid technology

As youd expect, the base-spec Scorpio is short on convenience, power and safety. Even the wheels on this variant are just 15-inchers without any wheel caps, versus 17-inchers with full wheel caps in the S5. Priced just below Rs 10 lakh, this variant of the Scorpio can be ignored. It doesnt have enough for its gross weight, which, by the way, is over 2.5 tonnes. Because of that, the engine will need more pushing and hence wont return the best fuel economy either. In short, if you want the Scorpio, you need to start considering it from the S5 variant at least.

Variant: S5

Price: Rs 11.97 lakh

Price premium over S3: Rs 1.98 lakh

In this variant the 2.2-litre mHAWK diesel engine, producing 120PS/280Nm, replaces the bigger but less powerful m2DICR mill. However, the transmission unit remains the same 5-speed manual. So, what do you get for your extra money? Given below is the list of main features that the S5 gets over the S3 variant:

Body-coloured front and rear bumpers 17-inch steel rims with wheel caps Fabric seat upholstery One-touch lane change indicator 12V accessory socket for front and second row Follow-me-home headlamps Dual airbags ABS Panic brake indication Seat belt reminder lamp Speed sensing door locks Bigger bottle holder and cup holder

It is in this variant that the Scorpio starts to make more sense. The more powerful engine, bigger wheels and more kit on-board sum up to a more meaningful package. The added safety, which is rapidly becoming a key area of attention is also addressed with two airbags and ABS. This variant is well suited for anyone who has always loved the big, brawny looks of the Scorpio, but is on a tight budget. Sure, it isnt as feature loaded as it could be, but it does have almost all the basic features expected from a car of this size and price.

Variant: S7 (120PS)

Price: Rs 13.06 Lakh

Price premium over S5: Rs 1.09 lakh

The engine and transmission combination remains the same as the S5 variant. Yes, you guessed it! The extra amount is linked directly to the added features the S7 gets over the S5. Lets see what are the main ones of the lot:

Body-coloured side cladding, ORVMs and Door handles Height-adjustable drivers seat Armrest on front seats 7 side facing and 8 front facing seating configuration available Electrically adjustable ORVMs Roof-mounted sunglasses holder 2-din audio system with speakers and tweeters Rear defogger, wiper and washer Lead-me-to-vehicle headlamps Puddle lamps Projector headlamps Intellipark Voice assist system Anti-theft alert Silver skid plate, front grille inserts and rear number plate applique

Apart from the creature-comforts in the list above, the S7 variant also enhances the safety aspect, with a rear defogger, rear wiper with washer, anti-theft alert and the Intellipark technology which delivers visual and audio notifications while reverse parking into a slot. This variant is best suited for someone looking for an 8-seat layout, which is unavailable in the S3 and S5 variants. Moreover, at this price, the Scorpio comes with a handsome features package and comes with body-coloured panels. Moreover, the added ski rack on top of the roof comes in more than handy to transport oversized goods.

Variant: S7 (140PS)

Price: Rs 13.37 lakh

Price premium over S7 (120PS): Rs 31,000

The feature list in this S7 (140PS) variant remains exactly the same as the one above. What you do get for the extra Rs 31,000 is a more powerful engine, an 6-speed manual transmission and an improved braking setup. The 2.2-litre mHAWK engine in this variant develops 140PS of power and 320Nm of torque. Thats 20PS and 40Nm more! If you are eyeing the S7 variant, wed recommend that you spend Rs 31,000 extra and go with this more powerful one.

Variant: S9

Price: Rs 13.99 lakh

Price premium over S7: Rs 62,000

At a premium of Rs 62,000, this variant clearly justifies its price tag. It gets additional features which till now were only available on the more expensive top-spec S11 variant. The features on offer here are sure to make your daily usage and long-term ownership experience a lot more premium. The only necessary feature thats missing here is the rear parking camera which you can buy from the official accessories list of the Scorpio. In conclusion, it is the S9 variant which makes the most sense and offers the most value.

LED DRLs Cruise control Anti-pinch and auto roll driver window Gear shift indicator Front fog lamps Climate control Speed alert Driver information display through infotainment system ORVMs with side turn indicators 6-inch touchscreen with GPS and other connectivity options

Variant: S11

Price: Rs 15.14 lakh

Price premium over S9: Rs 1.15 lakh

Apart from the reverse parking camera and tyre pressure monitoring system, every other feature in the S11 variant is want based. Moreover, the premium of Rs 1.15 lakh is hardly justified for the amount of additional features you get over the S9. If you want the top-spec Scorpio S11 variant, we suggest you stretch your budget by Rs 1.23 lakh for the go-anywhere capability of the 4WD drivetrain and go for the next variant instead.

Rain sensing wipers Leather wrapped steering wheel and gear lever Auto headlamps Faux leather upholstery Chrome inserts on front grille Tyre pressure monitoring system Reverse parking camera with guidelines

Variant: S11 with 4WD

Price: Rs 16.37 lakh

Price premium over S11 (2WD): Rs 1.23 lakh

Like the S11, this variant also comes with the same combination of the 140PS/320Nm engine and 6-speed manual transmission. For the added cost, you get the shift-on-fly 4WD system.

Note: All prices mentioned above are ex-showroom India.

Also Read: Mahindra Scorpio: Old Vs New

Disclaimer: This article has not been edited by Deccan Chronicle and is taken from a syndicated feed. Photos: CarDekho.
The market research firm also noted that the FMCG companies in the top 50 contributed 60 per cent in value terms.

Mumbai: E-commerce's contribution to the total FMCG sales is expected to be 11 per cent by 2030, according to market research firm Nielsen. E-commerce contributed 0.4 per cent to FMCG sales in 2016 and in 2018 it is expected to be around 1.3 per cent of the branded packaged FMCG sales.

"Over the next 12 years, we expect e-commerce itself to be 11 per cent of FMCG sales, an 8X growth from its current size, Sameer Shukla, executive director, retail measurement services, South Asia, Nielsen (India), told reporters here. E-commerce is around 10 per cent of modern trade, while modern trade at present is 10 per cent of FMCG sales.

"E-commerce channel contribution to India FMCG sales now stands at over 1 per cent and has grown at over 101 per cent since last year. In specific product categories and markets the contribution is already touching double digits of total category value sales," he said.

He added that in categories like diaper there has been an upsurge in e-commerce from 4 per cent to 9 per cent since July 2016 to September 2018.

Modern trade itself has seen a growth over the last few years from growing at one-third of traditional trade in 2015 to 2X at present. From the third quarter in 2016 to third quarter of 2018, traditional trade grew at 2 per cent while modern trade at 23 per cent.

The growth in modern trade has been classified as 18 per cent from metros, 32 to percent from 5-10 lakh towns, 33 per cent from 1-5 lakh towns and 58 percent from less than 1 lakh towns.

Nielsen also noted that salary weeks witness 15-20 per cent higher sales compared to regular weeks in a given month and the tactical play adopted by modern trade retailers around big days or weeks (Republic Day, Independence Day, Diwali etc) is an essential ingredient for success in the fast growing modern trade channel.

In the third quarter of calendar year 2018, FMCG had a growth of 16 per cent largely led by volumes, with 81 per cent share or 13 percentage points and the remaining 3 percentage points from price changes. It also noted that north and east have contributed to the 16 per cent growth in the third quarter. Rural consumption is growing at a faster pace than urban with an index of 1.4X.

The market research firm also noted that the FMCG companies in the top 50 contributed 60 per cent in value terms, however the smaller manufacturers are driving the growth.

It noted that companies in the bracket of top 101 to 300 contributed 11 percent in terms of value however their growth was 12.8 per cent and in terms of the tail-end companies beyond the top 300, the contribution was 21 per cent while the growth was 18.5 per cent.

Regional players are growing at a faster clip at 27.7 per cent compared to national players at 11.7 per cent. The presence of regional players is predominantly in packaged food categories where they clocked 31 per cent growth in September 2018 on year.

This was nearly 3X times growth witnessed among national players. However for the last quarter of 2018, it expects the growth in FMCG to come down to 12-13 per cent.
Mumbai: Arjun Kapoor believes his next India's Most Wanted will ignite patriotism in people.

The film, a tribute to unsung heroes, centres around the capture of India's most wanted, without firing a single bullet.

The actor, who plays an intelligence officer in the film, wrapped up the project Monday.

"It is a scary and real story. It will be fascinating for audience to see it because when I heard about it, it left me in shock. Also, it made me feel proud to be an Indian. It is a film that will bring out your patriotic side," Arjun told PTI.

The actor said unsung heroes need to be respected and praised.

"Men in uniform defend and protect us but there are so many young heroes who protect us in plain clothes in plain sight. They are also the true unsung heroes and they deserve to be respected and applauded for keeping our country safe. The film is based on one such important event that changed the course of our country's history," he said.

Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, the film is slated to be released on May 24, 2019.

Gupta is co-producing with Fox Star Studios.

Arjun, 33, also has Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat in his kitty and this will be his first historical period drama. The film also features Kriti Sanon and Sanjay Dutt.

"Ashu sir is an expert in such films. My job as an actor is to be on the sets and play my character to the best of my ability. There are certain things that we are working on since few months. I begin filming by end of November. I still have some time to work on my character. I can't talk about it in detail as I feel at times it is better to do it and show, rather than speaking," he said.

According to reports, Arjun will play the role of Sadashiv Rao Bhau, the nephew of Peshwa Bajirao I. He served as commander-in-chief of the Maratha army in the third Battle of Panipat.

The actor has started prepping.

He confirmed saying, "I am playing a warrior in the film. There are certain basic things that I will have to keep in mind. We have started training in horse riding. We start practising sword fighting in the next coming weeks."
Mumbai: Warner Bros is set to release Aquaman in India on December 14, a week before the movie hits the US theatres.

The film, directed by James Wan, features Jason Momoa plays Aquaman.

The movie is the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime -- one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be.

Momoa, who is best known for playing Dothraki leader Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, said Aquaman has been his toughest role till date.

"Aquaman is the hardest movie I' ve done in my life, physically, and I had two stunt doubles. Both of them got hurt, and so did I. The sheer amount of stunts and action in this was insane," he said.

The film will release in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu across cinemas in India in 3D and IMAX 3D.

A special extended five minutes footage of Aquaman will be played with Fantastic Beats: The Crimes of Grindewald.

Aquaman also features Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master and Nicole Kidman as Arthur's mom, Atlanna.
A new study has discovered a certain probiotic supplement can increase bone volume, the Daily Mail reported.

Previous research has shown probiotics can help protect against disease-related bone loss.

"Because [probiotics'] mechanism of action in bone is unknown, they are regarded as some kind of alternative, esoteric, unproven treatment," senior author Dr Roberto Pacifici, a professor in the division of endocrinology at Emory University, told the Daily Mail.

Adding, "Our goal was to identify a biological mechanism of action of probiotics, a mechanism that makes sense to traditional scientists, hoping that this will make probiotics a mainstream treatment."

For the study, mice were treated with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), which ended in the secretion of a protein that is crucial for bone development.

Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, hope their findings could pave the way to probiotics becoming a more affordable treatment option for osteoporosis patients.
All injured have been admitted to a hospital in Bijapur. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Raipur: Five security personnel, including 4 BSF jawans, and a civilian were injured after Naxals blew up a truck with an IED in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.

The incident took place at around 9 am at Bijapur Ghati, located around 7 km from Bijapur town, Deputy Inspector General (anti-Naxal operations), Sundarraj P said.

"Four Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, belonging to 414th battalion, a District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan, and a civilian, who was driving the vehicle, received injuries in the improvised explosive device (IED) blast," he said.

All injured were shifted to a local hospital in Bijapur, P Sundarraj added.

Bijapur was among the 18 constituencies that voted in the first phase of the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh on Monday.

(With PTI inputs)
K Chandrasekhar Rao will contest from Gajwel constituency for the Assembly polls on December 7. (Photo: File)

Hyderabad: Telangana's caretaker Chief Minister and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao filed his nomination papers as a candidate for Gajwel Assembly constituency on Wednesday.

Rao visited Lord Balaji temple at Koinapally village in Siddipet district and offered prayers before filing his nomination before the returning officer.

The Congress has pitted Vanteru Pratap Reddy against him. Reddy had contested against Rao unsuccessfully in the 2014 Assembly elections on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket. Later he joined the Congress.

"I took Swamy's (Lord Balaji) blessings before starting the separate Telangana movement. I always enter the battlefield (elections) with the blessings of the Swamy and you (people). The biggest battle I won is achieving Telangana statehood. With your and Swamy's blessings we are going to win 100 seats (in the upcoming Assembly polls)," Rao said.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief was accompanied by his nephew and caretaker Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who is contesting from the neighbouring Siddipet constituency.

Rao claimed that Telangana is the only state where Dalits and member of Scheduled Tribe communities are progressing and wished the farmers of the state become prosperous.

He appealed to the people to ensure Harish Rao's victory by a margin of one lakh votes. The 119-member Telangana Assembly was dissolved on September 6 on the recommendation of the Chandrasekhar Rao-led government, more than eight months ahead of the expiry of its term, paving way for early elections.

Polls will be held on December 7 and the counting will take place on December 11.
Addressing other ASEAN leaders, he appreciated the achievements ASEAN has made under the chairmanship of Singapore and thanked Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong for his contributions.He stressed that basing on what have been obtained in 2018, ASEANs resilience and innovation must continue to be promoted in the coming years.The Vietnamese Government leader also urged ASEAN members to deepen cooperation and expand dialogues to build trust, uphold international law, support a rule-based international multilateral system, and enhance cooperation in innovation areas to optimize opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and bring the most practical benefits to their people.PM Phuc shared Vietnams initiatives on a regional digital platform, a cross-ASEAN mobile network, an ASEAN technology university and a regional disaster alert system.During his speech, the Vietnamese leader called the recent developments in the East Sea a grave concern for countries in the region as unilateral moves could lead to heightened risk of confrontation.He emphasised the principles agreed upon by ASEAN, which involve respecting international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in the peaceful settlement of disputes, exercising self-restraint, not using or threatening to use force, not militarising or complicating the situation, enhancing the building of trust, developing an effective and substantive code of conduct (COC), and fully and seriously implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).PM Phuc also voiced his support for ASEAN playing an active role in helping Myanmar address humanitarian issues in Rakhine State, as well as for efforts to promote peace, stability and denuclearisation in the Korean Peninsula.At the session, PM Lee Hsien Loong pointed out important issues that ASEAN need to focus on: building a peaceful, stable and rule-based region, sustaining the economic dynamism of ASEAN, and strengthening the blocs capacity to effectively ensure regional security and stability.He noted that ASEAN has been making progress in dialogue and cooperation to address those issues.Lee also highlighted the strides in the talks on the COC between ASEAN and China. However, he also said the East Sea situation remains complex, urging unanimity in the blocs common stance and adherence to the agreed principles in bolstering trust and preventing risks of instability.Other regional leaders shared the view that under Singapores chairmanship tagline of Resilient and Innovative in 2018, the bloc has continued to firmly hold its central role and improve ASEAN-led dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, thus contributing to regional peace and stability and attaining positive outcomes in building the ASEAN Community.They also noted the challenges posed by both complex global and regional changes and issues within the bloc itself.They reiterated the foremost requirement for ASEANs unity and centrality, along with an open, transparent and rule-based cooperation architecture in the region with ASEAN at the centre.Member countries agreed that ASEAN needs to make efforts to facilitate dialogue, cooperation and trust building, including fruitful negotiations on the COC, peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of international and the 1982 UNCLOS, and full and effective implementation of the DOC.They also promised continued support for Myanmar to seek long-term and sustainable solutions to humanitarian issues in Rakhine State, while applauding the recent progress in the Korean Peninsula and expressing support for efforts to promote peace, stability and denuclearisation in this peninsula.At the end of the meeting, ASEAN leaders pledged their support for Thailand, who will hold the groupings chairmanship for 2019.

VNA
'I'm honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people,' US President Donald Trump said. (Photo: Twitter | @realDonaldTrump)

Washington/New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday described India as "very good negotiators" as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with top Indian-Americans and said he is "grateful" for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," Trump said before lighting the ceremonial Diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House. It is the second consecutive year that Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we're working. And it's moving along," Trump said referring to the India-US trade deal negotiations that have started between the two largest democracies of the world.

Along with nearly two dozen top Indian American officials of his Administration, President Trump had invited the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, his wife Dr Avina Sarna, and his special assistant Pratik Mathur to be present during the White House Diwali celebrations.

"I'm honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people. We're gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family and friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New year: very special new year," Donald Trump said.

Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year. https://t.co/epHogpTY1A pic.twitter.com/9LUwnhngWJ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

The first White House Diwali celebrations was held in 2003 under the then US President George W Bush, who never attended the celebrations in person. A senior administration official represented him. It was mostly held in the India Treaty Room of Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.
Chennai: Cuddalore, which is expected to bear the brunt of cyclone Gaja's fury, and six other districts in close proximity are on high alert and people living in low-lying areas have been asked to move to safer places. The National and State Disaster Response Force personnel have been deployed and the state government has said inter-departmental teams have been formed and are fully equipped to launch rescue operation.

Gaja, presently located at about 690 km east-northeast of Chennai and 790 km east-northeast of Nagapattinam, is likely to move west-southwestwards and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 24 hours. It is likely to make a landfall between Pamban and Cuddalore on the forenoon of November 15. During landfall, wind speeds are expected to be as high as 115 kmph along and off TN and Puducherry coasts.

The sea condition too has been predicted to be rough to very rough along TN and AP coasts from November 14 morning. However, the cyclone's intensity is expected to weaken as it makes its landfall. The waves, according to IMD, are likely to rise to about one metre and inundate low-lying areas of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram districts besides Karaikal at the time of landfall. Damage is expected in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into central and south Bay of Bengal from November 13 to 15.

As far as Chennai is concerned, the city may experience rains from the midnight of November 14 but may be spared, say Met officials.

Rescue, medical teams, equipment ready to tackle emergency:

According to revenue minister R. B. Udayakumar medical teams have been formed to provide medicare. Generators have been stationed at vantage points to bale out the water in case of inundation and mobile medical teams are also in place. Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday Udayakumar urged the public to remain safe indoors and avoid travel during the stormy hours.

Municipal administration minister S.P. Velumani said about Rs 4.86 crore worth equipment including electric saw, suction machines besides generators have been kept ready to be used during any rescue operation. About 30 pumps to bale out water and 100 two kv generators, 6 modern hydraulic lifts have been bought for the occasion, he said.

Says NDRF Deputy Commander Vairavanathan, the government has sought eight teams as the east coast districts may get affected due to Gaja. Three teams have been dispatched to Nagapattinam as the cyclone has drifted towards Nagapattinam. We will know further based on IMD's updates. We will be going to Vedaranyam for recce. Only then we will have an idea on how to go about while rescuing marooned people.

According to Nagapattinam district Collector Suresh Kumar the district administration is fully prepared to deal with any emergencies that may arise due to Gaja cyclone. Apart from establishing 24-hours control room at the Collectorate and other government offices, nine multipurpose evacuation shelters and 22 cyclone relief centres have been readied to accommodate the displaced families. In addition schools, marriage halls and private buildings besides 627 new buildings have also been identified to shelter people, if required.

Further, 14 stationary medical centres and 19 mobile units have been readied and about 4,450 persons including 653 women have been drafted for relief and rescue activities. Also for the first time in the country, special teams have been formed to rescue cattle, he said and urged the public to utilise the toll free number 1077.

Steps have been taken to ensure the fishermen return home safely, says commissioner of revenue administration K. Satyagopal. Message has been sent across to those on the deep sea fishing vessels. We have involved the Indian navy and Coast Guard to communicate to the fishermen and ensure their safe return, he said.
New Delhi: With just a few weeks left for Rajasthan assembly elections, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said they will contest the December 7 polls along with other senior leaders of the state.

Denying reports of any rifts within the party, Gehlot said, "We are all united. It is BJP's conspiracy to spread false news that the Congress is divided."

In a setback to Rajasthan's ruling BJP ahead of next month's elections, the party's Dausa MP Harish Chandra Meena joined the Congress on Wednesday.

Meena, a former director general of police, joined the Congress in the presence of Gehlot, Sachin Pilot and AICC's state in-charge Avinash Pande.

"I am happy that Harish Meena has decided to join the Congress in such times. I welcome him in the Congress fold," Gehlot said

However, BJP leader Kirori Lal Meena retorted saying that Meena's venture into Congress will have no impact on tribal votes in Dausa and its nearby regions in the state polls next month.

There will be no impact. People know who is an opportunist and an opportunist can go anywhere, Kirori Lal Meena, a Rajya Sabha MP, said.
Centre told the Supreme Court that there is no sovereign guarantee from French government on delivery of 36 Rafale jets but there is a letter of comfort from the French prime minister. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a bunch of petitions demanding a probe into the Rafale deal.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph today concluded the arguments advanced by various parties which have sought court-monitored probe into procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The pleas also sought registration of FIR in connection with the alleged irregularities in the deal.

The hearing comes two days after the Centre submitted in a sealed cover handed over a 14-page document titled "Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order" to the petitioners in the case.

The government had also filed in the court in a sealed cover the pricing details of the Rafale jets.

Here are updates of SCs examination of details of Rafale deal:

03:47 pm: The Air Marshal and Vice-Marshals can go back. It is a different war game here in court. You can go to the actual war rooms, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi after hearing senior Indian Air Force officials on issue of Rafale deal.

03:21 pm: The Supreme Court reserved verdict on a bunch of petitions demanding a probe into the Rafale deal.

02:56 pm: Centre told the Supreme Court that there is no sovereign guarantee from French government on delivery of 36 Rafale jets but there is a letter of comfort from the French prime minister.

02:43 pm: The Supreme Court has asked Additional Secretary Defence as to why the offset guidelines were changed in 2015. What about country's interest? What if the offset partner doesn't do any production? the apex court asked.

02:38 pm: Attorney General KK Venugopal appearing for the Centre said, Dassault has not yet submitted details of offset partner to government.

02:35 pm: The Supreme Court asked about the change in offset guidelines in 2015. Additional Secretary of the Defence Ministry explained the defence offset guideline to the court and said that the offset contract runs concurrently with the main contract.

02:30 pm: Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari and two other officers from Indian Air Force told Supreme Court that Sukhoi 30s was the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and added that they do not have 4th or 5th generation aircraft. The court then said that "it means there has been no induction of aircrafts since 1985".

"India needed 4 plus generation fighters that is why the Rafale jet was selected," they added.

02:22 pm: CJI Ranjan Gogoi asked Air Vice Marshal Chalapathi about latest inductions to Indian Air Force.

02:15 pm: Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari, two other officers appear in SC to assist bench on Rafale deal.

01:05 pm: The Supreme Court bench hearing Rafale case rises for lunch. Hearing to continue at 2 pm.

01:04 pm: Decision we need to take is whether or not to bring pricing facts in public domain, Supreme Court on Rafale deal.

01:03 pm: Any discussion on pricing of Rafale fighter jets can only take place if facts are allowed to come in public domain, Supreme Court during Rafale hearing.

12:54 pm: Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said, Any debate on pricing of the Rafale deal comes only if this Court decides those aspects needs to come in public domain.

12:53 pm: Attorney General K K Venugopal who appeared for the Centre said, Pricing details have been given in a sealed cover but there are factors like inter- governmental agreement which barred its disclosure.

12:45 pm: Attorney General KK Venugopal appearing for the Centre told the Supreme Court that secrecy was not on the price of aircraft but on weaponry and avionics. The price of Rafale with break up of weapons and avionics has been shared with the Court, but Court cannot sit in judicial review on it, he said.

12:30 pm: CJI Ranjan Gogoi asks Attorney General KK Venugopal, "Is any officer from Indian Air Force present in court to answer the queries on the issue? After all we are dealing with the air force, we would have liked to ask from the officer of Air force on the issue."

12:24 pm: The Supreme Court refused to take on record some papers which Arun Shourie wanted to place before it.

11:54 am: We are giving you full hearing. Use it carefully, cite only necessary things, CJI Gogoi to advocate Bhushan during Rafale hearing.

11:53 am: Government hiding behind secrecy clause, has not disclosed price of Rafale jets, Advocate Bhushan told the Supreme Court during Rafale hearing.

11:52 am: Prashant Bhushan submitted, on pricing there cant be any secrecy issue when government itself disclosed the price in Parliament. Its a bogus argument for government to say they cant disclose pricing. In new deal, Rafale jets cost 40 per cent more than earlier deal.

11:48 am: Attorney General K K Venugopal opposes advocate Prashant Bhushan who wants to submit information on secrecy clause of Rafale agreement.

11:13 am: Senior Supreme Court lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, told the court that there was no sovereign guarantee from the side of the France government in the deal.

11:12 am: Prashant Bhushan, appearing for former Union minister Arun Shourie, who is also one of the petitioners in the Rafale deal case, submitted to the three-judge apex Court that only in three situations, the intergovernmental route can be resorted.

10:56 am: Counsel appearing for AAP leader Sanjay Singh tells the Supreme Court that pricing of the 36 Rafale jet deal was revealed in the Parliament twice, hence, the submission of government that pricing details cannot be made public was not acceptable.

10:53 am: Petitioner advocate ML Sharma tells the Supreme Court that report filed by the government reveals that there has been serious fraud while making the decision post May 2015.The petitioner urges the apex court that the matter be heard by a five-judge bench.
Bengaluru: BJP national president, Amit Shah, who arrived in Mangaluru Wednesday evening, is expected to hold a series of meetings on Thursday with the party's Karnataka and Kerala units and RSS leaders of both states.

While there is speculation that Mr Shah could take stock of the political situation in Karnataka following the recent by-polls, which proved most disappointing to the party, BJP insiders say it is highly unlikely that his focus will be on the state when five assembly elections are due in other states.

In their view, he could be here to discuss the row over the Supreme Court verdict overthrowing an age old tradition and allowing women below 50 into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. "He seems to be keen on discussing Sabarimala. With the Supreme Court fixing a date for the hearing, he may want to draw up a strategy," they add, explaining that if Mr Shah went to Kerala directly to hold talks on the subject, it could be seen as instigating people on Sabarimala. But discussing it in Mangaluru would be safe.

Also, the party could be interested in keeping the subject alive even after the Sabarimala temple closes after Makara Sankranti, which could put an end to the controversy mid-January.

The discussion could centre around what strategy needs to be adopted to keep the issue relevant in months to come, claim the BJP leaders.
Hyderabad: The XIV Additional district judge and president of the Telangana Judges Association, Vaidya Vara Prasad, has been booked by the Anti Corruption Bureau in a disproportionate assets case. ACB personnel carried out searches at nine locations in TS and Maharashtra and unear-thed illegal properties worth Rs 3 crore.

Based on a complaint received against the Judge, the High Court conducted an internal inquiry. Following this the court permitted the ACB to book a case against the Judge in accordance with the law.

The Judge is accused of acquiring nine properties against his legal source of income. It includes one flat at Kondapur and three in Dilsukhnagar. Investiga-tion revealed he along with family made several foreign tours. During the searches, several documents related to assets and huge expenditure was unearthed, said an ACB official. On the order of the High Court judicature a case of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income was registered against the Judge under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Liquor sales in AP remained stable after bifurcation and there was no improvement in sales as in Telangana state. Experts blame the AP Prohibition and Excise departments failure to control illicit distillation of liquor in most parts of the state.

ANANTAPUR: There is an abnormal rise of liquor consumption in Telangana state while AP could not improve sales for the last four-and-a-half years after bifurcation. Telangana states revenue through liquor sales was reportedly Rs 17,000 crore, and this is a weapon for the Congress and other Opposition parties. The Congress is attacking the TRS on the slogan, Madhyam Telangana instead of Bangaru Telangana during the ongoing election campaign.

Liquor sales in AP remained stable after bifurcation and there was no improvement in sales as in Telangana state. Experts blame the AP Prohibition and Excise departments failure to control illicit distillation of liquor in most parts of the state.

The Andhra Pradesh government has been im-plementing Navodayam', a massive awareness campaign against ID liquor in the villages. Except for the four districts of Kurnool, Krishna, East Godavari and Chittoor, the others were declared ID-free.

A senior official who was with the task force on excise and prohibition said that even ID-free districts were seeing ID liquor preparation. In Anantapur district, several tribal areas continued to brew their own liquor using slippers, torch cells and harmful materials.

While Navodayam failed to curb ID liquor preparation and consumption that impacted revenue of the state, the Telangana government successfully controlled ID liquor and sales in the new state. The consumption of Indian-made liquor was about 4 lakh litres a day in Telangana state four years ago which has almost doubled and now equals that of Andhra Pradesh.

Perhaps, strict implementation against belt shops hit duty paid liquor sales in AP.

Regular consumers in remote areas cannot get liquor at their doorstep. Previously belt shops were reportedly selling duty paid liquor by purchasing from nearby shops in their jurisdiction, an official observed.

Last October, the Urban Nutrition Report by the National Institute of Nutrition found AP and Telangana state stood second in the number of men in urban areas consuming liquor at 37.4 per cent. The survey carried out in urban areas found that Andaman and Nicobar Islands topped with 51.3 per cent men drinking alcohol.
An internal inquiry was conducted and the allegation against him was proved, said the source.

Hyderabad: The XIV Additional district judge and president of the Telangana Judges Association, Vaidya Vara Prasad, has been booked by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in a disproportionate assets case.

A source told this newspaper that Vaidya Vara Prasad dealt with civil and criminal cases at the L B nagar court. He was facing several allegations of corruption. Several complaints were filed against him in the HC.

An internal inquiry was conducted and the allegation against him was proved, said the source. For over six months, he was barred from passing judgment in court. Prasad's request to extend his tenure by two years was turned down by the High Court. He is scheduled to retire in December.

In April this year, the ACB had booked the first Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Radha Krishna Murthy of the Nampally court for demanding a bribe from an accused in a narcotics case. And in March, the ACB raided the properties of judicial officer M Gandhi and booked him for disproportionate assets under the Prevention of Corruption Act. This is the third judge booked for corruption.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court said pricing details of Rafale jets could only be discussed after it decides on whether to make it public, and reserved its order Wednesday on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the multi-billion deal amid the governments vehement opposition to any public disclosure.

The observation by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi came after the government refused to publicly divulge pricing details of the deal, saying it would give an advantage to Indias enemies.

Hearing a bunch of pleas alleging criminality in the Rafale deal and seeking a court-monitored probe into it, the court asked wide-ranging questions from the government on several issues, including the lack of a sovereign guarantee from the French government, the selection of the Indian offset partner by Dassault Aviation and the need to enter into an inter-government agreement with France.

The three-judge bench took note of submissions and counter-arguments on pricing of the fighter jets with the petitioners alleging that the government had been giving bogus arguments and hiding behind the secrecy clause.
The city leader congratulated the Chilean ambassador being appointed on the working term in Vietnam.



At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong affirmed that Vietnam- Chile relationship has strongly developed since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1971 and have become the comprehensive partners since 2007.

Chairman Phong said that Ho Chi Minh City always pays attention to promoting further cooperation relationship with the partner as well as the countrys localities, especially in the fields of investment and trade.



Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong also shared with Chilean Ambassador about the citys development goals to become a center for economy, finance, science and technology in the region as well as to develop a smart city.



Chilean Ambassador to Vietnam, Jaime Chomali expressed his impression for the citys possitive development, and desired to boost stronger the relationship between Chile and Vietnam in general and between Chile and Ho Chi Minh City in particular.









BY THUY VU- Translated by Huyen Huong
Hyderabad: TRS president and caretaker Chief Minister of Telangana K. Chandrasekhar Rao filed his nomination papers from Gajwel Assembly constituency for the December 7 state elections on Wednesday.

Mr Rao stuck to his usual practice of having darshan of Lord Venkateswara at the Konaipally temple in Nangunuru mandal of Siddipet district before filing his papers.

He was accompanied by the caretaker minister and nephew T. Harish Rao and a few security personnel. He placed his nomination papers at the feed of the deity and received blessings from the temple priests.

Mr Rao was greeted by a large number of villagers as he walked to the temple, leaving his convoy at a distance. Speaking to the locals after the prayers, Mr Rao said Lord Venkateswara of Konaipally had been the great source of support in every battle that he had fought.

He said the blessing of the deity had helped him in overcoming every major problem to address the needs of the state. The credit for Telangana state securing the number one ranking in many aspects goes to the shrine, he said.

He said that with the blessing of Lord Venkateswara at Konaipally, the TRS would sweep the polls and win more than 100 seats. He said that Telangana state which had achieved the highest growth rate in the country should be known in future for its prosperous farmers. He said the state government had created enough opportunities for other communities also to prosper.

He appealed to the voters to elect Mr Harish Rao with a majority of one lakh votes at Siddipet. He said water from the Kaleswaram project would flow into the constituency by next year, and the water would be used for performing abhishekham of the lord.
Hyderabad: Would it be possible for the Congress party to come to power in Telangana, or for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi to regain power with their party chiefs claim of hitting a century in the assembly elections next month?

Though there is some anger and a certain amount of anti-incumbency sentiment, there is no discernible anti-TRS wave in the state. Nor is there evidence of a strong wave in favour of the Congress.

The TRS is contesting alone in all 119 seats, whereas the Congress has allied with the Telugu Desam, Communist Party of India and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) led by Professor Kodandaram. This grand alliance or Mahakutami is contesting 119 seats. The Congress will field 95 candidates, the Telugu Desam, 14, the TJS, eight, and the CPI three.

Political analysts say that if the Congress wants to come to power it has to cross 65 seats on its own; it would not depend on either the TJS or the TD. The TJS can at the most make a dent in the TRS vote bank.

The CPI had won only one seat in the 2014 elections and the TD had won 15 seats, including Sanathnagar, Jubilee Hills, LB Nagar, Qutubullapur, Ibrahimpatnam, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally and Maheswaram assembly segments, where people from Andhra live. This time it may not get as many seats going by the response to the GHMC elections which the TRS won overwhelmingly.

The TRS had won only 63 seats out of 119 seats in the state in the 2014 elections, though the pro-Telangana sentiment was strong then. TRS leaders had admitted that they could not win seats in Greater Hyderabad due to apprehensions in the minds of Andhra people about the TRS.

But things have changed. In the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in 2016, Andhra people had voted for the TRS. Analysts say that the TD could win three or four seats this time that too mainly within GHMC limits. In a better case scenario, it may get seven or eight seats. It will not be easy for the Congress to win athe 65 seats it needs to keep the TRS from regaining power.

TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao has proclaimed from the beginning that his party will win more than 100 seats. Though the TRS is contesting 119 seats, it has to minus the seven seats of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) due to their political record after the delimitation of Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the year 2008.

In the 2009 and 2014 elections the MIM won from Chandrayanagutta, Karwan, Nampally, Bahadurpura, Malakpet, Charminar and Yakutpura segments. If the MIM chiefs claim that this can be repeated turns into reality, the fight will be between the TRS and Congress-led Mahakutami for the 111 seats.

But chances of the BJP regaining its five seats cannot be ruled out, and the CPI and CPM may also retain one seat each. Given these circumstances, it would be difficult for the TRS to bag 100 seats.
The ashes of Ananth Kumar being immersed in Cauvery at Srirangapatna in Mandya on Wednesday. (Photo: KPN)

Bengaluru: While the state BJP leadership has taken no decision yet on who should succeed late Union Minister, H.N. Ananthkumar in his Bengaluru South parliamentary constituency, the party's city unit is backing his wife, Tejaswini to fill his shoes.

Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister, R. Ashok , who was a close associate of Mr. Ananth Kumar, said the natural choice was 'Madam' (Tejaswini Ananth Kumar).

"We are confident we will be able to convince her to continue the legacy of Mr. Ananth Kumar in Bengaluru South parliamentary constituency. We have not yet discussed this with her as yet as this it is not the right time to raise it. But once the rituals are completed, we will sit and discuss it with the family and persuade madam to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Bengaluru South," he added.

But should Ms Tejaswini refuse to contest the poll, the party's next choice could be Basavanagudi MLA, Ravi Subramannya, according to him. Mr Ashok explained that the party's focus was currently on the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and it would not talk about Mr Ananth Kumar's successor in Bengaluru South until they were completed.

While he maintained he was not interested in entering national politics himself, he indicated he was ready to lead the Bengaluru BJP in Mr. Ananth Kumar's place "with guidance from party leaders like Subbanna, V.Somanna and Aravinda Limbavalli."

Although he did not rule out the possibility of the party also considering Union Minister, D.V. Sadananda Gowda to lead the Bengaluru BJP, the idea did not seem to appeal to him.

Mr. Ananth Kumar's passing has left me orphaned as we had a good personal equation and working relationship in the party. He guided me all these years and persuaded me to accept the health portfolio in the Kumaraswamy cabinet in 2006. Many leaders in the party made desperate attempts to part us, but they didn't succeed," Mr. Ashok asserted.

B01/05
Various socio-economic, political, evolutionary and even climatic factors can influence the nature and dynamics of armed insurgency. The form of terror attacks depends mostly on the situation on the ground that supports or warrants one approach over the other. The landmark 1983 Beirut bombing attacks on the US embassy and later at the Marine barracks that led to over 350 deaths had introduced the concept of suicide attacks, a tactic that was subsequently pioneered by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. While the Beirut attacks had entailed vehicles laden with explosives, the predominant tactic copied and deployed by the Tamil Tigers was through the suicide vests that had killed Indias former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, and two years later, sitting Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in May 1993, among many other brazen attacks. The unventilated and unrelenting presence of the significant other (in terms of the opposing military or civil population that is violently divided on sectarian, religious or ideological lines) within the core conflict zone generates the opportunity to carry out such suicide attacks. This has since been taken up by the Palestinian group Hamas, other religiously-inspired terror organisation in the Syrian-Iraqi swathes and by groups on either side of the AfPaks Durand Line.

Another evolutionary phenomenon of technology-enabled radicalisation has been the deadly menace of lone-wolf attacks that take place without the command-infrastructural support or wherewithal of terror outfits. These are typically attributable to elements that are even beyond the sleeper cells of organisations, and are inspired to do so out of a sense of revenge, retribution or misplaced religious convictions. There is usually an undercurrent of perceived injustice, humiliation or suppressed marginalisation that accompanies the perpetrators psyche and frustrations, leading up to the attack. More often than not, the lone-wolf attacks occur where the perpetrators are driven to do so in the absence of an opportunity to join a larger group or where the perpetrator belongs to a minority populace. The third shade of terror tact is the sniper attack, which is routinely seen in urban domains, with the essential difference between it and the suicide attack or lone wolf attack being that the intent of the perpetrator is not to fight till the end, but instead to cause the maximum damage and get away without getting caught or neutralised. The sniper attack is usually a reaction to the situational inability to undertake a mobilised head-on and full-frontal attack for reasons that veer around tight security arrangements or the lack of infrastructural firepower to undertake composite attacks.

In conflict zones where the battles are more amongst equals, the attacks are more of a head-on nature  whereas, the shoot and scoot dynamics of the sniper attack suggests a more uneven balance of control within the conflict zone. The suicide attack or the lone-wolf attacks, besides being an indicator of control imbalance, is additionally suggestive of a certain desperation and inability to persist with conventional militancy. The Kashmir insurgency has had various evolutionary phases and shades of terror attacks, though it has been relatively spared suicide attacks, lone wolf and sniper attacks till very recently. The Kashmir militancy has been fought under the deliberate shadows of civilian mob-mobilisation as a protective cover, to essentially ensure a shoot and scoot strategy, albeit rarely by an individual, and invariably by a group of terrorists. Very recently, however, the sniper attack tactic that was commonly seen at the Line of Control has been witnessed in the Valley hinterland as well, with the militants targeting the security forces at distances of 500-600 meters. Suspected to be armed with advanced M-4 carbines with night-visions, certain trained terrorists are forcing a rethink in the security standard-operating-procedures in line with those along the LoC.

With the onset of early winter and the imminent closure of the traditional cross-border infiltration routes via the mountain passes and ravines  a certain lull in the practical backup from across the border forces a tactical retreat in the brazenness of terror attacks. The civilian population too is less responsive to the call of cover to militants during search and cordon operations by the security forces, leading to a desperation that could trigger hitherto-unpractised acts like sniper attacks or in some cases of desperation even suicide attacks by a cornered and restless group, or even lone wolf attacks. As the LoC has got increasingly impermeable over the years, the pressure to sustain the insurgency is clearly focused on generating internal traction from within the Valley. This has led to coordinated and violent civic strife in the form of stone-pelting, mob mobilisation around encounter zones in particular and other desperate measures to intimidate individuals or the families of security personnel from among Kashmiri locals. Certain incidents of local policemen deserting their duties and joining the ranks of militants, as indeed locally-educated youth joining militant groups, point to systematic efforts to up the ante internally.

Against the conventional approach of tackling cross-border infiltration at the LoC itself and expecting coordinated terror attacks from organised groups in Valley, the new reality is more attuned for localised uprisings, individual-driven acts in the form of sniper attacks or in extreme cases, even suicide attacks  due to sheer desperation given the inability to mount a conventional attack. This calls for a specific, calibrated and more localised approach in dealing with security challenges, including co-option of locals in a deliberate attempt to integrate them socio-economically, politically and psychologically. The epicentre and levers of angst will more and more emanate from within the Valley, as opposed to across the border. In such scenarios local intelligence and having a finger on the pulse is invaluable. Thus, any attempt to blunt local engagement and thawing may project a false political muscularity to the rest of the country, but it would be disastrous for the safety, security and peace of the Valley. While the absence of political representation during Governors Rule is harmful in the long run, a genuine attempt to co-opt local Kashmiris without the short-term and narrow agendas of political parties, along with some steel in the security framework, could address the insurgency in an embracing, workable and sustainable manner.

H11
Devotion to Prophets is one of the basic creeds of Islamic faith. And an infinite and unconditional love for Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the pillar of ones belief in his Risalat (prophethood). Significantly, just as Tawheed (oneness of God) is the basic tenet, Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (finality of prophethood) is the cornerstone of Islam. Therefore, Muslims of all denominations hold the last Prophet (pbuh) in the highest esteem. It can be deeply felt in an Urdu couplet of the poet-philosopher Allama Iqbal, who wrote in his celebrated Jawab-e-Shikwa:

Ki Mohammed Se Wafa Tune, To Hum Tere Hain,

Yeh Jahan Kya Cheez Hai Loh-O-Qalam Tere Hain.

(We are yours only with your loyalty towards Prophet Muhammad. Let alone this universe, even the tablet and the pen are yours.)

In fact, showing veneration to the Prophets holiness is reckoned as the foundation of Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf). Jalaluddin Rumi, the Turkish whirling dervish, was so engrossed in an unconditional love for the Prophet that he saw him in a pious dream and said: There has never been a beauty like that of Prophet Muhammad in this world or the next. May the glory of God help him!

Rumi devoted the entire Masnavi, his masterpiece, popularly called the Persian Quran to the exaltation of the Prophet (pbuh). He writes:

I bring blessings upon you, (O Muhammad),

so that the breeze of proximity (to God) may increase.

Since, with nearness of the whole,

all parts are allowed to approach.

Another Persian Sufi poet and writer of sizeable mystical literature, Jaami, was so deeply in love with the Prophet that he would compose poems for his holiness to comfort his heartache.

My soul is breaking into pieces in your separation,

And my heart is becoming weak due to my sins, O Prophet.

I am drowned in your love and the chain of your love binds my heart.

Yet I dont know this language of love, O Prophet.

As a matter of fact, this degree of love for the Prophet, which is an integral part of the divine path, is enunciated in the Quran:

Say, (O Muhammad), if you should love Allah, then follow me, (so) Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is forgiving and merciful. (3:31)

Thus, the Quran categorically asked the Prophet himself to enjoin his companions in the maximum exaltation, love and respect for his holiness and be cautious in this, to the extent of not even lowering their voices, as mentioned in another verse. But the deepest love in the truest sense is to emulate the beloved as an example for all life. Rumi rightly says: If Muhammad does not make a path in our hearts, He does not exist in our hearts.

The best part to emulate from the Prophets life is truthfulness, trustworthiness and tenderness. Jaami writes in Persian:

Gul az rukhat aamokhta nazuk badani ra badani ra,

Bulbul ze tu aamokhta shireen sukhani ra, sukhani ra.

(Flower has learnt tender-being from your face,

And nightingale has learnt from you the sweet words)

H11
There are approximately 500,000 Sikhs in the US. In the wake of the 2012 Oak Creek, Wisconsin massacre inside a gurdwara, the FBI finally agreed to begin tracking anti-Sikh hate crimes in 2015. (Representational Photo: AP/File)

Washington: Over 8,400 hate crime incidents including 24 against Sikhs, 15 against Hindus and over 300 against Muslims were reported in the US in 2017, according to an FBI report.

The report released on Tuesday is topped with 1,678 hate crimes committed against the Jews.

In all, as many as 8,437 hate crimes were recorded in the year 2017. Nine anti Buddhist hate crimes were also registered last year, the report said.

According to the report, a total of 24 anti-Sikh, 15 anti-Hindu and 314 anti-Muslim hate crimes were reported in the US.

The Sikh Coalition, a community-based organisation that defends Sikh civil rights, said that in 2017, it received 12 anti-Sikh hate crime cases and tracked a total of 24 anti-Sikh hate-related incidents nationwide.

This figure alone is under representative of the problem since many individuals impacted by hate do not report the incidents. For the reported cases to law enforcement, a historical challenge is that agencies routinely fail to identify bias during investigations. Even when they do, they often do not report it to federal authorities, so the data never shows up in the statistics, it said.

Even with incomplete data, this new report shows our elected officials that hate in America is thriving and profoundly impacting the safety and well-being of minority communities nationwide, said Sim Singh, Sikh Coalition senior advocacy manager.

He said politicians were culpable when they drive divisive policies and bigoted political rhetoric that routinely puts lives at greater risk.

There are approximately 500,000 Sikhs in the US. In the wake of the 2012 Oak Creek, Wisconsin massacre inside a gurdwara, the FBI finally agreed to begin tracking anti-Sikh hate crimes in 2015.

There has been a rise in racism and crimes against South Asian Americans since the November 2016 election of President Donald Trump, first Indian-origin US Senator Kamala Harris said recently, calling on Americans to stand united and speak the truth to deal with these issues.

Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed in Kansas in Midwestern US in February last year.

A 43-year-old Indian-origin store owner Harnish Patel was shot dead outside his home in South Carolina on March 2.

A 39-year-old Sikh man Deep Rai was injured on March 3 when an unidentified person shot him outside his home in the city of Kent.

An Indian-origin girl was racially abused on a train by an African-American man in New York on February 23.
Marvel buffs and comic book fans were left devastated as news of Stan Lees death broke social media in the wee hours of November 12. He was 95.

Writer, editor, publisher, imaginative creator, pioneering spirit, feisty actor  the list can go on and on. He was responsible for such iconic characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four.

He is also credited with turning the fortunes of the contemporary comic book with an unlikely mix of action, satire, science fiction and sophistication. His popular cameos were an indication of his extraordinary popularity.

In the last decade alone, he started an imprint for kids, published a graphic novel, and was reportedly writing a superhero rock opera. Single-handedly responsible for turning millions of kids towards reading, he was also known for his affable nature and his interest in talking to fans at events. Here is what fans told Metrolife about their impressions of Stan Lee.



Alicia Souza



Alicia Souza, Illustrator

Stan Lee is a legend. He has lived a beautiful long life, a very accomplished one too. Hes given so much to us that its amazing. He had a way of making every character he created a quirky and relatable one. My personal favourite is Hulk. Its probably because he has two personalities in one body  something all of us can relate to. Im going to miss Stans cameos in the upcoming Marvel movies now; that was the best part.



Sriram Sullia



Sriram Sullia, Radio Jockey and Entertainer

Stan Lee was a true legend. He was someone who started writing at a young age and in a way that it underwent a revolutionary transformation with time. What started off as a simple comic book was later transformed into reality with the help of technology and became a whole universe. The characters were also much ahead of their time and had distinct individual personalities, for example Black Panther.



Udit Singh



Udit Singh, Video game influencer

Ive been a fan of the comics since I was six years old. The Marvel characters are aspirational figures, mighty and super strong. But things changed with Spider-Man. Stan Lee didnt hold back while showing that a superhero can also be vulnerable and have flaws  he gave a person every nerd could to relate to. He also addressed issues like socio-economics and racism in his comics, something we never got to see otherwise. If there is one thing Im happy about right now, it is that he had the chance to see so many of his characters come to life and the response they got.



Subhashish Bharuka



Subhashish Bharuka, Standup comedian

I first read a Spider-Man comic in Hindi in boarding school and got hooked. Later a friend got me some Spider-Man comics and a mask. I became a fan. Later, Doordarshan started telecasting the Spider-Man cartoon series. Many a time, I would tie a rope around my waist and hang by the parapet wall our house which had three floors, pretending to be Spider-Man. My mom banned me from watching the cartoon after that.



Vinay Nagaraju



Vinay Nagaraju, Entrepreneur

Lee brought comics to life on the screen  who knew you could watch them with the same parents who used to snatch the comics from you!

Sometimes, I re-watch the movies just because I missed his cameo the first time. Now, all we will be able to see is In loving memory of Stan Lee in the credits and that breaks my heart. Marvel movies will never be the same again.



Yadhunandan Nagaraj



Yadhunandan Nagaraj, Drummer

It was the movies he made for Marvel that made me cling on to his stories. I havent missed a single Marvel movie or Netflix Marvel series till date. He changed my life by introducing me to these superheroes and super-villains. You will never see a superhero die in the comics. In the same way, Stan Lee now joins the superhero league!

Also, I think it is time for me to go back and read the comics. It is the least I can do to pay respect to this legend.



Sridhar Venkatesh



Sridhar Venkatesh, Media professional

Spider-Man is my all-time favorite comic book character. The fact that Stan Lee wrote Peter Parkers character like an everyday kid made him very relatable to me when I was a teenager. And the storylines he wrote for Marvel were very original, simple and effective. They werent convoluted and easy for children to understand.

And, of course, Stan Lees contribution to modern cinema is also unforgettable.

Cameos

- X-Men, 2000

- Hulk, 2003

- Fantastic Four, 2003

- Spider-Man 3, 2007

- Iron Man, 2008

- Thor, 2011

- Captain America: Winter Soldier, 2004

- Avengers Age of Ultron, 2015

- Deadpool, 2016

- Black Panther, 2018

Latin word turned life motto

Excelsior was Stan Lees catchphrase for a long time. He came up with the term to sign off his column in Marvel Comics, rebranded from Atlas Comics, as he wanted a word that rivals wouldnt be tempted to copy.

But what started as a clever sign-off to thwart his competition in the 1960s quickly became an optimistic mantra the writer would keep close to his heart in the years to follow, something his fans picked up from him later.

Most of the tributes pouring in now are sure to contain this word excelsior. Less than an hour after news of Lees death broke, the word was trending globally on Twitter.

The most cameo ever!

He has 121 titles in his filmography (including voice-acting and animation) which puts him ahead of some of Hollywoods biggest stars like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Will Smith, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks.

Not the real owner

He did become the face of Marvel but he doesnt own any of the characters he created. A judge in 2013 ruled that he cant claim any ownership or royalties as he created the characters as an employee and did not own anything legally. But out of respect, Marvel gave him an honorary payment every year.

Love at first sight

Stan Lee met his wife, Joan Boocock Lee, in the 1940s in New York City. She was working as a hat model then. He immediately fell in love with her and they married two weeks later, after which she became his muse. Years later, she became a voice actress and appeared in the Spider-Man and Fantastic Four animated series in the 1990s. She died in 2017.

The printers turned Hulk green

The character of Hulk was designed to be grey, but according to Stan, the printer had a hard time keeping the colour consistent. And voila! Hulk turned green!


Scores of Indian women reportedly in distress working as domestic help are in touch with the Indian Embassy in Muscat seeking assistance to return to India, a reputed Charitable trust claimed.

Chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust, SP Singh Oberoi, a businessman-cum philanthropist having widespread business interests in hospitality, real estate etc in Dubai and elsewhere, claimed there are over 100 women, including 30 working as domestic help, who have contacted the Indian embassy in Muscat seeking help.

Oberoi, who is credited for saving lives of at least 69 Indian youth, mostly from Punjab, who were on death row in West Asia, by paying blood money, is now helping many of these women get relief. Oberoi said the rules in these nations tend to expose migrant workers from India and other countries to "exploitation." Many of the women are lured and duped by unscrupulous travel agents in Punjab and "sold" as domestic help to rich landlords in West Asia.

The trust claimed that the rules there bind migrant works to their employers, who tend to exploit domestic workers with poor wages, harassment and torturous working hours. Oberoi said he recently assisted the release of four Indian women domestic workers by paying money.

One woman worker from Punjab, 30-year-old Rani, who was allegedly sold off as a domestic help in Oman returned home in September this year. Her ordeal, the trust said, underlines the rot that exists and is testimony to the hardship and exploitation that many women suffer at the hands of their employers.

The woman had gone to Oman early this year through a Jalandhar-based travel agent who promised her a lucrative job. The woman reached Muscat in Oman where she was reportedly sold off to a landlord for domestic work. The victim claimed that she was harassed and tortured and forced to stay in an cattle shed. Oberois trust, Sarbat Da Bhalla, secured her release in exchange of money that was paid to the landlord.
Beena Raizada's job is to advise the CBI on corruption cases, but the law officer now faces a criminal case after she was allegedly found submitting appraisal reports, which gave her "excellent" ratings but with forged signatures of a senior IPS officer.

Raizada, a Deputy Legal Advisor of the CBI in its Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in New Delhi, now faces charges of cheating and forgery with the CBI registering an FIR against her on Monday.

The FIR comes after a preliminary enquiry by CBI's Deputy Superintendent of Police Ashish Prasad, who claimed to have found material in registering a regular case. Following his report that there was "interpolation in assessment notes" submitted by Raizada, the FIR was filed.

According to the complaint filed by Prasad on the basis of his enquiry, Raizada had forged the signature of then CBI officer V K Singh, who was in ACB, Patna in the assessment notes of 2014, 2015 and 2016. Singh is presently Inspector General in Jaipur.

She had joined the CBI as a Senior Public Prosecutor in May 2014 and was promoted as Deputy Legal Advisor in November same year. She was transferred to New Delhi in January 2017.

In the Directorate of Prosecution in Delhi, the complaint that is part of the FIR said, she submitted three Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) together for the years starting 2014 along with assessment notes bearing the signatures of Singh. "All the said three assessment notes certified the performance by Beena Raizada as excellent," it said.

During an enquiry, Singh told the CBI that the signatures on the assessment notes "resemble his signatures but he had not made those signatures".

Singh also said Raizada was not on duty for 90 days during 2014 and 2015 and there was "no question of writing assessment report in her favour". Similarly, there was "no question" of him writing a note for her in 2016 as he was already repatriated to his parent department in 2015.

The investigations also found that Singh was not the authorised person to write the assessment notes for Raizada as was not working under him when she was Deputy Legal Advisor.
Central Bank Governors from the Pacific and their delegation are gathering in Samoa this week for a three-day conference, with yesterdays focus on Fintech and financial inclusion in the region.

Joined by international monetary agencies and partners, the conference is being organised by the Central Bank of Samoa, in partnership with the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.) and the Asian Development Bank, and is held at the Return to Paradise Resort.

The Bali Fintech Agenda is a set of policies developed by the I.M.F. and the World Bank in one of their recent annual meetings with one emphasis on financial inclusion, and the conference in Samoa is a way for regional delegation to dialogue and analyse how to better implement the Fintech Agenda in their financial inclusion strategies, and guard against potential risks in the region.

Bali Fintech Agenda covers three basic areas. One is a way to enable Fintech in terms of innovation strategy, second is what sort of regulations you need to ensure against the risks, and third, which is part of what this conference, is about promoting greater regional and global cooperation, sharing information on Fintech and ways to use it appropriately, said I.M.F. Deputy Director Asia and Pacific Department, Kenneth Kang.

Speaking on potential risks associated with Fintech, Mr. Kang said like any kind of financial innovations, Fintech has a lot of promises for increasing access to financial services, but it has to be managed properly.

So its important to make sure you protect consumers, that you should safeguard financial stability, and that you allow for proper competition at a level playing field. So the idea is to give a space for innovation to take place and make sure as well that the space is well protected, well-guarded so it does not affect the rest of the financial systems in an inappropriate way, he told the Samoa Observer.

I.M.F. Small States Division Chief (Asia Pacific Department), Allison Stuart said the meeting looks at addressing financial policy issues that plague the region and identity where risks exist.i

In the Pacific, the I.M.F. has also been active in looking at the problems that a number of countries have been facing in terms of maintaining correspondent banking relationships, which is very important in terms of the number of countries that are quite reliant on remittances  thats both seasonal workers and the cost of sending those remittances has been very high, Ms. Stuart said.

So the thinking here is to look at financial inclusion, Fintech issues more generally, to see if Fintech can be part of the solution recognising that its not the only solution, and thats an issue such as financial literacy and strengthening of countries anti-money laundering, and encountering financing terrorism frameworks also play apart.

Mr. Kang said a message that the workshop is trying to send out is that there is a lot that can be done in the Pacific on Fintech to improve financial inclusion.

Simple things like developing a digital identification system, improving payments and settlements, mobile payment experiences in other countries, like in Kenya, what can the Pacific learn from that to really improve financial access in the Pacific.

This (Fintech) is not an end all solution to the problem here, theres a lot that can be done, even before considering these type of exotic solution, so one has to be very careful and pragmatic when looking at the various types of proposals out there, but there are already proven applications that can work, including in the Pacific for enhancing financial inclusions.

Delegations from Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Australia are present at the event.

The 33rd Annual Pacific Central Bank Governors Meeting begins today under the theme Strengthening Collaboration.
The vexed issue of seat-sharing talks among the NDA constituents seems to have been settled. The BJP-led alliance, it has been reliably learnt, has decided not to leave any seat out of 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar for Union Minister Upendra Kushwahas outfit RLSP.

As per the pact, which has now been finalised and confirmed by a top ruling party leader, the BJP and JD (U) will contest 17 seats each while leaving the rest six seats for Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

Kushwaha, who is Union Minister of State for HRD, besides being the president of his pocket organisation Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), is himself to be blamed for being given a shabby treatment in the NDA. The top BJP leadership is believed to be miffed with Kushwaha for five prime reasons.

First, he did not meet Amit Shah when the BJP president called him to discuss seat-sharing talks in New Delhi in October.

Secondly, the day when Shah announced that BJP and JD (U) would contest 50:50 seats in Bihar, Kushwaha met Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.

Thirdly, Kushwaha made baseless charges against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar alleging that the Bihar CM called him neech, although the fact is that Nitish said at a media programme that level of political discourse should not be brought down to a low level. Nitish was responding to a query whether he ever told Kushwaha that he will relinquish the post of Chief-ministership after 2020.

Fourthly, Kushwaha, though serving as a Union Minister, has been giving statements against the NDA, including the Centre as well as State Government.

Fifth and last, Kushwaha recently met Sharad Yadav, a friend-turn-foe of Nitish and Narendra Modi. This meeting took place at a time when Kushwaha went to Delhi to meet Amit Shah but instead met the Grand Alliance leader.

Chale jayein toh achcha hai. Chutkara mile. (If he leaves, it will be good riddance, said Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai, while speaking to Deccan Herald, on the imminent exit of Kushwaha from the NDA.

The Congress has, meanwhile, extended an olive branch to Kushwaha and asked him to make up his mind fast and decide on joining the Mahagatbandhan (Grand Alliance). Decide fast. Time is running out. You have nothing more left in the NDA, one of the AICC spokespersons Prem Chandra Mishra told Kushwaha here on Wednesday.
Four members of a family face the death penalty after a grand jury charged them with the April 2016 execution-style shooting deaths of eight members of another rural Ohio family, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday.

Four members of the Wagner family were charged with murdering seven members of the Rhoden family and a fiancee of one of the victims, DeWine told a news conference in Pike County, where the killings took place.

There was an extensive plot to kill in four different crime scenes and a cover-up that included the suspects temporarily moving to Alaska and returning to Ohio in the spring, DeWine said.

The four Wagners "clearly have been the prime suspects for some time," DeWine said.

DeWine, elected Ohio governor last week, did not pinpoint a motive but suggested the primary intent of the killers was custody of a small child, whose father was a Wagner and mother a Rhoden.

Investigators found evidence of illegal drug activity, cockfighting and the possible involvement of a Mexican drug cartel.

DeWine suggested the bigger motive was child custody.

There certainly was obsession with custody, obsession with control of children," said DeWine, adding, This is just the most bizarre story Ive ever seen in being involved in law enforcement.

An attorney reportedly representing the Wagners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

George "Billy" Wagner III, 47, his wife Angela Wagner, 48, and their two sons, George Wagner IV, 27, and Edward "Jake" Wagner, 26 are each charged with eight counts of aggravated murder.

Also arrested on Tuesday in an alleged cover-up were Angela Wagner's mother, Rita Newcomb, 65, and Billy Wagner's mother, Fredericka Wagner, 76, state officials and local media said.

Three children including a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old survived the killings. One woman was killed while sleeping with her 5-day-old baby.

The victims included Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his ex-wife, Dana Rhoden, 37; and their three children, Hanna, 19, Christopher Jr., 16, and Clarence, 20.

Three other victims were Christopher Sr.'s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38; and Clarence Rhoden's girlfriend, Hannah Gilley, 20.

Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said the six suspects were being held at different locations in Ohio and Kentucky. Arraignments were expected in the coming days, a prosecutor said.

Pike County is in the Appalachia foothills about 95 miles.
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.
CHESTER  About 80 students at Widener University spent 60 minutes Tuesday night immersing themselves in the fulltime reality of those living in urban poverty.

The simulation, based on a model from the Missouri Community Action Network, put students in the roles of low income family members, spending four 15 minute sessions, each representing one week, navigating life on a limited budget.

If students forget who they are and really take on the roles of the individuals theyre supposed to be, it can be one of the most powerful experiences theyll ever have, said the Rev. James L. Ley, retired archdeacon for the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and a facilitator at the event.

Presented by the universitys Office of Civic Engagement, School of Nursings Center for Simulation and Computerized Test and Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, the event hosted freshmen nursing majors, students participating in sociology, education, anthropology classes, and club representatives fulfilling Office of Student Life requirements.

Were really excited  this is the first one thats being offered for (club recognition credit) so a lot of clubs are represented, said Laya Manoj, student organizer for the simulation. In past years, many of the participants were already involved with community service and had a familiarity with urban poverty. We love seeing new faces come to these types of events. Its important to know your community  Wideners in Chester so Chesters our community.

The simulation organized students into families of four. Students Joe Lofton, Grace Chambers, Vanessa Lista and Tyler White portrayed the Morris/Moore household, trying to balance getting to work, taking care of personal needs and budgeting for food, clothing and bills while dealing with the social service system and business landscape of low income communities.

After having their EBT (food voucher) card stolen in week one, the social services office was closed on their first attempt to plead their case to replace it. A social services clerk then broke protocol to replace it on the second visit.

After picking up a one-time housekeeping job, they were not able to cash the check after a customer took long in line before close during the first visit, and when the store was out of cash for the day on the second.

The family repeatedly turned down drug mule offers from a facilitator playing a drug dealer and gunrunner, in part because he was also a police informant.

Theyre asking me big questions that I dont know how to answer, Lofton said as facilitators questioned him during the simulation. It feels like its impossible.

Were trying to move to a social justice model where students understand the root causes (of poverty),said Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement Gretchen Mielke, M.A. To go through the simulation is a really important step in contextualizing poverty, especially in this season with Thanksgiving and the holidays.

During the course of the simulation, few students visited the Interfaith Center station, manned by Ley, for help. Ley said this mirrors a real world problem locally.

They need to get money, food, transit passes (in the simulation), and I have them to give away, he said. Very rarely does anyone come to me to get them  they dont know. And thats the way it is in Chester. People dont know where they can go to get help; thats a huge shame.

The simulation was followed by a reflection period and evaluating how groups were able to perform. Less than 10 students raised their hands when asked if they were able to buy food each week. Only two said they assisted someone from another family.

My family does well, so putting myself in this situation even for a minute shows me a lot of problems, said Lofton, speaking with the Times at the end of the event. Hopefully I can try to help fix them one day, he said before speaking with Ley about arranging supply drop offs at a local charity.

The event was a reminder for Lista, a recipient of the universitys Maguire Scholarship for civically engaged students, of restarting projects she let lie fallow. I was going to start something with Project Home at my high school (Pope John Paul II in Royerford) after volunteering at the North Philadelphia-based organization, which provides housing, medical and education access to the homeless and low-income families. I always wanted to do it and never had the chance.
SALT LAKE CITY  The Secret Sister program is back again this holiday season. Police have already issued warnings against it.

Whats happening: For several years, Facebook users have noticed a social media post pop up on their feeds that calls for a gift exchange between friends. Dont fall for it  its a scam.

What it says: The scam is a Facebook post that asks you to buy a gift for $10 or more. People are then asked to put their name on a list.

The scam then promises 36 gifts total because your friends will add a gift to the exchange.

Heres how the post reads:

Anyone interested in a secret sister gift exchange? It doesnt matter where you live! You only have to buy ONE gift valued at $10 or more and send it to one secret sister! You will get 6-36 in return. Let me know if youre interested and I will send you the information. (Please dont ask to participate if you are not willing to spend the $10).

Warnings: Multiple organizations and people have issued warnings about the scam.

Fact-checking website Snopes.com reported that the exchange is false.

The Better Business Bureau issued a warning against the scam, calling it a typical pyramid scheme.

University of South Florida mass communications instructor Kelli Burns told KLRT-TV that its a constant scam.

Ive seen it on Facebook. A couple of my friends are participating, Burns said.This is a typical pyramid scheme. Were just seeing this on Facebook this time instead of the old way of using letters, and Facebook allows it to spread a lot faster.

Paul Krenn, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, told BuzzFeed News the exchange is too impossible to keep up with.

"The odds are likely greater that Santa Claus, himself, would fly his sleigh into the middle of Times Square to personally distribute the gifts," Krenn said.

Illegal: The U.S. Postal Inspection service says chain letters are considered 'illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants. Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through the mail (or delivering them in person or by computer, but mailing money to participate) violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute.

Read more: Don't fall for the 'Secret Sister' gift exchange. It's totally illegal.
Editors note: The following is a transcript of the episode. It's been edited for clarity.

Boyd Matheson: Diseases of despair, including depression, anxiety and suicide, seem to be destroying individuals while decimating families and communities. Social media creates constant comparisons and outsized expectations. Many ask the question, "Am I good enough?" Or "Will I make it?" Elder Devn Cornish of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shares his unique perspective on this week's episode of Therefore, What?

Therefore, What? is a weekly podcast that breaks down the news while breaking down barriers, challenges you and the status quo, explores timely topics and timeless principles, and leaves you confident to face what's next. I'm Boyd Matheson, opinion editor for The Deseret News, and this is Therefore, What?

We're very pleased to be joined today by Elder J. Devn Cornish, a general authority seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Cornish received a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Johns Hopkins University in 1975, and in 1978 received a Doctor of Medicine also from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his pediatric residency at the Boston Children's Hospital at Harvard University. He also served as chairman in the Department of Pediatrics in the Emory University School of Medicine. His church service includes being a full-time missionary in the Guatemala El Salvador Mission, a bishop, stake president, president of the Dominican Republic Santiago Mission and an area seventy. Elder Cornish, thanks for joining us today.

Elder Cornish: It's a pleasure to be with you, Boyd.

BM: Well, this is one of those topics, these diseases of despair. The challenges of anxiety and depression continue to plague the nation and plague individuals in our communities. We often refer to these as getting comfortable with some of the uncomfortable conversations. As you've ministered throughout the church, as you've traveled the world, what have you learned about mental health and dealing with some of these diseases of despair?

EC: It's an important question. First of all, I've learned that disease is no respecter of persons. People become depressed and have mental illness, whether they are rich or poor, whether they live in advanced cultures or in depressed and difficult cultures. People are susceptible to mental and emotional difficulties, whether they have a background of those things in their family or not. So the first message is this is no respecter of persons, people get these things.

BM: I think sometimes we do feel like, what's wrong with me? I think people often ask themselves that very question of is there something wrong with me. What else have you seen in terms of how do we come to grips with that? That, hey, it's OK, this is normal, it is no respecter of persons.

EC: It's an important question again. Let me see if I can frame it in a way that is useful to the general thinking. When was the last time you were concerned about the moral soundness, the character strength, the goodness of a person who had diabetes? Were you ever embarrassed to say, Oh, this person with diabetes is my friend? Do you know why you get diabetes, you get diabetes, because your pancreas stops making insulin. Well, other organs have biochemical deficiencies, they sometimes don't do what they're supposed to. One of the organs that can do that is your brain. The problem is that if your brain stops making a chemical that transmits feelings, your feeling system may not work right. But now you're depressed for no obvious reason, nothing sad happened. You just have a gloom and a sadness, and inertia around you. And people start to treat you differently. They think, what did this person do wrong? What sin did they commit? There must be some defect in that person's character. When in truth, there is no more moral meaning to having depression because your brain doesn't make the right chemicals than there is moral meaning having diabetes because your pancreas doesn't make the right chemicals. But in our culture, and in fact, across the world, depression, anxiety, emotional problems bear the moral overtone of deficient character. What a tragedy.

BM: Yeah, that feeling of being less than I think probably adds to that downward spiral as it relates to those feelings of depression that we do think there's something wrong with us. And for so long I think the solution has been that people just say, well, you just need to buck up. You just need to choose to be happy. You just need to, you know, have a positive mental attitude. But it's more than that, isn't it?

EC: Well, it's useful to understand that the depression is kind of a spectrum of diseases. Sometimes people are sad because they've been through a sad experience, your mother died, you lost your job, you became ill. It would be surprising not to be depressed when something depressing happens to you. Some people have this overwhelming depression, as I said, without any obvious cause. And then there are people in between. There are people who've, in fact, had a difficult experience but can't seem to pull out of it. The reason it's important to understand that this is a spectrum of illness is because it helps you understand how to respond. When a person is having difficulty adjusting to a sad experience, encouragement and in some cases even professional counseling can be very helpful. We've often thought in medicine that the people on the other end of the spectrum, who have what has been called major depression or depressive disorder, do often have a genetic biochemical defect in the way their brain makes and processes chemicals, and we think, well, they don't need counseling. It turns out that both people with this more minor situational depression, and people with major biochemical depression benefit from counseling and often from medications. Sometimes the people who have more situational entry into depression may need medications longer than was expected. That's a good thing to do. Sometimes people who have family history, major biochemical depression, get on good medications that work for them, get counseling and the counseling is so effective it seemed to literally change their brain chemistry and they don't have to stay on medications on a long-term basis. So understanding that depression is a spectrum of problems, and that both the emotional support in counseling, and in many cases, the biochemical readjustments can be helpful in either category.

BM: That's such an important insight for everybody listening today, that we do have this spectrum to work from, that there are a wide range of ways to address it and engage it from medicines to counseling, and everything in between. And looking at it, whether that's coming off a specific episode, as you mentioned, whether that's a death or a loss of a job or a loved one or a relationship, and how we really move that forward. I want to shift now in 2016, you delivered an address in the general conference of the church which has a title that to me is really the theme for our day today in this discussion around mental health and that is this question: "Am I good enough?" Am I good enough? I think we all ask that. Can I make it? Can I get through this? And so I want to talk for a minute about what drove you to writing and delivering that address, what inspired you? And then I want to really drill down into what was the process of learning for you, as you wrote and then delivered that address.

EC: Well, thank you for asking that. You know, it's a wonderful thing when you have an opportunity to interact with the members of the church. When you get into a question and answer kind of an open conversation setting and you invite questions, the questions that come are the softball questions. Because people don't want to be seen as raising their hands and asking something that might be embarrassing to them. Right? If you ask for written questions, anonymously submitted, this question is one of the ones that comes up most frequently. Can I make it, can I really have hope of happiness in this life and in the afterlife? It's a sad thing that we somehow have a misunderstanding of who God is, how he feels toward us, and what he wants for us. The God of heaven, who controls and governs all things everywhere happens to also be our Father in a very personal and intimate way. He wants real happiness, growth, joy, glory for all his children forever. And he knows how to help everybody grow in ways will allow them to have that. So a sense that I just I'm not going to make it, it's not going to work for me, is really a misunderstanding of who God is and what he wants for us. If he can create us, he can govern us and he can bless us. We should have a little more hope

BM: And a little more confidence in who's in charge.

EC: You know, what I've learned from practicing intensive care medicine for so many years is that one of the saddest delusions of this mortal experience is the belief that we're in charge of our lives. We are not in charge of our lives. We do not control our lives. We are responsible for our lives. But we don't control our lives. But God knows how to manage the experiences for our lives in ways that will change and bless us. And rather than worrying about whether I'm good enough, what we should be asking is, am I trying and I do I believe that God wants to help me.

BM: Yeah, those are great, great questions. And I think so often we forget that all we can do is all we can do, but all we can do is enough.

EC: President Gordon B. Hinckley used to say, and I've heard him say this in person on many occasions, brothers and sisters, all God asks of you is to try. But you have to really try.

BM: Has to be real try. I love that President Russell M. Nelson said when he was speaking up in Seattle to 50,000 members and members of the community there, he said, you know, God loves effort. He loves our effort. And then he blesses our effort. And I thought that was an important thing you shared. You shared an experience in your talk in 2016 about some of those days when you had some of those questions in working towards your medical career in those early days. Tell us about that.

EC: Well, I talked in that particular address about being a resident at Boston Children's Hospital in pediatrics, accepting one after another after another admission from the emergency room. I remembered about 11 o'clock on a Saturday night, a 10-year-old boy with pneumonia was admitted. I'm a young intern and fresh out of medical school, I can hardly spell pneumonia. And here's a young boy who's really sick, and it matters. And as I was falling asleep, writing orders for him and trying to stay awake, because I've been working for, I don't know, 16, 18 hours by then and had a whole night ahead of me. I was so discouraged. I don't know how to take care of this boy, I don't know what to do for him. What am I doing here? I'm never going to make this. Fascinatingly, one of the senior residents came around as I was struggling between my discouragement and my fatigue, put his arm on my shoulder, shocked me awake as my pen was dribbling down the page as I fell asleep writing orders. We talked about my concerns about the boy, he helped me work through it. He said, don't you know that all of the senior residents and the faculty think you're one of the very best we've got? You are going to be a wonderful doctor. Well, I'm not sure whether anybody ever thought that about me. But his encouragement made all the difference. You see, what God expects of us is to try. What he expects of us is to not rationalize when we're not doing right. He expects us to repent and then to try again. But to think that we can't do this underestimates God, and underestimates what he's put in each one of us. Our goal is not to be better than somebody else. Our goal is to be the best of who we are. We have a wonderful 34-year-old son with Down syndrome. One of the most important things I ever learned was that the goal is not for him to be like somebody else. The goal is for him to develop into his best self. That's a good goal.

BM: That's a good lesson for all of us. I think, just listening to you share that experience, I think there are lessons for those of us when we do have those discouraging days, or as I like to say, some days you leave the office with a very haunting refrain of "Have I done any good in the world today," am I going to measure up? But I think that senior resident, you know, putting a hand on your shoulder and saying, Hey, we believe in you. I think that's important for all of us to recognize that there are a lot of people around us who may be having one of those awful, difficult kinds of days and realizing that we often run out of energy before we run out of opportunity or capacity. I think it should make all of us think a little more of who can I help today?

EC: Wouldn't it be wonderful if I can be that person in someone else's life today? I remember the senior resident now, decades later, he changed my life in five minutes. Wouldn't it be wonderful to do that for somebody else? There's another message here. No matter what you're struggling with, the second you do that kind of thing for someone else you're better too. You're happier too.

BM: Yeah, excellent. That's great. You know, as we look at the ever-increasing number of young people who seem to be struggling with these diseases of despair, the anxiety, the depression, discouragement, what do you think is driving that? And how do we get out in front of that a little bit?

EC: It's hard to know whether the incidence, the frequency of anxiety and depression among youth is increasing because it's a hard thing to get a sound measurement of. But think about this for a minute. With the pressure of grades, homework, sports, countless lessons, and practices and competitions with adults warning them about getting into college, getting a scholarship, getting a career, with the pressures of dating, drugs, sex and adolescent society in general. How could our teens not be anxious? They also worried about the financial future, terrorism, school shootings, environmental degradation and much more. Plus many don't get enough exercise, proper nutrition or enough sleep. It reminds me of W.C. Fields, who is reputed to have said smile first the in the morning and get it over with. So I don't know if it's increasing but the pressures are certainly intense and we as adults ought to take a better look at what we're putting our children into and what we're expecting of them and ask does another sport really make a difference in this person's realizing their potential becoming the best of who they are? Does another set of expectations? Does higher grades really connect to this person's development and happiness? In some places it does. But in some it doesn't.

Sometimes I think the anxiety our youth live through is the anxiety we're imposing on them. We could give more thought as a society. Now I have to say, the wonderful article that the Deseret News produced in June 2018 about anxiety in youth really was a landmark for me. The mention that a fourth of teens today have some kind of anxiety disorder and that such things go along with depression, the review of where this is coming from, how we manage it, was just extraordinary. So I would refer our listeners back to that article. I think that was as well done as anything I've read.

BM: Yeah, there was a great, great piece and the InDepth team here at the Deseret News has been doing such great work that everyone can go to at DeseretNews.com/anxiety, there's great resources there and that very article that really paints the picture of where we are and how we march it forward.

EC: Let me say one other thing about this because I think it needs to be said. One of the greatest philosophers I've ever encountered was my mother, 5 feet tall, a hundred pounds soaking wet, but very wise. Early in my experience in kindergarten, I came back very hurt because of some things people had said to me and she said what I'm not sure the people today have ever heard. She said, sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. She said, son, get over it. They didn't hurt you. Just ignore it. Now that's simplistic I realize, but there is much of self-inflicted injury among our youth by social media. The tendency to compare the worst of your characteristics to the proposed or supposed best of somebody else's characteristics is simply not an honest comparison. When someone bullies or criticizes you in social media you have every right to ignore them, which they so richly deserve. Or to not go to that site or to unfriend them. Much of the anxiety that social media imposes on our youth who are on social media so often, so much of their day is self-inflicted. If that person doesn't like you, that's their problem. We can sit back, we can disown some of these sources of anxiety that are, in fact, not real and not necessary.

BM: Yeah, let's take it a little deeper on that. We often say that viewing life through comparison is always fatal vision. And I think we see that a lot of young people. You've mentioned social media. I think this is particularly challenging for young women. As you look at body shaming and a lot of the competitive things that happen there on social media. What else can we do to help young people get past that view of the world, that comparison view?

EC: Let me suggest one strategy that I think is very powerful. We can change what we talk about on social media. It isn't healthy to gossip, even if it's true. Talking about other people when they're not involved in the conversation is high-risk emotional territory and the integrity of that process is in question. How would it be if friends in their social media conversations we're talking about principles, about values, about how to do good in society, about threats from the weather, about political philosophies, if you don't talk about people most of the pain of social media disappears.

BM: That is great counsel, that is really great counsel. It's so important to get past that. When we center in those principles that does change the conversation immensely because we're not worried about who got invited to what party. Or whose dinner plate looks perfect when you're grabbing yours from McDonald's or whatever it may be.

EC: Now, if you want to slip in a nice compliment about somebody here and there, that's OK. But frankly, if we talk about principles and things more than about people, much of the damaging power of social media is removed.

BM: There's a lot of talk out there in the world in terms of the role of religion in creating those kinds of feelings, those feelings of guilt, those feelings of less than and it's very easy for the broader world to blame, you know, to blame all of this because it's always about blame, right, to go beyond the blame game that this is a problem with religion or with faith in general. How have you seen that play out?

EC: Boyd, I really appreciate you asking that question. This question comes in the context of a very lively conversation over recent years about the suicide rate in Utah. It is something we should all be concerned about. We should be concerned about suicide, whatever the rate is, and everywhere. But it's been pointed out that Utah has the fifth-highest suicide rate in the country. And some of the pundits have said, the reason is obvious. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is such a predominant factor in that culture that it imposes guilt and anxiety on its members, especially on its youth. Well, that's easy enough to say. Has it been studied? It turns out it has. It's been studied in detail by very competent people looking at religions in general, at specific religions, and at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in specific, in detail. In fact, I was delighted to read a study that summarized 540 articles looking at Latter-day Saints and looking at religion. That and many other studies have come to the same conclusion: an active religious life, especially if it involves personal worship experiences, is strongly correlated to many of the important indicators of mental health and of emotional well-being.

So the argument that religion in general or the culture in Utah, the religious culture in Utah, result in some deficiencies in mental health is simply not substantiated by literature. Let's go to the suicide question in specific. Guess what the other states are that have high suicide rates? Setting Alaska and West Virginia aside, which are outliers that have been well-explained. The suicide rate in the United States is highest in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, the Intermountain states. Now a lot of studies been done on this. This is hot stuff. And so it's all over the literature. What they found was that there is a remarkable correlation between the altitude at which people live and the suicide rate. In fact, a wonderful study from the Harvard Review of Psychiatry recently showed a strong association between the altitude at which people live and the risk of suicide. Based on both animal models and short-term studies in humans, there is reason to believe that the lower oxygen levels at altitude could increase levels of depression and suicide by altering the metabolism of key brain chemicals and the way the brain uses energy. So the evidence is that religion can exert a positive effect on mental health and that living at higher altitudes may substantially increase the risks of depression and suicidality. In fact, the lead study in this Harvard Review broke it down by county. So you can look at the effects, the relationship between the altitude of a given county and the suicide rate in that county. The correlation is very strong.

BM: I know there was also one done by the VA relating to veteran suicide rates and they did find that same correlation between altitude having some things in there which is just fascinating. Now I want to get into what I've been waiting all day to hear you talk about and that is looking at the the lessons from Christ's ministry as it relates to mental health. I think a lot of people just kind of brush past that in a real fast kind of way. But I think there's some fascinating lessons to be learned as we look at the the life of Jesus Christ as it relates to mental health.

EC: This is a wonderful topic. We could talk about for days. It is marvelous to us that the Lord gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins. But he lived this life as an example for our lives, for our happiness, for our health, and relationships and all the elements of life worth living. A great example, Christ teaching that we should love our enemies, and do good to those who persecute us. Think how much it takes away the power of others to hurt or offend or control us. Others can control how they act, but they can't control how we allow ourselves to feel or to react to them. Christ taught us to forgive others who've wronged us, meaning that we release ourselves immediately from the burden of the painful feelings of anger and hurt brought on by someone else's misbehavior. You know what we do when someone wrongs us? We punish ourselves for their sins. They may be feeling fine and be off to another subject, but we're stuck feeling awful because of what they did to us. And so when we forgive them, we let go of all that. We'll stop punishing ourselves for their misbehavior.

BM: Yeah. And you only have to forgive once. To harbor that, you have to relive it every day to recreate that negative energy. It's exhausting.

EC: It is. One more example. One of the things that Christ exemplified and taught most powerfully was the was importance of serving others, of reaching out to the underprivileged, the downtrodden, the needy, the widows and the orphans. It really is eternally true that when we lose ourselves we find ourselves, when we lose ourselves in service to others we find ourselves. President Spencer W. Kimball used to say and there's so much more of us to find. I love the story Sister Bonnie Cordon told in general conference about her friend who had an untreatable, highly lethal cancer, and who in the midst of excruciating chemotherapy, when she just couldn't go on, had her husband say, sounds to me like you need to find someone to help. And it literally saved her life. She lost herself, was able to bear her suffering when she found virtually any way to help someone else. In my own struggles in life, when nothing else helps, if I go find someone else to help life gets better. Christ's examples are wonderful. This is probably a place that I should point out, however, one misconception we have. Sometimes we think that if I follow all of Christ's teachings, I'm a good person and bad things won't happened to me, and particularly not mental or emotional illness. That is not a sound conclusion. And in fact, Christ never taught that. Mortality means living in a physical body. Physical bodies all come with defects and problems. That's not a moral issue. It's not a character defect. So living well will save us from the unnecessary suffering that comes from living badly. But living well does not save us from the suffering that comes from being mortal.

BM: Yeah, it's such a good point. Along those lines. I, I remember hearing a quote from from Elder Neal A. Maxwell who had his own physical suffering as he went through his cancer and his ailments, and someone asked him, you know, why? You're a good person, you're on a good mission. You're trying to help people around the world, why do you have to go through this? And his response was so simple. He said, you know, we suffer so that we can teach with authenticity. And there's something about that, I like to call it the courageous vulnerability component of saying, Hey, you know, I am mortal too. I do have my own doubts and fears and frustration and discouragement. But we have to be willing to have that kind of authentic conversation and I think be authentic with ourselves that it's okay to not be OK some days.

EC: Absolutely right. Absolutely right.

BM: So let's drill down a little bit on that. You were courageously vulnerable in front of an audience of 22,000 in the Conference Center, and millions more around the world watching the General Conference of the church. As you shared that experience of being a young intern, can you share with our listeners, some of who I know are listening today and can feel incredibly isolated and alone, and again, having those feelings of less than, that there's something wrong with them. What can they do? How can they engage? How can they approach this a little different?

EC: Well said. I think that it's easier for most of us to be of help to others than to receive help. I think one of the most difficult assignments in life is to be the person that gets help. It is much easier to be called to serve than it is to be called to be served. And the truth is, it's not either/or. We all have those periods in our lives. And sometimes we need help. Sometimes we need a lot of help. That's not who you are. It's how you are at the moment. This is not about your identity, your value, your character, your goodness, it's about your body, your illness, your needs. The second a person can say I'm a good person, but I have depression. I'm a good person, but I have anxiety, they're empowered to say the next thing, which is the most powerful thing a person can do for any illness, including mental illness. They can own their disease. They can say I have this condition. But there are things that can be done about this. And I'm going to take responsibility to see that they get done.

As a side note, everyone who wrestles with mental and emotional illness needs to hear that there is almost always a way out, a cure, a treatment, a way to manage, a way to get through it. Counseling from qualified professionals who share your values and integrity to their professions, properly trained and certified medications from people who are experienced and well trained in managing medications, that combination, and sometimes some other well proven treatments, can almost always give everybody, everybody who suffers from these diseases a manageable, happy and usually quite normal life, but they're not released from owning their diseases, from saying, I have this, I will deal with this. I will take my medications, I will keep my appointments. I will go to the counselor, the doctor, the psychologist, I will listen to my wife, my mother, my friend. There's some other things. Let's get more basic. The first and foremost thing is to know that God knows you, that he loves you, that he will provide help for you, if you'll let him. But again, God will not force you to ask for help. You have to reach out to someone. To all those listening who have struggled with mental and emotional challenges, please know God loves you. He wants to help you, but he will not force you. You must reach out to someone.

No. 2  mental illness is not a sign that you're bad or deficient. We've talked about that. No. 3  there is help. There's a way to heal. There's a way to be whole. No. 4  you can get help, or someone else can get you help. We should mention where can you turn. In any place in the United States, you can use the crisis text line by texting home and then 741741. Anyone can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It's operative in English and in Spanish at 1-800-273-8255. Let me do that again. 1-800-273-8255. If you look at the letters on the keypad that spells 1-800 A R E T A L L. And if you are tall in confronting your disease, call them up. They will help you anytime. There's wonderful information, some uplifting videos and counseling, both for people who suffer from these things and those who want to help them, at suicide.lds.org and any of our listeners would be uplifted by going there whether you struggle these issues currently or not.

BM: Yeah. And it's someone within the family or within the community that can benefit from those as well.

Therefore, What?

So this is my favorite portion of the program. It's our last segment of the program and this is the Therefore, What? moment. So as we think about those who have been listening for the last 25 minutes or so, Elder Cornish, what do you hope people take away from this conversation today? What do you hope they will think differently? What do you hope they will do differently as a result of our conversation today?

EC: No. 1, believe that God loves you and he has perfectly good reason to because you're wonderful each in his or her own way. Your goal is not to be like someone else, your goal is to be the best of you. To be what God knew you could be and to bless your life and others the way he designed you to do. There aren't any little people in this world. There aren't any contributions that don't matter. No. 1 is go be your best self and believe that God made you to do that and he can help you.

No. 2, understand that illness is not identity. The fact that I have something wrong with my body does not have mean I have something wrong with my person.

No. 3 is take ownership. If I have a problem that's affecting my body, my thinking, my feeling, get help. There is help and it works. It works for virtually everybody if you'll stay with it.

And the last, I think, is when things seem hopeless, when you don't know where to turn, find someone to help. And then ask someone to help you. Please remember that these resources, the text line home 741741, the Suicide Prevention 800-ARETALL (2738255), are available. That there are people who want to help you. Reach out and let someone help you.

BM: Thank you. Wonderful. A crucial conversation today. Elder Cornish, we appreciate you spending time with us on this vital matter and wonderful insight for everybody to think of today.

EC: My pleasure. It's a delight to be with you. It's a delight to know that there are so many good people out there listening.

BM: And there are. And again we encourage everyone to get to those resources, all of those are available on Deseretnews.com/anxiety. Remember after the story is told, after the principle is presented, after the discussion and debate have been had, the question for all of us is Therefore, What? Don't miss an episode, subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts or wherever you're listening today and be sure to rate this episode and leave us a review. Follow us on deseretnews.com/podcast and subscribe to our newsletter, This is Boyd Matheson, opinion editor for the Deseret News, thanks for engaging with us on Therefore, What?

Find and subscribe to this and other podcasts from the Deseret News at DeseretNews.com/Podcasts. Or find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you listen to podcasts.
SALT LAKE CITY  Utah-based organists, take note! The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is looking for a new part-time organist to play the historic organ in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.

Although the Choir is looking for applicants with a master's degree in music with an emphasis in organ performance and several years of professional experience, they will consider applicants with a bachelors' degree with a strong emphasis in organ performance and substantial professional experience. The position is open through Dec. 31, 2018.

In addition to participating in daily organ recitals and assisting the Tabernacle Choir with telecasts, recordings, concerts and other appearances, the part-time organist will also assist in rehearsals and concerts for the Temple Square Chorale and Bells on Temple Square, in addition to serving as an instructor in the choir school to help train new Tabernacle Choir members.

Applicants should anticipate that the position will average 10 hours per week, with part-time organists generally working between five and 19 hours per week, although the hours are not set due to the different schedule demands throughout the year.

The new part-time organist will join the three full-time Tabernacle organists  Richard Elliott, Andrew Unsworth and newcomer Brian Mathias, who joined in January of this year  and one other part-time organist. Currently, the two part-time organists are Linda Margetts and Bonnie Goodliffe, and the press release stated that the part-time position becoming available is in "anticipation of a future retirement."

"The Tabernacle organists are key members of the Choirs musical family," the press release stated. More information on the part-time position, as well as instructions on how to apply, can be found at careers.lds.org.
SALT LAKE CITY  Money cant buy happiness, but it can buy an entire mountain lake town in New Zealand, and that doesnt sound too bad.

According to CNN, the entire town of Lake Waitaki, New Zealand, is on the market.

The town is located on the South Island of New Zealand. The Guardian reported that Lake Waitaki features gorgeous mountain views, eight three-bedroom homes, a restaurant, a lodge, water rights, nine garages and 14 hectares of land.

The town is for sale for $2.8 million.

The settlement was made to be housing for workers on a nearby dam construction project. It has been left largely unoccupied since 1989 when the dam became fully automated.

According to the listing, people have started to realize the potential for tourism in the area. For example, the new Alps to Ocean (called A20) cycle trail has been bringing many new visitors to the region.

In other words, investing in Lake Waitaki is a lot different than purchasing a dry, dusty ghost town.

The only problem? The price tag is off-putting to locals, and New Zealand law bars foreign buyers from purchasing the property.

CNN reported that the law, which was enacted earlier this year, was put in place to protect New Zealanders from the rising prices of real estate.

"We believe it's the birthright of New Zealanders to buy homes in New Zealand, Trade Minister David Parker said when the law was passed, according to CNN.

So there you have it, if youre a Kiwi and happen to have an extra $2.8 million lying around, Lake Waitaki could be yours.
SALT LAKE CITY  Oakland city officials terminated a contract with a would-be developer of a deep-water export terminal that would ship Utah coal to Asian markets.

The city last month said Phil Tagami's company failed to meet construction deadlines for the project planned at the former Oakland Army Base and is now seeking $1.6 million in damages.

Attorneys for Tagami disagree, and say the city has thrown up impediments to getting the project done.

Tagami sued Oakland after it adopted an ordinance prohibiting the handling and shipping of coal at the planned bulk terminal. The ordinance was struck down in a federal court ruling in May, a judgment the city is appealing.

A coalition of coal-producing counties in Utah inked an agreement to pursue the export terminal to access foreign markets in light of declining U.S. consumption of coal due to shuttered power plants.

The coalition would have tapped into $53 million in Community Impact Board funding once the terminal became a reality, but that was later rescinded in light of scrutiny and legal questions.

Utah lawmakers later passed a law that would allow the funding to move forward.

The $250 million project continues to remain a question mark as legal wrangling keeps it in limbo.

In October, Tagami filed a claim against the city hinting at another lawsuit, and his attorneys are indicating an appeal of the contract's termination.

Oakland officials, who did a study and held multiple public hearings probing the health effects of handling Utah coal, said the decision to yank the contract is not about the fossil fuel.

"This isnt about coal. This is about the developers failure to meet its obligations and perform the work it agreed to do," said Barbara J. Parker, Oakland's city attorney. "(The developer) had years to move this project forward, and has used every excuse in the book to justify its failure to perform. This terminal is a critical project that will be an economic engine for West Oakland, our entire city and the region. The city must move this project forward with partners who are able to get the job done.

Utah's elected leaders have lamented Oakland's interference in commerce involving a legal product.

"It's not just a Utah issue," Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said in a legislative hearing in 2016. "Wyoming and others want to ship  a legal product by the way that is something that is certainly in demand in the marketplace  and yet we have somebody arbitrarily saying we are not going to let it be shipped out of our ports," he said.

But Alliance for a Better Utah insisted Tuesday it is time for Utah to drop its plans for the terminal.

"While this new development does not bring a conclusion the saga of the Oakland coal terminal, it offers another opportunity for Utah leaders to re-examine their commitment to this irresponsible project," said the group's executive director, Chase Thomas.
SALT LAKE CITY  Sen.elect Mitt Romney joined other freshmen senators in Washington, D.C., for orientation meetings Tuesday.

The Utah Republican, who will replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, received a temporary basement office with a nameplate reading, Senator-Elect Mitt Romney below the Utah state seal.

An MSNBC reporter caught Romney in a Russell Building hallway, asking the new senator if acting Attorney General Matthew Whittaker should recuse himself from the Robert Mueller investigation.

Thats really a very important question and Im sure Ill get a chance to talk to you about that, but not yet, not today, Romney said. This is an orientation day and Im getting oriented.

Romney also attended a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Last week, Romney tweeted that the Mueller probe must proceed to its conclusion unimpeded under Whittaker.

Orientation briefings begin Thursday and continue after the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Roll Call.

Members-elect will learn about office budgets, personnel regulations, travel limitations and ethical guidelines and get an overview of Capitol police protective services.

Romney, 71, will be Utah's junior senator to two-term GOP Sen. Mike Lee.

Romney is the first presidential nominee in modern history to run for Congress after losing a race for the White House, according to the Washington Times. He became the first U.S. politician in 173 years to serve as governor of one state and senator from another. Sam Houston was the governor of Tennessee and was elected to the Senate in Texas in 1846.
SALT LAKE CITY  Six-year-old Mikah Arvidson had surgery Tuesday at Primary Children's Hospital after he swallowed part of a popular fidget toy made of magnets.

This was the third surgery in a little over a week to repair the damage to his intestines. Now his parents want everyone to be aware of the big dangers of the small toys.

From his hospital bed Monday, Mikah had a heartfelt warning. "I want you guys to be safe," he said. "If you swallow some magnets, you might feel bad and come here or come somewhere else. But if you come here, you'll be here for a long time."

Fidget toys come in all sizes and different colors. They are marketed for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Because fidget spinners were banned in school, Blake and Aubrey Arvidson bought the magnet set for their older son who has ADHD. It came in a pack of nearly 200 small pieces that came in the shape of a small pink cube.

The Arvidsons said Mikah, their youngest son, started having pain on Halloween and didn't want to go trick-or-treating.

"It was odd because he had been looking forward to wearing his costume," Aubrey Arvidson said. "But he didn't feel really well. He was just sort of lying on the stairs."

His parents thought he caught the 24-hour stomach bug that had been going around their neighborhood, but 24 hours later he was still not feeling well.

"He just didn't feel well and nauseous and that lasted for a couple of days," Blake Arvidson said.

"He was just lying on the bathroom floor (vomiting every 20 minutes)," she said. "The pain that was increasing in his abdomen was just a huge red flag for me.  He just kept asking me to take away his pain, and I didn't know what was going on."

Mikah could not keep down food or water and lost the strength to walk.

On Nov. 3, his parents took him to the emergency room at Primary Children's Hospital where doctors rushed to find out what was causing Mikah's symptoms. They ran bloodwork, gave Mikah pain medication and did an X-ray.

"When they took the X-rays, they thought he had maybe a metal zipper or something in his pants because it was showing the magnets on the X-ray. But we didn't know he had swallowed them, and he didn't know he'd swallowed them," she said.

There they were  14 magnets, each the size of a pinhead, clumped together in his intestines and causing life-threatening injuries. Doctors rushed Mikah into an emergency surgery to remove them and to repair the damage.

"The surgeon said they perforated his intestines and there was bile everywhere," Aubrey Arvidson said. "We were just like, 'What?'"

Mikah eventually remembered how they got there. He told his parents he put the cube of magnets in his mouth to hide them from his older brother. He accidentally swallowed some but didn't think anything of it.

"It was pretty shocking that something so small and looks so harmless could cause so much damage," his father said.

Mikah's mother said her son continues to fight the damage caused by the magnets.

"We don't want other families to have to go through what we did, and they are definitely not for kids," she said Monday.

The sentiment was echoed by her son. "I want kids to be safe," Mikah said.

Mikah hasn't been able to eat or drink since his surgery. Doctors hope to start giving him food this week. As for his hospital stay, they are just taking it day by day.

Family friends have set up a GoFundMe account to help with medical bills.

With the holidays coming up, people will be out buying gifts for kids, family and friends. Francine Giani, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, said when purchasing items, people should be mindful of the intended recipient.

"Magnets that have multiple pieces, like 100 pieces, and I'm not sure that you would ever know that one of those is missing if, in fact, you buy that for an older child at home," she said.

She said the tiny magnets can be dangerous for little children.

"The challenge is this: If you have little kids that are getting into the older brother's or sister's toys, then you are still going to have a problem. So if those toys are played with when the child is not around and everything is picked up, then I think you should be OK. But I think you should be mindful of your little ones."
SALT LAKE CITY  An independent panel recommended Tuesday that statewide elected officials in the executive branch receive annual cost-of-living raises at the same rate as state employees.

The Elected Official and Judicial Compensation Commission also suggested the state do the same for judges in addition to a 1.5 percent pay increase over the next three years to attract better applicants for open judgeships.

"The cases are getting more complicated," said Commission Chairman David Clark.

Clark, a former Utah House speaker, told the Executive Appropriations Committee that the six-member panel is recommending only cost-of-living increases to salaries for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state auditor and state treasurer.

Their annual pay, he said, falls into the middle third of salaries for those positions nationally.

The governor now makes $156,825 a year, the attorney general $148,983 and the other three statewide executives $141,142.

Clark said state judges received a salary bump in 2016, but it makes more sense to raise their pay in small increments and review in three years whether it has the intended effect.

Applicants for judgeships mostly come from the public sector, not the private sector, he said, adding it's unlikely that partners in large firms would apply for those positions.

District and juvenile court judges earn $166,300, while appellate court judges make $174,600 and Utah Supreme Court justices $182,950.

Clark also suggested the compensation commission no longer review and make salary recommendations for the Utah State Board of Education, which would take a change in state law.

The appropriations committee agreed to run a bill next legislative session to do that. It did not take action on the commission's recommendations for the executive branch or the judiciary.
FARMINGTON  First-graders learned about how Russians stay warm. Third-graders learned about some of the fastest animals and tallest trees on the planet. And fifth- and sixth-graders learned that a worldwide company's vice president likes to play Xbox.

Canyon Creek Elementary School in Farmington is participating in Microsoft's Skype-a-thon Tuesday and Wednesday. Whole classrooms of excited kids gathered around projector screens Tuesday to hear archaeologists, wildlife experts, locals from foreign countries and others tell the students about their lives, work and research.

Principal Vonzaa Hewitt said every class has or will Skype with at least one person in another part of the country or world who can teach the students firsthand about topics they're studying.

First-graders at the school are studying "our community and our homes," Hewitt said, which is why they talked with locals in Russia and Sri Lanka to see how daily life is in those countries.

Austen Hanaker and Beau Godfrey, both in first grade, learned that people in Russia always wear slippers inside and hats outside to keep warm during the harsh winters.

Third-grade students chatted via video with experts in California and at Yellowstone National Park after learning about environmental science and animals this year. They learned about California's tall redwoods and the 55 mph pronghorn, as well as other animals and habitats.

Sixth-graders, studying ancient civilization, Skyped with archaeologists and others in Egypt and Greece, and most likely will connect with others in Rome on Wednesday.

They were also joined by fifth-graders in a Skype conversation with Anthony Salcito, vice president of worldwide education at Microsoft.

The students had all sorts of questions for Salcito, ranging from career insights to embarrassing moments.

He talked to them about technology  how much it has changed since the dial-up days before they were born, and how he believes it's important to accept the change rather than criticize new communication methods such as texting and social media, even if they're not as formal as the written English kids learn in school.

"Now you have the opportunity every day to use your language  even emojis  to express yourself," Salcito said. "I embrace that. It's the changing dynamic of language where technology is helping all of you express your ideas and thoughts more."

Canyon Creek was recently recognized as a Microsoft Showcase School, two years after opening.

When former Davis School District Superintendent Bryan Bowles appointed Hewitt as the school's first principal, he told her he wanted it to be a Microsoft Showcase School.

"I didn't even know what that was," Hewitt said. "I seriously had no idea."

After researching and learning about the program, Hewitt made sure the teachers at Canyon Creek were trained well to use Microsoft equipment and software.

In addition, Microsoft chooses schools that show all-around qualities, such as leadership, modern teaching and learning, innovative thinking and inclusivity.

Alberto Herraez, a fifth- and sixth-grade Spanish teacher and a Microsoft trainer and expert at the school, said the recognition as a showcase school is more about how they teach than what they teach.

"We are more focused on critical thinking and collaboration," Herraez said. "We focus more on skills than memorizing the content."

The school is the only one with the showcase recognition in all of Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and Nevada.
MOAB  A man who was critically injured in an industrial accident over the weekend that killed two others has died, officials said.

Arthur Secrest and two other men were working at the Intrepid potash plant south of Moab in northern San Juan County on Saturday when the industrial equipment they were operating touched a power line, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office reported. He succumbed to his injuries Tuesday.

Russell Helquist and Matthew Johnston were pronounced dead at the scene. Secrest was found unconscious but breathing, according to the sheriff's office.

Secrest was flown to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City in critical condition, according to Grand County Emergency Medical Services.

All three men were living in the Moab area. No other details were provided about the incident.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of these good men," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Matt Preston, with Intrepid's investor relations, said in a statement that the company's corporate crisis management team contacted authorities and the cause of the accident is under investigation.

"Operations at the Moab facility have been suspended pending the initial investigation. Intrepid expresses its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those involved," he said.

Johnston was 37, according to his obituary. Ages of Secrest and Helquist were not released.
SALT LAKE CITY  The legacy of the 2002 Winter Games remains "palpable" in Utah, U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said during a visit Wednesday that could determine if Salt Lake City can bid for another Olympics.

But Hirshland also cautioned that the USOC hasn't committed yet to trying for a future Winter Games during a speech to community leaders and Olympic athletes gathered for a luncheon at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The USOC leader, hired in July, was in Utah along with other officials from the Colorado Springs-based organization to tour 2002 venues as part of an accelerated process to choose a city to bid for a future Winter Games, likely in 2030.

Salt Lake, Denver and Reno-Tahoe were all invited in late October to compete by quickly filling out an extensive questionnaire, although Reno-Tahoe pulled out of the running Monday.

Besides the site visits, the USOC also plans to conduct a public opinion poll in each city to gauge support for an Olympics. The USOC had been expected to choose a bid city by the end of the year.

Hirshland thanked the backers of a Salt Lake bid "for your willingness to not only do it once, but to consider doing it yet again," and said the USOC officials saw firsthand Wednesday the legacy from 2002, "that is still real in this community, is palpable."

She said the USOC will remain "incredibly proud" of the continued athlete training and competition at the 2002 venues "regardless of whether we make a determination to bid for another Winter Games."

That decision is "not one any of us take lightly. It is a lot of work and you want to make sure you are setting yourselves up for a successful outcome," Hirshland said. She and other USOC officials did not take questions from the media.

Patrick Sandusky, the USOC's chief external affairs officer, did tell the Deseret News that a decision about a future Winter Games bid will be made when the USOC meets in San Francisco next month.

Gov. Gary Herbert, who had said in his speech at the luncheon that Utahns "not only have the know-how, we have the do-how" to put on another Olympics, said he believes the USOC is focused on naming a bid city soon.

"I think they are serious. How much, I don't know what the internal workings of the USOC are," he said. But naming a U.S. bid city avoids "the tug a war that goes on for years and years. So I understand the wisdom of that."

The governor said Utah is a clear front-runner because, based on the merits, "there's no place better. In fact, we are probably not only the best place in America to host the Olympics  we're probably the best place in the world."

Before heading to the soon-to-be expanded stadium, site of the 2002 Games' opening and closing ceremonies, USOC officials checked out the ski jumps at Utah Olympic Park and the pool that jumpers use for summer training.

They'd already been to the speedskating track in the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns before heading to the park. After lunch, the officials headed to the Salt Palace and Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Chris Sullivan, USOC vice president of bids and protocol, told the Deseret News midday that "everything is going very well."

The final event for the USOC before leaving was a rare joint session of the Utah Legislature. Hirshland told lawmakers during a brief speech that the Olympic movement is strong in Utah.

"To a person, everyone we have met today  public officials, civil servants, philanthropic leaders, citizens of the community, athletes who call this place home  everyone one of them has said to us, 'We're ready, we're willing, we're able. Let us prove it,'" she said to loud applause.

"So, I will stand here and take only a minute of your time to say, 'You're piling on,'" Hirshland said.

Fraser Bullock, chief operating officer for the 2002 Games and a leader of Utah's efforts to land another Winter Games, said the USOC leaders were able to see how the facilities continue to be used for training and competition.

"It's fantastic when everybody sees the venues and particularly the stories of athlete development, how children are learning how to skate and then progressing so that now they're training to become Olympians," Bullock said. "It's a fabulous legacy."

He was unfazed by Hirshland's comments earlier in the day about no decision being made yet on bidding for a Winter Games.

"They're going to bid again. The question is timing, whether is 2030 or 2034, they have every intention of bidding again," Bullock said. "All the body language is that they intend to select a city by the end of the year."

The site visit comes as yet another city, Calgary, is poised to drop out of the running for the 2026 Winter Games, set to be awarded by the International Olympic Committee next June.

The USOC has insisted it will not bid for 2026 to keep the focus on Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Summer Games. Los Angeles has a lock on domestic sponsorships for an Olympics through that date.

But with only two contenders left for 2026 that both face opposition and financing issues, Stockholm, Sweden, and Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the IOC could end up turning to the United States to come up with a last-minute candidate.

"We've always know there's a remote possibility and it's probably still remote, but we're ready, willing and able if that opportunity does present itself," outgoing Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said.

Niederhasuer, who serves as co-chairman with Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski of the Salt Lake Executive Committee for the Games, said there is "still the L.A. problem" with stepping in sooner.

While backers of another Utah Olympic bid were upbeat Wednesday, the progressive Alliance for a Better Utah called for a better analysis of the possible negative impacts of an Olympics before moving forward.

"It's important to consider wisely the pros and cons of such a massive undertaking for our state and all the people who live here," said Lauren Simpson, the alliance's policy director.

Contributing: Dennis Romboy
WEST JORDAN  Police arrested a woman after they say she dragged her 7-year-old son down the street, choking him.

Whitney Virginia Romero was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Sunday for investigation of child abuse, assault on a police officer, failing to stop for police and interfering with an arresting officer.

Witnesses observed Romero drag her son "by his shirt which was wrapped around his neck" along 7800 South, according to a jail report. "The suspect was choking the child with his own clothes pulling him down the street. Officers found blood and vomit on the sidewalk where witnesses advised the child was being choked."

The boy also had blood, scrapes and cuts on his arms consistent with being dragged on the concrete, the report states.

As officers arrived on the scene, Romero ran off, according to the report. When officers caught up with her and attempted to make an arrest, Romero allegedly spit at an officer and then kicked the inside of his patrol car once she was placed in the back seat, forcing officers to put additional restraints on her.
After much anticipation, Amazon announced yesterday that it will open its new headquarters, HQ2, in two locations: Queens, New York, and Crystal City, Virginia. It will also open a third Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville. Controversy attended the announcement, as all three cities promised the company subsidies and tax incentives topping $2.2 billion.

New York pledged $1.525 billion between tax incentives and grants. Virginia and Arlington agreed to an $800 million package, more than half-a-billion of it in cash grants. Nashville offered up to $102 million in tax credits and grants, many of them conditional.

These locations competed with 238 cities across the continent for the center, and its jobs. The average incentive package of the 20 semi-finalists totaled $2.15 billion from cities and $6.75 billion from states over the next 15 years, according to Michael Farren and Anne Philpot of the Mercatus Center. Some locations offered as much as $8 billion to lure Amazon.

After the announcement, the newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-Queens, tweeted:

Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 13, 2018

Her objections are partly right and partly wrong.

She is right: Businesses dont need these incentives.

Amazon is actually a trillion-dollar company, albeit one with a low profit margin. That makes these giveaways even less defensible.

Whats more, although Amazon told cities that tax structure would be a high-priority consideration, politicians giveaways dont necessarily change any companys decision. CEOs look for a skilled workforce, transportation, aligned industries, and, yes, a business-friendly environment. Tax incentives and tax packages are uniformly viewed as low priorities  relatively unimportant to the basic decision, according to Natalie Cohen of the Brookings Institution. One researcher found that as many as 90 percent of businesses would have invested in Texas without any state subsidy. These grants squander taxpayers money with little or no effect on the outcome.

She is right: This is cronyism.

Citizens should be concerned that politicians are giving away taxpayers funds to a well-connected corporation, so it can locate near the locus of political power. Economic development grants favor huge corporations. A 2014 study found that legislators handing out incentives are biased toward larger companies.

Picking winners and losers in the economy keeps politicians from treating all businesses  and all their constituents  equally. The cities and states that vied for Amazons HQ2 could have reduced their corporate income taxes by an average of 29 percent across-the-board, Farren and Philpot found. Colorado, Maryland, and North Carolina could all cut their corporate income taxes by over 70 percent. Instead of giving all businesses a break, corporation-specific tax incentives distort the market and give some employers an unfair advantage over their actual, or potential, competitors.

These tax breaks are wrong. Dead wrong, wrote Veronique de Rugy of Mercatus in National Review. And your repeating until you are red in the face that they are great because a company will create jobs will not make these breaks ethically or economically acceptable.

She is (partly) right: (Some of) this money could be spent on other things.

If we have $1.7b to give to Amazon, then that means we have $1.7b to forgive NY student loan debt, Cortez tweeted. One can quibble over what should be funded, but government spending always comes with an opportunity cost. Washington, D.C., could have increased its police force by 181 percent. New York state could have paid for all of its road maintenance, statewide, for three years.

Theres another option, seemingly unthinkable to any politician: The government could have refrained from spending the money at all.

However, reducing or eliminating taxes is not spending. Tax cuts allow an individual or business to keep more of the money they have earned. If the jobs generate more aggregate economic activity, the budget does not shrink.

She is wrong: Economic development benefits the community.

Although Amazon may have created these jobs in Cortezs district without the incentives, there will be jobs: The promised jobs will benefit an estimated 25,000 of her constituents with a salary of at least $100,000, a promise of $2.5 billion in Amazon investment. (The same figures apply to D.C.) Amazon promises Nashville another 5,000 full-time jobs and $230 million in investment. This does not include economic activity generated by those employees consumption. Cortez portrays this as the displacement of the indigenous poor. However, living in greater proximity to wealth benefits the poor, including those who do not receive one of the 25,000 new jobs.

She is wrong: The jobs will be good for her constituents.

Work allows an individual to make legitimate use of his talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all and to harvest the just fruits of his labor, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Aside from the financial impact, the jobs benefit employees spiritually by allowing them to develop their latent abilities. Work honors the Creators gifts and the talents received from Him, providing a forum in which the person exercises and fulfills the potential inscribed in his nature.

However, that person may have found just as fruitful labor with another employer, or without extravagant crony packages bribing Amazon to move into the neighborhood.

(Photo credit: Tony Webster. This photo has been cropped. CC BY-SA 2.0.)
Here are SFGN's "Best of 2018" winners in the Readers Choice category in Broward County.

Best Animal Rescue

Grateful Paws

GratefulPaws.org

Jan Milbyer knows a thing or two about dogs  shes been rescuing them for the past 19 years. About 13 years she started Grateful Paws, a Tri-County area dog rescue organization.

For years local organizations in Wilton Manors have stepped up to raise funds for Grateful Paws including an annual event at Alibi in March.

Milbyer said she has seen many small rescues like her own go under over the years because its hard to say no to an animal in need. But what happens is these organizations can easily find themselves in a hole they cant dig out of buried in expenses like vet bills.

Its just not possible to save all of them, there are just too many animals, and not enough people to do it, she said. Its easy to get in over your head.

For example, she said, they just rescued a dog that cost them $1,100 at the vet.

Grateful Paws is a foster based organization. They dont have a facility to keep any of the dogs. Milbyer isnt a fan of kenneling the animals.

This way we know their temperament. We have more information to give to a potential adopter, she said, When people ask is Fido house broken? Does he get along with kids? Cats?

Its much easier to answer those questions if the dog has been living with a foster parent.

But that doesnt mean they just give their dogs to anyone.

Were tough. We piss people off by turning them down for different reason, she said. We always look for the best home for the dog.

-JEP

Best Dentist/Dental Office



Dental Associates of Boca Raton

5295 Town Center Rd Suite 200

Boca Raton

561-347-8266



2404 Wilton Drive

Wilton Manors

954-440-7795

MyBocaSmile.com

This year, our readers return to Dental Associates of Boca Raton for a checkup.

My team and I at Dental Associates of Boca Raton are beyond honored to be named your favorite dental office for the second year in a row, said Dr. Michael Costabile, DMD.

When asked what made the office such a unique place to sink your teeth into, Dr. Costabile said, Its our goal to change how people think of the dentist and thats what helps separate us from other experiences. We treat our patients like friends because thats what they are to us.

Its their dedication to the community and to the individual that factor into why they have won Best Dentist/Dental Office for two consecutive years.

Dr. Costabile added, We are all part of the same community and support each other. We enjoy chatting, laughing and getting to know them, while providing the best dental care possible. Our patients have spoken, stop in any time and see why we truly are and always strive to be a better dental experience.

-NA

Best Fundraiser

Smart Ride

TheSmartRide.org

Smart Ride is an epic, 2-day, 165-mile ride from Miami to Key West. Held on Nov. 16 and 17, it raises millions of dollars to fund the fight to end AIDS. Smart Ride is the second-largest AIDS bicycle ride in the U.S. and the only one of its size to give back 100 percent.

Each rider must raise a minimum of $1m250. Rene Cantu is participating this year.

Ive been inspired by many of my friends who have done the ride at some point in the last six years that Ive lived here, he said. When I did Smart Ride 11, I saw how hard it was, but I also recognized how difficult some have it who are living with HIV/AIDS. My first partner, Fernando, was poz and I witnessed the health challenges first-hand. I got involved with Smart Ride because of him.

Cyclists of all ages are gearing up for the event.

The challenging part is overcoming the mental obstacles I place in front of me, Cantu said. Completing a ride such as this one is 50 percent physical and 50 percent mental and the training must prepare both components.

 DR

Best Realtor

Debbie Quintana

Facebook.com/DebQRealtor

Debbie Quintana loves what she does. She believes in honesty, has a strong work ethic and considers herself a deal maker. Those traits are probably what helped t her win this years award for Best Realtor.

I consider it a an honor to be chosen as Best Realtor and to be recognized by South Florida Gay News readers, she said. I absolutely love what I do! I believe what clients like most is my honesty, work ethic and my ownership of the transaction. I treat every deal as if it were my own. Essentially, I am a matchmaker between people and their dream homes. This is not a job to be taken lightly and I take great pride in that role. I do what it takes to make deals happen.

This is Quintanas first time winning. The category of Best Realtor was chosen by the readers this year.

 JEP
Cookie banner

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019.

By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies.
SALT LAKE CITY  Two lightning caused fires that had "unexpected outcomes" are under a multiagency review that is probing how the U.S. Forest Service responded to the blazes that charred more than 120,000 acres in central Utah.

Dave Whittekiend, supervisor of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, told lawmakers Wednesday that a "facilitated learning analysis" is being carried out to review agency response to the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires that collectively cost the agency $30 million to squelch.

The fires' management is being investigated because they had "unexpected outcomes," Whittekiend said.

"We did not expect the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires to behave the way they did," he said.

Whittekiend, who spoke to members of the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee, said the review was requested by Nora Rasure, Intermountain regional forester.

The agency put together a team that includes both federal and Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands employees.

"The vast majority of time we have very good people making the best decisions at the time," he said.

The review will include an examination of maps, timelines, dispatch records and any other pertinent information.

A lightning strike on Aug. 24 started the Bald Mountain Fire that after a couple of weeks stood at 20 acres and was under monitoring by the Forest Service. High winds on Sept. 12 whipped it into a frenzy, growing it to 18,620 acres and prompting multiple community and recreation evacuations involving thousands of people. It was contained in October.

The Pole Creek Fire began Sept. 6 from lightning and grew to 102,190 acres before it was extinguished a month later.

The fires caused devastating losses to ranchers.

"We had cattle with feet that were scorched from walking through hot ash. We had animals with bellies and udders burned," said rancher Rex Larsen, vice president of the Utah Farm Bureau.

The grazing association Larsen belongs to has about 140 head of cattle that remain unaccounted for.

"We don't know if that is fire related or if they are enjoying life up in the mountains and have not come home," he said.

Larsen praised the responsiveness of the federal agency during the weeks the fires played out, noting the Forest Service was good to work with in terms of coordinating access to rescue cattle from the mountains.

Other ranchers and officials throughout the summer, however, expressed frustration with the federal agency for its initial response to wildfires by underestimating how conditions might fuel erratic behavior, especially given the prolonged drought impacting Utah.

Whittekiend, who will be discussing wildfires with ranchers at the Utah Farm Bureau's annual convention on Friday, said a draft report of the investigation will be completed in a couple of weeks and a final report by year's end or early 2019.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Utah lawmaker is reviving a measure to make it clear that administrators can tell police if they believe a person accused of sexual assault threatens their campus.

Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, told a legislative panel Wednesday at the Utah Capitol that she is still hashing out the details of the new version as she meets with police and those who represent victims.

"It's so sensitive. It's so challenging," she said.

Coleman said she wasn't sure how the measure  if it had passed in the last legislative session  could have affected Lauren McCluskey, the University of Utah student shot and killed in October by a parolee she briefly dated.

"Had this institution had clarity on their ability to engage the local law enforcement, there may have been a different outcome," Coleman said. University police took reports from McCluskey about the man, 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, and the school has launched an independent investigation into how it handled the case.

Coleman said after the hearing that McCluskey's death is tragic and she didn't want to speculate further. She said it's too soon to say whether McCluskey's death will inform the new version of the bill.

The measure also seeks to block universities from sanctioning a student for code of conduct violations if they are victims or witnesses of sexual violence. Victim advocates opposed it last year, saying it would chill reporting of sexual crimes that are already seldom made to police.

Coleman said she believes federal laws surrounding campus violence are sometimes conflicting and her bill aims to clear up confusion.
SALT LAKE CITY  Everyone has seen drivers drift across traffic lanes as their eyes go from the road to their laps or whose heads jerk up as they come to a sudden stop, cellphone in hand.

Utah laws against distracted driving have made it illegal to use handheld devices while driving for a decade, and updated laws against texting and emailing behind the wheel were enacted in 2014.

But Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, wants to go one step further by giving police the authority to pull over drivers for merely holding a cellphone.

"My intent has always been to pass something that would improve public safety because people are dying from these accidents," she told the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee on Wednesday.

Moss' bill would limit cellphone use to dashboard-, windshield- or center console-mounted devices that could be operated with one swipe or tap of the finger.

The committee endorsed the measure, though two members voted against it. The Legislature will consider the bill when it meets in January. Similar legislation died in a legislative committee earlier this year.

Bountiful Police Chief Tom Ross said drivers using cellphones are causing more crashes on Utah roadways, particularly rear-enders and hitting cyclists and pedestrians.

"We know this is real," he said. "You cannot be at an intersection almost across the board and look around and not see someone manually manipulating a cellphone."

Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said her 10-year-old daughter was hit by a driver who ran a red light while on a cellphone four years ago, resulting in six broken vertebrae in her neck and a long hospital stay. Escamilla said she was frustrated because it couldn't be proved that the driver was texting.

Drivers, she said, don't say, "I was texting, guys. Sorry about the crash."

Ross, president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, told the committee that it's difficult for police to enforce the current law because they can't tell if someone is texting or dialing a phone.

"This bill is really aimed at getting drivers to focus on driving," he said.

Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, one of two dissenters on the bill, questioned whether a hands-free device is any safer than a handheld one. If lawmakers want to get serious about distracted driving, they should consider all kinds of distractions, he said.

"If somebody's weaving, if somebody's distracted, throw the book at them. I don't care what they were doing," Daw said. "This bill just seems like it's appeasing a perception, not actually moving the needle on making things safer."

Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry, said the bill would make the law much clearer.

Law enforcement right now is in a "heck of a bind" trying to figure out if drivers were actually touching the phone or pushing a button.

Moss said 16 states have passed laws banning handheld phones and 10 others have legislation pending.

"You dont see people in California on their phones," Escamilla said. "If they can do it, why can't we do it?"
Walter Ji, President, Huawei Western Europe Consumer Business Group has made public the companys plan for the coming year. The executive spoke to a German publication and shared the roadmap of what the Chinese conglomerate plans to do in 2019. Ji says that the company would launch a foldable smartphone, a smartphone with a quad-camera setup on the back that will feature 10x lossless zoom, 5G-enabled phones and AI on Kirin processor. Huawei is also reportedly working to open its huge flagship stores to dethrone Samsung from the top spot.

Smartphones

Ji said that the company wants to innovate and would probably launch a smartphone with a rear quad-camera setup. Although Samsung has already launched the Galaxy A9 with four cameras on the back, Huawei wants to go further. Next year we will definitely see more innovation in the camera, and now we have three, imagine four for next year. Even more zoom will come. Three or five times the zoom is not enough, ten times the zoom in consistent quality with the smartphone, this is unique! In these areas, we research, and there we could have one or the other surprise for you, AndroidPit quoted ji as saying.

Huawei has already said that it would launch a folding smartphone with a flexible display and 5G support in the first half of next year. The executive also goes on to say that Huawei may not launch entry-level smartphones. In the entry-level class, you can not guarantee a good user experience, which is not good for the Huawei brand, Ji added.

Artificial intelligence

The executive says that since 5G will not available everywhere in the foreseeable future, Artificial Intelligence cannot be outsourced to the cloud. To tackle this problem, Huawei may develop a Kirin processor that will provide on-device AI with the NPU, and develop Cloud AI in parallel to make it available to users at any time. Ji says that AI is an important bridge between the increasingly complex devices and the ever-simpler operation that users desire. He says that AI is also an important part of the camera and the battery life should rise with its help.

Huawei also wants to open large flagship stores to make the brand more visible. Ji says that around 10-20 stores will be opened in 2019 and the first one is being planned to be functional in Hamburg in the first half of 2019. Apart from smartphones, tablets and wearables, Huawei will continue to expand its efforts on the PC and laptops. The PC is an important building block for us which we will continue to pursue, he said.
After fixing bugs that forced Microsoft to pause the Windows 10 October Update, the company has announced that it has re-released the update. The company is making the Windows 10 Update available only for seekers, or people who want to download it manually. Those who press on the check for updates button will receive the October 2018 Update, however, Microsoft stresses that people should wait till the update is made available to them. Microsoft is also doing checks on every PC that requests the update to ensure there are no compatibility issues.

We have taken time to closely monitor feedback and diagnostic data from our Windows Insiders and from the millions of devices on the Windows 10 October Update, and we have no further evidence of data loss. Based on this data, today we are beginning the re-release of the October Update by making it available via media and to advanced users who seek to manually check for updates, John Cable, Microsoft's Director of Program Management, Windows Servicing and Delivery was quoted as saying. The update package contains the Windows 10 October Update (version 1809), Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server, version 1809.

Microsoft had to halt the roll out process because a number people who installed the update complained that their data including profiles, photos, videos and documents were being deleted after the update. The company later announced that it identified as well as fixed the issue. According to Microsoft, the problem occurred if Known Folder Redirection (KFR) had been previously enabled. KFR is the process of redirecting the known folders of Windows including Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Screenshots, Videos, Camera Roll, etc. from the default folder location, c:\users\username\<folder name>, to a new folder location. To fix the issue, Microsoft introduced a code in the October 2018 Update to remove these empty, duplicate known folders.

More recently, a new issue was reported in which a bug would apparently break the file association feature in the operating system. The File Association bug prevented certain software from handling specific formats by default. The bug was reported by several users and Microsoft has updated its support document. For example, if you want that all your MP4 files are opened in VLC media player by default, you will have to right click on the file, click Open As and choose an app from the list as well as check the textbox which says Always use this app to open .MP4 files. The action will automatically open any file with .MP4 extension in VLC Player. But the bug prevents this action and the MP4 is opened in the default Films & TV app.
Users of the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL smartphones are about to get an update to the camera app which will bring Night Sight, an exciting low-light photography feature to the smartphones. Google gave us access to the update one whole night early and we managed to take a few sample shots to see what Night Sight can and cannot do. Heres what you can expect from the feature

What is Night Sight

When the third generation of Googles Pixel smartphones were announced, Google once again showed off that it has achieved through software. The focus was to emphasize Googles belief that software could compensate for lack of a certain type of hardware. One particular area where smartphones suffer is low light photography due to their minuscule sensors. Since increasing sensor size is not feasible, Google decided to put machine learning to use and created Night Sight, a mode which according to the on-stage demo, was capable of creating perfectly lit photos out of landscapes completely dark. This is done using a combination of burst mode photography and oodles of machine learning, but honestly, in this case, the results matter more than the method used to achieve it.

Below are some photos shot using the regular mode on the Google Pixel 3XL followed by the same photo being shot using the Night Sight Mode. The photos below have been resized for web, but you can see a larger collection of all the original photos by going to our Flickr Gallery here.



Test Scene 1: Normal Mode



Test Scene 1: Night Sight Mode



Test Scene 2: Normal Mode



Test Scene 2: Night Sight Mode



Test Scene 3: Normal Mode



Test Scene 3: Night Sight Mode



Test Scene 4: Normal Mode



Test Scene 4: Night Sight Mode

Observation #1

While shooting photos in Night Sight, it was interesting to discover that the shot duration was anywhere between 3-5 seconds. This isnt because the Pixel is shooting a 3 second or 5 second exposure, but more because it is shooting a large number of frames at varying shutter speeds and then combining the best parts of each into the resulting photo. While hand-holding the phone for long wasnt a problem in most cases, there were two photos that showed blur due to hand shake. For the most part though, this should not be an issue for most users.

Observation #2

The scene needs to be very poorly lit in order for Night Sight to really do its thing. If the algorithm determines that the scene has enough light, it will generate a photo which will look very close to the photo shot in the regular mode. Thankfully, every time you will find yourself in poorly lit situations, the camera will suggest switching to Night Sight. If the suggestion doesnt pop up, you probably dont need to use it.

Observation #3

Photos shot in Night Sight mode are visibly soft and lack critical sharpness in most cases. There were two photos in our test sample where the subject of the photo was adequately sharp, but in the case of the two people we shot, the photo lacks sharpness. The softness isnt due to noise reduction (since theres very little of it being applied in the first place), but probably due to the way the photos are merged. Thankfully, this is fixable through a software update, just like Apples alleged beautygate.

Observation #4

If your subject (or you) are in motion, the resulting photo will not have the desired visual quality. Since there is plenty of merging and aligning of multiple frames involved, if there is noticeable movement between frames, the mode wont work properly and will exhibit ghosting.

Observation #5

Interestingly, the colour reproduction, white balance and contrast (local contrast included) is spot on in every photo. The shots look like they were created using long exposure and not using software manipulation and that is very commendable.

In Conclusion

Google has time and time again shown that it had the ability to defy odds using its machine learning algorithms. We first saw it with the HDR algorithms on the original Pixel, followed by the Portrait Mode on the Pixel 2 and now, Night Sight on the Pixel 3. The mode is an excellent proof of concept and works very well 8 out of 10 times, but there is definitely room for improvement and hopefully, Google will continue to improve the feature in noticeable ways.
Two days after a report claimed that Samsung will bring its new UI, called the One UI, to the Galaxy Note 8 and S8 family of smartphones, a new report has said that these phones are expected to get the Android Pie 9.0 OS update soon. Three handsets with model numbers SM-G9500, SM-G9550 and SM-N9500, which are said to be of the Chinese variants of Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy Note 8, have been seen passing the US-based WiFi Alliance's certification process.

The listing on the website shows these three models running on the Android Pie. Its possible that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 smartphones may get the OS update along with the Galaxy S9 series and Galaxy Note 9 in January. But these ninth generation of Galaxy smartphones will get Samsung's new One UI later this month. Samsungs One UI will be based on Android 9 Pie. The new UI will also come to older flagship Samsung devices like the Galaxy Note 8 and the Galaxy S8 family of smartphones.

Samsung is currently accepting beta sign-ups for the One UI. The beta will be available in China, France, Germany, India, Poland, South Korea, Spain, UK, and USA. With the introduction of One UI, Samsung is looking to make single handed operations on its devices a lot easier. Users will see common operations that rested on the top of the display at the bottom and will be able to reach critical actions.
Here are SFGN's "Best of 2018" winners in Key West.

Best Activist

Aaron Huntsman

Two years ago, Aaron Huntsman won Best Bartender in Key West. Last year, he brought home top honors as Best Activist and Best Non-Profit. This year, he won for again for Best Activist for the LoveisLove Foundation, where he serves as Executive Director.

Huntsman first gained notoriety as one half of the first gay marriage in Monroe County. Six months, later, the United States Supreme Court gave the same right to every American.

These days, Huntsman, in his leadership role at LoveisLove, advocates for those who are discriminated against based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, age, or disability.

Huntsman, who co-manages the Key West nightclub Aqua, has spent much of the last year helping fellow residents and business owners in Key West recover from Hurricane Irma.

Eventually, LoveIsLove would like to get a mobile disaster relief response vehicle to help people in need, especially in the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster.

To learn more about LoveisLove, visit www.LoveisLoveFoundation.com.

-DR

Best Travel Activity

Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory

1316 Duval Street

Key West

305-296-2988

KeyWestButterfly.com

Theres a lot of activities in Key West, but only one features a pair of pink love birds.

Flamingos Rhett and Scarlett reside at the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. Named after the famous couple from the epic film Gone With The Wind, the flamingos make themselves available to meet small groups daily at the conservatory.

Voted best travel activity in Key West, the Butterfly and Nature Conservatory is home to more than 50 species of butterflies and 20 species of exotic birds. The birds and butterflies flutter about inside a glass enclosed, climate controlled environment.

Inside the conservatorys learning center, visitors can watch a 15-minute film about Monarch butterflies migration and life cycle and see caterpillars feeding and growing on their host plants. Theres also a gift shop and gallery for shoppers. Artist Sam Trophia created Wings of Imagination  The Butterfly Gallery in 1992 after studying and raising Monarchs as a teenager in upstate New York.

Conservatory hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., gallery and gift shop: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Special orders, commissions and worldwide shipping are offered.

- JMD

Best Bar/Club & Best Kept Secret



Aqua (Bar/Club)

Side Bar (Kept Secret)



Aqua

711 Duval St

Key West

305-294-0555

AquaKeyWest.com

SideBarKeyWest.com

Aqua has won Best Bar/Club and much of that, if not all, seems owed to the popularity of its drag shows. Additionally, Sidebar, part of the Aqua Group and attached to the club has won Best Kept Secret.

This is the second time in a row they have won together since the categories were included for three Best Of editions.

Aqua holds two inside bars for watching the drag shows and occasional karaoke, the Side Bar, which features the latest dance music and videos, and an outside bar in the back for the more quiet cocktails. In other words, there is always a perfect space for just your mood.

Aquas drag ensemble is made up of six performers, known as the Aquanettes; Beatrix, Inga, Elle, Maya, Jessica, and Aquanette host, Faith.

Theres a nightly performance, usually featuring three Aquanettes at a time. Aqua

describes it as fun, raucous and a quintessential part of Key West life.

One yelp reviewer writes Amazing night here. High quality, professional show, great costumes and music, all around fabulous time!

Sidebar in particular hosts Fundraising Fridays, wherein tips after 5:30 p.m. are donated to the charity of your choice.

-NA

Best Bartender

Tom Luna @ Aqua

711 Duval St

Key West

AquaKeyWest.com

Tom L. likes to make his customers smile. Maybe thats why the readers voted him as Best Bartender this year in Key West.

All I can say is I love where I live and I love what I do. I can honestly say that I have met the most amazing people at my bar and so many are my best friends now. I am one lucky guy, Luna said. Now if we can only get customers to stop asking for separate checks.

Luna has lived in Key West for almost 30 years. Hes originally from Mobile, Alabama.

Luna also likes creating special drinks. Heres a new one hes sharing with SFGN readers: Yogurt Liqueur, Coconut Liqueur, Frozen Strawberry Drink Mix, Ice, blend.

Hey, try it first before you condemn it, he said. Its surprisingly delicious.

He has the credentials to back up his drink making skills too; a few years back he won the Kenny Chesney Blue Chair Bay Rum drink competition.

 JEP

Best Burger

Garbos Grill

409 Caroline Street

Key West

305-304-3004

GarbosGrillKW.com

Behind Grunts Bar you will find the best burger in Key West.

Garbos Grill, a food truck, serves the burgers. Opened in 2009, Garbos Grill is the dream of owners Eli and Kenna Pancamo. It has four and half stars with more than 1,100 reviews on Yelp.

The winning burger  Umamiburger  is a half of pound of angus beef topped with heirloom tomato, Applewood bacon and chipotle gouda on a brioche bun.

The menu at Garbos Grill includes burritos, hot dogs and tacos. Hours: Lunch 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

The business draws its inspiration from iconic Hollywood actress Greta Garbo. Garbo, whose many roles, included famed performances as a World War I German spy in Mata Hari (1931) and a Russian ballerina in Grand Hotel (1932). Born in Sweden, Garbo never married, had no children and died alone in Manhattan in 1990 at the age of 84.

- JMD

Best Drag Queen

Maya Montana

Facebook.com/MayaMontana

Maya Montana is one of the biggest stars on Duval Street. Named Miss Gay America in 1998, Miss Maya shows no signs of slowing down or losing the fierceness she puts into every show. Maya started performing at Aqua Nightclub in Key West ten years ago and remains a crowd favorite.

I am flattered and excited about winning this honor, she said. I have been doing this for a long time, so this is great.

Maya, a consummate professional, performs Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday evenings. Her shows feature songs by Tina Turner, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, and other dance numbers. I draw inspirations from movies, music videos, and magazines, she said. I take it all in and translate it in my own way. I make most of my costumes, and I taught myself to style my wigs. I like being self-sufficient.

Originally from the Philippines, Maya moved to the U.S. in 1987. She discovered her love of drag a few years later and the rest is history!

These days, when she is not on stage, Maya loves the great outdoors, and enjoys camping, kayaking, sunbathing, swimming, and riding her bicycle around Key West.

Fun fact: Maya is an awesome wildlife photographer.I enjoy taking photos of wildlife, she said. If Im not working, I take full advantage of living in Key West. My companion is my Pomeranian. I love taking photos of sunsets, birds, and nature in general.

-DR

Best Annual Event

Key West Pride

305-294-4603

KeyWestPride.org

In a town known for legendary parties, including the world-famous Fantasy Fest, Key West Pride was chosen as Best Annual Event.

The multi-day festival, held every June, features cocktail parties, pool parties, dance parties, variety shows, drag shows, a street far, parade, the worlds longest Pride Flag, and everything Key West offers the rest of the year.

All in what Key West Pride organizers say is one of the most integrated and welcoming cities in the world. Whether youre looking to party with friends, travel with family, or get lost in the magic of our tropical island... show us your pride, we will show you our Key West Pride.

After visiting Key West for over 20 years this year was my very first Key West Pride it was absolutely fabulous! Something I will always remember, said Robby Kaplarczuk on Facebook. All of the work and everything that went into it was phenomenal. Thank you for a great time and a great week!

Next years event takes place June 5-9.

 MDO

Best Key Lime Pie



Kermits Key West Key Lime Shoppe

200 Elizabeth St. #A

Key West

800-376-0806

KeyLimeShop.com

This is the third year in a row that Kermits Key West Lime Shoppe has received the most votes from our readers for Best Key Lime Pie.

It has been long held that the Key Lime Pie was invented in Key West. Ask the customers of Kermits Key West Key Lime Shoppe, and theyll tell you that owner and founder Kermit Carpenter has certainly perfected it.

But, as Kermit himself said, Key Lime Pie is only the beginning. For those not happy with just Key Lime Pie, Kermits also offers Key Lime Cookies, Key Lime Salsa, Key Lime Chutney, Key Lime Taffy, Key Lime Jelly Beans, Key Lime Tea, Key Lime Olive Oil, and pretty much anything else Key Lime.

When at Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe you have to order to the Chocolate Covered Key Lime Pie on a stick, writes one Yelp reviewer.

We recommend you try the Dark Chocolate Strawberry Key Lime Pie on a Stick!

Aside from making all things Key Lime for Key West, Kermits Key West Lime Shoppe is also a supporter for the Monroe Association for Remarkable Citizens, Inc., as well as The ARC Volusia, DeLand Training Center, organizations that advocate for those with mental disabilities.

-NA





Best Non-Profit

Sister Season Fund

SisterSeason.com

Sister Season Fund was founded in 2005 to assist a local resident in Key West with his rent and utilities due to an illness that prevented him from working.

We have continued the mission Locals helping Locals when someone is sick, or in an accident, through no fault of their own, and who also works in the Hospitality or Tourism industry, said Board President Julie Hanson. We are proud to be a 501(c)3 organization and have been able to help hundreds of individuals and families to the tune of over $400,000.

Throughout the year they hold fundraisers and are always looking for grants.

Thank you for recognizing Sister Season Fund, she said.

We are all volunteers."

-JEP

Best Pizza



Mr. Zs Pizza

501 Southard St. at Duval

Key West

305-296-4445

MrzsKeyWest.com

Since SFGN began including Best Key West Pizza, Mr. Zs Pizza has won every year, three years now in a row to be specific.

Mr. Zs Pizza opened in 2002, and since then it has established locations in Key West and Sanford. But no matter which place you order, customers can say each of Mr. Zs pizzas have the same quality - amazing.

Their pizza choices include the Tomato Pie, White Pie, Roasted Veggie, Meatball, and Cheesesteak Pizza.

But you have to try their signature Cholesterol Bomb Pizza - the Key West location exclusive that comes with chopped hot dog, domestic ham and, of course, bacon.

Mr. Zs also serves Stromboli, hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, and salads.

Besides the Cholesterol Bomb, the Key West locations menu options differ from the Sanford location with its inclusion of Sausage and Peppers with Red Gravy and five dollar Philly Jumbo Hot Dogs.

The Sanford location offers 8 piece hot wings tossed in their homemade sauces.

But, of course, its Mr. Zs pizzas that take the cake. As far as pizza goes... Whoa! One of the best pizzas I've had on the island. You must try Mr. Z's before you leave, one Yelp reviewer writes.

-NA

Best Restaurant

Santiagos Bodega

207 Petronia St.

Key West

305-296-7691

SantiagosBodega.com

For owner Jason Dugan, Santiagos Bodega was born out of a childhood quest for adventure. Since an early age he wanted to open his own restaurant.

Eventually that dream became a reality with Santiagos Bodega, a tapas style dining experience inspired by Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, where the main character, Santiago, closely links his life's work as a fisherman with his own core values.

This had to be one of the best tapas restaurant that I've been to in a long time. Everything from the service to the food was fabulous, said Yelp reviewer Jenn B. Personally I would recommend the sparkling sangria to start off your culinary adventure. The burrata was heavenly and had a yummy pesto with it. The charcuterie and the cheese plates had such a great variety.

While Stephen Webber added on Facebook: The eclectic Tapas menu has something tasty for everyone. Try the stuffed dates - great last course as a dessert, the beef tenderloin, the shrimp and chorizo - these were our favorites. It very reasonably priced as well considering the high quality of the dishes.

For those that dont live in Key West Bodegas has two other locations - Orlando and Altamonte Springs.

 JEP
Media organizations called the U.S. Senate race Monday night for U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who becomes the first openly bisexual person to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Sinemas victory is a major one for the LGBT community, which has only one other member of the Senate: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

LGBTQ Victory Fund President Annise Parker called Sinemas victory a game changer.

An LGBTQ woman winning a U.S. Senate seat in a state that voted for Trump is a game-changer, both for the LGBTQ community and the Democratic party, said Parker. With both Baldwin and Sinema in the Senate, she said, the U.S. Senate will certainly find our community more difficult to ignore.

Information from the Arizona Secretary of State Monday night showed Sinema more than 38,000 votes ahead of her Republican competitor, Rep. Martha McSally. Sinema was behind when the polls closed, but Arizona had an unprecedented number of early ballots handed in on election day, causing a delay in reaching a final count.

But Associated Press called the race for Sinema at 8 p.m. EST, and several other major media followed suit. McSally soon thereafter posted a video message on Twitter, saying she had just called Sinema to congratulate her for becoming Arizonas first U.S. Senator.

The credit for Democrats success in the heavily Republican state is being given largely to her moderate record and approach to issues. According to the political analysis group FiveThirtyEight.com, the three-term Congresswoman Sinema voted in line with President Trumps position 57.4 percent of the time. That compares with liberal Senator Baldwins 22.1 percent.

Sinemas win brings to 10 the number of openly LGBT people who will be serving in Congress next session: two senators and eight members of the House. It will represent the largest number of openly LGBT people ever to serve in any Congress, surpassing 2013 when there were seven.

Of the eight House members, four are first-time members: Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Sharice Davids of Kansas, Angie Craig of Minnesota, and Katie Hill of California. Hills race, another cliffhanger, was called the day after the election. She defeated well-known anti-LGBT incumbent Steve Knight.

The five incumbents re-elected included Senator Baldwin of Wisconsin and Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, and Mark Takano of California.

The outcome of one important LGBT candidates race is still in limbo. In Texas, election officials have until November 20 to call the winner for Congressional District 23. Initial media reports indicated Republican incumbent Rep. Will Hurd had beat his lesbian Democratic challenger Gina Ortiz Jones. But within hours of that call, Jones had a surge in votes that put her on top. Then, election officials said they made a clerical error and that Hurd was still in the lead. At last report, Jones was trailing by about 1,100 votes but had indicated she would make sure all votes were counted and, if necessary, ask for a recount. According to the Dallas News, Jones must pay for the recount, an expense that could amount to $100,000.

Two of the four House incumbents are now planning to run for leadership positions in the next session of Congress. Cicilline is one of two announced candidates now for the House leadership position of Assistant Democratic Leader. And Maloney is one of four candidates for Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign, which oversees the partys efforts to elect Democrats to the House.

In the Senate, where the Democrats are in the minority, Baldwin is expected to hold onto her sixth ranking position as secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference.

Although the outcomes of two Senate races are still in limbo, Republicans have won enough seats to retain the majority and, therefore, control of confirmations to judicial seats. The importance of that role was underscored two days after the election when news emerged that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been hospitalized following a fall. Ginsburg has been one of the courts strongest supporters of equal rights for LGBT people, unlike both of President Trumps two Supreme Court appointees thus far.

But the wins by Democrats pushed them into the majority of the U.S. House, a development that brings some relief to the LGBT community.

In another important win for the LGBT community November 6, lesbian attorney Dana Nessel won her race to become Michigans attorney general. Nessel beat her Republican opponent by three points. She is the second openly LGBT person to be elected attorney general of any state. Maura Healey of Massachusetts was the first, in 2014.
Alcohol ads with pro-drinking comments on Facebook boost desire to drink

Alcohol advertisements on social media sites such as Facebook can increase young adults' desire to drink if the ads contain pro-drinking comments from users. That's according to new research in the current issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Social media users who view alcohol ads are also more likely to "Like" or "Share" an ad when it has pro-drinking comments, the new study shows.

"There is more information on social media than just a post or a message. We are exposed to how other users respond to a post, and it is those responses that can influence your desire to drink," says Dr Jonathan Noel, the study's lead author. "Our findings suggest that comments left by other social media users may either reinforce or negate the message from a post."

With hundreds of corporate-sponsored alcohol ads on social media sites (with millions of Likes and Shares), plus millions of views of alcohol ads on YouTube, alcohol companies have expanded platforms to reach young consumers.

The new study suggests that the industry needs to improve the voluntary self-regulatory system that governs its advertising, possibly by limiting or banning comments on social media advertising.

Conducted by Drs Noel and Thomas Babor at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Medicine, the study involved 120 young adults, ages 21 to 24, living in the United States. Each participant viewed four online ads (actual beer advertisements posted on Facebook).

The researchers then chose certain comments that would appear with the ads -- either pro-drinking comments that had accompanied that ad online or anti-drinking comments. The ads also varied on whether there were a high number of Likes, Shares, or Comments (thousands) or a low number (dozens to hundreds).

After the participants viewed each advertisement, they were asked whether they thought the ad would increase the desire to drink. The participants also said whether they would Like or Share the ad they viewed. They received $10 for participating.

The lowest desire to drink was found after participants were exposed to ads with anti-drinking comments plus a high "user engagement" (i.e., Likes/Shares/Comments). Compared with this ad, desire to drink was 3.5 times higher after participants saw an ad with pro-drinking comments plus high user engagement.

Further, compared with the ads with anti-drinking comments, ads with pro-drinking comments left participants more than twice as likely to say they would Like or Share the ad.

"It's fascinating really. Not only might these comments influence the desire to drink, but they also can increase the reach and virality of the original message," says Dr Noel.

Overall, though, the researchers say it wasn't the number of Likes, Shares, and Comments that appeared to influence the participants but the type of comments -- that is, comments for or against alcohol.

Those with alcohol problems may be most affected. "Heavy alcohol users and those who are alcohol dependent may be the most susceptible to the potential effects of pro-drinking comments," the researchers write. The ads, coupled with positive comments about drinking, may serve as alcohol cues "and an increased desire to drink after exposure to alcohol cues may predict relapse after treatment for alcoholism."

Currently, alcohol advertisers have a system of self-regulation in place intended to limit depictions of excessive use and appeals to young people, among other restrictions. According to the researchers, the current results suggest that comments should be restricted or banned altogether on alcohol ads on social media. Another possibility they suggest is that companies could use the comments sections to promote messages about moderate and responsible drinking.
RCEP pushed back to 2019 as consensus evades trade ministers

Trade ministers of 16 countries participating in the negotiators for a mega Asian trade deal have decided to push back the deadline for a free trade agreement to 2019 as they struggled to narrow differences and find balanced outcomes in the negotiations.

The deadline for the launch of the envisaged free trade area was extended as trade ministers could not agree on the terms of the agenda for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit scheduled later this week, commerce ministry sources said.

Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu, who is currently in Singapore to attend the RCEP trade ministers meeting, welcomed members decision to defer the launch deadline.

For India, which has a trade deficit with ten out of 16 countries in negotiations, a delay in concluding negotiations, however, comes as a blessing in disguise.

The development comes as a relief to the Modi government that is struggling to build consensus within over joining the 16-member Asian free trade agreement, in the run-up to the general elections.

In fact, key industries and ministries like steel and textiles are vehemently opposing Indias entry into the 16-member club as they fear the country will be inundated with imported goods.

The Modi government could also be facing electoral backlash if it agreed to tariff concessions that RCEP entry requires.

While India may try to stagger negotiations on tariff concessions beyond the next elections to insulate it from industry and trade union protests that are likely to emanate from India joining the Asian free trade pact, it cannot go back from entering the RCEP.

The future lies in RCEP, Prabhu told reporters, saying every country will benefit from it.

RCEP negotiations has assumed urgency because of US President Donald Trumps America First policy, which has led to a dilution of US commitment to trade multilateralism.

The ongoing trade tension between China and the US has provided the impetus for an early conclusion of the RCEP.

The trade ministers meeting will be followed by a summit of heads of governments from RECP member states in Singapore later this week to give a much-needed political push to the free trade negotiations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the summit.

RCEP will include ten ASEAN group members  Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam  and their six free trade partners  India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

India has a trade deficit with ten out of 16 countries in negotiations to ink the mega free trade pact.

According to government data, Indias trade deficit with seven countries  Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand  increased in 2017-18 from the preceding fiscal.

The trade gap with China, Korea, Indonesia and Australia has increased to $63.12 billion, $11.96 billion, $12.47 billion and $10.16 billion in 2017-18. It was $51.11 billion, $8.34 billion, $9.94 billion and $8.19 billion respectively in 2016-17.

Currently, RCEP countries want India to commit duty cuts on at least 92 per cent of tariff lines, a demand that would cede too much ground to China.

India had proposed a three-tier tariff reduction plan. Countries that came under the third tier, which would include China, would only be offered 42.5 per cent liberalisation in tariffs.

However, India later withdrew its proposal under pressure from other countries, and hoping to gain on the services front.

Instead, India has now offered tariff liberalisation on 74 per cent of goods for China and a few other countries and up to 86 per cent for all other RCEP members.

In return for tariff liberalisation on goods, India has sought greater commitment from RCEP members on liberalisation of the services sector, especially easy movement of its professionals to other countries in the proposed trade bloc.

It has pushed for adopting ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA as the template. However, its demand has failed to find traction with other RCEP members, resulting in a lowering of its ambitions.

Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Singapore, China, Japan and New Zealand on the sidelines of the RCEP. He discussed bilateral issues and progress in RCEP negotiations. He also had pull-aside meetings with trade ministers of South Korea, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Australia and Philippines to discuss matters of mutual interest.
India says open to importing more oil and gas from US

India is open to importing more oil and gas from the United States, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Wednesday after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US vice president Mike Pence on the sidelines of a summit of Asian leaders looking for a regional free-trade agreement.

We expressed our readiness to import more gas and more oil from the United States as a way of expanding trade, Gokhale told reporters on the sidelines of the RCEP summit in Singapore, which is being attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The United States early this month re-imposed sanctions on Iran making it difficult for oil importing countries, especially from Asia, to meet energy demand. President trump has since relented, fearing a price spike, and granted to eight Asian countries, including India, on importing oil from Iran.

India is expected to import about $4 billion of oil from the United States this year, Gokhale said.

Meanwhile, US President Donald trump has commented that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a good friend, India is a tough negotiator when it comes to trade, meaning that he expects concessions.

Besides trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US vice president Mike Pence, who met in Singapore today, discussed countering terrorism.

The meeting between PM Modi and Pence comes weeks after US president Donald Trump turned down PM Modi's invite to India's Republic Day as chief guest due to "scheduling constraints". There have been much speculations about the India-US ties over India's defence purchases from Russia and oil imports from Iran.

PM Modi began his day by attending the Singapore Fintech Summit where he urged start-ups to invest in India. "I say this to all the fintech companies and start-ups, India is your best destination," he said. PM Modi is the first head of government to deliver the keynote address at the event, one of the largest events on financial technology.

"Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians," PM Modi said. He said India has generated more than 1.2 billion Aadhaar biometric identities in just a few years. He said more than a billion biometric identities, bank accounts and cell phones give India the biggest public infrastructure in the world.

The East Asia Summit is a premier leaders-led forum in the Indo-Pacific Region comprising of the 10 ASEAN member nations (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam) and its eight dialogue partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.
Citi appoints Shrinath Bolloju to head South Asia operations and technology

Citi today announced the appointment of Shrinath Bolloju as Head, South Asia operations and technology (O&T), effective 19 November 2018, who will oversee operations across India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. He will be responsible for driving sustainable growth and promoting a client-centric culture by continuing to improve operational efficiency, reduce operational risk, and enhance client experience in O&T.

Shrinath Bolloju

Bolloju will report to Citi India CEO Pramit Jhaveri and Asia Pacific Head of O&T Vikram Subrahmanyam. He will also be part of the Asia Pacific O&T Operating Committee and a member of Citi South Asia senior management team.

Bolloju Citi joins from RBL Bank, where he was the chief operations officer and member of the management committee. He was responsible for the banks technology, operations, and corporate services.

He was earlier with Deutsche Bank between 1996 and 2017, where his last role was as managing director and head of securities services transformation in the transaction banking business. Based in Singapore, he was responsible for the platform transformation strategy for securities services products.

With 30 years of experience across O&T domains, Bolloju has been driving efforts on transformation and digitisation across RBL, Deutsche Bank, and System Access. He has worked in the UK and Singapore, as well as in India, where he began his career with Citi in 1988.

He holds a Bachelors degree in chemical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India and a masters in management (marketing) from the S P Jain Institute of Management & Research.
The Cabinet are meeting now to discuss the proposed agreement over the UKs withdrawal from the EU.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Simon Coveney are briefing the Cabinet on developments in the last 24 hours at a meeting which was due to begin at 9.30am.

It emerged late yesterday afternoon that a draft withdrawal document had been agreed between the EU and the British government.

It is understood the agreement involves a UK-wide customs arrangement, with specific provisions for Northern Ireland for both customs and single market rules.

Last night the taoiseach met with Mr Coveney, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee, to discuss the text of the proposed withdrawal agreement.

The Dail is expected to be briefed on the draft agreement later this afternoon.

The British Cabinet is to meet at 2pm to discuss the draft agreement.

Also at 2pm, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will brief ambassadors from the 27 member states.

Border Communities Against Brexit welcomed the developments on the negotiations between the British government and the EU and the implications for the Irish border.

It is our understanding that the backstop for Ireland will be set in place alongside the UK remaining in the Custom Union and parts of the Single Market to allow further detailed trade negotiations to take place, the group said in a statement.

This would allow certainty for everyone living in border communities and further across this island.

It also provides economic assurance for the thousands of business who face a very difficult future and the tens of thousands of jobs put at risk by a Brexit crash. We will all have to wait and see what developments take place in Westminster in the coming weeks.
The National View: For all the gains nationally, the Democrats are likely to lose a seat in the U.S. Senate from Florida. They have no one but themselves to blame. This is the year a woman or Hispanic could have eclipsed Rick Scott and won the Senate seat for Democrats.

The Democratic establishment held on to the same guy for too long. Senator Nelsons rocket ship landed decades ago. It was time for a change. The problem is the Democratic establishment doesnt always see they too are part of the problem.

Still, lets give credit where credit is due. Under Nancy Pelosis leadership, they forged a national army of candidates that challenged everywhere and won in many venues. They recognized the status quo was a no-no.

Bernie Sanders may not have won in 2016, and neither did Andrew Gillum or Beto O Rourke this year. Each candidacy, however, proved that tomorrows Democrats will have many new faces; a rainbow of different colors.

Americans also proved dramatically we will not back, but we will buck, yesterdays establishment politicians, both Republican and Democrat. Bill Nelson is finding this out in Florida. The openly liberal, Irish white guy in Ted Kennedys Massachusetts district found out the same thing in a special election earlier this year. Debbie Wasserman, take note. You were not elected to serve forever. Pass the torch.

More so than Republicans, Democrats are at least wisely finding new and bold alliances with remarkable coalitions. From gays to Hispanics, women, and persons of color, we appreciate and celebrate diversity and our differences. It is indeed what we all have in common. Find us that Crayola box of crayons, and color us all 64. We are the modern family.

Tomorrow is here. Generational change is upon us. If the Republicans want to remain right wing and Lilly white, on a lonely island will they one day find themselves. Screw Donald Trumps Aryan fears. America has always been a nation of immigrants.

Trumps 2016 victory was a temporary, foolish blacklash against Barack Obamas presidency, but it was only the third lap in a four-baton race.

In 2020, when 22 Republican senatorial seats are up for grabs, and only a dozen Democratic ones, the new coalitions will cement the foothold they planted this year.

The GOP will be flattened.

As for Trump in particular, he has spent the past week humiliating himself internationally and nationally.

On the world front, French President Macron told him to take his white supremacist nationalism and shove it where the sun doesnt shine.

Floridas Failure





Trumps mindless conspiracy tweets about election frauds in Arizona and Florida subvert our democracy and shame our country. It is a national disgrace.

All indications are that ineptitude will be exposed in the Broward elections process. No surprise, there.

The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. The office of Dr. Snipes has a history of incompetence. Reliable they are not.

The good news is that the state mandated recount is proceeding in an orderly manner and in good faith, with independent, judicial oversight.

Numbers dont lie, though. It is just going to be practically impossible for the Democrats to gain enough votes for Bill Nelson to beat Rick Scott in Florida. The final tallies are due in Tally by Thursday of this week.

Will the Democrats come closer? Yes, but the Republicans will likely prevail - maybe by as few as 10-12,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Unreal? No, not really. The Bush Gore separation in the year 2000 was 500 votes.

The only chance Democrats have of winning the seat is not in a machine recount, but a hand recount.

Heres why.

First, they have to hope that the printed ballot was clamped to the ballot machines in such a way that the optical scanner failed to capture votes in the senatorial race.

Second, then they have to hope that the 3.7 percent differential in senatorial voting within Broward County totals about 30,000 ballots.

Third, they have to hope those boxes were inked in and not omitted by voters inadvertently or unintentionally. You see, ballot design flaws are not grounds for overturning an election. You live or die by your hanging chads.

Fourth, Dems then have to hope enough of those uncounted votes were cast for Nelson, giving him at least a 13,000 vote plurality, making up the statewide difference between the two candidates, thus swinging the election.

To pull it off, Nelson would have to win 21,000 to 9,000, with about 65 percent of the vote. Can it happen? Hey, this is Broward County. The rules are different here.

What you can be sure of is that a hand recount will lead not only immediately to a PR war on the air, it will lengthen the stay of national journalists who have already descended on South Florida.

You can be equally certain as well that the legal battles now being fought in Broward County courtrooms will continue.

There are already five different lawsuits against Brenda Snipes and her elections board. She will not even be around to defend herself. She is toast, and should be. Even FDR did not serve five terms.

When the new Republican governor is inaugurated, he is going to summarily remove her. Governor-elect DeSantis will appoint a henchman who cleans house in her office. The Republican-dominated legislature will back his actions.

Ironically, Snipes has not been as bad this year as she has been in the past. This week, despite all the lawsuits back and forth, her office is carrying through its duties by supervising a legally, statutorily mandated recount, which will be court-supervised and judicially reviewed. That is how the system was designed to work, whether Marco Rubio and Donald Trump like it or not.

Either way, the Republicans are playing a political game.

If they win the recount, they will take credit for having gone to court to stop the Democrats from stealing the election.

If they lose the recount, you will hear them crying on Fox News how they have been robbed.

Lets wait and see what the numbers show when the votes are counted.

As for Andrew Gillum, he has almost no chance. Sorry. He was a great candidate, upbeat and positive.

Meanwhile, my friend, Nikki Fried, is likely to become the states highest-ranking Democrat, as our Agriculture Commissioner, a woman winning the race statewide, my point earlier.

A talented lawyer supportive of legalizing marijuana, she will be a lone voice of sanity in the new governors cabinet.

There is a reason the law provides for a mandatory recount. Its a simple one at that. You are entitled to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Is there anything wrong with that?
An international team including five Carnegie astronomers has discovered a frozen Super-Earth orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our own Sun.

The Planet Finder Spectrograph on Carnegie's Magellan II telescope was integral to the discovery, which is published in Nature.

Just six light-years from Earth, Barnard's star is our fourth-closest neighboring star overall, after Alpha Centauri's triple-star system. It is smaller and older than our Sun and among the least-active known red dwarfs.

To find this cold Super-Earth, the team--which included Carnegie's Paul Butler, Johanna Teske, Jeff Crane, Steve Shectman, and Sharon Wang--combined 20 years of data from seven different instruments, all of which were "stitched" together to form one of the largest and most-extensive datasets ever used for this method of planet detection.

"After a very careful analysis, we are over 99 percent confident that the planet is there," said lead author Ignasi Ribas of Spain's Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia.

Called Barnard's star b (or GJ 699 b), the planet has at least 3.2 times Earth's mass and orbits its star every 233 days at a distance where water would be frozen, called the "snow-line" by astronomers, who estimate a surface temperature of -150 degrees Celsius.

This is the first time a planet as small and distant from its star as this one has been detected using what's called the radial velocity technique. This method takes advantage of that fact that not only does a star's gravity obviously influence the planet orbiting it, but the planet's gravity also affects the star in turn. Using sophisticated instruments, including Carnegie's Planet Finding Spectrograph, astronomers can detect the tiny wobbles that the planet's gravity induces in the star's orbit.

"This technique has been used to find hundreds of planets," said Butler, one of the pioneers of the radial velocity method. "We now have decades of archival data at our disposal. The precision of new measurements continues to improve, opening the doors to new parameters of space, such as Super-Earth planets in cool orbits like Barnard's star b."

The research team says that the newly found planet's characteristics make it an excellent target for direct imaging using the next generation of instruments such as NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), and possibly the European Space Agency's Gaia astrometry mission. "This is the result of a large collaboration organized in the context of the Red Dots project, which is why it has contributions from teams all over the world, including semi-professional astronomers," concluded Guillem Anglada-Escude from Queen Mary University of London, who co-led the effort.

This research was supported by the following institutions, organizations, fellowships: Spanish MINECO Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA programme, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), German Science Foundation, the The U.K. Science and Technology Facilities Council, the U.S. National Science Foundation, Queen Mary University of London Scholarship; Perren foundation grant; CONICYT-FONDECYT, Swiss National Science Foundation; Koshland Foundation, and McDonald-Leapman grant; and NASA Hubble Fellowship.



Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Design

The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 design takes inspiration from the iconic 60s Interceptor, with the essence of a quintessential British Roadster. The Interceptor 650 comes with clean lines, classic teardrop-shaped fuel tank, braced handlebars and diamond-quilt-patterned twin seats.

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, on the other hand, offers a more cafe racer design. The motorcycle takes inspiration from the cafe culture of the 1950s and the original Continental GT 250 of the era.

The Continental GT 650 further comes with a sculpted fuel tank, weight-forward stance, rear-set footpegs and clip-on handlebars.

Price and Booking Details

Bookings for the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 are now open in company dealerships across India. The two 650cc motorcycles can be booked for an amount of Rs 5,000.

We have already shared the prices of the Royal Enfield 650cc Twins ahead of the launch.

Here is the price break-up of all the models available on the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650.

Models & Colours Ex-Showroom Price Continental GT 650 (Standard) 2,65,000 Continental GT 650 (Custom)

2,72,500 Continental GT 650 (Chrome)

2,85,000 Interceptor 650 (Standard)

2,50,000 Interceptor 650 (Custom)

2,57,500 Interceptor 650 (Chrome)

2,70,000

*Note: Prices will vary between dealerships in different cities.

Engine & Technical Specifications

The Royal Enfield 650 Twins are powered by an all-new 649cc air/oil-cooled parallel-twin engine. It produces 47bhp and 52Nm of torque. The engine is further mated to a six-speed gearbox, assisted by a slipper-clutch which comes as standard.

Both motorcycles come with standard 41mm telescopic front forks with 110mm of travel and twin coil-cover shocks at the rear. The 650-twins both ride on 18-inch 36-spoke aluminium alloy wheels with Pirelli Phantom Sportcomp tyres.

Braking Duty on the Interceptor and Continental GT 650 is through 320mm and 240mm disc brakes from ByBre (By Brembo) at the front and rear, respectively. Both motorcycle also features dual-channel ABS as standard.

Colours

The Royal Enfield 650cc motorcycles will be offered in a range of vibrant and youthful colour options. The Continental GT 650 is available in five colour options while the Interceptor 650 is available in seven paint schemes.

Paint schemes on offer for the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650: Mark Three, Glitter & Dust, Orange Crush, Ravishing Red, Silver Spectre and Baker Express.

Similarly, the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 is offered in five colour options. These include Black Magic, Ventura Blue, Mister Clean, Dr. Mayhem and Ice Queen.

Thoughts On The Royal Enfield 650cc Twins In India

The Royal Enfield 650cc twins (Interceptor and Continental GT 650) have been among the most-awaited motorcycles by most bike enthusiasts. The two motorcycles are now the most affordable and value-for-money parallel twins available in the market.

The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 will rival the likes of the Harley-Davidson Street 750 and the Triumph Bonneville street Twin In India.
Nine pregnant cows and six calves have been stolen in South Armagh. The cattle were taken from New Line Road, which is just outside Silverbridge between Friday evening, and the early hours of Saturday morning, November 10.

Speaking to the website Armagh I, the owner of the cattle Claire Gregory and her husband believe the cattle were taken in a large trailer at night time.

Ms. Gregory appealed to people in the South Armagh and North Louth area for information which could help locate the cattle.

Speaking to the Armagh I website she said: My husband checked and tended to the cattle on Friday evening at 4.30pm and went back to check them again on Saturday evening, again around 4.30pm. Thats when he noticed they were missing.

"There is a holding pen next to the road and the fields are just located adjacent to this.

The cattle missing comprised of nine pregnant Cows, quite well on in their pregnancies, and six of their calves, which are ready for weaning 6/7 months old off the cows.

Claire continued: It would have taken a cattle lorry or at least two large cattle trailers to remove these animals and the road may have been blocked for a short time.

It was raining heavily all day Friday and throughout the night if this helps jog anyones memory.

A significant reward is offered for information leading to the recovery of these animals.

If you see animals on farmland that shouldnt be there or have seen strange comings and goings to derelict farm sheds please get in touch.

The cows are Charolais (a dun and white colouring), red limousine and Belgium blue breeds.

Contact the PSNI on +44 845 600 8000 or or Peter Gregory directly on 00353 877513917.
Concerns were voiced at the November Dundalk Municipal District meeting over the number of unfinished housing estates in the area that are to be taken under the control of Louth County Council(LCC).

In the taking in charge report circulated to council members at the meeting, it was revealed that of the 38 estates on the report, just ten fell into Category A - described by LCC as being estates satisfactorily completed in accordance with Planning Permission.

The remaining 28 fall into Category B, described as estates not completed to the satisfaction of the Planning Authority. These are further sub-divided into B-1, B-2 and B-3.

B-1 are estates where the developer/receiver is still in place and shall complete the development. Seven estates in the report fall under this category and include Lis na Dara, Suil na Mara and Coulter Place.

B-2 are estates where the developer/receiver has not completed the development and where the Local Authority may draw on Bonds to complete the work. Four estates on the report fell under this category, including Newton Heights in Knockbridge and Beacon Court in Dundalk.

Category B-3 relates to estates where no funds available the Local Authority shall consult with IW (Irish Water) and agree best course of (action). 16 estates on the report fell under this category, and include Willow Grove, Mounthamilton, Garrybawn and Clontygora Court.

Those present at the meeting heard that Willow Grove has been on the list for the longest period of time.

Speaking to those present, Director of Services Frank Pentony, said that some of the developers of estates in Dundalk that are unfinished and not up to standard are still operating in the area.

Mr Pentony added that legislation on this issue is not strong enough.

A further complication relating to the unfinished estates is that out of the 38 estates, the bond lodged by the developer for 13 of them is unavailable. A further seven have only paper bonds lodged against them.
A letter authored by SETI Institute scientist Oliver White was published by Nature Astronomy today. Co-authors included researchers Jeff Moore, Tanguy Bertrand and Kimberly Ennico at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.

A letter "Washboard and Fluted Terrains on Pluto as Evidence for Ancient Glaciation" focuses on these distinctive landscapes that border the vast nitrogen ice plains of Sputnik Planitia along its northwest margin and which are amongst the most enigmatic landforms yet seen on Pluto. These terrains consist of parallel to sub-parallel ridges that display a remarkably consistent ENE-WSW orientation, a configuration that does not readily point to a simple analogous terrestrial or planetary process or landform.

The aim of Dr. White's research is to use mapping and analysis of the morphometry (the process of measuring the external shape and dimensions of landforms) and distribution of the ridges to determine their origin and to understand their significance within the overall geologic history of Pluto. The work used imaging data returned by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which flew past Pluto in 2015, as well as topographic maps generated from this data.

Washboard and fluted ridges are defined primarily by their topographic context: washboard ridges occur in level settings within valley floors, basins and uplands, whereas fluted ridges are seen on steeper spurs, massifs (or compact group of mountains) and crater walls that separate basins and valleys.

The washboard and fluted terrain is seen up close in Figure 2, in which illumination is from the top. They occur at the location on Sputnik Planitia's perimeter where elevations and slopes leading into the surrounding uplands are lowest, and also where a major tectonic system coincides with the edge of Sputnik Planitia. The low elevation of the area makes it a natural setting for past coverage by nitrogen ice glaciers, as indicated by modeling of volatile behavior on Pluto performed by Dr. Bertrand at Ames. Through comparison of the washboard and fluted texture with parallel chains of elongated sublimation pits (depressions in the surface formed where ice turns directly into a gas) seen in southern Sputnik Planitia, the ridges are interpreted to represent water ice debris liberated by tectonism of underlying crust. This water ice debris was buoyant in the denser, pitted glacial nitrogen ice that is interpreted to have formerly covered this area, and collected on the floors of the elongated pits. After the nitrogen ice receded via sublimation, the debris was left as the aligned ridges, mimicking the sublimation texture -- washboard ridges where deposited on flat terrain, and fluted ridges where deposited on steeper slopes.

Crater surface age estimates indicate that the washboard and fluted ridges were deposited early in Pluto's history, after formation of the Sputnik basin by a giant impact ~4 billion years ago. Acting as a giant cold trap, it was to this basin that surface nitrogen ice across Pluto migrated over some tens of millions of years, thereby causing the recession of nitrogen glaciers from upland areas such as that now occupied by the washboard and fluted terrain. The precise mechanism that elongated the sublimation pits and defined their strikingly consistent orientation regardless of latitude or location relative to Sputnik Planitia is elusive, but is consistent with a global-scale process.

A constraint is that true polar wander solutions for Pluto (provided by co-author Dr. James Keane of Caltech) indicate that the ridges can never have all been oriented N-S at any time in Pluto's history. This suggests a cause for the alignment that is not exogenic (i.e. the orientation is likely not governed solely by solar illumination, which would cause all the sublimation pits to align N-S). Dr. White summarizes the findings as follows: "These terrains constitute an entirely new category of glacial landform that is unique to Pluto, and represent geological evidence that nitrogen ice glaciation was more widespread across Pluto in its early history prior to the formation of the Sputnik basin. The dense spacing of the ridges allows us to precisely map out the past coverage of the glaciation that deposited them, which extended across at least 70,000 km^2 of Pluto's uplands (larger than the state of West Virginia)."

Reference: "Washboard and Fluted Terrains on Pluto as Evidence for Ancient Glaciation," Oliver L. White et al., 2018 Nov. 12, Nature Astronomy [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-018-0592-z].

Larger images



Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that its longtime harness racing handicapper, Tom Krish, passed away on Sunday (Nov. 11).

Before making picks for the newspaper, Krish was a chart caller for Chicago-area tracks, Sportsmans Park, Maywood Park, Hawthorne Race Course and Balmoral Park.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that it will continue to publish harness racing picks.

There were no details of the funeral arrangements reported.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Tom Krish.

(USTA)
WAKEFIELD  Did you know that fruit waste can be used to create clothing? Or that glitter can be made from sources that are better than traditional plastic? Well they can. And in todays podcast, Mike Schragger talks to Enrica Arena and Saba Gray, the brains behind two new material innovations that could help change the way designers think about the materials we use to create our fashion products.

Material innovations will be a big part of the move towards a textile industry with a lower impact on the environment, says both Enrica Arena co-founder at Orange Fiber, an Italian business that makes textile fibres from citrus fruit and Saba Gray, founder of Bioglitz, which makes the worlds first plant-based glitter.

Listen to the full podcast here.
One of the most ambitious environmental ideas to gain popularity during the midterm elections was the idea of a Green New Deala massive national mobilization to transition the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy while creating green jobs and infrastructure.

Only four newly-elected Democratic Congresspeople endorsed the idea in their campaigns, including upstart progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but climate activists are building a movement to make it a legislative priority. To that end, more than 200 protesters, including Ocasio-Cortez herself, staged a sit-in at Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi's office Tuesday calling on her to support the measure, Politico reported.

"This morning 100s of young people came together to ask us as elected officials to act urgently to draft a Green New Deal that gets us to 100% renewable energy ASAP," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "They asked me to join them, and I did. We can embrace the energy of activism to move our party's goals forward."



In a statement, Pelosi asked that Capital Police allow demonstrators "to continue to organize and participate in our democracy," but activists tweeted that around 50 were arrested outside her office and Capitol Police confirmed the number of arrests as 51, Politico reported.



The action was organized by two groups: The Sunrise Movement, which describes itself as "building an army of young people to stop climate change" and Justice Democrats, which works to diminish the influence of large corporations on the party. Their actions come with a true sense of urgency. On its website, the Sunrise Movement cites the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that says we have 12 years to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. They are also young people worried about what this means for their future.

"They offer us a death sentence. We demand a #GreenNewDeal," the activists tweeted as they announced their action.

Pelosi herself tweeted support for the protesters, but came up short of endorsing a Green New Deal.



"The climate crisis threatens the futures of communities nationwide, and I strongly support reinstating the select committee to address the crisis,," Pelosi tweeted, referencing an idea she had floated after her party retook the House last week.

Ocasio-Cortez responded with a very specific vision for what that committee should do. Instead of just discussing climate change, it should be empowered to draft a Green New Deal plan by 2020 and be staffed with officials who do not take money from fossil fuel companies.



Ocasio-Cortez and the Sunrise Movement are circulating a resolution to that end among House Democrats and asking them to endorse it. So far Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ro Khanna and Deb Haaland, one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, have signed on.



If you want to add your name to the push to make a Green New Deal a major priority for the House Democrats, the Sunrise Movement is also circulating a petition.
The Spanish government is considering a slew of new climate-regulations in order to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, including a ban on sale of gasoline and diesel cars beginning in 2040.

A draft of the country's "Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition" published Tuesday also proposes measures such as ending fossil fuels subsidies, a ban on fracking, halting new oil exploration licenses and a transition to 100 percent renewable energy sources by 2050, according to media reports.

If enacted, the law would bring major changes to Spain, which is Europe's second-largest carmaker after Germany, and the ninth-largest globally. Brands such as Daimler, Ford, Nissan, Peugeot Citroen, Renault and Volkswagen have manufacturing plants in the country.

"Some of the most important necessary changes affect transport," the document said, per Reuters. "From 2040, the registration and sale in Spain of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles that directly emit carbon dioxide will not be permitted."

This the nation's first law on emissions reduction and clean energy, according to Climate Home News. Overall, the aim is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2030 and by 90 percent by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.

"Our proposal is to reduce Spain's current greenhouse gas emissions by a third in just a decade, which we consider an international milestone and a sign of our firm commitment to the fight against climate change," Spain's ecological transition minister Teresa Ribera told the publication.

Spain joins other European countries such as France, the UK, Denmark, Scotland, the Netherlands and Norway that have proposed similar internal combustion engine bans in order to tackle climate change. Even car-obsessed Germany has allowed its cities to ban diesel vehicles from its roads to combat air pollution.

Spain's minority government is led by Socialist Pedro Sanchez, who has served as prime minister since June. His party holds less than one-quarter of the seats in parliament. The climate legislation will need the support of other parliamentary parties in order for it to pass.

Jose Luis Garcia Ortega from Greenpeace Espana told Climate Home News that the government's proposals are actually not strong enough to meet the Paris agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He said Spain needs to reduce its emissions to net-zero and switch to renewables by 2040 instead of 2050

"We just can't afford to wait," he said.
Washington

Schools are spending tens of millions of dollars this year to shore up security in the wake of two mass school shootings. But how do K-12 leaders know if they are spending their scarce funds in the right way? Are the measures they invest in going to make their schools safer? How will they know if what theyve done is working?

Researchers who study school security worry school leaders cant get good answers to these questions.

It can be difficult for them to sift through the research on school safetywhich comes from academic fields as wide-ranging as criminal justice, psychology, and economics.

And highly charged debates about how to respond are often dominated by security companies with profit motives, law-enforcement experts who arent seasoned in the day-to-day concerns of working with students, and a fearful public who wants schools to do something after rampage-style shootings.

Those shootingslike those in Parkland, Fla., and Santa Fe, Texasare statistically rare, especially compared to the safety issues schools deal with on a daily basis, such as bullying, fights, and theft.

Its difficult to determine the effectiveness of measures meant to deter events that likely wont occur anyway, said Jeremy Finn, a professor of education at the University of Buffalo.

See Also: Is Hardening Schools to Prevent Shootings Really the Answer? (Video)

Its not that security measures are never helpful, but theres often no data to substantiate them, he said. How do you know when youve deterred a school shooting? It didnt happen.

So what research should schools rely on? Who should they listen to as they make safety decisions?

Sounding the Alarm

Finn and more than 20 researchers, advocates, and educators gathered at American University last month to discuss the state of school safety debates. They want to sound the alarm for education leaders about the limits of existing data and to help them use research to inform safety decisions. They also want to make K-12 leaders aware of the potential adverse effects of hardening schools by installing visible security measures like metal detectors, armed guards, and police officers.

Studies have found that such measures can change students perceptions of school and actually make some feel less safe. In addition, federal civil rights data show that schools often discipline black and Latino students at higher rates than their white and Asian peers, a concern some have traced back to zero-tolerance discipline policies begun after the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.

After the Parkland shooting, which killed 17 people, lawmakers kicked into a familiar debate about safety that theyd had five years earlier, after 26 people died in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The Santa Fe High School shooting in May, in which 10 people died, added momentum.

State lawmakers had proposed 266 bills or resolutions on school safety since the Parkland shootings, according to a National Conference on State Legislatures database last updated in August. States enacted 31 of those bills and six resolutions in that period. Twelve bills provided new funding, often for physical-safety measures and school police.

At the federal level, Congress quickly passed the STOP School Violence Act, a measure championed by victims families from Newtown and Parkland that provides about $1 billion over 10 years. It underwrites physical measures, such as locks and metal detectors, and also provides funds for training staff, students, and law enforcement in identifying and responding to possible threats. Congress also provided $1.1 billion for Title IV block grants, which districts can use to pay for a diverse set of needs.

Great political pressure can be exerted on districts to accept safety grants that are narrowly targeted toward purposes like fortifying school entrances, district leaders told researchers at the October conference. Meanwhile, research is scant about the effectiveness of technology in keeping schools safe.

Districts do needs assessments to look for vulnerabilities, using a checklist that focuses on several factors, said Christina Conolly, the director of psychological services for the Montgomery County, Md., school district. Those factors include building design, such as making classroom doors and building entrances visible from offices; access, such as restricting doors that can be used by campus visitors; and soft security, such as student-counseling services.

Districts often turn to national associations and consultants for guidance, but it can be difficult to vet whether consultants are building their strategies around reliable research, educators told researchers.

A 2016 study by the Rand Corp. found that despite growth in the school safety-technology sector, rigorous research about the effectiveness of these technologies is virtually nonexistent.

The field is in desperate need of more evidence on what works, and schools want this information presented to them in vetted, digestible ways to help them with procurement, the report said.

Data are also limited about how widely adopted some technologies are, the variations in how schools use them, and students perceptions of those technologies, said Timothy Servoss, a psychology professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y.

Any time a local school decides to up security measures, theres sort of an implicit celebration of that being a good thing, often without evidence that the measures will make schools safer, Servoss said.

Researchers have sought answers using a federal grant program set up after Newtown to fund implementation and evaluation of programs that explore school safety concerns. But Congress redirected the entire $75 million for that research to the STOP School Violence Act, which has a narrower list of acceptable funding uses.

Conference participants say their discussions will help shape calls for more research about school security and to design resources to help schools navigate existing research.

If youre going to make a $1.6 million investment in security this year, what can you expect from it? the University of Buffalos Finn said. What do we know about it? What are the potential downsides?

Related Video

In the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, districts are grappling with how to keep students safe. Education Week looks at how a Texas district hopes to balance security and making sure students feel comfortable:
The parlous state of civic debate today is making it increasingly clear that America needs to rededicate itself to the beliefs and habits necessary for sustaining a democratic, pluralistic nation. This includes fostering empathy and strenuously condemning language that incites violence, such as the monstrous event in Pittsburgh last month. But it also means protecting the vigorous exchange of divergent, even provocative, views. In recent years, debate has arisen about the state of free speech and free inquiry on college campuses, the training grounds for many of our future leaders. Every new example of safe spaces, trigger warnings, and bias-response teams and each new viral video showing undergraduates disrupting professors or invited speakers raises questions about higher educations commitment to fostering the productive exchange of different views.

What is the role for K-12 education in all of this? Secondary schools are the pipeline for higher education, so Americas high schools couldmaybe even shouldbe part of the solution.

Those engaged in the effort to foster and protect viewpoint diversity in higher education, however, have focused on the campuses themselves instead of looking upstream. Outside groups pressure colleges to adopt policies protecting free exchange. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which defends First Amendment rights at colleges and universities, publicly reports on campus policies and practices that inhibit discourse. Heterodox Academy (a coalition of 1,800 professors and graduate students), which promotes viewpoint diversity and constructive disagreement, has produced a guide detailing which campuses are best for students seeking exposure to different perspectives .

Instead of dealing with the symptoms we see on campus, colleges should work with K-12 to address the underlying problem."

A number of colleges are, themselves, taking important steps. The University of Chicago issued a 2015 statement declaring its commitment to protecting speech , which several dozen other colleges adopted. Princeton assigned a book about free speech as a pre-read for the incoming class of 2022. Policymakers are not far behind. Multiple states have recently introduced and passed laws protecting expression on public campuses . The education committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing in September titled, Examining First Amendment Rights on Campus, and there are proposals to withhold federal research funds from colleges that dont protect free speech.

Such efforts could safeguard debate and thwart the hecklers veto. The hope is that by creating environments that protect expression, heated but productive discussions will ensue, and students, coming face to face with those holding differing opinions, will grow as a result.

But that forecast may be too sunny. Simply making space for contentious conversation may not be enough because many students are unprepared for contentious conversation. If a campus is stocked with free-speech-hostile students, administrators could suspend those who disrupt a lecture, but other equally indignant students could disrupt the next one. Administrators might be prohibited from punishing a student for making provocative arguments, but her classmates might castigate or shun her. Conditioned to shame dissenters and feel shame when dissenting, otherwise ambivalent students might reflexively join shunning sessions and learn to silence themselves. In essence, campus policies could throw free-speech parties, but few students might show up.

We should recognize a significant part of the problem is students arriving on campus lacking an appreciation for the value of free inquiry and the skills to productively engage in the give-and-take of a pluralistic, democratic society. A 2017 Knight Foundation/Gallup survey found when students were asked which was more important, promoting an inclusive society that is welcoming to diverse groups or protecting free speech, a majority chose the former. Students were divided between favoring and opposing discussion-limiting speech codes, and 61 percent believe their campus climate prevents some people from saying things they believe because others might be offended. In fact, as Jonathan Haidt, an NYU professor and co-founder of Heterodox Academy, and Greg Lukianoff, CEO of FIRE, argue in The Coddling of the American Mind, campus climates have become more unwelcoming to ideological diversity in the last few years. Young people appear to be increasingly overprotected, unpracticed at debate, and likely to associate words with violence.

Instead of dealing with the symptoms we see on campus, colleges should work with K-12 to address the underlying problem. Colleges should change their applications and admissions processes to explicitly prioritize the beliefs and skills necessary to engage in a community of differing perspectives. This could include prospective students responding to essay prompts related to viewpoint diversity; demonstrating knowledge of the First Amendments provisions, history, and importance; and/or signing an assurance related to free inquiry and open debate.

Higher education has an outsized influence on what high schools teach and what educators and parents encourage. Students and adults focus on AP courses, GPAs, SAT and ACT scores, and extracurriculars largely because college admissions offices make clear they care about those things. Were college presidents to announce they will only admit students who value the First Amendment, believe in viewpoint diversity, and want to have their own opinions challenged, admissions officers could immediately influence incoming classes. But the ripples would swiftly reach secondary schools, affecting course offerings, out-of-school programming, and, most importantly, history and civics standards, curriculum, and assessments.

Because of state and federal laws and a constellation of advocacy groups, high schools are constantly pressured to prioritize different things. A recommitment to teaching the virtues of viewpoint diversity might not happen absent instigation from colleges. Secondary schools might well prove a receptive audience to this nudge. A recent Education Week survey found that more than half of principals and administrators believe schools arent focusing enough on civics. Another survey found that citizens are not so confident that students are learning the civics topics that citizens believe to be most essential . Reform-minded college presidents and/or their governing boards should publicly declare that their campuses require curious, open-minded, politically tolerant, and emotionally robust students, and that admissions practices will be adjusted accordingly.

Parents and secondary school educators want to prepare their students for success after graduation. Campuses simply need to be explicit that college ready includes a commitment to sharing, protecting, and learning from different points of view.

Higher education: Help secondary education help you.
Donations trickled in slowly during the pandemic, but the new bookstore run by the Hermosa Beach Friends of the Library looks to change that.
To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
Guadalajara, Mexico, Nov 14 (epa-efe).- Distinguished Mexican writer Fernando del Paso died here Wednesday, his family told EFE. He was 83.

"Yes, sadly I confirm the death of my father at 9:05 am today, Wednesday, Nov. 14," daughter Paulina del Paso said.

The poet, narrator and diplomat died in a Guadalajara hospital.

Del Paso was honored in 2015 with Spain's Cervantes Prize, regarded as the Spanish-speaking world's equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The author had been in delicate health after suffering several strokes.

His most emblematic novel was "Noticias del imperio" (1986, translated as "News from the Empire," 2009), a monumental work that managed to masterfully recreate the 1864-1867 Mexican empire headed by Emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota.

He was also the author of essays and plays such as "La muerte se va a Granada" (1998), inspired by the violent death of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca.

Del Paso had been scheduled to participate in the 32nd edition of the Guadalajara International Book Fair, which starts on Nov. 24.

"The whole Mexican literary universe is mourning (...) I am moved by this very great loss that has hit me very directly," fair director Marisol Schulz wrote Wednesday on Twitter.
Prof. Katharina Zweig, Kaiserslautern Technical University: We have algorithms that a human has programmed with a human figure that can be sensible or not sensible. If such algorithms are used to judge humans, we must set a limit. AI should rather be used to conduct descriptive statistics without calculating indicators for individuals by which other individuals are assessed.

In June 2018 Germanys Federal Diet instituted a commission of enquiry Artificial intelligence  social responsibility and economic potential, formed of 19 members of the diet and 19 official experts.

The Official Daily spoke to Prof. Katharina Zweig, head of the algorithm accountability lab at Kaiserslautern Technical University and member of the commission, about AI and its limits.

Official Daily: The commission of enquiry has already convened. What was your impression?

Prof. Zweig: To date we only had the constituting session and a first round of introduction. In any case it was impressive how much expertise has come together here in the two groups. Initial discussions showed that everyone had come to grips with the subject. That makes me optimistic as regards our cooperation, and keen to see how our findings are taken up in the further political decision-making process.

Theres a lot of discussion about Germany, and Europe of course, investing much less in AI compared to the USA and China. That isnt likely to change through the commission of enquiry either. What do you think are the major points that this commission can achieve, and how can we prevent Germany and Europe lagging behind the USA and China?

The intent of the commission, as I understand it, is to explore how well AI can be integrated in society: what are the prerequisites, how can the common good benefit, how can technologies be transfered from science into the economy, and so on. Were very well set up in Germany as far as the scientific fundamentals are concerned. But now its also a question of what AI we want to implement and where. And thats where were bound to choose a different way in Germany and Europe than in the USA and China.

In the automobile sector, in medicine or in industry theres a veritable hype about AI, it stands for autonomous driving, for better diagnostics, for greater productivity. Do you think there are limits for AI, what it cannot achieve, or at least not yet?

Yes, I believe there are these limits, namely when machines are to decide about humans in complex social situations. Examples are risk assessment in US court rooms, classification of the unemployed in Poland, or terrorist identification like the USA has considered. Here its difficult for both man and machine to make decisions, and machine decisions are often not comprehensible enough.

Nothing against preparing data-based decisions by data science and machine learning. Its only a question of whether a machine should ultimately reduce a very complex situation to a single number when it comes to important decisions about persons.

Ethics also plays a role in the commission of enquiry. Currently you often read that algorithms take racism into a new dimension for example. Can you make AI ethical?

Of course. There are methods verifiably non-discriminating, but they may take long to compute before finding a solution.

Naturally these algorithms arent always used. If you want an algorithm that decides whether or not an applicant is invited for an interview, and this algorithm took a year to compute the answer, its obviously the wrong approach.

What are the basic requirements, then, so that an algorithm doesnt discriminate?

Well, you must know the purpose of an algorithm, and what the database looks like. For example, an algorithm that decides the credit worthiness, the financial standing of someone and does this based on data from the past may come to discriminating results. Its possible that in the past, typically, a man has applied for a credit, and a woman rather when she was single. The latter increases the risk of not using a credit. If an algorithm is used based on such data to learn the credit worthiness of people, it can obviously lead to the wrong results.

Relevante Anbieter

Seite 1 von 2
Industry barometer 2018 for batteries and rechargeables. Availability stays poor. It is the poor availability of both the necessary lithium-ion cells but also of components for battery management systems for instance that is currently holding back growth on the German market for battery and rechargeable systems. Although some producers say that NiMH is a good alternative to lithium-ion rechargeables especially in high-temperature or long-life applications, at the moment buyers can only stretch their planning in response to the market situation. There are no signs of the taut supply situation easing up.

The boom devours its own children, one might say. While the supply situation in lithium-ion cells gets worse and the prices go up, the planning goals of equipment producers drift further away.

Thilo Hack, Ansmann: In recent months there have been drastic price increases for battery and rechargeable cells, double-figure plus of as much as 20 percent.

R&D focuses on increasing fast recharge capability of the anode; for the cathode one tries to raise energy density with high-grade substances containing nickel.

After long years of continuously growing turnover, especially in battery finishing and packaging, the German battery and rechargeable sector has been going through a demanding period for more than a year now. First the lead times were stretched, in particular for lithium-ion rechargeables of size 18650, the work horse in the sector, and in the meantime the prices too have again begun to climb, by as much as 20 to 30 percent. That can only partly be put down to increasing raw material prices, rather the opportunity to improve operating margin plays a role.

Everyone wants batteries, says Werner Suter, managing director of Tefag Elektronik, of the current situation. The demand has increased further, but the availability of batteries and electronic components in recent months has got even worse.  In the first half of 2018 we notched up a plus of 20 percent compared to the same period last year, reports Josef Pfeil, sales manager at Dynamis Batterien. For the year overall we reckon with growth of 30 to 40 percent. And it might have been more if wed received some parts earlier. Varta management is also pleased to see double-figure growth. Expansion of the Ellwangen headquarters is progressing as planned, says CEO Herbert Schein. And the Nordlingen location has commenced production of small-format lithium-ion batteries. Looking at the business year ahead, Schein expects continued positive development, to which our expanded production capacity contributes. His provisional end-of-the-year summary for 2018: Our order books are full and we can deliver on time.

In the opinion of Thilo Hack, industry division manager at Ansmann, the situation has changed since the beginning of 2018 in that instead of the problems in acquiring lithium cells, the bottleneck now is acquisition of components like for safety boards and piggyback boards for communication. Put another way: the smarter the battery packs become, the more complex the bill of material.

After price increases in rechargeables of as much as 20 percent in the first half of the year, he now sees the price climb fairly settled at a high level. Marc Eichhorn, product marketing manager batteries at Avnet Abacus, also reports of unaltered positive development of business. The delivery situation is still a bit tight, but the hecticness you might have sensed at the beginning of the year, because of numerous discontinuations and uncertain availability  that has calmed down for the most part, says Eichhorn.

International market leader Panasonic sees 2018 as having been fairly stable until now, and as planned. Oliver Sonnemann, department head of battery sales at Panasonic Industry Europe, consequently reports of slight growth limited by availability, he estimates that growth will stay limited because the availability of lithium-ion batteries will drop further. He points to rising raw material prices and is sure that smaller producers will have problems in acquiring their raw materials. His conclusion: There are no signs that the delivery situation is easing up. Orders weve accepted will be confirmed and delivered. But new projects will be carefully examined and must go through a selection procedure.

From the point of view of a scientist, the present situation looks very positive. Things are really booming, in past years there was never as much funding as now, calculates Karl-Heinz Pettinger, professor for electrical energy storage at Landshut University of Applied Sciences. He stresses the positive activity of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. When it comes to the security of supplying European customers he is more careful: The production of Asian plants is booked for years ahead. Panasonic, for instance, no longer accepts orders for delivery before 2024.

Relevante Anbieter

Herbert Schein, Varta: We look ahead optimistically and expect continued positive development; supported by expansion of our production capacity in Ellwangen and Nordlingen.

Marc Eichhorn, Avnet-Abacus: For commercial and political reasons, most battery producers would like to reduce the cobalt share or maybe do away with it altogether in future.

Seite 1 von 2
The Isle of Man Post Office has published a list of the final dates for sending mail abroad in time for Christmas

Each year there are deadlines to make sure parcels, cards and other post reaches its destination before Christmas Day.

Those sending mail to those serving in the armed forces don't have long, with November 27th the cut off for posting to operational British Forces Post Office's.

Items for Asia, South America and Africa need to be sent in the first week of December, while the last date for Irish addresses is December 18th.
Trade unions are worried about the prospect of job losses at Flybe, after the airline put itself up for sale

It's the largest regional carrier in Europe, but has been struggling because of falling demand, and rising costs.

Flybe says it's already in discussions with potential buyers.

Energy FM understands Stobart Group have shown interest in buying the airline.

Stobart Air has operated Flybe routes to and from the Isle of Man for a number of years but that deal ends in March next year.
The daily challenge for many IT leaders is figuring out how to deal with a constant barrage of security risks and an ever-growing?regulatory compliance landscape.

Its a challenge Alissa Johnson has dealt with throughout her career. Johnson is currently the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Xerox, a post she has held since October 2016. Previously, Johnson was the Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the White House from 2012 until 2015.

In a video interview with eSecurity Planet, Johnson provides some insight into how she balances governance, risk and compliance (GRC).

Tip #1: Anticipate more compliance regulations

New rules and regulations for IT security and privacy are a common occurrence. In 2018, organizations faced the challenge of figuring out the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which helped raise awareness of data privacy issues.

GDPR, like it, love it or hate it, gave us a wake-up call in how people are starting to think about privacy, she said.

Johnson said there is an intersection between privacy and security that GDPR has helped to highlight. From a compliance perspective, she said that it has made IT professionals anticipate that more privacy compliance requirements will be coming (and indeed, one soon followed in California). Johnson said it is inevitable that additional national and state privacy compliance efforts will be coming in the years ahead.

I think that as a community, we have to continue to anticipate whats to come, so were not reactionary, she said.

Tip #2: Map existing controls

Given that there are multiple privacy and cybersecurity compliance requirements that a global company like Xerox faces, it already has many different security controls. Mapping existing controls to see how they can be used for different compliance efforts is a key step.

We found that we had done a really good job at Xerox in terms of our security policies, so if you followed the policies, there wasnt a technology investment that had to be made in terms of GDPR, Johnson said. We made policy changes and we shored up some areas, but we anticipated correctly.

Tip #3: Leverage tools

At Xerox, Johnson said she has a GRC tool to help the IT organization figure out governance and compliance mandates that need to be addressed and associated risks. Measuring all the variables and seeing how the organization is mitigating and eliminating risk is also part of the Xerox GRC tool. Johnson said she uses a vendor tool that has had some customization for Xeroxs specific needs.

She said that by looking at governance, compliance and risk at the same time, with the right technology, its possible to figure out the right balance and have things work together succinctly.

Sometimes we do the governance and compliance piece and we miss out on the risk cause were trying to answer to all the regulatory bodies, she said. Compliance with regulatory requirements does not equal security.

Tip #4: Embrace AI and automation

Most organizations are challenged by a cybersecurity talent shortage that makes it difficult to accomplish all the tasks needed to improve security and governance, risk and compliance efforts.

The only way were going to shore up the talent shortage is by allowing AI [Artificial Intelligence], bots and machine learning to do certain processes for us, Johnson said.

Johnson said automation technologies can be useful for lowering risk-based processing, which can also be useful in helping to improve cyber-hygiene.

We can definitely have bots that will close ports, remind people of password changes and things like that where Im spending lots of resources, she said.

Watch the full video interview with Alissa Johnson, CISO of Xerox, below:

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eSecurityPlanet and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.
Distinguished Professor Terry Hughes, who exposed the extent of coral reef damage caused by rising water temperatures, and Britt Hermes, who publicised her research and subsequent rejection of her practice in natural therapies, have each been awarded the 2018 John Maddox Prize for their courage in promoting science and evidence on matters of public interest, despite smears, threats and attempted lawsuits.

Terry Hughes, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and a world leading expert on the Great Barrier Reef, is recognised for his tireless and courageous efforts in communicating research evidence on coral reef bleaching to the public and for tackling the misrepresentation of coral reef science. In doing so, he has experienced hostility from politicians, public figures and the Australian tourist industry. In the face of efforts to discredit his research, personal criticism and smears in the media, Terry redoubled his efforts to communicate with the widest possible audience, using diverse means and reaching mainstream media around the world.

Britt Hermes, a former naturopath, has been awarded the inaugural John Maddox prize for an early career researcher in recognition of her advocacy and writing on evidence-based medicine - in particular her exposure of false claims made by proponents of naturopathy, which she has highlighted as both dangerous and ineffective. The judges were particularly impressed by her willingness to question her own views, the discomfort involved in communicating about the practices of former colleagues, and her continued commitment in the face of lawsuits and personal harassment. She is currently being sued for defamation by an American naturopath in a case due to be heard in a German court this year.

The John Maddox Prize, now in its seventh year, is a joint initiative of the charity Sense about Science and the leading international scientific journal Nature, and is awarded to one or two people a year. This year there were 136 nominations from 36 countries. The prize will be announced at 7pm GMT at a reception at the Wellcome Collection in London on 14 November. This information is embargoed until the announcement.

COMMENTS

Britt Hermes: "I was a naturopath, until I looked at the evidence and decided to speak up about the dangerous therapies used in naturopathy, especially those to treat cancer. Walking away cost me my friends. I am harassed and being sued for defamation. I am honoured to be recognised by the scientific community for changing my mind."

Professor Terry Hughes: "It is a privilege to receive this prize and to express my gratitude - not just for me, but more importantly for future generations, who have the most to lose if we fail to act on anthropogenic climate change."

JUDGING NOTES

The judges noted the emergence of 'toxic debates' in new areas of research, such as the evidence for transgender medical interventions, and called for employers, government agencies, funders and professional bodies to do more to support researchers, to ensure the public continue to have access to all discussions about evidence.

They also drew attention to the importance of researchers making themselves personally available to communities struggling with challenging issues. In addition to the two prizes they also commend Tisha Schuller. A thoughtful environmentalist, Tisha left her comfortable environmental consulting job to take a high conflict job with the express aim to deescalate Colorado's raging oil and gas controversy by helping the public understand the science and risks. She made herself available to her community despite threats against her family and attacks in the media.

Tracey Brown OBE, director, Sense about Science and judge: "The winners demonstrated great integrity in their commitment to public discussion about scientific research. They reflect the values of persistence and honesty that John exemplified. The judges were delighted to award these prizes. We are also worried. While the many strong nominations show that individuals have gone to extraordinary lengths to bring scientific research into difficult public discussions, our public spaces are not close to being supportive enough. It is profoundly against the public interest to have research driven from the public domain by fears of personal attack, legal action or institutional hostility. This prize gives strength to the elbow of those who push forward in difficult circumstances, but we need to see more action to stop it getting that far."

Magdalena Skipper, editor-in-chief, Nature, and judge: "We received many excellent nominations this year and it was difficult to choose from such an inspiring group of candidates, all of whom are making great strides in their area. This year's winners were chosen for their exceptional efforts in raising awareness of issues they are passionate about and for which they have faced criticism and adversity in striving for evidence-based policy and practices. The John Maddox prize recognises and rewards those who communicate scientific rigour and we are delighted to be awarding it this year to two notable and dedicated campaigners."

Professor Sir Colin Blakemore FRS, professor of neuroscience & philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London and judge: "The growing numbers of nominations for the Maddox Prize, with so many examples of courageous defence of scientific evidence in the face of prejudice and vested interests, show how important this Prize has become. In an era of fake news and disregard for experts, the Maddox Prize is a beacon for the importance of honesty, evidence and open debate.

"Britt Hermes' story is one of exceptional courage - not only to realise that naturopathy, to which she had devoted four years of training, was riddled with bogus practices, but then to criticise these practices in the face of abuse and legal actions. She is such a worthy winner of the first Maddox Prize for an Early Career Researcher."

Lord (Martin) Rees of Ludlow OM FRS, University of Cambridge and judge: "It's excellent that we could identify two winners who had displayed real commitment in countering public misperception of a scientific issue."

Natasha Loder, The Economist and judge: "Britt Hermes has fought hard for evidence-based medicine in the face of opposition, and ongoing legal challenges, from the naturopaths that she is trying to expose. All this from someone who is just starting out on a career in science is remarkable. Britt was an outstanding applicant and richly deserved winner of the John Maddox prize this year.

"There have been many outstanding scientists who have, over the years, fought to defend the science of climate change in the face of irrational, climate-change denialists. Terry Hughes stands out in particular for the tireless nature of his contribution by drawing attention to the impacts of coral reef bleaching in the face of hostility and pushback from politicians, denialists and even the tourist industry in Australia. Terry is a worthy recipient of the Maddox Prize."

OTHER COMMENTS

Brenda Maddox, patron of the John Maddox Prize: "My late husband John had an unusual combination of knowledge of science and eloquence of expression. Someone once asked him, 'how much of what you print is wrong?' referring to Nature. John answered immediately, 'all of it. That's what science is about - new knowledge constantly arriving to correct the old.'"

Simon Chaplin, Wellcome Trust: "Wellcome Collection is delighted to host this year's John Maddox Prize ceremony. The Prize's support for scientists who are willing to speak truth to power has never felt more timely. As a venue that seeks to challenge how we all think and feel about health we recognise the importance of honesty and courage when it comes to public debate."

###

For photos and interviews, contact Catherine Walker 07411 806535 or Danny Mitchell 020 7490 9590.

NOTES:

1. The John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science recognises the work of individuals anywhere in the world who promote sound science and evidence on a matter of public interest, facing difficulty or hostility in doing so. The winners currently receive 3,000. Previous winners were: Dr Riko Muranaka (2017), Professor Elizabeth Loftus (2016), Professor Edzard Ernst, Professor Susan Jebb (2015); Dr Emily Willingham, Dr David Robert Grimes (2014); Professor David Nutt (2013); Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Shi-min Fang (2012).

Candidates were judged on the strength of their nomination based on these criteria:

How clearly the individual communicated good science, despite adversity.

The nature of adversity faced by the individual.

How well they placed the evidence in the wider debate and engaged others.

Their level of influence on the public debate.

The prize is run and funded by Sense about Science, where Sir John Maddox was a founding trustee, and Nature, where he was editor for over 20 years, with support from Clare and Andrew Lyddon.

2. The judging panel were Professor Colin Blakemore FRS, Tracey Brown OBE (Sense about Science), Magdalena Skipper (Nature), Lord Rees of Ludlow OM FRS and Natasha Loder (the Economist). The judges sat in a personal capacity and the choice of the award does not indicate the view of any organisation they are associated with.

3. The 2018 John Maddox Prize received 136 nominations from 36 different countries. (In 2017 there were nominations for 95 individuals from 25 different countries. In 2016 there were 59 individual nominations from 17 countries; 50 in 2015.)

Sir John Maddox (1925-2009) was editor of Nature from 1966 to 1973, and from 1980 until 1995, and laid the foundations for Nature as it is today, establishing a system of peer review and instituting a strong tradition of journalism. He was a founding trustee of Sense about Science and inspired much of its work, including the now internationally established VoYS (Voice of Young Science) network.

This prize commemorates Sir John as a passionate and tireless communicator and defender of science. As a writer and editor at Nature for 22 years, he engaged with difficult debates and encouraged others to do the same. Sir John, in the words of his friend and former Nature news editor Walter Gratzer: "wrote prodigiously on all that was new and exciting in scientific discovery and technological advance, denouncing fearlessly what he believed to be wrong, dishonest or shoddy. He did it with humour and grace, but he never sidestepped controversy, which he seemed in fact to relish. His forthrightness brought him some enemies, often in high places, but many more friends. He changed attitudes and perceptions, and strove throughout his long working life for a better public understanding and appreciation of science."

About Sense about Science

Sense about Science is an independent campaigning charity that challenges the misrepresentation of science and evidence in public life. We advocate openness and honesty about research findings, and work to ensure the public interest in sound science and evidence is recognised in public discussion and policymaking.

About Nature Research

Nature (founded in 1869) is the leading, international weekly journal of science. Nature Research also publishes a range of Nature branded subscription journals, the leading open access multidisciplinary journal Nature Communications, other open access journals including Scientific Reports, and a range of Nature Partner Journals published in partnership with institutions and societies. Together, these journals publish some of the world's most significant scientific discoveries. Nature Research is part of Springer Nature.
Age-related declines in abstract reasoning ability predict increasing depressive symptoms in subsequent years, according to data from a longitudinal study of older adults in Scotland. The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

"Mental health in later life is a topic of increasing importance given aging populations worldwide," says researcher Stephen Aichele of the University of Geneva. "Our findings suggest that monitoring for cognitive decrements in later adulthood may expedite efforts to reduce associated increases in depression risk."

Many adults will experience some degree of cognitive decline in the latter decades of life. Research has also shown that cognitive impairments and depression are correlated in older adults - generally, as cognitive abilities decline, depressive symptoms increase. Yet, researchers have not been able to conclusively determine the direction of causation. That is, does cognitive decline lead to depression, does depression lead to cognitive decline, or do the phenomena mutually reinforce each other?

To achieve a clearer picture of the dynamics of this relationship over time, Aichele and colleagues examined data collected as part of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, a longitudinal study of adults in Scotland. Their analyses included data from 1,091 adults who were assessed at age 70 and up to three additional times in roughly 3-year intervals until age 79.

Although other work has examined depression risk in relation to memory deficits and other cognitive impairments associated with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, the researchers chose to look at participants' abstract reasoning, a cognitive ability that is closely related to functioning in daily life. Participants in the study completed several measures of abstract reasoning, performing tasks such as identifying missing elements from geometric patterns and reproducing visuospatial models using component parts.

The participants also provided information about their depressive symptoms via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

On average, participants' abstract reasoning ability and depressive symptoms worsened over the course of the study. Additionally, relatively lower cognitive function at each assessment was associated with subsequent increases in depressive symptoms, and this association became stronger over time.

Aichele and colleagues used advanced statistical models to analyze the dynamic relationship between these two measures over time. They found that lower abstract reasoning scores at one assessment were associated with increased depressive symptoms at later assessments; increased depressive symptoms at a given assessment were not linked with subsequent changes in abstract reasoning.

Sociodemographic and other health-related factors -- such as education level, socioeconomic status, and diagnoses related to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes - did not appear to influence the relationship between abstract reasoning and depressive symptoms.

Understanding why age-related decrements in abstract reasoning lead to increased depressive symptoms remains a question for future research. Aichele and colleagues note that there are several potential mechanisms that could be at work, including unmeasured disease processes, genetic susceptibility, and declines in daily functioning.

The researchers hope to continue this work by examining factors such as training, treatment, and social support that might weaken the link between cognitive decline and depression.

"We hope this research will be of broad interest, both for individuals directly affected by age-related cognitive decline and also for family members and care providers who wish to help older persons adversely affected by changes in mental health," Aichele says.

###

Coauthors on the research include Paolo Ghisletta of the University of Geneva and Janie Corley, Alison Pattie, Adele Taylor, John Starr, and Ian Deary of the University of Edinburgh.

This work was supported by the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES and financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant 51NF40-160590). Funding for Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 data collection was received from Age UK (Disconnected Mind project), the UK's Medical Research Council (MR/M01311/1), and the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, which is supported by the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (MR/K026992/1).

For more information about this study, please contact: Stephen Aichele at stephen.aichele@unige.ch">stephen.aichele@unige.ch.

The research article is available online at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797618804501

The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "Fluid Intelligence Predicts Change in Depressive Symptoms in Later Life: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org">amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s reorganization plan, which would relocate a key agricultural research agency outside Washington, DC, has drawn increasing criticism from those who know and depend on its economic and statistical analyses. First announced during Congress's summer recess in August, the reorganization plan for the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) has been closed off to congressional input and public comment--in stark contrast to other recent federal agency reorganization plans.

Despite the USDA's claim that it has conducted an internal cost-benefit analysis showing numerous benefits, the agency has failed to share these findings with those who rely on ERS research--notably agricultural economists, policymakers and farmers. At the same time, many organizations and former USDA officials have warned that, instead of delivering benefits, the USDA plan jeopardizes the quality of the ERS's work to the likely detriment of the food, agriculture and rural economies.

Lacking access to USDA's analysis, the American Statistical Association researched and compiled responses to the agency's publicly stated rationale for the reorganization. The USDA's three main reasons for the relocation are: (i) "to improve USDA's ability to attract and retain highly qualified staff"; (ii) "to place these important USDA resources closer to many of its stakeholders"; and (iii) "to benefit the American taxpayers." A second shift--an organizational restructuring that would see the ERS move into the office of the chief economist--will "enhance the effectiveness of economic analysis at USDA," the agency says.

But experts on USDA and federal statistical agencies say the move will most likely undermine ERS's high-quality and important work for three main reasons. First, there will be substantial loss of experience and expertise from the many staff unable or unwilling to relocate. Second, by removing the bulk of ERS staff from the nation's capital, the ERS will be less connected to the national discussion on agriculture. Many agriculture and food organizations are based in DC because of the proximity to policymakers and other agencies and expert groups. Finally, by moving ERS from the research arm of USDA to a policy-supporting arm in the secretary's office, its reputation as a policy-neutral agency is threatened.

"The USDA's case for moving and realigning the Economic Research Service fails to justify the uprooting and disruption of such an important, effective and well-run agency," said ASA President Lisa LaVange.

"It's hard to look at USDA's rationale and not ask, 'Where's the beef?'," said ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein. "The American public deserves a better understanding of the alleged problems being addressed and the ramifications of the 'fix.' As the number three-ranked agricultural economics institution in the world, the Economic Research Service clearly ain't broke."

"For the sake of good government and transparency," said LaVange, "Congress should put a stop to USDA's plans until we know more. Federal statistical agencies are the bedrock of US data infrastructure and evidence-based policymaking in the public and private sectors. With their unique and vital role of information decision-making so broad, Congress and the administration should be strengthening these agencies."

As an indication of the gravity of the situation, the former chief statistician of the United States who held the position for 24 years, Katherine Wallman, has called USDA's proposals for ERS "the biggest threat to a federal statistical agency in many years."

###

ASA's document is titled "Addressing the USDA's Rationale for Relocating and Realigning the Economic Research Service."

See also September 6, 2018, press release,Penny-Wise, Dollar-Foolish Move at USDA Amounts to Big American Food and Agriculture Loss; September 13 press release, New USDA Personnel Data Spurs ASA to Reiterate Call for Congress to Block USDA Move; September 19 press release, Congress Seeks Answers to USDA's Agencies Move; and October 9 press release, Leaders Across Five Decades Unite to Oppose USDA Plans.

Contact: Steve Pierson, pierson@amstat.org">pierson@amstat.org">pierson@amstat.org">pierson@amstat.org">pierson@amstat.org">pierson@amstat.org">pierson@amstat.org">pierson@amstat.org, 703-302-1841.

About the American Statistical Association

The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the oldest continuously operating professional science society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org.

As part of the ASA's commitment to support the importance of government statistics for evidence-based policymaking, it created Count on Stats. In partnership with more than a dozen organizations, the initiative is designed to educate and inform the public about the critically important nature of federal data. Without federal agencies' data collection and analysis, we would not have key insights into nutrition, economic trends, community issues, public safety, agriculture and countless other facets that are vital to our society. For additional information, please visit the Count on Stats website at http://www.countonstats.org.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that around 45 million tons of phosphorus fertilizers will be used around the world in 2018.

Much will be applied to soils that also received phosphorus fertilizers in past years.

According to a new study, much of that could be unnecessary.

"Previous application of phosphorus fertilizers increases the effectiveness of subsequent applications," says Jim Barrow, lead author of the study. Barrow is a scientist at the University of Western Australia.

He says better understanding soil phosphorus dynamics can have many benefits. It could lead to more judicious use of phosphorus fertilizers. "At a world level, phosphorus is a limited resource. We need to use it wisely."

At a local level, excessive use of phosphorus fertilizers can pollute water. And at the farm level, purchasing phosphorus fertilizers is a major expense for farmers. "If farmers use only as much as is required, it will help the environment," Barrow states. "It will also save them money."

When phosphorus fertilizers are applied to soils, only a fraction is taken up by plants. That's because most of the phosphorus is stuck on soil grains; only a small proportion is in solution. "When the portion in solution is high, plants can get phosphorus quickly from the soil," says Barrow. "Low fertilizer application rates are sufficient."

Phosphate, the compound used in fertilizers, can react with and penetrate soil particles. Barrow points out that when this happens, it's "scarcely available to plants. This is a major reason why farmers have to reapply phosphorus fertilizers."

But this has its upside. "When phosphate penetrates soil particles, it makes the soil particles more negatively charged," Barrow explains. Since similar charges repel each other, negatively charged soil particles repel the negatively charged phosphate. That means there is more in solution. Plants get it faster, and therefore need less fertilizer.

Barrow and colleagues explored whether phosphate would continue to penetrate soil particles at the same rate over time. They reasoned that the rate would decrease as the negative charge built up.

They showed that when a lot of phosphorus has been applied over time the penetration of phosphate slows down and ultimately stops. "When this happens, you only need to replace phosphate used (and removed in produce) in the previous year," says Barrow.

It's similar to repairing a gravel road. The potholes and other gaps need to be filled first before a smooth, functional top layer is applied.

Barrow worked with colleagues at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in West Bengal, India. They used soil from a site about 65 miles west of the city of Kolkata, India. To mimic phosphorus application over time, the researchers applied phosphorus and then kept the soil at 140F (60C) for more than a month.

"It is quite slow at ordinary temperatures," says Barrow. "This way we don't have to wait around for years before we can do an experiment."

The findings can help farmers use phosphorus fertilizers more efficiently. Farmers could also save money. "But these findings need to be conveyed to farmers," says Barrow. "The effectiveness of the soluble phosphate fertilizers has been grossly underestimated."

###

Read more in Soil Science Society of America Journal. Barrow worked with colleagues Abhijit Debnath, Arup Sen, and students at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in West Bengal, India.
iStock/ThinkstockBY: DR. JOHANNA KREAFLE



A recent study from the Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio shows that participation in the Make-A-Wish program may give children better quality of life and reduce hospital visits and healthcare costs.



Patients who received a wish were 2.5 times more likely to have fewer unplanned hospital admissions and 1.9 times more likely to have fewer unplanned emergency department visits compared to patients of similar age, gender, disease category, and disease complexity who would also quality for a wish but did not receive one.



What is the Make-A-Wish Foundation?



The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization whose goal is to provide children aged three to 17-years-old who have progressive, life-limiting, or life-threatening medical conditions, with experiences known as wishes. These wishes include I wish to go, be (someone for a day), meet, and have (i.e. receive gifts.) The foundation is funded by contributions from individual donors, corporations, and other organizations.



What are the goals and mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation?



The Make-A-Wish Foundation serves a unique, and vital, role in helping strengthen and empower children battling illnesses. And, wishes make life better for kids with critical illnesses.



How many wishes does the foundation grant?



The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in November 1980 and the first wish was granted in the spring of 1981 to Frank Bopsy Salazar, a 7-year-old who had leukemia. Bopsy had three wishes: to be a fireman, go to Disneyland, and ride in a hot air balloon -- all of which were granted to him. Since then, more than 285,000 children in the United States and its territories have benefited from experiencing their wishes. The foundation granted 15,300 wishes last year alone; which means on average, a wish is granted every 34 minutes.



There is a long-held belief that receiving a wish improves a childs quality of life and potentially improves their familys quality of life, enhances family bonding, reduces stress, increases hope and serves as a distraction from illness.



But recent research done at Nationwide Childrens Hospital shows it may do a lot more than that. This study showed that patients who received a wish were 2.5 times more likely to have fewer unplanned hospital admissions and 1.9 times more likely to have fewer unplanned emergency department visits compared to patients of similar age, gender, disease category, and disease complexity who would also quality for a wish but did not receive one. (The study's author, Dr. Anup Patel, is a member of the Medical Advisory Council for the non-profit Make-A-Wish Foundation. A list of all board members can be found here.)



And, a higher percentage of "wish kids" achieved a decrease in healthcare costs after their wish was granted, compared to those children who did not receive a wish over the same period of time -- this savings was even after the cost of the wish was factored in.

Johanna Kreafle, M.D. is an emergency medicine physician at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Note: This article is part of the Principles Project, a list of principles, axioms, and beliefs that undergird a Christian view of economics, liberty, and virtue. Click here to read the introduction and other posts in this series.

The Principle: #14G  To alleviate and eliminate poverty, we need to identify and measure it correctly.

The Definitions:

Consumption  The use of goods and services by households.

Poverty  The condition of not having sufficient resources to meet basic needs including food, clothing, and shelter.

Poverty rate  A statistical measure to determine the prevalence of poverty within a specific demographic or geographic location.

Resources  Things of value we can use when we need them to accomplish an activity.

The Explanation:

What if told you that between 90-100 percent of Americans are living in healthcare poverty. You would probably object and say that while the country certainly has a healthcare crisis, my numbers are surely inflated. After all, most people in the U.S. have access to healthcare.

In reply, I explain that while its true most people are able to consume healthcare services, they are still in poverty since those services are paid for at least partially by the government or private insurance. You would probably respond that I seem very confused on this issue. And youd be right.

Yet when we hear reports that between 14 and 16 percent of Americans are living in poverty, few people bother to ask, Are they talking about consumption or income?

The reason it matters is the same reason that most Americans are not in healthcare poverty: they are able to consume more goods and services than they are able to pay for with their income.

The official definition of poverty for the United States is based on income and uses dollar amounts called poverty thresholds that vary by family size and the members ages. Families with incomes below their respective thresholds are considered to be in poverty. Based on this official definition of poverty, in 2017 approximately 39.7 million people, or 12.3 percent of the population, had incomes below the thresholds.

Currently, there are 48 poverty thresholds that vary by family size and composition. As the Congressional Research Service explains, if a person lives with other people to whom he or she is related by birth, marriage, or adoption, the money income from all family members is used to determine his or her poverty status. If a person does not live with any family members, his or her own income is used. Only money income before taxes is used in calculating the official poverty measure, meaning this measure does not treat in-kind benefits such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), housing subsidies, or employer-provided benefits as income.

By excluding in-kind benefits (i.e., a significant type of resources), the official poverty rate doesnt really tell us whether an individual or family is unable to meet their basic needs. That is why poverty statistics should include consumption, rather than just income.

As James X. Sullivan, an economics professor at Notre Dame, has explained:



A different measure of poverty thats based on consumption, rather than income, would not only measure poverty more accurately, but would lead to a better understanding of the effects of policy and would help lawmakers craft policies to better serve the nations poorest, according to Sullivan, whose research examines the consumption, saving and borrowing behavior of poor households in the U.S., and how welfare and tax policy affects the well-being of the poor. The Census poverty measure ignores the effects of some of the most critical anti-poverty weapons, most notably the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid, food stamps, and housing subsidies. Income received from food stamps, for example, grew by more than $14 billion in 2009. By excluding these benefits in measuring poverty, the Census figures fail to recognize that the food stamps program lifts many people out of actual poverty, Sullivan says. If these programs are cut back in the future, actual poverty will rise even more. Using income-based numbers only also overlooks the struggles of many Americans who are tightening their belts  those who are worried about losing their jobs or facing foreclosure, or those who devote a large chunk of their paychecks to paying off medical bills. The standard of living for these people is lower than their income would suggest.

Another paper by Sullivan and co-author Bruce D. Meyer of the University of Chicago, argues that consumption offers a more robust measurement of poverty than income. When measured correctly, poverty has declined over time. From the abstract:

This paper examines changes in the extent of material deprivation in the United States from the early 1960s to 2009. We investigate how both income and consumption based poverty have changed over time and explore how these trends differ across family types. Estimates of changes in poverty over the past five decades are very sensitive to how resources are measured. A poverty measure that incorporates taxes falls noticeably more than a pre-tax income measure. Sharp differences are also evident between the patterns for income and consumption based poverty. Income poverty falls more sharply than consumption poverty during the 1960s. The reverse is true for the 2000s, although in 2009 consumption poverty rises more than income poverty . . . Income based poverty gaps have been rising over the last two decades while consumption based gaps have fallen. We show that how poverty is measured affects the composition of the poor, and that the consumption poor appear to be worse off than the income poor.

As Robert VerBruggen notes, This [consumption-based] approach doesnt always create low estimates; in the early 1970s, it sits right between the two other measures. But it shows dramatic improvement and a low poverty rate today. Even when the other rates are spiking, consumption poverty remains basically steady.

Indeed, it doesnt make sense to propose solutions for poverty and then exclude those very solutions from being considered when measuring the poverty rate, especially when the poverty-fighting initiatives have been effective.

Such criticisms of the official measure have led to the development of the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).

As we noted above, the official poverty rate only includes money income before taxes (includes 18 private and government sources of income, including Social Security, cash assistance, and other sources of cash income). In contrast, the SPM uses money income (both private and government sources) after taxes minus work expenses, child care expenses, child support paid, out-of-pocket medical expenses, plus tax credits (such as the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit) and the value of in-kind benefits (such as food and housing subsidies).

By using the SPM we can get a more nuanced gauge of poverty in America. For example, with the geographically-adjusted thresholds, the poverty rate in 2017 was lower under the SPM than under the official measure for the Midwest (10.7 percent compared with 11.4 percent), while it was higher than the official measure for the Northeast (14.2 percent compared with 11.4 percent), the West (15.1 percent compared with 11.8 percent), and the South (14.8 percent compared with 13.6percent).

Compared with the official measure, poverty rates under the SPM were lower for children (15.6 percent compared with 17.5 percent) and higher for working-age adults (13.2 percent compared with 11.2 percent) and the population age 65 and older (14.1 percent compared with 9.2percent).

If were serious about helping the poor, we must consider their level of consumptionnot just the numbers on their paycheck. Using additional measures other than the official poverty rate can help us to better identify and measure poverty.
Scientists working on the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), a planned next-generation particle collider in China, released its Conceptual Design Report (CDR) on Nov. 14 in Beijing.

In a special ceremony at the 2018 CEPC workshop at the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Prof. WANG Yifang, director of the IHEP and chair of the CEPC steering committee, released the CDR to the particle physics community and the public at large.

The two-volume report contains technical details regarding the accelerator (Volume I) and the Physics & Detector (Volume II) of the project. It outlines in great detail the design options of the future collider, which would both complement and go beyond the physics of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The report summarizes the work accomplished in the past six years by thousands of scientists and engineers both in China and abroad.

"This is a significant milestone along the road to such an important facility for fundamental physics," said Prof. Geoffrey Taylor of University of Melbourne, chairman of the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) and the Asian Committee for Future Accelerators (ACFA).

"The CDR signifies that we have completed the basic design of the accelerator, detector and civil engineering for the whole project," said Prof. GAO Yuanning of Peking University and chair of the CEPC Institutional Board. "Now our next step will focus on the R&D of key technologies and prototypes for the CEPC."

Volume I of the report covers the design of the accelerator complex including the linear accelerator, the damp ring, the booster, and the collider. In addition, it describes the cryogenic system, the civil engineering, the radiation protection, and the auxiliary facilities. It also discusses the option to upgrade to a Super proton proton Collider (SppC).

Volume II presents the physics case for the CEPC, describes the detector concepts and their technological options, highlights the expected detector and physics performance, and discusses future plans for detector R&D and physics investigations.

"(CDR) has built the foundation for TDR (Technical Design Report) and engineering design as the next step, and a realistic timeline for construction," said Prof. George Wei-Shu Hou of National Taiwan University and chair of the Asia-Pacific High Energy Physics Panel (AsiaHEP).

"I have no doubt the international community looks forward to partnering in the development and operation of the CEPC and in the quest to better understand the basic constituents of matter," said Prof. Geoffrey Taylor.

The current two-volume CDR ("Blue Report") was preceded by the Preliminary Conceptual Design Report (Pre-CDR, "White Report"), published in March 2015, and a Progress Report ("Yellow Report") published in April 2017.

A five-year R&D period (2018-2022) will precede the construction. During this period, prototypes of key technical components will be built and the infrastructure will be established to support the manufacturing of a large number of required components.

Construction is expected to start in 2022 and be completed in 2030. According to the tentative operational plan, the CEPC will run for seven years as a Higgs factory, followed by two years as a Z factory and one year at the WW threshold. The SppC era could begin following the completion of the CEPC operation.

The CEPC is an important part of the global plan for high-energy physics research. It will support a comprehensive research program by scientists around the world. "Physicists from many countries will work together to explore the frontiers of science and technology, thus taking our understanding of the fundamental nature of matter, energy and the universe to a new level," said Prof. WANG Yifang. About the CEPC

The discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in July 2012 created new opportunities for a large-scale accelerator. The Higgs boson is a crucial cornerstone of the Standard Model (SM). In September 2012, Chinese scientists proposed a 240-GeV Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), serving two large detectors for the studies of Higgs bosons. The tunnel for such a collider could also host a Super proton proton Collider (SppC) to reach energies beyond the LHC.

The CEPC is a circular e+ e-collider located in an underground tunnel of 100-km circumference. The accelerator complex consists of a linear accelerator (Linac), a damping ring, a booster, a collider and several transport lines.

The heart of the CEPC will be a double-ring collider. Electron and positron beams will circulate in opposite directions in separate beam pipes. The CEPC booster will be located in the same tunnel above the collider with 10-GeV injection energy and extraction energy equal to the beam collision energy. Top-up injection will be used to maintain constant luminosity. The 10-GeV Linac, an injector to the booster, will be built at ground level and accelerate both electrons and positrons.

In the planned ten-year operation, the CEPC will produce over one million Higgs bosons, one hundred million W bosons, and close to one trillion Z bosons. W and Z bosons are force carriers of the weak force. Billions of bottom quarks, charm quarks and tau-leptons will also be produced in the decays of the Z bosons.

###

More information:

1. Download the Conceptual Design Report (Volume I: Accelerator, http://cepc.ihep.ac.cn/CEPC_CDR_Vol1_Accelerator.pdf; Volume II: Physics & Detector, http://cepc.ihep.ac.cn/CEPC_CDR_Vol2_Physics-Detector.pdf)

2. Images, videos and background information for the CEPC (http://cepc.ihep.ac.cn/)
ITHACA, N.Y. - When rains fell on the arid Atacama Desert, it was reasonable to expect floral blooms to follow. Instead, the water brought death.

An international team of planetary astrobiologists has found that after encountering never-before-seen rainfall three years ago at the arid core of Chiles Atacama Desert, the heavy precipitation wiped out most of the microbes that had lived there.

"When the rains came to the Atacama, we were hoping for majestic blooms and deserts springing to life. Instead, we learned the contrary, as we found that rain in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert caused a massive extinction of most of the indigenous microbial species there," said co-author Alberto Fairen, Cornell University visiting astrobiologist, on new research published in Nature's Scientific Reports.

"The hyperdry soils before the rains were inhabited by up to 16 different, ancient microbe species. After it rained, there were only two to four microbe species found in the lagoons," said Fairen, who is also a researcher with the Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid. "The extinction event was massive."

The core of Atacama rarely, if ever, sees rain. But thanks to changing climate over the Pacific Ocean, according to the new paper, that part of the desert experienced rain events on March 25 and Aug. 9, 2015. It rained again on June 7, 2017. Climate models suggest that similar rain events may take place about once every century, but there has been no evidence of rain for the past 500 years.

The surprise precipitation has two implications for the biology of Mars.

Large deposits of nitrates at the Atacama Desert offer evidence of long periods of extreme dryness. These nitrate deposits are food for microbes, Fairen said.

The nitrates concentrated at valley bottoms and former lakes about 16 million years ago. "Nitrate deposits are the evidence," said Fairen. "This may represent an analog to the nitrate deposits recently discovered on Mars by the rover Curiosity."

Another implication may go back four decades. With this new knowledge, the researchers believe that science may want to revisit the Viking experiments on Mars from the 1970s, which involved incubating Martian soil samples in aqueous solutions.

"Our results show for the first time that providing suddenly large amounts of water to microorganisms - exquisitely adapted to extract meager and elusive moisture from the most hyperdry environments - will kill them from osmotic shock," said Fairen.

###

In addition to Fairen, on the paper, "Unprecedented Rains Decimate Surface Microbial Communities in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert," Armando Azua-Bustos of Centro de Astrobiologia and Carlos Gonzalez-Silva of Universidad de Tarapaca, Arica, Chile, were lead authors. Fairen was funded by the European Research Council.

Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews supporting full HD, ISDN and web-based platforms.
WORCESTER, Mass.--Christopher A. Williams, an environmental scientist and associate professor in Clark University's Graduate School of Geography and postdoctoral research scientist Huan Gu, Ph.D., worked with The Nature Conservancy and close to two dozen institutional partners to produce the most comprehensive national assessment to date of how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and stored in forests, farmland, grasslands, and wetlands; their peer-reviewed study "Natural Climate Solutions for the United States," published November 14 in Science Advances.

The new study highlights how, and which, natural solutions in the United States offer the most promise to help limit warming to 1.5 degrees Centigrade (approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit).

The study found that nature's contribution could equal nearly a quarter of the nation's current net annual emissions, by adjusting 21 natural management practices to increase carbon storage and avoid greenhouse emissions. The study is the first to include the climate benefits of coastal wetlands and grasslands in a comprehensive mix along with forests and agriculture.

Of the 21 natural solutions analyzed in the study, increased reforestation (the planting of trees) emerged as the largest means to achieve greater carbon storage, equivalent to eliminating the emissions of 65 million passenger cars. Other high-performing forest solutions include allowing longer periods between timber harvest to increase carbon storage; increasing controlled burns and strategic thinning in forests to reduce the risk of mega-fire; and avoided loss of forests from urban sprawl.

Almost a million acres of forest are being converted to non-forest every year, largely due to suburban and exurban expansion and development, which could be addressed through better land use planning. Professor Williams and members of his lab found that emissions of carbon dioxide could be avoided by circumventing forest conversion.

"Clearing of forests with conversion to other land uses releases their carbon to the atmosphere, and this contributes to rising temperatures," said Professor Williams. "Land owners and land managers are thinking about how they might use their land base to slow the pace of climate change, but until now they lacked the data needed to assess this potential.

"We estimated how much forest is being lost each year across the U.S., and the amount of carbon that releases to the atmosphere," said Professor Williams. "Turning these trends around can take a dent out of global warming, and now we know how much and where the potential is greatest."

In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report called for global action immediately to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Centigrade (approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit), to avoid the most damaging climate change impacts.

"One of America's greatest assets is its land. Through changes in management, along with protecting and restoring natural lands, we demonstrated we could reduce carbon pollution and filter water, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, and have better soil health to grow our food -- all at the same time," says the study's lead's author, Joe Fargione, director of science for The Nature Conservancy. "Nature offers us a simple, cost-effective way to help fight global warming."

Lynn Scarlett, chief external affairs officer for The Nature Conservancy and former deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior says, "This study provides good news that making investments in nature will make a big difference, while offering the potential for new revenue to farmers, ranchers, foresters, and coastal communities at the same time."

###

Along with publication of the Science Advances paper, a newly launched web interface shows state-by-state opportunities for climate mitigation. Visit http://crsite.s3-website-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, the organization creates innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. The Nature Conservancy works in 72 countries, and uses a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners.

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a liberal arts-based research university addressing natural, social and human imperatives from local to global scales. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark's pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark's faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University's motto: Challenge Convention. Change Our World.

http://www.clarku.edu
New supercomputer simulations by climate scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that climate change intensified the amount of rainfall in recent hurricanes such as Katrina, Irma, and Maria by 5 to 10 percent. They further found that if those hurricanes were to occur in a future world that is warmer than present, those storms would have even more rainfall and stronger winds.

The study, "Anthropogenic Influences on Major Tropical Cyclone Events," will be published November 15 in the journal Nature. To reach their conclusions Berkeley Lab researchers Christina Patricola and Michael Wehner modeled 15 historical tropical cyclones, or hurricanes, as they are called in the Atlantic, and simulated them in various past and projected future climate scenarios. The purpose of the study was to examine how warming caused by human activities may have impacted these storms and could affect similar storms in the future.

"We're already starting to see anthropogenic factors influencing tropical cyclone rainfall," said Patricola, a scientist in Berkeley Lab's Earth and Environmental Sciences Area and lead author of the study. "And our simulations strongly indicate that as time goes on we can expect to see even greater increases in rainfall."

Patricola chose 15 tropical cyclones that have occurred over the last decade across the globe - including the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans - and ran high-resolution climate simulations of those storms in different scenarios, varying factors such as air and ocean temperatures, humidity, and greenhouse gas concentrations. "It is difficult to unravel how climate change may be influencing tropical cyclones using observations alone because records before the satellite-era are incomplete and natural variability in tropical cyclones is large," she said.

She split the study into two parts, one to analyze the effects of climate change so far, and the second to project into the future, to understand how various levels of global warming could change tropical cyclone intensity and rainfall.

She found that a warming climate has already made rainfall more intense, by 5 to 10 percent, but has so far not appreciably impacted wind speeds in the hurricanes considered in this study. However if the climate continues to warm, peak wind speeds could increase by as much as 25 knots, or about 29 mph.

'Hindcast' attribution method

The researchers used what Wehner, an extreme weather expert in Berkeley Lab's Computational Research Division, calls the hindcast attribution method, which he describes as the same as a forecast, except that the event has already happened "so you potentially have more information to use."

Wehner and Patricola used the same method last year in an analysis of a severe 2013 Colorado storm that caused record flooding. "You can certainly use your expert judgment in a better way after the fact," he said. "So you simulate the event in the world that was, followed by simulating a counterfactual storm in a world that might've been had humans not modified the climate system."

For example, by modeling Hurricane Katrina in a pre-industrial climate and again under current conditions, and taking the difference between the results, researchers can determine what can be attributed to anthropogenic warming. However, the design of the study did not allow the researchers to examine the question of whether hurricanes will become more frequent, or whether they will move differently, such as the way Hurricane Harvey stalled for several days over Houston.

Wehner also cautions that only one climate model was used (the Weather Research and Forecasting model, developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research), and that confidence will be increased when the results are replicated in other models.

More rain, stronger winds

In addition to the pre-industrial scenario, Patricola and Wehner also simulated the tropical cyclones occurring in three future climate scenarios, known as RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5, each representing increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Since the beginning of the 20th century, average global surface temperatures have risen about 1 degree Celsius; in RCP8.5, the most extreme scenario, temperatures are expected to rise another 3 to 4 degrees.

They found that rainfall could increase 15 to 35 percent in the future scenarios. Wind speeds increased by as much as 25 knots, although most hurricanes saw increases of 10 to 15 knots. "The fact that almost all of the 15 tropical cyclones responded in a similar way gives confidence in the results," Patricola said.

Another interesting finding was that the structure of storms may change where rainfall is more intense in the eye of the hurricane but less intense on the outer edges. "In a warmer world the inner part of the storm is robbing moisture from the outer part of storm," Wehner said.

Current state-of-the-art long-term climate simulations are approaching resolutions of 25 kilometers and finer, which can broadly represent tropical cyclones. However, important finer-scale features such as cloud clusters can only be approximated at that scale, with unknown implications for climate projections. This motivated the Berkeley Lab team to run their simulations at a resolution of 4.5 kilometers, which allowed some representation of cloud clusters. They found that the finer spatial scale did not alter the qualitative aspects of their conclusions.

"We found that the climate change influences on the wind and rainfall of Hurricane Katrina are insensitive to model resolution between 3 km and 25 km," Patricola said. "This is good news because it suggests we can place more confidence in projections from global climate models at resolutions of at least 25 km, which are becoming more common."

With 15 hurricanes simulated in five climate scenarios, each one repeated 10 times, the study used millions of computing hours on the Cori supercomputer at Berkeley Lab's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. "NERSC was absolutely crucial in being able to get this research done," Patricola said. "Some studies have looked at how individual storms may have changed due to climate change. One of the important things about this study is that we were able to use the same climate model and methodology for 15 storms, which allows us to assess how robust the results are, and had never been done before."

Patricola emphasizes the importance of using both observations and climate models to understand the climate system. Several studies, including one from Berkeley Lab published last year in Geophysical Research Letters, found that climate change increased the rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, based on statistical analysis of observations. "When both approaches agree, we can have more confidence in the results," she said. "Scientists are coming to a consensus that global warming will lead to increases in rainfall from tropical cyclones. One of the remaining uncertainties is how much."

###

This study was supported by DOE's Office of Science as part of the CASCADE Scientific Focus Area. NERSC is a DOE Office of Science user facility at Berkeley Lab.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov.

DOE's 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, please visit science.energy.gov.
New York, November 14, 2018

The Editors of Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation, and Elsevier, the information analytics business specializing in science and health, are delighted to announce that Mark Hallett, MD is the recipient of the 2019 International Brain Stimulation Award. The awardee is determined by the Senior and Deputy Editors of Brain Stimulation, basedon nominations from the entire brain stimulation community.

The International Brain Stimulation Award (IBSA) acknowledges outstanding contributions to the field of brain stimulation. These contributions may be in basic, translational, or clinical aspects of neuromodulation, and must have had a profound influence in shaping this exciting and fast-growing field of neuroscience and medicine.

This is the second time that the IBSA has been awarded. The first recipient, Professor Anthony T. Barker, received the award in 2017 for his pioneering work in developing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

This years awardee, Dr. Hallett will be presented with the award at the 3rd International Brain Stimulation Conference being held in Vancouver, Canada, from February 24th to 27th, 2019.

Dr. Hallett is the Chief of the Medical Neurology Branch and the Human Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland. He trained at Harvard Medical School, NIH, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Institute of Psychiatry in London. From 1976 to 1984, Dr. Hallett was the Chief of the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and rose to Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Since 1984, he has been at the NINDS where he also served as Clinical Director until July 2000. He is Past President of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, Past Vice-President of the American Academy of Neurology, and current Past-President of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology.

"Mark Hallett has defined the modern field of brain stimulation" said Dr. Mark George, Editor in Chief of Brain Stimulation. "Over his career he has investigated basic questions, helped establish methods and safety, created new technologies, and trained and mentored many in the field. It is always a delight to watch his quick mind and encyclopedic knowledge of the field in action as he discusses a scientific question or case. We all owe him so very much  scientists and clinicians who are using the methods he pioneered, and patients who are benefiting from the treatments he helped develop".

Dr. Halletts research has focused on principles of motor control and the pathophysiology of movement disorders. He has used multiple neurophysiological techniques and, among them, brain stimulation interventions. His early work examined the effects of high voltage electrical brain stimulation and, when transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was invented in modern form in 1995, on the comparison of physiological data between electrical and magnetic paradigms. TMS is now FDA approved (2008) for treating depression and OCD.

Despite many in the field having concerns about the safety of TMS, Dr. Hallett organized the first series of international meetings on the safety of TMS, as well as subsequent efforts, including the recent meeting in Siena, Italy in October 2018. His pioneering work in the Human Motor Control Section of the NIH attracted many fellows who now occupy prominent positions across the world. His NIH group was also the first to develop repetitive TMS and to test its therapeutic potential in neurological and psychiatric conditions.

Many studies on the basic effects of stimulation and their physiology were devised by Dr. Hallett, who has co-authored more than 1,000 articles, including many on non-invasive brain stimulation. He was also one of the original deputy editors of the journal, Brain Stimulation.

"Dr. Halletts contributions span the field of neuromodulation" according to Dr. Harold A. Sackeim, founding editor of Brain Stimulation and chair of the awards committee. "He has invented new methods of stimulating the brain, discovered fundamental properties of stimulation techniques, including principles of neuroplasticity, and he has applied these breakthroughs in diverse therapeutic arenas, leading to new treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition to these extraordinary achievements, Dr. Hallett has been a remarkable mentor and facilitator of this new field of neuroscience and medicine".

###

About Brain Stimulation

Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation aims to be the premier journal for publication of original research in the field of neuromodulation. The scope of the Journal extends across the entire field of brain stimulation, including noninvasive and invasive techniques and technologies that alter brain function through the use of electrical, magnetic, radiowave, or focally targeted pharmacologic stimulation. This includes investigations that study the effects of brain stimulation on basic processes, such as gene expression and other aspects of molecular biology, neurochemical regulation, functional brain activity, sensorimotor function, and cognitive and affective processes at the systems level.

The Journal seeks the highest level of research on the biophysics and biopsychophysics of stimulation paradigms as well as the use of these techniques as a probe to outline patterns of neural connectivity. As an equal partner with this basic emphasis, the journal will have strong representation of research on the therapeutic potential and adverse effects of the stimulation technologies. The inclusion of research in therapeutics will represent not only clinical trials, but also conceptual pieces, discussions of ethics as they pertain to this field, services research, etc. http://www.brainstimjrnl.com

About Elsevier Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare, open science and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support and professional education, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 38,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com

Josh Spieler, Publishing DirectorElsevier+1 212 633 3879 j.spieler@elsevier.com "> j.spieler@elsevier.com "> j.spieler@elsevier.com "> j.spieler@elsevier.com
Dublin, Ireland: New results from a long-running trial to identify which new drugs or combinations of drugs are most effective in which types of breast cancer, show that two genomic tests are bringing the era of truly personalised medicine ever nearer.

Professor Laura van 't Veer, leader of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of California San Francisco, USA, told the 30th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland, today (Wednesday) [1]: "Effective breast cancer treatment depends on recognising the biology of the tumour. MammaPrint and BluePrint are two tests that recognise disease that is at risk of early recurrence and the different molecular sub-types."

I-SPY 2 TRIAL [2] is a phase II randomised clinical trial testing several promising new drugs, alone or in combination, alongside standard chemotherapy in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer at high risk of early recurrence. By studying the genetic signature of the tumours, the researchers hoped to identify more precisely subgroups of patients who would respond to particular treatments.

"This will allow us to tailor treatment further so that the right anti-cancer drugs can be given to the right patients who have the highest chance of response, and so that patients who are unlikely to respond can be prioritised to receive another therapy," said Prof van 't Veer.

In the first part of her presentation to the meeting, she described how refining information from the MammaPrint test, which looks at the activity of 70 genes in breast cancer tissue, provided information on how patients' tumours would respond to the treatments, depending on whether it classified the patients as "high risk" (MP1) or "ultra-high risk" (MP2).

"MammaPrint is a prognostic signature used to predict the likelihood of a patient experiencing an early recurrence of her breast cancer in the absence of chemotherapy. In this study we tested the hypothesis that MP1/2 status is associated with tumour response, and we looked to see whether any association might depend on hormone or HER2 receptor status, as well as the treatment regimen the patients were receiving," said Prof van 't Veer.

"We found that, as hypothesised, the 'ultra-high risk' MP2 patients had higher rates of complete pathologic response than the lower risk, MP1 patients."

A total of 483 (49%) of the 986 patients were identified as being MP2, and they were 2.62 times more likely to have their tumours disappear completely (pathologic complete response - pCR) compared to MP1 patients. When the results were adjusted according to which treatment they had received, and whether or not their cancer was driven by hormones or HER2 receptors [3], the pCR rate for MP2 patients was 2.43 times higher than that of MP1 patients.

Further analysis according to which cancer drugs they were receiving, showed that MP2 patients were more likely to achieve pCR if they were taking veliparib/carboplatin, neratinib, ganitumab, TDM1/pertuzumab or pembrolizumab in addition to the standard paclitaxel treatment alone or in combination with trastuzumab. Analysis of responses according to types of receptors showed that MP2 patients with cancers that were hormone receptor positive (HR+) and HER2 positive (HER2+) were 3.62 times more likely to achieve pCR than MP1 patients, while those who were HR+ and HER2- were 3.2 times more likely to achieve pCR compared to MP1 patients. This was not found in HR- HER+ patients.

"The most basic message of this study is that a prognostic signature that predicts good outcome in patients with a low risk signature when foregoing chemotherapy can also, when further stratified, be used to predict response in high-risk signature patients who receive chemotherapy or targeted therapies. In short, this is a prognostic signature that is also predictive. The clinical implications will need to be further developed, but these data suggest that MP1/2 status might be a useful adjunct in predicting which patients are likely to respond to which drugs or combinations," said Prof van 't Veer.

In the second part of her presentations from I-SPY 2, Prof van 't Veer described how the BluePrint 80-gene signature test was used to classify 375 HR+HER2- patients by biological subtype, as having either basal, luminal or HER2 subtype breast cancer. Although all patients in the study belong to the same 'receptor' subtype (HR+HER2-), there can be differences in tumour biology reflected in gene expression patterns measured by BluePrint. The luminal biological subtype is similar to a 'typical' HR+HER2- tumour driven by the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, and it has a relatively low rate of cell proliferation. The basal biological subtype resembles triple negative tumours (which do not have receptors for the hormones oestrogen and progesterone and the HER2 protein), and it has a higher rate of cell proliferation. The HER2 biological subtype is driven by the HER2 protein activating signalling pathways at the level of individual genes; this is something that is possible even in HR+HER2- tumours, but is rare.

Prof van 't Veer and her team hypothesised that HR+HER2- tumours classified as basal by BluePrint would be more responsive to targeted chemotherapy than the more typical luminal cancers.

"We used the BluePrint molecular subtype/signature test to classify I-SPY 2 patients as having luminal, basal or HER2 biological subtype breast cancers. We then focused on HR+HER2- patients, who were all classified as either luminal or basal, and performed an analysis to assess whether subtype was associated with complete pathologic response to chemotherapy and targeted therapy given before surgery, and, if so, to identify the subtype that is more responsive to therapy. We also looked at survival outcomes by subtype and tumour response.

"This analysis showed that patients with HR+HER2- breast cancers of basal subtype as assessed by BuePrint were more likely to achieve a complete pathologic response than patients with luminal-type breast cancers. In addition, we showed that though patients with luminal cancers were less likely to respond with a complete pathologic response, non-responding HR+HER2- luminal patients had superior long-term survival outcomes compared to non-responding HR+HER2- basal patients."

Patients with basal subtype cancers were approximately four times more likely to achieve pCR than patients with luminal cancer, regardless of which therapy they were receiving. In addition, the researchers found an association between subtype as assessed by BluePrint and the MammaPrint MP1 or MP2 classes; 77% of the HR+HER2- basal patients were also 'ultra-high risk' MP2 types, compared to only 9% of HR+HER2- luminal patients.

"These findings suggest that BluePrint can identify a subset of patients with HR+HER- basal tumours who are more likely to respond to neoadjuvant chemotherapy," said Prof van 't Veer. "The overlap between BluePrint basal subtype and MP2 class suggests that different predictive signatures may identify similar sets of patients who are most likely to respond to a particular investigational drug."

I-SPY 2 is ongoing and recruiting patients. So far, 15 investigational drugs have entered the trial. The results presented today include control treatments and the first ten drugs, most of which target particular biological processes or recruit the immune system to kill cancer cells. Seven of these first ten have proved to be at least twice as good as standard chemotherapy (which is given in the control arm of the trial), two were dropped as they failed to show a big benefit over standard treatment, and one was stopped because it was too toxic for patients.

Professor Charles Swanton of the Francis Crick Institute, London, UK, is scientific co-chair of the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium and was not involved in the research. He said: "These are exciting results from I-SPY 2 TRIAL and show how understanding the underlying biology of a person's cancer has enormous potential for predicting not only their risk of an early recurrence, but also for how their cancer is likely to respond to particular therapies. This will help us to choose the most effective treatment for individual patients and so improve their chances of surviving breast cancer."

###
To cross the placenta, Zika virus may hijack the route by which acquired immunity is transferred from mother to fetus, new research suggests.

The results are scheduled for publication in Cell Host & Microbe.

Antibodies against dengue virus make it easier for Zika to infect certain immune cells in the placenta, called Hofbauer cells. This effect was observed in both cell culture and in explanted human placental tissue, says lead author Mehul Suthar, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Emory Vaccine Center.

Zika infection during pregnancy can lead to overt microcephaly - a smaller head and brain -- in the developing fetus, as well as more subtle neurological problems detectable later.

Researchers had previously observed that syncytiotrophoblasts, cells that make up outermost layer of the placenta, are resistant to Zika infection. Yet studies of Zika-infected pregnant women show that the virus is present in the placenta in the majority of cases.

"We needed to know how the virus gets across the placenta," Suthar says. "Previous studies have shown that Zika persists in the placenta for months. It's clearly getting in there."

However, Suthar says his team's research does not directly address the question of whether having anti-dengue antibodies - as a result of infection or vaccination - will worsen clinical outcomes in Zika infection.

Zika is similar genetically to dengue, they belong to the same flavivirus family and antibodies to one virus sometimes will bind the other. Both are transmitted by the same mosquito vector and their geographical infection patterns overlap in Central and South America, some parts of Africa and South Asia.

There are four strains of dengue virus, and infection with one strain does not lead to long-lasting immunity against the other three. In fact, secondary infection with a different strain can increase the risk of developing a more severe illnesses like dengue shock syndrome and/or dengue hemorrhagic fever.

This is thought to happen through "antibody-dependent enhancement": pre-existing antibodies to the first strain, unable to stop the secondary infection, instead bind to immune cells and help the new strain infect them.

On a cellular level, a similar phenomenon is occurring with Zika and dengue. When anti-dengue antibodies are present at the same time as Zika virus, they form complexes (clumps), which are taken up by the placenta.

This is a normal process; it's how the mother can transfer acquired immunity to the fetus. The placental cells grab onto antibodies by their Fc receptors, which are unvarying between antibodies. The Zika immune complexes increase viral binding and entry into Hofbauer cells, but also push them to mute antiviral responses.

"This is not the only mechanism," Suthar says. "There may be others."

"Once the virus crosses into the placenta, it's down-hill from there," he adds, explaining that the fetal blood-brain barrier is not well-developed and viruses can then access brain tissue directly.

Suthar emphasized that using explanted human placental tissue, it could be possible to look for protective agents that could reduce the probability that Zika will cross the placental barrier. One possibility could be antibodies lacking Fc receptors, he says.

Suthar says his team is planning to investigate similar interactions with other viruses from the same family as dengue and Zika, such as West Nile virus.

###

Co-first authors are MD/PhD student Matthew Zimmerman and graduate student Kendra Quicke. The laboratories of Jens Wrammert, PhD in Emory's Department of Pediatrics, Rana Chakraborty, MD at the Mayo Clinic and Carolyn Coyne, PhD at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, contributed to the paper.

This work was funded in part by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U19AI083019, U01AI131566, 2U19AI057266), the NIH Director's Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (Primate centers: ODP51OD011132), Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Georgia Research Alliance.
Lugano, Switzerland, 13 November 2018 - The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (1) has selected Prof. Cornelis Melief to receive the 2018 ESMO Immuno-Oncology Award (2) in recognition of his life's work in studying the interactions of the immune system with cancer. The distinction will be officially presented to him at the opening keynote and award lecture of this year's ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress in Geneva, Switzerland (13-16 December). (3,4)

Prof. George Coukos and John Haanen, Scientific Co-Chairs of the upcoming congress, (5) commented on the reasons for this nomination: "Professor Melief dedicated his career to understanding how the immune system, specifically cytotoxic lymphocytes, interact with cancer, and used this knowledge for the development of new therapeutic cancer vaccine strategies," said Coukos.

After studying virally induced cancer in mice, he is currently involved in clinical trials with synthetic vaccines for the treatment of head and neck as well as cervical cancer associated with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). "With this award we are recognising him as a true pioneer in the field of cancer immunology, who has trained and inspired a whole generation of young scientists with his research," Haanen added.

Melief is Professor Emeritus in tumour immunology at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, as well as the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ISA Pharmaceuticals. "This is a great honour and wonderful recognition of the fact that after many years of concept building and evaluation in lab models and investigational trials, we have finally arrived at immunotherapy approaches that can make a difference for patients," he said.

The success of Melief's work in developing effective immunotherapy for virus induced tumours recently led to the implementation of clinical trials to bring so-called synthetic long peptide (SLP) vaccines to cancer patients world-wide. Melief and his team were able to show the clinical effectiveness of these vaccines in treating patients with pre-malignant lesions caused by HPV type 16. They also demonstrated that in patients with cancer, in whom vaccination could not be used effectively on its own and instead should be employed in combination with other therapies.

Among the most promising results obtained to date, Melief and his team found that a combination of SLP vaccination and standard chemotherapy strengthened cervical cancer patients' immune response and prolonged their survival. They further discovered that a similar effect could be achieved among patients with HPV-related head and neck cancer by administering the vaccines in conjunction with immunotherapy in the form of immune system boosting monoclonal antibodies.

Melief will be the second recipient of the ESMO Immuno-Oncology Award, which was created in 2017 in commemoration of European cancer research and treatment pioneer Prof. Georges Mathe, a founding member of ESMO. Melief concluded: "To me, this award also means recognition of the outstanding teamwork delivered by talented investigators at Leiden University Medical Center and ISA Pharmaceuticals as well as by many medical oncologists in the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA," he said. "The work would not have been possible without the highly appreciated participation of the patients in these early trials".

###

Notes to Editors

Disclaimer

This press release contains information provided by the experts interviewed for this award. It does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ESMO who cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information. Commentators quoted in the press release are required to comply with the ESMO Declaration of Interests policy and the ESMO Code of Conduct.

References

1. ESMO: http://www.esmo.org

2. 2018 ESMO Immuno-Oncology Award: http://www.esmo.org/Career-Development/Awards/ESMO-Award-for-Immuno-Oncology

3. ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress: http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/ESMO-Immuno-Oncology-Congress-2018

4. The 2018 ESMO Immuno-Oncology Award will be presented to Cornelis Melief during the opening session of the ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress, on 13 December 2018, 13:30-13:45 (CET) in Hall A2 - Room A. Prof Melief will also give a Keynote lecture entitled: "Combination immunotherapy of cancers caused by high risk human papilloma virus"

5. ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress Officers: http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/ESMO-Immuno-Oncology-Congress-2018/Congress-Officers
Experimental inhibition of this prostanoid led to increased migration of defense cells and production of antimicrobial peptides, resulting in decreased bacterial numbers in the colon

The treatment of intestinal infections caused by some strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli, present in unsanitized or contaminated foods, may have a new ally.

A study published in PNAS reports that the inhibition of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a lipid mediator released during the process of infected cell clearance (efferocytosis) in the intestine, enhanced the ability of mice to combat infectious colitis.

"Tissue cell death is intense during a bacterial infection. Many immune cells recruited to the site of the infection also die. We found that during the removal of dead and infected cells, a process called efferocytosis, there was an increase in the release of proteins and of the lipid mediator prostaglandin E2. However, the presence of PGE2 impaired the differentiation of Th17 [or T helper 17] cells, lymphocytes that play a key role in the resolution of intestinal infections," said Alexandra Ivo de Medeiros, a professor at Sao Paulo State University's School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCF-UNESP) in Araraquara, Brazil, and principal investigator for the study.

To prove this hypothesis, the researchers inhibited the production of PGE2 using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as indomethacin and ibuprofen. The inhibition of PGE2 resulted in increased differentiation of Th17 cells.

"Th17 cells play a key role in resolving bacterial intestinal infection by promoting the recruitment of inflammatory cells and the production of natural antibiotics," Medeiros told.

The study funded by Sao Paulo Research Foundation -FAPESP also showed that blocking only one PGE2 receptor, EP4, reversed the suppressive effect of PGE2 on the differentiation of Th17 cells.

Different functions

"Prostaglandin E2 can perform different functions depending on the type of cell and receptor involved. Our use of the EP4 prostaglandin receptor antagonist enhanced the resolution of infectious colitis," said Naiara Naiana Dejani, first author of the article. Dejani earned her PhD with a scholarship from FAPESP.

Another finding of the study was that inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis or signaling by treatment with the EP4 antagonist L-161,982 favored the expression of defensins, which are considered natural antibiotics, in the colon.

"The use of a specific antagonist of the PGE2 receptor, such as the EP4 receptor antagonist, offers advantages in terms of an auxiliary proposal for the treatment of infectious colitis. Nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, such as indomethacin and ibuprofen, are inexpensive but can cause adverse events that have been well described in the literature," Dejani said.

Despite the protective effect of Th17 cells in bacterial infection, these same cells may cause chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease, so while the discovery points to an important potential ally of antibiotics in treating infections, a buildup of Th17 cells in the intestine could result in future complications.

Infection

The study resulted from a project led by Medeiros with a Young Investigator grant from FAPESP. Two of its authors besides Dejani also received scholarships from FAPESP: Allan Botinhon Orlando and Felipe Fortino Verdan.

Carlos Henrique Serezani, a researcher at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (USA), also participated in the collaboration. Serezani was Dejani's supervisor during a FAPESP-funded research internship abroad that resulted in the publication of an article in the journal Diabetes.

In the experiment, mice were orally infected with a bacterium (Citrobacter rodentium) that mimics infection by E. coli in humans. After 24 hours, they began receiving a one-week treatment. Indomethacin was administered every two days to one group, while a second group received a daily dose of L-161,982 (the EP4 antagonist). Controls were given an innocuous substance.

Analysis of the intestine in all groups at the end of the treatment showed that the use of an EP4 antagonist may be a promising strategy for the auxiliary treatment of infectious colitis. However, further research is required to show whether combining the EP4 antagonist and antibiotic therapy improves the resolution of this bacterial infection.

###

About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en.
The crater measures more than 31 km in diameter, corresponding to an area bigger than Paris, and placing it among the 25 largest impact craters on Earth

An international team lead by researchers from the Centre for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen have discovered a 31-km wide meteorite impact crater buried beneath the ice-sheet in the northern Greenland. This is the first time that a crater of any size has been found under one of Earth's continental ice sheets. The researchers worked for last three years to verify their discovery, initially made in the 2015. The research is described in a new study just published in the internationally recognized journal Science Advances.

The crater measures more than 31 km in diameter, corresponding to an area bigger than Paris, and placing it among the 25 largest impact craters on Earth. The crater formed when a kilometre-wide iron meteorite smashed into northern Greenland, but has since been hidden under nearly a kilometre of ice.

"The crater is exceptionally well-preserved, and that is surprising, because glacier ice is an incredibly efficient erosive agent that would have quickly removed traces of the impact. But that means the crater must be rather young from a geological perspective. So far, it has not been possible to date the crater directly, but its condition strongly suggests that it formed after ice began to cover Greenland, so younger than 3 million years old and possibly as recently as 12,000 years ago - toward the end of the last ice age" says Professor Kurt H. Kjr from the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Giant circular depression

The crater was first discovered in July 2015 as the researchers inspected a new map of the topography beneath Greenland's ice-sheet. They noticed an enourmous, but previously undetected circular depression under Hiawatha Glacier, sitting at the very edge of the ice sheet in northern Greenland.

"We immediately knew this was something special but at the same time it became clear that it would be difficult to confirm the origin of the depression," says Professor Kjr.

In the courtyard at the Geological Museum in Copenhagen just outside the windows of the Center for GeoGenetics sits a 20-tonne iron meteorite found in North Greenland not far from the Hiawatha Glacier.

"It was therefore not such a leap to infer that the depression could be a previously undescribed meterorite crater, but initially we lacked the evidence," reflects Associate Professor Nicolaj K. Larsen from Aarhus University.

The crucial evidence

Their suspicion that the giant depression was a meteorite crater was reinforced when the team sent a German research plane from the Alfred Wegener Institute to fly over the Hiawatha Glacier and map the crater and the overlying ice with a new powerful ice radar. Joseph MacGregor, a glaciologist at NASA, who participated in the study and is an expert in ice radar measurements adds:

"Previous radar measurements of Hiawatha Glacier were part of a long-term NASA effort to map Greenland's changing ice cover. What we really needed to test our hypothesis was a dense and focused radar survey there. Our colleagues at the Alfred Wegener Institute and University of Kansas did exactly that with a next-generation radar system that exceeded all expectations and imaged the depression in stunning detail. A distinctly circular rim, central uplift, disturbed and undisturbed ice layering, and basal debris. It's all there."

In the summers of 2016 and 2017, the research team returned to the site to map tectonic structures in the rock near the foot of the glacier and collect samples of sediments washed out from the depression through a meltwater channel.

"Some of the quartz sand washed from the crater had planar deformation features indicative of a violent impact, and this is conclusive evidence that the depression beneath the Hiawatha Glacier is a meteorite crater, " says Professor Larsen.

The consequences of the impact on the Earth's climate and life

Earlier studies have shown that large impacts can profoundly affect Earth's climate, with major consequences for life on Earth at the time. It is therefore very resonable to ask when and how and this meteorite impact at the Hiawatha Glacier affected the planet.

"The next step in the investigation will be to confidently date the impact. This will be a challenge, because it will probably require recovering material that melted during the impact from the bottom of the structure, but this is crucial if we are to understand how the Hiawatha impact affected life on Earth", concludes Professor Kjr.

###

Contacts:

Kurt H. Kjr, Professor at the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen

Mail: kurtk@snm.ku.dk

Phone: +45 30589730

Nicolaj K. Larsen, Associate Professor at the Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University and Adjunct Professor at the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen

Mail: nicolaj.krog@geo.au.dk

Phone: +45 28992586
WASHINGTON -- A defining feature of Parkinson's disease is the clumps of alpha-synuclein protein that accumulate in the brain's motor control area, destroying dopamine-producing neurons. Natural processes can't clear these clusters, known as Lewy bodies, and no one has demonstrated how to stop the build up as well as breakdown of the clumps -- until perhaps now.

A team of neurologists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) has found through studies in mice and human brains, that one reason Lewy bodies develop is that a molecule, USP13, has removed all the "tags" placed on alpha-synuclein that mark the protein for destruction. Toxic heaps of alpha-synuclein accumulate, and are never taken away.

The findings, published in Human Molecular Genetics, show that inhibiting USP13 in mouse models of Parkinson's disease both eliminated Lewy bodies and stopped them from building up again. The "tag" that USP13 removes is called ubiquitin, which labels alpha-synuclein for degradation.

"This study provides novel evidence that USP13 affects development and clearance of Lewy body protein clumps, suggesting that targeting USP13 may be a therapeutic target in Parkinson's disease and other similar forms of neurodegeneration," says the study's lead investigator, Xiaoguang Liu, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology.

There are three forms of motor disorders associated with build-up of alpha-synuclein. These "synucleinopathies" include Parkinson's, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy.

Parkin is one of a family of ubiquitin ligase enzymes. Ubiquitination is a process in which molecules are labeled (or tagged) with ubiquitin and directed to cellular machines that break them down. USP13 is known as a de-ubiquitinating enzyme, which removes ubiquitin tags from protein. USP13 renders parkin ineffective via removal of ubiquitin tags (de-ubiquitination) from proteins. Loss of parkin function leads to genetically inherited forms of Parkinson's disease.

The study began with postmortem autopsies of individuals who donated their brains to research including 11 with Parkinson's disease and a control group of 9 without Parkinson's. The autopsies, which occurred 4 to 12 hours after death, found that the level of USP13 was significantly increased in the midbrain in Parkinson's disease patients, compared to the control participants.

"Overexpression of USP13 in post-mortem brains with Parkinson's disease was never discovered before this work. Its presence indicates that this molecule might reduce parkin's ability to tag proteins with ubiquitin or may strip ubiquitin away from certain molecules like alpha-synuclein, resulting in accumulation of toxic clumps in the brain," said Charbel Moussa, MBBS, PhD, the study senior investigator and director of GUMC Translational Neurotherapeutics Program.

Studies in mouse models of Parkinson's disease then demonstrated that knocking out the USP13 gene increased alpha-synuclein ubiquitination and destruction. Researchers also saw that USP13 knockdown protected the mice against alpha-synuclein-induced dopamine neuron death. The mice had improved motor performance; parkin protein was increased and alpha-synuclein was cleared.

Investigators also found that a newer therapy being studied in those with Parkinson's disease, nilotinib, worked better when USP13 was inhibited. Nilotinib is FDA approved for use in specific blood cancers.

"Our discovery clearly indicates that inhibition of USP13 is a strategic step to activate parkin and counteract alpha-synuclein de-ubiquitination, to increase toxic protein clearance" added Moussa. "Our next step is to develop a small molecule inhibitor of USP13 to be used in combination with nilotinib in order to maximize protein clearance in Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases."

"To our knowledge, these data are the first to elucidate the role of USP13 in neurodegeneration," Liu says, suggesting that other neurodegeneration disorders that features protein clumps, such as Alzheimer's disease, may have a similar pathology.

"Clearance of neurotoxic proteins, including alpha-synuclein, may depend on the balance between ubiquitination and de-ubiquitinating," she says.

###

Contributing investigators include Michaeline Hebron, MS, Wangke Shi, and Irina Lonskaya, PhD, all from the Department of Neurology and Georgetown University Medical Center.

Georgetown University has an issued patent (US 9,393,244) on technology described in this manuscript on which Moussa is named as inventor.

These studies were supported by Michael J. Fox Foundation and Emerald Foundation, Inc. grants to Moussa.

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. Connect with GUMC on Facebook (Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate), Twitter (@gumedcenter) and Instagram (@GeorgetownMedicine).
The mesosphere, at heights between 85 and 100 kilometers above the Earth's surface, contains a layer of atomic sodium. Astronomers use laser beams to create artificial stars, or laser guide stars (LGS), in this layer for improving the quality of astronomical observations. In 2011, researchers proposed that artificial guide stars could also be used to measure the Earth's magnetic field in the mesosphere. An international group of scientists has recently managed to do this with a high degree of precision. The technique may also help to identify magnetic structures in the solid Earth's lithosphere, to monitor space weather, and to measure electrical currents in the part of the atmosphere called ionosphere.

Astronomers have been using lasers to generate artificial stars for the past 20 years. A laser beam is directed from the ground into the atmosphere. In the sodium layer, it strikes sodium atoms, which absorb the energy of the laser and then start to glow. "The atoms emit light in all directions. Such artificial stars are barely visible to the naked eye but can be observed with telescopes," explained Felipe Pedreros Bustos of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). In connection with the work on his doctoral thesis, the Chilean-born physicist has spent four years working on the project, which besides JGU involves the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the University of California, Berkeley and Rochester Scientific in the USA, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF-OAR), and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

The artificial guide stars help astronomers to correct the distortions of light that travels through the atmosphere. The light from the artificial guide star is collected on the ground by telescopes, and the information is used to adjust in real time state-of-the-art deformable mirrors, compensating the distortions and allowing astronomical objects to be imaged sharply, down to the optical resolution, the so-called diffraction limit, of the telescope.

The precession of sodium atoms reveals the strength of the magnetic field

The participants in the collaborative project are using laser guide stars to measure the Earth's magnetic field. An ESO LGS unit dedicated to Research and Development is housed in the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, the westernmost Canary Island. The availability and use of the LGS unit has allowed to perform the reported joint experiments, which also aim at increasing the brightness of laser guide stars. From the observatory, a laser beam is directed at the sodium layer which excites and spin-polarizes the atoms making most of their atomic spin point in the same direction. Due to the effect of the surrounding magnetic field, the polarized atomic spins rotate around the direction of the magnetic field similar to the motion of a gyroscope that is tilted from the vertical, a phenomenon known as Larmor precession. "A guide star becomes brighter when the modulation frequency of our laser coincides with the precession frequency of sodium," explained Pedreros Bustos. "As the Larmor frequency is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field, we can use this method to measure the Earth's magnetic field in the sodium layer." The detection scheme is similar to a stroboscope.

Hence, the group has succeeded in using a well-studied, fundamental laboratory technique to observe the natural world. It fills a gap in our knowledge of the Earth's magnetic field by allowing us to make ground-based observations of the mesosphere, which was previously difficult to access. Up to now, the magnetic field could only be directly measured on the ground, from airplanes, from balloons in the stratosphere, or from satellites.

In May 2018, a US-American research group had published similar findings. However, these latest measurements are much more precise, and scientists hope to improve them still further by using higher-energy lasers. "We can also use the technique to estimate atomic processes in the atmosphere, for example, how often sodium collides with other atoms such as oxygen or nitrogen. This is something that hasn't been done before," said Pedreros Bustos.

This artificial guide star measuring technique will be particularly useful in geophysics. It will make it possible to determine changes to the magnetic field of the Earth's ionosphere caused by solar winds. In addition, observation of oceanic currents and large-scale magnetic structures in the upper mantle would be feasible by means of continuous surveillance of the Earth's magnetic field at altitudes of 85 to 100 kilometers.

###

Related links:

https://budker.uni-mainz.de/?page_id=38 - Magnetometry with Laser Guide Stars project of the Budker Group

https://budker.uni-mainz.de/ - Budker Group at HIM and JGU

https://www.hi-mainz.de - Helmholtz-Institute Mainz

http://eso.org/sci/facilities/develop/lgsf.html - Laser guide star developments at ESO

Read more:

http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/6963_ENG_HTML.php - press release "Atomic parity violation research reaches new milestone" (13 Nov. 2018)

http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/20266_ENG_HTML.php - press release "ERC Advanced Grant for experimental physicists Dmitry Budker" (12 May 2016)

http://www.magazin.uni-mainz.de/2452_ENG_HTML.php - JGU MAGAZINE: "Not everything in the universe is symmetrical" (9 Jan. 2015)
The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI) announces that Dr. Gloria Choi is the second biennial Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award recipient. Choi is an Assistant Professor at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. Her research focuses on olfaction and social cues, as well as neuroimmunology and neural circuits.

"I am honored and deeply grateful. Being recognized as the Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award winner adds to my motivation to continue striving for good, exciting and important scientific research," said Dr. Choi.

Dr. Choi received her Ph.D. in Biology from the California Institute of Technology and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Neurobiology & Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY, in the laboratory of Nobel Prize-winning researcher Richard Axel. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including being named one of Cell Magazine's 40 Under 40 in 2014. As the 2018 Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award recipient, she will be honored with a special presentation and will give a talk at MPFI's national Sunposium conference, which takes place March 4-6, 2019 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Gloria Choi's achievements continue to push the boundaries of neuroscience forward, and her ability to bring her full focus, creativity, and intellectual curiosity to a question is clearly evident in the groundbreaking research that she has already published so early in her career," wrote Robert Desimone, director of the McGovern Institute, who nominated Choi for this award. Desimone went on to say that Choi is a "creative and collaborative researcher who is certainly an inspiration to other young scientists."

The Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award is given biennially to recognize a young neuroscience investigator for significant contributions to the scientific community through collaboration, creativity, and curiosity-driven research. In addition to recognizing exceptional achievements, it also serves to support research, inspire young scientists, promote cooperation, and acknowledge the outstanding legacy that Dr. Peter Gruss built throughout his honorable career at the Max Planck Society.

###
Governments and police forces around the world need to beware of the harm caused by mass and social media following terror events. In a new report, leading counter-terrorism experts from around the world - including Michigan State University faculty - offer guidance to authorities to better manage the impacts of terror attacks by harnessing media communication.

"With social media, not only is the information immediate, but the public's access to information and conversations shape how an event is talked about," said Steven Chermak, MSU professor of criminal justice report contributor. "This can be dangerous when we can't discern fact from a panicked reaction."

The report, Minutes to Months, or M2M, assessed terror attacks in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, with expertise from MSU, Western University in Canada, University of New South Wales, Sydney, and was spearheaded by Cardiff University's Crime and Security Research Institute, or CSRI.

By reviewing all the published research on the role of media and social media in the wake of terror attacks, together with detailed case studies of specific incidents, M2M reveals insights on how media and social media coverage can increase the public harms of terrorism, and what works to mitigate such effects.

The M2M report provides recommendations to help authorities develop and execute strategies to manage the online fallout from a terrorist incident. The work was commissioned by the Five Country Ministerial Countering Extremism Working Group, which includes the governments of the UK, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The research team found that terrorist attacks create shockwaves after the initial incident, as a wide range of voices compete through mainstream and social media. In fact, M2M found that communications after a terrorist incident often lead to a spike in hate crimes, extremism, and prompt damaging disinformation and rumors.

"People only know what they see or read, so the immediate panic social media - and then on the news - perpetuates rumors and creates fear. This is exactly what terrorists want," Chermak said. "The ongoing news in the days and weeks following attacks - and opinions and emotions through media - can continue the terror cycle."

Governments, police and others involved in public safety need to be ready to offer accurate, regular information to minimise negative fallout, the researchers said.

Terrorist violence, as the report explained, is intended to elicit intense and vivid reactions. Thus, by neglecting how to manage post-event situations is a current weak point in many governmental counter-terrorism frameworks.

The increasing volume of communication channels allows different groups to voice alternative interpretations of the same event, causing multiple narratives and accounts circulating in the post-event environment.

Martin Innes, director of the CSRI and lead author of M2M, recently issued a report that identified the systematic use of fake social media accounts spreading disinformation. The accounts, linked to Russia, amplified the public impacts of the four terrorist attacks that took place in the UK in 2017: Westminster Bridge, Manchester Arena, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

"Over the past five years or so, both the mechanics and dynamics of terrorism and how it is reported via media sources, have altered dramatically," Innes said. "Over the same period, the logics of media and the information environment have been fundamentally transformed."

Because of these changes Innes believes that changing communication is the key to the post-attack wake of terror.

"Taking a pragmatic view, that despite the best efforts of police and security services, not all future plots will be prevented, developing an understanding of how any harms can be mitigated is an important undertaking."

###

This report was made available to funders and internal stakeholders in July 2018 before it was published to the public on October 24, 2018.
US forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands could absorb a fifth of greenhouse gas pollution -- equivalent to emissions from all US vehicles

Restoring the United States' lands and coastal wetlands could have a much bigger role in reducing global warming than previously thought, according to the most comprehensive national assessment to date of how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and stored in forests, farmland, grasslands, and wetlands.

The peer-reviewed study in Science Advances from The Nature Conservancy and 21 institutional partners found that nature's contribution could equal 21% of the nation's current net annual emissions, by adjusting 21 natural management practices to increase carbon storage and avoid greenhouse emissions. The study is the first to include the climate benefits of coastal wetlands and grasslands in a comprehensive mix along with forests and agriculture.

In October the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report called for global action immediately to limit warming to 1.5?Centigrade (approximately 3? Fahrenheit) to avoid the most damaging climate change impacts. This new study highlights how, and which, natural solutions in the United States offer the most promise to help limit temperatures below that 3? Fahrenheit goal.

Joe Fargione, Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy, was the study's lead author: "One of America's greatest assets is its land. Through changes in management, along with protecting and restoring natural lands, we demonstrated we could reduce carbon pollution and filter water, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, and have better soil health to grow our food -- all at the same time. Nature offers us a simple, cost-effective way to help fight global warming. In combination with transitioning to zero carbon energy production, natural climate solutions can help protect our climate for future generations."

Lynn Scarlett, Chief External Affairs Officer for The Nature Conservancy and former Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior, spoke to practical elements of the study's findings: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so we should reduce carbon pollution where we can. But we also need to put natural solutions to work as a tool to insulate ourselves from global warming. This study provides good news that making investments in nature will make a big difference, while offering the potential for new revenue to farmers, ranchers, foresters, and coastal communities at the same time."

Of the 21 natural solutions analyzed, increased reforestation (the planting of trees) emerged as the largest means to achieve greater carbon storage, equivalent to eliminating the emissions of 65 million passenger cars. Other high-performing forest solutions include allowing longer periods between timber harvest to increase carbon storage; increasing controlled burns and strategic thinning in forests to reduce the risk of megafire; and avoided loss of forests from urban sprawl.

The study identified a maximum of 156 million acres that could be reforested, 304 million acres where forest harvest rotations could be extended, and at least 42 million additional acres of forests that would benefit from fire risk reduction treatments. In addition, almost a million acres of forest are being converted to non-forest habitat a year, largely due to suburban and exurban expansion, which could be addressed through better land use planning. The study also finds that urban reforestation can add important carbon storage benefits.

"Planting trees and improving the health of existing forests will be a deciding factor in whether we are able to get ahead of the climate curve," said Jad Daley, CEO of American Forests. "This breakthrough analysis clarifies the highest impact actions for keeping our forests as a growing and resilient carbon sink and the potential scale of climate benefit."

Grasslands are underappreciated for their carbon storage opportunity. Grassland is being lost at a rate of over one million acres per year. When grassland is converted to cropland, about 28% of the carbon in the top meter of soil is released to the atmosphere. This trend could be reversed by re-enrolling 13 million acres of marginal cropland in conservation programs and restoring them to provide habitat and storage of carbon in the soil.

Existing croplands have an important role to play. Farmers can optimize their nutrient application, saving money and avoiding emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Farmers can also plant cover crops, which suck carbon out the atmosphere and return it to the soil during times of the year when fields would normally be bare.

"Farmers are some of our best land stewards, and Danone North America is partnering with farms across the country to find climate solutions through our soil health initiative. Improved nutrient management, cover crops, and crop rotations are examples of practices that can help reduce GHG emissions and over time improve a farm's bottom-line. Farmers and the food industry depend on a predictable climate, so it's important to work together to reduce the risks of climate change." said Chris Adamo, Vice President Federal & Industry Affairs at Danone North America.

Natural solutions can be found under water as well. An estimated 27% of tidal wetlands have been disconnected from the ocean, increasing the release of methane. Reconnecting tidal wetlands to the ocean virtually eliminates those methane emissions, and also restores fish habitat important for coastal communities.

"Shellfish growers make a living on the water and have witnessed salt marshes losing productivity due to freshwater inundation. Not only does this damage important waters and increase emissions, but it also harms their ability to make a living growing oysters, clams, mussels and other species that support many coastal communities and other important stakeholders. By restoring salt marshes, we can help shellfish farmers, wholesalers, retailers and restaurants and the climate all at the same time," said Davis Herron, Director, Retail & Restaurant Division, Lobster Place, spokesman for the Shellfish Growers Climate Coalition.

Not only do natural climate solutions have strong benefits for personal enjoyment, healthier water, air, wildlife, and soil, many are quite affordable. As states and the federal government evaluate rules and markets for greenhouse gas emissions, these low-cost reductions from natural solutions offer the United States a powerful tool to address a warming planet.

###

ABOUT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 72 countries, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit http://www.nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.
A new study showed that people who are afraid to have their blood drawn believe more people faint or have other symptoms than what statistics show actually occurs.

ATHENS, Ohio (Nov. 14, 2018) - A new study by Ohio University faculty members showed that people who are afraid to have their blood drawn believe more people faint or have other symptoms than what statistics show actually occurs.

"Based on our prior study we did expect that people would over-estimate the risk of fainting, and we did anticipate that the predicted risk would increase as a function of level of fear," the authors said. "However, we were nonetheless surprised at the degree to which the sample overestimated the risk."

The study, titled "Fear of blood draw is associated with inflated expectations of faint and pre-faint reactions to blood donation," was conducted by Ohio University College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor Christopher R. France and Senior Researcher Janis L. France. It was published in Transfusion in September.

The study built on previous research the pair did in 2014, when they teamed up with researchers from the University of Toledo to do a similar study of college students. They found that participants vastly overestimated how common it is to have reactions.

At that time, however, they did not consider whether the respondents had fear about the blood donation process. This time, Christopher and Janis wanted to conduct a study that would be more applicable to society as a whole rather than just college students - including the fear factor.

"...We know that fear is a significant barrier to blood donation, particularly among new donors and young donors," said the authors.

"In the most recent study we wanted to further explore these overestimations about faint and pre-faint reactions to donating blood. In particular, we wanted to examine the role of fear in people's assessment of risk for these reactions," said the authors.

In the study, participants were asked if they had donated blood anytime in the past two years. They were then asked how much fear they had when it came to having their blood drawn and asked to predict how many people out of 100 would faint, have no symptoms or get light-headed or dizzy when donating blood.

Nearly half of those surveyed reporting having no fear of having blood drawn, while 4.6 percent reported being extremely afraid.

The results show that while less than 1 percent of those who donate blood actually faint and less than 4 percent experience other pre-faint reactions when donating blood, this study's respondents, regardless of their level of fear, predicted that 11.5 percent of people would faint and 27.5 percent of people would experience pre-faint reactions.

The assumed number went either up or down depending on a participant's fear of having their blood drawn. Those who reported being extremely afraid of having their blood drawn had a significantly higher perceived risk than those who reported having no fear at all when it came to both fainting and having pre-faint reactions.

###
An ape maxilla (upper jaw) from the Late Miocene found in the Kutch basin, in western India, significantly extends the southern range of ancient apes in the Indian Peninsula, according to a study published in November 14, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ansuya Bhandari from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India, and colleagues.

Apes, or hominoids, are a group of primates from Africa and Southeast Asia that includes the gibbons and the great apes: chimps, orangutans, gorillas, and humans. Ancient ape remains from Miocene deposits in the Siwaliks of India and Pakistan have been key for understanding the evolution of great apes and humans. In this study, the researchers examined an ape jaw fragment excavated from the Kutch basin, in the Gujarat state of western India, about 1000 km south of the Siwaliks deposits.

X-ray computed-tomography revealed details of the preserved canine and cheek teeth, such as the tooth enamel and root structure. The ape mandible belonged to an adult individual of the Sivapithecus genus, but the species could not be identified. The authors dated the specimen to the basal Late Miocene, around 11 to 10 million years ago based on previous mammalian fossil findings in the site. The new finding is the first Miocene ape fossil to be discovered so far south in the Indian peninsula, and extends the southern range of ancient apes in the subcontinent by about 1000 km.

The authors add: "This is a landmark discovery of 11 million-year-old human ancestors in Kutch, Gujarat."

###

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0206314

Citation: Bhandari A, Kay RF, Williams BA, Tiwari BN, Bajpai S, Hieronymus T (2018) First record of the Miocene hominoid Sivapithecus from Kutch, Gujarat state, western India. PLoS ONE 13(11): e0206314. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206314

Funding: AB received a Young Scientist at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun, India, funded by Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, under Science & Engineering Research Board Project SR/FTP/ES-91/2013. The award supported field research. BAW and RFK received support from the Vice Provost's Fund for International Research, Duke University, in support of travel. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Pancreatic cancer death rates in the European Union (EU) have increased by 5 percent between 1990 and 2016

(Vienna, November 15, 2018) Pancreatic cancer death rates in the European Union (EU) have increased by 5% between 1990 and 2016, a report launched today reveals. This is the highest increase in any of the EU's top five cancer killers which, as well as pancreatic cancer, includes lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancer.

'Pancreatic Cancer Across Europe', published by United European Gastroenterology (UEG) to coincide with World Pancreatic Cancer Day, examines the past and current state of pancreatic cancer care and treatment, as well as the future prospects, such as targeting the microbiome, for improving the prognosis for patients. Whilst lung, breast and colorectal cancer have seen significant reductions in death rates since 1990, deaths from pancreatic cancer continue to rise. Experts also believe that pancreatic cancer has now overtaken breast cancer as the third leading cause of death from cancer in the EU.

Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival of all cancers in Europe. Responsible for over 95,000 EU deaths every year, the median survival time at the point of diagnosis is just 4.6 months, with patients losing 98% of their healthy life expectancy5. Often referred to as 'the silent killer', symptoms can be hard to identify, thus making it difficult to diagnose the disease early which is essential for life-saving surgery.

Despite the rise in death rates and dreadfully low survival rates, pancreatic cancer receives less than 2% of all cancer research funding in Europe. Markus Peck, UEG expert, explains, "If we are to take a stand against the continent's deadliest cancer, we must address the insufficient research funding; that is where the European Union can lead the way. Whilst medical and scientific innovations have positively changed the prospects for many cancer patients, those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have not been blessed with much clinically meaningful progress. To deliver earlier diagnoses and improved treatments we need to engage now in more basic as well as applied research to see real progress for our patients in the years to come."

Microbiome - the key to turning the tide?

After forty years of limited progress in pancreatic cancer research, experts claim that new treatment options could finally be on the horizon as researchers investigate how changing the pancreas' microbiome may help to slow tumour growth and enable the body to develop its own 'defence mechanism'. The microbial population of a cancerous pancreas has been found to be approximately 1,000 times larger than that of a non-cancerous pancreas and research has shown that removing bacteria from the gut and pancreas slowed cancer growth and 'reprogrammed' immune cells to react against cancer cells.

This development could lead to significant changes in clinical practice as removing bacterial species could improve the efficacy of chemotherapy or immunotherapy, offering hope that clinicians will finally be able to slow tumour growth, alter metastatic behaviour and ultimately change the disease's progression.

Professor Thomas Seufferlein, pancreatic cancer expert, comments, "Research looking at the impact of the microbiome on pancreatic cancer is a particularly exciting new area, as the pancreas was previously thought of as a sterile organ. Such research will also improve our understanding of the microenvironment in a metastatic setting and how the tumour responds to its environment. This will inform the metastatic behaviour and ultimately alter disease progression."

"With continued investment in pancreatic cancer research, we should have new, important findings within the next five years and, hopefully, find that targeting the microbiome as well as tumour cells will significantly improve treatment outcomes and reduce death rates", adds Professor Seufferlein.

###

View the report: https://www.ueg.eu/publications/pancreatic-cancer-across-europe/

References:

1. Pancreatic Cancer Across Europe: Taking a united stand (2018). Published by United European Gastroenterology.

2. Ferlay J., Partensky C., Bray F. More deaths from pancreatic cancer than breast cancer in the EU by 2017. ACTA Oncologica, August 2016.

3. Our World In Data, Cancer death rates by type (per 100,000), world. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/cancer

4. European Cancer Information System (ECIS), Estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in 2018, for all cancer sites. Available at: https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/explorer.php?$0-0$1-AE28$2-All$4-1,2$3-All$6-0,14$5-2008,2008$7-8$CEstByCancer$X0_8-3$CEstRelativeCanc$X1_8-3$X1_9-AE28

5. Pancreatic Cancer Europe, 10 things you need to know about pancreatic cancer. Available at: https://www.pancreaticcancereurope.eu/work-streams/awareness-and-diagnosis/

Notes to Editors

For further information, or to arrange an expert interview, please contact Luke Paskins on +44 (0)1444 811099 or media@ueg.eu

About Professor Markus Peck

Professor Markus Peck is the Chairman at the Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology (IMuG) at Klinikum Klagenfurt am Worthersee in Klagenfurt, Austria. He is the Chair of the UEG Public Affairs Committee.

About Professor Thomas Seufferlein

Thomas Seufferlein is a pancreatic cancer expert from the University of Ulm, Germany. He is a member of the UEG Public Affairs Committee.

About UEG

UEG, or United European Gastroenterology, is a professional non-profit organisation combining all the leading European medical specialist and national societies focusing on digestive health. Together, its member societies represent over 30,000 specialists, working across medicine, surgery, paediatrics, gastrointestinal oncology and endoscopy. This makes UEG the most comprehensive organisation of its kind in the world, and a unique platform for collaboration and the exchange of knowledge. To advance the standards of gastroenterological care and knowledge across the world and to reduce the burden of digestive diseases, UEG offers numerous activities and initiatives, including:

UEG Week, the biggest congress of its kind in Europe, and one of the two largest in the world

UEG Education, the universal source of knowledge in gastroenterology, providing online and classroom courses, a huge online library and delivering the latest GI news, fostering debate and discussion

Activity Grants, promoting and funding educational projects in the field of digestive health to advance and harmonise the training and continuing education of professionals

UEG Journal, covering translational and clinical studies from all areas of gastroenterology

Public Affairs, promoting research, prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases, and helping develop an effective health policy for Europe

Quality of Care, European-based and English clinical practice guidelines, clinical standards, consensus, position papers and standard protocols in the field of digestive health, are available in the repository.

Find out more about UEG's work by visiting http://www.ueg.eu or contact:

Luke Paskins on +44 (0)1444 811099 or media@ueg.eu
(TORONTO, Canada, Nov. 14, 2018) - Cancer scientists led by principal investigator Dr. Daniel De Carvalho at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have combined "liquid biopsy", epigenetic alterations and machine learning to develop a blood test to detect and classify cancer at its earliest stages.

The findings, published online today in Nature, describe not only a way to detect cancer, but hold promise of being able to find it earlier when it is more easily treated and long before symptoms ever appear, says Dr. De Carvalho, Senior Scientist at the cancer centre, University Health Network.

"We are very excited at this stage," says Dr. De Carvalho. "A major problem in cancer is how to detect it early. It has been a 'needle in the haystack' problem of how to find that one-in-a-billion cancer-specific mutation in the blood, especially at earlier stages, where the amount of tumour DNA in the blood is minimal."

By profiling epigenetic alterations instead of mutations, the team was able to identify thousands of modifications unique to each cancer type. Then, using a big data approach, they applied machine learning to create classifiers able to identify the presence of cancer-derived DNA within blood samples and to determine what cancer type. This basically turns the 'one needle in the haystack' problem into a more solvable 'thousands of needles in the haystack', where the computer just needs to find a few needles to define which haystack has needles.

The scientists tracked the cancer origin and type by comparing 300 patient tumour samples from seven disease sites (lung, pancreatic, colorectal, breast, leukemia, bladder and kidney) and samples from healthy donors with the analysis of cell-free DNA circulating in the blood plasma. In every sample, the "floating" plasma DNA matched the tumour DNA. The team has since expanded the research and has now profiled and successfully matched more than 700 tumour and blood samples from more cancer types.

Beyond the lab, next steps to further validate this approach include analysing data from large population health research studies already under way in several countries, where blood samples were collected months to years before cancer diagnosis. Then the approach will need to be ultimately validated in prospective studies for cancer screening.

###

Dr. De Carvalho is a trained immunologist (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) with postdoctoral training in cancer epigenomics (University of Southern California, USA) whose research focuses on cancer epigenetics. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Cancer Epigenetics and Epigenetic Therapy and is an Associate Professor in Cancer Epigenetics, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto.

The research was supported by University of Toronto's McLaughlin Centre, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research through the Province of Ontario, and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

About Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network

The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has achieved an international reputation as a global leader in the fight against cancer and delivering personalized cancer medicine. The Princess Margaret, one of the top five international cancer research centres, is a member of the University Health Network, which also includes Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the Michener Institute for Education; all affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information, go to http://www.theprincessmargaret.ca or http://www.uhn.ca .
Irvine, CA - November 14, 2018 - Researchers in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine have discovered the molecular basis for therapeutic actions of an African folk medicine used to treat a variety of illnesses and disorders including diabetes, pain, headaches, paralysis and epilepsy.

The herbal medicine, a leaf extract from the shrub Mallotus oppositifolius, has been used across Africa for centuries. Until now, the molecular mechanism was not completely understood. The discovery, published in Science Advances, found that two components of the Mallotus leaf extract bind to a previously unrecognized binding site on KCNQ1, a potassium channel essential for controlling electrical activity in many human organs, including the heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, thyroid and pancreas.

"Plants are a rich source of compounds that modulate ion channels. We discovered the compounds from the African folk medicine actually bind to a novel site, positioned between the channel pore and its voltage sensor. In addition, we found one of the compounds is of a chemical class previously not recognized as a KCNQ channel opener. These dual discoveries may facilitate future development of safer, more effective drugs."

The UCI research team, comprising Angele De Silva, BS, postdoctoral fellow Rian Manville, PhD, and principal investigator Geoffrey Abbott, MSc, PhD, screened individual compounds from the Mallotus leaf extract for KCNQ1 opening activity, confirming one previously known channel activator and discovering one entirely new activator. They then used computer modeling to identify the binding site for these drugs on KCNQ1, and confirmed this previously unrecognized site using functional studies of mutant KCNQ1 channels. The UCI team also found that the new drug binding site they had discovered is present on a different type of channel, KCNQ2/3, which is found in the brain and linked to epilepsy and encephalopathy. Discovery of this new site could point the way to improved anti-epileptic drugs.

"Genetic disruption of KCNQ1 causes lethal cardiac arrhythmias and is also associated with gastric cancer, type II diabetes, and thyroid and pituitary gland dysfunction. KCNQ2/3 disruption causes epilepsy and severe developmental delay. Therefore, new strategies are needed to therapeutically activate these potassium channels and overcome the effects of genetic disruption. The discovery of novel botanicals that might help in KCNQ drug development strategies highlights the importance of protecting plant species that can produce novel therapeutics. Factors including habitat loss, over-collecting, and climate change are threatening this invaluable resource," said Abbott.

###

This study was supported by the US National Institutes of Health (GM115189).

About the UCI School of Medicine

Each year, the UCI School of Medicine educates more than 400 medical students, as well as 200 doctoral and master's students. More than 600 residents and fellows are trained at UC Irvine Medical Center and affiliated institutions. The UCI School of Medicine offers an MD degree, a dual MD/PhD medical scientist training program, PhDs and master's degrees in anatomy and neurobiology, biomedical sciences, genetic counseling, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, pathology, pharmacology, physiology and biophysics, and translational sciences. Medical students also may pursue an MD/MBA program, a combined MD/Master's in Public Health or a dual MD/master's program called the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). UCI School of Medicine is accredited by Liaison Committee on Medical Accreditation (LCME), and ranks among the top 50 nationwide for research. For more information, visit: som.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine

Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. Located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities, UCI is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.
Computer science jobs are the number one source of all new wages in the United States, but only a small percentage of college graduates study computer science. With the help a $1.7 million grant over the next five years, teachHOUSTON, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics STEM teacher preparation program at the University of Houston, will train and educate the next generation of computer science teachers. The award is part of an $8 million dollar Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant from the Department of Education.

"Our goal is to build a computer science teacher pipeline and increase the number of females and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields," said Paige Evans, teachHOUSTON clinical professor and principal investigator. "Students need to be exposed to STEM in middle and high schools, even elementary school."

Evans, along with Jaspal Subhlok, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Laura Harlow, an instructional assistant professor with teachHOUSTON, will work with educators across four regions to prepare 240 new STEM teachers over five years. Approximately 60 of those will be trained at UH to address the shortage of STEM educators in the Houston area.

The strategy is to target current computer science majors, people who want a career change or those already working in the industry who are interested in teaching. According to employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computing jobs make up 58 percent of all projected new jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). That translates to more than half a million open jobs available nationwide. The downside? Only 8 percent of STEM graduates study computer science--and women and minorities make up a fraction of that.

"I am hoping this program will attract a disproportionate number of female and minority students," said Subhlok, who has seen rapid enrollment growth in a new Computer Science 101 course at UH to introduce computing to students with diverse backgrounds and interests. As part of the program, Harlow is developing a Principles of Computer Science course designed to expose pre-service teachers to methods of teaching computer science as well as integrating computer science into their math and science classrooms. The course will teach computer science through inquiry, the goal of all teachHOUSTON courses.

"High school students need teachers who are passionate about computer science," Harlow added. "With teachHOUSTON, you will get the skills to be successful in the classroom."

###

TeachHouston will receive an initial grant of $906,000 for the first three years and is eligible to apply for a two-year extension for the remainder of the funds. The program starts in fall 2019. Other institutes involved in this effort include the University of North Texas, University of Texas, Louisiana State University and the American Institutes for research.
When it comes to preventive care and confidential medical services, parents and their adolescent children actually agree with each other. They both believe that preventive care is important, that adolescents should be provided with opportunities to speak with their doctor one-on-one, and that some services should be confidential.

Parents and their children even agree, roughly, on the age at which kids should start having private conversations with a doctor -- around 16 years old, or even 18 years old, many said. Doctors, however, have a different opinion. Clinical care guidelines suggest adolescents should have access to confidential screening and counseling about a variety of potentially sensitive issues much earlier in life, around age 13.

These findings are reported by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers and their colleagues in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

UIC's Dr. Jonathan Klein led the study, which analyzed survey response data from more than 1,200 adolescents, ages 13 to 18, and their parents.

"It is encouraging to see that adolescents and their parents are, for the most part, aligned when it comes to their attitudes about preventive care, particularly on the appropriate use of confidentiality during health care visits," said Klein, professor of pediatrics at the UIC College of Medicine. "However, this study perhaps more importantly tells us that pediatricians and family physicians need to do a better job helping parents recognize the benefits of providing adolescents with an opportunity to speak privately with their care provider long before they reach adulthood."

The benefits most significantly include better health outcomes, Klein said, because many screening programs, especially those for reproductive health and STDs, have been proven to be more effective when adolescents are provided one-on-one time with providers.

"By encouraging young patients to speak privately with their doctors, parents help their children learn by small, incremental steps how to take ownership of their own health and they signal to their children that sensitive health-related questions are not an indicator of poor behavior or an avenue for health professionals to pass judgment," Klein said. "They are simply and only about health."

While the study reveals that parents and adolescents are generally in agreement, the analysis also sheds light on the issues most likely to cause disagreement.

"The largest disagreements were about what specific services should be available confidentially," Klein said.

The survey asked adolescents and parents about 10 services and whether they should be offered to individuals under the age of 18 without parental permissions. The services were: regular health care provider appointments, STD clinic appointments, treatment for injury or assault, vaccinations, STD testing, starting a regular medication, obtaining emergency contraception, having an abortion, receiving drug or alcohol abuse counseling, and receiving inpatient treatment for drug and alcohol use.

"Not surprisingly, the services that cause the largest disagreements are those that are most debated or stigmatized in society -- substance abuse counseling and reproductive care, with confidentiality about abortion services causing the most significant disagreement," he said.

The findings showed that adolescents were almost twice as likely as their parents to think abortion services should be confidential.

"This study also showed that while most parents and adolescents agree about expectations for confidentiality, an important minority of young people who endorse confidential care have parents who do not," Klein said.

"Therefore, health care providers should be prepared to discuss confidentiality with both their patients and adolescents' parents, and should also advise adolescents about their legal rights to confidential care, when needed."

Klein and his colleagues write, "For most teens, a shared understanding and better communication with parents and adolescents may be as relevant as laws, policies and clinician guidelines" when it comes to health.

###

Co-authors on the study, which was supported by a grant from the Merck Foundation to the American Academy of Pediatrics, are Xiaoyu Song of Mount Sinai; Hanying Yan, Dr. Marina Catallozzi, Xianling Wang, Jenifer Heitel and Dr. John Santelli of Columbia University; and Kristen Kaseeska and Julie Gorzkowski of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
LAWRENCE -- A survey of ice in Greenland has uncovered evidence suggesting a kilometer-wide iron asteroid slammed into that island, perhaps as recently as 12,000 years ago during the end of the Pleistocene. The resulting 19-mile-wide impact crater has remained hidden under a half-mile-thick ice sheet until now. It recently was exposed by an ultra-wideband chirp radar system developed at the Center for the Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) headquartered at the University of Kansas.

The impact crater beneath the Hiawatha Glacier in remote northwest Greenland is detailed in a new paper in Science Advances published today.

It was identified with data collected between 1997 and 2014 by KU for NASA's Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment and Operation IceBridge, and supplemented with more data collected in May 2016 using the Multichannel Coherent Radar Depth Sounder (MCoRDS) developed at KU.

"We've collected lots of radar-sounding data over the last couple of decades, and glaciologists put these radar-sounding datasets together to produce maps of what Greenland is like underneath the ice," said co-author John Paden, courtesy associate professor of electrical engineering & computer science at KU and associate scientist at CReSIS. "Danish researchers were looking at the map and saw this big, craterlike depression under the ice sheet and looked at satellite imagery and -- because the crater is on edge of the ice sheet -- you can see a circular pattern there as well. The two combined made a really strong case for this being an impact-crater site. Based on this discovery, a detailed radar survey was conducted in May 2016 using a new state-of-the-art radar designed and built by KU for the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany."

Paden, who helped develop the MCoRDS radar signal processing software, participated in low-altitude flights in a grid pattern over the impact crater to detail its dimensions.

"You can see the rounded structure at the edge of the ice sheet, especially when flying high enough," he said. "For the most part the crater isn't visible out the airplane window. It's funny that until now nobody thought, 'Hey, what's that semicircular feature there?' From the airplane it is subtle and hard to see unless you already know it's there. Using satellite imagery taken at a low sun angle that accentuates hills and valleys in the ice sheet's terrain -- you can really see the circle of the whole crater in these images."

To confirm the satellite and radar findings, the research team performed subsequent ground-based studies of glaciofluvial sediment from the largest river draining the crater. The work showed the presence of "shocked quartz and other impact-related grains" that include glass. The research team believes these rocks and glassy grains are likely produced from impact melting of grains in the meta-sedimentary bedrock.

Work remains to determine with more precision the timing of the asteroid impact on Greenland. The authors write evidence "suggests that the Hiawatha impact crater formed during the Pleistocene, as this age is most consistent with inferences from presently available data." However, even this broad range in time remains "uncertain." Southwest of the crater, the team has found a region rich in possible debris ejected from the impact, which could help to narrow the date range.

"There would have been debris projected into the atmosphere that would affect the climate and the potential for melting a lot of ice, so there could have been a sudden freshwater influx into the Nares Strait between Canada and Greenland that would have affected the ocean flow in that whole region," Paden said. "The evidence indicates that the impact probably happened after the Greenland Ice Sheet formed, but the research team is still working on the precise dating."

Other KU personnel involved in the research that revealed the impact crater include Rick Hale, Spahr Professor and chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and associate director of CReSIS; Carl Leuschen, associate professor of electrical engineering & computer science and director of CReSIS, and Fernando Rodriguez-Morales, courtesy assistant professor of electrical engineering & computer science. The KU researchers collaborated closely with colleagues from the University of Copenhagen and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany.

Paden said during the three years between the crater discovery and publication of the team's findings, it was gratifying and exciting to be part of the exclusive group of scientists that knew of the massive impact.

"It was really cool -- it was the kind of thing where I went home and told my kids about it," Paden said. "I said, 'Look at this! It's underneath the ice.' It's one of those fun moments. They were impressed. A lot of times, my research isn't that interesting to them, but this impact crater was something they could connect to."

###
LAWRENCE -- Islands have been vital laboratories for advancing evolutionary theory since the pioneering work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the 19th century.

Now, a new paper appearing in PLOS ONE from an international team of investigators describes two new fossil relatives of marsupials that shed light on how a unique island ecosystem evolved some 43 million years ago during the Eocene.

"Evolution in many ways is easier to study in an island context than on a large continent like North America because it's a simpler ecosystem," said coauthor K. Christopher Beard, Distinguished Foundation Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas and senior curator with KU's Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. "Evolutionary biologists have been focusing on islands ever since Darwin and Wallace independently formulated their ideas about evolution based on their observations of plants and animals living on the Galapagos and the Malay archipelago, which is modern Indonesia."

However, Beard said a poor fossil record for animals living on islands through "deep time," or across a multimillion-year time frame, has hampered our understanding of exactly how island ecosystems are assembled. The new paper describes two new fossil species, identified from their teeth, that inhabited the Pontide region of modern-day north-central Turkey.

During the Eocene the Pontide region was an island in a larger version of the modern Mediterranean Sea called Tethys. At that time, Africa and Eurasia were not connected as they are today in the Middle East, but Africa was drifting northward due to plate tectonics and would eventually collide with Eurasia millions of years later. The Pontide region was sandwiched between these converging continents. This geological setting makes the Pontide region similar to the island of Sulawesi in the Indonesian archipelago, which is similarly sandwiched between the converging continents of Asia and Australia.

"No other ecosystem on the face of the planet from any time period matches what we're finding in the Eocene of Turkey -- it's a completely unique mammalian ecosystem much like Madagascar is today," he said. "But how did this island biota develop over time? You need fossils and time depth to see that. We're able here to study in great detail how this ancient island evolved -- where the different animals came from, how they got there and when they got there. Once they got there, some of these mammals, including one of the new marsupial lineages we've discovered, were able to diversify on the island. Most of the Eocene mammals on the Pontide island seem to have gotten there by swimming or rafting across parts of the Tethys Sea, instead of getting stranded on the island when it got separated from adjacent parts of Eurasia."

Beard's collaborators in the research were Gregoire Metais of the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris, John R. Kappelman of the University of Texas, Alexis Licht of the University of Washington, Faruk Ocakog?lu of Eskis?ehir Osmangazi University in Turkey, and KU's Pauline M.C. Coster and Michael H. Taylor.

In the Pontide marsupial fossils -- which have no living descendants -- the team found evidence that distinctive forms of life that develop on islands are ill-fated in general, given enough time.

"One thing we know for sure is that the incredibly interesting and unique Eocene biota that occurred on this island in what is now Turkey at some point was totally eradicated," Beard said. "It was eradicated when the island was reconnected to mainland Eurasia and more cosmopolitan animals were able to access it for the first time, driving the weird island biota to extinction. The message for conservation biology today is that island ecosystems are inherently ephemeral on the grand scale of macroevolutionary time. Today, conservation biologists are concerned about many endangered taxa on islands. The ugly truth that paleontology provides is that, given enough time, most island faunas are doomed to extinction. They're cul-de-sacs of evolution -- even though they're wonderful places to study processes of evolution."

Beard said the two newly described fossil marsupials -- Galatiadelphys minor and Orhaniyeia nauta -- lived near the top of the food chain on the Pontide of the Eocene, because mammalian carnivores were unable to reach the small island.

"One of weirdest things about the island fauna from the Pontides is that there are no true mammalian carnivores," he stated. "There was nothing related to cats, dogs, bears or weasels -- no modern mammalian predators. They couldn't get to the Pontide terrain because it was a little island. So, these marsupials ecologically are taking their place at the top of the food chain."

According to the KU researcher, the newly discovered fossils demonstrate geological context has a huge influence on how ecosystems are assembled on any given island.

"Current ideas about island evolution are based on some fairly simplistic, yet fairly effective, models," Beard stated. "These models propose that organisms colonize islands based on two main factors -- how big is the island and how far away is it from nearby continental landmasses? A bigger island makes a bigger target and hosts a greater diversity of habitats, making it easier for organisms to colonize the island and once they get there they have a better chance of surviving and maybe even diversifying."

Based on his team's findings from the Pontide region, Beard said that geological context was at least as important as an island's size or distance from colonizing animals' source territory.

"All men may have been created equal, but all islands were not. The geological context of the island -- here it's in a region of active tectonic convergence -- we think is swamping these other factors, size and distance to mainland," he said. "The oddest thing about the Pontide mammal fauna is that it contains a unique mixture of animals coming from Europe, Africa and Asia. Even our two new marsupials show different evolutionary roots in the north and the south. This makes sense because the Pontide island was being sandwiched between Eurasia and Africa, and animals were arriving there from multiple directions. We can make an interesting analogy with the modern island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, which like the Pontide terrain has a mixed fauna. It mainly hosts animals like tarsiers, pigs and shrews that are clearly related to Asian species, but you also have on Sulawesi species that are obviously related to mammals from New Guinea. If you look at plate tectonics today, Sulawesi is getting sandwiched between Australia and Asia in much the same way the Pontide was being sandwiched between Africa and Asia in the Eocene."

###

Beard recently returned from Turkey where he and his team conducted more fieldwork. This research was funded by multiple sources including a major grant from the US National Science Foundation.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Nov. 14, 2018) --There is no cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, but new findings from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine are deepening researchers' understanding of a common ALS symptom: swallowing problems. Researchers have discovered how to mimic human swallowing problems in a rodent model of ALS, which will allow more targeted study on how to preserve and restore swallowing function -- a major factor in quality of life. The research could one day lead to new treatments to slow the disease and improve the well-being of individuals with ALS.

"ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that makes it hard to study one aspect, like swallowing function, when the entire body is wasting away," said study co-author Teresa Lever, PhD, associate professor of otolaryngology at the MU School of Medicine. "We created a rodent model that allows us to study only the tongue, which is an essential muscle for several upper airway functions, including swallowing, breathing and speaking. By targeting a muscle we know is affected by ALS, we hope to better understand how we might eventually slow ALS' ability to compromise multiple upper airway functions."

ALS affects swallowing by killing the hypoglossal motor neurons that send impulses from the brain along the hypoglossal nerve to the muscles that control the tongue. As more motor neurons die, the tongue begins to weaken, and swallowing, breathing and speaking become more difficult.

Lever's co-author, Nicole Nichols, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and investigator at the MU Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, examined the impact of motor neuron death on hypoglossal nerve output, which controls tongue function.

"We have developed a unique rodent model that has reproducible hypoglossal motor neuron death and only tongue dysfunction, which will allow for further study to preserve upper airway function," Nichols said. "Specifically, we'll be able to evaluate the adaptability of the surviving motor neurons in response to the loss of others. What we want to do next is try to make the surviving neurons work a little harder to show that we can improve tongue function both in the short and long term."

###

Their study, "Hypoglossal Motor Neuron Death Via Intralingual CTB-saporin (CTB-SAP) Injections Mimic Aspects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Related to Dysphagia," was recently published by the journal Neuroscience. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health, University of Missouri Research Board, a Richard Wallace Faculty Incentive Grant provided by the Mizzou Alumni Association and the Veterinary Research Scholars Program. In addition to Nichols and Lever, the study authors include Lori Lind, in the MU Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Erika Murphy, in the MU Department of Communication Science and Disorders. The authors of the study declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 29, 2018 - Where you live could influence how much you drink. According to new research from the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, people living in colder regions with less sunlight drink more alcohol than their warm-weather counterparts.

The study, recently published online in Hepatology, found that as temperature and sunlight hours dropped, alcohol consumption increased. Climate factors also were tied to binge drinking and the prevalence of alcoholic liver disease, one of the main causes of mortality in patients with prolonged excessive alcohol use.

"It's something that everyone has assumed for decades, but no one has scientifically demonstrated it. Why do people in Russia drink so much? Why in Wisconsin? Everybody assumes that's because it's cold," said senior author Ramon Bataller, M.D., Ph.D., chief of hepatology at UPMC, professor of medicine at Pitt, and associate director of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center. "But we couldn't find a single paper linking climate to alcoholic intake or alcoholic cirrhosis. This is the first study that systematically demonstrates that worldwide and in America, in colder areas and areas with less sun, you have more drinking and more alcoholic cirrhosis."

Alcohol is a vasodilator - it increases the flow of warm blood to the skin, which is full of temperature sensors - so drinking can increase feelings of warmth. In Siberia that could be pleasant, but not so much in the Sahara.

Drinking also is linked to depression, which tends to be worse when sunlight is scarce and there's a chill in the air.

Using data from the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization and other large, public data sets, Bataller's group found a clear negative correlation between climate factors - average temperature and sunlight hours - and alcohol consumption, measured as total alcohol intake per capita, percent of the population that drinks alcohol, and the incidence of binge drinking.

The researchers also found evidence that climate contributed to a higher burden of alcoholic liver disease. These trends were true both when comparing across countries around the world and also when comparing across counties within the United States.

"It's important to highlight the many confounding factors," said lead author Meritxell Ventura-Cots, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center. "We tried to control for as many as we could. For instance, we tried to control for religion and how that influences alcohol habits."

With much of the desert-dwelling Arab world abstaining from alcohol, it was critical to verify that the results would hold up even when excluding these Muslim-majority countries. Likewise, within the U.S., Utah has regulations that limit alcohol intake, which have to be taken into account.

When looking for patterns of cirrhosis, the researchers had to control for health factors that might exacerbate the effects of alcohol on the liver--like viral hepatitis, obesity and smoking.

In addition to settling an age-old debate, this research suggests that policy initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease should target geographic areas where alcohol is more likely to be problematic.

###

Additional authors on this study include Ariel Watts, B.S., Neil Shah, M.D., Peter McCann, M.D., and A. Sidney Barritt IV, M.D., all of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Monica Cruz-Lemini, M.D., Ph.D., of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico at Juriquilla; Jose Altamirano, M.D., of Hospital Quironsalud in Barcelona; Juan Abraldes, M.D., from The University of Alberta; Nambi Ndugga, M.P.H., of Harvard; and Anant Jain, M.D., Samhita Ravi, and Carlos Fernandez-Carrillo, M.D., Ph.D., all of Pitt.

This research was supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism awards U01AA021908 and U01AA020821, the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology and the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver.

About the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

The University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences include the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Graduate School of Public Health. The schools serve as the academic partner to the UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center). Together, their combined mission is to train tomorrow's health care specialists and biomedical scientists, engage in groundbreaking research that will advance understanding of the causes and treatments of disease and participate in the delivery of outstanding patient care. Since 1998, Pitt and its affiliated university faculty have ranked among the top 10 educational institutions in grant support from the National Institutes of Health. For additional information about the Schools of the Health Sciences, please visit http://www.health.pitt.edu.

About UPMC

A $19 billion world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of patient-centered, cost-effective, accountable care. UPMC provides more than $900 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region's most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 85,000 employees, 40 hospitals, 600 doctors' offices and outpatient sites, and a 3.4 million-member Insurance Services Division, the largest medical insurer in western Pennsylvania. As UPMC works in close collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside on its annual Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals. UPMC Enterprises functions as the innovation and commercialization arm of UPMC, and UPMC International provides hands-on health care and management services with partners around the world. For more information, go to UPMC.com.

http://www.upmc.com/media

Contact: Erin Hare

Office: 412-864-7194

Mobile: 412-738-1097

E-mail: HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu">HareE@upmc.edu

Contact: Madison Brunner

Office: 412-578-9193

Mobile: 412-432-8390

E-mail: BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu">BrunnerM@upmc.edu
Neanderthals were hunter-gatherers who inhabited western Eurasia for more than 200 thousand years during glacial as well as interglacial periods until they became extinct around 40 thousand years ago. While some of the anatomical regions of these extinct humans are well known, others, such as the vertebral column and the ribs, are less well known because these elements are more fragile and not well preserved in the fossil record. In 1983 a partial Neanderthal skeleton (known officially as Kebara 2, and nicknamed "Moshe") belonging to a young male Neanderthal individual who died some 60,000 years ago was found in the Kebara site (Mount Carmel, Israel). While this skeleton does not preserve the cranium because some time after burial the cranium was removed, probably as a consequence of a funerary ritual. However, all the vertebrae and ribs are preserved, and so are other fragile anatomical regions, such as the pelvis or the hyoid bone (a bone in the neck to which some of the tongue muscles are attached). So it is the skeleton that preserves the most complete thorax in the fossil record.

New statistical and virtual reconstruction methods have enabled the researchers to extract new information, which has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

For over 150 years, Neanderthal remains have been found at many sites in Europe and Western Asia (including the Middle East), and the thorax morphology of this human species has been a subject of debate since 1856, when the first ribs belonging to this human group were found. Over the past decade, virtual reconstructions have become a new tool that is increasingly being used in fossil study. This methodology is particularly useful with fragile fossils, such as the vertebra and ribs that form the thorax. Nearly two years ago, the same research team created a reconstruction of the spine of this Neanderthal individual; it displays the preserved spine of Kebara 2 showing less pronounced curves in these humans when compared with Homo sapiens. The team's paper, published in the book "Human Paleontology and Prehistory," pointed to a straighter spine than that of modern humans.

For this virtual model of the thorax, researchers used both direct observations of the Kebara 2 skeleton, currently housed at Tel Aviv University, and medical CT (computerized axial tomography) scans of the vertebrae, ribs and pelvic bones. Once all the anatomical elements had been assembled, the virtual reconstruction was done by means of 3D software specifically designed for this purpose. "This was meticulous work," said Alon Barash of Bar Ilan University in Israel. "We had to scan each vertebra and all of the rib fragments individually and then reassemble them in virtual 3D."

"In the reconstruction process, it was necessary to virtually 'cut' and realign some of the parts that displayed deformation, and mirror-image the ribs that had been best preserved in order to substitute the poorly preserved ones on the other side," said Asier Gomez-Olivencia, an Ikerbasque research fellow at the University of the Basque Country.

"The differences between the thorax of a Neanderthal and of a modern human are striking," said Daniel Garcia-Martinez and Markus Bastir, researchers at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and co-authors of the work. "The Neanderthal spine is located more inside the thorax with respect to the ribs, which provides more stability. The thorax is also wider in its lower part," added Mikel Arlegi (UPV/EHU).

"The wider lower thorax of Neanderthals and the more horizontal orientation of the ribs, as shown in its reconstruction, suggest that Neanderthals relied more on the diaphragm for breathing," said Ella Been of the Ono Academic College. "Modern humans rely on both the diaphragm and on the expansion of the rib cage. Here we can see how new technologies and methodologies in the study of fossil remains are providing new information to understand extinct species."

This new information is consistent with the recent works on the larger lung capacity of Neanderthals published by two of the co-authors of this study, Markus Bastir and Daniel Garcia-Martinez (Virtual Anthropology Laboratory of the MNCN), in which they support the presence of greater lung capacity in the Neanderthals.).

Patricia Kramer of the University of Washington sums it all up thus: "This is the culmination of 15 years of research into the Neanderthal thorax; we hope that future genetic analyses will provide additional clues about the respiratory physiology of the Neanderthals".

###

This work was conducted by an international group of researchers from Ikerbasque, UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, the Universite de Bordeaux, Ono Academic College, Tel Aviv University, University of Washington, Bar Ilan University and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (NMNC) in Madrid.
Not all polar bears are in the same dire situation due to retreating sea ice, at least not right now. Off the western coast of Alaska, the Chukchi Sea is rich in marine life, but the number of polar bears in the area had never been counted. The first formal study of this population suggests that it's been healthy and relatively abundant in recent years, numbering about 3,000 animals.

The study by researchers at the University of Washington and federal agencies is published Nov. 14 in Scientific Reports, an open-access journal from the Nature Publishing Group.

"This work represents a decade of research that gives us a first estimate of the abundance and status of the Chukchi Sea subpopulation," said first author Eric Regehr, a researcher with the UW's Polar Science Center who started the project as a biologist in Alaska with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Despite having about one month less time on preferred sea ice habitats to hunt compared with 25 years ago, we found that the Chukchi Sea subpopulation was doing well from 2008 to 2016.

"Sea-ice loss due to climate change remains the primary threat to the species but, as this study shows, there is variation in when and where the effects of sea-ice loss appear. Some subpopulations are already declining while others are still doing OK."

Of the world's 19 subpopulations of polar bears, the U.S. shares two with neighboring countries. The other U.S. subpopulation -- the southern Beaufort Sea polar bears, whose territory overlaps with Canada -- is showing signs of stress.

"The southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation is well-studied, and a growing body of evidence suggests it's doing poorly due to sea-ice loss," Regehr said.

Polar bears were listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2008 due to the threat of declining sea ice, which the animals depend on for hunting, breeding and traveling. But the new study suggests that such effects are not yet visible for bears in the remote waters that separate Alaska from Chukotka, Russia.

"It's a very rich area. Most of the Chukchi Sea is shallow, with nutrient-rich waters coming up from the Pacific. This translates into high biological productivity and, importantly for the polar bears, a lot of seals," Regehr said.

Previous studies by the State of Alaska show that ringed and bearded seals have maintained good nutritional condition and reproduction in the Chukchi Sea region, Regehr said.

"Just flying around, it's night and day in terms of how many seals and other animals you see," Regehr said. "The Chukchi Sea is super productive and the Beaufort Sea is less so."

The area also has an abundance of whale traffic, and when carcasses wash up on shore the polar bears can feed on them in summer, when the sea ice melts and a portion of the Chukchi Sea subpopulation waits on land for the ocean to refreeze.

Recent ecological observations had suggested that Chukchi Sea bears are doing well. A study led by co-author Karyn Rode, at the U.S. Geological Survey, showed the top predators have similar amounts of body fat as 25 years ago, a good indicator of their overall health.

The current study is the first assessment of the subpopulation size using modern methods. It estimates just under 3,000 animals, with generally good reproductive rates and cub survival.

As a federal wildlife biologist based in Alaska until 2017, Regehr and colleagues gathered the data by tagging roughly 60 polar bears in most years from 2008 to 2016. He flew by helicopter over the area just north of Alaska's Seward Peninsula, looking for tracks on the sea ice. The helicopter then would follow tracks in the snow to locate the bear and use a tranquilizer dart to sedate the animal. Over about an hour, researchers would weigh the bear, collect biological samples, apply individual tags and, in some cases, attach a GPS transmitter.

All the data were incorporated into a new model designed to estimate population size for large carnivores that are highly mobile and whose territory spans a large region. The authors made the model publicly available in the hope that it will be used on other populations or species.

"Polar bears can travel thousands of miles in a year. But with the GPS tags, we can see when a bear leaves our study area but is still alive, because it's moving. This information is key because there are bears that we see once and never see again, and to get a good population estimate you need to know if these animals died or just moved to a new area," Regehr said.

For the first time, the model also considered local and traditional ecological knowledge collected by the North Slope Borough of Alaska from Native hunters and community members who have generations of experience with polar bears.

"It was important to bring our science together with the observations and expertise of people who live in polar bear country year-round and understand the animals in different ways," Regehr said.

A joint U.S.-Russia commission is responsible for management and conservation of the Chukchi Sea subpopulation. In response to the new assessment, the commission raised the sustainable level of subsistence harvest, which is nutritionally and culturally important to Native people in Alaska and Chukotka.

"These polar bears move back and forth between the U.S. and Russia, so it's very much a shared resource," said Regehr, a longtime scientific advisor to that commission.

As part of his current research at the UW, Regehr spends about two months each year working with Russian scientists on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean, where hundreds of Chukchi Sea polar bears spend their summers.

"These findings are good news for now, but it doesn't mean that bears in the Chukchi Sea won't be affected by ice loss eventually," Regehr said. "Polar bears need ice to hunt seals, and the ice is projected to decline until the underlying problem of climate change is addressed."

###

Co-authors are Nathan Hostetter at the U.S. Geological Survey; Ryan Wilson and Michelle St. Martin with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska; and Sarah Converse, a UW associate professor and leader of the U.S. Geological Survey's Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

The research was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the UW, the U.S. Air Force, the State of Alaska, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

For more information, contact Regehr at 206-685-3512 or eregehr@uw.edu">eregehr@uw.edu.
DALLAS - Nov. 14, 2018 - Two UT Southwestern faculty members have been selected to receive 2019 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Awards from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST).

Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis, Professor at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism at UT Southwestern, and Dr. Julie Pfeiffer, Professor of Microbiology at UT Southwestern, will receive their awards Jan. 15 at TAMEST's annual meeting near Austin, Texas.

Watch video: Edith and Peter O'Donnell Awards: Ralph DeBaradinis, M.D., Ph.D. (2018)

Watch video: Edith and Peter O'Donnell Awards: Julie Pfeiffer, Ph.D. (2018)

The O'Donnell Awards - honoring four researchers statewide this year - recognize outstanding achievements by Texas early career investigators in science, medicine, engineering, and technology innovation. Each award consists of a $25,000 honorarium, a citation, a trophy, and an invitation to speak at the conference.

The 2019 TAMEST O'Donnell Award in Medicine recognizes Dr. DeBerardinis for his studies on the role of altered metabolism in cancer and in childhood conditions caused by mutations in genes encoding metabolic enzymes. Dr. DeBerardinis, an attending physician at Children's Health, is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator and Director of the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program at CRI. The 2019 TAMEST O'Donnell Award in Science honors Dr. Pfeiffer, a virologist, for work that has deepened understanding of the interplay between the gut's microbiome - the viruses and bacteria that live in the intestines - and disease. Specifically, she found that some viruses use the body's natural gut bacteria to replicate and become more infectious.

"As UT Southwestern concludes its 75th anniversary year, the outstanding science of Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis and Dr. Julie Pfeiffer demonstrates the promise of basic research to lay the foundation for lifesaving new treatments in the coming 75 years," said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. "We are grateful to Edith and Peter O'Donnell for their vision and generosity in creating these awards."

Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O'Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

"I am surprised and thrilled to receive the O'Donnell Award. Many of my role models at UT Southwestern have received this award, and I hope to follow in their footsteps," said Dr. Pfeiffer, who holds the Kern and Marnie Wildenthal President's Research Council Professorship in Medical Science.

She praised the outstanding collaboration she has with Dr. Lora Hooper, Chair of Immunology and a Professor in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and of Microbiology. Dr. Hooper, also an HHMI Investigator, holds the Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Immunology and is a Nancy Cain and Jeffrey A. Marcus Scholar in Medical Research, in Honor of Dr. Bill S. Vowell.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Pfeiffer has been recognized by the TAMEST O'Donnell Award Program for her avant-garde research in virology, which has caught the attention of researchers worldwide. Dr. Pfeiffer's bold work has spawned a new field of virology and viral pathogenesis that is now being pursued by dozens of laboratories investigating the role of the bacterial microbiome in facilitating human and animal viral infections," said Dr. Michael Norgard, Chair of Microbiology, who holds the B.B. Owen Distinguished Chair in Molecular Research. "This new avenue of investigation promises to broaden our understanding of viral infection, persistence, and transmission, with potentially far-reaching clinical ramifications."

Dr. Sean Morrison, CRI Director, Professor of Pediatrics, an HHMI Investigator, and a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar, applauded Dr. DeBerardinis' work, which includes pioneering a new way to study altered metabolism in patients.

In recent work, the DeBerardinis laboratory discovered that lactate is metabolized by growing human lung tumors, a finding that challenges a nearly century-old observation known as the Warburg effect that considered lactate to be a waste product of tumor metabolism. The new finding could prompt a major shift in how researchers view cancer metabolism and open new avenues of study for therapies and imaging techniques in lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

"Ralph's work has substantially advanced the field of cancer metabolism. From demonstrating the importance of mitochondrial function to using intraoperative isotope tracing in humans, he has changed the methods we use and the way we think about cancer metabolism," said Dr. Morrison, who holds the Kathryne and Gene Bishop Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Research at Children's Research Institute at UT Southwestern and the Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics.

Dr. DeBerardinis, a physician-scientist, also credited collaboration for his swift success at UT Southwestern, where he arrived in 2008.

"Teamwork is key to our research, so I'm grateful to my clinical and scientific colleagues at UT Southwestern and CRI," said Dr. DeBerardinis, also a Professor of Pediatrics and a member of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development at UT Southwestern, where he holds the Joel B. Steinberg, M.D. Chair in Pediatrics. He is also a Sowell Family Scholar in Medical Research and a Robert L. Moody, Sr. Faculty Scholar. He joined CRI soon after its founding in 2012.

"I'm also grateful to our most important partners: the patients and families who participate in these studies," he added.

###

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution's faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 22 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 15 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The faculty of more than 2,700 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, 600,000 emergency room cases, and oversee approximately 2.2 million outpatient visits a year.

About CRI

Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) is a joint venture of UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas, the flagship hospital of Children's Health. CRI's mission is to perform transformative biomedical research to better understand the biological basis of disease. Located in Dallas, Texas, CRI is home to interdisciplinary groups of scientists and physicians pursuing research at the interface of regenerative medicine, cancer biology, and metabolism. For more information, visit: cri.utsw.edu. To support CRI, visit: cri.utsw.edu/support/.
November 14, 2017 - Invited to share their personal stories, victims of urban gun violence describe living with violence as a "common everyday experience" and feeling abandoned by police and other societal institutions, reports a study in the November/December Journal of Trauma Nursing, official publication of the Society of Trauma Nurses. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

"Victims of gun violence experience challenges related to poverty, deficient educational preparation, and community neglect," according to the narrative inquiry study by Mary Francis, RN, PhD, ANCP-BC, of Widener University, Chester, Pa. "The presence of gun violence in their neighborhoods has had an everlasting impact on their well-being."

From the Voices of Gun Violence Victims, Four Themes Emerge

Dr. Francis conducted face-to-face, confidential interviews with 16 victims of gun violence. Participants were recruited during follow-up clinic visits to a level I trauma center clinic in a US Mid-Atlantic city. They ranged in age from 18 to 71 years; most were African American men.

Participants were asked to share their personal accounts of being a victim of gun violence. Interview transcripts were analyzed to identify underlying patterns or themes that cut across the stories. The analysis identified four main themes:

Prevailing Nature of Everyday Violence . Participants described gun violence as an "ordinary occurrence" - part of their everyday lives. As witnesses of gun violence from a young age, "They described feelings of hopelessness and felt as if they had no options to escape the violence in their neighborhoods," Dr. Francis writes.

. Participants described gun violence as an "ordinary occurrence" - part of their everyday lives. As witnesses of gun violence from a young age, "They described feelings of hopelessness and felt as if they had no options to escape the violence in their neighborhoods," Dr. Francis writes. Feeling Abandoned by the Institutions of Society . The respondents described "an absence of police force or a lack of faith in the effectiveness of police to help them." They also reported a lack of support by school systems and community organizations, leading to a more violent community.

. The respondents described "an absence of police force or a lack of faith in the effectiveness of police to help them." They also reported a lack of support by school systems and community organizations, leading to a more violent community. Living in a Context of Reactive Violence . Participants believed that living in poverty and lack of education contributed to limiting their options for the future. They described a "cascade of circumstances...eventually increas[ing] their potential to become victims of gun violence."

. Participants believed that living in poverty and lack of education contributed to limiting their options for the future. They described a "cascade of circumstances...eventually increas[ing] their potential to become victims of gun violence." Evolving Psychological Effects. Participants said that their emotions and behavior had changed since they became victims of gun violence. Some reported symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as increased vigilance and being afraid to leave home.

"The participants voiced feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness regarding their situations," Dr. Francis writes. "They described a life embedded in poverty and violence in which they could identify no strategies to improve their lives."

Gun violence is a public health crisis in the United States, leading to thousands of injuries and deaths each day. The risk of violence involving a firearm is substantially increased for low-income individuals, and especially for African American young adults. "Gun violence is part of a vicious cycle of race and poverty in the US, reflecting a social inequality," according to Dr. Francis.

The study lends new insights into the challenges faced by survivors of gun violence. While limited to an urban, mainly African American population, the findings may help in understand the factors contributing to the ongoing cycle of race, poverty, and violence - and in developing strategies to reduce the prevalence of deaths and injuries due to firearms.

"Community leaders and community members need to work together to improve the living conditions of people in poverty and improve education for further prevention," Dr. Francis concludes. "Health care policy changes and community programs that assist in decreasing violence and availability of guns need to be developed and implemented."

###

Click to read "A Narrative Inquiry Into the Experience of Being a Victim of Gun Violence"

DOI:10.1097/JTN.0000000000000406

About Journal of Trauma Nursing

As the official publication of the Society of Trauma Nurses, the Journal of Trauma Nursing supports the STN's strategic goals of effective communication, education and patient advocacy with original, peer-reviewed, research and evidence-based articles and information that reflect the highest standard of collaborative care for trauma patients. The Journal of Trauma Nursing, through a commitment to editorial excellence, implements STN's vision to improve practice and patient outcomes and to become the premiere global nursing organization across the trauma continuum.

About The Society of Trauma Nurses

The Society of Trauma Nurses is a professional nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure optimal trauma care to all people locally, regionally, nationally and globally through initiatives focused on trauma nurses related to prevention, education and collaboration with other healthcare disciplines. The STN advocates for the highest level of quality trauma care across the continuum. We accomplish this through an environment that fosters visionary leadership, mentoring, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration in the delivery of trauma care.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer N.V. (AEX: WKL) is a global leader in information services and solutions for professionals in the health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2016 annual revenues of 4.3 billion. The company, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries and employs 19,000 people worldwide.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

Wolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information and point of care solutions for the healthcare industry. For more information about our products and the organization, visit http://www.wolterskluwer.com/, follow @WKHealth or @Wolters_Kluwer on Twitter, like us on Facebook, follow us on LinkedIn, or follow WoltersKluwerComms on YouTube.

For more information about Wolters Kluwer's solutions and organization, visit http://www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and .
The first Human Cell Atlas study of early pregnancy in humans has shown how the function of the maternal immune system is affected by cells from the developing placenta. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Newcastle University and University of Cambridge used genomics and bioinformatics approaches to map over 70,000 single cells at the junction of the uterus and placenta. This revealed how the cells talk to each other to modify the immune response and enable the pregnancy.

Published in Nature, this work presents new and unexpected cell states in the uterus and placenta, and shows which genes are switched on in each cell. Insights from this will help us to understand what leads to a successful pregnancy, and what can go wrong during miscarriages or pre-eclampsia.

Maintaining a healthy pregnancy can be difficult sometimes, with many women suffering from miscarriages or still birth, and others having problems such as pre-eclampsia. The roots of many of these problems occur in the first few weeks of the pregnancy, when the placenta is formed.

The fetus creates a placenta that surrounds it in the uterus to provide nutrients and oxygen. This is in contact with the mother where it implants into the lining of the uterus - known as the decidua - to create a good blood supply for the placenta. Research on the interface between mother and fetus could help answer many vital questions, including how the mother's immune system is modified to allow both mother and the developing fetus to coexist. However, until now this area has not been well studied.

To understand this area, researchers studied more than 70,000 single cells from first trimester pregnancies. Using single-cell RNA and DNA sequencing they identified maternal and fetal cells in the decidua and placenta, and found how these cells were interacting with one another. They discovered that the fetal and maternal cells were using signals to talk to each other, and this conversation enabled the maternal immune system to support fetal growth.

Dr Roser Vento-Tormo, a first author on the paper from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: "For the first time ever, we have been able to see which genes are active in each cell in the decidua and the placenta, and have discovered which of these could modify the maternal immune system. The fetal cells from the placenta communicate with the mother's immune cells to ensure the placenta implants correctly. This allows the fetus to grow and develop normally."

Using microscopy-based methods the researchers were also able to pinpoint the location of new cell states in the different layers of the decidua. They saw how the biological blocks of the placenta - called trophoblast cells - invade into the lining of the mother's uterus and cause the tissue to change structure, creating the blood supply for the developing fetus.

Prof Muzlifah Haniffa, a corresponding author from Newcastle University, said: "This study was only possible due to the Human Developmental Biology Resource, which provides tissues to enable research into understanding human development to help improve health. Our single cell study has shown us the exact cellular composition of the decidua and placenta for the first time, and how the cells from the developing placenta and uterus communicate. This has huge implications for understanding what happens in a normal pregnancy, and for studying what can go wrong during conditions such as pre-eclampsia and miscarriage."

Prof Ashley Moffett, a corresponding author from Cambridge University, said: "The formation of the decidua is vital for a successful pregnancy and our study has revealed completely new subtypes of cells within the decidua. Further clarification of what each of these cells do will help to understand how the maternal immune response helps achieve a successful pregnancy."

Understanding this area also has implications for the study of cancers. Tumour cells can use similar mechanisms to evade the immune system and extract new blood supply to provide nutrients and oxygen for tumour growth.

Dr Sarah Teichmann, a corresponding author on the paper from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and co-chair of the Human Cell Atlas initiative Organising Committee, said: "This first Human Cell Atlas of early pregnancy gives us a reference map of this vital initial phase of development. It will transform our understanding of healthy development, and is helping us understand how the placental and maternal cells communicate with each other to support pregnancy. This will shed light on disorders of pregnancy, and could also help understand pathways that cancer cells exploit."

###

Notes to editors:

Background information:

In pregnancy, the embryo is surrounded by a placenta that transports oxygen and nutrients from the mother. The placenta attaches to the lining of the uterus, known as the decidua. Placental cells - trophoblast cells - are fetal in origin and have its genetic make-up, which is different from the mother's (maternal) cells. Trophoblast implant into the lining of the uterus to create the decidua, and invade to reach the specialised blood vessels in the wall of the uterus. This creates a vital blood supply for the placenta and the fetus.

The placenta acts as a no-man's land between the mother and the fetus, and an immune compromise occurs here between these two genetically different individuals. This compromise allows for normal fetal growth and development.

Selected websites:

Newcastle University

Key facts about the University of Newcastle are available at https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/about/keyfacts/

About the University of Cambridge:

The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. To date, 98 affiliates of the University have won the Nobel Prize. Founded in 1209, the University comprises 31 autonomous Colleges, which admit undergraduates and provide small-group tuition, and 150 departments, faculties and institutions. Cambridge is a global university. Its 19,000 student body includes 3,700 international students from 120 countries. Cambridge researchers collaborate with colleagues worldwide, and the University has established larger-scale partnerships in Asia, Africa and America. The University sits at the heart of the 'Cambridge cluster', which employs 60,000 people and has in excess of 12 billion in turnover generated annually by the 4,700 knowledge-intensive firms in and around the city. The city publishes 341 patents per 100,000 residents. http://www.cam.ac.uk

Wellcome Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease. To celebrate its 25th year in 2018, the Institute is sequencing 25 new genomes of species in the UK. Find out more at http://www.sanger.ac.uk or follow @sangerinstitute

Wellcome

Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive. We're a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. We support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations and spark debate. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
Tuesdays big story was the capitulation move lower in oil

Oil is now down around 29% from Octobers high and 2019 is set for lower demand. OPEC maintain they will not cut, but do expect lower growth,

Meanwhile, GBP rallies as a Brexit agreement progresses, but there are still many more hurdles. PM May is due to discuss the proposals with the Cabinet on Wednesday.

This week has seen significant moves in US dollar pairs as the DXY dollar basket broke to new 2018 highs, but also noteworthy has been the collapse in oil prices. Tuesdays session saw a further 7% drop, which took prices to $55 a barrel, over $20 lower than Octobers high. This will no doubt please President Trump, who has been vocal about his distaste for higher oil prices and OPECs strategy to keep production high.

There are several main drivers of this collapse. As ING pointed out this morning,

The initial catalyst for the move was President Trumps oil tweet, and this was followed by the release of OPECs monthly oil report, which showed the group revising lower their demand growth forecasts for both 2018 and 2019 once again.

But this only explains the near term moves, and oil has been dropping nearly in a straight line since October. This seems to be driven by a growing realization that production is too high, and cuts look likely at some point. This weekends OPEC meeting perhaps laid the groundwork for this.

The one thing that members at OPEC's joint ministerial monitoring committee seemed to agree on was the fact that the global oil market is likely to be oversupplied in 2019, with the group seeing higher supply growth than is needed. Despite highlighting this view, they stopped short of announcing any coordinated approach to tackling the potential surplus over 2019, reports ING.

While there may not have been an official announcement, the oil market is one step ahead and has priced in lower demand and cuts already.

Technically, the fall into $55 is testing the 2017 highs and the break-out point which propelled oil to 2018 highs of $76. This level is expected to hold for now, but it looks increasingly like oil has peaked and any weakness in the US economy going forward will pressure prices further.

Pound Sterling (GBP) Buoyed by Brexit

GBP was conspicuously strong in Tuesdays session and this usually means a positive development or rumour on Brexit. True to form, news emerged that Theresa May has reached a draft Brexit agreement with the EU. EURGBP fell on GBP strength to below 0.87, its lowest point since April.

Yet there is still a long way to go. Theresa May is scheduled to meet with her on Wednesday. Assuming the Cabinet agrees, it then moves onto a vote in the House of Commons. This is the real test, as Danske Bank point out,

Leading hard Brexiteers, the DUP from Northern Ireland and the Labour leadership have already given it a thumbs down, but Theresa May thinks the fear of a no-deal Brexit will make sure moderate Conservatives and Labour MPs will vote in favour of it. A possible EU summit on Brexit on 25 November and the vote in House of Commons may be as early as 10 December. Markets need more certainty before we could see EUR/GBP move even lower.

EURGBP therefore looks set to hold the April lows at around 0.862 and will only really reverse or trend lower once there is more certainty.

Meanwhile, the Euro remains weak as the Italian government maintained the 2.4% budget deficit and 1.5% growth target it presented to the EU yesterday. Their refusal to compromise sets up more conflict going forward and will continue to weigh on the Euro, as will unfavourable rate differentials with both the GBP and especially the USD.
Fixed Asset Investment Pulls Higher From Record Lows But Chinese Yuan Continues Dismal FX Performance

Overnight (2am GMT) Chinas National Bureau of Statistics released their latest year-to-date Fixed Asset Investment (FAI) figures. Coming in above expectations at 5.7% versus 5.5% the figure is still relatively low yet indicates a momentum-gathering rebound for China.

In the 6-months-to-date picture the Chinese Yuan has performed dismally against all other majors (except for the South African Rand), losing considerable value in exchange rates.

FAI hit a record low earlier in the year with Augusts YTD figure coming in at just 5.3%. Despite being a far cry from the mid 7%s we saw earlier in the year, the latest release represents the second consecutive monthly increase, an indicator that the Chinese economy is stabilising and even tentatively rebounding.

Despite the increase, the Chinese economy still faces hurdles in its recovery, HSBCs co-head of Asian economics research, Frederic Neuman, believes More stimulus will be needed in coming months to prevent a sharper deceleration in overall growth and to prop up household spending and private investment in particular."

Whilst the increase FAI signals potential prosperity on the horizon, in the near term its expected to be business as usual for the Chinese Yuans FX pairings as the effects on higher investment trickle through to market value.

Bloomberg Economics Chang Su and Justin Jiminez outline their expectations While the broad stabilization in October activity growth is a relief, weak credit data suggest the economy will continue to search for a bottom in the coming months. We think there will be stronger policy support.

With the on-going US-China trade war in effect and a struggling Chinese economy the US Dollar created a 5-year high yesterday (6.9695), breaking December 2016s 6.9633. The pair is currently trading at 6.952 ahead of a US CPI release later in the day which could push the pairing into territory it hasnt seen since 2008.
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.
Northside Fords owner is negotiating to acquire three San Antonio auto dealerships formerly owned by the late billionaire Tom Benson.

Mark Woods said he expects to close sometime next month on the purchase of Mercedes-Benz of San Antonio, Fiesta Honda and Alamo City Chevrolet. Terms are confidential.

The dealerships are currently owned by Bensons daughter, Renee Benson, and her son, Ryan LeBlanc, Woods said. Tom Benson, whose business empire included the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, died at age 90 in March.

Renee Benson took ownership of the dealerships in 2016 as part of a settlement of a bitter legal battle with her father over her late mothers sprawling estate, the San Antonio Express-News reported at the time.

OnExpressNews.com: Popovich lauds the late Tom Benson

The dealerships were part of the 1980 Shirley Benson Testamentary Trust, which was valued at $1 billion. Renee Benson assumed control of the trust, which also included all of San Antonios Lone Star Capital Bank, a portion of a large ranch in Johnson City, an airplane, a multimillion-dollar home in Lake Tahoe, other real estate and cash. Shirley Benson was Tom Bensons first wife.

Emily Harrison Liljenwall, attorney for Renee Benson, said she could not comment on the potential sale of the dealerships.

What I can tell you is, I approached them, Woods said. They were willing to sell it. They want to redirect their financial and intellectual capital elsewhere.

The three dealerships all are within 2 miles of Woods Northside Ford at 12300 San Pedro.

Its just kind of a natural fit, Woods said of the three dealerships. The proposed sale includes the dealership businesses and their real estate.

The planned sale of the three dealerships was first reported by the New Orleans Advocate.

Woods bought Northside Ford in 2010. His only other dealership is a Mercedes-Benz franchise in Medford, Ore., acquired in 2015.

Woods, 51, is the son of Gary Woods, president of McCombs Enterprises, the management firm for B.J. Red McCombs family investments. McCombs, who also owns local car dealerships, and Gary Woods are not involved in the acquisition of the three Benson dealerships, Mark Woods said.

Shirley Bensons trust was set up shortly after her death in 1980, before Tom Benson bought the Saints and Pelicans. In 2015, Renee Benson had challenged the competency of her father, who was the trustee.

Later that year, Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff appointed co-receivers of the trust after hearing two days of testimony that revealed Tom Benson had secretly moved millions of dollars of trust funds to a different bank and had relocated some trust records, the Express-News reported.

OnExpressNews.com: Benson made his mark in San Antonio

The settlement of the dispute involved a corporate reorganization, according to a lawyer involved in the matter.

At one time, the Benson family owned about 30 dealerships. By 2015, there were five locations  the three in San Antonio and two in New Orleans.

Early last year, Tom Benson and his estranged daughter reached a confidential settlement regarding her ownership stakes in the Saints and Pelicans. The pair had been feuding about the teams values. His third wife, Gayle Benson, became the sole beneficiary of an estate controlling the teams.
Three trauma surgeons from University Hospital helped write a wide-ranging national report released this morning that identifies ways to reduce gun deaths and injuries.

The report is part of a years-long effort by the American College of Surgeons to find a consensus on the best way to mitigate the damage caused by the use of firearms. It was commissioned by two dozen physicians.

Dr. Ronald Stewart, a University trauma surgeon and chair of surgery at UT Health San Antonio, served as the papers lead author. Two other University surgeons, Dr. Brian Eastridge and Dr. Donald Jenkins, were co-authors.

Its release comes after the National Rifle Association last week told doctors to stay in their lane and not get involved in the national debate about guns, a response to a paper by the American College of Physicians that said gun violence should be considered an urgent public health matter.

The medical community pushed back.

Earlier this week, Stewart said he was among thousands of medical professionals who signed an open letter to the NRA that argued that the health community and gun lobby should both be part of the solution.

RELATED: Fightin words: Health professionals vs. NRA in nasty fight over gun violence

The surgeons report, drafted by a work group within the organizations trauma committee, drew from numerous discussions with surgeons across the country, including town halls, meetings and surveys.

It was absolutely coincidental, Jenkins said, that their gun violence report was released so closely to that of the College of Physicians.

A gun owner and a lifelong NRA member himself, Jenkins said the report got underway in earnest in early 2017, after a group of trauma surgeons visited NRA headquarters and learned there was a ton of agreement about ways to reduce firearm injuries. In the report, the surgeons disclosed whether they owned guns, how many and what kind. Eighteen of the 24 owned a firearm.

The group of people that we have assembled and the thoughtful approach that we have used should cause everyone to look at this and say, these are responsible citizens, responsible gun owners, professionals in the medical field, Jenkins said. They want to retain their rights. At the same time, they dont want their right of life infringed upon or those of their patients.

In addition to calling for a community dialogue among those with differing viewpoints on gun regulation and ownership, the report makes nine recommendations to reduce harm from gun violence.

Several pertain to gun owners, including a requirement that all firearms to be registered in a digital database, that new gun owners undergo formal training and that weapons be stored safely. Some recommendations involve other groups, including members of law enforcement and the media, who the surgeons said should take steps to eliminate notoriety of the shooter and take an editorially muted approach to the coverage of these events. It also called for bystanders, including teachers and parents, to recognize mental health warning signs and isolation, and to speak up when they see them.

Other ideas would require action from elected officials, local authorities or from gun manufacturers. The report suggests manufacturers should use innovative technology to implement safeguards against accidental discharge, self-harm and use of the gun by someone other than its owner. It also proposes a reassessment of gun classifications under the National Firearms Act and instituting programs like red flag laws that confiscate weapons from those who are determined to be an imminent threat to themselves or others. Those individuals should never have access to guns in the first place, the report also said.

We recommend treating mass shootings as terrorism and support and encourage domestic law-enforcement efforts and strategies (within the limits of Fourth Amendment protections) to predict, detect, and deter future mass firearm violence, the report says. We believe that risk mitigation by law-enforcement professionals is important to public safety, and is necessary to prevent violent individuals from inflicting harm at an individual and societal level.

Additionally, the paper calls for federally funded research on gun injuries and preventative measures, work that has long been stymied by Congress and the gun lobby.

Jenkins said the holistic approach to the issue was out of necessity to reform a system that he called broken. The surgeons who worked on the paper work with gunshot victims on a regular basis, including those harmed in mass shootings  University Hospital treated nine patients from last years shooting in Sutherland Springs, and Jenkins said another surgeon in the group worked with patients from the Las Vegas country music festival shooting.

READ MORE: Keeping Faith: Sutherland Springs relies on church to cope with shootings aftermath

Those tragedies, Jenkins said, only increase the pressure on physicians to do everything they can to not only treat patients, but prevent their injuries in the first place.

We really want to act, to make a difference, Jenkins said. This is not the time to be divisive over this. No one wants to see more people shot and killed. No one. And we have to do something to prevent that from happening, and this is what we think can make a difference.

Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba
A University of Texas at San Antonio professor will be kept from the classroom for the rest of the week as the university investigates why she called police to order an African-American student out of her biology lecture hall.

A viral video posted Monday showed the student leaving the room when approached by officers. UTSA President Taylor Eighmy sent an email to the university community the same day saying the schools Office of Equal Opportunity Services was investigating the incident as a possible case of discrimination and called it an example of the work the university needs to do to support students of color.

We are concerned by what the video shows and have initiated multiple investigations into the matter, the university said Tuesday in a prepared statement shared on Twitter. We recognize the importance of promptly gathering the facts and being transparent in the outcomes.

Late Tuesday, Eighmy sent another email saying another faculty member would take over the class for the remainder of the semester.

The student, who identified herself as @FavoritePaigeee on Twitter, said the video, shared by classmate Apurva Rawal, shows police leading her out of class at the request of biology lecturer Anita Moss. The student, who could not be reached for comment and whose full name has not been made public, said she did not disobey any student code of conduct.

Rawal said in his account that Moss was upset that the woman had her feet up on the chair in front of her. Earlier, the professor had delivered a whole tirade about how uncivil we all were because a few students were on their phone or not paying attention, Rawal said.

Besides the investigation by the Office of Equal Opportunity Services into possible discrimination, Interim Dean Howard Grimes of the College of Sciences was looking into the academic management of the classroom, Eighmys first email said.

For the best interest of all involved, the faculty members classes will be taught by another faculty member for the remainder of the semester, he wrote in the follow-up email Tuesday night. Her students have been informed. The student involved in the incident has been welcomed back to class and offered support services. Once the two investigations are complete next week, appropriate administrative action will be determined.

Rawals post gained more than 17,300 retweets and 38,5008 likes by Tuesday evening. The tweet from the woman escorted out got more than 22,300 retweets and 55,000 likes.

Many online commenters were quick to excoriate the professor and UTSA, comparing the incident to a number of situations across the country where white people called police to respond to black people barbecuing, napping in a student lounge or selling water.

Of the more than 30,000 students enrolled at UTSA last fall, 2,674 of them were black, according to the universitys website.

The professor and student have met with officials separately, the UTSA statement said.

In his email, Eighmy said the matter concerns me greatly.

Beyond this particular incident, I am very much aware that the circumstance represents another example of the work we need to do as an institution around issues of inclusivity and supporting our students of color, he wrote in the letter.

The university recently announced that it had hired Myron Anderson, the Metropolitan State University of Denvers associate to the president for diversity, to fill a new position, vice president for inclusive excellence. He starts Jan. 1 and will serve as a leadership anchor, helping UTSA shape policies, set goals and provide strategic direction for the journey toward improving the campus climate for underrepresented groups, the announcement stated.

mmendoza@mysa.com |@MaddySkye
Jacque Callanen is biased.

That is to say Callanen, the elections administrator for Bexar County, harbors a clear bias in favor of voting. She can barely contain her enthusiasm when local voters turn out in big numbers  or her disappointment when those turnout numbers fall below expectations.

If Callanen has any other biases, they havent been apparent in her 23 years serving in the county elections office, the last 13 as elections administrator. During that time, she has been a model for how to maintain fairness in a job that is a perpetual hot seat.

READ ALSO: Judge denies Jones' request to release provisional voters list

Nonetheless, over the past week, the campaign of congressional hopeful Gina Ortiz Jones, and a group of prominent local Democrats who support her, have stained Callanens reputation in a quest to flip a congressional seat that is probably out of reach.

The back story is that Jones currently stands a little more than 1,000 votes behind Congressional District 23 Republican incumbent Will Hurd in an election that drew more than 200,000 voters.

The day after the election, the Texas Democratic Party filed an open records request with all 29 counties in the sprawling congressional district, seeking names and contact information for anyone who submitted provisional, mail-in, military or overseas ballots.

The Jones campaign wanted a chance to contact provisional voters to make sure they knew about the Nov. 13 deadline to cure their ballots.

Callanen declined to respond to the open records request, correctly citing the Texas Administrative Code, which states that provisional ballot lists are not public information until after a countys early voting ballot board has fully reviewed the provisional ballots and Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes and the List of Provisional Voters have been returned to the General Custodian of Election Records.

That law emerged from a 2014 election in which Williamson County turned over its provisional voter list before completing its ballot review and provisional voters allegedly were besieged with phone calls from campaign operatives.

So Callanen, under great political pressure, complied with the law.

READ ALSO: San Antonio artist files suit against Texas Democratic Party

On Sunday, however, seven former and current Democratic elected officials  including Joaquin and Julian Castro, Jose Menendez and Trey Martinez Fischer  signed on to a letter accusing Callanen of making misleading and problematic statements and stating that their only interest was in making sure every eligible voter has the unfettered opportunity to cast their ballot.

In fact, the provisional ballot process already offers that opportunity. What these elected officials wanted to protect was not the right of people to vote, or even the right of voters to cure their ballots, but the right of politicos to call up those provisional voters and push them to get their ballots fixed.

The attacks on Callanen grew stronger this week with a court filing from the Jones campaign, seeking a temporary restraining order (ultimately denied by District Court Judge Stephani Walsh) that would force Callanen to turn over contact info for provisional voters.

Jones motion also alleged that Callanens handling of the situation put in serious doubt her ability to effectively perform her duties and comply with state law.

This is shameful stuff.

Jones put everything she had into this race, and its perfectly understandable that she wants to make sure every single vote gets counted. But there was no need to sully the reputation of one of Bexar Countys most dedicated public servants.

Its not fair to attack an elections official whos following the law, said Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, whose office administers elections in this state. Jacque is one of the best elections officials in the nation. She doesnt deserve this.

Weve been down this road before.

READ ALSO: Beto bump tightened race between Hurd and Jones

In 2010, when the city  not the county  started repairing the parking lot at the Claude Black Center during early voting, a group calling itself the Bexar County Voting Rights Coalition alleged East Side voter suppression from Callanens office.

That same week, the San Antonio Observer depicted Callanen as a member of the Ku Klux Klan on its cover. Her great sin? Her elections office had not yet purchased space in the Observer for an advertisement listing election day polling sites (although that very issue of the tabloid included an elections office ad with early voting info).

Callanen helped this county transition from paper ballots to touch-screen machines. She did her best to smooth the implementation of a controversial state voter ID law that she never asked for.

In 2014, she and her staff canceled their Christmas plans when then-Gov. Rick Perry called for a state Senate and House special election right after the holidays  the eighth election Callanens office handled that year.

Jones and her Democratic backers have every reason to be frustrated by the results in District 23. But they have no excuse for directing that frustration at Callanen.

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
WASHINGTON  A top U.S. State Department official said Tuesday that Houston native Austin Tice, a freelance journalist who was abducted more than six years ago while covering the war in Syria, is still alive.

In the government's most declarative statement on the case to date, Robert O'Brien, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, said investigators "have every reason to believe" Tice remains alive and captive in Syria.

"I want to make it very clear that the United States government believes Austin Tice is alive," O'Brien told a gathering of journalists, academics, government officials and family gathered at the National Press Club to discuss Tice's 2012 disappearance.

O'Brien declined to detail what proof the government has, or say who might be holding the 37-year-old journalist, a former Marine and student at the University of Houston who was working on a law degree at Georgetown University.

RELATED: Austin Tice's parents push for answers 6 years after son's kidnapping while reporting from Syria

O'Brien speculated, however, that Tice's relative youth and physical fitness as a Marine could help him survive the rigors of captivity. "I'm sure that's sustaining him," O'Brien said.

Tice's father, Marc Tice, noted that as of Tuesday his son had been in captivity for 2,282 days, a period during which the family has been outspoken in publicizing his plight internationally and exerting pressure on government officials to investigate his whereabouts and win his release.

Tice and his wife Debra Tice are planning at least their seventh trip to the Middle East in search of a breakthrough tip or contact that could end the mystery of his disappearance, which has been variously attributed to either pro- or anti-government groups in the ongoing Syrian civil war.

"Every time we go, our desire is to bring Austin home. We continue our relentless effort to find the key that will open the door for Austin's freedom," his father said. "We know Austin longs to walk free. Austin urgently needs to be free. Maybe soon."

Over the past six years of Tice's abduction, an estimated 192 journalists and aid workers have been killed in Syria, according to Margaux Ewen, North American director of Reporters Without Borders. "Reporters are victims of violence by all parties," she said, including the Syrian military and opposition groups such as the Islamic State.

Although O'Brien declined to say what regime or terrorist group is believed to be holding Tice, he twice mentioned the influence of Iran in Syria, which is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.

"Pariah states like Iran, terrorist organizations around the world continue to take Americans hostage or unjustly detain them," he said. "They do it because they believe they can extract some sort of concession from the United States, or that they can obtain political leverage over the United States. And I can tell you, that is not going to happen."

RELATED: Parents of Austin Tice, missing in Syria, get hopeful signs from U.S. officials

O'Brien, who works with the families of American hostages around the world, emphasized that the Trump administration will not negotiate for any hostage's release. "The idea that we will somehow bargain for innocent Americans like they're some sort of trinkets in a bazaar, is not going to happen," he said.

At the same time, he said Tice's case has involved the participation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and outgoing United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

"I can tell you that Ambassador Haley is engaged with her colleagues at the United Nations, with other governments that we believe may be able to bring influence to bear to help Austin," he said. Bolton and Pompeo have both met with Tice's parents and receive regular reports.

O'Brien also recognized the influence of Russia, which Obama-era Secretary of State John Kerry sought to employ to aid in Tice's release. "The Russians have tremendous influence in Syria," that's very clear, O'Brien said. "There are plenty of areas of disagreement between the United States and Russia at this time. One of the things that both Russia and the United States should agree on is that innocent Americans and innocent Russians, for that matter, should not be held hostage and not be held against their will. We continue to call on the Russians to exert whatever influence they can in Syria to bring Austin home ... It's something the United States would be grateful for."

O'Brien, a State Department official under former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice, said President Donald Trump remains dedicated to Tice's release, though he has not been as vocal about it as in the cases of recently released prisoners in Turkey and North Korea.

"Each one of these cases is different, and we'll bring different tools to bear at different times that we think will be most useful to bring the hostages home," O'Brien said. "I can tell you that the president is aware and is briefed regularly on Austin's case, and he wants Austin Tice back with his friends and family as soon as possible. At the appropriate time, if we felt it was helpful, the president would take whatever necessary measures he needs to to help facilitate that."

Meanwhile, several major news organizations Tice worked with, including McClatchy and the Washington Post, have been working with Reporters Without Borders to develop tips and champion Tice's case.

Last April the FBI offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Tice's release, an amount that the National Press Club and other news organizations are trying to double through a new promotional effort called "Night Out for Austin Tice." The plan is to encourage restaurants in the Washington area, where Tice studied before leaving for Syria, to take part in a revenue sharing deal on an appointed date next May 2.

"By talking about Austin, we are hoping to remind the public what a journalist is and what dangers a journalist can face when he's trying to bring a story home," said National Press Club President Andrea Edney.
Amrock Inc. says it has filed court papers seeking a new trial in the case that led to a record $706 million jury verdict in favor of HouseCanary Inc. earlier this year in Bexar County.

Detroit-based title insurance company Amrock, formerly known as Title Source Inc., an affiliate of Quicken Loans, alleges that after the verdict, it was discovered San Francisco-based real estate analytics firm HouseCanary colluded with a Title Source executive to misrepresent the readiness of HouseCanarys Appraiser App and automated valuation model, or AVM.

Amrock says the alleged collusion was disclosed by a whistleblower, a former HouseCanary executive. Amrock then conducted an investigation that it said shows the jury was misled by various falsehoods. The findings were supported by two other former HouseCanary executives, Amrock says.

When you look at the sheer number of problems with this case, paired with the fact that multiple former HouseCanary executives have come forward to blow the whistle on fraud, this is something that should get the courts attention, said David Prichard, an Amrock lawyer. Our legal system is designed to allow judges to act as a backstop when they see questionable activities taking place. This motion for a new trial is an opportunity for the court to step in and ensure that justice is served now that all the cards are on the table.

HouseCanary lawyer Ricardo Cedillo previously described Amrocks sources as three disgruntled ex-HouseCanary employees who were fired for cause.

This is Trumpian, Cedillo said after a July court hearing. They are doubling down because of the devastating jury verdict that they had here. The best they can come up with is, Oh, there was hanky-panky going on. They made the same allegations before this jury and the jury found who the liars and the thieves were.

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
NEWS FLASH

Turkey's AtlasGlobal has again expanded its codeshare partnership with Air Serbia. The Turkish carrier has added its flight numbers and "KK" designator code onto the Serbian airline's flights between Belgrade and Prague, Sarajevo, Tivat and Vienna. AtlasGlobal already codeshares on Air Serbia's flagship service to New York, as well as to Podgorica, Skopje and Tirana. In return, the Serbian carrier maintains codes on its Turkish partner's flights between Istanbul and Belgrade. The two carriers are also exploring opportunities to provide passengers frequent flier benefits, including the ability to accrue miles on codeshare flights. Reciprocal premium lounge access at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and Istanbul Ataturk Airport is already available for eligible travellers. "We continue to pursue our European growth through joint agreements. We are thrilled to have extended the codeshare deal we have made with Air Serbia. With this expanded agreement, we will provide more flights for our passengers via Istanbul and Belgrade", AtlasGlobal's Deputy General Manager, Nevzat Arsan, said.
A Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown Stamford, the citys first extended-stay hotel, is set to open Monday, the propertys developers and operators have announced.

Serving both business and recreational travelers, the hotel, at 25 Atlantic St., houses 156 apartment-style suites with kitchens and offers amenities including approximately 2,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, a 2,000-square-foot fitness center and a tequila and tapas bar.

Residence Inns opening will culminate a long and arduous construction. Boston-based commercial real estate investment firm UC Funds acquired the site in April 2017 after the property had sat untouched for about two years following the bankruptcy of its original developer, Seaboard Realty.

In Norwalk, a Residence Inn is scheduled to open in February, at 45 S. Main St., in the citys SoNo section.

Other Marriott-branded hotels in Stamford include an adjacent Courtyard Marriott, at 275 Summer St., and a Marriott hotel, a few blocks away, at 243 Tresser Blvd. Marriott is also the parent company of Sheraton, which has a hotel at 700 E. Main St., a couple of blocks from the Marriott hotel on Tresser Boulevard.

In Stamfords South End, at 330 Ludlow St., Marriott maintains regional offices, which it took over following its $13 billion acquisition in 2016 of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which was headquartered in the same location.

The Marriott-Starwood deal created the worlds largest hotel company, but it also sparked mass layoffs in Stamford. Since the acquisition closed, Marriott has laid off about 330 Stamford-based employees, according to state Labor Department records.

Marriott has not reported any layoffs to the state in 2018.

Despite the job cuts, Marriott officials have said in previous statements the company wants to keep its Stamford offices.

Factoring in public funding for Starwood before the acquisition, Marriott stands as one of the largest corporate recipients of state subsidies in recent years. Its funding includes $60 million in tax credits and $14.5 million in loans, based on meeting certain job targets.

The firm has earned $7 million in loan forgiveness, has paid back $5 million and will also reimburse the state for the remaining $2.5 million.

Starwood moved its headquarters in 2012 to Stamford, from White Plains, N.Y. It would grow into one of Stamfords largest employers, operating with a reported contingent of about 700 around the time of the merger with Marriott.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; Twitter: @paulschott
STAMFORD  An accused serial burglar arrested last week has been linked to three other cases, police said.

Phillip Mayo, 45, of Lipton Place, has been charged with criminal trespass and interfering with a police investigation after allegedly trespassing at the Parc Grove apartments on Broad Street. When police questioned him, they said he gave a false name and claimed to live in the complex.

The arrest as led to more charges this week.

Stamford Police Major Crimes Investigators have continued to work this case and have developed evidence that links Phillip Mayo with three previously reported crimes, police said. The evidence was presented at court and arrest warrants were granted for each of these three cases.

Mayo was charged with criminal attempt at second-degree burglary and third-degree criminal trespass in relation to an incident reported at a Schuyler Avenue home on May 23, 2017, police said. His bail was set at $50,000 for these charges.

During that incident, police said a family spotted Mayo on their front porch looking through their window. The father confronted Mayo, who fled the area.

Mayo was also charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree criminal trespass and breach of peace in connection with an incident reported at the Parc Grove apartments on Sept. 27, 2017. The bail for those charges was set at $100,000.

In that incident, police said victims told investigators they were woken up by sounds in their living room. When they checked the noise, they found Mayo in their apartment. Once he was spotted, he took off again.

Police also charged Mayo with second-degree burglary and third-degree criminal trespass for another incident at the Parc Grove apartments on Oct. 3, 2017. His bail for these charges was set at $50,000.

Police said the victim reported hearing a noise when he was going to sleep and went to open his door and then Mayo fled.
STAMFORD  School district facilities officials are hoping increased wages for part-timers and hiring more full-timers will help curb skyrocketing rates of custodial overtime.

Rich Lyons, director of facilities, and Clarence Zachery, the districts chief fiscal and operations support officer, addressed these issues this week with the Board Educations fiscal and operations committee after a first-quarter financial report showed almost half the allotted budget for custodial overtime was spent by the end of September.

Lyons said the seven new full-time custodians who are expected to start on Nov. 26 will dramatically help, but he said the district needs about 20 more part-timers.

Why do these vacancies take so long? outgoing board chairman David Mannis said. I know youve explained it, but Id like to hear it yet againwere still trying to have 56 people in the building, but the numbers are extraordinarily low.

Lyons and Zachery said they are considering strategies, including increasing wages, to quickly attract and retain part-time workers. However, Lyons said it takes three to four months to get candidates through the hiring process.

Weve been looking at this deficiency in part time for what? Three years now? board member Jennienne Burke said. We got to work with what we got and get these positions filled.

There are also trades vacancies to fill.

The lack of full-timers has also resulted in the district projecting to being about $220,000 under budget for custodial salaries.

Lyons attributed part of the overtime to summer cleanup costs, which amounted to about $12,000 more than last year. He said this was partially due to a shortened summer vacation due to inclement weather days and mold found in the schools.

Several of our schools, if not half a dozen, did start using the m word in the summer, full blown into late August, Lyons said, referencing a mold problem plaguing half of the districts public school buildings and sending Westover Magnet students to a corporate office for the remainder of the year while their school is cleaned and renovated. We didnt really start tracking that as a category and a driver until probably mid-October.

As of Oct. 29, Zachery said custodial overtime spent on mold remediation has been categorized as an expense under the Mold Task Force formed to combat the problem in the city.

erin.kayata@stamfordadvocate.com; (203) 964-2265; @erin_kayata
Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides marine transportation, subsea installation, and accommodation support services to exploration and production, oilfield service, offshore construction, and the United States military customers. It operates offshore supply vessels (OSVs), multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs), and a shore-based facility to provide logistics support and specialty services to the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry, primarily Gulf of Mexico in the U.S., Latin America, and internationally. Its fleet of U.S.-flagged OSVs and MPSVs support deep-well, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater activities of the offshore oil and gas industry, such as oil and gas exploration, field development, production, construction, installation, well-stimulation, and other enhanced oil recovery, as well as inspection, repair, and maintenance services. The company also provides vessel management services, including crewing, daily operational management, and maintenance activities for other vessels owners. As of December 31, 2018, it owned and operated 66 OSVs and 8 MPSVs. Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana.

Read More
iShares MSCI Finland ETF's stock was trading at $31.15 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EFNL shares have increased by 51.6% and is now trading at $47.21.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
There is not enough analysis data for Mongolia Growth Group.

4.5 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Mongolia Growth Group has received 35 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Mongolia Growth Group has received 16 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Mongolia Growth Group has received 68.63% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Mongolia Growth Group and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe YAK will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe YAK will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

Previous

Next
Bank of Cyprus Holdings Public Limited Company, through its subsidiaries, provides banking, financial, and insurance services to individuals, small and medium sized enterprises, and corporate customers. It offers current, savings, notice, instant access, and fixed term deposits; housing, student, consumer, business, syndicated, project, and shipping finance; and debit, credit, and prepaid cards. The company also provides hire purchase, factoring, guarantee, insurance, asset and wealth management, investment banking and brokerage, custody and depository, transfers and payment, and digital banking services. In addition, it is involved in property trading and development activities; land development and operation of a golf resort; management administration and safekeeping of UCITS units; administration of guarantees and holding of real estate properties; collection of the existing portfolio of receivables, including third party collections; and provision of card processing transaction, auction, and secretarial services. As of March 30, 2021, it operates through a network of 95 branches in Cyprus, as well as representative offices in Russia, Ukraine, and China. The company was formerly known as Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd and changed its name to Bank of Cyprus Holdings Public Limited Company in January 2017. Bank of Cyprus Holdings Public Limited Company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Read More
There is not enough analysis data for El Paso Electric.

3.9 Community Rank

Outperform Votes El Paso Electric has received 256 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes El Paso Electric has received 192 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment El Paso Electric has received 57.14% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about El Paso Electric and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe EE will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe EE will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

Previous

Next
by Alex Murray | Wed, Nov 14th 2:08pm EST

Lance Stephenson scored 11 points on 43 percent shooting from the field on Sunday. Stephenson added a board, a block and a steal in 15 minutes off the bench.

Fantasy Impact:

Stephenson scored in double-digits for the first time since Oct. 29th on Sunday, providing some solid efficiency from deep with a 3-for-5 mark from beyond the arc on the night. When he gets the opportunity, Stephenson can contribute all over the place, but with just 12.2 minutes per game so far in November, he's not getting those opportunities often enough to be relevant.
Farmers and growers must receive better value for money from the statutory levy body set up to promote development in agriculture and horticulture, according to the CLA.

It comes in response to Defras review on what the future role and activities of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) should be.

AHDB derives the bulk of its income from a statutory levy generated from the farming community, which delivers around 60 million per annum and is spent across six sector boards.

The CLA said its members would continue to support the existence of the board but changes are needed to its governance and structure so that an improved level of delivery to those who pay the levy can be achieved.

CLA President, Tim Breitmeyer said farmers and growers already face "significant uncertainty" as the UK navigates Brexit and beyond.

"It is vital for the AHDB to meet the challenge of supporting these industries through this upheaval, especially in preparing for Brexit - deal or no deal," he said.

Our continued support for the board is dependent on fundamental changes in governance, to ensure transparent decision-making and a focus on delivering for those who pay the levy rather than government objectives."

'Poor value'

Mr Breitmeyer said CLA members are not satisfied with current AHDB activities, saying it is "poor value for money".

If the board were to focus on doing less but doing it well, that would achieve most impact and allay the concerns of the levy payers, he said.

The rural organisation's response also highlighted the need for board membership to include a range of skills and expertise and called for improved multi-channel communications to better promote the services on offer.

Mr Breitmeyer added: Too many farmers and growers are unaware of the work the AHDB does and how it can improve their business, so external communication needs drastically addressing.

Alongside this, it is crucial for the board to have the expertise required to run this multi-million-pound organisation focused on delivering outcomes for levy payers and ensuring their buy-in for the knowledge and advice available.

The government review was a joint 10-week exercise covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The request for views closed on 9 November.
Defra is "too complacent" about potential disruption to trade and fundamental issues for farming businesses remain, according to a new report.

The department faces "enormous challenges" in the lead-up to EU exit and, with the deadline of 29 March 2019 looming, still does not know which scenario it is preparing for, the House of Commons report says.

There is also a "high level of risk" in the departments portfolio, with many of its plans dependent on co-operation from other departments, the devolved administrations and agencies and the goodwill of EU member states.

The Committee of Public Accounts' (PAC) new report 'Defras progress towards Brexit' states that many businesses have not been given detailed advice on what is required by an EU exit, as the department has had "very limited engagement" with stakeholders until recently.

The report, published on Wednesday (14 November), says that as a consequence of Defra's "enormous task", many small-to-medium sized businesses are "unaware" and "ill-prepared".

Despite this, the department has made "good progress" in drafting the 86 statutory instruments it must prepare, with three-quarters of them either fully drafted or near completion.

However, the amount of parliamentary time that these, and those of other departments, will require is "daunting", according to the report.

'Lost sight of priorities'

PAC Chair, Meg Hillier MP, says Defra is a "long way" from being ready to leave the European Union.

She says: In the continued uncertainty about the UKs future relationship with the EU, Defras civil servants must prepare for multiple and in some cases ill-defined scenarios.

Anyone working in the dark is prone to stumble but in Defras case I am concerned that the Department has lost sight of its priorities.

The risks associated with no-deal in particular are severe, and it is alarming how little specific information Defra has provided to enable individual businesses and organisations to prepare.

Ms Hillier adds: Brexit border planning is not sufficiently developed, six critical IT systems are still to be tested and there is a risk that in the Departments rush to prepare necessary legislation, the quality of that legislation will suffer.

Defra is up against it but there is more it must do to assure Parliament, businesses and the wider public that it has a firm grip on its responsibilities, she says.

'No deal' export issue

One 'no-deal' scenario PAC's report looked at is the risk of UK exports of animals and animal products being delayed at borders because of a shortage of vets.

In the event of a no-deal exit, the UKs continued exports of animals and animal products to EU member states will for the first time need to be accompanied by export health certificates.

Individual vets would probably take on such work on an ad hoc basis alongside their existing work, so the actual number of people required will be many more than 50 and the department is cavalier about enough suitably qualified staff to take on this work being available.

It believes that the training investment of around six hours online would not be a barrier to uptake, and that its requirements can be easily sourced from a pool of over 6,000 potential candidates in the private sector.

However, the report says Defra has failed to consider the geographic distribution of vets and their willingness to take on this additional work.

At present the UK only allows this work to be undertaken by vets and although the department is discussing this with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, no resolution has been reached that would extend the candidate pool.

PAC is concerned that the increased demand for veterinary services will increase costs to UK exporters.
Farmers have been reminded to be wary of fraudsters as Basic Payment Scheme starts entering bank accounts in early December.

Next month, police around the UK are expecting an influx of calls and emails to the farming community attempting to trick them out of their money.

Criminals have been known to pose as banks, as well as authorities such as the police, to attempt to extort money though illegitimate means.

They will either contact the victims via telephone, email or in person and request that money be moved to safer locations, due to bogus security issues.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) have both warned farmers that banks will never ask for their full online password and will not ask them to make a payment over the phone using their online account.

They will create a sense of urgency and may even know minor details about the victims to convince them they are genuine, said FUW Gwent CEO, Glyn Davies.

The FUW has urged farmers and landowners to take the following measures to ensure they do not fall victim to these types of scams this coming winter.

 Never divulge personal information to anyone, over the phone, in person or on the computer from an email or pop up message or advert.

 If someone from the bank does call, hang up and using a different line or contacting a family member to ensure the previous call has disconnected, contact the bank directly and ascertain if the call was genuine. If it really is the bank calling, they wont mind.

 If someone says they are from the police and asks for any transfer of money, hang up. The police will never do this.

 Dont click on any links or open any attachments from unsolicited emails. Check the senders details thoroughly before replying and as always, make contact with the sender separately and directly to ensure an emails validity.

 If you or anyone know is affected by fraud and cybercrime, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report the matter as soon as possible.
Defra has confirmed plans to use a fixed cut-off date to age lambs instead of checking teeth in a move that could potentially save the industry 24 million.

The cut-off date of 30 June means farmers, market operators and abattoir owners will no longer have the burden of checking the teeth of sheep to determine whether it is over 12 months old.

The method of checking teeth for permanent incisor eruption has in the past been criticised for being "costly and inaccurate" by the sheep industry.

Instead, using a cut-off date will indicate whether the carcass needs to be split to remove the spinal cord, which is required by the regulation.

EU regulation requires the removal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) from the carcases of sheep slaughtered for human consumption.

SRM is defined as those tissues which might potentially harbour detectable Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE), and which cannot be passed for human food.

'Unnecessarily devalue'

The NFU and the National Sheep Association, including other industry organisations, have long been urging Government to implement a simpler and more accurate system of ageing lambs.

NFU livestock board chairman, Richard Findlay said: We welcome the news of a cut-off date as it will mean no mouthing of sheep and no splitting of carcasses  which can unnecessarily devalue carcasses by as much as 40%  before the 30 June.

This change will enable the industry to cease dentition checks entirely, providing a far more precise way to age lambs at the time of slaughter and potentially adding millions of pounds of value to the industry.

The NFU has campaigned over the years and has recently worked with the National Sheep Association to provide evidence to the government supporting a June cut-off date.

Industry assessments calculated that the system of teeth checking was costing the UK sheep industry in excess of 24 million a year, the main costs coming from mouthing sheep to check for tooth eruption, and a loss of carcass value when teeth had erupted.

'Major step forward'

The National Sheep Association called the news a "major step forward" that follows four years of intensive data gathering and positioning by farming bodies.

NSA Chief Executive, Phil Stocker said: Its an example of what can be achieved to benefit the industry by organisations working together, and an example too of what can be done through constructive and supportive working between industry and regulators.

We estimate that checking for tooth eruption has cost the UK sheep industry some 24 million a year in time and reduced value. Its an imprecise method that has led to uncertainty and has made it difficult for finishers to plan buying and feeding regimes.

The NSA said it will continue to work with Defra on issues, such as this, that affect the sheep industry.
Protecting farmer and farm worker health should be a "top priority" for businesses following a spate of industry deaths, a rural risk expert has said.

New figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that 33 people were killed in agriculture across Britain in 2017/18  three more on the previous year.

These latest findings have further cemented agricultures reputation as the riskiest industry to work in, with it reporting the highest fatal injury rate  around 18 times higher than the all industry rate.

Of the 33 deaths in the agricultural sector, four were members of the public, two of which were children.

Last weekend alone, the country witnessed two farm-related deaths. A 47-year-old Aberdeenshire contractor died following an accident involving a tractor, and a 26-year-old from the Scottish Borders died as a result of a farm incident.

On 6 November, a 71-year-old man died after he was struck by a a Manitou telehandler on a farm in North Yorkshire.

Richard Wade, of Lycetts Risk Management Services, said agricultures high fatality rate "significantly outstrips" that of other industries.

It is more than five times higher than the second most-risky industry, construction, which really drives home just how hazardous an industry it is," Mr Wade explained.

Farmers face potentially fatal risks on a daily basis, from working with unpredictable animals to potentially dangerous machinery, so protecting personal and employee health should be top priority.

He added: Sadly, members of the public, family members and children living on the farm also get caught up in incidents and account for some of the deaths.

It is clear the burden of keeping farms safe is a heavy, but necessary one, with no room for error."

Injury statistics

There have been great strides with regards to health and safety over the past decades, with the number of fatal injuries to workers in agriculture falling by around half since 1981, but figures show there is still some way to go.

Being injured by an animal caused the most deaths during 2017/2018, accounting for one in four deaths (24 per cent).

Almost one in five deaths (18 per cent) were the result of being struck by a moving vehicle, followed by being trapped by something collapsing (15 per cent) and being struck by an object (12 per cent).

The age of the victims vary hugely, with the youngest being four and the oldest, 85.

Nearly half (48 per cent) of the agricultural workers killed were over 65 and almost twice as many self-employed people were killed as employees.

'Unwise risk taking'

Mr Wade said death and injury can have a "devastating impact" on family and friends, so the value of implementing health and safety training on the farm is "immeasurable".

He said: Unwise risk-taking is an underlying problem in the agricultural industry, and the most vulnerable are hit the hardest. The fatal injury rate for over 65s was nearly five times that of younger workers.

"Many farmers are working well past their retirement age, with little to no help, so physically, and cognitively, they are put under a lot of strain.

These factors mean they may not appropriately assess or mitigate risks. Sadly, some of these deaths are a result of freak accidents, but others are preventable."

He said that by implementing health and safety policies, carrying out robust risk assessments and undertaking health and safety training, farmers can ensure good practice is an integral part of their business, creating a safer environment for them, their workers, and the wider community  as well as help protect the future of their business.
Survey puts spotlight on Wales' rural digital connectivity

Rural firms fear they are still left behind
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.
Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-Category
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ranveer Singh (@ranveersingh)

1.Their sizzling chemistryLike we mentioned earlier, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh began dating on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Ram Leela. With the film, we also got the very first glimpse of their sizzling hot chemistry. Besides Ram Leela being a smashing success at the box-office, the audience were mesmerised by how lovely the two of them looked on screen together.Before the release of the film, Ranveer Singh in an interview with the press revealed that he had contracted Loveria which further added fuel to the fire. Later on, when Deepika was asked about the Loveria comment, she just praised her co-star and skilfully dodged the question. She said, What I admire about him is that he is so unapologetic about the way he is. Whether it is the way he dresses or the way he carries himself or the way he speaks and I think thats what makes him so pleasantly different from everyone else. I think its amazing that there is so much speculation about this alleged romance between the two of us. Its great as long as the film, it works for the film. I think its also because from the time we have started working, yes, we did hang out. We do hang out. We do go out and so much is always said about two people just hanging out. But its fine. I appreciate that people see this chemistry between the two of us and eventually I think what is the most important, is that it translates onscreen and we have that going for us. I think thats the most important thing.After Ram Leela, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone featured together in the next two films of Sanjay Leela Bhansali as well i.e Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. Even though the two didnt share any screen space in Padmaavat, the audience were once again taken aback by their chemistry in Bajirao Mastani. This special pair has a 100 % success record at the box-office and we fully expect them to continue on the same track in the future as well.2. Social Media PDAWhile the two were extremely tight lipped about relationship to the world, they didnt shy back from expressing their affection towards each other on social media. They are constantly seen leaving mushy and sometimes outright hilarious comments on each others accounts. Here are a few examples which prove just how adorable these two actually are.Well, this might not come as a surprise to many but Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone dont belong to a filmy families. So, leading a normal lifestyle before entering the world of cinema sure will help them have a similar perspective about many things in life. In fact, in an interview with a leading daily, Deepika Padukone even stated that she considers Ranveers family to be her family in Mumbai. Now how adorable is that?4. Constant SupportAn important part in any relationship is that you must always have the back of your special one no matter what and that is exactly the kind of bond Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone share. A glaring example of that bond was evident during the Padmaavat fiasco. The members of the Karni Sena were opposing the films release and even went as far as putting a bounty on Deepika Padukone. Later on, Ranveer revealed that how frustrated he was with the threats but couldnt take action because his hands were tied. The actor said, I was filled with rage. Theres no doubt about that. I had a very strong urge to act out, to speak out, but I was given strict instructions not to. And I had to respect that, because I was not at the forefront of this fight. Its the prerogative of the producers, of the director. If they were explicitly telling me that me saying something or doing something is going to complicate things further, I dont want to complicate their lives.Not only that, Ranveer and Deepika are also extremely supportive about each others work. After the release of Padmaavat, Deepika stated in an interview that she considers Ranveer Singhs performance in the film to be one of the best in his career.5) They are smitten with each otherThis is probably the most basic and still the most important thing in a relationship. The way they look at each other alone makes it evident that they truly are in love. In fact, even in interviews they dont hold back from expressing how special they are to each other. Recently, Ranveer Singh stated that Deepika is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. The actor said, Deepika is a very special person in my life. I admire her a lot and she is a brilliant actor. I love her vibe; shes so calm, like a Buddhist monk. Shes an extremely warm person, genuine and very, very kind to one and all. Beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
One Million On Rooms!!!

India Today is quoted as saying, "The average cost of a room at the luxury property is 400 euros (around Rs 33,000). Considering that it has 75 rooms, Ranveer and Deepika are shelling out a whopping Rs 24,75,000 per day. For a week, they would be spending Rs 1,73,25,000."

Whoa!

Conde Nast Traveller is quoted as saying, "The cost of the villa estimates between EUR 8,000 to EUR 10,000 per day, i.e. between Rs 6,54,208 and Rs 8,17,815.

This does not include the decor, food, dining or any other expense, or taxes. As per Italian Lake Weddings, the rent for a six-hour ceremony for 150 guests can go up to EUR 14,800 (Rs12,10,366)."

The Wedding Party Cost

As per reports, a wedding party consisting of more than 50 people costs around 30,000 euros, i.e., Rs 2,40,000 at the Villa del Balbianello.

Jewelleries

Earlier, it was reported that the cost of the trousseau and jewellery is around Rs 2 crore. So, the total wedding costs can be around Rs 4-6 crore, including all the decoration, food and travelling!

Wedding Outfits

On a related note, Deepika & Ranveer will don a Sabyasachi couture for their wedding and it is believed that DeepVeer will be in colour-coordinated outfits.

Guests At The Lake Como

While most of the B-town celebs will grace the wedding reception of Deepika & Ranveer in Mumbai, we hear only Shahrukh Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali will make it to the wedding in Italy.

Three Receptions For DeepVeer

Having said that, we would also like to inform to you that DeepVeer will be throwing not ONE but THREE reception parties! While one will be held in Bengaluru, the other two will take place in Mumbai.
The day has finally arrived. Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are all set to get hitched at Lake Como in Italy on 14th and 15th December. The couple will be tying the knot today as per Konkani rituals and we just can't wait for the first pictures to arrive. Last night, DeepVeer had their mehendi and sangeet ceremony.

While we had already told you that Deepika would be donning a Sabyasachi outfit on her D-day, we now hear that the bride-to-be chose to wear her favourite designer's creation for her pre-wedding ceremonies as well-

DeepVeer Wore Sabyasachi Outfits As per a Mumbai Mirror report, Ranveer and Deepika wore Sabyasachi Mukherjee outfits for their mehendi and sangeet ceremony. Their fashion designer was present at Lake Como to bless the couple. This Is What The Couple Wore At Their Mehendi & Sangeet Ceremony The report states that Deepika looked pretty in a in a lehenga and Ranveer, too traditionally outfitted in the same rich shade, between red and pink. DeepVeer Twinned In Black & White For their ring ceremony and sit-down dinner, DeepVeer again chose to color-coordinate their outfits and this time, in black and white. Two Wedding Ceremonies For Ranveer-Deepika In just few hours, Ranveer and Deepika will take the pheras in a traditional South Indian-style wedding at a villa. After this, they will take the vows again in an Anand Karaj ceremony, in Sikh tradition.

After tying the knot, the couple will be returning back to the bay on 18th November. Post that, they will be hosting two wedding receptions- one in Bengaluru on 21st November and the other in Mumbai on 28th November.

Ranveer-Deepika's Mehendi Ceremony: When DeepVeer Couldn't Stop Themselves From Singing 'Aayat'
The Beginning Of DeepVeer's Love Story

A crew member on the sets of Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela revealed to Huffington Post how love blossomed between Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone while shooting for the film.

Kissa Kiss Ka

Apparently, Ranveer and Deepika had to kiss each other at the end of 'Ang Laga De' song. The couple's lips were still locked even after Sanjay Leela Bhansali said 'Cut'.

'Ang Laga De Confirmed Their Romance'

A crew member who witnessed the scene told Huffington Post, "We knew they are kind of a thing but Ang Laga De confirmed it. That kiss was so intensely passionate, nobody uttered a word. I still can't forget that sight. It was new love-euphoric and maddening."

Ranveer & Deepika Were Open About Their Relationship On The Sets

"They'd call each other baby, eat together, and disappear into their vanity vans when not shooting. It was adorable. But we all thought this is yet another on-set romance that'll fade away once the film is over. It's a pretty standard thing in Bollywood," added the crew member.

'When I Saw Them During Bajirao Mastani, I Knew This Is Something That's Going To Last'

"When I saw them during Bajirao Mastani, that's when I knew, this is something that's going to last. It's their body language, the way they talk to and about each other, and a general vibe that's a telling sign," added another crew member from the sets of Bajirao Mastani.

'Bhansali Was Over The Moon'

Speaking about Sanjay Leela Bhansali's reaction to DeepVeer's romance, another crew member revealed, "He was over the moon although he wouldn't make it known. Their love story never really affected the work.

Once the camera would start rolling, they'd transform into professionals. Bhansali loves to gossip. He'd discuss their relationship at length with his assistants. He still teases the two of them about his role in their romance."

Deeply In Love

Another source, who hung out with the couple a few times over dinner during an outdoor schedule, said, "It's like nothing else matters. And they talk about everything non-stop, like, say, a married couple would," the person said.

Cut To Present

Ranveer and Deepika will be getting hitched today at the Villa del Balbianello, Lake Como in Italy as per Konkani rituals. Post that, they will also be exchanging wedding wows as per Sindhi tradition.
Until now in Kasautii Zindagi Kay 2, we have seen that Anurag is trying everything in his power to stop Prerna from marrying Naveen. Though Prerna has agreed to marry Naveen, as she has no choice, she is seen fighting her feelings for Anurag. Meanwhile, Mohini is seen throwing a grand Diwali party for all the rich and famous people of Kolkata. Two expensive idols of god are placed for the Lakshmi Puja.

Upon learning about the idols, goons plan and enter the party as dancers. They rob Basu family of the Lord Ganesha and Lakshmi idols. Prerna and Anurag manage to call the police, but the goons notice that. They threaten their families at gunpoint.

The goons capture Anurag and Prerna, and they become their prime targets. This leads to a chaos and the leader of the goon fires a shot at Anurag. According to Tellychakkar's latest spoiler, Prerna takes the bullet while trying to save Anurag's life. We need to wait and watch if Anurag will be able to save Prerna's life.

MOST READ : Ishqbaaz Spoiler: Anika To Get Pregnant With Shivaay's Child; Surbhi To Quit Due To Generation Leap?

While the viewers are apprehensive about what is going to happen to their favourite on-screen couple, the creator of the show, Ekta Kapoor, has come up with a new love track for Anurag and Prerna. The television czarina who is currently touring the Himalyas with actresses Anita Hassanandani and Krystle D'Souza shared a video on her Instagram handle.

{document1}
Taxiwala Leaked In HD Quality

In an unfortunate development, the full movie has been leaked online in HD quality, merely days before its theatrical release. The notorious gang Tamilrockers is behind this leak. Needless to say, this is going to affect the film's opening day collections big time.

Not The First Case...

Interestingly, this is not the first time Taxiwala has fallen prey to piracy. Some time ago, an 'unfinished' version of the copy was leaked by a few miscreants. Those links are also, reportedly, creating a problem for the team once again.

In Case You Did Not Know...

Piracy is one of the biggest problems facing the film industry today. Recently, the Tamil biggie, Sarkar was leaked online by Tamilrockers on the day of its release and this took a toll on its opening day collections. Recent releases such as Aravinda Sametha and U Turn too have suffered because of piracy.

The Bottomline

The Kollywood actor Vishal is one of the biggest and most vocal critics of piracy. The TFPC President has often urged the fans to refrain from indulging in such murky activities. The Samar star has also played a pivotal role in shutting down several illegal websites.

Just like Vishal, Vijay Deverakonda too has condemned piracy and requested his fans to refrain from supporting piracy. Similarly, he has asked the government to take an action against those who indulge in piracy. However, the fate of Taxiwala reveals that there is still a tremendous scope for improvement.
Taxiwala Falls Prey To Piracy

According to a leading website, the full movie has been leaked online for 'free downloading' even before its release. Apparently, a group of miscreants leaked an 'unfinished' copy of Taxiwala some time ago and the same links are going viral now.

Vijay Deverakonda Condemns The Leak

Condemning the leak, Vijay Deverakonda released a video and asked his fans to refrain from watching the pirated movie. He also compared the unfinished film to a bowl of uncooked pasta and used humour to make his point. Commenting on the matter, he added that the government should act against such miscreants and put an end to piracy.

His Exact Words

"We made our point through laughter rather than rage and tears. Those who do these things (film piracy) are not going to be daunted by threats or emotional ourbursts. Until the government clamps down heavily on piracy I feel the best way to combat the menace is to appeal to fans." - (sic)

The Background

Piracy is one of the biggest challenges facing the film industry today. Recently, the Tamil biggie, Sarkar was leaked online within a day of its release and this took a toll on its collections. Similarly, the Tollywood action-drama Aravinda Sametha and the Bollywood film Thugs Of Hindostan too fell prey to piracy within hours of hitting the screens.

To Conclude...

In the past, several government agencies have taken steps to curb the menace of piracy. However, the problem clearly still persists. Let us hope that a concrete solution is found at the earliest. Piracy is totally unacceptable and it must not be overlooked under any circumstances.
"FOR THE LOVE OF GEORGE"

Available on VOD November 15th

LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vision Films and Fluffy Cat Productions are proud to present the charming romantic comedy, For the Love of George. Directed by Maria Burton and written by Nadia Jordan and Hayley Nolan, it's the perfect reminder that happiness is not dependent on finding the perfect man...even if that man is George Clooney!

Starring Nadia Jordan, Rex Lee, Rosanna Arquette, Tate Donovan, Kristen Johnston and Marina Sirtis.

For the Love of George premiere's at BFI London on November 14 and is available November 15 for 8.99 - 13.99 Rent or Buy on iTunes and Google Play. It will also be available on Amazon Prime.

Set in 2014, Poppy Wakefield's seemingly perfect life is shattered when she discovers her husband is having an affair. When she receives a well- timed invitation to visit her friend Justin in LA, she takes off on a quest to cross paths with whom she believes is the perfect man - George Clooney!

"As well as paying tribute George Clooney, the story has a timely and relevant female empowerment theme", said producer Nadia Jordan, who plays the lead and co-wrote the screenplay. "It reminds us to never compromise our happiness and that women do not need a man to make them happy".

Originally from Essex, Jordan moved to LA in 2009, when Clooney was at the height of popularity. "George was this handsome, funny, intelligent guy. The media were obsessed with him, women wanted to date him and men wanted to be him. He was the perfect subject for this film!"

She confesses that bringing the film to the screen was not easy. "I was this unknown British woman meeting with Hollywood producers and coming up against a lot of closed doors.They loved the concept but did not want to take a chance on someone with no proven track record". Fed up of being rejected, the final straw came when a male financier asked her to rewrite the film to portray the cheating husband in a more favorable light. So, just like Poppy does in the movie, Jordan decided to take control of her own destiny and she produced the film herself. She raised the entire film budget, cast herself as the lead and Rosanna Arquette and Tate Donovanas co-stars. "There are definitely similarities between myself and Poppy", Jordan states. "I also moved to LA to start a new life following the breakdown of a relationship".

However, the similarities do not end there. Jordan went to great lengths to get Clooney's participation in the film. "You could say life imitated art in some shape or form", laughs Jordan. Did she succeed? "You'll have to watch the movie!".

ORDER NOW!

iTunes: http://bit.ly/FLOG-iTunesUK

Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-George-Nadia-Jordan/dp/B07J3TN2DN/

Google Play: available Nov 15

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc1taTfRScY

We are excited to present For the Love of George for editorial inclusion and cast interviews.
Telefonica, Central Bank of Azerbaijan and others demonstrate blockchain momentum is growing across multiple industries in Europe

MADRID, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced work underway with leading European companies to continue to innovate with blockchain, progressing projects from proof of concept to production environments.

The attributes of blockchain technology are ideally suited to large networks of disparate partners. A distributed ledger technology, blockchain establishes a shared, immutable record of all the transactions that take place within a network and then enables permissioned parties access to trusted data in real time. By applying the technology to a variety of business processes, a new form of command and consent can be introduced into the flow of information, empowering multiple partners to collaborate and establishing a single shared view of a transaction without compromising details, privacy or confidentiality.

The hallmark of IBM's blockchain business has been the ability to convene broad groups of network participants to embrace a collaborative platform approach to blockchain adoption. Clients are capitalising on the opportunity for greater trust and transparency using blockchain across a variety of industries, for example to better manage the reconciliation of international mobile phone roaming charges, securing digital identity for citizens, and complying with new European banking directives on customer communications.

With more than 500 blockchain projects globally, IBM is engaged across all industries, where European projects in particular are on the rise, where, according to IDC, "blockchain spending in Europe is now growing faster than anywhere else."1

"From large enterprises to start-ups, across multiple industries, businesses across Europe are selecting IBM Blockchain," said Andrew Darley, IBM Blockchain Platform Leader, Europe. "Clients are attracted by the production-readiness of the IBM Blockchain Platform, allowing them to run highly secure networks in any environment of their choosing, on premise, via IBM Cloud, or an increasing number of other industry cloud providers."

European clients are continuing to work with IBM to drive blockchain innovation in their industries:

Telefonica and IBM are collaborating in the development of a proof of concept (PoC) based on IBM blockchain technology to help solve one of the major challenges of communications service providers, the management of international mobile phone call traffic. The project helps to resolve the veracity and traceability of information generated by different service providers when they route an international call. Using a decentralized network that provides participating members secure access, fraudulent behaviors and discrepancies between the information recorded by each provider are significantly reduced.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan and IBM are developing a Digital Identification System based on Hyperledger Fabric, A Linux Foundation framework, to verify the reliability of the documents related to both individuals and legal entities for use with banks, credit providers and similar organizations. The new system will simplify and automate the "Know Your Customer" validation process, and will be used by both clients and credit organizations serving citizens of Azerbaijan.

Finnish retail cooperative S-Group is testing their Pike-perch radar solution, which is based on IBM Blockchain technology, as part of the retail group's strategy to improve customer experience. Customers in Finland can trace a fillet of pike or perch freshwater fish back to its home waters using the QR Code on the package of "Kotimaista-kuhafile" fish, or by logging in to a tracking website.

PKO Bank Polski has implemented a blockchain-based "durable medium" platform built together with KIR (Krajowa Izba Rozliczeniowa S.A. - Polish automated clearing house) in partnership with IBM and Accenture, to help the bank achieve compliance with the European Union Payment Services Directive related to customer communication. Now the client documents and communications sent digitally to more than 5 million customers of the bank will be held in a highly secure blockchain-based repository.

The Central Securities Depository of Poland (Krajowy Depozyt Papierow Wartosciowych, KDPW) has implemented their eVoting solution, designed to encourage greater retail shareholder participation in company Annual General Meetings (AGM), and ensure transparency to regulators on the history of AGM agendas, and voting results. The network is in production.

Startup software developer Comgo.io, with support from IBM, is digitizing the entire donation and spend process for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) using Hyperledger Fabric. NGO donors can see in real time what money has already been spent and the activities supported. For example, when charity workers in India purchase hygiene products for the street children they support, the payment is tracked on a mobile phone, and written to the blockchain, allowing approved network participants to see the transactions, and triggering the NGO responsible to verify that the children did actually receive the products. The application enhances transparency to build a deeper connection between the donors and the charity, and helps donors to understand more about the work of the NGO. Comgo.io is implementing the application with 7 NGOs: Fundacion Recover; Orden de Malta; Fundacion Exit; Farmaceuticos sin Fronteras; KUBUKA; Itwillbe, and homelessentrepreneur.

Much of the momentum can be attributed to the ease of use of the IBM Blockchain Platform and the open nature of the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Fabric blockchain framework, underscored by IBM's deep blockchain and industry expertise.

Services and developer resources throughout Europe help support clients through IBM Client Centres and Blockchain Garages in London and Boblingen; IBM Client Innovation Centres in Paris, Nice and Gronningen; an Industry Solution Centre in Montpellier; IBM Food Trust network cloud center in Frankfurt. IBM Research centres in Zurich and Dublin focus on cryptography, innovations in AI and optical imaging to help prove the identity and authenticity of objects, detect anomalies and support preventative maintenance in industrial environments. At the Watson IoT Center in Munich clients are engaged on projects to explore the convergence of IoT and blockchain, and how clients can automate business processes, gain competitive advantage, and create new business models, by embedding end point and sensor data into blockchain networks to trigger smart contracts.

Clients can also benefit from the availability of IBM Blockchain Starter Plan on IBM Cloud, starting from approximately 500 a month. This is helping developers, startups and enterprises build blockchain proofs-of-concept quickly and affordably with an end-to-end blockchain development experience, a secure test environment, suite of education tools and modules and one-click network provisioning.

IBM Blockchain Platform was named "Best Blockchain Platform" by Juniper Research in their Future Digital Awards.

About IBM Blockchain

IBM is recognized as the leading enterprise blockchain provider. The company's research, technical and business experts have broken barriers in transaction processing speeds, developed the most advanced cryptography to secure transactions, and are contributing millions of lines of open source code to advance blockchain for businesses. IBM is the leader in open-source blockchain solutions built for the enterprise. Since 2016, IBM has worked with hundreds of clients across financial services, supply chain, government, retail, digital rights management and healthcare to implement blockchain applications, and operates a number of networks running live and in production. The cloud-based IBM Blockchain Platform delivers the end-to-end capabilities that clients need to quickly activate and successfully develop, operate, govern and secure their own business networks. IBM is an early member of Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. For more information about IBM Blockchain, visit https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/ or follow us on Twitter at @ibmblockchain.

Contact information:

Vince Smith

IBM Communications

smithv@uk.ibm.com

+44 7802 216940

Notes to Editors:

Previous recently announced European IBM Blockchain clients include:

Valenciaport, who joined TradeLens 5 November [LINK]

Carrefour, who joined IBM Food Trust 8 October [LINK].

we.trade, who joined forces with three former Batavia consortium banks on 2 October, accelerating the development of its blockchain-based trade financing platform and extending its reach to 14 countries across Europe . [LINK] More recently on 31 October they also signed an MOU with eTradeConnect in Asia to interconnect the two platforms for trade transactions, extending the combined network to 26 banks. [LINK] The we.trade and Batavia platforms run on IBM Blockchain Platform.

1 IDC report, "Six Reasons Why Blockchain Will Follow a Unique Adoption Pattern in Europe", August 2018. Document EMEA44214418

PDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784090/IBM_Blockchain_in_Europe_infographic.pdf?p=original

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/95470/ibm_logo.jpg
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) - Centurion Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: CTN) ("Centurion", or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its joint-venture partner ("Demetra Fertilizantes S.A." or "DFSA") has confirmed receipt of all required export permits which will allow DFSA to commence shipments of agri-gypsum fertilizer materials to its Paraguayan fertilizer distributors.

As previously reported, DFSA has received orders amounting to a minimum of 7,500 tonnes. Transportation logistics have been arranged and the distributors and respective clients, have indicated to DFSA they are prepared to begin receiving initial shipments this month.

DFSA has processed and prepared an initial 1,200 tonnes of premium powder and granular material, and a further 2,500 tonnes of bulk material is stockpiled at the Ana Sofia project and available for export.

ABOUT THE ANA SOFIA PROJECT

The Ana Sofia Project includes an agri-gypsum open pit mine and processing facility having a current design capacity of 4,000 tonnes/month. Gypsum is extracted from near-surface, flat-lying beds within the sedimentary formation that extends throughout the Ana Sofia Property, located in Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. The gypsum rock is fed into primary and secondary crushers, then screened and sorted into two agri-gypsum fertilizer products. The plant is designed to produce a pellet-sized granular product and a fine powder product (comprised of a minimum 85% gypsum content) that are each packaged into one tonne tote bags. Agricultural gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) is a valuable plant nutrient and plays a vital role in maintaining soil structure and nutrient balance in South American soils, resulting in enhanced crop yields.



The Project comprises two mining concessions totalling 50 hectares (ha) in size within a larger (approximately 600 ha) exploration permit area. The Project is well situated within a region where other small producers are currently extracting agricultural gypsum and selling to fertilizer distributors and farmers. An initial inferred gypsum resource for the Project was estimated (news releases - October 31, 2016 and December 16, 2016) to comprise 1.47 million tonnes averaging 94.1% gypsum, using an 85% cut-off grade that is the minimum required gypsum content for commercial-quality agricultural gypsum products in Argentina.

For additional updates, follow our operations at:

Centurion Minerals - Twitter Account and Demetra Fertilizantes - Instagram Account

ABOUT CENTURION

Centurion Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based company with an international focus on the development of agri-mineral fertilizer projects. For additional information on the Ana Sofia project and applications of agri-gypsum, visit our website: www.centurionminerals.com

"David G. Tafel"

President and CEO

For Further Information Contact:

David Tafel

604-484-2161

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains forward looking statements concerning future operations of Centurion Minerals Ltd. (the "Company"). All forward-looking statements concerning the Company's future plans and operations, including management's assessment of the Company's project expectations or beliefs may be subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual performance and exploration and financial results may differ materially from any estimates or projections. Such statements include, among others: possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of reclamation activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents and other risks of the mining industry; delays and other risks related to construction activities and operations; timing and receipt of regulatory approvals of operations; the ability of the Company and other relevant parties to satisfy regulatory requirements; the availability of financing for proposed transactions, programs and working capital requirements on reasonable terms; the ability of third-party service providers to deliver services on reasonable terms and in a timely manner; market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions.

The Ana Sofia project has not been the subject of a feasibility study and as such there is no certainty that a potential mine will be realized or that the processing facility will be able to produce a commercially marketable product. There is a significant risk that any production from the project will not be profitable with these risks elevated by the absence of a compliant NI 43-101 feasibility study. A mine production decision that is not based on a feasibility study demonstrating economic and technical viability does not provide adequate disclosure of the increased uncertainty and specific risks of failure associated with such a production decision. The Company has undertaken market research and studies to try to mitigate these risks. The work carried out to date is of a preliminary nature to assist in the determination as to whether the mineral product is suitable for sale and if there are markets for the mineral product. General risks inherent in the Project include the reliance on available data and assumptions and judgments used in the interpretation of such data, the speculative and uncertain nature of exploration and development costs, capital requirements and the ability to obtain financing, volatility of global and local economic climates, share price volatility, estimated price volatility, changes in equity markets, exchange rate fluctuations and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law.

The Ana Sofia mineral resource estimate is reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 and has been estimated using the CIM "Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines" dated November 23rd, 2003 and CIM "Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" dated May 10th, 2014. Due to the relatively wide spacing of the historical quarries and the 2016 test pits, which varies between 40 m and 300 m, the Ana Sofia 2 resource described herein is categorized entirely as an inferred mineral resource. Inferred Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There has been insufficient exploration to define the inferred resources as an indicated or measured mineral resource, however, it is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resources will be converted into a mineral reserve in the future. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environment, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues.
TechnipFMC (NYSE:FTI) (Paris:FTI) (ISIN:GB00BDSFG982) has signed a Surface Technologies Frame Agreement with Chevron.

This 5-year agreement covers the exclusive supply of surface wellhead equipment and service in the United States and Canada.

Richard Alabaster, President of TechnipFMC's Surface Technologies business, commented: "We are very pleased to extend our partnership with Chevron and to support their development program in North America. We believe that this reflects the strong collaboration we have developed with this major shale operator, based on the demonstrated value of our integrated drilling and completion offering."

Important Information for Investors and Securityholders

Forward-Looking Statement

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words "believe", "estimated" and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections.

For information regarding known material factors that could cause actual results to differ from projected results, please see our risk factors set forth in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which include our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of our forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.

About TechnipFMC

TechnipFMC is a global leader in subsea, onshore/offshore, and surface projects. With our proprietary technologies and production systems, integrated expertise, and comprehensive solutions, we are transforming our clients' project economics.

We are uniquely positioned to deliver greater efficiency across project lifecycles from concept to project delivery and beyond. Through innovative technologies and improved efficiencies, our offering unlocks new possibilities for our clients in developing their oil and gas resources.

Each of our more than 37,000 employees is driven by a steady commitment to clients and a culture of purposeful innovation, challenging industry conventions, and rethinking how the best results are achieved.

To learn more about us and how we are enhancing the performance of the world's energy industry, go to TechnipFMC.com and follow us on Twitter @TechnipFMC.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113006205/en/

Contacts:

Investor relations

Matt Seinsheimer

Vice President Investor Relations

Tel: +1 281 260 3665

Email: Matt Seinsheimer

or

Phillip Lindsay

Director Investor Relations Europe

Tel: +44 203 429 3929

Email: Phillip Lindsay

or

Media relations

Christophe Belorgeot

Senior Vice President Corporate Engagement

Tel: +33 1 47 78 39 92

Email: Christophe Belorgeot

or

Delphine Nayral

Senior Manager Public Relations

Tel: +33 1 47 78 34 83

Email: Delphine Nayral
Wavestone announces its acquisition of management consulting firm Metis Consulting, a supply chain specialist.

Metis Consulting: a recognized supply chain specialist

Founded in 2007, and based in Paris, Metis Consulting helps clients transform their supply chain operations, from strategy definition to the implementation of the organizational structures, processes, equipment, and technologies that underpin them.

Metis Consulting mainly operates in the retail, e-commerce, and luxury sectors; its key customers are Carrefour, L'Oreal, LVMH, Maisons du Monde, Kering, and Saint Gobain.

With circa forty consultants, the firm achieved revenue of 8.7m in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. For the last three fiscal years, Metis Consulting's revenue has been growing regularly and its EBITDA margin significantly higher than 15%.

Raising among leaders in supply chain

Capitalizing on their merger, Metis Consulting and Wavestone's ambition is to become one of the leaders in this field. In particular, in the short-term, they intend to mark out a distinctive market positioning for supply chain digitalization.

"Digitalization of the economy has propelled the supply chain into a position as a central performance lever in almost every industry," explained Pascal Imbert, Wavestone's CEO. "We found Metis Consulting highly attractive both in its depth of expertise and its long-range vision for the coming transformations in this buoyant market", he added.

"Changing consumption patterns and technological disruption are shaking up the supply chain and distribution channels. This merger will enable us to take advantage of Wavestone's expertise-particularly on Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Architecture and Cybersecurity, and, together, we'll be able to design the supply chains of the future" commented Jean-Marc Soulier, Metis Consulting's CEO.

The merger also enables Metis Consulting to benefit from Wavestone's activity and reach across a range of industries, something that will allow it to accelerate its work with a larger number of major players.

Details of the operation

The operation results in Wavestone's acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Metis Consulting.

The acquisition price is 7.6m in enterprise value, to which 2.9m may be added depending on the company's performance over the next 18 months.

The acquisition is being fully funded in cash using lines of bank credit already established by Wavestone.

Metis Consulting's Partners are fully committed to the merger, and Jean-Marc Soulier, its CEO, joins Wavestone's executive committee.

Metis Consulting will be consolidated on November 1, 2018.

About Wavestone

In a world where knowing how to drive transformation is the key to success, Wavestone's mission is to guide large companies and organizations in shedding new light on their most critical transformation projects, with the ambition of creating a positive impact for all stakeholders. That's what we call "The Positive Way".

Wavestone brings together 2,800 employees across 8 countries. It is amongst the leading independent firms in consulting in Europe, and the n1 independent consulting firm in France.

Wavestone is listed on Euronext, Paris, and is recognized as a Great Place To Work.

Wavestone

Pascal Imbert

CEO

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00

Sarah Lamigeon

Communications Director

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00 Actus

Mathieu Omnes

Investor and Analyst Relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92

Nicolas Bouchez

Press relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74

------------------------



 Copyright Actusnews Wire

Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free

Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-55983-wavestone-metis-consulting-press-release.pdf
Regulatory News:

Genkyotex (Paris:GKTX) (Brussels:GKTX)(GKTX.PA) (Euronext Paris Brussels: FR00011790542 GKTX), a biopharmaceutical company and the leader in NOX therapies, today announced that the Company will present a corporate overview at the Stifel 2018 Healthcare Conference. The conference is being held November 13-14, 2018, at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City.

Stifel 2018 Healthcare Conference Genkyotex Presentation Details

Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Time: 9:30 AM ET

Location: Hubbard Room; Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City

About Genkyotex

Genkyotex is the leading biopharmaceutical company in NOX therapies, listed on the Euronext Paris and Euronext Brussels markets. A leader in NOX therapies, its unique therapeutic approach is based on a selective inhibition of NOX enzymes that amplify multiple disease processes such as fibrosis, inflammation, pain processing, cancer development, and neurodegeneration.

Genkyotex's platform enables the identification of available small-molecules that selectively inhibit specific NOX enzymes. Genkyotex is developing a pipeline of first-in-class product candidates targeting one or multiple NOX enzymes. The lead product candidate, GKT831, a NOX1 and NOX4 inhibitor is evaluated in a phase 2 clinical trial in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC, a fibrotic orphan disease) and in an investigator-initiated Phase 2 clinical trial in Type 1 Diabetes and Kidney Disease (DKD). A grant from the United States National Institutes of Health (U.S. NIH) of $8.9 million has been awarded to Professor Victor Thannickal at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to fund a multi-year research program evaluating the role of NOX enzymes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic lung disease that results in fibrosis of the lungs, the core component of the program will be to conduct a Phase 2 trial with the GKT831 in patients with IPF. This product candidate may also be active in other fibrotic indications. Its second product candidate, GKT771, is a NOX1 inhibitor targeting multiple pathways in angiogenesis, pain processing, and inflammation, currently undergoing preclinical testing.

Genkyotex also has a versatile platform well-suited to the development of various immunotherapies (Vaxiclase). A partnership has been established with Serum Institute of India Private Ltd (Serum Institute), the world's largest producer of vaccine doses, for the development by Serum Institute of cellular multivalent combination vaccines against a variety of infectious diseases. This partnership and could generate approximately 150 million in future revenues for Genkyotex, before royalties on sales.

For further information, please go towww.genkyotex.com

Disclaimer

This press release may contain forward-looking statements by the company with respect to its objectives. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs, estimates and expectations of Genkyotex's management and are subject to risks and uncertainties such as the company's ability to implement its chosen strategy, customer market trends, changes in technologies and in the company's competitive environment, changes in regulations, clinical or industrial risks and all risks linked to the company's growth. These factors as well as other risks and uncertainties may prevent the company from achieving the objectives outlined in the press release and actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, due to various factors. Without being exhaustive, such factors include uncertainties involved in the development of Genkyotex's products, which may not succeed, or in the delivery of Genkyotex's products marketing authorizations by the relevant regulatory authorities and, in general, any factor that could affects Genkyotex's capacity to commercialize the products it develops. No guarantee is given on forward-looking statements which are subject to a number of risks, notably those described in the registration document (document de reference) registered by the French Markets Authority (the AMF) on 27 April 2018 under number R.18-037, and those linked to changes in economic conditions, the financial markets, or the markets on which Genkyotex is present. Genkyotex products are currently used for clinical trials only and are not otherwise available for distribution or sale.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113006321/en/

Contacts:

INVESTORS

NewCap

Dusan Oresansky, Tristan Roquet Montegon and Emmanuel Huynh

+33 1 44 71 94 92

genkyotex@newcap.eu



MEDIA

NewCap

Nicolas Merigeau, Arthur Rouille

+33 1 44 71 00 15

genkyotex@newcap.eu



US

LifeSci Advisors, LLC

Brian Ritchie

+1-212-915-2578

britchie@lifesciadvisors.com
Webhelp's keen focus on agile customer experience (CX) solutions has helped it grow across Europe in an intensely competitive market

LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on Webhelp's successful growth strategy across Europe, Frost & Sullivan has recognised the company with the 2018 European Market Leadership Award in contact centre outsourcing. Over the course of several years, Webhelp has diversified its industry focus to include expertise in healthcare, travel, and B2B services. It also has expanded its geographic footprint to cover eastern and southern Europe. When it comes to Europe, Webhelp currently has multi-lingual hubs in Prague, Athens, Lisbon, Barcelona, Enschede, Kuala Lumpur, and Berlin. All told, the company will soon have some 50,000 employees working in 35 countries across the globe, and total revenues should be close to US $1.5 billion.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/783174/Webhelp_Award.jpg

As a business partner, Webhelp assists clients in providing a next-level customer experience (CX) through advanced analytics, omni-channel technologies, and, above all, its people engagement approach. It works strategically with clients to help improve the CX by producing a comprehensive single view of the customer. And the company regularly reviews its initiatives for commercial viability and the impact they will have on the overall CX by employing analytical methodologies including customer journey mapping, demand management, customer segmentation, and employee satisfaction.

"The founders of Webhelp have long embraced an entrepreneurial philosophy," said Frost & Sullivan digital experience analyst Stephen Loynd. "This is a company that continues to emphasize a start-up philosophy, that prides itself on being agile and exceptionally easy to work with. Along the way, Webhelp has established a reputation as a Customer Experience provider that acts as an authentic business partner to clients, which in turn helps enterprises push the limits of the CX through multichannel solutions."

Webhelp's particular focus on tracking customer effort is also noteworthy in a highly competitive space. The company is practiced at measuring both Customer Effort Score (CES) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) on many client programs. From Frost & Sullivan's perspective, this kind of approach is what helps make the typical Webhelp client customer ownership experience exemplary. At the same time, it's clear the company understands that analysing customer journeys across any medium is essential to offer an effective multichannel customer management solution.

"Even as Webhelp scales its core business, it has a pulse on the manner in which technology is changing the way consumers interact with brands," added Loynd. "Underlining its commitment to next-generation CX, the company has partnered with Recast.AI to develop personalised chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Webhelp's brand strength derives from the way it has skillfully negotiated a fast-changing BPO landscape and stayed focused on the essentials of the CX at a time of exponential change."

Finally, for Webhelp, keeping pace with today's accelerating pace of techno-consumerism means ensuring business continuity and data integrity. It accomplishes this with IT infrastructure and a technology ecosystem that are focused on business consistency across all operations.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan bestows this award upon the company that demonstrates excellence in growth and customer value. Turning loyal customers into brand advocates for clients allows the company to grow and achieve a market leadership position. This award recognises the company that successfully increases market share over time, an accomplishment achieved through a demonstrated commitment to client relationships.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector, and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion .

Contact:

Samantha Park

P: 210.247.2426

F: 210.348.1003

E: samantha.park@frost.com

About Webhelp

Webhelp is a global business process outsourcer (BPO), specialising in customer experience and payment management in addition to sales and marketing services across voice, social and digital channels.

From more than 140 sites in 35 countries with an approximately 50,000-strong team, our focus is on engineering performance improvements and delivering a real and lasting transformation in our clients' operating models to generate financial advantage. We partner with some of the world's most progressive brands including Sky, Shop Direct, Bouygues, Direct Energie, KPN, Vodafone, La Redoute, Michael Kors and Valentino.

Headquartered in Paris, France, the company has grown its revenues by more than 250% in the last 4 years by investing in its people, the environment they work in and developing its analytical and operating capability to deliver a transformational outsourcing proposition that addresses the challenges of an omni-channel world.

Webhelp is owned by its management and KKR, a leading global investment firm, as of March 2016.

More information can be found at www.webhelp.com
GELDERMALSEN, Netherlands, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Ultimaker, the global leader in desktop 3D printing, today announced that it achieved certification against ISO 9001:2015 for quality management and ISO 14001:2015 for environmental management based on a rigorous, company-wide audit by the BSI Group The Netherlands. This recognition confirms Ultimaker's commitment to quality and environmental management, and gives customers confidence that Ultimaker is a suitable provider of professional 3D printing applications.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/583096/UM_Company_logo.jpg )



(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784186/Ultimaker.jpg )



The ISO 9001:2015 certification requires an organization to demonstrate an end-to-end quality management system that provides products and services to meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory needs; that enhances customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system. The ISO 14001:2015 certification requires an organization to manage environmental responsibilities according to the new High Level Structure (HLS), applicable to all management systems, such as the pillar of corporate sustainability.

The certifications underline Ultimaker's focus on risk-based operation and continuous improvement. BSI auditors found zero major non-conformities and one minor non-conformity at Ultimaker, which was rectified before certification. Auditors commented that they had rarely experienced such a relatively young company achieve such a high degree of compliance. They also discovered that Ultimaker implements a never-before-seen industry best practice: visually communicating data that shows the consistency of measurements and tests.

"The BSI team was excited to support Ultimaker in achieving these two sought-after certifications," said Okke Jansma, Auditor at BSI Group. "The accomplishment showcases Ultimaker's dedication to providing world-class customer experiences and products that also meet the highest standards of environmental management. We were particularly impressed by the company's eagerness to improve and the clear maturity of its management system, which made for quick progress. "

"These ISO certifications emphasize Ultimaker's commitment to driving the adoption of desktop 3D printing in the enterprise. Our exceptional achievements against these industry benchmarks highlight that customer satisfaction, risk management, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement are embedded in Ultimaker's DNA," said Jos Burger, CEO of Ultimaker. "As 3D printing makes an impact across industries around the world, Ultimaker is now eligible to qualify for more tenders to help accelerate this growth. I could not be more proud on the team at Ultimaker and more grateful for BSI's input and feedback during the certification process."

For more information about the ISO certifications process at Ultimaker, visit http://www.ultimaker.com or read our blogpost.

About Ultimaker

Ultimaker has been in operation since 2011, and over the years has grown to become a market leader; creating powerful, professional, and accessible desktop 3D printers with offices in the Netherlands, New York, Boston, and Singapore, plus production facilities in Europe and the US. Ultimaker's team of over 350 employees continually strives to offer the highest-quality 3D printers, software, and materials on the market to accelerate the world's transition to local digital manufacturing. ultimaker.com

About BSI Group

BSI (British Standards Institution) equips businesses with the necessary solutions to turn standards of best practice into habits of excellence. As the world's first National Standards Body and a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), BSI is responsible for originating many of the world's most commonly used management systems standards.

Learn more at: bsigroup.com.
WATERLOO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / SponsorsOne Inc., (CSE: SPO) (Frankfurt: 5SO) the company that makes small brands BIG by building large, engaged and authentic communities that buy and support the Brands they love, is pleased to announce it has entered into a Brand Development Agreement with GrowthCell Global Corp. Under the agreement, SponsorsOne will develop a full branding and marketing launch in North America utilizing SponsorsOne's unique and patented storytelling and micro-influencer platform - SponsorCoin.

"Our PetCell supplements have key ingredients, that allow your canines, to get the same nutrients that their ancestors depended upon to thrive in the wild," said Darcie Parkhurst, Founder of GrowthCell Global Corp. "For years my dog had trouble getting up in the mornings. He was always in pain due to old age, but when I started him on PetCell, within a few days, he started acting more and more youthful."

"The pet nutraceuticals market is projected to be $8.25 billion in 2021," added Myles Bartholomew, CEO of SponsorsOne. "Our SponsorCoin technology will introduce a new form of digital marketing to this sector helping GrowthCell Global reach their market directly through social media."

PetCell is the first natural formula that is scientifically proven to have anti-aging effects on cellular/tissue levels. Scientific research has indicated that natural agents of the PetCell formulas help with the production of cortisol and insulin, producing the physiologically optimal amount, which then naturally alleviates several common diseases and symptoms. Some of these include Diabetes Mellitus, Cushing's Disease, Hypothyroidism, Idiopathic Colitis, Locomotor Disorder, skin issues, mental disorders and improved appetite and mood after surgery.

SponsorsOne will launch PetCell in December 2018 and will be available for pet owners to purchase online.

Reference 1: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-pet-food-nutraceutical-market-industry

About GrowthCell Global Corp.:

GrowthCell's patented cellular communication technology will help your pets improve their overall quality of life. They infuse nutraceuticals with a patented proprietary oligopeptide known as GrowthCell. These break-through anti-aging formulas contain bioavailable Natural Growth Factors & peptides responsible for reprogramming stem cells and amino acids in pets. PetCell supplements for dogs and cats will be sold in North America.

About SponsorsOne:

SponsorsOne is the leader in the next evolution of digital marketing through storytelling and digital-commerce with the SponsorsCloud platform and its highly scalable digital - smart contract based digital-currency called SponsorCoin. Combined, this allows Brands to build and manage exclusive and highly engaged communities of micro-influencers within the social realm. The SponsorsCloud platform provides for data-driven marketing campaigns that will change the way brands connect to their customers and to compensate the consumer for authentic engagement using the SponsorCoin digital currency. SponsorsCloud and SponsorCoin is a tool for brands to inspire real movements around their products and services in which their most valuable customers become their best salespeople, producing far higher ROI than current social media advertising methods.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Gary Bartholomew, Executive Chairman

To learn more please visit http://sponsorsone.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this Press Release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. When used in this news release, the words "estimate," "project," "belief," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "plan," "predict," "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology, are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with marketing and sale of securities; the need for additional financing requirements and access to capital, reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers or directors with certain other projects; the volatility of the volume and price of the Common Shares, the failure of the business strategy, the integrity of the Company's patents and proprietary intellectual property and competition. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. When relying on the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events, including the risk factors set out in the Company's Listing Statement. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also assumed that the material factors referred to above will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE SECURITIES LEGISLATION.

SOURCE: SponsorsOne Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/528010/SponsorsOne-Enters-the-49-Billion-Pet-Nutraceuticals-Marketplace
BANGALORE, India, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Endowment of the Mindtree Associate Professor Chair on Artificial Intelligence, nurture crucial AI research

Mindtree , a global technology services and digital transformation company, has created an endowment focused on Artificial Intelligence research with the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc), India's premier public establishment for research and higher education in science. This partnership will facilitate teaching and research for AI in both Data Sciences and Natural Language Processing. This endowment will introduce the institute's students to solving modern business problems using AI and machine learning, leading to develop high-impact solutions at scale.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633364/Mindtree_Logo.jpg )



IISc is India's top ranked University in the Times Higher Education's world university rankings 2019[1] and is dedicated to fostering innovation and critical thinking across science, engineering, design, and management.

Named as Mindtree Associate Professor Chair on Artificial Intelligence, the endowment fund is designed to attract dynamic faculty doing groundbreaking AI research with both technical scholars and domain experts. The inaugural Mindtree Associate Professor Chair has been awarded to Professor Vijay Natarajan , Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Automation. Prof. Natarajan has an experience of 12 years and works in the areas of scientific visualization, computational topology, and computational geometry. The main topics of research include topological methods for visualization; multiscale representation of large scale scientific data; geometric and topological simplification; and applications of visualization in life sciences, climate science, and material science. Prof. Natarajan's research is set to impact next-generation data processing, analysis and visualization technology in the large.

Commenting on the association, Rostow Ravanan, CEO and Managing Director of Mindtree remarked, "Artificial Intelligence, considered the cornerstone of future technologies, needs an ideal ground for further research and development in India. IISc is perfectly poised to be this space, allowing the best minds interested in this area to innovate and develop unique AI-based solutions for current problems. Our collaboration with IISc will help create opportunities to strengthen research in AI and provide our clients an avenue to interact with some of the best minds working in this segment."

"This association with Mindtree has substantially bolstered IISc's capabilities in some of the most important domains that hold the key to the future of technology," said Prof. Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc. "We look forward to receiving significant industry-specific exposure through this association, in modern AI and computation technology and the problems it solves. The initiative will open up a new territory for our students to learn, innovate, implement and execute unique ideas with a far-reaching positive impact."

About Mindtree

Mindtree (NSE: MINDTREE) is a global technology consulting and services company, helping Global 2000 corporations marry scale with agility to achieve competitive advantage. 'Born digital' in 1999, more than 340 enterprise clients rely on our deep domain knowledge to break down silos, make sense of digital complexity and bring new initiatives to market faster. We enable IT to move at the speed of business, leveraging emerging technologies and the efficiencies of Continuous Delivery to spur business innovation. Operating across 17 countries, we're consistently regarded as one of the best places to work, embodied every day by our winning culture made up of 19,000 entrepreneurial, collaborative and dedicated "Mindtree Minds." To learn more, visit http://www.mindtree.com or follow us @Mindtree_Ltd.

About IISc:

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was founded in 1909 as a result of a collaborative effort between the visionary industrialist Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the Government of India and the Maharaja of Mysore. Over the last century, IISc has emerged as India's premier destination for higher education and advanced research in all science and engineering disciplines. IISc has been ranked as the No. 1 University of higher education in India 3 times in a row by the MHRD NIRF rankings. Recently the Government of India has selected IISc as one of the public institutions of higher education and research to be designated as an Institution of Eminence.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

--------------------------------------------------

1. https://news.aglasem.com/times-world-university-ranking-2019/

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/world-university-rankings-2019-results-announcedsurvey-answer




The company has opened operations in London to support its growth in the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area

LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Quovo , a data platform providing connectivity to financial accounts, today announced it has become a Registered Account Information Service Provider (RAISP), regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The registration, which is applicable across all European Economic Area (EEA) states, makes Quovo the first US-based financial account data provider to join the Open Banking regime. To support its growth in the region, the company has opened an office in London.

As an RAISP, Quovo serves as a third party provider that enables consumers to share their financial data, permissioned by their explicit consent, with banks and fintech companies. Leading US fintech companies, including Betterment, SoFi, Stash, and Wealthfront, rely on Quovo to provide the data and insights they need to offer customers more intuitive, inclusive, and personalized services. Similar to the company's operations in North America, Quovo will now offer account connectivity and data insights to fintech companies and financial institutions in the UK and across the EEA.

"Giving consumers the ability to access and control financial data is a critical component of Open Banking, and Quovo's connectivity facilitates that access. Unlike many other RAISPs, Quovo is uniquely positioned between consumers, fintech apps, and financial institutions," said Lowell Putnam, CEO and Co-founder of Quovo. "As banks across the UK and the EU continue to develop their technology to make customers' financial data portable, we're looking forward to partnering with more of the region's incumbent institutions in the CMA9 and startup newcomers alike."

Quovo retrieves customers' financial account data, including account balances, holdings and transactions, cash flow patterns, and account holder details, to provide a holistic view of their finances. The platform can access consumer financial data at all banks with Open Banking-compliant APIs, which include those of the CMA9 (Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, Barclays, Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Danske, and Nationwide Building Society) and UK-based challenger banks, Starling and Monzo.

"Over the coming months, PSD2 regulations will continue to take effect and being an RAISP will support Quovo's expansion beyond the United Kingdom," said UK Country Manager Kelley Byrnes. "Our connectivity has the potential to enrich the financial lives of millions of consumers across the EEA."

About Quovo:

Quovo is a data platform that provides connectivity to financial accounts. Quovo centralizes, organizes, and enriches data from millions of accounts across more than 14,000 institutions to provide businesses with a comprehensive picture of each customers' financial identity. With industry-specific solutions, clients from emerging fintech startups to Fortune 500 companies rely on Quovo for its seamless technology and rich data insights to deliver more personalized and frictionless customer experiences. Quovo's unparalleled coverage of the financial ecosystem, powerful data analytics, and flexible deployment options propels businesses in uncovering opportunities to grow their customer relationships.

To learn more about Quovo, please visit www.quovo.com .

Contact: Natalie Giannangeli, Quovo

(212) 643-0695

natalie.giannangeli@quovo.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/783924/Quovo_Logo.jpg
14thNovember 2018

MetalNRG PLC

(the "Company" or "MetalNRG")

Unaudited Interim Results to 31stAugust 2018

MetalNRG plc (NEX:MNRG), the natural resource investing company quoted on the NEX Exchange Growth Market in London, announces its un-audited interim results for the 6 months period ended 31stAugust 2018.

Business review

The Company has continued to investigate a number of potential investments and strategic developments for the business in the second half of 2018 and has subsequently made two new investments and an asset was sold for shares.

The Company's first investment was the acquisition of the Gold Ridge Project in Arizona, USA. The Project consists of approximately 2,305 acres (9.3 km2) of tenement including 343 acres of patented mining claims, 112 company-owned un-patented mining claims and 12 leased un-patented mining claims. The interests acquired include three historical producing gold mines: Gold Prince mine; Gold Ridge mine and Dives mine. On 5 November 2018, the Company announced the completion of the acquisition, for which, it entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the Gold Ridge Project from Winston Gold Corp. for a total consideration, in cash and shares, of US$700,000 (530,000).

The second investment was in the form of an option agreement with International Mining Company Invest Inc ("IMC") which owns a uranium project in the Kamyshanovka community, Sokuluksky District, Chuy Province, 48km from Bishkek the capital city of the Kyrgyz Republic. The project currently holds an exploration licence 2,276 MP, which covers an area of 4,078 hectares (40.78 km2). MetalNRG paid a fee of US$50,000 to enter into the option agreement and complete due diligence on the project. The option agreement calls for a joint venture 51% -49% in favour of MetalNRG to be established and set up via a Newco. The Company has until 28 December 2018 to undertake due diligence and decide whether to proceed with the joint venture. If the Company decides not to pursue the joint venture before 28 December 2018 then the US$50,000 paid in July 2018 converts into equity equivalent to 2.5% of the Newco.

On 22ndMarch 2018, it was announced that Tyranna Resources Limited ("Tyranna"), an ASX listed resources and exploration company, had made an offer to acquire US Cobalt and had entered into an agreement with the Company to acquire its shareholding in US Cobalt. This transaction was successfully completed and the Company now holds 21,719,457 shares in Tyranna valued at approximately 150,000.

Post year end events

On 5thNovember 2018, following completion of all its due diligence, the Company announced the completion of the acquisition of the Gold Ridge Project in Arizona, USA.

Following the completion of our due diligence on the uranium project in the Kyrgyz Republic, we agreed to invest an additional US$30,000 to support the IMC team in its application for a mining licence, which is now in progress. This investment will be followed up with an additional US$20,000 later in November, before finalising the set-up of the intended joint venture with IMC. If for any reason the transaction does not complete, then MetalNRG's investment converts into equity equivalent to 2.5% of the enlarged equity per US$50,000 invested.

During the year, MetalNRG facilitated the IPO process for Cobra Resources Plc ("Cobra"), a privately- owned company seeking a listing on the Main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange and admission of its securities to trading on the Standard Segment of the Official List. In particular, the Company supported a Pre-IPO fund raise and coordinated the IPO process.

On 12thNovember 2018, Cobra received FCA approval from the UKLA for admission to the market. Cobra announced the publication of its Prospectus in relation to the admission of 135,000,000 ordinary shares of 1 pence each ("Ordinary Shares") to trading on the Standard Segment of the Official List ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective and that dealings will commence at 8 a.m. on 15thNovember 2018. In addition, Cobra announced that it has raised 323,500 (net of expenses) pursuant to a placing of 34,900,000 Ordinary Shares (the "Placing Shares") at a price of 1.5 pence per placing share. In consideration of its services, MetalNRG will be issued 4,166,666 ordinary shares which will, at the placing price, have a value of approximately 62,000 and which will represent approximately 6.2% of Cobra's enlarged issued ordinary share capital.

We continue to review a number of opportunities, but more importantly we are now well positioned to drive forward the projects mentioned above and will do so with vigour. Our aim is to drive shareholder value through the development of projects and continue building a strong mineral resources company.

Christopher Latilla-Campbell

Chairman

14thNovember 2018

The Directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend.

The Directors have agreed to continue to waive their fees as previously announced.

The interim results to 31stAugust 2018 have been reviewed by the Company's auditor.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. The person who arranged for release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Rolf Gerristen, Chief Executive Officer.

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

For further information, please contact:

MetalNRG PLC

Rolf Gerritsen (Chief Executive Officer)

+44 (0) 20 7796 9060 NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser

PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMITED

Guy Miller/Mark Anwyl



+44 (0) 20 7469 0930 Corporate Broker

SI CAPITAL

Nick Emerson



+44 (0) 1483 413500

UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS TO 31st AUGUST, 2018

PROFIT & LOSS ACCOUNT

for the period to 31st August, 2018

GBP GBP Six months ended 31st August 2018 Six months ended 31st August 2017 Income Unrealised Foreign Exchange Gains/(Losses) 6,121 (4,616) Interest receivable 305 - Other Income - 320 Total 6,426 (4,296) Expenses Salaries and fees - - Legal and Professional Fees (30,199) (38,620) Director fees (32,000) - Travelling and Research (18,854) (7,712) General Expenses (24,153) (16,837) Total (105,206) (63,169) Loss for the Period (98,780) (67,465)

BALANCE SHEET

At 31st August, 2018

GBP GBP As at 31st August 2018 As at 31st August 2017 Current Assets Unlisted Investments 437,972 175,470 Other Investments 3,207 - Bank Balances 76,870 273,170 Debtors 6,060 27,639 524,109 476,279 Current Liabilities Creditors (13,338) (13,339) 510,771 462,940 Equity Share Capital 255,359 250,709 Share Premium 1,326,634 1,095,221 Prior Year Reserves (972,442) (815,525) Profit & Loss Account (98,780) (67,465) 510,771 462,940

Number of shares in issue as at 13thNovember 2018 - 184,518,980
On this episode of Radio Free Acton, Trey Dimsdale, director of Program Outreach at Acton, speaks with Adam MacLeod, professor of law at Faulkner University, on the definition of a basic human right and how the concept is understood today. Then, Senior Editor at Acton, Rev. Ben Johnson, talks about Brexit with Rev. Richard Turnbull from the Center for Enterprise, Markets, and Ethics. They analyze the aftermath of Brexit and the events that led up to the split between Britain and the EU.

Check out these additional resources on this weeks podcast topics:

Learn more about the debasement of human rights in an additional podcast episode

What can I possibly (and practically) do to help fight human rights violations?

Register here for the upcoming conference: Faith and Democracy in America: Christianity and Liberalism Rightly Understood

Read God, Brexit, and EUtopia by Stephen F. Copp

Read Brexit: For the life of the world by Peter Farrington

Do you have questions for the Radio Free Acton team that you would like answered in future podcast segments? We want to hear from you! Leave a message at 888-705-4180 or email [email protected] Lastly, if you like what you heard on todays episode, dont forget to give us a rating on iTunes.
Announcement comes after the Company unveils its wholesale strategy and presence in Las Vegas this week at the Marijuana Business Conference & Expo

PLAYA VISTA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / American Premium Water Corporation (OTC PINK: HIPH) announces that it's LALPINA CBD beverage will be sold at Come Back Daily (www.comebackdaily.co) in New York, NY. Come Back Daily, located at 381 Broadway, in the TriBeca neighborhood of Manhattan, is New York City's first CBD focused pop up store. This announcement comes after the Company unveiled its wholesale sales strategy that identified the New York market as on its key areas of focus.





American Premium CEO and Interim Chairman Ryan Fishoff, who is currently attending the 2018 Marijuana Business Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, NV (MJBIZ) commented "I am really excited that LALPINA CBD will be sold at Come Back Daily pop-up. I live in New York, and the city (New York) has been slow to embrace CBD like other cities (Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas) have. This pop-up is a great opportunity to bring exposure to the benefits of CBD and LALPINA CBD to the world's largest media market. In my opinion, CBD is very nascent in New York and no brand has established presence or marketing. Having LALPINA CBD at this pop up will be the Company's first step to own a large share of the New York market. This is the first of many retail promotions that the Company has planned for New York. I know how effective pop-ups can be from my experience in the retail space; I've highlighted the need for the Company to do more pop ups . Urban markets, specifically New York and the other markets outlined in our growth strategy, are tailor-made for pop ups which provide great sales and promotional opportunities for the brand."

Come Back Daily will open with a special preview event on November 15th and then be open to the public on November 19th. The store, which will focus on the lifestyle and education on the benefits of CBD products does not have a definitive closing date and will be remain open at least through the beginning of 2019. The store's goal is to create a different kind of space from the traditional dispensary model. In addition to sampling, testing, and selling CBD product, Come Back Daily will host educational sessions about CBD hosted by doctors and other health professionals.

"I am sorry that I will be missing the opening event on Thursday night, as I will still be in Las Vegas attending the MJBIZ conference. Pop-ups are only a part of the Company's wholesale strategy. Working with distributors and wholesale channels are also a important part of the strategy. I've already had some great talks with some distributors and look forward to meeting many other potential retail partners in the coming days. This is an exciting time for the brand and the Company as it looks to adding distribution channels across all spectrums. Our focus on the country's largest and most visible markets will separate us from our competitors in the short and long term driving a sales growth that is very scalable due to the population density of the targeted markets. I look forward to updating the shareholders and investment community after the conference about the progress the Company has made after the conference." concluded Mr. Fishoff.

About American Premium Water Corp.

American Premium Water (OTC: HIPH) is a diversified luxury consumer products company focused on businesses in the health and beauty and biotech sectors. The company is focused on harnessing the powers of hydrogen and Nano technologies paired with cannabidiol (CBD) to treat health disorders and enhance quality of life. This business model aims to market emerging fashion brands by leveraging classic retail partners and incorporating disruptive block chain technologies to expand the retail footprint. The company's portfolio includes the LALPINA Hydro and LALPINA Hydro CBD brands ( www.LalpinaInc.com ), Gents, Worthy, and blockchain platform FashionCoinX ( www.FashionCoinX.com ).

Safe Harbor Notice

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). American Premium Water Corporation cautions that statements made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. American Premium Water Corporation undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release. Additional details of the Company's business can be found in its public disclosures as a reporting issuer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") EDGAR database.

This press release is issued on behalf of the Board of Directors of American Premium Water Corporation.

Contact Information:

Media Contact

Email: info@americanpremiumwater.com

+1(888) 983-0054

SOURCE: American Premium Water Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/528013/American-Premium-Water-Corp-HIPH-LALPINA-CBD-To-Be-Sold-at-New-York-Citys-First-CBD-Pop-Up-Shop
NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK COMMODITIES INCOME INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

54930040ALEAVPMMDC31

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock Commodities Income Investment Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

75.30p Capital only

76.50p Including current year income

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

3. Following the Buyback of 37,897 ordinary shares on 22 October 2018, the Company now has 116,126,515 Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding 2,839,485 Ordinary Shares which are held in Treasury).

4. For the latest daily net asset value, previous month end performance statistics, asset allocation and ten largest holdings of the BlackRock managed Investment Trusts; see BLRKINDEX on Reuters or page 8800 on ICB (Topic 3).

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK GREATER EUROPE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

5493003R8FJ6I76ZUW55

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

341.43p Capital only (undiluted)

341.43p Capital only (Diluted for treasury shares)

341.57p Including current year income (undiluted) XD

341.57p Including current year income (Diluted for treasury shares) XD

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

3. Following the purchase of 50,000 ordinary shares on 12th November 2018, the Company now has 86,409,691 Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding 23,919,247 Ordinary Shares which are held in Treasury).

4. For the latest daily net asset value, previous month end performance statistics, asset allocation and ten largest holdings of the BlackRock managed Investment Trusts; see BLRKINDEX on Reuters or page 8800 on ICB (Topic 3).

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK WORLD MINING TRUST PLC

LNFFPBEUZJBOSR6PW155

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock World Mining Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

382.35p Capital only (undiluted)

393.22p Including current year income (undiluted)

Notes:

1. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

2. Following the buyback of 25,000 ordinary shares on 23 October 2018, the Company has 176,330,242 ordinary shares in issue, excluding 16,681,600 which are held in treasury.

3. For the latest daily net asset value, previous month end performance statistics, asset allocation and ten largest holdings of the BlackRock managed Investment Trusts; see BLRKINDEX on Reuters or page 8800 on ICB (Topic 3).

4. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK THROGMORTON TRUST PLC

5493003B7ETS1JEDPF59

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

526.25p Capital only

534.33p Including current year income

526.25p Capital only (adjusted for treasury shares)

534.33p Including current year income (adjusted for treasury shares)

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. The Company's issued share capital comprises 73,130,326 Ordinary Shares and 7,400,000 Treasury Shares.

3. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK EMERGING EUROPE PLC

549300OGTQA24Y3KMI14

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock Emerging Europe plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

408.70c per share (US cents) - Capital only

314.49p per share (pence sterling) - Capital only

420.35c per share (US cents) - Including current year income

323.46p per share (pence sterling) - Including current year income

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. Revenue items included in net asset value.

3. Following the cancellation of 5,000,000 treasury shares on 09 November 2018, the Company's share capital consists of 35,916,028 Ordinary shares carrying one vote each. There are no shares held in treasury.



4. As announced on 19 October 2018, the Company has published proposals which will result in the liquidation of the Company's assets subject to approval at a General Meeting to be held on 15 November 2018. The daily valuation includes an accrual in respect of expected costs associated with the liquidation. This accrual accounts for costs directly attributable to the liquidation. It is expected disposal costs will also be encountered while selling down the portfolio however such costs cannot be reliably estimated until the sale is executed. Consequently disposal costs have not been accrued in the valuation at this point."

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST PLC

549300WWOCXSC241W468

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock North American Income Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

171.47p Capital only

173.26p Including current year income

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

3. Following the buyback of 75,000 ordinary shares on 14 June 2017, the Company has 68,874,044 ordinary shares in issue, excluding 31,487,261 which are held in treasury.

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

UK9OG5Q0CYUDFGRX4151

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

631.44c per share (US cents) - Capital only

631.67c per share (US cents) - Including current year income

485.89p per share (pence sterling) Capital only

486.07p per share (pence sterling) - Including current year income

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

3. Following the Buyback of 20,000 ordinary shares on 24 May 2018, the Company now has 39,259,620 Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding 2,181,662 Ordinary Shares which are held in Treasury).

4. For the latest daily net asset value, previous month end performance statistics, asset allocation and ten largest holdings of the BlackRock managed Investment Trusts; see BLRKINDEX on Reuters or page 8800 on ICB (Topic 3).

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK INCOME AND GROWTH INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

5493003YBY59H9EJLJ16

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock Income and Growth Investment Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

188.73p Capital only (undiluted)

193.53p Including current year income (undiluted)

Notes:

1. Following the buyback of 41,500 ordinary shares on 08 October 2018, the Company has 24,059,668 ordinary shares in issue excluding 8,874,264 shares in treasury.

2. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis, with the exception of the holding in Patisserie Valerie which has been valued at a directors' valuation following its suspension from trading on AIM on 10 Oct. The portfolio's holding in Patisserie Valerie at 13th November 2018 represents 0.16% of the Company's total portfolio following this revaluation

3. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC

549300MS535KC2WH4082

The unaudited net asset values for BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

1401.26p Capital only and including debt at par value

1395.23p Capital only and including debt at fair value

1415.17p Including current year income and debt at par value XD

1409.14p Including current year income and debt at fair value XD

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. The total number of ordinary shares in issue excluding treasury shares is 47,879,792. The total amount of ordinary shares

held in treasury is 2,113,731.

3. For the latest daily net asset value, previous month end performance statistics, asset allocation and ten largest holdings of the BlackRock managed Investment Trusts; see BLRKINDEX on Reuters or page 8800 on ICB (Topic 3).

NET ASSET VALUE

BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

5493003K5E043LHLO706

The unaudited net asset values for the ordinary shares of BlackRock Frontiers Investment Trust plc at close of business on 13 November 2018 were:

163.48c Capital only USD (cents)

125.80p Capital only Sterling (pence)

170.65c Including current year income USD (cents)

131.31p Including current year income Sterling (pence)

Notes:

1. Investments have been valued on a bid price basis.

2. Revenue items included in net asset value, with dividends payable deducted on the ex-dividend date.

3. Following the share issuance of 500,000 ordinary shares on 12th November 2018, the Company has 203,991,108 ordinary shares in issue.
Power management company Eaton (NYSE:ETN) today announced that Rick Fearon, vice chairman and chief financial and planning officer, will participate in the Credit Suisse 6th Annual Industrials Conference in Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday, November 28, 2018. Fearon will be making comments at 1:15 p.m. United States Eastern time, discussing the company's business prospects with securities analysts and institutional investors.

A real-time audio web cast of the presentation will be available at www.eaton.com. An audio replay will be available following the presentation at the same link.

Eaton is a power management company with 2017 sales of $20.4 billion. We provide energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton is dedicated to improving the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton has approximately 98,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005416/en/

Contacts:

Cara Klaer, Media Relations, +1 (248) 864-9875

Donald Bullock, Investor Relations, +1 (440) 523-5127

caralklaer@eaton.com
TSX: JAG

TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jaguar Mining Inc. ("Jaguar" or the "Company") (TSX: JAG) today announced financial results for the third quarter ("Q3 2018") and nine months ("9M 2018") ended September 30, 2018. The Company also announces Richard Falconer has stepped down as Chairman of the Board and Thomas Weng, current Director, has been named Chairman. Mr. Falconer will continue to serve on the Board at least until the Company's Annual General Meeting in 2019.

Q3 2018 Financial Highlights (All figures are in US dollars, unless otherwise expressed)

Gold production of 20,320 ounces on record production at Pilar Gold Mine ("Pilar") and higher feed grades;

Lower costs and increase in production quarter over quarter drive 90% increase in gross profit to $7.7 million ;

; Consolidated cash operating costs ("COC") reduced by 22% to $627 per ounce of gold sold. Pilar achieves record low cash costs of $557 per ounce sold;

per ounce of gold sold. Pilar achieves record low cash costs of per ounce sold; Consolidated all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") improved 2.2% to $1,142 per ounce of gold;

per ounce of gold; Net income of $2.2 million , or $0.01 earnings per share, from a Net loss of $7.7 million or net loss per share of ($0.02) year-over-year.

9M 2018 Financial Highlights

Gold production of 58,004 ounces, including record year to date gold production at Pilar;

COC of $713 per ounce, in line with full-year 2018 guidance, and 18% lower than 9M 2017;

per ounce, in line with full-year 2018 guidance, and 18% lower than 2017; AISC of $1,233 per ounce, 1.3% improvement from 9M 2017;

per ounce, 1.3% improvement from 2017; Operating cash flow increases 67% to $16 million ; adjusted EBITDA increased 41% to $19.8 million ;

; adjusted EBITDA increased 41% to ; Net loss of $0.9 million reduced from a net loss of $18.9 million in 9M 2017;

reduced from a net loss of in 2017; Sustaining capital expenditures increased 41% to $21.5 million investing in development and mining equipment.

Ben Guenther, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "Third quarter gold production of 20,320 ounces marked an 8% improvement relative to the first and second quarters in 2018. Pilar and Turmalina achieved their best production quarter of the year with Pilar producing a new quarterly record 11,068 ounces followed by Turmalina producing more than 9,000 ounces. Pilar continues to advance on its exciting growth path, while Turmalina has begun its turnaround. We remain pleased with the strong performance demonstrated at Pilar to date in 2018 and we are encouraged to see its grade profile continue to increase while also contributing to the record low costs. The Turmalina team is new and we expect it to take a few quarters of stabilization before we see significant sustainable improvements. In addition to our new VP of Operations, Turmalina has further strengthened its team with a new General Manager, new Managers of Mining, Technical Services, and Maintenance personnel over the past few months. The progress we have made to reduce company-wide expenses has been key to ensuring we continue to generate operating cash flow. Cost reduction remains a top priority within operations and at the corporate and board level."

Richard Falconer, Director, Jaguar Mining commented: "I have decided to retire as Chairman and continue to serve on the board until the next AGM. I appreciate Thomas Weng stepping in as Jaguar's new Chairman. With his leadership and deep expertise in the Company that he has gained during his tenure as a Jaguar Board member, I am confident in the outlook for the Company and look forward to its return to future growth and success."

Thomas Weng, Chairman of the Board of Directors commented: "On behalf of the Board, we thank Richard for his service and many contributions to Jaguar's Board of Directors over the past six years."

Thomas continued, "Jaguar is positioning itself to return to a more sustainable and growing gold production profile to create value for shareholders. Our operating and management teams have identified key issues and are executing initiatives to improve production while also taking steps to reduce overall expenses. The Board views company-wide expense reduction as a key element to helping Jaguar build a strong foundation and more profitable future."

Thomas Weng, Chairman of the Board, Bio

Mr. Weng was appointed as a director of the Corporation on April 1, 2016. Mr. Weng has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services sector with focus on mining, metals and industrials. Mr. Weng is Co-Founding Partner with Alta Capital Partners, a financial advisory provider. Previously, Mr. Weng was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and Head of Equity Capital Markets for Metals and Mining throughout the Americas and Latin America, across all industry segments. Prior to 2007, Mr. Weng held various senior positions at Pacific Partners, an alternative investment firm, and Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns. Mr. Weng graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Q3 2018 Financial Results

($ thousands, except where indicated) For the three months ended

September 30, For the nine months ended

September 30,

2018 2017 2018 2017 Financial Data







Revenue $ 25,426 $ 26,062 $ 73,541 $ 78,606 Operating costs 12,809 16,116 40,564 53,614 Depreciation 4,919 5,898 14,211 17,271 Gross profit 7,698 4,048 18,766 7,721 Net income (loss) 2,208 (7,664) (904) (18,861) Per share ("EPS") 0.01 (0.02) (0.00) (0.06) EBITDA1 7,889 (507) 16,309 3,949 Adjusted EBITDA1,2 8,909 6,094 19,805 14,020 Adjusted EBITDA per share1 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.04 Cash operating costs (per ounce sold)1 627 809 713 867 All-in sustaining costs (per ounce sold)1 1,142 1,168 1,233 1,249 Average realized gold price (per ounce) 1,244 1,276 1,292 1,250 Cash generated from operating activities 6,566 7,509 16,004 9,583 Adjusted operating cash flow1 7,541 6,076 19,766 15,002 Free cash flow1 (1,298) 2,212 (5,489) (7,118) Free cash flow (per ounce sold)1 (63) 108 (96) (113) Sustaining capital expenditures1 7,864 4,624 21,493 15,233 Non-sustaining capital expenditures1 641 1,138 2,241 3,401 Total capital expenditures 8,505 5,763 23,734 18,634 1Average realized gold price, sustaining and non-sustaining capital expenditures, cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs, adjusted operating cash flow, free cash flow, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA per share, and gross profit (excluding depreciation) are non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standard definition under IFRS. Refer to the Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures section of the MD&A. 2Adjusted EBITDA excludes non-cash items such as impairment and write downs. For more details refer to the Non-IFRS Performance Measures section of the MD&A.











For the three months ended

September 30, For the nine months ended

September 30,

2018 2017 2018 2017 Operating Data







Gold produced (ounces) 20,320 20,781 58,004 62,842 Gold sold (ounces) 20,441 20,422 56,908 62,909 Primary development (metres) 1,436 932 3,782 2,666 Secondary development (metres) 727 922 1,751 3,292 Definition, infill, and exploration drilling (metres) 11,716 11,592 29,917 34,525

Cash Position and Use of Funds

Cash balance of approximately $6.7million as of September 30, 2018 , compared to a cash balance of $9.2million at June 30, 2018 ;

as of , compared to a cash balance of at ; Company generated approximately $6.6 million in operating cash flow with $7.9 million spent in investing activities representing mainly development expenditures. In addition, $1.3 million was paid in financing activities.

Third Quarter 2018 Conference Call Details

The Company will also host an earnings conference call on Wednesday November 14, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Participants in North America may listen to the call by dialing 1-800-319-4610 at approximately 8:20 a.m. (ET) and ask to join the Jaguar Mining Third Quarter 2018 Results Conference Call. International callers should dial 1-604-638-5340. The call will also be webcast live at www.jaguarmining.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available after the call until December 14, 2018, at midnight, and can be accessed by dialing 1-800-319-6413, conference ID 2708#. International callers can access the replay by dialing 1-604-638-9010. The audio webcast will also be archived at www.jaguarmining.com.

Qualified Persons

Scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, BSc (Hons) (Economic Geology - UCT), Senior Expert Advisor Geology and Exploration to the Jaguar Mining Management Committee, who is also an employee of Jaguar Mining Inc., and is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 -Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

The Iron Quadrangle

The Iron Quadrangle has been an area of mineral exploration dating back to the 16th century. The discovery in 1699-1701 of gold contaminated with iron and platinum-group metals in the southeastern corner of the Iron Quadrangle gave rise to the name of the town Ouro Preto (Black Gold). The Iron Quadrangle contains world-class multi-million-ounce gold deposits such as Morro Velho, Cuiaba, and Sao Bento. Jaguar holds the second largest gold land position in the Iron Quadrangle with just over 25,000 hectares.

About Jaguar Mining Inc.

Jaguar Mining Inc. is a Canadian-listed junior gold mining, development, and exploration company operating in Brazil with three gold mining complexes and a large land package with significant upside exploration potential from mineral claims covering an area of approximately 64,000 hectares. The Company's principal operating assets are located in the Iron Quadrangle, a prolific greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and include the Turmalina Gold Mine Complex and Caete Mining Complex (Pilar and Roca Grande Mines, and Caete Plant). The Company also owns the Paciencia Gold Mine Complex, which has been on care and maintenance since 2012. The Roca Grande Mine has been on temporary care and maintenance since April 2018. Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.jaguarmining.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. All of the forward-looking information made in this news release is qualified by the cautionary statements below and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators in Canada. Forward-looking information contained in forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "are expected," "is forecast," "is targeted," "approximately," "plans," "anticipates," "projects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "believe" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might," or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, may be considered to be or include forward-looking information. This news release contains forward-looking information regarding, among other things, expected sales, production statistics, ore grades, tonnes milled, recovery rates, cash operating costs, definition/delineation drilling, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of projects and new deposits, success of exploration, development and mining activities, currency fluctuations, capital requirements, project studies, mine life extensions, restarting suspended or disrupted operations, continuous improvement initiatives, and resolution of pending litigation. The Company has made numerous assumptions with respect to forward-looking information contained herein, including, among other things, assumptions about the estimated timeline for the development of its mineral properties; the supply and demand for, and the level and volatility of the price of, gold; the accuracy of reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions on which the reserve and resource estimates are based; the receipt of necessary permits; market competition; ongoing relations with employees and impacted communities; political and legal developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations including, without limitation, the impact of any potential power rationing, tailings facility regulation, exploration and mine operating licenses and permits being obtained an renewed and/or there being adverse amendments to mining or other laws in Brazil and any changes to general business and economic conditions. Forward-looking information involves a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including among others: the risk of Jaguar not meeting the forecast plans regarding its operations and financial performance; uncertainties with respect to the price of gold, labour disruptions, mechanical failures, increase in costs, environmental compliance and change in environmental legislation and regulation, weather delays and increased costs or production delays due to natural disasters, power disruptions, procurement and delivery of parts and supplies to the operations; uncertainties inherent to capital markets in general (including the sometimes volatile valuation of securities and an uncertain ability to raise new capital) and other risks inherent to the gold exploration, development and production industry, which, if incorrect, may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described herein. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development, mining and production, including environmental hazards, tailings dam failures, industrial accidents and workplace safety problems, unusual or unexpected geological formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding, chemical spills, procurement fraud and gold bullion thefts and losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks). Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking information made in this news release, see the Company's most recent Annual Information Form and Management's Discussion and Analysis, as well as other public disclosure documents that can be accessed under the issuer profile of "Jaguar Mining Inc." on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information set forth herein reflects the Company's reasonable expectations as at the date of this news release and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Non-IFRS Measures

This news release provides certain financial measures that do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Readers are cautioned to review the below stated footnotes where the Company expanded on its use of non-IFRS measures.

1. Cash operating costs and cash operating cost per ounce are non-IFRS measures. In the gold mining industry, cash operating costs and cash operating costs per ounce are common performance measures but do not have any standardized meaning. Cash operating costs are derived from amounts included in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) and include mine-site operating costs such as mining, processing and administration, as well as royalty expenses, but exclude depreciation, depletion, share-based payment expenses, and reclamation costs. Cash operating costs per ounce are based on ounces produced and are calculated by dividing cash operating costs by commercial gold ounces produced; US$ cash operating costs per ounce produced are derived from the cash operating costs per ounce produced translated using the average Brazilian Central Bank R$/US$ exchange rate. The Company discloses cash operating costs and cash operating costs per ounce, as it believes those measures provide valuable assistance to investors and analysts in evaluating the Company's operational performance and ability to generate cash flow. The most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with IFRS is total production costs. A reconciliation of cash operating costs per ounce to total production costs for the most recent reporting period, the quarter ended September 30, 2018, is set out in the Company's third quarter 2018 Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.



2. All-in sustaining cost is a non-IFRS measure. This measure is intended to assist readers in evaluating the total costs of producing gold from current operations. While there is no standardized meaning across the industry for this measure, except for non-cash items the Company's definition conforms to the all-in sustaining cost definition as set out by the World Gold Council in its guidance note dated June 27, 2013. The Company defines all-in sustaining cost as the sum of production costs, sustaining capital (capital required to maintain current operations at existing levels), corporate general and administrative expenses, and in-mine exploration expenses. All-in sustaining cost excludes growth capital, reclamation cost accretion related to current operations, interest and other financing costs, and taxes. A reconciliation of all-in sustaining cost to total production costs for the most recent reporting period, the quarter ended September 30, 2018, is set out in the Company's third quarter 2018 MD&A filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

CONTACT: Ben Guenther, President & Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Mining Inc., bguenther@jaguarmining.com, 416-847-1854; Hashim Ahmed, Chief Financial Officer, Jaguar Mining Inc., hashim.ahmed@jaguarmining.com, 416-847-1854

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784296/Jaguar_Mining_Inc__Jaguar_Mining_Reports_Third_Quarter_2018_Fina.jpg
Leading global performance audio brand makes organization changes to drive innovation and growth

REDWOOD CITY, California, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bowers & Wilkins, the leading global performance audio brand known for its innovative technology, today announced a restructuring across the company.

"The leadership team and I are making changes to the structure of Bowers & Wilkins to focus the business on opportunities for growth and ensure global competitiveness," said newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Gregory Lee, former CEO of Samsung North America. "As the leader in luxury audio, we are focusing our investments on research and product development as well as brand building."

In support of furthering its research and development activities, Bowers & Wilkins is building a state-of-the-art research and development facility, Southwater Research & Engineering (SRE), in Southwater, U.K., set to open next year. At nearly 30,000 square feet, the complex is more than double the size of the current engineering center.

"We have a number of innovative products in the pipeline designed around evolving consumer needs to attract a wider audience," added Lee. "There is tremendous opportunity to grow the Bowers & Wilkins brand in the luxury audio space."

About Bowers & Wilkins

Bowers & Wilkins, founded in the U.K. in 1966, has been at the forefront of high performance audio technology for more than 50 years. Bowers & Wilkins designs and manufactures precision home speakers, headphones, custom installation and performance car audio products that set new standards for innovation and sound quality, earning countless awards and accolades from the world's leading recording studios and musicians. Bowers & Wilkins' reputation is based on the unwavering pursuit of the best possible sound and an unsurpassable music listening experience. Learn more at www.bowerswilkins.com

Media Contact:

For more information, please contact Joan Wickham, joan.wickham@bowerswilkins.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/778167/Bowers_Wilkins_Logo.jpg
New clinical data highlight potential of novel pyrrolobenzodiazepine-based antibody drug conjugates for the treatment of relapsed or refractory lymphomas



LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ADC Therapeutics, an oncology drug discovery and development company that specializes in the development of proprietary antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), today announced that data from Phase I clinical trials of ADCT-402 (loncastuximab tesirine) and ADCT-301 (camidanlumab tesirine) have been selected for oral and poster presentations at the 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, which is being held December 1-4 in San Diego.

Jay Feingold, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at ADC Therapeutics, said, "We look forward to sharing updated data from our first-in-human clinical trials of ADCT-402 and ADCT-301 in multiple subtypes of lymphoma at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting. Interim data show that ADCT-402, which targets CD19, has demonstrated durable single-agent anti-tumor activity in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma who have failed other therapies or have no available treatment options. In addition, new data on ADCT-301 highlight the CD25-targeting ADC's impressive overall and complete response rates in heavily pretreated patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as its encouraging clinical activity in T-cell lymphoma."

Oral Presentations

Title: Interim Results from the First-in-Human Clinical Trial of Adct-402 (Loncastuximab Tesirine), a Novel Pyrrolobenzodiazepine-Based Antibody Drug Conjugate, in Relapsed/Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract Number: 398

Session: 626. Aggressive Lymphoma (Diffuse Large B-Cell and Other Aggressive B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas)-Results from Prospective Clinical Trials: New Agents

Date and Time: Sunday, December 2, 2018; 12:15 p.m. PT

Location: Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, Pacific Ballroom 20

Presenter: John Radford, MD, FRCP, Manchester Academic Health Centre, The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK

Title: Phase 1 Study of Adct-301 (Camidanlumab Tesirine), a Novel Pyrrolobenzodiazepine-Based Antibody Drug Conjugate, in Relapsed/Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Abstract Number: 928

Session: 624. Hodgkin Lymphoma and T/NK Cell Lymphoma-Clinical Studies: Hodgkin Lymphoma: Chemotherapy and Response Adapted Approaches

Date and Time: Monday, December 3, 2018; 5:15 p.m. PT

Location: San Diego Convention Center, Room 6F

Presenter: Mehdi Hamadani, MD, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

Poster Presentations

Title: Safety and Efficacy of Adct-402 (Loncastuximab Tesirine), a Novel Antibody Drug Conjugate, in Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma and Mantle Cell Lymphoma: Interim Results from the Phase 1 First-in-Human Study

Abstract Number: 2874

Session: 623. Mantle Cell, Follicular, and Other Indolent B-Cell Lymphoma-Clinical Studies: Poster II

Date and Time: Sunday, December 2, 2018; 6-8 p.m. PT

Location: San Diego Convention Center, Hall GH

Presenter: Paolo Caimi, MD, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH

Title: Adct-301 (Camidanlumab Tesirine), a Novel Pyrrolobenzodiazepine-Based CD25-Targeting Antibody Drug Conjugate, in a Phase 1 Study of Relapsed/Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Shows Activity in T-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract Number: 1658

Session: 624. Hodgkin Lymphoma and T/NK Cell Lymphoma-Clinical Studies: Poster I

Date and Time: Saturday, December 1, 2018; 6:15-8:15 p.m. PT

Location: San Diego Convention Center, Hall GH

Presenter: Graham P. Collins, MB, BS, DPhil, Oxford University Hospitals, NHS Trust, Oxford, UK

ADCT-402 is currently being evaluated in three clinical trials, including a pivotal trial in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. ADCT-301 is being evaluated in three clinical trials. To learn more about the company's ADC programs, visit ADC Therapeutics' Booth #117 located in the Exhibit Hall of the San Diego Convention Center.

For more information about the ASH Annual Meeting, please visit http://www.hematology.org/Annual-Meeting/ .

About ADCT-402

ADCT-402). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug designation to ADCT-402 for the treatment of DLBCL and mantle cell lymphoma.

About ADCT-301

ADCT-301), as well as a Phase Ib clinical trial in solid tumors).

About ADC Therapeutics

ADC Therapeutics SA is an oncology drug discovery and development company that specializes in the development of proprietary antibody drug conjugates.

Investors Contact EU Media Contact USA Media Contact Dr. Chris Martin Alexandre Muller Tony Plohoros Chief Executive Officer Dynamics Group 6 Degrees Chris.martin@adctherapeutics.com (mailto:Chris.martin@adctherapeutics.com) amu@dynamicsgroup.ch (mailto:amu@dynamicsgroup.ch) tplohoros@6degreespr.com (mailto:tplohoros@6degreespr.com) Tel.: +41 (0) 21 653 0200 Tel: +41 (0) 43 268 3231 Tel.: +1 908-591-2839




New corridor of shallow, high-grade copper mineralization - extending for at least nine kilometres - delineated by ongoing drilling is projected to continue onto adjacent Western Foreland exploration licences 100%-owned by Ivanhoe

Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) - Robert Friedland and Yufeng "Miles" Sun, Co-Chairmen of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF), announced today that exploration drilling at the Kamoa North prospect area, on the 397-square-kilometre Kamoa-Kakula mining licence, approximately 25 kilometres west of the mining centre of Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has successfully delineated two new, continuous corridors of shallow copper mineralization containing zones of thick, high-grade copper.

The newly delineated copper corridors occur on the western flank of the un-mineralized Kamoa Dome at Kamoa North. The most significant corridor trends north and south for more than nine kilometres before swinging to the northwest and is projected to continue onto the adjacent Western Foreland exploration licences that are 100%-owned by Ivanhoe Mines. The second corridor trends west-southwest, away from the Kamoa Dome and toward the West Scarp Fault, over a distance of three to four kilometres.

"Our latest exploration success, at Kamoa North, provides additional options for mine planning and sequencing at Kamoa-Kakula," said Mr. Friedland. "The unparalleled strength and continuity of the high-grade mineralized trends on the Kamoa-Kakula Project also bode well for the potential for further success right next door, on Ivanhoe's 700-square-kilometre Western Foreland exploration licences, north and west of Kamoa-Kakula."

The tier-one Kamoa-Kakula Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining and the DRC government.

An independent Mineral Resource estimate published last February established Kamoa-Kakula as the world's fourth-largest copper discovery. Kamoa-Kakula's copper grades are the highest, by a wide margin, of the world's top 10 copper deposits (see Figure 9, page 14).

The Kamoa North Exploration Area is approximately 12 kilometres north of Kamoa's Kansoko Mine development and approximately 20 kilometres north of the Kamoa-Kakula Project's planned initial mine at the Kakula Deposit (see Figure 1, page 2). The discovery area already is accessible by an all-season road that connects with the provincial road to Kolwezi and is close to the newly installed electricity line running from Kamoa North to the planned Kansoko and Kakula mines.









Figure 1. Kamoa-Kakula mining licence, showing the two newly defined corridors (see 1 and 2 circled below) with high-grade copper zones* at the Kamoa North Exploration Area, the Kamoa and Kakula Mineral Resource areas and the adjacent Western Foreland exploration-licence area.

*Grade contours in the Kamoa North exploration area in Figure 1 are for illustration purposes only. See Figure 3 and Figure 4 for actual contours of copper grade at Kamoa North for 1% and 2% composites.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_ivanhoe2.jpg

Kamoa North exploration success based on updated interpretation

Exploration drilling in 2017 and 2018 in the Kamoa North area targeted structural- and lithological-controlled grade trends recognized during the targeting reviews in early 2017 that identified multiple target areas on the Kamoa-Kakula mining licence. Continuity of copper grades along these trends has been largely confirmed. Drilling will continue in 2018 and early 2019, with the intention of updating the Kamoa North Mineral Resource area in 2019.

The newly delineated copper corridors are indicated with dashed and dotted lines in figures 3 and 4 (pages 6 and 7). The corridors are partly within the previously defined Inferred Mineral Resources, but the definition provided by additional drilling has allowed significantly increased continuity of grade to be established and then extended along strike into previously untested areas. The recognition of high-grade trends in areas previously tested by wider-spaced drilling reflects a growing understanding of the controls on mineralization at Kamoa-Kakula (Figure 6).

Mineralization thicknesses range from three metres up to 18 metres at a 1% copper cut-off. The mineralized horizon generally is in the region of 150 metres to 300 metres below surface, except on the west side of the West Scarp Fault (see Figure 2), where it strikes roughly north-south and dips gently to the west at between five and 10 degrees (see Figure 7).

Sulphide mineralization at Kamoa North tends to be bottom-loaded and shows typical downward zonation from chalcopyrite to bornite to chalcocite. Chalcopyrite dominates in the lower grade intercepts and when mineralization extends into the overlying pyritic siltstone. Fine-grained bornite and chalcocite dominate in the highest-grade intersections (see Figure 8).

Selected drill holes from the Kamoa North drilling program:

DD1396 intersected 18.26 metres (true width) of 5.73% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and 17.27 metres (true width) of 5.98% copper at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 233.60 metres.

DD1382 intersected 8.05 metres (true width) of 4.45% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and 7.55 metres (true width) of 4.66% copper at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 199.5 metres.

DD1213 intersected 6.97 metres (true width) of 4.08% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and 6.44 metres (true width) of 4.26% copper, at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 226.45 metres.

DD1406 intersected 14.92 metres (true width) of 3.18% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and 7.26 metres (true width) of 4.54% copper, at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 231 metres.

DD1408 intersected 5.99 metres (true width) of 5.26% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, and 4.45 metres (true width) of 6.88% copper, at a 2.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 527 metres.

Table 1, on page 12, contains a complete list of assay results, at 1% and 2% copper cut-offs, for the drill holes completed at Kamoa North since the last resource update. Table 1 includes 13 holes drilled in 2017 that were included in the March 2018 Kamoa-Kakula Technical Report as drilling completed since the effective date of the Resource estimate.

"The discovery of these new, high-grade zones at Kamoa North clearly demonstrate Kamoa-Kakula's remarkable potential to significantly increase the project's current copper resources," said Mr. Friedland. "Kamoa-Kakula already is the world's fourth-largest copper discovery on the planet in terms of contained copper.

"What our mining engineers find particularly attractive about the Kamoa North discovery is that the copper mineralization is thick, flat lying and relatively shallow. The high-grade copper also is generally bottom-loaded, similar to our earlier Kakula and Makoko discoveries, and should be ideally suited to mining at elevated copper cut-off grades."

Mr. Friedland reiterated that Ivanhoe and Zijin are firmly committed to fast-tracking Kamoa-Kakula's first mining operation at Kakula. "Based on the findings of the independent preliminary economic assessment completed a year ago, the resources we've discovered at Kakula should allow Ivanhoe and Zijin to build a world-scale, highly-mechanized, underground copper mine producing at an initial mining rate of six million tonnes a year, and potentially amenable to subsequent stages of phased mine expansions up to 18 million tonnes a year, and beyond."

Exploration drilling continuing

Ivanhoe and Zijin are continuing with exploration and step-out drilling around the presently defined Mineral Resource boundaries at the Kamoa and Kakula discoveries. Eight drills are operating at Kamoa-Kakula. One rig is drilling resource-extension holes at Kakula Main; two rigs are drilling infill holes at Kakula West; three rigs are drilling step-out holes at Kakula West; and two rigs are drilling exploration/step-out holes at Kamoa North. Approximately 74,000 metres of a planned 81,000-metre, 2018 drilling program have been completed to date this year.

Range of mine-development options under study

The pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the planned, initial six million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) Kakula Mine is expected to be completed early in 2019. This PFS will provide more detailed information related to the project's economic assumptions and will incorporate results from detailed engineering and optimization work.

Ivanhoe and Zijin also are exploring potential options to expand future production. The 2017 PEA noted the potential for a 12 Mtpa scenario, to be achieved through the sequential development of both the Kakula and Kansoko mines. Based on subsequent discoveries, including Kakula West, Ivanhoe and Zijin also are exploring the potential for expanding production to 18 Mtpa, and beyond.

Exploration is continuing to progress at Kamoa-Kakula and to the west, on Ivanhoe's 100%-owned exploration licences in the adjacent Western Foreland area, where drilling recently discovered a large, high-grade zone of copper at Makoko.

Ivanhoe believes this phased approach to building what ultimately could become one of the world's largest copper-mining complexes will provide an attractive combination of lower initial capital cost while maintaining key operating efficiencies and economies of scale.

The newly delineated, high-grade zones are near surface and flat lying. Given this depth and dip, they could be amenable to traditional, non-fill room-and-pillar-style mining that can provide high mining recovery, is highly productive and economically efficient.

Mr. Friedland said that potential construction of an additional shallow access decline in the Kamoa North area will be studied, which would expand the range of options presently being considered for the development of Kamoa-Kakula.

"We remain confident that there are more high-grade copper discoveries to be made in the area and that the ultimate scale of mining operations at Kamoa-Kakula will be much larger than currently modelled by a number of analysts and investors," Mr. Friedland added.

"Additional exploration successes could have a significant influence on the scale, value and timing of the overall development plan. Our Kamoa-Kakula plans will be reassessed and amended as supported by our discoveries."





Figure 2. Collar location plan, showing depth to top of SMZ.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_003full.jpg





Figure 3. Contours of copper grade for 1% composites.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_005full.jpg





Figure 4. Contours of copper grade for 2% composites.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_006full.jpg





Figure 5. Contours of true width for 1% composites.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_007full.jpg





Figure 6. New drill-hole positions relative to current resource areas.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 6, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_008full.jpg





Figure 7. Contours of average dip at Kamoa North.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 7, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_009full.jpg







Figure 8. Mineralization profiles for recent drill holes at Kamoa North.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 8, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_figure008full.jpg

Table 1. List of recent drill results from Kamoa North Exploration area of Kamoa-Kakula Project.

To view an enhanced version of Table 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_013full.jpg





Table 2. Collar co-ordinates of recent exploration results.

To view an enhanced version of Table 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_table002full.jpg

Kakula decline development work nearing completion to provide access to the high-grade copper resources

Underground development work on the twin declines at the Kakula Copper Discovery is progressing according to plan. The service and conveyor declines each have been advanced more than 1,000 metres through underground development work.

The Kakula decline development work is being undertaken by JMMC, a DRC subsidiary of JCHX Mining Management of Beijing, China. Depending on ground conditions, the 3,535-metre decline development contract is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018.

Initial mine development is planned to begin at the Kakula Deposit in a flat, near-surface zone along the deposit's axis. Based on the findings of the independent preliminary economic assessment completed in November of last year, Kakula's copper grade is projected to average 6.4% over the first 10 years of production.

Kamoa-Kakula already ranks as the world's fourth-largest copper deposit

Both the Kakula Discovery and the earlier Kamoa Discovery continue to remain open for expansion.

The current, combined Kamoa-Kakula Indicated Mineral Resources total 1.34 billion tonnes grading 2.72% copper, containing 80.7 billion pounds of copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off grade and an approximate minimum thickness of 3.0 metres. At a higher, 1.5% copper cut-off grade and a minimum thickness of 3.0 metres, the combined Kamoa-Kakula Indicated Mineral Resources now total 1.03 billion tonnes grading 3.17% copper, containing 71.7 billion pounds of copper.

Kamoa-Kakula also has Inferred Mineral Resources of 315 million tonnes grading 1.87% copper, containing 13.0 billion pounds of copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off grade and an approximate minimum thickness of 3.0 metres. At a 1.5% copper cut-off grade and a minimum thickness of 3.0 metres, Kamoa-Kakula's Inferred Mineral Resources now total 183 million tonnes grading 2.31% copper, containing 9.3 billion pounds of copper.

Research by Wood Mackenzie also confirms that the Kamoa-Kakula Project is the world's largest, high-grade (>2.5% copper grade) copper deposit and the world's largest, undeveloped copper deposit, based on contained copper in the project's Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources.





Figure 9. Among the world's largest copper deposits by contained copper, Kamoa-Kakula has the highest copper grades by a wide margin.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 9, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/41047_1d3da1a55491c9f1_016full.jpg

Source: Wood Mackenzie

*Note: Selected based on contained copper (Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources, inclusive of Mineral Reserves, and Inferred Mineral Resources), ranked on contained copper in Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources.

Qualified Person and Quality Control and Assurance

Scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Stephen Torr, P.Geo., Ivanhoe Mines' Vice President, Project Geology and Evaluation, a Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Torr is not independent of Ivanhoe Mines. Mr. Torr has verified the technical data disclosed in this news release not related to the current Mineral Resource estimate disclosed herein.

Ivanhoe Mines maintains a comprehensive chain of custody and quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program on assays from its Kamoa-Kakula Project. Half-sawn core is processed at the Kamoa-Kakula on-site preparation laboratory and prepared samples then are shipped by secure courier to Bureau Veritas Minerals (BVM) Laboratories in Australia, an ISO17025-accredited facility. Copper assays are determined at BVM by mixed-acid digestion with ICP finish. Industry-standard certified reference materials and blanks are inserted into the sample stream prior to dispatch to BVM. For detailed information about assay methods and data verification measures used to support the scientific and technical information, please refer to the March 2018 technical report titled, "Kamoa-Kakula Project - the Kamoa-Kakula 2018 Resource Update", on the Ivanhoe Mines SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and available at www.ivanhoemines.com.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa: the development of new mines at the Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-copper-gold discovery in South Africa; and the extensive redevelopment and upgrading of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC.

Information contacts

Investors

Bill Trenaman +1.604.331.9834

Media

North America: Bob Williamson +1.604.512.4856

South Africa: Jeremy Michaels +27.82.772.1122

Cautionary statement on forward-looking information

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including without limitation, statements regarding the completion of a PFS for an initial 6 Mpta Kakula Mine in early 2019; updating the Kamoa North mineral resources in 2019; the completion of the Kakula decline development work by the end of 2018; and statements regarding planned and expected rates of production and mine life.

Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.

All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Ivanhoe Mines' management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements including, but not limited to, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations (including retroactive application), the failure of contractual agreements with the State to be honoured in whole or in part, or in the enforcement or application of laws, rules and regulations by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices, including the price of copper; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, or delays in the development of infrastructure, the failure of exploration programs or other studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued studies, development or operations, and the results of economic studies and evaluations. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements also include those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the company's most recently filed MD&A as well as in the most recent Annual Information Form filed by Ivanhoe Mines. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information and statements, and the risks that could cause the actual results to differ materially are set forth in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the company's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis report and Annual Information Form, available at www.sedar.com.

This news release also contains references to estimates of Mineral Resources. The estimation of Mineral Resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation, which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results and statistical inferences that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Mineral Resource estimates may have to be re-estimated based on, among other things: (i) fluctuations in copper prices or other mineral prices; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) results of metallurgical testing and other studies; (iv) changes to proposed mining operations, including dilution; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to the date of any estimates; (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licences, or changes to any such permits, approvals or licences; and (v) changes in laws, rules or regulations, including changes to tax, VAT, and royalty rates whether to be applied prospectively or retroactively.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.
Landmark accreditation and new technologies propel industry forward in fight against ad fraud in OTT

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pixalate , the world's most comprehensive ad fraud detection and prevention platform, has become the first company to receive accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC) for Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT) detection and filtration for over-the-top (OTT) video ad impressions. This groundbreaking achievement positions Pixalate as the only currently accredited solution for marketers to protect their growing OTT advertising investments. Pixalate also received accreditation for its over-the-top (OTT) served video ad impression tracking.

With over 80% of U.S. households already equipped with OTT devices, Tru Optik estimates global OTT ad spend to reach $50 billion by 2020. Pixalate's analysis shows global OTT fraud rates average 19% and forecasts marketers stand to lose $10 billion in OTT spend in 2020. With the growing importance of OTT audiences, capitalizing on the opportunity without risking brand reputation and ad spend is key.

"OTT is a critical new channel in today's digital landscape," said George W. Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the MRC. "We congratulate Pixalate on the significant achievement of becoming the first company to receive MRC accreditation for its SIVT detection and filtration in OTT, which clearly demonstrates Pixalate's position as an industry leader in this space."

"This industry-first OTT accreditation is a landmark achievement for Pixalate and the fast-growing OTT space," said Jalal Nasir, CEO of Pixalate. "Our OTT accreditation from the MRC provides brands and platforms with an opportunity to adhere to the invalid traffic guidelines in order to protect their ad dollars and reputation."

"Pixalate's OTT accreditation is a big step forward for the industry, as advertisers will be given a confidence boost in a highly desirable channel," said Jay Friedman, President of Goodway Group. "Third-party validation is required for any new space to grow, and the OTT landscape is more primed than ever for rapid growth going into next year."

In other news, Pixalate launches OTT Blocking, adding to Analytics for full OTT fraud management

Pixalate has expanded its OTT products, adding high-risk OTT devices and IPs to its pre-bid Blocking solution. With OTT detection through its post-bid Analytics, Pixalate analyzes data from over 55 million OTT devices each month to deliver an exhaustive system for identifying fraud in OTT advertising.

Pixalate's OTT Blocking works for IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and includes SSAI solutions. This advancement makes Pixalate the first truly cross-channel Fraud Management System for detection and blocking across display, in-app, video and OTT formats.

Follow Pixalate

Blog

LinkedIn

Twitter

About Pixalate

Pixalate is a cross-channel fraud intelligence company that works with brands and platforms to prevent invalid traffic and improve ad inventory quality. We offer the only system of coordinated solutions across display, app, video, and OTT for better detection and elimination of ad fraud. Pixalate is an MRC-accredited solution for the detection and prevention of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) across display, in-app, video, and OTT advertising. www.pixalate.com

Contact:

tyler@pixalate.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Body and Mind Inc. (CSE: BAMM) (CSE: BAMM.CN) (US OTC: BMMJ) (the "Company" or "BaM") announced today that it has been selected as the Nevada partner of multi-state innovator Chooze Corp., owner of LucidMood. LucidMood creates proprietary terpene and botanical formulations to give defined effects with recognizable differences. Body and Mind will add THC and CBD at their licensed cannabis production facility in Las Vegas and work with LucidMood on sales programs and distribution. LucidMood vape pens are currently sold in Colorado, Delaware, Oregon, Maryland and Rhode Island.

"Nevada is one of the most important states for the cannabis industry right now", stated Charles Jones, CEO of Chooze. "With roughly 44 Million annual visitors to Nevada, this is an exceptional market for our products. We have researched numerous partners for expansion into Nevada and Body and Mind ticks all the boxes. Their highly experienced cultivation and production staff will ensure that quality THC and CBD is combined with our proprietary terpene and botanical formulations. I've been impressed with the Body and Mind sales and distribution team and our vape pen products are a perfect fit for the "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" visitor. LucidMood has been focused on created a defined, repeatable cannabis experience without the debilitating side effects. We have already spent significant time working with Body and Mind and are excited to partner with a company that shares our values of high-quality offerings and customer satisfaction."

"We have been producing premium cannabis in Nevada for many years and our cultivation team is an industry leader in researching and developing strains for Body and Mind" stated Robert Hasman, Body and Mind director. "We understand that different strains produce different effects and LucidMood has taken the customer experience to the next level. Each cannabis strain contains a multitude of elements beyond just THC and CBC and terpenes are a key factor in the effect. There are over 100 terpenes found in Cannabis and the entourage effect of terpenes is well documented. Basically, you feel more or less of an effect of a strain based on the terpenes found in the strain. LucidMood is an innovator in isolating the terpenes to tailor the entourage effect and give consumers an experience based on a defined experience. LucidMood has a strong track record and customer following in current states and we look forward to replicating this success. The popular LucidMood pens are a complimentary addition to our premium Body and Mind strains and products and will benefit from our well developed distribution channel."

Lucid Mood considers the cannabis experience through three main effects. Customers looking for a Tranquil experience can choose from their Sleep and Chill vape pens. Customers desiring a Comforting effect can choose from Relief and Calm. Active users seeking an uplifting effect can choose from Party and Energy.

Chooze has entered into a one year exclusive agreement with Body and Mind to license LucidMood technology in order to develop, make, sell, offer for sale and distribute LucidMood products the in the state of Nevada. Chooze grants Body and Mind Inc. rights to use the Licensed Marks solely in connection with the manufacturing, marketing, sale and distribution of the Licensed Products in the Territory during the Term.

LucidMood pens will be available throughout Las Vegas and Nevada dispensaries in mid-December.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Body and Mind

BaM is a publicly traded company investing in high quality medical and recreational cannabis cultivation and production and retail. Our wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary was awarded one of the first medical marijuana cultivation licences and holds cultivation and production licenses. BaM products include dried flower, edibles, topicals, extracts as well as GPEN Gio cartridges. BaM marijuana strains have won numerous awards including the Las Vegas Hempfest Cup 2016, High Times Top Ten, the NorCal Secret Cup and the Emerald Cup.

BaM continues to expand operations in Nevada and Ohio and is constantly reviewing accretive expansion opportunities.

About Lucid Mood

LucidMood is a private company founded in 2015 with the lofty goal of creating a cannabis experience without the limiting side effects. We explored, we studied, we went down a rabbit hole. We became experts not only in cannabis, but in the much larger world of botanicals. We learned that there are thousands of terpenes, all with the potential of altering the cannabis experience in desirable ways, and we found that different combinations could create specific effects. When we emerged, we had transformed everything we'd ever thought about cannabis. Now, the effect was clear, sharp, and functional. Each product we make produces tangible, recognizable differences in effect.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans, "estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation of activities, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release.

Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may constitute forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities.







For further information, please contact:

Michael Mills

+778-389-0007

mmills@bamcannabis.com
TORONTO, November 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

FSD Pharma Inc. ("FSD Pharma" or the "Company") (CSE: HUGE) (OTCQB: FSDDF) (FRA: 0K9) announced today that the license of its wholly-owned subsidiary, FV Pharma Inc. ("FV Pharma") under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR") has been migrated to the Cannabis Act and its regulations, effective November 8, 2018. The issuance of the new cannabis license includes the ability to sell cannabis to other licensed producers in accordance with subsection 11(5) of the Cannabis Regulations.

As of November 7, 2018, FV Pharma also received license amendments approving all of the remaining 25,000 square feet currently built out for additional grow and operations. The Company continues to move aggressively to achieve its next significant development of a further production footprint of 220,000 square feet.

Thomas Fairfull, President, CEO and Founder of FV Pharma stated "The migration of the Company's license, with the ability to sell under subsection 11(5) of the Cannabis Regulations, along with the recent addition of grow and operation areas to its existing license, brings the Company to the verge of readiness for a pre-sale inspection and obtaining of a full sales license from Health Canada."

About FSD Pharma

FSD Pharma is focused on the development of the highest quality indoor grown, pharmaceutical grade cannabis and on the research and development of novel cannabinoid-based treatments for several central nervous system disorders, including chronic pain, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome. The Company's phase one growth plan involves the development of 25,000 square feet of indoor grow space at its Ontario facility and an additional 220,000 square feet, which pending approval by Health Canada, is expected to be operational in the first quarter 2019.

FSD facilities sit on 72 acres of land with 40 acres primed for development and an expansion capability of up to 3,896,000 square feet.

FSD's wholly-owned subsidiary, FV Pharma, is a licensed producer of cannabis having received its cultivation license under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) on October 13, 2017 and is now operating under the recently enacted Cannabis Act. FV Pharma vision is to transform its current headquarters in a Kraft plant in Cobourg, Ontario into the largest hydroponic indoor grow facility in the world. FV Pharma intends to cover all aspects of this exciting, new industry, including cultivation, legal, processing, manufacturing, extracts and research and development.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Corporation's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the development of the Corporation's indoor cannabis facility and its business goals and objectives. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and the Corporation is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking-information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Additional Information:

Zeeshan Saeed

President, Founder and Director

FSD Pharma Inc.

Email: zeeshan@fsdpharma.com

Tel.: +1-(416)-854-8884

Contact Information:

Investor Relations:

Email: IR@fsdpharma.com

Website: http://www.fsdpharma.com

Media Relations:

Ned Berkowitz

Email: Ned.Berkowitz@russopartnersllc.com

Tel.: +1-(646)-942-5629
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) -On November 13, 2018, Xiana Mining Inc. (TSXV: XIA) ("Xiana" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of its previously announced acquisition ("MAP Acquisition") of Minera Altos De Punitaqui ("MAP") from Glencore. MAP is a 3,600 tonne per day operating mining camp in Chile. In addition, the Company also completed its previously announced concurrent financing for gross proceeds of approximately C$11 million.

Carlos Ballon, Chairman & CEO commented: "We are delighted to be announcing the closing of the MAP Acquisition and concurrent financing today. MAP is an excellent cornerstone asset for the Xiana portfolio and we look forward to executing our optimisation plans for the asset, building upon the asset's potential and delivering long term shareholder value.

I am also delighted to welcome Jaime Guzman, as General Manager of Xiana Chile SPA. Jaime has solid operational and managerial experience in construction and optimisation of projects in Chile and has held several roles within established mining companies in Chile. Jaime will be based on site and is instrumental in delivering Xiana's plan for MAP. We welcome Jaime to the team."

MAP Acquisition

The Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of MAP for aggregate consideration of US$25 million payable to subsidiaries of Glencore plc and a 1.5% net smelter royalty. MAP is a producing copper-gold operating company, which currently holds three operating mines, additional exploration licenses, a concentrator and associated infrastructure (together, the "Punitaqui Mine"). The Punitaqui Mine is a copper-gold property located in Chile, north of Santiago and south of Ovalle in the Coquimbo region.

Concurrent Financing

Concurrent with the closing of the MAP Acquisition, the Company also completed its previously announced placement (the "Placement") for gross proceeds of C$1.923 million. The Company issued 4,472,092 units (each, an "Equity Unit") at a price of C$0.43 per Equity Unit. Each Equity Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of C$0.65 per Common Share for a period of five years from the date of issuance of the Warrant.

Additionally, the Company completed its first draw in the amount of US$2.85 million under its US$7 million principal amount secured convertible loan agreement with Bluequest Sourcing AG ("Bluequest") dated October 24, 2018 (the "Bluequest Loan", together with the Placement, the "Concurrent Financing"). The Bluequest Loan is convertible, at the election of Bluequest, into units of the Company ("Loan Unit") at a conversion price of C$0.43 per Loan Unit. Each Loan Unit will be comprised of one Common Share and one Common Share purchase warrant (an "Underlying Warrant"). Each Underlying Warrant will be exercisable to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of C$0.65 per Common Share for a period of five years from the date of the Bluequest Loan.

The Common Shares issued as part of the Placement or upon conversion of the Bluequest Loan, as well as the underlying Common Shares to be issued upon exercise of the Warrants or the Underlying Warrants, are subject to a statutory four-month and a day hold period ending March 14, 2019.

The proceeds from the Concurrent Financing were utilised to complete the MAP Acquisition and repayment to Tembo Capital Mining Fund II LP ("Tembo") of the US$500,000 plus interest drawn by the Company under its convertible loan agreement with Tembo.

Senior Operational Appointment

Jaime Guzman has been appointed as General Manager of Xiana Chile SPA (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xiana and holding company of MAP). Jaime is a mining professional with 30 years of experience in large-scale mining and has held a variety of roles at established operations such as Zaldivaar (Barrick), Orica, Los Pelambres and Andina (Codelco).

Jaime served as Operations Manager for Andina (Codelco) between 2013 and 2015 where he managed over 1,200 personnel and was responsible for managing production lines of over 200,000 tonnes of copper annually. Jaime also held various roles within Los Pelambres between 2010 and 2012 ranging from Mine Operations Superintendent, Mine Manager and finally as General Manager. Jaime was also Operations Manager for Zaldivar between 1990-2004.

Jaime graduated from Universidad De Antofagasta with a Bachelor in Engineering Sciences and also has a degree in Mining Engineering from Universidad De La Serena.

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert Baxter (FAusIMM), a Director of Xiana Mining Inc. and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Baxter is not independent of the Company.

About Xiana Mining Inc.

Xiana Mining Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on acquiring and developing mining assets in Peru and Chile.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

XIANA MINING INC.

Carlos Ballon

Carlos Ballon, Chairman & CEO

For further information please contact:

Tony Drescher (Chief Financial Officer)

Telephone: +1 (604) 685-1017

E-mail: ajd@harbourpacific.com

Rita Adiani

NRG Capital Partners

Telephone: +44 (0)203 709 4504

E-mail: rita.adiani@nrgcapitalpartners.com



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Although Xiana believes that the expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because Xiana can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. There is no assurance that forward looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. The forward looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and Xiana undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

**NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES**
New Global Retirement "Rules of Thumb" Leverage U.S. Framework to Provide Workers in the U.K., Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and Canada with Age-Based Savings Milestones

As workers around the globe are asked to assume greater responsibility for their retirement savings, Fidelity1 is introducing the industry's first international retirement savings guidelines to help multinational companies and their employees in the U.K., Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and Canada begin to understand how much money needs to be saved for retirement.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005475/en/

Fidelity's global retirement savings guidelines (Graphic: Business Wire)

Designed to engage workers with clear, simple "rules of thumb" to help keep their retirement savings on track, the global guidelines2 can serve as a starting point for a broader retirement planning discussion and are intended to address two of the most common retirement-related questions from workers: "How much do I need to save for retirement?" and "Am I on track to save enough?"

"Fidelity's commitment to engaging workers and providing retirement guidance to tens of millions of U.S. workers over the past 30 years has enabled us to create the first set of global retirement guidelines to help millions more around the world," said Kevin Barry, president of workplace investing at Fidelity Investments in Boston. "Importantly, these guidelines can be part of an innovative international benefits program and can help employers monitor and encourage good retirement savings habits in a consistent manner across their regional workforces."

The global retirement savings guidelines, which leverage a U.S. framework also known as "10X" or age-based savings guidelines, are based on two metrics every worker knows their age and salary. This provides workers a straightforward approach to understanding how much they should have in savings, as a multiple of their salary at specific age milestones.

Based on the positive response to these retirement guidelines among American workers and employers, Fidelity's growing roster of multinational clients have asked for similar guidelines for their employees in other geographic regions as they move from defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution plans. Fidelity's new set of retirement savings guidelines are based on a consistent global framework that, when combined with locally-relevant financial and demographic assumptions, can help multinational companies develop a benefit platforms that can help meet the needs of a global workforce.

"Planning and saving for the future is a challenge facing workers globally," said Carl Gagnon, Assistant Vice President of Global Retirement Programs at Unum Group, a leading provider of financial protection benefits in the United States and United Kingdom. "Having an international savings framework for the employees that is locally relevant will help put our workers around the world on the path towards reaching their long-term savings goals."

Retirement Age, Investment Returns and Other Factors Can Impact Global Savings Rates

Fidelity's global retirement savings guidelines are based on several key assumptions3 and calculate a suggested annual savings rate4 and age-based savings milestones for each country. The guidelines also include a target income replacement rate5 and a probable sustainable withdrawal rate, which helps workers understand how much they may be able to withdraw from their savings each year without running out of money in retirement.

Here is what the retirement savings guidelines look like in other parts of the world:

United Kingdom. The guidelines for workers in the U.K. are to save a total 13 percent of their annual salary each year and aim to have saved 7X their salary by retirement. This will put them on track to replace 35 percent of their pre-retirement income, which Fidelity estimates, when combined with a government pension, may enable them to maintain a pre-retirement lifestyle throughout retirement. Fidelity's guidelines for U.K. workers are based on a 5 percent sustainable withdrawal rate in retirement.

The guidelines for workers in the U.K. are to save a total 13 percent of their annual salary each year and aim to have saved 7X their salary by retirement. This will put them on track to replace 35 percent of their pre-retirement income, which Fidelity estimates, when combined with a government pension, may enable them to maintain a pre-retirement lifestyle throughout retirement. Fidelity's guidelines for U.K. workers are based on a 5 percent sustainable withdrawal rate in retirement. Germany. Certain savings guidelines for workers in Germany are similar to those for U.S. workers. Workers in Germany are encouraged to aim to have saved 10X their final salary upon retirement, which will replace 45 percent of their pre-retirement income. The 4.6 percent withdrawal rate is consistent with the 4.5 percent withdrawal rate for U.S. workers. However, German workers are encouraged to save 21 percent of their salary each year.

Certain savings guidelines for workers in Germany are similar to those for U.S. workers. Workers in Germany are encouraged to aim to have saved 10X their final salary upon retirement, which will replace 45 percent of their pre-retirement income. The 4.6 percent withdrawal rate is consistent with the 4.5 percent withdrawal rate for U.S. workers. However, German workers are encouraged to save 21 percent of their salary each year. Hong Kong. Workers in Hong Kong are encouraged to save 12X their final salary and have a suggested savings rate of 20 percent 6 , which will put them on track to replace nearly half (48 percent) of their pre-retirement income. Hong Kong workers' 4.1 percent sustainable withdrawal rate is the second lowest only to Japan. The savings milestones are higher than the U.S. guidelines for several reasons, including the assumed retirement age in Hong Kong is earlier, the expected lifespan is longer and the assumed investment returns are on the lower end of the spectrum.

Workers in Hong Kong are encouraged to save 12X their final salary and have a suggested savings rate of 20 percent , which will put them on track to replace nearly half (48 percent) of their pre-retirement income. Hong Kong workers' 4.1 percent sustainable withdrawal rate is the second lowest only to Japan. The savings milestones are higher than the U.S. guidelines for several reasons, including the assumed retirement age in Hong Kong is earlier, the expected lifespan is longer and the assumed investment returns are on the lower end of the spectrum. Japan. Workers in Japan have a suggested savings rate of 16 percent of their annual salary, which is similar to the savings rate for U.S. workers, but Japanese workers are estimated to only need to aim to save 7X their ending salary and replace 7 36 percent of their pre-retirement income. Workers in Japan have the lowest probable sustainable withdrawal rate (3.9 percent) due to the lowest expected long-term investment returns among the regions.

Workers in Japan have a suggested savings rate of 16 percent of their annual salary, which is similar to the savings rate for U.S. workers, but Japanese workers are estimated to only need to aim to save 7X their ending salary and replace 36 percent of their pre-retirement income. Workers in Japan have the lowest probable sustainable withdrawal rate (3.9 percent) due to the lowest expected long-term investment returns among the regions. Canada. The retirement savings rate for workers in Canada is only slightly higher than the rate for their U.S. counterparts. The suggested savings rate for Canadian workers is 16 percent and with a target of saving 10X their final salary, which will replace nearly half (45 percent) of their pre-retirement income. The suggested withdrawal rate of 4.5 percent is in line with the U.S.

"Defined contribution retirement plans are becoming the primary retirement savings vehicle for most U.S. workers and increasingly are being implemented worldwide, so it's more important than ever for workers from every region to understand what steps they need to take to ensure they are saving enough," continued Barry. "We believe Fidelity's new global retirement savings guidelines will have a positive impact on the retirement savings efforts for millions of workers around the world."

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity's mission is to inspire better futures and deliver better outcomes for the customers and businesses we serve. With assets under administration of $7.4 trillion, including managed assets of $2.6 trillion as of September 30, 2018, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping more than 28 million people invest their own life savings, 23,000 businesses manage employee benefit programs, as well as providing more than 13,000 financial advisory firms with investment and technology solutions to invest their own clients' money. Privately held for 70 years, Fidelity employs more than 40,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about.

Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC

900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917

Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, Inc.,

500 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917

National Financial Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC,

200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA 02110

866054.1.0

2018 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

1 The term "Fidelity" can refer to one or both of Fidelity International and Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments and Fidelity International are separate companies that operate in different jurisdictions through their subsidiaries and affiliates.

2 Guideline values can vary based on changes to such factors as retirement age, retirement lifestyle and life expectancy. Actual guidelines for any individual/household may vary.

3 Fidelity's guidelines are based on the following information

INCOME REPLACEMENT RATE

Income Replacement is the level of retirement income expressed as a fraction of pre-retirement income for an individual or a household. More specifically, Income Replacement Rate is defined here as the amount of pre-tax annual income in retirement divided by pre-tax occupational income in the year prior to retirement in current real dollars. This includes savings sourced from defined contribution, state/government benefits and defined benefit where available. While it is impossible without an in-depth interaction to determine the actual income replacement rate an individual will require in retirement, Fidelity generally targets a range of income replacement rates, based on pre-retirement income levels that cover planning though age: U.S. 92, UK 92, Germany 91, Hong Kong 94, Japan 93, Canada 93

The income replacement targets are based on the following data sources:

U.S.: Consumer Expenditure Survey 2011 (BLS), Statistics of Income 2011 Tax Stat, IRS 2014 tax brackets and Social Security Benefit Calculators. UK: Office for National Statistics Income, 'The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income, 2014/15'. 'Family Spending 2014' compendium. Germany: German: Federal Statistical Office (Destatis): Sample Survey of Income and Expenditure (EVS) Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department (Censtatd). Quarterly Report on General Household Survey 2016. Data from Household Expenditure Survey 2014-15 Japan: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2014 National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure Survey. Canada: Statistics Canada, 2016 Survey of Household Spending.

The income replacement targets for each region assume no private pension income and retirement and state pension claiming ages as follows: U.S. 67, UK 68, Germany 67, Hong Kong 65, Japan 67, Canada 65. Also, in certain regions US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Japan, the longer an individual works (within certain age eligibility limits), the more time State/National pension benefits can accrue and the greater the monthly/annual pension benefit, resulting in lower target values. Earlier retirement/claiming ages (within certain age eligibility limits) in the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany, and Japan are associated with lower state benefits and higher income replacement target values.

We use a Monte Carlo simulation-based approach to estimate potential growth of account balances through retirement, relying on certain market performance assumptions. The analysis is based on historical market data to project a range of potential outcomes for various hypothetical retirement income portfolios under different market conditions. Monte Carlo simulations are mathematical methods used to estimate the likelihood of a particular outcome based on market performance historical analysis.

SAVINGS FACTOR

The savings factor is a multiple of current salary that an individual should aim to have saved by a given age. Fidelity developed a series of salary multiplier targets corresponding to different ages assuming the following for each region:

Retirement Age: U.S. 67, UK 68, Germany 67, Hong Kong = 65, Japan 67, Canada 65

Annual Savings Rate: U.S. 15%, UK 13%, Germany 21%, Hong Kong 20% *, Japan 16%, Canada 16%

Annual Real Wage Growth: U.S. 1.5%, UK 1.75%, Germany 1.75%, Hong Kong 2.0%, Japan 1.75%, Canada 2.0%

Planning Age (Life Expectancy): U.S. 92, UK 92, Germany 91, Hong Kong 94, Japan 93, Canada 93

Personal Income Replacement Target: U.S. 45%, UK 35%, Germany 45%, Hong Kong 48%, Japan 36% **, Canada 45% ***

* Excludes 10% (5% employer, 5% employee) annual Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions.

** Total personal replacement rate is 36%, including 8% income replacement from an assumed retirement lump sum payment (RLSP) of 2X annual final salary.

*** Assumes Canada Pension Plan (CPP) enhancement, fully realized by base case Current Age 25

The personal replacement income targets are expressed a percentage of pre-retirement income and assume no private pension income. Fidelity developed the salary multipliers through multiple market simulations based on long-term historical market data and assuming a generic age-based asset allocation roll-down, with a lifetime average equity allocation of roughly 50% equity. For the purposes of generating savings factors and other retirement guidelines in the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada, rates of return associated with the 80th percentile (80% of simulated outcomes were greater) were used to evaluate the accumulation phase (savings and investment growth during one's working life) and associated retirement guidelines yearly savings rate and interim savings (X) factors, while rates of return associated with the 90th percentile were used to evaluate the decumulation (retirement) phase (investment performance and withdrawals in retirement) and the associated retirement guidelines

- Probable sustainable withdrawal rate and the final savings factor (representing the required savings balance at retirement). U.S. guideline values are based on returns associated with the 90th percentile simulation outcome across both accumulation and retirement. The final Savings Factors (salary multipliers) for each region are as follows:

Final Savings Factor (Salary Multiplier): U.S. 10x, UK 7x, Germany 10x, Hong Kong 12x, Japan 7x *, Canada 10x

* Total Savings milestone is 9x and includes an assumed retirement lump-sum payment of 2x annual final salary. Savings Factors are based on simulations which in turn are based on long-term historical market data. These simulations take into account the returns and volatility that a typical age-based (target date) asset allocation might experience under different market conditions.

The analysis assumes a level of diversity within each asset class consistent with a market index benchmark that may differ from the diversity of your own portfolio. Please note that the projections do not reflect the impact of any transaction costs or management and servicing fees.

Volatility of the stocks, bonds and short-term asset classes is based on the historical annual data by region as follows:

U.S.: From 1926 through the most recent year-end data available from Ibbotson Associates, Inc. Stocks (domestic and foreign) are represented by Ibbotson Associates SBBI S&P 500* Total Return Index, bonds are represented by Ibbotson Associates SBBI U.S. Intermediate Term Government Bonds Total Return Index, and short term are represented by Ibbotson Associates SBBI 30-day U.S. Treasury Bills Total Return Index, respectively. UK: From 1990 through the most recent year-end data available from Bloomberg and Datastream. Stocks (domestic and foreign) are represented by MSCI All Countries World Total Return Index, bonds are represented by Barclay's Aggregate Total Return Index (Value Hedged (GPB)), and short term are represented by the 3 Month GPB LIBOR rate, respectively. Germany: From 1990 through the most recent year-end data available from Bloomberg and Datastream. Stocks (domestic and foreign) are represented by MSCI All Countries World Total Return Index, bonds are represented by Barclay's Aggregate Total Return Index (Value Hedged (EUR)), and short term are represented by the 3 Month EUR LIBOR rate, respectively. Hong Kong: From 1990 through the most recent year-end data available from Bloomberg and Datastream. Stocks (domestic and foreign) are represented by MSCI All Countries World Total Return Index, bonds are represented by Barclay's Aggregate Total Return Index (Value Hedged ($HK)), and short term are represented by the 3 Month HIBOR rate, respectively Japan: From 1990 through the most recent year-end data available from Bloomberg and Datastream. Stocks (domestic and foreign) are represented by MSCI All Countries World Total Return Index, bonds are represented by Barclay's Aggregate Total Return Index (Value Hedged (JPY)), and short term are represented by the 3 Month JPY LIBOR rate, respectively. Canada: From 1934 through the most recent year-end data available from Bloomberg and Datastream. Stocks are represented as follows: Canadian Equity: TSX 300, US Equity: Fama-French market value-weighted index (1987 present, Developed Market ex-Canada prior to that date), Ex-US-Canadian Equity: MSCI ACWI (1987 present, MSCI EAFE prior to that date). Canadian Bonds: FTSE TMX Canadian Universe Bond Index (1982 Present, and Canadian 10Y Treasury prior to that date), Canadian Cash: Canadian T-Bill (3 month)

It is not possible to invest directly in an index. All indices include reinvestment of dividends and interest income. All calculations are purely hypothetical and a suggested salary multiplier is not a guarantee of future results; it does not reflect the return of any particular investment or take into consideration the composition of a participant's particular account. The salary multiplier is intended only to be one source of information that may help you assess your retirement income needs. Remember, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Performance returns for actual investments will generally be reduced by fees or expenses not reflected in these hypothetical calculations. Returns also will generally be reduced by taxes.

4 Suggest annual savings rate includes both employee and employer contributions.

5 The income replacement rate for each region represents the percentage of pre-retirement income that Fidelity estimates will be required to come from personal savings in order to maintain a pre-retirement lifestyle throughout retirement (when combined with state pension). The value may vary across regions based on differences in expenditures, taxation, and the level of income replacement from state pension, among other factors.

6 Hong Kong savings rate 20 percent savings rate is a net of an assumed 5 percent Mandatory Provident Fund, often abbreviated as MPF, contribution from both employer and employee. MPF is a compulsory retirement saving scheme for residents in Hong Kong.

7 Japan's income replacement rate is 28 percent, which is net of 8 percent income replacement from an assumed final lump sum salary payment of 2X annual pre-retirement salary.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181114005475/en/

Contacts:

Corporate Communications

(617) 563-5800

fidelitycorporateaffairs@fmr.com

Mike Shamrell

(617) 563-1996

michael.shamrell@fmr.com
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
INCLINE VILLAGE, NV / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / LithiumOre (http://lithiumore.net) (the 'Company'), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oroplata Resources, Inc. (OTCQB: ORRP), a lithium resource exploration and development company, announced today that Chief Executive Officer Doug Cole will present and be available for meetings at the 2018 LD Micro Main Event XI, taking place December 4-6, 2018, in Bel-Air, California.

Mr. Cole is scheduled to present on Wedneday, December 5, 2018 at the 11th Annual LD Micro Main Event, one of the largest and most influential independent micro-cap conferences in the country. For more information about the conference or to schedule a one-on-one meeting with management, please contact Hayden IR at hart@haydenir.com. During the session, Mr. Cole will demonstrate how his little known Nevada based company, LithiumOre, is poised to become one of the most substantial players in the production and supply of battery-grade lithium within the United States.

About LD Micro

LD Micro was founded in 2006 with the sole purpose of being an independent resource in the microcap space. What started out as a newsletter highlighting unique companies has transformed into several influential events annually (Invitational, Summit and Main Event). In 2015, LD Micro launched ldmicro.com as a portal to provide exclusive intraday information on the entire sector, including the first pure micro-cap index (LDMi), which covers stocks in North America with market capitalizations between $50 million to $300 million.

About LithiumOre, Corp.

LithiumOre (http://lithiumore.net), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oroplata Resources, Inc. (OTCQB: ORRP), is a lithium resource exploration and development company, whose primary focus is the establishment of a low cost, environmentally sound production base to supply the rapidly growing lithium-ion battery industry for both mobile devices and laptops, as well as the burgeoning EV (electronic vehicle) industry. LithiumOre is focused on becoming a substantial, profitable lithium producer via the timely development of valuable production-grade lithium brine deposits in Nevada.

Made in America, LithiumOre holds 1,300 accepted lithium mineral claims, totaling 26,000 acres, located in Railroad Valley of Nye County, Nevada. Railroad Valley is approximately 112 miles northeast of Clayton Valley, and approximately double the size, and can be accessed by paved highway directly from U.S. Route 6. Railroad Valley is one of Nevada's largest trapped basins and is noted to hold all the necessary commercial and engineering prerequisites for a massive lithium brine deposit. The Company's claims have been evaluated by experts and the BLM and are in planned on-site exploration.

For more information, please visit: http://lithiumore.net

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including those with respect to the expected project economics for Western Nevada Basin (Railroad Valley), including estimates of life of mine, average production, cash costs, AISC, initial CAPEX, sustaining CAPEX, pre-tax IRR, pre-tax NPV, net cash flows and recovery rates, the impact of self-mining versus contract mining, the timing to obtain necessary permits, the submission of the project for final investment approval and the timing of initial lithium production after investment approval and full financing, metallurgy and processing expectations, the mineral resource estimate, expectations regarding the ability to expand the mineral resource through future drilling, ongoing work to be conducted at the Western Nevada Basin (Railroad Valley), and the potential results of such efforts, the potential commissioning of a Pre-Feasibility study and the effects on timing of the project, are "forward-looking statements." Although the Company's management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information, unfavorable exploration results, inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices, final investment approval and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2017. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release.

Contact Information

Hayden IR

Stephen Hart

(917) 658-7878

hart@haydenir.com

SOURCE: LithiumOre

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/527988/LithiumOre-to-Present-at-the-2018-LD-Micro-Main-Event-XI
Toronto and London, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) - Deveron UAS Corp. (CSE: DVR) ("Deveron" or the "Company") and A & L Canada Laboratories Inc., ("A & L") are pleased to announce a new product offering geared towards an innovative, cost-effective approach to sampling soil across North American farms.

The product offering will use high-resolution in-season imagery data collected by UAV ("Drone") to drive and create site specific soil sampling points on farms. This collection method uses science, data and analytics to plan and target optimum soil sampling points across the 400 million acres of farmland in North America.

Market and Markets reports a growing agricultural testing market to be valued at over $6 billion USD globally by 2022, with soil testing on farmland dominating the category.

Farmers, ag retailers and consultants can use soil data to make data driven decisions around the use of fertilizer and inputs and where to maximize input efficiency on the land. Bundled drone data and soil sampling also provides a data collection option that is cost-effective and scalable when compared to traditional grid soil sampling methods. Clients will also be able to leverage the high-resolution imagery data as another important layer in their growing precision agriculture program and to augment measures to improve soil health.

Drone driven soil sampling is the first product launch between the alliance of A & L and Deveron announced September 12, 2018. Both companies are collaborating to develop several value-added imagery data and mapping products.

"We are thrilled to be bundling our high resolution imagery data with soil data," commented Deveron's President & CEO, David MacMillan. "A &L has revolutionized this new approach to soil sampling and we are excited about its potential to improve farm yields and data driven decision making on farms throughout North America in 2019."

"A & L's expertise and capabilities are an excellent match with Deveron's data collection and analytic platforms," commented Greg Patterson, CEO and Founder of A & L Canada. "I look forward to working with Deveron to bring the next wave of novel services and technologies to our customers."

To sign-up for and receive further information on this new product and enhance your agricultural soil sampling program, click here.

About A & L Canada Laboratories: A & L is an innovative, research driven technology company focused on sustainable development. Through leading expertise, modern laboratory facilities and strong customer focus, A & L serves a wide range of industries including agriculture, environmental, food & pharma - globally.

In agriculture, A & L provides comprehensive analytical services for soil, plant tissue, feed, fertilizer and water. A & L's services also include production recommendations, remote sensing and precision agriculture capabilities. A & L Biologicals Inc. focuses on research and development of biological compounds for use in agricultural production systems. The company operates two world-class analytical laboratories serving clients throughout Canada, the U.S. and internationally.

About Deveron UAS: Deveron is a leading drone data services company providing powerful data applications and analytics to the agricultural community. Drone data helps farmers reduce costs and increase both yields and profit using sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Systems ("UAS" or "drones"), sensors, software and analytics. Deveron's drone imagery service network allows farmers in North America to obtain on-demand, actionable data so they can make timely production decisions with the use of ultra high-resolution data. The Company is focused on building a standardized network of pilots, drones and sensors to provide data to decision makers in the farming industry.

For more information and to join our community, please visit www.deveronuas.com or reach us on Twitter @DeveronUAS:

David MacMillan

President & CEO

Deveron UAS Corp.

416-367-4571 ext. 221

dmacmillan@deveronuas.com

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under Canadian securities laws. Without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company are forward looking statements that involve various degrees of risk. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current views with respect to possible future events and conditions and, by their nature, are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific to the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. The following are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements: changes in the world-wide price of agricultural commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in agriculture, the uncertainty of future profitability and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. Additional information regarding the material factors and assumptions that were applied in making these forward looking statements as well as the various risks and uncertainties we face are described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of our annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis of our financial results and other continuous disclosure documents and financial statements we file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. The Company relies on litigation protection for forward looking statements.
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) - Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: MGM) (OTCQB: MGMLF) (FSE: M3G) ("Maple Gold" or the "Company") has completed its first pass summer 2018 field mapping in the central part of the Douay Project (the "Project"). Very limited historical work has been completed previously in this portion of the Project. The objective of the mapping program was to identify alkaline intrusive-related gold (similar to the Douay deposit), orogenic gold (similar to the Casa Berardi mine) and/or volcanogenic massive sulfide "VMS" (similar to the past producing Estrades mine) target areas for follow-up. The Casa Berardi mine (3.4Moz Au past production plus reserves[1]) and Estrades deposit (about 0.34Moz Au, 12Moz Ag, and 0.23Mtonnes Zn past production plus current resources[2]) occur along the same Casa Berardi Deformation Zone about 41 and 12 kilometres west, respectively, of Maple Gold's property.

The mapped area is mainly underlain by mafic volcanic and related intrusive rocks of the Cartwright Group, with minor intermediate to felsic volcanic and graphitic sedimentary and chert intervals marking breaks in mafic volcanic activity. VMS deposits can be formed during these breaks, and the breaks may also mark potentially favorable structural elements for orogenic gold deposit formation. Such felsic volcanic horizons host the Estrades VMS deposit.

All samples from the Company's 2018 mapping program were assayed by ALS Labs for Au + 48 elements using the Fire-Assay/ICP-AES method for gold and 4-acid ICP-MS method for the multi-element package. This process allows for near-total extraction of most of these elements, and therefore assay results not only provide geographic distribution of trace metal anomalies, but also help discriminate between the different rock-types and alteration styles present on the Project. Results from the sampling program included modest gold anomalies (up to 96 ppb) as well as anomalies in pathfinder elements such as Ce, K, La, Na, P, and Sr that are characteristic of the Douay intrusive-related alkaline system.

The potential for VMS mineralisation is indicated by multiple assays with anomalous Zn (up to 1080 ppm), Cu (up to 594 ppm) S (up to 2.5%), Mn (up to 1.2%) and variable Na, i.e. both enriched and depleted. The strongest metal anomaly (1080 ppm Zn) was obtained from an interflow graphitic sedimentary/chert horizon located 2.8km SW of the Douay West gold zone, that was detected and traced for an EW direction over about 4.2km by the Company's 2016 airborne electromagnetic survey ("EM2016").

These numerous geochemical anomalies can be grouped into six main target areas for geophysical and geological follow-up (see Fig. 1). These are:

- Area 1: Overburden drilling gold-in-till (10-35 gold grains) and bedrock geochemistry anomalies - Area 2: Harricana target with mixed VMS/alkaline intrusive geochemical response - Area 3: Geochemical anomalies with historical INPUT responses and known Cu, Zn showings - Area 4: Central Cu-Zn anomaly also with alkaline intrusive pathfinders - Area 5: NW extension EM2016 conductors with alkaline intrusive pathfinders - Area 6: Mineralized graphitic interflow sediments/cherts associated with EM2016 conductors





Fred Speidel, Maple Gold's VP Exploration, commented: "The greenfield top-of-bedrock drilling and now mapping and sampling work we have completed in 2018 has generated numerous target areas that we plan to follow up on with geophysics this winter and additional mapping next summer in order to prioritize the next set of new greenfield drill targets.







Figure 1: General Geology of Douay Project, showing distribution of exploration targets including those defined in winter 2018 top-of-bedrock drilling (Area 1), and numerous geochemical anomalies from 2018 mapping and sampling (Areas 2-6). For illustrative purposes, Cu+Zn anomalies are shown here as areas with samples over 100ppm Cu and/or 100ppm Zn. Note eastern extension of known VMS horizons (Estrades and Newiska, a similar deposit) as red lines extending into Areas 1 and 2, interpreted from magnetic data, with the northernmost being Estrades.





To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3077/41053_fb28b970a43bb855_001full.jpg





Qualified Person

The scientific and technical data contained in this press release was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Fred Speidel, M. Sc, P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration, of Maple Gold. Mr. Speidel is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Speidel has verified the data related to the exploration information disclosed in this news release through his direct participation in the work.

Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC)

Maple Gold implements strict Quality Assurance ("QA") and Quality Control ("QC") protocols at Douay covering the planning and placing of drill holes in the field; drilling and retrieving the NQ-sized drill core; drill-hole surveying; core transport to the Douay Camp; core logging by qualified personnel; sampling and bagging of core for analysis; transport of core from site to the analytical laboratory; sample preparation for assaying; and analysis, recording and final statistical vetting of results. For a complete description of protocols, please visit the Company's QA/QC page on the website at: http://maplegoldmines.com/index.php/en/projects/qa-qc-qp-statement

About Maple Gold

Maple Gold is an advanced gold exploration and development company focused on defining a district-scale gold project in one of the world's premier mining jurisdictions. The Company's 377 km Douay Gold Project is located along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone (55 km of strike) within the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt in northern Quebec, Canada. The Project benefits from excellent infrastructure and has an established gold resource[3] that remains open in multiple directions. For more information, please visit www.maplegoldmines.com.

ON BEHALF OF MAPLE GOLD MINES LTD.

"Matthew Hornor"



B. Matthew Hornor, President & CEO

For Further Information Please Contact:

Mr. Joness Lang

VP, Corporate Development



Email: jlang@maplegoldmines.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation in Canada, including statements about the prospective mineral potential of the Porphyry Zone, the potential for significant mineralization from other drilling in the referenced drill program and the completion of the drill program. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding timing and completion of the private placement. When used herein, words such as "anticipate", "will", "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are based on certain estimates, expectations, analysis and opinions that management believed reasonable at the time they were made or in certain cases, on third party expert opinions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, and uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual events, results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future events, results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Maple Gold Mines Ltd.'s filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.maplegoldmines.com. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

____________________

[1] Source: https://www.hecla-mining.com/casa-berardi/

[2] Source: RPA November 2018 43-101 Report

[3] (Micon 2018) 479,000 ounces at 1.59 g/t Au (Indicated category) and 2,759,000 ounces at 1.02 g/t Au (Inferred category), using a 0.45 g/t Au cut-off grade. Please visit www.maplegoldmines.com or the Company's SEDAR filings for a copy of the Micon 2018 report.
New Identity Reflects Fully Integrated Capabilities as Next-Generation, Global Digital Communications Company

LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Investis (www.investisdigital.com), a leading digital communications company, today announced the rebrand of its organization to Investis Digital. The new brand identity and positioning highlights the evolution of the company following its acquisition and successful integration of ZOG Digital.

Founded in 2000, Investis first developed deep expertise in investor relations before expanding its capabilities to include corporate, digital and strategic communications. By layering the world-class performance marketing expertise of ZOG Digital over its cutting-edge technology solutions and traditional strength in communications, the company is now uniquely positioned to meet and exceed the needs of marketers, investor relations practitioners and corporate communicators.

"Communications and marketing are intrinsically linked, so it's critical that ambitious brands work with a company that offers expertise and capabilities in both arenas," said Don Scales, Global Chief Executive Officer of Investis Digital. "We are unlike any other in the marketplace in that we can not only develop content and communications, but also measure, amplify and deliver this content across various channels and platforms. Our new name and branding reflects this enhanced value proposition for clients and better showcases our capabilities as a forward-thinking digital communications company."

Investis Digital developed a proprietary approach to building highly effective digital connections between businesses and key audiences: Connected Content. This differentiated strategy combines effective storytelling and engaging digital experiences with world-class performance marketing and the intelligent technology of its Investis Digital Content Cloud to provide integrated, end-to-end communications for clients.

David Davies, Chief Content Officer at Ascential, said, "Investis Digital is our partner of choice for corporate and marketing communications across all Ascential brands. They help us define and deliver our message to all audience groups, while providing tangible ROI and ongoing analytics and insights."

Scales added, "The strategic evolution of our business is a direct response to the changes in the industry over the last several years. Businesses are competing for limited attention, institutions are viewed with skepticism and companies are expected to adhere to and align with core values and a central purpose. We expertly combine powerful storytelling and frictionless experiences to positively influence the awareness, affinity and action of the people that matter most to companies."

Investis Digital's new brand platform has been rolled out across the newly redesigned global website (www.investisdigital.com), and the expanded suite of services is being utilized for businesses across the agency's client roster of 2,000 companies globally, including Ascential, ASOS, Fruit of the Loom, Rolls-Royce, WWE, and Wyndham.

About Investis Digital

Investis Digital is an award-winning global digital communications company. Founded in 2000, the company combines effective storytelling and engaging digital experiences with world-class performance marketing and cutting-edge technology to help businesses communicate clearly and authentically with any audience. Investis Digital's 2,000 global clients including Ascential, ASOS, Fruit of the Loom, Rolls-Royce, WWE, and Wyndham trust the Investis Digital team of more than 500 employees to deliver stronger relationships with audiences and improved ROI through our Connected Content approach to digital. For more information, please visit www.investisdigital.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784164/Investis_Digital_Logo.jpg
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / Wi2Wi Corporation ("Wi2Wi" or the "Company") (TSX-V: YTY), a leading global developer and manufacturer of end to end Wireless Connectivity Solutions, high precision Frequency Control, Timing, and Microwave Filter devices, is pleased to announce, a family of Crystal Notch Filters for the general frequency control market in the SN series, another promising extension of its product portfolio.

"We are very pleased to announce our new SN series of customizable notch filters for the general applications. The SN series further expands Wi2Wi's frequency control and timing devices portfolio to meet the most demanding technical requirements from our clients. We continue to develop the best in class family of products to satisfy the increasing demand from these market segments. The Company has received orders for these filters and is in the process of fulfilling these orders," said Michael Sonnenreich, Chairman of the Board.

"Wi2Wi continues to focus extensively on developing new products based upon client demand and assures a full line of products in each category we produce. The new SN series of Crystal Notch Filters are customizable and service our clients' demand for their various commercial and industrial applications," said Zachariah Mathews, President and CEO of Wi2Wi.

Specifics on the new product series:

The SN Series of notch filters are available in small 36.20L x 16.50W x 15.88H (mm) standard package with 50 ohm input/output terminating impedance making it well suited for plug and play in many applications across many systems. The SN series of filters' capability of narrowly suppressing the interfering signal in the pass band without losing precious data bandwidth make it essential and extremely desirable for all digital applications. The -35dB notch bandwidth can be specified form 0.007% to 0.002% making them far more selective and useful than LC notch filters. Applications include RF and I.F. filtering of unwanted signals in Software Defined Radios in Commercial, many Aviation and Military applications. Other general applications are radio systems that requires mitigation of a very narrow band interfering signal such as Over the Air (OTA) carrier frequency or interference generated locally by internal systems such as switching power supplies and monitors.

Samples are available for select frequencies and stability.

For further information, please contact:

Dawn Leeder

Chief Financial Officer

608 203 0234

dawn_l@wi2wi.com

About IoT and M2M

Essentially, IoT and M2M describe the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. Driven by several factors including the growth in the availability of Broadband Internet, which reduces the cost of connecting, and the related increase in Wi-Fi capabilities as well as sensors built into myriad technologies, this has been described as the "perfect storm" for the IoT. Almost any device with an on and off switch that can be connected to the Internet (and/or to each other) - anything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices, cars, as well as machine components in the engine of a jet airplane or the drill of an oil rig. According to analyst firm Gartner, by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices. Others think this figure could be too conservative by a factor of four.

About Wi2Wi Corporation

Wi2Wi is a vertically-integrated technology company which designs, manufactures and markets high performance, low power wireless connectivity solutions, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) modules, and frequency control devices. The Company's products and services address numerous applications in the markets of Internet of Things (IoT), Machine to Machine (M2M), Avionics, Space, and Government Sponsored Projects. Wi2Wi's products and value-added services provide highly integrated, rugged, robust, and reliable multiprotocol wireless actuators with embedded software, along with customized timing and frequency control devices for customers, worldwide. The Company was founded in 2005 and is strategically headquartered in San Jose, California with satellite offices in Middleton, Wisconsin and Hyderabad, India. Wi2Wi's manufacturing operations, its laboratory for reliability and quality control, together with design and engineering for timing and frequency control devices are located in Middleton, WI. The branch office, located in Hyderabad, India, focuses on the development of wireless connectivity; both hardware and software. Wi2Wi's strategic objective is to service the unique needs of each customer by providing end to end wireless integration solutions and highly customizable timing and frequency control devices. Wi2Wi distinguishes itself from commodity grade products, with best in the market performance, highly reliable, low power wireless connectivity products with integrated software that supports broader temperature ranges and a longer product life cycle. Furthermore, Wi2Wi's end to end product solutions helps the customer substantially reduce their end product expense, certification cost, and overall R&D investment, in addition to substantially reducing the time to market. Wi2Wi has partnered with best in class global leaders in technology, manufacturing, and sales. The Company uses a wide network of manufacturer's representatives, worldwide, to promote its products and services, and has partnered with world class distributors for the fulfillment of orders along with direct sales.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including management's assessment of future plans and operations, and the timing thereof, that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with the ability to access sufficient capital, the impact of general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and overseas, industry conditions, stock market volatility. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits, including the amount of proceeds, that the Company will derive there from. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's operations and financial results are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR website ( www.sedar.com ). Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements and if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable law. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Wi2Wi Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/527961/Wi2Wi-Announces-Its-New-SN-Series-of-Crystal-Notch-Filters
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / Findit, Inc. (OTC PINK: FDIT) a Nevada Corporation offers insight into five platforms advocating for freedom of speech in the age of censorship and political correctness.

Facebook's growth is stagnating for a number of reasons - time drains, privacy issues, political debates, and on the other side, complete censorship. The social media giant has come under heavy fire for banning, shadowbanning, and restricting content based on perceived violations. However, many feel that their censorship is applied unevenly and with apparent bias, which is why scores of people are looking for alternatives.

Twitter and Instagram are nice options, but they have similar censorship issues. As Silicon Valley clamps down on freedom of speech, more and more alternative platforms are popping up to give people a place for their voice to be heard on the internet. These are five of our favorites.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hftQ0pouXyM

1. Findit

The social media content management platform has all the standard social media functionalities, but it also has some extra bells and whistles - blogging functionalities, the ability to share to other social networks, and it's extremely SEO-friendly. Most importantly, the platform has a firm commitment to protecting its members' freedom of speech. Instead of trying to police ethics and individuality, Findit allows members to do that for themselves.

Clark St. Amant of Findit stated, "Although we understand the importance of freedom of speech and encourage it, there are naturally some things that will be censored, such as pornography, terroristic threats, or suggesting acts of violence. It's one thing to have a difference of opinions and we welcome and encourage healthy debates, but explicit content and threats are not something that any website should allow."

Visit Findit to Join free and begin posting.

2. Minds

This privacy-oriented, open-source, community-owned platform has most of Facebook's standard features - timelines, profiles, messaging, media sharing, etc. - but it also has content curation features and the means for users to monetize their content through the site's cryptocurrency tools.

3. MeWe

MeWe has all of the basic Facebook features and functionality. They do not do targeted advertising, so to counter this the platform offers add-on services, such as message encryption and voice messaging.

4. Vero

In the wake of Facebook's Cambridge Analytica data breach, Vero shot up from 150,000 users to over 3,000,000. With advanced photo management tools, the platform has attracted an artistic crowd.

5. Diaspora

Diaspora is not owned by a single company. In fact, the open-source software can be run by anyone who wants to set up a server. Users then choose what the platform refers to as a "pod" where they want to store their account information and set up an account. After their data is on the server, they can interact with other users. Their location is irrelevant.

About Findit, Inc.

Findit, Inc., (OTC Pinksheets FDIT) owns Findit.com which is a Social Media Content Management Platform that provides an interactive search engine for all content posted in Findit to appear in Findit search. The site is an open platform that provides access to Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines access to its content posted to Findit so it can be indexed in these search engines as well. Findit provides Members the ability to post, share and manage their content. Once they have posted in Findit, we ensure the content gets indexed in Findit Search results. Findit provides an option for anyone to submit URLs that they want indexed in Findit search result, along with posting status updates through Findit Right Now. Status Updates posted in Findit can be crawled by outside search engines which can result in additional organic indexing. All posts on Findit can be shared to other social and bookmarking sites by members and non-members. Findit provides Real Estate Agents the ability to create their own Findit Site where they can pull in their listing and others through their IDX account. Findit offers News and Press Release Distribution. Findit, Inc., is focused on the development of monetized Internet-based web products that can provide an increased brand awareness of our members. Findit, Inc., trades under the stock symbol FDIT on the OTCPinksheets.

Safe Harbor:

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements that include the word believe or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Findit, Inc. to differ materially from those implied or expressed by such forward-looking statements. This press release speaks as of the date first set forth above, and Findit, Inc. assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for events occurring after the date hereof. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to factors such as the lack of capital, timely development of products, inability to deliver products when ordered, inability of potential customers to pay for ordered products, and political and economic risks inherent in international trade.

Contact:

Peter Tosto

Phone 404-443-3224

By Connor Judson Garrett

SOURCE: Findit, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/528050/5-Platforms-Still-Fighting-for-Your-Freedom-of-Speech-as-Silicon-Valley-Cracks-Down-On-It
Capital for Colleagues plc - Portfolio Update

Capital for Colleagues plc / EPIC: CFCP / Market: NEX / Sector: Investment

14 November 2018

CAPITAL FOR COLLEAGUES PLC

('Capital for Colleagues' or the 'Company')

PORTFOLIO UPDATE - TG ENGINEERING LIMITED

Capital for Colleagues, the investment vehicle focused on opportunities in the Employee Owned Business ('EOB') sector, is pleased to announce a further investment into its existing portfolio company, TG Engineering Limited ('TGE').

TGE, which operates from a 20,000 sq. ft factory in Ferndown, near Poole in Dorset, manufactures precision machined, extremely high tolerance, steel and aluminium components for use in the aerospace and scientific industries.

Capital for Colleagues has made a further loan of GBP 150,000 to TGE to provide it with additional working capital. Capital for Colleagues currently has a 35% equity interest in TGE and outstanding loans of GBP 625,000 to that company.

The Directors of the Company are responsible for the contents of this announcement.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit www.capitalforcolleagues.com or contact:

CAPITAL FOR COLLEAGUES PLC

Richard Bailey, Chairman

John Eckersley, Chief Executive 0161 464 3260 PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMITED

Mark Anwyl

Duncan Vasey 020 7469 0930

Capital for Colleagues

Capital for Colleagues is an investment company focused on the UK EOB sector. The Company has a proven management team, with a wide network of contacts and affiliates, as well as established access to investment opportunities, enabling the Company to execute its strategy and capitalise on EOB-focused investment opportunities.

The Company's joint venture, Castlefield Corporate Advisory Partners, educates and assists companies which are looking to launch employee ownership schemes, advising them, amongst other things, on how to secure investment and achieve their objectives.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
PMC Ouvrie SAS, France, a wholly owned subsidiary of PMC Group International Inc., which is an independent arm of PMC Group Inc., announced the acquisition of a hydrocolloid product line from the Belgium based Solvay, SA. These products will be sold globally to the home and personal care (HPC), industrial and coatings markets under the trade names Rhodicare CFT, Rhodicare D, Rhodicare H, Rhodicare S, Rhodicare T, Rhodicare XC, Rhodopol 23, Rhodopol G, Rhodopol T, Rhodopol TG, Rhodopol Extra 2, and Rhodopol Extra 2 Clear.

"The acquisition of these products made by fermentation processes emphasizes our increasing interest in products made by green chemistry and biological processes," said Dr. Raj Chakrabarti, Head of PMC Group International. "The acquired hydrocolloids fit synergistically with the functional product lines of PMC Ouvrie, which has long been a leading supplier of defoamers to bio-based process technologies," he added.

ABOUT PMC

PMC Group is a US based growth oriented, diversified, global chemicals and pharmaceuticals company dedicated to innovative solutions to every need in a broad range of end markets including, plastics, consumer products, electronics, coatings, packaging, mining, personal care, food, automotive and pharmaceuticals. The Company was built on a sustainable model of growth through innovation while promoting social good. PMC operates from a global manufacturing, innovation, and marketing platform with facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. More information about PMC and its activities around the world can be found at www.pmc-group.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190115005989/en/

Contacts:

Patti Griggs, 856-533-1870

pgriggs@pmc-group.com
LOS ANGELES, March 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBOT), a leading manufacturer of a key protein utilized in immunotherapy and immuno-oncology development pipelines, has executed a share exchange agreement with privately-held Edesa Biotech Inc., a Canadian company, and Edesa's shareholders to create a company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for dermatological and gastrointestinal indications with clear unmet medical needs.



Under the terms of the share exchange agreement, Edesa shareholders have agreed to exchange their shares of Edesa for newly-issued common shares of Stellar. At the closing, Edesa will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stellar. Following the closing, current Stellar shareholders are expected to own approximately 10%, and the current shareholders of Edesa are expected to own approximately 90%, of the combined company on a fully-diluted basis, subject to a 2% upward or downward adjustment based upon the amount of Stellar's working capital balance immediately prior to the closing. Following the closing, Stellar will change its name to "Edesa Biotech Inc."



"We believe this proposed business combination provides new growth opportunities for Stellar shareholders. We have been impressed with Edesa's management team and are looking forward to implementing a new vision for the combined company," said Frank R. Oakes, Stellar President and Chief Executive Officer.



"This agreement marks another milestone for Edesa and our mission to efficiently develop novel, safe and effective treatments for conditions where patients have limited treatment options available," said Par Nijhawan, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Edesa. "We believe we are at a significant inflection point in our company's history and look forward to offering shareholders additional value creation opportunities as we reach milestones in our clinical programs."



The proposed transaction, which will result in a change in control, is expected to close during the second quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions, including Stellar shareholder approval for the issuance of Stellar common shares to acquire Edesa. Following closing, Stellar intends to develop a plan for the disposition of Stellar's operations, which is expected to include the wind down or spin-off of Stellar's legacy business. Following a diligent review of strategic alternatives, Stellar's Board of Directors has determined that the share exchange agreement is fair and in the best interests of Stellar and Stellar's shareholders. For further information about the proposed transaction, investors should refer to Stellar's SEC filings.



H.C. Wainwright & Co. acted as transaction advisor and Greenburg Traurig LLP (USA) and McMillan LLP (Canada) acted as legal advisors to Stellar. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (Canada) and Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP (USA) acted as legal advisors to Edesa.



About Stellar Biotechnologies

Based north of Los Angeles at the Port of Hueneme, Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBOT) is the leader in sustainable manufacture of Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH), an immune-stimulating protein utilized as a carrier molecule in therapeutic vaccine pipelines (targeting cancers, immune disorders, Alzheimer's and inflammatory diseases) and for assessing immune system function. KLH can also be used in immunotoxicology studies for monitoring the immunomodulatory effects of drug candidates. Stellar KLH is a trademark of Stellar Biotechnologies.



About Edesa Biotech Inc.

Edesa Biotech Inc. is a clinical-stage company focused on efficiently developing innovative treatments that address significant unmet medical needs. The company's leading product candidate, EB01, is a novel non-steroidal anti-inflammatory molecule for the treatment of allergic contact dermatitis which has demonstrated statistically significant improvements in multiple clinical studies. Edesa is based in Toronto, Canada.



Stellar Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "might," "potential," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions, including statements related to: the expectations related to the transaction, including the timing of the transaction, resulting ownership of the combined company, and the plans relating to the resulting business. Readers should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as all such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results or future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but may not be limited to: the possibility that Stellar may be unable to obtain shareholder approval required for the proposed transaction, the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the proposed transaction, the possibility that Stellar's working capital decreases prior to the transaction, and therefore, the Stellar shareholders are subject to decreased ownership in the combined company, the inability to successfully integrate the businesses or the risk that such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected, the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the share exchange agreement, the inability of the parties to meet expectations regarding the accounting and tax treatments of the proposed transaction, the potential for the proposed transaction to involve unexpected costs, the risk that the parties may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all, risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction, the risk that the expected benefits of the proposed combination are not realized, the risk that any announcements relating to the proposed transaction could have adverse effects on the market price of Stellar's common stock, the ability to maintain and enforce patents and other intellectual property rights or the unexpected costs associated with such enforcement or litigation, as well as general economic and business conditions, technology changes, competition, changes in strategy or development plans, availability of funds and resources, anticipated requirements for operating capital, governmental regulations and the ability or failure to comply with governmental regulations, changes in trade policy and international law and other factors referenced in Stellar's filings with securities regulators. Risks and uncertainties related to Edesa that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the ability of Edesa to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize any of its product candidates, the risk that access to sufficient capital to fund Edesa's operations may not be available or may be available on terms that are not commercially favorable to Edesa, the risk that Edesa's product candidates may not be effective against the diseases tested in its clinical trials, the risk that Edesa fails to comply with the terms of license agreements with third parties and as a result loses the right to use key intellectual property in its business, Edesa's ability to protect its intellectual property and the timing and success of submission, acceptance and approval of regulatory filings. Many of these factors that will determine actual results are beyond Stellar's, Edesa's or the combined company's ability to control or predict.



Other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in periodic filings with the SEC, including the factors described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on November 30, 2018 for the year ended September 30, 2018 and any Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed thereafter, and in other filings that Stellar makes and will make with the SEC in connection with the proposed transactions, including the proxy statement described below under "Important Information and Where to Find It," as well as its filings with the British Columbia Securities Commission. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The statements made in this press release speak only as of the date stated herein, and subsequent events and developments may cause our expectations and beliefs to change. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we do not intend, nor do we undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events, results or circumstances or otherwise.



Important Information and Where to Find It



Stellar and Edesa and certain of their directors and executive officers may become participants in solicitation of proxies from Stellar shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Additional Information regarding persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of the Stellar shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction, and who have interests, whether as security holders, directors or employees of Stellar or Edesa or otherwise, which may be different from those of Stellar shareholders generally, will be provided in the proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC.



Each member of Stellar's board of directors and Stellar's executive officers, and Edesa's board of directors and Edesa's executive officers may be deemed "participants" in the solicitation of proxies from the Stellar shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction.



Information regarding the special interests of these directors and executive officers in the transaction will be included in the proxy statement referred to above. Additional information regarding Stellar's directors' and executive officers' respective interests in Stellar by security holdings or otherwise is set forth in Stellar's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2018 as filed with the SEC on November 30, 2018.



This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. A definitive proxy statement and a proxy card will be filed with the SEC and will be mailed to Stellar's shareholders seeking any required shareholder approvals in connection with the proposed transaction. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT STELLAR MAY FILE WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Shareholders may obtain, free of charge, copies of the definitive proxy statement and any other documents filed by Stellar with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov), at Stellar's website or by writing to the Corporate Secretary at Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc., 332 E. Scott Street, Port Hueneme, California 93041.



SOURCE Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc.

Related Links



http://www.stellarbiotech.com

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) - Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSXV: ELY) (OTCQB: ELYGF) ("Ely Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Nevada Select Royalty, Inc., ("Nevada Select") it has entered into an Option Agreement (the "Agreement") with Au-Reka Gold Corporation, a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Premier Gold Mines Limited (TSX: PG) (OTC: PIRGF) (collectively "Premier") whereby Ely Gold will option to Premier, a 100% interest in the Rodeo Creek Claims (the "Property") located in Elko County, Nevada. Within the terms of the Agreement, Ely Gold will retain a 2.0% net smelter royalty ("NSR") on the Claims outlined in the Agreement.

The Agreement between Premier and Ely Gold was finalized on November 12, 2018, (the "Effective Date").

Ely Gold is a growing royalty company with over 77 projects, primarily in Nevada and the Western United States. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 27 deeded royalties and 24 properties optioned to third parties, all of which are being explored or developed by partners, the Company also has 26 properties for sale. Ely Gold's partners include major mining companies, mid-tier producers and junior exploration companies.

The Rodeo Creek Claims

The Property consists of 31 unpatented mining claims acquired by Ely Gold in September 2018, through staking (see Figure #1). The Property is contiguous to the currently producing South Arturo Mine land package. South Arturo is a joint-venture between Premier and Barrick Gold Corporation, referred to as the Barrick/Dee JV. South Arturo and the Rodeo Creek Claims are part of the historic Dee mining claims approximately 25 miles northwest of the town of Carlin. They are within the Bootstrap mining district at the northern area of the Carlin Trend. The Bootstrap mining district includes the Tara, Bootstrap, Capstone, Dee and Storm gold mines. Prior to staking by Ely Gold, the Property had title issues which may have restricted the ability of other companies to purchase the Property. The Agreement also includes Nevada Select's proprietary database for the Property.

Trey Wasser, Ely Gold's President and CEO commented: "We are pleased to assist Premier in the consolidation of their South Arturo property. Ely Gold's successful royalty business model has allowed it to assist a number of mining companies in the consolidation of fragmented claim packages critical to future exploration and development.In the case of South Arturo, Ely Gold was able to assist in consolidating the claim package due to its unique knowledge of the historic claims and the previous land owners.

Jerry Baughman, President of Nevada Select added, "Rodeo Creek is strategically located and is on trend with several producing gold mines within Nevada's Carlin Trend. This is exactly the kind of high-quality project and exploration partner that can maximize the chances for discovery, creating value for Ely Gold shareholders."

The Transaction

The Asset Purchase Agreement allows for Nevada Select to transfer, by mineral deed, its 100% interest in the Property, and the data base for cash payments of US$506,572 payable as follows:

US$50,000 cash and reimbursement of 2019 claim fees in the amount of $6,572 relating to the Property on the Effective Date;





US$50,000 cash on the six-month anniversary of the Effective Date;





US$50,000 cash on the one-year anniversary of the Effective Date;





US$50,000 cash on the second anniversary of the Effective Date;





US$50,000 cash on the third anniversary of the Effective Date;





US$125,000 cash on the fourth anniversary of the Effective Date; and





US$125,000 cash on the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date.

After completion of the above cash payments and the transfer of the Property, Premier will grant to Ely Gold a 2% NSR on the Property.

Stephen Kenwood, P. Geo, is a director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Kenwood has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release.

About Ely Gold Royalties

Ely Gold Royalties Inc. is a Vancouver based, emerging royalty company with development assets focused in Nevada and the Western US. Its current portfolio includes 27 Deeded Royalties and 24 properties optioned to third parties. All 51 of these properties are being explored by third parties. Ely Gold's royalty portfolio includes producing royalties, royalties on fully permitted mines, mines under construction and development projects that are being permitted for mine construction. The Company is actively purchasing existing third-party royalties for its portfolio and all the Company's Option Properties will produce royalties, if exercised. The royalty and option portfolios are currently generating significant revenue. Ely Gold is well positioned with its current portfolio of over 26 available properties to generate additional operating revenue through option and sale transactions. The Company has a proven track record of maximizing the value of its properties through claim consolidation and advancement using its extensive, proprietary data base. All portfolio properties are sold or optioned on a 100% basis, while the Company retains net smelter royalty interests. Management believes that due to the Company's ability to generate option and royalty transactions, its successful strategy of organically creating royalties, its equity portfolio and its current low valuation, Ely Gold offers shareholders a low-risk leverage to the current price of gold, exploration in Nevada and low-cost access to long-term mineral royalties.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Signed "Trey Wasser"

Trey Wasser, President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

Trey Wasser, President & CEO

trey@elygoldinc.com

972-803-3087

Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer

jjobin@elygoldinc.com

604-488-1104

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer: This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Company's contemplated acquisition or sale of royalties and Properties, and any stated plans for further near-term exploration and development of the its Properties. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; 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, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that 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. Consequently, 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. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the risk of accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration, development and extraction operations, the risk that its partners will encounter unanticipated geological factors, or the possibility that they may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances, necessary to carry out their stated plans for the Properties, the Company's inability to secure the required TSXV acceptance required for any Transaction, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal disputes or changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.



Figure 1: Rodeo Creek Location Map



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4181/41060_b870da19049f8acb_001.jpg




ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile's SaviaLab recognised for innovative use of technology to increase diversity in engineering education

The SaviaLab diversity initiative from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile has been selected as the winner of the 2018 Airbus GEDC Diversity Award for innovative use of technology to increase diversity in engineering education.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784781/Airbus.jpg )



The SaviaLab initiative seeks to bridge the gap of opportunity by offering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach education to indigenous minorities and young people in rural areas across Chile.

Since 2014, the initiative has introduced over 3,300 students from 7 regions to potential STEM career paths. This educational 'pre-engineering' programme empowers others with concrete technology and innovation tools. The impact goes beyond the rural minorities to the university's own students that represent minorities themselves.

The three finalist projects - NASA Swarmathon from the University of New Mexico, USA, SaviaLab from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, and iSTEAM Underwater Robot Competition from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - presented their diversity initiative to a Jury* of industry experts and distinguished guests at the WEEF-GEDC 2018 conference - the largest engineering education gathering in the world - in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

This global award is administered by Airbus, the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Since Airbus launched the award in 2012, 198 entries representing 140 institutions from 37 countries have been submitted. For the 2018 edition, 39 entries were received from 19 countries. From the 18 finalist projects recognised in the first six years of the award alone, over 125,000 students who otherwise may not have chosen engineering have been directly impacted.

Increasing diversity amongst the global population of engineers is a well-documented challenge that Airbus, the GEDC and UNESCO are committed to addressing. As in the past, this year's finalist projects were selected for their potential to be scaled up or replicated elsewhere. Airbus are proud to announce today the launch of an e-book dedicated to the Diversity Award's most successful initiatives, to share the valuable insights which will inspire others to take action.

Links

More information is available at: https://www.company.airbus.com/diversityaward

Discover the e-book: http://airbusgedcdiversityaward.com/

Contact: Dominic Sproston, dominic@petruscommunications.com, +44 7969447601
BOURNEMOUTH, England, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Global consumer brand services group, Ceuta Group, is delighted to feature in Our Future King: Prince Charles at 70, a biography that celebrates the heir to the throne's entrepreneurial spirit.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784853/Ceuta_Chief_Executive_Edwin_Bessant.jpg )



The Group is an official partner of the publication, and one of a number of selected companies that share with the Prince the values and passion for the next generation of business growth.

Celebrating a lifetime of achievement and heralding his current and future roles and responsibilities, this high-quality, coffee-table book will chart the Prince's seven decades; from his early years through to his present status as one the most significant figures on the world stage.

Our Future King: Prince Charles at 70 is edited by the best-selling, award-winning author Robert Jobson, who has chronicled the story of the House of Windsor for the past 30 years.

It also gives a detailed look at the many areas in which the Prince has contributed to society through his various charitable associations, and includes exclusive pictures from his Royal Tours over the last 18-months.

Ceuta's Chief Executive, Edwin Bessant, founded Ceuta Healthcare in 1994 with joint-founding partner Annette D'Abreo after discovering a gap in the market for companies wanting an alternative and more affordable solution to calling on pharmacies, before making strides in the European and Global economies with the formation of Ceuta Group.

Bessant says: "I noticed over time that brand owners were struggling to bring external agencies together to work on specific projects to manage and grow their brand. This became the catalyst for expanding our offering and forming Ceuta Group."

The fully illustrated hardback was launched in the refined setting of the Ritz London hotel in Piccadilly.

Contacts:

Clem Watts

Group Communications Manager | Ceuta Group

O: +44(0)844-243-6661 | D: +44(0)7824-356819

A: 41 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6HS

W: www.ceutagroup.com
NEW YORK, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The new Swarovski Star for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, has been revealed in New York City. The Star was presented during a morning ceremony in Rockefeller Plaza, hosted by Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, and Daniel Libeskind.



(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/783768/Swarovski.jpg )





(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/783769/Swarovski.jpg )





(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/783770/Swarovski.jpg )



During the event, the Star was raised to the top of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, where it will first be lit during the official tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 28.

Swarovski Star by Daniel Libeskind

The new Swarovski Star is the first redesign of the famed crystal tree-topper since the inaugural Swarovski Star was unveiled in 2004, when the company first partnered with Rockefeller Center co-owner Tishman Speyer to present the Star.

Libeskind's Star is a brilliant showcase of Swarovski's 120-year heritage of turning light into delight. The 900-pound star is 9-foot 4-inches in diameter and features 70 spikes covered in 3 million Swarovski crystals, harnessing the company's innovative crystal technology and mastery of the refraction of light in a dazzling, three-dimensional structure. The dramatic architectural lines push through space, bursting with dynamism in a radiant reflection of Libeskind's design vision.

Star Boutique and Holiday Ornaments

Later this month, Swarovski will debut the Star Boutique on Rockefeller Plaza, also designed by Daniel Libeskind. The 200-square foot shop is crystalline and star-like in form, with a faceted construction created from glass panels and video screens. Visitors can purchase jewelry, ornaments and gifts from Swarovski and Atelier Swarovski, including a new range designed by Daniel Libeskind for Atelier Swarovski Home.

An exact replica of the Swarovski Star, also created with 3 million Swarovski crystals, will be on display at ground level next to the Star Boutique, enabling visitors to explore its design close-up.

Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, commented: "We are honored to work with one of the world's greatest creative talents, Daniel Libeskind, on his thrilling new design for the Swarovski Star atop the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Each holiday season the Star brings joy to New Yorkers and visitors from around the world, and will shine as a beacon of hope for many years to come."

Daniel Libeskind, Principal Design Architect of Studio Libeskind, commented: "The new Swarovski Star for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is inspired by the beauty of starlight - something that radiates meaning and mystery into the world. The Star is a symbol that represents our greatest ambitions for hope, unity and peace. I am tremendously honored to collaborate with Swarovski on the Star, and with the entire design team, to bring cutting-edge innovation and design to crystal technology."

A previous Swarovski collaborator, Libeskind is renowned for his design of cultural spaces and monuments, including the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the Denver Art Museum and the master plan for the reconstruction of New York's World Trade Center site. In 2016, Libeskind created a crystal and marble chess set for Atelier Swarovski, with pieces inspired by his cutting-edge architectural designs.

Projects such as the Swarovski Star honor Swarovski's heritage of collaboration and innovation, partnering with visionary design talent to push the boundaries of crystal creativity and craftsmanship, with the aim to create a more sparkling world.

Recognized globally as a symbol of hope, community and holiday cheer, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree brings together New Yorkers and visitors in a celebration of the holidays. The tradition of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree dates back to 1931.

About Swarovski

Swarovski delivers a diverse portfolio of unmatched quality, craftsmanship, and creativity. Founded in 1895 in Austria, the company designs, manufactures and markets high-quality crystals, genuine gemstones and created stones as well as finished products such as jewelry, accessories and lighting.

The Swarovski Crystal Business is run by the fifth generation of family members and has a global reach with approximately 3,000 stores in around 170 countries, more than 27,000 employees, and revenue of about 2.7 billion euros in 2017. Together with its sister companies Swarovski Optik (optical devices) and Tyrolit (abrasives), Swarovski Crystal Business forms the Swarovski Group. In 2017, the Group generated revenue of about 3.5 billion euros and employed more than 32,000 people.

A responsible relationship with people and the planet has always been an integral part of Swarovski's heritage, and is embedded today in the company's well-established sustainability agenda. In addition, the global Swarovski Waterschool education program has reached 500,000 children on the world's greatest rivers, and the Swarovski Foundation, set up in 2013, works to support culture and creativity, promote human empowerment, and conserve natural resources to achieve positive social impact. http://www.swarovskigroup.com

About Daniel Libeskind

Studio Libeskind is involved in designing and realizing a diverse array of urban, cultural and commercial projects around the globe. Our Studio is a collaboration of architects and designers that believe architecture is a practice of optimism. We approach our projects with the attitude that to make great places, you must believe in the future, but also remember the past.

Studio Libeskind's architecture emerges from the idea that a building should be expressive and reflect contemporary life. Innovation is at the core of our design process. We believe that bold design must be realized with sustainable technology and we strongly believe that the art of architecture lies in creating a maximum impact within the constraints of budgets and functionality. We know from experience that great architecture comes from working with great clients; however, architecture is a public art and we hold ourselves accountable not only to the client, but to the communities, and cities in which we build.

Daniel and his partner Nina Libeskind established Studio Daniel Libeskind in Berlin, Germany, in 1989 after winning the competition to build the Jewish Museum Berlin. In February 2003, Studio Daniel Libeskind moved its headquarters from Berlin to New York City when Daniel Libeskind was selected as the master planner for the World Trade Center redevelopment. http://www.libeskind.com

About Tishman Speyer

Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and fund manager of first-class real estate around the world. Founded in 1978, Tishman Speyer is active across the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, building and managing premier office, residential and retail space in 28 key global markets for industry-leading tenants. The firm has acquired, developed and operated a portfolio of over 167 million square feet with a total value of approximately US $88 billion spread over 406 assets. Signature assets include New York City's Rockefeller Center, Sao Paulo's Torre Norte, The Springs in Shanghai, Lumiere in Paris and OpernTurm in Frankfurt. Tishman Speyer currently has projects at different stages of development in Boston, Brasilia, Frankfurt, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Washington, DC. The firm also operates portfolios of prominent office properties in Berlin, Chicago and London. For more information, visit tishmanspeyer.com and find us on social @tishmanspeyer.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / United Battery Metals Corp. (CSE: UBM, OTC: UBMCF, FWB: 0UL) ("United Battery Metals" or the "Company") wishes to comment on statements from the German Financial Regulator and recent market activity.

According to information available to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht - BaFin), buy recommendations are currently being issued for shares in United Battery Metals Corp. (ISIN: CA9095801028) on a large scale via e-mail newsletters.

BaFin has evidence indicating that these buy recommendations contain false or misleading information and/or that existing conflicts of interest are wrongfully concealed. It has initiated an investigation into suspected market manipulation in the share. The Company has not approved any marketing with buy recommendations on the Company, nor was it aware of any potential document until it was informed by IIROC this morning of the concerns of BaFin.

The only market awareness that the company has engaged in German speaking countries is with bullVestor Medien GmbH, which was announced by press release on November 7, 2018 (available on Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com).

The Company is unaware of any material information that could cause any upward or downward pressure on the stock, outside being informed by some investors in the Company that they intend to exercise their warrants in the Company.

The Company is finalizing compilation of high grade vanadium targets for priority drilling on the Company's Wray Mesa Property located in Colorado and Utah, USA.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF

UNITED BATTERY METALS CORP.



/s/ Michael Dehn

Michael Dehn

Chief Executive Officer and Director



For further information, please telephone: (604) 428-9063

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements relating to the Company's strategic direction, the outlook of the business of the Company, the Company's intention to explore and develop the Wray Mesa Property, the results of any such exploration and development, and the Company's intention to acquire additional properties. Although the Company believes in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information that is incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: United Battery Metals Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/528074/United-Battery-Metals-Comments-on-BaFin-and-Trading-Activity
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) - RISE Life Science Corp. (CSE: RLSC) (the "Company" or "RISE") is pleased to announce that it has completed an unsecured convertible note (the "Notes") financing, raising an aggregate of C$4,035,000 (the "Offering").

The Notes will accrue interest at a rate of 12% per year, paid quarterly in cash to the holders of the Notes. The maximum term of the Notes is 24 months. The minimum term of the Notes is twelve months, after which time the Company can repay the principal amount of the Notes and any accrued but unpaid interest without penalty or bonus.

At any time prior to repayment of Notes by the Company, the outstanding principal amount of each Note and any accrued and unpaid interest is convertible at the sole discretion of the noteholder into common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") at the conversion price of C$0.15 per share. In addition, Notes are convertible by the Company in its discretion into Common Shares at the conversion price of C$0.15 per share in the event that the Common Shares trade at C$0.35 or more for 21 or more consecutive trading days on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The purchasers of the Notes were also issued an aggregate of 26,897,310 Common Share purchase warrants of the Company ("Warrants"), each Warrant exercisable for 24 months from the date of issue for C$0.15 per Warrant, into (i) one Common Share, and (ii) one half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole such warrant a "Bonus Warrant"). Each Bonus Warrant shall be exercisable into one Common Share at an exercise price of C$0.20 per share and shall expire 12 months from the date of its issuance.

"We are pleased to have completed this financing and appreciate the support of our existing investor base as well as new investors" said Scott Secord, Executive Chairman of RISE. "The proceeds from this offering will be used to finance the fulfillment of existing and expected orders for RISE's CBD-based products, and for general working capital purposes as the company continues to execute its growth strategy."



The Notes were sold pursuant to applicable registration and prospectus exemptions to qualified investors.

The Offering constituted a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101") as insiders of the Company subscribed for an aggregate of C$400,000 principal amount of Notes pursuant to the Offering. The Company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the participation in the Offering by the insider does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company, as determined in accordance with MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the Offering, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances in order to complete the Offering in an expeditious manner.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.

About RISE Life Science Corp.

RISE is currently developing and evolving medical and adult-use hemp-based formulations to create general use health and well-being products for the emerging consumer category made possible by legal U.S. Farm Bill compliant hemp. The Company launched its CBD-based sexual wellness brand, Karezza in June 2018. The acquisition of Life Bloom Organics in July 2018 expanded RISE's portfolio of CBD products from sexual health and wellness products to include general wellness and sleep products and provides access to Life Bloom's existing channels of distribution and production in the United States and California in particular. RISE also leverages Life Bloom's proprietary process of nanotizing CBD for increased bioavailability (without psychoactivity) in future products created under the RISE brand umbrella.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this news release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in RISE's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, continue, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should, target, goals, projections, anticipated" and similar expressions, are forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements including the Company's expectations with respect to pursuing new opportunities and its future growth and other statements of fact.

Although RISE has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: general economic conditions; pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments including the impact of changes in laws, regulations and the enforcement thereof; reliance on funding models; operational and infrastructure risks including possible equipment failure and performance of information technology systems; intensifying competition resulting from established competitors and new entrants in the businesses in which the Company operates; insurance coverage of sufficient scope to satisfy any liability claims; fluctuations in total customers; technological change and obsolescence; loss of services of key senior management personnel; privacy laws; leverage and restrictive covenants; fluctuations in cash timing and amount of capital expenditures; tax-related risks; unpredictability and volatility of the price of the Company's securities; dilution; and future sales of the Company's securities. Further risks include operational risks of operating in the U.S.; U.S. federal regulation risks; variation in U.S. state regulations; change of U.S. cannabis laws; security risks; risks related to permits and authorizations; risks on liability, enforcement complaints etc.; banking risks; marketing, sales, manufacturing and distribution risk regarding our product growth plans; changes in laws; limited operating history; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult use cannabis industry; and regulatory or political change. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

For Investor inquiries, please contact:

Scott Secord, Executive Chairman

ssecord@riselifescience.com

T. 416.433.9259

For Media inquiries, please contact:



Jesse Sharratt, Growth Manager

jesse@riselifescience.com

T. 1.855.477.RISE
Management to Host Conference Call and Webcast Today at 4:30 p.m. ET

JACKSONVILLE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / ParkerVision, Inc. (OTCQB: PRKR), a developer and marketer of technologies and products for wireless applications, today announced results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018.

Third Quarter 2018 Summary and Recent Developments

During the third quarter of 2018, the Company restructured its operations in order to reduce its ongoing operating expenses. The Company plans to predominantly focus resources to support its patent enforcement and licensing program.The restructuring included a reduction in workforce and the closure of the Company's engineering design center in Lake Mary, Florida.

Licensing/Patent Enforcement

The Federal Circuit upheld the PTAB decision in the IPRs filed by Qualcomm against ParkerVision's '940 Patent with method claims of the '940 Patent determined to be patentable. With the Company's '940 Patent and '372 Patent having survived Qualcomm's IPR challenges, the Company anticipates requesting the stay be lifted in the Orlando, Florida district court case where these patents and others have been asserted against Qualcomm in an infringement lawsuit that was filed in 2014.







The Company is awaiting the claim construction, or Markman, order in its patent infringement case against Qualcomm and Apple in Jacksonville district court following an August 31, 2018 hearing and expects the order will be issued by the court in the near term.







The Federal Patent Court in Munich ruled that ParkerVision's German '831 Patent is invalid; the Company is evaluating its options to appeal this decision which impacts the German cases against LG and Apple for their products that incorporate Qualcomm chipsets. The '831 Patent has no impact on any other case currently pending.







The Company expects the final hearing in the German infringement case involving its '853 Patent against Apple for its products that incorporate Intel chipsets no later than March 2019. The Company has been advised that an earlier hearing date is possible as openings become available on the court's calendar. The Company is requesting injunctive relief from the German court.

Jeffrey Parker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We remain optimistic about a number of near-term milestones in our patent enforcement actions, particularly the upcoming decision in the Apple case in Germany involving Intel chipsets and our Markman ruling from the Jacksonville district court.Given what we believe is the widespread infringement of our patents applicable to billions of shipped units, it is our view that the continued commitment to the enforcement of our patent rights is the best use of our resources given the significance of a favorable outcome to our shareholders."

Parker continued, "Unfortunately, with the capital resources we have available, we had to make the difficult decision to curtail the investments in chip design activities as well as further development and marketing of our Milo products.We are exploring all opportunities to continue the Milo program as we believe Milo is a quality product that would be successful if resources were available for more aggressive promotion."

Third Quarter and Nine Month Financial Results

Net loss for the third quarter of 2018 was $4.8 million, or $0.19 per common share, compared to a $4.4 million, or $0.24 per common share, for the third quarter of 2017.





Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was $13.6 million, or $0.59 per common share, compared to $12.9 million, or $0.76 per common share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.





Our 2018 third quarter and nine month results include restructuring charges of approximately $0.6 million and inventory impairment charges of approximately $1.0 million. We anticipate our cost reduction measures will result in approximately $8.0 million in annual savings.





We received approximately $1.9 million from the sale of equity securities and approximately $1.3 million from the sale of convertible notes during the third quarter of 2018. The proceeds from these offerings were used to fund operations for the quarter.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and webcast on November 14, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern to review its third quarter 2018 financial results. The conference call will be accessible by telephone at 1-877-407-8031, conference ID# 41179, at least five minutes before the scheduled start time. International callers should dial 1-201-689-8031. The conference call may also be accessed by means of a live webcast on our website at http://ir.parkervision.com/events.cfm. The conference webcast will also be archived and available for replay on our website at www.parkervision.com for a period of 90 days.

About ParkerVision

ParkerVision, Inc. designs, develops and markets its proprietary radio-frequency (RF) technologies, which enable advanced wireless solutions for current and next generation communications networks. ParkerVision also develops and markets a family of products under the Milo brand that leverages existing WiFi infrastructure to create more optimal Wifi configuration and superior coverage for small businesses and consumers. For more information please visit www.parkervision.com and www.milowifi.com. (PRKR-I)

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, each of which speaks only as of the date made. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which are disclosed in the Company's SEC reports, including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and the Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2018. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated or projected.

Contact:

Cindy Poehlman

Chief Financial Officer

ParkerVision, Inc.

904-732-6100, cpoehlman@parkervision.com

Jean Marie Young

The Piacente Group, Inc.

212-481-2050, parkervision@tpg-ir.com

ParkerVision, Inc.

Balance Sheet Highlights

(in thousands) (unaudited)

September 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents $ 267 $ 1,354 Available-for-sale securities - 26 Accounts receivable, prepaid and other current assets 672 1,038 Inventories 225 1,025 Property and equipment, net 272 376 Intangible assets & other 4,261 5,091 Total assets $ 5,697 $ 8,910 Current liabilities $ 4,276 $ 3,659 Long-term liabilities 19,671 16,495 Shareholders' (deficit) equity (18,250 ) (11,244 ) Total liabilities and shareholders' (deficit) equity $ 5,697 $ 8,910

ParkerVision, Inc.

Summary of Results of Operations (unaudited)

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended (in thousands, except per share amounts) September 30, September 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Product revenue $ 13 $ - $ 128 $ - Cost of sales (12 ) - (96 ) - Inventory impairment charge (975 ) - (1,017 ) - Gross margin (974 ) - (985 ) - Research and development expenses 685 911 2,560 3,538 Selling, general and administrative expenses 2,522 3,423 8,401 9,481 Restructuring charges 607 - 607 - Total operating expenses 3,814 4,334 11,568 13,019 Interest and other income (expense) (24 ) (8 ) (56 ) (26 ) Change in fair value of contingent payment obligation (26 ) (38 ) (1,013 ) 129 Total interest and other (50 ) (46 ) (1,069 ) 103 Net loss $ (4,838 ) $ (4,380 ) $ (13,622 ) $ (12,916 ) Basic and diluted net loss per common share $ (0.19 ) $ (0.24 ) $ (0.59 ) $ (0.76 ) Weighted average shares outstanding 25,997 18,026 23,282 16,923





ParkerVision, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited)

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended (in thousands) September 30, September 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Net cash used in operating activities $ (2,940 ) $ (3,174 ) $ (9,066 ) $ (11,054 ) Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 2 1,773 19 (335 ) Net cash provided by financing activities 3,106 985 7,960 10,656 Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash equivalents 168 (416 ) (1,087 ) (733 ) Cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash equivalents - beginning of period 99 852 1,354 1,169 Cash, cash equivalents & restricted cash equivalents - end of period $ 267 $ 436 $ 267 $ 436

SOURCE: ParkerVision, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/528001/ParkerVision-Reports-Third-Quarter-2018-Results
Weekly net asset value ("NAV") is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft).

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Restated Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves increased by a further 17% in gold ounces and 11% in antimony tonnes compared to January 8, 2019 announcement

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources remained as announced on January 8, 2019

TORONTO, Jan. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX: MND, OTCQB: MNDJF) today announced the results of an amended and restated Mineral Resources and Reserves estimate for its Costerfield gold-antimony mine in Victoria, Australia.



On January 8, 2019, Mandalay announced an updated Mineral Reserves and Resources estimate for Costerfield, including a maiden Mineral Reserves estimate for the Youle lode. Subsequent to that announcement, Mandalay discovered that an error in the block volume transformation methodology utilized in the estimate as originally reported had affected the modeled vein width of Youle, leading to an understatement of the Mineral Reserves at Costerfield. The error did not affect the Mineral Resource nor did it affect the Mineral Reserves for any other lode at Costerfield. The impact of the amendment on the Mineral Reserves at Costerfield is a 17% increase in gold ounces and an 11% increase in antimony tonnes.

As a result of this restatement, net of depletion from production during the first eleven months of 2018, Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves for contained gold ("Au") increased by 48% versus the year prior, while contained antimony ("Sb") replaced depletion in the same period. The restated Mineral Reserves do not impact the Company's 2019 - 2021 production guidance which was announced January 16, 2019.



Details of the Mineral Resources and Reserves estimate at Costerfield are included in the notes below each table. The estimate was prepared by SRK Consultingand the Mandalay website www.mandalayresources.com within 45 days of the January 8, 2019 press release. All dollar amounts in this press release are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. See Mandalay January 8, 2019 press release for details on logging, sampling and QA/QC.

Table 1: Mineral Resources at Costerfield, Inclusive of Mineral Reserves as of December 1, 2018 and December 31, 2017



2018 Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Measured 245 8.5 4.0 67 9.8 Indicated 1,073 8.2 2.9 283 31.0 Measured + Indicated 1,319 8.3 3.1 351 40.8 Inferred 497 8.0 1.9 128 9.5 2017 Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Measured 290 9.2 4.2 86 12.1 Indicated 971 5.7 2.5 177 23.9 Measured + Indicated 1,261 6.5 2.9 262 36.0 Inferred 379 6.6 1.1 80 4.0

Notes:

Mineral Resources estimated as of December 1, 2018 and depleted for production through November 30, 2018. Mineral Resources stated according to CIM guidelines and include Mineral Reserves. Tonnes are rounded to the nearest thousand; contained gold (oz) Rounded to the nearest thousand and contained antimony (t) rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may appear different from the sum of their components due to rounding. A 3.5 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) cut-off grade over a minimum mining width of 1.2 m is applied where AuEq is calculated at a gold price of $1,400/oz, antimony price of $10,000/t. The Gold equivalent value (AuEq) is calculated using the formula: AuEq = Au g/t + 1.67 * Sb %. Geological modelling and sample compositing was performed by Mandalay Resources. The models were independently verified by Danny Kentwell FAusIMM, a full-time employee of SRK Consulting. The Mineral Resource estimation was performed by Mandalay Resources. The resource models were verified by Danny Kentwell FAusIMM, a full-time employee of SRK Consulting. Danny Kentwell is the qualified person under NI 43-101, and is the Competent Person for the Resource.

From the Mineral Resource, a mine plan was designed based only on Measured and Indicated Resource blocks using, predominantly, the cemented rock fill blast hole stoping method. A cut-off grade of 4.0 g/t AuEq and minimum stoping width of 1.2 m were used, with planned and unplanned dilution at zero grade. Gold equivalent ("AuEq") grade (using $1,200/oz Au and $8,500/t Sb), for the mine plan is calculated using the formula AuEq = Au + (Sb x 1.68) where Sb is in % and Au is in grams per tonne.

Table 2: Restated Mineral Reserves at Costerfield as of December 1, 2018 (announced January 22, 2019 compared to announced January 8, 2019)



Restated on January 22, 2019 Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Proven 76 8.4 4.0 20 3.1 Probable 461 10.8 3.1 160 14.2 Proven + Probable 537 10.4 3.2 180 17.2 Previously announced January 8, 2019

Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Proven 76 8.4 4.0 20 3.1 Probable 461 9.0 2.7 134 12.5 Proven + Probable 537 8.9 2.9 154 15.5

Notes:

Mineral Reserve estimated as of December 1, 2018, and depleted for production through to November 30, 2018. Tonnes are rounded to the nearest thousand; contained gold (oz) rounded to the nearest thousand and contained antimony (t) rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals are subject to rounding. Lodes have been diluted to a minimum mining width of 1.2 m for stoping and 1.8 m for ore development. A 4.0 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) cut-off grade is applied. Commodity prices applied are; gold price of $1,200/oz, antimony price of $8,500/t and exchange rate USD:AUD of 0.71. The gold equivalent value (AuEq) is calculated using the formula: AuEq = Au g/t + 1.68 * Sb %. The Mineral Reserve is a subset of a Measured and Indicated only Schedule, of a Life of Mine Plan that includes mining of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources. The Mineral Reserve estimate was prepared by Steven Taylor BTech (Mining Engineering) MAusIMM, and Chris Lynch BEng (Mining) MAusIMM who are full time employees of Mandalay Resources and was independently verified by Anne-Marie Ebbels, MAusIMM, CP (Mining) who is a full-time employee of SRK Consulting who is a qualified person under NI 43-101.

Table 3: Restated Mineral Reserves at Costerfield as of December 1, 2018 compared to December 31, 2017

2018 Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Proven 76 8.4 4.0 20 3.1 Probable 461 10.8 3.1 160 14.2 Proven + Probable 537 10.4 3.2 180 17.2 2017

Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Proven 152 7.3 3.5 36 5.3 Probable 470 5.7 2.5 86 12.0 Proven + Probable 622 6.1 2.8 122 17.2

Notes: See notes to Table 2

Table 4: Restated Mineral Reserves at Youle (Costerfield), as of December 1, 2018 (announced January 22, 2019 compared to announced January 8, 2019)

Restated on January 22, 2019 Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Proven - - - - - Probable 267 14.1 3.3 121.2 8.8 Proven + Probable 267 14.1 3.3 121.2 8.8 Previously announced January 8, 2019

Tonnes

(kt) Au Grade

(g/t) Sb Grade

(%) Cont. Au

(koz) Cont. Sb

(kt) Proven - - - - - Probable 263 11.2 2.7 94 7.0 Proven + Probable 263 11.2 2.7 94 7.0

Notes: See notes to Table 2

Qualified Persons:

All Qualified Persons listed below have read and approved the contents of this news release as it pertains to the Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves estimate disclosed in this news release.

The Mineral Resource Estimate was carried out under the supervision of Danny Kentwell, FAusIMM, an employee of SRK Consulting and independent of Mandalay Resources Corporation. He is a Qualified Person for the purpose of NI 43-101. The Mineral Reserve estimate was prepared by Steven Taylor BTech (Mining Engineering) MAusIMM, and Chris Lynch BEng (Mining) MAusIMM who are full-time employees of Mandalay Resources and was independently verified by Anne-Marie Ebbels, MAusIMM, CP (Mining) who is a full-time employee of SRK Consulting and a qualified person under NI 43-101.

For Further Information:

Dominic Duffy

President and Chief Executive Officer

Greg DiTomaso

Director of Investor Relations

Contact: 647.260.1566



About Mandalay Resources Corporation:

Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia and Sweden, and care and maintenance and development projects in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the exploration potential of the Costerfield gold-antimony mine and development potential of the Youle deposit (Costerfield). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, changes in commodity prices and general market and economic conditions. The factors identified above are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Mandalay. A description of additional risks that could result in actual results and developments differing from those contemplated by forward-looking statements in this news release can be found under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mandalay's annual information form dated March 29, 2018, a copy of which is available under Mandalay's profile at www.sedar.com. In addition, there can be no assurance that any inferred resources that are discovered as a result of additional drilling will ever be upgraded to proven or probable reserves. Although Mandalay has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A raft of profit warnings from Apple Inc suppliers this week has fuelled investor concerns that iPhone sales, in terms of volume, have hit a wall that could spell trouble for the company's plans to make services its main pillar of growth. For the past year, investors had largely been willing to overlook stagnating unit sales of the iPhone because average selling prices kept rising.

By Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A raft of profit warnings from Apple Inc suppliers this week has fuelled investor concerns that iPhone sales, in terms of volume, have hit a wall that could spell trouble for the company's plans to make services its main pillar of growth.

For the past year, investors had largely been willing to overlook stagnating unit sales of the iPhone because average selling prices kept rising. But now fierce competition from mid-priced phones from makers such as Xiaomi Corp <1810.HK> has become difficult to ignore.

Apple's vision of becoming a company driven by paid services such as Apple Music and iCloud rests on building as large a base of device owners as possible, with the iPhone serving as a critical anchor.

Without volume growth in promising overseas markets such as India, Brazil and Russia, the worry is that Apple has at least parts of its strategy wrong with too much emphasis on its premium brand and the high prices that go with it.

A trio of Chinese smartphone makers - Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo - accounted for roughly a quarter of the global market in the first half of 2018, according to data from research firm IDC, up from just 8.9 percent for all of 2014.

But with the exception of fiscal 2015, Apple has not increased its market share. It had 13.6 percent of the world market in the first half of this year, down from 14.8 percent for 2014, although its share typically rises with full-year results due to strong sales in December.

Apple currently has what it calls an active installed base of 1.3 billion iPhones, iPads and Macs, serving as the pool of potential customers for its services - a business that hit $37.1 billion in revenue for the most recent fiscal year.

That represented 14 percent of Apple's overall revenue, up from 8.5 percent in fiscal 2015 when iPhone unit sales hit their all-time high.

But IDC expects the global smartphone market to grow only 2.4 percent on a compound basis to 1.6 billion units by 2022, indicating a saturated market in which the Cupertino, California-based firm will be fighting rivals for each customer.

Xiaomi, in particular, is gaining fans rapidly. In India, where Apple has only a minor presence, Xiaomi has in some quarters beat Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> to become the country's top phone seller and is also racing up the rankings in European markets where it is opening retail stores.

"This is the case where it's much different in other parts of the world," said Ryan Reith, program vice president for IDC's mobile device tracking program.

"Many of those brands don't play (in the United States), but they're playing in places where they never played before."

SUPPLIERS SUFFER

In its latest earnings this month, Apple shocked investors with a lower-than-expected sales forecast for the holiday shopping quarter and with its announcement that it would stop reporting unit sales for its hardware products as has been customary for the last 20 years.

Underscoring flattening iPhone unit sales, it also said it sold 217.7 million iPhones in its most recent fiscal year, virtually unchanged from the year before and well below a high point of 231.2 million in fiscal 2015.

Its share price, hit at the time of the forecast, has since extended losses after profit warnings from suppliers like Japan Display Inc <6740.T>, British chipmaker IQE Plc and Lumentum Holdings Inc . The stock is now down about 8 percent since its Nov. 1 earnings.

Apple declined to comment on the market moves. But its supply chain is vast, and the company's executives have warned investors in the past against fixating on sparse data points from it. And Apple has for more than a decade insisted that its gadgets should not be judged on their specs alone, an argument that sales data suggests Apple made successfully. The company also has customer satisfaction and loyalty rates that are unparalleled in the mobile phone industry, said Ben Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies.

Apple's newest models such as the iPhone XS and iPhone XR are proving popular with its most loyal fans in wealthy economies. But they range up to $1,449 in price - out of reach for many consumers in less developed markets.

Apple's strategy is to lure those consumers to its eco-system with older models at cheaper prices. It has also emphasized that its phones are designed to last longer than the competition, expanded its repair options and crafted its most recent operating system update to speed up older devices.

But Chinese smartphone makers have been packing their phones with higher-end chips and features like under-the-glass fingerprint sensors that seek to attract consumers who might otherwise give Apple's phones a look.

Those manufacturers are increasingly adopting Qualcomm Inc's most powerful mobile phone chips, said Cristiano Amon, the head of chip operations at the U.S. chipmaker, which is locked in a bitter court dispute with Apple.

Those phones were initially sold in China but "we've also seen them gaining share outside China, especially in areas such as India and Europe," Amon said.

On its home turf, too, Apple is facing new challenges from at least one Chinese maker, OnePlus, which is creeping in to the U.S. firm's traditional pricing territory. Though the iPhone 7's processor chip beats the OnePlus 6T in some speed tests posted by chip tracking firm Geekbench, the OnePlus phone has a more contemporary design with thin bezels around the display, similar to newer iPhone models.

After years of being available in the United States only via an online store and developing a following among tech enthusiasts, the OnePlus 6T is being carried by T-Mobile US Inc stores.

At $549, it sits between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in terms of pricing. Kyle Kiang, the general manager for North America for OnePlus, said first-day sales of the new model were 86 percent higher in the United States than for the previous OnePlus released there, although he did not disclose absolute unit figures.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Nick Zieminski and Matthew Lewis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Vinod K Dasari, who had been associated with the commercial heavy vehicle maker for the past 13 years, said he had been thinking about quitting for some time.

Chennai: Shares of Ashok Leyland on Wednesday tumbled 10.5 percent after the company announced the resignation of its CEO and MD Vinod K Dasari with effect from 31 March, 2019.

The stock tumbled 10.46 percent to end at Rs 106.60 on BSE. Intra-day, it dropped 11.12 percent to Rs 105.80. On NSE, shares of the company plummeted 10.42 percent to close at Rs 106.60.

Hinduja group flagship firm Ashok Leyland's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Vinod K Dasari has quit citing personal reasons and the company board has accepted his resignation, a top official said on Tuesday.

However, the board at its meeting here on Tuesday asked him to continue till the end of March 2019 to facilitate a smooth transition, Ashok Leyland Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja, who was elevated as Executive Chairman in view of the resignation of Dasari, said.

The board had reappointed Dasari as Managing Director and CEO for a term of five years from 1 April,2016 to 31 March, 2021.

"This (resignation of Dasari) was something unexpected. The board needs time to discuss this (and find a replacement). Vinod has done an excellent job and the team in Ashok Leyland is very strong," Hinduja told reporters.

Dasari, who had been associated with the commercial heavy vehicle maker for the past 13 years, said he had been thinking about quitting for some time.

"When we came to India 17-18 years ago, it was a family decision. To come to Ashok Leyland and not go back to United States was my family decision. So, now my family is set by God's grace and I'd been thinking about it for quite some time (about quitting)", he said.

Noting that he was not keen on putting his papers when the company did not perform well about six years ago, Dasari said, "we turned around and our team did a fantastic job. The team is strong now".

Asked would the resignation of Dasari pose a challenge to the company, Hinduja said, "there are a lot of mentorship, guidance from the Board whenever needed. Of course, there are challenges, but I think, we are well within meeting the timelines".

He said the company was having a very good board of Directors and of the ten, eight were independent directors and four of them with very rich credentials in the automotive industry.

He also said Ashok Leyland had aggressive plans on light commercial vehicles, Defense and electric vehicle segments.

Talking about Dasari, Hinduja said he was a people's person. "If he fixes a target, his team will do everything and achieve that. Last five years, he changed the culture in Ashok Leyland".

Noting that the focus was on making a smooth transition to find a successor to him, Dasari said the company had been his family.

"I am not running away from something. I just want to learn something else. Right now the focus is on a smooth transition, internally," he said.

Replying to a question, Hinduja said the resignation of Dasari would not lead to a vacuum and it would be business as usual.

"Till we find a right person, based on the request of the Board, I will be the Executive Chairman. Vinod and I have been working closely whether it is a strategy, recruitment of senior people. I think it will continue. It will be business as usual," he added.

(With PTI inputs)
Investors chose to view the 'sexual allegation' against Binny Bansal as 'purely speculative', as they wondered what could stop the American retail giant from stating that.

The timing and the manner of the exit of Binny Bansal, co-founder and group CEO, Flipkart leaves a trail of questions. Walmart's investigation into Bansal that led to his resignation on Tuesday stemmed from an allegation of sexual assault that dates back a few years, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Firstpost spoke with people who had worked closely with Bansal as former employees of Flipkart; startup firms where he has invested in his personal capacity and some who have known him for over five years.

The timing of the letter from Walmart and Bansal's resignation is a bit too 'strange', some of them pointed out. The Big Billion Days are over and now seems the perfect moment to throw out the co-founder, a startup founder said.

"I worked for a short stint at Flipkart which was many years after the alleged incident. I wasn't aware of it and I doubt if any persons were privy to it. In my interactions with Binny Bansal, I found him very focussed, a man of few words and very success-driven," said a former senior executive of Flipkart who was 'distressed' to hear of the allegation.

It is puzzling that Walmart chose to let Bansal remain the CEO and carry out his duties when it was carrying out investigations, as mentioned by the Reuters report. Would it not have been proper to ask Bansal to step aside until the investigations were over?

Interestingly, Walmart has not specified the details of the complaint against Bansal. "While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant's assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation," Walmart said in a statement.

K Ganesh, investor and entrepreneur, says in the case merger and acquisition deals, it is quite normal for founders to move on and acquirers to align with their own strategy. Unlike earlier times when Flipkart was the Bansals' sole turf, post-Walmart acquisition, the e-commerce giant's strategy would not be decided by investors and valuation, he pointed out. "For sure, Binny Bansal would have anyways moved on from Walmart after some time. Simply because Walmart would want to run the firm with global talent," he said.

He refused to comment on Bansal's resignation on allegations of 'serious personal misconduct'. "There is no official word on that about what that is and I won't speculate," he said. However, he said the company would not be impacted by Bansal's resignation. "Walmart Flipkart is a large company. Bansal's resignation will have no impact on Flipkart or Walmart," he said.

Investors chose to look at the 'sexual allegation' as 'purely speculative', as they wondered what could stop the American retail giant from stating that in the wake of Bansal's resignation. They wondered if Walmart was being opportunistic by keeping Bansal at the helm till Big Billion Days were over and then make this announcement. "When Sachin Bansal left, it spawned a lot of negative press for Walmart. Perhaps, the American retail giant did not want the same and waited it out for some time before making this announcement," an investor said.

In late July... an allegation came to us. It was a claim of sexual assault against Binny, the source said, adding the individual concerned was a former Flipkart associate who was not with the company at the time of making the allegation.

A startup analyst felt that the 'personal misconduct' charge that Walmart has mentioned in its release may relate to Bansal having shared some information about Flipkart post-Walmart's acquisition with friends that would be considered 'conflict of interest'. "That would be a 'lack of judgment'", the individual said.

A startup founder in whose firm Binny Bansal has invested in his personal capacity was 'shocked by the accusation' of sexual misconduct as reported in a section of the press. "Unless it is clarified by Walmart, how does one believe these accusations," the founder said. "I have known Binny for over five years. He is a man of few words, an introvert. He is solely driven by his commitment to work. This accusation as reported in the press is very painful to believe,' the individual said.

Walmart would not shy from saying 'sexual misconduct' if that was the case, said some. "What is there to be defensive about saying it?," said a startup analyst. The American giant would follow international practices and see the matter through. If, as some news reports said that the complaint against Bansal was brought to Walmart's notice some months ago, should they not have asked Bansal to step aside and conduct investigations? Why would they keep him as the chairman for so long, asked an investor.

In late July... an allegation came to us. It was a claim of sexual assault against Binny, the source said, adding the individual concerned was a former Flipkart associate who was not with the company at the time of making the allegation.

"The investigation could not corroborate the allegation. It did, however, bring to the surface a lack of transparency on Binny's part." Bansal has strongly denied the allegation, according to a separate statement by Flipkart and its main shareholder Walmart, Reuters reported.

Besides denying the allegation, Bansal has said in a mail to employees: "I will continue to be a large shareholder in the company and will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors."

Although some media reports have mentioned the resignation is related to a complaint from a former female colleague, neither Walmart nor Binny Bansal has alluded to the allegation in the letters released to the media on Bansal's resignation. Media reports also mention it was a consensual affair.

Walmart did not detail the nature of the allegations. "This has been an unfortunate and challenging situation for Binny, his family and Flipkart," the e-commerce provider said in a separate internal note.

Flipkart responded to a text message on questions on alleged sexual misconduct on part of Binny Bansal with the press statement that Walmart issued on Tuesday evening after Bansal's resignation.

Text messages were sent to Sachin Bansal, co-founder, Flipkart, on the allegations against Bansal, but he did not respond.

Sources at Flipkart said that the incident referred to in 2016 wasn't virtually unknown to many in the company. "The company was then completely under the control of the Bansals and any such incidents would have been brushed under the carpet," said a former employee, requesting anonymity. The employee also said that such incidents a few years ago would not have been taken seriously and has now surfaced in the times of the #MeToo movement across the country.
Walmart -- Flipkart's parent entity -- on Tuesday issued a statement saying Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal had resigned as the group chief executive officer.

New Delhi: A day after Binny Bansal stepped down as Group CEO following personal misconduct allegations, Flipkart team heads are extensively engaging with staff to address their concerns and queries arising in view of the surprise development.

According to sources, various heads at the e-commerce giant have been engaging with their teams to answer any queries and address concerns related to business and operations after Bansal's exit.

Walmart -- Flipkart's parent entity -- on Tuesday issued a statement saying Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal had resigned as the group chief executive officer.

The cryptic statement said an independent investigation had been conducted against Bansal following allegations of "serious personal misconduct" but gave no details about the nature of the misconduct and findings of the probe for which a global law firm had been engaged.

It gave a clean chit to Bansal stating that the probe "did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant's assertions" against him.

According to multiple sources, this was the second time that the issue had against Bansal had been raised. They said the matter was first flagged three years ago. However, it wasn't clear if any action was taken back then.

In July this year, the complainant -- an associate engaged with Flipkart and now working independently -- reached out to Walmart, following which the investigation was set up, they said.

The sources said Walmart -- which had picked up 77 percent stake in the Bengaluru-based firm for a whopping $16 billion -- was upset that this development had not been disclosed when the deal discussions were on.

Binny, 37, has also strongly denied the charges and said he was "stunned" by the allegations. He had added that while had stepped down from the lead role, he would continue to remain a large shareholder and board member of the company that he co-founded 11 years ago with Sachin Bansal (who exited Flipkart having sold his entire shares as part of the deal).

Binny had been appointed group CEO in January last year. In his email to employees Tuesday, Binny had said he had been mulling over the right time to step away from an operating role at Flipkart Group for some time.

"My plan was to continue in my current role for a few more quarters to continue the transition after closing the deal with Walmart. However, my decision to step down has been accelerated by certain personal events that have taken place in the recent past," he wrote in his email.

Binny's exit after that of co-founder Sachin Bansal (not related) has raised questions around leadership and the course of action over the next few months for the company that is locked in an intense battle with American rival, Amazon.

Walmart has stated that Kalyan Krishnamurthy, currently chief executive of the Flipkart division and PhonePe (Flipkart's payments arm) Sameer Nigam will report directly to the board.

Also, Flipkart's operations will now include fashion portals, Myntra and Jabong even though they would continue to operate as separate platforms. Ananth Narayanan will continue as CEO of Myntra and Jabong and will report to Krishnamurthy. The sources indicated that further rejig of roles could be on the cards soon.
Lenders of IL&FS group opposed the 90-day moratorium over loan repayment by the debt-laden group and its subsidiaries.

New Delhi: The newly-formed board of IL&FS Tuesday informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that it has drawn up a new roadmap to address concerns of lenders.

Senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan appearing for IL&FS informed the two-member bench that the draft proposal has already been submitted before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and sought its permission to place before it.

"The new board of directors has chalked out a new roadmap which will answer lenders' question," Srinivasan told the NCLAT bench headed by Justice S J Mukhopadhaya. "We request permission to place a new roadmap before NCLAT", he pleaded.

The NCLAT was hearing a bunch of petitions seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against IL&FS.

During the hearing, lenders of IL&FS group opposed the 90-day moratorium over loan repayment by the debt-laden group and its subsidiaries.

The banks have also asked the appellate tribunal to allow them not to classify IL&FS account as NPA in case of non-payment.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for IndusInd bank said that money needs to be recovered as the loans would become NPA as per the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) guidelines and would be loss to public money.

IndusInd bank had last week approached NCLAT seeking repayment of Rs 25 crore as interest from IL&FS to avoid classifying the company's account as non-performing asset.

The tribunal has fixed 17 December as the next date of hearing.

On 15 October NCLAT had stayed all proceedings against IL&FS group and its 348 firms till its further orders, over an urgent petition moved by the government.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had approached the appellate tribunal after the Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) turned down its plea to grant 90-day moratorium over the loans taken by IL&FS and its subsidiaries.

The NCLT on 1 October suspended the board of IL&FS on the government's plea and authorised reconstitution of the board by appointing seven directors two days later.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that significant progress has been made in market access of negotiation for goods and called on similar efforts on services sectors.

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for an early conclusion of the multi-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement that should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial to the people of all countries.

He also called on fellow RCEP leaders to give the mandate to trade ministers and negotiators to take the economic grouping forward, said Sudhanshu Pandey, additional secretary, the commerce ministry, during a media briefing here.

The RCEP, involving 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) as well as China, Japan, Australia, India, New Zealand and South Korea, would cover about half the world's population and a third of its GDP.

The RCEP has concluded seven chapters of the total 16.

Prime Minister Modi noted that significant progress has been made in market access of negotiation for goods and called on similar efforts on services sectors.

"We need to make similar efforts to make progress in services negotiations as they constitute more than 50 percent of the GDP of most of the RCEP countries. In future, services are going to be playing a very important role," he said at the RCEP meeting.

He also stressed that any such multilateral agreement which has diverse circumstances and developmental requirements should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial only then people of all countries will be benefited by such an agreement.

Responding to questions, Pandey said the Prime Minister has very clearly exhibited his support to the RCEP agreement and urged all leaders to give a required mandate for "early conclusion" which means India is strongly committed to the RCEP.

Since the developmental circumstances of each country are different, therefore he urged that any multilateral agreement finalised should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial.

At the summit, the leaders of the 16 negotiating countries reviewed the progress that has been made in the negotiations of the RCEP.

The negotiations among the countries in the bloc have been ongoing since 2012.
Narendra Modi will also lay foundation stones marking the beginning of work for city gas networks in at least 62 cities, licences for which were given out in the previous bidding round that concluded a couple of months back

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will next week launch the 10th city gas licensing round that will help extend coverage of CNG and piped cooking gas connections to 70 percent of the population.

Modi will also lay foundation stones marking the beginning of work for city gas networks in at least 62 cities, licences for which were given out in the previous bidding round that concluded a couple of months back, oil regulator PNGRB Chairman Dinesh K Sarraf told reporters here.

In the 10th bid round for giving licences to retail CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to household kitchens, 50 geographical areas or GAs spread over 124 districts in 14 states, covering 24 percent of India's population and 18 percent of its area, are being offered, he said.

In the ninth bid round, 86 GAs spread over 174 districts in 22 states and union territories and covering 26 percent of India's population and 24 percent of its area were offered. Of these, 78 GAs have been awarded to companies like Adani Gas, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Torrent Gas.

Modi through video conferencing will lay the foundation stones for 62 GAs during a function on 22 November, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) Chairman said.

"Of the 86 GAs of 9th bid round, five GAs have been excluded as they are under litigation. Another 16 GAs fall in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana where assembly elections are on and so have been excluded because of model code of conduct. Another three GAs will have to be excluded because of local panchayat elections," Sarraf said.

First CNG station or a piped natural gas connection in the GAs awarded in the previous round will take at least 1-2 years to become operational.

"In the two rounds (9th and 10th), we have covered 50 percent of India's population and 42 percent of the area," he said.

The government is targeting raising share of natural gas in the primary energy basket to 15 percent from current 6.2 percent, in the next few years and the bid rounds are aimed at fulfilling that objective.

Bids for the 10th round will close on February 5 and areas will be awarded by end of February, he said.

The GAs awarded in the 9th round and to be offered in the 10th are the ones that lie close to natural gas pipelines, he said adding companies have been given 8 years for the complete rollout of city gas infrastructure in their awarded cities.

"Future bid rounds will be slower and smaller as new areas can be offered only when gas pipeline is laid to connect them to gas grid," he said. "Next round will happen after some gap."

For companies to retail CNG to automobiles or supply piped natural gas to household kitchens, natural gas - either imported on ports or found below the earth's surfaces, mostly in offshore - has to be transported to consumption centres through pipelines.

Currently, western and northern India are well connected with cross-country pipeline and only couple of years back the work on connecting the eastern part with pipeline has begun.

Like in the 9th round, bidders in the 10th round will have to quote the number of CNG stations to be set up and the number of domestic cooking gas connections to be given in the first eight years of operation.

Also, they have to quote the length of pipeline to be laid in the GA and the tariff proposed for city gas and compressed natural gas (CNG), he said.

Cities on offer in the 10th round include Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, Muzaffarpur in Bihar, Kaithal in Haryana, Mysore and Gulbarga in Karnataka, Allapuza and Kollam in Kerala, Ujjain, Gwalior and Morena in Madhya Pradesh, Jhansi and Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Firozpur and Hoshiarpur in Punjab, Ajmer and Jalor in Rajasthan, Nainital in Uttarakhand and Darjeeling and Howrah in West Bengal.

Companies having a net worth of not less than Rs 150 crore can bid for GAs with a population of 50 lakh and more while the same for GAs with a population of 20-50 lakh has been proposed at Rs 100 crore.

The net worth eligibility goes down with population, with a Rs 5 crore net worth firm being eligible to bid for GAs that have less than 10 lakh population.

The winning company would have 8 years of marketing exclusivity in the given city. Licences given prior to the 9th round provide for 5 years of exclusivity.

In the 9th round, which closed in July, billionaire Gautam Adani's group, IOC, BPCL and Torrent Gas were the big winners. Adani Gas won rights to retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households and industries in 13 cities on its own and another nine in a joint venture with IOC.

IOC on its own won rights to seven cities while Bharat Gas Resources Ltd, a unit of BPCL, won a licence for 11 cities. Torrent Gas made 10 winning bids.

State gas utility GAIL's retailing arm GAIL Gas managed rights for five cities.

Prior to the 9th round, 91 GAs were awarded to firms like Indraprastha Gas and GAIL Gas, which are serving 240 million population, 42 lakh domestic consumers and 31 lakh CNG vehicles.

Of these, 56 GAs were awarded through bidding rounds and the rest on government nomination.
RBI said the penalties on these two banks have been imposed taking into account the failure of the banks to adhere to the directions issued by it.

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank said on Wednesday it has imposed a penalty of over Rs 3 crore on Deutsche Bank for non-compliance of various norms, including asset classification and KYC.

The RBI also slapped a fine of Rs 3 crore on state-owned Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd for violating similar norms.

The RBI has imposed, by an order dated 5 November, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 30.10 million on Deutsche Bank A.G. for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms, Know Your Customer/Anti-money Laundering (KYC/AML) norms, and on disclosure of monetary penalties imposed by the regulator, the central bank said in a release.

In a separate release, the RBI said a fine of Rs 30 million is slapped on The Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on IRAC norms and KYC/AML norms.

RBI said the penalties on these two banks have been imposed taking into account the failure of the banks to adhere to the directions issued by it.

"This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers," it said further.
By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic adviser said on Tuesday that the United States welcomed the resumption of talks with China on trade, while Vice President Mike Pence warned Beijing to change its behaviour so as to avoid a new cold war with the United States

By Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic adviser said on Tuesday that the United States welcomed the resumption of talks with China on trade, while Vice President Mike Pence warned Beijing to change its behaviour so as to avoid a new cold war with the United States.

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters at the White House that the U.S. and Chinese governments were "now communicating at all levels and that's a very good thing."

Kudlow said "it's pretty clear now" that Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 industrialized nations meeting in Argentina later this month.

"We are working on background materials in preparation and we're waiting for China to come back with some thoughts," he added.

When asked if he was looking for concessions before the meeting, Kudlow said, "we would like to hear from them some responses to the things we've asked for in the last, I don't know, five or six or seven months."

Trade negotiations between the two countries had been put on pause, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said last month. The United States has consistently sought concessions from China on intellectual property and technology, as well as tariffs on imports of U.S. goods.

Pence told the Washington Post in an interview that China should change its behaviour to avoid a cold war with the United States, and Trump is looking for "concrete proposals" from Beijing.

"The presidents attitude is, we want to make sure they know where we stand, what we are prepared to do, so they can come to Argentina with concrete proposals that address not just the trade deficit that we face ... Were convinced China knows where we stand," Pence said in the interview.

Pence also said China must offer concessions on intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, restricted access to Chinese markets, respect for international rules and norms, and efforts to limit freedom of navigation in international waters, among other issues.

If Beijing does not produce proposals that satisfy Washington, the United States is prepared to increase economic, diplomatic and political pressure on China, Pence told the newspaper.

"We really believe we are in a strong position either way. We are at $250 billion [in tariffs] now; we can more than double that," Pence said. "I dont think its a matter of promises. Were looking for results. We're looking for a change of posture."

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton, Timothy Ahmann, Lisa Lambert and David Lawder, Editing by Susan Heavey and Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Vodafone Idea reported consolidated revenue of Rs 7,663 crore for July-September 2018 quarter

New Delhi: Vodafone Idea on Wednesday reported a consolidated loss of Rs 4,973 crore for the September quarter in its maiden financial results post-merger.

The merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular was completed on 31 August, 2018.

The numbers for the reported quarter include results for Idea Cellular up to 30 August, 2018 and for Vodafone Idea from August 31 to September 30 and hence these are not comparable to the earlier period, Vodafone Idea said in a statement.

The company continued to face the impact of tariff war, with customers moving to low-cost plans.

"Headline tariffs remained stable during the quarter. However, customer migration to lower ARPU (average revenue per user) offerings led to a 4.7 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline in ARPU to Rs 88 for the quarter," the statement said.

The country's largest telecom operator with subscriber base of 42.2 crore reported consolidated revenue of Rs 7,663 crore for July-September 2018.

Vodafone Idea said that post-merger, synergy between assets and operations is progressing well.

"Committee of Board members to evaluate a potential capital raise of up to Rs 250 billion, promoter shareholders have indicated to the Board that they would contribute up to Rs 182.5 billion," Vodafone Idea said.

Vodafone Group has indicated to the board that they would contribute up to Rs 11,000 crore and Aditya Birla Group up to Rs 7,250 crore, respectively.

The company is also actively exploring sale of its fibre network.

"Several parties have indicated a potential interest in acquiring the company's fibre network, consisting of over 156,000 kilometer of intra- and inter-city fibre routes. The Company has decided to actively explore a potential sale of these assets in order to provide further balance sheet flexibility," the statement said.

The merged entity's gross debt as at 30 September, 2018 stood at Rs 1,26,100 crore.

"The cash and equivalents was Rs 136 billion, resulting in a net debt of Rs 1,125 billion," the statement said.
Women have no right to either seek or express their pleasure; that renders them, like the woman in the Ananga-Ranga, a shrew to be tamed

"A woman who was burning with love and could find none to satisfy her inordinate desires, threw off her clothes and swore she would wander the world naked till she met with her match. In this condition, she entered the levee-hall of the Rajah upon whom Koka Pandit was attending and, when asked if she were not ashamed of herself, looked insolently at the crowd of courtiers around her and scornfully declared that there was not a man in the room? The King and his company were sore abashed; but the Sage joining his hands, applied with due humility for royal permission to tame the shrew."

He then led her home and worked so persuasively that whole night fainting from fatigue and from repeated orgasms she cried for quarter. Thereupon the virile Pandit inserted gold pins into her arms and legs; and, leading her before his Rajah, made her confess her defeat and solemnly veil herself in the presence."

The Ananga RangaStage of Love in Englishwas written by Kalyana Malla sometime in the 1400s or 1500s. The poet wrote the work in honour of Lad Khan, the son of Ahmed Khan Lodi. Translated into English in 1885 by the traveller and scholar Richard Francis Burtonand burned, it is believed, by his wife Isabel Burton in the weeks after his deathis often compared to the Kama Sutra.

Frank, guilt-free sex is one great legacy of Indian tradition: Sensual pleasure, addressed with poetry, wisdom and humour, is seen as an ecstatic expression of lifes possibilities. But this is also a tradition that imprisons.

The Ananga-Ranga, and works like it, are not simply sex manuals; they represent particular ideologies about gender. The pursuit of pleasure, in this text, involves the subjugation of women for the pleasure of mena story that haunts us today, as the #MeToo movement unfolds.

First published in the 1400s, and translated into Arabic and Hindustani as the Lazzat al-Nisathe pleasures of womenthe Ananga-Ranga travelled well over the centuries, appearing in Persian and even Turkish. Its stated intent is to protect the institution of monogamy. Great and powerful monarchs have ruined themselves and their realms by their desire to enjoy the wives of others," it warns. Let none, therefore, attempt adultery even in their thoughts."

Kalyana Malla, the author of the Ananga-Ranga, is an obscure figure, though the text describes him as a great sage. The work itself, though, was written for Lad Khan, the kings son. King Ahmad," the text tells us, was the ornament of the Lodi House. He was a Sea, having for waters the tears shed by the widows of his slaughtered foes, and he rose to just renown and wide-spread fame. May his son Lada Khan, versed in the Kama Shastra or Scripture of Love, and having his feet rubbed with the diadems of other kings, be ever victorious!

Sex involves, among other things, performance: The Ananga-Ranga, and other works in this genre, are manuals to demonstrate masculine virility and feminine objectification.

She has no right to either seek or express her pleasure; that would render her, like the woman in the Ananga-Ranga, a shrew to be tamed.

The representation of the human sexual organs in some Mughal-era painting is instructive. There is one of particular interest, representing the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, where he displays a phallus of a wholly improbable size. The painting, obviously, is not just about representing pleasure; its true subject is male power.

In the Ananga-Ranga, the signifier of masculinity is quite different. The man whose Linga is very long, will be wretchedly poor. The man whose Linga is very thick, will ever be in distress. The man whose Linga is thin and lean, will be very lucky; and the man whose Linga is short, will be a Rajah.

Leaving aside minor details like the penis-size which signifies power, these tropes remain with us. It is not just pornography which limits the role of women to facilitators and providers of male pleasure. The recent controversy around a Bollywood scene where the actress Swara Bhaskar is shown to be masturbating is a case in point. There is no similar outrage at expressly sexual sequences or songs, as long as the women perform for the pleasure of men.

Thus, our mindsets have not moved on from the time of the Ananga-Ranga. We still are deeply embedded in the medieval thought of this text, wherein it is the wife whose duty is to satisfy her husband sexually. Never ever is there a straight question asked or posed to female sexual satisfaction and her pleasure.

Dr Syed Mubin Zehra (DU) is the author of Sexual & Gender Representation in Mughal India
Acute arsenic poisoning can lead to vomiting, abdominal pain, watery diarrhoea containing blood, cardiac problems, destruction of red blood cells, vertigo, delirium, shock, coma and death.

We have guests for dinner. Wife, please prepare them delicious chicken curry with arsenic in it. No? Then lets take them out to have tandoori chicken  with arsenic.

These are not lines from the latest Bollywood murder mystery script. This is reality. Arsenic is that deadly element which has killed many a character in plays, movies and novels. What is hidden is the arsenic in our daily consumption.

Arsenic is of two kinds  organic and inorganic. Inorganic arsenic compounds are much more harmful for humans than the organic kind (which is also harmful). They react with the cells in the body, displace elements from the cells, and change the cells' functioning.

For example, cells use phosphate for energy generation and signaling, but one form of arsenic, known as arsenate, can imitate and replace the phosphate in the cell. This impairs the ability of the cell to generate energy and communicate with other cells. It changes the functioning of 200 + enzymes. Which means that it becomes a deadly poison.

The toxicity of arsenic has been described as back as 1500 BC in the Ebers Papyrus.

Acute arsenic poisoning can lead to vomiting, abdominal pain, watery diarrhoea containing blood, cardiac problems, destruction of red blood cells, vertigo, delirium, shock, coma and death.

But it is the long-term exposure of low amounts of arsenic you should really worry about. (The rest of the world has banned arsenic as a chemical to prevent the insect infestation of wood used in building. However it is still used in India for wood preservation.)

We are exposed to it through milk, apple juice and wine (the FDA found high levels of inorganic arsenic in 83 brands of wine). But most of all, it is present in the many types of meat that we consume, especially fish, shellfish and chicken. Low doses of arsenic cause far less severe symptoms. But that doesnt mean that the body is not being slowly and systematically destroyed by chronic poisoning, even if the compound is weakly toxic.

Arsenic is related to Vitamin A deficiency, heart disease, stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, lung, bladder and skin cancers and kidney/liver diseases. Long-term exposure to arsenic can lead to skin changes (darkening or discoloration, redness, swelling and skin bumps that resemble corns or warts).

Whitish lines may appear in the fingernails. Both sensory and motor nerve defects can develop. Other problems are lactic acidosis. Arsenic blocks potassium going into the cells and low potassium increases the risk of experiencing a life-threatening heart rhythm problem, neurological disturbances, high blood pressure, central nervous system dysfunction, anaemia.

Epidemiological studies have suggested a correlation between chronic consumption of arsenic and the incidence of Type 2-diabetes. Pregnant women who eat arsenic may have babies with low birth weight and size. Early signs are headaches, confusion and drowsiness.

You are consuming it every time you eat chicken.

Since the 1940s, chickens have been fed arsenic to promote growth and weight gain with lower feed. It means that you can feed the battery cage chicken less food and the chicken will grow just as big. This saves money for the poultry owner.

The drug roxarsone and nitarsone makes the chickens grow bigger faster and gives their unhealthy and diseased grey battery cage skin an artificial pink colour to make them look healthy.

The makers of roxarsone, nitarsone and the American Food and Drug Administration justified and allowed its use on the grounds that the arsenic used was organic. However, they were proved wrong in a 2011 study at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future which analysed hundreds of chicken breasts sold in grocery stores in 10 cities across the USA.

The study showed that roxarsone turned immediately into carcinogenic inorganic arsenic in chicken bodies. Further, when this chicken was killed and cooked, the levels of inorganic arsenic increased to dangerous levels. According to a 2006 Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 70 percent of the 8.7 million chickens, bred for the food supply, ate feed containing roxarsone.

Johns Hopkins immediately asked the FDA to protect public health by withdrawing its approvals of all arsenic-based drugs, and Congress to pass legislation to permanently ban all arsenic-based drugs from food animal production.

Some US poultries voluntarily removed it in broiler production in the US (no ban has been put). After growing concerns about cancer, Pfizer announced, in 2011, that they were not going to market it in the US any more. However the company continues to sell roxarsone and nitarsone abroad.

While animal feed, with arsenic-containing compounds, was always banned in 25 countries of Europe besides the UK and Japan.

Many countries in Asia apart from Canada and Australia continue to allow it in the animal feed.

Roxarsone and nitarsone are used massively by Indian poultries. In fact, a simple search for arsenic-based farm feed throws up 22,300 sellers and distributors across the country. You can look it up under poultry and animal feed, broiler feed, broiler growth promoter.

One roxarsone ad states, Established in the year 2010, we are able to offer a wide range of products such as poultry feed additive and wood preservative. We have a huge clientele base across the world. Some of our major clients are from Latin America, Middle East, South America, South/West Europe, South East Asia, Central America, Australia, Malaysia and Indian local market.

More and more people are consuming chicken now, without realising the presence of deadly arsenic in it. As per the Global Agricultural Information Network, the consumption of processed chicken in India is rising at 15-20% per year. Statistics of the Indian Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries show that an estimated 238 crore chickens were slaughtered during 2016-17 in India.

A study conducted in Kolkata, by the West Bengal University of Fishery and Animal Sciences (WBUFAS), showed the dangerously high level of arsenic in chicken, mutton and egg samples. The study covered poultry and other farms in eight villages in the Deganga block of North 24-Parganas.

It showed that poultry products from the area contained five times more arsenic than the permissible levels. About 60% of Kolkatas chicken and egg supply came from North 24-Parganas.

We found that broiler chicken produced in the poultry farms had an arsenic content of 0.77 ppm and eggs had an average arsenic content of 0.38 ppm. Both are much higher than the permissible limit. The authorities need to crack down on the poultry farms immediately," said the senior researcher at WBUFAS.

It is not just chicken eaters who are at risk, but each one of us. Chicken faeces are commonly used as fertilizer on croplands. The bacteria present in chicken litter, and in the soil, converts the excreted organic arsenic into its inorganic form. Research by the University of Alberta, published in Science of the Total Environment, found that arsenic from the feed transferred easily from chicken bodies to poultry litter.

Because poultry litter is commonly used to fertilize soil, it can lead to increased concentration of arsenic in plants grown in soil fertilized with chicken manure, generating public health issues (Rutherford et al., 2003). About 70-90 percent of arsenic in poultry litter becomes water soluble, meaning, it can readily migrate through soils and into underlying groundwater.

Poultry litter containing arsenic is also fed as a protein source to beef cattle. So, the legal practice of feeding arsenic to poultry can add to the arsenic contamination of other foods as well.

Arsenic use promotes antibiotic resistance. Infectious disease concerns are heightened by the fact that poultry producers routinely use feed additives that include both antibiotics and arsenic components. Doctors, and the entire medical fraternity, need to take a lead in this campaign demanding poultry raised without the use of arsenic.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the drug controller must withdraw its approval of arsenic feed additives as an unnecessary public health risk. Europe shows us it is possible to raise poultry without arsenic.

The only possible method for control is to ban farm feeds and other products with arsenic. This should cover not just the hugely popular roxarsone and nitarsone but arsanilic acid, carbarsone and other related compounds. Ensuring compliance to such a ban is possible through stringent monitoring standards, by regularly testing chicken meat and eggs and inspecting pharmaceutical factories.

There cannot be negotiation on how much, or which kind, of arsenic humans can consume, when we need not consume arsenic at all.
India has, so far, played a cautious hand in Sri Lanka, not willing to make a commitment till a clearer picture emerges.

In January 2018, Freedom House, the US-funded NGO that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights, came out with a startling revelation. Democracy is in retreat around the world. Marking the 12th consecutive year in decline of global freedom, 71 countries have suffered net erosions in political rights and civil liberties in 2017. Only 35 have registering gains, it said in Freedom in the World 2018 report. The latest edition of its annual report said political rights and civil liberties have worsened to their lowest ebb in a decade.

In this context, the developments in Sri Lanka add an extra layer of worry for democracies around the world. The worry is heightened for India. Considering the geostrategic location of the island nationstraddling key maritime routes through which more than 60,000 ships ply annuallyits civilisation links and geographical proximity to India, Colombo remains vital to Indias economic and security interests.

Turmoil in Sri Lanka affects Indias nerve centres, and its descent into authoritarianism may hold threats to Indias strategic interests, not the least because the island nation has become the latest theatre for a geopolitical fight between India and China. In the Mahinda Rajapaksa decade, Colombo tilted so far towards Beijing that its repercussions are still being felt. China considers Sri Lanka a critical component of its multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative and has been working behind the scenes to extend its military and political influence.

Beijing has already made Colombo hand over a port and 15,000 acres of land around it on a 99-year-lease to a State-controlled firm and has pumped in billions of dollars as loans on opaque terms to push infrastructure-hungry Sri Lanka towards a debt trap, rendering Colombo vulnerable to equity and ownership for Chinese firms. Beijing has used this playbook elsewhere in Asia and even Africa to gain a strategic foothold.

As an article in The New York Times on how China got Sri Lanka to cough up the Hambantota Port points out, The debt deal also intensified some of the harshest accusations about President Xi Jinpings signature Belt and Road Initiative: that the global investment and lending programme amounts to a debt trap for vulnerable countries around the world, fueling corruption and autocratic behavior in struggling democracies.

It is precisely this worry that will keep Indian policymakers sweating till a measure of stability returns to Sri Lanka. It is natural for smaller countries to balance their interests with larger neighbors, sometimes playing one against the other to secure better deals. As an assertive China seeks to supplant Indias influence in New Delhis own regional sphere, the trouble for India lies in dealing with the speed and gamut of Chinas strategic intrusion. As it remains encumbered with slow policy and decision-making and even slower execution, China is making swift inroads.

This challenge will become more complicated if the smaller nations in Indias sphere of influence reject democratic rule and descend into authoritarianism, which may align them further with China. This provides an uncomfortable backdrop to mess in Colombo where the parliament reconvened nearly three weeks after it was prorogued by President Maithripala Sirisena, and promptly sacked Rajapaksa, the new prime minister handpicked by the president.

This deepens the crisis and adds to the instability. On Tuesday, in a landmark verdict, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court stayed (till 7 December) on Sirisenas decision to order a snap general election on 5 January, and ordered the Election Commission to refrain from preparing for the polls. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister who was sacked by the president on 26 October but had refused to vacate Temple Trees, the official residence of the prime minister, welcomed the verdict.

Today we have witnessed a resounding victory for the peoples franchise, Wickremesinghe said. The powers of the president are limited and he must act according to the law. He is not above the law.

The drama intensified on Wednesday when 122 MPs of Sri Lankas 225-member parliament handed over a motion to the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya saying they have no confidence in the new Cabinet headed by Rajapaksa.

#Srilanka: JVP's Bimal Rathnayake has just handed over a motion signed by 122 MPs to Speaker @KaruOnline, saying they have no confidence in the purported new government of Mahinda Rajapaksa #lka via @the_hindu pic.twitter.com/dgIgW6z7Pa  Meera Srinivasan (@Meerasrini) November 14, 2018

Defeated by a voice vote, Rajapaksa now has to vacate his seat, but this does not mean an automatic reinstatement for Wickeremesinghe. Though the ousted PM still holds the majority in parliament, Sirisena retains the power to pick the next PM, and he may just wait for the court to review the order in December, leaving Sri Lanka in a power vacuum.

While Wickremesinghes party UNP claims their chief is still the prime minister, Rajapaksas son Namal, a lawmaker in his fathers United People Freedom Alliance party, told The Associated Press they dont accept this verdict and will continue as the government. As confusion reigns, China has seized the chance. Even as its ploy of being the only major international power to recognise the Rajapaksa government fell flat, allegations have surfaced that Beijing is funding its lackey Rajapaksa in buying legislators: a charge China denies.

India has, so far, played a cautious hand in Sri Lanka, not willing to make a commitment till a clearer picture emerges. Indias concerns, however, lie in the way anti-democratic forces are gaining ground in its backyard.

As geostrategist Brahma Chellaney writes in Nikkei Asian Review, Sri Lanka illustrates that free and fair elections, by themselves, do not guarantee genuine democratic empowerment at the grassroots level or adherence to constitutional rules by those in power. In fact, Sri Lanka is a reminder that democratic progress is reversible unless the rule of law is firmly established and the old, entrenched forces are held to account for their rapacious past.

There is no clear way of tackling the problem except patient diplomacy and wise decision-making. India cannot afford to take its eye off the ball in Colombo.
An increase in poll percentage figures in the recently-concluded first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly election in the Maoist-hit districts is astonishing.

An increase in poll percentage figures in the recently-concluded first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly election in the Maoist-hit districts is astonishing, considering the escalation in Maoist violence in the region in the run up to the elections.

Given the attacks by Naxals on government machinery and civilians in Bastar just days before the region went to polls, including a day before the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for poll campaigning in Jagdalpur on 9 November, the stage was set for an election that was not likely to see the electorate coming out to cast their votes.

After all, the Maoists had issued a crystal-clear call to boycott polls, along with a gruesome threat of chopping the hands of people found sporting the indelible poll ink on their fingers.

But the electorate dared, and how!

A total of 18 Assembly seats in the region comprising Bastar and Rajnandgaon that went to polls in the first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh on 12 November clocked 76.28 percent, almost as if throwing caution to the wind, or as one could say, showing faith in democracy even in the face of dire consequences.

The figure may seem to be a small increase over the last elections 75.60 percent, but given the circumstances and aggressive posturing of the Maoists, where they continued with their attacks even on the day of polling, its commendable on part of tribal voters who risked their lives to cast votes.

Barring a few pockets in Maoist strongholds, where the Maoists forcefully vacated the villages and shifted the villagers to their areas, the villagers went out to cast their votes in the rest of the region.

The figures for voter turnout in 2013 and 2008 elections were 75.60 percent and 67.08 percent respectively.

"Chhattisgarh recorded 76.28 percent polling in the first phase of elections held on Monday... The impressive turnout shows that Naxals threats seem to have had little impact in the first phase of polling in eight Maoist-hit districts, state Chief Electoral Officer Subrat Sahoo said in a press conference at Raipur.

Polling in the heart of Maoist strongholds

Lets consider three Assembly constituencies where the Maoists have strong influence.

Narayanpur has registered 74.40 percent of polling this time in comparison to 70.28 percent in 2013. This district includes Abujhmad  a large swathe of hills and dense forests, with tribal villages scattered in small pockets  where the police and security forces are yet to penetrate. This region is considered as an impenetrable Maoist fortress, where they run a state within a state of their own known as janatana sarkar.

Bijapur has clocked 47.35 percent in comparison to 45.01 percent in 2013. A Maoist stronghold, Bijapur is one of the most volatile districts. Last month, Maoists blew up a mine protected vehicle (MPV) in Bijapur using a landmine that killed four CRPF personnel. Almost every week, one gets to hear about Maoist attacks in this district.

Konta Assembly seat in Sukma district has witnessed a sharp increase of 7 percent in voter turnout. It has registered 55.30 percent as against 48.36 percent in 2013. One of the most volatile Maoist-hit districts, Sukma has witnessed some of the most gruesome Maoist incidents.

Factors that pushed tribals to cast votes despite Maoist threat

In a bid to combat Left Wing Extremism, the Narendra Modi government has adopted a multi-pronged approach, which includes aggressive security measures, development, confidence-building exercise, etc. Similarly, several factors have helped in increasing the poll percentage in Bastar region.

1. Community policing

In Bastar region, community policing  which is known by various names like 'Amcho Bastar, Amcho Police (My Bastar, My Police)' in Bastar district, 'Manva Puna Bijapur (Our New Bijapur)' in Bijapur or Tendumutla Bastar in Sukma district  has played a pivotal role in building confidence among villagers to cast their vote.

Weve been working on community policing for the last one-and-half years. The objective is to have regular dialogues between villagers and police by taking the former in confidence, to know about the problems, give feedback to government and lend a helping hand. We wanted to say that villagers can trust the police now. This has helped voters from interior areas to come out and vote. Its a kind of bonhomie between the two, Chhattisgarh police inspector general (Bastar Range) Vivekananda told Firstpost.

There are villages like Palamedu or Mukram in Sukma where people had desisted from voting in the past, but have cast votes in considerable numbers. Villagers from Barsur even crossed the Indravati river to cast their votes.

There was zero percent voting in Mukram in 2013. Out of two polling booths in Maoist stronghold Bhejji a single vote was cast in one booth and none in the other. But this time, villagers willingly came and voted. Despite Naxal violence, the district administration has tried to provide a safe and secure environment. Even a few polling booths were shifted for security reasons, a Sukma district official, who was involved in the poll process, remarked.

2. Strong security measures

Over 1.25 lakh police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in the 18 Assembly constituencies that voted in the first phase. The security forces used drones and surveillance devices like trackers to monitor each and every movement in the region.

In addition, the war room at Special Investigation Branch of the Anti-Naxal Operations wing of Chhattisgarh police maintains a round-the-clock monitoring system for the entire state. The first phase of this election has witnessed a foolproof security arrangement, ensuring better safety to voters. As a result, despite repeated death threats by the Maoists, the villagers came out in large numbers.

Respective district administrations along with security forces ensured physically challenged voters reached the poll booths. The women self-help groups also played a vital role in mobilising women voters in villages.

3. Roads

The rural roads which were built in the last three years connecting interior villages also helped villagers in their movement.

As weve got a road now in the village, this time, I used motorbike to carry my parents and wife to the polling booth, said Nandu Markam, a resident of Geedam.

The government officials feel that the roads will give long-term benefits to the locals.

Its not just about voting, the roads constructed in the last five years have helped villagers in many ways  from fast access to hospitals and maternity centres, to wholesale markets. Moreover, these roads have helped security forces penetrate Maoist strongholds. The role of roads cant be undermined at any cost, as it has added to the governments other developmental activities, Vivekananda said.

4. Ajit Jogi factor

The political observers in Bastar also see the new alliance of former chief minister Ajit Jogis Janata Congress Chhattisgarh with Mayawatis BSP and Communist Party of India (CPI) as one of the factors that led to a high voter turnout.

The new alliance has a good influence in Bastar due to Ajit Jogi and CPI. The latter fielded a strong candidate, Nandram Sori (CPI), from Dantewada, who enjoys a good base among villagers, said RK Bhatnagar, a Bastar-based analyst.

5. A rumour

There is a strong rumour doing the rounds that two days ahead of the polling, the Maoists asked villagers not to vote for a particular political party but vote for another particular party.

The veracity of the rumour couldnt be confirmed.

Were not ready to buy it. Had it been the case, the Maoists would have issued this diktat much earlier rather than giving poll-boycott calls, added Vivekananda.

Can the development narrative make a difference in the second phase?

In this election, roads and development in Maoist-hotbed Bastar were a big poll plank for the Chhattisgarh government to showcase.

Exuding confidence after the first phase of polling, Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh reportedly said, Well get good results in the first phase in comparison to 2013. Were hopeful of getting 14 out of the total 18 seats.

In 2013 Assembly election, the Opposition Congress bagged 12 seats out of 18, and in Bastar region, it won eight out of 12.

Now, it needs to be seen how accurate Raman Singhs claim will be and how his governments development narrative can swing the second and last phase of Chhattisgarh election (on 20 November) in BJPs favour.

Theres no doubt lots of work has been done by the government on construction of roads and in education sector in Bastar and it would have a positive impact. But there have been charges of corruption as well in development projects. On one hand, development has taken place. On the other, theres a stark economic disparity visible in Chhattisgarh. It needs to be seen how this development narrative plays its role in the concluding phase, remarked veteran journalist and political analyst Ramesh Nayyar.
Addressing a campaign rally for the second phase of Assembly polls in Raigarh, Adityanath also accused Congress of 'insulting martyrdom' of security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations by terming Naxals as 'revolutionaries'. 'Congress has done nothing except divide the society on the basis of caste, region, religion, and language, he said.

Raigarh: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday accused Congress of "encouraging corruption, Naxalism, terrorism and misrule" during its rule in the country.

Addressing a campaign rally for the second phase of Assembly polls in Raigarh, Adityanath also accused Congress of "insulting martyrdom" of security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations by terming Naxals as "revolutionaries". "Congress has done nothing except divide the society on the basis of caste, region, religion, and language, he said.

During its 55-year rule in the country, Congress always encouraged poverty, misrule, terrorism, Naxalism, and corruption, he said. Without naming UP Congress chief Raj Babbar, Adityanath said, "a leader of UP Congress had termed Naxals as revolutionaries which is an insult to the martyrdom of security forces fighting Naxals".

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP with a slogan of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas has launched public welfare schemes for the inclusive development of people belonging to all sections of society, he said.

During the Congress rule, mining and forest mafia, cattle trafficking and Naxalism were "at an all-time high" in Chhattisgarh but the BJP government contained all these ills, he said. "Earlier, Rs 100 released from Delhi became Rs 10 on reaching people because the remaining Rs 90 was embezzled by dalals (middlemen ) of Congress. But now has changed and Rs 100 released by the Modi government remains Rs 100 when the amount reaches people through digital payment mode," he said.

Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan were considered as Bimaru states during the Congress rule, he said. Now, these states are considered among the developed states after BJP government came to power there, he said.
The first prime minister of India, Pandit Nehru, was born on 14 November, 1889, in Prayagraj. He breathed his last on 27 May, 1964. He became the prime minister on August 15, 1947, following an active role in the freedom struggle of the country.

14 November is celebrated as Children's Day in India on account of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's birth anniversary. Nehru, fondly rembered as 'Chacha (uncle) Nehru', was very fond of children and thus his birthday is marked with a day dedicated to them.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid their tributes to the first prime minister of India. Modi remembered Nehru on his birth anniversary by recalling his contribution in India's freedom struggle. "Remembering our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary. We recall his contribution to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister," the Prime Minister, who is currently in Singapore to attend the 13th East Asia Summit(EAS), tweeted.

Kovind took to his official Twitter handle and wrote, "Remembering Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, on his birth anniversary #PresidentKovind."

Meanwhile, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu also paid homage to 'Chacha Nehru', remembering the legendary leader and his contributions to modern india. "On this birth anniversary of the much loved 'Chacha Nehru' I wish the nation a very happy Children's Day.

On this birth anniversary of the much loved 'Chacha Nehru' I wish the nation a very happy Children's Day. Let us pledge today to ensure that no child shall be denied the opportunity to live a healthy and happy life, that no child shall be left behind. #JawaharlalNehru pic.twitter.com/I12pOsLwO4  VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) November 14, 2018

Let us pledge today to ensure that no child shall be denied the opportunity to live a healthy and happy life, that no child shall be left behind. #JawaharlalNehru," Naidu further tweeted.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi paid their respects to Nehru on his birth anniversary at Nehru's memorial Shanti Vana in Delhi.

Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh & UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi pay their respects to Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary at Shantivan. #RememberingNehru pic.twitter.com/IOXnk5KMtj  Congress (@INCIndia) November 14, 2018

Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also paid his respects to Nehru at Shantivan. Gehlot took to Twitter to pay homage, calling Nehru the architect of modern India.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also paid homage to Nehru stating that the best way for us to honour him, is by rededicating ourselves to the ideas of freedom, democracy, secularism and socialism.

On the birth anniversary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the best way for us to honour him, is by rededicating ourselves to Freedom, Democracy, Secularism & Socialism. These were the core values he believed in and fought for. These are the core values that bind our nation together. pic.twitter.com/RnrwDPcxCk  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 14, 2018

Harini Calamur, a columnist, while paying homage to the first prime minister stated that if it were not for him, "we would have been like one of those South American countries vacillating between coups and the US propped governments."

#jawaharlalnehru the man who laid the foundation for who we are today.

we would have been like one of those South American countries vacillating between coups and US propped Govts.

Did he make mistakes -sure, he wasn't God

but on the balance - IMO he did Good.  Harini Calamur (@calamur) November 14, 2018

Historian S lrfan Habib while paying his tribute, called Nehru an agnostic who respected others right to believe.

Tributes to our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. An incredible son of India, one who could laugh at himself and make others do that, a democrat who could get scared of his own popularity and write about it in 1930s. An agnostic who respected others right to believe.#JawaharlalNehru  S lrfan Habib (@irfhabib) November 14, 2018

Union minister Vijay Goel quoted the first prime minister while wishing children on the occasion of Children's day.

"The children of today will make the India of tomorrow". ~Jawahar Lal Nehru Wish the nation on the occasion of Birth Anniversary of first Prime Minister of India, Pandit #JawaharlalNehru, today. Also wish all the children on the happy occasion of #ChildrensDay, today.  Vijay Goel (@VijayGoelBJP) November 14, 2018

Writer Sanjukt Basu while paying homage to Nehru, criticised the BJO government, stating that "nowhere in world has a political party abused nation's forefathers the way BJP did to Nehru."

Today we live in a India where politics is so vile and hateful that wishing happy birthday to the nation's architect makes you an anti-national. Nowhere in world has a political party abused nation's forefathers the way BJP did to #JawaharlalNehru. But shine on Chacha Nehru.  Sanjukta Basu (@sanjukta) November 14, 2018

Social activist Payal Pankhuri remembered Nehru as someone who proved that conviction and intent can make anything possible.

When the world wondered if a poor & diverse country like India could sustain democracy, #JawaharLalNehru proved that conviction & intent can make anything possible. As founder of Modern India, his contribution to the nation remains unparalleled.#RememberingNehru pic.twitter.com/HiXXotK5pL  Pankhuri Pathak (@pankhuripathak) November 14, 2018

Bollywood director Anubhav Sinha wished Happy Birthday to a visionary who relentlessly shaped modern India.

Happy Childrens Day to all of us and Happy Birthday to a visionary who relentlessly shaped modern India. #JawaharlalNehru pic.twitter.com/Pq5NLOd8nl  Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) November 14, 2018

Sweden-based professor Ashok Swain remembered Nehru as the person due to whom "India is still a democratic and secular country and has not yet become a 'dump' for crackpot science".

To remember the first prime minister, tricolour balloons were released amid playing of bands and singing of patriotic songs by school children at Shantivan.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan led parliamentarians in paying tributes to the first prime minister at the Central Hall of Parliament.

Besides Mahajan, senior leaders Sharad Pawar, LK Advani, Gulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda were among those who paid homage to Nehru.

The first prime minister of India, Pandit Nehru, was born on 14 November, 1889, in Prayagraj. He breathed his last on 27 May, 1964. He became the prime minister on August 15, 1947, following an active role in the freedom struggle of the country.

India started celebrating Childrens Day in 1959. It was initially celebrated on 20 November along with other countries. But after Nehrus death in 1964, it was decided to celebrate his birthday as Childrens Day.

With inputs from agencies
Supreme Court to examine governments affidavit on Rafale deal today, Narendra Modi will deliver keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival, CNN sues Donald Trump, his White House aides over barring of reporter- here are the day's top stories

Rafale deal: Supreme Court to examine governments affidavit today

The Supreme Court will today examine the pricing details of the 36 Rafale fighter jets, which were submitted to it in a sealed cover by the Centre. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph will hold a crucial hearing in the case during which the petitioners, who have sought a court-monitored investigation into the deal, will also make submissions.

The petitions seeking the probe in the Rafale deal were first filed by advocates Manohar Lal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda. Later, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had also filed a petition. Former union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan had also filed a joint petition in the apex court. The petitioners are also likely to respond to the government's submission that the deal for 36 Rafale jets was negotiated on "better terms" and the Defence Procurement Procedure laid out in 2013 were "completely followed".

Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone wedding

The pre-wedding festivities for Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone kicked off on 12 November itself at a resort in Lake Como, Italy. While that night saw the two get officially engaged, the next night (13 November) was all about the mehendi and sangeet ceremonies. Deepika and Ranveer will participate in two wedding ceremonies. While the Konkani style wedding takes place today, the Sindhi rituals will be held on 15 November. The couple will also hold two receptions in India - in Bangalore with Deepika's close friends on 21 November and at The Grand Hyatt, Mumbai with Bollywood celebrities on 28 November.

Narendra Modi to deliver keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night left for a two-day visit to Singapore during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a bilateral meeting with US vice-president Mike Pence. Modi will reach Singapore on Wednesday morning for his 36-hour visit to the city-state and his first engagement after arrival will be to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit. The prime minister said that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region. Modi said as the world's largest event on financial technology, the festival was the right forum not only to showcase India's strengths in this fast-growing sector, but also to forge global partnerships for fostering innovation and growth.

Petrol, diesel prices cut

Petrol prices were down 12 paise and diesel 13 paise on Tuesday. Oil marketing companies are bearing a loss of Rs 1 per litre of fuel. Petrol was priced highest at Rs 82.94 in Mumbai, Rs 80.42 in Chennai, Rs 79.36 in Kolkata, and Rs 77.43 in Delhi. Diesel prices were at their lowest since first week of September. It cost Rs 72.19 in Delhi, Rs 75.64 in Mumbai, Rs 76.30 in Chennai, and Rs 74.05 in Kolkata. Fuel prices were last raised on 16 October. In the last few days, the daily rate of decline has been around 15 paise.

CNN sues Donald Trump, his White House aides over barring of reporter

CNN on Tuesday said it has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and several of his top aides, seeking the immediate restoration of the network's correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass to the White House which was suspended following a testy exchange with the US president. During a White House press conference last Wednesday, Acosta challenged Trump's use of the word "invasion" to describe a migrant caravan heading to the US from Central America. When Acosta tried to ask a question about the Russia investigation into alleged interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump told him repeatedly "that's enough" and "put down the mic". Hours after the encounter, seen across the world, the White House, in an unprecedented move, suspended Acosta's press pass, known as a Secret Service "hard pass." White House Press secretary Sarah Huckerbee Sanders said access was removed because he had put "his hands on a young woman". Acosta has denied the allegations. White House insisted that its charges against Acosta were correct.

ISRO to launch GSAT-29 satellite to boost communication in J&K and Northeast

The Indian Space Research Organisation is expected to launch a communications satellite that will improve access to communication networks, specifically in the Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast regions. The satellite, called GSAT-29, is a communications satellite with two separate payloads designed to improve telecommunication and internet services under the Digital India program in the two regions. Developed by ISRO, the satellite will be carried on the GSLV-III rocket to low-Earth orbit. Along for the ride are also a few additional payloads  an experimental Q and V band communication satellite, a device for optical communication and a high-resolution camera  part of a demonstration for use in future ISRO space missions.
The court took note of the submissions made by Pachauri's counsel that he was entitled to complete chain of SMS and WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between the ex-TERI chief and complainant.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday directed the city police to hand over certain documents to former TERI chief R K Pachauri in a case of alleged sexual harassment lodged by his former colleague.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar directed the investigating officer (IO) in the case to hand over mirror image/clone copies of the electronic devices, seized by police, to Pachauri.

The court took note of the submissions made by Pachauri's counsel that the accused was entitled to the complete chain of SMS and WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between the ex-TERI chief and the complainant.

Advocate Ashish Dixit, appearing for Pachauri, submitted that screen shots of the alleged messages were incomplete and manipulated by the complainant.

"I am of the view that revisionist is entitled to have the mirror image/clone copy of the items seized by the IO," the court said, directing the IO to hand over copies of electronic devices seized by him during the probe.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Pachauri against an order by a magisterial court, dismissing his plea. Police, however, had opposed the appeal, saying that the prosecution had not relied upon the documents sought by the accused.

The court had on 20 October framed molestation charges against Pachauri, after he pleaded not guilty. On 14 September, the court had discharged him from section 354B (using criminal force against a woman), 354D (stalking) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC, saying that prima facie these sections were not made out against Pachauri.

On 13 February, 2015, an FIR was registered against Pachauri and he was granted anticipatory bail in the case on 21 March, 2015.

The former TERI chief had earlier secured an interim order from an additional district judge making it mandatory for media houses to publish or telecast the coverage of the case with a title that "in any court, the allegations have not been proved and they may not be correct".

This order had also said "when such information is published in any page of a magazine or report, then it should be in middle of the page in bold letters and it should be five times larger than the font in which the article is being published."

Over 1,400-page charge sheet was filed by the Delhi Police on 1 March, 2016, saying there was "sufficient evidence" against Pachauri that he had sexually harassed, stalked and threatened the complainant.

A supplementary charge sheet was filed in March 2017 after the police said it had retrieved several deleted e-mails and chats exchanged between the accused and the complainant.

The final report had said the deleted WhatsApp chats, text messages, retrieved from the cell phones, computer hard disks and other devices, were "not fabricated".

The charge sheet. which was filed a year after the former research analyst of TERI lodged the complaint, had said Pachauri had committed offences under various sections of IPC. Pachauri has denied all the allegations against him.
Let's remember the India Nehru envisioned, which makes India a civilised and sometimes respected member of the international order of not just nations, but of peoples as well

Ad hominem attacks by the constituents of the Sangh Parivar, especially the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), against Jawaharlal Nehru are numerous enough to defy listing. Cyberspace, home to the world's most credulous, is the preferred site for the circulation of crackpot vilification of Indias first prime minister.

Even otherwise, a person holding a post that should carry with it a modicum of responsibility, former RSS chief KS Sudarshan, had once claimed that Nehru had killed Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. In a sense, however, these personal attacks are just a footnote to the grand parivar project: The obliteration of Nehrus legacy, ideological and institutional, from Indias political space on the basis of a perversion of history.

One of the BJP's refrains (echoed by other Hindutva champions) has for long been that India would have been a different sort of country had Vallabhbhai Patel become Indias first prime minister rather than Nehru. Conceptually, yes, it would have, practically, not really, because Patel died in 1950, before the first governments in the states and at the Centre assumed office only in 1952 after elections based on adult suffrage and other constitutionally-mandated conditions were held. Sticking to the conceptual theme, had Patel become prime minister, India could  not necessarily would  have been a country with a political space much less tolerant of dissent and difference, much more dominated by the Hindu majority and the fantasies of a section of it, much less supportive of minorities, and, thus, much more robust and muscular, in mainly pejorative senses.

One historical example will demonstrate the kind of difference we could have expected. In 1950, there were two serious contenders for the Congress presidency: Purushottamdas Tandon and Acharya JB Kripalani. Tandon was known mainly as a peasant leader and mobiliser, but he was also part of the Hindu right in the broad church that was the Congress, playing the principal role in setting up an organisation called the Hindu Raksha Dal in the wake of Partition. Kripalani was a mainstream Gandhian, who had resigned as Congress president in 1946 following serious differences with Nehru about the directions in which the nascent postcolonial polity should take.

Yet, Nehru backed Kripalani, but given his position in governance and his pre-eminence did not overtly campaign for 'his' candidate. Patel backed Tandon, whose sympathies he shared at least in part, and he did not share Nehrus qualms. He campaigned for Tandon, who became the Congress president. In many ways, this encapsulated the differences in temperament between Nehru and Patel.

Nehrus legacy can be seen in two spheres: That of the government and its functioning and that of the more elusive thing we call 'nation-building'. In the sphere of government, Nehru could be, and was to an extent perforce, somewhat autocratic. Thus, it has been well documented that within the government, including the Cabinet, Nehru tended to be an irresistible force, especially after the death of Patel, which left no leader really capable of standing up to him. As a result, when Nehru expressed an opinion, not many had the gumption to challenge him.

The only people who did, mostly within the confines of their ministerial remit, were the non-party finance ministers. All finance ministers under Nehru were non-party technocrats and two of them, John Mathai and CD Deshmukh, had serious, public differences with the prime minister and, thereafter, put in their papers.

But Nehru was too quintessentially a democrat and liberal to use his pre-eminence (and predominance) to inaugurate an authoritarian regime. He consulted his colleagues extensively even if he did not always follow their advice and prescriptions. He took Parliament very, very seriously; all important matters were discussed threadbare in Parliament; the quality of parliamentary discussion and debate was famously of high quality until it started degenerating in the 1960s as democracy deepened and broadened itself and people of much more diverse backgrounds came into the mix.

It was, however, in the arena of nation-building that Nehrus legacy endures, still, despite the attempts by the BJP and its ideological fraternity to dismantle it. This is not to say that Nehru was infallible. His failure is most conspicuous in his inability, arising out of a certain kind of policy optic, to translate his liberal dreams into reality, rather than in more commonly cited, and specific areas, for instance, his China policy. We shall return to this theme in a bit.

What Nehru has bequeathed to us is a fundamental respect for dissent and difference; an awareness that it is only through public discussion that we can move ahead, especially when the issues at hand are contentious. This is the basic liberal paradigm. Alongside, Nehru inscribed in the political space the values that the Constitution, after much discussion, enshrined: The values of the freedom of the individual and liberty; the ineluctable necessity to respect the minorities and their cultural practices, and the need to make them feel secure in times that were vitiated by communal passions (stoked, lest we forget by the BJPs political and ideological forbear, the Jana Sangh, and the RSS); the need to create a more inclusive public sphere in which those hitherto neglected, oppressed and dehumanised by the Brahminical order and its obscurantist values could more fruitfully participate; and, not least, the absolutely critical importance of upholding the value of cleansing state institutions and practices of even a hint of communal (or confessional) partisanship and steer away from a putative theocracy.

India's postcolonial historical chronicle has recorded that Nehru failed in many ways to create a nation in his image, in the liberal imagining. This was not just Nehrus failure. Unless one signs up to the more jejune versions of the great-person-in-history theory, it would be obvious that no one person or small group of persons could swim against powerful social (and political) currents, however strong their commitment to a new order may have been. Nevertheless, the Nehruvian framework can be held responsible for failing to spread through the agencies of the government and the puissant Congress of Nehru's times the political and civic values of an ideologically liberal order by creating an educational system far more sympathetic to the needs of grassroots and primary education.

But the importance of holding aloft the standard of the liberal order and its values and working towards universalizing them in however flawed a manner can hardly be overstated. And it is precisely that order and those values that are under threat from the RSS, the BJP and the governments it runs, and others. Too much, one could submit, is being made of the BJPs stated intention of turning the Nehru Museum and Library, or Teen Murti Bhavan, into a memorial for all prime ministers rather than Nehru exclusively. As long as this changes just the museum side of things rather than the library as well, and the academic commitments it enshrines, the issue is just a sideshow.

If it matters at all, one could argue counterfactually that had Nehru been alive he would have wholeheartedly given the plan his imprimatur. Hero worship of the kind some envisage, whether for a Winston Churchill or a Nehru, is inimical to a liberal ethos. What the Sangh Parivar is doing, or trying to do, in other arenas of public life are far more important.

Fundamental to the parivar and BJP project is closing down liberal spaces. Thus, the criminalisation of dissent, the unabashed attack on minorities, especially Muslims, the cavalier disregard of individual freedom and liberties, the grievous attacks against and subversion of institutions, including the judiciary, a professed and practised disregard for the rule of law, and, again not least, the attempts to use the agencies of the state to promote a particular, and singularly illiterate, view of Indian history, or the history of the subcontinent, only a part of which has been India in any meaningful sense for a historically determinate and relatively short span of time.

For reasons of space, and since the other issues have been expatiated upon at length elsewhere, let us concentrate on the last mentioned theme. This theme is well illustrated by the project of building a grand temple to Rama at the disputed site in Ayodhya. First, though not chronologically, came the decision to rename Faizabad district Ayodhya, itself an attempt to obliterate the historical record to promote the cause of one set of disputants, the fundamentalist Hindu. (It should be recorded here that only a small number of Hindus are fundamentalist and a similarly small number sign up to the religion-based political project we abbreviatedly call Hindutva.)

Prior to that was the destruction of a historically and archaeologically significant structure called the Babri Masjid, which was an anterior attempt to rewrite history, which is further in evidence in the attempt to rewrite history textbooks taught in schools and colleges. Having destroyed the structure, the BJP and others have continually pressed for the construction of a temple. At present, it has been attacking the judiciary for not pronouncing a verdict in favour of the construction of a temple at an early date, ie before the Lok Sabha elections due around May next year.

A huge project of mobilisation has been initiated to get the government to short-circuit the judiciary and facilitate the construction of the temple. The BJP government is not averse to doing so but is minimally aware of its responsibilities and has not caved in. All this is despite the fact that the BJP and the disputants, along with the RSS and others, having professed for a quarter of a century or so that they respect the judiciary, which they dont, and will be guided by the judicial verdict when it arrives.

More important, however, are the arguments adduced in favour of the temple. BJP and RSS leaders and some of their ideological fellow travellers, including, unfortunately historians, state vociferously and incessantly that a temple must be built because the Babri Masjid had been built after destroying a temple at the site which is the birthplace of Lord Rama. Rama is a mythological figure who could not have been born anywhere. Even conceding that there was some historical figure corresponding to the mythological Rama, it is not possible given the current state of scholarship and the availability of credible sources to discover who exactly that figure was. So ditto, pretty much, for the question of birth first and birthplace later.

So, the whole issue is a matter of faith. But the facts cannot change, however many Hindus believe that Rama existed and that he was born at that precise site in Ayodhya. Even conceding, once again, that faith, especially religious faith, is an important element in the lives of individuals or peoples, it is hardly conscionable to make some kind of leap of reasoning to conclude that this faith must become the basis of state policy and actions, even when building a temple would be a blow against a minority community, to wit the Muslims, already alienated and beset by a siege mentality because of the destruction of the temple and the majoritarian attacks of Hindu fundamentalists aided, abetted and encouraged by the BJP and the governments it runs.

BJP leaders somehow also conclude that everyone must sign up to this demand. Those who dont are branded traitors. Thus, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanaths statement last Saturday 'blaming' the Congress for the delay in the construction of a temple in Ayodhya. In his febrile and fanciful imagination it is a matter of the Congress clarifying whether it is more concerned about Rama or Babar. The Congress should, but won't because of what it possibly perceives are electoral compulsions, that it faces no such choice. What it is doing is waiting for a judicial verdict on a property dispute.

All this amounts to an amount to inaugurate a theological state based, as such states invariably are, on blind faith, the perversion of history and a penchant for obscurantist doctrines. It flies in the face of how the founding fathers conceptualised postcolonial India (as evident from the Constitution) and the ways in which Nehru tried to make these conceptualisations a reality.

The Ayodhya movement encapsulates practically every aspect of the project of dismantling the India Nehru envisioned and which makes India a civilised and sometimes respected member of the international order of not just nations, but of peoples as well.
In his brief remarks, Indian Ambassador Navtej Singh Sarna said Donald Trump hosting the Diwali event is a privilege for India and for the Indian American community.

Washington: US President Donald Trump created history of sorts when he invited Indian Ambassador Navtej Singh Sarna to share the podium with him at the White House Diwali event.

In fact, Trump's body language, his remarks and the atmospherics inside the Roosevelt Room of the White House where he lit the ceremonial Diya to celebrate his second annual Diwali on Tuesday, reflected the significance he attaches to the India-US relationship.

"We're very close. I think closer maybe than ever before," Trump said at the White House Diwali event as he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described him as his "great friend".

"We love your country," the president told the Indian Ambassador. "I have great, great respect for, as you know, Prime Minister Modi - tremendous respect. So just please give my warmest regards," he said, adding that he would soon be talking to Modi.

"It was a great honour to participate in the Diwali function," Sarna told PTI after the event where he was seen standing alongside Trump. The president also asked the top Indian diplomat to give some remarks on the occasion.

This was the first time that an Indian ambassador has been given such a recognition at the White House, which is generally reserved for the envoys of countries like close US ally Israel.

While Indian ambassadors have been invited a few times in the last 15 editions of the annual Diwali celebrations at the White House, this was the first time that the Indian envoy along with his spouse was seen standing along with the US president during the entire event.

"It is a great honour for India and for me personally to be invited to the White House for the Diwali ceremony at which all the top Indian American administration officials were invited," Sarna said.

In his brief remarks, Sarna said the president hosting the Diwali event is a privilege for India and for the Indian American community.

"They feel very welcome here and they are integrated into the US society. They are a plus-plus for both India and for the United States. I think we are looking at one of the best times we've ever had for the India-US relationship," said the Indian ambassador.

Trump said the US has deep ties with India. "I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said as he referred to the ongoing negotiations between India and the US on a possible trade deal.

Unlike his remarks in the past when he was highly critical of India's tariff policies and even described India as a "tariff king", Trump indicated that the talks are progressing quite well on the trade deal.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India, but they're very good traders," Trump said evoking laughter.

"They're very good negotiators, you would say, right? The best. So we're working and it's moving along," said the president.

"India is the world's largest democracy, and the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said.
Showing the trade negotiators as highly skilled and making the talks sound difficult for the Americans, Donald Trump said, 'They are very good traders, they are very good negotiators.' And turning to India's Ambassador Navtej Sarna, he said, 'You would say (that), right?'

United States President Donald Trump has complimented Indian trade negotiators as "the best" and said trade talks between the two countries were moving along.

"The United States has deep ties to the nation of India, and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi. Were trying very hard to make better trade deals with India, but theyre very good traders. Theyre very good negotiators, you would say, right? The best. So were working, and its moving along," he said during a White House Diwali celebration on Tuesday.

Showing the trade negotiators as highly skilled and making the talks sound difficult for the Americans, he said, "They are very good traders, they are very good negotiators." And turning to India's Ambassador Navtej Sarna, he said, "You would say (that), right?"

They are "the best," and "so we are working and it is moving along," he added. The annual celebration was held a week later because Diwali fell on the day after the mid-term elections when the results were still coming in.

Trump repeatedly spoke of his close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, "We love your country. And I have great, great respect, as you know, for your Prime Minister Modi." And he told Sarna, "So please give him my warmest regards. We will be talking to him soon. The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," he said.

He also recalled that his daughter had met Modi during a visit to India and he was now also her friend. He said, "India is the world's largest democracy. And the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity and peace."

"We are very close and I think closer than ever before," Trump said, and Sarna agreed, saying, "Absolutely, sir." "I think that we are looking at one of the best times we have ever had for the India-US relationship," Sarna said.

He added that the Indian-American community was a "plus plus for both India and for the United States." Last month Trump had denounced India as the "tariff king" and asserted that he had spoke to Modi, who told him that he would reduce the tariffs on imports from the US.

Trump has made the US trade deficit a focus of his presidency, imposing heavy taxes on a range of Chinese imports, threatening other countries over trade and renegotiating trade agreements with Mexico and Canada. The total value of US-India goods and services trade last year was $126.2 billion and the US ran a $27.3 billion deficit.

Earlier this year, Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel steel and 10 percent on aluminum imported from India and other countries. New Delhi has threatened retaliatory duties on US agricultural products it imports like nuts and apples, as well as some chemicals.

In one concession to a pet peeve of Trump, India dropped the duties on Harley Davidson motorcycles from 75 percent to 50 percent.

Trump wishes Budhists and Jains, not Hindus, on Diwali, Twitter trolls

Meanwhile, the President of the United States tweet calling Diwali a "holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains" started a raging twitter storm over his apparent omission of Hindus, the members of the first and largest religion to observe it.

Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year. https://t.co/epHogpTY1A pic.twitter.com/9LUwnhngWJ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

However, in another tweet though, he said:

It was my great honor to host a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in the Roosevelt Room at the @WhiteHouse this afternoon. Very, very special people! https://t.co/kQk7IvpSFo pic.twitter.com/tYlBABg4JF  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

He also started his speech at the White House Diwali celebrations on Tuesday in the same way with a mention of Hinduism. The problem apparently arose as his tweets based on his prepared speech were out of sequence and also because the first tweet was deleted and reposted.

After telling people assembled for the celebration, they were a "very impressive group; now I know you are very important, very impressive", Trump read out from his prepared text: "I am thrilled to be here for the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights and I am honoured to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House."

Then veering off his text, he added, "Very, very special people."

He interrupted the Diwali speech at that point to talk about the wild fires ravaging California that have killed more than 40 people, thanking the firefighters and offering the victims support.

He picked up his Diwali speech after that, and continued: "We are gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains throughout the US and around the world."

But social media with its few milliseconds reaction time responded rapid fires before his second tweet mentioning Hinduism appeared.

His first tweet was from the second part of the Diwali speech that set off the trolls.

A poster call Jeff Young shot off a tweet, "Hey, whoever wrestled Trump's phone away to post this: Pretty sure Hindus also have some interest in Diwali."

Another, Tom Phillips, tweeted, "Trump's Twitter account posted a Diwali tweet that didn't mention Hindus, then deleted it, then... reposted it again with a different link but still no Hindus?" And so it went on tweet after tweet, with media like Time magazine and HuffPost also piling on.

With inputs from agencies
The cabin crew on Air India AI 131 informed the flight commander of the Simone OBroin's unruly behaviour, and were told not to serve her more drinks. Air India filed an FIR against the passenger and she was taken into custody on landing at London's Heathrow airport.

A woman passenger aboard a New Delhi-London Air India flight, verbally abused a cabin crew member after she was denied another serving of alcohol on-board the flight. The woman was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, when the incident took place, an airline official said Wednesday.

The woman has been identified as Simone OBroin, 50, a human rights lawyer, reported MailOnline. She is said to have been returning from a two-month break in Goa when the incident took place.

OBroin, who was born in Belfast, trained as a lawyer in the UK, and worked in Palestine. She has worked for BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency in Bethlehem.

A video of the incident, which took place on 10 November, was shared by ANI in which the woman can be seen misbehaving with the crew aboard Air India flight AI 131.

#WATCH An Irish national on board Air India London-Mumbai flight verbally abuses the crew after she was refused more wine. The incident took place on November 10. (Note: Strong language) pic.twitter.com/bdZWico5Qq  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

In the video, OBroin can be heard saying, "I am working for all your people...for you, an international criminal lawyer. Don't get any money for it, by the way. But you can't give me a ... glass of wine, is that correct?"

The video also shows that the cabin crew and other passengers remaining calm, and not reacting to the woman's rant. The cabin crew informed the flight commander about the passenger's unruly behaviour, and were told not to serve her more drinks, the official said.

Air India filed an FIR against OBroin and she was taken into custody on landing at London's Heathrow airport, the official said.

However, this is not the first such incident involving an unruly passenger. Previously too, Air India has been faced with situations wherein the airline had to apologise for the inconvenience caused to other passengers because of one unruly passenger.

On 30 August, a drunk passenger aboard AI 102, travelling from New York to New Delhi, urinated on a womans seat during a flight. The incident went viral after the woman's daughter Indrani Ghosh tweeted about the incident. She said that she was not given any help when she called the airline to make a complaint, and was told to go to the website and submit feedback online.

In a separate incident in March 2017, Ravindra Gaikwad of the Shiv Sena was banned from flying by six airlines after he assaulted a senior Air India official with his slippers. He was angry over the airline shifting him from business class to economy on a flight going from Pune to New Delhi. But his name was struck off the no-fly list 10 days ago after political intervention.

According to International Air Transport Association  a global airlines' trade body  between 2007 and 2016, over 58,000 incidents involving disruptions by passengers were reported on aircrafts in-flight. These incidents include violence against the crew and other passengers, harassment and failure to follow the safety instructions.

The civil aviation ministry guidelines issued in September 2017 provide for barring a passenger indulging in unruly behaviour from flying for a period ranging from three months to lifetime, the official said.

Aviation regulator DGCA is supposed to maintain the record of all such blacklisted passengers, he said, adding the quantum of punishment is based on the severity of the offence, which has been divided into three categories. "The no-fly list is applicable only if the incident is inside an aircraft which could adversely affect the safety of the plane and its occupants.

With inputs from PTI
The Punjab Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police have launched a search operation in the Madhopur area and surroundings. Other security agencies were also put on high alert.

Chandigarh: A massive search operation is on in the frontier areas in Punjab on Wednesday after four suspected militants hijacked a taxi at gunpoint causing fears of a Pathankot airbase-like attack that took place in 2016.

"The taxi, a silver-coloured Toyota Innova, was initially hired by the four men from Jammu. They had booked it for Pathankot. Near Madhopur, they aimed a gun at the driver and threw him out of the car and took off," the police said.

The taxi driver, with the help of passersbys, later informed the police.

The Punjab Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police have launched a search operation in the Madhopur area and surroundings. Other security agencies were also put on high alert.

The Pathankot airbase of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was attacked by militants, suspected to be from Pakistan on 2 January, 2016. Seven people were killed in that attack.

The area has defence establishments, including the frontier IAF base in Pathankot and the nearby Mamun Cantonment of the Army.

Prior to the attack on the IAF base in 2016, suspected Pakistani militants had carried out an attack on Dinanagar town in neighbouring Gurdaspur district.

The Dinanagar terror attack took place on 27 July, 2015 when three Pakistani militants entered from the border belt.
Google, on Wednesday, celebrated Childrens Day 2018 with a doodle on space exploration that has been created by a school student. Pingla Rahul More, the winner of the 2018 Google 4 Doodle competition in India, is a student from Mumbai.

Google, on Wednesday, celebrated Childrens Day 2018 with a doodle on space exploration that has been created by a school student. Pingla Rahul More, the winner of the 2018 Google 4 Doodle competition in India, is a student from Mumbai. More's doodle was chosen from a host of entries sent to Google as a part of it's annual 'Doodle4Google' competition.

More showed her fascination with space exploration with the doodle, which shows a child looking at a sky dotted with stars with a telescope.

More's creation which was based on the theme 'What inspires me', was chosen to be featured on the search engine's homepage by Arun Iyer, famous artist and YouTube Kids Creator, Rob (Harun Robert), India's leading YouTube creator Sejal Kumar and the Google doodles team lead by Ryan Germick, with 3,00,000 votes from people across countries.

There were four more group winners that Google chose; a doodle on farmers, animals, wise monkeys and a study desk, all sent by young students and artists.

Wednesday, 14 November is celebrated as Children's Day in India on account of India's first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru's birth anniversary. Nehru, fondly rembered as 'Chacha Nehru', was very fond of children and thus his birthday is marked with a day dedicated to them.

Prior to 1964, India celebrated Children's Day on 20 November, which was observed as the universal Children's Day by the United Nations. But after Nehrus death in 1964, it was unanimously decided to celebrate his birthday as 'Bal Diwas' in the country.

Nehru was a staunch advocate of children's education and oversaw the establishment of some of the most prominent educational institutions in India. His vision for the holistic development of the youth played a major role in the setting up the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and premier engineering institutes such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). He even initiated the establishment of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).
Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election in 2019, Google has approached the Election Commission to track funding of political ads during the polls. An exercise which was recently launched and concluded during the US midterm elections, Google hopes to replicate the system in India and plans to establish tools to check spread of fake news, pertaining to elections.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election in 2019, Google has approached the Election Commission to track funding of political ads during the polls. An exercise which was recently launched and concluded during the US midterm elections, Google hopes to replicate the system in India and plans to establish tools to check spread of fake news, pertaining to elections.

The search engine major, in a recent meeting, has assured the Election Commission that it will develop a mechanism to ensure pre-certification of such advertisements as well as collect and share details of the expenditure incurred on them, The Hindu reported.

Google India's Director of Trust and Safety Sunita Mohanty told The Indian Express, "We are planning something. What we did with the recent US elections is that we built a very tight control on who is spending on election advertisement and how are we controlling information on elections. We launched a transparency report on the kind of political advertisements that were being run. We also did a product control on spread of misinformation and fake news around elections."

In a meeting held around September, representatives from Google met with the Commission and told them that the search engine giant will keep track of political advertisements and ensure that they are pre-certified by the EC's Media Certification and Monitoring Committees. "This would entail Google asking prospective clients, whenever an order is placed, whether they have been pre-certified," The Hindu reported.

When the US midterms were underway, Google published a transparency report pertaining to political advertisements and laid down guidelines for such advertisements. "As per the norms, advertisers must be verified by Google in order to run advertisements of political importance in the US on Google Ad Services," The Indian Express reported.

The 'transparency report' page of Google says, "Advertisers must be verified by Google in order to run ads of political importance in the United States on Google Ad Services. This report includes ads related to elections or issues that feature a federal candidate or officeholder. This report shows how much those verified advertisers are spending to run ads on Google Ads Services in the United States. Our goal is to provide information that helps everyone better understand how ads of political importance work online."

There has been considerable debate around keeping a track on expenditure by political parties, especially during election season, considering political funding has always been at the nodal centre of unaccounted and illicit cash transfer. Despite the sustained talk, there is no credible body which compiles or tracks the actual costs incurred during election campaigning.

The Google report on US midterms included information about advertisements related to elections or issues that featured a federal candidate or office-holder. The Indian Express report said that it also showed how much those verified advertisers were spending to run advertisements on Google Ads Services in the US.

The data on the Transparency Report page shows how much is spent on buying ads of political importance and a list of states (which appears in a drop down) shows how much advertisers have spent in each congressional district.

The transparency report has broken down the data received into different section  one section specifies expenditure by each state. Another section has a list of the top advertisers across the US. This data showed advertisers who have spent more than $500 on ads of political importance in the current US federal election cycle from 31 May, 2018 onwards. These advertisers are listed from highest to lowest amount spent.'

For example, Senate Leadership Fund spent $5,230,700 across Google Ads Services since 31 May, 2018. Congressional Leadership Fund, which occupies the second spot on top spending advertisers, spent $3,860,200 across Google Ads Services.

However, replicating what Google did during US midterms in India is not tricky, but will take a lot more than a Google initiative to get the required results. Given that India's current political finance system is completely broken and the laws which are required to bring transparency and accountability will need some doing, Google's initiatives are ambitious. How the plan unfolds when they meet the challenges required for a project this scale is left to be seen.

For starters, the US does not have to deal with multiple (a number which runs in thousands) political parties fighting the elections. The US, unlike India, does not have the concept of a "coalition" where tracking just two national parties will not be enough.

Explaining the process, Mohanty said that the advertisements which appear on Google are based on identification of relevant keywords entered by a user. Google guidelines also require that all political advertisements include a disclosure identifying who paid for a particular advertisement.

In July 2018, a survey into the nature of campaign finance across all levels of elected office, from the gram panchayat to the Lok Sabha in three states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh could not find accurate estimates of campaign spending. The data collected provide insights into the role of political parties in funding elections, candidates sources of campaign support, and the specific, and troubling, importance of illicit funds.

The survey, as reported by Hindustan Times, noted that most respondents reported spending less on campaigns than the official limits, despite regular grumbling by politicians about the exceedingly strict campaign finance limits imposed by the Election Commission  which basically means that it gets increasingly difficult to track the election funding of Indian politicians given the sheer volume and opacity of the system.
Devi Unmathallegadoo, known locally as Sana Muhammad, was at home with her husband when he noticed the attacker in their shed with a loaded crossbow. He ran back into the home to alert his wife and children, but she was shot with the arrow in her abdomen soon after.

London: A pregnant Indian-origin woman has been killed after an arrow pierced through her abdomen in a crossbow attack in London, but her baby survived following an emergency Caesarean section.

Devi Unmathallegadoo, 35, was injured in the abdomen during the attack on Monday in Ilford area of east London. She died in a local hospital, where medics delivered her son.

On Tuesday, Scotland Yard officers charged Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 50, with the murder of a 35-year-old woman, believed to be her former partner.

"The victim was found suffering an abdominal injury. She was taken to hospital where she later died," the Metropolitan police said.

"This is a tragic incident and our sympathies are with the loved ones and friends of the victim," added detective chief inspector Gary Holmes of the Met police's homicide and major crime command, which is leading the murder investigation.

Devi Unmathallegadoo was known locally as Sana Muhammad after reportedly converting to Islam when she married her husband Imtiaz Muhammad around seven years ago. She had three children, aged 18, 14 and 12, with her former partner and two young girls, aged five and two, with Muhammad. The baby boy who was born as a result of an emergency Caesarean operation on Monday has been named Ibrahim by his father.

"She was a wonderful mother and wife. We were together for seven years. I am heartbroken; we were inseparable," Imtiaz Muhammad told the Evening Standard newspaper.

The 42-year-old was at home when he noticed the attacker in their shed with a loaded crossbow. He ran back into the home to alert his wife and children, but she was shot with the arrow in her abdomen soon after.

"The arrow went up into her heart but did not touch the unborn baby. The baby was due in four weeks. They operated with the arrow still in because it would have been too dangerous to take out," he said.

Neighbours heard Muhammad screaming for help outside the house and described seeing a 30-centimetre-long crossbow being carried out of the home by police officers as evidence. Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo remains in custody and will now appear before the Old Bailey court in London on Thursday.
From denigrating the first prime minister in political speeches, to undermining the institutions built by Nehru and successive Congress governments, the current government has taken several steps to chip away at the legendary leaders legacy

Jawaharlal Nehru's birth anniversary celebrations are usually more about Children's Day and less about the politics the man practised. Apart from a few programmes held by the Indian National Congress and Government of India and some video features on the national broadcaster, most Indians find themselves more connected to the Children's Day celebrations than a debate on the Nehruvian legacy.

However, as India celebrates the 129th birth anniversary of Nehru, the way in which the government of the day has been invoking the former prime minister, it is inevitable that there will be some talk about whether India's 14th prime minister despises its first.

From denigrating the first prime minister in political speeches to undermining the institutions built by Nehru and successive Congress governments, the current government has taken several steps to chip away the leaders legacy. Then there are some instances like the controversy surrounding the iconic Nehru Modi jacket that is seemingly trivial, but simply reinstate how Bharatiya Janata Party has made no secret of their disdain for Nehru.

Renaming the iconic Nehru jacket

What was a Persian jacket originally, became the preferred sartorial choice for Indian political elite after Nehru popularised it. The round neck close-collared short jacket found its way into the wardrobes of Indian men, routinely sighted in various colours at weddings and on festive occasions.

However, a debate was kickstarted when South Koreas president Moon Jae-in thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter for gifting him the "gorgeous Modi vests. Only what was amiss was that Moon was seen wearing what most Indians would remember calling the Nehru jacket. Moon, perhaps, chose those words because its label featured the words "Modi jacket."

During my visit to India, I had told the Prime Minister @narendramodi that he looked great in those vests, and he duly sent them over, all meticulously tailored to my size. I would like to thank him for this kind gesture. pic.twitter.com/wRgekJSW16   (@moonriver365) October 31, 2018

The official clarification by the company that manufactured the vests was that these jackets may have been worn by Nehru and Sardar Patel in the past but they were considered premium apparel for the elite. The company said it was Modi who popularised them among the masses.

A counter to this argument could be that the Nehru jacket was listed in Time magazine's top 10 global fashion list in the year 2012, two years before Modi took office and his sartorial sense became a subject of media scrutiny. Furthermore, as an article in The Tribune points out, Nehru had already put out an iconic jacket on the fashion map back in 1964, when he posed for Vogue magazine's cover. "He wore a hip-length tailored coat with a Chinese collar, when he posed for the Vogue magazine in 1964, instantly making the Nehru jacket a piece of cult clothing," the article reads.

It is indeed noteworthy that Modi, not much unlike Nehru was spotted in the jacket on various occasions, especially when on foreign trips. Like Nehru, Modi too has been praised for his impeccable dressing sense. But the fact that someone would think of re-branding an inconsequential moniker for a piece of clothing  especially when it was to be presented as a gift to a foreign dignitary  has perhaps raised eyebrows.

Scrapping of Planning Commission

In scrapping the 64-year-old Planning Commission, a vestige of the socialist era, Modi made the most fundamental changes to how Nehru attempted governance. Nehru envisioned it to oversee the countrys development and resource allocation, but the body often criticised for its archaic model was replaced by the NITI Ayog. Whether the change was for good or for the worst remains part of a separate conversation, but the Planning Commission was one of the last few governance mechanisms that resembled the Soviet planning system, with which Nehru was so impressed.

The Nehru Memorial Museum

The Modi-led government has pushed for New Delhis Nehru Memorial Museum and Library to be dedicated to all prime ministers, not just the first one. The move was widely criticised by the Congress party, which urged Modi not to change the nature and character of the monument. However, the turmoil began as early as September 2015 when Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said that the appointment of Mahesh Rangarajan as the director of NMML during the Manmohan Singh led-United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was "unethical and illegal"; this was followed by the latter's resignation.

Founded as an autonomous institution, the general council, president and the vice-president of the NMML are nominated by the central government. The NMML remained headless for almost a year but saw another controversy when a new director was appointed. Shakti Sinha, who was a private secretary to Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he headed the first BJP-led government at the Centre, was appointed as the new director of NMML in August 2016. Within days, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a member of the executive committee (EC), resigned from his post citing that rules were tweaked to appoint Sinha as the director.

The government said that it was not changing NMML but merely building another museum inside the premises of the Teen Murti estate. Critics hit back saying that the proposed museum could be built anywhere else in the capital, but building it inside the premises of Teen Murti Bhavan would be changing the existing character of NMML.

The government, it turned out, was bent on its purpose. But where is the space for a new museum in Teen Murti estate? Are you going to cut down the trees?

In a surprise move, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, chaired by Sonia Gandhi and housed in the Teen Murti estate, was asked by Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in September to vacate the premises on grounds of "unauthorised occupation". The letter said that NMML is in "dire need of space" and alleged that the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund is occupying the premises "without any authority of law". The fund turned down the request stating that the premises has been in its occupation since 1967, and has "remained unchallenged and never questioned and has been cemented".

Even as there was (and is) no clarity over where the proposed museum would be built, the foundation stone for the "Museum of Prime Ministers" was laid on 15 October.

With inputs from agencies
Santosh Thammaiah, employed with the Karnataka daily Hosa Digantha, was arrested under IPC section 295(A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings).

Bengaluru: A journalist with a Kannada daily has been arrested in Tumakuru in Karnataka for his alleged inflammatory speech against the recent Tipu Jayanti celebrations, following which the BJP condemned the police action and demanded his release.

Santosh Thammaiah employed with the daily Hosa Digantha, was arrested Monday night under Indian Penal Code section 295(A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), police said on Tuesday.

The Tipu Jayanti celebrations marking the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan were held across the state on 10 November amid protests by the BJP and right-wing organisations.

Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanti.

Thammaiah was arrested from his in-laws' residence in Madhugiri in Tumakuru, editor of the daily Vinayak Bhat told PTI.

A local newspaper had published a report quoting his speech made at a protest against Tipu Jayanti at Gonikoppal in Kodagu district on 9 November, based on which the arrest was made, Bhat claimed.

Condemning the action against the journalist, BJP state general secretary Aravinda Limbavali said it was "a cowardly act" on the part of the Congress-JDS coalition government to arrest a person exercising his democratic right of freedom of speech.

In a statement, he demanded that Thammaiah is released immediately, and said the BJP would launch a statewide agitation if he was not let off.
The Quad continues to remain a bureaucratic-level dialogue that meets occasionally  twice a year. It is not a defence dialogue yet, much less an alliance

The third meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, which comprises India, the United States, Japan and Australia, is in Singapore on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit (EAS). The four countries will share their respective perspectives on regional geopolitics, while chalking out a strategy to balance China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. This is the second Quad meet this year, and will be held at the joint secretary-level on Wednesday. The last meeting, that also took place in Singapore in June this year, witnessed the four countries reaffirming their support for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Should the Quad strategy be suitably implemented, it can definitely prove revolutionary in strengthening the current balance of power across much of the globe.

It has been a year since the revival of the Quad. However, it is yet to take a concrete shape as there has not been substantial dialogue on how to make it a reality. The Quad continues to remain a bureaucratic-level dialogue that meets occasionally  twice a year. It is not a defence dialogue yet, much less an alliance. This has understandably given rise to scepticism about the usefulness and efficiency of the formation.

The Donald Trump administration's Indo-Pacific framework recognises strong connections between the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, putting India at the centre of this new geopolitical construct. Washington strongly believes that the Quad must eventually evolve into a ministerial-level dialogue laden with a military component. But the Trump administration is not oblivious to the fact that India is on the fence about going too far with the Quad. There is deep ambivalence in New Delhi on the issue of militarisation of the Quad. India has clarified that there is no need to "conflate" the Indo-Pacific with the Quad, stressing the centrality of ASEAN in the former.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Shangri-La dialogue in June, in which he clarified that "India doesnt see the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy or as a club of limited members" underlines New Delhis attempt to distinguish the Quad from the Indo-Pacific.

In line with this argument, India had rejected Australia's request to participate in the MALABAR naval exercise held by India, the US and Japan near Guam in June. Australia's participation in the exercise would have been an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the military dimension of the Quad, but India's refusal stemmed from its preference to avoid any confrontation with China. New Delhi has not forgotten that China had lodged a strong protest when the MALABAR exercise in 2007 had been expanded to include Australia.

Even since the 'informal summit' between Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping in April this year at Wuhan, India has been unwilling to risk the constructive elements of its delicate ties with China. The evolving dynamics of the Russia-India-China (RIC) mechanism, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS can be seen as components of India's balancing act between the US and China.

Another factor responsible for India's unclear standpoint on the Quad has been New Delhi's traditional policy of 'strategic autonomy', which accords primacy to maintain relations with all major powers without getting involved in a strategic commitment towards one country or a group of countries. India continues to resist raising the level of the Quad from the joint secretary-level to that of foreign minister-level, as demanded by the US and Japan. Although these factors have inevitably raised questions about Indias reliability in the Quad, it needs to be understood that India's stance on the Quad is not an explicit move against China, but rather a calculated move to protect its interests, and to reinforce its diplomatic outreach against Chinas growing assertiveness that poses numerous challenges to Indias strategic ambitions.

Another sticking point is infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad seeks to compete with the Beijing-driven Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in both infrastructure development and assistance. The BRI  Xi's pet geopolitical project  is gradually increasing China's economic influence in the Indo-Pacific by redrawing the political map of the Asian landmass. In order to counter this, it is imperative for the Quad members to draw up a viable regional infrastructure plan. This idea has started to gain ground at other fora as well: Negotiations on infrastructure development are being conducted in the India-Japan-US and India-Japan-Australia trilateral formats. New Delhi and Tokyo are also working on a series of joint projects along the 'Asia-Africa growth corridor' in the Indo-Pacific.

The growing bilateral trust between New Delhi and Tokyo is reflected in the fact that Japan is the only foreign country that has been allowed to invest in Indias strategically-important North East region. Japan is also planning to establish high-standard infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific under its official development assistance. And only last week, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison unveiled the $2-billion infrastructure financing facility for the Pacific as part of his governments new measures aimed at projecting Australia as the regions principal security and development partner.

But the success rate of the BRI, as well as the lack of an overarching alternate vision to the BRI seem to have led to an incoherent approach to deal with Chinese manoeuvres. The Quad-centric infrastructure plans are still at a nascent stage and it seems doubtful if the member states will commit sufficient financial resources to provide a credible alternative to the BRI. Clearly, there is so much more to be done on the infrastructure front, both to challenge the BRI and to bring prosperity to underdeveloped regions in the Indo-Pacific.

Another challenge relates to the second layer of regional partners associated with the Quad. There can be no successful China-containment strategy unless regional States  Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore  wholeheartedly subscribe to its mandate. But there have been genuine apprehensions in the Southeast Asian region that the emergence of the Quad in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region would be interpreted as a testimony to the failure of ASEAN-centric institutions to maintain a balance of power in the region. The Quad members have spent considerable diplomatic energy to assure the ASEAN bloc: the centrality of ASEAN has been emphasised just to allay these apprehensions.

Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore have been willing to be a part of a robust strategy to counter Chinas assertiveness. However, in the absence of a concrete shape of the Quad coupled with the lack of clarity on the mechanism of their engagement through dialogue partnerships may have made them a bit too cautious. They are also wary of Chinas antagonistic response.

Doubts have also been expressed on the issue of bilateral relations of the Quad members with China. Although all the four countries are deeply apprehensive of Chinas strategic intentions and its increasing geopolitical influence, each of them enjoy strong trade and economic ties with China. It has been argued that following the revival of the Quad in late 2017, the enthusiasm of the members has gradually dissipated against the prevailing geopolitical realities. But it needs to be understood that the formation of this kind of unique grouping is a long process. At present, it serves the limited purpose of political signalling while improving coordination among maritime powers in the Indo-Pacific.

Notwithstanding numerous contradictions and challenges, the Quad is capable of operating efficiently regarding regular exchange among its members regarding their perspectives on Chinas military capabilities and intentions with each other, while expanding multilateral cooperation in the fields of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, energy security and cyber security.

One of the biggest positive aspects has been on the military engagement front: India, the US, Japan and Australia enjoy remarkable levels of intelligence exchanges, military interoperability and personnel interactions. Leaving the quadrilateral aside for a moment, there is already much happening strategically on the bilateral and trilateral fronts. If we talk trilaterally, the US-Japan-Australia engagement is very robust, particularly due to the legacy of America-led defence alliances. The India-US- Japan trilateral dialogue is also taking shape. Now, Japan has become a permanent part of the India-US naval exercises. However, no military technology transfer or sale of defence equipment has taken place thus far between India and Japan.

The Indian Air Force participated in Australias Pitch Black exercise in August this year, marking a growing degree of comfort with regional defence cooperation. Most importantly, Indias bilateral ties with the US are on the upswing. This year has witnessed the inauguration of the 2+2 dialogue between the two countries, with military exercises becoming more frequent. After lengthy negotiations spanning several years, New Delhi and Washington have signed a logistics supply agreement and communications agreement.

While Indias resources remain limited, it can increase its influence in the Indo-Pacific through collaborative ventures with like-minded countries. Promoting pragmatic cooperation with these countries will be far more useful than endless theoretical discussions regarding the Quad and the Indo-Pacific. Although Beijing is likely to oppose all those activities that are perceived to be even remotely aimed against it, Chinas rising military capabilities give ample reason for India, the US, Japan and Australia to step up their cooperation and place the Quad where it should be  front and centre of their strategic outlook and foreign policy.
Murtis, Indian statues, came about as a concept millennia ago, where anything physical could technically be a murti a rock, a stream and so on  as opposed to the abstract.

Speaking of statues  and aren't we all speaking of statues these days?  I got to thinking about good old-fashioned idol worshipping this week. Idol worship is also a great pun the Christian missionaries missed out on when they came to this country to try and spread the word of their own god versus the zillion others that already existed.

Murtis, Indian statues, came about as a concept millennia ago, where anything physical could technically be a murti a rock, a stream and so on  as opposed to the abstract. Some Vedic Hindus worshipped idols, others offered prayers to the ether, with nothing to physically bind them into place, so the word murti was debatable. However, the statues obviously won, because, by about 1 AD, murti was their word, as it were. Murtis back then could be of anything  dogs, trees, serpants, what have you, and bimba, which sounds like the masculine word for bimbo, began to mean an image of god.

It only became a fully realised thing somewhere around the fifth or sixth century, when temples decided you couldn't just bung in any old statue you felt like. It had to be made to measure, following a strict set of size and material guidelines, very up to the building code. They were your guests  whether in a temple or in a home  and while you didn't exactly worship to them, you did make sure they were treated properly.

Hey, remember back in the 1990s when everyone was convinced that a Ganesh statue was drinking milk? If you're too young to remember this  basically a temple in Delhi announced that their particular murti drank an offering of milk. Hindus everywhere, across the world, rushed to feed their own statues milk, milk sales rose, that terribly balanced bunch, the VHP declared it a miracle and not one day later, scientists told everyone that it was some sort of capillary effect, and everyone was a victim of mass hysteria in this case, your statues were not drinking milk, etc etc. (Side note: I tested the milk thing a few days later, and since I didn't have a statue of Ganesh handy, I used a Plaster of Paris image of a three-headed snake we had in the house. Lo and behold, my snake also drank the milk, and looked back at me smugly. A smaller miracle and one that went no further than my house, because no one was really that interested in a random milk drinking statue.)

Here in Vietnam, where I'm writing this column from, there is a tradition of Hindu temples, brought in by the Cham dynasty. The Chams are mainly Islamic now, but there is a set called the Balamon Cham (Balamon derived from Brahman) who still practice Hinduism, and who are one of only two non-Indian Hindu followers in the world. The Chams were majorly into Shiva, and one of their surviving temples called Po Nagar, has several lingams (which still make me giggle) as well as Durga, and a mother goddess. The unusual thing about the main Po Nagar lingam (which was stolen according to records) was that it was a mukhalingam, or a phallus with a face. You could choose to convert your current lingam  your lingam statue, sorry  into a mukhalingam by adding a metal carved sheath with a face on it, which also sounds like a great accessory for your next big night out.

But the lingam isn't just a fancy you-know-what. The real meaning behind the phallus symbol and its often accompanying yoni is to represent the male and female powers of the universe. The idea of generation  yes, yes, it's semen, but it's not just semen, it's how the world is made. It's one of the few aniconic representations of faith in the world  the cross is another.

Now, of course, you could pray to anything, if you liked. Your old Barbie dolls, that tree in the corner of your balcony, the birds in the sky. But people need places of worship, symbols of that worship too. Visiting a grave to talk to your family member, even though another part of you hopes they're in heaven and not just hanging about waiting for you to call. Visiting an ancient temple while you travel so you can worship where so many other people have, and feeling their prayers against your skin. It must be nice to have somewhere comforting to go, a place where you can truly be selfish, and hope the universe is working out just for you.

The world's biggest statue, however, might just be about the statue maker and not the statue itself.

Read more from the 'Mythology for the Millennial' series here.

Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan is the author of several books, including The One Who Swam with the Fishes: Girls of the Mahabharata. She tweets @reddymadhavan
Delivering the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the inclusive growth stemming from the digitisation in India, innovation, direct benefit transfer, and the disruption that technology brought about in status quo.

Delivering the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the inclusive growth stemming from the digitisation in India, innovation, direct benefit transfer, and the disruption that technology brought about in status quo. He was the first Head of Government to deliver the keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival

"My government came to office in 2014 with a mission of inclusive development that would change the lives of every citizen, even the weakest in the remotest village... With the power of fintech and the reach of digital connectivity, we have started a revolution of unprecedented scale," Modi said.

The festival drew as many as 30,000 participants from over 100 countries in 2017. The event involves a three-day conference, and exhibition of Fintech firms and capabilities, a global competition of Fintech solutions and a platform for matching entrepreneurs and investment capital.

Modi said the festival is a tribute to the youth of India with its eyes firmly fixed to the future. "Financial inclusion has become reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities- Aadhaar or foundation- in just a few years," Modi said at the event.

"The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And, it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives," Modi said.

Acknowledging that India is a land with a diverse set of challenges, Modi said that we must go for equally diverse yet simplistic solutions. Modi said that the RuPay card scheme has already touched several lives. He said that around 250 million of the total users opting for RuPay card did not even have a bank account until a few years ago.

Modi said that digitisation, and especially Fintech (financial technology), paved the way for inclusive development in an unprecedented way. "Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities - Aadhaar or foundation - in just few years. Through Aadhaar and cellphones, we launched Jan Dhan Yojana. In three years, we have opened 330 million new bank accounts. These are 330 million sources of identity, dignity and opportunities," Modi said.

Modi also launched APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a global fintech platform with Deputy PM of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam after his address at the event.

"APIX will eventually connect our companies to financial institutions globally," he said. "Across the world, from the Indo-Pacific to Africa to Latin America, we see inspiring stories of extraordinary innovation changing ordinary lives. But, there is much to be done," he said.

Speaking at the world's largest event on financial technology, Modi said technology has transformed governance and delivery of public services in India and unleashed innovation, hope and opportunities.

"Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world and it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives," Modi said as he began his two-day visit to the country.

"It has empowered the weak and brought into mainstream those who were on the margins. It has made economic access more democratic," he said in his keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit.

Praising the United Payment Interface scheme launched by his government, Modi said, "BHIM-UPI is the worlds most sophisticated, simple and seamless platform for payments between accounts, using a virtual payment address. For those who have a mobile, but no internet, there is Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) system in 12 languages. And for those who don't even own a mobile, we have Aadhaar-linked payment interface that uses biometric details to facilitate a transaction."

Inviting Fintech firms to invest in India, Modi said that the unprecedented rise of digitisation in India shows that "India is your best destination."

"There is an explosion of finch innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading finch and Startup nation in the world. The Future of fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India," Modi said. He said, "The India story shows six benefits of Fintech: Access, Inclusion, Connectivity, Ease of Living, Opportunity, and Accountability.

The prime minister also highlighted how Fintech has helped fix accountability, removed red tapism and middlemen, and prevents leakages of public funds.

"Digital technology is also introducing transparency and eliminating corruption through innovation such as the Government e Marketplace," Modi said adding that Fintech can be used to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes.

He said that the digitisation of financial institutions has helped create historic opportunities for inclusive development.

"At no time in history were we blessed with so many possibilities: To make opportunities and prosperity a reality in a lifetime for billions, To make the world more humane and equal between rich and poor, between cities and villages, and between hopes and achievements," the prime minister concluded.

Modi arrived in Singapore on Wednesday morning as he thanked the Indian community in Singapore for according him a "warm welcome amidst the rain". The prime minister has a packed schedule through the day. After the keynote address, the prime minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US vice-president Mike Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong. Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, the White House said.
Modi first met his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, who is also the host of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held separate bilateral meetings with the premiers of Singapore, Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.

He became the first head of government to address the world's largest event on financial technology.

Modi first met his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, who is also the host of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted:

Guiding India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.

PM @narendramodi met with Prime Minister of Singapore @leehsienloong on the sidelines of #EastAsiaSummit. Good exchange of views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration. pic.twitter.com/UXobaJ5kSA  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

Modi then held bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia Summit.

"Modi met with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," Kumar said.

The Prime Minister's Office said Modi's meeting with Australian premier Morrison was "fruitful".

Modi discussed cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security and connectivity with Thai premier Prayut, he said.

Modi also held a bilateral meeting with US vice president Mike Pence.

During his visit to Singapore, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration among its members and other Asian states.

The ASEAN members are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos.
Naysayers may deride the NDAs push for Aadhaar, Jan Dhan, RuPay, BHIM, demonetisation or GST but the fact remains that Narendra Modi has done more for inclusive development in India through technology and digitization than any other prime minister before him. His place in history is secured.

Naysayers may deride the NDAs push for Aadhaar, Jan Dhan, RuPay, BHIM, demonetisation or GST but the fact remains that Narendra Modi has done more for inclusive development in India through technology and digitization than any other prime minister before him. His place in history is secured.

Technology offers possibilities. But its power must be harnessed, and dots must be joined to bring about the desired change. The job is tougher in a country of this size, diversity and stage of development. It is tougher still when we consider that Modi has been in office for little more than four years a short time in the history of a nation. Yet in these four years, India has seen more people join the financial mainstream and reap the benefits of global digital revolution than in any other time in the past. While part of the trend is temporal, Modi must get a fair share of credit in final analysis.

Honoured to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival. Watch my speech. https://t.co/HtlY1xmjLP  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

What is denoted by the word financial inclusiveness, that was the central theme of the prime ministers keynote address on Wednesday at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF)?

According to the World Bank, "financial inclusion a key enabler to reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity," and the World Bank Group hopes to achieve Universal Financial Access (UFA) by 2020.

"Unbanked" people do not have access to financial services and products, and therefore remain outside the development loop. By providing access to bank accounts through the Jan Dhan scheme and linking these to mobile and digital-payment mechanisms, Modi has helped India leapfrog a few stages in development.

The success of his efforts is reflected in the fact that Indias score in financial inclusion now (2016) stands at 58 out of 100, with 14 districts having a Inclusix score of 100. This score was 50.1 in fiscal 2013, according to the latest CRISIL report.

The index, which measures national financial inclusion  up to the level of each of the 666 districts  is based on data provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the MicroFinance Institution Network, and the Insurance Information Bureau of India. CRISIL reports that this record growth in financial inclusion owes to strong growth in deposits and credit accounts, and it says this has been made possible due to Policy measures such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, and steadfast focus on the unbanked regions (that) have driven Indias financial inclusion agenda over the past 3 years. As many has 336 out of 666 districts have secured 'Above-average' rating.

Updated 2018 figures may take this initiative up by a few more notches. Therefore, when Modi tells the audience at SFF  the worlds largest event on financial technology which drew 30,000 participants from over 100 countries last year  that my government came to office in 2014 with a mission of inclusive development that would change the lives of every citizen, even the weakest in the remotest village, his words must be taken seriously.

The SFF, now in its third year, involves a three-day conference, and exhibition of FinTech firms and capabilities, a global competition of related solutions and a platform for matching entrepreneurs and investment capital. As the first world leader to address the gathering, the prime minister touched upon the key metrics of this achievements. He mentioned financial inclusion as a reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities (Aadhaar) in just a few years. Through Aadhaar and cellphones, we launched Jan Dhan Yojna. In three years, we have opened 330 million new bank accounts. These are 330 million sources on identity and dignity and opportunities. Less than 50 percent of Indians had bank accounts in 2014. Now it is nearly universal.

Calling the fusion of a billion biometric identities, more-than-a-billion bank accounts and more-than-a-billion cell phones as the biggest infrastructure, Modi related how rapidly rising digital transactions powered by Rupay and BHIM are powering fintech revolution in India. Today, 128 banks in India are connected to UPI. Transactions on UPI grew 1500 times in the last 24 months. Every month, the value of transaction is growing by over 30 per cent, he said.

These are not empty figures. According to latest figures from IT ministry, number of digital payment transactions have leaped by a staggering 207 percent to Rs 244.81 crore in August 2018, compared to Rs 79.67 crore in October 2016. Total value of such transactions, which stood at Rs 108.7 lakh crore in October 2016, increased 88 percent to Rs 204.86 lakh crore in August 2018, said the statement.

This explosion has touched home-grown payment systems such as the RuPay cards and Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) UPI mechanism, which together have garnered over 60 percent market share of the digital transactions business, pushing back global giants such as Mastercard and Visa."

Modi also highlighted how digitisation and fintech remove anonymity and help build a healthy economy by fixing accountability, removing bureaucratism and middlemen, and prevent leakages of public funds. Digital technology is also introducing transparency and eliminating corruption through innovation such as the Government e Marketplace, Modi said, adding that Fintech can be used to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes.

The future of Fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India. I say this to all the Fintech companies and startups  India is your best destination, said Modi. Detractors may disagree, but it is hard to argue against the scale of achievements of an activist prime minister. Facts are sacred, unlike opinions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Singapore on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Singapore on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

Modi's first engagement would be to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet. "The Prime Minister landed in Singapore a short while ago. He will be joining a series of programmes through the day, beginning with the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival." Later, in a tweet, the PM thanked the Indian community for a "warm welcome amidst the rain". "Extremely touched by the affection of the Indian community in Singapore. Their warm welcome, so early in the morning amidst the rain, was touching. India's diaspora makes our nation very proud. They have succeeded all over the world, in a wide range of areas," he tweeted.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region. Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The prime minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong. Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting. The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, the WH said.
PM Narendra Modi and US vice president Mike Pence held talks on Wednesday on bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism.

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US vice president Mike Pence held talks on Wednesday on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The two leaders had a warm meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here, ministry of external affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

They had "productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues," he said.

Prosperity through partnership PM @narendramodi had a warm meeting with @VP of United States Michael Pence in #Singapore. Productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues. pic.twitter.com/M1vtAVQhsd  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

Pence referred to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly Mumbai terror attack on November 26 and hailed cooperation between the two countries on countering terrorism, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters after the meeting.

Modi thanked Pence and reminded him that in one way or other all the traces and all leads in the global terror attacks ultimately leads to a "single source and single place of origin", without naming any country or organisation.

"He did point out that the mainstreaming of people involved in the Mumbai attacks in a political process which has taken place in the recent elections in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern and not to just the two countries which is India and the US but to international community," Gokhale said, referring to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the July 25 elections in Pakistan.

"There was some good understanding of the areas of how we move forward in building cooperation in counter terrorism and both countries recognised this is a challenge we have to fight together and to fight along with the rest of the international community," Gokhale said.

On bilateral issues, the two sides had brief discussions on trade related matters. "We agreed that in a new relationship we are building with the US where trade is expanding we need to find ways in which we can help that process to take place," he said.

Modi remarked in particular that in the last two years  since president Donald Trump has assumed office  American exports to India have grown by 50 percent and it is perhaps only country, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the US has a trade deficit, where the deficit is actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year, Gokhale said.

He said Modi also discussed import of oil and gas worth $4 billion from the US as the two leaders emphasised on the need to enhance energy cooperation.

"This is important from the perspective of the US. There was a lot of discussions on energy. This is a new sector in Indo-US relations  we have begun importing oil and gas from US worth about $4 billion this year. We express our readiness to import more gas and oil from US as a way of expanding trade," he said.

The defence sector was another area of cooperation between the two sides. "Both sides agreed that there have been substantial enhancement in our defence relationship and in our imports of equipment from the US but Modi stressed that there was a great opportunity for US in India in making defence equipment and in setting up defence industry in India," he said.

"Not only because India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region," Gokhale said.

Modi conveyed to Pence that he hoped the Trump administration would recognise this as a new economic opportunity. There was appreciation for the recently held first-ever ministerial 2+2 meeting between defence and foreign ministers of the two countries.

Pence recalled his meetings with the prime minister and acknowledged that India had made substantial progress economically as well as diplomatically in regional and international affairs under his leadership, Gokhale said.

Pence felt that India is a positive factor in regional and international relations and said US looks forward to working with India on various issues  both on political and economic sides to ensure "we have a fair rules-based international order", he said.

The two sides "agreed that on the international forums, we should on the basis of the shared values build up a possible cooperation in a number of areas".

The Indo-Pacific region also came up for discussion and Modi referred to his June speech in Singapore at IISS Shangrila Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision on Indo-Pacific.

The prime minister conveyed to Pence that his vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that "we should utilise the forthcoming East Asia summit to further build on that," Gokhale said, amid China flexing its muscles in the East and South China Seas.

Pence felt that India's contribution is important in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. He said the recent naval exercises held by the US, India and Japan, is an "evidence of our commitment to ensuring free and open access to the seas all across this region."

The two sides, he said, would discuss "our ongoing effort to achieve the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."

He thanked India in supporting US on its North Korean pressure campaign. "We are grateful to India's strong support of our pressure campaign," Pence said.

"But we look forward to finding even more ways we can work together, even as the president moves toward another summit with Chairman Kim in the hope that we can finally bring a lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula," he said.
Two days after phase one of Chhattisgarh Assembly election, five security personnel, including 4 BSF jawans, and civilian were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast detonated by Naxals in Bijapur district. The attack took place near the district headquarters.

Two days after phase one of Chhattisgarh Assembly election, five security personnel, including 4 Border Security Force (BSF) jawans, and civilian were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast detonated by Naxals in Bijapur district. The attack took place near the district headquarters.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital in Bijapur. Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured persons were shifted to a local hospital, he said, adding that a search operation was underway in the region, P Sundarraj, DIG, Anti-Naxal Ops told PTI. Bijapur is located around 450 kilometres from the state capital of Raipur.

Naxal attacks have been common in Chhattisgarh due to the Assembly elections, the first phase of which took place on 12 November. The second phase will be held on 20 November.

12 November: Two encounters broke out on polling day  in the Padema area of Bijapurand in Sukma  resulting in the deaths of six insurgents and injuring five security personnel.

An IED blast was also triggered before polling began, targeting security forces near a booth in Tumakpal-Nayanar Road in Katekalyan area in Bastar, but no injuries were reported. IED devices were found near polling booths at a couple of other locations in Bijapur and in Bhanupratappur in Kanker and were defused by bomb disposal squads.

11 November: Even a day before the polls, a Naxal was killed and another was arrested in an encounter between security forces and Left-Wing Extremists in Bijapur district's Bedre area. In another incident on Sunday morning, BSF ASI Mahender Singh was injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Kanker's Koyalibeda. Later, he was airlifted to Raipur where he succumbed to his injuries.

8 November: Naxals killed four civilians and one Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel in an IED explosion near Bacheli in Dantewada district on 8 November. Three others, including one jawan, were injured in the encounter. The Naxals, reportedly blew up a civilian bus which was being used by CISF troops for election duty.

From 27 October till 11 November, the Naxals executed half a dozen attacks, said PTI. Three of these attacks were major ones which left 13 people dead including a camera-person of national broadcaster Doordarshan who was covering the election campaign.

On 27 October, four CRPF personnel, belonging to 168th battalion were killed and two others injured after Maoists blew up their bulletproof bunker vehicle in Awapalli area of Bijapur district.

The attacks come in the wake of threats by the insurgents to boycott the "fake Chhattisgarh elections". They had even threatened to chop off the hands of voters.

The second phase of polling in 72 seats, out of the 90-member Assembly, will be held on 20 November and the counting of votes will take place on 11 December.
The initial arguments in the case are being commenced by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, who told the court that the Rafale deal was 'illegal' and sought an investigation in the matter.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday commenced its hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SK Kaul and Justice KM Joseph is likely to review the pricing details submitted by the government in a sealed cover.

The initial arguments were made by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, who told the court that the inter-governmental agreement was "illegal" and sought an investigation in the matter. He told the apex court that negotiations were held after the deal to purchase 36 fighter aircrafts was first announced. He also said that the attorney general should file a response to the affidavit.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, who spoke on behalf of the government, addressed the issue of secrecy raised by Bhushan and said that the government's secrecy over the price of the deal was justified. The secrecy is with regard to weaponry and avionics. If these are disclosed our adversaries will be able to know about what weaponry and avionics we have, Venugopal told the court.

He also told the Supreme Court that this is not a matter for judicial review, and that "it is a matter for experts to decide on what weaponry is to be bought."

The apex court agreed with Venugopal's statement and said that the pricing of the deal need not be discussed at the moment. "It needs to be debated only if the Court decides that aspects on pricing need to come into public domain", Bar and Bench quoted CJI Ranjan Gogoi as saying.

Former union minister Arun Shourie, who had filed a joint plea along with advocate Prashant Bhushan and union minister Yashwant Sinha, said that documents submitted by Dassault aviation show a different price than that disclosed by the government in Parliament.

He also argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi negotiated the deal without consulting the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar. "Even two days before the deal was announced by the prime minister on 10 April, 2015, the then foreign secretary had gone on record to say that talks between Dassault Aviation and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) were underway."

Bhushan, in his comments, said that that the BJP-led Centre did not meet the conditions required to go through with an inter-governmental agreement.

He claimed that the number of fighter jets were reduced from 102 to 36 because Modi wanted to give it to Reliance Industries, a company that has no experience manufacturing aircraft and defence equipment.

Speaking about the price of the deal, Bhushan said that the government is "hiding" behind the secrecy agreement as part of the deal, because the cost had already revealed to Parliament twice. "There cannot be any security issue regarding the pricing, when they have announced it in parliament. It is a bogus argument when they say price can't be disclosed because of secrecy," Live Law quoted him as saying before he closed his arguments.

Vineet Dhanda, who had also filed a petition in the court, was also present at the hearing. Bar and Bench quoted his legal counsel as asking: "How can the prime minister make a statement regarding purchase of aircraft before the agreement was finalised?"

With inputs from agencies
The pendency of cases in Indian courts is the biggest factor accounting to the slow and languishing pace of the case.

A very strange happening took place this past week in the Delhi High Court. A womans appeal against a divorce decree which was granted by the family court was allowed by the Delhi High Court almost a decade after the death of her husband.

While it might be a laughing matter to some, what falls legally from this is a cause of great concern  the slow disposal of cases in the Indian judicial setup. Running deep into the argument of what accounts for slow disposal, we would eventually stumble upon the fact that the pendency of cases in Indian courts is the biggest factor accounting to the slow and languishing pace of the case.

The next question that would fall out would be how to fix this problem of pendency? Unfortunately, there is no definite answer to this. An attempt was made by the Law Commission to remedy the situation. In its 230th report, they proposed the following measures that could be undertaken to tackle the situation head-on.

Firstly, there should be full utilisation of the court working hours. This would mean both, that the advocates and judges should arrive on time and that there should not be unnecessary adjournments that should be asked for by the lawyers.

Secondly, the cases that are filed on similar points should be clubbed together and decided accordingly. This can be achieved with the help of technology.

Thirdly, the judges must deliver judgments within a reasonable time.

Fourthly, the days of vacations should be reduced by at least 10-15 days and the working time of the courts should be increased by at least half-an hour.

Fifthly, lawyers should not repeat their arguments and should be very precise with the points they make. Further, the judges should also endeavour to write their judgments in such a way that it does not give way to further litigation on the same matter by ways of appeal or revision of the same case.

Lastly, the lawyers, as officers of the court, should not resort to strikes under any circumstances.

Apart from these recommendations from the Law Commission, filling the judicial vacancies across the nation would also act as the solution to this problem. The Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, seems resolute in doing the same as he has already held 6 collegium meetings in 30 days for filling 29 vacancies in high courts.

In this light, increasing the retirement age of judges also seems to be a feasible option as the experienced judges can dispose the cases off in an efficient manner.

Another way proposed to do away with the pendency of cases is by establishing a National Court of Appeal (NCA).

Although the Supreme Court is the apex court in the country, what should be kept in mind is that it was constituted just to act as the court of last resort to decide cases of national importance and not every other case deciding the rights and liabilities of two parties.

The aim of the proposed NCA will be to act as intermediate forum between the Supreme Court and the various high courts of the country. The NCAs could be territorially divided, having branches in various places throughout the country, or be divided by the subject matter which it would deal with, like civil, criminal, tax, etc.

The 229th report by the Law Commission had also proposed for division of the Supreme Court into a Constitution Bench at Delhi and Cassation Benches in four regions in Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The Indian judicial system today suffers with this curse of increasing pendency of cases. While, over the years, the Supreme Court has increased the speed with which it is disposing the cases, the pendency problem still hasnt seen a proper solution.

The National Judicial Data Grid shows that it takes almost two to three decades for a criminal case to get disposed off. In this setting, the need of the hour is for the judiciary to bring in reforms within the system.

As pendency strikes at the heart of speed of disposal of the cases, remedying the pendency problem can help fasten the process of disposal of cases which would help people evade the wrath of the judicial process as justice delayed is justice denied.

Raghav Pandey is an Assistant Professor of Law at Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai and Neelabh Bist is a Fourth Year student of Law at Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai.
On 26 July, the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution unanimously to change the name of the state to 'Bangla' in the three most-spoken languages Bengali, Hindi and English and sent the proposal to the Union home ministry.

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Centre on Wednesday for allegedly dragging its feet in clearing a proposal to rename West Bengal as 'Bangla', which was unanimously passed by the state Assembly in July.

Banerjee said the BJP has been changing names of historical places and institutions unilaterally "almost every day" to suit its "interests" but when it comes to Bengal, the attitude is totally different.

On 26 July, the Assembly passed a resolution unanimously to change the name of the state to "Bangla" in the three most-spoken languages Bengali, Hindi and English and sent the proposal to the Union home ministry.

Banerjee's government had proposed to rename the state on three earlier occasions.

It suggested "Paschimbanga" in 2011, which was turned down by the Centre. In 2016, it proposed "Bengal" in English, "Bangla" in Bengali and "Bangal" in Hindi, which too was turned down. Finally, it proposed the name 'Bangla' in July.

"It is pending there (with the home ministry) for a long, long time," Banerjee said in a statement.

"After Independence, there have been changes in the name of a few states and cities, like Orissa to Odisha, Pondicherry to Puducherry, Madras to Chennai, Bombay to Mumbai, Bangalore to Bengaluru etc, keeping in view the sentiments of the state and local language. Those are genuine," she said.

The West Bengal Assembly had passed a resolution to change the name of the state on the basis of local sentiments related to "our mother tongue, Bangla", she added.

"The Union home ministry advised us to use the name Bangla in all three languages. Accordingly, our Assembly passed a unanimous resolution to change the name of the state to 'Bangla' in all three languages and sent it to the Union home ministry again," she said.

On reservations from some quarters that Bangla would sound very similar to Bangladesh, she said names should not create a hurdle as "there is a Punjab in our neighbouring country as well as in India".

Criticising the BJP, she said a political party with "zero strength" in the state cannot decide on changing the name of that state.

The proposal to change the name was made only after a resolution was passed unanimously by the state Assembly in accordance with the constitutional obligations and federal structure, which should be respected, she said.

"The people of Bengal must get a positive response immediately," Banerjee said. Later, she told a Bengali news channel that they (Modi government) are "bulldozing the federal structure" of the country.

"They are not following the Constitution. They are doing whatever they like. This cannot go on. What we have done (suggesting a name change), we have done it constitutionally," she said.

The Opposition Congress and the left front extended their support to Banerjee's comment and accused the BJP of doing politics over the issue.

"We had supported the name change Bill in the Assembly. We feel that the issue of changing of name of the state is related to the sentiment of the people. That is why we had supported it. But the BJP is trying to play politics over the issue. We condemn it," Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan said.

Left front Legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty too echoed Mannan's views. The BJP leadership, however, has questioned the very justification of the name change.

BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was trying to wipe out history so that the future generations don't get to know why the state bears the name 'West Bengal'.

"Actually, to serve the interests of a specific community, the TMC is trying to change the name of the state," he alleged.
The apex court had on Tuesday declined a similar plea while agreeing to hear in open court a batch of petitions seeking review of its 28 September verdict by which it had lifted the ban on entry of women of menstruating age group into the Sabarimala temple.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday once again refused to stay its verdict which allowed entry of women of all age groups into Kerala's Sabarimala temple.

The apex court had on Tuesday declined a similar plea while agreeing to hear in open court a batch of petitions seeking review of its 28 September verdict by which it had lifted the ban on entry of women of menstruating age group into the Sabarimala temple.

The top court has fixed 22 January to hear all the review petitions.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked a lawyer, who on Wednesday sought stay on the court's Sabarimala verdict, to wait till 22 January when the Constitution bench will hear review petitions.

The matter was mentioned by lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara, who has filed the review on behalf of the National Ayyappa Devotees (Women's) Association.

On 28 September, a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by the then chief justice Dipak Misra, in 4:1 verdict had paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple, saying the ban amounted to gender discrimination.

The review petitions against the verdict were taken up on Tuesday 'in-chamber' by a bench comprising the CJI and Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

"All the review petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in open court on 22nd January, 2019 before the appropriate Bench. We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this court dated 28th September, 2018 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2006 (Indian Young Lawyers Association and others vs The State of Kerala and others)," the order said.

In the in-chamber proceedings, the judges examine the review petitions by circulation and lawyers were not present.

There are around 48 petitions seeking review of the judgement and they were filed following the recent violent protests in favour and against the verdict.

The apex court had also made it clear that fresh pleas related to the matter will be heard only after it decides the earlier petitions seeking review of the judgment.

The bench stated this while hearing the three fresh petitions filed by G Vijaya Kumar, S Jaya Rajkumar and Shailaja Vijayan challenging its 28 September verdict.

The top court had on 9 October declined an urgent hearing on the review plea filed by an association which had contended that the five-judge Constitution bench's verdict lifting the ban was "absolutely untenable and irrational".

The plea filed by the National Ayyappa Devotees Association had said: "The notion that the judgment under review is revolutionary, one which removes the stigma or the concept of dirt or pollution associated with menstruation, is unfounded".

"It is a judgment welcomed by hypocrites who were aspiring for media headlines. On the merits of the case, as well, the said judgment is absolutely untenable and irrational, if not perverse," the plea submitted.

Besides the association, several other petitions, including one by the Nair Service Society (NSS), have been filed against the apex court verdict.

The NSS had said in the plea that as the deity is a 'Naistika Brahmachari', females below the age of 10 and after the age of 50 years are eligible to worship him and there is no practice of excluding worship by females.

"Hence, the delay or wait for 40 years to worship cannot be considered as exclusionary and it is an error of law on the face of the judgement," the plea had said.
Commencing the hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets by the Indian government from France, the Supreme Court questioned Indian Air Force (IAF) officials on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, hearing a set of pleas demanding an investigation into the Rafale deal, reserved its order after the Attorney General KK Venugopal called Indian Air Force officials to assist the bench on understanding the urgency of signing the deal.

The apex court was hearing several pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets by the Indian government from France. Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal VR Chaudhari and two other senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officers appeared in the apex court.

Venugopal, speaking on behalf of the government, said, "IAF has been writing to us that it will be difficult for them to defend our country due to the shortage of aircraft, we have fallen behind a lot." The IAF officials were called in the apex court to tell the judges the need for obtaining the Rafale fighter jets and to establish their superiority over the current machinery available with the force.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SK Kaul and Justice KM Joseph reviewed the pricing details of the Rafale deal submitted by the government in a sealed cover. The initial arguments were made by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, who told the court that the inter-governmental agreement was "illegal" and sought an investigation in the matter. He told the apex court that negotiations were held after the deal to purchase 36 fighter aircraft was first announced. He also said that the attorney general should file a response to the affidavit.

The apex court led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi then interacted with the Air Marshal and Air Vice Marshal of the IAF and asked them what the latest induction into the artillery of the force was to which IAF officials responded saying that it was the Sukhoi 30 fighter jet.

The CJI asked the officials if the Sukhoi jet and the Light Combat Aircraft were fourth-generation planes, to which the Air Marshall replied, "I would say it is 3.5."

Thereafter, AG KK Venugopal resumed his arguments in the case and laid before the court that "for the manufacture of Rafale, HAL was given a time slot of 2.7 times of what Dassault was taking and that fact itself was a negative factor". Venugopal then said that the offset partner has to be selected by the vendor itself. Post this, the Additional Secretary of Defence Ministry explained to the court the defence offset guidelines. Justice KM Joseph at this juncture asked that why the offset guidelines were changed in 2015.

AG Venugopal addressed the issue of secrecy raised by Bhushan and said that the government's secrecy over the price of the deal was justified. The secrecy is with regard to weaponry and avionics. If these are disclosed our adversaries will be able to know about what weaponry and avionics we have, Venugopal told the court. He also told the Supreme Court that this is not a matter for judicial review, and that "it is a matter for experts to decide on what weaponry is to be bought."

The apex court agreed with Venugopal's statement and said that the pricing of the deal need not be discussed at the moment. "It needs to be debated only if the court decides that aspects on pricing need to come into public domain", Bar and Bench quoted CJI Ranjan Gogoi as saying.

Former union minister Arun Shourie, who had filed a joint plea along with advocate Prashant Bhushan and Union minister Yashwant Sinha, said that documents submitted by Dassault aviation show a different price than that disclosed by the government in Parliament.

He also argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi negotiated the deal without consulting the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar. "Even two days before the deal was announced by the prime minister on 10 April, 2015, the then foreign secretary had gone on record to say that talks between Dassault Aviation and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) were underway."

Bhushan, in his comments, said that that the BJP-led Centre did not meet the conditions required to go through with an inter-governmental agreement.

He claimed that the number of fighter jets were reduced from 102 to 36 because Modi wanted to give it to Reliance Industries, a company that has no experience manufacturing aircraft and defence equipment.

Speaking about the price of the deal, Bhushan said that the government is "hiding" behind the secrecy agreement as part of the deal, because the cost had already revealed to Parliament twice. "There cannot be any security issue regarding the pricing, when they have announced it in parliament. It is a bogus argument when they say price can't be disclosed because of secrecy," Live Law quoted him as saying before he closed his arguments.

Vineet Dhanda, who had also filed a petition in the court, was also present at the hearing. Bar and Bench quoted his legal counsel as asking: "How can the prime minister make a statement regarding purchase of aircraft before the agreement was finalised?"

With inputs from agencies and Bar and Bench
In a close election, their loyalty could be decisive in at least three dozen constituencies in Rajasthan's 200-seat Assembly.

On the Indian festival of Karva Chauth in October, perhaps in consonance with the spirit of the occasion, Rajput women saved the dignity and honor of leaders of their community in Rajasthan. Rajput organisations led by Lokendra Singh Kalvi, the burly leader from western Rajasthan who spearheaded the campaign for a ban on Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmaavat, were expecting a gathering of at least a lakh in response to their call for showcasing their electoral strength. But just a few dozen women, mainly relatives of the leaders, reached the venue to fill up a few seats in a completely empty ground in Jaipur.

As the Rajputs and their women, dressed in traditional lehngas (long skirts) and colorful odhnis (shawls), brandished swords on the stage and shouted feeble slogans on the ground, their display of bravado and strength appeared to be a tragi-comic denouement of the campaign the Rajputs had been leading to assert their identity. Rajputs have been on the warpath in Rajasthan on two emotive issues that may sound preposterous to observers outside the state. For almost two years, they have been sulking over their inability to get Padmaavata film based on a fictional account of a Rajput princessbanned. And since June 2017, they have been angry over the encounter killing of Anand Pal Singh, a fugitive considered a hero by many Rajput youth.

Padmaavat has come and gone. Some of its wounds have healed because Rajputs managed a token victory by not allowing theatres to screen the film in Rajasthan and a few adjoining states. But the ghost of the gangster continues to haunt the community and the state's electoral politics. Anand Pal Singh was gunned down by a three teams from Rajasthan and Haryana police in Malasar village of Churu district on 24 June. His encounter led to violent protests among Rajputs and accusations of cold-blooded murder against the police. In the aftermath, several cases were filed against his followers in many police stations.

Since his death, Anand Pal has turned into a Robin Hood-esque figure for the community, a symbol of both pride and affection. His followers believe he helped hundreds of Rajput families and helped reestablish their clout on the ground by competing ferociously with their traditional rivals the Jats. Rajputs are extremely angry with the BJP because of Anand Pals encounter and the subsequent harassment of many Rajput families through police cases. They have decided to teach the BJP a lesson, said Pratap Singh Khachariawas, a prominent Rajput leader and nephew of former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a BJP stalwart.

Many other community leaders echo his sentiments and openly vow to defeat the BJP in the Assembly elections scheduled for December. Rajput leader Giriraj Singh Lotwara said there is widespread resentment because of the encounter and the spate of cases that have destroyed many families. We nurtured the BJP. It has now turned against us, he argued.

For many years, Rajputs were considered the BJPs vote bank. This was primarily because the Congress was supported by Jats, who are seen as the communitys rivals, and because for decades the BJP was led by Shekhawat, the communitys idol, and prominent members of erstwhile royal families. Since his demise, Rajputs have felt marginalised by the BJP. This alienation and resentment has increased because the BJP under Vasundhara Raje has made grand overtures of friendship towards Jats, who are electorally more powerful than Rajputs.

Some suspect stoking Rajput anger is part of the BJPs strategy to distance itself from the community and, thus, snare the Jats into its fold. This theory is buttressed by the first list of candidates released by the BJP for Rajasthan earlier this week, which has 26 Jats compared to 17 Rajputs, a clear indication of the partys preferences. BJP insiders believe Rajput anger would lead to counter-polarisation among Jats who are not just more in numbers but have far greater resources.

On paper, this appears to be a fail-safe strategy. But, Jats are politically very sharp and are known to support the party that is most likely to win an election. If the BJP fails to emerge as a front-runner, Jats might desert the party and combined with the exodus of Rajputs inflict a deadly blow to Rajes fortunes. There are 10 to 15 thousand Rajput voters in almost every constituency of Rajasthan. In western Rajasthan, they are a formidable electoral force because of higher concentration. The community also has the ability to work closely with smaller communities. In a close election, their loyalty could be decisive in at least three dozen constituencies in the 200-member Assembly.

Aware of their electoral strength, Rajputs are now trying to rally behind Anand Pals wife Nirmal Kanwar, who, it is rumored, may contest either as an Independent candidate or with the support of BJPs rivals from Ladnun, the gangsters home turf.
Even as Delhi braces itself for general elections, this Chhath Puja, a prime festival among the Purvanchali voters, kept political leaders on their toes.

Even as Delhi braces itself for 2019 general elections, this Chhath Puja, a prime festival among the Purvanchali voters, kept political leaders on their toes as they wooed this crowd of migrant electorates. If the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government increased the number of facilities nearly by double for the devotees to celebrate Chhath Puja, the BJP blamed the government for not doing enough.

As per sources in the Delhi government, the total number of ghats facilitated this time around by the government for devotees in Delhi was 1,055, which is nearly double than the last year's number of 565. The number of such ghats for Chhath Puja was only 72 in 2014.

The rise of AAP in Delhis politics has also seen an increase in the importance of the Puvanchali segment of electorate in the capital citys politics. Nearly a dozen candidates with Purvanchali ancestry from the AAP won seats in the 2015 Assembly election in which the fledgling party swept 67 out of 70 seats.

The support of migrant voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha election is likely to play a decisive role for AAP.

As per an estimate published in Hindustan Times, there are nearly 40 lakh Purvanchali voters in Delhi who are largely concentrated in the JJ clusters and unauthorised colonies.

Before upsurge of the AAP in Delhi, Congress spent a large part of its resources in wooing these voters. But Arvind Kejriwal, who spent a considerable length of his career as a social worker in the Sundarnagari slums in Delhi before joining politics, struck a chord with them in the 2015 Assembly polls.

It is widely believed that the landslide victory the AAP secured in this election was due to large-scale voting it received from this community. The belief is adequately bolstered by the figures of vote share of different parties in that election, which show large-scale shifting of votes from the Congress bastion to that of AAP.

In the 2015 Assembly polls, the AAP bagged 54.3 percent votes. The BJP got 32.2 percent of the vote share, while the figure for the Congress was a mere 9.7 percent.

On account of absence of any pre-poll seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress before 2019, AAP runs the risk of losing these voters to Congress, which makes keeping them in good humour imperative for the party.

No wonder AAP leaders have an elaborate schedule to attend Chhath Puja celebrations.

Information shared by AAP sources say that party leaders Dilip Pandey and Raghav Chadha are scheduled to attend nine Chhath Puja functions each. Pankaj Gupta and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodias schedule has six programmes each listed in the schedule for the two days of Chhath.

BJP, which is eager to weave an equally strong narrative to woo Purvanchali voters, found a powerful leader in Bhojpuri star Manoj Tiwari and posted him as the Delhi BJP chief in 2016. The party now is accusing the AAP government of not providing enough facilities to the devotees of Chhath Puja.

As per a report published in The Hindu, BJP MLA Vijender Gupta alleged that arrangements made by the government were not enough.

The Chhath Puja samitis had been asking the government to set up permanent ghats along the Western Yamuna Canal for the past three years, but to no avail, the report quoted him as saying.
The Congress sure it must rig up an answer to BJPs Hindutva but is baffled over how to do it.

In the middle of all the hue and cry over Rafale deal, the CBI-vs-CBI and RBI-vs-government, a quiet development missed the attention it deserved. Rahul Gandhi finetuned his soft Hindutva to a somewhat harder variety.

What began as a relatively innocuous temple-hopping by Gandhi in last years Gujarat Assembly elections turned into a fervent zeal for saving cowsin Madhya Pradesh, which is going to polls on 28 November. The Congress election manifesto for the state promises not only gaushalas (cow shelters) in every panchayat but also the commercial production of cow urine and cow dung.

Congress also vows to develop Ram Van Gaman Path, the route that Lord Ram supposedly took during his exile. This was a project that the states BJP government had mooted in 2007 but never fulfilled.

It seemed to have dawned on the Congress president that if soft Hindutva didnt deliver enough votes, a harder version might. Congress smuggled its promises about cows into the Madhya Pradesh manifesto, without shouting about it from rooftops. Also conspicuous was the absence of any tantrums from Left-leaning intellectuals who usually set Twitter on fire whenever a BJP leader utters a word beginning with 'c' or ending in 'w'.

If Congress comes to power, Madhya Pradesh might have more shelters for cows than primary health centres for humans, but never mind that. Congress is bent upon tearing BJP to pieces about its Hindu appeasement but wants to do the very same thing and yet wants us to believe that its called secularism. It isnt. Its called wanting to have the cake and eating it too.

But in doing all this, Congress has a problem. Rahul forgot to remind his satraps in Karnataka that Madhya Pradesh has an Assembly election and that he is trying to win over Hindu votes thereby promising to do the needful to cows.

They needed their memory to be jogged. Thats because, while the Congress president was busy placating Hindus in Madhya Pradesh, his partys luminaries in Karnataka were busy appeasing Muslims by celebrating Tipu Jayanti. You could argue that a political party could mollycoddle both Hindus and Muslims as well as people of any faith separately, but thats clearly not BJPs Hindutva which is what Congress is desperately trying to counter.

But while trying to save his party from BJPs Hindutva onslaught, Rahul himself suffers from bouts of amnesia. He forgot all about what he was trying to do in Madhya Pradesh when he decided to educate the nation with his thoughts on the Sabarimala controversy. He said: My personal view point on the issue of Sabarimala temple is that men and women are equal. All women should get permission to enter into the temple.

And his personal view is as different from the partys official one in Kerala as green is from saffron. Congress in Kerala is competing with BJP in taking out yatras to oppose the 28 September Supreme Court verdict that said women of all ages could enter Lord Ayyappas shrine at Sabarimala. Like BJP, Congress also welcomed the courts 13 November decision to review its verdict.

These convolutions in Congress only prove one thing: the party is sure it must rig up an answer to BJPs Hindutva but is baffled over how to do it. The absence of well-thought-out strategies leads to band-aid solutions. One such is what Rahul hit upon last year: hop from temple to temple and prove he was a real Hindu. Nobody apparently told him that BJP leaders didnt visit temples and post pictures on Twitter. Hindutva is their core ideology.

After critics poked fun at Rahuls televised temple darshans during the Assembly elections in Gujarat in December 2017 and in Karnataka in May 2018 and said his soft Hindutva could never match BJPs hard variety, he seemed to agree. So he went on a 12-day religious and spiritual journey to Kailash Mansarovar from 31 August, during which he announced to the world:

This discovery by Gandhi looked more like a phony alternative to Darwins theories on universe than any startling religious epiphany. And he ended up looking more like a cock-a-hoop foreign traveller awestruck by the magnificence of trans-Himalayan heights than a diligent devotee.

Can copy-cat Hindutva work?

The Mansarovar trek may have toned up Rahuls physique but produced no evidence of a political windfall. Tired of soft Hindutva, he then seemed to have decided to slowly ape the very same agenda of BJP that Congress had been opposed to. Its doubtful if Hindu voters in Madhya Pradesh will desert BJP in droves to support Congress, but Rahul has no desire to be accused of not trying in case the party loses.

In business, good companies are not just wary of imitation but even accept it as an inevitable risk and keep innovating. Consumers can usually tell a fake product from the real one. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are aware that BJPs monopoly over Hindutva is too well recognised to be hijacked by competitors and know how to come with new ideas. What Rahul is not aware of is that while the electoral utility of the fake Hindutva of Congress is doubtful, it can even lead to confusion among people who have been hitherto supporting his party and are inimical to BJP.

Sabarimala confusion

Congress leaders in Kerala clarified that Gandhi, despite his personal view supporting the entry of all women into the Ayyappa temple, had given permission to the state unit to oppose the very same. Senior leader Ramesh Chennithala said there was no confusion in Congress about this, but thats exactly what there is: confusion among people.

In contrast to this confusion, BJP knows where it stands with razor-sharp clarity. In comparison with Shahs defiant, even if questionable, statement saying that Supreme Court cant give orders that cant be followed, the Congress stand looks like a tableau of comedy.

And the reading public of both Kerala and Madhya Pradesh also cant be unaware of the doublespeak of Congress evident from reports coming from Karnataka about Tipu Jayanti.

Tipu Jayanti fiasco

For three years since 2015, the Siddaramaiah government of Congress celebrated Tipus birthday, as part of the chief ministers carefully nurtured design to woo Muslims.

Whether the 18th century ruler was a gallant warrior who fought the British or he was a bigot who converted Hindus to Islam or killed them should have been best left to historians to debate and decide, but this turned into a communal issue, giving BJP a handle to make it a life-and-death matter for Karnataka on par with poverty alleviation.

Though Congress lost the election, the coalition government formed by that party and Janata Dal (Secular) continued the Tipu Jayanti this year, but on a low key. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S), who had opposed it in the past, made himself scarce, saying he was sick and needed rest in a resort. Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara too gave the event a miss, but many Congress leaders who attended it lauded Tipu in glorious terms that were, even by the standards of the partys idolatry and sycophancy, would have embarrassed Tipu if he were alive.

If the Congress appeasement of Muslims riled its ally JD(S) in Karnataka, its pampering of Hindus annoyed some of its partners in UDF in Kerala. And the partys mixed-bag secularism is bound to send confusing signals to both Hindus and minorities elsewhere in India.

The author tweets @sprasadindia
Modi shot into prominence as a leader and captured the imagination of public by directly challenging the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty

In his overenthusiasm to display his commitment towards the Nehru-Gandhi family, Shashi Tharoor has, in fact, substantiated what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accusing Congress of practicing: a sycophantic first family worship culture whereby everything has to be credited to it.

At the launch of the new edition of his 2003 book Nehru: Invention of Indiawhere Sonia Gandhi was chief guestTharoor said, "So, if today we have a chaiwalla as prime minister, it is because Nehru ji made it possible to create the institutional structures through which any Indian can aspire to and rise to the highest office in the land."

The BJP responded to the Congress MP and former Union ministers remark with wit:

Minor correction Dr. Tharoor, Nehru is the sole reason why humanity exists. Dont trivialise his role to mundane matters like making Prime Ministers and all that  pic.twitter.com/bRR7JO9XuC  BJP (@BJP4India) November 14, 2018

While there is no doubt that Nehru as first Indian prime minister created some notable institutions, the key question is this: Did he create the institutions that made it possible for the likes of Modi to occupy highest constitutional office in the land?

The other question is, assuming Tharoor is right, is this: Why did Nehru, who held Congress presidents post on several occasions in pre-Independence era and then again for several years after 1951 (when he was also prime minister), not create institutions or a structure in his own party whereby a chaiwalla could become Congress president. Yet another question could be why he shaped Congressduring his lifetime as prime minister and party presidentin such a way that that it became his family fiefdom for all times to come?

Indira Gandhi became Congress president in 1959 (at age 42) when Nehru was prime minister. Its true that Indira became PM over a year-and-half after her fathers death (Nehru died in May 1964 and Indira became prime minister in January 1966) and Nehru didnt nominate her as his successor, but its also a fact that she had, by then, grown into such prominence that the syndicate thought it prudent to catapult her to the top post. What she did to the syndicate is a different story.

Once Indira established herself as a leader, she either made an outright loyalist like Devakant Barua of India is Indira and Indira is India fame as Congress president or occupied the post until her death in 1984. Rajiv succeeded her from 1984 (until he was assassinated). Sonia took the mantle in 1998 after unceremoniously throwing out Sitaram Kesri out of Congress headquarters and became the party's longest serving president (19 years). For the past year, Nehrus great grandson Rahul has been Congress president.

The institution which Tharoor is crediting Nehru of creating for the likes of Modi to become prime minister is democracy.

Consider the facts: Nehru didnt create or lay down foundation of democratic polity in India. He was the first beneficiary of this newly-created system, albeit as a personal favourite of Mahatma Gandhi for the top post. The creation of India as a democratic Republic was contribution of Constituent Assembly and drafting committee of Constitution headed by BR Ambedkar.

Members of 389-member (292 representatives of the states, 93 represented the princely states and four from the chief commissioner provinces of Delhi, Ajmer-Merwara, Coorg and British Baluchistan) Constituent Assembly were elected by the provincial assemblies by a single, transferable-vote system of proportional representation were elected in August 1946. Nehru was one members of Constituent Assembly.

As per historical records, the Constituent Assembly (elected for an undivided India) met for the first time on 9 December, 1946, reassembled on 14 August, 1947, as a successor to the British Parliament's authority in India. Its last session was held on 24 January, 1950.

Though there were 13 Committees for framing the Constitution and Nehru chaired some committees but the most important committee was seven-member constitution drafting committee, appointed on 29th August, 1947, through a resolution of Constituent: ..scrutinise the draft of the text of the Constitution of India prepared by Constitutional Adviser, giving effect to the decisions already taken in the Assembly and including all matters which are ancillary thereto or which have to be provided in such a Constitution, and to submit to the Assembly for consideration the text of the draft constitution as revised by the committee. The Drafting Committee had seven members: BR Ambedkar, Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, N Gopalaswami Ayyangar, K.M Munshi, Mohammad Saadulla, BL Mitter and DP Khaitan. Constitutional Advisor was BN Rau.

Tharoor should note that a chaiwalla Modi and likes of him as prime minister or as chief ministers are a product of a parliamentary democratic set up as enshrined by Constitution, not because of a system Nehru created. More so, Modi shot into prominence as a leader and captured the imagination of public by directly challenging the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and Nehruvian political and economic legacy.
'Paradoxical Prime Minister' is meant to be a substantive and substantiated takedown of four years of Modi rule and everything that has happened in that time, says author Shashi Tharoor.

Shashi Tharoor has emerged as not only one of our most eloquent parliamentarians but also an erudite author who has written a series of well researched and insightful books. His latest Paradoxical Prime Minister provides insight into the enigmatic personality of our present Prime Minister Narendra Modi and just what makes him tick.

In an interview, the Congress leader said that Modi's rule has been bad for India. "...his inability to rise above his narrow-minded, mean-spirited, sectarian political origins to the levels of statesmanship and good governance that a country like India needs, that many hoped he could deliver and that he himself frequently had promised."

Edited excerpts follow

You have named your book Paradoxical Prime Minister. Why have you chosen this title? Would a variation of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde been a more appropriate title! (Of course, Wildes protagonist was a much younger hero). Jokes apart, what are some of the paradoxes that you have found in Modis personality?

In 2014, when Prime Minister Modi had just been voted into a power, his liberal, inclusive and conciliatory pronouncements  sab ka saath sab ka vikas, for instance, and his promises to be a prime minister for all Indians  had prompted hope that we were possibly looking at a Narendra Modi 2.0: one who had moved away from his controversial role in the riots of 2002 and seemed ready to replace the incendiary identity politics of Hindutva with a politics of performance. In raising this possibility I also publicly pointed out that it was too soon to decide whether this was indeed the case. Within weeks my disenchantment set in, and within six months I had written of the central Modi paradox  making liberal statements while depending for political support on the most illiberal elements of Indian society.

I was initially prepared to give him  and those who had voted for him  the benefit of the doubt, and I felt that if he lived up to his statements made during the election campaign and immediately after his victory, it could have benefited the nation. Unfortunately, the statements and promises turned out to be hollow and the book reflects my disenchantment with the gap between rhetoric and reality.

In The Paradoxical Prime Minister, I judge Modi by the yardsticks that he had himself laid out by making such statements and claims. As he nears the end of his term as prime minister, the country is reeling on several fronts -- a fearful populace, an economy that has been hobbled by his foolhardy initiatives, a painful lack of jobs, a devastating number of farmer suicides, insecure borders, instability in Kashmir and the palpable failure in implementation of even laudable initiatives like Swachh Bharat, Skill India and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

In short, Modis rule has been bad for India, and it all rises from the Modi paradox  his inability to rise above his narrow-minded, mean-spirited, sectarian political origins to the levels of statesmanship and good governance that a country like India needs, that many hoped he could deliver and that he himself frequently had promised.

I dont think The Picture of Dorian Gray is an appropriate analogy. That was about a man who remains youthful and clean-visaged while a picture of him in the attic ages, reflecting his dissolution. Modis cynicism and insincerity are sadly not hidden in an attic. They are visible for all to see  as my book demonstrates.

You have given a very balanced portrayal of his personal life including a gem provided by his personal tailor Bipin Chauhan that the three things Modi is not willing to compromise on are 'his voice, eyes and clothes' as told by Modi to his tailor.

There are others as well, including accounts of Modi provided by close family members and early RSS colleagues. Part of the reason why I have included incidents and anecdotes from his personal life is that the prime minister is still seen in some quarters as an enigmaparticularly with regard to his personal life and to a certain extent discussing, if not unravelling, some of these mysteries add colour to the narrative. But I have tried to be objective: His rise from very modest origins is admirable. I also defend his habits of personal grooming and his giving away his salary to charity. I have also praised the energy with which Modi jet-sets around the world. But at the same time, I have questioned the results of all of his personal qualities: how have they benefited the nation?

I have also consistently (even in my criticism of Modi) tried to maintain a fairly reasoned and substantiated argument because I do understand that there may be an assumption that given that I am an Opposition MP I can only be critical. At the same time, however, I do have my own credibility as an analyst and writer to protect, and what my book seeks to do is to make a fair-minded and rational argumentI have actually laid out the yardsticks in terms of very specific things that he said he would do and he has not done. And I have gone through it in some detail with the wealth of evidence, research, facts and figures, anecdotes and footnotes.

Your book also highlights Modis ability to work hard, a quality imbibed from his father, though you have also quoted Ashish Nandy whose analysis of Modi based on a long interview prior to his becoming prime minister said he possessed a mix of puritanical rigidity, a narrowing of emotional life apart from possessing several obsessive personality traits.

A quintessential paradox! On one hand, even critics of Modi have begrudgingly accepted that he is a workaholic with an ability to work harder than most of his compatriots. At the same time, this stands in stark contrast to his taste in personal luxury, with Mont Blanc pens, Bulgari designer glasses, Movado luxury watches and expensive jackets. While none of these are sins, as I point out, there are other traits  lack of emotional attachments, a streak of intolerance, narcissistic personality, assertive masculinity, controlling behaviour, and so on, which are reflective of how Modi meets many of the criteria that psychiatrists, psycho-analysts and psychologists have set up after years of empirical work on the authoritarian personality. He has most of the same mix of elements that Nandy describes -- all set within the matrix of some paranoid and obsessive personality traits. I lay them out for readers to see, without drawing any conclusion.

Your book mentions how during his campaign to power he portrayed himself as adhering to an inclusive philosophy but once he came to power he was seen to rely for support on communal right-wingers. But cant we say that even about LK Advani whose Rath Yatra in 1990 saw the resurgence of a brand of militant Right-wing communal politics which continues to dominate our political scenario.

I do blame those leaders, especially Advani, for creating the environment that led to the destruction of the masjid, but they claim that was an unintended consequence of the movement. We know for a fact that both Advani and Vajpayee have publicly expressed their regret at the events that led up to the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Advani said he would have respectfully wanted to relocate the site and Vajpayee had also hinted at all sorts of compromises provided the Ram Temple could also be built, it could even be a joint wall between a mosque and a temple. Who knows what Vajpayee would have wanted? He is not here to tell us. But no, neither of them ever spoke in terms of demolishing the mosque and when it happened they both condemned it.

I have openly remarked that most good Hindus I know would want a Ram Temple at the place where they believe he was born. But most good Hindus would not have wanted it by an act of violence and barbarism, demolishing somebody elses place of worship. And this is more or less what Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani also said.

The fact is that Modi is a product of the RSS as in fact is Amit Shah. But your book goes on to state how Moditva is much more than Hindutva doctrine. Is Moditvas allegiance just cosmetic or is it integral to his personality/doctrine?

He spent a lifetime in the RSS and has certainly been groomed in its beliefs. There is no question that he does share the Hindutva mindset and worldview. But there is more to him than Hindutva  a sort of personal aggrandisement, complete with a Modi personality cult featuring assiduous image-projection from Bal Narendra comic books to holograms, that makes Moditva more than just Hindutva.

You have described Modis relationship with the RSS as akin to a scorpion sitting on a Shivling. Neither can they touch him with their hand nor can he be hit with a chappal. But isnt that comparison a little far-fetched because the RSS has been getting their way in practically every field ever since Modi came to power? What are your views on this?

Again, to clarify yet again, the comparison is not of my own making. When I had brought it up, I had also clearly mentioned that I was, in fact, quoting what an unnamed RSS source had described to Vinod K Jose of The Caravan in an article published in 2012. The metaphor makes it clear that there is a certain element of frustration that the RSS has when it comes to dealing with the outsized cult of personality that surrounds Modi. Part of this frustration may also be a consequence of the differences between the doctrine of Modi, or Moditva, and the core principles of the Sangh Parivar. To take one example, Moditva has little patience for the economic autarchy traditionally espoused by RSS frontal organisations like the Swadeshi Jagran Manch. It seeks a globalised nation, deriving investment and profit from association with the wider world and allied with corporate interests within who share the same worldview. It derives legitimacy from evoking the glories of the past, but it seeks to update them with an eye on the future, reconciling Hindu temples with high-tech, marrying the ancient to the modern, and capturing futuristic technologies to serve its national mission. I say at one point that Moditva likes to project the image of a leader who can click a mouse with one hand while brandishing a trishul in the other! The RSS is unlikely to be comfortable with all that. Nor can they be happy with Modis abandonment of the self-effacing style the RSS requires you to cultivate. But they can neither remove nor attack Modi without threatening the basic Hindutva project.

As a follow-up, how does the RSS view the Shah-Modi duo?

You will have to ask the RSS! It seems clear that they work very closely together and it is striking that the BJP cabinet ministers troop regularly to Nagpur like schoolchildren to get their report card from the headmaster. I think this offers a very interesting clue to the relationship shared between the RSS and the Modi-Shah duo. The latter know that they depend on the former for ideological authority and organisational strength: the BJP cadres are really largely RSS cadres. Yet the scorpion metaphor is also reflective of a certain frustration some in the RSS seem to have with the duo, arising from their inability to control them fully.

You state that Modi is so steeped in the RSS ideology, that he does not hesitate to send his ministers on periodic visits to Nagpur to the RSS top brass to have their report cards checked by them.

I believe this is a reflection of a complex modus vivendi that Modi shares with the RSS. On one hand, he has abandoned the personal restraint they would have expected from him when he was made prime minister and has an outsized personal ego that they struggle to reconcile with. At the same time, by initiating a practice of annual visits by his cabinet to Nagpur, where they report on their progress to senior swayamsevaks, he has also made an outward show of institutional supplication to the RSS.

Your book mentions how your own disenchantment with Modi as prime minister set in within weeks of his become prime minister. Your book mentions the killing of a Muslim techie in Pune as being the first in a successive series of knocks that our society has received since his coming to power. We are witness to cow vigilante squads and much worse. Why is that the Opposition has failed to nail this government down on his multiple failures?

I dont think that is a fair assessment of the performance of the Opposition in these last four years. On the contrary, I believe that we have actually succeeded in raising the consciousness of the nation (whether in Parliament or elsewhere) when it comes to the mistakes of the ruling dispensation as well as the dangers it poses by providing a free rein to incendiary communal elements in the country. From the Ramzadein-Haramzadein controvery, mob-lynchings, demonetisation and the botched implementation of GST to the Vyapam and Rafale scams, the Oppositions criticism of the present government has covered a vast spectrum of topics -- foreign policy, economy and socio-cultural aspects -- and I think we have done a convincing job of highlighting the perils of giving the ruling party a second chance, in the upcoming General Elections.

The fact is that so far the Opposition has not succeeded in combating this powerful RSS-BJP electoral machine. Why is that?

I think that the performance of the Opposition in state elections will tell you a different story. We have already seen the defeat of the RSS-BJP electoral machine in Karnataka and the results in Gujarat, though far from perfect, reflect a serious crisis of credibility in the ruling dispensation. I am also confident that the Opposition is likely to come back to power in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and offer a stiff contest in Chattisgarh. All of this has been possible because we have regained the trust of the people by offering a credible alternative to the polarising autocratic rule of the present ruling dispensation.

You have paid special attention to Modis economic policies and how demonetisation followed by a faulty implementation of GST have been disasters. In fact your book has analysed his policies both in the domestic front and in foreign affairs you have written about how despite all his travelling and leader hugging, Indias relations have nosedived with practically all our neighbours. Why is that?

The book is meant to be a substantive and substantiated takedown of four years of Modi rule and everything that has happened in that time. Therefore, in order to put forward the most comprehensive argument possible, it was important to touch on all aspects of the Modi government and not just repeat the ideological differences that one might have with the ruling dispensation.

On the issue of foreign policy, I acknowledge that Modi has brought a significant new energy into Indias foreign policy, with his frequent trips to various countries across the world -- in his four years as prime minister, he has spent the equivalent of at least a year in other countries. On some specific policies, I have also applauded him -- Ive acknowledged, for instance, that the International Yoga Day was a very clever exercise of soft power. But what has been the product of these visits? It would have been another matter if his extensive travels, the most by any Indian prime minister in history, had actually done the country much good. Sadly they have not. Our relationship with Pakistan is rocky, China is pushing us around, ties with the US are at a low ebb, Nepal mistrusts us and is moving towards China, the Maldives refuses new visas to Indians, and so on.

Why did this happen? In a nutshell (and my book delves into this in more detail), during these years, while India had a prime minister who served as an energetic salesman abroad for the Government of India, it was also clear that his own credibility was increasingly under question. After all, how long can a salesman impress by the sheer force of his oratory and cleverly designed international photo-ops if the package he is selling is empty? Foreign policy was conducted episodically rather than coherently; there was a sense of rushing from speech to photo-op without either vision or sustained follow-up. Moreover, worryingly there was inevitably a justifiable fear among many of us that these visits are merely feel good trips that mask growing troubles elsewhere and the serious lack of a cohesive foreign policy blueprint for the country.

For me, the biggest paradox is how that the Indian voter continues to bestow trust in him. You make allusions to our being a parliamentary and not presidential form of elections and therefore pitting Rahul Gandhi against him is not okay but when will this hit home with the public?

I do believe that the Indian votercrippled by the twin disasters of demonestisation and GST, the lack of jobs, a weak rupee and fuel prices at an all-time highis waking up to the realisation that the last four years have been the playground for jumlas or false promises and the mandate offered to the present government in 2014 has been wasted. After all, why would a young man who voted for the BJP in 2014 believing that Modiji would get him a job, vote for Modiji again when he still has no job? As I have pointed out, the performances of the Opposition in recent by-elections and state elections have shown that there is certainly a groundswell that is developing against the current ruling dispensation. This is also reflected in the recent Lokniti-CSDS survey that predicts a loss of over 100 seats for the BJP in the 2019 General Elections. This realisation has permeated into the national consciousness in large part due to a united and spirited Opposition, one that is holding the government to serious standards of accountability for its failures.
The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.
The TRS chief was accompanied by his nephew and Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who is contesting from the neighbouring Siddipet constituency.

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao filed his nomination papers as a candidate for Gajwel Assembly constituency on Wednesday.

Rao visited Lord Balaji temple at Konaipally village in Siddipet district and offered prayers before filing his nomination before the returning officer.

The Congress has pitted Vanteru Pratap Reddy against him.

Reddy had contested against Rao unsuccessfully in the 2014 Assembly elections on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket. Later he joined the Congress.

"I took Swamy's (Lord Balaji) blessings before starting the separate Telangana movement. I always enter the battlefield (elections) with the blessings of the Swamy and you (people). The biggest battle I won is achieving Telangana statehood. With your and Swamy's blessings we are going to win 100 seats (in the upcoming Assembly polls)," Rao said.

The TRS chief was accompanied by his nephew and Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who is contesting from the neighbouring Siddipet constituency.

Rao claimed that Telangana is the only state where Dalits and member of Scheduled Tribe communities are progressing and wished the farmers of the state become prosperous.

He appealed to the people to ensure Harish Rao's victory by a margin of one lakh votes.

The 119-member Telangana Assembly was dissolved on 6 September on the recommendation of the Chandrasekhar Rao-led government, more than eight months ahead of the expiry of its term, paving way for early elections.

Polls will be held on 7 December and the counting will take place on 11 December.
The Maoist threat is quite categorical: postpone the Telangana Assembly elections to February or face violent disruption of the poll process if the Election Commission goes ahead with its decision to have a one-day state-wide voting on 7 December.

Hyderabad: The Maoist threat is quite categorical: postpone the Telangana Assembly elections to February or face violent disruption of the poll process if the Election Commission goes ahead with its decision to have a one-day state-wide voting on 7 December.

A four-page communique from the Maoists sent to the Bhupalpally Tahsildar Office has demanded that the elections be held in February to enable around 30 lakh young people to become eligible to vote. The Maoists have even laid out a detailed schedule for the Election Comission to follow: notification on 12 January, candidate nominations to close on 22 January, voting on 14 February and counting on 19 February.

The Maoist communique argues that this will enable lakhs of Intermediate, Degree, PG, B Tech, M Tech, B Ed, and TTC students to enroll themselves in the voters' list between 1 and 14 January, 2019, especially as the present electoral rolls do not include many unemployed youth. Maoists assure no violence if the elections are held as per their proposed schedules and plenty of it if their demand is ignored.

Surprisingly, Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy, who filed a petition in Telangana High Court questioning the truncated revision of electoral rolls, agrees with the Maoist demand for poll postponement. I am not sure about 30 lakh new voters, he said, adding, But certainly, lakhs of youth will become voters if elections are held in February or March. Denying voting right to youths will distance them from democratic process.

The four-page poster/communique apart, Jayashankar Bhupalpally village and some others  particularly on the border with Chhattisgarh  are witnessing a rash of posters and banners urging villagers to boycott the December polls. Though this is not the first time Maoists have put up such posters before an election, fear is beginning to grip the villagers after a landmine was found near a culvert under one such banner. The police, while clarifying that the landmine was a dummy without explosives or detonators, are nevertheless on high alert, conducting combing operations in the region.

There are 80 high sensitive polling booths in two Assembly constituencies  Mulugu and Bhupalpally in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. "We are taking all measures to create awareness among the voters. There was a similar situation during the last elections but the polling was 78.46 percent. I do not think these posters will have any impact on the voters, says Jayashankar Bhupalpally district collector V Venkateswarlu.

Local politicians and candidates of all parties in areas like Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Peddapalli, Bhadrachalam, Kothagudem, Chennur, Manthani and Machiryala, which have a history of Maoist presence and activity, are a worried lot unlike in the past when such posters were largely ignored by all and had little impact on the electoral process.

Especially after the recent killing of a Telugu Desam Party MLA K Sarveshwara Rao and former MLA S Soma in Tottangi village in Araku Assembly constituency in Visakhapatnam district of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Though some, like Putta Madhukar, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) candidate from Manthani, put up a brave face, saying, The call to boycott elections has no relevance in democracy."

This view was echoed by Professor G Haragopal, activist and educationist, who said, There are no instances of boycotting elections, even in tribal areas where Maoists have some influence. Voters in these areas might not come to the polling stations fearing violence but they never boycotted the elections. In fact, Professor Haragopal says that the Maoists boycott call makes it easy for political parties. These parties have created an impression that those who do not vote are considered to be dead, he said. Also, as a boycott will not stop the election process, the common man considers participating in elections as a responsibility."

Political analyst and writer Telakapalli Ravi, criticising the Maoist boycott call, said that many leaders with Maoist background are playing a key role in the Telangana government. He added that Maoists in Telangana are losing their cadre. For example, Gaddar is expected to contest.

No one compares the situation in Telangana to that in Bastar. But observers do point out that candidates are being prevented from entering villagers, not due to any Maoist boycott call, but because of their own failure to fulfill their promises to voters. Money does influence voting, with all parties distributing money before polling day. The general view is that voters take money from all and end up pushing the NOTA option.

It is true that Maoists have some influence in rural areas, especially in tribal villages. They have put up banners and posters asking the authorities to postpone the elections and appealing to voters to boycott the elections. However, there will not be much impact of these posters and banners on the voters, says Bonala Surendrachari from Bhupalpally village.

While the Maoists, despite putting up boycott posters, have rarely reacted violently against voters in the past, authorities are not taking any chances. Police has increased security for candidates and asked political leaders not to venture into these areas without prior intimation. We have noticed banners and posters near Venkatapuram mandal, said Kumar Bhandari, sub-inspector, Venkatapuram. Combing operations are on for the last three months. We have not taken any extra security measures because of the recent posters and banners put up by Maoists. There were no Maoist activities in these areas till recently.

Authors are members of 101Reporters.com
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) is embarking upon a comprehensive electoral strategy to frustrate the efforts of his rivals.

As the Congress-led Opposition combine is battle-ready to take on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) juggernaut, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) is embarking upon a comprehensive electoral strategy to frustrate the efforts of his rivals.

Such a strategy include the following:

1. Painting Mahakutami as proxy for Andhra Pradesh leadership

Painting the Congress-led Mahakutami as proxy for Andhra Pradesh leadership, TRS supremo KCR plans to revive the Telangana sentiment on the poll eve. The prime attack of TRS against the Mahakutami is on TDP. It is a calculated move on part of TRS as the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP is a marginal player in the Congress-led alliance.

Unless the grand alliance wins the polls with a slender margin, the TDP will not have a decisive role in the Telangana government. Yet, TRS targets Congress for its alliance with TDP, describing it as an Andhra Pradesh party. Given the continuing differences between the two Telugu states post-bifurcation, and Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president Naidu taking a position unpalatable to Telangana on a host of issues confronting the two states, TRS expects to rouse the Telangana sentiment again. TRS expects that Congress is therefore vulnerable to attack as Telangana electorate believes state TDP to be working under the dictates of the Andhra Pradesh chief minister.

2. Capitalising on dissidence within Congress

The Congress is facing dissidence in as many as ten constituencies among the first list of 65 candidates which the party has announced so far. In fact, Congress rivals expected the dissidence to be in more seats. However, TRS expects that the dissidence may mount as Congress and its allies release the full list of 119 candidates.

Though TRS also faced severe dissidence in as many as 30 seats, the ruling party could somehow manage it to a larger extent. The resource-rich ruling parties can always score over their Opposition rivals in such matters. Congress, which was busy finalising seat-sharing and selection of candidates, could not exploit the discontent in TRS over the selection of candidates, especially on the issue of re-nomination of almost all its sitting MLAs, many of whom face anti-incumbency. But now, the TRS leadership is strategising promoting rebels from the Opposition camp, especially from the Congress, by capitalising on the dissidence over seat-sharing and selection of candidates.

3. Micro-managing constituencies where Opposition has an advantage

The Congress camp feels that the first list has a large number of strong candidates if their individual capacity in winning the elections is concerned. The party spokesperson Dasoju Sravan Kumar said that majority of Congress candidates are two to three time MLAs, former MPs, former ministers and those who lost narrowly in 2014 when the Telangana sentiment was at its peak and the party was facing anti-incumbency after a ten-year-long spell in power.

Even the TRS leaders privately acknowledge this and claim that their leader KCR, who is a master strategist, will certainly have an effective strategy to neutralise this. TRS expects to undertake micro-management in identified constituencies where either Opposition candidates are strong or where TRS is facing internal dissonance.

4. Will Congress votes transfer to its allies?

TRS believes the Congress vote may not transfer to its allies  TDP, TJS and CPI. KCR called upon his party machinery to focus on such vulnerabilities of the Opposition conglomerate. Due to heavy competition for Congress candidature in many constituencies, the party finds it difficult to contain discontent in the seats allotted to allies. The problem is much more acute in the seats that are likely to be given to Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) led by Professor Kodandaram.

Congress leaders feel that CPI and TJS nominees are not winnable candidates and the party has to make sacrifices for the sake of alliance even as the allies are still sulking over inadequate representation for them in the grand alliance. As the nomination process comes to an end, the confusion and commotion in the Congress-led grand alliance may come down.

Yet, TRS expects disgruntlement in the rank and file of different parties. Congress and TDP are historic rivals. Kodandaram, who led the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) that led the movement for a separate state, was very critical of Congress and TDP during the movement. Thus, TRS hopes that the vote transfer within the Congress-led alliance will not be complete, asserts Taduri Srinivas, TRS spokesperson.

5. Banking on government's welfare schemes

Converting the beneficiaries of his government's welfare schemes into vote banks forms the core of KCR's electoral plank. KCR government's welfare schemes like pensions for the old, widows, and the differently-abled, Kalyana Laxmi and Shaadi Mubarak, the financial assistance scheme at the time of a girl's wedding, the Rythu bandhu, capital assistance of Rs 8,000 per acre etc are quite popular. Though there may be inadequacies and lapses in the implementation of welfare schemes, TRS still expects large a vote bank in the form of beneficiaries of these schemes.

6. KCR's popularity

The field-level reports indicate that many of TRS members in the dissolved Assembly seeking re-election are hugely unpopular among the voters, even as KCR enjoys public support. Therefore, realising this folly, KCR intends to convert the election into a sort of a referendum on himself as his party and its MLAs face anti-incumbency to an extent. KCR's son and the Minister for Information Technology KT Rama Rao, describing KCR as lion, said that there are as many as 20 chief ministerial aspirants in Congress and the leader will be chosen by Delhi and sent to Hyderabad in a sealed cover. This is a clear attempt to convert the election into a personality fight, with KCR having an edge.

7. Mobilising minorities and caste groups

Social engineering by targeting Muslim vote through understanding with MIM and mobilising specific caste groups is yet another strategy of KCR. In fact, the Assembly was prematurely dissolved to delink the state elections from Lok Sabha polls as KCR feared anti-Modi sentiment would drive the minority vote towards Congress. Similarly, through targeted welfare schemes, KCR tried to rally OBC voters, who were strong supporters of TDP in the united state.

8. KCR's sharp speeches

KCR intends to disarm Opposition with bitter criticism. He is known for his sharp speeches. Involving the use of powerful Telangana slang is the cynosure of TRS campaign. The chief minister has already addressed few public meetings and is expected to undertake a whirlwind tour of the state. Thus, he wants to set an election agenda, making the Opposition follow him.
Reuters

Amazon.com Inc picked America's financial and political capitals for massive new offices on Tuesday, branching out from its home base in Seattle with plans to create more than 25,000 jobs in both New York City and an area just outside Washington, DC.

The world's largest online retailer plans to spend $5 billion on the two new developments in Long Island City and Arlington, Virginia, and expects to get more than $2 billion in tax credits and incentives with plans to apply for more.

The prize, which Amazon called HQ2, attracted hundreds of proposals from across North America in a year-long bidding war that garnered widespread publicity for the company. Amazon ended the frenzy by dividing the spoils between the two most powerful East Coast US cities and offering a consolation prize of a 5,000-person centre in Nashville, Tennessee, focused on technology and management for retail operations.

Losers said they learned from the process, while winners said it was costly but worthwhile.

"Either you are creating jobs or you are losing jobs," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told a news conference on Tuesday.

With more than 610,000 workers worldwide, Amazon is already one of the biggest employers in the United States and the world's third-most valuable company, behind Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp.

Still, it faces fierce competition for talent from Alphabet Inc's Google and other companies working to build new technologies in the cloud. Those rivals routinely offer free food and perks in sunny California, seen by many as a better draw than Amazon's relative frugality in rain-plagued Seattle. Google also has a growing footprint in New York City.

Already marketing its forthcoming location in the New York City borough of Queens, Amazon talked up Long Island City's breweries, waterfront parks and easy transit access. Rents there are typically lower than in Midtown Manhattan, which is just across the East River. The former industrial area also has a clock counting down the hours until the end of US President Donald Trump's first term in office.

The choice of Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington DC, could hand Amazon greater political influence in the US capital, where it has one of the largest lobbying shops in town. Locating close to the Pentagon may also help Amazon win a $10 billion cloud-computing contract from the US Department of Defense, said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive and the world's richest person, privately owns the Washington Post, which has written critical articles about Trump. In turn, Bezos's companies have been a frequent target of broadsides from the president. The newspaper maintains full editorial independence from its owner.

Amazon's choice largely bypassed the middle of the United States, where many cities had hoped for an economic boost and bid for the new jobs. The company already had large corporate workforces in greater Washington and New York.

"My heart is broken today," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

Tax breaks

At the outset of its search last year, Amazon said it was looking for a business-friendly environment. The company said it will receive performance-based incentives of $1.525 billion from the state of New York, including an average $48,000 for each job it creates.

It can also apply for other tax incentives, such as New York City's Relocation and Employment Assistance Program that offers tax breaks potentially worth $900 million over 12 years. What benefit the company would actually get was unclear.

In Virginia, Amazon will receive performance-based incentives of $573 million, including an average $22,000 for each job it creates.

These rewards come on top of $1.6 billion in subsidies Amazon has received across the United States since 2000, according to a database from the Washington-based watchdog Good Jobs First.

Amazon says it has invested $160 billion in the country since 2010 and that the new offices will generate more than $14 billion in extra tax revenue for New York, Virginia and Tennessee over the next two decades.

It expects an average wage of more than $150,000 for employees in each new office.
Reuters

The German government has set aside around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to support battery cell production, and it aims to have 30 percent of such production coming from Germany and Europe by 2030, the economy minister said.

Germany, Europes largest economy, wants to reduce the dependence of its carmakers on Asian electric vehicle (EV) battery suppliers and protect jobs at home that may be at risk from the shift away from combustion engines.

Its car battery push, however, could be coming too late. Asian market leaders are ramping up output and some experts say there is a risk of a glut that could hinder the establishment of large-scale battery cell production by European newcomers.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on 13 November that Germany wanted to lay the groundwork in the months ahead for large-scale battery production in Europe and expected such production to start in Germany from 2021.

Production should start as quickly as possible, he said.

He said Germany wanted to work with other European countries and added that it was already in contact with France, Poland and Austria on the issue and is holding detailed discussions with certain companies.

He said there were interested parties for several consortiums on battery cell production and added that around 500 million euros could be necessary per consortium to start production.

Altmaier said that the sites for battery cell output would be decided on with the consortiums and that there would be more than one. The first production lines could be available from 2021 and each consortium is likely to provide 1,000 to 2,000 jobs at first, he said.

Altmaier said he expected the first concrete investment decisions at the end of the first quarter of 2019.

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said the battery market could be worth 250 billion euros annually by 2025.
Reuters

Senior German officials are planning a last-ditch drive to convince the government to consider excluding Chinese firms such as Huawei from building the countrys 5G infrastructure amid concerns this could compromise national security.

The behind-the-scenes push in Berlin, which comes after decisions by Australia and the United States to ban Chinese suppliers from 5G, has emerged at a late stage, with Germany expected to start its 5G auctions in early 2019.

Because of this momentum, officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear whether the initiative would succeed.

But the push highlights the extent of the concern in some Berlin ministries about a Chinese role in building Germanys next generation mobile network, despite the lack of a vigorous public debate here about the security dimensions of 5G.

There is serious concern. If it were up to me we would do what the Australians are doing, one senior German official involved in the internal 5G debate in Berlin told Reuters.

Leading the charge are officials in the German foreign and interior ministries, who have held talks with their U.S. and Australian counterparts and share their concerns about the risks of using Chinese suppliers like Huawei, the worlds largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer.

They are pressing for a more serious discussion on 5G before the auction process begins, the senior official said. Some officials suggested this could lead to a delay.

Opposition parties are also pushing back. Last week the Greens submitted a motion in parliament that questioned the government stance that it has no legal basis for excluding certain suppliers from its 5G rollout.

Excluding all investors from a certain country is the wrong approach, Katharina Droege, a Greens lawmaker who co-authored the Bundestag motion, told Reuters. But we need to be able to vet individual cases in order to ensure our critical infrastructure is protected. That could lead to the exclusion of Chinese firms from building our 5G infrastructure.

So far the public debate in Germany over 5G has centred around how extensive next-generation mobile network coverage will be rather than questions about security.

Current coverage is patchy and that, combined with delays in building out high-speed internet, has been criticised by business groups as a handicap in the digital era.

Intelligence Law

The security concerns centre around Chinas National Intelligence Law, approved in 2017, which states that Chinese organisations and citizens shall, in accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work.

This has sparked fears that Huawei could be asked by the Chinese government to incorporate backdoors into their equipment that would allow Beijing access, for spying or sabotage purposes.

Some experts also see a risk that Chinese intelligence may develop an ability to subvert Huaweis equipment.

Responding to the Reuters story, a Huawei spokesman said the company rejected any suggestion that it might pose a threat to national security.

Cybersecurity has always been our top priority and we have a proven track record of providing secure products and solutions for our customers in Germany and around the world, the spokesman said.

Huawei has called Australias decision in August to ban it from 5G politically motivated and based on a mistaken and narrow understanding of Chinese law. It has stressed that it is a private company, with no formal links to the Chinese government.

Last week, after The Australian newspaper published a story saying Huawei staffers had been used by Chinese intelligence to obtain access codes to infiltrate a foreign network, the company denied that it had ever provided or been asked to provide customer information for any government or organisation.

Huawei has been a partner of Deutsche Telekom and other carriers in Germany for years, establishing a sizeable presence in the German market.

In recent months, a flurry of German politicians  from the Bundestag as well as state and local governments  have visited its headquarters in Shenzhen as part of the companys ambitious lobbying efforts.

Following Australias decision to exclude the Chinese from their 5G network, there is huge angst at Huawei, said a senior industry official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

They fear a domino effect. If it stops with Australia it is not such a big deal. But if it continues its serious. A 5G setback in Germany could ripple across Europe.

Growing Concern

The debate in Germany comes at a time of growing concern about Chinese investments and influence in Europe. Berlin is in the process of tightening its foreign takeover rules to prevent Chinese rivals from snapping up German tech companies.

The European Commission, meanwhile, has kicked off a debate about strategic autonomy, arguing that Europe must ensure that it does not become overly reliant on the United States or China in the digital age.

But excluding Huawei and other Chinese firms like ZTE is no simple task. Huawei is a global leader in 5G and its technology is among the most advanced and cheapest in the world. European alternatives include Ericsson and Nokia.

If the conclusion of your strategic autonomy debate is that you as a state must have control over everything then its going to cost a lot of money, said Paul Timmers, a research fellow at Oxford University and former director of cybersecurity at the European Commissions digital directorate. You have to think about whether its realistic and whether you can afford it.

Some officials in Berlin, Washington and Canberra also expressed concerns about whether Germanys fragile coalition government was strong and forward-thinking enough to take a big decision like banning Chinese firms from 5G  a step that could have major consequences for Germanys relations with China.

I do worry about this. It may be too late, a second senior German official said, acknowledging that business interests, rather than strategic factors, have driven German policy on such issues for decades.
tech2 News Staff

Honor 10 had recently announced the arrival of the Honor 10 Lite would take place on 21 November in Beijing, China, as posted on Weibo.

The Honor 10 series includes Honor V10, Honor 10 and Honor 10 GT. The teaser posted on Weibo did not reveal any key specs, though.

But according to the report in Playfuldroid, the phone might come in gradient finish colour variants, AI-enabled dual camera and a fingerprint reader at the back.

Now a few of the specs have surfaced on Vmall, Huawei's own online store. The phone is said to come with a Kirin 710 chipset and a pre-installed GPU Turbo. The phone is also said to come with a 5.84-inch LCD display with an aspect ratio of 19:9.

As mentioned by GSM Arena, the Honor 10 Lite will be available for pre-order until 21 November.

Also, the phone was spotted on TENAA, but there are images only, but Gizmo China mentions that there is another leak which talks about the inclusion of a new special edition phone called the Honor 10 Lite Supreme.

It seems that Honor is partnering with the American brand Supreme to launch the special edition.

There are no details on the price yet and whether the Honor 10 series will hit the Indian shores.
tech2 News Staff

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is on his maiden India tour and has already addressed students at IIT Delhi, met the Dalai Lama, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and also met the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

Keeping in mind the upcoming elections in India in 2019, Twitter has begun a brand new initiative called #PowerOf18 which encourages the youth to exercise their right to vote. Dorsey has been having a lot of discussions around curbing the menace of fake news. Post his meeting with Gandhi, the Congress president tweeted, "Twitter has grown into the most dominant 'conversation' platform globally. Jack explained some of the steps being taken to keep those conversations healthy and measures being taken to tackle the menace of fake news."

Before meeting the PM, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba on 12 November had called for a meeting with Twitter officials to ask the platform to take action over 'objectionable' content being shared on Twitter. Representatives from Twitter India were asked, "to ensure a 24x7 mechanism for prompt disposal of requisitions of law enforcement agencies for deletion of unlawful/objectionable content from their platform."

We have seen the ill-effects of the spread of misinformation when earlier this year over 30 people were lynched by mobs. The reason being given was the spread of false information on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. Twitter, although less popular among the majority of Indian users, as compared to WhatsApp, is also a platform that can cause virality in both a good and bad manner. With general elections coming up next year in India, the stakes are high. In such scenarios, Twitter should be doing as much as it can to ensure that its platform isn't used as a propaganda machine by political parties.

Jack Dorsey, the Co Founder & CEO of Twitter dropped in to chat this morning. Twitter has grown into the most dominant conversations platform globally. Jack explained some of the steps being taken to keep those conversations healthy & to tackle the menace of fake news. @jack pic.twitter.com/TCkj6st4rl  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 12, 2018

Speaking to The Economic Times, Dorsey said that Twitter is focussed on ensuring that its platform is not misused. According to him, misinformation which misleads people into performing some untoward action, is dangerous and that needs to be kept in check. "In terms of reaction times, there's always an opportunity to move faster and do better. But I will say that we will never arrive at a perfect solution. That's not possible and anyone who's telling you that is fooling themselves," said Dorsey.

This didn't sound very different from what Dorsey had said at the US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign influence operations on social media platforms. We found ourselves unprepared and ill-equipped for the immensity of the problems we've acknowledged. Abuse, harassment, troll armies, propaganda through bots and human coordination, disinformation campaigns and divisive filter bubbles  that's not a healthy public square," Dorsey had said then.

Unlike Facebook, which has named fact-checking partners to ensure fake news is kept under check, Twitter wants to keep the process of fact-checking independent of countries. Dorsey observed that there would have to be multiple ways of looking at the issue of fact-checking and Twitter would want to experiment with different solutions.

Dorsey touched upon how Twitter can also lead to some positive outcomes and increase transparency in issues such as the #MeToo movement, which got victims of sexual assault together and gave them the means to voice their experiences and call out predators. Or the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Here, what Dorsey says is true to a large extent. The Arab Spring revolution is the best example of how Twitter, when used correctly, can actually bring about a revolution.

On the other hand, a revolution can also be bad. A lot of regimes have used Twitter to spin their own narrative to push forth their agenda. Weaponisation of social media is an oft-heard term and with the elections coming up next year, rest assured some of that will be witnessed. Dorsey acknowledged this but said that if Twitter finds anyone using the platform to artificially amplify their message, then those accounts are shut down. Twitter recently went on an account deleting initiative, at the cost of losing members, to keep the platform clean. While that's a move in the right direction, there have been instances where Twitter has been virtually acting on behalf of a government.

Dorsey also touched upon the topic of 'filter bubbles' and 'echo chambers' and opined that if people followed topics instead of accounts, it would give them a fuller perspective on matters. He added that he didn't have any concrete answers to these questions, but Twitter would continue to experiment on the same.

Product wise, Dorsey did not have any major announcement to make. While he did speak to the students of IIT Delhi and media houses here, the responses given by Dorsey didn't really reveal anything that we didn't already know. Unlike other Silicon Valley CEOs who come here with an agenda and have at least some announcements to make, Dorsey, it seems, just wanted to take it slow and have face time with top politicians as India goes into an election year. Hopefully, the visit has given him enough ideas to put something into motion on Twitter to contain the spread of misinformation and prevent a misuse of the platform during the Indian elections.

In a way, it's good that the Twitter CEO proactively made the visit and didn't wait for a major scandal to break out on Twitter to justify coming here. Surely, there are some lessons for WhatsApp to learn from this. There are still five months to go for the general elections in India to begin. Hopefully, that should give enough lead time for platforms such as Twitter to put into place measures which will prevent the spread of misinformation or objectionable content. #PowerOf18 in and of itself would not amount to much if malicious actors are still able to use the platform to spread false propaganda or fake news, troll and abuse users who have a different point of view and spread hate, among other things.
Indo-Asian News Service

After meeting Twitter CEO and Co-Founder Jack Dorsey on 12 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he enjoys being on the platform and has made "great friends" there.

Complimenting Dorsey for the passion with which he leads the company, Modi said that he was delighted to meet him.

"I enjoy being on this medium, where I've made great friends and see everyday the creativity of people," Modi, who has 44.4 million followers on Twitter, said in a tweet.

Delighted to meet you @jack! Happy to see the passion with which youre leading @Twitter. I enjoy being on this medium, where Ive made great friends and see everyday the creativity of people. https://t.co/aUElNJyahk  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2018

Dorsey thanked the Prime Minister for his ideas on Twitter.

"Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for having us today. I enjoyed our conversation about the importance of global conversation," the Twitter CEO, who is on his maiden week-long India visit, tweeted.

Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for having us today. I enjoyed our conversation about the importance of global conversation. Also: thanks for the ideas for Twitter! pic.twitter.com/aelfOEZ65v  jack (@jack) November 13, 2018

The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Dorsey took place a day after Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba on 12 November held a meeting with Twitter officials, asking the micro-blogging site to take prompt action over "objectionable" content on the platform.

Vijaya Gadde, Global Head of Legal, Policy, Trust and Safety Lead at Twitter, and Mahima Kaul, Indian Representative of Twitter, were asked "to ensure a 24x7 mechanism for prompt disposal of requisitions of law enforcement agencies for deletion of unlawful/objectionable content from their platform".

Dorsey on 12 November also met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and also addressed a townhall at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi where he spoke on several issues, including the spread of misinformation on Twitter.

"The real problem is not misinformation per se as jokes can also be categorised as misinformation. But misinformation that is spread with the intent to mislead people is a real problem," stressed the Twitter CEO.

Dorsey also met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama over the past weekend.
tech2 News Staff

Two professors from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and one from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Sciences (TIFR) are among the six winners of the prestigious Infosys Prize 2018.

The annual prize celebrates the success of researchers with their achievements in six science disciplines: Engineering and Computer Sciences, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.

Professor Navakanta Bhat and Professor SK Satheesh from the IISc and Professor Roop Mallik from TIFR took home the prestigious Infosys Prize for Engineering & Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences, respectively.

Here's a look at the research that won each of them a gold medal, a citation and a tax-free prize of Rs 73 lakh each.

Tiny sensors with massive potential

Professor Navakanta Bhat, chairperson of the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at IISc was recognised by the Foundation for his work in designing biosensors that push the performance of existing ones, and are of great value to research in nanoscale systems.

The gas sensors Bhat has developed are ultra-precise and work at levels of accuracies demanded by modern space and environmental research and monitoring.

"(His work is) especially useful for Indias growing space, atomic energy and security programs," the Foundation said in a statement.

Molecular motors that run living cells

Professor Roop Mallik, from TIFR's Department of Biological Sciences was recognised for his pioneering work in motor proteins inside living cells. These motors are complex molecules that keep everyday functions of living cells.

Mallik has spotted and measured the energy needed by these motors to move large particles into cells. His research has also shown the role these proteins play in essential body functions like fighting an infection or moving fat molecules in and out of the liver.

"Along with medication, understanding the metabolic processes at the cellular level is crucial, if we are ever to find a solution. Among other things, Prof Malliks research provides insights that will improve therapies for such diseases," the Foundation said.

While Mallik's research is largely fundamental, it feeds into potential treatments for diseases that strain Indian healthcare, like obesity and diabetes, where the underlying problem lies in faulty motor proteins.

Aerosols effects on climate change

Professor SK Satheesh from the Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences at Indian Institute of Science is also the Director of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change was awarded the Infosys Prize for his research in climate change. His work on black carbon aerosols  the dark, light-absorbing, microscopic particles in the air and atmosphere  that have a big influence on the stability of atmosphere above the Indian subcontinent, has helped the Indian science community better understand their effects on climate change, rains and human health.

"Professor Satheeshs work on measuring, quantifying, and analysing the impact of black carbon aerosols is important to not only climate science but also to a society that has to mitigate and cope with climate change, possibly the most important threat to humanity," the Foundation said.

The other three Infosys Prize winners this year are Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of Arts & Aesthetics Professor Kavita Singh in Humanities, University of Strasbourg's Institute for Advanced Study Professor Nalini Anantharaman in Mathematical Sciences and University of Chicago Professor Sendhil Mullainathan in Social Sciences.

The winners were selected by a six-member jury of renowned scientists and professors  Kaushik Basu, Pradeep Khosla, Shrinivas Kulkarni, Amartya Sen, Mriganka Sur and Srinivasa Varadhan.

"Our laureates have achieved milestones in their domains and 2018's winners will raise the bar for science and research over the next decade," the Foundation said in a statement.

With an award that recognises the work of innovative researchers, the Infosys Foundation hopes to inspire young people to explore the possibilities of a career in Science, while placing a pretty penny on creative, innovative solutions to global problems.

"Motivating researchers at the right stage in their careers is critical for their success as they represent the future of India in their respective fields," said the statement.
Kishore Kumar

An estimated 15 million babies are born too early every year, or in other words, preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation). That is more than 1 in 10 babies. Approximately 1 million children die each year due to complications of preterm birth.

Many survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems. And this number is rising year by year. In India, 27 million babies are born each year out of which 3.5 million babies are born prematurely as per the estimates.

This is a tip of the iceberg, as it doesnt include extreme premature babies.

Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age, responsible for approximately 1 million deaths.

According to Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth, released by Save the Children, The March of Dimes Foundation, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and The World Health Organization, India tops the list of 10 nations contributing 60 percent of the worlds premature deliveries  with the maximum number of preterm births with 3,519,100 of them, almost 24 percent of the total number.

A lack of awareness

Preterm birth (PTB) is a significant public health concern and a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity worldwide and often contributes to various health complications later in life.

Several factors such as emotional, stress, social, racial, maternal anxiety, multiple pregnancies, infections during pregnancy, diabetes and high blood pressure, and in-vitro fertilization pregnancy have been shown to be associated with PTB.

Data that is emerging also indicated that several occupational, environmental exposure and lifestyle factors might also be associated in part with preterm birth or low birth weight. There is a lack of awareness amongst parents about the understanding of the causes and mechanisms that will advance the development of solutions to prevent preterm birth.

The extremely premature babies (born between week 24 to 27) are not even counted by the statistics in India  as the viability is defined in India as 28 weeks and beyond. These babies need advanced neonatal care for them to survive and to survive without disability  we call it intact survival  they need to be delivered in a place with advanced neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) who have the expertise to cater for such babies. This requires a teamwork and expertise not available in all hospitals.

Generally, as a rule of thumb, both moderate and extremely premature babies should be born in hospitals with advanced NICUs for better outcome  hence most organisations like American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) UK, Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) & National Neonatology Forum (NNF) along with FOGSI (Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecological Society of India) recommend in-utero transfer of babies to the hospitals with advanced NICUs to deliver them there rather than deliver in a place with no NICU and then transfer the baby after being born.

This is essential for many reasons including what we call as Golden hour and Golden Day  the first hour of transition from the womb to outside world for these babies is crucial as many babies suffer from brain hemorrhage called IVH (Intra Ventricular Hemorrhage) within the first hour if the babies are not resuscitated properly. The care in the first 24 hours determines their outcome in the next few years of life  whether they survive at all or with or without disability.

What does India need to do?

Despite several efforts, our systems in India are currently lacking the need for more effort in identifying women at risk of preterm labor and support them to give birth in a health facility that can offer extra care when needed, such as support for adequate feeding with breast milk, continuous skin to skin contact, antibiotics, and antenatal corticosteroids. Inequalities in survival rates around the world are stark.

In low-income settings, half of the babies born at or below 32 weeks (2 months early) die due to a lack of feasible, cost-effective care, such as warmth, breastfeeding support, and basic care for infections and breathing difficulties. In high-income countries, almost all of these babies survive. Suboptimal use of technology in middle-income settings is causing an increased burden of disability among preterm babies who survive the neonatal period.

Most late preterm babies have higher chances of low temperature (hypothermia) and jaundice requiring treatment (hyperbilirubinaemia)  and if provided proper care, they do well and they may not need to stay in the hospital longer than a term baby in general.

India needs to build upon the infrastructure facilities for improving neonatal survival outcomes at the same time strengthen the tertiary care services at medical colleges, creating secondary care special care neonatal units at district and sub-district health facilities and improving linkages. This is a huge task and needs innovative private-public partnership models, which can facilitate sharing the load taken on by public institutions that have limited capacity to deliver increasing demand for equitable services.

In high-income countries, the increases in the number of preterm births are linked to the number of older women having babies, increased use of fertility drugs and resulting multiple pregnancies. In some developed countries, medically unnecessary inductions and Cesarean deliveries before full-term have also increased preterm births. In many low-income countries, the main causes of preterm births include infections, malaria, HIV, and high adolescent pregnancy rates. In rich and poor countries, many preterm births remain unexplained.

Prevention of early birth, however, presents several great challenges. The condition merely describes an event that occurs before its due time and is not a diagnosis in itself.

There are many pathways leading to preterm birth and its prevention, each requiring different kinds of scientific inquiry and clinical strategies. Together, they encompass a wide array of measurement systems and clinical interventions across many health-care disciplines that are yet to take hold in Indian healthcare.

The author is a neonatologist and Chairman of Cloudnine Group of Hospitals
tech2 News Staff

India's heaviest rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-MkII) carrying communication satellite GSAT-29 successfully launched from the rocket port in Sriharikota.

LIVE Now: Launch of GSLV Mk-III D2/ GSAT-29 Mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota https://t.co/nIwBVLhaBx  PIB India (@PIB_India) November 14, 2018

All of the GSLV-Mk III's 640 tons in weight and 43.4 metres in height blasted off at 5.08 pm.

The rocket slighed the 3,423 kg-GSAT-29 satellite into Geo-Transfer Orbit (GTO) and raised to its final position in the Geo-Stationary orbit (GSO)  36,000 kilometres from the Earth's surface just 16 minutes after launch.

The satellite, called GSAT-29, is a communications satellite with two separate payloads designed to improve telecommunication and internet services under the Digital India program in Jammu and Kashmir and the North East.

The satellite, developed by ISRO, will be carried on the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV-III) rocket to low-Earth orbit. Along for the ride are also a few additional payloads  an experimental Q and V band communication satellite, a device for optical communication and a high-resolution camera  part of a demonstration for use in future ISRO space missions.

There are two more launches planned before the year-end  the GSAT-7A satellite for use by the Indian Air Force later this month, and the GSAT-11, which was recalled from the launchpad in April year during pre-flight tests. The satellite will have another go at a launch from the European spaceport in French Guinea on 4 December, the ToI report said. Liftoff!

And the GSLV rocket is off the ground! The next big step is the seperation of the booster rockets after it crosses the atmosphere at 5.16 pm 14 November 4.53 pm IST

Mission director approves rocket for launch

The Mission Director and the Vehicle Director give their thumbs up for the GSLV-MkIII rocket's automatic launch sequence. 15 minutes to liftoff! 14 November 4.06 pm IST

A stunning glimpse of the GSLV at the launchpad

This image of the GSLV-MkIII against from last evening captured the mood of the twitter crowd today: proud, excited and restless. Just an hour and 2 minutes before liftoff!

Update #10#ISROMissions#GSLVMkIIID2#GSAT29 As we eagerly wait for the completion of the filling up of Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) for the cryogenic upper stage, which will set the tone for the launch in an hour, here's a marvelous capture of the vehicle last evening. pic.twitter.com/YctnMhh90L  ISRO (@isro) November 14, 2018

14 November 2.31 pm IST ISRO to stream the launch live! Good news, space junkies! The launch will be streamed live on ISRO's website here, and telecast on DD National starting 4.45 pm IST.

14 November 2.10 pm IST Satellite turned on ISRO has turned on its GSAT-29 satellite for final checks before launch and release into orbit. Just 3 hours to go now before blastoff! [Rumour has it that ISRO also plans to stream the launch live on its website!]

14 November 1.41 pm IST Rocket engine prepared for launch The GSLV's cryogenic rocket engine is filled with liquid oxygen maintained at ultra-cool temperatures. This is the coolest of the rocket's three stages and will generate a whopping 2MW power of thrust, which is far greater than previous engines used for the Mark-series of rockets.

Update #6#ISROMissions#GSLVMkIIID2#GSAT29 Filling of liquid oxygen in cryogenic stage commenced. This stage generates 2MW power. More updates to follow.  ISRO (@isro) November 14, 2018

14 November 12.08 pm IST Avionics on GSLV-MkIII look healthy ISRO engineers test the myriad of communication, navigation, electronic systems, and hundreds others that are fitted into the launch vehicle for it to perform as expected. All systems the pings from the rocket's avionics look healthy, ISRO announced in a tweet. 5 hours to go until takeoff!

Update #5#ISROMissions#GSLVMkIIID2#GSAT29 Launch vehicle avionics health checks completed. All systems are healthy. We are now 5 hours from the launch. Updates will continue.@PMOIndia  ISRO (@isro) November 14, 2018

14 November 10.46 am IST GSLV-MkIII fuelled on the launchpad After seven months of disuse, the GSLV-MkIII-D2 rocket is fuelled with standard rocket fuel mixture (UH25) and a propellant oxidiser (N2O4) in the rocket's lower stage many hours ahead of its launch at 5.08 pm IST today.

Update #4#ISROMissions The filling of fuel (UH25) and oxidiser (N2O4) in L110 stage has been completed for today's 17:08 (IST) launch of #GSLVMkIIID2 carrying #GSAT29 from SDSC SHAR Sriharikota. Watch this space for all updates.@PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/QCINRlY7iP  ISRO (@isro) November 14, 2018

13 November 4.01 pm IST Countdown to launch begins The countdown till GSLV-MkIII-D2 rocket's blastoff began at 2.50 pm IST today at the Sriharikota launchpad. The launch is scheduled for 5.08 pm on 14 November.

Update #3#ISROMissions The countdown has begun today 14:50 (IST) for the launch of #GSLVMkIIID2 carrying #GSAT29 at SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. Launch scheduled at 17:08 (IST) on Nov 14. More updates to follow. @PMOIndia @pibchennai Curtain-raiser video on https://t.co/MX54Cx57KU pic.twitter.com/E0atwxj9HP  ISRO (@isro) November 13, 2018

12 November | 5.23 pm IST Rocket and satellite moved to the launchpad The GSLV-MkIII-D2 rocket carrying its prime cargo, the communications satellite GSAT-29, was successfully moved to the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota a few days before launch day zero.

Update #2#ISROMissions The #GSLVMkIIID2 carrying #GSAT29 being moved to the 2nd launch pad at SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota ahead of its launch on Nov 14. Stay tuned for more updates on https://t.co/MX54Cx57KU@PMOIndia @DrJitendraSingh @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/1eJy1uHTlI  ISRO (@isro) November 12, 2018

What makes the mission significant:

The GSAT-29 mission, satellite, and rocket are important to fulfilling different aspects of ISROs future plans.

Dusting off the MarkIII: The GSLV-MkIII is ISRO's heaviest rocket by far, and will be flown almost seven months after its last mission in April to put the IRNSS-1I satellite into low-Earth orbit.

Developmental flight for Gaganyaan: The GSAT-29 mission is especially important to ISRO's Gaganyaan mission. It is the second in a series of developmental trials of ISROs heavy-weight GSLV-MkIII rocket before it flies three Indian astronauts to low-Earth orbit in India's first manned mission to space (or more accurately, low-Earth orbit).

The next milestone: The agency's launch calendar is brimming with launches for the months leading up the next launch of global importance  the Chandrayaan-2 mission to send an orbiter, lander, and rover to the moon, scheduled for launch on 3 January 2019.

The Rocket Manifest:

The satellite, called GSAT-29, is a communications satellite with two separate payloads designed to improve telecommunication and internet services under the Digital India program in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.

The high-speed bandwidth will bridge the digital divide in the hinterland, Sivan told ToI.

Along for the ride are also a few additional payloads  an experimental Q and V band communication satellite, a device for optical communication and a high-resolution camera  part of a demonstration for use in future ISRO space missions.

This will help realising future advanced satellites, ISRO said.
By William James and Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May hailed her draft European Union divorce deal on Wednesday but must convince ministers to back her plan amid open hostility from some of her own members of parliament who say it threatens the United Kingdom's unity.

By William James and Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May hailed her draft European Union divorce deal on Wednesday but must convince ministers to back her plan amid open hostility from some of her own members of parliament who say it threatens the United Kingdom's unity.

Her minority government means May is the weakest British leader in a generation, yet she must try to get her Brexit deal, struck after more than a year of talks with the EU, approved by parliament before leaving the bloc on March 29, 2019.

"I'm confident that this takes us significantly closer to delivering on what the British people voted for in the referendum," May told parliament. Britons voted 52-48 percent in favour of leaving the EU in 2016.

The British cabinet began meeting at 1400 GMT to discuss the accord. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported two ministers who strongly supported Brexit would quit.

May's plan is an attempt to forge a balance between those who want Britain to maintain close links to the world's biggest trading bloc while having full control over issues such as immigration and judicial oversight.

"We will take back control of our borders, our laws and our money, leave the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, while protecting jobs, security and the integrity of the United Kingdom," May said of the deal.

But Brexit campaigners in May's Conservative Party, which for three decades has been divided over Europe, said it was a surrender to the EU and they would vote it down.

The Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which props up May's government, said it would not back any deal that treated the British province differently from the rest of the United Kingdom. Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn called it a "botched deal".

At the heart of May's difficulties has been the so-called Northern Irish backstop, an insurance policy to avoid a return to controls between the British province and EU-member Ireland which could threaten the 1998 peace accord which ended 30 years of violence.

EU sources said the draft accord envisaged a July 2020 decision on what would have to be done to safeguard an open Irish border after the post-Brexit transition runs its course if a new trade deal is not in place.

If not, Britain would have to extend the transition period once beyond December 2020, possibly until the end of 2021, or go into a customs arrangement that would cover all of the United Kingdom but in which Northern Ireland would be aligned more closely with the EU's customs rules and production standards.

Treating Northern Ireland differently risks alienating the DUP who warn it could risk the integrity of the United Kingdom, while Brexit-supporting members of parliament argue it could leave Britain subject to EU rules indefinitely.

NOT WHAT PEOPLE VOTED FOR

"If the media reports about the EU agreement are in any way accurate, you are not delivering the Brexit people voted for, and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country," Conservative lawmaker Peter Bone said.

Sterling, which has seesawed since reaching $1.50 just before the 2016 referendum, fell to 1.2944 on news of possible ministerial resignations after briefly jumping more than 1 percent after the deal was announced.

For the EU, reeling from successive crises over debt and immigration, the loss of Britain is the biggest blow yet to 60 years of efforts to forge European unity in the wake of two world wars.

EU leaders could meet on Nov. 25 for a summit to seal the Brexit deal if May's cabinet approves the text, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said.

The ultimate outcome for the United Kingdom remains uncertain: scenarios range from a calm divorce to rejection of May's deal, potentially sinking her premiership and leaving the bloc with no agreement, or another referendum.

May, an initial opponent of Brexit who won the top job in the turmoil following the referendum, has staked her future on a deal which she hopes will solve the Brexit riddle: leaving the EU while preserving the closest possible ties.

EU supporters say the deal leaves Britain worse off and subject to the bloc's rules without any say in them. Scottish nationalists have demanded that Scotland, where voters backed staying in the EU, get the same special treatment as Northern Ireland.

Conservative lawmakers have to factor in the implications of defeating the deal which could topple May, delay Brexit, pave the way for a national election or lead to a new referendum.

The government has yet to give details of the Brexit deal, which runs to hundreds of pages, although a statement to parliament was likely on Thursday.

Brexit will pitch the world's fifth largest economy into the unknown and many fear it will divide the West as it grapples with the unconventional U.S. presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.

Supporters argue that in the longer term Brexit will allow the United Kingdom to thrive and strike global trade deals.

Some business chiefs were positive about May's deal.

"My gut feeling is we need to get behind it and we need to make this deal work. What we need is certainty," said Juergen Maier, the UK CEO of German engineering giant Siemens.

But James Stewart, head of Brexit at accounting firm KPMG said: "Until there is broader political alignment and fewer risks, business leaders have little option but to continue to assume that the quest for a deal could yet be derailed."

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Kate Holton; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
While Donald Trump is the first US president to be sued by the media, he is not the first president to be sued to begin with. Four other presidents, namely Harry Truman, John F Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt and Bill Clinton, also carried lawsuits into the Oval Office.

CNN on Tuesday sued US president Donald Trump demanding that its correspondent Jim Acosta's press credentials to cover the White House be returned. The administration had revoked Acosta's credentials on 7 November, after he and Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference.

The argument began when Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern US border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, "That's enough!" and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed against Trump, the White House responded with a statement. This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit, The New York Times quoted press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as saying. According to the report, Sanders in her statement that dozens of other CNN journalists have retained their White House credentials.

Speaking about the incident, she said: The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional.

While Trump is the first US president to be sued by the media, he is not the first president to be sued to begin with. He has been no stranger to lawsuits prior to taking office as well. USA Today reported that as of October 2016, at least 75 of the 4,000-plus lawsuits involving Trump and his businesses remain open.

Four other presidents, Harry Truman, John F Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt and Bill Clinton, were also hit with lawsuits while in the Oval Office. But, it's worth pointing out that none of those were filed by media houses.

Here is a look at the lawsuits against them:

 Theodore Roosevelt: Roosevelt, the 26th President of the US, was sued when he was serving as chairman of the New York City police by a patrolman named John Hurley who had been dismissed. The case was dismissed without an opinion, but Hurley continued appealing. The case was not finally disposed of until Roosevelt was serving as president in 1904.

 Harry Truman: Attorney Roy DeVault sued Truman in 1944 after he, during his tenure as a judge in Missouri's Jackson County, ruled that DeVault was "insane" and committed him to an asylum. A trial court granted Trumans motion to dismiss, and DeVault appealed. One year later, the Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the dismissal.

 John F Kennedy: During Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1960, an automobile accident in California resulted in two companion lawsuits being filed against him. After he assumed office, his lawyers argued for the case being dismissed, but the request was denied without a written opinion. The cases were settled out of court.

 Bill Clinton: Paula Jones, who was working for the State of Arkansas in 1991, sued Clinton during his time as Arkansas governor, claiming sexual harassment at a conference being held at a Little Rock hotel. She claimed that one of Clinton's guards informed her the governor would like to see her in his suite. Upon arriving, she claimed Clinton dropped his pants and asked her for a sexual favour. Clinton had sought to delay the lawsuit until after his term as president, but that claim was rejected. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court had ruled in 1997 that a sitting president has no immunity from civil litigation for alleged conduct before taking office. Clinton also relied on a private law firm, and his loss caused lasting damage for his successors, USA Today reported.

As per a report from The New York Times, Trumps lawyers in a court filing last week cited the Clinton versus Jones case as precedent to support their argument. His counsel asked for an extension for the case to be heard. The plea says that as per the US Constitution, the president is immune from being sued in state court while in office.
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba said on Wednesday it would pull thousands of its doctors from Brazil after the South American nations President-elect Jair Bolsonaro questioned their training and demanded changes to their contracts. The far-right Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1, said in an interview this month that the 11,420 Cuban doctors working in poor and remote parts of Brazil could only stay if they received 100 percent of their pay and their families could join them.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba said on Wednesday it would pull thousands of its doctors from Brazil after the South American nations President-elect Jair Bolsonaro questioned their training and demanded changes to their contracts.

The far-right Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1, said in an interview this month that the 11,420 Cuban doctors working in poor and remote parts of Brazil could only stay if they received 100 percent of their pay and their families could join them.

Under the terms of the agreement with Cuba, brokered via the Pan-American Health Organization, Havana receives the bulk of the doctors' wages.

Bolsonaro threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Havana over the program, saying it trampled on the rights of the doctors by handing the Cuban government 75 percent of their pay and denying mothers the right to have their children with them.

"That is just torture for a mother," Bolsonaro said in the Nov. 2 interview with Brasilia's Correio Braziliense newspaper. He also questioned the qualifications of the Cuban doctors and said they would have to renew their licenses in Brazil.

Cuba's Health Ministry rejected Bolsonaro's comments as "contemptuous and threatening" to the presence of our doctors" in a statement announcing its withdrawal from the program.

"These unacceptable conditions make it impossible to maintain the presence of Cuban professionals in the program," the ministry said in a statement.

Cuban doctors work in dozens of countries, some without cost to their hosts and others where Cuba charges a fee per doctor, most of which it claims goes to keep the free national health system in Cuba functioning.

The billions of dollars in revenues represent the most important source of export earnings for the Communist-run government.

Since the Brazilian program, called "More Doctors," was started in 2013 by leftist former president Dilma Rousseff, about 20,000 Cuban health professionals have served in Brazil, including in 700 municipal districts that had never had a resident doctor, the ministry said.

Bolsonaro said the program could have continued if it complied with his conditions. "Unfortunately, Cuba did not accept," he said in Twitter post after the Cuban announcement.

(Reporting by Marc Frank and Nelson Acosta in Havana and Anthpny Boadle in Brasilia; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
In five posts sent on the same day that French officials marked the anniversary of the 2015 terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in Paris, Trump blasted the key US ally over its near defeat to Germany in two world wars, its wine industry and Macron's approval ratings.

Washington/Paris: US President Donald Trump attacked his French counterpart on Tuesday in a series of tweets that underscored how much the once-friendly ties between the two leaders have soured, just two days after returning from Paris.

In five posts sent on the same day that French officials marked the anniversary of the 2015 terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in Paris, Trump blasted the key US ally over its near defeat to Germany in two world wars, its wine industry and Macron's approval ratings.

Trump returned to Washington from a weekend in Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War One where strained relations between the American president and European allies were on full display.

On Tuesday, Trump rejected Macron's warnings against the threat of nationalism, delivered during an emotional ceremony in Paris on Sunday attended by scores of world leaders. A stony-faced Trump, who listened a few feet away, has described himself as a nationalist and has promoted an "America First" policy.

Trump, a real estate developer and former reality television star who owns a Virginia winery, said Macron has a "low approval rating," accused France of unfair trade practices over wine and attacked the news coverage of his trip.

Trump pointed to Macron's recent comments about Europe's need to protect itself, tweeting "it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along. Pay for NATO or not!"

"By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people - and rightfully so!" Trump wrote in other tweets, ending with "MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!"

He defended his much-criticized absence from a commemoration event on Saturday, saying the US Secret Service had vetoed driving to the venue because of logistics. The White House earlier had said it cancelled Trump's appearance, citing poor weather that grounded a planned helicopter flight to the site.

White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp, meanwhile, cast Trump's Paris trip in a positive light. "It was clearly a successful trip," Schlapp told Fox News on Tuesday, saying Trump and Macron "had a productive meeting" on trade and NATO.

"He has sent a strong message to our European allies. And we have seen some changes and some positive shifts coming from our allies to pay more to NATO. We need their support," she said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday that Trump had isolated himself at one of the weekend events by deciding not to attend the Paris Peace Forum, which Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended. Trump also travelled in a motorcade to the Armistice commemoration while most other world leaders walked the last 100 metres (328 ft) or so to the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.

Asked on television if the United States was still a French ally, Le Drain answered yes. Before his arrival, Trump had blasted comments that Macron made in a radio interview in which he appeared to cast the United States as a threat. Both French officials and the White House said any misunderstandings had been cleared up after Macron and Trump held talks on Saturday.

In Washington, US Defense Secretary Mattis on Tuesday backed NATO. Asked whether he supported an EU military, Mattis told reporters: "We see NATO as the cornerstone for the protection of Europe in the security realm and we fully support nations doing more to carry the load."

On Sunday, Macron delivered his hard-hitting remarks. "Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism," he said. "When we say 'our interests come first, those of others don't matter,' we erase the very thing that a nation holds most precious, that which gives it life and makes it great: its moral values."
By Noel Randewich and Sharon Bernstein PARADISE, Calif.

By Noel Randewich and Sharon Bernstein

PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) - Convoys of fire engines rumbled through the smouldering northern California town of Paradise on Tuesday on their way to combat still-active sections of the state's deadliest and most destructive wildfire in history, which grew by 8,000 acres.

Teams of workers wielding chainsaws cleared downed power lines and other obstacles from the streets, while forensics teams mobilized to resume their search for human remains in the charred wreckage of the Butte County town of 27,000, which was almost completely consumed by fire last Thursday, just hours after the blaze erupted.

The "Camp Fire" continued to rage in Butte County, about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco, and expanded to 125,000 acres (50,500 hectares), more than four times the area of the city, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. It was 30 percent contained.

The death toll stood at 42 people, the most on record from a California wildfire. More than 7,600 homes and other structures burned down, also an all-time high.

Some 228 people are still unaccounted for and listed as missing. Officials asked relatives and friends to keep checking with evacuation shelters and call centres in the hope many of them could be located.

On a residential street in Paradise lined with burned down houses, a team of 10 rescue and forensic workers wearing white suits and helmets used a dog to search for victims.

"Look for skulls, the big bones," one forensics worker said to others as they used metal poles and their hands to sift through the remains of a house.

Another found a firearm and marked it for later removal.

Across the street, two rescue workers in red led a dog around a burnt-out car and through the foundation of a house.

One hundred fifty search-and-recovery personnel were due to arrive in the area on Tuesday, bolstering 13 coroner-led recovery teams in the fire zone, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.

The sheriff has requested three portable morgue teams from the U.S. military, a "disaster mortuary" crew, cadaver dog units to locate human remains and three groups of forensic anthropologists.

Some 52,000 people remained under evacuation orders and 8,700 firefighters from 17 states have been battling the wildfires.

In Southern California, two people died in the separate "Woolsey Fire," which has destroyed 435 structures and displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills near Southern California's Malibu coast, west of Los Angeles.

The Woolsey Fire was 35 percent contained, up from 30 percent a day earlier, Cal Fire said.

The fires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties burned 96,000 acres (39,000 hectares), roughly the size of Denver and the largest in the area's 100-year recorded history, officials said, even though air tankers have dropped nearly 1 million gallons (37,000 hectolitres) of fire retardant and 22 helicopters have dropped 1.5 million gallons of water on the fire.

"It is truly heartbreaking," Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell told a news conference. "Hundreds (of homes) still sit in ruins. We fully understand that each house is a home."

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said he was hopeful that forecast rainfall next week would help, though it might also provoke landslides.

Four communities were reopened to previously evacuated residents, a sign that firefighters were getting the upper hand, Osby said.

"We're doing all that we can to allow people to go back home when it's safe," Osby said. "I can't even relate to being evacuated this long. But we will let you go back home when it's safe."

President Donald Trump on Monday night declared a major disaster exists from the fires, making federal funds available to people and local government agencies in Butte, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The pledge came two days after Trump blamed the brush fires on forest mismanagement, tweeting "Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!"

He struck a more sympathetic tone while speaking from the White House on Tuesday.

"We mourn the lives of those lost and we pray for the victims," Trump said while thanking first responders. "We will do everything in our power to support and protect our fellow citizens in harm's way."

(Reporting by Noel Randewich and Sharon Bernstein; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Lisa Shumaker)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
President Donald Trump is weighing an administration-wide shakeup as he looks to prepare his White House for divided government, but it is unclear who is going and who is staying. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was thought to be out as soon as this week, according to two people with knowledge of the issue, but she is now likely to remain in the post for a longer period because there is no obvious successor in place.

President Donald Trump is weighing an administration-wide shakeup as he looks to prepare his White House for divided government, but it is unclear who is going and who is staying. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was thought to be out as soon as this week, according to two people with knowledge of the issue, but she is now likely to remain in the post for a longer period because there is no obvious successor in place. However, a Reuters reported that Nielsen, along with Chief of Staff John Kelly and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, could soon be gone.

Trump has soured on Nielsen and Kelly, in part over frustration that his administration is not doing more to address what he has called a crisis at the US-Mexico border, according to the two people. But the scope of the contemplated changes is far broader, as Trump gears up for a wave of Democratic oversight requests and to devote more effort to his re-election campaign.

According to people familiar with the situation, Trump is also discussing replacing Kelly with Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers. Kelly, a retired Marine general, has been credited with bringing order and process to a chaotic West Wing, but he has fallen out of favor with the president as well as with presidential daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Trumps first 22 months in office have seen frequent shakeups. A study this year by the Brookings Institution, a think tank, found Trumps White House has had the highest turnover of senior-level staff of the past five presidents.

Ayers, a seasoned campaign operative, would restore a political mindset to the role, but he faces stiff opposition from some corners of the West Wing, with some aides lobbying Trump directly against the move.

Other changes are afoot, as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are being discussed for replacement. And in an extraordinary move Tuesday, first lady Melania Trump's office called publicly for the firing of Trump's deputy national security adviser, Mira Ricardel.

For all the talk of churn, Trump often expresses frustration with aides and then does not take action. Talk of Kelly's exit has percolated for months, and he remains in place.

Nielsen had hoped to complete one year in the job and leave in December, but it appeared unlikely she would last that long, said two people with knowledge of the debate. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Curbing illegal immigration is Trump's signature issue  and one he returns to as a way to rally his most loyal supporters.

But anyone who takes over at Homeland Security is likely to run up against the same problems that Nielsen faced. The administration has already tried to clamp down at the border, but those efforts have been largely thwarted or watered down because of legal challenges.

Trump also told allies that he never fully trusted Nielsen, whom he associated with President George W. Bush, a longtime foe. And he told those close to him that he felt, at times, that her loyalty was more toward her longtime mentor  Kelly  than to the president.

Zinke, who faces several ethics investigations, said in an AP interview on Monday that he has spoken in recent days with Trump, Pence and Kelly about probes into his leadership and they remain supportive. He denied any wrongdoing.

Ross addressed turnover rumors at a Yahoo Finance summit Tuesday, saying he was in the post to give back to the country and support Trump.

"I worked very hard to get President Trump elected," he said. "Now I'd like to work equally hard to have him succeed and be re-elected."

Questions about Nielsen's job security are not new. Earlier this year, she pushed back on a New York Times report that she drafted a resignation letter after Trump scolded her at a Cabinet meeting, but did not submit it.

Nielsen has led the sprawling post-11 September federal agency since December. She had been chief of staff to Kelly when he was Trump's first Homeland Security secretary. A DHS spokesman would not comment on whether she was leaving.

"The secretary is honored to lead the men and women of DHS and is committed to implementing the president's security-focused agenda to protect Americans from all threats and will continue to do so," spokesman Tyler Houlton said.

Nielsen advocated for strong cybers ecurity defence and often said she believed the next major terror attack would occur online  not by planes or bombs. She was tasked with helping states secure elections following interference by Russians during the 2016 election.

She pushed Trump's immigration policies, including funding for his border wall, and defended the administration's practice of separating migrant families, telling a Senate committee that removing children from parents facing criminal charges happens "in the United States every day." But she was also instrumental in stopping the separations.

Just last week, the administration announced that migrants would be denied asylum at the US-Mexico border if they crossed illegally, creating regulations that circumvent immigration laws stating anyone can claim asylum no matter how they arrive to the country. The decision would affect about 70,000 people annually and was immediately challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Nielsen also moved to abandon long-standing regulations that dictate how long children are allowed to be held in immigration detention, and she requested bed space from the U.S. military for some 12,000 people in an effort to detain all families who cross the border. Right now there is space for about 3,000 families, and it is at capacity.

She got into heated discussions with Trump and White House aides several times over immigration policy as she sought to explain the complicated legal challenges behind immigration law and pushed for a more diplomatic approach.

It's unclear who would replace her. The job requires Senate confirmation, and there is no deputy secretary. Under Secretary for Management Claire Grady would be the acting head if Nielsen left.

With inputs from The Associated Press and Reuters
By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman told a New York jury in opening remarks that his client was a scapegoat for the real leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada. 'He's blamed for being the leader while the real leaders are living freely and openly in Mexico,' attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said on the first day of Guzman's trial for drug smuggling in Brooklyn federal court, which is expected to last up to four months.

By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman told a New York jury in opening remarks that his client was a scapegoat for the real leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

"He's blamed for being the leader while the real leaders are living freely and openly in Mexico," attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said on the first day of Guzman's trial for drug smuggling in Brooklyn federal court, which is expected to last up to four months. "In truth he controlled nothing. Mayo Zambada did."

Lichtman also said that Zambada had been left free because he "bribes the entire government of Mexico including up to the very top, the current president of Mexico," Enrique Pena Nieto.

Pena Nieto's spokesman said of the accusation: "That is false."

Lichtman's statement came after Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels laid out the U.S. government's case, describing how prosecutors would prove that Guzman rose from a low-level marijuana trafficker in the 1970s to lead the powerful Sinaloa Cartel.

Fels said that Guzman, 61, eventually established relationships with Colombian cartels that allowed him to make billions of dollars moving cocaine. He said jurors would see evidence of seized cocaine shipments adding up to "more than a line of cocaine for every single person in the United States."

Fels told jurors that Guzman left a trail of violence, turning parts of Mexico into war zones as he fought rivals to expand his reach. He said jurors would hear of how Guzman personally shot two members of a rival cartel and ordered them thrown into holes and burned.

Guzman faces 17 criminal counts and a possible life sentence if he is convicted.

The prosecutors' witnesses are expected to include former Guzman associates who are now cooperating with the U.S. government in exchange for more favourable treatment, likely including Zambada's brother Jesus "El Rey" Zambada and son Vicente Zambada.

Lichtman spent much of his opening statement attacking their credibility.

"Why is the government going so far in this case using these gutter human beings as the evidence?" he asked. "It's because the conviction of Chapo Guzman is the biggest prize this prosecution could ever dream of."

Lichtman urged jurors to "keep an open mind" and consider that both Mexican and U.S. law enforcement could be corrupt.

"They work together when it suits them, Mayo (Zambada) and the United States government," he said.

Lichtman also strove to humanize the defendant, describing his childhood selling oranges, cheese and bread door to door in a poor village.

Tuesday's opening statements were delayed by hours when two of the jurors chosen last week dropped out of the case, forcing lawyers and U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to select two new jurors. Lichtman did not finish his statement and is expected to resume Wednesday.

Guzman, who twice dramatically escaped from Mexican maximum security prisons, has been kept in solitary confinement in Manhattan. His trial is surrounded by extraordinary security measures, with jurors escorted to and from court by armed federal marshals.

In addition to Lichtman, Guzman's lawyers at the trial include Eduardo Balarezo and William Purpura, who previously defended Mexican drug lord Alfredo Beltran Leyva, once a partner and later a rival of Guzman. Beltran Leyva pleaded guilty to U.S. drug charges and was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Washington last year.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson, additional reporting by Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Rosalba O'Brien)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia arrested the former head of a military-run industrial conglomerate on Tuesday and flew him in handcuffs to the capital, state media reported, a day after authorities announced investigations targeting senior members of the security forces. Kinfe Dagnew, a Brigadier General in Ethiopia's army and former chief executive of METEC, was taken into custody close to the border with Sudan and Eritrea, state-run broadcaster EBC said

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia arrested the former head of a military-run industrial conglomerate on Tuesday and flew him in handcuffs to the capital, state media reported, a day after authorities announced investigations targeting senior members of the security forces.

Kinfe Dagnew, a Brigadier General in Ethiopia's army and former chief executive of METEC, was taken into custody close to the border with Sudan and Eritrea, state-run broadcaster EBC said.

State media broadcast footage showing Kinfe surrounded by a ring of soldiers and later images of him in handcuffs arriving by military helicopter in the capital later on Tuesday.

A documentary that aired Tuesday evening on state-owned Ethiopian Television (ETV) gave details of widespread alleged embezzlement by METEC.

It said the firm, which was awarded a 24 billion Ethiopian birr ($863 million) contract by the state utility in 2011 to carry out electromechanical works at the Grand Renaissance Dam, had received 16.7 billion birr of the total amount so far but that only 23 percent was completed, at a cost of 9.46 billion.

"Only 266 million birr was found in its bank account. The rest of the money had vanished," it said.

It also alleged that the firm had taken over two ageing ships that belonged to the state maritime agency but that they were used to transport contraband that it said were very likely to have included arms to Somalia and Iran - countries under United Nations arms embargoes.

The documentary claimed properties such as buildings were also purchased illegally by the company, with no records made available.

A day earlier the attorney general announced the arrests of other METEC executives in a corruption investigation and the detention of security officials accused of abusing prisoners - moves that were welcomed by rights groups and a prominent opposition politician.

Amnesty International said the arrests announced on Monday "are an important first step towards ensuring full accountability for the abuses that have dogged the country for several decades".

One Western envoy, who asked not to be named, described the crackdown as a "full frontal assault on the establishment".

Kinfe's arrest was the most high-profile since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April promising to rein in the security services and tackle what he called economic mismanagement, corruption and rights abuses.

He has pushed through reforms that have upended decades-old policies and hierarchies in east Africa's economic powerhouse - including moves to let private investors get stakes in the huge conglomerates run by the army and other state bodies.

There was no immediate statement from the attorney general on Kinfe's arrest. The Prime Minister's office referred Reuters to the attorney general.

"BIG FISH"

On Monday, attorney general Berhanu Tsegaye said investigations had uncovered corruption at METEC (Metal and Engineering Corporation), which makes military equipment and is involved in sectors from agriculture to construction. Reuters has not been able to contact METEC for comment - senior public relations officials were among those arrested.

The attorney general said 27 METEC officials had been detained - alongside 36 intelligence officers, police and other military officials accused of abusing prisoners.

He also accused senior members of the security services of ordering an attack on the prime minister in June.

The detained METEC employees and security officials appeared in court later on Monday. A judge denied the suspects bail and gave police 14 days further to investigate. None were charged.

Opposition politician Berhanu Nega welcomed the development and said the vast majority of Ethiopians were happy with the arrests.

"People believe it is about time such measures are taken to address the issue of justice in the past but also to indicate in the future that these kind of crimes are not acceptable in the future," he told Reuters.

A list of the arrest warrants released by the attorney general's office named 27 METEC current and former executives including the head of military equipment production and the head of corporate logistics and supply.

One of those arrested was "caught ... while trying to destroy evidence", the document read.

There was no immediate comment from the defendants or their lawyers.

Abiy - Ethiopia's first leader from its majority Oromo ethnic group - was chosen by the EPRDF to head it after three years of street protests and strikes piled pressure on the coalition to reform.

Some analysts say Abiy's reforms have targeted the old guard of the EPRDF, long dominated by the minority Tigrayan ethnic group. But others have suggested he must have high-level backing from senior members of the TPLF, the Tigrayan political party in the coalition.

"It would be a recipe for conflict to go against these big fish without consent, or some bargaining from the TPLF," said one Ethiopian analyst who declined to be named.

($1 = 27.7978 birr)

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Additional reporting by Maggie Fick; Writing by Maggie Fick and George Obulutsa; Editing by Robin Pomeroy, Andrew Heavens, Richard Balmforth)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
If we look at the movie posters around us, we woul...
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.
SKOPJE (Reuters) - Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski has fled to Hungary and is seeking political asylum there, six months after he was sentenced to two years in prison on corruption-related charges, Macedonia's interior ministry said on Tuesday. Macedonian police issued an arrest warrant on Monday for Gruevski, who resigned in 2016 after 10 years in power, after he failed to show up to begin his sentence following a Nov. 9 court ruling against his motion for a reprieve

SKOPJE (Reuters) - Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski has fled to Hungary and is seeking political asylum there, six months after he was sentenced to two years in prison on corruption-related charges, Macedonia's interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Macedonian police issued an arrest warrant on Monday for Gruevski, who resigned in 2016 after 10 years in power, after he failed to show up to begin his sentence following a Nov. 9 court ruling against his motion for a reprieve.

In a statement, the ministry said it had ascertained that Gruevski had fled the country and was in Hungary.

"The Interior Ministry of the Republic of Macedonia has ... received a confirmation from the Hungarian (interior) ministry that Nikola Gruevski is in the Republic of Hungary and that he sought an asylum there," it said.

On his Facebook page Gruevski wrote that he fled the country after receiving "countless" threats against his life.

"I am in Budapest now and I am seeking political asylum from the authorities of Hungary. I will always remain faithful to the Macedonian cause and will never give up," his post said.

The Macedonian interior ministry also said it asked a court in Skopje to approve an international arrest warrant for the "convicted individual" Gruevski.

Earlier in the day, Dimce Arsovski, a spokesman for the opposition nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party which Gruevski once led, said he had no information about the ex-premier's whereabouts.

On Oct. 20, Macedonia's parliament ratified an agreement to change the country's name, bringing a decades-old dispute with Greece one step closer to being resolved. Gruevski had opposed any name change.

Eighty deputies in the 120-seat parliament voted in favour of renaming the Balkan state as the Republic of North Macedonia - just reaching the two-thirds majority needed to enact constitutional changes.

(Additional reporting by Krisztina Than in Budapest; Writing by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - Senior German officials are planning a last-ditch drive to convince the government to consider excluding Chinese firms such as Huawei from building the country's 5G infrastructure amid concerns this could compromise national security. The behind-the-scenes push in Berlin, which comes after decisions by Australia and the United States to ban Chinese suppliers from 5G, has emerged at a late stage, with Germany expected to start its 5G auctions in early 2019

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Senior German officials are planning a last-ditch drive to convince the government to consider excluding Chinese firms such as Huawei from building the country's 5G infrastructure amid concerns this could compromise national security.

The behind-the-scenes push in Berlin, which comes after decisions by Australia and the United States to ban Chinese suppliers from 5G, has emerged at a late stage, with Germany expected to start its 5G auctions in early 2019.

Because of this momentum, officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear whether the initiative would succeed.

But the push highlights the extent of the concern in some Berlin ministries about a Chinese role in building Germany's next generation mobile network, despite the lack of a vigorous public debate here about the security dimensions of 5G.

"There is serious concern. If it were up to me we would do what the Australians are doing," one senior German official involved in the internal 5G debate in Berlin told Reuters.

Leading the charge are officials in the German foreign and interior ministries, who have held talks with their U.S. and Australian counterparts and share their concerns about the risks of using Chinese suppliers like Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer.

They are pressing for a more serious discussion on 5G before the auction process begins, the senior official said. Some officials suggested this could lead to a delay.

Opposition parties are also pushing back. Last week the Greens submitted a motion in parliament that questioned the government stance that it has no legal basis for excluding certain suppliers from its 5G rollout.

"Excluding all investors from a certain country is the wrong approach," Katharina Droege, a Greens lawmaker who co-authored the Bundestag motion, told Reuters. "But we need to be able to vet individual cases in order to ensure our critical infrastructure is protected. That could lead to the exclusion of Chinese firms from building our 5G infrastructure."

So far the public debate in Germany over 5G has centred around how extensive next-generation mobile network coverage will be rather than questions about security.

Current coverage is patchy and that, combined with delays in building out high-speed internet, has been criticised by business groups as a handicap in the digital era.[nL8N1O42N7]

INTELLIGENCE LAW

The security concerns centre around China's National Intelligence Law, approved in 2017, which states that Chinese "organisations and citizens shall, in accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work".

This has sparked fears that Huawei could be asked by the Chinese government to incorporate "backdoors" into their equipment that would allow Beijing access, for spying or sabotage purposes.

Some experts also see a risk that Chinese intelligence may develop an ability to subvert Huawei's equipment.

Responding to the Reuters story, a Huawei spokesman said the company rejected any suggestion that it might pose a threat to national security.

"Cyber security has always been our top priority and we have a proven track record of providing secure products and solutions for our customers in Germany and around the world," the spokesman said.

Huawei has called Australia's decision in August to ban it from 5G "politically motivated" and based on a "mistaken and narrow understanding" of Chinese law. It has stressed that it is a private company, with no formal links to the Chinese government.

Last week, after The Australian newspaper published a story saying Huawei staffers had been used by Chinese intelligence to obtain access codes to infiltrate a foreign network, the company denied that it had ever "provided or been asked to provide customer information for any government or organisation".

Huawei has been a partner of Deutsche Telekom and other carriers in Germany for years, establishing a sizeable presence in the German market.

In recent months, a flurry of German politicians -- from the Bundestag as well as state and local governments -- have visited its headquarters in Shenzhen as part of the company's ambitious lobbying efforts.

"Following Australia's decision to exclude the Chinese from their 5G network, there is huge angst at Huawei," said a senior industry official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"They fear a domino effect. If it stops with Australia it is not such a big deal. But if it continues it's serious. A 5G setback in Germany could ripple across Europe."

GROWING CONCERN

The debate in Germany comes at a time of growing concern about Chinese investments and influence in Europe. Berlin is in the process of tightening its foreign takeover rules to prevent Chinese rivals from snapping up German tech companies.

The European Commission, meanwhile, has kicked off a debate about strategic autonomy, arguing that Europe must ensure that it does not become overly reliant on the United States or China in the digital age.

But excluding Huawei and other Chinese firms like ZTE is no simple task. Huawei is a global leader in 5G and its technology is among the most advanced and cheapest in the world. European alternatives include Ericsson and Nokia.

"If the conclusion of your strategic autonomy debate is that you as a state must have control over everything then it's going to cost a lot of money," said Paul Timmers, a research fellow at Oxford University and former director of cybersecurity at the European Commission's digital directorate. "You have to think about whether it's realistic and whether you can afford it."

Some officials in Berlin, Washington and Canberra also expressed concerns about whether Germany's fragile coalition government was strong and forward-thinking enough to take a big decision like banning Chinese firms from 5G -- a step that could have major consequences for Germany's relations with China.

"I do worry about this. It may be too late," a second senior German official said, acknowledging that business interests, rather than strategic factors, have driven German policy on such issues for decades.

(Writing by Noah Barkin; Additional reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Gareth Jones)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
As news of a ceasefire between the Israeli government and Hamaswhich controls the Gaza Stripbroke, Avigdor Lieberman's office put out a statement saying any claim that he had backed ending Israel's offensive was 'fake news'.

Jerusalem: Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned Wednesday and called for early elections, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "capitulating to terror" and surrendering before the Islamist group Hamas over a Gaza ceasefire agreement. Over 460 rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israel in 25 hours on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Israeli Army. The Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted over 100 of them.

Most of the rest landed in open fields, but dozens landed inside Israeli cities and towns, killing one person, injuring dozens more, and causing significant property damage. In response, the Israeli military targeted approximately 160 sites in the Gaza Strip connected to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad terror groups, including four facilities that the army designated as "key strategic assets".

As news of a ceasefire between the Israeli government and Hamaswhich controls the Gaza Stripbroke, Liberman's office put out a statement saying any claim that he had backed ending Israel's offensive was "fake news". "I didn't look for reasons to quit," Lieberman said at a hurriedly called press conference. "I tried to remain a loyal government member in the cabinet, keep differences internal even at an electoral cost.

The two turning points were the millions of dollars in cash delivered to Gaza by Qatar and the ceasefire Israel agreed to with Hamas on Tuesday, the ultra-nationalist leader said. "There is no other definition, no other significance, but a capitulation to terror. What we are doing now as a country is buying short-term quiet at the cost of our long-term security," the defence minister said. Lieberman's Yisrael Beteinu party also pulled out of the ruling coalition led by Netanyahu, demanding fresh elections.

The ruling coalition still holds a slender majority of 651 to 59 in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) after Beiteinu's departure. However, another key coalition partner Habayit Hayehudi, headed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, also threatened to quit if the defence portfolio did not go to its leader. Lieberman said: "It is no secret that there were differences between the prime minister and I. I did not agree to allow entry of Qatari money (into Gaza), and I had to allow it only after the prime minister announced it".

He said that similar differences revolved around the evacuation of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank which had also led to differences in the overwhelmingly right-wing dominated coalition. Senior sources in Netanyahu's Likud party were quoted by the local media as saying that "elections are not necessarily the next step", adding that Netanyahu will initially take charge of Lieberman's portfolio.

Hamas said that Lieberman's resignation is a recognition of Israel's defeat in this week's military confrontation with the Islamic group. Following the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lieberman and Bennett published statements, distancing themselves from the decision to agree to a ceasefire. Lieberman demanded a "harsh, decisive" move against Hamas. Sources close to Bennett said his opposition to the ceasefire was crystal clear.

Certain other sources, however, said that ultimately the ministers unanimously supported the defence establishment's position that an action should be taken to restore the calm. According to the associates of Lieberman, the claim by the Prime Minister's Office that the defence minister had supported the ceasefire agreement in Gaza infuriated him. Lieberman and Bennett have recently traded barbs publicly with the latter charging the defence minister of going soft against terror.
Narendra Modi also held bilateral meetings with global leaders, including US vice-president Mike Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held talks Wednesday and discussed ways to further deepen the bilateral ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Sinagpore, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"PM Narendra Modi met with PM of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," Kumar said.

"A fruitful meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison in Singapore earlier today," the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.

Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore on Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.

He became the first head of government to address the world's largest event on financial technology.

The prime minister also held bilateral meetings with global leaders, including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

During his visit, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian countries, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other Asian states.
Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip announced an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel on Tuesday after a severe escalation of violence threatened to descend into full-blown war.

Gaza City: Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip announced an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel on Tuesday after a severe escalation of violence threatened to descend into full-blown war. The groups, including Hamas, issued a joint statement saying they would abide by the ceasefire as long as Israel did the same.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the military had not commented on the announcement. Israel's hardline defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, issued a statement saying he did not support stopping the strikes. "Egypt's efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy," the statement by the Gaza groups said. "The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it." Kuwait and Bolivia meanwhile requested an urgent closed-door meeting later Tuesday of the UN Security Council to discuss the violence, diplomats said.

The violent escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza was the worst since a 2014 war. Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the course of some 24 hours as Israeli strikes targeted militants and flattened buildings while sending fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky. Sirens wailed in southern Israel and tens of thousands of residents had taken cover in shelters as around 460 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip, wounding 27 people, including three severely.

A Palestinian labourer from the occupied West Bank was killed when a rocket hit a building in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Schools were closed in the Gaza Strip and in southern Israel as both sides warned the other that it would respond forcefully to any further violence. Egypt has negotiated ceasefires following previous flare-ups, while UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov has also been seeking a long-term truce between the two sides in recent weeks.
In a major setback to President Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan parliament on Wednesday voted against newly-appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's government.

In a major setback to President Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday voted against newly-appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, PTI reported.

Parliament has approved a no-trust vote against Rajapaksa, speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya announced in the House. "According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority," Jayasuriya announced as Rajapaksa backers protested.

Sri Lanka had been in a political crisis since 26 October, when Sirisena suddenly fired Ranil Wickremesinghe as the prime minister and replaced him with former strongman Rajapaksa.

Amid mounting pressure from political opponents and foreign governments, including the United States and the European Union, to convene Parliament to end the impasse. However last Friday, he instead dissolved Parliament and called new elections in January. Opponents said Sirisena made the decision because Rajapaksa had been unable to assemble a majority.

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to suspend the president's order until 7 December, after 13 political parties and individuals filed petitions with the court calling the dissolution unconstitutional. The Sri Lankan Supreme Court would hold the next hearing on 4 December.

With inputs from agencies
Two people who have been demanding more transparency from the Pakistan Army and various intel agencies have been warned by Twitter to discontinue making controversial statements that malign State machinery

Two years ago a cyber crime bill was tabled in Pakistan's Legislative Assembly for the first time. It emerged from the genuine need to curtail cyber harassment where minorities, civil rights movements and women bore the brunt of egregious online behaviour. Stalking, fake accounts, promotion of hate speech and proscribed organisations being active online were rampant.

Meanwhile, some people and groups tried to raise awareness about the online rights we hold as citizens of Pakistan. Bytes For All, for instance, is an award-winning organisation led by Nighat Sad, employing dedicated advocates for inviolable internet rights. With the existence of groups such as this, it never seemed like such a day would come when social media outlets themselves become complicit in the repression of these rights.

Unfortunately, today seems to be just such a day. Two people who have been demanding more transparency from the army and the State's various intelligence agencies have been warned by Twitter to discontinue making controversial statements that malign the State machinery. This seems all the more peculiar given Twitter is one of the global social media platforms that goes the furthest in actively encouraging freedom of speech.

The complaint to Twitter was no doubt made on the behalf of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). For two agencies that are supposed to work in clandestine ways, they certainly make a loud racket in public court rooms and on crowded television panels.

The first person warned by Twitter was Taha Siddiqui, a journalist who has covered  in an unbiased and objective manner  the war against the Pakistani Taliban in the erstwhile FATA region that saw bombs raining down on villages and towns. leaving many thousands displaced.

The second was Gul Bukhari. Again a prominent critic of the army's excessive ways, she has been using Twitter to reach as many people as possible so to start a conversation about the army being partisan in political matters and in fact, makes it very clear who it supports and why. And so, she has been silenced and made a persona non grata for questioning the deep state's narrative.

To put this into perspective, a few days ago, the hate-mongering mullah Khadim Hussain Rizvi was also banned from the social media platform for making a hate speech against the Ahmadiyya minority in Pakistan and demanding the death penalty for Asia Bibi, who had been acquitted by the Supreme Court in a case of alleged blasphemy. That the account was probably being run by someone on Rizvi's behalf, is besides the point. The key fact here is that a hate-mongering mullah calling for murder apparently falls in the same category as unarmed, non-violent dissidents.

When the cyber crime bill was first proposed, many people were unsettled by the vague but extensive powers the FIA would hold in the online realm. Since its enactment, multiple critics of the State have been abducted over Facebook pages and tweets.

So why the sudden interest in social media 'dissidents'?

At some point the intelligence agencies, particularly the military ones, decided that the private media explosion at the start of the millennium (ironically started by military dictator Pervez

Musharraf) and the explosion of social media (which is proving impossible to regulate; even the Taliban had social media accounts defending its violence and ideology), the agencies and the armed

forces realised that they need a proactive approach to keep a check on things.

Hence, the speedy passing of cyber crime laws. It gives the agencies permission to pick up and detain suspects for three months without any warrant or having to or appear before a magistrate. This has seen a spike in disappearances; it has also given the ISI or military intelligence carte blanche to abduct people, interrogate them and then throw them into an FIA jail where the legal formalities can then be retrospectively fulfilled.

This was very tricky before the introduction of the sweeping powers awarded to the FIA through the cyber crime laws.

A Facebook page called Bhensa, for instance, was vocal in challenging the army endorsed state narrative which saw four people suspected of running the page abducted. It took months for them to be released. With incidents such as these in mind, Human Rights Watch has made a list of people under threat of abduction. It's a pretty comprehensive list.

And there were many familiar names on it, including Siddiqui, who survived an attempted abduction by what was likely an intimidatory tactic by the FIA (they had frequently warned him over the phone to stop 'seditious' activities). Taha has since moved to France to escape further trouble. He was in the employ of the Indian news channel World Is One News as the Pakistan bureau chief.

His vocal criticism of the armed forces' handling of the Pakistani Taliban earned him numerous threats and warnings by the FIA; Siddiqui even filed a case against the harassment in the Islamabad High Court. He was represented by the now deceased Asma Jehangir. But he wasn't entirely confident that the State that was intimidating him would comply with a restraining order by a high court judge.

For now, the intimidation and coercion tactics show no sign of going anywhere.
The legislation will also ask President Donald Trump to condemn Chinas actions in the Xinjiang region, call for a new special coordinator of US policy on the issue and press for consideration of a ban on export of US technology that Beijing could use in surveillance and mass detention of ethnic Uighurs, according to a copy of the measure seen by Reuters.

Washington: US lawmakers will introduce legislation on Wednesday urging a stronger response by the Trump administration to Chinas crackdown on minority Muslims, including possible sanctions against a regional Communist Party chief and other officials accused of human rights abuses.

The legislation will also ask President Donald Trump to condemn Chinas actions in the Xinjiang region, call for a new special coordinator of US policy on the issue and press for consideration of a ban on export of US technology that Beijing could use in surveillance and mass detention of ethnic Uighurs, according to a copy of the measure seen by Reuters.

The lawmakers want the Trump administration to consider human rights-related sanctions against Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is also a member of the powerful politburo, and other officials credibly alleged to be responsible for the security crackdown, the measure will say.

Chinese government officials should be held accountable for their complicity in this evil and US businesses should be barred from helping China create a high-tech police state in Xinjiang, said Republican US Representative Chris Smith, one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation that will be presented in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The White House and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill, which is also being put forth by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez

Trumps senior aides recently have become more vocal in their criticism of Chinas treatment of its minority Muslims in Xinjiang, which has sparked an international outcry. Any sanctions, however, would be a rare move on human rights grounds by the Trump administration against China, with which it is engaged in a bitter trade war.

Beijing has dismissed accusations of abuses in Xinjiang, urging the United States and other countries to stay out of its internal affairs.

Chinas top diplomat said earlier on Tuesday that the world should ignore gossip about developments in Xinjiang and trust authorities there, when asked if Beijing would allow international observers to inspect camps holding Muslims there.

Western countries including Canada, France, Germany, and the United States have urged China to shut down camps in Xinjiang, where activists say as many as 1 million members of the Uighur minority and other Muslims are being detained. Far western Xinjiang faces a threat from Islamist militants and separatists, China has said in the past.

Rubio said in a statement that some Chinese officials were responsible for possible crimes against humanity. The Trump administration for several months has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials and companies operating in Xinjiang, US officials have said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The new bill calls for consideration of measures under the Global Magnitsky Act, which hits rights violators with freezes on US assets, US travel bans, and prohibitions on Americans doing business with them, and also under a federal law to target those involved in religious repression around the world.

It will urge the administration to report back to Congress on Chinese companies involved in the camps and ask the FBI to take action against any Chinese government efforts to intimidate Uighurs living in the United States.
Where the administration had last week accused Jim Acosta of placing his hands on a female intern who was trying to take the microphone from him during an argument with Donald Trump, in on Tuesday suggested that the decision was about Acosta refusing to yield the microphone while questioning the president.

After CNN sued US president Donald Trump over the suspension of Jim Acosta's press credentials, the White House appears to have changed its stance on the issue. Where the administration had last week accused Acosta of placing his hands on a female intern who was trying to take the microphone from him during an argument with Trump, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Tuesday suggested that the decision was about Acosta refusing to yield the microphone while questioning the president.

The Washington Post quoted Sanders as saying on Tuesday:

"We have been advised that CNN has filed a complaint challenging the suspension of Jim Acostas hard pass. This is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.

CNN, who has nearly 50 additional hard pass holders, and Acosta is no more or less special than any other media outlet or reporter with respect to the First Amendment. After Acosta asked the President two questions  each of which the President answered  he physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions. This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters.

The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional. The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolise the floor. If there is no check on this type of behaviour, it impedes the ability of the president, the White House staff, and members of the media to conduct business.

The statement contains no mention of Sanders' claim last week that Acosta put his hands on a female intern who tried to take the microphone back from him. Sanders on 8 November had tweeted:

This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.  Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018

Sanders later even referred to a Washington Post video, which showed the incident in slow motion, to support her claim. "The video is clear  he did (make contact with the intern). We stand by our statement," she said.

Following Sanders' claim, Acosta tweeted that her statement was "a lie." CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acosta's press pass out of "retaliation for his challenging questions" Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acosta's actions.

"(Sanders) provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better," CNN said. "Jim Acosta has our full support."

CNN has argued that this fight is not about the intern, but rather about the president's contempt for Acosta as well as the news agency.

The argument between Acosta and Trump began when the journalist asked the president about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern US border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, "That's enough!" and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. He appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Following this, he apologised, saying, "Pardon me, ma'am."

With inputs from agencies
Melania Trump's spokesperson gave no reason for why the first lady wanted Mira Ricardel out.

US first lady Melania Trump Tuesday publicly pushed for the dismissal of Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel: a rare criticism of a senior administration official by the president's wife. The rebukevia a brief statement from the first lady's spokeswomancame amid swirling speculation about a possible shake-up of President Donald Trump's Cabinet following last week's midterm elections.

"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House," Melania Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.

Shortly before the statement was issued, Ricardel was among a group of administration officials and other individuals who stood behind President Trump at a White House ceremony celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, reported The Associated Press.

The Wall Street Journal claimed Ricardel had been fired and escorted out of the White House, but an administration official denied that to reporters. Ricardel reportedly battled with the first lady's staff during her trip to Africa last month, and was believed to be the source of negative stories about Melania Trump, the newspaper reported citing unnamed sources.

According to Reuters, the first lady complained to the president that she was unhappy with her treatment by Ricardel, a former Boeing Company executive who worked on Trump's presidential campaign and was chosen by National Security Adviser John Bolton to be his deputy in May 2018.

Born Mira P Radielovic, she is of Croation descent . The child of immigrants, she was raised in California's Pasadena and studied at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Later she went on to do doctoral work at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Before her marriage to Vincent Ricardel, she was married to Robert Baratta.

The New York Times reported that during the early 1990s, she advised Senator Bob Dole on the Balkans, relying on her own Croatian background and later worked for then defense secretary Donald H Rumsfeld in President George W Bushs administration. According to CNN, Ricardel held several positions in three Republican administrations under the departments of state, commerce and defense and worked in the private sector before joining Trump's presidential transition as a Pentagon adviser.

The fifty-eight-year old has clashed with Defense Secretary James Mattis and his Pentagon team multiple times over issues such as staffing decisions and policy differences, but has remained an important ally for Bolton, reported The Wall Street Journal.

After last week's midterm elections, President Trump was expected to make some changes as he prepares for the second half of his term in office. Among those on the possible chopping block: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a close ally of Trump's chief of staff John Kelly.

With inputs from agencies
Waymo, which is a private subsidiary of Googles parent company, Alphabet Inc., is planning to launch the worlds first commercial driverless car service in the next two months, according to a report from WSJ. It will operate under a new brand and will compete with Uber and Lyft.

Waymo is keeping the new name secret until the formal announcement. The company in an emailed statement said: Waymo has been working on self-driving technology for nearly a decade, with safety at the core of everything we do. A Waymo spokesperson declined to comment.

While it may be a big milestone for self-driving cars, it wont exactly be a flip-the-switch moment. The service of the Waymo wont appear in Play/AppStore anytime soon, instead, things will start smallperhaps dozens or hundreds of authorized riders in the suburbs around Phoenix, covering about 100 square miles.

The first wave of customers will likely draw from Waymos Early Rider Program; a test group of 400 volunteer families who have been riding Waymos for more than a year. The customers who intend to move to the new service will be left alone from their non-disclosure agreements, meaning theyll be free to talk about it, snap selfies, and bring friends or even members of the media along for rides.

New customers in the Phoenix area will be gradually phased in as Waymo adds more vehicles to its fleet to balance supply and demand. Alphabet Inc. removed the Google branding from its cars and created the Waymo subsidiary in December 2016. Being first has its advantages. It establishes credibility and allows Waymo to build out a network of vehicles, maintenance depots and support services robust enough to draw customers away from Uber and Lyft.

According to the sources, when Waymo starts its commercial program, there will be backup drivers in some cars to help ease customers into the service and to take over if necessary. As for the pricing, for now, the program is more about learning how to safely scale driverless cars than making money. At launch, Waymo will offer straightforward fares that are competitive with Uber and Lyft. However, this might change when the program grows big eventually.

Source
Just over a month ago, Snap (NYSE:SNAP) announced it was launching a slew of new original shows and docuseries called Snap Originals. The Snapchat parent is now losing the content exec that led its big push into original content, Nick Bell. Bell was also responsible for growing its important Discover platform, which is where users can see professionally produced content from content partners, a crucial pillar of Snapchat's monetization.

Bell is the latest in a growing list of executive departures. Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan left in September, and after initially naming Kristen O'Hara as chief business officer to take over some of Khan's responsibilities, CEO Evan Spiegel reportedly changed his mind two days later, causing her to leave after being hired in August.

Bell calls it quits

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Bell sent out a memo letting Snap know that he is leaving the social media company after five years. Bell was responsible for building and maintaining the company's relationships with content partners, and Jared Grusd, Snap's new chief strategy officer, will take over Bell's responsibilities, along with other content programming and business development executives. Bell said he intends to "take some time off to recharge before deciding on my next adventure." Bell will transition out of his position between now and the end of 2018.

Bell's departure is a big loss for Snap, and comes at a time when the company is trying to stabilize its user base while still coping with the fallout of its controversial redesign that failed to resonate with users. Discover is a crucial part of the platform, and Spiegel said on the third-quarter earnings call that Snap Originals get about 10 million monthly viewers.

Plunging stock price is hurting employee retention

Like many tech companies, Snap offers generous stock-based compensation, but the retentive value of those equity grants has been severely undermined by Snap's cratering stock price. Shares are trading near all-time lows.

An incredible 40% of Snap employees are planning to leave the company, Cheddar reported last month, based on an internal survey. That was up 11 percentage points compared to a similar survey conducted in early 2018. That's an awfully high proportion of workers that are on their way out, suggesting that morale is deteriorating. (It probably doesn't help morale when Spiegel impulsively rescinds a C-suite job offer.) While Snap has suffered from a string of high-profile departures, it's especially troubling that many rank-and-file employees are also planning to leave soon.

An exodus of executives is often a red flag for investors, and Snap's brain drain continues to accelerate.
Staff of the Sexual Assault Unit (standing) with top ranking officers of the RSVGPF.

The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) has established a Sexual Offences Unit (SOU) dedicated to attending to caes of a sexual nature.





The Unit will investigate sexual crimes such as rape and unlawful sexual intercourse with minors.

Speaking at the formal launch of the Unit last Wednesday at the Police Conference Room in Kingstown, Commissioner of Police Colin John said, "The hierarchy of the police force saw the need to have a specialized unit dealing with sexual offences.





"Persons who are affected by rape and other acts of indecent assault, they in most cases would be traumatized, and we saw the need to have specially trained persons to deal with them, added Commissioner John, who went on to share that a special committee, headed by ACP Richard Browne and including Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Charles, ASP Andrews, ASP Butcher and ASP Bailey, did the spadework that gave rise to the Unit.





The Sexual Offences Unit is comprised of eight officers. It is headed by ASP Trevor Bailey and includes: Sergeant 531 Desirine Daize, Corporal 712 Nicola Williams Browne, Constable 580 Tamika Charles, Constable 808 Verna John, Constable 703 Josette Scipio Galley, Constable 599 Romancia Jordan and Constable 134 Hadley Ballantyne. The unit will be based at the Questelles Police Station.

As it stands now, the Unit is not assigned a full time nurse or counsellor. These services will be co-opted as the need arises.





While the Unit will deal specifically with rape matters and matters of unlawful sexual intercourse with minors, and sexual offences against visitors and foreigners, the Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police or the ACP in Charge of Crime can designate certain offences to be dealt with by the unit.

"The Unit will also be dealing with cold cases of rape. It will be asking those police stations where offences of rape were reported and no one arrested or apprehended, that these case files be sent to that Unit so that they can be reviewed, the Commissioner said.





According to information provided by UNICEF, St Vincent and the Grenadines is among the top four Caribbean countries for sex offences against children. Statistics show that for cases of sexual abuse of children under the age of 15, reported cases read as follows: 55 in 2014, 48 in 2015, 68 in 2016, and 78 in 2017.

Information also showed that the persons who are most likely to abuse children in SVG are family members, family friends, and caretakers.





Persons seeking to report cases of sexual offences can contact the unit at telephone number 456-1750.




Century 21 Real Estate Renews Franchise Affiliate In Pennsylvania: Century 21 Select Group

November 14, 2018 // Franchising.com // In keeping with its focus on growth, recruitment and retention of the very best and brightest entrepreneurs from real estate and other industries, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, franchisor of the iconic Century 21 brand, is thrilled to announce that Century 21 Select Group has renewed its franchise agreement for 5 more years. Seven independent offices and almost 100 affiliated agents will continue to be Century 21 brand ambassadors and real estate leaders in communities throughout northeastern Pennsylvania.

"We respect the trust and confidence that the Century 21 Select Group has placed in our long-standing alliance and look forward to working with them on the brand's journey to becoming the first choice for consumers and industry professionals alike," said Nick Bailey, president and chief executive officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "Maggie Flartey Kaminski and her entire team of relentless professionals possess a commitment and passion for delivering the very best experience to, not only home buyers and sellers, but also those renters who look to escape every year to the many wonders of the Pocono mountain region."

Century 21 Select Group has been a valued Century 21 company since 1977. The company is led by Kaminski, broker-of-record, as well as owners Robert Bossuyt and Theresa and Lawrence Ditty. The company has offices throughout northeastern Pennsylvania in Blakeslee, Hamlin, Hazleton, Lake Ariel, Lake Harmony, Pocono Lake, and Pocono Pines.

"Century 21 is taking a wider view of the housing journey by focusing on the needs of today's digital consumer and delivering a mobile-first tech platform that helps make the comprehensive transaction process more seamless for both our affiliated agents and their customers and clients," added Kaminski. "The brand's relentless focus on the future and its commitment to delivering an extraordinary customer experience, excited us to renew our partnership with the Century 21 brand."

About Century 21 Real Estate LLC

The approximately 122,000 independent sales professionals in approximately 8,800 offices spanning 81 countries and territories in the Century 21 System live their mission everyday: to defy mediocrity and deliver extraordinary experiences. By consistently chasing excellence, giving 121% and always elevating, the Century 21 brand is helping its affiliated brokers/agents to be the first choice for real estate consumers and industry professionals worldwide. Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are century21.com, century21.com/global, century21.com/commercial, century21.com/finehomes, century21.com/farmandranch, and century21.com/espanol.

Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services.  2018 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Century 21 and the Century 21 Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated.

SOURCE Century 21 Real Estate LLC

###

Comments:

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

Disqus
The size of Japanese investments in Abu Dhabi reached approximately Dh6.1 billion ($1.66 billion) by end of 2017, while the number of trade licenses issued to Japanese investors in Abu Dhabi reached 32, a media report said.



Similarly, the value of non-oil trade between Japan and Abu Dhabi stood at Dh9.803 billion between January and October 2018, compared to Dh8.320 billion in the same period last year, representing a 17.8 percent growth, Saif Mohammed Al Hajeri, chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development DED) was quoted as saying by Emirates news agency Wam.



He was speaking at the 6th Abu Dhabi-Japan Economic Council, ADJEC, which began on Tuesday to discuss ways to promote economic cooperation, partnerships and investment opportunities between the UAE and Japan in various sectors.



Chaired by Saif Al Hajeri, Yoshihiro Seki, Japan's State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and Seiji Hirota, representative executive director of Japan Cooperation Centre for the Middle East, the event drew the participation of a high-level Japanese delegation.



Aimed at examining the progress achieved in the implementation of the decisions and recommendations made during the previous ADJEC session in Tokyo last year, the meeting highlighted the need to elevate the levels of cooperation between the business communities in both countries and help Japanese companies that are planning to expand their businesses and investment activities in the UAE in general and Abu Dhabi in particular.



In his opening address, Saif Al Hajeri said, "Within the framework of the Abu Dhabi-Japan Economic Council, the government of Abu Dhabi prioritises the enhancement of economic and investment cooperation with Japan, establishing a new era of productive synergies between our countries. Our annual meeting is an opportunity to discuss and find the best ways to promote economic cooperation, partnerships and investment opportunities of interest to the UAE and Japan, particularly in the fields of energy, transportation, pharmaceuticals and healthcare through technology transfer and sharing economic know-how."



"From ADJEC's 5th session in Tokyo in 2017 until the present time, new developments have been set in motion in both Abu Dhabi and Tokyo to achieve this shared agenda. First, a new Project Facilitation Team was launched under ADJEC to coordinate with 18 Japanese companies that are keen to set up their businesses across Abu Dhabi.



Second, various initiatives developed by working groups established under the umbrella of ADJEC to achieve these priorities have already made headway. Notable among them are the transportation workshop held in May 2018 to follow-up on the second ADJEC Infrastructure Working Group, IWG, as well as the agreement inked between Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, DoT, and Japan Cooperation Centre for the Middle East to enhance collaboration in the transportation sector - including the railways, transport policy, Transit Oriented Development, and automated driving technology in Abu Dhabi, he added.



Al Hajeri also noted that the bilateral announcement of the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Initiative" marked a new phase in the relationship between the two countries, especially following the successful visit of Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, to the UAE in April 2018.



To support this initiative, discussions are underway between the two sides to explore the upgrading of various initiatives under ADJEC to a higher level through exchanging information and data about the strategies that improve the overall business environment.



ADJEC also welcomed the MoU signed between Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi and Japan Cooperation Centre for the Middle East to enhance collaboration in the vital transportation sector.



The number of Japanese investors registered with Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, ADX, totalled 723, including 622 individual investors and 101 investment corporations by the end of Q1 2018. Furthermore, the (sell and buy) value of Japanese investor trading totalled nearly Dh150 million in 2017.



The market value of stocks owned by Japanese investors on the ADX until the end of 2017 reached Dh800 million. Likewise, the value of the Japanese trading (sell and buy) during Q1 2018 totalled approximately Dh31 million - making up nearly six percent of cumulative investor trading from Asian countries during the same period.



The ADJEC was set up in early 2011 to promote communication and facilitate bilateral investment and trade in goods and services between Abu Dhabi and Japan. ADJEC also seeks to identify common factors affecting the economies of both countries and enhance their competitive edge across multiple sectors.
GFH Financial Group (GFH) has announced a net profit attributable to shareholders of $103.44 million for the first nine months of the year ended September 30, 2018, an 18.6% increase from $87.23 million in the first nine months of 2017.

The increase reflected continued growth and stronger contributions from the GFHs core investment banking business and other related investment income.

The group reported a consolidated net profit of $104.66 million for the nine-month period, an increase of 15% from $91.04 million for the prior-year period, said a company statement.

For the third quarter of 2018, net profit attributable to shareholders increased 23.3% to $30.94 million from $25.09 million for the comparable period in 2017. Consolidated net profit for the third quarter of 2018 was $31.26 million from $25.52 million in the prior-year period, an increase of 22.5%.

Earnings per share for the first nine months of 2018 was US cents 2.91 compared to US cents 3.55 in the prior-year period. Earnings per share for the third quarter of 2018 was US cents 0.87 compared to US cents 1.04 during the comparable period in 2017.

During the nine months of 2018, the groups total consolidated revenues grew 13.2% to $184.62 million as compared to $163.16 million in the first nine months of 2017, primarily from revenues generated from its investment banking business. Consolidated revenues for the third quarter of 2018 was $64.42 million compared to $52.18 million in the third quarter of 2017, an increase of 23.5%.

GFHs profit before impairment allowance increased 23.8% for the first nine months of the year to $110.58 million versus $89.32 million in the prior-year period. GFH profit before impairment allowance for the third quarter of 2018 increased by 26.7% to $33.98 million from $26.81 million in the comparable-year period.

Total operating expenses for the first nine months of 2018 were $74.04 million, an increase of 0.3% from $73.84 million in the prior-year period. Total operating expenses for the third quarter were $30.44 million versus $25.37 million in the third quarter of 2017, an increase of 20%.

Equity attributable to shareholders was $1.09 billion for the first nine months of 2018 compared to $1.13 billion for the prior year period, a decrease of 3.5%. The total assets of the group increased 11% to $4.43 billion for the first nine months of 2018 from $3.99 billion for the prior-year period.

Jassim Alseddiqi, chairman of GFH Financial Group, said: Were pleased with the groups strong performance and profits for the first nine months of 2018. In line with its strategy, GFH continues to make improvements to the top and bottom line enabling us to deliver strong value and returns for our shareholders and investors quarter after quarter. Significant improvements for the first nine months of the year can be attributed to growing contributions from the Groups investment banking activities, which forms the core of our business and focus as we go forward. With this sustained momentum and progress, we expect to make even further gains by year-end.

Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH, added: Enhanced results and profitability for the first nine months of the year were once again supported by growth in the groups investment banking business and income generated from transactions undertaken during the quarter. Principally, this included profits achieved on a $200 million sukuk acquisition relating to Villamar, our iconic Bahrain-based project and other investment income generated during the period. We also remain fully focused on achieving growth across our diversified portfolio of assets, where we are working to add value to existing investments while identifying other opportunities for steady income generation and yields. Having entered the last quarter of the year in a solid position, we look forward to strong year-end results and improved profitability and returns for shareholders. - TradeArabia News Service
Cluttons Middle East, a part of Savills Group, has announced a new leasing deal in Fakhro Tower, one of the key commercial office buildings in Manama, that boasts a prime location (opposite Bahrain City Centre Mall) with coastal and city views.



The property is one of the most sought after commercial office buildings in Manama, with Cluttons ME now appointed the sole property manager and exclusive leasing agents.



Prominently situated opposite Bahrain City Centre Mall on the Sheikh Khalifa Highway, close to local amenities including retail and restaurants, Cluttons ME is handling the offering of commercial spaces for lease, as well as a comprehensive facilities management service, plus full marketing and PR for the landmark property.



This impressive addition to the portfolio follows Cluttons MEs acquisition by the global brand, Savills, one of the worlds leading real estate firms.



Since taking over the management of the Fakhro Tower, Cluttons ME has already leased out 350 sqm of commercial space, with ongoing discussions on a further two large offices.



Commenting on the agreement, Leanne Lobo, Bahrains head of agency, said: "We are pleased to have made an immediate impact to leasing of Fakhro Tower offices under the Savills brand. The long-term regional expertise of the Cluttons ME team, combined with the additional strength of the international Savills service offering, has contributed to this successful agreement."



"The state-of-the-art finishing and amenities at Fakhro Tower are ideally suited to businesses and organisations requiring high-end commercial office space. With a prime location, coastal and city views, plus attractive rental figures and terms, Fakhro Tower serves as the benchmark for those seeking an office in the heart of Bahrain," he noted.



"The building provides exceptional quality including comprehensive amenities, industry leading parking allocation, luxurious reception and common areas, while larger organisations can take advantage of the opportunity to lease full floors or even multiple floors. Each level is serviced by four high speed passenger elevators, dedicated servicer and car park elevator," he added.



Suites start at 127sqm, with up to four suites per floor, including 204 sq m, 208 sq m and 285 sq m spaces, it stated.



Given its iconic location, Fakhro Tower is ideally placed for businesses looking to maximise visibility and exposure in a popular business district.-TradeArabia News Service
The line on the Middle Tennessee vs. Kentucky game for Week 12 had the Wildcats as a -16 home favorite .

What's the Line Movement

The line on this game has moved from -14 to -16.

Kentucky Heading Into Week 12

Tennessee spoiled this Kentucky team's streak-busting reputation and maintained its home domination of the rivalry this past weekend with a 24-7 victory.

Kentucky can hope to bounce back against Middle Tennessee. They have not faced this team since 2008.

Start Your Own Sportsbook One of the largest Pay Per Head companies on the planet, AcePerHead.com is a full service, 24/7 provider of online bookmaking software with odds on nearly every sport, monitored every second in order to be responsive to injury and trade news as well as sharp action coming in. AcePerHead.com also offers LIVE IN-PLAY WAGERING for all nationally televised games right up to the final second of play. Mobile compatibility and customized websites for clients. Pay a low weekly fee per customer. LEARN MORE HERE

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
GE, a global technology company, presented a comprehensive roadmap to support the 2010 Ministry of Energy and Waters plan for the development of Lebanons power sector from the point of generation, to transmission, distribution and consumption at a seminar themed Powering Lebanon Forward.



The event was held under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy and Water and attended by over 140 participants, including Cesar Abi Khalil, Lebanons Minister of Energy and Water; Elizabeth H Richard, US Ambassador to Lebanon, government officials, industry experts, power plant owners and operators, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors, developers, consultants and others.



Khalil said: Our foremost commitment is to build the electricity infrastructure of the country to meet the shortage of power, which is important to drive infrastructure development and all-round progress.



We can transform the countrys power ecosystem with the active participation of private sector corporations such as GE, whose comprehensive roadmap and technologies meet our requirements to develop the strong fundamentals needed for a sustainable energy future for our country, he added.



According to estimates, Lebanon has an energy shortfall of 1.5 gigawatts (GW). Moreover, the demand for power is projected to continue growing at an estimated 5 per cent annually from 2018 to 2021, and at 3 per cent beyond 2021 through to the end of 2030.



The challenge of generation shortages is further compounded by grid-related issues such as dilapidated networks and unauthorised connections.



The roadmap has proposed to:

 Add up to 1.5 GW through fast power technology and new simple cycle power plants that are tri-fuel capable - able to run on heavy fuel oil (HFO), light diesel oil (LDO) and natural gas, as well as wind power plants that can help to generate clean energy, in the short-term.



 Increase power generation capacity by up to an additional 1.3 GW through new combined cycle power plants, the conversion of simple cycle power plants to combined cycle power plants so that more power can be generated from the same amount of fuel, and new wind power farms, in the medium-term.



 Bring online up to another 2.7 GW to meet the countrys energy needs through new combined cycle power plants and renewable energy facilities, in the long-term.



 Strengthen the grid through extensions to up to six existing substations and developing up to 17 new substations.



 Install an Integrated Energy Management system to allow the Ministry to identify losses in the network.



Midhat Mirabi, general manager of GEs Power Services business in the East Mediterranean, North Africa and Iraq sub-region, said: Our company has been present in Lebanon since the early development of its energy sector, with the first GE steam turbine in the country commissioned in 1987 and the first GE gas turbines entering operations in 1996.



Today, we are excited to build upon this legacy of contributions with a comprehensive roadmap for the electrification of Lebanon that can help strengthen the countrys power sector for present and future generations and build the foundations needed to enable progress for the people, he said.



GE operates across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (Menat) and has supported the development of the regions power sector for more than 80 years. Today, more than 2,450 GE gas and steam turbines are installed by over 360 customers in Menat and can generate up to a third of the regions power. The company also has offices in Beirut with over 90 direct and indirect employees.  TradeArabia News Service
The UAEs flag carrier airline Emirates, real estate company Emaar and smartphone giant iPhone are the most recommended brands by consumers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, respectively.



While the rankings in the UAE and Egypt are dominated by digital and technology brands, Saudis top ten rankings showcase a mix of travel, real estate, consumer brands and financial services, according the Advocacy Rankings, produced by YouGovs daily brand tracking tool BrandIndex.



After Emirates, Emaar and Almarai are the most endorsed brands by consumers in the UAE, at number two and three, respectively. In Saudi Arabia, Emaar raced up to the top spot from number five last year, and is now closely followed by Emirates and then Al Baik.



However, in Egypt, iPhone remains unchallenged at the top of the rankings, proving to be the worthiest of customer advocacy in the country. Netflix makes an impressive entry into the rankings at number two and Google has moved up to the third spot this year from number four last year.



The rankings considered how much current and former customers endorsed brands over the past year by asking respondents, "Would you recommend the brand to a friend or colleague?" or Would you tell a friend or colleague to avoid the brand?



YouGov also revealed brands that have the most improved level of customer advocacy over the last twelve months. Pakistan International Airlines has seen the biggest improvement in its Recommend score in the UAE and Kia and Heinz have seen the greatest uplift in their scores in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, respectively.



Scott Booth, head of YouGov BrandIndex  Mena, said: YouGov BrandIndex Advocacy Rankings reveal brands that have made a significant impression on consumers, enough for them to endorse the brand to others. In the current digital world, it is no surprise that technology brands excel with consumers and dominate the rankings in the UAE and Egypt. Travel & airlines, real estate and consumer brands also score well in the overall rankings.



A recommendation from friend or family is one of the most powerful votes of confidence for a brand. The top ten brands in each market have managed to deliver positive experiences and have succeeded in building strong advocacy among their customers in these Middle Eastern countries.  TradeArabia News Service
A beer company in Australia, Sydney Beer Co. has put the call out for a dream position and the first ever of its kind, a CCOO - Chief Clock Off Officer.

The role of a CCOO is to "lead and inspire the country to clock off early and drink beer". How good? The job's salary is open to negotiation but it's a full time position waiting for applications.
Nokia 106 (2018) feature phone announced for Rs. 1,700 News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Meet the new Nokia 106 feature phone!

HMD Global has announced the launch of a new feature phone under the Nokia brand. Well, the new Nokia 106 is the sequel to the Nokia 106, which was launched back in 2013. The device has the same display with a 4-way navigational key and the same battery as its predecessor. However, the latest offering is touted to offer a longer battery life.

The Nokia 106 (2018) features a polycarbonate body with contoured design. It is preloaded with the classic Snake Xenzia game. Also, there are other try-and-buy games such as Danger Dash, Tetris, Nitro Racing and more. The device weighs in at 70.2 grams and measures 111.15 x 49.5 x 14.4mm.

Nokia 106 (2018) specifications

Nokia 106 (2018) bestows a 1.8-inch TFT display with a resolution of 160 x 128 pixels. The handset gets the power from a MediaTek 6261 processor coupled with 4MB of RAM. It has ample storage space for users to save up to 2000 contacts and 500 text messages. There are features such as FM Radio, flashlight, a micro USB port for charging and a 3.5mm audio port. The highlight of this feature phone is the presence of an 800mAh battery that can render a long battery life of up to 15.7 hours of talk time and up to 21 days of standby time.

Price and availability

This new feature phone from Nokia has been launched in Dark Grey color. It will go on sale later this month in Russia for a pricing of 1,590 rubles (approx. Rs. 1,700). As of now, there is no word from the company regarding the launch of this feature phone in the Indian market. We are yet to get an official word about the same.

Regarding the launch of this feature phone, Juho Sarvikas, the Chief Product Officer at HMD Global tweeted, "Please welcome the all-new Nokia 106 to the family! Beautiful, reliable, yet extremely affordable, the Nokia 106 delivers connectivity for everyone. 1 day talk time, 1 month standby time".

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications
Nokia 8, Nokia 6, Nokia 5 get November Android security patch update in India News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Nokia smartphones launched last year get the latest update.

HMD Global has been announcing several mid-range smartphones at affordable price points in recent times. Most of them are incremental upgrades to the yesteryear models. Still, the company is committed to enhance the user experience of the 2017 models by rolling out timely updates to these devices.

Well, the Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and Nokia 8 smartphones have received the November Android security patch update proving the commitment of the company. The monthly update is rolling out only in select markets as of now. And, India appears to be one of the regions to get the update.

Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and Nokia 8 update

Yesteryear Nokia smartphones including Nokia 8, Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 have received the latest Android security patch update. We can expect the update to be rolled out to the other devices in the global markets soon. Notably, the users of these devices can check for the update by heading on to Settings  System Update.

And, as it is a security patch update, it will not be too heavy. The Nokia 5 OTA update weighs in at 103.3MB, Nokia 6 update weighs in at 109.9MB and that of the Nokia weighs in at 61.8MB.

HMD Global has been quite consistent in rolling out monthly OTA updates to its offerings. Back in 2017, the company assured that all the Nokia smartphones will get two years of software updates. In order to support this claim, the company did confirm that all the smartphones launched last year will receive the Android 9.0 Pie update. And, the Nokia 6.1 Plus already received the update. These phones were launched with Android Nougat and received the Android Oreo update earlier this year.

Nokia 8, Nokia 6, Nokia 5 price in India

When it comes to the pricing of these smartphones in India, the flagship Nokia 8 is available at a cost of Rs. 35,999. And, the Nokia 6, which was the first one to enter the market is priced at Rs. 13,999. The entry-level Nokia 5 is priced at Rs. 9,999 in the country.

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 Galaxy S9 offer

Under the Black Friday offer, the Samsung Galaxy S9 is available for $520 (Rs 37,800) with 64 GB of internal storage and 4 GB of RAM. With the Trade-in-exchange programme, the price of the Galaxy S9 drops down to $220 (Rs 16,000).

The Samsung Galaxy S9 comes with a 5.8-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or the Exynos 9810 SoC with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage with a micro SD card slot for additional storage expansion.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus offer

The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is now available for $640 (Rs 46,500) with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB storage. With the Trade-in programme, the price of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus drops down to $340 (Rs 24,500).

The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is a beefed up version of the Galaxy S9 with a bigger 6.2-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display. The smartphone runs on the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or the Exynos SoC with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage.

Samsung Galaxy Note9 offer

Under the Black Friday deal, the Samsung Galaxy Note9 is available for $800 (Rs 58,000), which is $200 less than the standard price tag of the Galaxy Note9. The Galaxy Note9 is the latest flagship smartphone from Samsung with a massive 4000 mAh battery with support for fast and wireless charging.

The Galaxy Note9 comes with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage with a micro SD card slot for additional storage expansion.
Everything you should know about Binny Bansal resignation as Flipkart CEO News oi-Priyanka Dua Binny will continue to remain a large shareholder and board member of the now Walmart-owned firm.

Flipkart is making headlines on a daily basis. First, the big news came in the form of its acquisition by Wallmart. Later the Sanchin Bansal saga topped the online world, and now Binny Bansal's (co-founder) resignation as CEO seems quite a big headline in the Indian e-commerce sector.

In a joint statement, the two companies said that his decision follows an independent investigation done on behalf of Flipkart and Walmart into an allegation of serious personal misconduct however he strongly denies the allegation. While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant's assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation.

Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign, the statement said.

However, Binny will continue to remain a large shareholder and board member of the now Walmart-owned firm.

The statement further pointed out that Binny has been contemplating a transition for some time and we have been working together on a succession plan, which has now been accelerated.

Going forward, Kalyan Krishnamurthy will continue to be CEO of Flipkart, which will now include Myntra and Jabong, continuing to operate as separate platforms within the Flipkart business, the joint statement added.

Furthermore, Ananth Narayanan will continue providing great leadership as CEO of Myntra and Jabong, and will report into Kalyan and Sameer Nigam will continue leading PhonePe as CEO. Both Kalyan and Sameer will report directly into the board.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that he also wrote a letter to his employees in which he said that he is stunned by allegations of 'serious personal misconduct'.

He also said that these were "challenging times" for him and his family, and in light of these circumstances, he felt it was best to step away as chairman and Group CEO.

To recall, this year in August Walmart Inc. and Flipkart have announced the closing of the agreements for Walmart to become the largest shareholder in the Flipkart Group.

With the completion of the investment, Walmart now holds approximately 77 percent of Flipkart. The remainder of the business is held by other shareholders, including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Tencent, Tiger Global and Microsoft Corp.

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
The New England Patriots filled out the last spot on their roster by signing veteran linebacker Ramon Humber, according to the Boston Herald's Kevin Duffy.

The Patriots had an open spot on their roster after releasing RB Kenjon Barner and LB Nicholas Grigsby this week (and activating rookie DB Duke Dawson to take one of those spots). ESPN's Mike Reiss later confirmed the Humber signing.

Humber was spotted at Patriots practice before the news came out. He joins the team heading into the bye week and will have until next week's game against the New York Jets to prepare for his first in-game action.

The 31-year-old Humber started his career with the Indianapolis Colts before signing with the New Orleans Saints in 2011, contributing primarily as a special teamer.

Humber starting playing a bigger role on defense with the Buffalo Bills in recent years. However, the Bills released the linebacker earlier this week.

Ramon was briefly a member of the Patriots before the start of the 2016 season. He was signed in March but cut at the end of training camp.
Behbehani Brothers, a leader in the automotive business, has announced that the company has been awarded the distribution and servicing rights for the luxury Italian automotive brand Lamborghini, in Bahrain.

The formal agreement was signed by Steven Hill, group general manager, Behbehani Brothers, and Federico Foschini (chief commercial officer) and Paolo Poma (chief financial officer), both part of the board of Automobili Lamborghini, at the Lamborghini headquarters in SantAgata Bolognese, Italy, on October 26.

Under the agreement, Behbehani Brothers will take over the current Lamborghini Showroom located in the Seef District, which will continue to remain as the base of the sales operation. For aftersales, customers will now enjoy access to the new and exclusive state-of-the-art group service facility located at their main site in Sitra.

It was also revealed that there are plans to relocate the showroom operations in the coming two years to a new improved facility, to further elevate the high standards reserved to Lamborghini customers.

Hill said: We are truly excited to add as a pinnacle the Lamborghini brand to further expand our Volkswagen Group representation in Bahrain under the Behbehani umbrella. As one of the oldest automotive businesses in Bahrain, our ongoing strategic objective is to continuously seek new brand opportunities and provide our customers with a comprehensive high-quality product range to meet their motoring requirements at all levels, fully supported by our first-class customer experience.

In recent years, the rise in demand in the supercar segment combined with Bahrains long-standing reputation as the motorsport capital of the Middle East has inspired us to further invest in the supercar world. We are confident that this partnership will further extend and complement the groups existing portfolio of premium automotive Brands and will position the business with a strong representation in this dynamic, niche market, he added.

Andrea Baldi, CEO of EMEA for Automobili Lamborghini, said: We are delighted to have signed this agreement with Behbehani Brothers, one of the oldest automotive businesses in Bahrain with not only with a great reputation in the automotive business but also highly respected by all of their manufacturing partners. Bahrain has always been a strong market with high potential and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship. As a strong highly-acclaimed worldwide brand, we are committed to building a solid dealer network that clearly communicates our brand ethos and DNA to our customers and this partnership will help us achieve our goals.  TradeArabia News Service
A Montana-based Federal Judge blocked further construction of the Keystone XL pipeline Thursday, Nov. 8, in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana in Great Falls. According to court documents, environmental groups including the Indigenous...
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) outlined its new integrated gas strategy and downstream growth plans at a key forum held on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) which was attended by more than 800 global oil and gas executives.



Speaking at the Gas, Refining and Petrochemicals Forum, the senior anagement of Adnoc briefed the Adipec delegates on details of the companys plans to achieve self-sufficiency in gas and transition to becoming a net gas exporter.



They also provided updates on companys downstream plans to expand its refining capacity, triple petrochemicals production and grow its international downstream footprint with targeted investments, said a statement from Adnoc.



Investment in additional commercial gas resources will see Adnoc unlock value from offshore ultra-sour gas, gas cap and unconventionals development, it added.



Adnoc provided further details of how its new integrated gas strategy, recently approved by Abu Dhabis Surpreme Petroleum Council (SPC), will drive the development and delivery of new gas resources.



At its meeting, the SPC announced new discoveries of gas in place, totaling 15 trillion standard cu ft.



Abdulmunim Al Kindy, the director of Adnocs Upstream Directorate, said: "Todays forum has provided an opportunity for global industry leaders to learn about the company's approach to growing its commercial upstream gas supply and to gain detailed insights into its new gas strategy and the progress we have made in delivering our ambitious refining and petrochemical growth plans."



"Our significant investment in commercially developing our gas resources will enable us to achieve self-sufficiency in gas and transition to being a net exporter of gas. At the same time, it supports our ongoing journey to become a leading, global downstream player that positions Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a major hub in the global refining and petrochemicals value chain," he added.



Adnocs integrated gas strategy is the first time in its history it has been in a position to commercially unlock its abundant gas resources.



Under the new strategy, the Abu Dhabi group will develop the Hail, Ghasha and Dalma mega-project that taps into Abu Dhabis Arab formation, which is estimated to hold multiple trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas.



The project is expected to produce more than 1.5 billion cu ft of gas per day around the middle of the next decade, it stated.



Adnoc said it will also unlock other sources of gas, which include Abu Dhabis gas caps and unconventional gas reserves, as well as new natural gas accumulations, which will continue to be appraised and developed as the company pursues its exploration activities.



Adnocs unconventional resources are expected to produce 1 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, before 2030, while the development of its gas caps is expected to produce an additional 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day for processing by 2030, from its Umm Shaif gas cap.



Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi governments historic decision, earlier this year, to open six oil and gas blocks for competitive bidding is expected to identify significant further gas resources. The six onshore and offshore blocks are estimated to hold multiple trillion cubic feet of gas.



On Sunday, Adnoc announced the awarding, to Total, of a 40 per cent stake in the Ruwais Diyab unconventional gas concession. Under the terms of the agreement, Total will explore, appraise and develop the concession areas unconventional gas resources.



Also yesterday (Tuesday), another agreement was signed by the company with Eni, awarding it a 25 per cent stake in the Ghasha concession, comprising the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma and other offshore fields.



Adnocs new gas strategy will also sustain its LNG production to 2040 and allow Adnoc to seize incremental LNG and gas-to-chemicals growth opportunities.



During the forum, Adnoc gave an update on the progress made in delivering its downstream refining and petrochemicals strategy, unveiled earlier this year, when the company announced a plan to invest Dh165 billion in its downstream value chain, which will see the company triple production of petrochemicals to 14.4 million tons per annum by 2025.



Adnoc also plans to create the worlds largest integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in Ruwais, which will enable it to further stretch the value of every barrel it produces.



Abdulaziz Al Hajri, the director of Adnocs Downstream Directorate, said: "We are accelerating delivery of our feedstock engines, petrochemical integration and the Ruwais Derivatives and Conversion Park  all key initiatives aimed at significantly expanding the companys downstream operations."



"At the same time, we continue to actively seek to create long-term partnerships, providing access to opportunities across the value chain for both investors and partners, as we add more value to every barrel of crude oil and natural gas we produce," he added.



Besides Al Kindy and Alhajri, the speakers at the forum included Fatima Al Nuaimi, the acting CEO of Adnoc LNG and Abdulla Ateya Al Messabi, the manager of refining and petrochemicals business unit at Adnoc Refining.-TradeArabia News Service
U.S., Qatari Defense Officials Look to Strengthen Partnership

Nov. 13, 2018

By Jim Garamone

Defense.gov

WASHINGTON -- U.S. and Qatari defense officials charted the future of the partnership during discussions in the Pentagon this morning.

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis welcomed Qatari Minister of State for Defense Khalid al-Attiyah to the building, and the two went into meetings designed to make the partnership between the two nations closer.

"In Qatar we recognize a longtime friend and military partner for peace and stability in the Middle East and a supporter of NATO's mission in Afghanistan," Mattis said. He noted Qatar's "highly successful" delivery of materials from Hungary to the NATO mission in Afghanistan as proof of the nation's global reach.

Combating Terrorism

Qatar also host the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base. Thousands of coalition service members from 15 nations join with Qatari personnel to combat the threats emanating from violent extremism.

"I look forward to your insights on how we can advance that security for we are aligned in seeking a region where all live and resolve disputes peacefully with neighbors respecting sovereign internal policies," Mattis said.

The two men will discuss a proposal for an inclusive strategic alliance. The secretary said the idea, which was proposed in the Middle East, would be one that brings together all partners to address shared challenges. "We are committed to working by, with and through allies across the region to make this concept a reality and to deter hostile actors," Mattis said.

The two nations have a historic strategic partnership built on mutual respect and shared vision of a better tomorrow, al-Attiyah said.

"We have worked closely with our partners in the United States  and specifically with our friends in DOD  to push the relationship further." he said. "We will discuss ways we can further strengthen and develop the partnership to the betterment of both nations."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-320-18 November 13, 2018

Readout of Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis' Meeting with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Dr. Khalid Al Attiyah

Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Dr. Khalid Al Attiyah at the Pentagon on Nov. 13 to reaffirm the strategic security partnership between the U.S. and Qatar.

The leaders discussed a broad range of defense issues, including Qatari support to the NATO mission in Afghanistan and improvements to Al Udeid Air Base.

Secretary Mattis thanked the entire delegation for Qatar's continued hospitality in hosting U.S. forces in the Gulf region and affirmed our commitment to ongoing security cooperation.

https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1689337/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Former U.S. Navy Captain Pleads Guilty and Former Master Chief Petty Officer Sentenced in Sweeping U.S. Navy Corruption and Fraud Probe

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, November 13, 2018



A retired U.S. Navy captain pleaded guilty to criminal conflict of interest charges and a former U.S. Navy master chief was sentenced to 17 months in prison today on corruption charges. The defendants are among the latest U.S. Navy officials to plead guilty and be sentenced in the expansive corruption and fraud investigation involving foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis and his Singapore-based ship husbanding company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman of the Southern District of California, Director Dermot F. O'Reilly of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and Director Andrew L. Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) made the announcement.

Jeffrey Breslau, 52, of Cumming, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal conflict of interest before U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino of the Southern District of California. Breslau was charged in September 2018. Retired Master Chief Ricarte Icmat David, 62, of Concepcion, Tarlac, Philippines, was sentenced by Judge Sammartino, who also ordered him to serve a year of supervised release and pay restitution of $30,000. David was charged in August 2018 and pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, from October 2009 until July 2012, Breslau was a captain in the U.S. Navy assigned as director of public affairs for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As part of his duties, Breslau was involved in devising the U.S. Navy's public affairs communications strategy, and provided public affairs guidance to Pacific Fleet components and other U.S. Navy commands. From August 2012 until July 2014, Breslau was assigned to the commanding officer for the Joint Public Affairs Support Element in Norfolk, Virginia, where he was responsible for leading joint crisis communications teams.

Breslau admitted that from March 2012 until September 2013, while serving in the above roles for the U.S. Navy, he provided Francis with public relations consulting services, including providing advice on how to respond to issues and controversies related to Francis's ship husbanding business with the U.S. Navy. These included issues related to port visit costs, allegations of malfeasance such as the unauthorized dumping of waste, disputes with competitors, and issues with Pacific Fleet and contracting personnel. During the course of his consulting agreement with Francis, Breslau authored, reviewed or edited at least 33 separate documents; authored at least 135 emails providing advice to Francis; provided at least 14 instances of "talking points" in advance of meetings between Francis and high ranking U.S. Navy personnel; and "ghostwrote" numerous emails on Francis's behalf to be transmitted to U.S. Navy personnel. During the course of this consulting agreement, Francis paid Breslau approximately $65,000 without Breslau disclosing the agreement to the U.S. Navy, Breslau admitted.

As part of his guilty plea, David admitted that he was assigned various logistics positions with the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, including with the Fleet Industrial Supply Center in Yokosuka, Japan from June 2001 to July 2004; on the USS Essex from July 2004 to August 2007; on the USS Kitty Hawk from September 2007 to August 2008; and on the USS George Washington from September 2008 to July 2010. In these positions, David was responsible for ordering and verifying goods and services for the ships on which he served, including from contractors during port calls. Throughout this period, David received from Francis various things of value, including five star hotel rooms during every port visit, he admitted.

David further admitted that he repeatedly facilitated fraud on the United States by allowing Francis and GDMA to inflate the husbanding invoices to bill for services never rendered. For example, David instructed Francis to inflate invoices for the USS Essex's anticipated November 2007 port visit to the Philippines. As David transitioned to a new position aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, on or about May 8, 2008, Francis's company paid approximately 84,637.00 Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) for hotel reservations at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong for U.S. Navy personnel assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk including 10,396 HKD for David's four-night stay in a Harbor View Room, David admitted.

Francis pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribery and fraud charges, admitting that he presided over a massive, decade-long conspiracy involving "scores" of U.S. Navy officials, tens of millions of dollars in fraud and millions of dollars in bribes and lavish gifts, including luxury travel, airline upgrades, five-star hotel accommodations, top-shelf alcohol, the services of prostitutes, Cuban cigars, Kobe beef and Spanish suckling pigs.

So far, 33 defendants have been charged and 22 have pleaded guilty, many admitting to accepting things of value from Francis in exchange for helping the contractor win and maintain contracts and overbill the Navy by millions of dollars.

The case was investigated by DCIS, NCIS and the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher, Patrick Hovakimian and Robert Huie of the Southern District of California.

Topic(s): Financial Fraud

Component(s):

Criminal Division

Criminal - Criminal Fraud Section

Press Release Number: 18-1497

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






'Iran deeply concerned over humanitarian situation in Yemen'

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Tue / 13 November 2018 / 12:41

Tehran (ISNA) - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qassemi has expressed the Islamic Republic's deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen, saying that the world today must shoulder the historical responsibility of ending the catastrophe in the war-torn country.

Qassemi made the comments in reaction to the latest developments in Yemen and the worsening situation in the country particularly after the relentless bombardment of residential areas and medical centres in the port city of Hudaydah by Saudi and Emirati warplanes.

In a Monday statement, he referred to the volatile situation created by the Saudi-led airstrikes on the residents of Hudaydah, and said the Islamic Republic is deeply worried about the dire humanitarian situation in the country.

"Iran blames the aggressors' indifference to the warnings and concerns expressed by the international community for the current inhumane situation in Yemen," he said, adding that over the past four years, the aggressors have relentlessly targeted the innocent and defenseless people of Yemen by their warplanes.

The spokesman then praised the "timely" remarks made by Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the current situation in Yemen.

The concerns and outrage expressed by Bachelet about the dire situation and the high death toll in Yemen and her call for an end to the sufferings of civilians in the war-torn country are timely and consistent with the bitter reality on the ground, he noted.

The spokesman urged the international community to take the concerns and outrage seriously.

According to Qassemi, the Islamic Republic has always called for an end to the violence in Yemen.

"Amid the current situation, in addition to their political and legal obligations, all states and the international community, organizations and bodies also have an ethical responsibility to show their strong will to put an end to aggressors' violence in Yemen and adopt appropriate measures to this end," he said.

Qassemi then expressed regret over the repeated postponement of Yemeni-Yemeni talks and said unfortunately the recent history shows that Saudi Arabia and the UAE intensify their aggression in Yemen to stop the beginning of the talks whenever they come to understand that attempts to start the negotiations are getting closer to bearing fruit.

The spokesmen finally underlined the need to adopt immediate measures to end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and said the Islamic Republic of Iran has set forth its proposal to end the crisis based on a totally humanitarian approach since years ago.

According to the spokesman, Iran still insists on its plan and expresses its preparedness to establish cooperation with the international community to improve the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

"We seriously believe that attempts to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen amount to a historical responsibility for today's world and the ground should be prepared soon for stopping violence against Yemenis and dispatching aid to the war-torn country," he concluded.

End Item

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Mission Complete: 24th MEU exercises amphibious capabilities during Trident Juncture 18

US Marine Corps News

By Lance Cpl. Margaret Gale | 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit | November 13, 2018

Marines and Sailors from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit participated in exercise Trident Juncture 18 in Iceland and Norway during October and November, 2018. Trident Juncture is the largest NATO exercise held since 2002 and allowed for military forces to operate in a collective defense scenario.

Marines initiated the exercise in Iceland where they executed an air assault and conducted cold weather training to prepare for the live exercise in Norway. The cold weather training allowed Marines to rehearse establishing a bivouac location and familiarized them with their gear in Iceland's high winds and driving rain.

"We need to exercise our capabilities in different locations so we can plan for different variables," said Lt. Col. Misca Geter, the executive officer with the 24th MEU. "The weather and terrain of Iceland forces us to plan around those factors."

After Iceland, the 24th MEU moved on to Norway who hosted the live exercise portion of Trident Juncture. Norway provided another challenging environment for Marines to train in that would not otherwise be possible in the United States. The unique climate and terrain allowed the Marines to demonstrate their proficiency in the cold weather, precipitation, and high altitude.

The culminating event for the 24th MEU came Oct. 29-31 when they executed an amphibious landing and air assault in Alvund and Gjora, Norway, respectively. Eleven amphibious assault vehicles, more than 50 HMMWV's, and six light armored vehicles were delivered ashore during the amphibious landing. More than 20 other vehicles were moved from ship to shore and approximately 1,000 Marines were transported ashore by surface or air connectors. The air assault saw a company of Marines from Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines insert into Gjora, secure the landing zone, and set the conditions for follow on operations. While ashore, Marines rehearsed tactics in conjunction with NATO allies to defeat the notional enemy forces.

"The training Trident Juncture 18 provided is important because we have Marines who have never deployed, been on ship or operated in the cold weather environment that Iceland and Norway have," said Sgt. Maj. Chris Garza, the 24th MEU Sergeant Major. "We had the opportunity to operate with the United Kingdom Royal Marines, who are one of our NATO partners. The Royal Marines have a history much like ours and it has been a great opportunity to train with them. We now know our capabilities with the Royal Marines and look forward to working with them in the future."

The large-scale exercise validated the 24th MEU's ability to deploy with the Navy, rapidly generate combat power ashore, and set the conditions for offensive operations under challenging conditions. Trident Juncture strengthened the bond between the Navy-Marine Corps team and integrated NATO allies and partners, particularly the United Kingdom's Royal Marines, who embarked with the 24th MEU in Iceland.

"It's been interesting to integrate with U.S. Marines," said Marine Declan Parker, a heavy weapons operator with anti-tanks 3 troop, 45 Commando. "We have had the opportunity to learn about their weapons systems and tactics. This exercise will aid the troops in future deployments"

The Royal Marines, with X-Ray Company, 45 Commando, worked in conjunction with the 24th MEU and assets from Marine Aircraft Group 29 to rehearse their tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel proficiency. During the TRAP, approximately 30 Royal Marines loaded into two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366 while two U.S. Marines served as isolated personnel to be recovered. The Royal Marines were attacked by the notional enemy multiple times which allowed them to maneuver on the enemy while a U.S. Marine called for close air support which was delivered by a UH-1Y Venom with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269. The effective enemy suppression allowed the Royal Marines to deliver both isolated U.S. Marines safely to the awaiting CH-53.

"The fact that we were able to integrate [the Royal Marines] with Marine Corps aviation is a great training value for both of our forces," said U.S. Marine Capt. Jacob Yeager, a member of the 24th MEU who was embedded with the Royal Marines during the TRAP. "U.S. Marine Corps aircraft delivered UK Royal Marines into a landing zone to recover two isolated U.S. Marines. That's significant."

As the exercise comes to a close, Marines are now more lethal and capable of operating in unique terrain and climate while exposed to the elements that the mountainous terrain presents.

"Trident Juncture has been an extremely beneficial training exercise," said Cpl. Zachary Zupets, an anti-tank missile gunner with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 24th MEU. "The cold weather [in Norway and Iceland] is not the same back in North Carolina, it gets cold, but it isn't the same kind of cold. This exercise has taken us out of our element and forced us to apply the things that we have learned and how to operate in this type of environment. We definitely had some fun out there. I think it was an amazing experience and my guys and I really enjoyed it."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iwo Jima Arrives in Oslo, Norway

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS181113-12

Release Date: 11/13/2018 10:39:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daniel C. Coxwest, USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Public Affairs Office

OSLO, Norway (NNS) -- More than 2,500 Sailors and Marines aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) arrived in Oslo, Norway Nov. 13, 2018 for a scheduled port visit.

The ship arrived in Norway's capital to enhance U.S.-Norway relations as the two nations continue to strengthen regional security and stability. While inport, the 2,500 Sailors and Marines onboard will participate in several community relation projects and have the opportunity to experience the city's culture, food and historical sites. The ship will also host a reception for civil and military leaders of the two countries.

"The Sailors and Marines of USS Iwo Jima are looking forward to pulling into Oslo for this upcoming port visit and continuing to develop the strong relationships with our NATO partners in Norway," said Capt. Joseph O'Brien, commanding officer aboard Iwo Jima. "This is a great opportunity for the crew to experience the history and culture of Norway while enjoying some well-deserved time off."

The port visit is the latest for Iwo Jima's crew, who also recently visited Reykjavik, Iceland and Trondheim, Norway.

Iwo Jima recently participated in Trident Juncture 18, which was a NATO-led exercise designed to certify NATO response forces and develop interoperability among participating NATO Allied and partner nations.

The Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group embarks the 24th MEU and is comprised of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) and amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), Fleet Surgical Team 6, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22, Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, components of Naval Beach Group 2 and the embarked staffs of Expeditionary Strike Group 2 and Amphibious Squadron 8.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






NBU 7, JMSDF Conduct Integrated Training

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS181113-09

Release Date: 11/13/2018 10:34:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kirsten King, Amphibious Force U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs

SASEBO, Japan (NNS) -- Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 conducted a landing craft, air cushion (LCAC) interoperability exchange with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in Sasebo, Japan on November 8.

Sailors departed the Yokose LCAC facility in LCAC 09, transited the Sasebo Outer Harbor, and then entered and exited the well deck of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force amphibious transport dock JS Kunisaki (LST 4003).

U.S. and Japanese forces conduct bilateral amphibious exchanges on an ongoing basis in order to improve tactical proficiency and shared understanding of procedures.

"This training gives the Japanese an opportunity to learn how we enter well decks," said Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 1st Class Vicente Tan, a deck engineer assigned to NBU 7. "We also get to feel what it's like to go inside their well deck, which is smaller and slightly different than ours."

Quartermaster 2nd Class Ciaran Steinkamp, a LCAC Navigator assigned to NBU 7, was in charge of all of the communications between LCAC 09 and JS Kunisaki during the exchange. Although the two crews spoke different languages, the day went smoothly.

"The language barrier is there, but we have procedural compliance that gets us around that, such as the visual signaling that they did inside the well deck" said Steinkamp. "It's the same, whether it's their navy or ours. It's universal."

Steinkamp said it's important to train with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on a regular basis, so that both navies are prepared for combined missions at any time.

"They're our host country," said Steinkamp. "We need to be able to operate with them and support various missions around the operating area."

Tan agreed that this type of training is crucial.

"This helps with camaraderie between the two countries and helps us to learn to work together as a team," said Tan.

NBU 7 is forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan and embarks aboard USS Wasp (LHD 1), USS Green Bay (LPD 20), USS Ashland (LSD 48), and USS Germantown (LSD 42).

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Construction Begins on Future USS Patrick Gallagher

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS181113-08

Release Date: 11/13/2018 10:32:00 AM

From Team Ships Public Affairs

BATH, Maine (NNS) -- The construction of the future USS Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127) is officially underway at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard.

The milestone was marked with a ceremony held in the shipyard's fabrication shop during which U.S. Senator Susan Collins made the initial cut to the first plate of steel for the ship. The ceremony was attended by BIW shipyard workers and Navy representatives.

The ship will honor Lance Cpl. Patrick Gallagher, Marine Corps Vietnam veteran and Navy Cross recipient. Gallagher was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on July 18, 1966, when he selflessly threw his body on an incoming grenade, shielding his fellow Marines. He quickly pitched the grenade to a nearby river where it safely exploded out of harm's way, without injury to himself or others. Gallagher was killed in action one year later in DaLoc near De Nang on March 30, 1967. He is one of only 30 known Irish citizens to have died in the Vietnam conflict.

"It is exciting to commence construction on what will be the 77th ship of the Arleigh Burke class" said Capt. Casey Moton, DDG 51 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. "Not only will this ship continue the legacy of enduring warfighting capability, it will carry with it the strength and courage demonstrated by its namesake."

DDG 127 will be the last Flight IIA configuration destroyer built by BIW. The ship will incorporate the AEGIS Baseline 9 Combat System which includes Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability. This system delivers quick reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures capability for Anti-Air Warfare.

When operational, this multi-mission surface combatant will serve as an integral player in global maritime security, engaging in air, undersea, surface, strike and ballistic missile defense as well as providing increased capabilities in anti-submarine warfare, command and control, and anti-surface warfare.

BIW is currently in production on the future Arleigh Burke class destroyers Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), Carl M. Levin (DDG 120), John Basilone (DDG 122), and Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124), as well as the Zumwalt class destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002). BIW was also recently awarded a contract for the construction of four DDG 51 Flight III ships as part of the Navy's FY18-22 multiyear procurement.

As one of the Defense Department's largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, boats and craft.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USS Bulkeley Returns to Norfolk Following Deployment

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS181113-02

Release Date: 11/13/2018 8:49:00 AM

From U.S. Fleet Forces Command Public Affairs and Outreach

NORFOLK (NNS) -- Guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) returned to Naval Station Norfolk following a seven-month deployment to the Navy's U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility, Nov. 11.

The ship operated as part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) and also conducted independent operations in support of 6th Fleet combatant commander requirements.

"I could not be prouder of these naval warriors as they completely bought-in to the mantra of 'Engaging, Fighting, and Winning' and established a new standard of excellence," said Cmdr. John Lucas IV, the ship's commanding officer. "This incredible team eagerly engaged in unique challenges and fought through adversity to ultimately win by successfully completing all assigned tasking and returning home safely from a seven-month deployment. We, the 'Wolfpack' of USS Bulkeley, truly showed our warrior spirit by executing across all mission areas, to include serving as a preferred firing unit for the fleet, while also logging significant hours as a local anti-submarine commander for allied forces  a true testament to our dynamic capabilities that were realized only due to a deeply-rooted belief in the validity of the missions, as well focused and dedicated training leading up to and through deployment."

During the deployment, the ship traveled more than 56,000 nautical miles and navigated the Strait of Gibraltar four times. The crew conducted 26 underway replenishments and more than 900 hours of helicopter operations in support of various missions.

The ship conducted port visits to Greece, Norway, Scotland, Spain, and Turkey.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is named in honor of Vice Adm. John Duncan Bulkeley (1911-1996), best known for his extraordinary heroism as commander of Motor Torpedo Squadron 3 in the Pacific theater during World War II. The ship is homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USS New York Completes Trident Juncture

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS181113-01

Release Date: 11/13/2018 8:46:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lyle Wilkie, USS New York (LPD 21) Public Affairs

NORWEGIAN SEA (NNS) -- San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New York (LPD 21) completed exercise Trident Juncture 18, Nov. 7.

Trident Juncture 18 was a large-scale NATO exercise that took place in Norway and the surrounding areas of the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea.

New York, along with 31 allies and partner nations completed the exercise. More than 14,000 of the 40,000 participants were U.S. service members from each branch of service. Around 150 aircraft, 70 ships, and more than 10,000 vehicles were used during the exercise which served to enhance professional relationships and improve overall coordination between allies and partner militaries in the event of a crisis.

"The exercise was a tremendous success," said Capt. Brent DeVore, commanding officer aboard New York. "Most importantly, we had the chance to work with our NATO partners. This raised the ability of NATO forces to work together effectively, swiftly and collectively -- which allows us to respond to threats from any direction. During the exercise, we conducted rehearsals in Iceland, and later supported an amphibious landing in Norway. From the initial planning, through the execution, and to the final backload of all Marines and equipment, the importance of teamwork played the most crucial role. We acted as an integrated team, knowledgeable of each other's roles and responsibilities, which enabled us to anticipate each other's needs through the operation - allowing it to be smoothly and promptly executed!"

New York played a special role in the exercise, conducting a simulated beach assault in the inner waterways of the Alvundfjorden Fjord in Norway. Over the span of two days, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with 11 assault amphibious vehicles (AAVs), 53 vehicles, and cargo weighing in excess of 1 million pounds, were sent ashore using landing craft air cushions, assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4. Once on the beach, the Marines completed field training on the Norwegian countryside before returning to the ship in Orkanger, Norway. During their time away, the Marines conducted collaborative training with their counterparts and received valuable cold weather experience.

"The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit comprised the landing force component of the overall amphibious task force," said Lt. Col. Joseph Garaux, commander of troops. "It was an extremely successful exercise that reassured our allies and host nation that NATO forces can rapidly deploy and operate well together. The Marines conducted a 7-day live exercise that required units to maneuver, communicate, and coordinate with NATO allies and the host nation of Norway. Our ability to collectively work together in the defense of NATO improved because of Trident Juncture."

Next, the New York participated in a war-game exercise with surface ships representing the participating nations. This involved testing each others offensive and defensive capabilities in the cold weather environment.

To wrap up the exercise, 26 nations participated in a photo exercise. The photo exercise served as not only as an opportunity for a lasting photo, but also as a sign of solidarity and strength by the NATO partners.

Trident Juncture 18 officially ended with the completion of the photo exercise. New York arrived in Orkanger, Norway the following day for a port visit.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Snapchat users in the two largest GCC economies are keen to search and buy online, with more than nine in 10 Snapchatters (96 per cent UAE, 91 per cent Saudi Arabia) having visited an online retail site or store in the past month.



More importantly, approximately 3 in 4 (76 per cent UAE, 71 per cent Saudi Arabia) have made an online purchase over the past 30 days, a share considerably higher than among those who do not use Snapchat, new data from Global Web Index Q1-Q2 2018 showed.



While they are eager to shop online, Snapchatters are also savvy deal hunters, with 4 in 5 (82 per cent UAE, 77 per cent Saudi Arabia) saying they are always trying to find the best offers when shopping online.



Over the past few years, Snapchat has become the to-go platform for companies looking to connect with online shoppers. Souq.com, the architects behind the famous White Friday deal event, has been activating unique experiences on Snapchat for several years.



According to BMI Research, the GCCs e-commerce industry is on the verge of becoming the worlds fastest growing market and is forecasted to grow from an estimated $26.9 billion in 2018 to $48.6 billion in 2022.



To help the regions businesses take advantage of this transformation, Snapchat recently launched four new e-commerce features in the Middle East: Shoppable Snap Ads, Product Catalogues, Advanced Pixel Targeting, and partnerships with over 40 global performance agencies to help advertisers succeed with e-commerce.



Mohammad Jabri, VP of Marketing - Middle East at JollyChic, an e-commerce client of Snapchat, said: "Snapchat as a platform has been key to our success in both building our brand awareness, reaching a wide audience and achieving a healthy performance ROI through targeted tactical campaigns. When working with Snapchat, we choose to build on the creative tools capabilities to fully optimize the platforms potential to deliver on our marketing objectives."



Farimah Moeini, Business Solutions lead at, Snapchat, added: Snapchat is already playing a pivotal role in helping ecommerce businesses deliver results at scale. With e-commerce set to almost double over the next few years nearly every business sector will be redefined. We look forward to strengthening our local partnerships and products to help businesses capture the value of this transformation.  TradeArabia News Service
UN aid chief demands cessation of hostilities around Yemen's Hudaydah

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:13PM

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, has called for a ceasefire around of Hudaydah, where Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and foreign mercenaries are fighting Houthi Ansarullah fighters for the control of the western Yemeni port city.

"I ask that the parties implement a cessation of hostilities, not least in and around all the infrastructure and facilities on which the aid operation and commercial importers rely," Lowcock said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added that the United Nations was ready to play a role in "ensuring the appropriate use of key facilities, especially around Hudaydah."

'UAE responsible for escalation of conflict in Yemen's Hudaydah'

Meanwhile, the spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces has held the United Arab Emirates (UAE) fully responsible for the recent intensification of conflict around Hudaydah.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital city of Sana'a on Tuesday, Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that Yemeni army troops, supported by allied fighters from Popular Committees, maintain control over the strategic city.

He added that the Abu Dhabi regime is seeking to establish control over Hudaydh after it managed to occupy the southern Yemeni port cities of Mukha, Mukalla and Aden.

Saree further noted that the UAE bears full responsibility for the conflict, which has escalated significantly around Hudaydah city and possible consequences.

The senior Yemeni official went on to say that Yemeni army soldiers and their allies enjoy subtle tactics and great capabilities to deal with invaders, pointing out that special units have been trained for street battles.

Saree said Yemeni soldiers and Popular Committees fighters have carried out over 35 counterattacks against Saudi-sponsored Yemeni and foreign mercenaries ever since Saudi-led coalition began a new onslaught on Hudaydah earlier this month.

He said at least 1,224 mercenaries, including 20 battalion commanders and 33 Sudanese soldiers, have been killed and injured in the process.

Saree stated that 183 armored vehicles in addition to five weapon depots have also been destroyed in Hudaydah city, emphasizing that Yemeni army soldiers and their allies have successfully managed to cut off enemy supply lines.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed deep concern about the recent wave of violence in Hudaydah and its impact on the civilian population as well as on humanitarian aid operations.

The world body appealed to parties to the conflict to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel; and to secure humanitarian relief items stored in the strategically important Yemeni city.

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 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






Warplanes target main entrance to Yemen's port city of Hudaydah

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 03:21PM

The military coalition led by the Saudi regime has carried out airstrikes targeting the main entrance to Yemen's western port city of Hudaydah, some five months after coalition forces, backed by armed militia loyal to the former Yemeni government, launched a full-scale offensive to seize the vital port.

The main gate "was the target of airstrikes... but the port is operating normally," said the port's deputy director Yahya Sharafeddin on Tuesday, adding that at least two airstrikes had hit the entrance, leaving three guards wounded.

Other reports said that a single-storey guardroom had taken a direct hit from the strikes, which killed at least one soldier.

Back in June, the coalition, backed by loyalists of Yemen's former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who resigned amid popular discontent and fled to Saudi Arabia three years ago, started a massive offensive against Hudaydah, which is currently under a tight siege imposed by the invaders.

The so-called liberation operation, however, has so far failed to achieve its objective, which is overrunning the vital port and defeating fighters of the Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by those from the Popular Committees. However, the Saudi-led forces on November 1 commenced a fresh wave of airstrikes and ground invasion in an attempt to capture the city of some 600,000 people.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Sharafeddin said that despite the air raids, the vital docks were operating normally. Some 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN supervised humanitarian aid pass through these docks.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported that Saudi-led airstrikes had claimed the lives of at least eight people and wounded several others in Jarrahi district of Hudaydah.

In a separate report on Tuesday, al-Masirah cited Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree as saying that since early November, 867 mercenaries and those loyal to Hadi had been killed in various fronts and 2,150 others were wounded.

He added that 1,224 of Riyadh's mercenaries and Hadi's militia had either been killed or wounded in Hudaydah alone.

Leading a coalition of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall Hadi.

Since the onset of the imposed war, the Yemeni army, backed by Houthi fighters, has been defending the impoverished nation against the brutal aggression.

Saudi Arabia has achieved neither of its objectives. Riyadh had declared at the start of the invasion that the war would take no more than a couple of weeks.

The aggression initially consisted of a bombing campaign, but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces to Yemen.

According to a recent report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.

The war has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen'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 United States and Britain in particular, are accused of being complicit in the deadly campaign as they supply Riyadh 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






Afghan Taliban Wants What It Hasn't Been Able To Hold: Hazara Regions

By Frud Bezhan November 13, 2018

Tucked in a valley in the remote highlands of central Afghanistan, Jaghori has been a safe haven in recent years for members of the country's beleaguered Hazara minority.

But the peace in Jaghori, a district in Ghazni Province heavily populated by the mainly Shi'ite Hazara, was shattered last week when Taliban militants launched a major offensive to seize it. Afghan special forces and pro-government Hazara militiamen continue to battle the militants, with clashes killing hundreds of people and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

When asked why the Taliban would try to take an area that has long been considered unattainable, analysts suggest that the hard-line Sunni movement is emboldened by territorial gains made elsewhere in the country, and has something to prove.

Expanding its reach into a central region inhabited by an ethnic group renowned for its opposition to the Taliban could be a game changer in the battle for national influence.

The Taliban terrorized Hazara during its oppressive 1996-2001 rule, when the militants wrestled control of central Afghanistan through brute force and a campaign of targeted killings. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban has been unable to make inroads in Hazara-dominated areas.

"The Taliban want to prove that they are capable of governing non-Pashtun territories," says Haroun Mir, a Kabul-based political analyst. "They have been able to govern ethnic Tajik and Uzbek areas in the north, and they want to govern Hazara-dominated districts as well."

Apart from Jaghori, the militants have also attacked the district of Malistan, also in Ghazni. Fighting erupted two weeks ago in the Khas Uruzgan district, which has a sizeable Hazara population, of the neighboring Uruzgan Province.

'Alternative Governing Force'

The Taliban has traditionally drawn on Pashtuns to back its insurgency, but it has successfully recruited disgruntled members of other ethnic groups as it has expanded its reach. The recruits have boosted the Taliban's ability to seize territory beyond the Pashtun-majority areas in the country's south and east that serve as its base of power.

To this point, Hazara areas have been the exception.

Analysts note that the Taliban has tried to portray itself as a genuinely national movement, and to bolster that image it has tried to attract members of other ethnic groups. It has also distanced itself from sectarian and ethnic-driven attacks, although it is in fact often blamed for orchestrating incidents.

"Unlike in the case of ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks, the Taliban doesn't have Hazara in their ranks, which is a big challenge for them," Mir says. "However, if they are capable of controlling and governing Hazara territories without brutality and abuses, then it might play well in their strategy, which is to portray themselves as an alternative governing force not only in the south but in the entire country."

'Never Accept Taliban Rule'

Taliban rule would be difficult to sell to Hazara. Aside from past Taliban atrocities against the community, the group's strict interpretation of Shari'a law and its policies on women and education would threaten advancements seen in Hazara areas in recent years.

In Jaghori, for example, there is near-universal girls education, and the number of boys attending school is higher than the national average. Women also work outside their homes and can drive cars, as is the case in most urban areas of Afghanistan but which is banned in areas under Taliban control.

During its draconian rule, the Taliban denied girls the right to go to school, and women were not allowed to work outside the home. If they ventured outside, women had to don a burqa and be escorted by a male relative. Although the Taliban has relaxed some of its strictest positions, its restrictions on education and women persist.

"Hazara will never accept Taliban rule willingly, and will do their best to resist them," says Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul. "Hazara do not want to have any reversal on their civic gains."

Highlighting the anti-Taliban sentiment among Hazara, civilians took up arms against the insurgents before the central government belatedly sent reinforcement troops, including special forces and warplanes, to besieged districts this week.

The fighting between the mostly Pashtun Sunni Taliban and Shi'ite Hazara has heightened fears of ethnic and sectarian violence, even as the Taliban has denied it is specifically targeting Hazara.

Pashtuns are the biggest ethnic group in Afghanistan, constituting some 40 percent of the 30 million population. Hazara make up around 10 percent.

'Try Their Chances'

The districts of Jaghori and Malistan in Ghazni Province are strategic because they are considered the gateway to the Hazara-dominated provinces of Bamiyan and Dai Kundi, peaceful areas where the Taliban currently has no influence.

Large parts of Ghazni are under the control of the Taliban and the militants briefly overran the provincial capital, Ghazni city, in August before they were beaten back by Afghan special forces backed by U.S. air strikes. Ghazni is strategically located on the main highway linking Kabul with the southern city of Kandahar.

"The Taliban may want to try their chances at wresting control of the Hazara areas from the government as they already control large parts of the non-Hazara districts in Ghazni Province," Adili says.

The Ghazni fighting prompted demonstrations in Kabul and Ghazni by Hazara, who have complained of official neglect after a string of militant attacks targeting the community. A suicide attack close to where demonstrators had been gathering in Kabul killed at least six people on November 12.

A recent U.S. government watchdog report said the number of districts under government control or influence was at the lowest level since 2015. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said only 55.5 percent of the total 407 districts were under government control or influence, with the rest either contested or controlled by the Taliban.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-taliban -wants-what-it-hasn-t-been-able-to-hold- hazara-regions/29598848.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






Joining Finland, Norway Says Russia May Have Jammed GPS Signal In Arctic

November 13, 2018

The Norwegian Defense Ministry says Russian forces in the Arctic disturbed GPS location signals during a recent large NATO drill in Norway.

Finland's air-navigation services a week ago issued a warning to air traffic due to large-scale GPS interruption in the north of the country.

"We have the same problem [as Finland]. We think it can also be part of a Russian exercise," Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen told Reuters on November 13.

Russia's Defense Ministry could not be reached for comment on Norway's claim.

Norway posted a warning similar to that of Finland at the end of October, days before the start of Trident Juncture, NATO's largest military exercise since the Cold War involving 50,000 troops from 31 countries in an area stretching from the Baltic Sea to Iceland.

Finland and Sweden, which are not NATO members, also took part in the drill.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on November 11 it was "possible that Russia has been the disrupting party in this. Russia is known to possess such capabilities."

The Kremlin dismissed Finland's allegations on November 12 as groundless.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/joining-finland- norway-says-russia-may-have-jammed-gps- signal-in-arctic/29598879.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






NATO drills fallout: Norwegian frigate almost underwater after oil tanker collision

13 Nov, 2018 14:35

The Norwegian Navy frigate that tried and failed to return home after parading its might in NATO war games is almost completely submerged under water after colliding with an oil tanker.

Eight people were injured when the KNM Helge Ingstad and the tanker Sola TS collided last week off Norway's western coast, putting a not-so-great finish on the much touted Trident Juncture 2018 drills  the largest exercise hosted by Norway since the 1980s and the largest that NATO has held in decades.

Since then, the frigate has been slowly sinking. Photos from the scene on Monday show a tiny fraction of the warship above water, with the rest of it completely submerged.

That comes despite the Norwegian military working since Thursday to attempt to salvage the frigate by tethering it to the shore with several wires.

The sinking ship is unfortunate for NATO, considering the Trident Juncture drills were designed to send a "clear message" to "adversaries" that NATO is "ready to defend...against any threat." Instead, the bloc member's Navy could now be sent to retest its navigation skills.

While the sinking ship has so far not been pinned on Russia, any such false accusation wouldn't necessarily come as a surprise. Finland's prime minister already found a way to blame his country's malfunctioning GPS signal during the drills on the Kremlin.

The Trident Juncture drills involved 50,000 participants from 31 NATO and partner countries. Around 250 aircraft, 65 vessels, and up to 10,000 vehicles were also involved.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Counselor Al-Mansour: The process of assessing incidents is based on established norms and standards in the international humanitarian law system

Saudi Press Agency

Tuesday 1440/3/5 - 2018/11/13

Riyadh, Rabi'I 05, 1440, November 13, 2018, SPA -- Official Spokesman for the Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT) in Yemen, Counselor Mansour Al-Mansour, confirmed that the team, through the Operations Department and its legal Counselors, follows a legal methodology in the evaluation process based on the principles and standards adopted in the international humanitarian law system.

He noted that the Team is also acquainted with the best practices on the monitoring of serious violations of international humanitarian law during military operations, as well as examining the extent to which the coalition forces complied with the rules of engagement adopted and enforced by the Coalition Forces.

During the press conference held at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Riyadh today, Counselor Al-Mansour reviewed the results of the 7 incidents claims made by international organizations and the media regarding mistakes committed by the Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen during its military operations inside Yemen.

He stressed the integrity of the procedures followed by the Coalition Forces, which took into account the rules of engagement and international humanitarian law and customary rules, where he reviewed during the conference the cases in accordance with the sequence adopted by the Team, which comes in continuation of cases that have been evaluated and talked about in the media.

In relation to the house in Aldhihar Directorate, Ibb Regarding the letter of The National Commission To Investigate Alleged Violations To Human Rights on Yemen stated that on Friday morning (28 August 2015) a house belonging to a citizen located in (Jabal Ruba) park, (Aldhihar) directorate, (Ibb) governorate was targeted by a missile caused a full destruction of the house, killed (7) residents , and heavily injured (1). It was also confirmed that the targeted area had no military target.

JIAT verified the incident, examined all related documents, including the Procedures; Rules of Engagement, Daily Mission Schedule, satellite images, video recordings; and assessed all gathered evidence.

JIAT found that the claimed house is located in the North side of (Ibb) city, and there was no air mission in that location, as the closest target that been targeted by the Coalition Air Forces was a gathering of the Houthi armed militia that located (2.5) KM North of the claimed location.

In light of that, JIAT found that the Coalition Air Forces did not target the claimed (house).

In relation to the (2) buses in (Abyan) Governorate, regarding the report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the United Nations issued on (7 September 2015) stated that (2) buses transporting displaced families were targeted by the Coalition Air Forces on (17 June 2015) in (Al alam) area, (Abyan) Governorate, and found that (17) civilians were killed in this incident (5) children, and (5) women were among them, while (10) others were injured. The victims reportedly fled the violence from (Almansoura) area, (Aden) governorate and were on their way to (Hadramout).

As reported by the High Commissioner "response to the inquiries of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team" that it received information from witnesses confirm that one of the buses had displaced persons on board most of them families, and witnesses heard the sound of high voices from the Coalition Aircrafts at the time of the attack, where the first strike hit the bus that has the displaced families, and the second strike hit the front of the other bus resulted in the death of the driver and (2) passengers riding in front of the bus. The High Commissioner also received a list of the names of the injured and dead on the day the attack took place, and that the site of the bombing was at coordinates (N 12 59 51.4 E44 54 40.3), as reported in the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the United Nations memorandum.

JIAT verified the incident, examined all related documents, including the Procedures; Rules of Engagement, Daily Mission Schedule, After Mission Reports, satellite images; and assessed all gathered evidence.

After examining the claim and the response of the High Commissioner to the inquiries of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team on the claim, JIAT found that there was a variation in location of the claim made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the United Nations, despite the address of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team to the High Commissioner since the claim was received, and requested detailed information. The claim as reported by the Commission on the coordinates (N 12 59 51.4 E44 54 40.3) in the city (Saber) city (Lahj) governorate. While it was clear from the information in the claim that the incident took place in (Alalam) area, (Abyan) governorate, which is located East of (Aden) governorate. JIAT study and cover all the possibilities to make sure that the claim was studied in all aspects despite the contrast.

JIAT reviewed the Daily Mission Schedule of the Coalition Air Forces operations carried out at the date of the claim (17 June 2015), and found that the Coalition Forces did not target the (2) buses, and that the closest air mission was on a military target (building where leaders of the Houthi armed militia were inside) in (Lahj) governorate, and located (5) KM from the coordinate given by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the United Nations.

JIAT also reviewed the Daily Mission Schedule of the operations of the Coalition Air Forces executed on (16 June 2015), and (18 June 2015) which is the prior and the following day of the claim, and found that the Coalition Forces carried out an air mission on military targets (building) about (6.3) KM, and the other (tank) about (4.8) KM from the claimed location.

It was also proven to JIAT that the Coalition Air Forces did not carried out any air missions on the day of the claim on (Alalam) area of (Abyan) governorate.

In light of that, JIAT found that the Coalition Forces did not target the (2) buses.

In relation to (Saif Alswadi) Hospital, regarding the annual report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued on (4 August 2016) stated that on (23 August 2015) the Coalition Forces bombed (Saif Alswadi) Hospital that located on the coordinate (N14 18.001 E045 13.168) in Alsawadiyah directorate, Albayda Governorate, and a house belong to a doctor close to the hospital, the airstrike caused a full destruction of both sites.

JIAT verified the incident, examined all related documents, including the Procedures; Rules of Engagement, After Mission Reports; and assessed all gathered evidence.

After examining the claim and the response to the JIAT's inquiries, reviewed the Daily Mission Schedule of the Coalition Forces.

JIAT found that the Coalition Air Forces did not conduct any air missions in (Alsawadiyah) directorate in the claimed date. Also JIAT examined the satellite images of the claimed location on (13 January 2016) that showed the site was not targeted by any aerial bombardment, and had no damages

In light of that, JIAT found that the Coalition Forces did not target (Saif Alswadi) Hospital, or the doctor house next to it in Alsawadiyah directorate, (Albayda) Governorate.

In relation to (Shahinaz substation), (Khormaksar) in (Aden), regarding the report issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross on (6 August 2015) stated that at (01:00) afternoon on (10 June 2015) an airstrike attributed to the Coalition Forces hit the power substation (Shahinaz substation) in (Khormaksar), (Aden) using two explosive ammunition, the two strikes hit the transformers and the control room of the facility, one operator responsible for running the substation killed while at work, the facility was already damaged by ground fighting in the past months , the International Committee of the Red Cross visited the site on (14 June 2015) and assessed the damage, two of the transformers were completely destroyed and the buildings in the facility were severely damaged.

JIAT verified the incident, examined all related documents, including the Procedures; Rules of Engagement, Daily Mission Schedule, After Mission Reports, satellite images; and assessed all gathered evidence.

JIAT found that the Coalition Air Forces executed (4) air missions on (10 June 2015) in (Adan), and the closest military target was (1600) M from the claimed location (Shahinaz substation).

Analyzing those missions (in chronological order) according to the claim at (01:00) afternoon. JIAT found that the Coalition Air Forces did not conduct any air missions on (Aden) at that time.

After reviewing the Daily Mission Schedule on (9 June 2015) which is one day prior to the claimed date. JIAT found that the Coalition Air Forces executed several air missions in (Aden) city, the closest military target was approximately (1500) M away from the substation, and on (11 June 2015) which is one day after the date of the claim, JIAT found that the Coalition Forces executed an air mission on a military target in (Aden)city that is located (6)KM away from the substation of the claim, and also it been confirmed that the Coalition Forces did not conduct any missions on the following day (12 June 2015) in (Aden) city.

After studying the military status during the time of the claim, JIAT found that (Aden) city, during that period of time, was a battleground for the liberation of (Aden) city between the Land Forces of the Houthi armed militia, and popular resistance.

Also in reviewing the satellite images of (Shahinaz substation) showed damages to the station as a result of those battles, and not because of aerial bombardment.

In light of that, JIAT found that the Coalition Forces did not target (Shahinaz substation), (Khormaksar) directorate, (Aden) governorate.

In relation to a (Traditional Market) in (Alkhawkhah) city, (Alhudaidah) governorate, regarding to what was reported by the German Press Agency (DPA) about (Adham Tuabah), The director of security in (Alkhawkhah) Directorate saying that (17) civilians were killed and dozens others were injured in a bombing by the Arab Coalition fighter jets on (10 March 2017) on a traditional market in Aldwar area, (Alkhawkhah) city, pointing out that the outcome may rise in the coming hours, and as reported in some media that the location of the bombing occurred on (Aldwar) market in the northern entrance of (Alkhawkhah)city.

JIAT verified the incident, examined all related documents, including the Procedures; Rules of Engagement, Daily Mission Schedule, After Mission Reports, satellite images; and assessed all gathered evidence.

JIAT found that on Friday at (19:45) (10 March 2017), the Coalition Air Forces executed air missions on military targets, the closest target was (10) KM away from (Alkhawkhah) city, also JIAT found that after reviewing the Daily Mission Schedule on Thursday (9 March 2017) which is one day prior to the claim date, the Coalition Forces executed an air mission that located (10) KM away from (Alkhawkhah)city, and checked the Daily Mission Schedule on Saturday (11 March 2017) which is one day after the claim date, the Coalition Forces executed an air mission on a military target located (1.6) KM away from (Alkhawkhah)city.

In light of that, JIAT found that the Coalition Air Forces did not conduct any air missions on (Alkhawkhah)city, (Alhudaidah) governorate.

In relation to the (house) in (Alkhawkhah) directorate, regarding to what was broadcasted in media stated that the Coalition Air Forces on (14 June 2017) targeted a (house) in (Alkhawkhah) directorate, (Alhudaidah) governorate that caused deaths, and injuries to the civilians.

JIAT verified the incident, examined all related documents, including the Procedures; Rules of Engagement, the Daily Mission Schedule, the After Mission Reports, the satellite images; and assessed all gathered evidence.

JIAT found that at (12:26) AM on Thursday (15 June 2017) the Coalition Forces executed an air mission on a military target of gathering point of Houthi armed militia in a (camp) located (2.2) KM away from the claimed location in the Northeast of Alkhawkhah city, and was targeted with one bomb that hit its target.

JIAT found after reviewing the satellite images that the targeted location is in a vacant area from the civilian objects and residents.

In light of that, JIAT found that the Coalition Air Forces did not target the (house) in (Alkhawkhah) directorate, Alhudaidah governorate.

In relation to the Yemeni Water Desalination Company in (Mocha) city, (Taiz) governorate, regarding the phased report of The National Commission To Investigate Alleged Violations To Human Rights for the period between (September 2016 to June 2017) stated that on the morning of Thursday (3 November 2016) an old administration building for a (desalination company belong to the group of Hail Saeed Anam companies) in (Mocha) city, (Taiz) governorate had been targeted by a missile which led to the destruction of the building, death of (2), and injured (15) other employees of the company, according to the families of the victims and witnesses, at approximately (09:30)AM on Thursday, there were aircrafts in (Mocha) city. During that time, a missile dropped on the building of the water desalination company, damaging the old administration building at the working hours of the staff, and as reported the presence of military barracks in which a group of armed persons from the Houthi militia, and a number of military vehicles next to the company, as well as a Katyusha missile launcher that was installed next to the building.

JIAT verified the incident, examined all related documents, including the Procedures; Rules of Engagement, Daily Mission Schedule, After Mission Reports, video recordings of the executed mission, satellite images; and assessed all gathered evidence.

JIAT found that based on intelligence from inside Yemen received by the Tactical Air Controller stated that ( gatherings, and military vehicles belong to the Houthi armed militia) inside the (Yemeni Water Desalination Company) building in (Mocha) city, (Taiz) governorate, which lost its legal protection of the civilian objects for its effective contribution in military actions, and that considered as a breach for the article (52) clause (3) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, and it is considered as a legitimate military targets its destructions achieves military advantage based on article (52) clause (2) of Additional Protocol I of Geneva Conventions. Also the verification standers were met of the gatherings, and vehicles belong to the Houthi armed militia inside the company building, and based on the Customary Rule No. 16.

The Coalition Forces executed an air mission at (09:39)AM on Thursday (3 November 2016) with one guided bomb that hit its target, and the Coalition Forces took all the possible precautions to avoid human loses or damages to the civilian objects, and minimize it to the minimum by the use of one guided bomb and proportional to the target size, and that is in accordance with article (57) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and Customary Rules (15) and (17).

JIAT found that after reviewing the satellite images of the location (Yemeni Water Desalination Company), and the video recording of the executed mission, one of the company's buildings which is (50)M away from the targeted location was collapsed before the targeting.

In light of that, JIAT found that the procedures of the Coalition Forces in targeting the legitimate military target (gatherings, and vehicles belong to the Houthi armed militia) inside (Yemeni Water Desalination Company) were carried out in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law and its Customary Rules.

--SPA

23:49 LOCAL TIME 20:49 GMT

0038

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






'We Will Not Seek Hegemony': Beijing Expects South China Sea Rulebook in 3 Years

Sputnik News

22:00 13.11.2018

Prior to attending the 33rd summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced on Tuesday that China is hoping to complete negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea region in three years.

The move, Li said, is in an effort to create a peaceful and stable environment within the hotly contested waters, which have seen a variety of islands claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Although calls for a binding rulebook first surfaced in 1995, when China made a move on the Philippines-claimed Mischief Reef, Li's remarks are reportedly the first time that a clear timeframe on finalizing a code has been offered, according to AFP.

"It is China's hope that the [code of conduct] consultation will be finished in three years' time so that it will contribute to enduring peace and stability in the South China Sea," Li said ahead of the ASEAN meeting. "We are not and we will not seek hegemony or expansion. That is something that we will never do."

"What we hope is to have a harmonious relationship with our neighbors," he added.

Li later indicated that the finalization of such a code would help to boost trade between China and ASEAN countries and "go on to serve the interests of other parties," the South China Morning Post reported.

However, there is a high chance that the rulebook may be delayed. Collin Koh, a maritime security expert, told the Post that negotiations are likely to surpass the three-year deadline due to the amount of countries involved.

"The single draft negotiating text contains many proposed provisions, and since the talks will involve so many players, it'll surely take time," Koh said. "In fact, I will not be surprised if they eventually take more than three years."

The timeline announcement comes months after China and neighboring countries revealed in August that they'd agreed on a draft for the rulebook. Although parties at the time did indicate the move was a vital sign of progress, critics have since stated that Beijing is plotting to expand its influence in the region, according to AFP.

During the week-long summit, Li is expected to attend the 21st leaders' meeting between China and the ASEAN, the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting and the 13th East Asia Summit, Xinhua reported. This is the first official visit to Singapore, where the summit is being held, by a Chinese premier in more than a decade.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Norway Blames Russia for Disrupting GPS Signal During NATO Drill Wrap-Up

Sputnik News

21:14 13.11.2018

As NATO's largest collective defence exercise since the Cold War, which goes by the name Trident Juncture, was drawing to an end, pilots in Norway and Finland partaking in the wargames reported a number of disruptions to GPS signals in their countries' northern regions.

The Norwegian Defence Ministry on Tuesday accused Russian forces in the Arctic of blocking GPS signals during a massive landmark NATO drill in Norway, adding that it has earlier raised the issue with Russian authorities.

According to an email to the Associated Press, the ministry said that it "was aware that the jamming has been recorded between October 25 and November 7 from the Russian forces" stationed on the Kola Peninsula; however, the blocking of the signals is not believed to have resulted in any accidents.

In a parallel move, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila claimed over the weekend that his country's GPS location signals had been purposefully jammed in the northern part of the Lapland region, the latter shared by Russia, Sweden and Finland.

"It's possible Russia was the disrupting party," Sipila said in an interview with Finnish public broadcaster YLE, calling for a full-fledged probe into the incident.

The Kremlin on Monday denied involvement in the Finnish GPS disturbance.

"We know nothing about Russia's possible involvement in those GPS failures," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the TASS news agency. "There is a trend to blame all mortal sins on Russia."

From October 25 all the way to November 7, NATO conducted the biggest military drills since the end of the Cold War in Norway. Overall 50,000 soldiers, military forces and equipment from all 29 NATO member states, as well as their strategic partners Sweden and Finland, were engaged in the rehearsal of a collective defence scenario envisioning an offensive by a hypothetical enemy. The move, however, provoked opposition among some Norwegian politicians and has been slammed for worsening ties between the US and Russia, as well as placing Norway between a rock and a hard place.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






New PHOTOS Show Shipwrecked Norwegian Frigate Sink Further After NATO Drills

Sputnik News

12:56 13.11.2018(updated 13:37 13.11.2018)

Experts estimate that up to 80 percent of the equipment of the shipwrecked frigate, which cost the Norwegian Navy almost its entire annual budget, will have to be replaced.

The Norwegian daily Aftenposten has released fresh photos of the KMN Helge Ingstad frigate, which under unclear circumstances collided with the tanker Sola TS off Norway's coast when returning from a NATO drill.

The frigate received a huge hole in the starboard spanning across the waterline; seven seamen were injured. The crew abandoned the sinking ship which was subsequently tugged to shallow waters to prevent it from sinking.

A few days after the incident, which is still puzzling the Norwegian authorities, the frigate remains above surface, but has completely sunk to the bottom, with a 45-degree lurch to the starboard. Over 10 tons of helicopter fuel has leaked into the seawater.

No information about the status of the weapons abroad, including cruise and anti-aircraft missiles, torpedoes and artillery, is available as of today.

By contrast, the oil tanker Sola TS was not affected by the accident.

The reasons for the emergency are under investigation by a navy commission. Possible explanations for the collision include the frigate moving in stealth mode with the transponder switched off or bad communications with traffic controllers.

A veteran maritime expert estimated that the KNM Helge Ingstad has suffered so much damage that up to 80 percent of the equipment will have to be replaced, voicing doubt that the prized vessel will ever become operational again.

"I have my doubts about the wreck becoming a ship again. The vessel has been torn by the rocks, and the damage is huge," expert Erik Tveten, who has 35 years of experience in assessing marine damage, told the daily newspaper Aftenposten.

According to Tveten, most of the electrical equipment and the wiring on the frigate will have to be replaced. Since the control cockpit is partially under water, most of the furnishing will need to be replaced as well. The main engine and auxiliary motors will have to be replaced as well, together with the ventilation system, as they have already been severely damaged by severe rust and corrosion.

"With regard to the purely military material that has been in seawater, it must be replaced as well. It seems unlikely to be able to restore guns and ammunition that have been in seawater," Tveten told Aftenposten.

The NATO Trident Juncture drill, which involved about 50,000 troops from over 30 countries, including formally non-aligned Sweden and Finland, took place from October 25 to November 7. The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the drill as "obviously anti-Russian" and "leading to deterioration of military and political situation in the region."

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US Voices Opposition to China's Military Steps in South China Sea

Sputnik News

09:29 13.11.2018(updated 10:03 13.11.2018)

The United States wants Beijing to withdraw its missiles from the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, US officials announced during talks at the state department.

Washington objects to Beijing's unilateral military steps in the South China Sea and the pace of US freedom of operations trips to the disputed water areas has increased, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told reporters in Singapore on the sidelines of the ASEAN.

The statement comes after US-China bilateral talks where Chinese officials asked Washington to stop sending vessels and military aircraft close to Chinese islands and reefs and "stop actions that undermine China's sovereignty and security interests."

According to the joint press release after the talks, both sides agreed to remain committed to "non-confrontation," and support the peaceful resolution of any disputes in the contested region.

China has repeatedly encountered US warships in the South China Sea, with one of the incidents taking place in October; a Chinese Luyang-class destroyer came within 45 yards of the USS Decatur, forcing the ship to manoeuvre to avoid a collision.

The disputes escalated in May when US Secretary of Defense James Mattis noted that despite Chinese President Xi Jinping's promise not to militarize the Spratly Islands, Beijing had moved weapons there. In turn, Beijing stressed that it had the sovereign right to send troops to any part of its territory.

China claims to control the vast majority of the islands, reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, which are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The excitement is mounting as Dubai's Meydan gets ready to host 12 of the worlds Top 100 DJs at BAO Festival on the November 29 and 30.



Dubai will be witnessing the headliners - Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Afrojack, Don Diablo, Nervo, R3hab, Alok, Salvatore Ganacci, Brooks, Dante Klein, Marcus Santoro and Dj Licious perform within a span of 48 hours, making it a never-seen-before spectacle.



BAO will bring in the most spectacular, immersive and innovative state-of-the-art lighting, pyrotechnics and sound design to the electronic dance music industry in the Middle East. The 12 artists will be seen performing against unmatched amount of CO2, intense lasers and flames, making it a never seen before set-up. Dubai skies will be lit up with extensive pyrotechnics used during both the days of BAO.



The organisers of BAO take pride in giving EDM fans a jaw-dropping stage set up over both days in order to create a magical experience, better than some of the biggest festivals in the world. Inspired by Chinese heritage, a 72-meter long Dragon will be seen wrapped around the main stage highlighting the magnificent landscape of the festival. A 65-meter wide and 25-meter high main stage will be seen supporting the 7m3 Dragon head. Never before has a stage of this magnitude been designed and will be exclusively seen at BAO Festival in Dubai, with the global launch of this massive festival.



This main stage has been designed by the Dutch Create! agency, known worldwide for their intricate stage designs. They have an exciting portfolio working for events like Wish Outdoor Netherlands & Mexico and Dominator Festival. The Belgian creators behind the stages of Tomorrowland- BM, have built the BAO main stage along with the ultimate centrepiece, The Dragon.



BAO project creator Bingchen Li said: Our aim is to entice fans globally and elevate the overall guest experience from entry to exit  which translates into events that fans want to keep returning to. The main stage creators have been working relentlessly to create a masterpiece and we invite the EDM music lovers across the globe to BAO, the Final Frontier to discover this extraordinary voyage and treasure it for a lifetime.



The event producers, Envie Events have transformed the events industry in the Middle East by bringing in the most remarkable events to the UAE. Well-known for their exceptional and large format events, fans can expect nothing but the most memorable experience at BAO, making it a journey filled with endless treasures for the festival-goers.



This massive stage set up is not to be missed and is sure to leave the visitors in awe. Tickets are available via Platinum List. Day and weekend passes are available starting from Dh395 ($107.5) as well as a ticket for the elevated Deluxe Area for Dh2,300 ($626). Exclusive VIP table packages start from Dh10,000 ($2,722.1). - TradeArabia News Service
Afghan Officials Say Suspension of Presidential Vote 'Unacceptable'

By Ayaz Gul November 13, 2018

Afghanistan's government says the presidential election will proceed as scheduled on April 20, rejecting a reported U.S. proposal seeking postponement of the democratic process.

The Trump administration is discussing whether to ask the Kabul government to suspend the coming polls as Washington considers options to engage the Taliban in peace talks to end the 17-year Afghan war, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Spokespeople for President Ashraf Ghani, who is seeking a second five-year term in the election, insisted the Independent Election Commission has announced the election date and the government's commitment to stick to it is "unwavering."

"Afghanistan is a democracy and any transfer of power has to be done through a democratic process. Any other proposals that runs contrary to the Afghan constitution and people's will not be acceptable to our people," tweeted presidential aide Fazel Fazly.

U.S. special envoy on Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, reportedly raised the idea in talks with various stakeholders and intermediaries as he pushes for negotiating a political breakthrough in the war with the Taliban.

Khalilzad concluded a three-day visit to Kabul on Monday, his second trip to the country since taking office in September. The U.S. embassy said he met with a number of Afghan stakeholders, both in and outside the government and "reiterated the United States government's support to promote the negotiations among Afghans required to bring the conflict to an end."

The reported proposal seeking suspension of coming presidential polls sparked a heated debate in the Afghan media. While the government has criticized the idea, some people outside the government say the move could boost peace efforts and help de-escalate battlefield hostilities.

The debate prompted U.S. Ambassador to Kabul, John Bass, to intervene.

"We remain committed to helping the electoral commissions and the Afghan government prepare for presidential elections in April 2019. Timing of Afghan elections is for Afghans to decide," Bass tweeted.

Haji Din Mohammad, the deputy chief of the country's High Peace Council overseeing reconciliation efforts with the Taliban, underscored the importance of elections, but said peace talks must be given priority in the interest of Afghanistan.

"If the presidential elections are to be delayed in favor of peace negotiations [with the Taliban], it would require intense political debates on the subject to allow the people of Afghanistan to make a final determination," Mohammad said.

The Afghan peace negotiator supported Khalilzad's mission, saying, "we are thirsty for peace and we will support any sincere and transparent" effort in this direction.

"As far as I know, Khalilzad has been given six months to produce an outcome for the [U.S.] administration."

The Trump administration has engaged the Taliban in direct talks, meeting a longstanding insurgent demand. Since July, there have been two publicly known meetings between the two sides in Qatar, where the Taliban maintains its so-called "political office."

Russian presidential envoy on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said Monday that in recent months the Taliban has also held 10 secret consultations with the United States in the Gulf state in recent months.

The latest declared meeting in Doha, the Qatari capital, took place last month when Khalilzad led the U.S. team and the two sides agreed to sustain the dialogue.

The peace initiative comes as Taliban insurgents have intensified battlefield attacks, killing scores of Afghan security personnel and overrunning new districts. The Afghan government's territorial control across the country has fallen to its lowest level since 2015.

The Taliban refuses to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government until it reaches a deal with the United States on withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan. Insurgent delegates at last week's Moscow-hosted multilateral meeting on Afghanistan reiterated the demand.

Russia justified its hosting of the peace conference, alleging the United States and NATO have failed to end the war and negotiate an Afghan peace process. The Taliban's presence at the 12-nation meeting was their first public appearance since the U.S.-led military intervention ousted the group from power in 2001 after September attacks on American cities.

A new survey released last week said 147,000 people in Afghanistan have died during the war and the casualties continue to grow.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Senior Afghan Diplomat: US Must Withdraw Troops from Afghanistan Responsibly

Sputnik News

02:16 14.11.2018

Last week, Moscow hosted talks between Afghan government officials and Taliban representatives. The talks on Afghanistan were held behind closed doors last Friday. The head of the Afghan government delegation, Rasool Eslamee, in an exclusive interview with Sputnik, spoke about the significance of these talks for the peace process.

Sputnik: How do you assess the initiative of Moscow? What are the results of the meeting within the framework of the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan? What are the impressions of the participating countries at the end of the conference? Will there be more meetings like this?

Rasool Eslamee: The Moscow format is very important since Russia invited the Taliban. This conference was attended by both the Taliban and the Afghanistan High Peace Council. A very important issue that was raised at the conference is the start of bilateral negotiations between the two groups. For the first time, there's an opportunity to begin a dialogue between the two sides.

The most important result of the Moscow format is the possibility in the future to reach common points of agreement between the Taliban and the High Peace Council. All participants of the Moscow format were satisfied with the results of the meeting, so it was decided to organize another conference in the near future. Before the conference, the participating countries will offer their ideas so that the future meeting will be effective.

Sputnik: Are you ready to engage in the negotiation process, including with representatives of the Taliban?

Rasool Eslamee: We usually participate in all the activities that are organized with the aim of establishing peace in Afghanistan. We always tried to help, both in deed and in advice, so that the meetings end positively. We also supported this proposal (the launch of a direct dialogue) and will support it. Even if there are any differences and contradictions, they will be resolved through negotiations. If there are no negotiations, the contradictions will remain unresolved, and peace will not be achieved. That is why we were also in favour of bilateral negotiations in order to resolve all differences.

Sputnik: Iran has repeatedly declared its readiness to help its neighbour, Afghanistan. What is the role of Iran in establishing a peaceful dialogue between the warring parties in Afghanistan?

Rasool Eslamee: Iran maintains good relations with Afghanistan, with various groups within Afghanistan, jihadist groups, ethnic groups. The Islamic Republic of Iran also has contacts with the Taliban with regard to the issues of security concerns at the borders. Therefore, we recommended that all parties begin negotiations. Let us hope that we will soon see an Afghanistan where peace and stability prevail.

Sputnik: One of the conditions of the Taliban before they start direct talks with Kabul was the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. Iran also does not support the idea of the presence of US and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Do you think stability and economic independence will come to Afghanistan with the departure of foreign forces?

Rasool Eslamee: Starting with the London Conference, which was held about 10 years ago, we raised the issue of the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan in order to determine the timeframe for their presence in the country, and also to ensure that the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was responsible. For example, a country that is responsible for training the Afghan military and police must conduct training on time and withdraw its troops.

Foreign forces cannot stay in Afghanistan forever, because for them it's very expensive, if, of course, they are not pursuing other goals. Afghanistan does not want foreigners and foreign troops to stay there forever. That is why we called for determining the timeframe for the presence of foreigners and their forces, and also so that the withdrawal of their troops would be carried out responsibly. They must complete their tasks and leave Afghanistan.

If Afghanistan achieves unity, neighbouring countries, key countries in the region, such as Russia, China, Iran and other states, will be able to help rebuild the country and train Afghan personnel. Afghanistan has a great amount of natural resources that it can develop with the help of neighbouring and friendly countries.

Rasool Eslamee  director-general of the Department of Western Asia Affairs of the Afghan Foreign Ministry; aid to the Afghan minister of foreign affairs; head of the Afghan delegation at the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan.

The views expressed in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US State Dept Backs NATO Amid Macron's Proposal to Create EU Army

Sputnik News

01:18 14.11.2018(updated 01:21 14.11.2018)

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States does not want to see the weakening of the NATO amid European calls for an independent military, US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters in a press briefing.

In early November, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the establishment of an EU army that would be independent of the United States.

"That is something that's important  NATO alliance to the US government and to many others  and we feel that whatever should be done should not take away from NATO's efforts. That's been a sustained entity that the United States government and many others supported for many years, and so we would not want the weakening of NATO," Nauert said on Tuesday.

She added that US top diplomat Mike Pompeo met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian over the weekend to discussed US-French cooperation on global security challenges and strengthening NATO.

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Tuesday his criticism of Macron's proposal and reproached Europe once again for its reluctance to meet financial commitments within NATO.

On Friday, Trump already launched an attack on Macron, calling the French president's suggestion to establish a pan-European army "insulting." The US president has also insisted that Europe should fulfil its financial obligations within NATO.

On Saturday, Macron acknowledged at a meeting with Trump that Europe should increase its defence spending within NATO and called on other NATO member states to boost their national expenditures on defence, following France's example, which adopted a plan providing for raising the country's defence budget to 2 percent of GDP.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Fridtjof Nansen (F85) class Project 6088 New Frigate

Nansen Class frigates replaced the steam-powered Oslo Class frigates from 1960. The ships were designed and built by the Spanish shipyard Navantia in Ferrol, northwest of Spain. One of the modules has been built in Norway, but the compilation was done in Ferrol. The five frigates have all been named by great Norwegian explorers and scientists.

The BAZAN NF project is a 130 m long monohull antisubmarine frigate, with a displacement of 4,600 t, a maximum transit speed of 27 knots, steel hull and superstructure, a CODLAG propulsion plant, an electric plant working in parallel or split mode, provided with helicopter and medical facilities, excellent seakeeping characteristics and enhanced survivability features, with special emphasis on minimising the underwater signature to obtain the most feasible silent frigate. Special emphasis has been paid in the design to ship automation, human factors, ship supportability, life cycle cost and the use of commercial off the shelf equipment, which had been considered as leading factors in the design process.

The Navy has 5 frigates. These are among the navy's largest vessels and are like a small community in the cold. The crew is approximately 120 and operates for shorter and longer periods at sea either alone or along with other vessels. The assignments may vary from sovereignty North Detective, via search and rescue missions in the North Sea to operations in the Mediterranean. In order for a navy vessel to work they depend that everyone can do their jobs and contribute to their field. Therea are a range of features to be covered: Propulsion, power generation,cooking, sanitation, supply service, accident service, maintenance, operation of weapons and sensors - just to name a few areas.

These vessels have a relatively small crew, which means that everyone on board has more tasks in addition to their main function. The service is both interesting and varied. Ther frigates are meant to operate both in domestic and foreign waters. The possibility of international service is absolutely necessary. Norwegian frigates have participated in NATO's standing Atlantic-force for many years and will continue to participate in the years to come. Deployment is usually about 6 months duration. The period runs the vessel together with allied navy vessels, and harbor visits in several of Europe's port cities are common. Crews bunk in 6-man cabins in the vessel's lower section for sailors and apprentices.

The Norwegian fleet is responsible for manning, training and maintenance of the Navy's units and their associated operational support units. Main naval units include the frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen-class, the submarines of the Ula-class, the corvettes of the Skjold-class and finally, the MCMVs of the Oksy-class and the Alta-class. All units are homeported at Haakonsvern naval base in Bergen, Western Norway.

From 2015, the frigates were supplemented with NH90 helicopters. This will make the frigates more flexible, also when it comes to participating in national and international operations. Norwa acquired fourteen NH-90 helicopters, primarily for maritime service on frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen class and the Coast Guard. NH-90 is a European development of a helicopter in two basic versions: one for tactical squad transport (TTH), and a marine operations (NFH). The helicopter is classified as a medium-heavy, two-car helicopter with a maximum departure weight of 11,000 kg.

France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany and their respective national aviation industry under the leadership of NATO Helicopter Industries (NHI) have organized themselves into a customer organization (NAHEMA) and a supplier organization (Nato Helicopter Industries), both located in Aix-en-Provence, France. As of October 2015, another 9 nations have gone to the acquisition of NH-90 and so far more than 250 helicopters have been delivered.

Norway is today outside NAHEMA, but is part of a number of areas in collaboration with other NH-90 nations, both in the development phase and in the operating phase of the helicopters. The Norwegian helicopters are produced in AgustaWestland's production facility in Tessera, Italy.

In order for frigates to be able to operate even if they are damaged, the vessels are divided into zones to enable the vessel to be intact. They have thirteen fixed zone and four NBCD zones with ventilation and pressure (gas boiler ). Two of these zones are self-contained with their own power supply and there are two cleaning stations on board.

The frigates are equipped to fight in all maritime warfare areas, anti-aircraft, at the surface and under water. The last of five frigates was handed over to the Navy in January 2011. The five frigates are: KNM Fridtjof Nansen, KNM Roald Amundsen, KNM Otto Sverdrup, KNM Helge Ingstad and KNM Thor Heyerdahl.









NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Rewards for Justice - Reward Offer for Information on Hamas and Hizballah Key Leaders

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

November 13, 2018

The U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice Program is offering rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the identification or location of Hamas leader Salih al-Aruri and Lebanese Hizballah leaders Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb and Haytham 'Ali Tabataba'i.

Salih al-Aruri is a deputy of the political bureau of the terrorist organization Hamas and one of the founders of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing. Aruri is currently living freely in Lebanon, where he reportedly is working with Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. Aruri funded and directed Hamas military operations in the West Bank and has been linked to several terrorist attacks, hijackings, and kidnappings. In 2014, al-Aruri announced Hamas's responsibility for the June 12, 2014 terrorist attack that kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, including dual U.S. Israeli citizen Naftali Fraenkel. He publicly praised the murders as a "heroic operation." In September 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated al-Aruri as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order 13224.

Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb is a close adviser to Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese Hizballah terrorist group, and has served as the group's chief military liaison to Iran and to Palestinian terrorist organizations. Harb has commanded and supervised Lebanese Hizballah's military operations in the Palestinian territories and in several countries throughout the Middle East. In August 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Harb as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224. In May 2015, Saudi officials designated Harb as a terrorist and accused him of commanding Hizballah's "central military unit" and of being responsible for Hizballah's activities in Yemen.

Haytham 'Ali Tabataba'i is a key Hizballah military leader who has commanded Hizballah's special forces in both Syria and Yemen. Tabataba'i's actions in Syria and Yemen are part of a larger Hizballah effort to provide training, materiel, and personnel in support of its destabilizing regional activities. In October 2016, the Department of State designated Tabataba'i as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224.

Hamas and Hizballah receive weapons, training, and funding from Iran, which the Secretary of State has designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Department of State designated both Hamas and Hizballah as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) in October 1997, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entities in October 2001 under Executive Order 13224.

More information about these reward offers is located on the Rewards for Justice website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on these individuals to contact the Rewards for Justice office via the website, e-mail (info@rewardsforjustice.net), phone (1-800-877-3927 in North America), or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, D.C., 20520-0303, USA). Individuals may also contact the Regional Security Officer at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

The Rewards for Justice program is administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $145 million to more than 90 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Rewards4Justice.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






State Department Terrorist Designations of Jawad Nasrallah, al-Mujahidin Brigades, and Hizballah

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

November 13, 2018

The Department of State has designated Jawad Nasrallah and Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

Today's designations seek to deny Nasrallah and AMB the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of their property and interests subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and

U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

The Department of State has also reviewed and maintained the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of Hizballah, which was originally designated as an FTO in 1997 and as an SDGT in 2001. It is a crime to knowingly provide, or to attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to FTOs.

Today's actions maintain the momentum of the Administration's snapback sanctions on Iran. Together with this Administration's unprecedented campaign of targeted designations, these are the toughest sanctions that have ever been imposed on the Iranian regime. They are designed to deprive the regime of vital revenue it uses to conduct terrorism and support terrorist groups around the world, to include Lebanese Hizballah, Hamas, Kata'ib Hizballah, and the Taliban.

Jawad Nasrallah is the son of Hizballah's leader and SDGT Hassan Nasrallah, as well as a rising leader of Hizballah. Jawad Nasrallah has previously recruited individuals to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel in the West Bank. In January 2016, he tried to activate a suicide bombing and shooting cell based in the West Bank, but the Israeli government arrested the five Palestinians he recruited to the cell.

AMB is a military organization that has operated in the Palestinian Territories since 2005 and whose members have plotted a number of attacks against Israeli targets. AMB has ties to Hizballah, and Hizballah has provided funding and military training to AMB members.

Today's actions notify the U.S. public and the international community that Jawad Nasrallah and AMB have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism. Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate them, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and governments.

The Department of the Treasury also announced today that it is designating four Hizballah-affiliated individuals who lead and coordinate the group's operational, intelligence, and financial activities in Iraq. These coordinated actions underscore the U.S. commitment to disrupting Hizballah and its facilitation networks throughout the Middle East. Additional information on the Treasury designations is available at https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases. A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Treasury Sanctions Key Hizballah, IRGC-QF Networks in Iraq

November 13, 2018

Action follows signing of new Hizballah sanctions legislation

and re-imposition of Iran-related sanctions

Washington  The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action today to target four Hizballah-affiliated individuals who lead and coordinate the group's operational, intelligence, and financial activities in Iraq. Specifically, OFAC designated Shibl Muhsin 'Ubayd Al-Zaydi, Yusuf Hashim, Adnan Hussein Kawtharani, and Muhammad 'Abd-Al-Hadi Farhat as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

"Hizballah is a terrorist proxy for the Iranian regime that seeks to undermine Iraqi sovereignty and destabilize the Middle East. We are targeting terror facilitators like Al-Zaydi who smuggle oil for Iran, raise funds for Hizballah, and send fighters to Syria for the IRGC-Qods Force on behalf of Qasem Soleimani," said Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. "Treasury's concerted actions aim to deny Hizballah's clandestine attempts to exploit Iraq to launder funds, procure weapons, train fighters, and collect intelligence as a proxy for Iran. This administration will impose severe consequences on anyone assisting Hizballah and their global support networks, and those who engage in business relationships with these terrorists expose themselves to serious sanctions risk."

These designations follow the signing into law on October 25, 2018, of the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018, which reinforces the U.S. Government's efforts to protect the international financial system by targeting Hizballah's supporters, financial networks, and those that facilitate and enable its destabilizing activities worldwide. Today's designations specifically target individuals enabling Hizballah's activities that undermine security and stability in Iraq, and carry significant risks for those attempting to conduct business with Hizballah globally. Today's action continues Treasury's historic level of Hizballah-related designations, which have reached record numbers in 2018.

Treasury's actions today again highlight the degree to which Hizballah operates as a clandestine, terrorist arm of the Iranian regime. On November 5, 2018, in its largest ever single-day action targeting the Iranian regime, OFAC sanctioned over 700 individuals, entities, aircraft, and vessels. This action completed the re-imposition of U.S. nuclear-related sanctions that were lifted or waived under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The individuals designated today are subject to secondary sanctions pursuant to the Hizballah Financial Sanctions Regulations, which implements the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015. Pursuant to this authority, OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction for Hizballah.

All property and interests in property of those persons designated today that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are now blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

Shibl Muhsin 'Ubayd Al-Zaydi (Al-Zaydi)

Al-Zaydi was designated for acting for or on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsQods Force (IRGC-QF), and assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, Hizballah.

Al-Zaydi has served as a financial coordinator between the IRGC-QF and sectarian armed groups in Iraq and assisted in facilitating Iraqi investments on behalf of IRGC-QF Commander Qasem Soleimani, whom OFAC designated on October 11, 2011, for acting for or on behalf of the IRGC-QF. Al-Zaydi has also coordinated the smuggling of oil from Iran on behalf of Iran, the smuggling of oil into Syria on behalf of Iran, and has sent Iraqi fighters to Syria allegedly at the IRGC-QF's request. Al-Zaydi has appeared publically with IRGC-QF Commander Qasem Soleimani at least four times (see photos below).

Al-Zaydi has maintained close business ties to Hizballah officials and Hizballah financier Adham Tabaja (Tabaja). These activities have included providing protection for companies in Iraq allegedly financed by Hizballah and facilitating the movement of Hizballah funding into Iraq for investments. Al-Zaydi has also worked with senior Hizballah officials to transfer large sums of money to Lebanon to help fund Hizballah's participation in the Syrian civil war. Moreover, Al-Zaydi has transferred large sums of money to Tabaja and worked with OFAC-designated Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Kallas to facilitate the movement of bulk cash from Iraq to Lebanon on Tabaja's behalf. OFAC designated Tabaja on June 6, 2015, for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah. Tabaja maintains direct ties to senior Hizballah officials and Hizballah's operational component, the Islamic Jihad, and holds properties in Lebanon on behalf of the group.

In addition, Al-Zaydi is a partner and founder of Global Cleaners S.A.R.L., which OFAC designated on October 20, 2016, as an SDGT pursuant to E.O. 13224 for being owned or controlled by Tabaja. Also, since its founding in 2014, Al-Zaydi has been the Secretary General of an Iran-aligned Iraqi sectarian armed group. This armed group primarily operates in Iraq, but has also dispatched fighters to Syria, and its members have trained in Iran and with Hizballah in Lebanon.

Yusuf Hashim (Hashim)

Hashim was designated for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah.



Hashim oversees all Hizballah-related operational activities in Iraq and is in charge of protecting Hizballah interests in Iraq. Additionally, Hashim arranges for the protection of Tabaja inside of Iraq.

Hashim has also managed Hizballah's relations with sectarian armed groups in Iraq, including the coordination of the deployment of fighters to Syria.

Adnan Hussein Kawtharani (Kawtharani)

Kawtharani was designated for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, Hizballah.



Kawtharani facilitates business transactions for Hizballah inside Iraq and has attended meetings in Iraq with sectarian armed groups and Hizballah officials. Kawtharani has also been involved in securing a significant source of funding for Hizballah, and has served as the right hand man for his brother and senior Hizballah member Muhammad Kawtharani, whom OFAC designated on August 22, 2013, pursuant to E.O. 13224, for being in charge of Hizballah's Iraq activities and working on behalf of Hizballah leadership to promote the group's interests in Iraq, including Hizballah efforts to provide training, funding, political, and logistical support to Iraqi sectarian armed groups.

Further, as of 2016, Kawtharani worked to obtain a weapons contract in order to raise funds for Hizballah fighters.

Kawtharani is also a partner in the company Global Cleaners S.A.R.L.

Muhammad 'Abd-Al-Hadi Farhat (Farhat)

Farhat was designated for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah.



Farhat has been involved in advising sectarian armed groups in Iraq on behalf of Hizballah. As of 2017, Farhat was tasked with collecting security and intelligence information in Iraq and subsequently providing reports to senior Hizballah and Iranian leadership. Farhat has been involved in a project to analyze and report on the Iraqi security situation for Hizballah and the IRGC-QF.

View identifying information on the individuals designated today.

####

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Trial of Drug Kingpin 'El Chapo' Begins in New York

By VOA News November 13, 2018

Opening statements have begun in the high-security trial of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels told a jury that Guzman "sent killers to wipe out competitors ... waged wars against longtime partners" and revolutionized drug trafficking to the United States.

Fels said Guzman, 61, ran shipments of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine into the United States as head of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, an organization that has played a large part in the violent drug wars devastating parts of Mexico.

Guzman has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He faces 17 criminal counts, and potential life imprisonment if convicted.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman painted a portrait of Guzman as a fall guy for corrupt government officials and the world's biggest drug dealer, who was not named. He said Mexican and American officials, including Mexico's current president, his immediate predecessor and an official of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, were among those paid millions to keep the real kingpin free.

Authorities deployed tight security for the proceedings, including armed escorts for the anonymous jurors. Heavily armed federal marshals and officials with bomb-sniffing dogs were outside the courthouse.

Guzman is known for evading lockup. In 2001, he broke out of a maximum-security prison in western Mexico where he was serving a 20-year sentence for criminal association and bribery, by reportedly bribing guards and hiding in a laundry cart. He was recaptured in 2014.

The following year, he again escaped prison through a tunnel linked to his cell that was more than a kilometer long. He was recaptured in 2016 and extradited to the United States in January 2017.

Despite Guzman's capture, the bloody Sinaloa cartel remains lucrative. Analysts have said the organization's decentralized command structure has allowed it to carry on without its most famous member.

Two hundred thousand people have died since the Mexican government began waging a military war on drugs in 2006.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






China, US begin joint humanitarian assistance drill in Nanjing

People's Daily Online

(China Military Online) 13:46, November 13, 2018

Chinese and the US armed forces started an eight-day joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) drill on Monday in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province.

The drill involves over 200 military personnel from the army under the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command and the US Army Pacific.

The joint drill aims to share the experience of international HA/DR of the two militaries and cultivate the willingness and capability of the two militaries to carry out joint disaster relief operations.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






NATO Chief Worried About China Developing New Nukes

Sputnik News

16:30 13.11.2018

The US announced in October that it would leave the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in the near future. President Donald Trump later suggested that the existing treaty should be expanded to include China.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed concern in an interview with Germany's ZDF TV at China "investing heavily in new, modern weapons," including new nuclear-capable missiles. He also noted that it would be a good idea to include China in the INF treaty, since currently half of its missiles would be in violation of it.

"We support expanding this treaty so that China is also bound by it," the NATO chief said.

The accord on nuclear weapons, signed by the US and Soviet Union in 1987, is on the verge of termination after Washington announced that it plans to withdraw from the treaty in the near future, citing purported violations of the agreement by Moscow. Russia has firmly denied the allegations and has instead accused Washington of having been in violation of the INF treaty for some time, pointing out that the launch sites of its missile defence systems in Europe could be used to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Russia slammed the US decision to abandon the treaty, but expressed hope that a new treaty might be negotiated. The US president, in turn, suggested that China should become a participant in a new INF treaty. Beijing was not moved by the suggestion, stressing that its missile program is purely defensive and rejected the idea of joining the arms control treaty. China also warned the US against blackmailing the country into joining the accord.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






JPA Design, a world-leader in high-end hospitality and transportation design based in the UK and Singapore, has expanded to the Middle East, merging with Dubais S2 Interiors, an award winning boutique interior architecture and design studio.



A major specialist in the design of luxury hotels, airlines, airports and luxury trains, JPA Design's regonal office will be based in Dubai.



Trading as JPA Design, the new entity will cater to the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. This will add design skills and resources to the teams in the London headquarters, and to Singapore, which serves Asia, said the company in a statement.



Established in 2015, S2 Interiors specialises in residential, hospitality, commercial and government projects. The company has worked on projects for leading global property developers, hotels and several government agencies in the Middle East.



Its notable projects include 17 Icon Bay, a premium waterfront residential development in Dubai, the Ibn Battuta Avani Hotel, the Premier Inn Dragon Hotel, the Al Khail Avenue Double Tree Hotel and the Dubai Labour Courts.



James Park, the founder and principle, said: "JPA Design has a long history of delivering high quality design solutions in the hospitality industry, notably Europe and Asia. We were fortunate to meet, and now merge, with S2 Interiors."



"S2 Interiors has a fantastic record of exciting projects, and their teams skillsets and dedication to beauty and functionality matched us well. With teams in three of the worlds design centres  London, Dubai and Singapore  we are better able to meet the dynamic opportunities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia with a unified offering,"he added.



JPA Design has named Samiha Al Hashimi, the founder and managing director of S2 Interiors, as the managing director, Dubai, to lead the team besides overseeing the operations, business expansion and projects in the Mena region.



"This merger marks a new chapter, broadening our expertise and capabilities in the industry," remarked Al Hashimi.



"As JPA Design we will be able to strengthen our commitment to offer exceptional designs and deliver comprehensive services combined with creativity, technical expertise and attention to detail," she stated.



"This is an exciting time for JPA Design as we look to grow our operations in the Middle East under Samihas exceptional leadership. Samihas experience in interior design and strong management skills will be invaluable as we continue to design and deliver category-leading interiors," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
Trump says US aware of all North Korean nuclear work

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 06:54PM

President Donald Trump has denied that North Korea was moving ahead with its nuclear weapons program and said that the United States is aware of undeclared North Korean missile bases revealed by US researchers.

In a tweet, Trump on Tuesday called a report by a prominent Washington think tank "inaccurate"and "Fake News," and claimed his administration "fully know(s) about the sites being discussed, nothing new - and nothing happening out of the normal."

"I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) claimed in the report on Monday that it had identified at least 13 of an estimated 20 undeclared missile operating bases according to new commercial satellite images.

North Korea has been involved in rigorous diplomacy with South Korea. Trump has also claimed that Washington's diplomacy with Pyongyang has eliminated a purported threat posed by North Korea to the US national security.

In their June summit in Singapore, Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to work toward denuclearization. But that agreement, made in a written document, was broadly-worded.

North Korea never said it would stop building weapons, including missiles that could or could not carry nuclear weapons.

Last week, Pyongyang called off a meeting between North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York after the United States resumed joint military drills with South Korea.

Trump last week said he expects to meet again one-on-one with Kim early next year.

Some entities in the US, however, claim that Trump's assertion is not supported by facts. One of the authors of the CSIS report, Lisa Collins, said, "It has been pretty clear that the North has not been willing to give up its entire nuclear program."

Follow-up diplomacy between the United States and North Korea have borne little fruit. But South Korea has significantly advanced in its diplomatic engagement of its long-time rival North Korea.

Still, the North has taken several steps toward that goal: it has suspended missile and nuclear testing, demolished at least one nuclear test site, and agreed to allow international inspectors into a missile engine test facility and another nuclear testing site.

In return, Pyongyang is seeking relief from harsh international sanctions, mostly spearheaded by the US, imposed on the country over its nuclear and missile programs. The US, however, has not offered any such relief, hence the slowdown in further diplomacy.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






South Korea rejects report on North's 'undeclared missile sites'

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 08:13AM

South Korea has dismissed a new report by a United States-based think tank that accused North Korea of being engaged in "deception" based on purported commercial satellite images that it said showed a number of "undeclared missile operating bases" inside the country.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) claimed in a report on Monday that it had identified at least 13 of an estimated 20 undeclared missile operating bases according to new commercial satellite images.

"These missile operating bases, which can be used for all classes of ballistic missile from short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) up to and including intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), would presumably have to be subject to declaration, verification, and dismantlement in any final and fully verifiable denuclearization deal," the report said.

The images focused on the purported Sakkanmol missile base, which "currently houses a unit equipped with short-range ballistic missiles but could easily accommodate more capable medium-range ballistic warheads," the CSIS asserted.

On Tuesday, however, South Korea's presidential office dismissed the CSIS's account.

A spokesman for the South's presidential office, Kim Eui-kyeom, said the CSIS report had gone too far to accuse Pyongyang of "great deception," since the North has not made a specific agreement to dismantle or disclose the facilities mentioned in the report.

The South Korean official also rejected the analysis of the Sakkanmol missile site, saying, "The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the US have far more detailed information from military satellites and are closely monitoring" the facility.

He said Pyongyang had not made any promise to shut down that base.

The spokesmen also explained that the existence of such a missile site was an indication of the need for talks with North Korea to halt its nuclear activities.

North Korea has been involved in rigorous diplomacy with the South. US President Donald Trump  who met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in July  has also claimed that his country's diplomacy with Pyongyang has eliminated a purported threat posed by North Korea to the US's national security.

Some entities in the US, however, claim that Trump's assertion is not supported by facts.

One of the authors of the CSIS report, Lisa Collins, said, "It has been pretty clear that the North has not been willing to give up its entire nuclear program."

"The dispersed deployment of these bases and distinctive tactics employed by ballistic missile units are combined with decades of extensive camouflage, concealment and deception practices to maximize the survival of its missile units from pre-emptive strikes and during wartime operations," the report said.

Follow-up diplomacy between the US and North Korea have borne little fruit. But South Korea has significantly advanced in its diplomatic engagement of its long-time rival, the North.

In their June summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim agreed to work toward denuclearization. But that agreement, made in a written document, was broadly-worded.

Still, the North has taken several steps toward that goal: it has suspended missile and nuclear testing, demolished at least one nuclear test site, and agreed to allow international inspectors into a missile engine test facility and another nuclear testing site.

In return, Pyongyang is seeking relief from harsh international sanctions  mostly spearheaded by the US  imposed on the country over its nuclear and missile programs. The US, however, has not offered any such relief, hence the slowdown in further diplomacy.

Last week, Pyongyang called off a meeting between North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York after the US resumed joint military drills with South Korea.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






North Korea, North Korea, Missile ... During close watch"

2018-11-13

Anchor : The South Korean government says it already has a detailed understanding of the North Korean missile base. It also emphasized that the South Korean intelligence authorities are closely monitoring North Korea's missile base through military satellites.

A report from Seoul's Jung Yong Jae reports.

SEOUL, South Korea - A South Korean government official says it is monitoring and tracking major missile-handling sites in North Korea.

The report on North Korea 's Saksantom missile bases, released by the US Strategic and International Studies Institute on December 12, is an indication that there is nothing new.

"The source of the report from the Institute for Strategic and International Studies is the commercial satellite," the South Korean spokeswoman Kim Hyung-keun said at a regular press briefing on the 13th. "The ROK intelligence authorities were already aware of the details using military satellites." .

South Korea's defense ministry also said that the Saksan Military missile base, which the Institute for Strategic and International Studies has addressed, is a place where surveillance is being conducted for the sake of the ROK-US cooperation. The South Korean Foreign Ministry also emphasized that the US intelligence agency closely monitors and tracks North Korea's major missile-related areas.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Roh Gyu - deok : We are interested in monitoring the area in cooperation with the United States. However, please understand that it is difficult to confirm specific North Korean information.

According to the South Korean Presidential Office, short-range missiles are being operated at the Saksagomi missile base.

Kim Dae-jung, a spokesman for Cheong Wa Dae, said, "The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea has disclosed that North Korea possesses more than 1,000 short-range missiles through defense white paper."

He also emphasized that the Saksagomi missile base is independent of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and medium range ballistic missile (IRBM).

Kim said, "The presence of these missile bases makes the need for negotiations and negotiations to be concluded in the early stages of the North-South (denuclearization) negotiations."

The US New York Times quoted a report on a report by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies saying that it was "not a proper statement" about the use of the phrase "big tricks".

Kim said, "North Korea has never promised to dismantle its missile base," and "There is also an expression called 'unsinkable base.' No agreement has yet to exist that requires reporting."

The spokesman Kim said, "The contents of 'Mischinos' and 'big tricks' can be misleading when we need to have a dialogue with North Korea." Such expressions can prevent negotiations from starting "I explained.

We also emphasized that the short-range missiles that North Korea is operating are also a problem that must be discussed together in the process of complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Earlier, the Institute for Strategic and International Studies said in a report on North Korea's Saksan Mission Missile Operations Center that it had identified 13 missile bases in North Korea. The report points out that while some of the missile bases are under maintenance, maintenance, and facility improvement activities have been observed even while the North Korea negotiations are in progress.

Copyright  1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content may not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Experts: Cancellation of US-N. Korea Meeting Suggests Snag in Talks

By Christy Lee November 13, 2018

The abrupt cancellation of high-level talks between the United States and North Korea suggests denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have hit a snag, experts said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the North Korean Central Committee, in New York City last week. However, the meeting was abruptly called off at the last minute.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Thursday that Pyongyang canceled the meeting, in which discussions about the second summit between leaders Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un were to take place.

"I do think the talks are going to be rescheduled," said Haley. "And it doesn't change the fact that the summit is still scheduled for the president and Kim to meet after the first of the year."

U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said, "This is a case [where] we are dealing with a purely scheduling issue, and it's just simple as that."

After the cancellation, Trump said, "We're going to make it at another date." He continued, "But we're very happy how it's going with North Korea. We think it's going fine. We're in no rush. We're in no hurry."

Despite these assurances from the Trump administration that the talks will resume, experts remain skeptical.

It's 'stuck'

"I think it is more than a scheduling issue," said Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a global affairs research group in Washington. "The negotiation process appears stuck."

Evans Revere, a former State Department official who negotiated with North Korea, said he thought the cancellation of the talks indicated that negotiations about denuclearization had stalled because of growing differences between Washington and Pyongyang.

"There is a serious gap between Washington and Pyongyang over the issue of denuclearization," said Revere. "There is an equally major gap on the issue of sanctions, with [North Korea] pushing for the U.S. to remove sanctions in order to improve relations and build confidence between the two sides, and the United States making clear that sanctions easing will not happen unless and until North Korea verifiably denuclearizes."

Breaking the impasse on denuclearization, according to Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, will be difficult as neither side wants to back down from its position.

Kimball said, "The cancellation of the meeting between Secretary Pompeo and Vice Chair Kim Yong Chol is disappointing but not surprising, given that neither side appears to be ready to take the necessary action-for-action steps on denuclearization and peace that would move the process along."

Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said the meeting was called off because Washington and Pyongyang realized progress is unachievable at this time.

"I assume the meeting was delayed because both sides realized that significant progress is not possible at this time, due to the major differences between the U.S. and [North Korea] on denuclearization," said Samore.

Direct talks with Trump

Michael Fuchs, deputy assistant secretary of state for eastern Asia and Pacific affairs during the Obama administration, said he believed Pyongyang was delaying lower-level negotiations to stave off pressure until it talked directly with Trump.

"I think that it's a reinforcement of a notion that the North Koreans are trying to drag out this diplomacy as long as possible and that they want to deal as much as possible directly with President Trump," said Fuchs.

After Pompeo went to Pyongyang in October, Steve Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, was expected to meet with North Korea's vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui. But that meeting never took place.

The deadlock in the Washington-Pyongyang talks cast doubt on prospects for North Korea's denuclearization, experts said.

"At present, I see no imminent prospect for real dismantling of [North Korea's] nuclear weapons program and facilities," Manning said.

According to Revere, Pyongyang believes it can keep nuclear weapons and maintain its relations with Washington at the same time.

"I continue to believe that Pyongyang does not intend to give up its nuclear weapons capability," said Revere. "I also continue to believe that [North Korea] believes it is possible to have normal relations with Washington and Seoul and keep its nuclear weapons."

Instead of demanding complete denuclearization, Samore said, a realistic prospect is to limit North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

"Complete denuclearization was never a realistic prospect," said Samore. "The only question is whether North Korea will accept meaningful limits on its nuclear program."

Critical report

On Nov. 8, Pyongyang rejected a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that expressed concern over North Korea's continued development of its nuclear program. The agency described this as "deeply regrettable and clear violations of relevant United Nations Security resolutions."

North Korea's ambassador to the U.N., Kim Song, said in a letter addressed to the president of the U.N. General Assembly, "The report of the International Atomic Energy Agency neglects the positive developments of the Korean Peninsula this year and is consistent with prejudices and distortion."

"This shows that the IAEA has lost its impartiality as an international organization and is being abused for impure political purposes," the ambassador said.

More than a dozen undeclared missile bases were identified in new satellite images of North Korea, according to a report released Monday by Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank in Washington. Trump responded by calling the report "fake news" adding "We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new  and nothing happening out of the normal."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Trump: Report of N. Korean Missile Bases 'Fake News'

By VOA News November 13, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in on a report that North Korea has at least 13 undeclared bases capable of hiding missiles, calling the report "fake news."

"The story in the New York Times concerning North Korea developing missile bases is inaccurate," he said, referring to information revealed in a report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and shared by The New York Times. "We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new  and nothing happening out of the normal."

He added in his tweet, "I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!"

The report released Monday said its conclusions are based on commercial satellite imagery, interviews with North Korean defectors and interviews with U.S. intelligence and government officials.

Joseph Bermudez, one of the authors of the study, said the findings are noteworthy.

"I would say that North Korea's basic missile threat and its nuclear threat which would use the ballistic missiles as its delivery system remains very significant and has not changed in the last 10 years," Bermudez said.

The report said the North Korean bases, which can be used to house ballistic missiles of various ranges, are well-hidden, indicating the North's determination to conceal its military abilities.

It said the bases are "combined with decades of extensive camouflage, concealment and deception practices to maximize the survival of its missile units from pre-emptive strikes and during wartime operations."

The report said there might be as many as 20 such undeclared bases in North Korea. It said they are scattered across the country and designed so that mobile missile launchers can quickly be taken out of the underground facilities and moved to launch sites.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged during a historic June meeting in Singapore that they would work toward denuclearization, but they pledged little specifics in achieving their goal.

Since the summit, North Korea has not carried out any nuclear or missile tests and has dismantled a missile test site.

Last week, North Korea abruptly called off a new round of negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which the two countries were to discuss denuclearization efforts and prepare for a possible second summit between Trump and Kim.

North Korean state media on Monday accused the United States of carrying out some small-scale military drills with South Korea, saying the drills violate their agreement to lower tensions on the Korean peninsula.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Trump Assails France, Macron in Salvo of Tweets

By Ken Bredemeier November 13, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump launched verbal assaults Tuesday on France and President Emmanuel Macron, citing his low voter approval ratings and attacking French tariffs on U.S. wine exports and failure to meet NATO's defense spending goal.

"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia," Trump said first in a salvo of Twitter comments. "But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!"

Trump has frequently attacked U.S. allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the West's main defense alliance forged after World War II, for not yet meeting its 2024 goal of each country spending 2 percent of their national economies on defense, chiefly weapons and armed forces.

Eight of the 29 NATO countries are now meeting the 2 percent goal. French defense spending is at 1.82 percent of its gross domestic product, but Paris has announced plans to gradually boost military funding to reach the NATO goal by 2025. By comparison, U.S. defense spending is at 3.1 percent of its world-leading $19.4-trillion economy.

Trump has declared himself a "nationalist," with an America First outlook on international relations. But Macron, with Trump listening nearby at Sunday's centenary of the end of World War I in Paris, deplored rising nationalism throughout the world, declaring it a "betrayal of patriotism."

Trump retorted Tuesday, "The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so! MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!"

Trump, whose family business empire includes a Virginia vineyard that sells a variety of wines, also complained about French tariffs on U.S. wine exports.

France does charge higher tariffs on U.S. wines, but the monetary difference is relatively small, with five- to 14-cent tariffs on bottles of French wine imported into the U.S. versus 11 to 29 cents on U.S. exported wines headed to France.

Social media critics of Trump in the U.S. have mocked him for skipping a Saturday visit to a U.S. cemetery of World War I casualties because it was raining. Other world leaders in Paris visited their national cemeteries the same day and Trump White House chief of staff John Kelly, accompanied by other U.S. officials, made it to the American graveyard to lay a wreath honoring the war dead.

By way of explanation, Trump tweeted, "By the way, when the helicopter couldn't fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetary in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!"

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






IAEA: Iran conducts enrichment activities under JCPOA limitations

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Nov 13, IRNA -- Based on the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has conducted its enrichment activities in line with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

'Iran has conducted its enrichment activities in line with its long-term enrichment and R&D enrichment plan, as provided to the Agency on January 16, 2016 (para. 52),' the IAEA report reads.

The IAEA has verified Iran's commitment to the JCPOA for the 13th time on Monday.

This is while, on November 5, Trump reinstated the US nuclear sanctions on Iran and imposed, as he claimed, "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The full text of the IAEA report is as follows:

1. This report of the Director General to the Board of Governors and, in parallel, to the United Nations Security Council (Security Council), is on the Islamic Republic of Iran's (Iran's) implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and on matters related to verification and monitoring in Iran in light of Security Council resolution 2231 (2015). It also provides information on financial matters, and the Agency's consultations and exchanges of information with the Joint Commission, established by the JCPOA.

2. On 14 July 2015, China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (E3/EU+3) and Iran agreed on the JCPOA. On 20 July 2015, the Security Council adopted resolution 2231 (2015), in which, inter alia, it requested the Director General to "undertake the necessary verification and monitoring of Iran's nuclear-related commitments for the full duration of those commitments under the JCPOA" (GOV/2015/53 and Corr. 1, para. 8). In August 2015, the Board of Governors authorized the Director General to implement the necessary verification and monitoring of Iran's nuclear-related commitments as set out in the JCPOA, and report accordingly, for the full duration of those commitments in light of Security Council resolution 2231 (2015), subject to the availability of funds and consistent with the Agency's standard safeguards practices. The Board of Governors also authorized the Agency to consult and exchange information with the Joint Commission, as set out in GOV/2015/53 and Corr. 1.

3. In December 2016 and January 2017, the Director General shared with Member States nine documents, developed and endorsed by all participants of the Joint Commission, providing clarifications for the implementation of Iran's nuclear-related measures as set out in the JCPOA for its duration.

4. The estimated cost to the Agency for the implementation of Iran's Additional Protocol and for verifying and monitoring Iran's nuclear-related commitments as set out in the JCPOA is 9.2 million per annum. For 2018, extrabudgetary funding is necessary for 5.1 million of the 9.2 million. As of 12 November 2018, 8.2 million of extrabudgetary funding was available to meet the cost of JCPOA-related activities for 2018 and beyond.

5. Since 16 January 2016 (JCPOA Implementation Day), the Agency has verified and monitored Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments in accordance with the modalities set out in the JCPOA, consistent with the Agency's standard safeguards practices, and in an impartial and objective manner. The Agency reports the following for the period since the issuance of the Director General's previous quarterly report.

6. Iran has not pursued the construction of the Arak heavy water research reactor (IR-40 Reactor) based on its original design. Iran has not produced or tested natural uranium pellets, fuel pins or fuel assemblies specifically designed for the support of the IR-40 Reactor as originally designed, and all existing natural uranium pellets and fuel assemblies have remained in storage under continuous Agency monitoring (paras 3 and 10).

7. Iran has continued to inform the Agency about the inventory of heavy water in Iran and the production of heavy water at the Heavy Water Production Plant (HWPP) and allowed the Agency to monitor the quantities of Iran's heavy water stocks and the amount of heavy water produced at the HWPP (para. 15). On 3 November 2018, the Agency verified that the plant was in operation and that Iran's stock of heavy water was 122.8 metric tonnes. Throughout the reporting period, Iran had no more than 130 metric tonnes of heavy water (para. 14).

8. Iran has not carried out activities related to reprocessing at the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) and the Molybdenum, Iodine and Xenon Radioisotope Production (MIX) Facility or at any of the other facilities it has declared to the Agency (paras 18 and 21).

9. At the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz, there have been no more than 5060 IR-1 centrifuges installed in 30 cascades, which remain in the configurations in the operating units at the time the JCPOA was agreed (para. 27). Iran has withdrawn 33 IR-1 centrifuges from those held in storage for the replacement of damaged or failed IR-1 centrifuges installed at FEP (para. 29.1).

10. Iran has continued the enrichment of UF6 at FEP. Iran has not enriched uranium above 3.67% U-235 (para. 28).

11. Throughout the reporting period, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile has not exceeded 300 kg of UF6 enriched up to 3.67% U-235 (or the equivalent in different chemical forms) (para. 56). The quantity of 300 kg of UF6 corresponds to 202.8 kg of uranium.

12. As of 4 November 2018, the quantity of Iran's uranium enriched up to 3.67% U-235 was 149.4 kg, based on the JCPOA and decisions of the Joint Commission.

13. At the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), no more than 1044 IR-1 centrifuges have been maintained in one wing (Unit 2) of the facility (para. 46). On 6 November 2018, the Agency verified that 1020 IR-1 centrifuges were installed in six cascades. On the same date, the Agency also verified that two IR-1 centrifuges were installed in a layout of 16 IR-1 centrifuge positions and one IR-1 centrifuge was installed in a single position, for the purpose of conducting "initial research and R&D activities related to stable isotope production".

Throughout the reporting period, Iran has not conducted any uranium enrichment or related research and development (R&D) activities, and there has not been any nuclear material at the plant (para. 45).

14. All centrifuges and associated infrastructure in storage have remained under continuous Agency monitoring (paras 29, 47, 48 and 70). The Agency has continued to have regular access to relevant buildings at Natanz, including all of FEP and the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), and performed daily access upon Agency request (para. 71). The Agency has also continued to have regular access to FFEP, including daily access upon Agency request (para. 51).

15. Iran has conducted its enrichment activities in line with its long-term enrichment and R&D enrichment plan, as provided to the Agency on 16 January 2016 (para. 52).

16. On 11 November 2018, the Agency verified that all irradiated TRR fuel elements in Iran have a measured dose rate of no less than 1 rem/hour (at one metre in air).

17. Iran has not operated any of its declared facilities for the purpose of re-converting fuel plates or scrap into UF6, nor has it informed the Agency that it has built any new facilities for such a purpose (para. 58).

18. No enriched uranium has been accumulated through enrichment R&D activities, and Iran's enrichment R&D with and without uranium has been conducted using centrifuges within the limits defined in the JCPOA (paras 3242).

19. Iran has provided declarations to the Agency of its production and inventory of centrifuge rotor tubes and bellows and permitted the Agency to verify the items in the inventory (para. 80.1). The Agency has conducted continuous monitoring, including through the use of containment and surveillance measures, and verified that the declared equipment has been used for the production of rotor tubes and bellows to manufacture centrifuges only for the activities specified in the JCPOA (para. 80.2). Iran has not produced any IR-1 centrifuges to replace those that have been damaged or failed (para. 62).

20. All declared rotor tubes, bellows and rotor assemblies have been under continuous monitoring by the Agency, including those rotor tubes and bellows manufactured since Implementation Day (para. 70). Iran has manufactured rotor tubes using carbon fibre that has been sampled and tested by the Agency, all of which has been subject to Agency containment and surveillance measures.

21. Iran has continued to permit the Agency to use on-line enrichment monitors and electronic seals which communicate their status within nuclear sites to Agency inspectors, and to facilitate the automated collection of Agency measurement recordings registered by installed measurement devices (para. 67.1). Iran has issued long-term visas to Agency inspectors designated for Iran as requested by the Agency, provided proper working space for the Agency at nuclear sites and facilitated the use of working space at locations near nuclear sites in Iran (para. 67.2).

22. Iran has continued to permit the Agency to monitor  through measures agreed with Iran, including containment and surveillance measures  that all uranium ore concentrate (UOC) produced in Iran or obtained from any other source is transferred to the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) at Esfahan (para. 68). Iran also provided the Agency with all information necessary to enable the Agency to verify the production of UOC and the inventory of UOC produced in Iran or obtained from any other source (para. 69).

23. Iran continues to provisionally apply the Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement in accordance with Article 17(b) of the Additional Protocol, pending its entry into force. The Agency has continued to evaluate Iran's declarations under the Additional Protocol, and has conducted complementary accesses under the Additional Protocol to all the sites and locations in Iran which it needed to visit. Timely and proactive cooperation by Iran in providing such access facilitates implementation of the Additional Protocol and enhances confidence.

24. The Agency's verification and monitoring of Iran's other JCPOA nuclear-related commitments continues, including those set out in Sections D, E, S and T of Annex I of the JCPOA.

25. During this reporting period, the Agency attended one meeting of the Procurement Working Group of the Joint Commission (JCPOA, Annex IV  Joint Commission, para. 6.4.6).

26. The Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material at the nuclear facilities and locations outside facilities where nuclear material is customarily used (LOFs) declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement. Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities for Iran remained ongoing.

27. Since Implementation Day, the Agency has been verifying and monitoring the implementation by Iran of its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA.

28. The Director General will continue to report as appropriate.

9376**2050

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Sanctions blessings in disguise: Iran minister

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Nov 13, IRNA -- Iran's defense minister said Tuesday the newly imposed sanctions on Iran would make the country more self-sufficient in the field of defense.

Sanctions are not a new issue, rather Iran has been facing it since a long time ago, Brigadier General Amir Hatami said in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

'Every time, I can say firmly, we have got more determined to stand on our own feet,' General Hatami said.

Following the sanctions, the minister said, various issues have been spotted and appropriate solutions proposed.

'Given the plans drawn and the measures taken, we are inching toward being self-sufficient and self-reliant,' he said.

One hundred percent of our domestic needs can be met by Iran's young talents, he said.

9156**2044

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US to squeeze Iranians 'very hard': John Bolton

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:09AM

US National Security Adviser John Bolton says his country will keep up pressure on Iran after imposing new sanctions on the Islamic Republic early this month.

Bolton said on Tuesday that Washington's ultimate aim was to zero Iran's oil exports despite backing down on the pledge after eight importers were given waivers when the sanctions took effect on Nov. 5.

"The objective has been from the beginning to get oil exports from Iran down to zero," Bolton said. "It is our intention to squeeze them very hard. As the British say: 'Squeeze them until the pips squeak'."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already threatened to "starve" Iranian people in remarks denounced by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as "a crime against humanity".

China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea are the eight countries that have been exempted from the US sanctions.

Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said last week that the waivers were not enough, warning of "painful months" ahead for consumers because of insufficient supplies.

Zangeneh said the Trump administration has "artificially" brought down oil and gasoline prices ahead of midterm elections by coordinating an increased draw in US crude inventory, but the prices will "naturally" move up in the coming months.

Other Iranian officials have said US claims of bringing Iran's oil exports down to zero and replace it with Saudi oil are a bluff.

"It is a lie that Americans tell the people of the world that Saudi Arabia and some other countries would replace Iranian oil," Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri has said.

On Monday, Riyadh unveiled plans to cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from December.

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih also called for a global output cut of one million barrels per day to re-balance the market, drawing a veiled warning from US President Donald Trump.

"Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply!" he said on Twitter.

The Trump administration is under pressure after Republican losses in the midterm elections. It is extremely wary of any threats to the economy, including higher gas prices.

In June, Saudi Arabia persuaded fellow oil producers to end 18 months of production cuts and pump more crude as demanded by the US, drawing a harsh rebuke from Iran.

According to energy analyst Phil Flynn, OPEC leaders are angry Trump "duped" them into raising production ahead of the Iranian sanctions.

Trump's efforts to influence oil production threaten to further strain relations with the Saudis, even as his administration continues to describe Riyadh as a crucial partner, Bloomberg wrote.

And by pushing for zero Iranian oil exports, the Trump administration is putting itself between a rock and a hard place which explains why Iranian officials' dismissal of the US threat as a bluff makes sense.

Iranian officials, meanwhile, say the country will bypass sanctions and sell its oil even without the exemptions because so many countries are on its side.

Many analysts agree. "Iran's situation is better than pre-2016 because of high oil prices and the fact that the US is isolated this time," Reuters quoted a European diplomat as saying last week.

"It will be a difficult period but Iran's economy will withstand it for various reasons, including the fact of Russia being under US and EU sanctions, Saudi Arabia having its own financial and political issues, and trade war between China and the United States," the news agency said, citing a second diplomat.

On Sunday, Iran sold 700,000 barrels of crude oil to private companies for export in a second round of sales aimed at countering the US sanctions.

A senior army official also said Iran's armed forces were ready to protect the country's oil tankers against possible threats after the United States said the ships should not be allowed to dock anywhere because they were a "floating liability".

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Tripoli Asks UN to Unfreeze Libyan Assets to Avoid Depreciation - Minister

Sputnik News

18:11 13.11.2018

PALERMO (Sputnik) - The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), headquartered in Tripoli, is asking the United Nations to unfreeze Libyan assets to avoid depreciation, Ali Issawi, the GNA's economy and industry minister, told journalists on the sidelines of the Palermo Conference for Libya.

"The main issue in the reforms was removing the distortions in the economy, the price system, subsidy system and the other thing is saving the Libyan assets, the Libyan wealth which was frozen by the UN decrees. We are asking the right to manage these assets, to save the value and save these assets from depreciation because the value of these assets under [freeze] will be devalued," Issawi said.

In September, a UN panel found Belgium in breach of the asset freeze sanctions as interest payments on these funds might have been transferred to the accounts belonging to the Libyan Investment Authority.

A number of states across the world froze Libya's assets they held after the anti-government protests broke out in the country in 2011.

The UN sanctions on the billions of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) assets, invested with banks and fund managers across Europe and North America are currently in place. In Europe, national governments are responsible for enforcing these sanctions. But the 28 EU governments held a meeting in October 2011 that interpreted the sanctions as being applicable only to the original frozen assets, not the interest earned after September 2011.

Meanwhile, LIA funds are still locked in four main bank accounts, managed by Euroclear, the bank belonging to the International Central Securities Depository (ICSD) in Brussels, one of the two international depositories of shares and bonds (the other one being Clearstream in Luxemburg).

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Hilton continues to grow its presence in the UAE with the signing of two new properties in Ras Al Khaimah - DoubleTree by Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Corniche Residences and the Conrad Marjan Island Resort.



Marjan Island is a cluster of four manmade islands to the west of Ras Al Khaimah, while the DoubleTree by Hilton will be located on Ras Al Khaimahs Corniche.



Both properties will help to meet the increased demand for travel to the emirate, along with need for quality, internationally branded residences. Ras Al Khaimah boasts pristine beaches, historical sites and adventure attractions such as the worlds longest zipline. The emirates extensive leisure tourism offering makes it a popular destination for local and international visitors alike.



Ras Al Khaimah is a fast-growing and highly sought-after leisure destination and the number of international visitors arrival rose by 11.2 per cent in the first nine months of 2018 and are expected to reach 1 million this year for the first time in the emirates history, said Carlos Khneisser, vice president of development, Middle East, North Africa & Turkey, Hilton. "Hilton has had a presence in Ras Al Khaimah for more than 15 years and we are delighted to be introducing the Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand to the emirate and to be opening the DoubleTree by Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Corniche Residences.



Located on a pristine beach, Conrad Marjan Island Resort will offer 120-guest rooms including beach villas and water villas. Guests will be able to take advantage of world-class facilities including a fitness centre, salon, spa, an outdoor pool and a Kids Club. The hotel will also feature an extensive range of dining options including two signature restaurants, a pool bar and beach bar.



Speaking at the signing, Mohamed Ahmed Ruqait Ali Hassan Ruqait Al-Ali, owner of MR Properties, said: I am delighted to continue to grow our partnership with Hilton through the signing of Conrad Marjan Island Resort and DoubleTree by Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Corniche Residences. Conrad Hotels & Resorts is a leading brand globally and we are delighted to be bringing the brand to Ras Al Khaimah for the first time.



Commenting on the signing of these two new properties Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said: We are delighted to see Hilton further developing its presence in the emirate with these two internationally branded properties. Hilton has long been a pioneer of the hotel industry in Ras Al Khaimah and it's a great addition to Ras Al Khaimah to see Hilton bringing its luxury Conrad brand here to Marjan Island. The corniche will also benefit hugely with the addition of the DoubleTree by Hilton residences." - TradeArabia News Service
'NATO Wasn't at the Table': Stoltenberg Says Europe Initiated Libya Intervention

Sputnik News

13:43 13.11.2018(updated 13:50 13.11.2018)

Libya has been beset by chaos, joining the list of failed states, since its longtime leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown following an intervention by a coalition of Western nations.

During the "NATO Talk around the Brandenburg Tor" conference on 12 November, Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Alliance, said that the military operation in Libya was initiated by a number of European nations, rather than by the bloc.

"The Libya operation was not a NATO operation in the beginning; it was a European-initiated operation, not so much by Germany, but by France and the UK. [] When we met in Paris and made the final decision, NATO was not at the table, NATO was not there. It was after some time that we needed the command structure, the capabilities of NATO and the US," Stoltenberg said at the "NATO Talk around the Brandenburg Tor" conference in Berlin.

In February 2011, mass protests against Libya's long-service leader Muammar Gaddafi erupted, later evolving in an armed conflict between rebels and government forces.

A month later, a coalition of Western states, led by France, the UK and the US, launched an intervention in Libya, carrying out airstrikes against government forces.

The intervention, which resulted in Gaddafi's toppling and subsequent killing by rebels, set off an ongoing civil war between regions, tribes and militant groups.

As the country de facto doesn't exist as a unified state, with rival government failing to reach agreement on institutions and elections, the political vacuum has allowed multiple terror organisations to expand their operations.

The crisis also saw a mass exodus of refugees, who chose to flee for Europe, thus triggering the worst migration crisis on the European continent.

On European Defence

Stoltenberg also said that he welcomed the European Union's efforts on defence that could boost NATO's strength, but at the same time warned against duplicating the alliance and putting relations with the United States in peril.

"More European efforts on defence is great but it should never undermine the strength of the transatlantic bond. []Two World Wars and the Cold War taught us the importance of doing things together. The reality is that we need one strong and capable command structure, we can't divide those resources in two," he elaborated.

Stoltenberg's remarks came on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's radio interview, in which he suggested that EU nations should create a "true European army" to protect themselves "with respect to China, Russia and even the United States".

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






ASEAN drafts statement in response to Rakhine violence, urges accountability

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 04:50PM

Southeast Asian nations are set to call for those responsible for atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state to be held "fully accountable."

In a draft statement, which would be delivered at the end of meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, it was mentioned that the situation in Rakhine was a "matter of concern."

"We called on the Independent Commission of Enquiry established by the Government of Myanmar to carry out an independent and impartial investigation of the allegations of human rights violations and related issues, and hold those responsible fully accountable," said the ASEAN draft statement.

Sources close to pre-summit discussions said Singapore was leaning toward a stronger stance because it feels responsibility as the summit host to protect its credibility.

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan earlier this year said his ASEAN peers had urged Myanmar to give the inquiry commission a full mandate to hold those responsible accountable.

ASEAN's Muslim-majority members, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, tend to take the toughest line on the Rohingya matter.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has served notice he has lost faith in Nobel Peace laureate and Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, because of the Rohingya issue.

"We have made it quite clear we don't really support her anymore," Mahathir said in an interview over a month ago. "Our policy in ASEAN is non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries, but this is ... grossly unjust."

Suu Kyi, who will be joining the summit in Singapore, has been widely criticized for her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Mohamad, ASEAN's senior most leader, was scathing about Suu Kyi on Tuesday when asked about the situation in Myanmar. "It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible," the 93-year-old told reporters in Singapore. "We are very disappointed, because someone who has been detained before knows the sufferings, and should not inflict it on others."

Amnesty International said on Tuesday it had withdrawn its most prestigious human rights prize from Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.

On Tuesday, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Bangladesh to halt plans to repatriate hundreds of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, warning that their lives would be at "serious risk."

Forcibly returning or expelling refugees and asylum-seekers to their home country would violate international law, which forbids it to places where returnees face threats of persecution or their lives would be endangered, she said in a statement.

"We are witnessing terror and panic among those Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar who are at imminent risk of being returned to Myanmar against their will," Bachelet said.

"With an almost complete lack of accountability, indeed with ongoing violations, returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades."

Elsewhere in her statement, she said two men had attempted suicide.

Both governments have been pushing ahead with this first large-scale repatriation effort. This has prompted criticism from a group of 42 aid agencies who said in a statement that it would be "dangerous" for them.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been living for more than a year in cramped refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Rakhine at the hands of the Myanmar military. The campaign against the Rohingya, which the UN has described as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, has seen mass killings, torture, and gang-rape of the Muslims as well as arson attacks against their homes and farms in Rakhine.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US Reiterates Commitment to Help Myanmar's Rohingya

By Sirwan Kajjo, Muazzem Hossain Shakil November 13, 2018

The United States says it will continue efforts to support Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya minority through humanitarian aid and diplomacy.

A U.S. delegation on Sunday visited a camp hosting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar region, where it met with refugees and local officials.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have settled in Bangladesh, escaping a major crackdown by Myanmar's military last year.

U.S. officials said the situation in areas where Rohingya refugees are expected to resettle in Myanmar is not suitable for a safe return.

"Right now, the conditions on the ground in the areas of potential return are not adequate to support a sustainable return of the population," said Richard Albright, deputy assistant secretary of state, who headed the U.S. delegation.

Albright said the U.S. had been engaged in talks with Myanmar authorities to facilitate the return of Rohingya refugees to their home country.

"We consistently discussed with the government of Myanmar the need for access for humanitarian actors so they can reach the communities in need. We asked them to make progress on a transparent and efficient process for nationality claims for the Rohingya," he said.

Prior to his Bangladesh visit, Albright also visited areas in Myanmar, including Rakhine state, where the majority of Rohingya Muslims lived.

"These visits are part of the U.S. Embassy's regular travel to look at our humanitarian assistance programs throughout the country and to better understand the conditions on the ground," the embassy in Myanmar said in a statement last week.

U.S. aid agencies have been providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, as well as supporting development programs inside Myanmar.

Myanmar officials said that more than 5,000 refugees in Bangladesh had been confirmed to return home this week.

Analysts were skeptical about a safe return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

"While the Myanmar authorities may have announced that they are ready to receive several thousand Rohingya refugees, it is not clear whether refugees themselves feel safe enough to return home," Vikram Nehru, a Southeast Asia expert at John Hopkins University, told VOA.

Nehru added that "a precondition for the return of the refugees should be some international oversight to ensure the security of the refugees once they return."

Rohingya Muslims are living in fear after being told that authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar are considering the repatriation of thousands of refugees to Myanmar as part of a deal reached last month. The official return is set to begin this month.

Some Rohingya, fearing persecution upon their return, have said they are considering taking their own lives to avoid being sent back to Rakhine state, where Myanmar's military is accused of having waged a genocidal campaign against the minority group.

"If we go back, they can kill us, they can torture us. We have already lost everything once," said one man from the Jamtoli camp, speaking on condition of anonymity, who was told by camp officials that he and his family were on the list.

Bangladesh's refugee relief and rehabilitation commissioner, Abul Kalam, has told Human Rights Watch the Rohingya on the list "were not chosen because they particularly wanted to go back."

The U.N.'s special rapporteur on human rights for Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, has called on both countries to scrap the plan to return people this month, warning the Rohingya face a "high risk of persecution" if returned.

The plan may also "violate obligations under customary international law to uphold the principle of non-refoulement," she added.

Bangladesh should not be sending anyone at this time," Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist, told VOA. "Forcing survivors and refugees back to the killing fields where genocide is still going on is complicity in genocide."

Myanmar's government and its military have come under international criticism over their handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Different international rights groups have also criticized the country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to prevent violence against the Rohingya.

On Monday, Amnesty International stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its top honor for her failure to criticize or halt violence against her country's Rohingya population.

During her detention, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 2009, Amnesty gave her its highest honor, naming her an Ambassador of Conscience.

But since becoming Myanmar's de facto civilian leader in 2016, she and her administration have been criticized worldwide for failing to condemn or try to stop atrocities perpetrated by the military against Rohingya.

VOA's Victor Beatie and Joshua Carroll contributed to this report.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Recording links Saudi crown prince to Khashoggi assassination: Report

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 08:37AM

A phone call recording collected by the Turkish intelligence links the brutal murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi to the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, The New York Times reports.

Citing three people familiar with the recording, The Times on Monday reported a secret phone conversation made by Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a member of the 15-man Saudi hit squad that killed Khashoggi, to a superior believed to be bin Salman's aide.

In the phone call, which came shortly after Khashoggi's murder on October 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Mutreb instructed his superior in Arabic to "tell your boss" that the murder mission had been accomplished.

American intelligence officials said "your boss" was a reference to MbS.

Meanwhile, Turkish intelligence officers told American officials they believed that Mutreb was speaking to bin Salman's aide. Mutreb himself is a security officer who has frequently traveled with the Saudi crown prince.

According to the report, intelligence officials view the recording as "some of the strongest evidence" linking bin Salman to the murder of his outspoken critic.

"A phone call like that is about as close to a smoking gun as you are going to get," said former CIA officer Bruce O. Riedel. "It is pretty incriminating evidence."

Saudi officials, however, denied that the crown prince "had any knowledge whatsoever" of Khashoggi's killing.

Riyadh finally acknowledged that Khashoggi had been murdered in a "premeditated" operation, after weeks of denials of any involvement in his disappearance.

Turkey's chief prosecutor said the Washington Post columnist had been strangled upon arrival at the Saudi consulate and then dismembered.

A source at Turkish attorney general's office said Saudi authorities had used acid and other chemicals to dispose of the body.

Separately on Tuesday, Turkey's Daily Sabah daily released X-ray pictures of the Saudi hit squad's luggage taken at airport security checks.

The photos showed a large scissor, scalpel and an electroshock device.

The latest revelations could deal another blow to Saudi attempts to distance bin Salman from the gruesome murder, which has drawn an international outcry.

The call was part of a recording that the Turks played for CIA chief Gina Haspel during her visit to Ankara last month.

Turkey said it had shared the audio recordings with several countries, including Saudi Arabia and the US.

It is not clear how many recordings the Turkish intelligence is in possession of. Reuters cited two sources with knowledge of the issue as saying that Ankara has several of them.

On Monday, Canada  which is involved in its own diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia over the kingdom's human rights violations -- confirmed that it had been "fully briefed on what Turkey had to share."

"Canada's intelligence agencies have been working very closely on this issue with Turkish intelligence," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "We continue to be engaged with our allies on the investigation into accountability for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and we are in discussions with our like-minded allies as to the next steps toward Saudi Arabia."

Erdogan calls recordings 'appalling'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday described the audio recordings Ankara has shared with Western states as "appalling."

"The recordings are really appalling. Indeed when the Saudi intelligence officer listened to the recordings he was so shocked he said: This one must have taken heroin, only someone who takes heroin would do this," he added.

Erdogan said it was clear the murder had been planned, and that the order came from the top level of Saudi authorities, but that he could not think such a thing of King Salman.

"The crown prince says 'I will clarify the matter, I will do what is necessary.' We are waiting patiently," Erdogan said.

The perpetrators were among 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish president. "It must be revealed who gave them the order to murder."

Meanwhile, US Representative Adam B. Schiff told The New York Times that investigators were unlikely to collect a piece of evidence that incontrovertibly links bin Salman to Khashoggi's death.

"You are not going to have any of the people who carried out the murder speak openly about who they got their orders from or who is in the loop on it," Schiff said. "That is not realistic to expect."

Schiff further vowed to probe Khashoggi's killing and examine Saudi Arabia's actions in the Middle East, including its military campaign in Yemen, when he takes charge of the House Intelligence Committee.

"We need to do our own due diligence, we need to make sure we are getting good intelligence, and we need to make sure the administration doesn't misrepresent to the country what foreign actors are doing," he added.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Trump expresses concern over Saudi oil output decrease

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 03:22AM

US President Donald Trump has expressed concern over the Saudi decision to decrease its oil output in December, requesting oil prices to remain low.

"Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply!" tweeted Trump on Monday.

The president made the comment a day after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih announced the oil-rich kingdom's decision to reduce exports by about 500000 barrels a day next month. The minister further suggested that members of OPEC may also reduce supply next year "to balance the market".

"The consensus among all members is that we need to do whatever it takes to balance the market," said Al Falih, adding that "if that means trimming supply by a million [barrels per day], we will do it."

Russia, the world's second top oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, welcomed the decision. Russian oil minister Alexander Novak expressed his country's willingness to reduce sales if the matter was decided by a coalition of oil-producers.

The announced reduction, however, imperils Trump administration's domestic and international policies. Facing newly empowered Democrats after the midterm elections, Trump further seeks to ensure low oil prices in order to push for added economic growth. Moreover, having granted oil waivers to many of Iran's top buyers, a reduced Saudi oil output may also further weaken newly imposed oil sanctions, increasing oil prices and making up for Iran's decreased oil sales.

Trump's comments come as US ties with Saudi Arabia have come under increased scrutiny over the killing of Saudi critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Trump announced in October that his administration was considering sanctioning Saudi officials found to be involved in the murder, but has since down played any possible retributions in fear of negative consequences on the US economy.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Saudi Arabia, Citing Iranian Sanctions Waivers, Moves To Prop Up Oil Prices

By RFE/RL November 13, 2018

Saudi Arabia has announced a major cut in oil production to rebalance global markets and prop up plunging oil prices, citing U.S. sanctions waivers that are enabling Iran to keep exporting oil to most of its top customers.

The comments from Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih on November 12 shook global markets, where oil prices have plummeted since the United States announced last week that it was temporarily waiving sanctions on Iran's oil sector for many of Tehran's top oil customers, including China and India.

Before the unexpectedly mild sanctions announcement, "fear and anxiety gripped the market," Falih said at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference.

Now "we're seeing the pendulum swing violently to the other side," he said.

"Sanctions didn't cut so much out of the market as anticipated," Falih said.

In the months before the sanctions were imposed on November 5, Saudi Arabia said it had increased its own production by about 1 million barrels a day to offset a reported halving of Iran's oil exports from a peak of about 2.5 million barrels in April.

But with major oil consumers like India and China still importing Iranian oil under six-month waivers granted by Washington, analysts have been upwardly revising their estimates of Iranian exports, saying they could be as high as 1.8 million barrels a day.

That has helped feed a major plunge in premium crude prices in the last week from more than $80 a barrel to around $71 on November 12.

At the time he granted broad exemptions from the sanctions, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was concerned about a spike in oil prices like the one that occurred after he withdrew the United States from Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement in May and announced he was reimposing sanctions.

Trump provided six-month waivers to Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey, as well as India and China -- Iran's top two oil customers -- as long as they keep working to reduce their imports.

Trump's stated concerns about oil prices were a tacit admission that the looming U.S. sanctions on Iran had helped to drive up oil prices, although Trump publicly blamed the OPEC oil cartel for the price spike.

On November 12, Trump lashed out at Saudi Arabia's announcement that it will now cut production since Iran is being allowed to keep exporting more oil than expected.

"Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower, based on supply!" Trump said on Twitter.

Falih responded that Saudi Arabia has been giving Washington and other customers "100 percent of what they asked for." But he said Riyadh will start cutting production by more than 500,000 barrels a day next month.

Saudi Arabia is OPEC's largest producer and one of the few that has enough spare capacity to offset a deep cut in Iran's oil exports.

The energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, Suhail al-Mazrouei, currently the president of OPEC, said further "changes" likely would be necessary when the oil cartel meets in December in Vienna.

Falih said OPEC officials have seen analyses suggesting a production cut of as much as 1 million barrels a day may be needed to rebalance the market and prop up prices. However, he stressed that more study needs to be done.

"We don't want to throttle the global economy," he said.

Iran did not have a high-level official at the Abu Dhabi event and did not immediately respond to Falih's comments.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/saudi-arabia- citing-iranian-sanctions-waivers-moves-to-rebalance- global-markets-prop-up-oil-prices/29597323.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






Erdogan Ups Pressure on Riyadh Over Khashoggi

By Dorian Jones November 13, 2018

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to ratchet up pressure on Riyadh over last month's killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Tuesday saw the front page of the Turkish pro-government Sabah newspaper carry pictures of x-ray images of the alleged Saudi hit team suitcase purportedly showing tools to murder Khashoggi.

The newspaper story is the latest development in what analysts see as a carefully calibrated campaign by Ankara against Riyadh.

Erdogan announced last week an audio recording of the last minutes of the Saudi writer's life had been shared with the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and key European powers.

"The [content of the] tape is a real calamity," said Erdogan to journalists Sunday. "Even, the intelligence officer of the Saudis was shocked when he listened to the recording as he said. 'This guy (perpetrator) is perhaps using heroin, only a man on heroin can do such a thing.'"

Ever since the killing of Khashoggi on October 2, Ankara, through the careful release of information to the media, has dashed any hopes by Riyadh that the controversy would peter out.

"Ankara drip-feeds the press with new and gory details of the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," said analyst Atilla YesIlada of Global Source Partners, "which confirms the worldwide suspicion that Erdogan is after something more than justice or revenge."

In the first weeks after Khashoggi's murder, speculation was rife Ankara was looking for substantial concessions from Riyadh, including financial and economic support for Turkey's crisis-ridden economy. Days after the Khashoggi death a key aide to Saudi King Salman flew to Istanbul to meet with senior Turkish officials. King Salman, in a rare move, stepped out of semi-retirement to speak by telephone with Erdogan.

Despite such intervention Erdogan dismissed as "bribery" any talk of financial concessions from Riyadh, saying he was committed to finding and holding to account Khashoggi's killer. However, the Turkish president is careful not to accuse King Salman of any involvement.

Instead, Erdogan's rhetoric increasingly appears to be focusing on Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. " As I have already said, apart from the perpetrators, the one who gave them the order should also be found," Erdogan said, a reference widely interpreted to be mean the crown prince.

Riyadh has repeatedly denied the crown prince had any involvement in the murder, a claim many analysts suggest is difficult to believe, given the power Salman wields in the Kingdom.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters in Singapore Tuesday that while he has not heard the Khashoggi recording himself, "in the assessment of those who have listened to it, it does not, in any way, link the crown prince to the killing."

Khashoggi's death is seen as giving Erdogan a possible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "Mohammed bin Salman is a key rival to Erdogan in the battle for hegemony across the Sunni Middle East," said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara's Middle East Technical University.

"The question is how Saudi Arabia is claiming the regional hegemony." he added. "Prince Salman has big intentions to claim regional hegemony for Saudi Arabia, against Iran and Turkey."

"If Erdogan is going after MBS (Mohammed bin Salman), it is a futile quest," said analyst Yesilada, "because so far, the Trump White House resolutely stuck with him, as well as two key American regional allies (Israel and Egypt)."

A senior western diplomat, speaking anonymously, concurred, pointing out there is little international support for any unseating of the crown prince given the risk of regional instability.

If Erdogan is targeting the Saudi crown prince, such a move could threaten to reopen tensions with Washington, analyst Yesilada suggests, as it "would severely complicate the American effort to push back Iran." The crisis over Khashoggi's killing has so far been the basis for an improvement in U.S. Turkish ties, with observers saying Washington and in particular U.S. President Donald Trump see Erdogan as key to giving Riyadh a way out of the predicament.

However, Erdogan's tough stance against Riyadh has resulted in the Turkish president enjoying rare international plaudits.

Before the Saudi's killing, Erdogan was regularly maligned for holding the record, according to rights groups, as being the world's worst jailer of journalists, a charge Ankara denies.

The Khashoggi crisis has underlined that Turkey and Erdogan remain key international players. However, is that enough for the Turkish president or does he believe he has a rare, if not unique, opportunity to bring down a critical regional rival or at least severely weaken him? That is a question analysts say regional and international powers will likely be asking. Observers point out the Turkish president has a proven record as a risk taker and playing for high stakes.

For now, Erdogan appears content to keep everyone guessing as well as wondering what other evidence Turkish investigators have in connection with Khashoggi's death.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US-led aircraft evacuate Daesh terrorists from eastern Syria: Report

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 08:27PM

The US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has airlifted to safe sanctuaries several members of the foreign-sponsored terror outfit from regions in Syria's eastern provinces of Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr.

Local sources, requesting anonymity, told Syria's official news agency SANA on Tuesday that US-led military helicopters conducted an operation in the village of al-Suwayda in Hasakah near the border with Iraq, and transported a number of Takfiris to an unknown location.

Separately, US-led aircraft landed on the outskirts of al-Susah town in Dayr al-Zawr over the weekend, and took away three Daesh terrorists.

SANA, citing information received from local residents, reported on October 7 that American helicopters had evacuated Daesh commanders from al-Shaafah town in Abu Kamal district of Dayr al-Zawr to an undisclosed location.

Later on Tuesday, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the recent airstrike by the US-led coalition against the eastern town of al-Shaafah, which left more than 60 people killed and injured, arguing that the massacre clearly points to the fact that members of the military alliance have no respect for moral values, international rules and regulations besides the lives of innocent civilians.

The ministry, in two separate letters, addressed to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the rotating president of the UN Security Council Ma Zhaoxu, called on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities and to stop US-led aerial assaults.

It also asked the world body to recommend an international, independent and impartial mechanism to investigate the crimes being perpetrated by the US-led coalition.

The letters noted that the coalition is deliberately targeting Syria civilians and making use of internationally banned weapons, including white phosphorus bombs, in Syria.

The Syrian foreign ministry stressed that the US-led coalition airstrikes were meant to kill as many Syrian people as possible, prolong the ongoing Syrian conflict, destroy the country's infrastructure and undermine its sovereignty and territorial integrity in flagrant violation of all United Nations Security Council resolutions on Syria.

The letters concluded that the embarrassing silence of the Security Council has encouraged the US-led coalition to kill more Syrian civilians and destroy their properties.

The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The military alliance has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of achieving its declared goal of destroying Daesh.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US-led coalition strikes kill several Syrian civilians in Dayr al-Zawr

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 09:42AM

Over 60 civilians have lost their lives or sustained injuries when the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group carried out a number of aerial attacks in Syria's troubled eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.

Syria's official news agency SANA, citing local sources, said that the airstrikes targeted the village of al-Sha' afa in eastern Dayr al-Zawr on Monday.

The air raids came three days after another coalition airstrike on the city of Hajin in the province killed 26 civilians, including 14 children.

The US-led jets had earlier this month attacked Hijan, killing 15 civilians, mostly women and children, and wounding an unspecified number of people.

The military alliance has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of achieving its declared goal of destroying Daesh.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on October 23 that as many as 3,222 civilians had been killed ever since the US-led coalition launched its aerial bombardment campaign in Syria more than four years ago.

The Syrian government has repeatedly asked the United Nations to conduct an investigation into the bloody massacre being committed by the US-led coalition against Syrian people.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, in two letters to the UN on Saturday, called on the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities, and propose an independent and international mechanism to help stop the coalition's atrocities, investigate the crimes and punish the perpetrators.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Turkey's fighter jets kill 19 PKK militants in northern Iraq

Iran Press TV

Tue Nov 13, 2018 06:48PM

Turkish warplanes have killed 19 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group in a string of airstrikes against terrorist hideouts in northern Iraq.

In a brief statement released on Tuesday, Turkey's Defense Ministry announced the news, adding that the airstrikes had been conducted on a number of localities, including the Qandil Mountains, a PKK stronghold in the Arab country.

Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq. The militants regularly clash with Turkish forces in the Kurdish-dominated southeast of Turkey, which is attached to northern Iraq.

Turkey, along with the European Union and the United States, has declared the PKK a terrorist group and banned it. The militant group has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984.

A shaky ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government collapsed in July 2015. Attacks on Turkish security forces have soared ever since.

Over the past few months, Turkish ground and air forces have been carrying out operations against PKK positions in the country as well as in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.

More than 40,000 people have been killed during the three-decade conflict between Turkey and the autonomy-seeking militant group.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






SalamAir is broadening its reach to its valued customers with the opening of its first sales office in Oman.



"As part of our expansion strategy, we want to reach more guests, providing them with a convenient product offering and a full suite of services, said captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of SalamAir.



Located in Panorama Mall, the new office will be inaugurated on November 15, commemorating Omans 48th National Day. On this occasion, SalamAir will be giving away 48 free tickets to its growing customer base in partnership with multiple radio stations as well as social media.



The new office promises customers a list of services including reservations and ticketing, itinerary changes, purchase of value-added options, as well as providing guests with general information and support to better plan their travel.



Captain Ahmed said: We are continuously investing in our infrastructure as a novel airline to ensure we are available for our customers in key business locations across Muscat, the sultanate and across the GCC as well. Our trained staff is always ready to assist them in making their travel enjoyable and as seamless as possible. We are aware and fully understand our customers need of being served personally, thus offering them an additional choice of a city sales office was essential.



Today, the SalamAir network consists of 14 destinations including Muscat, Salalah, Suhar, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Shiraz, Najaf, Kathmandu, Khartoum, and Dhaka. - TradeArabia News Service


Russian Envoy Warns Against Deploying US Missiles to Europe

Sputnik News

15:02 13.11.2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States is risking triggering "dramatic events" in Europe if the country decides to deploy new missiles to Europe after withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said in an interview with Financial Times, released on Tuesday.

"So what are the next plans of the US administration after they leave INF? If they plan to deploy missiles in Europe, that might lead to dramatic events across Europe  including in domestic politics," Chizhov told the newspaper.

According to Chizhov, Europe is the main beneficiary of the INF treaty and therefore is the party that would be most adversely affected by the agreement's annulment.

"It was evident in 1987 and continues to be: the big winner was Europe Because Europe was the place where American medium- and shorter-range missiles were deployed  and Europe was consequently the target of similar Soviet missiles," Chizhov explained.

Speaking about the possible revision of the INF Treaty, the diplomat rejected the US proposal to invite China to join a revised treaty, saying that Russia, which shares a border with China, had more reason to be worried about Beijing's missile program.

The comment referred to the voiced in late October by US President Donald Trump plans to withdraw from the INF Treaty, claiming that Russia had violated the accord. Moscow has condemned the plans and denied any violations.

Prior to that, the United States and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of violating the INF Treaty. Moscow, in particular, has stated that the United States was deploying launchers for Tomahawk missiles in Romania and Poland, something which was prohibited by the agreement. Russia has also pointed to the fact that Washington was developing combat drones and financing research on the development of a ground-launched cruise missile. Meanwhile, the Russian authorities have stressed on numerous occasions that it strictly complied with the obligations outlined in the treaty.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






MASERATI Australia says its Levante large SUV will indefinitely be available with a diesel engine, while it will adopt a cautious approach to the rollout of electric vehicles outlined in the brands five-year plan recently released by parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

Speaking to journalists last week at the Levante launch in Albury, NSW, Maserati Australia chief operating officer Glen Sealey was optimistic about the future of diesel, despite its 10.6 per cent year-to-date decline in private passenger-car and SUV sales.

We still see a good future for diesel, he said. Well continue to sell diesel, (because) in the Australian market, theres still a desire for diesel.

Its a very good propulsion for an SUV, in the torque that it offers and the smoothness of the drivetrain overall with the new technology in diesels.

Also, given the distances between towns in Australia, combined with the ease of overtaking, it really does make diesel quite a good propulsion for an SUV.

Of the 51,992 diesel passenger cars and SUVs sold to private buyers to the end of October, the latter accounted for 48,966 sales, or 5.0 per cent (-0.5%) of the declining overall market, an indication that demand is still relatively strong.

When asked if diesel has a long-term future in Maseratis model line-up Down Under, given that its discontinuation was foreshadowed in the five-year plan, Mr Sealey suggested that new-vehicle buyers will determine if that is the case or not.

As manufacturers, we can say that were going to set the trend, but at the end of the day, the consumer will always set the trend, he said.

In the Australian market, if you look at the sales of EVs or certainly full-electric vehicles, theyre quite small, compared to the overall market.

Theres a sizeable investment by all manufacturers now to compete in a small market  thats for Australia only.

Hybrid sales are up 14.5 per cent in the year to date, but they only command a 1.1 per cent share of the overall market, while EVs have increased their volume by 24.8 per cent but account for an even smaller, 0.01 per cent slice.

Mr Sealey added that Maserati Australia will still follow the five-year plan but timings for certain models and variants will depend on the establishment of a much stronger EV charging network.

From a Maserati perspective, Maserati will indeed, as stated, go into not just internal-combustion engines, but hybrid engines and also full-EV production.

Thats going to be an interesting transition. In five years time, itll be interesting to see if the infrastructure is around Australia to facilitate mass buying of EVs.

At the end of the day, if the structures not there, the technology becomes an inconvenience rather than a convenience. Its hard to see the consumers en masse going to EVs.

As reported, the overdue Alfieri sportscar and a mid-size SUV are two of the eight plug-in hybrids that Maserati plans to usher in alongside four EVs by the end of 2022, all of which Mr Sealey hopes to launch Down Under.

Wed still like to sell them all here, he said. We always put up our hand for every vehicle that we possibly can, (and) we try to homologate every car for the market.

The Road to Recovery podcast series
VAL-D'OR, QC, Nov. 13, 2018 /CNW/ - Orbit Garant Drilling Inc. (TSX: OGD) ("Orbit Garant" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2018 ("Q1 FY2019"). All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Percentage calculations are based on numbers in the financial statements and may not correspond to rounded figures presented in this news release.

Q1 FY2019 Financial Summary

($ amounts in millions, except per share amounts) Three months ended

Sept. 30, 2018 Three months ended

Sept. 30, 2017 Revenue $37.3 $42.5 Gross Profit $5.6 $6.7 Gross Margin (%) 15.0 15.9 Adjusted Gross Margin (%) 20.4 20.5 EBITDA2 $3.4 $5.1 Net earnings (loss) $0.4 $1.7 Net earnings (loss) per share



- Basic and diluted $0.01 $0.05 Total metres drilled 316,045 404,262





1 Adjusted Gross Margin is a non-IFRS financial measure and is defined as Gross Profit excluding depreciation expenses. See "Reconciliation of Non-IFRS financial measures". 2 EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure and is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. See "Reconciliation of Non-IFRS financial measures".

"We experienced a slowdown in demand from our customers in the quarter, reflecting the slower pace of financing activities in the mining sector in the second half of 2018. Despite the current lower demand levels, we were able to preserve margins due to a higher contribution from specialized drilling activity in Canada and higher margin contracts in Chile," said Eric Alexandre, President & CEO of Orbit Garant.

"Subsequent to quarter end, we acquired a drilling business based in Burkina Faso, adding 13 surface drills, related support equipment, existing customer contracts and approximately 100 employees. We expect this acquisition to add approximately $12 million in incremental revenue and generate positive cash flow and earnings for our fiscal year ended June 30, 2019," continued Mr. Alexandre. "Looking ahead, we are well positioned to build value when demand picks up with our strong market position in Canada, our growing presence in Chile and our recently expanded operations in Burkina Faso. We believe Canada, Chile and West Africa will continue to be attractive regions for us in terms of near and long-term market opportunity."

First Quarter Results

Revenue in Q1 FY2019 totalled $37.3 million, compared to $42.5 million for the three-month period ended September 30, 2017 ("Q1 FY2018"). Drilling Canada revenue was $29.1 million, compared to $31.9 million in Q1 FY2018, reflecting a decline in metres drilled during the quarter, partially offset by increased specialized drilling activities. Drilling International revenue was $8.2 million, compared to $10.6 million in Q1 FY2018. Drilling International revenue for Q1 FY2019 includes $6.7 million of revenue from operations in Chile, compared to $8.0 million in Q1 FY2018. The decline in International revenue is primarily attributable to the conclusion of a large drilling contract in Chile and a contract delay in Burkina Faso.

Orbit Garant's fleet drilled a total of 316,045 metres in Q1 FY2019, compared to 404,262 metres drilled in Q1 FY2018. Consolidated average revenue per metre drilled increased 12.2% to $117.55 compared to $104.78 in Q1 FY2018. The increase in consolidated average revenue per metre drilled is attributable to increased specialized drilling activity in Canada.

Gross profit for Q1 FY2019 was $5.6 million, compared to $6.7 million in Q1 FY2018. Gross margin was 15.0%, compared to 15.9% in Q1 FY2018. Depreciation expenses totalling $2.0 million are included in cost of contract revenue for Q1 FY2019 and Q1 FY2018. Adjusted gross margin, excluding depreciation expenses, was 20.4% in Q1 FY2019, compared to 20.5% in Q1 FY2018. The decrease in gross profit and margins was primarily attributable to lower drilling volumes in Canada and international markets, partially offset by an increased proportion of higher margin specialized drilling activity in Canada.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $3.9 million (representing 10.5% of revenue), compared to $3.7 million (representing 8.8% of revenue) in Q1 FY2018. Increased G&A expenses reflect the Company's growth strategy in Canada and internationally.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") totaled $3.4 million in Q1 FY2019, compared to $5.1 million in Q1 FY2018.

The Company's net earnings for Q1 FY2019 were $0.4 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to $1.7 million, or $0.05 per share, in Q1 FY2018. The decrease was attributable to lower gross profit, as discussed above.

During Q1 FY2019, the Company generated $1.7 million from financing activities, in line with Q1 FY2018. The Company withdrew a net amount of $1.9 million during Q1 FY2019 on its secured, three-year revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility") with National Bank of Canada Inc., compared to a draw of $1.5 million in Q1 FY2018. As at September 30, 2018, the Company had $20.0 million drawn under the Credit Facility, compared to $18.1 million as at June 30, 2018.

As at September 30, 2018, Orbit Garant had working capital of $55.5 million ($53.3 million as at June 30, 2018), and 36,147,119 common shares issued and outstanding.

Orbit Garant's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the first quarter ended September 30, 2018 are available on the Company's website at www.orbitgarant.com or SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Conference call

Eric Alexandre, President and CEO, and Alain Laplante, Vice President and CFO, will host a conference call for analysts and investors on on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The dial-in numbers for the conference call are 416-764-8609 or 1-888-390-0605. A live webcast of the call will be available on Orbit Garant's website at: http://www.orbitgarant.com/en/sites/fog/investors.aspx.

To access a replay of the conference call dial 416-764-8677 or 1-888-390-0541, passcode: 477428 #. The replay will be available until November 21, 2018. The webcast will be archived following conclusion of the call.

Annual General Meeting

Orbit Garant will host its Annual and Special Meeting of shareholders on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 10:00 am at the Hotel Le Crystal, 1100 de la Montagne St., Montreal, Quebec. The meeting will be held in the Rene-Levesque B Room (3rd floor).

RECONCILIATION OF NON - IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

Financial data has been prepared in conformity with IFRS. However, certain measures used in this discussion and analysis do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and could be calculated differently by other companies. The Company believes that certain non-IFRS financial measures, when presented in conjunction with comparable IFRS financial measures, are useful to investors and other readers because the information is an appropriate measure to evaluate the Company's operating performance. Internally, the Company uses this non-IFRS financial information as an indicator of business performance. These measures are provided for information purposes, in addition to, and not as a substitute for, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

EBITDA: Net earnings (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.



Adjusted gross margin: Contract revenue less operating costs. Operating expenses comprise material and service expenses, personnel expenses, other operating expenses, excluding depreciation.

EBITDA

Management believes that EBITDA is an important measure when analyzing its operating profitability, as it removes the impact of financing costs, certain non-cash items and income taxes. As a result, Management considers it a useful and comparable benchmark for evaluating the Company's performance, as companies rarely have the same capital and financing structure.

Reconciliation of EBITDA







(unaudited) (in millions of dollars) Three months ended September 30, 2018 Three months ended September 30, 2017 Net earnings (net loss) for the period 0.4 1.7 Add:



Finance costs 0.4 0.3 Income tax expense (recovery) 0.4 0.9 Depreciation and amortization 2.2 2.2 EBITDA 3.4 5.1

Adjusted Gross Margin

Although adjusted gross margin and margin are not recognized financial measures defined by IFRS, Management considers them to be important measures as they represent the Company's core profitability, without the impact of depreciation expense. As a result, Management believes they provide a useful and comparable benchmark for evaluating the Company's performance.







(unaudited) (in millions of dollars) Three months ended September 30, 2018 Three months ended September 30, 2017 Contract revenue 37.3 42.5 Cost of contract revenue (including depreciation) 27.7 31.8 Less depreciation 2.0 2.0 Direct costs 29.7 33.8 Adjusted gross profit 7.6 8.7 Adjusted gross margin (%) (1) 20.4 20.5





(1) Adjusted gross profit, divided by contract revenue X 100

About Orbit Garant

Headquartered in Val-d'Or, Quebec, Orbit Garant is one of the largest Canadian-based mineral drilling companies, providing both underground and surface drilling services in Canada and internationally through its 235 drill rigs and more than 1,300 employees. Orbit Garant provides services to major, intermediate and junior mining companies, through each stage of mining exploration, development and production. The Company also provides geotechnical drilling services to mining or mineral exploration companies, engineering and environmental consultant firms, and government agencies. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.orbitgarant.com.

Forward-looking information

This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) relating to business of Orbit Garant Drilling Inc. (the "Company") and the environment in which it operates. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may" and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company's expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's regulatory filings available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such statement or to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances.

SOURCE Orbit Garant Drilling Inc.
By Umair Azmi

In the first part of this series, Rajmohan Gandhis defence of Patel as fair and not communally prejudiced was compared with Maulana Azads testimony and Rajmohan Gandhis insistence on painting the Maulana as a liar.

In this second part, we look at statements without reference to Maulana Azads testimony and how even on their own, they are quite revealing, for both Patel as well as his biographer, followed by a summarization of the issues in both parts.

Support TwoCircles



Revealing words

Even if the comparison of the excerpt in question with Maulana Azads testimony is ignored, there are elements within the excerpt itself which reveal an unsuccessful attempt at masking prejudice. In an attempt at balancing out Patel against Azad, Rajmohan Gandhi writes, If Vallabhbhai differed from Gandhi, he clashed with Azad. In this stressful time, each thought the other communal, and while Azad blamed Patel for plumping for partition and persuading Gandhi to acquiesce in it, Vallabhbhai could not forget the Maulanas inability to prevent the qaums crossover to the League. Maulana Azad details instances based on which he considered Patel communal. For the equivalence to hold, would it not be necessary to point out the Maulanas actions that would lend themselves to a similar charge? Attempting to balance out Azads blaming of Patel for advocating for partition with the Maulanas inability to prevent the qaums crossover to the League is yet another lame attempt at establishing equivalence where none exists. Maulanas complaint pertains to Patels personal actions and words. That Patel would hold it against Azad that he was unable to control the minds of the Muslim masses betrays the mind of a pygmy rather than a giant. That a historian should point out such an instance almost approvingly reveals much about the historians own biases.(For that matter, Rajmohan Gandhi, in acting as the knight in shining armour defending the founding fathers, has a knack for unwittingly revealing unsavoury aspects of his own views even in the briefest of exchanges. For instance, his comments on the book The South African Gandhi, and the response by the books author show him in unflattering light. Also the lengthy exchange with Arundhati Roy over The Doctor and the Saint.) More importantly, while plumping for partition could rightfully be cited as a communal act, how does the inability to prevent the qaums crossover to the League be considered an evidence for communalism?

The next paragraph is even more revealing: After the August-September killings, both often laid claim to the same scarce resource  money or space or a quantity of tents or blankets or a protecting police unit  Azad wanting it for Muslims in transit camps, Vallabhbhai for Hindu or Sikh refugees. The contest over scarce money, space or other materials is understandable. But how could there be a contest over a protecting police unit considering that in Delhi (as in most other areas that came to form the Indian state), it was the Muslims who were overwhelmingly the victims of lethal attacks, just as Hindus and Sikhs were overwhelmingly the victims in the areas awarded to Pakistan? Far from being any sort of vindication as intended by Rajmohan Gandhi, Patels contestation over protecting police units when Muslims were the ones being killed in broad daylight shows him as one filled with communal hatred, and hardly true to the post of responsibility he graced, or rather defiled.

The fairness speaks for itself

Patels fairness is also brought out officially in all its glory. A Home Ministry secretary under Patel laid out the position of Muslims with complete clarity, drawing attention:

to one aspect of security which has assumed urgency and importance in the present context of relations with Pakistan. There is growing evidence that a section of Muslims in India is out of sympathy with the Government of India, particularly because of its policy regarding Kashmir and Hyderabad, and is actively sympathetic to Pakistan. Such Government servants are likely to be useful channels of information and would be particularly susceptible to the influence of their relatives.

It is probable that among Muslim employees of Government there are some who belong to these categories. It is obvious that they constitute a dangerous element in the fabric of administration; and it is essential that they should not be entrusted with any confidential or secret work or allowed to hold key posts. For this purpose I would request you to prepare lists of Muslim employees in your Ministry and in the offices under your control, whose loyalty to the Dominion of India is suspected or who are likely to constitute a threat to security. These lists should be carefully prepared and scrutinised by the Heads of Departments or other higher authority, and should be used for the specific purposes of excluding persons from holding key posts or handling confidential or secret work.

I need scarcely add that I am sure you will see that there is no witch hunting; and that only genuine cases are included in the lists. Those who are loyal and whose work is satisfactory should of course be given every cause to feel that their claims are no less than those of men belonging to the majority community.

What does it tell of a mind that paints all Indian Muslims as probable traitors while considering the RSS as patriots though misguided?

The legacy of Patel

To expect legatees to be perfect imitators of the their idol is to expect human particularities to be absent. A more reasonable expectation is to draw out the similarities and continuities. Patels actions and words provide the template for putting Muslims in their place both for the hardcore Hindutvavadis as well as their poor imitations.

Patels belligerent defence focussing on notions of unity, pride to deflect from accusations of inaction finds echoes in the defence over the Gujarat carnage of 2002.

The allergy to a Muslim with even the most minimal independence as displayed in Patels allergy for Maulana Azad is an attitude that is common to all political parties.

The circular from Patels ministry is substantively the same message that the BJP and the RSS scream day in and day out, declaring all Muslims loyalty as suspect  never mind that spies on the payroll of Pakistan are quite often foundfrom their ranks.

But perhaps his most lasting legacy, followed by both the hardcore saffronites as well as the Congress, is his production of kitchen knives as proof of a grand Muslim conspiracy. Commenting on this action, Saeed Naqvi remarks: Patel, it turns out, may well have established the pattern for the future. In all Hindu-Muslim conflicts, it would be put out that Muslims were well armed. Subsequently, in cases of communal violence, arms would inevitably be found with the Muslims. These were the earliest signals given out to the police force of independent India. Today, this is usually the knee-jerk response of the countrys police force towards the Indian Muslim. In cases of alleged terrorism and communal violence, ready-made evidence will be found heaped upon him.

One often reads and hears a lot about the importance of dissent from the media. But the limits for Muslims are all too apparent when nothing from Maulana Azad in respect to Patel makes its way to even the liberal media. For in the context of the national orthodoxies regarding Patels virtues, Maulana Azads words are a note of dissent. Praises for his vision as the first Minister of Education are more often tools to reduce his stature and ignore his words in the realm of politics and power, rather than a genuine appreciation of the man. A metaphor for what is required of the Indian Muslims (and others such as Dalits relegated to a secondary status) by the powers that be: acceptable in the fields of culture, education, etc but genuine empowerment that insists on its own voice is a strict no.

Umair Azmi holds a Masters in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and is currently pursuing a Masters in History and can be reached at [email protected]
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.
Chinese auto brand Zotye Automobile is partnering with HAAH Automotive Holdings to form a new sales and distribution company in the United States. The new company will be known as Zotye USA and headquartered in Lake Forest, California.

Zotye Automobile International Co. designs, engineers, manufactures and sells the Zotye brand vehicles in China and globally.

The companys first US product with be an SUV but the specific model has not been announced. Engineering development and homologation work on the model is underway and is proceeding smoothly. Sales to retail customers in the US are expected to begin in 2020, according to Zotye USA.

Zotye USA will handle all sales, distribution, parts and service for Zotye vehicles in the United States. The vehicles will initially be imported from China where they are currently designed, engineered and produced by Zotye Automobile International Co.
European Union countries want to defy U.S. President Donald Trump and keep funds flowing to Iran to save the nuclear agreement - just as long as it doesn't happen in their backyard.

EU nations have identified Austria as the best candidate to host a special purpose vehicle that could handle payments to Iran, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. Austria itself is not so keen. Belgium, Luxembourg and France have also been identified as potential venues but Belgium and Luxembourg have declined while France is looking to Austria.

After discussing the idea with the rest of the government in Vienna, the foreign ministry decided that it "wouldn't be feasible" for Austria to host the venture, a ministry spokeswoman said.

European governments are searching for ways to make good on their commitments to keep trading with Iran after Trump backed out of the nuclear deal in May. Fresh U.S. sanctions on oil and banking activities kicked in last week, posing a threat to companies that engage with Tehran. The Iranian government though is still observing the limits set on its nuclear activity under the deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday.

The SPV is a vital part of European attempts to salvage the accord, aiming to circumvent the U.S. sanctions regime and allow companies to continue doing business with Iran. Negotiations are proceeding slowly and no country is keen to host the SPV, which risks drawing ire from the U.S. administration. Where to set up the mechanism is just one of the sticking points.

"This looks nice on paper but it's hard to do," EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Wednesday. Two days earlier, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the EU, dismissed the idea as "a paper tiger."

Euro-area central bankers are wary of the project and the potential consequences of falling foul of American sanctions.

The SPV would theoretically receive payments from countries that want to continue doing business with Iran, either by receiving waivers for oil imports or permissible trade in goods like food and medicine. With no direct transfer of funds between Iran and European actors, it would, theoretically at least, insulate firms from the U.S. punishment regime.

Germany, France and Britain are among the countries pushing Austria to host the entity, according to one of the people. Of the other potential venues, Belgium is home to the international financial messaging service Swift, which has reluctantly cut Iran off in response to the American sanctions, while Luxembourg's low-tax regime has made it a key offshore banking center.

An unresolved issue, according to one of the people, is how to reassure banks interacting with the SPV that they will be shielded from the risk of exclusion from the U.S. financial market. The idea is to start with very small volumes and eventually scale up operations, the person added.

Austria came to the conclusion that there are "many open questions for which there are no final answers at the moment," foreign ministry spokesman Peter Guschelbauer was quoted as saying by the Austria Press Agency. Austria is still supporting the SPV in principle, "but it has to be designed so that it fulfills its purpose," he said.

The push to domicile the vehicle in Austria comes at a delicate moment for Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's foreign policy efforts. Kurz is governing in a coalition with the nationalist Freedom Party and is wooing Israel to stop ostracizing Freedom Party ministers. That effort wouldn't be helped by a measure explicitly designed to facilitate trade with Iran, the sworn enemy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting Vienna next week.
A reorganization in how the state provides medical care to thousands of inmates will not save the state money this year as promised. Instead, it will cost millions more.

The Connecticut Department of Correction took over managing health care for the 14,000 inmates in its custody last July after UConn Health informed the state it couldnt sustain any more budget cuts without further sacrificing care.

State spending on inmate health care has dropped for years - going from $107 million to $80 million since 2008. To make up for cuts in the past, UConn reduced staffing for inmate care and cut pharmaceutical and medical supply budgets, though UConn officials said that was not related to a reduction in need.

Facing another round of cuts - and as concerns from legislators and civil rights groups mounted about the lack of oversight for inmate health care - the correction department took over managing health care.

Scott Semple, commissioner of the department of correction, said at the time that he was confident he would be able to cut spending by another $8 million and improve care.

On Tuesday, he told the legislatures Appropriations Committee that he was wrong.

Instead of saving $8 million on inmate health care, his agency is set to spend $7 million more than last year, the legislatures nonpartisan fiscal staff report.

We have made every effort to work within the budget allowed to the agency, however, realizing the substantial reduction in appropriations over and above the current services provided while maintaining the integrity of our mission and the safety and security of our staff and facilities has proven to be challenging, said Semple.

The increased spending is the result of unforeseen startup costs and hiring delays, leading to high overtime costs as the department struggles to attract qualified medical staff. Rising health care costs also is a problem, he said, pointing out that nearly half of those incarcerated are over 40 years old.

This is a significant contributor to the rising cost of inmate medical care, he said. We anticipate this continuing to be an ongoing issue.

Delays in soliciting private providers to help deliver certain services also has caused problems controlling costs. Solicitations for pharmacy services, diabetic care and other medical services were released late last month.

Dwindling oversight heightens concern over medical, mental health care for inmates

Transition from UCOnn to DOC will take some time and may entail costs, making achievement of overall savings unlikely before the next biennium, he said.

Semple, however, announced he is not seeking to stay on as commissioner when Ned Lamont takes office as the next governor in January. Semple did say, however, he will happily help the next administration, adding that the recent rollout of electronic health records allows the department for the first time to systematically review how it is delivering health care.

We are really working hard to develop a quality assurance metrics, he said, noting it should be ready by January.

The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General over the last 10 years has logged more than 1,000 complaints and lawsuits from inmates about the health care they did or didnt receive, or about inadequate accommodations for their medical conditions.

It is hard to draw conclusions about whether these indicate systemic problems, however, because the state does not track in any searchable way the resolution of the complaints and lawsuits. It also makes it incredibly time consuming to determine if there has been an uptick in allegations.

It will be the next administrations job to close the agencys $15 million anticipated deficiency before the fiscal year closes July 1. The Lamont administration could choose to to further reduce spending on inmate care or draw funding from elsewhere in the state budget.
It seems like we have been talking about foldable displays forever now. That's no coincidence either, since looking back at the news section, we can trace the earliest mentions of the futuristic tech to 2014 - a millennium ago in tech terms. Well, flexible displays are finally here and going to start appearing on consumer devices in 2019.

How do we know for sure this time around? Well, Samsung already teased a working prototype at its annual developer conference (SDC 2018). Other manufacturers have stated official plans for delivering flexible phones too. Plus, Google is already working to adapt its UI to the new form factors. So, Its happening!

Naturally, foldable panels open up enormous new design possibilities, beyond resurrecting some tried and true concepts of old, like the clamshell. Samsung has been keeping busy for quite some time patenting various designs. One such very intriguing concept, requested all the way back in June 2016, was published today to the US patent office (USPTO) database.

At first glance it looks almost ridiculous. As if someone took three handsets and simply taped them together. Analysing the sketches closer, however, actually reveals quite a bit of potential in the design.

Judging by the placement of the camera module and the Type-C port, it appears that the design is meant for a handset. But since foldable displays will definitely blur the lines between categories even further, we'll put it this way - in its default state this device appears to have an equally big display on both sides, with a bigger central portion, probably holding in the chipset, main electronics and likely a big chink of the battery.

This means an orientation agnostic device that you should be able to hold in one hand. If Samsung combines this with some hidden earpiece design and potentially even some other advancements, like an Infinity-O panel, as described in its recent display design plans, it could make for a perfectly usable device, with one or even two cameras in this collapsed state.



Fully folded

The main camera module, however, appears to only be accessible after at least one unfold. This puts the triple piece device in a rather odd phase, but does effectively double the screen real estate on one side, while still leaving a whole functional display on the back.

The rear panel could easily be used for taking selfies with the main camera. Speaking of which, having the main camera module on a whole separate panel could, potentially free some space and clear positioning constraints, which could allow bigger and better sensors to fit in.



Half unfolded

In its "final", fully unfolded form the device looks like it could easily put most modern tablets to shame in terms of screen real estate. Of course, it is difficult to judge size or aspect from these sketches, but given recent trends, we can only assume that most manufacturers won't go back from the trendy extra-tall displays and the extra vertical scroll space they provide.

Of course, having said all this, it's time to step back into reality and re-iterate that Samsung and other major manufacturers regularly patent a large number of designs, without any guarantee that they will actually produce them. If you are looking for some more tangible and short-term developments in the foldable display field, Samsung has already leaked some bits and pieces about the future of the Infinity Flex Display.

As per current rumors, the technology is expected to debut on a device in February or March 2019. February should see the unveiling of a trio of new Galaxy S10 flagships. The first foldable display model won't be one of these three, but might join them on stage. On the flip side, some industry insiders believe that there will be another demo at the MWC in February before the final reveal in March.

The foldable phone is built like a clamshell with a 4.58 external display and a tablet-sized 7.3 display on the inside. It is expected to cost $1,770 (KRW 2 million in its homeland) and will likely feature 5G support. That's currently about as much as we know.

Source | Via




Haiti - Justice : The former Minister of the Interior Reginald Delva charged with complicity





After the indictment and incarceration on October 26 at the prison of Saint-Marc, of the former Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) Godson Orelus https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25946-haiti-justice-godson-orelus-former-dg-of-the-pnh-arrested-and-imprisoned.html in disputed circumstances, by Judge Dieunel Lumeran in charge of the investigation of the case of the important seizure of firearms at the customs of Saint-Marc in September 2016 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18569-haiti-flash-worrying-seizure-of-weapons-from-the-usa.html , the investigating judge Jean Wilner Morin, delegate (under rogatory commission) by the examining magistrate Dieunel Lumeran, served Tuesday at the office of Reginald Delva, the indictment of the latter, accused in this affair of complicity of transnational crime, illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition and criminal conspiracies.



Reacting to this information, Delva, while not yet in possession of the document and the details of this charge, was surprised to learn that he had been charged in this case of seizure of weapons that he had never been auditioned once.



According to our information, Vladimir Paraison, the former Departmental Director of the West of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) could also be charged as well as a politician and a senator (after the lifting of his immunity).



Recall that two other suspects: Kletex Laguerre and Nomie Saul Bata accused of complicity had already been arrested in 2016 after the closure of more than one month of investigation by the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18964-haiti-justice-weapons-seizure-in-st-marc-closing-of-the-police-investigation.html



In addition, the two suppliers of these weapons Junior Joseph, the owner of a gun store in Orlando and his brother Jimy Joseph, were arrested in the United States and accused of illegally shipping weapons to Haiti since the port of Palm Beach via the customs of Saint-Marc https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25491-haiti-usa-case-of-the-cargo-of-weapons-of-st-marc-the-two-suppliers-arrested.html



Finally in Haiti, the alleged owner of this shipment of illegal weapons, a certain Joseph Jimmy, the alleged sender of the smuggled goods Charles Durand and a named Thelusma Sandra accused of trading of influence and corruption are still sought after.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25491-haiti-usa-case-of-the-cargo-of-weapons-of-st-marc-the-two-suppliers-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18964-haiti-justice-weapons-seizure-in-st-marc-closing-of-the-police-investigation.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18708-haiti-justice-the-investigation-on-the-seizure-of-weapons-in-st-marc-progresses.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18679-haiti-flash-government-decision-for-private-security-agencies.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18667-haiti-security-on-over-250-000-illegal-weapons-in-haiti-only-15-are-legalized.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18580-haiti-security-seizure-of-illegal-weapons-usa-congratulates-the-pnh.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18569-haiti-flash-worrying-seizure-of-weapons-from-the-usa.html



SL/ HaitiLibre
























Haiti - Politic : Black and red flag, the OPC indignated at the affront suffered by the Haitian people





Renan Hedouville, Protector of the Citizen of the OPC, expresses his indignation at the affront suffered by the Haitian people Saturday, November 10, when during a political demonstration held in the city of Cap-Haitien, individuals raised the flag black and red at the foot of the Vertieres Monument in defiance of the Constitution and laws of the Republic https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26107-haiti-politic-pitit-dessalin-makes-an-affront-to-the-haitian-flag.html



While recognizing the right of every citizen to freely express his opinions, Renan Hedouville believes that "this act constitutes an unacceptable affront, a slap bearing on the dignity of the Haitian people in the eyes of humanity. Recalling that the Constitution in its article 2 states "The national colors are : blue and red. And in its Article 3, it is detailed in detail our national emblem, adding that in its Article 52.1 the Constitution stipulates "Civic duty is the totality of the citizen's obligations in the moral, political, social and economic with respect to the state and the homeland. These obligations are: 1 - Respect the Constitution and the national emblem [...]"



Renan Hedouville recalls that the proclamation of this Constitution, adopted after the fall of the dictatorial regime of Duvaliers, is the fruit of years of struggles led by the craftsmen of the democracy, the journalists, the religious, the defenders of the human rights, the intellectuals of various horizons who paid with their lives, or who knew the prison, the dungeons of Fort Dimanche, the exile to advance the cause of democracy, the fight against the dictatorship in Haiti.



He recommends to the constituted authorities to take through the authorities concerned all the provisions that can facilitate a campaign of education for citizenship and patriotism, values that have almost disappeared because of the poor political governance installed in Haiti for several decades.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26107-haiti-politic-pitit-dessalin-makes-an-affront-to-the-haitian-flag.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Violation of the Finance Act

About 450 million gourdes have been subtracted from the funds voted by the Parliament in favor of local authorities in the 2017-2018 budget, according to Mirebalais Deputy Abel Descolines, who denounced a violation of the budget law.



Call for demonstrations and work stoppages

Dominique St-Eloi, the Coordinator of the National Central of Haitian Workers (CNOHA) who denounces the exploitation of workers for the benefit of employers, continues to demand a minimum wage of 1,000 gourdes, calls all workers living in precarious socio-economic conditions to participate in the great citizen mobilization planned on 18 November. In addition, he encourages textile workers to respect the strike wathchword for November 19 and 20.



10 people targeted by the ULCC

In the case of the overcharging of school kits of just over 40 million gourdes, the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) asks the Public Prosecutor of Port-au-Prince to put the public action in move against former Social Affairs Minister Roosevelt Bellevue, his Chief of Staff, the Ministry Administrator and 7 other people responsible for 6 companies who cashed the amount of this overbilling.



The individual who raised the black and red flag identified

Jorchemy Jean Baptiste, advisor to the Prime Minister said on the air of a television of the capital that "the individual who replaced the national two-colored at Vertieres to replace it, in the name of political claims, by a black and red flag was identified and will be arrested shortly.



Digicel before a commission in the Senate

On Tuesday, the Senate's Public Works, Transportation and Communications Committee met with Marteen Boute, CEO of Digicel, about the poor quality of services offered by the mobile phone company in recent days. For Marteen Boute the cause are : the insecurity, acts of sabotage of which the company is the object and the problem of interference to justify the degradation of the services offered. The Commission announces a meeting on November 20th with Jean-David Rodney, the Director General of the National Telecommunication Council (CONATEL).



The works of Vincent Park will finally begin

Edwing Charles, the Minister of Youth and Sports has proceeded to the laying of the foundation stone of the rehabilitation works of the Vincent Park of Gonaives. The fencing works of the play area, the locker room and the official stand of the Vincent Park, which will finally begin, will last 3 months. This rehabilitation includes the renovation of the lawn that will receive international competitions.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Press release

Montana FFA members recently returned from participation at the National FFA Convention and Expo held in Indianapolis.

Approximately 650 Montana students attended the convention where they engaged in competitions, leadership workshops, tours and educational seminars. This annual event attracted almost 70,000 members from across the nation.

The Broadwater FFA Chapter from Townsend placed third at the National FFA Livestock Judging Competition and the Ruby Valley FFA Chapter from Sheridan placed sixth in the National FFA Agriculture Mechanics contest. These were the only teams from Montana placing in the top ten.

The following are the results of how the other chapters fared during this years national convention. Floriculture  Missoula  Silver; Marketing plan  Electric City  Bronze; Conduct of meetings  Shepherd  Silver; Parliamentary Procedure  Kalispell  Silver; Environmental and Natural Resource Management  Big Timber  Bronze; Creed  Hinsdale  Bronze; Extemporaneous Speaking  Electric City  Bronze; Employment skills  Corvallis  Bronze; Prepared Speaking  Victor  Bronze; Forestry  Missoula  Silver; Agronomy  Choteau  Silver; Ag Issues  Electric City  Bronze; Farm Business Management  Missoula  Silver; Food Science  Forsyth  Bronze; Ag Sales  Cascade  Bronze; Vet Science  Kalispell  Gold; Meats  Kalispell  Bronze; Ag Comm  Electric City  Bronze, and Horse  Kalispell  Bronze.

Gold, Silver and Bronze ratings represent roughly the top, the middle and the lower third of teams participating.

In addition to the contest placings, 35 members received the American FFA Degree. This degree is the highest degree that can be bestowed upon a member and represents at least five years of dedicated participation in the FFA organization.

The State FFA Officers have been actively attending FFA activities across the state. They have judged, presented, scored tests, served as group leaders and conducted workshops at the Ruby Valley Invitational in Sheridan, the NILE in Billings, the Glacier District Greenhand Seminar in Choteau, and the Young Ag Leaders Conference in Billings.

The next event for Montanas FFA Members will be the Montana John Deere Ag Expo, a regional activity set for Nov. 15-17. At the expo, hundreds of high school students from throughout the Northwest will gather on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. Organized by the Montana FFA Foundation, the John Deere Ag Expo features a variety of contests and opportunities for youth to learn about agriculture in Montana. This is the second-largest FFA gathering to occur each year.
Editors note: This version corrects misreporting that Tempel defeated Darrold Hutchinson in the primary for Senate District 14. Hutchinson ran for House District 27.

Although his opponent picked up a few voters in the count of some provisional ballots, incumbent Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, still is the victor in the unofficial count of ballots in the race for the seat in Montana Senate District 14.

After 73 of the 140-some provisional ballots cast in the Nov. 6 election were certified and counted, Tempel had 4,562 votes to Havre Democrat Paul Tuss 4,394. That shrunk Tempels lead from 139 ballots to 132, but still left him the victor.

Under state law, if Tuss had come within about 43 votes he could have put up a bond to cover costs and requested a recount.

If the margin had been about 21 or fewer votes, the state would have held a recount automatically.

Tuss, during an interview with Tempel Sunday, congratulated him on his victory and the two said they would work together during the session.

Tempel, a three-term Liberty County commissioner was appointed to the seat in 2016 to take the place of Sen. Kris Hansen, R-Havre, who resigned to take a position in the Montana Auditors Office.

He defeated Havres Brad Lotton in the Republican primary this year to move on to face Tuss, the executive director of Bear Paw Development, in the general election.

The district includes house districts 27 and 28 and stretches from the Canadian border through Liberty and western Hill counties, including Havre, through Chouteau County and into the northeast corner of Cascade County.
Dear Editor,

We, the past state presidents of the Montana Business and Professional Womens Organization, encourage women to consider involving themselves in public service and politics.

The culture of our country is changing rapidly, leaning away from ethics and truth. The only way we can change that is to continue to work respectfully for morality and civility. It has taken decades to earn our rights and respect in many circles, therefore we must fight against what we could possibly lose  such as Social Security, Medicare, wages, education, medical services, freedom of speech and privacy.

How do you do that? Make a list of the things you are interested in then develop your knowledge by reading and pursuing those interests. Stay focused, keep notes, attend lectures, read the editorial page and world news columns in newspapers, work on your goal every day, educate yourself. Discipline yourself, schedule time, read books and magazines and talk to people in your arena of interest. Be strong, be informed, know what you are talking about and your opinion will be respected.

Volunteer in political campaigns, attend political meetings and call your state representatives, your governor or your mayor to ask if you can volunteer. You could also include writing articles in the newspaper. You may also contact any of the undersigned for help in your decision making. You are not alone. You are stronger than you know.

Get involved, have courage and stand for positive ideals, just as determined women before us have done, ideals that will affect your children and grandchildren for decades to come.

Faye James, PSP, Havre, MT

Vickie Amundson, PSP, Missoula, MT

Regina Larson, PSP, Great Falls, MT

Norma Boetel, PSP, Huron, S.D.

Jerrir Miller, PSP, Clyde Park, MT




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
Health Dept. investigating a case of whooping cough

The Henderson County Department of Public Health received a positive laboratory result of whooping cough in a school-age child that had contact with other people in Henderson County and warned residents to take precautions against spread of infectious diseases.

The Health Department, the N.C. Division of Public Health, Henderson County public schools and other community partners are working together to investigate the case and identify individuals that may have been close contacts.

Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is an infection that affects the airways and is easily spread through coughing or sneezing. Pertussis is most commonly spread when a person is within three feet of a pertussis case. The longer the contact exists, the more likely that pertussis will spread. The severe cough can last for weeks or months, sometimes leading to coughing fits and/or vomiting. Anyone can get pertussis, but it can be dangerous for infants and people with weakened immune systems.

Last year, Henderson County experienced a pertussis outbreak of over 90 cases that began in November 2017 and lasted through early 2018.

The best way to protect against pertussis is by getting vaccinated. According to DHHS, vaccination may lessen the severity of symptoms, prevent serious complications, hospitalizations and poor outcomes but does not prevent disease in all situations.

If you have symptoms of pertussis, avoid group activities including school and work. Seek medical care with your health care provider.

Early symptoms can last for one to two weeks and usually include:

* Runny nose

* Low-grade fever (generally minimal through the course of the disease)

* Mild, occasional cough

* Apnea - a pause in breathing (in infants)

Symptoms of pertussis usually develop within 5-10 days after being exposed, but sometimes not for as long as three weeks.

As the holiday season begins, it's important to take a few simple precautions to protect yourself and loved ones from spreading respiratory diseases such as pertussis or the flu:

* If sneezing or coughing, cover your nose or mouth with a tissue.

* Avoid long-term contact with groups of people-particularly those that are more vulnerable like infants, the elderly, immunosuppressed and pregnant women.

* See your medical provider as soon as possible if coughing and sneezing persists or you develop a fever.

To speak with a public health communicable disease nurse, please call (828) 694-6019.
The family of a 90-year-old woman who, they claim, died as a result of scald injuries she suffered in a Co Dublin nursing home has been awarded just over 54,000 damages.

Barrister Frank Crean told the Circuit Court that Olive Sheeran suffered severe scalding to her buttocks, left thigh and calf, heels and ankles when a water bottle burst in her bed.

Mr Crean said SRCW Ltd, the operator of Ferndene Nursing Home, in Dean's Grange Road, Blackrock, had agreed to pay the family 54,406 damages as assessed by the Injuries Board for their suffering and loss, and funeral and travel expenses.

He said Ms Sheeran's daughter Carol Hayes, of Clonakilty, Co Cork, had sued SRCW on her own behalf and on behalf of her brothers, Mark and Conor Sheeran, and Ms Sheeran's seven grandchildren.

Ms Hayes told the court she was asking it to approve the Injuries Board assessment "in respect of the fatal injuries" her mother, then 89, had sustained in an accident at Ferndene on January 6, 2017.

Scalding

Mr Crean said that about five minutes before the accident, a nurse had visited Ms Sheeran's room and taken two water bottles away to refill them.

A water bottle was then placed next to Ms Sheeran's feet but it burst shortly afterwards, severely scalding her.

Mr Crean told Circuit Court president Mr Justice Raymond Groarke that, following an investigation, all water bottles had been removed from use in the home and the investigator had recommended they be replaced with stock that should be inspected every month.

In her affidavit, Ms Hayes said her mother was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital before being transferred to the burns unit at St James's Hospital.

The court heard she developed pneumonia and a urinary tract infection. She remained in hospital for three months, by which time her wounds had almost completely healed.

"I have been advised by my mother's plastic surgeon that she suffered a life-threatening injury with a 31pc predicted mortality," Ms Hayes said.

"My mother died on August 21, 2017."

Mr Crean said the water bottle had been covered by a cloth cosy so the defect in it may not have been obvious to the nurse.

Mr Justice Groarke approved the settlement.
Gardai are to launch an investigation after a young teacher accused of defiling a teenage boy was photographed in court and the picture then circulated on social media.

The photo of the 24-year-old woman was allegedly taken by "either a journalist or a member of An Garda Siochana" as the teacher was sitting in the dock at Swords District Court.

Her solicitor, Emer O'Sullivan, applied for the photo to be ruled contempt of court.

However, Judge Dermot Dempsey said he could not make an order for contempt as it was not known who took the picture.

The photo was taken after the woman was charged with defiling a boy who was a student in her school at the time.

The judge had previously ruled that the identity of the accused or any details that might identify the alleged victim could not be reported.

In her contempt of court application, Ms O'Sullivan said she did not know who had taken the photo.

However, from the angle of the picture, it was taken either by a "journalist or a member of An Garda Siochana".

State solicitor Michael Durkan said the identity of the taker of the photo was required for a contempt issue.

Complaint

Ms O'Sullivan said the accused's parents had called at a garda station, spoken to a sergeant and made a complaint about the photo.

However, gardai said the parents had not made a formal complaint. They were unsure about the nature of the complaint, so they had said they would consult a solicitor and come back.

Judge Dempsey said a formal complaint would have to be made by the accused and her parents.

Gda Stephen Hughes said any investigation would be under the supervision of a superintendent, or if a garda was found to be involved in taking the photo, the Garda Ombudsman would have to be notified.

Gda Hughes said a formal complaint could be made to an officer at any garda station.

The accused is next due to appear before the Swords court on a date next month.

It is alleged that she engaged in a sex act with a child under the age of 17 last February 1 and February 13.

She was arrested at Dublin Airport last month after she returned to Ireland and was taken to court the next day.

Cash bail was granted on a number of conditions, including that she surrender her passport and not apply for new documents.

Legal aid was also granted after the court heard the accused had lost her job.

She also must not have any contact with the alleged victim or any witnesses in the case.
A father-of-two had 100 sleeping tablets on him when he was caught riding a stolen motorbike, a court has heard.

Wayne Devereux (23) had been weaning himself off a "bad cocaine habit".

He had bought the bike and was "reckless" as to whether it was stolen, Dublin District Court heard.

Devereux, of Little Strand Street, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to unauthorised use of a vehicle and drugs charges.

Judge Ann Ryan said he could avoid a 10-month prison sentence if he carries out 200 hours of community service.

Chased

The court heard the incident happened at Railway Street in the north inner city on October 27 last year.

The accused was seen riding a motorbike that had been stolen earlier that day. It was worth 3,500.

When gardai searched him, they found 10 trays of zopiclone tablets worth 200.

The court heard he discarded 90 tablets in a separate incident when gardai chased him after he "took off" on a bike.

He had since turned his life around and was seeking work, his solicitor John Feaheny said.

His partner had told him to "shape up or ship out".
Rihanna's former head of security has been found guilty of harassing a garda with a string of abusive text messages, calling him a "bitch" and threatening: "I'll slap you around."

Geoffrey Keating (40) sent a series of nine messages to the officer's private phone in the space of 90 minutes, saying: "You and your bully pals you are not fit to wear that uniform."

He was spared jail when Judge Ann Ryan handed down a suspended six-month sentence at Dublin District Court and ordered him to stay away from the garda sergeant indefinitely.

Bodyguard Keating worked for Rihanna in 2012 and 2013.

The accused, of Woodbank Drive, Valley Park, Finglas, had denied harassing Garda Sergeant Brendan Carey in 2016.

Allegations

While he admitted sending the texts, he claimed they were not directed personally at Sgt Carey but referred to allegations that another named officer had strip-searched two youths.

Keating said Sgt Carey's was the only number he had and he sent the text in the hope his complaint would go "up the chain".

Detective Sergeant Gavin Ross told the court Sgt Carey received messages through the Viber app on August 21, 2016.

Det Sgt Ross went to the accused's home on August 24, took possession of his phone and arrested him.

In interview, when asked if he knew why he had been arrested, Keating said: "I do indeed, yeah. It took yous long enough though." He alleged that a week and a half earlier, two youths had been stopped by gardai and made to strip down to their boxers for a search.

Keating told gardai he texted Sgt Carey because he wanted to get arrested so he could get his case across.

"I'm not going to stop at anything until I get this stopped, and stop gardai abusing young kids," he said.

"The fun will start when I get to court".

After the messages were read back to him, Keating said he had been on a lot of pain medication at the time.

He added that he was a fitness fanatic but was "smoking weed to calm me down to stop me doing something mad".

He said one of the other gardai was a "corrupt little scumbag". When charged, he replied: "You are all corrupt."

Sgt Carey told the court he gave Keating his phone number two years earlier when the accused had helped gardai change the wheel of a patrol car.

At the time, Keating said he had concerns about antisocial behaviour and crime in the Finglas area and Sgt Carey gave him his personal number.

When he received the texts, Sgt Carey did not initially know who they were from and became concerned.

Excerpts were read out to the court. In the first, the accused said: "I don't know what drugs you and your bully mates in the station are taking."

When he texted, "I'm going to put a stop to the lot of you one by one", Sgt Carey said he interpreted that as a threat.

"Nothing to say, bitch??" the next text read, to which Sgt Carey replied three minutes later: "Who is this??"

The next message referenced two other gardai, and Sgt Carey replied: "Well done, you are a hero." Sgt Carey said this was a "flippant remark made to an unidentified sender".

After this, the accused identified himself and texted: "You and your bully pals, I'll slap you around. You are nothing but a piece of c**p, you are not fit to wear that uniform."

Keating next asked Sgt Carey about his "hero" comment and said: "Watch your little mouth.

"Now f**k off and try to do your job within the law because there's more than me watching, fool," the final message read.

Tactics

"Mark my words, you will be brought to book for your actions. There's more than one way to skin a cat. It's all tactics now, bitch."

Sgt Carey said he was extremely concerned but was off work and reported the incident to his superiors two days later.

Keating said the texts were not directed at Sgt Carey but "the gardai as a whole".

In cross-examination, he said he had just wanted to make someone aware of his frustrations. He became antagonised by the "hero" comment because that was the nickname gardai in Finglas had for him, he said.

He said all he was asking was for the gardai to "do their job within the law and leave children alone".

The court heard Keating had nine previous convictions for offences including unauthorised taking of a vehicle and deception.
A woman arrested for threatening behaviour in a garda station refused to see a GP, say- ing he was Muslim and she wanted "an Irish Catholic doctor".

The doctor had been called after gardai became concerned about Bernadette Maguire (58), who was taken into custody for screaming while making a complaint about an assault.

Judge Ann Ryan fined her 100.

Maguire, of Fairview Strand, pleaded not guilty to threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.

Gda Jason Reilly said he was on duty in the public office at Clontarf Garda Station at 7.20am on July 30 last year.

Maguire came in screaming and shouting and said she had been assaulted earlier by a man.

She left the station, stopped a car on the Clontarf Road and continued to scream and shout.

Gda Reilly went out to remove her from the road for her own safety and she shouted at him, screaming as she was put into a cell. A doctor came to examine her.

Liar

"She refused to see the doctor, saying he was a Muslim doctor and she wanted to see an Irish Catholic doctor," Gda Reilly said.

When she gave evidence, Maguire repeatedly said the garda was "a liar."

She said she had been assaulted and demanded that the man responsible be arrested. Two gardai had called out but had not arrested him, she said.

In the station, she said she was surrounded by five or six gardai and never got a chance to go back outside.

She had been arrested on "trumped-up charges", she said.

"I asked for a Catholic priest," she said, adding that she had a "right to a Catholic priest because I was distressed."

She accepted she was "very upset" but denied using bad language.

"I wasn't being abusive, I was being direct, not threatening or abusive to anybody," she said.

The accused, who was on disability allowance, was a woman who was "very forceful in her opinions", her lawyer said.

Judge Ryan said that but for the intervention of gardai, something much worse could have happened when Maguire ran out in front of traffic.

She dismissed a related charge of public intoxication, saying there was no evidence of this.
Dublin City Council (DCC) has been criticised following the cancellation of its annual Christmas lights ceremonies to officially kick off the festive period.

The council agreed for health and safety reasons not to host its hugely popular switch-on.

Instead, DCC is trying something new and will light up 12 iconic sights in the city for 30 days, in an initiative called Winter Lights Dublin City.

Joerg Steegmueller, owner of the Dublin Event Guide, hit out at the decision.

"Because Dublin is too small for the amount of people that wanted to attend the Grafton Street event in previous years, and because Dublin city chickened out from finding any alternative solution, there will be no central switch-on events this year in Grafton Street or in O'Connell Street," he said.

"We already had to learn over the years that Dublin is incapable of organising a Christmas market, but not even being able to run one single central event to launch the Christmas period is quite disappointing."

Complaints

A DCC spokesperson told the Herald it did not want to inconvenience people by asking the Luas Cross City line to stop operating to accommodate the ceremony on O'Connell Street.

He also said complaints received about last year's Christmas lights event being unsafe and finishing early promoted the council to create Winter Lights Dublin City.

Graeme McQueen, of Dublin Chamber of Commerce, said since organisers weren't able to guarantee people's safety it made sense to do something different.

"The idea of lighting up a number of key buildings around the city is exciting and will provide a nice trail for families to see over Christmas," he said.

"We're still expecting big numbers to soak up the Dublin Christmas experience this year.

"Safety has to come first and we welcome Dublin City Council's decision to think outside the box and come up with something new and enchanting."
Washington, D.C.

One of the biggest changes in the Every Student Succeeds Act is that states must publish a host of new information. School report cards must now include data on school-by-school spending, long-term English-language learners, homeless and foster students, and more.

So how should states make sure all that information is clear and easy for parents to understand? Enter the U.S. Department of Educations Report Card Design Challenge, held in Washington earlier this month.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos staff put an all-call out to teams of graphic designers, district and state leaders, data wonks, and other specialists from around the country to take a crack at coming up with a user-friendly report card that includes all of the information required under ESSA. And they invited parents, policy wonks from organizations like the Data Quality Campaign, and state officials to offer feedback on those designs.

The challenge is a recognition that creating parent-friendly report cards is difficult, said Jim Blew, the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy analysis at the department. Were looking for ways to be helpful without telling people what to do, he said.

In particular, there is a need to make school-level financial data transparent and accessible, Blew added, given new requirements in ESSA .

The designsincluding feedback from parents and policy expertswill be shared on the Education Departments blog and website. And they will be displayed in a gallery walk at the December Combined Federal Programs Meeting, which brings together state coordinators for Title I-III programs.

Organizations like the Data Quality Campaign have said many current state report cards make information difficult to find and understand.

Thats something the parents participating in the November event have noticed too.

For Virginia, I dont think the transparency is there, as far as all of the information of what makes a good school and being able to track that, and even if it is, its not accessible, said Tony Shivers, a Virginia parent who operates his own lobbying consulting firm and offered feedback on the designs. And even if its accessible its not easily digestible for parents. This is a good initiative to really simplify the information in a concise way.

He would also love to see report cards go beyond ESSA requirements and include information on things like whether a school offers a particular sport, or after-school activity.

The teams cooked up report cards that are more colorful and easy to digest than the typical school report card. Some presented information in both English and Spanish, or put a priority on being easy-to-read on a mobile phone. Others steered clear of words some parents cant easily grasplike academics"in favor of easier-to-understand terms, like student success or achievement.

Some included clear language putting a schools data in context, explaining that a schools graduation rates were on the rise, or that it has recently slipped in academic achievement. And some went beyond student achievement, offering information about extracurricular activities, school facilities, and more.

These kids have been amazing, and I say kids because they have several university teams, said Frances Frost, a Maryland parent who helped critique the designs. A couple of them have the data and then they have another narrative about why that data is important, which is very helpful to parents. Because I could look at a suspension rate and say is that good is that bad, what does that mean? So some of them are being thoughtful in that way.

The teams approached the report card design by asking themselves what data supports what people are going to want to know, as opposed to the school district [which] is like, Weve got the math scores, how do we get this out there? she said.

In making information easier to understand, however, districts and states may face pushback from schools and districts that are anxious about having certain informationlike a drop in test scoresmade plain in report cards.

Thats something that happened in Michigan. The state created a new dashboard for parents that included things like staffing metrics, postsecondary enrollment, and other factors that hadnt been heavily promoted in the past, said Chris Janzer, the assistant director of accountability for the state, who also gave feedback on the designs But he said that district officials have realized the information is helpful to parents.

Blew noted that some of the report card designs in the challenge offered schools a chance to provide information beyond the numbers. That could help cut through political tension, he said.

I think the way we counteract [the politics] is to allow people to explain the data where a school can say yes, its true our graduation rates have gone down, and heres what were doing to fix that, he said.

In addition to the design challenge, DeVos and company have also released a parents guide to ESSA report cards , to help families who are trying to make sense of the data. The guide highlights a couple of states that have strong report cards in the departments view, including Ohio and Virginia. The department has also released an explainer for parents on the law itself .

Some state officials have signaled that they could use more-formal guidance on how to design ESSA report cards . The department hasnt said one way or the other whether it will be issuing that guidance. But Blew said he expected the department would take further action on the report card issuehe wasnt sure just what that would look like at this point.

Want to learn more about the Every Student Succeeds Act? Heres some useful information:

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Seven days of horror end with two ex-cops and two little girls dead
Among the many characteristics of a successful politician is energy. This isnt given as much credit as it should be. For instance, between 2004 and 2014, then prime minister Manmohan Singh displayed the kind of energy that you would not normally expect from a man of his age; he was 72 when he took office and 82 when he demitted it. One of the hardest working and busiest ministers of that government, till 2012 when he became president of India, was Pranab Mukherjee , whose work ethic is still spoken of with awe.

Two people who stand out among contemporary Indian leaders, for their sheer energy, are Andhra Pradesh chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Of course, it helps that both are just about middle-aged when it comes to politicians  they are both 68. It isnt rare for Naidu, who has currently embarked on a jet-setting exercise across India after having taken upon himself the mantle of uniting the opposition parties for the 2019 elections, to finish his work in Amaravati, then hop to New Delhi, landing late in the night, or after midnight, and immediately get into a huddle with his partys representatives in the Capital.

Prime Minister Modis energy, too, is legendary. For instance, one day this week, November 5, he started his day with an election rally in Bilaspur in pollbound Chhattisgarh. He then flew to Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, where he inaugurated an inland water terminal (Indias first), an airport, and several other infrastructure projects. He also addressed a public meeting in the city. In the evening, the Prime Minister flew down to Bengaluru to pay his respects to a recently departed colleague, minister Ananth Kumar. He returned to the Capital at 1.30 on Tuesday morning and chaired a cabinet meeting at 9:30 am the following day. He left for Singapore on Tuesday night.

The schedule of top political leaders is the kind that the CEOs of some large corporations are known to keep  with one difference. They have a weekend. The concept of a weekend does not exist for most Indian politicians. When Parliament is in session, this is the only time elected representatives have for their constituencies which need to be nurtured  and this usually means meetings with constituents.

Top political leaders also campaign incessantly during election season (and in India, its almost always election season). Five states go to polls in November and December and the parliamentary elections are scheduled for April and May. Modi is a star campaigner for his party, for instance, and will end up spending a lot of time on the campaign trail in addition to his other responsibilities.

According to the Prime Ministers Office, Modi has not taken a single day off since he assumed office in May 2014. To be sure, his schedule also means that his two private secretaries  Sanjeev Singla and Rajeev Topno  are constantly on the move with Principal Secretary, Nripendra Misra, holding fort and National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, keeping an eye on national security, intelligence and military issues.

shishir.gupta@hindustantimes.com
As Sri Lankas political crisis deepens, the worlds eyes are not only on Colombo, but also on New Delhi. Given Prime Minister Narendra Modis emphasis on the neighbourhood, expectations are high for India to repeat its successful involvement to stall authoritarianism in the Maldives. Last week, former Maldivian President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, did, indeed, recognise that India was able to exert pressure towards restoration of democracy.

However, Sri Lanka is not the Maldives and New Delhis posture over the last two weeks has been marked by a wait and watch policy with a principled preference for democratic continuity. The Sri Lankan Supreme Courts ruling and consequent reconvening of parliament this week mark a setback for President Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksas attempts to grab power through extra constitutional means.

While this is a tactical victory for the rule of law in one of Asias oldest democracies, it will not resolve the root cause of the current political crisis. Instability will continue until elections are held. Ousted Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, may win the legal and parliamentary battle, the sentiment on the streets of Sri Lanka still favours the return of a grand alliance of Sinhala populism. While India will keep a restrained posture, two assessments dictate that Delhi must also prepare for Rajapaksas eventual return, in one way or the other.

First, the artificial Sirisena-Wickremesinghe alliance of 2015 has found a natural death well before Sirisenas loyalists defected two weeks ago. The president and prime ministers increasingly hostile attempts to undermine each other have paralysed government and also affected bilateral relations with India. Going by Rajapaksas sweeping victory in the local elections, earlier this year, and his new coalition with Sirisena, their joint consolidation of power is expected to take place sooner or later, and one way or the other.

On paper, India has so far followed a principled position, appealing to all parties to respect democratic values and constitutional process. But while it may silently seek to broker an immediate crisis resolution in the background, it does not have a magic wand to freely determine outcomes in Sri Lanka. And it certainly does not have the same leverage it had in the Maldives, where the balance of power on the streets clearly favoured the opposition. This explains Delhis restrained posture over the last weeks. But if the crisis escalates over the next few weeks, it will likely favour holding fresh elections to settle the balance of power most likely favouring Sirisena and Rajapaksa.

Second, for all the simplistic labelling of Mahinda Rajapaksa as pro-China, the former Sri Lankan president has a proven track record of pursuing an India first policy in word and deed. Nowhere was his strategic acumen more apparent than during the final phase of the civil war (2006-2009), when he was able to earn Indias trust despite many challenges, including the Tamil Nadu factor and Chinese military assistance.

And while it was Rajapaksa who sanctioned several of the massive infrastructure deals that knocked Sri Lanka into the Chinese debt trap, he only approached Beijing after New Delhi rejected his offers, including the infamous Hambantota port now leased out to China for 99 years. This is precisely why he succeeded in meeting Prime Minister Modi, last September, and thus rebuild the same bridge to India he had burned in 2014.

This does not mean that Rajapaksa is pro-India either. With China increasingly involved in Sri Lanka, if and when he returns, he will seek to balance India and China to maximise the islands strategic location in the Indian Ocean. But this time it will be significantly tougher for him to play off the two Asian giants. After the Wuhan summit, China is now adopting a more restrained posture in Indias traditional sphere of influence and more open to defer to Delhi in times of crisis. For New Delhi, this emphasises the importance of a deeper dialogue with China about South Asias third countries.

At the same time, it makes little sense to tag Rajapaksa or any other Sri Lankan leader as either pro- or anti-India. Whatever the political dispensation in Colombo, it will always pursue a Sri Lanka first policy. In the long term, Indias ability to counter Chinas rising influence on the island will therefore depend increasingly less on who exactly holds the reigns on the island. Beyond politics and security, Indias regional predominance in Sri Lanka and the region will instead hinge on its capacity to deliver more, better and faster on key connectivity projects and economic interdependence.

Constantino Xavier is a fellow in foreign policy studies, Brookings India

The views expressed are personal
A painting by Edward Hopper fetched $91.9 million at Christies on Tuesday, a new auction record for the American realist painter and the highest price so far of the week of semiannual sales in New York. The 1929 Chop Suey, described by Christies as the most iconic Hopper left in private hands, depicts two women sitting across the table from each other in a Chinese eatery. Estimated at $70 million to $100 million, it was the featured lot of a special evening auction dedicated to the trophies from the collection of Barney Ebsworth, the late luxury travel entrepreneur.

The 42 lots totaled $318 million, surpassing the low estimate of $258.3 million. Just five works failed to sell; 80% of the buyers were American. More than a dozen artist auction records were established, Christies said.

The collection was offered during the New York sales that kicked off on Sunday with more than $1.8 billion of art up for grabs. Auction houses and dealers are gauging buyer appetite against a backdrop of volatile equity markets, and the results so far have been mixed.

Asian buyers were largely absent and many of the top lots met with resistance. Willem de Koonings 1954-55 Woman as Landscape, which was estimated at $60 million to $80 million, drew only one, pre-arranged bidder. Still, the final price of $69 million beat the Abstract Expressionists previous auction record of $66.3 million, set in 2016. Final prices include buyers premium added to the hammer prices; estimates dont.

Most of the top lots were supported by pre-arranged bids to ensure the works sell. The price for the Hopper reflected a $4 million fee paid to the buyer who was also a third-party guarantor. Shallow bidding creates opportunities, said Skarlet Smatana, director of the George Economou Collection in Athens, who was a buyer at the sale but declined to identify what she purchased. There were a few important opportunities tonight at low estimates.

Jackson Pollocks 1950 Composition with Red Strokes fetched $55.4 million against an estimate of $50 million to $70 million. The price didnt surpass his auction record is $58.4 million from 2013. The buyer was Swiss art dealer Doris Ammann, who also won a wooden sculpture of a hen by Alexander Calder for $8.4 million. Joan Mitchells 12 Hawks at 3 OClock fetched $14 million, below her auction record of $16.6 million. Ebsworth bought the 10-foot-tall canvas for $310,500 at Christies in 1997.

Among the new artist auction records are Arshile Gorkys Good Afternoon, Mrs. Lincoln, which sold for $14 million and Joseph Stellas Tree of My Life, which went for $5.9 million. Ebsworth bought the work for $2.2 million at Christies in 1986. The 7-foot-tall square canvas depicted an elaborate scene complete with birds, butterflies, and flowers.

Ebsworth, who died in April at 83, founded the Intrav luxury travel agency in 1959 and took it public in 1995. He started Royal Cruise Line in 1972 and Clipper Cruise Line in 1981. In 2007 he reportedly promised 65 works from the collection, including Chop Suey to the Seattle Art Museum, but after his death Christies won a group of more than 90 works.

Chop Suey is an icon and it belongs in a museum, said Heinrich zu Hohenlohe, a dealer based in Berlin who attended the auction. As a dealer I see this as an opportunity, of course. As a citizen of the world, I see it as a cop-out.

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter
On Monday, five-time MLA and minister Surendra Goyal quit the BJP after his name did not figure in the first list of the candidates released by the party. Goyal has not joined any other party yet.

People familiar with the development said talks are on to convince the minister from Jaitaran to reconsider his decision.

In the past few months, five BJP functionaries have joined the Congress, including BJP zila pramukh of Jaipur Mool Chand Meena, ex-zila pramukh (Nagaur) Bindu Choudhary, ex- MLA Narayan Ram Beda, and Jat leader Vijay Poonia.

Sitting MLA from Rajasthans Sheo Manvendra Singh quit the BJP and joined the Congress in October, in what is seen as a major boost for the grand old party, which could benefit from his Rajput votebank. Rajputs comprise 7% of the total voter base in the state.

Commenting on the defections, a BJP functionary said: The BJP focuses on candidates winning capability, and while some members have chosen to leave the party fold for various reasons, there are many leaders from other parties who want to be part of the BJP and PM Modis development agenda.

From the Congress, Mahesh Pratap Singh, head of the erstwhile royal family of Kotharia near Nathdwara in Rajsamand, joined BJP .

Singh rejoined BJP after 13 years. His uncle Shivdan Singh had been a two-time legislator and minister in the Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government.Abhinesh Maharshi also joined BJP. Maharshi, who enjoys influence in Churu region, had fought the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on a BSP ticket.
A Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leader was shot dead at Mera village in Khiri Mor police station area of rural Patna late on Tuesday evening.

Police said criminals shot dead at Paliganj block RLSP president Amit Kumar Bhushan alias Tuktuk Verma, 35, and injured retired serviceman Visheshwar Prasad Singh, a resident of Dharhara village during a cultural programme.

Eyewitnesses said a team of policemen, including the station house officer (SHO) of Khiri Mor police station, was present when the incident took place but it did not act swiftly. The motive behind the attack was not immediately known.

Police said the injured had been admitted to Paliganj subdivisional hospital.

Tuktuk is the third RLSP leader to be killed in last six months in Bihar. Earlier on April 9, armed criminals had killed Manoj Mahto at Garikhana village under Khagaul police station in the state capital. Arun Kumar, an eyewitness of Mahatos murder, was also gunned down in the same locality on October 30.

In August, two motorcycle-borne assailants gunned down Manish Sahni, a block head of RLSP in Vaishali district, as he came out of the BDOs office at Jandaha. Sahni was the district president of RLSPs extremely backward castes cell.

On Tuktuk murders, police said the incident occurred around 10.30 pm when he had gone to inaugurate a cultural programme, organised near Khiri More police station where the SHO was also an invited guest. Just as he was alighting from the stage, some gunmen fired at least four bullets at him from close range. The SHO, who had been standing behind Tuktuk, escaped unhurt. The gunmen later walked away from the spot.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj constituted a special investigating team under the supervision of city SP (west) to arrest the accused. Political enmity seemed to be the reason behind the killing, the SSP said, adding a massive manhunt was on to nab the accused.

RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha visited his slain party workers house and strongly condemned the incident. He fumed on the utter lawlessness prevailing in the state and repeated attacks on his party workers. This incident yet again exposes Nitish governments tall claims of good governance. The criminals morale is all time high in state while commoners are living in peril, he said.
Gulshan was eight when she realised that the male gender assigned by birth did not fit. She would pick lipsticks from her mothers cupboard and wear them in front of the bathroom mirror. In 2015, her father caught her in the act and thrashed her. Now 14, Gulshan (her name of choice) dropped out of school and is pursuing class 10 through distance learning.

She recalled an incident when a group of students locked her up in the bathroom of the all-boys government school that she attended till class 9. They mocked me and said they will check if I am a girl or a boy. I lost my voice and couldnt call out for help. Thankfully, some other boys intervened and rescued me. But that was the last time I used the bathroom in my school.

The child of daily wage earners residing in northeast Delhis Seemapuri area, Gulshans experiences form part of the reality of many trans-identified children.

Thousands of children are deprived of leading a normal school life because of non-inclusive campuses. The stigma and phobia attached to transgender people robbed these children of their childhood. It traumatises them to the extent that they just give up on their dreams, said Anjan Joshi, from a non-government organisation (NGO) SPACE (Society for Peoples Awareness, Care and Empowerment).

SPACE is conducting workshops for principals, teachers and students in 35 government and private Delhi schools to make campuses transgender friendly.

In a survey of 900 transgender persons from Delhi and UP, conducted by the Kerala Development Society for the National Human Rights Commission, only 20% had completed their primary school education. While the literacy rate of Delhi and UP is 55.8% and 62.99%, respectively, the survey found that only 15% of transgender persons in Delhi and 10% in UP had completed their matriculation.

At school, Gulshan was advised by teachers to behave normally. I was told that if I start speaking, walking and talking like boys, nothing will happen to me. I could not understand what was wrong with the way I am, she said.

She did not receive any understanding at home, either. I face abuse and humiliation from my parents every day. I hope that one day, they will treat me like their other children, who they say are normal, Gulshan said.

Many transgender children like Sheila (her name of choice) are forced to leave their homes and find employment at a young age to support themselves.

The 15-year-old transgender girl, who dropped out of school on account of bullying, was disowned by her parents. I was born in a boys body but I always felt like a girl. My parents disowned me at the age of 13 when I decided to leave regular schooling because of bullying. I was forced to join a toli (a group from the hijra community who perform at ceremonies) in Turkman Gate. I ran away from there last year with the help of a friend and now I am working in a beauty parlour, she said.

Sixteen-year-old Rahul, who was assigned the female gender at birth but identifies as a boy, stopped attending school after Class 7. I hated wearing skirts in schools and would fight with my parents but no one understood me. I had gone through so much beating and abuse, both at home and at school, that I stopped studying. I live at home now. Rahul (his name of choice) wants to undergo gender reaffirmation surgery. I wish people could accept me like they do other children, he said.

The lack of acceptance from peers and natal family leave transgender children traumatised for life, say experts. The trauma they go through at a tender age severely affects their mental health. They feel unaccepted and unwanted throughout their lives. It becomes difficult to bring them back to mainstream education and professional lives. So, its important to let them have normal lives, both at homes and in educational institutions, said Rajesh (single name), a professor at the Delhi University, who runs a transgender resource centre on the campus.

While the Delhi government has recently announced an intention to draft regulations to make schools transgender friendly, some private schools have taken steps to encourage transgender children. We organise sensitisation programmes to make our campus welcoming to transgender students, Amita Wattal, principal at Springdales School, said.
Following complaints over the poor condition of arterial roads in the national capital, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday directed officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) to ensure that all road repair work is completed by the December 15 deadline.

Members of the legislative assembly (MLAs), along with local residents, will carry out road inspections starting December 16, Kejriwal said, and warned that PWD engineers will be held personally responsible if roads are found to be in a bad condition.

As Delhi grapples with alarming air pollution levels at this time of the year, the bad condition of roads adds to the problem. Experts say roadside dust and unburnt hydrocarbon emissions from slow-moving vehicles are major polluters.

In an order dated November 13, a copy of which has been seen by Hindustan Times, Kejriwal said the PWD secretary will have to ensure that all roads are repaired within a months time.

PWD secretary shall be required to give a certificate on 15th December that all PWD roads have been repaired. Thereafter, several teams of citizens shall be formed to inspect these roads on 16th December. Each team will be headed by an MLA. The concerned engineers shall be held personally responsible, the order read.

Officials say that 170-180 kilometres of roads have been repaired since April. Manoj Parida, additional chief secretary in the Delhi government, said, I have received the CMs order. Ill hold a meeting with PWD officials to assess the situation and work out a plan for road repair.

Delhi government officials aware of the development said the PWD, which is responsible for the upkeep of the arterial road infrastructure, has been receiving complaints about uneven road surfaces, potholes and frequent digging for laying cables for public utilities.

We have adequate funds; we will try to complete the work at the earliest. We will hold inspections of roads, said Parida, who has the additional charge of PWD. SD Sharma, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Ghonda, said, There are several roads in my area which have developed potholes and are in urgent need of repair. I have asked PWD several times to carry out repairs. But they are yet to start the work. Ghonda-Gamri road is one of the few stretches in my constituency that is in urgent need of repair.

PWD officials admit that there are stretches that are in bad condition and need immediate repair. They say complaints have increased ever since road restoration work has been given to the agency, which cuts the roads for laying utility services.

Earlier, we used to collect road restoration charges from agencies, which applied for road-cutting, and repaired the road after the work was done. Four-five months back, it was decided that the agency, which applies for road-cutting, will have to repair the road. In several cases, it has been found that the agencies have not completed the repair work. We have written to some of the agencies to complete the repair work, said a senior PWD official, requesting anonymity.

Environmentalists say poor condition of roads exacerbates the already deteriorating air quality, as it results in traffic jams or slow movement of traffic. Delays in the repair of roads causes dust pollution, which is one of the major contributors to air pollution. It is very important that roads are in good condition as re-suspended dust in air is a serious problem. The speed of vehicles gets affected due to bad condition of roads. If vehicles dont move at a certain speed, it generates unburnt hydrocarbons, which is very dangerous. Regular use of clutch and brakes brings down fuel efficiency, said D Saha, former head of the air quality lab at the Central Pollution Control Board.

Last year, PWD carried out a massive drive to repair arterial roads in the city. According to a senior PWD official, more than 600km of roads, mainly in South Delhi, were repaired last year. The repair work was undertaken following complaints from residents.
The big idea to solve Delhis pollution crisis shows that the primary custodians of the capitals air quality have run out of ideas.

The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority, or EPCA, on Wednesday reiterated its unprecedented recommendation to take private vehicles off the road, a move that threatens to plunge Delhi into a public commuting catastrophe, bringing the city to its knees, while doing little to improve air quality  if data, expert opinion and past experience are anything to go by.

The Supreme Court-mandated body has suggested that all non-CNG vehicles  including all private cars and two-wheelers  in the National Capital Region (NCR) be barred from the roads if pollution levels spike again. That means grounding more than 92% of Delhis 10.8 million registered vehicles, leaving the capital at the mercy of its inadequate bus fleet, its still-burgeoning Metro network, and its poor last-mile connectivity.

Even on a normal day, Delhis public transport system fails to make daily commute easy for people. One has to wait anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour for a bus. For the police and other enforcing agencies, implementing this ban will be impossible. The city will come to a standstill! said Sanjay Gupta, head of the transport and planning department at the School of Planning and Architecture.

Out of 11.2 million registered vehicles in Delhi, 10.4 million are private cars and two-wheelers. A ban would put the responsibility of ferrying the citys nearly 20 million population on just 5,443 buses, a Metro network of 314km, and a taxi fleet of about 150,000.

Road safety expert Dinesh Mohan, a former professor at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, said such bans are instant solutions that are ineffective and undemocratic if carried out without public hearings.

The big question is: Will such a ban really cut pollution?

A study by The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and Automotive Research Association of India has shown that private cars contribute around 3% to emissions.

Another credible and highly cited assessment based on transport emissions inventory of Delhi for 2014 by urbanemissions.info says that private vehicles  cars and two-wheelers  contribute only 6.6% to the citys emissions. These numbers beg a second question: Does a small cut in pollutants merit a measure that would bring Indias national capital to a halt?

Such a knee-jerk reaction could prove counter-productive. Banning private vehicles would only bring down the pollution by a few percent; it wont be worth the pain. In future, people will get an excuse not to follow orders, and the entire fight against pollution will fail, said Sunil Dahiya, senior Greenpeace India campaigner.

EPCA, headed by former bureaucrat Bhure Lal, in its letter to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Wednesday, cited the examples of Beijing and Paris that have enforced restrictions on private vehicles  either according to number plate or by fuel-type and age.

But it did not take into account that these cities have a robust transport network to fall back on. Beijing not only has five times the number of buses compared to Delhi, its Metro network is twice as large. And even Beijing has never asked for a complete public vehicle ban.

Experts pointed out that for the odd-even scheme, which failed to control Delhis pollution, the top court asked for several exemptions  two-wheelers, women, emergency vehicles  which EPCA has overlooked.

CPCB, which held a meeting on Wednesday, has tossed the ball on the recommendation back in the authoritys court. The capital waits, with bated breath, for its next move.
A 48-year-old traffic policeman was killed on Tuesday morning when a speeding truck hit him and dragged him for about half a kilometre after he tried to stop it for routine check near Rao Tula Ram (RTR) Marg in southwest Delhi.

The truck driver, who attempted to flee from the accident spot, was caught by traffic policemen near Mahipalpur after a three-kilometre chase.

According to senior officers, the accident took place at 7.41 am when assistant sub-inspector Jitender Singh was on vehicle inspection duty on Sanjay T-Point, near airport. Singh was accompanied by constables.

Witnesses told us that it was at 7.41am that Singh spotted a truck coming from Dhaula Kuan. The ASI flagged the truck driver to slow down for checking. As the truck slowed down and Singh went near the vehicle, the driver suddenly accelerated. The truck hit Singh and he got stuck under the heavy vehicle. The truck dragged Singh for over 400 metres before he could unhook himself, said an officer, requesting anonymity, since he not authorised to speak to the media.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Debender Arya said the driver managed to flee from the spot leaving Singh behind. Singhs colleagues alerted the nearby police on radio about the errant trucks registration number (Dl-1 L X  3092) and also started chasing the truck.

The truck was traced and intercepted near Mahipalpur by constable Pawan Kumar who was on duty with Singh. Kumar stopped a taxi and chased the truck. Personnel from Delhi Cantonment traffic circle also helped their counterparts. The driver, Mohammad Ashfaq, 23, a resident of Dayalpur in Nuh, Haryana, was arrested, Arya said.

Meanwhile, two of the three constables assisting Singh rushed him to the Indian Spinal Injury Hospital in Vasant Kunj, where the officer succumbed to his injuries. His body was sent for a postmortem examination and family members were informed.

Singh, a native of village Sabga in Baghpat, UP, is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, police said.

On Sunday night, a constable from Patel Nagar police station who was out to attend a call of two groups of men fighting was shot at by one of the miscreants. Constable Amarjeet who was shot in his abdomen escaped death with injuries.

Last month, eight Delhi police officers, including a DCP, were beaten up with sticks and stones at the Yamuna ghat in Mayur Vihar during a Durga idol emersion procession. The officers had asked a group of 25-30 people to not exit from the gates meant for entry, sparking a scuffle.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore for the Asean-India and East Asia Summits and bilateral meetings with leaders of several countries, South East Asian nations are looking at India to take on a greater role for the economic integration of the region and for ensuring an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Mr Modis interactions with US vice-president, Mike Pence, and the premiers of Singapore, Thailand and Australia were opportunities to take a closer look at pressing issues in bilateral relations and the overall security and economic situation in Indias extended neighbourhood. Many of the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations perceive India as a much-needed counterbalance to China, though their leaders are unlikely to say so in public, given the large Chinese presence in the economies of several Asean states. It is in this context that the Asean states have been pushing India to conclude negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which aims to create the worlds largest free trade area with more than a third of the global GDP and commerce. Key players in Asean such as Singapore, in fact, took the lead in engaging India on economic and security issues more than two decades ago and, subsequently, getting India to join the East Asia Summit.

India, too, has shown it realises the centrality of Asean in its extended neighbourhood, as was reflected in the unprecedented decision to invite the heads of all ten states in the grouping as the chief guests for this years Republic Day celebrations, which coincided with the Asean-India Commemorative Summit. India wants its concerns regarding market access and services, especially the movement of its professionals, to be addressed before signing on for the RCEP. Clearly, more negotiations are needed to find a solution that satisfies all sides. India also has to balance all moves for stronger strategic relations with Asean states with the recent improvement of its ties with China, especially after the nadir represented by the Doklam standoff of last year.

India could take a page out of Chinas playbook by speeding up work on long-gestating connectivity projects, such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, and building new trade and transport linkages with all the Asean states. Stronger strategic and security relations that are underpinned by equally strong economic ties will create greater inter-dependence between India and the Asean members and serve as an effective counter to Chinas growing clout in the region.
As per Urban Emissions, this year, Delhi burnt around 50 lakh kilograms of firecrackers to celebrate Diwali. This has contributed an additional 150,000 kg of PM 2.5 in the atmosphere that is already four to five times above the World Health Organisations safe limit. The good news is that the air quality in Delhi-NCR has improved from hazardous level. But the bad news is that it still very poor and will continue to be in the same category for a while.

Last week, I wrote about some of the myths surrounding our fight against the problem of air pollution. One such myths is that its almost impossible to clean the air. Since then, I have got a lot of feedback asking about what can be done to fight air pollution, especially in a developing country like India. Well, this question can be answered in many ways, and some of them were mentioned in my last column. But, let me give a practical example of how China, a developing country, is successfully fighting its battle against air pollution.

The massive economic growth of China was coupled with an increased energy demand, rapid urbanisation and faster motorisation. The result was rising air pollution in cities. In fact not long back, many cities in China were known for their notorious air quality. A study published in the famous science journal The Lancet estimated that 11 lakh people had died prematurely in China due to ambient air pollution in 2015.

But things are different now, as Chinas war against air pollution is now beginning to show results. Let me highlight three important takeaways for India:

Measure and monitor

One of the key reasons why there is so much inaction on air quality front is because of the lack of data. China now has a nationwide air quality monitoring system, which records the real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) in seventy-four cities. The capital city, Beijing, now has around 35 air quality monitoring stations, which record pollutants such as PM 2.5. The city now hopes to upgrade the monitoring systems by doubling the total number of air quality monitoring stations. Delhi has only 10 air quality monitoring stations while Gurugram has only one. In addition to the quantity of the monitoring stations, real-time monitoring still remains a challenge in Delhi-NCR.

Specific and measurable targets

Chinas Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) set up specific and measurable targets for 2013-17. As per the plan, PM10 concentration in urban areas were to be decreased by 10% by 2017 compared to the 2012 base. Similarly, the deadly PM2.5 concentrations for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region were supposed to be lowered by 25% by 2017. The APPCAP also set up a target of PM25 below 60 for Beijing in 2017. However, this is not the end. Chinas new plan for tackling air pollution that was published in July this year is more detailed and covers more cities than the one that expired at the end of 2017. The new plan also moves beyond PM2.5, and include gases like ozone in a big way. Hence, we should have similar achievable targets for Delhi and Gurugram and take actions accordingly to achieve and maintain them.

Concrete action on ground

In five years between 2013 to 2017, Beijing replaced four outdated coal-powered plants with gas-based ones. In addition, the city also has a campaign to demolish 39,000 terawatt hours of coal-fired boilers to curb pollution. During this period, the city also refurbished 2.17 million vehicles, which had high emissions and installed three-way catalytic converters for 50,000 taxis. The city has also rolled out of 200,000 new and clean energy vehicles for public transportation. Beijing has also put restriction on the number of private vehicles that can be registered every year. In addition, electric two wheelers are deployed for local freight delivery, thus managing emissions in a very planned and strategic way.

The strategy is already bearing results, as PM 2.5 levels are down by more than one third in 26 surrounding cities of Beijing, while Beijing itself has reported 50% reduction. Researchers have estimated that there were 47,000 fewer deaths in the country due to improved air quality in 74 cities in China in 2017 as compared to 2013.

Apart from the three main technical reasons, the biggest learning from Chinas fight against air pollution is that it came from the highest authority of the country. It was President Xi Jinping who made the fight against air pollution countrys main priority.

India cannot and should not blindly copy from China, but it can surely use the framework for solving this problem. Air pollution is not a seasonal but a year-round problem in India, although stubble burning and firecrackers take it to the next level.

(Amit Bhatt is director, integrated transport at WRI)
Outlaw King

Director - David Mackenzie

Cast - Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh

Rating - 3/5

Director David Mackenzies Outlaw King opens with an unbroken, eight-minute shot in which the camera performs pirouettes around actors through moments of drama, intrigue, violence and jaw-dropping action. Politics are discussed, duels initiated and flagons of ale consumed. In a way, these eight minutes could be seen as a condensed version of the film to follow - both a tease and a warning.

Outlaw King, perhaps one of the most expensive films to open with that now iconic Netflix ba-dumm, is an unevenly told story. In his insistence to mature with the times - and perhaps to distance his movie from Mel Gibsons very old-fashioned Braveheart, a film set around the same time in Scottish history - Mackenzie has sacrificed whatever warmth it was possible for his film to have. It hangs, like so many poor souls in Outlaw King, drawn and quartered in a public square, there for future filmmakers to observe with stoic respect, so that they dont end up making the same mistakes.

Watch the Outlaw King trailer here

Chris Pine stars as Robert Bruce, son of Robert Bruce, son of Robert Bruce, son of Isabella Huntingdon, daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, son of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, son of David, King of Scots. Quite the mouthful, expertly delivered by the actor Kim Allan during his coronation scene. And it is with solemnity such as this that the film conducts itself throughout its two-hour length.

Curiously, though, the cut that has been released to us isnt the same as the one screened at the Toronto International Film Festival a few weeks ago. After having locked the film only 48 hours before it was scheduled to open the prestigious festival, Mackenzie, to his horror, realised during the screening - in the presence of his cast and 2000 others - that Outlaw King wasnt working. Following lukewarm reviews after the TIFF premiere, he made the decision to jump back into the editing room and continue working on the film. Twenty minutes were axed by Mackenzie - this includes a random encounter between Robert and William Wallace, Mel Gibsons Braveheart character - with the same ruthless brutality that defines his film.

With its reported $120 million budget, Outlaw King is one of the most expensive Netflix originals.

And this muscular editing style takes a while getting used to. Transitions are harsh and mechanical, sometimes jarringly so. A tender lovemaking scene could abruptly cut to a lavish aerial shot of men riding horses across the hillside, or of someone having their innards gouged out. Outlaw King is a film caught between the temptation to revel in the pomp and pageantry of the genre, and the responsibility to deliver to the audience a more realistic take on it.

Mackenzie, whose filmography is even more diverse than that of Ang Lee - hes made a science-fiction film, a prison drama, a neo-Western and now a historical epic - is aided in this unique approach by his legendary director of photography, Barry Ackroyd. Ackroyd began his career as a frequent collaborator of Ken Loach, and then shot four films - including the latest Jason Bourne - for Paul Greengrass. His style - Ackroyd loves long lenses, which means that even in close-ups, the cast doesnt have the distraction of having a camera shoved in their faces - is the single biggest reason that Greengrass, and now Katheryn Bigelow and Adam McKay, have developed one of their own.

Theres a grimy muddiness to Outlaw King.

This realism is vital to the muddy griminess of Outlaw Kings battle scenes. Theyre slick; not with Hollywood gloss, but with blood and guts. In contrast, the character moments - including that grand coronation scene that we discussed earlier - are almost too stylistically lit. This is a heightened reality - its of our world, but it might as well be fantasy.

But like his films tone, Mackenzies politics are just as confusing. There are, of course, parallels to be drawn between the First War of Scottish Independence - Robert the Bruce led the country to freedom in the 1300s - and the Scottish Independence Referendum - the most recent of which happened in 2014 - and even Brexit. But is making a film that deifies such a radical nationalist a wise thing to do in this day and age? Who knows? But to his credit, Mackenzie mostly downplays this aspect of the story - Pine delivers only one rousing speech, and even that is more of a rallying cry than a politically motivated call to arms.

Chris Pine as Robert the Bruce in Outlaw King.

Speaking of Pine, hes reliably strong in the central role, overshadowing most other cast members, despite the script forcing him to rely heavily on smouldering looks and sparse dialogue delivered in an iffy accent. Hes an unusual choice for the role - a more traditional one would have been Gerard Butler, what with him being Scottish and all, and having had experience playing militaristic monarchs - but Outlaw King is an unusual film.

One things for sure, though, and that is Florence Pughs future as a movie star. Unless something terrible happens - an invasion, a war, perhaps distraction - she will be the next big thing. The screenplay does her no favours either - her character, Elizabeth de Burgh, spends most of the movie singing, or incarcerated - but shes just as magnificent here as she was in her breakout film, Lady Macbeth.

There is so much to admire in Outlaw King - in many ways it is the antithesis of traditional historical epics, much like what Michael Manns Public Enemies was to gangster dramas. But you cant help but feel that it could have been so much more - allegorically, thematically, and emotionally.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @RohanNaahar
Professor SK Satheesh, professor at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and Director, Divecha Centre for Climate Change, was awarded the Infosys Prize 2018 for his work in the physical sciences.

Satheesh was one of six eminent academics and scientists who were recipients of the prestigious Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) award. In an interview with Sibi Arasu, he talks about why his research is more important now than ever before.

What have been the findings of your work, how does it connect to a warming India and the globe?

The adverse impact of black carbon aerosols was discovered in the early 2000s. Through our research and simulations, we have found that aerosols are increasing at a rate of 2% per annum. This is bound to create an adverse condition and will have increasingly negative effects on not only climate change but also the Indian monsoons as well as public health in the subcontinent.

Can you tell us a bit about your work at the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at IISc?

Our centre is ten years old now. We look into research on any type of climate change and climate variability. Our areas of research include not only black carbon aerosols but also changes in the Himalayan glaciers and its effects on water security in the mountain regions. We are also looking into renewable energy, solar and wind energy.

You are part of the Future Earth programme, can you tell us a little about this?

The Future Earth program is an international program led by the United Nations that began in 2015. While most work till now has been focused on climate-change issues, we deal with finding solutions. Our main objective is to find region-specific, solution-oriented research.

What do you feel about growing climate change skepticism? Do you think that is derailing progress made in terms of mitigation and adaptation to climate change?

Thankfully, India is very serious about its commitment to (addressing) climate change. While there is a problem of implementation, the right policies and rules are in place. The United States withdrawing from the Paris accord was unfortunate and we hope that doesnt have a chain reaction. I believe most of the anti-climate-change talk is driven by the fossil fuel lobby.

How realistic is it that the world will manage to reduce emissions within the next few decades?

I think, unfortunately, there is a good chance that the tipping point, that is an irreversible change in climate, will take place. The new system afterwards will be much hotter than now and while a global mean of 3-4 degrees warmer temperature is predicted, areas close to the equator will heat up several degrees more. Having said that, a global effort is being made and many powerful countries are serious about their commitments. So I hope for the best.

What lies at the core of your research and work?

Were essentially trying to link our science with policy and society. We are constantly reaching out to policy makers to take up measures to mitigate climate-change. We are also organising technical cooperation programs, through which young researchers from 25 South Asian and African countries attend a training and awareness programme on climate-change that they can carry back to their country. Recognition such as the Infosys Award as well as the American Geophysical Union Medal that I received last year, are a real boost to our efforts. These awards motivate us to continue our work and bring forward viable climate solutions.
The Andhra Pradesh high court will start functioning from the states new capital, Amravati from January 1, 2019, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Wednesday.

Supreme Court chief justice Ranjan Gogoi will be invited for inaugurating the high court complex, Naidu said after inspecting the works relating to the capital project.

The court is currently functioning from Hyderabad, the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. After bifurcation of the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh officially on June 2, the secretariat and the assembly of Andhra Pradesh were unbundled and moved to Amaravati to function separately.

Shifting of the high court was pending since then even as Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was pitching for decoupling the judiciary at the earliest.

A statement from the chief ministers office said the city civil courts complex coming up at Nelapadu in the core capital area will function as temporary high court until permanent structures housing high court are completed.

Karnati Ramamohan Rao, a senior criminal lawyer and campaigner for a separate high court bench for Andhra region for a long time, welcomed the CMs decision.

The litigant publics are constrained to go to Hyderabad for adjudication of their cases in high court for the last four and a half years. Establishment of AP high court in Amaravati is a sign of delivering justice to the doorsteps of people from Rayalaseema, north coastal and south coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, he told Hindustan Times.

With the shifting of high court to Amaravati in Guntur district, its like restoration of a lost possession for Guntur town which housed high court in Andhra state five decades ago.

The high court was later shifted to Hyderabad to facilitate merger of Telangana with Andhra, resulting in the formation of Andhra Pradesh as part of the Gentlemen Agreement in 1956.

In line with the Andhra Pradesh governments decision, the state high court with 19 court halls is set to function in the city civil court spread over four acres in the Justice City, which is one of the nine cities known as Navaratanas proposed to be built in Amaravati as part of the world class capital project. Construction of a city civil court is expected to be completed by December this year, the CMO said.

Naidu said the works of the Assembly buildings worth Rs 2,000 cr with a provision for 300-seat Assembly hall, 100-seat legislative council, a central hall for joint sessions will be tendered by the end of November.

The project will be completed with a timeline of 36 months. The assembly is part of the government complex spread over 1,375acres with iconic buildings housing secretariat, high court, Raj Bhavan, etc.

The chief minister said the AP state government has decided to build the capital project with Rs 48, 116cr in phase-1 even as the total project cost is estimated to cross Rs 1 lakh crore.

While the NDA government extended Rs 1,500 crore as assistance for the capital, the Naidu government is left to fend for itself to realise its dream project, desperately knocking the doors of different funding agencies including the World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The reported half-hearted assistance for the capital project is one of the reasons that forced the Naidus TDP to snap ties with the NDA in March this year.
A Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leader was shot dead at a cultural event in Patna district late Tuesday even as a police inspector stood right behind him. It was the fourth killing of a RLSP worker since April and party chief Upendra Kushwaha hit out at the Nitish Kumar governments claims of good governance.

RLSPs Paliganj block president Amit Kumar Bhushan alias Tuktuk Verma, 35, was killed and another man, identified Visheshwar Prasad Singh, injured in the attack by unidentified assailants at the programme in Dharhara village.

Kushwaha, who rushed to the killed leaders house today, alleged utter lawlessness was prevailing in the state as he cited repeated attacks on his party workers. This incident yet again exposes Nitish governments tall claims of good governance. Criminals morale is at an all time high in state while commoners are living in peril, he said.

Verma is the third RLSP leader to be killed in Bihar since April.

Party leader Manoj Mahto was shot dead at Garikhana village of Patna district on April 9 and eyewtiness Arun Kumar was also gunned down in the same locality on October 30. In August, two motorcycle-borne assailants killed Manish Sahni, a block head of RLSP in Vaishali district.

On Vermas murder, police said the attack occurred around 10.30 pm when he had gone to inaugurate the cultural programme near Khiri More police station where the local SHO was also a guest. Just as he was alighting from the stage, gunmen fired at least four bullets at him from close range. The SHO, who had been standing behind Verma, escaped unhurt while the assailants escaped.

Eyewitnesses said that a team of policemen including the SHO were present on the spot but they did not act swiftly.

The injured has been admitted to hospital while Patnas senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj has constituted a team under the superintendent of police (west) to solve the case and arrest the accused.
Late night winds and rain on Wednesday brought some relief for Delhiites from the toxic air quality that was in severe category on Tuesday.

The pollution levels recorded at Lodhi road on Wednesday morning showed PM 10 level at 289, which is poor category and PM 2.5 level at 325 in very poor category.

Interestingly, scientists blamed the current bout of pollution on local activities and not stubble burning in parts of Punjab and Haryana. The upper level winds -- on which pollutants from stubble burning are borne -is now coming mainly from the south-easterly direction, which means it isnt bringing in any pollutants from Haryana and Punjab.

The scientists blamed construction activities, vehicles and road dust, with the situation exacerbated by low wind speed and high relative humidity.

That means the Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) decisions to relax certain bans may have directly contributed to Tuesdays spike in pollutants in the air.

The EPCA had on Monday relaxed bans on construction, entry of trucks, and the operation of industries using coal and biomass.

Scientists from government agencies, however, blamed the slight rain on Monday morning for the deterioration.

While we expected that the rain would help bring down pollution, it was so sporadic and scarce that it pushed up the moisture levels. The high relative humidity increased the holding capacity of the air and the pollutants got trapped. The low wind speed aggravated the conditions, said a scientist from Safar, which is a Union government-run pollution forecasting wing.
A high alert was sounded and a hunt launched on Wednesday in the adjoining districts of Pathankot in Punjab and Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir for four men who commandeered a taxi at gunpoint near Madhopur on Tuesday night.

The four men hired the taxi, a silver coloured Innova with registration number JK02AW-0922, from the Jammu railway station on Tuesday night.

The railway station taxi union vice-president Rajvinder Singh said, The taxi was booked in the name of Major Sarvjeet Singh and was Pathankot-bound. Our CCTV footage shows there were four people and one among them was wearing a monkey cap.

The four had conducted a recce before hiring the cab and had paid an advance of Rs 3,550, Singh added. The occupants of the car stopped for dinner at Kathua, Singh said, quoting the driver Raj Kumar, who had a narrow escape.

At Lakhanpur toll post, the four occupants told the staff that they were from the Army and hence exempted from paying toll tax, Singh added.

When the car reached Madhopur, the four men whipped out their guns with one of the occupants saying that Kumar should be killed, added Singh. But, they finally pushed him out and drove away in the car, Singh said.

The driver approached a nearby police post and was taken to Sujanpur police station a few kilometres away.

Kumar told Singh that the four men were talking in a Punjabi dialect, which is spoken in Pakistans Punjab.

Meanwhile, a senior police officer in Kathua said they were in constant touch with their Pathankot counterparts and a hunt was on to trace the vehicle and arrest the four men.

The incident brings back memories of the 2016 attack on Pathankot Air Base, which was carried out by terrorists who had hijacked a taxi and then a vehicle from a superintendent of Punjab Police. Ten people died in the 12 hour-long operation that killed all the heavily-armed terrorists who were equipped with two GPS devices and night vision devices.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States Vice President Mike Pence held talks on Wednesday on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The two leaders had a warm meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Singapore, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said. They had productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues, he said.

Pence referred to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly Mumbai terror attack on November 26 and hailed cooperation between the two countries on countering terrorism, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters after the meeting.

Modi thanked Pence and reminded him that in one way or other all the traces and all leads in the global terror attacks ultimately leads to a single source and single place of origin, without naming any country or organisation.

He did point out that the mainstreaming of people involved in the Mumbai attacks in a political process which has taken place in the recent elections in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern and not to just the two countries which is India and US but to international community, Gokhale said, referring to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeeds party contesting the July 25 elections in Pakistan.

There was some good understanding of the areas of how we move forward in building cooperation in counter terrorism and both countries recognised this is a challenge we have to fight together and to fight along with the rest of the international community, Gokhale said.

On bilateral issues, the two sides had brief discussions on trade related matters. We agreed that in a new relationship we are building with US where trade is expanding we need to find ways in which we can help that process to take place, he said.

PM Modi remarked in particular that in the last two years  since President Donald Trump has assumed office  American exports to India have grown by 50 per cent and it is perhaps only country, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the US has a trade deficit, where the deficit is actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year, Gokhale said.

He said Prime Minister Modi also discussed import of oil and gas worth USD 4 billion from the US as the two leaders emphasised on the need to enhance energy cooperation.

This is important from the perspective of US. There was a lot of discussions on energy. This is a new sector in Indo-US relations - we have begun importing oil and gas from US worth about USD 4 billion this year. We express our readiness to import more gas and oil from US as a way of expanding trade, he said.

The defence sector was another area of cooperation between the two sides. Both sides agreed that there have been substantial enhancement in our defence relationship and in our imports of equipment from US but Prime Minister Modi stressed that there was a great opportunity for US in India in making defence equipment and in setting up defence industry in India, he said.

Not only because India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region, Gokhale said.

Follow live updates: PM meets Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, discusses trade, defence

Modi conveyed to Pence that he hoped the Trump administration would recognise this as a new economic opportunity. There was appreciation for the recently held first-ever Ministerial 2+2 meeting between defence and foreign ministers of the two countries.

Pence recalled his meetings with Prime Minister Modi and acknowledged that India had made substantial progress economically as well as diplomatically in regional and international affairs under his leadership, Gokhale said.

Pence felt that India is a positive factor in regional and international relations and said US looks forward to working with India on various issues  both on political and economic sides to ensure we have a fair rules-based international order, he said.

The two sides agreed that on the international forums, we should on the basis of the shared values build up a possible cooperation in a number of areas.

The Indo-Pacific region also come up for discussion and Prime Minister Modi referred to his June speech in Singapore at IISS Shangrila Dialogue in which he had outlined Indias vision on Indo-Pacific.

The prime minister conveyed to Pence that his vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that we should utilise the forthcoming East Asia summit to further build on that, Gokhale said, amid China flexing its muscles in the East and South China Seas.

Pence felt that Indias contribution is important in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. He said the recent naval exercises held by the US, India and Japan, is an evidence of our commitment to ensuring free and open access to the seas all across this region.

The two sides, he said, would discuss our ongoing effort to achieve the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. He thanked India in supporting US on its North Korean pressure campaign. We are grateful to Indias strong support of our pressure campaign, Pence said.

But we look forward to finding even more ways we can work together, even as the president moves toward another summit with Chairman Kim in the hope that we can finally bring a lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula, he said.
Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Sachin Pilot will contest the December 7 assembly elections in Rajasthan. This was announced by Gehlot on Wednesday at a news conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi.

The surprise move has added to the suspense about the Congress partys presumptive chief minister given that both Gehlot and Pilot are strong contenders for the top post in Rajasthan.

The Congress is banking on the anti-incumbency against chief minister Vasundhara Raje to wrest power from the BJP this time.

While chief minister Vasundhara Raje will lead the BJP in the upcoming polls, the Congress is unlikely to name its chief ministerial face in view of the apprehensions that the move could backfire given that both Gehlot and Pilot are claimants to the post.

With the instructions of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and on Gehlotji request, I have decided to contest the assembly elections, Pilot told reporters. We all will together ensure a massive victory for the Congress in the upcoming polls, he said.

While 67-year-old Gehlot, a two-time chief minister of Rajasthan, is expected to seek re-nomination from Sardarpura seat in Jodhpur, a decision on Pilots constituency will be taken soon.

The reports of infighting in the Rajasthan Congress are baseless and spread by the BJP. We are unitedly fighting the assembly elections, Gehlot said.

Also at the news conference, BJP parliamentarian from Dausa Harish Meena joined the Congress in the presence of Gehlot and Pilot.
As part of a four-hour-long Supreme Court hearing in the Rafale case, air vice marshal J Chalapathi, who has been associated with Rafale aircraft procurement decision, defended the purchase, saying India needed a fourth generation plus aircraft and Rafale fitted the bill.

Chalapathi, along with air marshal VR Chaudhari, deputy chief of the air staff, and air marshal Anil Khosla, vice chief of air staff, presented themselves in the top court to brief a three-judge bench led by chief justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on the procurements of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The CJI had sought the assistance of the Indian Air Force in the case, saying, We are dealing with the requirements of the air force. We need to speak to someone from the force.

Before breaking for lunch, the bench asked attorney general KK Venugopal if any Air Force officer was present in the court. Do you have somebody from the air force here? We want to meet someone from the air force and not from the ministry, CJI Gogoi said when Venugopal pointed to a senior bureaucrat from the ministry of defence who was present in court.

The attorney general then assured the court that an IAF officer would be summoned to assist the court in the case.

When the bench reassembled, it noticed the officers in uniform present in the court. Venugopal called upon air vice marshal Chalapathi to answer the judges. He has been associated with the Rafale aircraft procurement decision and would help the court on the purchase, Venugopal told the bench.

To a query by the bench, Chalapathi said the latest edition of fighter jets in the Indian Air Force has been the Sukhoi 30. It continues to be manufactured in Nashik, the officer said.

Apart from the Sukhoi 30, the Light Combat Aircraft (LAC) is being manufactured in Bangalore, the officer submitted.

So, currently two combat aircraft are being manufactured. How do you describe the aircraft? To which generation do they belong, the CJI enquired. As a fighter pilot, how would you describe it?

I would rate it as 3.5-4 generation aircraft, the officer responded. The LCA is an excellent aircraft and falls in the 3.5 generation, though our requirement is a fourth to fifth generation aircraft, Chalapathi said. He told the CJI that the world over, fifth-generation technology was the niche.

Chalapathi said the Mirage, which is a 3.5 generation aircraft, was last inducted in 1985. The CJI asked the officer, So, virtually no induction has taken place between 1985 and 2018?

To the query, the officer answered in the affirmative.

At the end of the hearing, petitioner and advocate Prashant Bhushan clarified that he and his co-petitioners had not contested the suitability of the fighter planes for induction. Nobody is questioning the choice of the aircraft, Bhushan submitted, contending that the objection was to the procedure followed in procuring the aircraft.
Amid the controversy over the entry of women of menstrual ages into the Sabarimala temple, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for a meeting with Pandalam royals and the Tantri family at 3.30 pm on Thursday.

The erstwhile royal family of Pandalam are considered to be the custodians of the famous Lord Ayyappa temple which is managed by the tantri (supreme priest).

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its September judgment that allowed women of all ages to enter the temple, but refused to stay the operation of the verdict.

This has left Kerala government in a limbo as there is strong opposition to womens entry from various quarters, including the temples priest and thousands of devotees.

Although the Kerala government has tried to follow the SC order, by giving police protection to women wanting to enter the hill shrine, they have not been successful so far.

On September 28,the apex court ruled by a 4-1 majority that no woman can be stopped from entering Sabarimala temple, ending a traditional ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in to the shrine. Women of reproductive age were restricted from entering the over 800-year-old shrine in south Keralas Pathanamthitta district because its presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be a celibate.

Kerala chief minister, Vijayan, said the fact that the Supreme Court did not stay its earlier verdict meant that government was duty-bound to enforce it and it will seek legal opinion.

Legal experts also said that since no stay has been clamped on the operation of the earlier verdict, it was up to the government to decide whether to allow women entry into the shrine pending a final order.
A tribal woman in Odisha was begging for money outside a hospital in coastal Kendrapara district as she was denied a free hearse to take her husbands body home to her native village in Keonjhar district.

Minati Munda, a labourer, sat on the premises of sub-divisional hospital in Pattamundai town since Tuesday afternoon after her request for a hearse was turned down by hospital authorities.

Munda and her husband Dakrai had migrated out of Keonjhar district a few months ago and were working as daily labourers in Pattamundai town, leaving their kids in their native village of Saharpada. On Monday, Dakrai fell ill and was admitted to the Pattamundai hospital, where he died later.

When Minati wanted to take her husbands body back to Keonjhar, the hospital authorities allegedly demanded Rs 300 as charges for hiring the hearse, which is usually free under the state governments Mahaprayan scheme.

However, Kendrapara chief district medical officer Dr BC Sahu pointed out that hearse vans cannot be taken to a different district under the Mahaprayan scheme. These vehicles are meant to move within the district boundary, he said.

As she did not have any money, she sat begging for money for taking her husbands body, said Pradosh Biswal, a local youth of DJ Seva Samiti.

Minati finally hired a hearse van for Rs 300 and cremated her husband in Pattamudai town itself, after the youths convinced her that it would be very costly to hire hearse vans to take them till their village in Keonjhar district.

Several cases of poor and tribal people being denied hearse have been reported in the last several months despite the Naveen Patnaik governments free Mahaprayan scheme.

In August, a tribal couple of Nabarangpur district had to carry the body of one of their twin daughters in an autorickshaw after they waited for five hours to get a Mahaprayan vehicle.

Before the Mahaprayan scheme came into being, a tribal man, named Dana Manjhi, from Odishas Kalahandi district shot to national headlines when he carried his wifes body on his shoulders as the hospital authorities did not provide a mortuary van or an ambulance.
On Nehrus birth anniversary, BJP, Congress spar over his legacy

Congress leader Shashi Tharoors comment that made a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modis humble origins triggered a political firestorm on Wednesday. Senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi led his partys charge, insisting that Narendra Modi is the only one to become prime minister on the back on massive public support.

In comparison, former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru could become the first PM of the country on compassionate grounds, said Trivedi. And Indira Gandhi (became the PM) due to her syndicate, the Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson said at a press conference in Jaipur. He did not, however, elaborate.

Tharoor should shed his Macaulay mindset and accept that Indian democratic system was not because of one person or party and Indian democracy dated back thousands of years.

It is due to Indias democratic tradition dating back thousands of years because of which there is democracy in the country and anyone can become prime minister of the country. A tea-seller became PM and a dynast could not become PM but that is a separate issue, he said.

In response, state Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma said it was not the Congress but the BJP that was touting that a tea-seller has become prime minister of India. Congress party has nurtured Indian democracy and that has given opportunities to all to reach the highest post in the country, she said.

Trivedis attack came after Tharoor - who at a programme in Delhi on Tuesday to launch the new edition of his 2003 book Nehru: The Invention of India - had credited the first prime minister with creating the structures which, he said, had enabled Narendra Modi had become a prime minister.

If today we have a chai wala as prime minister, it is because Nehru created the institutional structures through which any Indian can aspire to rise to the highest office of the land, Tharoor had said.

At the same event, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi accused the BJP of undermining the legacy of Indias first prime minister and urged the people to honour the late leader by fighting with determination to safeguard the countrys democracy.

Nehrus precious legacy is being undermined daily by those who rule us today. They express disdain and contempt for Nehru for all that he did to build the India that they are bent upon changing for the worse, she said in her address.

On Wednesday, Union minister Prakash Javadekar also weighed in, accusing the Congress of not being able to look beyond one family or recall the contribution of others to the country.

If democracy is thriving in India, it is because of the Constitution. It was the constituent assembly headed by Baba Sahab Ambedkar and having many other eminent people which laid the foundation of democracy, he told reporters in Delhi, according to PTI.

The BJP has often been critical of Indias first prime minister. On Nehrus birth anniversary, Congress hit back at the BJP in his defence, charging the BJP, particularly PM Modi, of making a concerted effort to tarnish Nehrus legacy.

Dear PM Modi, you can try to tarnish his name, malign his legacy or eradicate him from our history but India will never forget one of her greatest sons, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the party tweeted.
Azerbaijan is a country where ancient temples stand side by side with buildings designed by the best modern architects. The image of the capital, Baku, is a bizarre and at the same time harmonious combination of antiquity and innovation. As Georgia Today writes in an article "Azerbaijan Boosts Its Image as a Tourism Destination", Azerbaijan today is known and recognized at the world level as a new attractive tourist destination on the Eurasian continent. Foreign guests state a high appreciation for the infrastructure, unique architecture, progress in all spheres, ancient history and the rich centuries-old culture, as well as the stability and security of a comfortable stay in Azerbaijan.

Undoubtedly, success in the field of tourism development is inextricably linked with the name of President Ilham Aliyev, who is pursuing a far-sighted strategy for the comprehensive development of the country, with tourism development playing an important role and being an essential step for attracting additional investments in the country's economy.

Azerbaijan took part in this years international tourism exhibition World Travel Market in the exhibition center Excel London. Within the exhibition, the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau held a presentation of the new tourism branding of the country  the Take Another Look marketing campaign.

As reported by AZERTAG, the presentation, which was attended by representatives of various countries, experts from leading travel companies, as well as journalists, was met with particular interest.

One of the main goals of participation in this prestigious exhibition is to submit as many tourist offers to international markets as possible, to become a world-famous destination brand, and to introduce the unique material and spiritual heritage of the country to the global community.

Azerbaijan is implementing a number of important measures to accelerate the development of tourism in the country, tourism being one of the main areas of the non-oil sector of the economy. Tourism is recognized as a sphere of economic activity that serves the interests of the citizens, also being a great source of income. The Azerbaijan tourism sector is becoming one of the main factors creating additional jobs, accelerating the development of road and hotel construction, stimulating the production of all types of vehicles, and contributing to the preservation of folk crafts and national culture. In short, it acts as a catalyst for socio-economic development.

The recent construction of hotels and road-transport infrastructure meeting modern requirements, in various regions of the country, has increased interest in the regions of Azerbaijan among both foreign and local tourists.

On the decision of President Ilham Aliyev on April 20, 2018, the State Agency for Tourism was established. Tourism in Azerbaijan has been identified as a priority direction for the development of the economy, announced as an industry of national importance.

The Strategic Roadmap for the Development of a Specialized Tourism Industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan, approved by the head of state at the end of 2016, outlines the goals and objectives for ensuring the effective operation of the Azerbaijani tourism industry, which should contribute to the formation of state and population incomes. Over the next 10 years, the industry is expected to make up to 10% of the country's gross domestic product.

Tourism contributes to attracting foreign currency and various investment projects to the state: the economy is diversified, the income of the population grows and their wealth increases.
The Parliaments winter session is scheduled to begin from December 11 this year and extend till January 8 next, Union minister Vijay Goel said on Friday.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) has decided that next winter session will be held from 11th December, 2018 to 8th January, 2019, said Goel, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs.

The Opposition is likely to raise the issue of Rafale fighter jet deal, among others, a case on which is being heard by the Supreme Court.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been relentlessly attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged corruption and cronyism in the revised deal with French fighter plane-maker, Dassault, whose CEO had on Wednesday rubbished the allegations.

A number of parties are reported to have joined hands in taking on the Centre.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party was a former partner of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, has met several leaders of all hues from various parts of the country in a bid to mobilise the opposition forces against the Modi government.

The winter session has been scheduled after the assembly elections in five state elections  Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram  whose results are also to be announced on December 11.

Members of both the BJP and the Congress said that the possibility of moving the winter session to after the polling dates, has not been discussed.

The announcement comes two days after the former parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar passed away in Bengaluru after battling lung cancer for several months. He was 59 and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Kumars portfolios, parliamentary affairs and chemicals and fertilizers, have been allotted to Narendra Singh Tomar and D V Sadananda Gowda, respectively.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay its September 28 verdict allowing women of all ages into Keralas Ayyappa temple.

Please wait till January 22, the CJI led bench told the petitioner who had sought a modification of the top courts order.

On Tuesday, a five-judge Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI), Ranjan Gogoi, agreed to reconsider its September judgement that allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, but refused to stay the operation of the verdict that would have the effect of disallowing the entry of women into the hilltop shrine.

The apex court bench, also comprising justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, fixed January 22 to take up the 49 review petitions calling for a reversal of its September 28 verdict and other applications in the matter.

This order was issued after the petitions were circulated among the judges in their chambers at 3pm, in accordance with rules of the top court. No lawyers are present during these proceedings. As per the rules, the bench that delivers the original verdict considers the review petition. In the Sabarimala case, a new bench was convened and CJI Gogoi stepped in to head it because former chief justice Dipak Misra, who was part of the bench that delivered the original ruling in September, has since retired.

The lone woman judge on the bench, justice Malhotra, dissented with the original ruling, which review petitioners have cited in support of their demand.

Several applicants had asked for an open court hearing of the petitions, which the court appears to have accepted.

On September 28,the apex court ruled by a 4-1 majority that no woman can be stopped from entering Sabarimala temple, ending a traditional ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in to the shrine. Women of reproductive age were restricted from entering the over 800-year-old shrine in south Keralas Pathanamthitta district because its presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be a celibate.

Several groups have opposed the verdict and staged violent protests against it. No woman of reproductive age has entered the shrine since the court order was delivered.
PM arrives for dinner hosted by Singapore PM

Mahatma's message of peace lighting the way!#VaishnavJanTo lights up the #SuntecConventionCentre at Singapore as PM @narendramodi arrives for the Gala Dinner hosted by PM of Singapore @leehsienloong pic.twitter.com/vzlqnHTUaW  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

PM interacts with other East Asia leaders

Connecting with friends.



PM @narendramodi with other East Asia Summit leaders before the gala dinner being hosted by Prime Minister of Singapore @leehsienloong. pic.twitter.com/Clxy04UL3z  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

Modi invites Pence, says India-Ana

There was a light moment during Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore on Wednesday when he riffed on the meaning of Indiana - the American leaders home state.

Through his translator, Modi said that when he met Pence in the US in 2017 he told him that Indiana (INDIA-Ana) in Hindi, meaning To come to India. Modi then repeated his invitation to Pence to visit India.

Pence laughed appreciatively. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, Pence said. I expect I will Indiana. The US vice president is likely to visit India in 2019.

India committed to early conclusion of RCEP agreement: PM

PM Modi has urged all leaders at the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) meeting to give required mandate so that RCEP negotiations can be concluded at the earliest. Final agreement should be modern,comprehensive,balanced and mutually beneficial, says S Pandey, ministry of commerce, reports news agency ANI.

PM Modi attends 2nd RCEP Summit

PM Modi today attended the 2nd Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Summit in Singapore along with 16 member states.

Shaping the agenda for regional cooperation



PM @narendramodi attended the 2nd #RCEP Summit in Singapore with 16 member states. PM reiterated that India was committed to early conclusion of high quality comprehensive and balanced regional economic partnership agreement. pic.twitter.com/Ttwv9k6yQn  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

PM Modi discussed cooperation in trade, defence with Thailand PM

PM Modi discussed cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security and connectivity with PM of Thailand general Prayut Chan-o-cha East Asia Summit.

Stepping up engagements with a valued regional partner as part of Act East Policy.



PM @narendramodi met PM of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha @prayutofficial on sidelines of #EAS Summit. Cooperation in trade & investment, defence and security and connectivity were discussed. pic.twitter.com/sfdkgrQOJS  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

PM Modi meets Thailand counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha

Prime minister Narendra Modi meets PM of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha in Singapore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets PM of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha in Singapore. pic.twitter.com/OuhCBFBqJI  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

PM Modi meets Australian counterpart

PM Narendra Modi met with Australian PM Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation.

Taking stock of the relationship.



PM @narendramodi met with PM of Australia @ScottMorrisonMP on the margins of #EastAsiaSummit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade & investment, defence & security and other areas of bilateral cooperation. pic.twitter.com/uu1H8Qs6i0  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

Happy to have met Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore: PM Modi

Happy to have met PM Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore. We had fruitful talks on deeper India-Singapore friendship as well as how India-ASEAN relations contribute to peace and prosperity in the region, said PM Modi

Happy to have met PM @leehsienloong in Singapore.



We had fruitful talks on deeper India-Singapore friendship as well as how India-ASEAN relations contribute to peace and prosperity in the region. pic.twitter.com/itK4VcjZmg  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

PM Modi shares glimpses from the Singapore Fintech festival

PM Modi shares glimpses from the Singapore Fintech Festival, including the visit to the India Pavilion.

Glimpses from the Singapore Fintech Festival, including the visit to the India Pavilion. pic.twitter.com/UMS8jkMDxN  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

Productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership was held between PM, US vice-president: MEA

PM Narendra Modi had a warm meeting with vice-president of United States Michael Pence in Singapore. Productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues was held, said MEA.

Prosperity through partnership



PM @narendramodi had a warm meeting with @VP of United States Michael Pence in #Singapore. Productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues. pic.twitter.com/M1vtAVQhsd  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

Great opportunity for US in India for making defence equipment: PM

PM Modi stressed that there was a great opportunity for USA in India in making defence equipment&setting up defence industry in India. The issue of terrorism was discussed & US VP Pence appreciated cooperation between US & India on counter terrorism, said MEA.

Pence felt India a positive factor in regional, international relations: MEA

The discussions between PM Modi and US vice-president touched both upon bilateral relations and regional and international issues. Vice-president Pence acknowledged that India had made progress economically. He felt India is a positive factor in regional and international relations, said MEA in Singapore

PM meets US vice-president Pence

Prime minister Narendra Modi holds a bilateral meeting with Michael R Pence, vice-president of the United States of America, in Singapore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a bilateral meeting with Michael R. Pence, Vice-President of the United States of America, in Singapore pic.twitter.com/XXqDFon8Vz  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

PM meets his Singaporean counterpart on sidelines of East Asia Summit

PM Narendra Modi met with prime minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of East Asia Summit.

Guiding India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.

PM @narendramodi met with Prime Minister of Singapore @leehsienloong on the sidelines of #EastAsiaSummit. Good exchange of views on cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration. pic.twitter.com/UXobaJ5kSA  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

PM visits India Pavilion at Singapore Fintech Festival

PM Narendra Modi visited the India Pavilion at Singapore Fintech Festival. With 18 participants, India Pavilion has the highest number of companies among the 16 country pavilions in the Exhibition.

India on the Global Knowledge Platform



PM @narendramodi visited the India Pavilion at Singapore Fintech Festival

With 18 participants, India Pavilion has the highest number of companies among the 16 country pavilions in the Exhibition. pic.twitter.com/GR97sgLklR  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

PM launches APIX - online global fintech marketplace

Prime minister Narendra Modi launches APIX - online global fintech marketplace, at the Singapore Fintech festival.

#Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches APIX - online global fintech marketplace, at the Singapore Fintech Festival. pic.twitter.com/DD8h10XQdb  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

We must invest for creating skills for future: PM

We must invest for creating skills for future. Just as India will learn from others, it will inspire others, said PM Modi.

We should use Fintech against money laundering: PM

We should use Fintech to curb money laundering and other financial crimes, said PM Modi

Our aim should be Sarvodaya through Antyodaya: PM

Our aim should be Sarvodaya - development of all through - Antuodaya - development of the most marginalised, says PM.

Power of fintech is to drive prosperity: PM

The power of fintech is to drive prosperity. It provides everything. Rapidly rising digital transactions in India powered by Rupay & BHIM. Today, 128 banks in India are connected to UPI. Transactions on UPI grew 1500 times in the last 24 months. Every month, the value of transaction is growing by over 30%,  said PM Modi

Explosion of fintech innovation has turned India into a leading startup nation in the world: PM

There is an explosion of fintech innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading fintech and startup nation in the world. The future of fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India: PM Modi

Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians with Aadhaar: Modi

Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities - Aadhaar, in just a few years, PM Narendra Modi in Singapore

Financial inclusion wasnt easy in a country of Indias size: PM

My govt came to office in14 with a mission of inclusive development that would change the lives of every citizen,even the weakest in the remotest village.That mission needed a solid foundation of financial inclusion for all-a task that wasnt easy in a country of Indias size, said PM Modi.

Technology is defining power in the new world: Modi

We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives, said PM Modi in Singapore

Great honour to be the first head of govt to deliver the keynote address at Singapore Fintech festival: Modi

It is a great honour to be the first head of govt to deliver the keynote address at Singapore Fintech festival. It is an acknowledgment of the financial revolution sweeping through India & transforming the lives of 1.3 billion people, said PM Modi in Singapore

Modi begins his keynote address at Singapore Fintech festival

PM Modi begins keynote address at Singapore Fintech festival.

PM to deliver keynote address at Fintech Summit

Shri @narendramodi will address the Singapore Fintech Festival tomorrow morning. He will talk about the Fintech sector and Indias strides in this sphere. pic.twitter.com/rz3Z2O3sKZ  PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 13, 2018
The government and central bank are getting close to ironing out some of their policy differences, said two sources familiar with the discussions, as they seek to defuse worsening tensions that had threatened to unnerve investors.

While the rift is far from healed, the sources said enough progress had been made to avoid acrimony at a board meeting of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next Monday. The threat that RBI Governor Urjit Patel would quit, as reported by some newspapers last week, is also thought to be off the table for now, they said.

The uneasy truce is likely to see the RBI ease up on some lending restrictions to help the government stimulate the economy, said the sources. One source said the RBI could agree to tweak restrictions on lending to improve credit flows for smaller companies with a borrowing limit of 250 million rupees ($3.4 million).

Neither the RBI nor the finance ministry responded to requests for comment for this article. The prime ministers office declined to comment.

It is unclear how much of a role Prime Minister Narendra Modi played in defusing the tension. Media reported that Modi met Patel last week in an attempt to sort out the contentious issues but officials in the prime ministers office and the RBI said they did not know of such a meeting.

Modi had appointed Patel as the RBI governor in 2016 for a three-year term that ends in September next year.

For weeks, government officials in Delhi have been pressuring the RBI to accede to a range of demands, from easing lending curbs to handing over surplus reserves to the government. This prompted RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya to warn late last month that undermining a central banks independence could be catastrophic, bringing the feud into the open.

Tensions were expected to come to a head at Mondays meeting as government representatives on the board appeared to be ready to turn up the heat on Patel and accuse the RBI of being intransigent in the face of government demands.

Now, it seems likely there will be a more constructive atmosphere with agreement on some issues, and disputed questions shelved for another day, the sources said.

CANT AGREE TO EVERYTHING

The government is keen to provide more stimulus to the economy heading into next years election, especially as the incomes of many farmers have been hit by low crop prices. At the same time it doesnt want a bust-up with the central bank, which could badly affect investor sentiment and provide political fodder to the opposition Congress party.

The government understands the regulator will remain a regulator and cant agree to all demands, said a government official, who declined to be named, referring to the RBI.

While the official did not give any details of the solutions being worked out with the RBI, he acknowledged that the government did not want to trigger Patels departure at such a sensitive time.

There are five key state elections in the next few weeks and a general election due by May. The Congress has already been harrying the government over allegations of corruption in a military jet deal with France and infighting between the top officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A RBI board member said that helping to ease tensions was the idea that both sides wanted a healthy economy. It was just a question of how to get there. The main issue is how to boost credit growth, the member said referring to the credit crunch facing small companies.

Economics Affairs Secretary S.C. Garg is expected to make a presentation in the board meeting to outline the concerns of the finance ministry and could bring up the question about the transfer of surplus cash reserves held by the RBI, the sources said.

The board member said that an expert panel may be set up to work out the appropriate level of contingency reserves for the RBI, effectively kicking that question down the road. The RBI introduced a so-called corrective action plan in 2014 for 11 state-run banks with bad loan issues and depleted capital. That plan included curbs on risky lending and RBI officials said, as a result, the banks loan growth fell to zero and had remained there since 2016, from 10 percent in 2014.

According to the RBI board member, the government wants the RBI to ease those curbs and lower capital requirements for the 11.

Some improvements in the balance sheets of those lenders might give the RBI leeway to do that, although the RBI would prefer to give the mending process more time, said another official who is aware of discussions within the central bank.
The Centre defended the secrecy clause related to the pricing of the 36 Rafale fighter jets in the Supreme Court on Wednesday and said it cannot divulge details of the deal, stating that adversaries may get advantages if the entire details on the pricing is disclosed.

These matters are for the experts to deal with and we have been saying that even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of jets, Attorney General K K Venugopal told the court.

Defending the secrecy clause, he said, Our adversaries may get advantages if the entire details on the pricing is disclosed.

The court reserved its order on pleas seeking court monitored probe in procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph concluded the arguments advanced by various parties which have also sought registration of FIR in connection with the alleged irregularities in the deal.

During the hearing, Venugopal said he would not be able to assist the court further on the pricing issue. I decided not to peruse it myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible, he said, according to PTI.

The bench said any discussion on pricing of the Rafale fighter jets can only take place if the facts on the deal are allowed to come in the public domain.

The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not, the bench said.

The court also sought clarifications from a senior defence ministry official who was present.

Venugopal said the Air Force had been writing to the government that it will be difficult for them to defend our country due to shortage of aircraft and the country had fallen behind a lot.

He had earlier explained why the government had been reluctant to share the price of the fighter jets with the court and contested claims by the petitioners that the government had ever placed the pricing details of fully-loaded planes in public domain.

The attorney general, who had earlier refused to share the pricing details with the court, said the government had decided to place the entire price of the aircraft along with the weaponry out of respect for the top court. It is not a matter where one could review it judicially, especially if they are based on rumours, media reports, he said.

Petitioners in the Rafale deal case had earlier told the Supreme Court that the government had committed a serious fraud in the purchase of the 36 jets from France.

The documents given to me say negotiations started in May 2015 whereas the PM had declared in April that the deal is done, ML Sharma, one of the petitioners in this case said as the Supreme Court began its hearing on the Centres report on pricing details.

Sharma added that the attorney general must give a detailed reply to his petition as he had not been given the complete papers. Another petitioner Vineet Dhanda wanted to know how the Prime Minister could make a statement even before the approval of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

Advocate Prashant Bhushan said there could not be any secrecy over pricing of the fighter jets when the government had disclosed the price in parliament on previous occasions. Its a bogus argument for govt to say they cant disclose pricing. In new deal, Rafale jets cost 40 per cent more than earlier deal, he said.

To make his point, Bhushan wanted to talk about pricing and referred to the agreement, which Attorney General KK Venugopal said is a secret agreement and cant be read out in open court.

The documents, a report on the decision-making process adopted by the government, were provided this week to the petitioners on the Supreme Courts orders.

At the last hearing, the top court had also ordered the Centre to provide the pricing details of the 36 jets.

This information is understood to have been placed before the court in sealed cover but it isnt clear whether the price revealed is that of the basic cost of the aircraft without weapons and India-specific enhancements, or the cost of the fully loaded, made-for-India one.

At Wednesdays hearing, the petitioners mostly focused on the contents of the governments report and sought to punch holes in claims that the inter-governmental deal was above board.

Sanjay Singh, AAPs Rajya Sabha MP, also a petitioner, countering governments claim of secrecy said, the government of India has disclosed the price not once but twice on the floor of Parliament. Questioning the decision-making process he asked how could the government announce a new deal without cancelling the old deal.

The government had resisted attempts by the court asking for price details of the jets. Attorney general of India KK Venugopal even went to the extent of telling the court that the pricing details are protected under the Official Secrets Act, 1923. So far, the government has only shared price details of the basic model of Rs 670 crore with the Rajya Sabha.

The petitions have been filed by lawyers Vineet Dhanda and ML Sharma. Aam Aadmi Partys Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has also moved the top court against the Rafale deal; Sanjay Singh has sought a court order for the formation of a special team to probe the matter under the Supreme Courts oversight.

Documents given by the government are silent on whether appropriate steps were taken before the deal was finalised, Singh to SC.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments decision to enter a $8.7-billion government-to-government deal with France to buy 36 Rafale warplanes made by Dassault was announced in April 2015, with an agreement signed a little over a year later.

This replaced the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft, 108 of which were to be made in India by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
The Supreme Court of India said it would for now steer clear of the contentious pricing issue in the controversial Rafale deal, in a move that should bring some relief to the government, but reserved its judgement after a day-long hearing of petitions demanding a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the deal.

The petitioners, activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, former union ministers Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and advocates ML Sharma and Vineet Dhanda asked for an investigation on four grounds: lack of transparency over the pricing of the jets; an offsets deal that seemed to favour a private firm; flouting of due process in closing the deal; and that the deal isnt a government-to-government deal at all as it has been pitched because France refused to offer India a sovereign guarantee and instead gave it a letter of comfort.

The government has previously denied most of these allegations and also said it cannot disclose pricing details publicly on account of a secrecy clause in its agreement with France and to ensure Indias enemies do not get to know details of the India-specific enhancements and weaponry of the Rafale. It has submitted details of the price in a sealed envelope to the Supreme Court, though, and the court said it would not get into the pricing issue.

We are yet to take a call on whether it (cost) should be brought in public domain, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi told attorney general KK Venugopal.

The government has also explained the process followed in an affidavit filed to the court, which has also been shared with the petitioners.

Finally, it has always maintained that the choice of an offset partner is not its, but that of the aircraft-maker, Dassault Aviation.

The petitions asked for the registration of a criminal case under the anti-corruption law.

At an election rally in Chhattisgarh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government bought the planes at ~1,600 crore a piece as against the ~526 crore for each aircraft fixed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, according to news agency Press Trust of India.

The three-judge bench and the AG discussed various aspects of the deal in detail, especially on the four points raised by the petitioners who presented their arguments first.

The court spent a lot of time trying to understand the details of the Inter Governmental Agreement between India and France for the purchase of 36 aircraft, which had replaced a previous deal-in-the-works between India and Dassault Aviation for 126 aircraft, of which 108 were to be assembled in India by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

The petitioners attacked the foundations of the new deal, signed by the NDA government in 2016, and announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, by claiming it could not be a government-to-government deal because there was no sovereign guarantee provided by France. Indeed, this was raised by the law ministry too when the deal was being worked on, but the Cabinet Committee on Security signed off on it despite there being no guarantee from France, which was only willing to provide a letter of comfort. France also insisted that Indias dispute resolution be with the manufacturer and not with it.

A former government official directly involved in defence purchases said there was nothing unusual about this.

All Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) are subject to negotiations including clauses about dispute resolution and sovereign guarantee. IGAs are negotiated agreements in which nothing is written in stone. There is no standard format. India has bought arms earlier on the basis of a letter of comfort from Russia and other countries as well, said Amit Cowshish, former chief financial advisor (acquisition).

Venugopal admitted that the French government did not offer a sovereign guarantee, but had issued a letter of comfort, ensuring the final execution of the deal. The law officer denied the charge that procedures were violated and said courts could not review the inter-governmental agreement on the judicial side.

The court also heard air force officers air vice marshal J Chalapathi, who has been associated with Rafale aircraft procurement decision; air marshal VR Chaudhari, deputy chief of the air staff; and air marshal Anil Khosla, vice chief of air staff.

The chief justice wanted to know which generation the new jets belong to and Chalapati responded that they were fifth generation because they have stealth technology.

The new deal for Rafale replaced one being negotiated by the previous UPA government. It has become controversial, with the Opposition, led by the Congress, claiming that the price at which India is buying Rafale aircraft now is Rs 1,670 crore for each, three times the Rs 526 crore, the initial bid by the company when the UPA was trying to buy the aircraft. The deal has also become controversial on account of the fact that one of the offset deals signed by Dassault is with a joint venture it has with Reliance Group of Anil Ambani. The Congress claims the earlier deal was scrapped and a new one signed just to provide Ambani this opportunity for an offset deal. Both the government and Reliance Group have repeatedly denied this.

In an interview to ANI on 13 November, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier said the choice of Reliance Group as a joint venture partner to tap the offset opportunity was the companys and that the price of each jet in flyaway condiction under the new deal was around 9% lower than the corresponding price under the old deal that never reached closure.

The judges also quizzed the AG over the selection of the offset partner and on HALs absence in the new deal. Venugopal said the decision to enter into a new agreement was because the working scheme between HAL and Dassault ran into a rough weather. HAL was not able to assure whether it would be able to achieve the competence as expected, Venugopal said, rejecting former HAL chief TS Rajus contention, in an interview to Hindustan Times, that the company could have manufactured the aircraft.
The Union health ministry is upgrading its tech support at the grassroots level for optimal blood glucose control and the early diagnosis of diabetes, which affected 65 million people in India in 2016 and which is spreading rapidly with a change in lifestyle making more people overweight, inactive and dependent on unhealthy food.

The decision was taken after pilot studies in Himachal Pradeshs Solan district and findings from community health centres in Tripura and Mizoram, said Manoj Jhalani, additional secretary and mission director, National Health Mission, ministry of health and family welfare.

The pilot studies in Solan and community health centres in Tripura and Mizoram have shown that using decision-support e-health records improves blood glucose control and lowers blood pressure and bad LDL cholesterol. Based on this evidence, we are integrating the software with the national Informational Technology application for the national programme for NCD (non-communicable diseases) prevention, Jhalani said.

Union health minister JP Nadda described the prevention of diabetes and all NCDs as a national priority.

Population-based screening for diabetes, hypertension, and oral, breast and cervical cancers is being done for all men and women 30 years and older in 170 districts under Ayushman Bharats comprehensive primary health care plan. With the upgradation of 15 million subcentres into health and wellness centres, screening will reach all districts over the next one year, he said.

Diabetes prevalence in Indian adults who are 20 years and older is 7.7%, with every state registering an increase over the past 25 years, according to data from state-level disease burden initiative published in The Lancet in September. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi have the highest prevalence, but the highest rates of increase were in less developed states.

Diabetes in India subscribes to the rule of halves. Around half of all people with type-2 diabetes are undiagnosed, half of those diagnosed do not get treated, and half of those who are on medication have poor glycaemic control, said Dr Nikhil Tandon, professor and head of endocrinology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This means only around 12.5% have a healthy glucose control, measured by Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c is a test that represents blood glucose control over the preceding three months) reading of under 7%.

The decision-support application will be highly useful in the field for multi-purpose workers as it will enhance capacity of front line staff by providing guidance on what should be done, said Jhalani.

Diabetes can be managed if diagnosed and treated, but if left untreated, leads to irreversible complications. In 2016, diabetes contributed to 3.1% of the total deaths in India.

The study was carried out in partnership with the Centre for Chronic Disease Control, Public Health Foundation of India and Emory University, Atlanta, with software support from Tata Trusts and Dell EMC.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav went lyrical Wednesday to slam the Adityanath government for renaming Uttar Pradesh cities, saying the developmental works in the state have come to a halt due to it.

Band pade hain saare kaam, bikhra pada sab samaan; tarakki ke ruke hain raste, badal rahe hain bus naam, (All works have stopped, materials lie scattered; paths of development stand blocked, only names are being changed), tweeted Yadav, tagging a few photographs of some stalled works with his tweet.

The former chief ministers lyrical criticism of the Adityanath regimes name-changing spree came on a day when it faced another poetic attack from its own minister, Om Prakash Rajbhar, the chief of ruling NDA constituent Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP).

Diwali me Ali basey, Ram basey Ramzan, Aisa hona chahiye apna Hindustan, (Indias ethos should be just like that of Diwali, which has Ali in it and Ramjan, which has Ram), tweeted Rajbhar Wednesday, seeking to highlight the futility of changing names.

Often dubbed as a disgruntled minister, Rajbhar said renaming cities negates Indias Ganga-Jamuni culture. Indian civilisation is based on Ganja-Jaumni culture. The condition of the country would have been different had the expenses incurred on name-changing venture been utilised for education, employment, health and welfare, he said.

The government faced the criticism a day after it approved the renaming of Faizabad as Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj, in a Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Rajbhar had recently also taken a dig at the BJP over changing of names of cities, districts and railway stations, saying the saffron party should rather start with changing names of the prominent Muslim faces in the party.

The BJP changed names of Mughalsarai and Faizabad. They say they were named after the Mughals. They have 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, he had said.

He said the names of various places were changed just to distract the backward and oppressed people from raising their voice on the issues which affects 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 country what Muslims have given it. Should we throw away the GT Road? Who built the Red Fort? Who built the Taj Mahal? he had asked.

Earlier, the government had renamed Mughalsarai Railway Station, another historic place, as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction.

The decision to rename Faizabad and Allahabad divisions as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively came a day after the Allahabad High Court sought the stands of the Centre and the state on a lawsuit challenging the decision to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.

Justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Singh Chauhan of the Lucknow bench Monday sought the governments stand within a week and slated the matter to hear again on Monday.

Earlier too, the Samajwadi Party chief has accused the the chief minister of taking credit for just renaming cities.

Raja Harshvardhan made Prayag Kumbh great by offering donations, but todays rulers are trying to take credit for the work just by renaming the city to Prayagraj, the former chief minister had tweeted earlier.

They (BJP) have even re-named Ardh Kumbh as Kumbh. This mocks at our tradition and belief, he said.

The Congress, too, had hit out at the ruling dispensation, with a party leader saying that changing the name of the historic city to Prayagraj is an attempt to toy with the history of the nation.

In August this year, the UP government had sent a request to the Centre to rename the airports in Agra, Bareilly and Kanpur. According to reports, the proposal is to rename the Agra airport after Jan Sangh founder Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

The ruling BJP has, however, justified the name changes across Uttar Pradesh, saying they are merely restoring the older names and correcting historical distortions.

Allahabads ancient name was Prayag, but was changed after 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar built a fort near Sangam, the holy confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythological Saraswati.
A protein derived from tamarind seed can protect against chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease caused by the CHIKV alphavirus, according to researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. The study has been accepted in the scientific journal, Virology.

Chikungunya causes fever, headache, and prolonged joint pains that can last for months after the infection has cleared. The infection occurs mostly in the Indian subcontinent, Asia and Africa, with a major outbreak in 2015 affecting several countries in the Region of the Americas, according to the World Health Organisation.

In India, the disease affected over 12,500 people in 2017. To date, no therapy exists for the disease and treatment is usually symptomatic. The researchers first looked at whether the lectin protein isolated from the tamarind seed could bind with N-acetylglucosamine (NAG), a glucose molecule that forms the outer shell of alphaviruses like chikungunya, ross river virus and semliki virus.

To cause infection, the NAG on the surface of the shell of the chikungunya virus binds with receptors on the host cells. The idea was that if the lectin protein bound with the NAG instead, the virus would not be able to infiltrate the host cell. We found that it could bind, said Dr Shailly Tomar, assistant professor of biotechnology at IIT Roorkee and one of the authors of the paper.

We found that the infectivity of the chikungunya virus coated with lectin (compared to normal chikungunya virus) reduced by 64%...This goes on to show that the lectin protein from the tamarind seed, if had as a medicine, is likely to reduce the severity of chikungunya disease, said Tomar. The next step will be to observe whether the protein is able to protect against the infection in animal trials.

When we provide the lectin protein as a pill... Once in the blood, the protein should be able to prevent the spread of the virus from one cell to the other. The adverse impact of black carbon aerosols were discovered in the early 2000s. Through our research and simulations we have found that aerosols are increasing at a rate of 2% per annum. This is bound to create an adverse condition and will have increasingly negative effects on not only climate change but also the Indian monsoons as well as public health in the subcontinent.

Our centre is 10 years old now. We look into research on any type of climate change and climate variability. Our areas of research include not only black carbon aerosols but also changes in the Himalayan glaciers and its effects on water security in the mountain regions. We are also looking into renewable energy, solar and wind energy. The Future Earth program is an international program led by the United Nations that began in 2015.

While most work till now has been focused on climate-change issues, we deal with finding solutions. Our main objective is to find region specific solution oriented research. Thankfully, India is very serious about its commitment to climate change. While there is a problem of implementation, the right policies and rules are in place. The United States withdrawing from the Paris accord was unfortunate and we hope that doesnt have a chain reaction.

I believe most of the anti-climate change talk is driven by the fossil fuel lobby. I think, unfortunately there is a good chance that the tipping point, that is an irreversible change in climate, will take place. The new system afterwards will be much hotter than now and while a global mean of 3-4 degrees warmer temperature is predicted, areas close to the equator will heat up several degrees more.

Having said that, a global effort is being made and many powerful countries are serious about their commit. Were essentially trying to link our science with policy and society. We are constantly reaching out to policy makers to take up measures to mitigate climate-change. We are also organising technical cooperation programs, through which young researchers from 25 South Asian and African countries attend a training and awareness programme on climate change.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for contesting the assembly elections from Gajwel assembly constituency in Siddipet district.

KCR submitted the papers at the Revenue Divisional Office at Gajwel town exactly at 2.34 pm, which is believed to be an auspicious time fixed by his family priests.

He was accompanied by his nephew and state irrigation minister T Harish Rao and a host of party leaders.

Before filing the nomination papers, the TRS chief conducted special prayers at Lord Venkateshawra Swamy temple at Konaipalli village of Nagunuru block, about 30 km from Gajwel.

The temple was decorated with flowers on the occasion of KCRs special prayers. Temple priest Brahmadev Tripathi and several other senior priests blessed the chief minister.

He placed the nomination appears at the feet of the god, before putting his signature on them.

Later, he addressed the villagers briefly saying that the village and the temple had been sentimental for him since he entered politics in 1983. He vowed to develop the village on all fronts and bring waters of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project to the village by next year.

I will come to this temple with Kaleswaram water to perform pooja to the Lord, he promised.

Interestingly, Gajwel assembly constituency has also a strong sentiment attached to it. Ever since it was formed in 1978, no MLA has been elected for two consecutive terms from this constituency, which was once part of Medak district.

Though two former MLAs  B Sanjeeva Rao and J Geetha Reddy represented this constituency for twice in the past, they got elected in different years, but not consecutively.

In 2014, KCR won the election for the first time on TRS ticket over TDP candidate Vanteru Pratap Redddy with a margin of over 19,000 votes, while then sitting Congress MLA T Narsa Reddy came third. Pratap Reddy is now contesting on the Congress ticket, while Narsa Reddy is supporting him.

If the Gajwel jinx for the elected candidates works out this year, too, KCR wont be able to win the elections again from this constituency. But the chief minister appeared confident of breaking this jinx.

With the blessings of Lord Venkateshwara and the people of Konaipalli, I am confident of winning the elections again. And the TRS is going to return to power by winning more than 100 out of 119 assembly seats, he said.

Meanwhile, Harish Rao also filed his nomination papers for contesting the elections from Siddipet constituency. Before praying to the Lord Venkateshwara of Konaipalli, Harish also prayed at a dargah and a church before proceeding to the returning officers office to submit his nominations.

M Madhusudhanachary, the speaker of the recently dissolved Telangana Assembly, also filed his nomination from Bhupalpally constituency.
For months, most oil-market watchers fretted about the impact that newly imposed U.S. sanctions on Iran would have on global supplies. Those concerns pushed the price of crude up to more than $85 a barrel, while many analysts anticipated that oil could soon reclaim the triple digits as supplies tightened further. As The Motley Fool writes in an article "OPEC to the Oil Market: We Told You So", President Trump and others called on OPEC to boost production so that oil prices didn't get out of hand. OPEC, however, refused to budge because it believed that the market was worried about the wrong thing.

Instead of an undersupply issue, OPEC thought the market had more oil than it needed, so it was concerned about another glut forming that could put downward pressure on prices. That's exactly what seems to be happening after the Trump administration gave waivers to key buyers of Iranian oil, allowing it to continue supplying them with crude. That shift has quickly deflated oil prices, which has at least one OPEC nation considering a production cut.

Oil prices had been red-hot this year. At one point, crude was up nearly 30% on the year, peaking in the mid-$80s on fears that Iranian sanctions would pull as many as 2 million barrels per day (BPD) off the oil market. That would have put an even greater strain on the market's spare capacity, which was already under pressure due to production issues in places like Libya and Venezuela, as well as pipeline problems in the U.S. and Canada that are holding back growth in both regions.

However, crude prices have since tumbled nearly 20% after the U.S. surprisingly granted waivers to both China and India, Iran's two main oil-buying customers. Because of that, the tightening of supplies that many in the market expected isn't happening.

Instead, the market is now likely to have too much oil, because the higher prices over the past year have started cooling off demand just as oil production in the U.S. has reached record levels. That's causing Saudi Arabia to consider slashing its output by as much as 500,000 BPD in the next month, according to a recent report by Reuters. That would reverse the Middle Eastern nation's previous decision to hike its production this past June to offset some of the anticipated impacts of the U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile, it's working with other producers in OPEC to cut supplies by 1 million BPD overall, which would reverse their previous production increase. The hope is that these steps will help stabilize the price of crude.

The slump in crude prices over the past month has hit oil stocks hard. Leading U.S. producers Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), for example, have all tumbled more than 15% from their recent highs.

That's because changes in oil prices have a significant impact on oil companies' cash flow. In ConocoPhillips' case, every $1-per-barrel change in the global oil benchmark price impacts its annual cash flow by about $100 million. The nearly $15-per-barrel plunge in crude prices over the past month will cause it to generate significantly less cash flow if the current level holds.

However, ConocoPhillips, like most of its peers, was never banking on $85 oil. Instead, ConocoPhillips based its 2018 spending plan on crude averaging $50 a barrel. Thanks to that decision, it has been generating significant excess cash flow, which it used to pay down its debt and repurchase stock. Anadarko Petroleum, likewise, used $50 crude as its budget benchmark for 2018; it has also been using its excess cash to buy back stock and retire debt. Meanwhile, Occidental Petroleum recently achieved its breakeven plan, allowing the company to maintain its current production rate and dividend on the cash flow it can generate on $40 oil; it will be able to grow production when crude is above $50.

Because all three set their 2018 budgets based on $50 oil, the recent plunge in crude prices is unlikely to change their 2018 spending plans. However, it could affect planning for 2019. Given the recent plunge in oil prices, oil producers might rethink big budget increases. That could cause a more moderate increase in drilling activity levels next year, which would be bad news for the oil-field services industry -- it was expecting a big year in 2019.

While all eyes had been on a tightening oil market, OPEC's biggest worry was that supplies wouldn't drop as much as feared -- which is what has happened in recent weeks. Now it's thinking about cutting supplies again to bring the market back into balance.

While that move could boost prices, it's increasingly likely that oil will remain in a period of heightened volatility as the market digests new headlines and data in the coming weeks. That uncertainty will likely continue weighing on oil stocks -- especially those of service companies -- until there's a bit more clarity about what's ahead for the oil market.
Thailand is looking at the acquisition of coastal radars and patrol vessels from India as the two sides ramp up cooperation in maritime security, Thai ambassador Chutintorn Gongsakdi said on Tuesday.

Defence cooperation between the two countries currently includes joint exercises, training of personnel at each others military training institutions and exchange of visits.

Naval cooperation has emerged as a growth area in bilateral military ties, Gongsakdi said.

The Thai Navy is interested in coastal radars, he said, indicating the two sides were close to a decision.

He declined to go into details of the matter. The Thai Navy, he added, was also interested in Indian-made patrol vessels.

Following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by Pakistani terrorists who approached Indias financial hub by sea, New Delhi revamped its coastal defences, and state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has done considerable work in developing coastal surveillance radars.

Though India doesnt have an established track record as a supplier of major defence hardware, Gongsakdi noted South East Asian countries were looking for good alternatives to Western gear that come at the right price.

Gongsakdi said several measures are being considered by both sides to boost military and naval cooperation.

The things that are on the table are the Thailand-Singapore-India joint naval exercises, the joint patrol in the Malacca Strait and full participation status (for India) in the Cobra Gold exercise, he said.

The trilateral joint patrol was proposed by India and Singapore, he said, adding he was hopeful of a positive response from Thailand.

In 2016, India participated for the first time as an observer in Cobra Gold, the largest annual wargame in the Asia-Pacific region that is held in Thailand.

A 14-member Indian team will join the next edition of the exercise in February.

In Thailand, we feel India is pursuing engagement with Thailand more than in the past, and this is specifically in the maritime area, Gongsakdi said.

Ive noticed that the relation between the navies is stronger.

Constantino Xavier, a fellow at Brookings India, a research group, said South East nations were interested in deeper security relations with India, especially in the maritime domain, but were increasingly feeling pressure from China.

Often, they realise the importance of a balancing game as they are increasingly economically entangled with China, he said.

The logic of security cooperation between India and South East Asia is important, but no substitute to economic inter-dependence between the two regions.
Parliament will hold its Winter Session, widely seen as the governments best chance of pushing key bills including the legislation making instant triple talaq a punishable offence, from December 11 to January 8.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) met on Tuesday night to recommend the schedule. The first day of the month-long session will coincide with the counting of votes cast in the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.

The last full session of Parliament before the next Lok Sabha polls will take place amid a raging debate on the Rafale jet fighter deal with France and an agrarian crisis the Opposition is expected to use to target the Narendra Modi government.

For the Centre, clearing two pieces of legislation, one seeking to disband the Medical Council of India and one making the practice of instant talaq by some Muslim men, declared illegal by the Supreme Court, an offence punishable with up to three years in prison will be the top priorities.

Among the other bills pending in the lower house are the The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018, the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2018, The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2018, and The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018.

Analysts believe that the results of the assembly elections, in which stakes are high for both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress party, may cast a shadow on the session.

When contacted, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel confirmed that the session would held from December 11 to January 8, and added it would have 20 working days. We seek support and cooperation of all parties for the smooth functioning of Parliament during the session, he said.

This will also be the first session after the demise of parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar, who died on Monday after a long battle with cancer. Rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been given the additional charge of the ministry. The opening day of the session is likely to be adjourned in both the Houses after obituary references to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Kumar.

According to a senior official, weeks before he passed away, Kumar had conveyed to senior functionaries that parties were keen to see the session being scheduled after the polling in state polls is completed. The last date of polling in the elections is December 7.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lashed out at the Centre for delaying the renaming of the state by ignoring the proposal sent to the Union home ministry in July.

They are changing names of places unilaterally without consulting anybody. However, our proposal was passed unilaterally in the state Assembly. Yet they are sitting on it, said the Bengal chief minister.

The assembly has proposed renaming the state Bangla. Banerjee said she had taken up the issue with Union home minister Rajnath Singh several times over the past few months.

Recently, I have been noticing that almost every day BJP has been changing the names of historical places and institutions unilaterally to suit their own political vested interests.... But, in respect of Bengal, the attitude is totally different, she wrote on Facebook.

The Uttar Pradesh government recently changed Allahabd to Prayagraj and Faizabad to Ayodhya.

Reacting to the chief ministers allegation, BJP Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh said, We hope the Centre would not approve the change which is nothing but a ploy to make people forget the history of Bengals bifurcation and the role of the Communists and Congress behind it.

The state will gain nothing but Mamata Banerjees party intends to gain by making people forget the contribution of Syama Prasad Mookerjees contribution to the creation of West Bengal, retorted Ghosh.

On July 26, the state Assembly unanimously passed a resolution, recommending that the state be renamed Bangla, following up on a two-year-old effort to move the state up the alphabetical order of Indias states.

Detailing their efforts to change the name since 2016, she wrote, Our Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution to change the name of our state on the basis of local sentiments related to our mother tongue, Bangla. It was resolved that the name of the state be changed from West Bengal to Bengal in English, Bangla in Bengali and Bangal in Hindi and sent to the Union Home Ministry.

However, the Union Home Ministry advised us to use the name Bangla in all three languages. Accordingly, our Assembly passed a unanimous resolution to change the name of the state to Bangla in all three languages and sent it to the Union Home Ministry again.

In July a fresh resolution was passed to change the name to Bangla.

But, it is pending there for a long, long time. It clearly shows deprivation to the people of Bengal.

The chief minister also said that the apparent similarity between the proposed new name and Bangladesh should not create a hurdle. There is a Punjab in our neighbouring country as well as in India.

Criticising the BJP, she said a political party with zero strength in the state cannot decide on changing the name of that state.

In 2016, ruling party leaders in Bengal argued for the change since the states representatives got to speak at the end of every national-level meeting in Delhi since West Bengal appeared last in the alphabetical order.

The renaming will help the state appear at the fourth spot after Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Assam in the alphabetic order of the states.
Womens rights activist Trupti Desai on Wednesday announced her intention to enter Keralas Sabrimala temple on November 17, the day the shrine opens for the two-month long annual pilgrim season.

This comes on the day the Supreme Court refused to stay its September 28 verdict allowing women of all ages into the Ayyappa temple and told the petitioner to wait till January 22, when the top court will hear a bunch of review petitions.

Trupti Desai, founder of the Bhumata Brigade, has written to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking security for her visit on November 17, reports ANI.

We will come to Sabarimala and will enter the temple as permitted by the Supreme Court, Desai earlier told Malayalam news Channel Mathrubhumi

As the leader of the Bhumata Ranragini Brigade, Pune-based Desai had fought for the entry of women in the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

This was seen as an important landmark in the movement for womens rights in the country and the incident triggered similar campaigns at other famous shrines in the country where women have been prohibited from going inside the sanctum sanctorum.

The shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa has been at the centre of high drama and tension following the top court order, with women trying to enter the shrine and devotees bent upon blocking them.

No woman was able to enter the hill shrine despite an army of securitymen accompanying them and the situation came to a head when the tantri threatened to quit and shut the temple gates if any woman came anywhere near the sanctum sanctorum.

Two women, Kavitha Jakkal and Rehana Fatima, in full riot gear and within minutes of the temple were forced to retreat.

The September 28 verdict by a five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, had lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 into the temple, saying that it amounted to gender discrimination.

However, it had been opposed strongly in the state, with devotees claiming it flouted traditions of the temple, whose presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered celibate.
With eight national disaster response force teams and seven squads from the state counterparts, Tamil Nadu is all geared up to face the onslaught of cyclone Gaja, expected to make landfall on its coast down south, state minister R B Udhayakumar said.

The cyclone lay centred at 690 km east-northeast of Chennai and 790 km east-northeast of Nagapattinam in the Bay of Bengal, and is set to cross the state between Cuddalore and Pamban near Rameswaram, S Balachandran, regional director, IMD, said on Tuesday.

With increasing velocity of the wind speed, it will intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours and move west-south-westwards. The cyclone is likely to weaken on November 15 while making the landfall, he told reporters.

As a consequence, Karaikal in Puducherry and the coastal districts of Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu would receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on Thursday.

During the cyclone landfall, wind speed would be from 90-100 mph to 110 kmph, Balachandran said, adding that the sea would be rough to very rough along and off in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.

The tides will rise one feet higher than normal and it would cause inundation in Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur and Ramanathapuram districts. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea between November 14 and November 16, he said.

Speaking about Chennai, he said the metro would be spared from the onslaught of the cyclone though it would bring isolated rainfall.

The IMDs bulletin also warned that the gale winds and rain could damage huts, rooftops and power and communication lines besides uprooting trees and causing havoc to paddy fields and other crops as well as orchards.

Tamil Nadu revenue minister R B Udhayakumar has said that the state government has taken all precautionary measures.

Eight National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and seven squads of the state disaster response force have been dispatched to Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin districts. Besides setting up a 24-hour control room in Chennai, we have directed the district collectors to form rescue teams. Cyclone management committees have been formed in all the 2,559 vulnerable places. 410 zonal teams are also in place. Further, 22,495 people are ready to engage in rescue works, Udhayakumar told reporters.

In addition, 368 mobile medical teams, 315 veterinary medical teams, motor pumps, swimmers, snake catchers are also ready to render timely assistance.

Amid these, the Union water resources department has advised the Tamil Nadu government to monitor all the dams to prevent any calamity in view of the prediction of a heavy rainfall.
The Allahabad high court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj.

The court, however, granted liberty to the petitioner to file a representation before the state government in this connection.

Acting chief justice of the Allahabad high court justice Govind Mathur and justice CD Singh refused to grant any relief to petitioner Sunita Sharma at this stage as she had directly moved the court without approaching the state government.

The petitioner had urged the court to declare the state governments notification of October 18 as unconstitutional by which the Allahabad district was renamed as Prayagraj and issue the writ of Mandamus directing the government to revoke its decision.

Mandamus is a judicial remedy in the form of an order to an inferior court, government or a person to perform a public or statutory duty.

Any person who seeks writ of Mandamus must approach the authority concerned with his demand and only in case of refusal one can seek directions in the form of writ of Mandamus from the court, the bench said.

The petitioner has filed the petition without raising her grievances before the state government. Hence, the petition is liable to be dismissed at this stage, it added.

During the course of hearing, the petitioners counsel also said that the Ardh Kumbh was being wrongly renamed as Kumbh-2019.

The petitioner said the Kumbh had already taken place in 2013 and the congregation to be held in 2019 should be known by its original name Ardh Kumbh.

Changing the name of such a famous religious gathering was not proper, the petitioners counsel said.

However, the court dismissed the plea as the petitioner had not taken up the matter with the state government.
No party has been able to win three elections in a row in Mizoram. Congress veteran and chief minister Lal Thanhawla, who has been at the helm since 2008, is confident that the grand old party will become the first to do so under his stewardship.

Ahead of the assembly elections scheduled on November 28, the 76-year-old dismissed the possibility of anti-incumbency working against the only Congress government in the north-east.

Theres no anti-incumbency wind, not to speak of wave. We are quite confident of retaining power, said Lal Thanhawla, who is the only Congress chief minister at present to also head the partys state unit.

In the 2013 polls, Congress came to power by winning 34 of the 40 seats in the assembly. But in recent months, five of those legislators , including party vice-president and home minister R Lalzirliana, have left the party to join rivals.

Lal Thanhawla seems unperturbed. Good riddance. The Congress has emerged stronger (after the five legislators left). Party workers in the villages are much more enthused than before, particularly after the home minister left, he said.

A political analyst said the Mizoram election would be a two-way fight for power between the Congress and the Mizo National Front (MNF). The ruling party is facing problems because five of their MLAs left the party . Issues like lifting of ban on liquor, which is being opposed by some, could also affect the Congress. The MNF on the other hand is a facing leadership crisis, said Jangkhongam Doungel, a professor in the department of political science in Mizoram University.

The Opposition, especially MNF, with which the Congress is locked in a direct fight for power, accuses Lal Thanhawlas government of trying to influence voters by distributing money through its New Land Use Policy (NLUP), but the chief minister disagrees.

Our flagship economic programme, by which we help farmers and working class, has helped Mizoram become one of the top four states in terms of gross state domestic product (GSDP), the five-time chief minister said.

Launched in 2011, the NLUP provides technical and monetary assistance to farmers.

The Lal Thanhawla governments decision to lift a ban on liquor in the state in 2015 has been blamed by opposition parties like the MNF and Zoram Peoples Movement (ZPM) for nearly 6,000 alcohol-related deathsand both parties have promised to re-impose the ban. The deaths have nothing to do with lifting of the ban. In fact, prior to lifting of the ban, people were dying due to consumption of spurious liquor illegally, said the CM.

Lal Thanhawla accused the MNF of having a secret deal with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)both parties are constituents of North East Democratic Allianceto oust the Congress.

The BJP described the comment as irrelevant. The BJP is contesting from all 40 seats in Mizoram and we are aiming to form the next government, said Pawan Sharma, BJP in-charge for Mizoram.

In April this year, Congress and BJP formed an unlikely alliance to rule the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) in Mizoram, but Lal Thanhawla ruled out such an eventuality if the election throws up a hung assembly. I completely rule out that possibility. If I am at the helm, it will not happen. I would prefer to sit in the opposition, he said, adding that the BJPs coming to power in Christian-majority Mizoram could change the states social fabric.
On November 26, 2008, a team of 250 commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) were all set to take on the 10 armed terrorists who had attacked multiple locations in Mumbai. From their headquarters in Manesar, Haryana, they reached Mumbai at 5am, significantly delayed because the IL-76 aircraft that was to transport them wasnt available. Ten years later, the NSG has taken steps to make sure glitches like this dont crop up again.

The NSG is Indias elite anti-hijacking, anti-terrorist, bomb disposal force. Since 2008, five new hubs have been created, with the first of them being inaugurated in Mumbai on June 30, 2009. Kolkata (eastern zone), Hyderabad (central zone) and Chennai (southern zone) followed in the same year. The fifth hub was created in Ahmedabad in 2015 and was inaugurated in 2016. The Mumbai hub has the responsibility of Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra.

In 2009, NSG commandos were initially stationed at the police barracks at Kalina in Santacruz (East). The glitches were plenty to begin with, said a NSG officer, who was part of the unit that took part in the Mumbai operations. While being stationed in Kalina meant the NSG could respond quicker to a crisis in the region, they struggled with the ill-prepared police training grounds and firing ranges that were not designed for the kind of close-quarter combat that the elite force trains for, said the officer.

After a few roadblocks, a 23-acre campus was then set up at Marol in February 2012. However, its facilities remain unsatisfactory. The compound is supposed to have housing for commandos, an officers mess, a gymnasium and a training ground, among other things. The original proposal included a swimming pool, which was scrapped when the soil in Marol was found to be unconducive to such a structure. A firing range has been set up, but it is not the state-of-art facility that was promised.

Despite these challenges, the NSG has been able to develop a cohesive unit in Mumbai. Since its inception in 1986, the NSG is made up of two separate components: The special action group, which comprises two groups of Army men, and the special rangers group (SRG), which is made up personnel drawn from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

The 51 Special Action Group (SAG) was trained to handle counter-terrorist operations. The 52 Special Action Group (SG) was trained to handle counter-hijack operations. The SRG would provide a cordon to the fighting arms. Since those from the CAPF had no training in terms of building intervention or counter-hijack situations, they initially found it difficult to cope with the mental and physical pressure of the counter-terrorism unit. There is a distinct difference between an Army and CAPF personnel. Their training and mindset are very different, which led to senior officers having their own judgments of employing CAPF personnel with the fighting arm of NSG, said a senior NSG officer.

NSG sources say that today, the SRG is fully integrated. Even men from the SRG can participate in a building intervention or a counter-hijack situation, said NSG sources. Today, in case of a multi-dimensional attack in Mumbai, the NSG has nearly 500 commandos in the city and a contingent of the SRG can easily be deployed to neutralise at least at one particular point.
The Shiv Sena hit out at its ally, the BJP, with a volley of demands on Tuesday  rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad, launch a judicial probe into the killing of the tigress Avni, lift the liquor ban in Chandrapur and name the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur expressway after Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

While the Sena has made all of these demands earlier, through party platforms and its mouthpiece, this was the first time its ministers did so in a state cabinet meeting. Sena has five ministers and seven junior ministers in the council of ministers.After the meeting, senior Sena leader and industries minister Subhash Desai held a press conference to make the partys demands public.

The friction between the warring allies comes to the fore a fortnight before Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is scheduled to visit Ayodhya to demand the construction of a Ram temple. Thackeray is likely to have a showdown with outfits affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJPs ideological parent.

On the killing of the tigress in Yavatmal earlier this month, party leaders clarified they were not pushing for forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwars resignation, but only demanding a speedy probe. We also asked the government to rescue the two semi-adult cubs. CM Devendra Fadnavis has asked forest officials to take every possible care to ensure the cubs are safe, said Desai.

The Sena also demanded that a delegation, led by Fadnavis, approaches the Centre to rename Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar, and Osmanabad as Dharashiv  a demand that follows similar renaming of cities by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. While the state has already sent a resolution to rename these two districts to the Centre, we expressed our displeasure over how the government was not pushing the proposal. The CM has assured us that he would lead the delegation, Desai said.

Following the killing of a police officer by the liquor mafia in Chandrapur, the Sena demanded the liquor ban in the district be lifted. The party also opposed the BJP-led governments plan to set up a cattle camp in drought-hit areas across the state, and has demanded to supply fodder to farmers by setting up depots.

Sena leader and Public Works Department (Public Undertakings) minister Eknath Shinde handed a letter to Fadnavis demanding that the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway be named after Bal Thackeray. The Sena had initially opposed construction of the highway, after farmers protested against giving up their land for the project. Within the BJP, there has been demand to name it after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Rebellion in the BJP after announcement of its first list has made the Congress circumspect even before declaring candidates for the December 7 assembly polls in Rajasthan, a senior party leader said.

Congress leaders have started working on rebel management. The strategy is that some rebels will be assured of place in government if the party is voted to power and others will be pacified through convincing, the senior leader said on condition of anonymity.

The BJP faced protests after many sitting MLAs, including ministers, did not figure in the partys list of 131 candidates announced on Sunday. Some resigned from party and announced to contest as independents.

The Congress has asked senior leaders to be in touch with those who could turn rebels if denied ticket. Handing unrest is the biggest task for any party; after announcing tickets, the next 10 days are crucial till the date of nomination withdrawal. A damage control team comprising senior leaders usually handles the task, the senior Congress leader said.

Rebel management will involve finding out who are supporters of which leader, he said. Rebel in fray is not a new thing and are aware of such developments. The party, from beginning of the election process, maintains a record of ticket aspirants and identifies their leader, who will be tasked with pacifying a rebel candidate.

The senior leader said, A candidate, who has clout in an area but is denied ticket, needs to be assured by senior leaders that he/she will be accommodated in government. In other cases, distraught aspirants will be pacified through convincing.

On the rebel issue, AICC incharge, communication department, Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Monday, There is a lot of excitement about Congress ticketsWe will be able to persuade our colleagues. We will give ticket to good candidates and the eligible colleague, who could not be accommodated, will be given apt responsibility in government to serve people.

Addressing a training workshop in July, former CM Ashok Gehlot had said, Everyone cannot get ticket but those who are denied candidature will be looked after by the party and that is Rahul Gandhis thought.

After the 2013 assembly elections, the Rajasthan Congress had expelled more than 150 members, including senior leaders, for anti-party activities. Many expulsions have been withdrawn.

In 2013, around 25 members of the Congress had contested independently in the state, harming winning prospects of party candidates. The Congress could have won at places, such as Nagaur, Asind, Pipalda and Masuda, if party rebels had not contested. The party could win 21 seats in last assembly polls.

In Mandwa, party candidate Dr Chandrabhan, who was the state chief, got over 15K votes and the rebel, ex-MLA Rita Choudhary, over 40K votes. The seat was won by an independent with 58637 votes. In Bhadra, Nagaur, Mandawa and Pipalda, party rebels got more votes than official candidates.

Star campaigners

The Rajasthan Congress campaign committee has submitted a list of 50 star campaigners for assembly elections to AICC, of which 40 are to be shortlisted.

The star campaigners list includes UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, AICC president Rahul Gandhi, ex-PM Manmohan Singh, senior leader Guhlam Nabi Azad, Randeep Singh Surjewala, ex-Haryana CM Bhupendra Hooda, Deepender Hooda, Ahmed Patel, MP Sushmita Dev, Punjab CM captain Amarinder Singh, former actress Nagma, Salman Khurshid, ex- CM Harish Rawat, Raj Babbar, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Priya Dutt.

AICC general secretary and state incharge Avinash Pande, AICC secretaries Vivek Bansal, Tarun Kumar, Devendra Yadav and Qazi Nizamuddin, and screening committee chairperson Shelja Kumari are also on the list. State leaders included in the list are Gehlot, state party chief Sachin Pilot, leader of opposition Rameshwar Dudi, CP Joshi, Mohan Prakash, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Raghu Sharma, Dr Karan Singh, and Manvendra Singh.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon set the date of launching the first turbine of the Rogun hydropower plant on November 16. The date was not chosen at random - it coincides with the celebration of the Presidents Day in the country. Rahmon sent out invitations to the ceremony to his 15 colleagues and representatives of international organizations in advance.

Special efforts are reportedly made by Tajik diplomats in the Russian direction. Rahmon is really exited to see Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tajikistan on November 16. And it's not just about the Rogun HPP. The expert community is convinced that on this day Rahmon will arrange the viewing of his son Rustam Emomali as possible successor. Today, he is the mayor of Dushanbe, but no matter how successful he is as a governor, serving as president will be extremely difficult for him, if the heads of neighboring states, including the Russian leader, do not like him.

Tajik expert Rustam Islambek told Vestnik Kavkaza that the next presidential election could be held as early as next 2019, not in 2020, according to the law. According to the Constitution of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon can be elected to the main state post many times, but he decided to perform the operation 'Successor'. He has started to prepare Rustam Emomali for the presidency a long time ago. Over the past 5 years, Rustam Emomali has worked in senior positions in the Customs Service, Anti-Corruption Agency, and since January 2017 he has served as mayor of Dushanbe. During his work, he showed good results and even was awarded the Order Zarrintoj (Golden Crown) by his father.

If Rustam Emomali becomes president, then Emomali Rahmon will retain the main role in determining the country's domestic and foreign policy. According to the 2015 special law, which gave Emomali Rahmon the status of the Founder of peace and national unity  Leader of the nation, future leaders of the country must agree important decisions with the Leader of the nation. Also they will create a large Fund of the Leader of the Nation for Emomali Rahmon, which will be allocated at least $4 million annually from the state budget after his departure from the presidency.

According to Rustam Islambek, Emomali Rahmon attaches great importance to the upcoming event, and looks forward for Putin's visit, that he is ready to give Moscow the construction of the Shurabad Hydroelectric Power Plant of the Vakhsh Cascade, if Russia is interested in the project. According to the expert, the successor issue is not as rosy as it may seem at first glance. Recently, Dushanbe-Moscow relations have been accelerated - the Tajik side has received funds from Russia for the development of the education system, senior Russian politicians often visit the country, but there are unresolved issues as well. Therefore, Islambek does not exclude that the Russian side may support the Tajik version of the operation 'Successor' by making a counter offer - regaining control over the part of the Afghan-Tajik border. Given the unrest and the recent Pamir conflict, it has grounds for this.

Commenting on the situation, expert Adolat Mirzoyeva told Vestnik Kavkaza that, apparently, the authorities will hold another special operation in the Pamir Mountains before November 16 - Rahmon has to show to his neighbors and Moscow that he fully controls the situation. "Without this, talking about his son as a successor, future legitimate president of Tajikistan, who is able to maintain stability, is not serious," the expert believes.

And of course, the Rogun HPP itself. According to Dushanbe, Rustam Emomali personally checks the progress at the facility every 3-4 days. The construction of the hydropower plant has become the national idea of Tajikistan. President Rahmon personally launched the protracted project two years ago, operating a bulldozer himself, when the overlap of the Vakhsh River was started. The Tajik president does not hide the fact that he sees Rogun as a 'pearl' in his crown. He repeatedly said that if Rogun is built, he would have no other desires. Recently he crowned himself the Founder of Rogun HPP. Although this project was developed in Soviet times by the Tashkent Institute 'Hydroproject,' the preparatory work for the construction of the Rogun HPP began only in 1976. While the dam was constructed in the period of 1982-1991, it was suspended due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war in Tajikistan (1992-1997). The project was resumed in the early 2000s, but only at the level of a search for investors. Russia's Rusal responded to Dushanbe's request. But the parties could not agree on the height of the dam and the Tajik side terminated the agreement with Rusal.

In 2007, Emomali Rahmon announced the start of the construction of the dam with the use of public funds, as well as through the sale of Rogun shares to the population. Last year, funds raised from the sale of Eurobonds were also added to the budget funds.There were only a few days left before the first stage of the Rogun HPP is launched. However, in reality, Rogun was not launched for a long time, while replenishing the treasury with exported electricity started even later - there are no power lines along which it can be exported, and most importantly, there have been no potential buyers for Rogun energy yet. For example, Afghanistan and Pakistan, which were considered by Tajikistan as the main buyers of electricity, took a non-committal position - "when the hydropower plant is launched, then we will see." But in the East, this position can be quite interpreted as a refusal.

Expert on Central Asia and the Middle East Alexander Knyazev believes that it is crucially important for the leadership of Tajikistan to demonstrate that the implementation of the Rogun hydropower plant project is successful. "But they have no funds to continue construction, despite the fact that the originally planned capacity was reduced precisely for financial reasons. The solemn ceremony organized by the Tajik authorities is obviously intended for two audiences at once. First, Rahmon needs to demonstrate the success of his government to the population and there is no better proof than the Rogun hydropower plant, especially considering the PR campaign during the many years of its troublesome construction. Second, no less important for Rahmon, grand celebrations related to Rogun may arouse the interest of potential investors, who are still doubtful about "the construction of the century." And VIP persons attending the celebrations in theory should reduce the level of critical or skeptical attitude of investors to the project," Knyazev believes.

Energy expert at Radio Ozodi (Radio Liberty) Sukhrob Oymakhmadov is really optimistic about the current situation, believing that Tajikistan will eventually become the largest electricity exporter in the region: Tajikistan will have an opportunity to sell electricity to not just neighboring countries, but to South Asian countries as well. And it may contribute to attracting additional investments to the country. But do not forget about the domestic seasonal shortage of electricity. After the first Rogun units are launched, the population will forget about the limit of electricity, and the country will be able to develop the industry and create new jobs," Oymahmadov told Radio Ozodi.

Rustam Emomali is also responsible for the preparation of pompous celebrations dedicated to the launch of the first unit of the Rogun hydropower plant. Probably, the opportunity to present the likely future head of Tajikistan to high-ranking neighbors couldn't have been better. And the capitals mayor, who intends to arrange a national holiday on November 16, is well aware of it. On this day, residents and guests of Tajikistan are promised a grandiose concert and an unprecedented theatrical performance when 400 snow-white pigeons will be released into the sky. The upcoming meal was also marked by eastern generosity - 40 bulls symbolizing wealth and luxury will be slaughtered, and the best chefs from Tajikistan and abroad will be mobilized for cooking.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has awarded tickets to close family members of several party leaders to contest the December 7 assembly election in Rajasthan, deviating from its stand against dynastic politics.

Party leaders said the deviation was necessitated to avoid revolt within the party.

The party was taking each step in ticket distribution cautiously to avoid revolt within the party, which otherwise could play spoilsport and affect its prospects in the crucial election.

In the BJPs first list of 131 candidates released on Sunday night, the party has given ticket to its 85 sitting MLAs and has taken care of the family members of prominent leaders who were denied ticket. The first list comprises sons, grandsons and daughter-in-laws of several prominent leaders of the BJP.

The saffron party has given due attention to family members of leaders who died owing to health issues. The BJP has given ticket to Ram Swaroop Lamba, the son of late MP Sanwar Lal Jat, to contest election from Nasirabad seat and to Shailesh Singh, the son of late former state minister Digamber Singh, from Deeg-Kumher seat. The party has once again reposed faith in Lamba, who was fielded to contest the Lok Sabha bypoll from Ajmer seat earlier this year. He had lost the election to Congresss Raghu Sharma by 80,000 votes. From Kolayat Assembly seat in Bikaner district, the party has given ticket to senior leader Devi Singh Bhatis daughter-in-law Poonam Kanwar. It has fielded Rishi Bansals wife Ritu from Bayana seat in Bharatpur district. The other names include former minister Nandlal Meenas son Hemant Meena from Pratapgarh, former legislator Gurjant Singhs grandson Gurveer Singh Brar, former legislator Kailash Bhansalis nephew Atul Bhansali from Jodhpur and former legislator Kunjilals son Rajendra Meena from Bamanwas. The leaders say that the step has been taken to avoid revolt as well as to avert results similar to the 2008 assembly election when the BJP had to lose power due to loss of more than 15 seats. The party could secure 78 seats and the Congress too could not touch the magic figure to form government.

If the party had not suffered a jolt due to revolt against then Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the BJP could have formed the government taking along Independent candidates, they said. The Congress won 96 seats in the 2008 assembly election. The BSP won six seats and Independents 14 in the 2008 election.
President Donald Trump was under pressure from his wife Melania on Tuesday to fire his deputy national security adviser over what two sources close to the White House said was the way Mrs Trumps trip to Africa was handled.

Two presidential aides said Trump was considering forcing out deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel, but as of Tuesday afternoon, the adviser remained in her West Wing office.

Melania Trumps office took the extraordinary step of issuing a statement saying that Ricardel should be ousted. While first ladies historically have been known to pressure their husbands over official business, they do not typically issue statements about it.

It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, said in a terse statement.

She gave no reason for why the first lady wanted Ricardel out but several officials said it was related to Mrs. Trumps trip to Africa in October.

The first lady had complained to the president that she was unhappy with how she was treated by Ricardel, a former Boeing Co executive who worked on the Trump presidential campaign and was picked by national security adviser John Bolton to be his deputy earlier this year, two other sources familiar with the White House intrigue told Reuters.

The sources said that Melania Trump explicitly asked the president to oust Ricardel after their dealings over the Africa trip didnt go well. One source said that Melania Trump felt that Ricardel tried to short-change the first lady when it came to government resources allocated to support her Africa tour.

The sources did not elaborate.

The National Security Council (NSC) had no immediate comment. Ricardel could not be reached for comment.

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Ricardel has never met the first lady.

A smiling Ricardel had a prominent spot at the front of the room at a White House celebration marking Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Tuesday.

Grishams statement was issued shortly after that event ended. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders had no immediate reaction to the first ladys statement.

A source familiar with Ricardels White House performance said she has run afoul of much of the NSC staff and sort of alienated everyone except for Bolton, who is currently traveling in Asia with Vice President Mike Pence.

Ricardel was also believed to have had a dislike of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, current and former officials have told Reuters. One of the sources familiar with the mood at the White House said tensions began building to a crisis point about a month ago and serious efforts were made to defuse the dispute.
As President Donald Trump called out Indian American officials ranged behind him at the White House Diwali event Tuesday, he usually had a word or two of encouragement for them. For most of them, at least.

Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, got a reminder of the time he had the president really upset. Trump had reacted angrily to FCCs rejection of Sinclair Broadcast Groups $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media in July.

Trump had slammed the FCCs decision as sad and unfair and, more strongly, disgraceful.

Trump chose the Diwali event to once again express his disappointment, though he did not name the proposed deal specifically. Ajit, wheres Ajit? Huh, he said looking for Pai among the crowd of Indian Americans standing behind him.

Come here, Ajit, he said to the chairman when he spotted him. I just didnt like one decision he made, but thats all right, he added, as the audience broke into laughter.

Not even a little bit. But hes independent.

Watch | Indians are very good traders, negotiators: Trump at White House Diwali event

The FCC is an autonomous body even though it comprises officials nominated by the president of the day. Pai, for instance, was named commissioner by former President resident Barack Obama. Trump promoted him to the top position.

Sinclair is a conservative television giant which had hoped to extend its reach to 70% of American households with the acquisition, according to reports at the time. Trump had supported the move, and was very upset when the FCC turned it down in a unanimous vote of the four-member commission.

So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldnt approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune, he had vented on Twitter. This would have been a great and much-needed Conservative voice for and of the People. Liberal Fake News NBC and Comcast get approved, much bigger, but not Sinclair. Disgraceful!

Undeterred by the presidents outburst, Pai had defended the FCC decision. I stand by our decision, he had said during a congressional hearing the next day.

This was not the first time Pai had gone against the president. In 2017, he had subtly rebuffed Trumps call for revoking the licence of TV news channels for broadcasting Fake News  anything critical of the president, in other words.

I believe in the First Amendment, the chairman had said at a public event, adding his agency does not have the authority to revoke the licence of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast.

Trump did not remember that one, or chose to overlook it. It was a Diwali celebration after all.
The head of North Americas leading event on geo-strategic matters believes the Asian model exemplified by democracies such as India will ultimately prevail over the system represented by China.

In an interview before the Halifax International Security Forum, formally hosted by Canadas national defence minister, currently Indo-Canadian Harjit Sajjan, its president Peter Van Praagh said there were complaints in places such as India over the lack of efficiency when compared to what has been achieved by China.

But he described this as a superficial benefit. Van Praagh said: It goes a little more slowly in a democracy because you have to build consensus, but fundamentally, I think, India is going to end up being the model in Asia, not China.

Given Chinas current role in global affairs, its hardly surprising the Forum in Halifax city in Nova Scotia province has several sessions dedicated to Beijing and its ambitions. But it does not separately look at South Asia in the context of the equation between subcontinental rivals India and Pakistan.

Van Praagh explained, I dont think theres an India-Pakistan paradigm. Its a false paradigm. Its very clear now that Pakistan is a puppet state of the Communist Party of China.

He added that theres no equivalence between India and Pakistan, and really, the conversation is not between India and Pakistan, the conversation is India-China relations.

Democracies like India, Japan, Korea can offer a better model than what China is offering up, he said.

Some of the sessions reflect this focus as they include agenda items such as Asia Values: A Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Beijings Cravings, Kremlins Gremlins: Freedoms Foes, Indo-Pacific Security: Battle of the Billions, and The Quad Squad: Asias Democracy Defenders.

Former minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar was originally scheduled to represent India at the Forum, but his visit was cancelled after he faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment and resigned from his post.

His replacement will be minister of state VK Singh, and Indian envoy Vikas Swarup will also attend.

Admiral Philip S Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, will be at the Forum for the first time.

The three-day global event, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, begins on Friday. It will feature nearly 300 participants spanning government, military, think tanks, business and the media from 70 countries.
US president Donald Trump on Tuesday called ties with India a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace, spoke of his friendship with prime minister Narendra Modi and, trying to lighten up the trade negotiations between the two countries, he said Indians are very good negotiators.

The president also announced the nomination of an Indian American lawyer, Neomi Rao, already serving in his to the vacancy left on the DC circuit court of appeal by Brett Kavanaugh who was recently confirmed as the ninth justice of the Supreme Court. She is currently serving as will have to be confirmed by the US senate. She is currently serving in the White House as administrator in the office of information and regulatory affairs. If confirmed by the US senate, she will be the second Indian American on the DC circuit bench joining Sri Srinivasan, an Obama appointee.

Were trying very hard to make better trade deals with India, but theyre very good traders., president Trump said at a Diwali function at the White House, flanked by Indian Americans from his administration, and Indian ambassador Navtej Sarna, turning to whom, he added, Theyre very good negotiators, you would say, right? The best. So were working, and its moving along.

India and the United States are negotiating a range of trade issues including retaliatory tariffs imposed by both, market access and some intellectual property rights. Trump has called India Tariff King and raised a rather low-volume American export item  Harley-Davidson motorbikes  to call attention to Indias import duties.

Officials of the two countries have held several rounds of talks and as President Trump indicated, those negotiations have been tough.

Speaking generally of ties with India, Trump said, The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi.

India is the worlds largest democracy and the relationship between our two countries connect as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace.

Later he added that the two countries were very close. I think closer maybe than ever before. He was building on Ambassador Sarnas remarks that we are looking at one of the best times weve ever had for the India-US relationship.

President Trump also said to Ambassador Sarna, And we love your country. I have great, great respect for, as you know, Prime Minister Modi -- tremendous respect. So just please give my warmest regards, okay?

And, well be talking to him soon..To which Sarna said the prime minister looks forward to seeing him. They will be together for the G-20 summit in Argentina later in the month.

Standing with the president for the remarks followed by the ceremonial lighting of Diyas were Indian American officials appointed by him  acting undersecretary of state Manisha Singh, Federal Communications Commission chair Ajit Pai, Medicare and Medicaid Services head Seema Verma, acting administration of the drug enforcement administration Uttam Dhillon, and deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah.

Among the others present were Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter and adviser, and deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel, the official currently in the eye of a storm with the first lady, Melania Trump calling for her ouster in a statement from her office.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said it has formally charged Kashmiri separatist Asiya Andrabi and her two associates  Sofi Fehmeeda and Naheeda Nasreen  with anti-national activities through propaganda on social and other media platforms and inciting Kashmiri boys for armed and violent rebellion against India.

The agency also alleged that Andrabi has close ties with designated Global Terrorist Hafeez Mohammad Saeed who is head of Jamaat-Ud-Dawah (JuD) and Lashkar-E-Taiba (LeT).

Andrabi acts as chief of the proscribed terrorist outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM), while Sofi Fehmeeda is her personal secretary and Nasreen is described as general secretary of the outfit.

The accused were using media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TV channels in Pakistan, to spread insurrectionary imputations and hateful messages and speeches against India. The DEM, through Asiya Andrabi, openly advocates secession of Jammu and Kashmir from India and its merger with Pakistan through violent means, said the NIA.

Security officials say Andrabi has been indulging in anti-India propaganda for years now and the J&K has administration has acted against her many times.

The NIA said Andrabi and her associates are running the DEM which is a designated terrorist outfit under the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Andrabi was arrested in the case in July this year and is lodged in Tihar jail.
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesperson Omer Celik believes that Jamal Khashoggis murderers are hiding in Saudi Arabia.

The world is wondering who ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi from the top, said a spokesman of Turkey's ruling party on Wednesday.

"This could not have been done without an order from the top. The world wants to know: Who gave the order from the top?" Anadolu Agency cited Celik as saying.

The spokesman also noted that Ankara, as before, is interested in the transfer of Khashoggi's murderers to Turkey.

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara had shared recordings related to the Khashoggi killing with Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K.

Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed on October 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. After weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.
The Pakistani government has said it has no immediate plans to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India.

Asked whether the government was considering granting MFN status to India and that prime minister Imran Khan was keen to hold peace talks with the Indian government, adviser to the prime minister for Commerce, Textile, Industry and Investments, Abdul Razak Dawood said, No such plans at the moment.

At present we have no immediate plans to grant MFN status to India, he said in Lahore at an event on Tuesday.

However, he said Pakistan is working out free trade agreements with different countries, especially China, and hopes to complete the second FTA with China by June, 2019.

Pakistan is yet to award the MFN status to India and it maintains a negative list of 1,209 items which are not permitted to be imported from India.

As per a World Trade Organisation rule, every member of WTO is required to accord this status to other member countries.

India has already granted this status to all WTO members, including Pakistan.

Under the MFN status, a WTO member country is obliged to treat other trading nations in a non-discriminatory manner, especially with regard to customs duty and other levies, but Pakistan is yet to transition fully to MFN status for India.

Pakistan allows only 137 products to be exported from India through the Wagah border land route.

Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 2.28 billion in 2016-17.

India mainly exports cotton, dyes, chemicals, vegetables and iron and steel to Pakistan while it imports fruits, cement, leather, chemicals and spices.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. )
President Donald Trump intends to nominate John Abizaid, a retired Army general, to be the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the White House said on Tuesday night.

Abizaids career included tours as a commandant of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and as commander of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in 20 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He is now a security consultant and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Abizaid graduated from West Point and became a platoon leader. He took part in operations in Grenada and Kosovo as well as the war in Iraq, eventually rising to four-star general, according to his biography on the Defense Department website. He received a masters in Middle Eastern studies from Harvard.

Washington has not had an ambassador to Riyadh even as Trump made the kingdom a crucial player in his strategy to contain Irans ambitions in the Middle East.

The nomination, which must be approved by the Senate, comes as U.S.-Saudi relations have been strained over the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and the kingdoms intervention in the civil war in Yemen, which has turned into a humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi Crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has pursued the Yemen campaign vigorously, and Turkey has stopped just short of accusing him of having a role in Khashoggis death. The prince has denied any involvement in the killing.

But American political leaders have expressed outrage over the murder, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said Tuesday that he and other previous backers of Saudi Arabia were discussing sanctions.

The Trump administration has turned away calls for penalties and insisted that arms sales to the Saudis go forward.

Trump has backed out of a nuclear agreement with Iran and has proclaimed that the Iranians must never acquire atomic weapons. In a 2007 speech, Abizaid warned against military force to prevent Iran from developing such weapons, according to the Associated Press. He said that the U.S. could deter the Tehran government from using nuclear weapons if it possessed them, the AP added.
Turkey and Belgium will hold political consultations in Ankara on November 15, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

The political consultations between the countries will be held during the visit of Deputy Foreign Minister of Belgium Anick Van Calster.

Anick Van Calster will reportedly meet with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakc. The sides will discuss international and regional issues, as well as consider opportunities for strengthening bilateral relations, Trend reported.
A hedonistic nightclub where ravers would dance until the early hours has been turned into a temporary home for young key workers who are struggling to afford to live in London.

The Artesian Well venue in Clapham, south London  described as a Grecian-themed hotbed of Bacchanalian revelry  is one of three former nightclubs and a closed pub that will provide rooms for 28 renters.

They will pay between 400 and 550 a month, including bills  about half the price of conventional tenancies, according to the company behind the scheme.

Property company Lowe Guardians, which converts empty buildings into living spaces, is offering the unusual pads in vacant premises awaiting redevelopment or refurbishment.

They are also fitted with shared bathrooms, showers and kitchens.

Residents, known as guardians, typically get a minimum of three months accommodation with 28 days notice given if they have to leave.

They are usually in their twenties or thirties, and could work in health or education, for example.

They sign a licence agreement which gives them fewer rights than a standard tenancy and allows their rooms to be accessed by architects, builders or planners involved in the changes to the property.

A night on the tiles: Clapham's hedonistic night spot is now a temporary home for young Londoners / Lawrie Cornish

The other former nightclubs on offer are Mist on the Rocks, and Lost Society, also in Clapham, and the Pavilion pub in Battersea.

The 390-capacity Artesian Well in Wandsworth Road stayed open until 3am at one stage, before Lambeth council clamped down on late-night noise.

Other unusual properties include former bank buildings in the West End, Mayfair and Marylebone where office floors have been converted into bedrooms and basement bank vaults turned into gyms.

Tim Lowe, founder of Lowe Guardians, said: The choice to transform these redundant buildings into Lowe pads helps balance affordable housing with a trendy market.

"Each property has a unique history and this is a way of preserving that whilst offering a housing solution to Londons key workers.

585 FOR A ROOM IN THE HEART OF CHELSEA

Bogdan Nacuta: the IT manager rents a room in the former Chelsea police station for 585 a month (Lawrie Cornish PR) / Supplied by Lawrie Cornish PR

Bogdan Nacuta says people he meets from London scratch their heads when he tells them he lives in the heart of Chelsea.

The IT manager, 34, has a room in the former Chelsea police station near Sloane Avenue, which is going to be converted into luxury flats.

The 40 tenants pay 585 a month, including all bills, compared with a local market rate for a similar sized room of 1,000 to 1,500.

It is his third stint as a guardian in three years having previously lived in Mayfair and Kings Cross after renting left him fed up with ridiculous deposits.

Living as a guardian has allowed him to save for a deposit on a flat.
Syrian President Bashar Assad met with residents of the Syrian province of Suwayda, liberated from the captivity of ISIS terrorists.

"This is the last group of freed hostages, but no one has forgotten and will not forget about other kidnapped and missing people in other parts of Syria. The state and all its institutions see their problem as a priority and intends to reach them and release them by all possible means," RIA Novosti cited Assad's press service a s saying.

On November 8, Syrias and Russia's armies freed a group of 19 women and children who were abducted by ISIS during a raid on the province in July.
The new sanctions the U.S. plans to slap on Russia will further complicate the situation with Moscow-Washington relations, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Its difficult to say about the nature of these sanctions," the spokesman said commenting on the expectations from the new wave of anti-Russian sanctions, which Washington may impose in November. "Will they further complicate the situation with Russian-US relations? The answer is unequivocal: certainly, they will."

Hardly anyone will make a forecast on the new wave of U.S. sanctions now given that "our U.S. vis-a-vis are unpredictable," he stressed.

"The fact that America has recently become unpredictable is not a secret for anyone, everyone is talking about this absolutely openly because this unpredictability of such a major country and a powerful global economy is certainly an issue for deep concerns of everyone," TASS cited Peskov as saying.

State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino said earlier that Moscow was not in compliance with the chemical and biological weapons warfare elimination act, so consultations with Congress are underway on potential new sanctions against Russia.
Renovation

14 November 2018

With the change of season also comes the first phase completion of the multi-phase reawakening for The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park. The award-winning hotel has debuted all new guest rooms, suites, Club Lounge, and a refreshed La Prairie Spa, welcoming guests to a journey of new discovery. Phase two will begin in January 2019 and is slated to be unveiled in Spring 2019.

The vision and inspiration of the hotel thoughtfully weave New York City's style and spirit through each new space:

Guest Rooms

Inspired by the city that surrounds the hotel, the newly designed guest rooms are a haven of sophisticated tranquility. Comfort and style set the tone with custom-made furnishings blending Beaux Arts classicism with contemporary flair to create an ambiance found only in NYC's chicest penthouses. The color palette seeks to reflect the soft tones and natural shades of the great park on the hotel's doorstep, with a pop of blush pink to echo the New York City skyline after sunset. Creamy ecru hues, custom carpeting inlaid with a Matisse sketch, and Fornasetti wallpaper of cloud formations can be found throughout the rooms, along with elegantly paired with framed photographs gracing the walls from many of the world's best known artists as a tribute to New York's fashion and cultural heritage.

A revamped honor bar allows guests to experience the ingredients of NYC in the comfort of their own room with a private single selection single barrel bourbon developed in partnership by the city's oldest whiskey distillery - Kings County Distillery. In addition to the partnership, the hotel also aligned with a variety of other local brands such as North Folk Potato Chip, Tumbador Chocolate, Brooklyn Pilsner, while local fashion illustrator Mats Meyer added a touch of Central Park with a custom illustration on the packaging.

Suites

True to the residentially inspired style of The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, the 47 suites inclusive of five Specialty Suites - the hotel's rebranded Presidential Suites - welcome guests to escape to their very own pied-a-terre. Sprawling in size, the suites are arranged in a variety of updated and new configurations beginning with the Avenue View Suite category showcasing the bustle of the Manhattan streets down below, while the Premiere Park View Suite category provides a bird's eye view of the park's treetops. Custom furniture and artwork line the walls of all suites, every piece resonating the heart and soul of the building and its city.

The darlings of the reawakening are the two Legendary Suites, which are bold, new additions to the collection and create opportunities for living quarters up to four bedrooms. Bespoke furniture, distinct amenities, and expansive living areas elevate these suites to a new level of luxury. Adorned with specially commissioned photography from highly regarded artists, many from New York and tomes of fashion houses, there is welcoming ambiance of townhouse-inspired tranquility.

La Prairie at The Ritz-Carlton Spa

The only of its kind in the Northeast United States, La Prairie at The Ritz-Carlton Spa has been renewed as an intimate destination spa, uniting the elegant artistry of Swiss precision with the exclusive serenity and matchless hospitality of The Ritz-Carlton. Six distinct treatment rooms - thoughtfully renamed based on the words of the iconic Swiss brand - welcome guests to indulge in the world's most luxurious skincare. Neutral tones cover the walls, paired with fleur-de-lis carpeting, and chandelier lighting. Drawing on the brand's renowned products, the spa offers an extensive menu of facials, body treatments, and nail services as well as in-room indulgences. Exclusive to La Prairie at The Ritz-Carlton Spa, guests can also enjoy unique treatments that were created with inspiration from Central Park and the hotel's signature scent.

Club Lounge

Situated on the second floor with views of Central Park, the design of the sprawling space infuses sophisticated dark wood-paneling, with vibrant shades of green, coupled with beige in velvet and leather fabrics and white Carrera marble accents, all framed to view the changing seasons of the park. New culinary and beverage enhancements invite moments of gathering for guests, whether for a pre-theatre glass of wine or a seasonal chef demonstration amongst friends, family, and fellow travelers. These transformations, along with the highly personalized service of a dedicated concierge and experiential programming available only to Club Lounge guests, creates the ambiance of a members only inspired lounge.

Beginning in January 2019, the second phase of the reawakening will encompass the lobby, lounge, bar, and restaurant. An enticing new food and beverage concept connecting these three areas will be introduced in Spring 2019 with the unveiling of these spaces. The hotel's Mezzanine Level will also be transformed into a new wellness and fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment and on demand fitness programming.
Now Open

14 November 2018

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has opened the first hotel globally for its new upscale hotel brand: voco, just five months after it was launched. Owned by Australian property investment firm SB&G Group and located on the shores of the Gold Coast, voco Gold Coast is now open for guests to soak up the sun, sand and sea in Australia's beloved Surfers Paradise.

voco, inspired by the meaning 'to invite' or to 'come together' in Latin, will combine the informality and charm of an individual hotel, with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand. The public spaces of voco Gold Coast emphasise this social element, fittingly named Social House Cafe, which collectively houses a bar and lounge within the venue, offering a space for everyone.

With 389 rooms, the property is situated in the heart of Australia's iconic Surfers Paradise precinct and steps away from Queensland's famous beaches. The hotel offers all the features that guests can expect from the upscale voco brand including two swimming pools, gym facilities, L'Aqua Day Spa, 800sqm of meeting space and expansive views of both the ocean and hinterland. Multiple dining options are also available in the hotel's three unique restaurants - Waves, Clifford's Grill & Lounge and Social House - all designed to offer vibrant social experiences for voco guests to enjoy.

voco Gold Coast also offers several exclusive features that sets it apart from existing hotels, starting with their onsite beehives, producing honey for various uses throughout the hotel. The strong sustainability focus also promises refillable dispensers for products such as soap, along with a high-end Aveda amenity and an initiative with Gold Coast City Council to ensure all kitchen waste is recycled.

The voco Gold Coast signing was announced by IHG and owners SB&G Group in June 2018, coinciding with the global launch of the vocobrand. With six signings to date, in addition to the four properties that will rebrand as part of the UK portfolio deal, there are expected to be more than fifteen signings in total for the brand by the end of 2018. These include three signings in Australia, in Victoria's wine region, Yarra Valley and in the heart of Melbourne's bustling CBD as well as a number of properties in the UK. The opening of voco Gold Coast will be quickly followed by hotel openings in Solihull and Cardiff in the UK.

This distinctive brand will offer owners the ability to drive higher returns through delivering a compelling guest experience and leveraging IHG's powerful systems. This includes best-in-class revenue management and technology capabilities as well as IHG Rewards Club, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes.
Now Open

14 November 2018

Ramada Suites by Wyndham Wailoaloa Beach Fiji is the third Ramada to open in the South Pacific, joining Ramada Hotel & Suites by Wyndham Noumea in New Caledonia and Ramada Resort by Wyndham Port Vila in Vanuatu.

The absolute beachfront, 40-room all-suite property is located at Nadi Bay, a 12-minute drive from Nadi International Airport and Port Denarau Marina.

Part of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Ramada is a global chain of more than 850 midscale and upper-midscale full-service hotels spanning more than 60 countries.

Ramada Suites by Wyndham Wailoaloa Beach Fiji offers a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom suites, along with a day spa, a gym, a swimming pool, an onsite restaurant, and a conference room. A rooftop bar is also planned to open later this year providing the perfect venue to experience Fiji's famous sunsets.

Guests of the resort can also enjoy the facilities offered by the neighbouring Smugglers Cove Beach Resort, including its onsite restaurant and bar along with activities like diving and water sports.

Ramada Suites by Wyndham Wailoaloa Beach Fiji was developed by the hotel's owner, Smugglers Cove Beach Resort Limited, who will also manage the resort under a franchise agreement with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
20% of Global Tourists Are From China - Are You Engaging The Chinese Market Effectively?

6 Easy Steps To Build And Grow Your Brand In China

Since 2012, when China first claimed top spot as the largest single source tourist market for Asia-Pacific countries, their numbers have not diminished.

When we consider just 8.7% (or 120 millions of Chinas population) are registered with passports (as opposed to 36% in USA), Chinese tourist arrivals globally are expected to double in the next few years.

It was not surprising that by 2017, overseas travels of Chinese tourists had ballooned to over 145 million trips. They are also the worlds biggest spenders, which UNWTO accounts for over US$258 billion in tourist receipts.

For businesses in the global travel, hotel and hospitality industry, one will surely gaze in awe and excitement at these big numbers.

What steps should global hoteliers, hospitality, lifestyle and retail establishments take, in order to bite into a slice of Chinas millions of outbound travellers?

Step One - Be Linguistically Visible

For the Chinese travellers, their customer experience starts from comfortably browsing and reading your website in their preferred language  Simplified Chinese. But do not ever expect machine translation systems to help you bridge that language divide.

Because marketing-related content are written by creative copywriters. Typically, such content are interspersed with satire, slang and colloquial expressions  to be engaging and enticing to their target readers. Translation machines are not built to decipher emotional expressions, or to analyse if sentences are funny or serious.

It does not identify missing words in the original source text, or to suggest better choice of words or phrases with the same meaning.

In view of these anomalies, the end-product of machine translated pieces are likely to be filled with unnatural sentence structures or nonsensical phrases which will be awfully embarrassing to the brand.

Only human bilingual editors can detect if there are errors or inconsistencies in the source text, and to equally mimic the emotional aspects of the source copywriters intended pun.

Transcreation (translations with a creative spin) or aka creative translation, is what you need.

This is to be certain that your source content is effectively localized into the Chinese language, or any other language versions.

Having good localized content is so imperative, especially in trying to woo your target audiences for a call-to-action, to visit your website, etc.

With good creative translation, your target audiences will be able to build that emotional connection with your brand, in every language.

Step Two  Understand China is a Mobile-first Nation

Nowhere in the world are consumers more caught up with their smartphones and mobile apps than in China. The Chinese use their smartphones to perform practically every consumers chores  from everyday purchases, surfing local and global websites for news, communicating and socializing in group chats, etc.

For example, Chinese travellers would search on news about overseas destinations, check on hotel websites, weather, etc., on Chinese social media sites and travel forums via their mobile devices.

Most would prefer to make online purchases such as, accommodations, air tickets, train rides, local tours, etc., which are booked before their trip.

Other items such as, event entry tickets, car rentals, restaurant reservations, etc. will likely be purchased during their trip. These are done through the mobile apps that are installed on their smartphones.

Step Three  Understand Chinas Blockade on Foreign Websites and Online Apps

Majority of Western-based Internet and online apps, such as Google, PayPal, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc., are censored by the Great Firewall of China.

In place, there are over 6 million apps uniquely-developed in China, while over 200 Chinese-based apps are commonly used by consumers on a daily basis.

This chart was created using various logos of the more popular apps uniquely used only in China.

The Chinese use these apps to browse the Internet, perform Online Payments, Messaging, Video Streaming, Social Media Chats, etc.

In short, they do not have any need to use those Western-based apps commonly used outside China.

It means that various online ad marketing campaigns running on Western-based apps will not work, resulting in investments spent to be futile.

For global hoteliers, hospitality, travel, lifestyle and retail establishments targeting Chinese consumers, the correct strategy is to run your online banners, video ads, notifications, push-ads mechanicals, etc. on China-based media apps and websites.

This will have much more tangible results in gaining access into the large Chinese outbound travellers market.

Step Four  Understand Chinese FITs

FIT refers to Free, Independent Traveller. The trend amongst Chinese tourists is to move away from stereotype organized flag waving tour packages, to more authentic travel and holiday experiences. These FITs prefer self-planned D-I-Y vacations that are not bound by rigid schedules.

They are mostly from middle to higher income households, with an average annual combined income of US$35,000. Its estimated that 30 million households have already crossed this threshold.

For websites of hotel and tourist resorts intending to woo the Chinese travellers, providing content about the destinations key attractions such as, unique places to visit, what to do, day or night city tours, etc. are information that are more likely to attract these Chinese FITs.

Step Five  Understand Chinese Preference on Customized Travels

Chinas growth in affluence created large numbers of higher income earners who enjoy the refined taste in customized travels. They prefer self-coordinated or individualized tours, as well as unique and meaningful holiday experiences.

In a joint report by China Tourist Academy and Ctrip, bookings for their customized travels for the first half of 2018 saw a 300% y-o-y increase.

Chinese customized travellers want to immerse in the local culture, unique architectures, as well as visit museums and historical sites that well-known in a destination.

Thus, to attract these customized travellers, it is necessary for hoteliers, hospitality, lifestyle and retail establishments to include features in their website content such as, places of interest, cultural attractions, right down to unique dining experience, entertaining and fun events, etc.

It is also important to consider getaway packages that coincide with the Chinese preferred travel calendar. These are during Chinas Golden Week national holidays.

For travel businesses in Europe and USA, the Golden Week holidays are the Chinese high-season periods, which are most ideal as they coincide with the low-season holidays experienced in Europe and USA.

Promotional campaigns should be launched three or two months before each of their high-season periods.

Step Six  Provide Online Transaction With Chinese Payment Gateways

From surveys conducted among Chinese travellers, 65% had paid their expenses via mobile payments, while 77% had spent more because mobile payments were accepted.

It is prudent to include online payment gateways such as Union Pay, Alipay or Wechat Pay.

Union Pay is accepted in over 150 countries. While Alipay and WeChat Pay, the two most popular digital mobile wallets, have partnerships with overseas networks.

The Chinese use their mobile wallets for cash transactions, which are ideal for taxi rides, at eateries or convenient stores, which are oftentimes cumbersome due to the language barrier.

In Summary

For global hotels, hospitality, lifestyle and retail establishments wanting to gain access into the burgeoning Chinese travel market, the key is to be linguistically visible. This is in having Chinese language content on your website and a strategy to deploy promotional online campaigns across Chinas mobile app platforms and websites.

To be linguistically visible also means including Chinese versions of brochures and literature on places of interest at your venue, property, attractions, etc.

Considering that the same artwork can be used for online reading at your website, or as downloadable pdfs for sharing, as well as for printing of hardcopy versions.

Having your marketing and publicity content in Chinese is mostly a one-time investment.

While running your online marketing and advertising campaigns through a precision Push & Pull Programmatic Ad strategy on Chinese websites and social media platforms (as opposed to international-used platforms), are all prudent investments.

These initiatives will translate into greater and better exposures for your branding messages, and also for your ongoing marketing to the millions of would-be Chinese travellers.

These are the critical steps that can help you attract and win the hearts and minds of the Chinese travellers.

A well-sustained strategy builds stronger brand presence in this ever-growing market.

Needless to say, the financial returns are manyfold.

About IPPWORLD

As a Language Service Provider, IPPWORLD (http://www.ippworld.com) has been assisting clients from the hospitality, travel and lifestyle industry for over two decades. We provide end-to-end content transcreation and multilingual project management solutions. Our one-stop support includes assisting clients in deploying online ad mechanicals, such as push-ads encapsulated in banners, videos, news-feeds, blogs, etc., customized especially for Chinas Internet environment and Chinese online media platforms. For more information, visit: connect with global audiences through transcreation. Feel free to drop us a mail at info.singapore@ippworld.com, or simply connect with Joanne Chan on Linkedin.

Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe

 2021 Hotel News Resource
Worlds first voco hotel opens on Australia's Surfers Paradise on Gold Coast

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has opened the first hotel globally for its new upscale hotel brand: voco, just five months after it was launched. Owned by Australian property investment firm SB&G Group and located on the shores of the Gold Coast, voco Gold Coast is now open for guests to soak up the sun, sand and sea in Australia's beloved Surfers Paradise.

voco, inspired by the meaning 'to invite' or to 'come together' in Latin, will combine the informality and charm of an individual hotel, with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand. The public spaces of voco Gold Coast emphasise this social element, fittingly named Social House Cafe, which collectively houses a bar and lounge within the venue, offering a space for everyone.

With 389 rooms, the property is situated in the heart of Australia's iconic Surfers Paradise precinct and steps away from Queensland's famous beaches. The hotel offers all the features that guests can expect from the upscale voco brand including two swimming pools, gym facilities, L'Aqua Day Spa, 800sqm of meeting space and expansive views of both the ocean and hinterland. Multiple dining options are also available in the hotel's three unique restaurants  Waves, Clifford's Grill & Lounge and Social House  all designed to offer vibrant social experiences for voco guests to enjoy.

voco Gold Coast also offers several exclusive features that sets it apart from existing hotels, starting with their onsite beehives, producing honey for various uses throughout the hotel. The strong sustainability focus also promises refillable dispensers for products such as soap, along with a high-end Aveda amenity and an initiative with Gold Coast City Council to ensure all kitchen waste is recycled.

The voco Gold Coast signing was announced by IHG and owners SB&G Group in June 2018, coinciding with the global launch of the vocobrand. With six signings to date, in addition to the four properties that will rebrand as part of the UK portfolio deal, there are expected to be more than fifteen signings in total for the brand by the end of 2018. These include three signings in Australia, in Victoria's wine region, Yarra Valley and in the heart of Melbourne's bustling CBD as well as a number of properties in the UK. The opening of voco Gold Coast will be quickly followed by hotel openings in Solihull and Cardiff in the UK.

Paul Salter, SB&G Group Managing Director, said: "We are proud to be the first owner of a voco branded hotel in the world and to have worked closely with IHG to bring this new brand and service culture to the Gold Coast, making the high-quality refurbishment a reality in only five months."

Brenden van Blerk, voco Gold Coast General Manager, said: "As one of Australia's all-time favourite holiday destinations, we are very excited to be introducing the voco brand across the much-loved Gold Coast. Quintessentially Australian, the Gold Coast offers travellers the ultimate getaway with warm weather, amazing beaches and several great ways to have fun. This perfectly aligns with the new voco hotel  a fun, spirited, upscale offering."

Kenneth Macpherson, CEO EMEAA, IHG, said: "IHG launched the voco brand in June in Australia, we are so pleased to see the brand's momentum continue here with the first opening in the iconic Gold Coast with long standing partner, SB&G Group. voco delivers a guest experience that stands out, with touches of charm and memorable, distinctive and dependable hallmarks."

To tap into the excitement of the Gold Coast and embrace the playfulness of the voco brand, the new hotel offers a calendar of social events held within their street facing public spaces from a daily high tea experience to weekly trivia nights, among many others.

Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe

 2021 Hotel News Resource
Radisson today announced the opening of the newly constructed Radisson Hotel Monterrey San JerAnimo located on Av. Insurgentes #4001 Col. Colinas de San JerAnimo. The hotel is located in the San JerAnimo neighborhood, just west of downtown Monterrey and within easy reach of local businesses.

Radisson today announced the opening of the newly constructed Radisson Hotel Monterrey San Jeronimo located on Av. Insurgentes #4001 Col. Colinas de San Jeronimo. The hotel is located in the San Jeronimo neighborhood, just west of downtown Monterrey and within easy reach of local businesses.

"We are thrilled to expand our reach in Mexico and re-introduce the Radisson brand in the great city of Monterrey," said Frances Gonzalez, vice president of Operations for Radisson Hotel Group in Latin America. "This hotel is a fantastic addition to the Radisson family, as it exemplifies our five-year operating plan in action to drive brand consistency throughout the Radisson portfolio."

This hotel offers 98 guest rooms and suites. In addition to the complimentary shuttle services, guests have access to a 24-hour fitness center and business center, free Wi-Fi, an outdoor pool and complimentary parking. There are two meeting rooms that can be kept separate for smaller gatherings or combined to form a larger space accommodating up to 60 guests. Both meeting spaces are equipped with audio-visual equipment, free Wi-Fi, onsite catering and guidance from an experienced event coordinator. The hotel's on-site dining option, La Huasteca Restaurant, serves Mexican and international dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Room service is also offered daily. In addition to the on-site restaurant, the hotel has two bars that offer a wide selection of national and international beers, wines and liquors. La Huasteca Bar provides a relaxed setting in the lobby, while La Silla is the hotel's rooftop bar featuring incredible views of the city's skyline.

"Guests will definitely enjoy their stay at our new hotel under the Radisson brand," said Montserrat Perez, the hotel's general manager. "Our hotel's location, convenient amenities, and caring staff, make for a great hospitality experience for guests to rest happily and comfortably."

Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe

 2021 Hotel News Resource
Ready or not, the new year is upon us and new goals waiting to be set. Does your 2019 plan take into consideration these key changes expected to hit the industry?

Ready or not, the new year is upon us and new goals waiting to be set. Does your 2019 plan take into consideration these key changes expected to hit the industry?

The new year will no doubt bring new challenges and changes to the ever-growing hospitality industry. Take note of these trends that can help your business and brand to provide what your guests are looking for.

1. The Need For Seamless Technology

Far from trying to be all things to everyone, modern technology developers are embracing specialisation, enabling a higher level of software sophistication. But, this also brings in a need for micro-integrations  third-party vendors such as channel managers now need to be connected to your property management system (PMS) to be a truly seamless booking experience. This will provide a hassle-free booking experience for your guests as well as make your staff more efficient with their time.

2. Delivering a Frictionless Guest Experience

Improving guest experience has always been top-of-the-list for property owners. Cloud-based technology combined with artificial intelligence and better use of data has made this easier. Booking platforms are now capable of capturing a lot of data, giving you a better understanding of your guests and preferences. This information is vital to sell more and sell smarter.

Frictionless experiences are also trickling in via systems such as face recognition, check in via mobile apps, ability to sync devices to in-room services, etc.

3. Minimalism and Natural Design

From Shanghai to Cyprus, the minimalist look is progressively becoming second nature in accommodation worldwide. Clean lines and less clutter create a sense of calm and beauty so immersive that your guests wont want to ever leave. Ditch the wallpaper for painted walls instead and dont forget to add plants!

4. Vacation Rentals Become Mainstream

Sharing economy is here to stay. Millennials love the Airbnb and HomeAway experience. Hoteliers, B&B and apartment owners worldwide are joining the revolution by making these channels a part of their distribution strategy. Expect this trend to keep growing.

5. Creating Private Experiences

Guests are seeking more privacy, a private getaway from the hustle and bustle that can come with some hotels and larger accommodations. The attraction to private chefs and pools are becoming more and more popular. Some hotels are getting around this with creating private spaces or gated communities adjacent to their own business to accommodate this ever-increasing need from guests, whilst they still have access to all the amenities of the hotel right at their fingertips.

6. Sustainability Is Key

These days, eco-friendly practices are becoming the norm in the hospitality industry. People now expect it. Accommodation providers are now starting to consider the environmental impact on everything they use; from plastic straws to the need for lights to switch off automatically once a guest leaves their room.

7. Creating Partnerships With Local Transportation

Before choosing where to stay, a lot of travelers look at what is local to the accommodation as well as modes of transport. Local transportation companies are becoming more open to partnering with hotels, which is why hotel management should look into transportation like limos and rental cars. Taking that extra step for your guests will increase repeat visits and gain your hotel better reviews online.

8. Increased Emphasis On Guests Health And Well-being

The wellness tourism industry is currently estimated at $563 billion. Over the last five years, travellers are expecting more from their accommodation than just a bed. They are pursuing innovative wellness experiences such as health spas, private saunas, fitness centres, as well as healthy food options. Growing trends are yoga spaces or retreats, air purification, in-room gym equipment and even vitamin-based shower-water.





STAAH Ltd is a New Zealand-based technology company that specialises in cloud-based channel management and booking engine for accommodation providers to maximise online revenue. Founded by Gavin Jeddo in 2008, a pioneer in the field of distribution technology, STAAHs industry-leading technology powers a propertys distribution through online travel agencies (OTA), direct bookings and digital marketing services. STAAH works with more than 6,000 partner properties in more than 80 countries, including New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, UK and UAE. To find out more about STAAH and our products, visit www.staah.com.

Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe

 2021 Hotel News Resource
In the past, Tekashi 6ix9ine has proven to be a little bit of a pest. He kind of lingers and while we started out hating him, he's turned around to actually be somewhat likeable. The man is funny and he's proven to be a hitmaker. He's been spotted with several different women, notably spending time with Cuban Doll earlier in the year, but everything always comes back to one girl in his life. His daughter's mother has stuck with him throughout it all. In a recent post, Tekashi admits that he's messed up many times but that he knows they can tough it out.

He shared a photo of himself and his baby's mother, writing, "I know I cheat and do to much BUT this one thing you cant break we come from nothing this dont break." The rapper has noticeably been spending more time with his family since his legal drama began to dwindle. Of course, he's still clearing up some of his charges but the major one involving a sex crime is dealt with.

He and his girl are very alike as she has even called out Cuban Doll, starting her own beef with the artist on social media. Tekashi is working on his upcoming project Dummy Boy, which is expected to release next week.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqLNls4HpvD


Few can spin a good yarn like Boosie. The OG recently took to Instagram Live to entertain his fans, and proceeded to wax poetic about the days gone by. As it happens, Boosie's childhood consisted of many a drug-fuelled adventure, though not all of them were pleasant experiences. Boosie went on to recount a time he crossed paths with the supernatural, during the height of a nightmarish drug-trip.

I say Im finna walk across the track," says Boosie. "Im full of that dust, ya heard me. Im full of that dust, full of that angel dust. Real shit, dawg. My momma told 50 the same story when I came to the house. Real shit! Let me tell you." He continues his story, the amusement of his entourage; unfortunately for the self-styled Badazz, his tale takes a dark, unexpected turn.

Man, Im walking, I look back. I see four demons on four horses," says Boosie, conjuring imagery of the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse. "Real shit, man. Two of the demons had hats on. Man, they chasing me. Man, Im running all the way down; Im jumping fences, everything. Ask my momma, man. When I got to my mommas house, I had cuts all on my feet, my feet was bleeding. I was crying, ask my momma. I was telling her about the demons. She kept saying, What demons?!

After discovering her son had copped some angel dust, Mama Badazz made sure to head to the dealer's home with some harsh words. "She went over there and told him You cannot sell my baby that shit," reflects a jovial Boosie. I said, Mom you being the police, man. All that police ass shit." There's a lesson to be learned here, folks. "I was crying like a baby, dawg!" laughs Boosie. "Man it was four in the morning. Two of them had hats on like cowboy hats. If I ain't see them, why the fuck my body bleeding like this?"
Vienna wants to continue dialogue with Russia but believes espionage to be unacceptable, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said following a cabinet meeting.

Austrian Chancellor said that they want to maintain dialogue with Russia. "If espionage activities are taking place on our territory, regardless of what country is involved, we consider it to be unacceptable and will combat it," TASS cited Kurz as saying.

On November 9, the Austrian authorities said they had opened an investigation into a retired colonel, suspected of working for Russian intelligence agencies since the 1990s, providing Moscow with information about Austrias air force, artillery and the migration crisis. If found guilty, the colonel may face two years in prison.

According to the Salzburg prosecution, following a series of questionings, investigators came to the conclusion that the retired colonel was to be charged under two articles of the Austrian Criminal Code, which concern inflicting damage on Austria by working for another countrys intelligence agency and disclosing state secrets, as well as under a military criminal law related to the deliberate disclosure of military secrets.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out he was unpleasantly surprised at Viennas failure to ask Moscow to shed some light on those allegations.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, in turn, cautioned against dramatizing the situation and called on everyone to wait for the investigations results. In addition, he expressed surprise at the governments move to inform the public about the suspicions of espionage. The president was also confident that the espionage incident would not seriously harm Austrian-Russian relations in the long run.
Back in 2014, a company by the name of Hebrew Hustle and the estate of late jazz musician Jimmy Smith sued Drake over his track "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2" from Nothing Was The Same. They claimed the rapper sampled one of Smith's songs for the track. However, Drake denied the allegations and filed a counter-suit against Hebrew Hustle, accusing the company of using his face and name on their website to make it seem like he worked with them. As the trial is set to begin later this year, Drake asked the judge to ban any talk about his finances in the case.

According to The Blast, Drake asked the judge to ban certain evidence and testimonies from being presented to the jury in his upcoming trial. In recently filed court documents, the rapper said he doesn't want any evidence of his "financial condition or comparative wealth to be brought up in front of the jury. He believes that the information would create an unfair bias against him.

Drake also said that he fears that Hebrew Hustle will turn the jury against him in the trial if they bring up his wealth, especially if it's in comparison to Hebrew Hustle. The rapper claims his wealth is irrelevant to the issues in the case. He said the only reason they would bring up his money is to create some sort of unjustified sympathy for them.

Hebrew Hustle also requested a ban on the expert testimony Drake intended on presenting about the value of his brand. The expert concluded that the use of Drake's name on Hebrew Hustle's website was valued at $1M which was based on comparable celebrities such as the Kardashians to charge $1M for a club appearance.
Nov. 9th marked the 25th anniversary of Wu-Tang Clan's debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The Staten Island collective celebrated the milestone with a performance of their track "Protect Ya Neck" on Good Morning America. Now, Ghostface Killah is keeping things moving forward by announcing his upcoming double album remix project, Ghost Files. To kick off the project's campaign, he drops off the Bronze Nazareth remix of "Watch Em Holla" featuring fellow Wu-Tang Clan members, Raekwon, Masta Killa, and Cappadonna.

Ghostface Killah is already getting ready to follow-up October's The Lost Tapes with his upcoming remix project, Ghost Files. The rapper's upcoming project will feature two sides, Bronze Tape and Propane Tape. Bronze Nazareth, who remixed "Watch 'Em Holla," will hold down The Bronze Tape while Agallah handles The Propane Tape. The project will feature the previously unreleased track, "N.W.O" with Tragedy.

Bronze Nazareth puts his own spin on Ghostface's Lost Tapes cut and brings a whole different vibe to it.

Ghost Files drops on Nov. 30th.

Quotable Lyrics

Welcome, here's some exercise torture

This is everyday work, ice gold grillz with no smirks

Seen him frontin' with some skeezers

Actin' like he's a boss with no rank, pussy posin' as a leade
The rise of "Media Joe" is reaching critical mass. While Everyday Struggle introduced the world to the disgruntled, yet endearing Joe Budden, his work on The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory and Mall went a long way in establishing his marketability. Where Everyday Struggle often highlighted his eccentricities, his titular podcast generally found Joe delivering a more nuanced perspective, often emerging as the voice of reason. His countless hours of experience ultimately landed him a job at Revolt TV, hosting the new State Of The Culture series, alongside Remy Ma, Scottie Beam, and Brandon Jinx Jenkins.

The series proved to be a hit, and Revolt has officially greenlit another ten episodes, the bulk of which will air in 2019. We had a lot of fun during the first 10 episodes and the response has been nothing short of amazing, says Joe Budden. I look forward to improving on whats already been built. Thank you Puff, REVOLT and most importantly the fans. See you soon.

REVOLT chairman Diddy issued a statement on the series, stating as follows: "The culture has a point of view and I want to deliver it. Im all about giving the people what they want, so more raw and uncensored content through the lens of Hip Hop is coming your way.

Salute to Joey, Remy Ma, Scottie and Jinx for the re-up. Peep State Of The Culture on Mondays, 5PM EST.

[via]
Lil Jon continues to give back. The Crunk music pioneer helped fund the creation of a primary school in Ghana last year, and now he's doubled up on his efforts to help educate children. AOL broke the story, revealing that Lil Jon opened his second school in the village of Mafi Atitekpo. The school is named Mafi Atitekpo DA Primary School, and was finished in December 2017 before being inaugurated in July 2018. It currently has 313 children enrolled.



Lil Jon's first school enrolls nearly 250 students, bringing the total to over 550 minds being stimulated and activated by education. The first school was built in honor of the Lil Jon's late mother, Carrie M.Smith. He first became interested in building the schools after a trip to Ghana opened his eyes to the learning conditions of the youth. Some schools are too far from villages, while others are packed to the brim causing students to learn outside under trees. The rapper and producer contributed $70,000 to construct the schools along with Pencils of Promise. PoP's website states that the company has helped build 492 schools with close to 100,000 children enrolled.

Last year [October of 2017] I went with my family to open up my first Pencils of Promise school in Ghana, and now to have over 300 kids already enrolled in my second school there is incredible," stated Lil Jon. "Its been really fulfilling to see the impact these schools have made on so many of these childrens and families futures."
It seems like Sean Kingston's name pops up in headlines these days for the wrong reasons. Back in 2017, he was involved in a brawl with Migos and two other unknown men in Las Vegas. However, he, alongside the Migos, is being sued by the limo driver who claims he suffered injuries after being caught in the middle of a scrap.

The Blast reports, limo driver Michael Gradney is taking Migos and Sean Kingston to court over a brawl that occurred on Feb. 21, 2017. The driver explained that he was hired as the Migos limo driver back in 2017 and was supposed to take the ATL trio to the Sands Expo and Convention Center. However, he said he got caught in the middle of a brawl between Migos, Kingston and two other unknown men while he was standing outside of his limo. He claims that he was knocked to the ground and "severely injured" after he was caught in the middle of the scrap. He also said that he believes a gun was fired in the altercation which resulted in other witnesses ducking to the ground for safety. Gradney claims the Migos told him to go back into the car and drive them away. Throughout the whole altercation, he said that he "feared for his life."

In the suit, Gradney is seeking unspecified damages for the permanent physical and psychological injuries he claims he suffered throughout the ordeal. He's suing Migos and Sean Kingston for assault and battery.
Jordan Brand still has plenty of highly anticipated sneaker releases to get off in 2018 including, but not limited to, the Air Jordan 3 "Mocha," Air Jordan 10 "Orlando" and Air Jordan 11 "Concord." That said, we're just weeks away from the new year and some of Jordan Brand's 2019 releases have leaked, such as this all-new "Laney" Air Jordan 5.

Inspired by the colors of Michael Jordan's high school, the kicks are decked out in a blue suede accompanied by yellow accents. Additional details include a grey midsole with a blue and yellow speckle, an icy blue outsole and a yellow, chenille Jumpman logo on the grey tongue. It is believed that the kicks will be available in January, though a specific release date has not yet been announced.

Rumors suggest that there's also a yellow "Laney" Air Jordan 5 in the works but images of that pair have not emerged.

Check out some of the early images of the new 5s in the IG posts embedded below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqI5k5pFM6U



https://www.instagram.com/p/BqH3y-cFDFz



https://www.instagram.com/p/BqHvV3PFdtj



https://www.instagram.com/p/BqHu-ejFQGf


When it was announced that Stan Lee had passed away yesterday, Hollywood reacted with great sadness. The creator of Marvel Comics had invented so many of our favorite super-heroes. From Spider-Man, to X-Men, Thor, Black Panther, and more, Lee was a true genius. He knew how to connect with audiences through his comic-book creations and they transitioned smoothly into the cinema world. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe being on top of the world, Lee's involvement in each film was major. He had reportedly filmed all his upcoming cameos before his death so we'll be seeing him on screen in the future, however, one of his newer heroes may also be seeing the light of day.

On TMZ Live, his daughter J.C. Lee revealed that she had been working with her father to create a brand new hero that was kept secret for a long time. Lee spoke about her father's creative legacy and all his contributions to the world, noting that their hero Dirt Man will likely be introduced to the world soon. The character was created by J.C. but Stan helped her to develop him. According to the creator's daughter, Dirt Man is the "last little angel [they've] got tucked away." J.C. said that they still have some "trickery" on the way with the new character and we're excited to see what's planned.

She's hoping Dirt Man will get his own movie soon. Listen to the clip below.
Jon Favreau is set to bring Disney and Star Wars' first live-action series to life. The Mandalorian will focus on a lone bounty hunter that is keeping out of the reach of the New Republic that was set up after the events in Return of the Jedi. The show will take place before The Force Awakens though, allowing for several heroes (including Luke Skywalker and Han Solo) to possibly be guest stars on the series. The Mandalorian will stream on Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+.

As reported by Variety, Pedro Pascal has been cast as the main character for the series. Pascal is best known for playing Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones (until his head gets popped off in trial by combat) and Javier Pena in the Netflix series Narcos. The actors' name was on the short list of entertainers being reviewed for the role, and now that the offer has been made, contract negotiations are taking place.

Disney also revealed that Diego Luna's character from Rogue One will be getting his own spin-off series as well. Since his character died at the end of the movie, we can only assume it will be a prequel that will take place around the time of Revenge of the Sith.
Last week, it was reported that Young Thug was sent back to jail after failing a drug test. The news was surprising to most as many of his peers began reaching out, hoping for his release soon. Updates have been limited but he appears to still be locked up. Meek Mill, somebody who knows all too well what it's like to be working against the justice system, has spoken out in support of his fellow artist. Now, an Atlanta icon is stepping up for his "lil bro," calling for his immediate release.

T.I. is no stranger to politics, often getting controversial with his opinions on social media. This latest update is bound to get most rallying behind him though as he's fighting for Young Thug to be freed from jail. He posted a photo of the rapper, sending a message directly to the police. While they're unlikely to see it (and act on it if they do,) Tip is asking for Thugger to be released right now. "Free My lil Bro," he wrote. "RIGHT GOT-DAMN NOW u hear me?!!?!?"

He's not the first to speak out about Thug's recent incarceration. Hopefully, he's free soon so he can get back to work on Barter 7, which he's been teasing for a few weeks. Free King Slime.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqHTGdLBUf4


The decision by Amazon to put a pair of headquarters in New York and Virginia came as a wake-up call to Houston that it needs to step up its efforts to deepen the regions pool of tech talent.

Houston simply must be in this game, said Bob Harvey, CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership.

Amazon announced Tuesday that it would invest $5 billion to create two additional headquarters in New York City and the Washington, D.C., suburb of Arlington.

Houston was ruled out as a candidate in January.

The city had hoped to lure the Seattle retail giant to a 4-mile stretch between downtown and the Texas Medical Center it is calling its Innovation Corridor.

At one level, I was not surprised, Harvey said of hearing the announcement. Its been our belief for a year or so that Amazon would be drawn to cities with deep digital talent. ... Their message to Houston was that we didnt have the depth of tech talent.

Both New York City and the Washington region are flush with digital talent, such as web designers and software developers.

A study released in July by commercial real estate investment firm CBRE on the top markets for tech labor pools and appeal to tech employers ranked Houston No. 32 out of the top 50 U.S. and Canadian metropolitan regions it analyzed. Washington was No. 3, and New York City was ranked No. 5. Austin was No. 6.

The study said Houston has 26,000 software developers and programmers, versus New York Citys 97,000 and Washingtons 71,000. Among those in Houston, few are involved in e-commerce, the backbone of Amazon.

For Houston, it is a chicken and egg problem: Theres not enough talent in the labor pool to attract the right kind of companies, and the labor pool is struggling to grow without high-tech employers.

In the short term, we are reaching out to Austin and we are reaching out to California, and were finding companies that are interested in moving to Houston, Harvey said. The long-term solution is to develop this talent here locally.

Harvey said developing the citys Innovation Corridor will attract technology companies and in turn help create a desperately needed digital economy in Houston. The Innovation Corridor would run along the Metro light rail line from downtown to the Texas Medical Center and include several large companies, Rice University, tech startups, venture capital, private equity shops, museums, restaurants and housing.

Harvey said that in the end, tech companies will want to come to business-friendly Texas.

Were very fortunate in Texas that this is an easy, low-cost place to live, and its very friendly to business, Harvey said. Were not as competitive as we need to be, but the good news is were making good progress.

john.roper@chron.com

twitter.com/@jcroper
The International Economic Forum 'Caspian Dialogue 2018' has opened at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations today. The forum is organized by the International Energy Policy and Diplomacy Institute (MIEP MGIMO) and the Board of 'Science and Innovation of the Caspian Sea with the support of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Ministry of Economic Development, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and Russian Academy of Sciences. The main session of the event is devoted to the development of Caspian cooperation based on the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

Speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, the head of the Russian-Azerbaijani parliamentary group, State Duma Deputy Dmitry Savelyev said that such events are extremely important for the development of cooperation between the Caspian states. "The Caspian issue is one of the priorities for our entire continent. We see the documents recently signed due to determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea are being discussed. It was done thanks to the many years of work of the governments of five states with the core participation of the presidents of our countries," he said in the first place.

"The Caspian is a colossal storehouse of natural resources. Certainly, it is in the focus of other states' greedy views, which use different, often unclean methods. I am the head of the Russian-Azerbaijani inter-parliamentary friendship group, and we discuss the Caspian issues very often, we discuss everything related to economic, political, environmental issues of the Caspian Sea, as well as security issues. Considering the finalization of all documents in the future, much work remains to be done. Therefore, such forums should be held as often as possible," Dmitry Savelyev stressed.

The Special Representative of the Russian president for humanitarian and economic cooperation with the Caspian countries, former head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov also stressed that after the Convention was signed, much work remains to be done for the Caspian states. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will carry out its tasks in this direction, by holding annual consultations with the Caspian states, but in addition there is a whole range of socio-economic, cultural and humanitarian issues within the framework of Caspian cooperation, and its important that after 25 years of the development of the Convention we dont spent another 25 years to realize it. We need working groups in individual areas, I have already invited our Iranian colleges to participate in such a group. Perhaps we also need an international working group and national working group - the thing is that the Convention requires about 100 amendments to existing laws," he said.

"In addition, work with the Russian Caspian regions is required. The Ministry for the North Caucasus was engaged in these issues, but other government structures should also be more actively involved. A meeting of the State Council Presidium on the Volga-Caspian region was prepared, but it did not take place due to the resignations of the regional leaders. Regional potential of the Caspian cooperation is used very poorly, few people are actively involved in these issues except for the Astrakhan region. We need the government handler.on the Caspian issues, as well as a complex government program of social, economic and cultural development of the Caspian region and cooperation," Ramazan Abdulatipov urged.
In a state where wide open spaces are wider than most, access to health care in rural areas has long been a Texas-size problem.

On Tuesday, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, the states largest insurer, announced a $10 million commitment to take on the challenge in an unusual partnership with Texas A&M University Health Science Center, which has been on the forefront of rural health issues.

The joint venture will bring together university researchers specializing in medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and public health. But the initiative also will bring into the mix scholars in agriculture, education and engineering to reach all aspects of rural life, said Blue Cross and Blue Shield and A&M officials said at a joint press briefing.

OBAMACARE: Health insurance program has staying power as enrollment opens

Part of the focus will center on understanding and possibly reversing the slow death of rural hospitals.

More than 20 hospitals in small towns or rural areas in Texas that have closed in recent years, said Dr. Nancy Dickey, director of the A&M Rural and Community Health Institute. Of the 164 remaining rural hospitals in the state, 60 percent are considered seriously vulnerable to closing, she said.

One potential fix is to use technology, such as telemedicine, to connect doctors or nurses through video chats to patients in far flung areas of the state.

Texas dwells near the bottom nationally in per-capita access to a physician, and 35 counties  with a combined population of about 115,000 people  have no doctor at all, according to A & M research. Also, 147 of the states 254 counties have no obstetrician/gynecologist; 185 counties have no psychiatrist.

GUNS: Fightin words: ER doctors vs. NRA in nasty fight over gun violence

Rural health care needs moonshots, Dr. Steven Brown, associate vice president of clinical strategy at the university, said Tuesday in laying down the challenge.

Dr. Dan McCoy, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, said its imperative to support rural residents so they can prosper and also remain healthy. A product of a small town, McCoy said the states rural expanses are one of the greatest assets to our country.

Solutions may emerge through better understanding the culture of rural Texans. Simply applying urban models to rural realities will not work, McCoy said.

The insurers participation in the partnership with A&M is part of a larger effort called Affordability Cures to reduce costs and improve health outcomes, company officials said. It comes, too, when new alliances in health care are being forged between unlikely partners.

HEALTH CARE: Despite Dem hopes of sweeping health care change, Texas said no

For instance, the CVS Healths mega-deal to buy health insurance giant Aetna is being seen as a potential shake-up in how people get check-ups as they use their corner drugstore as a doctors office. Or consider the acquisition in June of PillPack by Amazon to help make further inroads into the online pharmaceutical industry.

As the industry evolves, we have to think differently, said Shara McClure, divisional senior vice president for Texas health care delivery at Blue Cross.
Several Texas universities were named Tuesday on The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine's list of best schools for entrepreneurship studies.

For undergraduate programs, the University of Houston ranked No. 2, followed by Baylor University at No. 6, Texas A&M University at No. 22 and University of Texas at Dallas in the No. 23 spot.

At the University of Houston's Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, students have created more than 1,000 businesses, receiving $238.3 million in funding, in the past 10 years.

RELATED: UH Energy Research Park to refocus on tech commercialization

"We think that entrepreneurship is the bedrock of job creation, the foundation of our economy," Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship Director Dave Cook said in a news release. "So, while we are very focused on sharing our values and content within the university, we're also trying to push entrepreneurship and the values that we have here outside the walls of the university."

Texas A&M and the University of Texas at Dallas were both new to this year's list of top undergraduate programs.

Besides the University of Houston at No. 2 and Baylor at No. 6, the others in the top 10 for undergraduate schools were No. 1 University of Michigan; Babson College; Brigham Young University; Northeastern University; Washington University; University of Maryland; University of Utah; and Tecnologico de Monterrey.

For graduate programs, Rice University ranked No. 3, followed by the University of Texas at Austin in the No. 6 spot, the University of Texas at Dallas in the No. 11 spot and Texas A&M at No. 23.

Besides Rice at No. 3 and UT at No. 6, the others in the top 10 for graduate schools were No. 1 Babson College; University of Chicago; Northwestern University; Columbia University; University of Virginia; University of Michigan; Northeastern University; and Brigham Young University.

MORE: Rice University's McNair Center gets new leader, focus area

The Princeton Review surveyed administrators at more than 300 schools between July and August. The survey topics included: the percentage of faculty, students, and alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors, the number and reach of mentorship programs, scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies, and the level of support for school-sponsored business plan competitions, according to a news release.
Less than two years after a $23 billion merger that made it a subsidiary of the industrial conglomerate General Electric, the Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes is one step closer to becoming an independent company again.

General Electric, headquartered in Boston, said Tuesday it would reduce its 62.5 percent stake in Baker Hughes to as low as 50.1 percent by July through series of stock sales estimated to raise about $4 billion in cash. GE intends to divest all its holdings in Baker Hughes, the company said in previous statements.

Baker Hughes, a storied Houston firm that traces its roots to Howard Hughes Sr., became a unit of GE last year following its merger with GEs oil and gas division. The merger, supported by former CEO Jeffrey Immelt, was subsequently questioned by his successors, John Flannery, who was recently ousted, and H. Lawrence Culp.

Shortly after becoming CEO, Flannery suggested that GE would get out of the oil and gas business. Culp appears to be following through.

The stock sale comes as GE continues to struggle, reporting $22.8 billion loss in the third quarter. The sprawling company is considering selling other units as it tries to find the right size and focus to return to profitability.

Analysts and Baker Hughes officials said they expect little change in the size and holdings of the Houston company. No layoffs or asset sales are expected as GE divests.

There will be no material impact to our outlook, strong balance sheet, or ability to generate cash, Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said in a statement.  We remain well positioned to capitalize on the positive outlook for our industry and are focused on our top priorities of gaining share, improving margins and generating cash.

Byron Pope, an analyst with with the Houston investment bank firm Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., said GE had few avenues but to sell stock on the market. Baker Hughes will buy up to $1.5 billion in its own stock, under the agreement with GE. With Baker Hughes ranked as the third largest oil field service company in the world, here are few companies capable of buying it.

A proposed merger between Baker Hughes and Houston-based competitor Halliburton failed in May 2016 when it could not overcome the Justice Departments antitrust concerns. As a result, Schlumberger, the worlds largest energy services company, is unlikely to become a potential buyer.

GEs stock sale, Pope said, was the best way for the company to quickly raise cash and honor the July 2019 lock-in provision of the merger agreement.

Although GE is struggling, Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston, said Baker Hughes is a healthier company now than it was before the merger. At the time, Baker Hughes was battered from the oil bust and the failed merger, losing money, slashing jobs and facing a future as a distant third behind Schlumberger and Halliburton.

Baker Hughes has thrived under the protection of GE, said Hirs, while the recovery in the oil industry provide a boost.

After a string of losses, Baker Hughes reported a $13 million profit on nearly $5.7 billion of revenue during the third quarter.

GE and Baker Hughes also entered into long-term agreements for software, turbines and other technology. The deals give GE a customer for its products and services and Baker Hughes access to GEs state-of-the-art technology.

Jim Wicklund, an analyst with the global investment firm Credit Suisse, believes that Baker Hughes can become its own company again without layoffs and without selling any of its assets.

Theyll probably have to hire people instead of laying people off, Wicklund said. Instead of using GEs back office, theyll have to create their own.
Oil prices plunged Tuesday in the sharpest single-day decline since the days of the last oil bust in 2015.

Crude fell 7 percent in New York to just over $55 a barrel, extending its recent losing streak to a record 12 trading sessions and falling to its lowest level in a year. Oil has slid 27 percent since its recent peak of about $76 a barrel in early October.

The plunge is creating anxieties in the Houston energy sector, where memories of the last oil bust are still fresh. Consumers, however, will enjoy lower gasoline prices as they travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The recent collapse in crude prices is primarily a supply-and-demand story. Just over a month ago, traders were betting on a supply crunch as U.S. sanctions took Iranian oil off the market and production dwindled in crisis-ridden Venezuela.

Today, the focus has returned to potential glut as U.S. production has soared to a projected record of 11.6 million barrels a day and inventories have increased by millions of barrels in recent weeks. The worlds other top producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, also have increased output, while Iran likely will export more oil than anticipated after the White House last week granted waivers from sanctions to some of the worlds biggest energy consumers, including China, India and Japan.

President Donald Trump on Monday contributed to markets jitters by calling on OPEC to produce more oil to keep fuel prices low. Those jitters turned to panic on Tuesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries revised its global oil demand projections downward for 2019 because of softening economic growth.

Im increasingly more concerned than I was just two weeks ago, said Jim Wicklund, an energy analyst at the financial services company Credit Suisse in Dallas. I dont know where the oil price bottoms. I just dont see that much excess supply and that much evaporation of demand to warrant this.

Oil settled at $55.69 a barrel, down $4.24.. At those prices, the U.S. shale sector can keep churning along, Wicklund said, but the rapid decline could set back the recovery of the deepwater energy sector another full year.

Related: Global economy will depend on U.S. shale to meet oil demand growth

The spotlight will now shine on the next OPEC meeting Dec. 6 as the cartel, led by Saudi Arabia, considers whether to scale back its output to help lift oil prices. After all, it was the OPEC decision in late 2014 to keep production high that helped trigger the last oil bust that sent prices from about $100 a barrel to a low of about $26 in early 2016.

Russia, while not a member of the cartel, would be expected to act in concert with OPEC, energy analysts said, but its not a given the Russians would agree to cutbacks.

Shale producers in the U.S. need to be on their guard as they have been since 2014, said Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston. The Saudis and Russians, along with other OPEC members, have the ability to take dead aim at the U.S. shale plays.

Houston-area gasoline prices have fallen an average of about 25 cents per gallon in just more than a month, and more declines are on the way. Motorists who can should hold out another few days before filling their tanks in order to capture additional savings before Thanksgiving, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, which tracks fuel pricing nationwide.

(Tuesdays) market plunge was astounding, and a dramatic turnaround in market psyche in the last month, DeHaan said. The sell-off will extend and accelerate the declines seen at the pump, just in time for Thanksgiving.

jordan.blum@chron.com

twitter.com/jdblum23
WASHINGTON  A former adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz and chief of staff to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is at the center of the debate around President Donald Trumps efforts to prop up struggling coal and nuclear power plants.

Bernard McNamee, who leads the U.S. Department of Energys policy office, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday on his nomination to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

With everyone from oil companies to environmentalists lined up against the Trump administrations efforts to bail out coal and nuclear plants, Republicans and Democrats alike are expected to question McNamee closely on his involvement in Energy Secretary Rick Perrys ongoing examination of whether the steady replacement of coal and nuclear power plants with gas plants and wind and solar farms poses a risk of blackouts.

There will be a lot of questions at the hearing on Thursday from people wanting to know where McNamee stands, said John Moore, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In January, FERC unanimously rejected Perrys proposal to raise wholesale power rates for coal and nuclear plants, following bipartisan criticism such a move amounted to a disregard of the free-market principles the U.S. power grid has long operated on.

Since then the Department of Energy has examined other maneuvers, including the use of federal emergency powers such as those used to impose price controls when blackouts swept California in 2000 after energy traders, led by Houston-based Enron manipulated the market to drive up power prices.

Months after a memo outlining those options leaked to the media, no action has been taken. But Perry remains under pressure from President Donald Trump, who in June ordered the former Texas governor to take immediate steps to prevent the closure of any more coal and nuclear plants.

I dont think youve seen the last of it, said Dipka Bhambhani, communications director at the U.S. Energy Association, a group of energy-related companies, government agencies and other public and private energy-related organizations..

McNamees ties to the Trump administration, along with an appearance at a Senate hearing in July, has raised speculation that if appointed to FERC he could represent a potential yes vote in favor of Perrys plan.

At the July hearing, he defended the administrations efforts as an attempt to protect coal and nuclear plants against federal policies that aid other forms of generation. Though he didnt go into specifics, the coal companies have long criticized tax credits and other policies that they say unfairly benefit wind and solar energy, enabling renewable generators to sell electricity below cost.

The thought is you need to remove those distortions and get some more parity, McNamee testified.

But whether he was expressing his own beliefs or merely defending Trump remains a question in Washington. During the July hearing, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee, suggested it was the latter.

I get youre just the guy here to deliver this, and you basically say [Perry] believes whatever Congress decides will basically rule, she said.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, McNamee has split his more than a two-decade-long legal career between Austin, Washington and Richmond, Va., serving Republican administrations in between stints in the private sector representing energy companies.

For four months this year, he worked at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank in Austin, leading its Center for Tenth Amendment Action and working on the groups campaigns to promote fossil fuels and reduce the federal governments role in health care. The Tenth Amendment aimed to protect states rights.

TPPF Executive Director Kevin Roberts said McNamee was extremely judicious and a policy wonk who would likely approach the question on coal and nuclear power as a fact-finding mission. Asked about TPPFs position on the issue, Roberts said he believed that government regulations in favor of renewable energy necessitated the system to be rebalanced.

Its reprehensible what the Obama administration did to coal, but I dont know thats Bernies view, Roberts said. However Bernie would vote on that issue would probably represent how most Americans feel.

McNamee left TPPF in May to rejoin the Department of Energy, where he had worked as a deputy general counsel earlier in the Trump administration. Now, in his bid to replace Trump-appointee Robert Powelson, who left FERC in June to lead the National Association of Water Companies, McNamee is facing a skeptical crowd in the Senate.

Whether Republican or Democrat, Trumps bid to help the coal sector represents a direct threat to many key U.S. energy industries, from natural gas fields to solar panel installations. At the same time his proposal is testing the independence of FERC itself, which is a bipartisan commission designed to be independent of the White House.

Everyone I talked with said they respected FERC because its been a comparatively neutral voice on energy policy whatever the administration, Moore, the NRDC attorney, said. A coal and nuclear bailout would violate that neutrality. You create the grid to meet market needs, not to aid a particular resource.

The Senate remains firmly in control of Republicans after the midterm elections. Were McNamee to win a confirmation vote, his influence would be limited as a single commissioner..

When FERC rejected Perrys proposal in January, the vote was 5-0, with Trumps own Republican appointees voting against him. And pressure on FERC to keep Trump at bay has only intensified over the past 10 months, as natural gas lobbyists step up their campaign and the PJM Interconnect, the nations largest grid operator, insists the coal and nuclear plant closures do not represent a threat.

McNamees addition to FERC would be important, but it would just one commissioner among five at this point, Scott Segal, a Washington energy attorney, said in an email.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter: @osborneja
NRG Energy, the biggest seller of electricity in Texas, recently got bigger, swallowing another competitor as it seeks to expand its dominance over the retail electric market in Texas.

The deal adds three new brands, including the fast-growing, low-price leader, Discount Power, to NRGs stable of retail electricity providers such as Reliant Energy, Green Mountain Energy, Pennywise Power and Cirro Energy, and an estimated 225,000 customers. The terms of the acquisition of Discounts parent, Volterra Energy Holdings, were not disclosed.

The sale, which closed at the end of October, continues the consolidation of the retail power industry in Texas, a trend that some analysts worry could eventually lead to higher prices. Even before the Volterra deal  and two smaller Texas acquisitions over the summer  NRG controlled about 30 percent of states retail electricity as the top three retail electricity providers held nearly two-thirds of the market, according to an NRG presentation to analysts in March.

NRG did not identify the second and third largest providers, which held 23 and 10 percent of the market respectively, but they are routinely reported as Vistra Energy of Dallas, which owns TXU, and British-owned Direct Energy.

Data from the Public Utility Commission shows that every part of Texas deregulated power market has fewer retail electric providers than a year ago. The geographic area served by the distribution utility CenterPoint Energy, which includes Houston, had 51 retail electric providers in September, down from 55 a year earlier, according to the commission. In the North Texas region served by the regulated utility American Electric Power, the number of retail companies fell by half, to 24 providers in September, from 49 a year earlier.

The consolidation of the market is driven by simple economics, analysts said. Profit margins are tight for retailers, particularly after a summer of high wholesale power prices, and smaller companies are finding it more attractive to sell out to larger competitors. Bigger companies, meanwhile, are looking to boost their profits by getting even bigger, expanding customer bases while eliminating duplicative administrative costs after the mergers.

You dont need 55 chief accounting officers, or 55 chief legal counsels or 55 CEOs, said Ed Hirs, energy economist at the University of Houston, referring to the number of retail providers in the Houston area a year ago.

Many options available

For now, its difficult to say how the shrinking number of players in the retail power market may affect prices. Both companies and state regulators say they see little danger of prices rising as consumers still have plenty of choices and competition remains fierce as retailers try to poach customers from competitors. In addition, said Andrew Barlow, spokesman for the Public Utility Commission, the Texas market was designed to make it easy for new competitors to enter.

As long as customers are willing to shop for power, Barlow added, theyll benefit from the competitive market.

Not everyone is so sure. NRGs acquisition of Volterra will shrink the number of discounters offering plans (NRG plans to fold its discount brand Pennywise into Discount Power), meaning customers will have fewer choices in that segment of the market, said Fred Anders, the founder of Texas Power Guide in Houston, a website that helps consumers calculate the cost of retail electricity plans.

It will be harder to find remaining discount options out there, said Anders.

NRG has bought companies like Volterra as it seeks to shift its business from power generation, which has struggled with low wholesale electricity prices in recent years, to more profitable retail electricity operations. Over the summer, NRG acquired the customers of Pioneer Energy of Sugar Land and Stat Energy of Richardson. NRG would not disclose how much it paid or how many customers it gained in those deals.

Billions to spend

NRG is likely to continue its retail expansion. Earlier this year, NRG sold its wind and solar generation holdings for $1.8 billion and recently told analysts that it will have $2.6 billion to spend next year, which could include additional acquisitions of retail power companies.

Neville Ravji, chief executive of the privately held Volterra Energy Holdings, said the company decided to sell after receiving an offer from NRG that made sense to Volterras investors. He said he believes NRG was drawn to Volterra because of Volterras success with niche marketing.

Volterra, one of the early pioneers in the deregulated Texas energy market, hit on a successful marketing strategy early on, pitching electricity plans to the members of affinity groups including university alumni associations, trade groups and ethnic-based coalitions.

It doesnt sound like rocket science, said Ravji. But it actually was.

NRG has already shifted customers of Volterras other brands, Volterra Energy and Power Express, to Cirro Energy while Discount Energy customers were transferred to Pennywise Power. NRG is honoring the previous contract terms, including rates.

But next year, the brand name Pennywise Power is going away, according to NRG. Instead, the company will adopt Discount Power, a strong brand in the Texas market and one that appeals to shoppers focused on price.

lynn.sixel@chron.com

twitter.com/lmsixel
AUSTIN  Of the eight feature films that Jason Reitman has directed five have been literary adaptations. There are difficult things about adapting a book, says Reitman. You always leave out something good and something that readers love.

Reitmans latest literary adaption steps into theaters today. The Front Runner is based on the book All the Truth Is Out There by Matt Bai, and the film examines the fall from grace of U.S. Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., during the presidential race of 1988.

Reitman, who shares screenwriting credit along with Bai and Jay Carson, maintains that a good script is like sculpting, not painting. Its a subtractive art form versus an additive art form.

In painting, you are adding to the canvas. In sculpting, you are removing marble, and thats how a book is when its turned into a film. You find the shape of the movie within the book.

Hart was the proverbial lead candidate of Democratic contenders in 1987, building up to the election to replace two-term President Ronald Reagan. That changed when reporters from the Miami Herald acted on a phone tip that Hart was having an affair and staked out his Washington, D.C., townhome in early May.

Hart was hounded by condemning innuendos regarding a yacht cruise with friends, including Donna Rice, out of Miami that turned into a two-day excursion to Bimini.

Repeated calls and rendezvous with Rice culminate in the D.C. stakeout, with no less than five reporters and photographers from the Herald.

At a certain point, the emotional truth of the film is paramount. What can the audience track, and what can we get specific about in our storyline? says Reitman about reducing the number of reporters to three.

Within a week, the story had become a sensation, and Hart had dropped from the race.

Thirty years later, instant access to information has changed the media landscape from when satellite news trucks and 24-hour news channels were a nascent phenomenon.

If a Hart-style scandal occurred today, Reitman says, He would be under even more scrutiny. If Bai was looking at the first time political journalists went tabloid we are now in a full mix.  You wake up and open up your news app and theres a clickable piece about the midterms, and its directly across from a clickable piece about Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson breaking up.

When the Washington Post started reporting on the Hart scandal, they took an even harder line. A New York Times reporter had used a throwaway quote where Hart dares reporters to follow him if they think hes having an affair. All these moments are captured in The Front Runner, but in some cases combining multiple people into a composite character.

When youre making a movie, you need to follow arcs, says Reitman. We wanted the arc of one journalist, in specific, who would develop a relationship with Hart, admire Hart and define the idea of what it means to be a journalist. Also to feel that editorial pressure to ask questions.

The character of Post reporter A.J. Parker is a combination of real life correspondents E.J. Dionne from the New York Times Magazine and Paul Taylor of the Washington Post.

Dionne is the New York Times writer who got the innocuous quote from Hart to follow me around. A quote that almost wasnt in his original story, but then he slipped it in during a revision, Reitman says. Taylor is the young Post journalist who admired Hart but had a conflict whether to ask him about adultery.

Bais book was published in 2014, yet last month Atlantic Magazine published an article that purported Republican mover and shaker Lee Atwater had set up Hart.

It felt to me more like Atwater was clearing his conscious rather than shedding any actual light onto this story, which oddly says more about today than 1987, Reitman says about the deathbed confession.

The Lee Atwater story falls into that. At the most what did he do? asks Reitman. Hire a boat? At the end of the day, Gary Hart apparently met this woman at a party, they had chemistry, they kept in touch, he invited her to D.C.

I dont think Atwater engineered that. Frankly, when it comes to the movie, it doesnt matter. What Gary Hart did doesnt matter. Its our reaction that matters.

Reitmans directorial vision merges with the writers intent in a dynamic and lengthy one-take opening scene.

The philosophical question of this movie is what is relevant versus what is entertaining? Reitman says. Thats the core of Matts book and what I wanted to figure out a way to do cinematically.

Right from the get-go, youre presented a shot where theres too much to look at and too much to listen to. Youre in a van, theres three monitors playing, one is rewinding, another has the Wheres the beef? comment.

When Hart ran for president in 1984, he was trounced after lead candidate Walter Mondale asked Hart Wheres the beef? The slogan was appropriated from the then popular Wendys commercial. The media latched onto the phrase like a mountain lion onto prey.

From the beginning, youre offered this question of which of these characters is important, which of these stories is important. What am I supposed to listen to?

You go through that process until the last shot of the film where youre presented with an image on one side of the frame containing a politician making the last speech hell deliver. And on the other side of the frame are a husband and wife in a complicated marriage hanging on for dear life. Were asking the audience where do you want to look, what do you want to listen to?

A shot like the opening sequence takes a whole day to film. Its two-and-a-half minutes of the movie. We did 10 takes during the day to get the blocking down, Reitman says. Because we were shooting in Atlanta on a busy street corner we had to pull all the equipment off the street and onto the sidewalk for rush hour, and then after it was nightfall, we brought it all back out and did 10 more takes and we got it.

Actors like Hugh, who werent even in the shot, came down just to see it done.

Michael Bergeron is a writer in Houston.
A delegation of prominent Catholic bishops, led by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the archbishop of Galveston-Houston, spent 48 hours at ground zero of the nations immigration debate: the U.S.-Texas border.

The visit was conceived as a pastoral rather than a political mission, during which the bishops volunteered to serve migrants who had been released from detention, met with unaccompanied minors being housed in a converted Wal-Mart, spoke with border patrol agents and immigrant advocates helping new arrivals, and celebrated mass at San Juan Basilica, long a pilgrimmage destination for migrants.

The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops has been outspoken in its opposition to the Trump administration zero-tolerance policy, which resulted in the separation of more than 2,000 children from families trying to cross the border. On June 26, a federal judge ordered the administration to reuinify parents with children under 5 by July 10 and other children by July26, but there still seems to be no clear mechanism for bringing families together.

In mid-June, DiNardo, who serves as president of the USCCB, issued a statement condeming the zero tolerance policy.

Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together, the statement read. While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety. Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral.

The Houston Chronicle spoke with DiNardo following his visit to the border about what the delegation of bishops found and the immigration debate:

Q: Why did the bishops want to go to the border and visit those facilities?

A: We came up with a plan that a group of us would actually go to the border on a pastoral visit to learn things and also to accompany all the people surrounding the border and the immigrations questions down there. It would be first a sign of our solidarity with immigrants and also a chance to talk to those who are in all manners of responsibility.

Q: What sites did the delegation visit?

A: We talked with one of the Border Patrol agent groups who runs the processing center in McAllen. We also went to a place Casa del Padre, a private group that houses young people basically from the ages of 11 to 17 who are unaccompanied.

The care for the young men seemed to be pretty good to us. We talked briefly to them. We had Mass with them first and maybe 300 showed up and then we were given a tour of the whole place. Theres three meals a day and they get clothing and go to school. So from that point of view the care for them was good.

Our our only concern is that they have so many young men there in a kind of form of containment. They cant really leave there, so theyre waiting while their cases will be handled. But I found that the people running this institution were doing a pretty good job. The kids did not look like they were being treated in any abusive fashion whatsoever.

It helped us to understand what theyre up against when you have so many people crossing the border, particularly the unaccompanied youth. We also had a visit to Catholic Charities. Sister Norma (Pimentel) is a sister who runs that. These people are the ones who are released by Border Patrol. Usually they have the ankle bracelets on and they are free then to find a place throughout the United States. They have to make sure that theres someone they can go to who will take responsibility for them.

I talked to a number of the families last Sunday. Its good to hear their stories. That was the really important thing. They looked a little weary, as you can imagine. I remember one man saying he came with his 17-year-old son and is from Honduras and he was threatened theyre going to kill him. I guess if you were in that situation youll try anything to get out. I found their stories instructive. Obviously theyre in a situation where they come over here and theyre not documented, but theyre human beings like we are.

We also did go to one of the border crossing one of the facilities in McAllen. We saw people be coming in being processed. Thats difficult. Theyre just coming in and just look dazed. Some of the people cross the border and walk right to the agents, so they want to get picked up. They can they get processed. They get there they are ankle bracelets. And a lot of them are released and then they come to Catholic Charities and they help them out.

The people are in charge of the border officers were trying to do the best they could. There was no sense of being mean but weve got a lot of people coming in one time.

I felt incredibly bad about some of the children who were with their parents. Theres a lot anxiety even in their eyes. Theyre nervous.

Its happening a lot, every day theres somebody. Sister Norma that said that the day before they had taken in probably close to 100 and sent them on the buses and the day that we were there another 70 or 80 came in today. This is kind of a constant thing.

Q: What did you learn by seeing that first-hand?

A: We need to have a solution. What I found is nobody was was being mean. What I found is that all the groups are like separate silos, as it were. Particularly the government groups. They need to talk to each other.

The most important thing are those parents who came with children and then the children were separated. You know the president issued an order that they should be rejoined to their parents and that has to be done as soon as possible. Immediately. That has to be done. Thats one thing that we were persuaded of talking with them.

We also think that the responsibility falls not only the administration, where it does, but also the Congress and the Congress just seems either unable or unwilling to try to work on some comprehensive reform.

We also need to do something with the Central American governments to give them more stability. People dont come if theres some stability there, but if you have gangs running running things and you need to join them. Thats why theyre so worried about these youngsters who are boys in their teens. You either join the gang or are going to get shot. Thats what the one man told me when they were going to threaten him nad his son. What do you do? You will try anything to leave. Its a tragic situation.

Q: What struck you the most?

A: I dont see villains here. What I saw was a situation thats just not good. We need to resolve the situation. It will not be quick but it has to be done. I particularly am concerned about any children separated from their parents if they came with their parents. I do believe we need to do something about these unaccompanied minors. Thats probably going to take a little more time. But something needs to be done there as well.

Q: As a church leader, you represent all Catholics. How does the Catholic community stand on this issue?

A: The Catholic community has multiple points of view and I cant say were all in unity on everything about this, to say the least. Thats why we made it a pastoral visit. We started our time early Sunday morning celebrating Mass at that huge basilica down there. We also celebrated mass for easily 300 of the 1,300 young men there at Casa del Padre. We see this not as a political visit although it obviously involves comments that could be construed as such. I wanted it as something that could be construed as pastoral, to show that we care about people, human beings, the human person. Thats our major preoccupation. Thats why we spent time with the people rather than going around making statements about policy.

We have some ideas about policy, but I would ask our Catholics, at the very least, whatever side they are on, to write to Congress and say Congress has to resolve this.

Q: Can you talk about the stand the USCCB has taken on the zero-tolerance policy and separation of families?

A: We really went very strongly against that. We have done that a couple of times before and did it again. I issued a statement at the beginning of our bishops meeting which, for lack of a better word, went viral for some reason and went all over the place. We said that they shouldnt be separated. This is not a way to deal with the complexities of the issue. Its not good. Its not great. In fact, its immoral. I think that caught the attention for that reason and we do think its that. Because what do you do with a 3-year-old little girl or little boy screaming about why are they being taken away from Mommy? Its beyond belief.

There are laws and we need to respect borders and laws. Were not opposed to that. We also need need humanity in this, to look at the human situation that has arisen. That was why we were so strong and remain strong on this issue.

Q: Pope Francis has been very outspoken about the need to stand with immigrants and migrants and refugees and the idea of sharing their journey. What does that really mean? To share the journey of migrants and refugees?

A: Well, theres a variety of ways. Beyond writing Congress or sending help and funds. Down in Brownsville and McAllen, the churches down there have a large number of volunteers who feed them, get things ready, make sure they got their tickets, accompany them to the bus depot. Thats one way.

The other way is to have a more welcoming attitude. Even if we are opposed somewhat someones immigration, we should not demonize immigrants.

Beyond personally what we do, we need to see immigrants as human beings. Thats how you share the journey, whatever the ultimate policy recommendations that you might make which may be considered as pro or anti immigrant.

We want to see comprehensive reform. We think we should invite immigrants in. We also think we need to respect our laws and find ways in which those laws are handled in a humane way. What I really want to do is to say there are problems here, but we are not going to solve them by sound bites and by what I would call overly punitive ways to deal with undocumented immigrants.

monica.rhor@chron.com

twitter.com/monicarhor
After Hurricane Harvey, environmental lawyer and Rice University SSPEED (Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters) Center co-director Jim Blackburn has arisen as one of the leading voices on reducing flooding in Houston and surrounding areas. I sat down with Blackburn to learn what role the Katy Prairie could play to help reduce flooding.

Q: How could preserving the Katy Prairie help minimize flooding?

A: Preserving the Katy Prairie alone can be useful and, with management, even private lands that are in cattle production can be useful. Mainly, it is about getting roots to penetrate the soil and water following the roots down into the ground. If you combine that will a small levee like what is in rice fields, you can perhaps pond another foot of water on the flat land. Together, the potential to store water is substantial.

Q: It's been said that the Katy Prairie acts like a natural sponge. How does this work?

A: The roots of prairie grasses penetrate and break the soil, and in doing so, they create natural pathways. There is space around the root, and the water naturally penetrates. Those roots go down five or six feet. With roots in the soil, a very impermeable clay soil can become permeable.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: How to fight Houston flooding with plants

Q: During the rest of the year when flooding is not a problem, would the newly protected Katy Prairie still be helping to lessen the flooding we get during big rainfalls?

A: It's impossible to separate the days of the year when there is flooding from the days there isn't flooding, because you need time to build up the soil. But in terms of year-round benefits in decreasing flooding, there are the roots, the microbes, the carbon. There are the earthworms creating tunnels. All year, there is chemistry going on that makes the soil more water-loving and hydrophilic. When you get a soil system alive, it retains water.

Q: I read an interview with a local politician who a couple years ago claimed that the Katy Prairie could not serve as a sponge, because he saw water spreading from the prairie toward homes. How would you respond to this statement?

A: The prairie has the capacity to be a sponge, but the land he saw had likely had become degraded by overgrazing and leveling and by pothole destruction. Our concept is to restore prairie vegetation, manage grazing carefully and erect small berms (like rice field levees) to hold the water. We are talking about taking the Katy Prairie's capability to store water to a whole new level.

Jim Blackburn on Building a Flood-Resilient Region What: Bayou City Initiative's Stakeholder Meeting When: Wednesday, November 4, 2018, 4 p.m. Where: BakerRipley Leonel Castillo Community Center, 2101 South Street in the Near Northside Click here for more information and to register See More Collapse

Q: Currently there are provisions being discussed to protect the Katy Prairie through the flood bond. What would it look like if not as much happens as needs to happen? And what would success look like?

A: The major issue is land development pressure. The Grand Parkway has been completed, and there will certainly be development around this road. Some of the important land to save is near the Grand Parkway, mainly to the west. These landowners need additional income if they are to keep their "sponges" in place for the good of all of us. We are going to have to pay them to keep this sponge in place. I think we could pay landowners $100 per acre across 50,000 acres and store a lot of stormwater on the prairie, particularly with diked enhancement. Over 50 years, I believe that this idea, the Texas Coastal Exchange, would be more effective and cheaper than building a new reservoir. But we need to pay the landowners. So success would be paying them to store water and keep their land natural. Failure would be transfer all of this land to real estate development or speculation.

THE POWER OF PLANTS: What wildflowers do for our cities

Q: What would happen if the land near the Grand Parkway were transferred to real estate development and more buildings were built along the Grand Parkway?

A: More development along the Grand Parkway will certainly happen to some extent. However, if this developed swath is large, it will diminish the amount of water storage capacity we will have on the west side of the Grand Parkway. This is what many fear. But the good news is that many landowners who don't want to sell their land for conservation might be willing to keep their lands natural if they are getting paid annually by those of us who benefit from their land's capacity to hold water.

Q: This may sound obvious, but are you saying that there could be more or even worse flooding if the land around the Grand Parkway is developed, instead of restored to a state that allows it to retain water?

A: Yes, that is true in two ways. First, the development itself could generate excess runoff and worsen downstream conditions. And second, the potential of the land to store and hold water would be lost.

Jerry Baker/Freelance

Q: Where would the money to pay Katy Prairie landowners to help protect Houston from flooding come from?

A: The money would be paid from Harris County bond proceeds directly to the landowners. It could also come from the City of Houston, but most likely, it would come from the county.

Q: Are there any other reasons you believe we should protect the Katy Prairie?

A: The prairie provides numerous ecological services, and flood storage is only one of these. There is storage of carbon dioxide in the soil, helping protect us in regards to climate-related issues. There are potentially water supply benefits for us through replenishing underground water reservoirs, but that is likely less important on the Katy Prairie than it is on larger river watersheds like the Brazos, Colorado and Guadalupe. There are birds and bunnies that would benefit, adding to the recreational potential. These are just a few of the many potential benefits.

Elizabeth White-Olsen is a writer, Harvey evacuee and the founder and director of Writespace in Houston.

Get the Gray Matters newsletter. It might be willing to keep its land natural.
Bridgette Murray, a retired nurse, lives in a predominantly black neighborhood on Houston's east side, where small houses grace tree-shaded streets, all built around two schools and a city park.

Its name is Pleasantville, a postwar version of the American dream. But the reality is something different.

Warehouses, metal recyclers, salvage yards, Anheuser-Busch's Houston brewery and an interstate push hard against the neighborhood, proof and product of the city's light-on-regulations approach to land use. Trains and trucks rumble through the area day and night. It can be difficult to breathe.

"Playing victim has never been one of my personality traits," said Murray, whose family moved to Pleasantville in 1957, years before industry's arrival. "I am here to work with the residents for solutions."

As founder of the nonprofit Achieving Community Tasks Successfully, or ACTS, Murray is working with Environmental Defense Fund to fully understand Pleasantville's air pollution and its associated harmful health effects. She wants to map a fair, just and sustainable path forward for her community.

The effort began in December 2017 with the placement of a BEACO2N sensor in Pleasantville to measure concentrations of several pollutants, including fine particulate matter, which can get deep inside lungs and cause cancer and cardiovascular disease.

In all, EDF, Houston's health department and the University of California, Berkeley, placed 20 sensors across the city. The list includes Pleasantville, where about 3,000 people live  mostly of low wealth  because the state's existing network of stationary monitors does not include the neighborhood despite its proximity to a busy port, industry and heavy traffic.

That matters because we know that air pollution can vary by as much as eight times within one city block.

In Pleasantville, preliminary data show that the highest concentrations of particulate matter occur at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., high times for traffic. The later peak typically extends through midnight, suggesting industrial sources also may play a role.

"Our goal is to reduce the health risks from exposure to air pollution, eliminate the health disparities and improve the health and prosperity of those who have suffered the burdens of air pollution for way too long," said Elena Craft, EDF's senior director for climate and health.

EDF is doing similar work in other states  and now London  but Houston represents our most extensive effort to use innovative technologies to measure air pollution and produce hyperlocal data that can empower vulnerable communities to take action.

Melissa Phillip/Staff

With 14 projects underway, this work comes at a crucial time for Houston, where air pollution remains a public health problem despite hard-won improvements over the past 20 years. In 2018 alone, there have been 30 days with unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone, or smog. On many days, the city's air also contains other harmful pollutants such as benzene, a gasoline byproduct.

Our projects include:

Testing a cost-effective, scalable model for mapping air pollution using municipal vehicles in partnership with telematics company GeoTab, TDE Technologies and the city of Houston.

Identifying hotspots for air pollution using Google Street View cars outfitted with high-resolution sensors. It builds on previous work done in Oakland, California, in a larger geographic area.

Deploying Entanglement Technologies' mobile sensors and laboratory-grade analyzer to measure air pollution like benzene in real time in Houston neighborhoods following Hurricane Harvey.

"If somebody asked me how many fixed site monitors we need, I would say there are never enough," said Loren Raun, chief environmental officer with the Houston Health Department, which has since received funding to purchase similar instruments from Entanglement Technologies. "Real-time mobile monitoring will change the playing field."

These new tools can make the city's air pollution not only visible, but also actionable. With the Houston Endowment's support, EDF will provide high-resolution maps of environmental threats and health effects, along with hyperlocal pollution data and legal options for communities interested in developing their own action plans.

Participation requires an existing community-based organization like Murray's ACTS, because data cannot drive change without champions.

Data Drives at TXRX Labs What: A celebration of innovation that can lead to clean air every day for everyone in the region When: Monday, December 3, 2018, 5:30 p.m. Where: 205 Roberts Street in Houston's East End For more information, head to One Breath Partnership and RSVP here. See More Collapse

Murray's community work initially focused on replacing aging infrastructure, rebuilding roads and improving storm drainage in Pleasantville. She later integrated environmental justice and public health as major parts of her platform.

Murray said her concern grew not from one event, but many. Her father died at age 51. He had multiple myeloma, a form of cancer. As industry's footprint grew around the neighborhood, the air began to stink. In 1995, stored chemicals burned out of control at four nearby warehouses for a day and then reignited three times over the next month.

A recent Environmental Protection Agency analysis shows that people of color face higher exposure to particulate pollution than the population at large, regardless of wealth. These tiny particles have been associated with lung disease, heart disease and premature death. Health and exposure data, however, has been hard to find for Pleasantville, Murray said. "We know our cancer rates are high, but it's hard to prove our points when the system does not collect the data," she said.

More and better information can empower the community, Murray said. "In black and brown communities, sometimes we know about something, but we are talking only to each other. We need to take the conversation from the front porch to a place of action."

Matthew Tresaugue manages communications for Environmental Defense Fund's air quality work in Houston, as well as the day-to-day coordination and organization of the six-member One Breath Partnership.

Get the Gray Matters newsletter. It grew not from one event, but many.
Armenia's State Revenue Committee has carried out an audit in Gazprom Armenia and revealed a number of violations and cases of tax evasions.

According to the committee's press service, during 2016 and 2017, the company provided false data to tax body evading payment of taxes amounting to over few billion AMD.

A criminal case has been filed. Necessary investigative and judicial procedures have been launched to reveal the amount of damage to the state as a result of abuses by the company and to reveal the cases of corruption in gas consumption sector, Interfax reported.

Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said earlier that his country fellows do not feel the benefits of low price of natural gas purchased from Russia. "Today, our citizens do not feel that they receive cheap gas from Russia," Pashinyan said to the National Assembly, noting that there are problems in this area that need to be resolved, mainly, inefficient management and corruption risks.

"I think that the Russian authorities also understand that we approach these issues with all seriousness," Pashinyan said, noting that the government is also working towards a downward revision of electricity tariffs.

Energy security expert Vahe Davtyan told Vestnik Kavkaza earlier that Gazprom-Armenia earns excess profits from the previous discount, but still demands a new discount. "In 2016, the gas price was lowered from $165 to $150 per thousand cubic meters. During this period, the management of Gazprom-Armenia said that the reduced gas price at the border would not lead to a decrease in tariffs for final consumers, since this increased marginality will be used to manage the Armenian gas transmission system and implement infrastructure projects, including the expansion of the underground gas storage facility in Abovyan. Today, Gazprom-Armenia has fulfilled the basic infrastructure obligations, and now it has possibility to be engage in more community-oriented tariff policy," he said, pointing that Gazprom's subsidiary has no reasons to keep high tariffs for consumers.
Houston saw a trace of snow on Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported, marking the earliest recorded snow for the Bayou City and breaking a nearly 40-year record.

A trace of snow/sleet was recorded at Bush Intercontinental Airport, where the city's official weather is recorded. Tuesday's report broke a record previously set on Nov. 23, 1979, the agency said in a tweet.

With temperatures in the upper 30s, nothing is accumulating, said Molly Merrifield, a meteorologist at NWS in League City.

"It's just cool to watch it fall," she said.

Flurries fell in other parts of the Houston area earlier Tuesday, including Conroe and Ellington Airport. Light sleet and snow flurries hit the ground in College Station.

Some parts of the area, including Pearland, also experienced thundersleet, where in a thunderstorm, sleet falls instead of rain. A couple of lightning strikes were reported, said Merrifield, who added the phenomenon is pretty rare here.

REAL SNOW: Texas Panhandle, bison blanketed in white stuff

The National Weather Service also issued a freeze warning Tuesday for the Houston area, with temperatures expected to dip down to sub-freezing levels tonight.

The warning is in effect from 9 tonight to 9 a.m. Wednesday. Temperatures should be between 25 and 32 degrees across southeast Texas.

NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.
Republican Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, last week won election to represent Texass 2nd Congressional District, which is in Harris County and shaped like President Donald Trumps hairdo.

A few days later, Crenshaw became the Republican Partys brightest rising star after an appearance on Saturday Night Live that made a profound impression on conservative voters, GOP party leaders and Fox News pundits.

Houston has found itself a great new leader, said Dana Perino on Monday, after the SNL segment.

Actually, Houston has given the GOP a role model. And the voters of the 2nd Congressional District deserve the credit for choosing Crenshaw amid a blue wave in Harris County and despite the best efforts of the party itself.

Trump didnt even mention Crenshaw at his rally in Houston last month. The president encouraged Texans to re-elect the incumbent, Republican Ted Poe, which wasnt an option, given Poes impending retirement.

So the reaction to Crenshaws appearance on Saturday Night Live tells us more about the state of the GOP than the congressman-elect himself.

Read more: Is Houstons Crenshaw the secret weapon for GOP with millenials?

His visit was spurred by a comment made by comedian Pete Davidson the previous week, related to the eye patch Crenshaw wears as a result of injuries he suffered in Afghanistan in 2012, when a roadside bomb killed his Afghan interpreter and nearly killed him.

Davidson took heat after the previous weeks SNL when he suggested Crenshaw looked like a hit man in a porno movie.

The resulting kerfuffle highlighted one of the more impressive first-time candidates for Congress from either party. Crenshaw responded with equanimity, saying that although it was probably best to avoid jokes about war wounds, no apology was necessary.

Still, Saturday Night Live decided to offer him one  and brought him onto the show to air it. That was the right thing to do, and the resulting segment was genuinely moving, besides being funny. Crenshaw revealed himself to have a surprisingly good sense of comic timing, as well as the kind of graciousness that has gone missing from our political debates lately.

Americans can forgive one another, said Crenshaw, after accepting Davidsons apology.

Read more: Crenshaw wins 2nd Congressional District runoff as Roberts concedes

He took the opportunity to honor the nations veterans and paid tribute to Davidsons father, who was among the first responders who died during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Its easy to see why this struck a chord with conservative voters, in particular. Republicans and Democrats have spent the last two years slathering each other in bile, with Trump one of the worst offenders. As president, he wields the power of the state as well as the bully pulpit.

For conservatives, this is painful as well as frustrating. In addition to everything else, Trump doesnt share their views on certain issues and rarely defends their principles and values. But Democrats are quick to insist that he speaks for all Republicans  and nobody else has been, lately.

Crenshaws appearance on SNL must have felt like a breath of fresh air for the Americans in search of another voice. In addition to having conservative credentials, Crenshaw is a normal, decent person with a clear commitment to public service. The same is true of Van Taylor, a Marine and GOP state senator who was elected last week to represent Texass 3rd Congressional District in Collin County.

But the Republican leaders and pundits heralding Crenshaws arrival on the political scene are glossing over some relevant context as they bid to cast him as representative of the party writ large.

Some have even invoked Crenshaws previously low profile as evidence of bias on the part of the media, which pays plenty of attention to Republicans like Iowa congressman Steve King, to say nothing of Trump himself.

Those leaders and pundits are taking the wrong lesson from Crenshaws election, I think. His victory wasnt a fluke, exactly  and the 2nd Congressional District was a safely red seat in 2016.

Crenshaw probably wouldnt have run for Congress had Poe run for re-election. Hed probably still be in the Navy, if not for the blast.

And Crenshaw wouldnt have won the Republican nomination if party leaders had their druthers. Gov. Greg Abbott backed longtime activist Kathaleen Wall, who spent $6 million in the primary and failed to make the runoff. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett endorsed state Rep. Kevin Roberts. Crenshaws most influential supporter was Michael Berry, the radio host.

Grieder: Donald Trump ought to stop disrespecting Texas

And then during the course of the runoff, some Republicans accused Crenshaw of disloyalty. He had declared his support for the president after deciding to run for Congress. But that came after Crenshaw supported Jeb Bush in 2016 in the primary and criticized Trumps call for a Muslim ban in a Facebook post. By his own admission, Crenshaw didnt even vote that November.

None of that reflects poorly on Crenshaw. He is a genuinely impressive candidate, the kind of Republican who can win support from across the aisle, even in the Trump era. We saw that last week. Crenshaw beat Democrat Todd Litton by seven points, even though Litton was a well-qualified candidate and the district isnt as red as it once seemed.

And it turns out that Crenshaw won during the early voting period, as well as on Election Day. Voters saw his merits before Saturday Night Live called attention to his candidacy.

Republican leaders and pundits didnt, perhaps. Thats telling.

erica.grieder@chron.com
An online retail company has launched a Lego-style line of toys dubbed "MAGA building blocks."

Its first product being sold for $29.95 is an imitation of Donald Trump's promised border wall. It features a grey brick wall and a toy figure resembling the 45th president.

To sell pre-orders of the toy, the Conservative online retail site warns of "a mob of 10,000 Central American migrants" heading towards El Paso, Texas.

"The wall must be built," reads the toy's description at one point. "The wall will keep America safe and strong. Only then will we be able to help those in need."

Keep and Bear, the makers of the toy, boast that it's a great Christmas gift for children.

According to the New York Post, Keep and Bear originally began as a marketing effort for a documentary film about gun rights. The conservative website sells an assortment of other pro-Trump products as well.

LATEST: Lawsuit seeks to block Trump from denying asylum to migrants crossing the border illegally

News of the soon-to-sell toy set has already sparked backlash on social media, with many critics calling the Lego-style set racist.

It's not the only building block set being sold by Keep and Bear. Another set features a figurine of Hillarly Clinton in an orange jumpsuit being "sent to prison for her many crimes!"

Fernando Ramirez is a digital reporter for Chron.com and Houstonchronicle.com. Read him on our breaking news site and on our subscriber site. Follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email him at Fernando.ramirez@chron.com.
A federal agent has signed a plea deal in which he admits he received and accessed thousands of images of child pornography.

Richard Nikolai Gratkowski, 40, who has been with Homeland Security Investigations since 2008, took a plea offer instead of going to trial.

A guilty plea means he faces five to 20 years on the charge of receiving the images and up to 20 years on a count of accessing child porn with intent to view it. He is expected to formalize the deal at a plea hearing expected to be scheduled within a week in federal court in San Antonio.

According to court testimony, Gratkowski most recently worked on gang investigations in San Antonio for HSI, a section of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also had worked in Eagle Pass.

An FBI agent previously testified that Gratkowskis employer put him on paid leave and was working to fire him.

All Department of Homeland Security employees are held to the highest standards of behavior and ethics, ICE said in a statement issued after Gratkowski was arrested in January. While ICE does not comment on personnel matters, the agency is fully cooperating with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding this issue.

Gratkowski was arrested Jan. 4 after his case was referred to the FBI by his own agencys internal affairs branch and the Internal Revenue Services criminal investigators, FBI special agent Larry Baker testified at a hearing in February.

Baker testified that Gratkowskis arrest arose out of an investigation into a child porn website on The Onion Router, or TOR network, which seeks to keep users anonymous by using thousands of relays or servers, much like the layers of an onion. The same investigation also ensnared then-Border Patrol agent Paul Casey Whipple, 35, of Hondo in mid-December.

According to Baker, the website in question provided access to more than 117,000 graphic child porn videos. Gratkowski and Whipple were both identified as users.

In Gratkowskis case, he used his USAA bank account  and his government ID  to buy bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, and open an account on the child porn website in April 2016, Baker said. Gratkowski then established a second account that gave him access to the site through much of 2017.

Baker said Gratkowski also visited two other child porn websites on the TOR network and used a social media app called Kik to get to another child porn site.

The FBI served a search warrant at Gratkowskis home in early January and recovered two nonworking iPhones and a computer hard drive, but did not find any child porn images, Baker said. But the FBI did find  in one of two working iPhones recovered from Gratkowski  evidence of links to child pornography, and he admitted visiting the child porn sites, Baker said.

He said that in April 2016, he turned to child porn and turned to the site and two other (child porn) sites on the TOR network, Baker testified at the February hearing. He advised hed been in a dark place as a result of problems with his wife, work stressors and financial stressors.  He went to the dark net to avoid detection.

Baker testified that before the raid, Gratkowski used an anti-forensics program to wipe child porn images from his computers.

Gratkowski also told agents he destroyed the computer he used to download child pornography in mid-December and threw it in a Dumpster outside the San Antonio apartment he shared with his girlfriend.

In his plea deal, he admits to many of Bakers allegations. The documents show an external hard drive contained 190 deleted files of child porn.

The plea deal also said he used the Kik app on his phone to view child porn when he could not access it on the computer in the home where his wife and children live.

Gratkowski, who served in the Army, was awarded a Bronze Star and was honorably discharged, according to testimony from his father, who lives in Washington state. Hes been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, his father added.

Gratkowskis wife filed for divorce in March in Bexar County, and Gratkowski filed a counterclaim in September. The case is pending, records show.

Whipple, meanwhile, is charged with producing, distributing and possessing child pornography. Hes accused of sexually assaulting a minor and sharing images of it over the internet. He faces 15 to 30 years for the production charge alone. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 29, but his plea deadline is Friday.

Guillermo Contreras covers federal court and immigration news in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
AUSTIN  On top of a filing cabinet in room 100, next to a box of miscellaneous guns.

Thats where the Beretta 9 mm pistol issued to former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez sat during her unsuccessful campaign for governor, as the reportedly missing firearm fueled the only attack ad against her in the race.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott slammed Valdez in a billboard and an online ad with the punchline: And she cant even keep track of her gun.

But a recently concluded internal investigation by the Dallas County Sheriffs Department obtained by Hearst Newspapers reveals the former sheriffs gun wasnt the only one lost in the departments property room.

A flash drive with a password known to only one employee was the key to the departments system for tracking the weapons assigned to more than 340 deputies.

If anything did happen to the property room Clerk, the Department would lose its entire county weapons inventory as the spreadsheet is password protected with no one else having the password, the internal investigation found.

Whats more, the hunt for Valdezs gun turned up several misplaced county firearms, including a Desert Eagle pistol and a Colt .45 that were missing from the inventory list. Others were recorded incorrectly, with the database showing them checked out when they were really on the shelf, according to the investigation records.

Usually, law enforcement agencies keep tight control over their weapons inventory to ensure guns arent lost or stolen, said Philip Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University.

You dont want those guns floating into the wrong hands, said Stinson, who tracks police-involved crimes across the nation. In the past, officers have been arrested for selling their service weapons or taking them home to keep, Stinson said.

No guns are currently reported missing from Dallas County Sheriffs office, said spokesman Raul Reyna.

The internal investigation ended with a mea culpa from the sheriffs department and a reprimand and reassignment for a deputy overseeing the property room.

Reyna said property room procedures are now being updated under a new section chief.

Valdez, who was Dallas County Sheriff for 12 years, declined to comment on the internal investigation findings. But, she has always said she followed protocol to return the service weapon.

The investigation found Valdez did turn in the Beretta after resigning last December to run for governor.

Two employees in the property room signed paperwork at that time that showed they had taken custody of the weapon. But neither remembered doing so when questions arose last spring about the guns whereabouts, records show.

When a search of the property room didnt turn up the weapon, the Dallas County Sheriffs office reported the gun missing or stolen in July.

A search in mid-August turned up the Beretta. But the clerk who found it didnt know the serial number, so the weapon wasnt identified at the time, records show.

In another search of the property room the next week, officials found the pistol on top of a file cabinet in an unlabeled storage box. With it was a card dated Jan. 1 that said the weapon was returned to the property room from Lupe Valdez-Sheriff, records show.

amorris@express-news.net
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey on November 19.

Putin will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul to take part in the ceremony of completing the construction of the offshore section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline via a video conference, the Kremlin press office reported.

In addition, the two leaders will hold a meeting to discuss the issues of further development of the Russian-Turkish relations and topical regional and international problems.
With Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to deploy 200 Texas firefighters to help fight the deadly California blaze that has destroyed thousands of acres, incinerated dozens of homes and by Tuesday had caused more than 40 deaths, residents of the Lone Star State should pay close attention to where President Donald Trump is pointing a finger of blame for the ongoing tragedy.

There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor, Trump tweeted 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!

It would be nice to know how the president came to his conclusion. Without an accompanying explanation, Trumps tweet suggests it wasnt really meant for everybody. He was speaking to a part of his political base that has been reluctant to accept that human activity is an important factor in causing climate change, which has increased wildfires in the United States.

It has only been weeks since Trump in an Oct. 15 interview on 60 Minutes retreated from his election campaign assertion that climate change is a hoax. Theres probably a difference, Trump told CBS reporter Lesley Stahl. But I dont know that its man-made. I will say this. I dont wanna give trillions and trillions of dollars. I dont wanna lose millions and millions of jobs.

Placed in context with what is happening in California, it would be understandable if some people viewed the presidents comments as a political commitment to jobs that overlooks the fact that climate change is costing peoples lives  and its only going to get worse.

This is not the new normal; this is the new abnormal, said California Gov. Jerry Brown, warning that mega-fires fueled by dry vegetation, warmth and drought will continue in the coming decades, threatening our whole way of life.

These existential conditions, as Brown called them, wont change unless this country reduces its dependency on the fossil fuels that hasten global warming. This means replacing coal with natural gas, adding new capacity from solar and wind power and improving energy efficiency.

Even Trumps energy secretary, Rick Perry, embraced renewable energy along with traditional fuels when he was Texas governor. As a result, Texas leads the nation in wind energy, which generated about 15 percent of the states electricity in 2017. The Lone Star State produces more energy from wind turbines than all but five countries.

Scientists say climate change has caused less precipitation in California and other dry states and produced more rain in storm-prone states like Texas, which is still trying to recover from the flooding that devastated Houston last year.

Instead of addressing climate change, Trump is leading the nation down a dangerous path to protect certain jobs, particularly in the coal industry. He has scrapped the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan, issued less stringent vehicle emissions standards and pulled America out of the Paris agreement on climate change.

Its not clear what payments Trump was threatening to withhold in his tweet. Before blaming forest management for wildfires, however, he should acknowledge that the U.S. Forest Service is inadequately funded. As president he should know that fighting fires, which took only 16 percent of the Forest Services budget in 1995, now consumes 50 percent of its funding and at the current rate may eat up 67 percent of the agencys budget by 2025.

He should also note that the city of Malibu, which was devastated by the fire, is hardly a forest.

Rather than address that funding shortage, Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke touts the removal of dead timber as the key to preventing wildfires and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says more logging and controlled burns are needed. Trump has also criticized Californias water usage policies, wrongly saying they had reduced the amount of water available to fight wildfires.

Its time for the administration to stop ignoring what science is telling us all: Global warming is real. Human activity can cause it. Drought, wildfires, violent storms and flooding result from it. Reducing the use of fossil fuels can help prevent it.

Trumps fear of losing jobs in states that supported him doesnt just ignore the potential to create new, safer, healthier jobs building solar panels, wind turbines, and other equipment. He is ignoring the lives that would be saved by addressing climate change.
When French President Emmanuel Macron denounced populist nationalism this week and called on world leaders to support institutions such as the United Nations that defend the common good of the world, liberal elites cheered. The speech was seen as a rebuke of President Trump, whose opposition to globalism and embrace of nationalism are held up as signs of the decay of American conservatism and U.S. global leadership.

Sorry, but American conservatives were opposing the globalist project long before Trump arrived on the scene.

Back in the early 1990s, President Bill Clinton's soon-to-be deputy secretary of state, Strobe Talbott, said openly that all countries are basically social arrangements  [that] are all artificial and temporary. He added, Within the next hundred years  nationhood as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single global authority. Conservatives, as opposed to liberals such as Talbott, don't see America as a temporary social arrangement. They recognize the march toward supranational global authority as fundamentally undemocratic, because it represents a growing concentration of power in the hands of unelected bureaucrats presiding over unaccountable institutions further and further removed from the people affected by their decisions.

As Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman explained in his 1962 classic, Capitalism and Freedom: If government is to exercise power, better in the county than in the state, better in the state than in Washington, because if I do not like what my local community does  I can move to another local community. If I do not like that my state does, I can move to another. If I do not like what Washington imposes, I have few alternatives in this world of jealous nations. Where, exactly, is one supposed to move when one does not like what global institutions impose?

American conservatives believe in international cooperation to address common challenges. But they refuse to cede American sovereignty to supranational institutions, or to see America tied down with thousands of Lilliputian threads spun out of treaties and institutions that constrain her freedom of action. They understand that what stopped the march of Nazism and Communism in the 20th century was not international law but the principled projection of power by the world's democracies led by a sovereign United States. And what prevents China from invading Taiwan, or North Korea from attacking South Korea, today is not fear of U.N. censure but fear of the U.S. military. A strong America is the only guarantor of world peace. That's why President George W. Bush withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and refused to join the International Criminal Court, and why President Trump is withdrawing from pacts such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty today.

There is also nothing inherently wrong with populism. American conservatives have always been populists, because we believe that millions of individuals can make better decisions about their own lives than a cadre of elite central planners ever could. As the founder of the modern conservative movement, William F. Buckley Jr., famously declared, I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the  faculty members of Harvard University.

American conservatives have always been nationalists, but while European nationalism is based on blood and soil, ours is a creedal nationalism built on an idea  the idea of human freedom. That is why America can make the audacious claim that we are an exceptional nation. While a family of immigrants can live in France for generations and still not be accepted as "French," when immigrants jump into the Great American Melting Pot they become indistinguishable from any other American within a generation. European nationalism is inherently exclusive; American nationalism is inherently inclusive. And there are millions across the world who are already Americans in their hearts, even though they have not arrived here yet.

The problem we face today is not the rise of populism or nationalism. It is that the bigots of the alt-right are seeking to foist European-style blood-and-soil nationalism on to the American body politic. It won't work, because blood-and-soil nationalism is inimical to our founding principles. The Declaration of Independence says that all men  not all Americans or all citizens  are created equal. America has no Volk. The American body politic will reject the false nationalism of the alt-right like the foreign virus that it is.

But it does not follow that we must also reject American-style nationalism or embrace the globalist project. If that does not please, Monsieur Macron, tant pis!

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.
Park Ki-dong from Korea Gas Safety Corp (KGS) had instructed his team to eliminate seven qualified women applicants, including the top scorer among 31 finalists, and replace candidates with poorer-performing men.

Park excluded women without legitimate reason by ordering his subordinates to manipulate test scores seriously undermining social trust, the court said in its ruling.

According to AFP, Park claimed women would disrupt the firms operations by taking maternity leave.

Managers convicted

In a similar case, three senior managers of KB Kookmin Bank  the country's top lender  were convicted last month of lowering test scores for 112 female applicants and raising those of 113 men.

The accused deserved criticism for changing the fate of many job applicants and causing so great a sense of betrayal and despair in their hearts, the court said.
The construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project will be finished despite the U.S. efforts to derail the venture, CEO of Russia's Gazprom Alexey Miller said.

Yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland said that Washington has instruments to slow down or even stop the Nord Stream 2.

"Well, you see everything yourself - 200 kilometers have already been built. And the rest will be completed," Miller told the Kommersant newspaper.

The United States, seeking to promote its liquefied natural gas in the European market, has made a number of attempts to impede the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project and even incorporated a provision for counteracting the construction of the pipeline in its Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
The U.S. President Donald Trump berated British Prime Minister Theresa May over the phone while flying Air Force One to Paris, the Washington Post reported.

Trump reportedly criticised May, who had called him to congratulate him on the Republican Partys performance in the midterm elections, over the lack of action from the British side in Iran, questioned her over the Brexit deal and complained about European-American trade relations.

U.S. and European officials, briefed on the conversation, said that May and her aides were particularly shaken by this call.

May had argued before that Iran is meeting all its obligations under the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal despite Trump exiting the agreement and reimposing sanctions.
The United States is deeply concerned about Irans growing ties to Palestinian fundamentalist organization Hamas, State Department's top counter-terrorism official Nathan Sales said.

"After a brief split early in the Syria conflict, Hamas and Iran have rebuilt their relationship. Iran is once again providing Hamas with much-needed funding," he stressed.

Sales stressed that combined with the money that Iran provides to other terrorists, the total bill comes close to $1 billion a year. "Iran is the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran spends $700 million a year on Lebanese Hizballah," he added.

The State Department's top counter-terrorism official noted that Tehran gives another $100 million to various Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas.
Governor Brown Secures Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to Support Communities Impacted by Wildfires

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Monday announced that the White House has approved California's request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration, submitted yesterday, to bolster the ongoing emergency response and help residents recover from devastating fires burning in Butte, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

We have a real challenge here, threatening our whole way of life, said Governor Brown alongside the states top emergency management officials yesterday at the State Operations Center. It is a time of sadness, but also one to reflect on where we are and resolve to pull together and do everything we can to help those in need.

A Presidential Major Disaster Declaration helps people in the impacted counties through eligibility for support including crisis counseling, housing and unemployment assistance and legal services. It also provides public assistance to help state, tribal and local governments with ongoing emergency response and recovery, including the repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure, including roads, bridges and utilities. The declaration includes hazard mitigation, which helps state and local governments reduce the risks and impacts of future disasters.

Yesterday, Governor Brown joined leaders of the Governors Office of Emergency Services, CAL FIRE, California Highway Patrol and California National Guard at the State Operations Center in Mather to provide an update on the ongoing firefighting efforts.

Major fires burning in Northern and Southern California have claimed lives and caused extensive damage to residences and infrastructure. The Camp Fire in Butte County, which has burned 113,000 acres and decimated the Town of Paradise, is already the most destructive fire in modern California history. The Hill and Woolsey fires in Southern California have burned more than 96,100 acres. More than 8,000 firefighters are working the front lines of wildfires statewide.

A state of emergency has been declared in Los Angeles, Ventura and Butte counties due to multiple fires and late last week, California secured direct federal assistance to further support the impacted communities  within 24 hours of making the request. The Governors Office of Emergency Services has activated the State Operations Center to its highest level and is coordinating with other local, state and federal emergency response officials to address emergency management needs.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
The always edgy Saturday Night Live issued a rare apology this past weekend. Cast member Pete Davidson appeared with disabled veteran and newly elected Texas congressman Dan Crenshaw. Their joint statement crossed the political divide in these polarized times and left pretty much everyone highly impressed. But the most impressive moment came days earlier, on Election night, when Crenshaw responded to a reporter's question about the joke and showed what true emotional intelligence sounds like.

It all began with a "Weekend Update" sketch on the Saturday before Election Day, when Davidson did a segment called "First Impressions" in which he riffed on supposedly ugly candidates for office. Davidson likes pushing buttons and making people uncomfortable with his comedy so it's not surprising that many of his assessments could have offended their targets. Take Florida governor and (probable) senator-elect Rick Scott. Davidson had this to say: "He looks like someone tried to whittle Bruce Willis out of a penis."

After a few more such comments, a picture of then-candidate Crenshaw appeared. Crenshaw, a Navy SEAL who lost his right eye to an IED in Afghanistan during his third tour of duty, wears a large black eye patch. Davidson said, "You may be surprised to hear he's a congressional candidate from Texas, and not a hit man in a porno movie." After giggling at his own joke, he added with a shrug, "I'm sorry, I know he lost his eye in war or whatever," before going on with the routine.

SNL faced intense criticism for the skit, with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer calling for the firing of not only Davidson but also Lorne Michaels, SNL's long-time producer. Even those who didn't believe Davidson should be fired (or perhaps keel-hauled) did think the show should apologize to Crenshaw and wounded vets everywhere.

Crenshaw himself, however, was specifically not calling for an apology. On Election night, fresh from his win, a local TV reporter asked about the incident. "SEALs don't get offended," Crenshaw said. He went on to say more, that even though the comments might have been offensive, "Let's stop demanding apologies and firings of people. Let's just demand that comedy actually be funny, but let's be good people."

That first sentence--"SEALs don't get offended,"--puts the whole event into perfect perspective. When you've faced death over and over, when you've been through some of the most rigorous training and worked in some of the harshest conditions on the planet, when you're able to do things most people can't imagine...a little tasteless comedy from a sickly 24-year-old just isn't a big deal. Get over it people--we all have more important things to worry about.

Live...from New York...It's not an apology.

Of course, this is not the first time a Saturday Night Live episode has caused widespread offense. SNL, in general, does not apologize, at least not on the air and not in the usual way. When Sinead O'Connor outraged many Catholics by tearing up a photo of the pope, the show's response came in the form of a monologue by Joe Pesci criticizing O'Connor and saying that if it were his show he would have given her "such a smack." He then showed the audience the picture, taped back together. Likewise, when Larry David was lambasted for jokes about how to pick up women in a concentration camp, he returned later as Bernie Sanders in a fake ad, ranting about comedians who made fun of the Holocaust and saying they should "rot in hell."

SNL had never, in anyone's memory, issued a straightforward apology during the show. But that changed this past Saturday when Davidson again appeared on "Weekend Update." "In what I'm sure was a huge shock for people who know me, I made a poor choice last week," he said. "On behalf of the show and myself, I apologize." He went on: "The man is a war hero and he deserves all the respect in the world, and if any good came of this, maybe it was that for one day, the left and the right finally came together to agree on something--that I'm a dick!"

"You think?" said Crenshaw, a surprise guest, suddenly entering from Davidson's right. Davidson apologized directly to Crenshaw, who accepted the apology. There was some joking around about Davidson's ex-fiancee Ariana Grande and a bit of business in which Crenshaw got his own back by making several jokes based on Davidson's appearance.

And then Crenshaw turned serious. There was a lot to learn from the incident, he said, not just that the left and the right could agree sometimes, but also that Americans can forgive each other and see the good in one another. He went on to mention Veteran's Day the following day. "It's a good time for every American to connect with a veteran, maybe say 'Thanks for your service.'" But, he went on, "I would actually encourage you to say something else. Tell a veteran, 'Never forget.' When you say 'never forget' to a veteran, you are implying that as an American you are in it with them, not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans but connected together as grateful fellow Americans."

You're also letting them know that you'll never forget those past and present who gave their efforts, their health, or their lives, Crenshaw said. That included Davidson's father, a firefighter who died in the Marriott World Trade Center on 9/11--the loss left Davidson badly bereft. So, Crenshaw said, turning to Davidson, "I'll just say, Pete, never forget."

"Never forget," Davidson answered, shaking Crenshaw's hand. Then he turned toward the audience and shouted, "And that is from both of us!"
The UN Security Council met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip but there was no agreement on how to address the crisis, diplomats said.

Kuwait and Bolivia requested the meeting following the worst flareup in Gaza since the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel.

Addressing reporters after the 50-minute meeting, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the council was "paralyzed" and had "failed to shoulder its responsibility" to take action to end the violence.

There was no statement from the council on the crisis. Such statements are agreed by consensus by all 15 council members.

Kuwait's Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said the majority of council members were of the view that the top UN body "should do something" and some suggested a visit to the region, but no decision was taken, AFP reported.

Palestinian militant groups including Hamas, which rules Gaza, issued a joint statement earlier announcing an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel. The groups said they would abide by the truce as long as Israel did the same, but there was no immediate comment from the Israeli side.

The latest round of violence began on Sunday with a botched Israeli special forces operation inside the Gaza Strip that turned deadly and prompted Hamas to vow revenge. Palestinian militants responded with rocket and mortar fire. An anti-tank missile hit a bus that Hamas says was being used by Israeli soldiers. A soldier was severely wounded in the attack.
German Playboy has walked back an interview in which Ennio Morricone was quoted as insulting Quentin Tarantino.

The publication told Deadline the composers words were in part, reproduced incorrectly in the article, which claimed Morricone had called the film director a cretin.

Playboys, publishing group previously stood by the interview while Morricone firmly denied criticising Tarantino.

Recommended The acclaimed film set to put Netflix in the 2019 Oscar race

The magazines editor-in-chief, German journalist Florian Boitin, has now spoken out against the interview, which was bylined by freelance music journalist Marcel Anders.

Up to now, we have considered the freelancer who conducted the Ennio Morricone interview on our behalf to be a renowned print and radio journalist, Boitin told Deadline.

In the past, we have had no reason to doubt his journalistic integrity and skills. Based on the information now at our disposal, we must unfortunately assume that the words spoken in the interview have, in part, been reproduced incorrectly.

We would like to express our regret should Mr Morricone have been portrayed in a false light. We are working to clarify this matter and are exploring legal measures.

In the interview, Morricone was quoted as calling Tarantino's films "trash" and the director someone "who just steals from others and puts it together again... he's not a director.

"Not comparable to the real Hollywood greats like John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder."

Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Show all 7 1 /7 Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Jimmie Dimmick in Pulp Fiction (1994) Here he plays Jimmie Dimmick, who gets caught up in Vincent and Jules body disposing and panics over how on earth hes going to get rid of the bloody evidence before his wife gets home. Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Mr Brown in Reservoir Dogs (1992) Tarantino opens Reservoir Dogs as Mr Brown, talking about Madonna hit Like a Virgin, before later being shot in the head, crashing his car and dying. Brief, but dramatic. Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Miner in Django Unchained (2013) Tarantino's Django cameo is much maligned. His Aussie miner appeared somewhat randomly in his first Western movie, before blowing himself up with his own dynamite. Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Warren in Death Proof (2007) Warrens owns the Texas Chili Parlour bar in this thriller about the murders of four women at the hands of a crazed stuntman. His own jukebox can be seen in the scene. Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Pick-up guy in Desperado (1995) Not one of his own films, but Tarantino did a favour for director Robert Rodriguez and agreed to a cameo. He wrote the three-minute long wee joke that he tells before being being killed. Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Elvis impersonator in The Golden Girls (1988) Not technically a cameo, but too funny not to include. Before his career kicked off, Tarantino played an Elvis impersonator on a 1988 episode of Golden Girls. Quentin Tarantino's best cameos Dead Nazi in Inglourious Basterds (2009) In this one he is a dead Nazi being scalped. Lovely.

The article also quoted Morricone, who won his first Academy Award for his work on Tarantino's 2015 Western The Hateful Eight, as saying he no longer wanted to travel to "this dreadful America with these pompous pomposities, these embarrassments like the Oscars and the whole frippery".

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

Morricone previously issued a statement praising Tarantino's work and crediting the director for helping him achieve one of the highest honours of his professional life.

"It has come to my attention that Playboy Germany has come out with an article in which I have stated extremely negative comments about Tarantino and his films, and the Academy," the statement reads. "I have never expressed any negative statements about the Academy, Quentin, or his films  and certainly do not consider his films garbage. I have given a mandate to my lawyer in Italy to take civil and penal action.

"I consider Tarantino a great director. I am very fond of my collaboration with him and the relationship we have developed during the time we have spent together. He is courageous and has an enormous personality. I credit our collaboration responsible for getting me an Oscar, which is for sure one of the greatest acknowledgements of my career, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to compose music for his film.

"In London, during a press conference in front of Tarantino, I clearly stated that I consider Quentin one of the greatest directors of this time, and I would never speak poorly of the Academy - an important institution that has given to me two of the most important acknowledgements of my career."
There is hope for the survival of fin whales and mountain gorillas after conservationists announced both species have been pulled back from the brink of extinction.

After decades of persecution by whaling vessels and poachers, modern efforts to protect these mammals appear to be working as their numbers have started to recover.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) maintains a red list to monitor the status of the worlds wildlife, and in its latest update both whales and gorillas have shifted one step further away from becoming new entries on the long list of species wiped out by humanity.

After a recent WWF report revealed 60 per cent of monitored animal populations had been obliterated in the space of decades, the announcement shows concerted international action can yield results.

Previously listed as endangered, fin whale numbers have roughly doubled since the 1970s when an international ban on commercial whaling was introduced. The population now stands at 100,000 mature individuals.

There has also been a marked improvement in western populations of grey whales, which are no longer considered critically endangered.

Fin whales numbers have doubled since an international ban on whaling was introduced (Aqqa Rosing-Asvid)

Dr Randall Reeves, chair of the IUCN cetacean specialist group, said it was a relief to finally see these populations on the rise.

These whales are recovering largely thanks to bans on commercial hunting, international agreements and various protection measures. Conservation efforts must continue until the populations are no longer threatened, he said.

In central Africa, anti-poaching patrols and the concerted removal of snares has helped boost mountain gorilla numbers from 680 individuals a decade ago to over 1,000 now, the highest figure ever recorded.

British mammals fight for survival Show all 11 1 /11 British mammals fight for survival British mammals fight for survival The Mammal Societys assessment of Britains mammal populations is the first such review in over 20 years. The results reveal winners and losers, and highlight some of the key threats facing the countrys wildlife such as habitat loss, invasive species and the spread of diseases. British mammals fight for survival Hedgehogs Populations of the much-loved insectivore may have declined by as much as 73% Richard Bowler British mammals fight for survival Greater mouse-eared bats Only one of these flying mammals has been recorded in the whole country, in a railway tunnel in West Sussex Andrew Harrington British mammals fight for survival Rabbits Despite being a common sight across the countryside, rabbits have decreased in number by nearly 10% Danni Thompson British mammals fight for survival Black Rats Though not generally considered threatened animals, black rats number have collapsed in recent years due largely to pest control measures. However their far more common cousins, the brown rats, are thriving. Tim Melling British mammals fight for survival Red Squirrels Though it is difficult to measure changes in squirrel numbers, their range has shrunk considerably due largely to the spread of squirrel pox virus by invasive grey squirrel Alistair Marsh British mammals fight for survival Wildcats There has been a marked decline in wildcat populations, with only around 200 left in Scotland Rachel Profit British mammals fight for survival Badgers Due to legal protections badgers have recovered from past persecution and the density of their setts (holes) has increased by over 100% in recent decades Phil Mumby British mammals fight for survival Otters The banning of persistent organic pesticides has had a positive population effect on otters Allan Chard British mammals fight for survival Fallow Deer The 2018 review estimates a population size of fallow deer almost three times the size of that estimated in the 1995 review  a positive trend that is seen in other deer species. James Shooter British mammals fight for survival Eurasian Beavers These aquatic mammals were nearly extinct in Europe at the start of the 20th century, but their reintroduction to the UK have been largely successful Paul Scott

The IUCN has therefore reclassified the apes from critically endangered to endangered, crediting this small but significant victory to collaborative efforts that have spanned the nations where they reside.

However, they noted that despite the success of this subspecies, the eastern gorilla species to which it belongs remains critically endangered, and the future survival of these apes is still on a knife edge.

Coordinated efforts through a regional action plan and fully implementing IUCN best practice guidelines for great ape tourism and disease prevention, which recommend limiting numbers of tourists and preventing any close contact with humans, are critical to ensuring a future for the mountain gorilla, said Dr Liz Williamson of the IUCN primate specialist group.

Recommended Japan faces potential trade sanctions after whaling deemed illegal

However, the good news from the IUCN was tempered by reports that overfishing and illegal logging are sending species in parts of the developing world spiralling into decline.

Lack of sustainable fisheries and a boom in demand mean that 13 per cent of the worlds grouper fish are now threatened with extinction, and 9 per cent of the fish in Lake Malawi, according to the IUCNs latest assessment.

Meanwhile illegal logging has fuelled a 15-fold increase in trade in the Vene timber tree, which the IUCN says is now endangered.

With some nations still holding out on a total whaling ban, and companies accused of fuelling the destruction of rainforests home to orangutans, tigers and rhinos, conservationists are clear that despite some successes urgent international action is needed to end the mass extinction of wildlife.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

WWF has called for a global deal in the mould of the Paris climate agreement to save nature, and an ongoing UN biodiversity summit in Egypt presents an opportunity for decisive action.

The recovery of species like mountain gorilla, fin whale and Rothschilds giraffe demonstrates once again that with sustained, long-term conservation action, we can not only prevent extinctions, but also achieve considerable population recoveries, said Dominic Jermey, director general of the Zoological Society of London.

As the worlds governments convene in Egypt to continue discussions around forging a new and ambitious strategic plan for biodiversity, we hope that these examples will embolden countries to make strong commitments that will put the worlds wildlife on a path to recovery.
Palm oil has emerged as a major source of controversy after a Christmas advert by supermarket chain Iceland was deemed too political by regulators.

The advert, originally created by Greenpeace, features an orangutan mourning the loss of a forest home that has been destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations.

Many pointed out that far from being overly political, the film merely presented the devastating reality of the palm oil industry and the impact it is having on nature.

The debate will be nothing new to anyone who follows global environmental causes, or the plight of Indonesias orangutans.

Despite well-established links to corruption, persecution of indigenous people and the creeping extinctions of iconic species, it remains a key ingredient in many everyday products.
Reading about the environment can be a depressing affair.

Between the existential threat posed to humanity by climate change, air pollution poisoning children from London to Lagos, and the mass extinction of global wildlife, there is plenty to be miserable about. Its also very easy for the kind of complicated, incremental work that makes a difference to get lost in the tide of dire warnings.

But the latest bulletin from the International Union for Conservation of Nature offers a glimmer of hope. The global body tasked with assessing the status of the planets wildlife has announced that populations of fin whales and mountain gorillas are, if not booming, at least returning to their former glory.
We spend around a third of our lifetime sleeping, so why wouldnt we care what were wearing while were doing it?

And, now the clocks have gone back and its dark when we get home from work, theres very little stopping us hopping right into our jammies as soon as the door shuts behind us. Also, lets face it, some PJs out there are just too pretty to only wear in bed, so we might as well get the most out of them.

Luckily for us, this time of year doesn't come with the same perils of trying to sleep in blistering heat as summer does.

Instead its all about keeping warm, and for most of us that means long PJ tops and bottoms and for those who really feel the cold, chunkier materials too.

We were looking for something chic, durable and most importantly, comfortable, as well as festive prints  old and new  that could be worn over Christmas and beyond.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

The White Company Classic jersey pyjama set: 75, The White Company

These are undeniably the best PJs weve ever worn. If you love marl grey and super soft jersey, these are absolutely you. Theyre roomy and super cosy and are absolutely OK to be wearing around the house on weekends (and boyond to be honest). We guarantee you wont take to take them off. They do come up large, so definitely size down.

Buy now

Nightire Wild Christmas bamboo long pyjama set: 76, Nightire

Now this is Christmas themed, but 2019 style, so cacti and llamas mark the occasion. These dreamy yellow jammies are far more festive than you first think, with cute llammas in festive hats and cacti wrapped in twinkly lights. Made from bamboo, theyre sustainable and so incredibly silky that youll want to wear these beyond the festive period  luckily theres also non-Christmas themed prints if you want another, which we also love for the summer.

Buy now

Eberjey Gisele Sporty stretch-jersey pyjama set: 140, Selfridges

In 1996, the brand started designer underwear for laterally challenged flat-bottomed women, which one of the owners created to suit her figure. Its since grown and offers loungewear and PJs, too. We love this contemporary and rather sporty set with its side stripe, cuffed ankles and rugby-style top. Its casual but chic loungewear. Made with cosy jersey, its a loose fit but not boyfriend style. We especially like the curved hem of the top that covers the bum too. Were not surprised this set is the brands most popular design, but if youd rather something less athletic looking, we also love the oh-so sophisticated wrap top Nightcap stretch-modal set.

Buy now

Topshop Forest satin short pyjama set: 30, Topshop

For some of the warm blooded among us, long pjs are just too hot even in winter, so theyll always need to stick to a short set. But when they come in this gorgeous forest green colour and a satin material, its hard not to look Christmassy. These are chic, with contrasting silvery piping round the collar, cuffs and bottom of shorts and buttons. We think they will look even look great for breakfast on Christmas morning. Also available in mustard with mid-length sleeves.

Buy now

Cath Kidston Christmas village pyjama set: 55, Cath Kidston

If this set doesnt scream Christmas ski-holiday attire, we dont know what will. This cosy brushed cotton pair were made for wintry holidays and we love the cute print  including the sausage dogs running about in the snow  thats nothing less than wed expect from the kitsch queen herself. As these are brushed cotton, theyre fairly thick and are best saved for those really chilly nights, and work equally as well for lounging too.

Buy now

Desmond & Dempsey Milou long set: 150, Desmond & Dempsey

Another cult fave sleepwear brand of ours is Desmond & Dempsey, whose designs are inspired by lazy Sundays and boyfriend-fit PJs. These are made with 100 per cent cotton and are some of the softest we tested. The fit is more tailored than some of the brands other designs, but theyre long in the arm and leg and super comfy. Inspired by Mexico City's Cafe Milou, the print is painted in watercolour and uses some of the citys pink cabs and blue horses. You can have then monogrammed for 23.

Buy now

Cyberjammies Belle brushed long-sleeve check pyjama set: 48, Cyberjamies

Brushed cotton is the ultimate winter material for PJs in our eyes and classic red tartan is a real go-to festive look for us, too  even if youre not Scottish. This set from Cyberjammies have pockets and a drawstring elasticated waist for a comfy fit. If you love the print, but fancy another style, you can buy separates and mix and match, or go for a nightshirt. Theres also matching dressing gown and eye mask. If youve got kids, you can even go matching with a set in the brands Minijammies range.

Buy now

Honna Red Stripe pyjama set: 95, Honna

This 100 per cent cotton-set looks like a deliciously sweet candy cane and we think the design is the perfect subtle Christmas look for those who prefer to be more understated. Designed by founder Barbara McMillan, who spent 10 years working as a stylist, she created the kind of classic but luxury PJs she wanted. We like the fairly boxy fit of the top, with wide sleeves and the straight bottoms are a very good length too, even for our tall tester; available in seven striped colours and two white sets with navy or red piping.

Buy now

Yolke Prowling Leopard cotton pyjama set: 145, Yolke

Launched in 2013, this London brand founded by friends Ella Ringner and Anna Williamson first began using just silk, but has since branched out to cotton (like this set) and linen too. Known for its bold prints and matching mini-me versions, Yolke also has a range of PJ-inspired daywear too, using the same luxe prints and materials like the luxurious silk leopard-print wrap dress. We love the print of these 100 per cent cotton PJs, which have side pockets, drawstring bottoms and a relaxed fit.

Buy now

Next Navy Stripe pocket cotton pyjamas: 15, Next

A blue and grey stripe is a match made in heaven when it comes to loungewear for us, and this cotton set hits that relaxed Sunday feel on the head. Complete with its own Calvin Klein boxer-short inspired white and black branded waistband on the leggings, these are comfy, soft and very affordable. Theyre also a good option for people who dont like buttons and tie waists.

Buy now

The verdict: Womens winter pyjamas

We think its very hard to beat The White Company's Classic jersey pyjama set, for comfort, super soft material  we absolutely struggle to take them off. If youre after a different style, we think Eberjeys Gisele Sporty stretch-jersey pyjama set is fun, but for something to wear on Christmas day and is more affordable, we love Topshops Forest satin set.

IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing.
Extra space is a luxury many of us cannot afford, but we mustnt let our limited floorplan dictate our sense of hospitality. Enter the trusty sofa bed, a hard-working furniture piece with dual functionality.

If you havent purchased one in a while, youll be pleased to learn that the contemporary sofa bed has evolved. No longer do we have to put up with clunky fold-out mechanisms, bumpy seat cushions and paper-thin mattresses if we want our settee to transform.

Look for modern click-clack styles or those with a simple fold-down function if youre after an occasional bed that has a quick, one-person turnaround. These designs can be found on the more affordable end of the price scale and often prove surprisingly plush and cosy.

For something more substantial, youll find a wealth of sofa beds with the conventional folding metal frame and mattress combination.

Unlike their stiff and uncomfortable predecessors, modern versions have smoother pull-out systems and luxurious feather-wrapped or memory foam mattresses.

Read more:

How we tested

All the sofa beds we tested scored high on comfort and functionality. And with thoughtful design across our selection, we were able to whip up a cosy bed for our guests without the backache in no time.

The best sofa beds for 2021 are:

Best overall  Snug the small biggie chaise sofa bed: 2,799, Snugsofa.com

 Snug the small biggie chaise sofa bed: 2,799, Snugsofa.com Best for student digs  M&S logan small double sofa bed: 299, Marksandspencer.com

 M&S logan small double sofa bed: 299, Marksandspencer.com Best mid-priced sofa  Dreams gallway 3 seater clic-clac sofa bed: 899, Dreams.co.uk

 Dreams gallway 3 seater clic-clac sofa bed: 899, Dreams.co.uk Best for comfort  Swyft model 04 3 sofa bed: 1,995, Swyfthome.com

 Swyft model 04 3 sofa bed: 1,995, Swyfthome.com Best leather sofa bed  Sofa Workshop Alfred sofa bed: 3,995, Sofaworkshop.com

 Sofa Workshop Alfred sofa bed: 3,995, Sofaworkshop.com Best for occasional use  Darlings of Chelsea Beckenham sofa bed: 1,792.70, Darlingsofchelsea.co.uk

 Darlings of Chelsea Beckenham sofa bed: 1,792.70, Darlingsofchelsea.co.uk Best for under 500  Habitat kota 3 seater sofa bed: 385, Argos.co.uk

 Habitat kota 3 seater sofa bed: 385, Argos.co.uk Best for small spaces  Made haru single sofa bed, pine green velvet: 249, Made.com

 Made haru single sofa bed, pine green velvet: 249, Made.com Best for traditionalists  Sofa.com teddy sofa bed: 1,325, Sofa.com

 Sofa.com teddy sofa bed: 1,325, Sofa.com Best for everyday use  Sofas and Stuff Oxwich sofa bed: 2,087, Sofasandstuff.com

Snug the small biggie chaise sofa bed Best: Overall Rating: 10/10 Seats: 4

4 Sofa size: 254.5cm x 158.5cm x 98cm

254.5cm x 158.5cm x 98cm Bed size: 254.5cm x 183cm x 98cm

254.5cm x 183cm x 98cm Delivery: 2-3 working days or next day (Tuesday to Saturday)

2-3 working days or next day (Tuesday to Saturday) Warranty: 15 year frame guarantee Its hard to imagine how a plush and sprawling L-shaped sofa bed like this can arrive in manageable boxes designed to fit through the most awkward spaces, and yet, it does. As with all of Snugs seating offering, the small biggie chaise is simple to put together with clear instructions. In a choice of four durable polyester velvets  choose warm grey, midnight blue, pine green or toft teal  the sofa bed boasts super comfy, super plump back and seat cushions, while its gently curved arms further add to the cosy, contemporary cloud-like aesthetic. Very slightly elevated, this one is finished with smart turned hardwood legs and the chaise section has the option of added storage. We think the extra 120 is well worth it for storing bedding. With a smooth action, and a quick rearranging of the cushions, the small biggie transforms into a guest bed in a jiffy. The premium compact mattress is perfectly comfy, thanks to its supportive foam core and soft fibre quilting. Your house guests will love it. Buy now  2799 , Snugsofa.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} M&S logan small double sofa bed Best: For student digs Rating: 8/10 Seats: 3

3 Sofa size: 120cm x 89cm x 78cm

120cm x 89cm x 78cm Bed size: 120cm x 190cm x 78cm

120cm x 190cm x 78cm Delivery: 8 weeks

8 weeks Warranty: 10 year guarantee Often the simplest designs are the most impressive. We loved the way this piece unfolds, with the central section staying firmly in place while nifty extra sets of legs pull out at the top and the foot to create a cosy bed in an instant. Ideal for student digs or older kids bedrooms, the logan is a compact furniture piece that equates to a standard small double once unfolded. This one comes in a choice of five plush velvets: light grey, dark grey, dusty pink, ochre and teal, and boasts tall, tapered wooden legs that hint at mid-century modern design. For the purse-friendly price, this one is seriously impressive: well-crafted and with great design. We loved its luxe futon-like look. Buy now  299 , Marksandspencer.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Made haru single sofa bed, pine green velvet Best: For small spaces Rating: 7/10 Seats: 1

1 Sleeps: 1

1 Sofa size: 42cm x 77cm x 52cm

42cm x 77cm x 52cm Bed size: 182cm x 77cm x 13cm

182cm x 77cm x 13cm Delivery: Dispatched in three working days Its rare to find a single sofa bed that doubles as a handsome, grown-up armchair and so we were particularly taken with Mades offering. In plush velvet, and with its tapered and angled wooden legs, the Haru offers cocktail chair glamour with a mid-century twist. Thoughtfully designed, the piece unfolds into a comfy bed in a matter of seconds with hidden legs that are discreetly zipped up within the frame. We loved that this one can transform into a stylish recliner, too. Simply keep the back rest up, extend the lower section, and put your feet up. Buy now  249 , Made.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Dreams gallway 3 seater clic-clac sofa bed Best: Mid-priced sofa bed Rating: 9/10 Seats: 3

3 Sofa size: 218cm x 87cm x 89cm

218cm x 87cm x 89cm Bed size: 218cm x 112cm x 66cm

218cm x 112cm x 66cm Delivery: 5 weeks

5 weeks Warranty: 1 year guarantee At just under 900, this is a great mid-priced option if you want a sofa bed thatll leave your overnight guests happy  but one that wont break the bank. With its slimline silhouette, you wouldnt know this mid-century inspired number could transform into an occasional bed, but with clever design and a nifty click-clack mechanism, the back of the piece simply folds down and becomes flush with the two generous seat cushions. In fact, as quick and easy turnarounds go, this one proved the quickest and easiest of our roundup. The gallway comes in a small range of velvet-like fabrics  choose green, grey, navy or orange  and boasts elegant, tall, turned and angled legs. Stylish and comfortable in equal measure. Buy now  899 , Dreams.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Darlings of Chelsea Beckenham sofa bed Best: For occasional use Rating: 8/10 Seats: 2

2 Sofa size: 152cm x 100cm x 92cm

152cm x 100cm x 92cm Bed size: 116cm x 200cm

116cm x 200cm Delivery: 14-16 weeks

14-16 weeks Warranty: 12 months Stylish and practical, the Beckenham offers a comprehensive list of configurations including eight sofa bed sizes, a wealth of upholstery fabrics, and options when it comes to the mattress, seat cushions and wooden leg finish, proving this one to be a shrewd investment piece that fits perfectly within your space. Handmade to order, its practically bespoke. This is a classic sofa bed with a hidden metal frame that folds out with ease to create a nifty occasional bed in the living room. We think its worth the upgrade to a memory foam mattress to guarantee your guests a good nights kip. Buy now  1792.70 , Darlingsofchelsea.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Habitat kota 3 seater sofa bed Best: For under 500 Rating: 7/10 Seats: 3

3 Sofa size: 90cm x 189cm x 102cm

90cm x 189cm x 102cm Bed size: 189cm x 123cm x 123cm

189cm x 123cm x 123cm Warranty: 1 year Habitats simple and affordable Kota sofa is a perennial best-seller, and its easy to see why. Its click-clack mechanism allows the back of the seat to fold all the way down, taking you from sofa to bed in a matter of seconds, which is ideal if youre after a speedy change around without the faff. The sofa beds enveloping pillow-like form works beautifully both as a contemporary settee and a generous bed mattress. When horizontal its measurements are the equivalent of a small double, making it perfect for one if a little cosy for two. But it is ideal as an occasional extra bed. Choose from a small range of fabrics and finishes including the vibrant orange. Buy now  385 , Argos.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Sofa.com teddy sofa bed Best: For traditionalists Rating: 9/10 Seats: 3

3 Sleeps: 3

3 Sofa size: 227cm

227cm Bed size: 227cm

227cm Delivery: 8-10 weeks

8-10 weeks Warranty: Lifetime guarantee on frame Available from loveseat up to three-seater  and with a two and a half seat option in the mix  this sofa bed is an immediate classic. We loved its sumptuous shaping: the heavy scroll arms and strong backrest belie its otherwise slouchy look. Its sturdy beechwood frame supports a feather scatter cushion back and wonderfully deep and cosy seat cushions. Elevated with stylish, turned wooden legs, the piece offers a good sleeping height, too, once the metal frame and comfy mattress are unfolded. This one is available in a great range of upholstery fabrics, in colour, texture and pattern, which proves a tough choice to make. Buy now  1325 , Sofa.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Sofas and Stuff Oxwich sofa bed Best: For everyday use Rating: 8/10 Seats: 3

3 Sofa size: 95cm x 96cm x 202cm

95cm x 96cm x 202cm Delivery: Dispatched 12 weeks

Dispatched 12 weeks Warranty: 15 years If you prefer a sofa with a firm seat, this simple and elegant number could be for you. The Oxwich sofa bed features a clean-lined silhouette with a nod to the mid-century aesthetic. We loved its continuous back and armrests and its plush, angled, cushioned back. This is another sofa bed that contains a discreetly tucked away metal frame and mattress, which both opens and closes with ease and proves a comfy occasional bed. Choose from a three-seater or a compact three-seater if youre after a shrewd space-saver, alongside a vast range of fabric options, which will pull the piece in either a contemporary or classic direction. Buy now  2087 , Sofasandstuff.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Swyft model 04 3 sofa bed Best: For comfort Rating: 9/10 Seats: 3

3 Sofa size: 208cm x 94cm x 86cm

208cm x 94cm x 86cm Bed size: 208cm x 135cm x 59cm

208cm x 135cm x 59cm Delivery: 24 hours

24 hours Warranty: 15 year frame guarantee/2 year fabric guarantee This is one seriously comfy sofa bed  and thats thanks to its ingenious design. Rather than relying on a pull-out mattress, the seat and back of the Model 04 becomes the mattress itself  and therefore sleepover guests are treated to an impressive 300 pocket sprung bed to sleep on. As with all the modular chairs and sofas from Swyft, this one arrives in separate, manageable boxes and is a doddle to put together. We loved the thoughtful design details: a mattress topper  and indeed, storage space for the mattress topper, plus the way the arms can easily come away if you do need a few extra inches when the piece is in its bed configuration. As a furniture piece thats bound to get a lot of use (and abuse), we were pleased to note its super durable fabric, too. Choose teal, vine, brick or light grey velvet, or pumice, shadow or seaglass linen. Buy now  1995 , Swyfthome.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Sofa Workshop Alfred sofa bed Best: Leather sofa bed Rating: 8/10 Seats: 3

3 Sofa size: 252cm x 105cm x 79cm

252cm x 105cm x 79cm Bed size: 252cm x 211cm x 79cm

252cm x 211cm x 79cm Delivery: 12-14 weeks

12-14 weeks Warranty: 5 years This is one seriously slouchy looking settee. Within its modernist lines and chunky silhouette, it hides a sizeable metal bed frame and comfy mattress, and converts into a cosy extra bed in a jiffy, thanks to its easy to manoeuvre gliding mechanism. We loved this one for its extra-wide arms and angled backrest, making it impossible not to relax in. In a wonderfully soft and tufted leather, the sofa bed is a luxurious and imposing statement piece. Choose from a range of muted earthy tones including tumble waxed cigar and tip dyed camel. Buy now  3995 , Sofaworkshop.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}}

Sofa beds FAQs What is the most comfortable sofa bed? The days of lumpy, hard, cramped sofa beds are gone  the best on the market at the moment could probably fair quite well next to your normal bed. However, when picking one there are three things you should consider in terms of comfort: the upholstery, the kind of mattress and the size. Generally, there are two types of sofa bed: the click-clack kind, for which you simply fold down the back, and the pull-out kind, which tends to provide more room and comfort than the former. Whichever one you decide to opt for, it is recommended you consider how plush or durable the upholstery will be and whether you want a soft or firm mattress. Click-clack vs pull-out: Which sofa bed type is better? This will depend on what you want out of your sofa bed, from convenience to comfort and price. Given that they simply click into place, and dont require you to remove any cushions, click-clack beds tend to be easier and quicker to assemble. Theyre also cheaper than their pull-out counterparts, while their smaller size makes them better at saving space. Of course, if youre looking for a more luxurious sleeping experience  and dont mind a little extra faff setting your sofa-bed up  a pull-out option may be your best bet. The verdict: Sofa beds Snugs small biggie chaise sofa bed feels truly luxurious and it proves to be as cosy as it looks. The foam mattress is surprisingly comfy and we loved the extra addition of hidden storage via the chaise section. Sofa Workshops Alfred sofa bed, despite proving a practical piece, does not compromise on style. Its not cheap but it is a big-impact, contemporary statement piece, and we loved its imposing presence. Voucher codes For the latest discounts on armchairs and other home furniture offers, try the below links: Made discount codes

Sofa.com discount codes For more comfortable seating, read our guide to the best affordable leather sofas to upgrade your space on a budget

IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing.
Pupils from London have created a rap inspired by the stories of children living in the Central African Republic as part of our Learn to Live campaign.

Pupils at the Frances Barber Pupil Referral Unit in Wandsworth, which helps boys and girls who have been excluded from mainstream school, have been twinned with students in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), for the past few months as part of The Independent and the Evening Standards ongoing project with the charity War Child.

The Learn to Live campaign was designed to promote understanding between children from different backgrounds and has seen hundreds of pupils in London work with those living in the most difficult regions on the planet.

Last week, pupils at Frances Barber received two video links of the CAR childrens favourite rap artist MC Fonctionnaire. One of the songs is called Apres 50 Ans, or After 50 Years, and is about the continued efforts for peace in the CAR. The other is called Scolarisation Des Filles, or Schooling Girls, and is about the importance of educating women for the good of the country.

Recommended Vanessa Kirby calls on PM to support children traumatised by war

The group also sent over footage of them rapping and singing over a simple guitar backing track, with their song including the lines: Central African Republic, my dear country that belongs to me/ A rich wonderful land ... but why every day I see tears flowing?

The pupils at Frances Barber were engrossed when they were played the MC Fonctionnaire tracks, watching intently as the powerful song was played loudly in the small classroom one rainy Friday morning.

Nikai, 14, who wants to be a personal trainer, was impressed and moved by the track and said although it was different to what he normally listened to he very much enjoyed it.

When watching the videos, one child, Dylan, 12, was inspired to write a rap in response to what he had learned about the CAR and the group of students.

His lyrics included: Everyday Im on the field carrying my gun and shield but predators want to kill. Then one predator approached me and then I had to kill and then I caged down and then my mind was spinning around. But I want to make pounds turn my familys life around. But day by day earth goes round and round. But I need to save my family now. Or they die to war, but then when we escape the war we will be really poor.

He was filmed performing the rap, with the video sent back to the twinned group.

 How a War Child centre in the Central African Republic is helping children affected by conflict

One CAR pupil, Andrew, 20, was impressed by the rap and added: I love the music of Fonctionnaire. I loved sharing music with you. I love Dylans song  its very good but quite short. It makes me happy to have friends so far away like you.

Another, Adele, added: I liked seeing the children in London listening to MC Fontionnaire. Ive learnt lots about England because of the twinning. I liked the song that was written by Dylan.

The pupils at Frances Barber have also exchanged a number of letters with the CAR group in recent months, with both groups sharing their everyday lives, their ambitions and their hopes for the future with one another. In the past few weeks, the London children have also created a collage artwork of the shape of the country, made from pieces of fabric the African group sent to them.

Nikai said he has learnt a lot during the process of the Learn to Live campaign.

Noreen Jones, English teacher at Frances Barber, said the project had opened the eyes of her pupils and allowed them to become citizens of the world.

The rap has allowed them to be creative, and the project has stretched them and increased their understanding of the world, she said. It has given them a global perspective and encouraged their empathy and understanding of others.
Iceland has responded to pleas to overturn the ban on its Christmas advert with an initiative that sees a displaced orangutan searching for a home in London.

A series of images depict a realistic animatronic replica of the endangered animal clinging to a Christmas tree at Coin Street and walking alongside a high street shopper.

The initiative follows the news that more than 680,000 people have signed a petition to retract a ban on the supermarkets short animated ad, which tells the story of a girl who is perturbed by arrival of an orangutan in her bedroom.

(Iceland/Taylor Herring (Iceland/Taylor Herring)

Voiced by Emma Thompson and made in collaboration with Greenpeace, the ad was intended to highlight the environmental dangers of palm oil, an ingredient that is common in supermarket products.

In the ad, the sombre orangutan reveals that his home is being destroyed by palm oil growers who are ripping up trees in the rainforest.

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, the great ape character says as he highlights the plight of orangutans in their habitat.

Its estimated that 6,000 orangutans are wiped out each year as a result of deforestation, with 80 per cent of their natural habitat disappearing in the last 20 years.

The advert was banned from being shown on TV for being too political, but a clip shared online has since gone viral, amassing more than 12 million views.

(Iceland/Taylor Herring (Iceland/Taylor Herring)

It was intended to promote the supermarkets Christmas range, which has been made entirely without palm oil.

James Corden, Anna Field and Paloma Faith are among celebrities to have voiced support for the ad being shown in spite of the ban.

The images of the orangutan released by Iceland show the animal in various London spots, from perching outside the Houses of Parliament to emerging from a tube station.

(Iceland/Taylor Herring (Iceland/Taylor Herring)

Iceland managing director Richard Walker said: Our stranded, distressed orangutan is a stark and potent symbol of the effects of deforestation.

(Iceland/Taylor Herring (Iceland/Taylor Herring)

We always try to give people a real choice about what they buy and this was a key driver of our decision to allow Iceland customers to join us in saying no to palm oil. We are determined to be at the forefront of efforts to guarantee palm oil is not causing rainforest destruction and Iceland will continue to be a driving force until this environmental impact is drastically reduced.

"I am immensely proud of the work our food development team has carried out to create this new Christmas range without palm oil  a celebration of our commitment to end its use before the year closes.
Respected food review site Eater has revealed its list of 38 'essential' restaurants in America that everyone should try - outlets that represent a shifting national consciousness that sees Americans embracing cuisines from different backgrounds.

Compiled by Eater national critic Bill Addison, who spent 34 weeks travelling and consuming nearly 600 meals to find the best, the list features the restaurants that spur trends, set standards, or become vital to how we understand ourselves.

Now in its fifth iteration, Addison has added 17 new restaurants to the 2018 list of American essentials - all of which engender belonging, possibility, and connection.

These are Americas essential restaurants, according to Eater.

2M Smokehouse, San Antonio

This newcomer to the list serves barbecue dishes that transcend the Texas smoked-meats melee by also expressing the Mexican-American heritage of the pit masters, according to Addison.

Atelier Crenn, San Francisco

Chef Dominique Crenn and her team made the list for seafood and vegetable dishes inspired by France and made with only the freshest ingredients from the Bay Area.

Brennans, New Orleans

Brennans takes the lead among the citys Creole restaurant institutions, according to Addison, who described classics such as snapper amandine or blackened redfish for dinner.

Heres Looking At You, Los Angeles

Featuring electric, eclectic compositions, the food offered at Heres Looking At You ranges from smoked beef tongue to carrot curry.

Himalaya, Houston

Owner Kaiser Lashkari and his wife Azra Babar Lashkari turn out nearly 100 distinct dishes at this restaurant, including numerous curries.

Jose Enrique, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Although the restaurant has no sign, Addison describes the daily-changing menu at this bright pink restaurant.

According to the guide, diners should build a meal around an Enrique classic: whole fish fried into a kinetic sculpture, crowned with a chunky salsa of papaya and avocado and set over mashed yam.

JuneBaby, Seattle

The restaurants truest treasures such as oxtails and collard greens with ham hock are the ones that most resonantly invoke chef Edouardo Jordans upbringing.

Koi Palace, Daly City, CA

This dim sum restaurant is described as an indispensable cornerstone by the guide, which recommends Sugar Egg Puffs.

Mary & Titos Cafe, Albuquerque

Carne adovada and enchiladas (Mary & Tito's Cafe / Eater)

Although the restaurants original owners have died, the restaurant and its recipes are kept alive by the couples daughter Antoinette Knight, her family, and the restaurants longtime chefs, according to the guide.

Momofuku Ko, New York

David Changs Momofuku is described as one of the citys worthiest splurges and Addison describes the quadruple-fried chicken legs as a consistent pleasure.

Palace Diner, Biddeford, Maine

There are no better light, lemony, buttery pancakes or a more precisely engineered egg sandwich, than at this restaurant, located 20 miles south of Portland, according to the guide.

Parks BBQ, Los Angeles

Addison refers to this Korean BBQ restaurant as the pinnacle of the genre and praises the near-telepathic staff.

Smyth & the Loyalist, Chicago

The 12 courses at Smyth uniquely coalesce Japanese, Nordic and Southern-American flavours and techniques, according to the guide - and the Loyalist downstairs serves what may be the most righteous cheeseburger in Chicago.

Superiority Burger, New York

The guide declares the vegetarian burger at Superiority remarkably gratifying - and applauds the inexpensively priced menu.

Via Carota, New York

Of all the restaurants in New York, Addison says this is his favourite place to eat - and that lunchtime is the best time to drop in for tagliatelle showered with Parmesan and draped with prosciutto.

Xian Famous Foods, New York

The first dishes served by the father-son team behind Xian were served out of a basement stall - but the chain's success has not impacted the consistency and affordability.

The guide recommends ordering hand-ripped noodles with spicy cumin lamb served at one of the more than a dozen New York locations.

Xochi, Houston

The guide praises Hugo Ortega and his chefs for delving into Oaxacas earthy, exhilarating, spicy-sweet cuisine and describes the restaurant as a blessing for visitors and local workers alike.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

The rest of 2018s restaurants have earned their place on the list before:

Al Ameer, Dearborn, Michigan

Benu, San Francisco

Bad Saint, Washington, DC

Bateau, Seattle

Berthas Kitchen, North Charleston

Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, New York

Compere Lapin, New Orleans

FIG, Charleston

Franklin Barbecue, Austin

The Grey, Savannah

Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham

Kachka, Portland

Mariscos Jalisco, Los Angeles

Milktooth, Indianapolis

Mud Hen Water, Honolulu

n/naka, Los Angeles

Parachute, Chicago

Princes Hot Chicken, Nashville

Spoon & Stable, Minneapolis

Staplehouse, Atlanta

Zahav, Philadelphia
On the eve of Thanksgiving, Donald Trump took a moment off protesting the result of US election to participate in one of the countrys more bizarre presidential traditions: the turkey pardon.

Each November, the sitting president bestows a pardon on a turkey to a crowd at the White House, sparing it from the dinner table and the fate that befalls millions of turkeys during Thanksgiving celebrations.

How did the tradition begin?

Turkeys have been sent as gifts to American Presidents from as early as the 1870s as part of annual thanksgiving traditions and the official turkey presentation to the president began in 1947.

The sparing of the turkey began during Ronald Reagans administration, with the president deciding to send the presentation bird to a petting zoo or farm rather than off for the chop.

However, the ceremony formally cemented itself under George H W Bush, as he officially pardoned the bird in response to animal rights activists picketing nearby.

Since then, it has become a time-honoured White House tradition for the president to offer clemency to a turkey, or two.

The path to pardoning

The lucky turkeys take convoluted and extravagant route to freedom, as explained by the White House in 2018.

The presidential flock of contenders is prepared for potential stardom at the White House from an early age and the birds are acclimated to crowds, lights and standing comfortably on a table.

The two prize poultry are now bestowed names and battle for the title of the official turkey title via an online poll before the winner is granted the coveted pardon.

Ahead of the ceremony the birds rest in the luxurious Willard Hotel. This year's birds, Corn and Cob, were pictured reclining in their fancy hotel room ahead of the final competition for freedom.

Corn and Cob, a pair of turkeys that will be pardoned by US President Donald Trump, walk inside their hotel room at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington (AFP via Getty Images)

What happens to the turkey after its been pardoned?

After a heated vote, Corn was declared this years winner, but fortunately the second bird is also always spared from the chop as runner-up and first alternate.

The White House says that following the ceremony the birds are retired for some much-deserved rest and relaxation and neither bird makes an appearance on the White House thanksgiving dining table.

Both birds from this years pardoning ceremony will retire to a new home on the campus of Iowa State University.

The turkeys are said to spend the rest of their days in comfort with fresh bedding, a heater, food and water, and an indoor pavilion.

Birds in previous years have been sent to a variety of locations including Virginia Techs Gobblers Rest exhibit in Blacksburg to a farm named Frying Pan Farm Park in Virginia.

Some birds during the Barack Obama and George W Bush administrations were even sent to Disneyland to greet crowds in the theme park and be paraded down Main Street.

Sadly the spared turkeys do not tend to live very long after their pardoning. As the animals are farm-raised and bred to be eaten, they grow larger and faster than they would in the wild and do not have a long lifespan.
U.S. Congress is unlikely to pass legislation imposing new anti-Russia sanctions before the end of this year.

"We dont have very much time," Republican John Cornyn of Texas said. "Its going to be a real race, unless everyone wants to stay here for Christmas,"Bloomberg cited him as saying.

New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez shared the opinion that there was no time left for the new legislation to be approved. "The clock is running out on us We dont have an administration thats actually embracing it," Menendez said.

Commenting on the expectations from the new wave of anti-Russian sanctions, which Washington may impose in November, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that they will further complicate the situation with Moscow-Washington relations.

"Its difficult to say about the nature of these sanctions. Will they further complicate the situation with Russian-US relations? The answer is unequivocal: certainly, they will," TASS cited the spokesman as saying.

He stressed that hardly anyone will make a forecast on the new wave of US sanctions now given that "our US vis-a-vis are unpredictable.

"The fact that America has recently become unpredictable is not a secret for anyone, everyone is talking about this absolutely openly because this unpredictability of such a major country and a powerful global economy is certainly an issue for deep concerns of everyone," Peskov said.

The U.S. has recently held midterm elections to fill 435 seats in the House Representatives and just over one-third of the 100-member Senate in addition to other state and local offices. Lawmakers have short time to pass any bill as Congress enters the "lame duck" period before newly elected officials take office in January.

On August 2, a group of US senators led by Lindsey Graham introduced an extensive sanctions bill against Russia in response to its alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as "malign influence in Syria, aggression in Crimea." Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that the senators aimed to block dollar-denominated transactions by Russian banks and US nationals operations with the countrys sovereign debt.
Female activists in Ireland have been posting photos of their underwear online after a barrister in a rape trial drew attention to a female complainants thong.

In the case in Cork, the jury was encouraged to consider the 17-year-olds choice of underwear in the defence lawyers closing speech.

The accused was subsequently found not guilty.

Following the trial, a viral campaign saw women posting images of their own underwear on social media, with the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent.

The hashtag was created by a closed Facebook group called Mna na hEireann (Women of Ireland).

Susan Dillon, a member of the group who also runs the Twitter account I Believe Her  Ireland, spread the word further.

Dillon said: One of the women in the group was angry at the comments made, as we all were.

Dillon said the woman suggested a protest to highlight that what women wear does not constitute consent, and another woman came up with the hashtag wording.

Irrespective of the other evidence no item of the complainants clothing implied consent.

If a jury is a representative sample of the population, then its clear we have some work to do to dispel this archaic myth that clothing invites rape.

Shubhangi Karmakar drew sketches of different kinds of underwear to go with the hashtag, claiming that consent is not given while wearing gross pants, nice pants or no pants.

Karmakar said: There are many hidden survivors and stories here. Its nice to create small shareable symbols of solidarity for us, and those who believe and support us.

Another Twitter user said: Just because my panties are cute doesnt mean Im saying yes.

Protests have also been organised in Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Cork by feminist organisation Rosa.

More than 900 people have expressed interest on Facebook in the primary Cork protest.

Fiona Ryan, a spokesman for Rosa, said: This case, and the particular awfulness of what was said, is absolutely endemic in our judiciary system.

We decided to call this rally not just specifically about this case, but calling for an end to victim blaming in courts.

The international solidarity thats been extended to these awful cases when theyre exposed will go a long way towards pushing for genuine legal change, and unfortunately that comes from above, but were going to push from below to ensure it happens.

Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger also brought attention to the protests led by Rosa, holding a lace thong up in the chamber during Leaders Questions.

She used Twitter to explain: I hear cameras cut away from me when I displayed this underwear in Dail. In courts victims can have their underwear passed around as evidence and its within the rules.

Join protests tomorrow. In Dublin its at Spire, 1pm.

The row follows the trial in Belfast earlier this year of Ireland and Ulster Rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding.

After the case prompted fierce debate on both sides of the border, retired appeal court judge Sir John Gillen was tasked with carrying out a review of how the criminal system in Northern Ireland deals with serious sexual offence cases.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Among the issues to be examined by the review will be support for victims and witnesses, measures to ensure the anonymity of the complainant, the arguments for defendant anonymity and the impact of social media on trials.
Modern slavery is a prominent term of late. Thus far, efforts to deal with it have tended to focus on criminality and the explicit imprisonment of people. Yet tackling modern slavery in a meaningful sense isnt merely a question of identifying culprits and freeing victims. To do so is to treat only the symptoms.

Conditions that shock us about modern slavery  forced labour, toiling children, captivity  are not acts perpetrated by distant strangers in far off lands, but components of a system from which we in the west greatly benefit.

Take Cambodia for instance. The recent Blood Bricks research project, from which colleagues and I organised an exhibition of photographs, exposes debt-bonded labour in the brick making industry. These striking visual accounts of daily life in production show adults and children alike compelled to work in horrific conditions. But they also highlight modern slavery as a structural issue, deeply enmeshed in systems of global commerce and growth.

Despite their immediate impact, though, the reaction to these images is often to compartmentalise; to place them in the box marked out there, too unrelatable to everyday experience. After all, it isnt long since Cambodias capital city Phnom Penh was a ghost town, forcibly evacuated by the Khmer Rouge of its two million inhabitants and left as an eerie wasteland: empty, silent and rapidly returning to nature.

Yet today this is a city on the up. The once sleepy French colonial capital is in the midst of an internationally funded building boom. Condominiums and office blocks are springing up like rice stalks: 30,000 building projects have been registered since 2000, and some 16,000 condo units will be added in 2018.

Veasna, a smallholder farmer in a village with high immigration to brick kilns, sprays pesticide over his field (Royal Holloway University of London/Thomas Cristofoletti)

This much-celebrated urban turnaround is rooted in international investment to which the UK is a significant contributor. British companies have a stake in many of these buildings and help to construct many more. The UK is Cambodias largest European trading partner, importing more than $1bn worth of goods each year. British consumers, like those in many other western nations, therefore benefit from cheaply made goods from countries to which they pay little attention.

A vicious cycle

Scrutiny of such trading relationships has long been buried beneath good news stories of Cambodias urban growth. Yet the long shadows of the countrys edifices of wealth and progress conceal a deeper darkness. They are built from bricks moulded by the countrys poorest inhabitants, bonded into labour in the kilns that fire the nations growth. This is a job that nobody chooses, but that chooses its participants through structural conditions.

Blood bricks supply Phnom Penhs construction industry (Royal Holloway University of London/Thomas Cristofoletti)

Those who enter the brick industry are the poorest farmers in some of the poorest regions in Cambodia. Their families have always had little of anything. In recent years their struggles have been rendered unsustainable by the twin forces of market and environment, which intensify vulnerability via a vicious cycle of risk, borrowing and debt.

First of all, the unfettered advent of microfinance has resulted in a transition to farming on credit, leaving smallholders with huge debts in advance of their harvest, hoping a successful crop will clear them.

Then, climate change lies in wait to tip the odds against them. While in years past, the gamble made by smallholders may have paid off more times than not, today they are at the mercy of a further axis of misfortune. Cambodias changing rainfall patterns have ravaged smallholder agriculture in recent years, as the predictable rhythm of early and late season rains has given way to an onslaught of floods and droughts. Almost every year is now a story of coping rather than doing; of managing in whatever way possible the task of farming in an environment no longer suited to the age-old methods.

Farmers try everything, from irrigation to new techniques to piling debt upon debt. Yet regardless of their struggles, the odds are stacked against smallholders and every year the army of landless  stripped of their ancestral plots by debt  grows larger. The result is a rootless, desperate and indebted workforce, highly vulnerable to exploitation, either in the brick kilns or elsewhere.

And herein lies the problem. Modern slavery in the form of child labour and debt bondage is endemic in the Cambodian brick-making industry. It is not a question of a few kilns, but every kiln. Almost every brick on which the nations construction boom rests is fired in kilns where children labour and adults languish for years in bondage.

Yet this is an issue that cant be resolved at its endpoint alone. What has allowed debt bondage to become so prevalent and normalised is the way in which Cambodias poorest have been made to bear the burden of their changing climate without provision for their well-being, or protections against the vagaries of the market.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Not only is the west overwhelmingly responsible for the emissions driving changes to the global climate, it is also increasingly the beneficiary of its impacts. As long as we allow ourselves to profit from international supply chains, while reneging responsibility for those who work in them, we shall remain complicit in the practices that purport to shock us around the world.

Laurie Parsons is a postdoctoral research fellow at Royal Holloway. This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com)
Perhaps its not so strange that Nomos, a watch factory in the tiny East German town of Glashutte, should be at the forefront of businesses fighting back against the far right.

Glashutte, known as mini-Switzerland for its thriving watchmaking industry, took its current shape after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany. Nomos was established in Glashutte in 1990 by Roland Schwertner, a fashion photographer and computer scientist from West Germany, and now employs 300 people from 20 nations.

Glashutte as we know it today would simply not have been possible without the reunification of Germany, and without the freedom and democracy that brought, says Uwe Ahrendt, chief executive. Furthermore, we have employees that need our protection; those that the far right would claim 'dont belong here'. But we know that they do.

Ahrendt became the chief executive of Nomos in 2000. The company was shocked to discover that in the 2017 federal elections, over a third of Glashutte residents had voted for the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Since spring 2018, Nomos has worked with Open Saxony, a Government-funded programme, to provide free workshops and training to its employees where they check the accuracy of right-wing views and provide emotional support to staff. Ahrendt says: We realised that we need to position ourselves clearly and publicly in support of our democratic political system.

Glashutte in East Germany is known as mini-Switzerland for its thriving watchmaking industry (Courtesy Photo)

German businesses have another good reason embrace diversity: the country will be short of 3 million workers by 2020, according to a 2017 report by Prognos, an economic research institute, worsening to a shortage of 3.3 million by 2040 as the native population ages.

Skilled migrants are being seen as a way to plug the gaps. A new immigration law, introduced on October 2, aims to attract more workers from countries outside the EU. Steffen Kampeter, chief executive of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations has said Germanys international competitiveness depends upon qualified workers from abroad.

The state is funding efforts to improve diversity in German businesses who may not have considered hiring migrants in the past. At a recent meeting organised by Netzwerk Courage, a network that promotes democracy, business leaders, trade union representatives and groups working with migrants came together to discuss how they can improve diversity in East German businesses.

Petra Kopping, the minister for integration in Saxony, said that for years, East Germany has not worked towards making the workforce more diverse. Over time, it has fallen behind. Now it needs to work even harder to catch up. Petra Kopping herself employs 45 staff  18 of which come from overseas.

Marlis Straessner-Lacroix is from the organisation Willkommon in Lobtau, which has been helping asylum seekers in the Lobtau district of Dresden since 2014. She said that in many cases, businesses show a lack of interest in employing migrants, even when approached by organisations who have the resources to help.

Some companies may not even realise they have a problem, according to Johannes Weidl from the RKW Competence Center. His organisation has published a set of guidelines for companies to confront their own biases when recruiting. He says some companies are now thinking more about who they are inviting to interviews. We try to give input to do things better, he said. The argument to do things better is that there are more [skilled] people [out there] than you have been looking for.

Nomos employs 300 people from 20 nations (Courtesy Photo)

Glashutte is not your average East German town. It exports tens of thousands of luxury watches every year from 10 high-end watchmakers, some of which sell timepieces for millions of pounds. The industry started in the mid-1800s, when Ferdinand Adolph Lange enlisted financial support from local nobility to start manufacturing watches as means to employ impoverished local people.

Like all East Germany industries, Glashutte's watch factories were taken over by the Soviet-supported East German state after the Second World War. When this regime collapsed, many workers fled to the West. Whole towns were hollowed out. Glashutte was revived in part by incomers like Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand, who returned from the West to revive old brands alongside new ones, like Nomos.

Many other East German towns never experienced the same renaissance. Even today, East Germans are still paid less than West Germans and work longer hours. The average annual gross wage in the former East German states is 30,172, almost 5,000 less than in states in the former West Germany, according to official data provided to the socialist Left party.

For some, a sense of injustice has hardened into a fear of the outsider since Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed migrants to Germany in 2015. Ahrendt says far-right riots in the nearby town of Chemnitz in August have made the companys efforts to promote democracy seem even more essential: We wanted to set a precedent, because an intolerant, racist atmosphere will not be permitted at Nomos Glashutte.

Some businesses and organisations have reported that since the AfD has gained more support in elections, the number of applicants from overseas has decreased. Dr Michael Genkin, the leader of a visitors programme that welcomes international scientists to the Max Planck research institute in Dresden, says that after 2015, Saxony became less attractive for workers of all kinds. We indeed had the impression of a decreasing number of applicants at our institute around the time of those political developments in Saxony, and in Dresden specifically, he says, noting that the number of applicants was too small to draw a statistical conclusion.

Ahrendt says events in Chemnitz and elsewhere have shown the world a darker side to German politics that it is up to responsible businesses to counter.

My company is concerned about this image, he says. We want to show that there is a brighter side to Germany, especially in Saxony. When you are close by, Chemnitz is just a little place in Germany but when you are far away, it represents all of Germany.

Recommended 10 best watches for men

The workshops at Nomos are booked out until the end of the year. That is great news, especially since they are voluntary and take place within work hours, Ahrendt says. From our point of view, everyone should work to protect freedom and democracyand perhaps even more so in Saxony, since it was something that we fought for in 1989.
Coca-Cola has scaled back its annual Christmas truck tour after protests from public health campaigners.

The drinks giant will stop at a third fewer locations on this years tour, which has been welcomed by councils and shopping centres since 1995.

The tour kicked off in Glasgow and will visit 24 stops, down from 38 last year. Pressure has grown on Coca-Cola and other drinks manufacturers over the level of sugar in their products which campaigners say contribute to rising levels of diabetes and childhood obesity.

A 330ml can of Coke contains 35g of sugar, about the recommended daily intake for people aged 11 or older.

Smaller cans of Coke are handed out for free from the famous red truck, a publicity stunt that has drawn fire from food and health charity Sustain.

The group has coordinated a letter calling on the company to only hand out sugar-free beverages.

Signatories include the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, World Cancer Research Fund International, the Royal Society for Public Health and 27 local councils.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

The group points out that 14 of the 19 stops in England have higher than average levels of obesity among 10 and 11-year-olds.

Public protests against the promotion have taken place in Glasgow, Waltham Forest in London, Plymouth and Bristol.

Last year, the truck was embroiled in controversy, with Liberal Democrat councillors calling for it to be banned from Liverpool due to fears it encouraged the drinking of sugary drinks, contributing to an obesity epidemic.

In response to Sustain, John Wood, general manager of Coca-Cola UK and Ireland, said the company expected 90 per cent of drinks handed out this year to be zero sugar and no drinks would be given to children under 12 unless accompanied by a parent.
The family of a six-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis who was denied funding for a breakthrough drug which could extend her life has launched a judicial review against the NHS.

Despite her consultant recommending the precision drug Orkambi, Katie Stafford was told by the NHS that it was only available in exceptional circumstances because of its high price tag. The drug costs 104,000 per patient for a year of treatment.

Katies mother Sarah Burgwin said it was shameful that it was being withheld when it could prevent her lungs and quality of life deteriorating.

It is heart-breaking to see Katie suffer when I know there is a drug out there that could help prevent her torment, she said. They are putting a price on the life of my daughter. Its shameful, what gives them the right to play God with my childs life?

Katie, who lives with her family in Totnes, Devon, also has learning and behavioural disabilities that make managing the genetic condition.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition which causes stick mucus to build up in the lungs of sufferers, increasing their chances of serious lung infections and over time causing scarring that makes it harder to get oxygen.

The average life expectancy for someone born with the condition in the UK is around 47 and many patients may require a lung transplant in their lifetime.

Katie with mother Sarah Burgwin

There are over 10,000 CF sufferers in the UK.

Orkambi has been hailed as a breakthrough drug which could benefit around half of British patients with the condition  according to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Clinical trials have shown it can slow the decline of lung function by as much as 46 per cent and it is available in several European countries.

However, NHS bosses have been engaged in years of negotiations with Orkambis manufacturer Vertex Pharmaceuticals to secure an affordable deal.

Recommended Why the perceptions of cystic fibrosis can be worse than the condition

This is despite the governments claims that the company was offered the largest ever financial commitment in the history of the NHS with a five year 500m deal to make the drug available.

At present the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which decides which treatments should be available on the NHS in England and Wales, says it is too expensive for the health service to provide routinely.

Ms Burgwin and her solicitors believe that Katie does meet the exceptional circumstances requirements of the NHS as she has a learning disability which means other treatments are not available.

Katie, now age six, is one of thousands of patients denied the treatment which could extend their lives (Sarah Burgwin)

She said: I hope that we can win this legal battle, not just for Katie, but also so this can be a gateway for other children also getting this drug to make their quality of life so much better.

Peter Todd, a partner at Hodge Jones and Allen, the firm launching the judicial review against the NHS decision, said: Thousands of parents have been left in a desperate position of watching their children deteriorate with this life-shortening condition, while knowing that there is a drug out there that can help improve their health and extend their lives.

Nick Medhurst, head of public affairs at the Cystic Fibrosis Trust said that orkambi should be available "to all who can benefit". In the instance of people with another condition, such as autism, he said: "The Trust believes that Orkambi should be used routinely and not exceptionally as it is proved to offer significant improvement above standard care."

A NHS England spokesperson said: Orkambi for the treatment of cystic fibrosis is not recommended by NICE and therefore is not routinely commissioned. Individual funding requests for treatments that are not routinely commissioned are difficult decisions, which is why they are taken by experienced teams on the basis of clinical evidence.

Earlier this year, health ministers wrote to the company urging it to drop Orkambis price, saying time was of the essence for cystic fibrosis patients.

A petition signed by more than 100,000 people also triggered a debate on the issue in Parliament this year.
A giant crater that was formed when a meteorite smashed into Earth, has been uncovered deep below Greenlands ice sheets.

The 31-kilometre-wide cavity was discovered by an international team of scientists who believe it was caused by a rare meteorite that struck Earth as recently as 12,000 years ago.

Evidence suggests the crater was formed when a kilometre-wide iron meteorite penetrated seven kilometres into the Earths crust.

Recommended Ancient meteorite found in Sahara desert reveals history of Mars

Since then it has been buried under the thick ice of the Hiawatha Glacier in northwest Greenland.

It is the first time ever that an impact crater of any size has been found underneath one of Earths continental ice sheets.

Scientists said the impact could have drastically altered the climate and led to serious consequences for life on Earth at the time.

The study, led by researchers from the Centre for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and University of Copenhagen, was published in the journal Science Advances.

Map of the bedrock topography beneath the ice sheet and the ice-free land surrounding the Hiawatha impact crater

The crater was first discovered in July 2015 when researchers found a previously undetected circular depression under the glacier.

The team then inspected the glacier from the air using state-of-the-art ice radar measurements, revealing the hidden crater  covering an area bigger than Paris  in much more detail.

Detailed chemical analysis of sediment from a river that drains straight through the glacier followed, allowing researchers at Cardiff University to determine the type of object capable of causing such monumental destruction.

In particular, the experts looked for signs of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold that would indicate the presence of a meteorite.

When the results came through from the chemical analysis, they were certainly unexpected, explained co-author of the research Dr Iain McDonald, from Cardiff Universitys School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. Initially we thought we might find the signature from a chrondritic or stoney meteorite but the only explanation for the pattern of metals that we found had to be a mixture between the crustal rocks in the surrounding area and an unusual iron asteroid, he said.

A number of iron meteorites, including a 20-tonne fragment, had previously been found in the area not far from the Hiawatha site.

The team said their next task would be to date the impact, which they believe happened between three million and 12,000 years ago.

Dr McDonald added: Chemically, our samples and the iron meteorite are highly heterogeneous and likely represent different fragments bound together by gravity. Fractionated iron meteorites are rare and finding two such occurrences in close proximity may be more than coincidence.

The structure is 31km wide, with a prominent rim surrounding

Kurt Kjr collecting sand samples at the front of Hiawatha Glacier. This sand was transported by the glacier from the bottom of the impact crater to the ice margin, and it has yielded a wealth of information on the impact (Svend Funder)

While it requires more research, we consider it possible that the Cape York irons may have been outer fragments or even boulders on the surface of the main meteorite. We suspect these initially detached in Earths gravity field and then decelerated as they entered the atmosphere to fall south of the Hiawatha crater.

Professor Kurt H Kjr, lead author of the research from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, said: The crater is exceptionally well-preserved and that is surprising, because glacier ice is an incredibly efficient erosive agent that would have quickly removed traces of the impact.

The next step in the investigation will be to confidently date the impact. This will be a challenge because it will probably require recovering material that melted during the impact from the bottom of the structure, but this is crucial if we are to understand how the Hiawatha impact affected life on Earth.
Scientists have suggested that increasingly temperatures that are a symptom of climate change could lead to lower sperm counts.

Using red flour beetles as a proxy for humans, a new study showed clear evidence of lower sperm number and viability as temperatures increased.

Study co-author Matt Gage, an ecologist at the University of East Anglia, said beetles were used because they are one of the most common species on the planet and so these results are very important for understanding how species react to climate change.

We know that biodiversity is suffering under climate change, but the specific causes and sensitivities are hard to pin down. Weve shown in this work that sperm function is an especially sensitive trait when the environment heats up, and in a model system representing a huge amount of global biodiversity, Mr Gage said.

The beetles were subjected to control conditions and a five-day heatwave.

Heatwave conditions (nine to 13 degrees above the typical high temperature for five days) damaged male  but not female  reproduction, according to the study, published in the peer-reviewed Nature Communications journal.

 Heatwaves driven by climate change making insects infertile, study suggests

It further stated successive heatwaves almost sterilise male beetles.

According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, in order for males to create viable sperm, the temperature outside of the testicles has to be cooler than internally.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

If somehow the male beetle was able to produce in that temperature, their offspring had shorter than average lifespans, according to researchers.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Kris Sales, another researcher on the study, said: Research has also shown that heat shock can damage male reproduction in warm-blooded animals too, and past work has shown that this leads to infertility in mammals. Our research shows that heatwaves halve male reproductive fitness, and it was surprising how consistent the effect was.

Study authors hope the results will allow for more understanding of conservation efforts and the effect of climate change on humans.
You can read it on the official Find Madeleine website: the statement of Kate and Gerry McCann from last years tenth anniversary of their daughters disappearance.

Madeleine, our Madeleine, write the parents of the missing girl. Ten years a horrible marker of time, stolen time.

You can watch their heartbreaking  interview with the BBCs Fiona Bruce, marking the tenth anniversary of three-year-old Madeleines disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on 3 May 2007.

Or you can consider the words of Kate and Gerrys web statement: We are bracing ourselves for the rehashing of old stories, misinformation, half-truths and downright lies which will be doing the rounds in the newspapers, social media and special edition TV programmes.

[We] truly hope that those reporting on the story over the next couple of weeks will have a conscience.

Then you can read the newspapers: Maddie cremated  heartbreaking new slur by Portugese ex-cop; Maddie body hidden in coffin [the same ex-cop, who is involved in a long-running legal battle with the McCanns]; and World exclusive: prime suspect is a woman (as followed by this website and many, many others.)

Then, if you want, you can read the online discussion forums, still going strong after all these years, where every story is dissected, and where some feel able to assert, with the unshakeable confidence of those convinced they know the truth  (though they might not know, or have met, the McCanns)  that revolting exploitation and deceit are involved.

 Kate and Gerry McCann vow to do 'whatever it takes for as long as it takes' in search for Madeleine

And if you fear you might have missed something, your friendly newsagent may still be able to supply you with one of the pull-out supplements that some newspapers have produced for the most recent anniversary of little Maddies disappearance.

How you view it all probably depends on your hunch  (and who doesnt have one?)  about what happened to Madeleine.

Some will praise fearless public interest investigation, possibly emphasising that most of it has been done by those outside the mainstream media (MSM).

Others will suggest the story has only been kept alive by slick PR beyond the resources of less savvy, less middle class parents with less photogenic children. Sometimes this is swiftly followed by the accusation that the parents, both of them highly intelligent doctors, have something to hide.

Still others will despair that Madeleine McCann has become an industry, making money for journalists, commentators and lawyers  while doing precious little for the missing girl herself.

Those seeing it as an industry may  fairly or unfairly  seek to examine one of those special edition documentaries broadcast last month by Australias Sunday Night programme.

First there was the headline-generating build-up: a cinematic trailer promising major new developments and a groundbreaking TV event.

Then came the show itself, mentioning theories that Madeleine had been killed by a drunk driver, or snatched by human traffickers, and saying that detectives wanted to talk to a Praia da Luz resort worker who may know more than they have so far divulged.

 Madeleine Mccann documentary claims to have 'groundbreaking' new evidence

The show also discussed a claim that MI5 might have helped hide Madeleine  it came from Goncalo Amaral, the talkative Portugese ex-cop behind the Maddie cremated line, who was sacked as lead investigator in the case in October 2007 after accusing British detectives of only chasing leads the McCanns wanted following.

Then came the programmes aftermath: no arrests, so far, but a statement from the lawyer of one of the experts featured in the show.

US-based criminal profiler Pat Brown has said she was misrepresented, and has, according to her attorney, identified multiple claims against the programme makers  who may well be instructing their own lawyers to challenge the allegations.

This comes six years after other lawyers got involved over Ms Browns self-published book casting doubt on the McCanns account of how their daughter disappeared. After Amazon heard from libel law firm Carter-Ruck, acting for the McCanns, the book was withdrawn from the online bookseller.

In a lengthy blog post, Ms Brown has now explained how she became a television commentator and why she participated in the Australian documentary.

I never expected to be on television, she wrote. But, after I started working in criminal profiling, I got a call from one of the big cable networks. They were in a panic because the guest they had invited couldnt make it at the last moment.

I did the interview. I started getting calls for more interviews.

The Madeleine McCann case Show all 25 1 /25 The Madeleine McCann case The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann One of the last photos of Madeleine before her disappearance EPA The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann was three when she was abducted during a family holiday in 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Top worn by a man that detectives investigate with connection to disappearance of Madeleine McCann A computer generated image of the distinctive burgundy long sleeve top worn by a man that detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are looking for The Madeleine McCann case Apartment in Portugal from where Madeleine went missing An aerial view of the Ocean Club apartments and pool where Madeleine McCann went missing Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Kate McCann Kate McCann speaks to the press outside the court house in Lisbon on 12 September 2013 following the first audience of the McCann couple's libel proceedings against former inspector Goncalo Amaral for a book written about the case of their missing daughter The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Kate McCann and Gerry McCann before the start of the 'Miles for Missing People' charity run in Regent's Park in London, 2011 The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann make an appeal at a press conference in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal 7 May 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann The McCann's give an interview with a Spanish television channel at their home in Rothley The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Madeleine McCann was abducted in Portugal in May 2007 AP The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Preliminary forensic analysis on samples recovered from the McCanns' hire car raised the possibility of a match with Madeleine's DNA profile, according to the leaked report Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Pope Benedict XVI blesses a photo of four-year-old abducted British girl Madeleine McCann, while meeting her parents Gerry and Kate McCann, after his weekly general audience at the Vatican, 2007 Reuters The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann speak to the press on 4 May 2007 at the Ocean club appartement hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos after Madeline vanished while her parents were out to dinner The Madeleine McCann case Portuguese police search for Madeleine Dozens of Portuguese police aided by dogs search for missing three-year old British girl Madelaine McCann in front of the Ocean club appartment hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann walk holding their two other children outside the Ocean club apartment hotel in Praia de Luz in May 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann pictured at the age of three, left, and as she might have looked aged nine PA/Teri Blythe The Madeleine McCann case Kate and Gerry McCann The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have described as "pure speculation" reports in the Portuguese press suggesting that a chief suspect in the disappearance of their daughter was killed in a tractor accident four years ago. PA The Madeleine McCann case Tribute for missing Madeleine in Rothley, Leicesteshire Three year old Cally prepares to add a yellow ribbon to a floral tribute for missing Madeleine McCann in Rothley in Leicesteshire, 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Support for the missing Madeleine Everton captain Lee Carsley (L) leads his team onto the field, followed Mikel Arteta (C) and Manuel Fernandes (R) wearing Tshirts bearing a message of support for the missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, prior to the English Premiership match between Chelsea and Everton, at Stamford Bridge in London, 2007 The Madeleine McCann case Madeleine McCann A poster appealing for information about Madeleine McCann at a Spanish railway station PA The Madeleine McCann case BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance Former porn star Mark Sloan (L) was cast in the BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance BBC The Madeleine McCann case Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect on 20 January 2008 in London. The description has come from British woman Gail Cooper, who was staying with her family close to the McCann's apartment in Portugal The Madeleine McCann case Image of a woman sought in the case Clarence Mitchell, the press spokesman for the McCann family, releases a photofit image of a woman sought in the search for missing Madeleine McCann Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Police released two e-fits of suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Getty Images The Madeleine McCann case Raymond Hewlett Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett, who is being sought in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann PA The Madeleine McCann case A picture of a suspect An artist's impression of a suspicious man seen by a witness apparently watching the McCann family's apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the day before Madeleine McCann went missing Channel 4

Fifteen years later, she said, she has made more than 3,000 media appearances  far from all of them about Madeleine McCann. As well as current investigations, she has been a valued expert in the documentaries The Unsolved Death of Cleopatra and Mystery Files: Jack the Ripper.

What I wanted to do, she explained, Was change methods of crime analysis so we would not have so many cold cases languishing in every state in the country.

Her participation in the Australian show, she stressed, was not about the money.

I doubt any participants were paid, she said, And, if they were, believe me, these kind of shows are cheap.

She acknowledged there would be two schools of thought: Pat Brown is not a real profiler. She is a McCann hater and published her book because she wants to make money off the pain of the parents and an innocent missing child.

And among her supporters: Pat Brown is the one professional outside of Goncalo Amaral who has not backed down from speaking the truth.

I did the show, she said, Because I wanted the truth out there in the MSM. It was an opportunity to speak out on the Madeleine McCann case, something that had been off limits for over seven years in the MSM.

The idea that the case is off limits to the mainstream media might amaze some, including the McCanns.

In November 2011 they told the Leveson Inquiry that British newspapers had declared open season on them.

At least in the early days, some reports seemed to do little more than repeat speculation in the Portuguese and Spanish press, with the addition of quotation marks and words like allegedly to give a little bit of legal distance from the initial allegation.

Some editors, it seemed, had noticed how a McCann splash could generate the kind of interest hitherto reserved for the latest sensational twist in the Diana, Princess of Wales story.

 Madeleine McCann 10 years on: Detectives still pursuing critical leads

We had anecdotal evidence from the British journalists in Praia da Luz that the story of Madeleines disappearance had caught the imagination of the British public and was driving sales in the UK, Gerry McCann told the Leveson Inquiry. As a result those journalists were under intense pressure from their newsdesks to file more copy.

It is possible, however, that the involvement of the lawyers has taken at least some of the edge off the media frenzy.

In March 2008 the Daily Express and the Daily Star had to make front page apologies after the McCanns started libel proceedings in relation to more than 100 articles published by the two daily newspapers and their Sunday sister editions. The High Court heard the false claims included allegations that the McCanns killed their daughter, sold her to pay off debts, or were involved in wife-swapping.

Then in July 2008 the McCanns started proceedings against Mr Amaral after he published his book The Truth of the Lie, in which he claimed the McCanns faked the abduction of their daughter after she died because of an accident in the familys holiday apartment.

The McCanns won an initial libel case against Mr Amaral in 2015, but this was overturned on appeal and in a judgement in Portugals Supreme Court. The McCanns told Fiona Bruce they will now be appealing to the European courts because the rulings against them were terrible.

The ongoing legal disputes, then, may have persuaded journalists to tread carefully  but it seems there is no shortage of material allowing them to plod on.

The known, indisputable facts may be few: Madeleine was reported missing at 10.14pm on the evening of 3 May 2007; her parents said they had left her sleeping in the apartment and gone to dinner with friends at a tapas bar 50 yards away, with one of the group checking on the toddler every half hour.

But out of that has grown a near infinity of leads or blind alleys  as well as incessant questioning from critics armed with hindsight and demanding to know why the McCanns didnt play safe and get a baby sitter (especially after it emerged there had been burglaries in a resort described in the first, sympathetic reports as a secure middle-class haven).

On 25 April, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the man in charge of Operation Grange, Scotland Yards six-year, 11m review of the case, wrote of his team having examined over 40,000 documents, out of which thousands of enquiries were generated.

We continue to receive information on a daily basis, he said. The team has looked at in excess of 600 individuals who were identified as being potentially significant to the disappearance.

There was, he added, to a television interviewer, a significant line of inquiry which is worth pursuing.

Ourselves and the Portuguese are doing a critical piece of work and we dont want to spoil it by putting titbits of information out publicly.

Of course, such a tantalising hint became a headline.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Look hard enough, and you will find stories about how lessons have not been learnt about the failure to find Madeleine, and about how all the speculation has drowned out debate about how to respond to a similar child disappearance in the future.

But such stories seem to gain far less traction than the latest hugely significant new clue or sensational new development or even  What was Madeleines cuddle cat and how important was it to the police investigation?

And Madeleine is still missing.

This article was first published on 1 May 2017
Tommy Robinson is planning a speaking tour of Australia where followers would pay almost A$1,000 for a private dinner with him  even though it is unclear whether he will be allowed into the country.

Australia get ready, the anti-Islam activist posted on Facebook, describing the trip slated for December as exciting.

The plan is for Robinson to speak at five venues around the country, including in Sydney and Melbourne, alongside male chauvinist and far-right commentator Gavin McInnes.

A promotion website calls them The Deplorables, using Hillary Clintons description of racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic Donald Trump supporters that has since been reclaimed by them.

It lists five events in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Sydney from 5 to 16 December.

The tour could generate significant profits for Robinson after his fundraising activities were hit by a ban from PayPal.

Tickets are being sold at A$85 (47) for general entry, A$295 for a VIP meet and greet including a photograph with Robinson, and A$495 for a backstage pass including an after-show party.

 Tommy Robinson addresses supporters outside court after case referred to Attorney General

But the most expensive option comes in at A$995 per head, which buys a pre-show dinner with The Deplorables, champagne reception and VIP seating for the show.

It comes after Robinsons planned trip to Washington to address Republican members of the US Congress was cancelled because his visa was not granted in time for Wednesdays event.

American think tank the Middle East Forum, which organised the event, told The Independent Robinson would be speaking via video link instead.

Recommended Tommy Robinson walks free after judge refers case to attorney general

Mr Robinsons visa was not denied, a spokesperson added. His application is still in the administrative processing phase and we are confident that he will be granted entry to the US at a later date.

The English Defence League founders extensive criminal record, including convictions for violence, drug possession, public order offences and fraud, may prove fatal to his hopes of entering Australia.

A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Home Affairs told The Independent they could not comment on individual cases but outlined strict requirements.

All non-citizens entering Australia must meet the character requirements set out in the Migration Act 1958 prior to the grant of any visa, a statement said.

For visitors who may hold controversial views, any risk they may pose will be balanced against Australias well-established freedom of speech and freedom of beliefs, amongst other relevant considerations.

Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Show all 16 1 /16 Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey A Tommy Robinson supporter in London after former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson left the Old Bailey where his contempt of court case was adjourned PA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey A Tommy Robinson supporter outside the Old Bailey in London where the former English Defence League (EDL) leader is accused of contempt of court PA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Tommy Robinson supporters outside the Old Bailey in London before former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson arrives accused of contempt of court PA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson protest at the Old Bailey Courthouse EPA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of former English Defence League leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, or 'Tommy Robinson', who was jailed for contempt of court in May and later released, wait for him to arrive at the Old Bailey to attend a court hearing Reuters Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Tommy Robinson arrives for his hearing at the Old Bailey Reuters Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right spokeseman Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, AKA Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the right-wing EDL (English Defence League) wave flags as they demonstrate outsise The Old Bailey AFP/Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey EPA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey EPA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Robinson gestures to supporters from inside the Old Bailey AFP/Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey AFP/Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey EPA

Australian authorities say only people with no substantial criminal record  meaning prison terms totalling more than 12 months  and showing good general behaviour are likely to meet the requirements.

Robinson was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for mortgage fraud in 2014 and 13 months for contempt of court in May  although that was overturned on appeal in August and the attorney general is considering whether to continue the case.

The 35-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was also jailed for 10 months in 2013 for using a friends passport to enter the US illegally, and served another sentence for actual bodily harm in 2005.

The Australian government website says it will not grant a visa to people who may vilify a segment of the Australian community or incite discord, and may demand police documents and character statements.

Authorities let other far-right figures, Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, enter the country for another speaking tour earlier this year, but their plans were hampered by protests and boycotts that caused engagements to be cancelled.

The organisers of Robinsons tour have taken precautions aiming to avoid a repeat of the disruption, by withholding the exact location of events until 24 hours before.

The website describes Robinson as a man of the British people and hails McInness controversial, no-holds-barred opinions, which have caused him to be banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for violating policies on hate speech.

Gavin McInnes addresses a crowd during a conservative rally in Berkeley, California, last year (AFP/Getty) (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty)

McInnes, who is Canadian, founded the male chauvinist Proud Boys group and formerly worked for the same far-right Rebel Media outlet as Robinson.

He has vocally supported Robinson and appeared at one of his court dates in London in September.

Both men have since left Rebel Media and crowdfund to produce their own videos.

Robinson has enjoyed a surge in donations since his imprisonment and said last month there was still a pot in excess of a few hundred thousand pounds left after legal costs.

But he was set back by PayPals decision to ban him from using its payment system for donations last week.

In a video posted to Facebook, he said the platform had accounted for 70 per cent of his financial support and appealed to followers to use bitcoin instead.

PayPal said it did not comment on individual accounts, but said in a statement: We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory.
Brussels will retain all the controls over swathes of British regulation under the Brexit deal struck by Theresa May, EU negotiators have told member states.

A leaked diplomatic note from a meeting between Commission officials and ambassadors from the EUs 27 countries reveals how Brussels views the level playing field rules signed up to by the prime minister.

We should be in the best negotiation position for the future relationship. This requires the customs union as the basis of the future relationship, deputy chief negotiator Sabine Weyand said, according to the note seen by The Times newspaper.

Recommended May calls in ministers to approve deal reached by UK negotiators

They must align their rules but the EU will retain all the controls. They apply the same rules. UK wants a lot more from future relationship, so EU retains its leverage.

The binding clauses would mean the UK would be tied to EU rules on workers rights, environmental protections, and state aid while the so-called backstop applies  which everyone in Brussels believes it will for quite some time.

The provisions are enraging some Tory Brexiteers, who see Britains departure from the EU as an opportunity to strip out what they see as excessive regulations and rights for workers.

She hasnt so much struck a deal as surrendered to Brussels and given in to everything they want and tried to frustrate Brexit that its not so much a vassal state anymore as a slave state, unofficial rebellion leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said, articulating the views of many of Ms Mays MPs.

Remainers also rounded on the leak. Dominic Grieve QC, a Tory MP and the former attorney general, said: Speaking in private Sabine Weyand has been brutally honest about what the Prime Ministers deal will really mean.

He added: I could not look my constituents in the eye and say this would be a better deal than the one we have as a member of the EU and so I will vote against it and instead I will vote to hand the final decision back to the public. A choice between this miserable Brexit and no deal is no choice at all. The British public deserve a real choice between leaving the EU on these terms or sticking with the deal weve got inside the EU.

But speaking on Wednesday morning Theresa May loyalist William Hague urged Tories to ignore the leak overnight from somebody you have never heard of before and to back the plan, arguing that Brexit could be thwarted if it was ditched.

The leaked written account of the meeting seen by the newspaper also suggests that Britain would have to swallow a link between access to products and fisheries in future agreements for the future relationship. The claim is political dynamite because some Brexiteers want the UK to be able to exclude EU fishing boats from British waters after the country leaves.

We will not comment on the various press reports over the past 24 hours. European Commission spokesperson

Cabinet ministers are being strong-armed to support the deal, with some deemed key to its approval call in for one-on-one meetings with the Prime Minister ahead of a moment-of-truth meeting on Wednesday.

The final text of the draft withdrawal agreement has not been made public, meaning ministers must either decode the vast legal agreement themselves or rely on Downing Streets interpretation of it.

EU ambassadors will meet simultaneously in Brussels this afternoon to examine the agreement, and be briefed by EU officials  though the full sign-off process from member states is expected to take longer.

Its going to be a thorough information on the state of play, a spokesperson for the European Commission said.

Even if the Prime Minister can secure the support of her own cabinet it looks increasingly unlikely that she will be able to get the plan through the House of Commons, with opposition from Labour, Tory eurosceptics, and the DUP now looking more certain than ever.

Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An abandoned shop is seen in Mullan, Co Monaghan. The building was home to four families who left during the Troubles. The town was largely abandoned after the hard border was put in place during the conflict. Mullan has seen some regeneration in recent years, but faces an uncertain future with Brexit on the horizon Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A defaced Welcome to Northern Ireland sign stands on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Mervyn Johnson owns a garage in the border town of Pettigo, which straddles the counties of Donegal and Fermanagh. Ive been here since 1956, it was a bit of a problem for a few years. My premises has been blown up about six or seven times, we just kept building and starting again, Johnson said laughing. We just got used to it [the hard border] really but now that its gone, we wouldn't like it back again Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Farmer Gordon Crocketts Coshquin farm straddles both Derry/Londonderry in the North and Donegal in the Republic. At the minute there is no real problem, you can cross the border as free as you want. We could cross it six or eight times a day, said Crockett. If there was any sort of obstruction it would slow down our work every day Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures John Murphy flies the European flag outside his home near the border village of Forkhill, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Potter Brenda McGinn stands outside her Mullan, Co Monaghan, studio  the former Jas Boylan shoe factory which was the main employer in the area until it shut down due to the Troubles. When I came back, this would have been somewhere you would have driven through and have been quite sad. It was a decrepit looking village, said McGinn, whose Busy Bee Ceramics is one of a handful of enterprises restoring life to the community. Now this is a revitalised, old hidden village Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Union Flag colours painted on kerbstones and bus-stops along the border village of Newbuildings, Co Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Grass reflected in Lattone Lough, which is split by the border between Cavan and Fermanagh, seen from near Ballinacor, Northern Ireland Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Donegalman David McClintock sits in the Border Cafe in the village of Muff, which straddles Donegal and Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An old Irish phone box stands alongside a bus stop in the border town of Glaslough, Co Monaghan Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Billboards are viewed from inside a disused customs hut in Carrickcarnon, Co Down, on the border with Co Louth in the Republic Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Seamus McQuaid takes packages that locals on the Irish side of the border have delivered to his business, McQuaid Auto-Parts, to save money on postal fees, near the Co Fermanagh village of Newtownbutler. I live in the south but the business is in the North, said McQaid. "I wholesale into the Republic of Ireland so if theres duty, Ill have to set up a company 200 yards up the road to sell to my customers. Ill have to bring the same product in through Dublin instead of Belfast Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A disused Great Northern Railway line and station that was for customs and excise on the border town of Glenfarne, Co Leitrim Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Alice Mullen, from Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, does her shopping at a former customs post on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh. Id be very worried if it was a hard border, I remember when people were divided. I would be very afraid of the threat to the peace process, it was a dreadful time to live through. Even to go to mass on a Sunday, youd have to go through checkpoints. It is terribly stressful, said Mullen. All those barricades and boundaries were pulled down. I see it as a huge big exercise of trust and I do believe everyone breathed a sigh of relief Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A bus stop and red post box stand in the border town of Jonesborough, Co Armagh Reuters

A European Commission spokesperson told reporters in Brussels: The European Union and United Kingdom negotiators have been working intensively over the past few days to agree on the elements of a withdrawal agreement and an outline on the political declaration of the framework of the future relationship.

Our chief negotiator Michel Barnier briefed the college of commissioners yesterday in Strasbourg. You will appreciate that there is an on-going process in London and Brussels right now as we speak. The British cabinet will meet at 3pm today Brussels time and the European Commission will also debrief the EU27 member states this afternoon.

We will not comment on the various press reports over the past 24 hours. We will inform you if there are any updates today or over the coming days. If something happens you will be the first ones to know, so stay tuned.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif believes that Saudi Arabia had planned to assassinate senior Iranian officials, including , and sabotage the Iranian economy.

"We had information about that," Zarif told The New Arabs Arabic-language service in a recent interview. "These Saudi policies are not new and we are aware of them. The Saudi regime wants to impose its domination. These reports invalidate all claims that alleged Iran was engaging in activities against Riyadh. It is Riyadh that supports radicalism to undermine Iran."

His comments came after a Sunday report by The New York Times, revealing a March 2017 meeting in Riyadh to assassinate Iranian officials, namely Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani.

Zarif further exemplified other atrocities by the Saudi government, including support for terrorism, attacking Yemen as well as blockading Qatar and kidnapping Lebanese Prime minister Saad Hariri.

"All the world has opened its eyes to what Riyadh is doing such as blockading Qatar, bombing Yemen, detaining the prime minister of Lebanon and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi," IRNA cited Zarif as saying.
Scottish Tory MPs have plunged Theresa May into a fresh crisis over her Brexit deal, by warning they will rebel if it leaves the UK tied to EU fishing rules.

All 13 Conservatives north of the border  including David Mundell, the Scottish secretary  signed a hand-delivered letter to the prime minister, as she began her crunch cabinet meeting.

It was sent after reports that the draft agreement will park the controversy over fishing rights until the negotiations on a future trade deal, which wont start until next year.

Recommended Emergency Brexit summit set for 25th November to confirm deal

In the letter, Mr Mundell and his 12 fellow Tories said Ms May had promised Britain would have complete control and full sovereignty over domestic waters, from the end of 2020, when the transition period ends.

It reads: We could not support an agreement with the EU that would prevent the UK from independently negotiating access and quota shares.

That would mean that we would not be leaving the CFP [commons fisheries policy] in practice and would be becoming an independent coastal state in name only.

The letter sparked fresh speculation that Mr Mundell is poised to resign unless the prime minister backs down and seeks better terms on fishing rights in the draft deal.

Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Show all 14 1 /14 Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Internal divisions in the Conservative Party have exploded into a bitter public row over Boris Johnsons disgusting criticism of Theresa May. Some senior Tories furiously denounced the former foreign secretary after he accused the prime minister of having wrapped a suicide vest around Britain Reuters Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Sajid Javid, Home secretary Sajid Javid, the home secretary, rebuked his former cabinet colleague and said: I think there are much better ways to articulate your differences. He told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show that the public wanted politicians to use measured language BBC/PA Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide But other MPs leapt to Mr Johnsons defence, as dividing lines ahead of a possible leadership contest begin to take shape. The Uxbridge MP has repeatedly criticised Ms Mays Chequers plan and used a newspaper article on Sunday to suggest it amounted to wrapping a suicide vest around the British constitution. His latest salvo at the prime minister prompted immediate condemnation, with one minister publicly vowing to end Mr Johnsons career over the matter PA Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Alan Duncan, Foreign minister Alan Duncan, a foreign minister who worked in Mr Johnsons team for two years, wrote on Twitter: For Boris to say the PMs view is like that of a suicide bomber is too much. This marks one of the most disgusting moments in modern British politics. Im sorry, but this is the political end of Boris Johnson. If it isnt now, I will make sure it is later. Getty Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide James Brokenshire, Housing secretary Housing secretary James Brokenshire added his voice to the criticism, calling Mr Johnsons comments wrong He said: I think he is wrong on this...I think the tone that he has used isnt right and I think that we just need to be very focused on actually moving forward with the Chequers plan. AFP/Getty Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Zac Goldsmith But as Tory hostilities spilled over into open public warfare, Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith, an ally of Mr Johnson, hit back at Mr Duncan. He wrote: There are a number of possible motives behind this tweet, but given its author, we can be certain principles arent one of them. Getty Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Jacob Rees-Mogg Senior Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Independent he thought Mr Johnsons suicide belt accusation was little more than a characteristically colourful catchphrase. He added: I agree with the sentiment. The criticism of Boriss wording merely serves to highlight his point. It means more people hear of Boriss criticism of Chequers and many will agree with him. Reuters Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Nadine Dorries Nadine Dorries, another Brexit supporter, said Mr Johnsons opponents were terrified of his popular appeal, adding: Dont underestimate the vitriol thatll be directed towards Boris today. He delivered the Leave vote, Remainers and wannabe future PMs hate him. If Mr Johnson became leader and prime minister he would deliver a clean and prosperous Brexit, she said Rex Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Andrew Bridgen Andrew Bridgen said Ms May was to blame for her leadership problems. Asked if Mr Johnson had put a bomb under her leadership, Mr Bridgen said: I think that Theresa May did that herself when she put forward the Chequers proposals without consulting widely prior to that. Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Steve Baker, former Brexit minister Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister, warned Ms May the Conservatives faced a "catastrophic split" if she did not jettison her Chequers plan. Mr Baker, who quit the government in July over the scheme, said: When negotiating, the prime minister needs to demonstrate her intent and also her power to deliver. "If we come out of conference with her hoping to get Chequers through on the back of Labour votes, I think the EU negotiators would probably understand that if that were done, the Tory party would suffer the catastrophic split which thus far we have managed to avoid. But he insisted he did not want a change in the Conservative leadership, saying Brexiteers did not want to be in a position of conflict with our own prime minister Reuters Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Tom Tugendhat The deep divisions on the Tory benches were laid bare as Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee and is a possible leadership rival to Mr Johnson, also hit out at the former foreign secretary. Recalling how he encountered a suicide bomber in Afghanistan during his time in the army, Mr Tugendhat told Mr Johnson to grow up. He said: A suicide bomber murdered many in the courtyard of my office in Helmand. The carnage was disgusting, limbs and flesh hanging from trees and bushes. Brave men who stopped him killing me and others died in horrific pain. Some need to grow up. Comparing the PM to that isnt happy. PA Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Alistair Burt Alistair Burt, another Foreign Office minister who worked in Mr Johnsons team, said: Im stunned at the nature of this attack. There is no justification for such an outrageous, inappropriate and hurtful analogy. If we dont stop his extraordinary use of language over Brexit, our country might never heal. Again, I say, enough. AFP/Getty Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide It comes amid that Ms Mays former aides drew up a dossier on Mr Johnsons sexual encounters with the aim of undermining his leadership prospects. The document was compiled in 2016, when the Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP was seen as the main rival to Ms May in her bid to enter No 10. Downing Street and Conservative Campaign Headquaters (CCHQ) both denied having leaked the 4,000 word memo after it was circulated around Westminster AFP/Getty Boris Johnson 'suicide vest' Brexit jibe causes Tory divide Mr Johnson confirmed that his 25-year marriage to wife Marina had ended AP

The Scottish secretary  Ruth Davidson, the Tory leader north of the border  had already threatened to walk out if Northern Ireland is given preferential trading terms with the EU.

Even worse for Ms May, losing the support of the 13 Scottish Tories would make it even less likely that parliament will back the agreement, in a landmark vote expected early next month.

Pro-Brexit Tories have already joined forces with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to warn the deal is doomed, with Labour also supplying the numbers to vote it down.

EU member states with big fishing industries have demanded access to British waters, in return for the UK enjoying tariff-free access to EU markets under plans for the Irish border backstop.

As a result, the controversy has been deferred until the end of the transition period, until a future UK-EU agreement is reached on reciprocal access to waters.

In the Commons, a Tory backbencher, Martin Vickers, demanded an absolute assurance that it will be for the UK, and the UK alone, to determine who fishes in our national waters after a deal is signed.

In response, the prime minister said: I can reassure my honourable friend that we will become an independent coastal state, and it will be the UK negotiating on the UKs behalf in terms of access to UK waters.

However, Ms May did not say when the UK will regain negotiating rights  which, the Scottish Tories fear, will not be until after the start of 2021.

The Tories are under pressure because the SNP is opposing Northern Ireland effectively staying in the EU single market  to avoid a hard Irish border  while Scotland is forced to leave.

Ms Davidson and Mr Mundell fear it will bolster the case for independence north of the border, if the backstop creates distinct single market terms for Northern Ireland only.
EU leaders would gather in Brussels later this month to confirm Theresa Mays Brexit deal if her Cabinet approves the latest draft, Irelands prime minister has said.

Leo Varadkar told the Irish parliament that the date of the planned summit was now 25 November, a Sunday.

He also revealed that a draft text on the 500-page agreement could be made public on Wednesday evening if discussions in the UK cabinet go smoothly.

The Taoiseach briefed his own cabinet on Wednesday morning on the possible deal, before fielding questions from members of the Dail in Leinster House.

Should the UK cabinet be in the position this afternoon to say it's content with the text, it is proposed that the Commission taskforce would be in a position perhaps tonight to publish the text with the possibility or probability of an EU council meeting around the 25th of November, he said.

Mr Varadkar also said he believed the text of the agreement should be put to a vote in the Irish parliament, and that he was confident it would not impact on the Good Friday agreement.

The Irish prime minister added: Back in December when the joint report - the agreement between the EU and UK - was issued, I said the next step was to turn that joint report that we agreed back in December into a legally binding and legally operable withdrawal agreement and we are close to that point today.

But it is still a draft agreement. It is yet to be agreed by the UK Government and they will discuss it this afternoon and it is yet to be agreed by the European Council and we may be in a position to have an emergency European Council meeting before the end of the month to do exactly that.

Theresa May is meeting her cabinet on Wednesday afternoon for crunch discussions about the draft. She is expected to face serious opposition from some eurosceptic ministers. EU ambassadors from the 27 countries are also meeting in Brussels this afternoon where they will be filled in by deputy chief Commission negotiator Sabine Weyand.

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

The Brexit withdrawal agreement was originally supposed to be finalised for the October meeting of the European Council in Brussels, but the deadline slipped. A second emergency summit was then pencilled in for 18 November but the deadline to organise for that was also missed.

The EU has said December is too late for a deal, though some in Brussels and Westminster believe there is space for the deadline to slip further  with the UK set to crash out at the end of March.
William Hague has warned Tory MPs that Brexit might not happen at all if they carry out their threat to wreck Theresa Mays hard-won agreement with the EU.

The former Conservative leader said the real fear of Eurosceptics should be a fresh referendum to halt Brexit  downplaying the claim that the UK could crash out with no agreement at all.

The warning comes after The Independent's Final Say petition was revealed to be the most popular in the UK all year, having been signed by more than a million people in just four months.

Pro-Brexit Tories have already joined forces with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to warn the deal is doomed, with Labour also supplying the numbers to vote it down.

Mr Hague, speaking as the cabinet prepared to meet to back or veto the outline deal, urged Tory MPs to consider the shock resignation of Jo Johnson to campaign for a further referendum.

He told them: What you have to really worry about here is that if you dont take this opportunity to leave the EU  to get Brexit over the line  you might never leave at all.

Many people share this point of view that the better alternative is to have a second referendum

That means, of course, deferring leaving until next year and it would probably mean a different government.

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

It would mean taking the next year having another referendum that might not resolve matters  that Brexit might not happen at all.

Mr Hague defended the text struck between London and Brussels, arguing the UK was about to regain control of immigration policy and end big payments to the EU.

Its true there are many compromises, but did anyone think wed be able to leave the EU without them? he argued.

But he admitted the DUPs refusal to back the deal was very concerning for the prime minister, adding: The cabinet will need to take that into account.

Mr Hague also dismissed an overnight leak from Brussels, which revealed the EU views the draft agreement as a way to retain all the controls over UK regulations permanently.

MPs should ignore a leak overnight from somebody you have never heard of before, he said  even though the author was EU negotiator Michel Barniers deputy.
Michael Gove's department is too complacent about the potential disruption Brexit could bring to vital trade and food safety, an influential Commons committee has warned.

In a critical new report, the Public Account Committee (PAC) sounded the alarm over fundamental issues for food, chemical and animal importers and exporters that are yet to be resolved and the lack of no-deal advice given to small businesses.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will be one of the Whitehall departments that is hit hardest by Brexit, due to the UK's entanglement with complex EU's environmental and farming laws.

Recommended May calls in ministers to approve deal reached by UK negotiators

Yet the PAC warned that many of its Brexit contingency plans are dependent on goodwill from the EU, the devolved nations and other departments.

It comes after Mr Gove, the environment secretary, was accused of "poaching" staff from Natural England, the agency responsible for protecting landscape and wildlife areas, in order to prepare his department for Brexit.

Exports of animals and animal products could be held up in the event of a no-deal Brexit as vets will need to sign off accompanying health certificates to goods going to EU states for the first time, the committee said.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

It also warned of increased risks to food safety and smuggling if imports are allowed into the UK without checks at the border.

Labour PAC chair Meg Hillier said: In the continued uncertainty about the UKs future relationship with the EU, Defras civil servants must prepare for multiple and in some cases ill-defined scenarios.

Anyone working in the dark is prone to stumble but in Defras case I am concerned that the department has lost sight of its priorities.

The risks associated with no-deal in particular are severe, and it is alarming how little specific information Defra has provided to enable individual businesses and organisations to prepare."

Several critical IT systems are still to be tested, raising questions about plans for the border after Brexit, she said.

Ms Hillier added: Defra is up against it but there is more it must do to assure parliament, businesses and the wider public that it has a firm grip on its responsibilities.

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

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who sits on the committee, said: Following extensive evidence, there can be no confidence that food imports, food standards and food safety can be guaranteed if Brexit happens.

Muddling through in the hope of goodwill is unacceptably risky. We cannot have unsafe food, or worse no food at all, on the shelves after Brexit. This is not a price worth paying."

It comes just two months after the UK's spending watchdog said Defra had no clear vision of its own role after Brexit and that in many areas its efforts were of poor quality and lack maturity.

The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that key elements of its Brexit preparations would not be ready by March next year when the UK is set to drop out of the bloc.

A Defra spokesperson said: We do not accept the PACs conclusions which fail to accurately reflect Defras preparations for leaving the EU.

The PAC have ignored key findings from the National Audit Office, which found that Defra has achieved a great deal and to a very demanding timescale.

In producing this one-sided report, the PAC have failed to acknowledge the substantial progress we have made in replacing EU functions, hiring key staff and building new IT systems.
A former Labour home secretary has admitted that he ordered staff to up removals in direct response to anti-immigration press coverage during his time in office.

Lord David Blunkett, who served in the role between between 2001 and 2004 under Tony Blair, said there were times during his tenure when the pressure was so great following media reports that he was forced to take unpleasant steps  which he admitted were sometimes overdone.

Speaking to the Human Rights Committee in an evidence session on immigration detention, he said: I said to staff youve really got to up the removals because were being made monkeys of because the press are running stories about the thousands of people whose appeals have been turned down and have not been removed and the system is shown to be breaking down.

So the message from minister would be youve got to take these steps, and some of those steps were so unpleasant that we had to say sorry the message has been overdone. The dawn raids and people being dragged out of bed, and who in a civilised society feels comfortable with that? Nobody.

Lord Blunkett also described a tendency to avoid the blame culture in the Home Office, saying: On so many occasions there would be so many people to blame that there would be nobody working there anymore.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

On the topic of the Windrush scandal, which saw deportation threats made to the children of Commonwealth citizens, who despite living and working in the UK for decades, were told they are living in the UK illegally because of a lack of official paperwork, he apportioned some of the blame to himself.

I was surprised that things that I thought wed done didnt work. I thought wed dealt with that, in terms of those who were British citizens but werent really passport holders," he said. If we were giving those rights, why didnt the Windrush issues get picked up at the time? It must have been because we  and I include myself  failed to make clear the changes and the intentions of those changes at the time.
Donald Trump berated Theresa May over perceived failings on Iran, unfair trade deals and Brexit during a foul-tempered phone call, it has been reported.

The US president is said to have lashed out at Ms May after she phoned him on Friday to congratulate him on the Republican Partys showing in the midterm elections.

Mr Trumps party lost control of the House of Representatives and made only small gains in the Senate.

According to The Washington Post, the billionaire berated the prime minister for not doing enough to contain Iran. Mr Trump pulled the US out of the joint Iran nuclear deal earlier this year in favour of imposing sanctions, though the other countries party to the agreement said they would try to keep it going, and have said there is no evidence Tehran is breaking the terms of the deal.

He also grilled Ms May on Brexit and complained about trade deals between the US and European countries he viewed as unfair, the paper reported.

The Independent has contacted Downing Street and the White House for comment.

Getting trade deals that favour the US has been a key plank of Mr Trumps agenda and he has long lamented unfair treatment by nations across the globe. South Korea has already signed a fresh trade agreement and Mr Trumps administration is currently pushing Japan to do the same.

On Tuesday he hit out at Emmanuel Macron and said that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs.

The spat with the French president stemmed from comments the En Marche founder made last week, calling for the creation of a European army to defend against Russia, China and even the US. Angela Merkel has since made similar calls.

On Twitter, Mr Trump called that idea very insulting and later mocked his counterparts approval ratings as well as Frances contributions during the world wars.

He tweeted on Tuesday: Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two  How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!

Mr Trump also chafed at Mr Macrons recent speech warning against the rise of nationalism in which the 40-year-old said the phenomenon was a betrayal of patriotism in an address apparently aimed at Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump had declared himself a nationalist during a campaign rally before the midterms.

The old demons are rising again, ready to complete their task of chaos and of death, the French president said at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony as the American and Russian leaders looked on.

 President Trump jokes about getting rained on during WW1 speech

Continuing his Tuesday rant against Mr Macron, Mr Trump tweeted: By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!........

The Post reported that Mr Trump had passed a furious five days since the midterms both frustrated with the trip abroad, according to a White House official, and angry at late midterms vote-counting in Florida.

On Twitter he hit out at media coverage of his decision not to attend a ceremony on Saturday as part of First World War centenary commemorations.

The president had been due to lay a wreath at the Aisne-Marne cemetery where American war dead are buried but the White House said heavy rain and fog had kept him away  sparking a storm of criticism.

He tweeted on Tuesday: By the way, when the helicopter couldnt fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetery in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Mr Trumps dissatisfaction reportedly extends to members of his cabinet  he is said to have expressed a desire to oust both Kirstjen Nielsen, his homeland security secretary, and John Kelly, his chief of staff. His view of the pair has soured due to frustration that his administration is not doing more to address what he has called a crisis at the US-Mexico border.

Immigration is the presidents signature issue and he leaned heavily on it ahead of the midterms vote.

Yet late results showed the Democrats had picked up at least 32 seats in the House, and had flipped seven governors offices and eight state legislative chambers. It marked the partys best midterm performance since 1974  the year Republican president Richard Nixon resigned over Watergate.
The brother of Manchester arena bomber Salman Abedi could be extradited to the UK by the end of the year, Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj has said.

Hashem Abedi was arrested in Libya shortly after the 2017 attack that killed 22 people, many of them children, as they left and Ariana Grande concert.

Mr Sarraj denied that Libya had delayed Mr Abedis extradition and insisted his country was fully cooperating with British officials

Recommended Police officers and others to be honoured for Manchester bomb response

Legal procedures were reaching their conclusion, he said, adding that it was only a matter of time before Mr Abedi was returned to Britain.

I think from here to the end of this year we will finish all the legal procedures in Libya, he told the BBC. We are fully cooperating because we understand the suffering of the families of the victims of this terrorist attack. We as Libyans also suffer here in Libya from attacks. So the subject is important for us.

According to the general prosecutor we can extradite. After we complete the legal process in Libya, it is only a matter of time.

Mr Abedi has been subject to a request for extradition by British authorities since November last year.

Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on Show all 10 1 /10 Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Flower Festival at St Ann's Church marking the Manchester Arena bombing Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trail in St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Flower Festival at St Ann's Church marking the Manchester Arena bombing Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trail in St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on Embracing Manchester Exhibition at St Ann's Church was created by artist Ghislaine Howard after being inspired by Muslim video blogger Baktash Noori who, after the attack spent days in the city centre trying to win the trust of the public. Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Flower Festival at St Ann's Church marking the Manchester Arena bombing Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes

Greater Manchester Police want to arrest him for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion.

A spokeswoman for the force said: The extradition proceedings are in progress and we are grateful to the Libyan Authorities for considering our extradition request. As proceedings are ongoing, it is essential that we respect the Libyan legal process and therefore we cannot provide any further detail at this time.

The Abedi family, originally from Libya, fled during the Gaddafi dictatorship with the father returning to fight with opposition forces when the uprising began in 2011.

Both brothers travelled to Libya in April 2017, then Salman returned alone before carrying out the attack in Manchester.

He killed himself when he detonated an explosive device at the end of the concert, with 353 people, including 175 children, around him in the foyer of the venue.

As well as the 22 dead, 16 people suffered serious injuries including paralysis, loss of limbs, internal injuries, and serious facial injuries.
 Close California wildfires: Cars come within metres of blaze on Los Angeles freeway

The remains of six more victims of Californias most lethal and destructive wildfire in history have been found, bringing the death toll to 48 in the so-called Camp Fire in northern California and 51 total, statewide.

Forensic teams with cadaver dogs spent the day combing through ash and charred debris in what was let of the town of Paradise, around 175 miles (280km) north of San Francisco, near the state capital of Sacramento. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said 100 National Guard troops were being sent in at his request to assist in the search for additional human remains left by the Camp Fire.

The names of 80 people, many of them elderly, have been released in an effort to locate them amid the blaze damage.

Recommended Wildfire visible from space forces evacuation in California

The intensified effort to locate victims comes on the sixth day of a blaze that has incinerated more than 8,800 homes and other buildings, including most of Paradise, a town once home to 27,000 people that was largely erased hours after the fire began last Thursday. More than 50,000 local residents remained under evacuation orders.

In southern California, the Woolsey Fire has killed three people, destroyed more than 400 structures and displaced some 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills near the Malibu coast west of Los Angeles.

Darkened skies could be seen for days as the fire raged on, with winds picking up the smoke and sending it as far as Wisconsin nearly 2,000 miles away.

 Night vision military drone shows Camp Fire tearing through California

The Woolsey Fire has displaced several celebrities as well including Gerard Butler, Neil Young, and Lady Gaga, who was seen delivering pizzas, coffee, and gift cards to a nearby evacuation centre in Los Angeles.

That fire has consumed more than 97,000 acres through Los Angeles and Ventura counties and leaving 57,000 residents still in danger as firefighting authorities said only half of the blaze has been contained.

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

Donald Trump was briefed on the situation by Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) director Brock Long. Mr Trump said he had a phone call with California governor Jerry Brown to let him know that we are with him, and the people of California, all the way!

The president had tweeted over the weekend the fires were due to "poor" "forest management" in the state but did not elaborate on what that actually meant. He also threatened to stop federal government payments to California, presumably funds earmarked for forest management.

However, the current spate of wildfires is not in forests.

The Camp and Woolsey fires actually began in what the New York Times called the "wildland-urban interface: places where communities are close to undeveloped areas, making it easier for fire to move from forests or grasslands into neighbourhoods."

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

According to a 2015 report by the US Department of Agriculture, there were 44 million homes in those areas. That number is certainly higher in 2018 as urban areas expand in California.

Regarding his threat to withdraw federal funds for forest management in California - approximately 60 per cent of the forest land in the state is actually federally held and managed.

Of the 33 million acres, 40 per cent are owned and managed by individuals, Native American tribes, and timber companies. Only 3 per cent is owned by the state.

After devastating fires last year, California had allocated more than $250 million to lower the risk of more wildfires but drought, possibly due to climate change, has exacerbated conditions.

Meanwhile, several homeowners filed a lawsuit against utility company Pacific Gas & Electric for causing the fire.

The suit alleged the company did not properly inspect its high voltage power lines, a spark from which is thought to have ignited dry brush and grassland nearby.

The company has lost approximately 45 per cent of its stock value as the fires continue to rage.

To see how the day unfolded follow our live blog below

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load
An organisation of physicians fear radioactive waste could become a major issue after southern Californias huge wildfire burned near a former nuclear test site.

The organisation of Physicians for Social Responsibility said it was likely that smoke and ash from the fire spread radiological and chemical contamination that was in soil and vegetation near the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

We know what substances are on the site and how hazardous they are. Were talking about incredibly dangerous radionuclides and toxic chemicals such a trichloroethylene, perchlorate, dioxins and heavy metals, Dr Robert Dodge said in a statement.

These toxic materials are in SSFLs soil and vegetation, and when it burns and becomes airborne in smoke and ash, there is real possibility of heightened exposure for area residents.

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

Regulators in California said initial testing found no elevated levels of radiation of hazardous compounds after the blaze near the site.

The Department of Toxic Substance Control said its staff went to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory on Saturday and found facilities that previously handled radioactive and hazardous materials were not affected by the fire.

The state agency said its measurements on the site and in the surrounding community found no radiation levels above background levels and no elevated levels of hazardous compounds other than those normally present after a wildfire.

In an update to their previous statement, the Organisation of Physicians for Social Responsibility said it was irresponsible to claim that SSFL contamination was not spread further by the fire.

 Night vision military drone shows Camp Fire tearing through California

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory was used for decades to test rocket engines and for nuclear energy research.

One of its nuclear reactors had a partial meltdown in 1959, when nuclear material was intentionally vented to prevent the sites Sodium Reactor Experiment from overheating and exploding.

Battles over decontamination efforts have gone on for years, with neighbours blaming the site for illnesses.

The so-called Woolsey Fire in southern California has killed two people, destroyed more than 400 structures and at its height displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills west of Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Northern California is beset by its most deadly wildfire in history, dubbed the Camp Fire, which has killed at least 48 people, some burned beyond recognition.

The death toll of 48 far exceeds the previous record for the greatest loss of life from a single wildfire in Californias history  29 people killed by the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles in 1933.
Numerous massive wildfires ripping through California have left thousands of residents displaced and killed dozens, as firefighters embarked on a grim search for the missing.

At least 48 people were confirmed dead in the so-called Camp Fire that turned the Northern California town of Paradise and outlying areas into hell on earth, making it the deadliest blaze in state history.

Meanwhile, local shelters across the state featured pictures and notes plastered across the walls, alerting residents of missing loved ones whose families were searching for them in the region.

Heres the state of conditions across California and whats expected for the area over the next days and weeks ahead.

Southern California: Heavy winds and new fire starts

In Southern California, crews battling an enormous wildfire have struggled to widen and extend firebreaks before the return of winds that may once again drive the flames out of control.

The winds will presumably end a three-day lull that allowed firefighters to contain about 60 per cent of the Thomas fire, currently burning in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The fire has burned hundreds of homes and is blamed for the deaths of a firefighter as well as an evacuee.

Its also the second largest in 85 years for California, and will likely become the largest in history as flames continued to eat into nearby forest land.

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

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke cancelled a trip to Asia and planned to visit the fire zones Wednesday and Thursday.

The cause of the fires remained under investigation, but they broke out around the time and place that two utilities reported equipment trouble. Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, who takes office in January, sidestepped questions about what action should be taken against utilities if their power lines are found to be responsible.

People who lost homes in the Northern California blaze sued Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Tuesday, accusing the utility of negligence and blaming it for the fire. An email to PG&E was not immediately returned.

Northern California: Grim search for missing underway

In Northern California, fire crews still fighting the blaze that obliterated the town of Paradise contended with wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour (64 kph) overnight on Tuesday.

The exact number of missing was unclear, but many friends and relatives of those living in the fire zone said they had not heard from loved ones. Some went to shelters looking for the missing.

The flames reportedly jumped 300 feet, stretching across the entirety of Lake Oroville. The fire had grown to 177 square miles (303 square kilometres) and was just 25 per cent contained, authorities said.

Fortunately, winds were expected to weaken on Monday night.

The 48 dead in Northern California made this blaze the deadliest single fire on record, surpassing the toll from a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29. A series of wildfires in Northern Californias wine country last fall killed 44 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes.

Whats next: An exhaustive road to recovery

Governor Jerry Brown said California is pretty well maxxed out from fighting several deadly wildfires, and he expressed gratitude for help from surrounding states and the federal government. He said the state is doing everything possible to prevent fires, but some things only God can do.

The National Weather Service said winds would slack off sufficiently during the afternoon, allowing authorities to lower wildfire warnings from their highest red flag levels.

Forecasters cautioned, however, that low humidity levels would keep danger levels elevated.

Authorities allowed residents back into several more communities on Tuesday, including a section of Malibu. Other areas have been repopulated since the weekend. As many as 250,000 people were ordered out at the height of the fire.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Officials tempered optimism with caution, saying there were hotspots and pockets of unburned vegetation that could ignite.

We are not out of the woods yet. We still have some incredibly tough conditions ahead of us, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said Tuesday.

Additional reporting by AP
CIA interrogators considered using so-called truth serum on captured terror suspects after the 9/11 attacks, according to a de-classified report.

The agency spent months researching drugs - none of which have shown any clear scientific evidence of effectiveness - as an "benign alternative" to waterboarding in the hope of forcing detainees to give up details of Al Qaeda plots.

It eventually chose the sedative Versed only to decide not to go ahead with the program in early 2003.

Details of "Project Medication" are revealed in a report by the chief of medical services that was released to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) this week.

It discloses that the use of truth drugs was raised in August 2002 following lengthy interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, who was thought to be a senior member of Al Qaeda with knowledge of existing plots and 9/11.

The detainee was repeatedly subjected to waterboarding, a technique which has been described as torture and involves pouring water on to a cloth covering the mouth and nose to invoke the sensation of of drowning.

He proved amazingly resistant to the technique, according to the report, and insisted he had given up everything he knew.

The intensity and duration of AZs interrogation came as a surprise to OMS [the Office of Medical Services] and prompted further study of the.seemingly more benign alternative of drug-based interviews, the report reads.

Such drugs, although widely regarded as unreliable sources of truth, were believed potentially useful an an excuse that would allow the subject to be more forthcoming while still saving face.

Researchers studied records of old Soviet drug and mind control experiments as well the CIA's experiments with LSD on humans during the 1950s and 1960s.

Psychiatrists were consulted about the use of substances such as sodium amytal before staff settled on Versed, a brand name for the sedative midazolam.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

The drug causes drowsiness, relieves anxiety and agitation and can temporarily impair memory. It is often is used for minor surgery or medical procedures such as colonoscopies that require sedation but not full-blown anaesthesia.

Versed was considered possibly worth a trial if unequivocal legal sanction first were obtained, the report said. There were at least two legal obstacles: a prohibition against medical experimentation on prisoners and a ban on interrogational use of mind-altering drugs or those which profoundly altered the senses.

The CIA eventually decided not to ask the Justice Department for permission and the project came to an end.

Its decision not to use truth drugs spared doctors some significant ethical concerns, according to the author of the report.

Whether or not consent was obtained drug administration  presumably by aphysician  clearly would have been an invasive procedure for non-therapeutic reasons," it said.

However the ACLU claim that the document reveals how medical staff were critical participants in experimenting with torture.

Just like the government lawyers who tried to give unlawful torture a veneer of legality, the secret history reveals that CIA doctors were indispensable to the effort of legitimising the program, said ACLU attorney Dror Ladin.

Perhaps the most striking element of the document is the CIA doctors willful blindness to the truth of what they were doing.

The voices of 9/11: The ripples still being felt around the world Show all 4 1 /4 The voices of 9/11: The ripples still being felt around the world The voices of 9/11: The ripples still being felt around the world 644536.bin The voices of 9/11: The ripples still being felt around the world 644604.bin The voices of 9/11: The ripples still being felt around the world 644534.bin REUTERS The voices of 9/11: The ripples still being felt around the world 644535.bin REUTERS

Medical staff believed waterboarding was not intrinsically painful and in one case provided periodic relief to a prisoner after days of sleep deprivation.

Confinement in a coffin-sized box was also described as offering a relatively benign sanctuary from interrogation

While the CIA interrogation program came to an end in 2007, Donald Trump declared during his presidential election campaign that he would bring back waterboarding.

With a president who has vocally supported torture and a new CIA director who was deeply complicit in torturing prisoners, its more important than ever to expose the crimes of the past, said Mr Ladin.
Donald Trump has been mocked for wishing a happy Diwali to Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains but omitting Hindus, whose religion spawned the holiday.

After an event to mark the Hindu festival of lights, the US president said: Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States and around the world.

Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family and friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year.

Although some Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains celebrate or recognise Diwali, its main proponents are Hindus.

The festival, which celebrates the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance each autumn, is rooted in Hinduism and is one of the faiths most important holidays.

The president omitted Hindus in his initial tweet before deleting it and posting another, which also failed to mention Hindus. The gaffe was widely mocked on social media.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

I thought Diwali was a Hindu festival mainly but clearly Mr Trump has been told differently, tweeted Ankit Lal, an Indian writer and social media strategist.

Craig Harrington said: Trump blows another layup by neglecting to include more than 1 billion Hindus in what should have been an easy statement on Diwali.

Linguist Paula Chertok wrote: What an embarrassment. Trump cant even get Diwali right!

Mr Trump added another tweet, clarifying that Diwali was the Hindu Festival of Lights, about 20 minutes after his initial post.
Does the first lady have a say in White House appointments?

While first ladies have been known historically to pressure their husbands over official business behind the scenes, doing so via a public statement of this kind has never been done before.

Michelle Obama is understood to have had a tense relationship with her husbands first press secretary Robert Gibbs while George Stephanopolous recounted his run-ins with Hillary Clinton when Bill was in the Oval Office in his memoir. In the 1980s, Capitol Hill gossip often concerned feuds between Nancy Reagan and chief of staff Don Regan.

Ultimately, the responsibilities of a first lady are only loosely defined and how the current incumbent enacts the role depends very much on their personality.

Dolley Madison, wife of the fourth president James Madison, is credited with setting the template for first ladies to follow in the early 19th century by furnishing the White House, working to help orphans and women and attracting press interest due to her modish manner of dress. She was given an honorary seat on the floor of Congress and her popularity contributed enormously to her husbands appeal.

Her example set the standard for others to follow until Eleanor Roosevelt redefined the position between 1933 and 1945 on the strength of her outspoken character.

Ahead of her time in attitudes to race and gender, Eleanor Roosevelt held regular press conferences, wrote newspaper and magazine columns, hosted a radio show, spoke at party conventions and was never afraid to publicly disagree with her husbands policy agenda.

As first lady, Melania Trump has largely cut a reserved figure, typically staying away from the limelight other than when promoting her anti-bullying agenda.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Her previous brush with major controversy came in June when she chose to wear a green army coat with I really dont care, do u? painted on the back while visiting a migrant detention centre in Texas. President Trump explained on Twitter the offending jacket was intended as a rejection of the Fake News Media.

Clearly a strong character capable of making her voice heard, Ms Trumps previous aversion to public drama suggests her dislike of Ms Ricardel must have been intense, given that she was willing to endure the scrutiny that comes with such a proclamation to see an enemy removed from office.
The US has rejected a United Nations resolution on the work of the organisations refugee agency (UNHCR), amid American concerns over the documents provision for immigrants and refugees.

It was the only country to block the resolution on Tuesday, with US ambassador for economic and social affairs Kelley Currie saying it would not accept the draft text because parts of the document did not reflect Americas sovereign interests.

One of the main issues was around limiting the length of detention of asylum seekers.

Ms Currie told the committee that while the US valued much of what was contained in the resolution and an attached Global Compact on Refugees, some concerns remained unaddressed.

We regret that the resolution before us today contains elements that run directly counter to my governments sovereign interests, said Ms Currie, citing references to a UN commitment to a global approach to dealing with refugees and migrants.

We also have serious concerns with language ... regarding alternatives to detention and the need to limit the detention of asylum seekers.

We will detain and prosecute those who enter US territory illegally, consistent with our domestic immigration laws and our international interests.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

The Trump administration sparked outrage at home and abroad when details of its zero tolerance immigration policy emerged, which included separating children from their parents when they cross the US-Mexico border.

In July this year, the UNHCRs assistant high commissioner Volker Turk said he hoped the study would result in detention limits being put in place, with detention only used as a last resort.

If, indeed, detention is unavoidable and it is the last resort that it is meant to be, there needs to be a time limitation put to it, he said.

The annual resolution on UNHCRs work has generally been approved by consensus for more than 60 years. But this year Washington asked for a vote.

Despite being rejected by the US, the draft text was adopted by the General Assembly human rights committee with 176 votes in favour, while there were three abstentions and 13 countries which did not vote.

It is now due to be formally adopted by the 193-member General Assembly in December.

UN General Assembly votes usually require a simple majority to be carried, or two thirds if deemed an important issue, and they are non-binding for member states.

Reuters contributed to this report
India is celebrating its annual Childrens Day on Wednesday, a moment for children up and down the country to be showered with gifts and special treatment.

Childrens Day falls on 14 November in India - rather than 20 November when it is marked by the UN - because it is also a celebration of the birthday of the countrys first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Nehru, known as the uncle or Chacha of the nation, was born on 14 November, 1889. When he died in 1964, Indias parliament voted unanimously to move Childrens Day to coincide with his birthday, in recognition of his contributions to education and his affection for the nations children.

Childrens Day is not a national holiday in India; rather, children going into school on Wednesday will expect to be entertained with musical performances, quizzes and special activities.

Efforts are also made to reach out to orphaned, homeless and underprivileged children, with students encouraged to distribute food, clothes and books in their schools district.

Government ministries generally mark the day with tributes to Nehru and commemorative events.

The ministry of women and child development posted its greetings on Childrens Day on Twitter, saying that its efforts were driven towards making children safe, educated, well-nourished and empowered.

Our government has made sure that no child is left behind in the march towards welfare and empowerment, said minister Maneka Gandhi in a video message.

The opposition Congress party, of which Nehru was a member, wrote in its tribute that: Jawaharlal Nehru was a visionary, an architect of modern India and a strong believer in the light of India's future - aptly embodied in his love for children. It is this love we celebrate today and his legacy we honour.

The event is being marked by Google with a rare Google Doodle that has been contributed by a member of the public - in this case, Mumbai school student Pingla Rahul, who won the 2018 Doodle 4 Google competition in India.

Googles theme for this years contest was What Inspires You, and Pinglas design shows an inspiring display of the stars, planets and an Indian space shuttle, complete with a tent camping out under the night sky and a little girl looking up with a telescope.

India has developed a growing reputation in recent years as an emerging low-cast space power, and the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has said he hopes India will become only the fourth country in history to launch a manned mission to space by 2022.
The fiancee of a man killed in the Lion Air crash has gone ahead with a promise to take wedding photos in the event he could not attend their nuptials.

Intan Syari was due to marry Rio Nanda Pratama on 11 November but the doctor, who had been away for a conference, never made it.

He was one of 189 people on board flight JT610 when it crashed into the sea off Jakarta in Indonesia last month. Rescue workers halted their search for survivors at the weekend.

The couple, who are said to have met in middle school, had reportedly joked before he left for the trip that if he was delayed and could not attend their wedding, Ms Syari should take pictures of herself in her wedding dress and send them to him.

Posting on Instagram, the grieving bride said: Although there is sadness that I cant describe, I have to smile for you. I cant be sad, I have to stay strong as you always told me to.

Syari kept a promise to take wedding photos in the event her fiance could not attend their nuptials (Intan Syari/Instagram)

Investigators now suspect that faulty sensor readings may have contributed to the Boeing 737s crash on 29 October.

The jets airspeed indicator had malfunctioned on four previous flights, the crafts black box revealed when fished out of the sea.

It is thought that a new feature on the 737 Max version of the aircraft, designed to prevent stalling, combined with faulty sensor readings to cause the crash.

Earlier this week investigators said more training was needed for pilots to be able to address such a situation after discovering that procedures for dealing with it were not contained in the jets manual.

Boeing did not tell airline pilots about features of a new flight-control system in its 737 Max that is reportedly a focus of the investigation, according to pilots who fly the jet in the US.

Pilots say they were not trained in new features of an anti-stall system in the aircraft that differ from previous models of the popular model.

The automated system is designed to help pilots avoid raising the planes nose too high, which can cause it to stall  losing the aerodynamic lift needed to keep flying. The system automatically pushes the nose of the plane down.

But if that nose-down command is triggered by faulty sensor readings, as is suspected in the Lion Air crash, pilots can struggle to control the plane, which can go into a dive and perhaps crash, according to a Boeing safety bulletin and safety regulators.

The bulletin included new details on how to stop a runaway series of events from leading to a crash, pilots say.

It is something we did not have before in any of our training. It wasnt in our books. American [Airlines] didnt have it, said Dennis Tajer, a 737 pilot and spokesperson for the pilots union at American. Now I have to wonder, what else is there?

Jon Weaks, a 737 captain and president of the pilots union at Southwest Airlines, said he could not recall a similar omission in a Boeing operating manual.

I was not pleased. How could something like this happen? We want to be given the information to keep our pilots, our passengers and our families safe, he said.

Mr Weaks said he is satisfied that we have been given, finally, the correct information.

Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Show all 13 1 /13 Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Indonesia President Joko Widodo inspects the items recovered from Lion Air flight JT 610 Getty Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta A member of Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency inspects debris AP Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Rescue teams have been joined by fisherman and volunteers in the search for survivors Getty Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Lion Air CEO, Edward Sirait (centre) speaks during a press conference at Lion Air Branch office at Soekarno Hatta Airport EPA Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta No bodies have yet been discovered among the wreckage of the Lion Air flight EPA Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Indonesian search and rescue personnel prepare for a recovery mission Getty Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Rescuers searching the site of the plane crash lift a body bag onto a nearby vessel EPA Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta A relative of passengers arrive at Lion Air's crisis center at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia AP Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta In this photo released by Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency rescuers inspect debris believed to be from a Lion Air passenger jet AP Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta A relative of passengers prays as she and others wait for news on a Lion Air plane that crashed off Java Island AP Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta A rescue team member points to the location where Indonesia's Lion Air flight JT 610 had crashed into the sea, at Tanjung Priok seaport in Jakarta Getty Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Officials evacuate a body bag containing the remains of one of the victims of the crash EPA Lion Air plane crashes minutes after take-off from Jakarta Indonesian relatives of the plane crash victims cry as they wait for the news at the airport in Sukarno Hatta Airport EPA

The Max is the newest version of the twin-engine Boeing 737. More than 200 have been delivered to airlines worldwide, including American, Southwest and United.

Boeing chair and chief executive Dennis Muilenburg said on Tuesday that the Chicago-based company remains confident the Max is a safe aeroplane. He said Boeing did not withhold operating details from airlines and flight crews.

We ensure that we provide all of the information that is needed to safely fly our aeroplanes, Mr Muilenburg told Fox Business Network. He said Boeing bulletins to airlines and pilots point them back to existing flight procedures to handle the kind of sensor problem suspected in last months crash.

A Southwest spokesperson said the new automated manoeuvring system was not included in the operating manual for Max models. An American Airlines spokesperson said the carrier was unaware of some new automated functions in the Max but had not experienced nose-direction errors.

A United Airlines spokesperson said Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) do not believe additional pilot training is needed.

The FAA issued an emergency directive last week to airlines, telling them to update cockpit manuals to include instructions for how pilots can adjust flight controls under certain conditions.

The FAA will take further action if findings from the accident investigation warrant, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

John Cox, a former 737 pilot and now a safety consultant to airlines, said Boeings steps since the crash have been exactly correct. They have increased pilot awareness, they have reminded them of the proper procedure to disable [the automatic nose-down action], which stops the problem.

The Wall Street Journal reported that US and Indonesian investigators are increasingly focusing on the way that the planes automated control systems interact. They are also questioning whether the FAA and Boeing adequately analysed potential hazards if the systems malfunction and send faulty data to the planes computers, according to the newspaper.

Additional reporting by AP
Russia deliberately disrupted GPS location signals during a recent Nato military drill in the Arctic, Norway and Finland have claimed.

The apparent jamming attack prompted a warning to civilian aircraft that their navigation equipment could be blinded.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the GPS disturbance.

Recommended Police catch serial lingerie thief by fitting bra with GPS tracker

Norway's foreign office raised the issue with Russian counterparts over the incident on the Arctic Kola peninsula between 16 October and 7 November.

The disturbance coincided with Nato's Trident Juncture  military drills held in Norway involving 31 countries  lasting for two weeks from 25 October.

The jamming of the location signals is not believed to have caused any accidents but Finland's state Air Navigation Services issued a warning to civilian air traffic over the matter.

The Kola Peninsulas far northerly latitude means the airspace is relatively uncrowded. Russian and Scandinavian jets comprise the regions main air traffic passing to or from the US or Asia, although UK and other northern European-bound aircraft also use the airspace.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 290 airlines around the world, said interference in GPS signals was not unusual during military exercises.

These are decisions taken by the military over which airlines have no control, a spokesperson told The Independent.

However, airlines dont rely exclusively on GPS and have a number of navigation systems. Safety of passengers and crew is the number one priority of the airline industry and the safety of commercial airliners is not at risk from GPS jamming.

At the weekend, Juha Sipila, Finland's prime minister, said it was possible Russia was the disrupting party.

Sauli Niinisto, the country's president, also called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that the accusation fitted a trend to blame all mortal sins on Russia, adding: We know nothing about Russia's possible involvement in those GPS failures.

Russia is known to have substantial capabilities for electronic warfare and is believed to have invested heavily in technology that can affect GPS location signals.

The northern Arctic regions of Finland's Lapland and Norway's Finnmark are adjacent to Russia's Kola Peninsula, which is home to Russia's Northern Fleet with major naval and submarine bases and other Russian military installations.

Pilots from the US Marines fly a C-130 transport aircraft during the Nato exericse  the largest of its kind in Norway since the 1980s (Getty Images)

Nato spokesperson Oana Lungescu described the use of jamming as dangerous, disruptive and irresponsible.

Her comments followed Jens Stoltenberg, the organisation's secretary-general, warning earlier in the week that cyber and electronic warfare was becoming more widespread.

I will not pinpoint any specific nation now, but I will just say that we have increased our abilities to deal with these kind of challenges and threats, including during military operations, he said.

GPS systems, which rely on satellites orbiting around 12,000 miles above the Earths surface, allow pilots to determine their exact location as well as speed and heading.

Many of Natos precision-guided weapons rely on GPS and their alternative navigation tools are far less accurate, said Justin Bronk, a research fellow specialising in combat airpower and technology at think tank Rusi.

China has the same capability to disrupt GPS signals, but they are not located close enough to do that, he added.

Assuming it wasnt a glitch in the satellite coverage, then Russia is really the only culprit. A lot of people have the capability, but most dont have the motive.

A picture taken from US Marines C-130 transport aircraft during the Nato Trident Juncture 2018 exercise (Getty Images)

Emily Ferris, a Russia expert at Rusi, said Moscow had been using electronic warfare of this kind for decades.

She said Russia had been investing heavily in boosting its electronic warfare capabilities and its ability to jam signals was honed in conflict zones such as Syria and eastern Ukraine.

This latest episode is unlikely to suggest a serious escalation in relations between Russia and Nato, but rather an attempt by Russia to probe Natos defensive capabilities, and to assess Natos ability to respond, she said.
Israels defence minister Avigdor Lieberman has announced his resignation and called for early elections in protest of a controversial truce with Gaza, plunging the government into turmoil.

Mr Lieberman convened his Yisrael Beiteinu parliamentary faction on Wednesday afternoon to make the statement. He later confirmed his right-wing party would also be leaving prime minister Benjamin Netanyahus coalition, leaving it with just a one-seat majority in the Knesset.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Lieberman called a ceasefire truce with Gaza a capitulation to terror and something he could not stand for.

Militants in the besieged strip announced an Egypt-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday night after pounding Israel with more than 460 rockets and mortars in the heaviest night bombardment since the 2014 war.

Fighting had erupted the day before after a botched Israeli covert operation in south Gaza turned into a firefight, leaving seven Palestinians and an Israeli lieutenant colonel dead.

Recommended Palestinian militant groups in Gaza announce Israel ceasefire

Israel responded to the rocket fire by striking more than 160 targets in Gaza, sparking fears both sides were on the brink of a new war.

Mr Lieberman said on Wednesday he could not stay in his post while the truce was in place.

What happened yesterday  the truce combined with the process with Hamas  is capitulating to terror. It has no other meaning, Mr Lieberman said.

What were doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet, with the price being severe long-term damage to national security, he added.

Mr Lieberman is believed to be one of four ministers who opposed ending strikes in Gaza during a six-hour security cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

On Wednesday he slammed the militarys response to the rocket fire. To put it lightly, our response was drastically lacking to the 500 rockets fired at us, he said.

We should agree on a date for elections as early as possible, he added.

Elections are not due until November 2019, but Mr Liebermans resignation increases the likelihood of an earlier vote.

Mr Liebermans Yisrael Beiteinu party, which holds five seats in the 120-seat Knesset, was a key part of Mr Netanyahus coalition, which will limp into an election if it is called early.

The prime minister now has only 61 seats in the Knesset, which is the smallest possible majority.

Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Show all 23 1 /23 Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures A ball of fire above the building housing the Hamas-run television station al-Aqsa TV in the Gaza Strip during an Israeli air strike AFP/Getty Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Israeli Iron Dome anti-missile systems firing toward missiles fired from the Gaza Strip near the southern city of Sderot, Israel. Israeli army report that approximately 300 missile launches were identified from the Gaza strip toward Israel. Dozens of launches were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system EPA Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Israeli soldiers take cover near the Israel Gaza border AP Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures A bus set ablaze after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. Israel's military said it was carrying out air strikes "throughout the Gaza Strip" on Monday after rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave towards its territory AFP/Getty Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Palestinians inspect a rubble of a destroyed internal security building of Hamas interior ministry after Israeli air strike in Gaza City EPA Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures A Palestinian girl walks up the stairs of her family house that was damaged in an Israeli air strike REUTERS Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Fire and smoke billow following Israeli air strikes targeting Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, near the border with Egypt AFP/Getty Images Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Missiles from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system in the south of Israel destroy incoming missiles AFP/Getty Images Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Israeli security forces and firefighters gather near abuilding set ablaze after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli town of Sderot AFP/Getty Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures EPA Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures AFP/Getty Images Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures A ruble of a destroyed building of Al-Aqsa channel belonging to Hamas movement EPA Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Israeli security forces and firefighters gather near a bus set ablaze after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave AFP Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Relatives of Mohammed Ouda, killed in an Israeli air stike the previous day, mourn during his funeral in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP/Getty Images Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Missiles from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system in the south of Israel destroy incoming missiles fired at Israel from the Palestinian enclave AFP/Getty Images Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Israeli soldiers sit atop a Merkava tank stationed along the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip AFP/Getty Images Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Black smoke rises as an Israeli airstrike hits a residential building in Gaza City AP Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Palestinians look out of their house that was damaged in an Israeli air strike REUTERS Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures Palestinians hold placards and the Palestinian flag during a protest in solidarity with Gaza, in the West Bank city of Hebron EPA Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures An Israeli policeman inspects the damage in a building caused a day earlier by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon AFP/Getty Images Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures A Palestinian boy inspects the rubble of a destroyed residential building after Israeli air strike in Gaza City EPA Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures REUTERS Gaza crisis: heavy cross-border fire in pictures AP

In the past, Mr Netanyahu has warned that 61-strong coalition would not be stable.

He stands to lose even this. The far-right party of Naftali Bennett, the countrys education minister, said if he was not appointed defence minister, it would also quit the coalition, taking with it eight seats.

Yair Lapid, head of the opposition Yesh Atid party, said the countdown has begun to the end of Mr Netanyahus term in office.

A senior source within Mr Netanyahus Likud party warned there was no need to go to elections at this time of sensitive security. The source added the defence portfolio would be transferred to the prime minister, giving him sweeping powers.

Mr Netanyahu already holds the positions of foreign minister, prime minister and health minister.

He finally broke his silence on the deal on Wednesday, saying Gazas militant Hamas rulers begged for a ceasefire and they know why.

In times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public cant always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy, he said at a ceremony on Wednesday morning in honour of Israels founding father David Ben-Gurion.

In Gaza, Hamas, the militant group that runs the besieged enclave, celebrated Mr Liebermans resignation as recognition of defeat against Palestinian resistance.

 Dozens of rockets being fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians

On Tuesday night, thousands of Hamas supporters took to the streets to revel in the ceasefire that they see as a significant win.

In southern Israel, hundreds gathered in Sderot, which received the worst of the rocket fire, to protest against the end of airstrikes on Hamas positions, warning that a truce would only encourage the militants to strike again.

Tens of thousands of us have been living through a warzone for 18 years. We are frustrated with the government that has not done anything, said Stav Cohen, who has lived in the border town her whole life.

We feel we are not being heard. That not enough is being done for us. That our pain cannot be ignored. We have been left with the financial and emotional ruins. People are traumatised, she added.

Gazas health ministry confirmed that seven Palestinians in Gaza had been killed and 25 wounded by Israeli airstrikes since the cross-border flare-up erupted on Monday.

A barrage of rockets on Israel had killed one person, a 48-year-old West Bank Palestinian man, and injured 27 other others, including three severely.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday a Gaza fisherman  identified locally as Nawaf al-Aatar, 20  was killed by Israeli fire in north Gaza because he was illegally advancing towards the security fence dividing Gaza and Israel.

Israel and Gaza have fought three wars since 2008 but fears were raised of a fourth amid protests and clashes along the border fence the two sides share.

At least 234 Palestinians in Gaza have since been killed by Israeli fire, the majority during protests and clashes. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period.
Europes biggest regional airline, Flybe, is seeking a buyer as it struggles with weak demand and high oil prices.

The carrier, which has a busy network of UK and short-haul international flights, has announced a comprehensive review of the various strategic options open to it to address the current challenges facing the airline industry and maximise value for shareholders.

The three options are continuing to shrink and cut costs; to strengthen the balance sheet and preserve cash; and to sell the firm. It is in talks with a number of possible buyers.

Flybes chief executive, Christine Ourmieres-Widener, said: There has been a recent softening in growth in the short-haul market, as well as continued headwinds from higher fuel and currency costs.

We are responding to this by reviewing every aspect of our business.

We remain confident in the vital role that Flybe plays in UK connectivity.

Flybe began as Jersey European Airways in 1979. It became British European in 2000, and changed its name again to Flybe in 2002.

The Exeter-based airline operates 192 routes from 75 airports and has the highest number of flights at a dozen UK airports, including Aberdeen, Belfast City, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Southampton.

The announcement came as the airline announced its profits for the six months from April to September had halved to 7.4m, compared with the same spell in 2017. It represents a profit of 1.41 for each of the 5.2 million passengers flown.

Capacity fell by 9 per cent, while revenue per seat rose by 7.2 per cent. Its net debt increased to 82m. During the winter, Flybe loses money.

The airline will continue to shrink, with the aim of shedding eight of the 78 aircraft currently in the fleet by 2021.

On Brexit, it warns that failure to reach an agreement may put at risk, or damage, parts of the business.

When the markets opened, the shares initially surged by 35 per cent to 15.8p, but later dropped to 12.2p  close to Tuesdays close and valuing the company at 25m. On the day its shares first traded in December 2010, the price reached 341p, giving the airline a market capitalisation of 250m.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Flybe has not said who it is talking to. IAG  owner of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus  is looking to expand.

European airlines might be interested in Flybe in order to establish a firm foothold in the UK market, but there are uncertainties over airline ownership rules after Brexit.

One leading aviation insider said: Any buyer would need to inject around 100m in cash.

An alternative could be to carve up the airlines network, with the central core of links connecting Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and the Scottish airports seen as the main prize.
A mix-up over Gatwicks two runways meant that dozens of passengers on a Singapore flight arrived in Southeast Asia without their baggage.

The Sussex airport has a main runway and a shorter standby runway. Gatwick Airport had planned to close the runway every night this week, from 10.30pm to 6am, for maintenance.

The Norwegian Air flight from Gatwick to Singapore was due to depart just before midnight on Monday. The Boeing 787 was heavy with fuel for the 6,744-mile journey.

Facing the need to reduce weight in order to comply with performance limits, the captain ordered some passenger bags to be removed from the hold.

One passenger, Sophie Webb, was flying to Singapore for an interview. She reported that she waited at the baggage carousel, only to find a list of 70 or more names whose luggage had been left behind.

Ms Webb completed a property irregularity report after the 12-hour flight, and then left the airport.

Later, she said: I rang the help desk in Singapore, but got no answer. I went to buy new clothes as had nothing to wear. Her mother got through to Norwegian in the UK, and was told the bag would turn up within five days .

Eventually the airlines ground handler in Singapore, SATS, called to say that the bags would arrive on the next Norwegian flight at 7.30am on 15 November  two days late.

Ms Webb said she was told to claim through her travel insurance for any expenses  i.e. not through Norwegian. The airline says that it is not liable because the situation was beyond its control.

Under the Montreal Convention, an airline is not liable for delayed baggage if it can prove it took all measures that could reasonably be required.

Ironically, Gatwick Airport told The Independent that when operations staff became aware of the late departure to Singapore, they arranged for the main runway to remain open to accommodate its take-off. Had this been known earlier, the baggage could have stayed onboard.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

A spokesperson for Norwegian said: We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to passengers due to the delay in the arrival of a small number of checked in bags on our Gatwick to Singapore flight on Monday 12 November.

We are doing everything we can to ensure that affected passengers are reunited with their baggage as soon as possible.

Gatwick Airport has unveiled plans to use the standby runway at the same time as the main runway  but only for departures of smaller aircraft.
Some of the most popular holiday destinations for Brits are categorised as high risk for rabies, including Turkey, Egypt and Morocco.

Around 1.6 million British tourists visited Turkey in 2017, while Egypt and Morocco welcomed 319,000 and 650,000 British visitors respectively last year, according to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).

European countries including Romania, Lithuania, Serbia and Montenegro are classed by Public Health England (PHE) as high risk for the viral disease, which is transmitted via a bite from an infected animal.

Other high risk countries on the list that are popular with British tourists include Thailand, India and Mexico. Brits make more than one million visits to Thailand each year, according to the FCO.

In general, developing countries are higher risk for rabies.

Rabies is common in other parts of the world, especially in Asia and Africa, says PHE. All travellers to rabies affected countries should avoid contact with dogs, cats and other animals wherever possible, and seek advice about the need for a rabies vaccine prior to travel.

Developed countries are usually low risk. The US and Canada are both classed as low risk generally, although foxes, skunks and raccoons carry a high risk of the disease.

This month, a British tourist in Morocco died after being bitten by a cat.

This is an important reminder of the precautions people should take when travelling to countries where rabies is present. If you are bitten, scratched or licked by an animal you must wash the wound or site of exposure with plenty of soap and water and seek medical advice without delay, said Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at PHE .

There is no risk to the wider public in relation to this case but, as a precautionary measure, health workers and close contacts are being assessed and offered vaccination when necessary.

Rabies is a viral infection that is typically contracted by a bite from an infected animal  usually dogs, cats, bats or more exotic animals such as raccoons.

If you are bitten abroad, the NHS advises cleaning the wound with running water and soap for several minutes and visiting a local medical centre immediately.

Once symptoms become apparent, rabies is usually fatal.

NHS advice states that Brits travelling to high risk countries should consider getting vaccinated against rabies, especially those who are planning to stay for more than a month or are planning to do activities that will put them at increased risk of exposure to animals with rabies.
How would Switzerland play Brexit? Would there be a second referendum to let people decide whether to accept or refuse the so-called divorce deal? And if their own country had voted Leave after joining the EU, would the Swiss interpret that to mean they need to cut all ties with the union  or would they try to find some kind of arrangement?

The Swiss model is often referred to by British politicians speaking about Brexit. Presumably this is because Switzerland never joined the EU. And because it is seen by many as the world champion of direct democracy.

Around 600 questions have been put to public vote in Switzerland since 1848  mostly in the last few decades. Swiss people vote in referendums whenever the authorities want to modify the constitution. They can demand a popular referendum against any law voted in parliament. On top of that, any citizen can launch a popular initiative on any topic.

As a result, it is not uncommon to vote again and again on the same issue. The most dramatic example is maternity leave. It took six votes and 60 years for the country to agree on its position.

The principle itself was enshrined in the constitution in 1945 by a majority of men (womens suffrage was only granted in 1971). A law was to be negotiated in parliament in order to create a new insurance system. However, it was extremely difficult to come up with a draft that a majority could support. When at last a compromise was submitted to the people in 1974, they refused it. Then again, in 1984, 1987 and 1999, new attempts were rejected. It was only in 2004 that 55.4 per cent of voters accepted a 14-week maternity leave.

So if a referendum like the Brexit vote was organised in Switzerland, nobody would be surprised or shocked to have to vote again, on the law implementing the divorce deal negotiated with the EU. As aforementioned, anyone can demand a popular referendum to defy that law. All it takes is 50,000 signatures.

Another particularity of the Swiss system is that whenever a popular referendum or initiative is approved by the people, our parliament then has to decide how to draft a law to implement it. In doing so, they have to make sure it can be enforced and that it does not contradict other laws and treaties. Sometimes, that seems impossible. So in order to respect what they believe is the will of the people, they take the liberty of interpreting very loosely the terms of the referendum. (Does that ring a bell?)

A perfect illustration of this is the 2014 popular initiative against mass immigration, which brought Switzerland pretty close to Britains current situation. The initiative, presented by the right-wing populist Swiss Peoples Party, was accepted by 50.3 per cent of voters. It required a new law (to be adopted within three years) capping the number of immigrants and reintroducing quotas by country. If implemented, it would have violated the free movement treaty signed with the European Union, terminating automatically a group of six Swiss-EU bilateral treaties crucial for access to the single market.

That never happened. Switzerland did try to renegotiate a new free movement treaty with the EU, but the European Commission refused. So the Swiss parliament drafted a law that forces employers to give priority to hiring Swiss nationals and residents in periods of high unemployment in their region or sector. No capping, no quotas, no violation of the free movement treaty. Therefore Switzerland was not expelled from the European single market.

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

Obviously, this infuriated the Swiss Peoples Party. Their leadership threatened to launch a referendum against that law. But they never did, probably because they didnt believe they could win. They were not sure that voters would support them now that it was clear Switzerland could lose access to the single market. In previous votes, Swiss citizens clearly voted in favour of free movement  so you can see why they had a crisis of confidence.

The story doesnt end there. After the popular initiative against mass immigration in 2014 was voted in, a group of opponents launched their own popular initiative to try to cancel it. They collected the 100,000 signatures required, but in the end they stopped the procedure because the bilateral treaties were not threatened any more. They didnt want to risk a new vote that might make the situation worse.

Does all this sound too complicated? Absolutely! But that is the price to pay if you want to respect the will of the people. The Swiss are prepared to vote again and again to make sure that parliament correctly interprets their will. Perhaps thats something for the British parliament to bear in mind.

Andres Allemand is a Swiss journalist who usually writes for La Tribune de Geneve
She made us wait, but my word it was worth it. Until now, Brexit had been a Russian Doll of hopeless expectation.

Two years of torturous negotiations begat six weeks of a deal being within touching distance begat seven long hours staring at the Downing Street door as a temporary microphone stand stood guard outside it like an obscure baronet grieving for a dead monarch.

But as Theresa May finally emerged from her own front door, at 7.16pm on Wednesday evening, its final irreducible layer was a nuclear bomb.

The cabinet had argued for five hours. No one had resigned. Her deal had been approved.

Her voice was only faintly audible from beneath the howls of Stop Brexit from protesters gathered at the gates 50 yards to her left, but she said these words: When you strip away the detail, the choice before us is clear, this deal  Or leave with no deal, or no Brexit at all.

Woah woah woah. Say what? No Brexit at all? But, but, but doesnt that mean, and this really is quite the twist, that no deal has never actually been better than a bad deal, and that Brexit, actually, doesnt mean Brexit?

As endings go, and this really was the ending, at least of this middle instalment of the Brexit sh*tshow trilogy of trilogies, you have to hand it to her.

As the TV cameras packed up and the news reporters went home, you could almost hear them muttering to one another in bewilderment like baffled cinema goers heading for the car park.

But, doesnt that mean, doesnt that mean, it was all bollocks, all along? Right from the start?

No, it cant mean that. All of it? Rubbish? The whole thing? For two and half years?

Yeah. I think so. I think it does. Absolutely none of it was true. Not a word of it.

I mean, once you see it, its obvious isnt it? None of it was ever true. Genius.

Well good news, because the sequels already started. Now Theresa May must somehow whittle those choices back down to one. (She really did say theres a choice. That really happened.) She must put those genies back in the bottle. Because if you actually let, I dont know, anyone normal, in the real world, have a choice between her deal, no deal and no Brexit at all, well, the thunderingly inevitably obvious awaits.

While inside 10 Downing Street, her front benchers were arguing over whether to finish her off, her backbenchers were arguing over exactly the same.

Rumours came and went that her 13 Scottish Tory MPs, the ones who saved her and her whole party at the 2017 election, would all fail to back the deal, because it didnt do enough for Scottish fisheries.

The Democratic Unionist Party quietly let it be known their confidence and supply arrangement was low on confidence and even lower on supplies.

Members of the European Research Group made mutterings about withdrawing support for the prime minister, echoing the sentiments of their leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg, still the worlds only fully double-breasted anarchist.

In short, one side wants ice cream. The other wants lasagne. In the coming days Theresa May will try to forcefeed them all ice cream and lasagne, and we will all get to watch the hilarious, wretch-inducing consequences.

It was a day straight out of the high summer of 2016. In the afternoon sun, hard Brexit protesters clashed with Remainers outside the gates of Downing Street. Viewed from afar, it looked like serious numbers of private security had been hired to keep them apart. But they turned out merely to be a large group of primary school children in hi-viz tabards, inspecting the poppy wreaths at the cenotaph. Was it for this the clay grew tall?

Jeremy Corbyn was there, at Prime Ministers Questions, doing his level best to pick apart the prime ministers Brexit deal, even though, if a leaked briefing from the EUs negotiator Sabine Weyand is to be believed, it will keeps the UK in the customs union in perpetuity, precisely the kind of Brexit deal Corbyn said he would gladly support at the end of his party conference speech last month.

Even Tony Blair popped up with a brief cameo, giving a speech calling for a second referendum. He did that back then, too, if you recall, when the wild waters of Brexit were allayed for the publication of the Chilcot Report, then they surged suddenly back.

At one point, at the despatch box of the House of Commons, a junior housing minister by the name of Nick Hurd, announced Theresa Mays press statement had been cancelled. Had the microphone really stood guard for nothing? No, it turned out, two minutes later the press statement was back on. Still, just for those short moments, Theresa Mays attempts to get her Brexit deal first past the cabinet and then past the House of Commons had failed even before shed failed to get it past a solitary mic stand outside her own front door.

If they do topple Theresa May in the coming days, that too will come with a wondrous sense of deja vu. The Hard Brexiteers want rid of her. The Second Referendum Crowd will get rid of her if they think it will get them their prize.

Thats the sort of wide coalition of bitter enemies that might, in recent years gone by, win you a referendum on something like, say, membership of the European Union, but would stop well short of giving you even the tiniest clue about what to do next.

That would be a cure thats infinitely worse than the disease. Smashing everything up for the sake of it, then looking to someone else to sort it all out. You might, even, call it a crisis. Couldnt happen, could it? Not again?
A still image from a video footage shows Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, in central London, Britain

Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement outside 10 Downing Street, London, confirming that Cabinet has agreed the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement outside 10 Downing Street, London, confirming that Cabinet has agreed the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday November 14, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement outside 10 Downing Street, London, confirming that Cabinet has agreed the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday November 14, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May has won the battle within her Cabinet to secure support for a Brexit deal with the EU.

Mrs May has described a five hour meeting of ministers at Downing Street as impassioned.

She said the choice was effectively her deal or no deal.

I believe that what I owe this country is to take decisions that are in the national interest. This is a decision which is in the best interest of the entire United Kingdom, Mrs May said

"When you strip away the detail the choice before us is clear - this deal which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our Union, or leave with no deal or no Brexit at all.

"I know there will be difficult days ahead. This is a decision that will come under intense scrutiny and that is entirely as it should be and entirely understandable."

She noted that difficult choices had to be made, particularly when it came to Northern Ireland.

The draft Brexit deal states that Northern Ireland will maintain full alignment with the rules of the EUs internal market and the customs union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy and the protection of the 1998 Agreement, to apply unless and until an alternative arrangement implementing another scenario is agreed.

The agreement also says the EU an UK will use their "best endeavours" to conclude by December 31, 2020, an agreement which supersedes backstop protocol in whole or part.

Mrs May and her senior ministers spent hours in discussions to decide whether to back the proposed EU withdrawal agreement.

Mrs May said she believed the draft agreement was the best that could be negotiated.

"The cabinet has just had a long, detailed and passioned debate of our future relationship with the European Union. I firmly believe that the draft was the best that could be negotiated and it was for cabinet to decide whether to move on in the talks," she told reporters.

"The collective decision of cabinet is that the government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement. This is a decisive step. These decisions were not taken lightly."

EU's Guy Verhofstadt has said the draft deal makes Brexit possible while maintaining a close relationship between th EU and UK

"While I hope one day the UK will return, in the meantime this agreement will make a Brexit possible, while maintaining a close relationship between the EU and UK, a protection of citizens rights and the avoidance of a hard Irish border."

DUP leader Arlene Foster is now due to meet with Mrs May at 8.30pm this evening.

A statement was expected at 5pm this afternoon but the lengthy talks ran for hours later than expected.

At one point, UK government minister Nick Hurd said that there would be no press statement from Mrs May on Brexit evening.

"I am authorised to inform the House there will be no press statement this evening. There was considerable concern in the House about that happening before the PM came to parliament," Mr Hurd said in a statement.

However, several minutes later it was announced that Hurd 'mis-spoke' and that a short statement would indeed be made outside 10 Downing Street when Cabinet is over.

Meanwhile, BBC's political editor says Brexit supporters in Theresa May's party will "likely" call for a vote of no confidence in her as their leader on Thursday, citing a senior member of the Conservative Party.

Laura Kuenssberg said Brexiteers were so angry about May's draft deal to leave the European Union that they were submitting letters to the head of a committee of Conservative lawmakers responsible for handling any leadership challenge.

"Senior Tory (Conservative) tells me Brexiteer anger so high that seems likely there will be a call for no-confidence vote tomorrow - letters going in," she said on Twitter.

Speaking in the Dail this afternoon, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that meeting would be very important and sensitive.

The Taoiseach told TDs he was restricted in what he could say as his words upend that Cabinet meeting or making the situation more difficult for the Prime Minister.

However, he revealed that Irish ministers have decided the text should be put to a vote in Dail Eireann.

Ministers met this morning to be briefed on the 500-page document which it is hoped will break the deadlock in the talks.
Theresa May's proposed Brexit deal has the potential to break up the United Kingdom because it will treat Northern Ireland differently, DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson has said.

One of the 10 MPs who props up May's government, the party's chief whip Donaldson added that he would not fear a new national election if a vote against May's Brexit deal in parliament forces the country into another general vote.

"From what we have seen and heard we do not believe this deal is the best deal," Donaldson said. "This deal has the potential to lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom and that is not something we can support."

Jeffrey Donaldson warned the deal would in the "long term" leave Northern Ireland closely aligned with the EU and could increase support for Scottish independence, saying "this is not the right Brexit".

He continued: "It's not about who is prime minister, it's not about who governs the country, it's about the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK, that is fundamental for us.

"And it is not just us, the DUP does not stand alone on this, we have many friends within the Conservative Party and indeed in some other parties, who believe this deal has the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK.

"That is not something we can support."

Arlene Foster, leader of the DUP, told Sky News: "It is worrying times, there's no doubt about that.

"What we'll be looking at is the text, hopefully we'll actually get to see the text so that we can make our own judgment on that.

"The Prime Minister is very clear about where we stand on all of this. As you know we've written to her, she's very clear that we cannot be separated from the rest of the UK, either in terms of customs or indeed in terms of regulatory alignment either."

Mrs Foster went on: "Regulatory alignment would mean that we would diverge from the rest of the UK, we would stay in the single market, whereas the rest of the United Kingdom would not.

"We would have a democratic deficit insofar as we would be taking rules from the European Union and would have no way in influencing those rules.

"It's a question of whether we're separating the union - whether we are dealing with the United Kingdom in a way that leaves us adrift in the future.

"As the leader of unionism in Northern Ireland I'm not about to agree to that."

Read More

Remain-supporting Tory MP Anna Soubry told Today that "the best deal we have with the EU is the deal we currently have with the EU".

She said that a customs union had to go together with membership of the single market and its regulatory framework, saying "they have to be together".

She said: "If you speak... to British business they will tell you a customs union is important, but so is the regulatory alignment as well. That is what I need to see."

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said he believed the draft Brexit plan is "the worst deal in history".

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "We're giving away in excess of 40 billion in return for precisely nothing. Trapped still inside the European Union's rule book, continuing free movement of people, continuing with a foreign court having a say over our own country. Nothing has been achieved other than giving away a huge sum of money."

He described Theresa May as "not just the worst prime minister I've ever seen but perhaps the most dishonest one as well".

He added: "Get rid of her. Let's get somebody else, let's come back to the EU and say 'look, let's have a simple free trade deal or we are leaving on WTO (World Trade Organisation) terms'. And do you know what? They'll bite our arms off."

Asked what he thinks will happen next, he said: "I believe that the Cabinet will collapse, I believe that Parliament will collapse. I think we have a career political class who will put their own reselection within their parties above the interests of the nation and our democratic system."

Meanwhile, in the Dail yesterday, Mr Varadkar said the language around the customs arrangement was not important so long as the Irish objectives were achieved.

"Whether it is a double backstop, a backstop to a backstop or a hybrid backstop is not the point. The point is having a legally binding guarantee that a hard Border would not emerge between Northern Ireland and Ireland," he said.

Defending his acceptance of a review mechanism, Mr Varadkar noted that the Good Friday Agreement has one.

"Part of the understanding behind the Good Friday Agreement was that if one wanted it to be long-standing and enduring, it made sense to build into it review mechanisms.

"If we are going to have an agreement between the UK and the EU, one has to be willing to be generous on occasion and give them something, so long as one maintains one's objectives and outcomes," he said.

A string of diplomatic meetings are now being lined up to take place if Mrs May survives her cabinet meeting at 2pm today.

A meeting of the Irish Cabinet has been called for 9.30am "to consider developments".

Additional reporting: Reuters and PA
The next thing Mrs May now needs to do is cajole, bully and bribe her own party. John Downing explains all.

What is this deal?

A draft EU-UK exit treaty providing a UK-wide customs backstop plan to avoid a hard Border in Ireland. It would keep the UK inside the EU customs union until a final trade deal is agreed between the two sides.

Brussels agreed the proposal being presented as a concession to London. But there are guarantees that Northern Ireland will remain in a "deeper" relationship with the EU on the customs and regulatory side under the backstop plan. There are 400 pages of text in the deal and a separate general declaration on the future shape of a post-Brexit EU-UK trade relationship. This trade deal will take several years to negotiate.

A good outcome for Ireland?

It certainly looks that way. Ireland's key issue has always been to avoid "a hard Border" with the North. That goal has been achieved but further details have to be explored. British radical Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson have painted the outcome as "a win" for Dublin and a blow to the UK. Valuable trade between Ireland and Britain is also protected for as long as the transition arrangement maintains the current UK-EU trading relationship. There will be hopes Irish-UK trade can continue for much longer.

Will it fly?

Hard to say. It is likely, but not certain, that it will be endorsed by the other EU states and the European Parliament. The bigger difficulty is whether UK Prime Minister Theresa May can sell it at home, first to cabinet colleagues, then to parliament. Mrs May needs to persuade, cajole, bully and bribe her own Conservative Party colleagues and the DUP. The opposition Labour Party is determined to leave her to her fate.

What happens next?

Its first hurdle comes at a UK cabinet meeting in London starting at 2pm today. As many as nine ministers will go into that with misgivings. The prime minister will hope they will row in behind her when they contemplate the alternative which is a no-deal Brexit. But if it does not clear the British cabinet, things will very seriously stall. If it does clear that bar, the action moves back to Brussels where a special EU leaders' summit is likely on November 25.

Approval there would bounce it back to the Westminster parliament. Then the fun would start in earnest with Mrs May's divided minority government pulled in all directions.

Is Brexit now inevitable?

It is certainly more probable the UK will leave on March 29 next year. But delays, a Brexit-themed election, and possibly even another Brexit referendum cannot be ruled out.
British Prime Minister Theresa May stands accused of surrender by elements of her own party over a Brexit deal that ensures there will not be a hard Border in Ireland.

The agreement reached between Britain and EU negotiators includes a so-called backstop which will keep Northern Ireland tightly locked to European trade rules unless and until another means of frictionless trade is found.

However, the Government remains extremely nervous that Mrs May will not be able to win enough votes for the proposal in Westminster.

In a strong indication the DUP will vote against the deal, party leader Arlene Foster said they would oppose a deal which weakens the Union. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar ordered an effective media blackout from his ministers on the deal. Sources said the Government is content with the package.

The Irish Independent understands the British side categorically conceded it will not be able to leave the arrangement without EU approval.

But as Mrs May sought support from her cabinet, opponents said Britain was being turned into a vassal state.

Brexiteer former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed Dublin will now have more influence over Northern Ireland than London.

Mr Johnson said: "We will not have protected our precious union. For the first time since partition, Dublin would have more say in some aspects of the government of Northern Ireland than London."

Mr Rees-Mogg claimed: "White flags have gone up all over Whitehall. It is a betrayal of the union."

All eyes will now turn to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose 10 MPs prop up Mrs May's minority government.

In a strong indication that the DUP will vote against the deal, party leader Arlene Foster said that without an exit clause the UK "would be handcuffed to the European Union with Brussels holding the keys".

She said the DUP would oppose "a deal which weakens the union".

Ms Foster said it would be "democratically unacceptable for Northern Ireland trade rules to be set by Brussels".

Under the agreed text, the whole of the UK will enter a temporary customs arrangement. However, at its "core" will be specific provisions for Northern Ireland which will keep the region more tightly aligned to the rules of the EU single market.

It is understood a review of UK-EU relations will take place six months before the end of the transition period in December 2020. This will determine whether the UK is ready to move to a free trade deal, transfer to the backstop or extend the transition.

In the Dail yesterday, Mr Varadkar said the language around the customs arrangement was not important so long as the Irish objectives were achieved.

"Whether it is a double backstop, a backstop to a backstop or a hybrid backstop is not the point. The point is having a legally binding guarantee that a hard Border would not emerge between Northern Ireland and Ireland," he said.

Defending his acceptance of a review mechanism, Mr Varadkar noted that the Good Friday Agreement has one.

"Part of the understanding behind the Good Friday Agreement was that if one wanted it to be long-standing and enduring, it made sense to build into it review mechanisms.

"If we are going to have an agreement between the UK and the EU, one has to be willing to be generous on occasion and give them something, so long as one maintains one's objectives and outcomes," he said.

A string of diplomatic meetings are now being lined up to take place if Mrs May survives her cabinet meeting at 2pm today.

A meeting of the Irish Cabinet has been called for 9.30am "to consider developments".

Mr Varadkar's spokesman said last night: "The Irish Government wants to allow the British government to have time and space to consider the draft agreements."

EU ambassadors are also expected to be talked through the plan by chief negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels this evening. At that point they will begin planning for a special summit of EU leaders on Sunday, November 25.

Sources told the Irish Independent that this is a "best-case scenario, but everything depends on how it goes down in London". The reaction from other EU capitals is also being closely watched by Irish and EU officials.

There are concerns that allowing the UK to remain in a customs arrangement could give them an unfair trading advantage unless they stick by EU environmental, labour and State aid rules.

Irish sources are confident the solidarity shown by the EU27 since the referendum in June 2016 will be maintained.

In a bid to get her cabinet on side, Mrs May will warn that many of the UK's contingencies for a 'no-deal' Brexit will have to kick-in on December 1 if the Withdrawal Agreement is rejected.

"Cabinet will have to decide within the next few weeks whether no-deal is to be its main planning scenario for exit," a UK official said.

Then to get a deal through the UK parliament, the prime minister needs the votes of about 320 out of 650 MPs.

She will turn to the Labour Party in the hope that some opposition MPs will back her position rather than see the country crash out of the EU.

Officially, Jeremy Corybn's party has said it will oppose any agreement that does not retain "the exact same" economic benefits that it now has with the EU.

Amid the flurry of activity yesterday, the EU Commission published details of its plans for a no-deal scenario.

It noted that Brexit will affect members "to varying degrees, but none more so than Ireland".

"The Commission stands ready to support Ireland to find solutions addressing the particular challenges," it said.
THE proposed Brexit deal will be put to a vote in Dail Eireann, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced.

Ministers met this morning to be briefed on the 500-page document which it is hoped will break the deadlock in the talks.

All eyes will shift to London this afternoon to see if Prime Minister Theresa May can get the backing of her Cabinet to sign-up to the deal.

It includes a UK-wide customs arrangement that will ensure there is no hard border on the island of Ireland.

Speaking in the Dail this afternoon, Mr Varadkar said that meeting would be very important and sensitive.

The Taoiseach told TDs he was restricted in what he could say as his words upend that Cabinet meeting or making the situation more difficult for the Prime Minister.

However, he revealed that Irish ministers have decided the text should be put to a vote in Dail Eireann.

Such a vote is not necessary but would give parties an opportunity to debate the so-called Irish backstop.

Mr Varadkar said if the UK Cabinet agrees to the deal this afternoon then it will be published by the EU Commission.

Asked by Fianna Fails Dara Callearly whether the deal protects the Good Friday Agreement, Mr Varadkar replied: My reading is that the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this, in fact it is protected by the draft agreement.

He said the Governments objective from day one has been to minimise any harm to Ireland and Northern Ireland as a result of Brexit.

Mr Calleary said the deal would be a seminal one in the history of this island.

Everyone in this House wants a deal. It is in the interests of the island of Ireland, the Mayo TD said.

He added: Nobody wants a border between the North and South, not even the DUP.

Sinn Fein deputy leader, Pearse Doherty, welcomed the principle of an EU-UK Brexit deal. But he warned that the backstop as a guarantee against the return of a hard border in Ireland was vital  and his party would await full details on this.

The Taoiseach said the backstop was really the third option  which he hoped would never have to be used. But he was satisfied that Ireland had got the necessary guarantees in the draft deal.

Mr Varadkar promised to brief all parties on the draft deal and its implications but he was obliged to await the outcome of the cabinet meeting in London first.

The Taoiseach also gave a direct assurance to the Unionist community in the North that Dublin would respect the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the integrity of the Norths territory.

Ibec has welcomed the momentum towards the draft EU-UK Brexit withdrawal, but acknowledged however that significant ratification hurdles remain.

CEO Danny McCoy said that business needs urgent clarity on the terms of the UKs exit.

"A no deal cliff edge must be avoided. A draft withdrawal agreement moves the debate on and, if ratified, will lead to an orderly Brexit with a transition period. An agreement that potentially keeps all of the UK aligned to the EU customs union will help minimise disruption to business.

"However, big political hurdles remain. Any political problems that emerge around ratification will heighten economic uncertainty and force more businesses to activate no deal contingency plans."
Theresa May's Brexit plan is "profoundly undemocratic" and would lock the UK into the EU's rules, the leader of the influential European Research Group of Tories has said as he urged colleagues to reject the blueprint.

In a letter to colleagues, Jacob Rees-Mogg said the deal would see the UK hand over 39 billion to the European Union for "little or nothing in return".

Arch-Brexiteer Mr Rees-Mogg also said the deal was unacceptable to unionists because of its treatment of Northern Ireland and broke Tory manifesto commitments.

In a call for revolt on the Tory benches, he said: "For these reasons I can not support the proposed agreement in Parliament and would hope that Conservative MPs would do likewise."

Expand Close Jacob Rees-Mogg speaking this week at a Leave Means Leave event / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Jacob Rees-Mogg speaking this week at a Leave Means Leave event

He wrote: "The proposed agreement will see the UK hand over 39 billion to the EU for little or nothing in return. The prospect of an agreed free trade agreement is as far away today as it always has been."

The 15-page political declaration on the future relationship was "neither binding nor clear" and "if it aims to put in place the Chequers proposal it is neither workable nor respectful of the referendum result".

In an echo of the argument on the Vote Leave bus, Mr Rees-Mogg said: "In the absence of a trade agreement we should spend our money on our own priorities, for instance 39 billion could pay for 26,000 nurses for 40 years."

Mr Rees-Mogg warned: "This agreement will lock us into an EU customs union and EU laws. This will prevent us pursuing a UK trade policy based around our priorities and economy.

"Without the ability to regulate our own economy and form our own trade agreements we will lose out on the opportunities that Brexit affords us."

Agreeing to the rules of the customs union "in contravention of the 2017 Conservative manifesto, without any votes or influence, is profoundly undemocratic".

"This is compounded by the lack of any ability for the UK to unilaterally escape, making the UK a permanent rule taker," he added.

He said the proposals would treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK, which was unacceptable to unionists in both Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The letter comes a day after Mr Rees-Mogg suggested his patience with Mrs May was running out.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who has previously held back from calling for Mrs May's removal, said on Tuesday that "there comes a point at which the policy and the individual become so intimately connected that it will be very hard to carry on supporting the person who is promoting this policy".
Docs Friends, the organization responsible for the restoration, operation and maintenance of Boeing B-29 Superfortress 44-69972 Doc, held a ceremony yesterday to roll in the historic WWII bomber to her newly-constructed home in Wichita, Kansas. Docs Friends published the following press release this morning, and we felt our readers would be interested in learning more about the event.

The B-29 Superfortress known as Doc has officially moved into its new home in Wichita. The new 32,000 sq.ft. B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center is located at Eisenhower National Airport and will provide the backdrop for Docs Friends volunteers to maintain and continue to operate the historic warbird.

Eighteen years ago this group of volunteers started a restoration project that many people thought would never be completed, said Josh Wells, Docs Friends spokesman. Then in 2016, this same group of dedicated volunteers celebrated the completion of Docs restoration when Doc roared back to flight. Now, two years later, we are celebrating again as Doc has completed a 20 year journey from China Lake in the California Desert to his new home at Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita, Kansas. Welcome home Doc.

Construction on the $6.5 million facility began in November of 2017 and while the hangar and maintenance portions of the facility are completed, work continues on the education and visitors center portion of the project. The work includes the need to to raise an additional $800,000 to help finish the education and visitors center.

Over the past three years, weve raised about $5.7 million toward the $6.5 million project, Wells said. While we have successfully raised enough money to build the structure, theres still plenty of work to be done to finish out the interior of the facility. This will ensure generations to come will be able to learn about Greatest Generation and how the B-29 helped protect our freedom, and how it helped solidify Wichita as the Air Capital of the World.

The Docs Friends maintenance crew will begin the scheduled winter maintenance activities for the warbird later this month. Construction and installation work for the education and visitors center is expected to be completed by the end of the year, pending additional funds raised. The B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center is expected to open to the public in January.

Meanwhile, you can still purchase a brick or granite paver to honor a loved one, or to simply say youre a part of the Docs Friends family! Click here to learn how you can get involved today!

The bricks and pavers that have already been ordered are on site and will begin to be installed this week at the hangar location.

The Wichita Eagle posted a nice video of the roll in yesterday as seen below
In a vote on Wednesday, MEPs confirmed their position on the next EU long-term budget, including maintaining the financing of the EUs long-standing agricultural policies.

In a statement MEPs said the vote underlined the Parliaments unity and readiness for the upcoming multiannual financial framework (MFF 2021-2027) negotiations with EU Ministers and regrets that member states have made no significant progress on finding a common position.

MEPs consider that the MFF proposal tabled by the European Commission is a starting point, but its proposed level will not allow the EU to deliver on its political commitments and respond to the important challenges ahead.

The Commissions draft 2021-27 budget plan aims to cut farm subsidies while increasing spending on research and digital technology, euro zone stability, security and defence.

Direct payments will be reduced by 4pc and better targeted, compulsory capping of subsidies will be imposed at farm level, with funds diverted to smaller farms in the same country.

A new crisis reserve would be set up to deal with problems arising from unexpected developments resulting from the actions of non-EU countries. The overall EU agricultural budget will be cut by 5pc.

Speaking during a European Parliament debate on the next Multiannual Financial Framework for the EU, Mairead McGuinness MEP and First Vice President of the European Parliament called for adequate funding for the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

"I absolutely reject calls to cut the budget of the Common Agricultural Policy, the Midlands North West MEP said in her address to the plenary chamber.

"Farm incomes on average are lower than other sectors. Farmers need the support that comes via the CAP.

As to reforming the EUs sources of revenue (own resources), MEPs stress that the current system is highly complex, unfair and non-transparent and totally incomprehensible to the EUs citizens.

A new, simpler system should substantially reduce the gross national income-based direct contributions from member states and guarantee an adequate financing of EU spending under the new MFF. Parliament also approves the abolition of all rebates and other correction mechanisms.

MEPs demand the introduction of new own resources, such as one based on a new corporate tax scheme (including taxation of large companies in the digital sector), on revenues from the Emissions Trading System and on a plastic tax.

Since the resolution on the MFF adopted in March 2018, Parliament is ready to negotiate, and talks can begin as soon as Council has agreed on a common position.

The adoption of a new MFF Regulation requires Parliaments consent.

MEPs expect that a good agreement is reached before the 2019 European Parliament elections, in order to avoid the serious setbacks for the launch of the new programmes due to the late adoption of the financial framework, as experienced in the past.
The IFA has called for the establishment of a rural crime special task force. Stock picture

Greater restrictions on trespassers and a special task force on rural crime are being demanded by the country's farming organisations.

The appeals follow a spate of incidents with gangs intruding on lands around the country, and the admission at a farmer meeting last week that gardai were relatively powerless in the action they could take against trespassers.

Over 100 farmers present at an IFA meeting on rural crime at Nenagh expressed disbelief when informed by senior garda officers that there is no provision in criminal law against trespass unless there is proof of "intent to commit a crime".

Reacting to the admission, ICMSA president Pat McCormack said the legal position on trespass was "wholly inadequate".

"Far from protecting farmers and landowners, the law seemed to facilitate the most threatening form of trespass," Mr McCormack said.

"I think that many people will be genuinely bewildered to learn from veteran gardai that in the event of them being called to scenes often involving a large group of men and dogs trespassing on farmland, that they [the gardai] have to have proof that the group 'intend to commit a crime', and without that, effectively become bystanders," he said.

The ICMSA leader said a change in the law was needed urgently to restore confidence in rural policing.

A commitment to "examine" the law on trespass has been given by Fianna Fail in the wake of recent incidents.

Fianna Fail spokesperson on Justice and Equality, Jim O'Callaghan, told the Farming Independent that the party "recognises the legitimate concern of farmers who cannot avail of the criminal law to force trespassers off their land".

"Our law views trespass as a civil wrong rather than a criminal offence. Although this is a complicated area of law, Fianna Fail will examine whether steps can be taken to give greater protection in our law to property owners faced with trespassers who refuse to leave their land," Mr O'Callaghan said.

Task force

Meanwhile, the IFA has outlined its concerns to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and called again for the establishment of a special task force on rural crime.

IFA deputy president Richard Kennedy committed the support of the 946 IFA branches to the gardai in facing the challenge posed by gangs targeting rural areas. However, he said communities needed to see more gardai on patrol.

Mr Kennedy confirmed that the concerns of farmers had been discussed at an IFA meeting with Commissioner Harris, and a commitment to review progress in February had been received.

At the Nenagh meeting, Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Tom O'Dwyer, urged farmers "to take security [on their farms] much more seriously" by securing valuable property in sheds and clearly marking property.

He said gardai last year displayed hundreds of stolen items that had been recovered. However, Sergeant O'Dwyer said the absence of proof of ownership, through an identifying mark or a purchase receipt, meant that only three items were returned to their farmer owners.
IFA President Joe Healy, flanked by General Secretary Damian McDonald and IFA Deputy President Richard Kennedy, pictured addressing the 63rd Annual General Meeting of the Irish Farmers Association in Dublin.

Accounts published by the Irish Farmers Association show the organisations finances continue to be in the red since a high profile pay scandal rocked the organisation in 2015.

The organisation's finances further hit in 2018 following a 1.4m legal settlement with its former General Secretary Pat Smith.

The IFA Accounts to the year ended March 31, 2018, showed a slight increase in income for the year at 16.252m up 53,000 on 2017. However, the organisation's income has declined substantially from over 20m prior to the scandal.

IFA staff costs totalled 5.385m for the year, with remuneration for the current Director General, Damian McDonald totalling 213,152.

Total IFA Executive Management compensation which comprises of three individuals was 563,826, while the average remuneration for the top 15 staff in the organisation, excluding Executive Management, was 131,539.

The 2018 accounts also show the IFA President, Joe Healy's gross salary was 120,000 for the year, however, the net amount charged to the organisation was 68,000 after Directors fees from outside bodies were excluded under IFA rules.

The net amount charged to the IFA for the remuneration of its Deputy President Richard Kennedy's was 13,000 after Directors fees from outside bodies were deducted from his gross salary of 35,000.

Notably, the accounts show a new pay agreement was reached with top 15 staff in the organisation, excluding Executive Management during 2017 and was implemented during this financial year. This involved pay reductions for these staff from an average of over 103,000 to 99,000. As part of the arrangement, the staff benefited from what the organisation called 'once-off legacy adjustment' of 7,186 on average.

IFA National Treasurer Tim Cullinan said the year was challenging, but progress has been made in the three-year plan to eliminate the operating deficit which now stands at 1.5m.

The expenditure for this year contains exceptional items totalling 1.4m which relate to the legal action with the former General Secretary, which was settled in February.

Provisions for part of this settlement and ongoing legal fees had been included in previous years accounts. This matter is now concluded and the costs associated with it are fully through the system, he said.

In February, the former General Secretary of the IFA Pat Smith settled his legal actions against IFA. The IFA confirmed at the time that Mr Smith would receive 1.55m concerning his severance claim and 350,000 in relation to his defamation claim.

Mr Smith resigned from his post as IFA General Secretary in November 2015, amid speculation around his salary and pressure for it to be disclosed.

Mr Smith said his agreement with IFA on his exit centred around a 1m exit package and a further 1m in yearly 100,000 instalments. Smith said the 2m exit package was agreed with the former IFA President Eddie Downey.

Downey later resigned from his position and the IFA Executive Council voted against the package Downey and Smith had agreed upon, with the Association saying at the time that it would explore all legal avenues to challenge any severance package for Smith.

Smith then brought two legal actions against the organisation, including one seeking orders requiring it to pay him 2m via payments of 1m now and a further 1m over the next 10 years. Smith said the November 19, 2015, agreement was valid, effective and enforceable.

In his second case, Mr Smith alleged that he was defamed by the IFA and has issued a claim for damages, including aggravated damages.

However, despite saying it would challenge Smith's legal claims, the IFA today settled both claims with its former General Secretary.

At the time, it was revealed that Mr Smith had been paid in excess of 540,000 in 2013, including a base salary of 295,000, a pension contribution of 145,194, and a bonus of 55,000, as well as 35,000 from IFA telecom in report carried out by the Association's former Chief Economist Con Lucey.

IFAs 2018 accounts further show expenditure at the organisation decreased slightly when compared to 2017 at 17.527m.

IFA Membership for the year was at 71,712 with income from membership standing at 5.66m.
It has been confirmed that 2018 advance payments will issue to farmers in respect of the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) from today.

The first pay run will see over 116m paid to over 33,000 participants under the scheme.

This payment is two weeks earlier than last year and sees an additional 7,000 participants paid in the initial tranche compared to last year.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed confirmed that there will be weekly GLAS pay runs from next week and he urged farmers with outstanding documentation such as Nutrient Management Plans, Commonage Management Plans, Rare Breed or Low Emission Spreading to engage with their GLAS agent and ensure that it is submitted as quickly as possible in order to receive payment.

I am delighted that these payments have commenced ahead of schedule and that we are paying more participants than before in the first pay run.

This payment of 116m is also due to my securing the agreement of the EU Commission for a higher advance payment rate of 85% for 2018. These payments are a valuable support for farmers across Ireland and are a welcome boost to the wider rural economy

This GLAS payment when added to the advance BPS payment and the ANC payments brings the total issued to Irish farmers in the last six weeks to some 1.1 billion. This is a significant boost to on-farm cash flows and once again marks Ireland at the forefront of EU member states in making advance payments on this scale, he said.
A jury is set to be sworn this week at the High Court for a landmark case where they will decide the amount of damages due to an Aer Lingus pilot who claimed he was defamed by three emails sent by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) a number of years ago.

Those emails were circulated inside the IAA and also sent to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Precise details of the case are expected to be laid bare in court this week after the jury is selected.

The defamatory emails emerged from communications sent by the CAA about an incident involving Padraig Higgins when he was flying a microlight aircraft in the UK. Mr Higgins had accepted an offer of amends from the IAA under the 2009 defamation act, but the parties were unable to subsequently agree the terms of the offer.

If an offer of amends is refused, the matter can then be referred to the High Court for resolution.

The offer of amends by the IAA had included the intention by the authority to publish a correction and apology, and to pay damages and costs as might be determined or agreed.

With the two sides unable to agree to terms, Mr Higgins then requested that a High Court jury assess the amount of damages he was entitled to.

The IAA opposed that move.

However, the High Court ruled in 2016 that Mr Higgins was entitled to have a jury determine how much he should receive in damages.

The IAA appealed that to the Court of Appeal, which upheld the High Court's ruling.

The IAA then brought the matter to the Supreme Court which ultimately said the jury should decide.

"Assessment of damages in a High Court defamation action is and always has been quintessentially a matter for a jury," said Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne.

"Even in cases where liability is admitted, a jury determines the damages".
Technical field: The firm helps farmers by focusing on issues with the spraying of pesticides on crops. Stock image

Dublin agricultural technology company MagGrow has raised 3m in funding.

The capital will be used to accelerate growth in its target markets.

Funds will also be allocated to R&D initiatives both internally and with third party research partners to further explore the science behind the company's technology.

The business, which works on solving the issues of spray drift and poor coverage in the spraying of pesticides on crops for customers, said that the funds had come from both new and existing investors.

"We are delighted with the support our existing investors have shown for the MagGrow business and we welcome our most recent new investors," said CEO Gary Wickham.

"This latest investment will allow us to support our customers' increasing requirements, accelerate our sales growth, and ensure we continue to invest in the development of the underlying technology," he added.

Since its establishment in 2013, the business has worked with a number of academic institutions.

These include Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Harper Adams University in the UK, and Trinity College.

The group employs over 25 people and currently operates in the US, Canada, Europe and South Africa.
DIVERSIFIED group DCC will continue to focus on its four key divisions, and doesn't intend to branch out into other sectors after selling its environmental unit last year, according to chief executive Donal Murphy.

DCC - a FTSE-100 company that has interests across fuel, energy, technology, and healthcare - yesterday reported strong first-half results, with its operating profit rising 15.9pc to 141.9m (163.2m) in what is the quietest half of its financial year. Revenue from continuing operations was up 24.7pc at 7.4bn (8.5bn).

"When you look at the businesses that we're in - and they're very broad sectors that we operate in today - we have plenty of opportunities," he told the Irish Independent.

"We don't need to be looking for other things to do at the moment. We went through a period, over the past four or five years, where we streamlined the group," he added.

"We got out of areas that were more marginal for us - the food and beverage business and environmental. I'd say we've plenty of opportunities within the four sectors."

Mr Murphy, who joined DCC about 20 years ago, said the group has completed more than 260 acquisitions since its flotation in 1994.

In the past 12 months, it has spent more than 900m (1.03bn) on acquisitions. In September, DCC raised 600m in a share placement in order to boost its takeover war-chest.

DCC has extensive interests across Europe. It owns self-service petrol stations in France and Norway, and is the largest distributor of home heating oil in the UK. Its LPG business is its largest division, accounting for almost half its full-year operating profit, most of it generated in continental Europe.

Mr Murphy said that capital deployment in terms of acquisitions will continue to be disciplined. "We have such a range of opportunities to deploy capital and we're really active in trying to find the right opportunities at the right return," he said.
Eirgrid has told TDs that the existing system to connect offshore wind farms to the grid is not fit for purpose. Stock image

EIRGRID wants to build an offshore grid to accommodate a significant boost in renewable power generation.

The grid operator has told TDs that the existing system to connect offshore wind farms to the grid is not fit for purpose, and acts as a "barrier" to development.

Addressing the Dail climate change committee, EirGrid CEO Mark Foley said some 25MW of offshore wind - sufficient for around 20,000 homes - was currently connected to the grid, but that developers had sought permission to connect another 5,600MW, predominantly off the east coast.

Mr Foley said the cost of developing offshore farms had dropped "considerably" over the last decade, but that the existing consenting system was not "fit for purpose".

"Frankly, the time has come for Ireland to embrace offshore wind at scale as a vital element in our fight to reverse the trajectory of carbon emissions from industry and society," he said.

"However, our understanding is that the consenting regime for offshore wind farms is not fit for purpose and is therefore operating as a barrier to developers to committing development capital to new developments."

EirGrid proposes developing a "centralised model" used in countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, where the grid operator would masterplan an area and secure planning consent for an offshore grid network.

Developers would connect to this grid via subsea cables, with power transferred to the mainland and into homes and businesses.

Mr Foley said a "very large" onshore wind farm could generate 100MW of power, while a "small" offshore project could generate 500MW, and up to 1,000MW.

Meanwhile, Bord na Mona has said it expects to generate up to 500 new jobs in waste and development of clean fuels over the coming years, but warned more jobs would be lost as it moved away from peat production around 2027.

CEO Tom Donnellan said job opportunities would be created as the firm moved away from peat, and it was preparing for the future.
Battle of Britain veteran Hawker Hurricane Mk.I R4118 took to the skies again on November 13th for the first time in more than a year following an overhaul. Back in August, 2017, just prior to the Hurricane taking off for an air display, the aircrafts owners, Hurricane Heritage, discovered signs of a crack in R4118s rare Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk.III engine. Upon removing the engine for overhaul, the maintenance team found cracks in both cylinder banks. They also found a few other issues which needed remedial work, such as leaks in the Glycol header tank and damage to the Rotol propeller hub (which they decided to remanufacture). Hurricane Heritage also chose to replace some of the aircrafts Irish linen covering as well.

As many readers will remember, R4118 made international headlines in 1997 when Peter Vacher announced her discovery in nearly complete, but derelict condition at Banaras Hindu University, in Varanasi, north-eastern India. Following a protracted negotiation, Vacher successfully imported the Hurricane back to her ancestral home in 2001, and soon set about her restoration. The Gloster Aircraft Company built R4118 under license at their factory in Hucclecote, Gloucestershire during 1940. On August 17th, 1940, she joined her first operational unit, 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron, at RAF Drem in East Lothian, Scotland. The Squadron relocated to Croydon, near London that September. Coded UP-W, the aircraft flew 49 sorties during the Battle of Britain, and is credited with five victories over enemy aircraft. Damaged in combat on October 22nd, R4118 underwent repairs and returned to the fray on January 18th, 1941 with Treble One Squadron at RAF Dyce (now known as Aberdeen International Airport) in Scotland. Here, the Hurricane took part in patrols over the North Sea. Eventually, R4118 was relegated to non-combat roles with both 56 and 59 Operational Training Units. This didnt render the aircraft safe from mishap though, as she endured additional incidents which apparently required a further three rebuilds. In December, 1943, RAF technicians disassembled the Hurricane and crated her for shipment to India, where she was again scheduled to take on a training role. However, the aircraft remained in her crate once she arrived in Bombay (now Mumbai), and only re-emerged after being struck off charge in 1947 and donated to the technical training college where Peter Vacher eventually found her half a century later. She flew again for the first time in 2004, and has delighted crowds across the British Isles in the decades since until her engine problems last year.

R4118s refurbishment took place primarily at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridgeshire, England. The legendary WWII airfield will be the aircrafts new base of operations following several seasons stationed with the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. We hope she continues to fly successfully for many years into the future!

Many thanks to George Land for the marvelous photographs of her first flight!
Shares in Woodie's DIY owner Grafton Group surged more than 7pc in London at one point yesterday after it posted a strong third-quarter update, with robust like-for-like sales figures for the period.

The group, which generates the biggest share of its revenue and profits in the UK, said that its revenue in the first 10 months of the year also rose 9.3pc to 2.5bn (2.88bn) and was 4.4pc higher on a like-for-like basis.

"The group has benefited from its exposure to multiple geographic markets and saw its businesses in Ireland and the Netherlands perform well," said CEO Gavin Slark.

"Following a good first-half performance, overall trading in the last four months has underpinned our confidence that we will deliver our expectations for the full year."

In Ireland, Grafton owns merchanting businesses including Chadwicks and Heiton Buckley.

The group noted that average daily, like-for-like merchanting sales in Ireland rose 10pc during the third quarter of the year and were 7.8pc higher on the same basis in the first 10 months of the year.

Hot summer weather spurred sales at Woodie's DIY, with average daily, like-for-like sales at the chain having jumped 4.6pc in the four months to the end of October, and by 9.9pc in the first 10 months of 2018.

In the UK, the performance of Grafton's merchanting business was more subdued than in Ireland, but average daily, like-for-like sales still rose 4.2pc in the third quarter and by 2.7pc in the first 10 months.

Grafton's business in the Netherlands also performed well.

Davy Stockbrokers said it's currently forecasting that Grafton's operating profit will be 186m (214m) in 2018, which includes a property profit contribution of approximately 5m.

However, it noted that Grafton's revenues in the first 10 months of the year are "comfortably ahead" of the broker's own expectations.

"While we understand some of this can be attributable to lower-margin businesses (such as contracting-related activities), the trend nonetheless suggests that our full-year trading profit estimate has scope to move higher," said Davy.

It added that it now expects Grafton to make a full-year profit of about 188m.

"This suggests Grafton is on course for trading profit growth of circa 15pc this year, a very impressive achievement," said Davy.

Goodbody Stockbrokers also now expects the group to make a profit of 188m this year. The revision marks a 3pc increase in Goodbody's previous profit expectation and means the broker has now updated Grafton's full-year 2018 profit outlook by a total of 13pc this year.
Irish universities and colleges are falling behind their global peers when it comes to attracting students through digital marketing channels.

Recent research has shown that higher education institutions here must be more flexible in adapting their online strategies to engage existing and potential students.

TERMINALFOUR's 2018 Global Higher Education Digital Marketing & Web Survey analysed digital marketing, web and social media trends in 383 institutions across the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, South Africa and 17 other countries.

CEO and founder of TERMINALFOUR Piero Tintori said, while web and social media channels are now the main way potential students research a particular university or college, the investment in digital and web varies considerably from institution to institution.

"Students, particularly international students, are often making their final application decisions solely on information available online," he said.

"Increasingly web and digital experiences are playing a more significant part in the selection of a higher education institution.

"There is strong evidence to suggest that a growing number of students are not physically visiting universities before enrolling. Their decisions are increasingly based on their web and digital experience."

Mr Tintori said that the findings show that universities and colleges that invest seriously in web and digital marketing have stronger performance recruiting students.

However, less than one quarter (22pc) of institutions globally have increased their investment in digital marketing in the last two years, and 13pc said that they do not have a formal digital strategy.

"Irish universities and colleges are investing very little in digital marketing compared to their peers in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand," said Mr Tintori.

"Given the opportunities for international student recruitment at the moment, this is an area that Irish higher education institutions must invest in."

According to the survey, Facebook's power in terms of student engagement has weakened, with less than half (45pc) respondents reporting it to be their main pulling platform. This compares with 62pc last year.

Instagram, meanwhile has emerged as the fastest growing platform for student recruitment, jumping from 20pc to 36pc in the last 12 months.

As a result, almost one third (32pc) web, marketing and recruitment higher education professionals intend to focus on that form of social media over the next year.

Other channels that are looked at for recruitment and engagement, according to the research, are YouTube (8.2pc), Twitter (7.1pc), LinkedIn (4.5pc) and Snapchat (3.7pc).
Photographed at Arkphire's announcement of its' acquisition of CloudStrong are from left to right: Jimmy Dalton, CFO, Arkphire and Oliver Surdival, CEO, CloudStrong. Image provided by Peter Houlihan Photography.

Irish tech firm Arkphire has acquired Mayo-based cloud solution provider Cloudstrong for an undisclosed amount.

The Dublin-headquartered company said that the combined enterprises will built out its service from the centre of excellence in the West.

Arkphire currently employs more than 90 people across its various divisions. Last month, the month secured multimillion euro investment from private capital firm Bregal Milestones new 400m pan-European fund.

Founded in 2011 by Oliver Surdival, CloudStrong currently employs 12 people, providing cloud consultancy services and solutions to the SME market.

In the past four years, Arkphire has grown turnover from 20m to over 90m, and has been recognised as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in Ireland.

CEO Paschal Naylor said Arkphire and CloudStrong have a "very effective working relationship" going back many years.

"The acquisition formalises this relationship and strengthens Arkphires overall cloud services offering, enabling us to bring our complementary skills and capabilities to the market," he said.

This is the first new acquisition for Arkphire following its investment by Bregal Milestone.
A Dublin TD who bought an electric scooter to zip in and out of the Dail says that its time to liberalise the law around them.

Fine Gaels Noel Rock, who travels in to Leinster House on the scooter from his Santry home five miles away, says that there are over 1,000 electric scooters on city roads.

But Irish law suggests that such rechargeable scooters are no different from motorbikes, requiring tax, insurance and a licence.

Rock says that its time to treat the devices, which travel at speeds of up to 25kph, more like bicycles.

The law in Ireland, as it stands, is out of date when it comes to these vehicles, he said.

In most European countries, these vehicles are treated the same as electric assisted bicycles. In Ireland, however, they exist in something of a grey area and their legal status is very much open to interpretation as to whether or not it is a mechanically propelled vehicle. Given the vehicle needs a manual kickstart intervention and reach a minimum speed of 5km/h manually to start operation, it is different from a purely mechanical vehicle. Accordingly, this needs to be amended and clarified.

Rocks comments come after the mobile operator Three started selling Xiaomis Mi electric scooter for 450. The scooter, which needs to be kickstarted to work, can travel at speeds of up to 25kph and a single charge will last between 15km and 20km.

A spokeswoman for the Road Safety Authority told Independent.ie that scooters such as the Xiaomi model, even though they require a manual start like an electric bicycle, still need to be taxed and insured under existing Irish law.

As it is classed as the Mechanically propelled Vehicle, under current legislation it falls within the scope of the law, she said.

But Rock said that more people are turning to the devices as an antidote to gridlocked traffic.

In most European countries, forward thinking policy makers recognise that these environmentally friendly, low powered, electric vehicles are part of a sustainable transport mix, he said. In Ireland, they are growing in popularity with over 1,000 on our roads. Its time to act now on this matter and legislate.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Photo: Reuters

US stocks gained in early trading yesterday as hopes rose for progress in the American-Chinese trade dispute and technology shares bounced back from Monday's rout. The pound rallied on reports of advancement toward a Brexit deal.

The S&P 500 advanced after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the US and China were talking on "all levels" of government.

That followed an overnight report that China's vice-premier Liu He will pave the way for a meeting between the leaders of the two biggest economies later this month.

Britain's pound pared losses from the past three days after UK Prime Minister Theresa May said talks with the European Union were in the "endgame" and data showed UK wage growth has accelerated.

"This is certainly an achievement of sorts and no one can be under any illusion about how hard it has been to get to this position," said Stephanie Kelly, political economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments.

"But we are not at an end stage yet. The devil will be in the detail of the Irish Border issue. Everything hangs on that and ultimately whether Theresa May can get this past Parliament."

Trade worries and Brexit negotiations have hung over markets for months, clouding the economic outlook and helping compound an ongoing sell-off in equities.

While comments from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Singapore yesterday hinted at a more optimistic outlook, sentiment overall remains fragile as the Federal Reserve pursues its path of policy normalisation and tech companies slide.
Under-pressure regional airline Flybe has said it is in talks with a number of "strategic operators" about a possible sale of the group.

This comes weeks after warning over profits.

The Exeter-based carrier said it is also looking at cutting further costs and flight capacity as it battles challenging conditions in the airline industry.

The group is in talks with a number of "strategic operators" about a potential sale and has hired Evercore as adviser to help with the review and sale process.

It comes weeks after Flybe warned over profits following falling demand and a 29m hit from rising fuel costs and the weak pound.

The alert sent shares tumbling by more than a third on the day and nearly 75pc has been wiped off its stock market value since December.

Stobart Group walked away from a bid for Flybe in March after the two firms failed to agree terms.

But Stobart, which already has a franchise agreement with Flybe, could reportedly come back into the frame.

Flybe has 78 planes operating from smaller airports including London City, Southampton and Norwich, and flies to destinations across the UK and Europe.

In Ireland it operates out of Dublin, Cork, and Belfast.

It carries around eight million passengers a year.

In half-year results also announced on Wednesday, Flybe saw cost-cutting help lift underlying pre-tax profits to 9.9m from 9.2m a year earlier.

Statutory pre-tax profits for the six months to September 30 more than halved to 7.4m from 16.1m a year earlier.

It saw group revenues fall 10pc or 2.4pc on an underlying basis to 409.2m after it cut capacity by 9pc.

Passenger numbers edged 0.6pc higher to 5.2 million.

Chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener said the group continued to see improvements in the third quarter and added that cost savings had already helped to drive progress in boosting profits.

But she added: "There has been a recent softening in growth in the short-haul market, as well as continued headwinds from higher fuel and currency costs.

"We are responding to this by reviewing every aspect of our business, especially further capacity reduction, cash management and cost savings."
It's been two years since Michelle Obama vacated the White House, all while giving cameras that memeworthy side-eye at the inauguration of her husband's successor, Donald Trump. Since then, there has been the odd blistering public speech from Michelle. Some have been delivered in support of Trump's election rival Hilary Clinton, prompting cries of a dream ticket candidate for the 2020 presidential election. Other speeches have been seemingly delivered by Melania Trump, who has been accused of plagiarising speeches once delivered by Michelle.

In any case, the holiday is officially over for the former first lady. And to say she is back with a bang is putting it mildly. Last March, she and her husband Barack signed a record book deal worth a reported $65m - among the biggest in history - the first fruits of which have finally come to light. Michelle's highly-anticipated memoir, Becoming, hits shelves this week, with Oprah waxing rhapsodical already: "This book is everything you wanted to know and so much you didn't even know you wanted to know. I believe it's going to spark within you the desire to think about your own becoming," said Winfrey.

"It's so well-written I can hear her voice; I can hear her expressions; I can feel her emotion. What she allows us to see is how she was able to discover, define and then refine her voice."

The memoir sees the former first lady, somewhat surprisingly for a former White House denizen, in tell-all mode.

Once frustrated for being tagged as an 'angry black woman', Michelle has delivered a very powerfully human book. Much as the title suggests, it charts her trajectory from being a highly accomplished lawyer in Chicago - arguably, the true rising star in her own marriage - to a glorified public servant, via life as a devoted mother and wife. Michelle was always studious and ambitious, yet she admits it took a while for Barack to move off the professional blocks.

"Barack fooled around in high school," she said on a recent talk show. "He didn't take school seriously in high school. He barely got his work done. He was a bum! And it took him a second. He had to grow up a little bit." It was only in his second year of Columbia University that he got seriously ambitious.

Expand Close Reese Witherspoon is a moderator for the book tour. Photo: Getty / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Reese Witherspoon is a moderator for the book tour. Photo: Getty

In Becoming, Michelle writes about arriving into Washington DC with her husband some years ago, by then a brand new and ambitious junior senator. Later, Michelle quit her job as a high-powered hospital executive in order to take on the mantle of first lady. Famously, Michelle noted that the pressure of being the first African-American president and first lady was notable: "We did not have the luxury to make mistakes," she has famously said.

"I'd been Mrs Obama for the last 12 years, but it was starting to mean something different," she writes. "At least in some spheres, I was now Mrs Obama in a way that could feel diminishing, a missus defined by her mister."

In the second section of the book, Michelle explores her relationship with Barack, from the ecstasy of first love to the inevitable rough patches of marriage. Michelle writes of being a "working full-time mother with a half-time spouse"; something that those on the outside might not quite have picked up on. The pair attend couples counselling - under duress, on Barack's part - so as to avoid the derailment of their marriage. There are other significant challenges to their union written about with startling openness, among them a protracted wrestle with infertility and a miscarriage, as well as the conceiving of their two daughters, Sasha and Malia, via IVF.

The oafish coarseness of the current US president, not to mention the glacial indifference of his wife, has many already nostalgic for Brand Obama. By turns refined and relatable, Barack and Michelle were nothing if not a united front.

Video of the Day

Where Melania lands herself in hot water for wearing jackets emblazoned with 'I really don't care', it wouldn't have been unusual for Michelle as first lady to shoot hoops with youngsters in New York or hug schoolgirls in London. All in all, perfect conditions under which to release a memoir.

Yet where Michelle's personal brand has always been relatability, there's little denying the hefty sprinkle of stardust that comes with the release of Becoming. Oprah's glowing testimony aside, Michelle's current book tour has been criticised by fans for the 'Beyonce-like' admission prices. Clocking in at $29.95 for general admission to $3,000 for a VIP package, the tour - run by Live Nation - is deemed exclusionary for many, despite the supposed inclusionary vibe. Also in the frame for the promotional circuit are Michelle's decidedly starry pals Tracee Ellis Ross, Sarah Jessica Parker and Reese Witherspoon, signed on to act as moderators for the book tour's live dates. The cosy showbiz factor aside, Becoming has been praised for its lyrical and assured prose, almost certainly paving the way for Michelle to pen another bestselling title.

Which of course begs the big question: where to next for Michelle? In addition to the release of Becoming, there have also been announcements of high-profile social initiatives on voting and girls' education. The Global Girls Alliance is intended to help educate millions of young American women who didn't finish their secondary education. Michelle is also playing a leading role in the development of the Obama Presidential Center, due to open in Chicago in 2021, walking distance from her childhood neighbourhood of South Shore.

Michelle may be part of the highly bankable A-list, but the pressing social issues that matter to her are evidently close to hand, too.

Barack is reportedly enjoying a life free from the constraints and responsibilities of the presidency. And Michelle, too, was evidently glad to see the end of her husband's presidency (the two waved off eight years in the White House with an extended holiday in Italy before hanging out in Polynesia with famous pals like Tom Hanks, Oprah and Bruce Springsteen). Suffice to say, Michelle isn't keen on a return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

She said recently that she never wanted to be a politician. "As a woman, you understand where your voice works best... I want to serve, I want to do work. I want to be out there but there are so many ways to make an impact. Politics is just not my thing. It's as simple as that." On this book tour, Michelle is likely to hear suggestions from fans that she should indeed become the Democrat's candidate in the 2020 presidential elections. Yet between various social initiatives, the book publicity and a Netflix deal with her husband, it's safe to say that between then and now, there won't be many dull moments in Michelle's diary.

For a full review of Becoming by Michelle Obama, which is available in Irish book stores now, see the Review section in Saturday's Irish Independent.
Dan Fogler attending the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald UK premiere (Ian West/PA)

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald star Dan Fogler has said the film is a political fable that parallels the rise of fascism.

The actor, who plays Muggle Jacob Kowalski, said that the message about the ascent of divisive politics in the film both echoes history and resonates in modern society.

Fogler has said that the prequel to the Harry Potter franchise is more than just a fairy tale, and deals with intense material.

The American star spoke at the premiere of the second instalment of the Fantastic Beasts saga.

Expand Close Johnny Depp (left to right), Claudia Kim, Jude Law, Zoe Kravitz, Callum Turner, Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Eddie Redmayne, William Nadylam, Dan Fogler and JK Rowling attending the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald UK premiere (Ian West/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Johnny Depp (left to right), Claudia Kim, Jude Law, Zoe Kravitz, Callum Turner, Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Eddie Redmayne, William Nadylam, Dan Fogler and JK Rowling attending the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald UK premiere (Ian West/PA)

He said: Its a political fable, but its also like a grim fairy tale. Its the classic archetypal journey.

Its one of those kind of classic stories you would tell, a fairy tale. But on top of that is this very tangible story.

Woven into that is this definite political message in Grindelwald, its supposed to parallel the rise of fascism. It talks about very intense topics, like not being able to marry the person you want to marry.

A lot of these themes can be echoed and heard today, and resonate with people today.

Co-star Eddie Redmayne has also commented on the political parallels the film, written by JK Rowling, invites the audience to draw.

Video of the Day

He said the film reflects seismic changes in society, and urges people to engage with the world.

The film charts the ambitions of Johnny Depps villain Gellert Grindelwald for pure wizards to rule over non-magical creatures.
Not for nothing was Club 92 known as The Club Of Love - and really, when you had a mix of glossy tans, upturned polo collars, blonde GHD'd beauties, UCD freshers, unironic pop playlists and the odd slosh of tequila, what else could you expect?

For well over 30 years, Club 92 was an institution, so news of its imminent demise has left SoCoDu in mourning. Social media erupted in indignation, as well as a huge nostalgia deep-dive, when it was announced that the nightclub's big closing party will take place on Monday, December 31.

Even iconic (and fictional) Southsider Ross O'Carroll-Kelly has been shaken by the news, tweeting: "Club 92 is following Kielys and Renords into oblivion, and I don't know what to tell my children anymore."

Along with Wesley and Bondi, Club 92 was part of the holy trinity of SoCoDu 'rite of passage' clubs. It wouldn't be unusual at the peak of the Celtic Tiger to see Brian O'Driscoll, Denis Hickie or Damien Duff taking to the dance floor. Even Rosanna Davison was a regular: "I spent pretty much every Sunday night there back when I was in first year UCD in 2002-3," she says. "It was the best fun ever! I also met my husband (Wes Quirke) there for the first time."

Rosanna isn't alone in that regard. The iconic Leopardstown venue is responsible for a lot of fun times, flings and, according to its director Lisa Smith, a few engagements and marriages.

"I don't know where 'The Club Of Love' came from, but we took it and ran with it," smiles Lisa. "We ended up using that line ourselves."

Expand Close Former Miss Universe Ireland Lynn Kelly celebrates Club 92s 20th anniversary in 2009. Photo: Stuart McNamara / Mac Innes Photography / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Former Miss Universe Ireland Lynn Kelly celebrates Club 92s 20th anniversary in 2009. Photo: Stuart McNamara / Mac Innes Photography

Lisa, along with her brother Richard, were regular visitors to the club as teens - their entrepreneur father Des took over the nightclub Blinkers back in 1987 and turned it into Club 92.

He installed Tommy Mathews as resident DJ, who is still spinning tunes there to this day.

The vibe was designed to be unpretentious, with a non-snooty dance-floor policy - in the end, it was the young cohort of glossy, moneyed regulars that helped amp up the glamour quotient. Later, chart pop would be mixed up with grimy, sexy hip-hop; a formula that struck a chord with younger clubgoers.

"Part of the success had to do with good staff, who came along on their nights off to socialise," explains Lisa. "Our ethos was that we wanted to have a party-friendly venue that people could go to, get chatted up in and dance.

Expand Close Lisa Smith says the nightclub scene has changed a lot / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Lisa Smith says the nightclub scene has changed a lot

Video of the Day

"When I was younger, the age group was 40 and 50-year-olds, who would happily mix with 20 and 21-year-olds - the older clientele would go to the left in the door," adds Lisa. "Tommy would play anything he felt the crowds wanted, whether it was Michael Jackson or Wham!. In fact, we were one of the very few clubs in Dublin that still did a slow set, up until about eight years ago.

"In the last 10 years, things became a lot younger, with the clientele being mainly in their mid-20s."

Lisa notes that Club 92 has commercially had "a great last two years", but the club is closing due to the development of Leopardstown Racecourse: "We would have loved to continue the club, but for now, it's a question of going out as well as we can," she says.

Club 92 is just one casualty in an overall trend that has seen the might of the nightclub dwindle. Several clubs, among them the Twisted Pepper, Hangar, Redz, Tripod and Crawdaddy have all closed their doors to punters in recent years. It's a phenomenon that's not exclusive to Ireland: 2016 research from Mintel found that UK attendance in nightclubs fell by 23 per cent in the previous five years.

Part of Club 92's big draw was its neighbourhood feel. Meeting fellow locals there was very much a given. It was a choice night out for those who didn't want to make the trek into town, and fancied only a brief wobble/walk home by night's end.

These days, things are different. Getting in and out of the city centre has never been easier. Thanks to advances in technology, club goers can listen to their favourite tunes any day of the week. And these days most young people do their networking and dating online: in the post #MeToo era, flirting and hooking up in a nightclub is well, complicated.

Rob Browne is general manager of Tamango's club in Portmarnock. Like Club 92, it has long entered the lexicon of Dublin nightlife, and was often referred to as a Northside equivalent to Club 92.

"Years ago, some people didn't want to go into town in case they were refused [entry]," he says. "When people got fed up going to Tamangos, they'd go to Club 92, or you'd hear someone say, 'we can't go to Club 92, I kissed someone there last week and can't go back', so they'd come to us".

"The club industry has changed a lot - I think part of it is people drinking at home, then not coming into club nights until much later," observes Lisa. "Once upon a time, we'd open the doors at 11 and there would be a huge queue of people waiting to get in. Now, you're talking about people not hitting the clubs until at least 1am. Also, the city centre is more of a focal point these days, and social media has changed so much of our daily life," she adds. "You don't need to go to venues to meet people and fall in love anymore. It's all done online."

Adds Rob: "We've been trying new things every week, like bringing back over-30s nights. We have couples in their 40s and 50s coming who met here years ago, and those club nights have gone down a treat. They keep the venue going more than anything.

"I was really surprised to hear about Club 92 - it's an absolute institution. But the club scene has changed so much - you're up against festivals and concerts and all the rest."

In the last week, Lisa and Richard have been inundated with messages from club-goers keen on one last Club 92 hurrah.

"It's likely that our last night will have to be a first-come-first-served ticket situation," she says. "If all the people come along who have said they will, it's likely a lot of people will be bumping into those they haven't seen in 15 years."
The Maurice McCabe whistleblower scandal almost toppled the government, cost a Garda Commissioner his job and left the reputation of the force in tatters.

But rather than simply rehash these facts, Katie Hannons two-part chronicling of the affair wisely focused on the human story behind the often hard-to-believe headlines.

McCabe and his wife Lorraine were presented as ordinary people who, simply by trying to do what was right, had brought the full fury of the State down on their heads.

Left unsaid was the disquieting implication that, there but for the grace of angels, the rest of us might one day find ourselves.

Expand Close Maurice McCabe and his wife Lorraine / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Maurice McCabe and his wife Lorraine

The Garda Siochana, as expected, did not come out well. After the then-sergeant had protested over what he regarded as low policing standards in Bailieborough, Co Cavan, McCabe was taunted as a rat on social media and smeared as a child abuser.

Later, senior figures in the organisation brought the whispering campaign to the Dail. It was incredible to see the conspiracy against McCabe laid out so forensically and chilling to be reminded that, had he not recorded key conversations, or sought out sympathetic politicians, he would have been in all probability dismissed as a crank or worse.

The emphasis on McCabe as father and husband was important. His name has become one of the most recognisable in Ireland but to see the toll of what he and his family was gone through etched on his face, and on Lorraines, was shocking.

They had been to hell and back and Lorraine in episode one admitted that, in her husbands position, she would have walked away. McCabe, too, expressed regret at having ever taken on the Garda, portrayed here as a vipers pit sustained by a toxic cocktail of omerta, machismo and vindictiveness.

Its faint praise but the political establishment came out better than the police. John McGuinness, then chair of the Public Accounts Committee, seemed genuinely stunned as he recalled being physically pulled aside by gardai and fed innuendo about McCabe.

And whatever may be said about their wider policies on law and order, then Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin were prepared to hear McCabe out and, simply by doing so, give credence to his story.

Video of the Day

Whistleblower ultimately made for the worst sort of essentially viewing. It was riveting but only because it laid bare the secret history of a country that, by the end of the two hours, you barely recognised any more.
The wreckage of the Audi A6 on Killala Road in Co Mayo in which two died. Picture: Paul Mealey

Two communities were in mourning yesterday following a horrific crash that claimed the lives of two men.

The victims, named locally as Jack O'Hora (21) and Ricky Langdon (28), died after the car they were travelling in hit a tree in Co Mayo on Sunday night.

A third man, Declan Ferguson (29), was critically injured but was last night said to be in a stable condition in the local intensive care unit.

A Garda investigation into the incident, which happened along the Killala Road, Ballina, at around 11.15pm, was continuing last night.

Expand Close Ricky Langdon / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Ricky Langdon

Mr O'Hora, originally from nearby Castleconnor in Co Sligo, had been home visiting from the UK where he was a member of the British army.

The young man was well-known in his home parish of Ballina, where he is understood to have been staying while back in Ireland.

Expand Close Jack OHora / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Jack OHora

Mr Langdon, the driver of the car, was also well-known in Ballina.

The 28-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of Monday morning after the black Audi A6 vehicle he was driving crashed into the tree.

Expand Close Scene of fatal road crash on Killala Rd. Ballina, Co. Mayo (Photo: Doug O'Connor) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Scene of fatal road crash on Killala Rd. Ballina, Co. Mayo (Photo: Doug O'Connor)

Mr O'Hora was taken from the scene to Mayo General Hospital, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Mr Ferguson was understood to be in a stable condition.

Expand Close Scene of fatal road crash on Killala Rd. Ballina, Co. Mayo. (Photo: Doug O'Connor) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Scene of fatal road crash on Killala Rd. Ballina, Co. Mayo. (Photo: Doug O'Connor)

Locals yesterday expressed their shock at the tragic loss of life, and described how all three men were well-known within the locality.

Jack O'Hora played with the Castleconner GAA club just across the county border in Sligo, before moving abroad to serve in the British army. He is survived by his parents and three siblings.

Expand Close Scene of fatal road crash on Killala Rd. Ballina, Co. Mayo (Photo: Doug O'Connor) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Scene of fatal road crash on Killala Rd. Ballina, Co. Mayo (Photo: Doug O'Connor)

Last night, Castleconnor Racquetball Club extended its "sincere sympathies to the O'Hora family on the tragic passing of Jack". The message was posted on their club's Facebook page above a collage of images of Jack O'Hora.

Mr Langdon had worked in a local garage in recent years and came from a large family living in the area.

A relative yesterday paid tribute to him on social media, describing him as having "a heart of gold behind his smile".

Local councillor Gerry Ginty, who lives close to the scene of the fatal crash, described how friends of the two victims gathered at the scene when news of the tragedy emerged.

"A large crowd of teenagers and people in their 20s gathered at the scene in shock. It was a very bad sight, they were all in a terrible state," he said.

"The lads are from Ballina and come from well-respected families. My thoughts are with them all.

"My heart goes out to the poor mothers and fathers who were woken up to the horrible news," Mr Ginty said.

Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said the two deaths have affected the whole community.

"There aren't words to describe how the community feels. It's shocking in Ballina; people know each other well and when news starts to break through and people discover who the families of those involved are it effects everyone," he said.

The stretch of roadway where the crash happened was sealed off until late yesterday afternoon to allow for a forensic examination.

Shortly before 3pm, two trucks removed the main chassis of the car and a smaller section of the vehicle.

Ballina gardai are continuing their investigation into the crash and called for anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.

A spokesman said: "Gardai are renewing their appeal for witnesses after two men in their 20s were fatally injured following a road collision on Killala Road, Ballina, Co Mayo, on Sunday at approximately 11.15pm.

"Gardai are also appealing to the drivers of any vehicles that may have passed through the townland of Kilmoremoy close to the Costcutters Supermarket, between 10.20pm and 11.15pm, and who may have dash-cam footage, to contact Ballina garda station (096) 20560 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111."
A sports science college student has avoided jail after he admitted dealing drugs on the campus.

Cian Charlton (21) from Kilcun, Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo was caught with cocaine, Ketamine and MDMA when gardai raided his Dublin City University campus residence.

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the drugs for sale or supply at Hampstead House, Glasnevin, North Dublin on November 15 last year (2017).

Garda Keith Morris told the court that gardai raided the premises after receiving information about the presence of drugs on the campus. They found the drugs bagged up separately along with a weighing scales and a tick list of names and values.

The total estimated street value of all the drugs was 3,079.

Charlton ran from the scene but was caught. He initially told gardai that he had bought the drugs off the dark web and for his own use.

He later admitted that this was all lies but said he couldn't name the people who supplied the drugs. Garda Morris testified that he accepted Charlton was in fear of these people.

Charlton has no previous convictions and has not come to adverse garda attention since the seizure.

Judge Pauline Codd said that Charlton came from a very decent and very supportive family. She noted that his parents were in court and were visibly upset.

She said that Charlton had gone for counselling since the offending and had shown insight into the effects of drugs on others.

She suspended a one year prison sentence on condition he keep the peace for that period and that he completes a drug awareness course with the Probation Service.

The court heard that days after pleading guilty to the offences the university sanctioned the college student by suspending him from his course for the year.

James Dwyer SC, defending, said that that a college committee advised him to return to them next April with a portfolio of what he has done in the meantime.

Evidence

Charlton told gardai he did drugs himself because of his involvement in the DJ music scene. He said he was trying to save up for a holiday and that he thought dealing drugs would be a quick and easy way to make some money.

The court heard he became upset during garda interview when the seriousness of the situation he was in dawned on him.

Mr Dwyer said his client was something of a neophyte in Dublin, a world full of prospects and unexpected things that didn't present themselves in his rural background.

He said having grown up in a rural setting Charlton found himself exposed to a more glamorous and more hazardous lifestyle and was a young man out of his element.

Garda Morris agreed with counsel that Charlton came from a respectable and hard working family. He said he thought Charlton had learned from this offending.

His father Dennis Charlton told the court that he and his wife Geraldine were in court to support their son. He said his son had been very remorseful about his actions.

It's been very difficult. He has realised the pain it has caused everyone in the family, Mr Charlton said.

He added that he was proud of how his son has engaged with the college's internal disciplinary procedure and said his son had matured since the offending.
Gardai are to launch an investigation after a young teacher accused of defiling a teenage boy was photographed in court and the picture then circulated on social media.

The photo of the 24-year-old woman was allegedly taken by "either a journalist or a member of An Garda Siochana" as the teacher was sitting in the dock at Swords District Court.

Her solicitor, Emer O'Sullivan, applied for the photo to be ruled contempt of court.

However, Judge Dermot Dempsey said he could not make an order for contempt as it was not known who took the picture.

The photo was taken after the woman was charged with defiling a boy who was a student in her school at the time.

The judge had previously ruled the identity of the accused or any details that might identify the alleged victim could not be reported.

In her contempt of court application, Ms O'Sullivan said she did not know who had taken the photo. However, from the angle of the picture, it was taken either by a "journalist or a member of An Garda Siochana".

State solicitor Michael Durkan said the identity of the taker of the photo was required for a contempt issue.

Ms O'Sullivan said the accused's parents had called at a Garda station, and made a complaint about the photo.

However, gardai said the parents had not made a formal complaint. Judge Dempsey said a formal complaint would have to be made by the accused and her parents.

The accused is next due to appear before the Swords court next month. It is alleged she engaged in a sex act with a child under the age of 17 last February 1 and February 13.
A number of Irish criminals based in the UK have returned to Ireland in recent days as a gangland feud in Drogheda continues to escalate.

The returning criminals are thought to have close links to Owen Maguire (34), who was shots six times at a halting site in July, and have returned to reinforce a gang associated with him.

Mr Maguire has remained in hospital since the attack four months ago. However, his associates are locked in a continuing feud with another gang thought to be behind the attack on Mr Maguire.

On Sunday night, a 22-year-old man with links to the Maguire faction was kidnapped, stripped and stabbed.

It is now feared tensions will continue to mount following the return of the individuals from the UK.

The feud has spiralled out of control in recent days, leading to the cancellation of all annual Garda leave in the Louth division with an all hands on deck approach to the crisis now being taken.

In the latest incident, a petrol bomb was thrown at a vacant house on the Rathmullen Road in the town at 8pm on Monday.

It is thought this attack was carried out by associates of the Maguire criminal gang.

There has been a huge increase in armed patrols in Drogheda, and the armed Regional Support Unit (RSU) is currently being deployed in the area on a 24-hour basis.

It can also be revealed that associates of Owen Maguire are understood to have offered 60,000 for the murder of their main rival in the bitter dispute, a 23-year-old drug dealer from the Moneymore estate. It was a car owned by this young criminals girlfriend which was targeted on Sunday afternoon, when a viable explosive device was placed in the exhaust pipe of the vehicle, leading to a major security alert.

Meanwhile, four of five men arrested late on Sunday in relation to the brutal kidnap and savage assault of a 22-year-old have been released without charge from Drogheda and Dundalk garda stations last night. A file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

They include a teenager, three men aged in their 20s and a man in his 40s. A father and son are among the five being quizzed for false imprisonment and assault.

They blamed the victim, who is originally from Dundalk and has loose links to the Maguire faction, for causing an explosion in the troubled Moneymore estate at around 9pm on Sunday when a Renault Megane filled with gas cylinders was set alight. He was abducted shortly after by a group of men who have links to the anti-Maguire faction and brought to a nearby house where he was brutally tortured.

Armed gardai saved the young mans life when they stormed the house to find him stripped naked in a bath.

He was bleeding heavily after being stabbed more than half-a-dozen times in the face, neck and torso, and gardai believe he was about to be murdered before they intervened. Its understood a gun was placed in the victims mouth during the ordeal. The gun was not recovered. The victim remained in a stable condition in hospital last night.

Searches at the halting site where Owen Maguire was shot in July ended yesterday with a mechanical digger being used to try to find stolen property, drugs and cash. However, nothing of significance was recovered.

The explosion in gang violence on Sunday happened as the tit-for-tat feud escalated in recent days with six separate attacks taking place between Thursday night and Friday.

Those incidents included four petrol bomb attacks and an assault on a teenager with a hatchet in the town.

There have been dozens of incidents of criminal damage causing hundreds of thousands of euro of damage as well as a number of special Garda interventions that prevented murder since the feud kicked off more than four months ago.
GPs who are to receive a fee of 450 for medical abortions are likely to only see two to three women requesting the service annually.

The fee will cover three visits by a woman who attends for a medical abortion from next year.

The fee, which it is understood will be announced today, will be seen as reasonable by doctors given the time and responsibility involved in the service.

But it is unclear if it will be enough of an incentive to attract doctors who will not offer the service due to workload concerns and worries about protests outside their surgeries.

It was described as "fair and reflective of the workload" by Dr Mary Favier, vice president of the Irish College of General Practitioners, yesterday.

A woman will be entitled to three visits, including an initial consultation where she can request the medical abortion and undergo an examination.

If the abortion is certified she will return for a second visit and be administered the first medication, mifepristone, in the surgery.

The woman will be given the second medical, misoprostol, to take at home.

A third visit will also be free for a follow-up, although a woman may not choose to attend and can speak to her doctor over the phone.

Further talks are to take place today between health officials and the Irish Medical Organisation on the fees and other resources needed to make the expanded service operational from January.

Dr Favier said it is likely that there would be "two to three" medical abortions per doctor.

The likelihood is that one doctor in a practice of four GPs would be designated to provide the service.

She said they had been assured that GPs would have access to ultrasound where needed.

This will involve contracting the service to private scan providers with a view to eventually moving it into public hospitals.

Dr Favier said the provision of a 24-hour phone line which a woman can contact is a "red-line" issue for GPs.
GPs are to receive a written request to provide medical abortions from January following an agreement on fees of 450.

The service will be free to women and will entitle them to three visits to the GP as well as access to medication.

Health Minister Simon Harris announced tonight that agreement had been reached on the contract for the service with the Irish Medical Organisation.

GPs will be asked to opt in but they are not obliged to provide the medical abortions.

They will get 150 for a first visit when a woman can request an termination and undergo a medical examination.

The woman may need to be referred to a maternity hospital if her pregnancy is over nine weeks or other complications which might arise.

However, if she continues in the care of the GP the full fee to the doctor will be 450.

This would involve three visits in all, with the third visit for follow up.

Minister Harris said: "The agreement of this contract is a significant step in the detailed preparations for the introduction of termination of pregnancy services at the beginning of January. It enables the HSE to offer the contract in sufficient time for doctors to consider its terms and, if they wish to take up the contract, to advise the HSE of this. I would like to acknowledge the constructive engagement by the IMO on this sensitive issue.

GPs can provide unrestricted abortion up to nine weeks of pregnancy.

A woman who is between nine and twelve weeks pregnant will be referred to a maternity hospital for a medical abortion.

He said: In coming days the HSE will write to medical practitioners working in community settings, inviting expressions of interest in providing the service.

Medical practitioners expressing an interest will be provided with a copy of the contract.

It is intended that those interested in providing the service would return the signed copy of the contract to the HSE by early December so that services can commence from the beginning of January. 

Dr Padraig McGarry, Chair of the IMO GP Committee said: During these negotiations we sought to protect the rights of all our members in terms of the delivery of the service. It was necessary to conclude the negotiations at this time so as to ensure each GP has the opportunity and time to consider the contractual terms and workload before the proposed implementation date of 1st January.

"It has been agreed between the parties that should there be any amendments to the legislation before the Dail that will impact in any way on the operation or terms of the contract these will be agreed with the IMO and implemented before the proposed start date of the service in January."
Its not fair: Bernie OReilly (left )is battling to get sufficient care for her mother June, who recently lost both her legs to diabetes and is also blind. Photo: Arthur Carron.

Full-time carer Bernie O'Reilly says she's at her "wits' end" trying to care for her aging mother, who is blind and a double-leg amputee.

Since leaving St Vincent's Hospital last week, the HSE has provided 79-year-old Dublin-native June with just 30 minutes of homecare each day.

Ms O'Reilly told RTE's 'Liveline' yesterday that the limited support her mother is receiving is an insult to a woman "who has worked all her life".

"I've had no choice but to leave my husband and daughter so I can give my mum the care she needs and deserves in her own home," she told the Irish Independent.

"This is a woman who has worked all her life and now, at a time when she needs help, it just isn't there.

"I'm so distressed and worn out, but at the same time I refuse to put her into a nursing home, which is my mother's biggest fear."

The 79-year-old spent six months in St Vincent's Hospital, where she had both her legs amputated due to diabetic-related complications.

She is also registered as blind and a breast cancer survivor.

Ms O'Reilly said it's not fair that the HSE is depending on family members to care for elderly people, without providing adequate support.

"It's not fair that they're blaming elderly people for taking up hospital beds," she said.

"My mother could have left hospital two months ago, but didn't as we couldn't secure proper homecare for her.

"But having said that she was looked after extremely well in St Vincent's and the doctors and nurses did everything they could despite their limited resources.

"I think it's a national disgrace that so many elderly people are being ignored by the State. The Government needs to do so much more and treat OAPs with respect.

"They say the economy is improving and that everyone is benefiting, but it's definitely not being felt with regards to home carers.

"I don't know what's going to happen with my mum now because I really can't look after her, with just 30 minutes of help each day."

Terrified

Ms O'Reilly said that the two carers that come into her home each day do a "fantastic job".

"They're great and they get along so well with mum," she said. "They even feel like it's a shame that they can only spend 30 minutes with her, knowing full well that it's not enough.

"June has had three falls since she moved back home and, to be honest, it terrified me.

"Thankfully, I managed to get her up and she wasn't hurt, but I'm afraid she's going to seriously injure herself if she doesn't get the care she needs," she said.
The incident happened in Ringsend this morning

Dockland workers were sent home this morning after a man was killed in a freak accident involving a container.

The man, understood to be a Filipino national, died after a container collapsed on top of him at Southbank Quay, Ringsend in Dublin.

Gardai and emergency services were called to the scene at 8.45am, but could not save the mans life.

A garda spokesperson said an examination of the scene was carried out and enquires are ongoing.

The Health and Safety Authority confirmed it has begun an investigation and the local coroner notified.

The authorities are now in the process of contacting the mans family in the Philippines.

A source told Independent.ie that the worker was lashing and securing multiple containers together on the dock when the accident happened.

Its understood he was working on a ship as a seafarer prior to this and that there were over 30 people on the site at the time.

SIPTUs ports, docks and harbour organiser Jerry Brennan told Independent.ie that this accident could have been avoided.

This was a horrific incident. Working in the docklands is a dangerous work environment. The activity that the poor man was involved in was unregulated.

There needs a European standard if not a global standard put in place to ensure that people are not put at risk.

The seafarers have already put in their day's work so whenever they come into port they should be resting and not dealing with containers.

Lashing and securing should be done by dock workers who are familiar with the crane driver, it shouldn't be done by seafarers.

Mr Brennan extended his condolences to the mans family and loved ones.
Raid: CAB officers and gardai at the scene of the search in Co Meath

Properties belonging to a major organised crime gang were without electricity last night following a major Garda raid on their compound in Co Meath.

The raid was one of a number of searches led by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and supported by 80 gardai.

The gang - made up of members from the Travelling community - is also suspected of having strong ties to the Kinahan cartel.

Yesterday, officers seized three cars, 2,500 of drugs, 1,500 cash, computers, stolen property, phones, an air rifle, jewellery and documentation.

When officers mounted the raid early yesterday, they suspected that three houses within the compound were illegally connected to the ESB network. Staff from the ESB attended the scene, confirmed the properties were illegally connected before making the unauthorised connection safe.

It was subsequently discovered that the cables used in the illegal connection were also stolen. A Garda spokesperson confirmed: "An investigation is being conducted into the theft of electricity from the national grid."

The criminal gang is suspected of making up to 1m from cash-in-transit robberies in the capital between 2013 and 2016.

It is also involved in large-scale heavily organised theft, fraud, money-laundering and burglary offences.

It is also believed they are involved in a multi-million euro international car-theft ring in which vehicles that are being stolen to order across Ireland are shipped out of the country.

In total, five homes in the Ashbourne and Navan areas were searched yesterday morning, along with two professional offices in Dublin.

"The CAB investigation centres on an organised crime gang made up of members of a family based in Co Meath, who are involved in drugs, theft and fraud," a Garda spokesman said.
One of the images released by South African Police service

Police in South Africa investigating the murder of an Irish aid worker have released CCTV images in connection with the incident.

The South African Police Service are appealing for anyone with information about the man in the pictures to get in touch.

RT#sapsWC Cape Town Central Detectives seek the assistance in identifying person showned in the attached photos regarding murder case. Anyone with info that will lead to his arrest, can contact WO Shaun Bardien: 021 467 6320/8001 or 073 220 0653. TMhttps://t.co/XiMAD9wLAG pic.twitter.com/bo56fxEJW5  SA Police Service (@SAPoliceService) November 13, 2018

Retired school principal John Curran was discovered with multiple stab wounds at around 10.30am last Wednesday in the Cape Town property where he had been staying for the past two months.

Mr Curran (60) previously lived in Churchtown, south Dublin, where he worked as a principal, before moving to South Africa to work with the Mellon Educate charity.

Investigators confirmed that they are treating his death as a murder and no arrests have yet been made.

A phone belonging to Mr Curran is missing and detectives are now probing if the dedicated charity worker was murdered during a robbery at the property where he was staying.

Expand Close John Curran had held a senior position for the Mellon Educate charity in Cape Town / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp John Curran had held a senior position for the Mellon Educate charity in Cape Town

On Tuesday, police released four images appealing for the public's assistance in the murder investigation.

"We need help from the public in identifying this person," Captain FC Van Wyk told Independent.ie.

The public appeal, which included the CCTV photos, encouraged anyone with information to come forward to South African police.

"Cape Town Central Detectives seek the assistance of the public in identifying the person depicted in the attached photos.

"If you know the whereabouts of the person in the attached pictures, or can assist with information that will lead to his arrest, kindly contact Detective Warrant Officer Shaun Bardien on 021 467 6320, 021 467 8001 or 073 220 0653 of Cape Town Central police, as he might be able to assist in the investigation of a murder case. Alternatively Crime Stop can be contacted on 08600 10111."
ALMOST 400 women staged a march to Cork Courthouse where underwear was symbolically laid on the court steps in protest at comments passed at a rape trial over the fact a female teenage complainant was wearing a lace thong.

Protesters marched from Cork city centre to the Anglesea Courthouse to demand judicial reform over sexual assault cases as well as better training for barristers to avoid potential 'victim blaming'.

The protest - launched on St Patrick Street - was organised in response to the outrage over comments passed in a Central Criminal Court rape trial where the fact a 17 year old complainant was wearing a thong was cited by a defence counsel to the jury.

One protester carried a placard, complete with attached underwear, warning that: "My knickers is not my consent."

The demonstration was organised after concern was expressed by sexual violence and rape victim support networks over the closing argument comments in a rape case where the senior counsel defending a 27 year old accused passed remarks about the fact the 17 year old complainant was wearing a thong.

Elizabeth O'Connell SC asked the jury to reflect while deliberating on their verdict on the specific type of underwear worn by the teenage girl at the time.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Dr Ruth Brennan,Dublin in OConnell St at the Protest agaist the wearing of Underwear can lead to Rape. Aine OGorman,Tipperary in OConnell St at the Protest agaist the wearing of Underwear can lead to Rape. John Cutler and Evelyn Suttle from Dublin in OConnell St at the Protest agaist the wearing of Underwear can lead to Rape. Protesters in OConnell St at the Protest agaist the wearing of Underwear can lead to Rape. Katie Riley,Sarah Keogh,Deirdre Lynam and Sebastian Dooris all from Dublin in OConnell St at the Protest agaist the wearing of Underwear can lead to Rape. 14/11/2018 Brid Smith TD during a protest at the Spire, Dublin to end victim blaming in the courts in response to a barrister's comment about a 17-year-old woman's underwear made during a rape trial. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp

"Does the evidence out rule the possibility that she was attracted to the defendant and was open to meeting someone and being with someone," she asked?

"You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front."

Read More

The jury of eight men and four women then took just 90 minutes of deliberation last week to reach their unanimous not guilty verdict last week.

However, the reference to the complainant's underwear sparked concerns from both the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and Sexual Violence Ireland.

Protester and Cork mother of two Jackie Foley from Ballyvolane warned that there can be no place for "victim blaming or victim shaming" in the Irish judicial system.

"The message that is being sent out from repeated cases like this is that women should be somehow ashamed of what they wear," she said.

Jackie also warned that the gender of the barrister who passed the remark is immaterial.

"It is the comment that matters not the gender of the person who made it," she said.

Maidy O'Brien from Skibbereen said she was supporting the protest because there should be no evidential link between what a person is wearing and the potential motivation for a criminal act.

"It is totally irrelevant," she said.

"We need to reform the entire area of the law. Gender quality and rights are something that need to be protected," she said.

Siobhan Thomas from Cork city warned her concern was that the controversy over the rape trial comments might dissuade other women from reporting incidents of sexual violence.

"The conviction rate for crimes of sexual violence is already very, very low," she said.

"My fear is that this might persuade other people as a result not to come forward and report what they have suffered."

The head of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre Noeline Blackwell hit out at the use of what she deemed "rape stereotypes" in trials.

Cliona Sadlier of Rape Crisis Network Ireland said there was already training available for barristers about the use of such language.

She said such language effectively appealed to misogynistic stereotypes and should have no part in trial proceedings.

Ms Sadlier admitted she was "very surprised" by the comments made.

A full review of the legal area involved is now underway by Prof Tom O'Malley, one of Ireland's top legal experts.

The protest was organised by the Rosa Socialist Feminist Movement in Cork to express their anger at the contents of the trial closing argument.

Cork Solidarity's Councillor Fiona Ryan said clear action needs to be taken in relation to the language used in courts.

"This is just what one example of what is everyday in cases of (alleged) sexual violence where your clothes where your clothes, your manner, which has nothing to do with sexual violence can be used as evidence against you....can be used as evidence of consent," she said.

"I was inundated over the weekend with people outraged and with people wanting to show their anger."

The Rosa movement in Cork says so-called victim blaming is unfortunately a a common tactic used in sexual violence cases before the courts.

"The judiciary has proven itself time and time again to be utterly damaging to survivors of sexual violence," she said.

Meanwhile, protesters also lined the streets around the Spire in Dublin this afternoon with posters and lacy underwear as a demonstration.

Members of the National Womens Council of Ireland (NWCI) and TD Ruth Coppinger join the OConnell Street crowd.

Members of the public hung various forms of underwear onto a make-do line between two trees near the Spire, with many carrying posters to demonstrate their support.

The Dublin rally was organised by Ms Coppinger alongside ROSA (Reproductive rights, against Oppression, Sexism & Austerity).

We wanted to put a call out to end victim blaming. Obviously in the courts, the idea that a persons underwear being used by a defence barrister as some indication of their intentions, is absolutely despicable, Rita Harrold, an organiser with ROSA said.

This culture that tells us we have to keep ourselves safe, we have to wear conservative clothes, we cant go to certain places, is a culture that tolerates rape and blames victims, and we wont take it anymore.

Speaking at the event, Tara Brown from the NWCI said that discussions about underwear has no place in Irish courts or in determining consent.

Today we stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault, who are being grievously failed by our criminal justice system. The type of clothes a victim was wearing has no place in our criminal justice system, and it had no place in determining what is consent.

We have a responsibility to create a safe system for survivors of sexual assault, and we are repeatedly shown that we are a long way from achieving a victim-centered prosecutory system.

Members of the public said they decided to attend in hopes of bringing along change and to show their support.

We wanted to show our support, that what you wear doesnt give permission for people to do what they want to you, Evelyn Suttle from Dublin said.

It doesnt seem like anything is changing and the more we talk about it, the more other people talk about it so maybe someday things will change," said Deirdre Lynam.

Ms Coppinger, who yesterday brought a thong into the Dail, added that she would like to see a larger event taking place for International Womens Day next year.

I call on everybody whos angry about this, and quite rightly, all of us who voted and campaigned for Repeal, and anyone who wants to end inequality, let's build for a massive International Womens Day in 2019.

Lets bring me too onto the streets.

Speaking in the Dail yesterday, the Dublin-West TD claimed the Dail  hasnt taken sexual assault and harassment any way serious enough.

The women of this country are getting a little weary at the routine victim-blaming that is going in Irish courts, and the failure of law-makers in this House to do anything about it, Ms Coppinger added
Young garda Martin Hopkins, whose family highlighted his battle against pancreatic cancer, died peacefully surrounded by his loved ones yesterday.

The garda sergeant, from Clonmel in Tipperary, passed away at Cork's Marymount hospice.

His wife Karen only this week spoke to the Irish Independent of the devastating impact of the disease, in the hope of stressing the need for more treatments.

She was by his side.

The couple have three young children but their world was shattered in July 2017 when Martin was diagnosed with the deadly cancer, aged just 39.

Karen said that while she wanted peace for her husband, she was not at peace with how pancreatic cancer ravaged a healthy young man, leaving so few options.
The much-anticipated John Lewis Christmas advert has landed and speculation about Elton John's involvement has proven to be accurate as the ad charts his career right back to childhood and the gift of a piano on Christmas morning.

As usual, the brand's 90-second magnum opus has us weeping fat, salty tears all over our keyboards.

John Lewis has cornered the Christmas advertising market in recent years with a winning formula of emotive storytelling, stirring soundtracks and button-nosed children. The department store has been making epic Christmas ads since 2007, but it wasn't until 2011 that they tugged on our heart strings with 'The Long Wait' - a story about a little boy counting down the days until Christmas, set against the maudlin lyrics of The Smiths' song 'Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want'.

There was a time when Coca-Cola's twinkling 'Holidays Are Coming' truck owned the festive advertising space. Nowadays, thanks to the John Lewis Effect, we expect heart-swelling, spirit-soaring masterpieces by Oscar-winning directors.

This year's offering from Sainbury's, directed by The Greatest Showman's Michael Gracey, depicts a young girl who suffers a brief moment of shyness when she takes centre stage during her school play. A reassuring nod from her mother gives her the confidence to belt out 'You Only Get What You Give' by the New Radicals and stun the audience of proud parents.

The Iceland Christmas advert - voiced by actress Emma Thompson and originally made by environmental campaign group Greenpeace - features a baby orangutan telling a little girl how his home, the rainforest, has been destroyed by humans harvesting palm oil. The ad has been viewed over three million times on YouTube but never made it to TV screens after it was banned on grounds of political advertising.

They're both clear attempts to win the hearts of the nation but, so far, nothing has touched the heart-wrenching pathos of John Lewis's 2016 Man on the Moon advert; German supermarket Edeka's 2015 advert about a grandfather who fakes his own death to get his busy adult children to convene for the festive period or the gorgeous 2015 Spanish Christmas lottery advert that had echoes of Disney's Up and a piano backdrop of Ludovico Einaudi's 'Nuvole Bianche' to boot.

As for the Sainbury's Christmas advert which depicted the Christmas truce of 1914? The line "Mein Name ist Otto" still makes me weep...

Thanks to John Lewis, brands are no longer promoting their Christmas catalogues with a glitter-strewn extravaganza of conspicuous consumption. Ten years ago, it was the norm to engage festive shoppers with fantasy and escapism. Nowadays, it's all about building an emotional connection.

Brands are now positioning themselves as social crusaders, moral guardians and champions of family values. They still want us to buy the luxury handbags and the fancy cufflinks, but they'd prefer to use the softly, softly approach to get us there. You could argue it's a form of emotional blackmail.

What's much more interesting, however, is just how receptive we are to Christmas 'sadvertising'. There has always been a nostalgic, melancholic tinge to the festive season and it seems we're only too happy to have been given an outlet for Christmas-time catharsis, even if it's courtesy of the people who are trying to get us to buy perfumes and sock sets.

Our inner cynics should really step in and protect us from these blatant attempts to melt our hearts and empty our pockets, but it seems our inner softies have taken over. Sure, we know deep down that the creators of these adverts are only interested in the bottom line, but still we go along with the charade of the romanticised festive season during a period that is undeniably stressful and, for others, unimaginably painful.

Ultimately, Christmas adverts help us resolve the things that we find difficult to articulate at this time of year: the simmering tension, the inexplicable sadness and the disillusionment with rampant consumerism.

It helps of course that these adverts only last a minute or so. In an instant-gratification economy we expect everything on demand - even emotional release.
Car value expert Gillian Keogh teams up with Motoring Editor Eddie Cunningham to help you make the right choice with your next purchase. Gillian is Editor of a monthly guidebook on the values of used cars produced by the Motor Trade Publishers team. The team supplies a car valuing service to the motor trade, insurance companies and finance houses

I need a handy runaround car for myself and my seven-year old daughter. It needs to be fresh with not too big an engine - maximum 1.6litre. My budget is small at 7k.

What do you suggest? I only do school run and local mileage around Dublin. Has to be reliable and not cost a fortune to maintain. Can be a 2dr.

Only problem is the seven-year-old daughter is opinionated on everything, so what would have a bit of cred? I like the Peugeot 208, 308, Renault Clio etc.

Gillian: Superminis are the best. The choice is huge and there really are no bad options, so long as you buy a car with a good history from a reputable dealer offering suitable warranty.

I also have an opinionated seven-year-old daughter, so I understand your situation. My first choice is a MINI. I mean, how cool is that for the school run? I ran it by my kid and she said I was too old, so if you are too old like me, let's go back to your favourites.

I like the Clio. Your 7k will get you into the nicer-shaped 131 in Dynamique spec. In the right colour, these are super cars.

The 208 is similar on money and engine size, with both being a 1.2 petrol. I would opt for the 3dr version of the 208 because it has a sportier look. The Clio only has a 5dr, but I prefer its styling.

The Ford Fiesta can be fun and value for money, but you may have to stretch to get a 131 in budget. A firm favourite of mine is the Mazda2. It's a little pricier than the others, so you may need to go for a 2012, but reliability isn't a question.

Eddie: I'd also consider chasing down a Volkswagen Beetle (most likely 1.4-litre). A 131 model will leave you with money to spare on your budget. How cool would that be? Just bear in mind it is a 2dr and there were not that many bought, but it should amply meet your daughter's requirements for street cred.

After driving a Mercedes E-Class for more than 30 years, I am changing down in the new year - due to my age (79), small local mileage and the fact that there is just the two of us.

My car needs in early 2019 will be automatic, petrol, good-sized cabin, good headroom (I am 6ft 4ins), high seating (my wife has a hip problem) and the car to be six to 10 years old.

Gillian: I think you should look for options at the six-year-old end of the range. Ten years is getting you into wear and tear costs and annual NCTs.

First choice is the Skoda Yeti, 10-reg to 172-reg as a 1.2 petrol in automatic (DSG). It has plenty of leg and headroom and a higher than normal ride height for your wife. A six-year-old in the new year will set you back around 10k.

Another worth thinking of is the Mercedes B-Class. Only problem is they mainly sold as manual diesels.

Finding a petrol automatic for your requirements is tricky as most of the vehicles sold from 2008 to 2016 were diesel.

Eddie: This is a difficult mix of requirements. Gillian and I have scratched our heads. There is no point in sending you off looking for obscure cars such as the petrol Ford B-MAX. I think the petrol Yeti is a good bet. Indeed, I think it is your best bet.

I have an Audi A4 161 2.0 TDI with 42,000km. I do 13,000km a year. Car required for two adults (me and my wife) and two small kids (two-year-old and two-month-old).

The car is not driven much during the week as we both commute on train (living in Dublin), but we do long spins north and south every few weeks. Boot space is tight in the Audi when packing pram/buggy and baggage.

Our budget is around 10k. We'd like a car with a strong trade-in value in two to three years' time. Looked at new Volvo V60, but it may be too expensive new.

Gillian: The good news in you have a great car as a trade-in or to sell privately. It's an Audi A4 and the low mileage will appeal to a lot of buyers. Along with your 10k, you are looking at a full budget of around 32k, depending on spec etc.

The current Volvo V60 starts at 40,750, so it's out of range. You might find a 181-reg to suit in the new year.

How about looking at an SUV rather than an estate? I'd highly recommend the Peugeot 3008 or 5008. Both come with petrol and diesel versions and a petrol may be the way for you to go.

You could aim for a high spec model in the 3008 and it will certainly fit the buggy with baggage.

Ford has a price reduction across its range, so perhaps look at the Kuga. If you do have your heart set on an estate, a new Skoda Superb Combi is in budget, as is a Volkswagen Passat. The new Opel Insignia Sport Tourer might offer you some more options too.

Eddie: I think you should stick with an estate and if you do it would be a Skoda Superb Combi for me.

I have a 12-reg Audi TT Quattro diesel and am looking to change to a 4dr. I currently drive 12,500km per year, but this will increase to around 20,000km from next year. I want something stylish and with power.

What fuel type would you recommend? My husband wants me to think eco/plug-in hybrid.

I will need to finance the majority of what it will cost over the value of my current car (which I own outright), but I would like to finance no more than 15k.

Gillian: Coming out of a niche car is difficult. Your proposed annual driving suits petrol, diesel or hybrid/plug-in hybrid, but if you want the latter be aware that your choices are limited, especially if you want style and power.

A BMW 330e or VW Passat GTE would be a good start. Both should fit your budget for a 17-reg plate and satisfy your wish for power. For me, the 330e has the edge - mostly for styling.

If you decide that PHEV isn't for you, how about going for an Audi A5? The only thing is you might only come up three or four years from the TT for that extra 15k into a 15/16-reg. Or maybe try an Audi A4.

Eddie: I'd simply move into as new an A4 diesel as I possibly could. I think the chances are you'll do more than 20,000km from next year and that is diesel territory.

You're going to get a super fresh car and stay with the brand. I advocate the latter where possible because you'll likely get a better deal from a same-brand outlet. And I think that I'd trade in rather than try to sell privately. The Audi A4 it is for you, I think.

I drive a 2008 Honda Accord. It has served me well for years, but now that I'm married with two small kids I'm looking to buy an SUV for the space.

I have a daily 22km work commute on country roads and then some occasional longer family trips.

A one or two-year old Mazda CX-5 has been in my head, but lately I've been worried about future penalties that may be applied to diesel cars, both in fuel price and future resale values.

I've begun to contemplate a 2019 Toyota RAV4 hybrid on PCP. Am I mad?

My budget is around 25k (I would be borrowing 20,000 of it). Thanks for your help.

Gillian: A new Toyota RAV4 hybrid won't fit your budget, but a used one (since 161) is an option and a good one. If you want to go for a 191, the Mazda CX-5 is more affordable, starting at 28,995 for the 2.0 petrol and 31,495 for the 2.2 diesel.

I understand your concerns about diesel, but the SUV market is strong and both the RAV4 and CX-5 have always held high residual values, so I would not be concerned about buying either. I would also suggest you also look at the new Honda CR-V. The 1.5 turbo petrol engine pumps 173hp, which is a lot of power for your money.

Eddie: I don't think you should have to spend so much on a diesel SUV. Your mileage looks tiny, so why spend more on a diesel when you don't need to ?

Also remember that an SUV doesn't necessarily mean more space. There is a false perception in many cases that it does.

I think you'd be mad to spend money on a diesel, so I'm going to suggest that you look at a Toyota Prius hybrid.

It has loads of room, especially in the back and in the boot, and is just the fit for the sort of driving you're talking about.

However, if you decide you're going for an SUV, the Mazda CX-5 would be my pick. Great car (sorry SUV).

Help us help you

We love getting your enquiries and we try to reply to as many as possible here or via email. The ones dealt with here often represent a cross-section of individual questions. You can help us help you with our free, independent advice by including the following in your queries:

* Budget (including trade-in).

* Annual mileage (in kms).

* Size of car required (the number of seats).

* Present car (make, model, year and mileage) if relevant.

ecunningham@independent.ie
Ready to binge-fly? Surf Air, which offers unlimited air travel to members, is set to launch operations in Europe.

Since it launched in California in 2013, the airline has been dubbed the 'Netflix of air travel' thanks to its all-you-can-fly model - offering members the facility to skip queues and travel flexibly on swanky executive jets.

Passengers pay a monthly fee of 3,200 for the privilege, however.

Surf Air will launch its European operations with flights between London Luton, Cannes, Geneva and Zurich on a daily basis from October onwards.



Weekend flights to the likes of Ibiza will also be offered, with destinations like Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona set to be introduced in 2017, the airline says.

Expand Close Surf Air interior / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Surf Air interior

Private jet hire is widely available throughout Europe, but Surf Air's model disrupts the norm by allowing members 'Uber'-style unlimited air travel.

The booking process takes 30 seconds or less via its app, it says.

In the US, Surf Air has 3,000 members, and operates up to 90 daily flights from dedicated air terminals with valet parking and free Wi-Fi.



The whole aim of Surf Air is to combine simplicity and convenience, giving business and leisure travellers across Europe a fresh, new way to fly that saves valuable time, said Simon Talling-Smith, CEO of Surf Air in Europe.

In the US, members can arrive as late as 15 minutes before take-off - and they don't have to deal with baggage or flight cancellation fees either.



Read more:
US President Donald Trump is back in the United States - and back to attacking democracy. He tweeted: "Florida election should be called in favour of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible - ballots massively infected. Must go with election night!"

We should note that this is the talk of authoritarians. It shows contempt for the office of the president, whom the constitution designates "to take care" that the nation's laws are faithfully executed. It's also a frightful peek at what he might do in 2020 should the vote not go his way.

Mr Trump's appointment of an unqualified, radical political hack, Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general likewise shows his disdain for the rule of law and proclivity to impede or even crush the Russia probe. We should be worried he is spoiling for a constitutional crisis which can rally his base.

Mr Trump's decision to revoke the press pass for CNN's Jim Acosta is a blatant violation of the First Amendment. Once more, the US President violates his oath to preserve and protect the constitution.

Combined with evidence of obstruction of justice and evidence he directed Michael Cohen to violate campaign finance rules, these new actions would be ample grounds for impeachment. However, observe the deafening silence of Republicans - indeed, their noxious attempts to join in calls to foreclose a legally mandated recount.

While impeachment in a Democratic House would be both justified and doable, removal by the GOP-controlled Senate would not be remotely possible.

This does not mean the actions should be ignored. On the contrary, congressional oversight should expose the president's wrongdoing, and the House should certainly sanction him for it. Special counsel Robert Mueller's report should provide avenues for prosecution after Mr Trump leaves office. However, from a political perspective, Democrats should keep in mind their audience - voters in all those House districts they took back, in the Rust Belt and upper Midwest, where they prevailed in governor and Senate races, in states whose GOP senators are on the ballot in 2020, and every region and demographic group with persuadable Americans.

They must hammer away at the simple proposition that Mr Trump is unfit to govern and that Republicans who are too afraid to stand up to him cannot be trusted with power. Meanwhile, the press and the country at large should keep in mind that he acts out when he is weak, humiliated and cornered. He's all those things right now:

:: His performance in Europe was panned;

:: The election results get worse for Republicans with each passing day;

:: His North Korea diplomacy, contrary to gullible pundits and spinners, was a bust (he was snookered);

:: We now have two major Middle East problems, Iran and out-of-control Sunni despots who think, not unreasonably, they can lead him around by the nose;

:: Mueller ploughs ahead, with possibly more indictments, for example Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr;

:: Mr Trump's finances are no longer protected from scrutiny, nor are his daughter's and son-in-law's.

In sum, we should continue to tally Mr Trump's constitutional offences just as we keep a running count of his lies. ( Washington Post)
It took all of 29 months since the Brexit referendum to get this far. Now things may finally move - but that might not be in the direction Theresa May would like as cabinet and parliament endorsement for "her deal" is uncertain.

But let's look now at what happens next and why.

At 2pm today, Mrs May's cabinet, with up to nine ministers doubtful about this 'Withdrawal Agreement', will gather in London. UK cabinet approval is hurdle number one.

Later today, in Brussels, the EU ambassadors from the 27 member states, including Irish Ambassador Declan Kelleher, will gather to hear fullest details of the agreement. This will prepare for a potential meeting of EU foreign ministers, including Tanaiste Simon Coveney, next Monday.

That would prepare the ground for a special EU leaders' summit, possibly on Sunday week, November 25. In theory the deal needs a so-called "super majority", requiring 20 of the remaining 27 member states representing 65pc of the population.

In practice the EU leaders will expect unanimity, maintaining what has been an impressive display of unity since British voters chose Brexit on June 23, 2016.

Countries with close trading relationships with the UK will closely scrutinise guarantees on state aid rules, environment, social sectors and access to UK fishery waters.

These guarantees were strengthened in the agreement in efforts to reassure other states that the UK could not abuse unfettered access to the EU markets to undercut competitors. EU-wide approval for this UK divorce agreement cannot be taken for granted, but it is more likely and the bigger doubts will persist around whether Mrs May can get approval at home.

If there is any glitch in the timetable, the fallback may well be another EU leaders' summit already scheduled for December 13 and 14. That would make the bigger timetable exceptionally tight.

It is likely that Mrs May could seek parliamentary endorsement at Westminster in the following weeks. The European Parliament must also approve the deal. But that takes us into early 2019.

First things, first - what odds on this deal clearing hurdle number one at the British cabinet this afternoon?

Supporters of Mrs May insist that those ministers who have doubts will overcome them when they contemplate the carnage that would be a no-deal Brexit. The prime minister will also try to ratchet up pressure from UK business leaders to drive home this point.

But if it does clear cabinet, its fate in parliament - with opposition from the DUP and ultra Conservative Brexiteers, carrying the potential to put the kibosh on things - looks very uncertain. However, Mrs May has got this far and will drive on to the end - whatever that may be.
Two Romanian men will stand trial at Sligo Circuit Criminal Court this week charged with human trafficking another man at a car wash in Sligo two years ago.

Augustin Covaci (35) of Seaview Drive, Cartron Point and Sorin Cirpaci (40) of Fortwell Court, Letterkenny are accused of trafficking Mr Gheorgha Bogdan from 28th May to 9th September 2015 at a car wash on Pearse Road, Sligo.

The case will be the first prosecution under updated Human Trafficking legislation brought by the Government and carries the maximum penalty on conviction from 14 years to life imprisonment.

Cirpaci had a Book of Evidence served on him at Sligo District Court last Thursday.

Cirpaci told the court he had been living in Ireland for the past 18 years and would not require an interpreter for his trial at the Circuit Court.

Judge Kevin Kilrane remanded Cirpaci on continuing cash bail of 2,000 to appear before Sligo Circuit Criminal Court today, Tuesday July 18th.

His bail conditions are that he must reside at Fortwell Court, Letterkenny, sign on at Letterkenny Garda Station every Wednesday, be of good behaviour, not interfere with any witnesses and surrender his passport and Driver's Licence.

His defence solicitor Mr Kieran O'Gorman told Judge Kilrane that Cirpaci had already surrendered his passport. He said his client was a father of five children and received 500 a week.

Covaci has been out on 500 cash bail since a Sligo District Court appearance last February.

He was first arrested in January and taken to Ballymote Garda Station where he was charged and cautioned.

Detective Garda Michael Carr told the court last January that he arrested the accused at 7.50am at his home at Cartron before bringing him to Ballymote Garda Station where he was subsequently charge.

In reply to the charge the accused said: "I'm not guilty with anything. I didn't force Gheorgha to do anything."

His defence solicitor, Mr Seamus Monaghan, then said that Covaci had been living in Sligo for the past two and a half years and was a father of four.

Both men are due before the court at 10.30am today (Tues).
Actress Paz de la Huerta has filed a lawsuit accusing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her in 2010 and then embarking on a campaign of harassment that harmed her career.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges Weinstein raped de la Huerta twice in New York in December 2010, taunting her with phone calls between the two alleged assaults.

New York police said a year ago that they were investigating de la Huertas allegations.

No charges have been filed in the case, but Weinstein is charged there with the rape of another woman.

In a new allegation, the suit says that the following month Weinstein exposed himself to the actress in a Beverly Hills hotel when she went to confront him.

It alleges Weinstein tried to get de la Huerta to have a sexual encounter with him and another woman.

About a year after the alleged incidents, de la Huerta was fired from the HBO show Boardwalk Empire, and the lawsuit says she has reason to believe Weinstein was involved.

It cites a photo that appeared in The New York Times of Weinstein talking to Martin Scorsese, a director and executive producer on the show, a few weeks before her firing.

Weinsteins lawyer Ben Brafman in response to the suit pointed out the lack of charges in New York, and said in an emailed statement that de la Huertas newly minted version of events including her new California claims are equally preposterous and unfortunately, the product of an unstable personality with a vivid imagination.

Representatives for Scorsese, who is not a defendant in the case, had no immediate comment.

Video of the Day

De la Huerta, 34, alleges Weinstein damaged her career by at least 60 million dollars.

Ashley Judd, who is among numerous women suing Weinstein, says in her own lawsuit that Weinstein hurt her career and prevented her from getting at least one role.

Expand Close Ashley Judd (Anthony Harvey/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Ashley Judd (Anthony Harvey/PA)

Judd cites an interview last year with director Peter Jackson, who said that Weinstein warned him against hiring Judd and Mira Sorvino for his Lord Of The Rings films.

Both women have alleged that Weinstein sexually harassed them.

De la Huertas lawsuit alleges Weinstein first pressured her for sex in her apartment after the two had been at a party celebrating the premiere of the film Blue Valentine in 2010, and threatened to harm her career if she did not submit, then raped her when she refused.

The lawsuit says that Weinstein taunted her with phone calls for two weeks, and on December 23 she agreed to see him at her apartment with the intention of demanding that he stop the calls.

She drank large amounts of alcohol in her anxiety, making her vulnerable, and Weinstein raped her again, according to the suit.

Three weeks later in January 2011, the two were both in Los Angeles for a series of awards-season events when de la Huerta again tried to confront Weinstein, the suit says.

Her lawsuit alleges the mogul opened the door of his room at the Four Seasons Hotel and exposed himself to her and invited her to have a sexual encounter with him and another woman who was in the room and undressed.

De la Huerta left feeling embarrassed, scared, shocked and humiliated, according to the lawsuit.

She then drank excessively and was denied entry to a GQ party at the Chateau Marmont, it adds.

Photographers captured video of the drunken actress, further damaging her reputation and career, the lawsuit says.

More than 75 women have accused Weinstein, who was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, of wrongdoing.

Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex, with his lawyer challenging the credibility of his accusers.
These are tricky times for the tactile among us; a shoulder squeeze capable of causing an ethical quandary, our phones now being the recipients of the majority of our physical touch.

Some comfort, then, to see that the royals, arbiters of protocol and proper-ness, are doing away with the invisible bargepole previously erected between them and embracing a touchy-feelier dawn.

Expand Close Britain's Prince Harry kisses his wife Meghan the Duchess of Sussex after a charity polo match in Windsor, Britain, July 26, 2018. Reuters/Hannah McKay / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Britain's Prince Harry kisses his wife Meghan the Duchess of Sussex after a charity polo match in Windsor, Britain, July 26, 2018. Reuters/Hannah McKay

It all started in 2009 when then First Lady Michelle Obama rested a shapely arm on Her Majestys back  a gesture that was, at the time, dubbed an epic faux pas, yet turned out the sovereign actually rather liked. And the younger royals are now at it too, most recently seen last weekend in the Duke of Cambridges gentle placing of a hand on his wifes back; the kind of public display of affection the pair had previously eschewed.

The Sussexes are to thank for this hike in haptics, having significantly upped the PDA-ante since their wedding in May (no doubt helped by Meghan Markles Hollywood credentials) and seen in a similar paw-just-above-posterior embrace on multiple occasions. Not to mention cosying up under an umbrella on their royal tour in Australia, strolling arm in arm on a forest walk in New Zealand and smooching at the races.

Among couples, then, it appears that PDAs have gone full circle, transitioning seamlessly from Deeply Uncool to Quite Nice Actually And Not Worth All That Fuss We Used to Make About How Embarrassing and Unnecessary They Are. Yet when it comes to social events, the workplace or even the gym, the weight of #MeToo looms large, and its hard to know what  if anything  is up for grabs anymore.

So what are the new rules for public petting?

Social occasions

Expand Close Michelle Obama puts her arm around Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at a reception at Buckingham Palace, London. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Michelle Obama puts her arm around Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at a reception at Buckingham Palace, London.

Glasses being constantly refilled, music and frivolity in the air - the number of ways to slip up at a social gathering are infinite, not least when you throw a monarch into the mix, as Michelle Obama found almost a decade ago. Its easy to see how it all unfolded, when you think about it  having mentally run through all the small talk options ahead of time, convinced yourself that Her Highness would rather something more whimsical than yet another clunky epithet about corgis, the unseasonal weather weve been having or bucket hats, you decide to freewheel it. Then lo and behold, you end up bonding over how uncomfortable your respective shoes are and suddenly youre clutching the monarch of 16 nations as if shes your next door neighbour mid-rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

Contrary to those who criticised the over-familiarity, the Queen was a fan, responding by pull[ing] closer, resting a gloved hand lightly on the small of my back, Obama describes in her new memoir, Becoming.

Video of the Day

Weve all likely got too friendly when dressed in our best and caught up in the occasion, going in for a squeeze when getting on roaringly with a new acquaintance, but take things too far and youll be struck off the invite list until the end of time.

Do: Keep it jovial, clink away and extend an arm to someone youre getting on exceptionally well with  provided youre only making contact from the waist up.

Dont: Slosh red wine all down their front and start dabbing at verboten areas suggestively with a napkin.

Gym time

A steamy-mirrored hot yoga studio, a diligent instructors fingers lightly maneouvring your hips as he corrects your downward dog - given the myriad #MeToo movements that exposed overt handsiness in every arena it is a wonder, perhaps, that the land of the sweat-flecked and tightly clothed has (thus far) managed to escape scot-free. And mat-dwellers are keen to keep things that way, now even enlisting consent cards - which say either Yes, I would like hands-on assistance or Get your filthy mitts off my shavasana (we might be paraphrasing) to ensure no foul play throws their practice off-piste.

When does a trainer improving your form veer from thorough to thoroughly unseemly?

Do: Allow a guiding palm to help you find the right position. Just the once, mind.

Dont: Make excuses if hands keep finding themselves where they shouldnt. And if there are routine suggestions to disrobe due to broken air conditioning, run.

School gates

Expand Close Elle Macpherson and Claudia Schiffer on the school run in Notting Hill on February 10, 2011 in London, England. / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Elle Macpherson and Claudia Schiffer on the school run in Notting Hill on February 10, 2011 in London, England.

Hug or handshake at parents evening? And at the school gates? Do you buy the teacher a present at the end of the year by way of apology for your perma-tantrum throwing child, or is that merely a ruse for flirtation? Tricksy, though if your otherwise disinterested husband suggests an especially lavish gift for the blonde form tutor whos partial to a short skirt, that could be a giveaway.

Theres a lot at stake here, after all - do wrong by the teachers, and therell be a black mark against your childs name forever; do so against fellow parents, and such a stain will besmirch the record of both your offspring and yourself, which is obviously worse.

So when it comes to fellow parents at drop-off, err on the side of caution again - no cheek-kissing for the dads if youre just extending stiff hugs to the mums; youll only end up the subject of bitchy WhatsApp group chats afterwards.

Do: Extend the same greeting - hug, single kiss, whichever works  to all.

Dont: Enter into private conversations via text with other mums' husbands. Guaranteed to make you look guilty, even if its only to swap recipe notes for Delia Smiths shepherds pie.

Working world

An ill-timed reach for the milk, welcoming a colleague back after maternity leave, navigating the narrow corner by the filing cabinets: the office has become a veritable vipers nest for encounters of the awkward kind, with every once-innocuous interaction now probable cause for a lengthy HR report.

Though the blanket (and likely quite wise) rule of thumb might be Avoid Colleague-Based Human Contact At All Costs Ever these things, as our esteemed global leaders show, leave us firmly in the grey area. Take, for instance, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel clasping one anothers hands at the Armistice memorial last weekend, posted on social media with a single word - united - the perfect emblem of just how potent a certain closeness between colleagues can be.

That is until you consult the vast, vast evidence to the contrary: Macron clutching Donald Trumps knee at the Elysee Palace; the President gripping our own Prime Ministers paws on a frankly worrisome number of occasions; the ill-fated encounter between Jeremy Corbyn and Emily Thornberry that the history books will surely record as the Unfortunate Boob-Five of 2017. Toe-curling, every last one.

Do: Keep things friendly  without touching, where possible.

Dont: Grab, grip or grasp  or, worse still, follow one of the aforementioned clangers up with ha ha, dont go referring me to management now, will you! Will you?

Other halves

Expand Close David and Victoria Beckham arriving at the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (Chris Jackson/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp David and Victoria Beckham arriving at the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (Chris Jackson/PA)

We have established that it is now acceptable to publicly demonstrate that you and your partner are not physically repulsed by one another, and both Princes have been doing a fine line in showing affection that doesnt descend into downright filth. Yet while a certain level of tactileness is fine, anything OTT  thats Over the Top Touching  remains out of bounds.

Do: A kiss or placing of a hand on your beloved  were permitting a gentle perch on the bottom, even, were not prudes  provided its of a nature you wouldnt mind your own parents witnessing.

Dont: Get carried away. Finding your partner irresistible after a long period together is to be admired  but ideally by one another alone, and behind closed doors.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Rohingya Muslims use their mobile phones as they sit on a hill overlooking Balukhali refugee camp (Dar Yasin/AP)

Bangladesh authorities said they are ready to begin repatriating some of the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled from army-led violence in Burma since last year, but refugees scheduled to leave said they would refuse to go because of fears for their safety.

Some said their families have fled from their shanties in the refugee camps to avoid being sent back.

Refugees, Repatriation and Rehabilitation Commissioner Abul Kalam said 30 refugee families would be handed over on Thursday at the Ghumdhum border point near Coxs Bazar, where refugees have been living in crammed camps.

The two countries had originally agreed to begin repatriating Rohingya last January, but that was called off amid concerns among aid workers and the Rohingya that their safety was not guaranteed.

Mr Kalam said about 2,260 refugees from 485 families would be sent back in an initial batch.

Expand Close Nurul Amin, a 35-year-old Rohingya who is on the first list for being repatriated back to Burma (Dar Yasin/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Nurul Amin, a 35-year-old Rohingya who is on the first list for being repatriated back to Burma (Dar Yasin/AP)

Burma officials said recently that they would receive 150 refugees each day.

But it was unclear whether the repatriation would begin smoothly amid reports that many of the refugees on the initial list have fled.

I will not go. My wife and other family members have gone elsewhere, they do not want to go, 35-year-old Nurul Amin said outside the Jamtoli camp, where he and his family have been living for more than a year.

I stayed back to guard my valuables. We are serious, we do not want to go, he said.

If you say you will shoot us if we do not agree to go back, we will welcome bullets, we still will not go.

Please do not force us to goMohammed Selim, Rohingya refugee

Mohammed Selim, 23, said his wife and seven other family members went into hiding after finding out that they would be sent back on Thursday.

We are grateful to the Bangladesh government, the Bangladeshi people for their help. Please do not force us to go, he said.

If we need to go, we demand that we go back to our homes, not to any camps there. We have our land, we have our homes, he said.

On Sunday, the Burma government said it was ready to welcome returning refugees.

It said returning Rohingya would stay at repatriation camps for two days and receive food and clothing before moving on to transit camps.

Expand Close Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Bullit Marquez/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Bullit Marquez/AP)

It said China, India and Japan were providing necessary assistance for the repatriation process.

Despite the promises by Burma, human rights activists say conditions are not yet safe for their return.

Last week, the UNs independent investigator for human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, called the plans rushed and said she was concerned there were no guarantees that the refugees would be protected from new persecution if they return home.

Foreign leaders have criticised Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore for her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Expand Close Rohingya refugees wait at a UN World Food Programme (WFP) facility (Altaf Qadri/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Rohingya refugees wait at a UN World Food Programme (WFP) facility (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Rohingya began fleeing into Bangladesh after Burmese security forces launched a brutal crackdown following attacks by an insurgent group on guard posts in August 2017.

The scale, organisation and ferocity of the operation led to accusations from the international community, including the United Nations, of ethnic cleansing and even genocide.

Burmas government has denied the accusations.

Burma officials said that returnees can get an ID document called a national verification card that will allow them to travel in the Maungdaw area of Rakhine state, and that they can then begin to apply for citizenship.

But there is widespread scepticism that any of returning refugees will ever be granted citizenship.

Expand Close Sewer water flows in the background as Rohingya refugees cross a makeshift bamboo bridge at Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh (Altaf Qadri/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Sewer water flows in the background as Rohingya refugees cross a makeshift bamboo bridge at Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Most people in Buddhist-majority Burma do not accept that the Rohingya Muslims are a native ethnic group.

They are viewed as Bengalis who entered illegally from Bangladesh, even though generations of Rohingya have lived in Burma.

Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless.

They have also been denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.

Expand Close An elderly Rohingya refugee Noor Aisha Khatun (Altaf Qadri/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp An elderly Rohingya refugee Noor Aisha Khatun (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Many people who fled earlier violence and moved into displacement camps inside Burma have been unable to leave those settlements for years.

Most Rohingya have lived in poverty in Rakhine, near the Bangladesh border.

Marked by their religion and their language, most speak a dialect of Bengali, while most of their neighbours speak Rakhine, they are easy to target.
Three victims of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in Californias history have been named.

Ernest Foss, a musician who once taught lessons, Carl Wiley, who refurbished tyres for Michelin, and Jesus Fernandez, known as Zeus, who was described as a loving father and loyal friend, were identified as being among 48 people who perished in the blaze.

The flames all but obliterated the Northern California town of Paradise, population 27,000, and ravaged surrounding areas on Thursday.

The exact number of missing was unclear, but many friends and relatives of those living in the fire zone said they had not heard from loved ones.

Efforts were underway to bring in mobile morgues, body-finding dogs and a rapid DNA analysis system for identifying victims.

There was also an additional 150 search-and-rescue personnel on top of 13 teams already looking for remains  a grim indication that the death toll is likely to rise.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honeas office has identified four of the victims and publicly named three.

James Wiley said sheriffs deputies informed him that his father, Carl, was among the dead, but he had not been able to leave his property in the fire area to see for himself.

Mr Wiley, 77, was a tyre refurbisher, and the family lived in Alaska for many years before moving to Butte County decades ago.

James Wiley said his father was a stoic veteran, and the two had not spoken in six years.

Expand Close Search and rescue workers search for human remains at a trailer park burned out from the Camp Fire (AP/John Locher) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Search and rescue workers search for human remains at a trailer park burned out from the Camp Fire (AP/John Locher)

Mr Foss, 63, moved to Paradise eight years ago because the high cost of living pushed him out of the San Francisco Bay Area, according to his daughter, Angela Loo.

He had swollen limbs, could not walk and had also been on oxygen.

Ms Loo told KTVU-TV in Oakland that her father taught music out of their home in San Francisco and turned the living room into a studio.

I love that he shared his gift of music with me and so many others during his lifetime, she said.

Mr Fernandez, a 48-year-old Concow resident, also died.

Myrna Pascua, whose husband was best friends with the man known as Zeus, called him a tireless provider, a dependable and loyal friend, a considerate neighbour, and loving father.

The search for the dead was drawing on portable devices that can identify someones genetic material in a couple of hours, rather than days or weeks.

In many circumstances, without rapid DNA technology, its just such a lengthy process, says Frank DePaolo, a deputy commissioner of the New York City medical examiners office.

Expand Close Roger Kelton, 67, wipes his tears while searching through the remains of his mother-in-laws home burned down by a fire in Woolsey, California (AP/Jae C Hong) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Roger Kelton, 67, wipes his tears while searching through the remains of his mother-in-laws home burned down by a fire in Woolsey, California (AP/Jae C Hong)

It has been at the forefront of the science of identifying human remains since 9/11 and is exploring how it might use a rapid DNA device.

Still, experts said on Tuesday that authorities may first try more traditional methods of identification such as examining dental records.

That is in part because victims might have undergone dental X-rays but not personal DNA profiles.

Medical records of bone fractures, prosthetics or implants can also be helpful.

Five days after the blaze, over 1,000 people were at more than a half-dozen shelters set up for evacuees.

At the Neighbourhood Church in Chico, counsellors, chaplains and nursing students from nearby California State University were available to help.

Volunteers cooked meals, and there was a large bulletin board with information about missing people.

Before the Paradise tragedy, the deadliest single fire on record in California was a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29.

At the other end of the state, firefighters made progress against a massive blaze that has killed two people in star-studded Malibu and destroyed well over 400 structures in Southern California.

The flames roared to life again in a mountainous wilderness area on Tuesday, sending up a huge plume of smoke near the community of Lake Sherwood.

Still, firefighters made gains. The number of people evacuated was down by about half from the day before, to around 100,000, authorities said, and the fire was partially contained.

Were getting the upper hand here. Were feeling better, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.

The fire in Northern California charred at least 195 square miles, but officials said crews were able to keep it from advancing toward Oroville, a town of about 19,000 people.

The state recently completed a 1.1 billion dollar (850m) reconstruction project at the Oroville Dam  the nations tallest at 770ft  and officials were worried about damage if flames came through.

Spillways at the dam crumbled during heavy rains in 2017, prompting thousands to flee for fear of a catastrophic release of water.

The cause of the fires remained under investigation, but they broke out around the time and place two utilities reported equipment trouble.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 13, 2018 | 11:55 AM | MARSHALL COUNTY

Two women were arrested on drug and other charges late last week in Marshall County.

Deputies with the Marshall County Sheriff's Office assisted Kentucky Probation and Parole officers at a home on Bill Hammel Lane. Two women at the home, Brittany May of Gilbertsville and Christina Byrn of Paducah, were arrested.

May was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Byrn was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substance, illegal possession of a legend drug, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both were lodged in the Marshall County Detention Center.
Frances government has fired back at a flurry of critical tweets by Donald Trump, suggesting the US president lacked common decency by launching his broadside on a day when France was mourning victims of the November 2015 terror attacks.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Wednesday: We were commemorating the assassination of 130 of our compatriots three years ago in Paris and Saint-Denis, and so I will reply in English: Common decency would have been appropriate.

Expand Close Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day (Benoit Tessier/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day (Benoit Tessier/AP)

Nursing grievances from a weekend visit to France, Mr Trump hit out at Frances President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday over his suggestion for a European defence force, over French tariffs on US wine and even Mr Macrons approval ratings.

The tweets underscored tensions between the once-friendly leaders and displayed Mr Trumps irritation over criticism of how he acted in France.
Israels defence minister Avigdor Lieberman has abruptly resigned his post in protest against a ceasefire reached with Gaza militants.

The move has rocked the Israeli political scene and seemed likely to bring about early elections.

Mr Lieberman termed the ceasefire ending two days of intense fighting surrender to terrorism, and said he could no longer serve a government that endorsed it.

Expand Close Smoke rises from a residential building that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City (Hatem Moussa/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Smoke rises from a residential building that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City (Hatem Moussa/AP)

Mr Lieberman had demanded a far stronger Israeli response to the most intense round of rocket fire against Israel since a 50-day war in 2014, but appeared to have been overruled by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His resignation delivers a major blow to Mr Netanyahus coalition government and sparked immediate calls for early elections.

Mr Lieberman said he hoped that in the coming days a date would be set for a new vote and the opposition parties joined his call.

Expand Close An Israeli security officer examines the damage to a chicken coop after it was hit by a rocket fired from southern Gaza Strip (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp An Israeli security officer examines the damage to a chicken coop after it was hit by a rocket fired from southern Gaza Strip (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

The government could technically survive without Mr Liebermans Yisrael Beiteinu faction.

But with elections currently set for November 2019, it is unlikely to last that long in lame-duck form.

Mr Liebermans resignation will take effect in 48 hours and Mr Netanyahu will take over on an interim basis.

Residents of southern Israel had greeted news of the ceasefire with anger as dozens of protesters in the rocket-battered town of Sderot chanted Disgrace! at what they saw as the governments capitulation to violence and its inability to provide them with safety.

Expand Close Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Stefan Rousseau/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Recent months have seen sporadic rocket attacks as well as militant infiltration attempts and a wave of incendiary kites that have destroyed Israeli crops.

Mr Netanyahu presented the decision to step back from a full-blown conflict as a unified one made by his security cabinet and based on the militarys recommendations.

But Mr Lieberman and education minister Naftali Bennett, another hard-line member of the Security Cabinet, later expressed reservations, saying they favoured a stronger response.

Mr Netanyahu defended his actions at a memorial ceremony for Israel first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion.

Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they know well whyBenjamin Netanyahu

I see the big picture of Israeli security that I cannot share with the public, he said.

Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they know well why. I cannot detail our plans for the future.

We will dictate the time and circumstances that are right for Israel and are right for the security of our people.

In times like these, leadership is not doing the easy thing. Leadership is doing the right thing, even if it is hard. Leadership is sometime facing criticism, he added.

The Israel-Gaza frontier remained quiet overnight.

Expand Close An Israeli soldier jumps off a tank near the Israel Gaza border (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp An Israeli soldier jumps off a tank near the Israel Gaza border (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)

Palestinian militants had fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while the Israeli military carried out airstrikes on 160 Gaza targets.

Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed.

In Israel, one person was killed in a rocket strike and three were critically wounded.

With air raid sirens wailing throughout southern Israel and the explosions of airstrikes thundering in Gaza, the two sides had appeared to be on the verge of their fourth war in a decade.

Instead, Gazas Hamas rulers abruptly announced a ceasefire and Israels security cabinet ended a seven-hour discussion with an apparent decision to hold its fire.

The news was greeted with celebrations in Gaza, with Hamas declaring victory in the latest round of violence, which was triggered by a botched Israeli raid on Sunday that left seven Palestinian militants and a senior Israeli military officer dead.
Italys interior minister and deputy premier Matteo Salvini speaks to children upon their arrival in Pratica di Mares military airport, near Rome (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

Italys hard-line interior minister has welcomed 51 refugees and asylum seekers who arrived in Italy after being detained in Libya and then airlifted out by the UN refugee agency.

Matteo Salvini, whose crackdown on migrants fleeing Libya aboard smugglers boats inflamed tensions across Europe, was on hand at Romes Pratica di Mare military base on Wednesday as the men, women and children disembarked from a flight from Niger.

Expand Close Matteo Salvini tries to help a young girl walk down the plane steps (Alessandra Tarantino/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Matteo Salvini tries to help a young girl walk down the plane steps (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

He tweeted that welcoming children who are truly escaping war, as I did this morning in Rome, is a pleasure.

He added that they are different from economic migrants who he believes should be expelled from Italy.

The 51 migrants were identified by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as deserving of international protection and were flown out of Libya to Niger pending relocation.
A Mexican drug lord and escape artist has been alternately portrayed at a trial as the leader of a bloodthirsty cocaine smuggling operation and a scapegoat for a conspiracy whose mastermind bribed crooked officials to keep his freedom.

Opening statements in the trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman were delivered to a jury whose identities have been kept secret amid tight security in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

Assistant US Attorney Adam Fels told how a man who got his start in a modest marijuana-selling business became a kingpin known for using an army of hit men to wipe out his competitors and anyone within his Sinaloa cartel who betrayed him.

"Money. Drugs. Murder. ... That is what this case is about," Mr Fels said.

Defence lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman sought to shift blame in his opening to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, another reputed drug trafficker in the cartel's leadership who is still at large in Mexico.

The lawyer claimed that unlike Guzman, Zambada remains on the loose because of bribes that "go up to the very top," including hundreds of millions of dollars paid to the current and former presidents of Mexico.

He also suggested US law enforcement turned a blind eye to the situation.

In a tweet, a spokesman for current President Enrique Pena Nieto called the sensational allegation "completely false and defamatory".

A separate tweet by ex-President Felipe Calderon called it "absolutely false and reckless".

One of Zambada's sons is expected to be the first of several government cooperators to testify against Guzman, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Guzman, who has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition to the US early last year, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune smuggling tons of cocaine and other drugs in a vast supply chain that reached well north of the border.

Despite his diminutive stature and nickname that means "Shorty" in Spanish, Guzman was once a larger-than-life figure in Mexico who has been compared to Al Capone and Robin Hood and been the subject of ballads known as narcocorridos.

He appeared in a dark suit and tie on Tuesday as he listened to Mr Fels describe how he started modestly in the early 1970s by selling marijuana in Mexico, but built his reputation by constructing tunnels across the Mexico-US border to transport marijuana and cocaine so fast that he was "no longer El Chapo, the short one".

Instead, he became known as "the speedy one". Before his tunnels, it had taken weeks to move drugs across the border to the US.

Before long, Guzman was receiving 10 to 15 planes "stuffed with cocaine" each day from Colombia at landing strips in Mexico for transport to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, Mr Fels said.

As his business flourished using the tunnels, trains, planes and vessels, Guzman began taking aim at rivals in the early 1990s, leading to bloody wars.

In 1993, he fled to Guatemala but was captured and imprisoned in Mexico for eight years, where he continued running his drug empire, Mr Fels said.

The prosecutor spoke of two dramatic escapes from prison by Guzman and said he was planning a third when he was brought to the US.

One of his escapes in 2015 was through a mile-long tunnel dug into a shower in his jail cell that he slipped into before fleeing on a motorcycle.

The tunnel escape was a black eye for the Mexican government, an embarrassment amplified when the actor Sean Penn was able to find and interview him at one of his hideouts in Mexico while he was on the run from authorities.

Mr Fels said Guzman used some of his wealth to pay off the Mexican military and police and to finance assault rifles, grenade launchers and explosives to engage in "war after bloody war".

He accused the defendant of personally shooting two men and having their bodies burned.

Guzman's lawyers told jurors it would have been impossible for him to be in charge of the cartel since he was either in jail or hiding out in the Mexican countryside during the entire time US prosecutors claim he was the leader.

Some of the cooperators will "tell you he has no money," Mr Lichtman said.

An email written by a US agent who eavesdropped on Guzman for a year wrote, "Chapo was more of a myth than an actual legend," and that he was "not impressed" by him, the lawyer added.
US President Donald Trump has escalated his verbal assaults on France, suggesting America's stalwart European ally would have been vanquished in both world wars if not for the military firepower provided by the United States.

Mr Trump tweeted about a suggestion by French President Emmanuel Macron that Europe build up its militaries because the continent can no longer depend on the US for defence.

Mr Macron also said Europe needs to protect itself against cyber threats from China, Russia and the US.

"Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the US, China and Russia," Mr Trump tweeted. "But it was Germany in World Wars One and Two - how did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along. Pay for Nato or not!" The US president has long complained that Nato countries do not pay their fair share of the defence alliance's expenses, leaving the US to carry much of the burden.

He has criticised Mr Macron before and after attending a weekend ceremony in Paris to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War I.

Mr Trump and Mr Macron met at the Elysee Palace and discussed defence, trade and other issues.

A top adviser to Mr Macron said yesterday that the French position has been "clarified".

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with French custom, said Mr Macron explained the European army issue to Mr Trump, stressing that France was not making a choice between a European defence mechanism and multilateral organisations such as Nato.

Mr Trump also complained yesterday about tariffs on US wines sold in France and appeared to take a dig at Mr Macron's low public approval rating. Mr Trump tweeted that French tariffs on American wine is "not fair, must change!"

"On trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the US. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the US to sell its wines into France, and charges big tariffs, whereas the US makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small tariffs. Not fair, must change!"

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Melania Trump wants Mira Ricardel fired. Photo: AFP/Getty Images White House Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel. Photo: REUTERS / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Melania Trump wants Mira Ricardel fired. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Mr Trump, who built a career as a businessman before he entered politics, himself opened a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2011.

The US president added: "The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low approval rating in France, 26pc, and an unemployment rate of almost 10pc. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more nationalist than France, very proud people - and rightfully so! Make France great again!"

Mr Macron is hovering at around 30pc in popularity polls, while the unemployment rate is just above 9pc.

Mr Trump's comments struck a nerve with some, especially since the latest broadsides came on the third anniversary of the Paris terror attacks which killed 130 people. It prompted French journalist Hugo Clement to tweet in response: "We are already great, especially on November 13. Go back to your room and give the phone to an adult."

Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump has taken the extraordinary step of publicly demanding one of the president's senior national security officials be sacked.

Mrs Trump is reported to have complained about Mira Ricardel, who currently serves as the deputy national security adviser under John Bolton, after her recent trip to Africa.

Following reports that Ms Ricardel could be pushed out during a staffing reshuffle, Mrs Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said yesterday: "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she [Ms Ricardel] no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House".

Reports have been circulating in recent weeks that Mr Trump would shake up his cabinet after the midterm elections, but it is highly unusual for the First Lady's office to comment on personnel issues within the West Wing.

According to US media, Ms Ricardel had a recent spat with members of the First Lady's staff over her trip to Africa, including seating on the plane and use of National Security Council resources.

Ms Ricardel has only been in the post for seven months and is reported to have previously clashed with James Mattis, the defence secretary.

Mr Trump is planning to make several major staffing changes in the next few weeks, including replacing his chief of staff John Kelly.

The US president has already forced his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to resign. Mr Sessions said he was submitting his resignation at the "request" of Mr Trump. The announcement was made on November 7, the day after the midterm elections.

Another cabinet member thought to be in the firing line is Kirstjen Nielsen, the embattled Homeland Security Secretary. (Additional reporting  Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Sinema lands in Washington, a day after McSally concedes Senate race

By Daniel Perle and Brendan CampbellCronkite News

WASHINGTON  Arizona Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema was already in Washington Tuesday, just one day after Republican Martha McSally conceded in the one of the narrowest, most closely watched races in the country.

With more than 2.2 million ballots counted as of Tuesday evening, Sinema had a 38,295-vote lead , a 1.72 percentage point margin that made her not only the first woman elected to the Senate from Arizona, but also the first Democrat to hold the seat since Dennis DeConcini in 1994.

I think she did it by positioning herself as a centrist, as somebody that would work on both sides, and thats what Id like to think I was able to do for my 18 years, said DeConcini, echoing most experts on the race to replace Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.

While Sinema could claim the middle ground early, experts noted that McSally was forced to tack right to survive a bitter primary against two conservative challengers  a move that cost her in the general.

McSallys embracing of Trump sealed her GOP victory while it alienated key swing voters, for women and moderate independents, and it ultimately cost her the general election, said Mike Noble, chief pollster at OH Predictive Insights.

Sinema, he said, planted her flag right in the middle and she never deviated.

Leah Askarinam, an analyst for Inside Elections, said McSallys strategy was riling up the base and playing to the right, rather than moderates  and it seems like there wasnt enough of that Trump base to win an election for a Republican statewide.

In places like Arizona, its clear that playing to the base has its limits, Askarinam said. Sinema has spent a lot of her campaign trying to appeal to moderate voters, the center, and she was partially able to do that because she didnt have a competitive primary.

Jennifer Duffy, senior editor at the Cook Political Report, called Sinemas success the biggest sign weve had that the state is moving towards being purple.

Democrats have been talking about this, you know, for the past three elections, but this is the sign that it is moving in that direction, Duffy said, adding that Democrats have laid a foundation for success in Arizona in 2020.

Democratic political strategist Rodd McLeod declared the red state of Arizona all but dead.

I think it has been a purple state for a while, but anybody still wondering about that should seek professional help, McLeod said.

But another political consultant, Jason Rose, said reports of Arizonas death as a red state have been greatly exaggerated.

I think Arizona remains a red state with opportunities for Democrats, just as its always been a place with opportunities for Democrats, Rose said.

He said one factor that needs to be considered is the amount of outside spending on McSallys behalf that was largely negative, spending that he said did her a disservice. McSally is one impressive American, he said, but the negative ads left voters with an impression of smile versus scorn for the two candidates.

Noble characterized Arizona as an independent state, and saw the photo finish between Sinema and McSally as a testament to the performance of both candidates, rather than a seismic shift to the left.

We had two of probably the best candidates weve ever seen go against each other and they both were top recruits in the country on their respective sides of the aisle, he said.

Nobles final poll before Election Day showed McSally with a one-point advantage over Sinema, 49 percent to 48 percent.

Great being in Window Rock today for our Get Out The Vote event! Thanks to everyone who joined.



Ready to help us win? Sign up to volunteer here: https://t.co/lLDqMPNQVG #AZSen pic.twitter.com/2LFFtTdI4V  Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) November 1, 2018

Strategists and analysts said that, while presidents tend to be a liability for candidates of their own party in midterm contests, the impact was undeniable in this race.

Donald Trump is going to be an anchor around the neck of Republican candidates moving forward, as he was last Tuesday, McLeod said.

But Richard Herrera, an Arizona State University political science professor, said its hard to point to one single factor in this race. McSally and Sinema were two excellent candidates, he said, with lots of fundraising and no incumbent to unseat.

You never know, the right candidate, well-funded, anythings possible, Herrera said.

Bill Scheel, a partner at Arizona political consulting firm Javelina, said this race and others from last Tuesday showed Democrats may not need to rely on one strategy to win statewide elections in Arizona. He said Sinemas approach of running toward the middle is the de facto strategy but I do not believe it is the only strategy.

Having folks in those statewide offices now who can start offering an alternative vision on some of these really important issues is going to be good, Scheel said.

More from Cronkite News

This story originally appeared on Cronkite News and is published via a Creative Commons license . Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University

Join the Conversation
It's that time for the year when the two biggest celebrities of the film industry have taken one of the biggest decision of their lives. Bollywood superstars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, have now officially tied the knot in konkani style ceremony in the picturesque location of Italy.

In a three day event of wedding festivity, #DeepVeer as fans love to call them, got engaged on Day 1 and then got hitched in a day ceremony.

And it's heartbreaking for everyone back in the home country that none of us have gotten our hands on any visuals of the same. From designers, fans and friends, everyone is eager to know how the wedding is rolling, and how Deepika and Ranveer are looking as man and wife.

As per reports, heavy patrolling is done in and around their wedding venue and celebs, family, staff and florists are all required to submit their phones at the entrance to avoid any pictures getting leaked.

Following into the footsteps of Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra, Deepika-Ranveer have so far managed to be successful. However, social media is pleading the A-listers to release a few photos. Take a look

My heart is feeling too many feelings. Im pretty sure this is what seeing your daughter marry the love of her life feels like #DeepVeerKiShaadi pic.twitter.com/iYANfm9Okw  Doe #Ladkiwale (@doepikapadukone) November 14, 2018

No pictures but it was love personified to see them together today. Couldnt stop my tears, but these were tears of happiness and so I hope they never do. #DeepVeerKiShaadi #ranveerkishaadi #foreverlove  Nitasha (@Nitasha22) November 12, 2018

Awww congratulations babies 

I'm so happy for you two, stay healthy and stay blessed.

Still waiting for wedding pictures of the biggest wedding in bollywood 

Happy Married Life, make lots and lots of movies.#DeepVeerKiShaadi pic.twitter.com/BpizWXmH6d  Nicki | 26/10/19 mark the day y'all  (@MrsJiyongkwon88) November 14, 2018

By not letting a single picture/ video out, they're just killing the excitement!! Let us also be a part of the madness! #DeepveerKiShaadi #DeepikaPadukone #ranveersingh #DeepikaRanveer  SnehalRajani (@Snehal_Rajani) November 14, 2018

The anxiety of who Deepika will be wearing tonight is getting unbearable. Please release pictures at the earliest so everyone can be relieved of the pain.#DeepVeerKiShaadi  breen (@breenrana) November 14, 2018

C'mon you guys, we really do deserve a glimpse of this beautiful ceremony. Share photos, already! Some fans have even got mehendi on their hands with the hashtag DeepVeer and are even cutting congratulatory cakes after hearing confirmed reports of their marriage.
He's a megastar and a charmer. She, on the other hand, is a producer and an interior decorator. Together, they're perfect.

Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan are two people who compliment each other perfectly. The couple made a media appearance recently for the opening of a cafe that Gauri had designed. SRK was in his usual joking mood while interacting with the press.

Pinterest

Praising and talking about his wife Gauri, SRK said he cannot afford to get his interior decorator and producer wife Gauri Khan on board to design for films.

Agencies

He was quoted as saying, "We make really small films. We can't afford to get her on board for our films."

Gauri had a different take on why she'll take time to take up his projects. She said,

Pinterest

"Right now, I am very busy. My hands are full and whenever I will have time then, 100 percent I will do it."

The couple was interacting with the media on Monday at the inauguration of 'Sanchos' -- a Mexican restaurant designed by Gauri. Joking about the free food that he gets, he added,

Pinterest

"I just go to whichever restaurant she opens because I get a free meal, so it's really good for me... I hope she keeps opening up new restaurants so that all of us can keep coming here to do parties."

Apart from designing restaurants and office spaces, Gauri has also designed the homes of Bollywood celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Karan Johar, and Jacqueline Fernandez among many others.
The most Sanskari man of Bollywood, Alok Nath had sent shockwaves across the nation when sexual harassment allegations were levied against him by Vinta Nanda. She accused he raped him about 20 years ago. The man in question, however, had declined the charges.

A month after writer-producer Vinta Nanda accused actor Alok Nath of allegedly raping her, the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), on Tuesday, expelled Nath from its membership. CINTAA released a statement on Twitter stating, In view of the various allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Mr. Alok Nath, after due diligence and consideration, the Exec. Committee of #cintaa has decided to expel him from the Association.

BCCL

Speaking to ANI, Amit Behl, Sr Joint Secretary CINTAA said, CINTAA has expelled Alok Nath from its membership till further notice after he failed to respond to CINTAA. He was supposed to appear before its ICC and Executive committee yesterday but he didnt turn up. Now CINTAA has asked him to be present in its annual general meeting on 1st May and if he fails to put his point, he will be permanently expelled from CINTAA.

In October, Nanda accused Alok Nath of rape. She narrated her horrifying ordeal in a Facebook post. She was the writer and producer of teleserial Tara in the 90s, in which Nath played a lead role.

BCCL

The actor had later filed a civil defamation suit against the Nanda after she accused him of rape. He also sought a written apology, along with a compensation of Re 1 and a restraining order against Nanda. However, the application was rejected by Mumbais Dindoshi Sessions Court.
India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and makeup don't go well together, right?

We know Nehru as this great political figure who fought for our country's independence from the British and went on to become the PM. Nehru, a believer of democratic socialism, implemented many policies that improved India's economy as well as its image on the international platform.

But did you know that this great politician was also the brain behind one of the most popular cosmetic brands today?

Twitter

Back in the 1950s, India was a newly independent country with a frail economy. Nehru, who was sworn in as the country's first PM, was concerned that women from middle and upper class families were spending their foreign exchange money on buying imported cosmetic products.

Nehru realised that there were no Indian cosmetic products in the market to compete with the foreign ones. So, he decided to find a solution.

Twitter

Nehru approached JRD Tata, the French-born entrepreneur of Indian origin, who was also the only businessman at the time capable enough of bringing about a revolutionary change in the whole scenario.

Tata did an extensive research on the Indian market. His main aim was to come up with a product that not only appeals to the Indian women, but is also affordable.

So, with a hint of sophistication borrowed from a French Opera of the same name and a touch of desi feel from Lakshmi, the Indian goddess, Lakme was born.

brown girl magazine

Finally, in 1952, Lakme started its operations as a subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills. Simone Tata, Naval H. Tata's wife, joined as its managing director in 1961 and went on to become its chairperson in 1982.

Simone Tata is also credited with popularizing Lakme in India.

YouTube

Later, in 1996, Tata sold Lakme to Hindustan Unilever for Rs 200 crore.

Today, Lakme is not only a household name in India, but also an incredibly popular cosmetic brand on global level. It makes for such an interesting story that a beauty brand that finds a place in every India woman's makeup kit was actually the brainchild of our first PM!
bccl/representational image





Over one lakh farmers will congregate in the national capital - the fourth time this year - on November 29 and 30 to protest against the Centre's 'anti-farmer' policies. Leaders of some parties have also been invited to rally for the farmers' cause. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:





1) Almost 35% Of People In Delhi-NCR Want To Permanently Leave The City Due To Toxic Air Pollution

BCCL





As Delhis air quality only gets worse with each day, around 35 per cent of national capital want to permanently leave the city, according to a poll conducted by a social-media based organisation LocalCircles. Read more

2) Voters In Chhattisgarh Are Removing Voting Mark As Naxals Issue Threat To Chop Their Fingers

PTI





The first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh turned out smoothly and witnessed a huge turnout of voters on Monday. However, voters in Dantewada were seen removing the ink mark on their fingers right after casting their votes due to a threat issued by naxals. Read more

3) This Town In Kerala Is Where Delhiites Want To Be These Days, And The Reason Is Pretty Obvious

AP





Delhi is the world's most polluted city. In fact India is home to 10 of the most polluted cities in the world. The air quality levels in most of the big cities in India is well over the WHO's unsafe mark. Read more

4) Embrace Everyone: Tinder India Finally Adds Transgender & 22 Other Gender Options For Users

AFP

Tinder India has marked a shift from binary genders and made the new-age go-to-way for finding partners platform more inclusive. Tinder has introduced a new gender option for its app users in India. Earlier, users could only identify themselves as man or woman. Read more

5) Railway Stations To Have 100-Ft Tall National Flags, Don't We Need Better Trains First?

BCCL





The India Railways has decided to install 100-feet tall national flags at 75 busiest railway stations across the country by the end of this year. The Railway Board, the apex body of the national transporter, issued the order to this effect on October 22, which has been forwarded to all the zonal railways. Read more
The central government seems to be on a renaming spree as it has given consent to the renaming of at least 25 towns and villages across India in the last one year, the Press Trust of India reported.

The most recent being Faizabad which is now known as Ayodhya. Allahabad has been renamed as Prayagraj. While a proposal for renaming West Bengal as Bangla is still pending with the officials. Multiple central ministries and departments are required for this process and hence, it is a lengthy process.

ALSO READ: With Saffron Coat & New Signboards, Mughalsarai Station Is Now Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction

A senior ministry official told PTI, the proposals to change the names of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad to Ayodhya are yet to be received by the ministry from the Uttar Pradesh government.

There are many approved name change proposals that are awaiting implementation include, Rajahmundry as Rajamahendravaram in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh; Outer Wheeler as A P J Abdul Kalam Island, situated in Bhadrak district of Odisha; Pindari as Pandu-Pindara in Jind district of Haryana.

Others include Landgewadi to Narsinhagaon in Sangali district of Maharashtra; Garhi Sampla as Ch. Sir Chhotu Ram Nagar in Rohtak district of Haryana; Khatu Kalan village as Bari Khatu in Nagour district of Rajasthan and numerous others.

However, a few proposals were also rejected including the renaming of Kacharigaon to Phevima in Dimapur district of Nagaland. Consultations with the existing agencies is taken into consideration by the home ministry. The home ministry gives its consent to the change of name of any place after taking no-objections from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Survey of India.

Once no-objection certificates from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Survey of India are obtained only then home ministry gives its consent to the change of name of any place. These respective organisations have to confirm that no other village or town has a name similar to the one proposed.

On Thursday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the state government was considering renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati and the name change could be effected before next years Lok Sabha elections. A recent proposal to change the name of West Bengal to Bangla was forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs because it sounded similar to the name of neighbouring country, Bangladesh.

Proposal to change the name of cities like Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar might also be on the radar, a BJP MLA Raja Singh said if he wins the upcoming Assembly elections in Telangana.

In the past Bangalore has been renamed as Bengaluru in 2014, Gurgaon as Gurugram in 2016, Calcutta as Kolkata in 2001, Madras to Chennai in 1996, and Bombay was renamed as Mumbai in 1995.
In a shocking case of medical apathy, a Class IV employee at a government hospital in Rohtak, Haryana was seen attending a patient.

In a video, which was shot by a friend of injured patient, the peone is seen stitching the patients wound, while there was doctors around.

The incident happened in the Rohtak Civil Hospital late on Saturday night, when Joginder Kumar, a resident of Kripal Nagar was rushed for treatment after he hurt his hand.'

ANI

The doctors present in the emergency ward directed the Class IV employee, donning uniform, to stitch the bleeding patients wound and then dress it. My friend, who was with me, recorded the peon giving me stitches on his phone camera and then shared it on the social media to expose the reality of government-run hospitals, he said.

The video also showed the emergency ward wearing a deserted look.

ANI

After the video went viral, Rohtak chief medical officer Dr Anil Kumar Birla has ordered an investigation into the matter.

Reacting to the reports, Haryana CM ML Khattar said action has been taken and blamed it on the shortage of doctors in the state.

"Some incidents do get reported and we take immediate action. We are increasing the numbers of medical colleges. There is a requirement for more doctors as the number of doctors is less now," he said.
The latest craze that has gripped India appears to be spreading to more parts of the country. We are talking about renaming, or reclaiming as they want to call it.

PTI

After Allahabad became Prayag Raj and Faizabad became Ayodhya there have been demands from various corners for similar renamings. The latest to join the chorus is the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. The party has demanded that the names of Aurangabad be changed to Sambhaji Nagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv Nagar.

BCCL

Justifying the demand, Sena MLC Manisha Kayande said the demand for the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad into Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv respectively, is not new with Shiv Sena. This is our long-standing demand & this has been raised several times but Congress and NCP opposed it to appease the Muslim voters.

Not just UP and Maharashtra, there have been proposals or demands from other states for the same. Gujarat government has expressed its interest in renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati.

Himachal Pradesh government is reportedly considering a proposal to rename Shimla to Shyamala.
The India Railways has decided to install 100-feet tall national flags at 75 busiest railway stations across the country by the end of this year. The Railway Board, the apex body of the national transporter, issued the order to this effect on October 22, which has been forwarded to all the zonal railways.

Seven stations where the flag is to be installed are in Mumbai.

According to the order, the authorities concerned have been asked to complete the flag installation work by the end of next month. The order issued by Vivek Saxena, Railway Board executive director (station development), says, "The Board has decided to provide a monumental flag (of at least 100-ft height) at all the erstwhile 'A1' class railway stations. The work should be completed by December 2018."

BCCL

The cost of the work may be charged under umbrella work of 'Soft upgrades improvement at stations', it said. Mumbai, which has headquarters of two zonal railways - Central Railway and Western Railway - houses seven A-1 category stations.

Rest 68 stations fall in other cities and zonal railways.

The stations in Mumbai are Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Dadar, Thane, Kalyan, Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus.

"The flag should be provided in circulating area of the stations and at a suitable place. It should be provided with focused lights. The security and safety of the flag shall rest with Railway Protection Force (RPF)," the order says.

A senior CR officer said they have received the communication and places to install the flags were being identified. Chief spokesperson of the Western Railway Ravinder Bhakar said, "The Railway Board's order will be followed in letter and spirit and our team will do our best to complete the installation work within the deadline."

Passenger representatives, however, expressed reservations over the move.

Ratan Poddar, a member of the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) panel set up by the WR, said, "The priority of the Railways should be upgrading the passenger amenities and installation of flags is certainly not related to that. I don't think the mere installation of flags will instill a sense of patriotism in people."
Yesterday, during his visit to New Delhi, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sat down with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a chat.

As it turns out, PM Modi is grateful for the micro-blogging platform, which has provided him with "great friends".

Jack Dorsey/Twitter

"I enjoy being on this medium, where I've made great friends and see everyday the creativity of people," the prime minister, who has 44.4 million followers, tweeted to Dorsey later. In turn, the Twitter CEO thanked the Prime Minister for his on improving the platform.

The meeting was part of Dorsey's first trip to India, one of the social media sites' biggest markets in the world. So far, he's already met with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, as well as the Congress party's Rahul Gandhi.

Delighted to meet you @jack! Happy to see the passion with which youre leading @Twitter.

I enjoy being on this medium, where Ive made great friends and see everyday the creativity of people. https://t.co/aUElNJyahk  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2018

At an IIT-Delhi event on Monday, Dorsey addressed the fake news situation on Twitter. Though he vowed the company was tackling the issue, he insisted there's no universal fix for such a complex problem.

So far, under pressure from the Indian government, Facebook and WhatsApp are both taking steps to curb hoaxes and misinformation on their platforms. Hopefully Twitter will have better success with their own efforts, but don't hold your breath.
Indian space agency ISRO has successfully launched the communication satellite GSAT 29 on top of its heaviest rocket to date, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) - Mark III D2. The satellite has been launched as an effort to improve the communication in the regions of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Northeastern states of India.

The launch marked the second developmental flight of GSLV-Mk III rocket. The launch vehicle, with its 4 tonnes of carrying capacity, carried the 3.4 tonnes communication satellite to the Geo-Transfer Orbit (GTO). Once in the Geostationary Orbit (GSO), GSAT 29 will provide advanced connectivity to a large population of India, especially to the ones in the geographically inaccessible areas. The multiband and multibeam communication satellite also features a Geo high-resolution camera, which can be used to track enemy ships.

GSAT29 (ISRO)

Apart from the enhanced connectivity, there is another reason why the launch was of prime importance to ISRO. With the launch, the GSLV-Mk III completed its development phase and will now be declared operational and will join the ranks of other launch vehicles of ISRO, namely the PSLV and GSLV. This is the second successful flight of GSLV-Mk III post its debut launch in 2013.

GSLV Mk-III (ISRO)

How did it work?

The GSLV Mk-III comprises of three stage boosters, that include 2 solid strap-ons, a liquid core stage and a cryogenic upper stage booster. The new cryogenic booster is what ISRO takes pride in with the GSLV Mk-III, that is supposed to be more efficient (even at lower temperatures and atmospheric density) and more complex than the other two.

The boosters come into action at different stages as the launch vehicle propels itself upwards. The strap on boosters are the first to boost the rocket, until about 2 mins and 20 seconds into the flight, post which they are separated from the vehicle. At around 1 mins 50 seconds into the flight, the liquid core stage booster ignites, which then propels the vehicle for the next 4and a half mins. Within 3 seconds of its shut off, the booster is separated. And in the next 3 seconds, the cryogenic booster starts which then propels the satellite for the next 11 mins to the Geo-Transfer Orbit. At around 16 mins 43 seconds into the flight, the cryogenic booster is separated and the satellite is on its course to the Geostationary orbit.
Tyler Barriss is a 25-year-old resident of Los Angeles, and he's one of the most notorious gamers on the planet. Not because he's any good, far from it in fact.

No, he's well known for a wave of "swatting" incidents that ended in the death of a gamer at the hands of police.

Images courtesy: Reuters

Swatting is a particularly disgusting practice used by trolls and gamers seeking revenge for a loss in the US. It basically involves making a 911 call and tipping off police about a fake dangerous situation at the victim's residence, usually involving hostages. As is standard, police usually send SWAT teams to the location, and it ends with the victim being at the very least scared and severely inconvenienced, and in some cases violently "neutralised".

According to California authorities, Barriss was responsible for a number of swatting incidents around the state before being arrested in January this year. Authorities hadn't taken the case too seriously until the final incident, where 28-year-old Andrew Finch was shot dead by police. The criminal prankster has pled guilty to a total of 51 federal charges, and now faces a minimum of 20 years in prison.

Barriss wasn't even just trolling an opponent when he caused Finch's death. He allegedly accepted a $1.50 (Rs 108) payment over a Call of Duty match to call in a fake hostage situation at an address where the father of two was at the time. The encounter ended with police busting the door down and shooting Finch dead.

Barriss also admitted to being involved with dozens of other fake calls to police, including bomb threats at malls, TV stations, and even the FBI headquarters. The two other Call of Duty players also involved in the Finch incident face a laundry list of charges as well when their trials begin in January.
You're about to get heavier, and it has nothing to do with how much you gorged on sweets during the festive season.

That's because after years of keeping a standard, scientists are now thinking of updating the definition of the kilogram we use everyday.

A computer-generated image of the International Prototype of the Kilogram - Wikimeda Commons

The kilogram was defined back in 1889, with a block of platinum iridium kept securely in a vault in Paris. It's called the "international prototype kilogram" and is the standard by which all other weights are measured.

The problem is, that block doesn't always weight the same. Though its ensconced in three glass bell jars, it can still get dusty, and is affected by the atmosphere. "We live in a modern world. There are pollutants in the atmosphere that can stick to the mass," Ian Robinson, materials and engineering specialist at Britain's National Physical Laboratory, told Reuters.

"So when you just get it out of the vault, it's slightly dirty. But the whole process of cleaning or handling or using the mass can change its mass. So it's not the best way, perhaps, of defining mass." That's why scientists have agreed we need a standard that's more constant.

A whole new kilogram

After a week-long conference in the Palace of Versailles, the leading measurement experts in the world will meet at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures on Friday. There, they will vote to make an "electronic kilogram" which will be the new baseline measure of mass we follow.

The revision will be similar to what happened to the metre decades ago. In 1799, it was the length of a bar of platinum-iridium also kept in Paris. In 1983, that was changed to the definition of how far light travels in a vacuum.

A replica of the IPK in Europe - Wikimedia Commons

For the kilogram, the scientists will use an apparatus called a Kibble balance, which uses Planck's Constant to measure the mass of an object using a precise electromagnetic force. "In the present system, you have to relate small masses to large masses by subdivision. That's very difficult - and the uncertainties build up very, very quickly," Robinson said. "One of the things this (new) technique allows us to do is to actually measure mass directly at whatever scale we like, and that's a big step forward."

It's taken years of painstaking tweaking for scientists to even consider switching over to this new definition. For them, the impact will reach every conceivable field of research. For the average person though, it's not going to be a discernible difference in what your gym weighing scale shows you, or how much rice you can buy.
Some people are just rude for no reason, while others gain special powers once they get drunk. An Irish woman created a scene on an Air India international flight when she harassed the crew when they refused to serve her alcohol beyond a point.

The woman started abusing the crew members and spat on the pilot out of anger.

"I am a f**king international lawyer." "Rich Indian f**king money grabbing b**tard." "You f**king stupid c**t."

Video of the incident is going viral on the internet where she can be seen fighting, abusing and accusing the Air Indian flight crew and pilot.

Irish lady behaves in such an abusive, racist way with @airindiain crew for being refused extra drinks. Very decent AI crew behaviour. Arrested on landing. Wonder if she should have been controlled onboard with handcuffs. @JitiBhargava @Mohan_Rngnathan pic.twitter.com/kSTDmGOEm5  Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) November 13, 2018

A fight broke between the crew members and the lady when they refused to serve alcohol beyond a point. She got too drunk, so, the pilot instructed that no more alcohol be served to her.

In the video, the woman is slurring and she is heard saying "You treat business class passengers like this? I work for all you f**king people... But you won't give me a glass of wine... You can't give me a wee bottle of wine."

Drunk Irish passenger abuses Air India as she was refused another glass of wine. Passenger allegedly was drunk and that's why the crew didn't give her more alcohol and passenger goes on a rant abusing the crew and people of Asia. pic.twitter.com/A0bOkwYrnr  Nagarjun Dwarakanath (@nagarjund) November 14, 2018

In another video, the woman is heard screaming that she is an "international human rights lawyer" who has "f**king helped Palestinian people".

When the crew members told her that they would inform the police about the indecent behaviour once the plane landed in London, she replied: You think I am scared?

The woman was arrested, immediately after the flight landed in London.
After Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh might become the second state in the country to legalise the cultivation of marijuana.

In the year 1985, the Indian government under international pressure banned the cultivation and consumption of Marijuana in India. Uttrakhand in 2018 legalised the cultivation of marijuana and now Himachal Pradesh is also thinking about legalising cultivation.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said, according to a report in The Tribune, that the spur in the demand could be attributed to the legalising of hemp cultivation in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand. With Himachali areas in the Kullu district including Sainj and Malana becoming famous across the world for its high grade and high-potency cannabis strains, many in the government feel that legalizing the cultivation can help boost the economy of local cultivators.

The move is supported by both Congress and BJP leaders in the state. As marijuana has many medicinal uses like curing nausea and muscle spasms, the country is slowly waking up to its pharmaceutic abilities.

If Himachal Pradesh is legalising the cultivation of marijuana it will not mean that the tourists and the locals can misuse it. The government is going to keep a strict check on its use.
The government is all set to release a Rs 75 commemorative coin on the occasion of 75th anniversary of hoisting of Tricolour for the first time by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Port Blair.

On December 30, 1943, Bose had hoisted the Tricolour for the first time at Cellular Jail, Port Blair.

Bose named Andaman Island as Shaheed and Nicobar Island as Swaraj and appointed INA General AD Loganathan as the governor of the islands. Azad Hind government was not merely a government in exile anymore but had its own land, currency, civil code and stamps.

By hoisting the Azad Hind flag, Bose - the head of Provisional Government of Azad Hind - also fulfilled his promise that INA would stand on the Indian soil by the end of 1943.

"The coin of seventy-five rupees denomination shall only be coined at the mint for issue under the authority of the central government on the occasion of '75th Anniversary of Hoisting of Tricolour' for the first time by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Port Blair," said a representative from the Ministry of Finance.

35-gram coin will be composed of 50 per cent silver, 40 per cent copper, and 5 per cent each of nickel and zinc. This coin will bear the portrait of 'Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose' saluting the flag on the background of cellular jail.

There will be an inscription in both Devanagari script and English, saying 'First Flag Hoisting Day'.

Inputs PTI
A nerve-racking cockpit footage shows a pilot and his crew somehow managing to land a plane in Spain despite a thunderstorm raging around them.

Pilots of the plane that was going into land at Palma de Mallorca in Spain had to struggle as wind and rain came at them with full force.

In the video, the pilots can be seen juddering in the turbulence, with torrential rain resulting in zero visibility.

Heavy rain continues as it approaches the runway, and the aircraft appears to shake in 40mph winds.

If you are a nervous flyer, watching this video is not going to help things.

Another viral footage shows, a plane landing at Minsk Airport in near-zero visibility conditions caused by heavy fog.

According to reports, pilots usually trust the autopilot system of the aircraft in such situations.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen looks on during the Conference for Prosperity and Security in Central America on Oct. 11 in Washington, D.C. Leaders from the Central American countries of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras met with U.S. leaders at the second Conference for Prosperity and Security in Central America. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Indian American attorney Deepak Ahluwalia  who works extensively with Sikh and South Asian asylum seekers  denounced President Donald Trumps ban on asylum for people arriving at unauthorized areas of the U.S.-Mexico border. He told India-West that Trumps ban violates the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act which states that anyone making their way into the U.S.  by any means  is eligible for asylum. (photo provided)
More local magnesia producers in Chinas Liaoning province have stopped production because of the latest round of stricter inspections to monitor compliance with environmental regulations.

Chinas government imposed another round of environmental inspections on heavy industries in several provinces, including Liaoning, for the period October 31-November 31.

Domestic...
Mineral sand producer Iluka Resources has told the 2018 TZMI Congress that high grade titanium feedstocks and zirconium feedstocks will remain tight into 2019.

The event in Singapore was hosted by independent consultant TZMI on November 12-14.

Subdued zircon demand in China was reported in early October this year, resulting...
Chiles environmental regulatory authority has terminated a review into US chemicals company Albemarles plan to build a new lithium plant in Chile.

The regulator said on November 12 that Albemarles environmental impact statement for its plan to build...
The experiment on La Palma: The laser beam (yellow) generates an artificial guide star in the mesosphere. This light is collected in the receiver telescope (front left). The laser source and the receiver telescope are eight meters away from each other. photo/: Felipe Pedreros Bustos

The mesosphere, at heights between 85 and 100 kilometers above the Earth's surface, contains a layer of atomic sodium. Astronomers use laser beams to create artificial stars, or laser guide stars (LGS), in this layer for improving the quality of astronomical observations.

In 2011, researchers proposed that artificial guide stars could also be used to measure the Earth's magnetic field at this altitude. An international group of scientists has recently managed to do this with a high degree of precision.

The technique may also help to identify magnetic structures in the solid Earth's lithosphere, to monitor space weather, and to measure electrical currents in the part of the atmosphere called ionosphere.

Astronomers have been using lasers to generate artificial stars for the past 20 years. A laser beam is directed from the ground into the atmosphere. In the sodium layer, it strikes sodium atoms, which absorb the energy of the laser and then start to glow.

The atoms emit light in all directions. Such artificial stars are barely visible to the naked eye but can be observed with telescopes, explained Felipe Pedreros Bustos of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU).

In connection with the work on his doctoral thesis, the Chilean-born physicist has spent four years working on the project, which besides JGU involves the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the University of California, Berkeley and Rochester Scientific in the USA, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF-OAR), and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

The artificial guide stars help astronomers to correct the distortions of light that travels through the atmosphere. The light from the artificial guide star is collected on the ground by telescopes, and the information is used to adjust in real time state-of-the-art deformable mirrors, compensating the distortions and allowing astronomical objects to be imaged sharply, down to the optical resolution, the so-called diffraction limit, of the telescope.

The precession of sodium atoms reveals the strength of the magnetic field

The participants in the collaborative project are using laser guide stars to measure the Earth's magnetic field. An ESO LGS unit dedicated to Research and Development is housed in the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, the westernmost Canary Island.

The availability and use of the LGS unit has allowed to perform the reported joint experiments, which also aim at increasing the brightness of laser guide stars. From the observatory, a laser beam is directed at the sodium layer which excites and spin-polarizes the atoms making most of their atomic spin point in the same direction.

Due to the effect of the surrounding magnetic field, the polarized atomic spins rotate around the direction of the magnetic field similar to the motion of a gyroscope that is tilted from the vertical, a phenomenon known as Larmor precession. A guide star becomes brighter when the modulation frequency of our laser coincides with the precession frequency of sodium, explained Pedreros Bustos. As the Larmor frequency is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field, we can use this method to measure the Earth's magnetic field in the sodium layer. The detection scheme is similar to a stroboscope.

Hence, the group has succeeded in using a well-studied, fundamental laboratory technique to observe the natural world. It fills a gap in our knowledge of the Earth's magnetic field by allowing us to make ground-based observations of the mesosphere, which was previously difficult to access. Up to now, the magnetic field could only be directly measured on the ground, from airplanes, from balloons in the stratosphere, or from satellites.

In May 2018, a US-American research group had published similar findings. However, these latest measurements are much more precise, and scientists hope to improve them still further by using higher-energy lasers. We can also use the technique to estimate atomic processes in the atmosphere, for example, how often sodium collides with other atoms such as oxygen or nitrogen. This is something that hasn't been done before, said Pedreros Bustos.

This artificial guide star measuring technique will be particularly useful in geophysics. It will make it possible to determine changes to the magnetic field of the Earth's ionosphere caused by solar winds. In addition, observation of oceanic currents and large-scale magnetic structures in the upper mantle would be feasible by means of continuous surveillance of the Earth's magnetic field at altitudes of 85 to 100 kilometers.

Images:

http://www.uni-mainz.de/bilder_presse/08_physik_quantum_laser_leitstern_magnetfe

The experiment on La Palma: The laser beam (yellow) generates an artificial guide star in the mesosphere. This light is collected in the receiver telescope (front left). The laser source and the receiver telescope are eight meters away from each other.

photo/: Felipe Pedreros Bustos

http://www.uni-mainz.de/bilder_presse/08_physik_quantum_laser_leitstern_magnetfe

The Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, located on the rim of an extinct volcano at 2,400 meters altitude in the island of La Palma, provides adequate conditions to perform the experiments described.

photo/: Felipe Pedreros Bustos

Related links:

https://budker.uni-mainz.de/?page_id=38  Magnetometry with Laser Guide Stars project of the Budker Group

https://budker.uni-mainz.de/  Budker Group at HIM and JGU

https://www.hi-mainz.de  Helmholtz-Institute Mainz

http://eso.org/sci/facilities/develop/lgsf.html  Laser guide star developments at ESO

Felipe Pedreros Bustos

Helmholtz Institute Mainz

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

55099 Mainz, GERMANY

phone +49 6131 39-29638

e-mail: pedreros@uni-mainz.de

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Felipe_Pedreros_Bustos

F. Pedreros Bustos et al., Remote sensing of geomagnetic fields and atomic collisions in the mesosphere, Nature Communications 9:3981, 28 September 2018,

DOI:10.1038/s41467-018-06396-7

http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06396-7

J. M. Higbie et al., Magnetometry with mesospheric sodium, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) 108:9, 3522-3525, 1 March 2011,

DOI:10.1073/pnas.1013641108

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/02/07/1013641108

http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/6963_ENG_HTML.php  press release Atomic parity violation research reaches new milestone (13 Nov. 2018) ;

http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/20266_ENG_HTML.php  press release ERC Advanced Grant for experimental physicists Dmitry Budker (12 May 2016) ;

http://www.magazin.uni-mainz.de/2452_ENG_HTML.php  JGU MAGAZINE: Not everything in the universe is symmetrical (9 Jan. 2015)
Corn Closes Black on Monday Barchart - 28 minutes ago Front month corn futures ended the Monday session with gains of 6 to 7 1/2 cents. New crop prices were slower to start the week, gaining 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 cents. USDA saw 618,490 MT of corn shipped during... ZCZ21 : 576-6s (+1.05%) ZCPAUS.CM : 5.6213 (+1.09%) ZCH22 : 584-2s (+1.26%) ZCZ21 : 576-6s (+1.05%) ZCPZ21US.CM : 5.6649 (+1.16%)

Monday Rally for Wheat Barchart - 28 minutes ago Wheat futures ended the session with double digit gains to start the week. Chicago futures closed 17 to 23 1/2 cents in the black. KC HRW led the complex with 2.61% to 3.34% gains of at least 21 1/2 cents... ZWZ21 : 845-6s (+2.76%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.9707 (+2.93%) KEZ21 : 861-6s (+3.23%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.4006 (+3.28%) MWZ21 : 1023-4s (+1.31%)

Chart of the Day: Dorman - String of All-Time Highs Barchart - 34 minutes ago The Barchart Chart of the Day belongs to the vehicle replacement parts company Dorman Products (NASDAQ: DORM ). I found the company by sorting Barchart's All Time High list first by the highest... DORM : 121.77 (+3.21%)

Shootin' the Bull Swift Trading Company - 1 hour ago Fewer cattle to choose from creates a strong bid from packers. Packers showed their hand last week as to what they are capable of when tasked to do such. It will be difficult going forward for packers...

Dollar Rallies on Higher T-note Yields Barchart - 1 hour ago The dollar index (DXY00 ) on Monday rose +0.482 (+0.50%) and posted a new 16-month high. Higher T-note yields on Monday supported gains in the dollar along with weakness in EUR/USD. Gains in the dollar... DXY00 : 96.502 (+0.49%) ^EURUSD : 1.12374 (+0.03%) ^USDJPY : 114.863 (-0.01%) GCZ21 : 1,807.2 (+0.05%) SIZ21 : 24.220 (-0.32%)

Nat-Gas Prices Slump on Above-Normal U.S. Temps Barchart - Mon Nov 22, 2:40PM CST December Nymex natural gas (NGZ21 ) on Monday closed down -0.276 (-5.45%). Dec nat-gas prices mon Monday fell to a 2-1/2 month low and closed sharply lower. A milder U.S. fall weather forecast that would... NGF22 : 4.873 (+0.25%)
Voice of Americas Africa division launched newscasts in Lingala on November 12, 2018, bringing to 46 the total number of languages in which the agency broadcasts around the world. Lingala is spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as parts of Central Africa Republic and Angola.

For 64 million people who speak Lingala, VOA will be the first international broadcaster to reach them in their own language. Lingala is understood by 80 percent of the DRC population, twice the number of people who understand French.

The new broadcasts will be added to the French to Africa language service offerings and will include 15 minutes of radio content (Monday through Friday) focusing on news from Africa division reporting and from Lingala reporters on the ground, as well as on public health-related issues like Ebola and HIV/AIDS.

The launch of the Lingala broadcasts is designed to boost efforts to promote democracy, transparency, and the rule of law ahead of December presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The 152 million lower contribution of net capital gains was almost entirely compensated for by the exceptionally high first quarter result in China, reported Ageas this morning. The non-life net result stood at 201 million.

Although impacted by adverse weather in Belgium and the UK for 60 million, the result decreased by only 11 million year-on-year, thanks to a continued strong operating performance. Last years result included a 40 million negative Ogden impact.

Ageas said total inflows, driven by Belgium and China, rose 3% to 27.4 billion at a constant exchange rate. Combined ratio was at 95.1%.

The solid results we realised over the first nine months demonstrate that we are well on track to deliver on our Ambition2018 promises, commented De Smet. They also represent a strong basis for the commitments made for the next three years under Ageass strategic plan Connect21.

An excellent third quarter in non-life underscored a good performance across all of our businesses leading to a strong nine months non-life result notwithstanding the adverse weather in the first half of the year. In life, growth in inflows continued, although the result was impacted somewhat by lower net capital gains in Belgium and the recent challenging equity markets in Asia.

Aside from its interim results, Ageas also today announced the acquisition of a 40% stake in Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited in India. The company believes the transaction will provide a strong foothold in what De Smet called a large and fast growing non-life market.

Together with the recent sale of our minority stake in Cardif Lux Vie in Luxemburg, this illustrates our determination to prioritise growth markets and non-life activities, said the CEO.
While brokers identified coverage as the most important factor for the fourth consecutive year, there was a shift in the rankings when it came to support.

After sitting in fifth place last year, broker support leapt to second place with many respondents commenting on the assistance offered by their underwriter. Overall service levels came in third place, followed by claims turnaround times and new business turnaround times. Premium stability was ranked sixth while commission structures remained in last place by a significant margin  as it has in every year of the survey.

Brokers were also asked to name the top three underwriters in 11 product categories:

Accident and health

Accident and Health International (AHI) took top spot for the fourth consecutive year with respondents singling out the underwriter for its impressive turnaround time, product scope and level of service.

AFA also earned the silver medal for the fourth time while Point Underwriting earned bronze, breaking into the top three for the first time.

Construction

Mecon Insurance was identified once again as the superior underwriter in the construction space with one broker describing the firm as best in class.

Silver went to SURA for the second time in two years while Lloyds-affiliated ATC Insurance Solutions made the list for the first time, in third place.

Cyber

Specialist underwriter Emergence Insurance Group was named best provider of cyber cover this year, with brokers praising the firms commitment to annual policy updates and expert staff.

DUAL Australia earned silver, slipping from its top spot in 2017, while Brooklyn Underwriting followed in third place.

Directors and Officers Liability

DUAL Australia earned the gold medal once again for D&O coverage, a feat the firm has now accomplished four years in a row.

London Australia Underwriting (LAUW) came in second place while Pen Underwriting made its debut, picking up the bronze medal.

Management liability

Another impressive achievement for DUAL, as the firm picked up its fourth gold medal in the management liability category with brokers pointing to an impressive turnaround time.

Brooklyn Underwriting entered the top three in the category for the first time this year, taking out silver, while Solution Underwriting Agency retained its bronze medal once again.

Not-For-Profit

Always a closely-contested category, Community Underwriting Agency fought to retain its top spot for a third consecutive year with brokers praising its staff, turnaround times and pricing.

Just missing out on the top spot, DUAL earned silver once again while ASR Underwriting Agencies came in third place.

Property

Specialising in hard-to-place cover, AXIS Underwriting Services was identified as the top property performer for the third consecutive year  making it the only winner since the category was introduced.

Pen Underwriting rose to take the silver medal this year, having previously won bronze, while SURA entered the top three for the first time.

Product Liability

Another consistent performer, High Street Underwriting Agency was named the best product liability underwriter for the fourth year running.

Miramar Underwriting Agency earned the silver medal while Pen Underwriting maintained its bronze position for a third time.

Professional Indemnity

Yet another win for DUAL Australia as the firm came out top in professional indemnity for the fourth year running with one broker praising the underwriter for going above and beyond.

Solution Underwriting retained its silver medal for a second year running while High Street Underwriting came in third place.

Public Liability

Another reliable performance from High Street Underwriting as the firm claimed the gold model for its public liability coverage for the fourth year.

Pen Underwriting followed in second place, while Brooklyn Underwriting rounded out the top three.

Strata

CHU dominated the Strata sector, taking out the gold medal by a considerable margin and remaining in the top spot for the third time.

Strata Community Insurance made the podium for the first time this year, winning the silver medal, while Strata Unit Underwriters followed up in third place.

Brokers Pick

In addition to voting for the top underwriting agencies across 11 product lines, brokers were also asked to name the top insurance products provided by an agency in the past 12 months.

The following products earned the most votes from brokers:

CHU Underwriting Agencies  Residential Strata Insurance Plan

The product was identified as a favourite for the third year in a row with brokers pointing to inclusive policy wording and outstanding support.

Emergence Insurance Group  Cyber Event Protection

The Sydney-based cyber specialist and relative newcomer has impressed brokers with its customer-focus and impressive industry knowledge.

MECON  Annual Projects

MECON returns as a brokers pick for a third time, winning praise for its competitive pricing and claims service as well as its optional additional covers that are difficult to find elsewhere.

DUAL Australia  Cyber Gold

Despite losing out to Emergence in the cyber category, brokers were still keen to express their satisfaction with DUALs easy to understand coverage in the area and identified the underwriter as one of their favourites.
Authorised and regulated by the National Bank of Belgium, Lloyds Brussels writes all non-life risks from the European Economic Area (EEA). In the Belgian capital it is manned by 50 staff while the other 45 are based across the continent.

Lloyds is ready for Brexit with Lloyds Brussels now officially open for business, said Lloyds chair Bruce Carnegie-Brown. Our decision to set up an insurance company in Brussels has provided certainty to our partners and customers throughout Europe, reassuring them that they can continue to benefit from Lloyds specialist expertise and financial security post-Brexit.

Carnegie-Brown noted that they are already working with partners on 2019 policies and that Lloyds Brussels is now placing and processing European risks.

Now that Lloyds Brussels is operational, we are looking forward to the new opportunities that we will have to grow our business with European customers through a locally staffed, locally regulated, and locally capitalised insurer, he commented.

By using electronic placement and digital data capture, Lloyds Brussels offers its partners in Europe the very best that Lloyds has to offer in an easily accessible and cost-effective way.

Meanwhile all legacy EEA business will be moved to Lloyds Brussels before the end of 2020 through a Part VII transfer.
Nov 14, 2018 | By Cameron

While Colossus is likely to be the largest 3D printer showing off at Formnext 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany over the next few days, the Nexa3D NXE400 may be the fastest. The NXE400 is an SLA 3D printer designed for ultra-rapid prototyping and part production. SLA (stereolithography) printing is arguably the most precise form of 3D printing, and it happens to be among the fastest as well. So when Avi Reichental, Nexa3D Co-founder and Executive Chairman says We are thrilled, proud and humbled to be the team thats breaking the speed, size and cost barriers that constrained our industrys growth rates for decades. It is a development thats highly prized by end-users, strategic partners, resellers and investors alike, hes not making an understatement.

The Nexa3D NXE400 can print six times faster than other printers in its class at a blazing 1Z centimeter per minute! That means a part thats a foot tall would take only half an hour to print, no matter its complexity. Thats nearing current TV sci-fi speeds of printing. To explain how theyve achieved this feat of fastness, a brief primer on how SLA printers function will be helpful.

There sits a vat of photocurable resin (liquid) with a light projector positioned underneath and aiming upwards at the bottom of the vat, which is clear to allow light from the projector to pass through and hit the resin. A scaffold/bed is lowered into the vat very nearly to the bottom so that when the projector illuminates the first cross-section of the part, the resin cures into a solid onto the scaffold. The scaffold is moved up ever so slightly (~100 microns or less), resin flows between the part and the bottom of the vat, the projector shines the next cross-section, and the process repeats until theres a shiny new part. Youve probably already detected some of the factors that limit the speed of SLA printers: the cure time of the resin, the fluidic properties of resin, and the fact that the part has to be peeled off the bottom of the vat after each layer is cured.

To address those issues, Nexa3D developed a proprietary Lubricant Sublayer Photo-curing (LSPc) technology as well as a patented structured light matrix. It took several years of research and trial and error, but their R&D budget finally paid off; on top of the record-breaking speed, the NXE400 also has a build volume of 16 liters, over twice as large as most SLA 3D printers. The NXE400 ($49,950) and the 7-liter NXE200 ($19,950) will both be demonstrated along with automated post-processing units at the XponentialWorks booth, B01 - Hall 3 in the Frankfurt Messe during Formnext.

In order to accelerate the commercialization of the NXE series, Nexa3D has a multi-channel arrangement with XYZprinting, who will manufacture and sell the printers under the XYZ brand. Additionally, BEGO, a leading provider of digital and traditional dental materials, will market and sell a special-purpose dental printer. Nexa3D will develop all the technology for the partnerships and also sell the 3D printers under their brand.

Posted in 3D Printer

Maybe you also like:









3d guy wrote at 11/14/2018 2:40:52 PM:very cool




The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has received two mid-year workers compensation loss cost filings with a proposed effective date of January 1, 2019, from the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau (PCRB). The department stated in a press release that it plans an immediate review of these new filings.

Workers compensation insurance is vital to protect workers hurt on the job and make sure they get the medical care they need. At the same time, this is a cost for businesses, and that cost must be calculated with accurate information, Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman said in the release. For these reasons, our department will be prioritizing our review of these filings to make certain our insurers and employers are using the correct information and rates are set appropriately.

The first filing follows Governor Wolfs signing of Act 111, which responds to a state Supreme Court ruling concerning how disability claims are handled in workers comp cases. The PCRB, an independent bureau that makes filings to the Insurance Department on behalf of the nearly 325 companies that write workers comp insurance in Pennsylvania, filed a proposed 5.24 percent reduction in overall loss costs as a result of this new law. Loss costs are a component of insurance rates.

At the same time, the PCRB is filing another mid-year loss cost revision to modify an earlier loss cost filing submitted in November 2017, effective on April 1, 2018. In late October 2018, the PCRB identified the need to modify the filing and notified the Insurance Department. It has since prepared the new filing. This filing contains a decrease in overall loss costs of 10.02 percent. Changes in the loss costs impact insurers and employers in different ways, so it is not possible to say how this issue may have impacted the rates paid by employers since April 1, 2018.

As soon as we learned of this issue, we began working with the PCRB to encourage a prompt new filing with the department, so we could begin our review and approval process as soon as possible, Altman said in the release. We also immediately began investigating the issue and will take appropriate actions once the investigation has concluded.

Source: Pennsylvania Insurance Department

Topics Workers' Compensation Pennsylvania
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., which is under fire for the worlds biggest airline data breach, said the sophisticated attacks lasted months as it took steps to shield its exposed computer network.

The attacks were most intense March through May and continued, Asias biggest airline said Monday in a written submission to Hong Kongs legislature before a panel hearing this week. Although the number of successful attacks diminished, concerns remain new attacks could be mounted, the city-based airline said, apologizing to passengers for the incident.

Cathay is cognizant that changes in the cyber-security threat landscape continue to evolve at pace as the sophistication of the attackers improves, it said. Our plans, which include growing our team of IT security specialists, will necessarily evolve in response to this challenging environment.

Read More: Millions of Passengers Hit in Worst Ever Airline Data Hack

Hong Kongs privacy watchdog said last week that it was investigating the breach the carrier disclosed seven months after detection. While the attack exposed personal information of 9.4 million passengers, including passport details, addresses and emails, Cathay Pacific said flight safety wasnt compromised and there was no evidence the data was misused.

Cathay Pacific Data Breach Probed by Hong Kongs Watchdog

The carrier said it has spent more than HK$1 billion ($128 million) on its IT infrastructure and security over the past three years. Shares of the premium airline were up 0.8 percent as of 1:21 p.m. Tuesday in Hong Kong. The stock is little changed since a filing disclosed the breach on Oct. 24.

The breach has prompted calls to overhaul Hong Kongs two-decades-old privacy laws to ensure companies report any leaks quicker. For now, offenses for disclosing personal data obtained without consent from users could be subject to a fine of HK$1 million and imprisonment for five years, according to the Personal Data Ordinance. Individuals who suffer damage could also seek compensation.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber Aviation
Imagining the fallout from a successful computer hack is keeping one British energy executive awake at night.

An attack could be enough to destroy a business if its not handled properly, Michael Lewis, chief executive officer of EON SEs U.K. subsidiary, told delegates at Bloombergs Breakaway conference in London.

Protecting itself and its 6.5 million business and domestic customers across Europe is a major issue for Essen, Germany-based EON, he said at the event for company founders and CEOs. The utility has several layers of protection including training staff to be suspicious.

Most countries classify energy assets such as gas pipelines and power cables as critical infrastructure, with their cyber safety now as important as physical security. Utilities are seen as a target because of the potential disruption a power cut would cause to millions of people. Most companies refuse to publish any information on attacks in case of its use to would-be hackers.

We have periodically been subject to probes from phishing expeditions, Lewis said. Prevention is of critical importance for companies in the business of information and which have large amounts of clients.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber
Brussels-based insurer Ageas announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 40 percent of the share capital of the Indian non-life insurance company Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Ltd. (RSGI) for a total consideration of 186 million (US$209.4 million).

RSGI is a top 10 privately owned player in the Indian general insurance market, focusing in motor and health insurance. The company benefits from extended distribution capabilities with a nationwide network of more than 5,600 agents, 700 branches and relationships with banks and other distribution partners off- and online, said Ageas in a statement.

The acquisition fits Ageass strategy to expand its activities in fast growing markets in which it already operates, focusing on non-life insurance in particular.

The transaction is subject to the approval of regulators and is expected to close in the first half of 2019. After completion, Ageas will hold 40 percent of RSGIs share capital, Sundaram Finance Ltd. will hold 50 percent and various other shareholders will have the remaining 10 percent.

In 2018 RSGI generated 321 million ($361.4 million) inflows and 10 million ($11.3 million) net profit and realized between 2015 and 2018, an average annual growth rate of 19 percent and 55 percent in inflows and net profit, respectively.

Partnering with Sundaram Finance, a well-established company with a vast knowledge of the Indian insurance market, offers us a great opportunity to benefit from the potential of what is one of the worlds largest economies with an insurance industry that is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, commented Bart De Smet, CEO of Ageas.

Being already present in the Indian life insurance market, we now will be able, through this new joint venture, to also fully grasp opportunities in the non-life market. We are confident that Ageass insurance expertise combined with Sundaram Finances market knowledge and position will take RSGI to a next level in terms of size and profitability, he added.

Over the past 18 years, Royal Sundaram has built a sterling reputation in the market for its customer service excellence, notably in claims management, said T T Srinivasaraghavan, managing director of Sundaram Finance.

The company has demonstrated strong growth in its chosen segments and is witnessing a rapid growth in its profitability, he added. For the next phase of growth, we are delighted to be partnering with Ageas, whose global experience, including several Asian countries, will be an asset.

About Ageas

Concentrating its activities in Europe and Asia, Ageas operates insurance businesses in Belgium, the UK, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Turkey, China, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and the Philippines through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and long-term partnerships with financial institutions and key distributors.

Source: Ageas

Topics Mergers Carriers Market India
French reinsurer SCOR forced one of its board members  Thierry Derez, the CEO of Covea  to resign this week. It was the culmination of a boardroom squabble that began in September when SCOR rebuffed an 8.3-billion-euro ($9.3 billion) takeover offer from Covea, a Paris-based mutual insurer that is SCORs biggest shareholder with a 10 percent stake.

Although the offer was not welcomed by SCOR, Covea at the time said it was still interested in pursuing a friendly transaction. Nevertheless, SCOR executives were not happy about the continued participation of Derez on the board  the CEO of a company pursuing what they perceived as a hostile takeover.

SCOR said Derezs board membership was a conflict of interest and had disrupted the proper functioning of the group, which led the reinsurer to ask him to resign as a director on several occasions.

Derez finally decided to resign from SCORs board on Nov. 13, following an opinion issued by Haut Comite de Gouvernement dEntreprise (HCGE), which is a commission that oversees French corporate governance.

Given Thierry Derezs refusal to face the full consequences of this situation, SCORs lead independent director referred the matter to the [HCGE] on Oct. 12, explained SCOR. On Oct. 30, HCGE supported SCORs position, issuing an opinion that Derez could no longer occupy the post and must give up his mandate, said the reinsurer.

Covea subsequently commented on HCGEs decision, saying on Nov. 13 that it had made continuous attempts to soothe relationships with SCOR.

Covea acknowledges SCORs constant refusal to hold any discussion with its largest shareholder, which, from now on, will no longer be represented on the board of directors of SCOR, said Covea in a press release. (Covea did not pursue a legal challenge in the French courts. Representatives were not available to comment on the Derezs resignation).

In an initial attempt to pour oil on troubled waters, Covea on Sept. 27 announced that Derez would temporarily withdraw from the board until SCORs annual shareholders meeting in 2019, in the interest of appeasement.

But SCOR opposed this unilateral decision, which it said violated SCORs bylaws, the internal regulations of the board of directors and therefore had no legal grounding, explained the reinsurer in its Nov. 13 statement.

The procedure and the methods used by Thierry Derez and Covea to prepare, submit and make public the [acquisition] proposal of Aug. 24, 2018, as well as their renewed expressions of interest, can only be considered as hostile and unfriendly, and are significantly disrupting the functioning of the company, said SCOR in comments issued on Sept. 27.

Related:

French Reinsurer SCOR Spurns $9.6B Acquisition Offer from Insurer Covea

Topics Lawsuits Reinsurance
Nearly half of Iowas counties have approved use of all-terrain or utility vehicles for public roadways, and at least one large county is considering joining the trend.

Dubuque County supervisors have been considering the issue since two riding groups approached the board in February seeking access to roads, The Telegraph Herald reported. The vehicles are currently only permitted on county roads for agricultural reasons.

The board created a citizen committee to prepare a report as supervisors consider an ordinance. Officials expect the report to be ready in January.

Supporters of the vehicles say it will have economic benefits by attracting riders to the area.

If were going to keep the small towns alive, this is probably the best economic way to get people into small towns and keep the traffic flowing, said Dale Leslein, of the Dubuque County ATV/UTV Alliance.

Opponents raised concerns about safety and the potential for crashes.

ATV manufacturers say the vehicles are designed for off-road use. Many models have a higher center of gravity than cars, meaning they roll easily across uneven ground but are more likely to topple over at high speed. They also have low-pressure tires that can make handling difficult on paved, dirt or gravel roads.

Riders say manufacturers warnings are more about limiting liability than averting serious danger.

Dubuque County Sheriff Joe Kennedy has said also hes worried about the countys high population compared to smaller counties that allow ATV riding. Dubuque County has about 97,000 people, while Warren County, the most populous county to currently allow ATV riding, has a population of about 50,000.

Story County is also nearing a formal discussion of the ATV issue, said Rick Sanders, chairman of Story Countys Board of Supervisors.

I think its something that all (county supervisors) are going to deal with at some point, he said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Iowa
National General Holdings Corp. has agreed to acquire National Farmers Union Property and Casualty Co. from QBE North America. The estimated purchase price is $43 million.

National Farmers Union Insurance writes personal and farm auto and farm and homeowners insurance in the midwestern states through roughly 400 agencies. It also insures a telecommunications insurance program.

Based in North Dakota, National Farmers Union Insurance has been serving rural America since 1945 and has approximately 60 employees. The company wrote $175 million in gross written premium in 2017, with the majority of premium written in personal/farm auto (58% of 2017 GWP) and farm/homeowners (33% of 2017 GWP) lines. The company is licensed in 49 states with a heavy concentration of business in the Midwest: North Dakota, Colorado, Montana, Minnesota, Kansas, Wyoming, Nebraska and Utah.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019.

QBE North America is reorganizing to focus on its specialty, core commercial, program, crop and its reinsurance businesses. Its sale of National Farmers Union comes just three months after it sold its personal insurance independent agency policies in 47 states to Safeco Insurance, a division of Liberty Mutual. The book of business, which is sold through more than 900 independent agents and brokers nationwide, consists of two primary lines of business: personal auto and personal property insurance. The sale represented $230 million in gross written premium.

We thoughtfully chose to move this area of the business to National General for its ability to consistently deliver an experience of excellence to our agents and customers, said Russ Johnston, CEO of QBE North America. By intensifying our focus, we hope to improve our future earnings profile and enhance our ability to deliver our core capabilities to our limited and preferred distribution network.

National General Holdings Corp., headquartered in New York City, is a specialty personal lines insurance holding company. National provides personal and commercial automobile, homeowners, umbrella, recreational vehicle, motorcycle, supplemental health, and other niche insurance products.

This acquisition fits well with our existing business mix, expanding our personal lines footprint in the Midwest and opening up a new distribution network through an exclusive arrangement with the National Farmers Union, said National General CEO Barry Karfunkel.

Last June, AmTrust Financial Services Inc., which had seen its stock drop after earlier reporting a reserve shortfall and weaknesses in its accounting, sold its shares in National General Holdings Corp. for approximately $211.7 million.

In 2016, National General bought the renewal rights of Nationwide Mutuals personal and commercial non-standard vehicle in-force policies. That deal involved 337,000 private passenger auto and about 26,000 non-standard commercial auto Nationwide policies.

Topics Mergers Auto Agribusiness
Tesla Inc. resolved most of a purported class-action lawsuit by customers who alleged that their Model S and Model X vehicles would suddenly accelerate, which in some cases resulted in accidents.

Lawyers for the carmaker and the plaintiffs said in a filing Tuesday in federal court in Santa Ana, California, that six plaintiffs will drop their claims and that the remaining plaintiff and his son will only pursue individual claims and no claims on behalf of other Tesla drivers. Settlement terms werent disclosed.

By avoiding a class-action case, Tesla wont have to face the combined resources of plaintiff lawyers who can command a bigger settlement than an individual plaintiff. The narrowing of the case to only a California plaintiff means that Tesla cant be held liable for any alleged defects under the laws of other states, including Florida and New Jersey, that were part of the class-action complaint.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Claims Tesla
Rice University researchers are concerned about the Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas General Land Offices preferred $31 billion proposal to protect the Houston-Galveston region from devastating storm surge.

A group of Rice professors plan to raise questions about the coastal protection project of levees and sea gates, known as the Ike Dike, during the public comment period, the Houston Chronicle reported. The plan, named after the 2008 hurricane that caused more than $30 billion in damages to the region, is being studied before the agencies send the proposal to Congress to consider funding.

Plans for the complex 70-mile (113-kilometer) system running from High Island to the San Luis Pass are still at least a decade away from being finished, according to the newspaper.

The Corps and the Texas General Land Office released the first phase of a coastal protection study last month. The agencies expect to release a final study in 2021.

But Rice University professor Jim Blackburn said the Corps initial study was incomplete and didnt account for more powerful storms thatve swept through the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean in recent years.

The 2017 hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria each were more powerful than Hurricane Ike and had characteristics that are rarely seen in major storms, Blackburn said.

The storms that are being analyzed by the Corps are, in my opinion, too small, Blackburn said. Theyre just not making landfall at the worst locations, with the type of wind fields and characteristics were seeing.

The Corps study didnt consider the worst possible storm tracts that could hit the Houston area and used an outdated modeling system to predict the effects of storms on its proposed barrier, said Larry Dunbar, a project manager at the universitys Severe Storm Prediction, Education & Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center.

SSPEED is proposing a mid-bay gate to protect Galveston Bay, but the Corps has questioned such a measure because of its impact on oyster beds in the bay.

I think we need options, Blackburn said. If all of our eggs are in a $30 billion federal appropriation, that just sounds too risky to me.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Texas
The National Weather Service has confirmed two tornadoes hit northeast Mississippi last week.

A preliminary survey Nov. 6 showed a twister with top winds of 115 mph (185 kph) struck in Pontotoc County. The tornado, rated EF-2 on the enhanced Fujita scale, traveled about 10 miles (16 kilometers) into Lee County and through parts of Tupelo on Nov. 5, injuring one person.

Three homes in Tupelo were destroyed, seven had major damage, and 27 had minor damage, according to the survey from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Three businesses had major damage and three had minor damage, the survey said.

A second tornado struck in Itawamba County with top winds of 100 mph. The twister, rated EF-1, traveled 5 miles (8 kilometers), damaging a metal building and some mobile homes. No one was hurt.

There was significant damage to an assisted living center just outside the Tupelo city limits. Residents were evacuated to a church at first and are now living in a hotel temporarily while the center is repaired.

Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton was quoted by the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal as saying that damage will top $1 million across the city.

We are very fortunate to be spared loss of life, he said.

The paths of both tornadoes were similar to that taken by twisters that swept through the area in 2014, although last weeks damage was not as widespread.

We are very fortunate compared to what we had the last time, said Itawamba County Sheriff Chris Dickinson.

Courtney Liggins and her husband, Cal, were going though closets removing clothing and trying to salvage other items from their home, which lost its roof and walls.

My husband watched the roof fly off, Courtney Liggins said.

The American Red Cross temporarily opened a shelter in Tupelo and community groups were organizing to offer assistance. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency crews were assessing damages to determine if they qualify for state or federal disaster declarations.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Mississippi


Diners Club International & ISXPay Acquiring License

Melbourne, Nov 14, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Securities Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange cross listed iSignthis Ltd ( ASX:ISX ) ( FRA:TA8 ) (the "Company"), is pleased to announce that it has executed an eCommerce Acquiring Business agreement with Diners Club International Ltd.Highlights- ISXPay will offer card acquiring services to merchants for Diners and Discover branded cards- eCommerce/online merchant acquiring agreement- Territory Australia, EU with global opportunity, excluding North America.Diners Club International Ltd. is a direct banking and payment services company owned by Discover Financial Services ( NYSE:DFS ), with local website at http://www.dinersclub.com.au The agreement allows iSignthis group companies, located in Australia, the EU and elsewhere in the world (except North America), by arrangement to acquire Diners Club and Discover Network branded cards directly, as an online (Tier 1) acquirer.The agreement provides for iSignthis to acquire all types of online and eCommerce merchants, including MCC 6051 'quasi cash' merchants and MCC7995 gambling merchants.The business model is similar to iSignthis' other major card schemes agreements, and is based upon the merchant paying iSignthis a percentage rate of the processed transaction value, comprising the Merchant Services Fee plus a Diners club set Program Transaction Amount (PTA). The PTA fee is payable to Diners Club, and varies by jurisdiction, and is conceptually alike to an interchange fee, as set by other card schemes. The Merchant Services Fee represents iSignthis' Gross Profit on each transaction.John Karantzis, CEO of iSignthis Ltd said, "The addition of the Diners Club and Discover Network to our card acquiring services means that we now have agreements with all the major, global card schemes. We are excited to be working with Diners and Discover, and extending card the reach of their card acquiring services into the European Union, Australia and other territories, as we grow."A direct ISXPay to Diners Club Tier 1 Technical integration will commence shortly. The Company will advise service live dates during 2019, with Diners and Discover acquiring expected to contribute to revenues during CY/FY2019.To view figures, please visit:About iSignthis Ltd

iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions.

By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard.

iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia.

ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others.

Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service.
Last years California wildfires destroyed thousands of homes and cost billions of dollars, but they also created numerous new laws and regulations in their wake as Legislators and insurance regulators looked for ways to further protect homeowners.

With another series of ongoing, record-breaking fires driving losses into the billions, the state could be in store for more laws and regulations, according to Guy Kopperud, the industry solutions principal for CoreLogic, a data provider for the industry.

Kopperud spoke with Insurance Journal about what carriers and agents should know about the new laws and regulations and why they may anticipate more new laws next year.

This has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Insurance Journal: California had a particularly damaging wildfire season last year and it looks like this year is not done. Regulators over the past year took some actions that were intended to help out home and property owners over, and its yielded some new laws that insurers should be aware of. Can you talk about whats been done?

Kopperud: Really, when we look all the way back to the cedar fire in 2003 in San Diego County, we saw the same types of events happening that happened in Santa Rosa where over 3,000 properties burned. Then again in 2007, we had another 1,500 properties and the legislation changed a lot of regulations at that time, as well. So, some of what were seeing today is not necessarily a lot of new legislation, but really clarifying some of the things that were passed initially back in 2003.

So, some of those are specific to the insurance industry and some are not necessarily directly related to insurance regulations, but still nonetheless help the insurance industry and the homeowners. One example of that would be anti-gouging. In the long run, that would help the insurance carriers mitigate the exorbitant amount of rent that some of these homeowners would experience after a loss.

IJ: Can you expand on the Legislation a bit? Say Assembly Bill 1797, for example?

Kopperud: The purpose of (the law) is to allow the homeowner to get an updated reconstruction cost every other year or at renewal. So, in the past, they may have gotten that every two years, it wasnt mandatory for the carrier to update that beyond that, or if the homeowner actually asks for a reconstruction cost. So, what does that mean? Well, today, were seeing that in northern California from last years fires, that quite a few properties are undervalued. When theyre undervalued, theres usually two things that occur. Either the initial reconstruction cost that was established for that property was low, or theyre experiencing demand surge. In some cases, were seeing that in northern California.

And demand surges, simply the easiest way to put that is were paying more money for labor and materials to rebuild these homes. So, on one hand, 1797 was passed to help these homeowners, but at the end of the day, if the reconstruction costs that are being generated for that home are incorrect to begin with, then renewing it every year is not gonna help the homeowner. So, its really critical to make sure that carriers are using a adequate tool to develop that reconstruction cost from the get-go.

The other thing that the carriers can do is to use a construction factor or a index to allow them to project out the cost of that home. But at CoreLogic, weve always recommended that the best practice is to recalculate that property a minimum of every two years.

IJ: What are the implications of some of these changes for carriers?

Kopperud: There are a few things that you have to consider if youre a carrier. One is that a lot of these bills really expand on the exposure that the carrier has. AB 2594 is another bill that extends a right to sue a carrier from 12 months to 24 months. So, if Im in negotiations as a homeowner with the carrier, if I dont settle within that 12-month period, then I have 24 months to turn around and sue.

Another one that is a little concerning for carriers is there was a bill by the Senate that was passed that, its SB 901, that shields utility companies from subrogation claims. So, the legislation realized that we cant blame all this on the utility companies or the utility infrastructure, so we have to do something to try and protect them or were gonna make the utility companies go out of business. So, where the carrier may have thought, We can go back and say that the utility company was responsible for some of these fires and sue them, that door has been closed.

So, the last thing I would say is there are some things here, even all the way down to the agent level, that the agent has a certain amount of exposure and certainly more responsibility. I would say one of the biggest things that isnt necessarily in a particular bill, but weve heard this case many times where a homeowner goes to an agent and says, I need coverage. Im in this high-risk area, and the agent comes back with a reconstruction cost number and the homeowner questions that number and the agent says, No, youre fine. Its enough, and lo and behold, we find out after the fires that it was nowhere near enough.

So, I think even if its not covered in a bill, the agents really have to be proactive. If the homeowner is questioning a reconstruction cost and the amount of coverage theyre looking at, they should be very cautious about saying that indeed their coverage is sufficient. They could open themselves up to liability, as well.

IJ: Do you think with the fires ongoing, and some of the chances of more fires actually throughout the month, well see more laws and some more regulations in the wake of this season?

Kopperud: I certainly think we will. As I said, a lot of these bills were clarifying existing regulations, existing laws. So, certainly well see more. I think at the end of the day it really comes down to are carriers utilizing tools by whoever thats providing the ability to generate a reconstruction cost? A lot of these concerns that the legislations trying to address is are the reconstruction costs that are being generated in California sufficient so that these carriers can properly provide coverage for those homeowners? Legislators are continue to try and act on the behalf of these homeowners to help protect them and help them understand what their coverage limits really cover.

Related:

Topics Carriers California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Agencies Legislation Wildfire Energy Homeowners
The new normal for California has yielded another year of record wildfires and billions of dollars in insured losses. Homeowners insurance rates inch up in high risk areas, and carriers get more cautious about where they write in a state that has been made more vulnerable by years of generally higher temperatures and less rainfall.

State regulators and lawmakers stepped in with new consumer protections after last years record blazes, and may do so again.

An early analysis from Moodys issued on Monday shows that losses from the ongoing fires in Northern and Southern California could be around $6.8 billion. The wildfires that hit late last year had an estimated $12.5 billion in insured losses.

However, the fires are far from done doing their damage.

The Camp Fire in Butte County had burned 125,000 acres and was only 30 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon. The fire resulted in 42 deaths, and had destroyed 6,522 residences and 260 commercial properties. Its considered the deadliest wildfire in history, and it threatens another 15,500 properties, according to CalFire.

In the southern portion of the state the Woolsey Fire in Ventura County had burned 96,314 acres and was 35 percent contained. It destroyed an estimated 425 structures, and it threatens 57,000 other structures. It has resulted in two deaths.

The causes of both fires are under investigation.

November has been a bad month for California. The fires now raging followed other fires that began breaking out in November. The Hill Fire in Ventura County has burned 4,531 acres and is 90 percent contained. The Nurse Fire in Solano County has burned 1,500 acres and is 90 percent contained.

2018s going to be another multibillion-dollar season, said Chris Folkman, senior director at catastrophe modeler RMS.

Folkman believes the back-to-back severe wildfire seasons will make insurers even more cautious about writing in Californias higher risk areas, particularly around the wildland urban interface, and he thinks the nature of underwriting in wildfire prone areas will change dramatically.

The underwriting process historically has relied on static maps or scoring tools where individual properties are grouped into zones, high risk vs. low risk, and based on historical data, historical losses, he said. I think the issue with that, as were seeing, is the history of wildfire is not going to be the future of it.

He believes that wildfires will be treated like other perils, such as hurricane, flood, and earthquake, in which computer simulations will be ran for numerous events under a variety of climate scenarios to get a better risk picture.

The climate scenarios he mentioned are a key part of the new normal phrase that has been tossed around the last few years by experts looking for ties between these increasingly severe wildfire seasons for California.

A.M. Best issued a briefing on Tuesday that addresses the new normal and how insurers are expected to fare from the ongoing fires.

Urbanization and growing population density in heavily wooded areas, as well as hotter, drier conditions resulting from rising temperatures and declining precipitation, are contributing to wildfires becoming an increasingly frequent peril for insurers and citizens of California, the briefing states. As this year has progressed, so have the wildfires that continue to engulf numerous areas of the state.

A.M. Best expects that 2018 losses will be at record levels for California, as the potential for historic losses was already likely before the Woolsey fire hit the wealthier area of Malibu, where the median home value is $2.9 million.

Each of the last two years has had a greater number of fires than the running five-year average, and the total number of acres burned in 2018 is already at 2.5 times the five-year average according to CalFire.

For homeowners and farmowners writers in California, direct losses incurred increased nearly four times in 2017, to $16.0 billion, compared to $4.2 billion in 2016, A.M. Best stated. Much of the increase can be attributed to the 2017 fire season.

The 10 largest premium writers in California posted a direct loss and adjustment expense ratio in 2017 that was on average 3.7 times higher than in 2016, however most large writers in California are large national carriers with adequate risk-adjusted capital, according to A.M. Best.

The catastrophe events of 2018 will likely cause significant earnings volatility and could stress some balance sheets, A.M. Best stated. Insurers have responded to a certain extent to the wildfires of 2017, but the lessons learned from the 2018 events will again call for re-evaluation of their underwriting and risk management strategies.

Martha Bane, a senior vice president at global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher, doesnt expect dramatic changes like market withdrawals and noticeable rate hikes across the board, but she does expect changes in the market. And those changes have already been occurring.

In general, we have been seeing slight rate increases as a result of what happened last year, Bane said, adding that insurers may consider the overall amount of exposure they have.

In other words, theyre doing what they should be doing when risks change, as is the case in California where, many argue, a changing global climate has increased temperatures and reduced rainfall to exacerbate the wildfire hazard.

I think whats concerning is theyre becoming more frequent, she said of the wildfires. We cant really deny that climate change has a big part in the frequency and severity of these wildfires.

Folkman believes more laws and regulations are another possible reaction to the fires.

It think there are going to be some interesting conversations between the insurance community and the regulatory community, he said.

He believes these conversations could include what insurance needs to look like in high risk areas, what kind of data is being collected and how risk is to be measured.

Among those conversations could also be an examination of building codes, and discussions on how safe some of these homes are that are going up in the wildland urban interface.

The number of homes built in these areas rose from 30.8 in 1990 to 43.4 million in 2010, making it the fastest growing land use type in the U.S., according to a recent study that examines growth in the wildland urban interface.

I think if there is a sliver lining to all these devastating events, I think there will be a focus on creating more resiliency, on safer construction and mitigation, Folkman said.

Related:

Topics Carriers California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Legislation Wildfire Market AM Best
A North Carolina couple has filed a class-action lawsuit saying they should have been warned about a Hawaii hotel workers strike before their honeymoon.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Dr. Ovais Inamullah and Sana Khalique booked a five-night stay at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki for more than $2,000. They say they werent told of the strike before arriving.

The lawsuit says they were still charged full price even though there was no housekeeping, valet parking and other services.

Thousands of Marriott employees on Oahu and Maui have been on strike since Oct. 8. They work at five properties operated by Marriott. The properties are all owned by Kyo-ya Hotels and Resorts.

A representative for Kyo-ya had no comment. Marriot didnt respond to the newspapers requests for comment.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits
DENVER - November 14, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Gofire, a Denver-based digital healthcare company, has released a groundbreaking app and scannable DoseCode technology as part of its comprehensive health suite for plant-based medicine. The app allows patients to find products, anonymously contribute and access reviews within the community, track personal dosages and document outcomes.

The Gofire DoseCode is a branded QR code attached to exclusive plant-based medical products found in hundreds of retailers across Colorado. After downloading the Gofire app, patients use their phone to scan a DoseCode on edibles, topicals, tinctures and extracts, which pulls the chemical profile of that product validated from a third-party testing lab. The patient rates how each dose worked for their relief, anonymously tracking every session to discover trends and create a consistent, repeatable experience.

When patients download the Gofire app, they join a community of like-minded individuals searching for a similar type of relief. The app gives patients access to education and anonymous product ratings from other community members. This enables them to determine which products and dose sizes will work best for their needs and then drives them to a map where they can find specific products at retailers in the area.

"We describe the app as Fitbit meets Yelp meets Waze," said Gofire's Chief Executive Officer, Peter Calfee. "The vast range of chemical profiles involved in plant-based medicine makes it difficult for patients to achieve consistent results. People need a simple, reliable way to accurately control dosage, track their consumption and document their results. We're leveraging big data and machine learning to offer a smart health app that demystifies the dosing process, creates consistency and builds a community database to inform and educate patients."

The app lets patients create an anonymous, secure personal profile, where they keep track of their highest rated blends and easily recall session history to be consistent in their dosing of plant-based medicinal products. Patients can utilize others' anonymous reviews to guide them to products and doses best suited to their needs. Data compiled through the Gofire app helps patients understand product effectiveness, identify what's working and create consistent, reliable results whenever they need relief.

Through the Gofire app and DoseCode scannable technology, Gofire strives to bring clarity and choice to plant-based medicine by empowering patients through data and community education.

About Gofire

Gofire is a digital healthcare company developing a proprietary smart inhaler with a personal dosing app that allows patients to re-create consistent experiences, removing the fear of taking too much while having the support of their community to help find products best suited to specific ailments. Gofire is committed to making alternative health accessible through standardizing dose regimens by delivery and patient ailment. Gofire is helping people realize the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of alternative health products through a new take on wellness innovation. Visit their website here, and follow Gofire on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com

Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp
PORTLAND, OR - November 14, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) ilo Vapor proudly announces the launch of DabTabs, a revolutionary, patent-pending product that stands to change how cannabis is consumed. DabTabs offer an unprecedented solution for true cannabinoid vaporization via a convenient portable tablet' that acts as storage system for full spectrum extracts, concentrates and distillates offering precisely measured dosing.

ilo has partnered with Halo Labs (NEO:HALO) and MariMed Inc. (OTCQB: MRMD) to process, fill, and distribute DabTabs to dispensaries in seven states beginning in December 2018,

Dabbing is widely considered among cannabis connoisseurs and medical users to be the best way to experience the full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes. Until now dabbing has been a messy, labor-intensive process that can be intimidating to new users and a nuisance for regular dabbers.

DabTabs are the first and only concentrate and extract delivery system that is stable and dry to the touch, allowing for a mess-free, full-spectrum dabbing experience without combustion. When DabTabs are heated, the material held inside vaporizes and is released without any excess residue. With their unrivaled convenience and portability, DabTabs give consumers the optimal true vaporization experience. DabTabs will be sold in 500mg and 1000mg child resistant containers containing ten and twenty 50mg doses respectively.

"This extraordinary technology is empowering our partners to deliver products with unparalleled convenience," said Michael Lindars, President and Co-founder of ilo Vapor. "Until now the storage and use of materials like shatter or live resin was a consumer's and dispensary operator's nightmare. That's over now."

ilo has signed agreements with multi-state manufacturers and operators Halo Labs and MariMed Inc. to launch DabTabs in California, Nevada, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, and Rhode Island starting in December 2018 with more states to follow in the first quarter of 2019.

"Halo's quality extracts, concentrates and distillates infused into DabTabs will elevate our customers' dabbing experience and take vaporizing to new heights" shared Kiran Sidhu, CEO of Halo Labs. "We are extremely excited about our partnership with ilo and bringing their revolutionary products to market."

"MariMed is laser focused on the most innovative and precision-dosed cannabis products on earth," commented Bob Fireman, CEO of MariMed Inc. "Ilo's technology makes it easier for us to prepare, transport and store concentrates, while exponentially enhancing the convenience for consumers, particularly those new to the category. It is a no-brainer to launch DabTabs on the East Coast in order to deliver this game changing product to market. "We are thrilled and look forward to a strong long-term partnership with ilo."

ilo Vapor, will unveil DabTabs and will also introduce the TabRig, a portable vaporizer designed to use DabTabs anywhere, and the vari battery at MJBizCon in Las Vegas on November 14th. Come find the team at MariMed's booth number 1009. For more information, please contact michelle@iloVapor.com.

About ilo Vapor:

ilo Vapor, a division of Iconic Ventures, Inc., is a Portland, Oregon based technology, brand and product development company. Its patent pending devices are reinventing vaping. Through cutting edge technology and innovative design, ilo's mission is to create clean, reliable and convenient products that deliver the optimal vaporization experience.

For more information, visit ilovapor.com

Follow ilo Vapor on Instagram @ilo.vapor and LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ilo-vapor/

About Halo Labs:

Halo is a cannabis extraction company that develops and manufactures quality cannabis oils and concentrates, which are the fastest growing segments in the cannabis industry. Halo has expertise in all major cannabis manufacturing processes, leveraging proprietary processes and products, and has produced over 2.7M grams of oils and concentrates since inception. The forward-thinking company is led by a strong management team with deep industry knowledge and blue-chip experience. The Company is currently operating in Nevada and Oregon and is expanding into California this month. With a consumer-centric focus, Halo will continue to market innovative branded and private label products across multiple product categories.

For further information regarding Halo, see Halo's disclosure documents on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About MariMed Inc:

MariMed is a multi-state cannabis operator that has developed state-of-the-art regulatory-compliant facilities in DE, IL, NV, MD, MA, and RI, which are models of excellence in horticultural principals, cannabis production, product development, and dispensary operations. In addition, MariMed is on the forefront of precision-dosed branded products for the treatment of specific medical symptoms. MariMed currently distributes its branded products in select states and is expanding licensing and distribution to numerous additional markets encompassing thousands of dispensaries. MariMed Inc. is one of the 17 top-performing public cannabis companies in the U.S. tracked on the U.S. Marijuana Index, (www.marijuanaindex.com). For additional information, visit www.MariMedAdvisors.com. Search MariMed and post on social media with the hash tag #MedicatedByMarimed:

Twitter: @MariMedInc

Facebook: @MariMedInc

Instagram: MariMedInc

YouTube: MariMedInc

Contacts:

For ilo Vapor

Michelle Lindars

michelle@iloVapor.com

Media Contact:

Farley Cahen

Elevated Agency

818-810-7282

pr@elevatedagency.com

For Halo Labs

Collin Beloin

Investor Relations

info@halocanna.com

860-617-9061

For MariMed

Business Development

Jon Levine, CFO, MariMed

info@MariMedAdvisors.com

781-559-8713

Investor Relations

Tyler Troup, Circadian Group

tyler@circadian-group.com

+1 (866) 950 8300

Media Relations

Julie Shepherd, Accentuate PR

Julie@accentuatepr.com

847-275-3643

Halo Labs: Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Halo's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Halo's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved".

By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Halo is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Halo to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Halo has made certain assumptions.

Although Halo believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Halo does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to Halo or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.

MariMed Inc: Forward Looking Statements:

This release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to MariMed Inc., that is based on the beliefs of MariMed Inc.'s management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events including estimates and projections about its business based on certain assumptions of its management, including those described in this Release. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including, among other factors, changes in demand for the Company's services and products, changes in the law and its enforcement and changes in the economic environment. Additional risk factors are included in the Company's public filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as "hoped," "anticipated," "believed," "planned, "estimated," "preparing," "potential," "expected" or words of a similar nature. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. None of the content of any of the websites referred to herein (even if a link is provided for your convenience) is incorporated into this release and the Company assumes no responsibility for any of such content.

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com

Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp
November 14, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Bart Jaworski, CEO of Group Eleven Resources, talks with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable about his company's exploration efforts in Ireland.

Maurice Jackson: Joining us today is Bart Jaworski, the CEO and director of Group Eleven Resources Corp. (ZNG:TSX.V; GRLVF:OTCQB), which is known for advanced stage zinc exploration in Ireland.

Mr. Jaworski, for someone new to the story, who is Group Eleven Resources and what is the thesis you are attempting to prove?

Bart Jaworski: Well, our overall thesis is that by Group Eleven Resources having the largest land position in the richest country for zinc in the world, that being Ireland, we have a very substantiated vision, and that vision is to discover the next big zinc deposit in the country.

We already have the second and third largest undeveloped zinc occurrence in the country, that being the Stonepark current resource and the Ballinalack historical estimate, and those are second only to Glencore's very substantial Pallas Green deposit, which is one of the largest undeveloped zinc deposits in the world.

People-wise, of course, you need people with the right mind-set and experience to drive towards this goal of discovery. And we certainly have that part covered with MAG Silver as a strategic backer and people like Peter Megaw and Dan MacInnis involved, as well as,] very experienced Irish geologists like John Barry, David Furlong and Dr. Mark Holdstock, who have spent most of their careers exploring for zinc in this country.

Maurice Jackson: Before we discuss the unique value proposition of Group Eleven Resources, I would like to begin our discussion today at the 10,000-foot level regarding zinc, it's a metal that is not on a lot of radars. What can you tell us about the zinc supply and demand fundamentals?



Source: TradingEconomics.com (US$/tonne)



Source: Scotiabank (The Daily Mining Scoop)

Bart Jaworski: Zinc demand is roughly 14 Mt/year, so that's about US$40 billion/year turnover (at current prices). Zinc is the fourth most consumed metal, after iron, aluminum and copper. The price of zinc was on fire in 2016 and 2017roughly doubling from 70c/lb to $1.60/lb; then in 2018, the price took a bit of a breather, falling to about $1.00/lb in September and now starting to rise again towards the $1.20/lb level.

Zinc is primarily used for galvanizing steel, which means making steel rust proof and that then feeds the construction and automotive sectors. Zinc is also an essential nutrient for embryonic growth and normal metabolic processes inside the human body.

So that's a bit about the demand side. On the supply side this is where things get interesting. A number of mines around the world have been shutting down because they've run out of ore or because they are no longer economic to run because, for example, they've been starved of capitalized for too long, etc. Lisheen, Galmoy and Century are a few examples of large mines that have been depleted over the last few years.

This has led to a shortage in mine supply, which in turn has led to diminishing global inventorieswhich are now down to levels we haven't seen since 2007/2008 and remember, back then, prices reached as high as $2.08/lb. So the question becomes why are prices relatively muted now, despite these multi-year inventory lows? Well, I think the key issues are the trade war rhetoric, Chinese slow down fears and of course, the threat of a supply response.

Now obviously, no one has a crystal ball, but I suspect trade war talks will conclude constructively or at least I hope so. The Chinese economy, I suspect, still has a number of very large buffers at its disposal and one has to wonder if the trade talks with the U.S. do indeed falter the Chinese government could notionally just double-down on internal infrastructure growth again bolstering its Belt and Road initiative even further, for example.

On the supply response, as a former mining analyst, I definitely learned over the years that slippage on getting new mines up and running happens more often than not. So you always want to take a haircut to guidance on start-ups. Then there is the question of Chinese supply, which accounts for about half of world's mine supply. Historically it has been the case that whenever zinc price went up, Chinese supply would go up as well, leading to a moderation of zinc prices.

This hasn't been the case so far this cycle. The reason is that China has imposed a number of strict environmental regulations on industry, including mining, over the last year or two. The effect has been that a lot of small "mom and pop" zinc mines in China have been shut down and that has suppressed the supply response from China in a big way.

So, that's the crux of the market.

There is one other key bright spot that I believe is starting to show great promise and that is the evolution of zinc batteries. I think this could be a potential game-changer for the industry. The background here is that zinc was always an ideal metal for batteries since Edison's time 100 years ago; however, the problem has always been "rechargeability," you couldn't recharge a zinc battery without needles growing inside the cell and quickly bursting the battery.

A few years ago a scientific breakthrough by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory changed all that and this was written up in the prestigious Science magazine in April 2017; by the way, I recommend people take a look. With the advent of 3D lattice technology, electric charges can now be dissipated homogeneously enough to prevent needle growth and whamo! Zinc now has the potential to compete and offset the likes of Li-ion batteries. That's pretty exciting.

Now there are small zinc batteries for cars and small equipment, etc., which I don't think will have much impact on zinc demand. Then there are the large zinc batteries aimed for grid power storage and here is where we could definitely move the needle significantly on annual zinc demand.

A great example of these large zinc batteries is NantEnergy, which is run by a California-based billionaire named Patrick Soon Shiong. He's developed a Zinc-Air battery, which run on photons, zinc and air; and he's demonstrated he can successfully run dozens of cell phone towers and villages completely off the grid in Africa and other regions. There is a great video on Bloomberg interviewing Mr. Soon Shiong on this technology, plus the New York Times has recently written it up as well.



Source: NantEnergy

Maurice Jackson: Group Eleven Resources projects are strategically located in Ireland, provide us with some historical context on the relationship between zinc and Ireland.

Bart Jaworski: Ireland is estimated to be No 1 in terms of zinc found per square km, so it's a very prospective country. It also hosts some of the world's largest zinc deposits (e.g., Boliden's Navan mine and Glencore's Pallas Green deposit). It's infrastructure-rich and has year-round tidewater for shipping. The product is clean and you're close to consumer. Irish zinc concentrates tend to be very good quality. European smelters are around the corner in Norway, Sweden, Belgium, etc.

Politically Ireland is a safe, first world jurisdiction with security of tenure and rule of law. And lastly, the Fraser Institute, which is the only think tank that ranks the world's mining jurisdictions, ranks Ireland No 1 in terms of Policy Perception Index for five years running. So Ireland has all the ingredients you'd want.

One key aspect to add is that over the last 70 years of mining history in Ireland, a general rule of thumb of what it takes to break-even economically in Ireland is what is known as "10 and 10" or 10 Mt at 10% Zinc+Pb combined. That reflects the infrastructure and tidewater (so in more remote part of the world were you need to truck in your diesel and truck out your concentrates; you may need 50100 Mt to break-even. In Ireland you typically need much less, which is very comforting to know).

Source: Boliden (location of zinc smelters in green)

Maurice Jackson: Bart, now that we know the virtues of exploring for zinc in Ireland, how much of a land position does Group Eleven Resources have in Ireland?

Bart Jaworski: We have the largest land position of any explorer or miner in Ireland. All together we hold approximately 3,200 sq km, or 320,000 hectares or nearly 800,000 acres. This gives us the dominant position over two geological basins, which gives us the ability to think big and think outside the box, and this greatly aides our exploration approach.



Source: Group Eleven (G11 licenses in orange)

Maurice Jackson: You mention approach, is there anything different that you are doing that others are not?

Bart Jaworski: Well, yes, absolutely! Our "Big Think" approach is what really makes us different. Essentially, we are tearing up the old geology textbooks and putting them back together again using a very open minded and thorough approach to exploration by systematically conducting detailed data compilation. Mining data in Ireland goes back all the way to the 1200s and beyond and we are coupling that with cutting edge exploration techniques such as seismic surveys, airborne geophysics, ionic leach soil sampling, etc.

Now, not just anybody can have the "Big Think." You can't have the "Big Think" without the ground position, right? Because if you come up with a great idea, it's likely on someone else's ground and you can't do anything about it. You also can't do the "Big Think" without the right peoplebig picture thinkersand that's again where the likes of Peter Megaw and Dan MacInnis, both from MAG Silver, come in, as well as deep Irish bench-strength with the likes of Dr. Mark Holdstock, John Barry and David Furlong.

Maurice Jackson: A virtue of having the largest ground position in Ireland is that Group Eleven has two flagship projects. Let's delve into them shall we. Mr. Jaworski, introduce us to your first flagship project, the Stonepark and the unique value propositions it presents.



Note: Red and Black outlines are G11. Blue outline is Glencore

Note: This map is a zoom-in on the Pallas Green/Stonepark area; shows the Carrickittle and Limerick South prospects, which may be a quasi-mirror image to the small red blobs to the north of Pallas Green

Bart Jaworski: Well, at Stonepark we are very excited because we are right next door to Glencore's Pallas Green deposit, and we think we might have at least some of the key mineralizing faults from that deposit trending onto our ground. Our ground, by the way, covers nearly the entire prospective geology in this area, outside of Glencore's ground. We have by far the largest land position in this region much bigger than Glencore's area and we cover about 1200 sq km or 300,000 acres.

We also already have a maiden resource 43-101 compliant in the Inferred Category on our ground totaling 5mt @ 11% Zinc+Pb (Stonepark deposit). That is located only about 1km away (very close) from Glencore's Pallas Green deposit, which hosts about 44mt @ 8% Zinc+Pb.

Our deposit is about 200400m deep. whereas Glencore's Pallas Green is 3001300m deep, with its new discovery called Caherline about 10mt @ 10% Zinc+Pb at the deepest part of that range (i.e., towards 1300m). We know Glencore has been actively drilling at Pallas Green since early 2017. So from the above you can see that our Stonepark deposit is much shallower and about 3040% higher grade.

That's a good starting point.

But the key is this! This is an emerging camp. The discoveries here at Pallas and Stonepark are relatively new and yet this is already the most metal-endowed region within all of Ireland, outside of Boliden's Navan deposit. And yet the main mineralization structures (or faults) have not yet been found. It's a complete mystery.

Usually in Ireland, the zinc occurs butted up against a fault. But in this camp the main structure appears to be further away, suggesting that what has been discovered to date is actually the periphery of the system. Thus, the heart may be lurking somewhere underneath, in what we call the Limerick volcanics.

So the question becomes how do we find the center of the system? And this is where our preliminary drilling and the Tellus survey come in. We announced last week the start of a preliminary 15002000m drill program, which will be primarily aimed at answering the big geological questions on the architecture of this camp. If we hit some mineralization too, that's great, but the primary aim is geological.

We're going to couple this data with a large ongoing airborne survey that is currently being flown by the Irish Geological Survey. It's called Tellus and it comprises flying 2,500 sq km or 620,000 acres or so, covering our ground, Glencore's ground and our nearby Silvermines ground and using three state-of-the-art detection methods all together, which are radiometrics, magnetics and electro-magnetics.

This information will be publicly available early next year and will hopefully tell us where the major faults are and how they line up with the known mineralization in this camp. Now we already have our suspicions on where this key fault corridor might beone clue is that the main Pallas Green body seems to trend in a NW orientation; this is from an academic paper that was published in 2015.

If you continue that trend towards the south you line up perfectly with our Carrickittle and our Limerick South prospects. At Carrickittle, for example, there are about a half dozen historical holes that intersected about 5m @ 12% Zinc+Pb and they have been largely forgotten about since the late 1960s.

However, now that we know about Pallas Green and Stonepark, these 1960s prospects are starting to look at lot like the small satellites you see just outside the Pallas Green deposit to the north, which poses an interesting question: Do we have a "quasi-mirror image" down to the south?

So this is one of key ideas we are working on and that is what we'll be working on as part of the "Big Drill of 2019."

Maurice Jackson: Let's move north now and discuss your second flagship project, Ballinalack. What has the company excited there?

Note: above shows regional cross-section across Ireland, demonstrating that the zinc (red) occurs in two prospective horizons (blue and yellow) at Ballinalack. We have BOTH of these horizons (This is unique, given if you move north, you lose the blue layer; if you move south, you lose the yellow layer.)

Bart Jaworski: At our second flagship project, Ballinalack, we also have an exciting idea that we will be testing as part of the Big Drill of 2019. It is located about 50km away from Boliden's giant Navan zinc mine, which has approximately 100 Mt @ 10% Zinc+Pb; it's mostly mined out now, but still operating. It's the biggest mine in Europe and considered one of the top five zinc deposits in the world.

Ballinalack is unique as it's still close enough to Navan to have well-developed Navan Beds on the property in addition to the other prospective horizon called the Waulsortian limestone. In fact, Ballinalack is the only known zinc occurrence in Ireland that has significant mineralization in both horizons.

Interestingly, in the 1970s, when Ballinalack was discovered, the old-timers only drilled down to about 300m to define the historical estimate, which by the way totals 7.7 Mt @ 7.3% Zinc+Pb, which is not too far off from our 10 and 10 rule of thumb.

So drilling beyond 300m was considered "very deep" at that time. Now, of course, mining reaches much deeper, for example, at Boliden and Pallas Green, drilling is going down well beyond 1000m or 3300 feet. Our big idea at Ballinalack is that the Navan Beds directly underneath the historical estimate have not yet been tested for Navan-style mineralization.

Case in point, of the 30 holes historically drilled deep enough to actually intersect the Navan Beds in the vicinity of the old estimate, a surprisingly high number, about half of the holes, hit significant mineralization. And directly underneath the historical estimate the area is virtually undrilled.

So our preliminary drilling of two holes earlier this year was also primarily aimed at geology, and we successfully identified (1) that cross-faults exist and they seem to have a lot more to do with mineralization than ever recognized before, and (2) that the Ballinalack fault is much steeper than previously thought, which shows definitively how previous drilling was missing the target.

By the way, Group Eleven Resources intersected 10m @ 10% Zinc+Pb in an area of known mineralization, which is also comforting, plus a zone of mineralization in the Navan Beds.



Note: The orange zone (4a-4e) is our hanging-wall Navan Bed target (which has been virtually undrilled) and targets 1, 2 and 3 are our footwall Navan Bed targets where historical drilling has yielded significant mineralization worthy of follow up (all the red dots are the historical holes, which were drilled deep enough to intersect Navan Beds, and half of them hit. 'n/a' means not assayed for silver.

Maurice Jackson: What are your plans going forward at Ballinalack?

Bart Jaworski: We will be relogging and in some cases re-assaying some of the historical core with the aim of sharpening our understanding of the architecture of this area even further, and we will then do more drilling in 2019 as part of the Big Drill.

Maurice Jackson:

Are these brownfields explorations that the company is undertaking?

Bart Jaworski: If "brownfield" means an area that was previously mined, then the answer is no. However, I think in this case, you are referring to the notion that in these areas we have seen significant heavy lifting already done on the exploration side by previous operators, than definitely yes.

Maurice Jackson:

For someone new to the term brownfields, please share how that improves the probability of discovery.

Bart Jaworski: Well, with the heavy lifting already done for us, this puts us in great position to allow us to get up the learning curve much quicker than if we had to drill all those initial holes ourselves. So we're walking on the shoulder of a giant amount of historical work, and if you infuse that with cutting edge technology and truly open minded thinkingthat's where the magic happens.

Maurice Jackson: For current and prospective shareholders, the story doesn't end with zinc. You have recently discovered some silver at the Ballinalack. How was "Big Think" responsible for the discovery and share the results with us.



Note: Drill core from G11 recent drill hole (G11-1344-02) at Ballinalack

Bart Jaworski: Correct, at Ballinalack only some of the historical intervals were ever assayed for silver and those that were often had good silver numbers in them, say between 20100 g/t, and our highest was about 380 g/t. So we know there is silver in the system, but that was never calculated historically.

I see that as a potential sweetener to the story, which has yet not been borne out. Also at Stonepark and the broader Limerick basin, we have the idea that because you have a lot of volcanics intruding limestones, you might expect to see some overlooked deposit types, which can host a much higher precious metal component, for example, CRD deposit types that you see in Mexico.

That is I believe what captured the imagination of Peter Megaw. I think all that I've mentioned above speaks to the open-minded approach that we have and hence the "Big Think."

Maurice Jackson: What is management's philosophy, are you looking to build mines or are you focused on exploration?

Bart Jaworski: Similar to most juniors, our exit strategy is to make a large discovery and then sell it to the highest bidder. We are not interested in becoming miners.

Maurice Jackson: Switching gears, I've learned from some of the most serially successful in industryfrom Rick Rule, Doug Casey, Jayant Bhandari, Mickey Fulp and Bob Moriartythat the people running the business are equally if not more important that the latent material in the ground. Mr. Jaworski, please introduce us to your board of directors and management team and the unique skill sets they bring to the Group Eleven Resources.

Bart Jaworski: We have four on the board currently.

Dan MacInnis is our chairman. (a) He is the retired CEO of MAG Silver (and currently sits on the MAG board) (b) Dan has over 40 years of experience and has been involved with seven discoveries during his career including Duck Pond and Juanicipio (c) Interestingly, Dan worked in Ireland for five years back in the late 1970s/early 1980s with Noranda, so he definitely knows the lay of the land in Ireland.

Alessandro Bitelli is our chair of the Audit Committee. He is currently the CFO of Lundin Gold, and interestingly was the CFO of RedBack when it was taken over for $10 billion by Kinross back in 2010.

Brendan Cahill is a lawyer and all round very sharp guy. He's the CEO of Excellon Resources, which is mining the Platosa silver deposit in Mexico.

On the management side:

We have John Barry and David Furlong, who I've mentioned earlier in our discussion. Both are Irish geologists. ex-Rathdowney Resources (which is another European zinc development company). John was the founder and CEO of Rathdowney. So both John and David have deep experience with Irish-style zinc deposits and with operating in Ireland.

Dr. Mark Holdstock is a very well-known geologist in Ireland. He recently joined us (in early 2018). He led the team that discovered the 20-Mt SWEX extension of the Navan orebody.

So John, David, Mark and myself, we're a home team. All of us live in the country we're operating in and that's different from many juniors and a big plus because we have our ear close to the rail.

And now onto the advisers:

Peter Megaw is the brainchild behind MAG Silver's success in Mexico with the Juanicipio discovery. Peter is the chief exploration officer at MAG. and he's a big help on our "Big Think" initiative.

We also have John Prochnau and Frank Hallam as advisers. John Prochnau is on Doug Casey's Exploration Hall of Fame actually for his Esquel and Alligator Ridge discoveries. John also worked on our Ballinalack project back in the 1970s.

Frank Hallam has a lot of experience in M&A with the majors and has been involved with over a $1 billion in financings over his career. Last but far from least are Shaun Heinrichs, our CFO, and Spiros Cacos, our VP Investor Relations.

Maurice Jackson: Tell us about Bart Jaworski; what makes him qualified for the task at hand?

Bart Jaworski: I'm an exploration geologist and ex-mining equity analyst. I have about 24 years of experience since 1994, my first year in the field. I was an analyst for about 12 years. Initially, I began with Raymond James in Vancouver for about nine years and then for over three years with Davy in Ireland. I've been on a lot of site visits and met with a lot of CEOs and VP Ex's over that time frame. I also covered many exploration and mining companies over the years.

The reason I ended up in Ireland is because my wife, who is Irish, wanted to move back home after being in Canada with me for nine years. And that's how I ended up at Davy in Dublin covering the UK listed golds, plus Rio Tinto and the iron ore sector. As an exploration geo I discovered the original soil anomaly at Coffee Creek, which later became a multi-million ounce gold deposit (which was taken out for $0.5 billion when Goldcorp took over Kaminak). Going back a little further, I also helped discover industrial minerals in the Iskut area.

Maurice Jackson: Tell us about your capital structure.

Bart Jaworski: We have just under 60 million shares outstanding. So at our current share price (14c) our market cap is only CA$8.4 million or about US$6 million. About 20 million warrants and options outstanding: more than half of those are set to expire this December. Cash: our last Quarterly Financials have $3.2 million in the till. We have no debt.

Maurice Jackson: Let's discuss some numbers: What is your burn rate?

Bart Jaworski: Burn is about $100k$130k/month, so call it roughly $1.5 million per annum. So our runway is still fairly comfortable, at least another 12 to 15 months doing what we need to do, depending on how hard we step on the gas pedal.

Maurice Jackson: Do you have institutional Investors at this point?

Bart Jaworski: Yes, we've been lucky enough to garner the support of about a dozen institutions, mostly during the IPO, but some pre-IPO and some post-IPO. Most well-known institutions include Sprott, US Global, Galileo and Logiq.

Maurice Jackson: What is the float?

Bart Jaworski: About half our 60 million shares are owned by high-net worth investors, which is about 30 million shares. The rest is owned by MAG, Teck, the funds and insiders.

Maurice Jackson: Are there change of control fees? If yes, please convey the terms.

Bart Jaworski: There are no change-of-control fees for M&A transactions but there are fees associated with management being fired by the board without cause, which is fairly standard.

Maurice Jackson: When is the last time you purchased shares and at what price?

Bart Jaworski: I actually bought shares last just after our last press release last week at a price of 13c and 12.5c. I believe at least one other insider bought shares on the heels of last weeks' press release as well.

Maurice Jackson: Any redundant assets such as patented mining claims and or reversionary interests, meaning are Group Eleven Projects 100% owned by Group Eleven Resources?

Bart Jaworski: We don't have any patented mining claims in Ireland. We own all our licenses 100% except at Ballinalack where we have 60% interest with the remainder owned by a large Chinese zinc producer called Nonfemet. At Stonepark, where we own roughly 77% and the remainder owned by a small Irish exploreco. Important to note, these joint venture interests are participating, i.e., they have to pay their share of exploration costs or they get diluted down.

Maurice Jackson: All right, sir, you've survived the storm. Mr. Jaworski, multilayered question, what is the unanswered question for Group Eleven Resources, when should we expect results, and what will determine success?



Source: G11, October 2018 (L to R: David Furlong, John Barry, Bob Moriarty and Bart Jaworski)

Bart Jaworski: Results, we are currently doing a "preliminary drilling" campaign (15002000m) and we should have results from that over the coming weeks and months. The results of the Tellus survey will also be forthcoming early next year and that will tell us a lot. We will then couple the two datasets, i.e., the drill data and the airborne data and that should lead to very high-priority drill targets, which will be part of our Big Drill in 2019. A few months ago we put out a maiden resource at Stonepark measured 5mt @ 11% Zinc+Pb combined. We are working on updating the Ballinalack historical estimate, but we are not sure yet if we can upgrade to a current estimate without re-drilling, but we are looking into it so that something else to be aware of.

MAURICE JACKSON: What keeps you up at night that we don't know about?

BART JAWORSKI: Well, I'm an optimist, as long as people keep remembering the lessons of Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations. I think we'll be ok and the world economy will keep on growing and with it, so will the prosperity of humanity. Other than that I try not to sweat the small stuff.

Regarding Group Eleven, obviously exploration is a risky and cyclical business, so one needs to be aware and cognizant of that. However, with high-risk comes high-rewards, and that's really what I'm focusing on as a shareholder myself.

Maurice Jackson: Finally, what did I forget to ask?

Bart Jaworski: I guess one important element of the Irish exploration landscape is the support from the government, specifically iCRAG, which stands for the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences. This is a government-industry-academia partnership that is well-funded and has a number of very smart people working on a number of fronts. One of the main remits of iCRAG is to help companies like Group Eleven find the next zinc mine in Ireland.

So, interestingly, the individual who recently stepped into the role of CEO and Director at iCRAG is a gentleman by the name of Dr. Murray Hitzman. Dr. Hitzman was once at the White House shaping Science and Technology policy, as well as, the head of the Colorado School of Mines and more recently at the U.S. Geological Survey. He is one of the leading experts on Irish-style zinc deposits and has written many academic papers on the subject. When Murray was announced as the Head of iCRAG, I personally thought this was a major signal by the Irish government and a catalyst, really, for future discoveries in Ireland.

Maurice Jackson: For someone listening that wants to get more information on Group Eleven Resources the website is here. And as a reminder, Group Eleven Resources trades on the TSX-V: ZINCG and on the OTCQB: GRLVF.For direct inquiries please contact Spiros Cacos at 604 630 8839 Ext. 503 and he may also be reached at s.cacos@groupelevenresources.com.

And last but not least please visit our website provenandprobable.com, where we interview the most respected names in the natural resources space. You may reach at contact@provenandprobable.com.

Bart Jaworski of Group Eleven Resources, thank you for joining us today on Proven and Probable.

Maurice Jackson is the founder of Proven and Probable, a site that aims to enrich its subscribers through education in precious metals and junior mining companies that will enrich the world.

Disclosure:

1) Maurice Jackson: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: None. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: None. Proven and Probable disclosures are listed below.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: MAG Silver. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.

4) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article.

Proven and Probable LLC receives financial compensation from its sponsors. The compensation is used is to fund both sponsor-specific activities and general report activities, website, and general and administrative costs. Sponsor-specific activities may include aggregating content and publishing that content on the Proven and Probable website, creating and maintaining company landing pages, interviewing key management, posting a banner/billboard, and/or issuing press releases. The fees also cover the costs for Proven and Probable to publish sector-specific information on our site, and also to create content by interviewing experts in the sector. Monthly sponsorship fees range from $1,000 to $4,000 per month. Proven and Probable LLC does accept stock for payment of sponsorship fees. Sponsor pages may be considered advertising for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. 1734.

The Information presented in Proven and Probable is provided for educational and informational purposes only, without any express or implied warranty of any kind, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose. The Information contained in or provided from or through this forum is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, trading advice or any other advice. The Information on this forum and provided from or through this forum is general in nature and is not specific to you the User or anyone else. You should not make any decision, financial, investments, trading or otherwise, based on any of the information presented on this forum without undertaking independent due diligence and consultation with a professional broker or competent financial advisor. You understand that you are using any and all Information available on or through this forum at your own risk.

Images and graphs provided by the author.

More Info:

This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com

Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp
By Eamon Quinn and Geoff Percival

A surge in sterling as EU and UK negotiators reached a breakthrough in the Brexit talks could be shortlived, analysts have warned, as many political obstacles to closing the deal lie ahead.

The UK currency leaped 0.75% against the euro to 86.65 pence, ostensibly relieving pressure on many Irish SMEs exporting across the Irish Sea.

And there was some early evidence that a handful of Irish shares, including Bank of Ireland, could get an early boost in the coming days if the deal between EU Brexit chief Michel Barnier and the UK proves durable.

Irish shares which generate a significant part of their revenues in the UK have been among the most exposed after the slump in the value of sterling from 76 pence following the UK vote to leave the EU in June 2016.

But analysts warned that there could be tough tests ahead because UK Prime Minister Theresa May must now try and navigate the deal through her own cabinet and the UK parliament.

I think sterling will get a little strength on the back of the report of a deal, said Owen Callan, senior analyst at Investec Ireland.

But the gains could be capped because Ms May must now travel the difficult path of securing support from the DUP and the parliament, he said.

The mood music has improved but any predictions on the future direction of sterling will depend on getting through the political obstacles in the coming weeks, Mr Callan added.

Ever since the UK voted to leave the EU in the summer of 2016, sterling has played the role as a key financial barometer in measuring the progress and setbacks of the divorce talks between the EU and UK.

Sterling had traded as low as 91 pence in August amid fears that the UK was set to crash out of the EU in March next without a deal.

Irish food firms, in particular  who employ large amounts of people  could benefit if sterling were to rise sharply against the euro.

Merrion chief economist Alan McQuaid said any good news on Brexit will naturally translate to good news for Ireland, with the results likely to be evident in share prices Irish government bonds.

He said a positive Brexit outcome also would boost sterling and could see it trade as high as 80 pence.

However, Mr McQuaid said although some form of deal seems likely, the British governments ability to get it endorsed by its parliament and gain the support of the DUP remain in the balance.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, said sterling surged on the Brexit breakthrough news.

The pound has been on a wild ride so far this week. After heavy falls in the previous session, the pound was over 1.4% higher as it continues to oscillate to Brexit sentiment. Reports that there are just a few small outstanding issues to a Brexit deal was enough to send the pound back over $1.30 to a peak of $1.3020, almost 200 points up from Mondays low, she said.

Talk of a conclusion to Brexit talks could be short-lived, with UK parliament looking increasingly unhappy with the direction of travel, warned Joshua Mahony, market analyst at online broker IG.

This could be just the beginning, for a convincing rejection from parliament or the EU nations could go a long way to highlighting exactly how far we are from any form of positive resolution, he said.
By Geoff Percival

Shares in builders merchanting and DIY group Grafton surged nearly 8% on the back of latest revenue figures showing the group is defying the drop in consumer confidence in its core market of the UK.

The Dublin-based owner of the Woodies DIY retail chain and the Chadwicks and Heiton-Buckley merchanting businesses reported a 10.2% year-on-year jump in revenues for the four months to the end of October, with like-for-like sales for the same period up by 5.5%.

Group revenue for the first 10 months of the year rose 9.3% to 2.5bn (2.9bn).

Graftons UK merchanting division which contributes more than 70% to annual revenues increased sales by 8.1% in the first 10 months, despite October seeing a marked slowdown in consumer confidence in the UK.

However, Grafton also saw growth of over 10% in the first 10 months of the year in its Irish merchanting division and its Dutch division of 21%. Total revenue growth in retail, effectively the Woodies DIY business, amounted to 11% in the 10 months to the end of October.

Following a good first- half performance, overall trading in the last four months has underpinned our confidence that we will deliver our expectations for the full year, said chief executive Gavin Slark.

The group has benefited from its exposure to multiple geographic markets, he said.

Davy has forecast a 14% rise in Graftons operating profits this year to 186m.


Excellent Drill Results Continue from Binduli Gold Project

Perth, Nov 14, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Intermin Resources Limited ( ASX:IRC ) ("Intermin" or the "Company") is pleased to announce further excellent reverse circulation ("RC") drilling results from the 100% owned Binduli gold project, located 9km west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields (see Figure 1 in link below).HIGHLIGHTS- Drilling completed at the Crake prospect, part of the 100% owned Binduli gold project area, 9km west of Kalgoorlie in the Western Australian goldfields- A total of 85 RC holes for 8,096m were drilled to an average depth of 95m- All 1m split assay results have now been received and include(see Note 1 below):o 13m @ 4.10g/t Au from 65m including 2m @ 18.52g/t Au from 75m (BRC18036)o 15m @ 2.75g/t Au from 27m (BRC18069)o 9m @ 4.38g/t Au from 39m including 1m @ 31.2g/t Au from 39m (BRC18079)o 4m @ 4.90g/t Au from 52m and 10m @ 2.49g/t Au from 74m (BRC18044)o 1m @ 26.10g/t Au from 68m (BRC18096)o 3m @ 7.40g/t Au including 1m @ 19.60g/t Au from 27m and 2m @ 4.41g/t Au from 46m (BRC18071)- Results show significant gold mineralisation over 420m strike length and remains open along strike to the north and at depth- All data now being compiled to generate a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate with metallurgical test work and initial mining studies to commence in the March Quarter- Extension drilling at Crake will continue as a priority in 2019, together with high priority targets including Coote, Darter and Honeyeater- Binduli now confirmed alongside Teal, Anthill and Blister Dam as a key project area for resource expansion and testing for new open cut and underground discoveriesCommenting on the results of the Binduli program, Intermin Managing Director Mr Jon Price said:"These latest results continue to demonstrate the potential scale and quality of the Crake prospect in an area that has seen little modern exploration, particularly at depth. To have now identified mineralisation over a 420m strike length provides us with great confidence in the entire Binduli project area which will be a priority in 2019.""We now look forward to compiling the first Mineral Resource Estimate at Crake and moving forward with mining studies and metallurgical test work to rapidly advance the project into the mine development pipeline."OverviewIn February 2018, Intermin commenced a self-funded $4M, 55,000m drilling program across its 100% owned Kalgoorlie gold projects. The major drill program is focussed on new discoveries and resource extensions at the key Teal, Anthill and Blister Dam gold projects.In March 2018, the Binduli joint venture tenements were returned to Intermin on a 100% basis and an initial 5,000m of RC drilling commenced at the Crake prospect shortly thereafter. A follow up drill program for approximately 3,000m was completed in the September 2018 quarter.Crake prospectThe geology at Crake is similar to the 390,000oz Janet Ivy open pit, located approximately 1,500m to the south, where gold mineralisation is hosted in a structurally controlled feldspar porphyry. The bulk of the mineralisation sits at below 25m depth. The top 25m is mostly barren except for minor pods of oxide ore. At the nearby Fort William and Fort Scott open pits, where over 100,000oz have been produced to date, gold is hosted within sheared units of volcanics and clastic sediments.In total, Intermin drilled 85 RC holes for 8,096m at Crake during 2018. Initial drilling (~5,000m) focussed on areas where historical mineralisation had been delineated but appeared to have poor continuity. The results of this program have been summarised in ASX releases dated 10 July 2018 and 15 August 2018. The first program was largely successful in helping our understanding of the mineralisation by confirming the ore zone is west dipping and better grades were seen in more sulphidic zones along with quartz stock working. Local discontinuities were possibly a result of faulting and displacement.Follow up drilling (~3,000m) then expanded the potential resource by infilling between the northern and southern drill areas and extending the northern strike length. The strike length has now increased from 360m to 420m. Most of the ore is defined within the top 100m and is open at depth, however a couple of deeper holes showed reasonable continuity to 140m vertical depth (e.g. BRC18093: 6m @ 2.15g/t Au from 163m and 1m @ 1.52g/t Au from 171m) (see Note 1 below).The recent drill results continue to show that Crake contains significant amounts of gold mineralisation. Of particular interest are the narrow high grade veins, typically >8g/t Au, being more frequently intersected throughout the mineralisation. This potential for higher grades is seen throughout the system (e.g. BRC18079: 9m @ 4.38g/t Au from 39m including 1m @ 31.2g/t Au from 39m, BRC18082: 2m @ 7.62g/t Au including 1m @ 9.93g/t Au from 40m, BRC18096: 1m @ 26.1g/t Au from 68m and BRC180363: 13m @ 4.10g/t Au from 65m including 2m @ 18.52g/t Au from 75m (see Note 1 below). Diamond drilling to improve the understanding of these high-grade veins has been scheduled for 2019 to assess both open cut and underground potential.In addition, several new, shallower lodes have been intersected as the drilling has stepped back to the west (e.g. BRC18100: 5m @ 1.38g/t Au from 33m, BRC18071: 3m @ 7.40g/t Au from 27m and BRC18092: 1m @ 3.18g/t Au from 24m, 1m @ 4.72g/t Au from 30m and 1m @4.22 g/t Au from 35m) (see Note 1 below). This new mineralisation is consistent with other (multiple) stacked lodes now being interpreted at Crake. The lodes defined to date are typically 1-6m thick but can swell out to 25m. Further step back drilling to the west will test these new lodes in 2019.Next StepsA maiden Mineral Resource Estimate will be compiled and is expected to be released in the March Quarter 2019.Further exploration and resource drilling is expected to commence at Crake during 2019. In addition, as previously announced, Intermin intends to undertake drilling at several historic prospects at Binduli (see Figure 3 in link below). These include Coote which is only 700m west of Crake and also appears to be directly along strike from the Janet Ivy open cut mine. Historic results from Coote include 5m @ 19.62g/t Au and 12m @ 2.33g/t Au(see Note 2 below).Darter is located 1,600m north along strike from Crake and has recorded highly encouraging mineralisation such as 20m @ 2.85g/t Au. Further north at Honeyeater, there are historic RC hits such as 1m @ 175g/t Au and 17m @ 2.06g/t Au(see Note 2 below).Most of these areas have not been subjected to adequate drilling and have considerable upside potential.Notes:1 see Table 1 on Page 6, Competent Persons Statements on Page 9, Forward Looking Statement on Page 10 and JORC Tables on Page 112 Historic results as announced mostly recently to the ASX on 16 April 2015To view tables and figures, please visit:About Horizon Minerals Limited

Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed.

Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline.

Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern says that from an Irish perspective the proposed Brexit deal which British Prime Minister Theresa May will put to her Cabinet today seems to address most of the issues and positions that we are concerned about.

He acknowledged that his position was on the basis of reports from various spokespersons in the tunnel.

Mr Ahern told RTEs Today with Sean ORourke show that Mrs Mays back is to the wall and she will have a difficult time trying to convince the Cabinet.

He pointed out that all the senior business people in the UK have been telling her for months about the consequences of Brexit to the UK economy.

How will she possibly get this through?

He added: those people, Gove and Johnson, came out in the campaign saying they would go and negotiate great deals for 60million people. They didnt tell these people that these countries already have deals with the EU which is 440million people. Now, who is in a stronger position, 60million or 440million?

The EUs chief negotiator Michel Barnier had made a big concession to the UK in relation to a temporary customs arrangement, said Mr Ahern.

When asked about how the UK Cabinet is likely to vote, Mr Ahern said: youd need to be a mathematical wizard to work out the votes.

If Michael Gove votes against Theresa May then shell be doomed, he added.

Mr Ahern, also said he wished politicians would stop saying that the constitutionality of Northern Ireland would be impacted by the backstop. People saying that the constitutional position in Northern Ireland will be affected are wrong.

The ordinary Joe or Mary Soap in Northern Ireland will be better off under this backstop deal, he said.

On the same programme, the Democratic Unionist MP Gregory Campbell called for cool heads and calm reflection until the details of Mrs Mays proposal are revealed. Lets see what it says.

Lets not get carried away. In a few hours, we can see the text and then well see what happens.

However, he warned that it would be a disaster to buy something that we dont want.

Digital Desk
The Department of Health has reached a contract agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation for providing abortions at GP surgeries and other community settings.

Welcoming the development, the Health Minister Simon Harris said it is up to doctors to choose whether they want to offer the service.

He said the agreement is a significant step towards the introduction of abortion services at the start of January.

Doctors will be paid 150 for the patient's first consultation, with the fee for the procedure and aftercare coming to 300.

In line with the provisions in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018, a termination will involve two visits to a medical practitioner. The service will also include a third visit for aftercare.

At the first visit, the medical practitioner will confirm the pregnancy, offer advice and information and certify that the pregnancy has not exceeded twelve weeks gestation.

Following the three-day waiting period, a second visit will be required at which the medical practitioner will obtain consent, provide information on the procedure, possible complications and advice on contraception, administer the first medication and supply the second medication to the patient to be taken at home.

At the third visit, which will be optional for the woman, the medical practitioner will confirm that the termination is complete and provide an aftercare consultation.

Minister Harris said this evening: "The agreement of this contract is a significant step in the detailed preparations for the introduction of termination of pregnancy services at the beginning of January.

"It enables the HSE to offer the contract in sufficient time for doctors to consider its terms and, if they wish to take up the contract, to advise the HSE of this. I would like to acknowledge the constructive engagement by the IMO on this sensitive issue.

Digital Desk
By Ann O'Loughlin

Three daughters and two sons of a Tipperary couple who sued for nervous shock after their parents died in a head-on car crash have settled their High Court actions.

Another daughter who sustained multiple serious injuries in the road traffic accident last February settled her action after a hearing lasting several days.

Emma Kenneally (35) told the High Court she had to be cut from the wreckage and thought she was going to die after a car veered onto her side of the road as she drove home from a shopping trip in Kilkenny.

Her father, Tom Kenneally (65), a farmer, and mother Angela (61), from outside Templemore, Co Tipperary, died as a result of the accident which happened about six kilometres outside Kilkenny city on August 24th, 2011.

It was claimed the car which veered across the road and ploughed into Ms Kenneallys car did so after a psychiatric patient who was a front seat passenger allegedly grabbed the wheel of the car, being driven by his sister.

Ms Kenneally fractured all four limbs as well her spine and ribs and spent three months in hospital after the accident.

A teacher, of Barnane, Templemore, she sued Elizabeth Dillon, Bowsfield, Killerig, Tullow, Co Carlow, the owner and the driver of the other car and Ms Dillons brother, Sean, of the same address, who was the front passenger in the car.

It was alleged Sean Dillon grabbed the drivers wheel as his sister drove.

Ms Kenneally had also sued the HSE, as owner of St Lukes Hospital, Kilkenny where Sean Dillon had received treatment.

She had also sued the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland arising from the allegation Sean Dillon was in control of the car at the time of the accident.

It was alleged the reason Ms Dillons car went onto the incorrect side of the road was because her driving was compromised by the actions of Sean Dillon, at that time a psychiatric patient under the care of the HSE at St Lukes Hospital.

In the High Court today Emmas sisters, Mary, Rosie, Christina and brothers John and Patrick settled their own actions claiming nervous shock over the sudden death of their parents. The terms of the settlements are confidential.

Approving the settlements Mr Justice Kevin Cross said he was glad the cases which arose from a tragic accident had settled.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has heralded today as one of the better days in politics as he championed a significant victory for Ireland in relation to Brexit.

Speaking tonight, Mr Varadkar said the deal reached between the EU and the UK represented a decisive step forward.

He said the 500-plus legal text puts Ireland in a stronger position than last December, when he described the commitment to avoiding a hard border as bulletproof.

This deal has turned those commitments into a legal text, a binding treaty. It is even stronger than what we had in December, we are in a stronger position than last December, he told reporters.

He said the need the backstop and this is fully spelt out in the draft agreement, and no need for a border on the island of Ireland or along the Irish sea arises until a better solution arises.

We do now have the insurance policy of the backstop if all else fails, he said, adding that unwinding the backstop cannot be a unilateral decision. It can only be taken by both EU and UK, he said.

Mr Varadkar was speaking after the Cabinet met especially for two hours on Wednesday where ministers were briefed by Mr Varadkar and Mr Coveney in detail about the provisions which protects the ideal of no border on the island of Ireland and respects the principle of a legally-binding backstop.

Ministers were remaining tightlipped as a forced lockdown on speaking to the media was being enforced by Mr Varadkar's office to allow events play out in London.

But sources have said Mr Varadkar was at ease and smiling throughout the meeting despite the importance of what was being discussed.
By Tom Tuite

A Bulgarian man arrested at Terminal 1 in Dublin Airport has been remanded in custody after he was charged with facilitating the entry of an illegal immigrant into the State.

Bulgarian national Svetoslav Stefchov, 26, who has no current address in Ireland, appeared before Judge Dermot Simms at Dublin District Court.

He faced charges under the Theft and Fraud Act and one under Section Two of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) act 2000.

He was accused of using as a false instrument, a Cypriot marriage certificate and a Cypriot residence cards in his own name and that of a named woman who is not before the courts.

He was also accused that he organised or knowingly facilitated the entry into the State of a person who he knew had reasonable cause to believe to be an illegal immigrant who intended to seek asylum.

That offence was under Section 2 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) act 2000.

It is also alleged that he had a Cypriot Residence Card in the name of a third person.

There was no application for bail when he appeared before Judge Dermot Simms at Dublin District Court.

Det Garda Joseph Gavin told Judge Simms the accused made no reply when he was charged at Ballymun Garda station on Tuesday evening.

Defence solicitor Michael French informed the court that there was no application for bail and there was consent to a remand in custody until November 19 for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to be obtained.

Legal aid was granted.
The backlash Maurice McCabe faced after the Garda commissioner described the actions of whistleblowers as disgusting made him feel like he was poison, he told an RTE documentary last night.

A colleague of his described how the general feeling among gardai following Martin Callinans comments to the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was that he [McCabe] was finished and that he wont be making any more complaints.

I felt I was poison, said Mr McCabe in the documentary, Whistleblower: The Maurice McCabe Story.

His wife Lorraine spoke about the devastation her husband felt as his best efforts to highlight malpractices in An Garda Siochana were stymied again and again.

He even pointed out the tree on their land that he intended to hang himself from.

Yet despite the forces conspiring against him, he refused to give up, a doggedness he attributes to his father Michael.

Michael, who features in the documentary, led his own crusade against the pollution of Lough Sheelin in the midlands in the 1980s.

He would go all out to prove his case and I suppose that happened to me. I wasnt conscious of it at the time, but looking back it was identical, said Mr McCabe.

Lorraine agreed: Michael would have always told Maurice, Dont give up Maurice, dont let them beat you, whereas I would have wanted Maurice to stop and just get on with our lives and just leave it all alone.

He was never going to let go, ever, and I suppose he got that from his father.

Mr McCabe also revealed the disgust he felt when he shook his former bosss hand at the Disclosures Tribunal.

The former Garda sergeant was approached by Mr Callinan during a break in tribunal proceedings earlier this year.

I was annoyed with myself because he was one person that I wouldnt shake hands with ever again, said Mr McCabe.

I was disgusted, to use his word.

Last month, the tribunal found Mr McCabe was subjected to a smear campaign by Mr Callinan and former Garda press officer, Superintendent Dave Taylor.

The role of Mr Taylor, who has since retired, was also examined in last nights documentary, as was the role of Tusla, the child and family agency, which incorrectly categorised Mr McCabe on its files.

The documentary was the second of a two-part series.

RTE said the first part of the documentary, which aired on Monday night, attracted an average audience of 509,000, with a 40% share.


2018 AGM Chairman's Address

Adelaide, Nov 14, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mithril Resources Limited ( ASX:MTH ) provides the Company's Chairman Address to the 2018 Annual General Meeting.Good Morning,On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2018 Annual General Meeting for Mithril Resources Limited ('Mithril' or 'Company').Mithril continues to actively explore its Billy Hills and Kurnalpi Projects, as well as generating new exploration opportunities to strengthen its portfolio.At Billy Hills we are targeting large scale deposits under cover along strike from known mineralisation, namely the Pillara Zinc Mine that produced approximately 10.3 Mt of ore grading 6.9% Zn and 2.3% Pb from June 1997 to October 2003. Four initial targets have been prioritised for follow-up on these newly granted tenements and these are highlighted by elevated rock chip results up to 14.24% zinc + lead, an untested IP geophysical anomaly and broad zones of bedrock anomalism in historic drill intercepts. This is an exciting zinc opportunity and David Hutton, our Managing Director will provide further detail in his presentation at the end of the meeting.At the Kurnalpi Project, nickel sulphide mineralisation was confirmed in reverse circulation (RC) drilling during the year and importantly demonstrated that nickel sulphides are present within an extensive and largely untested unit of ultramafic rocks. We are confident that ongoing exploration will ultimately be successful at Kurnalpi, and we look forward to carrying out further drilling in early 2019.Late in the year the Company applied for new exploration licences in the highly prospective Bangemall Basin targeting base metal mineralisation. The tenements are situated northwest of Meekatharra and are in a similar geological setting to the large Abra Deposit held by Galena Mining Limited. Target generation ahead of the grant of tenure is underway and several priority targets have been highlighted through the integration of various historic datasets. Again, David Hutton will provide further details on these targets in his presentation at the end of the meeting.I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to my fellow directors, management and staff for their dedication and work during the past 12 months. We are committed to progressing the Company and advancing our projects towards discovery for the benefit of all shareholders.I also take this opportunity to thank all shareholders for your continued support of Mithril.To view 2018 AGM Presentation, please visit:About Mithril Resources Limited

Mithril Resources Limited (ASX:MTH) is an Australian resources company whose objective is the creation of shareholder wealth through the discovery of mineral deposits.

The Company and its exploration partners are actively exploring throughout the Kalgoorlie, West Kimberley and Murchison Districts of Western Australia for economic nickel, copper, zinc, and vanadium deposits.

In the Kalgoorlie District, Mithril is exploring for nickel on the Kurnalpi, Lignum Dam and North Scotia Projects which lie along strike from, or adjacent to previously mined high-grade nickel at the Silver Swan and Scotia Nickel Deposits.

In the West Kimberley, Mithril is exploring for zinc on the Billy Hills Project which lies adjacent to the previously mined Pillara Zinc Deposit.

In the Murchison, Mithril is exploring for copper, nickel and zinc mineralisation on the Nanadie Well Project and for copper, silver, zinc and lead on the Bangemall Base Metal Project. Mithril's exploration partner  Monax Mining Ltd is also exploring for vanadium on the Limestone Well tenements.
Olivia Kelleher

Latest: A young woman who reported a rape and is awaiting a trial in the case says that she has a "nightmare" about her underwear being brought up in evidence to the jury and that people in her position dread having their whole lives paraded before the courts.

The woman, who attended a rally in Cork city today to protest against victim shaming in rape cases, said that the courts process in rape trials is heavily weighted towards the defendants.

She said her anxious wait for a trial date is further compounded by cases where barristers ask jurors to reflect on the underwear worn by the women in sexual assault cases.

"I am terrified? What are they going to do to me in court? Who knows what they are going to bring up against me? I struggled to report it (the incident) for ages.

"For a girl to stand up in court and have her underwear mentioned. That could happen to me. The case (where underwear was mentioned) has blown my mind."

The young woman says she scans newspapers every day to see how rape cases are handled. She frequently despairs at what she reads.

I look at every single (rape) case. It is always in my head. Every day I am constantly shocked. I am never satisfied by what I read.

The young woman was among up to 350 people who turned up to protest against victim shaming following a recent case in the Central Criminal Court where a barrister representing a man in a rape trial said that the jury should reflect on the underwear worn by a teenage girl.

The 27-year-old man was found not guilty of raping a 17-year-old woman in a laneway in Cork.

Steps of Cork courthouse covered in underwear brought by marchers @CorkEveningEcho pic.twitter.com/WKCXhZFF3J  Grainne McGuinness (@GMMcGuinness) November 14, 2018

At the sitting of the court in Cork a barrister told jurors 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."

Meanwhile, amongst the attendees at the rally in Patrick Street was Jackie Foley from Ballyvolane in Cork city who is the mother of two girls.

She said she was horrified by the comments made in the case.

"It further copperfastens victim blaming and shaming. We need to look at the judiciary and training specifically around sexual violence and assault.

"The message being given out to young women is to be ashamed of theirselves and their bodies. To consider what they are wearing in case they are in some way attracting unwanted male attention.

We are not responsible for controlling male desire. I am so angered.

UCC student Kaitlyn Cunningham (20) said clothing worn by a woman should never be up for discussion in a rape case.

"It is 2018 and that stuff shouldn't go on anymore. It has gone on too long. I wasn't even that surprised (when I heard of the case)."

The head of Cork's Sexual Violence Centre, Mary Crilly, said jurors in rape cases should never be told to have regard for what the women wore.

"I think it will put young girls off reporting and I don't blame them. It is totally unfair and the victim is blamed all the times. We need to change what happens in the courtroom."

Protestors carried placards complete with underwear attached proclaiming that "My knickers is not my consent."

Hundreds march through #Cork city to the courthouse where a 17-year olds underwear was used by the defence barrister when addressing the jury in a rape trial #thisisnotconsent pic.twitter.com/4yqGcW6XPG  Fiona Corcoran (@fiona96fmnews) November 14, 2018

The lunchtime protest outside Brown Thomas was organised by the Rosa Socialist Feminist movement.

Similar protests occurred around the country.

Earlier: 'People are assaulted no matter what you wear': Protesters call for overhaul of conduct of rape trials

Protests are taking place this afternoon calling for an overhaul of how rape trials are conducted.

It follows controversial remarks made in a recent case in Cork over a 17-year-old woman's thong.

Demonstrations are taking place in Dublin, Limerick and Cork with more planned for Belfast and Waterford.

Underwear and some of the signs on display at Cork rally @CorkEveningEcho pic.twitter.com/nXT1j9bYaZ  Grainne McGuinness (@GMMcGuinness) November 14, 2018

People Before Profit Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger held up a lace thong in the Dail yesterday to highlight the issue.

Speaking at the protest in Dublin she says societal change is badly needed: "Judges and solicitors are using stereotypes that they believe will influence juries potentially so we need to change ideas in society.

"I would say a massive discussion on consent and the sex education bill should be prioritised and let's start in schools"

Protesters place underwear on the steps of the courthouse in #Cork city during #thisisnotconsent protest pic.twitter.com/pY4Dk9dIc8  Fiona Corcoran (@fiona96fmnews) November 14, 2018

Rita Harold from the feminist movement Rosa says what women wear is focused on too much in trials and society in general.

"We hear this a lot that you should take steps to protect yourself, in other words, dress conservatively and stay in places that you know are safe.

"That's not real. The reality is that people are assaulted no matter what you wear."

Protest in Dublin against victim blaming in the courts. Huge crowd for a lunchtime last minute protest. #consent #solidarity #ThisIsNotConsent pic.twitter.com/fJpdKpx5TT  Kate O'Sullivan  (@KateOSully) November 14, 2018

Digital Desk
By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

Hundreds of students considering a course to become a primary teacher after their degree will no longer have to take multiple Irish oral tests if they apply to more than one college.

The changes, announced yesterday by Education Minister Joe McHugh, will mean someone wishing to do a postgraduate masters in education (PME) will undergo a single test of their spoken Irish instead of a possible three.

Around 200 to 300 people a year begin the two-year PME course at the four colleges involved: Dublin City University, Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Maynooth University, and Dublins Marino Institute of Education (the latter two have a combined application process).

Up to and including this year, hundreds who apply to more than one college had to do an Irish oral and an interview on the same day for each application.

From next year, however, the Teastas Eorpach Gaeilge (TEG) test will be held in February, much earlier than the interviews, which are normally held in early summer.

The test will bring uniformity to the measure of Irish competency of entrants to the PME courses, and will be administered by Maynooth Universitys Centre for Irish Language Research, Teaching, and Testing at venues around the country.

The system only applies to State-funded providers of primary education, and does not cover the entry process for applicants to Hibernia College, a private institution from which two-thirds of postgraduate entrants to primary teacher education get their qualifications.

Although it is not known how many people typically apply to more than one college, it is understood that significant numbers seek entry to at least one postgraduate course if they are intent on a teaching career.

Colleges typically have to interview and offer an Irish oral test for five to 10 students for each place available, with DCU having 590 applicants for just 60 places on its PME degree this year.

The new system will save resources for colleges as only students who pass the TEG will go forward for interview.

Mr McHugh said the measure will also relieve stress for intending students, who previously had to face the oral and interview on the same day.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation acknowledged there will be an additional cost to students, but believes the change will be a benefit to students.

We would welcome the reduced pressure on students who apply to more than one college, as they will no longer have to do the oral test several times, said assistant general secretary Deirbhile Nic Craith.

Students will have to pay a 65 fee for the single Irish oral test, in addition to the non-refundable fee of 45 or 50 for each PME course application.

Mr McHugh welcomed a commitment by colleges to refund the fee for students coming through a programme funded by his department to increase third-level participation by under-represented groups.
By Ann OLoughlin

Two teenage boys have launched a High Court challenge against their expulsion from school after they posted videos on social media of another pupil snorting a white powder substance in class.

Details of the incident, which the court heard involved the snorting of sugar, were published in the Irish Sun newspaper, the High Court heard.

Last month, the students, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, were informed the secondary school board of management had decided they should be excluded from the secondary school they attend.

The board, which is due to formalise its decision later this month, found that the students had behaved in a manner that posed a serious threat to the good order and discipline of the school after a classmate asked them to record him ingesting the white powder.

The incident happened during the course of a lesson but was unknown to the teacher present.

The videos were posted on social media, but in the case of one of the students are not believed to have been seen by many people.

The school was made aware of the incident by one of the boys mothers, out of her concerns for the safety of her son and other students.

Lawyers representing the boys say the boards decision represents a fundamental breach of fair procedures and constitutional justice and is disproportionate.

They contend the grounds for their expulsion fly in the face of common sense. The board also failed to take into account the fact the school principal recommended that the teens not be expelled.

It is also claimed the students were told to make statements without being warned the statements would be used against them in a disciplinary process and that they could be expelled.

At the High Court, counsel Barney Quirke appearing with Andrew Whelan for one of the pupils, said he was making the application because the student is due to sit his Leaving Certificate examinations next June.

Even if the appeal was successful, counsel said it could be well into the new year before the student could return to school, and a lot of valuable time would be lost.

Counsel said his client has special needs and has a good disciplinary record, which did not seem to be taken into account by the board.

Derek Shortall, for the second student, said his clients action was brought on similar grounds to the other boy, although his client had some previous disciplinary matters, including a suspension for swearing.

The matter will return before the court tomorrow.
By Tom Tuite

A former head of security for pop star Rihanna has been spared jail for harassing a garda sergeant with abusive text messages in which he threatened to put a stop to the lot of you one by one.

Geoffrey Keating, aged 40, of Woodbank Drive, Finglas, Dublin, denied harassing Garda Sergeant Brendan Carey over the period of an hour and a half on the afternoon of August 21, 2016.

He was found guilty following his trial before Judge Ann Ryan at Dublin District Court yesterday.

He was given a six-month sentence suspended on condition he does not re-offend in the next 12 months and he gave an undertaking not to contact or approach the sergeant again.

The harassment consisted of nine messages from Keating who claimed he had contacted the sergeant initially to make a complaint about the conduct of other gardai.

Sgt Carey had been based in Finglas previously but had been promoted and transferred to another station when Keating contacted him.

Keating claimed juveniles had been forced by gardai to strip to their boxer shorts and he contacted the sergeant so his complaint would be passed up the chain.

He had been on medication at the time, the court heard.

The sergeant had given him his personal number a couple of years previously when Keating had helped gardai change a tyre.

Keating had mentioned antisocial behaviour and crime problems in his area and the sergeant gave his number in case he needed to contact gardai.

Keating worked for Rihanna in 2012 and 2013.

Sgt Carey had been transferred to a different station by the time he received the text messages on the Viber messaging app from Keating who admitted that he sent them.

Sgt Carey told the court he felt the threats were directed at him. He had not known who the sender was initially and he was concerned for himself and for his colleagues.
Ann O'Loughlin

The Supreme Court has refused to hear a man's appeal over a decision he had not raised a sufficient legal basis to challenge the government's appointment of Drew Harris as Garda Commissioner.

Belfast based researcher Ciaran MacAirt, whose grandmother Kathleen Irvine was one of 15 people killed when a loyalist bomb exploded at McGurk's Bar in Belfast in December 1971, had sought judicial review of the Government decision.

He claimed Mr Harris' appointment was unlawful because he was not, it was alleged, an appropriate person to serve as Commissioner.

Because Mr Harris was previously a Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and an officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, it was claimed, by reason of his involvement in investigations carried out by that force into certain notorious murders in Northern Ireland, he would be compromised in performance of his duties as Garda Commissioner.

Mr MacAirt also claimed, by reason of Mr Harris' obligations under the UK Official Secrets Act and his alleged frustration of the effective investigation of the murders by police in Northern Ireland, he would be incapable of directing an effective Garda investigation into those murders.

The High Court's Mr Justice Denis McDonald last August ruled Mr MacAirt had raised no arguable grounds for judicial review.

The judge said there was a fundamental flaw in the case as Mr MacAirt completely failed to address or take account of the statutory process for the appointment, under which the Government had to accept a nomination made by the Policing Authority and could reject it only in exceptional circumstances.

Mr MacAirt had shown no basis upon which the court could find a breach of the various provisions of the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Garda Siochana Act 2005 that had been pleaded, he held.

Mr Justice McDonald noted most of the matters of concern to the applicant had occurred in Northern Ireland and said there was no suggestion An Garda Siochana was involved in, or contemplated, any investigation into such matters.

There was, therefore, no ground for any finding that Mr Harris could be compromised in regard to such an investigation, he said.

Any obligation on An Garda Siochana to investigate long predated the appointment of Mr Harris but the High Court did not accept there was such an obligation, under either the Constitution or the Convention, in respect of events occurring outside the jurisdiction of the State, he said.

While the applicant referred to the 1974 Dublin/Monaghan bombings, he had not set out sufficient facts to support the existence of a stateable case, he also held.

He also rejected the submission that Mr Harris obligations under the UK's official secrets legislation would be at variance with his duties to this State.

Mr MacAirt asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal against that decision.

Concerns 'relate to a matter of public importance'

He asserted the case raises issues in relation to the separation of powers, national intelligence and international conflicts of interest affecting national security.

In its published determination, a three-judge Supreme Court said the concerns raised by Mr MacAirt "do, unquestionably, relate to a matter of public importance".

However, in order to meet the constitutional criteria for an appeal to the Supreme Court, an appeal must in the first place be "stateable", it said.

The basic difficulty with this case remains the same as it was in the High Court  the applicant has not addressed the statutory framework within which this appointment took place, and has not set out any specific legal point relating to the part played in the statutory process by the respondents.

The original nomination of Mr Harris by the Policing Authority has not been challenged, and no case has been made that the Government acted illegally in not exercising its power to refuse to accept the nomination, the court said.

There has been no analysis of that power and its parameters and the application for leave to appeal fails to clarify the legal points intended to be argued, whether in relation to the Constitution, the Convention or the legislation, the court added

In determining Mr MacAirt's case did not meet the threshold for judicial review, the High Court judge applied well-established case law, the court ruled. In all the circumstances, it refused leave to appeal.
A damaging Brexit deal could drag rural Ireland back into a recession, with up to 40,000 jobs at risk and areas in counties Cork, Kerry and Tipperary worst affected because of their reliance on farming.

Two leading economic think-tanks issued the dire warning as they lashed out at the risks posed to this country by the UKs departure from the EU.

Speaking to the Oireachtas housing committee, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Nevin Economic Research Institute said it is clear Ireland could be worst affected by any problems resulting from the situation.

And while saying Dublin could benefit to an extent by an influx of people fleeing the UK, other parts of the country including the south-west, southeast and the border region risk being badly damaged.

Responding to Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Mick Barry, the ESRI head of economics Kieran McQueen said the reality is a bad deal is going to be very difficult and could see the agriculture and construction industries very seriously impacted.

Highlighting concerns for farming-focussed local economies in north Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, the southeast and the border, Mr McQueen said there could well be key regional differences in any fallout.

You could see an overall depressing effect on the housing market and economy nationally, Dublin could be quite different, but that could be somewhat different to the regions.

His concerns were repeated by the Nevin Economic Research Institutes director Tom Healy, who said he is equally fearful of a damaging Brexit and believes much more than 20,000 jobs predicted to be at risk could be lost.

Citing the same issues surrounding the border areas, southwest and southeast, which he said may be very adversely affected if any deal goes wrong, Mr Healy said there is a risk of greater inequality, social and economic inequality.

If you look at those affected, particularly in the agri-food sector, you could have a chain reaction which percolates out, he said when asked about his job losses prediction.

In rural areas and the border you could be looking at a much more negative impact than said.

That could be counter-balanced by inward migration in Dublin, but it could be much worse than the 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 suggested, he said.

Both Mr McQueen and Mr Healy said even if Dublin survives a Brexit fallout, it is likely to face a fresh housing crisis which could see vital social housing and Rebuilding Ireland funding scaled back.

Asked by Fianna Fail senator Jennifer Murnane OConnor about other bad deal risks, Mr Healy replied: Higher costs, temporary shortage of materials, availability of skilled construction labour from Northern Ireland, increased demand for housing.


Chairman's Address to Shareholders

Brisbane, Nov 14, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Central Petroleum Limited ( ASX:CTP ) provides the Company's Chairman Address to Shareholders.Fellow Shareholders, Ladies and GentlemenMuch has happened at Central since the AGM last year where shareholders did me the honour of electing me to the Board.The achievements of the last year to June are outlined in the Annual Report and I will not repeat them here, other than to underscore just how transformational they were - leading to positive cash flow which can be used to reduce debt and fund the next phase of the strategy.What will interest most shareholders is how we have progressed since then to today.All of it should be seen through the drivers of shareholder value - more molecules and sales of them.Plant Upgrade ProjectsBy far the most important task for Central has been to deliver the plants necessary to supply the gas we have contracted to sell. I am pleased to report that, as of this morning, we are still on track to be able to meet our contracts.We still have 3 weeks to go, but that means that many of the risks which we could see in June have been avoided or minimised. Still, we will not break out the beer until we are actually delivering at the contractual rate.Latest Reserves and Resources CertificationAnother very important task has been to get certification of the oil and gas reserves and resources which the company has now, following the work done in the fields and the results of our drilling. The arrival of the Northern Gas Pipeline in about 3 weeks changes our gas from stranded to available and changes the picture substantially from the last report.The release of the Netherland, Sewell and Associates assessment yesterday with a 65% increase in 1 P, a 37% increase in 2P and 67% increase in 3P gas volumes is driven both by the contracts and by the existence of the pipeline. As you will hear from Mr Devaney shortly, there is both room for further sales and the opportunity for further reserves and resources.Traditional OwnersOur rights to explore and to produce, in all respects, come back to the Traditional Owners on whose land we operate. Our relationship with them is the most important we have - bar none.The Board and management recognise this and we are exploring with them the best way to make sure that we hear their views in making our decisions. Direct communication between them and the company at the highest levels is what we both seek. We re-started that with a very productive meeting recently and have followed that up with progress on several pressing issues.I am fortunate to share a very personal relationship with the Traditional Owners at Palm Valley. My father visited them often and was accorded a very great honour by them both during his lifetime and on his passing. It has been very moving to sit down with the descendants of the people whom my father knew and loved - a passion he passed to his family.PersonnelThe Board has also been busy with respect to employment searches too.CEO SearchThe most obvious is a new CEO to follow Mr Cottee on his cessation of the current dual roles of CEO and Managing Director. The Board has engaged a search firm and we discussed the long list of possible candidates at our meeting yesterday.The pace of the search has been affected by the need to concentrate on finalising the plant upgrades and the usual Christmas/New Year slow down limiting the availability of people. We expect to announce the new CEO in the first quarter of next year. Mr Devaney is obviously one of the candidates for that role.Board RenewalThe second is adding skills to the Board. As the company moves to more operations and exploration, the Board recognised that we need to add skills to the Board and had started the process to add another director to achieve that. The resignations of Mr Woodall, Dr Ryan and Dr Moore have expanded that need significantly.To do its role, a Board needs relevant experience in the industry as well as other aspects of business. The industry experience piece is often the hardest to find.Acting CEOI will hand you over to Mr Devaney to present some aspects of the company in more detail.Some of you will have met and spoken to Mr Devaney at prior AGMs or perhaps at Queensland Gas. For those of you who did not, Mr Devaney came to Australia in 2000 from the USA.From 2004 - 2008 he was at Queensland Gas. He was a core member of the QGC executive team through the BG group takeover.After the takeover in 2008 he stayed at QGC until 2012 managing the third party gas purchase strategy for QCLNG and in that role obtained a deep inside knowledge of the supply and demand of the LNG projects in particular and, for us, the broader east coast gas market.In 2012 he joined Central in a commercial role to be part of creating a substantial company to exploit the changing gas market.With an eye to broadening his experience and skill set, for succession planning reasons, the Board appointed him as CFO in 2014 and he has been Acting CEO since August.The bulk of Leon's CFO role has however remained in the commercial space as we have an excellent finance team very capably led by Steve Wright. So Leon has been in the thick of the commercial transactions which have brought Central to where it is today.In terms of Central's success so far, Leon was the person in Central who suggested the Mereenie opportunity. He led the negotiation of the deal and its funding.The EDL gas sale contract, which made such a difference to this year's financial results, was led by Leon. Central was the "roughie" which won that horse race.The two IPL deals, each immensely complicated, were also led by Leon.Delivering the commercial outcome, as well as finding the finance to be able to perform them was very much Leon's patch.He did not do them alone, but the perception of who did what in these things is markedly different from the inside than it is from the outside. We on the inside know Leon's contribution was immense.His expertise in the minutiae of the gas market was recognised when he was asked to be a member of the Gas Marketing Reform Group, a key part of the Vertigan reforms to pipeline tariff and usage regime.To view 2018 AGM Presentation, please visit:About Central Petroleum Limited

Central Petroleum Limited ( ASX:CTP) is a well-established, and emerging ASX-listed Australian oil and gas producer. In our short history, Central has grown to become the largest onshore gas producer in the Northern Territory (NT), supplying industrial customers and senior gas distributors in NT and the wider Australian east coast market.

Central is positioned to become a significant domestic energy supplier, with exploration and development plans across 180,000 km2 of tenements in Queensland and the Northern Territory, including some of Australia's largest known onshore conventional gas prospects. Central has also completed an MoU with Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) to progress the proposed Amadeus to Moomba Gas Pipeline to a Final Investment Decision.

We are also seeking to develop the Range gas project, a new gas field located among proven CSG fields in the Surat Basin, Queensland with 135 PJ (net to Central) of development-pending 2C contingent resource.
A senior Fianna Fail TD has lashed out at the "comic-book" theatrics to the Brexit deal by "right wing" factions of the British government and DUP, saying he is "aghast" at their initial response.

Party social protection spokesperson Willie O'Dea hit out at DUP and Conservative MPs as he separately said it would be "unpatriotic" for Fianna Fail to pull down the Government while the Brexit uncertainty continues.

Speaking to reporters at Leinster House, Mr O'Dea said while he understands the tension and diversity of views over the agreed legal text, he cannot understand how aggressive some British MPs have been towards the deal.

Saying it is helping no one, he said he has been left "aghast" at the "comic-book" theatrics taking place.

I'm aghast at some of the reaction, some of the comic-book reaction from the hard right members of the Tory party and DUP who saw fit to rubbish the agreement even before they read the text.

"There's two fundamental facts here. First of all nobody here, north or south, wants a hard border or a return to a hard border.

And secondly, nobody in this country, and particularly people worried about their jobs, want a no deal scenario.

"So we want clarity immediately on a number of things, we want the Taoiseach that this deal if it is accepted ultimately will in no way shape or form or undermine in any way the Good Friday Agreement.

"We also want to know from the Taoiseach what planning has been done to allow Ireland to continue seamlessly trading in event of a deal. And we also want to know what planning has been done in the event of a no deal.

"It's important, we need to de-dramatise this now, here but the UK as well, as you know what's happened here at the moment people are picking out parts of the text," he said.

Mr O'Dea separately said Fianna Fail will not bring down the Government while the Brexit uncertainty continues - even if this stretches past next March.

Despite the confidence and supply deal preparing to run-out and fears of a snap general election in Ireland, Mr O'Dea said:

"I hope we won't be looking at a crash-out deal on 31 March, because that will have horrendous consequences for the UK but for Ireland and indeed for other EU countries also.

"Micheal Martin has already made clear we will not bring down the Government while there is uncertainty around the Brexit process, it would be unpatriotic to do that. That was our position and that remains our position.

"I can't anticipate and I can't predict the future, but the fact is when there is uncertainty there that has such profound consequences for the country, Fianna Fail will do its national duty."
The world presumed the US president was a pawn in his Russian counterparts game. It could prove to be the other way around, writes Nina L Khrushcheva.

MOST of the world has spent the last two years thinking that Russian President Vladimir Putin is twisting his US counterpart, Donald Trump, around his little finger. But it could well be Trump who is leading Putin by the nose.

Trump does love Putin, or so he says. In his hyperbolic reality-TV-style, Trump has praised Putins strongman leadership style and boasted that he could improve Americas relationship with the Kremlin.

This summer, during their bilateral summit in Helsinki, Trump even sided with Putin, a former KGB operative, over US security officials on the issue of Russias now-documented interference in the 2016 US presidential election. According to Putin, he rooted for Trump (but of course did not interfere on Trumps behalf) because they shared a desire to improve bilateral relations.

Now, more than ever, Putin needs Americas friendship. Though he was re-elected president in a landslide in March, his approval rating has since plummeted to 45%. Russians resent the mounting economic insecurity brought about by the sanctions Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama, initiated after Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014 (a move that initially bolstered Putins flagging approval ratings).

Popular discontent in Russia has also been inflamed by the authorities widely reviled pension reform, which includes an increase in the retirement age. It may be exacerbated further by a generalised animosity fatigue among Russians, who are simply tired of Putins belligerent foreign policy in Ukraine and Syria, and his unrelenting anti-Western propaganda.

Unfortunately for Putin, Trump has done little to improve the bilateral relationship, despite some diplomatic overtures, including several invitations for Putin to visit the White House.

Although Trumps alienation of Americas allies does serve Putins seeming desire to weaken the West, it is unlikely that he has taken these steps for Putins sake. Meanwhile, the US under Trump has implemented additional sanctions that Russia itself has condemned as draconian.

In March, in response to a nerve-agent attack on the former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK, the Trump administration expelled 60 Russian diplomats, the largest number since the Soviet era. For Putin, the timing of the move  which came immediately after Trump warmly congratulated him on his electoral victory  must have made it all the more galling.

The following month, the US Treasury sanctioned more than 20 Russian individuals and companies  including the oil and aluminum tycoons Oleg Deripaska and Alexey Miller  causing the affected firms share prices to fall. In August, the Trump administration banned US companies from selling gas turbines and electronic equipment to Russia, owing to those products potential military applications.

Moreover, Trumps decision to impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, while not targeted specifically at Russia, will cost the Russian economy upwards of $3bn next year. More recently, Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a bilateral arms-control deal dating back to the Cold War. While both sides have long accused each other of violating the INF, the idea of simply abandoning arms control was always deemed too dangerous, until Trump.

The Kremlin has remained willing to believe that Trumps failure to deliver on his promise to improve ties is the result of opposition in Congress, not to mention the demonisation of Putin by US Democrats and media. Suspicious of any action that might seem to benefit Putin, the logic goes, they must be preventing Trump from embracing Russia on a policy level.

But the truth is that neither Democrats nor the media have actually had much success in reining in Trump. As for the Republicans, who control both houses of the US Congress, even once-vocal opponents  such as senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz  now lick Trumps boots. With Trump having bullied his party into submission, it seems unlikely that his failure to deliver for Putin can be blamed on others.

The more likely explanation for Trumps betrayal of Putin is that his warm rhetoric was, like everything else that comes out of his mouth, driven by his desire for ratings, not any actual interest in  let alone commitment to  helping the Kremlin. Consider how Trumps early overtures to another strongman, Chinese President Xi Jinping, gave way to a full-blown trade war against that country, which Trump now portrays as Americas enemy.

Of course, the world has come to expect broken promises and capriciousness from Trump. What is surprising is how Putin has misread the situation so badly. How could such a keen observer of the US, whose former career as a spy honed his ability to decipher peoples motives and intentions, fail to recognise the falseness of Trumps promises?

If anyone knows that actions speak louder than words, it is Putin, whose words often include transparent denials of documented wrongdoing, from meddling in the US election to violating treaties. Yet Putin continues to ignore Trumps actions and seeks for more meetings to touch base with the ever-complimentary US president, such as at last weeks First World War centenary in Paris or G20 summit in Argentina.

Putin seems to think he has been using the strategically incompetent Trump to advance his ends. In fact, Trump has dragged everyone into his reality-TV world, in which sensation, exaggeration, and misinformation all serve his only true goal: To be the last survivor on the island. By the time Putin finally realises he has been duped, the world will probably have paid a high price in terms of political stability, strategic security, and environmental damage. And Putin will have to pay it, too.

- Nina L Khrushcheva is professor of international affairs at The New School and a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute.
A culture of silence suggests for every headline about sexual harassment, many more cases go unreported, writes Dulini Fernando

The #MeToo movement has led to women the world over coming forward with stories of harassment. This issue is not confined to a single company or industry. It is an endemic problem which spreads far beyond the cases of sexual abuse that hit the headlines sporadically.

In my research, I have spoken to women in many industries who have suffered some form of sex-based harassment in the workplace  from sectors that are much more male-dominated like engineering to more supposedly enlightened environments such as academia.

Sex-based harassment includes sexual harassment, but also encompasses other forms of behaviour that demean or humiliate someone on the basis of their sex, such as sexist remarks, harassment during pregnancy and post birth and gender-based bullying.

When studying the careers of women engineers with Laurie Cohen from the University of Nottingham and Joanne Duberley from the University of Birmingham, we found that women in this industry regularly encountered harassment on the basis of their sex.

For example, Jen*, a junior engineer, described her frustration that some of her male colleagues saw her first and foremost as a potential date: "I had a lot of men casually asking me out. They would say: Could you help me with this? And by the way, shall we go for a drink? I got annoyed that they assumed that because I was a girl I was up for grabs, even though I was at work."

One of her colleagues, Hillary, said she walked a fine line when talking to male co-workers:

If youre too friendly they might see that as flirting. If youre not friendly then youre a bitch. Its very difficult, when I thought I was just being friendly I heard I was being accused of being flirty.

The #MeToo and Times Up movements have not only thrust the issue of this kind of harassment into public consciousness, they have also highlighted how victims are all too often silenced about their experiences. Many people are coming forward with incidents that happened years ago. My research, talking with academics whove experienced harassment gives some insight into why this is the case. It highlights how cultures of silence exist  its rarely the result of one individuals actions.

Surprising results

I worked with Ajnesh Prasad at Royal Roads University, to understand how silencing occurs. The focus was on academia  an industry which witnessed a surge of reported cases of sex-based harassment especially between the years 2014-16.

In 2015-16 I interviewed 31 academics employed in business schools at nine universities in the UK. Contrary to what I expected, all interviewees said that they shared their experiences with line managers, HR personnel and professional colleagues to make sense of and to seek redress for what happened.

Then they described how they were persuaded to drop the issue and move on.

Paula recalled the dismissive attitude of a female HR representative when she complained about a senior colleagues unwanted advances:

"I told them how he insisted that we discussed papers after hours all the time and about everything he said. She told me she does not see that as sexual harassment.

"In their view, insisting on discussing a paper over wine is hardly a crime  I suppose they need evidence of something like rape or assault.

After everything she said to me, I just didnt want to talk about it anymore. It is deeply humiliating.

Women said they were often told their experiences didnt amount to harassment, that such behaviour was common and insignificant, and that they needed to prove otherwise if they wanted to file a formal complaint.

When women did complain, they reported being urged to be patient and allow the issue to be resolved quietly. While the organisation tried to make sure it didnt happen again, this was played down in front of the victim to avoid any blame towards the organisation or its procedures.

At the same time, victims were warned they could be branded a troublemaker if they continued to raise their concerns. Marsha described how she was advised by well-meaning colleagues to not complain about unwanted sexual attention:

Their view was that, if this gets out, I would be the girl who accuses men of coming onto her.

Thus sex-based harassment is not just the result of one individuals actions. In each of the cases we encountered, managers, HR personnel, and ordinary colleagues were complicit in silencing victims.

This not only created a safe haven for perpetrators, who were able to avoid punishment. But victims were left feeling confused and unsupported, often leading to disengagement from work and withdrawal from the social fabric of the organisation.

Breaking the silence

To end these damaging effects of silencing, it is not only important to have channels for people to report harassment, it is also crucial to ensure that victims feel heard, their concerns validated, and their complaints taken seriously.

They should be assured that action will be taken to hold culprits accountable and to prevent such cases from happening again. If people believe that injustice is covered up by the organisation, this can negatively affect their commitment and motivation.

People should also reflect on how they respond to colleagues concerns and know that their actions have repercussions. By encouraging colleagues to remain silent, they help to create a culture of harassment that means for every damning headline, there are many more cases that go unreported.

*All names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees mentioned.

This article was written by Dulini Fernando of Warwick Business School, University of Warwick and was originally published on The Conversation

Read the original article here.
Political reform must remain part of any new Programme for Government if our democracy is to be kept transparent and healthy, writes Theresa Reidy.

IRELAND is one of the most centralised states in Europe. Power in Irish politics is concentrated in the hands of central government.

Despite some recent Dail reforms, the Government continues to control much of the political agenda and instruments of transparency and accountability remain under-developed and under-utilised.

Political reform must remain part of any new programme for Government if our democracy is to be kept transparent and healthy.

In contrast to almost all other European states, there has never been a meaningful tier of regional government in Ireland and local government remains woefully weak.

Some research suggests that reforms enacted during the economic crisis may have exaggerated the existing power imbalance. Yet, the extent of the political centralisation in the State is rarely acknowledged or discussed as a serious political problem. And the consequences of political centralisation receive little public treatment.

The preference for centralisation and its consequences are most obvious at local government level. There have been waves of reforms in the last three decades.

Local government has been stripped of responsibility for the delivery of services in health, education and infrastructure. In many cases, these functions were centralised at national level with the creation of the HSE and Irish Water  just two examples of a striking tendency to presume that centralisation leads to more effective service delivery.

New roles in social and economic development have been allocated, especially in the 2014 reforms when demands to give local government meaningful functions in the development of their local areas were finally delivered.

Overall, the cumulative effect of many reform plans is mixed with a clear indication that more can be done to achieve the level of local engagement attained in may European countries.

The extent of the centralisation of power in Ireland is not discussed much in public debates but it is a well-established fact and has been documented in several reports.

The Devlin Group (1970), the Barrington Report (1991) and more recently, the Putting People First (2012) policy programme of the last Fine Gael and Labour coalition have all noted the significant dependence of local government on central government and all have argued for substantial devolution of powers to local government.

However, devolution efforts are often disconnected and some research suggests there is deep hostility to devolution stemming from a distrust of local councils and a centralising mentality.

Evidence of the power imbalance in Irish governance is very obvious in the financial data for the State. Eurostat collates data on the proportion of taxes raised and the amount of public spending by each level of government each year. Ireland sits in second last position on both counts.

Only Malta raises less tax at local level than Ireland. More than 95% of tax revenues are raised by central government in Ireland. The same pattern exists for public spending.

Some 93% of public spending in Ireland is disbursed by central government with local government responsible for just 7%. If the old maxim that money is power holds, we can see that central government is where the power lies in Ireland.

The figure also demonstrates quite clearly how atypical Ireland is relative to other small EU states like Finland, Austria and Denmark.

Centralisation of power and state finances has consequences. Management of the public finances in Ireland is more complex because of the extent of the states fiscal centralisation.

The business cycle has exaggerated effects on the overall budget. The annual budget is the most important financial day of the year because it makes the most important financial decisions.

This is not the case in most other countries because financial decision making is decentralised across layers of government. Commonly across EU states, local and regional taxes are levied on individuals, businesses and property.

Property tax is an especially important source of revenue for local authorities in most states and it contributes to a degree a stability in sub-national revenues which has long been absent in Ireland.

The introduction of the property tax in Ireland is a positive step but the minister for finance retains important controls over its incidence. This limits its potential to develop as both an important autonomous revenue source for local government but also as a revenue source over which local government, and more specifically local councillors, are responsible and accountable.

The consequences of centralisation for regional development are also clear. Urban growth in the greater Dublin area has led to enormous congestion, an acute housing shortage and significant quality of life impacts for citizens living in these areas but also in the communities which are dealing with rural depopulation and community decline.

The extent to which public policy was leading to imbalanced development became a subject of some discussion during the Celtic Tiger period. It also featured in a different guise at the general election in 2016 when concerns that the economic recovery was concentrated in the wider Dublin area was identified as a factor in the collapse in the vote for Fine Gael at that election.

For decades, policy reports emphasised the need for local authorities to be given enhanced roles in economic and social development so that they might lead development at the level that is closest to the citizen. Some progress in this direction has been made but much damage has already been done and it remains to be seen if more balanced development can be achieved.

- Theresa Reidy is a political scientist at University College Cork. This op-ed is the subject of a chapter in Social Justice Irelands book, From Here to Where? published this week as a part of its annual policy conference.
$7.0 Million Cash Injection as Kalamazoo Sells W.A. Gold Project



$7 Million Sale of Snake Well Project

Perth, Nov 14, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Kalamazoo Resources Limited ( ASX:KZR ) is pleased to advise that it has signed a Term Sheet to sell its Snake Well Gold Project in the Murchison region of Western Australia for $7.0 million to Adaman Resources Pty Ltd ("Adaman").Highlights- Kalamazoo has signed a Term Sheet for the $7.0 million sale of its Snake Well Gold Project in Western Australia to Adaman Resources- Kalamazoo maintains a 2.5% Net Smelter Royalty on any base metals mined within the project area- Tenement Sale Agreement to be finalised by 31 December 2018- $7.0 million sale proceeds payable over 24 months and will fund Kalamazoo's aggressive exploration and drilling program at its Wattle Gully Gold Project, at Castlemaine in Victoria and its Pilbara gold tenements in WA- $1.5m cash to be paid to Kalamazoo on or before 31 December 2018A key component of the transaction is that Kalamazoo can elect to engage Adaman to provide up to $4.0m of drilling services (deducted from the sale proceeds) at the Wattle Gully Gold Project in Castlemaine, which if exercised further fast-tracks Kalamazoo's drilling program.The Snake Well sale follows Kalamazoo's acquisition in June this year of the entire Wattle Gully Gold Project and the surrounding Castlemaine Goldfield in Victoria."The sale of the Snake Well Gold Project is an excellent result that will enable Kalamazoo to fully fund and accelerate its initial exploration and drilling programs at Wattle Gully and in the Pilbara over the next two years," Kalamazoo's Chairman, Mr Luke Reinehr, said today."Snake Well has been a wonderful initial project for us with its very successful trial pit (4,459 ounces of gold mined at 6.83g/t in 2016) and now provides the opportunity to generate further cash for our next stage of growth," Mr Reinehr said."Importantly, we have kept an interest in the base metal rights at Snake Well which provides Kalamazoo and its shareholders with further opportunities," he said.Snake Well has a Mineral Resource Inventory of measured, indicated and inferred gold resources, reported in accordance with JORC 2012 of 1.79Mt @ 2.45 g/t Au, for 141,000 ounces of gold and this represents a sale price of $50 per resource ounce (Refer to ASX : KZR AGM presentation November 20th, 2017).Mr Reinehr said the past 18 months had been a very exciting and progressive period for Kalamazoo that had seen the Company list on the ASX and acquire two major exploration projects with significant potential."The Company has been focused on prioritising its exploration activities and the sale of Snake Well has not diminished Kalamazoo's belief in this project's excellent gold and base metals potential. The opportunity to establish a relationship with Adaman that would add significant value to our respective companies was compelling," he said.Adaman Resources, a privately-owned mining solutions provider with drilling, logistics and corporate capabilities, is co-owned by two independent mining services companies, headed by Nathan Mitchell of The Mitchell Group and Mark Rowsthorn of the Rivet Group. Adaman in May this year, purchased the Kirkalocka gold mine near Mt Magnet in the Mid-West.The $7.0m sale proceeds will be paid in cash progressively over the next 24 months and is secured across the project. The sale will be subject to all necessary governmental consents and approvals normal for a transaction of this type, including any requisite consent of the Minister under the Mining Act 1978 (WA). At settlement of the sale, Kalamazoo will pay to Atlas Iron Limited ( ASX:AGO ), the previous owner of the Snake Well Gold Project the sum of $625,000 in full satisfaction of an outstanding gold royalty across the project.Kalamazoo's June 2018 Victorian acquisition secured the entire Wattle Gully Gold Project and the surrounding 288km2 Castlemaine Goldfield. This was achieved via Exploration Licence (EL006679) and application (EL006752) with both tenements covering major structures interpreted to be commonly associated with high gold potential. Included in the acquisition of this advanced regional gold asset is an extensive exploration database and substantial drill core farm at minimal cost. The Castlemaine Goldfield produced 5.6M ounces* of gold across its life and is one of the richest gold fields in Australia, with only minor exploration activity having been undertaken over the past decade with limited effective drilling below 400m. (*refer to Willman et al 2002, Geology Survey Victoria, report 121).Kalamazoo considers there is significant potential to apply modern exploration techniques, and to look for mineral zones at depth. This is a similar strategy that has been successfully applied at Kirkland Lake Gold's ( ASX:KLA ) Fosterville gold mine, 45km to the north east and Catalyst Metals ( ASX:CYL ) Tandarra gold project north of Castlemaine.Details of the TransactionThe principal terms of the transaction are as follows:- The Agreement will cover Exploration Licences 59/2239, 59/2240 and 59/2137 and Mining Leases 59/41, 59/474, 59/476, 59/477 and 59/565 including the right to all minerals.- Consideration of $7.0 million in cash will be paid as follows:o a refundable deposit of $150,000 on execution of the Term Sheet;o $1,350,000 payable on 31 December 2018 or signing the Tenement Sale Agreement, whichever occurs first;o $500,000 on or before 30 June 2019;o $1,000,000 on or before 31 December 2019;o $750,000 on or before 31 March 2020;o $750,000 on or before 30 June 2020;o $1,000,000 on or before 30 September 2020; ando $1,500,000 on or before 31 December 2020.- Kalamazoo retains a 2.5% Net Smelter Royalty on the value of all base metals mined and recovered from the tenements;- The parties may agree for Adaman to provide up to $4.0 million of drilling services for Kalamazoo's Wattle Gully Project on commercial arms' length terms with any amounts used deducted from the consideration payable.About Kalamazoo Resources Ltd

Kalamazoo Resources Ltd (ASX:KZR) listed on the ASX in January 2017 and is actively exploring at its Snake Well Gold and Base Metals Project in the Murchison region, Western Australia and its Cork Tree Cu Project in the Doolgunna region, Western Australia. Kalamazoo recently acquired four project areas in the Pilbara, Western Australia, prospective for gold.
Food Special Guest Chef Presents Exciting Italian Food Week Menu at Olea

The main dish of beef sirloin with Granny Smith apple, rocket dust and beluga lentils served at Olea's Italian Foods Week. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

YANGONIf youre craving some flavorful Italian food, in an exciting collaboration between Melia Yangon and the Embassy of Italy in Myanmar, an Italian Food Week is running from Nov. 10 to 18 at Olea in Melia Hotel.

As well as Oleas regular Mediterranean menu, Italian Food Week features a rare chance to experience guest chef Stefano Santos select authentic Italian dishesmuch more exciting than the usual pasta and pizza. Chef Santo qualified at ALMA, the International School of Italian Cuisine of Parma in Italy.

On Nov. 9, along with representatives from the Italian embassy, members of the media were invited to attend a gala dinner to introduce the Italian Food Week.

Italian food is known to be one of the few truly global cuisines and it generally sticks to a concept of simplicity. Many dishes have only two to four main ingredients.

Chef Santos scrumptious Italian food journey started with grouper fish served with burrata cheese sauce, ginger mayo and parsley. The presentation of this dish was artistic with a greenish color due to the parsley, combined with creamy burrata cheese sauce on small pieces of the marinated grouper fish. The cheese sauce didnt overpower the subtle fishy flavor and the smell of fresh parsley was a wonderful addition to the tasty dish. It was well-matched with a white Italian wine Gewurztraminer.

Next, another Italian favorite arrived: risotto. The creamy rice dish was served with beetroot, black mussels and green curry for an eastern flavor kick. With a fun pink color owing to the beetroot the risotto was topped with fresh black mussels with shells already removed and dollops of green curry. The dish was really delicious and the whole combination was flavorful but by nature, risotto rice is a little hard so it could cause digestion problems and therefore I want to suggest readers eat just a little of it.

Then the main dish, beef sirloin served with Granny Smith apple, rocket dust and beluga lentils was in front of me. The steak was medium grilled with wine sauce poured over it and topped with beluga lentils. The dish also included mashed apple. The portion was not very big and the whole dish was a good balance of flavors. The flavorful sauce was perfect with the tender meat and the beluga lentils were a delightful addition. Perhaps surprisingly, the mashed Granny Smith apple was delicious too.

As a person who likes sweet things, dessert time is full of excitement for me. For this meal, dessert was dark chocolate ganache with artemide rice, pumpkin and beer. Dark chocolate is my favorite kind of chocolate and the small dust sprinklings of artemide rice were perfect with the creamy pumpkin. The chef makes the beer into a jelly and it was a very different experience for me to taste it as jelly, but it worked. The whole dessert combination was a mixed flavor of sweet, creamy and bitter tastes.

Before this opportunity, I was only familiar with Italian foods like pasta, pizza and spaghetti so it is hard to say which was the best part of the night for me because all the dishes tasted truly amazing.

The Italian Food Week menu is only available for one week at Olea and the dish prices range from $7 to $21. Special wines are also on offer including Gewurztraminer, Masselina 147 Chardonnay, Fiulot Barbera Dasti and Tosti Pink Moscato Dolce.

A multitude of popular and authentic Italian delicacies and dishes of sweet and savory flavors are awaiting your discovery at just a booking away at Melia Hotel.
Asia Defending the Indefensible: Malaysia's Mahathir Slams Suu Kyi over Rohingya Crisis

Malaysias PM Mahathir Mohamad and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the ASEAN-China Summit in Singapore, November 14, 2018. / Reuters

SINGAPORE  Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday Myanmars de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was trying to defend the indefensible over alleged atrocities committed by the countrys military against minority Rohingya Muslims.

Asked on the sidelines of a speech he delivered in Singapore to comment on how Myanmar and Suu Kyi had been dealing with the Rohingya issue, Mahathir said:

It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible.

They are actually oppressing these people to the point of killing them, mass killing.

A UN report in August detailed a military crackdown with genocidal intent that began in 2017 and drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine State into neighboring Bangladesh.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has previously said her civilian government should not bear all responsibility for the crisis because the military retains a powerful political role under the Constitution.

Southeast Asian nations will call for those responsible for atrocities in Myanmars Rakhine state to be held fully accountable, according to a statement prepared for a regional summit, reflecting a stronger line being taken within the group.
Asia Pence Decries Violence Against Rohingya in Open Remarks to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and US Vice President Mike Pence hold a bilateral meeting in Singapore on Wednesday. / Reuters

SINGAPORE  US Vice President Mike Pence criticized Myanmars military for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in a meeting with the countrys leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, on Wednesday and said he was keen to hear that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable.

The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse, he told Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a brief meeting with the media before they went into private talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.

I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life, he added.

He said Washington was also keen to hear about progress in making it possible for the Rohingya to voluntarily return to the western Myanmar state of Rakhine from vast refugees camps in southern Bangladesh where they now live.

The United States has accused the military of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. UN-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with genocidal intent.

Arrest of journalists

Myanmar says its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents in August last year.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, responding to Pence, said: Of course people have different points of view, but the point is that you should exchange these views and try to understand each other better.

In a way we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does and Im sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else, she added.

Amnesty International this week withdrew its most prestigious human rights prize from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.

Once hailed as a champion in the fight for democracy, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been stripped of a series of international honors over the Rohingya exodus.

Pence also said that Washington wanted to see a free and democratic press in Myanmar, and the jailing of two journalists last year was deeply troubling for millions of Americans.

In America, we believe in our democratic institutions and ideals, including a free and independent press, he said.

He did not mention by name Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists who were arrested in Yangon in December. They were found guilty in September of breaching the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On Nov. 5, lawyers for the two Reuters reporters lodged an appeal against their conviction.

At the time of their arrest in December, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim villagers during an army crackdown in Rakhine State. Reuters published its investigation into the massacre on Feb. 8.
Asia Warnings of a Domino Effect of Protectionism as Asian Leaders Meet

A group photo with ASEAN leaders at the ASEAN-China Summit in Singapore, November 14, 2018. / Reuters

SINGAPORE  Asian leaders gathered for a summit on Tuesday amid warnings that the post-World War II international order is in jeopardy and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing could trigger a domino effect of protectionist measures by other countries.

Malaysian Prime Mahathir Mohamad told a business forum ahead of the summit in Singapore that other developed countries would take a cue from the United States and China if their tit-for-tat tariff war were allowed to spiral.

The trade tension between the two world powers is bound to create a domino effect that will affect trade reactions and will be a reason for other developed countries to adopt protective measures against developing countries, including the ASEAN countries, Mahathir said, referring to the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang  for a second day  struck a conciliatory note on the trade spat, saying he was hopeful that the two sides would find a way to prevent it from escalating further.

I still hope we can hold talks based on mutual respect, balance and mutual benefits to resolve the issue. There are no winners in a trade war, Li said before his meeting with the ASEAN leaders.

US Vice President Mike Pence will attend the Singapore meetings instead of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly panned existing multilateral trade pacts as unfair and has railed against China over intellectual property theft, entry barriers to American businesses and a yawning US trade gap.

It was not clear if Li and Pence would meet separately on the sidelines in Singapore, which would be a prelude to a summit scheduled between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the month in Buenos Aires.

Before he arrived in Singapore on Monday, Li said China would further open its economy in the face of rising protectionism, though he did not refer directly to Chinas bruising trade war with the United States.

Rival Blocs

Mahathir, a veteran strongman of the region who in May returned to the prime ministers office he had occupied for 22 years, told reporters that the United States is a colonial power that uses economic pressure to cow people.

In his speech, he said the rise of trade protectionism, resurgent nationalistic movements and inward-looking policies seemed to be emerging even among ASEAN nations.

That was echoed by summit host Singaporean Prime Lee Hsien Loong, who told a welcome ceremony for his ASEAN counterparts that the international order is at a turning point.

The existing free, open and rules-based multilateral system which has underpinned ASEANs growth and stability has come under stress, he said, adding that it was unclear if the international order would break up into rival blocs.

Returning to the theme as the leaders sat down to dinner, he said: Countries are becoming insular, retreating from multilateralism and globalization, which has been the cornerstone of ASEAN peace and stability.

Chinas Li is expected to rally support at the Singapore meetings for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade pact that will encompass more than a third of the worlds GDP.

Free trade has, in some aspects, prevented war effectively, he said in a speech on Tuesday. We are willing to negotiate with all sides to push ahead with free trade internationally, and were also willing to discuss a fairer system.

The RCEP agreement includes 16 countries, including ASEAN nations, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, but not the United States.

The draft of a statement to be issued by RCEP nations later in the week, which was reviewed by Reuters, said the group would instruct ministers and negotiators to work toward the full conclusion of the RCEP negotiations in 2019.

South China Sea Deal

Li said that Beijing hoped a consultation with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea would be completed in three years, and that such a deal would bolster free trade.

China and ASEAN agreed in August on a working text to continue long drawn-out negotiations over the code of conduct.

Some ASEAN members and China have overlapping claims to islands in the sea, one of the worlds busiest waterways. For years, they have been discussing a pact to prevent an escalation of disputes.

It is Chinas hope that the COC (code of conduct) consultation will be finished in three years time so that it will contribute to enduring peace and stability in the South China Sea, Li said. China and ASEAN countries will benefit in that process, it will also be conducive to free trade and go on to serve the interests of other parties.

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged their Chinese counterparts to halt militarization of the South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese for sending US warships close to islands claimed by Beijing.
Burma Arakan Front Party Rallies for 2020

Dr. Aye Maung at Sittwe District Court on Nov. 12. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

SITTWE, Rakhine State  The Arakan Front Party will work to forge alliances with other political parties to form a coalition government in the 2020 general elections, said party leader Dr. Aye Maung after his trial at Sittwe District Court on Monday.

The Union Election Commission approved Dr. Aye Maungs proposal to form the Arakan Front Party on Oct. 11.

We will ally with parties like those led by U Ko Ko Gyi [of the Peoples Party] that will mobilize support from Bamars in seven regions. It is important that they dont compete in ethnic regions because we will also ally with ethnic parties, he said.

What will happen in Myanmar politics if a third party emerges after we form alliances? The vote in seven regions of the country will be split among three parties. If we win in a state we will form a coalition government in 2020, he said.

The coalition government in 2020 would include ethnic minorities and Bamars, he said. The party will include people from all professions including retired military and police officers, lawyers, and engineers so that they can be assigned to different tasks for the better performance of the party, he said.

U Tin Maung Win, the son of Dr. Aye Maung won the Nov. 3 by-election for a seat in the Rakhine State Parliament for Rathedaung Township. Dr. Aye Maung earlier said that he would leave politics if his son did not win the by-election.

My sons victory is my victory and is also the initial victory of my party. We aim to lead all of Rakhine State by 2020 and our party has a lean structure, he told the media.

U Tin Maung Win won the by-election in Rathedaung Constituency, defeating the National League for Democracy (NLD) and Arakan National Party (ANP), which Dr. Aye Maung chaired previously.

We have learned a lot from the loss. We urgently need to rally public support with loyal party members who have faith in the party and will reform accordingly, general secretary of the ANP U Tun Aung Kyaw told The Irrawaddy.

Regarding the NLDs loss in ethnic constituencies in the Nov. 3 by-election, Dr. Aye Maung remarked: Why did the NLD lose in the by-election? Its strategy regarding ethnic regions is wrong. It needs to review this.

Dr. Aye Maung, who is also a lawmaker in the Upper House, was arrested in the second week of January in Sittwe, the state capital, for remarks at a commemoration event in Rathedaung Township earlier that month for the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Arakan Kingdom to the Burmese in 1785.

He is facing three chargeshigh treason, unlawful association and defamation of the State.

The Rakhine State High Court has accepted Dr. Aye Maungs appeal to make a second decision about the charges, and the prosecutor and defense lawyer will argue at the next trial on Nov. 27 whether or not the charges should be dismissed.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Foreign Investment in Myanmar on the Rise: Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance

Coca-Cola vehicles in Yangon. The US soft drink company began production in Myanmar in 2013 as part of a planned $200 million investment in the Asian country. / Reuters

YANGONMyanmars deputy minister for planning and finance said foreign investment in Myanmar is on the rise, stating the country has so far attracted more than $12 billion in foreign investment since the National League for Democracy (NLD) government took office in 2016.

U Set Aung told the countrys Lower House on Tuesday that from 2016 to 2018, the Southeast Asian country has seen 360 foreign investments totaling $12.37 billion in 10 sectors ranging from agriculture to industry to tourism.

Since the enactment of the 1988 Investment Law, Myanmar has accepted 1,110 investments valuing a total of $63.72 billion as of March 2016.

We would say that there is an increase in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) because the amount of investment allowed by the new [NLD] government from April 2016 to March 2018 amounts to 16.25 percent of the total FDI from 1988 to 2018 March, he said.

Since the country opened up in 2012, Myanmar was considered by many to be one of the last economic frontiers and was the object of much investor interest with the resulting influx of FDI reaching its peak in 2014 at a total of over $8 billion in approved investments for the year. When the democratically-elected NLD government came to power in 2016, the country expected a further increase in FDI.

However, hope soon fizzled out when many multinational corporations decided to boycott the country after the exodus of nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh last year following a spate of violence in northern Rakhine State which saw accusations of human rights abuses against Myanmars security forces.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has been struggling on with its aim to become more investor-friendly, focusing on attracting investors from neighboring ASEAN and East Asian countries, by enacting the new Myanmar Investment Law. The law aims to create a fair and more level playing field for both foreign and domestic investors to do business with ease here through transparent, simplified and quick procedures and incentives like tax exemption.

As a result, the last six months saw $2 billion in foreign investment here, with more than $700 million coming from Singapore alone in manufacturing, real estate, transportation, energy and tourism.

Beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, the government is currently carrying out a 20-year plan to attract more FDI with a target of $221 billion, according to the governments Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.

Earlier this week, the government proposed in parliament the formation of a new cabinet in order to boost local and international investment.
Burma Karen State Residents Urge Govt to Stop Factory's Switch to Coal

A military-run cement factory in Hpa-an Township, Karen State, is seen in May. / Nyan Soe Win / The Irrawaddy

CHIANG MAI, Thailand  People living near two military-run cement factories in the Karen State capital of Hpa-an are urging the government to stop the larger of them from switching to coal power.

The factory, which can churn out 4,000 tons of cement per day, has been operating in the town of Myaing Kalay for the past two decades under the Myanmar Economic Corporation, a business arm of the military. It is preparing the switch from natural gas to coal later this year; local say coal shipments started arriving a few weeks ago.

In a statement released Saturday, residents from 24 surrounding villages say they object to the switch because it was being done secretively and was harming the environment. They ask the government to stop the company from shipping coal to the site.

If the coal is to be used to operate the cement factory, it will further damage our environment and our lives, including our health, so we absolutely object to it, the statement says.

The locals are concerned because the transported coal is not properly stored and when it rains the runoff from the coal piles seeps into their farms, said Saw Tha Poe, an environmentalist with the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network.

He said the company should have thoroughly consulted with and informed locals while it was planning the switch. When the company did inform locals about its plans to use coal at the factory back in 2016, he added, they objected.

We have been living between these two cement factories and have suffered enough health problems from inhaling the cement dust for more than 20 years, said Daw Soe Soe Htay, a local resident.

And now they are preparing to use coal, which could make the particle pollution even worse. How will we face the added risks? They dont care about us, the local people.

The company has also upset residents by mining a nearby mountain for raw material, and some locals claim that it confiscated parts of their farms back when the two cement factories were being built.

They have taken every resource the locals own, the lands and the mountain, said Daw Soe Soe Htay.

When some of them applied to the government in 2015 and 2016 for permission to use the land they say was stolen, the military sued them. The government recently agreed to return some of the plots to the locals.
Burma NLD to Discipline Karenni Chief Minister over Land Grab

Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho / Karenni State Government Office / Facebook

YANGONThe ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) will take action against Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho for breaking party discipline after he was accused of stealing land from a Catholic church compound in his constituency, a party spokesperson said.

We [members of the NLDs Central Executive Committee] found that he violated the partys disciplinary rules, spokesperson and committee member U Myo Nyunt told The Irrawaddy.

U Myo Nyunt said an investigation by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) had turned up no evidence that the chief minister had broken the law in connection with the case. However, it had determined that he failed to follow party discipline, particularly as it applies to public relations and negotiation procedures.

The spokesman declined to say what action would be taken against the chief minister. We have decided to keep that [information] among the CEC members. We can only say that he will have to take responsibility for his failures in dealing with the public, U Myo Nyunt said.

Father Richard Thura Tun, a leader of the Catholic church in Karenni State, alleged at a press conference in Yangon last week that the chief minister stole less than half an acre of land from the church in 2014 when he was a Mese Township assistant education officer. Last year, he secured a lease for the land, cleared it to build a home and began preparing to build a fence.

According to Father Richard Thura Tun, the 14-acre church compound has been recognized as a religious site by township authorities since 1994. The Department of Land Registration issued ownership documents for the property in 2006.

Church authorities sought help from the Presidents Office, and met with NLD leaders including U Myo Nyunt in September. However, the CEC postponed its investigation until after the Nov. 3 by-election.

Father Richard Thura Tun told The Irrawaddy last week that church authorities had met the chief minister to discuss the issue twice, but he refused to return the land.

CEC member Monywa Aung Shin told The Irrawaddy that NLD leaders arranged a meeting between L Phaung Sho and church authorities last week. The church has agreed to abide by any decisions the NLD makes in trying to settle the dispute.

Monywa Aung Shin said that under the NLDs disciplinary rules, violators are first issued a warning. If the behavior is not corrected, the offender is stripped of their duties. If the problem persists, the individual is expelled from the party.

The case is not the first in which L Phaung Sho has aroused the ire of the public. In July, Karenni youths took to the streets to object to a state government plan to put up a statue of independence hero General Aung San in the capital city, Loikaw. The demonstrations turned violent after security forces tried to halt the protesters.

L Phaung Shos warning to demonstrators that he would send in troops to quell the disturbances drew a public outcry. Later, the military issued a statement saying that under the countrys Constitution, chief ministers of states and regions have no authority to order military intervention in cases of emergency. In that case, the CEC told the media it had no plans to discipline L Phaung Sho.

L Phaung Sho was elected to the state legislature representing Meses constituency No. 2 in the 2015 general election.
Burma UN Will Not Help Myanmar with Long-term Camps for Rohingya: Document

A view from outside Taung Pyo Letwe reception camp near the border with Bangladesh, in Rakhine state, Myanmar, during a trip by United Nations envoys to the region on May 1, 2018. / Reuters

YANGON  The United Nations refugee agency will not provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslims who return to Myanmar if they are interned in camps, according to an internal position paper circulated days before the initial repatriation is due to start.

The confidential briefing paper, dated this month and reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, outlines the position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the repatriation process, and reflects a desire not to be drawn into supporting long-term camps for the Muslim minority.

A UNHCR spokeswoman said it did not comment on leaked documents.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in late October to begin in mid-November the repatriation of some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled Myanmar last year to escape an army crackdown, despite warnings by the UN and aid agencies that conditions were not yet safe for their return.

Myanmar has been building transit centers for the refugees that it says will be temporary, but many Rohingya say they fear the sites could become permanent because of harsh restrictions on movement imposed on the largely stateless minority.

The UNHCR paper says the agency will not provide individual assistance in situations of encampment, including in reception facilities or transit camps, unless they are clearly temporary in nature and used for the sole purpose of facilitating free movement to places of returnees origin or choice.

The document, which was circulated to diplomats, also advises other agencies not to assist with any such camps.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been languishing in UN-supported camps and villages across western Myanmar since 2012, when they were driven out of their homes during a previous wave of ethnic violence. They were told the camps, razor-wire ringed areas they are forbidden to leave, would be temporary.

Myanmar government spokesman U Zaw Htay did not answer calls seeking comment on Tuesday.

The US State Department said in a statement on Sunday any returnees to Myanmar must have freedom of movement and not be confined to camps.

Not Ready

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh to escape a sweeping army crackdown in the north of Myanmars Rakhine State last year. UN-mandated investigators have accused the Myanmar military of genocidal intent and ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies almost all of the allegations against its troops, saying security forces were battling terrorists.

In the document, the UNHCR also outlines its involvement in the repatriation process organized by Myanmar and Bangladesh, saying that its officials will seek to ascertain whether several thousand Rohingya on a list of refugees identified for repatriation to Myanmar want to go back.

Last week, more than 20 individuals on the list of potential returnees submitted by Bangladesh told Reuters they would refuse to return, saying they feared for their safety.

More than 1 million Rohingya lived in Rakhine before the exodus of refugees that began in August last year. The state has long been riven with tension between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingya, who are mostly denied citizenship and face severe restrictions on their movement.

The memo seen by Reuters reiterates the UNHCRs stance that conditions in Rakhine are not conducive to returns.

That view was repeated by UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Turk on Tuesday.

I think we are still not at that stage where the conditions are there that we would be able to facilitate or promote returns at this point in time, Volker told a news briefing in Geneva.

So if there are indeed people who want to return, we have to absolutely make sure that we are able to certify that they do this on [the basis of] a free and informed choice.

In the document, the UNHCR called for Myanmar to release more information about plans to return and reintegrate the Rohingya.

On Sunday, Myanmars Minister for Social Welfare U Win Myat Aye said preparations had been made for 2,251 people to be transported to two transit centers by boat on Thursday, while a second group of 2,095 could follow later by road.

Once processed, they would be sent to another center where they would be housed and fed until they could be resettled, he said.

Returnees would only be allowed to travel within Maungdaw Township if they accepted National Verification Cards, an identity document most Rohingya reject because they say it brands them as foreigners.

Authorities have said they plan to build houses in 42 sites across Rakhine, but have not revealed the locations.

In its memo, the UNHCR says the organization would provide support to refugees in resettlement sites and model villages in Rakhine State only if these were located in places of refugees origin or choice.
Legal Status of Byte Power X Loyalty Tokens



Update on BPX Token

Brisbane, Nov 15, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - On 19 July 2018, Byte Power Group Limited ( ASX:BPG ) (BPG) announced that it intended to undertake a token generation event for the Byte Power X Loyalty Token (BPX Tokens). BPX Tokens are utility tokens relating to the loyalty program which provides a discount on commissions for users of the Byte Power X Cryptocurrency Exchange (Exchange).On 5 September 2018, BPG released a statement to the market responding to various queries from the Australian Securities Exchange regarding the BPX Tokens. The statement, among other things, confirmed that BPG had received legal advice that:(a) the BPG Tokens are not financial products for the purposes of Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act);(b) the offer of BPX Tokens does not constitute an offer to issue one or more securities (including shares in a body or interests in a managed investment scheme), or any other kind of financial product.As at the date of this statement, BPG has sold 15,599,300 BPX Tokens to selected private investors in Singapore and Australia.BPG has since become aware that the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC) has concerns that the BPX Tokens may constitute interests in a managed investment scheme. BPG maintains the view (supported by its external legal advice) that the BPX Tokens are not interests in a managed investment scheme or any other type of financial product for the purposes of Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act.However, if the BPX Tokens are determined to be interests in a managed investment scheme or any other type of financial product, BPG:(a) would be required to obtain an Australian Financial Services licence (AFSL) in respect of the issuing of the BPX Tokens and the operation of the Exchange; and(b) would be subject to the regulatory and compliance requirements applying to managed investment schemes in Chapters 5C and 7 of the Corporations Act, including the requirements relating to the registration of a managed investment scheme.In response to ASIC's concerns, BPG has at this stage:(a) suspended the offer of the BPX Tokens in Australia; and(b) sought further legal advice.BPG will continue to liaise with ASIC with the aim of addressing its concerns about the legal status of the BPX Tokens.About Byte Power Group Limited

Byte Power Group Limited (ASX:BPG) is a diversified technology solutions group with a particular emphasis on securing Asian business opportunities.

Through Wimobilize, the Group has a new cutting edge technology solution, a proprietary Advance Hybrid Artificial Intelligence Big Data Technology Platform consisting of 31 Advance Analysis Engines, 4 levels of Hybrid Correlation and Al Profiling Algorithms customised for governmental, healthcare, banking, telco and tourism industries. This proprietary Big Data technology platform elevated the AI Predictive Analysis and deep insight intelligence to a new paradigm, applicable to any market segment.

This Wimobilize Big Data technology powered e-commerce ecosystem will provide the next generation innovative trading platform for distributing the Company's Australian wine, organic honey and honeycomb.
News Myanmar's Neighbors to Call for 'Accountability' in Rakhine Crisis: Draft Statement

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (third from right) poses for a group photo with ASEAN leaders at the ASEAN-China Summit in Singapore on Wednesday. / Reuters

SINGAPORE  Southeast Asian nations will call for those responsible for atrocities in Myanmars Rakhine State to be held fully accountable, according to a statement prepared for a regional summit, reflecting a stronger line being taken within the group.

The draft of the chairmans statement, which was reviewed by Reuters but may change before it is delivered by host Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the close of meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the situation in Rakhine State was a matter of concern.

The Singapore government did not immediately comment on the draft statement.

A final statement could be issued after the ASEAN leaders start their meeting late on Tuesday.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay did not answer calls seeking comment on the summit message.

A UN report in August detailed mass killings and gang rapes with genocidal intent in a Myanmar military crackdown that began in 2017 and drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine into neighboring Bangladesh. It called for its commander-in-chief and five generals to be prosecuted under international law.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report.

Myanmars de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who will be joining the summit in Singapore, has been widely criticized for her handling of the crisis.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, ASEANs seniormost leader, was scathing about the Nobel peace laureate on Tuesday when asked about the situation in Myanmar.

It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible, the 93-year-old told reporters in Singapore. We are very disappointed, because someone who has been detained before knows the sufferings, and should not inflict it on others.

Mahathir and Aung San Suu Kyi were seated side by side at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN summit and at a welcome dinner. TV coverage showed them studiously ignoring each other.

Amnesty International said on Tuesday it had withdrawn its most prestigious human rights prize from Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.

We called on the Independent Commission of Enquiry established by the Government of Myanmar to carry out an independent and impartial investigation of the allegations of human rights violations and related issues, and hold those responsible fully accountable, said the ASEAN chairmans draft statement.

The Rohingya crisis is one of the biggest man-made disasters involving a member since ASEAN was founded in 1967, and it is one of the thorniest issues yet faced by a group that traditionally works by consensus and is reluctant to get involved in matters deemed internal to its members.

In July, Myanmar established a commission of inquiry to probe allegations of human rights abuses in Rakhine, which includes two local and two international members from Japan and the Philippines.

The draft statement repeated ASEANs previous calls on the importance of the repatriation of displaced persons to Myanmar, humanitarian relief and reconciliation among communities, but went further in calling for accountability for the alleged atrocities.

The strengthening of rhetoric in the draft was flagged earlier this year by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who said his ASEAN peers had urged Myanmar to give the inquiry commission a full mandate to hold those responsible accountable.

A source close to pre-summit discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Singapore was leaning towards a stronger stance because it is the most internationally engaged member of ASEAN and feels responsibility as summit host to protect its credibility.

It was not clear if all members of the grouping would back the sternest statement to date from ASEAN on the Rakhine issue.

ASEANs Muslim-majority members  Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei  tend to take the toughest line on the Rohingya question, while Myanmar has close regional allies in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Under military control in recent years, Thailand has also provided cover for Myanmar.
World Top UK Fashion Brands Team Up with Law Enforcement to Combat Modern Slavery

Laborers work at a garment factory near Hanoi, Vietnam in January 2017. / Reuters

LONDON  Major British retailers including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Next are joining forces with law enforcement agencies in a bid to eradicate labor exploitation and modern slavery from the fashion industry, Britains anti-slavery body said on Tuesday.

Six of the countrys top fashion brands have vowed to raise awareness to stop worker abuses, protect at-risk and exploited employees, and root out modern slavery from their supply chains, according to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

Companies face growing scrutiny in Britain and beyond to ensure their operations are slave-free as rising demand for cheap clothing fuels labor exploitation in factories worldwide.

Tens of thousands of people are employed in the textiles industry in the UK and it contributes billions of pounds to the economy, said Ian Waterfield, head of operations at the GLAA.

That alone makes it an attractive proposition for unscrupulous employers and criminals who exploit workers.

About 25 million people are estimated to be trapped in forced labor worldwide, according to the United Nations.

The global fashion industry has come under pressure to change since more than 1,100 garment workers were killed in the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh five years ago.

Yet big brands have been criticized for failing to improve conditions in their supply chainsfrom fields to factoriesand allowing or turning a blind eye to abuses such as excessive working hours, child labor and bans on forming trade unions.

None of the six brandwhich also include New Look, River Island and Shop Directresponded to requests for comment about the partnership, but the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade association called it an important step to end worker abuses.

The agreement is being backed by Britains labor inspectorate, tax authority and health and safety and immigration officials, as well as several industry bodies.

Anti-Slavery International welcomed the commitment of the major brands but said the deal highlighted the gaps in Britains landmark anti-slavery legislation, which came into law in 2015.

Britains Modern Slavery Act requires firms with a turnover of 36 million pounds ($46 million) to file an annual statement outlining their anti-slavery efforts. Yet compliance is low as there are no penalties for offenders, according to activists.

Proactive identification and eradication of exploitative practices shouldnt be a voluntary act but a standard practice sanctioned by the law ,  said Klara Skrivankova, UK and Europe manager for charity Anti-Slavery International.

Only then the businesses that do their part in ending slavery wouldnt be undercut by those which profit from exploitation, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Leading fashion designers, entrepreneurs and campaigners will be questioned by lawmakers on Tuesday as part of an ongoing state inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry.
Wednesday, November 14th, 2018 (1:19 pm) - Score 2,687

The FTTH Council Europe has today welcomed a vote by the European Parliament to approve the new European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), which could boost investment in full fibre (FTTP/H) broadband and 5G mobile. But they also called on the EU to get tough on fake fibre marketing by ISPs.

The new EECC (summary) is similar to the recently revised ECC in the UK, which broadly governs the rules around how telecoms operators can access and use public or private land in order to build new networks. This in turn has also be reinforced by the changes proposed as part of the UKs recent Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (here).

In that sense we dont expect the new EECC to have much of an impact in the UK as many of its provisions have already been covered. This is before we get into the endlessly confusing debate over Brexit, which looks set to begin before the new rules are formally introduced by member states (dependent upon the final Brexit agreement).

Ronan Kelly, President of the FTTHCouncil, said: We believe the Code creates a more investment-friendly environment as well as ensures the regulatory certainty needed to foster efficient and competitive investments in future-proof digital infrastructures, not only from traditional business models but also from new innovative infrastructure models, e.g. wholesale-only.

Kelly also called on EU policy-makers to go further and take the necessary actions to prevent misleading fibre advertisements, which seems like a nod to Cityfibres UK campaign. The latter has been fighting for a Judicial Review of the Advertising Standards Authoritys (ASA) current position (here), which allows slower hybrid fibre (FTTC etc.) ISPs to promote their services as fibre optic, despite big differences in speed and quality.

Erzsebet Fitori, Director General of the FTTHCouncil, said: We believe that fibre is the only future-proof foundation enabling fixed and wireless gigabit networks as well as all new innovative digital technologies and services, however the words fibre and fibre speeds are increasingly used in advertisement while the advertised product is not genuinely a full fibre connection but still uses copper at some points of the network. This confusion is misleading for the consumers and prevents them from making an informed choice about the products available to them, and also risks hindering fibre take-up, which could in turn affect innovation and weaken the business case for investments.

We understand that Cityfibres case against the ISP is likely to reach some form of conclusion by around the end of this year, although if they are successful then it will still be the ASAs responsibility to choose how they review and change their policy.
Wednesday, November 14th, 2018 (9:27 am) - Score 4,493

The CEO of Vodafone Group, Nick Read, has told a meeting of investors that, at the wholesale fibre broadband ISP level, theyre not engaging with Openreach (BT) any more in terms of any further opportunity, which puts pay to earlier predictions of a new co-funded FTTP build. But they would talk to Comcast (Sky).

The context for all this stems from an earlier report in 2017, which claimed that Vodafone was in early but serious discussions with BT about the possibility of a co-investment deal (here). A deal like that could have seen the two arch rivals working together in order to expand the coverage of 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP/H) broadband technology across urban parts of the United Kingdom.

However the prospect for such a deal suffered what seemed to be a knock-out blow after Vodafone announced its support as an ISP partner for Cityfibres 500m plan to build a 1Gbps FTTH network to cover a minimum of 1 million UK homes by the end of 2021 (here). This has recently been boosted by a 2.5bn investment that will push the roll-out to 5 million premises across 37 cities and towns by the end of 2024 (here).

At the time Vodafone didnt officially say whether this meant that an alternative arrangement with Openreach was now off the table (although logically it did) and instead kept their options open. Yesterday the operator was challenged on this by another analyst, who subtly queried the prospect of Vodafone working with other builders of fibre optic networks in the UK.

Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group, said: So what I would say is just from a wholesale perspective. CityFibre is gearing up, 10 cities, good progress. We are happy with the engagement we have with them. We have signed with BT the sort of  what would you call it  contingent model or whatever, which doesnt compromise the execution that weve got with CityFibre or our commitment with CityFibre. So we felt we could do the same. In the end, if we wanted to pull away from the BT deal, wed just lose the discount. So its not strategically impairing us, if you like. And were always open to other players that want to consider other models. So, for instance, if a Comcast guy suddenly said, okay, we want to consider. The one thats been pretty quiet at the moment, I would say, is Openreach. Were not engaging with them at the moment in terms of any further opportunity.

The contingent model mentioned above sounds like the same volume discount arrangement that Sky Broadband recently signed (here), which is based off Openreachs new wholesale offer to ISPs for cut price FTTC, FTTP and G.fast broadband services (here). But at the time of writing its unclear whether this focuses upon anything more than their existing FTTC (VDSL2) superfast broadband packages.

Vodafones continued support for Cityfibre makes absolute sense, particularly since they have precious little to lose under that agreement. On the other hand Openreach are gearing up to cover double as many premises with their own flavour of FTTP and that coverage difference could become more attractive in the future, although the two rival networks are still very far apart in terms of cost vs performance.

Meanwhile the hint toward Comcast should probably be taken with a pinch of salt. So far Comcast has only expressed a strong interest in harnessing Skys content business and they appear to be comfortable with Sky Broadbands aforementioned Openreach deal, which suggests that for the time being Comcast probably wont be shaking up the UKs fixed line infrastructure market.

Separately Nick Read also touched on Vodafone UKs long stalled plan to launch a Pay TV (IPTV) service, which was shelved a couple of years ago. Nick said they still want to overlay TV in the future but theyd rather get the fixed broadband side right first before even considering anything else. Get commercial traction, build confidence, in the eyes of the customer and then take it to the next level, concluded Nick.
New partnership with Mastercard strategically extends MYOB's payments opportunity



Confirms Market Leadership for Growth in Online Accounting

Sydney, Nov 15, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - MYOB ( ASX:MYO ) will today host its 2018 Investor Day. A copy of the presentation is attached and will be made available on MYOB's investor website.Highlights- MYOB confirms market leadership position in online subscriber growth in Australia and New Zealand, adding more than 200,000 online subscribers in the 12 months to September 2018- Online subscribers reached more than 550,000 at the end of September 2018, up 60 per cent year on year- MYOB's strategy to invest for future growth has commenced, with a clear focus on increasing subscribers, improving retention and lifting ARPU- The accelerated investment in the MYOB Platform is progressing well. Attendees at today's Investor Day will see the first product demonstration of the end-to-end compliance workflows in the MYOB Platform. Other updates include the acceleration of the online Corporate Compliance and Document Management modules, with a brought forward date to be initially in market in 2019- New strategic partnership with Mastercard enables supplier and payroll payments to be made within MYOB software, opening up an addressable market opportunity of c.$200bn for MYOB to penetrate.- A highly engaged team together with a strong employee brand delivers engagement scores well above the New Tech benchmark- Medium-term guidance reaffirmed; MYOB on track to reach 1 million online subscribers in 2020Tim Reed, Chief Executive Officer:"We are excited by the progress we are making in our business. We have entered a 2-year period of accelerated investment and the benefits are already being realised. In the past 12 months we have added more than 200,000 online subscribers, confirming our leadership position in the online accounting market.Delivery of our online platform is progressing well, and for the first time we are pleased to demonstrate the end to end compliance workflows- a clear differentiator for us in the industry.The MYOB Platform will enable our vision of the The Connected Practice - a bold vision we have for the future of our industry. We are delivering a single cloud platform that leverages artificial intelligence to significantly streamline the processes across both SMEs and Advisers.Great software is built by a great team. Our confidence in our ability to build the MYOB Platform is based on our highly engaged team. The ability for us to attract and retain top talent is strong and positions us well above the new tech benchmark for employee engagement."To view Investor Day Presentation, please visit:About Myob Group Ltd

MYOB Group Ltd (ASX:MYO) is a leading provider of online business management solutions. It makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses and accountants across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB operates across three core segments  Clients and Partners (business solutions to SMEs and Advisers); Enterprise Solutions (larger businesses) and Payment Solutions. It provides ongoing support through client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly through its Connected Practice Strategy and through the development of the MYOB Platform. For more information, follow @MYOB on Twitter or visit http://investors.myob.com.au/Investors
Wednesday, November 14th, 2018 (11:55 am) - Score 2,531

Hybrid wireless and fibre optic ISP Airband has announced that theyve started to expand their bespoke Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network into current deployments, which we assume includes those that have previously only had a service via their slower fixed wireless network.

The provider, which already claims to cover 20,000 premises and recently secured a 16m investment from the Amber Infrastructure-managed National Digital Infrastructure Fund (here), now aims to expand its network to an additional 50,000 business and residential premises in England and Wales by 2021.

So far the vast majority of their deployments have focused on growing a Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network, while their new FTTP solution (aka  Rural Optic) seems to stretch the meaning of fibre terminology. Rural Optic is spoken of as a hybrid fibre network infrastructure, where fibre optic cables are deployed locally to premises, but the network is supported by a high capacity wireless link (at least thats how it sounds).

Successful trials of Rural Optic have already taken place in Shropshire and are said to have demonstrated the huge benefits of this new technology, which delivers point-to-point fibre using existing infrastructure, avoiding the time delay and costs involved in digging up roads.

On top of this Airband has also announced the appointment of two new board members (directors)  Peter Mathers (Operations Director) and Andrew Price (Finance Director)  as well as more than 20 new hires across the business to help support their growth.

Redmond Peel, Airband Founder and Managing Director, said: Peter and Andrews track records, experience and achievements are second-to-none and we are delighted to have them both on board. Attracting individuals of their calibre into the business is a great testament to our strategy and ambition. We are pleased to be growing so rapidly and able to provide superfast connectivity to more rural homes and businesses in the UK and our aim is to continue to roll out our solutions to boost connectivity in rural communities. The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR) announced in July as part of the UK governments modern industrial strategy, outlines that remote rural areas need to be prioritised for funding. It also recognises that a blend of technologies is required to deliver superfast access  we see our hybrid wireless and fibre model as being ideally suited for these areas so its an exciting time for us to be at the forefront of ensuring that rural locations get the digital infrastructure they needed and do not get left behind.

Sadly todays announcement doesnt tell us anything about precisely which locations will benefit from the new FTTP Rural Optic network or what packages and prices may be on offer. We hope to update with some further details a little later on today.

In the meantime Redmond said, We plan to integrate our FTTP RuralOptic solution in a number of our current network deployments, with an ambition to utilise 50 per cent FTTP and 50 per cent wireless technology. We believe our hybrid model offers a compelling time to market, clear upgrade path and broader reach compared to traditional fibre-only or wireless-only solutions.

As well as Shropshire, Airband also has networks in Devon, Somerset, Herefordshire, Shropshire, The Midlands and parts of Wales.

UPDATE 1:28pm

Airband informs us that they are currently in talks with the Governments Broadband Delivery UK programme and contracting councils to confirm which areas are suitable for its FTTP solution. Decisions over exactly where FTTP will be deployed will be made in the New Year.

UPDATE 15th Nov 2018 @ 07:01am

Weve had a more useful description of Airbands approach from Redmond, who says: Airband have an aim to deliver full fibre to the premise from the UK national network, in the short term this will utilise existing mast backhaul points, current fibre pops and BT EAD. Our approach will stay hybrid, in the sense that we will have a wireless and a fibre network using the most appropriate technology to each premise. At its simplest level this may look like, FTTP to hamlets and villages and wireless to remote properties or isolated dwelings. We intend to use BT DPA and soft-dig on private land.
Australian-listed ICT services company TechnologyOne has been selected by the UKs group of science museums, the Science Museum Group, to modernise and transform its existing financial business system.

The SMG  recognised as a world-leader in the science museum sector  has gone live with the TechnologyOne (ASX:TNE) solution which provides an intuitive system that allows both finance and non-finance users to easily interrogate real-time data, quickly produce reports and efficiently make strategic decisions.

The SMG has an average of five million visitors each year and, with around 1000 employees and over 500 volunteers, required a robust and intuitive solution that would enable the finance team and other users, to access real-time information quickly and efficiently anywhere  on any device.

TechnologyOne chief operating officer Stuart MacDonald said: The Science Museum Group stands among several new world-leading customers that have chosen TechnologyOnes Software as a Service offering to transform their business.

The Science Museum Groups new Software-as-a-Service solution from TechnologyOne has now gone live; empowering the group to streamline their financial operations to support their growth.

Jane Ellis, director of Corporate Services at SMG, said that: As an organisation in the cultural sector we recognise the importance of actively responding to the challenges that lie ahead.

With an increased requirement to generate income and make more efficient use of resources, we felt that our existing finance system no longer met our needs. We knew that multiple workarounds were being used in order to deliver financial outputs and all too often these were manual and time-consuming processes. Furthermore, we wanted a user-friendly system, accessible from any device, with real-time reporting for our end users.

TechnologyOne demonstrated their ability to meet all of our requirements and provide a solution on time and to budget which delivers against our long-term goals of innovation and transformation. The new solution goes some way to enabling the Group to realise its digital first vision, as well as being adaptable and complying with current legislation, Ellis said.

Anwen Robinson, UK operating officer at TechnologyOne, commented: The public sector is an increasingly challenging environment to operate in so implementing the right SaaS technologies that are both flexible and enable the organisation to future-proof is vital.

As the most significant group of science and innovation museums worldwide, it stands to reason that the Science Museum Group is embracing financial transformation to ensure it inspires interactive science for decades to come.
"The worlds largest travel community" says you can now "enjoy and discover useful content, advice and recommendations from friends, family and more than a thousand trusted experts".

Well known travel advisory website TripAdvisor has finally launched the "all-new TripAdvisor" on a global basis, as was previewed last month, and is naturally inviting travellers worldwide to join.

Over a decade ago, TripAdvisor proudly boasts it "changed the way consumers researched and planned travel".

However, there's always a time when change and growth is needed, with TripAdvisor advising it new site "transforms travel again by becoming the one place online that allows consumers to effortlessly discover, save and share great recommendations when planning a trip".

Of course, we will have to see if the public agrees, but TripAdvisor notes that not only does its site enjoy "more than 702 million reviews and opinions", travellers can now get "useful and relevant advice from the people and experts they trust".

Well, TripAdvisor tells us that "consumers want to travel with confidence and maximise the value of every trip, but travel planning can be overwhelming with so many different sources of online and offline information. While the wisdom of the crowds is helpful, travellers want to factor in the advice of friends and family more when making decisions.

"Starting today, travellers searching the new TripAdvisor for places to go, things to do, and where to stay or eat can discover helpful travel recommendations and advice from the people and experts they have chosen to follow. They can then easily save and share ideas to plan and book their perfect trip."

Stephen Kaufer, president and chief executive, TripAdvisor, said: "Were very excited to be changing travel yet again. Just as you have your go-to site or app for music and shopping, we are making sure TripAdvisor is now your go-to resource for travel.

The new TripAdvisor provides its members with great content from the people, brands and influencers they rely on for travel and in-destination advice before and during their trip.

"With the introduction of new voices to TripAdvisor, travellers can better plan their trips by easily finding their ideal hotel, experience or restaurant.

Travellers now have access to helpful and inspirational videos, photos, articles and guides from friends and family, as well as from over a thousand brands, publishers, and influencers including National Geographic, Time Out, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Conde Nast Traveller, The Points Guy, Blonde Abroad, as well as local influencers Lauren Bath and Nicola Easterby (Polkadot Passport).

A new feature called Trips enables travellers to collaborate with others by saving, organising, sharing and creating lists or in-depth guides highlighting their favourite hotels, restaurants, experiences in a particular destination.

Plan your best trip with the new TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor tells us that it "has always been recognised as the leading travel review website by consumers. The new TripAdvisor, which features some familiar social tools available on other sites, is expanding to offer travellers new ways to plan their journey".

In addition to the ability to Like, Repost and Share the more than 702 million reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor, it is now easy for members to:

Follow others they trust: The global TripAdvisor community has expanded beyond travellers. In addition to friends and family, members can follow more than a thousand trusted brands, publishers and social media influencers that have already joined the beta experience. Members can enjoy inspiring and helpful photos, videos, Trip guides and articles from others directly within the travel feed.

The global TripAdvisor community has expanded beyond travellers. In addition to friends and family, members can follow more than a thousand trusted brands, publishers and social media influencers that have already joined the beta experience. Members can enjoy inspiring and helpful photos, videos, Trip guides and articles from others directly within the travel feed. Discover advice and recommendations via their travel feed: Upon logging in, a members homepage transforms into a personalised feed of information based on who they follow. As a member searches for a specific destination, their travel feed automatically surfaces relevant content from the global TripAdvisor community. For example, a member planning a trip to Paris on TripAdvisor will discover helpful information such as a food critic's article on the best restaurant in the city, an influencer's travel guide of must-do experiences, a friend's review of a new hotel near the Eiffel Tower and more. And while other social media sites stop at inspiration, TripAdvisor makes inspirational content actionable. Simply click through to a business listing to reserve a table, book the adventure of a lifetime, or save money when booking the perfect place to stay -- all without ever leaving the site or app.

Upon logging in, a members homepage transforms into a personalised feed of information based on who they follow. As a member searches for a specific destination, their travel feed automatically surfaces relevant content from the global TripAdvisor community. For example, a member planning a trip to Paris on TripAdvisor will discover helpful information such as a food critic's article on the best restaurant in the city, an influencer's travel guide of must-do experiences, a friend's review of a new hotel near the Eiffel Tower and more. And while other social media sites stop at inspiration, TripAdvisor makes inspirational content actionable. Simply click through to a business listing to reserve a table, book the adventure of a lifetime, or save money when booking the perfect place to stay -- all without ever leaving the site or app. Create trips: Members are now able to create and access Trips, which is a collaborative way to privately plan and share ideas with friends and family. Trips can also be made public and shared with the community to inspire and help others. For example, members can create in-depth travel guides, itineraries or simple wish lists of things to do while travelling: Top 10 Restaurants in New York City, The Best Museums in London or 48 Hours in Singapore."

Members are now able to create and access Trips, which is a collaborative way to privately plan and share ideas with friends and family. Trips can also be made public and shared with the community to inspire and help others. For example, members can create in-depth travel guides, itineraries or simple wish lists of things to do while travelling: Top 10 Restaurants in New York City, The Best Museums in London or 48 Hours in Singapore." See what friends and family recommend: Members are now able to find and follow their Facebook friends who are on TripAdvisor and see their reviews and ratings of hotels, experiences and restaurants as they use the site.

Kaufer added, This is just the beginning for TripAdvisor as we continue to work with the community to build the best experience for travellers worldwide. In the coming weeks, we will welcome more brands and influencers to the travel feed and will allow members to upload and share videos and articles.

With nearly half a billion unique visitors every month, TripAdvisor has one of the most high-intent travel audiences in the world, and a growing number of brands and influencers are turning to the platform versus other channels to engage with its global community.

Additional information on how to join is available here.

Interested owners and operators of hotels, restaurants and experiences businesses can also click here for more information.

As TripAdvisor advises, "with support for 28 languages, the new site and app experience is now available to TripAdvisor members worldwide. Travellers who are new to TripAdvisor will have to create a free account to begin accessing the latest experience".

Here is TripAdvisor's video:
ANALYSIS The ascent of the iPhone over the years has been good news for Apple. But it now is also becoming bad news as the number of new features that can be added are dropping and the company has to resort to pushing prices higher and higher to keep its revenue levels up.

That same policy is also leading to lower sales numbers in the two big markets  China and India  though the ever-increasing prices have ensured Apple's revenue always increases.

In China, the iPhone is losing out to local brands OPPO, Huawei and vivo. One factor that plays into people buying these brands, apart from price, is patriotism.

In the third quarter, iPhone shipments into China were 46.9 million units, marginally higher than the 46.7 million in the third quarter a year prior. But the overall smartphone market shipment trend is downwards.

in carrier subsidies  a factor that keeps iPhone prices much lower in the US than elsewhere  in China for the last few years has also affected sales in the country as it depends on these subsidies to grow sales.

In India, the cheapest iPhone, the XR, is about 77,000 rupees (about US$1060). This is about half the average per capita income, a Reuters report says.

Compare this with the OnePlus 6T which costs about 38,000 rupees, and despite being an Android phone has many of the spiffy features that the new iPhones have.

For Indians, it makes economic sense to buy the OnePlus model. Being thifty is considered a virtue in India.

iPhone prices in India are also affected by the lack of local manufacturing, unlike China. Only two older models are assembled, by Wistron Corporation in Bengaluru.

Additionally, Apple has cut the number of distributors in India from five to two, leading to the loss of top executives as a result.

The revenue that Apple records each year keeps climbing. But there will come a point at which the company will have to start looking at ways to cut price points in India if it wants to keep the revenue at the level it is now.

There is a limit to so-called innovation and features. The next evolution of mobile tech, 5G, has been hyped to the extent where it is sure to be a letdown when it finally arrives. And devices, including the iPhone, can never be better than the tech they deliver.

Where does Apple look next to keep that trillion-dollar market valuation?
Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab has opened its first data processing unit and transparency centre in Zurich and has announced that from 13 November, all malicious and suspicious content encountered by users of its products in Europe will be processed in the Swiss city.

In a statement, the company said the change on data processing location was part of a major infrastructure move to both increase the resilience of the same and also to put paid to accusations against the trustworthiness of its products, services and internal processes.

The decision to open the transparency centre was announced in May. Kaspersky's software was banned from use by US public sector agencies last year, following reports that Russia had exploited its software to spy on customers and obtain malware created by the NSA.

In a blog post to mark the occasion, chief executive Eugene Kaspersky made reference to the allegations that had been made against the company, saying that when people took facts into account, the allegations did not hold up.

"...a year ago, the largest research company in the world, Gartner, launched a new research project  Gartner Peer Insights  to study users levels of trust in brands. Really simple, but no less useful for it: the opinions of corporate customers are gathered, with Gartners analysts vetting the process to make sure theres no vendor bias, no hidden agendas, no trolling. Basically, you get transparency and authenticity straight from the folks that matter," he wrote.

Eugene Kaspersky with chief business officer Alexander Moiseev.

"Last year, thanks to the feedback from corporate customers, we earned the projects highest award! This years results arent all in yet, but you can see for yourself the number of customers that wanted to tell Gartner about their experience of us and give their overall ratings, and leave positive reviews. Crucially, you can see its not a review factory at work: theyre confirmed companies of different sizes, profiles, geography and calibre."

Kaspersky Lab's ANZ general manager Margrith Appleby said: "Privacy is a fundamental right for all businesses and consumers. Kaspersky Lab is a company that sits high on its values of fair dealing, customer protection and public safety.

"Our first transparency centre is a program designed to build better trust in information security and we are proud to be leading this global initiative."

Photos: courtesy Kaspersky Lab
The Australian Greens political party has announced a "plan to fix NBN, protect digital rights and ensure our digitally-connected world is accessible", so what are the details?

NOTE: The Greens are launching this policy in Canberra from 7pm on 14 November - you can watch the event live here.

The part has announced "a comprehensive plan to ensure Australian game developers, innovators, tech entrepreneurs, creatives, and artists have the support, environment, and infrastructure to flourish and every Australian enjoys strong safeguards for digital privacy, security and safety online".

The party's Digital Rights spokesperson, Senator Jordon Steele-John, will announce the policies at "an event tonight at Canberra Technology Park and will be joined by former Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and ACT Greens Lead Senate Candidate Dr Penny Kyburz".

Senator Steele-John said affordable, quality telecommunications were fundamental to the future of Australias economy, jobs, education, essential services and way of life.

The Coalitions "multi-technology mix" disaster had left many Australians without affordable or reliable services.

The Greens will establish a Federal Telecommunications Concession, worth $1.3 billion, at a value of $60 per quarter and payable to all holders of a DHS Health Care Card to replace the limited telephone allowance, and an NBN migration program, worth $250 million, to help close the digital divide and enable all Australians to participate fully in our digital economy, society and government," he said.

We are committed to fixing the NBN and ensuring all Australians have access to affordable and reliable high-quality internet and voice services for the 21st Century.

Senator Steele-John boasted that the Greens were "the only party willing to fight for the digital rights of Australian people".

He added: In the last few years weve seen a truly terrifying expansion of the powers of the Home Affairs Department aided by a compliant Labor Party more worried about appearing soft to voters than protecting our rights to privacy, security and safety online.

Meanwhile weve seen the equally terrifying rise of surveillance capitalism and data-farming  pioneered by Facebook  that has already had a significant impact on democracies across the world.

If we dont make a concerted effort now to enshrine our digital rights in legislation and follow the lead of world leaders in this space  such as the recently enacted GDPR in the European Union  then we will never be able to wind back government overreach in this space.

To ensure that the plan for the future is accessible and inclusive, the Greens say they "will announce $62.5 million to advance captioning, audio description, relay and translation services, establish a National Disability Telecommunications Service and create a safe, dedicated online platform for the promotion of discussion, debate and cultural development within the disability community".

ACT Greens Lead Senate Candidate Dr Penny Kyburz said, "Its vital we elect people to our parliament who understand technology and creativity and the issues that are facing our changing work, education, and social landscape.

Its clear to me that there are very few people on any sides of our parliament with the knowledge or skills to keep up with changing technology, let alone look ahead and make a plan for the future.

We're told "the announcement will also include updated costings of the Australian Greens plan to invest in the Video Game development industry which was announced earlier this year".

Here are some key points the Australian Greens have listed for its vision of the "21st Century NBN":

$1.3 billion to establish Federal Telecommunications Concession

$250 million NBN migration program to close the digital divide

Keep NBN infrastructure publicly owned

Finish the NBN using best-choice technology

Make quality telecommunications affordable for all Australians

Ensure regional telecommunications are funded, fair and fit for purpose

Protecting digital rights:

Establish a Digital Rights Commissioner

Repeal the Mandatory Data Retention Scheme

Update and strengthen Australian privacy laws

Making our digitally connected world accessible

$58 million over four years to advance captioning, audio description, relay and translation services

$3.5 million over four years to establish a National Disability Telecommunications Service

$1.1 million over four years to establish a safe, dedicated online platform for the promotion of discussion, debate and cultural development within the disability community

Investing in Video Game Development Industry:
In recent weeks, IBM has changed leadership at its Watson Health division and announced a new business strategy for deployment that relies on a hybrid cloud, not a public- or private-cloud only model.

Over the past year, Watson Health  particularly Watson for Oncology  has come under criticism for not meeting expectations or even offering physician users inaccurate advice. (Watson for Oncology is IBM's commercial cognitive computing cloud platform that analyzes large volumes of patient healthcare data and published medical studies to offer physicians cancer treatment options.)

Laura Craft, a vice president of research for Gartner's Healthcare Strategy business, said IBM's Cognitive Computing Division did not do well in recent third-quarter results, "and that was largely driven by the healthcare component."

Craft also pointed to the recent leadership changes as indicative of internal problems.

Reports of trouble, and IBM's defense

In July, the healthcare news publication Stat published a report claiming "internal IBM documents" showed the Watson supercomputer often spit out erroneous cancer treatment advice and that company medical specialists and customers identified "multiple examples of unsafe and incorrect treatment recommendations," even as IBM was promoting its AI technology.

Stat cited several slide decks it had obtained from a presentation made by IBM Watson Health's deputy chief health officer in 2016. The slides mostly blamed problems on the training of Watson by IBM engineers and staff at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).

Separately, an article by the Wall Street Journal claimed Watson Health had not made progress in bringing AI to healthcare.

In August, John Kelly (then IBM's senior vice president of Cognitive Solutions and Research), fired back in a blog about the reports: "It is true, as the article reports, that we at IBM have placed a big bet on healthcare. We have done this for two reasons: 1) Most importantly, we know that AI can make a big difference in solving medical challenges and supporting the work of the healthcare industry, and 2) We see an enormous business opportunity in this area as the adoption of AI increases," he wrote.

"To suggest there has been no patient benefit," Kelly continued, "is to ignore both what we know The Wall Street Journal was told by a number of physicians around the world and these institutions' own public comments  which we believe speak for themselves."

Kelly pointed to five healthcare facilities and the Department of Veterans Affairs that offered physician testimonials on how Watson for Oncology, Watson for Clinical Trial Matching and Watson for Genomics had reduced physician time and effort, increased clinical trial participants or increased the volume of research data available to the AI engine.

IBM IBM's Watson supercomputer functions as a cloud offering compute resources as a service.

Asked whether IBM's Watson for Oncology had relayed erroneous cancer treatment advice, Ed Barbini, IBM's vice president of external relations, flatly denied the charge.

While IBM faces declining revenue overall, and its recently released third-quarter earnings showed revenue from cognitive offerings was down 6% from last year, Watson Health saw growth, according to Barbini. He noted that IBM does not release numbers specific to Watson Health for "competitive reasons."

Barbini admitted that developing Watson Health and, specifically, Watson for Oncology is not an easy task but it remains an important one.

"That's why IBM dove into it three years ago. Did you really think oncology would be mastered in three years?" Barbini said. "However, let's look at the facts. More than 230 hospitals are using one of our oncology tools. We've had 11 [software] updates over last year and half and we've doubled the number of patients we've reached to over 100,000 as of the end of the third quarter of this year."

Earlier this month, the head of Watson Health for the past three years, Deborah DiSanzo, stepped down and Kelly took over. DiSanzo is continuing to work with IBM Cognitive Solutions' strategy team, according to a company spokesperson.

IBM has been the most aggressive among technology companies using AI in support of evidence-based medicine for health care. But recent problems have reportedly led to the loss of some of its larger hospital clients.

Craft said the Watson for Oncology unit is garnering most of the bad press; she believes its because IBM's marketing department promised something they could not deliver. Watson Health should have remained in an incubator stage far longer so more data could be ingested, enabling better evidence-based medicine treatment options.

IBM's "party line" has been to deny the reports and publish select development partner and client testimonials, Craft said.

IBM IBM's Watson super computer first came to prominence in 2011 after appearing on the Jeopardy quiz show, beating all other contestants.

"I think if I understand IBM's vision..., it was to really move toward personalized medicine. The ambition was to get to the state where they can target and correlate therapies and drugs to what the patient will respond best to," Craft said. "I think from a medical research perspective, they are going to get there in 10 or 15 years when we've got better, more consistent, real-world data  all things I don't think Watson has the benefit of today."

As a result, IBM has failed deliver on the capabilities it marketed to healthcare providers. "They have disappointed clients and they've certainly created skepticism around the integrity of their more advanced products," Craft said.

It's not the tech, it's the time

Watson's AI technology is not the problem, Craft said; it simply hasn't had enough time or quality data input to become the personalized medicine engine IBM has pitched.

Cynthia Burghard, IDC's research director for Value-based Healthcare IT Transformation Strategies, said IBM "shot themselves in the foot" by choosing to aim Watson at something as complex as healthcare right out of the gate.

"Part of Watson for Health's challenges is they were very aggressive with marketing, which is kind of an IBM trait. And, then it came [to] delivering it and they chose oncology, they chose genomics  really tough nuts to crack," Burghard said.

IBM had hoped to offer Watson as a software product, Burghard said, where oncologists could simply plug in patient data and they would receive recommendations for treatment. "That's the commercial version of Watson Health they were hoping, but that's not been realized," she said.

Instead, IBM has had to work with the hospital clients to ensure Watson functions properly, Burghard explained.

"In order for it to be commercial, IBM shouldn't be putting their hands on the data. They shouldn't have analysts in there building models for the clients; that should all be available to the client," Burghard said.

Another problem, Burghard pointed out, is Watson was trained using data from IBM development partner MSKCC. Because the system was trained using the hospital system's data, its query results tend to be biased toward that institution's cancer treatments and is not as inclusive with data from other hospitals, such as the Mayo Clinic or other smaller facilities.

While that may work for simple cancers whose treatments are relatively generic, Burghard said complex cancers are treated differently in various facilities. And, smaller hospitals may not even have access to the same treatment options as their larger, regional counterparts.

Because of its failure to produce the results promised, Burghard said IBM has lost momentum and "there's such skepticism that unless they have some silver bullet sitting behind the curtain, I think it's just going to plug along until the stock holders say they've had enough."

Early problems

In 2012, one of the first pilots of Watson for Oncology took place with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. The hospital used IBM's Watson supercomputer to expedite clinical decision making by matching cancer patients to clinical trials to improve outcomes "worldwide." At a final cost of $62 million, the cancer center's Watson-backed Oncology Expert Advisor (OEA) never got off the ground and was halted after an external audit was sought by the university.

The initial scope of OEA system development was for MDS leukemia, but it was expanded in February 2013 to include five additional types of leukemia, then in December 2014 to include lung cancer.

The audit revealed the Watson Oncology system could not integrate with M.D. Anderson Cancer Centers' EPIC electronic medical record (EMR) system, so internal pilots of the OEA for Leukemia and Lung cancer were conducted using the prior medical records system (ClinicStation).

The Cancer Center and IBM Watson ceased active development in 2015. And IBM ended support for the OEA Pilot System and for the OEA Demo System effective Sept. 1, 2016. The system is not in clinical use and has not been piloted outside of M.D. Anderson, according to the the audit.

IDG Mike Rhodin, then senior vice president of IBM's Watson Business Group, announcing the commercial availability of Watson Health at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference in 2015.

The IBM agreement at the time the project was halted said the system "is not ready for human investigational or clinical use, and its use in the treatment of patients is prohibited" except as needed to test and evaluate the system, according to the University of Texas audit.

When asked by Computerworld why the project failed, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center said via email: "While a variety of approaches have been examined, a final approach using [cognitive computing] to benefit patients has not been determined at this time. MD Anderson is committed to continuing to explore how digital solutions can accelerate the translation of research into advanced cancer care for patients."

Computerworld also reached out to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Mayo Clinic, two of IBM's top development partners on Watson Health who've been cited as success stories for training Watson and using it for clinical trial matching.

Begun in 2014, Watson's job at the Mayo Clinic was to sift through thousands of medical studies and ensure that more patients are accurately and consistently matched with promising clinical trials. (IBM has announced that enrollment rates for breast cancer clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic had increased dramatically.)

A request for comment from the Mayo Clinic on Watson's effectiveness was not returned. A Mayo Clinic spokesperson said multiple attempts had been made at reaching the physician in charge of the Watson project but were unsuccessful.

A Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center spokesperson referred questions to IBM, stating that IBM receives feedback on Watson for Oncology directly from its customers, and while the hospital trains Watson's AI with its data, "we do not use it here."

Another clinic touted early on by IBM is the Highlands Oncology Group (HOG), which participated in a feasibility study of IBM Watson to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the clinical trial matching. Located in Northeast Arkansas, HOG has 15 physicians and 310 staff members working across three sites; the facility's pilot lasted 16 weeks and used data from 2,620 visits by lung and breast cancer patients.

In an initial pre-screening test, the HOG clinical trial coordinator took 1 hour and 50 minutes to process 90 patients against three breast cancer screenings. Conversely, when the Watson's clinical trial matching platform was used, that job took 24 minutes. "This represents a significant reduction in time of 86 minutes or 78%," HOG said in a statement.

Computerworld reached out to HOG about the Watson trial, and asked specifically if there were any problems during the pilot; HOG's medical director said the clinic had signed a confidentiality agreement with IBM and was not allowed to give out any information.

"So, IBM Watson would be the ones that provide you the concerns and road blocks they've run into," a HOG spokesperson wrote via email.

An IBM buying spree, and what comes next

In 2015, IBM purchased healthcare data analytics-firm Explorys and patient communications company Phytel for an undisclosed amount. In 2016, IBM acquired Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion. Upon completing all three acquisitions, IBM boasted its Watson Health Cloud housed "one of the world's largest and most diverse collections of health-related data, representing an aggregate of approximately 300 million patient lives acquired from three companies."

"They all in their own right, before they were acquired, were very successful companies and had good, strong, loyal client bases and were plugging along. I think IBM thought, 'We should buy these guys and throw in some AI and really take the market by storm,'" Burghard said. "As far as I can tell, that hasn't happened."

At least one of those acquisitions, Truven, was recently cited by IBM's Kelly as key to moving insurance provider data onto the IBM Watson Health platform now that it's going to be offered through a hybrid cloud.

In late October, IBM announced plans to seed its new hybrid cloud model for Watson by first moving data from insurance payer systems. For that, Truven will be key.

"They [Truven] are very big in the payer space," Kelly said. "We process payer claims and we have payer records. So, what does it cost for a certain procedure in a state or in a hospital  that is a very rich data set we can apply AI to to dramatically reduce cost."

Once payer data is moved to the hybrid cloud, the electronic medical records (EMRs) acquired through the Explorys acquisition will follow, Kelly said.
Support Local Journalism

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution.

Subscribe or contribute
Summerville, SC (29483)

Today

A few clouds. Low 36F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 36F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low around 35F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low around 35F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
DENVER, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TriMetals Mining Inc. (TSX: TMI, OTCQX: TMIAF) (the Company) reports the release of its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and the related managements discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations (MD&A). In this press release, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported net loss of $0.20 million ($0.00 per share) compared with net loss of $2.63 million ($0.02 per share) for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. During the three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported net loss of $2.53 million ($0.01 per share) compared with net loss of $2.60 million ($0.02 per share) for the three months ended September 30, 2017. A primary driver in the results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 were the non-cash changes in the fair values of the Class B shares.

The Company continued to reduce its level of operations from previous years and manage its costs structure which resulted in a decrease in cash outflows from operations from $1.17 million to $0.79 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

Exploration spending during the nine months ended September 30, 2108 decreased to $1.17 million from $2.39 million incurred in the first nine months in 2017. The 2018 costs included $0.88 million incurred at Gold Springs and $0.29 million incurred at the Escalones property in Chile.

The Company continues to seek a partner to help advance Escalones towards development.

Subsequent to September 30, 2018 the Company closed a private placement of 6,428,571 units priced at Cdn $0.07 per unit for total gross proceeds of $343,900 (Cdn $450,000). Each unit consists of one common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company at an exercise price of Cdn. $0.11 per share for a period of 24 months from the closing date of the private placement.

In addition, the convertible note holders converted 100% of the outstanding balance of the Notes, plus accrued interest, into an aggregate of 33,398,487 common shares of the Company at an amended conversion price of Cdn $0.07 per common shares, and the Notes and the security interests provided to secure payment of the Notes, were thereby extinguished.

Arbitration against the Government of Bolivia

On July 12, 2018, the Arbitral Tribunal informed the Parties that it had completed the award, that it had been transmitted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), that the award was being translated and that it expected to issue the award by no later than August 2018.

On August 2, 2018, one of the arbitrators advised that he had seriously fallen ill and was unable to continue with the arbitration. On August 7, 2018, TMIs wholly owned subsidiary South American Silver Limited (SASL) wrote to the PCA and to the Arbitral Tribunal seeking confirmation that this illness would not affect the expected timing for the issuance of the award. On August 12, 2018, Bolivia wrote to the PCA requesting that a replacement arbitrator to be appointed and that the reconstituted Tribunal consider the possible repetition of the hearing and subsequent stages of the arbitration. In response, on August 14, 2018, SASL wrote to the PCA and to the Arbitral Tribunal objecting to Bolivias requests and noting that, if necessary, Articles 14(2) and 34(4) of the 2010 UNCITRAL Rules expressly permit the two other arbitrators to sign and issue the award.

On November 8, 2018 the Company received correspondence from the Permanent Court of Arbitration advising that the Arbitration Tribunal will issue the arbitration award (the Award) on a date prior to the end of November 2018.

TMI will provide additional information as it becomes available.

About TriMetals Mining Inc.

TriMetals Mining Inc. is a growth focused mineral exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the near-surface, oxide, heap-leachable Gold Springs gold project in mining friendly Utah and Nevada, USA, and the Escalones copper-gold skarn/porphyry deposit in Chile. The Company combines a track record of discovery and advancement of large projects, mining and exploration supportive jurisdictions, low political risk areas, key operational and process expertise, and a focus on community relations and sustainable development. Management has extensive experience in the global exploration and mining industry.

The Companys common shares and Class B shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TMI and TMI.B and the common shares and Class B(1) shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol TMIAF and TMIBF. Additional information related to TriMetals Mining Inc. is available at www.TriMetalsmining.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

TriMetals Mining Inc. Contact:

Eric Edwards

President & CEO

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Forward-looking Statements

Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as expect, plan, seek, continue, typical, will, intention, creating, and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Gold Springs project, including possible variations in mineral resources or grade, recovery rates, metal prices, availability of sufficient financing to fund further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms, availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and other risks more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form filed and publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the continuing support for mining by local governments in Nevada, Utah and Chile, the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Gold Springs project; and the execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for the Gold Springs Project, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2018) - Great Bear Resources Ltd. (TSXV: GBR) ("Great Bear" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed a "bought deal" private placement financing (the "Offering"), previously announced on October 26, 2018, through an underwriting agreement with Cormark Securities Inc. ("Cormark").

Upon closing of the Offering, the Company issued 1,000,000 flow-through common shares ("Flow-Through Shares") at a price of $3.50 per Flow-Through Share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $3.5 million.

The Flow-Through Shares qualify as "flow-through shares" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada). The proceeds of the Offering will be used to incur "Canadian exploration expenses" (within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada)) related to Great Bear's projects in the Red Lake district of Ontario. The Company will renounce these expenses to the purchasers with an effective date of no later than December 31, 2018.

The Flow-Through Shares are subject to a four-month and one day hold period expiring on March 15, 2019, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

In connection with the Offering, the Company has paid Cormark a cash commission of 6% of the gross proceeds of the Offering and reimbursed it for certain reasonable expenses and fees.

The Offering is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Great Bear is currently engaged in a 30,000 metre, approximately 150 drill hole program at its flagship Dixie property, which is expected to continue through 2018 and 2019. The Company plans to use proceeds of the current Offering to expand its exploration program. Expanded work will be informed by ongoing results, and may include additional drilling, geophysical surveys, trenching and downhole survey methods.

The Company also reports it has granted an aggregate of 30,000 stock options to employees of the Company, exercisable at $2.44 per share for a period of five years. The options are subject to a four month hold period.

About Great Bear

Great Bear is earning a 100% royalty-free interest in the Dixie property for remaining payments totaling $110,000 over three years. The property consists of 9,140 hectares located approximately 15 minutes' drive along Highway 105 from downtown Red Lake, Ontario. The Red Lake mining district has produced over 30,000,000 ounces of gold and is one of the premier mining districts in Canada, benefitting from major active mining operations including the Red Lake Gold Mine of Goldcorp Inc., plus modern infrastructure and a skilled workforce. The Dixie property covers a drill and geophysically defined multi-kilometre gold mineralized structure similar to that hosting other producing gold mines in the district. The project has seen over 200 drill holes to-date and has yielded high grade near-surface gold results from several gold zones hosted at an extensive mineralized geological contact - the Dixie Limb Zone. In addition, Great Bear is also earning a 100% royalty-free interest in its West Madsen properties which total 3,860 hectares and are contiguous with Pure Gold Mining Inc.'s Madsen property. All of Great Bear's Red Lake projects are accessible year-round through existing roads.

For further information please contact Mr. Chris Taylor, P.Geo, President and CEO at 604-646-8354, or Mr. Knox Henderson, Investor Relations, at 604-551-2360.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Chris Taylor"

Chris Taylor, President and CEO

Inquiries:

Tel: 604-646-8354

Fax: 604-646-4526

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.greatbearresources.ca

This new release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statements or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulators. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, other than as required by securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.



THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
VANCOUVER, Nov. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - Sun Metals Corp. ("Sun Metals" or the "Company") (TSXV: SUNM) announces the full mineralized intersection from diamond drill hole DDH18-SD-421 at its Stardust project in northcentral British Columbia has now been completely assayed and has returned a total 100-metre intersection grading 2.51% copper, 3.03 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, and 52.5 g/t silver for a 4.99% copper equivalent (CuEq).

The completed results from DDH18-SD-421 reinforce that drilling has intersected consistently stronger and more pervasive mineralization than historically encountered at Stardust by previous operators. The results further validate the Company is successfully tracking a major mineralizing fluid pathway toward the heart of this high-grade system.

New results include 29.1 metres of mineralization, grading 3.35% copper, 4.29 g/t gold and 65.7 g/t silver (See Table 1 and Figure 2). This intersect is downhole from Stardust's previously reported best ever intercept, (see press release at https://sunmetals.ca/news/2018/). The 100-metre intersect also includes 22.8 metres of mineralized skarn alteration in the hanging wall of the massive sulphide that averages more than 1% copper equivalent. The mineralized interval in drill hole DDH18-SD-421 is in a newly identified mineralized area, outside of the current 43-101 resource estimate. See detail on the resource estimate at the end of this news release. Mineralization in this Canyon Creek Skarn zone extension remains open in all directions (See Figure 3).

The Company believes this drilling has revealed the distinct pattern of encountering larger bodies of more persistent and higher-grade mineralization closer to the source of the mineralizing fluids that formed the skarn system.

Table 1. Tabulated results from DDH18-SD-421

Hole From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) (2) Copper

(%) Gold

(g/t) Silver

(g/t) Zinc

(%) Copper Equivalent

(%) (1) DDH18-SD-421 517.00 617.00 100.00 2.51 3.03 52.5 0.41 4.99 Incl. 539.80 617.00 77.20 3.11 3.74 64.9 0.53 6.19 Incl. (3) 539.80 576.30 36.50 3.89 4.47 84.6 1.06 7.79 Incl. 587.90 617.00 29.10 3.35 4.29 65.7 0.06 6.58

(1) Assumptions used in USD for the copper equivalent calculation were metal prices of $2.80/lb Cu, $1,200/oz Au, $15/oz Ag, $1.20/lb Zn and recovery is assumed to be 100% as no metallurgical data is available. The following equation was used to calculate copper equivalence:

Copper Equivalent = Cu (%) + (Au (g/t) x 0.6252) + (Ag (g/t) x 0.007815) + (Zn (%) x 0.4286). (2) True widths of the reported mineralized intervals are not known (3) Previously Reported

Further results for an additional 14 drill holes from the 2018 program are pending and are expected to be available for release by year end.

Graphics & Table

A plan map (Figure 1: Click Here) of the 22-hole 2018 drill program, cross-section (Figure 2: Click Here) and long-section (Figure 3: Click Here) of the updated interpretation of the Canyon Creek Skarn zone are provided here and displayed on the Company's website. A table of results received to date from the 2018 drill program is available on the company website: Click Here

Videos

President & CEO Steve Robertson and Dr. Peter Megaw , Chair of Sun Metals' Technical Advisory Committee, at the drill site of DDH18-SD-421 discussing the implications of this hole's results on future exploration: https://vimeo.com/296060585





and Dr. , Chair of Sun Metals' Technical Advisory Committee, at the drill site of DDH18-SD-421 discussing the implications of this hole's results on future exploration: https://vimeo.com/296060585 At the Canyon Creek Skarn discovery outcrop, Steve Robertson and Peter Megaw show its relation to core found in DDH18-SD-421: https://vimeo.com/296064780





and show its relation to core found in DDH18-SD-421: https://vimeo.com/296064780 For other new videos providing commentary on Stardust, click here: https://vimeo.com/user85397329

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Drilling completed on the project in 2018 was supervised by on-site Sun Metals personnel who collected and tracked samples and implemented a full QA/QC program using blanks, standards and duplicates to monitor analytical accuracy and precision. The samples were sealed on site and shipped to Bureau Veritas ("BV") in Vancouver BC for analysis. BV's quality system complies with global certifications for Quality ISO9001:2008. Core samples were analyzed using a combination of BV's AQ270 process for low level concentrations (ICP-ES/MS aqua regia) and the MA270 process for higher level concentrations (ICP-ES/MS 4 acid digestion). Gold assaying was completed with FA330, a 30-gram fire assay with ICP-ES finish. Base metal overlimits were finalized with titration and a silica wash was used between high grade samples to ensure no sample carry over.

Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed and approved by Ian Neill P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of Sun Metals, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

SUN METALS CORP.

Steve Robertson

Chief Executive Officer

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.

Option Agreement

Pursuant to an option agreement between Sun Metals and Lorraine Copper Corp. ("Lorraine Copper"), an Exchange listed issuer, Sun Metals has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Stardust project, located in northcentral British Columbia by making annual instalments of Sun Metals common shares and cash payments. Sun Metals must also spend $6,000,000 on the Stardust project by December 31, 2021.

About Sun Metals

Sun Metals is advancing its flagship, high-grade Stardust project located in northcentral British Columbia, Canada. Stardust is a high-grade polymetallic Carbonate Replacement Deposit with a rich history.

The Canyon Creek copper-gold skarn zone at Stardust was the subject of a 2018, 43-101 compliant resource estimate published by the Company in January 2018. GeoSim Services Inc. provided the following estimate.

Stardust Project - Canyon Creek zone Mineral Resource Estimate(4):

Resource Category Tonnes Copper % Zinc % Gold g/t Silver g/t % Cu Eq Indicated 985,000 1.34 0.62 1.59 36.8 2.92 Inferred 1,985,000 1.24 0.14 1.72 30.5 2.65

(4)The cut-off grade used in the resource estimate was 1.5% copper equivalent. Metal price assumptions for the copper equivalent calculation were $3.00/lb Cu, $1.25/lb Zn, $1,300/oz Au and $18/oz Ag. Adjustment factors to account for differences in relative metallurgical recoveries of the constituents will depend upon completion of definitive metallurgical testing. The following equation was used to calculate copper equivalence: Cu Eq = Cu + (Zn x 0.4167) + (Au x 0.6319) + (Ag x 0.0087). A cut-off grade of 1.5% Cu Equivalent represents an in-situ metal value of approximately $100/tonne which is believed to represent a reasonable break-even cost for underground mining and processing. These are not mineral reserves and no work has been completed that demonstrates economic viability at the Project.

Sun Metals believes B.C. is a reliable jurisdiction with excellent exposure to capital markets, a deep pool of exploration professionals, a wealth of supporting services, and exceptional infrastructure with direct access to Pacific markets.

A corporate presentation is available on Sun Metals' website at www.Sunmetals.ca.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forwardlooking statements". Forwardlooking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forwardlooking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forwardlooking statements.
TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2018 /CNW/ - Roxgold Inc. ("Roxgold" or "the Company") (TSX: ROXG) (OTC: ROGFF) today reported results from its 2018 exploration drilling program at the 55 Zone and Bagassi South at the Yaramoko Gold Mine along with exploration plans for the balance of 2018 and the first half of 2019.

Highlights:

19.5 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold over 10.1 metres ("m") from 576.6m in diamond hole YRM-18-DD-475W intersected at the 55 zone

in diamond hole YRM-18-DD-475W intersected at the 55 zone 34.1 gpt gold over 2.1m from 664.2m in YRM-DD-485A at the 55 Zone

from in YRM-DD-485A at the 55 Zone 6.9 gpt gold over 16.5m including 1.1m at 33.9 g/t gold from 600.0m in YRM-18-DD-477W at the 55 Zone

including at 33.9 g/t gold from in YRM-18-DD-477W at the 55 Zone 9.2 gpt gold over 5.4m including 0.3m @ 80.3 g/t gold from 907.2m in YRM-18-DD-482 at the 55 Zone

including @ 80.3 g/t gold from in YRM-18-DD-482 at the 55 Zone 16.1 gpt gold over 0.5m in diamond drill hole YRM-18-DD-BGS-435 at QV1

in diamond drill hole YRM-18-DD-BGS-435 at QV1 Infill and Extensional drilling program in progress at Zone 55 and Bagassi South

Currently seven drill rigs active at Zone 55 and Bagassi South

Regional drilling program due to commence next week

John Dorward, President and Chief Executive Officer of Roxgold commented: "An extensive drilling program is currently underway at Yaramoko. Deeper drilling at the 55 Zone and new regional drilling, especially at the new Kaho target, located along the Yaramoko Shear Corridor to the south of Bagassi South are priorities for the current quarter and the first quarter of next year. With seven rigs active, we are positioned for an exciting six months."

55 Zone Drilling

The primary objectives of the 2018 drilling program are to drill test and delineate the 55 Zone extension along strike to the east and west beyond the current inferred resource boundary, and to upgrade the down plunge portion at 750  800 metres at depth of the high-grade orebody from Inferred to Indicated Resource. A total of 15,315 metres out of the 24,000 metre program was completed to date.

Strike extension drilling was successful in intersecting the shear structure in all drill holes, with better results beyond the existing resource limits including drill hole YRM-18-DD474W2 intersecting 7.0 gpt over 3.6m, and YRM-18-DD-482 intersecting 9.2 gpt over 5.4m (refer to Table 1 for the Zone 55 results). The drilling was also successful in confirming the geological interpretation of the mineralized limits to the main mineralized shoot.

Infill drilling has confirmed the orientation and continuity of high grade quartz veins within the 55 Zone ore shoot, with YRM-18-DD-456A intersecting 47.4 gpt over a 2.2m interval from 335.3m and YRM-18-DD-475W intersected 19.5 gpt over 10.1m from 576.6m, and combined with ongoing detailed mapping of the ore drives, is helping to improve the understanding of the key controls and distribution of these high grade quartz veins.

Figure 1: 55 Zone Longitudinal Section

Highlights of the 55 Zone Results included in this release are outlined in Table 1 below. For a full listing of results from the recent program please refer to the following link (Table 1  55 Zone). All holes drilled into 55 Zone as part of the 2018 drilling program will be incorporated in the December 2018 updated resource model.

Table 1: Summary of Highlights from 55 Zone

Hole ID Azi Dip EOH Depth

From Depth

To Over

(m) True

Width

(m) Grade

(g/t) YRM-18-DD-459 356 -59 710.3 696.9 697.6 0.6 0.4 7.6 And 702.1 706.2 4.0 2.4 4.8 Including 702.1 703.0 0.9 0.5 8.7 Including 704.9 705.4 0.5 0.3 16.0 YRM-18-DD-467 359 -61 462.5 449.9 453.3 3.4 2.5 3.5 And 456.2 458.6 2.4 1.8 1.8 YRM-18-DD-472A 8 -57.0 596 0.0 NSR YRM-18-DD-473 3 -61 653.2 626.4 631.9 5.5 3.2 6.6 Including 627.6 628.2 0.6 0.3 49.7 YRM-18-DD-474W2 355 -51.4 789.7 775.4 779.0 3.6 2.7 7.0 Including 775.8 777.3 1.5 1.1 16.4 Including 776.6 777.3 0.7 0.5 28.8 YRM-18-DD-475W 2 -60 608.5 576.6 586.7 10.1 6.5 19.5 Including -60 581.1 581.7 0.5 0.4 97.7 Including -60 582.5 582.8 0.3 0.2 201.0 Including -60 584.6 585.5 0.9 0.6 50.1 Including -60 586.4 586.7 0.3 0.2 51.3 YRM-18-DD-476A 6 -55.0 770.5 754.6 760.2 5.6 4.0 1.2 Including -55.0 755.3 756.5 1.2 0.8 3.3 Including -55.0 758.3 759.3 1.0 0.7 2.0 YRM-18-DD-477W 1 -60.5 639 595.6 612.1 16.5 10.5 6.9 Including -60.5 600.0 601.8 1.7 1.1 33.9 Including -60.5 603.9 612.1 8.2 5.2 6.3 Including -60.5 610.1 610.6 0.5 0.3 48.5 And -60.5 632.5 634.4 1.9 1.2 5.8 Including -60.5 633.3 633.9 0.6 0.4 15.5 YRM-18-DD-479D 6 -56.0 674.3 655.2 657.0 1.8 1.3 3.8 YRM-18-DD-480W 5 -56 580 0.0 NSR YRM-18-DD-482 8 -56 950.9 903.1 908.4 5.4 3.7 9.2 Including 904.3 906.2 1.9 1.3 12.4 Including 907.2 907.6 0.4 0.3 80.3 YRM-18-DD-485A 9 -56.5 703.4 664.2 666.3 2.1 1.6 34.1

Bagassi South Drilling

A follow up program of approximately 2,700 metres was also successfully completed on the high grade QV1 structure, testing the lithological contact near the surface beyond the resource boundaries, as well as potential for down plunge extensions across the mafic-granite contact. Up and down plunge extensions within the granite continued to demonstrate the favourability of the granite to host high grade mineralization with YRM-18-DD-BGS-393 intersecting 66.6 gpt over 0.4m from 83.1m, YRM-18-DD-BGS-437 intersecting 10.2 gpt over 2.3m from 134.7m and YRM-18-DD-BGS-430A intersecting 30.4 gpt over 0.5m from 250.9m.

Additionally YRM-18-DD-BGS-435 intersected 16.1 gpt over 0.5m from 293.5m within the Bagassi South granite highlighting the potential for further shoot development within this favourable host unit.

Near surface results highlighted the influence of the more ductile mafic units, resulting in similar widths but at reduced grades as demonstrated by YRM-18-DD-BGS-410 returning 7.3 gpt over 0.6m. In addition, down plunge intersections have highlighted the potential continuation of the Western pod with narrow but high grade widths intersected over a further 300 metres, located below the main Eastern pod and with a similar orientation. This will be investigated further in Q4.

Figure 2: QV1 Longitundinal Section

Highlights of the QV1 Zone Results included in this release are outlined in Table 2 below. For a full listing of results from the recent program please refer to the following link (Table 2  Basgassi South QV1). All holes drilled into QV1 as part of the 2018 drilling program will be incorporated in the December 2018 updated resource model.

Table 2: Summary of Highlights from QV1

Hole ID Azi Dip EOH Depth

From Depth

To Over

(m) True

Width

(m) Grade

(g/t) YRM-18-DD-BGS-371 213 -61 216.2 54.2 54.7 0.4 0.3 42.3 And 196.1 198.4 2.3 1.8 20.9 Including 196.1 196.5 0.4 0.3 60.2 Including 197.5 197.8 0.3 0.3 61.9 And 207.6 208.8 1.2 0.9 2.1 YRM-18-DD-BGS-389B 211 -61 256.8 231.2 234.0 2.8 2.3 10.6 And 236.0 238.8 2.8 2.3 3.1 And 239.8 240.4 0.6 0.5 3.9 YRM-18-DD-BGS-393 206 -60 95.0 83.1 83.5 0.4 0.3 66.6 YRM-18-DD-BGS-406 212 -73 115.3 88.6 90.4 1.8 1.2 15.5 Including 88.6 89.5 0.8 0.5 31.7 And 96.6 98.0 1.4 0.9 13.2 YRM-18-DD-BGS-410 209 -60 42.5 25.4 26.0 0.6 0.5 7.3 YRM-18-DD-BGS-412 205 -60 287.5 266.8 267.6 0.8 0.7 6.0 YRM-18-DD-BGS-415 207 -61 220.0 190.4 191.0 0.6 0.5 3.3 And 209.7 210.2 0.5 0.4 38.6 And 211.0 215.5 4.5 3.6 1.6 Including 212.5 214.0 1.5 1.2 3.4 YRM-18-DD-BGS-418 211 -80 107.2 85.8 86.1 0.3 0.2 98.8 YRM-18-DD-BGS-422 219 -60 60.0 45.4 46.4 1.0 0.8 6.4 And 47.5 51.5 4.1 3.3 0.3 YRM-18-DD-BGS-428 205 -60 163.0 150.0 150.8 0.9 0.7 55.8 YRM-18-DD-BGS-430A 222 -61 274.2 250.9 251.4 0.5 0.4 30.4 YRM-18-DD-BGS-431B 206 -62 248.2 227.2 237.7 10.5 9.3 1.3 Including 227.2 229.8 2.6 2.3 3.9 Including 228.1 228.6 0.5 0.5 14.8 YRM-18-DD-BGS-435 205 -61 311.1 293.5 294.0 0.5 0.4 16.1 YRM-18-DD-BGS-437 208 -60 142.1 131.0 132.2 1.2 1.0 7.4 And 134.7 137.0 2.3 2.0 10.2 Including 134.7 135.9 1.3 1.1 17.8

Regional Drilling Program

Regionally, diamond drill testing of earlier auger anomalies at Haho returned encouraging anomalous results, including 12.8 gpt over 1.5m in YRM-18-DD-HAO-080 from 33.5m downhole and 0.3gpt over 13m from 129.5m downhole in YRM-18-DD-HAO-089. While the results were encouraging and defined a broad zone of weak mineralization, continuity of higher grades was difficult to define. Further structural interpretations of this area is planned.

Lease scale and local mapping has highlighted the good spatial correlation between geophysical structures, mineralization and elevated ratios of high Zirconium/high Rubidium values. This is supported by the close correlation with 55 Zone and Bagassi South with high Zr/high Rb values as well as gold anomalism. Similar signatures have been identified at Kaho where auger drilling was successful in identifying several areas of anomalism, including a 1.5 kilometre long well defined linear soil anomaly which is coincident to an underlying geophysical structure (Figure 3).

Regional drilling programs targeting geophysical and geochemical anomalies are due to commence in late November once the main crops have been harvested, with one RC drill rig testing the high priority 1.5 kilometre long, linear soil anomaly at Kaho before moving to other high ranking targets in early 2019.

Figure 3: Lithogeochemistry, Geophysics and Kaho target

During the 2018 rainy season and building from the 2017 geophysical surveys, significant progress was made on developing an integrated mineral systems framework for the license package. Key elements include:

Developing an understanding of the key lithogeochemical relationships

Integration of mine scale structural mapping into a detailed structural model

Further refinement of the geological model

Integration of the above with the geophysical datasets

The outcomes of this process will be used to underpin the regional exploration strategy and the basis of the 2018/19 programs.

Qualified Persons

Paul Weedon, MAIG, Vice President, Exploration for Roxgold Inc., is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, having verified and approved the technical data disclosed in this press release. This includes the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information.

For further information regarding the Project, please refer to the technical report dated December 20, 2017 and entitled "Technical Report for the Yaramoko Gold Project, Burkina Faso" (the "Technical Report"), available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

The holes were drilled with NQ2 sized diamond drill bits for drill holes reported in this press release. Company personnel are located at the drill site. Employees of Roxgold conducted all logging and sampling. The core was logged, marked up for sampling using standard lengths of two metres outside of the "zone" and adjusted to lithological contacts up to one metre within the "zone". Samples are then cut into equal halves using a diamond saw. One half of the core was left in the original core box and stored in a secure location at the Roxgold camp within the Yaramoko area. The other half was sampled, catalogued and placed into sealed bags and securely stored at the site until it was shipped to Activation Laboratories located in Ouagadougou (the "Lab"). The core was dried and crushed by the Lab and a 150 gram pulp was prepared from the coarse crushed material. The Lab then conducted routine gold analysis using a 50 gram charge and fire assay with an atomic absorption finish. Samples returning over 5.0 gpt were also analysed by gravimetric analysis. Quality control procedures included the systematic insertion of blanks, duplicates and sample standards into the sample stream. In addition, the Lab inserted its own quality control samples.

About Roxgold

Roxgold is a gold mining company with its key asset, the high grade Yaramoko Gold Mine, located on the Hounde greenstone belt in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Roxgold trades on the TSX under the symbol ROXG and as ROGFF on OTC.

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation: statements with respect to Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resource estimates, future production and life of mine estimates, future capital and operating costs and expansion and development plans. These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, the realization of resource estimates and reserve estimates, any potential upgrades of existing resource estimates, gold metal prices, the timing and amount of future exploration and development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs, the availability of necessary financing and materials to continue to explore and develop the Company's properties in the short and long-term, the progress of exploration and development activities, the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include: changes in market conditions, unsuccessful exploration results, possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, changes in the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, inaccurate reserve and resource estimates, changes in the price of gold, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic conditions. Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euromax Resources Ltd. (TSX: EOX): ("Euromax" or the "Company"), announces that it has appointed Tim Morgan-Wynne Non-Executive Chairman of the Company with immediate effect. Martyn Konig, the former Executive Chairman, will continue to serve as a Non-Executive Director of Euromax and is stepping down owing to other business commitments.

Tim Morgan-Wynne joined the Companys Board of Directors in June 2012 as Non-Executive Director and is also the Chairman of the Audit Committee. He is also currently engaged in developing private mining interests, as well as acting as Board Advisor for extractive industries to New World Capital Advisors, a specialist merchant banking and investment firm. Prior to this, Mr. Morgan-Wynne was the Chief Financial Officer of European Goldfields and was also a Director of the Resources and Energy Group at HSBC Bank plc. Mr. Morgan-Wynne has broad experience of corporate finance and capital markets whilst working on transactions involving companies in the UK, Europe, North America and South Africa.

Tim will work closely with Varshan Gokool and Patrick Forward, the Companys Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer respectively. Tims wealth of experience in the world of mining finance and executive management together with his in-depth knowledge of the Company will greatly assist in the delivery of the Ilovica-Shtuka copper-gold project in Macedonia (the Project), including the finalisation of permitting and the completion of the finance plan to construct the Project.

Corporate Update

Following the April 2018 non-brokered private placement financing for gross proceeds of CAD$5,220,000 (USD$4,000,000) from Galena Resource Equities Limited, the Company completed a cost cutting programme. This has included a reduction of staff by approximately 70% and the closure of two offices. The resulting monthly expenditure has almost halved as a consequence, however key personnel have been retained to ensure that the Company can continue all required permitting, finance and technical activities for successful implementation of the Project.

Recent activity in Macedonia has been focussed on Stakeholder Engagement. This has included a re-instigation of the Companys Public Liaison Committee, a body made up of key representatives from local communities, in order to help the local population fully understand the Project and help the Company appreciate all issues that the local communities face. The Company has also carried out a campaign of press interviews, including live debates with NGOs, in order to explain all potential impacts and mitigations as well as the socio-economic benefits of the Project to the region.

Engagement with the local and national authorities in Macedonia has also been a priority. Following a period of political uncertainty between the resignation of Government in 2016 to the formation of a new Government in 2017, the Company has been in active talks with the new Administration. This included an all Stakeholder meeting on the 20th July 2018. The meeting was instigated and chaired by the Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and was attended by the Secretary of State from the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, the Minister and Deputy Minister of Economy, local mayors, community leaders, independent experts, Non-Governmental Organisations, representatives from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and the Canadian Embassy as well as Company representatives. The meeting concluded with a government statement commending the Companys commitment to operate in a responsible way with respect to Environment and that independent monitoring should be established to check each step in the upcoming stages of the project.

During the last year, the Macedonian Government agenda has been pre-occupied with implementation of the historic Prespa Agreement with Greece, whereby a change in the countrys name to the Republic of North Macedonia will result in the removal of Greeces veto to NATO entry and allow the commencement of EU Accession talks. The required constitutional changes for implementation of the agreement are going through a series of Parliamentary votes that are due to conclude in early 2018. An initial two thirds parliamentary majority required to commence the process was achieved in early November this year. The Company is confident that once the Prespa Agreement ratification is complete then permitting progress on the Project can continue. The two permitting documents awaiting final Government approval are the merger of the two concessions that comprise the Project and the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment.

The next steps in the technical development of the project are focussed on the optimisation of capital and include:

Inclusion of contract mining as per the announcement of a tendering process in February 2017. This will include the incorporation of more detailed geotechnical information, further de-risking the mine plan.

Finalisation of an improved layout for the plant and main infrastructure that will result in a reduction of earth moving and bulk material quantities.

Work is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2019 and to be concluded by year-end 2019.

Commenting on the announcement, Tim Morgan-Wynne, Non-Executive Chairman, stated:

It is an honour to serve as a Chairman of Euromaxs Board and together with the Management team, we are keen to accelerate the development of the Ilovica-Shtuka Project towards timely completion of the permitting process and successful realisation of the Project.

Commenting on the announcement, Varshan Gokool, President & CEO, noted:

I would like to welcome Tim as Chairman and I am looking forward to working with him to bring our Ilovica Shtuka Copper project in to construction and operation.

I would also like to thank Martyn for his contribution as Chairman, which has been invaluable during a period of change in the Company and in Macedonia. We look forward to continuing to work with him as a Non-Executive Director.

We are looking forward to progressing permitting for the Ilovica-Shtuka Copper project and finalising exciting optimisations that will underpin the value in this important project.

About Euromax Resources Ltd.

Euromax has a major development project in Macedonia and is focused on building and operating the Ilovica-Shtuka copper-gold project.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the continued advancement of the company's general business development, research development and the company's development of mineral exploration projects. When used in this press release, the words will, shall, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intent, may, project, plan, should and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Although Euromax believes that their expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that fluctuations in the marketplace for the sale of minerals, the inability to implement corporate strategies, the ability to obtain financing and other risks disclosed in our filings made with Canadian securities regulators available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Euromax disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

For more information, please visit www.euromaxresources.com or contact:
On 16 November 2018 the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, will deliver a final judgment on two former leaders of the Khmer Rouge movement, Nuon Chea, 92, and Khieu Samphan, 87. This is the defendants second trial. Four years ago, they have already been sentenced to life imprisonment for a range of crimes against humanity.

In the supplementary trial, which concluded its evidentiary phase in 2017, the ECCC prosecutors accused Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan of additional crimes against humanity, genocide against minority populations, breaches of the Geneva Convention and national regulation of marriage.

The court held these two men accountable because between April 1975 and January 1979 (the time span of the ECCCs jurisdiction) Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan held important posts in the Khmer Rouge regime that called itself Democratic Kampuchea. Nuon Chea was deputy secretary of the concealed, all-powerful Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), just below the Party secretary Pol Pot, who died in 1998. Khieu Samphan occupied the largely ceremonial position of Head of State.

The dwindling relevance of the Tribunal

Like the defendants, its now on its last legs and many will welcome its departure from the scene

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal began its work in 2006. Like the defendants, its now on its last legs and many will welcome its departure from the scene, for its lifetime the tribunal has been plagued with serious administrative, financial and personnel problems. Its also been hampered by the consistent hostility of the Cambodian government and, with rare exceptions, a negative rush to judgment by the international media.

In addition, the crimes that the defendants are now said to have committed or known about are forty-odd years old, while the average age of Cambodians today is much younger than that. Many Cambodian millennials, we are told, dont believe that the Khmer Rouge regime ever happened, and are unconcerned when they find out that it did.

As the ECCC edges toward that spongy concept, closure, many people in Cambodia and elsewhere believe that it has passed its use-by date and ran out of relevance long ago.

With these issues in mind, do the final judgment and the ECCC itself really matter?

A mountain of documentation

I would argue that the text of the final judgment will be of considerable interest and that the ECCC, on balance, has been an invaluable institution.

In the future anyone attempting to study Democratic Kampuchea will need to consult this indispensible tri-lingual archive.

One aspect of the tribunals value is the mountain of documentation that it has accumulated since 2006. These data will, its hoped, be electronically (and permanently) accessible to the public. In the future anyone attempting to study Democratic Kampuchea will need to consult this indispensible tri-lingual archive.

The ECCC has also been valuable, I think, because it has allowed over 100,000 Cambodian visitors to observe its arcane but generally civil procedures. More importantly its very existence has discredited Prime Minister Hun Sens bizarre exhortation in 1997, just as the creation of the ECCC was being requested, that once the Khmer Rouge military threat to Cambodia had ended everyone should dig a hole and bury the past.

Turning to the final judgment, it will be interesting to see whether its level of detail, choice of words and argumentation form a fitting and justified supplementary indictment of these two men. And a fitting final statement for the ECCC.

No fascist models

The fact that the defendants are accused of genocide against the Cham and Vietnamese minorities is interesting, because the question of whether genocide using the United Nations definition occurred under Democratic Kampuchea has plagued students and observers of the regime since 1979. Until now the ECCC has prudently avoided taking the issue on board.

In January 1979, as soon as the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) took office in Cambodia, its Vietnamese sponsors were quick to seize on what they called the fascist and genocidal nature of Democratic Kampuchea, without producing evidence for either of the charges. They used the labels as synonyms for evil and to distance themselves and the PRK from the Communist history and credentials of Democratic Kampuchea.

The terms fascist and genocidal to describe Democratic Kampuchea didnt hold up. The regime followed no fascist models.

On close examination the terms fascist and genocidal to describe Democratic Kampuchea didnt hold up. The regime followed no fascist models (unless of course Maoist China was objectively fascist). As for genocide, pinning the label on Democratic Kampuchea has always been handicapped by the fact that its victims were overwhelmingly ethnic Khmer.

What genocide?

Some writers have coined the word auto-genocide to describe what happened in Democratic Kampuchea, suggesting that it was the intention of the countrys leaders to eliminate the Cambodian people en masse because of their ethnic identity. The term strikes me as devoid of sense.

In fact, the deaths inflicted on the Cambodian population by Democratic Kampuchea far more closely resembled the deaths inflicted in Ukraine in the 1930s, in Chinas Great Leap Forward, in North Vietnamese land reform in the 1950s and more recently in the mass killings of alleged Communists in Indonesia in 1965-1966.

The people who died in these tragic, government-sponsored events were seen by the people who killed them not as offensive ethnic groups but as collateral damage to government policies or more simply as enemies of the state. Unfortunately theres no term to describe these mass killings that comes to mind as temptingly as genocide which, I argue, is an entirely inappropriate word to use.

There is no convincing documentary evidence that the killings of Chams in Democratic Kampuchea were systematic or directed by top officials.

The final judgment may condemn Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan for genocide against the Cham Moslems in Cambodia and against those Vietnamese who were still residing in the country in 1978. There is no convincing documentary evidence that the killings of Chams in Democratic Kampuchea were systematic or directed by top officials. Most of the post-1979 researchers concerned with Democratic Kampuchea mistreatment of the Chams were convinced, before they collected any data, that genocide had taken place. When one researcher was asked about the questionable nature of his documentation, he replied, winningly, that this didnt matter, because what he had written was in a good cause.

The Vietnamese deaths that took place throughout Cambodia in 1978, on the other hand, clearly fit the UN definition. The victims were systematically targeted for death because they were Vietnamese. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan would certainly have been aware of this policy and there are Democratic Kampuchea documents to prove it.

A conflicted but worthwhile operation

In closing, while I am convinced that the two defendants deserve the sentences that they have received (which will probably be reaffirmed by the final judgment), limiting responsibility for what happened in Democratic Kampuchea to these two old men as well as to a pair of defendants who have died, does not add up to the kind of closure that most survivors of the regime have been hoping for since the ECCC convened. The severe limitations placed on the tribunal by the Cambodian government have constrained the outcome of the proceedings. Holes have been dug, in other words, and some of Cambodias past has been buried, apparently for good.

All seem to me to add up to a conflicted but, on balance, entirely worthwhile operation.

At the same time, the achievements of the ECCC, the documentation it has assembled and the awareness it has created in Cambodia of the deep-seated, intrinsic criminality of Democratic Kampuchea all seem to me to add up to a conflicted but, on balance, entirely worthwhile operation. There will certainly be nothing resembling it to follow.
Credit: Chapman BaehlerTuesday marked the third anniversary of the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, which included the mass shooting at the Bataclan concert hall during an Eagles of Death Metal concert, resulting in the death of 90 people. Frontman Jesse Hughes, who returned to Paris for the first and second anniversaries, was unable to make it this year after being involved in a bike accident.

In a sorrowful Instagram post, written in French, Hughes writes that he was recently riding his bike when he was hit by car. He still intended to make the trip to Paris after the accident, but then he started feeling the effects of a concussion and felt he had to go the emergency room. Hughes was then told he had a severe case of whiplash and that he could not fly for five days.

At the time, Hughes writes, the doctor's orders made sense to him, but on the day of the anniversary, he felt deep regret that he did not fly to Paris anyway.

"I think I should be there with you and I made a very big mistake," Hughes writes. "I hope you can forgive me for not being there."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Syriac Orthodox Church Opens University in Syria

On November 6, 2018, as a milestone in the new history of our Syriac Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II inaugurated the Antioch Syrian University (ASU), in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Atef Al-Naddaf, Minister of Higher Education in Syria, in ASU in Maarat Saydnaya.

The inauguration was also attended by Dr. Rakan Razouk, President of ASU, the Administrative and Academic staff, university students, in addition to a number of their Excellencies Ministers and members of the Syrian Parliament, as well as representatives of the political, cultural, and social bodies in Syria.

His Excellency and Eminence Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in Syria, as well as their Eminences Archbishops of our Syriac Orthodox Church: Mor Theophilus Georges Saliba, Archbishop of Mount Lebanon and Tripoli, Mor Selwanos Boutros Al-Nehme, Archbishop of Homs, Hama, Tartous, and Environs, Mor Justinos Boulos Safar, Patriarchal Vicar in Zahleh and Bekaa, Mor Chrysostomus Mikhael Chamoun, Patriarchal Vicar in the Patriarchal Benevolent Institutions in Atchaneh, Mor Timotheos Matta Al-Khoury, Patriarchal Vicar in the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, Mor Timotheos Matthew, and Mor Maurice Amsih, Archbishop of Jazeera and Euphrates, attended the ceremony.

His Excellency Bishop Aphrem Maalouly of Seleucia, represented His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Orthodox Church. A number of their Graces and Excellencies Bishops as well as priests of the various Christian Churches in Damascus also attended the ceremony, in addition to a number of Sheikhs, and the priests, monks, and seminarians of Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary, along with a crowd of people from our Syriac Institutions and the faithful of our Church, and representatives of the Syrian society.

Mr. Joe Lahoud, the Executive Director of Suboro Patriarchal TV, welcomed all at St. Aphrem Patriarchal Halls in St. Aphrem Monastery. He spoke about the aims of the gathering and the ceremony; then, he gave the speech to Mr. Ghassan Al-Shamy from Al Mayadeen TV, who gave a speech in which he congratulated the whole oriental world for this historical event. He considered that some wanted us to sit at the back, however, the opening of ASU today, reflects the fact that we have reserved the front seat. Mr. Ghassan also spoke about the historic educational role of the Syriac people especially in establishing universities and translating books. He also noted the principal role of Antioch in spreading Christianity as well as education and knowledge to the whole world.

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, then, gave a speech in which he considered that "Syriacs had a head start in the establishment of schools and the educational facilities in the pre-Christian era. Each monastery became a center of knowledge, especially as it was our parents who developed the first alphabet. Thus, universities in many historical Syriac cities were established to spread knowledge, such as the universities of Nisibin, Edessa, Qinnshrin and Antioch". He noted that "Antioch was the capital of Syria in the Roman era, but has become a spiritual capital for all the Christians of the Orient"; he added, "we follow the footsteps of our Church fathers in opening ASU, so that we raise again the flame of higher education."

His Holiness then remembered the Late Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka I who worked hard to bring this idea into realization since 2007 and till his passing away.

He then thanked all those who helped in the establishment of ASU, especially His Excellency Dr. Bashar Asad, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, His Excellency Dr. Atef Al-Naddaf, Minister of Higher Education, and his assistants in the ministry.

His Holiness then spoke about the aspirations for ASU to be a center of education, which helps in developing the higher education sector in Syria, and becomes an important center for academic research, as well as to offer the best opportunities to its students.

He concluded his speech speaking to ASU students and assuring them that "we will try our best to ensure for you all means of success and excellence in your studies, so that each one of you becomes speaker on behalf of ASU, holds its values, spreads its principles, and boast in belonging to it".

Then, Dr. Rakan Razouk, President of ASU, gave a speech in which he assured that ASU will be an academic center that builds generations and supplies them with all means to make better future for this country. He also gave an overview about the university standards, and thanked His Holiness for all the efforts he put with all ASU team for the realization of this historic day. Dr. Razzouk also spoke to ASU students promising them to work with them for a better future.

A short video about ASU, prepared by Suborto TV, and a musical show were then presented.

Later, Dr. Bariaa Al-Qodsi, Vice President of the ASU Board of Trustees, gave a speech in which she spoke about the history and heritage of Antioch, which is the capital of the Christian Oriental Churches. She also spoke about the relation between Syriacs and Syria, and between Syria and Antioch. She assured that ASU will work hard to provide the best quality of education, and to be an academic center for all Syrian and non-Syrian students alike.

Student Nancy Al-Khoury gave then a small speech on behalf of ASU students. She spoke about the awaited future and the hopes and aspirations the students have for ASU, wishing that graduating from ASU, students will have acquired a high quality of education.

Finally, His Excellency Dr. Atef Al-Naddaf, Minister of Higher Education, gave a speech in which he congratulated ASU for its opening, and spoke about education and opening new universities as the strongest answer against all those who want what's evil for Syria. He also spoke about the history of governmental and private universities in Syria, especially during the Syrian crisis.

Later, all present went to ASU main building, where St. Aphrem Patriarchal Scouts played music for the occasion. His Holiness and His Excellency Dr. Al-Naddaf, then cut the ribbon officially inaugurating Antioch Syrian University. At the end, they made in tour in the university building.
MEDFORD, Ore.  Several wildfires across Oregon and California, including locally, are contributing to periods of thick smoke and haze. The wildfire smoke will continue to impact much of our region this week. Air quality could be very bad at times in the days ahead.

An Air Quality Advisory continues for Southern Oregon until Noon Friday with air quality impacts also expected in Northern California during this time too.

Be sure to stay up to date on air quality with StormWatch 12.

To check air quality readings in real time, you can check out a map of locations here.

Air Quality Readings as of 11:45 AM Tuesday, October 6th:

-- HAZARDOUS --

-- VERY UNHEALTHY --

-- UNHEALTHY --

Cave Junction

Happy Camp

Orleans

-- UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS (UFSG) --

Applegate

Ashland

Medford

Tulelake

Weed

Yreka

-- MODERATE --

Agness

Brookings

Crater Lake



Crescent City

Etna

Grants Pass

Klamath Falls

Lakeview

McCloud

Mt. Shasta

Sams Valley

Shady Cove

Talent

-- GOOD --

Chiloquin

According to DEQ, pollutants in smoke can cause burning eyes, runny nose, aggravate heart and lung diseases and aggravate other serious health conditions. Limit outdoor activities and keep children indoors if it is smoky. Consult a doctor and follow medical advice if you have a heart or lung condition.

Josephine County Public Health issued the following important notes on the use of respirators, such as N95 masks:

 Recognize that although they may filter out some fine particulate, they do not provide adequate protection from high concentrations of smoke and hazardous gases.

 Should only be used when fitted and trained by a qualified individual.

 Individuals with lung or heart disease, sufferers of chronic illness, or have ongoing breathing problems should consult their healthcare provider before using these devices due to potential complications.

 Due to inadequate sizing and protection these devices should NOT be used on young children.
Start your Black Friday shopping early Black Friday is the day, people eagerly look forward to; when patrons get the best deals and businesses turn their books to black. With online...

Spindle Items ..SWITCHING HANDS  I am honored to assume the responsibilities of the editor of the Ken-Ton Bee. I would like to begin by thanking the...

Out of the Past 25 Years AgoNov. 20, 1996 Despite hearing the Department of Transportations modified proposal of the widening of a 1.5-mile stretch of Niagara Falls Boulevard, the...

Inclusive playgrounds will bring families together Last month we celebrated the official opening of the much-anticipated Playground for All at Chestnut Ridge Park, a project that came to fruition thanks to...

Reflections on 2021 November elections America is special for many reasons. Chief among them is our belief in democracy and our commitment to free and fair elections. On Nov. 2nd...
137 Shares Share

Most urology practices in the United States do not employ male nurses or assistants, even in larger cities. This is a serious problem because approximately 75 percent of urology patients are male.

Often people wrongly assume that men dont care about their modesty. In many cases, this is simply not true. Societal norms say men are not supposed to be modest that this is a sign of weakness. From childhood, males are socialized to man up  make believe it doesnt bother them  when faced with an embarrassing medical exam or procedure or to acknowledge embarrassment only serves to amplify it.

Many urologists may not realize that countless male patients forego medical care or stop coming to appointments because male nurses or assistants arent available and these patients feel they cannot speak up for fear of being labeled weak or crazy.

All-male staffed urology clinics in the United States are nearly non-existent. Nowadays, women have the option of going to an all-female OB/GYN practice; men should also have this option. Every major city in the United States should have at least one all-male staffed urology clinic specifically for men. These male-specific clinics could be very lucrative because male patients who avoided or delayed medical care would consider traveling to them.

We encourage all urologists to work on being more sensitive to male patients. Below are some tips to use as a guide.

Tips for urologists:

1. Hire at least one male nurse and a male assistant for the urologic clinic. Recruit male nurses, ultrasound technicians, and assistants at the local community college if necessary.

2. If no male nurses or assistants are available do as many procedures, such as vasectomy, as possible without assistance.

3. Encourage office staff to respect male patients privacy. Educate female staff about patient sensitivity and health issues. For instance: a male patient may not want to talk to the female receptionist about his health issue.

4. Always give a male patient the option of having his wife present for procedures.

5. Consider putting a do not disturb sign on the exam door so other medical personnel do not randomly enter during intimate exams.

6. Consider starting a private all-male staffed urology clinic geared to special interest in male patients, especially getting them to see a doctor more often. Perhaps add a male gastroenterologist to the practice. Advertise the clinic as being all-male staffed and sensitive to mens modesty.

7. Many men care about their modesty during surgical procedures, especially if they are under general anesthesia. For these modest patients who require surgery at a hospital or an outpatient surgery center commit to helping them get an all-male surgical team. Be open to using local or regional anesthesia whenever possible which allows the patient to be awake and alert during a procedure. It would give that modest patient peace of mind.

Misty Roberts is founder, Medical Patient Modesty.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
3 Shares Share

The stethoscope. Nothings says Im a doctor more than the stethoscope in a pocket or draped around the neck. Forty-five years ago when I got my first one, a gift from my physician-father, the former was more common. Then we were more likely to wear coats  white coats or suit coats  and pockets were available. I had suit coats in which the lining was worn out from the weight of the thing and at the Mayo Clinic back then, perhaps still, the sartorial police didnt allow white coats. Of course, medicine was overwhelmingly male then so suit coats were the norm. These days youre much more likely to see them draped around the neck. Back then we did put them around our necks sometimes, but that required that the springy metal arms to be around your neck.

I found that tended to give me a headache because I think it partly occluded blood flow down the jugular veins in my neck. Interesting to me is the newer fashion statement of draping it around the neck is made possible because the tubing on todays stethoscopes is much longer. The longer tubing also makes wearing it cumbersome because the end of it bangs on your belt rather than the middle of your chest.

Materials, of course, have evolved as well. My first one was made of steel with rubber tubing; todays versions are mostly lightweight plastic. Mine was one of the style called Rappaport-Sprague, named after its inventors, I assume. The very best model was sold by Hewlett-Packard, which, alas, no longer makes it. I wish I could get one again because the one my father gave me was stolen from the hospital doctors lounge by some evil weasel. I saw the one pictured below offered on eBay for $900.00, so I guess other folks share my nostalgia. It looks just like the one I had. I have to say I think the old rubber tubing gave much better sound transmission than todays plastic stuff.

Notice the shorter tubing. If you draped the tubing of one of the older versions around your neck the thing could fall to the floor when you moved if you werent careful. In contrast, the newer Rappaport-Sprague has long tubing made for neck draping. The plastic tubing versions made 50 years ago, and there were those, also had shorter tubing; now they are much longer. So lets focus on the interesting matter of tubing length, because I think it tells us something about the sociology of medicine. It requires we consider for a moment the origin of the stethoscope and conventions of how physicians examined patients.

Until late in the 19th century, it was common for physicians not to examine patients at all. They would often render a diagnosis based on the patients story. The notion of how useful is touching, examining the patient came with the growth of scientific medicine, as well as some changes in social conventions. The stethoscope as a tool to listen to the internal organs was invented by Laennec, who devised a wooden tube like the one below. The traditional story is that he first used a tube made of rolled paper, purportedly because the patient was a women and it was ungentlemanly for him to touch her or place his ear to her chest.

My first stethoscope with its shorter tubing made auscultation a more intimate act than todays version; you had to lean closer into the patient. I think thats a socially significant difference. Some might say the longer tubing is there because it makes taking the blood pressure easier, but I dont buy that. For one thing, blood pressure measurement works just fine with shorter tubing. For another, these days blood pressure is generally taken with an automatic machine rather than manually. In a real sense, were now more distant from our patients.

The stethoscope itself is becoming less and less used in practice. I still find it very useful in the PICU every day, but its not unusual to find on daily rounds that a student or resident hasnt used one in their daily examination of a patient. I think one thing that keeps it going is not so much its function as a tool but rather as a key part of a physicians regalia, a badge that proclaims status. Just look at all the stock internet images of people posing with one prominent displayed. But like the white coat that once indicated physician status, but now is worn by everyone, youll find a stethoscopes hanging on necks everywhere. What I see now is an interesting sort of counter-trend; many senior physicians no longer carry one. When they want one they just borrow one from the dozens available around the PICU.

You can read another take on these trends in this essay from the Guardian. It points out how several aspects of medical practice we take for granted, including the use of the stethoscope, were fostered by the social changes of the French Revolution. I recommend it.

Christopher Johnson is a pediatric intensive care physician and author of Keeping Your Kids Out of the Emergency Room: A Guide to Childhood Injuries and Illnesses, Your Critically Ill Child: Life and Death Choices Parents Must Face, How to Talk to Your Childs Doctor: A Handbook for Parents, and How Your Child Heals: An Inside Look At Common Childhood Ailments. He blogs at his self-titled site, Christopher Johnson, MD.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
EUGENE, Ore. - It is the holidays, and like every time this season approaches, people are traveling and scammers are eyeing your bank accounts.

"There are so many scams out there and we're doing so much of our booking online now, so, many new websites are popping up," said Dawn Johnson with the Better Business Bureau. "The biggest thing you want to look out for is making sure that website, whether it be a travel agency or third-party trying to make those plans for you, make sure that the website is secure. So, make sure you look for that https and that lock symbol up there, so that you make sure any transaction you make is secure."

Not only is the website important to verify, but if you're booking through a travel agent, make sure that agency is who they're representing themselves as.

"The other thing you want to do is verify that the travel agency is legit right? Is it really your business that's going to be helping you out? You can do that at BBB.org. Just search their name on our website," Johnson said.

There's another scam that Johnson is tracking, which is affecting businesses in Oregon and costing them money for something that should be free.

"And that's such a tough one because these businesses, it's already tough to be in business on your own, right?" Johnson said. "You already have a lot of expenses, and so now the scam is going around trying to scam small businesses out of money saying that they need to pay $175 for work compliance fees. This is not the case. You can download those forms online at the state of Oregon website."

For more information on these scams and advice from the Better Business Bureau, click here.
SPRINGFIELD, Ore -- A threat made to a Springfield Middle School during an online video game session put police and school leaders on high alert, but investigators say it was a hoax.

The threat was made on Monday night to Hamlin Middle School claiming a student was going to "shoot the school up."

RELATED: Threats reported at 3 Springfield schools over Veterans Day weekend

According to an email from the principal to parents, the threat was first reported by students who overheard it while playing the video game Fortnite.

Springfield police investigated and determined the threat was not credible.

As a precaution, police and extra staff were on campus Tuesday to provide support if needed.

"My initial thought was not fear," said Melanie Campbell, a Hamlin Middle School parent. "I immediately thought if it was forwarded through Facebook and all over the place and we hadn't heard anything through [the media] or anybody else that it probably wasn't valid."

Campbell said she was more concerned with the way the threat spread.

"I think the people who moved that fear through Facebook really need to think about what they're doing," she said. "Those are parents with children and we even had professionals forwarding it and not sending to our tip lines and not sending to the places where we needed to."

District leaders said none of their students have been punished for the incident.

They are urging parents students who hear about threats to report them to the Safe Oregon tipline.
CHICO, Calif. -- As the Camp Fire Continues to rage in northern California, an army of Oregon firefighters are doing what they can stop the blaze in its tracks.

CAMP FIRE: Latest numbers

Lance Lighty, a Captain for Lane Fire Authority, is leading a strike team that's been battling the Camp Fire since Saturday. Ligthy said extremely dry conditions and high winds are making fighting the fires difficult. He said although temperatures are dropping into the low 30s at night, the fire is acting like it's burning in an 80 or 90-degree day.

"Our division had numerous spot fires that crossed our containment lines and our crews engaged with CAL Fire crews and other agencies to catch these spot fires if we could," Lighty said. "We are working in steep terrain in really rugged areas."

RELATED: Hundreds of Oregon firefighters battling California blazes

Lighty said other Oregon firefighters have been going door to door in the town of Paradise searching for any victims. He said while it's likely he won't be home in time for Thanksgiving, he knows so many others don't even have a home to go back to.

MORE: First responders who lost homes in Camp Fire still report for duty

"It will be tough being away for the holiday, but we are here doing very important work getting this community back up on their feet," Lighty said. "And if you think about it, they are missing their Thanksgiving too, so we'll be here to help them through that."
High-profile business women urge ambitious Kilkenny female entrepreneurs to join development programme

Going for Growth launches call for applicants for the 11th cycle of award-winning programme

Kilkenny interior designer Helene Broderick is a past participant

Focus on ambitious female entrepreneurs who want to scale their businesses



The call is open for ambitious female entrepreneurs who are looking to scale their businesses to join the latest cycle of Going for Growth, the award-winning business development programme.

Going for Growth is a six-month part-time programme, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG, which assists ambitious female entrepreneurs to achieve their growth aspirations.

The programme is calling for female entrepreneurs from Kilkenny to apply for the programme before the deadline of Wednesday, November 28th.

One past participant on the programme from Kilkenny is Helene Broderick who runs Helene Broderick Interiors on High Street Kilkenny. Helene was on the latest cycle of Going for Growth and would recommend the programme to others.



Going for Growth is seeking applications from female entrepreneurs  across all sectors  who are strongly focussed on growth. Ideally, businesses should be well established and trading for at least two years. (Eligibility criteria in notes below)

Sixty places will be available for this 11th cycle of Going for Growth, which will run from January to June 2018 and the deadline for applications is Wednesday, November 28th. There is no charge for those selected. Anyone interested is encouraged to register their interest in receiving an application form at goingforgrowth.com.

Most owner/managers agree that growing a business can be a very isolating experience and it can be difficult to find someone on your wavelength who understands the issues involved. The Going for Growth round table initiative is designed to address these challenges and thoseselected will join interactive round table sessions led by Lead Entrepreneurs.

The Lead Entrepreneurs are successful business women with personal experience of growing a business and urge others to apply for Going for Growth. These high-profile business leaders volunteer their time to encourage participants to set and achieve personalised goals and milestones to address the opportunities and challenges they face in driving growth in their businesses.

Some of this years Lead Entrepreneurs include: Louise Phelan, Paypal, Fidelma McGuirk, Payslip and Marian OGorman of The Kilkenny Group. Previous participants are ambassadors of the benefits for Going for Growth and several now volunteer their time as Lead Entrepreneurs, including: Marissa Carter, founder of Carter Beauty, Nikki Evans, founder of PerfectCard, andOonagh OHagan, owner of Meaghers Pharmacy Group.

Going for Growth is designed to be action and results-oriented and to go beyond classroom style learning and the usual inputs of professional trainers, consultants and academics. The round tables are based on real experience of what has worked and what hasnt worked in real life situations.

Previous participants report significant progress, with the great majority reporting an increase in confidence, a reduction in psychological isolation and a feeling of being nearer to achieving their growth goals.

At the conclusion of the most recent cycle (10th), the 65 participants reported:

combined sales of 66.8million,

the creation of an additional 90 full time jobs, bringing to over 740 the total number employed,

four first time exporters, increasing to 30 the number of participants with export experience.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland, said:

Supporting ambitious business women to start new businesses is a key priority for Enterprise Ireland and in 2017 more than one in three Enterprise Ireland backed start-ups were led by women, an increase from one in ten just five years ago. Having impacted successfully on the number of start-up businesses led by female founders, a key focus for Enterprise Ireland is to increase the number of companies that achieve scale.

The Going for Growth programme provides unique supports to ambitious business women in the achievement of their growth ambitions through learning, collaboration and most importantly, through role models and mentoring. We will continue to partner with Going for Growth, to grow the cohort of businesses of scale led by ambitious business women, expanding their reach in global markets, and creating and sustaining jobs at home.

Olivia Lynch, Partner KPMG, said:

Entrepreneurs are critical to the future success of the Irish economy. As advisors to a wide range of family and privately-owned businesses, we applaud the proven record of Going for Growth in helping women in business realise their full potential.

At KPMG we work with many businesses in overcoming challenges and creating opportunities and were delighted to continue our support for this exceptional programme. In doing so, we recognise the key role of Enterprise Ireland, all of the Lead Entrepreneurs and the contribution of so many hugely committed individuals. I have no doubt that the eleventh cycle will prove highly valuable to all of the participants.

This is the 11th year of the programme and more than 600 female entrepreneurs have so far taken part in Going for Growth. Check out www.goingforgrowth.com for more details.
The European Union Court of Justice has issued a ruling to clarify a number of issues pertaining to Kilkennys proposed Northern Ring Road Extension, a challenge to which is currently before the High Court.

The EU court provided responses to clarifications sought by the High Court arising from a legal challenge against the decision of An Bord Pleanala in July 2014 to grant planning permission for the road.

Mr Justice Richard Humphreys referred 11 questions concerning the application of EU Directives on conservation of wild fauna and flora for clarification to the EU Court, before the High Court makes its decision.

The proposed road, which is a part of an overall ring road around Kilkenny, crosses two protected Natura 2000 sites. Its purpose is to link the N77 Castlecomer Road and the R693 Freshford Road, including a new roundabout, to alleviate traffic congestion in the city.

Setting out five rulings, the European Court said that there must be a full review into the projects impact on protected habitats.

Among its rulings, that an appropriate assessment must on the one hand, catalogue the entirety of habitat types and species for which a site is protected, and, on the other, identify and examine both the implications of the proposed project for the species present on that site, and for which that site has not been listed, and the implications for habitat types and species to be found outside the boundaries of that site, provided that those implications are liable to affect the conservation of the site.

It also said a developer must supply information in relation to the environmental impact of both the chosen option and of all the main alternatives studied by the developer, together with the reasons for his choice...

It is anticipated that the case will come back before the High Court some time in the spring of next year.

Kilkenny County Council has said that the 1.5km road extension is an important priority of the council.

We are examining the judgement at present, said a statement from the council to the Kilkenny People.

We await the ruling of the High Court on the approval granted by An Bord Pleanala. This will inform the council of how to progress this critical piece of infrastructure for the city and county.
The plight of a six-year-old boy, who is confined to a wheelchair and has a life expectancy of just 20, was highlighted in Dail Eireann.

Deputy Bobby Alyward has asked the Minister for Health, Simon Harris to give Isaac Brennan (6) from Kilkenny City access to a drug , Spinraza.

Isaac Brennan (6) is a bright and bubbly youngster who is forced to use a wheelchair because of SMA. There is medication, Spinraza, which could enable him to walk and extend his life expectancy but it is not currently approved or funded by the HSE.

I had written to the Minister previously regarding the provision of the drugs Spinraza for children suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, more commonly known as SMA.

I have also previously raised the matter here in the Dail along with other party members. It has been acknowledged by the HSE that the drug works and works well and it is now solely an issue of cost.

 A number of the affected families attended the demonstration at the gates of Leinster House in September, one of which is from my own county of Kilkenny.

 They are waiting in desperation for an answer about this drug, which will make a huge difference to the life of their young son. Can the Minister provide an update on the provision of funding for this drug? Has the HSE scheduled any further meeting to discuss this drug? As I said, weve raised this before. Weve mentioned it several times. Were being told its being looked at. Its time now for action, not talk, said Deputy Alyward.

Isaacs parents Carol and Philip have decided to speak out and share their story in the hope that it will raise awareness around the urgency that surrounds their son and other children getting access to this drug.

At the time of diagnosis, when he was just two we were told that SMA is a progressive muscle weakness and that Isaac would never walk independently and would have a life expectancy of 20 years

As you can imagine this was devastating news to be at the receiving end of and it took us a long time to come to terms with this diagnosis.

Isaac goes through intensive physiotherapy and occupational therapy everyday with us to keep his muscles strong and active.

Access to treatment of this drug would help improve Isaacs strength and possible ability to walk and potentially increase his life expectancy, his mother Carol said.

His parents are calling on the Minster to approve reimbursement for the life-saving drug Spinraza, which is the first ever approved treatment for the degenerative genetic condition. The drug caused hugely significant improvements in the health and lives of sufferers treated to date.

It is proven to be 95% effective and it will give Isaac the potential to walk and to have a longer life span and possibly it will stop the disease from progressing. We just want him to enjoy as normal a life as possible, added his father, Philip.

A decision is expected over the coming weeks in relation to access to the drug.
A man on trial for murdering his partner phoned emergency services to say she fell down the stairs, a jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard.

Prosecuting lawyers told the jury at the trials opening yesterday(Tuesday) that a post mortem examination will show her injuries were inconsistent with a fall.

Renars Veigulis (32) of Old Bridge Street in Freshford, Co Kilkenny has pleaded not guilty to murdering Rita Apine (29) at their home on or about May 14, 2017.

Opening the trial on Tuesday, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Vincent Heneghan SC, said the accused and the deceased were from both Latvia. Mr Veigulus came to Ireland about five years ago, followed six months later by Ms Apine, and in 2016 they moved to Freshford, from Kilkenny City.

The jury heard evidence today (Wednesday) from Laura Bunbury, an emergency-call taker with the National Ambulance Service, based in Tallaght.

Giving evidence to Mr Heneghan, for the prosecution, Ms Bunbury said she received a call at 12.18 on the day in question from the defendant who advised that his partner had fallen down the stairs. The jury then heard a recording of the phone call.

The jury heard Mr Veigulis say: Hello can I talk with Kilkenny ambulance. Please, my wife has fallen down the stairs.

Ms Bunbury would accept, under cross examination from Michael Bowman, for the defence, that Mr Veigulis was clearly distressed and anxious. The jury could hear he was breathing heavily.

Please, please very fast. All blood on the floor, please, the defendant was heard telling the emergency call-taker.

When Ms Bunbury asked had his partner fallen from the top of the stairs, he said he didn't know.

When asked where his partner was bleeding from, he said: "from the head, please".

Ms Bunbury told him to get a clean and dry cloth or towel, place it on the wound and apply pressure.

When asked for his partners age, he said 27 or 28 and was heard to be crying at this point.

Through audible sobs, he said his wife was looking at him. He confirmed she was breathing at this point.

He said he didn't know what caused her to fall down.

The jury heard the accused speak some words in their native language to his wife but she did not respond.

"The whole floor with blood, Mr Veigulis was heard saying.

Ms Bunbury told him to take a deep breath and to calm down. "We can't help her if you're panicked," she told him, asking him again to take a deep breath.

Ms Bunbury asked Mr Veigulis to squeeze his partners hand to see if she would squeeze back. She didn't.

When asked at this point whether she was awake, he said no. "She closed the eyes.

Ms Bunburry asked the caller to turn his partner onto the flat of her back, kneel down beside her and pump her chest. The jury heard ms Bunburry provide instructions on how to administer CPR and she told him to pump slowly "one, two, three, four" at her place.

That continued until the ambulance arrived.

Under cross examination from Mr Bowman, for the defence, she agreed Mr Veigulis clearly sounded distressed and anxious and was trying to relay to her what he believed had taken place.

Dr Leonard de Villiers gave evidence to Mr Heneghan that he was on call with Caredoc' in Kilkenny on the date in question when he got a call to go to an apartment on Bridge Street.

Dr Villiers said the initial call out was to certify that "somebody had passed on" but on arrival, he was told she had been revived.

He said he observed a big gash to the right hand side of her head. Both of her eyes were swollen shut and there was bruising to a cheek of her face and one of her hands.

Dr Villiers said Mr Veigulis had come next to him and was "shaking a lot". The doctor said he put his arm on Mr Veigulis shoulder and told him that the medics would do their best.

Paramedic Dave Mythen gave evidence to Mr Heneghan that he arrived at the scene and noticed a large wound to the top of Ms Apines head that was bleeding profusely.

Mr Mythen said the inside of the house was heavily blood stained and the blood had been dispersed as a result of everybody moving around inside the house.

He said Ms Apine was initially found at the bottom of the stairs in a confined area that was too tight to administer treatment. Her body was lying in the hallway with her legs behind a door. In order to move her into space, her legs were bent at the knees which caused her legs to drag in blood, Mr Mythen said.

Paramedic Richard Costello gave evidence to Mr Heneghan that he noticed blood on the wall of the staircase.

Paramedic Maurice Wall gave evidence to Mr Heneghan that Mr Veigulis was having a cigarette while the paramedics were working on his partner. As far as he could recall, Mr Veigulis threw the cigarette butt on the floor of the hallway.

He said there was a child-safety gate at the end of the staircase, which was open.

The trial continues tomorrow (Thursday) before a jury of seven men and five women, with Ms Justice Tara Burns presiding.

The jury has heard that paramedics resuscitated Ms Apine at the scene and took her to hospital but she died later that day. A garda at the scene noticed blood spatter that he did not think was consistent with a simple fall down the stairs and an investigation began. A forensic team found further blood spatter which they say was inconsistent with a fall and evidence that blood had been wiped from a wall prior to the arrival of paramedics and gardai, the jury heard.

Mr Heneghan said forensic scientists examined Mr Veigulis's clothing and found, on his top, evidence of blood spatter which was not consistent with the version of events he put forward.

He told the jury they would hear a post mortem examination showed the deceased had suffered severe blunt force trauma that was not consistent with a fall down the stairs, Mr Heneghan said.

During garda interviews the accused maintained that Ms Apine died as a result of the fall.




This week's Kilkenny People has details of a wide range of positions in the recruitment section.

Below are some of the top picks for job vacancies:

Buggy Property Partners have vacancies for a full time Reception/ Office Administrator and part time experienced Office Sales/ Lettings Support.

Kitchen fitters are needed in Kilkenny, Carlow and Portlaoise for Ireland's largest kitchen retailer,Cash & Carry Kitchens.

Agent wanted for work from home. No travelling involved. Applicants must be outgoing and fluent in English.

Market Cross Shopping Centre require a Centre Manager. Must have strong interpersonal and administrative skills with a keen focus on customer service delivery.

Marble City Transport Ltd are seeking an Artic Truck Driver for keg deliveries. This position is full time.

A Junior Business Developer is needed by Irish Power and Process. Experience is desirable but not essential.

Kilkenny County Council are hiring a temporary Water Caretaker. This is a two year contract.

The HSE have a vacancy for a Staff Nurse. Part-time and full-time hours available to include evening and weekend work.

The Citizens Information Service require an Administrator for maternity cover. This role will commence in January 2019, with approximately 17.5 hours per week.

BWG Foods are recruiting for a General Operative. This is a part-time position, with 37.5 hours per week.

For details on how to apply for these positions- and more- be sure to pick up this week's edition of the Kilkenny People!
The latest figures from the CSO reveal that there were 143 new dwellings completed in Kilkenny 1 year-to-date, but property developers GPD.ie say there is still a long way to go before the rate of building catches up with demand.

Aaron Willis, General Manager of GPD.ie (Glounthaune Property Developers) commented, The CSO has just released the Q3 2018 new dwelling figures  which should be met with a cautious optimism. There is progress, but the figures show that in Kilkenny there were just 55 completions in total, which makes 143 so far this year - and this is simply not enough.

GPD.ie point to the CSO figures which reveal a nationwide year on year increase of 23% in new dwelling completions (4,763)  totalling 12,582 completions this year to date.

Mr. Willis voiced the companys concerns, While the volume of construction output has been rising steadily, the pace of building remains far too slow. This increase is welcomed, but it does not make up for the fact that construction has decreased by over 50% overall in the last decade. What is for sure is that the industry will rise to the challenge and we will ensure the

increased volume will be met. However, we now need a sustained approach starting with the overhaul and improvement of procurement routes, coupled with a detailed understanding of Governments plans for building in Ireland, so that the industry can plan ahead.

GPD.ie are highlighting the fact that recent years saw a huge number of professional and tradespeople either leave the construction industry and re-train in another sector or leave to work abroad. The property experts say that this shortage of skilled labour has been further compounded by the limited apprentice programmes in the industry.

Mr. Willis explained, There were 108,720 people employed in the Irish construction sector in 2015  but less than 10 years before that we had a labour force of 281,800 in the industry. Clearly, something must be done about the fact that our building and construction workforce has depleted by so much. The Recession hit, and people left the country  we must now entice to them to come home. Also, during the downturn, a career in construction was seen as a risky if not futile move  so less and less young people entered the field. It is now incumbent upon us to present trades and other building-related skills as an attractive career proposition.

Mr. Willis went on to say, Over the next 20 years, we will see unprecedented growth in the size of our population. Armed with this knowledge we must be prudent and consider, from a building perspective, how we can plan for this growth. There will, of course, be a number of individual but complimentary strands required, in order to execute any effective strategic roadmap aimed at managing this growth, and there will be plenty of challenges. The country needs more houses. This is an unquestionable truth. So, we need to put in place the supports, process, incentives and structures that will enable the goal of greaterconstruction output to be achieved. Planning also needs to be reviewed. With limited space in cities, consideration needs to be given to reviewing the height restrictions on new developments.

While the CSOs statistical yearbook for 2017 reported a 20% increase in total building and construction in 2017, GPD have welcomed the figures with caution, considering that the volume of output in building and construction decreased by 53.8% in the last decade.

Mr. Willis concluded, The smallest sector in the business economy in Ireland in 2015 was Construction, with a turnover of 15 billion. These figures spell out, in no uncertain terms, that this sector needs help.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  A family of four was arrested Tuesday in the gruesome slayings of eight people from another family in rural southern Ohio two years ago, the first break in a case that left a community reeling and surviving family members wondering if answers would ever come.

Arrested were four members of the Wagner family, who lived near the scenes of the killing about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Columbus.

One of those arrested was Edward "Jake" Wagner, 26, who was once the boyfriend of one of the eight victims, 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden.

The others were Wagner's father, George "Billy" Wagner III, 47; his wife, 48-year-old Angela Wagner; and George Wagner, 27. The Wagners had since moved to Alaska. No motive has been announced.

Police in Kentucky say the FBI tracked "Billy" Wagner to Lexington, where he was arrested without incident at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Lexington police weren't sure if he had been living in the area.

Authorities said Wagner was arrested in a horse trailer that was pulled over.

It's the culmination of a massive investigative effort since seven adults and a teenage boy were found shot in the head at four homes in April 2016.

Investigators scrambling to determine who targeted the Rhoden family and why had conducted over 130 interviews and processed over 100 pieces of evidence and 550 tips, while getting assistance from more than 20 law enforcement agencies.

Authorities had refused to discuss many details about the slayings, saying they didn't want to tip their hand to whoever was responsible for the shootings.

Authorities in June of 2017 announced they were seeking information about the Wagners, including details on personal or business interactions and conversations that people may have had with the four.

None was named a suspect at the time. Investigators also said they had searched property in southern Ohio sold by the Wagners.

Jake Wagner was a long-time former boyfriend of Hanna Rhoden, one of the eight victims, and shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre.

Both Jake Wagner and Angela Wagner told the Cincinnati Enquirer they were not involved in the April 2016 killings.

Angela Wagner said in an email to the newspaper that what happened was devastating and Hanna Rhoden was like a daughter to her.

Wagner also told The Enquirer that her husband, Billy, and Christopher Rhoden Sr. were more like brothers than friends.

John Clark, a lawyer who has been representing the Wagners, said a year ago that four of the Wagner family members had provided laptops, phones and DNA samples to investigators, and agreed to be interviewed about the slayings.

Clark said Tuesday the family will be vindicated.

"We look forward to the day when the true culprits will be discovered and brought to justice for this terrible tragedy," Clark said in a statement. He added: "The Wagners are also very hopeful that in the ensuing months there will be a thorough vetting of all the facts."

The Wagner family has lived in Peebles, Ohio, at the time of the killings but later moved to Alaska.

Clark told The Cincinnati Enquirer that the family was being "harassed while the real killer or killers are out there."

A coroner said all but one of the victims was shot more than once, including two people shot five times and one shot nine times. Some also had bruising, consistent with the first 911 caller's description of two victims appearing to have been beaten. The coroner's report didn't specify which victims had which wounds.

Authorities said marijuana growing operations were found at three of the four crime scenes. That's not uncommon in this corner of Appalachia but stoked rumors that the slayings were related to drugs, one of many theories on possible motives that percolated in public locally.

The victims were identified as 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr., and 19-year-old Hanna; Frankie Rhoden's fiancee, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden. Hanna Rhoden's days-old baby girl, another baby and a young child were unharmed.

It appeared some of them were killed as they slept, including Hanna Rhoden, who was in bed with her newborn nearby, authorities said. The child, Hannah Gilley's 6-month-old baby and another small child weren't hurt.

Three funerals were held for the victims.
OWATONNA, Minn.- Dodge County had its committee of the whole Tuesday morning. There, commissioners listened Leota Lind about her study on Opioids in rural communities.

She is the CEO of South Country Health Alliance.

SCHA is a county-based health plan serving rural counties in Minnesota.

They serve Goodhue, Kanabec, Morrison, Steele, Todd, Wadena, Brown, Waseca, Sibley, Wabasha and Dodge County.

At the meeting Lind discussed trends on opioid use in a three-year period.



We presented information across the eleven counties that South Country serves, said Lind Another piece that we shared is that over a three-year period were seeing downward trends.



A direct result Lind adds from work being done from providers to the state health and human services department.

They also discussed a program aimed to reduce opioid dependency.

SCHA has opioid case management program where the goal of the program is to connect members with support services to reduce chronic opioid use.
AUSTIN, Minn.  A final guilty plea is entered for a drug bust in December 2017.

Ryan Jiles Baldus, 28 of Austin, pleaded guilty Tuesday to being a violent felon in possession of a firearm and 5th degree drug possession. His sentencing is set for March 21, 2019.



Jennifer Spaeth Jennifer Spaeth

Cully Shierts Cully Shierts

Baldus was arrested on December 18, 2017, along with Jennifer Spaeth and Cully Shierts. Law enforcement stopped their vehicle on Mower County Road 2 and says a search turned up methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, a .38 caliber pistol and ammunition.

Spaeth previously pleaded guilty to two counts of 5th degree drug possession and illegal transport of a pistol and ammunition. She was sentenced to 54 days in jail and five years of probation.

Shierts pleaded guilty to 5th degree drug possession and possession of ammunition as a drug user. He received five years of probation and 40 hours of community work service.
FOREST CITY, Minn.  A Minnesota woman is pleading guilty to stalking a North Iowa man.

Authorities say Katie Louise Christian, 34 of Emmons, MN, sent nearly 700 texts to her victim in April and called him an additional 10 times. Christian is also accused of going the mans Lake Mills home three times to try and contact him or his daughter.

There was a no contact order in place during all of those actions.

Christian entered a guilty plea to one count of stalking in Winnebago County District Court on Wednesday. A sentencing date has not been set.
ROCKWELL, Iowa - For the second time in two decades, a local educator is being recognized for their efforts in the classroom. This is the second time Terri Anderson has won the Golden Apple Award, and she says it feels just as sweet.

Well, I was shocked and just very honored and humbled by the award. Ava is a sweetheart and a joy to teach and they inspire me every day, says Mrs. Anderson.

Ava Huff nominated her teacher for the award.

I nominated Mrs. Anderson because she is a wonderful teacher and she's very positive about a lot of things, says Huff.

Mrs. Anderson teaches social studies at West Fork Middle School in Rockwell. Even though she focuses a lot on history, she hopes it's shaping her students future.

Well, if you learn about your past you can better it. You learn where you came from you can improve upon that, says Anderson.

And while students like Ava Huff say Mrs. Anderson's class is a great place to be, When you walk into her classroom you feel this feeling and its like thank gosh for this teacher; one of Mrs. Anderson's main goals is to inspire her students beyond the building.

Social studies is citizenship all the way and being a good citizen is going out and doing things to help the community and the people around you, she says.

Congratulations to Mrs. Terri Anderson.

Click here to nominate a teacher for the Golden Apple Award.
MASON CITY, Iowa - A Mason City man accused of harboring a local runaway and allegedly trying to get her to jump on a train is being charged in Cerro Gordo County.

David Vogelpohl, 21, was arrested on a charge of harboring a runaway against the wishes of a parent for his alleged role in assisting/helping a runway. He was taken into custody in Nebraska, according to Mason City police, and is being held on $5,000 bond in the Cerro Gordo County jail.

According to court documents, a 15-year-old female ran away from home and Vogelpohl claimed to have no knowledge of her disappearance.

On Oct. 17-18, authorities say Vogelpohl was identified and spoke with law enforcement from Clarke and Warren counties on three occasions. Each time, a young female later confirmed to be the girl was with him. Authorities say she appeared scared and gave a false name.

A diner employee reported overhearing Vogelpohl begging (the girl) to jump on a train with him to get to Kansas City, court documents state.

Vogelpohl is being held on $5,000 bond.
MASON CITY, Iowa  Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, has declared Nov. 11-18 as Family Medicine Week.

Mercy Medical Center North Iowa Family Medicine Residency program is celebrating 43 years of service as part of it.

The program provides residents with specialized training to provide primary care and/or treatment for families. There are currently 31 physicians on staff who have completed and graduated from the program.

One of those doctors is Chad McCambridge (MD)  a 2004 graduate who now oversees the program.

He says this program creates well-rounded physicians.

Our program does good at teaching these young family physicians to practice full scope, said McCambridge. Theyre able to deliver babies, take care of patients no matter where they are in the hospital or in the nursing home which is really vitally needed, especially in our more rural areas of north Iowa.

Since 1975, there have been 208 graduates of the Mercy residency program in Mason City.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - Police say an upset 12-year-old threatened to come back to an after-school event with a gun Friday.

Authorities say the incident happened at John Adams Middle School when a 12-year-old male student from another school became upset and said he was going to come back with a gun.

The liaison officer and police were called. The kid allegedly told authorities he wasnt serious and was just upset.

The event closed 10 minutes early due to the incident and officers stayed at the event until all kids were picked up.
GARNER, Iowa  Hiding drugs in her private area is sending a Chickasaw County woman to prison.

Anna Marie Schmitz, 43 of Ionia, pleaded guilty in Hancock County to possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and failure to use a drug tax stamp.

Authorities say Schmitz was pulled over on April 26 near Britt and while officers searched her pickup truck, Schmitz was accused of removing baggies containing 25 grams of meth and 3 grams of pot from her private area and trying to throw them away.

Schmitz was sentenced Wednesday to up to 10 years in prison.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A man arrested after reportedly asking police to shoot him is pleading not guilty.

Gregory Scott Lovelace, 44 of Rochester, is charged with two counts of 1st degree burglary, violating a no-contact order, two counts of fleeing peace officers, and 3rd and 4th degree DWI.

Lovelace was caught by a K9 dog on October 6 after a car and foot chase that ended at Foster Arends Park. Rochester police say he had broken through the front door and tried to contact a female in the 400 block of 16th Street SW.

Officers say Lovelace reached into his jacket as if he were going for a weapon and thats when they drew their guns and a K9 named Wreckers subdued Lovelace. Police did not find a weapon on him.

His trial is scheduled to begin May 6, 2019.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A not guilty plea to rape and burglary is entered by a Rochester man.

Merwin Andrew Coleman, 30, was arrested in mid-June in Waverly, Iowa, after authorities say he assaulted a woman two weeks earlier in Stewartville. Coleman reportedly told authorities he gave the woman high-dosage Xanax pills in exchange for sex.

A date for Colemans trial on charges of 1st degree burglary and 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct has not been set.
Each school in the Rochester Public School District is required to create a plan of action to help maintain behavioral standards and integrity among students.

At the School Board meeting, Bishop Elementary School teachers presented their plan for the upcoming school year: The Second-Step Emotional Learning Curriculum. It's a learning course of study designed to help build the emotional intelligence of students.

Sierra Lindfors, a second-grade teacher at Bishop Elementary described the importance of why elementary schoolers need to start building empathy and emotional management.

"Emotions and feelings are big things and so having ways to deal with those and identify those and build in collaborative relationships really helps," Lindfors said.

Another item on the agenda was the lack of a school pool on Century High School grounds. Currently, the girls' swim team has to share the John Marshall pool with two other schools which affects their team practices. Grace Howard, a freshman at Century High, was one of those students who expressed her frustrations.

"Whenever we swim at JM, we have to deal with 2 lanes per team which is not enough," Howard said. "We have to split us center girls, there are 63 of us on the team right now which means we have to split the team in half, which means we only get half the borrowed time that other teams do."

The Task Force is looking at getting a pool for Century High School students, hopefully by the year 2022.
GARNER, Iowa  Two Forest City men accused of a rash of storage unit burglaries in Hancock County are pleading guilty.

Christopher Michael Hoeft, 39, is pleading guilty to three counts of 3rd degree burglary and Kristen Nelson, 34, is pleading guilty to two counts of 2nd degree theft and two counts of 3rd degree burglary.



Kristen Nelson Kristen Nelson

Authorities say the two repeatedly broke into storage units in the 100 block of Industrial Drive in January and stole thousands of dollars in private property.

Hoefts sentencing is set for January 8. Nelsons sentencing date has not been set.

Both were originally charged with over a dozen crimes but those additional charges will be dismissed as part of their plea bargains.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  A new report from the system of state colleges and universities in Minnesota says Rochester Community and Technical College contributes $231.9 million to the regional economy and supports 2,009 jobs.

At RCTC, our top priority is the success of our students, but it is important to note that the College also plays a vital role in both the state and the regional economies, says RCTC President Jeffery Boyd. Our operations and the economic activity generated by our faculty, staff, and students touch virtually every corner of our regional economy including education, hospitality, child day care services, and retail.

The study was commissioned by Minnesota State and was conducted by Parker Philips, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in economic impact analysis. It considered the direct spending on operations, pay, benefits, and capital projects by RCTC and the estimated increase in demand for goods and services in industry sectors that supply or support the College. Officials say the study also measured the effect of student spending and the induced effect of increased household income.

In addition, the study concluded that RCTC generates about $13.4 Million in tax revenues for state and local government and that the education received by RCTC graduates generates $5.4 billion in state income over their careers.

RCTC makes a long-term contribution to the regional economy with every graduating class because the productivity improvements from higher education last for the workers entire career, said Dr. Boyd.

Statewide, all Minnesota State operations, including all seven state universities and 30 community and technical colleges, plus the spending of its faculty, staff, and students, had a total statewide economic contribution of $8.0 billion, supporting an estimated 67,717 jobs in the state.

The economic contribution report for RCTC is available by clicking here.
IONIA, Iowa - Following the seizure of nearly 170 dogs from a Worth County breeding operation on Monday, you may be wondering what to look for in a dog breeder when adopting a new pet.

Joel and Penny Gray are licensed breeders with CaveInn Labradors, and have been breeding labs at their home near Ionia for 10 years. While they have other jobs, they're on call every day, with at least one person keeping an eye on the dogs at all times, and manage to take care of their dogs by regularly feeding and watering them, as well as letting them exercise, and staying up to date with yearly inspections. They share some hints as to what to look for in a breeding operation, such as asking the breeder to see their facilities.

"A professional dog breeder typically will breed one type of dog. If you have three or four different breeds, that could be a good inclination that they might be a puppy mill."

They add that while you may not be able to see puppies in the nursery for health and sanitary reasons, a breeder should be able to bring a puppy out to you.

"If you call and inquire about a puppy, and the breeder will not let you meet the parents, that might be a good indication, a red flag."

It's also important for the lines of communication to be open between the breeder and potential pet owners.

"Typically, a dog breeder is going to interview the parents as much as they will welcome the interview themselves."

Sybil Soukup with the Humane Society of North Iowa says that while each breeder is required to meet the minimal standards by the Department of Agriculture and the state's animal welfare code, some may only meet the bare minimum, which is something else to be aware of.

"A breeder only has to provide a cage space that is 6 inches larger in a circumference than a dog's body from nose to hind and not including tail. So those are very minimal standards. Access to clean water and access to a food supply, that's pretty much it."

So before you buy or adopt, the Grays say to do your research.

"Ask a lot of questions. Any breeder that is reputable should prompt you for those questions, and if you don't ask them, they should be asking them of you."

The Grays add that transparency and reputation can help determine reputable and unreputable breeders.

"We're very transparent. We offer a lot of education regardless if we're the right breeder for them or not. We want to make sure they have all the information that they need to make a good decision."

Soukup adds that in addition, adoption is always an option if you're looking for a four-legged friend.
MANLY, Iowa- A day after the Worth County Sheriffs Office and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rescued around 170 Samoyed dogs ranging in age from elderly to only a few weeks old, we are looking in to Iowas breeder law.

According to the Worth County Sheriffs Office, the owner of White Fire Kennel, Barb Kavars, was once licensed to breed the dogs through the USDA and the Iowa Department of Agriculture.

KIMT News 3s Brian Tabick spoke to the Iowa Department of Ag Tuesday. They said they inspected White Fire Kennel a number of times over the summer, ultimately deeming the facility inadequate in July. Thats when the Sheriffs Office and the ASPCA were forced to take the animals. But those with the Ag Department say that doesnt mean Kavars had to stop breeding dogs because she still has a valid state license until she is convicted of a crime.

As for the background of Kavars USDA license, it gets a little more difficult to look into the background. According to the USDAs website, they only show inspections from late December of 2015 until 2017. When we called the USDA for more information they told us to FOIA, which would mean a significant amount of time before we get the information we are looking for.

We reached out to a number of Iowa lawmakers Tuesday and got various responses surrounding Iowas Breeding facilities.

There is no real teeth in any of it, said State Representative Sharon Steckman.

Rep. Steckman said the House has been working to pass legislation for the last several years to make changes to the law.

Raise the penalties for abuse of animals from a simple misdemeanor to a misdemeanor, she said. If there are serious injuries or death that is caused to the animals then it would be a Class D felony.

She said House leaders pushed the bill to the Ag committee where it later died. We reached out to those who represent the area where the investigation took place; Senator Waylon Brown said he didnt have much knowledge on the states breeder laws and Representative Jane Bloomingdale was out of town. Both declined to do an interview.

But there is headway on a bill in the Iowa Senate as well.

Iowa Code is maybe not quite as clear as perhaps it could be, said Iowa Senator Tom Shipley.

Senator Shipley of Adams County said they started working on this bill after a local boarding/training facility was found to have poor living conditions.

Another senator and I have been working the county attorney on language that would potentially make it easier for county attorneys to prosecute people who commit cruelty to animals, said Senator Shipley.

That means there could be two bills regarding the law during the next legislative session something Representative Steckman said she is looking forward to.

I hope that this would wake people up, she said.

Those with the Worth County Sheriffs Office said they will not bring forth charges until they gather evidence and all of the dogs are assessed.
DECORAH, Iowa  A Northeast Iowa man is pleading guilty to sex and drug crimes.

Caleb Allen Fenske, 20 of Ridgeway, was arrested in March in Winneshiek County and accused of driving under the influence and giving marijuana to a 16-year-old female passenger. Authorities say they then found photos of an underage female on Fenskes phone as well as a video of Fenske and the minor having sex.

Fenske pleaded guilty to OWI-1st offense, sexual exploitation of a minor, and a controlled substance violation. Hes been sentenced to one year in a residential facility and up to five years of probation.
A request I get frequently from parents is Id like to add my child to my bank account, in case something happens to me. The goal for most parents when they ask about this is to give their children access to their money during an emergency. It seems like it should be an easy process, too, and with proper planning, it can be. But parents should be aware that simply making a child the joint owner of a bank account (or investment account or safe deposit box) can have unintended consequences  and its often not the best solution during a family crisis. The trouble with joint accounts The vast majority of banks set up all of their joint accounts as Joint with Rights of Survivorship (JWROS). This type of account ownership generally states that upon the death of either of the owners, the assets will automatically transfer to the surviving owner. This can create a few unexpected issues. If the intent was for the remaining assets not spent during the family crisis to be distributed via the terms of a will  thats not going to happen. As previously stated, the assets automatically transfer to the surviving owner, regardless of what your will says. Adding anyone other than a spouse could trigger a federal gift tax issue, depending on the size of the account. Any U.S. citizen can gift up to $15,000 per year tax-free to anyone they want, but if the gift exceeds $15,000 and the beneficiary is not a spouse, it could trigger the need to file a gift tax return. For example, if a parent has a $500,000 account and they make it a JWROS account, naming their child as co-owner, they have in effect made a gift well over the $15,000 limit. If a parent adds a child to their $500,000 savings account and the child predeceases the parent, half of the account value could be includable in the childs estate for state inheritance tax purposes. In this scenario, the assets would transfer back to the parent, and, depending on the deceaseds state of residence, state inheritance tax could be due on 50% of the account value. In Pennsylvania, where my office is located, the tax would be 4.5%, which would equate to a state inheritance tax bill of $11,250! Transfers on death If the purpose of adding a joint owner to your account(s) is to give them access to your assets upon your death, theres a better way to do it. Most financial institutions will allow you to structure an account Transfer on Death, or TOD. This is simply adding one or more beneficiaries to your account. There are a few benefits that this type of account has over a JWROS account.

If the beneficiary passes before the account owner(s), nothing happens. The previous example of 4.5% state inheritance tax on 50% of the account value would be completely avoided. When the account owner dies, the beneficiary simply needs to supply a death certificate to the financial institution, and the assets will be transferred. Because the assets transfer to a named beneficiary, the time and cost of probating the will are also avoided, as named beneficiary designations always supersede your will. This applies not only to TOD accounts, but also to retirement plans, annuities and life insurance  really, to any account that you add a named beneficiary. Setting up an account as TOD does not give the beneficiary access to the account until the passing of the account owner(s). Therefore, the change in titling is in no way considered a gift by the IRS, thus eliminating the potential federal gift tax issue. Financial Power of attorney As discussed, if a parent is to set up an account as Transfer on Death (TOD), the beneficiaries have no access to the account while the owner(s) are still living. So, how does one plan for the event of being incapacitated? A financial power of attorney is a powerful document which, in effect, allows one or more individuals to perform financial transactions on your behalf. Often, this document is drafted by a qualified attorney, which is the approach I would recommend to my clients. Many financial institutions have internal financial power of attorney forms, which will allow you to give someone financial power of attorney over your accounts at that specific institution without having to hire an attorney. Regardless of how you set it up, there are many reasons why giving someone financial power of attorney is a better approach than adding them as a joint owner to your accounts.

There is no such thing as a joint retirement account. IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities etc., can only have one owner, so its not even possible to make someone a joint owner. If a parent becomes incapacitated, they often want their child to have access to all their assets, not just their bank accounts. You can set up a successor in the event the original person you appoint is unable to serve. Its always good to have a back-up plan, and you have the opportunity to name a successor when you execute your power of attorney paperwork, or you can amend it later. You can give your financial power of attorney the ability to conduct real estate transactions on your behalf. Ive encountered situations where a parent is in a nursing home with dementia, no one has financial power of attorney, and the children are left struggling to try and figure out how to sell the parents house so they can pay the nursing home bill. If in this example, the parent gave financial power of attorney to one or more of their children (while the parent was still healthy), they could most likely sell the house. Its worth noting that most financial institutions require a review process of a financial power of attorney appointment. Generally, the institutions legal department would want to review the document before allowing the designated person(s) to conduct transactions. This process can take several weeks, so if the family is facing an emergency, they may not have immediate access to the money. I would recommend making sure that all financial institutions where you have accounts have a copy of your executed financial power of attorney now, so its in place before its needed. The best of both worlds For financial security in case something happens, parents generally shouldnt be adding additional owners to their accounts. Rather, titling accounts as Transfer on Death and setting up a financial power of attorney is often a better approach. Doing both can prevent unexpected taxes and provide the child broader access to the parents finances when it matters most. Ideally, it will be a long time before something happens, but we should all be proactive about planning for these unforeseen events. As you may have realized, the rules around these decisions are complex, so dont go at it alone. Talk to your estate planning attorney or financial planner about what youre trying to accomplish and allow them to guide you. Planning in advance will make things much simpler for your loved ones should anything happen.
Image: Denis Costille/Shutterstock.com

(Kitco News) - France wants to play a bigger role in the international bullion market by capturing part of Londons global gold trade following Brexit, according to British news reports.

In the most recent step to up its game, the Bank of France announced a partnership with the U.S. banking group JPMorgan that will offer a range of new gold bullion services for central banks storing gold in France, Reuters reported on Monday citing unnamed sources.

The French central bank will be able to provide swaps, leases and gold deposits following its partnership with a large commercial bank, the Banks second deputy governor Sylvie Goulard wrote in the Alchemist  the London Bullion Market Associations (LBMA) magazine.

Goulard also said that the Bank of France has been working on expanding its gold services since 2012 and is now in the process of renovating vaults and upgrading the quality of its gold reserves.

So far, JPMorgan only confirmed that it had opened an account with Bank of France.

In the meantime, sources told Reuters that the Bank of France is looking to take advantage of Britain leaving the EU by targeting Londons global gold trade.

Currently, even if other central banks store gold at the Bank of France, they have to go through London to make any market transactions because the Bank of England acts as a so-called gold custodian by providing access to the London market.

But now, with the uncertainty surrounding Brexit still worrying markets, the Bank of France wants to play a bigger role in the gold space, sources told Reuters.

They are convinced that Brexit is going to change things and they want to be there, one source said. They are pitching to European potential customers.

JPMorgan can provide the Bank of France an opportunity to do just that since it is one of the worlds largest bullion trading banks, Reuters reported.

Earlier this year, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that one of the banks goals is to become the markets central bank in Europe and that Brexit presented a historic opportunity to restructure EUs financial system.

In this respect, Paris has a lot of assets to become a major center for corporate finance and innovation in Europe, he said back in May. We have a lot of favorable indications that big international banks will set up their market activities mainly in Paris.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blue Apron Holdings Inc (APRN.N) said on Wednesday it would sacrifice overall revenue growth and cut marketing expenses in 2019, sending shares into volatile decline.

The forecast comes a day after the meal-kit delivery company reported a steep decline in net revenue for the third quarter, down 28.4 percent at $150.6 million, missing average analyst forecast of $160.3 million, according to Refinitiv data.

Blue Apron also announced late Tuesday plans to cut its workforce by 4 percent.

The shares fell 10 percent to $1.10 in volatile trade on Wednesday after rising as high as $1.17.

The New York-based company has been struggling to boost sales as it faces intense competition not only from peers like HelloFresh SE (HFGG.DE), but also from grocers selling their own ready-to-eat meals. The entry of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) into grocery service and meal kits business has added to pressure.
SHANGHAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The outlook for copper demand in the mid to long term remains healthy despite current trade friction between China and the United States as a renewable energy revolution will require vast amounts of the metal, industry executives said on Wednesday.

Delegates at the Asia Copper Conference in Shanghai noted recent Chinese indicators showed the real impact on demand for copper-intensive goods as the country's economic growth cools.

For air conditioning and automobiles, "the current situation is becoming weaker," said Pan Hong, senior copper analyst at BGRIMM Lilan Consulting Corp, although she noted infrastructure investment was improving and set to be the biggest contributor to Chinese copper demand growth next year.

China's fixed asset investment is "showing tell-tale signs of stimulus," said Mao Yiwei, deputy CEO of Jiangxi Copper International Trading Co., who expects more stimulus to improve domestic consumption, and for there to be some changes in the recent "pessimistic sentiment" on the market.

Copper prices have fallen by around 17 percent year-to-date on fears the trade row will hurt demand for industrial metals. Ivan Arriagada, CEO of Chilean miner Antofagasta Minerals , said there was a short-term "disconnect" between the physical market and the macro sentiment, which was "driven by the uncertainty of some of the trade tensions that we see today."

"But beyond that, I think the fundamental driving forces of copper will prevail," he added. "If you look at the dynamics on the demand side, the boom in infrastructure, consumer goods amid higher income levels, clean energy and clean transport, all of that will mean more demand for copper."

Copper is playing a greater role in the move towards renewable energy because it is the most conductive metal.

Jerry Jiao, vice president of China Minmetals Corp, said he sees clean energy lifting copper demand by 2.4 million tonnes by 2030, helping sustain demand growth of 3 percent per year.

Of that, solar power will account for an additional 1.48 million tonnes, wind for 570,000 tonnes and nuclear power 330,000 tonnes.

Furthermore, at least 20 percent of China's car fleet is set to be replaced by electric vehicles by 2030, Jiao noted. That is equivalent to 47 million cars, or 2.8 million tonnes of incremental copper demand based on a requirement of 60 kg per car, he said.

The recent weakness in copper prices does not reflect a long-term price trajectory, said Jiao, who also sees the metal benefiting from a roll-out of 5G, or next-generation mobile networks, which will need copper in base station infrastructure.

(Reporting by Tom Daly; additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; editing by David Evans)
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Telecom networks equipment maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST) said on Wednesday security concerns about its Chinese rivals and wider trade tensions had not translated into more orders for the Swedish firms products.

Chief Executive Borje Ekholm also said his firm was investing in new technology for 5G networks to help boost its market share, particularly in China.

There is a lot of speculation going on. There is a lot of discussion about geopolitics, he said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference in Barcelona. We let the security agencies and politicians deal with that.

Asked if there had been any impact on Ericsson sales from worries among operators about Chinese competitors after some governments had intervened citing national security concerns, he said: We havent really seen that to any large extent yet.

Australia and the United States have decided to ban Chinese suppliers from next generation 5G networks, and German officials are planning a drive to convince the government to consider excluding Chinese firms such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] from building the countrys 5G infrastructure.

Huawei, the worlds largest telecoms equipment maker, has rejected any suggestion it might pose a threat to any countrys national security, saying cyber security has always been its top priority.

Ekholm said telecoms customers had been concerned when the U.S. government temporarily stopped U.S. firms selling to Chinas ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) but he said that this had not translated into more orders for Ericsson equipment.

The U.S. denial order was lifted in July. Ekholm said he did not think the trade tensions would make it harder for Ericsson to compete in China, adding that his company had struggled in China in the past because it lacked the product range Chinese customers wanted.

This time around we are investing to make sure we have the features, we have the functionalities, we are doing well in tests, we are doing well in customer discussions, so I dont feel that in any way we are put at a disadvantage today, he said.
(Kitco News) - Iamgold Corp. (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG) late Tuesday reported that union workers began a work stoppage at the company's Rosebel Gold Mine in Suriname.

The company argued that the strike was a breach of a labor agreement that outlines a number of procedures that are to occur in the event of a dispute between the company and union. The agreement was finalized in September.

As a result, Iamgold has triggered force majeure to suspend operations at Rosebel, the company said in a prepared statement. Meanwhile, Rosebel has prepared legal actions against the union.

In Iamgolds third-quarter earnings report, guidance for Rosebel production was put at 280,000 to 295,000 ounces for 2018. This was roughly one-third company-wide output guidance of 850,000 to 900,000 ounces.

In September, Iamgold reported a 51% increase in reserves at Rosebel, with Saramacca accounting for nearly two-thirds of the increase. Once Saramacca is in or close to full production, Rosebels average annual attributable production is expected to increase by 11% to 295,000 ounces from 2020 to 2032, with Rosebels mine life extended by five years to 2033, the company said. Production at Saramacca is expected to begin in the second half of 2019.
The Royal Anguilla Police Force has arrested and charged 31 year old Salim Richardson of the East End and 23 year old Shaquille Gumbs of Garlin Bottom with the murder of Lofton Foreman. The two who were arrested and charged over the weekend were taken before the Magistrates Court on Monday 12th November, 2018 where they were both remanded to Her Majestys Prison. They are both due back before the court on Wednesday 14th May, 2019 to answer to their charge.

39 year old arrested for drug offences and obstruction

The Royal Anguilla Police Force on Wednesday 7th November, 2018 arrested and charged 39 year old Fritz Richardson of South Hill and charged him with possession of cocaine and cannabis as well obstructing the police while in execution of their duties. The alleged offender who appeared before the Magistrates Court on Monday 12th November, 2018 was granted bail in the sum of EC $45,000.00 with one surety. His condition of bail is the immediate surrender of travel documents. Richardson is due back in court on Tuesday 15th January, 2018 to answer to the charge.

The RAPF would like to remind the public that (for each accused):

a) The defendant is entitled to a fair trial;

b) There is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty;

c) Nothing would be stated or published which would prejudice a fair trial taking place; and

d) Section 115(g) of the Criminal Code applies and which provides for an offence in respect of any person who, while a judicial proceeding is pending, makes use of any speech or writing misrepresenting such proceeding or capable of prejudicing any person in favor of or against any parties to such proceeding, or calculated to lower the authority of any person before whom the proceeding is to be held.
Anguilla participated in aint Luciathe recently concluded open-source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) workshop sponsored by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in collaboration with the World Bank, from November 5th  9th, 2018 in Gros-Islet, Saint Lucia.

A GIS is a computerized system for capturing, storing, analyzing, visualizing and managing data, which is spatially referenced. The open-source GIS workshop aimed to support the OECS member and associate member countries, National Statistics Offices (NSOs), and the agencies providing the NSOs with GIS technical assistance, in building technical capacity in the use of GIS tools efficiently and effectively for ultimately presenting disseminated data spatially. The workshop also supported the implementation of the OECS Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS), under the strategic priority Join and Respond to the Data Revolution.

Participants learned how to use GIS tools to create and update enumeration districts; analyze spatial trends and patterns within datasets; and create and disseminate maps to georeference and visualize data. The workshop included sessions of instruction as well as practical sessions in which participants created maps using QGIS, which is an open-source GIS platform. The practical sessions also included field data acquisition using Survey Solutions and Kobo.

QGIS can be used by NSOs to reduce resource challenges. The NSOs are currently in the process of preparing for the 2020 round of population and housing censuses and this workshop provided NSOs with the option of incorporating QGIS into the mapping component of the census fieldwork. This would assist in improving the quality of the data collection and dissemination.

Other countries, namely Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines attended the workshop. Anguilla was represented by Senior Statistical Officer, Censuses, Surveys and Research of the Anguilla Statistics Department Ms. Dilece Connor and Senior Planner in the Department of Physical Planning, Mr. Stafford John. Their participation at the workshop was made possible by the OECS Commission and the Government of Anguilla.
(see related story on budget). (ANSA) - Strasbourg, November 14 - European Commission Vice President Andrus Ansip said Wednesday that Italy must respect the EU's budget rules. "When you're in the eurozone family, you have to respect the rules we have given ourselves," Ansip told ANSA when asked about Rome's reply to the Commission's call for its budget plan for 2019 to be significantly changed. "Running up debt with taxpayers' money is not an intelligent idea.

"There is an intelligent government in Italy and I hope that they will be capable of finding good solutions for the European Union and the Italian people".


(ANSA) - Brussels, November 14 - Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said Wednesday that he was disappointed that the Italian government had not complied with a request from the European Commission to make substantial changes to its budget plan for next year. "It is not very surprising but it is very disappointing that Italy has not revised its budget plan," Hoekstra said. "Italy's public finances are imbalanced and the government's plan will not bring robust economic growth.

"This budget is a violation of the Stability and Growth Pact.

"We are deeply concerned. Now it is up to the European Commission to take the next steps".


(ANSA) - Venice, November 14 - One of five men accused of carrying out a daring jewel heist from a show at Venice's Doge's Palace in January has escaped by climbing out of a toilet window at a police station in Croatia, La Nuova Venezia daily said Wednesday.

Serb Dragan Mladenovic, 54, was arrested in Croatia on suspicion of being part of the gang that robbed the Treasures of the Mughals and Maharajahs exhibition 11 months ago.

He made his escape while awaiting questioning by Italian prosecutors and police who had travelled to Croatia to quiz and charge him.

The heist took place on January 3, the last day of the show.

It brought together, for the first time in Italy, 270 Indian gems and jewels from the 16th to the twentieth centuries, belonging to the Al Thani collection.

The Doge's Palace, Palazzo Ducale, housed Venetian rulers for over a thousand years until Napoleon did away with the Serenissima Republic.

photo: Venice police chief Vito Gagliardi
As weird as it may sound but a lawsuit has been filed in London, UK against Sheikh Hamad Isa Ali al-Khalifa, a cousin of Bahrains king. He is being sued by an Egyptian middleman for breach of verbal contract for which he was employed to set up meetings between the Sheikh and his favourite Bollywood actors. Salman Khans Fan Shahrukh Gets Arrested for Threatening His Father, Salim Khan.

Ahmed Adel Abdallah Ahmed, an Egyptian businessman claims that Sheikh Khalifa had contracted his firm CBSC Events to help him set up meetings with 26 Bollywood stars for a fee off an estimated US $35 million or GBP 27 million. The stars ranged from the Khans to Ranveer Singh, Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor.

Ahmed says he arranged for the Sheikh to meet with four of the Bollywood stars from his wish-list  Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh and Aditya Roy Kapoor for a fee of $3 million but then refused to pay the rest of the agreed sum after meetings were set up with other actors like Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan. The middle man has hence sued Sheikh Khalifa for breach of contract and $20.9 million in damages.

According to Ahmeds lawyers, the sheikh met with Shah Rukh Khan at the St. Regis Hotel in Mumbai on 16 January 2016 and he came with $400,000 in cash. Two days after the meeting, the sheikh allegedly paid the balance amount to Ahmed split in British and U.S. currencies -- 6,00,000 and $2,50,000 in cash. The lawyers say they have submitted photographic evidence of this transaction to the court.

Ahmed also accuses the Sheikh of agreeing to pay more than 380,000 to sponsor the Times of India Film Awards, where he would be able to mix with Bollywood actors, but then reneging on this deal as well.

Sheikh Khalifa has however denied that he promised to pay such an outrageous amount of money to make his dream come true. He said he was very enthusiastic at the prospect of these meetings but said he expected to be charged $30,000 to $50,000 for private meetings.

I am deeply disappointed that someone whom I had come to think of as a good friend is bringing this claim, according to a prepared statement by Sheikh Khalifa. I was trusting when Ahmed offered to introduce me to my Bollywood idols. I have since been pursued by Ahmed for enormous sums of money, despite having been very generous to him in the past. I do not accept that there was ever any contractual arrangement between us, let alone one that was exclusive and could never be terminated. I believe this claim has no merit, and I shall defend it, the statement read.

"This is an interesting case and involves oral agreements reached in London between two parties from the Middle East, concerning arranging meetings with famous Bollywood stars," said Pavani Reddy, the Managing Partner of Zaiwalla & Co  the London-based law firm representing Ahmed in the trial, which began on Monday. Oral agreements are accepted as contracts and enforceable under UK law but a judge has to determine that if such a contract existed and if it had then been breached.

But the details published by British publications such as the Guardian show that the Sheikh had agreed to spend thousands of dollars for meetings with the Bollywood stars that could last as less as 15 minutes. If Ahmeds claims are true then the cost of one meeting priced at $1.5 million a meeting would have cost the Sheikh $100,000-a-minute.

Neither party in the lawsuit has called on any of the Bollywood stars in question as witnesses because they were not privy to the arrangement between the Sheikh and the businessman.

The lawsuit is ongoing at the London High Court and is expected to last this week. (With PTI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 21, 2018 10:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
A whopping amount of Rs 500 crore was recovered by the Income Tax Department during IT raids in Madhya Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left on a two-day visit to Singapore to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits. In a keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival, Modi said, "It is a great honour to be the first head of govt to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival. It is an acknowledgement of the financial revolution sweeping through India & transforming the lives of 1.3 billion people." He further added, "Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities - Aadhaar, in just a few years."

At least two people have been killed after a massive fire broke out in Mumbai's Andheri area on Tuesday. According to a tweet by ANI, a level-2 fire broke out on 10th and 11th floor in Kadam Chawl SRA building in Andheri.

Some big developments that are expected to happen today are:

Kerala Chief Minister has called an all-party meeting on 15th November to discuss the issues related to #SabarimalaTemple ahead of pilgrim season.

We at LatestLY will bring all the breaking and latest news and updates around the world. Stay with us for the latest updates of the day.
Hyderabad, November 13: A 19-year-old male student has been sentenced to three days of imprisonment by a court here for posting a married woman's private pictures on a social networking website.

The Special Metropolitan Magistrate's Court here also slapped a fine of Rs 200 on Shaik Mudabbir Ahmed Monday, for creating a fake ID on the social networking site, posting the private pictures of the woman and demeaning her by tagging her friends and family members in those photos, a release from the Hyderabad Police said. After Amy Jackson, Akshara Haasan's Private Photos Get LEAKED on Internet, Are These Hot Pictures Morphed?

"The culprit, by doing so, tried to create a rift between the woman and her husband," the release said, adding that an "SHE" team (the police wing tasked with cracking down on eve-teasers and stalkers) apprehended Ahmed and produced him before the court, which sentenced him to three days of imprisonment.
Last month, a brand-new jetliner carrying 189 people from Jakarta, Indonesia crashed into the Java Sea, renewing concerns about air safety in a vast island nation. The Lion Air Flight 610 killed all the people on boards. Among them was Ms Intan Syaris fiance Mr Rio Nanda Pratama, who was returning home after attending a conference in Jakarta. Syari fulfilled his last wish by going through with their wedding alone. Photos of Ms Intan wearing a white wedding dress and a white hijab, holding white roses are going viral in Indonesia. Lion Air Flight JT610 From Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang Reportedly Crashes Into Sea After Take-Off.

The couple decided November 11 as their wedding date. Mr Rio Nanda Pratama was a medical doctor. Ms Intan wrote on her Instagram account as reported by The Straits Times that before leaving for Jakarta, Rio jokingly told her, If I don't return by Nov 11, go ahead wear your wedding dress that I chose for you, wear a beautiful make-up, ask for a fresh white rose from Ms Sheila (wedding organiser), and take good photos. Then send the photos to me. It is unfortunate, Rio could no longer make it to their scheduled nuptial ceremony. Indian Pilot Bhavye Suneja Was Flying Lion Air Flight JT 610.

Ms Intan on her Instagram post wrote, as translated by the journal, There is sadness that I cannot describe, but I have to smile for you. I shall not mourn. I have to stay strong like you always told me. Times of India Apologises for Headline of Lion Air Crash Story Involving Indian Pilot That Invited Criticisms on Social Media.

In another post with the picture of her and one of Rios sister, she said, Although you are not beside me, your sister was with me to fulfil your most beautiful last wish. I know you are happy up there...

Rio was a medical doctor who was keen to help patients. This is one out of many cases where families lost their near ones in the flight crash. The Indonesian authorities ended the search and retrieval operations of victims of the plane crash. The passenger plane crashed into the sea just minutes after taking off, raising questions about how a new plane fell off from the sky.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 13, 2018 10:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Motorola, a Lenovo-owned smartphone manufacturer has officially started rolling out the latest Android 9.0 Pie update for the Moto X4 handset in India. The company has initiated this roll out in a phased manner and it will take couple of days for the new OS to reach all the users across the country. As a reminder, Motorola Moto X4 smartphone was launched towards the end of 2017 with Android 7.1 Nougat OS out-of-the-box. However, the company was pretty much quick to release the Android Oreo update in the month of December itself. Now, the company has started deploying Google's latest sweet pastry dough flavoured Pie OS to the Moto X4 that announced earlier this year in August. Motorolas Android One (iPhone X Replica) Smartphone Coming to US on November 9 With $399 Price.

This seems to be a great move by Motorola as the fact that it has already faced the wrath of the Moto Loyalists for not rolling out the update to Moto E5 series, despite the fact that it is 2018 model. According to the report from 91Mobiles, the Android 9 Pie OS build number (PPW29.69-17) for Moto X4 is slightly over 1.1GB. Motorola Moto G7 Specifications Leaked Online; Render Video Reveals Design Ahead of Official Announcement.

Here's how you can install the latest Android 9.0 Pie OS on your smartphone -

1. If you have received the new software notification, then you need to select the option - 'Yes, I'm in'.

2. After that the users need to download the software. Once downloaded, select 'Install Now'.

3. After the new software is installed on your device, the phone will restart automatically.

4. Now your handset is updated to Android 9.0 Pie.

However, if you haven't received the software notification, you can check it manually. For checking manually, you need to go to Settings of the phone, then select system updates and then check for the new firmware.

After rolling out the Android Pie update to Moto X4, Motorola is also planning to release the latest 9.0 Pie update to Moto One Power, Moto G6, Moto G6 Play and G6 Plus, Moto Z3, Z3 Play, Moto Z2, Z2 Force and Z2 Play.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 14, 2018 01:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Washington D.C, November 14: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated retired Army General John P. Abizaid of Nevada as Washington's ambassador to Riyadh.

A White House Press Release stated that the new ambassador was a four-star general and the longest serving commander of United States Central Command. He also served as the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy on the Joint Staff and the Director of the Joint Staff.

General Abizaid has also received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star. The United States has not had an ambassador to Saudi Arabia since Trump took office in January 2017. Donald Trump Criticises Emmanuel Macron Again over European Defence Remarks.

The appointment comes two days after State Secretary Michael R Pompeo spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and said that the US would hold people involved in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi accountable.

The United States has strategic and important partnership with Saudi Arabia but following the killing of Khashoggi, President Trump criticised the Saudi Kingdom and took a firm stand against the atrocious killing of the journalist.

Washington is not only facing pressure from the international community but also from the senators who have demanded stringent actions like sanctions against Riyadh.

Khashoggi disappeared on October 2 after stepping into Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul to collect documents that would have allowed him to get married to his fiancee Hatice Cengiz. Cengiz, who was waiting outside the consulate, raised an alarm after Khashoggi failed to re-emerge from the consulate, leading to a chain of revelations by both Turkey and Saudi Arabia regarding this case.

Saudi authorities had earlier confirmed that Khashoggi had died inside its consular premises in Istanbul, leading to the arrest of 18 Saudi officials in connection with the crime.
An animated picture of Rasha has gone viral after she was murdered by her brother in a case of "honour killing" (Photo: Twitter)

As the Syrian war has raged and claimed lakhs of lives, the lives of women have become collateral damage in this ugly conflict. A video showing the brutal killing of a young Syrian girl by her own brother has been released on line and she was killed to bring back the honour of her family.

The video released in the last week of October was reportedly shot in Jarabulus, a Syrian city in the district of Aleppo. The video shows a young man holding a Kalashnikov rifle in hand, pointing at a young girl wearing a scarf and crouching on the floor. Make sure we can see both your faces, a voice orders him. Bashar Bseiso, as his friend follows to call him in the video, is told, Go ahead, Bashar  cleanse your honour. His sister, Rasha, who appears to be crying and her faced is concealed with her headscarf is still cowering. Bashar then proceeds to shoot multiple bullets into his sister and watches her die.

This atrocity and inhuman act, of a brother killing his own sister was reportedly live streamed on Facebook. Rasha had been killed by her own brother after indiscreet pictures of the girl were posted on the social media site. Some media reports say she was raped by a Turkish officer who then posted her photos online. Others say she was in a relationship with a Turkish soldier who posted their photos online and drove her brother to kill her as she brought shame to the family.

This guy is Bashar Basis. He murdered his own sister yesterday in Jarablus northern Aleppo shooting her more than 20 bullet claiming she's committed an "adultery" and documented his crime. His friend told him "wash your disgrace"! A new "honor" crime against an innocent female. pic.twitter.com/hWJ45bNpYq  Mazen Hassoun (@HassounMazen) October 22, 2018

Despite killing his own sister in cold blood and recording it on video, not many are hopeful of Bashar being tried for this murder. Bashar is a soldier with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army. The various lands controlled by these armed factions are governed by these militias and are a law unto themselves. Women have also been targeted by Bashar Al-Assad's soldiers in what some reported as a campaign of mass rapes, raping and pillaging women young and old to punish families and to instill fear.

Turkey has invested considerable resources in building up the FSA across the border in Syria, in order to combat groups such as the Kurdish PKK that it considers its enemy. It has been two week since this crime came to light but Bashar is yet to be arrested. What [Bseis] did was not an ethic of the Free Syrian Army and is contrary to the principles of our revolution, Mustafa Sejari, a spokesman for the FSA, told the Guardian, adding that an investigation was under way. But Bashar has left his hometown and in a lawless land, who can be counted upon to bring him to book for his crime.

As Syria has turned into a minefield, women have witnessed the worst atrocities  the Yazidis at the hands of the Islamic State or Syrian women at the various factions that control the land that they live one. Any solution to Syrias war remains far from sight and so does any solution to protect women affected by this conflict.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 14, 2018 06:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Lahore, November 14: Pakistan has "no immediate plans" to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, a senior aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, amid the chill in bilateral ties.

Asked whether the government was considering granting MFN status to India and that Prime Minister Khan was keen to hold peace talks with the Indian government, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce, Textile, Industry and Investments, Abdul Razak Dawood said, "No such plans at the moment".

"At present we have no immediate plans to grant MFN status to India," he said here at an event on Tuesday. However, he said Pakistan is working out free trade agreements with different countries, especially China, and hopes to complete the second FTA with China by June, 2019. Imran Khan Rakes Up Kashmir Issue After Death of Civilians in Blast Near Kulgam Encounter Site.

Pakistan is yet to award the MFN status to India and it maintains a negative list of 1,209 items which are not permitted to be imported from India. As per a World Trade Organisation rule, every member of WTO is required to accord this status to other member countries.

India has already granted this status to all WTO members, including Pakistan.

Under the MFN status, a WTO member country is obliged to treat other trading nations in a non-discriminatory manner, especially with regard to customs duty and other levies, but Pakistan is yet to transition fully to MFN status for India.

Pakistan allows only 137 products to be exported from India through the Wagah border land route. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 2.28 billion in 2016-17.

India mainly exports cotton, dyes, chemicals, vegetables and iron and steel to Pakistan while it imports fruits, cement, leather, chemicals and spices. India-Pakistan relations have nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place. Ties between the two countries had been strained after terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016.

The sentencing of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a Pakistani military court over espionage charges last year further dented relations. In September, India cancelled a planned meeting in New York between the two foreign ministers which was dubbed as "arrogant" by Prime Minister Khan who said he was "disappointed" by New Delhi's "negative" response.

India cited the "brutal" killing of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Pakistan's release of postal stamps "glorifying" slain Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani for calling off the meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
(ANSA) - Rome, November 14 - Senior members of the 5-Star Movement (M5S) on Wednesday turned their fire on rebel lawmakers who contributed to the government losing a vote in parliament over its decree of measures for Genoa after the August bridge-collapse disaster.

The government lost a vote over an amendment regarding what critics have said is an amnesty on illegal building work on the Bay of Naples island of Ischia.

Senator Gregorio De Falco, a former Coast Guard commander who became a hero by ordering 'Captain Coward' Francesco Schettino to "get back on the ship, dammit" in the Costa Concordia disaster, voted against the government while another M5S lawmaker, Paola Nugnes, failed to take part in the vote. "De Falco said 'get back on the ship'. I say to him, 'if you're not happy, get back home'," said Regional Affairs Undersecretary Stefano Buffagni. "De Falco is a genius who feels more brilliant than the rest of the group".

Interior Ministry Undersecretary Carlo Sibilia echoed those sentiments, saying "those who think of their own interests should go back home". De Falco and Nugnes were also among a group of M5S Senators who rebelled over the government's security-and-migration decree recently, along with Elena Fattori, Matteo Mantero and Virginia La Mura.

The M5S has opened disciplinary proceedings against the rebels.

"There is a climate of psychological terrorism," Fattori said on Facebook.


Nigerian senators had to adjourn sitting for Tuesday, November 13, as members reportedly stayed away from plenary. As a result, the upper legislative chamber could not form the required quorum for the days activity

Premium Times reports that the senators adjourned the plenary for a week.

According to the report, the senators had gathered for the days business when one of them, Philip Aduda, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Abuja, called the attention of his colleagues to the fact that a quorum was not formed.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

We are less than 10, Mr President. I want to move that since we have not (formed) quorum, we may therefore adjourn but in doing so I want to say that the senate is empty because various committees are carrying out oversight duties, they are all over the country, ensuring that the budget is performing.

On that note the senate may wish to extend the period of oversight functions if the senate so wish by another week till Tuesday November 20, he said.

The report said the motion was seconded by the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu.

I rise to second the motion ably moved by Senator Aduda but let me add that we are more than 10 but certainly not up to 38.

We are somewhere between 15 and 20. Just for the record we are not less than 10 but less than 20, Ekweremadu said.

Before leaving, Senate president, Bukola Saraki, asked the members to conclude their oversight functions and resume on Tuesday November 20.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

It is important that our members who are not here- we should communicate to them- those on oversight, to finish what they have during the week  in the area of oversight.

Some of the findings from the oversight are important and it is important that the exercise is done diligently and we should ensure that it is completed by the end of this week. That is in line with order 10 (3), he said.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Senate finally approved the sum of N234.51 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of 2019 general elections.

The approved amount is about N7.9 billion less than the N242.45 billion requested by President Buhari.

President Buhari Really Doing Badly As Nigeria's Leader? - Nigeria Street Gist | Legit TV

Source: Legit
Not a lot of people like to leave their comfort zones and experience new things. However, there are a few individuals who have etched their name in history for their globetrotting skills.

The term Ajala or Ajala the traveller is used mostly in Nigeria to describe a person who cannot seem to stay in a place but is always on the move. However, there is more to how that term came to be.

A Nigerian man, Moshood Adisa Olabisi Ajala, is the person responsible for this term. This is because of his popular adventures around the world on his famous scooter.

Ajala on his bicycle tour from Chicago to Los Angeles

Source: UGC

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Nigeria

Ajala was from a very large family of 25 children. He was born in Ghana and shortly after his birth, his family moved back to Nigeria. When he clocked 18, he moved to the United States and he was admitted at the University of Chicago as a pre-medical student.

He started to build his reputation as an adventurer in 1952 when he decided to embark on a lecture tour across America, all on his bicycle. According to reports, the aim of his tour was to enlighten Americans on the development of Africa.

Ajala on his bicycle

Source: UGC

Ajala also made sure to dress in traditional outfits on his tour so that his audience can be convinced that Africans back home do not wear loin clothes.

READ ALSO: Retro: Onyeka Onwenu, music and life

Ajala, his famous scooter and a foreigner

Source: UGC

His popularity spread after his famous bicycle tour of the country and because of it he started to get endorsement deals and even a movie contract.

He got several movie contracts after his popularity grew

Source: UGC

However, things started to go south for the traveller after he was deported from America at the age of 24. He had abandoned his studies which invalidated his visa, and he also had several cases with the law involving forgery, grand theft and paternity issues.

Throughout his lifetime, Ajala visited several places including Russia, Iran, Jordan and Australia, Egypt, Cyprus, to name a few, all on his famous Vespa scooter. He also met with a number of powerful personalities all over the globe during his excursions.

Ajala on his scooter

Source: UGC

Despite that, Ajala kicked the bucket on February 2, 1999, in abject poverty. He died at the General Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, due to stroke. His numerous wives and children he managed to gather over the years were nowhere to be found as he lay on his death bed.

READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (formerly NAIJ.com)

Legit.ng earlier shared 15 fantastic facts about Nigeria.

Nigeria is an interesting country, and it seems like we make history everyday with different activities that occur in the country.

HELLO! NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better.

Top 5 coolest facts about the Igbo people | Legit TV

Source: Legit
- CNN has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration

- The Trump administration had revoked CNNs White House correspondent Jim Acostas credentials after an altercation

- The international news media is, however, demanding in the lawsuit that Acosta's press credentials to cover the White House be returned

The American news giant, CNN is suing the Trump administration over the revocation of press credentials for White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. CNN in the suit is demanding that Acosta's press credentials to cover the White House be returned.

CBC reports that the Trump administration revoked them last week following President Donald Trump's contentious news conference, where Acosta refused to give up a microphone when the president said he didn't want to hear anything more from him.

Legit.ng gathers that the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, November 13 in Washington D.C., District Court.

READ ALSO: N-Power to employ 1m Nigerians - Osinbajo

In a statement after the controversial incident, CNN claimed that taking away Acosta's press pass "violates CNN and Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and the Fifth Amendment rights to due process."

The global news media is asking for an immediate restraining order to return Acosta to the White House.

Prominent journalists and media organizations have also reportedly demanded Acosta's access be reinstated.

However, the White House said it would "vigorously defend against this lawsuit," calling it "more grandstanding" by CNN.

The White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that CNN had 50 other pass holders, claiming that Acosta has been engaging in repeated unprofessional and inappropriate behaviour.

Legit.ng recalls that President Trump erupted into anger earlier during a news conference when Acosta questioned him about the so-called migrant caravan travelling through Mexico and about an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Thats enough, thats enough, Trump said on Wednesday, November 7, as a White House intern attempted to take the microphone off Acosta. You are a rude, terrible person.

The White House press secretary accused Acosta of putting his hands on the intern, who was trying to take the microphone from him. She called his behaviour absolutely unacceptable.

Video of the encounter showed Acosta pulling back as the intern moved to take the microphone. The White House has, however, been accused of editing the video.

While the suit is specific to CNN and Acosta, this could have happened to anyone.

If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials, CNN said.

PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the United States promised to make those involved in the gruesome killing of US-based Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, pay for their act.

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, made this threat during a phone conversation with the Saudi crown prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Sunday, November 11.

The threat was expedient after the pre-killing audio statement of the slain veteran journalist and critic of the Riyadh was revealed, detailing how he was begging his killers moments before he was murdered.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better

Street Gist: Will Nigeria be a better place with Trump as president? | Legit TV

Source: Legit
- Imo governorship candidate has shunned the presidential panel for Recovery of Public Property

- Hope Uzodinma shunned the panel hours after he was released by the presidency on health grounds

- The Senator was expected to appear before the panel on Tuesday, November 13, over alleged failure of his company to execute a contract of 12 million dollars for the dredging of Calabar Port channel

Senator Hope Uzodinma, on Tuesday, November 13, defied invitation by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property to him to appear and answer questions over alleged fraud against him.

Spokesperson of the panel, Ms Lucie-Ann Laha, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja late on Tuesday after a long wait by the panels officials and newsmen for the senator.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Uzodinma was on Sunday, November 11, arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by the police at the instance of the panel.

He was arrested in connection of a case on alleged failure of his company to execute a contract of 12 million dollars for the dredging of Calabar Port channel.

READ ALSO: What President Buhari told me before I selected my running mate - El-Rufai

He was released same day after an interrogation session with officials of the panel, who released him and directed that he should return on Tuesday for continuation of the probe.

The spokesperson said the senator had defied the invitation by failure to appear at the panels office as agreed.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

An earlier statement by chairman of the panel, Okoi Obono-Obla, said that Uzodinma had been evading arrest for about a year.

The panel is investigating economic sabotage against Seneator Uzodinma arising out of the failure of his company to execute a contract of 12 million dollars for the dredging of Calabar channel awarded by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), the statement said.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Uzodinma was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Sunday, November 8, over an alleged breach of contract worth $12m.

The Special Presidential Investigation Panel For Recovery of Public Property said its operatives arrested Uzodinma, the senator representing Imo West senatorial district, for a breach of contract after his company allegedly failed to execute a contract of $12 milliom for the dredging of Calabar channel.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have updated to serve you better.

Is President Buhari Really Doing Badly As Nigeria's Leader? - Nigeria Street Gist | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, dismisses reported claims by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that the immediate past administration carried out grand corruption

- Jonathan says the total amount of money borrowed in the entire 16 years that the PDP governed Nigeria was N8.06trn

- The former president claims the APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has borrowed a total of N10trn in just three years

Ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, has asked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to face his alleged indictment by the House of Representatives in what he termed one of the biggest corruption scams ever in Nigerias history rather than accusing the immediate past administration of dragging Nigeria into debt.

Speaking in a statement through one of his aides, Reno Omokri, the former president dismissed an earlier statement credited to Osinbajo where the vice president was reported to have accused the immediate past administration of carrying out grand corruption, Vanguard reports.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Sokoto deputy governor reportedly resigns

How can Vice President Osinbajo, a man who had just been indicted by the House of Representatives in one of the biggest corruption scams ever in Nigerias history, have the gall to point accusing fingers on Dr. Jonathan, a man that is celebrated internationally for his efforts at achieving Nigerias best rating in Transparency Internationals annual Corruption Perception Rating when Nigeria improved 8 paces from 144 to 136 in 2014?

Having read through the sordid details of Professor Osinbajos corruption as revealed in the indictment by Nigerias House of Representatives, it is easy to understand why Nigeria made her worst ever retrogression in Transparency Internationals annual Corruption Perception under him this year, moving 11 paces backwards from 136 to 148, Jonathans aide stated.

The statement further clarified that the total amount of money borrowed in the entire 16 years that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governed Nigeria was N8.06 trillion

It questioned the moral authority of Osinbajo to point fingers at former president Jonathan when the the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had allegedly borrowed a total of N10 trillion in just three years.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

The statement said the reason that Nigerias debt has increased under the current administration was because the federal government lacks the discipline that Jonathan displayed in restraining borrowing by both federal and state governments.

The statement read in part: Throughout the five years that he was President, former President Jonathan incurred the wrath of several state governments because his administration refused to guarantee their foreign loans.

The reason that Nigerias debt has ballooned under this administration is because the Federal Government lacks the discipline that Jonathan had and are thus unable to curb borrowing by both the Federal Government and the states.

For example, on Tuesday November 13, 2018, the Debt Management Office revealed that in just 2017 alone, the Buhari administration borrowed 2.4 trillion to fund their budget deficit.

This is besides other loans that they took in 2017 alone. That money is more than the funds borrowed by the Jonathan administration in five years. To show to Nigerians the profligacy and ineptitude of the current administration, I draw their attention to the fact that between July and August 2018, the Buhari administration claimed it had shared $322 million Abacha funds recovered by the Jonathan administration to the poor.

Then a week after it made that announcement, the Buhari government borrowed $328 million from China.

The question is this, why would you share out $322 million one week only to borrow the same amount next week? Why not use the Abacha funds to fund government activities instead of adding to the already strained debt burden? These are questions that Vice President Osinbajo should answer rather than making false allegations against former President Jonathan.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had accused the Goodluck Jonathan administration of carrying out grand corruption with impunity during its tenure.

Osinbajo made the accusation on Monday, November 12, when delivering the 40th anniversary lecture of the Association of Friends in Lagos, The Punch reports.

Citing instances of alleged corruption that took place under the previous administration, the vice president said in one day $292m (about N70bn) was moved out from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), without any contract or any real explanation.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better.

Jonathan replies to Buhari's allegations | Legit TV

Source: Legit
Editor's note: Molokwu Bonaventure, a public affairs commentator based in Lagos writes on the banter between Governor Nasir El-Rufai and the running mate to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi.

In this piece, Molukwu highlights the 'many sins' of Obi bven as a former governor in Anambra state.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Legit.ng.

Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@corp.legit.ng drop an email telling us what you want to write about and why. More details in Legit.ngs step-by-step guide for guest contributors.

Were ready to trade your news for our money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App.

Contact us if you have any feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments. We are also available on Twitter.

Since former Anambra state governor, Peter Obi, was nominated the running mate of the 2019 PDP Presidential standard-bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, so much meaningless noise is spurred by his candidature. What is more worrisome is the exhumation or somewhat re-appraisal of his eight years tenure as governor as imagined stamp of his splendor.

Also, Obis admirers feel he is unblemished and spotless. So, there is the desperate attempts to equate the administration of Nigeria, with Obis governing of his state. Irrationally, Obis whatever perceived perfection as governor is lifted and imposed wholesale as his anticipated success in leadership of Nigeria, if his party ever wins the presidential ballot at all.

Obis acolytes foist a provoking angelic portrait on him from this conviction. But it is far from the truth. While serving as Anambra Governor, Obi exhibited the known and cherished arbitrariness peculiar to some Nigerian leaders. The idea of painting him with saintly sentiments is therefore extremely faulty.

Therefore, it was not out of context for Kaduna state Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai to punch at one of his numerous innate flaws, when he branded Peter Obi a tribal bigot. It understandably provoked the ire of his minions, but did not necessarily obliterate the truth.

Governor El-Rufai tweeted on Friday November 9, 2018 that former Governor Peter Obi surprisingly justified on national media his detention by the SSS in a hotel for 48 hours in 2014 under the pretext that El-Rufai has no business being in Anambra State as it is not Katsina State!

And trust Governor El-Rufai who leaves nothing to chance. He sued the SSS for unlawful detention and got awarded a N4 million damages. The aftermath justification of the act by Peter Obi was irrelevant.

But it chills to the marrow that a leader of Peter Obis status failed to see the unlawful infringement on the fundamental human right of a Nigerian, evident in unlawful restriction of freedom. Obi never saw it a nightmare on the victim simply because he (Obi) subscribes to the theory of ethnic supremacy, is to say the least, unfortunate.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

So, what completely tainted Obis nationalistic posture and rubbished his reputation was the conspicuous imputation of a clannish slant as reflected in the phrase that Anambra state is not Katsina State. It betrayed Obi intention and why he swore never to appreciate Governor El-Rufai's plight over the unlawful incarceration.

If Governor El-Rufai is presumed to have committed an offence, he is solely answerable to it, as prescribed by Nigerian laws.

It does not extend to any member of his ancestral lineage or make them complicit. One can imagine what Peter Obi had on his mind when he mouthed this negative profiling of an entire state or tribe on account of his hatred of one person from the region. He demonized the people of Katsina state and probably, the entire North to satisfy his tribalistic ego.

Nigerians hate to be reminded of their sordid past and unpardonable blunders. Whatever interpretation or perception of Governor El-Rufai nursed by Obi in this instance had antecedents. It only manifested on a prominent figure like El-Rufai to fascinate national attention. Obis intolerance of northerners, especially, the Hausa/Fulani folks is legendary.

As serving Governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi allegedly made life hellish for the Hausa community in his state.

The mosque at Onitsha was allegedly demolished on his orders and when the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III came visiting, he also snubbed him.

Obis draconian measures against ortherners, and ethnic bias in the Onitsha bridge head clean-up, where Hausa petty traders were targeted, forced them out of the state en masse. He knows himself as an unrepentant ethnic bigot.

Today, faced with the reality of a playback of the wretched events and payback time for yesterdays wrong steps, Peter Obi impulsively denies everything. But when you recall his stereotyping of the Northerners in the Governor El-Rufais illegal detention by the SSS, his compulsive denials are merely remedial and have failed to blend.

READ ALSO: Senator Uzodinma shuns Presidential Panel

These actions and pronouncements have sold Obi out as an ethnic xenophobe, who is trapped by his own foibles. It is not enough for Peter Obi to list his security aides who were Northerners, but recline from reeling out statistics of how he patronized or empowered the Hausa community in his state, he is claiming love belatedly.

Elsewhere in the north, Igbos are patronized with appointments as coveted as Senior Special Assistants to the Governor, in addition to numerous multi-million contracts. Could it have been a bad idea for Obi to replicate same in his state?

And northerners are not the only victims of Obis apartheid proclivity. As a staunch Roman Catholic faithful, Obi sees other Christians outside of the catholic fold as sinners and lesser worshippers of God Almighty.

Therefore, if today Governor El-Rufai screams that Peter Obi is a tribal bigot, it can only be properly understood in the context of his perception of non-tribes while in Government House, Awka. It is a sharp contrast with what Governor El-Rufai does with non-tribes domiciled in Kaduna state. He is not doing it because of the possibility of today probing Peter Obi.

He has engaged many contractors from other states, who are working for the state. Under el-Rufai, Kaduna state has non- indigenes in the holding key political appointments. But on the contrary, Obi has no such records of service to flaunt in public space when he served his tenure as Governor.

This penchant of Governor El-Rufai has other historical examples. When he served as the FCT Minister, he never discriminated against any ethnic group, but fairly engaged all ethnicity to work for the collective development of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Peter Obi is devoid of such nationalistic tendencies. And it has been part of his life. Obi forgets easily that his chains of businesses are exclusively administered by his kinsmen; but he gets patronage from all Nigerians to stay afloat.

So, morality places a duty on him to reciprocate by patronizing other ethnic groups too. But it is innately embedded in Obis consciousness to despise and derogate other ethnicities in Nigeria.

Obi is a poor example of the emerging political leadership elite from the southeast region . And to think he hails from Anambra, a state which has produced great Nigerian nationalists and stand as the cradle of Igbo identity is shameful enough.

The PDP Presidential running mate is advised to pick a cue from the likes of Gov.el-Rufai who are the younger generation of emerging leaders from the north groomed by President Muhammedu Buhari.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

The President has never ceased drumming it into their ears to see all Nigerians as their constituency, which should reflect in both official conduct and private lives.

For Atiku to have found favour in Peter Obi, ignoring both southeast political and traditional leadership is indication that they are in perfect accord on this score. Its obvious that if leaders like Atiku/Obi with such bias idiosyncrasies rise to the pinnacle of Nigerias leadership, it beckons to unmitigated disaster.

Everyone must fear for the kind of country Obi and Atiku intends to build.

The pair of Atiku/Obi know the lapses of their candidature on the discriminatory tendencies they have sustained over the years.

And its clear, the ticket is being haunted by this ghost of intolerant disposition to others, which explains their constant sermons, on the imaginary division of Nigeria under the Buhari Presidency.

But if they have failed to chain their bigoted convictions at the lower rungs of leadership, is it possible to effect same on the larger Nigeria? Nigeria must rise up to defend their country against ethnic champions, who are stealthily plotting to take away and destroy their unity and oneness.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better.

Nigeria News: President Buhari's Return Will Teach Nigerians Sense | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
- Nigerians planning to migrate have been advised by the federal government to make use of the newly created migrant resource centres

- These resources centres will afford migrants the opportunity to get adequate information relating to their destination countries

- The centres are domiciled at the federal Ministry of Labour and Employment offices in Benin, Lagos and Abuja

The federal government on Wednesday, November 13, advised Nigerians who are planning to migrate to make use of the newly created Migrant Resource Centres (MRC) to get adequate information relating to their destination countries.

The government said the centres where established in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to stem the tide of irregular migration by Nigerians.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the federal government inaugurated the MRCs in Abuja, Lagos and Edo.

Legit.ng gathers that Segun Afolayan, acting coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), made the disclosure in Lagos while receiving a fresh batch of 116 stranded Nigerians repatriated from Libya.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Afolayan noted that migration was a fundamental right of every human being but must be done in ways that would not violate the laws of the host nations.

According to him, the government is concerned about irregular migration by some young Nigerians which led to the establishment of the centres domiciled at the federal ministry of labour and employment offices in Benin, Lagos and Abuja.

Afolayan said: The centres are opened to all Nigerians who wish to travel outside the country. They can access detailed information on their intended country of destination.

Such information includes the types of employment and educational opportunities, counseling on the right and safe routes to travel as well as the security level of the expected country."

He, therefore, advised the returnees to be at the vanguard against irregular migration and use their experiences in Libya to discourage other Nigerians from embarking on such perilous journeys.

The returnees arrived at the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 12.40am on Wednesday, November 14, aboard an Al Buraq Al Buraq Airlines with registration number UZ 489.

The returnees who were assisted back to the country by the IOM comprised of 46 adult females, two female children and five female infants and 56 male adults, six male children and eight male infants.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that no fewer than 141 Nigerians including 11 pregnant women voluntarily returned from Libya to Nigeria with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU).

Segun Afolayan, chief Planning officer, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed the development on Wednesday, October 31, in Lagos.

Afolayan said the Nigerians arrived at the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, at about 10.45pm on Tuesday, October 30, aboard a chartered Al-Buraq aircraft with registration number UZ189.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better

Mass deportation: Tales of woes from Libya - on Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng News
Gunmen in the early hours on Wednesday, November 14, reportedly invaded Old Garage area of Osogbo, Osun state, shooting sporadically into the air.

Though no life was lost, many people while fleeing the area sustained injuries, The Punch reports.

The incident which occurred around 9.30am when business activities in the area were just picking up, lasted for about thirty minutes.

READ ALSO: Despite being angry, Okorocha, Amosun and others will support Buhari - Oshiomhole

The immediate cause of the shooting and the identities of those involved is yet to be ascertained.

However, the newspaper said sources in the area claimed the shooting was as a result of a fight between policemen and some drivers in Lagos Park located around the area.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

Meanwhile, the Osun state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it was compiling names of its members that were reportedly killed or injured by hoodlums during the governorship rerun election held in the state.

The state chairman of the party in Osun state, Soji Adagunodo, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) hoodlums of being responsible for the killing of the PDP members.

Adagunodo said PDP leaders at the ward levels all over the state have been asked to get actual reports of what happened during the supplementary poll for the purpose of giving what he called a comprehensive report of assault on the opposition.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better.

Offa bank robbery: Why some residents were shot by armed robbers. Legit TV

Source: Legit
- The media aide to President Buhari, Lauretta Onochie, has thrown jibes at opposition party, PDP

- Lauretta's criticism, which came a few months to the 2019 general election, accused PDP of sweeping some murder cases behind justice's backdoor during its 16-year reign

- Lauretta Onochie revealed the names of important figured assassinated, adding that journalists were not spared during the PDP's reign of 'blood'

With a few months to the 2019 general election, there are indications that the two leading parties, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may not take it soft with each other.

Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that there is a war of words between the ruling APC and the presidential candidate of the PDP Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday, November 13, over the campaign funding for the 2019 presidential election.

Similarly, in what turned out to be another attack on PDP, the media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie, has dug down the history to reveal series of alleged assassinations and unresolved murder cases between 1999 to 2014.

In a lengthy post available on her Facebook page tagged "Assassinations and unresolved murders during the dark years of PDP, 1999-2014," Onochie detailed the names of murdered important personalities in the country, adding that "there is still more."

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

According to Onochie, who said she did not want to draw Nigeria back to what she termed a period of blood harvest, many cases of killings were swept behind the backdoor of justice during the PDP's 16-year reign.

She said: "While many kidnap kingpins have been busted by men of the Nigerian police and alleged suspects of murder cases arrested and arraigned before court of competent jurisdiction under the three years of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), that cannot be said to have occurred under the 16 years of PDP led government."

Although the post was deleted, Legit.ng got a screenshot of it before it was pulled down. See it below:

Buhari's media aide Lauretta Onochie's post on PDP's unresolved murder cases. Source: Facebook, Lauretta Onochie

Source: Facebook

Among assassination cases cited by the presidential media aide was the death of Bola Ige, a former attorney-general of the federation, who was shot dead in his bedroom in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo state, on December 23, 2001.

Onochie also stated that in July 2006, Lagos PDP gubernatorial aspirant, Funsho Williams, was killed at his Dolphin Estate home in Ikoyi by unknown gunmen.

She also claimed that journalists were not left untouched by PDP, adding that many top journalists and writers critical of the government were sent down their graves.

Among men of the news Onochie mentioned was Godwin Agbroko, the chairman of ThisDay editorial board assassinated on December 22, 2006.

PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that APC responded to the Peoples Democratic Party's claims that 50 of its members had been penciled down for arrest by the ruling party.

The party described the opposition's claims as a time-worn strategy to preempt action against suspected offenders.

It challenged PDP to produce the list of those it claimed had been fingered for arrest, if indeed its claims were true.

PAY ATTENTION: NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng to serve its readers better

Atiku versus Buhari: Who will win? | Legit TV

Source: Legit
Nigerian governors under the umbrella of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) led by Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, have on Wednesday, November 14, called for an emergency meeting to discuss the issue of minimum wage.

The emergency meeting is expected to be held in Abuja tonight to discuss how much the governors are willing to pay as minimum wage.

Some of the governors had earlier kicked against the NLC demands, saying they will not fall for any blackmail or attempt to stampede them into reaching an agreement on the new minimum wage currently threatening peaceful industrial relations in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Despite being angry, Okorocha, Amosun and others will support Buhari - Oshiomhole

The statement by the governors came at a period the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliate unions announced commencement of a nationwide industrial action starting from midnight on Wednesday, September 26 to protest the delay in fixing a new minimum wage for public servants.

Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that the NLC appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite action on the proposed new national minimum wage by transmitting it to the National Assembly in good time.

Peter Eson-Ozo, NLC general secretary said this in an interview on Monday, November 12, in Abuja.

Eson-Ozo said the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage had concluded its meetings and a report of N30,000 was agreed upon as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the leadership of the organised labour on Tuesday, November 13, issued a December deadline for the full implementation of N30,000 as new national minimum wage.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

The organised labour also warned the federal government against any form of reduction on N30,000 agreed by the tripartite committee on the National Minimum Wage.

In report to the report to the president, the unions said that any further delay in its passage of the new minimum wage will lead to devastating consequences.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Association of Senior Civil Servant of Nigeria (ASCSN) held at the Chida Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday, November 13, the president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Bobboi Bala Kaigama, said workers are patiently waiting for the president to forward the bill to National Assembly for its passage.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better.

Nigeria Street Gist - Ezekwesili to Become Nigerias First Female President. Yay or Nay? | Legit TV

Source: Legit
- The counsel to the suspects allegedly involved in the Offa robbery in Kwara, Abdulrasheed Lawal, has announced his intention to withdraw from the case

- Lawal, in his submission before a magistrate court in the state said that his withdrawal from the case was on the basis of legal misconception

- The magistrate presiding over the case, Bio Salihu, adjourned it till Thursday, December 6

Not less than five suspects said to be involved in the Offa robbery attack in Kwara state were on Wednesday, November 14, arraigned before an Ilorin magistrate court.

Added to this, the lawyer of the accused persons, Abdulrasheed Lawal, has recently announced his withdrawal from standing for them, Vanguard reports.

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Earlier, the police command in state OC Legal Kunle Iwalaiye said the case was for mention and consideration of the state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)'s letter.

Iwalaiye added that suspects had cases to answer in the DPPs Advice UST/LED14/V140/1457/738 and dated November 11, 2018. OC legal, who was represented by the prosecutor, ASP Abdulkadir said that in this circumstance the accused persons have cases to answer.

"We are asking for another date for further mention in which they must have been properly arraigned before a court.

He said that the DPP also directed the police to carry out more investigation with a view to arresting more of the suspects that are on the run. Counsel to the accused Abulrasheed Lawal however announced his withdrawal from the case based on legal misconception.

The letter is seeking the leave of the court to withdraw the appearance of Abdulwahab Bamidele (Esq) as counsel representing all the accused in this case. And also my humble self holding the brief of Abdulwahab Bamidele from the record of the court.

PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet!

The same letter has been copied to OC legal, Kwara state police Command and Abdulwahab Bamidele. In the circumstance we want the court to discountenance with the names of both Bamidele and Lawal from appearing for all the accused persons in this case.

Magistrate Bio Salihu, in his judgement granted the prayers of the suspects' counsel and ordered their removal from the case.

The magistrate also directed the police to take needed action for the proper prosecution of the accused persons in court. Saliu adjourned the case to Thursday, December 6, for mention.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had arrested five more suspects in connection with the deadly robberies of five banks in Offa town, Kwara state on April 5, 2018.

The five persons were arrested with the help of leaders of the robbery gang who were recently moved back to southwest from Abuja to help the police in their investigation and to help them recovering firearms used in the robberies.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better.

Nigeria News: Offa Bank Robbery - The Untold Story (NAIJ EXCLUSIVE) | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
The Eastern Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy said it would on Thursday commence Ani-Oforifori exercise in Niger Delta creeks to rid the area of bad elements

Ani-Oforifori means Chase Thief in Kalabari language in Rivers.

The command announced this in a statement by its information officer, Thomas Otuji, on Wednesday in Calabar.

According to the statement, the objective of the exercise is to assess the operational readiness of ships, gunboats, helicopters and other platforms of the Eastern Fleet.

The statement added that the exercise was also to test the skills of personnel in tackling maritime threats within the commands area of responsibility.

The Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Adm. David Adeniran, has announced that the Eastern Naval Command will commence exercise Ani-Oforifori meaning Chase Thief in Kalabari language.

In view of this, members of the public, particularly the good people of the Niger Delta, are advised not to panic but go about their normal businesses.

They should not panic when they see large body of warships, gunboats, helicopters and other naval platforms in the area as the exercise is for routine purposes, the command explained.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Legit.ng previously reported that the Nigerian Air Force recorded more Research and Development (R&D) breakthroughs, which were showcased during the 47th convocation ceremony of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in Kaduna on Friday, July 27.

Air Force director of public relations and information, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, said in a statement that the projects included a prototype Oleo-Pneumatic Shock Absorber for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), an Automatic Solar Tracking System and a Rocket Launcher Circuit Test Box.

Others were a prototype of Light Weight Helicopter, an Unmanned Hexacopter as well as the adaptation and installation of BO-105 Helicopter guns on the Bell 412 Helicopters recently handed over to the NAF by the federal government.

Nigerian Air Force Day Celebration 2018 (54th Anniversary) | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
The Igbo leaders, including the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Igbo Leaders of Thought have declared support for Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi for the 2019 presidential election.

Vanguard reports that this was contained in a communique read out on behalf of Ndigbo by Chief Olisa Agbakoba.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Nigerian governors call for emergency meeting over minimum wage

The group said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)s candidates promise to restructure the country is why they are supporting his aspiration.

The communique reads: The Igbo people of Nigeria held a one day non-partisian and inclusive summit, convened by elders, traditional and religious leaders on November 14 2018, to consider Ndigbos place in the polity, especially in the light of the forthcoming 2019 elections.

The summit deliberated on the state on Ndigbo in Nigeria today, especially after years of exclusion from the centre. This country has never been so divided as it is today. We, Igbo, have always yearned for a level playing field with justice, equity and fairness.

The summit recognised the nomination of His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra state as the vice presidential candidate of the PDP and fully endorse this nomination. It was acknowledged that this nomination puts Ndigbo back to the centre of governance. It id therefore important that Ndigbo should rally behind the Atiku/Obi ticket.

We identify with Atiku/ Obi ticket on the restructuring agenda as has been reiterated by the four zones of the country, namely South-South, South west, North central and South east. We believe that as long as the federating units remain weak, the centre will continue to be weak. We equally move to appreciate the position of the Atiku/Obi ticket in promoting national unity.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

In conclusion, the summit reiterated that the time is now for Ndigbo to mobilise and organise effectively, realise the Atiku/Obi ticket. We are not campaigning against anybody, we are simply campaigning for our very survival. Igbo votes must count wherever leave in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that former vice president and the PDP presidential candidate for the 2019 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, gave an update on his campaign as he seeks the votes of Nigerians in next year polls.

He posted a photo of himself on his social media pages reviewing his campaign policy document as Nigerians await the commencement of the presidential campaigns next month.

Atiku was then in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, where he was spending the holiday with his family ahead of the rigorous campaign which is expected to take him to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, seeking for Nigerians' votes.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We keep evolving to serve our readers better.

Nigeria Latest News: PDP Convention: Atiku Elected as Presidential Candidate | Legit TV:

Source: Legit.ng
A group of Bethlehem Historic District residents is at odds with a neighborhood emergency shelter for the homeless.

The residents say they're a caring community and thankful for groups that support those in need, but since Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering opened in December 2017 at Christ Church United Church of Christ, 72. E. Market St., they've contended with a slew of serious problems.

There's been trespassing, urination, sexual harassment, hypodermic needles and even indecent exposure, Louis James, who owns the nearby James Funeral Home, said at a Nov. 7 Bethlehem City Council meeting.

James spoke on behalf of about 30 residents, many who attended the meeting, urging the shelter and city take steps ahead of its Dec. 1 opening.

"B.E.S. was not a good neighbor," James said.

Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio said police fielded about 20 complaints last year.

This winter, anyone wishing to stay at the shelter will have to first register at the nearby police station to obtain a voucher. Police will run a criminal check to ensure they do not have outstanding warrants or are a sex offender, DiLuzio said.

"It is done in other cities," he said. "The people who have criminal histories don't want to come into the police department."

The shelter did not return a phone message or email seeking comment.

The non-profit winter sheltering program started out in 2009 rotating among several churches and, finally, in December 2017 achieved its goal of serving homeless men and woman from one site in the downtown area.

In November of that year, the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board approved nightly operations Dec. 1 through March 31 at the church, which sits at the northwest corner of Center and East Market streets.

The residents appreciate groups that help the underserved, like the methadone clinic on East Broad Street and soup kitchens at Christ and Trinity churches, James said.

"They enrich our community," James said. "They are good neighbors."

BES seems unable to operate a mixed-gender shelter and has not addressed resident concerns, he said.

Residents asked city officials to intervene and also issued a long list of requests for the shelter, such as installing additional lighting and hiring outdoor security to patrol in the hours before opening and closing and abiding by requirements in the zoning hearing decision.

Mayor Bob Donchez noted his administration recently met with the Fowler family to outline new procedures that would be in place at the shelter this year.

Resident Beall Fowler said he thinks the meeting was productive and he's hopeful things will improve.

"You may think, what are all these Center City people coming in complaining all the time? Well, we feel our neighborhoods are being invaded," Fowler said to council. "There are people who want to turn our residences into offices and hotels and our churches into homeless shelters. And we're a residential neighborhood."

While the police chief understands the neighbor's concerns, DiLuzio said he does not have the manpower to staff an officer there nightly. He's hopeful the vouchers will resolve many of the issues.

"You have to remember the city is not running this shelter," the chief said.

There will be increased foot patrols surrounding the church and DiLuzio encouraged residents to call in problems the minute they see them.

"Call at 1 a.m.," he said. "You aren't waking anybody up."

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The body of a 26-year-old Nancy Run firefighter who died Monday in a crash in Bushkill Township was transported with honors on Tuesday evening from Easton Hospital in Wilson Borough to a funeral home in Moore Township.

Jared Rampulla, of Wind Gap, was driving to work just after 4:30 a.m. at Mauer & Scott in Northampton when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into an oncoming vehicle on Route 512, township police said. He died at the scene.

Donald Sotak, of Whitehall Township, was driving the other vehicle and was treated at the trauma center at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township and later released, police said Tuesday.

Rampulla's flag-draped stretcher was ceremoniously taken from the hospital into a hearse and was saluted with flags, flashing lights and local firefighters along the way to the George G. Bensing Funeral Home.

Calling hours will be 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Schoeneck Moravian Church where Rampulla was an active member in Nazareth, his obituary said. A funeral service with firefighter honors is set for 11 at the church, 316 N. Broad St. Extension.

Rampulla will be buried in God's Acre at the church, his obituary said.

Rampulla, from a firefighting family, was a 10-year member of Nancy Run Fire Company in Bethlehem Township and was posthumously promoted to captain.

He is survived by son, Levi, and fiancee, Christa Bet, with whom he lived; his parents, Michael and Allene Rampulla, of Bethlehem; brothers Nolan, Mason and Jonah; sister, Halle, as well as three grandparents and various other relatives, his obituary said.

Rampulla was born Nov. 15, 1991, at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill, was a 2010 graduate of Liberty High School and previously lived in Bethlehem.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A corrections officer accused of sexually assaulting an inmate at the state's only women's prison was acquitted Tuesday of several charges in Hunterdon County.

Brian Y. Ambroise, 35, of Union, is among the seven employees of the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility to be charged with sexually assaulting inmates as a result of investigations into alleged abuses at the prison. He is the first to be "exonerated" of sexual assault charges, according to his attorney, James Wronko.

Brian Y. Ambroise

Wronko said Ambroise, who has been suspended without pay since he was first charged in 2016, was "ecstatic" after the jury's decision Tuesday and planned to celebrate with his kids.

Ambroise still faces charges that he helped facilitate a fellow corrections officer's abuse of two inmates in 2015 and 2016. He denies the allegations, Wronko said.

Under state law, any sexual contact between inmates and staff is a crime because prisoners cannot legally consent.

The jury acquitted Ambroise on charges of official misconduct and sexual assault Tuesday morning after deliberating for less than two full days, Wronko said. He said he felt confident after the two-week trial, in which both Ambroise and his accuser testified.

"The inmate's testimony was inconsistent versus her earlier statements, and inconsistent with what she said on cross examination versus direct," he said.

She testified that he kissed her once and performed a sexual act on another occasion, Wronko said, but the prosecution was unable to prove definitively how and when the DNA evidence was obtained.

Ambroise testified that the woman "tried to kiss him and took him by surprise," on one occasion, Wronko said.

He also testified that his statements to investigators that were deemed a confession were not true.

"He was questioned for an hour and 40 minutes before he made any admissions," Wronko said, and the detectives pressured him for the answer they wanted. "They made him admit something to end the interrogation."

After the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office filed these charges against him in 2016, a second indictment was handed down based on allegations by a second victim, the office said.

Wronko said those charges have since been dropped.

He said the only charges that remain against his client allege that on separate occasions in 2015 and 2016, he allowed two women into a restricted area so they could engage in sexual contact with a more senior officer, Ronald Coleman, 39, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Both men have yet to be tried on those charges. Wronko said in a previous interview that Ambroise "never knowingly did anything to allow Coleman to engage in any inappropriate activities, assuming [Coleman] did."

Of the six corrections officers and one employee charged with crimes in the prison abuse scandal, four have been convicted, two have yet to be tried, and one -- Ambroise -- was acquitted.

Left to right: Officers Brian Ambroise, Thomas Sequine, Anwhar Dixon, Jason Mays, Joel Mercado and Ronald Coleman. At right, civilian staff member Joel Herscap.

Corrections officials have attributed the spike in criminal accusations of sexual abuse to the department's vigilance.

However, after a 2017 NJ Advance Media investigation uncovered a pattern of sexual exploitation and assault in the prison, county prosecutors and the Attorney General's Office launched separate investigations, and state lawmakers have proposed a third probe by a special commission. A civil rights probe is also being conducted by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed in the cases, including two class-action suits.

In a statement Tuesday, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III said his office is disappointed in the verdict but "it will not diminish our resolve."

"All inmates have a right to be safe within the institutions where we as a society demand they be detained," Kearns said. "It is our responsibility as a society to protect those that are unable to protect themselves."

Ambroise is still technically employed by the Department of Corrections, his attorney said, but it isn't clear if or when he'll go back to work.

Speaking generally, corrections spokesman Matthew Schuman said when an employee is cleared of criminal charges he or she may not automatically return to work if there are administrative charges for policy violations within the department.

"Those charges would have to be adjudicated before that employee can return to his or her position of employment," he said.

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
A Palmer Township woman admitted stealing more than $33,000 from a Lehigh County church where she served as accountant for about a decade, Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday.

Holly Carol Kennedy, who turns 67 next month, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on three felonies and released on $30,000 unsecured bail.

Kennedy, of the 600 block of Kingwood Street, could not be reached for comment. No working number could be found for her, and court records did not immediately list an attorney representing her.

State police at Fogelsville arrested Kennedy after West Valley Presbyterian Church at 4251 Chestnut St. in Upper Milford Township, outside Emmaus, reported the theft Tuesday morning, according to court records.

The Rev. Mark Howard, church pastor, had tried to write a check to cover a church expense Nov. 5 and was told by Brian Parker, church treasurer, there were insufficient funds in the checking account, police said.

Aaron Moyer, the church elder responsible for overseeing church finances, checked into the unexpected shortfall and found money from West Valley Presbyterian's payroll account had been transferred by Kennedy to her personal account without authorization, court records say.

As church accountant, Kennedy alone had access to the payroll account, according to police. Investigators found $33,058 in unauthorized transfers between March 2017 and this month, court records say. Kennedy admitted Wednesday to having made the unauthorized transfers, according to police.

Police do not describe a motive for the alleged thefts.

Kennedy was arraigned before District Judge Michael Pochron on charges of theft, receiving stolen property and access device fraud.

She faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled Nov. 27 before District Judge Daniel Trexler.

Court records do not list any prior criminal record for Kennedy in Lehigh or Northampton counties.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
By Thomas J. Botzman

Pennsylvania has traditionally been a strong advocate for higher education, especially in providing aid directly to students so they can choose the college or university that is the right fit for them and their education.

In my view that has made our state more innovative and competitive, increasingly efficient, and a model for how to fuel economic and social development through support for higher education. In simpler terms, Pennsylvania is the national leader in funding higher education for students with financial need.

Fifty-five years ago, Pennsylvania's executive and legislative branches created the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency as a vehicle to administer grant support to students with demonstrated financial need based on family income. From the beginning, students were able to choose whether to use the grant at a community college, a public four-year college, or a private higher education institution.

Extending the aid to private institutions -- which award 49 percent of college degrees in the state while receiving only 10 percent of state funding -- is certainly an efficient use of resources as it limits the need for more funding at state universities. We have more than 90 private institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania to complement the public university system.

Another astute action was to make PHEAA a provider of student financial aid services nationally, including loan servicing and financial aid processing through American Education Services. PHEAA receives its revenues nationally, but the funds support Pennsylvania's students after covering operating costs.

Since 2005-06, PHEAA has provided a multi-million dollar supplement each year to the benefit of students in every institution of higher education in Pennsylvania. That amount has risen to about $100 million annually out of a total grant budget of approximately $400 million. Unfortunately, the amounts used to supplement the state-funded program have been draining reserves, so state government is being asked to fund PHEAA grants fully for the upcoming year.

It could have a negative impact on PHEAA's loan servicing business if state legislators are unable to maintain necessary reserves. I am hopeful the executive and legislative branches of state government will fully fund PHEAA completely in order to support both student need and the ongoing successful business model.

PHEAA is taking an additional step that deserves support, as it began making loans directly to Pennsylvania students. The recent announcement of the loan program provides a route for students and families to receive a lower cost loan than what they would have received from the for-profit sector in the form of a PLUS loan. Furthermore, any profit to PHEAA will once again go to supporting operational costs and grants to present and future Pennsylvanians.

That is again good news for students, their families, and taxpayers. Through strong management and carefully planned operations, PHEAA is ready to make loans more affordable while providing substantial grants that do not need to be repaid. We all want education that is accessible to all capable students and is affordable. This is a thoughtful and astute way to support Pennsylvania's students. Those students, in turn, will be our future civic leaders, fellow citizens and neighbors, and skilled workers who will build a stronger economy in our state.

Thomas J. Botzman is president of Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa.
Authorities quickly collared two suspects in the strong-arm robbery Tuesday afternoon of a variety store in Hackettstown, according to a news release from town police.

Police said they responded shortly before 1 p.m. after two suspects entered Lucy's Variedades at 187 Main St. and threatened a victim verbally and physically.

The pair then grabbed the victim and told her to keep her head down, before taking cash from the register and fleeing, police said.

Officers spotted the getaway vehicle described to them on Route 517, and Hackettstown police stopped the vehicle in the parking lot of the Colonial Manor at Panther Valley, according to the release.

The occupants were identified as the robbery suspects, Oscar A. Santana-Yasno and Andres E. Cuero-Marroquin, both 27 and from Brooklyn, New York, the release states.

They were charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit to robbery and sent to the Warren County jail.

Cuero-Marroquin was wanted out of Gwinnett County, Georgia, for two felony robberies and false imprisonment, according to Hackettstown police. He is charged additionally with being a fugitive from justice.

Hackettstown police were assisted by Independence Township police and New Jersey State Police.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The Rock GAA Club in Mountmellick will host one of its big annual fundraisers this weekend.

The Rock GAA Monster Auction is a great day out for bargain hunters and those in the market for some top quality products at competitive prices.

The funds raised will go back into the GAA club juveniles to help with the clubs running costs and the cost of equipment for the young up and coming members.

This is the fifth year of the auction which has proved to be a huge success for the club with the local community getting behind the day and finding a fun new way to shop.

Auction lovers from all over the country have grown to love the day too travelling to attend over the last few years.

Some of the items for sale on the day will include turf, farm supplies and fodder, wardrobes, electrics, hard furniture, bric-a-brac, household items and much more.

Items for sale can still be dropped to the clubhouse or club members can help with the collection if needed.

The Monster Auction will start at 2.00pm on Sunday, November 18 and continue until everything is sold.

The auction takes place in the Rock GAA Clubhouse on the Emo Road out of Mountmellick.

The club recently held a Halloween fancy dress party and raised funds for The Irish Lung Fibrosis Association And The Cuisle Cancer Support Centre.

The night was a huge success with all the locals turning out in their best costumes.

Through an online fundraiser, a collection at Supervalu in Mountmellick and proceeds on the night of the fancy dress party the club raised an amazing 5,200 for the two charities. The committee wishes to thank everyone for their continued generosity.

See pictures from the Halloween fundraiser below.
A 20 -year-old Athy man, who was before Athy District Court yesterday, Tuesday November 14, for the sale and supply of drugs, and criminal damage, was sentenced to 22 months in jail and disqualified from driving for seven years.

Calvin Cullen with an address listed as 47 Greenhills, Athy pleaded guilty to all charges.

The court heard that on February 7, 2017 at 47 Greenhills in Athy at 5pm gardai carried out an extensive search and found 249 worth of cannabis resin, 133.95 worth of cannabis herb, two grinders and 9,500 in cash. He was arrested and charged with the possession of drugs with intent for sale or supply and the defendant made a full admission.

On April 13, 2018 he came to the attention of gardai for dangerous driving and criminal damage on the Kilkenny Road. The court heard that he was driving an Audi A4 towards Athy and when stopped at traffic lights, a patrol car arrived. The defendant took off at high speed and was chased by gardai as far as Ballylinan in Co Laois when he crashed into a wall and was arrested at the scene. He caused 3000 worth of damage to the wall.

The defendant came to the attention of gardai again on June 15, 2018 at 9.10 pm at Fortbarrington Road in Athy when he failed to stop at a checkpoint. He drove off at speed and drove into another wall.

His barrister Laurence Goucher said his client has a partner and a two year-old child. He said that he has a difficulty with drugs and drink and a number of psychological issues, which he added may impact on a number of issues before the court today.

Judge Desmond Zaidan said that he had taken on board his plea and family circumstances but said that the court was satisfied it merited a custodial sentence.

He sentenced him to 11 months for the unlawful possession of drugs with intent for sale or supply and 11 months consecutive for the criminal damage to the stone wall. He disqualified him from driving for seven years. Recognisance was fixed at 500 in the event of an appeal.

A further charge of two counts of threatening to kill two members of the gardai while carrying a knuckleduster on May 3, 2016 at 12.45am in Emily Square was refused jurisdiction by Judge Desmond Zaidan.

It was alleged in court by Sgt Brian Jacob that the defendant was observed by Gda Detective Niall Bambrick and Gda O'Shea of Athy Garda Station carrying a knuckle duster in his hand when stopped by gardai. The court heard the defendant allegedly said that he would find out where the detectives live and he would kill them.

Judge Desmond Zaidan said that he would refuse jurisdiction on that basis and would send the defendant forward for trial at the circuit court.

In relation to the charge, he was remanded in custody on continued bail until January 22 for a Book of Evidence.
This Friday, November 16th, Irish Times journalist and writer Ronan McGreevy will be named Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by Ambassador of France to Ireland H.E. Stephane Crouzat during a ceremony at the Residence of France in Dublin.

A graduate in English, Political Studies and Journalism from National University of Ireland Galway, Ronan McGreevy, a native of Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, has been working as a news reporter for the Irish Times since 2006. Before that he wrote for The Times, the London Evening Standard and The Irish Post. He was a radio and television producer with the BBC and Sky News.

Mr McGreevy is the author of the book Wherever the Firing Line Extends: Ireland and the Western Front which tells the story of the Irish experience in the First World War through the monuments left behind in France and Belgium.

Mr McGreevy also acted as Editor of Centenary, Ireland remembers 1916, the official State book recalling the Easter Rising and Battle of the Somme commemorations in 2016.

Speaking ahead of the event, Ambassador of France to Ireland Stephane Crouzat declared: "A century after the end of the Great War, France knows the debt it owes to those who came from Ireland to its help and bows to their grandeur. Visiting the battlefields of France and Belgium for his book Wherever the Firing Line Extends, Mr McGreevy highlighted the horrible toll paid by Ireland during the Great War.

"Unearthing the stories of Irelands Heroic Dead, Ronan McGreevy contributes to our common duty, as European citizens, to honour their sacrifice and cherish their memory. Through his publications, Ronan McGreevy brings to life the spirit of the countless men and women of Ireland who stood for freedom whenever it was at risk and gave their lives so we could enjoy peace."

Speaking ahead of the event, Ronan McGreevy declared: "I am deeply honoured to be the recipient of such a prestigious award. I accept it not only on my own behalf, but on behalf of all of those who have sought to honour the memory of the Irish who fought in the First World War even while others in Irish society would prefer to forget. More Irishmen died in defence of the French Republic in the First World War than died in the creation of our own republic. It is right that France remembers.

"In 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the Armistice, the former Allied supreme commander Ferdinand Foch wrote in the pages of The Irish Times: France will never forget her debt to the heroic Irish dead and in the hearts of the French people today their memory lives as that of the memory of the heroes of old, preserved in the tales that the old people tell to their children and their childrens children.

"Just a few weeks ago I heard those childrens children sing A Long Way to Tipperary at a ceremony to honour the Irish who fell at Le Pilly in October 1914. I am the first Leitrim person since John McGahern in 1989 to win this prestigious award. To receive the same distinction as someone who was one of the finest writers Ireland has ever produced and one who chronicled my county so brilliantly is a proud moment for me."

Established in 1957, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres traces its origins to the Ordre de Saint Michel founded by King Louis XI in 1469. The Order rewards those who have made a significant contribution to artistic or literary creation and who have contributed to spreading arts and culture in France and throughout the world.
Lough Rinn International Rowing and Canoe Course has been jointly awarded the prized Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award, sponsored by Colas Bitumen Emulsions, at the ninth annual Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards.

The awards, held in association with ESB, took place at the Intercontinental Hotel, Dublin on Friday, 9 November, and are presented annually in recognition of the achievements of engineers that have demonstrated exceptional engineering skills. Wicklow County Council also received top honours in this category at the Excellence Awards ceremony as they were also awarded the Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award for the River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.

Developed by Leitrim County Council and Jennings O'Donovan & Partners Limited, the Lough Rinn facility provides greater access to training and racing facilities for the increasing numbers of participants to the sport. The two-kilometre course has eight lanes and is capable of achieving a three-metre depth facility across the entire area of the course. It also has a 1,000-metre area where crews can warm up and cool down. The course can also be modified to accommodate nine lanes for International Canoe Federation (ICF) sprint competitions.

The Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme was voted outright national winner in the flagship Engineering Project of the Year category, sponsored by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. The 30 million project is now providing a safe and secure water supply for over 62,000 residents as well as industry and agriculture in the region, and serves more than 1.1 million tourists who visit the region annually across Tralee, Killarney, Castleisland and Castlemaine.

Speaking at the awards, Pat ODoherty, ESB Chief Executive, said, This years awards once again highlight the outstanding and diverse achievements of engineers across Ireland who have demonstrated exceptional engineering skills through their work whether at home, or aboard. Taking action and leadership to help Ireland build a fit-for-purpose and sustainable infrastructure is a national imperative, with engineers a critical part of making this a reality - and so ensuring Ireland has a ready supply of skilled engineers remains a vital societal and economic priority. Events like the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards inspire and encourage in this respect, and I commend all the participants in the various categories of this years awards.

Caroline Spillane, Engineers Ireland, Director General, added: Engineers are people who create, explore and innovate. Behind every design-led engineering solution are communities and families that benefit. These winning projects are the embodiment of the immense contribution the engineering profession makes as a community of creative professionals to Irish society. They are eloquent testimony to the capabilities of Irish engineers working both at home and abroad. I offer my congratulations to all the entries involved.

Also read: Interested in starting a rowing club in Mohill?
After the success of the inaugural Ireland Lights Up campaign earlier in the year, the GAA are delighted to be once again teaming up with RTEs Operation Transformation and Get Ireland Walking, to make exercise more accessible on the dark winter nights.

More than 150 GAA clubs across the country participated in this exciting initiative in early 2018, with more than 5,000 walkers taking to their local GAA pitch each week to walk off the Christmas excess, catch up with neighbours and banish the winter blues.

Walkers benefitted by being able to avail of the GAA facility being lit specifically to facilitate their walk safely.

The GAA now want to double this figure in 2019 and are encouraging all clubs who meet the criteria to sign up.

John Horan, An Uachtaran Cumann Luthchleas Gael said: In every corner of the country our network of clubs plays a crucial role in contributing towards a healthier Ireland. The benefit of this particular initiative is that this appeals to young and old, players and non-players, with benefits for everyone.

The New Year is always a time when many people look to get out and be a bit more active and the Ireland Lights Up initiative allows them to do that safely within their community and among friends and Id be confident that we can meet the ambitious target of 10,000 people that has been set for 2019.

Ireland Lights Up encourages GAA clubs to switch on their floodlights/ lighting systems every Thursday between 7pm-9pm for a five- week period (January 17  February 21, 2019) as RTEs Operation Transformation returns to our screens for its 12th series in the New Year.

The launch of the campaign took place in Ballyboughal GAA, County Dublin  a club who took part in the initiative earlier in the year.

Healthy Club Officer Joanne Cahill said We had no idea what numbers we would get, but we had 150 walkers, maybe even more, every week. They were coming from everywhere with cars backed up. There were groups of people, families, kids, every walk of life. The walking track in the club is somewhere you can go for a safe walk because there is really nowhere around Ballyboughal and people don't like walking on the dark roads in winter.

Jason King, National Programme Manager of Get Ireland Walking said Get Ireland Walking are delighted to be part of Ireland Lights Up 2019. More and more people now identify with the positive benefits of walking and its through initiatives such as this in partnership with the GAA, that provide safe walking environments for communities and club members to stay active and engage with, in particular over the winter months. The walking tracks are not just for winter and when spring comes around communities have a great base to build upon. Together we can Get Ireland Walking.

Interested clubs can sign up by simply going to GetIrelandWalking.ie, reviewing the criteria and registering online.

The closing date is Friday December 7. During the five- week period Operation Transformation cameras will visit a selection of participating clubs across the series, with all clubs encouraged to capture their stories via videos and images for use on the show, GAA.ie, and RTEs various platforms.
LifeStyle

The best Lifestyle shows are right here, from Australia and around the world. Catch up with the experts on home design and interiors, food and cooking, the property market, and get fresh ideas with the savviest of renovators. Whether you need inspiration for cooking up a storm, to refresh a tired room, or tips to sell your property, Foxtel Lifestyle will always something new for you to watch. Enjoy your favourite experts like Andrew Winter and Neale Whitaker, or Shaynna Blaze and Jamie Oliver live or On Demand.
Tell us a little about BDO:

BDO Limerick is one of the largest accounting practices in the Mid-West of Ireland. We specialise in audit and assurance, tax, advisory, payroll and recruitment. We are Irelands leading advisors to entrepreneurs and owner-managed businesses striving for growth. BDOs global network extends across 154 countries, with over 64,300 people working out of more than 1,400 offices. That means local resources backed by a truly global network  no matter where you do business. This is just one part of BDOs commitment to delivering exceptional client service. We have four offices across Ireland  Limerick, Dublin, Cork and Northern Ireland employing over 500 partners and staff.

What does your own role entail?

I am responsible for managing the outsourced payroll department where we manage payrolls for a large portfolio of clients across various sectors from small local businesses to multinationals. We work closely with all our clients to develop a solution that works for their individual needs. It can be an extremely challenging role as payroll must be delivered accurately, on time, every time. There is no room for error and we are constantly working to strict deadlines. I really enjoy the variety of the work, no two days are the same. I also enjoy interacting with the clients, the payroll team, my colleagues across various departments, our software providers and Revenue on a daily basis. This year I have been involved with PAYE Modernisation and I have provided several talks in conjunction with Revenue on the topic which I have very much enjoyed.

Where were you born and raised?

I am from Ballina in Co Tipperary, and thats where I remain to this day.

What is your educational background?

After leaving school I attended IT Tralee where I obtained a diploma in business and accounting. I returned to college three years ago and completed my degree in business and accounting with University College Dublin.

How did you get to where you are today?

Following on from college I worked in retail for a number of years before completing an evening course in payroll which led to a role as a trainee payroll associate with an outsourced payroll company here in Limerick. I worked there for over nine years moving from trainee to payroll executive, to senior payroll executive and then on to payroll manager. During this period, I completed my training with the Irish Payroll Association, both in payroll techniques and advanced payroll techniques. The experience I gained working in outsourced payroll was invaluable. I gained exposure to a huge range of clients with very different requirements as part of a large team of payroll experts and I learned a great deal. I particularly enjoyed the role of Payroll Manager, training the team and developing solutions for the more challenging account being the aspects of the role I enjoyed most.

Why did you decide to join the company?

BDO were recruiting for an implementation manager and a friend of mine who was working here at the time suggested I apply. I was looking for a new challenge and BDO were keen to grow the payroll department, so I was confident that it was a role I could bring a lot to. I also felt that the working environment and culture would be a good fit for me. The fact BDO is an accountancy firm and not just an outsourced payroll provider appealed greatly to me. I knew that having access to such a large pool of knowledge and specialist advisors throughout the firm would be a massive benefit to me in my role and was definitely a deciding factor in joining the firm.

What are your goals for the next 12 months?

Developing the outsourced payroll department will be the main focus for me over the coming year. An increasing number of organisations are beginning to see the value of outsourcing their payroll function and thus removing the risks particularly regarding single points of failure. In the short term the key focus is PAYE modernisation, an area Im keenly interested in, which will no doubt bring its own challenges. On a personal level my goal is to walk the Camino Way!

Who do you admire in business?

I would find it very difficult to pick out an individual, but I have to say I have real admiration for entrepreneurs and small business owners particularly some of the individuals I have encountered in my current role. It is not an easy path particularly over the past number of years and I have a great deal of respect for these individuals.

In business and life, are you guided by any particular motto?

Every day is a school day

Away from work, what are your pastimes and hobbies?

I love to travel, be it a weekend away here in Ireland or travelling abroad. I enjoy reading, keeping fit and spending time with my family and friends. I have two dogs who keep me pretty busy!
IRISH Water is to begin replacing old water pipes around Limerick city in a bid to tackle leakage.

New water mains will shortly be installed by Irish Water contractors. Old back yard service pipes and lead pipes will also removed in a number of areas around Limerick city in the coming months.

Irish Water has identified a number of areas in the city where the pipe network is in particularly poor condition and customers living in these areas will be contacted directly by Shareridge Ltd to assess their current water connection arrangement.

Many of the pipes connecting the public water mains to individual properties in the city are currently made of cast iron or, in some cases, lead. These pipes are old and in poor condition, and often have high levels of leakage.

The presence of lead in drinking water is also recognised as a health concern.

By replacing this old pipework with modern, plastic pipes, we will significantly reduce the instances of bursts and water outages and will ensure a reliable supply of water to residents and local businesses in the area, said Alan Morrissey, of the Irish Water leakage reduction programme.

Work to replace lead service connections will take place in the following locations: South Circular Road, Laurel Hill Avenue, Dublin Road, Pennywell Road, Summerville Avenue, Bridgets Street, Clare Street, Courtbrack Avenue, New Street and St Patricks Road.

More info can be found on www.water.ie or by calling Callsave 1850 278 278.
SHANNON Foynes Port Company has appointed a property firm to unlock and maximise the potential of a 45.5 hectare site on Limericks Docks.

Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) announced that Savills Ireland would advise on the regeneration of its 45.5 hectare holding in Limericks docklands into a major economic hub for the city and region.

The multi-million euro plan to transform Limericks Docklands promises to deliver up to 1,000 jobs. SFPC unveiled its Limerick Docklands Framework strategy in March of this year.

Under the framework of the SFPC Vision 2041 plan, Savills will advise on the development and reuse of existing obsolete buildings and land for commercial use, while also maintaining Ted Russell Dock as a viable working port, it said.

The Limerick docklands area has to potential to act as a major growth stimulus for Limerick and the wider region, said Patrick Keating, CEO of Shannon SFPC.

Its one of the finest urban sites available in Ireland, not least thanks to its proximity to the motorway and city centre. There was a hugely positive reaction to the launch of our Limerick Docklands Framework Strategy earlier this year and the appointment of Savills to advise on how to maximise this opportunity is a follow-up to that.

The Framework Strategy essentially identifies the potential of the site, particularly for maximising non-core activity assets and also reaffirms our commitment to the continued growth of the Ted Russell Docks there as a commercial port, he added.

Limerick City and County Council is seeking close to 6.5m from the annual Urban Regeneration Development Fund, which is granted by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, for the project.

Savills has a strong track-record in this space, having worked on various high-profile regeneration projects including the development of Bolands Quay  formerly Bolands Mill  which has since sold to Google. In addition, Savills provided strategic consultancy regarding the future development of the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Dublin, where plans are in the pipeline for 1m sq. ft. of commercial development and 3,500 homes.

By 2030, the number of people employed in port related activities could increase by 25% - offering a major boost to the local economy, and the general renaissance envisioned for Limerick, said Andrew Sherry, Divisional Director of Savills Development Services.

Our role is to help Shannon Foynes Port Company unlock and maximise that potential, as outlined in the National Planning Framework through carefully considered, innovative development advice, he added.
THE University of Limerick Alumni Association has bestowed its highest honour on three outstanding graduates at its annual awards gala dinner.

The 13th Annual UL Alumni Awards Gala Dinner, which celebrates the achievements of UL graduates, honoured Dawn Meats chief executive Niall Browne, European policy expert Prof. Brigid Laffan and social entrepreneur Michael Kelly.

This event is very much a celebration of the achievements and contributions of three amazing people, UL president Dr Des Fitzgerald said.

As UL alumni, Niall, Brigid and Michael have made us hugely proud. With each achievement in their careers, they have elevated the reputation of UL by association, he added.

I cant think of better people for our current and future students to look to when they seek inspiration from those trailblazers who have gone before them.

Niall Browne, who was honoured for his business contribution, was appointed chief executive of Dawn Meats at the age of 34.

He currently oversees 23 production facilities in Ireland and the UK, 10 sales offices in Europe and Asia, with more than 7,000 staff and revenues over 2bn.

Professor Brigid Laffan, honoured for her contribution to academia, is the director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute.

Michael Kelly, honoured for his contribution to society, is the founder of Grow It Yourself, a not for profit organisation which equips people to grow their own food.

The Waterford headquartered company has now supported 500,000 growers across Ireland.

Since 2006, 43 UL alumni have been honoured by the association including rugby legend Tony Ward, composer Patrick Cassidy, former Riverdance star Jean Butler and acclaimed Irish artist Alice Maher.

The 2018 UL Alumni Awards celebration took place at the Castletroy Park Hotel, with UL alumna and multimedia reporter Juliette Gash as event MC.

More than 200 guests from University of Limerick, business and the wider community attended the black-tie dinner.
THE President of the High Court has expressed concern in relation to what he described as defective procedures for recruiting doctors to work in hospitals.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly made his comments as he granted an application to suspend a junior doctor who had been working at University Maternity Hospital Limerick.

The High Court heard other doctors raised serious concerns about him lacking basic medical competency and being a danger to patients within days of him starting employment.

According to the Sunday Times, the doctor had claimed he had worked as a Senior House Officer in Scotland even though he was only an observer.

He was originally from Nigeria but studied in the city of Constanta in Romania.

The doctor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was hired in July even though he had never practiced medicine in Nigeria, Romania or the UK. He claimed he made it clear that he had little experience and had only worked as an "intern/observer" at a clinic in London.

It subsequently transpired he had never been taught how to examine a pregnant woman and concerns were quickly raised that he was "lacking in basic competencies".

He was told to work only under supervision and complaints were made to the Medical Council.

The suspension order was sought by the Medical Council to protect the public. It applies pending a fitness to practice inquiry into complaints by two obstetricians about his work.
Methuselah is no ordinary fish, and this month, she's swimming into her 80th year as a resident of the California Academy of Sciences' Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco.

The mature, 4-foot-long (1.2 meters) fish came to the aquarium from Australia in 1938 when she was already adult size, so experts estimate she's between 85 and 90 years old. That likely makes her the world's oldest fish in captivity.

Appropriately named after the longest-living biblical figure (in the bible, Methuselah lived to be 969 years old), it's not just Methuselah's age that makes her stand out. As an Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus fosteri), she represents one of only six living species of air-breathing lungfish, which belong to the class Sarcopterygii. [Photos: The Freakiest Looking Fish]

This ancient group of freshwater fish has been around for 400 million years and is characterized by a unique swim bladder that not only controls buoyancy but also functions as a primitive lung that allows the fish to breathe air.

Besides Australian lungfish, there are also African lungfish and South American lungfish. The two latter groups are known to burrow in the mud and breathe air for months at a time when their ponds disappear in the dry season. And, they sometimes use their four fins to "walk" to another pond.

So, what's the secret to Methuselah's longevity?

"I want to say it's my care, but it's not  it's genetics," said Allan Jan, senior biologist and Methuselah's primary caretaker at the Steinhart Aquarium.

Lungfish are long-lived species. The previous record for the oldest captive fish was held by Granddad, a lungfish at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, who died in 2017 at the age of 84.

See more

Although she's genetically programmed for a long life, Methuselah also has a few traits that may contribute to her endurance.

For example, she has always had a healthy appetite, Jan said. "She eats everything that I offer her, and she eats the most." And although she's not picky, she's refined her palate over the years so that her favorite foods are prawns and figs, Jan said.

Similar to many of us, Methuselah also has a preference for certain people. Jan said he's had many volunteers who want to feed Methuselah over the years, but despite her healthy appetite, there are a few people she simply refuses to take food from.

Jan has also learned that the octogenarian fish prefers the calm tranquility of her small tank as opposed to the larger tank where the Steinhart Aquarium's other two lungfish reside  both are about half Methuselah's age.

When Methuselah was placed in the larger tank, with more space and increased water flow, she responded by resting upside down, on her back. Jan and his colleagues never figured out why Methuselah insisted on her belly-up position, but once they moved her back to her smaller tank, she flipped right-side up and "was absolutely fine," Jan said. "It wasn't a [health] scare, but we didn't want to concern the public."

During her eight decades at the aquarium, Methuselah has seen millions of visitors, who have been delighted by her large size and unusual appearance.

Although these living fossils look like formidable armored fighters, the lungfish are really just big softies, Jan said. Methuselah and the other lungfish enjoy frequent belly rubs and head scratches, just like "underwater puppies," he said.

Australian lungfish are considered a protected species, according to the Australian Museum. The species can be captured only with a special permit and export is strictly regulated.

Methuselah serves as an important ambassador for her wild counterparts, whose populations are struggling from human-caused habitat loss, Jan said, and he bets she'll continue do so for years to come.

Originally published on Live Science.
The global invasion of microplastics now extends to the remotest islands in Chile, and the source could be your washing machine.

Scientists have found plastic microfibers, tinier than 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) in length, in the poop of fur seals on far-flung Guafo Island. It's the first discovery of these tiniest fragments of plastic in wild animal scat, researchers report in the November issue of the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.

The finding points to an alarming, invisible stew of plastic pollution in the ocean, but it also provides a way to track that contamination, said study senior author Cristobal Galban-Malagon, a professor in ecology and biodiversity at the Universidad Andres Bello in Chile. [Our Amazing Planet Top to Bottom: Mountaintop to Ocean Trench (Infographic)]

"We can use these animals, without disturbing them, as sentinels for microplastics," Galban-Malagon told Live Science.

Pervasive pollutants

Galban-Malagon's doctoral student, marine biologist Diego Joaquin Perez-Venegas came up with the idea to search fur seal species for microplastics about five years ago, Galban-Malagon said. The researchers tramped Guafo Island, scooping seal poop from the fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) that use it as a breeding ground. The island is outside the Corcovado Gulf in northern Patagonia and is uninhabited other than small rotating crews who man a small lighthouse built there. The researchers then returned the samples to their lab to dissolve the organic material with lye, leaving only inorganics like plastic behind.

Studies across the globe have found microplastics, or plastics less than 0.2 inches (5 mm) in length, everywhere, including in human feces and in the digestive tracts of creatures living deep in the Mariana Trench. But Galban-Malagon and his team wanted to think smaller. They focused on even tinier plastic microfibers, which are much harder to detect because they're invisible to the naked eye. The researchers had to be vigilant against contamination because fibrous microplastics are everywhere  even floating in indoor and outdoor air.

Of the 51 samples collected at Guafo Island and analyzed by the researchers, 67 percent had these miniscule fibers inside, the researchers found. There were between about 3 and 13 fibers per gram, overall, corresponding to a range of up to 180 fibers per stool sample.

Fibers everywhere

The plastic fibers could be coming from several sources, Galban-Malagon said. They may be degraded bits of lost or abandoned fishing nets, which are typically made of polymer rope. Many probably come from the breakdown of larger plastic pollution, like the plastic bags and candy wrappers frequently found in the guts of seabirds and other marine animals. Another source may be wash water and textiles, Galban-Malagon said: Synthetic fabrics like polyester fleece shed tiny fibers every time they're washed. Wastewater treatment plant filters don't remove fibers that tiny; to find them in the lab, Perez-Venegas and his colleagues had to use filters normally used for catching phytoplankton or even bacteria.

Fur seals are top ocean predators, so the microfibers in their digestive systems probably come from plastics accumulated from the bottom up. The tiny fibers get mixed in with and consumed by plankton, which are then eaten by crabs and fish, which are fur seals' main meals.

"You have something like an umbrella to test if the community that is sharing this space is exposed or not to microplastics," Galban-Malagon said.

Now that microfibers have been found nearly everywhere, the question is if and how they affect animal (and human) health. Lab experiments suggest that invertebrates like sea cucumbers and scallops struggle to reproduce, feed and stay healthy when fed microplastics, according to a 2016 paper in the journal Scientific Reports, but health impacts on larger vertebrates have yet to be studied. For Galban-Malagon and his colleagues, that kind of research is the crucial next step. The team plans to submit a paper on the topic for peer review in the coming weeks.

Originally published on Live Science.
The closest place in the universe where extraterrestrial life might exist is Mars, and human beings are poised to attempt to colonize this planetary neighbor within the next decade. Before that happens, we need to recognize that a very real possibility exists that the first human steps on the Martian surface will lead to a collision between terrestrial life and biota native to Mars.

If the red planet is sterile, a human presence there would create no moral or ethical dilemmas on this front. But if life does exist on Mars, human explorers could easily lead to the extinction of Martian life. As an astronomer who explores these questions in my book "Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go," I contend that we Earthlings need to understand this scenario and debate the possible outcomes of colonizing our neighboring planet in advance. Maybe missions that would carry humans to Mars need a timeout.

Where life could be

Life, scientists suggest, has some basic requirements. It could exist anywhere in the universe that has liquid water, a source of heat and energy, and copious amounts of a few essential elements, such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and potassium.

Mars qualifies, as do at least two other places in our solar system. Both Europa, one of Jupiter's large moons, and Enceladus, one of Saturn's large moons, appear to possess these prerequisites for hosting native biology.

I suggest that how scientists planned the exploratory missions to these two moons provides valuable background when considering how to explore Mars without risk of contamination.

Below their thick layers of surface ice, both Europa and Enceladus have global oceans in which 4.5 billion years of churning of the primordial soup may have enabled life to develop and take root. NASA spacecraft have even imaged spectacular geysers ejecting plumes of water out into space from these subsurface oceans.

To find out if either moon has life, planetary scientists are actively developing the Europa Clipper mission for a 2020s launch. They also hope to plan future missions that will target Enceladus.

Taking care to not contaminate

Since the start of the space age, scientists have taken the threat of biological contamination of other worlds seriously. As early as 1959, NASA held meetings to debate the necessity of sterilizing spacecraft that might be sent to other worlds. Since then, all planetary exploration missions have adhered to sterilization standards that balance their scientific goals with limitations of not damaging sensitive equipment, which could potentially lead to mission failures. Today, NASA protocols exist for the protection of all solar system bodies, including Mars.

Since avoiding the biological contamination of Europa and Enceladus is an extremely well-understood, high-priority requirement of all missions to the Jovian and Saturnian environments, their moons remain uncontaminated.

NASA's Galileo mission explored Jupiter and its moons from 1995 until 2003. Given Galileo's orbit, the possibility existed that the spacecraft, once out of rocket propellant and subject to the whims of gravitational tugs from Jupiter and its many moons, could someday crash into and thereby contaminate Europa.

Such a collision might not occur until many millions of years from now. Nevertheless, though the risk was small, it was also real. NASA paid close attention to guidance from the National Academies' Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration, which noted serious national and international objections to the possible accidental disposal of the Galileo spacecraft on Europa.

To completely eliminate any such risk, on Sept. 21, 2003, NASA used the last bit of fuel on the spacecraft to send it plunging into Jupiter's atmosphere. At a speed of 30 miles per second, Galileo vaporized within seconds.

Fourteen years later, NASA repeated this protect-the-moon scenario. The Cassini mission orbited and studied Saturn and its moons from 2004 until 2017. On Sept. 15, 2017, when fuel had run low, on instructions from NASA Cassini's operators deliberately plunged the spacecraft into Saturn's atmosphere, where it disintegrated.

But what about Mars?

Mars is the target of seven active missions, including two rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity. In addition, on Nov. 26 NASA's InSight mission is scheduled to land on Mars, where it will make measurements of Mars' interior structure. Next, with planned 2020 launches, both ESA's ExoMars rover and NASA's Mars 2020 rover are designed to search for evidence of life on Mars.

The good news is that robotic rovers pose little risk of contamination to Mars, since all spacecraft designed to land on Mars are subject to strict sterilization procedures before launch. This has been the case since NASA imposed "rigorous sterilization procedures" for the Viking Lander Capsules in the 1970s, since they would directly contact the Martian surface. These rovers likely have an extremely low number of microbial stowaways.

Any terrestrial biota that do manage to hitch rides on the outside of those rovers would have a very hard time surviving the half-year journey from Earth to Mars. The vacuum of space combined with exposure to harsh X-rays, ultraviolet light and cosmic rays would almost certainly sterilize the outsides of any spacecraft sent to Mars.

Any bacteria that sneaked rides inside one of the rovers might arrive at Mars alive. But if any escaped, the thin Martian atmosphere would offer virtually no protection from high energy, sterilizing radiation from space. Those bacteria would likely be killed immediately. Because of this harsh environment, life on Mars, if it currently exists, almost certainly must be hiding beneath the planet's surface. Since no rovers have explored caves or dug deep holes, we have not yet had the opportunity to come face-to-drill-bit with any possible Martian microbes.

Given that the exploration of Mars has so far been limited to unmanned vehicles, the planet likely remains free from terrestrial contamination.

But when Earth sends astronauts to Mars, they'll travel with life support and energy supply systems, habitats, 3D printers, food and tools. None of these materials can be sterilized in the same ways systems associated with robotic spacecraft can. Human colonists will produce waste, try to grow food and use machines to extract water from the ground and atmosphere. Simply by living on Mars, human colonists will contaminate Mars.

Can't turn back the clock after contamination

Space researchers have developed a careful approach to robotic exploration of Mars and a hands-off attitude toward Europa and Enceladus. Why, then, are we collectively willing to overlook the risk to Martian life of human exploration and colonization of the red planet?

Contaminating Mars isn't an unforeseen consequence. A quarter century ago, a National Research Council report entitled "Biological Contamination of Mars: Issues and Recommendations" asserted that missions carrying humans to Mars will inevitably contaminate the planet.

I believe it's critical that every attempt be made to obtain evidence of any past or present life on Mars well in advance of future missions to Mars that include humans. What we discover could influence our collective decision whether to send colonists there at all.

Even if we ignore or don't care about the risks a human presence would pose to Martian life, the issue of bringing Martian life back to Earth has serious societal, legal and international implications that deserve discussion before it's too late. What risks might Martian life pose to our environment or our health? And does any one country or group have the right to risk back contamination if those Martian lifeforms could attack the DNA molecule and thereby put all of life on Earth at risk?

But players both public  NASA, United Arab Emirates' Mars 2117 project  and private  SpaceX, Mars One, Blue Origin  already plan to transport colonists to build cities on Mars. And these missions will contaminate Mars.

Another look at the Walanae River on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. (Image credit: Gerrit van den Bergh)

Some scientists believe they have already uncovered strong evidence for life on Mars, both past and present. If life already exists on Mars, then Mars, for now at least, belongs to the Martians. Mars is their planet, and Martian life would be threatened by a human presence there.

Does humanity have an inalienable right to colonize Mars simply because we will soon be able to do so? We have the technology to use robots to determine whether Mars is inhabited. Do ethics demand that we use those tools to answer definitively whether Mars is inhabited or sterile before we put human footprints on the Martian surface?

David Weintraub, Professor of Astronomy, Vanderbilt University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
A lot of scientists think that major quantum effects like entanglement, in which particles separated by vast distances mysteriously link up their states, shouldn't work for living things. But a new paper argues that it already has  that scientists in 2016 have already created a sort of Schrodinger's cat  only with quantum-entangled bacteria.

Usually, we describe quantum physics as a set of rules that governs the behavior of extremely tiny things: light particles, atoms and other infinitesimally small objects. The larger world, at the bacterial scale (which is also our scale  the chaotic realm of life) isn't supposed to be anywhere near that weird.

That was what the physicist Erwin Schrodinger meant to say when he proposed his famous Schrodinger's cat thought experiment, as Jonathan O'Callaghan pointed out in Scientific American. In that thought experiment, a cat in a box would be exposed to a radioactive particle that had even odds of decaying or not. Until the box was opened, the poor cat would be both alive and dead at the same time, which seemed clearly absurd to Schrodinger. There's just something about the quantum world that doesn't seem to make sense in ours. [How Quantum Entanglement Works (Infographic)]

But scientists don't agree on where the boundary between the ordinary and the quantum world lies  or if it even exists at all. Chiara Marletto, a physicist at the University of Oxford and a co-author on the recent paper, which was published Oct. 10 in The Journal of Physics Communications , said that there's no reason to expect that there's a limit on the size of quantum effects.

"I'm interested in studying the border where quantum rules stop applying," she told Live Science. "Some people say that quantum theory is not a universal theory, so it does not apply to any object in the universe, but actually will at some point break down. My interest is to show that actually, that's not the case."

To that end, Marletto and her colleagues went back and looked at a paper published in 2017 in the journal Small that appeared to show some limited quantum effects in bacteria. They built a theoretical model of what might have really been going on in that University of Sheffield experiment, and it shows that those bacteria may have, in fact, become entangled with light particles.

Here's why that's such a radical idea:

Look at yourself, then look at the person next to you. You're physically separate beings, right?

But quantum mechanics tell us that this doesn't have to be the case. Particles, or collections of particles, can become bound up in one another, "entangled" so that their waveforms are entwined. Neither particle can be understood or described without also describing the other. And measuring a physical trait of one particle "collapses" the waveform of both particles. Separate the particles by thousands of miles, and you could still instantaneously learn the physical state of one of them by measuring only the other one.

According to current quantum theory, there's no limit to this effect. What works for a proton should work for an elephant. But in practice, bigger systems are far more difficult to entangle. And scientists have debated whether living things are simply too complex to entangle. You'd struggle to entangle two elephants for the same reason you'd struggle to teach those elephants to do pairs figure skating at an Olympic level: There's no specific law of nature saying that it's impossible, but most people would agree it's not possible.

And yet, in 2017, a team of researchers based at the University of Sheffield in England said they had created a state of what's known as quantum coupling in photosynthetic bacteria. They placed a few hundred bacteria in a tiny, mirrored room and bounced light around. (Based on the length of the mini room, only a certain wavelength of light persisted over time, known as the resonant frequency.) Over time, six of the bacteria appeared to develop a limited quantum connection to the light. So the resonant frequency of light inside the tiny room seemed to synchronize with the frequency at which electrons jumped in and out of position inside the bacteria's photosynthetic molecules. (For more on this effect, check out this link.)

Marletto said that her model shows that this effect likely involved more than just quantum coupling. There was likely something going on even weirder than what those experimentalists described, she said

The bacteria, she and her colleagues showed, likely became entangled with the light. What this means is that the equations used to define each of the waveforms  of both the light and the bacteria  become one equation. Neither is solvable without the other. (According to quantum mechanics, all objects can be described as both particle and wave, but practically speaking, in "large" objects like bacteria, the waveforms are impossible to see or measure.)

Like Schrodinger's proverbial cat in a box, the whole system seemed to exist in an uncertain netherworld: The light particles seem to have simultaneously both hit and missed the bacteria.

This doesn't prove the bacteria and the light were definitely entangled, however  there are other possible explanations that involve classical physics, and those haven't been ruled out yet, she said.

"What is missing in this experiment is the ability to confirm entanglement in a deeper way," she said.

Quantum experiments often involve measuring physical features of one entangled particle to figure out whether those features influence the other particle. In this case, that would have meant measuring physical traits of the bacteria in concert with physical traits of the light. That wasn't possible in this experiment, but Marletto said experiments are already being designed that could demonstrate true entanglement.

Even more interesting, she said, is the question of whether the bacteria use the entanglement in some way that's useful to them, though answering that question would take much more experimental work.

"It is possible that natural selection has led the bacteria to take advantage of quantum effects," she said.

Originally published on Live Science.
In "OUT THERE: A Scientific Guide to Alien Life, Antimatter, and Human Space Travel (for the Cosmically Curious)," (Grand Central Publishing, 2018), Space.com senior writer Mike Wall tackles the most pressing questions about alien life. For example, how are scientists searching for ET? What might aliens look like, would they want to kill us, and are they likely to have sex? The book, which comes out Nov. 13 and was illustrated by Karl Tate, also talks about humanity's quest to get off its natal rock and spread out into the solar system. You can read an excerpt below.

Chapter 1: Where Is Everybody?

In 1950, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi  who led the team that created the first-ever nuclear reactor, the inadequately named Chicago Pile-1  and a few of his colleagues were discussing UFOs during their lunch break. The conversation prompted Fermi to ask his companions, "Where is everybody?" [13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Aliens]

Fermi meant that the lack of visits by ET is distinctly odd. The Milky Way harbors hundreds of billions of stars and is about 13 billion years old, so there has been plenty of time and opportunity for alien civilizations to rise and spread throughout the galaxy. By some estimates, a colonization-minded species with propulsion technology not much more advanced than our own could island-hop its way to every corner of the Milky Way in just a few million years.

The physicist's simple question is enshrined now as Fermi's paradox  one of the two coolest paradoxes of all time, along with the crocodile paradox  and it continues to puzzle scientists to this day. Indeed, the mystery has deepened considerably over the years. For one thing, we're not just talking about the lack of visitation anymore. In 1960, 6 years after Fermi's death, astronomer Frank Drake pointed a radio telescope at West Virginia's Green Bank Observatory at the nearby sun-like stars Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani, kicking off the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).Nearly 60 years later, SETI scientists are still hunting for the first confirmed peep from ET.

Then there's the exoplanet revolution. Alien worlds were purely hypothetical objects in Fermi's day and for decades afterward; scientists didn't announce the first confirmed detection of a planet beyond the solar system until 1992. But in the last decade or so, NASA's Kepler space telescope and other instruments have revealed that the cosmos is teeming with possibly life-supporting worlds. Kepler's discoveries suggest that about 20 percent of the Milky Way's sun-like stars host an Earth-sized world in the "habitable zone"  that just-right range of orbital distances that would allow you to walk around in flip-flops pretty much year-round. The proportion appears to be similar for red dwarfs, the small, dim stars that dominate our galaxy. (About 75 percent of Milky Way stars are red dwarfs, whereas just 10 percent or so are similar to our sun.)

"There's a lot of real estate out there, and we now know that," said radio astronomer Jill Tarter, who co-founded the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and served as the inspiration for Ellie Arroway, the lead character in Carl Sagan's novel Contact and the movie based on it.

Not all of this real estate is way out in the boonies, either. The sun's nearest neighbor, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, hosts an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone. Seven rocky planets circle the dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, which isn't much farther away from us in the cosmic scheme of things  and three of those worlds may be able to support life as we know it. (Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1 lie about 4.2 light-years and 39 light-years from Earth, respectively. The entire Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years wide.) [The 7 Earth-Sized Planets of TRAPPIST-1 in Pictures]

So, again: where is everybody? Nobody knows. The Fermi paradox is tougher than a Brazil nut, and scientists haven't cracked it yet. But it's not for lack of trying. They've advanced hundreds of hypotheses to explain it. As varied as these ideas are, they all encompass just a few basic possibilities, as physicist Stephen Webb noted in his book If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens, Where Is Everybody? Let's take a look at each of these three explanation families.

Possibility 1: What paradox? Intelligent aliens have already messed with us

You may already have wandered off, irritated or incensed that I put the Fermi paradox on equal footing with the beloved crocodile paradox. Perhaps you're now thumbing through a dog-eared copy of Chariots of the Gods? or watching YouTube clips of that "alien autopsy" TV special that Fox aired in the 1990s.

Indeed, one possible resolution of the Fermi paradox is that it's no paradox at all, because ET has already journeyed to Earth. Adherents of this explanation often point to UFO sightings and alien abduction stories, topics that you can read about in chapter 10. For our purposes here, suffice it to say that scientists generally don't regard any of these reports as convincing evidence of alien life. (If they did, you definitely would have heard about it.)

There are more subtle possibilities in play as well. For example, what if ET came to our planet long ago, before people were around to be probed? Unless the voyaging aliens were particularly interested in us, this is much more likely than a documented visit, given that our species has existed for just the last 200,000 years of Earth's 4.5-billion-year history and has been capable of capturing encounters on blurry, low-light video for only a few decades.

Let's indulge in some wild speculation, because it's fun! Say Earth has been colonized many times over the eons by greedy, grabby alien civilizations, each of which ground the planet's native species into the dust in the process. (Don't get too high and mighty: pioneering humans have tended to wreak ecological havoc as we've explored the globe.) As astrophysicist and sci-fi author David Brin has pointed out, a history of such oppression could explain why it took intelligent life so long to arise on our planet as well as the radio silence in our galactic neighborhood. Maybe Earth is the only planet for light-years around to have recovered from the ravages of invasion.

If you squint a little, this scenario lines up with the five mass extinctions that scientists have identified in the fossil record. These great purges occurred about 450 million years ago, 375 million years ago, 251 million years ago, 200 million years ago, and, most famously, 66 million years ago, when an asteroid strike wiped out three-quarters of all Earth's species, including the dinosaurs. "It may not be preposterous," Brin wrote in a seminal 1983 paper, to compare the intervals between these extinction events and the time it might take for different waves of invasion to wash over Earth. The dino-killing asteroid could even have been a weapon of war, slung by a space-dwelling alien faction with a beef against their brethren on Earth.

Brin didn't mean to suggest that any of this actually happened, and neither do I. There's no evidence that it did  no spacecraft entombed in ancient amber, no ruins of a 200-million-year-old city  and I certainly wouldn't put any money on it. But it's possible. [5 Bold Claims of Alien Life]

(Image credit: Karl Tate/Grand Central Publishing)

Possibility 2: They're out there, but we haven't found them yet

As scientists and other logically minded people often point out, absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. It's entirely possible that intelligent aliens are (or were) out there, and we just haven't spotted any signs of them yet.

For example, maybe ET hasn't visited Earth because getting here is just too hard. The distances involved in any interstellar trek are mind-boggling. Proxima Centauri is "just" 4.2 light-years from the sun. But that's almost 25 trillion miles  equivalent to circling Earth 1 billion times, going to Pluto and back 3,450 times, or jogging around the track at your local high school 100 trillion times. It would take a spacecraft about 75,000 years to get to Proxima Centauri using today's rockets.

There aren't enough honey-roasted peanuts and Sudoku books on Earth to make that trip bearable. Even if we assume that aliens, with their pulsating and extravagantly veined brains, have developed super-fast propulsion tech that puts our puny human gear to shame, there's still a big problem: energy. Say the aliens, like Starfleet engineers, know how to build matter-antimatter engines that can accelerate a ship to 75 percent the speed of light. Just making an Earth-Proxima Centauri round trip with this craft would require 100,000 times more energy than the United States uses in an entire year, physicist Lawrence Krauss wrote in his book The Physics of Star Trek. Is the aliens' desire to probe us, or to give the ancient Egyptians some killer pyramid blueprints, really that strong?

Or maybe ET just doesn't want to interfere with the development of life on other worlds  and has hewed to this noble "prime directive" far more successfully than Captain Kirk and his crew have managed to do in the Star Trek universe. (Remember when the Enterprise gang took it upon themselves to destroy the machine-god Vaal in an original series episode? Vaal seemed like a jerk, but still.) It's even possible that aliens are watching us right now, to monitor our technological progress, figure out how we tick, or keep their bratty kids occupied for a few hours.

Some thinkers take such reasoning a step further, suggesting that we and everything else in the observable universe  yes, even love  may be part of a simulation run on a very fancy alien computer. Before laughing this off, consider how much cooler Fortniteis than Burger Time. Those two games were released just 35 years apart, and the hypothetical aliens have had billions of years to come up with amazing graphics and compelling yet believable storylines. Indeed, philosopher Nick Bostrom has argued that the odds we're trapped in a Matrix-style pseudo-existence are actually quite high  provided there are a decent number of super-advanced civilizations out there and at least some of them are keen to create convincing virtual worlds, for fun or profit. Given these two assumptions, the number of artificially created universes, or patches of universe, will far outstrip the number of real ones, according to this line of thinking.

Along similar lines, perhaps ET's technical mastery has driven its focus away from the real world and into the virtual, sapping its desire to explore the cosmos or meet any potential neighbors. (Humanity may well succumb to this fate when high-quality virtual reality porn hits the marketplace.)

There are other reasons why advanced aliens may be keeping their heads down as well. Self-preservation springs to mind: what if they're trying to avoid being destroyed or enslaved by big-time cosmic jerks, like the Borg from Star Trek or the Galactic Empire in Star Wars? Scientists have even suggested that evil aliens may have sent fleets of intelligent, self-replicating "berserker" probes out into the galaxy to hunt for radio transmissions and other signs of intelligent life  and to exterminate any civilizations they find. [The Evolution of 'Star Trek' (Infographic)]

Extinction is another possibility. Maybe those berserkers have done a lot of exterminating over the eons. Or perhaps alien civilizations tend to off themselves in relatively short order. Humanity has come perilously close to a nuclear holocaust several times, after all, and we've recently spurred a global mass extinction that may end up claiming our species as well. And yet, with all that, we've been capable of sending signals to other stars for only a century or so.

If a 100-year messaging life span is the norm for civilizations, "then it's as if there are two fireflies that each flick on once during the course of a long night," said Douglas Vakoch, president of METI International, a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to astrobiology and SETI research. (METI stands for messaging extraterrestrial intelligence  the controversial notion that humanity should reach out to potential alien civilizations, rather than just passively listen.)

The odds that these cosmic fireflies will flash at the same time are, of course, not good. That's sad for them, and sad for any giant space monsters that want to catch them and put them in jars.

It's also possible that ET is trying to get our attention, and we just haven't noticed yet. After all, humanity has been searching for alien transmissions for less than 60 years  the last 0.000001 percent of Earth's history  and always on a shoestring budget.

How shoestring? Well, the US government hasn't bankrolled a SETI operation for a quarter-century. NASA began an ambitious observing project in 1992 but had to stop a year later when Congress cut off the money. (The leader of the defunding push, Nevada senator Richard Bryan, painted the SETI effort as a Mars safari for some reason. "The Great Martian Chase may finally come to an end," Bryan said in 1993. "As of today, millions have been spent and we have yet to bag a single little green fellow. Not a single Martian has said, Take me to your leader,' and not a single flying saucer has applied for FAA approval.")

The SETI Institute and other such groups generally rely on private donations to keep the lights on and the telescopes listening. These donations don't always come through. The SETI Institute had to idle its main ear to the universe, the forty-two-dish Allen Telescope Array in Northern California, for four months in 2011, and the original plan called for the ATA to consist of 350 telescopes, but there hasn't been enough cash to complete the build.

Given this situation and the huge scale of the Milky Way galaxy, scientists have not yet been able to mount a comprehensive SETI survey. They haven't even come close.

Tarter often relies on an analogy to get this point across: imagine that you're searching for fish across the entirety of Earth's oceans, and you wade into the surf and scoop up a single glass of seawater. "If you did that experiment and your glass didn't contain a fish, you probably would not conclude that there aren't any fish," Tarter said. "Well, numerically, the amount of searching that we've done versus the amount that we might have to do is equivalent to that one glass of ocean."

We may not even be looking for the right kinds of signals. The SETI search to date has focused heavily on radio waves and to a lesser extent laser-light pulses, because those are technologies that humanity has mastered. But we're already weaning ourselves off radio-wave transmission just a century after inventing it; when's the last time you sharpened your TV's picture by crumpling some tinfoil onto rabbit ears? Would a billion-year-old alien civilization really still be communicating like this, or in any way we could understand? Maybe ET sends messages via neutrinos, the bizarre and unfathomably numerous particles that zoom through planets unimpeded like subatomic Houdinis. (Trillions of solar neutrinos passed through your body in the time it took to read that last sentence.) Maybe the aliens are telepathic. Who knows?

Our current strategy may be akin to trying to eavesdrop on people via walkie-talkie, according to astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch, who's a professor at the Technical University of Berlin in Germany and an adjunct professor at Arizona State University and Washington State University.

"You probably won't get anything, because everyone is on Facebook," Schulze-Makuch said.

As this discussion shows, many of the ideas bandied about to explain Fermi's paradox basically amount to ET psychology. And that's not the most promising path for a breakthrough: getting inside the heads of super-advanced aliens is beyond us, at least until we stop devoting most of our creative energies to meme generation. (Thank you for indulging this "get off my lawn" moment.)

(Image credit: Karl Tate/Grand Central Publishing)

Possibility 3: We are alone

The last alternative is the most depressing: the cosmic silence speaks volumes.

Maybe Earth is the only inhabited world in the entire galaxy. God loves us that much! Or, if you want to get all science-y about it, the jump from complex organic chemicals to wriggling microbe may be so improbable that it occurred just once, and we hit the jackpot.

This could be a stretch, given how quickly life got a foothold on Earth. Microbes were here by at least 3.8 billion years ago, and perhaps even earlier; some evidence pushes life's emergence back to 4.1 billion years ago, pretty much as soon as Earth had cooled down enough to be habitable. But even if microbes are common throughout the cosmos, intelligent life could still be vanishingly rare. (Astronomers and astrobiologists do actually crack the obligatory joke from time to time: "Hey, we're still searching for intelligent life on Earth!" or "You won't find it on Capitol Hill!") Why? Well, maybe not many planets can offer the long-term TLC required for complexity and smarts to evolve. For example, Earth boasts a large moon that stabilizes its tilt (and thus its climate), and it enjoys the protection of a giant outer planet (Jupiter) whose powerful gravity nudges some dangerous comets away. Perhaps such characteristics are rare for rocky worlds in the habitable zone.

Also, forget what those cartoons showing apes marching toward a proud, pants-wearing future may suggest; there's no "arrow of progress" inherent in evolution. Natural selection favors whatever works, so if simple is successful, simple stays simple. Indeed, that was the story for most of Earth's history. Multicellular organisms don't show up in the fossil record until nearly 600 million years ago  meaning single-celled microbes had the planet to themselves for at least 3 billion years. And there was another long gap before super-smart animals  modern humans  came along.

So it might take a really special set of circumstances to jolt life out of its simple, slimy origins and eventually reach the point where it can invent radio transmitters, spaceships, wheely shoes, and other cool stuff. After all, Earth might still have reptilian overlords if not for that asteroid strike 66 million years ago, which allowed our mammalian ancestors to scurry out from the shadows. [Images: Potentially Dangerous Asteroids]

There are some other important things to keep in mind as well. For example, not all intelligence is the same, as the diversity of life on Earth clearly shows. Chimps, ravens, dolphins, sea otters, octopi, and a number of other species are smart enough to use tools, but only humans have built radio transmitters, spaceships, and wheely shoes. (As far as we know. But if chimps had wheely shoes, you'd think Jane Goodall would've said something.) We can't assume that every intelligent alien species would be technologically smart or able to communicate with us.

The circumstances of their birth may cut many smart aliens off from the rest of the universe. If our own solar system is any guide, the most common life-supporting worlds in the galaxy may be frigid moons and planets with liquid-water oceans beneath their icy shells  places like Saturn's moon Enceladus and the Jupiter satellite Europa. If complex, intelligent life has evolved in such environments  and that's far from a sure thing, given the likely dearth of energy in those dark depths  we might never hear from it.

"How long would it take sentient beings, confined to their pitch-dark liquid habitat by a solid sky hundreds of kilometers thick, to discover that there was a vast universe beyond their world's apparently impenetrable roof?" theoretical physicist Paul Davies wrote in The Eerie Silence, his 2010 book about the Fermi paradox. "It is hard to imagine that they would ever break out' of their ice prison and beam radio messages across space."

Getting an answer

You've made it through the Fermi Paradox Hypothesis Sampler Platter! Did any of the ideas jump out at you? Perhaps the berserkers, for violence and action, or the buried-ocean dwellers, for poignancy? (I picture sallow, eyeless mercreatures sadly strumming lutes.) If so, that's nice, but you probably shouldn't get too attached. We just don't have enough information at the moment to know what's actually going on.

"I find it silly that so many people leap to shout, Aha! I know the answer!'" Brin said. "All we can do is catalog them for now, and maybe rank a Top Ten.'"

But we could start getting at that answer, and soon. Say scientists discover a "second genesis" of microbes  tiny organisms completely unrelated to any kind of life as we know it  on Mars, Enceladus, or another solar system body. We would then know that life is not a super-lucky one-off affair, and we'd strongly suspect that it's widespread throughout the galaxy. This news, combined with a continued SETI silence, would also be troubling for anyone who cares about humanity's future, for it would suggest that the bottleneck limiting the number of intelligent civilizations still lies ahead of us. (There could be a benefit, though: if we think we're the only technologically smart creatures in the galaxy, the resulting sense of responsibility may provide the nudge we need not to destroy ourselves.)

By the same reasoning, getting even a single SETI ping would be a real pick-me-up.

"The detection of a signaleven a cosmic dial tone, with no information  goes on to tell us that we can have a long future," Tarter said. "If somebody else made it through, we can, too."

You can buy "Out There" at Amazon.com.

Excerpted from "OUT THERE: A Scientific Guide to Alien Life, Antimatter, and Human Space Travel (for the Cosmically Curious)." Copyright  2018 by Michael Wall, PhD. Illustrations by Karl Tate. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved. Follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Published on Space.com.
A computerized tomography (CT) scan can be used to diagnose a wide variety of injuries and diseases.

Whether you're visiting the emergency room after a rough spill from your mountain bike or visiting your health clinic for a routine cancer screening, it's likely that the doctor will request internal images to accurately assess your health.

One of the most common ways to capture internal body images is with a computed tomography (CT) scan.

CT scans, also called CAT scans, use a rotating X-ray machine to create cross-sectional, or 3D, images of any body part, according to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). They provide a painless, noninvasive and fast way for doctors to examine bones, organs and other internal tissues.

How CT scans work

During a CT scan, the patient lies on a table that moves through a doughnut-like ring known as a gantry, according to the NIBIB. The gantry has an X-ray tube that rotates around the patient while shooting narrow beams of X-rays through the body. The X-rays are picked up by digital detectors directly opposite the source.

After the X-ray source completes a full rotation, a sophisticated computer creates a 2D image of that slice of the body, which typically ranges from 0.04 to 0.4 inches (1 to 10 millimeters) thick. The computer then combines several 2D slices to create a 3D image of the body, making it easier for a doctor to pinpoint where the patient's problem exists. The scan itself typically takes less than 15 minutes depending on the area of the body being imaged.

To make it easier to identify abnormalities, the patient may be given a contrast material. Solutions containing contrast materials, such as iodine or barium, are introduced into the body orally, rectally or injected directly into the bloodstream, depending on the target tissue. The materials in the solution work by temporarily altering how X-rays interact with certain body tissues, which makes those tissues appear different in the resulting image, according to the Radiological Society of North America. The contrast helps doctors distinguish between normal and abnormal tissue.

Why get a CT Scan

CT scan images help doctors diagnose and pinpoint infections, muscle disorders, bone fractures, cancer, tumors and other abnormalities.

In emergency situations, CT scans are life-saving tools that allow doctors to quickly determine the extent of internal injuries or internal bleeding, according to the Radiological Society of North America.

CT scans are also vital in cancer diagnosis, treatment and research, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Risks involved

While CT scans can be vital tools for assessing health, there are risks associated with the scan.

Depending on the area of the body being scanned, there may be risk of radiation exposure, according to the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN). X-rays are a source of ionizing radiation, which can damage sensitive tissues such as lymphoid organs and blood. CT scans around the abdomen are not advised for pregnant women because of a chance the fetus would be exposed to harmful radiation.

More time in the CT scanner may lead to higher-quality images but also a higher radiation dose, which is often unnecessary, said Dr. Phuong-Anh Duong, director of computed tomography and associate professor at Emory University Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences in Georgia. (A CT scan of just the chest area exposes the patient to about 70 times the amount of radiation as a traditional chest X-ray, according to Harvard Health Publishing.)

An abdominal CT scan image. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Duong said it's important to balance CT scan image quality with the amount of radiation exposure  a practice doctors call ALARA, or as low as reasonably achievable.

There are a few ways to reduce radiation exposure, Duong said. For example, image only when necessary and only the body part needed, and use lower-energy radiation and newer technology, such as more sensitive X-ray detectors.

Occasionally, patients might experience allergic reactions to the contrast materials, but major reactions are rare. If allergies are known ahead of time, medications may be given to reduce the effects of the contrast material, according to the Radiological Society of North America. People with asthma, hay fever, allergies, heart disease or kidney or thyroid problems seem to be more at risk of developing a reaction to the contrast material, although researchers are still unclear as to why.

Next-generation CT scanners

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being incorporated into CT scanners to create better images with less radiation, Duong told Live Science.

Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Central Florida incorporated AI into a CT scan system that was able to detect trace amounts of lung cancer.

In another advance this year, a group of researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City created an AI system that examines CT scan images of the brain. The system can detect problems, such as a stroke, in as little as 1.2 seconds. The team published its results in the journal Nature Medicine.

Another big leap forward in CT scan technology are photon-counting CT scanners. These scanners incorporate a detector that counts and tracks individual photons from the X-ray source and detects individual photon interactions. The result is a clearer image with improved resolution and contrast, as opposed to traditional CT scan images that use energy-integrating detectors to detect large numbers of photons at a time and simply measure intensity. The photon-counting CT scanners can lead to decreased X-ray doses, better tissue differentiation, sharper image quality and a reduced need for contrast material, Duong said.

CT scan machines are also becoming more specialized. CT machines specifically designed for scanning breast tissue provide information comparable to traditional mammograms, but without the need for breast compression, and with considerably less radiation exposure through the chest, according to the NIBIB.

Will CT scans ever evolve to the point of resembling a handheld diagnostic device like the "tricorders" from "Star Trek"? Not quite, although portable and mobile CT scanners do exist, Duong said, such as the mobile, van-mounted CT scanner used by Grady Health System at the Emory University School of Medicine. But the smaller machines aren't as efficient as traditional CT scanners, and it's difficult to protect bystanders from radiation exposure.

Further reading:
CHICO, Butte County  The death toll in the Camp Fire climbed by six Tuesday to 48 as local officials called on the National Guard to help search for human remains in the path of the 130,000-acre blaze.

All six bodies were found inside residences in fire-leveled Paradise, a community with a large population of retirees, many of them disabled and mobility-impaired.

Were going to do everything we possibly can to search for remains, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.

Officials said that firefighters made progress on Tuesday, expanding containment to 35 percent from 30 percent a day earlier. Several arrests were made Tuesday over looting in the burn area.

The fire has destroyed 8,817 structures  including 7,600 homes and 260 commercial buildings. Officials said 5,615 personnel are fighting the fire; 52,000 people remain evacuated in and around Paradise; and 13,085 people remain sheltered.

On Tuesday night, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency in California due to the wildfires, a move that gives health care providers and suppliers flexibility in treating recipients of Medicare and MediCal. The declaration followed President Trumps move Monday to designate Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties federal disaster areas, allowing victims of the wildfires to seek federal aid for housing.

More than 200 people have been reported missing in the fire that broke out Thursday morning, and no update on that number was given Tuesday.

Among the three people identified as Camp Fire victims so far was Ernie Foss, a homebound retiree whose family cared for him at his house in Paradise. Foss was bedridden with a chronic disorder.

So when the relentless Camp Fire tore through his neighborhood on Edgewood Lane on Thursday, he didnt have a way out.

Foss stepson and caregiver, Andrew Burt, tried to get Foss into a wheelchair as a fast-moving wall of fire wiped out the town.

They almost made it.

Investigators found Foss body outside next to his stepsons burned-out van, said Foss daughter, Angela Loo. Burt remains missing.

This is happening for all these people  its just unimaginable, Loo said in a telephone interview from Oregon. For our whole family, its been devastating. Were in shock.

As the number of dead continues to climb in the days after the fearsome blaze, a tragic picture is emerging: many of the missing people are seniors, according to descriptions from loved ones looking for them. Like Foss, who was 63, some lived with mobility challenges or more serious disabilities that would have made a fast escape almost impossible.

The tragedy continues. The search for lives continues, Gov. Jerry Brown said outside his office in Sacramento on Tuesday. The firefighters are doing their best, and I want to express gratitude for that. Other states are providing resources. California is pretty well maxed out.

How to help Evacuees need warm clothes, shoes and socks, and donations are being accepted at the Hope Center in Oroville at 1950 Kitrick Ave. Monetary donations may be made to the North Valley Community Foundation through its website (bit.ly/CampFireHowToHelp), according to Butte County's website. Monetary donations may also be made to the American Red Cross. Visit www.redcross.org, call or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Source: Chronicle research See More Collapse

The blaze hit Paradise so quickly that most residents had to drop everything and run. The towns narrow streets became flooded as traffic came to a stand-still. Some abandoned their vehicles and tried to outrun the fire on foot, jumping into strangers cars in the mad dash out of the inferno.

At many of the towns assisted-living facilities, staff rushed to evacuate their frail clients. Many couldnt walk on their own.

At the Cypress Meadows Post-Acute nursing home, caregivers used their cars, alongside sheriffs deputies and firefighters, to transport 92 residents as embers rained down on them and the fire jumped across roads.

But left behind in the scramble for survival were more of the towns vulnerable residents, who lived alone and didnt have help getting out.

Paradise was a well-known community for retirees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 25 percent of its residents were over age 65. Thats about 10 percentage points higher than the national average.

Whats more, nearly 20 percent of Paradise residents under age 65 are living with a disability, compared with just over 8 percent nationally, according to the Census Bureau.

There is a disproportionately larger senior, fixed-income and disabled population. That is a lot of members of our community, said Paradise Town Councilman and former Mayor Scott Lotter.

Paradise even marketed itself to seniors. In the 1970s, the Paradise Pines subdivision near Magalia just north of town ran television ads around the state to lure seniors to the rural foothills community. The population more than doubled in the years that followed.

They came from fast-paced places like the Bay Area, Southern California and the Sacramento area to live out their later years in peace.

Its a beautiful community, Lotter said. Theres clean air, low crime, good schools and really nice people, so a lot of people located there.

One of those people was Foss.

He was born in San Francisco, raised three children and worked as a studio musician. Before moving to Paradise eight years ago, he was diagnosed with lymphedema, a condition that causes the bodys tissue to retain fluid and swell.

His daughter, Loo, would drive down every few months to prepare meals that he could pull out of the freezer and reheat. Though she lives in Oregon, Loo was in constant contact with her father. Burt became Foss in-home caregiver.

When the fire struck, Loo became concerned. Foss was on a designated list stating that he needed a medical evacuation if disaster hit, but no one showed up to save him, Loo said.

Instead, Burt rushed to the home to help.

Foss neighbor, Dylan Powell, was on his way home from work when the flames moved into town. He rushed to his home to gather up his grandmother and banged on his next-door neighbors home, where Burt was already inside.

I said, Look, guys. We have to get out of here, he said. At that point Im telling Andrew, Lets get out of here as Andrew is pulling out the wheelchair and Im moving stuff out of the way.

Foss didnt want to leave. Burt and Powell pleaded with him as the flames began to devour trees and brush on Edgewood Lane. At the far end of the dead-end street, several people burned to death, trapped in their cars.

When Andrew was telling me, Im staying, he was under the impression that there was going to be firefighters or an ambulance coming to his rescue, Powell said.

Standing inside the home, Powell got a desperate call from his girlfriend, who was in another part of town.

She basically said, Im not going to make it. I love you, he said. I had to go, so I hugged them and said I love them, and grabbed my grandma and left.

Flames licked the sides of his car, and the sky turned to red darkness as he drove away, he said. Powell put blankets and sweaters over his grandmother to protect her from the heat in the agonizingly slow drive to find his girlfriend and get out of town.

Powell found his girlfriend and they made it out safely, but back on Edgewood, things were becoming hopeless. Burt apparently persuaded Foss to get in the wheelchair and got him outside.

They were basically trapped, Loo said. My dad is a big guy. My stepbrother is a big guy. From some miracle he got him into a wheelchair and to the van, and thats where they found him.

Foss dog, Bernice, his longtime companion, died at his side. A detective told Loo that her father was burned on one side. If the family wanted to have an open casket, they could. Foss family pictures, record collection, Fender guitar and other instruments were all lost.

Everything is gone, Loo said. The weight of that just started to hit me. I cant imagine what its like for other people going through the same thing.

The Butte County Sheriffs Office has activated a call center to respond to reports of people missing in the Camp Fire. Anyone with a missing family member, or those who have located a missing person, can call 530-538-6570, 530-538-7544 or 530-538-7671.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Sarah Ravani, Melody Gutierrez and Ashley McBride contributed to this report.
"An American Marriage"

By Tayari Jones (Algonquin)

Roy and Celestial are college-educated and upwardly mobile - but they are also black, a fact that has outsize relevance in the toxic landscape of the American justice system.

---

"Baby, You're Gonna Be Mine"

By Kevin Wilson (Ecco)

A narcissistic rock musician whose band has dissolved moves back home in the title story of this imaginative and witty collection.

---

"Cherry"

By Nico Walker (Knopf)

Devastatingly candid, this autobiographical novel is written by a former Army medic now in prison for bank robbery.

---

"Children of Blood and Bone"

By Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt)

Two young women - one royal, one oppressed - join forces to try to restore magic to the kingdom of Orisha.

---

"Circe"

By Madeline Miller (Little, Brown)

A passionate young woman develops occult skills and is banished to a solitary island in this feminist retelling of an ancient story.

---

"Conscience"

By Alice Mattison (Pegasus)

Three narrators weave a story around political activism, privacy, sexual betrayal, racial tension and homelessness.

---

"Crudo"

By Olivia Laing (Norton)

In the summer of 2017, a 40-year-old writer tries to adjust not only to her new marriage but also to a world that seems to be falling apart.

---

"The Female Persuasion"

By Meg Wolitzer (Riverhead)

A studious freshman whose worldview is altered by a feminist icon makes her way through college, love and the daunting uncertainties of real life.

---

"Flights"

By Olga Tokarczuk; translated by Jennifer Croft (Riverhead)

Some of the tales woven loosely together in this novel, which won the Man Booker award for translated fiction, border on the grotesque, but they are enlivened by the author's humor and optimistic voice.

---

"Florida"

By Lauren Groff (Riverhead)

Heat, alligators, hurricanes and other dangers lurk in these 11 short stories set in the bizarre lushness of the Sunshine State.

---

"French Exit"

By Patrick deWitt (Ecco)

Having squandered her inheritance, an eccentric widow sells what property is left and sails with her son to Paris.

---

"Girls Burn Brighter"

By Shobha Rao (Flatiron)

Two girls survive poverty and cruel fates in India and follow separate paths to new lives - and sometimes more brutality - in America.

---

"The Great Alone"

By Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's)

In 1974, an alcoholic Vietnam veteran inherits a cabin in Alaska and moves there with his wife and teenage daughter.

---

"The Great Believers"

By Rebecca Makkai (Viking)

A woman cares for her dying brother during the 1980s AIDS epidemic; searching for her daughter three decades later, she reconnects with one of his friends.

---

"How to Be Safe"

By Tom McAllister (Liveright)

In the wake of a school shooting, a recently suspended teacher becomes a person of interest - and a bitter critic of American society.

---

"If You Leave Me"

By Crystal Hana Kim (William Morrow)

In the aftermath of the Korean War, a young South Korean must choose a husband as her country struggles to develop an identity.

---

"The Immortalists"

By Chloe Benjamin (Putnam)

Four New York siblings ask a clairvoyant to tell them when they will die, and the answers change how they choose to live.

---

"The Incendiaries"

By R.O. Kwon (Riverhead)

Religious fervor pervades the story of three students - a lapsed evangelical, a party girl and an emerging cult leader - who meet and fall in love.

---

"Killing Commendatore"

By Haruki Murakami (Knopf)

A 36-year-old portraitist retrains his sights on his earlier, broader artistic goals, with sometimes magical results.

---

"The Kiss Quotient"

By Helen Hoang (Berkley)

Successful in work but wary of physical contact, a woman on the autism spectrum hires a male escort to teach her about sex and relationships.

---

"A Ladder to the Sky"

By John Boyne (Hogarth)

A satire of writerly ambition wrapped in a psychological thriller: A young novelist claws his way to fame by seducing other writers and stealing their plots.

---

"Lake Success"

By Gary Shteyngart (Random House)

When a hedge-fund manager finds his privileged life crumbling, he takes a bus to Texas to find an old girlfriend.

---

"The Largesse of the Sea Maiden"

By Denis Johnson (Random House)

Ex-wives and ex-friends, prisoners and poets, flunkies and "wayward angels" populate this posthumous collection of five masterful short stories.

---

"Love and Ruin"

By Paula McLain (Ballantine)

The author of "The Paris Wife," based on Ernest Hemingway's first marriage, writes a biographical novel about his third wife, journalist Martha Gellhorn.

---

"The Mere Wife"

By Maria Dahvana Headley (MCD)

"Beowulf" is wittily reimagined as a feminist parody of suburban sanctimony, with a lesser role for the epic's hero, incarnated here as ex-Marine Ben Woolf.

---

"A Million Drops"

By Victor del Arbol; translated by Lisa Dillman (Other)

The murder of a child is the starting point for a dizzying multigenerational drama centered on the Soviet role in Spain's 1930s civil war.

---

"The Music Shop"

By Rachel Joyce (Random House)

It's 1988, and CDs are pushing vinyl into oblivion, but at a run-down English music shop, the big albums provide the soundtrack for an unabashedly romantic treat.

---

"My Sister, the Serial Killer"

By Oyinkan Braithwaite (Doubleday)

A beautiful Nigerian murderer gets some body-disposal help from her sister, a nurse. Then the killer gets interested in a handsome doctor.

---

"My Year of Rest and Relaxation"

By Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin Press)

A bereaved recent college grad takes to her bed, aided by a buffet of drugs and one of the worst shrinks in fiction.

---

"November Road"

By Lou Berney (William Morrow)

One of the most distinctive, unexpected crime novels of recent years begins with the premise that JFK's assassination was ordered by a New Orleans mobster.

---

"Only Child"

By Rhiannon Navin (Knopf)

A 6-year-old describes a school shooting - "We kept hearing the POP sounds outside. And screaming." - and its family-rending aftermath.

---

"The Pisces"

By Melissa Broder (Hogarth)

Dogsitting in Los Angeles' Venice Beach, a troubled graduate student meets and falls for a beachgoer who turns out to be part fish.

---

"The Poet X"

By Elizabeth Acevedo (Harper Teen)

Written in short poems, a 15-year-old's diary illuminates her life in Harlem. A National Book Award finalist.

---

"Red Clocks"

By Leni Zumas (Little, Brown)

The lives of four women intersect in a near-future United States where abortion has been criminalized.

---

"A River of Stars"

By Vanessa Hua (Ballantine)

When a Chinese factory worker conceives her boss' child, he sends her to give birth in America - but a sonogram changes her plans.

---

"The Shakespeare Requirement"

By Julie Schumacher (Doubleday)

In a delightfully acerbic sequel to "Dear Committee Members," a cranky English professor becomes the reluctant chair of his department.

---

"The Shape of the Ruins"

By Juan Gabriel Vasquez (Riverhead)

Conspiracy theories about the 1948 assassination of Colombian icon Jorge Eliecer Gaitan provide the framework of a sweeping and magisterial novel.

---

"The Silence of the Girls"

By Pat Barker (Doubleday)

The Trojan War as seen from the perspective of the princess Briseis, captured by the Greek hero Achilles and then lost to Agamemnon.

---

"Still Life With Monkey"

By Katharine Weber (Paul Dry Books)

Paralyzed after a car crash, Duncan survives with the help of his wife, his twin brother and a capuchin service monkey named Ottoline.

---

"Strike Your Heart"

By Amelie Nothomb; translated by Alison Anderson (Europa)

Pain radiates through the story of a successful woman who never had her mother's affection; "Home is where it hurts," she concludes.

---

"That Kind of Mother"

By Rumaan Alam (Ecco)

Questions of privilege and identity are brilliantly depicted in the story of a white mother who adopts a second son - this one black.

---

"Theory of Bastards"

By Audrey Schulman (Europa)

In a near and very dire future, a MacArthur "genius" intently studies the sex lives of bonobos - and a sudden disaster changes everything.

---

"Transcription"

By Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown)

In 1940, Juliet is deployed to eavesdrop on suspected Nazi sympathizers in Britain, and her spy business continues into the Cold War.

---

"Upstate"

By James Wood (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

A British businessman, fearing that his grown daughter teaching at Skidmore College is depressed, arrives determined to help her.

---

"Warlight"

By Michael Ondaatje (Knopf)

"In 1945 our parents went away and left us," the British narrator begins, and decades later, he exhumes their secrets from the mire of espionage and war.

---

"What We Were Promised"

By Lucy Tan (Little, Brown)

A Chinese emigre family moves back to live in luxury in Shanghai, where the reappearance of a long-absent brother opens painful issues.

---

"When Katie Met Cassidy"

By Camille Perri (Putnam)

Katie has been dumped by her fiance. Androgynously sexy Cassidy takes her to a lesbian bar where romantic comedy ensues.

---

"The Winter Soldier"

By Daniel Mason (Little, Brown)

Medical training did little to prepare young Lucius for the battlefields of World War I - and a new "disease" that we now call PTSD.

---

"You Think It, I'll Say It"

By Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House)

Stories by the author of "Prep" illuminate the social, sexual, professional and political realities of this particular moment in America.

---

"Your Duck Is My Duck"

By Deborah Eisenberg (Ecco)

A short story collection that captures the national mood, in a voice that is accurate, disarming and often quotable.
Tom King and Mitch Gerads's Eisner Award-winning collaboration on DC Comics' "Mister Miracle" was never supposed to happen.

Batman was supposed to be the superhero that brought King and Gerads back together after the success of their DC Vertigo Iraq War story "Sheriff of Babylon." The story was "The War of Jokes and Riddles," a Batman tale featuring a battle between the Joker and the Riddler. But when DC decided they wanted the story to appear in their flagship "Batman" title that King was also writing, art duties went to artist Mikel Janin.

Shortly after that decision, King had drinks with DC co-publisher Dan DiDio.

"Write about whatever you want to write about," King recalls DiDio telling him, with the promise that whatever it was, Gerads could illustrate it. DiDio asked if King was interested in writing another series similar to his Marvel hit "The Vision," another Eisner winner. King was. But they needed a hero. DiDio mentioned Mister Miracle, DC's master escape artist, easily a top-five contender for most creative superhero suit ever, born on the Jack Kirby-created Fourth World.

King immediately knew that the incident he (wrongly) thought was an escape from death in April 2016 would inspire Mister Miracle's story over a 12-issue maxi-series (the final issue of "Mister Miracle" is available in print and digital Wednesday). While celebrating his wife's birthday, King had a panic attack that he described as a "first season of 'The Sopranos' " kind of thing, referring to the same anxiety that plagued James Gandolfini's lead character on the show. King thought he was having a heart attack.

But doctors told King he was fine. The world to King, however, didn't seem OK. The year 2016 represented a shift in everything in King's eyes, from the historic political campaign to a country that seemed more divided than ever. When King turned on the news he didn't feel good about what he was hearing. It would all become fodder for "Mister Miracle" and the journey of protagonist Scott Free, the man under Mister Miracle's mask.

"I don't mean this as (something political), but it became a world where sort of every day everyone was dealing with sort of a constant anxiety that things were changing too fast and changing in a way that was fairly horrific," King told The Washington Post.

"I didn't want to write about the politics of it, because a lot of people were doing better work than me, but to write about the anxiety of it and the emotion of it and to write about what it felt like to be alive in sort of this latter-half of this decade when it just feels like we're living in something that's not real. And we feel like we're trapped. And we don't know how to get out," he added. "And I was like, oh, wait, (Dan) just offered me to write Mister Miracle. He's an escape artist. OK, I can put these two things together."

The typical politics of Kirby's Fourth World take a back seat in "Mister Miracle." The almighty DC villain Darkseid, his son Orion (who was traded in a peace offering as a child for a young Scott Free, sentencing Scott to a torturous upbringing on Darkseid's planet Apokolips) are secondary plot points as the titular hero tries to put all of that darkness and pain behind him. To achieve that, Mister Miracle seeks out a quiet suburban life (as quiet as it can be in Los Angeles) with the love of his life, Big Barda, the giant powerhouse who also grew up on Apokolips with him. There are plenty of Boom Tubes, however. There is no Fourth World without Boom Tubes.

"Mister Miracle" begins with Scott attempting suicide, seemingly trying to escape the paradise he's built for himself.

He was "sort of the Jesus of the DC universe where he's the son of (New God Highfather), was traded to the devil (Darkseid) to make sort of a peace between the devil and God. He was raised by the devil and tortured his entire childhood and escapes that torture," King said. "The idea that someone like that would sort of have lingering pains from a childhood spent in torture chambers from being sold by your father into those chambers and that would manifest itself in this sort of semi-suicide attack that you have to find a way to deal with that pain ... just seemed natural to the character I think to both me and DC."

Each issue of "Mister Miracle" following the series-opening moment of shock is an attempt by the hero to get back to as normal a life as possible. Grocery store visits. Planning for parenthood. Stressing over traffic and a condo not big enough for a family. The darkness of Apokolips is there, but so is the life Mister Miracle values over the hell that he was raised in. King says the real-world approach he took with the character was a part of his plan to not try to out-Kirby the late king of comics.

"(Kirby is) huge cosmic ideas that sort of move the universe with every panel. The idea was we can't sort of outdo that, we can't do bigger than that, so we're going to sort of internalize it and make it smaller," King said.

Gerads enjoyed drawing gods that wanted to be anything but.

"(Mister Miracle and Big Barda) don't care that they are gods. They just want to live their perfect suburban life, and that's kind of a nice way for the reader to enter that big world of the (New Gods) as someone who wants to be normal and desperately is trying to act normal," Gerads said. "Sometimes you drop readers into (these) big giant things, and it's really easy to walk away, because you just can't connect to anyone."

One scene in "Mister Miracle" that perhaps Kirby never would have envisioned was Mister Miracle back on Apokolips negotiating for peace, and Darkseid wanting Mister Miracle's firstborn son, Jacob, in return. To calm the tension, Mister Miracle and Big Barda bring a veggie platter (which plays a darker role in the story). Darkseid partakes in the platter. And also, double-dips.

"I won't rest until they release a Darkseid figure that comes with a veggie platter accessory," Gerads said with a laugh. "I just want to hang out at Target and watch little kids pick that up and be like, 'What the ...' "

With "Mister Miracle" having wrapped up, and King and Gerads nabbing Eisners for best writer and penciller for their efforts, both say it is likely they're done with Kirby's Fourth World. They have another maxi-series planned but aren't ready to reveal it just yet, saying only they'll get started after they finally do a couple of issues of "Batman" together.

"I feel like, if you look at it thematically, you could see ("Sheriff of Babylon") and Mister Miracle and this next series as kind of a trilogy," King said. "And then after that, we'll probably be too tired to do anything."
From its first moments, "Widows" signals that audiences aren't in for just another heist movie.

We commence with a tender, deeply sensuous moment between Veronica Rawlins (Viola Davis) and her husband, Harry (Liam Neeson), drawing viewers into their vicarious pleasure and obvious love for each other. A smash cut later, we're in the midst of a chaotic crime scene, where a group of men in a van do desperate, bloody battle with the police who are chasing them, a confrontation that concludes with a shocking moment of explosive violence.

Director Steve McQueen toggles with cool, muscular confidence between these two diametrically opposed scenarios, assuring spectators that they're in exactly the right hands for the twisty, often graphically brutalizing journey to come.

It turns out that Harry - a career criminal who lives in sleek splendor in a Mies van der Rohe building in Chicago - has been killed in that opening conflagration, which also vaporized the $5 million he and his accomplices stole. When Veronica - a union official - learns that Harry owed a portion of the loot to a local gangster-turned-politician, she flies into task-oriented action, recruiting the wives of Harry's henchmen to make one last big score.

Adapted by McQueen and novelist Gillian Flynn from a British television series, "Widows" faithfully obeys the most visceral beats of a classic caper flick, with none of the genre's playfulness or light-footed deviltry. Davis' Veronica is a somber, supremely focused manager who assembles a grimly efficient team of women who have been blindsided by the harsh truths their men left behind: Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) is on the verge of having her dress shop repossessed because of her late husband's gambling debts; Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) has been counseled - by her own mother - to exploit her statuesque beauty by joining a website matching wealthy men to attractive gold diggers.

As Veronica begins to suss out the myriad mysteries behind what Harry did for a living, and as she and the team plan and rehearse the Big Job, it becomes clear that McQueen doesn't intend for "Widows" to be merely a hard-edge version of "Ocean's 8." Instead, he pulls the lens back to contextualize the heist within the larger, labyrinthine, pervasively corrupt world of Chicago itself, where the women's enterprise brings them in contact not just with Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), a crime boss now running for alderman, but with Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), whose father, Tom (Robert Duvall), long ago secured that seat for the family and has no intention of seeing it ceded to immigrants or "people who can't stop having babies."

Millennial-adjacent and hip to 21st-century optics, Jack makes sure to inoculate himself as a white man by concocting a self-serving (and self-enriching) publicity stunt involving a minority-women-owned work initiative. Exposing the cynical use of women of color as props is just one canny way that "Widows" threads real-world issues of race, class and gender throughout a narrative in which the protagonists are constantly tethered to a world where child care is an issue even for would-be criminal masterminds, where the question of where to buy a Glock is answered with a matter-of-fact "This is America" and where, as a preacher intones at one point, "ignorance is the new excellence."

It's also a world of hairdressers, receptionists and other female spaces that might be invisible to male eyes, but house vast stores of subversive power. When Belle (Cynthia Erivo) joins Veronica's no-nonsense sisterhood as a driver, she's fitting it in with other gigs as a stylist and babysitter, leaving her own kids at home while she runs any hustle she can to get by.

Every scene of "Widows" carries with it a sharp-eyed commentary on American life, from its cultural love of violence to its vastly unequal economic system, from its nominal embrace of pluralism to its Darwinian politics. The movie is punctuated by moments of pitiless, horrifying savagery, and one genuinely breathtaking plot twist. But its most memorable quality is the clear-eyed, compassionate honesty with which it depicts the wearying workaday world of navigating structures and interpersonal dynamics inimical to one's health, safety and very being.

Working with his longtime cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, McQueen photographs "Widows" with handsome austerity, favoring clean, hard surfaces that literally and figuratively reflect the film's brittle tone. And he has cast his movie brilliantly, most notably with Davis, Debicki, Rodriguez and Erivo, whose businesslike chemistry belies the sentimentalized brand of sisterhood that Hollywood likes to sell as feel-good feminism. In an equally outstanding supporting cast, Henry, Farrell and Duvall are joined by Lukas Haas, Jacki Weaver and Daniel Kaluuya in the most chilling turn of his career.

When it comes to the climactic sequence, "Widows" succumbs to one or two lapses in logic; or maybe it moves so swiftly that viewers may not catch every nuance. Still, it proves how smarts and style can elevate even the pulpiest material into something shrewd, socially attuned and bracingly observant. Rarely has a movie been so illuminated by a single character simply breaking into a smile, and rarely has a smile been so unequivocally earned.

---

Four stars. Rated R. Contains violence, crude language throughout and some sexuality and nudity. 129 minutes.

Ratings Guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time.
Fans of Netflix's "Narcos": welcome to Mexico.

The fourth installment of the hit series, called "Narcos: Mexico," will delve into the warring cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border.

It will focus on two rival characters who face off in the war on drugs. On one side, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, on the other, the controller of transporting drugs into the U.S.

>>>A strong cast depicts the fascinating real-life stories. Meet them and their roles in the gallery above.

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, played by Diego Luna, is known as "El Padrino," the godfather. He's responsible for founding the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s and for later becoming the majority leader of almost all the drug-trafficking corridors along the U.S.-Mexico border.

ABOUT SEASON 3: The real-life faces of 'Narcos'

On the opposite side is DEA agent Kiki Camarena, portrayed by Michael Pena, who is intent on capturing Gallardo and helping to end the drug trade. He moves his family, including his wife, Mika, from California to Guadalajara with the goal of maintaining a family life while remaining dedicated to his dangerous task. It ultimately becomes much more difficult and time consuming than he may have originally thought.

While this season mostly leaves behind the Colombian cartels, there are some parallels between Gallardo and Pablo Escobar, the drug lord at the center of the first season. Both are seemingly beloved leaders of their communities and both create some of the longest searches and captures in the DEA's history.

There are also some similarities between the villain and protagonist here, Gallardo and Camarena. For however different their end-goals are, they both care deeply for their families and believe in their work. It should create an interesting contrast of perspectives.

"Narcos: Mexico" debuts Friday, Nov. 16 on Netflix.
Last month, Food Network star Guy Fieri swept through San Antonio, stopping to film at at least three different restaurants in the Alamo City. Later this month, his work at those restaurants will go public on his hit show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Smoke Shack, the barbecue joint that he posted an Instagram picture in front of while in town, said on Wednesday its episode will premiere Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.
The Laredo Animal Protective Society is best known for its efforts at being the only local no kill animal shelter.

LAPS provides a nurturing home for stray animals. The organization helps the Laredo community by taking in homeless cats and dogs and providing low-cost vaccines. LAPS also extends its efforts to educate the community. The agency provides instruction to children at schools and to the community on how to be a responsible pet owner. The team at LAPS say they provide their best efforts to find permanent and devoted homes for the animals that end up there.

When animals are adopted from the organization, they are fully vaccinated and are spayed and neutered. This is accomplished with the help of United Way of Laredo.

RELATED: As cold weather hits Laredo, foster a shelter pup for a week

"United Way has been instrumental in helping LAPS for many years," said LAPS Board President Susie Druker.

United Way assists LAPS by providing funds for vouchers for spay and neuter services. LAPS then distributes these vouchers to the community. Druker explained that this helps with combating the problem of animal overpopulation in the city.

It brings Druker great joy to foster and give a voice to those that do not have one, such as the case of Minnie. After an extensive night of working at the animal shelter, a LAPS board member and manager saw a dog tied to a pole outside with a heavy chain. The only thing that was left with the dog was a note stating, "My name is Minnie."

The LAPS team sprung into action to comfort Minnie, who the team realized is blind. She quickly went from being a scared dog to a happy one who wags her tail and licks faces.

Minnie became comfortable at the shelter, learned her feeding schedule and happily greeted all the volunteers and staff. Everyone was hopeful that she would find a forever home because she had a sweet and playful nature.

READ ALSO: How a San Antonio cat was taken by an Airbnb guest and then returned to his owner

But time passed and Minnie had yet to be adopted. The weather also soon began to get cold. LAPS launched a campaign to foster all the dogs during the extremely cold days. Many volunteers opened their homes to keep the dogs warm, but Minnie still had not found a foster home. Fortunately, the LAPS board president walked into the shelter with her children who kept pressuring her to foster a dog. After learning about Minnie's story, she agreed to take Minnie home that cold day.

Minnie is no longer in foster care. She has been adopted and is now in her "forever" home.

LAPS is happy to have rescued Minnie but would like to remind the public that it is against Texas law to abandon a pet. The community is strongly encouraged not to abandon pets but rather make reasonable arrangements for their care.
An officer-involved shooting on Tuesday evening sent one individual to the hospital, according to the Laredo Police Department.

At approximately 8:50 p.m., officers received a report of a man armed with an ax in the 100 block of Horizon Loop. Within minutes, officers arrived to the scene and saw the suspect wielding an ax in a threatening manner, LPD said.

READ ALSO: Jury finds Laredo woman guilty, convicted of a lesser charge in the fatal shooting of her husband

A hostage negotiating team was then called in to help deescalate the situation. Approximately 20 minutes elapsed as they tried to get the man to drop the ax in order for officers to make an arrest or detention.

Police said the individual was not responding to the commands, but instead made threatening moves toward officers, authorities said.

Following two unsuccessful attempts to end the threat by deploying tasers, three officers were forced to fire their guns, striking the individual at least twice, LPD said.

RELATED: SAPD releases report on officer-involved shooting that left unarmed 18-year-old dead

Authorities identified the individual as Eric John Hale, 60, who was previously arrested on Monday for assault and domestic violence charges, LPD said. Hale was taken to a San Antonio hospital. He is listed in stable condition.

As per department policy, the three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of the criminal and internal investigations.

Charges against Hale are also pending.

JeriLynn Thorpe is a digital reporter for the Laredo Morning Times. Read more of her stories on LMTonline.com | jerilynn.thorpe@lmtonline.com
After deliberating for more than four hours, jurors found Berandatte Perusquia guilty late Tuesday of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Perusquia had been charged with murder for fatally shooting her husband, Juan Perusquia, in 2003.

Following the jury's verdict, Perusquia elected for the judge to deliver her punishment. The punishment phase will begin today in the 49th District Court. Perusquia faces two to 20 years in prison.

Marisela Jacaman, Webb County chief assistant district attorney, told the jurors in her closing argument Tuesday afternoon that Perusquia had to create a story to make it believable that she was scared for her life.

READ MORE: Perusquia provides relationship details, testifies about events leading up to fatal shooting

"You will find the state has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that this is not a self-defense case," she said. "This is a murder case."

Jacaman told the jurors that Perusquia had testified about three people who had witnessed her husband assaulting her, but none of them actually saw it.

"They had arguments," Jacaman said. "They would yell. They would throw things. This was their relationship. They had a bad relationship, but by no means was there any evidence corroborating the testimony that she was seriously beat and sexually assaulted."

She asked jurors to hold Perusquia accountable and find her guilty for what she's done.

"Juan Perusquia may not have been a good husband, but there's a solution to that," Jacaman said. "You leave. You get away. You break up. You dump him. You divorce him. You don't murder them."

Perusquia's defense attorney Chris Gober told the jury that the right to self-defense is no different for a police officer than a person in that situation. In Bernadette, Juan Perusquia met someone who put up with verbal and physical abuse.

READ ALSO: Authorities arrest third suspect in fatal shooting of Laredo man

"Ms. Jacaman would have you believe that he came out of the bedroom to leave," Gober said. "He didn't come out of the bedroom to leave. He came out of there to address some things with his wife."

Gober told the jury that Juan Perusquia was probably angry when he exited the bedroom.

He was in the military and Bernadette was a nurse. She is being confronted with somebody who she says has repeatedly abused her, Gober said.

"She has every right to say to someone, 'You don't get to hurt me,'" Gober said. "Every creature on Earth has the right to defend themselves."

Gober's co-counsel, Robin Norris, said in his closing statement Perusquia was an abuser of women. A man who brutalizes women is not a man, he said.

Two women who were in a relationship with him before he met Bernadette Perusquia testified Friday that he verbally and physically abused them.

"He seemed nice to his friends, but back at home when nobody could see what was going on, he was brutalizing them," Norris said.

READ ALSO: El Cenizo family finds father, mother dead in apparent murder-suicide

"Can (the prosecutors) expect you to believe that a woman who wanted Juan to die, one second after she shot him, to help save his life," he said. "There's nothing in this case to indicate to you that she wanted him dead."

He told the jury that the obvious reason she shot him was to stop him from attacking her.

"She is clearly entitled to behave exactly the way she did," Norris said. "She didn't intend for Juan to die. She acted in self-defense."

Webb County Assistant District Attorney Pete Garza said in his closing argument that Bernadette Perusquia is not a victim of family violence. She is not a victim of rape or of any assaults, he said.

"(Defense attorneys) want to talk about everything else except what happened on that day," he said. "She is a cold-blooded killer."

She asked for the wedding ring back and he gave it to her, Garza said. That meant Juan was done with her, he said.

"He didn't pose an immediate threat that day," he said. "Her words to the officers that day do not justify shooting Juan. The physical evidence is there.

"Funny how Juan's last words were so appropriate, 'It's a lie.' Everything she's told you is a lie. All life has value. Juan's life had value. It takes a certain kind of person to take out a gun inside a house, take out the safety and to point it at someone. We know that she did it to two different men. Two men that were in her life. Two men that she was married to."

On Friday, Perusquia's ex-husband, David Gonzalez, told jurors that she had pulled a gun on him during an argument when they were married.

Norris asked Gonzalez about the time his client displayed her weapon to him. Gonzalez said she pointed the gun at him one time during a verbal disagreement. He said he was in bed at the time and turned away from her. He didn't try to grab the gun from her, but he told her to do whatever she needed to do, Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez testified that he felt fear when she pointed the gun at him.

Perusquia's trial began Nov. 6. It is her second re-trial. A mistrial was declared in the case in 2006 due to a hung jury. In 2011, during the first re-trial, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. She later won an appeal with the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, which ruled that her attorneys failed to provide evidence of the physical and sexual abuse she allegedly endured by her husband.

READ ALSO: An American traveler vanished in Mexico. Now, his family's search is underway.

Following the shooting at their home, Perusquia called 911.

"I need an ambulance," Perusquia said in the 911 call. "I just shot my husband."

In the call, she said that her husband was coming at her so she put the gun on her waistband.

"He came toward me, so I shot him," she said in the call.

An affidavit states that before she shot him, Juan Perusquia had allegedly pushed her on the bed.

"(She walked) over to the dresser and put the gun in (her) waistband because (she) was scared he would hurt (her) or (her) daughter," it states.

Laredo Police Department Officer Jose Sotelo testified that when he first encountered Perusquia after the shooting, she was scared, in a state of panic and had tears in her eyes.

When he saw Juan Perusquia, Sotelo said he was in a lot of pain and a bit angry or upset.

Officers at the scene said they found 26-year-old Juan Perusquia's body lying in a hallway of the residence, with a single gunshot wound to his chest area.
Five Houston area children received some much needed holiday cheer after Houston Texans player Jadeveon Clowney, the Texans cheerleaders and TORO took them on a shopping spree.

After a fire destroyed their home in 2018, the Harris family was forced to move into another family member's house resulting in eight people living in one modest home, according to a press release from Palais Royal and Kids' Meals.
Fulshear Simonton Fire Department

Terry Jones, a battalion chief with the Fulshear Simonton Fire Department, has been deployed to Southern California to assist in fighting the Woolsey Fire.

Jones is serving as a Task Force Leader with Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System "TIFMAS." He is part of the deployment group that left from Katy on Monday morning in response to Gov. Gregg Abbots' announcement to send firefighters from across the state to aid in battling the California fires.
New York

The infamous Mexican drug lord and escape artist Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was alternately portrayed at his U.S. trial on Tuesday as a calculating leader of a bloodthirsty smuggling operation that funneled tons of cocaine and other drugs into American cities and a scapegoat for a conspiracy whose actual mastermind bribed crooked Mexican officials as high as the president to keep his freedom.

In opening statements amid tight security in federal court in Brooklyn, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels told a jury whose identities have been kept secret how the man who got his start in a modest marijuana-selling business became a kingpin known for using an army of hit men to wipe out his competitors and anyone within his Sinaloa cartel who betrayed him.

"Money. Drugs. Murder. ... That is what this case is about," Fels said.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman sought to shift blame in his opening to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, another reputed drug trafficker in the cartel's leadership. The lawyer claimed that unlike Guzman, Zambada is still on the loose in Mexico because of bribes that "go up to the very top," including hundreds of millions of dollars paid to the current and former presidents of Mexico. Lichtman suggested U.S. law enforcement turned a blind eye to the situation.

In a tweet, a spokesman for current President Enrique Pena Nieto called the allegation "completely false and defamatory."

One of Zambata's sons is expected to be the first of several government cooperators to testify against Guzman, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Guzman, who has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition to the United States early last year, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune smuggling cocaine and other drugs in a supply chain to well north of the border.

Despite his diminutive stature and nickname that means "Shorty" in Spanish, Guzman was once a larger-than-life figure in Mexico who has been compared to Al Capone and Robin Hood. He appeared in a dark suit and tie on Tuesday as he listened to Fels describe how he started modestly in the early 1970s by selling marijuana in Mexico, but built his reputation by constructing tunnels across the Mexico-U.S. border to transport marijuana and cocaine so fast that he became known as "the speedy one."

Before long, Guzman was receiving 10 to 15 planes "stuffed with cocaine" each day from Colombia at landing strips in Mexico for transport to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, Fels said.

As his business flourished using the tunnels, trains, planes and vessels, Guzman began taking aim at rivals in the early 1990s, leading to bloody wars. In 1993, he fled to Guatemala but was captured and imprisoned in Mexico for eight years, where he continued running his drug empire, Fels said.

The prosecutor spoke of two dramatic escapes from prison. One of them in 2015 was through a mile-long tunnel dug into his jail cell that he slipped into before fleeing on a motorcycle.

The tunnel escape was a black eye for the Mexican government, amplified when the actor Sean Penn was able to find and interview him at one of his hideouts in Mexico while he was on the run from authorities.

Opening statements were delayed about six hours after two jurors were dismissed for hardships and replaced in a proceeding in another courtroom.
At first, 14-year-old Brett Corbett told his mom he was sent to the principal's office sopping wet because the kids dared him to swim in the creek behind the school, in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.

But then the videos emerged and, with them, an appalling story of bullying.

In one video displayed with this article, Corbett, a high school freshman with cerebral palsy, is seen standing in the middle of shallow, murky water while about 20 kids stare down at him from the top of a small hill. He lies down on his stomach, keeping his palms flat in the mud to steady himself as the current rushes past him.

And then, a moment later, a girl leaps from the bank, steps on Corbett's back as if it were a springboard, and launches herself to the other side - turning Corbett into a human bridge.

In another video, the teenagers are laughing hysterically. They yell at Corbett to get back in the water after he stands up. He doesn't want to.

"Do it, you f------ b----!" one classmate screams, and Corbett does.

Corbett's mother, Terri McEachern, said three students walked over her son.

She has not slept well since this happened last Wednesday. One video has spread across Canada and much of the world, evoking shock and calls to stand up more strongly against bullying. A local boxer organized a "Stand for Brett Corbett" rally outside Glace Bay High School to "show Brett he is never alone." Numerous messages of support have poured in.

But what has amazed McEachern most, she told The Washington Post, is her son's forgiveness. He didn't tell her the truth about what happened to him at first because he said he didn't want the other kids to get in trouble, she said. When she asked him whether he had been walked on after she watched the videos, he told her, "It's OK, I was already wet."

"It's just breaking my heart. This is his mindset," she said. "Children with disabilities have the most amazing gifts in the world. They don't see bad in anyone. They see so much good in everybody."

McEachern didn't find out what really happened to Corbett until family friend Brandon Jolie saw one of the videos circulating on Snapchat and Instagram. Jolie took his own video of the video and shared it with McEachern's older son - and on Facebook.

"Never in my LIFE have I ever been more disgusted," Jolie wrote. "Everyone who knows this boy knows he has a disability. How fricken hard is it to show some compassion??"

The responses to Jolie's post poured in: "How insulting for this young man. A total lack of respect for those with a disability," one said.

"They should be ashamed of themselves," said another.

"This is one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen," another woman said.

McEachern said some of the students involved were suspended for a single day - a response she found terribly inadequate.

She wasn't the only one. About 20 students walked out of classes Friday to protest what they described as the school's failure to take a firmer stand, the Cape Breton Post reported.

"Honestly, it's sickening," a 17-year-old junior told the paper. "It's a little upsetting to see nothing done about it."

School administrators could not immediately be reached for comment by The Post. Michelle MacLeod, a spokeswoman for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education, told the Cape Breton Post that the administration was taking the incident seriously and that it found the behavior "unacceptable and very disappointing." Police are investigating the incident, MacLeod said, but she would not confirm or deny whether the students had been suspended, citing privacy reasons.

Since the video went viral, some of the students seen have apologized. The father of one apologized on his son's behalf at a public meeting and read from a letter in which the boy described his actions as "the worst decision of my life," CTV News reported.

Two girls and their parents came to Corbett's house to apologize to him and his mother. They each read aloud from their letters. The parents all cried. The girls cried. So did Corbett.

"I shouldn't have told you to go [into the water]. I should have helped you up instead of breaking you down," one girl began.

"You are way stronger than me for being so forgiving so fast," she continued, "and I'm really sorry for what I have done. I know better. This is not who I am as a person. I truly care. I made a really bad choice and I will live with that for the rest of my life. I want with all my heart to make this better, and I can promise I will never let this happen to anyone again."

Reading from her letter, the girl said she thought Corbett was an "awesome" and "interesting" person, but perhaps many of the kids at school didn't know that about him. She wanted to get to know him and asked whether they could be friends, "if you're up for it."

Corbett said they could, and soon they were headed upstairs to play Xbox, McEachern said.

"They said, 'I shouldn't have done this to you,' but he said, 'No, I'm glad,'" McEachern remembered. "He said he was glad it happened to him because maybe his story can make a difference."
East Central Independent School District trustees discussed joining a program that allows the arming of school staffers but took no action on it Tuesday night after hearing both warnings and praise for the idea along with pleas for more time for parents to talk about it.

The board heard and discussed a recommendation behind closed doors from a committee of about 20 community members who researched the states guardian plan, which allows school boards to authorize certain staffers to carry firearms and set training standards for them.

Trustees asked Superintendent Roland Toscano to develop answers to frequently asked questions about the program and to distribute the information in emails to parents, social media, the districts website and through handouts on campus. The board plans to revisit the issue in January.

Earlier, about a dozen parents addressed the board in a sometimes contentious public comment period, with several saying they were caught off guard by the proposal.

You had a committee, you had an agenda but you didnt have whole community input, parent and teacher Priscilla Garcia said.

She called for a detailed plan to be shared with the community before a vote is taken.

Another parent, Heather Ramon-Ayala, said she was concerned about the mental state of staffers who might carry weapons, and started to describe being told about a teacher having a breakdown last week. Some audience members booed when board president Steve Bryant interrupted to ask that Ayala not talk about personnel. Were talking about arming staff, another said.

Josh Felker, owner of Lone Star Handgun, said the three-minute average response time of East Central ISD police could be bridged in an emergency by a trained staff, who he compared to fire extinguishers that stop the destruction of a fire.

How many kids were killed by fire extinguishers? asked Keith Keilmann, a parent.

How many extinguishers have stopped fires? Felker responded as Bryant tried to quell the argument. We dont need to wait until a school shooter shows up at our schools.

Bryant predicted before the meeting that trustees might take some action but said he didnt think the board would be ready to appoint staffers to the program, though the agenda allowed it. He said the board would need to have policies in place before approving participants.

We certainly appreciate all of you being here this evening. We have taken your comments into consideration, Bryant said at the end of the meeting. He warned that if the program is adopted, there will likely be portions of the program parents wont know about due to security concerns.

More than 170 school districts statewide have a local version of the guardian plan, the Texas Association of School Boards said earlier this year. It is the more flexible of two options school districts have for arming employees. It allows school boards to determine training standards. The other allows boards to authorize employees to be school marshals but requires licensing by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement after a minimum amount of training.

Bryant said he favors a training program more stringent than that offered under the marshal program and wants staffers to be able to carry their weapons, rather than have them available in a particular location.

The marshal program is too restrictive and does not allow the board to specify the amount of training, Bryant said. In my opinion its not adequate.

Michelle Rodriguez, a mother of two seventh graders at Legacy Middle School, said she is concerned that parents werent adequately consulted as the committee worked toward a recommendation.

I dont expect every parent to be notified. I understand thats not easy. But I do feel something should have went out, maybe a survey. The board members, they represent districts. How come my board member didnt send out a mailer or visit a PTA meeting? Rodriguez said.

Parents were included among the stakeholder groups the committee consulted, including a council of PTA representatives, district spokeswoman Ashley Chohlis said in an email. The recommendation called for extensive and continuing training, including firearms instruction, mental health awareness, de-escalation techniques, and school safety best practices, she said.

Bryant said board members have been mulling ways to bolster school security for a number of years and had sought community input in previous meetings. He noted some schools in the district have been renovated with hardened entrances and other safety measures by the districts 2016 bond.

This is the next logical progression in our working to create safe environments to our students and our staff, Bryant said.

Krista Torralva covers several school districts and public universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | Krista.Torralva@express-news.net | Twitter: @KMTorralva
A training jet crashed Tuesday evening at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, killing one pilot and sending another to a local hospital, the Air Force said.

The identities of the pilots were not provided in a release issued by Laughlin just after midnight, but the Air Force said the survivor was transferred from the base to Val Verde Regional Medical Center. No condition was given.
As I winced my way through an uncomfortable confrontation at a televised White House news conference between President Trump and Jim Acosta, which resulted in CNNs chief White House correspondent having his press credentials yanked, all I could think about was a 3x5 slip of scratch paper.

About 15 years ago, while I was an editorial writer and columnist for the Dallas Morning News, I was on the phone with the county district attorney when the conversation got heated. Id been pounding on the D.A. for months over scandals involving his office. It had even gotten back to me  through sources  that the top prosecutor considered me his nemesis.

On the call, the D.A. tried to rattle me by taking a personal shot. I was all set to fire back with a snarky comment of my own that was loaded and in the chamber. My boss  the editorial page editor  must have sensed what was coming. So, she hurried over to my desk and slid me a short note.

It read: Be professional.

I was. I took a deep breath, ignored the insult, and pressed ahead with the interview. It made for a good column.

My boss didnt want me to get in the mud with an elected official who was at home there. Even if he considered me his nemesis, I wasnt supposed to view him the same way. My boss also wanted to remind me that I was on the job, and I had a duty not to hurt the newspapers reputation.

It wasnt the first time someone tried to get my goat, nor the last. Once, the campaign manager for a Democratic candidate for Texas governor got angry that I had special access to another Democrat  and fellow Mexican-American  vying for the same job. The campaign manager thought I was showing favoritism to the Latino  which, by the way, as an opinion writer, was my prerogative. Yet, clearly intoxicated by white privilege, he threatened to drive to Dallas to have a talk with my publisher in the hopes of getting me fired.

What could I do? I offered to pay for his gas.

Ive never forgiven my old boss for slipping me that note. But now, I understand why she did it.

Since then, Ive had a few run-ins with public officials  a George W. Bush Cabinet member, a Democratic congresswoman, etc.  where, during questioning about immigration, folks complained that I was being overly combative or argumentative.

Upon reflection, maybe I was. Thats the job. Yet, in each case, I have to ask myself: Was I trying to get information, or just showing off? If the interaction was more about me than it was about them, then thats a problem.

Invariably, Acosta makes his interactions with Trump all about himself.

The fact that the CNN reporter had his press credentials pulled  even if only temporarily  will surely feed the legend and perhaps add a couple of zeros to his speaking fee or a future book deal.

Still, Acosta deserved the rebuke. He was arrogant, rude and sanctimonious. He was sent to cover the story, and he made himself the story. He was supposed to ask questions, but instead he tried to challenge the president about the refugee caravan. He asked several questions, instead of one. And when he got answers, he rejected them. He used up time that could have gone to his colleagues. He hogged the microphone, and  at his worst moment  wrestled for control of it with a White House intern, as if it were his own private property.

Someone at CNN needs to slip this guy a note. He stopped being a journalist a while back, and his recent performance  and thats the right word  at the White House demonstrates it.

In the end, I dont care much about how Acosta treated Trump. He has a job to do, and it involves questioning the powerful. I care more about how he treated his media colleagues, which is to say like he was the only reporter in the room  or, for that matter, on Planet Earth. Their deadlines and live shots were just as important as his.

And I care most of all about how he treated that poor intern who learned the hard way that the most dangerous place to be in Washington is between Jim Acosta and a microphone.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sent the Texas Legislature an expensive message as lawmakers make plans to head back to Austin to tackle the budget for the next biennium.

Shortchanging the education of Texas schoolchildren has its price, and it wont be tolerated. Unlike other federal court rulings against the state of Texas on education funding, this one comes with an actual price tag.

The New Orleans-based federal appellate court last week ruled the U.S. Department of Education was within its right to penalize the state $33 million for reducing its special education funding by $33 million in 2012. This is in keeping with federal law that mandates states must maintain the same amount of special education funding to continue to be eligible for the federal grants; the federal dollars are not meant to be substituted for state funds.

The penalty amounts to roughly 3 percent of the $1 billion the state annually allocates for special education. The federal government can demand payment all at one time or spread out the penalty over several years. This fine should be paid from the states rainy day fund, which is holding close to $13 billion, to ensure that the allocation does not have a negative impact on any education-related budgets.

In addition, the court ordered the state to pay the federal governments appeal costs. The feds should waive that part of the penalty in the best interest of Texas students, but at the same time, the state should agree to take this appeal no further. What the state did to children who needed special education services was indefensible.

The state illegally set a cap on the number of students receiving special education and then used the declining participation in the program as the reasoning for decreasing spending in that area. The practice was exposed by a 2016 Houston Chronicle investigation into how special education was being dispensed. This prompted a federal inquiry.

The newspaper found that while 13 percent of students across the country were participating in special education classes, Texas was limiting access to just 8.5 percent of children in public schools. That prompted many parents to seek education alternatives for their children, with many of them having to home-school their children after finding the options were limited.

The Department of Education found the cap to be illegal and ordered the Texas Education Agency to locate and provide services for students who had been denied them. Special education services for the next three years have a projected cost of $3 billion. The bigger problem is going to be finding teachers for the estimated 150,000 additional special education students who are expected to be on the rolls by 2021. There are not enough such teachers in the pipeline to meet the demand.

In a letter sent to TEA in late October, U.S. Department of Education officials said the state was not working fast enough to fix the systemic problems with special education. It set a Dec. 1 deadline for the state to show it has a plan to ensure proper access to special education.

Regrettably, this is not the only education front on which the state has failed Texas children. School districts are still grappling with a less equitable public school finance system more than two years after the Texas Supreme found the system constitutional but in need of serious fixing.

Its time to get down to the business of resolving the serious education finance issues facing the state. Meanwhile, pay this penalty from the rainy day fund and forgo any appeal.
In three of the four states in which residents voted on the issue in this midterm election, they opted for wresting control of redistricting every 10 years away from state legislators and giving it to independent redistricting commissions. And in that fourth state  Utah  the measure was slightly losing on Wednesday, awaiting a final count. The other three states were Colorado, Missouri and Michigan.

Other states voters have previously answered the same when the question was put directly to them  including in California and Arizona. So, its fair to ask how Texas voters would answer. More to the point, why theyve never been given the chance.

Our guess is that Texas voters would view the current process as patently bogus because it allows legislators to draw their own state legislative and congressional districts. This is called many things  foxes in henhouses, cheating, but mostly gerrymandering, done for purely partisan advantage. This is accomplished in this state and elsewhere by depriving growing minority communities of fair representation.

And, of course, Texas voters likely coming to this conclusion about foxes and henhouses is why theyve never been asked to vote on this issue. And this is also why the Legislature will, as it has done in previous sessions, refuse to allow the issue of a public vote to the floor after it convenes in January.

To get such a constitutional amendment to the ballot to affect state legislative seats would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, not likely even if Democrats did pick up 12 seats in the Texas House and two in the Senate in this last election.

But, heres a point that Common Cause of Texas  pushing for redistricting reform from a couple of different directions here  notes: Requiring an independent commission purely for congressional races would require only a majority vote in the Legislature. This would be a good start and more doable since legislators actions wouldnt be affecting their own districts.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June that Texas maps did not improperly use race to draw its lines, hard to reconcile with a lower courts finding that they clearly did. That case was about racial gerrymandering, but the high court has so far punted on the issue of partisan gerrymandering, drawing the lines purely to advantage one party over the other. It has not clearly said this, when found, is as unconstitutional as racial gerrymandering.

The truth is that neither racial nor partisan gerrymandering is hard to find in this nation, the Supreme Courts blinders on the matter notwithstanding. And in Texas, racial and partisan gerrymandering are essentially the same because voting tends to be highly polarized racially  a majority of whites sticking with the GOP, minorities  the fastest-growing part of the states population  mostly voting Democratic.

In the meantime, the 2020 census approaches, which will be followed the year after by new redistricting. In the absence of court action, we wonder if there is a way to at least attempt to force the issue of fairness in redistricting with the Legislature.

What, for instance, would lawmakers reaction be if a petition were undertaken to get the temperature of Texas voters on this issue?

Yes, even if Texans overwhelmingly favored an independent redistricting commission in such a petition, legislators could argue that they were elected to make these decisions, so, ipso facto, voters prefer redistricting as it is. And this would, of course, require having to ignore that these legislators were elected from districts in which they got to choose their voters rather than voters having a fair and competitive shot at choosing the representatives they really want.

Heres another common pushback on independent commissions. Its members are citizens who apply for the positions or folks appointed by the states partisan leaders  either way, partisanship could still intrude. So, simple question: Is that more partisan than the party in power drawing the district lines to stay in power? Other states have seen more fairness in how the lines are drawn.

Texas voters should get the chance of having their voices heard  at the ballot box  on redistricting.
On Sunday last Longford commemorated the 280 or so local men who died in World War I.

The annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony was held on the Market Square, which is organised jointly by the Peter Keenan Branch of ONE and Longford County Council.

ALSO READ: Longford to feature in new World War One book

This was subsequently followed by a parade to St Mels Cathedral for a special Remembrance Mass at 11.30am and an exhibition on the History of World War I went on to draw large crowds throughout the day at the Temperance Hall.

Speaking to the Leader on Sunday, Longford Heritage Officer Mairead Ni Chonghaile and county archivist Martin Morris discussed the impact the loss of life had on the people of the county at the time and the efforts that were made here to help the men at The Front.

The Leader also learned that at least three quarters of the World War I personnel records were destroyed in The Blitz during Nazi Germany's sustained aerial bombing campaign against Britain in World War II.

The reason we have the information that we do have is because people actually went out during a bombing raid and gathered up as much of the paper as they could, said Ms Ni Chonghaile.

Now when you look at some of those records you can see the burnt edges and water marks from trying to put the fires out; so we are lucky really that we know what we do know.

The core information that Co Longford has on its dead came from a list generated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in the 1920s which then formed the basis of the Irish Memorial Roles.

It listed the names of the dead, their regiment and where possible their place of birth.

In Longford terms, probably the best we can say at the moment is that we had over 300 deaths, pointed out Mr Morris.

The vast majority of those served in the British Forces, while there were very small numbers serving in the Commonwealth countries like Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

In some cases there just isnt enough clarity; the tightest count we can do would put the number in the British Forces at a little over 280.

The War Memorial on the Market Square says 284; if you take that as about 13% or 14% of the total number of Longford men, then it is very likely that over 2,000 men from Co Longford served in the Great War.

Meanwhile, the 1911 Census indicates there were 43,000 people living in Co Longford.

These days its close to 40,000, so population wise and despite the passing of 100 years, the county has remained fairly consistent on that scale.

Back then of course, Longford town was pretty much a garrison town, added Ms Ni Chonghaile.

There was also a military barracks in Granard, so we do get a lot of people involved from say, certain streets in Granard like Silver Street, Ball Alley Lane and Main Street.

Same thing in Longford town; you see huge numbers coming from Richmond Street, St Michaels Terrace, Chapel Lane and the Yards just off main street.

A lot of families in Longford would have had military backgrounds going back a few generations and for that reason, people were comfortable with their men in service.

There was strength in numbers and those who came back were a significant number within the town.

They had an Ex Servicemens Club her in Longford town by 1919 and that went on to become a branch of the British Legion.
It is surely starting to feel a little like Christmas now as the Chamber of Commerce ups the ante for its annual Black Friday promotional event in Longford town.

Longford was the first town in Ireland to run a dedicated Black Friday promotion and this year sees the fifth weekend sales' initiative.

ALSO READ: Fresh calls for blanket free parking in Longford over Christmas

Chamber of Commerce President,Niamh Donlon, said she expects 100 plus businesses to take part and she told the Leader: It is now arguably the busiest day of the year in the Longford retail calendar and it really signals the start of the Christmas shopping experience.

All the participating businesses feed into a marketing fund which will enable the Chamber to undertake an ambitious online, print and local radio campaign aimed at encouraging people to shop local again this year.

Throughout the build-up to Black Friday weekend (Friday Nov 23) and in the lead -up to the turning on of the Christmas light on Friday, November 30, participating businesses will be promoted on the Chamber and dedicated Black Friday Facebook pages.

The iniative is all about helping to ensure that shoppers stay local and to that end, Ms Donlon explained: This year we are giving away a top prize of 250 and then also four hampers to five lucky shoppers who visit Longford over the two weekends.

"To enter in the draw, you simply have to shop in any of the participating stores and they will then enter your name in the big draw. All winners will be announced on Thursday, December 6.
Former British Prime Minister John Major will be the keynote speaker at a special event in Longford next month to mark the role played by former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds in the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

Mr Major will travel to the county to deliver a lecture on his former Irish counterpart's role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland at a function at Longford's Backstage Theatre on December 10 next.

Longford County Council Chief Executive Paddy Mahon announced the news at this evening's monthly meeting of Longford County Council.

In doing so, he said the event was also timely as it would coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Downing Street Declaration, an accord both Mr Major and Mr Reynolds helped broker.

News of Mr Major's impending visit was greeted with universal praise by elected members.

Fianna Fail's Martin Mulleady led much of that optimism as he lauded the role played by former Cathaoirleach Cllr Mick Cahill in helping engineer the event.

"To get such an iconic figure and peace maker to Longford is absolutely massive for the county," he said.

Cllrs Seamus Butler and Joe Flaherty also spoke in glowing terms of the announcement by also singling out the role played by local TD Robert Troy in the process.
This year, after months of rehearsals, and busy behind-the-scenes preparations by an enthusiastic crew, the Newtowncashel Drama Group proudly presents Martin McDonagh's multi-award-winning 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane'.

The presentation of this modern classic of Irish theatre coincides with the group's celebration of it's 100th successive year, which is something of an achievement by any standards.

The group began staging productions in 1918, in the Thomas Ashe Hall, which was built on the site of the former Cornadough National School.

The building of the hall, beginning in 1917, was subject to controversy in itself, having been funded by the Sinn Fein Party, much to the dismay of the Irish Party.

Though, differences aside, and with teams of up to twenty men volunteering on a daily basis, the hall was completed in 1918, and was packed with attendees for a dance on it's opening night.

Through the twenties, with supportive efforts from members coming from as far away as Rathcline and Ballymahon, the group evolved into the Cashel Dramatic Society, and by the thirties, the Newtowncashel Dramatic Club (as it had come to be known) staged up to three plays each year, right up until the mid-forties, often performing on St Patrick's night.

But back to this year's production...

'The Beauty Queen of Leenane,' billed as a comedy, though with dark undertones, focuses on the turbulent relationship between Maureen Folan and her elderly mother, Mag, who live an uncomfortable existence together in Connemara.

Maureen, a forty year old spinster, yet to experience her first true love, feels heavily burdened by her mother's feigned (or so Maureen thinks) invalidity.

An opportunity for a romantic encounter comes in the form of Pato, a London-based construction worker, whom Maureen meets at a party, despite Mag's attempts to thwart Maureen's social endeavours by burning the invitation.

Upon Pato's return to London, through written communications, which are intercepted by Mag, the play explores the complications of Maureen and Pato's relationship, culminating in Pato's announcement that he is to emigrate to Boston.

Mag, through a series of revelations and deceptions, attempts to disrupt Maureen's departure to the United States with Pato, and as the tension between them builds, their fraught relationship can only end tragedy...

'The Beauty Queen of Leenane,' produced and directed by Dermot Healy, will run for three consecutive nights on November 16, 17 & 18. Curtain is 8.30pm every night at 'The Hill,' where the group is currently based.
Sports & Recreation, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: November 14 2018

The project matched local veterans with seventh and eighth grade students, who made a portrait and short biography of the veterans.

New Hyde Park, NY - November 14, 2018 - Assemblyman Ed Ra (R- Assemblyman Ed Ra (R- Franklin Square ) partnered with Notre Dame School in New Hyde Park to honor local veterans through a new project based off of President George W. Bushs book Portraits of Courage. He hosted a reception to highlight the success of the project, which is currently on display at the Community Gallery of Long Island Childrens Museum.

I was overwhelmed by the final results  the portraits and, more importantly, the connections made between the students and veterans were life changing, said Ra. I highly recommend the public to visit the Childrens Museums to see the portraits and learn more about the sacrifice and courage of so many local veterans here in our community.
School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: November 14 2018

Hundreds of West Middles students demonstrated their creativity by crafting decorations exhibiting their appreciation for our veterans.

Brentwood, NY - November 14, 2018 - The The Brentwood Union Free School District (BUFSD) honored local veterans for their contributions to our nation, and to show appreciation for those who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. In celebration of the solemn day, Brentwoods West Middle School welcomed students, faculty, and family members to a light breakfast, student performances and artwork, a special recognition to social studies teacher Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Scott, and an unveiling of the buildings newly constructed Wall of Heroes.

Thank you to all of the students and teachers at West Middle who dedicated their time to organize a beautiful ceremony for our local veterans, said Richard Loeschner, superintendent of Brentwood Union Free School District. The district is extremely appreciative of the courageous men and womenour students, alumni, and local community memberswho have dedicated their lives to defend our nation. On behalf of the district, thank you for your service.

Hundreds of West Middles students demonstrated their creativity by crafting decorations exhibiting their appreciation for our veterans. Members of the Art Honor Society designed a large Thank You, Veterans banner that hung across the auditorium stage and created decorative red poppy flower pins that were distributed to each attendee. In classrooms, students created patriotic color posters that hung throughout West Middles lobby. The ceremony began with a drill team presentation from the West Middle Brentwood Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) followed by a moment of silence for those who gave our lives for our country. Students in chorus and the band ensemble performed a rendition of God Bless the U.S.A and various other patriotic songs. Following the ceremony, veterans had the opportunity to reunite with other community members who also served in the United States military during the unveiling of West Middles Wall of Heroes. The wall displays photographs of relatives and community members in recognition of each individuals hard work and dedication.

Felicia Thomas-Williams, principal of West Middle School, dedicated a special recognition to recently retired Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Scott. In addition to his decorated service in the United States Army, Lt. Col Scott has had an immense impact on the West Middle School community as a devoted social studies teacher and building faculty member. On behalf of Brentwoods West Middle School, Principal Thomas-Williams presented Lt. Col Scott with a plaque for his loyal and dedicated service in the United States Army.

BUFSD continued their generosity to give back to those who have given so much to our nation. Students and faculty members collected new and packaged mens and womens clothing in the lobby of each building in a districtwide clothing drive for homeless veterans on Long Island. The family at West Middle School had a great celebration honoring the courageous individuals in our community.
Local News, Crime, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: November 14 2018

More Than 150 New Troopers Graduate from Across New York State.

New York, NY - November 14, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today congratulated the 158 new members of the State Police at the 207th session graduation ceremony from the Basic School of the New York State Police Academy.

"These new Troopers have answered the call and dedicated themselves to selflessly serving the people of New York State," Governor Cuomo said. "I commend these men and women for their hard work over the last 26 weeks and for their commitment to public service. Our state will be safer with these members joining the ranks and enforcing our laws."

"There is no greater or more noble calling than protecting and serving the people of this state," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who spoke at today's graduation ceremony. "I'm honored to congratulate the more than 150 brave and selfless men, women and veteran graduates, who are committed to keeping New York and its citizens safe. Congratulations to the 207th graduating class and thank you for your brave and selfless service making a difference in the lives of others."

New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said, "After 26 weeks of difficult classwork and training, the 207th Basic School will continue the fine tradition of the State Police members that have come before them. This graduation ceremony is the culmination of the hard work you have shown over the past six months. It is also a testament to your continued dedication, as you waited years before your name was called to join the long gray line. I congratulate all of our new members and wish you luck as you start your career."

In addition to honoring all graduates from the 207th Session of Basic School, Superintendent Beach presented the following awards:

Academic Achievement Award

As a special incentive for all students attending the State Police Academy Basic School, the Superintendent sponsors the awarding of a firearm for the attainment of the highest level of academic performance during Academy training.

The winner of the Academic Performance Award is Trooper Richard J. Caster, a 31-year-old resident of Howard Beach, New York. He is a graduate of Long Island University with a Bachelor Degree in History. Prior to joining the New York State Police, he was a police officer with NYPD for six years. Throughout the Academy training program, he achieved an outstanding overall academic average of 98.15%. He will be assigned to Troop NYC.

Firearms Proficiency Award

The New York State Trooper Foundation has sponsored the awarding of a firearm for the attainment of the highest level of performance in all phases of firearms training.

The winner of the Superintendent's Firearms Proficiency Award is Trooper Gene Rhee. age 30, of Pearl River, New York. He is a graduate of SUNY Cortland with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology. Prior to joining the New York State Police, he was a recruit in the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. During firearms training, he fired an average score of 250 out of a possible 250. He will be assigned to Troop F.

Investigator Joseph T. Aversa Physical Fitness Award

The New York State Police Investigators Association has sponsored the awarding of a firearm for the attainment of the highest degree of physical fitness during the Physical Training Program at the Academy. This award will be presented in memory of deceased Investigator Joseph Aversa. Investigator Aversa made the ultimate sacrifice in New York City on March 5, 1990, during a narcotics investigation while serving as a Member of the Joint Drug Enforcement Task Force. Investigator Aversa was a six-year State Police veteran who believed that physical conditioning was an integral part of being a Trooper.

The winner of the Joseph T. Aversa Physical Training Award is Trooper Matthew P. Levine. He is 25 years old and resides in Island Park, New York. He is a graduate of John Jay College with a Bachelor Degree in Police Studies. Trooper Levine was previously employed as a police officer with NYPD. During the physical agility testing, he achieved the highest score of all 158 Members of the 207th Session, a tribute to his superb physical conditioning. He will be assigned to Troop K.

Student Representative

The New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association has sponsored the awarding of a firearm to the Member of the class who is selected by his or her peers to represent them during these exercises. The PBA presents the award in memory of Trooper John J. McKenna IV, who was killed in action in 2006, while serving his country as a Marine in Iraq.

Trooper Jason R. Trembley has been chosen as the class representative. He is 29 years old and resides in Clifton Park, New York. He is a graduate of the University at Albany with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice. Prior to joining the New York State Police, he was a deputy with the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office. He will be assigned to Troop G.
Nature & Weather, Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: November 14 2018

State Parks will construct an interactive facility to encourage renewable energy, and designate a Preservation Area to protect marine life and coastal habitat.

Long Island, NY - November 14, 2018 - The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $18 million for continued revitalization of Historic The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $18 million for continued revitalization of Historic Jones Beach State Park

Ina public-private partnership with PSEG Long Island (PSEG), the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and New York Power Authority (NYPA), State Parks will construct an interactive facility to encourage renewable energy. State Parks will also designate the park's West End a Park Preservation Area to protect the significant marine life and coastal habitat, making it one of only 16 Park Preserves or Park Preservation Areas in the state park system.

Babylon/ "With the addition of the Jones Beach Energy and Nature Education Center, we are putting dollars into what we value most on the South Shore of Long Island: our environment, our clean water, and our education, Assemblywoman Christine Pellegrino (D- Oyster Bay Islip ) said.This center will not only promote increased tourism to Jones Beach, its sustainable, net-zero design and educational programs on the benefits of renewable energy will set an example for all who visit or live here.

As a life-long Long Islander and member of the Assembly Committees on Energy and Environmental Conservation, I am grateful for the State Parks' leadership on preserving natural habitats and revitalizing Historic Jones Beach State Park, Assemblywoman Pellegrino said.

The new Center will be designed to be net-zero, meaningit produces as much electricity as it consumes. Exhibits for all ages will highlight how electricity is generated and distributed, how renewable power resources connect to the grid and our homes, and how we can consume energy more efficiently to lower our carbon footprint.
NORTHAMPTON -- Aaron Julian, president and CEO of Newspapers of New England, which owns the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Valley Advocate and Amherst Bulletin newspapers, sent a letter to employees Tuesday stating his opposition to union organizing efforts.

In the letter, Julian references a large printing press project for the company's New Hampshire operations and says, "things have gotten off-track at the Gazette." But he calls for more communication between staff and management.

The letter was made public Tuesday by New England Public Radio.

"I strongly believe that adding a union to the mix will erode this newspaper," Julian wrote. "Among other factors, it would mean we no longer have the ability to deal directly with you about your employment terms and would inject an outside third party into our relationship. I fear that a union would demand that we treat everyone the same, insisting that we eliminate what I believe is the critical flexibility to treat each of you in a way that's sensitive, as much as possible, to your situation."

There are 72 employees at the Gazette, Advocate and Bulletin. Union organizers on the staff say they have signatures on a petition of support from about 70 percent of those workers.

Workers met with management Monday and asked the company to voluntarily recognize the union that employees are forming in affiliation with NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America.

But if that voluntary recognition doesn't happen, union backers say they are prepared to vote to organize on their own and force the issue. On Tuesday, they filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board to schedule an election, and that vote could happen in about four weeks.

In a news release Monday, the workers who support unionizing efforts said they understand the issues surrounding the newspaper industry. But they are concerned about changing job responsibilities, a gender pay disparity that made national news and the overall quality of the product.

Unionizing efforts do not include workers at other area papers also owned by Newspapers of New England: the Greenfield Recorder and the Athol Daily News.
The Boston Celtics haven't expressed serious interest in Houston Rockets forward Carmelo Anthony, according to a report from the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.

Still, the Celtics are reportedly monitoring the situation. Boston has had interest in Anthony in the past, and now his role as a member of the second unit would make more sense with the Celtics.

The Rockets are yet to officially waive Anthony, but they are expected to move on from him after a slow start on both ends.

The Celtics don't have roster space for Anthony, but they might move on from Jabari Bird, who is dealing with legal issues in a domestic violence case. The NBA may rule that Bird's situation voids his contract, and even if it doesn't, the Celtics might very well waive him anyway.

That would open up room for the 10-time All-Star, who would technically qualify for Irving's request for a 14- or 15-year vet (although it should be noted that Irving's request felt more like an off-the-cuff comment than real agitation for help).

It's not entirely clear the extent to which Anthony would help the Celtics at this stage in his career. In Houston, Anthony shot just 40.5 percent from the field, and roughly 32.8 percent from behind the arc. His best skill for years was isolating against opponents and beating them off the bounce.

But in spurts, his offense could help a bench unit that has struggled despite having plenty of firepower. The smart money would take the field rather than the Celtics as a landing spot, but a team like Boston that hopes to achieve contender status might make the most sense for Anthony at this stage in his career.
As U.S. bishops conclude their annual three-day fall assembly today with plans to vote on a pastoral letter against racism, seven proposed standards defining their behavior as bishops in terms of sexual misconduct were unveiled Tuesday.

According to Catholic News Service, the standards apply to both how bishops respond to allegations of abuse as well as their own conduct.

The standards, presented by the administrative committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, are regarded as extensions of diocesan codes of conduct and will presumably be voted on in the spring.

A last-minute Vatican request for a delayed vote derailed plans for the bishops to debate and vote on the standards during their Baltimore meeting as well as other committee recommendations for greater bishop accountability regarding the Church' sexual abuse crisis.

The bishops were told in a letter Sunday night from the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops to delay the vote until after a February meeting with the pope and presidents of the bishops' conferences around the world that will focus on addressing clergy abuse.

According to CNS, which is an office of the USCCB, every bishop would have to sign the proposed code of conduct if approved. The code is also said to make clear that the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which the bishops formulated in 2002 to address abuse within the U.S. Church, applies "to bishops as well as to priests and deacons."

"If a bishop is accused of the sexual abuse of a minor, the accused bishop is obliged to inform the apostolic nuncio," the code is reported as stating.

"If a bishop has been named in a civil or criminal complaint regarding sexual misconduct with or harassment of an adult, he is likewise obliged to inform the apostolic directly."

The code of conduct is one of several proposals drawn up by the USCCB committee in response to recent developments - in particular the release in August of the 18-month Pennsylvania grand jury report - that showed how much bishops in past decades had covered up the actions of pedophile clergy.

The delay in voting elicited protests from survivors of clergy sex abuse as well as disappointment by the bishops, thought not all were agreement to what was being proposed.

Others proposals reported discussed Tuesday include the establishment of a hotline run by a third party for the reporting of sexual abuse complaints against bishops, the diocesan funding of a commission composed of clergy as well as non- clergy to investigate misconduct by bishops.
The Citgo Sign - the city of Boston's unofficial beacon for decades - was granted official landmark status at a Boston Landmark Commission Wednesday morning.

The designation would protect the sign, which sits atop a building at 660 Beacon St. in Boston Kenmore Square, from any future development that would move the sign or block the public's view, according to paperwork filed with the commission.

It does not prevent the development of the building at 660 Beacon St., however, which worries some petitioners.

"Nationally and culturally, the sign is of Boston, not of an oil company or a government outside the United States," Greg Galer, with the Boston Preservation Alliance said at the Wednesday meeting, as reported by WCVB. "People in Boston and New England see this sign as a symbol of the city."

The city has 45 days to veto the commission's decision.
A teenage girl was shot on Centre Street in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Boston police said the girl was shot in the upper body near 265 Centre Street at 3:11 p.m. Tuesday and was taken to a nearby hospital. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.

Shortly after the shooting two cars collided at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Centre Street, but it wasn't clear if the crash was related to the shooting. One of the drivers was taken in for questioning, police said.

Boston Police Commissioner William Gross told media he was outraged at a press conference at the scene, according to the Boston Globe.

"Enough is enough, folks. You have a young woman shot in broad daylight. We, as a society, should say, 'That's enough,'" he said, according to the Boston Globe.

Gross said community members had stepped forward to help with the investigation.

As of Wednesday morning, police had not made any arrests in connection with the shooting.
GREENFIELD -- About 150 people connected to issues of homelessness will gather Friday to talk about ways in which they can address the problem together.

Those gathering at Greenfield Community College includes mayors and town managers, hospital administrators, members of human services agencies and newly elected state legislators.

It was the election of five new members that spurred the creation of the forum, said Pamela Schwartz, director of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness.

"We knew how committed they are to addressing this issue of homelessness," she said referring to the five -- state Sen.-elect Jo Comerford and state Reps.-elect Lindsay Sabadosa, Mindy Domb, Dan Carey and Natalie Blais.

"It began with the desire to bring them into this work, to orient them to concrete numbers to (help address) this challenge." This way, she said, "they can bring their leadership to bear."

Other legislators or their aides will also attend, as will outgoing state Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose, who did not seek re-election and will be succeeded by Domb.

Schwartz said the thinking was, "Let's reach out early. Let's help inform them (on how) to reduce, prevent and end homelessness."

To do that meant inviting the various people who work with homelessness. While the homelessness coalition has held large forums in the past, "I think this is the first of its kind in the breadth and depth across the counties."

Also participating will be representatives from housing authorities from Chicopee, Greenfield, Holyoke, North Adams, Northampton, Pittsfield and Springfield, as well as from community colleges and the University of Massachusetts and from the state departments of Housing and Community Development, Transitional Assistance, Public Health, and Children and Families.

Homelessness is connected to a range of social issues including poverty, lack of public transportation and child care, and mental health needs, Schwartz said. The forum will provide "a blueprint" for addressing those issues.

"The real hope is that by learning together about the most effective strategies for addressing homelessness, we can more widely implement them on a local and state level." She said the strategies exist but are "in various pockets." This way they can be shared.

"The network has high hopes for real concrete change and practice. ... This is opportunity to educate and inspire," she said.

The event is not open to the public, she said.
SPRINGFIELD -- A 31-year-old West Springfield man on Wednesday denied a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol after police say he drove the wrong way on Interstate 91, crashing into a state police cruiser and two other vehicles.

Yevgeniy Rudenko was arraigned in Springfield District Court in connection with the wrong-way crashes Tuesday night on Interstate 91, which injured a state trooper and two other people.

Judge Kevin Maltby set bail at $1,000 personal surety, the amount recommended by the prosecution and defense.

Rudenko also denied charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, going the wrong way on a state highway and not keeping in marked lanes.

Rudenko would not take a breathalzyer test when booked, so his license is suspended by the registry for 180 days. As a condition of pretrial release he must abide by the 180 day license suspension, Maltby said.

According to a police report written by State Police Sgt. Arthur Hebb, Rudenko was extremely unsteady on his feet, falling backwards against the tailgate of his truck.

Officer started but stopped the field sobriety test because of Rudenko's "total instability" on his feet, the report said.

The crash happened at 10 p.m. on I-91 South near the Springfield-Longmeadow line, said state police spokesman David Procopio.

State troopers spotted Rudenko heading north in the southbound lane in a pickup truck. He apparently entered the highway in the wrong lane somewhere in Connecticut, Procopio said.

State police received several calls from motorists on I-91 reporting a wrong-way driver.

A trooper who spotted him driving in the breakdown lane near mile marker 3 and positioned his cruiser in the path of the truck to get it to stop, Procopio said. But the truck plowed into the front end of the cruiser and continued heading the wrong way.

The trooper, whose name was not released, suffered minor injuries. He was checked out at Baystate Medical Center and discharged Wednesday morning, Procopio said.

After the first collision, the truck continued in the wrong direction for around a half-mile, and struck an SUV and a sedan before rolling over and bursting into flames.

Rudenko suffered minor injuries to his hands.

A passenger in the SUV and the driver of the sedan were each taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of injuries. Procopio said the injuries were serious but not life-threatening.
Reported hate crimes, both in Massachusetts and nationwide, increased in 2017 from the year before, according to information compiled by the FBI.

The federal agency released its annual report on reported hate crimes Tuesday. The report is based on information supplied by 16,149 law enforcement agencies in communities and colleges. The reporting agencies increased by about 900 from 2016.

Nationwide, there were 7,175 hate crimes reported in 2017, up by 17 percent from the 6,126 reported the year before.

In Massachusetts, the total was 486, which is a 9 percent increase from the 444 reported in 2016.

Boston, mostly because of the size and diversity of its population of 682,000, reported the most number of hate crimes in Massachusetts with 140. No other city or town was anywhere close. Springfield reported eight and Worcester six.

Peculiar in the list for Massachusetts is that Westfield State University, with its enrollment of a little more than 6,300 students, reported 10 hate crimes. It was the most of any college or university in the state and more than any municipality other than Boston, Arlington (14), Newton (12) and Salem (11).

There were multiple times in the fall semester of 2017 where racial and anti-Semitic bias emerged at Westfield State. Black students reported finding threatening notes stuck on or slid under dorm room doors. A Latina student said she was assaulted by unknown assailants who made racial comments toward her. And anti-semitic graffiti was scribbled on the walls in a campus building.

The incidents led to news stories, student demonstrations and some strongly worded statements from the college administration denouncing the hatred.

Tricia M. Oliver, Westfield State director of campus communication, said since then Westfield State has taken a number of steps to combat bias on campus, including through programming and curriculum, by working with state and local police and by installing security cameras around the campus.

"Westfield State University addressed these terrible incidents openly, swiftly and comprehensively," she said. "We made it clear that hate will not be tolerated in any form on our campus."

She said the campus has seen "a sharp decline in such incidents."

Oliver did not provide numbers so far for 2018. The university will continue to be vigilant in the future, she said.

The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or property that is motivated by the perpetrator's bias against someone based on race or ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.

Typically, a hate crime involves another offense -- such as arson, assault, destruction of property or even murder -- that has what the FBI calls "an added element of bias."

The FBI is quick to note that it is not the hate that is illegal -- it is the acting on that hate to target someone that makes it a hate crime.

"Hate itself is not a crime -- and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties," it notes in the report.

California, the nation's most populous state with around 40 million residents, accounted for the highest number of hate crimes at 1,270.

Nationwide, nearly 60 percent of reported hate crimes involve racial bias, followed by 20.6 percent based on religious views and 15.8 percent on sexual orientation.

The most common offenses tied to hate crimes are vandalism, 27.6 percent, intimidation, 27.1 percent, and assault, 20 percent.

Of the reported racial incidents, nearly half involved the targeting of blacks.

Among religion-based hate crimes, Jewish people were targeted 58 percent of the time and Muslims about 19 percent. Every other religion was in single digits.

In Massachusetts, the majority of incidents were based on race or ethnicity, 232, followed by those based on religion, 118, and sexual orientation, 65. Hate crimes based on disabilities, gender or gender identity were each in single digits.

Comparing 2016 to 2017 for Massachusetts, hate crimes based on race or ethnicity increased from 212 to 232, or about 9 percent. Incidents based on religious bias increased by 22 percent from 94 to 118.

At Massachusetts colleges, there were 49 incidents of reported hate crimes among the 13 campuses reporting. The previous year, there were 47 incidents reported among 13 campuses. The 13 colleges reporting were not the same both years. Only four of them -- Boston University, Clark University in Worcester, UMass-Amherst and Hampshire College in Amherst -- reported in both 2016 and 2017. There are more than 100 colleges and universities in the state

Racially based incidents doubled from 14 to 37, while incidents based on religious bias declined from 22 to 8. Those based on sexual orientation declined from 10 to 4.

Making a straight comparison is difficult from one year to the next because providing data to the FBI is voluntary, and some reporting agencies do not report each year.

At Hampshire, there was one hate crime reported in 2016. In 2017, the number increased to 3. All were based on race or ethnicity.

At UMass-Amherst, just one hate crime was reported last year. It was based on race or ethnicity. The year prior there were 12, six based on race, four on religion, and two based on sexual orientation.
EASTHAMPTON -- The up-and-running medical marijuana dispensary known as INSA has gained city approval to grow and process recreational cannabis.

INSA must wait for final authorization from the Cannabis Control Commission in Boston before it sells adult-use products at its 122 Pleasant Street facility in Easthampton. Such sales are expected before the end of the year, company representatives said at Tuesday night's Planning Board hearing.

Principals with INSA requested a modification of their existing special permit, which has allowed for medical marijuana cultivation and processing at an 89,000 square-foot grow facility at the Keystone Mill.

INSA previously gained local approval to add adult-use sales at its dispensary. Tuesday's meeting covered growing and processing for the adult-use market.

Medical and adult-use plants will be cultivated in exactly the same way, and the plants will be tracked using RFID tags and the METRC software program as required by the state, said INSA operations director Ian Kelley.

A portion of the plants will always be reserved for medical use, said Stephen M. Reilly Jr., general counsel and chief compliance officer for INSA. He said the exact percentage will be determined by the Cannabis Control Commission.

"They want to make sure the medical market does not lose out to the adult use market," Reilly said.

The company is now waiting for the state to give its final approval and issue a sales ready certificate. Reilly said INSA hopes to be on the commission's agenda at its Nov. 20 meeting.

INSA opened its Easthampton facility in February. It opened a second medical dispensary on Cottage Street in Springfield, but that cannabis is grown in Easthampton.

The Cannabis Control Commission recently issued three adult-use retail licenses in Massachusetts, including one for New England Treatment Access in nearby Northampton. However, no Massachusetts dispensary has yet received a final notice to proceed from the state.
BOSTON - A Haverhill man who has 44-year criminal record and has been sent to prison 10 times, was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to robbing a Santander Bank in Boston.

Gregory Carter, 61, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $6,129 in restitution by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty in to one count of unarmed bank robbery in August 2017, said Christina DiLorio-Sterling, spokeswoman for Attorney General Andrew Lelling.

Prosecutors recommended a 12-year prison sentence, citing his long criminal record. At the time of the March 25, 2017 robbery of the Santander Bank, he was on probation for a prior bank robbery that he had been convicted of committing in 2003 and was sentenced to 151 months in prison, she said.

Carter admitted to robbing the bank on Commonwealth Avenue while wearing a black hat, ski mask, sunglasses, and blue latex gloves. He passed a note to the teller saying he had a gun and demanded money. He fled the bank with $6,127, DiLorio-Sterling said.

Carter was later identified through bank surveillance camera footage, she said.

Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Somerville Police Chief David Fallon; Haverhill Police Chief Alan DeNaro; and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross made the announcement Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling's Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
SPRINGFIELD - State police announced they have charged Yevgeniy Rudenko, 31, of West Springfield in connection with the Tuesday night crash on Interstate 91 that injured a state trooper and two other people.

Rudenko is charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and other charges related to the 10 p.m. crash on I-91 South near the Springfield - Longmeadow line, said David Procopio, state police spokesman.

He is also charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, wrong-way violation, marked lanes violation, speeding, and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Springfield District Court.

Rudenko was spotted by state troopers heading north in the southbound lane in a Chevrolet pickup. He apparently entered the highway in the wrong lane somewhere in Connecticut, Procopio said.

State police received several calls from drivers on I-91 reporting a wrong-way driver.

A trooper spotted him driving in the breakdown lane near mile marker 3 and positioned his cruiser in the path of the truck to get it to stop, he said. Instead the truck plowed into the front end of the cruiser and continued heading the wrong way.

The trooper, whose name was not released, suffered minor injuries. He was checked out at Baystate Medical Center and discharged Wednesday morning, Procopio said.

After contact, the truck continued in the wrong direction for around a half-mile, and struck a Chevrolet Tahoe and a Toyota Corolla before rolling over and bursting into flames.

Rudenko suffered minor injuries to his hands.

A passenger in one of the Tahoe and the driver of the Toyota were each taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of injuries. Procopio said the injuries were serious but not life-threatening.
Video added at 8:49 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018.

Updated at 8:27 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018 to add comments from Frank Dailey, a Boston Bud Factory owner, saying the company will work through officials' questions; details about the proposed business' security plan; Councilor Nelson Roman praising the company's neighborhood outreach; Councilor Dave Bartley asking why the company has chosen Holyoke; and an embed of the Boston Bud Factory special permit application.

HOLYOKE -- A public hearing on a proposal to open a recreational marijuana business at 73 Sargeant St. was continued to Nov. 27 Tuesday at City Hall after discussions about traffic, parking and security.

Boston Bud Factory, consisting of owners Frank Dailey and Carlo Sarno, would run a retail sales and manufacturing facility in first floor space the company would lease, they told the City Council Ordinance Committee.

Continuing the public hearing gives Boston Bud Factory time to address the questions of councilors and city planners about parking around the site at Race and Main streets, an updated security plan, lighting and trash collection.

Also, Marcos A. Marrero, director of the city Planning and Economic Development Department, requested more details about effects the proposed business would have on traffic.

Boston Bud Factory will address officials' questions before the hearing resumes, Dailey said.

"I know we have some ways to go on the plans, but we're working through it," Dailey said.

No one aside from the Boston Bud officials spoke to support or reject the proposal during the public hearing.

Security measures would include surveillance cameras, improved lighting outside and a guard checking patrons' identification cards and then permitting entry buzzing open a door, Dailey said. State law prohibits sales of marijuana to those under age 21.

The initial door buzzing would get a patron into only the business' vestibule, with another buzzing in necessary after that, Dailey said.

"You can't get anywhere into our lobby without being buzzed into the door by our security guard," he said.

Committee members participating in the discussion were Chairwoman Linda L. Vacon and councilors David K. Bartley, Nelson R. Roman and Rebecca Lisi.

Roman, the Ward 2 councilor, praised Boston Bud officials for contacting residents and business owners in the neighborhood to discuss the plan.

"I just want to thank you gentlemen for reaching out to the neighborhood, going door to door," Roman said.

Dailey said after the hearing the business would employ five to 10 people in retail and eventually double that when marijuana manufacturing gets underway. Boston Bud so far has invested over $150,000 in the project, he said.

Dailey is a Springfield native and Sarno a Longmeadow native, according to the Boston Bud special permit application. Both are listed as owners and with an address of 37 Commercial St. here on the application.

The public hearing is part of the process the City Council uses to review such proposals. Boston Bud Factory needs a special permit from the Council, as the local approval, and a license from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, to begin operating.

At the state level, Dailey said the commission has done background checks and fingerprinting in relation to the Boston Bud Factory license application. The commission forwarded some questions to the company in October and there could be another two or three more rounds of questions from the commission for the company to address, he said.

Bartley asked why Boston Bud Factory has chosen Holyoke as a possible business site.

Holyoke has been a pioneer in welcoming proposals about marijuana businesses, Dailey said.

"We really want to keep the local feel to the industry. One of my concerns is all this big money is coming from out of town ... so we're encouraging as many people locally. The more that we can do this locally ... the more positive impact we'll have on the community," Dailey said.

Check back with The Republican and MassLive.com for more coverage of the Holyoke City Council Ordinance Committee public hearing on the Boston Bud Factory proposal.

Boston Bud Factory marijuana special permit application in Holyoke: by Mike Plaisance on Scribd
A group of Springfield City Councilors are renewing an effort to overhaul the structure of the Springfield Police Department, following a nearly two-year legal standoff with Mayor Domenic Sarno.

In December of 2016, the city council overrode Sarno's veto and passed a measure to reinstate a civilian police commission. The move would have stripped hiring, firing and disciplinary power from Police Commissioner John Barbieri and returned those powers to a civilian board whose members would be confirmed by the city council.

The commission would have mirrored the system used in the city until 2005, when a state-run financial control board abolished the Police Commission.

But Sarno said the measure was "invalid," and the city's law office issued an opinion arguing that council confirmation of police commissioners would have violated the city charter, which grants appointment authorities to the mayor.

The new measure, filed by Councilor Timothy Ryan, would allow the mayor to appoint commissioners without council confirmation -- a change that Ryan hopes will put the overhaul on firm legal footing.

But City Solicitor Ed Pikula expressed skepticism about the new proposal as well, saying establishing a civilian commission would be "ignoring professionalism" and is still legally dubious.

"While the proposal has removed the defect from the last proposal that required City Council approval of Board Members, it still conflicts with the City Charter as well as state statutes granting the Mayor authority, as well as the Police Commissioner's contract granting him authority to run the Police Department, establish rules and discipline," Pikula said in a statement.

In an interview, Ryan described the city's police disciplinary system as flawed. Currently, a civilian Community Police Hearing Board hears disciplinary cases and issues recommendations, but final disciplinary authority rests with the police commissioner.

Civilian commissioners would be less entwined with officers in the department, allowing for more impartial discipline, Ryan argued.

"In order for it to work, I think it's important to have the board who's actually going to hear the case have the power to make a decision," he said. "They haven't served 10, 20, 30 years in question with the officer involved or his brother or his cousin."

In a statement, Sarno took a dim view of returning to a civilian-led police department.

"My position has been well defined - keep it professional, not political, and legally sound. The modern day model of a professional police commissioner administering and directing the department is the trend across the country, and has worked well here," Sarno said. "This is indicated by the 45% reduction of overall crime in the last five years. As we continue to work with PERF and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the last thing they would want us to do is go backwards to a now deemed antiquated system."

Sarno also said he has reached out for guidance to the Police Executive Research Forum -- the consulting group currently conducting a separate review of the department's Internal Investigations Unit.

The new measure is being cosponsored by City Councilors Justin Hurst, Michael Fenton, Jesse Lederman and Adam Gomez, Ryan said. If passed, the measure would convert Barbieri's role from Commissioner to Chief, leaving him as the top officer in the department but without authority over personnel decisions.

Under the proposal, an unpaid five-member civilian commission would have power over hiring, firing, promotions and discipline. The commission would also be responsible for drafting budget proposals for the department.

The proposed ordinance is on the agenda for the council's Nov. 19 meeting.

The revived effort to reinstate a civilian commission comes as the Springfield Police Department is facing intense legal and public scrutiny, following a series of misconduct allegations.

Det. Gregg Bigda and former Det. Steven Vigneault were indicted last month on federal civil rights charges. The charges were the latest fallout from an off-books interrogation of juvenile suspects accused of stealing an unmarked police cruiser in February of 2016.

Bigda allegedly kicked two of the teens in the face while they were in custody, and then was caught on video hurling racist invective at the suspects while they were held in the Palmer Police Department lockup. Bigda told one teen he could "crush your [expletive] skull and [expletive] get away with it," according to video obtained by The Republican.

The city has previously said that Barbieri has always met or exceeded the disciplinary recommendations of the current hearing board. But Bigda's disciplinary case, which was resolved with a 60-day suspension through an agreement between Bigda and Barbieri, never reached the hearing board for review.

And a statewide grand jury in Worcester is currently weighing criminal charges against officers connected to the alleged 2015 beating of four Springfield men. The men told investigators they were jumped by a group of attackers in a parking lot near Nathan Bill's Bar and Restaurant, following a heated but nonviolent barroom argument with a group of off-duty officers.

The Hampden District Attorney's Office declined to press charges in the case last year, concluding that while the men were victims of a crime they could not provide strong enough identifications of their attackers to support charges.

But the criminal case was revived by the FBI and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, leading to an ongoing grand jury which has subpoenaed police department records and called officers to testify. The City of Springfield agreed to pay an $885,000 settlement last month to resolve civil lawsuits brought by the alleged victims.

And the U.S. Department of Justice is currently conducting a "pattern-or-practice" of whether there are systemic civil rights violations by the Springfield Police Department. Such inquiries are civil investigations that can lead to extensive court-ordered reforms of police departments if patterns of unconstitutional misconduct are found.
SPRINGFIELD  A 48-year-old city man seriously injured in a shooting last week has died.

Jesus Flores, 48, of Springfield, was hit by gunfire on Nov. 3 on Waltham Avenue. He was admitted to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, said James Leydon, spokesman for Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni.

The shooting occurred at about 10:40 p.m. Police responded to a ShotSpotter activation and found Flores on the sidewalk and suffering from at least one gunshot wound, he said.

Flores, who worked at a restaurant at Tower Square in downtown Springfield, had a long-time partner and was raising a 13-year-old boy with autism with her, said a friend who did not want to be named.

"He was such a good guy. He was always smiling and laughing and he was into sports," she said.

She called him hard-working and a dedicated father who will be missed.

He grew up in Brooklyn and later moved to Western Massachusetts, she said.

The homicide is being investigated by Springfield police detectives and the Hampden district attorney's office. No arrests have been made yet, Leyden said.

"The District Attorney expresses his sympathies to Mr. Flores family," he said.

Anyone who saw anything the night of the shooting or has any information about the crime is asked to call Springfield police detectives at 413-787-6355, he said.
SPRINGFIELD - A West Springfield man accused of driving in the wrong direction on Interstate-91 while drunk, slammed into a Massachusetts State Police cruiser and two other vehicles before his car flipped over Tuesday night.

The driver, whose name was not immediately released, was not injured. He was arrested on several charges including drunken driving, said David Procopio, state police spokesman.

The state trooper was taken to Baystate Medical Center and was being evaluated early Wednesday morning, but his injuries are believed to be minor. He was not identified by name.

At least one other driver was also hurt in the crash but is not believed to have serious injuries, Procopio said.

The West Springfield man reportedly drove from Connecticut and entered Longmeadow heading north on the southbound side of Intestate-91. Police received multiple calls from people reporting the wrong-way driver at about 10 p.m., he said.

A nearby trooper on patrol quickly spotted the truck driving in the breakdown lane, heading toward him near Mile Marker 3, Procopio said.

"The trooper positioned his cruiser in front of the wrong-way operator in an attempt to stop him and prevent injury to other motorists," he said. "The suspect vehicle did not stop, hit the cruiser, and continued to go north in the southbound side. It struck two other vehicles before flipping over in Springfield."

Police responding to the crash removed the driver from the truck, detected what they felt what were signs that he was intoxicated and arrested him. He was booked at the State Police barracks in Springfield, he said.

The cruiser was badly damaged in the crash. Procopio did not immediately release any information about the two other vehicles that were hit.

State Police closed all southbound lanes so ambulances and police could clear the cars and investigate the crash. The highway was reopened shortly after midnight Wednesday, he said.
Pence referred to upcoming 10th anniversary of Mumbai terror attack on Nov 26 and hailed cooperation between two sides on counter terrorism.

New Delhi/Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence held talks on Wednesday on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The two leaders had "productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues" on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"Spoke about our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific & reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen security and counterterrorism cooperation and coordination," Pence tweeted after his meeting with Modi.

In readout, Pence's office said he encouraged "free, fair, and reciprocal trade with India." Briefing the reporters, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale later said it was a "very good" meeting. "There was a sense of convergence both on bilateral issues and on global issues and we look forward to taking the relationship now in the coming months and in 2019," he said.

There was some discussion on the issue of terrorism. Pence referred to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly Mumbai terror attack on November 26 and hailed cooperation between the two sides on counter terrorism, Gokhale said.

Modi thanked Pence and reminded him that in one way or another all the traces and all the leads in the global terror attacks ultimately leads to a "single source and single place of origin", without naming any country or organisation.

"He (Modi) did point out that the mainstreaming of people involved in the Mumbai attacks in a political process which has taken place in the recent elections in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to the two countries - India and US - but to international community," Gokhale said, referring to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the July 25 elections in Pakistan.

"There was some good understanding of the areas of how we move forward in building cooperation on counter terrorism and both countries recognised that this is a challenge which we have to fight together and to fight along with the rest of the international community," Gokhale said. On bilateral issues, the two sides had brief discussions on trade related matters.

"We agreed that in a new relationship we are building with the US where trade is expanding we need to find ways in which we can help that process to take place," he said. Prime Minister Modi said that in the last two years - since President Donald Trump has assumed office - American exports to India have grown by 50 per cent and it is perhaps one of the countries, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the US has a trade deficit where the deficit has actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year, Gokhale said.

"There was a lot of discussions on energy. This is a new sector in Indo-US relations. We have begun importing oil and gas from US worth about USD 4 billion this year. We expressed our readiness to import more oil and gas from US as a way of expanding our trade," he said. The defence sector was another area of cooperation between the two sides. "Both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defence relationship, in our imports of equipment from the US but Prime Minister in particular stressed that there was a great opportunity for US in India in making defence equipment and setting up defence industry in India. Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region," Gokhale said.

Prime Minister Modi said Indians when they come to the US not only bring their talent and capacity to innovate, capacity to excel but also they are imbued in democratic values. "And in that context the Prime Minister therefore expressed the hope that this would be the approach that US might take when it looks at the whole issue of the H-1B visa," Gokhale said. Pence acknowledged that India had made substantial progress economically as well as diplomatically in regional and international affairs, Gokhale said.

Pence felt that India is a positive factor in regional and international relations and said US looks forward to working with India on various issues  both on political and economic sides to ensure that "we have a fair rules-based international order", he said.

The two sides "agreed that on the international forums, we should on the basis of the shared values build up a possible cooperation in a number of areas". The Indo-Pacific region also comes up for discussion and Modi referred to his June speech in Singapore at IISS Shangrila Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision on Indo-Pacific.

He conveyed to Pence that his vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that "we should utilise the forthcoming East Asia summit to further build on that," Gokhale said, amid China flexing its muscles in the East and South China Seas.

Pence spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific. He felt that India's contribution in ensuring this would be important and "we then discussed how both sides can strengthen cooperation in this area to ensure that this is an area of growth, of prosperity, of development and of benefit for the countries of the region in the future," Gokhale said.

Pence thanked India in supporting the US on its North Korean pressure campaign.
Framingham police are investigating a possible hate crime after a Muslim elementary school student reported receiving threatening letters.

Framingham Police are investigating to identify the suspected individual at Hemenway Elementary School, where several hateful letters were placed into a student's storage bin on Friday and again this week, according to Superintendent Robert A. Tremblay. The Framingham School District is also conducting its own internal investigation.

"As I have stated in the past, any form of hate or bias is unacceptable and unwelcome in our community," Tremblay wrote in a statement to the Framingham community, adding the school will use the act of hate as a "teachable moment" for students.

Tremblay continued, "It is not lost on me the harm these letters have caused the family and the greater Muslim community. I want to reassure you that the Framingham Public Schools stands with you. We will not accept hate. We will stand united against it."

The student, identified by WBZ as a 10-year-old girl in fifth grade, reportedly received multiple letters that read, "You're A Terrorist" and "I Will Kill You."

Tremblay, city officials and other school leaders have condemned the threatening notes. The uncle of the targeted student told WBZ that the school principal sent a notice to parents and asked the person who wrote the letters to come forward and apologize.

The hateful acts in Framingham come on the heels of a new FBI report identifying increasing hate crime rates across the country. In 2017, the FBI reported 427 hate crimes in Massachusetts, compared to 391 in 2016.

Of the hundreds of hate crimes reported last year, the FBI said more than a quarter of the crimes were motivated by the victim's religion.
The man shot and wounded by Auburn police on Wednesday was the subject of a "be on the lookout" report, officials said.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said during a brief press conference that the alert was issued earlier in the afternoon for a red truck with New Hampshire license plates and one male occupant inside.

Early did not say what police department issued the alert.

A probationary police officer with the Auburn Police Department found the red truck subject of the alert in the parking lot of the Shell gas station at the corner of Southbridge Street and Swanson Road.

The man inside the truck was holding what appeared to be a firearm, Early said.

That officer called the station and more Auburn officers responded, Early said.

The district attorney said there was an "interaction" between the man and the officers and then shots were fired.

In the gunfire, the man was wounded, Early said. He was taken to a local hospital.

No police officers at the scene were injured, Early said.

The investigation is active and ongoing. Early declined to answer questions at the scene.

Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis Jr. called the events an isolated incident.

"No residents that live in anywhere in the area have anything to be concerned about," he said.

Swanson Road was blocked off by police tape and was surrounded by local and State Police cruisers.

At least four green evidence markers were visible around the red truck that was subject of the alert.
Wanda Liz Gonzalez, the woman accused of fatally stabbing her girlfriend in Fitchburg last week in front of the woman's three children, has been charged with murder, officials said.

Gonzalez, 33, was initially charged with domestic assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a knife, in connection with the death of Jennifer Narvaez-Colon.

The murder charge was added Wednesday after an autopsy determined the death of 34-year-old Narvaez-Colon was a homicide.

An altercation allegedly broke out at the couple's home at 35 Wanoosnoc Road in Fitchburg around 10:15 p.m. Nov. 6, officials said.

Narvaez-Colon was found by police laying in the street suffering from multiple stab wounds while her 13-, 12- and 8-year-old children tried to help her, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said last week.

The mother was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

After authorities found Narvaez-Colon in the street, Gonzalez was found inside a bedroom of 35 Wanoosnoc Road, also suffering from stab wounds.

She was taken to the hospital, where she was arraigned on the assault charges.

Early did not elaborate on the relationship between the two women, but a friend of Narvaez-Colon said in a recent interview that the two women were in a romantic relationship.

The three children were taken into custody of the state Department of Children and Families and will be reunited with their family, Early said last week.

Gonzalez was ordered held without bail after being arraigned on the murder charge Wednesday morning.

She is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 28.
Worcester's South High Community School will compete on WGBH's "High School Quiz Show" for the second year in a row.

The show, hosted by local radio and television personality Billy Costa, tests students on subjects including literature, history, civics, math and science, as well as current events.

South High is one of 16 teams that qualified for the televised matches, which will be recorded in January and February.

The winning team will receive $1,000.

Other qualifying schools include:

Acton-Boxborough Regional High School

Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter School

Andover High School (Massachusetts)

Amesbury High School

Belmont High School

Boston Latin School and Association

Brookline High School

Hingham High School

Lexington High School (Massachusetts)

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School

Needham High School

Somerville Highlanders

Seekonk High School

Thayer Academy

Westford Academy
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker vastly outspent his Democratic opponent Jay Gonzalez in the days and months leading up to the Nov. 6 election, according to the latest tally from a state campaign finance agency.

Baker, a Swampscott Republican who won another four-year term, spent $8.9 million on his campaign between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, while Gonzalez spent $1.7 million, the independent Office of Campaign and Political Finance said in a roundup of fundraising and splurging.

Baker bested Gonzalez with 67 percent of the vote.

Additional information on campaign spending is expected in January.

According to campaign finance filings, Baker spent $2.2 million in the second half of October, including more than $123,900 on polling provided by the Virginia-based Tarrance Group and almost $763,300 on online advertising.

In the same time period, Gonzalez spent $704,800, with quite a bit of it also going towards advertising.

Baker received a massive lift from entities known as super PACs, which can raise unlimited amounts of money.

Two super PACs in particular funneled money towards television and radio advertising, as well as mailers in support of Baker: Commonwealth Future, which was backed by the Republican Governors Association, and Patients for Affordable Drugs Action, which received the bulk of its money from Dallas-based billionaire couple John and Laura Arnold.

The Democratic Governors Association did not provide Gonzalez with similar aid.

Between January 2018 and Election Day, Commonwealth Future spent $6.2 million and Patients for Affordable Drugs Action paid out just over $479,700.

Spending from super PACs and other groups was overall down from 2014, when they spent a reported $20.4 million. That year, Baker faced off against Democrat Martha Coakley, the state attorney general at the time as Gov. Deval Patrick opted against running for a third term.

Candidates for the Massachusetts state Senate and House spent $11.4 million this year, down from $12.2 million in 2016 and $12.4 million in 2014.

Barry Finegold, an Andover Democrat looking to return to the state Senate, spent $303,951 on his race, which he won. He beat Republican Joseph Espinola with 63 percent of the vote.

Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, a Boston Democrat, who chairs the powerful budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee, spent $352,857 but lost his primary. His opponent Nika Elugardo spent just $126,821 in her successful bid to oust Sanchez.

Coming in as No. 3 biggest spender was House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat. He poured $283,961 into a re-election campaign despite not having an opponent.

The tallies from the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance also provided a look at how much political action committees (PACs) spent. Under campaign finance rules, individuals can contribute up to $500 to a PAC per calendar year.

The highest-spending PACs were nearly all unions, including 1199 SEIU ($428,570) and the Massachusetts and Northern New England Laborers ($288,586).
After a contentious press briefing at the White House the day after the midterm elections, the White House announced it would be revoking all press credentials for CNN's Chief White House Reporter Jim Acosta. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders stated that Acosta had crossed a line during the press conference, and the White House was well within its rights to revoke his credentials. CNN has now countered with a lawsuit against the president and members of the White House, saying they are violating Acosta's right to free speech and right to due process. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

Rolling Stone wrote a feature on the whole briefing, which was one of the more wild ones the president has hosted. After the briefing ended, Sarah Sanders took to Twitter to explain the White House's position on Acosta's behavior.

Acosta, for his part, tweeted: "This is a lie."

Within the week, CNN had filed suit against Donald Trump and several senior White House aides. CNN is asking a judge to order the White House to return Acosta's restraining order via "a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction." Per the Hollywood Reporter:

CNN reports that the revocation of Acosta's press credentials goes against years of standards.

The president has considered revoking press credentials before, tweeting about the issue to his millions of followers in May 2018.

The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018

In response to the lawsuit, the White House issued a statement backing up their decision to revoke Acosta's credentials. Per the Guardian:

Critics and pundits have been weighing in on the lawsuit on social media and at news outlets. Most believe that CNN has a strong case and will likely win. Renato Mariotti, a CNN Legal Analyst, shared his thoughts on Twitter.

THREAD: What should we make of the CNN lawsuit against the Trump Administration for revoking @Acosta's credentials?



(Disclaimer: I'm a CNN Legal Analyst, but have no inside knowledge of the suit.) https://t.co/G3SKKiYtVz  Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 13, 2018

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
SPRINGFIELD -- With CRRC facing the potential for significant cost hikes under the Trump administration's new tariffs on Chinese imports, Beacon Hill lawmakers are eying ways they can help it and other Massachusetts companies remain competitive, state Sen. Eric Lesser said Wednesday.

Lesser, who discussed the tariffs' impact during an afternoon event at Western New England University, told reporters that state lawmakers will look at various ways to offset costs imposed on CRRC if federal officials fail to act.

The Longmeadow Democrat said he hopes the Trump administration "does the right thing and grants" the tariff exemptions CRRC has filed with the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

"There's a very compelling case for why this waiver is necessary," he argued, noting that the tariffs "would literally threaten the jobs" of the more than 120 employees who work at CRRC MA's sprawling, $95 million Springfield factory.

If officials do not grant CRRC a waiver, Lesser said "everything else will, of course, be on the table, to make sure that those jobs are protected."

Lesser said while he doesn't foresee state lawmakers offering CRRC tax breaks to offset the tariffs, Beacon Hill could look at a potential renegotiation through the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority of the purchasing agreement or a renegotiation of the purchasing contract.

"We don't know -- it's really far field and abstract. We don't know how long the tariffs will be in place. We don't even know what the final amounts will be. And, finally, we don't know whether the waiver has been granted," he said. "We're going all in on trying to get that waiver granted. Then we'll see what happens."

The state senator further slammed the Trump administration for imposing such tariffs, arguing that they have led to uncertainty not just for CRRC, but other companies across Massachusetts and the country.

"I field calls from local businesses all the time concerned about the tariffs -- I visited one in Wilbraham recently that was worried they might have to close because of the price shocks," he said. "We need to rebuild our manufacturing base the real way, which is investing in our workers, investing in our job training programs, building out our infrastructure. That's what's going to bring jobs back to the U.S. That's what's going to expand our manufacturing base -- not a whack-a-mole tariff strategy that hurts families that are already employed in Western Mass."

Officials with CRRC MA, which has contracts to build subway cars for the MBTA and transit systems in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, spoke out against the Trump administration's tariffs in September.

Offering that the tariffs could add 25 percent to the cost of the rail car components CRRC imports from China and assembles in Springfield, CRRC spokeswoman Lydia Rivera then called the White House's policy "unfair."

She added that it's hard to determine how much the tariffs could raise the cost of a single rail car, noting that the tariff is on various components -- more than 100 items -- not on the whole car.

A single finished MBTA subway car will cost $2.4 million, a 25-percent tariff would add $600,000 to that cost.

Under CRRC's contract with the MBTA, any added tariffs would become the agency's responsibility.

Although CRRC would be reimbursed, officials fear that tariffs could curtail or endanger the company's ability to get other work.

According to Rivera, CRRC has applied for 16 separate waivers. Those applications came with the written support of Lesser, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and others.

They are all pending with the federal government.

The Republican's Jim Kinney contributed to the reporting of this story.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, urged Congress this week to pass legislation protecting Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian election meddling from becoming targets of new acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

Pointing to Whitaker's public criticism of the Justice Department's probe, Markey said lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle should come together to pass a bill so that Mueller can not be fired without cause and to ensure all of his investigation's documents are preserved and available to Congress.

"That effort is going to be made over the next couple of weeks on the floor of the United States Senate," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in a Tuesday interview. "We intend on doing everything we can do to make sure that Whitaker is not brought in as a political hatchet man to destroy the Mueller investigation before the American people get the answers that they have been waiting for."

Markey said lawmakers will seek to add such protections to a "must-pass" bill in the final weeks of the legislative session.

The senator added that such protections for Mueller will be important regardless of whether Whitaker recuses himself from the Department of Justice's investigation.

"If Acting AG Whitaker refuses to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation, Congress must pass legislation protecting the special counsel," he tweeted. "If Whitaker does recuse himself ... Congress must pass legislation protecting the special counsel."

If Acting AG Whitaker refuses to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation, Congress must pass legislation protecting the Special Counsel.



If Whitaker does recuse himself Congress must pass legislation protecting the Special Counsel. #ProtectMueller pic.twitter.com/Am7YCzjHv3  Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 13, 2018

Markey further accused the White House of appointing Whitaker as part of an effort to undermine Mueller's investigation.

"They're trying to have Whitaker take over at the Justice Department ... to defund the investigation, to severely limit the scope of the investigation -- all towards the goal of making sure the American people never get the answers to what happened in 2016 and any potential collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign," he argued.

President Donald Trump announced last week that Whitaker would take over for Jeff Sessions as the new acting attorney general before a permanent replacement is "nominated at a later date" -- an appointment which has drawn criticism and even legal challenges from some.

Sessions, whom Trump repeatedly criticized for recusing himself from the Russia probe, resigned at the president's request.

Whitaker has publicly criticized Mueller's probe, suggesting in July 2017 that any replacement for Sessions could defund the special counsel's work.
Months after a series of explosions ravaged parts of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, federal lawmakers will travel to the Merrimack Valley for a hearing on pipeline safety, officials announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will convene a full panel hearing on the deadly incident at the South Lawrence East Middle School's gymnasium on Nov. 26.

The 9 a.m. hearing, entitled "Pipeline Safety in the Merrimack Valley: Incident Prevention and Response," will focus on what caused the Sept. 13 natural gas pipeline explosions and fires that destroyed homes, injured dozens and killed at least one person.

It will also look at the federal, state and local response to the disaster, according to U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and committee member who called for the full panel hearing.

In addition to committee members, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and U.S. Reps. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, and Seth Moulton, D-Salem, are expected to attend the hearing.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt, City of Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew A. Beaton and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Chief Counsel Paul Roberti, meanwhile, are slated to address the panel.

Other witnesses expected to testify include: Columbia Gas of Massachusetts President Steve Bryant, NiSource President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Hamrock and Accufacts Inc. President Richard Kuprewicz.

Warren and Markey requested that representatives from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and natural gas distribution industry brief federal lawmakers on the Merrimack Valley gas explosions.

The incident has been linked to natural gas distribution pipelines operated by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, a NiSource subsidiary.

Prior to the explosions, Columbia Gas announced activities to upgrade sections of its distribution lines in the area.

This will be updated.
The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on a bunch of petitions demanding a probe into the Rafale deal.

Centre told the Supreme Court that there is no sovereign guarantee from French government on delivery of 36 Rafale jets but there is a letter of comfort from the French prime minister. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a bunch of petitions demanding a probe into the Rafale deal.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph today concluded the arguments advanced by various parties which have sought court-monitored probe into procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

The pleas also sought registration of FIR in connection with the alleged irregularities in the deal.

The hearing comes two days after the Centre submitted in a sealed cover handed over a 14-page document titled "Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order" to the petitioners in the case.

The government had also filed in the court in a sealed cover the pricing details of the Rafale jets.

Here are updates of SCs examination of details of Rafale deal:

03:47 pm: The Air Marshal and Vice-Marshals can go back. It is a different war game here in court. You can go to the actual war rooms, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi after hearing senior Indian Air Force officials on issue of Rafale deal.

03:21 pm: The Supreme Court reserved verdict on a bunch of petitions demanding a probe into the Rafale deal.

02:56 pm: Centre told the Supreme Court that there is no sovereign guarantee from French government on delivery of 36 Rafale jets but there is a letter of comfort from the French prime minister.

02:43 pm: The Supreme Court has asked Additional Secretary Defence as to why the offset guidelines were changed in 2015. What about country's interest? What if the offset partner doesn't do any production? the apex court asked.

02:38 pm: Attorney General KK Venugopal appearing for the Centre said, Dassault has not yet submitted details of offset partner to government.

02:35 pm: The Supreme Court asked about the change in offset guidelines in 2015. Additional Secretary of the Defence Ministry explained the defence offset guideline to the court and said that the offset contract runs concurrently with the main contract.

02:30 pm: Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari and two other officers from Indian Air Force told Supreme Court that Sukhoi 30s was the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and added that they do not have 4th or 5th generation aircraft. The court then said that "it means there has been no induction of aircrafts since 1985".

"India needed 4 plus generation fighters that is why the Rafale jet was selected," they added.

02:22 pm: CJI Ranjan Gogoi asked Air Vice Marshal Chalapathi about latest inductions to Indian Air Force.

02:15 pm: Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari, two other officers appear in SC to assist bench on Rafale deal.

01:05 pm: The Supreme Court bench hearing Rafale case rises for lunch. Hearing to continue at 2 pm.

01:04 pm: Decision we need to take is whether or not to bring pricing facts in public domain, Supreme Court on Rafale deal.

01:03 pm: Any discussion on pricing of Rafale fighter jets can only take place if facts are allowed to come in public domain, Supreme Court during Rafale hearing.

12:54 pm: Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said, Any debate on pricing of the Rafale deal comes only if this Court decides those aspects needs to come in public domain.

12:53 pm: Attorney General K K Venugopal who appeared for the Centre said, Pricing details have been given in a sealed cover but there are factors like inter- governmental agreement which barred its disclosure.

12:45 pm: Attorney General KK Venugopal appearing for the Centre told the Supreme Court that secrecy was not on the price of aircraft but on weaponry and avionics. The price of Rafale with break up of weapons and avionics has been shared with the Court, but Court cannot sit in judicial review on it, he said.

12:30 pm: CJI Ranjan Gogoi asks Attorney General KK Venugopal, "Is any officer from Indian Air Force present in court to answer the queries on the issue? After all we are dealing with the air force, we would have liked to ask from the officer of Air force on the issue."

12:24 pm: The Supreme Court refused to take on record some papers which Arun Shourie wanted to place before it.

11:54 am: We are giving you full hearing. Use it carefully, cite only necessary things, CJI Gogoi to advocate Bhushan during Rafale hearing.

11:53 am: Government hiding behind secrecy clause, has not disclosed price of Rafale jets, Advocate Bhushan told the Supreme Court during Rafale hearing.

11:52 am: Prashant Bhushan submitted, on pricing there cant be any secrecy issue when government itself disclosed the price in Parliament. Its a bogus argument for government to say they cant disclose pricing. In new deal, Rafale jets cost 40 per cent more than earlier deal.

11:48 am: Attorney General K K Venugopal opposes advocate Prashant Bhushan who wants to submit information on secrecy clause of Rafale agreement.

11:13 am: Senior Supreme Court lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, told the court that there was no sovereign guarantee from the side of the France government in the deal.

11:12 am: Prashant Bhushan, appearing for former Union minister Arun Shourie, who is also one of the petitioners in the Rafale deal case, submitted to the three-judge apex Court that only in three situations, the intergovernmental route can be resorted.

10:56 am: Counsel appearing for AAP leader Sanjay Singh tells the Supreme Court that pricing of the 36 Rafale jet deal was revealed in the Parliament twice, hence, the submission of government that pricing details cannot be made public was not acceptable.

10:53 am: Petitioner advocate ML Sharma tells the Supreme Court that report filed by the government reveals that there has been serious fraud while making the decision post May 2015.The petitioner urges the apex court that the matter be heard by a five-judge bench.
Shiv Sena planning to fight polls from UP.

Lucknow: The Shiv Sena is up in arms against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for holding its rally in Ayodhya on the same date as the Shiv Sena.

The VHP has announced a rally in Ayodhya on November 25 which is also the date when Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be visiting the holy town and will address a rally.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who visited Ayodhya on Monday, said that the Shiv Sena had announced its Ayodhya plan in October on Dusshera while the VHP chose the same date later.

Our programme was declared much before the VHP came up with its programme. The VHP should know that the temple will not be constructed by collecting crowds,  the Shiv Sena MP said.

The Shiv Sena chief will be visiting Ayodhya for the first party and special trains from Maharashtra will bring Shiv Sainiks for his meeting.

The Shiv Sena, apparently, wants to make its presence felt in Uttar Pradesh and win over those disgruntled Hindus who are upset with the BJP. The Sena plans to contest Lok Sabha elections from select seats in Uttar Pradesh too.

The Shiv Sena will also make its stand clear on the Ram temple issue. We will demand that legislation should be brought in for the construction of Ram temple. There is no use in indulging in rhetoric and misleading the people on this issue.

VHP spokesperson Sharad Sharma, meanwhile, said that the proposed Dharam Sabha on November 25 had been decided by the high powered committee of the VHP last month and the programme had nothing to do with the Shiv Sena programme.

The VHP has already started preparing for the event to which all Ram bhakts are invited.

A local VHP leader said that the crowds at the VHP event would give the much-needed snub to the Shiv Sena which is unnecessarily trying to meddle in Ayodhya politics.

The local BJP workers are supporting the VHP programme and feign ignorance about the Shiv Sena programme. The Shiv Sena has nothing to do with UP. They should restrict themselves to Maharashtra. The VHP has been fighting for decades for the Ram temple, said a local party worker.

Meanwhile Shiv Sena sources said that Mr Uddhav Thackeray would now arrive in Ayodhya on November 24 and would honor 100 saints at a programme at Laxman Tila.
The incident, which took place on Saturday, was captured on video. The clip was made accessible on Wednesday.

In the video shot on-board, the passenger can be heard hurling abuses at the crew member and objecting to not being served more wine. (Photo: Screengrab | ANI)

Mumbai: An Irish woman traveling in a business class verbally abused Air India crew on-board a London-Mumbai flight after she was allegedly refused more wine.

The woman allegedly manhandled a cabin crew member in an inebriated state, prompting the airline to file a police case, an airline official said.

The incident, which took place on Saturday, was captured on video. The clip was made accessible on Wednesday.

In the video shot on-board, the passenger can be heard hurling abuses at the crew member and objecting to not being served more wine.

The woman passenger can be heard saying, "I'm working for all your people. The f*****g Rohingyas, the f*****g people of all Asia, for you, an international criminal lawyer. Don't get any money for it, by the way. But you can't give me a f*****g glass of wine, is that correct?"

"Calm down, no touching," a crew member is heard saying.

Warning: The video contains strong language.

#WATCH An Irish national on board Air India London-Mumbai flight verbally abuses the crew after she was refused more wine. The incident took place on November 10. (Note: Strong language) pic.twitter.com/bdZWico5Qq  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

In another video that has been doing rounds after the incident, she is heard saying, "You treat business class passengers like this? I work for all you f**king people... But you won't give me a glass of wine... You can't give me a wee bottle of wine."

Air India filed an FIR against the passenger and she was taken into custody on landing at London's Heathrow airport, the official said.

"The woman turned unruly as the cabin crew denied her serving more liquor. She hurled abuse and manhandled the crew," the official said.

The cabin crew informed the flight commander about the unruly behaviour of the passenger on board and he instructed the crew not to serve her more drinks, the official said.
Middle-East and Africa Durable Medical Equipment market has been segmented on the basis of product type which comprises of blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, ventilators, personal mobility devices, traction equipment, wheel chairs, respiratory devices, and others. On the basis of end user, the market is segmented into hospitals and clinics, healthcare institutions, research centers, home healthcare and others.

MEA Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Market  Sketch

Durable medical equipment also known as home medical equipment provides therapeutic benefits to patients. They are very useful for patients who are ill or undergoing some medical procedures. They are widely used by hospitals and clinics. These devices can also be managed by a caregiver or a family member of the patient. Medical professional recommend these devises according to present condition of patients. Due to increasing chronic diseases, high number of geriatric population and accident disability, the demand for durable medical equipment is increasing.

Get Sample PDF Illustration @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2676

Middle East and Africa represents about 2% of global healthcare expenditure since countries in these regions bear a heavy burden of disabilities. Durable medical equipment manufacturers are investing huge amount of money to develop more innovative products. Middle-East and Africa Durable Medical Equipment (DME) market is growing moderately at a CAGR of 4.2% and expected to reach US$ 4.65 billion by 2022.

Key Players for MEA Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Market

Market Research Future (MRFR) recognizes the following companies as the key players in MEA Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Market: There are plenty of large and small market players which operate in this market all over the globe.

Invacare Corporation (US),

Medical Depot, Inc. (US),

The Braun Corporation (US),

Sunrise Medical (Germany),

Permobil (Sweden),

Medline Industries, Inc. (US),

.Compass Health Brands (US),

ArjoHuntleigh (Sweden),

Hill-Rom (US),

GF HEALTH PRODUCTS, INC. (US)

Regional Analysis for MEA Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Market

Considering the Middle-East and Africa Durable Medical Equipment market scenario, Saudi Arabia is believed to be the largest market. Moreover UAE market is also growing and is the second largest market for DME in ME&A region. On the other hand, Egypts market is expected to grow at a steady pace in the Middle-East and Africa Durable Medical Equipment market during the forecasted period. Rest of the Middle East and Africa region is likely to have a limited but steady growth of the market till 2022.

Key Questions Answered In This Report:

What will the market size and what will the growth rate be?

What are the key market trends?

What is driving this market?

What are the challenges to market growth?

Who are the key vendors in this market space?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

Browse Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/durable-medical-equipment-market-2676

About Market Research Future:

At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Statistical Report, Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.

Contact Us:

Market Research Future

Hadapsar, Pune  411028

Maharashtra, India

Phone: +1 646 845 9312
The global Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment Solutions (eCOA) market is expected to register a CAGR of 12.5% during the forecast period, 2018 to 2023. Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment (eCOA) uses the technology such as smartphones, tablets and computers to allow the patients, caregivers and doctors to report the outcomes of the clinical trials directly. eCOA produces highly accurate data that allows for a better understanding of the patient experience in clinical trials and ultimately helps simplify the path to approval.

Request a PDF Sample of this Global Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment Solutions Market Report at: http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/2364575?utm_source=Dipali

Companies Mentioned:

BioClinica, CRF Health, eClinical Solutions, ERT Clinical, Medidata Solution, Inc, Merge Healthcare Incorporated, OmniComm Systems, Inc, Oracle Corporation and Parexel International Corporation amongst others.

Constant Advancements in eCOA Modalities and Applications to Boost Growth of the eCOA Solutions Market

eCOAs, including ePROs (electronic Patient Reported Outcomes) and electronic ClinROs (Clinician Reported Outcomes) and ObsROs (Observer Reported Outcomes), are used increasingly in the collection of patient data as part of clinical trials and observational studies. With the advancement in technology the eCOA modalities are becoming accessible and easy to use. The reduction in the paper-based methods not only indicates a realization of the potential benefits gained through the use of electronic technologies, but also points to a fairly clear gravitation away from paper-based methods. Thus, these constant advancements to provide an efficient workflow is expected to contribute for the growth of the market in the forecast period.

Other factors driving the market growth are increasing externalization of clinical trial studies by large pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and growing demand for cloud based services.

Data Security and Privacy Concerns to Restrain Growth of the eCOA Solutions Market

Data security is a major concern for healthcare organizations, and justifiably so. In 2014, for the fourth year in a row, the healthcare sector experienced the largest number of data breaches, according to a Symantec report. The 116 data breach incidents in 2014 represented 37 percent of all reported incidents, and exposed more than 7 million identities. Any effort by an organization to reduce costs cannot compromise security in the process. The financial expense of addressing a breach would quickly erase any savings and likely do significant damage to an organizations budget and reputation. Companies are becoming aware of these data security concerns and understanding that compromise of a clients data will result in a loss of business. This is why offshore firms are building a secure environment in which their data.

The other factors restraining the market are high cost of implementation of eCOA.

North America is Expected to Dominate the eCOA Solutions Market

North America held the largest market share owing to the local presence of well-established market players coupled with large number of ongoing research in this region.

Browse Complete Global Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment Solutions Market Report at: http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-electronic-clinical-outcome-assessment-solutions-ecoa-market-growth-trends-and-forecast-2018-2023?utm_source=Dipali

Key Developments in the eCOA Solutions Market

July 2018: Genstar Capital, a leading investor in healthcare technology and services companies, announced the acquisition of CRF Health, a global provider of eCOA and eConsent solutions for the life sciences industry.

Some major points from table of content:

Introduction

2. Research Methodology

3. Executive Summary

4. Key Inferences

5. Market Overview

6. Market Dynamics

7. Market Segmentation

8. Company Profiles & Competitive Landscape

9. Future of the Market Reasons to Purchase the eCOA Market Report

Current and future Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment Solutions (eCOA) market outlook in the developed and emerging markets

Analyzing various perspectives of the market with the help of Porters five forces analysis

The segment that is expected to dominate the market

Regions that are expected to witness fastest growth during the forecast period

Identify the latest developments, market shares and strategies employed by the major market players.

3-month analyst support, along with the Market Estimate sheet (in Excel) Customization of the eCOA Market Report

This report can be customized to meet your requirements. Please connect with our representative, who will ensure you to get a report that suits your needs

Enquire for Buying Global Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment Solutions Market Report at: http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/2364575?utm_source=Dipali

About Us:

Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.

Contact Us:

Hector Costello

Senior Manager  Client Engagements

4144N Central Expressway,

Suite 600, Dallas,

Texas  75204, U.S.A.

Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019
The global Healthcare Payer Services market is expected to register a CAGR of nearly 11.5 % during the forecast period, 2018-2023. United States Healthcare Payer Services market will increase due to introduction of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). North America is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period primarily owing to Rise in outsourcing supportive services by healthcare payers, Increase in number of individuals seeking insurance, and Increasing Stringency of Regulatory Healthcare Landscape.

Request a PDF Sample of this Global Healthcare Payer Services Market Report at: http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/2363289?utm_source=Dipali

Companies Mentioned:

Accenture, Cognizant, Concentrix Corporation, ExlService Holdings, Inc, Hexaware Technologies, Teleperformance Group, Genpact, HCL Technologies, Conduent and FirstSource Solutions Limited among others.

Rise in Outsourcing Supportive Services by Healthcare Payers

With significant change in healthcare landscape on account of regulatory amendments and escalating costs most healthcare firms adopted new technologies and outsourcing business models. Large companies are now collaborating with large BPOs and KPOs for services such as Health claims, Billing and Accounts, Healthcare IT operations etc. Companies like Conduent have developed an Intelligent Queue (IQ) process that are efficient and eliminates the need for rework on claim documents. These systems when quantified, account for annual cost saving (50%), Improvement in Auto-adjudication, Reduction in turnaround time and overall cycle time.

As population with insurance is on rise, managing the processes efficiently is becoming a lower-value contribution to the bottom line. Having benefited from the cost saving and improved efficiency in Quality, more Payers in industry are outsourcing to large BPO organizations integrated cloud-based platform for claims administration and member lifecycle management.

Other factors that drive this market include Increasing Stringency of Regulatory Landscape, and Rise in Insured Population

High Incidences of Data Breaches

The major concerns in outsourcing payer services to third party providers are health data security and privacy. With these concerns in mind many outsourcing contracts are delayed as clients need assurance that their vendors are safeguarding the privacy of healthcare data.

Health data security is the major challenge when it comes to outsourcing. The changes in health insurance portability and accountability act and technology laws companies have become more cautious. It is estimated that healthcare breaches in United States cost 6.2 billion USD each year. A breach effects the organizations reputation and consequences of financial loss and may impact its sustainability if it cannot create enough confidence clients. Other factor impeding this market include Unexpected Costs Associated with Outsourcing

US is the Chief Region for Healthcare Payer Services Market

The implementation of Affordable Care Act (ACA) led to coverage of millions of Americans who were uninsured earlier. This has caused increased work load and rise in cost of delivering solutions. The Healthcare Payer Services in United States has undergone major shift owing to new regulatory mandates such as cut in funding of Medicare Plan. With increase in insured people and stringent scrutiny by government, most insurance companies responded by outsourcing their support services such as claims adjudication services, claims repricing and billing and accounts management services etc to countries like India.

In an attempt to reduce the costs while providing better quality patient care, healthcare insurance payers are streamlining the process. The steady growth of people opting insurance and technological advancement has paved the path for increase in Healthcare payer services.

With major Business Process Outsourcing and Knowledge Process Outsourcing service providers such as Accenture, Wipro, Concentrix Corporation etc having established themselves as one stop to cater most services the United States will continue to grow as a major region in the Healthcare Payer Services market.

Browse Complete Global Healthcare Payer Services Market Report at: http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-healthcare-payer-services-market-growth-trends-and-forecast-2018-2023?utm_source=Dipali

Key Developments in the Market :

Jun 2018: Firstsource for its exceptional contributions to the positive reputation of sourcing, and helping shape the current and future state of the global sourcing industry has been named as a Service Provider Challenger on the Global Sourcing Associations annual Top Performers Index

Some major points from table of content:

Introduction

2. Research Methodology

3. Executive Summary

4. Key Inferences

5. Market Overview

6. Market Dynamics

7. Market Segmentation

8. Company Profiles & Competitive Landscape

9. Future of the Market



Reasons to Purchase the Report

The current and future outlook of the global surgical microscopes market in the developed and emerging markets

Analysis of various perspectives of the market with the help of Porters five forces analysis

The segment that is expected to dominate the market

Regions that are expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period

Identify the latest developments, market shares, and strategies employed by the major market players

3-month analyst support, along with the Market Estimate sheet (in Excel)

Customization of the eCOA Market Report

This report can be customized to meet your requirements. Please connect with our representative, who will ensure you to get a report that suits your needs

Enquire for Buying Global Healthcare Payer Services Market Report at: http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/2363289?utm_source=Dipali

About Us:

Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.

Contact Us:

Hector Costello

Senior Manager  Client Engagements

4144N Central Expressway,

Suite 600, Dallas,

Texas  75204, U.S.A.

Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019
The growth of smart contact lenses market is attributed to increasing prevalence of diabetes, changing trends in eye wear, replacement of smart glasses by smart lenses and demand of wearable medical devices for continuously monitoring health condition of patients. The restrain for this market is the price of smart contact lenses. Also, fierce competition among major market players creates barriers for new entrants in the market. Key players in eth market are engaged in innovative product development to withstand their position in the market.

The rise in the demand for smart wearable devices has increased the demand for smart contact lenses as well of late. Market focused reports connected to the healthcare sector among others of late have been made accessible by Market Research Future which publishes reports on this industry. The market is projected to touch USD 7.2 billion in terms of revenue by 2023 while growing with a CAGR of approximately 10.4% in the forecast period.

Get PDF Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1186

The need for continuous monitoring has been a significant factor in the expansion of the market. Moreover, improvement in the end product quality and features have led to the development of the market further. The smart contact lenses are also expected to be used extensively in the augmented reality market, which will be used extensively to stream content. Smart contact lenses also lessen the need for invasive procedures, which are otherwise complicated and painful. The application of smart lenses especially in response to treatment of diabetes is expected to boost the market favorably over the forecast period.

Smart Contact Lenses Industry Update:

March 2018 Theraoptix recently took home the MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovation Prize at their annual competitions and also received a $25,000 grand prize which was sponsored by Optum, a health services firm. The contact lens is made from FDA-approved materials and delivers eye medication in a sustained and controlled release. The lens is sandwiched between contact lens material which is a drug-filled polymer film and shaped into a tiny circular strip that does not interfere with the wearers vision. The sandwiching structure allows the drugs to seep from the film into the eye gradually.

Smart Contact Lenses Industry Segments

The smart contact lenses market globally has been segmented on the basis of the applications of the smart contact lenses which comprises of intraocular pressure monitoring, continuous glucose monitoring, and other applications. The other applications are sodium detection, cholesterol detection, and alcohol detection. The smart contact lenses on the basis of end users market are segmented into hospitals, home care settings and clinics. The regions that are covered in the market include APAC, North America, Europe and Rest of the World.

Global Smart Contact Lenses Market Players

Key players in Smart Contact Lenses Market are: Samsung (South Korea), Sony (Japan), Alcon (U.S), Google (U.S), Sensimed SA (Switzerland)

Samsung is a multinational conglomerate company manufacturing wide range of products. In April 2016, the company received a patent for smart contact lenses with in-built camera in South Korea.

Global Smart Contact Lenses Market Competitive Analysis

Samsung is a multinational conglomerate company manufacturing wide range of products. In April 2016, the company received a patent for smart contact lenses with in-built camera in South Korea. According to Samsung Mobiles report, Samsung started developing smart contact lenses as a means to create a better augmented reality experience than the ones that exist through Google Glass-like wearables.

Google is an American multinational technology company received a patent from the U.S FDA for smart contact lenses in November 2015. Increasing demand for self-monitoring devices, increasing aging population with eye disorders associated to diabetes and user friendliness of smart contact lenses drive this market in America. Development of innovative products for eye care and diabetes management their increasing popularity among people also contribute to the growth of this market.

Google agreed for partnership with the pharmaceutical company Novartis to develop smart contact lenses that can track diabetes by measuring blood glucose levels in tears and fix farsightedness as well.

Get Complete Access of Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/smart-contact-lenses-market-1186

About Market Research Future:

At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Statistical Report, Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.

Contact Us:

Market Research Future

Hadapsar, Pune  411028

Maharashtra, India

Phone: +1 646 845 9312
Surgical sutures Market Scenario:

Surgical suture is also known as stitches surgical threads that are used to hold body tissues together after an injury or surgery. It is normally classified into two types absorbable and non-absorbable, absorbable suture are those which break down harmlessly in the body over time without intervention, whereas non-absorbable are those which removed manually if they are not left indefinitely.

It also avoids infection of an open wound. Rising incidences of accidents, growing expenditure on health and development of advanced sutures such as film coated sutures in this region leads the market of surgical suture.

The Middle East and Africa surgical sutures market are rising with a moderate rate; mainly owing to increase in patient population. According to update report of World Health Organization, In South Africa an estimated USD 26 million is spent annually for the care of burns from a kerosene cook stove incidents.

GET FREE SAMPLE REPORT @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2694

Major Players invest more in Research and Development Activity:

Report suggest that females are slightly higher burns in comparison to male. Increasing consumer awareness about the benefits associated with surgical sutures, increasing the demands Middle East and Africa.

Companies are continually inventing new products to capture the market of the Middle East and Africa. Thus, major players invest more in research and development activity, in order to lead the Middle East and Africa market.

In this regards, Ethicon Inc., in 2017, launched PROXISURE suturing device designed to improve precision in minimally-invasive surgery.

This invention help company to establishing a new standard of excellence in laparoscopic suturing and also to treat patients in wound closure.

Companies are investing more into research and development in order to develop quality and advance products, which help them to lead the Middle East and Africa market.

Top Market Players Profiles:

Ethicon Inc.

B. Braun Melsungen AG

Dolphin Sutures

Synthecon, DemeTECH Corporation

Medtronic plc.

Internacional Farmaceutica

Sutures India Pvt. Ltd.

Surgical Sutures Market expected to be Fastest Growing Segment:

Middle East and Africa surgical sutures market has been segmented on the basis of product type which comprises of absorbable and non-absorbable sutures.

On the basis of raw material; market is segmented into natural and synthetic. Basis of construction; market is segmented into monofilament and multi-filament.

BROWSE COMPLETE 80 PAGES PREMIUM RESEARCH REPORT ENABLED WITH RESPECTIVE TABLES AND FIGURES @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/mea-surgical-sutures-market-2694

World Organization is more focused in order to Provide Funds to the Countries  Regional Analysis

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 4.25% of children with burns have a temporary disability and 4.5% have a permanent disability. Burns is one of the leading causes of disability in low- and middle-income countries and most of the countries from this region falls under the low-income group.

UAE is the largest market for surgical sutures in the entire Middle East and Africa surgical sutures market closely followed by Egypt. The rest of Africas market, especially Sub Saharan regions is, however the fastest growing market with a huge unmet medical need.

World organization is more focused in order to provide funds to the countries of this region in order to improve the quality of life.

Major Points form TOC for Surgical Sutures Market Research Report  Forecast to 2022

1 Introduction

1.1 Definition

1.2 Scope of Study

1.3 Research Objective

1.4 Assumptions & Limitations

1.5 Market Structure:

2 Research Methodology

2.1 Research Process

2.2 Primary Research

2.3 Secondary Research

3 Market Dynamics

3.1 Drivers

3.2 Restraints

Continued

About US:

Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.

Contact Us:

Market Research Future

Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers

Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar,

Pune  411028

Maharashtra, India

Phone: +1 646 845 9312

Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Market Research Future provides premium research reports that are relevant across all sectors. Recently published Telemedicine Market Research Report  Forecast to 2023 provides analysis of factors pertinent to market growth. Expert data analysts take a magnifying glass to the various nuances of the market in an effort to impart put forth fresh content which is vital in assisting organizations to make major business decisions

Key Players:

Prominent players who have been profiled in MRFRs analysis of the competitive landscape include Aerotel Medical Systems Ltd., Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Cardiocom, AMD Global Telemedicine, Inc., CardioNet, CareClix, Cerner Corporation, Intel Corporation, Iris Telehealth, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Medtronic, GENERAL ELECTRIC, IBM Corporation, SHL Telemedicine, TeleVital, Honeywell Lifesciences, Tunstall Healthcare, Care Innovations, Medvivo Group Ltd, and others.

Get Premium Sample Copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2216

Market Insights:

According to Market Research Futures (MRFR) latest report, the global telemedicine market is expected to value an estimated USD 56.73 billion by the end of 2023 and observe a notable CAGR of 16.8% during the forecast period 2017-2023. Increasing occurrences of chronic lifestyle diseases and the rapid evolution of applications for telecommunication and IT technology are crucial factors driving market growth.

The increasing adoption of electronic health records is poised to be a major market driver during the forecast period due to its capability to allow physicians to communicate with their patients securely and effectively. The prevalence of diseases such as cancer where patients could benefit from telemedicine treatment is likely to provide avenues for growth of the market. Additionally, rising demand for self-care options, the advent of virtual medicine and the ability of the technology to reduce emergency hospital visits is expected to encourage robust growth during the forecast period.

Extensive required training, high cost associated with deployment and stringent regulations regarding the same are expected to hinder market growth. However, the market and relevant technology are still in its Indian stages, and government-sponsored telemedicine programs provide high potential for growth in the future.

Latest Industry News:

A Pennsylvania hospital has seen benefits from deploying telemedicine. Abington Hospital  Jefferson Health has been using a virtual visit platform in its OR so that clinician can connect with specialists during intensive operations. Physicians are also using the tool to communicate with a patients family after surgery.

Market Segmentation:

The Global Telemedicine Market has been broadly categorized by service type, component, deployment, application, end-user, and region.

By service type, the market has been segregated into telenursing, telepharmacy, teleradiology, teledermatology, teleoncology and others.

By component, the market has been divided into software and hardware. Further sub-segmentation is as follows

Hardware  monitors and peripheral medical

 monitors and peripheral medical Software  integrated software and standalone software

By deployment, the market is divided into cloud-based and on premises.

By application, the market has been divided by cardiology, ophthalmology, psychiatry, radiology, dermatology, and others.

By end users, the market is segmented into hospitals, clinics, and home care.

Browse Full Reports @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/telemedicine-market-2216

Regional Analysis:

The Americas possess the most significant market share due to the existence of a well-funded and established healthcare sector. Moreover, the region is often swift in its adoption of current healthcare IT technology. There is a strong presence of major market players who contribute significantly toward the market position of this region. The research and development of this technology in the Americas, specifically the U.S and Canada is expected to motivate market growth.

Government support and pressing healthcare needs have boosted Europe to the second largest regional market segment. Developed economies in this region have an established healthcare sector and a growth pattern similar to that of the Americas.

Rapidly emerging economies of the fastest growing Asia Pacific region such as India, China, and Australia are driving growth for the global telemedicine market. The growing expenditure on healthcare and the considerable potential of this technology for the vast patient population that exists in this region is expected to motivate growth.

Meanwhile, the Middle East & Africa is expected to grow moderately during the forecast period due to the presence of impoverished countries in the African continent. However, developing countries of the Middle East are expected to facilitate growth, albeit limited.

Table of Contents

1 Report Prologue

2 Market Introduction

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Scope Of Study

2.3 Research Objective

2.4 Assumptions & Limitations

2.4.1 Assumptions

2.4.2 Limitations

3 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Process

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

4 Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.2 Restraints

5 Market Factor Analysis

5.1 Porters Five Forces Model

5.1.1 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers

5.1.2 Bargaining Power Of Buyers

5.1.3 Threat Of New Entrants

5.1.4 Threat Of Substitutes

5.1.5 Intensity Of Rivalry

5.2 Supply Chain Analysis

Continued!

Price: $4450 (Single User)

No. of Pages: 150

Buy now @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=2216

Contact Us:

Market Research Future

Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers

Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar,

Pune  411028

Maharashtra, India

Phone: +1 646 845 9312

Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an escalating global health emergency with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimating that 'superbugs' will kill 1.3 million people in Europe by 2050, including more than 90,000 in the UK, unless we can halt the rise in antibiotic-resistant infections. The University of Bristol is committed to tackling this global challenge and today [Wednesday 14 November] a new cross-faculty and interdisciplinary AMR research network will be launched, funded by the University's Elizabeth Blackwell Institute (EBI).

The new Bristol AMR interdisciplinary research network, 'Bristol AMR', will build on the EPSRC-funded BristolBridge network which helped to 'bridge the gaps' between the physical sciences, engineering and biomedical science communities to find new solutions for tackling AMR.

Professor Adrian Mulholland from the School of Chemistry and BristolBridge lead, explained: "BristolBridge funding of networking events and projects helped form new collaborations and projects across four of the University's six faculties resulting in a patent, spin-out company (Vitamica Ltd) and a further 3.8 million AMR funding."

The importance of tackling AMR and continuing the legacy of BristolBridge has been recognised as a strategic research priority by the University through the EBI funding a Bristol AMR Research Strand.

Professor Rachael Gooberman-Hill, Director of the EBI, said: "We are delighted to fund Bristol AMR which is one of our new cross-faculty initiatives. These initiatives build on Bristol's world-leading research to tackle challenges that can only be addressed by multidisciplinary research teams."

Bristol AMR is led by a cross-faculty committee with representatives from the Faculties of Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Science, Engineering, Arts and Social Sciences and Law to forge new links via networking events and to create new collaborative pump-priming AMR projects. The network will further help Bristol's interdisciplinary AMR research community to come together to compete for future large-scale funding, strengthening the University as a UK centre of excellence for interdisciplinary AMR research.

Matthew Avison, Professor of Molecular Bacteriology from the Faculty of Life Sciences and Chair of Bristol AMR, said: "The funding from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute is a such a great boost to the AMR research community and recognition of the extraordinary success we have had in winning funding from the UKRI Tackling AMR  A Cross-Council Initiative - a total of 7.4 million since 2015.

"I am also delighted that we are also receiving further strategic support from the University to fund two PhD studentships to join our MRC/DoH-funded project to study AMR in Thailand plus another share of institutional Global Challenges Research Fund for AMR activities, which shows the University is committed to working with partners across the world to tackle the global challenge of AMR. So far 90K has now been awarded for activities relating to AMR in low to middle income countries (LMICs) and this will be disbursed through Bristol AMR too. The University's Alumni Association has also pledged philanthropic support for AMR research to match fund a further two PhD studentships from its legacy funding."

The new Bristol AMR will be launched by Professor Gooberman-Hill and the focus of the event will be to illustrate interdisciplinary research already undertaken at Bristol that has led to potentially transformative outcomes and policy recommendations. The aim is to encourage others to join the Bristol AMR network in tackling AMR.

At the launch people from across the University will set out how working in an interdisciplinary way has benefited their work in researching AMR in the context of LIMCs; to safely reduce avoidable antibiotic prescribing in primary care and livestock production and discovering and translating new technological solutions to treat and diagnose antibiotic resistant bacteria. The latter include ways of inhibiting bacterial resistance proteins and restoring the activity of failing antimicrobials and performing rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing directly on patient samples to inform effective antibiotic prescribing.

Professors Matthew Avison and Adrian Mulholland will set out the new Bristol AMR pump-priming and networking opportunities. Bristol AMR is also a 'call to action', showcasing how work across all disciplines  including Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Law  is crucial if research is to combat one of the biggest threats to modern medicine.

Antimicrobial resistance - or AMR - is a global threat, with an estimated 700,000 people dying from resistant infections every year. This week [12-18 November] is World Antibiotic Awareness Week.
Pilot also said the entire Rajasthan Congress was united and hoped Meena joining the party will help it throw BJP out in the state.

New Delhi/Jaipur: In a setback to Rajasthans ruling BJP ahead of next months Assembly elections, the partys Dausa MP Harish Chandra Meena and Nagaur MLA Habibur Rahman joined the Congress on Wednesday.

Meena, a former director general of police, joined the Congress in the presence of former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot and AICCs state in-charge Avinash Pande in New Delhi. In Jaipur, BJPs Nagaur MLA Rahman returned to the Congress after a decade in the presence Ajmer MP Raghu Sharma and other leaders at the party office.

I am happy that Harish Meena has decided to join the Congress in such times. I welcome him in the Congress fold, Gehlot said at a press conference about the new entrant who had served as DGP when he was chief minister.

Pilot and Gehlot said they will contest the December 7 polls for the 200-member assembly along with other senior leaders of the state. We are all united. It is BJPs conspiracy to spread false news that the Congress is divided, Gehlot said.

Pilot also said the entire Rajasthan Congress was united and hoped Meena joining the party will help it throw BJP out in the state. Meena said he had joined unconditionally and would abide by the party decision on whether or not he should contest the elections. Rahman echoed him.

I have returned home today. There is no condition for joining the party, he said at a press conference in the Rajasthan capital. On whether he will contest the Assembly elections, Rahman rhetorically asked, Who does not want to contest elections?

Pilot attacked Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, saying she had betrayed the trust of the people of the state. He said the tension was evident in the BJP camp with many senior leaders sidelined and not given tickets, showing that all is not well.

Asked why the Congress had not declared a chief ministerial face before the elections, Gehlot said this had never been done in Rajasthan.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, November 14, 2018

Google on Wednesday introduced a redesigned Google My Business for Android and iOS that turns the app into a social network with features that personalize the consumer experience with businesses.

The next evolution begins with a search such as dinner spots near me that serves up a wealth of information in a business profile such as location and business hours, as well as photos and reviews. The business can respond to those reviews to begin a one-on-one conversation with consumers.

Google connects people to nearby businesses more than 9 billion times each month, including more than 1 billion phone calls and 3 billion direction requests to stores.

Now, for the first time, businesses will have the ability to build a following, similar to social media, and reach their followers with content from Google My Business.

In Google My Business, the For You tab is only available on Android in a few countries for now, but there are future plans to roll out to iOS users in the near future.

advertisement advertisement

Reporting is part of the update through the Insights tab, giving businesses the ability to track views, searches, and actions. It also tracks when people search for directions, when they visit the website, and when they view a photo.

A new customer tab allows businesses to see and connect with their customers, including their followers, to see reviews and retrieve messages.

Businesses also will see messages from users who have used the "message" button on Maps and Search to connect with them. And now businesses will have the ability to respond to those messages from within the Google My Business app, where they are already managing their business information.

Messaging was previously limited to the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and India, but now the feature has become available in most countries worldwide.

The app also supports a new Posts button that lets businesses upload a photo, create an offer or event and add it right to the companys business profile on Google. Companies also can manage their business information on Google from the Profile tab and watch the edits appear across Search and Maps.

In this announcement, Google also rebranded its business listings and local panels to Business Profiles on Google.

Users have called the business profiles different things over the years, but Google believes profile is the best word to describe information that displays on Google Maps and Search, explains Curtis Galloway, engineering manager at Google My Business.
by Fern Siegel , November 14, 2018

In 2017, there were more than 7,000 stories that mentioned Pittsburgh International Airport, up 53% since 2015.

That was an added impetus to launch BlueSkyPIT.com, the Pittsburgh International Airports in-house news service. It offers news, features and travel information from a Pennsylvania airport that services 9 million passengers yearly.

Subjects range from the arts to airlines, safety to terminal modernization. The site is updated daily; the company estimates initial reach to exceed 100,000 people.

The target audience  passengers, airlines, concession providers, community partners and airport stakeholders  can read Blue Sky via its site, a free weekly e-newsletter and Pittsburgh airports social-media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

advertisement advertisement

To date, the publication is ad-free.

This is naturally the next step in the airports evolution as a world-leader in aviation, stated Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. We want to communicate directly with travelers and the public, unfiltered.

Blue Sky offers behind-the-scenes coverage about airlines and aviation trends, as well as those transforming the Pittsburgh airport and region. The debut issue includes articles on airport sculptures, therapy dogs and prepping for winter storms.

Executive editor Paul ORourke said the pub illustrates the excitement and evolution in aviation. Blue Sky will also highlight news and events from around Pittsburgh to interest visitors.

Pittsburgh International Airport joins other companies that have taken news distribution in-house. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Coca-Cola, Disney, American Express and Adobe are among those that have launched their own sites.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, November 14, 2018

LinkedIn, Microsofts business network, announced major product updates this week to Pages and its News feed. The changes aim to help the company bring in a reported $2 billion from its media business, mostly through advertising revenue, by the end of this fiscal year.

LinkedIn Vice President of Products Tomer Cohen said during a press briefing Tuesday that the pages experience has been rebuilt from scratch.

The revamped product is being rolled out in the U.S. All businesses worldwide should have it soon.

The business social network generates more than 2 million posts, videos and articles in the feed per day. The new Pages is built to create active communities and conversations on LinkedIn with a companys employees, customers and followers.

LinkedIn also announced a deeper collaboration with Hootsuite, which becomes the first partner to build on LinkedIns new Notifications API to support building a presence on Pages.

advertisement advertisement

The focus is on employees becoming brand advocates, as well as companies leveraging their employees to become brand champions by enabling companies to discover and share their employees public LinkedIn posts from their Page.

Pages are designed to help organizations connect with members, grow their business and build lasting connections.

Nearly 30 million brands, institutions and organizations, from small businesses to large enterprises, have Pages on LinkedIn.

Admins were also given the ability to link their pages with hashtags to monitor and participate in conversations about their brands or relative topics.
A new clinical trial tests a radiotherapy-boosting drug in the fight against various forms of cancer.

Share on Pinterest New research finds a safe way to boost the effects of radiation in cancer therapy.

Cancer continues to be one of the top causes of death in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute, there will be 1,735,350 new cancer cases by the end of 2018, of which 609,640 people will die as a result.

Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments used in the fight against cancer. About 60 percent of cancer patients benefit from radiation, which is used either on its own or together with chemotherapy.

Radiation therapy works by puncturing the DNA inside cancer cells. This stops the cancer cells from growing and multiplying, eventually causing them to die.

Doctors can use radiation to destroy cancer tumors completely or to shrink them in preparation for surgery. This depends on the type of tumor, as some cancers are more sensitive to radiation therapy than others.

New research may have found a way to boost the strength of radiation therapy against cancer cells. Doctors administered a new drug called 5-iodo-2-pyrimidinone-2-deoxribose (IPdR)  also referred to as ropidoxuridine  to people with cancer in combination with radiation therapy.

Dr. Timothy Kinsella, from the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital  both in Providence, RI  presented the results of the clinical trial at the 30th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland.

The symposium is a collaboration between the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Over time, a hepatitis C infection can cause liver damage, such as cirrhosis or fibrosis. Advanced liver disease can occur in late-stage hepatitis C. Hepatitis C occurs when the hepatitis C virus, also known as HCV, infects the cells in the liver. A person may contract HCV by coming into contact with the blood or bodily fluids of someone with the virus. This article discusses the stages of liver disease and the outlook for people who have hepatitis C in the later stages.

Stages of hepatitis C The terms acute and chronic refer to the length of time that a person has had the hepatitis C virus. Acute hepatitis C Acute hepatitis C presents in the first 6 months after exposure to the hepatitis C virus. There is a 20 to 50 percent chance that the infection will clear on its own within this time. Chronic hepatitis C Share on Pinterest Hepatitis C has a high risk of becoming chronic. In people with chronic hepatitis C, the infection lasts for longer than 6 months. Hepatitis C becomes chronic in as many as 75 to 85 percent of cases. Chronic hepatitis C can remain undetected for a prolonged period. The chronic liver disease that it causes tends to progress slowly over several decades , and people often either show no symptoms or experience general tiredness and depression. For this reason, many people will not know that they have the infection until a doctor detects it during a routine blood screening.

Progression of liver disease in hepatitis C As chronic hepatitis C progresses, its effects on the liver include: Inflammation Inflammation of the liver is characteristic of early hepatitis C. The virus attacks and kills liver cells, triggering the bodys immune system to release inflammatory markers. These inflammatory markers cause the liver to produce fiber-like proteins that can repair liver damage. A buildup of these proteins can result in a type of scarring called fibrosis. Fibrosis In fibrosis, the continued buildup of scar tissue prevents blood from reaching some parts of the liver. Without access to the oxygen and nutrients that the blood supplies, the liver cells begin to die, which leads to an ongoing cycle of cell death and scarring. In the early stages of fibrosis, scar tissue may begin to accumulate around the portal vein, which runs through the liver. This is called portal fibrosis. As yet more scar tissue builds up, it begins to form thick, fibrous bands called septa. Cirrhosis Advanced fibrosis of the liver can lead to a more severe form of scarring known as cirrhosis. In people with this type of liver damage, scar tissue is so widespread that it impairs the livers ability to function and regenerate. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of people with HCV will develop cirrhosis over 20 to 30 years.

The 4 stages of liver fibrosis Share on Pinterest A liver biopsy can help determine the severity of liver scarring. A doctor can determine how severe a persons liver scarring is by carrying out a liver biopsy. A higher score indicates a more significant disease progression. Healthcare professionals use the METAVIR scoring system to assess the progression of liver fibrosis. The system assigns a grade to the level of inflammation and the stage of fibrosis. The METAVIR stages of inflammation are as follows: A0 None A1 Mild A2 Moderate A3 Severe The METAVIR stages of fibrosis are as follows: F0 No fibrosis F1 Portal fibrosis without septa F2 Portal fibrosis with few septa F3 Numerous septa without cirrhosis F4 Cirrhosis

Stages of cirrhosis Cirrhosis develops in two stages, beginning with compensated cirrhosis and leading to decompensated cirrhosis, or end-stage liver disease. Compensated cirrhosis Compensated cirrhosis involves liver damage, but the liver still has enough healthy cells to perform its vital functions. People often remain free of symptoms at this stage, but they may show signs of portal hypertension, which is high blood pressure within the portal vein. This happens when widespread scarring impairs blood flow through the liver. Decompensated cirrhosis Decompensated cirrhosis refers to liver scarring that is so widespread that the functioning parts of the organ are no longer able to compensate for the parts that are damaged. According to the Hepatitis C Trust in the United Kingdom, around 18 percent of people with compensated liver failure will progress to decompensated liver failure within 5 years. This rate rises to 30 percent after 10 years. As the liver loses its ability to carry out vital functions, the following complications can occur: Portal hypertension, which is high blood pressure within the portal vein that can cause blood to bypass the liver completely. As a result, the liver is unable to filter harmful toxins from the blood, and this can lead to further complications, such as variceal bleeding.

Variceal bleeding is a type of internal bleeding in which the blood vessels within the food pipe or stomach expand and burst. This happens when portal hypertension causes the blood to reroute through veins that are too small. The condition can be life-threatening.

Edema, which is an accumulation of fluid within the tissues and cavities of the body. This fluid buildup occurs when the liver stops producing enough albumin, which is a substance that affects how much fluid is in cells. In most cases, this fluid builds up in the stomach, which is a condition known as ascites.

Hepatic encephalopathy, which refers to brain changes that result from exposure to toxins that the liver has been unable to filter from the blood. Symptoms can be mild to severe.

Treatment options Share on Pinterest A doctor may recommend an abdominal ultrasound to determine the best treatment plan. A doctor may conduct the following tests to assess the best course of treatment for an individual with hepatitis C: virus tests to find out the specific strain of HCV

blood tests to assess liver function

an abdominal ultrasound to look for liver scarring

an assessment of the stage of fibrosis

tests to rule out other infections, such as hepatitis B and HIV The treatment options depend on the severity of liver disease that the tests reveal. Hepatitis C with compensating cirrhosis Oral antiviral medications, which remove the virus from a persons blood, are the primary treatment for hepatitis C. The aim is to make the virus undetectable in the blood, which shows that the medication is working. Doctors refer to this as a virologic response. If this response lasts for 12 weeks or more after finishing treatment, the person has achieved a sustained virologic response (SVR). Around 99 percent of people who have an SVR remain virus-free for the rest of their lives. Although antiviral treatment is generally more successful when liver fibrosis has a METAVIR score of F2 or below, people with stage F3 or even stage F4 fibrosis can reach SVR. After achieving an SVR, the hepatitis C infection will not cause further liver damage. However, people with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis may continue to experience complications as a result of the existing liver damage. Hepatitis C with decompensating cirrhosis Until recently, doctors considered a liver transplant to be the only effective treatment for decompensating cirrhosis. However, a recent small-scale study found that a course of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medication may improve some peoples liver function enough to take them off the waiting list for a liver transplant. People with liver disease that was less severe had a higher likelihood of removal from the list. However, recent Canadian guidelines warn that certain antiviral drugs may potentially be dangerous for people with severe decompensating cirrhosis. This is because the liver is less able to filter out toxic waste, meaning that the antiviral drugs could accumulate to toxic levels. Doctors must weigh up the benefits against the risks. When a person is waiting for a liver transplant, a doctor will assess whether or not to pause antiviral treatment.
This article will look at the effectiveness and side effects of penis enlargement methods. It will also discuss average penis length and girth, and when a person may wish to see their doctor.

Penis size is a common source of anxiety . This has fueled a multimillion-dollar penis enlargement, or male enhancement, industry.

Marketers claim that extenders, vacuum devices, pills, and lotions can increase penis size. But do penis enlargement methods work?

Share on Pinterest Penis size is a common source of anxiety.

Most people who consider penis enlargement treatments have normal-sized penises, meaning that they are adequately sized for sexual activity and urination.

Manufacturers claim that products, including pills, creams, and stretching devices, can increase penis size. Some people also consider surgery.

However, the Urology Care Foundation points out that nearly none of these methods work.

We look at the evidence for various penis enlargement methods below:

Traction devices

Traction devices aim to increase the length of the penis by stretching the penile tissue. A person places a weight or small extending frame on the flaccid penis to gently lengthen it.

According to a scientific review from 2010, penile extenders are the only evidence-based technique for lengthening, and the results may not be inferior to penile surgery.

Several studies have investigated the effects of traction devices, with varying results. Some results suggest that the devices can lengthen the penis by as much as 13 centimeters (cm).

In most of these trials, participants wore the devices for between 4 and 6 hours a day. In one, they wore the devices for 9 hours a day.

Researchers are also investigating whether using traction devices before or after penile surgery could improve outcomes.

The evidence concerning traction devices is, however, limited. Determining their safety and effectiveness will require more research, and the Urology Care Foundation currently does not support their use.

Vacuum devices

A vacuum device contains a tube that fits over the penis. Pumping out air creates a vacuum that draws blood into the penis, causing it to swell.

People usually use vacuum devices to treat impotence, or erectile dysfunction. No strong scientific evidence suggests that they can increase penis size.

Pills and lotions

Many different pills and creams promise to increase penis size. They tend to contain various vitamins, minerals, herbs, or hormones.

There is no strong scientific evidence that any can affect the size of the penis.

Penis surgery

There are two main types of penis enlargement surgery.

Penile augmentation involves injecting fat cells into the penis. The aim is to increase girth, or width, as well as length, in some cases

The procedure carries risks. Side effects may include swelling and distortion of the penis. If a side effect is severe, the penis may require removal.

Another method of penile augmentation involves grafting fat cells from elsewhere in the body onto the penis. This is less invasive and can add an average of 2.392.65 cm after 12 months.

However, the organ can lose 2080 percent of the new volume within 1 year of surgery, so people may need multiple surgeries to achieve the desired result.

The second main type of surgery is suspensory ligament release. This ligament anchors the penis to the pubic area and provides support during an erection. If a surgeon cuts the ligament, this changes the angle of the penis, which can make it look longer.

On average, suspensory ligament release can increase flaccid penis length by between 13 cm , but patient and partner satisfaction rates tend to be low. The lack of support during an erection can make penetration difficult.

Like the Urology Care Foundation, the American Urological Association state that penile augmentation surgery is neither safe nor effective.
MRI is a noninvasive diagnostic tool that uses radio waves and a magnetic field to produce detailed images of the inside of a body. Doctors can use these images to examine a persons lower spine, or lumbar region, and the surrounding tissues. The technology is safe because it does not use ionizing radiation, which can kill or damage cells, and a person cannot feel the magnetic field or the radio waves. However, there may be some things to consider before going ahead. In this article, we discuss how doctors use a lumbar MRI to examine an individuals lower back, how to prepare, and what happens during an MRI. We also cover the risks of an MRI and when a person can expect to get the results.

What can lumbar MRIs diagnose? Share on Pinterest Sopone Nawoot/Getty Images According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), low back pain is one of the most common reasons for outpatient visits to hospitals, clinics, or other healthcare facilities. Medical professionals perform lumbar MRIs for a variety of reasons. If someone is experiencing pain in their lower back, a doctor may recommend a lumbar MRI scan to help diagnose the source of the pain. The main reasons a doctor will recommend an MRI is to investigate: Lower back pain: This can result from muscle strain, joint damage, or other reasons.

This can result from muscle strain, joint damage, or other reasons. Sciatica: This causes acute pain and results from irritation to a nerve root, possibly due to inflammation or structural changes.

This causes acute pain and results from irritation to a nerve root, possibly due to inflammation or structural changes. Claudication: This can lead to mobility problems and dull pain or aching in the lower limbs. Claudication can be vascular, affecting the blood vessels, or neurogenic, involving the nerves. A doctor may also order a lumbar MRI for an individual who is about to undergo back surgery. In this case, the surgical team uses the results of the lumbar MRI to help plan the operation. A lumbar MRI is a powerful diagnostic tool that doctors may use to: check spinal alignment

detect abnormalities of vertebrae or the spinal cord

check for a lumbar disk herniation, which can lead to leg pain

evaluate any inflammation of the spinal cord or nerves

check for tumors on or around the spinal cord

monitor damage to the spine after an injury

monitor the spine after an operation

explore different causes of back pain A doctor will not usually carry out a lumbar MRI during the first 6 weeks that a person experiences pain unless the person has: sudden back pain that occurs alongside fever

injury or trauma

sudden back pain with spinal tenderness, possibly linked to cancer, osteoporosis, or steroid use

bowel or bladder incontinence

a serious underlying condition, such as cancer The reason for delaying a lumbar MRI is that most cases of back pain resolve within a few weeks, according to the AAFP. A herniated disk will usually reabsorb within 8 weeks. Carrying out a lumbar MRI too early could lead to unnecessary cost and anxiety.

How to understand the results A lumbar MRI can indicate the reason a person is experiencing back, leg, or other type of pain. It can show signs of: a congenital or developmental variant, a feature that a person has developed or had since birth

degenerative changes, such as a herniated disk or disk that has broken down, called an annular fissure

inflammation or infection

a benign or malignant tumor

central vertebral canal stenosis, in which a narrowing occurs that leads to nerve compression in the spine

ankylosing spondylitis, which may involve inflammation and changes in the shape of the spine

spondylolisthesis, where a vertebra slips out of place, affecting spinal alignment

other changes, such as an abscess If the image is normal, there is no need for action. It is of note that no diagnostic technology is fully reliable, although some studies have suggested up to 100% success rates for a lumbar MRI detecting a herniated disk. An MRI will not definitely show that a person has a specific problem, and the person may need further tests. In addition, there is a possibility of a false-positive result, where a scan suggests that a problem is present when it is not.

How long does it take, and when to expect the results? An MRI scan usually takes 1590 minutes. This will depend on where a person has the scan and which images they are taking. An individual is usually free to go home after the MRI scan and continue with their daily routine. If they have had a sedative to help them relax during the procedure, they might need someone to pick them up from the hospital or clinic. After the examination, a radiologist will interpret the results and write a report to send to the persons doctor. The doctor will then share the findings with the individual. They will also add the MRI results to the persons medical file. People can expect their MRI results within 1 week after the examination, although this may vary.

How to prepare Before going for an MRI, a person can usually eat, drink, and take their medication as usual, unless a doctor has specified otherwise. However, it is important for an individual to inform the doctor if they: have any metal implants, such as a pacemaker or a hip or knee replacement

might be pregnant

have a history of allergic reactions, which is important if the scan requires the use of a contrast dye Metal objects can affect the safety and effectiveness of an MRI scan. Before the examination begins, the MRI technician will ask the person to remove any metal items they are wearing, such as: jewelry

watches

body piercings

dentures For a lumbar MRI, the person will also need to remove their clothing and wear a hospital gown. The technician may also ask the person to fill out a medical questionnaire and sign a consent form. An MRI involves lying down inside a windowless chamber for an extended period, and therefore people who experience claustrophobia may find the procedure uncomfortable or even frightening. If this is the case, the doctor may prescribe an antianxiety medication or sedative to help the person relax during the scan.

What to expect during an MRI? The MRI machine looks like a giant doughnut. A radiologist or MRI technician will ask an individual to lie down on a table that slides into the opening of the machine. If a technician performs the MRI, they will do so under the direction of a radiologist, who is a specialist in X-rays and radiation processes. They will maintain verbal contact with the person they are examining through a microphone. Contrast dye Sometimes, MRI technicians also use gadolinium, which is a contrast dye, to gain a clearer image. They will inject the contrast dye before the scan through an intravenous line into a vein in either the hand or the arm of the person. How an MRI works during a scan The MRI machine uses a strong magnetic field that aligns and stimulates particles called protons in the body, forcing them to spin out of alignment. When the technician halts the magnetic field, the protons begin to spin in their usual way. As they do this, they give off energy that the MRI machine detects. The MRI machine records this information, and a computer processes the data to create a detailed image of the body area. Other tips Other things to expect are the following: To produce high quality images, it is essential for a person to stay still during the scan. A radiologist or technician will ensure the person is as comfortable as possible before starting.

The machine can be very loud, and the radiologist or technician will usually give the individual earplugs or headphones to wear.

A two-way communication system will allow the person to speak with the radiologist or technician at intervals during the scan.

Risks of a lumbar MRI Although doctors consider an MRI scan to be a very safe procedure, there are some safety concerns to keep in mind. The strong magnetic field inside the machine will attract metal objects, such as jewelry. If these objects are too close to the scanner, the magnetic field may cause them to move at speed. This could damage the scanner or even injure the person undergoing the scan. This is why it is essential to remove any metal objects before the examination begins. There are risks for people who have metal implants, such as pacemakers or surgically implanted pins. Again, because the MRI machine emits a strong magnetic field, it can cause metal implants inside the body to move. However, having a metal implant does not always prevent a person from having an MRI scan. Doctors will assess the risk on an individual basis. Due to the strength of the magnetic field, the MRI machine may create a repetitive tapping or thumping noise. This may adversely affect a persons hearing if they do not wear proper ear protection. Side effects from MRI scans are rare, but they can happen. Some side effects from MRIs include : thermal injuries, such as second degree burns

injuries from metal objects becoming projectiles

falls

hearing loss or tinnitus On rare occasions, people may experience side effects from the contrast dye, such as: pain at the site of injection

nausea

a headache

itchy or irritated eyes

hives, which is a bumpy and intensely itchy rash According to the American College of Radiology, a contrast dye is unlikely to cause harm to a breastfed infant. Anyone who has concerns should seek guidance from a doctor.

How much does it cost? The cost of a lumbar MRI can vary widely, depending on various factors, such as: where the treatment takes place

the extent of the area that needs scanning

whether the scan involves a contrast dye

whether a person needs sedation to help them stay still In some cases, insurance may cover all or part of the cost. Learn how Medicare can help with the cost of an MRI scan here.
SHREVEPORT, La.

Nov. 14, 2018

Centenary College

Louisiana

Shay Swartout

Louisiana

Cyanosis of the skin and lips (Bluish/gray tint)

Cold, clammy skin

Shallow, irregular breaths

Deep snoring or gurgling sounds

Unresponsive to verbal or painful stimuli

Slow, faint pulse

Wednesday, November 14

2:00 p.m.

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Center for Behavioral Health (CBH), a nationally accredited outpatient treatment facility, today announced in conjunction with Caddo EMS, that it will provide onsite Opioid Overdose Training atofSpecifically focused on education, CBH and Caddo EMS will be speaking with the college's resident assistants, on campus, local and parish law enforcement, as well as law enforcement from surrounding campuses on how to correctly identify, assess and treat an opioid drug overdose. In addition to the training, first responders who attend will be equipped and trained on the use of Narcan Kits that contain doses of Naloxone. Naloxone is an FDA approved drug that works by blocking or reversing the effects of opioids. Naloxone is delivered as an injection or nasal spray and can save lives if properly used."We are excited to present to this audience because it is critical that first responders are able to quickly identify and help when an opioid overdose has occurred," said, State Director for theat CBH. "Equipped with Narcan kits and educated on how to respond can ensure that those who overdose are given the best chance of recovery. We hope to build on the presentation and share this message with more universities and first responders throughout the country."According to a recent study 115 lives are lost to opioid overdoses every day. This staggering number does not discriminate in gender, race or age and impacts all that use opioids. Overdoses often occur as a users' tolerance increases, requiring more amounts for desired effect. This requires that users move on to more potent opioids or more extreme methods of administration. Specific signs of opioid overdose include:Hosted at the Kilpatrick Auditorium on Centenary's campus onat, the Opioid Overdose Training is the first step to educating first responders and improving the lives of those that suffer from overdoses, while also improving how the medical industry responds.About Center for Behavioral Health Center for Behavioral Health is an accredited network of growing outpatient facilities and treatment centers that is focused on assisting people addicted to opiates. With 23 locations across the country, CBH provides treatment for all drugs and alcohol, HIV/AIDS, compulsive gambling and domestic violence. Based on location some facilities offer classes in impulse control, anger management and DUI. CBH is a privately held organization. Learn more about Center for Behavioral Health by visiting its website or following it via social media.SOURCE Center for Behavioral Health Management, Inc.
Supreme Cannabis contracts with MediPharm to provide extraction and production for the Company's branded adult-use cannabis oils products

TORONTO

Nov. 13, 2018

Navdeep Dhaliwal

Kincardine, Ontario

Ontario

British Columbia

Alberta

Manitoba

Nova Scotia

Edward Island

Lesotho

Canada

October 2, 2018

/CNW/ - The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. ("Supreme Cannabis" or the "Company") (TSXV: FIRE) (OTCQX: SPRWF) (FRA: 53S1), is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a three-year agreement with MediPharm Labs Inc. ("MediPharm"), a wholly owned subsidiary of MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSXV: LABS), to facilitate the launch of the Company's cannabis oil products line. MediPharm holds a processing license and is a leader in the cannabis industry focused exclusively on cannabis extraction and producing pharmaceutical-grade cannabis oil.Supreme Cannabis, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, 7ACRES has agreed to supply a minimum of approximately 1,000 kg of high-quality cannabis trim as input per year to MediPharm for the extraction and production of at least 200,000 40ml units of premium, high-terpene cannabis oil products for the adult-use consumer market. Under the terms of this agreement, all cannabis oil products processed by MediPharm will be sold under Supreme Cannabis' brands, including a new, to be announced brand. The program will be established at no capital cost to Supreme Cannabis, with MediPharm receiving a processing fee based on the cannabis oil produced."We expected market segmentation as the Canadian cannabis industry evolved and the emergence of dedicated experts focused on downstream activities. Partnering with product experts, such as MediPharm, allows Supreme Cannabis to launch oil products quickly," said, CEO of Supreme Cannabis. "We are excited to be working with MediPharm and look forward to Canadian adult-use consumers being able to experience oil products derived from what we believe is the best flower being produced at scale."The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. (TSXV: FIRE) (OTCQX: SPRWF) (FRA: 53S1) is a Canadian publicly traded company committed to providing premium brands and products that proudly reflect its consumers, people and uniquely innovative culture. The Company's portfolio includes its wholly-owned subsidiary and flagship brand 7ACRES.7ACRES is a federally licensed cannabis producer operating a 342,000-square-foot facility in. 7ACRES is dedicated to providing consumers with a premium-quality product that recognizes its customers are informed, discerning and value a brand and culture that aligns with their principles. 7ACRES brand success has been reflected in provincial supply agreements with the provinces ofand PrinceThe Company's growing portfolio also includes an equity investment and long-term global distribution arrangement with-based Medigrow for the exporting of medical-grade cannabis oil.The Company has consistently set the standard for innovation in the sector, including the design of growing facilities and development of operational excellence metrics. We are confident that together with our flagship brand, proprietary technology and products, truly unique culture, and industry-leading team, we will deliver our shareholders consistent long-term value creation.For more information, please visit The Supreme Cannabis Company and 7ACRES websites.Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.Certain statements made in this press release may constitute forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. These statements may relate to anticipated events or results and include, but are not limited to, expectations regarding the estimated production under the terms of the agreement and other statements that are not historical facts. Particularly, information regarding our expectations of future results, targets, performance achievements, prospects or opportunities is forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may" "will", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "plan", "could", "should", "would", "outlook", "forecast", "anticipate", "foresee", "continue" or the negative of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements are current as of the date they are made and are based on applicable estimates and assumptions made by us at the relevant time in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. However, we do not undertake to update any such forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws in. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form dated("AIF"). A copy of the AIF and the Company's other publicly filed documents can be accessed under the Company's profile on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com. The Company cautions that the list of risk factors and uncertainties described in the AIF is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect its results. Readers are urged to consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information.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.SOURCE The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc.
Study Objective

Classroom session with an expert

Video only session

Kiosk session with a manikin

Study Design

Classroom: This involved education by an expert in a classroom setting, with a 25- to 45-minute practice session

This involved education by an expert in a classroom setting, with a 25- to 45-minute practice session Video Only: This involved watching a 1-minute video on the topic

This involved watching a 1-minute video on the topic Kiosk: This involved a 4-minute on-screen feedback and practice session

Reason for Low Rates of Bystander CPR

Advertisement

Lack of time

Lack of access

Cost factor

Reluctance to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

Study Findings

Future Potential of Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosks

Source of Funding

Hands-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Education: A Comparison of On-Screen with Compression Feedback, Classroom, and Video Education - (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2018.09.026)

The major objective of the study was to compare the efficacy of three methods of Hands-Only CPR:The research team indicated that Hands-Only CPR was as effective as conventional CPR and required minimal skills, without any health concerns about mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which is one of the factors for the reluctance of bystanders to perform CPR.said Dr. Debra G. Heard, PhD, affiliated to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, Dallas, Texas, USA, and lead author of the study.This was a randomized, controlled study that included 738 participants. The study compared the participant scores on three Hands-Only CPR training methods, indicated below:The participants took a 30-second compression test immediately after training. This test was repeated after 3 months to evaluate how much efficiency they still retained.It has been observed that only 45.7% adults suffering a cardiac arrest outside of hospital receive CPR from bystanders. This is even lower in rural areas and within minority and low-income groups.The researchers note that the main reason for low rates of bystander CPR is the lack of training. Some of the major roadblocks for CPR training include the following:The Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosks solve all the above problems and are currently widely available in various public places, including airports.The study findings indicated that those who participated in the kiosk session were able to perform Hands-Only CPR as efficiently as those who participated in the classroom session. It was noted that the level of skills of the participants in both these groups were superior to the video only group. The researchers felt that the video session was more suitable for creating awareness, rather than providing actual training.In this regard, Dr. Heard said:In 2013 a single Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosk was initially installed as a pilot project at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), USA. This was followed-up in 2016 by the installation of 5 Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosks jointly by the American Heart Association and the Anthem Foundation, a philanthropic organization. Since then, these kiosks have become very popular and have attracted over 23,000 visitors, without the need for any advertisement.Moreover, it is noteworthy that over 100,000 people have completed training so far. Therefore, these kiosks seem to have a huge potential in the future for saving lives outside the hospital setting.The study was funded by the American Heart Association and the Anthem Foundation, USA.Source: Medindia
The NC president said that such irrational acts bring bad repute to the celebrated traits of Indias ethos known for forbearance.

Srinagar: Former Union minister Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday criticised the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and its counterparts in other states over changing the names of cities and said that this was an attempt to wipe out the countrys pluralistic character. He also said that it seemed to be a calculated attempt to diverge the peoples attention from real issues that the country is facing.

Mr Abdullah, who is also the president National Conference (NC), said that changing names of cities throughout the country is an attempt to change the pluralistic visage of India and a premeditated attempt to deviate the attention of people from the developmental deficit across the country.

He said that India has historically been a point of convergence of different cultures and the names of various cities reflected the pluralistic culture of India. India is a mosaic of cultures and the contribution of Muslims cannot be belittled. The contribution of Muslims to the cultural pool of India is discernible in linguistics, crafts, food and other art forms, he asserted, adding, Such attempts reveal the antipathy of the BJP-led state government, including the incumbent UP government, for academics and historical facts.

The NC president said that such irrational acts bring bad repute to the celebrated traits of Indias ethos known for forbearance. It seems to be a considered attempt to diverge the people from real issues that the country is faced with. The BJP which is at the helm of affairs has been serving people mere catchwords as development. People are watchful of their willies and are seeking answers from BJP for not fulfilling the promises they made during the run-up for 2014 national elections, he said.

Mr. Abdullah who is also a member of Lok Sabha said that history bears testimony to the fact as to how Muslims watered the pluralistic values of our country. The contribution of Muslims in Indias freedom struggle cannot be derided. People like Fakrudin Ali Ahmad, Maulana Azad, Dr Zakir Hussain, and APJ Abdul Kalam including others contributed a lot towards Indias development, he said. He asked the people to remain cautious of such devious machinations which, he said, are aimed at dividing the country on religious lines.

The NC leader also condemned the recent reported statements made at a meeting of a right wing group asking the Hindus of Jammu not to sell properties or lend properties on rent to Muslims. This, he said, is aimed at vitiating the atmosphere in the State. Mr. Abdullah, however, also said that the people have always shown steadfastness in upholding secular fabric of Jammu and Kashmir in the most trying times. I am sure they will keep up with the tradition of not lending ear to such obnoxious propaganda, he said.

Meanwhile, the NC has censured the incumbent Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mutto for using his new found affection for the BJP and its national secretary Ram Madhav to transfer what it said an honest police officer Basant Rath.

Mr. Mutto and Mr. Rath had a tiff over management of traffic in Srinagar on micro-blogging site twitter following which the latter has been transferred as the Inspector General of Traffic and attached to the home guards wing of the J&K police.

The NC in a statement here said that the much talked change Mr. Mutto had talked about is visible and its first casualty happens to be an honest police officer known for his effective and innovative work. The much hyped bravado about bringing change to the city turned out to be sheer trumpery and hogwash, it said.
The deputy NSA said more high-level exchanges are expected before the end of this year.

New Delhi: Both India and Russia will support any initiative by the Afghan Government which helps in Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, deputy national security adviser Pankaj Saran said Wednesday. Mr Sarans remarks come in wake of India attending a meeting in Moscow where Taliban representatives were also present.

While addressing the second round of Indian Council of World Affairs-Russia International Affairs Council international conference, Mr Saran said India and Russia were in touch on Afghanistan.

India had participated at an unofficial level in the Moscow format on Afghanistan. Both India and Russia support the Afghan governments efforts towards the realisation of an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, the deputy NSA said. When asked about the meet Russian ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev said any level of Indias participation is welcome. During the address Mr Saran stressed on the need for significantly enhancing the economic content in Indo-Russia ties. He said India and Russia were exploring new areas of co-operation such as railways, information and technology, innovation and infrastructure, besides strengthening traditional areas of collaboration such as defence, space and nuclear.

The deputy NSA said more high-level exchanges are expected before the end of this year. He also highlighted the memorandum of understanding signed between India and Russia by which Moscow would help Indias human space flight programme Gaganyaan.

Mr Saran claimed that Russian investments in India total to about USD 16 billion. The first-ever strategic economic dialogue or economic forum is going to be held under the chairmanship of Niti Aayog and the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, he added.
DGP O.P. Singh, meanwhile, said that Muslims had no reason to worry and they were fully secure not only in Ayodhya but in the entire state.

Lucknow: Even as the Shiv Sena gears up to make grand preparations for the first visit of its chief Uddhav Thackeray to Ayodhya on November 24 and 25, local BJP leaders have started opposing his visit.

The local traders body, which is known for its leanings towards the BJP, has asked the Shiv Sena leader for apologize for attacking north Indians in Maharashtra before coming to Ayodhya.

Janardhan Pandey, president of the Vyapar Mandal said, Where was Uddhav Thackeray when Shiv Sainiks were raining blows on north Indians and chasing them away. Today he is coming to Ayodhya because he wants the votes of north Indians and this is not acceptable to us, he said.

The trader leader said that if the Shiv Sena genuinely wanted the temple to be constructed, it should mount pressure on the Modi government because it has 18 MPs.

The Vyapar Mandal added that it would show black flags to Mr Thacke-ray if he comes to Ayod-hya and also asked the district administration to ban the Sena programme.

Meanwhile, Iqbal Ansari, a plaintiff in the Babri case, said on Wednesday that the Shiv Sena and VHP programmes in Ayodhya were designed to create a scare among minorities.

He said that both the programmes would focus on temple talk, conveniently ignoring the fact that the matter is subjudice and this would upset the Muslims.

He demanded security for Muslims in the district and warned that if the government did not provide the same, Muslims would leave their homes before the event.

DGP O.P. Singh, meanwhile, said that Muslims had no reason to worry and they were fully secure not only in Ayodhya but in the entire state.

The state police chief said, I am not aware of what he has said. I have not seen the video. I am surprised if someone is saying so. He can come and talk to me. I will direct local officials to give security to him.

He said he can assure people of the state that it was his responsibility to provide security to 23 crore people in the state and he was committed to it.

If anyone feels threatened, he can approach us or the local police. We will make arrangements so that he does not feel unsafe, he said. The DGP said that not only communal incidents, but the police in the state had cracked many heinous criminal cases on priority.
The two also discussed enhancement in defence ties with India having acquired billions of dollars of US defence platforms and weaponry.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US vice-president Mike Pence in Singapore on Wednesday, with Mr Modi saying there was only one source of global terror attacks  Pakistan, while expressing concern over the mainstreaming of terrorists in the Pakistani electoral process. On trade  on which the Trump administration has adopted a strident position globally  Mr Modi reminded the US vice-president that American exports to India had risen by 50 per cent in the past two years, with India importing $4 billion of US oil and gas this year.

Giving details of the meeting, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters that Mr Modi also hoped the US would take into account the rich contribution of Indian-Americans in every sphere while deciding on the H-1B visa issue. The India-US strategic partnership and a free and inclusive Indo-Pacific region was also discussed between the two leaders, something that is seen by observers in the context of increased Chinese military assertiveness. The two also discussed enhancement in defence ties with India having acquired billions of dollars of US defence platforms and weaponry. But significantly, Mr Modi pitched for US cooperation in making India a hub for making defence equipment.

A statement by the US reflected American priorities on issues related Indo-US strategic ties and the focus on the Indo-Pacific, fair and reciprocal trade with India, as well as counter-terrorism efforts. The US statement said: Vice-President Mike Pence met today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India ahead of the East Asia Summit in Singapore. The two leaders reiterated the importance of the US-India strategic partnership and of advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. The Vice-President and Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed the commitments of the two nations to strengthen security and counter-terrorism cooperation and coordination. Vice-President Pence also encouraged free, fair, and reciprocal trade with India.

Speaking to reporters in Singapore, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale termed the meeting between Mr Modi and Mr Pence as being very good with positive energy. Mr Modi also invited Mr Pence to visit India, to which Mr Pence indicated he would visit sometime next year. He said the US vice-president had spoken about the coming 10th anniversary of the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and had appreciated the cooperation with India in counter-terrorism. Mr Modi told Mr Pence that in one way or the other all traces and leads in global terror attacks ultimately lead to a single source and place of origin. Mr Modi also told Mr Pence that mainstreaming of people involved in the Mumbai attacks in the political process in recent elections in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern to all. This was of course a clear reference to Pakistani efforts to mainstream terrorist and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

Mr Gokhale said on trade, in the last two years (during the Trump presidency) Mr Modi told Mr Pence that US exports to India had grown by 50 percent, while the trade deficit with the US had reduced last year (in favour of the US), and there was going to be a further reduction this year.

The two leaders also discussed enhancement in defence ties, with Mr Modi pitching for American cooperation in making defence equipment in India so that India can become a hub for exports. Mr Modi hoped the Trump administration would recognise this as a new opportunity.

Mr Modi also appreciated President Donald Trump for hosting a Diwali event in the US. Mr Modi noted the contribution of Indian-Americans economically and culturally and said Indians bring talent to the US to excel and innovate and are imbued in democratic values, thereby making a socio-political contribution there. Mr Modi hoped the US takes this into account when it looks at the H-1B visa issue. Incidentally, on the visa front, India is already in touch with the US administration to save both the H-1B and H-4 visas. The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. The H-4 visa relates to work permits for spouses of H-1B visa holders. Both visas are of significance to Indian professionals and their spouses living in America.
The Opposition, led by the Congress, is hoping to corner the Narendra Modi government over the Rafale deal.

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) on Tuesday night recommended convening of the Winter Session from December 11 to January 8, official sources said Wednesday. Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel confirmed the session would held from December 11 to January 8, and added it would have 20 working days. We seek the support and cooperation of all parties for the smooth functioning of Parliament during the session, he said.

This will be the last full-fledged Parli-ament session of the Narendra Modi government before the Lok Sabha polls. The results of the Assembly elections, where both the ruling BJP and the Congress have high stakes, is set to cast a shadow on parliamentary proceedings. The results of the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram polls will be out December 11. The government will push for passage of the triple talaq bill pending in the Rajya Sabha. It had promulgated an ordinance to make the practice of instant triple talaq a penal offence. The government also wants the Indian Medical Council amendment ordinance and the companies amendment ordinance passed as bills in this session. The Winter Session usually starts in November. However, it will be the second year in a row when it begins in December. The session was delayed this year due to the Assembly elections in five states.

The Opposition, led by the Congress, is hoping to corner the Narendra Modi government over the Rafale deal. It is planning to raise the issue, among others, in the Winter Session. The united Opposition will meet in the coming days and decide on the future course of action under the slogan Save Democracy and Save Nation.
Raja asked the administration to specify a date on which the payment would be credited to employees account.

Mumbai; The Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members of the BEST committee boycotted the BEST committee meeting on Wednesday over the ex-gratia payment to 38,489 employees. The members had asked the BEST administration when it would make the ex-gratia payment to its employees but the administration was unable to give an exact date. However, BEST general manager Surendra Bagde said that he would come up with a plan within the next eight to ten days.

On November 2, the BEST administration had declared Rs 5,500 as ex-gratia payment to each of its employees during the BEST committee meeting. The BEST, which is already facing a financial crunch, will have to bear an additional burden of Rs 22 crore to make this payment.

As soon as the BEST committee meeting began, Congress corporator and leader of the opposition in the BMC Ravi Raja raised the issue of the ex-gratia payment which was to have been paid to the employees before Diwali but had still not been credited to them even five days after the festival. The BEST employees are working day in and day out for the administration. They expect their rightful bonus before Diwali, he said, pointing out that this had never happened before in the history of the BEST.

Mr Raja asked the administration to specify a date on which the payment would be credited to employees account. But the BEST administration expressed its inability to give an exact date. This forced the Congress, the NCP and BJP members to walk out of the meeting.

The BEST committee chairman Ashish Chemburkar said that the BMC should provide financial aid to the BEST for the ex-gratia payment to its employees.
According to news reports, recently the Prime Minister agreed that the MPA development fund in Punjab would be renewed.

The conversation between Jehangir Tareen, Pervez Elahi and others leaked over the weekend was more a storm in a teacup than real news.

Who doesnt know that Punjab operates with a weak chief minister and multiple power centres? And that the Chaudhries of Gujarat are one power centre, and an important one at that? And given that Tareen was in their party once, its no surprise that they would be talking to him about their differences with Chaudhry Sarwar.

But the leaked conversation has highlighted the real story from Punjab  news stories following the controversy explained that the complaints of the PML-Qs Tariq Bashir Cheema were about the interference of the governor in transfers and postings.

However, the PTI government wasnt going to be doing the politics of transfers and postings. That is what we had been promised. And this is the real story of Punjab  the PTIs struggle to balance its reform agenda and power politics.

Imran Khan wants to deliver local government and an independent, autonomous police force to Punjab but those around him fear that in the process, the party may lose its tenuous grip on the province. For the PTI may have formed the government in Punjab but its victory in the province is far from complete. And this is not just about the numbers in the Provincial Assembly where the PTI and PML-N are neck and neck; its about how the party will be able to maintain these seats and win more in the next election. July was more a case of the PML-N losing the election in Punjab than the PTI winning it. Nawaz Sharifs friction with the military, his efforts to up the ante and the conflict that followed sent the message that the party was in no position to win  despite this, the PTI just about managed to form a government in Lahore (with the help of allies).

And no one can guarantee the PTI can repeat this act come the next election because the PML-N may or may not be facing a similar assault from the powers that be.

According to news reports, recently the Prime Minister agreed that the MPA development fund in Punjab would be renewed. Skittish parliamentarians, it is said, convinced Khan that without generous spending of state funds, they were in danger of losing the war to the PML-N, despite having won the 2018 battle.

For Pakistani politicians, winning hearts and minds cannot happen without doling out state funds for facilities that should traditionally be the headache of the local government. The current local government system is dominated by the PML-N and its cronies. And many in Punjab, in government at present, are not sure if the party would be able to win the local level elections if a new local government system is introduced. Some go so far as to say that the purana fears have already out-argued the naya idea of empowered local governments for the time being. That for the time being, the old system of parliamentarians spending on local affairs should continue till there is greater confidence that the elections at the local level will yield a naya Pakistani.

It is hard to pooh-pooh such accounts because politicians have never been comfortable handing over spending and thana-katchehry matters to the local level. Even Pervez Musharraf failed at this.

Hence, it is not hard to believe that if such a debate is going on in the PTI, its proponents will eventually win over Khan because this is how political parties function. Power or rather winning power takes precedence over reform. After all, Khan first opted for this principle when he chose electables to win the elections.

No wonder then that little has been heard of police reforms, another PTI mantra. Since the fiasco called Pakpattan, the transfer of IG of Punjab and the subsequent resignation of Nasir Durrani from the Punjab Police Reforms Commission, the party seems to have put the issue aside. Perhaps, here too the exigencies of power have convinced Khan to wait a while to build naya Pakistan.

But the challenge will be to balance the needs of power with the reform agenda, instead of picking one over to the other. To abandon the latter entirely will not help Khan in the long run. If he doesnt lay down a brick or two of naya Pakistan, he might not continue to win elections in a purana Punjab.

By arrangement with Dawn
In the city, the corresponding figure was 302. Health experts consider an AQI (air quality index) above 100 as unhealthy.

There were many challenges on the ground  lack of awareness about polio, misconceptions and myths revolving around the polio drop itself.

One of the most telling markers of Delhis air pollution crisis is a signboard in the foyer of The Oberoi. The recently-renovated 52 year-old luxury hotel in the heart of Indias capital boasts of its clean air. Guests are promised air quality at par with global standards, courtesy its state-of-the-art clean air technology. At 8 am on November 10, for example, the air quality, measured in fine particulate matter (PM2.5), was 13 inside the hotels guest rooms. In the city, the corresponding figure was 302. Health experts consider an AQI (air quality index) above 100 as unhealthy.

With so much talk about masks, gasps, breathlessness, you would think that everyone is aware of the devastating ways that toxic air impacts us, and that everyone would want to do something about it. The World Health Organisation recently came out with a study on air pollution and health that spoke at length about the scale of the crisis, how it is not just respiratory diseases, but also low birth weight, poor neurodevelopment, asthma etc in children. All this is known.

How then do you explain the stubborn insistence on bursting crackers beyond the time mandated by the Supreme Court in the name of religion and culture? Now, no one says Diwali crackers is the main reason why we are gasping for breath. There are many other reasons - burning of crop residue in neighbouring states before winter, vehicular emissions, construction dust, waste incineration, etc. But restrictions on crackers were put in place by the Supreme Court to make sure that an already alarming situation does not become even worse. If there was political will, the order would have been rigorously implemented.

But in these polarised times, wilful defiance of a Supreme Court ruling becomes akin to participating in a dharm yudh. Soon after the Supreme Court allowed bursting crackers only for two hours (8 pm to 10 pm) on Diwali, BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh Chintamani Malviya said he wouldnt tolerate any interference in Hindu traditions and was ready to happily go to jail for furthering his religious traditions. The social media was rife with sly references to Islamic rule and the targeting of Hindu festivals. In my South Delhi neighbourhood, the sound of cracker bursts could be heard past midnight on Diwali.

Which brings me to one of the prickliest issues of the day.

Are we letting people get away with thwarting public health goals in the name of religion and culture? Clashes between religious beliefs and medical science is nothing new, nor is this unique to India. In the United States, this has manifested itself in debates on childhood vaccinations, blood transfusions, and access to contraception.

Earlier this year, the case of a couple in Michigan who were charged over the death of their 10-month-old daughter renewed the debate about withholding medical care because of religious beliefs. The couple were charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse after their daughter died from malnutrition and dehydration. Astonishingly, more than 30 states in the United States have religious exemptions that allow parents to forgo medical treatment for a child if it conflicts with their religious beliefs.

In India, the situation is paradoxical. In the name of safeguarding religion, many are willing to take risks with their health. In election season, this gets worse. But despite all the holy talk, half-burnt bodies continue to be dumped in the Ganga, dirtying the holy river, and the unregulated use of fireworks continues to pollute the air, extracting a huge human cost.

And yet, religion need not be inimical to public health goals. It can be leveraged for the greater good of the greatest number. As health expert Anant Bhan points out, culture and religion are fluid. Leveraging them is important.

How India finally won the battle against polio, a feat considered impossible for many years, is a case in point. Community mobilisation and religion played a critical role in the last lap. For years, Muslim communities in parts of Uttar Pradesh did not let their children take the polio vaccine because of mistrust. To plug this gap, prominent Muslim religious leaders were roped in the last lap of the battle against polio; they played a vital role in making Uttar Pradesh and the whole country free of polio.

There were many challenges on the ground  lack of awareness about polio, misconceptions and myths revolving around the polio drop itself. I have met many Muslim families in places like Moradabad who genuinely believed that the vaccines would harm their children and they refused to allow their children to take those drops. Muslim clerics joined hands with health officials and agencies like Unicef and urged parents to immunise their children.

For most Indians, religion is deeply enmeshed with everyday life. The interests of religion and public health often overlap. Most religions that I know of focus on social justice and the protection of vulnerable populations. This is entirely in keeping with public health goals.

Religion has been leveraged for the greater public good when there has been strong political will, as in the battle against polio. That being so, there is really no reason why religion cant be leveraged once again to fight the battle against polluted air.

No religion could possibly condone worsening the health of millions of people on any count. Bursting toxic fire crackers is not an article of faith. It has nothing to do with saving any religion. Crackers are not the only reason why Indian cities have poisonous air but it makes it worse. Common sense suggests that in a crisis situation, you try not to make things worse. Polluted air also does not differentiate between the believer and non-believer, between Hindus and non-Hindus.

If there is political will, it is possible to ensure that religion and faith are used to clean up our air and our rivers. However, there is a big question. In an election year, will any political party show that it has the will?
MIDDLETOWN  Motivational speaker and author Sana L. Cotten hopes the community will believe in her goal of giving two women with few resources a baby shower of their dreams.

In honor of National Adoption Month, her foundation, Unashamed, has partnered with ABC Womens Center at 180 East Main St. to adopt two pregnant women: one, a teen, and the other, a woman who considered abortion, then chose against it.

ABC Womens Center on East Main Street provides free and confidential pregnancy resources and services to women in the community. The organization provides information on parenting, adoption and abortion, including procedures and associated risks, according to the agency.

Cotten was introduced to the organization a few years ago when she and her husband were expecting a child, and she fell ill. Unfortunately, we had to have a medically induced abortion. It was either your life or the babys life. I was to the point where I almost couldnt make a choice, she said.

Consequently, she suffered a great deal of shame. I am a Christian, and Christians are against abortion. So, for a long time, we told people I had a miscarriage, she said. It was only recently Cotten felt comfortable enough to begin sharing her story on her blog.

ABC is a pillar in our community not many know about, she said, a resource that can help these women make one of the most important decisions of their lives.

For a young mom to know the community in which she lives is supporting her into parenting is something that is going to impact her for the rest of her life  to know that other moms who may have been single parents, other moms who are having their first child are championing her into this decision, said ABC Womens Center Executive Director Molly Hurtado.

The organization has been around for 29 years and supports more than 600 mothers a year with free services, made possible through donations from churches, youth groups and other groups.

My heart really goes out to these moms. If you choose not to go forward with the abortion, or even if youre a teen mom or a mom whos struggling, theyre really there to help and give those extra supports  not just resources like diapers, but to provide counseling and different services for moms, Cotten said.

Cotten, who is married to Joshua Cotten, church youth director, and daughter-in-law to the Rev. W. Vance Cotten and co-pastor Rev. Kim L. Cotten, said she experienced the childhood pain, fear and loneliness harbored by enforced separation.

Cotten said her birth mother had HIV and was addicted to drugs. She died of AIDS in 2002. It took a long time for me to forgive her, even after her death, for giving me up and for the choice she made. I had to recognize every choice she made was so that I could do the things that I do now  so the purpose in my life could be seen, Cotten said.

More for you Middletown woman seeking book bags, other donations for foster children

These are all things that I have personally experienced. Those are all parts of my story, things that I had to endure, Cotten said.

Her nonprofit, Unashamed, stands for all those things people have tried to shame others with: going through abortion, being a teen mom, being incarcerated or having a parent thats incarcerated  all those things that people are dealing with that have shamed them, and almost stopped them from moving forward with their dreams, she said.

ABC Womens Center is a life-affirming pregnancy resource center, which offers free services to all women who are pregnant, Hurtado said. It offers a parenting support program with material resources and education for two years after the baby is born, something thats incredibly important, she said.

Were empowering women to be strong parents to their children, she said. Young people without strong fathers and/or mothers in their lives are really starting from scratch, and were able to encourage and empower them to be the best parent for their child, Hurtado said.

ABC doesnt receive state or government assistance and is completely supported by donations.

Were living in a state where diaper banks are closing, and theres really a lack of resources that are free  there are no strings attached to our support, Hurtado said.

ABC staff conduct free lab-quality pregnancy tests, perform a free, limited obstetric ultrasound exam, reviewed by a licensed physician, to determine how far along a woman is in her pregnancy; and free, confidential options counseling.

In July, Cotten set a goal to collect 200 book bags, along with personal hygiene products to give to the state Department of Children and Families. She received more than 500, and the gifts keep coming in. The experience was transformative because of its ability to connect individuals from different sectors of society, she said.

Cotten said she turned her life around because she refused to consider herself a victim. Thats the way I choose to look at it. Every day, I get up, Im a Christian and I serve God. For me, its a big thing. There are a lot of people who are in these situations and dont make it out. Ive been able to make it out. Because of that, I give him glory and I give him honor. I honor my birth mother, who he used in order to allow my purpose to be seen today, she said.

For the future, Cotten envisions establishing scholarships for children of incarcerated parents and those aging out of foster care.

Items, which range in price from $3 for infant spoons and lotions, to about $170 for a crib and travel system, include swaddles, rattles, play mats, diaper bags, car seats, toys, onesies, high chairs, bottles and diapers.

To view the baby registry, go to walmart.com and search for Sana Latrease and Connecticut under the baby registry. Items will be shipped to Cotten and delivered to the mothers by Christmas. For information, visit abcwomenscenter.org, ABC Womens Center on Facebook or call 860-344-9292.

Managing Editor Cassandra Day can be reached at cassandra.day@hearstmediact.com or on Twitter @cassandrasdis.
The Speakers office said that the Speaker has requested the President to take the next step under the Constitution.

Colombo: Sri Lankas Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was installed by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential decree to dissolve the House and hold snap polls on January 5.

Amid raucous scenes, Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, install-ed Mr Rajapaksa in his place and suspended the House, plunging the island nation into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

The vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Rajapaksa has further complicated the political crisis as the former strongman has rejected the outcome of the floor test. It is not yet clear whether Mr Rajapaksa will resign or whether ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, who has the support of 122 legislators, will return to power. The passing of the no-confidence motion comes as a major blow to President Sirisena and a victory to Mr Wickremesinghe.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member Parliament supported the no-confidence motion against Mr Rajapaksa, the 72-year-old former strongman, who ruled the country for a decade from 2005.

According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority, Mr Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard.

The Tamil National Alliance and smaller Muslim parties all supported the no-confidence motion. Three newly sworn Cabinet ministers and a state minister also crossed over to the Opposition benches in support. Prime Minister Rajapaksa needed the support of a minimum of 113 legislators in the House to prove his majority.

Supporters of Mr Rajapaksa refused to recognise the vote as legitimate, plunging the country deeper into crisis, as fears grow that the political dispute could spill into protracted instability in the island nation.

Mr Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am on Thursday. Speaker Jayasuriya has written to President Sirisena, asking him to take further constitutional action.

A copy of the motion with 122 signatures of legislators, who have expressed lack of confidence in Prime Minister Rajapaksa and his Cabinet, has been sent to Sirisena.

The Speakers office said that the Speaker has requested the President to take the next step under the Constitution.

Speaking after the no-trust vote, ousted Prime Minister Wickremsinghe claimed that his government had been restored after extra constitutional action by President Sirisena to sack him as the Premier.

We will now take steps to ensure that the government in place before October 26 will continue. I wish to inform all government servants and police that you should not carry out illegal orders from the purported government that has failed to demonstrate the confidence of the people, he said.

Mr Wickremesinghe has denounced Mr Sirisenas attempt to remove him from office and refused to leave the official Prime Ministers residence, claiming the President does not have the power to take such action.

Senior leader of Wickremesinghes United National Party (UNP) Sajith Premadasa said that the Government headed by Rajapaksa clearly lost the floor test.

He demanded that Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down.However, Dinesh Gunawardena and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, both Rajapaksas senior aides, said the Speakers action was illegal.

Housing minister Wimal Weerawansa said the floor test in Parliament was illegal and so Rajapaksa will continue as Prime Minister, further deepening the political crisis that has paralysed the government for nearly three weeks.

The Parliament session on Wednesday comes a day after the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisenas controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.
Connecticut is joining a coalition of global investors to pressure gun manufacturers and sellers to make firearms safer.

The $35-billion Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, which is part of the group, released a set of principles for a responsible civilian firearms industry Wednesday.

State Treasurer Denise Nappier, who administers the retirement plans, said there is a potential long-term business risk posed by high rates of mortality that are attributed to the misuse of firearms. Nappier has lobbied firearms manufacturers and distributors to make a business argument for the reasonable regulation of guns and ammunition sales.

"The proliferation of gun violence is not only a public health issue but also a business risk issue, both of which are central to our fiduciary role as long-term institutional shareholders," Nappier said in a statement.

The group is asking the civilian firearms industry to comply with five principles that include the development of technology to make firearms safer and easier to trace, the adoption of responsible dealer standards, the establishment of complete background checks, education and training of employees at distributors, dealers and retailers and work collaboratively with the investors.

Bloomberg News reports the initial alliance of five investors came together earlier this year and expanded to include pension funds from across the country; retirement systems representing the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches; and the California Public Employees Retirement System, known as Calpers, the largest U.S. pension fund.

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
Two new exhibitions open in Bristol next week celebrating the romance and imagination of one of the 20th centurys brightest theatrical stars, Oliver Messel.

Drawing from the richness of Messels personal archive, acquired by the University of Bristols Theatre Collection in 2015, the exhibitions will take place at the Theatre Collection in Park Row from 22 November to April 2019 and the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Queens Road from 20 November to 13 January 2019.

The exhibitions encompass the magical worlds of theatre, ballet, opera and film as well as a host of artistic practice from portraiture to architecture, to textiles and interior design, featuring costumes, designs, artwork, letters, photography and more.

Born in 1904, Oliver Messel was one of the 'bright young things' in 1920s London and is widely regarded as one of the last centurys foremost theatrical designers.

In 1966 he moved to Barbados where he embarked on a project to redesign and rebuild a small dilapidated house, applying his theatrical design skills to great effect. This was so successful that over the next 12 years, he designed over 35 homes on the islands of Barbados and Mustique, including a residence owned by Princess Margaret.

Drawing on the richness of both the archive and Messels life and work, the exhibitions introduce visitors to Messels family and friends, featuring intimate photographs that capture the hallowed youth of a myriad of characters that populated Olivers world such as Cecil Beaton, Noel Coward and Syrie Maugham.

Stories are also shared through original correspondence including his first entree to the theatre with a handwritten request from Serge Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes, and congratulatory notes from Beaton written from his room at the Waldorf Astoria, New York.

Turning the spotlight on each aspect of his prolific career, different art forms are brought to life including his ingenuity as a costume designer with a headdress fashioned from twisted wire pendants and painted paper worn by Vivien Leigh in George Cukors 1946 wartime film of Caesar and Cleopatra.

A highlight of objects on display is an original ballet costume made from delicate mauve and pale blue tulle and appliqued velveteen leaves, believed to be from the much-lauded ballet of The Sleeping Beauty, in 1946, and an array of accompanying designs and set pieces.

We are also led from the world of stage and film, to sidestep through Messels life-long pursuit of modelling and mask-making, with forays into textiles and illustration, with exhibited objectsincluding one of his enchantingly characterful model monkeys, originally used as a promotional prop for Sekers Fabrics.

Covering the latter but no less productive stages of his life are a number of architectural drawings and interior designs, brought to life with colour photographs in faded tropical hues, exploring Messels time in Barbados, where he designed homes (inside and out) across the Caribbean.

As well as exploring Messels artistic output, Wake Up and Dream also shines a light on more personal aspects of his life, paying tribute to his partner Vagn who organised Messels considerably demanding financial affairs, whilst maintaining home and throwing lavish and entertaining of parties for a host of visitors.

The story of Messels wartime work as a Camouflage Officer is also told through a fascinating array of photographs, reference material and correspondence, which detail how his theatrical skills were put to use safeguarding munitions stores and concealed vehicles, including pillboxes in North Somerset. Similarly, his ardent campaigning against the colour bar in support of his friend the 36th Kabaka of Buganda, Sir Frederick Mutesa (known as King Freddie), reveal another layer to Messels endlessly intriguing life.

As well as telling Messels story through an array of original archival items, the exhibition also includes a pilot version of a new work by live artist Tom Marshman, that plays with Messel and Vagns love of lavish dining through the interactive audio piece The Caviar Outlook. Alongside thissits a collaborative installation devised by paper-based artist Diana Beltran Herrera and created by workshop participants, staff and volunteers, evoking Messels love of fanciful floral motifs.

Touching upon a wealth of materials and weaving a rich tapestry of stories the exhibitions embrace the huge variety of Messels creative endeavours, detailing the magic and mastery of an artist whose all-encompassing vision and imagination can be felt running throughout all aspects of his making, whether creating ethereal fantasies or casting his ideas in paint and stone.
The end of the clashes mediated by Egypt. It is the first time a ceasefire has reached after only two days of war. For the young Palestinians this is a "victory over Israel". Demonstrations in southern Israel in Sderot and Nir Am, criticism of loss of prestige for the government and the army. Protests scheduled in Tel Aviv. The warning of the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia to the Gulf countries.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - Last night, Egypt managed to mediate a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. It is the first such truce to be reached in the history of Israel after only two days of conflict. Residents in southern Israel were informed by the military authorities that they could leave the shelters now, where they had sought refuge from the rain of rockets from Gaza, which began on 11 November last.

At the end of hostilities a large crowd poured into the streets of Gaza in spontaneous jubilation, with young teenagers loudly celebrating what they call "victory over Israel". Hamas's representative, Ismail Radwan, drawn by the crowd, has improvised a speech extolling the "victory of the Islamic Resistance", the "new parity of forces between the Zionist State and the Resistance", repeating a phrase used by the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah: "The enemy is more fragile than a spider's web". Turning to the Gulf countries, Radwan invited them to stop the tendency to normalize relations with Israel. He thanked "Egypt, Qatar, Iran, Syria and the non-Palestinian" Islamic Resistance Forces ".

But the young people of Gaza did not really want to listen, overtaken by enthusiasm, they interrupted him with slogans like "Al Qassam and the people are one fist" and "We'll go and find them in every alley, house after house". The reference is to the failed attempt by the Israeli commando to kidnap Marwan Issa, the number two of Al Qassam, which ignited the two day conflict.

Even in southern Israel there were spontaneous demonstrations, but of protest and discontent, especially in settlements around the Strip. Yesterday evening, young Israelis set fire to tires and threw stones at the security forces and blocked the streets in Sderot and Nir Am, expressing their dissatisfaction with the ceasefire. The angry protesters gathered to block the streets of Tel Aviv in protest today. The young people protest against the loss of prestige of the Israeli army that "once made all Arabs tremble with fear". One of them, interviewed by an Israeli journalist, said that "with this cease fire we are shooting ourselves in the foot".

Zionist Union leader, Avi Gabbay, told the Jerusalem Post that "the protesting southern residents are right" because "The government continues to abandon them".

Israeli society is in shock, used in the past to be protected by an unassailable and untouchable army. This time about 480 missiles with far farther reach have rained down from Gaza compared to 2014. For the first time a new missile launched by the Strip reached the coastal city of Ashkelon, which is 13 km north of Gaza and only 50 km south of Tel Aviv. Ironically: in the building struck in Ashkelon by the missile, the only death was of a 48-year-old Palestinian, originally from Hebron.

The new fears of the Israelis, unaccustomed to living under the bombs, are pushing the government for action. The controversy is growing in the press and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is at the center of criticism. In addition, with the Internet era the censorship imposed on the press by the Israeli military is no longer enough to conceal the true magnitude of the losses incurred during conflicts.

Instead, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, Msgr. Atallah Hanna had words for Qatar, who in these days had donated 15 million dollars to Gaza, asking for "calm" in exchange and the end of the "March of the Great Return" protests every Friday. The bishop said that the Arab Gulf countries are deluded if they think that the resistance will sell off its just cause in exchange for a fistful of dollars. (PB)
Airmen who have been assigned a 365-day extended deployment but have follow-on orders for a permanent change of station now have the option to move their goods and dependents to the future PCS location before they deploy.

As of Nov. 1, active-duty airmen can apply to receive an advance assignment, meaning they will have the option to move early to their next assignment location, the Air Force announced last week.

"This change recognizes the need for us to increase stability and predictability for our airmen and their families and helps our airmen focus on their mission while deployed," Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, said in a release. "The ability to receive an assignment prior to departing for an extended deployment allows airmen to make decisions that are good for them and their families."

Roughly 400 airmen are selected for 365-day extended deployments on an annual basis. The 365-day rotation often includes places like the the Combined Air Operations Center, or the CAOC, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.

Related content:

The new advanced assignment policy does not apply to airmen who are conducting remote, year-long deployments to places such as Latin America or even air bases like Kunsan in South Korea.

The 365-day deployment schedule normally affects those who are deploying for a combat contingency, such as the CAOC.

Last year, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein ordered a review assessing how many assignments could be eliminated or reduced at the CAOC and brought back to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, where Air Forces Central Command is headquartered, according to a report from Air Force Times. Nearly 125 billets in areas of logistics and communication were moved back to the continental U.S. as a result, a 20 percent reduction, Air Force Times reported.

It's in part why the number of airmen who deploy for the 365-day rotation is limited, an Air Force spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Airmen on extended deployments were previously "required to be deployed for at least 60 days before being notified about potential assignments, and orders were not published earlier than 120 days prior to the new reporting date," the release said.

The elapsed time would make It would make it difficult for airmen and their families to plan ahead, the service said.

The change also gives airmen the option to request a move from their deployed location "directly to their new assignment without having to return to their currently assigned unit first," the release said.

Like the CAOC billets reduction, the advanced assignment policy is in line with the service's efforts to streamline duties and retain more airmen.

Airmen interested in the option may apply to receive an advance follow-on assignment up to 16 months prior to the projected 'Report Not Later Than Date' of the current assignment, the release said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.
The U.S. Army today publicly released its new policy for dealing with soldiers who are non-deployable for administrative reasons, just over a month after the Pentagon's new deploy-or-out policy took effect Oct. 1.

"Soldiers who are non-deployable for an administrative reason ... for more than six consecutive months, or six non-consecutive months in a 12-month period, will be processed for administrative separation," according to the new policy dated Nov. 8.

The large number of non-deployable service members is a problem every branch of the U.S. military has struggled to manage, but the Army has radically reduced its number of non-deployable soldiers in the past year, according to Maj. Gen. Joseph Calloway, director Military Personnel Management.

"Since a year ago, we have come from 121,000 non-deployables, which is about 15 percent of the total Army," Calloway told defense reporters at the Pentagon today. "We have come down to right at 6 percent."

Some of those non-deployable troops have been processed out; others have resolved any outstanding issues that prevented them being able to deploy.

In the last month, the Army seen its non-deployable ranks drop from about "66,000 to about 59,000," Calloway said.

But the new Retention Policy for Non-Deployable Soldiers, which "nests" in the Defense Department's larger policy on non-deployable troops, only applies to less than 20 percent of the current non-deployable population.

"This policy doesn't apply to all 59,000 [soldiers]," Calloway said, explaining that "the vast majority of those, 80 percent, are medical. And then another portion are legal."

The rules do not "change or adjust the current medical authority or procedures for any type of medical evaluation for medical retention or processing through the disability evaluation system," said Diane Randon, acting principle deputy for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower & Reserve Affairs.

The new policy, however, does for the first time define what it means to be deployable, Army officials said.

To be considered deployable, a soldier in the active, National Guard and Reserve must be:

Administratively, legally and medically cleared for employment in any environment in which the Army is operating or could operate.

Able to operate in austere areas or areas that regularly experience significant environmental conditions such as heat, cold or altitude that could exacerbate medical conditions.

Able to carry and employ an assigned weapon.

Capable of executing individual warrior tasks for his or her assigned mission.

Able to operate while wearing body armor, helmet, eye protection, gloves and chemical or biological protective equipment.

Capable of passing the Army physical fitness test or meeting the physical demands or tasks required for a specific deployment.

"It's the first time we've actually ever put down on a piece of paper, no kidding, this is what constitutes deployability," Calloway said, explaining the policy also represents a cultural shift in how the Army views deployability as it relates to readiness.

In this year's centralized selection list boards, "individuals competing to be battalion or brigade commander were required to certify to the board that they were fully deployable and could pass their physical fitness test, and that action in of itself was culture change driver," Calloway said. "When all of a sudden everybody in a formation realized, 'oh my gosh, the brigade commander and battalion commander are now forced to certify this; what ... implications does that have for me if I don't maintain my own individual readiness.'"

The policy is also meant to empower commanders to look at soldiers on a case-by-case basis to evaluate if for some type of waiver will make the Army more effective, Army officials said.

A soldier who fails to establish a family care plan could be granted a waiver from separation "because of unique family circumstances."

Other waivers might be granted to those who "had a significant amount of skill, such as a cyber or other shortage specialty," Calloway said. "The commander would say, based on the collective assessment of this person's value back to the Army, we are going to request an exception to policy to retain this soldier."

The deputy chief of staff for Army G1, chief of the Army Reserve and chief of the National Guard Bureau are authorized to grant retention waivers. All requests for waivers must be "endorsed with recommendation, at a minimum, by the first general officer in the chain of command," the policy states.

"This is really about soldiers and commanders being accountable and commanders being empowered to do everything possible with regards to resources and tools to ensure a culture of deployability," Randon said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Diane Randon's title. She is the acting principle deputy for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower & Reserve Affairs.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
A federal grand jury has indicted Victor Silvers on seven criminal counts relating to the alleged "premeditated murder" of his wife Sgt. Brittney Silvers, a 101th Airborne Division soldier who was killed on Fort Campbell, Kentucky October 14, according to a Nov. 14 Department of Justice news release.

Silvers, of Clarksville, Tennessee, was charged in the indictment with "one count of first-degree murder (premeditated), attempted first-degree murder (premeditated), domestic violence, violation of a protection order, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and two counts of the use of a firearm during the commission of a violent offense," according to the release.

Silvers, who was originally charged in a criminal complaint filed on October 15, is facing "a minimum sentence of no less than 25 years up to life imprisonment or death," according to the release.

The affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint described the night Sgt. Silvers was killed, the release states.

"At approximately 10:00 pm CDT, a friend of Sgt. Silvers was socializing at her residence when someone, later identified as Victor Silvers, arrived at the residence and began banging on the door," according to the affidavit in the release. "The friend heard shouting between the individuals followed by a gunshot.

"A short time later, Victor Silvers entered a bathroom, where the friend had been during the altercation. The defendant, still armed with a handgun, entered the bathroom at which point a struggle ensued, and at least three times the firearm was discharged, and the friend was struck in the leg. A neighbor, who was walking his dog, heard gunshots and saw Victor Silvers shoot Brittney Silvers in front of her residence."

Silvers initially denied involvement in the crimes, "but later confessed to investigators during an interview to shooting Brittney Silvers," according to the release.

Silvers made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on October 16 before United States Magistrate Judge Lanny King, who ordered Silvers detained in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending further proceedings of the Court, the release states.

Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Hancock, Leigh Ann Dycus, and U.S. Army Captain Tarik Downie, Special Assistant United States Attorney, are prosecuting the case. The investigation was conducted by the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the release states.

Sgt. Silvers, a 27-year-old native of Jacksonville, Florida, was an automated logistical specialist. She joined the Army in 2011 and completed initial-entry training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Fort Lee, Virginia. Silvers served for several years at Fort Hood, Texas, before arriving at Fort Campbell in 2016, according to a base press release.

She was posthumously promoted to sergeant and received the Army Commendation Medal.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Congress returned from the elections recess Tuesday for a lame-duck agenda that will focus Thursday on the VA's failed implementation of a new IT system that has proved costly for some veterans.

The system has led to delays in payments that can amount to thousands of dollars in monthly housing allowances for veterans attending school under the Forever GI Bill.

"This is, to be kind, a train wreck," Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, the outgoing chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, told NBC News earlier this week.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said Nov. 9 that the IT system failures were not expected to be fixed until early next year, meaning the VA will have to play catch-up on a backlog of delayed housing allowances.

According to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, at least 2,500 veterans have not received Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) payments under the GI Bill for two months, and the Department of Veteran Affairs itself estimates that about 82,000 veterans have experienced delays in MHA payments of some kind.

In an October letter to Wilkie, all Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee charged that veterans are "not only experiencing delays" in housing allowance payments, but are also, in many cases, "still waiting for their funds to arrive at all."

On Thursday, the committee's Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity has scheduled a hearing to take testimony from VA officials on "the IT failures that have led to students and schools receiving the wrong payments and associated processing delays for tuition, fees and the monthly housing allowance."

According to the VA, the monthly housing allowance under the GI Bill is generally equivalent to the military Basic Allowance for Housing of an E-5 with dependents, depending on the zip code of the school. For instance, according to the VA, the housing allowance for a veteran attending school in the Washington, D.C. metro area would be more than $2,300 per month.

In a question-and-answer session after an address at the National Press Club last Friday, Wilkie said the problems stemmed from failures of the IT system to adapt to a planned 0.5 percent increase in monthly housing allowances for 2018.

Payments returned to 2017 levels because "we weren't able to make that half-percent change," Wilkie said.

The VA hopes to have a fix in place by early next year, he said. In the meantime, he said, the VA is working to clear the backlog of missed payments. If overpayments were made by mistake, veterans could keep that extra money, he said.

Despite the IT failures, Wilkie said that, to his knowledge, "no one has left school," and he knew of only one instance, cited by the American Legion, in which a veteran was forced to move back in with his parents.

In a phone interview, Patrick Murray, the VFW's deputy director for legislative affairs, told Military.com that Wilkie wasn't telling the full story.

"They waited until August to tell the schools" about the problems, Murray said. As a result, he said, "hundreds of thousands of certifications came in all at once. Just a small change [the half percent] caused a cataclysmic problem."

Many veterans "still haven't received a single check. They're getting nothing," Murray said.

"We're not talking dozens of dollars" that the veteran could be shorted without the half percent increase, Murray said. For some veterans, he noted, depending on the zip code of the school, the monthly housing allowance could reach $2,500 per month.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at richard.sisk@military.com.
A security forces commander at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, has been relieved from his post because he allegedly created an unhealthy command climate, according to the Air Force.

Lt. Col. Raymond Fortner, the 741st Missile Security Forces Squadron commander, was removed from his position Tuesday "due to a loss of trust and confidence" after a series of events occurred within his unit, the service said in a release.

Fortner was relieved by Col. Aaron Guill, the 341st Security Forces Group commander, following a series of complaints that made their way to the 341st Missile Wing Inspector General and prompted a command-directed investigation, officials with the 341st said.

The investigation concluded that "several of the complaints were substantiated by the evidence," the release said.

Related content:

Officials did not disclose the nature of the complaints nor when the command-directed investigation was initiated. A Malmstrom official told Air Force Magazine the legal review finished up Nov. 11.

Fortner will be reassigned to another position at Malmstrom Air Force Base until he is scheduled to rotate to another duty location, the release said. Maj. Cody Elliott has been named as the squadron's interim commander.

Fortner assumed command of the 741st on July 12, 2017, according to a released Air Force photo. He was responsible for training, organizing and equipping "more than 250 security forces personnel assigned to the 741st MSFS," the service said.

The 741st oversees security for the base, which operates and maintains Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Earlier this year, the Air Force removed the commander of a security forces group at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, after his unit at the missile base lost both a machine gun and a box of grenades.

Col. Jason Beers, 91st Security Forces Group commander, was relieved of his duties May 23 due "to a loss of trust and confidence after a series of events under the scope of his leadership, including a recent loss of ammunition and weapons," Minot officials said in a release at the time.

Beers was reassigned a month later to manage security forces at Air Force Special Operations Command.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.
China's Sub Force Is Growing More Powerful. This Is What the US Navy Needs to Do to Stay Ahead
New from SIG AIR: An air pistol that's nearly identical to the U.S. Army's New M17 Modular Handgun System.

The new M17 Advanced Sport Pellet, or ASP, pistol is powered by a carbon dioxide cartridge and features a proprietary drop magazine that houses a 20-round rapid pellet magazine, according to a recent press release from Sig Sauer, the maker of the Army's MHS.

"This semi-automatic .177 caliber pellet pistol is a replica of the U.S. Army issued P320 M17 and is field-strippable like its centerfire counterpart," the release states. "It has the same look and feel as the M17, featuring a polymer frame and metal slide with realistic blow-back action."

Air pistols are becoming more popular as a training tool for military and police forces.

The U.S. Coast Guard recently selected the SIG AIR Pro Force P229 airsoft pistol, which is designed to be an exact replica -- in look, weight, balance, and handling characteristics -- of the Coast Guard's Sig Sauer P229 service pistol.

The Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has long used the Sig P229 .40 caliber pistol as its duty sidearm. The Coast Guard is scheduled to join the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps in fielding the Army's new Modular Handgun System.

But the service plans to use the SIG AIR Pro Force P229 for simulated training, according to a press release about the Coast Guard's purchase.

The new M17 ASP's CO2 cartridge features a patented cam lever loading port for quick and easy replacement of the cartridge, according to the release.

It weighs 2.15 pounds and comes with fixed sights. The M17 ASP has a velocity of up to 430 feet per second, but that may vary depending on pellet weight, temperature and altitude, the release states.

It comes in Coyote tan and retails for about $140.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Mgr Marcuzzo praised Egypt and Jordan for their mediation in achieving a fragile truce in the Gaza Strip. The two sides are far apart and violence has become a regular occurrence. The UN Security Council is paralysed. For Israeli expert, Hamas sought to capture Israeli soldiers as bargaining chip.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  The truce between Hamas and Israel is the fruit of Egyptian and Jordanian mediation. Fortunately, the two countries acted quickly to de-escalate the situation in the face of an absent international community, said Mgr Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, patriarchal vicar of Jerusalem.

Speaking about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, after days of violence in the Gaza Strip, he noted that at present, we do not see any forward-looking vision" to achieve a "lasting peace".

The two sides are diametrically opposed, and violence is "unfortunately, a regular occurrence". They "fight, then accept a truce to reorganise, bury the dead, and then resume the fight, the clergyman noted.

Now, "we can no longer speak of a peace process", but of a difficult truce "that is not enforced. We fight each other, then we stop for a while, then start again ... We lack a long-term vision."

Yesterday, Egypt got Hamas and Israel to agree to a ceasefire, stopping violence after only two days of fighting, a first.

People in southern Israel have come out of the shelters, after being holed up as a result of rockets fired from Gaza, which began falling last Sunday.

However, the end of hostilities was greeted differently depending on which side of the border people were. In the Strip, people celebrated the victory over Israel". In southern Israel residents were angered by the end of the military action.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council met yesterday behind closed doors to discuss the escalation of violence but could not find an agreement to guarantee a lasting truce and reconciliation between the two sides.

According to the Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour, the 50-minute meeting showed the Councils state of paralysis and its inability to take responsibility for ending the violence.

The main culprit of the impasse is the United States, which is preventing any action that could blame Israel. With no agreement between the Councils 15 members, no declaration on the situation in Gaza was possible.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Israels ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said that Israel will not accept a call for both sides to exercise restraint. There is one side that attacks and fires 400 missiles at civilian populations, and there is another side that protects its citizens.

Despite the upsurge, violence has not affected pilgrimages, nor the security situation in the most visited sites in the Holy Land, said Mgr Marcuzzo, especially now during Advent.

However, Israel and Hamas "remain diametrically opposed". Real peace will not be possible "if there is no justice and nor a solution that is right for both parties.

Whilst problems remain unresolved at present, the two sides could look at Saint John XXIIIs 'Pacem in terris', he said.

For Yedidia Sermoneta, an Israeli expert, the truce was unavoidable after days of tensions, but it is not likely to last long.

The flare-up followed an "undercover Israeli operation deep into the Strip aimed at stopping the rockets". This sparked Hamass reaction directed at "capturing Israeli soldiers and use them to get the release of Palestinian prisoners, like in the past. They did not succeed and this has upset them, hence the attack" against southern Israel.
Runners know that it is not a question of whether you have pain or injury, but when that pain or injury will occur.
DETROIT - An Albanian immigrant taking sanctuary from ICE in a Downtown Detroit church is a "fugitive," even though authorities know exactly where he is, a government attorney argued in federal court Tuesday.

Ded Rranxburgaj's status as a fugitive disqualifies him from consideration for a stay of deportation, the government argues.

Rranxburgaj, a former longtime Southgate resident with no criminal record who has been living inside the Central United Methodist Church since January to avoid deportation, filed a lawsuit in June seeking the reversal of the rejection of his request for a stay of removal.

He was previously allowed to remain in the U.S. for years on humanitarian grounds, because he cares for his ailing wife, who suffers from a debilitating case of multiple sclerosis.

That changed under the Trump administration's stricter immigration enforcement policy, and ICE told Rranxburgaj on Oct. 3, 2017 to expect to leave the country in January.

Because ICE has a policy against taking enforcement action in places of worship, he took refuge in the church and did not report to a meeting with ICE agents on Jan. 17.

That led to his fugitive status and the rejection of his appeal for a stay of removal, according to court documents.

"Petitioner relocated to a church, and stopped going to work, specifically to avoid being detained by ICE," the government argued in a motion to dismiss Rranxburgaj's lawsuit.

"There can be no doubt that, regardless of his reason, Petitioner is a fugitive in that he is avoiding lawful removal. As such, ICE had discretion to apply the fugitive disentitlement doctrine to moot Petitioner's pending application for stay of removal."

Rranxburgaj's attorney George Mann called the fugitive designation "bogus," arguing that it prevents a fair consideration of his case on its merits.

"I made the case that the government was seeking to evade the moral aspect of the case ... separating this family (and) forcing a husband to leave a severely ill and disabled wife behind," Mann said after the hearing.

"For more than eight years, ICE considered it appropriate to allow Mr. Rranxburgaj to stay by his partner's side and take care of her," Mann told U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood.

"... Now (ICE) found an excuse to deny his stay request."

Hood plans to issue a written decision in two weeks or more.

About 50 supporters, including former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El Sayed, marched from the church to the federal courthouse ahead of the Tuesday hearing.

"Ded is a man who wants nothing more than to take care of his wife. He has taken care of her and their two sons day in and day out for the 11 years since she has been ill," El Sayed said.

"He is the sort of husband and father that I try to be and that I would hope to be if ever my wife were to get sick. That commitment to our families and our values is as American as it gets. And yet, ICE wants to deport him."

In a joint statement from U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Brenda Lawrence and Debbie Dingell, the three urged the government to take Rranxburgaj's family situation into account as not only a father and husband, but as his wife's primary caregiver.

His wife, Flora, relies on Ded for help eating, bathing, changing clothes and moving.

"The best answer to this problem is comprehensive immigration reform that makes it easier to get into the country legally ... (that) provides a pathway to citizenship from undocumented workers who have not committed any crimes," the three congresswomen said in the statement. "This type of proposal is supported by members of both parties in congress, the business community, labor and faith leaders.

"While we are grateful to the open doors and open arms of Central United Methodist Church ... we should also expect understanding and support from the United States of America towards our immigrant community. We are a nation of immigrants and the diversity of the American people is one of our strengths."
ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor businesswoman Anuja Rajendra, who lost a closely watched Michigan Senate race this year, was arraigned on criminal charges Tuesday, Nov. 13.

The Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office alleges Rajendra falsely represented herself as the incumbent senator in her campaign literature on two occasions in July.

A hearing in the case is now set for January and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is defending Rajendra.

One of her campaign mailers stated, "As a mom of four and as your State Senator, I want my kids and all kids in Michigan to have the same opportunity for quality education and success."

Another stated, "As your State Senator, I'm steadfast in my commitment to ...." She then listed her support for increasing K-12 school funding and other education matters.

Those two specific statements are listed in court records as the reasons why Rajendra is now facing two counts of false incumbency designation, each a misdemeanor violation of state election law punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or $500 in fines.

After arraignment in Ann Arbor's 15th District Court, the case is set for a hearing before Judge Elizabeth Hines at 1 p.m. Jan. 7.

Court records indicate the ACLU intends to file a motion to dismiss the case by Nov. 26 and the prosecution has until Dec. 10 to respond.

Michael Steinberg, legal director for the ACLU of Michigan, said Rajendra never intended to convey that she was an incumbent and the fact that she's facing jail time is disturbing.

"The ACLU has a serious problem with the government charging political candidates with crimes for political speech," Steinberg said in a recent interview, suggesting the threat of jail time for political speech may keep some from running for office in the future.

"Many idealistic individuals stepped forward and ran for office for the first time in this election cycle with the goal of making the world a better place," he said. "Nothing can have more of a chilling effect on people participating in our democracy than threatening these civic-minded individuals with imprisonment."

Rajendra was a political newcomer competing for the Democratic nomination in a four-way primary race for the Senate seat representing the Ann Arbor area. She was up against former county commissioner and state Rep. Jeff Irwin, County Commissioner Michelle Deatrick, and Washtenaw Community College student Matthew Miller.

Irwin won the race, with Deatrick coming in a close second and Rajendra third.

Founder and CEO of the BollyFit fitness and dance studio in Ann Arbor, Rajendra ran on a campaign platform calling for a fresh voice for progressive values in Lansing.

"Our current State Senate lacks representation in diversity and gender," stated one of her campaign postcards mailed to voters in July, urging voters to "vote a new way" on Aug. 7.

Court records list a Plymouth Road apartment address as the location of the alleged July 1-5 campaign mailer violations that led to the Ann Arbor Police Department investigating the matter in September.

AAPD Detective Robert Schneider is listed as the complaining witness in the case, and records show the county prosecutor's office authorized bringing charges against Rajendra in October.

Irwin, who is stepping into his new Senate seat in January, said last month he didn't see anything from Rajendra's campaign that crossed any ethical or legal boundaries and he wishes her the best as she moves past "this surprising charge."

Deatrick also said she was surprised by the charges and absolutely does not support them.

"Anuja ran a good strong campaign, and I wish her all the best in whatever she does next," Deatrick said.

Irwin eked out a narrow win in August. Deatrick had about 35.16 percent of the vote, and Irwin topped that with 35.59 percent. Rajendra finished with about 27 percent.

Deatrick and Rajendra both put tens of thousands of dollars of their own money into their campaigns.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson says Michigan put itself at the forefront of voting reform with the passage of Proposals 2 and 3 in the Nov. 6 election.

In a symposium about the Electoral College and alternative methods of selecting presidents in the U.S., Benson gave closing statements after two panel discussions Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the University of Michigan.

"I think this is an important national discussion happening right now, certainly as we get closer to the 2020 presidential election," Benson said. "It's only going to increase and there's going to be more questions as to whether or not the current structure of our Electoral College is really effective at achieving a democracy where voters are informed, engaged and have confidence in the results of our election."

Benson said she supported the passing of Proposal 2, an anti-gerrymandering proposal to create an independent redistricting commission, and Proposal 3, which enacts sweeping election reforms.

"In this past week alone, Michigan is now being recognized, because of the passing of these two proposals, as a state that is at the forefront of democracy reform where citizens are leading the way in setting the agenda," Benson said. "It's a very exciting moment for democracy in Michigan because of that.

"I take serious the responsibility to make sure that both of these proposals are implemented with an eye toward furthering the goal and intent of the majority of individuals in the state who support it, but also making sure that all parties at the table are taking a balanced approach and recognizing any security risks or other concerns that opponents of the proposals may have."

The symposium, "A totally Different Campaign: How We Elect Presidents," featured a panel on presidential selection alternatives, followed by a discussion on the current approach between retired lawyer and author Tara Ross and National Popular Vote campaign senior consultant Pat Rosenstiel.

With most of the panelists offering alternatives to the electoral college and discussing its flaws, Ross was the voice of dissent in the symposium. When Rosenstiel said he couldn't think of a single redeeming quality of the electoral college, Ross explained the history of the current system and why it was put into place, referencing points from her 2017 book "The Indispensable Electoral College: How the Founders' Plan Saves Our Country from Mob Rule."

"I do think both (Democratic and Republican) parties are broken. I'm not going to defend either one of them," Ross said. "That's why we have these series of close elections. As soon as Democrats figure out how to get a coalition builder like FDR on board, or as soon as Republicans figure out how to get a coalition builder like Ronald Reagan on board, we will start to see these healthier election margins that we are so used to seeing, and that the electoral college encourages."

Former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer delivered opening remarks at the symposium in favor of the National Popular Vote campaign.

Other panelists included current and former Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy professors, Detroit News editor Nolan Finley, UM law professor Richard Friedman, political science professor Jenna Bednar and Henry M. Butzel law professor Margo Schlanger.

The symposium was streamed live on YouTube and can be watched here.
ANN ARBOR, MI - The University of Michigan and Michigan State University are among the nation's leaders in providing opportunities for students studying abroad, according to a new report.

UM was the No. 1 ranked university in the Big Ten and No. 3 in the nation, with 3,214 U.S. students in 139 countries earning credit in education-abroad programs in 2016-17, according to the annual Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education, a New York-based nonprofit.

MSU ranked No. 8 nationally with 2,667 U.S. students earning credits abroad.

While New York University topped the list with 4,436 students, other Big Ten universities were included in the top 10, including Indiana University at No. 6, Ohio State University at No. 7 and the University of Minnesota at No. 8.

Although the Open Doors report is the most complete census of education abroad in the U.S., UM noted the study does not provide a total count of students who have gone overseas.

Not included in the report - commissioned by the U.S. State Department - are students who are not U.S. citizens. Also excluded are those who go abroad for noncredit co-curricular activities, such as internships, volunteer projects, research and performances.

Including these students in the total education-abroad tally, UM had 5,290 students overseas in 2016-17 - 2,076 more students than in the Open Doors report.

"Education abroad provides students with opportunities to grow in many dimensions. Intercultural engagement is one, of course, and learning to work across and to value difference is vital in today's world," said James Holloway, UM vice provost for global engagement and interdisciplinary academic affairs, in a news release. "These experiences also help students develop other skills critical for success, such as creativity and self-agency."

In total, the number of U.S. students from Michigan studying abroad for academic credit rose by 3.4 percent to 11,533 from 2015-16 to 2016-17.

The report also looks at the size of the international student body at U.S. schools. At UM, the number of international students grew by 3.4 percent to 8,442 students in 2017-18, placing UM 16th overall in the size of its international student population.

MSU was not far behind, with 7,624 international students choosing to study in East Lansing in 2017-18, ranking No. 18 in the country.

Wayne State University (2,958 students), Western Michigan University (2,168 students) and Michigan Technological University (1,508) rounded out the top five in-state institutions hosting international students.

According to the Open Doors report, the state of Michigan had 34,049 international students. Nations with the highest number of international students studying in Michigan included China (34.4 percent), India (20.9 percent), Saudi Arabia (5.5 percent), Canada (5.5 percent) and South Korea (5.3 percent).

Overall, the number of international students in the United States surpassed one million for the third consecutive year, increasing by 1.5 percent to reach a new high of 1,094,792, according to the Open Doors Report.
YPSILANTI, MI - Meals on Wheels in Ypsilanti will use a $500,000 award from the Vital Seniors Competition to fund the expansion of the CAPABLE program to 100 senior citizens.

CAPABLE - Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders - originated at John Hopkins University and has proven effective in helping seniors gain skills, strength and confidence to live happier, safer lives in their own homes, according to Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels.

Each senior in the CAPABLE program is supported by a social worker, home repair expert, nurse and occupational therapist. The team works with the senior over a five-month period to help improve daily living activities, home safety, health and other aspects of life.

Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels is in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley.

"The Vital Seniors award will allow Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity to make lasting changes to seniors' homes, their lives and the lives of their caregivers," Alison Foreman, YMOW executive director, said. "We are thrilled to receive this funding, and eager to offer CAPABLE to seniors who wish to age at home."

After a 10-month competition process, the nonprofit was awarded the $500,000 grand prize Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the Vital Seniors Competition celebration. The award was part of a $2.5 million initiative by the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation to fund innovative support programs for Washtenaw County seniors.

As a Vital Seniors prize winner, the CAPABLE project will be eligible for additional follow-up grants in 2020-22, according to YMOW.

"Now the real work begins - work that will make real changes in the lives of our local seniors," Foreman said.

In total, six awards were announced at the Vital Seniors Community celebration:
FLINT, MI -- Former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling says the state alone is responsible for having connected the city's water system to the Flint River, a shift that triggered the water crisis here.

Walling, who lost his position as mayor after the water emergency, told Genesee District Judge Jennifer Manley Tuesday, Nov. 13, that residents started calling his and other city offices within days of the source switch, complaining about water quality.

But while Walling and the City Council publicly supported Flint's partnership in the Karegnondi Water Authority, neither had the power to reverse the decision to use the river for drinking water.

Emergency managers appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder were in charge of city business from 2011 until 2015.

Walling said questioned officials in City Hall and at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality as complaints mounted but was told that Flint water was safe.

"I had no powers other than those given to me by the emergency manager," Walling testified during the preliminary examinations for four current and former DEQ officials. "I had no supervisory responsibilities."

Walling said he received information from and asked former Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft to take concerns about water quality back to the DEQ.

But Croft, who was appointed by former emergency manager Michael Brown, didn't answer to the former mayor and like Walling, became a public defender of the quality of Flint water.

Croft has also been charged with crimes related to the water crisis.

Walling lost his job to current Mayor Karen Weaver, who made the water crisis the center of her successful political campaign.

He appeared on television, assuring residents of the quality of city water and pushed a button to shut off the supply of pre-treated Lake Huron water to the city during a ceremony in April 2014.

"Did you press the button?" special prosecutor Todd Flood asked.

"Yes," Walling answered. "The valve was right underneath where we stood ... It took some hours (to complete the task), but that did start the process."

Walling's testimony is expected to conclude Wednesday, Nov. 14, after attorneys for Liane Shekter-Smith, Patrick Cook, Michael Prysby and Stephen Busch have the chance to question him as well.

The former mayor said he believed the city had enough money to continue to pay for pre-treated water from the city of Detroit while the KWA pipeline was built, and said he believed that was the plan of emergency managers.

Walling said he only learned of the decision to change to city's water source to the Flint River after the release of the budget for the coming fiscal year in July 2013, a document that showed an end of payments for water to Detroit and additional spending on water treatment and staff here.

The temporary use of the river was projected to save the city millions of dollars while it partnered with Genesee County to build the KWA pipeline.

Instead, the change took place without the proper personnel or equipment for water treatment in place, prosecutors have argued, resulting in contamination of the city's water supply with bacteria, lead and chlorination byproducts.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A former inmate with HIV will receive $150,000 after he was given a harsher penalty for alleged sexual activity than a non-infected partner.

The state agreed to change policy in assessing inmates with HIV, the proposed settlement says.

John Dorn, 47, said he spent 11 months in administrative segregation, was given a higher security classification then sent to a prison in the Upper Peninsula. The other prisoner only lost privileges for 30 days.

Dorn contended he had an undetectable viral load because of anti-retroviral medication he was taking.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that those "living with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative sexual partners."

The proposed settlement awaits approval by a judge.

It says that the state Department of Corrections will pay Dorn $150,000 and supplement his prison record to show that if a new policy directive had been in place in 2012 he would not have been classified to a higher level of security. The agreement is not an admission by either party of any wrongdoing, court records show.

Corrections officials will also review circumstances of others with HIV who are subjected to a higher classification.

The agreement "should not be construed as an admission by either party of any wrongdoing or any liability of any kind, all liability and wrongdoing being expressly denied," it said.

DOC spokeswoman Holly Kramer said that "all parties are satisfied with the resolution."

The lawsuit alleged violations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act.

"The changes in medical treatment have really changed legal standing in a lot of ways," Chris Davis, an attorney for Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service Inc. in Lansing, told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press.

"Medical treatment has come so far that many are living with undetected HIV levels. It's manageable, it has extended the life time expectations for people with HIV to near the same as HIV negatives. It doesn't have to be a death sentence. It's a manageable kind of illness."

If Dorn had been assessed after he was accused of sexual activity, "there never would have been a finding that he posed a significant risk of transmitting the virus," Davis said.

He said sexual activity remains a violation of rules but those with HIV should not face tougher penalties without first undergoing an assessment to determine their risk of transmitting the virus.

"They have to assess whether (there is) risk of transmission, and not just assess," Davis said. "Pretty much they were assuming without a real evaluation of the situation."

He said that the policy in place was appropriate years ago before advancement in treatment. Those with HIV can still face harsher penalties for sexual activity in prison if they're putting others at risk, he said.

"If somebody is HIV positive and knows they are HIV positive and they have a viral load, and they were not taking precautions to prevent the spread of HIV, that conceivably would be subject to discipline above and beyond and could be placed in Ad Seg," he said.

The Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service Inc. and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., represented Dorn. Lambda seeks to protect civil rights of gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people and those living with HIV.

Dorn was originally classified as a Level 1 inmate, the lowest security level, but was sent to a high-security prison in the Upper Peninsula.

Davis contends that the lawsuit is "more than just the money," with the DOC "changing internal policy."

Dorn doesn't admit to the sex act. Two other inmates reported that he and another inmate engaged in oral sex. The witnesses recanted but Dorn and the other man were found guilty of engaging in sexual conduct, the lawsuit said.

Dorn was paroled in October 2014 after he was convicted in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court of assault with intent to commit great-bodily harm less than murder.

He said he was a model prisoner who had a great deal of freedom - including a prison job, outdoor recreation, indoor activities, education and religious activities, access to a telephone and daily showers - before he was accused.

He lost all privileges in administrative segregation.

He said he was confined to his cell 23 hours a day, five days a week, and 24 hours the other days. He would be restrained whenever he left his cell, his said. Once he left segregation, he was transferred from Carson City Correctional Facility to Baraga Correctional Facility near the western edge of the Upper Peninsula.

He was locked up in a single-man cell 23 hours a day, the lawsuit said.

He said in the lawsuit he has lived with HIV since 1992, and had "an extremely low - possibly non-existent - risk of transmitting HIV to others."

State laws requires HIV-positive inmates to be placed in administrative segregation "if a prisoner receives a positive test result (for HIV) and is subsequently subject to discipline by the (MDOC) for sexual misconduct that could transmit HIV, illegal intravenous use of controlled substances or assaultive or predatory behavior that could transmit HIV, the department shall house that prisoner in administrative segregation, an inpatient health care unit, or a unit separate from the general prisoner population, as determined by the department."

MDOC has a policy based on those statutory requirements to prevent transmission of serious communicable blood-borne diseases such as HIV.

The state contended in the lawsuit that Dorn "did not suffer a significant and atypical hardship ... "
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Developers who accept public funds would be required to pay residents, who are displaced because of commercial or residential real estate projects, upwards of $3,500, under a proposal being considered by the city of Grand Rapids.

The idea is modeled after policies in cities such as Seattle, Austin, Texas, and Mountain View, California, city officials said, and is designed to help renters who are displaced - due to demolition or building renovations - pay for moving expenses and the first three months of rent at another apartment.

Members of the city commission, who were briefed on the proposal Tuesday, expressed support for the idea, and asked city staff to reach out to the development community and neighborhood groups for feedback. The idea is still in its infancy, and there's no firm timeline for when it could go before the commission for approval.

"If we're going to use public funds, I absolutely support coming up with an agreement with a developer to figure out how to protect those families," said First Ward City Commissioner Kurt Reppart.

But he said the amount of proposed financial assistance may need to be examined further.

"I don't know if that's the right number or not," Reppart said. He pointed to research by city staff showing that the $3,500 in assistance proposed by Grand Rapids is similar to Seattle's $3,865 for eligible low-income tenants.

"The cost of living there is significantly higher than here," he said.

The proposal comes amid an increased focus on affordable housing in Grand Rapids. Concern over rising rent has grown as commercial and residential development projects continue to pop up across the city.

Jono Klooster, an economic development coordinator for the city, said city staff have already reached out to "several" developers about the idea, and "what's important to them is predictability."

"I think they could get on board with it," he said. "I think when developers in Grand Rapids are buying up houses, even if they're not coming to the city for assistance, I think a lot of them are attempting to do right by the households that are affected. So, I think they understand that the city is growing and the city can't ignore this issue."

Mayor Rosalynn Bliss said the idea for creating the policy dates back to earlier this year, when a developer seeking to demolish nine rental homes and build 36 condominiums in the Belknap Lookout neighborhood asked the city to approve a Brownfield redevelopment grant.

That grant would have reimbursed the developer - whose project was dubbed Coit Square - $1.5 million in property taxes over the next 17 years for the cost of environmental cleanup, demolition, site preparation cost and underground parking.

"When I asked very clearly and straightforward if those moving would be able to be relocated in their neighborhood, the answer was no," Bliss said.

"Personally, I had a real issue with incenting a development that would result in significant displacement of families when we clearly have a goal around affordable housing."

The city's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority chose not to advance the developer's request for public assistance.

The proposal would only apply to projects where developers are seeking city financial incentives. That includes tax abatements and Brownfield reimbursements, which enable developers to recoup tax revenue - that otherwise would go to the city - to cover the cost of cleaning up polluted properties.

In addition to covering developments that will displace residents, it would also apply to projects where residents were displaced up to 12 months prior to a developer requesting financial assistance.

"What we wouldn't want is for somebody to work around this by relocating everybody from a property and then coming to the city for an application," Klooster said.

If the proposal were to be approved, the monetary assistance would be placed in a third-party escrow account. The $3,500 would be approved on a per-household, not individual, basis.

"The fiduciary would have strict guidelines as to how funds are paid out and what they're paid out for," Klooster said, noting that paying out funds to a service provider would be better than simply handing out cash to residents.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A Grand Rapids elementary teacher accused of choking an 8-year-old student is back in the classroom, while the Kent County Prosecutors Office decides whether to bring charges.

"Our internal investigation found that that there was no evidence to substantiate the allegation,'' said John Helmholdt, communications director for Grand Rapids Public Schools, about the alleged Kent Hills Elementary incident.

Teacher Robert Spaeth had been on administrative leave since October when the student's mother filed an assault complaint with the Grand Rapids Police Department.

She told police Oct. 6 that her son told her that Spaeth "choked him" earlier in the week and he "couldn't breathe.'' According to the report, the child did not tell the mother what prompted the neck grab.

Spaeth, who has taught at Kent Hills since the 2008-09 school year, was also accused in October 2017 of choking a fourth-grade male student. He was suspended for three days by the district for unprofessional conduct, but the prosecutor's office did not file charges because of different accounts of the incident made it difficult to determine if the student was assaulted.

Helmholdt said their internal investigation this year did not result in Spaeth being disciplined by the district.

Due to his age, the student was not directly questioned about the alleged assault last month, according to the police report. His neck and face were photographed but no marks were noticed.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said he is still reviewing the current allegation and has not determined whether to file charges.

Last week, Becker said their office would not be charging a GRPS security guard accused slapping an 11-year-old at Westside Middle School in October.

Spaeth, a longtime special education teacher, returned from administrative leave Nov. 6 but not to Kent Hills. He is now teaching at Sibley Elementary, according to Helmholdt.

According to a June document obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Spaeth's final evaluation rating for the 2017-18 school year was minimally effective, down from effective the previous school year.
Established by PIME missionaries 25 years ago, local Christian community includes members from different ethnic backgrounds who moved to Dhaka in search of work. What brought them together was faith".

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  The parish of Mary Queen of the Apostles in Mirpur-2, Dhaka, is home to a motley crew, including volunteer catechists teaching children Friday mornings, the Don Bosco club mentoring neighbourhood kids, St Vincent de Paul missionaries who offer sewing courses and young migrant women from around the country working in local factories or enrolled in various schools in the capital. Eva, who wants to become a nun, is one of them.

The small community established 25 years ago by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital has turned into a parish that is now ready to be incorporated into the local archdiocese.

"I do not like slogans, but we can say mission accomplished, Fr Franco Cagnasso, a missionary from Italy, told AsiaNews. Now The Holy Spirit will guide us onto other paths to start a new mission."

The ceremony for the "official transfer of the parish took place on Sunday, said Fr Quirico Martinelli, the outgoing parish priest. Mgr Shorot Francis Gomes, vicar general of the diocese, led the service. And Fr Teotonius Proshanto Ribero, the new parish priest, was welcomed with a big celebration. The church choir enlivened the ceremony with its songs.

Fr. Gianantonio Baio laid the churchs foundations in 1994. "We have come a long way since then, Fr Cagnasso noted. The neighbourhood has changed a lot as well. 

Fr Baios great idea was to establish a Christian presence where no one thought it possible. We knew that many families and people were moving into the area for work and we understood that they needed material and spiritual support, Fr Cagnasso explained.

Families who came from villages had lost their Christian identity as a result. The main challenge was to unite such a diverse group of migrants, from unrelated ethnic backgrounds, and integrate them "within the larger Muslim majority community".

Thanks to the parish, We recreated a sense of community" among these people. But it was their Shared faith and the thirst for God that was already in them that unified them.

For Fr Cagnasso, the services, which the parish started to provide, established the Christian presence through action. They include: the pastoral council, St Theresa School across the street, a centre for the disabled, a credit union, a centre for youth vocational discernment, and patient outreach.

Lastly, "bringing in lay people, non-Christians as well, was fundamental for taking root in the area".
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A Michigan native described his role in building the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier as being an honor.

Geoff Hummel, who like former President Ford called Michigan home, said he learned much about the 38th President of the United States while he and the rest of the team were constructing the U.S. Navy's new class of "supercarriers."

Hummel is director of aircraft programs at Newport News Shipbuilders.

"With working on aircraft carriers, it's challenging and really satisfying," said Hummel, who was in Grand Rapids Nov. 13 meeting with a group of high school students. "I'll tell you, it added a little bit more meaning to it being he's a Wolverine, I'm a Wolverine and being from Michigan.

"I had the opportunity to learn a lot about the President as well, as we built the ship ... He did a tremendous thing for this country."

Ford, a Grand Rapids native, served in the U.S. Naval Reserve in World War II from 1942-1945. The former president died in 2006.

Njung'e Gathungu, a West Michigan Aviation Academy senior, said it was beneficial to hear from someone in a profession that could be a fit for students at the local charter school that is aviation focused.

"It's just nice to know that there is a profession that is waiting for us after we leave high school," Gathungu said. "The gentlemen doing the presentation were talking about how it was super rewarding when they got to fill the dry dock with water and see their creation come to life. That would be something I'd be looking forward to if I were to enter that field."

Nearly 50 students from the West Michigan Aviation Academy packed into a conference room Tuesday afternoon to listen to the guest speakers who helped construct the USS Gerald R. Ford, the nation's largest aircraft carrier that was commissioned on July 22, 2017.

Shipbuilders Lucas Hicks and Hummel visited the school to talk with students about the technology and engineering into building the aircraft carrier.

The USS Gerald R. Ford was built to be the lead ship in the Navy's new class of "supercarriers." The $12.9 billion nuclear-powered warship is the most expensive ever built for the U.S. military.

The 4.5-acre ship weighs 100,000 tons and has been called "the most advanced aircraft carrier ever built."

The 1,100-foot-long aircraft carrier is the Navy's first in a new series of Ford-class carriers designed with a host of emerging technologies.

Fourth-generation shipbuilder Lucas Hicks recalled his father, grandfather, great grandfather and his wife's father all were shipbuilders and how the career is like a family. Newport News Shipbuilders is located in Virginia.

"It's really kind of in your blood," Hicks said. "You were raised up in that neighborhood and community ... It always provided for my family and seemed like a good path to go down."

Construction on the aircraft carrier began in 2005. The ship was christened in 2013.

The carrier and those that will follow -- including the USS John F. Kennedy and the USS Enterprise -- replace the Navy's Nimitz-class carriers, which were first commissioned in 1975.

Students at the academy also got a chance to observe footage of the strategic steps that go into building such a massive ship and what it takes to become a shipbuilder.

On Tuesday night, "Building Integrity, Building Ford: A Documentary" was shown during a special event at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

The documentary features footage of important milestones and interviews with many of the shipbuilders who helped bring the first-in-class aircraft carrier to life.

Susan Ford Bales, daughter of President Gerald R. Ford, served as the ship's sponsor, was set to attend the event.
BIG PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP, MI -- A 77-year-old woman was pronounced dead after a dog bit her, police said following an initial investigation.

About 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched to a residence for a report of a an unresponsive female that appeared to have been bitten by a family dog, the Michigan State Police Hart Post said in a news release.

Life-saving measures were not successful, and the woman, Sharon Lee Daniels, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The initial investigation determined Daniels was home alone with three family dogs when one of the dogs fatally bit her. Daniels is disabled and was confined to a wheelchair, police said.

State police Lt. Matt Kanitz said Daniels lived with other family members. They were away from the home, however, when the biting happened and returned to find her unresponsive.

Kanitz said investigators believe Daniels' health issues, to some degree, may have contributed to her death.

He did not know whether the dogs, family pets, had shown any aggression in the past.

"The dogs were known to her and she was known to them," he said.

Troopers are continuing to investigate the incident as an autopsy is pending. No criminal activity is suspected at this time, according to police.

Three pit bull dogs were seized by Newaygo County Animal Control officers and are currently being held at the Newaygo County Animal Shelter.

State troopers are continuing to investigate the incident. The Newaygo County Sheriff's Department, Newaygo County Animal Control, Big Prairie Fire Department and Life EMS assisted the Michigan state Police.
JACKSON, MI - A motion to allow medical and recreational marijuana facilities in Jackson failed 3-3 at the Tuesday, Nov. 13 City Council meeting.

An expansive ordinance was brought before council, which would have allowed up to six medical marijuana facilities in the city limits in certain areas.

It was voted down, as council members wanted more community input - perhaps through a town hall meeting - on what residents want the ordinance to look like.

A proposal to consider opting out of recreational marijuana was removed from the agenda before the meeting.

In Michigan, communities must opt in if they want to allow medical marijuana businesses. For recreational marijuana, they must opt out to prohibit businesses.

"Let's wait and see what the people of Jackson say," Councilman Jeremy Alexander said. "What do they want the marijuana industry to look like? Do they want it here or do they want to drive to Leoni to buy it?"

Alexander, Vice Mayor Arlene Robinson and Councilman Freddie Dancy voted against the ordinance. Councilmembers Craig Pappin, Kelsey Heck and Colleen Sullivan voted yes.

Mayor Derek Dobies was absent from the meeting, but said Wednesday he would have voted yes. Robinson, who led Tuesday's meeting, said her no vote doesn't mean she's against the ordinance itself.

"I don't want it to just get pushed down the road," Robinson said. "I think we need to get it resolved."

All 16 city precincts voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the Nov. 6 general election - with 65.5 percent voting yes.

"Our innocence is lost," Alexander said. "Jackson wants marijuana."

One hang-up Tuesday night was which regulations are mandated by the state, and which were crafted by the city attorney. Heck recommended highlighting the proposed ordinance to show citizens which pieces can be adjusted.

The failed ordinance would have allowed six medical marijuana businesses in the city - in designated areas. Only one of those could be a dispensary. Each business would have had to submit a $50,000 escrow with its application.

Leoni Township has 84 licenses approved at the local level so far - only limiting the number of dispensaries.

Communities can charge up to $5,000 per medical marijuana application - but that can only be used for medical marijuana administration and enforcement. With the passage of recreational marijuana, communities will no longer receive excise taxes from medical marijuana, per state law.

After meeting in closed session, council approved 6-0 to take action against businesses growing, processing or selling marijuana without a license.

Ordinances must pass two readings to become law in Jackson - and only minor differences can be made between readings. The next scheduled council meeting is Dec. 11.
JACKSON, MI - Alleged discriminatory comments by Jackson County Sheriff Steven Rand aren't the only reasons for his recall being cited in the latest round of petition language.

One of three sets of recall petition language recently filed with the state Board of Canvassers cites an incident in which Rand discharged his weapon in his office - which Undersheriff Chris Kuhl confirmed in February, and referred to as "accidental."

Rand can only be removed from office by a recall or governor's order.

The board will consider the new language at a 2 p.m. meeting on Thursday, Nov. 15, in Room 426 of the State Capitol Building in Lansing, 100 N. Capitol Ave. Citizens can address the board at the start of the open meeting.

The three petitions submitted are:

On August 8, 2017, Sheriff Rand accidentally discharged a hand gun in his office, causing damage to the floor and carpet. Sheriff Rand did not report the incident, and attempted to cover it up. This is a violation of

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners requested Rand resign his position by May 1, 2018 or lose all county benifits (sic). Action was caused by several statements Rand made during staff meetings at the Sheriff's Dept. Sheriff Rand said of a court employee: "I always wanted to do a snuff film with her, and she could be the star. I would put one in the back of her head as I (ejaculate)."

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners requested he resign his position as sheriff by May 1, 2018 or lose all county benifits (sic). Action was caused by several statements Rand made during staff meetings at the Sheriffs Department in the presence of many others. Sheriff Rand said of a county court employee: "I always wanted to do a snuff film with her, and she could be the star. I would put one in the back of her head as I (ejaculate)."

The gun discharge was handled internally with undocumented, verbal disciplinary action, Kuhl has said. A sheriff's detective who witnessed the incident wrote a report that was never filed in the sheriff's office system.

Rand is accused in a federal lawsuit of being a "multifaceted bigot," with discriminatory comments made against women, blacks, Hispanics, the LGBT community and the disabled - among others.

Tommy Schuette, a lieutenant in the sheriff's department, filed the lawsuit.

This recent recall petition language was filed by Schuette's father, Dean Schuette Sr. His first two attempts at passing recall petition language were denied by the state Board of Canvassers.

Schuette's lawyer released hours of audio recordings in February, with evidence of Rand's discriminatory language.

While Rand confirmed to MLive it was his voice on the recordings, the Board of Canvassers took issue with past language involving quotes from the tapes. It also takes issue with misspellings in recall petitions.

The board considers the language for clarity and factuality.

"A transcript admitted to by the sheriff would probably be factual," Board Chairman Norman Shinkle said Oct. 24.

If it's approved, Schuette Sr. and volunteer supporters will have a 60-day window within the next six months to collect 13,606 signatures. Rand's four-year term goes through 2020.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Two men have been sentenced to federal prison for a sophisticated multi-state ATM theft hacking scheme.

Christian Eduardo Zerpa-Ruiz, 32, and Ragade Hussein Pinto-Coronado, 24, both of Venezuela, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids for conspiracy to commit bank larceny. Zerpa-Ruiz was sentenced to 51 months in prison. Pint-Coronado was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Both of the men were ordered to pay restitution.

Zerpa-Ruiz and Pinto-Coronado are members of a Venezuelan crime syndicate that robbed bank and credit union automated teller machines by infecting their hard drives with malware, taking command of the machines, and forced the machines to dispense all of the cash they contained, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Michigan. The scheme, known as "jackpotting," was first reported in the United States in January 2018.

Zerpa-Ruiz and Pinto-Coronado used the scheme on four ATMs in Indiana, Kentucky and Wisconsin, stealing about $125,000 in cash. They were arrested March 15, 2018, while attempting to jackpot an ATM in St. Joseph that contained more than $43,000.

Pinto-Coronado is in the United States illegally and Zerpa-Ruiz came to the United States on a tourist visa in January 2018. Zerpa-Ruiz began jackpotting in February, according to authorities.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff said in a press release the scheme is a sophisticated use of technology that "strikes at the integrity of the financial system of the entire country." She said she was astounded that Zerpa-Ruiz and Pinto-Coronado were able to "come into the country and attack the financial system in this way."

"Criminals continue to exploit new types of technology to attack our nation's financial institutions," U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge said. "But one thing remains the same: they will be caught, and they will go to prison. We will vigorously prosecute these cases, and continue to work with law enforcement to develop countermeasures to prevent these types of crimes in the future."



The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, and the St. Joseph Township Police Department.
PARCHMENT, MI -- An investigation into the origin and extent of PFAS contamination in the north part of Kalamazoo County started Monday.

In July, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality found high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) polluting the city of Parchment's municipal and residential wells.

High PFAS levels found on a landfill once used by paper mills indicate a likely source, but a study of groundwater in the city of Parchment, Cooper Township and Kalamazoo Township should definitively determine where contaminants came from and where they spread.

DEQ spokesperson Scott Dean said the landfill and shuttered manufacturing facilities are considered two likely sources, but the investigation could reveal others.

A hydrogeological study plan was prepared by Tetra Tech Inc. on behalf of Georgia-Pacific LLC., which operated a manufacturing plant in Parchment until 2015. The company was also responsible for closing a landfill used to dump papermaking waste in Cooper Township.

A page from the hydrogeologic investigation work plan shows the approximate study area. (Source: Georgia-Pacific)

After receiving Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approval on Oct. 31, Georgia-Pacific is set to begin the first phase of work this week. Additional phases are expected in December and into 2019.

According to documents provided to MLive by Georgia-Pacific, groundwater samples will be collected from 18 monitoring wells installed at 10 locations across the study area. Surface water will be tested at nine other locations.

PFAS have been used since the 1940s as oil and water repellents in clothing, upholstery, paper and packaging, metal plating and consumer products like Teflon, Scotchgard and GoreTex.

Processed waste from paper factories built along the Kalamazoo River was historically dumped at the landfill in Cooper Township. At least one Parchment paper manufacturer used a 3M-patented repellent containing PFAS in laminated products, according to documents obtained by MLive.

Groundwater wells that previously fed Parchment's municipal water system neighbor the former landfill, near the Kalamazoo River's east bank.

Georgia-Pacific spokesperson Gail Smith told MLive there is "no direct link" between contamination in Parchment's municipal wells and the landfill. It closed in 2003 with approval from the MDEQ, according to documents shared with MLive by Georgia-Pacific.

"While there has been speculation about the source, the study is designed to help the state find out where the contamination actually came from," Smith said.

State tests found PFOS and PFOA, two PFAS compounds, in Parchment's municipal wells at levels 26 times greater than the EPA lifetime health advisory of 70 parts per trillion.

When the landfill itself was tested, officials found PFOS and PFOA at levels 164 times greater than the health advisory.

Dean declined to answer whether it's accurate to say there is no direct link between Parchment's municipal well contamination and the former Crown Vantage landfill.

A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids on Nov. 1 places the blame on Georgia-Pacific and 3M.

Detroit law firm Liddle & Dubin P.C. is representing three Parchment residents in a class-action lawsuit against the two companies. It states Georgia-Pacific failed to safely close the landfill, which led to contamination.

"We understand and respect the concerns that city of Parchment and Cooper Township residents have about the safety of their drinking water and their desire for answers," Smith said. "Georgia-Pacific has a history of working cooperatively with the state of Michigan on environmental issues and we will continue to do so."

The lawsuit seeks financial compensation and funding to evaluate the health of people exposed to PFAS, according to the complaint.

Dean declined to comment on pending litigation.

MDEQ documents, a 1992 wellhead protection assessment and a 1997 Western Michigan University dissertation identified the landfill as a potential threat to Parchment's municipal wells decades before PFAS was found in the water system this summer.

A 1987 study by the U.S. Geological Survey indicates groundwater supplying the municipal wells flows northwest.

The 1992 assessment also found water moves northwest. It states that production wells once pumping at the paper mill might have actually prevented contamination from reaching the Parchment's municipal wells.

A page from Parchment and Cooper Township's 1992 wellhead protection assessment shows how groundwater moves through the area. (Image provided to MLive.com by MDEQ)

"These wells influence the movement of groundwater as it approaches the Kalamazoo River from the south and may serve as a source of protection to the city wells," the document states.

The new study's first phase will focus on groundwater movement in areas to the north and east of the landfill. Later phases will investigate the southern part of the study area.

Most of the monitoring wells are proposed between Riverview Drive and Mount Olivet Road, where a large concentration of homes were tested for PFAS.

Areas west of the Kalamazoo River are unlikely to be affected by PFAS, the study work plan states, based on nondetect results from wells tested this summer and what is known about how groundwater moves.

Parchment, "the Paper City," was founded around paper factories operating along the Kalamazoo River since 1909. Mills historically used PFAS to coat specialty papers for the food industry.

Parchment became only city in Michigan to shut down its entire public water system after PFAS tests showed high levels of contamination.

More than 3,100 residents were given bottled water for a month until the city of Kalamazoo connected its municipal system.

PFOS and PFOA are two of the best-understood PFAS compounds.

They are linked to serious health effects; including developmental effects to fetuses during pregnancy or breastfed infants, cancers, liver and thyroid damage and other issues.

State and Kalamazoo County health department officials are planning an exposure assessment study to research possible health impacts on residents.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Major streets running through the heart of Kalamazoo would be improved if the state of Michigan gave up control of them, city staff said.

A long-awaited contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation would give the city of Kalamazoo jurisdiction over busy traffic arteries and $11.6 million to maintain them. Tuesday, city planners presented an update on the deal, among other plans to improve transportation for motorists, pedestrians and other users.

The agreement would turn over control of M-43, Park Street, Westnedge Avenue, Stadium Drive, and portions of other smaller connecting streets to the city of Kalamazoo. Deputy City Manager Jeff Chamberlain said a draft contract is being reviewed in Lansing but could be approved by both parties by the end of the year.

"Transferring these roads to the city of Kalamazoo gives us a lot more flexibility than the state of Michigan has," Chamberlain said. "It also allows us to make some of these connections and improvements in the future, specifically to the neighborhoods and the campuses ... This gives us more of an opportunity to start making those changes."

The idea emerged from an MDOT planning study started in 2016. It sought to find ways to make state trunk lines through Kalamazoo safer.

Bridges over the Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek would remain under MDOT control.

Chamberlain said city and state officials looked at the condition of each of the roads "block by block" to determine how much Kalamazoo would need to spend on maintenance during the next decade. That number was estimated to be $11.6 million, though Chamberlain said MDOT would foot the bill.

Funds from the state would only be allowed to be used on roads included in the jurisdictional transfer. Chamberlain said the city budget should be able to handle maintenance after the 10 years are up.

Kalamazoo's public services department already fills in pot holes, shovels snow and performs other work through contracts with MDOT. This arrangement would continue in the future, Chamberlain said.

After acquiring the streets, the city will use traffic data from the state's study and conduct its own research to guide future changes. This research will begin in 2019, Chamberlain said.

"With these large state trunk lines running through many of our neighborhoods, it's very hard to get around," Chamberlain said. "With all the planning work that's been done, this will give us an opportunity to start meeting some of those needs identified through Imagine Kalamazoo."

Another informational meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14 at the Kalamazoo Metro Transit building on 530 N. Rose St.

Through the Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 master plan and strategic vision process, non-motorized safety and accessibility were shown to rank highly among the concerns of residents. The most anticipated changes include slowing down traffic and converting one-way streets to accommodate traffic in both directions.

The master plan, adopted last year, calls pairs of parallel one-way streets, particularly Michigan and Kalamazoo avenues, "the greatest challenge for those who want to live, work and play downtown."

Chamberlain said converting streets from one-way to two-way traffic isn't as easy as repainting stripes on pavement. Intersections, traffic signals and signs would need to be reconfigured.

That effort is likely a few years away, he said.

Future changes would follow a complete streets policy presented in draft form Tuesday. Kalamazoo Neighborhood Activator Katie Reilly said the plan outlines how the city will design streets that can be used by everyone.

Each road project will be looked at as a way to apply complete streets design principles for the equity and safety of all users, she said.

All publicly and privately funded projects will be stacked against a checklist and reviewed by either city staff or a new committee. The checklist considers crash statistics, nearby transit connections, street capacity, pedestrian and bicycle facilities and other things.

After one year, a follow-up report will evaluate the project's impact on crashes, injuries, and fatalities, pedestrian and bicycle counts, vehicle miles traveled and satisfaction from residents.

Recommendations won't be considered where specific users are prohibited by law, if the cost is excessively disproportionate to the street's probable use and where where historic, cultural, or other artifacts would be harmed or destroyed in the process.

Projects and street improvements associated with developments will be reviewed during the site plan review process.

Other street projects will be reviewed by a committee comprised of seven or eight city employees. It will be assisted by an advisory committee of residents, advocates, and a planning commissioner.

The policy notes that the last half-century of transportation planning and design created many miles of "incomplete" streets within Kalamazoo. Areas of the city have no safe places to walk, bike, or access public transportation, it states.

It's resulted in streets that have a disproportionately harmful effect on "people of color, older adults, children, and those living in low-income neighborhoods," the policy states. Outside the obvious impacts to safety, Reilly said, people can be cut-off from jobs and healthcare, family and friends.

"The City of Kalamazoo envisions a connected network of safe streets that provides convenient access to all parts of the city," the policy states. "City streets are designed for equitable access, comfort, and mobility of any and all users regardless of ability, age, income, or race."

Reilly said Kalamazoo is considering an ordinance that would require vehicles to yield to pedestrians when crossing sidewalks. The City Commission could vote on the ordinance by the end of the year.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Kalamazoo will pass up $92,000 in federal funds to stay out of immigration enforcement.

The City Commission passed a July resolution prohibiting resources from assisting federal agencies in separating undocumented children from their families and detaining people based on their immigration status. The city won't accept a U.S. Department of Justice grant due to concern that requirements to comply with immigration enforcement would clash with the resolution.

City Manager Jim Ritsema said there wasn't enough time to definitively answer whether the grant would violate Kalamazoo's immigration stance before a Nov. 16 deadline. For now, it's up for interpretation, he said.

Department of Justice grants were in previous years without controversy.

New requirements added to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program since President Donald Trump took office deny federal funds if cities don't comply with immigration enforcement.

Chicago officials filed a lawsuit against the DOJ in August over the same grant. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called rules withholding federal public safety grants from sanctuary cities "blackmail."

This year's agreement would have required Kalamazoo to let officials obtain information regarding citizenship or immigration status, "interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien" about their right to be in the United States, without a warrant and assist officials in removing undocumented immigrants from the country.

Commissioner Shannon Sykes Nehring said elected officials knew when they passed the resolution that they may have to give up federal money to uphold their values.

"It does not surprise me that (the Trump administration) started with funding for police departments," Sykes Nehring said. "I imagine in this effort to round up undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers, the one department they need the most from municipal cities to participate is the police department."

Sykes Nehring pushed commissioners to take a closer look at the 2018 grant language during a Nov. 5 meeting. Wednesday, she said officials will need to be vigilant in reading the fine print when it comes to future grants.

"At some point going to have to put money where our mouth is," she said.

Grant documents presented to the Kalamazoo City Commission in 2015 and 2016 made no reference to undocumented immigrants.

The new requirements first appeared in 2017. City Commissioners accepted that $85,242 grant in July, during the same meeting it passed its immigration resolution. The 2017 grant was accepted with no discussion at the time.

The city will reach out to the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and El Concilio Kalamazoo to have further discussions about how to handle future grant conflicts.

"It's going to be a case-by-case basis, and we'll just have to look before we even apply (to see) whether those conditions exist," Ritsema said.

The Kalamazoo City Commission did not act on a vote scheduled for Nov. 5. Commissioners opted to make a decision during a special meeting this week.

Public notices for a scheduled Nov. 15 meeting were removed from City Hall and online Wednesday morning. The meeting was called by mistake, Ritsema said.

Kalamazoo's Department of Public Safety and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office submitted a joint application to purchase equipment to support local law enforcement. KDPS would have gained $71,884 and $20,316 would have went to the sheriff's office.

Kalamazoo County government adopted a similar policy to the city of Kalamazoo's, prohibiting government resources from assisting family separation.

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.

Ritsema said the city will find another way to fund police equipment.

"We've got other capital funds that we could tap into," he said. "In the grand scheme of things we can find (the money). It's not going to set us back at all."
DJ Hilson

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - The Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office is dropping some pending marijuana cases following the vote to legalize recreational use.

In addition, the office of Prosecutor D.J. Hilson will consider expunging any past marijuana convictions that otherwise would have complied with the new law, according to a press release from Hilson's office issued Wednesday afternoon.

All marijuana cases that comply with the "Proposal 1" requirements are being "dismissed outright," the press release states.

It was not immediately clear how many cases would be impacted by the decision.

Those that don't comply with Proposal 1 will be reduced to penalties called for in the proposal that was approved by voters on Nov. 6.

The law allows an individual to have up to 2.5 ounces on their person, and up to 10 ounces at home. Up to 15 grams of it can be marijuana concentrate.

If a person has more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana at home, it has to be locked up when stored.

Across Michigan, elected prosecutors are reviewing pending marijuana cases in light of the pending legalization of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over. Several, including the Kent County prosecutor, have already decided to dismiss cases.

The law doesn't take effect until 10 days after election results are certified, which likely will occur in mid-December.

Hilson, president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, was an outspoken opponent of the proposal, which was approved by 56 percent of voters.

"This has caused a disaster for other states, and will ultimately be a disaster for Michigan," Hilson said in a prepared statement prior to the election.

However, the press release states that, "Our office has always strongly advocated that illegal use or possession of small quantities of marijuana should not result in incarceration, but rather treatment programs for those struggling with substance abuse."

Hilson's office stressed that people who provide marijuana to those who are underage.
When NASA's InSight lander touches down on the surface of Mars later this month, it will be the first spacecraft to land on the Red Planet in six years.

The U.S. space agency plans to broadcast the historic achievement online, in addition to hosting viewing parties across not only the U.S. but the world. The InSight lander is expected to land on Mars at about 3 p.m. Nov. 26.

NASA's InSight lander will study the Red Planet's interior using a "self-hammering" probe that will dig deeper than ever before studying its interior and looking out for "Marsquakes."

InSight -- short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport -- is set to become the first since the Apollo missions to place a seismometer on the surface of another planet or moon. It will represent the first spacecraft to touch down on Mars since the Curiosity rover.

"Only about 40 percent of the missions ever sent to Mars -- by any space agency -- have been successful," NASA reports. "The U.S. is the only nation whose missions have survived a Mars landing.

"The thin atmosphere -- just 1 percent of Earth's -- means that there's little friction to slow down a spacecraft. Despite that, NASA has had a long and successful track record at Mars. Since 1965, it has flown by, orbited, landed on and roved across the surface of the Red Planet."

 Five 5 Things About Landing on Mars



 Landing on Mars is hard!



 Ill use tried-and-true technology



 Ill land on the biggest parking lot on Mars



 Im built to land in a dust storm



 Ill find out how rocky planets form



Read more: https://t.co/2ric3mzaqA pic.twitter.com/WkU6KdVcaZ  NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) October 31, 2018

InSight's landing on Mars will be broadcast live on NASA TV, the space agency's website, social media channels and a number of other websites. For a list of live viewing events around the world, click here.

InSight originally launched back on May 5 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The lander is being followed in space by the Mars Cube One, which is said to be the first deep-space mission for CubeSats.

"In some ways, InSight is like a scientific time machine that will bring back information about the earliest stages of Mars' formation 4.5 billion years ago," NASA JPL's Bruce Banerdt, who has been working for 25 years to make this mission possible, said in a previous news release.

"It will help us learn how rocky bodies form, including Earth, its moon, and even planets in other solar systems."

Can you believe it? Less than two weeks until my landing on #Mars! Even though @NASAJPL has landed on Mars safely in the past, landing on the Red Planet is never easy or guaranteed. Watch this 60-second video to get an idea of what it takes. https://t.co/nCryBG5VlL pic.twitter.com/D4ODBOAN0c  NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) November 13, 2018
The 52nd session of the Assembly of Patriarchs and Catholic Bishops (Apecl) opens. The cardinal recalls the value of "civilization" of the Land of Cedars. It has "a role and a mission" for the region. Religious affiliations and loyalty to political leaders restrain the country's future.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - "Today, Lebanon is no longer governed by armed militia, but by political militias, an unacceptable fact", said Maronite Patriarch, Card. Bechara Rai, inaugurating the 52nd session of the Assembly of the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon (Apecl) dedicated to teaching catechism as an integral part of evangelization. The first day of meetings was held on 12 November last, in the presence of all the Eastern Catholic patriarchs and of the apostolic nuncio, Msgr. Joseph Spiteri.

Lebanon, underlined the cardinal, "is a precious model of civilization", which "we must safeguard and make effective". It "has a role and a mission" to be carried out in the region thanks to "its geographical situation and its political structure". It represents "a factor of stability" and a "testimony for all".

Patriarch Rai still points to threats and challenges that "come from outside" and "weigh on constitutional institutions" and on their "good functioning". However, this does not deprive the Lebanese "of their freedom" deriving from their "exclusive alliance with Lebanon".

Added to these is "growing poverty" due to a "suffocating economic and social crisis, an increase in unemployment and high prices". For a long time the Lebanese Church has denounced a situation of serious difficulty, exacerbated among others by the consequences of the war in neighboring Syria which has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian emergency.

"What worries and disturbs the population - warns the Maronite patriarch - is the negligence of the officials and the exclusive attention they devote to their private interests", so much so as to appear "hostile towards the rule of law and social justice". "This is why - he concludes - the alliance with Lebanon is weakening. The person no longer counts for his intrinsic value [...] but for his belonging to a religion, a party and, even more humiliating, his alliance to a zaim (leader, in the Muslim world) ".
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The president of the city-state, Halimah Yakob, President Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov participated in the laying of the first stone. "Humanitarian" and economic relations. Putin intends to propose a free trade zone between Singapore and the Eurasian Economic Union. The ASEAN meeting.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Yesterday Vladimir Putin took part in the solemn ceremony laying the foundation stone of the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Singapore. The church will be built on the territory of the Russian Cultural Center, as announced by Interfax news agency. 33 thousand square meters of land were leased for the building, one fifth of which will be occupied by the place of worship. The Orthodox Dormition parish has been operating in Singapore since the end of 2008, but so far the celebrations are taking place in a small rented room.

The ceremony was also attended by the president of Singapore, Halimah Yakob, together with the Russian foreign minister Sergej Lavrov, who said: "The construction of a Russian cultural-religious complex in Singapore will give a great boost to the expansion of relations humanitarians among our peoples ".

The relations between Russia and Singapore are among the goals of the visit of Putin and Lavrov, who are taking part in the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will take place from 13 to 15 November in Singapore. During the meeting there was also a Russia-ASEAN summit, and a session extended to the whole of East Asia. Putin intends to consolidate the decisions taken in the previous Sochi 2016 meeting, where an agreement was signed on the development of commercial and economic cooperation between Russians and Eastern Asians.

An important part of that agreement concerns the Russian business with Singapore, one of Moscow's largest trading partners. In the first quarter of 2018 the turnover exceeded 17 billion dollars. Putin intends to propose a free trade zone between Singapore and the Eurasian Economic Union.

US President Donald Trump, while invited to the summit, has decided not to participate, by sending Vice President Michael Pence with security assistant John Bolton. The absence of the American president reduces the political significance of the meeting, but not to the detriment of economic negotiations, which on the contrary can gather more impetus on the Chinese project of the "Silk Road", taking into account the interests of Russia.

A rather "hot" topic that is still being addressed at the summit is that of the South China Sea security, a question that has been dragging on for several years, for which the partners are invited to sign a "Code of Conduct" proposed by China. The issue concerns in particular the Parcel Islands and the Spratly Islands, disputes between China, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. Russia also has its disputed islands, the Kurils, the source of contention with Japan since the end of the Second World War. A proposal from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been placed before Putin to finally reach a peace agreement.

ASEAN was created in 1967, and brings together a population of almost 625 million people in the 10 member countries: Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. The partners who entertain official dialogues with it are the European Union, then Australia, India, Canada, China, New Zealand, South Korea, USA, Japan and the Russian Federation. The dialogue between Russia and the ASEAN began in 1991, after the end of communism.
Fr Paul was ordained at the age of 62. For years he worked for Malaysia Airlines. He first expressed a desire to become a priest in 1975, but his family was opposed. After a first refusal by his bishop, he entered the seminary in Rome in September 2015.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Herald Malaysia)  The Malaysian Church recently celebrated the ordination of three new priests: Fr Martinian Lee Hock Chuan (37), Fr Paul Sia Chau Kiang (62) and Fr Alexuchelvam Mariasoosai (42). The second of the three stories follows. For the first, click here.

Labour, seek, heal, set free is Fr Paul Sia Chau Kiangs motto, the new 62-year-old priest (picture 1) in the Diocese of Melaka-Johor, southern Peninsular Malaysia.

On 6 November, Mgr Anthony Bernard Paul, the local bishop, consecrated him along with two other priests: Fr Martinian Lee Hock Chuan and Fr Alexuchelvam Mariasoosai (pictures 1-2). Thus, Fr Pauls long vocational journey ended in a solemn service in the presence of an entire community in celebration.

Born on 10 August 1956, Fr Paul Sia is the second of six boys and two girls. He studied at Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in Malacca (Melaka) whilst his secondary years were spent at St Francis Institution. He later worked for Malaysia Airlines.

My desire to join the seminary for the priesthood goes back to 1975 when Fr Francis Ng CDD took charge of the Church of Saint Ignatius, Sungei Way.

Fr Ng hails from Ayer Salak, Malacca; the same village where I came from. He was the priest that encouraged me to pursue my desire. When I told my parents of my intention of joining the priesthood, the reply was no. However, I did not give up on the idea. It was always in my mind.

I attended the Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS) in 1998 at the Assumption Church. It was during this that the thought of the priesthood became serious. It became even more serious with my involvement in the Divine Mercy Devotion in Sabah.

The LSS also made me realise that going to Sunday Mass was insufficient. As days passed, I became thirstier for the Word of God.

At the same time, Fr Pauls work in St Ignatius Parish grew, especially with youth and students. Following his fathers death (2010) and then that of his aunt (2012), he wrote a letter to Mgr Cornelius Piong, bishop of Keningau (Sabah), asking to enter the seminary. "However, my request was unsuccessful.

Eventually, God opened another door. On 22 December 2013 I received the best gift I could receive: a phone call from Mgr Paul Tan Chee Ing, bishop emeritus of Melaka-Johor. That call was the beginning of my journey to Rome.

On 23 March 2014, Fr Paul was admitted to Pontifical Beda College and started his studies in September 2015. Two years later, on 27 June, he was ordained a deacon in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and the following year he completed his studies in Italy.

In 2018, he met Pope Francis during the ad limina visit of the 11 bishops of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (BCMSB).
by Mathias Hariyadi

Choirs from across Indonesia competed in Ambon (Maluku). Government officials, civil society groups and the Bishops Conference were part of the organising committee. "Let us build together national unity and take care of a pluralistic society, said Bishop Suharyo.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  "All Indonesians celebrated brotherhood and national unity" at the National Catholic Religious Music Festival (Pesta Paduan Suara Gerejani-Pesparani), held in Ambon between 27 October and 2 November), said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo during his meeting with 39 bishops two days ago at the Presidential Palace in Bogor (West Java).

The bishops were not alone at the meeting. Government officials were also present, including Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin; Eusebius Binsasi, director of the Directorate General for Catholic Community Guidance at the Religious Affairs Ministry; Maluku Governor Said Assagaf; and Presidential Chief of Staff General Moeldoko.

During the meeting, Widodo said that "it is not important who won the Pesparani," but the values that the event promoted.

"From the many voices in the choir we learn to exercise self-control and put into practice social tolerance, the president added. Sometimes you need a soprano; in others, a contralto, a bass or a tenor. Each participates as 'one voice' and nobody must be dominant."

Mgr Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, archbishop of Jakarta and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Indonesia (KWI), thanked the government for its support for the festival.

"The message sent by Ambon is clear: 'Let us build together national unity and take care of our pluralistic society, the prelate said.

The visit ended with the winning choir, which hails from East Kalimantan province (Indonesian Borneo), performing for the president.

The bishops then left for Bandung, where their annual assembly ended yesterday.

(Photo credit: State Palace's Information Bureau)
By Catherine Sas QC,

Special to The Post

For many international students coming to Canada, their goal is to obtain a Post Graduate Work Permit with a view to qualifying for permanent residence under Express Entry.

Yet many students, especially those who are younger and without any foreign post-secondary education nor foreign work experience, may find it challenging to score enough Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) points to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) under Express Entry - even after working in Canada for several years.

While the Post Graduate Work (PGWP) permit provides an excellent opportunity to obtain Canadian work experience, you can only ever obtain one PGWP work permit.

So before you apply for the PGWP, you need to consider how many CRS points you will likely score in the Express Entry program, and if necessary, develop an alternative strategy to be able to garner an ITA for permanent residence to Canada.

Consider the factors that lead to the highest CRS scores - a combination of both foreign and Canadian education AND foreign and Canadian work experience.

For many young people, it may be advisable to postpone coming to Canada to study until you first obtain a foreign degree and a year or two of foreign work experience in a skilled position that meets the criteria of a National Occupational Classification (NOC) occupation at level O, A or B.

(If you dont know what this means, then you need to do your homework before applying to study in Canada). Please refer to our recent blog post: When should I study in Canada? - Considerations for an International Student, posted September 10, 2018 (http://www.asianpacificpost.com/article/8387-when-should-i-study-canada....)

For those students already studying in Canada, you may defer applying for a PGWP and obtain an additional post-secondary diploma or degree.

The CRS scoring provides considerable additional points for having two or more post-secondary educational credentials - so long that one of them is at least three years or greater duration.

Without question, the greatest factor for contributing to the highest CRS score possible is language proficiency in English or French.

Obtaining an IRCC recognized language test with scores at CLB level 9 (or higher) for each of reading, writing, speaking and listening, is crucial to obtaining a CRS score that will lead to an ITA for Express Entry.

Please note, the language test that you need to get accepted into school may not be the type of test that you need for Express Entry! (Academic versus General).

It is a good idea to take a language test before you apply to study to Canada to see how much you will need to improve your language proficiency both before and after arriving in Canada.

Many prospective international students are unaware that they can only ever obtain one Post Graduate work permit in Canada. It is important to be aware of what your likely CRS point score will be before you apply for a PGWP to ensure that you will ultimately qualify for an ITA under Express Entry.

If you arent able to meet the Express Entry criteria, you need to develop a strategy to increase your CRS score. Use your Post Graduate work permit wisely because you will only ever get one!

Catherine Sas, Q.C. has over 25 years of legal experience. She provides a full range of immigration services and is a leading immigration practitioner (Lexpert, Whos Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada). Go to canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email catherine@sasanding.com.
The government's proposed move to pare Rs 29,000 crore of Air India's debt is a short-term measure and not an alternative to divestment plans, the national carrier's Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola said.

He said discussions are in advanced stage for transferring Rs 29,000 crore out of Air India's near Rs 55,000 crore total debt to a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

"Temporarily, the divestment is kept on hold. As the scenario improves, the divestment process will restart," Kharola told PTI on the sidelines of IIM-Calcutta's 58th annual foundation day.

The non-core assets will also be transferred along with the debt to the SPV, likely to be known as Air India Assets Holding (AIAHL), he said.

"Initially, land and building will be moved and then the subsidiaries will follow," Kharola said.

The top Air India official said monetising the non-core assets is likely to fetch close to Rs 29,000 crore.

If the plan is implemented, the national carrier will be left with debt of about Rs 26,000 crore, mostly on account of aircraft loans.

Following the transfer, the airline's annual interest liabilities is expected to decline by Rs 2,700 crore from Rs 4,400 crore.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Apollo Hospitals, India's largest private healthcare provider on November 14 said it plans to spin off its front-end retail pharmacy business into a separate entity called Apollo Pharmacies (APL), which in turn will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apollo Medicals (AMPL).

The board of directors of the company at its meeting held Wednesday decided "to segregate the front-end retail pharmacy business carried out in the standalone pharmacy segment into a separate company Apollo Pharmacies Ltd (APL)," Apollo Hospitals said in a statement.

Apollo will hold 25.5 percent stake in AMPL, while the balance will be held by investors such as Jhelum Investment Fund 1 (19.9 percent), Hemendra Kothari (9.9 percent) and ENAM Securities (44.7 percent).

Apollo Hospitals will reserve the right to acquire the shares of AMPL from the investors, in addition to becoming the exclusive supplier for APL under a long-term supplier agreement. Apollo will enter brand licensing agreement with APL to licence the "Apollo Pharmacy" brand to the frontend stores and online pharmacy operations.

"The proposed reorganisation would not have a material impact on the financials of Apollo as the backend business related to the standalone pharmacies which represent 85 percent of the business economics will continue to be held by Apollo," the company said in a statement to stock exchanges.

Expansion of the pharmacy business

The proposed move helps Apollo become compliant with the prescribed foreign direct investment (FDI) limits and further grow the pharmacy retail business.

Retail pharmacy business come under the category of multi-brand retail, where FDI is allowed to 51 percent. Foreign investors hold up to 55 percent in Apollo.

The scheme of arrangement has to be approved by stock exchanges, shareholders, National Company Law Tribunal and all other required regulatory authorities. Apollo expects the new structure to be effective from April 2019.

Apollo said the proposed spin-off will allow the company to maximise shareholder value and set the platform for "Value Discovery" of the retail pharmacy business.

"The Board recognized that the company's standalone pharmacy business has been growing at a rapid pace and that the business has matured and is today at an inflection point requiring greater focus and attention, independent of the hospital business, given the growth opportunity that India's domestic pharma market has over the medium term," Apollo added.

The pharmacy business constituted about 38 percent of Apollo's Rs 8,243.5 crore revenues in FY18. The pharmacy division sales grew 17 percent on YoY basis with an EBITDA margin of 4.5 percent, which was less than half the company's EBITDA of 9.6 percent.

As on September 30, Apollo Pharmacy had 3,167 outlets in 400 cities and towns spread over 20 states and 4 Union territories and is currently serving about 300,000 customers daily with employee strength of about 21,000.

Apollo has set a medium-term target of over 5,000 pharmacies over 5 years with a goal of over Rs 10,000 crores in revenues and 30 percent combined return on capital employed (RoCE) in the next 5 years.

Organised pharmacy retail accounts for less than 5 percent of India's $15 bn domestic pharmaceutical market which is estimated to grow 10-12 percent CAGR over the next decade, driven predominantly by volume growth.

Q2 results

Consolidated net profit in the second quarter ended September rose 27 percent Rs 61.9 crore led by the better operational performance of its flagship hospital business.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 48.8 crore in the same period of previous year.

Total revenues rose 14.9 percent YoY to Rs 2400.6 crore in the second quarter. The consolidated EBITDA stood at 11.3 percent, while hospital business EBITDA was at 18.2 percent.

New Hospitals revenues grew by 23 percent from Rs 3,68 crore in H1FY18 to Rs 451.9 in H1FY19. Revenues from Tamil Nadu, Apollo's largest market grew 10 percent to Rs 979.8 crore in H1FY19.

Apollo has 69 hospitals with total bed capacity of 9,834 beds as on September 30, 2018, of which 43 are owned hospitals including JVs and subsidiaries and associates with 8,353 beds.

Of the 8,353 owned hospital beds capacity, 7,181 beds were operational and had an occupancy of 67% in H1FY19

Shares of Apollo rose 1.82 percent to close at Rs 1166.15 on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex dropped 0.01 percent to end 35,141.99 points.
Vodafone Idea (Representative Image)

live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Vodafone Idea is expected to face an adverse impact of increased competition and pricing pressure on its financials for the September quarter. Brokerages expect the net loss to be around Rs 570-3,047 crore for the quarter under review.

The company will announce results on November 14, 2018.

Heres a gist of what brokerages are expecting from the results.

Brokerage: Axis Securities | Net loss: Rs 2,090 crore

Axis Securities expects average revenue per user (ARPU) to be Rs 97. Including Vodafone (for 1 month), we expect revenue of Rs 8,010 crore.

The operating profit could decline due to pricing pressure.

Brokerage: Emkay | Loss: Rs 570 crore

Emkay expects wireless revenue to decline 6 percent QoQ to Rs 5,420 crore, adversely affected by continued competitive intensity and seasonality. Blended ARPU could decline by 3.9 percent QoQ to Rs 96 led by continued pressure on tariffs.

Data usage continues to grow, driven by increasing acceptance of bundled plans and increased data limits. MoU to grow by 1 percent QoQ, while data usage per subscriber should increase by 15 percent qoq. Subscriber base is expected to remain flat on a QoQ basis. The rise in network opex to dent operating profit, analysts at the firm wrote in their report.

Brokerage: ICICI Securities | Net loss: Rs 1935 crore

With another round of discounting by Reliance Jio in September 2018 and weakness due to seasonality, the performance of Idea (ex-Vodafone) could deteriorate further.

We expect ARPU erosion of 5.4 percent QoQ to Rs 95 resulting in revenue (ex-Vodafone) decline of 5.9 percent QoQ to Rs 5540.9 crore (also owing to full impact of divestment of owned towers).

On account of negative operating leverage due to topline decline, we expect Idea to report EBITDA margin of 8.4 percent (down 280 bps QoQ). The company is expected to post a net loss of Rs 1,935 crore, the brokerage house wrote in a report.

Brokerage: Motilal Oswal | Net loss: Rs 1,570 crore

It expects consolidated revenue to decline 2 percent QoQ (27 percent YoY) to

Rs 6,010 crore, mainly led by a decline in APRU.

We expect a 6 percent QoQ decline in ARPU to Rs 98, impacted by continued downtrading, it wrote in a report.

EBITDA margin is expected to contract 880bp QoQ to 14.7 percent.

Key monitories

- Consolidated revenue (we expect 2 percent decline QoQ).

- Blended ARPU (we expect Rs 98, 6 percent QoQ drop).

- EBITDA margin (we expect 880 bp contraction QoQ).

Brokerage: Kotak Institutional Equities | Net loss: Rs 3,047.4 crore

The brokerage house said that postpaid re-pricing, continued prepaid ARPU down-trading, seasonality and the initial impact of JioPhone's monsoon hungama result in a higher sequential revenue decline.

We expect a 5.7 percent like-on-like (Vodafone+Idea, full-quarter pro forma) qoq decline in wireless revenues and 28 percent qoq growth on a reported (Idea + 1 month of Vodafone for 2Q) basis, the brokerage house said.

Further, it also expects 6 percent qoq EBITDA growth on a reported basis.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
A labourer works at the construction site of the Delhi-Jaipur national highway in Manesar in the northern state of Haryana, India, July 9, 2015. To match insight INDIA-INFRASCTRUCTURE/ REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RTX1KM9A

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has extended the date to invite bids under second round of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) programme by a month till December 5 at the request of investors, an official told Moneycontrol.

This is a generic extension by a month at the behest of investors They said they were yet to complete their due diligence before they could place bids, the official said.

NHAI had given a time period of three months, ending November 5, to place bids for 586.55 kilometer of highway stretches. This is the second phase of highway monetisation programme by the Authority.

TOT is a mechanism adopted by NHAI where the authority auctions operational assets (highways). The highest bidder deposits the money (bid amount) upfront with NHAI which it uses as capital to be invested in construction of new highways. Against the money, the bidder acquires the right to operate and maintain the highways via toll collection for 30 years.

According to the terms of concession agreement between NHAI and the concessionaire, divestment up to 49 percent is allowed till two years of the concession period, while change in ownership up to 10 percent is allowed after two years. The investor is also de-risked from undertaking any construction even as NHAI will conduct capacity augmentation at its own cost, if and when required.

Also read: NHAI eyes quarterly TOT bidding for monetisation, sprucing up road maintenance

Stretches NH State Number of Toll Plazas Length (Km) Chittorgarh  Kota and Chittorgarh Bypass 27 Rajasthan 3 160.50 Swaroopganj - Pindwara and Pindwara - Udaipur 27 Rajasthan 2 120.02 Palanpur / Khemana - Abu Road 27 Rajasthan/ Gujarat 1 45.00 Jetpur Somnath 151 Gujarat 2 102.26 Purnea Dalkhola 31 Bihar 1 36.30 Dalkhola Islampur 31 West Bengal 1 51.97 Islampur - Sonapur  Ghoshpukur 31 West Bengal 1 44.00 Salsalabari - West Bengal Assam Border Section 31C West Bengal 1 26.50 Total 12 586.55

The authority has selected eight stretches of national highways across states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal and Bihar to put on auction under the second phase. These include 

The Authority has set the initial estimated concession value at Rs 5,362 crore for these eight stretches.

Union minister of road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, will also host a road show in Mumbai on November 15th to invite prospective bidders to invest in these projects.

During the first round of highway monetisation as well, NHAI had extended the bidding date as investors had queries related to physical conditions of the highways.

Also read: NHAI looks to raise over Rs 5,300 cr as it invites bids for construction of highways

An official source had told Moneycontrol that since the monetisation process is being done for the first time, bidders have a lot of queries including about the physical condition of the roads and fear of making upfront payment.

First round of TOT had nine highways up for monetisation. The NHAI and Road ministry, in March this year, successfully received Rs 9,681.5 crore for these stretches. A joint venture between Ashok Buildcon and Sydney-based Macquarie won rights to maintain 698 km of stretches across Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave green signal to NHAI in 2016 to raise funds through asset monetisation programme. The authority has identified 75 highway projects that could be put up from auction.
India's foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Wednesday the country is open to importing more oil and gas from the United States.

"We expressed our readiness to import more gas and more oil from United States as a way of expanding trade," Gokhale told reporters on the sidelines of an Asian summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The United States early this month re-imposed sanctions against Iran's oil exports to punish Tehran for its involvement in several Middle Eastern conflicts and curb its nuclear programmes.

But fearing a price spike, Washington granted a sanctions waiver to eight of the biggest buyers of Iran's oil, including India.

India is expected to import about $4 billion of oil from the United States this year, Gokhale said.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

The falling crude oil prices have pushed the shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs), aviation and paint firms higher by up to 12 percent intraday on November 14.

In the global market, Brent crude price is hovering around USD 65.5 per barrel after a more than 7 percent fall in the previous session.

WTI Crude prices are lower at USD 55.6 per barrel.

A fall in crude price is helpful for the airline and paint companies as it constitutes a major part of their expenses and raw material.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation was quoting at Rs 255, up 9.56 percent, Bharat Petroleum Corporation was quoting at Rs 327.60, up 8.17 percent and Indian Oil Corporation was quoting at Rs 153, up 8.28 percent.

Berger Paints India was quoting at Rs 324.70, up 5.17 percent, Kansai Nerolac Paints was quoting at Rs 422.75, up 5.23 percent and Asian Paints was quoting at Rs 1,329.60, up 3.49 percent.

SpiceJet was quoting at Rs 84.35, up 3.62 percent, Interglobe Aviation was quoting at Rs 1,026.10, up 5.36 percent and Jet Airways was quoting at Rs 260.10, up 2.14 percent.

Meanwhile, the falling crude prices have helped the rupee gain 50 paise in the early trade on Wednesday. The Indian currency is near 2-month high at around 72 per dollar mark.

The currency has been appreciating in the past few days on the back of falling crude price.

IT stocks are under pressure on Wednesday as appreciating rupee will impact their export-based model.

Tech Mahindra was quoting at Rs 717.85, down 1.43 percent, Wipro was quoting at Rs 322.45, down 1.10 percent, Infosys was quoting at Rs 651.30, down 2.16 percent and Tata Consultancy Services was quoting at Rs 1,899.85, down 1.86 percent.
A complete U-turn as the the Indian stock market has turned negative in this afternoon session with the Nifty50 down 41 points, trading at 10,541 while the Sensex shed 128 points at 35,016.

Nifty IT and pharma were down over 2.5 percent dragged by HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra from the IT space and Sun Pharma, Lupin, Glenmark Pharma and Divis Labs from the pharma space.

Realty stocks are also weak dragged by DLF, Oberoi Realty and Prestige Estates.

Oil & gas stocks are up with gains from BPCL, HPCL, Indian Oil Corporation and ONGC while Reliance Industries on the other hand has turned into the red, down 1 percent.

From the BSE midcap space, the top gainers were Adani Transmission and AU Small Finance Bank while the top losers were PAGE Industries, Cholamandalam Investment and Glenmark Pharma.

From the BSE smallcap space, the top gainers were Newgen Software Tech and Tata Investment while the losers included Balasore Alloys and MIRC Electronics.

The top gainers from NSE include HPCL, BPCL, ONGC, IOC, and UPL.

The top losers included Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, GAIL India and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The most active stocks are SBI, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma.

ICICI Bank, Gujarat Fluorochemicals and SMS Lifesciences are some of the few stocks which hit new 52-week high on the NSE.

28 stocks have hit new 52-week low including names like ABG Shipyard, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, CG Power and Industrial Solutions and Sumeet Industries.

The breadth of the market favoured the declines with 701 stocks advancing and 976 declining while 379 remained unchanged. On the BSE, 1129 stocks advanced, 1388 declined and 132 remained unchanged.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
Shishir Asthana

The Tata group is close to buying a controlling stake in Jet Airways, say news reports. If a deal fructifies, it will be a lifeline of sorts for Jet Airways promoter Naresh Goyal. Employees of the beleaguered airline can now hope for a regular salary cheque by the end of the month. However, as far as the shareholders are concerned, the company has merely survived another crisis.

The price conscious Indian airline space has been a graveyard for many promoters. Low-cost airlines compete in the same space as full-service airlines, which has resulted in severe damage to the latter. Kingfisher Airlines, Air India, Jet Airways and Tatas partly owned Vistara have all been badly hit by the price competition.

The competition is so high that any increase in oil prices cannot be passed on to consumers; airlines end up absorbing the hike and increasing their losses. In the present scenario, even highly cost-efficient airlines such as Indigo and SpiceJet are facing losses.

Thats the lens to view Tatas acquisition of Jet Airways. No doubt that the Tata group will increase its market share in the airline space. The group presently owns 51 percent in Vistara and 49 percent in low-cost carrier AirAsia India. If the deal goes through and Jet Airways comes under the Tata banner, the group would then have a combined market share of around 23.6 percent.

What is interesting in the acquisition is that there will be intense competition within the Tata group itself with three different airlines vying for attention and capital. A certain amount of cannibalisation cannot be ruled out. One will have to wait and see which airline will be sacrificing its share for Jet Airways or if it will be the other way around.

To add to the complexity, AirAsia is a low-cost airline with a DNA of aggressive pricing. AirAsia recently announced a new promotional offer of Rs 399 for domestic flights and Rs 1,999 for international ones. Such pricing will cannibalize Jet Airways market share along with others.

In any case, the Tata group has not yet proved itself as an efficient operator of airlines. The group may have been the first to operate an airline in India (erstwhile Air India), but those were times when there were no other operators. Both Vistara and AirAsia have been loss-making. The only thing that the Tatas bring to the table is the money bag.

Still, the acquisition of Jet brings with it the promise of geographical expansion. Both Vistara and AirAsia largely cater to East Asia. Jet Airways because of its association with Etihad will bring the western world to its fold.

Though seeking control from Naresh Goyal is natural as the Tatas would like to have control over the purse string and not give a blank cheque to Goyal, whether the salt-to-software conglomerate has the chops to revive the airline is another question altogether. The current fall in crude oil prices, if it sustains, may offer some relief.

The likely deal valuation floating about also raised questions. As the Tatas will be taking control of the airline, the acquisition will be triggering the takeover code irrespective of the stake that the Tatas will ultimately own. Jet Airways stock is up 5 percent on the news which brings its market capitalization to around Rs 2,900 crore, much lower than the likely acquisition valuation of $ 1 billion or Rs 7,200 crore.

While the deal is not yet done, the markets response is muted perhaps on account of the competitive scenario and the little leg room that any promoter of Jet Airways will have to operate in. In a way with Tatas at the pilots seat, they might get more aggressive with pricing in order to capture market share. A fare-war may only disturb the overall market equilibrium.

To top it all, the Tatas will have to perform a tight balancing act with two other partners who would not only like to concede market share but would now be more aggressive fearing a threat to their investment in India.
An exceptionally rare 19-carat pink diamond fetched USD 50 million at auction in Geneva on November 13, Christie's said, setting a new per carat record for a stone of its kind.

The Pink Legacy, which once belonged to the Oppenheimer family which for decades ran the De Beers diamond mining company, was snapped up by American luxury brand Harry Winston, part of the Swiss Swatch group.

"USD 2.6 million per carat. That is a world record per carat for a pink diamond," said Francois Curiel, head of Christie's in Europe.

"This stone is for me the Leonardo da Vinci of diamonds," he added. The stone was immediately rechristened the "Winston Pink Legacy" by its buyers.

Christie's international head of jewellery, Rahul Kadakia, described The Pink Legacy as "one of the world's greatest diamonds".

The rectangular-cut diamond has been graded "fancy vivid" -- the highest possible grade of colour intensity.

The stone was discovered in a South African mine around a century ago and was probably cut in the 1920 and has not been altered since, Christie's said.

"Imagine a domino that you have cut the corners off of," Jean-Marc Lunel, an international jewellery specialist at Christie's, recently told AFP.

He pointed out that the cut is a "classical so-called emerald cut", which stands out from the typical, more rounded, multi-facetted cuts used today.

The classic rectangular cut is traditionally used for white stones, but is rare for pink diamonds.

Christie's said the Pink Legacy is "the largest and finest Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever offered at auction by the company," calling the stone "incomparable."

"It is probably the most beautiful (specimen) ever presented at public auction," Lunel said.

Christie's, which had refused to reveal the name of the seller, said only four vivid pink diamonds or over 10 carats have ever been offered at auction.
The Maharashtra cabinet on November 13 gave its approval to allot grazing land and plots belonging to local self-governing bodies for construction of affordable housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

An official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act and the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act would be amended for this purpose.

The decision will pave the way for more availability of land for affordable housing to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for housing to all homeless by 2022, the official informed.

In another decision, the cabinet approved a proposal to increase the age limit for retirement of anganwadi workers and their helpers from 60 years to 65 years depending on their fitness.

An official in the CMO said the anganwadi sevikas will have to submit a health certificate at 60 years of age.

"After the submission of certificate, extension in service for anganwadi workers, assistants and mini anganwadi workers will be given for three years and later for two years," the official informed.
Sachin and Binny Bansal were looking for a place to work on their business idea, which would grow to become the largest e-commerce platform in India. In January, the duo met SM Fathaulla, who gave Flipkart its first office in a Koramangala apartment.

Now that the founders have left Flipkart  Binny resigned on account of a probe into misconduct allegations against him, and Sachin quit after Walmart takeover  let us look at the modest two-storeyed building that was the building block of the company's future.

#447-C 1 A Cross 12 Main, Koramangala

Sachin and Binny met as students in IIT-Delhi and worked together in Bengaluru for a short while. They wanted to make a company that would fulfill specific customer demands. They were intent on finding an affordable place when a broker introduced them to Fathaulla, who retired as the director of a public sector department of the Government of Karnataka.

His wife was skeptical of giving the first floor of their house to a couple of youngsters. "They came on a Hero Honda in search of a place to start their company. We knew nothing about their background or any other information except that they were from Chandigarh. My wife suspiciously asked if they would pay rent on time and Sachin promised they would."

In 10 years, the rent payment has been like clockwork, he said. Sachin would hand over the cheque personally in the first few years but later became busy as the company grew.

Fathaulla started the construction of this house in 1989 when Koramangala was a "mosquito-infested village, which was considered unlivable". The roads were clean and broad and there was minimal traffic.

"The word 'pollution' was non-existent in the 1990s. Job opportunities were lifted and scarce, but the city soon saw a wave of change," Fathaulla said.

Despite the traffic, Fathaulla believes that many things have changed for the better in the area, commercially and culturally. "I support youngsters with a vision. I rented out the flat in 2005 to someone named Anand, who prospered in the recruitment business. Sachin and Binny have done very well," he added.

The Lady Luck of the launchpad

This house, more than an office, is a launchpad for the company. Flipkart has many offices in Bengaluru but #447-C has not been relinquished. The door still has a Flipkart logo sticker on it. Sachin had offered to buy the house. Fathaulla has promised he would give Sachin the charge whenever he decided to sell.

"My family has done well and so has Flipkart. Perhaps, it is the work of the Ladu Luck residing in #447!" he said.

Even today, Fathaulla encourages brokers and house owners to rent out properties to youngsters with entrepreneurial ambitions.

Now, Koramangala is a busy residential area in Bengaluru and a major commercial hub. Indias technology giant Infosys opened its first office in 1980s. During the dotcom revolution in the late 1990s, many companies were based here including Microland and Indya.com. Many startups including Ola, Swiggy, HackerEarth, FreshMenu and Big Basket have taken flight from here.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

ICICI Direct's research report on Gujarat State Petronet

Gujarat State Petronet (GSPL) reported its Q2FY19 result, which were above our estimates mainly on account of tariff revision with effect from April 1, 2018. Adjusting for the tariff revision, the results were in line with our estimates. Revenues increased 78.7% YoY to Rs 598.3 crore, above our estimate of Rs 334.8 crore Volumes at 35 mmscmd came in line with our estimates. Lower volume offtake from the power sector led to a 4% QoQ decline in volume. Transmission tariffs at Rs 1.81/scm came in above our estimates on account of tariff revision. Subsequently, EBITDA at Rs 516.3 crore came in above our estimates of Rs 285.5 crore Profitability at Rs 323.3 crore came in above our estimates. Higher other income of Rs 38.4 crore due to dividend from Gujarat Gas also contributed to higher profitability QoQ.

Outlook

We value GSPL on an SOTP basis with investments at ~Rs 79.6 per share (Rs 82.6 earlier) and standalone business at Rs 120.7 per share to arrive at a target price of Rs 200 with HOLD recommendation.

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Tata Global Beverages on Wednesday said it plans to set a new tea packaging unit with an investment of Rs 100 crore at Tata Steel Special Economic Zone in Odisha. "The company has entered into a letter of Intent (LOI) with Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel Ltd, for setting up a tea packaging unit in Gopalpur Industrial Park, Odisha," Tata Global Beverages Ltd (TGBL) said in a regulatory filing.

The aggregate investments by both the companies for setting up this new unit are expected to be around Rs 100 crore over a period of time, it added.

Tata Global Beverages Ltd said the estimated scalable capacity of the new unit is expected to be 36 million kgs per annum and it would be operational by 2020, post all statutory and regulatory clearances.

The company said the planned unit will be used for the operation of manufacturing and storage of tea and will also be used as warehouse of all products of the company, including its subsidiaries, associates and joint-venture companies.

The above LOI was exchanged on November 12, 2018, during the "Make in Odisha" conclave in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump on November 13 described India as "very good negotiators" as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with top Indian-Americans and said he is "grateful" for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," Trump said before lighting the ceremonial Diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House.

It is the second consecutive year that Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we're working. And it's moving along," Trump said referring to the India-US trade deal negotiations that have started between the two largest democracies of the world.

Along with nearly two dozen top Indian American officials of his Administration, President Trump had invited the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, his wife Dr Avina Sarna, and his special assistant Pratik Mathur to be present during the White House Diwali celebrations, a rare.

"India is the world's largest democracy and the relationship between our two countries connect as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity, and peace," Trump said.

"Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say," said the US President as he introduced his daughter to the audience, who was present in the room. "Absolutely," replied Ivanka, who had visited India last year. She was the first top official of the Trump Administration to travel to India.

Sarna in his brief remarks thanks the President for this great honour for India and this great Indian community putting. "They feel very welcome here and so integrated with the American society," he said.

"I think, we are looking at one of the best times we ever had in India-US relationship," Sarna said, which was agreed by Trump. "I think, that's true. Very close, closer than ever before," said the US President.

In his remarks, Trump welcomed senior Indian American officials gathered at the White House for Diwali celebration.

"As we light the Diya in the White House we are joined by in a fellowship with all of those who light lamps in their own home, cities and places of worship. America is a land of faith and we are truly fortunate to have these wonderful traditions woven into the tapestry of our national life. And that is true," he said.

Trump said that he is thrilled to celebrate Diwali at the White House.

"I'm honored to host this beautiful ceremony at the White House. Very, very special people. We're gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world.

Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family and friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New year: very special new year," he said.

"Our nation is blessed to be home to millions of hardworking citizens of Indian and South East Asian heritage to enrich our country in countless ways. Together we are one proud American family. Do we agree with that? I think so. I think we do. Right? Better, believe it," he said.

Trump said Americans of Indian and South East Asian heritage have done an incredible job and identified several of them by name including the chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai; Manisha Singh, Acting Under Secretary of the Department of State; Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services; Uttam Dhillon, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Neil Chatterjee, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Raj Shah, the Deputy White House Press Secretary.

The first White House Diwali celebrations was held in 2003 under the then US President George W Bush, who never attended the celebrations in person. A senior administration official represented him. It was mostly held in the India Treaty Room of Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

Since 2003, Diwali celebrations at the White House has become an annual tradition. In 2009, President Barack Obama lighted the ceremonial lamp in the East room of the White House. The event was attended by about 200 guests.

In 2013, First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated Diwali in the East Room. Immediately before the celebrations, she participated in a Bollywood dance with local students in the State Dining Room.

In 2016, Obama celebrated Diwali in the Oval Office with a group of Indian Americans officials from his administration.

In 2016, Vice President Biden hosted a Diwali reception at his official residence Number One Observatory Circle.

In 2017 President Trump celebrated his first Diwali in the Oval Office with UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, senior officials from his administration and a small group of Indian Americans.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore on November 14 on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit and the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral ties, including defence cooperation and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Modi began his two-day visit to the country where he will also attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, official sources said.

Pence will be representing President Donald Trump at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore.

Prime Minister Modi will also attend the 13th East Asia Summit (EAS) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit hosted by Singapore as the current Chair of ASEAN grouping.

As strategic partners, India and ASEAN enjoy close trade and economic relations.

Trade between India and ASEAN stood at USD 81.33 billion in 2017-18 and constitutes 10.58 per cent of India's total trade.

Exports to ASEAN countries constitute 11.28 per cent of India's total exports.

India and the US have explored ways to further deepen operational cooperation in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region where China has been trying to spread its influence.

China is 'coercing' its neighbours to reorder the Indo-Pacific region to its advantage as Beijing flexes its muscles in the East and South China Seas.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvering in the region.
Rafale jet

The government on November 14 refused to make public details related to the pricing of the 36 Rafale fighter jets in the Supreme Court, saying "our adversaries may get an advantage" by such a disclosure.

Two days after the government submitted to the apex court in a sealed cover details of pricing of the Rafale deal, Attorney General K K Venugopal defended the secrecy clause related to the pricing of jets before a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

To the government's submission, the bench, which also comprised justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph, said any discussion on pricing of the Rafale fighter jets can only take place if the facts on the deal are allowed to come in the public domain.

"The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not," said bench and noted that without bringing the facts in public domain, there was no question of any debate on the pricing of the planes.

Asserting that the decision on types of aircraft and weapons that need to be bought was a matter for experts and not an issue to be adjudicated upon by the judiciary, Venugopal said, "even Parliament has not been told about the complete cost of jets".

Responding to allegation by Prashant Bhushan, one of the petitioners, that there was no sovereign guarantee by France for the deal, the attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.

Venugopal also submitted that in the earlier contract (during UPA government), the jets were not to be loaded with requisite weapons system and the reservation of the government was due to the fact that it did not want to violate the clause of the Inter Government Agreement and the secrecy clause.

The top law officer said the government has already given to the court the complete details of the Rafale jets, the weapons to be fitted on the aircraft and other requirements, and added that "our adversaries may get advantages if the entire details on the pricing is disclosed".

Refusing to publicly divulge details on the pricing aspect, Venugopal said he would not be able to assist the court further on the pricing issue.

"I decided not to peruse it myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible," he said.

During the hearing, Venugopal said at the exchange rate of November 2016, the cost of a bare fighter jet was Rs 670 crore.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

He also told the court that presently three countries France, Egypt and Qatar are flying Rafale fighter jets.

Venugopal concluded his argument saying that Rafale aircrafts are potent and "had we possessed Rafale during the Kargil war, we could have avoided huge casualties as Rafale is capable of hitting targets from a distance of 60 kms".

To this the bench said,"Mr. Attorney, Kargil was in 1999-2000? Rafale came in 2014."

The top law officer replied, "I said it hypothetically".
RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Viral Acharya could be in trouble if the ongoing conflict with the government escalates during the central bank's next board meeting on November 19, Mint reported.

There is worry the government could invoke Section 7 of the RBI Act, 1934, that allows it to consult with and give instructions to the RBI Governor on certain issues that it believes are serious and in public interest.

Read  Govt vs RBI: All you need to know about Section 7 of the RBI Act

According to the report, at least four of the 11 independent directors of the central bank could move a no-confidence motion against Acharya for publicly airing his views protesting government interference, a person aware of the development told the paper.

It needs a minimum of four independent directors to assert an opinion or bring a no-confidence motion.

"The danger in this board meeting is that it will boil down to voting. If both sides do not budge from their positions after their presentations, they will have to walk out of the room. The government is clear that there needs to be a resolution of all the contentious issues at this meeting," the person said.

Read  RBI vs Govt: Urjit Patel, PM Narendra Modi meet, discuss capital framework, NPAs & MSME norms

In case the government does issue any directions under section 7, the business and functions of the RBI will be entrusted to a Central Board of Directors that can exercise all powers and perform all functions of the central bank. Thus, the five representatives of the central bank, including governor Urjit Patel, and the two finance ministry secretaries would have to withdraw from further deliberations of the board.

As a result, independent directors will then pass resolutions on contentious issues such as liquidity measures for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and RBIs 12 February circular.

Interestingly, Section 7 has never been invoked in independent India.

Read  Govt to not back down in dispute over Section 7 of RBI Act: Report

The spat between the government and the RBI has been going on for a while. The central bank, which is meant to function autonomously and independently, has alleged that the government has been trying to interfere in its functioning.

The government may have said that its ongoing dispute with the RBI should be resolved at the latter's board meeting on November 19, but that doesn't mean it is willing to give up or not use its right to issue a directive to the central bank.

According to the report, most independent directors are in favour of easing liquidity for NBFCs and small businesses. "However, on the issue of a new economic capital framework through which the government seeks transfer of a major chunk of RBI reserves, it is a divided house," the person told the paper.

Explainer | The key bone of contention between govt and RBI  money

The November 19 RBI board meeting is likely to start with a presentation by Economic Affairs Secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg, the report said.

"The first point that the DEA secretary could raise is the relationship between the RBI and the central government, which could lead to a discussion on Section 7. So the meeting will start with the most controversial issues on the agenda. The second point that could be raised is the 12 February RBI circular, which was challenged in the Allahabad high court," the person quoted above said.

Editor's Take | Tensions between RBI and government escalate

For now, there has been no concrete announcement or statement from either party on the issue and it is left to be seen if the government will actually resort to invoking Section 7.

The person cited above, however, told the paper that there is scope for a compromise.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 14 called for an early conclusion of a high-quality Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement that should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial to the people of all countries.

He also called on fellow RCEP leaders to give mandate to trade ministers and negotiators to take the economic grouping forward, said Sudhanshu Pandey, additional secretary, the commerce ministry, during a media briefing.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated that India was committed to early conclusion of a high-quality, comprehensive and balanced regional economic partnership agreement, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The RCEP, involving 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) as well as China, Japan, Australia, India, New Zealand and South Korea, would cover about half the world's population and a third of its GDP.

The RCEP has concluded seven chapters of the total 16.

Prime Minister Modi noted that significant progress has been made in market access of negotiation for goods and called on similar efforts on services sectors.

"We need to make similar efforts to make progress in services negotiations as they constitute more than 50 percent of the GDP of most of the RCEP countries. In future, services are going to be playing a very important role," he said at the RCEP meeting.

He also stressed that any such multilateral agreement which has diverse circumstances and developmental requirements should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial only then people of all countries will be benefited by such an agreement.

Responding to questions, Pandey said the Prime Minister has very clearly exhibited his support to the RCEP agreement and urged all leaders to give required mandate for "early conclusion" which means India is strongly committed to the RCEP.

Since the developmental circumstances of each country is different, therefore he urged that any multilateral agreement finalised should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial.

At the summit, the leaders of the 16 negotiating countries reviewed the progress that has been made in the negotiations of the RCEP.
Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the people during his visit to India Pavilion at the Singapore Fintech Festival, in Singapore, Wednesday, November 14, 2018. (PIB Photo via PTI)(PTI11_14_2018_000012B)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held talks on November 14 and discussed ways to further deepen the bilateral ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"PM Narendra Modi met with PM of Australia Scott Morrison on the margins of East Asia Summit in Singapore. Both leaders had a good discussion on deepening ties in trade and investment, defence and security and other areas of bilateral cooperation," Kumar said.

"A fruitful meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison in Singapore earlier today," the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.

Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore on November 14 by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.

He became the first head of government to address the world's largest event on financial technology.

The prime minister also held bilateral meetings with global leaders, including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

During his visit, Modi will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

Modi's first engagement here would be to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet.

"The Prime Minister landed in Singapore a short while ago. He will be joining a series of programmes through the day, beginning with the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival," PMOIndia@PMOIndia said.

Later, in a tweet, the PM thanked the Indian community for a "warm welcome amidst the rain".

"Extremely touched by the affection of the Indian community in Singapore. Their warm welcome, so early in the morning amidst the rain, was touching. India's diaspora makes our nation very proud. They have succeeded all over the world, in a wide range of areas," he tweeted.

Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

The prime minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.

Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting.
Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the people during his visit to India Pavilion at the Singapore Fintech Festival, in Singapore, Wednesday, November 14, 2018. (PIB Photo via PTI)(PTI11_14_2018_000012B)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday launched the APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a banking technology platform designed to reach nearly two billion people worldwide who are still without bank accounts.

Prime Minister Modi launched the technology platform with Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam after he became the first leader to address the prestigious Fintech Festival here.

"PM Narendra Modi launching APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a global fintech platform with Deputy PM of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam. APIX will eventually connect our companies to financial institutions globally," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

APIX is a banking technology platformdesigned to reach two billion people worldwide who are still without bank accounts.

Designed by software experts based in Hyderabad, Colombo and London, APIX is a sophisticated technology developed by Boston-headquartered Virtusa, especially for smaller banks, Tier 3 and 4, to reach out to people in the remote regions.

The APIX will support banks to reach out to those without bank accounts in 23 countries including the 10 ASEAN members as well as major markets such as India, and small nations including Fiji, said Nikhil Menon, Virtusa's senior vice president and Asia regional head.

"We must bring the unbanked 1.7 billion people in the world into the formal financial market. We must extend the security of insurance and pension to more than a billion workers in the informal sectors worldwide, who still do not have it," Prime Minister Modi said in his speech.

"We can use fintech to ensure that no dream remains unfulfilled, and no enterprise remains still born, because of lack of access to finance. We must make banks and financial institutions more resilient in managing risks,fighting frauds and dealing with disruption of traditional models," he said.

Modi also visited the India Pavilion of 18 companies at the festival as he began his two-day visit to Singapore.

Eight of these companies are from Mumbai. The Pavilion is organised by the state-owned Maharashtra Information Technology Corp Ltd (MahaIT).

Fintech Festival, which is in its third year, drew as many as 30,000 participants from over 100 countries in 2017.
Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy addresses the media in Hyderabad, Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018. (PTI Photo) (PTI10_24_2018_000215B)

Congress and TDP, partners in the "grand alliance" for the December 7 assembly elections in Telangana, on November 14 released their respective second list of candidates even as the combine was yet to thrash out issues over seat-sharing among the partners.

Besides the two parties, the alliance comprises Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS), which is insisting on contesting 12 seats as against the eight alloted, and CPI.

The second list of Congress comprised 10 nominees. With this, the total number of candidates declared by the party so far has gone up to 75.

TDP named two candidates in its second list, in addition to the nine announced earlier.

The total number of assembly seats in the state is 119 and Congress had earlier said it would leave 25 seats to the partners -- 14 to TDP, eight to TJS and three to CPI. Leaders of the TJS, however, told reporters that the party would contest in 12 segments.

CPI also announced nominees for the three seats it would contest.

The "grand alliance" parties are still engaged in talks to thrash out seat-sharing among them.

The process of filing nominations began on November 12 and the last date is November 19.

The second list of candidates announced by Congress included its Chief Spokesperson Sravan Dasoju from Khairatabad and former MP Ramesh Rathod (Khanapur-ST).

The announcement of first list by the Congress led to protests at some places by aspirants for tickets who failed to find a berth.

Former PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, whose name did not appear in both the lists, is camping in Delhi.

Former Congress MLA from Serilingampalli in Hyderabad Bikshapati Yadav expressed disappointment as the constituency has been alloted to TDP as part of the alliance.

Another Congress aspirant alleged that some "selfish" party leaders are hurting the party's interests.

A few others claimed that backward classes are not being given adequate representation in the announcement of candidates.

The two candidates declared by the TDP in the second list include Sama Ranga Reddy from Ibrahimpatnam and Ganesh Gupta (Rajendranagar). The three nominees of CPI are its state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy (Husnabad), Gunda Mallesh (Bellampalli-SC) and Banothu Vijayabai (Wyra-ST).

With Chada Venkat Reddy contesting elections, Palla Venkat Reddy would be the party's state secretary, a CPI release said. Meanwhile, aspirants of tickets of major parties, including the Congress and TRS, reportedly entered the fray as rebels in several constituencies in the state.
Image: Twitter (@jack)

Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey on November 13 met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the importance of global conversations on social media platforms.

After his meeting, Dorsey tweeted pictures from his meeting and said: "Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for having us today. I enjoyed our conversation about the importance of global conversation. Also: thanks for the ideas for Twitter!"

In response, Modi said: "Delighted to meet you @jack! Happy to see the passion with which you're leading @Twitter. I enjoy being on this medium, where I've made great friends and see everyday the creativity of people."

Dorsey, who is on his maiden trip to India, has already met Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Twitter, which counts India among its priority markets, has a large number of politicians in the country on its platform who engage with residents and extensively use it around elections.

The company has also launched its #PowerOf18' initiative aimed at encouraging Indian youth to contribute to public debate and participate in civic engagement in the upcoming election season.

Addressing a townhall at IIT-Delhi on November 13, Dorsey vowed to check spread of fake news but said there is no one fix solution for the multi-variable problem.

Social media firms have been facing the menace of rumours and fake news floating on their platforms. Organisations like Facebook and WhatsApp have taken a number of steps, including sensitisation programmes among users across the country.

"In a number of conversations, it's become more important that we scope the problem as tightly as possible because fake news or misinformation as a category is way too big," Dorsey had said Monday.

He had added that if certain content is found to be misleading, it is the company's job to ensure that such information is picked out and prevented from spreading.
December 01, 2018 / 04:24 PM IST

Re-polling will take place from 8 am to 5 pm at Mohri polling booth in Anuppur assembly segment of Madhya Pradesh today, an official said Friday.

The Election Commission (EC) endorsed its observer's report which said there was a mismatch of 56 ballots at Mohri in Anuppur district during November 28 assembly polls, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V L Kantha Rao told PTI.

The report prompted the EC to order re-polling in the booth.

There was a difference of 56 in the number of voters' signatures in the register with the presiding officer and the number of votes recorded in the Electronic Voting Machine, he added.

The state polls saw a voter turnout of 75.05 per cent in the elections, Rao had told the reporters Thursday.

 PTI
Chhattisgarh election

Moneycontrol Contributor

With the first phase of elections in the 18 Naxal-affected constituencies of Chhattisgarh over on November 12, its a tough road for both the ruing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress. The Congress had a lead of 9 percentage points over the BJP among Adivasis during the 2013 Assembly polls  a fact that makes it a high-stakes battle for the saffron party, which lost in 12 of these 18 seats in 2013.

With 29 reserved (ST) Assembly constituencies, the Chhattisgarh elections have a distinct character. Of these 29, the BJP secured 19 seats in the 2008 polls and the Congress the remaining. In the 2013 state polls, the BJP secured 11, while the Congress won eight more to capture 18 seats. From this its clear that the Congress is gaining in this belt at the expense of the BJP. A major reason for this is because the tribal voter is upset with attempts to change the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Also, the popularity of the Salwa Judum, a state-sponsored militia to take on the Naxals, has failed to bring a significant change in the socio-political climate in the region.

With the verdict for 18 seats sealed in electronic voting machines (EVMs), the scene has shifted from the hills to the plains, with a focus on the remaining 72 seats going to polls on November 20.

Watch | All you need to know as Chhattisgarh goes to polls

Here it is a three-way contest between an upbeat Congress, a BJP under Chief Minister Raman Singh, whose popularity has faded a bit, and former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, who has formed a third front with Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party.

Singh has a greater level of acceptability in the plains, where locally he is referred to as the Mobile wale baba following the launch of the Sanchar Kranti Yojana, a scheme aimed at increasing mobile penetration by distributing mobile phones to 5.5 million people in the state, in July. It is expected to have an effect on the polls this time. In 2013 polls, his scheme of distributing rice at Re 1 per kilo was a game changer.

Singh, who is contesting to be the Chief Minister for the fourth time, has to win the trust of voters who have gravitated towards other parties. The Congress is banking on anti-incumbency but the Jogi-Mayawati combine could cut split the anti-BJP votes. In the event of the results throwing up a hung House, Jogi and Mayawati's third front would play kingmaker.

Over the last two elections, the BSP has showed its political significance. Though it won only one seat in the 2013 polls, it is believed to have split the anti-BJP votes. This is evident when one sees the performance of the BJP and Congress. The vote share difference between the BJP and the Congress was just a percent even though the BJP won 49 seats  10 more than the Congress.

The BJP has been in power in Chhattisgarh for 15 years now. However, more than anti-incumbency against the state government, the bigger challenge for the party in the state will be the negative sentiments against the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre. During the last two Assembly polls, in 2013 and 2008, Singh easily shifted much of the blame on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre. This time that would not be an option. These factors make the second phase crucial for the BJP.

During Assembly elections, it is local issues that become the deciding factor for voters. Price rise, corruption and unemployment continue to be the areas of concern, with many feeling that their economic condition has remained the same or has worsened after the BJP came to power at the Centre. This could play on the minds of voters.

The Congress, however, has its drawbacks: it is split into several camps, it lacks the management efficiency the BJP has and it does not have a pan-Chhattisgarh leader like the BJP has in Singh. After three terms, with Singh projected as CM, there is an element of fatigue among sections of the voters  murmurs of 15 saal ho gaya, bahut ho gaya (Its been 15 years, its enough) can be heard on the ground.

However, Singh  who is not a leader parachuted into Chhattisgarh politics  knows only too well that power is a fickle mistress.

(Anup Dutta is a journalist, independent researcher and writer. Views are personal)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left social media in spilt with his comment about making tea from gutter fumes. At an event to mark World Biofuel Day, the PM claimed that he had once read about a tea seller in a small town who tapped into gas emanating from a gutter to make the beverage. Loosing on the fact, the PM unintentionally ended up inventing a new laughing gas for netizens.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on November 13 said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway and the Ballabhgarh Metro Link, and lay foundation stone of Haryana Vishwakarma Skill University in Palwal on November 19. He said on the same day, the prime minister will address a public meeting near Farukhnagar crossing in Gurgaon, where he would dedicate various projects to the people of the state.

Asserting that the BJP government in the state has carried out equitable development in the state in last four years, Khattar said Haryana bagged first place in the country for Gramin Swachh Survekshan this year and Karnal city bagged first place in the state in urban ranking and 42nd place in the country.

He said that in order to give the message of cleanliness on 'Gurupurab', the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, on November 23, 11,000 lamps would be lighted in 20 schools of Karnal Municipal Corporation.

On Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's proposal to him for a mutual inspection of schools and government dispensaries in Delhi and Haryana, Khattar said, "Kejriwal should worry about Delhi and not interfere in matters of other states.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on October 30 clarified that he had got "confused" after being threatened with a defamation suit for alleging that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's son Kartikey Chouhan was named in the 'Panama Papers'.

"For campaigning, I am touring Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan these days. The ruling BJP has indulged in so many scams and corruption that I got confused yesterday," Gandhi told a select group of journalists.

While clarifying his remarks on the Panama link, Gandhi, however, alleged that the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) CM indeed had a role in scams like Vyapam and e-tendering, among others.

Gandhi alleged that CM Chouhans "family" was involved in the Vyapam scam and he was ready to face defamation cases for his remarks.

The Vyapam scam has been haunting the BJP leadership for years now. Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (Vyapam) or the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) is at the centre of a recruitment scandal, involving bribery and fudging of marks among others that is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Congress has been attacking the Chouhan government over its alleged involvement in the scam.

While the Vyapam issue has been around for years, it has only gathered steam over the last few years. Political observers suggest that the issue is likely to be an important factor in the upcoming assembly polls.

Also read: How the election may impact BJP, Congress ahead of 2019

The state heads for polling on November 28. Counting of votes will take place on December 11 along with Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana.

What is the Vyapam scam all about?

Vyapam is a self-financed and autonomous body incorporated by the state government responsible for conducting entrance examinations.

These tests are held for recruitment in government jobs and admissions in educational institutes.

The scam involved a collusion of individuals who bribed politicians and Vyapam officials through middlemen, to get high ranks in these entrance tests.

Cases of irregularities in the exams were reported since the 1990s. However, a first information report (FIR) was filed in 2000. Such cases were not believed to be an organised ring until 2009.

The state government set up an investigation committee in 2009 after multiple complaints surfaced in the pre-medical test (PMT). More than 100 people were arrested based on the committees report in 2011.

No accused, however, has been convicted so far. As of July 2017, over 40 people linked to the scam had died largely under mysterious circumstances. The deaths include accused, witnesses and a journalist who was investigating the case.

The case blew up in 2013 when Indore police made several arrests related to the case. Interrogations and arrests uncovered involvement of several politicians, bureaucrats and MPPEB officials in the scam.

Over 2,000 people had been arrested in connect to the scam, including state's ex-education minister Laxmikant Sharma. A special task force (STF) was established to probe the matter.

Also read: 161 crorepati MLAs, 73 with criminal cases: A glance at Madhya Pradesh's outgoing Assembly

Political ramifications

In February 2014, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election, Congress revealed information sourced from a whistleblower Prashant Pandey, alleging that the STF was protecting Chouhan.

Pandey, an external cyber expert who had been engaged by the STF, alleged that documents retrieved from the computer of Nitin Mohindra, principal analyst, Vyapam, had been tampered with, and 64 mentions of CM scrubbed out and replaced by other names.

In April 2015, the high court prima facie accepted STFs report, saying material submitted by Pandey was fabricated and forged. Chouhan accused Digvijaya Singh of forgery.

Also read: Shivraj Singh Chouhan: Madhya Pradeshs vikas purush, peoples mamaji

In July 2015, the Supreme Court transferred investigation of the case to CBI.

In its election manifesto this time, Congress has promised to disband 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.

Congress has said it will replace Vyapam with a "Rajya Karmachari Chayan Aayog" to ensure transparent recruitments and a corruption-free system.

However, Congress is also facing criticism for giving a ticket to another accused, MLA Phundelal Singh Marko from Pushprajgarh.

According to report by The Times of India, Congress state vice-president for media, Bhupendra Gupta, defended the decision, saying, "As far as we know, Marko was made an accused by STF but he is not an accused on the CBI list."

"However, the case is sub judice and he cannot be judged guilty at this point of time," Gupta added.
mindtree

live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Bengaluru-based Mindtree has created an endowment focused on artificial intelligence research (AI) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to facilitate teaching and research in data science and natural

language processing.

Called the "Mindtree Associate Professor Chair on Artificial Intelligence," the endowment fund is designed to attract both technical scholars and domain experts conducting groundbreaking research on AI.

This endowment will introduce the institutes students to solving modern business problems using AI and machine learning to develop highimpact solutions.

The inaugural Mindtree Associate Professor Chair has been awarded to Professor Vijay Natarajan, an Associate Professor with the Department of Computer Science and Automation at IISc.

Natarajan has an experience of 12 years and works in the areas of scientific visualization, computational topology, and computational geometry.

His research is likely to impact nextgeneration data processing, analysis and visualization technology.

Artificial Intelligence, considered the cornerstone of future technologies, needs an ideal ground for further research and development in India...Our collaboration with IISc will help create opportunities to strengthen research in AI and provide our clients an avenue to interact with some of the best minds working in this segment, said Rostow Ravanan, CEO and Managing Director of Mindtree.

The company had earlier said it has invested $1.5 million at Stanford University to create a faculty position, as part of its efforts to be future ready, as clients are taking to skills like artificial intelligence, cognitive intelligence and quantum computing.

This association with Mindtree has substantially bolstered IIScs capabilities in some of the most important domains that hold the key to the future of technology, said Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc.
Jabin T Jacob

A major political crisis is underway in Sri Lanka following President Maithripala Sirisena sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, replacing him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and finally the dissolution of parliament. Multiple petitions were filed before the countrys Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of Sirisenas actions. On Tuesday, Sri Lankas apex court overturned Sirisenas decision to dissolve Parliament.

Meanwhile, if general elections were allowed, Rajapaksas chances of returning to power look good given that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party, which he formally joined just a few days ago, came out on top in local elections in February.

During Rajapaksas tenure as President from 2005 to 2015, the Chinese had begun to gradually involve themselves in Sri Lankan politics. Besides supplying arms to the Sri Lankan armed forces in the civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Chinese were involved in financial transactions directly to Rajapaksas family and cronies in exchange for swinging major infrastructure deals Chinas way. Therefore, when Rajapaksa lost power, it was widely perceived as China also having lost their man in power.

Nevertheless, the degree of Chinese involvement in Sri Lanka was such that despite concerns raised during the elections about the Colombo Port City project helmed by the Chinese  the largest foreign investment in the country  it continued on track even under Sirisena.

Therefore, the current shake-up in the Sri Lankan system is unlikely to ruffle the Chinese too much. If anything, it possibly takes attention away from such pressure points for as Chinas 99-year lease on Sri Lankas Hambantota port. In the short term, there can be no doubt that the Chinese will be able to recover some lost ground as Sri Lankas politicians slug it out. Across the board, no matter what their personal views on China, Sri Lankas politicians have learnt to do business with Beijing. Sirisena has called Chinas support indispensable for his countrys development, while Wickremesinghe supported the various projects under Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Sri Lanka. It is therefore, no surprise that the Chinese ambassador was quick to meet with both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa in the wake of the crisis.

However, it is also a sign of the times and of Chinas increasing presence that allegations have quickly surfaced of China funding certain parliamentarians amidst the ongoing political crisis. The Chinese embassy in Colombo called the allegations groundless and irresponsible and reiterated that China was a friendly neighbor of Sri Lankas. It also stated, We believe that the Sri Lankan government, parties and people have the wits and ways needed to deal with the current situation.

The interesting part is not the patronising note about the Sri Lankans being able to manage their own affairs but the declaration that China was a friendly neighbor. China is geographically nowhere near Sri Lanka to be calling itself a neighbor but clearly Beijing sees South Asia as part of Chinas near neighbourhood and an area of interest.

Further, to say that it was a friendly neighbour is to imply that Sri Lanka has unfriendly neighbours, which, of course, can only be a reference to India. In this, Beijing might be reflecting an important point of view on the island nation but also adds fuel to the fire.

In many ways, the Chinese embassy statement also reflects the reality of an increasingly close economic relationship between Sri Lanka and China. China accounted for 30% of FDI into Sri Lanka from 2012 to 2016 and is also the latters biggest source of imports. China is also trying to increase its own imports from Sri Lanka. In this context, the China National Agriculture Wholesale Market Associations recent announcement that there is a huge export opportunity for the Sri Lankan agriculture and fresh produce sector is significant.

To take another example, India remains the top source of tourists to Sri Lanka but the growth of Chinese arrivals has been faster and could eventually change the situation. Notably, Sri Lankas first private airline, with funding from American and Chinese investors, is expected to start operations in February 2019 with five daily direct flights to destinations in China. This can be expected to increase the flow of Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka.

While Sino-Sri Lankan economic engagement in these cases do not come at the expense of India, its growth will eventually change the incentive structure for Colombo in its dealings with New Delhi. The pace of change will depend also on who holds the reins of power in Colombo.

(Jabin T Jacob is a China analyst at the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. Twitter: @jabinjacobt. Views are personal.)
The BJP Wednesday announced its second list of 31 candidates for the Rajasthan assembly election, dropping 15 sitting MLAs, included three ministers. The BJP has so far announced the names of 162 candidates in the 200-member assembly.

Outgoing ministers Babulal Verma, Rajkumar Rinwa and Dhan Singh Rawat were denied party ticket this election.

BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja, who hit the national headlines at the height of the JNU controversy in 2016 for his remarks that thousands of condoms were found on the university campus daily, was also dropped.

He represents Ramgarh in Alwar district in the current assembly.

Assembly election in Rajasthan will be held on December 7.

The BJP is facing a strong challenge from a resurgent Congress in the state with the opposition party winning a number of by-polls in the past couple of years.

A number of opinion polls has also given an edge to the Congress but the BJP has insisted that it will be able to repulse the opposition's challenge.

The saffron party under Vasundhara Raje had won a whopping 163 of the 200 assembly seats in the state in 2013, giving the Congress its worst ever drubbing.

The state has for the past two decades seen the incumbent party losing the assembly polls.
People are silhouetted as they pose with laptops in front of a screen projected with binary code and a Central Inteligence Agency (CIA) emblem, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS LOGO) - LR1EAAT10Z09G

Shortly after 9/11, the CIA considered using a drug it thought might work like a truth serum and force terror suspects to give up information about potential attacks.

After months of research, the agency decided that a drug called Versed, a sedative often prescribed to reduce anxiety, was "possibly worth a try." But in the end, the CIA decided not to ask government lawyers to approve its use.

The existence of the drug research program  dubbed "Project Medication"  is disclosed in a once-classified report that was provided to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) under a judge's order and was released by the organization on November 13.

The 90-page CIA report, which was provided in advance to The Associated Press, is a window into the internal struggle that medical personnel working in the agency's detention and harsh interrogation program faced in reconciling their professional ethics with the chance to save lives by preventing future attacks.

"This document tells an essential part of the story of how it was that the CIA came to torture prisoners against the law and helps prevent it from happening again," said ACLU attorney Dror Ladin.

Between 2002 and 2007, CIA doctors, psychologists, physician assistants and nurses were directly involved in the interrogation program, the report said.

They evaluated, monitored and cared for 97 detainees in 10 secret CIA facilities abroad and accompanied detainees on more than 100 flights.

The CIA ultimately decided against asking the Justice Department to approve drug-assisted interrogations, sparing CIA doctors "some significant ethical concerns," the report said.

It had taken months for the Justice Department to sign off on brutal interrogation tactics, including sleep deprivation, confinement in small spaces and the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding.

The CIA's counter-terrorism team "did not want to raise another issue with the Department of Justice," the report said.

Before settling on Versed, the report said researchers studied records of old Soviet drug experiments as well as the CIA's discredited MK-Ultra program from the 1950s and 1960s that involved human experimentation with LSD and other mind-altering drugs on unwitting individuals as part of a long search for some form of truth serum.

These experiments were widely criticized and, even today, some experts doubt an effective substance exists.

"But decades later, the agency was considering experimenting on humans again to test pseudo-scientific theories of learned helplessness on its prisoners," Ladin said.

Versed is a brand name for the sedative midazolam, used since the late 1970s and today sold commonly as a generic.

It causes drowsiness and relieves anxiety and agitation. It also can temporarily impair memory, and often is used for minor surgery or medical procedures such as colonoscopies that require sedation but not full-blown anesthesia.

It's in a class of anti-anxiety medications known as benzodiazepines that work by affecting a brain chemical that calms the activity of nerve cells.

"Versed was considered possibly worth a trial if unequivocal legal sanction first were obtained," the report said.

"There were at least two legal obstacles: a prohibition against medical experimentation on prisoners and a ban on interrogational use of 'mind-altering drugs' or those which 'profoundly altered the senses.'"

Those questions became moot after the CIA decided against asking the Justice Department to give it a green light.

"At the beginning of 2003, the Office of Medical Services' review, informally termed 'Project Medication' was shelved, never to be reactivated," the report said.

The CIA had no comment on the report's release, but government lawyers emphasized in a court filing in the case early last year that the report, expressly marked "draft," was just one agency officer's impressions of the detention and interrogation program.

The document is not the CIA's or the Office of Medical Service's "final official history, or assessment, of the program," the lawyers wrote.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned on November 14 and called for early elections, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "capitulating to terror" and surrendering before the Islamist group Hamas over a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Over 460 rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israel in 25 hours on November 12 and 13, according to the Israeli army.

The Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted over 100 of them. Most of the rest landed in open fields, but dozens landed inside Israeli cities and towns, killing one person, injuring dozens more, and causing significant property damage.

In response, the Israeli military targeted approximately 160 sites in the Gaza Strip connected to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups, including four facilities that the army designated as "key strategic assets".

As news of a ceasefire between the Israeli government and Hamas -- which controls the Gaza Strip -- broke, Liberman's office put out a statement saying any claim that he had backed ending Israel's offensive was "fake news".

"I didn't look for reasons to quit," Lieberman said at a hurriedly called press conference.

"I tried to remain a loyal government member in the cabinet, keep differences internal even at an electoral cost," he added

The two turning points were the millions of dollars in cash delivered to Gaza by Qatar and the ceasefire Israel agreed to with Hamas on Tuesday, the ultra-nationalist leader said.

"There is no other definition, no other significance, but a capitulation to terror. What we are doing now as a country is buying short-term quiet at the cost of our long-term security," the defence minister said.

Lieberman's Yisrael Beteinu party also pulled out of the ruling coalition led by Netanyahu, demanding fresh elections.

The ruling coalition still holds a slender majority of 651 to 59 in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) after Beiteinu's departure.

However, another key coalition partner Habayit Hayehudi, headed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, also threatened to quit if the defence portfolio did not go to its leader.

Lieberman said: "It is no secret that there were differences between the prime minister and I. I did not agree to allow entry of Qatari money (into Gaza), and I had to allow it only after the prime minister announced it".

He said that similar differences revolved around the evacuation of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank which had also led to differences in the overwhelmingly right-wing dominated coalition.

Senior sources in Netanyahu's Likud party were quoted by the local media as saying that "elections are not necessarily the next step", adding that Netanyahu will initially take charge of Lieberman's portfolio.

Hamas said that Lieberman's resignation is a recognition of Israel's defeat in this week's military confrontation with the Islamic group.

Following the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lieberman and Bennett published statements, distancing themselves from the decision to agree to a ceasefire.

Lieberman demanded a "harsh, decisive" move against Hamas. Sources close to Bennett said his opposition to the ceasefire was crystal clear.

Certain other sources, however, said that ultimately the ministers unanimously supported the defence establishment's position that an action should be taken to restore the calm.

According to the associates of Lieberman, the claim by the Prime Minister's Office that the defence minister had supported the ceasefire agreement in Gaza infuriated him.
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has apparently stopped discussing surveillance action during its board meetings since two years. In addition, SEBI also stopped providing names of companies or entities mentioned in the surveillance action report since November 2015. This information came out as a follow-up to a reply received under right to information (RTI).

SEBI undertakes its market surveillance functions through IMSS (integrated market surveillance system), which went live in 2007. IMSS collects data for suspicious market activities through multiple sources, including its network systems at stock exchanges and depositories. Based on the data, SEBI prepares surveillance action report that is discussed during its board meeting. We have regularly highlighted that market manipulation is rampant in India despite the deployment of expensive and sophisticated IMSS.

To understand the nature and quality of surveillance, Moneylife had filed an RTI query a few months back, requesting information on SEBIs surveillance statistics and had asked the market regulator about the number of cases its IMSS and Data Warehousing Business Intelligence System (DWBIS) had detected up to 28 February 2018.

We had asked for the dates, agenda and discussions of meetings in which the SEBI board was apprised of functioning of its Surveillance Department (ISD). We also asked for the format of the periodic reports submitted by the surveillance department to the key personnel in charge.

To this, SEBI provided us a link to their website where it stated the details are available. However, for other queries, SEBI said information we sought was strategic in nature and of high commercial confidence and, hence, cannot be provided.

Using the link provided by SEBI, we searched for more details of the board meetings where matters of surveillance were discussed, and the companies detected by the sophisticated surveillance systems. Our observations were:

1. Discussion on the matters of surveillance relating to the companies detected happened last on 23 September 2016, more than two years ago!

(SEBI Board Meeting agenda for 23 September 2016)

(SEBI Board Meeting agenda for 23 November 2016 has no mention about surveillance action)

2. The SEBI board met around four to six times each year, and matters related to surveillance were discussed at nearly every meeting prior to the meeting on 23 November 2016.

3. The content of these discussions, and the actions taken, were published under the subject head Surveillance Action and contained useful data such as name of companies whose shares saw abnormal trading activity and actions taken by SEBI against the promoters.

4. Name of entities found through IMSS, against whom SEBI has taken action used to be publicly shared under item no. 3 significant surveillance measures prior to its board meeting on 30 November 2015.

(Extracts from Surveillance Action as per agenda on SEBI board meeting on 30 November 2015)

5. After this meeting, SEBI started using "This portion has been excised for reasons of confidentiality" to conceal names of the entities on its website.

(Extracts from Surveillance Action as per agenda on SEBI board meeting on 11 January 2016. Item no3 was about Significant Surveillance Measures)

6. In 2016, the board met five times and the subject of surveillance was discussed in four of those meeting. However, all the details, including action taken and names of companies were now hidden under the garb of confidentiality.

7. In 2017 and 2018, the board met for a total eight times but the subject of Surveillance Action was no more part of discussion in any of the meetings.

) Earlier in April 2013, Moneylife had filed an RTI requesting similar information from SEBI on its surveillance statistics and cases reported by its sophisticated systems. Their RTI response was It is informed that the information sought by you is not available with the concerned department of SEBI. ( Read: SEBI says, dont have info on surveillance system and prosecution!

This was a shocking disclosure by the regulator who had touted that its surveillance systems will exploit the power of modern technology in terms of computation and speed of data analysis and host pattern recognition algorithms to crack insider trading.
More evidence piles up every day about how the cash-strapped Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) was misusing many of its 347 group entities, which formed an opaque and complex web, to move money around and put off the inevitable for nearly two years before the eventual default.

The Uday Kotak-led board needs to commission a forensic and compliance audit of shady entities of the IL&FS group to get a full picture of its dubious activities. Until then, we will keep finding individual examples of egregious wrongdoing. The manipulation, exploitation and eventual acquisition of Kanak Resource Management Limited (KRML) has unearthed a raft of shady lending and borrowing operations that expose how IL&FS was moving money around in group companies, to ward off a default for at least two years, before founder-chairman Ravi Parthasarathy stepped down in July 2018.

KRML was set up in 2007 as a joint venture (JV) between IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure and Services Limited (IEISL, which was formerly known as IL&FS Waste Management & Urban Services Limited) and Centre for Development Communication (CDC)a registered trust run by Dr Vivek Agrawal for the purpose of collecting, segregating, trading and transporting municipal solid waste. IEISL controlled 94.71% of the equity and CDC held 5.29% stake.

CDC claims to run waste management projects in Nagpur, Jaipur and Gwalior. Of these, the Nagpur project has been mired in controversy since 2014. Allegations against it range from having collected Rs30 crore more than was due to it from the municipal corporation through a nexus with key municipal employees.

A fact-finding committee found gross violation of the terms and conditions and huge misappropriation. KRML has denied these charges and even gone to court to fight the recovery action by the municipal corporation. Its 10-year contract with the municipality is, finally, set to end in early 2019. There is very little publicly available information about its work in Nagpur or elsewhere.

KRMLs website boasts of how it was the first and only business arrangement of its kind of a corporate entity and trust to join hands to align the business interest of the corporate with that of the development initiatives of the Trust. It didnt work that way. Although Dr Agrawal, a physician and waste management expert, was appointed managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) in 2007, they fell out in 2015. This was mainly over the misuse of funds borrowed in KRMLs name and over the manner in which KRML was billing Nagpur Municipal Corporation, says Dr Agrawal.

On the face of it, the obvious answer to the situation would be for IEISL, the 94% partner, to amicably buy out CDC that held 5.9% of the equity. But typical of the way IL&FS functioned, it preferred to harass Dr Agrawal and deny him even his consultancy fees. But this time around, David seems to have scored over Goliath.

Dr Agrawal dragged KRML to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and obtained an interim order in his favour on 25 September 2017 . Once this happened, it was forced to follow a resolution process laid down by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which involved dubious manipulation to game the process. This is what has exposed how KRML was used as a conduit for moving money around within the group.

KRMLs main occupation in the past few years was to borrow and to repay large sums of money to IL&FS group entities in the form of short-term loans. Page after page of related-party transactions conducted by the group were emailed to me anonymously.

This frenetic borrowing and repayment activity happened mainly in FY15-16 and FY16-17. In FY15-16, over Rs350 crore was borrowed in multiple short- term transactions and also repaid; in FY16-17, the amount was over Rs90 crore.

Curiously, while KRML was furiously borrowing and repaying money to various IL&FS group entities, it also borrowed from Tata Motors Finance Ltd, Yes Bank and ORIX Leasing and Financial Services India Ltd (Orix has a 23.5% stake in the IL&FS holding company). The due diligence done by these lenders before extending loans is also questionable, as is their quick support for the machinations by the resolution professional (RP) appointed under the bankruptcy process.

Rajendra Ganatra, a former banker and now a resolution expert, helped us analyse how the IBC process was manipulated and vitiated to acquire control of KRML.

1. Through an EGM (extraordinary general body meeting) on 30 November 2015, KRMLs borrowing capacity was raised from Rs50 crore to Rs250 crore. KRMLs paid-up capital is only Rs12.86 crore and there is no justification in the EGM minutes for the five-fold increase in borrowing power.

2. Immediately thereafter, KRML got a loan of Rs183-crore from ILFS Financial Services (IFIN) which is 13 times its paid-up capital. And, yet, the repayment period is just 11 months (later extended by six months). Clearly, the intention was to use KRML for some shady manipulation.

3. This is just one of many such transactions. The sheer number of borrowing and lending transactions with related entities in FY15-16 merits a full and separate investigation. But the independent auditor has submitted a clean audit report for the year ended 31 March 2017. In just one year, KRML had borrowed from, or borrowed as well as repaid money from, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL), IL&FS Renewable Energy Ltd (IREL), Sabarmati Capital One Ltd, IFIN, IREL, SCOL, Hill County Properties, IL&FS Environmental and IL&FS Maritime Infrastructure Co Ltd, etc.

4. Dr Agrawal was not paid his consultancy fees of Rs4.5 lakh per month after May 2016. This assumes that the company had cash flow problems since then. Dr Agrawal filed for resolution under IBC in May 2017 in which he proposed Deepak Arora as interim resolution professional (IRP) which was accepted. By November 2017, the committee of creditors (COC) wanted Mr Arora replaced and appointed Sanjeev Ahuja, this was done in November 2017.

5. The creditors stopped Mr Arora from appointing valuers and delayed valuation for 105 days (from 25 September 2017 to 8 January 2018), although bankruptcy guidelines require this to be done in 30 days. Clearly, the creditors were not really working in the best interest of KRML.

6. KRMLs board was suspended on 25 September 2017. Yet, the company pushed through an illegal annual general meeting (AGM) on 27 September 2017, without notifying its minority partner CDC. In fact, KRML has held AGMs without informing CDC for three years, alleges Dr Agrawal.

7. KRML received expression of interest from three companiesRamky Group, Health Care Energy Pvt Ltd and IEISL. The first two, who are also operational creditors, were not provided all the information they sought, in order to stymie their bids. They were also given just eight days to submit their bids.

8. Mr Ganatra says, The RP has erred in allowing IEISL, which holds 94.71% in the company, to submit Resolution Plan u/s 29 of the IBC. The COC minutes do not carry any affirmative statement that IFISL meets the criteria set out u/s 29A of the IBC and Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) Regulations 38(3). IEISL, obviously, fails the Section 29A criteria, after the November 2017 amendment to the IBC, which bars connected persons to bid for a company.

9. Mr Ganatra points out that the resolution plan of Rs479.09 lakh comprised CIRP cost of Rs60 lakh, payment to operational creditors & related entities of Rs220.09 lakh, and acquisition of shares of corporate debtor for Rs217 lakh. The plan, he says, does not provide a clear picture of the means of finance, or how the secured debt will be serviced or money distributed to various claimants.

10. It also rejected claims by Dr Agrawal and his related parties to the tune of Rs12 crore as being contentions/contentious. This has been challenged by them and the matter is expected to come up for hearing on 16 November 2018.

11. The committee of creditors unanimously approved the bid of IEISL. The three creditors include Orix Leasing, which is hardly an unrelated financial creditor, given its large stake in IL&FS. All this only smacks of a manipulated resolution to benefit IL&FS.

12. These operational creditors have challenged the rejection of their claims and a hearing had been scheduled for 13 September 2018. Now that IL&FS itself has a new board, it will be interesting to see how the KRML dues are serviced.

Will SFIO (serious fraud investigation office) or the Mr Kotak-led board of directors investigate what IL&FS was doing with the money?
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a probe against Railways and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp Ltd (IRCTC) for abusing their monopoly by charging higher than the actual base fare on the pretext of rounding off.

Meet Shah and Anand Ranpara, residents of Gujarats Ahmedabad and Rajkot, respectively, filed a case before the CCI alleging inappropriate practice of rounding off charges used by Railways and IRCTC while calculating fares. They said, actual base fares are rounded off to nearest higher multiple of five to arrive at the total base fare on the online portal of IRCTC. For instance, the total fare per passenger in the sleeper class of Ashram Express from Ahmedabad to Delhi is charged at Rs475, including taxes. In this case, the actual base fare could be anywhere between Rs421 to Rs424. However, the base fare for this journey is Rs425, after rounding off to the next multiple of five.

The informants also alleged that in case of bulk booking also the rounding off is used to charge more from passengers. For instance, if the actual base fare for a journey is Rs7 per passenger and four tickets are to be booked then the total base fare would be Rs28, which after rounding off should be Rs30. However, the railways round off actual base fare for each passenger separately. This results in each passenger paying Rs10 and the total face jumping to Rs40 instead of Rs30.

The CCI after finding prime facie evidence of norm violation as per section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Competition Act 2002, observed that, At this juncture it appears that the Railways and IRCTC are rounding off the actual base fares for the online bookings without any plausible justification for the same.

The Commission ordered its director general to conduct an investigation into the matter and submit his report within a period of 60 days from the receipt of the order.

The bench was also quoted saying, If the DG comes across anti-competitive conduct of any other entity/person in addition to those mentioned in the information, the DG shall be at liberty to investigate the same. Also, the DG is directed to conduct a detailed investigation without restricting and confining to the duration mentioned in the information.

In order to place emphasis on the fact that the Railways had indeed abused their monopoly, the Commission observed that they had earned Rs18 crore by rounding off actual fares at the cost of consumers. Since they are the only ones in the field, consumers have no option other than to accept this unfair pricing scheme, it added.

The railways, however in their defence argued that this kind of rounding off was done to ensure reduction in transaction time and that this policy is followed both online and at the counters. They also reiterated that, in most of the classes, passenger fare is not charged as per the cost of running of services and is subsidised. It has been averred that there is a huge recurring loss in the passenger segment and the passenger fare has not increased substantially during the last fifteen years.

The railways did accept that they do not maintain a separate account for such rounding off.

The Commission stated, The Railways and IRCTC have not been able to convince the Commission as to why the policy of rounding off of actual base fares to the next higher multiple of Rs5 is applicable to the sale of online tickets, when it may be possible for them to transfer even one paisa electronically. Further, during the preliminary conference, they could not explain why rounding off is done separately for each passenger even when more than one tickets are booked through one account of the same time for a journey.
Just before the global meltdown, Lehman Brothers, had invested $50 million in bonds issued by Prithvi Information Solutions Ltd, which was siphoned off by the promoters of the company in connivance with Hong Kong-based hedge funds through round tripping. This is revealed in a suit filed by Kyko Global Inc in a court in the US.

Over the past few years, Hyderabad-based Prithvi Information Solutions (PISL) Ltd has lurched from one extraordinary scandal to another. Prithvi Information Solutions was a one time high flier stock with an all-time high of Rs503 in 2006. It dropped to Rs1.28 on 14 September 2015.

Trading in the company was suspended, which ultimately resulted in Prithvi Information Solutions getting delisted from stock exchanges on 21 August 2018. Subsequently, the company promoters, directors and group units are barred from accessing securities market for 10 years.

The Pennsylvania Federal Court has issues summons to 13 including Prithvi Information Solutions, Value Team Corp (VTC), SSG Capital, Madhavi Vuppalapati as well as Shyam Maheshwari, Andreas Vourloumis, and Edwin Wong over alleged fraud, money laundering and racketeering. The lawsuit filed by Koko Global Inc seeks damages of $92 million from SSG Capital and its principles Mr Maheshwari, Mr Vourloumis, Mr Wong, Ira Noor Vourloumis and Dinesh Goel.

The case relates to alleged siphoning of funds worth $35 million out of $50 million raised in February 2007 by Prithvi Information Solutions Ltd (PISL) as zero coupon convertible bonds due on February 2012, which were able to be converted into shares of PISL. Consistent with the bond offer circular, PISL and Prithvi Solutions Inc (PSI), a 100% unit of PISL, entered into an agreement where the bonds were issued for the benefit of PSI and the bonds funds were to be used solely by PSI to execute business operations in the US.

In February 2007, Lehman Brothers, through Kingfisher Capital CLO Ltd invested in the bonds issued by PISL. Lehman Brothers then placed $50 million in an escrow account at UCO Bank in Hong Kong. As per the agreement between PISL and PSI, the bank transferred about $15 million out of the $50 million to PISL to provide bond funds to PSI.

However, on 15 September 2008 Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy petition in the US and bankruptcy and insolvency petitions overseas.

Later on 3 August 2010, Lehman Brothers sold its interest in the PISL bonds to VTC and SSG Capital Partners for about $15 million. Next month, SSG Capital Partners and PISL, headed by Madhavi Vuppalapati signed an agreement to restructure the bonds. On the same day, both parties restructured the agreement, which required PISL to pay $4 million as non-refundable deposit to SSG Capital Partners to confirm its commitment for restructuring the bonds.

The suit filed by Kyko states, "The requirement to have PISL pay a non-refundable deposit to restructure the bonds under the SSG Capital Partners Agreement is illegal under applicable Indian law, rules, and regulations. The non-refundable deposit served no purpose other than to further Defendants fraudulent scheme as set forth herein."

On the same day, PISL also signed an agreement with VTC to restructure the bonds. Again, there was an addendum, which required PISL to pay $16.20 million as non-refundable deposit to VTC to get confirmed commitment for restructuring the bonds.

While the bond restructuring agreements were being signed, promoters of PISL created a new company Prithvi Asia Solutions Ltd in Hong Kong.

As per request from PISL, on 29 October 2010, the Bank of New York, Mellon transferred about $35 million out of the $50 million to PISL's key bank account in Washington from the escrow account in UCO Bank's Hong Kong branch.

Next month, PISL and its promoters transferred around $35 million to PSI's bank accounts. At that time, both PISL was the sole stakeholder of PSI and funds of both companies were under the control of Madhavi Vuppalapati.

On 3 November 2010, PSI, which was controlled by PISL and Ms Vuppalapati, transferred about $8 million out of the $35 million to Prithvi Information Solutions LLC located in the State of Washington. Ms Vuppalapati was also in control of Prithvi Information Solutions and upon information and belief, retained some or all of the transferred Bonds funds, the suit says.

On the same day, PSI started transferring $7 million to PISL, and $20.40 million to Prithvi Asia's bank account in Hong Kong.

The suit says, "The $20.40 million transferred to Prithvi Asia approximately equals the $4 million non-refundable deposit in the SSG Capital Partners agreement and the $16.2 million non-refundable deposit in the VTC Agreement (combined $20.20 million). In order to further disguise the actual use of the bonds funds, Defendants (PISL) created bogus receivables on PSI's books and records regarding funds owing from SSG Capital Partners and SSG Hong Kong to PSI and funds owing from VTC to PSI."

"According to PSI's books and records, SSG Capital Partners and SSG Hong Kong owe $4 million to PSI post a loan agreement. The $4 million 'receivable' owing from SSG Capital Partners and SSG Hong Kong to PSI is the same as the $4 million non-refundable deposit contained in the SSG Capital Partners' Agreement between SSG Capital Partners and PISL. On 12 November 2010, Prithvi Asia, at PISL behest, transferred $4 million to SSG Capital Partners bank account located at DBS Bank Ltd located in Hong Kong. SSG Capital Partners subsequently transferred and apportioned the $4 million among Defendants," the suit says.

Similar modus operandi was used in case of transferring funds to VTC as well, the suit alleges. It says, "According to PSI's books and records, VTC owes $18.90 million to PSI pursuant to a loan agreement. To account for, in part, the 'receivable' owing from VTC to PSI, PSI, at PISL' behest, paid VTC an additional $200,000 as part of the non-refundable deposit contained in the 3 November 2010, $20.40 million transfer to Prithvi Asia ($16.20 million to VTC plus $200,000 to VTC plus $4 million to SSG Capital Partners = $20.40 million). On 12 November 2010, and 23 November 2010, Prithvi Asia, at PISL behest, transferred about $16.40 million to VTCs bank account located at UBS AG Bank in Singapore."

The same process was repeated by PISL and VTC to ostensibly restructure the bonds and PISL was made to pay $2.50 million to VTC as non-refundable deposit. On 28th May and 16 June 2011, PISL transferred $2.50 million back to PSI, which in turn transferred the funds in Prithvi Asia's bank account in Honk Kong. Next day, Prithvi Asia transferred $2.50 million to VTC's bank account in UBS AG Bank in Singapore.

"VTC subsequently transferred and apportioned the $18.90 million among defendants. In order to try to further disguise the nature of Defendants conduct, on or about 23 January 2013, Prithvi Asia transferred $10,000 to VTCs bank account located at UBS AG Bank in Singapore. In order to try to further disguise the nature of Defendants conduct, on or about 9 October 2014, Prithvi Asia withdrew $28,000," the suit says.

Meanwhile, by operation of orders entered in the Superior Court of King County in the State of Washington, Kyko is a controlling shareholder of PSI and has been judicially appointed as PSI's collection agent to recoup funds owing from third parties to PSI.

On 27 October 2016, Kyko sent a demand letter to Mr Maheshwari, SSG Hong Kong, SSG Capital Partners, and VTC requesting outstanding payments as per books and accounts of PSI. However, all four denied any amount owed to Kyko by them.

Earlier, a court in Hong Kong has ordered Mr Maheshwari, Mr Vourloumis, and Mr Wong, principals of SSG Capital, the Hong Kong-based asset management firm, to answer under oath questions about missing funds relating to a multi-million dollar fraud scheme involving Prithvi Information Solutions and its units.

The Hong Kong court wanted to know how and why SSG Capital and Value Team Corp owe Prithvi Solutions or PSI, a sum of $4 million and $18.90 million, respectively. The court had asked all of them to answer under oath questions on missing funds.

The court also wanted to know whether funds owing to PSI were a result of receiving funds from another person or entity, whether such funds received were transferred by Value Team Corp or SSG Capital to another person or entity and why Value Team Corp or SSG Capital has not paid to Prithvi Solutions or Kyko Global Inc, the report says.

The case related to a suit filed by Kyko Global seeking to recover damages of over $18 million from Prithvi Info Solutions, which was once a high-flying part of India's software story and had been purchased by many top foreign funds.

You may also want to read...
November 14, 2018

Netanyahoo's Likely Fall Destroys Trump's Middle East Strategy

The political upheaval in Israel is a problem for the White House and its Middle East plans.

Today Israel's defense minister Avigor Lieberman resigned and called for new elections. He disagreed with prime minister Netanyahoo over the renewed ceasefire in Gaza.

Netanyahoo had worked towards the earlier ceasefire to split Gaza under Hamas from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank under Mahmoud Abbas. That split is along the ideological line of the larger split in the Middle East between Qatar and Turkey as the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the absolute rules like the Saudi clown prince Mohammad bin Salman. Qatar is now financing Hamas in Gaza while the Saudis prop up Abbas.

This splitting up of the Palestinians is an intended part of the Jared Kushner 'peace' plan for the Middle East. The Palestinians shall no longer be recognized as a people but must be splintered into small local groups without a common identity who can then be more easily suppressed.

Lieberman seems to disagree with this plan. He wants to wage war against Hamas and defeat it. Any such attempt would of course reunite the Palestinians. But there is a loud constituency in the Zionist population that supports Lieberman's way.

This photo was taken today shortly before Lieberman resigned. Netanyahoo was not happy about the dilemma he is now in.

He wanted to avoid an early election. His Likud party just lost seats in local elections and he is afraid of a campaign that would play out over Gaza and his 'dovish' stand in the latest conflict.

But with only a two seat majority and an unstable coalition Netanyahoo will have trouble to hold on.

Naftali Bennett, the leader of the rightwing religious Jewish Home party, demands to be made defense minister. Netanyahoo does not want to give Bennet such a high profile job. But Bennett threatens to resign and to bring the Netanyahoo's coalition down if he does not get his will.

Netanyahoo is already the prime minister, foreign minister and health minister of Israel. He will now add the title of defense minister if only for a short time. Elections will likely be held in March.

There are currently some 18 parties and political groups in the Knesset. Netanyahoo's Likud party holds 30 of 120 seats but could easily lose some in a new election. With a smaller base Netanyahoo would have difficulties to build a new coalition and to again become prime minster.

Jared Kushner, the son in law of president Trump, has his 'deal of the century' Middle East plan build on his very personal relation with Netanyahoo and Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. If Netanyahoo is no longer prime minister that plan is even more dead than it already seems to be. The Trump administration has no alternative policy and Kushner is not the one to develop and pursue it.

The common patron and biggest donor of Trump and of Netanyahoo is the casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Can he buy Netanyahoo a new premiership? If he can't, and Trump's Israel policy is thereby dead, will he still support Trump in his re-election campaign?

The White House will have to think about that and come up with a plan to support Netanyahoo. What could it do?

As for Lieberman. He is a brash and thuggish man with little political foresight. In 2016 he boosted that he would kill Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, should he become defense minister. Six weeks later he became defense minister.

The website Is Ismail Haniyeh dead yet? has counted the time since Lieberman became defense minister. 2 years, 5 months, 2 weeks and 1 day later the answer is still "No". It is one reason why it is unlikely that he will ever become prime minister.

Lieberman is also a casualty of the "Assad must go" curse.

He joins a number of other prominent politicians who have called for the overthrow of the Syrian president and lost their job while Bashar al-Assad still enjoys his (vid).

Posted by b on November 14, 2018 at 20:23 UTC | Permalink

Comments

next page 
A closing attorney has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for devising a scheme to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, the US Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Alabama announced.

Christopher Pitts, a Georgia resident who was previously a practicing attorney in Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced by US District Judge L. Scott Coogler after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Pitts was a closing attorney who served on the sales of all HUD-owned homes in northern and central Alabama between 2005 and 2008. In that role, Pitts was responsible for receiving the purchase money, paying closing costs, and transmitting the remaining purchase money to HUD.
Nearly two dozen mortgage and housing industry groups have urged the Senate to confirm President Donald Trumps nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the organizations voiced their support for Kathleen Kraninger, who Trump nominated in June to fill the role left vacant by former CFPB Director Richard Cordray. The agency is currently headed up by Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.

Kraninger, an associate director for general government with the White Houses Office of Management and Budget, has faced stiff opposition from Senate Democrats, who have pointed out that she has no experience in consumer protection, financial regulation or the banking industry. Democrats have also blasted Kraninger for refusing to explain her role in developing the policies that led to immigrant children being separated from their families at the border and the governments botched response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
Wells Fargo has dismissed two employees in its community lending and investment division in relation to a federal investigation into the banks negotiation and procurement of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), according to a report by Bloomberg.

People familiar with the matter told the publication that Rick Davis, a senior vice president, and Bob Klixbull, a vice president, have been fired.

The two executives had been previously suspended by Wells Fargo in connection with the investigation. Davis and Klixbull were based in the Charlotte, N.C., area.
The world will increasingly depend on U.S. shale production to supply the crude oil needed to meet modest global demand growth, the International Energy Agency said in a new report.

The World Energy Outlook report focuses on the shift from oil to electricity to power the global economy. As a result, crudes market share will continue to shrink, but the United States will be leaned on to supply more than half of global oil and gas production growth at least through 2025.

As much as 75 percent of global oil production growth could come from the U.S. in the years ahead, meaning increasing volumes of crude would be exported around the world from port hubs in the Houston and Corpus Christi areas

The shale revolution continues to shake up oil and gas supply, enabling the United States to pull away from the rest of the field as the worlds largest oil and gas producer, the report said.

RELATED: Saudis see need for major supply cut as fears of glut grow

Driven by West Texas booming Permian Basin, the United States has emerged this year as the worlds top oil producer  the nation already churned out the most natural gas. U.S. oil production, which reach an estimated 11.6 million barrels of crude a day as of last week, accounts for more than 10 percent of the worlds supplies and that should jump to nearly 20 percent by 2025, the IEA said.

But over-reliance on American oil could trigger a supply crunch in the years ahead, which would lead to higher oil and fuel prices, the IEA warned. Oil production in shale formations declines at faster rate than in convention wells, but energy companies are not investing in developing enough other oil and gas fields.

Our projections already incorporate a doubling in U.S. tight oil from today to 2025, but it would need to more than triple in order to offset a continued absence of new conventional projects, the report added.

Most of the worlds energy growth outside of the United States is expected to focus on renewable energy and natural gas, the report said.

By 2040, global electricity demand could nearly double while oil demand will only grow by about 10 percent  if it grows at all. The IEAs environmental sustainability scenario  the possible future that sees countries working more aggressively to combat climate change  sees oil consumption declining by 2040. Nearly half of the global vehicle fleet could be electric by 2040, the IEA projected.

IN HOUSTON: Gasoline prices drop another 7 cents in a week

Crude oil use for automobile fuel will peak in the mid-2020s, but petrochemical demand for oil will keep rising, as will crude-based fuels for trucks, planes and ships.

Its anticipated that renewable power will surpass coal in the global power mix. Renewables share is expected to rise from 25 percent to 40 percent in 2040 as coal continues to lose ground. Solar power growth is expected to surpass wind in the coming decades. Solar alone would move past coal by 2040.

Still, without new governmental policies around the world, the report warned that carbon emissions will keep growing through 2040, contributing to climate change and falling short of the goals established in the recent Paris climate accord.

Gobal trade in liquefied natural gas is expected to more than double to supply developing nations, especially China. Several LNG export projects are in construction or planned along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.

Global energy demand overall will continue to be led by Asian nations. In 2000, more than 40 percent of global energy demand came from Europe and North America, with about 20 percent from developing economies in Asia. By 2040, the positions are likely to be reversed, according to the IEA. China already leads the world in global demand, and both India and Africa will surpass the European Union by 2040.
A 78-year-old man is being held at Ector County Jail in connection to a 24-year-old Odessa cold case murder investigation.

Samuel McDowell AKA Samuel Little, a convicted murderer, was interviewed by a Texas Ranger on May 17 in connection to the death of Denise Christie Brothers, according to a press release from the Odessa Police Department.

McDowell is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2014 in the murders of three women in the Los Angeles area in the late 1980s, according to the Wise County Messenger.

RELATED: Authorities seek information in Midland cold case

During the interview, McDowell provided information about Brothers death that had not been released the public, according to the press release. He also provided a timeline that put him in Odessa during the time of the homicide.

Brothers, 38, was last seen in the parking lot of a motel at 2nd Street and West County Road in early Jan. 1994, according to the Odessa Crime Stoppers website. Her body was discovered on Feb. 2, 1994, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the press release.

An Ector County jury indicted McDowell in July in Brothers death, according to KOSA-TV.
BALTIMORE  Several Roman Catholic bishops on Tuesday urged colleagues at their national meeting to take some sort of action on the clergy sex abuse crisis despite a Vatican order to delay voting on key proposals.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, suggested a nonbinding vote to convey a sense of the bishops aspirations regarding anti-abuse efforts.

We are not branch managers of the Vatican, he said. Our people are crying out for some action.

Bishop George Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, echoed Paprockis call, saying parishioners and priests in his diocese are very, very angry.

The three-day assembly opened Monday with a surprise announcement by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Vatican, he said, was ordering the bishops to delay votes on two anti-abuse proposals until after a Vatican-convened global meeting on sex abuse in February.

DiNardo indicated there were two principal reasons for the Vatican order: to ensure that steps taken by the U.S. bishops would be in harmony with steps decided at the February meeting, and to provide more time for vetting aspects of the U.S. proposals that might conflict with church law.

Even without the option of a formal vote this week, the U.S. bishops proceeded with discussion of the two key proposals. One would establish a new code of conduct of individual bishops; the other would create a nine-member special commission, including six lay experts and three members of the clergy, to review complaints against the bishops.

The lay members would include experts in law enforcement, social work and psychology, as well as at least one survivor of clergy abuse, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron said.

However, the bishops are under pressure to take additional steps, as stressed in an address to the assembly Tuesday by Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, which the bishops created in 2002 to monitor the churchs efforts to prevent clergy sex abuse.

Your response to this crisis has been incomplete, said Cesareo, calling for more accountability. It is shameful that the sin of abuse was hidden and allowed to fester until uncovered by the secular world.

He cited the grand jury report released in August in Pennsylvania. It detailed decades of abuse and cover-up in six dioceses, alleging more than 1,000 children had been abused over the years by about 300 priests. Since then, a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia has begun working on a federal criminal case centered on child exploitation, and attorneys general in at least 11 other states have launched investigations.

How many souls have been lost because of this crisis? Cesareo said.

He urged all U.S. bishops to commit to conducting a thorough review of their dioceses files, dating to at least 1950, and publicly sharing a list of any clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable adults.

Some bishops had taken this step, he noted, and urged the others to follow suit.

Cesareo also endorsed the bishop conferences proposal for a thorough investigation of the scandal involving disgraced church leader Theodore McCarrick. Pope Francis removed McCarrick as a cardinal in July after church investigators said an allegation that he groped a teenage altar boy in the 1970s was credible.

Subsequently, several former seminarians and priests reported they also had been abused or harassed by McCarrick as adults, triggering debate over who might have known and covered up McCarricks misconduct.

At one point during the morning session, Bishop Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri, expressed dismay that the Vatican doesnt trust us and asked Cesareo what the USCCB should do.

Decisively act on this issue and continually move it forward, Cesareo replied. If that doesnt happen, I fear for the future of our church.

Among those attending the assembly was James Timlin, a retired Pennsylvania bishop who was faulted by the state grand jury for his handling of clergy sex abuse and barred from representing the diocese in public.

Also on hand was former Bishop Robert Finn, who once led the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, and pleaded guilty to failing to report a suspected priestly child abuser. Pope Francis in 2015 accepted Finns resignation, offered under the code of canon law that allows bishops to resign early for illness or some grave reason that makes them unfit for office.

Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Vermont, said the USCCB didnt have the authority to ban any ordained bishop, active or retired, from attending the assembly.

Outside the conference venue along Baltimores waterfront, hundreds of people gathered in a protest rally organized by far-right Catholics, including the group Church Militant. Some held placards denouncing homosexuality in the priesthood, asserting that it was behind clergy sex abuse.

Ulana Campbell, of Wilmington, Delaware, was one of roughly 400 participants at the rally. She said the bishops appeared incapable of stopping clergy sex abuse.

These bishops are absolutely corrupted by power. I think the true church is going to have to go underground, Campbell said. I am an angry Catholic, but I refuse to leave my faith.
A federal judge said the Illinois Department of Corrections has failed to meet the needs of mentally ill prison inmates.

The finding comes two years after the state reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by former inmates.

That 2016 settlement established 25 provisions for the Illinois Department of Corrections to meet. A court-appointed monitor said the department did not comply with 18 of those.

Harold Hirshman, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs on the 2016 settlement, said one issue is staffing.

The settlement agreement provided that they were supposed to hire a significant number of additional mental health personnel and they hadnt, Hirshman said. We went back to court to force them to do it.

Hirshman said the monitor called the situation an emergency because some inmates were not getting proper oversight or care.

The Illinois Department of Corrections said in a statement that the department is committed to improving care.

Nearly 12,000 of the states 40,000 inmates are thought to have mental health issues.

Hirshman said there have been some changes, but not enough.

Its a very sad thing that getting a written commitment from the state in the guise of curing a constitutional violation still doesnt mean that theyre going to do it.

Still, he said the lawsuit has helped to improve care.

Yes, we have definitely made progress, Hirshman said. Theyve gone from 19 psychiatrists to 50 psychiatrists. Thats progress.

The state must respond with plans to remedy the problems. Hirshman said if that doesnt work, hell go back to court to ask the judge to find the state in contempt.
San Antonio will be represented on "Jeopardy!" with an appearance by Deborah Knapp, though no one  not even the KENS 5 anchorwoman  knows when.

The local TV news mainstay shared behind-the-scenes photos of her taping "clues" for the show at the Witte Museum.
Toni,

I turn 65 next July, and Im stressed by the mail I am getting this year for Medicare Open Enrollment and Im not on Medicare yet!!How does one know what to do? Every insurance company tells me theyre the best choice. I need some help!

Samuel from Dallas

Samuel:

We experience this type of confusion every day during Medicare Open Enrollment at a Toni Says Medicare consultation. To discover which Medicare option is right for your health situation depends on what your medical needs are and what prescriptions you are taking. There is not a specific medical plan that fits everyone because everyones health and financial situation is different. Take your time and properly research your options.

Samuel, here are 3 steps that I use when helping Toni Says clients decide which Medicare option meets their specific needs with less stress:

Step #1: Decide if you want Original/Traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan.

a) Talk to your doctor and see which plan he/she recommends. Many doctors are accepting Original/Traditional Medicare and not Medicare Advantage plans. If you have a doctor that is in the Medicare Advantage plans provider directory, make sure you call to verify that he/she is still accepting that Medicare Advantage plan. Sometimes providers are in the directory but stopped accepting the plan long before it went to print. The most accurate way to check for a provider is from that specific companys website.

b) The main difference between Original/Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans is Original/Traditional Medicare works only with Medicare and generally, you or your supplemental coverage pays the deductibles or coinsurances.

c) A Medicare Advantage plan is also called Part C and is administered by private insurance companies that are approved by Medicare. You must use that insurance companys insurance card not your Medicare (Red, White and Blue) Card.

Step #2: If you chose Original/Traditional Medicare, you may want to also select Medicare supplemental (Medigap) coverage.

a) A Medicare Supplement/Medigap fills the gap of Original/Traditional Medicare.

b) You can choose to buy a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy from a private insurance company. Cost will vary by policy and company.

Step #3: Decide if you want Medicare Part D prescriptions drug coverage.

a) If you want Medicare Prescription Drug coverage to go along with Original/ Traditional Medicare, then you must enroll in a standalone Medicare Part D plan with a private insurance company that is approved by Medicare and usually there is a premium.

b) If you choose a Medicare Advantage plan, please make sure that the plan has Part D Medicare Prescription Drug coverage included.

Stressed over the correct decision that either the Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Supplement you are considering is your right option? Or, concerned about falling into the famous Part D prescription drug donut hole? Call the Toni Says office at 832-519-8664 or email info@tonisays.com to have your Medicare questions or concerns answered. Visit www.abbs4u.com and attend ABBS (American Baby Boomer Society) Medicare courses for more education.

Remember: Medicare is not cookie cutter  one plan does not fit everyone! Your Medicare health issues are not the same as your friends!

Medicare workshops

Missouri City Medicare/LTC Workshop at Spring Creek BBQ: Thursday, Nov. 15. 6-8 p.m. at the Spring Creek BBQ-Missouri City 4895 Texas 6, Missouri City, TX 77459. RSVP 832-519-8664 as space is limited. (Dinner not provided.).

West Houston Medicare/LTC Workshop (Last workshop of the year):Wednesday, Nov. 28. 6-8 p.m. at Spring Creek BBQ-Katy in the Banquet Room, 21000 Katy Freeway, Katy, TX 77449. RSVP 832-519-8664. (Dinner not provided.)

Toni King, author of Medicare Survival Guide Advanced, is offering a Medicare Open Enrollment $5 discount book package special at www.tonisays.com.
McALLEN, Texas  The Border Patrol agent, she remembers, was calm when he tied her to the tree and put silver duct tape over her mouth. He said very little.

She was a 14-year-old immigrant who had just crossed the Rio Grande illegally, traveling with a teenage friend and the friends mother from Honduras. They had hoped to surrender to the Border Patrol and stay in the United States.

But instead of taking them in for processing, the agent, Esteban Manzanares, had driven them to an isolated, wooded area 16 miles outside the border city of McAllen, Texas. There he sexually assaulted the friend and viciously attacked her and her mother, twisting their necks, slashing their wrists and leaving them, finally, to bleed in the brush. Then he led the 14-year-old girl to the tree.

I only asked him why he was doing this, she recalled. Why me? He would only say that he had been thinking about it for days. He had been thinking about this for days.

The Border Patrols parent agency, Customs and Border Protection, is the largest law enforcement agency in the country, with nearly twice the personnel of the FBI. Through the years, a small number of officers have succumbed to temptation and reached for a share of the millions of dollars generated in the smuggling of drugs, weapons and people across the southwest border.

But a civil suit stemming from the March 2014 attack near McAllen, now making its way through the courts, is shedding light on a more sinister kind of corruption. During the past four years, at least 10 people in South Texas have been victims of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping or rape  all, according to prosecutors and officials, at the hands of Border Patrol agents who suddenly and violently snapped.

In April, Ronald Anthony Burgos Aviles, 29, an agent in the sprawling 116-county Laredo sector, was charged with stabbing and killing his girlfriend and their 1-year-old son. In September, another Laredo sector agent, Juan David Ortiz, 35, admitted to investigators that he had gone on a 12-day killing rampage, fatally shooting four people working as prostitutes and trying to abduct a fifth.

As a result of a civil suit filed by the three women attacked by Manzanares, the Border Patrol has been forced to answer questions about its hiring practices, its ability to weed out disturbed agents and whether there is adequate supervision of officers.

Sworn testimony and other documents filed in that case, as well as lengthy interviews the three women gave to The New York Times, provide an unusual window into a case that otherwise might have had little scrutiny. Manzanares never went to trial, because he fatally shot himself as soon as federal investigators discovered his crimes and closed in to stop him.

Critics say the very nature of Border Patrol agents work  dealing with vulnerable, powerless people, often alone on the nations little-traveled frontiers  makes it easy for troubled agents to go unnoticed.

In September, Judge Randy Crane of U.S. District Court in McAllen dismissed claims of negligent hiring and supervision of Manzanares filed by two of the women. The judge concluded that supervisors had not been alerted to any problem in the agents background and had no reason to know that anything was amiss. But he allowed claims filed by the 14-year-old girl, now 18, whose ordeal went on well into the night  and might have been prevented if Manzanares actions had been detected earlier  to proceed.

The case will drag out for months, however. Crane suggested recently that he was prepared to allow appeals of some of his previous rulings to proceed before the case goes to trial.

Lawyers for the three women presented evidence that Manzanares supervisors had failed to notice or intervene when the agent ignored his duties for hours and had failed to thoroughly inspect his truck when he returned at the end of his shift. If they had, the evidence showed, they would have found used duct tape, blood and discarded restraints.

Manzanares, a father of two, had no major disciplinary infractions during his six years with the agency, which he joined in 2008 after serving with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and working as a jailer for the Hidalgo County Sheriffs Department. But according to court documents, he appeared to have become a pedophile, and one of the issues in the lawsuit has been whether the Border Patrol should have conducted the kind of employee reviews that would have brought that to light.

In late 2013 and early 2014, he was in the midst of a divorce, living in an apartment in the border city of Mission with his two dogs. Neighbors said he largely kept to himself.

His rampage that day might never have been discovered had the older woman he left for dead not encountered another Customs and Border Protection officer as she emerged from the brush, bleeding and terrified.

The man who did this to her and her daughter, she told the officer, was dressed just like you.

I Tried to Be Strong

The woman, M.G., still has trouble sleeping. (All three women, interviewed in January, asked to be identified only by their initials.) When she dreams, the border agent returns to her in her nightmares. When she wakes, she stares and rubs at the scars on both of her wrists, not so much neat slices as pale, jagged, random dashes.

Last night, I dreamed all of it, from the moment that we crossed the river, she said. Every time I dream it, I live through it again. Sometimes Id like to block my mind and think this didnt happen, but this did happen.

The three women, all from the same small town in northern Honduras, had crossed the Rio Grande together early that morning on a smugglers raft. They had been on a dirt road for only a matter of minutes when Manzanares pulled up in his Border Patrol vehicle.

When I saw him, I said, Thank God,' M.G. said.

But as they sat on metal benches in the back of the truck, M.G. thought there was something strange about the way the man was breathing. At first, she tried not to show her fear.

I pretended, she said. I tried to be strong.

When her husband entered the United States, he got lost in the desert for three days. He told me that the only thing that he did was to pray Psalm 91 many times, and he told me thats how God had saved him and protected him, she said. So the three women prayed Psalm 91 as Manzanares drove.

We prayed it many times, many times, many times, M.G. said.

Manzanares made a series of stops. J.E., the girl who was tied to the tree, recalled that he told them to get on their knees so he could put plastic restraints on their wrists. On one of the last stops, M.G.'s daughter, N.C., watched Manzanares force her mother out of the back of the truck and lead her into the woods.

I was crying, telling him to leave my mom alone, said N.C., who is now 18.

M.G., now 40, recalled hearing her daughters screams. I was begging him to kill me but not kill my daughter, and my daughter was screaming there where she was: Come kill me, dont harm my mother.'

He threw M.G. down, twisted her neck and cut her wrists. I felt I was losing consciousness, but every time my daughter screamed, I didnt want to go, she said.

He returned to the truck for N.C., took her out into the woods, twisted her neck, molested her, took pictures of her, cut her wrist and then covered her with dirt and brush, as she pretended to be dead.

He went back to the vehicle again and drove J.E. to a stand of trees at the edge of a field. She said she steeled herself, in part, by keeping her mind blank, as if nothing were happening.

It is unclear how many hours she was handcuffed to the tree. According to interviews with the victims and court documents, Manzanares left his Border Patrol station at the end of his shift, just before 6 p.m. He changed out of his uniform and went back to get her in his own pickup. He took J.E. from the tree and drove her to his apartment. J.E. recalled that she still had duct tape over her mouth when he carried her over his shoulder from the truck to his apartment, and that she made eye contact with a woman standing in the complex.

She didnt do anything, J.E. said. Why didnt she do anything?

Inside, Manzanares used shoelaces to tie her hands and feet to the bed. Then he took pictures of her, naked, with his phone.

He behaved like he had done it before, she said. He began talking about things that did not make sense, telling her a drug cartel was coming to kill her. She did not believe him, but in that moment, it felt like my life was over.

She asked him one thing: If he had any daughters, would he like it if someone did the same thing that he was doing to me, to them.

He sexually assaulted her three times that night, while she remained tied to a bunk bed in a bedroom.

FBI agents and Mission police officers, meanwhile, had identified the agent based in part on M.G.'s report and were closing in.

Shortly before 1 a.m., J.E. heard loud knocking on the apartment door, and then a single gunshot. Officers eventually forced open the door, untied her and kept her wrapped in a blanket as they put her in an ambulance.

Manzanares had shot and killed himself with a .40-caliber pistol while seated at his dining room table. On the table, officers found a two-page suicide note. I am sorry for what I have done, he wrote, explaining that he had been troubled since coming back from Afghanistan. I am a monster.

No Questions Asked

The three women now live far from the South Texas border, in southwestern Virginia. All three were granted what are called U visas, issued to victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes.

Officials with Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that they could not comment on the lawsuit but that they take allegations of misconduct seriously. CBP has a workforce of dedicated men and women who are among the finest civil servants in the world, who carry out their duties with the utmost professionalism, efficiency, honor and distinction, the statement read. CBP acts decisively and appropriately to address any misconduct.

But agency officials revealed in their response to the womens lawsuit that they had no procedure for supervising agents in the field and no policy requiring supervisors to make contact with agents during a shift.

Manzanares even briefly drove his victims into and out of his Border Patrol station in McAllen that day, but no one questioned his actions. And none of his superiors tried to find out why he had failed to respond to most of the alerts of suspicious activity in his zone that day.

Government officials defended the criminal background checks performed on Manzanares. In court documents, they said two background investigations of Manzanares  one in 2007 before he started working as an agent and another in 2013  had turned up nothing. He was hired before a requirement that all applicants undergo polygraph tests took effect; one official testified that a polygraph test probably would have revealed that Manzanares appeared to be a pedophile.

Now the agency is likely to face similar questions about Ortiz in Laredo. Authorities are continuing to examine whether any government equipment and weapons were used in the assaults he is accused of and whether his supervisors were aware of any unusual behavior.

These individuals who are supposed to be protectors were predators, both of them, Christine Poarch, a lawyer who represents Manzanares three victims, said of the Ortiz and Manzanares cases. They preyed on vulnerable populations.

Mitchell Ferman contributed reporting from McAllen, Texas.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
A sharp-eyed Fulshear resident recently documented a close call with a snake camouflaged into the ground next to a water valve.

The resident, who presumably was shutting of their water because of the freeze warning, shared the photo of the snake with police on Tuesday.

"If you are cutting off your sprinkler system due to the possible freeze tonight, make sure you stay aware and observant," according to the department's Facebook post.

Snakes typically can't tolerate extreme cold and normally hibernate in the winter, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. They like temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees, or else they find a place to get warm.

Hopefully, the next time a snake wants to warm up, they won't become invisible next to your water valve.

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 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted during a visit to a San Antonio lazy river, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies arrested Donald McKinney, 39, on Tuesday on suspicion of sexual assault of a child, a week after the teen's mother filed a report.
Gina Ortiz Jones was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for freshman orientation  although she hasnt actually been elected to Congress.

Jones, a Democrat, trails incumbent Republican Will Hurd by roughly 1,000 votes in Congressional District 23, a perennial Texas swing seat that is one of a handful of races across the country that remains too close to call.
Remember when freedom was just another word for nothing left to lose? These days its just another word for giving lots of money to Donald Trump.

What with the midterm elections  and the baseless Republican cries of voting fraud  I dont know how many people heard about Trumps decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson, wife of casino owner and Trump megadonor Sheldon Adelson. The medal is normally an acknowledgment of extraordinary achievement or public service; on rare occasions this includes philanthropy. But does anyone think the Adelsons charitable activities were responsible for this honor?

Now, this may seem like a trivial story. But its a reminder that the Trumpian attitude toward truth  which is that its defined by what benefits Trump and his friends, not by verifiable facts  also applies to virtue. There is no heroism, there are no good works, except those that serve Trump.

About truth: Trump, of course, lies a lot. But his assault on truth goes deeper than the frequency of his lies, because Trump and his allies dont accept the very notion of objective facts. Fake news doesnt mean actual false reporting; it means any report that hurts Trump, no matter how solidly verified.

The attempt by Trump and his party to shut down the legally mandated Florida recount with claims, based on no evidence, of large-scale voting fraud fits right into this partisan epistemology. Do Republicans really believe that there were vast numbers of fraudulent or forged ballots? They dont really believe anything, except that they should get what they want.

The same worldview explains Republicans addiction to conspiracy theories. After all, if people keep insisting on the truth of something that hurts their party, it cant be out of respect for the facts  because in their world, there are no neutral facts.

So the people making inconvenient assertions must be in the pay of sinister forces. In Arizona, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has probably won a Senate seat on the strength of late-counted ballots. Did you know that the state GOP has filed a freedom of information request for information on interactions between election officials and, you guessed it, George Soros?

Its worth pointing out, by the way, that this rejection of objective facts and insistence that anyone insisting on inconvenient truths must be part of a left-wing conspiracy dominated the Republican psyche long before Trump. Most notably, the claim that the overwhelming evidence for global warming is a giant hoax, the product of a vast plot involving thousands of scientists around the world, has been GOP orthodoxy for years.

My point is that the rejection of any standard besides whether it helps or hurts Trump extends beyond true or false to basic values. In Trumpworld, which is now indistinguishable from GOPworld, good and bad are defined solely by whether the interests of The Leader are served. Thus, Trump attacks and insults our closest allies while praising brutal dictators who flatter him (and declares neo-Nazis very fine people).

And the same goes for heroism and cowardice. A genuine hero like John McCain, who was critical of Trump, gets dismissed as a failure: Hes not a war hero. a I like people who werent captured. Meanwhile, Miriam Adelson, whose service to the nation basically consists of giving Trump campaign contributions, gets the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Oh, and this, too, predates Trump. Remember how Republicans denigrated John Kerrys war record?

As with so much about the current political scene, its essential to realize and acknowledge that this is not a symmetric, both-sides-do-it situation. If you say something along the lines of truth and virtue are now defined by partisanship, youre actually enabling the bad guys, because only one party thinks that way.

Democrats, being human, sometimes have biased views and engage in motivated reasoning. But they havent abandoned the whole notion of objective facts and nonpolitical goodness; Republicans have.

What all this means is that whats going on in America right now isnt politics as usual. Its much more existential than that. You have to be truly delusional to see the Republicans response to their partys midterm setback as anything but an attempted power grab by a would-be authoritarian movement, which rejects any opposition or even criticism as illegitimate.

Our democracy is still very much in danger.
Zanu-PF Masvingo Province has passed a resolution endorsing President Mnangagwa as the partys Presidential candidate in the next elections in 2023 to afford him ample time to fulfil his vision of making Zimbabwe a middle-income economy by 2030.

The partys Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) on Sunday said President Mnangagwas endorsement was the first among several resolutions from Masvingo Province that will be tabled at the forthcoming Zanu-PF Annual National Peoples Conference to be held in Esigodini.

The development comes as the Zanu-PF Youth League here recently announced that they were backing President Mnangagwa to be the Zanu-PF Presidential candidate in the next polls due five years from now.

Speaking after the PCC meeting held at Victoria Junior Primary School, Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chair Cde Ezra Chadzamira said the province endorsed President Mnangagwa to remain at the helm of the party.

Cde Chadzamira, who is also Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, said the province also stood guided by the national Constitution that allowed a President to serve for not more than two terms.

President Mnangagwas first constitutional Presidential term started from this year and will run until the next polls in 2023.

The Zanu-PF leader will be eligible to run for another five-year term up to 2028, which will be his last according to the national Constitution.

We came up with resolutions for our forthcoming Annual National Peoples Conference and President Mnangagwas endorsement as our party leader into the 2023 elections is actually on top of the resolutions that will be tabled by Masvingo Province, said Cde Chadzamira.

Our national Constitution is very clear that a President can only serve for two terms, which means we have our President for the next two terms in President Mnangagwa. So, as Zanu-PF Masvingo, we feel there is no need now to talk about who will be the Presidential candidate in 2023 because we already have someone there, who is President Mnangagwa.

So, what we are saying clearly as Zanu-PF Masvingo is that our resolution is that our Constitution is very clear that President Mnangagwa is there until 2023 when we will have elections again.

Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial spokesperson Cde Ronald Ndava said President Mnangagwas endorsement to remain at the helm of the party was motivated by the sterling job he was doing as the countrys leader.

We resolved that President Mnangagwa should remain at the helm because of the good work that he is doing to develop the countrys economy, he said.

There are many positive things that the President is doing such as re-engaging the international community and rolling out programmes such as Command Agriculture to make sure Zimbabwe achieves food self-sufficiency.

Cde Ndava said the ruling party in Masvingo fully backed President Mnangagwas anti-corruption crusade.

He said laws should be tightened to make sure those caught in the anti-graft dragnet were jailed.

In his address at the PCC meeting, Zanu-PF secretary for security Cde Lovemore Matuke said now that the ruling party won the July 30 polls, focus should be on developmental projects that uplift the lives of ordinary people.

Cde Matuke suggested that a separate PCC meeting, devoid of political issues, be scheduled, whose beat will only be to discuss developmental projects that economically benefit the province.

The endorsement could be a killer hammer to an alleged faction aligned to Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, believed to be pushing for Mnangagwa to run just for one term.

This is despite the fact that Chiwenga was very instrumental in bringing Mnangagwa to power last year during a military takeover which deposed former president Robert Mugabe.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, viewed as harbouring presidential ambitions, is reportedly keen on seeing Mnangagwa serving only a single term and allowing him to serve his own as the countrys number one.

Chiwenga, 61, has never publicly revealed his presidential ambitions but is said to be the de-facto State leader, often issuing far reaching decisions within government corridors.

There are strong indications Chiwenga was drafting in former military personnel into Zanu-PF in attempts to create a more pliant support base which will one day come in handy in supporting his bid for Presidency.

 Herald

Breaking News via Email

Loading...

Related Zimbabwe Latest News
The Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) security officers were yesterday grilled by MDC deputy president Morgen Komichis lawyer.

Komichi is facing charges of going to the podium at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) during the announcement of presidential election results and grabbing the microphone before announcing that the MDC Alliance disputed the election results.

The MDC deputy president is charged with contravening 186 of the Electoral Act which criminalises interrupting, obstructing or disturbing proceedings related to the announcement of the results.

Komichis lawyer, Obey Shava of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), cornered the security officers after they justified and defended an unidentified Zanu PF activist who also took to the podium at the same event but was never charged for disrupting electoral proceedings.

The Zanu PF activist was captured in a video which was tendered in court as evidence.

Dickson Siyakwimbe, a police officer, told the court that the woman rose to the podium because of Komichis utterances.

She came to the podium after the accused person announced that election was not free and fair, Siyakwimbe said.

When questioned if her rising to the podium constituted an offence, Siyakwimbe refused to answer the question.

But upon the insistence of Shava, he admitted that the activist is equally guilty.

Initially, Siyakwimbe testified that he was not inside the room when the results were being announced and never saw Komichi approach the podium.

However, during cross-examination, Siyakwimbi changed his statement and said he was actually in the room and witnessed Komichi and MDC presidential spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda approach the podium.

I erred. I was actually in the room when Sibanda invited the accused person to the podium, Siyakwimbe stammered.

Shava shot back: How can you forget where you were when such an incident occurred? What benefit did you seek to derive by misleading this honourable court?

A Zec security officer, Concrea Chivinda, also testified that he saw Komichi approach the podium but denied seeing a Zanu PF activist on stage.

When told about the video exhibited in court, Chivinda said she never saw the said woman but only heard her screams.

Are you telling the court that you saw everything else that transpired in that room but never saw the Zanu PF activist? You and Siyakwimbe start by denying seeing the woman but when evidence is brought before you, you change your minds? queried Shava during cross examination.

The matter was rolled over to tomorrow for continuation of trial.

Allegations are that on August 2, Komichi was at the (HICC) waiting for announcement of the 2018 poll results by Zec.

The court heard that during a break, Komichi went to the podium reserved for Zec commissioners and grabbed the microphone before announcing that MDC Alliance disputed

the election results.

It was alleged that Komichi said the results were flawed because MDC Alliance election agents were not asked to verify them.

Komichi is alleged to have interrupted the electoral process by saying: I did not sign those results, so the results are fake. The results have just been printed and they have not been verified by the polling agents.

 DailyNews

Breaking News via Email

Loading...

Related Zimbabwe Latest News
Some senior Zanu-PF officials are trying to find a successor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa just four months after he won elections, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Ruling party sources said some officials were worried Mnangagwa wont see through more than one five-year term in office because of poisoning he suffered at a ruling party rally in 2017.

This group is worried that Mnangagwa might not finish his current term due to the poisoning and they are thus looking at having a successor in case that happens, one unnamed source told the private Daily News.

Last year, at the height of ruling party power struggles, Mnangagwa became ill after eating contaminated food at a rally in southern Zimbabwe. His allies accused members from a faction linked to former first lady Grace Mugabe of trying to poison him.

Not supporting our president

While president, Mugabe refused to name a successor and appeared keen to die in office, a situation that led to damaging factional wars that eventually saw him ousted.

The Daily News, quoting Zanu-PF insiders, said former loyalists of the president were heavily involved in a search for a potential successor. Other named officials confirmed there were some working against Mnangagwa.

There are some people who are moving in their own direction, who are not supporting our president within the party, senior official Ziyambi Ziyambi, who is also the justice minister, told the paper. We are saying let the president serve his two terms.

Victor Matemadanda, secretary general of the influential war veterans association, said: There is no need to talk about succession now because the president is still serving his first term.

In September Mnangagwa said that he would not cling to power. Under the constitution, he can stand for another five-year term in elections due in 2023.

Even if the people would love me to the hilt, I will still go away because I believe constitutionalism is important, local news website New Zimbabwe quoted him as telling US media on a visit to New York.

 News24

Breaking News via Email

Loading...

Related Zimbabwe Latest News
The MDC President advocate Nelson Chamisa has described submissions by the military generals to the Commission of Inquiry into the 1st of August violence, as a ploy to weaken and eliminate his party which has emerged as a democratic alternative in the country.

The military bosses including Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander, Philip Valerio Sibanda denied shooting at civilians, blaming the opposition MDCs youth wing for the 1st of August 2018 killings.

Chamisa took to Twitter to register his concern over what he says are plans by the state to hire witnesses to testify against his party.

I see the effort to nail the innocent exonerating the guilty. A ploy to weaken and eliminate MDC and faces in the democratic alternative.

Was briefed of this strategy three months ago. Soon you will see vindictive arrests, hired witnesses making stories to victimize.

Chamisa has recently castigated the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry saying it was irrelevant and a waste of resources.

Addressing thousands of his party followers at the partys 19th anniversary in Harare a fortnight ago, the former Kuwadzana legislator challenged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to invite international journalists and foreign internationals who were in the country and in the streets of Harare charging that they have documentation that helps to unpack what transpired on the fateful day.

 263Chat

Breaking News via Email

Loading...

Related Zimbabwe Latest News
Our news editor chats to MDC leader Nelson Chamisa. The charismatic opposition leader reveals that he wants any talks with President Emmerson Mnangagwa to yield electoral reforms and an economic rescue package for the country.

Find below excerpts of the interview.

Q: It seems you remain trapped in election mode almost four months after the election. What do you want?

A: We want political dialogue on the five issues we have emphasised.

Q: What are the issues?

A: Number one, return to legitimacy. Number two, comprehensive political reforms, electoral reforms and constitutional reforms. Number three, nation building and peace building. Number four, international re-engagement to deal with the debt question and also to deal with multilateral support. Number five, an emergency rescue programme and a humanitarian agenda.

Q: Is there scope for a mediator?

A: Izvo zvinobuda (That will come) later, because there is a deadlock, a political deadlock. Whether they want to declare it or whether they dont want to declare it, whether they want to acknowledge it or ignore it, it is there. So, the fundamental issue is how do we move forward because we control the majority.

Q: But President Emmerson Mnangagwa controls the majority, according to election results. What do you mean you control the majority?

A: We were voted by more people than Mnangagwa and we are the government at local government level because we control all the cities. So, de facto, we are in charge.

But you see vanaMnangagwa, by the fact that they have declared themselves, they are also in charge of central government.

So, for this country, in order for it to move, it must move on the basis of shared understanding of what the way forward is around the issue ye (of) legitimacy, around the presidential election, the issue ye the reform agenda, the issue ye national building and peace building, how do we heal the nation nema (of) wounds of the past, kwete zvavo zvekuita zvima (not the route they have taken to set up a) Commission of Inquiry. That will not heal the nation. Kwete zvavo zvekuti isu tisu tirikupa (Not what they are saying that they are ushering in a) new dispensation, that will not give a new dispensation.

A new dispensation will come when the entire population is working in unison for an issue. We cant have people voting and their vote being ignored, people voting and their vote being bastardised, or just being disregarded.

Q: What exactly do you yourself want, is it a post for yourself? Is it only about the five issues you allude to?

A: No, this is about the people of Zimbabwe. The challenges we are facing are as a result of the elephant in the living room.

The elephant in the living room is absence of rule of law, democracy, good governance, free and fair elections.

We were able to dilute this elephant in the living room during the inclusive government. Thats why things started moving. But we went back to the default setting of the elephant in the living room after the 2013 election.

Thats why the problem has continued. So, we are in 2018, we are going to deal with the elephant in the living room because of the November (soft coup) incident.

We thought it was a journey towards dealing with the elephant in the living room.

We have realised now that the elephant in the living room has not been moved out. If anything, it has changed the colour.

Q: So, what, you want a reincarnation of the GNU?

A: Not a GNU, not a GNU, I am not interest in that. I want resolution yekuti chii chatirikuita ne (around what we are doing around) reform, political settlement.

Q: So, this is forward-looking?

A: No, its now.

Q: Its now? But you are talking of electoral reforms, and the next election is in 2023?

A: No, no, no, but there are elections anoitwa (held) every time, the by-elections. There can be an election next week if we say we are dissolving this thing because taita (there is a) stalemate.

Q: You mean like another harmonised election?

A: There can be an election anytime depending on political developments.

Q: So, you are saying this can only happen after political dialogue. Who will be the stakeholders there?

A: No ka, but there are two major parties akaenda kuma (that went to) elections, vane (with a) presence in Parliament, in local government and central government.

Q: But Mnangagwa has ruled this out. So, what, you are bringing pressure to bear through this hwamanda (shofar or trumpet) which you say you will be sounding soon for the commencement of anti-government demos?

A: No, no, no, look. They have said its out but we are saying there has to be political dialogue. And as citizens, as a party iri (which is) democratic, we are not a rebel movement, we are not an underground movement, we are not a terrorist organisation, okay, we are a democratic party.

Therefore, there are democratic tools available to confront, one of which is demonstrations, the other one is petitions in terms of the Constitution, yah?

That one is democratic pressure through diplomatic engagement and international diplomacy, regional diplomacy, continental diplomacy, so there are many tools that are available to be able to resolve issues affecting us.

Q: You claim there was an attempt to abduct you. Why do you think the State would take such a route?

A: It is a pattern and a trend that has been taking place for the past three months.

Its a phenomenon I have observed yekuti vanhu ivava ava vanenge vachinditeera (that they trail me), everywhere I go.

Q: You think its not for intelligence gathering, because if what you are saying is true, then this has now taken a dark turn, almost a morbid turn if you like?

A: No, there is no intelligence gathering. What intelligence do you gather by chasing after my vehicles and blocking them?

If you are intelligence gathering, you just want to know what I am doing, whether lawful or unlawful. But when you then block my car, you attempt to side-swipe my vehicle, is that intelligence gathering?

Q: Of course not. But you saw the Information minister disowning those thugs. She says they are not part of the system.

A: But where have you found a witch who acknowledges their act?

Where have you seen a thief own up to his own loot? So, is that new to you? Are they not saying they dont know about the Gukurahundi, Mugabe said it was a moment of madness? What have they said about Dzamara? What did they say about Tonderai Ndira, what did they say about Patrick Nabanyama, what about Cain Nkala, and Rashiwe Guzha?

Q: A history of denials and subterfuge?

A: Yes. So, what do want them to say? Its actually the normal statement from them. That is expected. You bewitch and you deny.

Q: Vari sei Mr Ashley namama vavo (How is your son Ashley and his mum?) How are they taking all this?

A: Ko ivo vakadzingirirwa ka. Some eerie figures gave high-speed chase to her car.

Q: Someone chased her vehicle?!

A: Yah.

Q: Where?

A: In the road on her way home.

Q: You dont say?! When was this?

A: Last week, on Friday, yah.

Q: Ah!

A: Ndokutaurira ka (Im telling you the gospel truth.) And I am going to reveal those things pa press conference (on Monday which was later addressed by MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume).

Q: This is serious stuff?

A: And then they are now lying that my kidnap attempt was road rage!

Q: Yes, minister Mutsvangwa has called it road rage.

A: Can you imagine? Unoziva (You know) they play games with peoples lives.

 DailyNews

Breaking News via Email

Loading...

Related Zimbabwe Latest News
For carrying-on an undertaking of great advantage but no-one to know what it is  South Sea Company brochure

Theresa May has finally managed to cinch a draft Brexit agreement with the EUs negotiation team. But no text of the agreement has bee released; presumably that will happen shortly after Question Time at noon and the 2:00 PM Cabinet meeting in which May hopes to secure the approval of her ministers.

Since we dont know precisely what is in the magic box, and leaks about it are somewhat at odds, it seems unproductive to speculate when well know more soon. It does appear, and this is no surprise, that Northern Ireland will be subject to EU laws and regulations. How subject isnt quite clear, but its more than enough for that alone to put the DUP and the Ultras in uproar. There is also talk of the UK remaining not in a customs union but a customs arrangement until it gets a trade deal with the EU. Since that could wind up being never, that sounds as if it could run afoul of WTO rules.

We have no idea if this Financial Times summary will prove to be fully accurate once the package is unsealed, but here is its summary of key points:

Many EU member states were surprised at the inclusion of a full customs union in the withdrawal agreement and wanted guarantees in return that would prevent unfair competition from Brexit Britain. One official from a northern member state said: The Brits won half a foot in the internal market, with duty and quota-free access. We need [conditions] to balance that off. With that in mind, Mr Barnier inserted into the draft text some of the most severe restrictions placed on any country outside the single market. This includes the UK abiding by the EUs competition and state-aid rules, even if they change in future, and paying due regard to European Court of Justice rulings in this area. So-called non-regression clauses are also included in the agreement, which sets a floor on environmental rules, labour policy and taxation. This would bind London to existing policies that are deeply unpopular with some Conservative MPs, including the working-time directive and targets for renewable energy.

Um, this sounds like a half-pregnant Brexit, not a BINO, but enough of a dogs breakfast as to be unsatisfying to everyone. May is relying even more than one would have anticipated on her handiwork as being deemed the lesser evil relative to a crash out.

And it is possible that enough of Mays Cabinet revolts to send her back to the negotiating table, which may be the reason for being secretive about the draft. No point in letting MPs see the text if the most in the way of further changes would be artful optics. UK political procedure is above my pay grade, so I hope UK readers will advise us Yanks as to how much Cabinet opposition May could withstand. And would it matter who defected? Would, say, a departure by her Brexit minister Dominic Raab do more damage than the exit of several less prominent players?

Even though Mr. Market liked the announcement of a deal, it wasnt just the usual suspects who were up in arms about it. Jeremy Corbyn said the agreement was unlikely to be a good deal and Labour would oppose it if it failed the partys six tests. Lib Dem chief Sir Vince Cable stated a majority will be hard or impossible to secure for what she has come up with. By contrast, the Irish government is playing mum for now, letting this round of UK infighting run its course.

Now it may be that the upset settles down to sullen resignation by enough MPs for May to get her agreement approved by Parliament. But a new obstacle is that the Blairite MPs, who May could have hoped to peel off to compensate for the opposition of the DUP and whoever of the 50 Stand4Brexit signatories who were willing to live up to the big talk, have been moving to more and more vocal opposition. Even though a Second Referendum seems unlikely to get done, they are putting their weight behind that. Of course, the real objective is to get a Labour government. The Tory loathing of Corbyn would seem to make that unlikely, but what happens if Mays plan is voted down in Parliament? How does her Government continue? Even though the Fixed Term Parliaments Act would say that it takes more than that, this would be a defeat of epic proportions.

Another factor is the response of the press barons. A reader pointed out that the Daily Mail, one of the influential papers, now has a pro-Remain editor and that might lead it to provide May with some support. So far, that isnt happening:

The Torygraph is Not Happy:

The Sun, another important voice, is piling on:

But will the nay-sayers rebel? The Financial Times sounds a more cynical note:

Mrs May hopes that some nine Eurosceptic ministers, some of whom have made known their misgivings about the prime ministers Brexit strategy, will finally accept the need to agree a deal in spite of its flaws. Hardline Brexiters pleaded with ministers to quit but Iain Duncan Smith, the pro-Brexit former Tory leader, acknowledged that a mutiny by Eurosceptic cabinet ministers might be limited, saying that their spines do not yet meet their brains.

One thing that has kept May in place despite the many times shes been predicted to be a goner is that there has been no viable challenger. The split between the hard and soft Brexit factions has meant the party would not rally around the leading figures from either wing. And it isnt clear that anyone want her job. The logical time to oust May would have been at the September Tory conference, and the Ultras were less stroopy than usual. So it isnt clear that Cabinet resignations would do her in. She theoretically has time for one more go at negotiations before the December EU Council meeting.

Well know much more 24 hours from now, so stay tuned.

Update: Clive caught the BBC report:

Addressing the press, Theresa May says the draft withdrawal agreement was the best that could have been negotiated. The collective decision of the cabinet was that the government should support the draft withdrawal agreement.

From the same live reports:

Mrs May said it was a collective Cabinet decision, which leaves scope for resignations from those who dont agree with the collective decision. Well see.  Andrew Neil (@afneil) November 14, 2018

Key message from PM; its this, no deal or no Brexit. Others disagree  Nick Eardley (@nickeardleybbc) November 14, 2018

Again, the draft has not been released yet, so we and more important, MPs and EU27 leaders have to see what is in it.
Heatwaves can wipe out male insect fertility Guardian

NASA Brings Mars Landing, First in Six Years, to Viewers Everywhere NASA (fury)

The worlds plastic problem is bigger than the ocean PhysOrg (Robert M)

Dated science and fish advisories may be hurting brains Environmental Health News (JTM)

Do gut bacteria make a second home in our brains? Science. Research from the med school at the University of Alabama.

China?

India

The Daily Fix: Has the Modi government become more nervous about its shoddy economic image? Scroll (J-LS)

Delay in Mega Asian Trade Deal Comes as Boon to Modi Govt in Run-Up to 2019 The Wire

Donald Trump praises Narendra Modi as friend, says India a tough trade negotiator Economic Times

The Million Trumps of India Los Angeles Review of Books
(Natural News) POTUS Donald Trump may go down in history as the U.S. president who exposed the European Union for what it has become since the end of the Cold War: A gaggle of ungrateful, Left-wing pretenders who have taken advantage of American generosity for decades.

Following in the footsteps of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is channeling her monstrous predecessor, Adolph Hitler, in calling for a European army so the European Union can fulfill his objective of conquering the continent while getting rid of the United States military presence there.

In a speech in Strasbourg, Merkel called for a real, true EU army in what was seen as a direct rebuke to POTUS Trump, the U.K.s Daily Mail reported.

In addition, Merkel called for the creation of a European Security Council which would be responsible for developing and coordinating defense policy throughout the alliance.

But wait  what about NATO? Germany and most of the EU are all members. Why not just strengthen NATO? Well, Merkel explained, the new EU army would certainly work in conjunction with the longstanding alliance, adding that only a stronger Europe is going to defend Europe.

Continuing, Merkel declared, Europe must take our fate into our own hands if we want to protect our community.

Is that true, though? Hardly. NATOs reason for existence is to defend alliance members, which is to say virtually all of the continent. Its hard to imagine that NATO would not come to the defense of non-members like Sweden, Finland, and Norway, for that matter. (Related: Russia may have just practiced going to war with NATO.)

Just days ago, Macron made similar remarks. In an interview with Europe 1, he talked about renewed Russian aggression and POTUS Trumps decision to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

I believe in the project of a sovereign Europe. We wont protect Europe if we dont decide to have a true European army, he said, as the Daily Mail reported. We have to have a Europe that can defend itself alone  and without only relying on the United States in a more sovereign manner.

We should protect ourselves when it comes to China, Russia and even the United States of America, he continued  as though the U.S. has or has ever had imperialistic designs on the European continent like Hitler did.

Europe first?

So, whats going on here? Whats the deal with Macron and Merkel  and other EU leaders who will no doubt follow suit? The EU leadership and much of the European population resent the fact that POTUS Trump has called them out for taking advantage of American generosity, security, and largess for decades.

But is the president right to call out our European allies? In a word, yes. Heres why:

 POTUS has pointed out that European tariffs on American goods give an unfair advantage to the continent. Hes right, and even European think tanks admit it. The EU is by no means the paradise for free traders that it likes to think, said Gabriel Felbermayr, director of the Ifo Center for International Economics, a division of the Munich-based Ifo Institute.

 Merkel is likely miffed at our president because he dared to point out the blatant hypocrisy of a natural gas deal in the works between Germany and Russia. Fox Business reported: Germany, one of Americas closest allies, is doubling its energy imports from Russias Gazprom just as the U.S. continues to spend billions of dollars to protect Germany and the rest of Europe from Russia. The absurdity of this should be self-evident.

 The EU is opposed to the Trump administrations decision to back out of the horrid nuclear deal with Iran and is currently looking at ways around U.S. sanctions in order to continue enriching a regime that is destabilizing the Middle East.

Whats ironic here  and hypocritical  is that Merkel and Macron detest POTUS Trumps America first attitude but in acting out their anger are seeking to put Europe first.

Read more about President Trumps efforts to Make America Great Again at Trump.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

FoxBusiness.com

GreatPowerWar.com

NewsTarget.com
(Natural News) The chemicals you use to clean your home or office every day are extremely harmful for your health. Norwegian researchers warned that daily exposure to these household cleaning sprays is like smoking an entire pack of cigarettes each day, an article in the University of Bergen news page reported.

Professional cleaners who use these cleaning sprays on an everyday basis are exposed to a greater risk of developing symptoms of asthma and other respiratory ailments. So are people who use the chemicals to clean their homes.

Long-term exposure to these chemicals appears to speed up the weakening of the lungs and makes cases of chronic airway obstruction more likely. The cleaning sprays may also be responsible for a low but constant state of inflammation that injures the airways over time.

The cleaning chemicals could also cause the onset of asthma in the patient. Asthma will inflict similar persistent damage to the airways, leading to more serious chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Huge survey determines the amount of exposure to cleaning chemicals

Researchers at the University of Bergen investigated the health effects of home cleaning and occupational cleaning over long periods of time. They sought out any connections with the long-term decline of lung function and respiratory health.

They drew upon the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, a large cohort of participants based on random samples of the population. These participants underwent medical evaluation of their lung function using either spirometry or bronchodilator.

They also answered questions regarding their cleaning activities. The participants elaborated on whether or not they cleaned their homes or worked as professional cleaners. They were also queried about their use of cleaning agents such as sprays and other products.

Researchers also used a formula to calculate pack-years based on the number of cigarettes smoked each day and the body mass index.

Out of 6,230 participants, slightly over half were women. Forty-four percent have never smoked in their entire lives, while those who did smoke consumed an average of 7.0 pack-years.

Eighty-five percent of the female participants and 46.5 percent of the males cleaned at home. Only 8.9 percent of the women and 1.9 percent of the men worked as professional cleaners.

More often than not, people who cleaned at home did not smoke. If they did, they smoked fewer pack-years than the others. (Related: Say what? Smoking found to increase risk of hearing loss, according to study.)

A days exposure to cleaning chemicals is like smoking 20 cigarettes

The researchers found that women who did not work as cleaners or did not clean at home were the least exposed to cleaning chemicals. Their group showed the lowest decline of lung function.

In contrast, women who worked as cleaners for a living displayed the highest mean decline of both Forced Vital Capacity and Forced Expired Volume in one second. This group included women who performed cleaning duties at work and at home, meaning they were even more heavily exposed to cleaning chemicals.

Furthermore, men who cleaned at home experienced more diagnoses of asthmatic symptoms than either non-cleaning women or male cleaning workers. These results led researchers to believe that there was a connection between the faster decline of absolute lung function and exposure levels to cleaning agents.

Cleaning agents are known to irritate sensitive parts of the body. These chemicals are also known to cause swelling of the airway, which damages the sensitive tissues of the passageway.

The researchers recommended finding ways to reduce the exposure to run-of-the-mill cleaning products. There are natural alternatives that are much safer for human use.

Find out how you can break the bad habit of smoking at StopSmoking.news.

Sources include:

UIB.no

Thoracic.org [PDF]
PG&E excludes its highest voltage power lines  like the one suspected of sparking the Camp Fire  from its much publicized effort to cut power to prevent wildfires, NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit has learned.

While the cause of the Nov. 8 fire is still under investigation, a dispatch recording obtained by NBC Bay Area points to a tree branch having contacted a transmission line near the town of Pulga, right at the time the fire began at 6:29 a.m.

Engine 33  youve got a single branch thats laying across both the lines  expedite PG&E, one firefighter at the scene told dispatch, later saying, Copy, possible power lines down.

Critics have been quick to blame the utilitys last-minute cancellation of its plan to shut down many of its power lines in light of the predicted dry and windy conditions.

The utility says conditions were not as extreme as predicted, but attorney Joe Cotchett says the dispatch tape shows PG&E was gambling with peoples lives.

This is one more example of PG&E putting profit ahead of safety, said Cotchett, whose firm has repeatedly sued the utility over the deadly 2010 San Bruno gas explosion as well as last years North Bay firestorm.

It turns out, however, that even if the utility had de-energized its lines, the program does not include the class of transmission line suspected in the Camp Fire.

In fact, the plan excludes transmission lines like the one at issue, which handles 115,000 volts. PG&E says those lines are rigorously regulated.

And while officials say the utility does have the ability to shut off these lines, which carry power through the state, it doesnt do it.

In a statement, the company said, In light of the potential public safety issues resulting from de-energizing higher voltage transmission lines, including the potential to impact millions of people and create larger system stability issues for the grid, PG&E has not extended the program to 115,000 volts or higher transmission lines.

Such lines are typically on reinforced steel towers.

Another attorney who has sued the company says with higher voltage comes greater danger.

These transmission lines are much, much higher voltage than distribution lines, said Amanda Riddle, who filed suit against the company Tuesday. So you would think that it would make sense to PG&E, knowing that there was a high wind event coming, to shut off the lines that could cause the most damage in the most heavily forested areas.

Cotchett said the company should have done more.

Im outraged. Lives were lost because someone didnt step up and say were going to turn off the power, he said.

PG&E has 18,000 miles of transmission lines  which carry 60,000 volts or more  in its 100,000-mile system. Officials say it is too early to say what changes, if any, will be made to its shutdown program.

State Sen. Jerry Hill, (D-San Mateo), a frequent critic of the utility, says he knows of cases when utilities in Southern California have shut off their high power transmission lines. He worries that keeping the power on suggests PG&Es power program provides the public a false sense of security.

They need to make sure they can do everything within their power to stop that power from going through those lines," he said, if there is a potential hazard. They havent done that, and they need to do it.

They say they have a plan," Hill continued. "They say theyve done it. But they didnt. And they havent.
What to Know The Butte County Camp Fire has burned 138,000 acres and is 35 percent contained

More than 5,000 fire personnel are working to control the wildfire burning in Northern California's Sierra Nevada foothills

The fire that started last Thursday has displaced 52,000 people and incinerated the town of Paradise

Authorities have reported eight more fatalities from a blaze in Northern California, bringing the total number so far to 56 in the deadliest wildfire in state history.

The announcement came Wednesday after authorities ramped up the search for more victims and said that 297 people were still unaccounted for.

Click here to see the entire list of names.

Earlier in the day, officials published a list of 101 people they said were unaccounted for. Sheriff Kory Honea later said 29 additional names were not yet included on that list while speaking at a Wednesday evening press conference  putting the total at 130.

The sheriffs office said nobody was available to explain why so many more names were included on the new list of 297 people.

Authorities said the blaze has grown in size to 215 square miles and destroyed nearly 9,000 homes.

At a Wednesday evening news conference, officials said that more than 5,000 fire personnel were battling the blaze that was now 35 percent contained.

The fire that started last Thursday has displaced 52,000 people and incinerated the town of Paradise.

Officials said that 1,385 people were being housed in shelters.

Meanwhile, additional crews have joined the search for victims and people reported missing.

"We want to be able to cover as much ground as quickly as we possibly can," Honea said. "This is a very difficult task."

Friends and relatives of the missing have grown increasingly desperate. A message board at a shelter was filled with photos of the missing and pleas for any information.

"I hope you are okay," read one hand-written note on the board filled with sheets of notebook paper. Another had a picture of a missing man: "If seen, please have him call."

The search for the dead was drawing on portable devices that can identify someone's genetic material in a couple of hours, rather than days or weeks.

"In many circumstances, without rapid DNA technology, it's just such a lengthy process," said Frank DePaolo, a deputy commissioner of the New York City medical examiners' office, which has been at the forefront of the science of identifying human remains since 9/11.

Before the Paradise tragedy, the deadliest single fire on record in California was a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29.

At the other end of the state, firefighters made progress against a massive blaze that has killed two people in star-studded Malibu and destroyed well over 400 structures in Southern California.

The flames roared to life again in a mountainous wilderness area Tuesday, sending up a huge plume of smoke near the community of Lake Sherwood. Still, firefighters made gains.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke joined Gov. Jerry Brown on a visit to the leveled town of Paradise, telling reporters it was the worst fire devastation he had ever seen.

"Now is not the time to point fingers," Zinke said. "There are lots of reasons these catastrophic fires are happening."

Brown, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump's policies, said he spoke with Trump, who pledged federal assistance.

"This is so devastating that I don't really have the words to describe it," Brown said, adding that officials would need to learn how to better prevent fires from becoming so deadly.

The cause of the fires remained under investigation, but they broke out around the time and place that two utilities reported equipment trouble. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, who takes office in January, sidestepped questions about what action should be taken against utilities if their power lines are found to be responsible.

People who lost homes in the Northern California blaze sued Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Tuesday, accusing the utility of negligence and blaming it for the fire. An email to PG&E was not immediately returned.

Linda Rawlings was on a daylong fishing trip with her husband and 85-year-old father when the fire broke out.

Her next-door neighbors opened the back gate so her three dogs could escape before they fled the flames, and the dogs were picked up several days later waiting patiently in the charred remains of their home, she said.

After days of uncertainty, Rawlings learned Tuesday morning that her "Smurf blue" home in Magalia burned to the ground.

She sat looking shell-shocked on the curb outside a hotel in Corning.

"Before, you always have hope," she said. "You don't want to give up. But now we know."

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Sudhin Thanawala, Janie Har, Jocelyn Gecker and Olga R. Rodriguez.
Survivors of California's deadliest wildfire say belated warning from public officials and a reluctance of residents who had survived previous fires to leave home were among the factors that contributed to the delayed and chaotic evacuations, NBC News reported.

Much attention has been focused on the search for dozens of people who are still missing, as well as the possibility that power equipment belonging to the electric utility PG&E may have sparked the deadly fire. But some residents wonder why notice was not given sooner prior to the so-called Camp fire, which has killed at least 48 people and destroyed an estimated 7,600 homes  both records for California.

"They definitely didn't do enough," said Christina Taft, whose 67-year-old mother has been missing since the fire. "She didn't expect it to be that bad. She expected someone would be calling, or something, if it got bad. But they didn't."

The Butte County Sheriff's Office said it delivered notifications about the fire danger via email, phone and text message. But at a Tuesday news conference, Sheriff Kory L. Honea said the fire's unusually swift progress south and west made timely notification difficult.
Undergraduate students affected by the recent wildfires in California may qualify for an application extension and fee waiver at University of California and California State University campuses, school officials announced Wednesday.

UC President Janet Napolitano says this is one small way the university can offer support following deadly and destructive wildfires in Northern and Southern California.

"We know this is a tremendously difficult time for prospective students and their families who have been impacted by the devastating wildfires," Napolitano said in a statement.

For those who qualify, the original deadline of Nov. 30 will now be extended to Dec. 15.

To apply applicants must create a UC account for admission to the fall 2019 class and email ucinfo@applyucsupport.net with the subject line "Extension Request-Weather/Fire Event".

The application fee waiver will apply to up to four UC campuses.

For CSU, applicants can request deadline extension at calstateapply@calstate.edu with the subject line "Extension Request  Fire Event."

CSU applicants affected by the fires can also waive the application fee for up to four campuses, officials said.

The university will also make allowances for students with longer-term impacts due to the wildfires.
Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, Pillow Pets and Nerf guns may seem like good holiday gifts for children, but one group is warning otherwise.

World Against Toys Causing Harm, also known as WATCH, released its 2018 top 10 list of "worst" holiday toys and featured all of the above. The nonprofit organization says the toys included in its list pose choking hazards, risk blunt injuries and have the potential to cause facial injuries.

Top 10 Worst Toys List for 2018 Holiday Season

For more than four decades, WATCH has released these lists to warn parents of the potential dangers that come with their childrens selection of toys on their holiday wish lists.

This years list includes:

Nickelodeon Nella Princess Knight Pillow Pets Sleeptime Lites for its "potential for ingestion and battery-related injuries"

Nerf Vortex VTX Praxis Blaster for its "potential for eye injuries"

Marvel Black Panther Slash Claw for its "potential for eye and facial injuries"

Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel Superstar Blade for its "potential for blunt force and eye injuries"

Cabbage Patch Kids Dance Time Doll for its "potential for choking injuries"

Zoo Jamz Xylophone for its "potential for ingestion and choking injuries"

Nici Wonderland Doll: Miniclara the Ballerina for its "potential for choking injuries"

Stomp Rocket Ultra Rocket for its "potential for eye, face and other impact injuries"

Cutting Fruit for its "potential for puncture and blunt force injuries"

Chien A Promener Pull Along Dog for its "potential for entanglement and strangulation injuries"

WATCH presented its list on Tuesday at Franciscan Childrens Hospital in Boston.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports an estimated 240,000 toy-related injuries happened in the U.S. in 2016. Between January 2017 and October 2018, an estimated 3.5 million units of toys were recalled in the U.S. and in Canada, according to WATCH.

The Toy Association disagrees with the non-profit's claims.

"Each year, WATCH's dangerous toys list needlessly frightens parents and caregivers," the Toy Association said in a statement. "By law, all toys sold in the United States must meet 100+ rigorous safety tests and standards."

Wicked Cool Toys, which manufactures the Cabbage Patch doll that was named in WATCH's list, said safety is their priority.

"We take safety very seriously, and all of the products we bring to market have been through and passed all required safety testing," their statement said.

The manufacturer reminds consumers that all toys sold in the U.S. are required to exceed safety testing before hitting store shelves.

Hasbro, which manufactures the Nerf Vortex and the Black Panther claw, also said their top priority is safety.

"Our products comply with all applicable global safety laws, regulations and standards, including those enforced by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission," Hasbro said in a statement.

PlayMonster manufactures the Cutting Fruit set and also said they take consumer safety seriously and that it is their priority.

As for the Miniclara the Ballerina doll, a NICI representative said the toy is safe for children.

"This plush kitten is fixed to a plush bag with a 5mm polyester woven tape," a NICI representative said in a statement. "Because the product passed the physical tests necessary to receive the allowance to be sold to consumers we are confident that the product is safe."

Vtech says WATCH's list unnecessarily inflicts concern onto guardians.

"This dangerous toys list, released annually before the holiday shopping season, is biased, inaccurate and greatly misinforms the public, needlessly frightening parents and caregivers," a Vtech spokesperson said in a statement.

"Toymakers and The Toy Association are committed to toy safety year-round," the Toy Association said. "These efforts include providing useful tips for families and caregivers to help them choose age-appropriate toys and ensure safe play."

Toy manufacturers CJ Products, D & L Company and Janod; Juratoys did not immediately comment on the list.

Toys that were featured in 2017s list included a Wonder Woman sword, fidget spinners, a Spider-Man drone and more.
Join your community for the 14th annual Silicon Valley Applied Materials Turkey Trot in San Jose on Thanksgiving morning!

The annual event will take place in Downtown San Jose, and you have the option of participating in the 5K run/walk of the 10K run. Both will begin at Santa Clara St & 1st St, and end at Santa Clara St & Delmas St with a festival taking place at the Guadalupe River Park.

In the past 12 years, the turkey trot has donated $6.9 million to local charities. Their goal for this year is to donate an additional $900,000 to the five charities! Plus, its a great way to start the day and get ready for a lot of eating at Thanksgiving dinner.

For more information on the event and to register, click here.

Where: Arena Green - North Autumn Street, San Jose

When: Thursday, November 22 - 6:30AM-12:00PM
As the death toll rises in the California wildfires, one family in Mansfield, Massachusetts is racing to rescue their loved ones who have likely lost everything.

Kim Reeds parents, Ed and Sandy, both 77, retired to Magalia, California nearly 20 years ago. Their home is in one of the areas that has been scorched by the Camp Fire, now the deadliest fire in the states history.

She said her parents did not even get the chance to pack up their personal belongings before being told their home was in the evacuation zone. Since then, her dad, who is in renal failure and suffers from several medical issues, has been receiving treatment outside the fire zone. When her mom is not able to find a hotel, she sleeps in her car.

It is horrifying. Reed said. Just the fact that she is curled up in her Corolla and trying to stay warm.

Reed and her family have spent the last few days trying to figure out how to help them from 3,000 miles away. She said originally roadblocks kept them from getting there, while her dads health made it difficult for them to travel.

He said he didnt know if he was going to be able to make the trip and I said, 'heres the thing dad, you can call this your last greatest adventure or stay there and die in this horrible circumstance. I say go for it,' Reed said.

Thanks to doctors and donations from the community that came in on GoFundMe, they now have plans to fly out and help them get on a plane back to Massachusetts.

Reeds daughters fought back tears talking about how grateful they are for the communitys support. They are now looking for help to make their home more handicap accessible before their loved ones are scheduled to arrive on Sunday.

Family for me is everything, Reed said. And we just cant get there fast enough.
A Massachusetts man who traveled to Rhode Island to have sex with a 15-year-old girl and then caused her to become a prostitute has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Federal prosecutors in Rhode Island say 26-year-old Andy Joseph, of Brockton, Massachusetts, was also sentenced Tuesday to 10 years of probation. He pleaded guilty in April to traveling interstate with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Authorities say he met the girl in June 2016 in an online chat forum. He traveled to Rhode Island multiple times to engage in sex acts with her and caused her to become engaged in commercial sex acts.

Joseph posted online ads that included pictures of the victim as well as a cellphone number to call for the sexual services.
A Massachusetts State Police trooper was hospitalized after their cruiser was struck by an alleged OUI driver in Springfield on Tuesday night.

Around 10 p.m., officials received a call of a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 91.

A trooper located the vehicle and positioned their cruiser in front of the suspect car in an attempt to halt it.

The driver, who was later identified as 31-year-old Yevgeniy Rudenko, allegedly struck the police cruiser and two other vehicles when he failed to stop. The crash caused Rudenkos pickup truck to roll over.

The trooper and Rudenko suffered minor injuries. A passenger in one car and the driver of another that was struck suffered serious injuries.

Rudenko was charged with OUI liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, state highway wrong way violation, possession of an open container of alcohol while driving, a marked lanes violation and speeding.

Officials said Rudenko is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
A teenager is expected to survive after she was shot in the upper body Tuesday in Bostons Jamaica Plain neighborhood.

Police Commissioner William Gross said a female believed to be in her late teens was shot around 3:11 p.m. near the Jackson Square MBTA stop. She was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition and is currently recovering.

"Enough is enough, folks," Gross said. "You have a young woman shot in broad daylight. Us as a society should say that is enough."

A driver who allegedly attempted to flee the scene was taken into custody for questioning after they crashed into another vehicle, according to police. It is unclear if the driver was trying to escape the gunshots or if they were involved in the shooting.

Authorities are searching for the gunman responsible for the shooting. They did not release the victims name.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting is urged to contact the Boston Police Department at 617-343-4470.
Just days after being elected to Congress, the new members arrived on Capitol Hill for orientation Tuesday for a kind of orientation on how to navigate Washington, D.C.

They will be sworn in on Jan. 3, but they were already in classes - a sort of school for organizing themselves, hiring staff, learning the rules and even finding a place to live.

The freshman class includes three new Democrats from the Chicago area: Lauren Underwood, of the 14th District, Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia, of the 4th District, and Sean Casten, of the 6th District.

They were among more than 90 new members invited for a class photo in front of the Capitol Wednesday, with a few races across the country still undecided.

"Oh my goodness... this has been the honor of a lifetime," Underwood said. "I walked onto the floor of the House this morning for the first time, was not able to join for the tour last night. And when we stood for the Pledge of Allegiance, my eyes filled up with tears and it just hit me. We are here to serve the people of the 14th District and I am so honored to be able to do so."

Garcia echoed that sentiment, saying that "for a 9-year-old immigrant boy from Durango, Mexico, this is the greatest honor bestowed upon me by people in my community."

"I am here, optimistic that we can act on at least addressing the issue of the DACA, young people who want to become legalized, who want a path to citizenship," he continued, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy under former President Barack Obama.

"They're Americans and they should be recognized as such. I'm also excited about increasing the minimum wage, about pushing forward a system of public health where everyone gets covered," Garcia added.

The orientation is all paid for by taxpayers, including food and housing, with the cost depending on how many new members there are. In 2012, it was $560,000, and in 2014 it was $370,000.

In addition to learning the rules, orientation served as a time for new members to eye which committees they'd like to serve on.

Casten said he wants to be on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, saying, "My entire career is in energy and environmental and deploying capital for it and its not lost on me that its a committee that freshmen dont normally get on, but its been useful to talk to people if thats where you want to end up."

Another big question looming is whether Illinois' newest Democratic representatives will support Nancy Pelosi for speaker of the House.

Already in the national spotlight, Underwood said she wasn't ready to say if she would back Pelosi.

Its a important decision, but its very fluid, a fluid environment," she said. "Im really looking forward to getting the information that we need to support for a leadership team that will allow us to do the work that we need to do."

The new members will return again after Thanksgiving, at which point they will hold the all-important lottery to choose where their offices will be located.
Just over a week after she was re-elected as Illinois comptroller, Susana Mendoza officially announced her campaign for Chicago mayor on Wednesday.

"Chicago is so many things. Gritty. Hard-working. Welcoming," Mendoza said in an announcement video posted on YouTube. "Its time to make the city work for everyone. This election is about the future of Chicago and I believe in that future."

Mendoza's official announcement came less than two weeks after a portion of a campaign ad - seemingly different from Wednesday's video - surfaced prior to the midterm elections, in which she was on the ballot.

Her team insisted that the leaked video, which they said was stolen from her campaign, was only made in preparation for a potential run, as she was still considering her options.

Days later, she was elected to a second term as comptroller, earning 60 percent of the vote over Republican Darlene Senger.

In the weeks leading up to her announcement, Mendoza skirted the issue several times even when directly asked about her plans, insisting that she was "focused on the Nov. 6 election."

She had long been rumored to be considering a run for mayor after Mayor Rahm Emanuel revealed in September that he would not seek re-election to a third term.

Speculation on Mendoza's potential mayoral campaign increased after Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia and Rep. Luis Gutierrez bowed out, leaving an opening for a strong Latino candidate.

Two other mayoral hopefuls - Gery Chico, who was previously Chicago Public Schools board president and unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2011, as well as tech entrepreneur Neal Sales-Griffin - have Hispanic heritage.

Prior to her announcement, Mendoza's supporters had been circulating nominating petitions for her to enter the race, further preparations to join a crowded field.

Mendoza's Wednesday announcement video - featuring members of her family and shots of various parts of the city - focused on three main issues: taxes, education and crime.

"Yes, we have challenges. And the challenges people face in the city are my challenges too," she said. "We live in a middle class neighborhood and we pay high property taxes. My child goes to a Chicago Public School and were proud to be Chicago Public School parents for the next 13 years."

Mendoza goes on to explain that her parents, "traumatized by gun violence every day in the city," moved their family from Chicago after a shooting on their block in Little Village.

"As a kid, it wasnt my choice to leave the city," she said, reflecting on growing up in suburban Bolingbrook. "But after college, it was my choice to come back to try to make a difference."

Mendoza previously served as an Illinois state representative from 2000 to 2011, then as Chicago city clerk through 2016 when she was elected comptroller.

"The job of mayor isnt for a caretaker," Mendoza proclaimed in her announcement. "Every Chicagoan deserves a mayor who every waking moment, every day, asks herself one fundamental question: Did I do enough?"

She joins more than a dozen other candidates in the race for mayor, with the election to be held in February.
After a summer of widespread revelations of priest abuse and allegations that bishops looked the other way, representatives of the Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops said Tuesday they know apologies are not enough.

"In listening to our priests and listening to our people, they are clearly upset and many of them are very, very angry," Rev. George V. Murry said, "but they're also very hopeful. And the hope is rooted in the fact that we have an opportunity to take action. Concrete, tangible action."

On the second day of their conference in Baltimore, the American bishops spent the day discussing whats next. Though the Vatican has asked them to postpone putting in place new rules, they talked about the potential of a new review board to look at complaints about bishops.

Chicagos Cardinal Blase Cupich suggested two review boards, one to examine the abuse of minors, the other for adult misconduct.

In some of the cases with adults involving clerics, it could be consensual sex, anonymous, but also involve adult pornography," Cupich said.

The group plans to delay a binding vote, in line with the Vatican's request, but the bishops said they want Catholics to know they hear the people in the pews.



"The lack of trust that people have ... they're looking for us to take steps that will say that we understand the problem and we're willing to do something about it," Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield said.

The US Bishops' own advisory council is calling for a top-to-bottom study of the clergy abuse crisis.



"More should be expected of our bishops, not less," retired Col. Anita Raines of the National Advisory Council said.

An ad hoc group of Catholics upset with the crisis gathered outside the bishops' meeting and prayed nearby. They said the bishops knew there was wrongdoing.

"When the Pope is asking you not to act on something that is innately evil, I think there should maybe be something they should be able to do," Brenda Scott a Catholic in Louisiana said.

As the bishops navigate how to respond, Washington D.C. Cardinal Donald Wuerl weighed in after his resignation was accepted by Pope Francis last month following complaints of how Wuerl handled previous abuse cases.

"The transparency on the level of all of us working together, I think that's going to be a very significant factor," Cardinal Donald Wuerl said. "We've come a long way since 2002, but we still have some way to go."

The Vatican has asked the group to wait until after the summit in February in Rome to tackle the abuse crisis.

"If the February conference doesn't produce," Cardinal Joseph Tobin said, "well then we have a very serious problem between our conference and the folks in Rome."
A Michigan woman narrowly escaped serious injury after someone threw a pumpkin at her car while she was driving on an Indiana interstate highway.

According to Indiana State Police, the woman, 64-year-old Susan Brown, was driving eastbound around 9:30 p.m. when a pumpkin smashed through the drivers side of her cars windshield. Browns car then crashed into a ditch after the incident.

Authorities say the pumpkin was thrown from the North Goldring Road overpass, five miles east of the Michigan City exit.

Brown suffered only minor injuries, police said.
A police officer responding to a shooting at a Midlothian bar over the weekend fatally shot a 26-year-old security guard who was subduing the alleged gunman, Illinois State Police said.

Activists gathered outside the Midlothian Police Department Tuesday where the officer allegedly involved in Jemel Robersons shooting works.

That officer is on paid administrative leave. The details of the officer's actions are being investigated by the Public Integrity Task Force with Illinois State Police.

Just after 4 a.m. on Sunday, officers responded to a call of shots fired at Mannys Blue Room Bar at 2911 S. Claire Blvd. in Robbins, and a Midlothian officer who entered the bar discharged their weapon at an armed man, who later died at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to Sophia Ansari, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriffs office.

The man had been working security at the bar and was identified 26-year-old Roberson, according to Ansari and the Cook County medical examiners office. Roberson lived in the Homan Square neighborhood on the West Side. Authorities released few details about the shooting, but said the incident began as an argument inside the bar, according to Robbins Police Chief Roy Wells, who spoke at a press conference Sunday morning.

Robbins police initially responded to the shooting and requested help from two Midlothian officers, according to a statement from Midlothian police. One of those Midlothian officers encountered a subject with a gun and was involved in an officer involved shooting, according to their statement.

Illinois State Police released a statement Tuesday night appearing to confirm that the officer didn't realize Roberson was a security guard.

"Upon his arrival, a Midlothian Police Officer encountered a subject in plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a Security Guard, armed with a gun in the west parking lot," state police said. "According to witness statements, the Midlothian Officer gave the armed subject multiple verbal commands to drop the gun and get on the ground before ultimately discharging his weapon and striking the subject."

Officers attempted to provide Roberson with medical assistance but he was pronounced dead at an area hospital after the shooting.

Activists want to have a national conversation about police involved shootings.

We are here to state our vote of no confidence in the Illinois Public Intergrity unit, they have continued to fail us over the years and we're demanding for the first time a thorough investigation into the murder of Jemel Roberson, Eric Russel of the Tree of Life Justice League said.

Had it not been for Jemel there would have been absolute carnage, Russell said.

More are joining the chorus of outrage.

"Being black while working security should not be a death sentence," Karen Sheley, the ACLU of Illinois' Police Practices Project director.

"It's really necessary for law enforcement to take careful assessment of a situation especially before using force and here it appears a person's bias or initial response may have been influenced by race," Sheley said.

Robbins native, Dwyane Wade took to Twitter, saying hes speechless! even after hearing he was one of the 'good guys' hes still shot like his life doesnt matter.

Speechless! Even after hearing he was one of the good guys hes still shot like his life doesnt matter! A man that was doing his job to protect the lives of others and protect the town he lived in. I grew up streets away from Mannys Blue Room in Robbins this hurts my heart. https://t.co/WRB7zMXjgF  DWade (@DwyaneWade) November 13, 2018

The Roberson family attorney says he plans to file a motion to preserve any video, surveillance or dash cam, as the investigation moves forward.

"The truth is out here, its cameras out here," security guard Stringer Harris said. "We want justice for what is right. Period."

Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has any knowledge of the shooting is asked to contact the ISP at (847) 294-4400.
Supporters of a father facing deportation rallied outside the federal building that houses the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Hartford Tuesday.

They are asking for the agency to allow Nelson Pinos to stay in the U.S. and be with his family for the holidays.

Pinos sought sanctuary at a New Haven church to avoid deportation to his native Ecuador nearly a year ago.

He told NBC Connecticut he came to the US in 1992 for a better life and has lived in Connecticut for nearly 20 years.

Supporters say hes been paying taxes with a social security number issued to him by the government more than 20 years ago.

Last month Pinos attorney submitted an appeal for a stay of deportation  citing the psychological harm this ordeal is causing his children.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) met with the family this past weekend.

Supporters say the situation has been emotional for Pinos family.

The children have been suffering tremendously by being separated from their family their father so we're here to celebrate the children and to let ICE know that it's really important. We're coming up on the holidays and families belong together and we're here to hopefully let them hear our message, said Charla Nich, a member of CT Shoreline Indivisible.

ICE says Pinos continues to evade immigration enforcement by staying at the church, which is considered a sensitive location and a place the agency will not enter to enforce deportation. The agency says while Pinos has a legal appeal pending in court, there is no change in his status as of this point.
A week after voters cast their ballots, mostly for Democrats in Connecticuts elections, Republicans are looking at what went wrong, and who to blame for the losses.

Republicans were hoping to capture at least some control of state government on November 6. Instead, Republicans lost 18 total seats in the General Assembly, 12 in the House, six in the Senate, and were shut out of all statewide offices.

"We allowed the national narrative in those wealthier communities to dominate," said JR Romano, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party. "This is one of these clouded elections where we really have to drill down into each individual campaign, what their strategy, what their message was."

Romano says voters made a mistake in voting for Democrats, saying that the party has abandoned working-class voters. He says suburban voters in lower Fairfield County abandoned the Republican economic message, and instead bought into the Democrats message against Donald Trump.

Former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, who finished fourth in the GOP gubernatorial primary over the summer, said Republicans were caught flat-footed certain parts of the state.

"These Democrats in Greenwich, in Westport, they were energized and I know the Republicans in these towns and they were not as energized and this is where it was critical to the party to pay, and make the investment in a real, solid field program," Herbst said.

Herbst says the blame lies with the entire Republican Party, not just the chairman. He said the GOP State Central Committee was nonexistent for most of the year when it came to logistics and rallying the base. He believes that led to the sweeping losses in different parts of Connecticut.

Democrats, in contrast, had a field organization that worked incredibly well in the lead up to election day. Funded in part by U.S. Senator Chris Murphys campaign, thousands of volunteers made phone calls and knocked on doors, identifying and communicating with voters all over the state.

Herbst says the operations run by House and Senate Republicans to reach out to voters were not coordinated, and the party did not provide additional support.

"[Democrats] do a better job of planning coordinating early, working together than we do," said Herbst.

Republican Bob Stefanowski lost to Ned Lamont by about 40,000 votes. He collected the most votes of any Republican who ran statewide last week.

Herbst says the result of a bruising five-way primary did Stefanowski no favors, and Herbst says the party is to blame for not coalescing immediately following the August primary.

"The fact that we waited two months to have any semblance of a public display of unity, I think that placed Bob at a very competitive disadvantage because we were still trying to pull the base together when we should have been going after the unaffiliated voters and the disenfranchised Democrats," Herbst said.

Democrats, in contrast, started working as a ticket in the days immediately following the primary.

Romano says the criticism of the partys operation is unfounded and represents a misunderstanding of the partys role.

"The state party doesnt run the campaign. It doesnt run the Senate races, it doesnt run the House races, they dont run the governors race, Romano said. Our focus here is to focus on infrastructure, so I can tell you from our perspective, Max, is we did half a million voter contacts."
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called on state leaders to boost education spending after he says weak education contributed to Amazon snubbing Dallas for its second headquarters.

"This is imperative for our state to do it," Rawlings said. "If our state does not do this, then we will not compete with these cities."

After a 15-month selection process for its 50,000-employee second headquarters, Seattle-based Amazon officially named New York City and the Washington D.C. area Tuesday as locations for a split HQ2. Another HQ2 finalist, Nashville, Tennessee, will receive a 5,000-employee Amazon office.

Tuesday morning, Amazon officially selected New York City and Northern Virginia for two new headquarters, and Nashville to host an operations center, ending a year-long courtship by cities and metropolitan areas across North America.

Rawlings said Amazon executives visited Dallas twice and he thought his city had a very good shot.

Looking down at the city from a Reunion Tower breakfast in August, Rawlings said Amazon executives were excited about a possible campus that would include the former Reunion Arena site, Union Station, the former Dallas Morning News building, vacant land south of city hall and along Riverfront Boulevard adjacent to a planned high-speed rail station for service to Houston.

"We had a hand of cards that was really remarkable from a real estate standpoint," Rawlings said.

North Texas offered Amazon good airports, a rail transit system, a relatively low cost of doing business and lower cost of housing for employees. Rawlings said Amazon offered to include affordable housing construction in a Dallas campus and assistance for homeless people.

The Dallas bid to Amazon included $600 million in tax breaks and other incentives over a 10-year period. That's less than half of what the east coast cities offered, but Rawlings said incentives were not the deciding factor.

Retail giant Amazon has selected New York City and Northern Virginia as its second and third headquarters, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday night.

Rawlings said Amazon executives called Tuesday morning to say there were two big strikes against Dallas: Amazon's need for an East Coast presence and a sufficient supply of qualified workers.

"The talent they could get immediately was there in the two locations they chose," Rawlings said.

Southern Methodist University business professor Mike Davis said Amazon needed the East Coast for political reasons that may outweigh typical business decisions.

"We should be honest about this even is Amazon isn't honest about this," Davis said. "They are right near all the lobbyists in Washington and they're going to need those lobbyists. They are right near the media in New York City and they're going to need that media.

Davis said North Texas had a tech work force superior to Northern Virginia.

"We're no worse off today than we were yesterday. This is still a really strong area for growth," Davis said.

Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce officials who participated in courting Amazon said they were already working with other possible suitors for the very same Dallas locations.

"We're used to winning. So of course we are disappointed. But we don't have time to be disappointed," chamber CEO Dale Petrosky said.

Chamber vice president Mike Rosa said other companies may be more interested in Dallas after it placed so high on Amazon's list.

"I expect the phone to be ringing and I expect when we outreach to targeted companies that they will be even more receptive than they were a day before," Rosa said.

No other single corporate project has ever matched the size of Amazon's HQ2 plan, which could have instantly transformed the big vacant spaces in Dallas.

"There never has been," Rawlings said. "It will be a long time before somebody comes of this size."

Rawlings said Amazon people told him Tuesday they may reconsider Dallas in the future.
With the start of the holiday season right around the corner, local leaders and law enforcement are once again pleading with the public to not drink and drive.

Last year, 1,024 people were killed statewide in alcohol-related crashes. Ninety two of those deaths occurred between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day, when DWI incidents tend to spike.

"Sometimes my prosecutors say to me, 'Can I try [some other case] besides a DWI?'" said Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson. "But those are the cases that are coming through my office. So we want to say to the people of Dallas County, 'Don't drink and drive.'"

The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office reports similar case loads -- noting that in 2018 they are prosecuting an average of 500 DWI cases per month.

"If you think DWI is not a big deal, let me tell you it is," said Riley Shaw, who is Seputy Chief of the Criminal Division at the Tarrant County DA's Office. "It matters and lives are at stake. And it makes me angry that we're still having to have this discussion."

Perhaps few people understand those sentiments better than Prisca Patrick.

On March 9, 2007 her older brother John Michael Patrick and his girlfriend were driving to the movies when a drunken driver slammed into their car and instantly killed them both.

Police told her family that the driver's BAC was three times the legal limit.

"It, of course, destroyed us," said Patrick, who lives in Dallas County.

Patrick said it wasn't until last year -- a full 10 years after the fatal crash -- that she and her family found the strength to put up a Christmas tree during the holidays.

They're still reeling from the loss.

But now, she channels that pain into the volunteer work she does with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an organization that advocates for drivers to make responsible choices when it comes to alcohol.

"To make sure that no one feels the pain that my family has felt for the past 11 years -- that's my mission," said Patrick.

She shares her brother's story wherever she goes, in hopes that it will impact someone on an emotional level and convince them to use a designated driver, a taxi, or ride sharing service whenever they drink.

AAA Texas also believes the most effective way to make change is to affect people at their cores.

Ahead of Christmas and New Year's Eve, they'll put several of their wreckers out on North Texas highways and roads -- all of them carrying vehicles that were involved in DWI crashes, as well as signs that read "#WhatAlcoholSays."
Amid public criticism, the Texas Board of Education has voted to restore third grade lessons on Helen Keller that it had proposed cutting.



The board's 10 Republicans and five Democrats approved in September a plan to eliminate teaching about the iconic advocate for the deaf and blind as they worked to streamline Texas academic standards for history.



Tuesday's reversal came after the board heard hours of testimony, much of it critical about the proposed changes. That included a 17-year-old visually- and hearing-impaired student who urged them to reconsider, calling Keller a "hero."



A final board vote is set for Friday.



The board is still mulling other changes, including its past votes to cut lessons on Hillary Clinton, to preserve language about states' rights issues helping to cause the Civil War and to keep lessons about how Moses influenced the nation's Founding Fathers and the ways states' rights helped cause the Civil War.



Texas has around 5.4 million students, more than any state but California.



Though teaching board-approved lessons isn't always mandatory, board-sanctioned curriculum can affect what's published in textbooks. Texas is a large enough market that the state's academic standards sometimes influence what's published in materials used elsewhere.
If you wish to donate to help those who have been impacted, NBC 5 and Red Cross are combining forces to help with immediate necessities such as food and shelter. Visit www.redcross.org/donate to help.

The wildfires plaguing parts of California has an estimated reach of more than 230,000 acres, but exactly how big is that?

To get a better idea of the massiveness of these wildfires, this interactive map below gives readers a chance to see how big the fires are compared to any city in the United States and the world.

#embed-20181112-woolsey-fire-cities iframe {width: 1px;min-width: 100%}

var pymParent = new pym.Parent('embed-20181112-woolsey-fire-cities', 'https://dataviz.nbcnews.com/projects/20181112-woolsey-fire-cities/index.html', {});

The Camp Fire wildfires has been estimated to be 201 square miles as of Tuesday, Nov. 13 and the Woolsey wildfires is estimated to be 156 square miles.

Here are some comparisons to cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth areas and other cities in Texas.

Dallas:

Camp Fire comparison

Woolsey comparison

Fort Worth:

Camp Fire comparison

Woolsey comparison

Denton:

Camp Fire comparison

Woolsey comparison

McKinney:

Camp Fire comparison

Woolsey comparison

The Washington Post

Plano:

Camp Fire comparison

Woolsey comparison

Austin:

Camp Fire comparison

Woolsey Comparison

Waco:

Camp Fire comparison

Woolsey comparison

Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than 200 Texas firefighters have been deployed to aid in the firefighting efforts in California including members of the Fort Worth and Frisco fire departments.

If you wish to donate to help those who have been impacted, NBC 5 and Red Cross are combining forces to help with immediate necessities such as food and shelter. Visit www.redcross.org/donate to help.
The next generation of biotech food is headed for the grocery aisles, and first up may be salad dressings or granola bars made with soybean oil genetically tweaked to be good for your heart.

By early next year, the first foods from plants or animals that had their DNA "edited" are expected to begin selling. It's a different technology than today's controversial "genetically modified" foods, more like faster breeding that promises to boost nutrition, spur crop growth, and make farm animals hardier and fruits and vegetables last longer.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has declared gene editing one of the breakthroughs needed to improve food production so the world can feed billions more people amid a changing climate. Yet governments are wrestling with how to regulate this powerful new tool. And after years of confusion and rancor, will shoppers accept gene-edited foods or view them as GMOs in disguise?

"If the consumer sees the benefit, I think they'll embrace the products and worry less about the technology," said Dan Voytas, a University of Minnesota professor and chief science officer for Calyxt Inc., which edited soybeans to make the oil heart-healthy.

Researchers are pursuing more ambitious changes: Wheat with triple the usual fiber, or that's low in gluten. Mushrooms that don't brown, and better-producing tomatoes. Drought-tolerant corn, and rice that no longer absorbs soil pollution as it grows. Dairy cows that don't need to undergo painful de-horning, and pigs immune to a dangerous virus that can sweep through herds.

Scientists even hope gene editing eventually could save species from being wiped out by devastating diseases like citrus greening, a so far unstoppable infection that's destroying Florida's famed oranges.

First they must find genes that could make a new generation of trees immune.

"If we can go in and edit the gene, change the DNA sequence ever so slightly by one or two letters, potentially we'd have a way to defeat this disease," said Fred Gmitter, a geneticist at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, as he examined diseased trees in a grove near Fort Meade.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED OR EDITED, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Farmers have long genetically manipulated crops and animals by selectively breeding to get offspring with certain traits. It's time-consuming and can bring trade-offs. Modern tomatoes, for example, are larger than their pea-sized wild ancestor, but the generations of cross-breeding made them more fragile and altered their nutrients.

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are plants or animals that were mixed with another species' DNA to introduce a specific trait they're "transgenic." Best known are corn and soybeans mixed with bacterial genes for built-in resistance to pests or weed killers.

Despite international scientific consensus that GMOs are safe to eat, some people remain wary and there is concern they could spur herbicide-resistant weeds.

Now gene-editing tools, with names like CRISPR and TALENs, promise to alter foods more precisely, and cheaply without necessarily adding foreign DNA. Instead, they act like molecular scissors to alter the letters of an organism's own genetic alphabet.

The technology can insert new DNA, but most products in development so far switch off a gene, according to University of Missouri professor Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes.

Those new Calyxt soybeans? Voytas' team inactivated two genes so the beans produce oil with no heart-damaging trans fat and that shares the famed health profile of olive oil without its distinct taste.

The hornless calves? Most dairy Holsteins grow horns that are removed for the safety of farmers and other cows. Recombinetics Inc. swapped part of the gene that makes dairy cows grow horns with the DNA instructions from naturally hornless Angus beef cattle.

"Precision breeding," is how animal geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam of the University of California, Davis, explains it. "This isn't going to replace traditional breeding," but make it easier to add one more trait.

RULES AREN'T CLEAR

The Agriculture Department says extra rules aren't needed for "plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding," clearing the way for development of about two dozen gene-edited crops so far.

In contrast, the Food and Drug Administration in 2017 proposed tighter, drug-like restrictions on gene-edited animals. It promises guidance sometime next year on exactly how it will proceed.

Because of trade, international regulations are "the most important factor in whether genome editing technologies are commercialized," USDA's Paul Spencer told a meeting of agriculture economists.

Europe's highest court ruled last summer that existing European curbs on the sale of transgenic GMOs should apply to gene-edited foods, too.

But at the World Trade Organization this month, the U.S. joined 12 nations including Australia, Canada, Argentina and Brazil in urging other countries to adopt internationally consistent, science-based rules for gene-edited agriculture.

ARE THESE FOODS SAFE?

The biggest concern is what are called off-target edits, unintended changes to DNA that could affect a crop's nutritional value or an animal's health, said Jennifer Kuzma of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University.

Scientists are looking for any signs of problems. Take the hornless calves munching in a UC-Davis field. One is female and once it begins producing milk, Van Eenennaam will test how similar that milk's fat and protein composition is to milk from unaltered cows.

"We're kind of being overly cautious," she said, noting that if eating beef from naturally hornless Angus cattle is fine, milk from edited Holsteins should be, too.

But to Kuzma, companies will have to be up-front about how these new foods were made and the evidence that they're healthy. She wants regulators to decide case-by-case which changes are no big deal, and which might need more scrutiny.

"Most gene edited plants and animals are probably going to be just fine to eat. But you're only going to do yourself a disservice in the long run if you hide behind the terminology," Kuzma said.

AVOIDING A BACKLASH

Uncertainty about regulatory and consumer reaction is creating some strange bedfellows. An industry-backed group of food makers and farmers asked university researchers and consumer advocates to help craft guidelines for "responsible use" of gene editing in the food supply.

"Clearly this coalition is in existence because of some of the battle scars from the GMO debates, there's no question about that," said Greg Jaffe of the food-safety watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest, who agreed to join the Center for Food Integrity's guidelines group. "There's clearly going to be questions raised about this technology."

SUSTAINABILITY OR HYPE?

Gene-editing can't do everything, cautioned Calyxt's Voytas. There are limitations to how much foods could be changed. Sure, scientists made wheat containing less gluten, but it's unlikely to ever be totally gluten-free for people who can't digest that protein, for example  or to make, say, allergy-free peanuts.

Nor is it clear how easily companies will be able to edit different kinds of food, key to their profit.

Despite her concerns about adequate regulation, Kuzma expects about 20 gene-edited crops to hit the U.S. market over five years  and she notes that scientists also are exploring changes to crops like cassava that important in the poorest countries.

"We think it's going to really revolutionize the industry," she said.
A brush fire erupted near the intersection of North Riverside Avenue and Sierra Avenue in Fontana Tuesday night and threatened homes on the border of Fontana and Rialto as it grew rapidly.

San Bernardino County Fire Department Public Information Officer Eric Sherwin told NBC4 that the fire was first reported at approximately 9:30 p.m.

The SBCFD's official Twitter account labeled the vegetation fire as the "Sierra Fire" and recorded the flames at 2-3 acres at 10:03 p.m. Only 15 minutes later, the fire had grown to 20 acres.

The Sierra Fire was predominantly burning alongside North Riverside Avenue between Sierra Avenue and North Adler Avenue, but high winds assisted in spreading the flames, with embers clearly visibly flying into the bordering neighborhoods.

The embers spread and quickly lit up a fence and a tree. Firefighters were on scene to put out hot spots, but the winds posed a major threat.

As of 11:45 p.m., firefighters were holding the fire at 20 acres and no mandatory evacuations were ordered.

Overnight, the fire grew to 147 acres as of 6 a.m. and crews will remain on the ground to reinforce containment lines.
What to Know Ali F. Elmezayen, 44, appeared in downtown Los Angeles before a U.S. magistrate judge.

Elmezayen was arrested Nov. 7 by special agents with the FBI after being charged with defrauding insurance companies.

He made his initial court appearance the next day, when he was ordered held without bond pending Tuesday's detention hearing.

A Hawthorne man Tuesday was ordered to remain behind bars pending trial on federal charges alleging that he intentionally drove his domestic partner and two severely autistic children off a pier into the ocean to collect proceeds on accidental death insurance policies he had purchased on their lives. Ali F. Elmezayen, 44, was arrested Nov. 7 by special agents with the FBI after being charged with defrauding insurance companies.

At the conclusion of a detention hearing Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar ruled that Elmezayen is a flight risk and a danger to his now former partner and remaining child -- on whose lives he continues to pay large insurance premiums. Elmezayen -- a native of Egypt with no legal status in the United States -- has access to "significant financial resources" in his native country, Sagar said.

"The risk of flight is a serious one in this case," the judge said from the bench, adding that Elmezayen poses a "risk of danger to the mother of his children and his oldest child."

According to a criminal complaint, Elmezayen purchased several accidental death insurance policies providing more than $6 million in coverage on himself, his then-domestic partner and his children in 2012 and 2013. He allegedly paid nearly $6,000 a year for these policies -- even though he was earning less than $30,000 a year -- and he called at least two of the insurance companies to confirm they would not investigate claims made two years after the policies were purchased.

On April 9, 2015 -- two years and 12 days after he bought the last of his insurance policies -- Elmezayen allegedly drove a car with his partner and two youngest children off a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles, according to federal prosecutors. He allegedly swam out the open driver's side window of the car, while his partner, who did not know how to swim, survived when a nearby fisherman threw her a flotation device.

The two children, ages 8 and 13, were unable to escape the car and drowned, authorities said. Elmezayen then collected more than $260,000 in insurance proceeds from American General Life Insurance and Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance on the accidental death insurance policies he had taken out on the children's lives, according to the complaint.

In addition to posing as his domestic partner in communications with the insurance companies without her knowledge, Elmezayen allegedly made several false statements, including stating that the cause of his children's deaths was accidental and that he had no other insurance policies on his children.

"This case alleges a calculated and cold-hearted scheme to profit off the deaths of two helpless children," U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said. "The alleged conduct shocks the conscience, and we will use every tool available to us to ensure that justice is done."

The criminal complaint specifically charges Elmezayen with mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for posing as his domestic partner in calls to the insurance companies.

Elmezayen's federal public defense attorney, Cuauhtemoc Ortega, told the court Tuesday that he would contest the allegations, saying he was "surprised" there haven't been state murder charges filed against his client.

The case was declined for prosecution by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office last December for "insufficient evidence," spokesman Greg Risling said. During a previous court hearing, Elmezayen was ordered to appear for a post-indictment arraignment on Nov. 29.

If he were to be convicted of the charges in the complaint, Elmezayen would face up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the fraud counts.

The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison.
Despite voters rejection of Proposition 10, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday in favor of an ordinance to temporarily limit rent increases to 3 percent in unincorporated areas of the county.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who championed the plan to limit rents while the county considers longer-term solutions, said an estimated 200,000 renters would be protected by the county ordinance.

"Several recent local studies indicate that rent stabilization, thoughtfully adopted with other market regulation measures, can successfully protect tenants at risk of eviction with minimal negative impact on the housing market," Kuehl said.

"If we want to stem the tide of people falling into homelessness and be sure our seniors, as well as other renters, are protected from eviction, we have to curb unrestricted growth in rents."

The board had also backed the statewide measure, which would have given local jurisdictions more leeway to impose rent controls by repealing the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act that limits rent control to older housing stock. However, less than 40 percent of California voters were in favor of the proposition, which required a majority to pass.

As a consequence, the county ordinance will not apply to older housing stock.

Emotions ran high among dozens of supporters and opponents who appeared before the board, with both sides aiming to claim the moral high ground.

"Rent control will be a terrible burden," said Gail Maltun, who said the ordinance amounted to a housing subsidy for "every applicant that walked in the door," something she said the board would never approve.

Other opponents accused rent control advocates of being paid to appear before the board.

"Nobody paid me to be here," said Yesenia Miranda Meza, who told the board she was a single mother of three boys who lives in and loves Pomona.

Right after Proposition 10 failed, "my landlord decided to give me a three-day pay or quit (eviction) notice ... we need your help to put an end to these greedy landlords."

Another single mother who is a landlord became emotional as she told the supervisors, "I cannot afford a rent freeze ... I'm not a big commercial anybody ... this is a person and you're just basically taking money out of my pocket ... hindering my ability to make a living is not going to help."

Others in opposition urged the board to honor the will of voters and take the rejection of Proposition 10 as a rejection of rent control measures.

Property owner Vanetta Barton said it was clear voters care about affordable housing for low-income residents. She pointed to voters' approval of Proposition 1, which authorizes $4 billion in bonds for housing programs, loans and grants.

"Voters do want our government to assist ... but we oppose our government taking our rights away from us via rent control," Barton said.

Rent control advocates said the vote on Proposition 10 didn't reflect residents' true views, accusing the measure's opponents of running misleading ads on Univision, Telemundo and elsewhere.

Joe Donlin, of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, SAJE, urged Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas in particular to vote in favor, saying the support for rent control in the 2nd District he represents is "overwhelming... despite the $75 million in corporate money ... spent to confuse people."

The limit on rent hikes is retroactive to Sept. 11. Some advocates said it doesn't go far enough.

"We've heard from many tenants whose landlords have tried to take advantage of this" by boosting rents 20 percent or more as soon as they heard about the proposal, said Jonathan Jager of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger cast the dissenting vote against the interim ordinance, which is expected to go into effect Dec. 20.

Barger has said loosening regulations is a more effective way of boosting housing supply and ultimately lowering rents.

The research is mixed. In evaluating the effects of Proposition 10, the non-partisan state Legislative Analyst's Office concluded that rent control would likely lower rents but also reduce new construction and lower property values.
What to Know A red flag warning remain in effect, but winds are expected to decrease after peaking Wednesday morning

Firefighters responded to a flare-up Wednesday east of Point Mugu State Park

The Woolsey fire is expected to be fully contained by Sunday

Firefighters continued to attack hot spots Wednesday as they made progress in battling the deadly Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Some evacuation orders were lifted, but strong morning gusts were a reminder of the continuing danger. Warnings were re-issued to residents in evacuated areas to stay away until conditions are deemed safe. The fire's potential to flare up was on display Tuesday afternoon when winds picked up in eastern Ventura County, fanning flames that tore through dry brush near Hidden Valley and Lake Sherwood.

The sheriff's department has repeatedly tried to reassure residents worried about looters that their homes would be safe, with more than 600 deputies on 12-hour rotational shifts.

The flare-up was originally estimated at about 50 acres but grew rapidly, eventually reaching an estimated 1,000 acres. The fire, which began last Thursday, was estimated at a total acreage of 97,600 Wednesday morning with containment at 47 percent.

More than 380 structures have been destroyed.

Full containment is expected by Sunday.

The fire death toll likely grew to three with the discovery Tuesday of a body in the Agoura Hills area. Investigators said the death appears to be related to the fire, but have not determined an official cause.

Two people who died in the fire were found Friday inside a burned vehicle in a long driveway in the 33000 block of Mulholland Highway.

Wednesday is expected to bring the final round of Santa Ana wind gusts. Winds will weaken by midday, easing the threat of rapidly spreading fire.

Santa Ana winds, produced by surface high pressure over the Great Basin squeezing air down through canyons and passes in Southern California's mountain ranges, are common in the fall and have a long history of fanning destructive wildfires in the region.

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.

Flames are burning deep in the Malibu Canyon area that fire crews cannot access.

"We're doing a lot of air drops but it's not safe for our firefighters to go in there," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said. "Our concern is that when the wind shifts (likely on Thursday) ... that fire does not blow out of there and then creep over to the south side of Malibu or into Topanga Canyon."

"When it's safe to let people come back home, we will."

Osby said the fire is larger than Denver and is one of the largest fires on record for Los Angeles County, with records dating back more than 100 years.

A red flag warning was extended through 5 p.m. Wednesday for the Woolsey Fire area in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The fire has forced the evacuation of at least 75,000 homes and an estimated 265,000 people.

Three firefighters have been injured battling the Woolsey Fire.

Some 3,592 firefighters were assigned to battle the blaze, while, 22 helicopters worked from above, officials said. A total of 619 engines, 48 water tenders, 23 bulldozers and 57 hand crews were sent into the battle, Cal Fire reported. Crews from other areas, including Orange County and Arizona, also sent firefighters and equipment to aid the battle.

According to Cal Fire, more than a half-million gallons of fire retardant has been dropped already on the Woolsey Fire, along with 1.5 million gallons of water.

The California Public Utilities Commission was investigating Southern California Edison for its possible role in the fire. According to the CPUC, electrical infrastructure may have suffered malfunctions near ground zero of the blazes two minutes before they began.
What to Know A once-classified report says that shortly after 9/11, the CIA considered using a drug that might work as a truth serum

The report also cites many instances where medical personal expressed concern or protected the health of the detainees

The CIA ultimately decided against asking the Justice Department to approve drug-assisted interrogations

Shortly after 9/11, the CIA considered using a drug it thought might work like a truth serum and force terror suspects to give up information about potential attacks.

After months of research, the agency decided that a drug called Versed, a sedative often prescribed to reduce anxiety, was "possibly worth a try." But in the end, the CIA decided not to ask government lawyers to approve its use.

The existence of the drug research program  dubbed "Project Medication"  is disclosed in a once-classified report that was provided to the American Civil Liberties Union under a judge's order and was released by the organization Tuesday.

The 90-page CIA report, which was provided in advance to The Associated Press, is a window into the internal struggle that medical personnel working in the agency's detention and harsh interrogation program faced in reconciling their professional ethics with the chance to save lives by preventing future attacks.

"This document tells an essential part of the story of how it was that the CIA came to torture prisoners against the law and helps prevent it from happening again," said ACLU attorney Dror Ladin.

Between 2002 and 2007, CIA doctors, psychologists, physician assistants and nurses were directly involved in the interrogation program, the report said. They evaluated, monitored and cared for 97 detainees in 10 secret CIA facilities abroad and accompanied detainees on more than 100 flights.

The CIA ultimately decided against asking the Justice Department to approve drug-assisted interrogations, sparing CIA doctors "some significant ethical concerns," the report said. It had taken months for the Justice Department to sign off on brutal interrogation tactics, including sleep deprivation, confinement in small spaces and the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding. The CIA's counterterrorism team "did not want to raise another issue with the Department of Justice," the report said.

Before settling on Versed, the report said researchers studied records of old Soviet drug experiments as well as the CIA's discredited MK-Ultra program from the 1950s and 1960s that involved human experimentation with LSD and other mind-altering drugs on unwitting individuals as part of a long search for some form of truth serum. These experiments were widely criticized and, even today, some experts doubt an effective substance exists.

"But decades later, the agency was considering experimenting on humans again to test pseudo-scientific theories of learned helplessness on its prisoners," Ladin said.

Versed is a brand name for the sedative midazolam, used since the late 1970s and today sold commonly as a generic. It causes drowsiness and relieves anxiety and agitation. It also can temporarily impair memory, and often is used for minor surgery or medical procedures such as colonoscopies that require sedation but not full-blown anesthesia. It's in a class of anti-anxiety medications known as benzodiazepines that work by affecting a brain chemical that calms the activity of nerve cells.

"Versed was considered possibly worth a trial if unequivocal legal sanction first were obtained," the report said. "There were at least two legal obstacles: a prohibition against medical experimentation on prisoners and a ban on interrogational use of 'mind-altering drugs' or those which 'profoundly altered the senses.'"

Those questions became moot after the CIA decided against asking the Justice Department to give it a green light. "At the beginning of 2003, the Office of Medical Services' review, informally termed 'Project Medication' was shelved, never to be reactivated," the report said.

The CIA had no comment on the report's release, but government lawyers emphasized in a court filing in the case early last year that the report, expressly marked "draft," was just one agency officer's impressions of the detention and interrogation program. The document is not the CIA's or the Office of Medical Service's "final official history, or assessment, of the program," the lawyers wrote.

The ACLU spent more than two years in court trying to get the report released. In September 2017, a federal judge in New York ordered the CIA to release it. Government lawyers tried three more times to keep information contained in the report under wraps, but the ACLU received the bulk of the report in August. The government is still fighting to keep portions secret. They are to file briefs in a federal appeals court in New York on Wednesday, arguing that the judge ordered too much released.

While the CIA's harsh interrogation program ended in 2007, the ACLU believes it's important to continue seeking the release of documents about it, especially since President Donald Trump declared during his campaign that he would approve interrogating terror suspects with waterboarding, which is now banned by U.S. law, and a "hell of a lot worse."

CIA Director Gina Haspel, who was involved in supervising a secret CIA detention site in Thailand where detainees were waterboarded, told the Senate during her confirmation hearing that she does "not support use of enhanced interrogation techniques for any purpose."

The report cites many instances where medical personal expressed concern or protected the health of the detainees. Those who were thrown up against walls  a practice called "walling"  had their necks protected from whiplash by rolled towels around their necks, the report said. When one detainee, who had been wounded during capture, was confined to a box, care was taken not to force his legs into a position that "would compromise wound healing." Physician assistants overruled using duct tape over the mouths of detainees during flights because air sickness could lead to vomiting and possible aspiration.

"That doesn't mean that the doctors were sadistic or anything like that," Ladin said. "But it means they were complicit because this pseudo-scientific torture could not have happened without the doctors' participation."

At the same time, the medical office's report said waterboarding was not "intrinsically painful." It said there was "physical discomfort from the occasional associated retching," but that two detainees who endured the most extensive waterboarding sessions complained only "of the pain of the restraining straps."

That contrasts with the Senate's 2014 report on the CIA's interrogation program, which stated that a prisoner known as Abu Zubaydah, a suspected al-Qaida operative who was waterboarded more than 80 times, "cried, begged, pleaded, vomited, and required medical resuscitation after being waterboarded."

Some CIA medical personnel called waterboarding "little more than an amateurish experiment" and others worried that the practice would trigger spasms of the vocal cords, which could, at least temporarily, make it hard to speak or breathe.

At the same time, other medical personnel contended waterboarding actually "provided periodic relief" to a prisoner because it was a break from being forced to stand for long periods of time. The agency medical personnel also said the harsh interrogation program was "reassuringly free of enduring physical or psychological effects."

Dr. Sondra Crosby, who has treated victims of torture, including two who were held at CIA secret sites, disagreed.

"The enduring pain and suffering experienced by the survivors of the CIA program is immense, and includes severe, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, physical ailments, and psychosocial dysfunction," said Crosby, of Boston University's School of Medicine and Public Health. "At least one detainee was tortured to death. Their physical and psychological scars will last a lifetime."

AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.
What to Know Rev. Jerome Coyle revealed to the diocese bishop in 1986 that he has a "history of sexual attraction to and contact with boys"

After spending time in a treatment center, the diocese moved him to a retirement home across the street from a Catholic school

After an AP story exposed the church's cover-up of Coyle's admitted abuse, the bishop said Coyle would be moved away from the school

A bishop is vowing to relocate a priest who was quietly placed in an Iowa retirement home close to a Roman Catholic school despite his history of sexually abusing boys.

The announcement by Sioux City Bishop R. Walker Nickless follows an Associated Press story exposing the church's three-decade cover-up of abuse by the Rev. Jerome Coyle.

Coyle admitted in 1986 that he sexually abused approximately 50 boys over 20 years while serving at several Iowa parishes, according to the Diocese of Sioux City, which never told the public until Wednesday.

The diocese transferred Coyle to a treatment center in New Mexico for accused clergy and stripped him of his parish assignments. He lived and worked in New Mexico for decades as a civilian.

Coyle, now 85, moved in with a Catholic family in Albuquerque after suffering injures in a car accident last year. The diocese revealed what Nickless called Coyle's "past transgressions" in a February letter to the family warning that it was too risky to allow him to live with their three teenage children.

The diocese eventually moved Coyle in June into the Marian Home in Fort Dodge, Iowa, an assisted living center. It's across the street from Saint Edmond Catholic School, which has hundreds of students from kindergarten through high school.

In a video and letter to parishioners issued Wednesday, Nickless claimed that the diocese moved Coyle back to Iowa "because of his advanced age and frail condition."

But in February, a diocese review board that includes Nickless sought to discourage Coyle from returning, warning that his presence could traumatize his now-adult victims and that the move would be difficult due to his age.

Nickless said that Coyle's residence at the Marian Home was never intended to be permanent and that he would not be staying there.

Nickless, who didn't immediately respond to interview requests, also asserted that Coyle was under "strict supervision" at the home. AP journalists didn't see signs of supervision when visiting Coyle's apartment last week, where he answered the door and declined comment.

The diocese acknowledged that school administrators weren't informed about Coyle's past when he was placed there.

In a letter to parents late Wednesday obtained by AP, school President Mary Gibb wrote that she was "deeply sorry" that parents had learned of the situation through news reports.

She said that none of the students had contact with Coyle during visits to the Marian Home because they do not go to the area where Coyle lives.

"The safety of our students is and will always be my #1 priority," wrote Gibb, who had declined comment when contacted about Coyle last week.

Coyle reported his abuse to then-Bishop Lawrence Soens, 92, who hung up when reached for comment at a Sioux City retirement home Thursday.
President Donald Trump's legal team is closing in on submitting written answers to special counsel Robert Mueller's questions on Russian interference in the 2016 election, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News Tuesday.

The answers, which don't touch on obstruction of justice, could be submitted as early as this week, the source said. Trump has met with the team at least once this week, according to a person familiar with the meetings.

Prosecutors would not typically be satisfied with written answers in an investigation, but Mueller may want to avoid a legal battle.

"I imagine that the Mueller team is still going to want to sit down with the president," former federal prosecutor Chuck Rosenberg said on MSNBC.
What to Know Wednesday has arrived, South Florida  and NBC 6 has the top six stories you need to know for November 14th.

Wednesday has arrived, South Florida  and NBC 6 has the top six stories you need to know for November 14th.

Weather wise, morning fog in several inland areas will give way to a humid afternoon with a chance of showers and highs in the mid to upper 80s.

No. 1 - A safety alert this morning as neighbors in Kendall say a man was caught looking through windows and hiding behind cars. If you recognize him call Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

No. 2 - It's day two of the safety commission meeting set up to find out what went wrong during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. This morning, officials will talk about teacher interviews and what was found on Nikolas Cruzs cellphone and internet history.

No. 3  A federal judge will hold a hearing today to decide if the White House violated the Constitution after revoking the press credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta.This follows last week's fallout after a heated exchange during a news conference when an intern tried to grab Acostas microphone and he refused to hand it over

No. 4 - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to visit the Texas border where troops are setting up barriers as two groups of the migrant caravan are already on the Mexico side.

No. 5 - Miami-Dade is finished with their recount of ballots from the 2018 election and now they are just working on quality assurance before releasing the official numbers.

In Broward, the process continues and officials are confident it will be completed in time - while in Palm Beach County, officials there dont think they will be able to meet tomorrows deadline but a judge gave them an extension to Tuesday.

No. 6 - In honor of customer appreciation day, McDonalds in South Florida announced they are selling hamburgers for 59 cents and 69 cents for cheeseburger. But there is a limit of only 10 per person per visit.
What to Know Across the state, Florida's election recount is chugging along as more irregularities are uncovered.

In Broward, officials continue the recount process that started Tuesday.

In the race to finish recounting hundreds of thousands of votes before Thursdays 3 p.m. deadline, election officials in Broward County continue their process in hopes of not missing that deadline.

Workers continued through Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning after starting to separate and process thousands of ballots an hour through tabulation machines for a second time. Director of Planning and Development Joe D'Alessandro told NBC 6 "we will finish on time," insisting the recount should take around 15 hours to complete.

Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes also told reporters Tuesday that they would meet the deadline.

"We will complete the recount. There's never been a deadline that we have missed," Snipes said.

Snipes also addressed the rash of criticism against her, including from Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed her in 2003 and on Monday tweeted that she should be removed from office. Snipes said "it is time to move on" but said she hasn't finalized a decision and needs to speak with her family.

"I think I have served the purpose that I came here for, which was to provide a credible election product for our voters," Snipes said.

Officials initially said they might not start the recount until Wednesday, but then said they would begin counting early votes Tuesday. Mail-in votes will be sorted later.

Across the state, Florida's election recount is chugging along as more irregularities have been uncovered and a judge asked the warring sides to "ramp down the rhetoric," saying it erodes public confidence in the election for Senate and governor.

One county revealed Monday that it had allowed some hurricane-displaced voters to cast their ballots by email  a violation of state law. Another had to restart its recount after getting about a quarter finished because someone forgot to push a button.

Miami-Dade County elections officials said late Tuesday night that while they finished the initial counting of their ballots, they still need to conduct a second process of quality assurance.

Meanwhile, in Palm Beach County, Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said the county's 11-year-old tallying machines aren't fast enough to complete the recount by Thursday. WPTV reported machines were malfunctioning Tuesday night at the tabulation center in Riviera Beach and that mechanics were on site.

Bucher told WPTV they ultimately have to recount hundreds of thousands of early voting tallies.

"Were trying to move forward to reorganize the ballots so that we can rerun them again," Bucher said. "We dont have a lot of assurances, as you know, the machines are old and they started overheating, so as a result, the tally types are not reconciling properly."

The county is doing the Senate race first and will then do the governor's race. If the deadline is not met in a race, the results it reported Saturday will stand.

In Broward County, additional sheriff's deputies were sent to guard ballots and voting machines, even though a judge said no Republican who has publicly alleged fraud in the county's process  a list that includes President Donald Trump and Gov. Rick Scott  has presented any evidence to law enforcement.

White House spokeswoman Mercedes Schlapp said Tuesday the president "obviously has his opinion" on the recount. Trump on Monday tweeted that "An honest vote count is no longer possible" in Florida, without elaborating, and said "new ballots showed up out of nowhere." It was unclear what he was referring to. He demanded that the election night results  which showed the Republicans leading based upon incomplete ballot counts  be used to determine the winner.

"It's been incredibly frustrating to watch. You have a 12,000-vote gap and the other candidate refuses to concede," Schlapp said, referring to Scott's opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. "So I think at this point that it's going to go through the process of the manual recount and the machine recount and we'll see what happens, but we're confident that Rick Scott will be the next senator of Florida."

Nelson and a Democratic campaign committee continued to file lawsuits Tuesday, with one asking a federal judge to set aside looming deadlines for machine and hand recounts of ballots to give all counties time to complete recounts.

State law requires a machine recount in races where the margin is less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Scott's lead over incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson was 0.14 percentage points. In the governor's contest, unofficial results showed Republican former Rep. Ron DeSantis ahead of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 0.41 percentage points.

Once the recount is complete, if the differences in any of the races are 0.25 percentage points or less, a hand recount will be ordered. All 67 counties face a state-ordered deadline of Thursday to finish their recounts.

Trump's comments came just hours before Broward Chief Circuit Judge Jack Tuter held an emergency hearing on a request by Scott's lawyers that deputies be put in charge of ballots and voting machines that aren't being used until the recount is over.

An attorney for Snipes described layers of security including keycard and password access to rooms where ballots are kept, secured by deputies and monitored by security cameras and representatives of both campaigns and parties.

Scott's lawyers had alleged in court documents that Snipes was engaging in "suspect and unlawful vote counting practices" that violate state law and that she might "destroy evidence of any errors, accidents or unlawful conduct."

The judge said he could see no evidence of any violations, and said "I am urging because of the highly public nature of this case to ramp down the rhetoric."

"If someone in this lawsuit or someone in this county has evidence of voter fraud or irregularities at the supervisor's office, they should report it to their local law enforcement officer," Tuter said. "If the lawyers are aware of it, they should swear out an affidavit, but everything the lawyers are saying out there in front of the elections office is being beamed all over the country. We need to be careful of what we say. Words mean things these days."

Scott's motion was supported by lawyers representing the state Republican Party and opposed by Snipes' office, Nelson's campaign and the state Democratic Party. After Tuter told all sides to meet to discuss a compromise, they agreed to add three deputies to the elections office.

Meanwhile, Elections Supervisor Mark Andersen in heavily Republican Bay County told the Miami Herald on Monday that he allowed about 150 people to cast ballots by email, which is illegal under state law. The county was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in October, and Scott ordered some special provisions for early voting there.

Manatee County, south of Tampa Bay, had to restart its recount Monday because a needed button on the machine wasn't pushed. The error was caught after about a quarter of the county's nearly 165,000 votes had been recounted, said Michael Bennett, the county's Republican elections supervisor. It shouldn't affect the county's ability to meet Thursday's deadline.
A South Florida 5-year-old has been through a lot after he had a rare medical emergency.

The struggle started a year ago when Gabriel Parra was at school. His parents received a call they wished they never had.

It was a Monday. They called us and said Gabriel is very sick. Can you come to school and see him cause hes very sick, and were like, 'how sick can he be? recalled Gabriels father, Edgar Parra.

At first, the 5-year-olds condition was confusing to his parents and doctors.

He was just very, like very drunk, dizzy. He couldnt open his eyes. The doctors didnt know what was wrong. They thought he might have taken a pill or something from somewhere, Parra said.

His parents were shocked by the diagnosis that followed.

The doctor came out and she explained to us what was the problem, and she said this is like winning the bad lottery, Parra recalled.

After a series of tests and scans, doctors determined that Gabriel had suffered a stroke and a brain bleed. The underlying health issue is AVM, Arteriovenous Malformation, an abnormal tangling of blood vessels in the brain. Little Gabriel was left nearly paralyzed.

Hard to watch. He couldnt move, he couldnt talk. He could barely move his legs, Parra explained.

His road to recovery began there.

When I initially met him, Gabriel was extremely weak, said Carolina Galindo.

Shes a Physical Therapist at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

He couldnt roll in a bed, he couldnt move on his own, he had no muscle strength. I actually did a full muscle test and everything came out zero, said Galindo.

Over the past several months, Gabriel has made tremendous improvements through physical therapy and under the guidance of his medical team.

Every single day, every moment, theyre working with him and he is a perfect example of how there is hope and how if you work hard and have everything behind you, you can actually achieve amazing things and hes definitely our miracle child, said Dr. Seema Khurana, who works at the Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

His parents keep finding the strength to stay positive.

Mom is a hero. She always finds a way to motivate him, said Parra as his eyes filled up with tears.

The emotions are still raw and the severity of what happened still looms over the family, but little Gabriel is closer than ever to getting back to a routine, to a time when he can go to school like all the other kids.

While pediatric strokes are uncommon, they can happen to any child and it's important to act immediately when there is a sudden onset of symptoms. According to the American Stroke Association, the warning signs include:
What to Know An object that contained explosive powder was found in a Westchester mailbox of a home that belongs to George Soros, authorities said

The FBI is working with police to figure out who sent the device, which a senior law enforcement official said was similar to a pipe bomb

No injuries were reported in Bedford, but officials say they are investigating who sent the device

The device found in a mailbox at the New York home of billionaire philanthropist George Soros "had the components" of a bomb, according to authorities and law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation.

The Bedford Police Department said it responded to the address in the hamlet of Katonah at 3:45 p.m. Monday after an employee of the residence opened the package.

[NATL-DC] These Images of the Abandoned Owings Mills Mall Will Give You Chills

The person placed the package in a wooded area and called police, who alerted the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives. A law enforcement source tells NBC 4 New York that the device contained explosive powder; it was detonated as a precaution. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video to determine whether the package was sent via mail or otherwise delivered.

The FBI is working with police to figure out who sent the device, which a senior law enforcement official said was similar to a pipe bomb. A law enforcement source says evidence was sent to the FBI lab in Quantico for testing.



In the meantime, much of the case remains a mystery.



"We don't have any sense of what the motivation was at all," FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney said Tuesday. "We will look at how the device was delivered. Was it through the mail, not through the mail. Who was potentially in the area and we go there just like basic investigative steps."

We are conducting an investigation at and around a residence in Bedford, NY. There is no threat to public safety, and we have no further comment at this time.  FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) October 23, 2018

Soros, a billionaire who made his fortune in hedge funds, has donated heavily to liberal causes and is vilified on the right. He is also the subject of many unfounded conspiracy theories. Recently, conservative critics have, without evidence, accused him of secretly financing a caravan of Central American migrants to make their way north toward Mexico and the U.S.

These Are New York's Best Colleges for 2019, Study Says

Others have falsely accused him of being a Nazi collaborator during World War II, when he was a child in Hungary.

Activists frequently post the addresses of homes he owns in Westchester County on social media sometimes accompanied by ill wishes.



Soros' foundation, The Open Society Foundation, released a statement Tuesday condemning "the politics of hate that dominates our discourse today."



"In this climate of fear, falsehoods, and rising authoritarianism, just voicing your views can draw death threats," the statement continued. "George Soros deplores violence of any kind, and urges politicians across the political spectrum to tone down their rhetoric. Words have consequences, and we bear a collective responsibility to create a more civil way to discuss our political differences. Respect for a diversity of opinions is fundamental to open society and that is the work that George Soros has devoted his life to. Our politics should be more about what were for than who we hate."

Top Tri-State News Photos
What to Know The decision to bring a combined 50,000 jobs to New York City and Arlington, Virginia, will exacerbate regional inequalities, experts say

NYC offered $61,000 in incentives to Amazon for each job, and Arlington roughly $23,000, which is better than other large deals

A coalition of nonprofit groups warned that Amazon's arrival will likely worsen housing affordability for many local lower-income workers

The awarding of Amazon's second headquarters to two affluent localities has fanned intense speculation around a key question: For the winning cities, will the economic payoff prove to be worth the cost?

Amazon's decision will bring to Arlington, Virginia, and the Long Island City section of New York a combined 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment over the next two decades. But the influx is sure to swell already-high home prices and apartment rents and could overwhelm public transportation systems. And the two areas combined are providing over $2 billion in subsidies to one of the world's richest companies  a bounty that many analysts say probably wasn't necessary to sway Amazon.

The decision to bring those jobs, which Amazon says will pay an average of $150,000 a year, to the New York and Washington areas will also exacerbate U.S. regional inequalities, economists say. Such Midwestern cities as Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, which made Amazon's short list, would have helped spread the tech industry's high-skilled, high-paying jobs more broadly.

"It's ambiguous for the winners, not good for the 'losers' and not good at all for the nation," said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Still, on the surface, the deal appears to be better than most. Amazon says it's receiving $1.525 billion in incentives and subsidies from New York state and $573 million from Virginia and Arlington County. That works out to $61,000 in incentives provided to Amazon for each job in Long Island City and roughly $23,000 for each job in Arlington.

That compares with a much larger average figure of $658,000 per job for other large deals, said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, a nonpartisan watchdog group. Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, for example, received $4.8 billion in subsidies for a plant in Wisconsin on which it broke ground this year. That deal is expected to bring just 13,000 jobs.

Still, Amazon's total subsidies will likely end up much higher, LeRoy said. Amazon said it will also apply for existing incentive programs that could add nearly $1 billion to the subsidies from New York.

And Amazon's final selections suggest that all the subsidies and giveaways probably weren't needed, other economists said. Other state and local governments offered a lot more, including at least $8.5 billion on behalf of Montgomery County, Maryland, and $7 billion for Newark, New Jersey.

"If Amazon was pursuing subsidies, it made the wrong decision," said Michael Farren, a research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. "Even the biggest subsidies you can imagine really don't sway these kinds of decisions."

Rather, Amazon's top priority was having access to a sizable pool of highly skilled employees, Farren said, and it likely would have chosen the same two locations even without the subsidies.

"The only things they're useful for are the companies that get them and the politicians who get the credit," he said.

Indeed, Jay Carney, an Amazon senior vice president, acknowledged in an interview on CNN that the company had chosen two locations that offered less in subsidies than others had.

"That reflects that talent was really the driving factor for us," Carney said.

Some experts in regional economics suggested that the payoff for the selected cities would go well beyond Amazon's initial investment. Stephen Fuller, an economist at George Mason University, estimates that the new headquarters in Arlington would generate roughly $1.3 billion in spending each year after the initial construction is complete. That would support nearly 50,000 jobs in the state, Fuller said, in addition to those at Amazon.

"It's really a no-brainer," Fuller said. "They're going to pay an enormous amount in real estate taxes and sales taxes."

Fuller also argues that the region is large enough to absorb the influx of new workers.

"The region adds 50,000 jobs every year, and no one complains about that," Fuller said. "They're not all coming at one time; they're coming over 15-20 years. It isn't as overwhelming as people think it's going to be."

At the same time, Tim Bartik, a senior economist at the Upjohn Institute, cautioned that with unemployment so low in both cities, many of the jobs Amazon will bring will likely go to people who don't now live in either Arlington or New York. The inflow of those workers could burden schools and transportation systems.

A coalition of nonprofit groups warned that Amazon's arrival will likely worsen housing affordability for many lower-income workers in the two cities. Roughly one-third of residents in Washington, D.C., and 40 percent in New York pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing, the groups, which include LeRoy's Good Jobs First, pointed out. The typical rent in Queens, which includes Long Island City, is already $3,000 a month.

Some analysts had thought Amazon might follow a trend that other companies have set and add jobs in cities where salaries and housing were often cheaper. A few Wall Street banks, for example, have sent many of their back-office jobs to states far from New York. The auto factories that once filled the Midwest have migrated to the South, where labor unions have held less sway.

Instead, Amazon chose to expand its footprint to two places where salaries and home prices are relatively close to those of Seattle, its current sole headquarters city, said Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at the real estate firm Zillow.

"These two markets definitely can absorb this kind of employment shock  and they have some time to prepare for it," he said.

AP Economics Writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

CORRECTION (Nov. 14, 2018, 12:09 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this story misspelled Michael Farren's last name.


What to Know It's official: New York City will become home to part of Amazon's new East Coast headquarters

Amazon has announced it will split its new headquarters, known as HQ2, between Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City, Virginia

Amazon announced last year it was looking to open a second headquarters somewhere in North America, bringing as many as 50,000 new jobs

Amazon announced Tuesday that it will be opening a new headquarters in New York City, bringing with it thousands of full-time jobs, but not everyone is on board with the move.

On Wednesday, those against the Queens plan will protest the move. Many are upset over tax incentives the city is giving Amazon. Some worry lower income families and individuals may be driven out and put a strain on mass transit with thousands more commuting every day to the Long Island City area.

However, on the other end, some say it's a huge opportunity. The other part of HQ2 will open in Crystal City in northern Virginia.

Amazon said it will invest $5 billion and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new headquarters locations, with more than 25,000 employees each (and the potential to expand to 40,000) in Queens and Arlington by 2033. New York state is offering incentives of up to $1.7 billion if Amazon hits the 40,000 mark, which it would have until 2034 to achieve.

Hiring at both headquarters will begin in 2019. Starting in 2020, Amazon will have job fairs and resume workshops for three years to promote employment to NYCHA residents.

Hunter's Point South's New Park Expansion Offers Scenic Waterfront Views in Long Island City

"We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, said in a statement. These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.
What to Know Amazon will get $1.2 billion in tax credits over 10 years plus a cash grant of $325 million from New York state if it hits its targets

Critics assailed the plan as a corporate giveaway, and reiterated concerns about burdening the neighborhood's subways, schools and sewers

But Cuomo insists the incentives will pay off with $27.5 billion in tax revenue, amounting to a $9 return for every public dollar spent

Amazon stands to get more than $1.5 billion in grants and tax breaks from New York state in exchange for bringing at least 25,000 workers to a new campus in Queens, a record-setting incentive package that was both cheered and jeered Tuesday by elected officials in the city.

At a celebratory news conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged that the economic development plan offered to Amazon to move to Long Island City was the richest in state history.

The company would get city and state help settling into a site along a boat basin on the East River, now occupied by a gritty mix of private industrial buildings, parking lots and city-owned properties. Amazon would invest $2.5 billion of its own money to create the campus, and if it hits its hiring and building targets, the company would get $1.2 billion in tax credits over 10 years plus a cash grant of $325 million.

New York's incentives were nearly triple those offered by Virginia, which also landed 25,000 Amazon jobs in the Washington suburbs.

But Cuomo, a Democrat, insisted it would pay off with $27.5 billion in new tax revenue. He said that amounted to a $9 return for every dollar of public funds spent.

"This is a big moneymaker for us," he said. "It costs us nothing - nada, niente, goose egg. We make money doing this."

The plan was immediately assailed by others as a corporate giveaway.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat newly elected to Congress from Queens, said on Twitter that her constituents were outraged that the company would be getting so much public support "at a time when our subway is crumbling."

"We need to focus on good healthcare, living wages, affordable rent. Corporations that offer none of those things should be met w/ skepticism," she wrote.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said he was skeptical of the plan and couldn't understand why a company as rich as Amazon would need any public support. State Sen. Michael Gianaris and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, Democrats who represent the Long Island City area, also condemned the deal.

"We are witness to a cynical game in which Amazon duped New York into offering unprecedented amounts of tax dollars to one of the wealthiest companies on Earth for a promise of jobs that would represent less than 3 percent of the jobs typically created in our city over a 10-year period," they said in a joint statement.

More powerful city Democrats, though, lined up in support of the project, which represented a rare moment of close cooperation between Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat but frequent political rival.

De Blasio, who campaigned for office on a promise to give more thought to regular New Yorkers than big corporations, called the deal "an extraordinary day for Queens."

The opportunity to create 25,000 mostly well-paying jobs outside well-off Manhattan, he said, trumped concerns about whether the project would overburden the neighborhood's subways, schools or sewers. He promised it would benefit even residents of a nearby public housing development, one of the nation's largest.

Part of the deal involved setting aside part of expected new tax revenue for projects that would benefit all of Long Island City and western Queens, not just the area being taken over by Amazon, he said.

New York's inventive package would give Amazon roughly $48,000 in benefits for every job it created in the state, compared to $22,000 for Virginia and $13,000 for Tennessee.

Amazon vice president for real estate John Schoettler said the company, which already has a large presence in New York City, planned to start hiring next year.

Securing part of Amazon's second headquarters represents Cuomo's biggest economic development project, topping his "Buffalo Billion" initiative in western New York.

Some of his other initiatives haven't panned out as hoped. The construction a Tesla solar panel manufacturing plant hasn't created the number of jobs Cuomo expected. His top economic development adviser was convicted of corruption charges linked to the project.

"It certainly appears New York is being overwhelmingly generous," said David Friedfel, director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan state government watchdog group. "And we have a history of providing economic development benefits that don't pan out."

Associated Press writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report from New York City.
What to Know A Manhattan judge denied a motion to vacate the murder convictions of two black men who said they were wrongfully charged with murder of a French tourist in 1997

After over 20 years in prison, Eric Smokes and David Warren are out on parole and have been fighting since their release to clear their names

The prime witness against the two was a career criminal who, years later, signed an affidavit that he lied about the teens' involvement in the crime

A Manhattan judge has denied a motion to vacate the murder convictions of two best friends who said they were wrongfully accused of killing a French tourist in Times Square on New Years Day in 1987.

After over more than 20 years in prison, Eric Smokes and David Warren are out on parole and have been fighting to clear their names since their release. They vowed to fight the judge's Tuesday decision on appeal and remain out on parole. NBC New York's I-Team first reported on their quest for justice in November 2018.

Smokes and Warren were best friends growing up together in Brooklyn, then went to prison together for the murder of a French tourist named Jean Casse.

In the early hours of Jan. 1, 1987, Casse was mugged in Times Square, viciously beaten and died of his injuries. Within days, Manhattan North detectives charged Smokes, then 19, and Warren, 16, with robbery and murder.

It was a high-profile crime during a time of escalating violence in New York City and simmering racial tensions. Tabloids claimed that "wilding" black youths planned to target whites.

Did the Manhattan D.A.s office ignore evidence that could have cleared two men who have insisted for decades they didnt commit the Times Square murder for which they were convicted and imprisoned? Sarah Wallace reports this follow-up.

The two teens always maintained they had traveled with friends into Manhattan to see the ball drop, but were never anywhere near the crime scene.

"Young black witnesses were brought in and told, 'We need you to identify somebody. If not, maybe well start showing your photograph around to people who were in Times Square that night and maybe youll get picked. Maybe well charge you with this crime,'" said defense attorney James Henning.

The prime witness against the two was a career criminal who, years later, signed an affidavit that he lied about the teens' involvement in the crime. Other witnesses have also since signed sworn statements that they were pressured to lie by police officers and/or the prosecutor.

"We was ideal people to use as the fall guy. We was young black kids that didnt have much doing," said Smokes in the 2018 interview with I-Team. "The fact that we had to go on trial on this was devastating, like when you know you didnt commit the crime."

Warren said, "I had some unrealistic views that the truth would prevail, but once we started going into court and I started seeing people lie, I was like, 'Oh.'"

They were best friends growing up together in Brooklyn, then went to prison together for murder. Now 51-year-old Eric Smokes and 48-year-old David Warren are on a joint mission to clear their names. The I-Team's Sarah Wallace reports.

Smokes, sentenced to a term of 15 years to life, was paroled in 2011. Warren, also sentenced to 15 years to life, was paroled in 2007.

In 2017, two defense attorneys working for Smokes and Warren filed a 440-motion to vacate the convictions based on newly discovered evidence and/or actual innocence.

"The number of witnesses, the police misconduct thats alleged is mind-blowing," attorney Pierre Sussman said.

In June 2018, the Manhattan district attorneys office consented to a hearing but added in court papers, "The People do not concede the truth of any of the assertions of fact made by the defendants or contained in the submitted affidavits, and deny many of these claims."
What to Know Prosecutors at the NY trial of the smuggler known as El Chapo have asked the judge to throw out the defense's opening statement

The defense's statement accused Mexican presidents, former president Felipe Calderon and current president Enrique Pena Nieto of wrongdoing

The defense calls the motion "entirely without merit"

An admitted former Mexican cartel member first met the notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman when he helped him evade a manhunt, he said in court testimony Wednesday.

Taking the witness stand for the government at Guzman's U.S. trial, Jesus Zambada identified Guzman in the courtroom and told jurors he "was one of the most powerful drug-traffickers in Mexico," detailing how the Sianola cartel made massive profits by smuggling ton-upon-ton of cocaine into the United States.

Zambada - a 57-year-old trained accountant who was arrested in 2008 and is still in U.S. custody - was the first of several cooperators expected to give jurors an inside look at a cartel with a legendary lust for drugs, cash and violence.

Appearing in a blue jail uniform and wearing tinted glasses, Zambada testified when special military forces were trying to hunt down Guzman in 2001 after a prison break, he was tasked with trying to find a spot where the cartel could land a helicopter for its boss.

"We were rescuing him ... because the military was about to recapture him," the witness said through a Spanish interpreter.

Zambada said for most of the 2000s, his brother, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, and Guzman were considered the top leaders of the Sianola cartel as it imported large shipments of Colombian cocaine by land, sea and air to Mexico before using various means to get it to the U.S. market. A popular smuggling method involved stashing the drugs in containers hidden inside gas tanker trucks filled with fuel, he said.

As the cocaine was moved north, its profit potential skyrocketed, he said. A kilo purchased in Colombia for $3,000 would fetch $20,000 in Los Angeles, $25,000 in Chicago and $35,000 in New York City, he said.

Zambada testified he ran a cartel warehouse in Mexico City that processed 80 to 100 tons of cocaine a year, a volume that that brought in "billions" in revenue. Through bribes, he claimed, "I controlled the airport in Mexico City. ... Controlled the authority."

The testimony, which was to continue Thursday, came on the second day of the trial in Brooklyn federal court, where Guzman pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges after being extradicted to the U.S. last year.

The defense has described the cooperating witnesses like Zambada as liars seeking to reduce their own sentences.

"They're here because they want to get out of jail by any means necessary," a member of Guzman's defense team, Jeffrey Lichtman, said Wednesday in a continuation of an opening statement that began Tuesday.

Despite his diminutive stature and nickname that means "Shorty" in Spanish, Guzman was once a larger-than-life kingpin both feared and admired in Mexico. The defense has sought to counter that reputation by portraying him as lesser figure in a drug gang it says was actually under the control of Ismael Zambada, who's still at large.

Before Wednesday's testimony, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan admonished Lichtman for using his opening statement to claim, without proof or any relevance, Ismael Zambada remains free because he bribed the current and former presidents of Mexico. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and former President Felipe Calderon both dismissed the allegations as completely false.

Earlier Wednesday, federal prosecutors gave jurors a video tour of a tunnel between Mexico and an Arizona warehouse - a corridor Guzman allegedly used to speed drug deliveries to America. The warehouse was just two blocks from a U.S. Customs office in the border city of Douglas.

Retired U.S. Customs Agent Carlos Salazar, the trial's first witness, told jurors agents were surprised at how sophisticated the tunnel was, saying it contained equipment that might be found in a car repair shop.

The tunnel was half the length of a football field and large enough that a 5-foot-8-inch man barely had to lower his head to walk through it. It was equipped with electric lights, an industrial-sized weigh scale and a hydraulic system to lift away flooring that was covered by a pool table.

Authorities used heavy tools to smash through concrete, Salazar said, only to realize later it all would have opened up on the Mexican side with the twist of a water faucet valve.

"We didn't know the floor came up," he said.
What to Know In an extraordinary move for a first lady, Melania Trumps office is calling for the firing of a senior National Security Council official

Juul said it will stop selling most of its flavored nicotine pods for its e-cigarettes in retail stores  though it's only temporarily

A farmer who appeared on "The Bachelor" pleaded guilty in a fatal crash last year near his home in northern Iowa

Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Melania Trump Calls for Firing of Top National Security Aide

In an extraordinary move for a first lady, Melania Trumps office publicly called for the firing of a senior National Security Council official. Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys communications director issued a statement, saying the official, Mira Ricardel, should no longer serve as the NSCs No. 2, NBC News reported. "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House," Grisham said.

Death Toll at 48 in N. Calif. Wildfire, Deadliest in State's History

Ernest Foss was a musician who gave lessons out of his home when he lived in San Francisco, where an amplifier that ran the length of a wall served as the family's living room couch. Carl Wiley refurbished tires for Michelin. Jesus Fernandez, known as "Zeus," was described as a loving father and loyal friend. They were among the first victims identified in the aftermath of the deadliest, most destructive wildfire in California history, an inferno blamed for at least 48 deaths, with authorities ramping up the search for still more souls. The flames all but obliterated the Northern California town of Paradise, population 27,000, and ravaged surrounding areas last Thursday. About 7,700 homes were destroyed. The exact number of missing was unclear, but many friends and relatives of those living in the fire zone said they hadn't heard from loved ones. Some went to shelters looking for the missing.

Juul Temporarily Suspends Retail Sales of Most Flavored E-Cigarettes

Juul said it will stop selling most of its flavored nicotine pods for its e-cigarettes in retail stores  though only temporarily  as it tries to appease federal regulators who have ordered the company to help reduce "epidemic" levels of teen use. The company stopped accepting retail orders for its mango, fruit, creme and cucumber pods to the more than 90,000 convenience stores and other retail shops, CEO Kevin Burns said in a blog post on the company's website. Consumers will still be able to buy all of Juul's flavors on its website and its four tobacco and menthol-flavored pods in retail stores, Burns said. The company plans to resume sales to retailers that adopt the company's new age restrictions and verification system. Juul is banning sales to anyone under 21, even in states where the legal age is lower. It's unclear when sales could resume.

FDA Gives 2 Years to Purge Six Artificial Flavors From Food

Six artificial flavors are being ordered out of the food supply in a dispute over their safety, but good luck to anyone who wants to know which cookies, candies or drinks they're in. The dispute highlights the complex rules that govern what goes in our food, how much the public knows about it, and a mysterious class of ingredients that has evolved over decades largely outside of public view. On food packages, hundreds of ingredients are listed simply as natural flavor or artificial flavor. Even in minute amounts, they help make potato chips taste oniony or give fruit candy that twang. The flavors are also at the center of a dispute over how ingredients should be regulated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is giving companies two years to purge their products of six artificial flavors  even though the FDA made clear it believes the ingredients are safe in the trace amounts they are used.

2015 'Bachelor' Star Pleads Guilty to Reduced Charge

A farmer who appeared on "The Bachelor" pleaded guilty in a fatal crash last year near his home in northern Iowa. In an agreement with prosecutors, Chris Soules pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of leaving the scene of a serious injury accident. The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to two years in prison. Soules' attorney said he could also get a deferred judgment and no jail time when he's sentenced in January. Soules, who appeared on "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With The Stars" in 2015, had been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash, a felony that carries up to five years behind bars. Soules, 36, was arrested after he rear-ended a tractor the night of April 24, 2017, killing 66-year-old Kenny Mosher. Soules called 911, performed CPR on Mosher and waited for first responders, but left before police arrived. Brandon Brown, an attorney for Soules, said in the agreement that the crash was unavoidable and suggested that Mosher bore some responsibility.

Actress Paz de la Huerta Sues Harvey Weinstein, Alleges Rape

Actress Paz de la Huerta filed a lawsuit accusing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her in 2010 and then embarking on a campaign of harassment that harmed her career. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges Weinstein raped de la Huerta twice in New York in December 2010, taunting her with phone calls between the two assaults. New York police said a year ago they were investigating de la Huerta's allegations. No charges have been filed in the case, but Weinstein is charged there with the rape of another woman. In a new allegation, the suit states that the following month Weinstein exposed himself to the actress in a Beverly Hills hotel when she went to confront him. She alleges Weinstein tried to get de la Huerta to have a sexual encounter with him and another woman. About a year after the incidents, de la Huerta was fired from the HBO show "Boardwalk Empire," and the lawsuit states she has reason to believe Weinstein was involved.
What to Know The New Jersey Supreme Court threw out more than 20,000 breathalyzer tests because the machines weren't calibrated properly

The court said people convicted of DWI on the basis of those machines' readings could seek relief

A state police sergeant was charged in 2016 with falsifying records related to the calibration

More than 20,000 breath tests conducted by police in DWI and other cases in New Jersey are not admissible because the machines used to administer the tests were not calibrated properly, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

That raised the prospect that people convicted on the basis of those tests could have their convictions overturned.

Last October, New Jersey prosecutors notified 20,667 people charged with drunken driving that their cases were being reviewed after a state police sergeant was accused of skipping a required step in the calibration of three alcohol breath-testing devices.

Officials accused the officer in 2016 of not using a thermometer to check that a control solution on the instrument was at body temperature. If the control solution doesn't work correctly, it calls into question the accuracy of the results of every test done on the machine.

"For those cases already decided, affected defendants may now seek appropriate relief," the court wrote in its unanimous opinion, also lifting a stay on pending cases that were on hold while the court considered its ruling.

The original plaintiff in the lawsuit over the tests has since died, but the court took up the case anyway -- and vacated her conviction.

The machines in question were used in Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union counties.
What to Know The family who started receiving creepy letters from "The Watcher" after they bought a home in New Jersey has spoken out in a new interview

Derek and Maria Broaddus started receiving the letters after they purchased the home in Westfield in 2014

In an interview with New York Magazine published this week, they spoke out about the terrifying ordeal

The New Jersey homeowners who started receiving threatening letters from someone identified as "The Watcher" after they bought a home in Westfield have spoken out and shared the letters in a new interview.

Derek and Maria Broaddus had just purchased the home for nearly $1.4 million in 2014 when they started receiving letters from someone who claimed to be its rightful owner and said he or she was watching the house.

In an interview with New York Magazine published this week, the Broadduses spoke out about the terrifying ordeal.

The family ultimately decided they couldnt live in the house after receiving the letters, which contained threats toward their children.

657 Boulevard has been the subject of my family for decades now and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming, the first letter read, according to New York Magazine.

My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time. Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what lies within the walls of 657 Boulevard? Why are you here? I will find out, the letter went on to say.

Subsequent letters made disturbing mentions of the Broaddus children.

It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone. I would [be] very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream, one letter read, according to the outlet.

The family decided to move in with Maria Broaddus parents as they dealt with the issues at their new home before deciding to sell it, but werent able to find a buyer.

I was a depressed wreck, Derek Broaddus told the outlet.

Later, they filed a lawsuit against the former owners of the home claiming they failed to disclose a note theyd received from The Watcher before they sold the home, but a judge ultimately threw out the suit. The Broadduses were eventually able to find renters who didnt mind living at the property.

The Broadduses also shared a recent letter from The Watcher with the outlet.

You are despised by the house, the letter reads, according to the outlet. And The Watcher won.

Some Westfield residents and people who followed the news story believed the Broadduses could have sent the letters to themselves, among other conspiracy theories, according to the outlet.

What happened to my family is an affront to their contention that theyre safe, that theres no such thing as mental illness in their community, Derek Broaddus told the outlet. People dont want to believe this could happen in Westfield.
American Airlines, the dominant airline at the Philadelphia International Airport, will cancel flights between Philadelphia and Mexico City next year due to underperformance  a decision that comes only months after service began.

Texas-based American Airlines in July this year started new daily service between PHL and Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport, or MEX, with tickets available for purchase as early as March.

Those flights will be no more. The carrier "made the difficult, but necessary" decision to remove PHL-MEX flights from its schedule, effective Jan. 9, 2019, airline officials announced Wednesday.

"While we anticipated high load factors and connections to Europe through PHL, the route has not met expectations," officials said.

To read more about American Airlines' services and destination changes, click here.



Stay up to date on the latest business news with the Philadelphia Business Journal.
There was a loud bang, and suddenly the Southwest Airlines jet rolled 41 degrees to the left. Smoke began to fill the cabin, and flight attendants rushed row by row to make sure all passengers could get oxygen from their masks.

When flight attendant Rachel Fernheimer got to row 14, she saw a woman still restrained by her lap belt but with her head, torso and arm hanging out a window.

Fernheimer grabbed one of the woman's legs while flight attendant Seanique Mallory grabbed her lower body. They described being unable to bring the woman back in the plane until two male passengers stepped in to help.

The harrowing details from the April fatal flight were released for the first time as the National Transportation Safety Board began a hearing Wednesday into the engine failure on Southwest Flight 1380, which carried 144 passengers and five crew members.

After several failed attempts to reach the pilots by intercom because of the rush of air and noise, Mallory was finally able to relay the situation to Tammie Jo Shults and Darren Ellisor, who had already planned an emergency landing of the crippled Boeing 737-700 in Philadelphia.

"We got (unintelligible words) a window open and somebody - is out the window," Mallory said. According to a transcript, she adds a little later, "Yeah everyone still in their seats, we have people have been helpin' her get in I don't know what her condition is, but the window is completely out."

The flight attendants told investigators at least one of the male passengers put his arm out of the window and wrapped it around the woman's shoulder to help pull her back in. Fernheimer said when she looked out the window, she could see that one of the plane's engines was shattered, and there was blood on the outside of the aircraft.

The passenger in the window seat, Jennifer Riordan, was fatally injured  the first death on a U.S. airline flight since 2009. Eight other passengers including at least one of the men who helped pull Riordan back in the window, suffered minor injuries.

One of the men, an EMT in Texas, and a retired school nurse began CPR on Riordan, but according to interviews with investigators, they said her injuries seemed too severe. Emergency personnel took over once the plane landed, and passengers gathered her belongings to send with them.

The accident was triggered by an engine fan blade that broke off. A piece of engine cover struck and shattered the window next to Riordan, a 43-year-old mother of two from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Wednesday's hearing in Washington focused on design and inspection of fan blades on the engine, made by CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric and France's Safran S.A.

A spokeswoman for CFM said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the company could not comment on an active investigation, but noted that it had "responded aggressively" to complete blade inspections after the fatal flight before an Aug. 31 deadline.

The blade that broke had made about 32,000 flights. An examination indicated that it probably was beginning to suffer cracks from metal fatigue when it was last inspected in 2012, said Mark Habedank, an engineering official at CFM. But the crack was smaller than could be detected by the test used at the time, which used fluorescent dye.

After the fatal accident, CFM recommended the use of more sophisticated tests using ultrasound or electrical currents. The company also recommended much more frequent inspections and lubrication of the blades.

A broken fan blade had triggered a similar engine failure with shrapnel on another Southwest flight, in August 2016 over Florida.

An FAA expert on engines, Christopher Spinney, said the agency considered the Florida incident "very unexpected."

"We determined early that we would require some corrective action in that it was an unsafe condition," Spinney said, "but we also determined we had some time."

Rather than issue an emergency order for fan blade inspections after the 2016 incident, the FAA began a normal process for new regulations, which includes a chance for the public to comment and takes longer. That process was still underway when the fatal accident occurred.

Fan blades have been thought to have no real lifetime limit. CFM and FAA officials said they were now considering whether blades must be replaced at some point even if they don't show wear.

Representatives from CFM, Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration were also expected to be questioned about design of the engine housing, which is supposed to prevent pieces from breaking loose.
The United States imposed new sanctions Thursday on Venezuela and Cuba and promised additional penalties against Nicaragua as the Trump administration laid out a hard-line policy toward countries the White House branded a "troika of tyranny."

National security adviser John Bolton condemned what he called the "destructive forces of oppression, socialism and totalitarianism" that he said the three countries represent.

In a speech in Miami, home to thousands of exiles from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Bolton said the U.S. "will no longer appease dictators and despots near our shores in this hemisphere." He spoke at the Freedom Tower, an important local landmark to the Cuban community in South Florida.

The administration will prohibit U.S. citizens from involvement in the gold export trade from Venezuela. American officials have said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro illegally exported at least 21 metric tons of gold to Turkey to avoid U.S. sanctions and to try to help rescue a collapsing economy once bolstered by vast oil reserves.

The U.S. government has sanctioned dozens of top Venezuelan officials, including Maduro, as part of economic measures designed at pressuring the South American country's return to democracy.

Bolton blamed Cuba for enabling Maduro's government and he urged the nations of the region to "let the Cuban regime know that it will be held responsible for continued oppression in Venezuela."

In a clear contrast to the Cuban policy of the Obama administration, Bolton said the State Department added over two dozen entities owned or controlled by the Cuban military and intelligence services to a restricted list of entities with which financial transactions by U.S. persons are prohibited.

Bolton said the goal is to prevent dollars from reaching the Cuban military, security and intelligence services.

South Florida has long been home to a large community of Cubans emigres, many of whom will welcome a tougher line on the Havana government. In recent years, tens of thousands of Venezuelans have settled in the area as Venezuela's economy has collapsed. Bolton's speech may energize voters in both groups heading into Tuesday's elections.

Bolton also sent a strong warning to President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, where more than 300 people have been killed since protests erupted in April calling for Ortega's resignation.

"Free, fair, and early elections must be held in Nicaragua, and democracy must be restored to the Nicaraguan people," he said. "Until then, the Nicaraguan regime, like Venezuela and Cuba, will feel the full weight of America's robust sanctions regime."

In grouping the three countries together, Bolton said "this troika of tyranny, this triangle of terror stretching from Havana to Caracas to Managua, is the cause of immense human suffering, the impetus of enormous regional instability, and the genesis of a sordid cradle of communism in the Western Hemisphere."

Bolton mocked the leaders as stooges of socialism. "These tyrants fancy themselves strongmen and revolutionaries, icons and luminaries," he said. "In reality, they are clownish, pitiful figures more akin to Larry, Curly, and Moe."

On the other hand, Bolton called Brazil's president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, a "likeminded leader" and said his election last weekend demonstrates "a growing regional commitment to free-market principles, and open, transparent, and accountable governance."

Bolsonaro whose victory moved Brazil sharply to the right, built his popularity on a mixture of often outrageous comments and hard-line positions, but he consolidated his lead by promising to enact market-friendly reforms.
Workers say a kiln caught fire at a Salvation Army store in downtown San Diego, producing thick, black smoke early Tuesday.

The smoke was pretty black. It was almost completely obscuring the building next to us so the smoke was pretty intense, said Salvation Army employee James Durland.

Durland said there were employees inside the thrift store on Park Boulevard between Broadway and E streets when the fire started around 8 a.m.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the roof of a commercial building.

A kiln and 12 mattresses were on fire inside the store.

They soon called for more engine support.

In a few minutes, fire officials said they had the fire knocked down.

Workers say the kiln is surrounded by ceramic so the flames did not spread to the store.

Several engines blocked streets in the area of Park Boulevard and E Streets.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
Hate crimes and incidents increased last year in San Diego County, with the victim's race, religion and sexual orientation -- in that order -- the target of those attacks.

The FBIs Hate Crime Statistics report for 2017 reveals three local cities had an especially high ratio of reported hate crimes to population.

Carlsbad had seven reported incidents last year, and El Cajon and Oceanside each had six incidents, according to the FBIs latest report.

The countys unincorporated area had 14 reported hate crimes and incidents, the second highest number in the state, behind rural Los Angeles County's 15 reported incidents.

Deputy District Attorney Leonard Trinh, lead prosecutor for the D.A.s hate crimes unit, said reported incidents in San Diego increased slightly more than the national average.

Trinh said hate crimes are on the rise nationwide, in part because of an increase in hate speech in social media and other public forums.

The greater the frequency of hate speech, the greater the frequency of hate crimes, Trinh told NBC 7.

The prosecutor said he often sees repeat offenders in hate crimes, which can make it easier to document bias and hatred as a motive and help win a conviction.

But Trinh says hate crimes can be hard to prove, because victims often don't know, or see, their attacker. That can limit the number of cases that make it to court and end with guilty verdicts or plea bargains.

Of the 25 alleged hate crimes referred by local law enforcement for prosecution last year, Trinh said his office rejected eight cases, filed 13 cases as hate crimes and four more as non-hate crimes.

The prosecutor said most local victims are targeted for their race, with African-Americans accounting for 60 percent of victims in local race-based hate crimes.

Trinh said Jews are the target of half of all religion-based hate crimes.

He also said hes shocked that only 2,000 of more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide reported hate crimes or incidents in their communities last year.

"We have agencies in our county that are very small, and they report incidents that occur, Trinh said. So I know they're happening, and I find it hard to believe that none are occurring in so many other communities across the nation.

Nationally, hate crimes across the United States spiked 17 percent in 2017  marking a rise for the third straight year  with a 37 percent increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes, according to an FBI report released Tuesday.
As news of Amazon's move to Northern Virginia sinks in, residents and real estate watchers are monitoring the impact the announcement will have on rent costs and sale prices.

Northern Virginia realtor Jen Walker said she's already seen what's being called "the Amazon effect." Overnight, some of her potential buyers changed their minds from passing on a home to buying it.

"They woke up this morning, saw the Amazon announcement and they decided they wanted to move forward with a contract," she said. "They said, 'Were going to get priced out if we dont do this now.'"

Getting priced out is what Alex Howe fears will happen to low-income families in Northern Virginia. Howe is a member of the D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. The group runs the website NoVa Says No to Amazon.

Were going to see, I think, an explosion in rents and housing prices. And folks in these communities, like up the street in the Chirilagua neighborhood  developers have been eyeing that area for a really long time," Howe said. "Theyve been able to hold them off, but honestly I think the pressure's going to get higher."

Chirilagua is the predominantly Latino neighborhood on the Arlington-Alexandria line.

Amazon says the tech giant is moving to an area they're calling National Landing, which is comprised of parts of Crystal City and Pentagon City in Arlington, and Potomac Yard in Alexandria.

But Howe says the fight isn't over. He hopes that activists and residents still can shape how much Amazon gets in tax incentives.

"Were still giving away taxpayer money to one of the largest corporations on the planet and run by one of the richest men on the planet," Howe said.

In remarks Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam promised Amazon's new headquarters would benefit all communities.

"To be able to invest in our education system, infrastructure and affordable housing, this is an exciting day in Virginia," he said.

Walker, who has sold homes in Northern Virginia for more than two decades, said Amazon's move will make a lot of local homeowners happy. She said she wonders how much higher the already-booming local housing market can go.

"We are at the top of the market, but Ive said that for two years, and the top just keeps continuing to go up," she said.
Amazons Northern Virginia headquarters promises to bring about 25,000 commuters to the newly-branded National Landing area, prompting many residents to picture clogged roads and Metro stations.

But regional transportation leaders have some plans in the works to ensure that the HQ2 era doesnt bring crippling gridlock.

Reagan National Airport Bridge

Developers released renderings of a gleaming bridge running between Crystal City and Reagan National Airport.

The Crystal City Business Improvement District proposed a bridge in 2017 that would cut the walk between the two areas down to five minutes, news partner WTOP reported.

Even Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority head Jack Potter joked that it may have been helpful Friday, when those trying to get to or from Reagan National Airport got stuck in extraordinary traffic.

"We had a lot of people walking, I wished we had better accommodations for them," Potter said.

Metro

National Landing is in Blue and Yellow line territory, and stations in the area are scheduled for serious maintenance. Crystal City and Reagan National Airport stations were closed during Veterans Day weekend for repairs; six other Northern Virginia stations on the lines will close for all of summer 2019 so crews can repair crumbling platforms.

Metro plans to do more than just address pressing issues.

The Crystal City Metro stop, served by Yellow and Blue line trains, will get a second entrance. The yet-to-be-built Potomac Yard Metro station will also get an extra entrance to keep foot traffic flowing.

"Im excited about it," Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said.

Roadways

Amazon's news is spurring agencies to fast-track projects already in the works, including traffic upgrades to Route 1, also known as Jefferson Davis Highway. The Virginia Department of Transportation says crews will add two more lanes, add a sidewalk, build a bridge at Marumsco Creek and other improvements costing about $167.8 million.

The road currently accommodates 35,000 vehicles every day, according to the VDOT. In 2036, VDOT projects 75,000 vehicles will use the road daily.

Developer JBG Smith highlights easy access to I-395, the George Washington Parkway and Routes 1 and 10 from the HQ2 site.
Police are investigating several instances of Maryland residents finding fliers containing hate group propaganda on their property.

One resident of a rural Upper Marlboro community took a walk Sunday morning and found nine Ku Klux Klan leaflets. They collected the fliers and called 911, according to police.

When police arrived, they found almost 30 more fliers, police said. All the fliers were identical.

Raymond Kennerly said he found one flier in a plastic bag weighted down with bird seed underneath his mailbox.

"As a Howard University graduate, I'm kind of appalled that anybody would come to my neighborhood," resident Brandon Strong said. "All of us get along."

The promotion of a white supremacist group is particularly concerning amid a rise in hate crimes. The FBI released a report Tuesday saying hate crimes jumped by 17 percent in 2017.

And that Upper Marlboro community was only one of several canvassed with dozens of fliers.

Residents across Charles County have found similar literature advertising hate groups, the sheriff's office says.

The fliers were placed in plastic bags, many weighed down with bird seed, and distributed randomly in areas of Waldorf and La Plata.

In Glen Burnie, up to 40 KKK fliers were found on Sunday morning. Others were found last week in Northern Virginia.

Police are investigating in all cases and say they are aware that other investigations are ongoing. It's not clear if the individuals or groups who placed the fliers are connected.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police.
Comcast has been ordered to pay $700,000 as part of a settlement with the state of Massachusetts.

Attorney General Maura Healey's office accused the company of deceptive advertising involving the prices and terms of long-term contracts.

Comcast will refund and cancel debts for more than 20,000 customers.

The assurance of discontinuance, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, settles allegations that Comcast failed to adequately disclose the actual monthly price and terms of its long-term contracts for cable services, including failing to disclose to customers that the company could increase the price of certain monthly fees at any point during the long-term contracts.

Todays settlement with the Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office reflects our ongoing effort to improve the customer experience," Comcast said in a statement. "While we disagree with the allegations in the Assurance - which relate to years-old advertisements and do not reflect Comcasts current policies and practices - we are committed to partnering with Attorney General Healey and others who share our commitment to improving the experience of our customers in all respects.

Comcast is the parent company of NBC10 Boston, necn and Telemundo Boston.
You may have heard of a "Do Not Call" list, but now Marlborough, Massachusetts residents can add their names to a "Do Not Knock" list.

"I think it's a long time coming," said Sgt. Dan Campbell of Marlborough Police. "We get calls sometimes in dozens of neighborhoods with people asking them to not knock on their door."

The list, announced Tuesday, stops solicitors from knocking on doors, or else they face a fine.

Residents can sign up by visiting the police department's website, where they fill out a form with their name, address, telephone number, and email.

The address is then given to the companies and people who are permitted by police to solicit.

The list doesn't stop everyone from coming to your door, however.

If they're part of a political campaign or asking for a charitable donation, they can still come by.

Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts get the "OK," too.

Other towns have similar laws, including Haverhill.
Authorities in Manchester, New Hampshire, are investigating a shooting that killed a 24-year-old man Monday evening.

The victim, identified as Dillon Schultz of Derry, was found inside the front door of 6 Notre Dame Ave., steps away from Manchester West High School. It was 6:30 p.m., and parents say students were roaming the streets.

"It's scary, just even a stray bullet or something like that," said Stan Kulgowski who has a son who goes to West.

His wife, Jenny, couldn't believe it when she heard the news that the victim was shot and killed just across the street from where her son goes to school.

"He had a long time to live, he died too young," she said.

William Picarro lives in the apartment building and was home when someone opened fire.

"We just heard a gun pop and people running," Picarro said. "We locked the doors, you know what I mean, for safety."

It was chaos inside and outside. As police rushed to the shooting, two cruisers collided, sending those officers to the hospital.

Back at the scene, authorities found Schultz suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Detectives are now trying to figure out what brought Schultz to Manchester.

"Why Mr. Schultz was there, who he was going to see, or whether he was leaving from visiting someone, or something, that's still under investigation at this point," Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati said.

Authorities say despite the proximity of the crime to the school, students were never in danger.

But still, Kulgowski says he's had enough.

"More murders and shootings and drug activity make me not want to live around this area," he said.

The officers involved in the crash are expected to be OK.

The AG's office announced Wednesday that an autopsy determined the cause of Schultz's death to be a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The manner of death was homicide.

Anyone who was in the area between 5 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. and anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Manchester Police Department Detective Unit at 603-668-8711. Anonymous tips can be made at 603-624-4040.
One person was seriously injured in a shooting near the Jackson Square MBTA stop in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon.

Police responded to a report of shots fired at 265 Centre St. around 3:11 p.m., according to Police Commissioner William Gross.

He said a female believed to be in her late teens was found suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body.

She was taken to an area hospital where she was initially listed in critical condition. But the police commissioner said she is expected to survive.

Gross said the timing of Tuesday's shooting was particularly chilling.

"You've got kids coming home from school, you have commuters," he said.

Gross said a motor vehicle did flee the area around the time of the shooting, and collided with another vehicle in traffic. He said it isn't yet known if that vehicle was involved in the crime or was fleeing the gunshots.

He said the driver has been taken in for questioning.

Jackson Square is located at the intersection of Centre Street and Columbus Avenue in Jamaica Plain. The area was temporarily closed due to the ongoing investigation but streets have since been reopened.

People who live in the area say they are fed up with the violence.

"This neighborhood is getting worse by the day it seems," one man said.

Gross said police are still looking for witnesses or videos, and said anyone with information can call 1-800-494-TIPS or 617-343-4470.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday defended the use of active duty troops on the U.S.-Mexican border, saying that in some ways it provides good training for war. He argued that it's analogous to a 1916 deployment to counter the Mexican revolutionary Gen. Francisco "Pancho" Villa.

Speaking to reporters on his way to visit U.S. troops along the border in south Texas, Mattis declined to provide an estimate of how much the mission will cost. He said cost figures he has received thus are "not anywhere near right." He added that he believes, "very quickly we'll know the real cost. So we'll keep you posted as the real costs come in."

The Pentagon chief said that within a week to 10 days the 5,800 troops currently deployed for the border mission will have accomplished all the tasks initially requested by Customs and Border Protection, although additional tasks are now being worked out between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. Mattis did not say how soon the whole mission might end; current deployments are scheduled to last until Dec. 15, but that could change.

In addition to the 5,800 active duty troops in the border area, about 2,100 National Guard troops have been providing border support since April.

Critics have questioned the wisdom of using the military on the border where there is no discernible security threat, although President Donald Trump has said that a caravan of Central American migrants traveling northward through Mexico amounts to an "invasion." Since the election, Trump has said little about the matter, and no border threat has yet materialized.

Asked whether he believes there is a security threat at the border that justifies the use of the active duty military, Mattis said he defers to the judgment of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, whom he met with at the border Wednesday.

Nielsen and Mattis spoke with senior U.S. commanders and addressed rank-and-file troops. Mattis told the troops their mission is to "back up" Customs and Border Protection. "Right now that's our role and that's all our role is," he said.

One soldier asked Mattis what are the short- and long-term plans for the military mission.

Mattis said the short-term objective is to get sufficient numbers of wire and other barriers in place along the border as requested by Customs and Border Protection. The longer-term objective, he said, is "somewhat to be determined."

"When you're in something like this," Mattis said, "it's dynamic, it's unpredictable. We'll have to see" what develops with the potential for Central American migrants to try to cross into the U.S. illegally.

In an interview with reporters traveling with him to Texas, Mattis took issue with assertions by critics that the deployment undertaken shortly before the Nov. 6 midterm elections was costing the military in preparedness for combat. He said military officers have told him that the deployment has been "very good training" because it amounts to a rehearsal for the kind of logistical demands  such as loading aircraft  that must be met in wartime.

"In terms of readiness, it's actually, I believe, so far improving our readiness for deployments," he said.

Mattis said the mission, which does not include performing law enforcement tasks, was reviewed by Department of Justice lawyers and deemed a legal undertaking. "It's obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen," he said.

In making the argument that the military has often been used on the U.S.-Mexico border, Mattis said it is in line with missions dating back to early in the 20th century. He noted that President Woodrow Wilson deployed tens of thousands of National Guard and active duty troops to the border in 1916 in response to Mexican military raids into the U.S.

"That's over a century ago, and the threat then was Pancho Villa's troops  revolutionary raiding across the border into the United States," he said.
Scheme offers an "invaluable insight into the world of work"

Pupils from The Downs School on the Generation STEM programme

The Downs School, Compton, is the only school in West Berkshire to have participated in a special work experience programme.

The secondary school is one of just 132 schools nationally to have taken part in Generation STEM, designed to improve pupils life skills, such as the ability to see the relevance of their school work to their chosen career path.

Over the last 10 months, a group of Year 10 pupils have participated in work training sessions in school and undertaken interviews with employers, intended to prepare them for the future and give them an insight into the world of work.

The scheme culminated at the end of last term, with six students from The Downs being selected to undertake work experience placements over the summer break with local employers, including Barclays Bank and The Living Rainforest.

Careers leader Penny Allum, said: We are really proud of our students, who have participated in the scheme.

It has been an invaluable insight into the world of work for them, and they have learnt valuable skills for the future.
Submitted photo / Danbury Public Schools

DANBURY  Local inventor Hannah Pucci is one of 12 students across Connecticut and New York City to receive a scholarship from the Milton Fisher Fund for Innovation and Creativity this fall.

The scholarship is designed to award innovative problem solving, and Pucci was honored for her work on Egghead Ice Cream, an award-winning project that began when she was a Danbury middle school student and that she has since patented.
WASHINGTON  The long-awaited agriscience academy is underway, with construction beginning last week.

The program, which opens next fall, will teach area students about agriculture with a STEM focus, which includes science, technology, engineering and math. It is expected to include 35,750 square feet of new construction at Shepaug Valley School while also using unused space within the school.

So many people have carried this project to the place it is, Region 12 Superintendent Megan Bennett said. Im so grateful for the foresight people had for bringing this opportunity in for our students. We really are trying to design for the 21st century and beyond.

Bennett sees the groundbreaking as a celebration of this work.

This has been three years in the making, Bennett said. Proving to everyone involved the need for the program, how innovative this project is and the benefits for the students has been nothing short of amazing.

The project has been controversial at points, with some residents questioning if the costs were too high for the towns to absorb. Proponents tout the program though as a way to bolster declining enrollment.

Staging for the construction began last week and bids were awarded in late October. O & G Industries is still serving as construction manager throughout the work, just as they did during the demolition phase, which was done over the summer.

The project is expected to cost $30 million, with the state paying nearly $24 million. The state also awarded an additional $1.5 million to the district in the spring to purchase furniture and fixtures for the project.

The school is renovating the science labs, bringing the total cost to about $34 million.

Some of the project details include adding a greenhouse, an agricultural mechanics facility and animal facilities.

Bennett said the work is split between the north and south ends of the building, leaving the belly of the building intact and business continuing as usual. Work will start by the main entrance and pool.

She said the first phase of construction is slated to end next September and the second phase will wrap up by January 2020.

We fully recognize the building will not be 100 percent completed when we open the doors ... but the program will be up and running, Bennett said.

School officials have already organized the school around the affected classrooms and created a traffic and parking plan to avoid the construction. Updates are posted on the Shepaug website and extra staff are helping out with the traffic.

The construction may affect pool access, so people should look for updates on the work. The campus will also be closed next summer so the workers can push the project forward as fast as possible.

The program will serve 139 students from Region 12, Danbury, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown and Sherman. Bethel has not committed to joining the program.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345
What Connecticut can expect after the Nov. 6 election of the states first black congresswoman is an agenda of progressive initiatives, from a $15 hourly minimum wage to Medicare for all.

Jahana Hayes, who beat Trump Republican Manny Santos on a platform of supporting public education, creating citizenship programs for immigrants, passing gun safety legislation, closing the equity gap, and making health care available to everyone, will have a hard time passing any of those measures with a hardline conservative in the White House and a Republican-led U.S. Senate.

But Hayes wont be alone.

Going to Washington, D.C., with her in 2019 as part of the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives will be a record number of women  including progressives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, and Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts  both of whom, like Hayes, defeated establishment Democrats in their primaries.

As such, Hayes is not only considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, but a standard-bearer among progressives.

Her victory is a victory for everything she stands for: Medicare for all, retirement security, and an opportunity to succeed no matter the color of your skin, your economic status, or where you come from, said Lindsay Farrell, state director of the Connecticut Working Families Party, in a statement. Amid the stark contrast between Jahanas progressive, inclusive vision and her opponent's Trumpian politics, voters made their choice clear.

One of Hayes earliest supporters, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, agreed.

Jahana Hayes is going to be a rock star in the House of Representatives, Murphy said in a statement. Jahana is part of an impressive group of new members in the House who will help lead the country away from the past eight years of disastrous Republican leadership, and instead fight to grow wages, protect health care, invest in education and hold President Trump accountable.

Although Hayes was a political newcomer and relatively unknown in Connecticuts 5th District except for her selection in 2016 as the National Teacher of the Year, Hayes never trailed Santos. Her aggressive fundraising, her ability to inspire campaign volunteers and her charisma with voters had Washington election forecasters calling her the favorite as soon as she trounced her primary opponent.

But it was Hayes ability to translate her personal story of hardship into a message of hope, and her focus on the issues that gave her what state Democratic Party Chairman Nick Balletto called unstoppable momentum and propelled her to a 30,000-vote victory over Santos.

Santos was gracious in his concession.

I and my opponent ran a relatively clean campaign, focusing on the issues, Santos said in a social media post. The outcome was not as we had wanted; nonetheless, the voters of the district have spoken and have elected Jahana Hayes.

Hayes credited constituents of the 5th District, which stretches from the Danbury area, north to Massachusetts, and from the New York border to New Britain and Middlefield.

When I started this campaign, I knew I couldnt do it alone but I asked you to trust me with your vote and to trust me with your voice, Hayes said in a social media post. Thank you for choosing me to be your congresswoman and trusting me with your voice.
The town of New Milford honored veterans this past Sunday, on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, declared between the Allied nations and Germany on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, ending World War I. To kick off the day, the Roger Sherman Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, held a veterans breakfast at the VFW Hall on Avery Road. During the breakfast, a New Milford Vietnam medal was awarded to veteran Richard A. Peet, which was accepted by Richards brother, Pat Peet, and several Quilts of Valor were presented. After the breakfast, a ceremony was held on the south end of the Village Green. For more photographs, see www.newmilfordspectrum.com.
Courtesy of Simon Feldman

Students and staff of Marvelwood School in Kent recently attended the Defying the Odds Dinner in support of San Miguel Academy of Newburgh, N.Y.

The scholarship dinner, held at the Westchester Country Club on Oct. 25, was attended by members of the Marvelwood community and graduates of San Miguel Academy.
WASHINGTON  Bettina Drummond remembers watching renowned equestrian Nuno Oliveira on horseback, suspended in the air with the sunlight streaming on his face.

It was like seeing a great dancer, said Drummond, 55, and a noted equestrian herself.

She now teaches others in the art of dressage. Her instructional work and skill earned her the honorary title of ecuyere, making her just one of 26 at the Cadre noir, which is the corp connected to the French National Riding School in Saumur. She is also only one of just a few women and the second American to get the distinction.

For people who are raised in the art form of riding, its akin to winning the Olympics, Drummond said. It really is an honor and unsought. Its recognition from people I have admired for a very long time.

Drummond came to Saumur for the first time as a teenager, serving as the assistant to Oliveira who was there teaching the master riders of the Cadre noir. Though he was Portuguese, he was connected to the French style of dressage and promoted those principles of riding. Drummond carried that on and will help out at Saumur as well. She also invites members of the Cadre noir to her clinics and programs in the states.

Its this history and her impressive knowledge of that classical way of riding that earned her the distinction, said Col. Patrick Teisserenc, ecuyer-en-chef of the French National Riding School.

She is a very talented and skillful rider, Teisserenc said. She showed that in competition and in the classical way of riding. So, we are happy to honor such riding skills.

Drummond said the recognition came as a surprise. She had planned to attend the gala to honor her former mentor and another rider, who was teaching the style of riding in Iran and protected horses during the Iranian revolution.

Dressage has its origins in the French cavalry and instills an idea of not pushing the horse past what it can physically or mentally handle. This practice tends to let the horses live longer and Drummond calls it more compassionate than other styles of riding, focusing on the relationship between horse and rider. She said the idea was instilled in the American cavalry and is still practiced by cowboys in the American west who would not be able to work or return home without their horses, much like the cavalry fighting.

Theres a spectacular amount of trust and you have to have, she said.

There are four distinct schools, each with their own characteristics: Spanish, French, Austrian and Portuguese. The French are known for their somber elegance, the Portuguese style is more fun, while the Austrian style is uniform.

By preserving and teaching this art form, Drummond said she is protecting Frances heritage and culture.

She began riding with Oliveira when she was 7 and performing when she was 11. She got involved through her mother who was a horseback rider in Long Island but moved to Europe when she married a French man. Her mother learned of the dressage style and moved to Portugal to study it, getting her daughters involved as well.

I was hooked, Drummond said. It went with my love of music and fine words.

Drummond became a teacher by happenstance. She broke her back and was unable to ride. A Florida couple she was working with asked her to teach them what she knows. She now has students on the west coast, up here and in the south, as well as in France though her organization Apaha. Drummond also hosts clinics.

It coalesced everything I believed in and helping one another keep a beautiful art form alive, she said.

Drummond decided to stay in America to teach as a promise to her mother, but also because she had more opportunities as a female rider in the U.S. than in Europe where the sport is male-dominated due to its military origins.

Its still a glass ceiling were beginning to tap against, she said. It kind of flipped when it crossed over the Atlantic.

She thinks there are more women riding this style in the States because of the compassion elements, as well as the field being more open since the male riders are now judges or instructors. Theres also more pop culture about girls and their horses.

Drummond sees the art form gaining popularity and said beautiful things are more needed with how chaotic the world has become.

Arts have a big role to calm people and keep them inspired and hopeful, she said.
The New Milford area saw incumbents and newcomers splitting victories at the Nov. 6 election.

Rep. Richard Smith, a Republican incumbent who was unopposed, won his fifth term representing the 108th District, which includes parts of New Fairfield, Sherman, New Milford and Danbury. He is an assistant Republican leader and ranking member of the Government and Elections Committee in the House and serves on the Judiciary and Labor and Public Employees committees.

His touts a very active role in the fight against overspending, tax increases and initiatives that inhibit job growth.

Heres a look at how the contested races played out:

House District 64

Democratic challenger Maria Horn defeated Republican incumbent Brian Ohler by 55 votes.

Horn received 50.22 percent with 5,860 votes to Ohlers 49.78 percent with 5,805 votes, according to the Secretary of the State.

In a close election such as this, it is truly the case that every vote counted, every volunteer made an impact, and every conversation mattered, Horn wrote to her supporters the day after the election. That includes the many conversations I have had with those who may have supported my opponent: I have learned from all of you and look forward to continuing that conversation as we begin the work ahead.

Ohler said he will help with the transition.

House District 67

Republican Bill Buckbee won a second term representing New Milford, defeating Democratic challenger Tom OBrien.

Buckbee received nearly 58 percent, with 5,660 votes and OBrien received 42 percent with 4,150 votes.

Its amazing and wonderful to know we have the support of the town to continue the great work we started, Buckbee said. Im unbelievably humbled.

Buckbee, 46, is the executive director at Harrybrooke Park. He campaigned on a platform of retaining and attracting business, as well as reducing the tax burden by cutting state spending. Hes also hoping to restore passenger rail to the area.

House District 69

Republican incumbent Arthur ONeill beat Democratic challenger Greg Cava in the race for the state Houses 69th District.

ONeill earned 7,036 votes to Cavas 4,745 votes.

Im glad the voters of the 69th District have chosen me to be their representative, he said.

ONeill , a Southbury resident, is he Houses longest-serving GOP member. Cava, a Roxbury resident, is a member of the Region 12 Board of Education.

ONeill called for reducing taxes to make the state more business-friendly, and for reducing spending by extending the wage freeze for state employees and cutting the budgets of some state agencies.

Senate District 24

First-time Democratic candidate Julie Kushner upset state Sen. Mike McLachlan for state Senate.

Kushner received about 54 percent, or 17,200 votes, and McLachlan received about 46 percent, or 14,700 votes.

Although Kushner and McLachlan agreed the state is at a crossroads, they offered sharply different visions of Connecticuts future.

Kushners progressive campaign focused on issues such as expanding health care access, and providing pay equity and paid family leave to attract and retain more people to stabilize Connecticuts financial future.

I felt like we were building a movement, Kushner told her supporters on election night. Its something bigger in Danbury. Its about coming together as a community and saying we are one community.

Senate District 30

Republican Craig Miner will serve another term after defeating Democrat challenger David Lawson.

Miner received about 53 percent, or 22,750 votes, and Lawson received 46.1 percent or 19,500 votes, the Secretary of State said.

Miner, 62, of Litchfield, just finished his first term in the state Senate.He previously served eight terms as the state representative for the 66th District.

Im happy again to have the support of the majority of the district, Miner said. In some ways it is a recognition for the hard work I put in for the position.

Miner ran to fix the states fiscal problems.

Senate District 32

Republican incumbent Eric Berthel will serve his first full term representing the 32nd district.

Berthel, who won the seat during a special election last year, beat out first-time challenger Cathy De Carli, a Democrat.

Berthel received 61 percent, or 27,600 votes, and DeCarli received nearly 40 percent, or 17,500 votes.

I think it speaks to what weve held true here in this part of Connecticut, Berthel said. Were pretty conservative thinkers...it speaks to our conservative values and the people we represent.

Berthel, a Watertown resident, has said reducing wasteful spending, lowering taxes and opposing tolls would be his priorities in Hartford.
Opioid-related overdoses and deaths remain a major public health concern in Massachusetts, yet adolescents who experience opioid-related nonfatal overdose (NFOD) have been rarely studied. Using public data, Brigham investigators recently unearthed several important ways in which the opioid crisis is playing out differently among young people versus adults.

Performed in collaboration with colleagues at the Boston University School of Medicine and Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the analysis examined data on adolescents in Massachusetts, ages 11 to 17, who experienced an opioid-related nonfatal overdose between 2012 and 2014. In addition to understanding how prevalent these events were in young people compared to adults, researchers also found differences in how adolescents receive medication to treat opioid use disorder after experiencing a nonfatal overdose. The team's results were recently published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Among the findings were that adolescent girls were more likely to experience an opioid-related nonfatal overdose - the opposite of what has been observed in adults - although the reasons for this remain unclear. Additionally, investigators discovered these events were, overall, far less common in young people in the period studied, occurring in 195 adolescents versus 22,311 adults.

"This evidence will help guide the conversation about adolescent opioid abuse. In a lot of ways, this study raises more questions than answers, such as why more adolescent girls are overdosing than boys," said Avik Chatterjee, MD, MPH, first author and associate epidemiologist in the Division of Global Health Equity at the Brigham. "The ability to bring attention to a population that has been understudied with regard to the opioid epidemic will help researchers and physicians explore ways to treat this epidemic in adolescence."

An opioid-related nonfatal overdose occurs when an individual uses an opioid, sometimes in conjunction with other drugs, and becomes mentally altered or sedated to the point that immediate, lifesaving treatment is necessary.

"A nonfatal overdose might be an opportunity to intervene," said Chatterjee. "People are using opioids so much that they are at risk of dying, so this could be a time when health care professionals could step in and help the person obtain treatment before a fatal overdose occurs."

To examine the adolescent and adult NFOD rates in Massachusetts, researchers analyzed data from 2012 to 2014, pooled from the entire state as part of Chapter 55 of the Acts of 2015. This dataset represents 98 percent of Massachusetts residents and includes non-identifiable medical information from hospitals, ambulance systems, substance-use systems, health insurance companies and homeless shelters.

Researchers were interested in examining whether adolescents received medication - methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone - to treat an opioid use disorder within 12 months of experiencing a nonfatal overdose. They found that only 8 percent of adolescents were prescribed one of these medications within a year of the overdose.

"Adolescents have not received as much focus as adults in the opioid crisis," said senior author Sarah Bagley, MD, an assistant professor and primary care physician at Boston Medical Center. "However, these data illustrate that in Massachusetts, adolescents have not been spared and that they are not receiving timely treatment."

The authors note that these numbers may be low because many people now have access to opioid overdose reversal drugs outside of a health care setting.

"This analysis took advantage of a unique tool developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to enable us to access linked, multi-year data for analysis of fatal and non-fatal opioid overdoses, as well as for other health priorities and trends," said Dana Bernson, DPH Assistant Director, Special Analytic Projects. "These results highlight the importance of our partnerships with researchers from academic, non-profit, private and government agencies in using data to respond to the opioid epidemic."
Diabetic foot ulcers can take up to 150 days to heal. A biomedical engineering team wants to reduce it to 21 days.

They're planning to drop the healing time by amplifying what the body already does naturally: build layers of new tissue pumped up by nitric oxide. In patients with diabetes, impaired nitric oxide production lessens the healing power of skin cells and the Centers for Disease Control reports that 15 percent of Americans living with type II diabetes struggle with hard-to-heal foot ulcers. However, simply pumping up nitric oxide is not necessarily better. The long-term plan of Michigan Technological University researchers is to create nitric oxide-laden bandages that adjust the chemical release depending on the cell conditions.

To do that, they first have to figure what's going on with nitric oxide in skin cells. Assessing nitric oxide under diabetic and normal conditions in human dermal fibroblast cells is the focus of the team's latest paper, published this week in Medical Sciences.

Diabetes stats from the World Health Organization, International Diabetes Federation, "Diabetic foot ulcers and their recurrence" in New England Journal of Medicine, and "Advanced biological therapies for diabetic foot ulcers" in Archives of Dermatology reveal the challenge researchers in this field face:

1.5 million deaths globally in 2012

425 million people worldwide live with diabetes

15 percent or more live with diabetic foot ulcers

2.5 times more likely to die

90-150 days to heal

$176 billion spent in U.S. every year on diabetes

Cell-mediated Symphony of Complexity

Megan Frost is the interim chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology as well as an associate professor of biomedical engineering and an affiliated associate professor of materials science and engineering. She runs a polymeric biomaterials lab at Michigan Tech where she works on nitric oxide-releasing technology.

"Nitric oxide is a powerful healing chemical, but it's not meant to be heavy-handed," Frost says. "We're looking at the profiles of healthy and diabetic cells to find a more nuanced way to recover wound function."

As a wound heals, three types of skin cells step in. Macrophages are the first responders--and the most widely studied cells--that arrive within 24 hours of damage. Next, fibroblasts arrive, which are like the body's engineers. They help lay down the extracellular matrix that makes it possible for the next cells, keratinocytes, to come in and do the heavy-lifting and rebuilding.

"Wound healing is a complex, cell-mediated symphony of events, progressing through a series of predictable and overlapping stages," Frost and her team write in their Medical Sciences paper. When any part of that orchestra is out of tune, the whole process falls flat. Fibroblasts, which are not as well studied as macrophages in the healing process, are a key instrument and past studies have shown their delayed response in patients with diabetes may be a major factor in slow healing time.

Nitric Oxide vs. Nitrite

That's where nitric oxide steps in, a kind of chemical metronome to get the process back into the right rhythm. But the body's dermal orchestra is not so simple--just as playing a metronome louder and louder isn't necessarily going to make a musician's timing improve, flooding a wound with nitric oxide isn't a cure all.

"The old approach is to add nitric oxide and sit back to see if it works," Frost says. "What we're finding is that it's not enough to apply and leave; we have to keep tabs on how much nitric oxide is actually needed."

A big problem that Frost and her team address is how nitric oxide is measured in the first place. Current practice substitutes measuring nitrite for nitric oxide--a misleading switch, Frost says, because nitrite is a byproduct with no time signature. While stable nitrite is easier to measure, by itself it cannot relay the real-time healing status like nitric oxide levels can.

So, Frost's lab built a nitric oxide-measuring device for their study by hand. That creates a challenge since it means taking measurements is much harder, which limits the dataset size, but Frost has an agreement with Zysense, LLC to streamline the building process and produce commercial nitric oxide measurement devices that would improve their research.

Next Steps

Collaboration is a key part of the engineering design process. To build a nitric oxide bandage with personalized healing power, the team plans to work next with the UP Portage Health System to gather cell samples from local patients. By expanding their cell samples--and applying the tech to real-world patients--the team will continue to broaden their database while deepening their knowledge of nitric oxide mechanisms.

In a few years, they plan to have a working bandage prototype, one that leaves off the clunky nitrite proxies and nitric oxide dumps. Instead, patients dealing with diabetic foot ulcers will see a light at the end of the tunnel much sooner than half a year or more--the nitric oxide-releasing bandage could help heal one of healthcare's toughest diseases in less than a month.
As the nights grow longer and winter settles in across the north, a team of health researchers is using a "community mobilization" approach to translate research into practice for an Alaska Native youth suicide prevention program in 15 remote Alaska towns.

The intervention, "Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide" (PC CARES) was developed by Lisa Wexler and Cris Smith at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with colleagues from Northwest Alaska and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Wexler and colleagues pilot-tested the program in 10 far-flung Native Alaska communities over the past year. They recently received a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health to expand the project, "re-envisioning it to adapt to a new region," as she explains.

Wexler says that rural Alaska Native suicide rates are up to 18 times higher for young people when compared to all American youth, 124 vs. 6.9 per 100,000, and the health disparity of youth suicide continues to plague rural indigenous communities in Alaska. The current system of care - with a focus on mental health - is not effective, she adds, 79 percent of suicide decedents and 62 percent of attempters received no mental health care.

PC CARES seeks to respectfully provide Native communities with a practical method for translating scientific research into culturally relevant ways to reduce suicide risk factors and increase safety, help-seeking and support, she points out.

Wexler, associate professor of community health education at UMass Amherst's School of Public Health and Health Sciences, adds, "So much suicide prevention focuses on mental health services, but in an area where there are no roads and a mental health professional may visit only one or two days a month, putting more effort into that kind of resource is not really helpful to the community. PC CARES offers a way of translating research into community practice on their terms, so they are better equipped to use research in ways that are helpful in their communities."

For example, Wexler says, studies show that suicide deaths can be reduced by making it a little harder, adding even just 10 minutes, to delay access to lethal, dangerous means. In practical terms to Alaska Native communities where approximately 50 percent of deaths are by gunshot, this may mean that taking the bullets out of a gun or fitting it with a gun lock can make the difference. "If you can make it 10 minutes or longer that people can't get access to the weapon, you have a bigger chance to save a life," she says.

Sharing such information widely and respectfully isn't easy or straightforward in Alaska Native communities, but results of her pilot study suggest to Wexler and colleagues that promoting community conversations is helpful. Pilot results show that people learned, gained skills and took actions for prevention after participating in PC CARES.

Even more exciting, she notes, is evidence suggesting that friends and family members of PC CARES participants also increased their prevention behaviors, a show of social efficacy. Village facilitators teach service providers, family and friends "what works" from prevention science, host discussions to adapt this information to their local community and cultural contexts, and work together to take actions to support culturally relevant suicide prevention and health promotion.

"Depending on the context, there are right and wrong ways to go about putting ideas into prevention practice," Wexler says. "I may be able to share some information about 'what we know' from scientific research, and local people know how to best put it into practice. I don't. We try to bring some basic information to youth groups, elders, community organizers, tribal leaders, law enforcement and others who have social capital in the community, grandparents, friends, aunts and uncles, in learning circles to learn together both from the scientific literature and from each other. Social diffusion does the rest."

In community learning circles, church leaders, schoolteachers, social workers and health care professionals, counselors and families may see a five-minute video about how to be a good listener, for example, then pair up to try out particular skills. Or community members may reflect on a graph that shows demographics and suicidal behavior at different times of year. "We try to offer practical, applicable information and tools that can be put into practice in a variety of ways to promote wellness and reduce risk," Wexler says. "Multilevel prevention efforts, like emotional support, plus less access to lethal means, is the most effective suicide prevention."

The PC CARES program was piloted with eight learning circles, but is being condensed to include four learning circles, lasting approximately three hours each. The new funding will support its implementation in 15 Yupik, Siberian Yupik and Inupiaq communities in the Norton Sound area, just south of the pilot region, Wexler says.

PC CARES seeks to give a whole community a chance to learn something, reflect on it, talk about it among themselves and put new ideas into practice, she adds. "Our focus is on taking earlier action, changing basics and not waiting for warning signs," the health educator notes.

"People in the community are interested in coming together to learn and work toward prevention. It is important that the learning circles themselves are facilitated by local people, and that they are designed so that everyone can learn how to be a part of wellness. Mental health counselors can learn more about local culture and practices of rural Alaska Native communities, and community members can learn what tools are effective according to prevention science. Bringing people and ideas together in this way can lead to small and huge efforts for innovative actions, and we are excited to begin."
Three-quarters of prisoners struggling to sleep have reported major improvements to their sleep and wellbeing after receiving cognitive behavioral therapy to treat their insomnia.

Experts from Northumbria University, Newcastle have found that a single one-hour session of cognitive behavioral therapy was effective in preventing the development of chronic insomnia in 73% of prisoners. In addition, the inmates also reported that the therapy made notable improvements to their anxiety and depression.

The findings of the study, the first of its kind in the world, have been published in the latest edition of the journal Behavioural Sleep Medicine.

In the study, researchers from the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research worked with 30 male prisoners who had all reported difficulty sleeping. They were all Category C inmates aged between 21-60 from a prison in the North East of England. A Category C prisoner is described as an individual who cannot be trusted in open conditions, but who is unlikely to try and escape.

Depending on their crime and the prison they are based in, inmates can spend up to 22 hours a day in their cells. They have strictly-enforced routines, limited access to sunlight, exercise and physical activity and no control over the noise and comfort of the space they live in.

As a result, it is believed that approximately 61% of prison inmates suffer from chronic insomnia and the likelihood is that for many of them insomnia started whilst they were in prison. This can lead to anger, aggression and even suicide attempts, all creating an additional burden on the system. This means any improvement to their sleep quality can have a noticeable impact and reduce their use of prison health care services.

After a previous study in 2015 had found that a one-hour cognitive behavioral therapy session led to a 60% reduction in insomnia symptoms in the general population, the researchers wanted to assess whether the same therapy would be even more effective in treating prisoners' insomnia and mood.

The results were successful. One month after receiving the treatment, the prisoners reported not only a significant reduction in their insomnia, but also their anxiety and depressive symptoms. As per the study with the general population, 73% of prisoners reported that their insomnia had reduced following the cognitive behavioral therapy session.

Professor Jason Ellis, Director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research, explained: "We believe that the high levels of insomnia in prisoners are due to many factors that most people have full control over.

"The line between day-time and night-time environments is blurred for inmates, who spend a significant amount of time in their cells. Their bedroom becomes their living space, and not just the space where they sleep. They have less autonomy over their routine and certainly over their bedroom environment. As such, normal access to sleep cues are likely to be harder in this environment.

"These factors combined with the stress of imprisonment and all that it entails is likely to make inmates far more vulnerable to insomnia."

Professor Ellis added: "We knew from an earlier study with the general population that this single session of therapy also had an impact on anxiety and depression, so we were certainly pleased to see the same thing happen in a prison context. The fact that we were reducing symptoms significantly was very welcome news indeed.

"Now that we have seen these results, I would like to see this form of therapy being rolled out in prisons nationally and internationally. If we look at the costs alone in terms of insomnia, managing it certainly makes good sense."

The researchers hope to look at the impact that this therapy has on suicides in future as they know there is a strong relationship between poor sleep and suicide.

Source: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/
The most aggressive type of prostate cancer, castration-resistant prostate cancer, can be treated with two different therapies: taxanes or hormone treatment. Until this day there are no comparative studies between the two and the decision on which treatment to use is done empirically and based on the patient's preferences. Now, a study co-led by the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) and researchers from Italy and the United Kingdom, and published in 'European Urology', has defined a biomarker that, using liquid biopsy, can determine which of the two treatments can extend the life expectancy in each patient.

The study, which once again shows the importance of basic research to generate knowledge that can be translated into better clinical care for the patients, was led by David Olmos, Head of the CNIO Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Unit, Ugo de Giorgi, from the Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), IRCCS de Meldola (Italy), and Gerhardt Attard, from the Centre for Evolution and Cancer at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in the United Kingdom.

Taxanes or hormone therapy?

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in males and has one of the highest 5-year survival rate when diagnosed in the localized stage. When diagnosed in the advanced stage or when a localized tumor relapses after the initial local treatment, the usual procedure is to fight it using male hormone (androgen) deprivation therapy. It can be done either by surgical removal of the testicles or using medication that eliminates the testosterone production (chemical castration). However, many of the patients, up to 90%, after the initial castration develop more aggressive, castration-resistant forms and their survival rate is around 2 years.

Among the treatments used to extend the life expectancy in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, the taxanes - docetaxel and cabazitaxel - work by blocking cell division and cell proliferation. The new generation hormone therapy - abiraterone and enzalutamide -, on the contrary, act on androgen (male hormone) production: abiraterone inhibits its synthesis, while enzalutamide blocks the nuclear testosterone receptor; this therapy interferes with the production of the 'fuel' that the tumor needs to grow.

"At this moment there are no comparative studies between hormones and taxanes", explains David Olmos. "There are only studies in similar populations and the selection of the adequate treatment is done empirically. The treatment usually starts off with a hormone therapy, but it also depends on the patient's preference, after duly informing the patient of his options".

The study results now published in the journal European Urology have determined that castration-resistant prostate cancer patients having a normal number of copies of the gene encoding the androgen receptor (AR) - the one regulating cellular signals mediated by male sex hormones - in the circulating tumor DNA (the DNA that the tumor releases in the blood), seem to have a lower risk of disease progression and a higher life expectancy when they are treated with abiraterone/enzalutamide, with a 50% higher survival rate compared to docetaxel, where the average life expectancy was around 24 months", continues Olmos. On the other hand, the patients with more copies of the androgen receptor gene respond slightly better to docetaxel, with a higher life expectancy, around 9 months, compared to abiraterone/enzalutamide.

This research led by three internationally renowned investigators - Olmos, Attard and de Giorgi - with the participation of researchers from Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, is a perfect example of the successful collaboration that takes place between clinical and translational research within European academia, and where the main objective is the patient's benefit. The CNIO Prostate Cancer Team has led the study in Spain, and it has coordinated the 13 Spanish centers from which 112 patients of the 239 analyzed come from.

The CNIO Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Unit has a broad network of clinical collaborators integrated in the PROCURE platform. It is a platform that is the result of the collaboration and hard work of numerous Spanish researchers, and that has given one of the largest prospective multi centric collections of biological samples from patients with advanced prostate cancer associated with the most important prospective clinical data in the European academic field.

Liquid biopsy: harmless, fast and effective

The presence of AR in circulating tumor DNA has become the first biomarker that will help define the first-line therapy for these patients and it also has an impact on the synergies between basic research and clinical care to improve their quality of life. The study also indicates the urgency to develop new treatments for the patients with a higher level of AR, as they respond worse to the existing therapies.

The liquid biopsy has proven to be a reliable, fast and non-invasive method to determine the alterations of a specific tumor and to be able to decide the best treatment in each case. With a simple blood test we can avoid tissue invasion that is present in the traditional biopsy and it is much more reliable.

Olmos explains: "using bioinformatics tools we can calculate the fraction of the tumor DNA present in the total free DNA in the plasma and in that fraction, we calculate the number of AR copies". For this study, the liquid biopsy has been used to "confirm that a marker that has a prognostic value can also have a predictive use. The next step will be to make a random study that can confirm the results".
GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
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
Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday declared a public health emergency in California, where at least 50 people have died from multiple wildfires ravaging the state.



"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."



Two massive blazes burning at opposite ends of the state have forced the evacuation of at least two hospitals and eight other health care facilities. 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.



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. But authorities continued to find more bodies amid the scorched destruction.



At least 50 people have been found dead from the fires, which have laid waste to more than 9,000 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.



Meanwhile, officials have warned of howling winds that could spawn more monster blazes with the slightest spark.



There's a new extreme fire danger in San Diego County, where wind gusts of up to 86 mph were recorded early Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.



The blustery condition prompted red flag warnings for the San Diego area, signaling extreme fire danger through at least Wednesday, officials said.



Some schools in San Diego County were closed Tuesday, and San Diego Gas & Electric took the precautionary measure of shutting off electricity in some fire-prone areas of the county to avoid new blazes, officials said.



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.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
New Delhi:

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday denied having any rift with state Congress chief Sachin Pilot and said that they both will fight the December 7 Assembly elections.

"Both, I and Sachin Pilot will fight the Rajasthan assembly elections," Gehlot said in a press conference in Delhi with Pilot sitting by his side.

With the announcement, the suspense on the name of the Congress partys chief ministerial face has deepened as both Gehlot and Pilot are claimants for the top job. The Rajasthan Congress is reportedly divided between two factions - loyalists of Gehlot and Pilot.

"On Congress president Rahul Gandhi's instruction and on Gehlotji's request, I have decided to contest the Assembly elections. We all will together ensure a massive victory for the Congress in the upcoming polls," Pilot added.

Also Read | Sri Lankan Parliament votes against new Mahinda Rajapakse government

The Congress party is hoping to come back to power in Rajasthan as BJP's chief ministerial face Vasundhara Raje is facing massive anti-incumbency in the state. News Nation's recent opinion poll on Rajasthan elections had predicted massive victory for the Congres party in the December 7 Assembly elections.

Earlier in the day, in a major set back for the BJP, its MP from Dausa, Harish Meena, joined the Congress party ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections. Meena, a former DGP, described the move as his "ghar vapasi".
New Delhi:

The Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are getting close to resolving some of their policy differences, said two sources familiar with the discussions. The sources told news agency Reuters that central banks Governor Urjit Patels resignation rumours are off the table for now as enough progress had been made to avoid bitterness at a board meeting of the RBI next Monday.

The truce may see the RBI ease up on some lending restrictions to help the government stimulate the economy, said the sources. One source told the news agency that the RBI could agree to tweak restrictions on lending to improve credit flows for smaller companies with a borrowing limit of Rs 34 lakh

It is unclear how much of a role Prime Minister Narendra Modi played in defusing the tension.

According to a recent report by news agency PTI, Patel met Modi on November in a bid to work out several controversial issues that came to light over the last couple of weeks.

Speculations have been rife that Patel met senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), including Modi in New Delhi and discussed several ongoing factors ranging from the appropriate size of reserves that RBI must maintain to ease of lending norms to step up growth in an election year.

There are also reports that the RBI may create a special dispensation for lending to small and medium enterprises, but it was not immediately clear if an agreement has been worked out to ease liquidity situation for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and the RBI parting with its substantial part of its surplus.

The development came days ahead of the RBI's crucial board meeting on November 19 during which contentious issues are likely to be taken up for discussions. The factors which are going to be raised include the government's proposed changes to the RBI Act, 1934, alignment of capital adequacy norms with those in advanced countries and some relaxation in the Prompt Corrective Action framework.

The RBI and the government have been at loggerheads ever since the Finance Ministry initiated talks regarding the never-used-before Section 7 of the RBI Act, which empowers the government to issue directions to the RBI Governor.

RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, however, in October pitched for the independence of the central bank, adding that any compromise could be "potentially catastrophic" for the economy.

Meanwhile, the Economic Affairs Ministry had last week rejected the reports of the Centres proposal to the RBI seeking transfer of Rs 3.6 lakh crore and said the only plan "under discussion is to fix appropriate economic capital framework of RBI".

Economic capital framework refers to the risk capital required by the central bank while taking into account different risks. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has a massive Rs 9.59 lakh crore reserves.

(With agency inputs)

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The State Bank of India (SBI) recently issued a notification asking customers to link their bank accounts with their mobile numbers. The notification states that net banking facility will be blocked for those SBI account holders who have not updated their number with the bank and are still doing online transactions. As per the notification on SBI official website, it is mandatory for users to register mobile number for availing net banking services, failing which the bank may block account holders' access to Internet Banking Services. Customers need to register their mobile numbers before December 1, 2018 by visiting any nearest branch of the bank.

Read More | Pakistan: 22.5 million children out of school, majority of them girls

Why is SBI threatening to block this service?

According to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) advisory, it is mandatory to register mobile number in order to avail of the Internet Banking Services. Thus, in the interest of its customers, SBI has taken this step in the interest of its customers to protect them from ongoing banking frauds.

Bank will notify transaction details, will prevent fraud

If bank account holders register their mobile phone number with SBI, then the bank will inform them immediately of each and every transactions that happen in their account via SMS. So, it is in benefit of the bank account holders to register their mobile number, which may save them from losing money unknowingly.

Also Read | Deepika Ranveer Wedding: Heres why their wedding is a closed affair

Update mobile number by visiting the nearest bank branch

Customers need to register their mobile numbers before December 1, 2018 by visiting any nearest branch of the bank.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Bhure Lal, chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), recommended to the pollution watchdog CPCB on Wednesday that it should implement either the odd-even scheme or impose a complete ban on non-CNG private vehicles if the air pollution level in Delhi increases again.

Lal reaction came on a day Delhi's air quality "improved significantly" since Diwali as overnight rains washed away larger pollutants and stubble burning in neighbouring states declined. The air quality, however, was "poor" with an AQI of 293.

A couple of days ago, Lal had written to chief secretaries of Delhi and neighbouring states, asking them to consider a ban on private vehicles barring those running on CNG.

In a letter to CPCB member secretary Prashant Gargava, Lal said all cities, which have similar emergency plans like Paris or Beijing include restrictions on private vehicles, adding that vehicles contribute as much as 40 per cent of the total emission load in Delhi and roughly 30 per cent in the region.

"In this situation, the only option is to look at either a complete ban on all private vehicles (without the identification of petrol or diesel), other than CNG and/or restriction on plying by number plate (odd-even)," he said.

Reacting to the recommendation by Lal, the CPCB said the additional steps, including the complete ban on non-CNG private vehicles, should be "deliberated" by the EPCA, which is a larger body.

Last month, Lal had said the use of private vehicles could be stopped in Delhi if air pollution got worse. His comments came after Delhis air quality turned 'severe' for the first time this season.

"Let us hope the air pollution situation in Delhi doesn't deteriorate but if it turns out to be an emergency, we will have to stop the use of private transport," Lal had said

In 2016, the odd-even scheme was enforced twice -- January 1-15 and April 15-30 -- in Delhi when vehicles having odd and even numbers were allowed to ply on alternate days as the air quality deteriorated.

Meanwhile, rain showered the national capital in the night and through the wee hours on Wednesday. Delhiites did wake up to a fresh and less smoggy day. The early morning drizzles ushered in the wintry cold and provided the much-needed respite from the severely polluted air that has been choking the residents for the past one week. Delhis air quality improved significantly and temperature is likely to fall, but the air quality is far from safe, authorities said.

The air quality was still in very poor category with AQI of 306, according to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR). The AQI has been moving from very poor to severe for the past week. Similar conditions are likely to prevail in the coming days, SAFAR said.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi:

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar on Monday denied allegation of arranging any meeting between former Punjab Chief Minster Sukhbir Singh Badal and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim. He tweeted a statement over his Twitter handle after the SIT was formed probing 2015 police firings at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura in Faridkot at mobs protesting sacrilege incidents.

Now, the actor has found support from some Punjabi celebrities including Badshah, Gippy Grewal and Guru Randhawa.

Also read | DeepVeer Ki Shaadi: All you need to know about the wedding!

A report by justice Ranjit Singh Commission says that a meeting between former deputy chief minister Sukhbir and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was organised at Akshay Kumars flat in Juhu in relation with the release of Ram Rahims film MSG.

However, Akshay denied the allegations and said, I learnt from social media at some point that Gurmeet Ram Rahim resided for a while at some place in my locality Juhu, in Mumbai, but we never ever crossed each others paths. Over the years, I have dedicatedly made films promoting the Punjabi culture and the rich history and tradition of Sikhism through films like Singh is King, Kesari (based on the battle of Sarhagarhi), etc.

I am proud of being a Punjabi and have the highest regard for the Sikh faith. I shall never do anything that would even remotely hurt the sentiments of my Punjabi brothers and sisters, for whom I have the utmost respect and love, he added.

On work front, Akshay Kumar is busy promoting his upcoming science fiction film with Rajinikanth 2.0 which is scheduled to hit the theatres on November 29.

Love you Paji Y India supports you and knows you that you have contributed to every community and issues so nicely through your films. Punjab is proud to have to always ai @akshaykumar https://t.co/zxAPZYCuNY  Guru Randhawa (@GuruOfficial) November 12, 2018

Paaji you are the flagbearer of the pride of punjabis. We love you and stand by you! @akshaykumar https://t.co/gSR6h84CqJ  BADSHAH (@Its_Badshah) November 12, 2018

@akshaykumar paji We believe u, we trust u n we cant ignore ur contribution for cinema n ur continuous efforts to make our country better. Pls ignore these rumors. God bless https://t.co/6DuufT6V61 n regards always Y https://t.co/fdNREK94sv  KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) November 12, 2018

We believe you @akshaykumar Bhaji Y

You always make us proud YYY https://t.co/Di97fzVdxd  Gippy Grewal (@igippygrewal) November 12, 2018

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Several district collectors in Tamil Nadu have declared holiday for schools and colleges on Thursday as the cyclonic storm Gaja over the Bay of Bengal lay at about 470 km south east from Chennai and is set to make landfall between Cuddalore and Pamban in the evening bringing heavy rainfall to the state. Besides Tamil Nadu, all educational institutions in Puducherry and Karaikal regions will remain closed in view of the cyclone.

The Tamil Nadu government has already declared that 30,500 rescue personnel are on standby. The district collectors of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and Ramanathapuram have declared holiday for schools and colleges.

Gaja that lay over southwest and adjoining southeast and west central Bay of Bengal is about 550 km north east of Nagapattinam and is very likely to cross coast between Pamban and Cuddalore on Thursday evening or night with a wind speed gusting upto 100 kmph, the Met office said.

Against the backdrop of the Central Water Commission advising constant vigil over dams, Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister RB Udayakumar told reporters that dams, lakes and rivers channels were being monitored continuously.

The CWC had advised action as per the Standard Operating Procedure as heavy rainfall in catchment areas could fill up the dams fast in less than 24 hours.

On Wednesday, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy held a review meeting with officials of various departments at Thirunallar in Karaikal district and took stock of the preparedness.

The Chief Minister directed the district authorities to keep stock of relief materials. Urging officials to ensure supply of protected drinking water to all areas, Narayanasamy said if needed he would camp in Karaikal to coordinate the activities. Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have arrived here to provide emergency assistance.

The IMD has advised fishermen not to venture into sea.

The IMD said the system was likely to weaken gradually and cross Tamil Nadu coast between Cuddalore and Pamban as a cyclonic storm on November 15 forenoon.

Damages to thatched huts and houses likely

# The IMD also warned of major damage to thatched huts and houses.

"Roof tops may blow off ...damage to power and communication lines," it said adding standing crops could also be hit and cautioned sea water intrusion in low lying areas.

# The Central Water Commission asked Tamil Nadu and Kerala authorities to maintain strict vigil at various dams which come under the "cyclone field" and are already 80 per cent to 91 per cent full.

Puducherry also likely to be hit

# Neighbouring union territory of Puducherry, which is also covered by the cyclone alert, said it is on high alert as well and precautionary steps are being taken to meet the situation.

# Puducherry Revenue and Industries Minister MOHF Shah Jahan said the union territory has been put on high alert.

(With PTI inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :

Karnataka's mining baron and former BJP minister G Janardhana Reddy, who was arrested in connection with a fraud case of Ambidant Pvt Ltd, granted bail on a bond of Rs 1 Lakh on Wednesday. Reddy was arrested by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch in connection with Ambident Group alleged bribery case and was sent to the judicial custody till November 24 on Sunday.

G Janardhan Reddy granted bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh. He was arrested by Bengaluru Central Crime Branch in connection with Ambident Group alleged bribery case. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/AZq01yjYgu  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

Speaking after the verdict, Reddys advocate RP Chandrasekhar said: Bail was granted to Reddy because prima facie there was no connection between him and Ambidant Marketing.

Reddy was questioned for hours in an alleged bribery case in connection with a Ponzi scam on Saturday evening. Alok Kumar, Additional CP, Central Crime Branch, said that Reddy was arrested on the basis of credible evidence and witnesses statements and will be produced before the magistrate. He also said that the Crime Branch is going to recover the money and return them to the investors.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday delivered a keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival  worlds largest event on financial technology. During his address, the prime minister said that technology has brought a historic transition and transformation and pitched India as a favourite investment destination.

Speaking at the event, Modi said, We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives.

The prime minister said that the explosion of finch innovation turned India into a leading Startup nation in the world and the future of fintech was emerging in the country.

Also Read | Donald Trump celebrates Diwali at White House; hails India as best trade negotiators

There is an explosion of finch innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading finch and Startup nation in the world. The Future of fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India, he said.

Modi said that technology has empowered the weaker and marginalised section of the society, adding that financial inclusion became a reality for 1.3 billion Indians.

It (technology) has empowered the weak and brought into mainstream those who were on the margins. It has made economic access more democratic.

Financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities - Aadhaar, in just a few years, he said.

Watch Live - PM @narendramodi's keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival. https://t.co/Pm0jo9IVVr  BJP (@BJP4India) November 14, 2018

'Power of fintech is to drive prosperity'

The power of fintech is to drive prosperity. It provides everything. Rapidly rising digital transactions in India powered by Rupay & BHIM. Today, 128 banks in India are connected to UPI. Transactions on UPI grew 1500 times in the last 24 months. Every month, the value of the transactions is growing by over 30 per cent, Modi said.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister received a warm welcome upon his arrival in Singapore on a two-day visit. Several people from the Indian community gathered to welcome Modi despite rains.

"Extremely touched by the affection of the Indian community in Singapore. Their warm welcome, so early in the morning amidst the rain, was touching. Indias diaspora makes our nation very proud. They have succeeded all over the world, in a wide range of areas," Modi tweeted along with pictures of him meeting people.

Also Read | Nehruvian legacy being 'undermined' by those currently in power: Sonia Gandhi

During the visit, the prime minister will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit. He will also hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on petitions seeking court-monitored probe into procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph concluded the arguments advanced by various parties which have also sought registration of FIR in connection with the alleged irregularities in the deal.

Earlier in the day, the Narendra Modi government opposed the judicial review of the controversial Rafale deal in the Supreme Court. Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General KK Venugopal told the court that the matter was to be determined by the defence experts and can't be reviewed judicially.

Also Read | Virat Kohli and the Adelaide love affair: A match made in heaven

We have disclosed everything to the court out of respect. But its a matter to be determined by the defence experts and cant be reviewed judicially," the Attorney General said.

The Supreme Court was examining the pricing details of the Rafale deal, submitted by the Centre before the court in a sealed cover on Tuesday. During the hearing, the petitioners seeking a court-monitored investigation into the deal also made their submissions.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for former BJP leader Arun Shourie, argued that the government had declared the price of the aircraft twice in Parliament. However, now they are saying they cant reveal the price citing secrecy.

To counter Bhushan, the Attorney General said that the secrecy was not on the pricing of Rafale aircraft but on the weaponry and avionics.

Also Read | Ranveer Deepika wedding: DeepVeer are OFFICIALLY man and the wife!

Secrecy on the pricing of Rafale aircraft is with respect to the weaponry and certain other components that we don't want our adversary to know. The cost disclosed in the Parliament was only regarding the basic craft, the AG said.

On this, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that unless the court decides to get into the issue, there is no question of any arguments on the price of Rafale aircraft.

(With PTI inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Lake Como is a popular go-to wedding destination for all richie rich. Located in Northern Italys Lombardy region, Lake Como is an upscale resort area known for its dramatic scenery. From Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singhs wedding to Isha Ambanis soon to be wedding at Lake Como, this location sure must have a charm that lures the bankrollers into a nuptial bond.

Also Read | World Diabetes Day: This magical food fights Diabetes



Here are SIX fascinating facts about Lake Como that is making a stand-out from so many scenic locations.

Exotic Location: Lake Como is set against the foothills of the Alps with Renaissance architecture and a funicular that travels up to the mountain town of Brunate. Como is the birthplace of villa culture: Villas and the rich, Como and the weddings makes so much sense now. It was during the rise of the Roman Empire, that the rich and powerful people built their villas on the shores of Lake Como. It was since then that the villa culture also known as, villa epoche, became popular and celebrated. Como was one home to genius artistes: Como was once resided by the great Roman poet, Virgil in the Augustan era and during the Renaissance times, one of the worlds greatest genius, Leonardo da Vinci is said to have live and crated his masterpieces at the valley. Como is Hollywood A-listers second home: A location surrounded by the snow-capped Alps, fresh blue water, green lustre trees and villas, Lake Como of course have to be the second home of Hollywood A-listers. It is a perfect escape form the hustling and bustling of the city life. Few celebrities known to have a home in Lake Como are George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Antonio Banderas, David Beckham, Catherine Zeta Jones among others. Como is also a famous Hollywood Movie location: Como is not only home to Hollywood celebrities but also a location where Hollywood comes. Many of Hollywoods blockbuster movies have been shot at Como. Few among them are Oceans Twelve, Star Wars ii-Attack of the Clones and you cannot miss the intimate scene of Daniel Craig and Eva Green outside the villa at Casino Royale. Lake Como has its own unique type of wind: Since Como is surrounded by a big water reservoir, the whiffs of the fresh air is different from any other location. It has Breva, which is a Southern wind that usually blows in the afternoon and in the evening, and Tivano, which is a Northern wind that blows at night and in the morning.

For all the Latest Lifestyle News, Travel News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :

It is a cold reality that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has gone berserk with malice. In his lust for power, he has thrown all propriety and caution to the winds and is being egged on by sycophants to whom badmouthing the countrys prime minister is commonplace.



The language he has been using against Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unbecoming of a prime political leader considering that he or his party have not been able to adduce any concrete evidence to support the charge that Modi is a thief and that he defrauded the nation in the Rafale fighter jet deal.



Politics is a dirty game but there still are certain norms of behaviour and sobriety in statements that separate the wheat from the chaff. Rahul is, indeed, crossing all limits of decency and must be stopped because he is contributing to driving politics to gutter level.



French president Emmanuel Macron had clarified soon after the Rafale controversy hit the headlines that there was no question of any kickbacks in the deal which the French signed with India. If the statement of a dignitary was to be doubted, the Congress party should have come up with concrete evidence and documents to support their claim.

Also Read | Modi government opposes judicial review of Rafale deal in Supreme Court



Instead, Rahul acted as he had done when on the eve of a Parliament session months after Modi became premier, he had declared that he had proof of Modis role in corruption which he would unravel before the public.



That claim ended in a whimper as Rahul produced no evidence at all and showed how he tilts at windmills and grows wild with unsubstantiated allegations. Rahuls stock in terms of credibility and doing meaningful research before speaking out was never high but he gets away with it every time he does so.



Within his own party, there is no one to question him for fear of being thrown out. Indeed, the propensity of his partymen to accept everything that he says, though private they grumble about it, is regrettable.



With the general elections approaching, the voices are getting shriller. Recently, Rahul waxed eloquent on the details of the French Dassault companys joint venture with the Anil Ambani Reliance group being a pack of lies.



Joining issue with him, the Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trapper said emphatically that he (Eric) does not lie and declared categorically that on pricing of Rafale jets committed to India there was no wrongdoing and certainly no lie.

Also Read | Co-accuseds statements hold no value: Congress on Dassault CEOs Rafale deal clarification



Trapper said the present aircraft are cheaper by nine per cent and that the price of Rafale in flyaway condition is less in the 36 aircraft contract than the price in the 126 aircraft contact that the UPA had negotiated. The 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft contract was only on paper. It had never materialised like so many of UPAs plans.



As a consequence, while our enemies enhanced their fighter jet capability, India was overtaken and lost out in the crucial battle to acquire this potent weapon swiftly.



Rahul said in a media conference on November 2 that Trapper had lied about the Rafale deal to protect the Modi government. He alleged that Dassault had invested Rs 284 crore in a loss-making company promoted by Anil Ambani which was used to procure land in Nagpur. It is clear that Dassault CEO is lying. If an inquiry starts on this, Modi is not going to survive it. Guaranteed, he said.



Such has been the level of discourse by Rahul Gandhi! It is not as though kickbacks are unheard of in defence deals but establishing the culpability of the perpetrators requires them to be nailed with evidence that is incontrovertible. Rahul and his henchmen have failed to do that and there cannot be any justification for such loose talk, especially when the high personage one accusing has rare

credentials of integrity.



Also Read | Rafale Deal: We chose Ambani by ourselves, decreased price by 9 per cent, says Dassault CEO

As the elections approach, the cadres would seek to emulate the bad behaviour and sensationalist statements of their leaders. Someone somewhere has to put a stop to this. The BJP bigwigs too are no saints. Its leaders cross limits from time to time. A sobering touch is the need of the hour. Leaders of principal parties must take the lead.
New Delhi:

Is India not serious about peace in Afghanistan? Why did it send former diplomats and not any official to participate in Moscow-conducted first ever peace talks on Afghanistan in which Taliban were also invited? Representatives from 11 countries, including the US (though at observer level) had recently attended the one-day meet. But India, which has always supported Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled policy, chose to send Amar Sinha, former Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry and TCA Raghavan, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan to the meet held on November 9.

Read | The lighter (and darker) side of Brexit

As Taliban were also invited to the meet, India wanted to avoid to be seen officially engaging with a forum where the insurgent group whose nexus with the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence is well known, would be present. However, if India at all participated at the meet, it was due to the fact that over the years America, Russia, China and even Afghanistan indicated through words and actions about their readiness to engage with Taliban. Therefore, it appeared to be joining the meet because of some kind of implicit geo-political factors surrounding Afghanistan.

Still, it indicated a shift in Indias position on Afghanistan peace talksfrom complete avoidance to share a table with Taliban to accepting the group as an important stakeholder of peace in the war-torn nation. Many experts feel that India should show seriousness to Afghanistan imbroglio and participate actively to resolve the problem of insurgency in the war-torn nation. Russia too has urged India to join actively the next meet on Afghanistan when it will be organised. But New Delhi seems to be plagued by concern regarding Talibans activities and its association with Pakistan. In fact, for India, supporting peace process in Afghanistan with Taliban on board means allowing Pakistan to increase its political and strategic footprint in the land locked nation at the cost of New Delhis interests in Afghanistan and the Central Asian region.

Read | Motivated peace overtures to India by China-Pak axis

The Afghanistan government is also not comfortable with Taliban. If Russia could not hold a meet on Afghanistan earlier in September, it was because of the Afghanistan governments decision to shut the door on any meet where Taliban were involved. Argument given by Kabul was that its participation at the meet would serve no purpose as Taliban continued to disrespect internationally sanctioned principles and rejected the message of peace and direct negotiations. This seems to be the reason why Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, when nudged by Russians again, decided to send representatives from the High Peace Council instead of the government to the meet held on November 9. The High Peace Council is a Kabul-based non-government outfit established in 2010 by former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to advance the cause of peace process in the war-torn nation.

However, in the Moscow-held peace talks, Taliban were led by their Qatar-based office member Abbas Stanikzai. Even as they had no problem in getting clicked photographs with members from the Peace Council, they continued to harangue about legitimacy of the Afghanistan Government, the countrys constitution and others. They insisted that they would hold direct talks with the US which had sent its official as an observer to the one-day talks.

Read More | Deepika Ranveer Wedding: Ranveer to arrive at the venue in a seaplane

Taliban listed several demands, including removal of sanctions, release of detainees, formally allowing it to open an office, stopping of anti-Taliban propaganda, withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. The insurgent groups demands were the same that they have repeated very often. Most of Taliban leaders are still on the UN sanctions list. They have an office in Qatar, but it stands derecognised since 2013.

Talibans plea is that with no formal office, they confront challenges in having a formal address required to issue press releases, respond to peoples questions on national and international concerns. Experts say this is a Taliban ploy to be recognised as Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with its flag and other symbols depicted as state insignia. Whether Afghanistans Ashraf Ghani government will accept such demand is in the realm of speculation.

Read | Deepika Ranveer Wedding: Heres why their wedding is a closed affair

Five years ago, President Ghanis predecessor Hamid Karzai had forced Qatar to shut Taliban office after it was opened with the blessings from the US. American special representative to Pak-Afghanistan region Zalmay Khilzad, a US national of Afghan origin, is said to remain in touch with Taliban. Although Russian officials played a role in convincing the Taliban for joining the first ever peace talks in Moscow, they are said to be wary of Americans cooperation on Afghanistan. But for the moment, all eyes are on India and its movement. Experts too feel that Indias Afghan-led, Afghan-controlled proposition on peace process will come under severe test in the coming days. If it again sends retired officials to yet to be announced another meet on Afghanistan that means it will not support the peace process unless its fear regarding Taliban and Pakistan is addressed. Pakistan is the main protector of Taliban and its interests in Afghanistan-is what Indian officials feel.

Read More Opinion
New Delhi :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met with US Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Singapore. During the meeting, the Modi told Pence that the US has a "great opportunity" to set up defence manufacturing in India, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

PM Modi stressed that there was a great opportunity for USA in India in making defence equipment and setting up defence industry in India. The issue of terrorism was discussed and US VP Pence appreciated cooperation between US and India on counter terrorism, the MEA said.

The US Vice-President also acknowledged India's economic progress and said that the country is a positive factor in regional and international relations.

Prosperity through partnership



PM @narendramodi had a warm meeting with @VP of United States Michael Pence in #Singapore. Productive discussion on all aspects of global strategic partnership based on growing convergence of interests on regional and global issues. pic.twitter.com/M1vtAVQhsd  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2018

The discussions between PM Modi and US vice-president touched both upon bilateral relations and regional and international issues. Vice-president Pence acknowledged that India had made progress economically. He felt India is a positive factor in regional and international relations, the MEA added.

The prime minister also met with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of the same event. During the meeting with Loong, the two leaders discussed mutual cooperation in financial technology, enhanced connectivity and regional economic integration.

Modi, who arrived in Singapore earlier in the day, has a packed schedule during his two-day visit to the island nation. Besides the East Asia Summit, the prime minister will attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and an informal ASEAN-India meeting.

Also Read | At Singapore Fintech Festival, Modi pitches India as world's favourite investment destination

Earlier in the day, the prime minister delivered a keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival - the worlds largest event on financial technology. Speaking at the event, Modi said that technology has brought a historic transition and transformation as he pitched India as a favourite investment destination.

We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives. the prime minister said.

He said that the explosion of finch innovation turned India into a leading Startup nation in the world and that the future of fintech and Industry 4.0 was emerging in the country.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Colombo:

In a major turnaround of events, Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday voted against the newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The development, which comes a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential order dissolving the legislature, is seen as a boost for sacked PM Ranil Wickremesinghe.

President Maithripala Sirisena had sacked Wickremesinghe on October 26 and appointed former strongman Rajapaksa as the new premier of the island nation.

Read More | India favourite investment destination: PM Modi in Singapore

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that the majority of parliamentarians of the 225-member Assembly supported the no-confidence motion against the Rajapaksa government.

However, the passage of the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa doesn't guarantee a political victory to Wickremesinghe, whose party is the biggest in Parliament as President Sirisena still retains the power to choose the next prime minister.

Also Read | DeepVeer Ki Shaadi: All you need to know about the wedding!

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday celebrated in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House along with several top Indian-Americans. During the celebrations, the US president described India the best trade negotiators. Trump hailed deep US-India ties and said that he was grateful for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," he said before lightening the ceremonial Diya for Diwali - the largest festival of Hindus in India and abroad.

Also Read | CNN sues Trump administration for revoking its journalist Jim Acosta's White House press credentials

In 2009, Barack Obama became the first US president to celebrate Diwali inside the White House. This was Trumps second consecutive Diwali celebrations at White House.

Today, we gathered for Diwali, a holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States & around the world. Hundreds of millions of people have gathered with family & friends to light the Diya and to mark the beginning of a New Year. https://t.co/epHogpTY1A pic.twitter.com/9LUwnhngWJ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

"We're trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they're very good traders. They're very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So, we're working. And it's moving along," Trump said.

Also Read | Nehruvian legacy being 'undermined' by those currently in power: Sonia Gandhi

Although Diwali celebrations at the White House had started in 2003, Barack Obama became the first US president to attend the ceremony in 2009.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Russia tests an active-powered exoskeleton that enables soldiers to fire machine guns with one hand

Killer robots that can lift and fire machine guns with one mechanical hand might be coming soon. In fact, Russian soldiers will soon be able to pull off the same action hero gesture thanks to the new exoskeleton they are testing out, an article in TASS reported.

Developed by the TsNiiTochMash industrial design bureau, the Soldier Combat Outfit (SCO) is an active powered exoskeleton. Its limbs incorporate electric motors that are in turn hooked up to a rechargeable energy storage system.

When activated, the SCO will provide a massive boost to the strength of its user. An ordinary Russian serviceman equipped with it can hold up an 18-pound Pecheneg medium machine gun with just one hand.

We have already held trials for the prototype of the active exoskeleton. It really enhances a servicemans physical abilities, said Oleg Faustov, the chief designer of the SCO projects Life Support System, during an official announcement. For example, the tester was able to shoot from a machine-gun only with one hand and accurately hit targets. (Related: The army is looking to develop a superhuman suit that will prevent brain injuries.)

Active exosuit will grant robotic strength to Russian soldiers

The primary purpose of the SCO is to help Russian soldiers bear the ever-increasing weight of the typical combat load-out. Faustov claimed that the active exosuit will allow its wearer to move faster and complete their mission objectives with greater efficiency.

Although the SCO is fitted with a battery, the current energy storage system is reportedly insufficient for the energy-guzzling electric motors. While Faustov acknowledged this drawback, he also assured his audience that TsNiiTochMash was working on improving the performance of the battery and the motors.

The SCO itself did not appear at TsNiiTochMashs booth during the recent Army-2018 international arms expo. While its actual appearance remains a mystery, it was mentioned by Alexander Romanyuta, the chairman of the Military and Scientific Committee of the Russian Ground Forces.

During a speech, Romanyuta said that the next generation of Russias Soldier of the Future combat outfit will receive an unnamed active powered exoskeleton, assumed to be the SCO. This exoskeleton will be worn as a hardsuit over the Ratnik-3.

The SCO exoskeleton is expected to be ready for service by 2025. Based on previous reports about its prototype, the finished product might be made from titanium.

Russia already has Ratnik military exosuits in service

While waiting for TsNiiTochMash to finish improving the battery, the Russian soldier already has access to the Ratnik system. Meaning warrior in the Russian language, Ratnik is now in its second generation.

Whereas SCO is an active powered exoskeleton that requires a power source, Ratnik is a passive mechanical exosuit. Its backpack is fitted out with shoulder hangers and a waist fixture, allowing it to support 100 pounds of weight. It also has components that support the legs, including support pads in the feet. The entire system weighs twelve pounds.

It does not have the SCOs electric motors, so it will not increase the physical abilities of its wearer. Instead, Ratnik is able to reduce the locomotive load for users who are hauling bulky cargo. It does so by spreading the weight of the object across the structural elements of the exoskeleton. By supporting the stance of the user, it increases the maximum carrying capacity of a soldier by 110 pounds.

Ratnik-2 is currently in service with the Russian army. It saw action in Syria, where Russian minesweepers used it to carry their bulky sensors and equipment.

If you are worried about exoskeleton-equipped Russian soldiers showing up on vacation, you can keep track of efforts to counter them at NationalSecurity.news.

Sources include:

TASS.com

NewsWeek.com
Texas Tech proves that carrying a firearm on campus keeps people safer  Watch at Brighteon.com

Much to the chagrin of far-left, anti-gun lunatics, the great state of Texas passed a law back in 2016 allowing students, faculty, and others to carry concealed firearms on college campuses throughout the state. And guess what? Its led to safer, more civilized campus experiences for those who attend schools that embraced the policy.

During a recent episode of her Relentless program, available for viewing at Brighteon.com, NRATVs Dana Loesch discussed how Texas Tech University in Lubbock is thriving as a result of campus carry.

It makes the campus a safer place to live, learn, and educate., stated a campus police officer on July 30, praising the program. Id like to think were no longer a target of opportunity for any such events such as an active shooter, just because they know that if they come on campus, there could be a potential for an individual to be able to stop the active shooting.

Texas Tech actually trains students and faculty how to safely use guns, rather than be afraid of them

In addition to allowing students and faculty to carry concealed weapons on campus, Texas Tech has further engaged a program of education in which those who want it can learn how to properly use firearms in the event of an emergency.

We actually do a hands-on part where we barricade doors, we show you how to go hands-on with weapons, how to defend yourself, and then we also do a tourniquet training where we go in and have a stop-the-bleed so that all of our faculty, staff, and students are prepared if an event does happen here on campus, the campus officer added.

In other words, education and learning, as opposed to fear and hysteria, is the way forward in promoting the Second Amendment while also maintaining a civil and safe society. But this is hardly the narrative that anti-gun extremists were spreading prior to Texas passing campus carry.

Do you remember when this was passed? You had all of the anti-gun groups say that college campuses were going to turn into the Wild West, and that it was just going to be blood running through the streets, and it was just going to be mass chaos  not happening at all, comments Loesch.

In fact, youre not seeing that epidemic that all of those anti-gun groups were out there fear-mongering, promising would happen.

Instead of the world collapsing because law-abiding Texans are now allowed to carry firearms on college campuses, at least at participating campuses, society is actually growing stronger throughout the Lone Star State as a result of teaching personal responsibility. Who would have thought?

Good on Texas Tech, and I hope that other college campuses across Texas  privately-owned institutions that can still determine whether or not they want to have firearms on campus  follow Techs example, says Loesch.

Following Texas lead, the University of Kansas adopted a similar campus carry policy, and the outcome has been much the same  as in, overwhelmingly positive.

Instead of creating safe spaces for students, the university has permitted students full-use of their Second Amendment right to protect themselves, writes our own J.D. Heyes.

According to the Lawrence Journal-Report, crime decreased 13 percent, with 671 criminal offenses reported to K.U. police in 2017 compared to 770 incidents in 2016, according to a news release from the K.U. Office of Public Safety  Whats more, there have been no incidents involving firearms violations, though there had been 14 reported incidences since 2008 up to that point.

To learn more about why preserving the Second Amendment is critical for freedom and liberty, be sure to check out SecondAmendment.news.

Sources for this article include:

Brighteon.com

NaturalNews.com
Frances insane, power-hungry leaders demand new European empire to defeat the United States

POTUS Donald Trumps latest trip to Europe over the Veterans Day weekend didnt go quite as he had planned, but frankly, he is not to blame for it.

After arriving in France, he was criticized for skipping out on visiting the Aisne-Marne American cemetery outside of Paris, where scores of U.S. soldiers killed during World War I are buried. The president blamed poor weather and visibility, along with bad logistics, for failing to attend.

By the way, when the helicopter couldnt fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetery in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

As he said in a tweet after missing the initial event, he gave a speech there the next day in the pouring rain.

But even before the Aisne-Marne visit, POTUS Trump was heavily criticized by French President Emmanuel Macron over the formers nationalism, while the countrys finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, called on Europe to become an empire to compete with the United States.

Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism, Macron said, as reported by The Hill. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first  we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what gives it grace, and what is essential: its moral values.

Its about Europe having to become a kind of empire, as China is. And how the U.S. is, Le Maire told Germanys Handelsblatt.

In the sense that POTUS Trump uses the word nationalism, he uses it to describe his America first domestic and foreign policies, which he equates with patriotism. To him, thinking of America first  being nationalistic in that sense  is what defines patriotism. Its not the opposite of patriotism. And if the French head of state and his top officials are not looking out for their own countrys interests first and foremost, then they are not the right people to lead it.

It didnt stop there.

True European army and an empire

Macron went on to repeat earlier calls for the formation of a real European army to protect the continent from China, Russia  and the United States, the latter of which seems odd since Americans saved the European continent from itself in two world wars last century and the U.S. has never had any imperialist designs on Europe. (Related: Report: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea prepping space-based EMP attacks against U.S.)

We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America, Macron said, according to Agence France-Presse.

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 added in reference to POTUS Trumps intention to quit the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

Unsaid by Macron is the fact that Trump and his national security team want to leave the treaty only because Russia is already in violation of it and because China, which has a substantial missile force that falls within the treatys ranges, was never a signatory.

We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a true European army, Macron added. Faced with Russia, which is on our borders and has shown that it can be threatening, we must have a Europe that defends itself more alone without depending only on the United States, the French president added.

Le Maire noted further regarding the building a Euro-empire: I use the term to raise awareness that in the world of tomorrow, it will be about power. Power will make the difference: technological power, economic, financial, monetary, cultural power will be crucial. Europe should no longer shy away from displaying its power and being an empire of peace.

About 116,000 American lives were lost defending France and much of the rest of Europe during World War I.

During World War II, the figure was more than double that in the European theater.

Throughout the Cold War the U.S. formed the bulk of NATO to defend Europe and continued to do so after the Soviet Union collapsed.

Macron and Le Maire are as ungrateful as they are short-sighted.

Read more about NATO and U.S. national security at NationalSecurity.news.

Sources include:

GreatPowerWar.com

AFP.com

NewsTarget.com
Scarcity guides the business and politics of water in the western United States. In the East, its about the customer base.

Quietly over the last year, a coast-to-coast battle has unfolded over control of Clinton-based Connecticut Water Co. and its parent, Connecticut Water Service Inc. It comes to a head on Friday, as shareholders of CTWS (its ticker symbol and moniker) vote on a merger with the parent of the San Jose Water Co. in California.

This $845 million deal is billed as a groundbreaking combination that works for shareholders and customers, creating one of the first, and one of the largest, national water utility holding companies. Or, its a cross-continental corporate grab, fixed by the companies managements  and by a man at the center, who runs the parent of San Jose Water, and previously headed Connecticut Water.

Eversource is advancing the more sinister view. The utility giant has more than a passing interest as a spurned bidder, and as parent of Aquarion, the dominant water company in Fairfield County, which Eversource bought in 2017.

Together, the merged SJW Group and CTWS would deliver water to well more than 1 million people in four states: California; Connecticut, where CTWS has 104,000 household connections and 360,000 customers in a wide swath of towns; Texas, where SJW has a small operation of 43,000 customers, and Maine, where CTWS has about 30,000 connections serving 90,000 people.

Those are small numbers compared with gas and especially electric utilities, which can and do number well into the millions. But water is inherently local for the simply reason that it doesnt move across the country and we cant build plants that make it  not easily, anyway.

That makes consolidation a less obvious route, although we seem headed that way regardless.

It appears likely the CTWS shareholders will approve the deal at the in Clinton on Friday, although the deal faces a two-thirds vote requirement with very little insider ownership. Whether the three affected states approve the deal remains to be seen.

Eversource made a strong argument in an Oct. 26 filing for Connecticut regulators to reject the deal, which Eversource said was riddled with conflicts of interest, management incompetence and risk for customers. The language was unusually blunt as these things go, basically accusing the companies of colluding to benefit management.

This past Friday, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued a rebuke to Eversource with a warning: When assessing whether Eversource should be granted intervenor status in future dockets, the Authority will bear in mind the myriad ways in which Eversource ignored the Authoritys admonitions in the present docket and increased the workload for a proceeding with a short statutory deadline.

More Business State urged to come up with water plan

Is that worth a wow? Yeah, for a utility motion decision. Wow.

PURA wasnt ruling on the merits of Eversources claims, only saying the charges werent relevant to the narrow question of whether SJW has the financial and management capacity to run Connecticut Water. A PURA decision on that is due in mid-December.

Whatever happens from here, the story of how the deal unfolded could become a good illustration of where the highly fractured water industry is headed.

In October 2017, Eric Thornburg left as CEO of Connecticut Water Service Inc. to take the the top job at San Jose Water and SJW, the parent company. Eversource had just closed on the purchase of Aquarion, and approached Connecticut Water with an offer for a takeover.

That would give Eversource a huge hold over water systems around the state, although the quasi-public Metropolitan District Commission, in greater Hartford, is still bigger than either Aquarion or Connecticut Water.

CTWS said no thanks, Eversource, were good. Again in February, no thanks.

Then on March 15, CTWS announced a merger of equals with SJW, now headed by Thornburg. It would be a tax-free stock swap, with SJW the larger, 60-40 partner.

All sorts of chaos ensued. To condense, Eversource offered $63.50 a share in either stock or cash, about what the SJW deal was worth. A larger California company then offered to buy SJW, but not with the Connecticut deal.

CTWS agreed to hold a go-shop period, basically where any buyer can come in, examine the books and make an offer. No one did  including Eversource, which claimed the process was fixed for SJW.

The California-only offer went away, Eversource upped its offer slightly to $64 and then, over the summer, SJW and CTWS agreed to a new deal: No more equals, SJW would buy CTWS for $70 a share, period.

Since then, Eversource has cried foul, saying the customers  its customers in electricity and natural gas  are not protected. It says local control is better, and it offered a rate freeze until 2022.

Thats not a great offer, said Maureen Westbrook, vice president of customer and regulatory affairs for CTWS. The only way you can accomplish a rate freeze is by laying off people, she said, or by cutting off your investments in pipes and plant.

SJW and CTWS say a pure-play water company is better than a giant, regional utility with water as a sideline. They promise no layoffs resulting from the merger. Rates must be approved by regulators anyway, not that thats much protection, as weve seen with electricity prices

Eversource, meanwhile, has not upped its bid since the summer and did not mount a shareholder battle  so shareholders dont have a bidding war and they dont have a third option.

The state Office of Consumer Counsel recommends approval of the SJW merger. The guessing is that this deal will happen in early 2019, as planned  breaking new ground in the water business.

Heres what we know for sure: No matter how badly California needs water, and the crisis is severe, it cant buy supply with a Connecticut acquisition. This is strictly about running a utility.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com
5 1 of 5 Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 5 of 5









With Wednesday being opening day of the Connecticut firearms deer hunting season, the Connecticut State Environmental Conservation Police wants to ensure all participants are ready for a safe season.

But before hitting the fields, participants should remember to have their hunting license, private land/state land deer permit, deer harvest tags and a pen to fill them out, private land consent forms that should be completely filled out, 400-square-inches of blaze orange clothing and a harness if hunting from an elevated tree stand.
DANBURY  Police are asking the publics help to identify women they believe stole from local nursing home employees.

Employees at the Saint John Paul Center and the Glen Hill Center reported their wallets were stolen between 11 a.m. and noon last Thursday, according to the Danbury police Facebook page. Their credit cards were then used at the Walmart in Danbury, police said.

Workers at both assisted living facilities said they saw a heavy-set African-American woman in nursing scrubs on their grounds that day, police said.

Video footage from Walmart shows a similar-looking woman with two other women purchasing gift cards at the self-check-out registers in Danbury that day, according to police.

The women then drove away in a red Toyota Camry.

Officers in Ridgefield and New Canaan said there were reports of similar incidents in their towns that day, as well, Danbury police said.

Danbury area senior care facilities are taking precautions to prevent further incidents, police said.

The first woman is described as between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8 with long, black braided hair and dark brown eyes or possibly blue contacts. She was wearing purple or pink nurses scrubs and a dark jacket.

Police said the other woman was African-American, thin and between 5 feet and 5-foot-2. She was wearing a dark head wrap, white, zip-up sweatshirt, dark sweatpants and dark sandals.

The third woman was African-American, of medium build and between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8, police said. She has black, shoulder-length hair and wore a dark jacket, blue jeans and FILA brand sandals.

Anyone with information should contact Detective John Basile 203-797-4669.
STAMFORD  A federal agency has joined the Coast Guard in investigating a Stamford Harbor accident in which a drifting barge smashed a $1.5 million yacht.

The National Transportation Safety Board has come to the conclusion that there may be wider safety implications around this incident, and they are undertaking a full investigation, Capt. Eric Knott, Stamfords state-appointed harbormaster, has told elected officials.

In the Sept. 17 accident, a tug boat lost control of one of two barges loaded with sand and gravel that were being towed to an O&G Industries dock in the harbor. The barge struck the Sea Jay, a custom-built catamaran docked at the citys new boatyard, where it was being prepared for a yearlong trip through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific Ocean to the French Polynesian islands.

The Sea Jay is a total loss, Knott said.

The NTSB is by federal law empowered to investigate if they consider there might be public safety implications beyond the immediate cause of the accident, which appears to be one boat bumping into the other, Knott told members of the Board of Representatives Parks and Recreation Committee at their October meeting.

So at the moment, we have two parallel federal-level investigations being undertaken into this accident, Knott said. The Coast Guard and the NTSB have both been in touch with me for various information, primarily because they know I predicted this would happen.

Knott, along with members of the Stamford Harbor Management Commission, have said the new boatyard should not be built in the West Branch of the harbor. They advised the Zoning Board to reject the plan from developer Building and Land Technology, which in 2011 tore down the citys original boatyard in violation of a zoning agreement and state environmental regulations.

Unlike the original boatyard, which was on a peninsula off Bateman Way, the new one off Southfield Avenue would be at a choke point in the narrow West Branch, increasingly busy with commercial and recreational traffic, they said at the time.

But the Zoning Board approved a plan, and the new boatyard, along with a storage facility on Magee Avenue, opened over the summer.

Its not clear what the NTSB is evaluating, Knott said.

We need to be careful about speculating, he cautioned city representatives.

The accident happened when a tug boat pushed the barges, one in front of the other, until they reached O&G, where the lead one had to be turned around in order to dock. It got loose.

It seems quite clear that the tug operator made an error in judgment, Knott said.

The NTSB makes safety recommendations and has no regulatory power to enforce anything, Knott said. But they can cause people a lot of embarrassment.

The Coast Guard is lead investigator on the case, said Keith Holloway, media relations officer for the NTSB.

If we have a determination on our end, we will issue it at the same time or after the Coast Guard, Holloway said. We usually take 12 to 18 months, so if the Coast Guard comes out earlier than that, we may not have a report ready yet.

Coast Guard Lt. Rodion Mazin said the accident is still being investigated. The Coast Guard will share all findings with the NTSB, Mazin said.

Knott said the Coast Guard can sanction any credentialed mariner who may have been at fault.

Damian Ortelli, chairman of the harbor commission, said the NTSBs interest was piqued because they look into whether there is a larger public-safety concern. They came in because there may be a bigger thing here.

The Sea Jay was in the federal channel, Ortelli said. Theres supposed to be a 20-foot setback from the dock to the channel. But the catamaran was 26 feet wide, so it was sticking into the channel.

News of the crash was not a surprise, Ortelli said.

It was an I told you so, he said. I was surprised, though, that it didnt even take a year for it to happen.

The harbor is difficult because of its Y shape, he said. The channel is the stem, and it has two branches, East and West.

The previous boatyard was where the Y divides. Youd come up the main channel and it was right there, he said. Now you have to go all the way up into the end, through a pinch point, with commercial and private facilities up and down both branches.

There are 600 barge trips a year, Knott said.

We get frequent bumps from tugs and barges, he said. It is not unknown for them to bump a dock.

Knott said the city may at some point have to explain why it never required a navigational risk assessment before approving the new boatyard site.

There is no law you have to have one, but if there is another incident, a lawyer could decide that the risk was so obvious that it should have been addressed, Knott said. It could make for civil litigation.

If that were to happen, questions about the site are in the public record, Ortelli said.

The harbor commission and harbormaster argued during meetings that, with close quarters and barge traffic coming through, it could be dangerous, he said. Now a federal agency may or may not conclude that this is an acceptable place for a boatyard. Well have to see where it goes.

Knott agreed.

Just because the NTSB has opened an investigation doesnt mean they will carry it through until the end, Knott said. They may reach a point where they see no benefit in carrying on. It would be unwise to speculate.

acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296.
WARREN  A section of Route 45 was closed over night after a car crashed into a pole.

The road was shut down at Keith Road around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday and reopened before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the state Department of Transportation.
STRATFORD  The legislative race for the 120th state house district could be headed to state court.

Thats because about 80 ballots at Bunnell High School  which served two different polls  were handed out to the wrong voters, candidates have said.

The race between incumbent Democrat Phil Young and his challengers, Republican James Feehan and Prez Palmer, an independent candidate, was decided by just 18 votes in Youngs favor.

For now, a recount is planned beginning Tuesday morning in Town Hall. The current count shows Young with 5,217, Feehan with 5,199 and Palmer with 54.

Its unfortunate this happened, said Young. Its not my fault. Its not Jims fault. But it is an issue.

Feehan said the moderator advised his lawyers that the vote total in the 120th was off by 79 people  meaning there were 79 fewer votes then people who voted in that district. Meanwhile, he said the 122nd district, which also voted at Bunnell, showed there were 76 more votes cast than people voted.

Theres no way to figure out who voted where or how they would have voted, Feehan said Tuesday. But I won that polling place by a 60 to 40 percentage. Mathematically, those votes (the wrong ballots) probably would have given me the election.

Feehan called the situation a tragic mistake.

People who wanted to vote were disenfranchised, he said.

He said his lawyer, Proloy Das, is ready to challenge the election in state Superior Court if the recount shows he lost.

I believe if those people were given the proper ballot, I would have won the election, said Feehan, who previously served as the chairman of the town council and Board of Education.

A Superior Court judge could require a special election.

The 120th District has 18,118 registered voters. Of these, 5,361 are Democrats, 3,958 are Republicans, 8,601 are unaffiliated and 198 belong to minor parties.

This wasnt the only local district or municipality where there was a vote count issue.

In Ansonia, more than 200 votes were mistakenly given to Jorge Cabrera, the Democratic challenger, pollsters said. That resulted in his apparent victory over Republican State Sen. George Logan in the 17th district.

The mistake was discovered Thursday and in an unofficial recount in the Registrars office, it was determined Logan now leads by 65 votes.

The change necessitates an official recount in all the municipalities that make up that district: Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden, Naugatuck and Woodbridge.

After all this is cleared up, maybe we need to look at how the Registrar of Voters are doing their jobs, Young said. People need to be held accountable.
SINGAPORE - Vice President Pence on Wednesday told Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, that violence against Rohingya Muslims in her country is "without excuse" and pressed for accountability, underscoring mounting pressure on the tainted Nobel laureate to act over atrocities described as "genocidal" by the United Nations.

In a tense exchange before a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of regional summits here, Pence - the most senior U.S. official to meet Suu Kyi since's last year's crisis - told Suu Kyi he was "very anxious" to hear about resolving the Rohingya crisis and plans to repatriate Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh. The widely criticized repatriation process could start as soon as this week.

"I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands, [and] created such suffering," Pence said as Suu Kyi looked on.

In brief and almost inaudible comments, she replied, "We understand our country better than any other country does." Suu Kyi added that she would like to "explain" what Myanmar is doing to make the country, also known as Burma, a "safer and more prosperous place."

The icy exchange was emblematic of pressure that Suu Kyi is facing at this forum and others in the wake of the widely documented atrocities against the Rohingya at the hands of the Myanmar military. The United Nations says the atrocities could be tantamount to genocide and have sent more than 700,000 refugees pouring into neighboring Bangladesh.

Suu Kyi requested Wednesday's meeting with Pence on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits this week in Singapore.

She has also been criticized by some in the 10-member ASEAN bloc, despite its long-standing policy of nonintervention in the affairs of other states in the group. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the organization's elder statesman, said in comments to reporters Tuesday that Suu Kyi was "trying to defend what is indefensible" by failing to condemn the Myanmar military for its actions.

"They are actually oppressing these people to the point of killing them, mass killing," he reportedly said.

A senior White House official said Pence also pressed Suu Kyi "multiple times" on pardoning two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have been sentenced to jail for violating the country's colonial-era secrets act - charges widely seen as politically motivated. The pair were reporting on the massacre of 10 Muslim Rohingya men, part of the broader crackdown that occurred last August, when they were arrested in December.

The official declined to comment on Suu Kyi's response on the journalists or whether Pence was satisfied with it.

In his opening remarks before the bilateral meeting, Pence said he was "looking forward" to speaking with Suu Kyi about the "premium" his country and administration places on a free and independent press.

"In America, we believe in our democratic institutions and our ideals, including a free and independent press," Pence said. "The arrest and jailing of two journalists last fall was deeply troubling to millions of Americans."

Others have joined the United States in calling for Myanmar to address the Rohingya issue, including the underlying and long-standing conditions that have made the minority vulnerable to violence, sometimes fleeing to neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Thailand to escape the persecution. The Rohingya say they are native to Myanmar, but Myanmar considers them to be illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship rights.

Myanmar has also insisted that the August crackdown was in response to Rohingya militant attacks and has denied charges of ethnic cleansing or genocide.

Singapore, which chairs ASEAN this year, has quietly pushed behind the scenes to get Suu Kyi and other Myanmar leaders to understand the severity of the crisis they are facing, say regional diplomats.

"If Myanmar drifts back into pariah status through international and other sanctions, it could pull the whole of ASEAN down with it," said Kobsak Chutikul, a retired ambassador and former member of Thailand's parliament who was involved in an advisory board on the Rohingya crisis until he quit in July over concerns that it was ineffective. "Continued ASEAN centrality and relevance is considered extremely important by all members. Myanmar's condition threatens this - at the least, it is bad P.R."

Suu Kyi has also lost a string of international accolades awarded to her when she was under house arrest for most of two decades for standing up to Myanmar's military junta and demanding democratic rule. The latest was Amnesty International, which withdrew its highest honor, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, from Suu Kyi on Sunday.

"Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defense of human rights," said Kumi Naidoo, the rights group's secretary general. "Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you."

Of particular and immediate concern, rights groups say, is the imminent repatriation of thousands of Rohingya from Bangladesh to Myanmar. The United Nations says that conditions are unsuitable for the safe return of the Rohingya to their home country, and the International Crisis Group has warned that a rushed return could trigger violence.

Myanmar's strategic location - on China's southwestern border - has made the country especially important to Washington. The senior White House official also said that Pence in Wednesday's meeting warned Suu Kyi against falling into the trap of debt diplomacy - a thinly veiled reference to China, whose Belt and Road Initiative is seen as a tool to extend political influence through infrastructure building while putting countries on the hook for billions of dollars in debt.

China has signed an agreement to build a massive economic corridor through Myanmar and is developing a $1.3 billion port close to the Indian Ocean.

The United States has stressed to its allies in China's backyard that Washington offers an alternative to investment from Beijing. Pence emphasized American commitment to the Asia-Pacific region in his bilateral meetings Wednesday, which included encounters with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
I've been in London this week to talk about what the midterms mean for the Trump administration, and while I'm on this side of the Atlantic it seems appropriate to revisit Brexit. The last time I wrote about it was 18 months ago, when British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50, beginning her country's two-year withdrawal process from the European Union. It was unclear how May's government figured that it would be able to get all the things it wanted from the E.U. (sovereignty, customs-free, duty-free access to the E.U. market, autonomy over migration) without making some serious concessions (Northern Ireland, loss of influence over any E.U. decision).

Back then I concluded: "The European Union has an incentive to avoid a truly messy outcome, but the United Kingdom has an even bigger incentive. I'm not a politician, but I understand coercive bargaining a little bit; I simply cannot fathom how this doesn't end in a bad way for the Brits."

Since then, the May government had plodded toward an agreement with the E.U., shedding numerous recalcitrant cabinet ministers along the way. First the leaders of the "Leave" campaign all left May's government when it became clear that there was no chance in hell their maximalist demands would be met. Last week, May's transport minister Jo Johnson stepped down, warning in a statement that the United Kingdom faced an unappetizing choice:

"The choice being presented to the British people is no choice at all. The first option is the one the Government is proposing: an agreement that will leave our country economically weakened, with no say in the EU rules it must follow and years of uncertainty for business. The second option is a "no deal" Brexit that I know as a Transport Minister will inflict untold damage on our nation. 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."

Fast-forward to this week and, hey, it looks like May sure showed Johnson! She hammered out a tentative withdrawal agreement with the European Union. The Financial Times's Alex Barker and Mehreen Khan provide the most detail I have seen of any news story about the agreement itself. Their article is worth reading in full, but the part on Northern Ireland stands out as an example of what May had to agree to in order to save face:

"Theresa May will crucially be able to claim that the fallback arrangements will never force the UK to create a customs border along the Irish Sea, with special arrangements for Northern Ireland that would divide its economy from the UK mainland....

"Brussels' concessions ... carry a big political price. The first is a guarantee to Ireland that Britain will not be able to leave a UK-EU customs union backstop without the EU being satisfied that arrangements are in place to avoid a hard border, either through a trade deal or a successor plan for Northern Ireland....

"Even after the compromise, Mrs. May must still justify a treaty text that would keep Northern Ireland aligned to the EU's single market rules enabling the free flow of goods and agricultural products across the Irish border. Northern Ireland would also be expected to apply the full 'union customs code' - integrating it with the EU's customs zone in a deeper way than the rest of the UK mainland."

That is just about Northern Ireland. On the overall "bare-bones" customs agreement between the U.K. and E.U., May agreed to "level playing field" conditions that meant, as Barker and Khan report, "some of the most severe restrictions placed on any country outside the single market." Politico reports that "the EU believes the provisional deal struck by the two sides sets a 'precedent' for the future customs relationship. Brussels intends to prevent London from watering it down in the negotiations to come over its future trading relationship."

The May government can claim to have successfully negotiated Brexit. The price? Acceding to E.U. rules on almost everything of substance. The United Kingdom gets to keep half a foot in the European Union at the price of giving up any say over E.U. rules. Furthermore, because it will still be wedded to E.U. rules and regulations, new trade deals with non-E.U. partners are unlikely to be negotiated. Why negotiate with a constrained U.K. instead of negotiating with the .E.U itself?

As the BBC and everyone else has reported, this is far from a done deal. May must get her cabinet to sign off on it, then the remaining 27 members of the European Union need to agree to it, and then the British Parliament. Approval at any of these three stages is far from guaranteed.

A majority of Britons approved the departure from the European Union in 2016. This is what they wanted, and popular sovereignty should be acknowledged. But as the bill for this expression of sovereignty comes into focus, and as the terms of the post-Brexit United Kingdom become clear, it becomes harder to believe that any of this has been worth it.

May's government is not really to blame for this. Britain's bargaining weakness has been evident since Article 50 was invoked. In return for no longer being a member of the European Union, the U.K. had to agree to adhere to most of the E.U.'s rules and regulations. The outcome is an expression of populist nationalism. But it is also some very bad comedy.

- Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
This appeared in Wednesday's Washington Post.

- - -

"We're in no rush," President Donald Trump declared last week about efforts to slow or reverse North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Well, North Korea is also in no rush. After Trump's showy June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, Pyongyang's nuclear materials production, missile operating sites and brutal concentration camps are all still grinding along.

It is true that North Korea has not tested a missile or an atomic bomb lately. But nor has it been idle. In a report published on Monday, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies,documented with satellite imagery 13 North Korean missile operating bases, and perhaps as many as 20, that have been undeclared by the government. The disclosure is another reminder that North Korea has rebuffed the U.S. demand for a complete inventory of its nuclear weapons programs, while insisting the United States make a full declaration of the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. Kim is a wily negotiator. In September, he pledged to "permanently dismantle" a missile engine test site, a mere fraction of the missile and nuclear weapons complex that is still running at full steam, including the newly disclosed sites, such as Sakkanmol, which handles short-range missiles and is located about 50 miles north of the demilitarized zone.

Since the summit, Trump has swooned in unseemly fashion that "we fell in love" when Kim wrote to him: "No, really - he wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters." In fact, while Kim has focused on a rapprochement with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, the Trump approach to slowing North Korea's nuclear weapons systems appears to be at an impasse. A meeting scheduled for Nov. 8 between North Korean officials and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fell apart. Kim, like his father, is wellversed in the tools of deception, delay, threat and extortion. He is proving it once again, to the detriment of Trump - and global security.

Meanwhile, the human rights catastrophe in North Korea is unaddressed. Four years ago, a United Nations commission of inquiry found "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" by North Korea, including "crimes against humanity" perpetrated by the state. Now, the U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana,said, "The human rights situation at the moment has not changed on the ground in North Korea despite the important progress on security, peace and prosperity." He added, "What is needed from North Korea is a signal that they will discuss human rights. . . . We haven't heard anything coming from the summits in this respect."

A few years ago, the world was shocked to discover North Korea had one, then six, nuclear weapons. The number is now probably in the dozens. Tens of thousands of people are suffering in brutal prison camps. But who's in a rush?
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A former prison tailor shop worker is going to jail for having an illicit relationship with an inmate at the same New York prison where another female employee aided the escape of two killers.

State Inspector General Catharine Leahy Scott's office said Tuesday that Denise Prell was sentenced to a year in jail and $13,000 in fines and fees for promoting prison contraband, sexual abuse in the third degree and official misconduct.

Investigators say Prell lost her job as a tailor shop supervisor at Clinton Correctional Facility last year.

In June 2015, two inmates aided by prison tailor shop employee Joyce Mitchell escaped from the prison near the Canadian border. One was killed by police. The other was captured.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The coastal storm set to descend upon Upstate New York Thursday could bring a messy combination of snow, freezing rain and ice.

While the exact proportions are yet to be determined, the storm will almost certainly make roads slippery and could knock out power, the National Weather Service said.

"This snow likely will wet and heavy, and because of that of that it will stick to the trees," said Dave Nicosia, the warning coordination meteorologist in the weather service's Binghamton office. "In areas where there are still leaves on the trees, we could run into power outage issues."

The storm is expected to reach the Southern Tier by early afternoon, and work its way northeast, arriving in Syracuse about 5 p.m. and Utica a couple of hours later. It could last until Friday afternoon.

If Thursday's coastal storm tracks farther east than now forecast, it could bring colder air, resulting in less ice and up to a foot of snow in Central New York.

A winter storm watch is in effect from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon in the Finger Lakes, Central New York and the Catskills region, the areas most likely to get the most snow and ice. A similar watch is in effect for the Hudson Valley and Capital Region, which are expected to see less snow -- about 2 to 5 inches -- but enough to cause travel and power issues.

While meteorologists are confident there will be lots of precipitation, the exact type and amount is still difficult to determine. That depends on the exact track of the storm and on the temperatures in the atmosphere.

If the storm moves farther east than expected as it crawls along the East Coast Thursday, that would bring colder temperatures and thus more snow -- up to a foot in Central New York and the Finger Lakes. If the storm moves to the west, it would bring in warmer air, and the precipitation would fall as freezing ran an ice.

The temperature will play a crucial role, too.

"If it's a degree or two difference, that could be the difference between 2 inches of snow and 12 inches of snow," Nicosia told dozens of emergency planners and media representatives on a conference call today.

Nicosia said he plans to have another call at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Contact Glenn Coin: Email | Twitter | Google + | (315) 470-3251
Diageo is selling its Seagrams VO whiskey label and 18 others to Sazerac for $550 million, with plans to plow the proceeds into repurchasing shares.

Diageo, among the largest alcohol companies in the world, is based in London with its North American headquarters in Norwalk. Sazerac is a family-owned company based in Metairie, La., that has operations coast to coast, with its brands including A. Smith Bowman, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Mr. Boston and Southern Comfort.

Other brands Sazerac is buying from Diageo include Seagrams 83, Seagrams Five Star and Yukon Jack whiskeys; John Begg and Scoresby scotch; Romana Sambuca; Myerss and Parrot Bay rum; Popov and Relska vodkas; Peligroso tequila; Booths gin; Black Haus schnapps; Goldschlager and Piehole liqueurs; Grind espresso shot; and Stirrings cocktail mixers.

Only a few years ago, Diageo had sued Sazerac for trademark infringement on claims the bottling for the latter companys Dr. McGillicuddy line of whiskey bore too close a resemblance to Diageos Bulleit brand. The companies settled the dispute within a matter of months.

In a written statement, Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes said the deal allows Diageo to focus on faster-growing premium brands in the U.S. market. Of brands specified in its most recent annual report, Diageo estimated the intangible value of the Seagrams VO brand at $144 million, with Joseph Seagram first distilling the whiskey in 1913 to mark his sons wedding. Diageo bottles Seagrams VO near Montreal in Valleyfield, Quebec.

Diageo did not include Seagrams 7 Crown whiskey among the brands it is transferring to Sazerac, with the whiskey ranking among the companys top 15 most valuable brands.

Crown Royal tops that list for Diageo with a listed value of $1.4 billion, with Bulleit and Johnnie Walker among the top six whiskey or scotch brands globally as ranked last February by BevSpot. Diageo recently unveiled a lineup of eight Johnnie Walker blends under a licensing agreement with HBO and its Game of Thrones series.

Diageo has the top rum brand in the world as well in Captain Morgan; and the second largest tequila label in Don Julio.

Last year, Diageo spent $700 million to acquire the Casamigos brand of tequila co-owned by Hollywood star George Clooney, in a deal that could swell to $1 billion depending on how the brand performs.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Dion Cini calls his photos at Florida's Walt Disney World Resort "guerrilla marketing."

One picture shows the 49-year-old with a slight smile, holding a "Trump 2020" banner on the Splash Mountain log ride. Another shows him on a roller coaster, holding a sign reading "Keep America GREAT!"

His plan, he said, was to go viral, drawing support for President Donald Trump's campaign.

According to the New Yorker, in the past several months he has also unfurled pro-Trump banners on Broadway and at Yankee Stadium to show his support for the president.

But, he said, it was his campaigning last week at the Disney theme park that became an issue - and got him banned from all Disney properties, including theme parks and resorts for inciting a crowd.

"I did not break the rules," Cini said Tuesday afternoon in a phone interview with The Washington Post. "I was on a ride. I was not inciting a crowd. There was no crowd."

A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that the issue was not with the guest's political views, but that he repeatedly violated park rules by waving banners. According to the park's policies, guests are prohibited from organizing demonstrations or speeches, using "any flag, banner or sign for commercial purposes" or inciting a crowd. The policies also state that any item Disney deems "harmful or disruptive" is not permitted.

"Walt Disney World welcomes all Guests to enjoy our parks; however, demonstrations and the display of signs and banners is not permitted on the premises," the statement read. "We have previously reminded this guest about our rules."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office, which reportedly responded to the incident, did not immediately provide information to The Washington Post.

It started in September when Cini, a Trump supporter, hung a massive "Trump 2020" banner outside Disney's Main Street Railroad Station. Cini claims he was banned from Disney but was later told he could return if he agreed not to incite a crowd. After he used the two pro-Trump signs last week, he said, he was banned again.

"Banned for life from Walt Disney World for the 2nd time in a month," he wrote on Facebook. "They hate my signs, or the President? Maybe both?"

Disney said the guest was not banned in response to the incident in September but that his ticket was "paused" so park staffers could have a conversation with him about the policies and procedures.

When he broke the rules again last week, he was "trespassed," Disney said.

More Business Idaho district apologizing, investigating after teachers dress as border wall for Halloween

In any case, Cini said he knew the photos showing him with pro-Trump banners would go viral - and he was counting on it, saying it was his way to contribute to the campaign. He said he believes that Trump is "doing a better job than any president I've ever seen."

"I do things differently," he said. "I do things that will go viral to support the president. I'm trying to let other Trump supporters know that you don't have to go to rallies; you can do this on your own."

"One person can have a bigger voice than a thousand people," he added.

After his recent photo-ops, Cini said he has gotten a wide response from people - some expressing appreciation and some sending death threats.

When he posted about it on Facebook, many people commented on his personal page, calling him a "super hero" and saying that the stunt was his "best one yet." However, some pointed out that a sign could be a hazard on a fast-moving ride. And others noted that many people go to theme parks to "escape the world," not be confronted by it.

As for his banishment from Disney, Cini said he intends to fight it in court.
NEW HAVEN  A former Meriden dentist has been sentenced to serve seven years in prison for sexually assaulting two of his patients, stalking one of them and possessing child pornography.

Jeffrey Krahling, 53, of Summerhill Road, Wallingford, avoided a longer sentence by pleading guilty to two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault as well as third-degree burglary, intimidating a witness, tampering with a witness and possession of child pornography.

His two dental victims delivered statements in New Haven Superior Court, describing how Krahlings actions have resulted in ongoing anxiety and fear.

The warrant by Meriden police quoted the victims stating Krahling made sure he had them alone in his office during the dental procedures, then rubbed his genitals against their heads and shoulders.

The first victim, who was then 39, came to the Meriden police headquarters in April 2016 and reported Krahling had assaulted her during a dental crown procedure three days earlier at his office on Curtis Street.

She said when she arrived at the office, Krahling was very abrupt and stern with his staff but he was pleasant with her, the warrant stated. During the procedure, Krahling was seated on a stool by her head and kept asking her if he could tilt the dentist chair further back to access her mouth.

She was quoted telling police Krahlings legs were wrapped around her head as she was leaning back in the dentist chair. Then Krahling began grinding on the top of her head as she recognized the feel of his belt buckle on her head.

The victim told police she could feel his genitals on her head. The female victim reported Krahling was breathing heavily and moaning, according to the warrant.

The victim said she was too upset to go to work that day. She told police Krahling called her the next day to see how she was doing and stated he would have no problem fitting her in if she needed to come back, the warrant said.

She told police he called her four more times on the Saturday after the assault. She did not answer.

The victim concluded her interview with police by describing Krahlings behavior as creepy and not normal.

According to the warrant, when police checked into Krahlings criminal history, they learned he had five battery convictions in Maryland and had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in Wallingford in August 2015.

Meriden Police Detective Shane Phillips, who wrote the warrant, said Krahling refused to cooperate with the investigation.

The second victim, who was 23 at the time of the crime against her, came to the Meriden police department in September 2016 after she saw a news article on Krahlings arrest and decided she should come forward too.

She told police the assault occurred in January 2016 at his office. She noted that during previous visits Krahling wasnt creepy but was touchy and feely, according to the warrant.

The victim said she was at his office for a minor dental procedure and that as he began working on her, she could feel his stomach on her ear. She noted only the two of them were in the room.

She told police that as Krahling stood next to her, she could feel him grinding his genitals on her right shoulder. She quoted Krahling telling her he wanted to give her the prettiest smile possible.

The victim said she was crying when she came home afterward and told her husband what had happened. The husband later confirmed with police she had been visibly upset and crying.

Phillips noted in the warrant that her version of events was very similar to the report made by the previous victim.

Krahlings attorney, Norm Pattis, told the New Haven Register: Obviously its a very sad case. He had it all and then lost it all. I think hed attribute it to a failed struggle with alcohol.

I wish him all the best, to re-group, Pattis added.

The first victim read a statement during the sentencing hearing in which she said she believed it had been her responsibility to report what had happened because she was not the only patient Krahling had assaulted.

Dr. Krahling sexually assaulted me during a medical procedure, a time when I was both physically and mentally vulnerable, she said. She noted the assault came after he told his hygienist he did not need her assistance. This resulted in leaving Dr. Krahling and I alone in his office as the staff left for lunch, creating the best environment for him to assault me.

After the assault, she added, Dr. Krahling began vandalizing my house and property, and continued until my house was completely destroyed. She said he spray-painted her driveway and walkway as well as the front of her house. She said he also broke windows on her home with a hammer and broke into her house.

I believe Dr. Krahlings persistence shows he will continue to disregard the law and try to hurt me and my property at any cost, she said.

I was in constant fear for my safety, she added. Because Jeffrey Krahling was stalking me, I was forced to move out of my home. She said she missed more than a month of work.

I still constantly feel like I have to be vigilant when it comes to my safety and whereabouts, she said.

The victim said that when Krahling is released from prison, he should be monitored closely and should be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford ordered that Krahling be on the sex offender registry for 10 years upon his release.

The second victim told Clifford: Since being sexually assaulted, I have been formally diagnosed with PTSD and I attempted to go into therapy. I continue to struggle with trusting others.

She said she had hoped that when Krahling was sentenced, she would be relieved. But that relief never came for me. I still have anxiety. My relationships have suffered as a result and my heart hurts for the people who love me.

She added, I have lost a lot of sleep and spent countless hours blaming myself for what happened. But she said, Today, I want the court to know that the shame I have been carrying so heavily does not belong to me. It belongs to him.

She asked: How can I be certain I am safe when he is released?

The child pornography charge came out of an investigation by state police. The warrant for that case stated police found 38 images and 15 videos of child pornography on Krahlings laptop. According to the warrant, the girls appeared to be between 4 and 14 years old.

The total sentence imposed by Clifford was 15 years, to be suspended after Krahling serves seven years. He will then be on probation for 10 years.

randall.beach@hearstmediact.com
HAMDEN  Incumbent Republican George Logan emerged victorious after a recount in the 17th District state Senate race, he said Wednesday.

Logan said he won the race by 85 votes.

I feel great, said Logan. Im very glad that folks came out and spoke their minds.

Logan said he would strive to better understand the needs of 17th District residents, particularly in Woodbridge and Hamden, as he reacts to the narrow margin of victory. He said he would strive to work in bipartisan fashion in his next term in office.

Democratic candidate Jorge Cabrera said he called Logan to concede Wednesday.

He thanked his supporters, noting that he had received more than 18,000 votes in his first run for office, and said he had enjoyed making the run for office.

Were happy with our campaign, said Cabrera.
ORANGE  After a public hearing that spanned three meetings and included hours of talking by an attorney, engineers, a soil scientist and one resident in opposition, the Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Commission Tuesday night approved an application for the developer of a business-to-business distribution center to build on property owned by Stew Leonard.

The unanimous vote clears the way for the Town Plan and Zoning Commission to vote on an a temporary special use earth materials removal and filling application at the site by Stew Leonards Orange LLC, for the proposed construction of a 47,178-square-foot distribution facility and a 9,680-square-foot maintenance building.

They also submitted an application for sediment control measures.

The inland wetlands commission hearing was continued for a second time last month because of a bevy of questions raised by town engineer Robert H. Brinton Jr., who finally signed off on the project.

The 41-acre property at 161 Marsh Hill Road captivates residents because supermarket mogul Leonard tried to build a store there for years, stirring fierce debate, and since giving up has tried to sell the property for years to no avail.

The public hearing began Sept. 11.

Nearby Indian River Road resident George Finley, an engineer, has been the lone dissenter, claiming the many trucks at the center would put toxins into the environment.

Who and what are going to protect the wetlands and the watercourses? Finley asked.

In addition to the distribution center the proposed complex would include a fueling facility, maintenance shop and offices, for a total 63,000 square feet.

Both Attorney John Knuff and his client, Scannell Properties LLC, have declined to comment on what company will settle there, but they said its a nationally known firm located in a nearby town.

The property contains five wetlands totaling 6,780 square feet, two of which are manmade and would be eliminated under the plan. Also living on the property are Eastern box turtles and smooth green snakes, both of which are listed as being of special concern in the state and offered protection by the Connecticut Endangered Species Act, according to a narrative of the plan filed at Town Hall. They are located in an isolated area of the property.

At the requirement of DEEP, the developers have a plan for those species  a species protection during construction, according to the plans narrative. That will include avoiding the area where they are located and educating contractors and subcontractors and monitoring of construction activity by an expert.

Experts representing the developer have said they have a robust stormwater treatment plan.

A soil scientist on the team told the commission the plan would not significantly affect the wetlands on the other end of the property.

The property is in a Light Industrial 2 zone. The property price is not listed for the public to see, but at one point Leonard was seeking $14.5 million. He paid $2.2 million for the land in 1996.
NEW HAVEN  Get ready for another music venue downtown.

The parent of the College Street Music Hall was chosen to proceed with its plans to fill the empty former club space at the Crown Street Garage with a new venture they are calling District Ballroom.

The New Haven Parking Authority board picked the proposal Tuesday over a consortium of the Shubert Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre and Albertus Magnus College mainly because the music plan could get up and running more quickly, it did not have to fundraise for the $2 million in renovations and it was not asking for any subsidies.

The consortium, however, still could be a neighbor in the area, with Shubert Executive Director John Fisher indicating an interest in looking at other Parking Authority space at the Temple Street Garage and elsewhere  as a home for its partnership with Long Wharf and Albertus.

After the vote, Fisher congratulated his competitors. We wish them well, he said.

Attorney Steven Mednick, who represents the winning plan, said they were looking forward to getting into the space to draw up more specific plans. He didnt expect contract negotiations to take long.

The next step for the Parking Authority is to negotiate a contract with the New Haven Center for the Performing Arts, the nonprofit that runs the popular College Street Music Hall. Keith Mahler, president of Premier Facilities LLC, is manager of the current 2,000-seat music hall.

In the end, four members of the authoritys board voted for the music venue, which will be a smaller version of its original facility as it prepares to fit out the 10,000- to 11,000-square-foot former home to such clubs as Boppers.

Member Donna Curren recused herself as she is on the board for the New Haven Festival of Arts & Ideas, which strongly supported the consortium plan, and she felt that was a conflict.

Douglas Hausladen, acting executive director of the Parking Authority, also did not vote in the event he has to negotiate with the consortium at a later point.

In favor of the District Ballroom were members Larry Stewart, Andrew Orefice, Pedro Rivera and the chairman, Norman Forrester.

A separate selection committee already had made a recommendation to the board. Four members of that group, appointed to vet the two proposals, gave equal weight to each, while three voted solely for the NHCPA plan, with a final vote of 7 for the music club and four for the theater plan.

I personally like the diversity that they (the consortium) brought from a venue perspective, Orefice said, given that other music venues are located downtown.

But, from a fiduciary standpoint, District Ballroom seemed stronger financially as it could pay the rent and bring dollars and people into the city, Orefice said.

His biggest reservation with the NHCPA was it operates as a not-for-profit, although it seems to be a strong, independent, well-funded entity. He would like to see it become a for-profit in its arrangment with the authority.

Others thought having District Balllroom offer more community involvement could be among the items to be discussed as contract terms are worked out.

Part of the terms in the Request for Proposals, which the authority put out in summer as it looked for bidders for the space, was a payment in lieu of taxes which would be equal to what the city would assess the real property for.

That is different than personal property, which will change, Joseph Rini, attorney for the Parking Authority, said. He said the board could not waive the payment in lieu of taxes .

The consortium, which estimated it would have to invest $5.7 million as opposed to the $2 million estimated by the NHCPA plan, had asked that the $60,000 signing fee be waived, as well as the PILOT. It also asked that the $6 per square foot rent be forgiven for the first five years, given the investment it was willing to make.

The consortium estimated it would being 51,000 new patrons downtown, with attendance up to 56,464 by the third year.

Premier Facilities estimated it would serve 2,500 ticket-holders weekly for more than 100,000 visits over a year. The consortium said it could bring $1.4 million in new business downtown; the District Ballroom estimate was more than double at $3.1 million.

mary.oleary@

hearstmediact.com; 204-641-2577
NEW HAVENState Senate Republican leader Len Fasano of North Haven again is pushing for an audit of city spending.

In a monthly meeting of the Financial Review and Audit Commission to which he was invited , Fasano echoed what he wrote to Mayor Toni N. Harp in a letter calling for a financial audit of the city following criticisms of the citys spending practices.

Someones got to stand up and say weve got to protect the finances of this city, Fasano said. Thats my view of someone whos not here to stir the pot as much as someone whos here to make sure that this city does as well as it can.

Commission member Joseph Dolan questioned why FRAC was examining credit card usage, saying it was outside the commissions purview. Dolan said the bodys main duties are to review the citys monthly financial reports, make recommendations to the citys auditor and review the audit for each fiscal year. This particular topic is not in our purview and I wonder why were spending time on it, he said.

He added the woman who allegedly misused the citys credit card likely was an aberration and didnt have a significant impact on city finances. To me that is just nitpicking when we have far more serious problems to deal with, he said.

FRAC Chairman Mohit Agrawal said the main purview of the commission is to be an informational setting in which theyre trying to get more people in front of them to explain the city budget and broader financial picture. Agrawal said city staff are always invited to the meetings.

As chair, one of my goals for FRAC is that FRAC would play a convening role where commission members and the general public learn from city and state leaders, Agrawal said in an email. Municipal finance can be complicated, and the better informed that commission members and the general public are, the better positioned we will be as a city to address our fiscal challenges. FRAC is non-partisan and welcomes input from individuals of all stripes. We have an open door to all city and state leaders.

Dolan questioned why Fasano wrote the public letter; Fasano said he did because New Haven gets much of its budget from the state.

I believe if youre going to give 39 percent of a budget to a city, there should be accountability to all the taxpayers on how the money is used, he said.

You hardly have any pedestal to stand on, Dolan said to Fasano. You act like its your personal money being squandered and its not.

Fasano disagreed, saying that since he owns property in the city, its part of his money and since the state gives New Haven almost 40 percent of its budget, its every state taxpayers money.

Harp had responded to Fasanos letter with her own providing a number of ways Fasano could help the city after he voted for a budget that cut New Havens revenue by $9.5 million.

The city recently held a hearing about credit card spending practices in which Controller Daryl Jones, Budget Director Michael Gormany and Purchasing Agent Michael Fumiatti explained some charges but said everything is watched.

When discrepancies have been found in one account, someone could raise a lot of question on what these charges mean, Fasano said at that FRAC meeting. And there may be perfect tie-in to the reason why Comcast bills are on the charge card, or Six Flags, or Yankee tickets, and there may be perfect examples of why those are on the card and there may be missing information and perhaps an auditor should report that. But I do object to the fact that we dont have a right to question it. ... Someones got to raise an issue and sometimes its politically difficult to do so. When I saw that, I thought it was an opportune time to raise the issue.

Jones said said the process of credit card use and the spending details can be explained easily because everything is tied to the budget. Jones said he didnt know Fasano was invited to the meeting, nor was anyone in the mayors administration notified.

Agrawal said FRAC would continue to discuss the credit card policies at future meetings where more people would hopefully come to speak on them and give more explanation.

mdignan@hearstmediact.com
Xem them

...

Tin bai cuoi cung

Khong con du lieu e load
NEW HAVEN  Facing a room of supporters wearing green shirts Monday, members of the Board of Education endorsed state renewal of the Elm City Montessori School.

Five of six of the members present were in favor, despite a presentation from financial analysts Monday night that reflected the school boards budget deficit, which at one point shrank from a projected $20 million to a projected $8 million, had slowly ticked back up to $9 million.

When I came to this school, I unlocked my passion, said Montessori fourth-grader Cartier Frederick, who transferred to the school from Bishop Woods School.

Cartier was one of a number of students who played into Montessori supporters charm offensive over a school visit from the Board of Education and two public hearings on the schools charter renewal.

Representatives of the state Department of Education will pay the school a visit Nov. 28, after which the State Board of Education will make a decision on the schools future. If the school receives that renewal, it hopes to expand to eighth grade with 298 total students by 2023.

Although Montessori Director Eliza Halsey and Principal Julia Webb presented facts about the schools commitment to anti-bias and anti-racism training, the school board was forced to reckon with the cost of continuing the school. According to state statute, the school district must contribute the average per-pupil funding cost to the Montessori for the previous school year. This year, the Montessori School receives more than $13,000 per student, whereas Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks said students in traditional schools are funded at about $7,000 per pupil.

Halsey said that, despite that, the school also submitted 10 percent of its budget for consideration to be cut this year, just like all other schools in the city. Mayor Toni Harp wondered whether the school would consider helping the district more with mitigating its budget. Halsey said these conversations already are happening, but they are fairly nascent as Birks has been in her role for about eight months.

Ed Joyner, the lone dissenting school board member, heaped praise upon the schools educational model and its leadership, but said he could not endorse the schools growth amid a budget mitigation effort.

There are 8 million elephants in this room, and there are also thousands of other kids in the district, and were not in the position to rob Peter to pay Paul, he said. I dont know how we can overcome an $8 million deficit by adding schools.

Although the other five members voted affirmatively to endorse the school, members expressed a range of enthusiasm. Harp said she remembered Montessori being founded to give people in the community greater access to early education programs, and yet the school continues to grow. Member Joe Rodriguez said he made a promise to the schools students and intended on keeping it.

School board Vice President Jamell Cotto claimed to have been on the fence when he first arrived for the school visit, but he left feeling the school was too special.

President Darnell Goldson said the decision for him was easy. Although Creed High School and two alternative schools were closed, he said it was because of other factors. The district was liable to be sued by the state because Creed was not racially integrated enough with white students and the alternative schools had low attendance, yet cost millions to operate, he cited as reasons.

He reasoned that the school board would simply have to pressure the state department to give the district the resources it needs to operate the charter school in addition to its other schools.

Im not going to let them starve us to death, he said.

The only person facing the meetings audience who did not formulate a clear-cut position on the schools future was Birks. Birks hiring was met with opposition by a vocal segment of the community, in part because of fears she would privatize elements of the district because of her stated embrace of data and a refusal to outright condemn charter schools.

Goldson pushed Birks multiple times as to whether she would endorse renewing the school, and she responded that she supports choice and opportunity for families.

Although members of the Montessori community packed the cafeteria at Celentano School for the meeting, one member of the community expressed skepticism.

Christopher Columbus Family Academy parent Sarah Miller said she is a supporter of the Montessori model, which postulates that children should be discoverers of learning, but the schools existance hurts the rest of the district by siphoning resources.

They take people with certain values and put them in a certain place, she said, whereas she believes the Montessori model should be shared by the entire New Haven Public Schools community, as well as its funding.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
/ Hamden Police Department Twitter

HAMDEN  A Quinnipiac University student was injured Wednesday morning in a crash in the universitys parking lot.

Two cars collided around 11 a.m., causing one car to roll over and trap the driver inside, Hamden police said.
Chris Christie spoke at Fairfield University last week. Perhaps the most memorable thing the former Republican governor of New Jersey said, after Tuesdays elections, was this: If it were up to me, Id just arrest the entire government in Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford, he said.

That probably struck a chord with Republicans who believe, wrongly, that voter fraud in Connecticuts big cities is the reason GOP candidate Bob Stefanowski lost the race for governor. What Connecticut Republicans are not hearing, however, is Christies other message. Good candidates win. Bad ones lose.

Id put it less charitably: GOP voters should be blamed for a horrible mistake.

Regular readers of this column will recall that I thought Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton was a formidable gubernatorial candidate. Not only does he run a big city. He understands that winning cities means winning everything. To be sure, no Republican can win statewide office on the power of cities alone. (Democrats can, but not Republicans.) Yet Boughton, being a mayor, might have found a way to create a coalition between rural and suburban Republicans and city-dwelling Democrats eager for change.

Moreover, Boughton secured the nomination of the state Republican Party the old-fashioned way by horse-trading and deal-making with delegates at the state Republican convention. And all this came after he overcame a crisis that would have derailed less luminous lights. Following a collapse at a press event, Boughton cut a TV spot that laid to rest speculation about his personal health. That showed character. That showed strength. More, I thought, than Ned Lamont.

Importantly, Boughton kept his distance from Americas most unpopular president. In doing so, he forced his closest rivals, especially Trumbulls Tim Herbst, to court the partys lunatic fringe. That meant Boughton had the center-right all to himself. There were plenty of Democrats tired after eight years of Gov. Dannel Malloy who wouldnt mind voting for a Republican if he were sane and didnt kowtow to Donald Trump.

Then came the GOP primaries. Everything changed. Though Boughton was the clear front-runner, the primaries were a five-way race. For weeks and months beforehand, Stefanowski purchased millions in Fox News ads pushing one idea: eliminating the income tax. That was his ponys one and only trick. It was enough, though, to sway 42,000 voters to pick him. With the balance split four ways, he came out on top. On the same day, I thought to myself, hes toast.

I wont reiterate why I think Stefanowski lost. I will say that Republicans should take Christies counsel seriously (because) 2018 was the best chance they had to take Hartford. They blew it, as they did in 2010 and 2014 when the party picked, per usual, a businessman instead of a party regular like Boughton. Connecticuts Republicans, if they want to win, must figure out a solution. I suggest making the nominating process less democratic.

There is, right now, a disconnect between the party  delegates, donors, and candidates  and its base. For reasons that have to do with politics being national, rather than local, the base is hearing signals from national Republicans, especially the president, not the state party.

If this were Indiana, that would probably be OK. But this is Connecticut. Were Yankees. If a Republican is going to win the governorship in this hyperpartisan age, he or she has to be more like Massachusetts Charlie Baker. Hes the countrys most popular governor not because he advances a conservative agenda but because he acts as a check on the Bay States liberal excesses.

The state GOP did a fine job picking Boughton. As I said, he was a formidable candidate. The problem is party voters. They arent hearing what they need to hear. They are hearing, and responding to, marginal voices that have no chance of ever coming to power in this state. So the solution would be for the party to rewrite the rules so that voters have less power, so that they cant upend a good thing  like Mark Boughtons formal nomination  with too much democracy.

I know what this sounds like. It would never fly with Democrats. But these are Republicans were talking about. Republicans tend to be deferential to authority, especially Republican authority, even when that authority represents a minority of the party. If Boughtons nomination is any indication, the minority of the state GOP knows what it takes to win. Republican voters? Not so much.

John Stoehr is the publisher of the Editorial Board, a daily newsletter about politics. He lives in Westville.
Rep. Jim Himes is on the record as advocating a new generation of leadership among House Democrats, but hes not burning his bridges with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is poised to resume the reins as Speaker of the House come January.

Himes is glad to talk about the future of Democratic control of the House (This is a two-year audition) and to warn against overdoing it on investigations of Trump and Friends (We have to be the adults in the room).

But when it comes to Pelosi and whether he will support her or not, hes curiously mum.

Its too early to answer that question, he told me in an interview shortly after Election Day. We dont know who (the) candidates are.

Fast forward to nine days after the election and the preliminary results are in: There are no candidates to challenge Pelosi.

But that doesnt mean she wins the speakership in a slam-dunk. Eight to 10 Democratic House incumbents and blue-wave newbies oppose Pelosi. And depending how some of the as-yet undecided House races work out, that could be enough to block her path to the gavel.

But rather than twiddle his thumbs, Himes is rallying centrist colleagues in his role as chairman of the 68-member New Democrat Coalition.

The NDC will have a sit-down (or two) with prospective leadership nominees, hoping to put its imprint on the selection prospects.

The coalition is inviting all those interested in leadership to make their pitch, said Himes spokesman Patrick Malone. This is going to be a golden opportunity for members to get their questions answered.

The guest list is either not finalized or not for public dissemination  or both. And not all Dems are centrist, thanks to a couple of electrifying newcomers like Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York, an unabashed leftist.

Himes himself will want to tread lightly, because he intends to let the presumed speaker know of his interest in chairing the House intelligence committee  a position that appears likely to go to the current ranking Democrat, the ubiquitous (on cable news) Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

But Himes, to his credit, is not into cutting his own throat needlessly. So this silent movie has another reel or two to go before the denouement.

House rules

The numbers might change, and losers now may be later to win. But when the Election Day dust finally settles, Democrats will still be in the minority in the Senate.

But even if he drank alcohol, teetotaler Sen. Richard Blumenthal would not be crying in his beer. The Democrats victory in the House changes the political dynamic on Capitol Hill, even if Republicans continue to hold the Senate and White House, he insists.

The bills that come over from House will set the agenda for the Senate, so Democrats will be the critical fulcrum, he said. There may be opposition from Senate Republicans, but we are the deal-makers.

Although there is widespread expectation that House-Democrat legislation will die in the Senate, Blumenthal says it isnt necessarily so.

Infrastructure, immigration, even guns  the chances of carving out compromise have not been as good in years, he said.

The bipartisan Senate passed an immigration bill in 2013 with a path to citizenship, only to see it die in the GOP House.

The ground also has shifted on guns, Blumenthal said. The Manchin-Toomey background-check bill that narrowly lost in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting could be revived. And this time the House could approve instead of burying it.

Some Democrats, such as Himes, are worried that the House may overdo it on investigations of Trump & Company  much like Republicans overdid the Benghazi probe in an effort to take down Hillary Clinton.

Blumenthal doesnt preclude legitimate investigative oversight as long as there are no fishing expeditions.

And there is no reason for Democrats to walk softly as part of an effort to reach compromise on legislation, he added.

Its like walking and chewing gum at the same time.

dan@hearstdc.com
STRATFORD  Phil Young, the first Democrat in decades to represent central Stratford in the General Assembly, has won re-election to the House of Representatives with a super-slim, 13-vote margin over Republican James Feehan. The final total was 5,222 votes to 5,209.

Young said Wednesday that he respected Feehans challenge. He did a good job, and ran a good race, Young said in a mid-afternoon interview. I give him all the credit in the world.

In February, Young won a special election to replace Laura Hoydick, a veteran state House member who left after she won the towns 2017 mayoral race. Young became the first Democrat to hold the 120th District seat in 44 years. Young said hes eager to work on several important issues when the next General Assembly takes office along with Governor-elect Ned Lamont on Jan. 9.

The biggest thing I want to work on is the budget, to create more fiscal responsibility, said Young, who serves on the legislative committees on transportation, commerce, housing and environment. He also wants to expand health care opportunities and Medicaid in Connecticut.

Finally, Young would like to ban the use of plastic bags, which are becoming an environmental menace, evidence of which was plain during a recent Housatonic River cleanup in which he participated. Somethings got to be done about them, Young said. I always thought, way back when, that they were supposed to be made out of cornstarch.

House Democrats, who currently have an 80-71 majority, could have as much as a 92-59 edge in the next General Assembly, depending on the final House recount in a nine-town Torrington-centric 64th district that is expected to be completed by Friday.

Also on Wednesday, officials in the multi-town 17th District confirmed that first-term state Sen. George Logan, R-Ansonia, had defeated Democratic challenger Jorge Cabrera, setting up a 23-13 Democratic majority next year. Currently the Senate is in an 18-18 tie.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT

The
Stuff-a-Cruiser event

DERBY  The Derby Police Departments Auxiliary Unit will hold its 3rd annual Holiday Food Drive to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Society from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 18 at ShopRite, 49 Pershing Drive.

Officers will accept nonperishable food donations to feed needy Derby families.

According to data compiled by the Valley United Way, 12 percent of Valley adults reported experiencing food insecurity. Over the last two years, the food drive stuffed nearly 14 police cruisers and eight large SUV cruisers with more than $40,000 worth of food.

Learn about Connecticut

DERBY  Derby Neck Library will hold a program about Connecticuts 169 towns at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19.

Author Marty Podskoch will provide an informative presentation and discussion of his newest book, :Connecticut 169 Club.

No registration is necessary. The library is at 307 Hawthorne Ave.

Library to hold teen program

DERBY  The Derby Public Library invites all young adults ages 12 to 17 to Teen Maker Space, Build a Better World from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 29.

Available resources include 3D design programs, 3D printer, 3D doodle pens, Legos and more.

Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information, call 203-736-1482 or visit www.derbypubliclibrary.org.

The library is located at 313 Elizabeth St.

25th annual breakfast meeting and awards

SHELTON  The Valley Council for Health & Human Services will hold its 25th annual Breakfast Meeting and Awards Presentation from 8 to 10 a.m. Dec. 4 at Brownson Country Club.

Registration for the event begins at 7:30 a.m., which will feature a keynote presentation by Jack Walsh, former VUW president, and Marilyn Cormack, former president of Birmingham Group Health Services/Bhcare.

Established in 1993, the Valley Council for Health & Human Services has initiated and supported numerous initiatives to improve life in the Valley through collaboration among member agencies and community partners. The council is a partnership network of over 40 nonprofit organizations working to improve the quality of life for residents in the Lower Naugatuck Valley.

Being honored this year are Robert D Scinto, John Yeager and The Food Security Task Force.

For more information, call Linda Milardo at 203-926-9478 or visit www.valleycouncil.org.

THC to hold veterans benefit

DERBY  The Hops Co. will hold its 3rd annual Road Home for the Holidays charitable event from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 30.

Partnering with Two Roads Brewery, the event will feature food, beer, games, raffles and contests including an ugly holiday sweater contest to benefit military service men and women.

THC and Two Roads will donate $1 from the sale of each Two Roads pint of beer to the Fisher House Foundation, which reunites families of injured veterans while theyre in the hospital. It uses donations to build large, multi-family homes where loved ones can stay without charge while their heroes heal. For more details, visit www.fisherhouse.org.

Bobby Wheeler will perform from 9 p.m. to midnight.

THC is located at 77 Sodom lane, and additional parking is available at 43 Marshall Lane.

Compiled by Jean Falbo-Sosnovich; jean.sos@snet.net
A prominent "Gold Coast" developer accused of using a bank he founded to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in loans pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

Prosecutors in an indictment accuse Fred Daibes and an associate of lying on loan applications and misapplying funds from Mariner's Bank over several years to benefit Daibes' business interests.

Prosecutors accuse them of accomplishing this by recruiting borrowers without disclosing the borrowers' connections to Daibes. Prosecutors also say Daibes and Michael McManus, chief financial officer of Daibes Enterprises, orchestrated a loan scheme to "circumvent the lending limits" from 2008 to 2013.

The loans in question amounted to about $9 million, according to the indictment.

In a statement emailed after Tuesday's brief proceeding in federal court, Daibes said he is confident his name "will be cleared at the end of this."

"It is unbelievable that I am being accused of defrauding the bank I own," Daibes said.

His attorney, Lawrence Lustberg, called the charges "the worst kind of government overreach" and said evidence would show each loan was "legitimate, fully collateralized and 100 percent repaid."

McManus also pleaded not guilty. His attorney, John Whipple, said in an email, "We are confident that when a jury hears all of the evidence a swift not guilty verdict will be returned."

Daibes' company is based in Edgewater, one of several towns that occupy New Jersey's "Gold Coast," a sliver of Hudson River waterfront north of Hoboken. The area has experienced a radical transformation over the decades as gleaming office towers and luxury high-rises have replaced factories and refineries.

A separate lawsuit filed by a developer against Edgewater last December doesn't name Daibes as a defendant, but accuses him and the town of colluding to block the developer's plans to erect residential buildings on the last large, undeveloped space on the waterfront.

The lawsuit claims the town's relationship with Daibes is marked by "corrupt transactions, self-dealing and conflicts of interest" in real estate matters. Through its attorneys, the town has denied the allegations.

Daibes has called the allegations "out-and-out lies" and denied claims in the lawsuit that he receives preferential treatment from the town on zoning decisions.
A 65-year-old New Jersey woman was arrested Tuesday after police found 44 dead dogs and another 161 dogs living in her feces-filled home, State Police said.

Donna Roberts was arrested after county health officials inspected her home in Shamong Township, Burlington County, and found evidence of animal cruelty inflicted upon various dogs, as well as strong odor of ammonia and animal feces, causing responders to become dizzy.

After further investigation, detectives found 161 living dogs - four in critical condition - and 44 deceased dogs packaged in plastic bags and stored in freezers around her home, cops said.

The investigation is ongoing, state police said.

Roberts was charged with animal cruelty and released with a pending court date.

"Although the circumstances surrounding the demise of the 44 dogs that were discovered inside plastic bags in freezers remain under investigation, the deplorable and inhumane living conditions the rescued dogs were forced to endure is tragic," State Trooper Patrick Callahan said.

In 2015, the American Kennel Club fined Roberts $500 and suspended her privileges for six months after refusing to make her dogs and their records available for inspection.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
Not only is Jeffrey E. Profitt a cop in real life, he also plays one in the movies.

Really small movies.

The 39-year-old Millville police officer indicted recently on charges that he violently assaulted several suspects has been spending the time since his suspension from the force by pursuing a career in acting and producing.

Jeffrey E. Profitt listens to Superior Court Judge Robert Malestein during last Friday's court appearance. (Matt Gray | For NJ.com)

In one of his films, titled Violent Justice, Profitt plays a detective who quits his job and takes the law into his own hands, dealing out his own brand of, well, violent justice.

Profitt is the head of 856 Films, LLC, described on its website as a producer of "micro-budget feature films and series programming," which can be found on platforms including Amazon, YouTube, Vimeo and Reel House.

Profitt pleaded not guilty last week following a 24-count indictment handed down by a Cumberland County grand jury alleging that he used excessive force in five arrests and then tried to cover up his actions.

In a 2016 case, he is accused of slamming a 62-year-old man face-first onto a concrete floor, causing injuries so severe that they required three hours of surgery to repair.

He allegedly threw another man face-first onto a concrete driveway and a third man face-first onto large landscaping rocks in front of a Millville restaurant. A 2015 traffic stop, in which a man claimed Profitt beat him, tried to jam a gun in his mouth, then pistol-whipped him, resulted in a lawsuit.

When Profitt joined the police department in 2012, his career as a writer, producer and actor on low-budget films was already well underway.

His earliest credit, according to his IMDB page, is a part as an extra in Brooklyn Sonnet in 2000, the story of a young man forced to decide "between a life on the streets and a career in the theater."

In 2003, Profitt wrote, produced and starred in Blue Collar Actor, about a family man who dreams of becoming an actor.

His other titles include Atlantic City Expressway, Small Town Hustle, Unpull the Trigger and Factory of Paranormal.

Several of his stories deal with cops and criminals, including 2016's Violent Justice, about a detective -- portrayed by Profitt -- who "becomes enraged with the failing justice system ... and decides to take justice into his own hands."

In a trailer for that flick, which shows Profitt apparently finishing off a bad guy with a hatchet, he opines, "Sometimes, violence is the answer ... Sometimes, violence is the only answer."

In another scene, he tells a baddie tied to a chair, "I want you to do the right thing and burn in hell."

He also has a project in pre-production called "Gangster with a Badge," which is due out next year.

Profitt remains suspended without pay from the Millville department and is free pending his upcoming court appearances.

He is due back in court Jan. 14 for his next hearing. His lawyer did not respond a request for comment about his client.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.
Rat's Restaurant in Hamilton has a new executive chef and a new management group, but the beauty of the restaurant and its focus on country French cuisine remain unchanged.

Rat's first opened in 2000, and has been setting standards for local cuisine ever since. Now operated by Constellation Culinary Group with executive chef Todd Allen in charge in the kitchen, it remains one of the top dining destinations in central New Jersey.

Arriving at the restaurant is always a treat, starting with a sculpture of Ratty himself from "Wind in the Willows" guiding your way in. Sculptures line the driveway and are located at the entrance as reminders that Grounds for Sculpture is a place of artistry. Arriving at the restaurant, Rat's is itself a work of art, homage to Monet's chateau in Giverny, France.

The menu at Rat's is seasonal, and we started our meal with an order of ricotta gnudi, $12, French onion soup, $11, and a salad verte, $10.

The gnudi, which are similar to gnocchi, were excellent ricotta-based dumplings, soft little pillows enhanced by a light sauce and flavorings of baby carrot, hazelnut and dill. The soup was traditional with a base of beef broth, lots of onions and croutons and a thick layer of gruyere cheese that required more than just a spoon to navigate.

The salad of butter lettuce was crisp and fresh with radishes, a mix of winter herbs and a tangy Dijon vinaigrette.

An entree order of cod was light, flaky and moist, served over mashed potatoes with a parsley vichyssoise as a mildly flavored sauce. A touch of truffle oil added a hint of additional flavor, and a small side salad of pickled celery gave the meal a little crunch.

Potato leek ravioli, $21, was a delightful vegetarian option. The little pockets of ricotta salata were enhanced by a white wine sauce flavored with lemon, thyme and fried leeks. This dish made you wish for more.

An order of coq au vin was as traditionally French as you can get, featuring locally raised chicken in a red wine sauce over mashed potatoes. When one piece of chicken appeared a bit too pink inside - perhaps from the method of cooking - the staff was gracious about cooking it a little longer at our request.

Our only complaint was that the wine sauce was heavy enough that it melded with the mashed potatoes, and we were barely able to enjoy them in their own right. A little less sauce would have been perfect.

For dessert we shared an order of vanilla cinnamon rice pudding, $12, which was a work of art both in its flavors and aesthetics.

The pudding was smooth and fresh, the best we have tasted, and came set in a light, crunchy pastry with a pair of warm plums. This may have been a homespun dessert when it started, but the finished dish was raised to greater heights.

Rat's has an extensive list of wines and cocktails chosen to complement the food.

Whether you go for lunch or dinner, Rat's is a dining destination worth going out of your way for. A change in chefs and management has not affected the high quality of its dishes, service and ambience, except perhaps to make them even better.



RAT'S

16 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton

609-584-7800, groundsforsculpture.org

HOURS: Lunch Tues.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., dinner Tue.-Sat. 5:15-9 p.m. Sunday brunch 11 a.m.-3:15 p.m., lunch 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Monday.

CREDIT CARDS: Most major.

FOOD: Excellent country French cuisine.

SERVICE: Pleasant and helpful.

AMBIANCE: Modeled after Monet's chateau in France, Rat's is a work of art.

COST: Appetizers $10-$14, entrees $21-$49. Lunch entrees $15-$28, salads and sandwiches $16-$25.

FULL BAR with an extensive wine list





Follow NJ.com on Twitter @njdotcom. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Newark and Essex County authorities are searching for a driver who hit and killed a 25-year-old New Jersey Institute of Technology student Tuesday night.

Essex County prosecutors say the driver struck Naomi R. Segura, of Byram Township, around 9:20 Tuesday night, near Central Avenue and Summit Street in Newark.

Authorities say the car that struck her did not stop, but a second car at the scene stopped and called for help.

Segura was rushed to University Hospital, but succumbed to her injuries Wednesday at around 1:10 a.m.

A spokesperson for NJIT confirmed Segura's death Wednesday morning.

Dean of Students Marybeth Boger said she was "deeply saddened" to share the news with the school community.

Boger said Segura, a senior majoring in law, technology and culture, was very involved at the school's Murray Center for Women in Technology.

The university is offering support staff to students in the Murray Center Wednesday until 5 p.m., and Boger encouraged students seeking support to also contact the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services.

"Please join me in honoring Naomi and supporting her friends and loved ones as best we can," Boger said in her statement to the school community.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office did not have a description of the vehicle and said in a statement Wednesday that the investigation is active and ongoing.

Those who may have information about the incident are asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at 1-877-8477432.

Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross.
Essex County authorities are probing the shooting of an allegedly armed suspect by at least one East Orange police officer Tuesday night.

The county prosecutor's office said the officer, whom authorities did not name, encountered the suspect in the area of Park Avenue and North Walnut around 9 p.m. when responding to a report of shots fired.

The suspect, whom investigators also did not name, was armed with a gun when officers encountered him, the prosecutor's office said.

At least one of the officers fired their service weapon and struck the suspect, who has been hospitalized in stable condition.

The prosecutor's office said no charges have been filed in connection with the case, which is still under investigation.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
A section of Route 440 in Bayonne where a pedestrian was struck and killed last week will be shut down for two hours Wednesday night to allow authorities to investigate the crash.

The roadway will be closed between 22nd and 28th streets from 9 to 11 p.m., Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced Wednesday afternoon. Traffic will be detoured through the Bayonne Crossing shopping center during the road closures.

The victim in the Nov. 7 crash was identified in the accident report as Christian Rodriguez, 22, of Hoboken. Authorities have said that Rodriguez was struck on Route 440 between 21st and 22nd streets at 9:50 p.m. by a 2004 Acura TL driven by city resident Abanoub Malek.

The 21-year-old Malek was charged on Nov. 8 with leaving the scene of an accident.

Rodriguez's death was the fifth on the stretch of Route 440 that runs through Bayonne since 2014. It was also the 19th traffic fatality in Hudson County this year and the seventh since Aug. 31.
A Bayonne man has been arrested for a shots-fired incident last week and two assault rifles have been recovered, Bayonne police said.

Joshua Arroyo, 31, of West 19th Street, was arrested Friday after an investigation into the shooting incident on his block, between Avenue C and Kennedy Boulevard, late Thursday, Lt. Eric Amato said.

After his arrest, police recovered a .223-caliber assault rifle and a modified AK-47 assault rifle, as well as a 30-round capacity magazine. The AK-47 and the magazine are illegal in New Jersey.

Arroyo was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of an assault firearm, one count of certain persons not to possess weapons and one count of possession of a prohibited device.

Bayonne police say the investigation is ongoing.
Rahway Taste

rahwaytaste.com

"I am the queen of oxtails."

This is not an everyday boast. But amid the ever-growing queue for Antilles at the Rahway Taste of Spring event earlier this year, oxtails were most definitely the topic of conversation. Chef Aliesha Howell's oxtail game was clearly on, and her skills, communicated like so much electricity through the crowd at the recreation center, encouraged a certain level of competitiveness among those who were waiting.

Howell is the chef at Antilles, which officially opened in May on Cherry Street in Rahway. The oxtails, infused with Caribbean spices, end on a sweet note. Warning: They are alarmingly addictive.

The Antilles menu, with its Caribbean and Southern influences reflects the childhood energy of owner Leon Gill, whose father is from Saint Lucia and whose New Jersey mother has ancestors from Georgia. Gill says it was easy to decide which family favorites would grace the menu; the hard part was nailing down the specifics for each recipe. All the cousins simply cooked from memory.

The Antilles menu includes cod fritters and jerk chicken wings, also mac and cheese, sweet potato fries and plantains. Antilles is a tiny restaurant, just 22 seats, although takeout is also available.

Meanwhile, additional buzz (and more lines) at this year's Rahway Taste event centered around the Railside Cafe in Fanwood. The restaurant was one of the event winners, and its popular pulled pork sandwich took home honors for the second consecutive year.

The trick to the pulled pork, says general manager Paul O'Loughlin, is root beer:

homemade root beer bought from an Amish farm. The root beer adds a woodsy, sassafras flavor to the pork. Still, root beer is not the only detail in the restaurant's carefully crafted recipe. O'Loughlin first chooses pork shoulder, which yields a more firm sandwich. (You don't want your pulled pork to be mushy, like a sloppy Joe, he says.) He smokes the pork for six hours before cooking it in root beer. He tops it with homemade coleslaw, which he seasons with sweet chili sauce instead of mayonnaise, along with red wine vinegar and a few other ingredients. "I won't tell you everything."

Pulled pork notwithstanding, the added allure of the booth by Railside Cafe was the homemade breads (baguettes, semolina, Asiago cheese, cranberry walnut) and the coffee, rich and dark and aromatic -- i.e., not your typical recreational center fare.

At Railside, the beans are roasted in-house, and they've always been roasted less than a month ago, says O'Loughlin, who, thanks to a friend in Jamaica, gets a good deal on all his coffee beans.

More than 1,200 people came to the Rahway event this year, so many that organizers had to turn people away. The event is always a party, amped up with club music and attracting some big names in the food and beverage industry. It's also a good place to discover a few hidden gems.

Other local winners this year included Beana's Para Siempre, in Rahway, for Mexican food; and D'Orsi's Bakery, in Port Reading, for best dessert bakery. (For a complete list of winners, visit rahwaytaste.com.)

"I love that event," says O'Loughlin. "It's awesome. It gets bigger every year."
HOBOKEN -- Touting a new study commission by the city, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Union Dry Dock on the Hudson River would only become a NY Waterway ferry maintenance and refueling facility "over my dead body."

"Mark my words, this will not be a site that our community will allow," the mayor said yesterday morning at a City Hall press conference attended by some 40 supporters, elected officials and members of the press.

Speaking of the ongoing battle aimed at claiming the land that is the missing link in completing Hoboken's section of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, the mayor said, "We will use any means available -- any legal means necessary."

But NY Waterway's spokesman Pat Smith said yesterday's announcement by the mayor "does not add anything new to the discussion. He said the issue of alternate sites was part of the company's application to use Union Dry Dock submitted the US Army Corps of Engineers.

"We remain confident that Union Dry Dock is the ideal location for our maintenance facility from the logistical and environmental viewpoint and look forward to the ACOE's decision and future utilization of the site," Smith said.

The parcel is located along Frank Sinatra Drive near Maxwell Place Park. It was owned by Union Dry Dock and when it closed, NY Waterway bought it last year for $11.5 million.

Hoboken had its eye on the parcel a long time. It was designated in the city's master plan as a parcel needed for the waterfront walkway.

Hoboken offered NY Waterway's $11.6 million for the property earlier this year, but the ferry company chose not to sell. The city then moved to acquire the site using eminent domain. Using that method, NY Waterway would still be paid market value.

NJ Transit then said it would buy the property and lease it to NY Waterway, but relented after the city withdrew its threat to use eminent domain. NY Waterway remains the owner and the city is not relenting in its efforts to obtain the site.

The mayor called location an established residential neighborhood, and the last gap in the walkway -- a green belt along the Hudson used for recreation and line with restaurants in areas.

The study announced yesterday by the city was created by Boswell Engineering and it scoured the New Jersey coastline for alternative sites for NY Waterway to house its refueling and maintenance yard. It analyzed two dozen sites, pared the list to five and then graded the five locations on various factors, including capacity, zoning, safety and future expansion.

The top choice in the study is the Lackawanna Terminal at 1 Hudson Place, where NY Waterway's ferries already operate. The former MOT site in Bayonne was second, while the Binghamton ferry site in Edgewater was third, Union Dry Dock was No. 4 and the Port Imperial ferry terminal in West New York was No. 5.

Yesterday morning, Bhalla said Gov. Phil Murphy wants to do the right thing by Hoboken regarding the site, but is being pressured by powerful people to side with the ferry company. The mayor said he plans to meet with Murphy soon in order to make his position clear on behalf of Hoboken residents.

Freeholder Anthony Romano, who represents Hoboken, said he hopes a compromise can be reached.

"The people in the area don't want it done and at the same time, the ferry company needs a site to maintain its service," Romano said, noting that residents are concerned about the possible environmental impact at the location. "People have to keep talking."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Interested in the marijuana business industry? NJ Cannabis Insider is a new premium intelligence briefing that features exclusive weekly content geared toward entrepreneurs, lawyers and realtors. View a sample issue.

Within two weeks, New Jersey lawmakers could finally -- finally -- begin voting on legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

As for whether a final vote will happen by the end of this year? That's still up in the air.

The top two leaders of the state Legislature said Wednesday they expect legislation making cannabis legal to be voted out of committee by the end of the month. That would be the first legislative hurdle the measure has to clear.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said he's targeted Nov. 26 for a Committe vote at the Statehouse in Trenton. State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, did not specify a date.

The public would have a chance to speak before the vote.

"We certainly have the votes to get it out of committee," Coughlin said during a panel of legislative leaders at the New Jersey League of Municipalities' annual conference in Atlantic City. "We believe we will have the votes when it comes to the floor."

If the bill does pass out of committee, both the full Senate and Assembly -- each of which are controlled by Democrats -- would then need to pass the measure before Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who supports legal weed, decides whether to sign it into law or veto it.

That process could take longer.

Though Murphy has long wanted legal weed by the start of 2019, negotiations with the Legislature have been tense and deadlines keep changing.

Sweeney and Coughlin said last month they hoped to have the full Legislature approve legal pot by the end of 2018.

Still, Sweeney said Wednesday "it's very possible" that deadline passes if Murphy and top lawmakers don't come to an agreement on a final bill.

"I think we're 98 percent there with the administration, but we have to get to 100," Sweeney said.

The Senate president also said he needs Murphy's help to drum up votes for the proposal in the Senate.

"So far, he hasn't come up with any," Sweeney said.

Murphy asked Sweeney last month to send him a list of lawmakers to lobby. Sweeney said he's done so but hasn't heard back from the governor.

"It's really going to take the administration to weigh in on this," Sweeney added. "I am saying the governor needs to get me some votes."

Pete Cammarano, Murphy's chief of staff, said the governor's office didn't see a draft of the bill until Tuesday night.

"You can't get votes for a bill you haven't seen yet," Cammarano told NJ Advance Media. "We're still reviewing it."

Sweeney said he still hopes to have a full vote by the end of the year, but it wouldn't be an issue if it spilled into 2019.

Gov. Phil Murphy (center) is surrounded by state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (left) and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (right) this summer in Trenton.

Marijuana was a top issue Wednesday as lawmakers, local officials, lobbyists, and business leaders across the state gathered at the Atlantic City Convention Center for the annual conference.

A Rutgers-Eagleton Poll from last month found 58 percent of New Jerseyans support legalizing weed.

But numerous local leaders warned Sweeney and other lawmakers Wednesday about the possible danger of doing so.

One woman told the legislative panel her sister in Colorado -- where marijuana is legal -- refuses to walk outside because "everyone is stoned" and some get "stoned on second-hand smoke."

Sweeney argued that if he put legal marijuana on the ballot next year, New Jersey voters would certainly pass it.

But he said lawmakers prefer to do it through legislation because otherwise the public would have to vote at the polls every time something needs to be altered about it.

"It's harder to make changes when mistakes are made," the Senate president said.

At least one top Republican said he sees the winds are changing, even though he does not support legalization.

"I think it's inevitable," Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Union, said of legal marijuana. "It's going to happen despite my reservations."

Why's that?

"I've been in the Legislature a while," Bramnick said. "I just feel stuff -- read minds and stuff. You just know. Like when you know your wife is mad at you."

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01.
The former chief and operations supervisor at the defunct Morrisville Ambulance Squad in Pennsylvania have been charged with ripping off the organization for years, from using squad money for personal items to insurance fraud.

Brian M. Eckert, 41, of Falls, Pa. and Ruth "Roxy" Rookstool, 58, of Morrisville, are charged with multiple felony counts of theft, forgery, various computer crimes, criminal conspiracy and misdemeanor insurance fraud, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced.

This summer, the ambulance squad across the river from Trenton announced it was winding down and would cease answering medical calls by Nov. 1 due to ongoing financial problems.

Capital Health in Trenton is now providing EMS service to Morrisville and a portion of neighboring Falls Township that the squad served.

The district attorney's office said they started investigating the squad's finances in July after allegations of theft by other squad members.

Detectives wrote in an affidavit that Eckert, the former chief, and operations supervisor Rookstool basically used the squad as their personal piggy bank from 2011 to 2018.

The two used squad bank account checks and debit cards to make several unauthorized transactions over the years to pay their own personal bills, including paying down Eckert's personal credit card debt.

Both allegedly authorized using squad money for a squad members $3,350 honeymoon - a trip Eckert booked as a travel agent and collected a commission.

The checks, detectives wrote, were signed using a signature stamp bearing the name of the squad's president, who was unaware they were using it.

In addition to the thefts and Eckert and Rookstool are accused of fraudulently enrolling Rookstool in health and dental insurance paid for by the squad.

The squad is a combination volunteer and career, or paid members, but Rookstool did not qualify as an employee of the squad to be eligible for medical benefits, detectives allege.

In the affidavit, Rookstool allegedly told detectives if she did not have health care she'd "be living under a bridge" because she could not afford out-of-pocket medical expenses.

During the time Rookstool received medical coverage, the Morrisville Ambulance Squad paid $27,000 in insurance premiums, while the insurance companies paid out more than $65,000 in claims.

The detectives said Eckert and Rookstool admitted some of the allegations to investigators, and strongly disputed others.

In all, the district attorney's office allege Rookstool stole a total of $101,634.55 in funds, and Eckert $30,785.44.

Rookstool turned herself in Tuesday morning and a judge set bail at $50,000 unsecured. Eckert was arraigned last week before the same judge and released on $30,000 unsecured bail.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
When sun worshippers, homebuyers, restaurateurs and other investors began realizing that Asbury Park had a perfectly good beach barely an hour from the Holland Tunnel, with vintage arcades and a rock 'n roll shrine to boot, city officials adopted a Waterfront Redevelopment Plan in 2002 to guide what would finally prove to be the faded tourist town's long-awaited resurgence.



But after 16 years of new restaurants, new condos and increasingly crowded streets, beaches and boardwalks, community activists, environmentalists and others say the redevelopment plan is now hopelessly out of date.

It's precisely because Asbury Park has changed so dramatically since 2002 that the city council approved a resolution last week demanding that the waterfront's designated developer, Manhattan-based iStar, halt work on a boardwalk replacement project that was included in the redevelopment plan, and that iStar reconsider other components of the plan that critics say run counter to environmental concerns and the city's core value of inclusiveness.

The Nov. 8 resolution cites the public's opposition to the plan over "environmental concerns, public access, loss of public beach, loss of public space, and loss of public boardwalk," as cause to order the developer to "cease and desist" the project, and redesign the Boardwalk Improvement Plan.

Kathleen Mumma, an Asbury Park resident and member of the newly formed Save Asbury's Waterfront coalition opposing the boardwalk project and others pitched by iStar under the redevelopment plan, said heavy equipment was removed from the site a day after the council adopted the resolution.

"We are happy," said Mumma, expressing cautious optimism. "After every mountain there's another mountain."

A lawyer for iStar who was at the Nov. 8 meeting, Jennifer P. Smith, did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for the company later contacted NJ Advance Media, asking that questions be submitted in writing, then failed to answer them.

The demand was prompted by an outcry from the coalition, which includes residents and advocates for the environment and beach access, who were alarmed by iStar's removal of a four-block stretch of boardwalk last month between Convention Hall and the city's northern border with Loch Arbour, and by other waterfront projects permitted under the redevelopment plan.

IStar had been working on a project to replace the straight, 25-foot-wide boardwalk with a narrower walkway that would meander through an area of natural and man-made dunes and link to a paved parking lot containing more than 100 spaces where a gravel lot has been.

Apart from the boardwalk project, the coalition also opposes a 15-unit townhouse development known as Bradley Cove, as well as a private beachfront pool club. Both are projects envisioned by iStar under the redevelopment plan that coalition members say would threaten the environment and beach access.

"The old plan is (16) years old, and should be reviewed in light of Asbury Park's needs today, and in a future informed by Sandy and climate change among other things," American Littoral Society director Tim Dillingham, a coalition member, said in an email, referring to the waterfront's devastation during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

"We want to ensure broad public access and use along and to the beach is protected, and enhanced where possible. Also, environmental impacts on Deal Lake from stormwater, and the dunes and beach need to be addressed."

Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, who voted in favor of the resolution with Mayor John Moor and the city's three other council members, said Monday that the city had reached out to iStar to set up a meeting on revisiting the development plan, but had not heard back from the company.

Quinn could not say just what the city would do if the developer defied the council's demand to halt work or insisted on its right to proceed with projects outlined under the redevelopment plan.

"I don't know," Quinn said. "Do I want to spend taxpayer dollars and get involved in a lawsuit that we may lose?"

Pat Fasano, another developer and property owner in Asbury Park, said losing in court is just what the city would do if it tries to keep iStar from moving forward with projects permitted under a redevelopment plan the company has been legally designated to carry out.

"I'm not surprised iStar's following the plan," said Fasano. "That's their mandate."

Quinn said what's happening on Asbury Park's north end was symptomatic of the city's steady growth of the past two decades. It's a process Quinn referred to as a "renaissance" but others call gentrification.

Some of the very things that have helped drive Asbury Park's resurgence have now been threatened by the rising property values, development and exclusivity that have followed: the city's art and music scene -- anchored by the Stone Pony and its reputation as a rock 'n roll cradle for Bruce Springsteen and other acts; and its diversity of races, socioeconomic levels and sexual orientation.

Other recent manifestations of the same dynamic have included a failed ballot proposal by activists from the city's predominantly African-American west side to change the city council to a ward-based system in order to enhance representation of a part of town that has lagged behind the waterfront and downtown sections in the city's boom. Another is a controversial ban on "aggressive panhandling" approved last month by the council but opposed by civil libertarians.

"Yes, I think there are some growing pains," Quinn acknowledged. "I think Asbury Park has gone through a revitalization, and what we want to make sure of as we go through this renaissance is that the people who have remained in Asbury Park are part of it."

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook
Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly has dropped his defamation lawsuit against a former state assemblyman over a Facebook post about O'Reilly's alleged sexual harassment of women.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Bianco's order last week dismissing the case in the Eastern District of New York came two days after lawyers for O'Reilly gave notice he was dropping his claims against former Democratic assemblyman, Michael J. Panter.

O'Reilly had filed notice of the lawsuit last year in New York Supreme Court in Nassau County after Panter posted on Facebook about an ex-girlfriend, whom Panter said had settled harassment claims against the television host.

Panter, a Monmouth County resident who served in the state Assembly from 2004 to 2008, said O'Reilly had also contacted his ex seeking information to discredit the accusations of another woman.

O'Reilly, who on Twitter accused Panter of "lying" about him, had sought at least $5 million in damages for "the public hatred, ridicule, disgrace, and permanent harm to his professional and personal reputations" he claimed were caused by the Facebook post.

"In my opinion, Bill O'Reilly is a bully who attempted to use the legal system to generate publicity for himself and to scare a good and decent man into retracting his support for O'Reilly's accusers," attorney Lisa Bloom, whose firm represented Panter, said in a statement issued Tuesday.

"He failed," Bloom said. "The bully backed down when Michael Panter and our legal team stood up to him. We hope this case teaches everyone to stand up for their rights, even against powerful multi-millonaires. The legal system is here for all of us, regardless of wealth or power."

Panter, in his own lengthy statement on Facebook, said O'Reilly had used the courts "as his own public relations tool, hoping those challenges would scare me away."

"They didn't," Panter said.



O'Reilly's attorneys did not immediately respond Wednesday morning to a request for comment on his behalf.

The former television host never filed a formal complaint against Panter, whose attorneys indicated in court filings last month they intended to seek the dismissal of the case.

O'Reilly, host of The O'Reilly Factor, was fired by Fox News in April 2017 after multiple sexual harassment allegations against him were publicized.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
A one-time Howell Public Schools IT worker faces what could be a stiff federal prison sentence after admitting Tuesday to having downloaded child pornography, federal prosecutors said.

Matthew Wolny. (Ocean County Prosecutor's Office)

The U.S. Attorney's Office had charged Matthew Wolny in June, almost five years after the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office first arrested Wolny on charges of manufacturing and distributing child porn.

Wolny, most recently of Egg Harbor Township, pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Trenton to a single count of receiving child pornography, prosecutors said in a statement.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Wolny's home in Jackson in September 2013 after tracing explicit images of child abuse to his IP address over a file-sharing network, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Wolny, now 40, tried to flee when officers arrived, the complaint says, but was quickly arrested. A search of seven electronic devices found in his home turned up 2,000 images and approximately 1,600 videos of child sexual abuse, investigators said.

Wolny, who had worked for the school district since 2000, was immediately suspended after his arrest, school officials told The Star-Ledger at the time.

He could no longer be located in state pension records as of Tuesday.

Wolny's defense attorney, Jack Wenik, did not immediately respond to a request Tuesday afternoon for comment on the guilty plea.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Wolny faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He's scheduled to be sentenced by Martinotti on April 8, 2019.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
At a national assembly focused on the sex-abuse crisis, numerous U.S. Roman Catholic bishops called Wednesday for a formal repudiation of Theodore McCarrick, the ex-cardinal facing allegations of sexual misconduct over a long stretch of his career.



The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, nearing the close of its three-day meeting in Baltimore, has been striving to show a commitment to combating clergy sex-abuse even though the Vatican ordered it to delay votes on two key anti-abuse proposals.

While the abuse scandal has affected many dioceses nationwide, the bishops appeared to be most angered and embarrassed by McCarrick, who allegedly abused and harassed youths and seminarians over many years as he rose to be archbishop of Washington and a member of the College of Cardinals until his removal by Pope Francis in July.

McCarrick, the former head of the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Metuchen, is also accused of sexual misconduct with priests and seminarians during his time in New Jersey and New York. He is awaiting a church trial.

Several investigations, including one at the Vatican, are underway to determine who might have known about and covered up McCarrick's alleged misconduct. The U.S. bishops expressed eagerness to learn details of the Vatican probe but defeated a motion pressing for access to information uncovered in that process.

"We have taken no official action to distance ourselves form the shameful behavior of one of our own," said Bishop Liam Cary, of Baker, Oregon. "What do people make of our silence?"



Bishop Michael Olson, of Fort Worth, Texas, noted with regret that McCarrick has not been defrocked and would have been eligible to participate in this week's assembly.

"He is not welcome," Olson said. "We should say that for his sake, and out of respect for those he has harmed."

Later in the day, the bishops discussed the two anti-abuse proposals that initially had been scheduled for votes. One would establish a new code of conduct of individual bishops; the other would create a nine-member special commission, including six lay experts and three members of the clergy, to review complaints against the bishops.

Leaders of the conference said the Vatican intervened to ensure that steps taken by the U.S. bishops would be in harmony with steps decided at a Vatican-convened global meeting on sex abuse in February. They also said more time was needed to vet aspects of the U.S. proposals that might conflict with church law.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, was among many bishops urging the assembly to find some informal way of endorsing the proposals despite the Vatican order of a delay.

"Frustration is a luxury I feel I can't afford," he said in an interview. "I wanted to offer a pathway forward for us to take up the discussion as a body, make some decisions ... but also say something to our people."

In other action, the bishops approved a pastoral letter condemning racism, the first time they have spoken as a group on that issue since 1979.

The final text was not immediately released because amendments were being added, but Catholic News Service reported on a draft version of the letter.



"Every racist act -- every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity or place of origin -- is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God," the draft said.

It also denounced racial profiling of Hispanics and African-Americans and decried "the growing fear and harassment" of people from Muslim countries.

The bishops also voted to endorse a campaign seeking sainthood for Sister Thea Bowman, a Mississippi-born descendant of slaves who became the first black member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and -- in 1989 -- the first black woman to address a national meeting of the bishops conference.

Among the bishops elected to USCCB posts was Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who will head the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. Cordileone, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, suggested Tuesday that the bishops commission a new study on whether there's a link between clergy sex abuse and the presence of gays in the priesthood. A church-commissioned study in 2004 determined there was not a link.

Not far from the assembly venue, a Minnesota attorney who handles sex abuse cases nationwide and three men who say they were abused by clergy during their boyhoods gathered to announce a lawsuit against the bishops conference, accusing it of hiding the crimes of predator priests.

Jeff Anderson, who filed the lawsuit this week in federal court in Minnesota, said the bishops were named because their dioceses kept secret files about clergy whose misconduct might expose the church to more abuse accusations.

"We are taking the opportunity to do everything we can together to protect kids, to disgorge the secrets," Anderson said.

Staff writer Kelly Heyboer contributed to this report.
A 39-year-old Manahawkin man was shot by police in a million-dollar Mantoloking home Monday after authorities tried to arrest him for assaulting a woman, officials announced Tuesday.

Edward M. Walsh was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement released by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.

However, the statement said Walsh had also slashed his own throat, and that an autopsy is pending. Armed with a knife, officers opened fire at Walsh after the prosecutor said Walsh stabbed a K-9.

Walsh was wanted by authorities on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, theft and weapons offenses for an incident involving a woman he knew in Sayreville on Sunday. NJ Advance Media is withholding Walsh's relationship to the woman because she is a victim of a crime and could be identified.

After the incident, the prosecutor said, Walsh stole the woman's car and drove it to Lacey, an Ocean County town approximately 50 miles south of Sayreville.

Lacey police contacted the Mantoloking Police Department shortly before noon and informed them that they received "reliable information" that Walsh was at a house on Barnegat Lane in the borough, the statement said.

Billhimer said Walsh knew of that home because he was previously married to a family member of the prior owner. According to property records, the home sold for $1.55 million in February 2017.

The current owner told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview Tuesday morning that she had no involvement in what happened on Monday.

"It was completely random," the owner said, noting that she doesn't occupy the home full-time.

According to police, the current owner gave a group of Mantoloking police officers, an Ocean County sheriff's officer with a K-9 and one Bay Head police officer permission to enter the home.

Inside, the authorities encountered Walsh and yelled at him to drop a knife he was holding, the statement said. When Walsh did not release the knife, prosecutors said, K-9 Kane was released.

Walsh, who was approximately 20 feet from the officers, stabbed the K-9 with the knife and that's when officers fired at him, according to the statement. Officers discovered that Walsh also had a knife wound across his neck, but it's unclear when it was made, officials said.

The K-9 was taken to the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls and is expected to recover, the statement said.

On behalf of Sheriff Michael Mastronardy and the entire staff at the Ocean County Sheriffs Office we are pleased to... Posted by Ocean County Sheriff 911 on Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Because the shooting involved a sheriff's officer, the prosecutor said, the New Jersey State Police was brought in to assist with the investigation.

The investigation is being handled by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, according to a spokesman with the Attorney General's Office.

Authorities urged anyone with information to call detectives Brant Uricks or Lindsay Woodfield of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office's Major Crimes Unit at 732-929-2027.

Mantoloking is a tiny barrier island borough with approximately 300 full-time residents. It swells in size with thousands of vacationers during the summer.

On Tuesday, the few full-time residents in the area said they were shocked when confronted with such a large police presence, an unusual sight for a sliver of a town lined with multi-million dollar homes.

It's unclear how Walsh gained entry into the house on Barnegat Lane.

Yellow crime-scene tape remained up on Tuesday morning, blocking the pebble driveway and flapping in the wind off the bay.

Vinessa Erminio contributed research to this report.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
By Max Boot

In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt visited the canal being constructed in Panama, becoming the first U.S. president to leave the country while in office. William Howard Taft also visited Panama and Mexico. But it was not until Woodrow Wilson went to Paris in November 1918 - a hundred years ago this month - to attend the postwar peace conference that attending international meetings and hobnobbing with foreign heads of state became an accepted, indeed integral part, of the president's job.

No president has been worse at this diplomatic function than Donald Trump. He is most comfortable in rallies before throngs of adoring acolytes. When he goes overseas, he is sycophantic with dictators and painfully ill at ease among democratic leaders, because his protectionist and isolationist views are so out of line with theirs, and he is utterly incapable of defending himself with reasoned discourse. He makes boastful speeches, sulks and pouts if his ego is not massaged, and then retreats to the safety of his hotel room or airplane to zing his peers via Twitter.

Trump's latest trip to Europe was, as usual, an embarrassment to the country that he leads. It began and ended with Twitter insults. On Friday, upon arriving in France, Trump attacked his host for a "very insulting" statement that he had not actually made. French President Emmanuel Macron had said that the European Union needed an army to protect itself without relying on the United States, not that it needed an army to protect itself from the United States.

On Monday, after returning to the United States, Trump unleashed a flurry of tweets repeating his frequent, false accusation that NATO allies are ripping us off because the United States supposedly pays for their military protection while allegedly losing "hundreds of billions of dollars with those same countries on trade."

How this squares with his July boast that he had made NATO "strong again" because its members had suddenly agreed to "pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars more" is a mystery that eludes elucidation. Neither claim has any validity - NATO members had not agreed to pay more, and they are not ripping off the United States.

In between those tweets, Trump canceled a Saturday visit to an American war cemetery because of a little light rain. This made him an instant international punch line, with the French army tweeting a picture of a soldier training under the caption "There is rain but it does not matter."

Macron, for his part, rebuked Trump to his face, warning in a speech of the dangers of the nationalist doctrine that Trump has embraced. "By putting our own interests first, with no regard for others, we erase the very thing that a nation holds dearest, and the thing that keeps it alive: its moral values," Macron said.

The isolation of the president was complete when he skipped a march by world leaders down the Champs-Elysees and flew home before the start of the Paris Peace Forum. Once again, "America First" has become "America Alone."

This was the most embarrassing trip by an American president abroad . . . since the last one Trump took. That was the trip in July when he acted utterly supine before Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, accepting as truthful his "strong and powerful" denials of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. That, in turn, came only a month after Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Singapore and came away boasting that "there is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea," even though North Korea is expanding rather than dismantling its nuclear arsenal. That farcical photo-op summit, in turn, occurred just days after Trump had stormed out of the Group of Seven meeting in Canada denouncing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "Very dishonest & weak."

The record of Trump's earlier trips abroad is no more salutary. There was his initial foray aboard, to Riyadh in May 2017, when he was photographed with his hand on a glowing orb and gave the Saudi king and crown prince a blank check that they apparently later cashed by killing Washington Post Opinions contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

Shortly thereafter Trump traveled to Europe, where the headlines were about his refusal to affirm NATO's Article 5 mutual defense provision. He returned to Europe in July 2017 to praise Poland's increasingly autocratic government and to hatch with Putin a fanciful plan to cooperate with Russia on cybersecurity - akin to asking the mob to take over the police force. Last fall, he visited Asia and gave a good speech in Seoul before turning obsequious in front of the autocratic leaders of China and the Philippines.

It's just as well that Trump is skipping this week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits. Bad as he is at home - no president has been more incoherent, dishonest and offensive - he is even worse overseas.

Is there a single good thing that has occurred when Trump has gone abroad?

Max Boot, a Washington Post columnist, is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a global affairs analyst for CNN. He is the author of the forthcoming "The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right."

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
By Michael Farren and Anne Philpot

Just over 106 years ago the Titanic sailed on her ill-fated maiden voyage. But by happy accident industrialists J. P. Morgan and Milton Hershey literally missed the boat. In more recent news, Newark learned this week that it's no longer a candidate for Amazon's expanded headquarters, HQ2.

Perhaps Newarkers should breathe a sigh of relief. The resulting subsidies could have sunk the city's finances.

Sure, politicians from sea to shining sea offer corporate tax breaks and other handouts all the time. Paying businesses to relocate and allegedly create local jobs is good politics, even if the facts tell us it isn't good economics. The sheer size of the Amazon subsidies makes an already-shaky policy potentially catastrophic.

Newark and New Jersey's bids for HQ2 (totaling $7 billion) were disclosed to the public, but in many places even city councils didn't know what was offered. The few publicly available bids initially made by semifinalist cities and states averaged a staggering $8.9 billion over 15 years. Amazon eventually required non-disclosure agreements of all 20 semifinalists, so the clandestine final offers were almost certainly even larger.

Corporate handouts suffer from three fundamental problems:

First, they don't actually work. Companies relocate for profitability reasons, and local tax policy is only one small part of that. The availability of a skilled workforce, access to resources, and opportunities to work with nearby industries usually outweigh any subsidies. Tax incentives are at best a tiebreaker and more often than not simply a waste of public money.

Even worse, the academic research on corporate subsidies generally finds that while they benefit the company on the receiving end--obviously--they don't actually improve community welfare.

Second, giving tax privileges to one company imposes costs on other businesses and residents. Locals must either pay more for a given level of public services, or accept a reduction in service quality and quantity. Newark's $2 billion Amazon bid could instead fund 560 additional police officers--a 50 percent increase--or pay for the cost of educating 3,100 public school students for 20 years.

And since New Jersey offered its own subsidies, people across the state would have suffered these same kinds of tradeoffs. For its $5 billion Amazon bid, New Jersey could fund 11,800 full tuition scholarships at Rutgers University for 20 years or pay for all highway maintenance for the next six years.

Or instead, why not cut state corporate income taxes by 15 percent for 20 years? Reducing taxes for every business is better for economic growth--and more democratic--than giving that entire benefit to a single company. Lowering the cost of doing business for home-grown enterprises would help them expand into the Amazons of tomorrow.

The higher taxes to fund the subsidy and the long-run costs of reduced public services generally outweigh any extra tax revenue that might be generated, meaning these schemes don't actually pay for themselves.

Third and most importantly, special government privileges degrade our democratic ideals. Because we allow (and often encourage) politicians to offer special privileges, corporations and special interest groups have all the motivation they need to lobby hard for them.

Many politicians and economic development officials see the ruse for what it is, but they feel trapped because every other city and state is also doing it. Politically, they can't risk letting their neighbors outcompete them.

Economists call this kind of problem a "prisoner's dilemma." Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom illustrated that mutual cooperation is the solution, but it requires clear lines of communication and credible commitments from all parties involved. An interstate compact that forbids the use of public funds to privilege any business or industry -- compelling policymakers to treat every company equally--offers one way out.

In the end, Newark may be better off without Amazon -- especially given the exorbitant subsidies offered -- even if the rejection stings. Sometimes missing the boat is the best thing that can happen to you.

Michael Farren is a research fellow and Anne Philpot is a research assistant with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

RELATED:

It's official, Newark won't be home to Amazon's HQ2.

Newark makes last ditch plea to share HQ2 with NYC.

N.J. didn't want you anyway, Amazon, unless you change your mind.

Newark makes Amazon's HQ2 shortlist.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
That bedraggled caravan of migrants with aching feet that was coming for our country, our children and our vacation homes in Minnesota still has not arrived.



Everyone's forgotten about this "crisis," now that all the ballots have been cast - even the president. Turns out it was temporary, like the bone spurs that kept him from Vietnam.



Yet more than five thousand active duty soldiers remain stuck on a dusty base in Texas through Thanksgiving, costing us millions, with little more to do than string up barbed wire fencing and play poker, the New York Times reports. It's the military version of "Waiting for Godot."

Migrant caravan traveling to the U.S. to save Republicans on taxes, health care | Editorial



They are here for jobs already being done by the National Guard and border patrol, and better suited to minimum-wage construction workers - like putting up fences along the border, and digging ditches to keep rainwater out of their own tents.



Should the migrants arrive, carrying their shoeless children on their shoulders, these troops aren't even allowed to interact with them.



When Trump deployed the soldiers, with the casual instruction that they be armed and ready to treat rocks "like rifles," top brass pushed back: This would be a war crime.

Opening fire on a bunch of homeless Guatemalans is against the military's rules of engagement. This is not an invading army, and we have a legal process for these people to apply for asylum.



As a result, one of the world's top fighting forces is being deployed at a premium cost to taxpayers, to do essentially nothing. And thousands more may still be on the way to join them. At his rallies, the president vowed to send as many as 15,000 troops, at a price tag of up to $200 million.



This is no longer known as "Operation Faithful Patriot," a name the Pentagon dropped immediately after the election. Mission accomplished.



Trump treated these soldiers like a political stunt. He canceled a planned trip this week to visit the 5,600 already stationed in Texas, as they live off pre-packaged food, 7-minute showers and spotty electricity. This was after he skipped a graveyard ceremony over Veteran's Day weekend, to honor American soldiers who helped save the world from fascism, due to soggy weather.



But he's happy to send thousands more away for the holiday to live like they're in a remote desert, without even the solace of a real mission. All to await a caravan that's fallen completely off his radar.



At his pre-election rallies, Trump circulated photos of the soldiers in battle-ready flak jackets, which in reality they don't wear in Texas, given the lack of any discernible threat and needless cases of heat exhaustion. He trumpeted the "beautiful barbed wire" they are stringing up. It's the drastically more extravagant version of his farcical military parade.



This isn't in the Defense Department's annual budget, like fighting the Islamic State in Iraq or Syria, or a potential act of aggression from enemies like Russia, North Korea or Iran. It's not even clear how we will pay for it.

Powerful Republicans in Congress are already lamenting the deepened deficit hole created by their massive tax cuts for the rich, and eyeing cuts to Social Security and Medicare.



Enough. Just as newly-empowered Democrats move to protect Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, they should be checking this gross misuse of our military. These soldiers were trained to defend our country, not to be decorative. They miss enough holidays with their families. To use them as a political prop is an insult.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
An Elizabeth man testified that he initially assaulted a man in a parking lot, who later died, back in 2015 after the man called him a racial slur.

Emmanuel John, 33, said on the stand that he was putting his then 16-month-old son in his car seat after picking up Chinese food in Elizabeth when Imran Masood, 45, of Woodbridge, yelled at him because John's car door touched his.

According to John, he went over to Masood, intending to apologize and see if there was any damage to Masood's vehicle. John said he didn't see any damage, but Masood kept yelling at him and they exchanged expletives before Masood called John a racial slur.

"Once he insulted me, I felt like it wasn't a need for insults. I felt like my door touched his bumper, it's no big deal, no damage," John said. "I'm already defensive because I had my child, and I'm thinking to myself, 'What is this guy's problem? Why is he so angry?'"

John said when Masood called him the racial slur he smacked him through his car window twice, then began punching him. After the fight, which was caught on a surveillance camera, John said he attempted to get back in his car and Masood got behind his car. John then said he backed out his car hitting Masood.

On cross examination, Union County Assistant Prosecutor Armando Suarez asked John that if he really went to apologize, why he continuously hit Masood, whether he intentionally ran Masood over with his car and why he did not stop for help.

"260 pounds, that's a size you can't miss standing right behind your car?" Suarez asked John.

John admitted to hitting Masood and seeing him lying on the ground, but said he thought he would be fine and "dust himself off."

The video played before jury of nine men and seven women, showed the exact moment John hit Masood with his car, with the 45-year-old man lying on the ground.

Police arrived on the scene to find Masood unconscious and suffering from multiple injuries, and transported him the hospital with serious injuries.

However, Masood died six weeks later on Aug. 3.

John wrote a Facebook post hours after the incident that both the state and defense used in their testimony. John's Facebook post describing the incident where John says Masood called him a racial slur, and that he was the first time he had to beat someone up in the presence of his son.

John is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

He is being represented by Lisa Waters.

Closing argument are expected to happen by the end of the week, ending the three-week trial that began Oct. 23.

If convicted of first-degree murder, John faces life in prison.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.
An advisory panel of Roman Catholic clerics and lay people told U.S. bishops of their depth of anger over the roiling clergy abuse scandal as church leaders continued their fall general assembly in Baltimore, the Catholic News Agency reported.

The leaders of the National Advisory Council delivered the report to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on Tuesday (Nov. 13), the second day of the annual conference. The council met Sept. 6-9 to review and vote on the proposed action items to be put before the assembly, offering their opinion on the priorities of the conference, the news service reported.

For 50 years, the council has advised the U.S. bishops on multiple issues impacting the church, the news service reported. This year only one topic was brought up to the bishops: the clergy sexual abuse crisis and ways to move forward from it.

"We are facing painful times as a church," said Father David Whitestone, chairman of the council. "The depth of anger, pain and disappointment expressed by members of the NAC cannot begin to be expressed adequately in words."

Whitestone noted the progress that has been made since the bishops developed the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002 after the clergy abuse scandal in Boston. But he said more needs to be done, the news service reported. We can never become complacent. We must recommit to the ongoing care of all victims in their healing.

Meanwhile, the chairman of another group that advises the bishops on the issue of sexual abuse also issued a strongly worded presentation to prelates at their annual meeting, suggesting bishops who covered up abuse or failed to act on abuse could be barred from membership in the national conference, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

The review board also suggested that leadership of the USCCB could turn over its own files to the Vatican for investigation of any sexual misconduct or cover-up, the catholic publication reported.

It remains clear that some bishops have escaped the consequences of their acts of omission regarding abuse, and that little is being done to address this injustice, Francesco Cesareo, a layman who is the chairman of the review board, said Tuesday morning at the conference.

Cesareo, president of Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., later told National Catholic Reporter that the gravity of the current situation calls for strong and immediate action. He urged publishing complete lists of credibly accused clergy in all dioceses; improving the audit process; and enhancing accountability for bishops regarding cases of abuse.

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

The Archdiocese of New Orleans earlier this month released the names of 57 clergy members who it said were credibly accused of abusing minors dating back numerous decades. More than 50 of the nearly 200 dioceses in the U.S. have also release similar lists of accused clergy in their jurisdictions, though critics have questioned whether the lists are complete.

Archdiocese of New Orleans releases names of clergy credibly accused of abuse

"This is our second chance of doing this right," Cesareo said, referring to the bishops' actions in 2002. "I don't think we'll get a third chance.

He urged the bishops to aggressively work for solutions to the abuse issue, the Catholic News Service reported. Dont stagnate it, or slow it down, said Cesareo during a question-and-answer period following his report to the conference. He said if action against abuse does not move forward, I fear for the future of our church.

The Catholic News Service reported the bishops also heard a presentation from Heather Banis, a trauma psychologist and victim assistance coordinator for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She told them that helping victims and survivors of child sex abuse heal is a journey that involves showing them repeated trustworthiness.

It begins with listening, understanding, offering responses showing that they, the victim-survivors, are believed, she said.

National Advisory Council chair-elect Anita Raines, a retired Army Colonel, told the bishops that the council had voted unanimously in favor of a national audit of seminaries to investigate the extent of predatory homosexual behavior, the Catholic News Agency reported. Independent investigations into homosexual misconduct are underway at seminaries in Newark, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Raines and Whitestone were given a standing ovation by the conference, the Catholic News Agency reported.
A California man accused of making a bomb threat that triggered a two-hour evacuation of the Canal Place Mall and the attached Westin Hotel on Sunday (Nov. 11) night is also accused of choking a woman as she tried to evacuate from the hotel.

Harry Armstrong, 53, of Altadena, Calif, faces a charge of communication of false arson information, after Louisiana State Police say he told a Canal Place security guard a bomb was inside a car in the parking lot, court records show. He was booked with simple battery based on a womans accusation that he grabbed her neck Sunday as she evacuated from the hotels 11th floor and then allegedly told her, Do you wanna die tonight?

Authorities booked him early Monday morning after detaining him at Harrahs Casino, where State Police were called after a man matching the description of their suspect caused a disturbance there.

According to a summary of the allegations sworn by Trooper Nicholas OConnor, he and State Police Lt. Joe Patout approached the entrance of the Westin about 8:15 p.m., when a 33-year-old woman flagged them down. She told them that as the hotel was being evacuated for a bomb threat, an older man grabbed her by the neck and stated, Do you wanna die tonight? or something similar.

Responding to disturbance at Harrahs Casino, police catch suspect in French Quarter bomb threat: NOPD

The woman said she broke free from the mans grip on her throat, and saw him get on an elevator on the 11th floor, according to State Police. One of the womans friends took a photo of the man who grabbed her neck, the document states, and the woman provided the photo to officers.

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

She stated the subject in the photo was definitely the male that choked her, OConnor wrote.

The photo clearly showed the mans face, clothing a distinctive hat, which OConnor described as a fedora, and his shoes, which he described as black and white, the document states. The woman was asked to remain at the scene, and later provided a full statement to NOPD 8th District Officer John Walker.

About 11:30 p.m. that same day, troopers learned of a disturbance at Harrahs Casino involving a man who matched the description of the man the woman said choked her. OConnor said after he arrived at Harrahs security office, he immediately recognized him as the man in the womans photo. He was still wearing the same clothes and fedora, OConnor wrote. OConnor was arrested on a charge a simple battery.

Meanwhile, NOPD learned the number that dialed 911 with information about a possible bomb belonged to a Canal Place security guard, OConnor wrote. About 12:30 a.m. Monday, NOPD Sgt. Huey Galmiche called the number and spoke to the security guard, who stated a man told him he placed a bomb in a gray Hyundai sedan on the 4th floor of the parking garage. The guard then called 911 to report the threat, the document states.

The Canal Place security guard met Sgt. Galmiche at the State Troopers office in French Quarter early Monday and provided a statement. While at the office, the security guard observed Armstrong in the back of a LSP Unit, with the door open, and he positively indicated that this was the male that made the bomb threat. The false information charge was then added.

During Armstrongs first appearance hearing on Monday, Orleans Parish Magistrate Commissioner Robert Blackburn set Armstrongs bond at $25,000 and appointed the Orleans Public Defenders office to represent him. He has a hearing scheduled for Thursday to determine counsel.
A man suspected of calling in a bomb threat Sunday (Nov. 11), forcing dozens of people to evacuate a French Quarter hotel, was captured later that night when he caused a disturbance in Harrahs Casino, New Orleans police said.

Harry Marcel Armstrong, identified in Orleans Parish court records as Harry A. Armstrong, was booked with simple battery and communicating false information regarding a planned arson.

Armstrong, 53, is accused of indicating that an explosive device was hidden inside of a vehicle in a parking garage.

The threat was reported in the 100 block of Iberville Street, a block that includes the Westin New Orleans hotel at Canal Place, along with a connected parking garage. Witnesses said the entire hotel was ordered to be evacuated.

The NOPD did a full sweep of the hotel, NOPD spokesman Andy Cunningham said in an email Sunday night No device was found.

Kim Bartee Price and Beau Price, who were staying on the Westins 20th floor, told a NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune reported that an alarm went off around 8:30 p.m. and alerted people to exit the building by finding the nearest staircase.

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

Calling the ordeal a bit unnerving," Bartee Price described a scene of hotel visitors hurrying to get outside, with toddlers being hustled down the stairwell. Beau Price said he saw police entering the building as hotel guests hurried out.

Police notified media about the threat just before 9 p.m. Sunday, and hotel visitors were allowed to re-enter the building at 9:25 p.m.

Just before 11:30 p.m., Louisiana State Police detained a man in Harrahs Casino who was causing a disturbance, the NOPD said. The man was identified as the bomb-threat suspect.

Armstrong was booked early Monday into the Orleans Justice Center jail, where he remained Tuesday evening with bond set at $25,000, Orleans Parish court records show.

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayunes Olivia Prentzel contributed to this report.

French Quarter hotel temporarily evacuated Sunday after threat: NOPD
Upperline, the Uptown Creole bistro, has a new chef: James Cullen.

"It's a New Orleans classic," Cullen said. "You approach it with respect. It's like the hippocratic oath: the first rule is to do no harm."

Cullen started at Upperline in early September.

JoAnn Clevenger opened Upperline in 1983. Almost every night, she is still in the restaurant working the phones and gliding through the art-lined rooms to greet both regulars and first time visitors.

Clevenger has been nominated three times for a James Beard Award for outstanding restaurateur. She also invented the dish fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade, which has become a standard in New Orleans and beyond.

Upperline was NOLA.com | The Times-Picayunes restaurant of the year in 2017.

Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Upperline: restaurant of the year for 2017

Cullen, a native of New Jersey and a student of New Orleans culinary history, has run the kitchens at Press Street Station, the Southern Yacht Club, Treo and St. Lawrence.

At Upperline, Cullen does not plan any changes. He is learning from the longtime staff. He appreciates working at a restaurant with a base of regulars. And he is getting to know Clevenger.

"Any of these relationships become about trust, trust in your ability to do the job and contribute," he said of working for Clevenger.

Cullen has been known for his fried chicken, which is modeled on the version of the great chef Austin Leslie. Unfortunately, that won't be added to the Upperline menu, not even as a special. The kitchen, he said, is too small. He has, however, been making the fried chicken to feed his staff before the restaurant opens. So if you want to eat Cullen's fried chicken, you'll have to get a job at Upperline.

Upperline: 1413 Upperline St., New Orleans, 504.891.9822
A Jefferson County, Alabama, grand jury has indicted the Southeast regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner for violating state ethics laws.

Charges include multiple violations of Alabamas Ethics Act, including soliciting a thing of value from a principal, lobbyist or subordinate, and receiving money in addition that received in ones official capacity, according to the Alabama Ethics Commission.

Before being appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as the Region 4 administrator of the EPA, Trey Glenn worked closely with the Birmingham-based law firm Balch & Bingham and one of its clients, Drummond Co., to fight EPA efforts to test and clean up neighborhoods in north Birmingham and Tarrant.

Charges against EPA chief, state regulator are shocking

Likewise, former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner Scott Phillips worked with Balch to oppose the EPA. Phillips and Glenn worked together in a company they co-owned, Southeast Engineering & Consulting, at the same time Phillips served on the commission.

Under Alabama ethics law, it is illegal for a lobbyist or a lobbyists client, called a principal, to give a public official a thing of value, including a job.

Who is Trey Glenn? Trump EPA administrator indicted in Alabama has history of ethics issues

President Donald Trump appointed Glenn lead EPAs Region 4 in August 2017, after incidents covered in the indictment. That region includes Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

The indictment is not Glenns first brush with Alabama ethics laws. In 2007, the Alabama Ethics Commission referred a complaint against Glenn, who then served as director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, to the Montgomery County District Attorneys office for prosecution.

Controversial former Alabama environmental agency head named EPA Region 4 Administrator

However, in 2008, a Montgomery County grand jury declined to indict Glenn on those charges.

After leaving ADEM in 2009, Glenn co-founded SE&C with Phillips and served as a lobbyist for the Business Council of Alabama.

After he was appointed to the EPA position, Glenn reported income from numerous public and private entities, including the BCA, City of Birmingham, Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, Matrix LLC, Blue Ridge Partners, Strada and Big Sky Environmental.

Big Sky Environmental made headlines this year after it accepted human feces from New York for disposal at its Adamsville landfill. A train that delivered that refuse stunk up the surrounding community and after national news coverage became known as the poop train.

After accepting his appointment at the EPA, Glenn recused himself from north Birmingham environmental issues for one year. Environmental activists and nonprofit watchdog groups have asked Glenn to recuse himself permanently.

EPA region chief up to his eyeballs in Alabama bribery trial

Witnesses at trial

In July, a jury in federal court convicted Balch partner Joel Gilbert and Drummond vice president David Roberson on charges they bribed an Alabama lawmaker, Oliver Robinson, to help fight the EPAs cleanup efforts in Tarrant and north Birmingham.

From 2014 through 2017, Glenn and Phillips worked with those defendants to oppose the EPA efforts, court exhibits and trial testimony showed.

During that trial, prosecutors called Glenn and Phillips as witnesses. Court documents and testimony, in that case, showed that they had worked closely with Balch to push back on the EPA as recently as 2017.

One exhibit in that trial showed that Phillips proposed to hijack a north Birmingham community organization that had been working with the EPA to clean up neighborhoods there. During his testimony, Phillips said that by hijack he meant work with.

Dirty Business: How Alabama conspired against its own people

In the same exhibit, a PowerPoint slideshow Phillips' company had prepared for Balch, Phillips proposed to undermine and fragment proponents of the north Birmingham cleanup.

On the witness stand in that trial, Phillips denied knowing that Robinson, a state lawmaker, was being paid by Balch  something even defense attorneys didnt seem to believe. On cross-examination, defense counsel showed Phillips a memo written to him in 2014 proposing maybe Oliver Robinson be hired for community outreach work in north Birmingham.

At the same time Phillips performed this work for Balch and Drummond, he served on the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, which oversees the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

On the AEMC, Phillips sat for meetings on north Birmingham environmental issues, including a 2015 meeting where Robinson spoke against EPA cleanup efforts in north Birmingham.

While serving on the AEMC, Phillips forwarded an advance copy of a presentation by the environmental watchdog group GASP to Glenn, who then forwarded those materials to Gilbert at Balch, trial testimony revealed.

Testimony in that trial also revealed that Phillips helped make introductions for Robinson, including a dinner in which Robinson met with AEMC chairman Lanier Brown to discuss north Birmingham issues.

In the wake of the federal corruption trial, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Rep. Terri Sewell and Sen. Doug Jones have asked the EPA to put the north Birmingham Superfund site on its National Priorities List, a regulatory distinction that would open up more money for cleanup and potentially require area polluters to help pay for cleanup costs.

The Alabama Ethics Commission lead the investigation after being asked for help by the Jefferson County District Attorneys office.

The Alabama Ethics Commission is committed to working with Alabamas District Attorneys, and all enforcement agencies, whenever needed and asked to do so, to ensure enforcement of Alabamas Ethics laws on behalf of the citizens of Alabama; and these indictments are evidence of that, Alabama Ethics Commission Director Tom Albritton said in a press release. I want to recognize the hard work from the Jefferson County DAs office which requested our assistance in this important matter; and from our office, Cynthia Raulston, the Commissions General Counsel, as well as Special Agents Dustin Lansford, Byron Butler and Chief Special Agent Chris Clark for their hard work and dedication to the enforcement of our Ethics laws.

In separate written statements sent by an employee of the Melton Espy law firm from a personal email account, Phillips and Glenn proclaimed their innocence and vowed to fight the charges against them. A message left for attorney Joe Espy seeking comment was not returned.

Despite court case, environmental regulators ignore duty

EPA director paid by 'poop train' conductor
A bicyclist on a tour to raise money for childhood cancer research died after being hit by a vehicle on a roadway in Mississippi, the Hattiesburg American reports.

James Dobson, 32, of Maine, was riding to San Diego to raise money for Childrens Hospital Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the newspaper reported. Dobson was riding a recumbent bike when he was struck by a vehicle Tuesday (Nov. 13) on U.S. 98 in Lamar County.

James was infectious, the story quoted a friend, Doug Bower, saying. He was driven. He wanted to raise money to help children and thought this was a good way to do this.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol said no charges have been filed in the incident, which remains under investigation, the story said.

The story reported there was low visibility due to inclement weather and that Dobson might also have been obscured from the view of the driver because of a hill at that section of the road.
A popular new vaccine against shingles is in such high demand that healthcare providers across the U.S. are having trouble keeping it in stock.

The vaccine, Shingrix, was approved last year to prevent shingles for adults ages 50 and older. Shingles is a painful condition that causes a rash that can be severely itchy and debilitating, sometimes leaving nerve damage that causes pain for months or even years. People over 50 who had the chicken pox are 99 percent more likely to develop shingles, which occurs when the chickenpox virus is reactivated. People who are vaccinated reduce their risk of getting shingles by 50 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The shortage of the vaccine is also being felt in New Orleans. Dr. Jay Kaplan, an ER physician and medical director of Care Transformation for LCMC Health, said the pharmacy at University Medical Center cant order new stock of the vaccine right now, but have some vaccine in stock ordered in August.

The biggest complication with shingles is the pain that can last for months, said Dr. Kaplan. It starts out as little reddish rash that blisters and then scab over along the route of the nerve and cause acute pain.

A spokesperson for Ochsner Health System, said that they are working proactively to address the needs of their patients due to the shortage.

The critical shortage of Shingrix, the new shingles vaccination, has impacted healthcare organizations across the country, Giselle Hecker, a spokesperson for Ochsner said. As inventory becomes available, we are coordinating with patients who previously started the vaccination earlier this year to complete the series.

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

She added that anyone in need of shingles protection and meets the age criteria of 50-plus as recommended by the CDC can be vaccinated with Zostavax at Ochsner Clinics and retail pharmacies as a temporary alternative until Shingrix become more readily available.

GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Shingrix, told The New York Times this week that they werent expecting so many consumers to want the vaccine.

In a statement sent to the news outlet, the company said they are shipping large volumes of Shingrix every two to three weeks and expect that schedule to continue through the end of the year.

Patients can also use the Shingrix Vaccine Finder at www.shingrix.com to try to find a provider or pharmacy that may have it in stock. The information is updated weekly.

The vaccine is administered in two doses within a two to six-month interval, according to the CDC. If more than six months have elapsed since the first dose, the second dose has to be administered as soon as possible.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said Wednesday (Nov. 14) that he wont challenge Gov. John Bel Edwards in next years governors race, choosing instead to run for re-election as the states chief legal officer after significantly raising the profile of the job.

The Republican attorney general ended speculation about his 2019 election plans in an interview with The Associated Press, saying hell seek a second term in his current role and removing his name from the list of possible GOP contenders against the Democratic governor.

Theres just so much more that I would like to do. And I feel like the staff, I owe them and the people of Louisiana an opportunity to finish the job, Landry said in a phone interview. He added: It was a tough, tough decision. I am very comfortable right now that I can best serve the people of the state as attorney general.

Landrys publicly feuded with Edwards since the two men took office in 2016, raising the possibility of entering the governors race himself unless a viable Republican challenger emerged. Since then, wealthy Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone announced his entrance into the governors race, while U.S. Sen. John Kennedy said hell decide whether to join Rispone in the competition by Dec. 1. U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham is among the other Republicans eyeing the race.

No candidate has come forward so far to suggest a campaign against Landry for attorney general, suggesting the outspoken, Cajun-accented official was safer politically by seeking re-election to his current job than entering the crowded fray for governor.

Landry said he decided to run again for attorney general because of the positions importance in the state. He talked of the offices work to combat Medicaid fraud, target opioid abuse and protect consumers.

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

He's leveraged the attorney general's position to become one of Louisiana's most prominent GOP elected officials since winning the office in 2015, defeating a fellow Republican, two-term incumbent Buddy Caldwell.

"Another four years gives us another opportunity to really cement the Department of Justice's reputation and perception with the average citizen, just bringing it to a whole new level," Landry said. "I think over the last three years a lot more people know what the attorney general does."

On the national scene, Landry is president of the National Association of Attorneys General, hes been heavily involved in the Republican Attorneys General Association, hes touted visits with President Donald Trump and hes waded into legal issues in other states and in Washington.

Back home, Landrys strengthened his position as one of the main standard-bearers for Republican Party politics in Louisiana, by taking leadership of a PAC started by former U.S. Sen. David Vitter that is aimed at electing more GOP conservatives to state legislative offices.

Hes formed close alliances with a group of conservative House GOP lawmakers. And hes sparred repeatedly with Edwards over finances, LGBT rights, criminal justice, the death penalty and the broad parameters of their offices' constitutional authority.

A lawyer and businessman from St. Martin Parish, Landry first drew political attention on the state level as a congressman. He was in the U.S. House for one term and quickly became a tea party favorite. But he lost his re-election bid in 2012 when he was forced into the same district as another GOP incumbent, after Louisiana lost a House seat because of stagnant population.
Tulane University School of Medicine was awarded an $8.5 million contract to develop a more effective and longer lasting vaccine against pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough.

This highly contagious respiratory disease causes uncontrollable coughing often making it hard to breathe. It has made a resurgence in the United States over past decades despite widespread vaccination. There were about 18,000 cases of whooping cough reported in the U.S. in 2016, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

It can affect people of all ages but can be very serious and even deadly for infants.

Medical experts have blamed the current vaccine for the spike in cases because it does not provide lasting immunity and requires multiple booster shots for people to retain immunity. Children get a series of five doses of the DTaP vaccine (diphteria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough) starting at 2 months old and ending by the time they are 6 years old. A booster shot is required at the end of their adolescence to retain immunity. Doctors recommend that adults receive a booster shot every 10 years to remain immune.

Tulane researchers Lisa Morici, a microbiologist and immunologist James McLachlan will be researching the use of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs, which are nanoparticles shed by bacteria as they grow) to stimulate a stronger immune response than the current vaccines against the disease. The human body recognizes OMVs secreted by bacteria during infection. When used in vaccines, they can fool the body into mounting a similar immune response.

We have worked with outer membrane vesicles for years. They are an extremely potent adjuvant, said Morici. An OMV presents to the immune system similar to an intact bacterium  but its non-infectious and non-replicating  so its much safer.

The researchers will test different versions of the vaccines delivered as injection as well as nasal and oral formulations. This project received federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services.
A single tear shed by Vietnam War veteran became the catalyst for bringing a traveling version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to Franklinton.

That tear came from a constituent of La. Sen. Beth Mizell, R-12, in response to her question about whether hed seen a documentary on the Vietnam War, which included a segment on The Wall that Heals.

He said, You know I think if we could get that wall here, it would help a bunch of us heal, Mizell said.

The comment sparked an application for Franklinton to host the wall and a years worth of efforts by Mizell and a committee of 10 volunteers  called Bring the Wall to Our Veterans.

Those efforts will culminate when The Wall that Heals opens to the public Nov. 15 at 8 a.m. It will be open 24 hours a day until Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds in Franklinton.

At 375 feet long, The Wall That Heals is a 3/4-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (commonly referred to as The Wall) in Washington, D.C. Just like the Washington memorial, the traveling wall bears the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

It is a program of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va., that was authorized by Congress in 1980 to build a national memorial dedicated to all who served with the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War.

The result was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and a Yale architecture student. Her design called for the 58,000 names to be listed in alphabetical order chronologically by the date of their loss and etched in a V-shaped wall of polished black granite sunken into the ground.

While the design initially was controversial, it ultimately brought healing . It now serves as a pilgrimage site for those who served in the war and those who had loved ones who fought in Vietnam. More than 5.2 million people visit it each year, according to the VVMF.

Yet not every Vietnam veteran is able to travel to Washington, D.C. The Wall that Heals allows the memorial to come to them and is one way the VVMF carries out its mission to promote healing and educate the public about the Vietnam Wars impact.

It is amazing that art can heal. Theres no figures. Theres no human shape associated with it, but the stories weve heard about the wall have choked us up. There are people who will just sit at a name the whole day. Theres people who will be there every morning while its at their location, Mizell said.

Weve got local veterans who have come to us and told us stories of being in offensives during the war. Its allowed them to open this conversation that theyve never had before, she added.

Since it was unveiled in 1996, The Wall that Heals has visited more than 600 communities throughout the nation, as well as a 1999 visit to the Four Provinces in Ireland and a 2005 visit to Canada.

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

Franklinton is one of 38 locations that will host The Wall that Heals this year. A new, larger wall will be on display, one that will allow visitors to do rubbings of individual service members names for the first time.

We are thrilled to share the new The Wall that Heals exhibit with the public this year, said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of VVMF, in a press release. Through The Wall that Heals, we are able to return the names home to communities across the country and allow Vietnam veterans and their family members who cannot make it to Washington, D.C., the opportunity to see The Wall. It gives communities a teaching moment for younger generations on why we should honor those who have served and sacrificed so much.

This wall  made of Avonite, a synthetic granite  contains 144 individual panels that are supported by an aluminum frame and are erected in a chevron-shape like the D.C. memorial. LED lighting provides readability of the names even at night.

VVMF has very high standards on placement and environment, Mizell said. Theyre very protective of the mood.

After being escorted by State Police once its route passes Pearl River, the Wall is scheduled to arrive Nov. 13 in a 53-foot trailer that transports it from community to community. When parked, the trailer turns into a Mobile Education Center, opening to reveal exhibits built into its sides.

These exhibits are intended to give visitors a better understanding of the legacy of the Memorial and the collection of items left at The Wall. They will include digital photo displays of service members from St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes whose names are The Wall, as well as video displays that teach about The Walls history and impact.

Its going to be an opportunity for children who are of a certain age to learn about whats taken place, Mizell said.

The Bring the Wall to Our Veterans committee initially saw the walls stop in Franklinton as patriotic opportunity, Mizell said.

As we got into it, very quickly we realized we were hosting a wake. Everything were doing is very solemn. she added. Everything is to provide access to The Wall for healing for the veterans and their families.

Scheduled ceremonies include a soft opening Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. after The Wall is assembled, and a mandatory volunteer training Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. On Nov. 15, The Wall will be open for public viewing 24 hours a day until Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. Events Nov. 15 include school field trips from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and an opening ceremony at 9 a.m., with a pinning ceremony at 9:15 a.m. On Nov. 16, field trips are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Nov. 17, there will a Gold Star Families Ceremony at 11 a.m. and a 6 p.m. Candlelight Vigil and Reading of the Names. The Wall will be disassembled Nov. 18 after its 2 p.m. closing ceremony.

The Wall that Heals is free, but donations are welcome. For more information, visit thewallfranklinton.com/index.html or facebook.com/TheWallFranklinton/. To learn more about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, visit www.vvmf.org.

Pre-orders are being accepted for the Starving Artist Cookbook, which will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Covington. The 8.5-by-8.5 color photo book features local artists and artists from Armbruster Artworks. Each artist has submitted their favorite easy recipe along with their favorite work of art. Among the 175 artists included are Carol Hallock, Marcia Holmes, Jim Seitz, Robert Seago, Mary Helen Seago and many others. Each book is $45, and they will be available the beginning of December. Pre-orders can be made by calling 985.630.6295 or emailing garmbruster1060@yahoo.com

Sarah Bonnette a freelance writer on Louisiana arts and culture. She may be contacted at sgbonnette@gmail.com.
Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain
Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 66F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 48F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow

Sunny skies. High 63F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Currently in New Orleans

63F Clear 66F / 63F
Jennifer Thomas, an award-winning, veteran American broadcast journalist was invited by the United States Embassy (South Africa) to address the Cape Town Press Club on media coverage of elections in the age of fake news late last month.

Jennifer Thomas is an assistant professor at the department of media, journalism, and film at Howard University.  Howard University

Journalists are the first rough draft of history

I was in the control room when we heard the thunderous steps of the executives running from the 6th floor down to the newsroom to tell us that something has hit the World Trade Centre. I grabbed my headset as the producer of the show and from there we were off. And you know, hearing the term that 'journalists are the first rough draft of history' - that certainly was an event that changed the history of our world as we knew it. And certainly, for me, as a journalist.

Press freedom is precarious. We want to see countries move from yellow to green, not other way around. #pressfreedom pic.twitter.com/oc80Hf4tU1  Newseum (@Newseum) September 9, 2017

Back to the basics

Three things the media can do to remain credible

Journalists are the defenders of democracy, the freedom fighters of the First Amendment and savvy and sophisticated storytellers. And I think that if we spend a little more time looking for those stories that are not being told, and focus on the story and not the headline, I think that it'll make all of this a lot better.

Thomas is an assistant professor at the department of media, journalism, and film at Howard University. Her career has spanned over 25 years in network and local news, and most recently she was a news producer for CNN and an executive producer for CNN Headline News.Thomas started her talk by sharing with us that Howard University was her, where she began her career as a student journalist. She has returned to the university to: "inspire the next generation of journalists as they transition from classroom to newsroom to control room to the boardroom, or whatever room it is they wish to occupy."Thomas told us briefly about one of the most memorable moments in her career, when she was the 9am show producer at CNN on 9/11.She said that as journalists, it is our job to tell stories, adding, "In the world of journalism, certainly for the teaching of these soon-to-be journalists, it's the best of times and it's the worst of times to tell these stories."She spoke about a news museum in Washington DC, where they update the installations depending on what's happening in the world. There is a wall sponsored by the Press Freedom House that shows world press freedom on a map of the world.It shows that the worse place in the world for freedom for press is North Korea. The best place for freedom of press is Norway.But recently, they have also added a new section that says: "Journalism in the United States is under threat." She says it has caused so much friction with many journalists that The Washington Post changed their slogan last year to: "Democracy dies in darkness."Thomas said this made her think about what she can say to inspire these millennials who are going into journalism now.With social media and technology, and with the spread of disinformation, which may be fake news, journalists have to remember to really just get back to the basics, she said."If you are in college and you are studying to become a lawyer and you go to law school - in America, you have to pass the bar, and then you hold your hand on the Bible and you swear before a court, before God that you are going to make sure everyone has got access to a fair trial. If you are a doctor and you go to medical school, you have to take the Hippocratic Oath that you are going to try and save a life, no matter what. What do we do as journalists?" She asked the room.Thomas continued: I always remind my students that our role is so important that we're embedded in the democracy of the country. We are part of the Constitution and part of the First Amendment. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press.The same could be said here, in South Africa, where in both cases when the press is suppressed, democracy dies, Thomas said.We don't take that oath so that means that we have to uphold ourselves to make sure that all the stories that we do are done ethically, that we use our resources, that we check our sources, that we verify our sources, she said.Thomas then told us about an article she recently read that said that respect and trust in the media is at an all-time low. Right next to lawyers, she joked.She said there are three things that the media has to do in order to be considered believable and credible. And that is:Thomas referred to the Sunday Times and said she listened to a lot of conversations around what happened when she arrived in South Africa. She said that as a journalist, you have to fact-check and re-check and verify your sources.She referenced the Sunday Times again and said that she read that the editor of the Sunday Times said that they had made a mistake. She said the question now is, what are you doing going forward? "Certainly, South Africa is not alone. In the US, there are cases that go as far back as the 1980s, where we found evidence of false reporting, false sources. We certainly had to learn the same lessons, but you have to be transparent and then go forward, making sure that those things don't happen again."This is where social media comes in, helping to get the audience involved. Thomas said we should listen to the audience and also take more time to follow up on stories.Thomas said stories that stood out for her during her career were always the stories that were linked to the people. There's a saying:She ended off by saying, "I think we have to remind ourselves how important we are in a democratic society. And we must just make sure that those stories will tell the truth, despite what's going on around us.
North Augusta, SC (29841)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 34F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 34F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
The board of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control unanimously approved the proposed Western Capacity Use Area for Aiken and six other South Carolina counties.

Capacity Use is a DHEC program that requires entities that withdraw more than 3 million gallons of groundwater from aquifers to acquire permits and report their groundwater use to DHEC.

The decision came following an executive session and a public hearing, during which the board listened to testimony, research, and opinions from anyone who wished to speak on the proposed capacity use after DHEC employees presented their own research on the aquifers.

DHEC's studies, which go back years, show significant groundwater decline in aquifers across the state, including aquifers that supply Aiken with its groundwater.

Although groundwater levels fluctuate over time, there has been a steady decline in overall supply over the years the research has been collected.

A major concern is how so called "mega-farms" and industrial businesses, some of which draw billions of gallons of groundwater for their purposes, would affect that resource.

Due to these studies, which found that demand would only increase over time as population in areas like Aiken continue to increase, DHEC employees suggested capacity use be implemented in the potentially affected areas.

Aquifer capacity use debate rages on in Aiken County as DHEC meeting approaches Trends have emerged from data collected by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control that show South Carolina aquifer 

Aiken County Council requested portions of Aiken be considered for capacity use back in 2016. Following an assessment of groundwater conditions in 2017, DHEC suggested Aiken should be brought into the capacity use program.

People traveled from across the state to be at the meeting, which was held at 10 a.m. in Columbia. Many of the speakers came from Aiken County.

Among those in favor of capacity use were Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon, County Council Chairman Gary Bunker, representatives from various organizations across the state (most of them environmental), small farmers, and concerned citizens.

One citizen from Windsor claimed she turned her sink on one day to find she had no water, as the levels in her well had plummeted after a large farm moved close to where she lived.

Others raised concerns over how increased demand would affect the supply for future generations.

"At this point, the impact is felt mostly on private well owners and recreational users of the Edisto River," Bunker said during the hearing. "But it doesn't take much imagination to see how  if current trends continue  this issue will grow to the point where further growth and economic expansion are impacted by the limits of our region's fresh water supply."

Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, said the full blame couldn't be placed on mega-farms, but said he was pleased with the outcome of the vote.

"We're all called on to be stewards to that precious resource," Taylor said. "...We can't be kicking the can down the road on this water issue."

Of the 25 speakers who voiced their opinions, experiences, and information they had collected, the South Carolina Farm Bureau, represented by President Harry Ott, was the main entity opposed to imposing capacity use during Thursday's meeting.

"We do not believe the science exists and is completed as we stand here today," Ott said. "...I want to remind this panel that agriculture is the No. 1 industry in the state of South Carolina."

Ott said the Farm Bureau is not against capacity use, but believes DHEC's yearly studies are not adequate enough to warrant capacity use currently.

Despite Ott's stance, some other farmers present at the meeting, including one who claimed to be with the Farm Bureau, argued in favor for capacity use, saying that a shortage of water would be detrimental to residents and big farmers alike.

"We have a groundwater resource problem in our state," said Laura Bagwell, a Farm Bureau member and geologist from Aiken. "It's widespread, it's not new, we've had it for years. And it's getting worse."

Bagwell fired back at Farm Bureau arguments that the science wasn't "completed" by saying that science is a "cumulative process" that is never complete, but rather is a series of studies, where each builds upon the next.

DHEC scientists proposed the entire coastal plain to be included in capacity use programs as early as 2004, when evidence of groundwater decline began to crop up in their studies.

The Western capacity use area will also include Bamberg, Lexington, Barnwell, Allendale, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties.

Four other capacity use programs currently exist across South Carolina.

Stakeholder meetings will take place so input from affected parties, including large-scale farmers, can be brought into the capacity use program at the local level, which varies slightly from area to area based on what drives capacity use.

DHEC's Alex Butler also said the goal is not to prevent people from using water, but rather to make sure they're drawing it from the right area and right source so other users are not negatively impacted. Sometimes the solution involves industries and farms pumping water from deeper aquifers, rather than from shallower areas where resident wells rely on groundwater.
Muthoki Mumo and I are journalists turned press freedom advocates for the Committee to Protect Journalists. We embarked on a 10-day visit to Tanzania, primarily as a networking and fact-finding mission to gauge media freedom in Magufuli's Tanzania. We had nothing to hide, and even had a letter of invitation from the government-recognised press regulator. But then I heard a knock on my hotel room door...

Angela Quintal of the CPJ. Image  Daily Maverick

The front page of the Kiswahili newspaper, Tanzanite, at the weekend which claimed that CPJ media activists Muthoki Mumo and Angela Quintal were spies. Photo: Twitter.

US President Donald Trump was berating CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta on cable news when I heard a knock on my hotel room door. I opened it to find the hotel manager flanked by several men and women in plain clothes. They were there for a regular immigration check, she said.Wow. So many of you? I feel like a criminal, I joked.The manager smiled, but it was no joke. It was the evening of 7 November and we were in Dar Es Salaam, about to experience first-hand the repression, Afrophobia, and paranoia that have become the hallmark of Tanzania under President John Magufuli  the very antithesis of what the countrys founding father Julius Nyerere espoused.My Kenyan colleague Muthoki Mumo and I are journalists turned press freedom advocates for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists . We embarked on a 10-day visit to Tanzania on 31 October to meet journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians. It was primarily a networking and fact-finding mission to gauge media freedom in Magufulis Tanzania. It was slated as preparation for a possible special report in 2019, as well as a high-level advocacy mission that would include our advocacy director and members of CPJs international advisory board.A lot of preparation goes into CPJ missions abroad. We do not travel undercover and are always open about our visits. We even had a letter of invitation from the government-recognised press regulator, the Media Council of Tanzania , and double-checked the visa requirements. We stayed at a hotel near State House which is frequented by cabinet ministers, government officials, and business people and we held several of our meetings there even though we spotted the ubiquitous intelligence agents lurking in the shadows. We had nothing to hide. We also met others in their offices or in venues they believed were more convenient or less public.It soon became clear that we had underestimated the scale of attacks on the Tanzanian press and government repression . Journalists spoke of anti-press laws, including the Media Services Act, the Cybercrimes Act under which many were being prosecuted for insulting the president as well as onerous content regulations aimed at bloggers that require hefty and unaffordable registration fees. We were told about the suspension of newspapers, journalists charged with sedition, spies in newsrooms, and much, much more. Many spoke about last years 21 November disappearance of freelance journalist Azory Gwanda , who was investigating extrajudicial killings in Kibiti. Gwanda has not been heard from since. Many journalists were frightened that they would suffer the same fate. Fear and self-censorship became a constant refrain.While we were there, an outspoken Magufuli critic and opposition MP, Zitto Kabwe , was arrested and charged with incitement. Then Dar es Salaams governor, Paul Makonda, announced a special task force to hunt down gay people and the European Unions top diplomat was recalled (read expelled) because of his pro-human rights stance.A week into our visit we got a slight taste of what our colleagues have endured. We were raided in our hotel rooms by agents purporting to be immigration officials. Our passports and electronic devices were seized and we were denied access to a lawyer and embassy officials. I managed to alert CPJ in New York so that our emergency protocols could kick in and called my partner in Johannesburg to ensure high-level government intervention. I also took to Twitter and Facebook to alert the world to our impending arrest. Little did I know that I would cause a social media storm.We were bundled into the back of a minivan with several agents. The rear and side curtains were closed and there was an attempt to disorientate us by apparently driving aimlessly around Dar. We were eventually taken to a house in a suburb we recognised only because we spotted a sign for the new offices of Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition. We were told earlier that the area was popular with Tanzanian intelligence and I had no doubt that we were in their custody. I also discovered later that an immigration spokesman had denied they were responsible for our detention. We drove down a dirt road and entered the premises of what appeared to be a safe house, through a large gate. Several men in plain clothes stood in the front yard. At least one appeared to be armed with a rifle. Their animosity was palpable.We were ordered out of the vehicle into the house and taken upstairs for interrogation. The men specifically targeted Muthoki, because she was a young black female and Kenyan to boot. Relations between Kenya and Tanzania have deteriorated over the years, with the Kenyan foreign minister officially protesting in late 2017 about the hostile and aggressive behaviour towards Kenyan citizens. Clearly things had not changed.Muthoki was questioned in Kiswahili, accused of betraying black people, and asked whether I was really South African. They tried to separate us, but failed. Our phones and computers were confiscated, and we were forced to share our passwords so that they could access our devices and content. The fact that Muthoki had wiped her cellphone in line with our digital security protocols was viewed with outright suspicion and she was accused of deleting confidential information. They tried repeatedly to access my emails, but CPJ had changed my password to avoid unauthorised access. They boasted about their use of Israeli technology and claimed they could still retrieve our data. CPJ also ensured that our social media accounts were disabled after Tanzanian intelligence sent a false tweet from my Twitter account praising God and claiming we were released, in an obvious attempt to fool, but my niece countered this with a tweet of her own.The agents claimed they had been watching us for several days and knew whom we had met. They repeatedly accused us of lying. They wanted to know why we were interested in Gwanda and whether we had visited Kibiti , the area where he lived, and where he had chronicled the violence in the area, including enforced disappearances and alleged extrajudicial killings. They also asked about JamiiForums, whose founder Maxence Melo was charged under the Cybercrimes Act and continues to be persecuted. At no stage were we questioned about the so-called contravention of visa conditions.We were alone at the mercy of a posse of men, some of whom were very abusive and hostile. The only woman agent had long gone home. We were taken back downstairs into a shabby sitting room and asked gendered questions. An intelligence agent was particularly abusive towards Muthoki. He even slapped and shoved her. I tried to intervene and was told to back off. I was terrified that Muthoki would be sexually assaulted and I would be powerless to stop them. Muthokis interrogator suddenly left the room and she was unharmed. Throughout our ordeal we remained outwardly calm and friendly. Rather than antagonise the men, we chose to joke and even discussed regional and liberation politics with some of them. It was an Oscar-winning performance.After five hours in custody, our handbags were removed and we were told to sleep on the couches. The mens superior, who later claimed his name was Yusuf Mohamed, reappeared after a long absence. His hostile questioning of Muthoki had been interrupted very early in our interrogation after he received a call and left the room, leaving it to the others to continue with the questioning.He addressed me directly: I did not know you were the Africa programme co-ordinator. You are so clever.I wondered whether that was a reference to my social media appeal. I asked that the air conditioner be switched on, and he replied: You want an air conditioner? Do you want to go to the hotel?Of course, I said.Mohamed announced that we were free to return, but that our passports would be sent to immigration to check whether we were in the country legally. He promised to personally return it later that morning. It was clear he had received orders to release us, although some of his subordinates were furious. I asked whether we could continue our meetings for the rest of our visit and he said yes.I have no doubt that my Facebook SOS and tweet about our impending arrest contributed to our release. The statement issued by CPJ, as well as a range of efforts to ensure government and diplomatic intervention, were also key. The solidarity from partner organisations, activists, human rights defenders, journalists, among others, was amazing. The driver, who returned us to our hotel at about 3am, even called for backup, fearing the media had descended on the hotel to await our arrival, but the hotel lobby was deserted when we finally arrived. The Tanzanian government had underestimated the backlash and was later forced into damage control mode. Hence the false claim that we had violated our visa conditions.South African diplomats, who were later joined by their Kenyan counterparts, were at our hotel at 8am and we briefed them in full. They and local human rights lawyers stuck by our side until our passports were finally returned. I feared we would be re-arrested on trumped-up charges.The South Africans were superb and even escorted us to the airport and waited until we were safely on the flight to OR Tambo International. So on Monday , when Minister Lindiwe Sisulu ignored what we had told the SA High Commission and accepted Tanzanias false justification that we had been detained for working with tourist visas, I was outraged. I took it more personally than the government-aligned Tanzanite newspapers ludicrous attempts to discredit us with a false and defamatory cover story branding us as spies.While we could fly out of Dar, we remain concerned that the journalists we left behind did not have the luxury of doing the same. We fear they will be targeted when the furore dies down and that the suppression of the Tanzanian press will escalate in the lead-up to the 2020 election. Local journalists deserve the same support and solidarity that Muthoki and I received.Yet if there is a silver lining, it is that many people the world over have finally woken up to Magufulis repression. Pressure must be stepped up to allow a free and diverse press to flourish and for the government to finally come clean about the fate of Azory Gwanda.
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.
The Johannesburg Business School (JBS) is committed to delivering world-class business education that focuses on the African context and is geared for Industry 4.0, according to senior director Professor Lyal White. It must, he adds, be purpose-driven for sustained impact on the changing social, political and economic fortunes of our continent.

Professor Lyal White

Click to view

We are authentically African, with disruption and innovation at heart. These pillars support our strategy for collective impact and our desire to be a catalyst for connection on our continent as we educate and mentor future generations of African leaders and managers.The JBS forms part of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the professor speaks of more than 100 full-time faculty members - twice as many as any other business school in South Africa. He predicts the JBS will be central to positioning UJ as a tertiary institution in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by supporting a business academia ecosystem that produces socially aware graduates.Higher education is vital to entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and ensuring that Africa becomes future-proof.The JBS executive programme offerings were launched in August with the art of storytelling at which world-renowned and bestselling business author David Hutchens introduced participants to the fast-growing body of theory around developing an organisational narrative. He has explorded the intersection of narrative, leadership, and complex systems change for over 20 years and created solutions for, among others, the Coca-Cola Company, PayPal, Walmart, IBM, L'Oreal and the US Olympic Committee.As Prof. White explains, If you are a leader, you are the narrator. Organisations and institutions increasingly recognise its power and story as a core leadership discipline. By embracing new technology, teaching and learning methods, the JBS will enable the creation of innovative new business models in Africa to produce visionary and critical leaders.He explains that the Fourth Industrial Revolutions scope is far beyond its digital or information counterparts. It is a systemic transformation that impacts on civil society, governance structures, human identity, economics and manufacturing while integrating human beings and machines, the physical and the cyber. The underlying technologies being artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, nanotechnology, biotechnology, Internet of Things, cloud computing, autonomous vehicles and 3D printing. Herein, the humanities, with creative and critical thinking, play a big part.UJ, he adds, has the highest concentration of staff with PhDs in AI on our continent and we are more than ready to tackle this new era. At an unprecedented level, the global environment demands innovative business leaders with entrepreneurial spirit and government officials who can lead African businesses to the forefront of the global economy. It also needs those who can steer global businesses to succeed in Africa. With our focus in providing global management thought leadership and deep African insights, JBS prepares students for that role, giving them that critical edge for success.Fortunately, we attract a great diversity of students who have the drive to succeed, confidence, a strong record of triumph and a burning desire to advance the evolution of business in our society.The JBS offering includes undergraduate diplomas and degrees, postgraduate degrees and programmes, and will soon include an MBA. Also on the cards are online programmes, blended learning and unique contact programmes with delegates from across the continent and partners from around the world.The senior director concedes that, despite burgeoning opportunities, this continent is a tricky place to do business. A rich tapestry of cultures, religions and languages layered over obscure geographical lines and vast distances creates a business environment ridden with complexity. Economic disparities and a history of socio-political instability in a region that is institutionally weak and grossly underdeveloped means there is no such thing as business as usual. Conventional approaches and standard business acumen do not work. Preparing individuals and organisations for this context requires an MBA with a difference.Five themes shaping the African business context from the inside out are:, politics and institutions continue to determine economic performance across the continent. These are inextricably linked to business. While some argue that Africa is more democratic and politically inclusive than ever before and that its youthful population heralds major change, ageing, autocratic leaders dominate. Six of the world's 10 longest-serving heads of state are African. Political institutions have not kept pace with commercial interests, requiring an understanding of the power, policy and institutional fluidity beyond conventional business acumen. MBAs need to understand the notion of power and politics in Africa., the demographics of development without facts and proven numbers make business decisions tricky. Africa will boast the fastest-growing population of any region over the next 50 years, and within 10 years, most Africans will be living in cities. This will have huge ramifications for business and society. Issues like growing inequality, informal business and ballooning urban slums are core to any Africa strategy. For example, informal markets comprise an estimated 35 percent of Kenya's economy and 66 percent of Nigeria's. If the business fails to grasp the relevance of this sector, Africa's full, economic potential will not be realised., the Fourth Industrial Revolution will not be lost in Africa, where innovation and disruption are underway with a local flavour.While automation understandably worries a continent grappling with unacceptable levels of unemployment, 80 percent of young people believe technology is creating jobs, not destroying them. This sentiment inspires hope. Again, policies need to keep pace because African countries lag the developing world in innovation and entrepreneurial flair., while there is the talk of continent-wide economic integration, the free movement of goods, services and people remains a pipe dream. This is a prerequisite for realising the continent's true economic potential. The intra-Africa disconnect poses a serious challenge to businesses seeking opportunities of scale between borders, requiring creative thinking and innovative solutions., the rise of African multinationals and the notion of "Africapitalism" present an interesting link and nuance to business development. The most successful firms in Africa have recognised their role in developing society and markets for the future. A purpose-driven business that strives for collective impact has become an integral part of strategy and execution in Africa.This, Prof. White concludes, is a cornerstone of the MBA in nurturing sustainable business."It must be grounded in the African context, with a strong global mindset.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni and a South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) delegation recently met in Pretoria to discuss the minister's recent social media posts that threatened war against the media. At the meeting, Sanef reiterated its concerns around increased physical threats to journalists and the critical importance of government leaders protecting and strengthening constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms.Mboweni shared the context to his posts at the meeting, which included a number of events where he felt his rights were seriously violated through unethical and reckless journalism.
When Jason Jones was arrested in a fatal shooting in the Bronx in May, he told the police that he had been nowhere near the scene. He said he had left work, ridden the bus with some co-workers and cashed his paycheck, and later had taken a subway to see his girlfriend.

Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Jones and his older brother, Corey, in the shooting, saying they had killed the victim because he had been a government witness in drug and gun cases. Both men could face the death penalty if the government decides to seek it.

But in recent weeks, the case has taken an extraordinary turn  because of Jason Joness MetroCard.

Months after the arrests, a retired detective working for Mr. Joness lawyers drove to a city jail located on a barge moored in the East River in the South Bronx, where Mr. Jones had been held after his arrest, and retrieved his wallet. The MetroCard was still inside.

Mr. Joness lawyers then asked New York City Transit to use the card to trace his movements the night of the shooting. The results supported his account, showing that the card had been used on a bus, and later on a subway roughly five miles from the shooting, just as he had described.
As if to underline her point, President Trump on the same day assailed President Emmanuel Macron of France for his own comments in an interview last week in favor of a European army, which were apparently misconstrued to suggest Mr. Macron wanted the army for defense against, among others, the U.S.

On Twitter, Mr. Trump defended nationalism and ridiculed Frances performance in the world wars.

They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not! he tweeted.

Mr. Trumps barbs were seen as especially indelicate coming on the third anniversary of terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

_____
WeWork, the co-working office company, has expanded rapidly over its eight-year life span, thanks in part to huge investments from SoftBank of Japan. On Tuesday, it secured another big cash infusion from its largest investor.

WeWork announced that SoftBank had committed an additional $3 billion at a valuation of at least $42 billion. That is more than double the $20 billion level that WeWork attained in its last fund-raising round over a year ago and makes WeWork one of the most valuable privately held venture-backed companies in America.

SoftBank is injecting the new cash in exchange for a warrant to buy additional shares in WeWork.

The deal highlights the costs of WeWorks ambitious empire-building. The company is not only expanding rapidly around the world, it is also moving beyond its primary business of leasing and reselling office space into education, apartments and more.

The company said Tuesday that it had 297,000 available desks in 24 countries and planned to open more than 100,000 new office desks for rent this quarter, the same amount it opened all of last year. WeWork said it generated $1.25 billion in revenue for the first nine months of 2018 and was on a pace to exceed $2 billion in sales by year-end.
Amazons New York site could also qualify for federal tax breaks under the tax law passed by Republicans late late year. That law created a program to encourage development in so-called opportunity zones, including parts of Long Island City.

New York City did not offer any special tax breaks to Amazon as part of the deal. But the company will be able to take advantage of existing city tax credits, including a program designed to encourage companies to create jobs outside the busiest parts of Manhattan. The program, open to all companies, could be worth as much as $900 million to Amazon over 12 years, on top of the state incentives.

Ms. Doulis, of the Citizens Budget Commission, said that credit and similar ones might have outlived their usefulness. In the 1980s and 90s, she said, companies were taking a risk by expanding in Queens or Brooklyn, and tax breaks provided an important inducement. But today, Long Island City is a rapidly developing neighborhood full of hip bars and luxury apartment complexes.

That neighborhood was very different 25 years ago, she said. Were in a very different world now.

Still, Ms. Doulis said Amazons arrival was a major coup for the city, which has been trying to establish itself as a tech hub to rival Boston, Seattle and even Silicon Valley. Mr. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday said Amazons decision was a vindication of that strategy, which the mayor said would benefit all New Yorkers.

Tom Stringer, who advises companies on site-selection decisions for the consulting firm BDO, said high-cost places like New York and Virginia needed to offer incentives to compete with cheaper areas. And he said the deals would pay off in the long run in jobs and tax revenues.

Incentives are not subsidies, Mr. Stringer said. They are investments.

But it isnt clear they are good investments, said Jay Shambaugh, director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. In offering incentives to Amazon, he said, New York and Virginia are effectively subsidizing a big, incumbent company at the expense of local businesses and start-ups. That is especially concerning, he added, when entrepreneurship rates are falling and cities are struggling to nurture homegrown businesses.
[What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

Actress Paz de la Huerta went public a year ago in Vanity Fair with allegations that Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood movie producer, had raped her twice in her New York City apartment. She later made the same accusation to the police and to prosecutors, but the Manhattan district attorney declined to press charges.

Now, she is seeking redress in a state Superior Court in California.

In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Ms. de la Huerta said that her sexual encounters with Mr. Weinstein  two in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles  drove her to drink and shattered her emotionally. She also accused him, without providing evidence, of torpedoing her career on the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire.

Her lawyer, Aaron G. Filler, said the lawsuit seeks to use archived photos to corroborate Ms. de la Huertas claims, showing that she and Mr. Weinstein were at the locations where she has said the assaults occurred.

We commenced an investigation to get data to corroborate the specific dates, Mr. Filler said in an interview. We relied on archival photography to show the dates of the initial event, the second rape in New York and the third event in Los Angeles.
[What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

Lawyers for Joaquin Guzman Loera, the infamous drug lord known as El Chapo, claimed on Tuesday that for decades their client had been framed by a vast conspiracy of plotters, including his chief lieutenant in the Sinaloa cartel, American drug agents, and the last two presidents of Mexico.

The defenses claim was an unexpected start to Mr. Guzmans drug conspiracy trial, which after several delays on Tuesday began under tight security in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.

During an impassioned opening statement, one of Mr. Guzmans lawyers, Jeffrey Lichtman, said that the real mastermind of the cartel, which Mr. Guzman has been accused of running for decades, was his longtime partner Ismael Zambada Garcia.

Describing Mr. Guzman as no more than a scapegoat, Mr. Lichtman argued that Mr. Zambada, known as El Mayo, had been the one to oversee 20 years of drug shipments into the United States, and who repeatedly paid off  to the tune of millions of dollars  a completely corrupt Mexican government, including top officials like President Enrique Pena Nieto and his predecessor, Felipe Calderon.
Time and Donald Trump do interesting things to a man.

They make Al Gore glitter.

Its almost impossible not to be thinking of Gore this week, with the words Florida and recount so prominent in the news, and its hard not to credit him with virtues absent in Trump and increasingly rare in politics these days.

Grace in defeat, for one. For another: a commitment to democracy greater than a concern for self.

Sure, the review of ballots that Gores campaign demanded in 2000, as he and George W. Bush waited tensely to see who would get the Sunshine States electoral votes and become president, was a rancorous affair lousy with recriminations.

But after the Supreme Court halted it, Gore didnt reject that ruling as partisan, rant about rigged systems, rail about conspiracies or run around telling Americans that he was their rightful leader, foiled b y dark forces. He felt that the stability of the country hinged on the calmness of his withdrawal. So he told Americans to move on.

Then he did likewise, a decision that seems positively exotic in retrospect.

Joe Biden, 75, is contemplating a third bid for the presidency, even though bids No. 1 and 2 raised questions about his ability to get to the finish line with both feet on the ground rather than one in his mouth. Bernie Sanders, 77, also seems to be mulling another run.
Given the size of Rick Scotts lead in the race for a United States Senate seat from Florida and Ron DeSantiss lead in the race to be the states governor, most election experts agree theres little chance that even the most exquisitely careful recount would deny these two Republicans victory.

Yet both men are not only acting as if its 2000 all over again, when control of the White House hinged on a few hundred votes in Florida, they are also fanning conspiratorial flames with claims of outrageous fraud, seconded by President Trump.

The flimsiness of their charges can be measured by the response theyve gotten not from their political adversaries but from some of their allies.

Mr. Scott, who as governor is overseeing his election to become senator, asked his Department of Law Enforcement to investigate this supposedly rampant fraud in Democratic-controlled Broward County. No real accusations to investigate, he was told. At a court hearing at which Republicans asked him to impound voting machines in Broward County, a county judge who had been appointed by a Republican governor, Jeb Bush, told everyone to calm down.
A California man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to making dozens of hoax phone calls during which he reported fake crimes, including one high-profile call last year that resulted in another man in Wichita, Kan., being fatally shot by a police officer.

Under a plea agreement, the caller, Tyler Barriss, 25, of Los Angeles, will serve between 20 and 25 years in prison for making the false reports by phone, a practice known as swatting.

Prosecutors say that in addition to initiating the swatting episode in Kansas  where he entered his plea on Tuesday  Mr. Barriss made dozens of other, similar calls to emergency and law enforcement agencies across the country during which he falsely reported bomb threats, active shootings and other criminal activity at high schools, shopping malls and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

No one was injured or killed as a result of those calls. It was the Wichita episode  for which Mr. Barriss pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, conspiracy and making a false report resulting in a death  that drew attention to the potentially deadly consequences of swatting. Under the agreement, he also pleaded guilty to dozens of other charges out of California and Washington, D.C., related to swatting.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Amid the blur of lawsuits and noise around the recount in Floridas Senate race lies a possible outcome that could be the ultimate twist: Senator Bill Nelson may not win the election, even if he wins the election.

That is because the Constitution says that the ultimate arbiter of who gets a Senate seat is the Senate itself  not election officials or the courts.

That would not seem to bode well for the Democrats or their incumbent, Mr. Nelson. Though he trails his Republican opponent, Gov. Rick Scott, the margin has dwindled to about 13,000 votes; Mr. Nelson hopes to make that up in the recount and take the lead.

If that were to happen, though, it is not unthinkable that Republicans would consider using their majority power in the Senate to refuse to seat Mr. Nelson and to give the seat to Mr. Scott instead  especially considering how he and his party have repeatedly insisted, without offering evidence, that the ballot review process has been riddled with fraud and misconduct.
While describing herself as bipartisan, her pro-business votes won her a rare endorsement for a Democrat from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce when she ran for re-election in 2014. She joined the Blue Dog Coalition, the group comprising relatively conservative Democrats, and drew criticism from the left for a voting record in which she often sided with President Trump and other Republicans.

Meanwhile, other forces were reshaping Arizonas political landscape. Republicans still outnumber Democrats in the state, but so do independents. Arizona, despite the bluster of some of its Republican activists, is the state that has been home to Republicans willing sometimes to criticize President Trump, including John McCain, the iconic senator who died over the summer at the age of 81, and Jeff Flake, who is vacating the seat won by Ms. Sinema.

Still, momentum seems to be on the side of Democrats, a trend that accelerated in the closing weeks of the campaign. Since the primaries in August, for every two voters that registered as Republicans in the state, three registered as Democrats, according to the Arizona Secretary of States office.

I kind of smile when someone asks how Sinema pulled it off, said Alejandra Gomez, executive director of the Arizona Center for Empowerment, a group that supports immigrant rights and public education.

I mean, we pulled it off, said Ms. Gomez, emphasizing how her group and other grass-roots organizers registered about 190,000 people to vote in Arizona ahead of this years election. We knocked on the doors of over a million people of color. Think about that. Theres a lot of talk about signing up first-time voters but we went out and did it.

Ms. Gomez said that doing so sometimes resulted in tense conversations among organizers. Some expressed concern about asking people to vote for Ms. Sinema, who steadfastly refused to endorse David Garcia, the liberal Democrat who ran for governor of Arizona and lost in a landslide to the Republican incumbent, Doug Ducey.

Then there was Ms. Sinemas voting record on immigration issues. She was one of only two dozen Democrats in the House who voted in favor of Kates Law, a bill to expand maximum sentences for foreigners who re-enter the country after being deported.
A white man who fired a shotgun at a black teenage boy who had knocked on his door to ask for directions was sentenced on Tuesday to prison.

The man, Jeffrey Zeigler, 53, of Rochester Hills, Mich., was sentenced to two to 10 years in prison for assault with the intent to commit great bodily harm, and an additional two years for using a firearm during a felony.

The sentences will be served consecutively, which means he will serve at least four years before he is eligible for parole.

I am full of remorse and regret, Mr. Zeigler, a retired firefighter, said in court on Tuesday. I wish I could change something.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.  Only one Republican holds a seat in the House from all of New England. Other than that single district in Maine, an area of farms and fishing villages and forests that sent an electoral vote to Donald Trump in 2016, the rest of the region is a vast swath of blue.

But the fate of New Englands lone House Republican, Representative Bruce Poliquin of Maine, grew uncertain this week as the margin between Mr. Poliquin and his closest opponent remained narrow and Maine officials went on counting votes a week after they were cast. This wasnt a recount, but a new and complex method of voting that Maine residents chose, and one that now had become the center of Mr. Poliquins dilemma  and ire.

By Tuesday, Mr. Poliquin, a two-term incumbent, was suing Maines secretary of state, calling for a halt to the counting and, in essence, asking the state to take its new voting system and toss it. Under a regular voting system, Mr. Poliquin asserted, he would have won.

Neither Mr. Poliquin nor his Democratic opponent, Jared Golden, won a majority of the votes on Election Day. No final and official tally was released, although numbers cited by the Maine Secretary of States office last week showed Mr. Poliquin with a narrow lead after many of the votes were counted. Under Maines new system, known as ranked-choice voting, since no one had an outright majority of votes, a new tally was triggered in which the second and, possibly, third choices of some voters will be added to the count.
As advanced as we are, we are literally down to buckets and shovels, Sergeant Kelly said.

Around 15 search-and-rescue teams met in the parking lot of the local bowling alley Tuesday morning to begin their grim task, fanning out across the region, said Sgt. Steve Collins of the Butte County Sheriffs Department.

The search teams include many volunteers and each team was assigned an anthropologist with the expertise to distinguish human from animal remains.

Teams were also accompanied by Cal Fire firefighters who were called on to help with specific tasks: removing heavy debris, entering particularly dangerous areas, or using thermal imaging technology to determine if a home was still too hot to enter.

Among the specialists called on to assist in the identification of victims is Jim Wood, an expert in forensic odontology, the use of dental records to match teeth found in the ashes.

Mr. Wood, who is also a representative in the California State Assembly, says dental records were crucial in identifying the victims of the wine country fires last year. Officials are checking dental clinics in Paradise, he said, to see how many records survived the fires.

The trick is getting the records, he said.

In some of the identifications last year I only had two or three teeth, Mr. Wood said. They are extremely fragile and that becomes another part of the challenge.

Mr. Wood said hip replacements and other implanted medical devices resilient to fire were also helpful in identifying victims in last years fires.
WASHINGTON  Freshman orientation for new members of Congress had barely begun when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old darling of the progressive left and newly elected congresswoman from New York, visited Nancy Pelosis office for the first time. She was not there to meet the House Democratic leader.

She was there to protest.

This is not about personality, this is not about rebuke, this is not about confrontation  its about making sure that we are getting the job done, she declared, moments before she spoke to young activists who staged a sit-in to demand a Green New Deal to address climate change. Of Ms. Pelosi, she said, I think she really appreciates civic engagement.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortezs noisy Washington debut, and her uncanny knack for grabbing the spotlight, underscores the difficulties that await Democratic leaders as they try to unify an unusually diverse incoming class. Newcomers in both parties descended on the capital Tuesday for the start of a biennial Washington rite  freshman orientation  that seems unusually freighted with seriousness in the age of President Trump.

Going to Congress is typically like going to college. Newcomers make new friends, look for housing, pick up new cellphones (this year, they are also being issued iPads) and take pictures for their temporary ID badges, to be replaced by House pins once they are sworn in. They take nonpartisan seminars about the nuts and bolts of joining Congress  how to hire staff and set up an office. And they go to parties, lots of parties, which members of Congress prefer to call receptions.
A fugitive suspected of embezzling over 28 million yuan (about 4.03 million U.S. dollars) was repatriated from the United States to China Wednesday.

Red Notice fugitive Zheng Quanguan repatriated from the US to China on November 14, 2018. [Photo:china.com]

Zheng Quanguan, born in 1957, was the former general manager of a real estate company in central China's Hunan Province. He allegedly took advantage of his leadership position to embezzle the company's property and fled to the United States in 2015, according to the office in charge of fugitive repatriation and asset recovery under the central anti-corruption coordination group.

Chinese police later launched an investigation of Zheng and asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice on him.

Red Notice fugitive Zheng Quanguan repatriated from the US to China on November 14, 2018. [Photo:china.com]

The repatriation of Zheng is a successful example of collaborative fugitive repatriation between China and the United States, according to the office, which added that the two sides have seen positive results of their coordination this year.

In July, Xu Chaofan, the chief suspect in a 485-million-dollar embezzlement case, the largest theft case of bank funds since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, was repatriated back to China after 17 years in the United States.

An official with the office said they will further strengthen coordination with the United States and other countries to hunt Chinese fugitives living overseas.
Mr. McCarthy, a golden retriever of a man who hates to be by himself, once cozied up to the president by bringing him a curated jar of his favorite cherry and strawberry Starburst candies. He excels at building the kind of relationships that his allies say will be crucial to leading an effective minority.

If Kevin McCarthy is alone, does he exist? joked Representative Patrick T. McHenry, Republican of North Carolina, alluding to the Californians uber-social nature. He thrives on human interaction, and that is his natural sweet spot, and I think this job, the job of minority leader, is a matter of knitting us all together.

It is common for lawmakers and strategists to preface their remarks about Mr. McCarthy by noting that he is not a policy guy, which can double in Washington as a euphemistic put-down, the legislative equivalent of saying that a potential mate has a great personality. There is no denying that Mr. McCarthy, who is known for his encyclopedic knowledge of congressional districts and warm relationships with rank-and-file Republicans, has less interest in the technical details of policy than Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, who revels in his reputation as an ideas guy.

And Mr. McCarthy is not always savvy about how he approaches an issue. When he decided six weeks before the midterm contests to introduce a bill to fully fund Mr. Trumps border wall over seven years, he neither worked with the White House nor gave advance notice that it was coming, according to two people familiar with the conversations who spoke of condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

Still, for Republicans licking their wounds from this months drubbing and looking toward a grim two years in the minority where they have little ability to influence policy, Mr. McCarthys political talents appear to be matched to the moment.

Groomed by Bill Thomas, the former House Ways and Means Committee chairman who represented his Bakersfield district, the bubbly Mr. McCarthy succeeded his more cerebral and irascible boss in 2007 and quickly worked his way up through Republican ranks, rising to the third-ranking position within four years. He was one of the Young Guns, a triumvirate of 40-something conservatives including Mr. Ryan and Eric Cantor who styled themselves the future of the Republican Party, and published a book whose cover depicted them all, smiling and impressively coifed, on the balcony of the Capitol.

Mr. Cantor, then the No. 2 Republican, was defeated in a primary in 2014 by Dave Brat, a college professor who harnessed Tea Party discontent to topple him, and Mr. McCarthy slid easily into the job. (Mr. Brat is among the Republicans swept out by Democrats in last weeks elections.) A year later, Mr. Boehner, facing a revolt from the Freedom Caucus, was forced out as speaker. Mr. McCarthy was the presumed heir apparent, but he stumbled over policy pronouncements and infuriated allies by blurting out that a committee investigating the Benghazi attacks was created to sink Hillary Clintons popularity. He took himself out of the running.

Now Mr. Ryan, another Young Gun, is retiring, and the lone survivor, Mr. McCarthy, is in line for the top job.
WASHINGTON  She bad-mouthed the defense secretary. She was the hatchet woman for John R. Bolton, the famously combative national security adviser, and drove out staff members from the National Security Council who were deemed insufficiently conservative or loyal.

But in disparaging two members of Melania Trumps staff who traveled with Mrs. Trump, the first lady, on her trip last month to Africa, Mira Ricardel, a deputy national security adviser, apparently went too far.

In a White House where the drama has been constant, but almost always behind the scenes, an email to reporters on Tuesday from Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for the first lady, was unusually direct: It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.

The email was sent less than an hour after Ms. Ricardel appeared at an official White House event with President Trump.
My family is Hispanic and Im half-black, she said. His tone is just very demeaning.

Democrats have talked about changing the electoral map for years, expanding into fast-growing states like Texas, Arizona and Georgia. Hillary Clinton even visited Arizona six days before the 2016 election.

But infrequent Democratic voters like Ms. Soza never quite materialized in force on Election Day.

This year, they did.

Senate wins in Arizona and Nevada, along with a close loss in Texas, have convinced some in the party that the changes theyve long predicted have finally arrived. And theyre hoping those changes will continue through the next presidential election.

Michael Halle, a Democratic operative who ran Mrs. Clintons battleground-state strategy and managed Richard Cordrays losing campaign for governor of Ohio, says its time for Democrats to jettison Iowa and Ohio in favor of Arizona and Georgia. Not only are the Midwestern states less favorable to Democrats because of their more rural, white populations, he argues, but theyre also more expensive media markets.

Its kind of scary, because Ohio and Iowa are two states that Obama won in both his presidential campaigns, and now theyre just not competitive in the way they once were, he told me. We are at a place where we need to expand the map.
WASHINGTON  For weeks before the midterm elections, President Trump warned ominously about the threat from a caravan of migrants streaming from Central America toward Mexicos border with the United States. It was a fearsome mix of criminals and unknown Middle Easterners, Mr. Trump claimed darkly, one that constituted a genuine national emergency.

But since the election last week, Mr. Trump has tweeted about the caravan exactly once  to issue a proclamation preventing those who cross the border illegally from applying for asylum in the United States. Fox News, which faithfully amplified Mr. Trumps warnings about the migrants, has gone similarly quiet on the subject.

There was little dispute, even before Election Day, that Mr. Trump was exploiting the caravan for political purposes. But analysts, historians and veterans of previous administrations said there were few comparable instances of a commander in chief warning about what he called a looming threat, only to drop it as soon as people voted.

While the caravan has faded from television screens, the costs of Mr. Trumps response to it have not. Nearly 6,000 active-duty troops remain deployed from the Gulf Coast to Southern California, where they are putting up tents and stringing concertina wire to face a ragtag band that is still not near the border.
After initially denying it, Saudi officials have acknowledged that Mr. Khashoggi was killed in the consulate and that it was premeditated, but have continued to deny that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, often known by his initials, M.B.S., knew in advance or had any involvement in the operation. A recording shared by Turkish officials with the C.I.A. captured a member of the kill team instructing a superior over the phone to tell your boss that the operation had been carried out.

The lack of an ambassador in either Saudi Arabia and Turkey has been a point of contention since Mr. Khashoggis death, underscoring that many important diplomatic posts remain unfilled nearly two years into Mr. Trumps administration, some because no one has been nominated and others because the Senate has not acted.

Mr. Trump has promised severe punishment if it were demonstrated that the Saudis were behind the killing, but he has resisted curbing arms sales as lawmakers in both parties have urged. His Middle East strategy to confront Iran and force Palestinians to make peace with Israel has relied largely on Saudi Arabia, a relationship cultivated by Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, with Prince Mohammed.

General Abizaid, 67, graduated from West Point, where his 1973 yearbook described him as an Arabian Vince Lombardi in that he just couldnt accept second place. He spent 34 years in the Army, rising from infantry platoon leader to a celebrated four-star general. As a company commander in Grenada in 1983, he used a bulldozer to advance on a Cuban bunker, a moment later recreated in the Clint Eastwood movie Heartbreak Ridge.

As deputy head and then commander of the United States Central Command, he oversaw the early years of the Iraq war, including the quick defeat of the Baghdad government and the capture of Saddam Hussein. His deep understanding of the Middle East made him our version of Lawrence of Arabia, as John P. Hannah, Vice President Dick Cheneys national security adviser, once described him. He coined the phrase long war to describe the nations struggle with terrorists to make clear to Americans that it would not be a quick battle.
Inside Dr. Snipess office in Lauderhill, Fla., away from all the drama, workers were beginning the process on Tuesday of actually running ballots through counting machines. They had spent the first two days of the recount sorting the ballots, picking out the pages that needed to be tallied again.

As the process unfolded, there was no denying that all eyes were on Dr. Snipes. In a tweet on Monday, Mr. Bush joined the chorus of Republican officials denouncing her. Among the issues was the Senate race, in which the Republican candidate, Gov. Rick Scott, had a razor-thin lead over Senator Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent. Dr. Snipes was accused by Mr. Scott and other Republicans of unfairly tipping the scales for her party, though no evidence of that was put forward.

There is no question Snipes failed to comply with Florida law on multiple counts, undermining Floridians confidence in our electoral process. Supervisor Snipes should be removed from her office following recounts, Mr. Bush wrote.

Dr. Snipes, 75, who said she had never before been the subject of such harsh personal attacks, acknowledged that Mr. Bush had appointed her originally, but she also noted that she was later elected to the post in 2004 and then re-elected every four years since.

If that is Jeb Bushs opinion, then theres nothing I can do about that, she said from the canvassing room of her office in the Lauderhill Mall. Thats an opinion.
At first, Ms. Cilley, a Democrat, said she was sure Ms. Levesque had to be mistaken. When she realized that Ms. Levesque was right, she said she was astonished  and thought that changing the law to raise the age would be an easy lift.

How could anybody defend the practice of 13-year-olds getting married? she said.

But a bill Ms. Cilley championed, which would have raised the minimum age for marriage, ran into a wall of opposition from her Republican colleagues. Among critics of the idea was Representative David Bates, the lawmaker who dismissed Ms. Levesque as a minor doing a Girl Scout project. (Mr. Bates, who did not respond to a message left at his home, did not run for re-election this year.)

In March 2017, Republicans killed the bill, using a procedural move intended to keep it from being considered again for two years.

It didnt make me want to stop  it just made me want to push forward, Ms. Levesque said. This year, with Ms. Levesque continuing to press the issue, Ms. Cilley and several of her colleagues passed a trio of bills which raised the minimum marriage age to 16 and gave judges more guidance about how to consider petitions for marriage licenses from people 17 and younger.

In the meantime, Ms. Levesque graduated from high school and went off to study photography at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, before deciding that a career in photography was not for her, and coming home. I didnt want to do wedding photos, she said.

Two seats in the State House of Representatives for Barrington would soon be open, and local Democrats urged Ms. Levesque to run. She said she had hesitated at first. She worried about balancing political office with college classes and with her commitments as a leader of her own Girl Scout troop. Also, she didnt know how she would get to Concord; she doesnt have a drivers license.

On the next-to-last day that she could file papers to run, she did.

In Concord, Ms. Levesque will certainly stand out. As of 2015, the average age in the New Hampshire State Legislature was 66, making it the oldest state legislature in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. One reason is that the State Legislature is essentially a volunteer job, with the legislators being paid only $100 per year plus mileage.
Quentin Bajac, the chief curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, will return to his native Paris to become director of the Jeu de Paume, Frances national photography museum.

Mr. Bajac has served as MoMAs photography chief since January 2013, only the fifth person to hold the post since its creation in 1940. In New York, he organized a large retrospective of the American photographer Stephen Shore, as well as a century-spanning history of studio photography and an edition of MoMAs New Photography series. He also was co-curator of an acclaimed revisionist presentation of MoMAs permanent collection at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in 2017.

Before coming to MoMA, Mr. Bajac served as a photography curator at the Musee dOrsay in Paris, then as chief curator of photography at the Centre Georges Pompidou.

Its a different adventure, Mr. Bajac said in an interview on Wednesday. I spent six wonderful years at MoMA, and Ive spent 25 years working in big institutions. I probably needed something else at this point in life  something lighter, maybe a little more nimble.
To many people my age, the image of Stan Lee is so iconic that it is funny to think of a time when I had no idea what he looked like. I heard his voice long before I ever read his words or saw him.

Face front, heroes! he intoned with what I would always recall as his trademark bombast during an early episode of the 1970s Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. He continued: This is Stan Lee. Believe it or not, you asked for todays story! His enthusiasm for the adventure that was about to unfold was contagious. I believed I had demanded it!

Ive covered comic books here at The Times since 2002, but I started reading them regularly in 1981. Though I had already encountered many superheroes in animated form, my discovery of comic books took my love to a new level. And in those pages, Stan Lees name was inescapable. If you wanted to start at the beginning, as many readers did, perusing the early issues of the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Spider-Man and the X-Men invariably lead you to him  as well as to the names of the extraordinary artists who created those characters with him. Later on in my reading life, I would catch his credit, Stan Lee presents, on the title page of stories by other writers. It always felt like a seal of approval.

His personality always popped, especially in the back pages, which were typically devoted to letters from fans and included his editorials, titled Stans Soapbox. (They were reprinted in 2008 and some of them turned up on Twitter on Monday as he was mourned and remembered.) He spoke directly to us, sharing the latest Marvel news or responding to questions (or quibbles) from sharp-eyed readers. He helped foster a sense of community, long before comic book characters were omnipresent in pop culture. His words made us feel as if we belonged somewhere.
John Houck/Svenja Deininger

Through Dec. 22. Boesky East and Boesky Gallery, 507 and 509 West 24th Street, Manhattan; 212-680-9889, marianneboeskygallery.com.

The Los Angeles photographer John Houck creates multiple layers of visual trickery in deceptively simple still lifes by shooting and reshooting life-size color prints that he alters as he goes. In Accumulator #20, 3 Colors #B2DAE5, #B4867B, #B46E5C, for example, the diptych that opens his first solo show at Marianne Boeskys New York gallery, Holding Environment, he folded the prints before reshooting to incorporate vivid trompe loeil creases, complete with graded shadows, in the final images. But the actual prints on display, carefully floated behind glass, are also creased, and its the difficulty of distinguishing the real folds from the illusory ones that gives the work its substance. What other deceptive appearances, you have to wonder, have taken you in on your way into the gallery?

Most of the work in the exhibition, however, is concerned less with truth and perception than it is with painting. Along with bits of blue tape, frayed canvas edges and lots more colored paper, Mr. Houck has begun photographing his own rudimentary oil paintings. There's a domestic scene in one photograph, and hands holding bicycle handlebars or a cellphone in others. The overall compositions look great, but the point of incorporating paintings, unfortunately, isn't really clear. Photographys fraught and complicated relationship to the older genre may be too heavy a subject for Mr. Houcks austere approach.
Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep  and lets us get paid to watch comedy. If youre interested in hearing from The Times regularly about great TV, sign up for our Watching newsletter and get recommendations straight to your inbox.

New York and D.C.?

James Corden razzed Amazon on Tuesday for the anticlimactic news that it would set up new headquarters in New York and the Washington metro area.

After a long decision-making process that saw cities across the United States vying for Amazons selection, the tech giant announced that it was going with two of the most obvious options.
In 2011, HBO began a series based on a set of books whose legion of fans had exacting expectations. Game of Thrones required condensing a vast narrative, visualizing wonders like dragons flight and creating a world that spanned continents.

HBOs new series My Brilliant Friend, based on the wildly popular Neapolitan novels of Elena Ferrante, is a different but no smaller challenge. The story of a febrile and rivalrous friendship between two girls in a working-class Italian neighborhood in the 1950s, it is as intimate as Game of Thrones is sweeping.

The first season, which begins Sunday, is set largely in a single cluster of apartments. Its drama, though punctuated by violence, is interior and inwardly focused. It enfolds warring families and shifting alliances, but in a setting where everyone is packed close and prying eyes and whispers are inescapable.

It is a game of courtyards, stairwells and balconies. But as earthbound as it is, My Brilliant Friend is no less transporting.
Its not that Ayoola meant to kill quite so many men. Shes not a monster, shed insist. Things just have a way of getting out of hand. Frankly, it would be cruel to blame her. Maybe youre the monster?

Ayoola  lovely, dopey, incorrigibly murderous  is the chaos at the heart of My Sister, the Serial Killer, a much-anticipated first novel from the Nigerian writer Oyinkan Braithwaite. Its Lagos noir  pulpy, peppery and sinister, served up in a comic deadpan courtesy of the narrator, Ayoolas horrified sister Korede.

Korede, a nurse, is as unprepossessing as her sister is beautiful, and as loyal as they come. Shes always on hand to discreetly dispose of a body or to help concoct an alibi  even as shes baffled by her sisters motives. Ayoola claims the murders are in self-defense, but she never seems hurt or even terribly rattled. (And why is she wandering around with a nine-inch knife, anyway?)

I found myself typing serial killer into the Google search box at 3 a.m., Korede says. In one desperate moment she even wonders if the weapon could be to blame: I cannot imagine her resorting to stabbing if that particular knife were not in her hand; almost as if it were the knife and not her that was doing the killing. But then, is that so hard to believe? Who is to say that an object does not come with its own agenda? Or that the collective agenda of its previous owners does not direct its purpose still?
At the moment, he is financing the site mostly by himself. Later, he said, he intends to work more with brands as traffic grows, in hopes that they will help supply funds.

The goal of The Naked Watchmaker is to develop a reference section, he said. I dont see it as consumer advice. I see it as education, so that people can get inside the product and see what it is. Its important people are informed.

Nicholas Manousos, a watchmaker and president of the Horological Society of New York, shares this view. Without education today, future growth cannot be guaranteed, he said. Brands should invest in education to make sure that their customers really understand what theyre selling. Some brands do take this path, but others invest in flashy ad campaigns that sell a name rather than a product.

But not everyone agrees. In online forums, the British watch brand Bremont has been accused of focusing on marketing rather than communicating the details of watchmaking. Drawing in a new generation of consumers comes down to effective storytelling, brand positioning and endorsement, said Giles English, a co-founder of the brand. Yes, its our role as brands to enable access to the relevant information, but brands need to create a lifestyle that the consumer wants to buy into.

Marco Schommer, director of the influential Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program, best known as Wostep, isnt so sure. He previously was a customer service director for Bulgari, where, he said, one of the biggest challenges was educating new markets about mechanical watchmaking.
Ted Doolittle, who heads Connecticuts Office of the Healthcare Advocate, has fielded angry complaints from residents, but he sees few options available to officials. A lot of this is too little and too late, he said.

Finding new paths for growth

The latest giant hospital consolidations continue to stir concerns. Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives, two large chains, are expected to become one of the nations largest groups  with 139 hospitals in 28 states  by the end of the year. And two of Texas biggest systems, Baylor Scott & White Health and Memorial Hermann Health System, recently announced plans to combine.

The New Haven area has witnessed the most significant decline in competition. Yale New Haven Health, one of the largest hospital groups in Connecticut, took over the only competing hospital in the city and has also aggressively expanded along the states coast. The group recently added another hospital to its collection, merging Milford with its Bridgeport location.

Although the price of a hospital admission in the New Haven-Milford area was already three times higher than in other parts of the state, prices surged by 25 percent from 2012 to 2014, compared with 7 percent elsewhere in the state, according to the Petris Center.

In the national analysis, a third of the metropolitan areas experienced increases in the cost of hospital stays of at least 25 percent from 2012 to 2014, from roughly $12,000 to at least $15,000.

Prices rise even more steeply when these large hospital systems buy doctors groups, according to Richard Scheffler, director of the Petris Center.
Uncovering the beauty of African women and their worlds within fractured and layered colonial histories demands a special attention to detail. As the documentary photographer Laylah Amatullah Barrayn and the author Catherine E. McKinley know, many of the earliest images werent meant to be seen as art. Yet they had a disturbing, global reach, fueled by the racism and voyeurism of unknown European photographers. And they trigger discomfort  if not outrage  to this day.

To counter uninformed portrayals of African women as servile or sexual figures, Ms. Barrayn and Ms. McKinley curated Aunty! African Women in the Frame, 1870 to the Present, an exhibition at United Photo Industries Gallery in Brooklyn that exalts their beauty on their own terms. Digging into history and offering a glimpse of a future narrative, the show features some 100 archival, vintage and contemporary photographs from the Catherine E. McKinley collection, a trove of photographic prints, cartes de visite and postcards spanning the African continent.

Ms. McKinley started collecting when she was researching the uses and evolution of indigo cloth from colonial to postcolonial periods. Studying images by Seydou Keita and the fashions his subjects wore, she delved deeper and researched textiles and trade history on a journey that took her to 11 African countries.
Filled with scenes of sexual violence and body horror, Bertrand Mandicos The Wild Boys might have been unbearable were it not so fantastical and stylized. Set in the early 20th century, it follows five literate juvenile delinquents (all boys, but played by women), who rape and kill their English teacher and are sent to sea as punishment. There, a hard-driving Dutch sea captain tortures them with work and tantalizes them with his manliness, at one point even displaying his tattooed penis. Things get really delirious when he brings the boys to an island rich with twisted, mysterious sights: Tree branches shoot milky white fluids; furry flora shaped like womens legs opens up to receive them.

The whole movie luxuriates in a kind of erotically charged but hyper-classical artificiality, with fake sets, arch dialogue, frequent rear-projections and copious shots of (clearly prosthetic) genitalia. Filmed in shimmering black and white, with dashes of surreal color, its as if Guy Maddin and Kenneth Anger adapted one of Joseph Conrads nightmares for a sexploitation producer.
The first place Dilainy Inoa Reynoso practiced medicine was in the land of make-believe.

Her siblings were stand-in patients, whose symptoms she would scribble on a pad. Complaints were treated with ice packs or bandages jury-rigged from tape and paper strips. Sometimes she would use syringes, taken from a relative with diabetes, to squirt water.

I always wanted to be a doctor, Ms. Inoa Reynoso said.

But a difficult family history, including several years in foster care, placed obstacles in her path. Ms. Inoa Reynoso turned 21 last month, legally ending time in the foster care system. It was a significant but stressful milestone for someone who had come to rely on a structured support system.

Still, as she studies science at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Ms. Inoa Reynoso feels that she is in the first stage of achieving her goal. This is what I want, she said.

As a young girl, Ms. Inoa Reynoso lived in the Dominican Republic. Her father brought her to the United States in 2004, separating her from her mother. A decade later, the Administration for Child Services in New York City removed her from his custody.
[What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

In the days before Amazons official announcement that it would situate its second headquarters in two locations, one of them in Queens, many New Yorkers were outraged by the impending incursion as they surely went about ordering their slow-cookers and folding chairs and heavily discounted copies of Friday Black from the company, for expedited delivery. The holidays, after all, are approaching.

I count myself among the hypocrites. Along with so many others who think about urbanism, I spent much of Monday ruminating on the paradox of a company with a trillion-dollar valuation receiving billions of dollars in tax credits for bringing high-paying, technocratic jobs to a place already full of them. During the last decade, the city has added 76,000 tech jobs. In September, New York State recorded its lowest unemployment rate in 30 years.

And yet Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo went after Amazon as if he were the desperate patriarch in a 19th-century novel, ready to balloon the family dowry without limit all for the prospect of ensuring that his daughter marry up, even if, in truth, she stood at the pinnacle and could have anyone. Was it really necessary that Amazon get its own helipad when there is one right across the river? Exhausted at the injustice, I tucked into bed at the end of the day with my iPad and streamed the second segment of The Worricker Trilogy on Amazon Prime, barely registering the contradiction.

[What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

We have internalized our use of Amazon to such a degree that we have trouble recognizing our complicity in the manufacture of the companys own arrogance. Last year, I witnessed an adult ask an 8-year old if he believed in Santa, to which the child replied, rolling his eyes, Santa is Amazon.
But one law-enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss an open case, said that Mr. Schwartz spent several years actively assisting Mr. Paz and knew exactly what kind of business was being conducted in his buildings.

The former tenant in the Park Slope building, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared retaliation by her previous landlord or his associates, said Mr. Schwartzs response when she asked him why he tolerated having the sex trade in his building was, They pay me good money.

A business built on renovating dumpsters and housing the homeless

In one of his appearances in housing court, Mr. Schwartz said that his business was built on buying buildings in distress  or what he called dumpsters  and turning them into something. His strategy depended on receiving city money to house the homeless.

So mainly all of my real estate is put together from shelters, he testified in 2016.

On numerous occasions, the city paid Mr. Schwartz to house the homeless in some of his buildings, court records show, including one at 880 Gates Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where the authorities said a brothel operated.

But the brothel buildings comprised only a fraction of Mr. Schwartzs larger portfolio. Through a network of shell companies, he owns at least 48 properties worth more than a combined $87 million, city records show. The companies all can be tied back to an entity called Pacific Management, which Mr. Schwartz still runs, with a partner, Mendy Lowy, from a cramped and cluttered office on Coney Island Avenue above a Pakistani bakery. (Ms. Lowy did not respond to several phone calls seeking comment.)

Mr. Schwartz has twice ended up on the Public Advocate for the City of New Yorks list of the worst landlords. Eight of Mr. Schwartzs buildings were on the citys watch list last year, racking up more than 500 violations for problems such as water leaks, bulging walls and inadequate light and ventilation, officials said. Court records show that Mr. Schwartz and his companies have been sent to housing court more than 150 times recently.
[What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat who had been locked in a neck-and-neck race for Congress, has defeated his Republican opponent, a two-term incumbent and staunch ally of President Trump, according to a final vote tally.

After a drawn-out vote count, Mr. Kim, a former national security adviser under President Barack Obama, was declared the winner by a slim margin, beating Representative Tom MacArthur, who wrote a key amendment in the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, according to The Associated Press.

The victory by Mr. Kim caps a devastating midterm election for Republicans in New Jersey.

With 11 Democrats now holding House seats, Representative Chris Smith is the lone Republican in Washington from New Jersey; the last time Democrats had such a large advantage Woodrow Wilson was in the Oval Office.
Can it be blocked?: Unlikely because the deal is being arranged through a state agency under Governor Cuomos control. Still, court challenges are likely. Because this is New York.

The politics: Its a tale of two progressives, as The Timess Eliza Shapiro noted.

On one side is Mr. de Blasio, who has worked to keep Walmart stores out of New York and often decries the influence of money. In July, we wrote a story headlined, Bill de Blasio Is a Progressive. But Is He Progressive Enough?

On the opposing side is the congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx and Queens (though her district does not include Long Island City). She has spoken out against the deal.

The Onions take: New York City Announces Subway Just For Amazon Employees Now

2. While you were waiting on line, voting machines were on ice

From The Timess William Neuman at City Hall:

With a huge turnout expected for Election Day, you might have thought that the Board of Elections would have placed as many ballot scanners as possible at its 1,200 polling places.

But even as scanners were jamming all around town, causing lengthy delays, the board had about 1,000 scanning machines in storage, election officials said on Tuesday.

Michael Ryan, the executive director of the board, said it deployed about 4,000 scanners. The board owns more than 5,000.

A Manhattan board member, Frederic M. Umane, tried to explain why.

He said the redesign and relocation in recent years of many polling sites to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act had reduced the space available to set up machines  and that the board therefore could not have distributed more of them.
Dorothy L. Cheney, whose careful research into how primates live and communicate revealed the surprising complexity of their thought processes and social structures, died on Friday at her home in Devon, Pa. She was 68.

Her husband and research partner, Robert M. Seyfarth, said the cause was breast cancer.

Cheney was a spectacular scientist, Robert M. Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and the author of books like A Primates Memoir, said by email. Along with Robert Seyfarth, she did wonderfully clever, elegant field experiments that revealed how other primates think about the world  showing that they think in far more sophisticated and interesting ways than people anticipated.

Rather than doing their research in laboratories, Dr. Cheney and Dr. Seyfarth spent long stretches in the wilds of Africa and elsewhere, studying gorillas, baboons, vervet monkeys and other animals.

One of their best-known experiments, conducted in Kenya in 1977, showed that vervets made distress sounds not just involuntarily, out of fear, but to convey a specific message about a given threat. They hid loudspeakers in bushes, played recorded sounds of vervets and watched the reaction. A particular bark sent the animals scurrying up trees because it was a warning about leopards; a low-pitched staccato noise had them looking skyward for predatory eagles.
Naomi Breslau, one of the first scientists to study how the experiences of everyday life can cause serious psychiatric syndromes like post-traumatic stress disorder, died on Oct. 13 in hospice care in Pittsboro, N.C. She was 86.

The cause was complications of uterine cancer, her husband, Dr. Glenn C. Davis, said.

Dr. Breslau, who was an emeritus professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University, conducted pioneering studies on a broad range of topics in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder, including low birth weight, migraine headaches, sleep disorders and dependence on nicotine.

She paid particular attention to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and its prevalence in the general population.

Most people think of PTSD as an occupational hazard after military combat, or as a consequence of a relatively rare exposure to a socially shared natural disaster such as a major earthquake, James C. Anthony, an epidemiologist at Michigan State, said in a telephone interview.
On Nov. 1, more than 20,000 Google employees walked off the job in protest of the companys handling of sexual misconduct. A week later, Google capitulated to some of the protesters key demands and announced the end to forced arbitration for its employees in relation to sexual harassment and assault claims. The very next day, Facebook followed suit with regard to sexual harassment claims. Microsoft, Uber and Lyft have taken similar steps in the past year.

Technology companies pride themselves on their cutting-edge, visionary nature. Now that theyve taken the first step, heres an opportunity for them to be early adopters, and national leaders, by making an even more impactful move: ending forced arbitration in relation to all employment-related disputes, not just sexual harassment. And given the extensive reach of these companies through their multitude of contractors, they should prohibit their contractors from forcing employees into arbitration, as well.

A quick refresher on why forced arbitration is so unfair to workers: Workers win less often in arbitration than in court, and when they do win, they get less money than they would in court. Arbitration is secret and shields wrongdoing from public view. Theres no right to appeal. Forced-arbitration provisions also usually bar class actions, which the Supreme Court blessed in a recent ruling allowing employers to force workers to waive their right to bring a group lawsuit, making it more daunting and difficult for people to sue their employers. And workers dont genuinely agree to arbitration; theyre typically presented with a take-it-or-leave-it contract to sign if they want to put food on the table.

These problems with forced arbitration make it especially abhorrent in cases of sexual harassment. Being objectified, degraded or groped  these are violations of a highly personal and particular nature. But race discrimination and wage theft are pretty bad, too. Its also degrading to be told to go back to Africa, which is what a former Tesla employee says happened to him. Its also offensive to be made to work dozens of weekly overtime hours for no pay.
It is, to be fair to her, perhaps the best deal that could have been achieved under the circumstances: There will be no border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (achieved by keeping all of the United Kingdom in a customs arrangement with the European Union for the moment). European citizens living in Britain can continue to do so. Both sides agree in principle that the free movement of people from Europe will end.

The most contentious part of the agreement is the mechanism for ending it: A collapse in talks on the future relationship would trigger a backstop where Britain might have to accept European rules and regulations indefinitely. The mere thought of this is giving hard-line Brexiteers palpitations.

The Conservative Party is split over the wisdom of Brexit as a project, but it is united in disappointment over the form it has taken.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, got his best jabs by quoting Mrs. Mays own colleagues: Jo Johnson, the anti-Brexit Conservative who quit as transport minister this week, described it as a choice between vassalage or chaos. Liam Fox, the former trade secretary, once said there would be 40 trade deals lined up seconds after Britain left the European Union. So, Mr. Corbyn asked, how many will be ready? (The answer, which the prime minister dodged, is none.) Peter Bone, an arch-Brexiteer, accused Mrs. May of not delivering the Brexit people voted for.

The partys whips have a hell of a job ahead of them. To further complicate matters, everyone believes that a defeat for Mrs. May would lead to her downfall as prime minister. So members of her cabinet will be considering not just the countrys future but also how their choices will look in a future leadership election.
Here was the tale of the cosmic entity known as the Beyonder and practically every hero and villain of note in the Marvel universe  good guys like the X-Men, bad guys like Doctor Doom and nonaligned forces like Galactus. I turned pages and gaped at panels as fists and cosmic fury exploded. If nirvana existed, Id found it in this basement.

And all the while, the radio in the background pumped boom-bap goodies as DJ Red Alert spun on 98.7 KISS-FM. Hip-hop and comic books in perfect synthesis. I had discovered the sounds of MC Shan, Rakim and Whodini alongside new Brooklyn pals like Ron. And now I had entered the next phase of my comic book love affair.

When I eventually left journalism to take my shot at writing for the screen and comics, the surprise was that DC Comics gave me the opportunity. I had always imagined that it would be Marvel. Still, that evolution didnt happen without me imbibing the creative fire of Stan Lee and Mr. Kirby and all who dwelt in that house of Marvel, that house of magic, over the decades.

I might have been writing essays, reviews and profiles for 15 years, but in my creative heart whenever I was plumbing the depths of, say, Death Row-Bad Boy intrigue, I was really wrangling tales of conflict between the Kree and the ShiAr  alien empires in the Marvel Universe.

I was 39 when I gave up a perfectly fine career to chase the dream that Stan Lee planted in my 7-year-old heart  old enough to know better, according to more than one cynical sideline observer. But hip-hops mantras told me to forget the odds and go for mine.

And perhaps of more import, my hero Stan Lee was also around 39 when he and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four, signaling the beginning of Marvels Silver Age, when it redefined comics and superheroes. Do omens and inspiration come clearer than that?
To the Editor:

Re Doctors Share Bloody Photos With N.R.A. (news article, Nov. 14):

It should be no surprise that doctors are calling gun violence a public health crisis or that the National Rifle Association has scorned them for doing so.

The medical community has been commenting and reporting on gun violence for more than a century. The Journal of the American Medical Association in the early 1900s decried reckless use of weapons during Fourth of July c elebrations, for example .

The American Journal of Public Health as early as the 1910s published gun crime and suicide data. In the 1920s and 30s, the journal noted how localities with weaker gun laws, as well as the country as a whole, experienced more gun violence than their peers.

In our own time, the N.R.A. has not only stymied federal research into gun violence but has also blacklisted medical groups for being anti-gun, opposed the nomination of Vivek Murthy as surgeon general, and backed a Florida law that prevented doctors from engaging patients about gun ownership .
Given how entrenched the private sector is in American corrections, the private prison industry is here to stay. But there are ways to improve these institutions. Currently they are rewarded according to the number of prisoners they house. What if private prison contracts were structured so that they made more money if they treated prisoners humanely with policies that helped them stay out of trouble once released? Prisons exist to lower crime rates. So why not reward private prisons for doing that? Judge them on performance, as Mr. Beasley said.

America doesnt use performance-based contracts. But Australia and New Zealand are experimenting with these models. Two relatively new private prisons have contracts that give them bonuses for doing better than government prisons at cutting recidivism. They get an even bigger bonus if they beat the government at reducing recidivism among their indigenous populations. And prison companies are charged for what the government deems as unacceptable events like riots, escapes and unnatural deaths.

Although the contracts set specific objectives, they do not dictate how prison operators should achieve them. If we want to establish a prison that focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration, we have to give the private sector the space to innovate, said Rachael Cole, a former public-private partnership integration director for the New Zealand Department of Corrections. If we dont give them the opportunity to do things differently, we will just get back what we already have.

I recently visited New Zealands Auckland South Corrections Facility, a low-lying yellow and white brick structure in the shadow of the local airport. It houses 970 men and avoids many of the dehumanizing elements typical of prisons. Prisoners are called by their first names instead of by number, and corrections officers are called reintegration officers.

Serco, a British company that operates prisons globally, manages the facility for the New Zealand Department of Corrections under the countrys first public-private prison partnership. Men who follow the rules, complete educational and vocational programs, and keep a positive attitude can move from the more traditional housing units into six-room cottages designed to prepare them for life outside prison. The residences, which house almost a quarter of the prisons population, resemble dorm-room suites with desks and bookshelves in the bedrooms, carpeted living spaces, couches, windows without bars, microwaves, refrigerators, cooking utensils and a flat-screen TV. The men cook their own meals and do their own laundry.
On the flip side, Yonkerss public schools are considered weaker than Bronxvilles. But many residents say the trade-off is worth it.

We feel like its a gift to not pay the same taxes but still be a part of the community. Thats the beauty of it, said Nonie Flannery, 59, who bought a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom 1900 house in the summer of 2016 for $835,000, with her husband, Robert, 61, a Manhattan lawyer.

Their property and school taxes total $9,000, Ms. Flannery said, although she pointed out that Yonkers, like New York City, imposes an income tax.

A stay-at-home-mother to six children, Ms. Flannery may be a good judge. For 14 years, she lived in Bronxville, in a vintage colonial with the same number of bedrooms as the house she has now, but her property taxes were about $48,000 a year. To be fair, she pointed out, her previous house was larger and on a bigger lot. The true tax discount, brokers say, is about 50 percent.

Those who have gathered impressions of Yonkers from a passing car or train window might think the city is solely urban, which is an apt description of the downtown area, a once-gritty section that is rapidly gentrifying.
Sitting within the Bay of Naples in southern Italy is Campi Flegrei, a vast and restless volcanic caldron. The history of this sleeping colossus includes two massive eruptions, 39,000 and 15,000 years ago, that left deep calderas in the landscape. Its last significant volcanic event was a 1538 eruption known as Monte Nuovo that spawned a small n ew mountain. Since then, it has been curiously eruption-free.

Today, 1.5 million people live within the volcano s caldera and its surroundings, and the cache of magma that could burst from the areas hellish underbelly makes it one of the most hazardous areas on Earth. In a study published Wednesday in Science Advances, volcanologists report that Campi Flegrei is at the start of an eruption cycle, one that may result in a massive outburst at some point in the likely distant future.

The researchers arrived at this conclusion by unspooling the 60,000-year-long history of the volcano, which revealed what appears to be a rhythm to Campi Flegreis upsurges. Fortunately, there are no signs that an eruption is imminent. And because the volcano is one of the worlds most closely monitored, scientists are likely to pick up on any warning signs.

[Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times newsletter.]

Previous studies of Campi Flegrei have focused on one or a handful of its eruptions. But the new study, led by Francesca Forni, a postdoctoral researcher at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who conducted the work at ETH Zurich, used fresh geological samples taken from 23 eruptions across its history, both larger and smaller , to see how the chemistry of the magma changed over deep time. Her team also used computer models to simulate what may have occurred inside the volcano since the last caldera-forming eruption 15,000 years ago.
And likewise, in the newsroom, we found that sections were a little bit reluctant to take on an intern, someone thats going to be here and then be gone. We feel that with a longer runway, this will give sections more incentive to think: Were going to have this person for an entire year, lets invest in them, lets maybe put them on this mini-beat, or lets do this project. And the other thing is that over a year you really get a sense of someones personal growth.

Claire: So what are you hoping that the participants will get out of the new program?

Theodore: Well, were hoping that they get a real comprehensive experience here. Unlike maybe some other internships or fellowships, folks are going to come in and do staff work. So if youre a reporter, youre going to report. If youre on our photo team, youre going to take photos and go on assignments. Youre going to get a real chance to build clips and build a portfolio. Youre going to get a chance to work with some of the best journalists in the business, youre going to have opportunities that you probably wouldnt have at other places, and were going to try to provide as much support and mentorship as we can.

Claire: So it sounds good for the participants, but what is the Times hoping to get out of this?

Theodore: One, is that we want a more stable work force. I think this provides more value for our sections, for someone to be in there for a whole year. They get to know the place a little bit more, they get more comfortable, and the editors and managers get more comfortable with them. We want people to have a great experience, but also be excited about The Times, so when they leave they can say, That experience was amazing! Id love to go back! In some ways were selling our newsroom, and were playing the long game.

Claire: Who should apply for this fellowship?

Theodore: Were looking for folks that are graduating from college, graduating from grad school, or who are a couple years out. We didnt want to put an age limit to this, just in case there are candidates out there that might be coming from a different background. What I dont want is to have just five-year, 10-year journalists using this program as their entree into The Times. This is really meant to be kind of a program for journalists that have had internships and have some work experience, but are still breaking into the business.

Claire: What are you looking for in these potential applicants, in terms of qualities or where theyre coming from?

Theodore: The thing we always say here is that we are looking for a diverse group of people to kind of build our newsroom around. We really have a global audience now, and in order to cover that audience now we need a staff that is diverse and has different perspectives and backgrounds. We cant cover the world now unless we have that.

My mantra is that I dont care where you went to school, and I dont care what your background is  what I do care about is that you demonstrate a commitment to journalism. Sometimes that comes in the form of internships, and the kind of work that youre doing there. Are you part of the campus newspaper? Are you in a leadership position? Are you doing impact journalism there? Are you part of journalism groups, are you networking? Are you getting every scholarship that you can? That is a commitment to journalism.
Chris Page, a Nike executive who is also the president of a local racing club, recently picked up his first Langlitz. Of course it fits, and it has the features I wanted, Mr. Page said. But theres more to it than that. The person who cut it, the person who sewed it  theyre right there. The moment I put it on, I knew Id have it for the rest of my life, and I could feel that entire trajectory.

An avid motorcyclist whose passion cost him a leg and kept him out of World War II, Ross Langlitz won dozens of races in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1940s, a hobby that introduced him to numerous returning servicemen who often wore surplus leather flight jackets while on their bikes.

Mr. Langlitz found that such garments didnt fit well when he was hunched over his bike, so he took one apart and modified it, using the skills he had picked up while working in a glove factory during the war. Then he made a jacket from scratch. Portland racers pestered him to make jackets for them, too. His first style, the Columbia, is still the best seller.

As demand took off, Langlitz moved to larger and larger facilities. (The company was originally named Speedway Togs; in 1950 it became Langlitz Leathers, with every jacket made to order.)
After 14 months of pitches, meetings and offers of incentives and name changes, Amazon announced on Tuesday that its second headquarters would be on two sites: one in Long Island City, Queens, and another in Arlington, Va. The company is also developing a smaller operations and logistics facility in Nashville.

Here are some details you might have missed in all the coverage:

Amazon brought Cuomo and de Blasio together

Company executives flew to New York just to establish that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio could put aside their longstanding differences.

Although the two have clashed on everything from the subway to handling deer, they were all smiles on Tuesday. I know him so well, its just more open and verbal, Mr. Cuomo said. Whether its good or bad.

The New York deal promises a helipad for Jeff Bezos

Amazons chief executive, Jeff Bezos, will be able to come to work by flying over the East River  where kayakers now bob. Office buildings will rise and make room for 25,000 workers. How can this happen so fast? The state and city will bypass City Council, which has the power to block rezoning and land use measures.
With the invention of the smartphone, there was nothing that humans did, absolutely nothing, that they didnt also make an image of, said Martin Hand, a sociologist at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the author of Ubiquitous Photography, an academic inquiry into the blessed problem of too many photos. But that brought about its own problems  it started to get overwhelming.

More than a decade ago, the tech world hit on one partial solution to picture overload: Make images social. Through services like Flickr, then Facebook and Instagram, we tried to curate our images by getting others to do it for us. The best photos of you were the ones that were ranked highly in your social feed; the worst were the ones you didnt post.

But social media created another set of problems  there was a fear of missing out, a sense of performative anxiety, loneliness and an erosion of privacy. There was a sense in which because everything was public, young people had to constantly curate the idea of themselves in public, said Mr. Hand.

Google, too, tried to play the social photo game. The earliest incarnation of Google Photos was part of Google Plus, the search companys ill-fated, just-shuttered social network. A few years ago, after realizing that social networking was not its forte, Google went back to the drawing board with Photos.

Its reimagined service would do three things: Offer nearly limitless storage for your photos essentially free (you can pay more to have your images stored in higher-resolution sizes). It put them in the cloud, so they could be accessed anywhere. And, crucially, Photos would lean on Googles famed A.I. to address what it saw as the key problem of the smartphone era  the fact that we all take photos but rarely look at them.

We noticed that you would never relive or reminisce about any of these moments, said Anil Sabharwal, the Google vice president who led the team that built Photos, and still runs it. You would go on this beautiful vacation, youd take hundreds of beautiful photos, years would pass, and you would never look at any of them.

When it started in 2015, Google Photos brought immediate relief. For instance, face recognition made sharing pictures automatic. Now, when I take a photo of my kids, Google recognizes them and shares those photos with my wife; her photos are shared with me. Incredibly, instantly, without thinking, we each have a complete collection of the childrens photos, and any anxiety about keeping them secure has vanished.
In 2003, Craig Nevill-Manning, a computer scientist at Google, wanted to set up an engineering outpost in New York. Googles top leaders were skeptical, but they told him that he could go ahead if he could find 15 Google-worthy software developers in the city.

The attitude was that pretty much all the good software engineers were in Silicon Valley, Mr. Nevill-Manning recalled. It seems crazy in retrospect.

Mr. Nevill-Manning found his developers and opened the engineering office in New York. Today, Google employs 7,000 people in the city, and more than half are engineers and technical staff.

The Google story mirrors the rise and evolution of New York as a genuine tech hub  home to a deep pool of technical talent as well as sales, marketing and business expertise. And Amazons decision to put a headquarters in the city, eventually employing more than 25,000 workers, only reinforces that trend.
SAN FRANCISCO  Uber is still working to stem its losses ahead of going public next year.

The ride-hailing company said on Wednesday that it lost $1.07 billion in the third quarter, more than in the prior period and slightly less than in the same period a year ago, as it has invested heavily outside of its core business in areas such as bicycles, scooters and freight shipments.

At the same time, Ubers growth appears to be slowing. The companys revenue rose 38 percent in the third quarter from a year ago to $2.95 billion, down from a gain of 51 percent in the prior quarter. Gross bookings, which is what Uber earns before paying commissions to drivers and delivery people, totaled $12.7 billion, up 34 percent from the previous year.

The report card comes as Uber is preparing for an initial public offering next year, in what would likely be one of the biggest technology offerings. The I.P.O. is set to be a litmus test for other highly valued private tech companies, such as Airbnb and Lyft, which are also considering the public markets in 2019. As a private company, Uber is not obligated to publicly report its earnings, but has made a habit of doing so.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is bringing her breakout stage-show-turned-television-hit Fleabag to New York for an Off Broadway run next year.

The one-person show will begin previews on Feb. 28 and open on March 7 at SoHo Playhouse and run through April 7.

Ms. Waller-Bridge has been described as the British Lena Dunham for the shows unapologetic take on female sexuality. As in the original production, she will act while her best friend and longtime collaborator, Vicky Jones, will direct.

The provocative monologue, about a grieving London cafe owner who swears she is not obsessed with sex, debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013. It picked up an Olivier nomination and the Stage award for solo performer, went on to play at the Soho Theater in London and then toured Britain, South Korea and Australia.
The Miami food scene is exploding with food halls, collections of vendors and restaurant stalls in one space, usually vast. In 2017, there were none; now there are four and counting, offering alternatives to more formal restaurants as well as to casual street food. And youll discover these food halls in the sleek precincts of Brickell, among luxury boutiques in the Design District, and camouflaged by graffiti in Wynwood, an arts district just north of Downtown Miami. Miami Beach is poised to be home to a couple more in the next few months.

Miami has matured from fast food and fried to quality-driven. It is no coincidence that food halls are popping up in every major neighborhood, said Jessica Goldman Srebnick, chief executive of Goldman Properties, a pioneering Miami developer, and Goldman Global Arts.

What all the food halls accomplish is generally well-prepared fare at reasonable prices attracting families, shoppers, tourists and business people, especially at lunch.

The burgeoning high-rise Brickell City Center development downtown has not one but two food halls, both Italian and both somewhat along the lines of the global Eataly chain offering an array of departments and restaurants mostly under single ownership rather than a collection of independent vendors.
Legend has it that when Aesop, a slave, was brought to the Greek island of Samos, he so charmed the locals with his fables that they not only freed him, but honored him with a shrine.

That Aesop should have come to this Northern Aegean island for freedom holds a special poignancy today, even if it is only myth, because Samos is now home to one of the largest refugee camps in Greece. More than 4,400 asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa live in and around an overcrowded camp above the port town of Vathy, the capital of Samos, waiting for clearance to cross the sea to the mainland and beyond, where they hope to find a future.

Unlike the other Greek island camps, which tend to be built in remote places, the Samos camp is close enough to town to allow refugees to walk to shops and the seafront, so when I was there in October and this summer, I was able to meet some and do what I could to help, even as I was also exploring the island, renowned for its dramatic mountains and dazzling azure seas.

Like the rest of Greece, Samos suffered from the economic crash of 2008, followed by a dip in tourism and a wave of refugees in 2015, so local business owners, volunteer organizations and refugees alike welcome tourists who wish to help and enjoy themselves at the same time.
Good morning.

(Want to get California Today by email? Heres the sign-up.)

Across California, with firefighters battling blazes in the north and south and search-and-rescue teams looking for human remains, the dramatic imagery emerging looks much like what comes out of the worlds conflict zones  not a slice of America known for its beaches and other natural wonders.

There are charred cars lining a street near Paradise, in Northern California, where dozens have been killed and an estimated 200 people are missing. There are houses in Malibu reduced to rubble, just a stone archway or chimney remaining. And as families fled the encroaching fires, in cars filled with clothing and other important items they could grab at the last minute, the scenes could have been refugees escaping a war zone.

The things I have seen have certainly reminded me of moments of covering wars in the Middle East. For the many firefighters who are veterans and served in Iraq or Afghanistan or both  whom we interviewed for this piece  fighting the fires has summoned their memories of war. And its not just the visuals of burning buildings or destroyed cars but the scent of acrid smoke, the airplanes and helicopters in the sky and the language of firefighting, of aerial assaults and boots on the ground, that are so reminiscent of how military officers plan war.

Theres the visual similarities in the disorder and chaos and smoke and fire and all that, said Robert Spangle, a former Marine who was deployed to Afghanistan twice and lives in Malibu.
PARADISE, Calif.  Nearly a week after a historic fire ripped through this small town and killed at least 48 residents, hundreds of others are still missing, and the Butte County Sheriffs Department has begun releasing the names of those they have yet to find.

Most on the list are older than 70; many are in their 90s. Some appear to be married; others appear to be father and son. Among them: Dorothy Larsen, 88, Chuck Piazza, 90, Josephine Hartje, 94, and Calvin Cunningham, 95.

When the fire broke out on Thursday, the people of Paradise dashed from their homes, many leaving without the devices that would allow them to alert the world that they had survived. Others simply never had cellphones, computers or Facebook accounts that would help them check in.
If it were going to happen any year, it should have been this one. After a wave of teacher walkouts fired up people on both sides of the party line, the time seemed ripe for big investments in public schools.

In reality, the results for school funding after the midterm elections last week were mixed, and illustrate a paradox in how Americans view education.

Polls showed that the public supported the picketing teachers across the country who protested low pay and classroom funding. And a diverse group of candidates, Democratic and Republican, were elected after casting themselves as education champions. But many voters, particularly in conservative and swing states, were unwilling to open their wallets to send state tax dollars to educators and classrooms.

And in some states where education funding is among the lowest nationwide, voters approved ballot measures that will make it even harder to direct money to schools in the future.
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla.  Jim Bonfiglio, a former mayor of a tiny coastal town south of Mar-a-Lago, lost his shot at a seat in the Florida Legislature in the midterm election last week by an agonizing 37 votes.

Even with the mandatory recounts required by Florida law, it appeared he was headed for certain defeat: Palm Beach County does not own the modern, high-speed tabulation machines required to conduct recounts in multiple races simultaneously. And with the contests for governor, senator and agriculture commissioner all too close to call, there would be no time to count the votes in the state legislative election, too, before Thursdays recount deadline.

Mr. Bonfiglio, a lawyer, did what a lot of people in Florida have done in the litigious days since the Nov. 6 election: He filed a lawsuit. And briefly, it appeared, he won. In a ruling that immediately raised questions about the entire Florida recount, a judge in Leon County ruled on Tuesday that Palm Beach County should have more time to count its votes.

The ruling threatened to throw the entire election into new turmoil: If Palm Beach County didnt have to report the results of a machine recount on Thursday, the deadline for the rest of the state, how could winners be declared?
The new groups members say their goal is not to criticize the Federalist Society but to encourage debate about some of the Trump administrations policies and actions. This is not a separate organization, Professor Adler said. This is not a rump group. This is not a disavowal.

But the timing of the announcement of the groups formation, just before the Federalist Society convention, was not a coincidence, Professor Adler added. This convention has become the most important meeting place for conservative and libertarian lawyers with an interest in politics, he said. You go fishing where the fish are.

Mr. Keisler said it was urgent to have an open debate about the administrations actions.

Its important that people from across the political spectrum speak out about the countrys commitment to the rule of law and the core values underlying it  that the criminal justice system should be nonpartisan and independent, that a free press and public criticism should be encouraged and not attacked, he said. These are values that might once have been thought so basic and universally accepted that they didnt need defending, but thats no longer clearly the case.

Conservative critics of the Trump administration have been reluctant to speak out, Professor Kerr said, adding that the new group hopes to change that. There are a lot of people who are concerned who are keeping quiet, he said.

That silence may be rooted in careerism and fear of retaliation, Professor Adler said.

This administration, in nominations, is not interested in people who have been critical of it, Professor Adler said. There is a belief that there is an element of vindictiveness in the administration that casts a shadow.

Marisa C. Maleck, a former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, said she hoped the groups efforts would embolden conservative critics to speak out about Mr. Trumps actions. Hes been president for a while now, she said, and there hasnt been anyone willing to put himself out there.
Good Wednesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today.

_____________________

 What seemed like a mixed midterm result for the G.O.P. has turned more grim as Democrats continue to pick up seats in the House and narrow the Republican hold on the Senate. Read about the stronger Democratic gains.

 President Trump is considering firing Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security who has long been a target of the presidents displeasure, according to three people close to him. Read about the staff shake-up.

 There were conflicting reports on Tuesday on whether Mira Ricardel, a deputy national security adviser, had been fired. But there is no question that the first lady, Melania Trump, no longer wants her at the White House.
WASHINGTON  He has been accused of rigging the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries to thwart Bernie Sanders and facilitating a deluge of big money into politics. He helped arrange financing for the dossier of sometimes salacious and unverified claims about President Trumps ties to Russia and now is under direct fire from the president, who has said he is trying to steal the Senate race in Florida from the Republican candidate, Gov. Rick Scott.

For an election lawyer, Marc E. Elias has drawn unusually intense attention and criticism.

But then, Mr. Elias, who is representing Senator Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent, in the Florida recount, has been at the center of an unusually large number of high-stakes political fights.

His role in the Florida battle, in which Mr. Scotts lead has shrunk from nearly 60,000 votes at the end of election night to less than 13,000 votes out of more than eight million cast, has thrust him even further onto center stage as the Democrats lead lawyer and spokesman, making him a tempting foil for Mr. Trump.

Last week, Mr. Trump called him out by name, referring to this guy Elias, who represented Hillary Clinton and a lot of very shady things. That was an apparent reference to Mr. Eliass secretly arranging funding from two of his clients  Mrs. Clintons presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee  to compile research that became the dossier about Mr. Trumps ties to Russia.
It would also extend retroactively a reduction in the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine signed into law in 2010, which could affect thousands of drug offenders serving lengthy sentences for crack-cocaine offenses, which were dealt with far more harshly than the same crimes involving powder cocaine. That disparity hit black Americans hard while letting many white drug dealers off with lighter punishments.

The other half of the proposed bill creates a package of incentives and new programs aimed at improving prison conditions and preparing prisoners for re-entry into their communities. It would require the Justice Department to create a risk and need assessment system to nudge prisoners toward better outcomes. And it would expand time credits that reward good behavior and create new ones for participating in job-training and other programs that allow offenders to reduce their time behind bars.

The legislation would also improve conditions for incarcerated women, prohibiting the shackling of female inmates while pregnant, and would require the Bureau of Prisons to locate prisoners in facilities close to their homes, if possible.

The Fraternal Order of Police, the countrys largest police organization, said last Friday that it would support the bill, and the National Sheriffs Association appeared to have dropped some previous objections after exceptions were made to block certain fentanyl offenders from eligibility for good-time credits included in the prison overhaul portion of the bill.

But powerful pockets of opposition remain among some law enforcement officials and conservative lawmakers  like Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas  who argue that sentencing changes like those proposed pose a risk to public safety. However, they lost a powerful ally within the administration when Mr. Trump fired his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, last week. Mr. Sessionss temporary replacement, Matthew G. Whitaker, has signaled that he is more open to the changes.

Mr. Trump himself is leery of appearing weak on crime, and he has been susceptible to arguments from opponents of a sentencing overhaul that endorsing one could arm his critics. Still, Mr. Kushner has pressed the issue for months, and some of the presidents advisers say they think the effort could help improve his anemic standing with African-American voters, even if only marginally.

In his remarks on Wednesday, Mr. Trump tried to address both points, saying that the legislation would be tougher on hardened criminals. But in a reference to the tough-on-crime policies embraced by President Bill Clinton, Mr. Trump also said that the legislation would begin to roll back portions of the Clinton crime bill that had a very disproportionate and very unfair effect on black Americans.
WASHINGTON  Europes top trade diplomat is bracing for a trade war with the United States and said on Wednesday that the European Union was preparing to strike back if President Trump followed through with his threat to impose tariffs on Europes cars.

The European Union and the United States are meeting this week to try to lay the foundation for trade talks that would reduce tariffs on a range of industrial goods. But as Mr. Trump and members of his administration vent about the pace of negotiations and continue dangling potential auto tariffs, the Europeans have begun drawing up a list of American products they would tax if the trade dispute escalates.

We have already suffered from the tariffs on steel and aluminum, and we think that they are deeply unjustified, Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Union trade commissioner, told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. Europe has already challenged the United States at the World Trade Organization over its imposition of 10 percent tariffs on aluminum and 25 percent on steel and has retaliated with tariffs on American goods like peanut butter, whiskey and orange juice.

We would do the same were we to be targets of tariffs on cars and car parts, Ms. Malmstrom said.

Ms. Malmstrom said that she had prepared a draft list of American sectors that could face retaliation but that they needed to be approved by member states of the European Union. While she would not detail the products, she said that Europe could retaliate against a range of American goods, including autos and agriculture, and that the response would be fully compatible with World Trade Organization rules.
The Illinois State Police took steps on Tuesday to defend the actions of a suburban Chicago police officer who killed an armed security guard on Sunday, claiming that the guard was not wearing a uniform and ignored verbal commands to drop his weapon. But witnesses have contradicted that account, and it was not clear how the State Police reached its conclusions.

The findings by the states Public Integrity Task Force, the lead agency in the case, were based on a preliminary investigation into the killing of the guard, Jemel Roberson, 26, who was responding to a shooting at a bar. But a lawyer for his family disputed the states account and criticized the agency for rushing to judgment just days after the deadly encounter.

We are three days into this and they are saying preliminarily that it was a good shoot? the lawyer, Greg Kulis, said in an interview on Wednesday. They traditionally take nine months or longer.
LOS ANGELES  In many ways, the story of Ernie Foss runs right alongside the narrative of the state he loved, California. He was a surfer and skateboarder as a young man. He grew up in San Francisco and worked at a store in the hippie heyday of Haight-Ashbury, selling candles and crystals, a job that allowed him to pursue his passion of music. And then tech money flooded the city, his neighborhood was gentrified, and like so many others he was priced out.

He left San Francisco a decade ago and settled down in Paradise, Calif., near the woods. By then, he was sick and bedridden and often in pain, but he never stopped thinking of San Francisco. A few months ago he sent his daughter, Angela Loo, on a mission: to go back to the city and take videos of his favorite places, so he could see how they had changed.

His San Francisco roots were very important to him, Ms. Loo said. Its where he got into music. And did his thing and where he raised his kids. Its his hometown and he loved it very much and he missed it all the time.

Those videos were some of the last glimpses of the city for Mr. Foss, who died at 63 a few days ago in the wildfire that reduced Paradise to ash. His body was found outside his home, near his minivan, in what Ms. Loo believes was a desperate attempt to escape with his stepson Andrew Burt, his caretaker, as the flames engulfed the street. Mr. Fosss dog, Bernice, a little brown mutt he had rescued from a shelter, died there too.

The Camp Fire, which tore through Paradise and its surroundings last week, has become the deadliest wildfire in modern California history, with at least 56 people confirmed dead so far. Another three people were killed in the Woolsey Fire, which raced through the mountains of Southern California near Malibu.

With so many still unaccounted for and investigators scouring the ruins of Paradise and collecting DNA samples from relatives of the missing, the identities of many more victims are expected to emerge in the coming days and weeks. On Tuesday night, the Butte County sheriff, Kory Honea, said the number of missing was in the hundreds. The department has released a list with 103 names on it, which in no way is a list of everybody, said a spokesman for the department, Megan McCann.

Among those unaccounted for, although not on the list, is Mr. Burt, Ms. Loos stepbrother.

I dont have confirmation, she said. What I do have confirmation of is that he was last seen trying to help, or get help, for my dad to get him into their van, and failing at it. They just didnt make it. I cant imagine that he is alive, but we have not stopped looking. We are still calling the shelters every day. We are calling the hospitals every day.

Image Ernie Foss

Mr. Foss is among a handful of the victims whose names have been released, as authorities slowly add to the roster of the dead. Jesus Fernandez, 48, died of smoke inhalation, probably trying to rescue his dog, King. Mr. Fernandez, nicknamed Zeus, had a son who lives in Las Vegas, and was described by a friend as someone who people counted on in rough times.

Also killed in the fire was Bill Godbout, 79, an influential figure in the early days of Silicon Valley who ran a popular electronics store. He was well-known in the hacker community, and remembered for his quirks, like his license to fly blimps. Robert Tuck, Mr. Godbouts grandson, said that Mr. Godbout had stayed behind as his wife and relatives fled, probably to save his three cats.

As his family drove away, they looked back and could see the fire coming down on the house, Mr. Tuck said through tears. He was listening to the radio report and thought he had a little more time.

And while the family of 58-year-old Lolene Rios has kept her listed as missing, her stepdaughter told a reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle that they believed she had died trapped inside her home.

Right now, its just a recovery effort, said Maria Rios, whose father Rick Rios escaped and is now recovering from severe burns on his hands and face. My dad is in a lot of pain  he keeps saying, I have no skin, no skin.

Ms. Loo spoke expansively about her father  his days as a musician in San Francisco, when he was in so many blues and rock bands that she couldnt remember any of their names but one, Raine Daze. She recalled how their living room in their cottage in the Fillmore District was turned into a music studio, for recording and teaching lessons to students; how all of his recordings had been lost in the fire; and his last painful years in Paradise with lymphedema, a condition that swells the arms and legs.

You know, whenever something like this happens we tend to focus on all the positive attributes of a person, she said. Graciously ignoring all of their faults. My dad was not a perfect person. He struggled in life and was perfectly imperfect.

Much of Mr. Fosss music is lost, and so are many old photos, but there is one memento she does have: the scarf her father wore when he played music. A few years ago he said to her, I want you to take your daddys rock n roll scarf. She described it as like Mick Jaggers scarf.

Image Jesus Fernandez

Every few months, Ms. Loo, 43, who lives in Oregon, would travel to Paradise to clean her fathers house, stock up at Costco, and fill the freezer with home-cooked meals. They lived like men, you know, my dad and my stepbrother, she said.

In Paradise, friends dropped by when they were able, and social workers and volunteers came over to keep him company, sometimes to watch his beloved 49ers or Giants with him. But over all, it was a lonely time for Mr. Foss.

He was isolated, said Ms. Loo. He was an extrovert. He was a people person. He has been a teacher and a mentor and a friend his whole life.

He was also constantly in physical pain, something Mr. Foss wrote about in his last Facebook post, three days before he died, in which he talked about his health, and losing a wife and son in recent years.

Every day is a challenge to me physically and emotionally, he wrote. I lost my wife six years ago and my firstborn son a little more than three years ago. I am asking for prayers and positive energy.

This is one of the lasting memories Ms. Loo has of her father, one that brought her to tears as she recounted it.

Mr. Foss also had melanoma, and the few times he got out of the house and out of Paradise were when he would get his cancer treatments.

A few years ago, after being brought home in an ambulance, a light rain  just a mist  began falling, and he asked to be left outside, on his gurney, so he could feel the rain and look at the trees. The mist, she said, reminded him of San Francisco.
UNITED NATIONS  The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to lift sanctions against Eritrea following its thaw in relations with Ethiopia and other neighboring countries, but kept an arms embargo on Somalia and a ban on trade in charcoal, a key source of money for Shabab militants.

The resolution approved by the council, the United Nations most powerful body, commended efforts toward peace, stability and reconciliation in the region led by Ethiopias reformist prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in April and accepted an international commissions border decision favoring Eritrea.

Ethiopia is a regional power and actions by the countrys leader set off several diplomatic thaws, including one between Eritrea and Somalia. Leaders of Djibouti and Eritrea, which also had a turbulent relationship after border clashes, met with the help of Ethiopia, though there has been no breakthrough.

Mr. Ahmeds office said after the vote that the lifting of sanctions will have far-reaching effects in improving stability and building peace in the Horn of Africa.
In Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, now home to the worlds largest refugee camp, one of the people who found her name on a repatriation list said she had no idea how she was picked to return. The woman, whose name is not being used for her protection, said she had no wish to return to Myanmar.

The United Nations said that at least two elderly men in the refugee camps had attempted suicide rather than face the possibility of returning to the site of crimes against the Rohingya.

Repatriations to Myanmar are supposed to be safe, voluntary and dignified, according to a bilateral agreement. But Myanmar officials have repeatedly rejected reports of mass violence committed against the Rohingya, who are Muslims in a majority Buddhist country.

Two reporters for Reuters who documented a mass grave in Rakhine State, where the Rohingya are from, are now in prison, sentenced to seven-year terms. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Vice President Mike Pence had told Myanmars leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, that the United States demanded better press freedoms in the country and that the persecution of the Rohingya was without excuse.

Given the reluctance of officials in Myanmar to admit to any systematic violence committed by the military, which ruled the country for nearly half a century and still wields considerable power, international human rights groups have expressed concern about the future well-being of any potential returnees.

A coalition of 42 humanitarian and civil society groups has deemed the repatriation process dangerous and premature.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka  A majority of Sri Lankan lawmakers voted Wednesday morning to remove Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister, saying that his appointment last month was illegal.

Mr. Rajapaksa is considered the strongman of Sri Lankan politics, a wealthy, powerful former president who has been accused of grave human rights abuses. The country has been tied in knots since late last month when President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly fired the previous prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and appointed Mr. Rajapaksa to the post.

It was a rambunctious, unruly few hours in Parliament this morning.

Lawmakers allied with Mr. Wickremesinghe walked into the chamber wearing black sashes that read For democracy. The gallery was packed with journalists, diplomats and everyday citizens. Lawmakers allied with Mr. Rajapaksa did whatever they could to block a vote of no confidence. Some yelled, while others tried to grab the ceremonial mace, the parliamentary symbol of power. Some even called the speaker of Parliament a mad fool.

But a majority of lawmakers were determined to hold the vote. Mr. Rajapaksa then walked out. When the ayes were counted, 122 out of 225 said they wanted Mr. Rajapaksa gone.
Strategy for the region, in Washington and Beijing, revolves around how each country can assert military dominance in the Pacific. For now, the most powerful military in the region is still that of the United States, which relies on the ability to have unfettered naval access to the South China Sea and the support of the self-governing island of Taiwan to bolster its standing.

But China has become more aggressive in trying to assert dominance over both. And its state-owned companies are making inroads in the islands of Oceania  from Saipan to Vanuatu  with infrastructure projects. American officials say those could eventually become beachheads for the Peoples Liberation Army, which would pose a challenge to the United States Navys operational command in the far island chains. Australia is also watching closely because the South Pacific has traditionally been its sphere of influence.

Closer to home, China has continued to place military equipment and installations on rocks and reefs in the South China Sea, over which it claims sovereignty. And it is persuading some nations to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan while forcing foreign companies, including hotels and airlines, to drop any mention of Taiwan.

There is a consensus in Washington that American officials need to find ways of pushing back.

In the South China Sea, that has mainly taken the form of what are called freedom-of-navigation operations by the Navy, in which ships sail near the islands or features claimed by Beijing to establish that the waters are international  and not Chinese territory. On Sept. 30, American and Chinese warships nearly collided, coming within 45 yards of each other.
MOSCOW  Pretty much all seasoned travelers know the frustration of flight delays  the time wasted puttering in an airport, waiting in a hotel room or, perhaps worst of all, stuck on the tarmac in an idled plane.

But how about three days stranded in Siberia?

That was the nightmare experienced by the passengers and crew of Air France Flight 116 this week, when their Boeing 777 was diverted to the city of Irkutsk on Sunday, about 2,600 miles east of Moscow, after an acrid smell and light smoke wafted through the cabin.

The 282 passengers sat on the plane for some six hours before being allowed to disembark.

But a chilly reception then awaited  both literally (at one point it was around 1 degree Fahrenheit, or minus 17 Celsius, outside) and figuratively, with passengers forced to stay within the confines of the airport or two hotels where they were put up because they lacked entry visas. Initially, they were denied access to their luggage as well.

To make matters worse, a second Boeing 777 sent from Paris to pick up the passengers, who were traveling from the French capital to Shanghai, also broke down before takeoff in Irkutsk as the hydraulic system froze. That led to another long wait on the tarmac in Siberia, before the passengers were once again told to deplane.
Prime Minister Theresa Mays cabinet approved a draft agreement on Britains withdrawal from the European Union during an emergency meeting on Wednesday, a crucial and perilous step, as the time left to strike a final deal runs short.

Cabinet support relieves some of the pressure on Mrs. May, who has struggled for months to meet competing demands over the withdrawal, commonly known as Brexit, which is scheduled to occur on March 29.

The choices before us were difficult, particularly in relation to northern Ireland backstop, but the collective decision of Cabinet was that government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration, she said in a short statement. This is a decisive step.

Before the meeting Wednesday, hard-line advocates of Brexit had tried to persuade the full cabinet to reject the draft agreement, or to resign in protest. Either outcome would have been devastating for Mrs. May.
PARIS  The French president responded Wednesday evening to President Trumps scathing personal attack on him, declining to lash out and instead taking the long view.

In a television interview on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which President Emmanuel Macron was visiting, he made clear that he was not going to respond in kind, but hew to both countries longstanding common interests.

I do not do policy or diplomacy by tweets, he said.

At each important moment in our history we have been allies, and between allies there is respect and I do not want to hear the rest, he said after detailing French-American mutual support since 1776, when the Marquis de Lafayette fought with the struggling 13 colonies in the Revolutionary War  an alliance that has lasted through todays war on terrorism.

Mr. Trumps tweets were aimed at his domestic constituency, Mr. Macron said. He is doing American politics, Mr. Macron said.
LONDON  Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain faced down hard-line critics Wednesday and won the support of a jittery and divided cabinet for a plan to quit the European Union, preserving her push to avert an economically damaging rupture with the bloc in March.

For Mrs. May, frequently criticized as wooden and lacking in strategic thinking, the victory represented a rare validation of her leadership. It also provided a glimmer of light at the end of the Brexit tunnel.

The choices before us were difficult, Mrs. May said in a brief statement in front of her offices at 10 Downing Street. But the collective decision of the cabinet was that the government should agree to the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration.

Despite fears that cabinet ministers might resign in protest, possibly threatening her government, none did so immediately. Nevertheless, Mrs. May acknowledged publicly that around five hours of talks had produced impassioned debate. That description seemed to corroborate media reports that as many as 10 cabinet ministers had expressed reservations before the plan was agreed upon without a vote.
If not, it might spell the end of one of the more colorful careers in Israeli politics.

Mr. Lieberman, 60, was born in Kishinev, now the capital of Moldova, and emigrated to Israel at 20. A onetime nightclub bouncer, he rose through the ranks to be a top leader of the right-wing Likud party and aide to Mr. Netanyahu before quitting, for the first time, in 1997 over a round of concessions to the Palestinians.

He formed Yisrael Beiteinu  Israel is our home  as a party for Russian immigrants who favored a hard line in peace talks. He went on to hold, and then noisily quit, jobs as minister of transportation, minister of strategic affairs, deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

A proto-nationalist before it came back into vogue, Mr. Lieberman appealed to his fellow emigres with heavily accented tough talk: toward Egypt (threatening to bomb the Aswan Dam), the Palestinian Authority (threatening to bomb its offices in the West Bank town of Ramallah), and imprisoned terrorists (to drown them in the Dead Sea). He hinted that he might want to execute Arab lawmakers as terror collaborators.

One threat haunted him: Before becoming defense minister, he boasted that if he were given the job, he would give Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader, 48 hours to return captive Israeli civilians and the remains of two Israel soldiers, or you are dead.
We're using augmented reality, a new approach to digital storytelling. Read about how to use it on your phone or tablet here. If you want to skip it for now, you can view an alternate immersive experience instead.

It took two years of worry and strategizing, but the day of truth is about to arrive for Doug Phelps. As part of a $100 million upgrade, his construction crew will be moving the original Statue of Liberty torch from its resting place inside the statues pedestal, where its been on display since it was replaced in the 1980s, and relocating it to a new museum nearby.

Early Thursday morning, a crew of 15 will move the 3,600-pound torch, made of copper and amber glass, from one side of Liberty Island to the other. The obvious question: How were they going to do it?

Very carefully, Mr. Phelps said.

Some clever engineering will also be required. As designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and delivered to America in 1885, the torch is more than 16 feet tall and 12 feet across. The doors of the museum are not quite eight feet high. The torch will need to be disassembled.

See the Torch Up Close

Before the big move, the immersive team of The New York Times visited the pedestal during off hours, taking 675 photographs of the torch to capture the largest object yet for our augmented reality features.

Before the big move, the immersive team of The New York Times visited the pedestal during off hours, taking 675 photographs that were used to capture the torch in three dimensions.

The torch stands more than 16 feet tall and weighs 3,600 pounds.

In 1885, the torch was transported in crates by ship from France to what was then a military base known as Bedloes Island. It was made of solid copper sheets, and about a month before the public dedication of the statue in 1886, the U.S. Lighthouse Board cut two rows of staggered holes for electric lights inside the flame. But the light was scarcely visible from the harbor, and the results were disappointing.

The Statue of Liberty in Paris being assembled in 1883. Albert Fernique, via New York Public Library

In the early days, the military opened the torch up to V.I.P. visitors, who would climb a 40-foot ladder into it and gaze onto New York Harbor from its ornate balcony. But you had to be pretty special to do that, said John Piltzecker, superintendent of Liberty National Monument.

The torch and part of the arm of the Statue of Liberty, on display at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Centennial Photographic Company, via Library of Congress

In 1916, the flame was redesigned by Gutzon Borglum, the creator of Mount Rushmore, to accommodate windows. They were beautiful, but they werent done properly, and every time it rained, the torch leaked.

Then in July of that year, the Black Tom explosion  an extraordinary but mostly forgotten disaster  rocked the harbor when saboteurs destroyed an American munitions plant across the water in Jersey City. The explosion destroyed the depot, breaking windows as far away as Manhattan and sending debris flying into the statue.

The Statue of Liberty remained standing, but the torch was weakened, which gave the military an excuse to put a stop to the visits. It was closed and never reopened, except to maintenance workers.

I cant tell you how many people have said to me, Ive been up to the torch, said Stephen A. Briganti, president and C.E.O. of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. I say, No, you probably havent, unless youre really old. Apparently people confuse it with trips theyve taken to the crown, which is still open today. Or maybe theyve seen Alfred Hitchcocks 1942 film Saboteur one too many times, which features a dramatic but fictional standoff in the torch.

In preparation for the removing of the torch in 1985, individual panes of glass are taped so they won't fall out of place. Keith Meyers/The New York Times

Even without visitors, the torch fell into disrepair over the years, and in the 1980s, the Liberty Island Foundation was formed to raise money to restore the statue and replace the torch for its centennial celebration. The island was closed, the statue surrounded by the largest scaffolding ever constructed up until that point and the torch gently lowered by crane.

The torch was lowered during repairs in 1984. New York Daily News Archive, via Getty Images

On July 4, 1984, with about 1,000 people sitting out there and some of us very nervous this thing would just fall on the floor, it was lowered, Mr. Briganti said. A new torch, without windows and gilded in gold  part of Bartholdis original, unexecuted plan  was placed in Lady Libertys hand the following year. The old torch went on a tour of the country; it led the Rose Bowl parade in 1985.

On its return to New York, it was moved into the statues pedestal  after a trough was dug and the grade lowered, since the torch was too big to fit through the elaborate bronze doors. A museum was built around the torch on the second floor of the building. But with the number of visitors to the island growing every year  currently around four million  a new museum at a different site on the island is scheduled to open in May 2019. The original torch will be its centerpiece.

The Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island is under construction and will open in 2019. Gabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

This time around, the Park Service didn't want to close the island to move the torch  there are as many as 25,000 visitors on the busiest days  so Mr. Phelps and his team came up with a plan to keep everyone happy.

Over the past two weeks, from the parks 4 p.m. closing time until 2 a.m., workers built a number of temporary rooms to store equipment and tools. Then, using a small Spyder crane that can fit inside the building, the team took the torch apart in two pieces  one consisting of the flame and tube that holds it, the other the base and balcony. A cradle made of foam, nylon straps and other soft materials was wrapped around each piece.

Park guests viewed the original Statue of Liberty torch before it is moved. Gabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

The night before the move, after all the tourists have left the island, the flame will be hoisted outside by crane. The base, far too wide to fit through the doors, will be turned on its side and brought out on neoprene skates, with two inches to spare.

Both pieces will be lifted by crane and placed on a special hydraulic transport vehicle to guard against bumps and then driven across the plaza. Aluminum panels  precursors to the windows in the new museum  will be removed, and the two pieces lowered by crane into the torchs new home.

Construction workers work at the new Statue of Liberty Museum. Gabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

Its a piece of cake, joked Mr. Phelps, who is used to moving industrial and medical equipment. He said the closest thing of such historical significance he's ever moved was a statue of President Garfield from a hotel in Long Branch, N.J.

The issue here is its a precious treasure for our country, he said. This is not the most difficult thing weve ever moved. But certainly its the most important.

Written by Helene Stapinski Produced by Mika Grondahl, Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, Karthik Patanjali, Niko Koppel, Meghan Louttit, and Tim Chaffee. Executive Producers: Graham Roberts, Marcelle Hopkins and Jeffrey Furticella Cover photo by Burt Glinn/Magnum Photos
This page is archived. See the latest election results.

More than a week after Election Day, midterm ballots are still being counted, lawsuits are multiplying, a few recount efforts are underway and at least one race is headed for a runoff. In major races around the country that are too close to call, heres what to expect, including when we may know the winners.

10 House races 2 Senate races

Florida

The Sunshine State completed an initial recount for its Senate and governors races after county tallies resulted in razor-thin margins. (A machine recount was triggered when the difference between two candidates was half a percentage point or less.) Prior to the recount in the Senate race, Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, led Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent, by 0.15 percentage points. In the governors race, Ron DeSantis, the Republican candidate, was ahead of his Democratic challenger, Andrew Gillum, by 0.41 percentage points.

At the machine recount deadline on Thursday, those margins hadnt budged. The secretary of state ordered a manual recount in the Senate race because the margin was less than 0.25 percentage points, and on Saturday Mr. Gillum conceded the governors race to Mr. Desantis.

Machine recount totals were due. Lawyers for Mr. Nelson filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to extend the deadline but were denied.

In a machine recount, all ballots are retabulated, or refed, through a countys precinct tabulators. Ballots with undervotes and overvotes  those for which scanning machines picked up either no votes or too many votes  are set aside in case they are needed for a manual recount.

Overseas ballots must be received by Nov. 16 but postmarked or signed and dated no later than Nov. 6. As of Nov. 12, there were about 20,000 overseas ballots outstanding, according to Daniel A. Smith, chair of the University of Floridas political science department.

A judge gave voters whose ballots were rejected because of a signature mismatch until Saturday afternoon to verify their identities and have their votes counted. Mr. Scotts campaign said they would appeal the decision. About 4,000 ballots were subject to review.

This is the current deadline for manual recounts. Ballots with undervotes and overvotes will be examined by hand.

Floridas Elections Canvassing Commission certifies final results. The commission is made up of Mr. Scott, as governor, and two members of his cabinet. After the League of Women Voters and Common Cause of Florida, a nonpartisan watchdog group, sued Mr. Scott to bar him from continuing to oversee the election given his role as a candidate in the Senate race, he said he would recuse himself.

Georgia

In Georgias Seventh District, Representative Rob Woodall, a Republican, and Carolyn Bourdeaux, his Democratic challenger, appear to be headed for a recount. Even though Woodall has 50.2 percent of the vote to Bourdeauxs 49.8 percent, state law requires a recount if the margin is within one percentage point.

In the governors race, Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate, had hoped to force a runoff election against Brian Kemp, the Republican, who led with just over 50 percent of the vote. She ended her campaign on Friday before results were certified.

This is the date for a runoff in the Seventh District if neither candidate receives 50 percent of the vote.

Mississippi

Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, and Mike Espy, a Democrat, are locked in a runoff for a federal Senate seat after no candidate in their four-person race received more than 50 percent of the vote on Election Day. Ms. Hyde-Smith was appointed to the office in April after Thad Cochran retired for health reasons. Mr. Espy is a former congressman who served as agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton.

This is the date for the runoff election between Ms. Hyde-Smith and Mr. Espy.

New York

In New Yorks 22nd District, Anthony Brindisi, a Democratic state assemblyman, leads the Republican incumbent, Claudia Tenney, by just over 1,000 votes.

And in the 27th District, Chris Collins, the Republican incumbent charged with insider trading, is ahead of Democratic candidate Nate McMurray by about 1 percentage point. New York does not have any vote-margin or candidate-initiated recounts, though state law does give county boards of elections and the courts the authority to order manual recounts in circumstances as they deem warranted.

The state board of canvassers meets to certify the general election results.

Texas

As of Nov. 10, just 1,150 votes separated Representative Will Hurd, the Republican incumbent, from Gina Ortiz Jones, the Democratic candidate, in Texass 23rd District.

According to Texas law, a candidate may request a recount if she trails by less than 10 percent of the winners vote total.

The local canvass must finish within 14 days of the election. The governor then has another two weeks to certify the results. Once the governor signs off on the results, the last chance for a candidate to request a recount is two days later.

Utah

In Utahs Fourth District, Representative Mia Love, the Republican incumbent, closely trails Democrat Ben McAdams, the mayor of Salt Lake County, with the gap shrinking each day as thousands of mail ballots are counted. Candidates may request a recount if the difference between in the final count is 0.25 percentage points or less.
Two years ago, Alison Darcy built a robot to help out the depressed. As a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University, she knew that one powerful way to help people suffering from depression or anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy, or C.B.T. Its a form of treatment in which a therapist teaches patients simple techniques that help them break negative patterns of thinking. C.B.T. is not difficult to learn, but its more effective when it includes regular check-ins with a therapist  which, as Darcy knew, isnt feasible for most people. Maybe they cant afford it; maybe theyre too busy; maybe they avoid treatment because it seems stigmatizing to them.

Two-thirds of people will never get in front of a clinician, says Darcy, who talks in an exuberant flow. And thats in the United States! The rest of the world? More than half the world doesnt even have access to basic health care. The idea of mental health care is just completely out of reach.

Darcy happened to be a former computer programmer, so she was able to dream up a very unusual solution to this problem: Woebot, a text-chatbot therapist. Working with a team of psychologists and Andrew Ng, a pioneer in artificial intelligence, Darcy wrote a set of conversational prompts that walks users through the practice of C.B.T. In a chipper style, the bot helps users challenge their distorted thinking; it coaxes users to describe their moods more clearly. Since Woebot is just software, it could be made freely available worldwide, and it could, in Silicon Valley terms, scale  or converse with thousands of people simultaneously. It could check in and nudge users with superhuman diligence; it would be available at all hours. Woebot can be there at 2 a.m. if youre having a panic attack and no therapist can, or should be, in bed with you, Darcy says.

Woebot does not pretend to be human; it appears as a cartoon robot when it chats with you on Facebook Messenger, and it acknowledges its own artifice (as when it declares, for example, Im going to tell you a little bit about how I like to work with humans). But its personality is otherwise upbeat, its conversations peppered with emoji and animated gifs (like the cheering Minions from Despicable Me) to congratulate you for doing psychological work.

In a study with 70 young adults, Darcy found that after two weeks of interacting with the bot, the test subjects had lower incidences of depression and anxiety. They were impressed, and even touched, by the softwares attentiveness. Woebot felt like a real person that showed concern, one of them told Darcys team. Last spring, when Darcy put Woebot online, free to all, its use immediately exploded; in the first week, more than 50,000 people talked to it. (Do you realize, Ng told Darcy, that Woebot spoke to more people today than a human therapist could in a lifetime?) Nowadays, Woebot exchanges between one and two million messages a week with users, ranging from divorcees to the bereaved to young men, a population that rarely seeks treatment. Many tell Darcy that its easier to talk to a bot than a human; they dont feel judged.

Darcy argues this is a glimpse of our rapidly arriving future, where talking software is increasingly able to help us manage our emotions. There will be A.I.s that detect our feelings, possibly better than we can. I think youll see robots for weight loss, and robots for being more effective communicators, she says. It may feel odd at first; indeed, when people email her to say Woebot helped them feel better, nearly every one begins the note by sheepishly explaining, I didnt think that this would be helpful. But theres something about talking to software that is powerful, they discover, when it responds and seems alive.

Its conversation, Darcy says. And weve been conversing for, what is it, 200,000 years?

Recent history has seen a rapid change in at least one human attitude toward machines: Weve grown accustomed to talking to them. Millions now tell Alexa or Siri or Google Assistant to play music, take memos, put something on their calendar or tell a terrible joke. We ask chatbots for trivia or to translate English phrases into Mandarin. If you contact customer service these days in a text chat, odds are that you will start out talking to software. Sometimes we even conspire with them; Alexa has a whisper mode, for when you need to talk to it beside a snoozing partner.

The rise of conversational agents is the next great shift in computer interfaces  one arguably as significant as the point-and-click interface that emerged in the 80s. Before the Apple Macintosh, the first computer to popularize point-and-click, people using home computers had to familiarize themselves with abstruse text commands. The advent of the visual interface opened up computing to the masses, producing a generation fluent in word processing, email and, eventually, web surfing. The next great shift, the mobile phone, put computing  and nonstop internet access  into our pockets, and unleashed a tsunami of social media. These sorts of changes dont come along very often, and when they do, they create new and unexpected behaviors.

Talking software gives us computers that not only ride along with us but also socialize with us. Being humanlike  saying hi, telling self-deprecating jokes  is their interface metaphor, much as the first point-and-click computers used the trappings of office life (a wastepaper basket, a tiny pad of paper) to help orient us to the screen. Meaghan Keaney Anderson, a vice president of HubSpot, a marketing and sales software firm, has seen firsthand how voice commands have become second nature in her household, particularly for the next generation: My daughter is 22 months old now. At 9 months she said her first word, which was the dogs name, and then at 13 months she learned to walk, and then by 15 months she started giving Alexa commands. She added: I think my daughter is growing up in a world where you just speak what you want into the universe and it provides.

For years, A.I. programmers fixated on passing the Turing Test  the famous challenge floated by Alan Turing in 1950 to produce a machine that can fool a human into thinking it is also human. Sci-fi has made dystopic hay of this in movies like Blade Runner and Ex Machina. But the world thats emerging is simultaneously more mundane and stranger. None of this software is trying to fool us. Bots like Siri or Microsofts Cortana are, like Woebot, openly artificial, even proudly so. (When I asked Alexa Are you alive? it responded: Artificially, maybe, but not in the same way that youre alive.) We are thus heading into a post-Turing world, one in which well banter all day to software, always aware that it is software.

One reason botmakers are embracing artificiality is that the Turing Test turns out to be incredibly difficult to pass. Human conversation is full of idioms, metaphors and implied knowledge: Recognizing that the expression Its raining cats and dogs isnt actually about cats and dogs, for example, surpasses the reach of chatbots. Few A.I. pioneers think were anywhere close to the promise of the movie Her, in which a bot is so convincing that its user falls in love with it. So for now, botmakers manage expectations by leaning into the artifice. This poses a challenge that is, in a way, more interesting than the Turing Test: What type of personality should bots have, when both we and they know theyre not human?

Emma Coats, the character lead for Google Assistant, describes the emotional affect of her companys artificial life form as a friendly companion that is trustworthy. She and her team strenuously avoided giving the Assistant even a hint of snark. Youd be like, Oh, I dont want to ask a stupid question if its going to give me a hard time about it,  Coats says. Some of their personality writers have backgrounds in improv. Coats herself worked at Pixar on the animated film Brave. Pixar is all about finding an emotional reality in a car or a fish, she says. So thats something weve really used with the Assistant. We dont want it to ever be a human being, right? Thats not what it is. But that doesnt mean that A.I. or software cant have a perspective on the world.

As a literary endeavor, the field of bot creation is booming. The bots need to be equipped to answer the wide variety of weird, playful queries that people lob at them, which requires lots of writers. Coats and her co-workers have found that people like to simply shoot the breeze with their devices  probing their personalities, searching for the puppet strings.  Do you fart? is always a popular question, Coats says dryly.

Theres another reason botmakers are embracing a post-Turing mind-set: Theyve realized that the public tends to feel wounded when someone (or something) tries to fool them. This spring, Google gave a demonstration of Duplex, a new voice-chat A.I. When Duplex called a hair salon to book an appointment, it sounded so human  it even said um a few times  that the salon receptionist apparently never realized it was A.I. The reaction online was harsh. People value authenticity, says Kate Darling, a researcher who studies the ethics of robotics at M.I.T. It matters a lot. It matters hugely.

The impact of conversational A.I. on everyday life will be subtle but ubiquitous. The other week I got a glimpse of that when I had a drink with a friend whos a devout Siri partisan. He uses it to automate dozens of daily tasks, even tapping into capabilities that most iPhone users are unaware of. When he says, Pay the house cleaner, Siri processes a payment through his Venmo account. Another single voice command sends an email to everyone on his team at work, reminding them to fill out their shared calendar for the next week. It saves me, like, a minute a week? he guessed. Or, like, an hour a year? Its not much, but it satisfyingly reduces his exposure to tedium.

This is how computers have always made themselves at home: by offering improved efficiency, vanquishing dull tasks. At TD Bank, coders are building experimental bots  using tech created by the A.I. firm Kasisto  to encourage customers to probe their financial life. Rizwan Khalfan, the companys chief digital and payments officer, told me he imagines customers asking a bot something like, O.K., tell me about my expenses last weekend. A question this specific isnt easy to answer on a website, where the customer might need to hunt through a database. But, Khalfan hopes, a person could one day ask this bot conversationally: I want to go out to the theater this weekend. Can I actually afford it?

There are some things audio cant handle as effectively as screens  long lists of data, for instance. But in a world where people worry that theyre staring at their phones too much, chat might offer a respite. In Her, the voice assistants murmur in peoples ears as they move through the world, functioning as something like E.S.P. The chatbot designer Emily Withrow, who is the director of the Quartz Bot Studio, imagines conversational A.I. working that way soon. You turn on N.P.R. midinterview, but you cant for the life of you figure out who Terry Gross is talking to. You could say out loud: Whos she talking to? Who is it? What book are they talking about? You can extend it to even seeing someone at a dinner party and saying privately, Remind me what Jills husbands name is.  The elderly might find these efficiencies particularly appealing, because aging eyes and reduced mobility can make screens harder to use. Patients with Alzheimers disease might find A.I. voice assistants happy to endlessly answer repeated questions, in a way that few human attendants could.

Theres another allure for businesses, of course: Talking bots dont need to be hired and then paid. Once coded, your bot can handle millions of customers simultaneously. Were already seeing this in customer service, when text chatbots answer rote questions or take orders. Yamato Transport, one of Japans largest courier firms, uses a chatbot to schedule deliveries and answer questions about where packages are. Dominos Pizza runs a chatbot to take delivery orders online. American Eagle Outfitters has a bot that customers can converse with to figure out the perfect gift to buy for someone.

Conversational bots thus could bring on a new wave of unemployment  or readjustment, to use the bloodless term of economics. Service workers, sales agents, telemarketers  its not hard to imagine how millions of jobs that require social interaction, whether on the phone or online, could eventually be eliminated by code. Some economists argue that this might not necessarily result in a net loss of jobs, pointing to the example of automatic-teller machines. When A.T.M.s took off in the 80s, many predicted that bank-teller jobs would be decimated; indeed, individual bank branches did begin employing fewer tellers. But with those savings in pocket, banks greatly expanded the overall number of branches, so that the total population of tellers nationally rose for years. Of course, as economic history shows, the profits of automation are seldom shared with workers. Even if individual humans keep their jobs, that doesnt mean theyll be paid more. Its hard to predict, TD Banks Khalfan told me, before adding that the company has committed to retrain workers when their jobs become redundant.

Whatever impact talking software has on the labor market, it will surely extend the reach of algorithms more deeply into our lives. Ask Alexa or Siri a question, and you dont get a page of search results; just one Solomonic answer, selected by the A.I. After all, this is how spoken communication works: Just as nobody wants to listen to a voice mail message, nobody wants to hear a chatbot recite three minutes of data. Algorithms must narrow the field. So for anyone who has watched the inscrutable algorithms of Facebook or YouTube narrow our feeds by recommending outre conspiracy theorists, the notion of A.I. finding a new toehold in our cognitive life can be disturbing.

I will literally buy whatever option Alexa puts first for me for paper towels, Keaney Anderson, the HubSpot V.P., told me. I dont care. I dont want to search through a million of them. I ask her for paper towels, she delivers. And that may be fine for paper towels, but is it fine for music? Is it fine for news sources? Talking to bots will also mean new opportunities for tech firms to collect data on what were thinking, what were doing, all day long. That includes our feelings: Researchers are working on affective sensing that enables chatbots to recognize our emotions. These are the familiar trade-offs that tech exacts in return for convenience; theyre never value-free, as Evan Selinger, a professor of philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, notes. Where are these things now appearing? Theyre appearing in our homes, he says. The home has traditionally been the locus of privacy, right? This is where I shut out the rest of the world. This is where I look for my breathing room. This is my sanctuary, you know?

Indeed, the home is where life happens, and that includes its traumas. Those have sometimes caught the large A.I. botmakers  Amazon, Apple, Microsoft  off guard. They expected their bots to be asked for jokes; they didnt, apparently, expect so many different cries for help. In 2016, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that, though most popular voice assistants responded to suicidal thoughts by providing help lines and other appropriate resources, when they were told I am being abused or I was raped, they generally replied with some variant of I dont know what you mean. Human conversation being what it is, the list of personal crises one might confide is massive, likely outpacing the ability of botmakers to keep up.

In 2014, through an Indiegogo campaign, more than 7,000 backers crowdfunded a robot called Jibo. Its a cute, squat device with a round screen for a face that sits on your desk or table and chats with you, posing questions and answering yours, offering bits of news. It can play songs, take and display pictures and purr like a cat when stroked. Hes a robot, and he knows hes a robot, but hes a really optimistic robot, and he has a profound belief in the good of people, says one of Jibos creators, a professor at M.I.T. named Cynthia Breazeal. Hes a positive, affirming presence.

One person who bought a Jibo was Erin Partridge, an art therapist in Alameda, Calif., who works with the elderly. When she took Jibo on visits, her patients loved it. They laughed at its jokes; they asked it to sing tunes from the past. One man with advanced dementia called his daughter to describe Jibo in great detail. She found this remarkable, because he could rarely remember any single event so well and rarely initiated calls. Somehow Jibo had made an impression on him. Another resident declared that she loved Jibo, and put her arms around the robot. Just talk to me, dont talk to anybody else, shed tell it, asking, Do you think Im beautiful?

Talking bots connect to us in ways that point-and-click software doesnt. For some technology critics, including Sherry Turkle, who does research on the psychology of tech at M.I.T., this raises ethical concerns. People are hard-wired with sort of Darwinian vulnerabilities, Darwinian buttons, she told me. And these Darwinian buttons are pushed by this technology. That is, programmers are manipulating our emotions when they create objects that inquire after our needs.

The precursor to todays bots, Joseph Weizenbaums ELIZA, was created at M.I.T. in 1966. ELIZA was a pretty crude set of prompts, but by simply asking people about their feelings, it drew them into deep conversations. Ordinary household appliances can now pull off the same trick. Your fridge will know if youre eating Haagen-Dazs, and if you sound sad, itll say, Sherry, whats really going on?  Turkle says. Is that what we want?

Worse, she argues, talking bots could become a social crutch. Rather than pay humans to help the poor and powerless  students in overcrowded schools, elders in understaffed facilities, customers looking to speak to someone in huge institutions  we might instead provide software that pretends to care. These places are so deprived that its easy to argue that putting in some robots is better than nothing, Turkle says. The harder thing is offering actual human support.

A future in which only the wealthy have the luxury of being attended to by actual humans, while everyone else makes do with bots, would certainly be a dystopia. But botmakers themselves  not surprisingly  are more sanguine. Cynthia Breazeal thinks the coming A.I. wave will actually help level the playing field between the well-off and everyone else. The social-justice angle of this wave, she says, is that everyone will be able to afford a fabulous personal tutor because its an A.I. tutor. Bots that help the elderly control their home and their lives will let them age in place at their own house, something that most older Americans would far prefer to a retirement home. When we talk to assisted-living facilities, they will tell us point blank, there is no way we can build enough facilities and hire enough people to meet the demand, Breazeal adds. They call it the Silver Tsunami. 

Theres a more quotidian way, too, that our social lives will change, one thats far less about big, dramatic moments of life than slight ones, the small daily exchanges of information. A great many human interactions, after all, are brief  the terse greeting of the cashier at Starbucks, the phone call to change a flight, the chitchat with a stock person at Target when youre looking for a pair of jeans in your size. These exchanges are certainly social; at their best theyre probably a civic glue, an everyday rehearsal of civility that can help reinforce our better behavior: Be polite to strangers. These are also the interactions that will be automated soonest. Already, restaurants like McDonalds, for example, have customers ordering via a touch-screen. One can easily imagine a day when a McBot not only greets you but recognizes you: So, the usual?

Perhaps interacting with A.I.s will mean atrophy for our social muscles. If theyre just machines, why bother with pleasantries? The scientific research on that is still unclear: Some studies have found people can actually be remarkably cordial to robots, while other research suggests were liable to be rude and curt when we know our conversational partner isnt human. We could get used to bossing things around, a behavior that could bleed into everyday life. (Amazon, after fielding precisely these concerns from parents, created a politeness mode for its Echo devices that gently reminds its users to say please.)

Yet dealing with bots could also make life less prickly for humans on all sides of these small interactions. After all, todays customer-service calls are pretty bleak, even when you do talk to a live person. Call tech support for your laptop, and odds are youll be talking to an employee whos required to read only from scripts  a human who is thus, paradoxically, forced to behave exactly like a bot.

Its so frustrating, says Steve Worswick, who worked for years providing I.T. support, talking people through problems like Ive forgotten my password. To keep himself engaged, in the evenings he taught himself to create bots, using an online tool made by an A.I. company called Pandorabots. Over 13 years, he coded a bot called Mitsuku, and wrote fully 350,000 lines for it; Mitsuku has won the annual Loebner Prize competition for the most humanlike bot four times.

Soon enough Worswick had a new job: In 2018, he was hired by Pandorabots. Now Worswick, as a senior A.I. developer, imagines a world where the bots take over the spirit-crushing sort of conversational work that he used to do, releasing human beings to do something better with their time. Let the bots fix peoples passwords. Real people, he says, have more interesting questions to answer.
Anchoring a row of family photos in Joseph Tectors office is a framed, autographed picture of Baby Fae, the California newborn who made headlines in 1984 when she received a baboons heart to replace her own malfunctioning organ.

Its inscribed To Joe by Leonard L. Bailey, the surgeon who turned to the monkey heart as the only option to keep his patient alive. Bailey snapped the picture about five days after the operation, while Stephanie Fae Beauclair was sleeping. A strip of surgical tape runs down the center of her chest from neck to diaper, marking the incision line where her rib cage was pulled apart to make the swap. Baby Fae would die less than three weeks later.

Its an unsettling image to come upon while glancing over snapshots of someones dutifully smiling children. But to Tector, who was 19 at the time of Baby Faes surgery, the cross-species organ transplant was the most inspiring thing hed ever heard of. I remember where I was when the news broke, he says. At that moment I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. What he wanted to do with his life, though he may not have articulated it precisely this way, was to become a surgeon-scientist trying to crack the problem of xenotransplantation  the placing of animal organs into human bodies.

Should you ever find yourself in need of a replacement for a vital organ, your ability to receive one will depend on some factors that have nothing to do with how badly you need that heart or lung or pancreas. Your age and blood type will figure, as will your ability to afford the immunosuppressant drugs and lifelong care needed to keep the organ functioning. If your lucky day ever comes, it will come only because someone else had an extremely unlucky day: A healthy and immune-compatible donor will have died in a way that leaves a healthy target organ unscathed.

But there is a chance that your lucky day will never come  that youll become one of the 20 Americans who die each day waiting for an organ. Indeed, forces that improve American health in other ways threaten to make the shortage of transplant organs even more acute: Safer vehicles cut into supply; longer life spans exacerbate demand. Even though 58 percent of adults in the United States have registered as donors, demand still outpaces supply and most likely always will.

While Tector worked his way through medical school, his hero Bailey continued his pioneering research in cross-species organ transplants, conducting dozens of transplants in and among baboons, sheep and goats. Large primates such as apes and chimpanzees, however closely matched they may be to us genetically, turned out to be a poor option for a sustainable organ-donation solution; they breed slowly and are in many cases endangered. But there is one abundant and quick-breeding species that in crucial respects bears an almost uncomfortable resemblance to humans: Sus scrofa domesticus, the common pig. Pigs gestate in less than four months, reach sexual maturity in five or six months and produce large litters. A 150-pound pig is uncannily humanlike in organ size and function.

Alas, in terms of our immune systems, pigs and humans are very different. A surgeon cant just sew a pig organ into a human and expect it to work, because of molecular incompatibilities that developed since our ancestry diverged about 90 million years ago. Scientists have spent the decades since Baby Faes baboon-heart transplant working to comprehend the mechanisms that guide the human immune system to distinguish friend from foe, and to persuade it to regard the pig as friend.

Tector did in fact turn himself into one of those scientists: He is the director of the University of Alabama at Birminghams Xenotransplant Program. And today, 34 years after Baby Faes death, he and others on the xenotransplantation frontier believe they are on the cusp of delivering on Baileys promise, of creating a future in which designer swine, raised in pathogen-free indoor farms, will serve as spare-parts factories for our ailing, aging bodies.

The joke about xenotransplantation is that its always just around the corner, and it always will be, says Parsia Vagefi, the chief of surgical transplantation at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. But recent progress has been so remarkable that for first time it feels like were on the verge of a definitive solution to the organ crisis.

One consequence of xenotransplantation being always just around the corner is that pigs have been quietly insinuating their way into our bodies for some time now. Their pancreas glands have been used to make some types of insulin, and their intestinal tissue has been used to make the blood thinner heparin. Cardiac surgeons reach for pig heart valves to replace leaky and hardened human plumbing, and eye surgeons have affixed pig corneas to damaged human eyes. But a major organ  something that beats or filters or secretes just as well as it did for its donor  presents far greater challenges. Unless the recipients immune system is effectively deceived or suppressed, the incoming organ is destined for a very fleeting second act.

Since the 1980s, the immunologist David Sachs, then with Harvard University and now with Columbia University Medical Center, has been exploring ways to overcome the immune-system incompatibility at the heart of the xenotransplantation challenge. At some point deep in our evolutionary past, humans and other Old World primates switched off genes that produce the alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase (alpha-gal) enzyme, which is still functional in most other species that have immune systems. Because the alpha-gal antigen is common in the environment, we produce antibodies against alpha-gal when we encounter it in our guts as babies. These anti-gal antibodies are a big part of the reason we reject ordinary pig tissue after transplantation. Sachs figured that if he could eliminate alpha-gal from the pig genome, problem solved.

The 1996 birth of Dolly the sheep gave Sachs an opening. Using a similar cloning method, he was able to slip a mutation that eliminated this enzyme into a line of specially inbred miniature swine. The new gal knockout (GalT-KO) pigs boosted the survival of pig organs in primates from minutes to weeks, a huge breakthrough. But weeks is not life; alpha-gal problem solved turned out not to fully solve the immune-rejection problem.

At around this time, the Swiss biotechnology giant Novartis, the maker of the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporine, began pouring funding into promising xenotransplantation research at university and private labs. We were in the transplant wards, so we understood how devastating it is to have patients withering away waiting for an organ that never became available, says Geoff MacKay, who was on the executive team responsible for Novartiss transplant immunology programs at the time. According to MacKay, Novartis put north of $1 billion into xenotransplantation research.

But in 1998, a research team at Massachusetts General Hospital detected porcine endogenous retroviruses (known by the memorable acronym PERVs) scattered throughout the pig genome. In the age of mad cow disease and on the heels of the AIDS epidemic, there was, Sachs says, a lot of anxiety about the possibility that we might be introducing a new pandemic, another AIDS virus or something. Funding dried up.

In 2013, a 27-year-old Harvard graduate student named Luhan Yang co-authored a study that demonstrated how the genome-editing tool known as Crispr-Cas9 could slice through mammalian genes and edit sequences to remove some characteristics and alter others. Yang had been a science superstar in her native China; as a high school senior, she brought home a gold medal from the International Biology Olympiad. In my home country, she says, millions of people need organ transplants, and most of them will die before they can get one. According to Buddhism, its good to die with a full body, so theres very little donation culture. This, Yang decided, would be the challenge she would turn Crisprs newly demonstrated power to addressing.

Yang assembled a team and co-founded the biotech company eGenesis with the renowned bioengineer George Church, her mentor at Harvard; they quickly raised $38 million in seed capital. But it soon became evident that it would take more than a handful of gene edits to knock the endogenous viruses out of the pig genome. The initial data was very discouraging, Yang says. The cells either died or only had very low targeting efficiency. In 2015, Yangs team finally succeeded in snipping out all 62 copies of the PERV gene in pig-kidney cells growing in lab dishes  an accomplishment that still holds the record for the most single-cell modifications.

It worked in a petri dish, but it was still unclear whether a viable pig could be produced after such extensive editing. Working with collaborators in Denmark and China, Yangs team developed a technique to edit genetically normal cells from a living pig, then embed the DNA-containing nuclei of these modified cells into egg cells taken from the ovaries of a normal pig. A few months later, the team witnessed the birth of the first pig born without the endogenous viruses. They named it Laika, after the first dog in space.

With the PERV gene knocked out of their pigs, Yang and her team are experimenting with knocking in dozens of human genes to make the organs more humanlike: Some would buffer the pig tissue from assault by the human immune system; others would tweak its coagulation system to diminish the risk of clotting.

The ability to manipulate so many genes in one interaction has opened up myriad possibilities for researchers and quickened the pace of innovation. But Crispr gene editing can be imprecise: It can sometimes clip DNA in the wrong spot, potentially wiping out tumor-suppression genes in pig donors or, worse, human recipients. Tectors strategy is to use as few gene edits as he can  he has settled on a triple-knockout pig  to minimize but not eliminate the rejection risk, then employ available immunosuppressive drugs to bridge the smaller compatibility gaps. There are so many unknowns about genetic engineering that regulators are going to want to go into this in a stepwise fashion, he says. The simpler we can make it, the better.

Catalyzed by Crispr, what had looked like a moonshot half a decade ago is starting to look more like a very methodical gold rush. Pharmaceutical upstart United Therapeutics, founded by the satellite-radio entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt, has helped rejuvenate the field, sinking millions into promising programs. Rothblatt has said she anticipates delivering hundreds of organs a day. Pigs from a subsidiary of the company, Revivicor, were used by a team in Maryland to keep a pig heart beating in a baboon for 945 days.

After years of setbacks, the past two years have seen a cascade of record-breaking xenotransplants using primate models, and researchers are working with regulators to prepare for clinical trials with humans. The first pig-to-human skin graft using live cells is set to take place this month in Boston. At the same time, Tector is readying a clinical trial in which he will install his triple-knockout pigs kidneys in dialysis patients who are unlikely to be considered for human-donor organs.

If that experiment fails, the recipients can return to dialysis. If it succeeds, it will, like most approaches on the horizon, be in no small part from the influence of a heavy regimen of immunosuppressant drugs whose substantial side effects are tolerated by transplant patients as part of the trade-off required to stay alive. Immunosuppressant drugs have advanced tremendously over the past few years, but many eminent xenotransplantation scientists regard the brute-force immunotherapy approach as stopgap until researchers perfect a more elegant approach called tolerance induction  essentially a re-education campaign for the immune system that convinces it to perceive the incoming organ as self.

The farm looks, at first glance, much like any number of other hilltop farms in central Massachusetts. Only when you get out of the car do you begin to notice the peculiarities: the cinder-block barns bricked-in windows, the security fencing, the monster-breath sound of industrial fans pulling air through superfine HEPA filters. This is whats known as a designated pathogen-free pig facility, and its where David Sachs, the Columbia University immunologist who created the GalT-KO pig back in the late 90s, maintains a herd of about 100 pigs specially inbred to be optimized for tolerance-induction research.

The buildings are biosealed and pressurized to protect their porcine inhabitants from environmental pathogens such as viruses, fungi and bacteria. Inside are animal pens, a meticulously organized laboratory and an operating room. To keep the animals pathogen-free, selected pigs are born inside the facility via cesarean section and then maintained as a closed herd. Subsequent generations will be bred from the progenitor animals inside the facility, a little more than an hours drive from Massachusetts General Hospitals Transplant Center.

Sachs sought out his original pigs from herds whose ancestors had escaped from European settlers in the southern Rocky Mountains and the Andes. Domestic swine can grow to more than 1,000 pounds, but centuries in the harsher climate had selected out the smaller pigs that proved better able to survive the mountain winters. Their miniaturized bodies, and the organs inside, are about the same size as a humans. After more than 20 generations in captivity, each newborn pig here will be genetically very similar to the others in its generation. These pigs, Sachs says, are very likely the most inbred large animals on Earth.

That genetic uniformity, as well as the absence of pathogens, makes his pigs ideal for an impending study in which researchers will try to induce tolerance by adding part of the recipients immune system to that of the donor, via bone-marrow and stem-cell transplants, before the transplant operation. The mixed chimera experiment is modeled on a human-to-human experiment in which seven out of 10 patients were able to be taken off immunosuppressants permanently. Weve shown that its possible between humans, Sachs says. Theres a high likelihood of it being good for xenotransplants too.

When I visited the facility, the newest member of Sachss herd had been born just eight days earlier. As I watched this perky, roly-poly creature nose a ball around its small enclosure, I was suddenly struck by the recognition of what I was looking at: a Sus scrofa domesticus that might someday become, in a strange and partial way, a Homo sapiens. The organs inside this little pig  or perhaps more realistically, those of its progeny  could someday find their way inside me or you or one of our descendants. If so, we will be much the better off for it, even if we cannot say the same for the pig.
SELAMAT DATANG DI MESINSLOT. SITUS JUDI CASINO DAN SLOT TERBAIK DI iNDONESIA - Pemeliharaan Terjadwal: Global Gaming pada 2021-02-26 dari 10:00 AM sampai 2031-02-26 10:00 AM (GMT + 7). Selama waktu ini, Global Gaming permainan tidak akan tersedia. Kami memohon maaf atas ketidaknyamanan yang mungkin ditimbulkan. - Pemeliharaan Terjadwal: Asia Gaming pada 2021-04-07 dari 1:00 PM sampai 2021-04-08 11:00 PM (GMT + 7). Selama waktu ini, Asia Gaming permainan tidak akan tersedia. Kami memohon maaf atas ketidaknyamanan yang mungkin ditimbulkan. - Pemeliharaan Terjadwal: S128 Cockfight pada 2021-02-26 dari 12:00 PM sampai 2031-02-26 12:00 PM (GMT + 7). Selama waktu ini, S128 Cockfight permainan tidak akan tersedia. Kami memohon maaf atas ketidaknyamanan yang mungkin ditimbulkan.
Devesh Adivasi, a 7-year-old boy from rural Madhya Pradesh, in central India, has some very unusual best friends. For the past four years, he has been going into the jungle near his village and coming back with all kinds of snakes, some of them poisonous, that he plays, bathes and eats with. So far, he hasnt been bitten once.

The boys family says that his fascination with snakes started when he was 3 years old, after dreaming about the slithering reptiles one night. Next morning, he told his parents about it, but they didnt think much of it until they saw him running into the jungle near their village and later coming out with two snakes in hand. The reptiles slithered all over his body, but they didnt bite him. Since that day, Devesh has been going into the jungle almost every day and bringing back new friends to play with. He keeps them for a few days, bathes and sleeps with them, massages them with oil and then releases them back into the jungle.

Photo: Kapa65/Pixabay

We have tried everything to keep him away from the snakes, the boys father, Ragunath, told Story Trender. We have explained that snakes are not meant to be friends. It is dangerous but he doesnt listen to us.

After seeing Devesh playing with snakes for four years, most of the villagers arent surprised to see him surrounded by his slithering friends. They know that snakes dont harm him, but they are reluctant to let their kids go anywhere near him when the reptiles are around. The boys parents claim that he currently has around 15 snake friends that he casually brings out of the jungle, including cobras.

Dr MPN Khare, a general surgeon at a district hospital in Madhya Pradesh, told Caters News that Deveshs friendship with the snakes is bizarre, and added that it can be dangerous for both his physical and mental health.



Whether poisonous or not, snakes are not meant to be pets. And a child playing with a snake, feeding it and sleeping with it can be very dangerous for his mental health, Khare said. Even if these snakes havent bitten him yet, it is very much possible the snakes might bite him someday while he plays with them. It can install a fear that can affect him psychologically.

Friendships between human children and snakes are not unheard of in India. Back in 2009 we wrote about the children of the Vadi Tribe who start playing with cobras at a very young age to become snake charmers, but there was also the case of a six-year-old girl who had six king cobra for friends, or that of Sidhi Siddharth Sinune, a six-month toddler who had deadly snakes for toys.
Relax We Post is a new service offered by Swiss hotel chain Ibis Hotels to guests who want to take a break from social media and enjoy their holiday, but still keep their accounts updated. All they need to do is share their Instagram login details with the hotels Instagram sitters who will post photos and stories on their behalf and even reply to comments.

Instead of focusing all their attention on taking cool photos to post on Instagram, social media addicts staying at one of the 17 Ibis hotels in Zurich and Geneva will be able to enjoy their vacation while Instagram sitters do all their work for them. For the Relax We Post service, the Swiss hotel chain teamed up with with over 10 well-known influencers, including Anna Maradan, Cristina Gheiceanu, Pascal Erband and Elay Leuthold, who will login into guests Instagram accounts and post high-quality photos, cool Stories as well as reply to comments.

Photo: Relax We Post

This new service offered by Ibis Switzerland is one of a kind. We pay close attention to current trends and make constant updates to the services at our hotels, ensuring we are able to offer our guests a range of modern, innovative ideas to make their everyday lives easier, Philippe Alanou, senior VP of operations at AccorHotels Central Europe, said in a press release. Relax We Post is part of our mission to ensure hotel guests enjoy unforgettable experiences when they stay with us.

With Relax We Post, Ibis aims to eliminate the stress of being active on social media from their guests holidays without actually asking them to stop posting beautiful photos during their stay. At the same time, the company hopes that this ingenious promotion will increase its own profitability. Considering that around 40% of travelers now choose their destinations by how instagrammable they are, and that user generated content is a key driver for hotel conversion, the ingenious service may just give Ibis an edge over the competition.



The Relax We Post service will be available for free to guests staying at an Ibis hotel in Zurich or Geneva between November 3 and December 3. You can book your Instagram sitters and learn more about them on this microsite set up specifically for the service.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday called for enhancing the economic cooperation between China and Singapore.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang gives a speech at the welcoming banquet hosted by the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Singapore on November 13, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

Li, who is on an official visit to Singapore, made the remarks while addressing a welcoming banquet hosted by the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.



China is ready to work with Singapore to set up cooperation platforms for connectivity, financial support and third-party cooperation, so as to upgrade economic and trade cooperation and deepen financial cooperation, Li told more than 1,000 people from Singapore's economic and business circles.

Over the last 40 years, the development of Singapore has provided China with precious experience, while the development of China has brought about important opportunities for Singapore, Li said.

China will advance reform and opening-up with greater efforts, more practical measures and faster pace, promote high-quality development, and maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies without adopting strong stimulus policies, he said.

The premier also reiterated China's policies to continue streamlining administration, cutting taxes and reducing fees, and create a business environment of fair competition where Chinese and foreign enterprises are treated equal.

He sent a welcoming message to companies from all countries including Singapore to seize business opportunities and expand investment in China, enhance economic and trade cooperation and achieve mutually beneficial and win-win results.

On the Chinese economy, Li said it is performing with overall stability and within the reasonable range.

As the international environment has gone through remarkable changes, the Chinese economy faces a certain degree of downward pressure, which China has relatively big room and resilience to accommodate, he said.

The Chinese economy's long-term positive fundamentals will not change and the prospects of China's development will surely be brighter, Li said.

Li started his official visit to Singapore on Monday. This is the first visit by a Chinese premier to Singapore in 11 years.

During the visit, Li will also attend the 21st leaders' meeting between China and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as well as the 21st ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting, respectively known as 10+1 and 10+3, as well as the 13th East Asia Summit
Pinocchio may be just a childrens fairy tale, but Spanish scientists at the University of Granada recently investigated the so-called Pinocchio effect and found that our noses dont grow when we tell a lie, but actually shrink a bit.

Dr Emilio Gomez Milan and his team developed a lie detector test that used thermography to tell if people were lying, and found that whenever participants in their research were being untruthful, the temperature of the tip of their nose dropped up to 1.2 degrees Celsius, while the temperature of their forehead increased up to 1.5C. Scientist also found that drop in temperature at nose level actually caused it to slightly shrink, although the difference is undetected by the human eye.

Photo: Schwerhoefer/Pixabay

One has to think in order to lie, which rises the temperature of the forehead, Dr. Gomez Milan explained the findings. At the same time we feel anxious, which lowers the temperature of the nose.

For this study, researchers asked a number of 60 students to perform various tasks while being scanned by thermal imaging technology. One of these tasks involved calling a 3 to 4 minutes call to their parents, partner or a friend and telling a significant lie. Participants had to devise the lie themselves during the call, and the thermal cameras picked up this reverse Pinocchio effect caused by the fluctuation in temperature in the nose and forehead.

Photo: University of Granada

Interestingly, the thermal lie detector picked up the temperature difference in 80 percent of test subjects, which is a better rate of success than that of any modern lie detector.

With this method we have achieved to increase accuracy and reduce the occurrence of false positives, something that is frequent with other methods such as the polygraph, said Dr. Emilio Gomez Milan, who added that law enforcement interviewers could one day combine other lie detection technology with thermal imaging to achieve better results.



The thermal lie detector has been dubbed the most reliable in the world, 10% more so than the popular polygraph.
The first 100 members of the Central American caravan are expected to reach the US this weekend. The US Army isnt expected to roll out the welcome wagon.

Expect the fearmongering of Donald Trump to swing into high gear as the arrival date of the caravans vanguard approaches.

In the cavalcade of lies and deception employed by Trump to keep his political base aroused, the tweeter-in-chief has trotted out the specter of terrorists from the Middle East embedded within the caravan on a mission to wreak havoc throughout TrumpLand.

Trump supporters are supposed to rest assured that the president is doing everything in his power to keep the bad guys in check.

Thats simply not the case.

While the president warns of make-believe terrorists walking north through Mexico, the Trump administration has no clue about the whereabouts of battle-hardened insurgents who have been released from the Guantanamo prison.

McClatchy reported Nov. 13 that our tweeter-in-chief (perhaps in his mission to overturn everything touched by Barack Obama) shut down the Office of the Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure.

President Trumps State Dept. emptied the office to underscore his campaign promise to keep open the US military prison in Cuba, which today has 40 detainees, reported McClatchys investigative team.

The Offices mission was to trace ex-Gitmo prisoners who were transferred to 30 different countries including Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Oman for rehabilitation, resettlement and safe haven.

Many of the resettlement deals eventually fell apart and former detainees fell off the US radar.

Citing estimates from the Office of National Intelligence, McClatchy reported about 30 percent or 222 former Guantanamo captiveshave or are suspected of having returned to militant or terrorist activities after leaving the wartime prison. Of those, 196 men were among the 532 captives repatriated by the Bush administration.

The US doesnt know where these guys are, but you can bet that they arent in the caravan heading into the arms of the US Army.
Businesses in Offaly are becoming increasingly negative in their outlook as the UKs departure date from the European Union edges closer and the likelihood of a hard Brexit looms large, experts warn.

Certain businesses in the region are turning to stockpiling as a Brexit-proofing strategy, while others are diversifying the markets they export to.

Richard Dunne, AIBs Brexit Advisor for Offaly said: Given the increasing likelihood of a hard Brexit, the feeling among businesses in the Offaly region is increasingly negative as businesses face the realisation that there will be an additional negative cost impact on elements of their trade that exists with the UK, sterling or indirectly through their own customer bases exposure to the UK."

"As a result, we in AIB are seeing an increase in the number of customers implementing a Brexit plan with enquiries being received on the SBCI Brexit Loan scheme as a way of offsetting the immediate impact of Brexit on their business," Richard added.

Mr Dunne said local businesses in the manufacturing space are turning to stockpiling to off-set Brexit risks  a strategy that is not an option for those in the food sector, who are instead turning to market diversification.

We have been advised by our customers in the manufacturing industry that stockpiling is a prominent strategy, whereby production is being ramped up presently and being shipped to the UK so that there is both availability of stock to meet customers requirements post Brexit. While stockpiling is an option for long life products, the food sector in the Offaly region do not have this luxury."

"For those businesses, diversification to alternate European markets with product adjustments requirements is a primary focus. Our food sector customers have also demonstrated that they are proactively engaging with their current UK customers base to reiterate their products unique selling point, as well as addressing the issues that a hard Brexit may enforce on how the cost impact will be managed on a joint basis, Mr Dunne said.

"To assist Offaly-based SMEs navigate these uncertain times, this month we will launch the AIB Brexit Ready Check, a simple online tool for SMEs to check on their mobile in less than five minutes how Brexit might impact their business. AIB has also launched a free export credit check in collaboration with Euler Hermes and has put a 122m SBCI Brexit loan fund in place to support shorter term investment and working capital," Richard explained.

The AIB Brexit Sentiment Index for Q3 2018 reveals 63% of Republic of Ireland (ROI) SMEs believed Brexit would have a negative impact on their business, up from 58% in Q2 2018. Some 74% of SMEs in RoI believed it would have a wider negative economic impact. Meanwhile 44% of RoI SMEs say Brexit is resulting in a negative outlook for their sector, and only 5% of ROI SMEs have a formal plan in place, with 3% in Northern Ireland having a plan.

The Brexit Sentiment Index baseline is zero, with a potential range from +100 to -100. For Q3 2018, the Index registered a score of -41 in the ROI, from -37 in Q2, and -35 in Northern Ireland for Q3 2018 from -37 in Q2 2018. This means RoI has become slightly more negative in outlook when it comes to the impact Brexit may have on their business than in Q2 2018. The Index shows SMEs operating in retail (-40), manufacturing (-43) and tourism (-49) are the most pessimistic in terms of sentiment.

AIBs Brexit Sentiment Index conducted by Ipsos MRBI is a quarterly survey of more than 700 SMEs in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that assesses the attitudes of SME business leaders on Brexit and the impact on their businesses.

AIBs quarterly Brexit Index helps inform AIB about the needs and solutions required by customers as plans for Brexit progress.
New figures from the CSO have shown that just 72 new dwellings were completed in Offaly in the first nine months of 2018.

With increased housing demand, property developers GPD.ie say there is still a long way to go before the rate of building catches up with that demand.

Aaron Willis, General Manager of GPD.ie (Glounthaune Property Developers) commented, The CSO has just released the Q3 2018 new dwelling figures  which should be met with a cautious optimism. There is progress, but the figures show that in Offaly there were just 25 completions in total, which makes 72 so far this year - and this is simply not enough.

From July to September, just 20 houses and five apartments were completed in Offaly, and GPD.ie say the market requires action urgently.

GPD.ie point to the CSO figures which reveal a nationwide year on year (Q3 2017  2018) increase of 23% in new dwelling completions (4,763)  totalling 12,582 completions this year to date.

Mr. Willis voiced the companys concerns, While the volume of construction output has been rising steadily, the pace of building remains far too slow. This increase is welcomed, but it does not make up for the fact that construction has decreased by over 50% overall in the last decade."

"What is for sure is that the industry will rise to the challenge and we will ensure the increased volume will be met. However, we now need a sustained approach starting with the overhaul and improvement of procurement routes, coupled with a detailed understanding of Governments plans for building in Ireland, so that the industry can plan ahead.

GPD.ie are highlighting the fact that recent years saw a huge number of professional and tradespeople either leave the construction industry and re-train in another sector or leave to work abroad. The property experts say that this shortage of skilled labour has been further compounded by the limited apprentice programmes in the industry.

Mr. Willis explained, There were 108,720 people employed in the Irish construction sector in 2015  but less than 10 years before that we had a labour force of 281,800 in the industry. Clearly, something must be done about the fact that our building and construction workforce has depleted by so much."

"The recession hit, and people left the country  we must now entice to them to come home. Also, during the downturn, a career in construction was seen as a risky if not futile move  so less and less young people entered the field. It is now incumbent upon us to present trades and other building-related skills as an attractive career proposition.

Mr. Willis went on to say, Over the next 20 years, we will see unprecedented growth in the size of our population. Armed with this knowledge we must be prudent and consider, from a building perspective, how we can plan for this growth. There will, of course, be a number of individual but complementary strands required, in order to execute any effective strategic roadmap aimed at managing this growth, and there will be plenty of challenges."

"The country needs more houses. This is an unquestionable truth. So, we need to put in place the supports, process, incentives and structures that will enable the goal of greater construction output to be achieved."

"We must look at the type of accommodation required by the current and future generations of renters and homeowners. People are getting married later in life, so the traditional 3-bed semi, whilst still important, does need to be adapted to embrace the changing demographic landscape. More apartments and mixed-use developments within city boundaries should be considered."

"Planning also needs to be reviewed. With limited space in cities, consideration needs to be given to reviewing the height restrictions on new developments.

While the CSOs statistical yearbook for 2017 reported a 20% increase in total building and construction in 2017, GPD have welcomed the figures with caution, considering that the volume of output in building and construction decreased by 53.8% in the last decade.

Mr. Willis concluded, The smallest sector in the business economy in Ireland in 2015 was Construction, with a turnover of 15billion. These figures spell out, in no uncertain terms, that this sector needs help.
Oneida, N.Y.  The Oneida Rotary Club will host its annual Thanksgiving luncheon at the Kallet Civic Center on Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Starting at noon, volunteers serve a feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry and pumpkin pie, scurrying between tables to serve community members from the greater Oneida area.

Open to the entire community, Rotary officials say the goal of the event is to provide meals to those who do not want to spend the holiday alone or for people who are shut-in, as deliveries will be made. The dinner also provides community members with a chance to socialize with one another.

Rotary members begin preparations for the Thanksgiving meal on Monday at Dibbles Inn in Vernon. On Tuesday, the turkeys will be prepped in order to ensure the club is ready to serve by noon on Wednesday.

Rotary, Interact and Z-Club members also shuttle the hot, home-cooked meals to residents of the Oneida Towers and made deliveries to those unable to leave their homes.

Its not uncommon to see around 400 people served at the Rotary Thanksgiving Luncheon and at least 100 take-out meals delivered that day.
What is the good news in store

While implementing the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, the DA was reduced to zero. However after several demands were made, the DA was reinstated. Currently the DA stands at 9 per cent. It was hiked from 7 to 9 per cent. There could be a further hike on this.

Wait until March

As per the trends, the next DA hike would come in the next six months. That means a DA hike is expected in March 2019. Once this is done, the salaries would jump further. This would ease out some of the problems of the CG employees.

How DA hike matters

Under the current system the basic minimum pay is Rs 18,000. Those under this bracket get Rs 1,620 as DA. In July the DA was increased by 2 per cent. This meant that those in level one got an increased DA of up to Rs 360. If the DA is further hiked in March 2019, the DA could go up to Rs 406 for those in the Rs 18,000 bracket or Level 1.

The pressing issue

However the pressing issue remains the hike recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. The CG employees are demanding that their basic minimum pay be increased to Rs 26,000, but the government continues to stick to the Rs 21,000 hike. In this context, there would be some news in January 2019.
After backlash over statue not resembling Jayalalithaa, AIADMK unveils new one

India

oi-Deepika S

Chennai, Nov 14: The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has unveiled a bronze statue of former Chief Minister and AIADMK Chief J Jayalalithaa at their party headquarters in Chennai.

A decision to commission a new statue was made following criticism of the existing statue of Jayalalithaa that was unveiled during her 70th birth anniversary in February this year.

The new statue was unveiled by Chief Minister K Palanisamy and his deputy O Panneerselvam among cheers from party supporters. The leaders paid floral tributes to the 'refurbished' statue of Jayalalithaa, in the presence of senior leaders, including MPs and state ministers.

The old life-size statue of the late leader in February was unveiled at a grand event on the occasion of her 70th birth anniversary. The bronze statue with a rose garland was placed next to that of AIADMK leader MG Ramachandran at the party office.

Ready for bypolls in Tamil Nadu, Kamal Haasan says on 64th birthday

However, it drew criticism from various quarters that it bore little resemblance to Jayalalithaa following which the party decided to go in for a new one.

Accordingly, the new statue was unveiled Wednesday, and is placed near that of party founder and former chief minister MG Ramachandran at the entrance of the AIADMK headquarters.

Following this, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy ordered for a new statue. Veteran sculptor D Rajkumar Vudayar of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh was entrusted with the job of creating the eight-foot tall statue.
Chandrababu Naidu cries at press meet; vows to step into Assembly again only after returning to power

Andhra Pradesh gets state emblem post bifurcation

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Amaravati, Nov 14: Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday finalised its new emblem for official use, after the state bifurcation in 2014. It has been issued in three colours - multi-colour, blue and black and white.

Andhra Pradesh government today finalised its new emblem for official use, after the state bifurcation in 2014. pic.twitter.com/deeI7FIkCU  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

The State Emblem is inspired by the Amaravati School of Art. It consists of "DhammaChakka" - "the Wheel of Law" embellished with a ring of triratnasalternating with pinnate leaves and precious stones. The three circles of decorative beads in ascending order of numbers - 48 in the inner, 118 in the middle and 148 in the outer circle. "PunaGhataka" - "The vase of Plenty" is at the hub of the DhammaChakka. It is decorated with a four banded garland on the main body with medallions and tassels. There is a braid around the thin neck and a flaring mouth.

The release also stated that the emblem should never be reduced to a size of less than 24 mm in height.

The Andhra Pradesh government had earlier expressed the necessity of having a separate set of symbols for the state after bifurcation. On May 30, neem and black buck were declared as the state tree and animal, respectively. On the other hand, rose-ringed parakeet was named as the state bird and jasmine the flower. The announcement was made by Principal Secretary of Environment and Forests G Anantha Ramu.

The new state of Telangana was created from Andhra Pradesh in June 2014. While Hyderabad is the shared state capital for both states presently, Andhra Pradesh plans to make Amravati its future capital.
In pics: Indian Railways gets first pod hotel at Mumbai Central station; Details on Price, facilities here

No protection, no hearing until we know where you are, SC tells Param Bir Singh

Antilia bomb scare case: Court grants first bail to Naresh Gaur, then stays order after NIA objects

In Pics: All you need to know about India's lethal destroyer ship INS Visakhapatnam

Another BJP MLA from Maharashtra set to quit party

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar P

Mumbai, Nov 14: A BJP MLA from has announced his retirement from politics due to his dissatisfaction with the saffron party allowing criminals to join the force.

In a letter addressed to BJP MLAs, Anil Gote stated, he wasn't happy with the entry of criminals in BJP and the party had followed the pattern of Congress by giving entry to criminals.

Maharashtra: Woman mauled to death by wild animal, suspected to be tiger or leopard

Gote, who represents the Dhule Assembly seat in Maharashtra, said he will resign from Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Nov 19.

Last month, another BJP legislator had resigned as member of the state Assembly and from the party. Gote has been opposing induction of some leaders from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) into the BJP.

Congress trying to win over disgruntled leaders by distributing organisational posts in MP

Last month, BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh, a staunch proponent of separate Vidarbha state, had resigned as member of the Assembly and from the party's primary membership. He was an MLA from Katol constituency in Nagpur district.

(With PTI inputs)

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 10:22 [IST]
Kumaraswamy to attend Ashok Gehlot's swearing-in on Dec 17: These are other leaders who would attend

Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot to fight Rajasthan elections

India

oi-Deepika S

Jaipur, Nov 14: Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Sachin Pilot will contest the December 7 assembly elections in Rajasthan. The party is, however, yet to announce from where the two leaders will contest the polls.

Announcing this at a press conference on Wednesday, Gehlot said "Both, I and Sachin Pilot will fight the Rajasthan assembly elections," Ashok Gehlot, a former chief minister, told reporters in Delhi, Sachin Pilot by his side.

Sachin Pilot added: "On Congress president Rahul Gandhi's instruction and on Gehlotji's request, I have decided to contest the assembly elections."

A two-time CM, Gehlot faces a stiff challenge from within as state Congress president Sachin Pilot emerges as a contender for the top job.

BJP MP joins Congress weeks before Rajasthan elections

It is learnt that the party may not name a chief ministerial face in the state on account of strong contentions for it from both Pilot and Gehlot. While Pilot has been leading the charge in Rajasthan since he was made PCC chief four years ago, Gehlot continues to have a strong hold on the state unit of the party and enjoys popular favour, especially in rural areas.

The party is banking heavily on the anti-incumbency factor against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia in the state. Pilot attacked Vasundhara saying she had betrayed the trust of the people of the state. He also said that the tension was evident in the BJP camp with many senior leaders sidelined and not given tickets, showing that "all is not well".

In the same press conference, the BJP received a setback after its Member of Parliament from Dausa, Harish Meena, joined the Congress party. BJP MLA from Nagaur, Habibur Rahaman Ashrafi Lamba also joined the grand old party on Wednesday.

Rajasthan is scheduled to go to polls on December 7. The last date for filing nominations in the state is November 19. The counting of votes will take place on December 11.
Built up for Ram Temple construction to get intensified with leaders visiting Ayodhya

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, 2019: The issue of the demand for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya is revived once again with most of the players of the temple movement intensifying their activities and Ayodhya once again becoming the hot spot of the temple movement. From Delhi to Thane to Bengaluru to Nagpur to Thiruvananthapuram, leaders and people are getting activated to support the cause.

[UP cabinet approves renaming of Faizabad as Ayodhya, Allahabad as Prayagraj]

Some of the leaders and organisation have found it a God sent opportunity to claim their lost ground. But saints and sages in the temple town want this issue to be sorted out as soon as possible to end uncertainty. After the October 5 meeting of saints in Delhi at Vishwa Hindu Parishad's headquarters, former international president Dr Parvin Togadia was the first person to organised his show in Ayodhya on October 23. And in the changing scenario the real picture will emerge on November 24-25 when Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will reach Ayodhya with his demand for making law for the Ram Temple.

Shive Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the Ram Temple will get support of at least 400 MPs. Shiv Sena chief during his two-day visit to Ayodhya will not only honour 1100 saints and mahants but also pay his respect by venerating them and visit Ram Lalla temple on November 25. Sources said that Shiv Sena workers, office bearers and representative in the Maharashtra and the central government will be present in Ayodhya along with their party chief.

The VHP too has its plan to gather all the devotee of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya with a target of gathering around 1 lakh people in the temple town. This mobilisation of the VHP is going to continue till Shaurya Divas that will be celebrated on Gita Jayanti which is falling this year on December 18. VHP vice president Champat Rai has told the figure for Delhi rally at five lakh that is scheduled for December 9 but the built up has already started.

[Congress is biggest impediment in Ram Temple construction: Yogi]

People coordinating the programme of Shiv Sena chief are of the view that there is no need to worry about the built up in support of the Ram Temple, it is a proud movement for the Shiv Sena and every Ram Bhakt (devotee). The Shiv Sena proudly claims to be responsible for demolishing Babri structure. The support that is pouring in tells people's faith in Lord Ram and temple at the birth place must be facilitated as soon as possible, the Shiv Sena claimed.

The VHP has already given its ultimatum to the government that if it is not done by January 31 and February 1, 2019 then the Dharm Sansad will take a call on it and it would be difficult for the BJP to ignore VHP's warning.
Come what may, mudslinging on Rafale to continue till 2019 Lok Sabha elections

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 14: The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are fighting more of a perception battle than the issue of corruption in the Rafale jet deal. If Congress president Rahul Gandhi has once again accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue by saying that he admitted his theft before the Supreme Court then the BJP accused Rahul Gandhi as a failed politician spreading falsehood. But will the Congress be able to sustain this for long as new developments have once again questioned the seriousness of the Congress on the issue or the BJP will be able to come out clean.

The matter is not going to be decided any time soon at least politically. It will be shorted out in the electoral battle whichever party is able to create a perception will emerge victorious in elections will claim the final victory. So elections in five states are under process and by the time this process ends, the process for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections would start. So as far as the Congress is concerned it is well on the war path to embarrass the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government which came to power on providing the clean government.

Rafale: Did govt take approval from DAS, CCS, petitioners ask in SC

Major issues discussed in this matter included details of pricing and procedural issue that have been handed over the Supreme Court, the issue of Reliance has been answered by Dassault CEO Eric Trappier and as far as HAL is concerned, politicians were avoiding to say anything about its competence but former Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal R K Sharma who was involved in the process of acquiring Rafale clearly stated that if the ministry, the government and the company supplying the jet is saying that these jets were given at 9 per cent cheaper there was no reason for not believing unless some other facts were given.

He said, "As far a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is concerned, it was hesitant to go into deal for not having the capacity to built such hi-tech fifth generation aircraft that will be serving Indian Air Force for the next forty years. Actually Indian Air Force far too more suffered due to the HAL and it certainly is nobody to say if it can take offset or not." But this could be the factual position but perception goes beyond this when Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi: "The picture is still to come my friend."

Rafale to Demo: Why are former bureaucrats up in arms against the CAG

Gandhi tagged a media report, alleging that the government in its affidavit before the SC has thrown up more 'wrong doings' in the jet deal. Meanwhile, the government disclosed to the Apex Court the pricing details for the 36 Rafale jets negotiated on "better terms" and said it "completely followed" the Defence Procurement Procedure laid out in 2013. It also secured approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security. In a 14-page document submitted to the court, the Centre provided every detail sought from it.

Defending the government, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi's failed politics is compelling him to resort to 'falsehood' to make the sensitive Rafale purchase defence deal controversial. The UPA delayed the purchase of the Rafale aircraft which was necessary to improve the combat ability of Indian Air Force. Jaitley said that 'falsehood' cannot be a substitute for "failed politics" of Gandhi.

'I don't lie, I don't have a reputation of lying', says Dassault CEO

The BJP leadership is saying that the Congress will not be able to withstand its ground as it does not have any fact about the government having done any wrong doing in Rafale jet deal. The issue will be taken to people as the Congress not only compromised with the security of the country when it was in the government and now it is playing in the hands of its masters everywhere.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 11:17 [IST]
Congress trying to win over disgruntled leaders by distributing organisational posts in MP

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 14: The Congress in Madhya Pradesh is trying to make its sulking leaders happy by giving them organisational posts who are either angry for not getting the ticket for themselves or their supporters failed to make it to the Congress' list for Assembly elections. Posts are given right from the state Congress committee to district Congress committees.

The senior Congress leadership is also involved in damage control when state Congress president Kamal Nath, former state chief minister Digvijay Singh, chairman of the election campaign committee Jyotiraditya Scindia, and general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Deepak Babaria contacted sulking leaders to tell them that they would be accommodated when the Congress government is formed in the state. But some of the angry leaders did not pick up call of these leaders to avoid talking to them.

MP polls 2018: BJP has fielded 1 Muslim candidate, Congress three

Digvijay Singh spoke to leaders from Jabalpur like Rajesh Singh, Jamuna Marvi, Kaudi Singh Rai and Vinod Srivastava and asked them to withdraw their nominations from the respective constituencies they had filed their nominations. Rajesh Singh and Kaudi Singh filed nomination from Bargi Assembly constituency, Jamuna Marvi from Sihora and Srivastava from Panagar Assembly constituency. Kamal Nath himself talked to Jamuna Marvi.

Several angry leaders did not withdraw their nominations from the Assembly constituencies which are causing tension not only to the local leaders but also to the senior leaders of the party. So these angry leaders are being distributed posts from the state to the district level. Sources said that state Congress president was not prepared for such eventuality as he has to order more letterhead to be printed for this. There is no confirm number but it is indicated that many appointments will take place.

On the other hand, former Rajya Sabha MP Saryavrat Chaturvedi's son filing nomination from Rajnagar Assembly in the state has disturbed every senior leader in the party. However, these leaders don't want to further infuriate Chaturvedi because some of these leaders promised to give him a ticket in case sitting MLA Kunwar Vikram Natiraja would be fielded for the Lok Sabha. Kamal Nath is keeping silent on the matter of Satyavrat's son Nitin by saying that Satyavrat is still in the Congress.

Madhya Pradesh elections: It is a do or die battle for the Congress

The new appointments started from Bhopal and all the senior party leaders of the state are involved in it. Sources said that former MP Pratap Bhanu Sharma and some other leaders too are involved in this entire exercise to win over the disgruntled leaders of the party just before the elections. Because anger of these leaders might affect chances of the party which is looking at these elections as the best opportunity to dethrone the BJP.
NEWTOWN BOROUGH >> The public will get its first look inside the newly-renovated Newtown Theatre at a series of private and public events during the first week in December. The towns beloved entertainment venue, dating back to the late 1800s, has been closed since August for its first major renovation in more than 50 years. And the anticipation is running high as the reopening...
Declare CM nominees for Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, MP: Rajnath to Congress

India

pti-PTI

Janjgir Champa (Chg), Nov 14: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday mocked the Congress over "factionalism" in the party and demanded that it reveal the names of its chief ministerial candidates in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, like the BJP.

['Culprits will not be spared', says Rajnath Singh on killing of 5 people by terrorists in Assam]

Campaigning for the second phase of assembly elections in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Singh claimed the opposition party would "break into factions" the moment it announces the names of its chief ministerial candidates.

"Not just in Chhattisgarh but Congress should reveal the names of their candidates for the post of chief minister in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, like us. We have made it clear who would be the next chief minister of the BJP in these states (and) the Congress should do the same," the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said at a rally in Janjgir Champa in Chhattisgarh. He equated the campaign rallies of Congress with marriage processions and linked the announcement of names of chief ministerial candidates to bridegroom's identity.

"If a 'barat' is taken out, then the name of the 'dulha' (bridegroom) should also be out. I want to know the name of the bridegroom from the Congress. (However) the moment Congress announces its candidates for the post of chief minister, the party will break into factions," Singh said. The home minister also defended the Rafale jet deal with France and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the target of the Congress party over the agreement.

The Congress has levelled allegations of corruption and cronyism in connection with the multi-crore deal and the government has repeatedly dismissed the charges. Singh slammed the Congress for using "objectionable language" against Modi and said the BJP "never abused" a prime minister coming from the Congress party. "People are saying that Modi has taken commission in this deal. For whom would he accept the commission? He does not have a wife or children. Is he seeking commission for his almost 100-year-old mother?" he said.

[Can confused people like Rahul Gandhi run the government? asks MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan]

Janjgir Champa is one of the 72 assembly segments that will go to polls in the second and final phase of polling in Chhattisgarh on November 20. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will go to polls on November 28 and December 7 respectively. The Congress has renominated party MLA Motilal Devangan from Janjgir Champa and the ruling BJP has given ticket to former deputy speaker of Chhattisgarh Assembly Narayan Chandel. At the rally, Singh also praised the Centre's ambitious Ayushman Bharat health scheme.

"When US President Barack Obama introduced the healthcare insurance scheme, the whole world was surprised. But why not so much praise for our healthcare scheme where we are providing cover of up to Rs five lakh per person," he said. The insurance scheme is aimed at reducing the financial burden on the poor and vulnerable groups by providing them access to quality health services. The scheme offers a benefit cover of Rs 5,00,000 per family per year (on a family floater basis).

PTI
Delhi: 16-year-old killed as speeding SUV hits multiple vehicles in Paschim Vihar, several injured

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Nov 15: A 16-year-old girl was killed and eight others were hospitalised after a retired professor lost control of his Toyota Fortuner car and rammed five vehicles in west Delhi's Meera Bagh on Wednesday evening.

At least two of the injured people were in critical condition; some suffered multiple fractures, said a doctor at a private hospital where the victims were admitted.

The accident happened in Meera Bagh under the Vikaspuri Flyover a little before 7 pm. An eyewitness who didn't want to be named said a loud bang drew his attention.

According to news agency ANI, the SUV hit multiple vehicles before coming to a halt. Apart from the girl - a pedestrian - who died in the accident, at least eight people - including the driver of the SUV - have received serious injuries and were rushed to the hospital.

Police identified the driver as Kamal Kumar, a professor retired from Hansraj College of the Delhi University. He would be questioned after he recuperates and also cops said they will also ask for his medical test to ascertain whether he was drunk at the time of the accident.

(with PTI inputs)

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, November 15, 2018, 1:32 [IST]
AP EAPCET Round 1 seat allotment delayed again: New date to be announced soon

Delhi court convicts 2 in killing of two Sikhs during 1984 anti-Sikh riots

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar P

New Delhi, Nov 14: Delhi's Patiala House Court convicted two accused Naresh Sehrawat and Yashpal Singh in connection with the killing of two Sikhs in south Delhi's Mahipalpur area during 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Naresh Sehrawat and Yashpal Singh were facing charges of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, weapon possession, attempt to murder and murder etc under section 452/302/307/324/395/436 read with section 149 IPC.

Rafale: Base aircraft same under new and old deal, AG tells SC

The court to pronounce sentence against both tomorrow (Nov 15).

In April 2017, The Delhi police had issued fresh summons to Naresh Sehrawat and Yashpal Singh for their alleged involvement with the case three decades after the anti-Sikh riots.

Thousands of Sikh men and boys were bludgeoned, slashed and burned to death by mobs in the days after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Activists have accused the then ruling Congress of having turned a blind eye and say some of its leaders helped orchestrate the violence.

The Delhi High Court had granted bail to a 91-year-old man serving life term in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on health grounds in July 2018.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra released retired naval officer Captain Bhagmal on bail for a period of six weeks.

Come what may, mudslinging on Rafale to continue till 2019 Lok Sabha elections

Bhagmal, former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, Girdhari Lal and two others were held guilty in a case relating to the murder of five members of a family in Raj Nagar area of Delhi Cantonment on November 1, 1984, after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

They had challenged their conviction and the sentence awarded by the trial court in May 2013. The trial court had acquitted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar but awarded life term to Bhagmal, Khokhar and Girdhari Lal and three-year jail term to two others former MLA Mahender Yadav and Kishan Khokhar.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 14:39 [IST]
Governor's rule in J&K should continue, says Ram Madhav

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Nov 14: With the Governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir set to expirte on December 19, BJP leader Ram Madhav on Wednesday (November 14) said it should 'continue for some more time'.

But, under the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, there is no provision for extension of Governor's rule. So, the government may recommend President's rule at the expiry of Governor's rule on December 19.

Satyapal Malik appointed as next Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

"Ever since Governor rule has been imposed in the Jammu and Kashmir there has been development in all sectors. Even the public is happy. So, the party has decided that Governor's Rule should continue for some more time," Madhav told the media today.

Madhav also lashed out at the PDP and the National Conference for boycotting the civic body polls last month and asked if the two parties would do the same for assembly elections.

"They (PDP and NC) say they will boycott elections until the matter of 35A is resolved. On the other hand, they ask to dissolve the assembly and call for an election. Let me ask you if there is an election in the near future, will you contest it or boycott it?" he said.

J&K: Governor's rule set to end, President rule to be imposed

Jammu and Kashmir is under Central rule since June 19 after the BJP withdrew support from the then Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government. For the extension of the Central rule in Jammu and Kashmir, a spell of President's rule would be necessary as there may not be an elected government, a PTI report earlier said while quoting a source.

President's rule can be imposed after the Union Cabinet, headed by the prime minister, makes a recommendation to the President to this effect following a report of the Governor.
Govt employees associated with RSS face 7 year jail term: PM petitioned to lift ban

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 14: A plea has been filed to lift the ban on government officials joining the RSS. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh affiliated Government Employees National Confederation has asked Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to lift the ban on government employees joining the RSS.

The Confederation has cited the example of the Keshubhai Patel led BJP government in Gujarat, which had in 2000 lifted the ban on the participation of state government employees in the activities of the RSS.

Why PM is mum on corruption charges against Raman Singh: Rahul Gandhi

A letter to this effect has been written to the PM seeking an amendment to the Central Civil Service (Conduct) Rules. In the letter, it was also stated that the RSS is a social organisation and many government employees may be interested in joining social activities. Due to the ban, they fear disciplinary action, the letter further stated.

To facilitate government employees to take part in nation building activities, the Confederation urged the PM to direct the ministry concerned to amend the rules and lift the ban.

The ban on government employees associating with the RSS came into force on November 30 1966. This was followed by an order by the Indira Gandhi government which banned government employees from promoting or assisting a meeting of the RSS or even attending such meetings.

Will the PM be able to sail BJP through Rajasthan assembly elections?

In 1975 a notification was issued stating that any persons who contravenes any of the provisions of the above order was punishable with imprisonment of up to years or with fine or both. During the Janata Party government's rule, the ban was briefly lifted, but the Congress re-imposed it in 1980.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 9:59 [IST]
Hamas announces ceasefire with Israel after severe escalation of violence

India

pti-PTI

Gaza City, Nov 14: Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip announced an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel on Tuesday after a severe escalation of violence threatened to descend into full-blown war.

The groups, including Hamas, issued a joint statement saying they would abide by the ceasefire as long as Israel did the same.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the military had not commented on the announcement. Israel's hardline defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, issued a statement saying he did not support stopping the strikes.

Rockets fired from Gaza hit Israel following deaths of 5 Palestinians

"Egypt's efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy," the statement by the Gaza groups said. "The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it."

Kuwait and Bolivia meanwhile requested an urgent closed-door meeting later Tuesday of the UN Security Council to discuss the violence, diplomats said. The violent escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza was the worst since a 2014 war.

Barak 8 LRSAM missile: All you need to know

Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the course of some 24 hours as Israeli strikes targeted militants and flattened buildings while sending fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky.

Sirens wailed in southern Israel and tens of thousands of residents had taken cover in shelters as around 460 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip, wounding 27 people, including three severely. A Palestinian labourer from the occupied West Bank was killed when a rocket hit a building in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Schools were closed in the Gaza Strip and in southern Israel as both sides warned the other that it would respond forcefully to any further violence.

Egypt has negotiated ceasefires following previous flare-ups, while UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov has also been seeking a long-term truce between the two sides in recent weeks.

PTI
J&K: Hizbul terrorists and a govt official under scanner for killing BJP leader

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Jammu, Nov 14: The details emerging following the investigations into the killing of a BJP leader in Jammu and Kashmir suggest increasingly about a well planned hit job. While the perpetrators of the crime have been identified as the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Anil Parihar, the BJP's J&K unit secretary and his brother were gunned down in Kishtwar town of Jammu division on November 1, when they were returning home from work.

The killers have been identified as Osama Javed and Sajjad Khandey from Kishtwar and Pulwama respectively. The police also say that another Hizbul Mujahideen operative Riyaz had accompanied the other two terrorists, while killing the BJP leader.

J&K: Hizbul killed BJP leader, wanted to create communal tension

In addition to this, the police have also detained for questioning a government employee on the allegation that he had aided the terrorists. The police say that a large network of people are involved in the killing. The idea was to create communal tension in the Valley.

A Special Investigation Team had been constituted to probe the case. The police had detained two personal security officials -- Om Prakash and Sahil Kumar. The two were not with the leader at the time of the incident. The tragedy could have been averted had the officials been with him, the police said.

There are several aspects to the ongoing probe. The police suspect that this could have been an act of terror ahead of the November 17 panchayat elections. Various reports have suggested that Pakistan and its terrorists would up the ante. Moreover several terror groups have been trying to target and disrupt the elections. The J&K administration had said that Pakistan is particularly upset that the election process is underway and was also successfully completed where the urban local body polls were concerned.

15 terrorists had moved into Kishtwar, days before BJP leader was killed

Following the killing the Army was told to be on standby. The police were expecting violent protests and as a precautionary measure, imposed curfew in the Muslim majority town. The police say that it would be too early to comment on the motive, but according to divisional commissioner of Jammy, Sanjeev Verma, it was a subversive attack.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 9:17 [IST]
J&K: Two Hizbul terrorists arrested from Pulwama

India

oi-Vikas SV

Srinagar, Nov 14: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday (November 14) said that two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists have been arrested from Awantipora region in the state's Pulwama district. An ANI report, quoting Jammu and Kashmir Police, states that a cache of arms and ammunition have also been recovered.

How Jaish-e-Mohammad went from dormant to most lethal in the Valley

On November 4, two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Khudpora village in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.

Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) are two of the most active terrorist groups in Kashmir region. A OneIndia report published on November 1 says that the Hizbul Mujahideen is a terror group by numbers, but the most lethal group operating in the Valley today is the Jaish-e-Mohammad. The Hizbul has anything between 200 to 300 operatives in comparison to 40 to 50 that the Jaish has.

Army deserter among 2 Hizbul terrorists killed in J&K encounter

An Intelligence Bureau official had explained to OneIndia that the Hizbul was a fading outfit, brought back to life by a social media campaign by slain commander of the outfit, Burhan Wani. This went on to become a fad and their presence became restricted largely to the social media through which they indulged in propaganda.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 12:56 [IST]
Mamata Banerjee slams BJP for its renaming spree, says Bengal deprived

India

oi-Deepika S

Kolkata, Nov 14: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for going on a renaming spree in other cities but not agreeing to change the name of West Bengal to 'Bangla'.

In a long Facebook post she alleged that almost every day "BJP has been changing the names of historical places and institutions unilaterally to suit their own political vested interests... But in respect of Bengal, the attitude is totally different."

Banerjee further said, "After independence, there have been changes in the names of few states and cities, like Orissa to Odisha, Pondicherry to Puducherry, Madras to Chennai, Bombay to Mumbai, Bangalore to Bengaluru etc, keeping in view the sentiments of the state and local language. Those are genuine. But, in respect of Bengal, the attitude is totally different."

Centre okayed renaming of 25 places in one year; 'Bangla' pending

Mamata said that the West Bengal State Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution to change the name of the State. It was resolved that the name of the State be changed from West Bengal to Bengal in English, Bangla in Bengali and Bangal in Hindi and sent to the Union Home Ministry, she added.

"However, the Union Home Ministry advised us to use the name Bangla in all three languages. Accordingly, our Assembly passed an unanimous resolution to change the name of the state to Bangla in all three languages and sent it to the Union Home Ministry again," the Chief Minister said. But, it is pending there for a long, long time. It clearly shows deprivation to the people of Bengal," she added.

"The similarity of names should not create a hurdle. There is a Punjab in our neighbouring country as well as in India," she said.

Now, Ahmedabad to be renamed as Karnavati

Asking for a positive response in the matter immediately, the TMC Chief said: "Whether a political party with zero strength in the state will decide the name of our state or the unanimous resolution passed by our State Assembly in accordance with the Constitutional obligations and federal structure should be respected?"

The Centre has given consent to the renaming of at least 25 towns and villages across India in the past one year and among the pending proposals is one for the state of West Bengal, according to officials.

Allahabad and Faizabad are the latest additions to the growing list of places that have been renamed.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 15:44 [IST]
PM Modi to host President Putin: What to expect from the bilateral

Modi invites US Vice President Mike Pence to Delhi; says 'India-Ana'

India

pti-PTI

Singapore, Nov 14: There was a light moment during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore on Wednesday when he riffed on the meaning of 'Indiana' - the American leader's home state.

[PM Modi meets US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore]

Through his translator, Modi said that when he met Pence in the US in 2017 he told him that "Indiana" (INDIA-Ana) in Hindi, meaning "To come to India." Modi then repeated his invitation to Pence to visit India.

Pence laughed appreciatively. "Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister," Pence said. "I expect I will 'Indiana'." The US vice president is likely to visit India in 2019.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump had turned down India's invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

Modi and Pence held talks on a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interests including defence and trade cooperation, ways to counter terrorism and the need for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

PTI
UB again named among top U.S. universities hosting international students

While its true we operate in an increasingly challenging environment, our extensive international recruitment effort continues to be successful, as prospective students recognize the excellent academic and research opportunities UB offers as well as strong support services and a welcoming, diverse and inclusive campus community.

BUFFALO, N.Y.  For the 16th straight year, the University at Buffalo is rated among the nations top 25 institutions hosting international students.

UB is ranked No. 22 by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in the institutes 2018 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released today in Washington, D.C.

The census of international students at UB in fall 2017 totaled 7,126, according to the Open Doors report. The number includes 2240 students who go on to post-graduate Optional Practical Training. UBs total state-funded enrollment for fall, 2017, was 28,796 students.

The ranking continues to place UB third in New York State, behind only New York University and Columbia and ahead of all other SUNY institutions.

UBs international students hail from 105 different countries. The largest numbers come to the university from India, China, South Korea, Iran, Turkey, Taiwan and Canada.

While its true we operate in an increasingly challenging environment, our extensive international recruitment effort continues to be successful, as prospective students recognize the excellent academic and research opportunities UB offers as well as strong support services and a welcoming, diverse and inclusive campus community, says John J. Wood, UB interim vice provost for international education.

Wood says UB has also taken great strides to better enhance international students professional development and career preparation.

Among the ways we are sealing the deal with admitted international students is through yield-enhancement events hosted by deans and faculty in the students home countries, he says. This a great way to persuade them to commit to UB.

With a total international enrollment of 121,260 students, New York State is second among the 50 states for international student enrollment, according to the report. The figure represents an increase of 2.4 percent over last year.

UBs international student contribution in the past academic year is estimated at $196 million, supporting 2,469 jobs. The total economic impact for the U.S. in 2017-2018 is $39 billion, supporting 455,622 jobs.

UB is focused on becoming a national leader in the inclusion and engagement of international students, Wood says.

Improving the campus environment and services for international students is a clear priority for us, to ensure their retention and long-term success at UB.

Qichang Ryan Tang, a UB graduate student from Guangzhou, China, received a bachelors degree from Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu, China, in 2014.

Arriving at UB in 2014, Tang received a master of education degree from UB in 2016, and has been working on his PhD in education culture, policy and society. Tang says he primarily learned about UB through U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges. I also received information from a friend in China, who was a U.S. student from Buffalo, he says.

When I arrived, I found UB to be a welcoming place and made friends pretty quickly.

Tang says of UBs international community: It makes students like me feel comfortable, he says. I found UB to be a good place to experience the different perspectives of what I wanted to learn.

Phuong To Uyen Tran also says the universitys international community was one of the reasons she chose UB.

UB is diverse, with an excellent ranking. It is also affordable, says Tran, a third-year student from Vietnam majoring in marketing and business administration.

The town I am from, Vuingtau, is small, so I was attracted by UBs size. The Vietnamese students here all know one another, but I also have some American friends. After receiving her degree, Tran plans to pursue career opportunities in both the U.S. and Canada.

Yuxin Zhao, a third year graduate student from Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi Province, China, will complete the third year of a masters degree in filmmaking and media study at the end of the fall 2018 semester.

I am completing my thesis, a film on Chinese immigrants in New York City and their lives, she says.

In China, public universities have so many resources, and my parents suggested I apply to a highly-ranked public university in the U.S. UB fit what I was looking for.

Zhao says, UB is diverse. There is a big international student base and I felt that it would be more supportive of someone like me, and there would be relatively more respect.

Zhao plans to look for film and media work in New York City after she receives her degree at the end of this semester.

According to NAFSA, additional contributions of international education include:

In an increasingly global job market, providing insight into how people from other countries work;

Expanding horizons for research and learning, creating more opportunities and enhancing quality and innovation;

Enhancing constructive leadership in the global community.

In the fall of 2017, the number of international students enrolled in U.S higher education increased slightly, to 1,094,792 students, up 1.5 percent versus 3.4 percent the previous year. International students represent 5.5 percent of the 19,831,000 students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities.

According to the 2018 Open Doors report, 58.6 percent of international students at institutions across the U.S. rely on personal and family resources as their primary source of funding. Nearly 19 percent of students rely on current employment.

The Open Doors Report is published annually by the IIE in partnership with the U.S. State Departments Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For more data, infographics and resources on the 2018 report, visit https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors.

The 2018 Open Doors report was released on the occasion of the 19th annual celebration of International Education Week, a joint initiative of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Education.
Abhinandan Pathak

But his uncanny similarities end here as he "achche din nahin ayenge". He is Abhinandan Pathak, a Congress campaigner in poll-bound Chhattisgarh. Abhinandan Pathak is from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Pathak says he was disillusioned with the prime minister and decided to campaign against the BJP is elections.

Pathak recently told the Times of India that though he has a high regard for the prime minister, his government has failed to keep its words and hence would campaign against the saffron party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Pathak even said that he had to bear the brunt of people's dissent against Modi often is often cursed and even beaten.

Political background

Before taking the plunge in Chhattisgarh campaign, Abhinandan Pathak met with UP Congress chief Raj Babbar to seek permission to join the party in election campaigns. Pathak is not just a look-alike, he does have a political background. He was the BJP-led NDA constituent Republican Party of India (Athawale) as its state vice-president for Uttar Pradesh till he joined the Congress in October.

Abhinandan Pathak with Rahul Gandhi

Congress President Rahul Gandhi met with Patah during his campaign and shared the picture on his Instagram account. Pathak has campaigned in the region at a time Modi himself scheduled to address a rally in Jagdalpur.

PM Narendra Modi

Pathak has always used his similarities in appearance to his advantage by targetting PM Modi and mimicking his style mocking the promise of 'good days' and depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of every Indian after retrieving black money stashed abroad.
Hopeful IT panel will take up Pegasus; officials may have been instructed to skip last meet: Tharoor

'Nehru is the sole reason why humanity exists': BJP's sarcastic jibe at Tharoor over Chaiwala remark

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Nov 14: The BJP on Wednesday hit back at Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's for saying that a chaiwala (tea seller) could become a prime minister becasue of Jawaharlal Nehru. The BJP, in a sarcastic jibe, said do not trivialise Nehru's role, in fact "Nehru is the sole reason why humanity exists".

Speaking about Nehru on the eve of his birth anniversary, Tharoor said it is because of the institutional structure created by Nehru that today a chaiwala (tea seller) can also become India's prime minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself said several times that he used to sell tea at Vadodara railway station during his childhood.

Nehru's precious legacy is being undermined daily: Sonia Gandhi

Tharoor also said that the Modi-led government should not be boasting about India's Mars mission or Mangalyan as it was ISRO that made it possible. And ISRO, Tharoor, said was set up by Nehru.

"Minor correction Dr. Tharoor, Nehru is the sole reason why humanity exists. Don't trivialise his role to mundane matters like making Prime Ministers and all that ;)" the BJP tweeted this morning.

Minor correction Dr. Tharoor, Nehru is the sole reason why humanity exists. Dont trivialise his role to mundane matters like making Prime Ministers and all that ;) pic.twitter.com/bRR7JO9XuC  BJP (@BJP4India) November 14, 2018

Tharoor had recently drawn flak from the BJP's for saying that PM Modi is like a scorpion sitting on a Shiva Linga.

'Hero on a white stallion': Shashi Tharoor takes dig at PM Narendra Modi

Tharoor earlier this month mocked Prime Minister Modi and called him a "hero on a white stallion with an upraised sword in his hand".

In September, Tharoor had said that India may become a Hindu Pakistan if Prime Minister Modi is voted back to power in 2019.
President Kovind recalls Nehru's contribution to freedom struggle

We recall his contribution to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister," he tweeted. "Remembering Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, on his birth anniversary," President Kovind tweeted.

Remembering our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary. We recall his contribution to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2018

PM Modi pays tribute

PM Modi recalled Pandit Nehru's contribution to India's freedom struggle and as the country's first prime minister. "Remembering our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary.

Tributes to the first Prime Minister of India and a visionary, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary, today. The nation remembers the legendary leader and his invaluable contributions towards the building of modern India. #JawaharlalNehru pic.twitter.com/tBYR5xXRxD  VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) November 14, 2018

Venkaiah Naidu calls Nehru legendary leader

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu shared an old picture of Pandit Nehru, describing him as a legendary leader. "Tributes to the first Prime Minister of India and a visionary, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary, today. The nation remembers the legendary leader and his invaluable contributions towards the building of modern India," Naidu tweeted.

Congress leaders pay rich tributes

Tributes to the former Prime Minister on his death anniversary were also paid by President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi at Shantivan.

On Tuesday, Sonia hit out at the ruling BJP for undermining the legacy of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

Hitting out at the ruling BJP for undermining the legacy of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, November 13, called upon people to fight to safeguard country's democracy.
INC means I Need Commission: BJP hits out at Congress after Rafale report

No new jets since 1985 IAF tells SC at Rafale hearing

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 14: The Supreme Court today interacted with Air Vice Marshal, T Chalapathy, who had been associated with the Rafale aircraft procurement decision.

Also

Rafale to Demo: Why are former bureaucrats up in arms against the CAGwho had been associated with the Rafale aircraft procurement decision.

He told the SC that he would rate Jaguars, Sukhoi 30s and Light Combat Aircraft are all 3-4 Gen fighters but India needed 4+ Gen fighters and hence zeroed in on Rafale.

He said that the IAF requires the 4th and 5th generation jets as they have niche technology. The stealth, electronic warfare of such jets are very enhanced, he also said.

'Dictated Interviews' and 'Manufactured Lies': Congress rejects Dassault's defence

When asked what was the last induction of combat aircraft into the IAF, he said that though the Sukhoi 30s and LCA are being inducted regularly, being made in India, the last acquisition was in the 1980s and those were the Jaguars.

The CJI then observed, " so there has been no induction between 1985 and 2018.

{document1}
Rafale: Govt defends decision, petitioners question it, SC reserve verdict

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 14: The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict in the Rafale Deal case. The orders were reserved by a Bench comprising, Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph. The SC would also examine a plea for a court monitored probe.

The arguments began with the petitioners questioning how the Indian government could declare the agreement with France and then go ahead with devising the modalities. Further the petitioners also sought that the question about whether the government could enter into such contracts should be answered by a Constitution Bench.

Rahul talks about Rafale, state units want local issues to be raised by him in rallies

The advocate appearing for AAP, Sanjay Singh told the court that the government has already declared the price of the aircraft at least twice. He further pointed out that the Parliament was told that the cost of the aircraft is Rs 670 crore.

He further said that the government documents are silent on whether an approval was taken from the Defence Acquisition Council and Cabinet Committee on Security before announcing the deal. He said that until March 25 2015, the deal for 126 aircraft was on. 108 jets were to be procured by HAL. But in just two weeks on April 10 2015, a joint statement was announced for a new deal for 36 Rafale jets with the same equipment as in 2007, he further contended.

Singh said that the 2007 deal for 126 aircraft was approved by the DAC. If our combat potential had declined sharply, what was the logic of striking a new deal for just 36 Rafale jets. The new deal should have been for more than 126 fighter aircraft he also said.

Issues flagged:

Advocate Prashant Bhushan in his submission said that the law ministry had flagged issues of France not providing a sovereign guarantee in the Rafale Deal and also regarding the seat of arbitration. He disputed whether it could be contracted as an Inter-Governmental Agreement under the Defence Procurement Procedure. He further said that the government short-circuited the fresh tender process for 36 aircraft to procure them through restricted Inter Government Agreement Mechanism.

To give or not to give: How the decision to hand over details regarding Rafale was taken

He said that the IGA could be done on 3 conditions- equipment of proven tech identified by our Forces in joint exercise, large value weapon platform available at much lesser price and OEM facing an embargo on sale.

Rafale has qualified none of these, he submitted.

Bhushan further argued that the law ministry had flagged 2 problems on the 36 Rafale jets deal. The French government did not give sovereign guarantee. The money involved was high and who would be responsible if Dassault does not deliver. Moreover the venue of the arbitration dispute is in Geneva and not India and these two issues were informed to the government, he contended.

Bhushan further asked as to who took the decision on the 36 jets. On what basis did the PM announce the deal for the 36 jets. He had no authority to do so. There is gross violation in the decision making process, Bhushan contended while asking how was number of jets reduced from 126 to 36.

Bhushan also added that three and a half years have passed since the deal for the 36 jets were signed. The first jet was to be delivered in September 2019, but not single aircraft has been delivered till date. If the 126 jet deal was on, at least 18 jets would have been delivered by April 2019.

How does revealing price compromise national security:

How does making public the price of 36 jets compromise national security? The government is making a bogus argument and prices are subject to RTI. He said that the price of the 36 jets is 60 thousand crore and the deal was for 155 million Euros per jet. However now it is 217 million Euros per jet, which is 40 per cent more for the same specifications, Bhushan also said.

Bhushan also cited the complaint made to the CBI. He urged the out to order an investigation into the manner in which the off set partner was inducted.

Arun Shourie arguing in the Supreme Court cited an interview by former Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar. He had said that the 126 Rafale jets cost Rs 90 k crore and the price per aircraft was Rs 715 crore per jet. He had also said that the decision for the 36 jets was made by PM Modi as a result of political discussions between the PM and President of France.

The amendment in the offset guidelines was slipped in with retrospective effect. Dassault is a company which is in serious financial difficulties. Had this order not gone through, it would have phased out, Shourie also said.

Shourie also questioned the lack of experience of the Indian off set parent to be picked by Dassault. It is public money and hence secrecy surrounding the deal is curious, he said.

The court then sought the presence of a responsible IAF officer in court. The CJI told the AG that the court does not want an officer from the Ministry of Defence, but the Air Force. We are dealing with the requirement of the Air Force. Someone ought to have been here, the CJI also observed.

Government responds:

Attorney General, K K Venugopal said that the secrecy is not regarding the price, but relating to the weaponry and avionics. Rs 670 crore is of the barebone jet and not any of the specifications. We cannot renegade on the agreement with France to disclose confidential information on the specifications about avionics and weaponry.

If such details come out in public domain, our adversaries will take advantage of such a disclosure. It is only out of respect for the SC that the details of the weaponry and avionic were provided, Venugopal also said.

The AG then questioned how the court could look into this issue. While opposing a judicial review the AG said that it is for the experts to examine what kind of weaponry and avionics are required. The question is whether the court is competent to deal with such an issue. The court cannot look into all this, the AG also said.

Justice Gogoi then said, any discussion on the price will be only if we commit that it should come into public domain. The court also said that the government does not need to respond to the petitioners' contentions on pricing at the moment. Until we decide that the pricing needs to be debated, there is no need for you to reply on this aspect, the CJI told the AG.

The court then asked if the base aircraft under the new Rafale Deal is the same as the one that was under the agreement with HAL. The AG said that the base aircraft remains the same. However the AG added that the details of the weaponry etc was not disclosed under the old deal as well.

Rafale: Dassault would have been phased out, but for this order, Shourie tells SC

SC questions

The court while reacting to the government's stand that it does not know who Dassault's offset partner is asked, " what happens to the country's interests if the offset partner chosen is not good enough and is not able to make good the contract. What was the need to amend the offset guidelines with retrospective effect, Justice K M Joseph asked.

The additional secretary said, if Dassault submits the offsite initially, we would check if the offset partner is valid or not. If later, the OEM (Dassault) runs the danger of whether we accept or the offset partner or not.

The court then said that the government cannot separate the main contract from the offset contract. It may be in the country's interest if the offset contract is executed later because that may lead to delay in production by the offset partner, the court also said.

The government said that the contract with the offset is also till the same tenure as the vendor. It is not that there will be delay on account of Induction of the offset partner. It is for the vendor to be prompt because the government may or may not accept the choice of offset partner at a later stage.

Justice Joseph asked the AG, how the PM announced the new deal before the RFP of the old agreement was to be withdrawn. While the AG tried to answer the question, the CJI said, ' your own note says that the process of withdrawal had begun in March 2015 and concluded in June.

When the SC asked the government about the law ministry's objection on Rafale, the AG Sais that there is no sovereign guarantee, but there is a letter of comfort from the French PM that honours to transmit the Inter Governmental Agreement. Hence we are covered the AG also said.

In his concluding arguments, the AG said, ' we lost soldiers in the Kargil War. IF there was Rafale at that time, we could have saved many lives. They could shoot over 60 kilometres.

To this the the CJI remarked, " the Kargil war was in 1999-2000. The Rafale came in 2014. The CJI responded, "I meant hypothetically."
Rafale to Demo: Why are former bureaucrats up in arms against the CAG

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Nov 14: Sixty retired bureaucrats have written to the CAG expressing concern over audit reports on demonetisation and the Rafale deal being "deliberately" delayed to not "embarrass" the NDA government till next year's general elections.

In a letter, they said there was concern over "unconscionable" and "unwarranted delay" in bringing out the audit reports on demonetisation and the Rafale fighter jet deal, and the reports should be tabled before Parliament in the Winter Session.

The CAG's failure to present the audit reports on note ban and the Rafale deal in time "may be seen as a partisan action" and could create a "crisis of credibility" for the institution, the letter said.

TN: D Jayakumar rejects CAG report on December 2015 Chennai floods

Sources in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said that the report on the Rafale deal is expected to be released by December.

Quoting from media reports on demonetisation, the former bureaucrats said the then CAG Shashi Kant Sharma had pointed out that the audit would cover the expenditure on printing of notes, RBI's dividend to the Consolidated Fund of India and the huge amount of data generated by banks.

They also said it was also stated that the effectiveness of the follow-up action taken by the Income Tax Department in identifying potential tax evaders and pursuing action against them, among others, would also be covered.

"It is more than 20 months since the previous CAG made the above statement but there is no sight of the promised audit report on demonetisation," the letter said.

The signatories of the letter included former IPS officer and ex-DGP of Punjab Julio Riberio, former IAS officer turned social activist Aruna Roy, former Pune Police commissioner Meeran Borwankar, former CEO of Prasar Bharti Jawahar Sircar, former envoy to Italy K P Fabian, and officers from Central and all India services.

The letter claimed that there were reports that the audit of the Rafale deal would be done as late as September this year, but the related files were yet to be scrutinised by the CAG.

The precise stage of the audit is therefore "unclear", it said.

The ex-bureaucrats said the CAG's audit reports on the 2G, Coal, Adarsh, Commonwealth Games scams had influenced public perception of the then UPA government's actions and had invited appreciation from various quarters.

"But an impression is gaining ground that the CAG is deliberately delaying its audit reports on demonetisation and the Rafale deal till after the May 2019 elections so as not to embarrass the present government.

"The CAG's failure to present the audit reports on demonetisation and the Rafale deal in time may be seen as a partisan action and may create a crisis of credibility for this important institution," they said.

Vinod Rai was a contract killer hired to finish UPA-2: Raja

Due to the cacophony of claims and counterclaims, accusations and mud-slinging in the media and elsewhere, citizens do not know what the reality is, the former bureaucrats said, insisting that the CAG make timely submission of the audit reports so that people can make an informed choice while voting.

"In the past, the CAG has been criticised for nit-picking and focusing on trivial issues on the one hand, and for audit over-reach on the other. But there was never any occasion to accuse the CAG of being influenced by the government of India or having to remind it about the timely performance of its Constitutional duties," the letter said.

The CAG functions as a watchdog of the public purse, and it is his duty to ensure that every financial transaction is as per rule, sanction, provision and propriety, and guided by the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

In the past, the former bureaucrats had attacked the government over rising alleged intolerance in the country and the Kathua gang rape case.
Rahul talks about Rafale, state units want local issues to be raised by him in rallies

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 14: Political environment in Delhi is surcharged with talks about Rafale jet deals but the issue still has failed to become an election issue in the states where elections process are underway. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is speaking about this corruption issue in his every rally but local issues and caste equations are dominating the election in these states.

State leaders of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan want poor condition of farmers, unemployment and corruption of the BJP governments in the state to be discussed more and talked about by the central leadership. As far as election manifestos of the Congress are concerned, the emphasis of the party is on this that number of promises made by the Congress must be more than what the BJP has made.

Come what may, mudslinging on Rafale to continue till 2019 Lok Sabha elections

The issue of freebies and loan waiver have prominently figured in the promises made in manifesto. The Congress is also taking care of constituency-wise caste equations. Working towards the same direction, efforts are being made to win over organisations and people having influence over caste and sub castes. They are being invited for formal gathering and high tea programmes orgnised for them.

The Congress president has been starting his rallies in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan by calling Rafale as the biggest scam. He has also been attacking the government for befitting industrialists. When the first phase of election in Chhattisgarh is over and not much time is left for Madhya Pradesh elections, Rahul Gandhi has started giving importance to the local issues in these states.

Why PM is mum on corruption charges against Raman Singh: Rahul Gandhi

He recently raised the issue of alleged Rs 36 thousand crore ration scam and other scams to the tune of Rs 5 thousand crore. He had also talked about 50 lakh unemployed youths and 60 thousand school teachers. Actually the state leaders are demanding the Congress president that he must speak on local issues as well so BJP chief ministers could also be attacked and put into dock. These leaders are also saying that there is no dearth of issue against the BJP government in states. On being asked, a Congress general secretary said that these local issues make more impact in Assembly elections because voters are more influenced by these issues.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 12:06 [IST]
Kumaraswamy to attend Ashok Gehlot's swearing-in on Dec 17: These are other leaders who would attend

Rajasthan CM and Dy CM to discuss names of ministers with senior leadership in Delhi

Rajasthan assembly polls: Only 5 won with more than 30 per cent margin

Rajasthan assembly elections 2018: BJP releases second list of 31 candidates

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Nov 14: Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday released the second list of 31 candidates for Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018.

BJP releases the second list of 31 candidates for #RajasthanAssemblyElections2018 pic.twitter.com/SXdMro6Z1U  ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2018

The filing of nominations for the upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan has begun. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already issued its first list of candidates -- 131 in number -- and is finalising its second list, the Congress is yet to announce the names of candidates contesting for the polls.

Sitting minister Surendra Goyal was dropped while senior leader Devi Singh Bhati's daughter- in-law Poonam Kanwar was given the ticket. Barmer-Jaisalmer MP Col Sonaram was fielded from Barmer seat. His candidature gains significance in view of former BJP MLA Manvendra Singh joining the Congress.

There were several new names in the Shekhawati area where the BJP is on a weak wicket.

The assembly election is being seen as a semi-final to the 2019 general elections. The BJP is keen to retain power in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

In 2013, the first BJP list of 176 candidates was announced on November 5, the day the nominations began.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 20:54 [IST]
No protection, no hearing until we know where you are, SC tells Param Bir Singh

Sabarimala order will continue, no stay, SC reiterates

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 14: An oral plea seeking a stay on the Sabarimala verdict has been rejected by the Supreme Court. The plea was made a day after the court decided to review its verdict in the case.

The plea was made before a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India. The CJI, Ranjan Gogoi said that whatever order has been passed regarding Sabarimala will continue. Wait until January 22, when the review petitions will be heard in open court, the CJI said.

SC to review Sabarimala verdict: Kerala CM to discuss with legal experts

Advocate Nedumpara had orally mentioned before the Bench seeking a stay on the verdict. He said that there was no positive order in the September 28 verdict which allowed the entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala.

On Tuesday, the court had decided to hear in open court all the 49 review petitions that challenged the decision of the court allowing entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple. The decision was taken in the chambers of the Chief Justice, who along with four other judges studied the reviews. The review pleas would now be heard in open court on January 22 2019.

The court however did not stay its earlier order passed on September 28, in which it had allowed the entry of women of all age groups into the temple.

Sabarimala: SC to hear review pleas in open court on Jan 22, no stay on existing verdict

On January 22, the court will decide on whether to admit the 49 review petitions or not. The Kerala government on the other hand which has vowed to implement the verdict said that it has not yet decided on what to do. It would take a call after reading today's verdict, the government has said.

On September 28, a five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, had paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple saying that the ban amounted to gender discrimination.
The boy who saved 'Chacha Nehru'

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar P

Bengaluru, Nov 14: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was called 'Chacha Nehru', 'Chacha ji' for his love for kids. His affection for children is well recognised and appreciated and thus the day is celebrated as Children's Day. On the birthday of India's first Prime Minister, it is apt to recall how he was saved by a 14-year-old scout in Delhi.

What happened on Gandhi Jayanti day?

On Gandhi Jayanti day, 2 October 1957, Jawaharlal Nehru, was watching a performance Delhi's Ramlila ground, at the Red Fort. During the performance, a short circuit caused a fire to break out in a shamiana (decorated tent).

Happy Children's Day: When 'Chacha Nehru' bought balloons for kids

Without concern for his own safety, 14-year-old scout, Harish Chandra Mehra entered the burning shamiyana, scaled the 20 feet high electric pole and cut off the burning cloth. Harish promptly took out his knife and ripped open the burning tent, saving the lives of hundreds of trapped people. The boy suffered injuries on his left hand.

He recalls, "One day our school principal came to our class and informed me that I had been nominated for a special National Gallantry Award which was being instituted by the Prime Minister. I got that award from Nehruji at Teen Murti Bhavan in February 1958. My parents were also with me. Pandit Nehru said to them, Your son has saved my life and he will certainly become a great man in his lifetime.' Indira Gandhi was also present there. Pandit Nehru remained with us for around 15 minutes. My parents were so happy that after the meeting they distributed sweets to the people in our locality."

This incident inspired Nehru to ask the authorities to establish an award to honour brave children from all over the country. The first official National Bravery Awards were presented to Harish Chandra and one other child on 4 February 1958, by Prime Minister Nehru, and the ICCW ( Indian Council for Child Welfare) has continued the tradition ever since.

President Kovind, PM Modi, Sonia pay tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary

India started celebrating Children's Day in 1959. Initially, it was celebrated on November 20 along with other countries. But after Nehru's death in 1964, it was unanimously decided to celebrate his birthday as Children's Day.
Media Advisory: Local scientists to hold open discussion with public on dangers of antibiotic overuse

BUFFALO, N.Y.  The University at Buffalo, Buffalo Museum of Science and Erie County Department of Health have partnered to hold Pushing Back: Antimicrobial Resistance, an event that aims to educate the public about the increasing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the harm that overuse of these prescribed medications can have on our microbiome.

The event is part of Mind Your Microbiome and Be Antibiotics Aware Week, an annual program held by the UB Community of Excellence in Genome, Environment and Microbiome (GEM) that seeks to teach the Western New York community about the five pounds of microorganisms that live in or on the human body.

The week-long program, from Nov. 12-18, run simultaneously with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week.

When: Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 7-9 p.m.

Where: Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway, Buffalo.

Guest speakers include Erie County Health Commissioner Gale R. Burstein, MD, and Robert J. Genco, DDS, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and director of the UB Microbiome Center.

Media are invited to attend. On site contact is Andrea Gallagher, agallagher@sciencebuff.org, 619-987-2277.

Why: Antibiotic overuse  both in our food and those prescribed to treat infection  has led to the increasing prevalence of resistant strains of bacteria that are difficult to treat. According to CDC research, nearly 80 percent of Americans are prescribed at least one antibiotic each year, but half of those prescriptions are either unnecessary or ineffective.

Antibiotics may also harm the microbiome by removing the trillions of good bacteria that colonize our bodies and keep us healthy.

The GEM community is committed to spreading awareness of the microbes that live in, on and around us. So many are important for our own well-being and are at risk when antibiotics are used inappropriately, said Jennifer Surtees, PhD, GEM co-director and associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

At the same time, there are some very harmful microbes that we need to be able to control with antibiotics. This delicate balance is important for everyone to understand.
To give or not to give: How the decision to hand over details regarding Rafale was taken

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 14: It did take everyone by surprise, when the Centre put out a considerable amount of details regarding the Rafale deal before the Supreme Court of India.

On an earlier date of hearing the Centre had told the Supreme Court that the details regarding the financial details could not be handed over. To this the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to file an affidavit to this effect stating that these details could not be handed over.

Rafale: Govt short-circuited fresh tender process for 36 aircraft, Bhushan tells SC

Prior to handing over the document to the court, there were deliberations within the government. The deliberations were on between Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Attorney General, K K Venugopal.

All three decided that the government would hide nothing from the Supreme Court. However it was unanimously also agreed that an affidavit would be produced in case the judges directed that the pricing be revealed to the petitioners. The affidavit had the list of reasons as to why such action could not be permitted

In the Supreme Court, the Centre had explained why the state HAL failed to become an offset partner in the deal. The government claimed that the issues pertained to lack of common understanding between HAL and Dassault Aviation.

"The contract negotiations could not conclude mainly due to unresolved issues related to 108 aircraft to be manufactured in India. These issues pertained to lack of common understanding between HAL and Dassault Aviation on following," the documents said.

It said HAL required "2.7 times higher man-hours compared to the French side for the manufacture of Rafale aircraft in India".

Come what may, mudslinging on Rafale to continue till 2019 Lok Sabha elections

The Centre said that in so far as discharging of the offset obligations by Dassault and its Tier I Vendors through Indian Offset partners is concerned, there is no mention of any private Indian Business House in intergovernmental agreement or Offset contract. The inter-governmental agreement between India and France were signed on Sept 23, 2016, the Centre also said.

Further it said that after the Indian negotiation team submitted its report on fully loaded 36 Rafale jets on August 4, 2016, it was vetted by the finance and law ministries within 20 days and the Cabinet Committee approved the deal on August 24 2016.

The pricing details were however given to the SC in a sealed cover. It may be recalled that on October 31, the Centre had claimed privilege on it. The court had however stated that the Centre should file an affidavit that it cannot submit these details.

Further the Centre said that Dassault the makers of Rafale or its weapon vendor is yet to submit a formal proposal in the prescribed manner indicating details of the Indian offset earners and products for offset discharge. Further the Centre said that until October 2019 no offset partner can get any money under agreement from India. The government also said it had nothing to hide and hence it was decided that Rafale prices would be revealed only to the Judges of the Supreme Court.

The court is hearing a PIL against the Rafale deal between India and France .

The petition sought information about the contract given to Reliance by Dassault.

Advocate M L Sharma's plea, filed earlier, alleging discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and seeking a stay on it will also come up for hearing on October 10.

Rafale to Demo: Why are former bureaucrats up in arms against the CAG

Sharma claimed in his plea that the inter-government agreement to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets must be quashed as it was an "outcome of corruption" and not ratified by Parliament under Article 253 (Parliament has power to make any law for implementing any inter-government agreement) of the Constitution.

Rafale deal is a defence agreement signed between the governments of India and France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircrafts in a fly-away condition as a part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

Indian Air Force had advanced a proposal to buy 126 fighter aircraft in August 2007 and floated a tender. Following this, an invitation was sent to various aviation companies to participate in the bidding process.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 11:31 [IST]
Will go to Sabarimala on Nov 16 when temple door opens, says activist Trupti Desai

Trupti Desai to visit Sabarimala temple on Nov 17, seeks security

India

oi-Deepika S

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 14: Activist Trupti Desai is set to visit the revered Sabarimala temple in Kerala on November 17. Desai has written to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan seeking security for her visit during the Mandala-Makaravilaku season.

She is the founder of Bhumata Brigade, an organisation that has spearheaded a successful campaign for women's right to worship in temples in North India.

"We are writing to demand police protection from the time we enter Kerala to the time we depart from the state. Already we have been receiving threats, with some warning us of dire consequences if we enter Kerala, while others threatening to commit suicide if we dare climb the temple," she said.

The Kerala government has, meanwhile, convened an all-party meeting on November 15 to discuss various issues relating to the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, which witnessed widespread protests following the Supreme Court decision to permit entry of women of all ages into the shrine.

Amid protests, 550 women enlist online to enter Sabarimala

The decision to call the meeting was taken on Tuesday - the day when the apex court refused to stay its September 28 verdict, lifting the centuries-old ban on girls and women in the 10-50 age group from entering the shrine and decided to hear a batch of review petitions in open court on January 22.

The two-month long annual 'Mandala Makkaravillakku' season will start on November 17 and the meeting will also take stock of the arrangements made for devotees.

Sabarimala order will continue, no stay, SC reiterates

Earlier in the day, an oral plea seeking a stay on the Sabarimala verdict has been rejected by the Supreme Court. The plea was made a day after the court decided to review its verdict in the case

.On Tuesday, the court had decided to hear in open court all the 49 review petitions that challenged the decision of the court allowing entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple. The decision was taken in the chambers of the Chief Justice, who along with four other judges studied the reviews. The review pleas would now be heard in open court on January 22 2019.
As COVID-19 cases rise, winter-budget sessions of Parliament likely to be clubbed

Winter Session of Parliament from December 11

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Nov 14: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) has recommended convening of the Winter Session of Parliament from December 11 to January 8, official sources said on Wednesday.

The CCPA, headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, met on Tuesday night at his residence, and deliberated on the dates of the session.

The CCPA has recommended that the winter session be held from December 11 to January 8, the sources said.

The Winter Session of Parliament usually starts in November. However, it will be the second year in a row when it will begin in December.

The session has been delayed this year due to Assembly Elections in five States.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 17:34 [IST]
CNN vs Trump: Follow case closely, Russia tells its journalists based in US

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Moscow, Nov 14: As the CNN battles it out against US President Donald Trump over the barring of its White House correspondent Jim Acosta because he confronted the president on immigration rhetoric, Russia is closely watching the outcome and even feeling encouraged.

According to a report in Russia's TASS news agency, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a Facebook post that the lawsuit that the CNN filed against Trump could be a helpful precedent for the Russian journalists who may also find themselves in a similar situation.

Trump attacks Macron yet again, says French president has low approval rating in his own den

"Great! I advise Russian journalists, who are working in the United States, to closely follow the fate of this lawsuit. The precedent may prove to be quite useful if some of them are denied accreditation, despite meeting all formal requirements. Or, if their questions are left unanswered," she said.

The case will he heard in a court in Washington DC after the channel sued Trump and several of his aides over barring Acosta's White House access following the spat. The senior journalist was also accused by the administration of trying to put his hand on a female intern who tried to take the microphone away from him while he was in the middle of a heated conversation with the president.

CNN sues White House over barring of reporter Jim Acosta

The CNN took the legal step seeking immediate restoration of Acosta's access and also a ruling from the court against such tendency in the future. Trump is known to have a sour relation with mainstream media and November 7's incident was a culmination of it.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 15:08 [IST]
Singapore discovering COVID-19 is a bacteria and not a virus is another conspiracy theory

Financial inclusion a reality for 1.3 billion Indians: PM Modi in Singapore

International

oi-Deepika S

Singapore, Nov 14: Highlighting that India is a nation of diverse circumstances and challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians.

Speaking at the world's largest event on financial technology, Modi said technology has transformed governance and delivery of public services in India and unleashed innovation, hope and opportunities.

"Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world and it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives," Modi said as he began his two-day visit to the country.

"It has empowered the weak and brought into mainstream those who were on the margins. It has made economic access more democratic," he said in his keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit.

PM Modi meets US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore

The festival drew as many as 30,000 participants from over 100 countries in 2017. The event involves a three-day conference, and exhibition of Fintech firms and capabilities, a global competition of Fintech solutions and a platform for matching entrepreneurs and investment capital.

Modi said the festival is a tribute to the youth of India with its eyes firmly fixed to the future. "Financial inclusion has become reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities- Aadhaar or foundation- in just a few years," Modi said at the event.

"The character of the global economy is changing. Technology is defining competitiveness and power in the new world. And, it is creating boundless opportunities to transform lives," Modi said. He said India is a nation of diverse circumstances and challenges.

"Our solutions must also be diverse. Our digitisation is a success because our payment products cater to everyone," he said. "The Indian story shows six great benefits of fintech: Access, inclusion; connectivity; ease of living; opportunity; and, accountability," the prime minister said at the event.

Modi also launched APIX (Application Programming Interface Exchange), a global fintech platform with Deputy PM of Singapore T Shanmugaratnam after his address at the event. "APIX will eventually connect our companies to financial institutions globally," he said.

"Across the world, from the Indo-Pacific to Africa to Latin America, we see inspiring stories of extraordinary innovation changing ordinary lives. But, there is much to be done," he said.

Modi said the digital technology was introducing transparency and eliminating corruption through innovations such as the Government e-Marketor GEM.

"There is an explosion of fintech innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading fintech and Startup nation in the world. The future of fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India," he said.

Modi became the first world leader to address the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.

"It is a great honour to be the first Head of Government to deliver the keynote address at Singapore Fintech Festival," Modi said. "We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. From desktop to cloud, from Internet to social media, from IT Services to Internet of Things, we have come a long way in short time," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Singapore for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a bilateral meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

In his 36-hour visit to the city state, PM Modi's first delivered the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit.
Islamic State fighters increase rapidly in Philippines; a new caliphate might come up, say experts

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Manila, Nov 14: The South-east Asian archipelago of Philippines has come under threat again since the presence of the Islamic State (IS) militants on its soil is rising. According to a report in the Guardian, there could be somewhere between 40 to 100 foreign fighters in the country now while the local pro-IS militant groups are gaining momentum.

It may be mentioned here that in May 2017, the city of Marawi city in southern Philippines' Mindanao island was overrun by IS extremists and a caliphate was declared. It was only after a prolonged struggle by the army that saw the government regain control. Twelve hundred lives were lost in the process though.

A poison called Zakir Naik and his role in radicalising Kerala detailed by an ISIS recruit

Professor Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, told the Guardian that he had seen records of up to 100 foreign fighters setting foot on the island aiming to establish an East Asia Isis province after the failure in Marawi last year. He also said that these fighters entered the Philippines from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Middle East.

Following the rise of the IS in 2014 in the Middle East, several Islamist groups in the Philippines vowed their allegiance to the emir of the IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They included fighters from Ansar al-Khilafah, Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Maute Group and other small factions that are active in Mindanao.

Afghanistan: US strike kills Islamic State commander

The movement towards the Philippines has become intense following the fall of the Middle Eastern caliphate last year and according to Banlaoi, foreign fighters are entering the Philippines since they consider it, especially Mindanao, a safe haven, an alternative home base and new land for jihad. They help and also get helped by the local media, provide funds and help grow a global network.

A high-ranked intelligence official also gave figures that matched Banlaoi's words, the Guardian added. "There are about 40 foreign fighters remaining in the country, but 40 others are in the watchlist," the Guardian quoted the officer on the condition of anonymity.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 11:31 [IST]
PM Modi meets US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore; discusses H1-B visa issue

International

oi-Deepika S

Singapore, Nov 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US vice president Mike Pence met in Singapore on Wednesday on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit.

The meeting between PM Modi and Pence comes weeks after US president Donald Trump turned down PM Modi's invite to India's Republic Day as chief guest due to "scheduling constraints".

Modi shared India's "serious concern" at the "mainstreaming" of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, who carries a $10 million bounty, in Pakistan's recent elections.

Stressing that there was some discussion on the issue of terrorism and Pence referred to the coming 10th anniversary of 26/11, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the Prime Minister reminded him that "in one way or another, all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately lead to a single source, a single place of origin".

Modi invites US Vice President Mike Pence to Delhi; says 'India-Ana'

"Modi told Pence that Indian professionals not only took to America the talent and capacity to innovate and excel but also carried with them "democratic values" they were imbued with," Gokhale added.

"And, in that context, the Prime Minister, therefore, expressed the hope that this would be the approach that United States might take when it looks at the whole issue of the H-1B visa and this was appreciated by Vice President Pence," he further said.

The US waiver on sanctions against Iran, as well as the waiver on India's purchase of the S-400 system, are some of the issues, which have come up in the last few weeks.

On the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, officials from India, Japan, the US and Australia will also meet as part of the Quadrilateral grouping. This will be the third meeting of Quad, which was revived in November last year on the sidelines of the East Asia and ASEAN summits in Manila (Philippines).

Financial inclusion a reality for 1.3 billion Indians: PM Modi in Singapore

Modi will also have a breakfast meeting with ASEAN leaders as there will be no ASEAN - India summit - ASEAN rules bar dialogue partners to have two summits in a year. Since all 10 ASEAN leaders came to India for a commemorative summit in January this year and attended the Republic Day celebrations as chief guests, India is meeting them in a different format.
Rajapaksa prepones poll again but will Sirisena be too hot for him?

Big boost for Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka parliament votes against Rajapaksa govt

International

oi-Deepika S

Colombo, Nov 14: Sri Lanka parliament on Wednesday voted against the controversially appointed government of Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature.

The vote came after the parliament met under tight security, after the top court ruled its dissolution illegal and opened the door to a vote on which of two rival prime ministers has the support to rule.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa who was appointed prime minister on October 26 in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The news comes as a major boost to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sacked by President Maithripala Sirisena on October 26.

Lanka crisis: Rajapaksa ends 50-year association with Sirisena's party, joins newly-formed SLPP

Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve parliament until next month in a further twist in the country's political crisis.

Sri Lanka was thrown into chaos when President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament on November 9. He called for a general election in January 2019 in an unprecedented move that will likely plunge the country deeper into a constitutional crisis.

Parliament's dissolution, anticipated and mocked by many, was announced in an official gazette notification signed by Sirisena.

After dissolving the parliament, president Sirsena, on 9 November, announced snap elections in Sri Lanka and the new parliament to be convened on 17 January.

In bid to gain support, Lankan PM, President may free Tamil prisoners

President Sirisena suspended parliament immediately after his October 26 decision to sack Wickremesinghe, a move that was being seen as to allow Mahinda Rajapaksa to muster the 113 seats required for majority.

Rajapaksa has so far won 9 defections, still short of 113 to prove his majority in the 225-member House.
Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump

Trump attacks Macron yet again, says French president has low approval rating in his own den

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Washington, Nov 14: It's Donald Trump versus Emmanuel Macron once again. The US president on Tuesday, November 13, posted a series of tweets targeting his French counterpart for suggesting the idea of a self-reliant European military and the country's wine tariffs besides lashing out at the latter over his criticism of his nationalism which according to Trump, was done to distract from Macron's own shortcomings.

Trump, who returned to the US along with his spouse Melania, said in his first tweet: "Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!"

Hillary Clinton will run for presidency in 2020 again, says her former adviser

In another tweet, Trump said: "MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!"

......MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!........  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

Trump's latest tweets were a continuation of attacking Macron over the latter's suggestion that European nations needed more powerful militaries to protect themselves from countries, including the US. Macron said in an interview recently that Europe needed to equip itself better militarily against an aggressive Russia. The French president also rued Trump's intent to withdraw from the INF Treaty with Russia and felt Europe's security would be compromised as a result of that.

"I believe in the project of a sovereign Europe. We won't protect Europe if we don't decide to have a true European army," Macron said.

US President Donald Trump set to miss a series of summits in Asia

"We have to have a Europe that can defend itself alone - and without only relying on the United States - in a more sovereign manner."

"We should protect ourselves when it comes to China, Russia and even the United States of America," he also said.

Trump, in his tweet attacks against Macron, also said that the French president "suffers from a very low Approval Rating" of 26 per cent in his own country, and added that there is "no country more nationalist than France".

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 7:53 [IST]
Members of farmers' body detained in Lucknow for trying to burn effigies of PM Modi, Shah

Horrific: 'Alcoholic' man smashes heads of three minor daughters with hammer

Lucknow

oi-Vikas SV

Lucknow, Nov 14: In a gut wrenching incident, a man who was upset with his wife, is said to have smashed heads of his three minor daughters with a hammer and set them ablaze in Veer village of Lalitpur district in Uttar Pradesh.

The man, Chiddu Kushwaha, has reportedly confessed to his crime and is in poilce custody now. The three girls Anjali, Radhika and Vishakha were 11, 7 and 3-years old, respectively.

UP: Missing farmer found dead in his field

"A man smashed heads of his three daughters with a hammer and burnt them alive. The girls later died at the hospital. The man has been arrested and he has confessed to the crime. His questioning is underway. Further probe is on," news agency ANI quoted OP Singh, SP Lalitpur, as saying.

Chiddu Kushwaha's wife had left home and gone to her parents house in Balari village, Madhya Pradesh, after he allegedly beat her up undet he influence of alcohol. Kushwaha's effort to persuade his wife to come back failed and her cousins sent him back to his village. He is also said to have picked up a fight with his wife's cousins which complicated the matters.

Upon returning, Kushwaha kept drinking throughout the night as he felt insulted by his wife's cousins.

Uttar Pradesh: 2 killed in shootout in Varanasi

"Kushwaha locked the door from inside and killed the girls. He was later nabbed by residents when he tried to set neighbouring houses afire. He torched the hay and dried wood lying on rooftops of three houses which alerted the locals," said Singh, as per a Hindustan Times report.

Kushwaha was an alcoholic and resorted to committing such a grievous crime out of frustration that his wife did not return, suggested some reports.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 12:26 [IST]
Prince Charles turns 70 Wednesday and is still heir to the throne  a role he has served since he was a young child.

He's not lacking in things to do and shows few signs of slowing down  he is wealthy, extremely active in matters of great importance to him, and preparing to welcome his fourth grandchild into the world when Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gives birth next spring.



In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 1999 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles and his companion Camilla Parker Bowles leave the Ritz Hotel in London, the first time that the couple, who have been friends for more than 25 years, have appeared together in public. As Prince Charles turns 70 on Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018, Camilla says the public doesnt understand how incredibly kind and funny Charles is. [File Photo: AP/Alastair Grant]

His destiny, however, is to be king, a position he will automatically assume with the death of his 92-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II.



When that happens, Charles will be bound by the constitutional requirement that the monarch refrain from trying to influence policy. Until then, Charles is free to lobby for action on climate change, support organic farming, and fight genetically modified crops as he sees fit.



He's doing all that while increasingly stepping in for the queen and supervising the Prince's Trust, an ambitious charity he founded 42 years ago that has helped hundreds of thousands of young Britons.



Is the candle-crowded birthday cake a signal that it's time for the elegantly greying prince to take it easy? Not on your life, says Charles' wife, Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall.



"I don't think he thinks he's 70," she wrote in a birthday tribute in The Telegraph Magazine. "I think it's just a number to him. There's no way that he will slow down. You must be joking. I keep saying 70 is getting on a bit. It's not very old but it is old. You have to slow down a bit."



The royal family is in the midst of a slow, understated transition. The patriarch, 97-year-old Prince Philip, has formally retired from public life, although he makes occasional appearances in support of the queen.



For her part, the queen still maintains a busy schedule, but she no longer makes long haul flights to far flung parts of the 53-nation Commonwealth, and this year she took the unusual step of lobbying the Commonwealth countries to specify that Charles would be the next leader of the group, a position that is not hereditary.



The support for Charles was unanimous, reflecting not only appreciation for the queen's work over the decades but a belief that Charles has a strong commitment to the Commonwealth.



Charles has also taken a more visible role representing the queen at some important national events, most recently during the Remembrance Day celebrations honoring Britain's fallen soldiers. He placed the queen's wreath at the foot of the Cenotaph monument while she watched from a balcony seat.



But his working trips abroad and his speeches at home generate precious little buzz as the press focuses on younger, more photogenic royals and their cute offspring.



In a way, Charles is sandwiched between generations, caught between his mother, a symbol of dignity and continuity who has reigned since 1952, and his two immensely popular sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who have along with their wives come to symbolize the future of the world's best known monarchy.



William and Harry also remind many of their mother, the late Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 after a messy divorce from Charles that for a time tarnished his standing with the British public.



It is William and Harry  along with their wives Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan  who appear on the cover of glossy magazines, not the about-to-be-70 Charles. It is the young royals who are seen as glamorous modernizers with the common touch, while Charles is sometimes perceived as dour, preachy and remote.



Camilla says the public doesn't understand how "incredibly kind" and funny Charles is, and William and Harry  taking part in a rare BBC interview to mark his father's birthday  praise the way he has used his undefined position as Prince of Wales to advocate so many important causes, such as environmental protection.



But Harry  who has endeared himself to the British public in part with his impish smile and sunny outlook  urged his dad to cut back a bit on the doom and gloom that often accompanies Charles' pronouncements.



"I would encourage him to remain optimistic because I think it can be very easy to become despondent and negative," Harry said. "But hopefully with his children and his grandchildren, and a few more grandchildren to come, he can get energy from the family side and then carry on his leadership role."



He also had this advice: don't work so hard, and have dinner earlier.


| BY Ricki Green |

Melbourne-based RMIT University has recently held a student industry awards night on the rooftop of the prestigious building 80 in the CBD to celebrate the conclusion of the Work Integrated Learning Program for 2018. In attendance were industry professionals from across the marketing and PR landscape, teaching staff, heads of faculty and the students who took part in the program. One of the participating industry partners, Smart Solutions, an award-winning PR firm, collaborated with RMIT University staff to finalise and determine the final selection. The night saw the students presented with certificates for their outstanding work spent on the real-life advertising campaign that provided them with an invaluable experience.

RMIT Vocational Education students in the field of marketing and communications showcased their design and creative skills developed at RMIT University to work in partnership with industry mentors. One of the briefs was for MoodOff Day, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to raise awareness for smartphone addiction across the country. Erik Bigalk, founder and CEO of Smart Solutions PR, worked closely with this client and assisted students in the program.

Says Bigalk: It was great to see such a high standard of work. The students at RMIT University are a talented group and I can see them going far in this industry. They took straight to the task, understood exactly what we were looking for and developed some outstanding work. It was exceptional.

The idea behind the collaboration was to give students the chance to carve industry pathways by working with real clients on live campaigns. Smart Solutions PR jumped at the opportunity to support the Work Integrated Learning Program because it offered a way to mentor the younger generations coming up. The Melbourne based firm was well assisted by the University, including Federico Viola, Teacher for Web and Interactive Design at RMIT, who helped to select the two most worthy students from the Work Integrated Learning and MoodOff Day collaboration.

Says Viola: It was wonderful to see the people I teach step up and embrace the chance to work with real businesses such as Smart Solutions and the MoodOff Day campaign. My role is to help my students gain the skills and experience to step into a career in this field. I feel like we are really achieving this through these collaborations.

All finalists received a certificate of recognition for their contribution on the night, while the two winning students had their work included in the digital out of home (DOOH) MoodOff Day campaign launched at the Cox Plate race day, promoting its 24 February 2019 international awareness day.

Harriet Sabien was one of the finalists and found the experience working on the MoodOff Day campaign extremely rewarding.

Says Sabien: RMIT work so hard to create meaningful relationships with real clients like Erik and the team at Smart Solutions that open up some really amazing opportunities that I didnt expect to receive as a student.

MoodOff Day was sparked six years ago by the growing concern around smartphone addiction, particularly in young people. This made it even more fitting given the age bracket of most entrants. Through its work with Smart Solutions, the charitable organisation has increased its media presence substantially and continues to grow.

One of two winners on the night, Bianca Melhem, was elated by the award and grateful for the overall experience that came from the collaboration.

Says Melhem: I would like to thank Federico, my Teacher. Without his help and feedback, I wouldnt have been able to create new designs to which he had inspired me to come up with, following a new slogan that resulted in me achieving this award. Thank you, RMIT for this incredible opportunity.

Smart Solutions PR is a specialised brand positioning, personal profiling, business PR full-service marketing firm celebrating its ten-year anniversary in 2019. Moving its headquarter to Melbourne in mid-2016 saw the integration of a publishing and media buying division, bringing about unprecedented growth and continued team expansion, which has resulted in multiple award nominations and industry wins.

Bigalk hopes to continue working with RMIT University in the future: Connecting with RMIT has been really rewarding in its own way. We would love to continue this partnership moving forward.

The award winners not only had the opportunity for their work to be published, but they have also been given the opportunity to pursue an internship at Smart Solutions, which is another significant step towards transitioning from student to industry professional. These pathways are one of the many ways that RMIT University continues to set itself apart from others in their field, especially through initiatives like the Work Integrated Learning Program.

For more information log on to www.Smart-Solutions.com.au.
| BY Ricki Green |

Production has completed this week in Sydney on thriller feature film Intersection, from Symmetry Media and Snorkel Studios. Directed by Samuel Bartlett, it features Matt Doran in his latest Australian work.

Doran is a former cast member of Home & Away and has worked closely with some of the most distinguished directors in acclaimed US productions including Terrence Mallicks Academy-Award nominated The Thin Red Line, and The Matrix and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Doran plays the role of Jake, a charismatic conman who discovers his own son is abducted, and is forced to complete an escalating series of trials to appease his childs kidnapper. This contained narrative is set almost entirely in a vehicle.

The writer-director Samuel Bartlett has been developing the movie for over 2 years, working with Doran closely on the scripting. Bartlett has worked previously with Doran on a short in 2014, with his feature screenplay for Damage Control selected as Best Screenplay out of 7000 at the Page Awards. The short based on the same script, won a Silver Remi at WorldFest Houston, and was in competition at Raindance, among many others.

The producers, James Carr, Sean OReilly and Dean Ginsburg, have partnered with key brand sponsors for the film, with strategies in place to leverage the brands audiences during distribution and generate brand content. Key partners include Renault Australia, exclusively providing one of their flagship vehicles, as well as mens tailoring label InStitchu and camera house Lemac. The producers have financed the film through private investment, with the production run by James Carrs Symmetry Media; a Sydney-based production company working with some of the biggest brands and agencies in advertising.

Carr has previously been sponsored into the Sundance Film Festivals inaugural Ignite talent development program, and won the Screen Producers AIMC Competition, and with his past films winning awards and screening at over 60 international festivals. OReilly, after participating in the Producers Workshop at the Cannes Film Festival, has enjoyed the success of his film Mother, Child after its screening in competition in Melbourne International Film Festival, Flickerfest, and winner of the ATOM Award in category of Best Film.
| BY Ricki Green |

YouTube Music has launched an ambitious campaign, Neighbourhood Sounds, to uncover the artists and sounds that are iconic to Australian neighbourhoods. The campaign was developed by creative agency Bolster.

The campaign, a first for YouTube Music, focuses on bringing local to life through individuals that sit at the intersection between music and culture in 13 neighbourhoods across Australia.

From Newtown, to Fremantle, to Alice Springs, each curator has catalogued a playlist featuring artists that bring their neighbourhoods to life through music. The playlists are available now exclusively through YouTube Music.

Says Mark Wheeler, head of YouTube Marketing, Australia: We listened to Aussies, and heard a resounding call out for more Australian music  from playlist curation to profiling local artists.

This is what Neighbourhood Sounds is all about, giving a platform to the extensive catalogue of brilliant local music we have across the country. We are proud of our local artists, we love Australian music, and we are excited to be opening the world of music in this special way.

Four curators star in short videos that hero their neighbourhood and its distinctive sounds. Directed and produced by Jeff Johnson and Jump Productions in collaboration with creative agency, Bolster, the videos aim to give an authentic glimpse into these iconic Australian communities and how music is woven into the everyday.

The campaign is running across digital, social, and contextual OOH including two Adshel Immerse bus sites that feature an audio enabled panel allowing commuters to listen to songs from local playlists and hand painted murals by local artists in Abbotsford and Newtown. Digital media experimented with the new Immersive Ads format, using 15 second YouTube creative to drive users to the relevant, longer format films.

The campaign, led by Bolster, was a huge partnership between many, including production agency, Jump Productions, media agencies, Essence and PHD, PR agency, History Will Be Kind, and events agency, Sense Events.

Listen to the Neighbourhoods Sounds on YouTube Music.

Client: YouTube Music

Client Marketing Team: Mark Wheeler, Michael Stocks, Rachel Beck, Crispen Wilkins

Client Playlist Programing Team: George Palathingal, Ashlee Carroll, Jeff Black

Creative Agency: Bolster

Creative leads: Anthony Zaccaria & Nick Humphreys

Creative producers: Hugo Dean & Jes Egan

Production agency: Jump Productions

Video Director: Jeff Johnson

DOP: Max Walter

Video producer: Jennie McCartney

Online media agency: Essence

OOH media agency: PHD

PR agency: History Will Be Kind
Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

Prudential Financial's funds arm PGIM is acquiring former Bank of England policymaker Sushil Wadhwani's computer-driven hedge fund.

The London-based quantitative macro-focused investment management firm Wadhwani Asset Management (WAM) will become part of QMA, the quant unit of Prudential's funds arm PGIM.

A press release from the $1 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial said that subject to all regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.

Upon closing, WAM will become part of the QMA business. Wadhwani, who has previously worked at Goldman Sachs and hedge funds Tudor and Caxton, will continue as chief investment officer.

The acquisition will bolster QMA's global build-out efforts, and QMA expects to invest significantly in further developing the WAM business. QMA managed $128.1 billion as of September 30, 2018.

Andrew Dyson, chief executive officer and chairman of QMA. "Wadhwani Asset Management has significant experience and pedigree in systematic and quantitative macro investing, alongside Sushil's sterling reputation as an economist, investor, and academic."

"QMA has grown rapidly outside the U.S. over the past 12 months, and this acquisition is yet another milestone, as we continue to develop our global expansion strategy," said Dyson. "In addition to extending QMA's product set, this deal offers an appealing combination of access to complementary......................

To view our full article Click here
Regenerative Medicine Market Size 2023 by Top Key Players - NuVasive, Vericel Corporation, Osiris therapeutics, Stryker Corporation, Cook Biotech Incorporated, Organogenesis Inc

https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/regenerative-medicine-market/report-sample

https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/regenerative-medicine-market

https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=regenerative-medicine-market

https://www.psmarketresearch.com

Regenerative medicine is a comparatively new area of science that involves the restoration of damaged cells, tissues or organs by applying cell therapy, tissue engineering, immunotherapy or gene therapy techniques. On contrary to the present clinical therapeutics that act on slowing the disease progression or relieve symptoms, regenerative medication has a promising therapeutic approach of restoring the function and structure of damaged organs and tissues. The global regenerative medicine market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period (20172023), due to the increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, orthopaedic injuries, genetic disorders, growing aging population, increasing government funding along with the private funding in the research & development of regenerative medicines with the advancement in nanotechnology based drug delivery system, and moderate healthcare reforms. Currently, major breakthrough in the area is the development of tissue engineered trachea, transplantation of retinal pigment differentiated by stem cell based therapy to treat age-related macular degeneration. However, recently research labs have started to focus on regenerating solid organs such as heart, kidney, lungs and other organs to curb the problems associated with organ transplantation.Browse report sample at:The rise in number of regulatory approvals of regenerative medications is expected to further drive the regenerative medicine market during the forecast period. Moreover, there has been strategic partnership between many companies that has encouraged increased involvement of these companies in the global market. Improvised drug delivery systems for regenerative medicines is also expected to contribute to the growth of the global market.Technological innovations in the area of stem cell therapy and tissue engineering has led to rapid growth of the regenerative medicine market size. The key factors which drive the growth of the global market include increase in the demand of orthopaedic surgeries, government healthcare reforms in certain countries such as the U.S. and Canada, aging population, rise in chronic diseases, increasing prevalence of bone and joint diseases, and innovations in nanotechnology that aids in drug delivery mechanism.Browse report at:However, stringent regulations, ethical issues, and the risk of product failure and their recall are the key barriers for the growth of the regenerative medicine market. The cost of regenerative medicine treatment is significantly high and it is less effective in case of geriatric patients, which hinders the growth of the global market to some extent.Globally, North America is the largest market for regenerative medicine followed by Europe. The largest regenerative medicine market size of North America is attributed to the high rate of incidence of cardiac disorders, autoimmune diseases, and increasing prevalence of cancer patients among the American population. Additionally, the involvement of government organization for funding in the area of R&D of regenerative medicines, technological advancement and other policies are driving the growth of the North American market.Pre-Purchase Inquiry at:Key companies are acquiring other companies to strengthen their regenerative medicine market share. For instance, in August 2016, Medtronic Inc. had acquired Heart Ware International, Inc., that offers less-invasive, miniaturized, mechanical circulatory support (MCS) techniques as an advanced heart failure treatment. This acquisition was aimed at increasing the working efficiency of the company and to broaden its product portfolio.Some of the other key players operating in the global market include Acelity L.P. Inc., NuVasive Inc., Vericel Corporation, Osiris therapeutics Inc., Integra Lifesciences Corporation, Stryker Corporation, Cook Biotech Incorporated, Organogenesis Inc., and Japan Tissue Engineering Co. Ltd.About P&S IntelligenceP&S Intelligence, a brand of P&S Market Research, is a provider of market research and consulting services catering to the market information needs of burgeoning industries across the world. Providing the plinth of market intelligence, P&S as an enterprising research and consulting company, believes in providing thorough landscape analyses on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness.Contact:P&S IntelligenceToll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)International: +1-347-960-6455Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Water Softener Market Size, Revenue, Trend & Regional Forecast 2018-2024 By Top Players - Culligan International, EcoWater Systems LLC, Kinetico Incorporated, Pentair, Morton Salt, Whirlpool Corporation, 3M

Water Softener Market

https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2887

https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2887

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/water-softener-market

www.gminsights.com

Global salt free water softener market is anticipated to exceed USD 2 billion in projected timeline owing to its extensive consumption in the U.S. There is no electrical valve required in salt-free softener as system operates as a conditioner and do not captures anything, thus eliminating need to purge minerals. Soft water from this system results in less soap consumption and brighter laundry, which is anticipated to stimulate product demand.Global water softener market share is competitive and moderately consolidated with key industry precipitants includes, Culligan International Company, General Electric Company, Pentair, Whirlpool, Honeywell International and 3M. Increasing consumption of soft water has encouraged sellers to invest intensely in R&D for the product. Companies are spending more on product design, increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impacts.Request for a Sample copy of this Report @Water Softener Market size is set to surpass USD 10 billion by 2024. Intensifying demand for soft water owing to growing industrialization and urbanization may expand water softener market growth by 2024. Growing penetration of multinational brands along with its features including high effectiveness in decreasing formation of scale in boilers, pipes and tanks are likely to further propel product demand. This equipment improves product lifespan of water using appliances by removing salts and minerals, which can damage product quality. Growing customer spending on water treatment equipment supported by increasing contamination issues will propel product demand.Supporting government regulation in Europe and Asia pacific reinforced by R&D activities on water softener manufacturing will promote product demand. Additionally, rising industrial sector and manufacturing industries may fuel water softener demand owing to application of soft water in steam generation, product manufacturing and cleaning.- Water Softener Market, By Product Salt Based Salt Free- Water Softener Industry, By Application Residentialo Single Familyo Multi Family Commercialo Office Buildingso Hotel/Restaurantso Laundrieso Hospital & Healthcareo Others Industrialo Food Processing unito Textileo Chemicalo Oil & Gaso Refinerieso OthersMake an inquiry for purchasing this report @Global water softener market size of 120,000 grain from office building application is poised to observe gains of over by 4% 2024. Increase in consumer health consciousness has led to rise in demand for healthy and safe drinking water which is likely spur product demand.Water softener in home decreases greenhouse gases, reduce chlorine content and removes odor with good efficiency is likely to augment product demand. Water appliances use less energy and last longer by using softener reduces carbon footprint and preserving resources for a longer span of time, thereby driving market size.This equipment is partially banned in 34 states worldwide due its contamination in ground water, manufacturer needs to take legal help from national Water Quality Association to litigate against local laws, which is likely to hamper industry profitability and addon additional compliance cost, thereby affecting water softener market price trends.Browse Complete Report Summary @UK salt-based water softener market size in 900,000 grain from hotel/restaurants is likely to surpass USD 3 million due to its usage in removing lime scale on toilets, tile and faucets. It eliminates scale causing minerals in water, subsequently resulting in cleaner fittings and tiles, which may propel product demand.China water softener demand in 1200,000 grain from laundries units is projected to witness gains of up to 7%. Fabric quality is adversely affected along with high amount of detergent is required when hard water is used thus, softener is needed for both cleaning and washing applications. Softening equipment is used in this industry to maintain quality, easy cleaning of fabrics and also reduces the amount of detergent required, which may boost market growth.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 Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:
Aseptic Paper Packaging Market Research 2017-2025 | Key Players  Tetra Pak International S.A., Refresco Gerber N.V., Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Nampak Ltd., SIG Combibloc Obeikan (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd.etc

https://www.xploremr.com/connectus/sample/138

https://www.xploremr.com/cart/reports/buynow/138

https://www.xploremr.com/report/138/aseptic-paper-packaging-market

Global Aseptic Paper Packaging Market: OverviewThis report provides forecast and analysis of the aseptic paper packaging market on global level. It provides actual data of 2016 along with estimated data of 2017, and forecast data up to 2025 in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) and volume (Tonnes).The report also includes macroeconomic indicators along with an outlook on global aseptic paper packaging market consumption pattern across the globe.It includes drivers and restraints of the global aseptic paper packaging market and their impact on each region during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of current issues with end users and opportunities for aseptic paper packaging market manufacturers. It also includes value chain analysis.Enter your information below to receive a free sample copy of this report @In order to provide users of this report with comprehensive view of the market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players with their SWOT analysis and strategy overview.The dashboard provides detailed comparison of Global Aseptic Paper Packaging Market manufacturers on parameters such as operating margin, total revenue, product portfolio, and what we call innovation scale. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis by paper type, thickness type, packaging structure type, packaging type, end-use and region.Global Aseptic Paper Packaging Market: SegmentationThe report includes consumption of aseptic paper packaging market and the revenue generated from sales of aseptic paper packaging market across the globe and key countries. By paper type, aseptic paper packaging market is segmented into bleached and coated unbleached paperboard.By thickness type, aseptic paper packaging market is segmented into less than 240um, 240 to 260um, 260 to 280um and more than 280um. By packaging structure type, aseptic paper packaging market is segmented into 3 Layer, 4 Layer, 6 Layer, Others.By packaging type, aseptic paper packaging market is segmented into flat top, gable top and others. By end use type, aseptic paper packaging market is segmented into dairy products and beverages. Dairy products is further segmented into milk and yogurt. Beverages type is further segmented into fruit juice, carbonated and alcoholic.Buy Now Full Report @Global Aseptic Paper Packaging Market: Research MethodologiesMarket numbers have been estimated based on extensive secondary and primary research, average pricing of aseptic paper packaging market by paper type and the revenue is derived through regional pricing trends. Market size and forecast for each segment have been provided in the context of global and regional markets. The aseptic paper packaging market has been analyzed based on expected demand.Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are average regional prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional aseptic paper packaging market manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors.All key end users have been considered and potential applications have been estimated on the basis of secondary sources and feedback from primary respondents. Country demand patterns have been considered while estimating the market for various end users of aseptic paper packaging market in the different regions.Bottom-up approach has been used to estimate the Aseptic Paper Packaging Market by regions. Global market numbers by paper type, thickness type, packaging structure type, packaging type, end-use have been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of each countrys demand. The same has also been validated from top-down approach.Company-level market share has been derived on the basis of revenues reported by key manufacturers. The market has been forecast based on constant currency rates.A number of primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include Factiva, FAO, Packaging Digest, and Hoovers, and company annual reports and publications.Report overview @Global Aseptic Paper Packaging Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report provides detailed competitive and company profiles of key participants operating in the Global market. Key Players of the global aseptic paper packaging market are Tetra Pak International S.A., Refresco Gerber N.V., Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Nampak Ltd., SIG Combibloc Obeikan (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Mondi Ltd., Polyoak Packaging Group (Pty) Ltd., Amcor Limited, Elopak SA, IPI s.r.l., Uflex Ltd., Ducart Group, Weyerhaeuser Company, Evergreen Packaging Inc., Clearwater Paper Corporation, TidePak Aseptic Packaging Material Co. Ltd., Greatview Aseptic Packaging Co., Ltd., Gammagroup Industrieguter Handelsges. mbH, Lami Packaging Co. Ltd.About UsXploreMR is one of the worlds leading resellers of high-quality market research reports. We feature in-depth reports from some of the worlds most reputed market research companies and international organizations. We serve across a broad spectrum  from Fortune 500 to small and medium businesses. Our clients trust us for our unwavering focus onquality and affordability. We believe high price should not be a bottleneck for organizations looking to gain access to quality information.Contact UsXploreMR111 North Market Street, Suite 300San Jose, CA 95113, United StatesTel: +1-669-284-0108Email: sales@xploremr.com
Poliomyelitis Vaccine Market To Amplify by Top Emerging Trends, SWOT and Competitive Analysis, Growth Opportunities, Key Manufactures

InForGrowth

https://inforgrowth.com/samplerequest/r/27411/global-poliomyelitis-vaccine-market-insights-f

https://inforgrowth.com/r/27411/global-poliomyelitis-vaccine-market-insights-f

https://inforgrowth.com/customizationrequest/r/27411/global-poliomyelitis-vaccine-market-insights-f

Latest report on Global Poliomyelitis Vaccine Market provides Emerging Trends, CAGR, SWOT Analysis, its Size, Market Share, Growth Potential, Opportunities, Drivers, Industry-Specific Challenges and Risks, Expansions, Agreements, New Product Launches, and Acquisitions.This research report categorizes the global Poliomyelitis Vaccine market by players/brands, region, Type and Application. This report also studies the global market status, competition landscape, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.Request to Get Sample PDF Pages of Global Poliomyelitis Vaccine Market, atThe following Key Players are covered in this report: GSK, Sanofi-Pasteur, Merck, Crucell, China National Biotech Group, Eli LillyThe Type of Poliomyelitis Vaccine are: Poliomyelitis Vaccine , Poliomyelitis Vaccine , Poliomyelitis Vaccine , Oral Poliomyelitis VaccineThe Applications of Poliomyelitis Vaccine are: VAPP, VDPVPoliomyelitis Vaccine are spread across in the region of: North America - United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific - China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe - Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Russia, Central & South America  Brazil and more.Find more information about this reportMajor Topics Covering in Table of Contents:1. Study Coverage2. Executive Summary3. Breakdown Data by Manufacturers4. Breakdown Data by Product5. Breakdown Data by Application6. North America7. Europe8. Asia Pacific9. Central & South America10. Middle East and Africa11. Company Profiles12. Future Forecast13. Market Opportunities, Challenges, Risks and Influences Factors Analysis14. Value Chain and Sales Channels Analysis15. Research Findings and Conclusion16. AppendixWith the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Talk to Analyst to know more about this reportAbout InForGrowth:We are a market-intelligence company formed with the objective of providing clients access to the most relevant and accurate research content for their growth needs. At InForGrowth, we understand Research requirements and help a client in taking informed business critical decisions. Given the complexities and interdependencies of market-intelligence, there is always more than one source to explore and arrive at the right answer. Through our smart search feature and our reliable & trusted publishing partners, we are paving way for a more simplified and relevant research.For all your Research needs, reach out to us at:Address: 6400 Village Pkwy suite # 104, Dublin, CA 94568, USAEmail: info@inforgrowth.comPhone: +1-909-329-2808 / +44-203-743-1890
Anti-body Coupled T Receptor Therapy Market Growth and Revenue Opportunies By Global Key Vendors Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Unum Therapeutics

Global Anti-body Coupled T Receptor Therapy Market

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1600

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1600

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/talk-to-analyst/1600

Anti-body coupled T receptor (ACTR) therapy is kind of immunotherapy used to treat cancer in which bodys own immune response is utilized to act on the cancerous cell. Anti-body coupled T receptor therapy utilizes T cells from the body, engineered it to express specific T cell receptor, multiplying it in the lab and then administering it along with targeting antibodies. The advantage in this approach is, that these T cells do not attack normal antigens from blood circulation but attack only antigens attached to the cancerous cells. This is possible as tumor-specific monoclonal antibodies are given together with ACTR T cells. ACTR therapy is cost-effective as it can be used in various cancer therapy. Also, greater therapeutic benefit with minimum side effects can be possible by adjusting the amount of targeting antibody which is essential for activation of the ACTR T cells.Download PDF Brochure of Research Report @Rising incidence of cancer and new products to be launched in future to drive the market for antibody coupled T receptor therapy market.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is one of the leading non-communicable disease and the second leading cause of death globally. As reported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2012, there were 14.1 million new cases, 8.8 million deaths and 32.6 million people living with cancer worldwide. As per 2017 report by Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the U.S. alone is expected to have a prevalence of 8,16,834 and 80,500 annual new cases of lymphoma. Therefore, such a high number of cancer patient would propel the antibody coupled T receptor therapy market.ACTR therapy is better in its approach than other adoptive T cell transfer technologies such as CAR-T cell therapy. CAR-T therapy products such as Kymriah (Novartis AG) or Yescarta (Gilead Lifescience, Inc.) has side effects such as cytokine release syndrome, and neurological toxicity as discussed in their respective product literatures and other studies. ACTR therapy being specific in its action do not produce such side effects. This advantage would drive the anti-body coupled T receptor therapy market in future. Also CAR-T therapy has application in specific type of cancer such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, multiple myeloma whereas ACTR therapy has potential use even in solid tumorous cancer such as breast cancer, and neuroblastoma.Request For Customization of Research Report @Cost of product can be a major concern. Kymriah which is a CAR-T therapy costs approximately US$ 4,75,000 per patient. Considering such high cost for CAR-T therapy it can be assumed that anti-body coupled T receptor therapy can also costs on similar line as it works in same segment of immuno oncology, which may limit the potential growth of anti-body coupled T receptor therapy market.Strategic merger and acquisition amongst the companies to expand the market for anti-body coupled T receptor therapy.Unum Therapeutics is currently the only company that is working actively in anti-body coupled T receptor therapy. It has several product in its pipeline, and they vary based on the technology used for expression of receptor in patients T cell such as mRNA or viral vector. There is also combination of different monoclonal antibodies to be used for coupling such as rituximab, and trastuzumab. In phase one clinical trial, rituximab coupled t receptor therapy found to produce desired therapeutic effects. Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Unum Therapeutics, Inc. in 2015 entered into a strategic collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize novel antibody-coupled T-cell receptor (ACTR) therapies for cancer. This collaboration would enable study of different combination of the tumor-specific monoclonal antibodies with T receptor and cater to patient specific treatment needs.Do You Have Specific Requirement? Ask Our Experts @About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Aerogel Market By Product Type Silica, Polymer, Carbon By Forms Type Monolith, Blanket, Article, Panel Form

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/aerogel-market

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-927

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-927

The global aerogel market is on the rise due to increased applications of aerogel in industries such as oil & gas, marine, automotive, and aerospace. Aerogel is an extremely low density solid material, mainly composed of air, and is manufactured using conventional gel. Global aerogel market consists of material exhibiting numerous properties, making it suitable for the applications in aforementioned industries. These properties include thermal & acoustic damping, low density, high degree of porosity and other desired properties in various applications industries. In addition to the abundant uses of aerogel in industrial applications, one of the key reasons for increasing global aerogel market is due to the fact that the material is being witnessed as a good replacement for thermal insulation materials, since it is providing cost competitiveness to other high performance thermal insulating materials.Aerogel Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe increasing demand of aerogels by the end users such as oil & gas, automotive, marine & aerospace , etc. are driving the global aerogel market. Growing globalization leading to an increase in investments, new establishments for construction and properties of aerogel such as high insulation, being cheap and abundant availability of the raw material are some of the factors driving the growth of global aerogel market. High production cost is the major challenging factor for the growth of global aerogel market.Get Full Report Now @Aerogel Market: SegmentationIn terms of application industry, the global aerogel market is segmented into key applications:Oil & gasMarine & aerospacePerformance coatingsLVHSDay-lightingAutomotiveConstructionWithin these applications, the oil & gas industry accounts for a leading share in the global aerogel market. Among other applications, wherein significant growth is likely to be witnessed is automotive and construction applications, wherein thermal insulation properties of aerogel material are being exploited.On the basis of product types, the global aerogel market is can be segmented into:SilicaPolymerCarbonRequest to Browse Report Sample @These different types of aerogel are being utilized in the global marketplace, wherein polymer type of aerogel is expected to witness the highest growth in coming years. In terms of market share, the global aerogel market has been dominated by silica type aerogel, which is likely to continue its dominance through the forecast period as well.On the basis of forms, the global aerogel market has been segmented into:MonolithBlanketArticlePanel formThe global aerogel market is dominated by blanket form of aerogel, which is widely used for thermal insulation applications across the industries. The global aerogel market is expected to witness the tremendous growth in particle form of aerogel, which is expected to contribute towards the growth in demand for aerogel in global aerogel market during the forecast period.On the basis of processing segment, the global aerogel market has also been segmented into:Virgin processedFabricatedIn terms of processing, within the global aerogel market, virgin aerogel is witnessed to be the dominating processing segment. This is due to the fact that virgin aerogel is free from composites and additives, which enables its applications in research & development activities. Further virgin aerogel is accompanied with high commercial availability in the global aerogel market.Aerogel Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global aerogel market has witnessed increased growth in North American region, which accounts for a leading share in the global aerogel market. Followed by North America, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region accounts for the second leading regions in terms of aerogel consumption across the globe, which is due to high amount of consumption in China. However, the European market is likely to be the leading region, in terms of annual growth, in years to come.Aerogel Market: Key PlayersThe global aerogel market is dominated by major players such as Cabot Corporation, Aerogel Technologies LLC, Aspen Aerogels, Inc. and BASF SE, to name a few.Request to View TOC @ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705
Capacitive Stylus Market Details Analysis & Focusing on Key Leaders Hunt wave Industry, ACE pen Ltd., Hanns Touch Solution, A&L manufacturing corp., DIY network, Wesco enterprises Ltd. and Box wave corp.

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/893

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/capacitive-stylus-market-893

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/press-release/capacitive-stylus-industry

Global Capacitive Stylus Market Research Report by Type (Fine Tip, Art Capacitive Stylus), Application (Monitors, Cellular Handsets, Portable Media Devices)  Forecast Till 2023Key PlayersHunt wave Industry, ACE pen Ltd., Hanns Touch Solution, A&L manufacturing corp., DIY network, Wesco enterprises Ltd. and Box wave corp. are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global Capacitive Stylus Market.Get Sample Report @Capacitive Stylus Global Market  OverviewThe Global Market of Capacitive Stylus is growing rapidly mainly due to the rising market penetration of smart phones. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of Capacitive Stylus is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The global Capacitive Stylus Market is anticipated to accrete pervasively by 2023, with a whooping CAGR between 2018 and 2023.The Capacitive Stylus Market is predominantly driven by the growing demand, sales and market penetration of smart phones. On the other hand, factors such as growing competition, and high power consumption are likely to pose a challenge to the market growth of Capacitive Stylus Market.Most of the Smart Phone, Tablets and connected devices come with the capacitive touch screens. This extraordinary technology allows its user to interact with the screen with the use of fingers. However this interface becomes a messy affair when fingers leave traces of finger prints on the screen. Also, some users prefer to pattern lock their devices, in such cases finger interface is considered risky, as device no more remains password protected when the finger trails reveal the gatekeeper. A Capacitive Stylus comes to an aid where the pattern locks are meant to be a protective means such as  a Safe (for cash or valuables), huge Data stores where one can find organizational secretes and data, and smart phones of course.Numerous types of Capacitive Stylus are available in the market that work by using an array of sensors to monitor the electrostatic field around the screen. Electrical capacitance of the part of the screen changes when the finger touches the screen. Voltage fluctuation of multiple locations get detected. The microprocessor captures, filters, and analyzes the data to calculate and coordinate with the part where the touch took place.Capacitive Stylus are usually low cost, work on most capacitive touch screen devices and useful for general purpose such as basic drawing or for handwritten notes. These economy models need not to be powered and work right out of the package. On the other hand, expensive styluses are exclusively designed for specific device line, including customized features for those devices for example Google Pixel book Pen integrates with the Google Assistant software to search the web for words or images circled on the screen of the Pixel book. Apple Pencil, and Microsoft Surface Pen are other kinds of expensive Capacitive Stylus which sometimes require their own battery power or Bluetooth pairing with a designated device.Competitive AnalysisCharacterized by the presence of several major well-established players, the global Market of Capacitive Stylus appears to be highly fragmented and competitive. Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and technology launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position. Strategic partnerships between Key players support the growth and expansion plans of the key players during the forecast period. The Key players operating in the market compete based on pricing, technology, reputation and services.Get Report Details @SegmentsCapacitive Stylus Market can be segmented in to 3 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation By Type: Comprises Art, Fine Tip stylus and other.Segmentation By Applications: Comprises Monitors, Portable media devices, Cellular handset and other.Segmentation By Regions: Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.Key Findings In February, Wacom Co., Ltd., a Japanese Company specialized in tablets released an active capacitive bamboo Tip stylus which is of fine tip type. Moleskine, an Italian manufacturer, and product designer launched new smartpen in February 2018 called pen+Eclipse.Regional AnalysisAsia-Pacific dominated the Global Capacitive Stylus Market with the largest market share due to growing presence of smartphone and tablets manufacturers in the region, and therefore accounting for astronomical amounts and is expected to grow further over its previous growth records by 2023. Capacitive Stylus Market in North America is expected to grow at a substantial CAGR during 2018 to 2023. The European market for Capacitive Stylus Market is expected to grow at a considerable CAGR (2018-2023).Industry News:April 2018  Microsoft introduced Windows Ink to support Stylus Pens. Microsoft, with the Windows Ink and Surface Pen enabled users to do something completely new, allowing them to cut loose the restraining chains of the keyboard and mouse. The invention - Windows Ink made stylus support an essential part of Windows 10, encouraging to many computer makers to ship digital pens. This although, puzzled users initially with its hybrid Surface tablets, went ahead proving to be Microsofts perceptive move prompting to Apple even to compete with the iPad Pro'sPencil.Intended Audience Original Equipment Manufacturers Mobile Vendors System Integrators Software integrators Touchscreen vendors Raw material suppliersTABLE OF CONTENTS1 Executive Summary2 Scope Of The Report2.1 Market Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objectives2.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations2.3 Markets Structure3 Market Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Secondary Research3.3 Primary Research3.4 Forecast Model4 Market LandscapeContinued.Get More Information @LIST OF TABLESTable 1 Global Capacitive Stylus Market: By Region, 2018-2023Table 2 North America Capacitive Stylus Market: By Country, 2018-2023Table 3 Europe Capacitive Stylus Market: By Country, 2018-2023Table 4 Asia Pacific Capacitive Stylus Market: By Country, 2018-2023Table 5 The Middle East & Africa Capacitive Stylus Market: By Country, 2018-2023ContinuedLIST OF FIGURESFIGURE 1 Global Capacitive Stylus Market SegmentationFIGURE 2 Forecast MethodologyFIGURE 3 Five Forces Analysis Of Global Capacitive Stylus MarketFIGURE 4 Value Chain Of Global Capacitive Stylus MarketFIGURE 5 Share Of Global Capacitive Stylus Market In 2018, By Country (In %)ContinuedAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst membersContact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Intelligent Pigging Market  Major Technology Giants in Buzz Again | Baker Hughes, Rosen Group, NDT Global

Intelligent Pigging Market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1050565-global-intelligent-pigging-market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1050565-global-intelligent-pigging-market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1050565-global-intelligent-pigging-market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1050565

https://www.linkedin.com/company/13388569/

https://www.facebook.com/htfmarketintelligence/

https://twitter.com/htfmarketreport

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NidhiBhawsar-SEO_Expert?rel=author

Global Intelligent Pigging Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 is latest research study released by HTF MI evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, risk side analysis, and leveraged with strategic and tactical decision-making support. The study provides information on market trends and development, drivers, capacities, technologies, and on the changing capital structure of the Global Intelligent Pigging Market. Some of the key players profiled in the study are T.D. Williamson, Baker Hughes, Rosen Group, NDT Global, Enduro Pipeline Services, Intertek Group, Applus, Lin Scan, Dacon Inspection Services, Onstream Pipeline Inspection, SGS SA, A.Hak Industrial Services, Quest Integrity Group, Cdria Pipeline Services, Cokebusters, Romstar, Halfwave As, Penspen, Rouge Pipeline & Process Services & Corrosion Control Engineering.Intelligent Pigging is an inspection technique whereby an inspection probe, often referred to as a smart pig, is propelled through a pipeline while gathering important data, such as the presence and location of corrosion or other irregularities on the inner walls of the pipe.North America is expected to hold largest market share by 2023. The intelligent pigging market for the oil & gas industry is expected to have potential opportunities in this region. North America region has some major players from the oil & gas industry and prominent users of inline inspection services for intelligent pigging. Natural gas and petroleum are the 2 biggest sources of energy in the US. North America is investing significantly in oil and gas pipeline projects to fulfill the growing demand for oil and gas.In 2017, the global Intelligent Pigging market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.Intelligent Pigging Market Overview:If you are involved in the Intelligent Pigging industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. Its vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Metal Loss/Corrosion Detection, Geometry Measurement & Bend Detection & Crack & Leak Detection, , Magnetic Flux Leakage, Ultrasonic & Caliper and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.Enquire for customization in Report @Intelligent Pigging Market: Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2023Research study is to define market sizes of various segments & countries in previous years and to forecast the values to the next 5-8 years. The report is designed to comprise each qualitative and quantitative elements of the industry facts including: market share, market size (value and volume 2012-17, and forecast to 2023) with admire to each of the areas and countries concerned inside the examination. Furthermore, the report additionally caters the detailed statistics about the vital elements which includes drivers & restraining factors which will define the future growth of the market.Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:Historical year  2013-2017Base year  2018Forecast period**  2018 to 2023 [** unless otherwise stated]Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players.The designated segments and sub-section of the market are explained below:The Study is segmented by following Product Type: , Magnetic Flux Leakage, Ultrasonic & CaliperMajor applications/end-users industry are as follows: Metal Loss/Corrosion Detection, Geometry Measurement & Bend Detection & Crack & Leak DetectionSome of the key Manufacturers Involved in the Market are  T.D. Williamson, Baker Hughes, Rosen Group, NDT Global, Enduro Pipeline Services, Intertek Group, Applus, Lin Scan, Dacon Inspection Services, Onstream Pipeline Inspection, SGS SA, A.Hak Industrial Services, Quest Integrity Group, Cdria Pipeline Services, Cokebusters, Romstar, Halfwave As, Penspen, Rouge Pipeline & Process Services & Corrosion Control EngineeringYou can get free access to samples from the report here:For each region, market size and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies. If opting for the Global version of Intelligent Pigging Market analysis is provided for major regions as follows: North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Key Answers Captured in Study areWhich geography would have better demand for product/services?What are the strategies adopted by big players in the regional market?Which country would see the steep rise in CAGR & year-on-year (Y-O-Y) growth?What is the current & expected market size in next five years?What is the market feasibility for long term investment?What opportunity the country would offer for existing and new players in the Intelligent Pigging market?What is risk involved for suppliers in the geography?What factors would drive the demand for the product/service in near future?What is the impact analysis of various factors in the Global Intelligent Pigging market growth?What are the recent trends in the regional market and how successful they are?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Intelligent Pigging market.Chapter 1, About Executive Summary to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Global Intelligent Pigging market, Applications [Metal Loss/Corrosion Detection, Geometry Measurement & Bend Detection & Crack & Leak Detection], Market Segment by Regions United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India;Chapter 2, objective of the study.Chapter 3, to display Research methodology and techniques.Chapter 4 and 5, to show the Overall Market Analysis, segmentation analysis, characteristics;Chapter 6 and 7, to show the Market size, share and forecast; Five forces analysis (bargaining Power of buyers/suppliers), Threats to new entrants and market condition;Chapter 8 and 9, to show analysis by regional segmentation[United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India ], comparison, leading countries and opportunities; Regional Marketing Type Analysis, Supply Chain AnalysisChapter 10, focus on identifying the key industry influencers, overview of decision framework accumulated through Industry experts and strategic decision makers;Chapter 11 and 12, Market Trend Analysis, Drivers, Challenges by consumer behaviour, Marketing Channels and demand & supply.Chapter 13 and 14, describe about the vendor landscape (classification and Market Positioning)Chapter 15, deals with Global Intelligent Pigging Market sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia or Oceania [Australia and New Zealand].HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.comConnect with us at
DowDupont (US), Evonik (Germany), Shin-Etsu (Japan), Momentive Performance Materials (US), and Elkem (Norway) are the Renowned Players in Automotive Silicone Market - Report by MarketsandMarkets

Automotive Silicone Market, automotive silicone sealant, automotive silicone adhesive, automotive silicone spray, rtv silicone

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/automotive-silicone-market-156048997.html

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=156048997

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=156048997

According to recent research "Automotive Silicone Market by Type (Elastomers, Gels, Resins, Fluids), Application (Interior & Exterior, Engines, Electrical), and Region (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, The automotive silicone market is projected to grow from USD 2.37 billion in 2018 to USD 3.33 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2018 to 2023. The growth of the market can be attributed to the increasing demand for automotive silicone in various applications in emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil, and others. Increasing adoption of strategies such as new product launches and agreements & joint ventures by players operating in the market is also fueling the market.Browse 64 market data Tables and 30 Figures spread through 118 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Automotive Silicone Market - Global Forecast to 2023"Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.The automotive silicone market is projected to reach USD 3.33 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2018 to 2023. Properties such as high resistance to compression set, high tensile strength, flexibility, and high electrical insulation properties make automotive silicone ideal to be used in various automotive applications. Major applications of automotive silicone include exterior & interior, engine components, electrical, and others.A majority of the demand for the automotive silicone is driven by the exterior & interior applications. Electrical is estimated to be the fastest growing application for automotive silicone market in 2023. Automotive silicone is widely used in improving the processing and efficiency of automotive components, owing to its properties, such as high resistance to compression set and excellent electrical insulation. The use of silicone in interior & exterior application enhances and increases the performance and durability of automotive components. It also contributes to weight reductions and lower emissions in automotive vehicles.Download PDF Brochure@APAC is estimated to lead the automotive silicone market, in terms of value and volume during the forecast period. Countries in the region, such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea are witnessing an increase in the adoption of automotive silicone in the automotive components, which will, in turn, enhance the growth of automotive silicone market. The demand for automotive silicone in APAC is high, due to its increasing use in exterior & interior, electrical, and engines applications. India is projected to be the fastest-growing market for automotive silicone in APAC.Electrical is expected to be the fastest-growing application segment of the automotive silicone market during the forecast period. Automotive silicone possesses excellent dielectric properties as well as high electrical insulation which make it ideal for use in applications such as power transmission, damping & insulation, ignition cables, spark plug boots, battery seals, connectors, and others.Automotive silicone is appropriate and well-suited for numerous applications as it is used to improve the quality and durability of automotive components. They are used in a variety of applications ranging from exhaust hangers, headlamps, hoses, gaskets, radiator seals, ignition cables, and others in the automotive industry.Request Sample@Major players such as DowDupont (US), Evonik (Germany), Shin-Etsu (Japan), Momentive Performance Materials (US), and Elkem (Norway) have adopted development strategies such as expansions, agreements & collaborations, and new product development to achieve growth in the automotive silicone market.MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.MarketsandMarketss flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledgestore" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.Mr. Shelly SinghMarketsandMarkets INC.630 Dundee RoadSuite 430Northbrook, IL 60062USA: 1-888-600-6441newsletter@marketsandmarkets.com
Organic Cosmetic Ingredients Market 2018 Global Market Key Players Burts Bees, Amway, Aubrey Organics, LOreal, Kiehls

Global Organic Cosmetic Ingredients Market Manufacturers, Global Organic Cosmetic Ingredients Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3513917-global-organic-cosmetic-ingredients-market-study-2015-2025

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3513917-global-organic-cosmetic-ingredients-market-study-2015-2025

Global Organic Cosmetic Ingredients MarketWiseGuyReports.com Global Organic Cosmetic Ingredients Market 2018: Global Analysis, Industry Size, Share, Trends, Application Analysis and Growth Opportunities Forecast to 2025 report has been added to its Research Database.Description:-The global Organic Cosmetic Ingredients market will reach xxx Million USD in 2018 and with a CAGR if xx% between2019-2025.Product Type Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Major Company of Product Type etc.):Plant ExtractsProteinsVitaminsWaxes (Shea Butter, Coconut, Groundnut, Palm, and Palm Kernel Oil)Hickening AgentsAdditivesDemand Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Consumer Distribution):Hair CareSkin CareFragranceOralSoapOthersRequest a Sample Report@Company Coverage (Sales data, Main Products & Services etc.):Burts BeesAmwayAveda CorpKiehlsNatura CosmeticosOriginsAubrey OrganicsLOrealMajor Region MarketNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East & AfricaTable of Content1 Industry Overview1.1 Organic Cosmetic Ingredients Industry1.1.1 Overview1.1.2 Products of Major Companies1.2 Market Segment1.2.1 Industry Chain1.2.2 Consumer Distribution1.3 Price & Cost Overview2 Organic Cosmetic Ingredients Market by Type2.1 By Type2.1.1 Plant Extracts2.1.2 Proteins2.1.3 Vitamins2.1.4 Waxes (Shea Butter, Coconut, Groundnut, Palm, and Palm Kernel Oil)2.1.5 Hickening Agents2.1.6 Additives2.2 Market Size by Type2.3 Market Forecast by Type3 Global Market Demand3.1 Segment Overview3.1.1 Hair Care3.1.2 Skin Care3.1.3 Fragrance3.1.4 Oral3.1.5 Soap3.1.6 Others3.2 Market Size by Demand3.3 Market Forecast by Demand4 Major Region Market4.1 Global Market Overview4.1.1 Market Size & Growth4.1.2 Market Forecast4.2 Major Region4.2.1 Market Size & Growth4.2.2 Market Forecast5 Major Companies List5.1 Burts Bees (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)5.2 Amway (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)5.3 Aveda Corp (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)5.4 Kiehls (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)5.5 Natura Cosmeticos (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)5.6 Origins (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)5.7 Aubrey Organics (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)5.8 LOreal (Company Profile, Sales Data etc.)6 ConclusionTOC Continued..Browse full report @About Us:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltdsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Maharashtra, Pune  411028
Adhesive Resin Market Analysis 2018 & 2019 : 3M, DuPont, BE&K, Palmer Holland, Eastman Chemical Company, Dow Chemical Company, Alchemie, Bostik, Satyen Polymers Pvt. Ltd., Arizona Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical,

Adhesive Resin Market

https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-adhesive-resin-market

https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-adhesive-resin-market

https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-adhesive-resin-market

https://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-adhesive-resin-market

There are several global sectors which are best in making the best revenue for Adhesive Resin Market in the industry and several top players are dominating the market with the help of their skills and knowledge in the market. This report gives a same amount of knowledge in the Adhesive Resin Market be it definition, classifications, applications, and engagements or be it the top players moves like their recent product launches, their researches, joint ventures, merges, and accusations. By the help of SWOT analysis this report provides with a comprehensive insight about the Adhesive Resin Markets restrains and drivers all the keeping the report systematic and providing with the company profiles.For In-Depth Review | Get Sample Copy@Adhesive Resin Market accounted for USD 13.10 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Market Major Competitors: DuPont, Arizona Chemical, 3M, Yparex B.V., Admer Adhesives Resin, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Exxonmobil Chemical, Eastman Chemical Company, Dow Chemical Company, Evonik Industries, Lawter B.V., Ashland Inc., Georgia-Pacific Chemicals LLC, Alchemie, Bostik, Satyen Polymers Pvt. Ltd., STAR SPECIALTIES POLYMERS PVT. LTD., Polygon Adhesives & Resins Pvt.Ltd., National Adhesives and Polymers, Resins and Plastics Limited, Mechemco, HAC Resins Pvt Ltd.Competitive Landscape:The global adhesive resin market is fragmented with the presence of a large number of players across different regions. These major players have adopted various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.Table Of Contents: Introduction. Research Methodologies. Premium Insights Executive Summary Market Trends. Market Segmentation Adhesive Resin Market -By Product Type Adhesive Resin Market -By Application Adhesive Resin Market -By Type Adhesive Resin Market -By Region Market Key Company Analysis By:o Business overview Of 2018o Adhesive Resin Sales & Forecasto Recent Developments / Strategy Market Driving Factors Market Upcoming Challenges 2019-2025 Market Upcoming Opportunist 2019-2025 Related ReportsGet Detail TOC For More Insight @Major Market Drivers: Growth in construction, transportation, and consumer applications Shift in preference towards hot-melt adhesives Demand for adhesive resins in Asia-Pacific Increase in surgical procedures expected to boost demand for green as well as synthetic adhesive resinsMarket Restraint: Volatility in Raw Material PricesGlobal Adhesive Resin Market Strategic Key Insights For 2019:- Facilitates decision making in view of noteworthy and gauging information also the drivers and limitations available of the market. Report understands the structure of Adhesive Resin trade by distinctive its varied segments and Sub-segments. Research and analyze the Adhesive Resin market standing and future forecast associated with production, Adhesive Resin price structure, consumption, and market historical knowledge. Market split the breakdown knowledge by company, products, end-user, and prime countries, Adhesive Resin market history knowledge from 2015 to 2018, and forecast to 2025. Analysis of Adhesive Resin Market regarding individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the overall Adhesive Resin Market. Global Adhesive Resin market 2019 Report analyzes competitive expansions like past & future agreements, new product launches, and Industrial acquisition. Research report target the key international Adhesive Resin players to characterize sales volume, Business revenue, growth potential, drivers, SWOT analysis, and development plans in coming years.Make an Inquiry for Discount On this Report@Market Segments:The adhesive resin market is segmented on the basis of product type in to: polyacrylic ester (PAE), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE), synthetic rubber (SBS, CR & SIS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyurethane, epoxy, modified acrylate & methyl methacrylate (MMA), cyanoacrylate and others.The adhesive resin market is segmented on the basis of formulation in to : water-based, solvent-based, hot-melt, reactive, and others.The adhesive resin market is segmented on the basis of application in to : paper & packaging, building & construction, wood-working, transportation, consumer/DIY, leather & footwear, and others.The adhesive resin market is segmented on the basis of geography: North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa.Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Speak To Industry Experts, Request For Details Report@About Us:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-281Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Latest report reveals growth prospect of IT Software and Services Market focusing on top key vendors like IBS Group, Hewlett-Packard Company, LANIT Group, Compulink Group and others

https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=151338

https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=151338

https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=151338

www.researchnreports.com

The IT Software and Services market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of +14 % during the forecast period. Penetration of cloud-based services, technological innovations, software development, new data sources and competitive pressures are the key factors driving the demand for the market. Also Increasing network complexity in organizations is also expected to provide opportunities for expansion.The report thoroughly analyzes the most crucial details of the Global IT Software and Services Market with the help of an in-depth and professional analysis. Described in a precise manner, the report presents complete overview of the market based on the factors that are projected to have a considerable and measurable impact on the markets developmental prospects over the forecast period along with detailed segmentation. The report gives data on the technological progressions that are bound to happen in the upcoming years or are happening as of now. Additionally, the opportunities and challenges faced by the main players leading the Global IT Software and Services Market have been mentioned in the report.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Top Key Vendors in Market:Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, IBM Corporation, IBS Group, Hewlett-Packard Company, Lanit Group, Compulink Group and othersTop manufacturers such as (Key player Names) have been analyzed in the publication primarily based on their commercial enterprise area distribution, gross margin, revenue, ex-factory price, sales, and company profile. So that it will assist to achieve an awesome grip of the global IT Software and Services market, the authors have provided the readers with a definitive conclusion right at the end of the report. Further the detailed segmentation of the market is also mentioned in the reportThe IT Software and Services market is segmented on the basis of Application and region. On the basis of Application, the market is segmented into Governments, Banks, Enterprise and Others. The regions which have been studied in depth are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. An additional regional data of the key geographic segments with respect to IT Software and Services market is explained in detail. This helps gain a better idea about the spread of this particular market in respective regions.The environmental dissection can help regional players determine their accomplishment rate in their regions. A list of leading manufacturers has been given prime value to ensure their strategies are understood in this particular market. Thus, Centered statistical surveying procedures help associations in clearly gaging the most significant stakes in the market that need to the considered for successful decision making.For more Information:Table of Content:Global IT Software and Services Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1: Industry OverviewChapter 2: IT Software and Services International and China Market AnalysisChapter 3: Environment Analysis of IT Software and Services marketChapter 4: Analysis of Revenue by ClassificationsChapter 5: Analysis of Revenue by Regions and ApplicationsChapter 6: Analysis of IT Software and Services Revenue Market Status.Chapter 7: Analysis of IT Software and Services Industry Key ManufacturersChapter 8: Sales Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter 9: Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of IT Software and Services marketChapter 10: Development Trend of IT Software and Services Industry 2017 - 2023Chapter 11: Industry Chain Suppliers of IT Software and Services with Contact InformationChapter 12: New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of IT Software and ServicesChapter 13: Conclusion of the Global IT Software and Services Market Research ReportAsk for discount@About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Where counting on a legitimate board company for your selections will become critical. Research N Reports specializes in enterprise evaluation, marketplace forecasts and as a result getting great reports overlaying all verticals, whether be it gaining angle on modern market situations or being in advance inside the cut throat Global opposition.Contact us:(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com
Medical Technology Market Analysis 2018 | Competitive Strategies and Growth by Top Companies: GE Healthcare, Johnson& Johnson, Medtronic Inc., Roche Diagnostics, Siemens Health Care Diagnostics Inc. et al.

Medical Technology Market

https://www.researchreportsinc.com/sample-request?id=195523

https://www.researchreportsinc.com/check-discount?id=195523

https://researchreportsinc.com/checkout/?add-to-cart=195523&&attribute_pa_choose-license=single-user&&quantity=1

A Medical Technologist is an allied health professional that analyzes and tests body fluids and tissues. This includes blood, urine, CSF, synovial fluid, all types of tissue samples, and almost any type of sample removed from a patient for testing. They are responsible for operating and maintaining complex analyzers that are used in a laboratory and ensuring the laboratory results of each patient are accurate and timely.Get a Sample copy of Medical Technology Report:Full in-depth analysis of the parent market:Medical Technology are generally implemented as software applications. If the system needs to be accessible by more than one operator or user simultaneously the software application is often provided in the form of a server application accessible from several different client systems. An alternative approach is to have multiple synchronized systems.The Research Reports Inc. implement a comprehensive assessment of the Medical Technology and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry validated market data. Medical Technology Market report 2018 provides key statistics on the market status of the Global manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Get Discount on this Report:The global market size of Medical Technology is $XX million in 2017 with XX CAGR from 2013 to 2017, and it is expected to reach $XX million by the end of 2023 with a CAGR of XX% from 2018 to 2023.Key strategies of major players:GE Healthcare, Johnson& Johnson, Medtronic Inc., Roche Diagnostics, Siemens Health Care Diagnostics Inc. et al.We also can offer customized report to fulfill special requirements of our clients.The key countries in each region are taken into consideration as well, such as United States, China, Japan, India, Korea, ASEAN, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, CIS, and Brazil etc.In addition, this report discusses the key drivers influencing market growth, opportunities, the challenges and the risks faced by key players and the market as a whole. It also analyzes key emerging trends and their impact on present and future development.Direct Purchase corporate Report:TABLE OF CONTENTS:Chapter 1 Executive SummaryChapter 2 Abbreviation and AcronymsChapter 3 Preface3.1 Research Scope3.2 Research Methodology3.2.1 Data Collection3.2.2 Data Analysis3.2.3 Data Validation3.3 Research Sources3.3.1 Primary Sources3.3.2 Secondary Sources3.3.3 AssumptionsChapter 4 Market Landscape4.1 Market Overview4.2 Classification/Types4.3 Application/End UsersChapter 5 Market Trend Analysis5.1 Introduction5.2 Drivers5.3 Restraints5.4 Opportunities5.5 ThreatsChapter 6 Industry Chain Analysis6.1 Upstream/Suppliers Analysis6.2 Medical Technology Analysis6.2.1 Technology Analysis6.2.2 Cost Analysis6.2.3 Market Channel Analysis6.3 Downstream Buyers/End UsersChapter 7 Latest Market Dynamics7.1 Latest News7.2 Merger and Acquisition7.3 Planned/Future Project7.4 Policy DynamicsChapter 8 Trading Analysis8.1 Export of Medical Technology by Region8.2 Import of Medical Technology by Region8.3 Balance of TradeChapter 9 Historical and Current Medical Technology Market in North America (2013-2018)9.1 Medical Technology Supply9.2 Medical Technology Demand by End Use9.3 Competition by Players/Suppliers9.4 Type Segmentation and Price9.5 Key Countries AnalysisAnd T.O.C contains more Information.About us:Research Reports Inc. is one of the leading destinations for market research reports across all industries, companies, and technologies. Our repository features an exhaustive list of market research reports from thousands of publishers worldwide.Contact Us:DavidSales Manager,US / Canada Toll Free: +18554192424UK: +4403308087757Email: sales@researchreportsinc.com
System Infrastructure Software 2018 Global Market SWOT Analysis and Opportunities To 2023 | Key Players : EMC Corporation, IBM Corporation, Symantec Corporation, Apple, Microsoft Corporation

System Infrastructure Software Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3519168-global-system-infrastructure-software-market-2018-by-manufacturers

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/3519168-global-system-infrastructure-software-market-2018-by-manufacturers

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=3519168

WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  System Infrastructure Software 2018 Global Market SWOT Analysis and Opportunities To 2023 | Key Players : EMC Corporation, IBM Corporation, Symantec Corporation, Apple, Microsoft Corporation.Description:-System infrastructure software is type of enterprise software or program designed to increase the IT performance of any organization. It provides various solutions to enterprises such as workforce support, business transactions, and internal services & processes.Scope of the Report:Advancements in cloud technologies and virtualization is expected to boost the market. Further, rise in demand of automation and integrated approach in business process is also anticipated to fuel the market. However, high implementation cost and absence of standardized framework is expected to hinder the growth of the market. Moreover, adoption of bring your own device (BYOD) is major opportunity for key players in the system infrastructure software market.The worldwide market for System Infrastructure Software is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly xx% over the next five years, will reach xx million US$ in 2023, from xx million US$ in 2017, according to a new GIR (Global Info Research) study.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis report focuses on the System Infrastructure Software 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.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversEMC CorporationIBM CorporationSymantec CorporationApple Inc.Microsoft CorporationBMC Software Inc.CA TechnologiesDell Inc.Hewlett Packard CoMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversSystem & Network Management SoftwareSecurity SoftwareStorage SoftwareSystem SoftwareMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoBuilding Management SystemCloud IntegrationData Center Infrastructure ManagementIntegrated CommunicationNetwork IntegrationOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global System Infrastructure Software market.Chapter 1, to describe System Infrastructure Software Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of System Infrastructure Software, with sales, revenue, and price of System Infrastructure Software, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of System Infrastructure Software, for each region, from 2013 to 2018;ContinuedEnquiry About Report @Table Of Contents  Major Key Points1 Market Overview1.1 System Infrastructure Software Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 System & Network Management Software1.2.2 Security Software1.2.3 Storage Software1.2.4 System Software1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Building Management System1.3.2 Cloud Integration1.3.3 Data Center Infrastructure Management1.3.4 Integrated Communication1.3.5 Network Integration1.3.6 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 United States Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2013-2023)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 EMC Corporation2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 System Infrastructure Software Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Product A2.1.2.2 Product B2.1.3 EMC Corporation System Infrastructure Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 IBM Corporation2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 System Infrastructure Software Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Product A2.2.2.2 Product B2.2.3 IBM Corporation System Infrastructure Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Symantec Corporation2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 System Infrastructure Software Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Product A2.3.2.2 Product B2.3.3 Symantec Corporation System Infrastructure Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Apple Inc.2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 System Infrastructure Software Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Product A2.4.2.2 Product B2.4.3 Apple Inc. System Infrastructure Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 Microsoft Corporation2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 System Infrastructure Software Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Product A2.5.2.2 Product B2.5.3 Microsoft Corporation System Infrastructure Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 BMC Software Inc.2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 System Infrastructure Software Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Product A2.6.2.2 Product B2.6.3 BMC Software Inc. System Infrastructure Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.7 CA Technologies2.7.1 Business Overview2.7.2 System Infrastructure Software Type and Applications2.7.2.1 Product A2.7.2.2 Product B2.7.3 CA Technologies System Infrastructure Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)ContinuedBuy 1-user PDF @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Sex Cord Gonadal Stromal Tumor Market 2023 Top Key Players are Abbott, Abcam plc, Affymetrix, Inc., Agilent Technologies, Inc., Beckman, Dickinson and Company (BD), Bio SB Inc., BioCurex, BioModa, Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.

Sex Cord Gonadal Stromal Tumor Market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5912

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/sex-cord-gonadal-stromal-tumor-market-5912

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=5912

Market Research Future has added a report titled Sex Cord Gonadal Stromal Tumor Market Research Report  Forecast to 2023 to its offering. The report provides an in-depth analysis of regional data and an accurate projection of the market size and share of the Top 10 market players across the globe.Market ScenarioThe sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor is a rare type of cancer derived from the stromal component of the ovary and testis. This tumor comprises granulosa, thecal cells, and fibrocytes. Sex cord-gonadal stromal tumors are mostly of seven types, namely, granulosa cell tumor, Sertoli cell tumor, thecoma, Leydig cell tumor, gynandroblastoma, Sex Cord Tumor with Annular Tubules (SCTAT), and Sertoli Leydig cell tumor. In humans, this type of tumor accounts for 8% of the ovarian cancers and around 5% of testicular cancers.It is noted that the increasing cases of ovarian and testicular cancer, technological advancements, and increasing healthcare expenditure are the key factors driving the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market.Various other factors such as the growing awareness about the cord-gonadal stromal tumor, unmet medical needs, enhancing regulatory framework, increasing government assistance, and rising funding and reimbursement are continuously contributing to the growth of the global sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market.Get Sample Copy @Despite these drivers, there are some setbacks associated with the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market. Strict FDA regulations, a huge capital investment with low-profit margins, and poor healthcare system in low and middle-income countries may hinder the growth of the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market to a considerable extent.It is estimated that the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period of 20172023.Key PlayersSome of the key players in the Global Sex CordGonadal Stromal Tumor Market are Abbott, Abcam plc, Affymetrix, Inc., Agilent Technologies, Inc., Beckman, Dickinson and Company (BD), Bio SB Inc., BioCurex, BioModa, Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Cell Signaling Technology, Inc., Clarient, Inc., CooperSurgical Inc., Correlogic Systems, Inc., Danaher Corporation, Epigenomics AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Gen-Probe, Inc., Hologic, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Karl Storz GmbH & Co. Kg, LiNA Medical USA, Merck Millipore, PerkinElmer, Inc., Qiagen, Radient Pharmaceuticals, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Veridex LLC, and others.SegmentationThe Global Sex Cord-Gonadal Stromal Tumor Market is segmented on the basis of type, diagnosis, treatment, and end-user.On the basis of tumor type, the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market is classified as granulosa cell tumor, Sertoli cell tumor, thecoma, Leydig cell tumor, Sertoli Leydig cell tumor, gynandroblastoma, and Sex Cord Tumor with Annular Tubules (SCTAT). The granulosa cell tumor is further classified as functioning tumors and non-functioning tumors.On the basis of diagnosis, the Sex Cord-Gonadal Stromal Tumor Market is classified as microscopy immunohistochemistry, tumor marker, ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and others. The tumor marker segment is further classified as inhibin-alpha, calretinin, Melan-A, and others.On the basis of treatment, the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market is classified as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and others. The surgery segment is further classified as salpingo-oophorectomy, abdominal hysterectomy, Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection (RPLND), and radical inguinal orchiectomy. The sub-segment of salpingo-oophorectomy includes unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.On the basis of end-user, the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market is segmented into hospitals and clinics, cancer research centers, research and academic institutes, and others.Browse Full Reports @Regional Analysis:The Americas dominates the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market owing to the increasing prevalence of ovarian cancer in this region and high healthcare expenditure. According to the American Cancer Society, around 22,240 women are likely to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 14,070 women are likely to die from ovarian cancer, in 2018.Europe holds the second position in the sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market. The financial support provided by the government towards R&D and technological advancements are expected to drive the European sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market. The increasing healthcare expenditure is also boosting the European sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market.According to the data suggested by Eurostat, it is observed that among the EU Member States, the highest value of healthcare expenditure was recorded in Germany in 2014, i.e., EUR 321 billion which is further followed by France with EUR 237 billion and United Kingdom with EUR 223 billion. In the year 2016, the R&D expenditure in the pharmaceutical industry was EUR 35000 million, suggested by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Association.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing sex cord-gonadal stromal tumor market owing to a huge patient pool and development in the pharmaceutical sector. Healthcare expenditure is found to be boosting in various regions of Asia Pacific. As per the data suggested by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare during the year 20152016, the total health expenditure was nearly USD 170.4 billion, i.e., 3.6% higher than the expenditure of 20142015.The Middle East and Africa holds the lowest share of the global market due to slow development, lack of technical knowledge, and poor medical facilities.Table Of Contents:Chapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 LimitationsChapter 3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size EstimationChapter 4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 Opportunities4.4 Challenges4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators4.6 Treatment Trends & AssessmentChapter 5. Market Factor AnalysisContinued!Price: $4450 (Single User)No. of Pages: 100Order Complete Report @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Radiotherapy Market expected to reach USD 7 million by 2023

Radiotherapy Market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1526

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/radiotherapy-market-1526

An expert on premium research reports, Market Research Future has added a report titled Global Radiotherapy Market 2023 to its offering. The report provides an in-depth analysis of regional data and an accurate projection of the market size and share of the Top 10 market players across the globe.The Radiotherapy Market will grow very rapidly at a rate of 7% CAGR during the forecasted period 2017-2023. The market is expected to reach USD 7 million from 4.5 million in 2016 during the forecasted period.Market Scenario:Radiotherapy is generally used as a treatment for cancer. Around four out of every ten people are treated for cancer undergo radiotherapy. Normally together with other types of treatment including chemotherapy and surgery. Radiotherapy usually uses high power X-rays to destroy unwanted cells, such as cancer cells. The focus of radiotherapy is to destroy the unwanted cells and avoid damaging healthy cells as much as possible. The damages cell stops repairing itself when the cell is damaged through DNA and are broken down by the natural process of body. The radiotherapy treatment are less painful than the chemotherapy and surgeries. The radiotherapy also have some side effects along with it. The side-effects of radiation therapy are nausea, hair loss, skin problems, fatigue, appetite loss, diarrhea, fertility issues could potentially hamper radiotherapy devices market growth.Get Premium Sample Copy @Key players of Global Radiotherapy market:GE Healthcare(UK), Siemens (Germany), Varian(India), Cardinal Health(US), Nordion(CA), Isoray(US), View ray (US), Fuji Holdings(Japan), Philips Healthcare (US), Shimadzu Corporation (Japan), Hologic (US).Industry Updates:Jan, 2018 Varian Medical Systems signed an agreement to acquire Sirtex Medical Limited. This acquisition expands Varian's addressable market into interventional oncology to emerge as a global leader in radio embolization.October, 2017 Varian has launched its radiotherapy device ProBeam Compact single-room proton therapy system.July, 2017 View Ray has recently announced the launch of MRI-guided radiation therapy solution, MRIdian Linac.Segments:The segmentation for the Radiotherapy Market is done on the basis of the treatment type and by application. On the basis of treatment type includes X-Ray, Gamma ray, External Beam radiotherapy, proton therapy, internal radiation therapy. The external beam radiotherapy segment is further sub-segmented into the treatment types which are 3D conformal radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), image guided radiation therapy (IGRT), Tomotherapy, Stereotactic radio surgery, and stereotactic body radiation therapy. On the basis of the application the segment are prostate cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer, ovarian cancer and thyroid.Regional analysis:The Radiotherapy Market is segmented into four main geographic regions Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. America holds the larger market in the radiotherapy the market increasing due to the increasing advancement in the technology. Europe is another dominating region for the use of the radiotherapy. Asia-pacific region is growing at a rapid pace because of the increasing number of patients in the region. The number is increasing due to the more consumptions of tobacco is seen in this region. Middle East and Africa is slow growing segment because of the lack of awareness of the chronic diseases and the treatment facilities are also limited in this region.TABLE OF CONTENTS1 Introduction1.1 Definition1.2 Scope Of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations1.2.2.1 Assumptions1.2.2.2 Limitations1.3 Market Structure:2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Process:2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research:Browse Full Reports @3 Market Dynamics3.1 Drivers3.2 Restraints3.3 Opportunities3.4 Macroeconomic Indicators4 Market Factor Analysis4.1 Porters Five Forces Model4.2 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers4.3 Bargaining Power Of Buyers4.4 Threat Of New Entrants4.5 Threat Of Substitutes4.6 Intensity Of RivalryContinued!About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Delphi Elementary is Purple Star designated school Delphi Community Elementary School was among the list of 35 newly-designated Purple Star schools announced last week by the Indiana...

Delphi BOW considers Nalox boxes for parks and public buildings Delphi Board of Works (BOW) members Dick Bradshaw, Kamron Yates and Mayor Anita Werling were presented with a request to...

Cameras in courtrooms pilot starts Dec. 1 The Indiana Supreme Court has authorized a pilot project for cameras to be allowed in five trial courts starting in...
Emerging Trends in North America Respiratory Monitoring Market and Business Outlook Till 2023 | Analysis by Top Key Vendors  Adisseo, Archer-Daniels-Midland, Cargill, DuPont, Royal DSM, AB Vista, BASF, BTSA, Eastman Chemical

https://marketprognosis.com/sample-request/17009

https://marketprognosis.com/discount-request/17009

https://marketprognosis.com/enquiry/17009

The North America respiratory monitoring market is expected to witness a CAGR of 12.5%, during the forecast period. North America has emerged as a key region boosting the sales of the respiratory monitoring devices. In this way, North America is a prominent market driver.Detailed Sample Copy of Updated Analysis @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.High Prevalence of Tobacco SmokingAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of death in the United States. Tobacco use kills more than 4,80,000 Americans each year with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke. In addition, smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than USD 300 billion a year, including nearly USD 170 billion in direct medical care for adults and USD 156 billion in lost productivity. A large number of the teenagers group has also been found affected by the use of tobacco smoking. Hence, as the number of the tobacco smoking is increasing for all age groups and more number of people are getting affected each day, which is increasing prevalence and thus, driving the respiratory monitoring market.The other factors include rapid growth in geriatric population, rising prevalence of respiratory diseases, urbanization, and growing pollution levels and the development of advanced technologies.Key Developments in the MarketApril 2017 - ResMed launched AirMini, the world's smallest CPAP machine for the treatment of sleep apneaMajor Players GE HEALTHCARE, PHILIPS HEALTHCARE, SIEMENS HEALTHCARE, RESMED, COVIDIEN, DRAEGERWERK AND MAQUET, amongst others.Get Quality Discount @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.High Price of the Monitoring DevicesThe average cost of the CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure) ranges from about USD 500 u2013 USD 3000, with an estimated average price around USD 850 in North America. Due to the high cost, some of the Tier II and Tier III companies having low revenue and less operational values cannot afford these devices. Hence, the cost of acquiring the respiratory medical devices is very high for them. Therefore, due to this increasing price the adoption rate is being restricted to only the Tier I companies, which is likely to impede the growth of this market.The other factor also, includes the reimbursement concerns.North America is expected to GrowNorth America currently dominates the market for respiratory monitoring devices and is expected to continue its stronghold for a few more years. The North American respiratory monitoring market is segmented on the basis of diagnostic & monitoring devices (spirometers, sleep test devices, gas analyzers, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters, and capnographs), and region (USA, Canada, and Others).Browse Report @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.About Market PrognosisWe at Market Prognosis believe in giving a crystal clear view of market dynamics for achieving success in todays complex and competitive marketplace through our quantitative & qualitative research methods.We help our clients identify the best market insights and analysis required for their business thus enabling them to take strategic and intelligent decision.We believe in delivering actionable insights for your business growth and success.Contact us:ProgMarkPvt Ltd,Thane - 421501India.Contact No: +1 973 241 5193Email: sales@marketprognosis.com
Respiratory Monitoring Market: Global Industry Insights, Trends, Growth Factors and Faced By Key Vendors  COVIDIEN, GE HEALTHCARE, PHILIPS HEALTHCARE, SIEMENS HEALTHCARE, RESMED, DRAEGERWERK, CALONDO PHARMACEUTICALS

https://marketprognosis.com/sample-request/17007

https://marketprognosis.com/discount-request/17007

https://marketprognosis.com/enquiry/17007

The respiratory monitoring market is expected to witness a CAGR of 9.5%, during the forecast period. North America has been accounted for the largest share in the global market in 2017 and it is expected to grow at the considerable rate in the upcoming future.Detailed Sample Copy of Updated Analysis @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.Rising Prevalence of Respiratory DiseasesThe respiratory diseases, such as asthma, lung cancer, COPDs, are increasing at an alarming rate in both the developed and developing countries, which is driving the respiratory monitoring market globally. Based on the data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 25 million Americans have been found affected by asthma, in that 7.6 percent are adults and 8.4 percent are children. In 2015, 47.5 percent of children, aged 18 and younger, who had asthma reported having one or more asthma attacks in the past year. Due to this, continuously increasing respiratory diseases is creating a demand for the early diagnosis of these diseases, which results in more usage of the respiratory devices. Hence, due to the rising prevalence of the respiratory diseases the market is likely to grow.The other factors include the rapid growth in geriatric population, urbanization, and growing pollution levels, high prevalence of tobacco smoking and development of advanced technologies.Key Developments in the MarketApril 2017 - ResMed launched AirMini, the world's smallest CPAP machine for the treatment of sleep apneaMajor Players-COVIDIEN, GE HEALTHCARE, PHILIPS HEALTHCARE, SIEMENS HEALTHCARE, RESMED, MERCK & CO. INC., DRAEGERWERK, CALONDO PHARMACEUTICALS INC. AND QUARK PHARMACEUTICALS INC., amongst others.Get Quality Discount @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.High Price of the Monitoring DevicesThe average cost of the respiratory medical devices is generally between USD 2000- 5000. Due to the high cost, the low-income countries cannot afford these respiratory equipments. Hence, the cost of acquiring the respiratory medical devices is very high, considering the fact that a single device is not sufficient per hospital. The maintenance costs and service contracts are also very high for these devices. Therefore, due to this increasing price the mass adoption is being restricted, which is likely to impede the growth of this market. The other factor also includes the reimbursement concerns.North America Dominates the MarketNorth America dominates the global respiratory monitoring market due to the high medical reimburstments facilities, and the increasing technological advancements. Asia Pacific is also, projected to have the fastest growth owing to the rapidly increasing aging population, rise in the consumer awareness and the growing of the medical tourism in the developing nations, such as China and India in this region.Browse Report @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.About Market PrognosisWe at Market Prognosis believe in giving a crystal clear view of market dynamics for achieving success in todays complex and competitive marketplace through our quantitative & qualitative research methods.We help our clients identify the best market insights and analysis required for their business thus enabling them to take strategic and intelligent decision.We believe in delivering actionable insights for your business growth and success.Contact us:ProgMarkPvt Ltd,Thane - 421501India.Contact No: +1 973 241 5193Email: sales@marketprognosis.com
North America Microgrid Market 2018-2024 By Top Players: ABB, Eaton, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Caterpillar Inc., Honeywell, Tesla, EnSync Inc, Toshiba Corporation, Hitachi, Lockheed Martin Corporation

North America Microgrid Market

https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2833

https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2833

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/north-america-microgrid-market

https://www.openpr.com/news/1366269/Network-Function-Virtualization-NFV-Market-2018-2024-By-Top-Players-Docker-Amdocs-Arista-Networks-AT-T-Inc-Broadcom-Inc-Cisco-Citrix-Systems-Inc-Ericsson-F5-Networks-Inc-Hewlett-Packard-Enterprise.html

https://www.gminsights.com

http://solutionrocket.com

Flow battery in 2017, accounted for over 5% of the North America microgrid market share. Rapid technological advancement toward the development of efficient and cost-effective storage systems coupled with growing investments toward the integration of renewable grid infrastructure will positively influence the product demand. High efficiency and longer life cycles are some of the key features which will make its adoption preferable over other alternatives.Request for a sample of this research report @North America Microgrid Market size will exceed USD 7 billion by 2024, as reported in the latest study by Global Market Insights, Inc. Favorable government policies pertaining to integration of sustainable energy technology along with aging grid infrastructure will foster the North America microgrid market. Relatively low power cost, reliability, economic competitiveness and reduced transmission losses are some of the underlined parameters which will encourage the product adoption. In addition, increasing investments toward the expansion of distributed generation technologies will further complement the industry growth.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis: ABB Ltd Eaton Corporation Siemens Schneider Electric Caterpillar Inc. Honeywell International Homer Energy LLC Tesla EnSync Inc Advanced Microgrid Solutions Viridity Energy Solutions, Inc Toshiba Corporation Exelon Corporation Power Analytics Corporation Hitachi Lockheed Martin CorporationCanada microgrid market is set to exceed installation of 400 MW by 2024. Increasing investments toward sustainable energy sources along with accelerating power demand from off-grid and remote areas will encourage the technology adoption. In addition, the growing development of renewable energy sources to reduce the dependence on conventional grid network will positively impact the business growth. For instance, in 2016, the Government of Canada invested around USD 2.4 billion toward the development of numerous energy sources including wind and solar.Increasing penetration of captive power plants to provide regulated power supply across the industrial and manufacturing sector will expand the North America microgrid market size. In addition, the upsurge in investments toward the development of decentralized grid along with growing investment opportunities toward infrastructure and energy sector will further propel the industry growth. According to the Government of Canada, in 2016, around USD 900 million were invested toward research, development and deployment of various energy sources across the nation.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Increasing spending toward the exploration of unconventional reserves on account of growing gas demand across the region will propel the natural gas microgrid market. Favorable government initiatives and policies toward the development of low emission fuel as a substitute to conventional fuel sources will stimulate the industry growth. For instance, in 2017, Amren Corporation announced the completion of technologically advanced microgrid network which uses wind, solar and natural gas as a power source with advanced automation and battery storage system.Extensive electricity requirement for manufacturing operations, industries, offices, retail outlets, automotive and hospitals will complement the microgrid market across industries/commercial applications. In addition, escalating high end power consumption on account of the presence of new heavy load machinery and HVAC systems will complement the business outlook. According to EIA in 2017, the industrial and commercial sector consumed 22.4% and 4.5% of the primary energy respectively.Browse Full Report:Notable industry players across the North America microgrid market includes Schneider Electric, GE Alstom, ABB, Siemens, Caterpillar Inc, Honeywell, Tesla, EnSync Inc, Virdity Energy Solutions, Toshiba, Exelon, Advanced Microgrid Solutions, Power Analytics Corporation, Hitachi, and Lockheed Martin.Browse Related Report:Network Function Virtualization (NFV) Market Size By Component (Hardware [NFV Servers, Storage, Switches], Software [NFV Management and Orchestration {NFV-MANO}, Virtual Network Function {VNF} Software], Service [Training & Consulting, Integration & Maintenance, Managed Service]), By Application (IT & Telecom, BFSI, Healthcare, Retail & Consumer Goods, Government, Manufacturing), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, Australia & New Zealand (ANZ), South Korea, India, Brazil, Mexico, GCC, South Africa), Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 - 2024About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:
Interceptor Missile Market Trends 2018-2024 Revenue, Regional Opportunity, Forecast By Key Companies are Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne

Interceptor Missiles Market

https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2401

https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2401

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/interceptor-missiles-market

PAC-3 is expected to account for highest interceptor missile market share crossing USD 6 billion over the coming years. Proliferating demand of these missiles, especially in developed countries will primarily support the revenue generation. For instance, in January 2013, the U.S. army entered into several contracts worth USD 755 million for purchasing 168 PAC-3 missiles and associated services and equipment. HQ-19 will exhibit over 40% CAGR till 2024 owing to its continuously rising usage as an upgradation of HQ-9. Its enhanced features as compared to its counterparts will further support the industry growth till 2024.Sample Copy of This Report @According to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc., the Interceptor Missiles Market size is estimated to surpass USD 14 billion by 2024.Global interceptor missiles market is expected to cross 3,000 units till 2024. Continuously increasing threat of attacks from rival countries has resulted in proliferating demand for interceptor missiles over the forecast timeframe. Multiple countries across the globe including Netherlands, U.S, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, etc., have purchased patriot interceptor missiles to strengthen their defense inventory, impacting the industry positively.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis:1. Aerojet Rocketdyne2. Boeing Co.3. Lockheed Martin Corp.4. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems5. Raytheon Co.Make an Inquiry for purchasing this Report @Surface to air missiles are expected to capture maximum interceptor missiles market revenue share of more than 80% by 2024. Some of the benefits offered includes light-weight and portability which in turn will drive the industry demand. Water to air missiles will exhibit approximately 7% CAGR owing to rising adoption of these missiles in various countries across the globe for naval border protection.Interceptor missiles of up to 125 kms range are anticipated to dominate the interceptor missiles market, generating a demand of over 2,000 units till 2024. Continuously increasing penetration of missiles conforming to this range such as PAC-3, Iron Dome, and SM-3, from MEA including UAE, Israel, and Saudi Arabia will primarily support the industry dominance. Interceptor missiles of range above 200 kms will exhibit over 18% CAGR in terms of revenue owing to rising deployment of advanced missiles such as HQ-19. Regular innovations in these missiles in countries such as China will further strengthen the industry penetration over the forecast timeframe.MEA interceptor missiles market will showcase dominance over the next eight years owing to rising threat of enemy attacks across the region. Collaborations of various countries with industry players for purchasing of these missiles will further contribute towards the high revenue generation. For instance, UAE and Qatar are anticipated to enter an agreement with Lockheed Martin for supplying patriot missiles. Europe will witness over 7% CAGR till 2024 owing to rising sales of interceptor missiles from countries including Sweden and Poland.Browse Report Summery @Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., Raytheon Co., Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are among the major industry players. Regular product innovations is among prominent strategies implemented by these participants. For instance, in January 2018, Lockheed Martin made enhancements in Aegis missile that is anticipated to result in rapid detection of threats and reduction in reaction time.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.com
Travel Retail Market to 2025 with Top Key Players like DFS Group, Dufry, LS Travel Retail, Lotte Duty Free, King Power International Group, Heinemann

Travel Retail

https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2800624?utm_source=OPN&utm_medium=RK

https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-for-discount/2800624?utm_source=OPN&utm_medium=RK

https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/world-espresso-coffee-makers-market-research-report-2023-covering-usa-europe-china-japan-india-and-etc-market

Rise in disposable income improves consumers lifestyle and shifts their preference toward apparels, luxury goods, premium fragrances, cosmetics, and other products. Moreover, developments in emerging economies such as Asia-Pacific and LAMEA is projected to supplement the growth of the global travel retail market. However, unorganized local market and stringent government regulations in airport retailing hamper the market growth. The global Travel retail market size is expected to reach $153.7 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period.The Travel Retail Market report gives a well-defined perspective of the market alongside the development rate and the future market prospect. Assist the report covers market potential and preferred standpoint, opportunity and challenge and risks which is extremely helpful from the business perspective.Get Sample Copy of this Report @The global travel retail market is segmented based on product, channel, and region. The product segment includes perfumes & cosmetics, wine & spirits, tobacco, electronics, luxury goods, food & confectionery, and catering & others. In 2017, beauty products, namely, perfumes & cosmetics segment accounted for the maximum revenue with more than 31% market share. Based on channel, the global travel retail market is classified into airports; cruise liners; railway stations; and border, downtown, & hotel shops.Key Market Players Profiled in the Report Are: DFS Group, Dufry, LS Travel Retail, Lotte Duty Free, King Power International Group, The Shilla Duty Free, Gebr. Heinemann, China Duty Free Group (CDFG), Aer Rianta International (ARI), The Naunace GroupBased on product type, the luxury goods segment is anticipated to register the highest growth rate during the forecast period in the travel retail market. The purchase of these goods is totally dependent on the economic stability of any region, as the goods are majorly procured by the upper economic classes.Based on region, Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global market during the analysis period, due to the presence of a large number of retail companies in China, India, Thailand, and others. In addition, the market in Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate due to increase in the number of high net worth individuals and growth of the tourism industry.Travel Retail Key Market Segments:By Product Type Perfumes & Cosmetics Wine & Spirit Electronics Luxury Goods Food, Confectionery, & Catering Tobacco OthersBy Channel Airport Cruise Liner Railway Station Border, Downtown, & Hotel ShopBy Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific LAMEAGet a discount on this research report @Key Benefits for Travel Retail Market: This report provides an in-depth analysis of the global travel retail market to identify the potential investment pockets. It outlines the current trends and future scenarios to determine the potential of the travel retail market and enable stakeholders to gain a stronger market foothold. Key drivers, restraints, and opportunities and their detailed impact analyses are elucidated. Quantitative analysis of the travel retail industry from 2017 to 2025 is highlighted to recognize the financial competency of the market. Porters Five Forces model illustrates the threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and strength of the buyers & suppliers.Access full report Description, TOC and Table of Figure @:About Us:Industry executives tend to keep a tab on their business competitors. This keeps them updated on strategic business activities and investment trends. Company profiles are crucial to participating players of interconnected verticals.Contact Us:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205, Portland,OR 97220 United Statescall answer Direct:+1-971-202-1575call answer Toll Free:+1-800-910-6452email help@bigmarketresearch.com
Immunoassay Analyzers Market Demands & Newest Innovations Analysis & Forecast Report 2018-2025 with Estimated Key Players- Roche, Siemens, Beckman Coulter, Abbott, Merck etc.

Immunoassay Analyzers

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/15085

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/buy/immunoassay-analyzers-market

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/15085

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/request_for_discount/15085

UpMarketResearch offers a latest published report on Global Immunoassay Analyzers Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 116 pages which highly exhibits on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.Get FREE Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Report @Immunoassay Analyzers market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Immunoassay Analyzers status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 2018 - 2023.The scope of the report extends from market scenarios to comparative pricing between major players, cost and profit of the specified market regions. The numerical data is backed up by statistical tools such as SWOT analysis, BCG matrix, SCOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and so on. The statistics are represented in graphical format for a clear understanding on facts and figures.The generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.The report for The Immunoassay Analyzers Market Industry Analysis & Forecast 2018-2025 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Global Immunoassay Analyzers Market: Regional Segment Analysis United States Europe China Japan Other RegionsTo Buy This Report Click @The Major players reported in the market include: Roche Siemens Abbott Beckman Coulter Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Biokit The Binding Site Group Immunodiagnostic Systems Merck Olympus Corporation Nova Century Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific DiaSorin Randox LaboratoriesGlobal Immunoassay Analyzers Market: Product Segment Analysis Immunofluorescence Chemiluminescence ELISA RadioimmunoassayGlobal Immunoassay Analyzers Market: Application Segment Analysis Infectious Diseases Autoimmune Diseases AIDSFor More Info, Please Visit @Immunoassay Analyzers Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market-driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real-time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real-time scenario.Key Reasons to Purchase:To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Global Immunoassay Analyzers Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 and its commercial landscape Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations To understand the future outlook and prospects for Immunoassay Analyzers market industry analysis and forecast 2018-2025.Get discount offers @Customization of the Report:UpMarketResearch provides free customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About UpMarketResearch:The Up Market Research is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined  we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States
Crawler Crane Market Regional Trend & Forecast 2018-2024 By Global Players - Konecranes, Liebherr Group, Escorts Limited, Terex Corporation, Link-Belt Cranes, Palfinger AG, Sany Group

Crawler Crane Market

https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2960

https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2960

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/crawler-crane-market

https://www.gminsights.com/

The crawler crane market is witnessing demand for low-level access units, niche machines, and customized choices. Growing installation & maintenance activities for the upgrade of fire stations, street lights, glasswork, and other associated infrastructure coupled with increasing organization of several events such as concerts, corporate events, and festivals, are driving the need for these machines across several regions.Major players in the crawler crane market include Terex Corporation, The Liebherr Group, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd., XCMG Group, The Escorts Group, Komatsu Ltd., Sany Group, and Manitowoc. Companies including The Escorts Group, Furukawa UNIC Corporation, and Terex Corporation sell their equipment through specialized construction equipment distributors and construction firms across the globe.Request for a sample copy of this report @The Asia Pacific crawler crane market is witnessing a high adoption in the construction and mining sectors and expected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% from 2018 to 2024. Global companies are expanding their business operations in the region by collaborating with local manufacturers. For instance, in December 2016, Jekko s.r.l. collaborated with Lee Hyun Soo and Dennis Shin for establishing a new subsidiary, Jekko Korea in Seoul. Countries including India, China, and Japan are adopting advanced automated technologies in industrial sectors for enhancing their business operations. The escalating infrastructure development projects in countries including India will favor the crawler crane market growth.Crawler Crane Market, By Capacityo Below 50 metric tonso 50 to 250 metric tonso 250 to 450 metric tonso 450 to 650 metric tonsCrawler Crane Market, By Applicationo Rentalo Constructiono Miningo Oil & Gaso EnergyMake an inquiry for purchasing this report @Crawler Crane Market size is set to exceed USD 3 billion by 2024; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. The shipments are expected to grow at a CAGR of over 4%.Increasing utilization of crawler cranes in the energy sector is anticipated to drive the crawler crane market growth. These machines offer heavy lifting operations at the nuclear and renewable energy sites and facilitate the operators in handling the materials efficiently. Several manufacturers have developed energy sector-specific machines that witness a high demand. For instance, Manitowoc has launched a wind power crane, Grove GTK1100, that is used for wind turbine operations such as erection and construction. Additionally, the crawler crane market is witnessing growth opportunities due to the increasing infrastructure projects across the globe.Economic growth across the globe, especially in China, India, and Southeast Asian markets, has led to a better infrastructure demand. Growing building & construction spending due to a rise in per-capita disposable income along with enhanced infrastructure in Asia Pacific and Latin America will drive the crawler crane market. Growth in Latin America will be led by an increase in infrastructure spending, mainly transportation and energy, closely followed by spending on non-residential structures. The key areas of construction growth in emerging economies are social, transport, energy, defense infrastructure, and government accommodation.Browse report summery @High maintenance costs and initial investments are the major factors hindering the crawler crane market development. The high cost is discouraging several business manufacturers and OEMs from deploying high-end machines. Companies consider that investments for automated equipment must meet the global quality and manufacturing standards. In addition, the cranes are available on lease from the manufacturers at a lower price than the newer machines. Instead of procuring a new equipment, several customers commonly prefer renting equipment, which is anticipated to hamper the market.The strong distributor relations aid companies in gaining a competitive advantage and understanding the demand for any new products in application segments. This helps companies in the crawler crane market in efficiently marketing new product lines and expanding the customer base. In July 2018, The Liebherr Group announced the opening of the companys new headquarters in Virginia. The new facility developed a production & workshop unit to support Liebherrs construction, concrete, and cranes division.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:
Global Soil Conditioners Market Analysis & Forecast Report 2018-2025 with Estimated Key Players- BASF, Syngenta, Novozymes, The DOW Chemical Company, Solvay S.A

Soil Conditioners

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/15398

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/reports/soil-conditioners-market

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/15398

https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/request_for_discount/15398

UpMarketResearch offers a latest published report on Global Soil Conditioners Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 96 pages which highly exhibits on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.Get FREE Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Report @Soil Conditioners market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Soil Conditioners status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 2018 - 2023.The scope of the report extends from market scenarios to comparative pricing between major players, cost and profit of the specified market regions. The numerical data is backed up by statistical tools such as SWOT analysis, BCG matrix, SCOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and so on. The statistics are represented in graphical format for a clear understanding on facts and figures.The generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.The report for The Soil Conditioners Market Industry Analysis & Forecast 2018-2025 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Global Soil Conditioners Market: Regional Segment Analysis United States Europe China Japan Other RegionsTo Buy This Report Click @The Major players reported in the market include: BASF SE Syngenta AG Novozymes A/S The DOW Chemical Company Solvay S.A Adeka Corporation Akzo Nobel N.V. Evonik Industries AG Eastman Chemical Company Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. Croda International PLC Clariant International AGGlobal Soil Conditioners Market: Product Segment Analysis Natural SyntheticGlobal Soil Conditioners Market: Application Segment Analysis Agricultural IndustrialFor More Info, Please Visit @Soil Conditioners Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market-driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real-time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real-time scenario.Key Reasons to Purchase:To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Global Soil Conditioners Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 and its commercial landscape Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations To understand the future outlook and prospects for Soil Conditioners market industry analysis and forecast 2018-2025.Get discount offers @Customization of the Report:UpMarketResearch provides free customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About UpMarketResearch:The Up Market Research is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined  we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States
Cigarette Market 2018 Size, Shares | Global Industry Revenue by Top Key Companies - CHINA TOBACCO, Altria Group, British American Tobacco, Japan Tabacco, Imperial Tobacco Group, KT&G

https://www.reporthive.com/enquiry.php?id=1656818&req_type=smpl

https://www.reporthive.com/enquiry.php?id=1656818&req_type=purch

https://www.reporthive.com

A cigarette is a small cylinder of finely cut tobacco leaves rolled in thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth; in some cases, a cigarette holder may be used, as well. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and also include reconstituted tobacco and other additives.Global Cigarette Market peaks the detailed analysis of industry share, growth factors, development trends, size, majors manufacturers and 2023 forecast. The report also analyze innovative business strategies, value added factors and business opportunities. The Cigarette Market report introduces market competition situation among the vendors and company profile, revenue, product & services, latest developments and business strategies.Download PDF Sample Of this Report @Global cigarette industry is one of the most profitable and deadly industries in the world. And this industry is highly concentrated, mainly monopolized by the 13 companies afore-listed. Among them, CHINA TOBACCO shares the largest production market for the huge population in China.China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) is owned and operated by the Chinese government and is the worlds single largest producer of cigarettes with 42% of the global market in 2016. CNTC sells the majority of its product in China; just over 1% of cigarettes produced are exported to other countries. CNTC is increasing efforts to sell brands such as RDG, Dubliss and Harmony internationally.The Key Players Covered in this report: CHINA TOBACCO Altria Group British American Tobacco Japan Tabacco Imperial Tobacco Group KT&G and More....Our Market Research Solution Provides You Answer to Below Mentioned Question: Which are the driving factors responsible for the growth of this market? Which are the roadblock factors for this market? What are the new opportunities responsible for the growth in the coming years? What are the present and future trends in this market? Which are the main factors responsible for a new product launch? How big is the global & regional market in terms of revenue, sales and production? How far will the market grow in forecast period in terms of revenue, sales, and production? Which region is dominating the global market and what are the market shares of each region in the overall market in 2018? How will each segment grow over the forecast period and how much revenue will these segments account for, in 2023? Which region has more growth opportunities?Click Here for Purchase Full Report with Full TOC @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Segmentation by product type: Low Tar High TarSegmentation by application: Male Smokers Female SmokersResearch objectives To analyze the Cigarette with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market. To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks). To project the consumption of Cigarette submarkets, with respect to key regions (along with their respective key countries). To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies and MoreTable of Contents1 Scope of the Report2 Executive Summary3 Global Cigarette by Players4 Cigarette by Regions5 Americas6 APAC7 Europe8 Middle East & Africa9 Market Drivers, Challenges and TrendsTOC Continued.!Tables And Figures Figure Picture of Cigarette Table Product Specifications of Cigarette Figure Cigarette Report Years Considered Figure Market Research Methodology Figure Global Cigarette Consumption Growth Rate 2013-2023 (Billion Sticks) Figure Global Cigarette Value Growth Rate 2013-2023 ($ Millions) Table Cigarette Consumption CAGR by Region 2013-2023 ($ Millions) Figure Product Picture of Low Tar Table Major Players of Low Tar Figure Product Picture of High Tar and More.About Report Hive ResearchReport Hive Research delivers strategic market research reports, statistical survey, and Industry analysis & forecast data on products & services, markets and companies. Our clientele ranges mix of global Business Leaders, Government Organizations, SMEs, Individual & Start-ups, Management Consulting Firms, and Universities etc. Our library of 600,000+ market reports covers industries like Chemical, Healthcare, IT, Telecom, Semiconductor, etc. in the USA, Europe Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific. We help in business decision-making on aspects such as market entry strategies, market sizing, market share analysis, sales & revenue, technology trends, competitive analysis, product portfolio & application analysis etc.500, North Michigan Avenue,Suite 6014Chicago, IL - 60611United StatesContact UsMike RossMarketing Managersales@reporthive.comPhone Number: +1-312 604 7084
Costume Jewelry Market 2025 The Colibri Group, Buckley Jewellery Limited, Avon Products Inc, H. Stern Com. & Ind. S.A., Swank Inc, Cartier SA, Louis Vuitton North America, Inc., Channel S.A., Stuller, Inc., Billig Jewelers, Inc.

https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124691/Costume-Jewelry-Market

https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/TOC/120124691/Costume-Jewelry-Market

https://www.researchreportinsights.com

The worldwide costume jewelry market is reflecting a positive trend of expansion all over the world. There are several aspects that are indicating a positive position of the market for a long and medium term. For example, rising need of costume matching jewelry for fashion, increasing fashion consciousness of consumer, internationalization of brands, rising costs of diamond, silver, gold and different valuable gems jewelry, low-maintenance cost, affordability of costume jewelries, increasing requirement for men costume jewelry, accessibility of wide assortment of designs in costume jewelry as well as safest to carry anywhere, in contrast to real jewelry or ornaments owing to fear of burglary, loss etc. The costume jewelry market has remarkably profited by the economic development in the LAMEA and Asia-Pacific regions. Increases in the standard of living along with rising fashion consciousness are considered to support the market expansion. At present, ensemble gems are highly sought after among corporate individuals, teenagers, working women, and the working populace because of the rising need for men costume jewelry and affordability.Request For Report Sample:Progressions in online advertising trends and increment in the usage of digital media for product promoting are the prominent factors adding to the expansion of the worldwide costume jewelry industry. An increment in acceptance of technologically propelled techniques as well as colorful stones for artificial jewelry is considered to add to the expansion for imitation jewelry of e-commerce websites. Nevertheless, rising and variable raw material costs, stern trade laws, fashion and fad sensitive market of costume jewelry as well as unorganized raw materials supply chain in the costume jewelry industry are likely to impede the market expansion.Urbanization is one of the imperative factors which is likely to impact the requirement for costume jewelry. As per the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (in the year 2014) of the United Nations, approximately 54% of the globes populace dwelled in urban regions during 2014, as well as towards the end of the year 2050, 66% of the globes populace is considered to move to urban regions.The U.S regional market is popularly considered as a trend-setting nation in terms of costume jewelry as well as one which can influence the whole world to follow afterward. The emerging economies, for example, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are the fasted developing business sector with twofold digit expansion rates in the costume jewelry market. Also, the Asia Pacific regional market is believed to be the biggest maker of costume jewelry and is anticipated that would assume control over North America as far as utilization in the approaching years. High development pace in Asia Pacific region is credited to the increasing income of the buyers in these nations. Further, with the huge westernization and urbanization occurring, the buyers are presently ending up more trendy and fashionable products. In addition, a large populace of young buyers (average age is 29 to 37 years respectively for India as well as China) is likewise a major contributor in the overall development of costume jewelry in these nations.Request For Report TOC :A few of the prominent market players functioning in the industry are, The Colibri Group, Buckley Jewellery Limited, Avon Products Inc, H. Stern Com. & Ind. S.A., Swank Inc, Cartier SA, Louis Vuitton North America, Inc., Channel S.A., Stuller, Inc., Billig Jewelers, Inc. Yurman Design, Inc., Gianni Versace S.p.A and others. The leading retailers and makers are expected to put forward better value but more usual price promotions, particularly as limitations on approach to credit possible to hold back sales.The competitive backdrop in costume jewelry remains fairly segmented and the class contains very few of foremost retailers and several smaller, family-owned businesses. These smaller companies provide primarily to lower-income customers and engage from locations outside of shopping centers, with lower commercial rents.Research Report Insights (RRI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver a host of services including custom research reports, syndicated research reports, and consulting services which are personalised in nature. RRI delivers a complete packaged solution to clients; this combines current market intelligence, technology inputs, statistical anecdotes, valuable growth insights, 360-degree view of the competitive framework, and anticipated market trendsResearch Report Insights (RRI42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website:Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com
Amazon received government incentives totaling more than $2.8 billion from Virginia, New York and Tennessee to build its two new headquarters and an operations center in those locations, according to the companys announcement Tuesday.

The total appeared to be considerably less than the package of up to $8.5 billion offered by Maryland and $7 billion by New Jersey, which suggested that factors such as access to talent and airports were more important for the company.

New York was the most generous among the winners, promising more than $1.85 billion for Amazon to build one of its two new headquarters in Long Island City in the borough of Queens, according to the Amazon announcement. (Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Virginia appeared to have made a better deal, as it offered incentives of $819 million to place the other new headquarters in Arlington in Northern Virginia, according to the announcement.

Both of the new headquarters are expected to eventually create 25,000 jobs with an average pay of more than $150,000 a year, and most of the incentives are conditional on Amazon delivering that many new positions.

Nashville, a surprise last-minute addition to Amazon's plan, promised $102 million in incentives for a new operations center with 5,000 jobs.

In the frenzied bidding for the second headquarters - which was originally supposed to be a single investment of $5 billion creating 50,000 jobs - most states and cities kept their incentive offers private. Of the ones that were disclosed, Maryland's was the most generous, with New Jersey's second.

In describing its rationale for picking Northern Virginia and New York to share the top prize, Amazon stressed that access to tech talent was paramount.

"We were looking for a location with strong local and regional talent - particularly in software development and related fields," the company statement said.

Talent would not necessarily explain the choice of Northern Virginia over Maryland's Montgomery County, however, as the two are across the Potomac River from each other and in the same metropolitan area.

However, Northern Virginia is widely seen as more business-friendly than Montgomery County, partly because Virginia is a right-to-work state. Also, Amazon said it wanted good access to airports, and the Arlington site will be only a half-mile from Reagan National Airport, whereas the Montgomery County site would have been more than a 30-minute drive from that airport.

In Virginia, the bulk of the incentives will come in the form of performance-based direct incentives of $573 million, including a workforce cash grant from the state of up to $550 million based on $22,000 for each job created over the next 12 years.

The state will also invest $195 million in infrastructure in the neighborhood, including improvements to the Crystal City and Potomac Yards Metro stations, a pedestrian bridge connecting the Amazon site to Reagan National Airport, and other improvements.

From Arlington, Amazon will receive a cash grant of $23 million over 15 years linked to incremental growth of the tax on hotel rooms. The county also will dedicate about $28 million of future property tax revenue for on-site infrastructure and open space at the site.

Although it is not a direct subsidy, Virginia's package also included a plan for Virginia Tech to build a $1 billion graduate campus focused on innovation in Alexandria.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, described the package as "a new model of economic development for the 21st century."

One provision in Virginia's package is not financial at all. Virginia agreed to give Amazon at least two days notice if the media or the public filed a Freedom of Information Act request about the agreement. This would "allow the Company to seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy."

New York's package included direct state incentives of $1.5 billion, most of which is to be provided via a refundable tax credit equivalent to $48,000 per job over the next 10 years. That means Amazon would get the benefit only if it creates the jobs.

New York also offered a cash grant of $325 million based on the square footage of buildings occupied in the next 10 years.

In addition, Amazon will benefit from other New York incentives for which a dollar value was not provided, according to the company statement. These include "as-of-right" incentives from two New York City programs, and a third program based on Amazon's property taxes.

Amazon said it has agreed to donate space on its campus for a tech start-up incubator, and for use by artists and industrial businesses, and Amazon will donate a site for a new school.

Tennessees package included a state cash grant of $65 million based on the company creating 5,000 jobs over the next seven years. Nashville will also provide a cash grant of up to $15 million, and a job tax credit of almost $22 million.

-- The Washington Post
Columbia Helicopters said it will retain its Aurora headquarters and all its 850 employees following its $560 million sale Friday to a Texas company, Bristow Group.

Bristow paid $560 million for the 61-year-old company, $492 million in cash and the remainder in stock. Columbia had been owned by the family of founder Wes Lematta, who died in 2009 at age 83.

About half of Columbias employees work in Oregon. The company operates heavy-lift Chinook helicopters for defense, firefighting and natural resource exploration efforts. It deployed helicopters to fight the California wildfires on Friday, the same day it announced its sale.

Well continue to operate and be headquartered in Aurora, Oregon. All operations will continue to be managed out of here, said Steve Bandy, Columbias chief executive. He will remain with the company as CEO following the deal.

Columbia had revenue of $281 million in the 12 months ending in September, according to the company. Bristows revenue totaled $1.4 billion in its last fiscal year, which ended in March.

Bristows operations in offshore oil exploration and search-and-rescue aircraft have very little overlap with Columbias, according to Bandy. Thats why the businesses dont plan any job cuts following the deal, he said.

By diversifying the two companies businesses, though, Bandy said they anticipate creating a more robust combined operation.

We think theres opportunities to expand the business, he said. We definitely dont see reductions.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699
Property tax payments come due Thursday, and most Portland-area counties will see a small bump in collections.

Most of the growth comes from a 3 percent annual increase in assessed values baked into Oregons property tax system. But the regions building boom also helped push collections higher as new property came on the tax rolls.

Big business moves blunted the windfall for local governments. The state settled a years-long dispute with the cable giant Comcast, which had sued to lower its property tax bills, and several other big customers went bankrupt or shut down Oregon operations. Together, those companies took $6 to $8 million off the tax rolls in Multnomah County alone, said assessor Mike Vaughn.

Counties collect property taxes and distribute them to all taxing districts within their boundaries. Those include schools, fire protection districts, ports and more.

Property taxes in Oregon dont rise commensurate with property values. Oregon voters went to the ballot box in 1995 and 1997 to rein in rising property taxes, approving measures that capped annual increases in the taxable value of property at 3 percent. Voters can, however, approve new bonds or local option levies to raise money for new construction or services.

There were few big new tax measures taking effect this year. Collections began for a $291.2 million school bond approved by Gresham voters in 2016.

Multnomah County has asked taxpayers to pay extra attention to their bills this year after the county replaced its 20-year-old computer system for tracking properties and printing bills.

Weve gone through years of testing and auditing to make sure that it works, Vaughn said. But we just sent out 300,000 tax statements. There you got 300,000 little audits.

The county is working with taxpayers to make any needed corrections, Vaughn said.

Property owners who disagree with the countys valuation of their home have until Dec. 31 to file an appeal with their countys Board of Property Tax Appeals.

Many mortgage companies pay property taxes out of an escrow account on behalf of their customers. Most counties will send the bill printed on yellow paper if a lender has requested the information to pay.

Those homeowners responsible for their own bills can pay the entirety of the bill by Thursday for a 3 percent discount, or they can pay in three equal installments due Thursday, Feb. 15 and May 15.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com; 503-294-5034; @enjus
Vancouver police are asking for help reconnecting a family with a donated urn containing a loved one's remains.

The wooden box was donated to a Goodwill store at 6425 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., according to police. Police were called there July 30 after an employee found the urn while going through donations.

The name "Stephu Rutledge" is scrawled on the bottom of the box, which is thought to have been inadvertently donated.

This is at least the second instance of an urn cropping up at the Goodwill store. An employee found another urn containing human remains in January. A relative later contacted police.

Police ask anyone who has information about the urn to call 360-487-7404.

-- Jim Ryan
Updated at 9:40 p.m.

A driver was cited in Forest Grove Wednesday after hitting a man working on his broken-down pickup, authorities say.

George Davidson, 71, of Portland was hit near Oregon 47 and Pacific Avenue around 5:30 p.m. while in a northbound Oregon 47 lane fixing his truck, according to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue and Forest Grove police. The pickup was also hit.

Davidson was flown to a hospital in Portland via a Life Flight helicopter with apparent serious injuries. No one else was hurt.

The driver, 49-year-old Esteban Gomez-Guzman of Forest Grove, remained at the scene and was later cited for careless driving, police said. He was driving north on Oregon 47 when he hit Davidson and Davidson's truck.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
BALTIMORE - The Vatican may have thrown into disarray American bishops' plans to vote this week on proposals to address the Catholic Churchs sexual abuse crisis. But on Tuesday it became clear that the bishops are far from united in their views about what actions to take, as well as their own culpability and the perceived role of homosexuality in the unfolding scandal.

In their first of two days of debate about the abuse proposals on Tuesday, many bishops advocated vigorously for empowering lay people to investigate and hold bishops to a new written standard of conduct -- while others questioned the pitfalls of such investigations and some expressed skepticism about the necessity of holding the church's leaders more accountable at all.

Bishop Robert Evans of Providence came to the microphone to defend the actions of bishops in past decades who returned abusive priests to ministry, acting on the advice of psychologists at the time. "Many bishops, I would say almost everyone, did the best they could according to the best lights of the time."

His statement, which was met with significant applause, contrasted starkly with remarks made at the conference by the chairman of the National Review Board, a lay-led body the bishops set up in 2002 to monitor how well the U.S. church is doing on the abuse issue.

Francesco Cesareo strongly objected to every suggestion that the bishops can do anything less than take massive action. More than 130 current bishops, "have been accused during their careers of failing to respond to sexual misconduct in their dioceses," Cesaro said referencing investigations by the Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Others have been accused of committing abuse. Few have faced real consequences. This must change."

A major proposal of the bishops, funded with $500,000 from the dioceses, would create a commission to investigate misconduct by bishops-- including three clergy and six non-clergy members, at least one of whom would be a religious sister and at least one of whom would be an abuse victim. Participation by the bishops in investigations would be voluntary, and the commission could only access evidence held by a bishop or his diocese if the bishop consents to it, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit told the conference.

Some bishops raised concerns about the plan, which they had been scheduled to vote on this week. I dont think its unreasonable to say some of us have our share of enemies out there, that an allegation could be brought forward that is motivated by something other than the truth, said Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Ore.

Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample, shown at St. Francis Catholic Church in 2015, is attending the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. Bruce Ely / Staff LC- The Oregonian

Another proposal that had been scheduled for a vote is a new code of conduct for the bishops, which Bishop Daniel Conlon of Joliet, Illinois, bristled at. He said he already publicly committed to celibacy when he was ordained a deacon, a priest and then a bishop. I have to say Im a little chagrined being asked to sign some document at this point that says I will be accountable to certain standards, Conlon said.

Others fretted about the proposal for telephone and on-line hotlines for reporting bishop misconduct, which the bishops have begun searching for a third-party vendor to operate. The company that takes the calls can report the complaints to law enforcement directly. If a lay commission is set up, the hotline could also funnel the complaints to that commission.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco stood up to ask how the hotline will handle anonymous complaints.

"Sooner or later they need to disclose their identity. An anonymous complaint is not going to go anywhere, I think," Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, the vice president of the U.S. bishops, responded.

Even if the caller is named, Bishop Donald Trautman, a retired leader of Erie, Pennsylvania, said he still opposes the hotline. "I think this proposal is very dangerous and unjust," he said. He said he does not want accusations that have not been "proven" or "substantiated" reported to the apostolic nuncio, the Vatican's ambassador in Washington.

Trautman, whose former diocese was one of the six investigated in the Pennsylvania grand jury report that drew new attention to sexual abuse in the church, established himself at the meeting as one of the loudest voices against further accountability measures of several sorts. Earlier in the day, after some praised state prosecutors and secular journalists who expose crimes committed by priests, Trautman went to the microphone to castigate both.

"We should not be so naive as to accept every government report, every attorney general report as completely accurate or honest," he said. Then he said he wouldn't trust either the Philadelphia Inquirer or the Boston Globe -- who recently published a joint investigation into bishops' record on covering up sexual abuse -- to publish accurate information. Some of the bishops applauded.

Questions about the bishops' ability to hold one another accountable were highlighted by the presence at the conference of several retired bishops who are accused of failing to address abuse in their dioceses.

The Vatican's Congregation of Bishops gave the American bishops an unexpected directive just as their meeting began on Monday, telling them not to take a formal vote on any of their sexual abuse proposals. The exact words used by the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops in telling the Americans not to vote weren't known Tuesday, but U.S. bishops' conference president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo said the halt was aimed at keeping unity in the global church on procedures.

John Allen Jr., editor of the Catholic site Crux, said there is a divide between the Vatican and the U.S. bishops about authority. Under church law, the only superior of a bishop is the pope, and anything otherwise "that would look like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops trying to assert authority over another bishop would be a problem," Allen said. "Anything that looks like a lay board, or a lay entity that would assert authority over bishops would also be a problem."

Allen said he thinks the tensions over power are greater between the U.S. and Rome than among the American bishops.

Outside advisory boards offered strong words for the bishops as they contemplated their plans.

"It remains clear that some bishops have escaped the consequences of their acts of omission regarding abuse and that little is being done to address this injustice," Cesareo of the National Review Board said. He called for an investigation into allegations by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former papal nuncio to the United States, that Pope Francis and others in the Vatican long knew of the allegations against McCarrick and declined to act.

Cesareo criticized the bishops for hiding the extent of the abuse until civil authorities and journalists intervened. "How many souls have been lost because of this crisis?" he said. "Today the faithful and the clergy do not trust many of you. They are angry and frustrated, no longer satisfied with words and even with prayer. They seek action that signals a cultural change from the leadership of the church."

The board presented the bishops with a list of recommendations, including one urging every diocese to review its archives, dating back to at least 1950, and to make the record of abuse found in those archives public. Cesareo praised bishops who have already released lists of names of accused priests or have agreed to cooperate with criminal and civil investigations.

Retired Army Col. Anita Raines, of the Conference's National Advisory Council, said the council wants a code of conduct for bishops and a public recommitment to chastity and holiness. It also wants a third-party system to receive reports of abuse and auditing of U.S. seminaries "to investigate possible patterns of abuse of power and predatory homosexual behavior," she said. The council is a mix of laypeople and clergy who advise the bishops' conference.

The explosive topic of homosexuality arose late Tuesday, with some bishops taking the microphone on the issue.

Bishop Joseph Strickland, of Tyler, Texas, said the McCarrick scandal should lead the bishops to consider the question of gay clergy. Its part of our deposit of faith that we believe homosexual activity is immoral, he said. Do we believe the doctrine of the Church or not?
A 49-year-old convicted felon who was linked to the 2012 rape of a 14-year-old girl in Portland through the recent testing of the girls sexual assault kit was sentenced Tuesday to two years and six months in prison.

Oregon inmate Chanh Van Tran, already serving time for breaking into a Northeast Portland home where a 17-year-old girl was home alone in 2016, pleaded guilty on Nov. 8 to third-degree rape and third-degree sodomy in connection with the 2012 assault.

The 14-year-old victims assault occurred between Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, 2012, and was reported to police right away on Sept. 26, 2012. Portland police responded to a motel in the 2600 block of Northeast 82nd Avenue on a report of a girl found hiding in a vacant room.

A victim specialist within the Police Bureaus sex crimes unit and a member of the Youth Services division took the initial report, according to the indictment. Tran and the 14-year-old didnt know each other until they struck up a conversation while the girl was walking in Southeast Portland, according to prosecutors.

The girl was taken to a local hospital for a forensic exam the day of the reported assault, and a sexual assault kit was obtained by police, but it sat untested in the bureaus evidence warehouse for five years.

Police have not said why the kit wasnt sent to the crime lab for analysis in 2012.

It was among thousands of sexual assault evidence kits that sat untouched by Portland police until public pressure mounted to have the evidence analyzed. The 2,610 kits from Multnomah, Marion and Lane counties were submitted to a private lab for testing recently, supported by a $2 million grant from the Manhattan District Attorneys Office.

Once the kit was analyzed, DNA evidence from the kit was matched to inmate Tran on July 10, 2017.

Tran is the third defendant sentenced in Multnomah County for a sexual assault based on the recent testing of old kits. Three other defendants are being prosecuted.

Convicted of rape and sodomy in 2012 assault of 14-year-old girl in Portland.

Tran has been serving a one year and eight-month sentence for a Nov. 29, 2016 burglary in Northeast Portland. In that case, a 17-year-old was home in a residence on Northeast 81st Avenue when Tran broke through a sliding-glass door and entered the home in 2016, according to court records. The teen hid in a closet, called 911 and waited for police to respond. When officers arrived, police could see Tran through the broken glass door removing objects from the home and putting them on a patio and arrested him.

At the time of the arrest, Tran, of Vietnam, was living in outer Southeast Portland, according to court records. He has an extensive criminal record, including 13 felony and six misdemeanor convictions in California and Oregon . Hes been convicted of carrying a concealed weapon, possession of methamphetamine, identity theft, and felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced for the 2016 burglary in October 2017.

The state police recently announced it had completed testing on all the states old kits. The 2,610 kits from Multnomah, Lane and Marion counties made up nearly half of the states 5,600 backlog of old kits, counted by the state police in 2015 as part of a statewide effort to identify the scope of the problem.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
A Tualatin man Tuesday pleaded guilty to money laundering in federal court following a negotiated agreement that will result in all federal charges being dismissed against his son.

Ronald Eugene Stover, 64, who suffers from advanced stage cancer, is expected to face five years of probation and $3.2 million in restitution when sentenced in February.

In 2016, the senior Stover and his son Jeffrey Charles Stover were indicted on federal wire and bankruptcy fraud charges, accused of purporting to raise money for different capital projects while using investors' loans for personal use.

Prosecutors alleged that the two Stovers were working together for more than four years in the fraud conspiracy to fund their own lavish lifestyles between March 29, 2010, and March 10, 2015.

The senior Stover billed himself as someone who helped turn around companies that were in financial distress and worked to secure private investment for a company called Tri-Core Funding Group and for another company called Xtreme Iron, the indictments said. Xtreme Iron owned a fleet of Caterpillar and John Deere heavy equipment in Frisco, Texas, and maintained an office in Wilsonville, Oregon.

He represented to investors that the businesses needed additional capital to successfully capture what Ronald Stover called "available business opportunities,'' according to the indictment.

In pleading to a single money laundering charge, the father admitted that he emailed a California victim in May 2012, soliciting $175,000 to buy heavy equipment from Caterpillar. In response, Stover executed a 30-day loan note, promising repayment plus interest. Instead, Stover used about $168,880 of the money to pay more than a years worth of mortgage payments on his Tualatin home, which was on the brink of foreclosure.

Under the plea deal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Brecker Maddux said all other wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud charges will be dropped against Ronald Stover, and all charges will be dropped against his son. The government also has agreed not to bring further charges against the father or son stemming from other alleged criminal activity its aware of, Maddux said.

While out of custody in August 2017, prosecutors alleged that Ronald Stover was continuing his criminal conspiracy. The senior Stover was soliciting investments for a project called Airscape Innovations from someone who didnt know about Stovers pending charges, the government alleged. Stover had spoken with an investor three times in the previous six months to persuade him to loan money to advance his business plan with Airscape Innovations, according to court records.

At his sentencing, the prosecutor will be able to argue for specific conditions of Stovers probation, but the conditions cannot exceed two years of home confinement.

Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 25 before U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
By Sherrilyn Ifill

Special to The Washington Post

In 1963, a 28-year-old black woman named Mary Hamilton was arrested for nonviolent protest. She was brought before an Alabama court, hardly a friendly environment for a young civil rights activist. But as she stood before the judge, she stood firm to her commitment to equal dignity: She refused to answer the prosecutors questions until he called her Miss Hamilton, as he would any white female defendant.

It was a brave stand and an important one. In 1964, the Supreme Court reversed Hamilton's conviction for contempt of court in a little-noted landmark decision.

I have been thinking about Hamilton over the past few days as I've watched President Donald Trump attack black female journalists. Trump's vicious and public insults of black female professionals should remind us that black women have long had to fight for respect and dignity and against demeaning and ugly stereotypes in the public space. As Hamilton demonstrated, this was a signature struggle of the civil rights movement; we need to keep that context in mind when Trump demeans black women he regards as his opponents.

Trump's hostility to black female journalists flared up last week in a press briefing he called the day after the election. It was clear he was shaken by Democrats' victory in the House and spoiling for a fight. He fought with CNN's Jim Acosta, whom he called "rude." He told NBC's Peter Alexander that he didn't much like him, either.

But his engagement with PBS journalist Yamiche Alcindor was particularly alarming, perhaps because of the mild and respectful manner in which she asked a question about the president's embrace of language that some say emboldens white supremacists. Wagging a finger at Alcindor, the president accused her of asking "a racist question." The next day, he accused CNN's Abby Phillip of asking a "stupid question" and added, "but I watch you a lot, and you ask a lot of stupid questions." He then called American Urban Radio Networks White House correspondent and CNN contributor April Ryan, whom he had commanded to "sit down" when she stood to ask a question in the briefing the day before, a "loser."

Trump's flagrant hostility toward black women extends beyond members of the press. At his rallies, he regularly calls Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, "low-IQ." Many former aides have angered Trump by what he regards as betrayal, but only Omarosa Manigault Newman has been called a "dog" by the president.

Of course, Trump is not the first to denigrate black women for political gain. President Ronald Reagan popularized the myth of the "welfare queen," shaping for decades the public's response to the struggles of tens of thousands of poor, black mothers. It was such an effective insult, implying both laziness and entitlement, that conservatives repurposed it for other uses, including calling civil rights lawyer Lani Guinier "quota queen" in an attempt to derail her 1993 confirmation as assistant attorney general for civil rights.

But Trump's verbal abuse of black women is of a different order. His attacks are often delivered personally as he talks over his target, steps toward her and wags a finger in contempt. He uses multiple platforms, following in-person insults with tweets. His attacks are often accompanied by an invitation for others to explicitly or silently join in at his frenzied rallies.

We ignore the president's harsh attacks on black women at our peril. First, there are costs to the physical safety of these women and their families, given the overheated political climate of this moment. Further, we betray our ideals when we allow the most powerful man in the world to unravel decades of progress that black women have battled for in the public space. When the president chooses to call prominent black women or journalists "stupid," we black women feel it.

Which is the final point: The president's words and conduct are wounding. Each of the accomplished women Trump attacked last week knows who she is and understands the president's limitations. That is why Alcindor was so prepared to handle such an ugly moment with the president. Every black professional woman arms herself against the stereotypes that too often influence how society sees and evaluates her. In fact, that's one of our superpowers: Defying expectations.

But these attacks are wounding nevertheless. The ability to manage a dignified response to a brutal attack does not make the attack any less shameful. The fact that these women must arm themselves against this attack by the president of the United States should alarm us all.

The president, who repeatedly insists that we respect the office of the presidency, must first do so himself. When he speaks, he speaks in our name - whether we agree with him or not. And when he speaks, he gives license to others - in offices, factories, universities and workplaces all over the country - to follow his example. We cannot become numb to this brutality.

-- Sherrilyn Ifill is the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which represented Mary Hamilton in the Alabama Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was spot on when he recently described how increasingly violent protests in downtown are hurting the city's reputation, damaging the city's economy and leaving local residents feeling unsafe.

Yes, yes and yes.

And so it's understandable these disturbing conclusions led Wheeler to craft an ordinance that would provide him with greater power to regulate protests. Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw, echoed his concerns in a hearing last week, saying she's powerless to prevent violent protests and is left only with the tools to react after the fact.

"The community is fed up," she told City Council. Indeed, the proposal Wheeler hopes to put to a vote on Wednesday is exactly what some residents and business owners have called on him to introduce for months.

But this ordinance is not the answer.

For several reasons, Wheeler should put this vote on hold, accept help from interested community members and craft an improved, long-term solution that will keep order while also passing constitutional muster.

Last week's hearing illustrated the true depth of this problem. The furor isn't simply about Patriot Prayer and antifa facing off in bloody brawls on public sidewalks. Some Portlanders, and even a City Council member, question how fairly police use the tools they already have, and aren't prepared to provide them with more. The city desperately needs an answer, but the wrong answer will only dig us deeper into this dark hole.

Numerous constitutional experts have raised issues with a key element of Wheeler's so-called "time, place and manner" regulations. As The Oregonian/OregonLive's Gordon Friedman reported, the policy would allow the mayor, who also serves as the police commissioner, to decide where, when and how protests could be held if three standards are met: The group has a history of violence; participants' or bystanders' safety is at risk; the probability of violence at the event is high.

Yet courts here and across the country have consistently stated that past behavior can't be used to strip people of their First Amendment rights.

Former Mayor Charlie Hales tried something similar when he blocked Joe Walsh from attending City Council meetings based on the activist's disruptive behavior at earlier meetings. Walsh sued. And U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon ruled that Hales' "prospective exclusions" violated Walsh's rights.

"In this case," Simon wrote in 2015, "mere speculation that some persons may make others feel unsafe or engage in additional disruptions is an insufficient basis upon which to erect a governmental power to bar those who wish to express their views from participating in public debate."

Already, ACLU of Oregon leaders have said that while they agree recent protests - and police response to them - are concerning, they'd be among the first to challenge Wheeler's proposal.

This ordinance provides "too much power to a police official -- to a city official's judgment," said Kimberly McCullough, ACLU's policy director. "How will these judgments about groups of protesters be made? Will there be a list? How will you get off the list?"

A handful of law professors have cited similar concerns and a prediction that the ordinance would likely be quashed. The ordinance provides the mayor vast power and yet we still have many unanswered questions. Even other council members have basic questions, in part because they said Wheeler crafted the policy without consulting them.

McCullough and other advocacy groups have pledged assistance in researching other lawful tools to prepare for and address protests. Wheeler should accept the offers from the ACLU, the National Lawyers Guild and the Urban League, and solicit help from local business leaders and organizations. A diverse group of community members should increase the quality of the final product and ensure buy-in from those groups and their members. While this process will take more time, a sense of urgency shouldn't be lost as Wheeler's concerns about increasing violence are valid.

The mayor deserves credit for driving hard on a solution. Yet if he doesn't push pause, Wheeler's attempt to rise to this moment of needed leadership could undermine the work he's done so far.

Commissioners Chloe Eudaly and Amanda Fritz have said they'll vote against the ordinance. Commissioner-elect Jo Ann Hardesty also panned the plan and called on the council to hold off until she joins them next year.

So even if Wheeler has the votes today -- which remains a question - Eudaly, Fritz and Hardesty could join forces in January and repeal the regulation. That would take us back to the starting gate after having turned away potential partners who have an interest in making this policy strong, effective and fair.

Portland needs leadership that will bring us to thoughtful and equitable solutions. We should be willing to wait a little longer to get them.

-- Laura Gunderson for The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board

Oregonian editorials

Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. Members of the editorial board are Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, Therese Bottomly and John Maher.

Members of the board meet regularly to determine our institutional stance on issues of the day. We publish editorials when we believe our unique perspective can lend clarity and influence an upcoming decision of great public interest. Editorials are opinion pieces and therefore different from news articles. However, editorials are reported and written by either Laura Gunderson or Helen Jung.

To respond to this editorial, post your comment below,

or a

.

If you have questions about the opinion section,

, editorial pages editor, or call 503-221-8378.
By Robert Harris

The reports of the Independent Party of Oregon's death are greatly exaggerated. (With apologies to Mark Twain).

Shortly before the general election, after ballots had been mailed and people started voting, our party's nominee for governor, Patrick Starnes, announced that he was withdrawing from the race and throwing his support to Gov. Kate Brown based on her promise to support campaign finance reform.

On one hand, what Starnes did was damaging to the public perception of our party and to those who had cast ballots for him. On the other hand, what he did was also kind of great. A cabinetmaker with no prior experience or background on the issue of campaign finance reform was able to get a sitting governor to prioritize the issue after more than a decade of inaction.

Patrick was never going to be elected governor, but he used his campaign to highlight an issue that is important to both our party and the broader Oregon electorate. He was the first third-party candidate to participate in a live televised debate and his presence was a factor in the governor publicly pledging to back a constitutional amendment for campaign finance reform - a pledge she repeated on election night. We may not have agreed with Patrick's strategy and timing, but there is no question that he had a meaningful impact on the election issues and on Oregon's political agenda going forward. That is one important role for a strong third party: Get a popular, but neglected issue before the voting public and force dominant party candidates to address it, and perhaps adopt it.

That said, running long-shot third-party candidates for statewide offices when they lack the resources to compete has never been a part of the Independent Party's strategy. Though we supported candidates like Patrick in their ambitions, we are not naive. We've never set our bar at electing a statewide candidate or supplanting one of the current dominant parties. We have always said that our main strategy with candidates is to elect independent-minded candidates to local and perhaps state legislative offices with the goal of building from the bottom up. It's a long-term strategy meant to bend the historical arc towards democracy reform.

Today we look to our past successes for guidance on a path going forward. This year our co-chair, Dan Meek, led a successful effort to enact city-wide campaign finance reforms in Portland, which passed with 88 percent of the vote. The party has also made significant gains in local offices, with more than 100 Independents currently holding local city council, mayor and school board positions. In 2019, we expect to work with local officials around the state to push state-level policymakers on issues such as the underfunded Public Employees Retirement System, homelessness and housing affordability while holding the governor accountable for the promise that she made to support a state constitutional amendment for campaign finance reform.

The Independent Party of Oregon is also likely to be relegated to minor-party status for 2020. Despite adding more than 10,000 members since reaching major-party status in 2015, the party's registration is expected to dip below the threshold for maintaining that status as overall voter registration surges. Although that will bring an inevitable loss of cachet, the upside is that the party will be able to regain control over its ballot instead of following major-party requirements to select a nominee through a May primary. The Independent Party can set its own process for choosing nominees, hold its own primary and ensure that candidates running as Independent Party candidates stand for Independent Party principles. We will also be looking at offering endorsements to candidates in major-party contested primaries where one party dominates -- especially where the primary candidates differ on important priorities, such as nonpartisan redistricting.

It has always been clear that the current voting structure - first candidate past the post - is designed for two and only two dominant parties. The scale of the other two parties also makes it virtually impossible for a smaller third party to compete in partisan statewide or even state legislative office. But it is equally clear that our party has had and will continue to have a meaningful role in Oregon politics. Where that takes us remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: With 125,000 members and still growing, and the impact Patrick was able to have on the public agenda, it isn't time for the Independent Party to fold the tent. If anything, it proves that a very few people who feel strongly about important issues can make a difference.

It's possible to move mountains, but it's something that seldom happens overnight.

Rob Harris is co-chair of the Independent Party of Oregon. He lives in Hillsboro.
A man is accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife in North Bend late Tuesday, only weeks after she filed for divorce.

Glen Frank Mason, 54, is also accused of shooting the woman's daughter, who had emergency surgery and was transferred to a Portland hospital, where she was "fairly stable" early Wednesday, prosecutors said. He was arrested on suspicion of murder, three counts of attempted murder and a single count of first-degree assault.

North Bend police responded Leslie E. Mason's home on Chester Street about 10:15 p.m. after dispatchers got reports of screaming and gunshots in the area, according to the Coos County District Attorney's Office.

Officers found Leslie Mason, 53, dead from apparent gunshot wounds, according to prosecutors. Lindsay Pease, her adult daughter, was also shot multiple times but was alive, prosecutors said. She was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to OHSU Hospital in Portland.

Three children of Pease's were also found inside or near the home. None of them were hurt.

Witnesses indicated to authorities that they had seen Glen Mason, the estranged husband, leaving the area. And when they tried to stop him, he allegedly fired a gun in their direction.

Prosecutors said a neighbor returned fire. They didn't say in a news release early Wednesday whether anyone was hit.

Police responded to Glen Mason's home on Ridge Road near North Bend and saw him inside. He surrendered to police without incident after about a half-hour speaking with police negotiators and was booked into jail, according to prosecutors.

Court records show Leslie Mason filed for divorce in late October. The case remained open.

Records also show Pease, the 28-year-old daughter, was convicted in August of menacing Glen Mason earlier this year. A court document filed in August says she lived at the same Chester Street home as her mother.

North Bend is a small city adjacent to Coos Bay and near the Oregon coast. The Masons were married in Hawaii in 2004, according to court records.

North Bend police are leading the investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the agency.

 Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
Since the Oregon Supreme Court found that Kipland P. Kinkel's nearly 112-year sentence reflected his "irreparable corruption rather than the transience of youth,'' it shouldn't be overturned, a state appellate lawyer wrote to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oregon solicitor general Benjamin Gutman filed the brief this month in response to Kinkel's August petition to the nation's high court for a review of his sentence. The court will consider the case against a backdrop of increasing scrutiny of life sentences for juveniles.

Kinkel was 15 when he fatally shot his parents in their Springfield home on May 20, 1998, before killing two students and wounding 24 others the next morning at Thurston High School. Kinkel pleaded no contest to four counts of murder and 26 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to 25 years for his four homicides and nearly 87 years for the wounding of 24 others and attempted murder of a police detective.

He's now 36 and an inmate at the Oregon State Correctional Institution.

In his petition, Kinkel and his lawyers argued that the Oregon Supreme Court got it wrong earlier this year when it upheld Kinkel's sentence of essentially life in prison. They argued that Kinkel and his lawyers at his sentencing never got an opportunity to show he could be rehabilitated.

They cited the 2012 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Miller v. Alabama that struck down mandatory life sentences without parole for two 14-year-olds. They also cited Montgomery v. Louisiana, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that states are constitutionally required to give retroactive consideration to new rules, such as that issued in the Alabama case.

Gutman countered that the Oregon Supreme Court found that Kinkel's sentence did not violate the Eighth Amendment's ban against cruel and unusual punishment after considering the breadth and severity of his crimes.

The state Supreme Court considered Kinkel killed four people over two days and wounded almost two dozen classmates with an intent to kill them. It also considered his schizoaffective disorder  a condition "that was not a function of his youth,'' but one that the sentencing judge ruled was an incurable illness, Gutman wrote.

"In short, there is no reason for this Court to review these issues in this case where petitioner has not established that the Oregon Supreme Court committed an error,'' Gutman wrote.

How the Miller ruling would apply to a juvenile sentenced to a lengthy aggregate sentence stemming from multiple criminal convictions may be worthy of U.S. Supreme Court review, but Kinkel's case is not the case for that, Oregon's solicitor general argued.

The state Supreme Court had considered factors that the Miller case identified, such as Kinkel's youth, but still found the sentence constitutional, Gutman wrote. He quoted from the state Supreme Court ruling, which read, "Given the nature and the number of the crimes that petitioner committed, we are hard pressed to say that his aggregate sentence is constitutionally disproportionate, even taking his youth into account.''

Attorneys Thaddeus Betz, of Bend, and Marsha Levick, of the nationally recognized Juvenile Law Center, are representing Kinkel.

They've argued that Kinkel never got an opportunity to show he's not "permanently incorrigible" before the state essentially imposed a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. They contend Kinkel suffered from a severe mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia, and depression at the time of his crimes, which played a significant role in the shootings. Kinkel wrote in his petition to the U.S. Supreme Court that he was delusional and hallucinating when he committed his crimes.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
A drunken driver who slammed into a patrol car parked along Interstate 5, injuring two Portland police officers, was sentenced Wednesday to 20 days in jail and three years of probation.

Ken Thomas Neely, 54, will also have his driver's license revoked for five years and be forced to fork over nearly $8,700 in restitution, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said.

Neely, a Vancouver resident, pleaded guilty last month to charges of third-degree felony assault and driving under the influence of intoxicants in connection with the January 13 incident.

Sergeant Nick Newby and Officer Kimberly Adams had responded to a report of a possible drunken driver who stalled his car just south of the Interstate Bridge, blocking northbound traffic, court records show.

Police placed that driver into custody just before 1 a.m. and were waiting for a tow truck when Neely, who was also intoxicated, plowed into Adams' patrol car and injured both cops, the district attorney's office said.

The patrol car had its emergency lights on at the time of the crash, authorities said. Investigators who responded said Neely slurred his speech and smelled of booze at the scene and was arrested.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh
MUJI, the Japanese brand that set up a pop-up store in Portland earlier this year, will open a brick-and-mortar location in downtown Portland's Meier & Frank Building on Nov. 17.

In Japanese, MUJI means "no brand quality goods." The company was founded in Japan in 1980 and now has stores in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The Portland store will be its first location in the Pacific Northwest and, at 11,000 square feet, it will be MUJI's second-largest retail space in the country.

"We try to sell products that are for everyone's daily essentials," Ichigo Sugiura, MUJI USA's marketing manager told The Oregonian/OregonLive when the pop-up opened in September.

"From cleaning supplies, to garments, to stationery," she said. "Basically you could buy your whole life in MUJI. It's easy."

Exciting news, Portland! #MUJIPortland will officially open this Sat, Nov. 17th! Mark the date on your calendars, and join us on Saturday at 10am. In the meantime, stay tuned while we countdown to Opening Day and reveal sneak peeks of the store! #muji #mujiusa #portland #pdx pic.twitter.com/Ebq5hJeYmQ  MUJI USA (@mujiusa) November 13, 2018

While the pop-up carried around 300 products, the department store will carry thousands more. It will also feature an art wall created by students from Pacific Northwest College of Art.

The store is set to open to the public at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
A judge Tuesday ordered that Greg Porter -- the 61-year-old man accused of intentionally driving into three pedestrians at Portland State University -- be sent to the state mental hospital for a evaluation into whether hes mentally fit to be criminally prosecuted.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Nan Waller ordered that Porter be sent to the Oregon State Hospital after a mental health expert or experts hired by his defense lawyer determined that he is mentally unfit to be criminally prosecuted because hes incapable of meaningfully making decisions about his case.

Waller sealed the report or reports, and no information was available about what type of mental illness Porter might suffer from.

The Multnomah County District Attorneys Office said it wanted its own review done of Porter at the state mental hospital, and thats what Waller agreed to on Tuesday, said Brent Weisberg, a spokesman for the DAs office.

Hours after police arrested Porter on May 25 for allegedly driving his SUV into three women on the sidewalk at Southwest Sixth Avenue and Montgomery Street, Porter said he'd never been diagnosed with a mental illness. He also said that he'd never received treatment and he wasn't taking any medications.

But an administrator at a rehabilitation facility that Porter checked out of last year said Porter suffered from delusions. The first page of a Portland police report also lists a warning to officers that Porter may be mentally ill, stating: "CAUTION: SUICIDAL / MENTAL HEALTH."

Porter told authorities that he smoked marijuana daily for pain, but he didn't specify what kind of pain. Porter told jailers that he had been homeless for the previous year and most recently had been living in his car. He said he has a ninth-grade education, was unemployed and lived off Social Security disability checks of $1,425 a month. He didn't say what his disability is.

Police say Greg Porter drove onto the sidewalk and struck three pedestrians at the Portland State University Urban Center, an area that includes restaurants, university departments and a MAX stop.

All three women Porter is accused of striking survived.

According to court records, PSU freshman Hannah Cline underwent emergency surgery for life-threatening injuries. A second woman, Fadra Regis, suffered a broken leg. A third woman, Sabrina Vuscan, suffered a lacerated liver and spleen. Vuscan and Regis weren't PSU students.

Porter has been charged with attempted aggravated murder and hit-and-run driving, among other charges.

-- Aimee Green
Three electric scooter companies have asked Portland not to go cold turkey on the two-wheeled transportation craze during Thanksgiving week.

Nov. 20 is the end of the line for Portlands four-month trial. But the three e-scooter companies with legal permits to operate in the city  Skip, Lime and Bird  believe things are going too well to pull the plug. The companies cite the scooters popularity, the economic benefit to local residents and the fact scooter-riders are helping Portland achieve its climate goals by encouraging car-free transportation as reasons to keep scooters on city streets.

Lime remains committed to this community until our last day of operation -- we hope that day isnt next week, Jeremy Nelson, Limes general manager in Portland said in an email.

But the city says thanks but no thanks. All scooters will be gone Nov. 20.

Thats always been the case, said John Brady, Portland Bureau of Transportation spokesman. Weve always been really clear about that.

Bird and Lime submitted letters to Portland transportation leaders and City Council offices asking for an extension. Skip, the third e-scooter company with a permit under the four-month program, has also asked city leaders to reconsider the permit timeline. The companies tried to drum up positive comments from users in the past week, and city officials say they received more than 600 because of the companys efforts.

According to Limes letter, 30 people have full-time jobs in Portland because of the scooter trial. Those employees have pulled in a collective $275,000 in wages so far. Another $230,000 has gone to so-called juicers who charge the scooters overnight.

Lime also argued that by ending the pilot, Portlanders who have changed their commuting habits will be disadvantaged.

Mario Sandler, Birds senior manager for government partnerships, wrote a letter Tuesday calling the pilot tremendously successful. Birds estimates it has set aside $46,000 to give to the city for bike lanes, and it estimated it had paid 700 Portlanders a collective $413,000 for charging its scooters.

As of Nov. 8, the companies had logged 643,417 trips since first hitting city streets this summer. The average length of a ride was 1.2 miles, and scooters registered 745,729 miles on Portland streets.

Brady said the city will continue to gather data on the scooter pilot and hopes to issue a full report early next year. That report will guide future plans to bring scooters to Portland permanently, if the citys political and transportation leaders see fit.

We need to assess what were finding, he said of the data. We need to hear more from Portlanders, all of their experiences, both positive and negative.

The transportation bureau announced later Tuesday that it fined Skip $9,000 in penalties for not providing at least 100 scooters in East Portland and for violating a requirement to have at least 90 percent of the companys scooter fleet deployed each day during the pilot program.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
TriMet will amend its rules next month to clarify that riders must pay to take a train or bus and that the transit agency has the right under state law to enforce those rules, but also that not paying a fare is not a criminal act.

The transit agency said it suggested the changes after what it described as confusion on the system surrounding the role and legality of fare inspections on the rails. The confusion came after a judge ruled transit police stopped and seized a David Douglas School Board member without individualized suspicion."

The Board of Directors unanimously approved the rule tweaks on Wednesday. The changes will go into effect in December.

The unanimous board approval comes one month after TriMet board member Kathy Wai stopped an October emergency vote on the proposed code changes and asked the transit agency to first reach out to more communities of color and social service providers. It also comes after the Multnomah Circuit Court judges opinion in September, which argued transit police had illegally stopped and arrested a woman at an Old Town Chinatown MAX station in March.

TriMets staff attorneys suggested stronger language in TriMets code, the rules and regulations governing the system, to more explicitly document the agencys authority under state law to issue citations to passengers who dont pay their fares.

Legal counsel said the action was more about giving TriMets front-line fare enforcement staffers solid footing to approach passengers and ask for valid fare. They said the ruling from Judge John Wittmayer that the random March fare stop was unconstitutional had caused confusion" on the system. TriMet leaders say the legal steps merely clarify that TriMet has the authority to stop riders and that the violation for not paying a fare amounts to a citation and not a criminal act. Civil rights groups seized on the ruling as a victory and argued that the judges ruling prompted wider implications for sweeping fare stops where all riders are stopped when existing a train.

TriMet said the changes are a good thing for all riders, ensuring the fare is fair for all riders and clarifying punishment for not paying a ticket amounts to a citation. Transit advocates have long raised concerns that, despite multiple TriMet commissioned studies showing the contrary, people of color are unfairly targeted in fare stings.

Roberta Altstadt, TriMets spokeswoman, said the code revisions will answer these concerns.

The revision also more directly states that if a persons sole offense is failing to show proof of payment, the only penalty would be a warning, citation or exclusion and not a criminal charge, she continued in an email.

In the month since Wai asked TriMet to do more public outreach, the agency has contacted more than a dozen organizations that work closely with transit-dependent riders and low-income passengers.

John Gardner, TriMets director of diversity and transit equity, said the vast majority of the groups contacted believe the ordinance makes sense and is the next step in further decriminalizing fare evasion. He presented a list of 17 organization -- including Centro Cultural, the Urban League of Portland and the Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization  that signed off on the code revisions.

Gardner called the outreach a good step and said TriMet took the action in response to the case involving Ana del Rocio. Gardner said the community groups he spoke with like that TriMet is explicitly saying in its own rules that fare evasion warrants a citation, not a crime.

It further separates us from the criminal justice system, he said of the rule changes, both in in intent and policy.

But the ACLU of Oregon said while TriMet was taking steps to making fare enforcement more equitable it believes the unconstitutional practices highlighted by Judge Wittmayer are still unaddressed. The ACLU said as long as police continue to participate in fare sweeps, it will continue to impact the poor, people with mental health issues and communities of color.

The ACLU remains worried that TriMet carved out an exception for cases where a rider does not satisfactorily provide a name and address, the same circumstance it says resulted in criminal charges against Ana del Rocio after her March arrest on a MAX platform.

A system that can result in criminal prosecution from a misunderstanding over a name will certainly have a disproportionate impact on people of color and individuals from cultures where naming conventions are different than that of White American culture, the ACLU wrote in an email to TriMet leaders Wednesday morning. This ordinance ignores that reality and thereby continues to enact a policy that will further criminalize communities of color.

TriMet says it asks for legal names and addresses strictly to ensure it is issuing the proper citation to the right individual, and it would work to ensure riders caught in that situation understand the rationale.

Wai, Ozzie Gonzales and Keith Edwards, three board members appointed by Gov. Kate Brown this year, said they hoped TriMet was just getting started in educating riders about the rules of the rail and working on training its own employees for how to navigate thorny issues like how to ask for identification and what types of identification are acceptable.

TriMet has instituted a low-income fare program in the past year, where riders who qualify can pay half-fare. Fines for fare evasion have been slashed, too, in favor of community service and other options.

TriMet fare officers try to direct repeated fare evaders to the low-income fare option as well.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
Finally, a bit of good salmon news this week, courtesy Seattle Public Utilities (SPU).

For the first time in eight years, chinook salmon have returned to Thornton Creek, in northeast Seattle, to spawn.

The creek was the subject of an $8 million rehabilitation project in 2014, where SPU crews replaced 1,000 feet of a narrow, deep streambed with a wider, engineered streambed. This keeps high-quality gravel in place for spawning salmon, according to a release by SPU.

At least one pair of salmon has taken advantage of the improvements, four years later.

RELATED: Less whale tours, dams: Washington task force returns with guidance on Tuesday

"The chinook salmon pair traveled almost one-and-a-half miles to select this site for spawning. That's a vote of confidence!" SPU biologist Katherine Lynch said in a statement.

Like other species of salmon, chinook salmon spend their lives in the ocean, but move to freshwater to lay eggs in streams and rivers. As juvenile salmon mature, they move slowly down those rivers and streams to estuaries, and eventually enter ocean waters.

Depending on the run in which they live, several populations of chinook salmon are listed as either threatened or endangered by the NOAA. They are the Pacific's largest species of salmon and are a critical source of food for Puget Sound's resident orcas.

RELATED: Connelly: Trudeau vows to build pipeline, greens sue to protect Orcas

Orcas are facing their own plights. Experts have said that dwindling chinook salmon supplies and shrinking salmon size, plus pollution accumulated in the salmon, all contribute to the shrinking population of resident killer whales, which have reached a 30-year low.

Earlier this year, restaurants around Seattle stopped serving chinook salmon in an effort to help preserve the population for hungry orcas, fueled by the grief of one orca mother who carried her deceased calf with her for 17 days and 1,000 miles. The calf had died minutes after being born.

Producer Natalie Guevara can be contacted at natalie.guevara@seattlepi.com.
For the fifth consecutive term, Maureen Donker has been selected to serve as mayor for the City of Midland.

"Thank you for the confidence you have placed in me," Donker said after her election Monday in the Council Chambers at Midland City Hall.

Donker was first elected to the council in November 2007 and was elected as mayor for the first time in 2009.

"As required by law and for all ceremonial purposes, the mayor is recognized as the executive head of the City of Midland," City Clerk Selina Tisdale said.

Following Donker's election, the council unanimously elected Councilman Marty Wazbinski as Mayor Pro Tem.

"The mayor pro tem performs the duties of mayor when the mayor is absent from the community or by disability or by other circumstances finds that the mayor is unable to perform the duties of the office," Tisdale read.

Tisdale opened the meeting and administered the oath of office to the five council members. Four of the five have served previous terms. The lone new member of council will be Pam Hall, who succeeded Tom Adams as the representative from Ward 1. The general election saw Hall win by a 28-vote margin over Jeremy Rodgers.

Wazbinski is the longest serving councilman as he commences his ninth term representing Ward 5 while Donker is entering her sixth term from Ward 2.

Serving the residents of Ward 4, Diane Brown Wilhelm begins her sixth term while Ward 3 councilman, Steve Arnosky, embarks upon his second term.

With a mayor elected, Tisdale stepped down to resume her duties as city clerk as Donker moved over to chair the meeting.

Because Adams chose not to seek reelection, replacements were needed for the seats he held on the MBS International Airport Commission and the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board.

Brown Wilhelm nominated Arnosky, who stated that he would like to serve on the airport commission.

"I was the newest member, until recently, of the council. When I was (elected to the first term), I didn't take any other position on the council. It has given me time to get up to speed," Arnosky said. "I would be honored to serve."

Arnosky also stated that he would like to replace Adams on the EMS Advisory Board if nobody else wanted to serve.

However, Hall mentioned that she would like to serve, which led Wazbinski to nominate Hall. But, the motion died for lack of a second. Wazbinski then moved that Arnosky serve with a second from Brown Wilhelm, which unanimously passed.

Brown Wilhelm was selected to continue in the role as Midland's Legislative Director, who monitors state and federal legislation effecting the City of Midland.

"I would like to continue in this role. I have been doing it since I have been on the council," said Brown, who also sits on the board of the Michigan Municipal League and its legislative committee.

The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 333 W. Ellsworth St.
Residents are invited to attend the annual Midland Community Television Honors Night on Thursday, Nov. 15 at Creative 360, 1517 Bayliss St. The night will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

Honors Night is an annual celebration to recognize the efforts of the many access users and organizations that create the programs seen on Midland's four cable access channels. This program is presented by the Friends of MCTV. John McPeak will serve as the volunteer host. A major award will be presented to an individual and an organization for their efforts in creating original, local content with Midland Community Television.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter John Kennett.

Sunday, Nov. 11

12:16 a.m. -- A 36-year-old Lake I9:15 p.m. -- A Larkin Township residence isaid that they purchased a service protection on their computer and the provider sent them gift cards and requested the serial numbers; they did not provide them. The complainant realized it was possibly a scam so they contacted their financial institution and disputed the charges and were going to contact Best Buy on what to do with the gift cards.

9:40 p.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a report of a suspicious man in his vehicle at a Jerome Township business. Deputies made contact with the 37-year-old Gladwin man. The man was later arrested for two valid fugitive warrants out of Gladwin County.

9:41 p.m. -- A 24-year-old Warren Township woman reported that a 28-year-old Isabella County woman almost struck her with a vehicle in the caller's driveway. The caller said she felt it may have been intentional but did not wish to pursue any charges. The caller said she had instigated the situation and realizes she could have handled it better. She just requested the deputy ask the 28-year-old not to return to her residence.

10:42 p.m. -- Deputies were sent to Homer Township for a report of a possible drunk driver. The vehicle was located and stopped in Lee Township. The driver had not been drinking.

11:33 p.m. -- A 26-year-old Beaverton man was arrested on a contempt of court warrant on a previous burglary charge out of the Gladwin County courts following a traffic stop on a Hope Township roadway.

Saturday, Nov. 10

5:40 a.m. -- A deputy was dispatched to a city of Midland residence for a report of an assault that occurred in Greendale Township. A report is being sent to the Midland County Prosecutor's Office for a warrant request.

12:49 p.m. -- A 49-year-old Ingersoll Township man was arrested for driving while license suspended following a traffic stop in Midland.

Friday, Nov. 9

12:08 a.m. -- Officers responded to a case of domestic violence in the 200 block of West Indian Street.

1:47 a.m. -- A civil complaint was reported in the 3900 block of Bay City Road.

2:58 a.m. -- A case of domestic assault/probation violation was reported in the 4500 block of North Saginaw Road.

9:57 a.m. -- A 33-year-old Jerome Township woman reported that her 32-year-old ex-boyfriend threatened to come to her parents' house to gather up the rest of his belongings. She did not want him there. She was told to call 911 if he showed up and he would be escorted off the property.

10:42 a.m. -- A 50-year-old Edenville Township man reported that an unknown subject broke into his garage and stole about $4,950 in tools.

11:32 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township residence for a 911 hang-up call. Deputies contacted all parties at the residence who said everything was fine and nobody called 911.

2:22 p.m. -- A 27-year-old man called 911 to report that a 25-year-old man was on his property wanting to remove a vehicle that didn't belong to him. The 25-year-old man left prior to the deputies' arrival.

3:02 p.m. -- A deputy arrested a 34-year-old Edenville Township woman on an outstanding Midland County warrant.

4:29 p.m. -- An anonymous person called to report that a Lincoln Township business was burning illegal materials. No illegal burn was found.

6 p.m. -- A 71-year-old Geneva Township man found screws in his vehicle's tires. The man believes that the screws were put there by an unknown subject. There is no evidence of foul play. It appears that the man is having mental health issues and his family is aware of the issues.

8:18 p.m. -- A deputy checked on a report of a 78-year-old Lee Township man being noncompliant for his sex offender registry. The deputy made contact with the man at his residence, verified he still resides there and a report is being sent to the Midland County Prosecutor's office.

8:43 p.m. -- A deputy responded to a Lincoln Township roadway for a single-vehicle traffic crash. A 61-year-old Lincoln Township male driver was transported to MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland by EMS. A report was forwarded to the Midland County Prosecutor's office for operating while intoxicated and violation of the controlled substance act.

9:33 p.m. -- A deputy went to a Lee Township residence to verify a non-compliant sex offender that had failed to verify their address. Upon investigation, it was learned that the suspect was not living at the address and a new tenant had moved in. A report is being forwarded to the Midland County Prosecutor's Office.

10:02 p.m. -- A deputy was dispatched to Saginaw Road near Smith Street for a two-vehicle traffic crash. The at-fault driver was cited for violation of the basic speed laws and a crash report was completed. One of the drivers was transported to the MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland Emergency Department for evaluation.

10:02 p.m. -- A warrant arrest was made in the 5300 block of Dublin Avenue.

10:56 p.m. -- A verbal domestic dispute was reported in the 6100 block of Eastman Avenue.

11:12 p.m. -- A deputy was dispatched to Jerome Township for a possible intoxicated driver. The deputy stopped the 35-year-old Gladwin County man in Jerome Township. The driver was not inebriated.

11:55 p.m. -- Deputies went to a Lee Township residence to check the well-being of a 63-year-old man. The man was fine but had a valid arrest warrant out of Mount Pleasant for malicious use of telephone. The man was transported to Oil City where he was turned over to Mount Pleasant Police.

Thursday, Nov. 8

12:07 a.m. -- A liquor inspection was conducted in the 400 block of East Ellsworth Street.
As a series of wildfires in California continue to rage out of control, claiming human lives and destroying family homes, an iconic west coast brewery has stepped up to help in more ways than one. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., beloved by all for staples like the groundbreaking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale among many others, has established the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Community Fund via the Golden Valley Bank Community Foundation. The family of Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman kicked off the fund with a $100,000 donation, and you can donate yourself by clicking right here.

The Camp Fire is currently burning and ravaging within the Central Valley county of Butte, located a few hours north of Sacramento. Its the deadliest and most destructive fire in the states history, having destroyed at least 7,000 structures to date, while also being to blame for the deaths of at least 44 residents.

This is a pain that Sierra Nevada knows all too well, as Butte County is the location of the city of Chico, home to the brewerys original headquarters. In fact, the fires have come so close to the brewery that the company was able to post the following, disturbing photo to Instagram of the flames on the horizon. Thankfully, it appears that firefighting forces have been able to keep the fire outside the bounds of Chico so far, but the image itself is terrifying. Family and staff of the company have already lost homes to the Camp Fire, with Sierra Nevada spokeswoman Robin Gregory saying to Brewbound that the fire had displaced 10 percent of the brewerys workforce.

Many of our employees, friends and family-members have been severely affected by the Camp Fire, the brewery announced online. We have started the process of identifying and establishing long-term community support and look forward to rebuilding our beloved home. We are in this with you and will get through it together.

But to their credit, Sierra Nevada didnt just stop after promising to offer aid to their own family and team members. Yesterday, the Chico pub reopened in limited fashion in order to offer free meals to first responders and displaced members of the Chico community. They even offered clothing, straight from the gift shop, to those who needed changes of clothes.

Even though we are all living moment to moment trying to figure out who is safe and if our homes have been spared, the beauty of the human spirit still shines through, said Grossman, speaking for all. We appreciate the tremendous amount of support and compassion shown from folks around the world. With the brave men and women risking their lives fighting this fire and the outpouring of support from communities near and far, we know we are on a path to healing and rebuilding.

All we can do in response is stand and applaud. If theres one brewery in the American craft scene that has always been known as a class act, its Sierra Nevada, and this is just one more reason why they remain such a beloved brand. We urge you to follow their example and donate to the fund established above.

Finest quality, indeed.
Georgias gubernatorial race between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp has gone off the rails as suspicion of voter suppression grows by the day. Abrams and her team filed a lawsuit asking that provisional ballots from democratic counties be counted. That ruling will likely take place on Wednesday, while a federal judge on Tuesday ordered Georgia to wait to certify the election results until Friday.

Tonight 2,738 votes reported, with 2,315 (84.6%) for @staceyabrams. Again, it's not just provisionals, there are still Election Day and mail votes being reported in places that were "100%" reported, & none from Gwinnett. 18,617 runoff margin #CountEveryVote#gapol#teamabramspic.twitter.com/wNv8JhJdCo  Lauren Groh-Wargo (@gwlauren) November 14, 2018

Protesters turned up at the scene to support Abrams cause at the state capitol building, and a few state senators came with them. As the judge ruled that Georgias midterm deadline would extend to Friday, one of Abrams supporters, Georgia state Sen. Nikema Williams, was arrested. Senator Williams, along with a large group of protesters, were asked to clear the floor after the ruling, but remained peacefully.

While being apprehended, Williams told reporters on the scene, I was not yelling. I was not chanting. I stood peacefully next to my constituents because they wanted their voices to be heard, and now Im being arrested.

Williams coworker, a white male, was not apprehended or even acknowledged, though. Sen. David Dreyer, who arrived at the protest shortly after Williams, was present for the arrest. He and Williams both say race played a role in the events.

After the arrest, Dreyer told reporters, Because of our system, because of the bias and the way that our laws are enforced, just like I went down with Sen. Williams to try to de-escalate the situation, Sen. Williams was taken away. We understand shes been left in a van for a very long time on a cold and rainy day.

Williams added after being released, I joined them down on the floor, and I was singled out as a Black female senator standing in the rotunda with constituents, per Huffington Post.

WJCL reports that Kemps lead has shrunk from 50.28 percent to 50.23 percent as of Wednesday morning. If that number sinks below 50 percent, Abrams and Kemp will head for a run-off on Dec. 4. Thanks to this court ruling, officials will be required to review the over 30,000+ provisional ballots, as well as establishing a hotline which voters can use to ensure their vote was counted, per the AJC.
Last Saturday, Floridas Secretary of StateRepublican Ken Detznerordered a state-wide recount in the races for governor, Senate, and agricultural commissioner. Andrew Gillum and Bill NelsonDemocratic candidates for governor and Senator, respectivelyhave, after a still incomplete count of outstanding ballots, pulled within several thousand votes of their Republican opponents, and the late votes have already closed the gaps significantly. Nelson was close enough to his opponent Rick Scott (who appointed Detzner) to have triggered a hand recount, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who conceded defeat last Wednesday but soon after retracted, was within margin for a machine recount.

Rather than abiding by Florida law, howeveror an order from the Republican Secretary of Statethe GOP has challenged not the validity of a recount, but, citing criminal conspiracy, the validity of the votes themselves. The conspiracy theorists include the President of the United States of America, who earlier this week, offering zero evidence, said the final votes in Floridawhich, as a racist, he tweeted were massively infectedshouldnt count, accusing Democrats of trying to steal the elections. Trump also said without providing any evidence or claiming there was any evidence to begin with, that large numbers of ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged.

None of this has been proved true, at least not to an extent that would affect the final tallies in Florida, which have margins in the tens of thousands.

Trumps solution is pure fascism: Not a recount; not a runoff; but reversion to the incomplete tallies last Wednesday that said Republican candidates Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis (for Senate and governor, respectively) both wonfor no apparent reason other than that was the tally at that arbitrary time.

Simply: The President of the United States called for nullification of the vote in order to guarantee his partys victory.

This is what dictators do, and the only thing stopping Donald Trump from being a dictator is the slimmest armature of opposition from a Democrat party who just took the House of Representatives. But even that probably wont be enough: It might not seem like it, but this right-wing conspiracy theory  that Democrats are trying, illegally, to steal an electioncould turn out to be the worst thing Trump has ever done.

Its not even close. Though plenty of other horrorshows come to mindhis reaction to Charlottesville; breaking up families on the border; sabotaging the ACA; publicly endorsing Russian Vladimir Putin over his own intelligence agencies; threatening nuclear war on social media; inspiring maniacs who literally cite his rhetoric to kill people, and then blaming the people who were attackedthose were immediate and pointed events. This attack, however, will spool out over time, and if the GOP doesnt back down, the Florida electionand likely Georgias as wellwill force the United States to an unresolvable constitutional crisis with profound consequences: Mere partisanship can stop an election.

All it takes to collapse a democracy is a group of stubborn people in power. When democracy fails, everything else will go with it. The last two years will seem as inert and sanctified as the dusty bowl of Werthers Originals placed atop your grandparents toilet tank for some reason.

So heres whats happening in the state that, depending whether you read it left to right or right to left, looks like either a flaccid penis or a pistol, respectively, and which, as the bane of our electoral process for nearly two decades, might fittingly finally shoot America right in the twig and berries.

Last Wednesday, Gillum conceded the governors race to DeSantis. Soon afterwards, however, election officials in Broward County discovered boxes of uncounted ballots in a precinct mail room. Officials also decided some ballot inconsistencies which had previously rendered some votes invalidsuch as mismatching signatures or addressescould be resolved, often by reaching out to the voters themselves. Other precincts reported that thousands of Floridas 8.2 million votes hadnt yet been counted. Gillum has since retracted his concession pending a recount.

Now, the GOP conspiracy theorywhich hasnt only been pushed by MAGA dingbats and their talking toilet-king, but presumptively more reasonable voices such as Floridas other Senator, Marco Rubio, and South Carolinas Lindsey Grahamhas questioned specifically votes from Broward County and Palm Beach, which both lean left and are home to, surprise!, large minority populations. The GOP claims essentially two things: The found votes should be invalidated because they were discovered after the state had counted all the votes, which assumes circularly these arent legal votes without taking the time to prove they arent legal; and that people, specifically non-citizens, are voting illegally in droves.

And that no one will get caught.

First, lets take the issue of the recently discovered votes. Republicans are saying, without evidence, that Democrats could have planted those ballots after the initial count in order to steal the election. This is insane for eleven  eleven reasons:

1. I cant believe I have to explain why its insane.

2. They dont even know if these votes lean Democrat or Republican. They just believe they do.

3. Deriving from that premise, the GOP must also assume the overwhelming majority of these ballotsand I mean overwhelming, considering the margins between these candidates were several tens of thousands of voteswere cast for Democratic candidates. Though Broward County votes reliably Democratic, this isnt just a basket of Nelson/Gillum tickets.

4. Along the same lines, the GOP conspiracy theory must also presume there are enough of these ballots around the state to make a dent in the final count. In other words, there must be enough totally fake ballots, combined with illegally cast ballots, to overcome the initial margins of tens of thousands of votes.

5. Related, the GOP also presumes that all these Democratic ballots are outright fakes. That syllogism itself necessarily includes these premises: That Democrats also faked Republican votes in the mix; they meticulously balanced the faked votes so GOP votes would cancel out jusssssst enough blue votes to a) make no statistical difference to a monumental statewide Democrat gain from the fake ballots, while also b) not raising alarms of an irregular statistical pattern that would merit closer inspection.

6. This conspiracy also requires that Florida election officials  who are bipartisan and, once again, work under the orders of a Republican Secretary of State who was appointed by one of the Republican candidates subject to a recount  are too incompetent (up to and including the Scott-appointed Secretary of State) or the system too catholically corrupt to determine that thousands of completely fake ballots discovered in suspicious conditions are all indeed just fine. Those ballots must have been masterfully faked by secret leftist expert forgers. This would mean that either a) only criminally corrupt Democratic election officials will ever inspect and tally these fake ballots, and/or b) Republican election officials are either in on it or too stupid to check out these ballots that people all over the country have called their attention to. Secretary of State Detzner would have to say, Dont cross-check voter rolls, dont make calls to follow with these voters, dont knock on any doors, etc etc. This box of votes found in the dark after the fact is of no concern to me, a Republican, who, need I remind you again, was appointed by and for six years served a candidate in one of these races.

7. They did it all in broad daylight, announcing to the whole nation that votes had been found after the election, making the bet that no one would want to make sure these things were indeed legit.

8. The best for last: A rogue GOP election official or outside right-wing operative, concerned the blue vote in Broward might put Democrats over the top, simply hid a box in a closet. Given the substantial hurdles above, this is exponentially more feasible. The votes wouldnt even have to be faked. They just wouldnt be counted, and no one would know the difference. No one on the right can prove this isnt the case, but I dont necessarily believe it. Its possible, I guess, and the motivation is there, but Ive got no evidence to back it up. Right now its flat-out wrong to make that allegation.

9. I lied. This is the best premise: If the GOP believes this renders the vote count invalid, they must also believe that more scrutiny by more election officials and more attorneys around the country representing both parties will somehow yield less accurate results. And that systemic inaccuracy  again, all overseen and agreed to by a Republican appointed to this very position by one of the candidates  would without doubt favor Democrats.

10. I lied again. The conspiracy also requires a fundamental rethinking of what the truth is worth: The GOP must also assert timeliness is more important than the truth. (Marco Rubio made this point in a tweet.) In other words, its not worth waiting a couple weeks to make sure Florida puts into office the guy its citizens lawfully elected. That is INSANE on its face, but if you need actual proof of their scumminess Ill just direct you to Floridas 2000 Bush-Gore recount, which started out with a declared Gore victory, then went through a series of challenges and about a month later wound up before the Supreme Court.

11. I LIED AGAIN. Election officials in Broward said those boxes, marked provisional ballots, didnt contain any ballots at all. They contained the things precincts provided voters who needed to submit a provisional ballot, such as office supplies and empty red envelopes marked provisional ballot. So okay, maybe the bipartisan board is totally lying about this and has already secretly mixed the masterfully faked ballots in with the real ones.

Anyway, the conspiracy has to meet all of those conditions. If you believe its possible for a shadowy cabal of Democratic criminals abetted by GOP complicity or stupidity to pull this off, I really, really, really hope youre not qualified to vote.

Were not done!

The perennial GOP demon: Illegal votes.

What they mean is votes by non-citizens. This conspiracy is so ridiculous and hermetic that a google search beginning with Florida illegal yielded Florida illegal pets, Florida illegal dumping, and Florida illegal driving as the top three results. So far, right-wing jagoffs point out that Broward County apparently submitted 22 illegal votes among a total 205 provisional ballots. Violations included mismatched signatures, among others.

Wow, 22. Why were they counted? They were initially marked invalid, but got mixed in with the valid votes. Then upon required further review someone saw, oh yeah, these are clearly marked invalid.

In court, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections argued that all 205 provisional ballots should be counted. The opposing attorneyWilliam Scherer, who represented George W. Bush in the 2000 recount in the same stupid statecountered, without citing evidence, that the batch of 22 included instances of double-voting. They keep the door open so that the rats can run in, rather than the rats run out, he added, not so subtly calling illegal immigrants rats in a court of law.

But. This means further vetting has actually invalidated votes that would otherwise have sailed through.

Governor and petulant candidate Rick Scott pointed out that the Broward County Board of Elections has a history of problems. Yet we know about those problems thanks to the vetting process he now doesnt want to go through. Beyond that, Browards elections supervisor, who answers to the Florida Secretary of Statewho, again, is a Republican appointed by Scott himselfwasnt removed after any of those violations.

In other words, more scrutiny yields more accurate results. Weird!

Weirder still: Its not partisan! Bay County counted email votes, an option which Governor Scott made illegal in the wake of recent Hurricane Michael. Of the 147 electronically submitted ballots in Bay Countywhere many residents still dont have power, water, or even homesonly ten were via email-to-email. The rest were faxed, which Scotts order rendered invalid in Bay County but is legal for overseas votes.

Governor Scott has alleged widespread fraud in his state without citing evidence. Though hes harped on Broward and Palm Beach, the governor hasnt mentioned Bay County, which went 73% for Scott and 71% for DeSantis.

Though its true that Florida has discoveredover the yearsthat a few thousand non-citizens have been registered to vote (in Florida you need a drivers license to register, which non-citizens can get), the state takes voter fraud seriously and, thanks to VETTING, has caught these people.

Obviously none of this makes sense. Closer inspection will not create fraud. It will root it out. So why resist?

The GOPs obstruction efforts make sense if you care only about victory, and not about democracy.

Look, Republicans figure they had the win locked down the day after Election Day, before all ballots were in, so any further review can only hurt them. They dont want to lose, and the only reason they fear a complete tally is that they know theres a good chance they lose. And now the President of the United States, echoed by prominent national and local Republicans, ordered Florida to invalidate the recount results and instead instate the candidates he wants.

The evidence they cite is unfalsifiable, so in the minds of millions of Americans it will always be true: If Gillum and/or Nelson win, millions of Americans will reject the result. What happens then?

The best we can hope for is that the GOP recognizes this is anti-democratic and, in the event of Democratic victory, forces Scott and DeSantis to accept the results. This is the path taken by Arizona Republican Senate candidate Martha McSally, who in a tight contested race of her own rejected demands from the GOP to spread conspiracy theories that thousands of Arizonans had voted illegally. (The Arizona Republican party filed a FOIA request for communication between the Maricopa County elections board and George Soros.) Monday night, McSally conceded the race to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.

That is democracy.

The Florida dispute could also wind up in front of the Supreme Court, where Trump just appointed an unqualified and deeply partisan justice who a few weeks ago in front of Congress threatened revenge against Democrats he had felt slighted him.

But Scott and DeSantis show no signs of respect for the institutions theyve pledged to uphold. Unless theyre bluffing, their toxic rhetoric indicates they wont give up the fight. They now also have the Presidents support, who doesnt want them to concede and, should the election go the other way, will more than likely at least try to reject the results himself. But even if his advisers convince him to accept a GOP defeat, Trump has already trained millions of Americans to reject the results of a national election, and they will.

Recall Trumps pre-emptive allegations that the 2016 elections would be rigged against him. Recall him obstructing an investigation into himself and his campaign for the last year and a half. Recall his threats to the press, the intelligence community, and opposition leaders. Recall so much.

This is at very best a dry run for 2020. Donald Trump will never concede. The mainstream GOP seems to have turned a corner, and unless they figure these tactics are relatively harmless now but would be off-limits in a presidential election, theyll go along with it in the name of power. Even if they dont, though, it wont matter: Theyve given marching orders to millions and millions of Americans. This is fascism. Not only can it happen here, it already has.
David's Bridal Inc. is closing in on an agreement with lenders to cut debt through a bankruptcy filing and keep its chain of wedding-gown stores in business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The talks involve a restructuring deal that would hand ownership in the reorganized company to senior lenders that include Oaktree Capital Group LLC, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. As part of the agreement, David's is preparing to file for court protection from creditors as early as next week, they said.

Davids, which has been considering bankruptcy for weeks, doesnt expect major store closures or liquidations. The Chapter 11 filing would allow the business to keep operating with funding from existing lenders, and thus avoid the calamitous and sometimes tearful impact on brides that often accompanies the collapse of wedding retailers.

Davids Bridal has 13 stores in Pennsylvania, according to its website, including a store in the Paxon Towne Center in Lower Paxton Township and in Springettsbury Township, York County.

Discussions between the company and its creditors are ongoing, with talks revolving around an agreement with first-lien loan holders to provide new money in the bankruptcy that would pay all Davids vendors in full. An out-of-court deal is no longer being considered, and the company would receive a second debtor-in-possession loan facility from its existing asset-based lenders, the people said.

"Our financial outlook is strong and we have ample liquidity to meet our key business objectives today and in the future," the company said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg. "We do not expect this process to materially impact our business or interfere with day-to-day operations or our relationships with customers and vendors. "

David's expects to seek a court order that allows it to stay open and fulfill all customer and vendor claims, the people said. The company plans to move quickly through Chapter 11 with the aim to finish before the its crucial selling season after the New Year's holiday, the people said.

Today marks the end of a 30-day grace period David's has been operating under after it skipped an Oct. 15 interest payment on its $270 million of 7.75 percent unsecured notes.

The in-court version being pursued envisions new debtor-in-possession financing from Oaktree and other existing first lien lenders of about $60 million, which is still being negotiated, the people said. Oaktree, based in Los Angeles, is one of the biggest investment firms specializing in troubled companies. Support would also come from cash on hand and financing from asset-based lenders who would roll over their commitments in the restructuring, the people said.

David's, based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and owned by the Clayton Dubilier & Rice buyout firm, was founded in 1950 as a neighborhood bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It now operates more than 300 stores throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom, according to the company's website.

A representative for Clayton Dubilier & Rice declined to comment. Oaktree didn't immediately return requests for comment.

Marriage rates have fallen since the 1980s, and though the amount that Americans typically spend on weddings has risen, the industry has been thrown into chaos by intense competition, online options and shifting fashion tastes. Unlike some competitors, however, David's Bridal is planning to stay open.

In April, Gap Inc.'s Weddington Way bridal brand announced plans to close within the next few months, following J. Crew Group Inc.'s decision in 2016 to shutter its wedding-dress business. Davids competitor Alfred Angelo closed its doors in 2017, leaving brides stranded as orders went unfulfilled.
Has the revolution been institutionalized?

Rep. Bryan Cutler, a Lancaster County Republican who came to the state legislature in 2006 on the crest of a uniquely Pennsylvanian voter revolt over legislative pay raises, has now become House Majority Leader, arguably one of the five or six most powerful positions at the Capitol.

Cutler was voted overwhelmingly to the GOPs floor leader post Tuesday in a closed-door meeting of 110 GOP members freshly elected to serve in the 2019-20 session.

For Cutler, 43, it caps a long climb marked by perseverance that saw him work his way through college and law school as an X-ray technologist, and later run for office out of digust over a 2 a.m., double-digit percentage pay raise that lawmakers voted themselves in the summer of 2005.

As House majority leader, he will replace Rep. David Reed from Indiana County, who opted against seeking a new term this year.

Many around the Capitol expect that, for starters, that should make for a more cohesive House majority leadership team then was evident through much of Gov. Tom Wolfs first term, when House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, on more than one occasion spiked deals Reed negotiated with Wolf and the state Senate.

Several observers, on and off the record, said they dont expect that to happen anymore.

A) Cutler is seen as a closer fit ideologically to Turzai than the more-moderate Reed, and B) As a first-time leader, he is likely to pay more attention to the ideological center of his caucus than Reed, who had a tendency to agree to compromises that he ultimately couldnt sell to a majority of his members.

I think that philosophically, strategically and tactically, Bryan Cutler is going to be more frequently on the same page as MIke Turzai, said outgoing Rep. Steve Bloom, R-Carlisle.

When the two men do differ, another outgoing GOP lawmaker observed, at least in the near-term, the mercurial Turzais view will likely carry the day.

I think Bryan will have some different ideas," the member, who asked not to be identified, said, "but if the Speaker pushes back... I think Bryan understands that he was hand-picked for the role by Turzai, and I think hell be loyal and do whatever Turzai wants.

Others wondered Tuesday if the House GOP could juststraight up revert, at least in the short term, to a strong Speaker model - a la John Perzel from 2003 through 2006 - when Philadelphian Perzel was essentially serving as a Speaker / Majority Leader combo.

Whatever happens, the changes should lead to House Rs bringing a more committed, conservative position to end-stage negotiations on big tax and spending bills, many believe. The Republican caucus is already expected to be slightly more conservative as a whole, given several leading moderates' defeat or retirements.

Cutler, speaking to reporters after his election, noted the major part of his job is representing his caucus members' goals and objectives in policy discussions and law-making, so he will be very sensitive to finding solutions that at least a majority of the majority can support.

I think my experience as Whip will help with that, Cutler said. I spent the last four years counting the caucus (on tough issues), and Ill have the benefit of that experience.

Its not as clear yet what this will mean for state policy as a whole.

That, many said, will ultimately depend on Wolfs second-term agenda, how tight the states finances are, and the personal objectives of the various personalities involved.

Democrats, for their part, offered an olive branch.

We have worked together constructively before and I look forward to more of that next year," Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Pittsburgh, said. "Representative Cutler is a thoughtful person and I expect hell be a good leader for the Republicans.

But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor, R-Red Lion and the number three-person on the leadership team, attempted to draw one important line in the sand Tuesday afternoon with regard to the 2019-20 state budget.

With current-year revenues running almost 10 percent ahead of last years numbers, Saylor said, the House Republicans are not in any shape or form going to support a tax increase of anything.

Cutlers story.

Cutler came into the state House the hard way, taking on two-term incumbent Gibson Armstrong in a Republican primary in 2006. He won fairly easily in a candidacy inspired by outrage over the controversial 2005 pay raise lawmakers voted themselves, and has had little trouble holding onto his southern Lancaster County seat ever since.

During his 12 years in the House, Cutler has been prominent in the Republicans' ongoing battle against fraud and mismanagement in human services programs, advocated for the expansion of alternative-energy sources and crafted laws that make hospitals work more efficiently.

He has also been a leading sponsor of reforms that would end Pennsylvanias practice of electing its statewide judges, and improve Pennsylvanians access to and insurance coverage for telemedicine services.

When he speaks of the virtues of self-reliance and perserverance, its from personal experience.

Both of Cutlers parents were diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrigs disease, while he was in high school. His father died during his senior year, and that influenced his decision to attend a local program to train to become an X-ray technologist.

It was a good choice for me because I could live at home, help take care of the household, and help support his ailing mother and younger sister.

Cutler then used his employment at a Lancaster hospital to help finance his way through Lebanon Valley College and, later, Widener Law School, where he graduated in 2006 just four days after winning the primary election that would propel him to the House.

Cutler took the bar exam during his first year in office, but has practiced only part-time while serving in the Legislature.

In the House, the married, father of three is repeatedly described by those who have worked with him as engaged, smart, and thoughtful," and has developed a reputation as a pragmatic conservative who many see as more than capable of working with others to reach compromises on major issues of the day.

What only time can tell, given the recent experience of Reed, Turzais domineering presence in the Speakership, and the strongly held views of members who elected him, is how much latitude Cutler have to do that.
An event for teens at a public library in western Pennsylvania allegedly turned to rape in the library basement, police say.

As TribLive reports, a 17-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with a string of criminal counts after a 16-year-old girl told police she was raped in the library basement following the event on Nov. 8.

Daquan T. Dudley, 17, of Connellsville, was arraigned Monday on multiple criminal charges including rape, aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault and indecent assault in connection with the alleged incident at the Carnegie Free Library, Connellsville, Pa.

Details from TribLive:

Connellsville Patrolman Brian Harvey said authorities learned of the sexual assault Friday after the victim informed her parents. Police interviewed her at Highlands Hospital.

Police said in court documents Dudley and the victim were at the library for an event when he asked her to accompany him to the basement so he could speak to her in private. The teen told police thats when the assault took place.

The teen girl told police following the assault Dudley kept text messaging her threatening to harm himself.

Authorities say they obtained a text message sent to the victim from Dudley stating, Im so sorry, I shouldnt have done that to you at all.

At last report, Dudley was lodged in the Fayette County Jail, unable to post $25,000 bail.
Pa. police are seeking a man they say became so irate at a Chinese restaurant, he threw a cup of hot tea in the face of a worker behind the counter, causing the female employee to suffer second- and third-degree burns.

As 6ABC reports, it happened around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Silver Chopsticks restaurant on the 4700 block of North Broad Street in Philadelphia.

The male customer got away, but his image was captured by a surveillance camera in the restaurant. It shows him throwing the hot tea.

The injured worker was not identified.

Police tell 6ABC the woman behind the counter who was the target of the hot-tea attack is recovering from second- and third-degree burns to her face.

Philadelphia police are asking for the publics help in identifying and locating the suspect for arrest.
East Pennsboro Township Police have announced a $5,000 reward is being offered for any information that helps lead to an arrest of a West Shore robbery suspect.

Police said officers responded to an active bank robbery at the PNC Bank, 235 North Enola Road in Enola, around 9:59 a.m. on Nov. 8.

Police said employees told them one robber entered the bank and passed a note demanding money.

Video surveillance showed the suspect parking a green 1995 older Dodge Ram pick up directly in front of the bank doors, then going inside, approaching a teller and passing the demand note.

An undisclosed amount of money was given to the robber, police said. No weapon was displayed, and no threat was directed to the bank staff.

After receiving the money, the suspect got back into the truck and fled westbound on Juniata Avenue in Enola, police said. He had only been in the bank for about two minutes.

The robber was described as between five foot six or eight inches, weighing around 220 pounds, police said. He was wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt that had a white Nike logo on the front and black jogging pants.

He also wore a black fabric mask with silver aviator sunglasses that contained black lenses, and blue latex gloves, police said.

The Dodge Ram was recovered abandoned in Enola several blocks from the bank, police said. It had reportedly been taken from Harrisburg City earlier in the day.

Police said anyone with information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the suspect in the case could see the reward of up to $5,000.

People with information about the orrery are asked to contact Officer Anthony Fiore at anf@eastpennsboroPD.com or Det. Sgt. Michael Cotton at mjc@eastpennsboroPD.com, or by calling the East Pennsboro Township police at 717-732-3633.
Two months after their school board enacted it, a central Pennsylvania teachers union has gone to court to block a rule that authorizes school personnel to carry guns.

That rule does more than just permit designated workers in Tamaqua Area School District to tote firearms in the halls and the classrooms.

It also requires them to qualify at target practice and states they are expected to aim for the torso or the head to stop a deadly threat.

The new measure goes way beyond what the state Legislature has authorized teachers to do, the Tamaqua Education Association contends in the suit filed Wednesday in Schuylkill County Court. School security is the role of cops and trained security personnel, not educators, the union claims.

As teachers, counselors, and other education professionals, we are trained to provide a high-quality education to our students, not to carry or use firearms in a dangerous situation, union President Frank Wenzel said in announcing the suit. This is a bad policy for a lot of reasons, but we are challenging it in court because we believe it is illegal.

The school boards passage of the gun measure followed numerous mass shootings in schools and other public places across the nation. The policy opens with a statement that it was enacted in order to preserve a safe school environment for students and staff.

The policy authorizes only designated school resource professionals to carry weapons, and only during school hours. It provides for the district to issue weapons to those designees, who undergo training and must meet all state requirements to carry firearms. The resource professionals must leave their district-issued guns at school in locked safes after hours.

Handguns shall be carried in the issued holster and shall only be removed from the holster under circumstances indicating that justifiable use of deadly force may become necessary, the policy states. The resource professionals need not wait until injury occurs to themselves or others before taking appropriate action to prevent it.

The resource professionals also are authorized to fire without giving a verbal warning if circumstances dictate. They are to shoot to stop.

They are barred from firing warning shots, nor are they expected to hold fire if faced with a dangerous attacker who is a juvenile. No distinction need be made relative to the age of the intended target of deadly force, the policy states.

The union is asking the court to preliminarily bar the district from enforcing the policy, which was adopted in September, while the legal battle is waged. The rule violates the states Public School Code, the association contends.

Pennsylvania law is very specific. It allows certain law enforcement personnel, such as a school police officer or a school resource officer, to carry firearms in school  all of whom must either complete training under the Municipal Police Education and Training Law or be State Police Academy graduates, Wenzel said. The districts policy ignores state law and allows school employees who do not have state-required training or experience to carry and use firearms. We must follow the law to ensure students and staff remain safe. That is our top priority.

The union notes in its suit that the School Code already allows school districts to hire their own police or security guards, enter into agreements with police departments for coverage, and hire private contractors to provide security.

Wenzel said the union does not object to the presence of firearms at school to protect students, but only a properly trained school police officer or law enforcement officer should carry a gun on school property.

District Superintendent Raymond J. Kinder declined comment on the suit.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Officials from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia have agreed to pay uncapped compensation offers for victims of child sexual abuse by clergy as part of a claims process that started Tuesday.

Details of the Philadelphia program were discussed at a news conference held by independent claims administrators and members of an independent oversight committee who said they've already mailed out informational packets to 342 survivors who previously reported credible abuse claims.

The Philadelphia Archdioceses program is the first victim compensation fund initiated since a chilling grand jury report was released in August detailing child sexual abuse over seven decades by hundreds of priests in six of Pennsylvanias catholic dioceses. Philadelphia had previously been the subject of a local grand jury investigation that found similar patterns of abuse.

Victims in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, which covers Philadelphia city and county, as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, must register claims by July 31 and file them by Sept. 30 under the program. Most of the state's seven other dioceses are expected to follow with their own compensation funds opening to claims early next year, according to statements released late last week. Altoona-Johnstown said it set up a victim fund in 1999.

Last week, the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg announced its plans to offer a compensation fund.

Five of the dioceses including Philadelphia have hired veteran compensation fund coordinator Ken Feinberg to design and operate their programs. Feinberg and co-administrator Camille Biros ran victims' compensation funds set up by five New York dioceses in recent years. Feinberg was also the administrator of several other high-profile compensation funds including for the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting victims and as special master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

At the news conference Tuesday, Feinberg outlined several features of the Philadelphia program that make it different from others in the past, including it is completely independent and voluntary.

"The program in awarding compensation really performs two functions with the victim. People focus on the money," he said. "No amount of money is going to provide closure to that victim or satisfy the victim. It is a small step in helping that victim at least secure some degree of financial security. Just as importantly we have found in our work in New York, that a claimant who files a claim with us and receives compensation finds some degree of validation as to that claim. Do not underestimate the importance of this."

Payouts and total fund amounts will not be disclosed by the diocese, and church officials will have no say in decisions about eligibility or payout amounts.

There will be no appeals process, and if a claimant accepts a compensation offer, they must waive their right to sue the archdiocese for any past or future abuse.

Lawyers who help settle child sexual abuse cases say courts generally promise a bigger payout, while dioceses face the possibility a judge can order them to divulge records of child sexual abuse complaints and how they handled them. Plaintiffs also can extract court-approved agreements from dioceses to add procedures or training to better protect children going forward. Some of the money goes to lawyers' fees, and the church's defenders say that motivates civil lawyers.

While payouts won't be capped, $500,000 is the most paid out to one individual during Feinberg's administration of claims against the New York dioceses. The size of the payouts is determine by numerous factors, including the severity of the abuse, the age of the victim and the long-term effect on the victim's life.

A victim compensation often delivers a faster payout to victims. Biros said once claims are filed, most should be processed and paid within 90 days.

Victims do not have to accept the compensation offers, and don't have to waive their right to sue if they reject an offer. But many victims may fall outside the window to file a civil claim against the Archdiocese under Pennsylvania law.

A legislative effort to change state law to allow a two-year window for people to sue in abuse cases that are otherwise too old to pursue passed the state House, but it was blocked by Republican state senators last month. Opponents, including Catholic bishops and the insurance industry, expressed concerns about the cost and argued that a retroactive change would violate the state constitution.

Proponents have said negotiations on the change are continuing.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office oversaw the grand jury investigation, said the grand jury "recommended that victims deserve their day in court  not that the church should be the arbiter of its own punishment."

The Philadelphia Archdiocese said its program will be overseen by the independent committee, including former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell of Maine, former interim Philadelphia District Attorney Kelley Hodge and Lawrence Stengel, a retired federal judge. The diocese plans to sell properties as one way to bolster the fund, but will not dip into money for charities, seminaries, donor-designated gifts or donations to parishes, ministries or schools.

The program offers pro-bono legal representation if victims want a lawyer and offers help from a victim support facilitator who can help with the claims process.

READ MORE: Some critics slam Catholic church plans to offer compensation funds
Schuylkill Countys commissioners committed an unfair labor practice when they refused to arbitrate grievances over the firings of two unionized clerk of court employees, a state appeals court panel found Wednesday.

The Commonwealth Court decision, issued in an opinion by President Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt, backs a ruling by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

Leavitt agreed with the PLRB that, despite their arguments to the contrary, the commissioners were legally bound to accept a demand by the Schuylkill County Court Related Employees Union to arbitrate the dispute over the firings newly-elected Clerk of Court Maria Casey ordered in 2016.

The commissioners contended that they didnt need to heed the arbitration call because Casey, a lawyer, insisted her office was not bound by the labor contract that was then in place between the county and the union.

Not so, Leavitt found. She agreed with the PLRB that, since Caseys predecessor as clerk had not specifically opted out of that contract it applied to Casey as well, at least until a new pact is negotiated.
A fugitive from Virginia wanted on charges he stabbed a man was arrested in Mechancisburg by the U.S. Marshals Service Wednesday.

Victor Manuel Camacho, 33, formerly of Charlottesville, Va., was wanted on a warrant from Albemarle County, Va., charging him with assault. Attempts to locate him in Albemarle County were unsuccessful, and the U.S. Marshals Service office in Charlottesville was asked to find him.

Investigators learned that Camacho had fled to the Harrisburg, Pa. area, where he lived and worked under an assumed name, according to the marshal's service.

At about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, members of the marshal service's Fugitive Task Force went to a business in the 300 block of Independence Avenue in Mechanicsburg and arrested Carmacho without incident. He was turned over to Cumberland County officials pending arraignment and return to Virginia.

The Fugitive Task Force in the Middle District of Pennsylvania is comprised of 20 state, county and local police agencies; including the Dauphin County Adult Probation Office, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, and the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, all of whom participated in this investigation. The Marshals Service was also assisted by the Upper Allen Township Police Department.
Hate crimes rose in the U.S. by more than 17 percent in 2017, the third straight year that such prejudice-motivated attacks have risen, according to a report the FBI released Tuesday.

It is the biggest annual increase in reported hate crimes in more than a decade.

The count, which drew on data submitted by more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies, documented a total of 7,175 hate crimes in 2017.

The tally was 1,054 higher than the year before.

Pennsylvania reported 78 incidents of hate crimes in 2017, according to the FBI report, up from the 61 reported hate crimes in 2016.

But once again, Pennsylvania reported fewer hate crimes than states of similar size. In 2017, New Jersey reported 495 incidents and Ohio had 380 hate crimes, according to the FBI report.

A PennLive investigation earlier this year found that Pennsylvania has a chronically low reporting rate of hate crimes. PennLive teamed with ProPublica and other news organizations to document hate crimes nationwide.

The new FBI report is the first federal calculation of hate crimes that largely took place since Donald Trump became president. In his nearly 22 months in office, Trump has repeatedly defended himself against accusations that he has emboldened hate groups with his rhetoric and policies concerning immigrants, Muslims and others.

In his first year, Trump faced criticism for being slow to condemn high-profile attacks against minorities, relenting only after intense public pressure. Incidents included the fatal shooting of an Indian immigrant in a Kansas bar by a man who yelled, Get out of my country!, a rash of bomb threats against Jewish community centers and a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that the president said included some very fine people on both sides. Assailants in each case have faced federal or state criminal charges.

Yet for those looking for evidence of a bump in hate crimes under Trump, experts said that the FBI numbers cant prove it one way or another.

Unfortunately, the FBI data are probably the best indicators of hate crime that we have, said Jack Levin, a criminologist at the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University. I say unfortunately because they are not very good.

The FBI vastly undercounts hate crimes, he said. Wed like to be able to compare the number of hate crimes year by year. Wed like to see trends over a long period of time. The problem is that every year different jurisdictions report.

In a news release, the FBI suggested the hate crime numbers shot up in 2017 because of better reporting by police departments.

Although the numbers increased last year, so did the number of law enforcement agencies reporting hate crime data  with approximately 1,000 additional agencies contributing information, the FBI statement said.

There are more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies in the country and they report hate crime numbers to the FBI voluntarily. In Tuesdays count, more than 14,000 agencies did not report data or told the bureau there were no hate crimes in their jurisdictions. Others vastly underreported hate crimes.

Each year, youll see big cities that dont report to the FBI or report zero hate crimes, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.

In 2017, for example, the city of Miami reported zero hate crimes while the county of Miami-Dade reported one. Of the 28 law enforcement agencies the FBI requested numbers from in Mississippi, 27 reported zero hate crimes or did not respond. The one that replied said there was one hate crime during the year.

Charlottesville, Va., which was the site of one of the biggest hate group gatherings of last year, reported only one hate crime.

Dozens of other cities around the country reported zero hate crimes.

Carlisle was the only municipality in the Harrisburg area to report a hate crime in 2017, according to the FBI report. Several Pennsylvania cities, including Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading, Lancaster and Erie, didnt report a hate crime to the FBI, according to the report.

In addition, the bureaus hate crime categories have changed since the reports first release in 1992. The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offenders bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity. But crimes against Hindus, Sikhs and Arabs have only been counted since 2015.

The FBIs data also conflict with the Justice Departments National Crime Victimization Survey, which estimates there are 250,000 hate crimes each year in the U.S. That count doesnt include intimidation and vandalism incidents, which are included in the FBIs hate crimes report.

Another problem is that victims dont always call the police.

We believe some individuals, such as LGBTQ people, Muslims and Latinos are not always inclined to report hate crimes because they may mistrust the police or fear being outed, said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League.

That, coupled with low FBI numbers, is why the ADL and other civil rights groups do their own bias incidents tracking. The ADL, which uses news reports and calls to its regional offices in addition to criminal reports to compile its data, has found anti-Semitic incidents on the rise since 2013. The biggest annual jump came last year, when the tally climbed 57 percent to 1,986.

The FBIs new report found there to be 938 hate crimes against Jewish people, who tend to be the most frequently targeted in crimes that are motivated against religion. That was a more than 37 percent increase over the previous year. Overall, offenses motivated by racial prejudice have routinely made up the majority of hate crimes, with blacks being the most frequently targeted race. In 2017, the FBIs report showed 2,013 hate crimes against blacks, a nearly 16 percent increase over the previous year.

Some states also release their own counts of hate crimes. A July report from the California attorney generals office said that hate crimes increased 17.4 percent last year to 1,093. It was the third year of growth of hate crimes after seven years of decline.

The report showed hate crimes in Los Angeles increased from 227 in 2016 to 263 last year.

Like the FBI report, Californias was based on information provided by police departments, and it showed a majority of crimes were based on racial bias. About 27 percent of those cases targeted black people.

In a statement, acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said the report was a call to action  and we will heed that call.

The Department of Justices top priority is to reduce violent crime in America, and hate crimes are violent crimes. They are also despicable violations of our core values as Americans, Whitaker said.

I am particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes  which were already the most common religious hate crimes in the United States  that is well documented in this report. The American people can be assured that this department has already taken significant and aggressive actions against these crimes and that we will vigorously and effectively defend their rights, he said.

By Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
A man who admitted laughing while his girlfriend repeatedly burned her year-old son with a cigarette has had no luck convincing a state appeals court that his prison sentence is too long.

Instead, in an opinion by Judge Maria McLaughlin a Superior Court panel rejected Enrique Sotos appeal, thereby upholding his 38- to 76-month jail term.

As McLaughlin noted, Soto admitted in court that he laughed as Anna Russell burned her son at least 15 times with a lighted cigarette at her Pittsburgh home in 2015.

Allegheny County Judge David Cashman imposed Sotos prison term in January 2017 after Soto, now 27, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, conspiracy, child endangerment, simple assault of a child and reckless endangerment. Soto had no sentencing deal.

McLaughlin found that Soto had fumbled his appeal because he didnt take the proper steps to legally preserve his argument that his sentence was excessive. Russell was sentenced to 1 to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to assault and other counts, court filings show.

Yet, even if Soto has properly crafted his appeal, we would reject it, McLaughlin wrote. She found that Sotos bald claim that his sentence is excessive and his argument that he was unfairly punished more harshly than Russell entitles him to no relief.

Court records show that before the child-burning case Soto already had convictions for crimes including assault, making terroristic threats and receiving stolen property.
New York's newly elected congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has officially arrived in Washington, D.C., and has wasted no time in shaking up establishment politics. The democratic socialist made her first visit to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis office Tuesday morning to protest Democratic inaction on climate change, and successfully moved the 16-term congresswoman to make a change.

Ocasio-Cortez joined 150 young people at Pelosis office to call on Democrats to introduce a Green New Deal climate plan. The plan, inspired by a recent United Nations report, would create a quick switch to 100 percent renewable energy in the United States.

"She was elected as part of the movement. She intends to govern as part of the movement," said Corbin Trent, Ocasio-Cortezs communications director. "She thinks there is no other priority that we should be focused on and supports the Sunrise movement's call for Democrats to create a plan to transition the economy to a zero carbon economy so we have that ready to go when we take back the presidency in 2020."

The protest lasted about an hour. Ocasio-Cortezs appearance boosted media visibility, leading Pelosi to release a statement.

We are inspired by the energy and activism of the many young activists and advocates leading the way on the climate crisis, which threatens the health, economic security and futures of all our communities, she wrote. I have recommended to my House Democratic colleagues that we reinstate the select committee to address the climate crisis.

Pelosi concluded her statement by again encouraging the activists and asking the police to let them protest. We welcome the presence of these activists, and we strongly urge the Capitol Police to allow them to continue to organize and participate in our democracy, she said.

Ocasio-Cortez responded to Pelosi on Twitter. Thank you, Nancy Pelosi, she wrote. We have 10 years left to plan and implement a Green New Deal before cataclysmic climate disaster. Reinstating the Select Committee is exactly what we need to do.

Pelosi will likely run for House Speaker when Democrats take control of the governing body in January. She could very well win her campaign. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, however, has not committed to voting for the California representative to retake the House leadership position. I think shes a candidate to consider, she told MSNBC in June. The 29-year-old has not updated her stance since winning office.

Ocasio-Cortez did discuss a phone conversation she had with Pelosi after she beat 10-term congressman Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary last June. She said she loved working with Joe, but that shes always wanted younger women in Congress and that men tend to run at younger ages and women tend to run at older ages, and thats shes actually very happy to see some new blood, she said. And I look forward to meeting her in that chamber.
Health official: 'Unlikely we will reach a level of immunity in the next few years'

local


Update: Raffaella Stroiks body was found near a boat ramp in Florida, Missouri on Wednesday morning. According to the South Bend Tribune, the cause of death has not yet been released and the investigation remains open. Foul play is not suspected. A funeral Mass has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 20 at the Sacred Heart Basilica at the University of Notre Dame. Our thoughts are with her friends and family.

Raffaella Stroik

, a 23-year-old dancer with the Saint Louis Ballet, went missing on Monday.



Her car was found with her phone inside in a parking lot near a boat ramp in Mark Twain Lake State Park130 miles away from St. Louis. On Tuesday, the police began an investigation into her whereabouts.

Stroik was last seen at 10:30 am on Monday at a Whole Foods Market in Town and Country, a suburb of St. Louis. She was wearing an olive green jacket, a pink skirt, navy pants with white zippers and white tennis shoes.



Stroik joined St. Louis Ballet in 2017, and previously danced at American Contemporary Ballet, Indiana University Ballet Theater and Southold Dance Theatre. She is a graduate of Indiana University, and once let Dance Magazine follow her around for a day.

The St. Louis Ballet describes her as a talented and undeniably beautiful soul. She is also involved in the St. Louis Young Adults, a group for young Catholics.

St. Louis Ballet, along with Stroiks family and friends, are appealing for the publics help on social media. Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 660-385-2132.
1.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the incoming chair of the House Intelligence Committee warned Trumps installed attorney general Matthew Whitaker that he would not be able to hide if he tries to do Trumps bidding.

Adam Schiff said on MSNBCs The Last Word with Laurence ODonnell:



Its very important, I think, to get that message out before he does any damage to the Mueller investigation or tries but also if he doesnt recuse himself and he were to think that any conversations he had with the president, any promises he made to the president in order to get the position about whether he would follow or ignore the advice of the ethics lawyers at the Justice Department, he has to know that this is going to come out. Theres going to be no hiding this. And he will be called to answer.

That, I think, I hope will be an incentive to get an ethics opinion and to follow it. But as you point out, there are even broader problems with this appointment than this one investigation as serious as that is, and that is that the appointment itself looks like it violates the constitutions requirement that the Senate have a role in confirming anyone as a principal officer, including the attorney general, temporary or not, as a principal officer.

Video:

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the incoming chair of the House Intelligence Committee warned Trumps installed attorney general Matthew Whitaker that he would not be able to hide if he tries to do Trumps bidding. https://t.co/GNYgIjdqe5 pic.twitter.com/qhrwpkcmPW  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 14, 2018

Adam Schiff is on to Trumps plan to sabotage Mueller

The message being sent by Rep. Schiff was clear. He is not only watching Whitaker and Trump, but he is on to Trumps plan. Everyone that Trump picked Whitaker to do his bidding in shutting down the Mueller investigation. Trump has been complaining for nearly two years that he wants an attorney general who will be loyal and protect him.

Adam Schiff is going to move heaven and earth to protect the rule of law and the integrity of the Department of Justice. Trumps plan has already fallen apart as Rep. has made it clear that there will be dire consequences for both Trump and Whitaker if they mess with Mueller.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.
861 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Tuesday he supported a bill that would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any politically motivated firings and would urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on it.

I would certainly vote for it, Graham told reporters of the bill, which he supported when it passed the Senate Judiciary in April.

I dont see any movement to get rid of Mueller. But it probably would be good to have this legislation in place just for the future, he said.

McConnell told reporters in Kentucky last week he did not think legislation was necessary because he did not think Mueller was in danger.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said he also supported the bill but would not lobby McConnell to allow the measure to move forward.

Every bill that comes out of my committee, Id like to see a vote. But whether it comes up will be up to the leader and Im not going to lobby the leader, Grassley told reporters on Tuesday. If it comes up, Ill vote on it. And I think it ought to pass.

Trump last week forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replaced him with Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general in charge of overseeing Mueller and his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with Trumps campaign.

Whitaker has described Muellers probe as being too wide-ranging. Trump denies that he or his associates colluded with Russia, and Moscow says it did not interfere in the election.

Graham, who said last year that there would be holy hell to pay if Sessions was fired, predicted that Trump would move to oust Sessions after the midterms and appoint someone with whom he had a better relationship.

Democrats and some Republicans worry Trumps firing of Sessions means he is maneuvering to fire or significantly restrain the special counsel.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who is retiring, and Democratic Senator Chris Coons have pledged to seek a floor vote on a bill to shield Mueller as soon as Congress resumed this week after a recess for the Nov. 6 elections.

The Justice Department said on Monday night that Whitaker would consult with ethics officials about any matters that could require him to recuse himself.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Amanda Becker; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
Former first lady Michelle Obama began her 10-city book tour in Chicago on Tuesday after her memoir, Becoming, hit the shelves.

Obamas memoir chronicles her life growing up on Chicagos South Side through her years inside the White House as a mother of two and the nations first African-American first lady.

In the ABC News interview that aired on Sunday, the former first lady said she felt lost and alone after suffering a miscarriage two decades ago.

Video:

I felt like I failed because I didnt know how common miscarriages were because we dont talk about them, she said. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow were broken.

She also revealed how she underwent IVF in order to give birth to Malia, now 20 years old, and Sasha, now 17.

The memoir fulfills half of an agreement that publisher Penguin Random House reached with her and the former president after he left office under which the couple will each publish one book, reportedly for a sum worth more than $60 million.
226 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

By Gina Cherelus

(Reuters)  Hate crimes in the United States jumped 17 percent in 2017, with a huge 37 percent spike in anti-Semitic attacks, marking the third year in a row that such attacks have increased, according to FBI data released on Tuesday.

The release of the data comes just weeks after a gunman burst into a Pittsburgh synagogue and shot dead 11 worshippers while shouting All Jews must die.

According to the FBIs annual Hate Crime Statistics report, there were a total of 7,175 hate crime incidents reported last year by law enforcement agencies, up from 6,121 incidents in 2016. The agency did not offer a reason for the increase.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a statement that hate crimes were despicable violations of Americas values.

I am particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes, Whitaker said.

The report showed a 37 percent jump in anti-Semitic incidents to 938 from 684 a year earlier.

The Pittsburgh synagogue massacre in late October fueled a debate ahead of the Nov. 6 national elections over U.S. President Donald Trumps inflammatory political rhetoric and his self-identification as a nationalist.

Critics say Trumps rhetoric has fomented a surge in right-wing extremism and may have even helped provoke the bloodshed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburghs Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which was the worst attack on Americas Jewish community.

The Trump administration has rejected any notion that he has encouraged white nationalists and neo-Nazis who have embraced him, insisting the presidents true aim is to unify America.

This report provides further evidence that more must be done to address the divisive climate of hate in America, Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation Leagues national director, said in a statement. That begins with leaders from all walks of life and from all sectors of society forcefully condemning anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hate whenever it occurs.

Nearly 16 percent of the 4,131 incidents in 2017 involving race or ethnicity were fueled by anti-black or African-American bias, increasing to 2,013 from 1,739 in 2016, the FBI said.

Of the 6,370 known offenders in the report, 50.7 percent were white, while 21.3 percent were Black or African-American.

The 2017 data was compiled from reports voluntarily submitted by 16,149 law enforcement agencies.

FBI officials said the agency will provide training next year for law enforcement officers on how to identify bias-motivated incidents and report that data to federal authorities.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
881 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

South Florida is always hot, and as tensions flare during recounts required due to three close statewide elections, the temperatures are rising even more than usual.

But in Palm Beach County things are REALLY heating up as the countys ballot-counting machines overheated yesterday, giving incorrect vote totals.

Apparently the machines are very old, so mechanical problems are not unexpected. But now the county must restart the recount of over 175,000 early votes, according to Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher.

Bucher also reported on Tuesday night that her department has flown in qualified mechanics who will repair the machines and get them operational this morning, if possible.

Were disappointed by the mechanical problems that are going to cause a further delay in the recount, Bucher told reporters yesterday. It became evident through the vigorous pace of counting that the machines used for the recount were starting to get stressed.

She could have added that in addition to the machines, many people are getting stressed also. The voting machine breakdowns have caused the loss of more than an entire days work in recounting. Which is a serious matter considering that the deadline for the machine recount ends tomorrow.

On that point, however, Bucher had already disclosed on Monday that her office wouldnt be able to meet the 3 p.m. Thursday deadline imposed by state law.

Florida election officials had announced on Saturday that the states 67 counties would have to do machine recounts of over 8.1 million ballots cast statewide during the midterm elections. The machine recounts are mandatory because the results in three statewide elections  U.S. Senate, governor and agriculture commissioner  were under the 0.5 percentage point threshold that triggers the mandatory recount.

Buchers case asking for a deadline extension in Palm Beach County was moved to federal court Tuesday, following a motion by attorneys for Secretary of State Ken Detzner. Detzner has increasingly found himself in the middle of several partisan battles as both sides have claimed foul play during the ballot counting process. And even President Donald Trump has weighed in, through a series of inflammatory tweets he has been making since election day.

The presiding Circuit Judge, Karen Gievers, had issued a ruling saying she would grant an extension for Palm Beach County until November 20. She based her ruling on her assessment that the county could not possibly meet the Thursday deadline with its eight machines.

But Republican Secretary of State Detzner did not like that answer so he had his attorneys file a motion to move the case before she could formally issue her order in writing.

If Palm Beach County is not able to finish the machine recount, it has to submit the original vote count with an explanation for why it failed to meet the deadline, according to Florida laws governing recounts.

The Florida recounts are taking place in a highly charged atmosphere, and the last thing anyone needed was a mechanical breakdown of voting machines. It appear that unless the federal judge extends the deadline past tomorrow for Palm Beach County that the completion of the required recount is not likely to occur.
2.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has become the new darling of the right-wing. And he strengthened his position Tuesday night by saying that if he becomes chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee he would totally investigate the FBI for the way it handled two major investigations:

The FBI probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and The investigation of Hillary Clintons emails.

The oversight function will be very much front and center, Graham said in an appearance on CNN.

Graham has seniority and thus is well-positioned to take over the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee if circumstances allow it. The current Chairman, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, may decide to leave Judiciary and become chairman of the Senate Finance Committee instead.

Graham in recent months has emerged as one of President Donald Trumps strongest advocates in Congress. Previously they had been at odds after competing against each other in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.

This is not the first time that the South Carolina senator has expressed his desire to look into previous FBI investigations. On several occasions he has suggested that a second special counsel should be appointed to look into GOP allegations of bias within the nations top law enforcement agency.

Also on Tuesday Graham said that he would support any bill in Congress that was introduced to protect special counsel Robert Mueller and his probe into Russian election interference. He also said, however, that he doesnt believe theres a need for it.

I dont see any movement to get rid of Mueller, Graham said. But it probably would be good to have this legislation in place just for the future.

Last April Graham co-sponsored a bill to protect the Mueller investigation. His proposed legislation would codify Department of Justice regulations which say that only a senior official can fire Mueller or another special counsel.

Many members of Congress, including all Democrats and some Republicans, have been calling for legislation to protect the special counsel over the past week. This new development came about after President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replaced him with acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

Whitakers appointment has been extremely controversial. Some people believe it is illegal. Others say he has a conflict and must recuse himself from oversight of the special counsels investigation.

Whitaker had previously authored strongly-worded opinion pieces in which he argued for stifling Muellers funding and curbing the scope of his investigation.

In saying there is no need for legislation to protect Mueller Graham was echoing the words of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said the same thing last week. McConnell, however, said he would not support legislation to protect Mueller because it is not needed.
6.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has given Mitch McConnell a choice. He can either protect Robert Mueller or go down with Trump on the Russia scandal.

By vowing to kill Trumps judicial nominees if Mueller is not protected, Flake has pushed Mitch McConnell into a corner. McConnell wants those judicial confirmations more than anything else in the world, but Flake as a member of the Judiciary Committee has the ability to kill dozens of the nominations and force McConnell to start all over again next year because the nominations do not carry over to the new Congress.

The choice seems simple on the surface. Majority Leader McConnell should allow the protections for Mueller to be attached to the government funding bill, which Trump cant veto without shutting down the government. However, Mitch McConnell is now Trumps last line of Russia scandal defense. McConnell publicly promised to block the Mueller protections legislation from ever seeing the light of day, because the pressure the pressure is on him from the White House to protect Trump.

Mitch McConnells refusal to stand with Obama in calling out the Russian election attack is one of the main reasons that Trump won the White House. Sen. McConnell is already eyeballs deep into the Russia scandal, and without a Republican House to act as Trumps Russia firewall, the heat is all on McConnell.

For a person of ethics and public service who loved their country, the choice would be easy. Mueller would have already been protected, but Mitch McConnell is not that person.

The odds are that McConnell will pass the legislation to protect Mueller. Jeff Flake has him over a barrel, and the consequences of not giving Flake what he wants arent just lost judicial confirmations, but McConnell going down with Trump on the Russia scandal.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.
656 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

By David Morgan and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  Two U.S. senators, defying opposition from top Republicans, vowed on Wednesday to push for action on a bipartisan measure that would protect a federal investigation into Russias role in the 2016 presidential election.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake and Democratic Senator Chris Coons said they would take to the Senate floor at around 4:15 p.m. EST, to ask for their colleagues consent to allow a vote that could anger President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed the federal probe as a witch hunt.

But the move was unlikely to succeed. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is firmly against the idea of voting on a measure to protect the investigation, according to an aide.

Another party leader, Senate Republican whip John Cornyn, has said he favors an alternative measure that would simply put the Senate on record as backing the leader of the probe, Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The effort by Flake and Coons comes a week after Trump set off alarm bells among Democrats and some Republicans by forcing the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replacing him with Sessions former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, a Trump loyalist who has criticized the investigation.

Critics of the appointment say Whitaker could fire Mueller or undermine the investigation in some other way.

Flake, who is retiring from the Senate, and Coons want lawmakers to vote on a measure known as the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, which would ensure that Mueller could be fired only for good cause and provide him with recourse to challenge any dismissal in federal court.

The legislation, which the Senate Judiciary Committee approved in a 14-7 vote in April, is supported by the panels chairman Chuck Grassley and another prominent Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham.

Democrats have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. The Justice Department said on Monday night that Whitaker would consult with ethics officials about any matters that could require him to recuse himself.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Andrea Ricci)
On October 18, the Russian news agency TASS quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov bemoaning the lack of dialogue between Russia and NATO, which he suggested was responsible for an increase in unintended incidents. As an example of these incidents, he cited the instance when a Spanish Eurofighter accidentally fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile during a NATO exercise over Estonia. He rhetorically asked what might have happened had the missile landed in Russian territory, stating that it was very close.

Lavrovs quotes were picked up and repeated in a headline on November 6 by New Eastern Europe magazine, which is an independent non-profit publication based in Krakow, Poland. It quoted an unnamed European defense official as saying that the missiles tracking radar was not activated, meaning the pilot supposedly could not engage its self-destruct mechanism (a feature of the AMRAAM). Apart from this anonymous source, the magazine provided no other information to back this assertion. Some reports have indicated that the missile may have in fact self-destructed.

Radio Free Europe quoted Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas as saying on Facebook "thank God" there were "no human casualties" due to this "startling incident," which he called "extremely regrettable."

The New Eastern Europe article did note that the missile was thought to have landed north of the Estonian city of Tartu, meaning that even if the self-destruct system was not engaged, its very unlikely that the missile would have reached Russian territory. The Russian side of the border in the area within the missiles max range is sparsely populated, and the large Lake Peipus takes up much of that area.

Additionally, the U.S. Air Force's specifications for the missile indicate it has a range of 20 miles.The Spanish jet was approximately more than 30 miles from Russian territory at the time, further evidence that the accidental firing of the missile posed no threat to Russians or Russian territory.

As such, it would seem Lavrov has very little to worry about, though his concern about the need for Russia-NATO communication to avoid misunderstandings, if it is lacking, would certainly be reasonable.
You are the owner of this article.
Get the SC business stories that matter.

Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free.
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 Post and Courier provides a forum for our readers to share their opinions, and to hold up a mirror to our community. Publication does not imply endorsement by the newspaper; the editorial staff attempts to select a representative sample of letters because we believe its important to let our readers see the range of opinions their neighbors submit for publication.
LEWISTON  The history of Daley Farms is the history of growth.

When John Daley founded the 80-acre farm in 1859, the family milked five cows by hand, said Mike Daley, the current patriarch and namesake to Daley Farms.

Five cows became 20. When the herd grew again, the Daleys stopped milking by hand and brought in a milking machine to do the job. At 100 head of cows, they built a milking parlor, Daley said.

That measured growth is a familiar story. "Its been going on for a long time at many farms, not just this one," Daley said.

David Buck, president of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association, agrees. "You look back historically, the average herd size has been going up," Buck said. "And its been accelerating over the last several years."

The economics of dairies are the main reason, Buck said. Margins on each cow milked, each hundred weight of milk, are getting smaller, making it harder to make a profit on the smaller dairies.

Its a business model that has seen the expansion of some large dairies into extra large, and the building of several mega-dairies in Minnesota.

Dairy futures

Brian Yotter and his wife, Ashly, plan to expand their dairy herd from about 600 animals to just short of 2,000.

"Were doing this for the future," said Ashly Yotter. The young couple bought the dairy from Brians parents, who began milking at Scotch Prairie Farms dairy in 1981. With young children of their own, Ashly said, they know that if they want their kids stay on the farm, it needs to be profitable and the dairy life needs to look attractive.

Looking at the future, Brian Yotter said, now was the time to install the infrastruture required to make the farm efficient and profitable for the long haul.

"We enjoy what we do," he said. "Its not about the cow numbers. Its how we function as a farm."

Theyd originally submitted plans for an expansion to about 1,100 cows, but when they started looking more closely at the environmental review and how they could turn their dairy into a zero-discharge site, they saw that bigger would allow them to invest what was needed to be cleaner.

"Were going to be more specialized in milking and not raise the young stock here," he said. "We needed to increase our cow numbers to justify enlarging the manure pit."

Jim Salfer, a University of Minnesota Extension educator in dairy, said large dairies milking thousands of cows a day are becoming more common in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest as the dairy industry follows the trend seen in other livestock farming like hogs, chickens and turkeys.

However, as were seeing the emergence of mega dairies  Riverview LLC in Morris, Minn., has added two dairies with herds of nearly 10,000 animals apiece in the last year  the industry is also seeing the overall number of cows dropping. "And were losing smaller dairies at a faster pace," he said.

Family farms

While Riverview has more of a corporate structure, with employees able to buy shares in the company, Scotch Prairie and Daley are both owned and operated by a single families that also hire full-time employees.

Daley Farms has 13 family members working full time on the operation plus about 30 employees, said Shelly DePestel, a fifth-generation Daley working on the farm.

Her niece, Sidney Greden, is part of the sixth generation. Greden said five cousins in her generation are part of that group of 13 employees.

"Were doing this for them," DePestel said.

In order to earn enough money to help that sixth generation make a salary off the farm, the dairy needs to expand, DePestel said.

Lifestyle choice

The reasons smaller dairies are drying up are many, said Salfer. Theres the price of milk, driving some dairies out of business. Some dairy farmers simply retire when no one in the familys next generation comes back to the run the farm.

Then theres the lifestyle.

For smaller dairies, where the owner cannot afford a large, full-time staff to help manage the herd and run the milking process, the owners do the bulk of the work. On a dairy, that means milking twice a day, every day. Every single day, rain or shine. No weekends off. No holidays off.

"Producers dont want that lifestyle," Salfer said. "They just dont want to be tied down to the lifestyle of milking twice a day."

Twenty or more years ago, a dairy would be run by the dad of the family, and two or three sons would stay or return to the farm, each milking about 80 cows, and theyd make a living from that. Today, though, margins per hundred weight of milk are smaller, although the margin per cow hasnt fallen much since each cow now produces more milk than a generation ago. Still, with the price of everything from groceries to a new truck going up, the dairy needs to have more cows to earn the same lifestyle.

Thats made it hard to transition those smaller dairies to the next generation, Salfer said. The solution? Bigger dairies.

Neighborly concerns

Building bigger dairies, said Barbara Sogn-Frank, an organizer with the Land Stewardship Project, brings bigger environmental problems.

"Our members in the area right around (Daley Farms) are very concerned about the potential for the negative impact on the environment," she said.

In the environmental assessment worksheet submitted to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for the Daley Farms expansion, the dairy will use more water from already taxed water resources. The manure generated from the feedlots will be spread across land in karst geology country, where the pourous rock allows contaminates to enter the aquifer.

"In Utica, 46 percent of the wells are over the maximum nitrate levels," Sogn-Frank said.

Furthermore, the expansion would go against the countys cap on animal units for a feedlot, set at 1,500. Daley Farms already is above that cap, but only because its herd was in place before the cap was set, she said.

The biggest concern, though, remains the water quality and the water quantity, Sogn-Frank said.

That, said Cathy Rofshus, a spokesperson for the MPCA, is typical when the agency collects public input during an environmental assessment worksheet review.

When the MPCA held a public hearing about the review, about 10 people spoke against the project.

A good plan

Of course, about the same number spoke in favor of the project at that meeting.

That was no accident, DePestel said.

She attended a public hearing about a proposed hog feedlot in Mabel Township last summer to see what kind of opposition would show up. The overwhelmingly negative response convinced DePestel she needed to even the playing field at her own EAW hearing. She invited friends  many neighbors who support the Daley family and its stewardship of the land  and outfitted them in T-shirts saying "Support All Dairy."

Then, DePestel said, there are the details of the expansion. It will require fewer semis hauling cattle and bedding sand around on southeast Minnesota roads. The dairy will recycle its water, using it for washing cows and washing bedding sand in a closed-loop system.

As for the manure used on area fields, she said, those fields will be fertilized, either with chemical fertilizers or manure, and "everyone knows manure is better for the environment," she said.

The Yotters said their expansion will actually improve water quality. The dairy will become a zero-discharge site, collecting the feed pad water. Manure will be spread when it is most beneficial and of least environmental concern, instead of the old days when open pits meant spreading manure when the pit got full.

"Everything is collected," Ashly Yotter said. "It doesnt leave our site. Over the last 20 years, weve evolved and improved local water quality. This next step will improve that even more."

Ultimately, the goal is to make a farm big enough so you can afford to take days off and environmentally safe enough so the next generation will live alongside the current generation, just like the Yotters live near Brians parents today.

"We want to be in a position for this farm to be passed on," Ashly said.
JMI-Edison is the first Guam company in nearly three years to receive approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for its petition to bring 22 skilled foreign workers to Guam under the H-2B visa program to work on a nonmilitary-related construction project.

Greg Massey, the director of the Department of Labor Alien Labor Processing and Certification Division, said there have been one-off H-2B approvals, but the JMI-Edison request for H-2Bs is the first significant petition, unrelated to the buildup, to win approval from USCIS since late 2015.

JMI's petition was granted two weeks ago, about the same time that the Guam Contractors Association asked the District Court of Guam to hold USCIS in contempt for its continued denial of H-2B petitions for nonmilitary-buildup work.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.

In the contempt motion, contractors' attorney Jeff Joseph wrote that of the 708 nonmilitary H-2B petitions filed by Guam employers with USCIS since January 2018, "zero had been approved, with 91 positions having no action taken on them, and no communication from USCIS for over 90 days."

That was until JMI's petition for 22 H-2B workers was approved.

JMI-Edison President Ed Ilao is off island and was unavailable for comment on what some might perceive as a breakthrough in granting H-2B visas for a project unrelated to the military buildup.

However, John Robertson, who is chairman of the committee overseeing the Guam Contractors Association's litigation against USCIS, is skeptical.

In an emailed response to The Guam Daily Post, he said USCIS "may be trying to defuse or negate the contempt complaint by approving a few petitions."

Two paths to H-2B approval

Massey declined to comment on the contempt motion. The government of Guam is not a party to that lawsuit, he said.

However, there are two paths to approval for H-2B visas and Massey emphasized that the most promising path now for a Guam employer needing skilled foreign labor is to link the project to the buildup.

He points to Tuesday's announcement by the governor that 5M Construction won approval to hire 38 foreign construction workers on H-2B visas for its Tsubaki Tower hotel construction project.

The approval was granted under the exemptions allowed to Guam in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

The NDAA includes a provision permitting Guam employers to hire up to 4,000 foreign workers under the H-2B visa program so long as the work is related to the buildup. Since early April, USCIS has been granting H-2B visas to Guam employers who could prove they need skilled foreign labor for a buildup-related project.

A hotel project linked to the buildup

5M succeeded in petitioning foreign workers for the Tsubaki hotel project, said Massey, after it was able to link the hotel's construction to the military buildup. The Department of Defense agreed to designate the project as being associated with the military realignment to Guam.

Massey said the path to approval for 5M Construction was paved by a July 16 letter the Guam Economic Development Authority sent to Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, commander of Joint Region Marianas.

The letter, written by GEDA Administrator Jay Rojas, with input from local immigration attorneys, states that "hotel construction on Guam is directly associated with the military realignment" and "is a vital component toward the overall success."

The letter points out that the buildup will bring many different types of short-term visitors to the island including supervisory staff, engineers, federal regulators and military officers.

In addition, the argument for foreign workers for the hotel project stated the buildup will significantly increase the island's population, creating additional demand for hotel accommodations in competition with the anticipated growth of the island's tourism industry.

"As far as DOD is concerned this is a huge issue for them," said Massey, adding, "we were on pins and needles" waiting for USCIS to decide on 5M's petition for the hotel project.

USCIS' approval of the H-2B petition for the Tsubaki hotel project is "huge news," said Massey, because it might give "a little bit more confidence" to other developers on the sidelines who are looking to build hotels and encourage them now to put in similar applications and commit to their construction projects as well.
About ten days back Nature magazine generated a lot of media attention for a study it published that purported to prove that the oceans were warming considerably faster than previously thoughtup to 60 percent more. Naturally this set off the climatistas (The study drew considerable media attention, including from The Post, as the Washington Post laconically put it), as though they need additional confirmation of their eschatology.

Theres just one problemone big problem. The study is riddled with errors. In a long blog post at Judith Currys website, Nic Lewis blew big holes in the paper. Heres the key bit from Lewiss conclusion:

The findings of the Resplandy et al paper were peer reviewed and published in the worlds premier scientific journal and were given wide coverage in the English-speaking media. Despite this, a quick review of the first page of the paper was sufficient to raise doubts as to the accuracy of its results. Just a few hours of analysis and calculations, based only on published information, was sufficient to uncover apparently serious (but surely inadvertent) errors in the underlying calculations. Moreover, even if the papers results had been correct, they would not have justified its findings regarding an increase to 2.0C in the lower bound of the equilibrium climate sensitivity range and a 25% reduction in the carbon budget for 2C global warming. Because of the wide dissemination of the papers results, it is extremely important that these errors are acknowledged by the authors without delay and then corrected. Of course, it is also very important that the media outlets that unquestioningly trumpeted the papers findings now correct the record too. But perhaps that is too much to hope for.

Well, the Washington Post and other outlets have, so we should give them credit for it. And the authors of the study has fessed up to their mistakes:

Unfortunately, we made mistakes here, said Ralph Keeling, a climate scientist at Scripps, who was a co-author of the study. I think the main lesson is that you work as fast as you can to fix mistakes when you find them.

It had to kill the Posts Chris Mooney (author of the tendentious Republican War on Science) to write this story, and it does everything it can to minimize the damage of this correction to the certainty of the climate catastrophist narrative. The San Diego Union-Tribune account is more revealing:

Co-author Ralph Keeling, climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, took full blame and thanked Lewis for alerting him to the mistake. When we were confronted with his insight it became immediately clear there was an issue there, he said. Were grateful to have it be pointed out quickly so that we could correct it quickly. Keeling said they have since redone the calculations, finding the ocean is still likely warmer than the estimate used by the IPCC. However, that increase in heat has a larger range of probability than initially thought  between 10 percent and 70 percent, as other studies have already found. Our error margins are too big now to really weigh in on the precise amount of warming thats going on in the ocean, Keeling said. We really muffed the error margins. A correction has been submitted to the journal Nature.

Perhaps the climatisas will pause for a day or two from their relentless attacks on people like Nic Lewis and Judith Curry, but thats probably too much to hope for.

Chaser, from The Guardian today:

And Ill bet The Guardian has just the radicals we need to get the job done! They really just cant help themselves.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 17:41:20

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 644 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / Two best selling CBD products in the current quarter include a pure organic Softgel capsule and a pure organic concentrated CBD oil product, see here https://cbdrevu.com/cbdpure-hemp-oil-cbd/ The market for CBD of all kinds is exploding this year. But along with the immense popularity of CBD have come a number of caveats. Chief among them is the fact that hemp oil is not CBD oil. And, hemp seed oil is not CBD oil. And, hemp 'extract' oil not necessarily CBD oil. The only way for consumers to ensure that they are getting authentic CBD is by seeking out products that specifically indicate the amount of CBD contained in the product on the ingredients label and from brands that provide proof in the form of lab test results indicating the product contains CBD. If the products website and labeling do not indicate these things then it is probably best to avoid it. A good example of this confusing scenario can be seen when shopping for CBD oil on Amazon. Selling CBD is not permitted on Amazon but hemp oil products are marketed in a way that makes them easily confused with CBD.Consumers see products on Amazon that are being promoted in a way to suggest they are CBD products without any evidence of the product containing any actual CBD. These products are labeled hemp oil, hemp extract oil or hemp seed oil. Remember these facts: (1) there are potentially over 100 cannabinoids that can be extracted from hemp or cannabis, so just because a product indicates the product contains 'hemp extract' there is no logical reason to assume that the 'extract' is CBD. It could be one of the other cannabinoids, (2) hemp seeds contain very little or no CBD. Therefore 'hemp seed oil' is not a source of CBD, and (3) the term hemp oil tells us absolutely nothing. And to make matters worse, some of these product categories are very expensive. The takeaway is buyers need to be diligent when shopping for CBD products and make every effort to ensure they are buying authentic CBD oil products. This scenario makes finding the best CBD oil products tricky.CBDRevu has top rated CBD oil brand profiles for such brands as CBDPure Softgel Capsules, NuLeaf Naturals, Kannaway Pure CBD, Restorative Botanicals, Receptra Naturals, Charlotte's Web CBD, Endoca Hemp Oil, CBD Essence, Irie CBD, HempMeds RSHO Real Scientific Hemp Oil, Elixinol, Bluebird Botanicals, Sensi Seeds, Rick Simpson Oil, and more.The market for both non-psychoactive CBD as well as medical and recreational marijuana is booming. Last month, a national poll by Gallup indicated that 66% of adults in the United States support marijuana legalization. This the highest level of support yet in the U.S. and it may be growing. The Gallup polling company has been tracking this subject since 1969. Support was especially strong among millennials and stood at 78% Democrats favor legalization by 75% and Independents by 71% while Republicans favor changing the laws by 53%. Older Americans, age 55 and older, favor legalization by 59%. The recent Gallup poll is consistence with other polling, for instance by Pew and Quinnipiac University.Estimates indicate that there are presently over 149,000 Americans working full-time in the legal marijuana business. In states that have legalized marijuana in recent years such as Colorado, Oregon and Washington State indicate that tax revenues are exceeding prior projections. A number of states are moving towards and end to marijuana prohibition, including New Jersey under Democratic Governor Phil Murphy where lawmakers and the Governor are attempting to complete a legalization bill by the end of 2018, fulfilling a campaign promise by the Governor.CBDReVu is an advertising supported information website featuring brand profiles of popular pure CBD offerings. CBDReVu offers advertising opportunities for firms in the CBD as well as for legal marijuana business related industries.Contact:Chaz Sandersonsupport@ cbdrevu.com 1-929-344-1364SOURCE: CBDRevu
Photo: Stefan Reid Stefan Reid is helping to provide hope amongst the devastation of Panama City, Fla. after Hurricane Michael tore through the area.

Stefan Reid is helping provide hope amongst the devastation of Panama City, Fla. after Hurricane Michael tore through the area.

Reid is the lieutenant of the Vernon Salvation Army and he jumped at the opportunity to help out.

He's on the Salvation Army Incident Management team and they are patrolling devastated areas, providing food boxes, water, hygiene packs and other basic necessities.

He says the level of destruction he witnessed is beyond words.

It's hard to describe. Certain areas of the city are completely destroyed while other areas are minorly affected, but we are in areas that are severely damaged with people sleeping under tarps where their homes used to stand, said Reid, adding the situation is very impactful.

Some days are difficult. We're down here providing the support that they need. It is a great opportunity to serve and give back to the communities of this area.

The Salvation Army is known worldwide for helping those in need and Reid said he is honoured to be able to provide not only basic necessities, but emotional and spiritual care as well.

It is something I am passionate about, he said, adding people see hope when they see the Salvation Army arrive.

Hurricane Michael hit Florida with winds up to 155-mph, flattening buildings, tearing up roads and knocking out power to thousands.

Reid has been in Florida for the past two weeks and returns home Thursday.
Body Armor Market - Research Report on Industry Analysis, Product Type with Size and Forecast 2026

PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 19:04:37

Press Information

Polaris Market Research

Polaris Market Research





30 Wall Street





8th Floor, New York City,





NY 10005, United States



Mr.Neel

Corporate Sales Manager

1-646-568-9980

email

https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/





# 709 Words

Polaris Market Research30 Wall Street8th Floor, New York City,NY 10005, United StatesCorporate Sales Manager1-646-568-9980

Body Armor Market Research and Analysis to 2026 - Major Top Vendors are BAE Systems, Inc., Honeywell International Inc., U.S. Armor Corporation, DuPont Deenside Ltd., Blank Enterprises, Sarkar Defense Solutions, MKU Pvt. Ltd., Safariland, LLC, Uvex group, Avon Protection Systems, CeredyneThe Global Body Armor market is anticipated to reach USD 4.83 billion by 2026 according to a new study published by Polaris Market Research. The rising concerns of defense and security industry towards military personnel safety and survivability is propelling the need for body armors. Several developed as well as developing nations are executing modernization program for military and security personnel and are mainly focused towards offering the finest protection products. Thus, defense department of these nations are spending huge amount in providing body armor for their defense troops. Developed nations such as the U.S., UK, Russia, and France are taking several initiatives to replace their traditional armor system with new advanced technology is manufacturing body armor. Lightweight and flexible armor with the usage of nanotechnology materials and fibers is the recent trend prevailing in this market, which will positively favor the industry growth in near future. Besides this, cutting-edge technologies such as liquid body armor and dragon skin are significantly adding value to the defense and security industry.Get PDF Sample Brochure: https://bit.ly/2RQVuTL Growing conflicts and frictions in regions such as the Asian, Middle East, Sub-Saharan region, Russia, and other nations has translated to a sharp rise in the incidents related to terrorism, piracy, arms smuggling, exploitation, drugs and human trafficking as well as other illegal practices that poses a serious threat to life and affects the defense personnel. The growing incidence of such activities are increasing the demand for adequate security procedures. Such trends are further anticipated to bolster the Body Armor Market growth during the forecast period.Currently, the overall Body Armor market is dominated by North America and Europe Region. This is attributed to the ongoing soldier modernization programs executed across countries in these regions. Soldier safety is the top most priority of the defense agency, hence they certainly are not expected to compromise on their soldiers safety. Besides this, law enforcement officials constantly need to enhance their safety due to rising instances of violence and riots across several countries. Moreover, the rising threat of terrorism has also propelled the demand of body armors and these regions are expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. The Body Armor Market in Asia Pacific, MEA, and South America region are expected to notice a high growth during the forecast period. The growth in Asia Pacific Body Armor Market is attributed to the increasing government spending in new technology adoption in the defense sector. Thus, the region is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.Inquire For More Information: https://bit.ly/2K47pej Major companies profiled in the Body Armor Market report include BAE Systems, Inc., Honeywell International Inc., U.S. Armor Corporation, DuPont Deenside Ltd., Blank Enterprises, Inc., Sarkar Defense Solutions, MKU Pvt. Ltd., Safariland, LLC, Uvex group, Avon Protection Systems, Inc., and Ceredyne (3M) among others.Key Findings from the study suggest North America and Europe combined is expected to command the Body Armor Market over the forecast years. The growing government spending on security across globe is projected to boost the growth of the market over the forecast period. Several companies are coming with new technology and materials to maintain Body Armor competences into their portfolio of products. For instance, in February 2018, Cooneen Group, a leading French body armor supplier won contract worth 43 Million Euros to supply Body Armor to French police.Speak to Analyst for Extra Research: https://bit.ly/2zQnDD7 About Polaris Market Research:Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We strive to provide our customers with updated information on innovative technologies, high growth markets, emerging business environments and latest business-centric applications, thereby helping them always to make informed decisions and leverage new opportunities. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises.Contact us:Mr. NeelCorporate Sales, USAPolaris Market ResearchPhone: 1-646-568-9980Email: neel@ polarismarketresearch.com Web: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 05:21:06

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 425 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

Attorney David Daudell Has Extensive Experience Representing Clients Throughout the Illinois Area. The Firm Offers a Wide Range of Legal Services Including Criminal Charges, Divorce, and Personal Injury.ORLAND PARK, IL / ACCESSWIRE / November 13, 2018 / The Law Firm of David W Daudell is pleased to announce that they have reached a milestone of more than a quarter century of providing legal services to residents throughout the Chicagoland area, including Chicago, Orland Park, Oak Lawn, Palos Park, Tinley Park, Hinsdale, the Bridgeview Courthouse, and the counties of Cook and Will. For clients in need of the best and most affordable divorce lawyers Orland Park IL has to offer our legal professionals are available seven days per week.Established in 1992, the Law Office of David Daudell focuses on litigation and the practice is devoted to obtaining the best results for you. The firm employs trained professionals, people who have experience in the personal injury field focused on achieving a winning result for each client. The firm is skilled and experienced with a passion for winning for the client.A representative of the firm explained, "We will aggressively advocate on your behalf and ensure that you will win. You can call us 24 hours a day, for all of your legal needs. We are available to clients seven days per week, with same day appointment available. If you are unable to come to the office, we will travel to your home or the hospital. Call any time, should you get the recording, leave your name and number and we will timely call you back. Our firm is designed for individual attention. Our professional support and staff members allow us to provide our client with efficient personally designed attentive legal services custom designed to each person." "The insurance companies have people immediately assigned to prepare to defend against any claims," he explains. "It is important that you do not delay. Retain The Law Office of David Daudell, and you too will have people immediately assigned to your cause, investigators dispatched and on the scene. Act quickly before evidence and witnesses disappear. The firm can provide translators for clients who speak Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Yugoslavian, and Russian, and there is a free consultation for injury cases." More information is available at https://www.daviddaudell.com Contact Info:Name: David W DaudellOrganization: Law Firm of David W DaudellAddress: 15030 S Ravinia Ave #31, Orland Park, IL 60462Phone: (708) 403-2299Source URL: https://marketersmedia.com/divorce-lawyers-orland-park-il-firm-marks-26-years-of-legal-services/440987 For more information, please visit https://www.daviddaudell.com SOURCE: David W Daudell
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 15:51:49

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 774 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

PENNSAUKEN TOWNSHIP, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / Haddon Point is the first apartment community in the Pennsauken Township region to be outfitted with a comprehensive managed smart home solution for residents. A Delco Development property that opened in November 2018, Haddon Point has partnered with Epproach Communications to provide its residents with a state-of-the-art managed smart home solution controlled via a branded Smartphone App."By offering our residents the accessibility to control their Smart Home devices from our mobile App, it sets us apart from other apartment communities," Nina Beacher, Director of Residential Development for Delco Development, said. "It also benefits our management team by keeping us connected to our vacant apartments, which helps to maintain their security, and it ensures that we are not wasting energy by controlling the thermostats remotely." The managed smart home solution provided by Epproach Communications consists of a wireless, multi-IoT-protocol product set controlled via a Smartphone App, branded as the Delco Development App. Using the App, residents can remotely control each product included inside the Epproach Smart Product Set. The basic Smart package implemented at Haddon Point includes remote-controlled thermostats, but residents can easily link dozens of other Smart devices to the system. Each device has the ability to be controlled via in-home voice assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa or the Google Home. Residents can also control access to their common areas, like the community clubhouse, entrance gate and other facilities. Property management can manage and monitor permissions for each resident throughout the community via Epproach's desktop interface.Haddon Point is providing residents with their management company's very own branded Smartphone App, powered by Epproach Communications. The App gives residents a quick and easy interface to control their Smart Home technology inside each unit. It will also help to enhance communication between residents and staff via unified texts, emails and App notifications. The Delco Development App is available inside the Apple App or Google Play stores.Beacher said that the ability to communicate to their residents via the App allows them to stay connected to residents at all times. "Not only can we promote events at the property, we can notify them of any updates happening within the community," Beacher said. "This is very important for my maintenance staff, especially in the event of a storm or emergency." Epproach Communications is also providing a Gigabit network infrastructure to not only support the managed smart home service but also provide residents with high-speed, reliable WiFi and internet service across the community. Certified Epproach technicians installed Enterprise Grade 802.11 AC wireless access points across the community. The Epproach system provides service in individual apartments and all common areas. Residents are able to securely connect to high-speed wireless internet using a state-of-the-art managed WiFi system that is monitored and supported 24/7/365. This system gives residents the ability to connect securely across multiple devices and stream video in an instant."As many people know, the local cable companies charge outrageous prices for cable and internet," Beacher said. "The market is finding that there are a lot of prospective renters who are cancelling their cable plans and opting for just wireless internet since they are streaming everything. The ability to move-in to an apartment and not have to deal with the cable companies is a huge selling feature for our community." The managed smart home solution, the branded Delco Development App and the managed WiFi and internet service is provided and supported 24/7/365 by Epproach Communications.###About Epproach CommunicationsEpproach Communications is the leading provider of technology amenities to the multifamily space, providing Wi-Fi and Internet services, branded smartphone Apps and managed 'Smart' solutions for every sector of the industry, including retirement communities, resorts, student housing and apartment communities. Epproach deploys the latest technology in a total turnkey solution that is tailored to the specific needs of their clients. A proactive, 24/7/365 support team offers support to staff and direct to end users. For more information, visit www.epproach.net or call 910-202-4700.About Haddon PointDiscover the new Haddon Point apartments in Pennsauken, New Jersey, brought to you by Delco Development. Luxury apartments with exceptional amenities. Free community wide wireless internet and smart home appliances sets us apart from other properties. One and two-bedroom floor plans offer expansive living spaces with open concept kitchens, custom cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and walk-in closets with custom organizers. Residents will enjoy exclusive access to a spacious clubhouse featuring a community room, game lounge, modern fitness center, yoga room, resort-style pool, and grilling area. We are a smoke-free property. For more information, visit https://www.haddonpoint.com/ SOURCE: Epproach Communications
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 11:42:42

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 615 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

EPALINGES, SWITZERLAND / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / Mymetics Corporation (OTCQB: MYMX), a pioneer and leader in the research and development of virosome-based vaccines against life-threatening and life disabling diseases, announces that new data is presented today by Mymetics at the annual Mucosal Vaccines, Adjuvants and Delivery meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.Since 2015, Mymetics has been leading a consortium to develop thermostable and cold-chain independent virosome-based vaccines. The project, named MACIVIVA, is funded as part of Horizon 2020, the European Union research and innovation framework program and by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), and has a total grant value of 8.4 million. With the MACIVIVA project, Mymetics has brought together the leading contract manufacturers and the relevant expertise for spray drying, freeze drying and analytical techniques from the pharmaceutical industry.The late breaker presentation today, titled "Thermostable Virosome-based Vaccines Under New Solid Dosage Forms" will be presented by Dr. Sylvain Fleury, Mymetics' CSO.Dr. Fleury will present data showing that Mymetics' HIV virosome-based candidate vaccine was successfully transformed into dry powder and into sublingual tablets. These new solid dosage forms were stored at 1 to 3 month time intervals at 4C (40F), 25C (77F) and 40C (104F) and the vaccine candidate maintained its structural integrity, while the liquid formulation showed structural degradation at 25C (77F) and 40C (104F). In pre-clinical in vivo studies, the nasal delivery of spray dried virosomes and oral delivery of the sublingual tablet showed to be a possible effective, needle-free route for immunization, triggering immune responses in not only the serum, but also in the mucosal immune compartments.The MACIVIVA project will end this November 2018 and may receive up to 5.3 million funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No 646122.These promising results allow Mymetics to apply for new grants and possible collaborations to further advance its virosome-based vaccines into clinical development, in particular, its HIV-1 vaccine candidate.About MymeticsMymetics Corporation (OTCQB:MYMX) is a Swiss-based biotechnology company, with a research lab in the Netherlands, focused on the development of next-generation preventative vaccines for infectious and life disabling diseases. It currently has several vaccines in its pipeline: HIV-1/AIDS, intra-nasal Influenza, malaria, Chikungunya and the RSV vaccine and several ongoing collaborative projects in the field of allergy and oncology Immunotherapy.Mymetics' core technology and expertise are in the use of virosomes, lipid-based carriers containing functional fusion viral proteins and natural membrane proteins, in combination with rationally designed antigens. For further information, please visit www.mymetics.com CONTACTS:Mymetics CorporationRonald KempersCEOTel: +41 21 653 4535Forward-looking statementsThe Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements, which are identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan" and similar expressions. The statements contained herein which are not based on historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect our actual results, performance or achievements in the future and, accordingly, such actual results, performance or achievements may materially differ from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by or on our behalf. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with our ability to successfully develop and protect our intellectual property, our ability to raise additional capital to fund future operations and compliance with applicable laws and changes in such laws and the administration of such laws. See Mymetics' most recent Form 10-K for a discussion of such risks, uncertainties and other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date the statements were made.SOURCE: Mymetics Corporation
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 05:21:31

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 552 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - After Ethereum (ETH) futures went live on UK markets in May, CBOE Global Markets,one of the worlds largest exchange holding companies and the owner of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), is close to launching ETH futures in the United States. Renowned foreign exchange analyst PabloSoria de Lachica recently provided details on the latest uptick in interest of Ethereum and explained what it means in terms of the cryptocurrencys evolution.Business Insider reported in August the CBOE Global Markets is planning to base its ETH futures operations on exchange platform Geminis underlying market by the end of 2018, where they also placed their Bitcoin (BTC) futures in December of last year. At that time, investors will be able to speculate on Ethereums trading price without actually having to own ETH. Pablo Soria de Lachica said that the final obstacle before the project can commence is simply the go-ahead from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). There were questions that Ethereum would be subject to additional edicts from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but in June the financial regulator ruled that the cryptocurrency was not a security. CBOE Global Markets president Chris Concannon said at the time, This announcement clears a key stumbling block for Ether futures, the case for which weve been considering since we launched the first Bitcoin futures in December 2017.When asked to predict how ETH futures would perform, PabloSoria de Lachica pointed to the performance of BTC, a similar cryptocurrency also based on blockchain technology, since December of 2017. A report from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) said that the daily average of BTC futures increased by 93 percent in the second quarter over the first quarter of 2018. The CME also stated that the rate of open interest or the number of open contracts has exceeded 2,400, which amounted to a 58 percent increase. In short, when introduced to the market, Soria de Lachica expects the interest surrounding ETH futures to be strong and to continue to increase over the following six months. Overall, the launch of a futures market would be positive for the valuation of the token, as it creates an increase in trading volume by using a new financial instrument.PabloSoria de Lachica is an acclaimed broker who specializes in international trading and forex. He studied at the the Universidad Tecnologico de Mexico, where he received a Master of Business Administration and went on to create an impressive client base at a young age due to his range of trading options and competitive terms that were able to meet the needs of both investors and financial analysts. Today, Soria de Lachica primarily collaborates with innovative tech giant Kartoshka, who is at the forefront of the latest technologies in sales, telemarketing and customer support. His expertise provides a vital perspective on international trading, market analysis, the establishment of new branches, the development of online trading tools and day-to-day business operations.Pablo Soria de Lachica - Foreign Exchange Specialist: http://PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.com Pablo Soria de Lachica Highlights Most Popular Trading Pairs for Ethereums Cryptocurrency: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pablo-soria-lachica-highlights-most-032000084.html Pablo Soria de Lachica Explica la Diferencia Entre Ethereum y Ethereum Classic: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4010565 Contact Information:contact@ pablosoriadelachicanews.com
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 20:06:55

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 831 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / Pelangio Exploration Inc. (PX:TSX-V; OTC PINK:PGXPF) ("Pelangio" or the "Company") is pleased to report that, further to the Company's news release of October 29, 2018, it has executed a Definitive Agreement with 2522962 Ontario Inc. ("5SD Capital").Highlights of the Definitive Agreement Include:1. Pelangio will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of 5SD Capital in an all-share deal pursuant to which Pelangio will issue one new Pelangio common share for every five 5SD Capital common shares that are outstanding;2. 5SD Capital currently has 22,985,488 common shares outstanding. 5SD Capital Shareholders will receive 0.20 shares of Pelangio for each 5SD Capital share. Accordingly, Pelangio will issue a total of 4,597,098 common shares to acquire 5SD Capital;3. 5SD Capital's assets as of October 26, 2018 consist of approximately $545,000, a securities portfolio with a market value of approximately $140,000 and mineral exploration properties located in Ontario as well as royalty interests.The Company, having received TSX Venture Exchange approval, anticipates the closing of the acquisition of 5SD Capital will take place on or before December 7, 2018.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.About PelangioPelangio acquires and explores large land packages in world-class gold belts in Canada and Ghana, West Africa. In Canada, the company is focusing on the 25 km2 Birch Lake Property located in the Red Lake Mining District and the Dalton Property located 1.5 km from the Hollinger mine in Timmins. In Ghana, the Company is focusing on two 100%-owned camp-sized properties: the 100 km2 Manfo Property, the site of seven recent near-surface gold discoveries, and the 264 km2 Obuasi Property, located 4 km on strike and adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's prolific high-grade Obuasi Mine. Ghana is an English-speaking, common law jurisdiction that is consistently ranked amongst the most favourable mining jurisdictions in Africa.For additional information, please visit our website at www.pelangio.com , or contact:Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEOTel: 905-336-3828 / Toll-free: 1-877-746-1632 / Email: info@ pelangio.com Forward Looking StatementsCertain statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements or information appear in a number of places and can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information include statements regarding the Company's potential acquisition of 5SD Capital, including the anticipated shareholder approval of the acquisition by 5SD Capital shareholders, the Company's strategy of acquiring large land packages in areas of sizable gold mineralization, the Company's plans to follow-up on previous work, the issuance of the number of shares required to acquire 5SD Capital, the possibility that the acquisition of 5SD Capital is not approved by 5SD Capital Shareholders, and the Company's exploration plans. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, we have made numerous assumptions, including assumptions about the anticipated results of due diligence findings by both Pelangio and 5SD Capital, the likelihood of 5SD Capital shareholder approval of the acquisition of 5SD Capital by Pelangio, and the state of the equity markets. Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Such risks include the changes in equity markets, share price volatility, volatility of global and local economic climate, gold price volatility, increases in costs, exchange rate fluctuations, speculative nature of gold exploration and other risks involved in the gold exploration industry, that 5SD Capital and Pelangio might not be satisfied with their due diligence findings and that they might not encounter favourable exploration results. See the Company's annual and quarterly financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statement and information. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. All forward-looking statements and information herein are qualified by this cautionary statement.SOURCE: Pelangio Exploration Inc.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-13 22:21:03

Atlanta, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE: PDM) expanded today on its previous announcement that its Board of Directors has promoted Chief Investment Officer, C.Brent Smith, to President and Chief Investment Officer. Donald A. Miller, CFA, Chief Executive Officer, will continue to serve in that capacity. Mr. Smith will report to Mr. Miller and work with him on corporate strategy and take a broader role across the Companys platform.

Commenting on Mr. Smiths promotion, Mr. Miller said For several years, the Board of Directors and I have been working on a robust succession planning program across our entire leadership team. Brents promotion is a direct result of that program and the recognition of many years of accomplishments on his part. Im very excited about the energy and vision he will bring to this role as we continue to focus on refining our strategy in ways that we believe will most benefit our stockholders.

Mr. Smith, 43, will continue to serve as Chief Investment Officer, as well as Executive Vice President of Piedmonts Northeast Region, for the foreseeable future. As Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Smith leads a team of experienced transactions professionals focused on capital market transactions across Piedmonts entire portfolio, including Piedmonts portfolio repositioning. As head of the Companys Northeast regional team, Mr. Smith oversees a team responsible for the Companys approximately three million square foot Boston and New York/New Jersey portfolio. Prior to joining Piedmont in 2012, Mr. Smith served as an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley in the Real Estate Investment Banking division advising a wide range of public and private real estate clients. He brings almost 15 years of corporate- and property-level real estate experience in both North America and Asia.

Having served Piedmont over the last twelve years as both an advisor and a member of management, I have deep respect and appreciation for the entire Piedmont team, Mr. Smith said. Im looking forward to continuing to work with Don, the Board, and the rest of the leadership team as we leverage our best-in-class office platform and local Piedmont expertise to expand our presence across our eight core markets.



About Piedmont Office Realty Trust:

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located in eight major cities in the eastern half of the U.S. The almost $5 billion portfolio is comprised of approximately 17 million square feet of office space. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with local management offices in each of its major markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's (BBB) and Moody's (Baa2). For more information, see www.piedmontreit.com.

Contact: Stephanie Scurlock

Company: Piedmont Office Realty Trust

Phone: 1 770 418 8800

Email: investor.relations@Piedmontreit.com
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-13 22:02:01

Office of State Revenue deploys Nuance conversational AI solution, virtual assistant Sam enabling simple, tailored self-service

Queensland Treasury Becomes First State Government Department in Australia to Roll-out Nuance-powered Virtual Assistant

Australian Media Contact:

Burson-Marsteller, on behalf of Nuance Communications

Matea Rojas

matea.rojas@bm.com | 0433 442 728

Nuance Communications Inc. and the Office of State Revenue (OSR), part of Queensland Treasury, have today announced the launch of virtual assistant Sam across all OSR revenue lines. Using Nuances AI-powered solution, its the first Australian state government implementation of the conversational virtual assistant.

Sitting on Business Queensland and QLD Online websites, Sam provides a conversational interface that allows clients to ask general questions about OSRs services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Using Nuances natural language understanding (NLU), conversational dialogue and advanced resolution techniques, Sam provides more than 300 tailored responses, with thousands of variations to commonly-asked questions across payroll tax, duties and grants, land tax and mining and petroleum royalties. Sam can also direct taxpayers to relevant information on OSRs web pages.

Deputy Commissioner for OSR, Simon McKee, said, With Sam, we have provided another channel for our taxpayers to easily access information, 24/7.

Sam saves taxpayers time by delivering information in a simple, conversational way and reduces the need for them to search for information on our web pages. Sam marks a further step in our commitment to meet or exceed our taxpayers expectations said McKee.

Managing Director for Nuance Enterprise, Australia and New Zealand, Robert Schwarz said, Conversational AI has completely transformed the way consumers engage, providing endless opportunities for government to provide best-practice digital customer experiences. More than ever, Australians are expecting seamless digital client experiences from the private and public sector alike.

Nuances AI systems listen, learn and deliver progressively better outcomes by leveraging big data and human input to emulate live agents. Through this learning loop, we can deliver enterprise-grade solutions, empowering organisations, including government, to provide optimal experiences for Australians. Nuance Nina ensures consistent and intelligent automated conversations with human-like dialogue said Schwarz.

OSR launched Sam in February 2018 to help OSRs client gain answers to simple tax questions 24/7. Since then, Sam has logged more than 5,000 client interactions  with over 71 per cent of enquiries being resolved at the first contact.

To interact with Sam, please visit www.qld.gov.au/payrolltax.

For more information about Nuances Nina, please visit: http://australia.nuance.com/for-business/customer-.

About the Queensland Office of State Revenue

OSR is part of Queensland Treasury. We are responsible for managing State taxes and royalties, and administering the Queensland First Home Owners Grant. The revenue we collect provides about $17 billion in income for Queensland to fund essential services including for education, health and infrastructure. For more information, please visit https://www.treasury.qld.gov.au/taxes-and-royaltie

About Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance Communications, Inc. is the pioneer and leader in conversational AI innovations that bring intelligence to everyday work and life. The company delivers solutions that can understand, analyse and respond to human language to increase productivity and amplify human intelligence. With decades of domain and artificial intelligence expertise, Nuance works with thousands of organisations  in global industries that include healthcare, telecommunications, automotive, financial services, and retail  to create stronger relationships and better experiences for their customers and workforce. For more information, please visit australia.nuance.com.au

Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181113005
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 05:35:39

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 477 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

Real Law helps the public easily find a trusted local lawyer on theback on client feedback. For small law firms, it will provide newclients via proven and profitable marketing systems.CHRISTCHURCH, NZ / ACCESSWIRE / November 13, 2018 / NZ's first nationwide law brand, 'Real Law', is a portal for New Zealanders looking for a lawyer they can trust, and a source of clients for lawyers.''NZ's first Nationwide Law brand ''Real Law,'' founded by Dennis Gates, a law practitioner in NZ for over 30 years, announces it's successful launch, where 16 locations have been taken already.Real Law provides small local NZ Law firms with the marketing horsepower of a National Brand, without them having to give up their identity. That is done via a 2 tier marketing system. 'Local Marketing' is where Real Law promotes a local firm's own brand name in that firm's local area. 'National Marketing' is where the Real Law brand is promoted nationally, and the clients generated are given to the member firm in the area from which the client comes. It's exclusive, because only 1 law firm in each local area can join Real Law. Lawyers wanting more information can visit the Real Law website here.Says founder and CEO, Dennis Gates, ''When I went to law school, there was no marketing training. That's odd, because ask any Lawyer, or any business owner, is being good at your profession, or being good at marketing more important to success? Everyone knows the answer is marketing. Being a good lawyer doesn't set you apart, or give you an edge, because everyone already expects you to be good a lawyer anyway. Real Law exists to give small law firms that marketing edge they need to dominate their local area, so that they can focus on law, knowing that we will take care of their marketing, and get their phone ringing with new clients.'' In 2013, there were 3,546 Kiwi Law Firms with 3 or less partners. In 1986 NZ had 1 lawyer for every 681 people, now it's 1 for every 383. ''It appears there has been a growing need for lawyers. Laws are getting more complex and we have more of them,'' said Law Society president Chris Moore, in 2016 . He also praised the local ''generalist expected by their clients to help them with all their legal needs. The rising complexity of law meant they had to be talented individuals,'' he said.Gates from Real Law adds  ''3,500 small Kiwi law firms are seen as generalists' by the public, but are working with more and more complexities in the law. That means they spend less time on marketing, the activity that matters most to their success. Real Law fixes that problem.'' Contact Info:Name: Dennis GatesEmail: Send EmailOrganization: Real LawAddress: 103 Blankney Street, Christchurch, Canterbury 8042, New ZealandPhone: +64-800-073-2552For more information, please visit https://reallaw.nz/ SOURCE: MarketersMedia
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 08:02:21

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 942 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

BISHOPGATE, LONDON / ACCESSWIRE / November 14, 2018 / The Board of SolGold (LSE and TSX code: SOLG) is pleased to advise all shareholders and interested investors that the Company's website contains access to a copy of the Quarterly Financial and Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") required to be filed on Sedar in Canada, in connection with the Company's quarterly financial period ended 30 September 2018. This additional information is available in the Financial Reports section of the Investor Centre on the Company's website: www.solgold.com.au By order of the BoardKarl SchlobohmCompany SecretaryReferences to figures and tables relate to the version visible in PDF format by clicking the link below:CONTACTSNicholas MatherSolGold Plc (Chief Executive Officer)nmather@ solgold.com.au Tel:+61 (0) 7 3303 0665+61 (0) 417 880 448Karl SchlobohmSolGold Plc (Company Secretary)kschlobohm@ solgold.com.au Tel:+61 (0) 7 3303 0661Anna LeggeSolGold Plc (Corporate Communications)alegge@ solgold.com.au Tel:+44 (0) 20 3823 2131Gordon Poole / Nick HennisCamarco (Financial PR / IR)solgold@ camarco.co.uk Tel:+44 (0) 20 3757 4997Andrew Chubb /Ingo HofmaierHannam & Partners (Joint Broker)solgold@ hannam.partners Tel:+44 (0) 20 7907 8500Clayton Bush /Trystan Cullen / Laura HamiltonLiberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker)solgold@ liberum.com Tel:+44 (0) 20 3100 2222Follow us on twitter @SolGold_plcABOUT SOLGOLDSolGold is a leading exploration company focussed on the discovery and definition of world-class copper and gold deposits. In 2017 SolGold's management team was recognised by the "Mines and Money" Forum as an example of excellence in the industry, and continue to strive to deliver objectives efficiently and in the interests of shareholders. SolGold is the largest and most active concession holder in Ecuador and is aggressively exploring the length and breadth of this highly prospective and gold-rich section of the Andean Copper Belt.Ecuador dedicated to become a serious mining nationEcuador has, over the last 5 years, been recognised globally as a frontrunner in emerging mining nations as it develops regulatory and fiscal frameworks to facilitate the development of a fiscally, socially and environmentally strong and responsible mining industry.Dedicated stakeholdersSolGold employs a staff of over 400 and at least 90% are Ecuadorean. This is expected to grow as the operations at Alpala, and in Ecuador generally, expand. SolGold focusses its operations to be safe, reliable and environmentally responsible and maintains close relationships with its local communities. SolGold has engaged an increasingly skilled refined and experienced team of geoscientists using state of the art geophysical and geochemical modelling applied to an extensive data base to enable the delivery of ore grade intersections from nearly every drill hole at Alpala. SolGold has 86 geologists, of which 25% are female, on the ground in Ecuador looking for copper and gold.AboutCascabel and AlpalaThe Alpala deposit is the main target in the Cascabel concession, located on the northern section of the heavily endowed Andean Copper Belt, the entirety of which is renowned as the base for nearly half of the world's copper production. The project area hosts mineralisation of Eocene age, the same age as numerous Tier 1 deposits along the Andean Copper Belt in Chile and Peru to the south. The project base is located at Rocafuerte within the Cascabel concession in northern Ecuador, an approximately three hour drive on sealed highway north of Quito, close to water, power supply and Pacific ports.Alpala has produced some of the greatest drill hole intercepts in porphyry copper-gold exploration history, as exemplified by Hole 12 (CSD-16-012) returning 1560m grading 0.59% copper and 0.54 g/t gold including, 1044m grading 0.74% copper and 0.54 g/t gold.Having fulfilled its earn-in requirements, SolGold is a registered shareholder with an unencumbered legal and beneficial 85% interest in ENSA (Exploraciones Novomining S.A.) which holds 100% of the Cascabel concession covering approximately 50km2. The junior equity owner in ENSA is required to repay 15% of costs since SolGold's earn in was completed, from 90% of its share of distribution of earnings or dividends from ENSA or the Cascabel concession. It is also required to contribute to development or be diluted, and if its interest falls below 10%, it shall reduce to a 0.5% NSR royalty which SolGold may acquire for US$3.5m.Over 160,000m of diamond drilling has been completed on the project. With numerous rigs currently active on the project, SolGold produces up to approximately 10,000m of core every month. SolGold is encouraged by recent drilling results, expected to further expand and enrich the existing resource base at Alpala. The Company is also excited about notable drill hole results outside the previous resource area which promise further growth for the 2019 drilling campaign ahead. The 2019 drilling campaign will focus on further expansion of the existing resource base at Alpala, namely high priority drill targets at Alpala SE, Alpala NW, Trivinio and Alpala Western Limb.Since the publication of the Alpala Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate in January 2018, which outlined a contained metal inventory of 5.2 million tonnes of copper and 12.6 million ounces of gold, the Company has more than doubled both drilled and reported meterage and will produce a revised resource statement addressing the evident growth in the size of the deposit at the conclusion of the current Alpala drill programme. Investors should consult the technical report dated 18 December 2017 for a detailed account of the assumptions on which the estimates were based as well as any known legal, political, environmental and other risks that could materially affect the development of the resources.Getting Alpala advanced towards developmentSolGold has appointed feasibility management to initially address the production of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), prior to the prefeasibility and feasibility studies.The resource at the Alpala deposit boasts a high grade core which, in the event of the construction of a mine, is targeted to facilitate early cash
Photo: City of West Kelowna

West Kelowna has extended its contract for downtown security patrols through the end of the year.

Council was told in October there has been a noticeable decrease in both crime and mischief since patrols began in August. That also led to a reduction in the cost of repairs due to vandalism, and the demand for bylaw enforcement.

The initial two-month trial, which included patrols of public facilities such as Lions Hall and the transit exchange, was initially extended to the end of October.

Over the past few weeks, I have been speaking with many residents and business owners in the downtown area of our community, and the topic of security always comes up," said Mayor Gord Milsom.

"The trial security patrol has, without a doubt, made a huge difference for these people. The patrol puts eyes and ears on our downtown every day and, sometimes, its just that presence that can help keep the peace.

Paladin Security will continue patrols during evening hours seven days a week.

Council will consider extending patrols further when it deliberates the 2019 budget.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-14 13:54:02

News release from Vestas Asia Pacific

Singapore, 14 November 2018

Vestas has received its first Australian order for the largest turbine in its product line, the V150-4.2MW. The turbines, ordered by long-term customer Tilt Renewables for the 336 MW Dundonnell Wind Farm, feature the latest Vestas technology, proven to optimise asset performance and lower the cost of energy. This played a crucial role in the customer securing the project under the Victoria Renewable Energy Auction Scheme.



Located 23 km north-east of Mortlake in the Western District of Victoria, Dundonnell Wind Farm will feature 80 Vestas V150-4.2 MW turbines with a 114-meter hub height tower design to maximise performance under the sites specific wind conditions. Towers will be partially sourced from local Victorian suppliers.

The project is the largest of six successful bids under Victoria's 928 MW Renewable Energy Auction Scheme, and the second winning project backed by Vestas customised solutions.

Clive Turton, Vestas Asia-Pacific President said Two Vestas-backed projects have been awarded under Victorias Renewable Energy Auction Scheme, which underlines Vestas ability to offer customers customised solutions that ensure the lowest cost of energy, highest quality of technology, and optimal park performance.

Vestas is a long-term trusted partner of Tilt Renewables, with a proven track record in the market and the capabilities to support this projects successful auction outcome, said Tilt Renewables CEO Deion Campbell. Together, we are proving that wind energy is a critical part of the solution to meet Victorias energy needs.

The Dundonnell Wind Farm will also facilitate and take advantage of the Vestas Renewable Energy Hub in Geelong, a Vestas initiative to support the state governments ambitious renewable target, creating local jobs and boosting local businesses. The Hub involves several local partnerships to help Victorian industry build capabilities within turbine assembly, subcomponent supply, wind park maintenance, logistics and advanced materials and manufacturing science.

Together with our partners, Vestas is fully committed to the Victorian Renewable Energy Target, and we support the state governments approach to secure competitively-priced renewable energy while maximising the positive impact on the community, said Clive Turton.

The contract includes the supply, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, electrical balance of plant infrastructure, as well as a minimum 15-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to maximise energy production of both the wind turbine and Balance of Plant assets.

Commercial operations at Dundonnell Wind Farm are scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Rebecca Zhang

Vestas Asia Pacific

REZWE@vestas.com

+61386987339

About Vestas

Vestas is the energy industrys global partner on sustainable energy solutions. We design, manufacture, install, and service wind turbines across the globe, and with 97 GW of wind turbines in 79 countries, we have installed more wind power than anyone else. Through our industry-leading smart data capabilities and unparalleled 83 GW of wind turbines under service, we use data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind power solutions. Together with our customers, Vestas more than 24,400 employees are bringing the world sustainable energy solutions to power a bright future.



For updated Vestas photographs and videos, please visit our media images page on:

https://www.vestas.com/en/media/images .

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com and following us on our social media channels:

Attachment
MTN Group says it is nearing an out-of-court settlement with the Nigerian government over the sanctions imposed on its Nigerian subsidiary, MTN Communications Limited.

The chief executive officer of the MTN Group, Rob Shuter, who disclosed this in Johannesburg also announced plans by the company to seek a mobile-banking license in Nigeria in the near future.

Last August 29, the Central Bank of Bank sanctioned four Nigerian banks after a regulatory examination of their operations revealed infractions of the countrys foreign exchange regulations.

The banks, namely Standard Chartered, Stanbic-IBTC, Citi and Diamond Banks were alleged to have connived with MTN to repatriate out of Nigeria about $8.1bn equivalent of profit realised from their operations in the country between 2007 and 2015.

The four banks were accused of carrying out the remittances using irregular Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) issued on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN Nigeria.

The CBN accused MTN of flagrant violation of extant laws and regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995 and the Foreign Exchange Manual, 2006.

Apart from the refund of various amounts as fines totalling N5.87 billion, the CBN asked the telecoms firm to reverse the $8.13 billion (about N2.5trillion at N306.15 to $) allegedly repatriated illegally out of Nigeria.

They were asked to return the money to the country and follow the legal process.

Also, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation had also accused the company of reneging on its tax obligations valued at about N2 billion (about $1.3 billion) for import duties and withholding tax.

Following the sanctions, MTN followed up its threat to vigorously defend its rights with a N3 billion legal action against the CBN at the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Hearing, on the case filed on September 10, 2018 to challenge the legality of N242 billion fine and $1.3 bn import duties and withholding tax demanded from it from the Nigerian government, is scheduled to commence early next month.

However, the chief executive officer of the South African Telecom firm, Rob Shuter, told Bloomberg in an interview in Cape Town on Tuesday that the company was closer to an out-of-court settlement in the matter.

We are narrowing down what the key issues are in an ongoing discussions with Nigerias central bank and other institutions, Mr Shuter told Bloomberg.

He said MTNs strategy is two folds, namely seek legal action, while also exploring prospects for an amicable resolution of the matter.

We would like a resolution out of court and with normal engagements as that would be faster than a court process, he said.

Following Mr Shuters comment, MTNs shares at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange rose by 1.5 percent to about 81.11 rand, paring the decline since the crisis erupted to 25 per cent.

However, the Security and Exchange Commission on Monday confirmed for the umpteenth time MTN is yet to commence the process to enlist its stocks in the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The spokesperson of SEC, Even Ebelo, despite recent reports to the contrary, said MTN was yet to file a formal application to kick-start the enlistment process.

Mr Shuter said although MTN was still committed to a listing on the Nigerian stock market, the process has become complicated.

A resolution will help to get the listing on the way, he said at a telecoms conference.

He reaffirmed MTNs commitment to the Nigerian economy, saying the company had no intention of walking away from the country.

On future plans for the country, the MTN CEO announced plans to seek a mobile-banking license in Nigeria

Reputed to be one of Nigerias three largest multinational Telecoms operator, MTN considers Nigeria, Africas most populous nation, as its biggest market with more than 64 million customers.

MTN reported a margin of 43 per cent increase on its Nigerian earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the third quarter of this year.
Passengers were on Tuesday stranded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, following a power outage that lasted for hours.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered from affected passengers that they were kept in the dark without any explanation from relevant agencies of government.

A twitter user, Yemisi Adegoke, alleged that the airport officials did not seek alternative power supply amidst complaints from passengers kept in the dark.

At Lagos International Airport and there is currently no powerand by the look of it NO GEN, she tweeted via her handle @BriticoYemo.

Ms Adegoke, a reporter with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), also alleged that airport officials took the foreigners among the passengers to another section of the airport that had power.

Many of the passengers were frustrated as they could not proceed with the boarding processes and were delayed all through the period, she said.

Incidences of power outage are becoming a recurring development at the Lagos airport.

Last Wednesday, flight operations were disrupted at the airport following a power outage.

The outage occurred at about 6.05pm and lasted for over an hour before it was restored.

The situation placed the nations busiest airport in total darkness, leaving airline officials, passengers and other airport users frustrated as they could not proceed with the boarding processes.

Basic arrangements at the nations busiest airport have always been hampered by regulatory failures, sometimes giving room for illegal and shady deals to thrive. The recent incidences of power outage at the airport is part of the larger rot that characterizes operations at the airport.

PREMIUM TIMES in a recent report captured how bribery and extortion thrive among officials at the airport, while toilet cleaner and touts issue fake yellow cards to travelers in the absence of thorough monitoring.

On Tuesday, this newspaper gathered that the light was later restored while passengers were attended to by officials.

Incredible scenes at the commercial capital of Nigerias international airport. NO ELECTRICITY. NO GENERATOR. NO EXPLANATION. Passengers are waiting to get through immigration. pic.twitter.com/tFtt9V7RZY  Yemisi Adegoke (@briticoyemo) November 13, 2018

Efforts to reach the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) spokesperson, Henrietta Yakubu, were unsuccessful Wednesday morning.
Nigerian air carrier, Medview Airline Plc, on Wednesday attributed the late filing of its account for the third quarter of the year to a recent reorganisation in its operations.

In a disclosure sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, on Wednesday, the airline said it has since filed the account for the period ended September 30.

The disclosure, signed by the company secretary, Abdullahi Al-Ilory, regretted any inconveniences the late filing might have caused the airlines shareholders and other concerned members of the public.

The late filing was occasioned by the recent reorganisation in the company that affected some staff of the department that is responsible for the preparation and filing of the financials, Mr Al-Ilory said.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) listed Medview Airline on its main board in January 2017. The listing was done by introduction of 9.75 billion (9,750,649,400) ordinary shares at N1.50 per share.

Medview is one of Nigerias foremost airlines, airlifting about three million passengers and 46 million tons of cargo (annually) to different local and regional destinations.

The airline recently sacked about 60 members of its staff comprising pilots, engineers and crew members.

The workers were said to have been served the termination letters on October 5, with a clause that they would be reconsidered for employment when the situation improves.

The Executive Director, Business Development of the airline, Isiaq Na-Allah, had attributed the action to the realities of the prevailing economic situation in the country and the need for the airline to restructure its operations.
The Nigerian government on Wednesday announced the issuance of $2.86 billion aggregate triple bond series under its Global Medium Term Note Programme.

A finance ministry statement on Wednesday night said the Notes comprise a $1.18 billion seven-year series, $1billion 12-year series and $750 million 30-year series.

Details of the issue show the seven-year series would bear interest at a rate of 7.625 per cent, while the 12-year series would bear interest at a rate of 8.75 per cent, and the 30-year series would bear interest at a rate of 9.25 per cent.

The offering attracted significant interest from leading global institutional investors with a peak combined order book of over $9.5 billion.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said the successful transaction follows closely behind Nigerias successful engagement with the Fitch rating agency, and their subsequent decision to change the outlook on Nigerias sovereign rating from B+ (negative) to B+ (stable), based on improving macro-economic fundamentals.

She said despite significant oil and wider macro market volatility, Nigeria has successfully raised its external debt requirements for the 2018 budget at a cost considerably lower than many of its peers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The statement said the offer, which was more than three times over-subscribed, demonstrates the ongoing confidence of international capital market investors in Nigerias investment story.

The minister said each of the issues would be repayable with a bullet repayment of the principal on maturity.

The offering is expected to close on or about November 21, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of various customary closing conditions.

The proceeds of the Notes would be used to fund the fiscal deficit in the 2018 budget as well as other government projects.

President Muhammadu Buhari had signed N9.1 trillion 2018 budget, consisting N2.87 trillion for capital expenditure; N3.51 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure; and N2.01 trillion to be spent on debt servicing.

The budget was to be financed from N2.99 trillion to be generated from oil revenue; N31.25 billion from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas dividend; while N1.17 billion was to come from minerals and mining revenue.

About N658.55 billion was to come from Companies Income Tax; N207.51 billion from Value Added Tax; N324.86 billion from the Nigeria Customs Service; while N57.87 billion was to come from Federation Account levies.

In the same vein, the government expected N847.95 billion as independent revenue from its agencies, while tax amnesty income, signature bonus and unspent balance from previous years were to provide N87.84 billion, N114.3 billion and N250 billion, respectively.

The Notes, representing the sixth Eurobond issuance of the Buhari administration since 2016, followed the issues in 2011, 2013, two in 2017 and one in early 2018 and its first triple-tranche offering.

When issued, the Notes would be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and available to trade on the London Stock Exchanges regulated market.

The government may apply for the Notes to be eligible for trading and listed on the Nigerian FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The finance minister said the pricing for the bonds was determined following a series of meetings with investors.

Other government officials on the delegation included Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma; Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele; Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha; and Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze.

The Joint Lead Managers for the issuance were Citibank Global Markets Limited and Standard Chartered Bank; and the financial advisors were FSDH Merchant Bank Limited.

Nigeria is investing strategically in critical capital projects to bridge our infrastructure deficit, provide a better operating environment for the private sector, and improve the standard of living of our citizens, Mrs Ahmed said.

The proceeds of this issuance will provide critical financing for projects in transportation, power, agriculture, housing, healthcare and education as well as the capital elements of our social investment programmes. Nigerias Economic Recovery and Growth plan is delivering results.

For Ms Oniha: Nigerias continued ability to access the international markets to raise capital is a testament to investors confidence which has been supported by continuous engagement with them on various reform initiatives and outcomes.

The DMO boss said the issuance of the Eurobonds, which received the prior approval of the executive and legislative arms of government, would not only provide capital to finance various projects, but also contribute towards the achievement of the Debt Management Strategy.

The ability to raise $2.86 billion, which is the exact amount government needed in volatile and challenging market conditions, she noted, has been described as a stellar outcome.
Iran on Wednesday executed two men accused of economic crimes, as part of an effort to stem financial misconduct as the country faces an economic crisis and new U.S. sanctions targeting its oil sector.

One of the two executed men was Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the sultan of coins by media, a trader accused of manipulating the currency market, according to Mizan, Iranian judiciary news site.

Mazloumin was allegedly caught with two tons of gold coins, according to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA).

The second man was part of Mazloumins network and had been involved in the sale of gold coins, Mizan reported.

Both of them were convicted of spreading corruption on earth, a capital offence under Irans Islamic laws.

Special courts focused on financial crimes were set up in August with the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic.

The courts have handed out at least seven death sentences since they were set up and some of the trials have been broadcast live on television.

The rial currency has lost about 70 per cent of its value in 2018 under the threat of revived U.S. sanctions.

There had been heavy demand for dollars and gold coins on the unofficial market from ordinary Iranians trying to protect their savings.

The cost of living has also soared, provoking sporadic demonstrations against profiteering and corruption, with many protesters chanting anti-government slogans.

The U.S. in August, reimposed first round of sanctions after pulling out of 2015 deal between world powers and Iran under which international sanctions were lifted.

Sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.(Reuters/NAN)
Zimbabwe has invited bids for the state-owned airline as President Emmerson Mnangagwas government pushes ahead with a drive to privatise and end state funding to loss-making firms, Air Zimbabwes administrator said on Monday.

Air Zimbabwe, which owes foreign and domestic creditors more than $300 million, was in October placed into administration to try and revive its fortunes.

The troubled airline is among dozens of state-owned firms, known locally as parastatals, that are set to be partially or fully privatised in the next nine months as the government seeks to cut its fiscal deficit seen at 11 percent of GDP this year.

Air Zimbabwe administrator, Reggie Saruchera said in a notice published in media on Monday that potential investors should make their bids before November 23 after paying a non-refundable deposit of 20,000 dollars.

Ms Saruchera did not indicate whether investors would be allowed to tender for partial or total shareholding in Air Zimbabwe. He was not immediately reachable for comment.

Only three of Air Zimbabwes planes are operational, with another three grounded, which has forced it to abandon international routes.

(Reuters/NAN)
At least 10 fighters from both sides have been killed in a clash between government forces and the Taliban outfit in the Ashkamish district of Afghanistans Northern Takhar province.

The provincial government spokesperson, Mohammad Jawad Hajari, made the announcement on Wednesday.

The clash, according to the official, broke out after the Taliban militants stormed security checkpoints in Chokht area of Ashkamish district.

The police returned fire which had left seven Taliban fighters dead and five others injured.

Three police personnel lost their lives and four others sustained injuries, the official said.

Taliban militants, who have intensified activities since late April are yet to make comments.

(Xinhua/NAN)
Israeli Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, announced on Wednesday that he was resigning from the conservative coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The resignation was in protest at the ceasefire agreement the government endorsed with Gaza.

Mr Lieberman said his decision, takes effect 48 hours after he puts it in writing.

He described Tuesdays Egyptian-mediated cease-fire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas as a capitulation to terror.

Israel had launched a series of blistering air strikes against targets in Gaza after Hamas militants persisted in launching rockets at targets in Israel.

The minister had earlier on Wednesday hinted at his impending resignation from the coalition government of Mr Netanyahu.

(Reuters/NAN)
An international investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, is essential, Turkeys Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said on Wednesday.

He reiterated Turkish government determination to resolve the murder.

We will do whatever it takes to bring the murder to light. We have shown the evidence to all those who wanted to see, Mr Cavuspglu told the parliament.

Turkey previously said it would cooperate in an international investigation, and had called for a UN probe.

Similarly, a senior Turkish official proposed on Wednesday that suspects in the killing of the Saudi journalist be tried in a Turkish court observed by international human rights groups.

Mr Khashoggi, a critic of de facto Saudi ruler, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in Saudi Arabias Istanbul consulate on October 2 in a hit which Mr Erdogan says was ordered at the highest levels of the Saudi government.

Turkish authorities have prepared an extradition request for 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia, which includes a 15-man team that Turkey says arrived in Istanbul shortly before the killing and carried it out.

Let the human rights units from all respected organisations, from the UN to the EU, come and watch this trial, said Omer Celik, spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogans AK Party.

Let them judge whether the trial fits the standards of international law, Celik, a former minister, told a news conference.

Turkey says the suspects should be tried in a Turkish court because the crime occurred on its territory, even though it was inside a Saudi diplomatic mission.

Riyadh has said the suspects will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Khashoggis killing has provoked global outrage but little concrete action by world powers against Saudi Arabia, the worlds largest oil exporter and a supporter of Washingtons plans to contain Iranian influence across the Middle East.

Turkey has several audio recordings, including the killing itself and conversations prior to the operation which Turkey subsequently uncovered, two sources with knowledge of the issue said.

French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, on Monday questioned remarks by Erdogan that Turkey had given the recordings of the killing to Germany, France and Britain.

He has a political game to play in these circumstances, Le Drian said, when asked if Erdogan was lying.

Celik condemned Le Drians response and questioned why the countries of the EU did not produce a common response to the killing.

Rather than finding out who gave the order for this massacre, everyone is starting to evaluate what position to take in the next stage regarding the interests of their own country, Celik said.

This is an extremely problematic situation.

A senior French diplomat later said Le Drian was neither confirming nor denying whether French officials had listened to recordings.

Germany has pledged to suspend arms exports to Saudi Arabia until the killing is explained, and has called for a common European response regarding arms sales to the Kingdom.

(Reuters/NAN)
Photo: Contributed Paramjit Singh Bogarh will be back in a Vernon Supreme court room Dec. 10 for a pre-trial conference.

Paramjit Singh Bogarh will be back in a Vernon Supreme court room Dec. 10 for a pre-trial conference.

Bogarh is facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiring to commit murder relating to the 1986 New Years Eve death of his wife Saminder Kaur Bogarh.

The case was in court Tuesday when Crown Counsel Ann Saettler asked for, and was granted, a publication ban on all of the proceedings before the case goes to trial.

Paramjit and his brother, Narinder Singh Bogarh, are co-accused in the murder of Saminder.

Paramjit was married to Saminder at the time of the murder. Both men were originally charged with second-degree murder, however, the charges were eventually dropped.

Shortly after Saminder's murder, both men left Canada.

Narinder is currently in India as authorities pursue extradition to Canada to face the charges.

Paramjit was extradited to Canada from the United States to face charges of first-degree murder as well as conspiracy to commit murder.
Wife of the Nigerian president, Aisha Buhari, has urged wives of state governors in the country to keep championing Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) advocacy in their states.

According to a press statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, Mrs Buhari said their commitment is critical to reducing the high rate of mortality among women and children.

According to the statement signed by her spokesperson, Suleiman Haruna, Mrs Buhari spoke during an RMNCAH+N Advocacy training workshop for governors wives and their technical officers, organised by the Aisha Buhari Foundation at Government House, Edo State.

She called on women to take full advantage of the workshop and perfect their skills and strategies for reducing maternal mortality to the barest minimum in their states within the shortest possible time.

As wives of governors and chief advocates for Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) in your states, you need to be equipped, better positioned and informed about the contextual terrains and workable solutions to problems that have contributed to give us the poor indices in Nigeria.

This, she said, was the objective of the training.

She noted that maternal and child deaths happen in all states; and except every one of us takes responsibility and strategic action to address these issues in our immediate regions, they may remain unchanged and even grow worse.

She reiterated that her project, Future Assured, has contributed a lot to the acceleration of efforts to end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths through advocacy and action.

One of these actions is the training workshop, she said. This advocacy training holding in Benin City is the last of the trainings held in the six geopolitical zones and I hope that the results will reverberate nationwide.

Also speaking at the event, the wife of Edo State Governor and host of the event, Betsy Obaseki, said the high maternal and child mortality in the country was enough reason to key into the initiatives of the wife of the president.

She commended Mrs Buhari for the training and her passion in undertaking the Future Assured Programme as it touches the very fabric of society and borders on the welfare of the next generation.

I have followed in her footsteps in this area and have embarked on a project to reduce the incidence of neonatal deaths in Edo state through a project called No Pikin Go Die for Edo State.

 The project is aimed at ensuring that every baby born in Edo State receives requisite care and handling at birth in order to survive the golden first month of life, Mrs. Obaseki said.
Even as Nigerians ponder the implications of the crisis in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the latest audit report of federal agencies has accused yet another agency in the health sector of refusing to shed light on management of a significant portion of its funds.

In the report for the year ended December 2016, the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), Anthony Ayine, rebuked the National Agency for the Control AIDS (NACA) for its failure to release for scrutiny records of Global Fund with the agency.

This, he said, is in flagrant violation of Section 85(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (1999) and Financial Regulation 110 which expressly provide that the office of the AuGF be given unfettered access to all required documents, accounts and other records.

But the agency said although federal auditors have no rights of access to the books and records of assistance provided to the agency by Global Fund, it started providing such access from 2017 onwards.

NACA, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Health, manages issues concerning HIV/AIDS in Nigeria while Global Fund is an International health donor agency helping Nigeria in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing organisation founded by billionaire American couple, Bill and Melinda Gates; recently deceased former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan; Amir Attaran and Jeffrey Sachs.

Since it started operation in Nigeria in 2003, the Fund has disbursed over $1.4 billion in the fight against the three major diseases, making its investments in Nigeria one of its biggest.

Mr Ayine said NACA lacks transparency in management of donor funds generally. The report, which is the most recent by the AuGF, was released in July.

The records of Global Fund with the Agency were not released for audit examination despite repeated demands, Mr Ayine stated in the audit report.

As a result, it was not possible to ascertain the total amount received from the Fund during the year to form an objective opinion on the judicious utilization of the money. All efforts to obtain the records, including explanations, were not successful.

Similarly, the financial activities of the Global Fund such as amount received from the Fund and its utilization were not incorporated into the 2015 Financial Statements of the Agency, to form part of the Agencys Incomes and Expenditures for the year.

The Financial Statements of the Agency are expected to disclose not only funds from the Federal Government of Nigeria, but also incomes from other sources such as the Global Fund, World Bank, etc. Details of the utilization of the funds should also be disclosed, to give complete information regarding the financial position of the Agency and to avoid misleading the public.

The Director-General did not respond to my report dated 29th August, 2017. He should therefore be compelled to explain the incomplete financial statements, the AuGF stated in the report statutorily presented to the National Assembly.

Mr Ayine noted that assistance from some of these donors were recently suspended due to unsatisfactory reports emanating from Nigerian health agencies.

These reports border on lack of transparency in the management of funds released by the donors, failure to keep to signed agreements between the donors and Nigerian government and non-adherence to standards and procedures in procurements and execution of contracts, the report stated.

An ongoing review of the audit report by PREMIUM TIMES shows that NACA did not provide evidence of various contracts it awarded during the year 2015.

The auditor noted that the said contracts were for HIV counseling and testing outreach and campaign at the community level across the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

All efforts made to obtain the contract files for audit scrutiny were not successful. This was a violation of Section 85(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (1999) and Financial Regulation 110 which expressly provide that my Office will have unfettered access to all required documents, accounts and other records.

The report revealed that the agency did not maintain its General Ledger, Inventory Board, Imprest Cash Book and Advances Ledger in 2015.

The Director-General should forward evidence that all the aforementioned documents have now been introduced into the Agencys accounting system, the auditor directed.

The audit report also indicted NACA of irregularities in its distribution of some equipment donated by the Global Fund.

It said the installation of the machines also predates the receipt.

The examination of store records revealed that some 50 Gen Expert Machines were donated to the Agency by the Global Fund in 2016 at a unit cost of $17,000.00 totalling $850,000.00 (Eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars).

The store records show that these machines were received into the Agencys store on 6th December, 2016 and issued out en-bloc that same day. However, verifications conducted by my officers revealed that the machines were installed at various locations across the country between 15th October, 2016 and 30th November, 2016.

The fact that the installation of the machines predated their receipt into the store raised doubts as to whether these were actually the same machines, especially in consideration of the fact that this same equipment had also been donated to the Agency in the past.

On audit inquiry, the Schedule Officer explained that the items were actually received much earlier and sent directly to the various hospitals for timely installation while the store records of 6th December. 2016 were completed later.

This is quite irregular and not in consonance with Government procurement procedures.

Under the circumstances, I recommend that the Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) should offer some explanation to confirm that all the 50 machines were actually received, duly distributed to the indicated hospitals and fully accounted for, the AuGF stated.

GLOBAL FUND

In a report published on its website in 2016, Global Fund had accused NACA of fraud and mismanagement of funds.

The fraud was discovered by the Office of the Inspector-General (OIG) audit of Global Fund grants in Nigeria.

The report stated that there are significant problems in procurement, supply chain, financial and program management.

The auditors found discrepancies of over $4 million between drugs ordered and delivered; $20 million paid to suppliers without confirmation of delivery; stock-outs of eight months for critical medicines; and a total of $7.65 million in unsupported expenditures.

Outgoing Sani Aliyu, Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA)

Regarding procurement, the OIG said the agency does not monitor the delivery of drugs, resulting in discrepancies in antiretroviral drugs deliveries of $3.7 million from 2013 to September 2015 and $0.5 million

Despite these past mismanagement, Global Fund pledged to continue to support Nigeria with funds, drugs, research and strategies development in the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

NACA Reacts

In a lengthy response to the allegations, the Director-General of NACA, Sani Aliyu, said his is possibly the most audited agency of government and gladly receives auditors because of the commitment of the Management to ensure sound financial management and operational best practices.

He said On the published report of the Auditor General, we would like to comment on the allegations in the report as follows: All grants or credits have agreements governing the management of their funds. This specifies who has rights of access to their books and records and how those rights are to be exercised.

For the Global Fund, Article 13g specifies that access of third parties to the books and records of the Global Funds operations under any recipient must be pre-authorized by them.

In the light the above, we requested that the Audit team send an email to the Country Coordinating Mechanism in Nigeria and the Country team in Geneva but we never heard anything again from them only to find it as an exception in the Auditor Generals report.

The Global Fund grant has various layers of assurance mechanisms in place:

Global fund work plans and budgets are preapproved by the Global Fund and all expenditure must be in line with the approvals. The Global Fund maintains within the offices of the recipients of their funds staff of GFA, a German Consulting Firm, that carries out prepayment audit of all payment vouchers and no payment can be made unless they have endorsed the payment voucher.

iii. The Fund also retains PWC as the Local Fund Agents (LFA) with responsibility to carry out budget reviews and semester post-payment audits.

The External Auditors of the Global Fund are M/S Delloitte & Touche and they carry out mid-year and annual review of the financial records of the Grant. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) carries out annual operations and financial audits of all Global Fund grants.

The Management of NACA has no issues with the review of the records of any grants under its watch by anyone but such persons must submit to the terms of the grant. All Agencies of government including the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation must commit to honouring agreements and keeping to terms and conditions of grants in all circumstances.

Every fund provider that NACA works with appoints their own external auditors who submit reports in respect of receipt and disbursement of such funds to them. The GON funds are audited and there is a Financial Statement audited by the government appointed external auditors.

However, upon receipt of the recommendation, we took an extra step of engaging the external auditor of the Government of Nigeria funds to consolidate the Audited Financial Reports of all funding sources as Consolidated Financial Statement of NACA from 2016.

It should be noted that NACA is only a coordinating Agency and for most expenditures of the Global Funds the funds just pass through NACA to Sub-recipients who submitted initial budgets and work plans which were approved by the LFA and the CCM and finally by the Global Fund in Geneva.

That the Director-General did not respond to my report dated 29th August, 2017:

We believe that there is a mix-up within the organization of the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation as we actually did respond to the Auditor Generals Query. We have an acknowledged copy of our submission.

Please note that subsequent FG audit teams from 2017 onwards have been able to secure access to GF accounts under our care, Mr Aliyu stated.
The Governing Council of Nigerias National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) says the scheme is near a tipping point and may collapse within the next three years unless urgent measures are taken.

This tipping point may occur sooner if remittances decline further, budget deficit trend persists and the management fiscal indiscipline continues, it warned.

The council gave the warning in the concluding part of the nine infractions it listed against Usman Yusuf, the Executive Secretary of the scheme , after it on October 18 suspended him over allegations of fraud and infractions.

Mr Yusuf ignored the suspension, saying the council had no power to suspend him. With the help of armed police officers, he was able to get himself into office after the controversial suspension.

Activities remained grounded at the agency since then, with workers and management pitched against each other until President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the controversial official to proceed on an administrative leave.

Mr Buhari approved the establishment of a seven-member panel to probe Mr Yusufs alleged infractions after he dissolved the panel earlier set up by the governing board and annulled the boards appointment of Sadiq Abubakar as acting executive secretary.

The president deployed Ben Omogo, a Director of Administration in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to oversee the affairs of the Scheme for now.

In the document sighted by PREMIUM TIMES, the council explained how pervasive corruption and turmoil which is past, present and ongoing will eventually lead to the end of the scheme soon if not checked.

The council said it had unfortunately been trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict and corruption swirling around the scheme since the councils inauguration earlier in March.

Our dreams to contribute the rich resources of members professional, corporate and administrative experiences to add value to FGN vision for the agency is constantly frustrated by non-collegial leadership approach of the Executive Secretary.

We are pained that council meetings are reduced to acrimonious and confrontational platform for management staff and ES to air petitions and counter petitions of corruption and present frivolous housekeeping matters. In fact, council efforts to restore the agenda, refocus the agency and on a strategic path and change the narrative is resisted at every turn.

The council expressed deep concern about the situation which it described as incremental drift that may tip NHIS into financial, operational and organisational collapse.

In fact, we must reiterate that with current deficit budget trends and dwindling net reserve funds, the probability of the scheme collapsing withing three years is high.

This tipping point may occur sooner if remittances decline further, budget deficit trend persists and the management fiscal indiscipline continues.

Since Mr Yusufs reinstatement after a previous suspension by the health minister, the agency has been engulfed in infighting as the executive secretary and some senior officials traded accusations of fraud.

Apart from several allegations that affected operations of the scheme, for which Mr Yusuf was suspended last year, PREMIUM TIMES reported more recent allegations levelled against him by the governing council of the agency.

The council repeatedly rejected the 2018 budget of the scheme over alleged padding by Mr Yusuf.

Sources at the NHIS further explained the fears of the council.

What the governing council is saying about the imminent collapse being worrisome is that remittances to the scheme even from the federal government has declined in recent years. So in other words, less and less money has been coming to the scheme from the government a senior official who would not be named for fear of being victimised explained.

Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf [Photo: Concise News]

While the scheme is receiving and holding less funds progressively, we are having leakages and abuse of funds here and there. If funds continue to be lost through these leakages and remittances to the scheme are dropping progressively then the pool of funds for the scheme will shrink drastically. This is why the council projects that in three years if it continues like this, we will be in trouble.

The NHIS Conundrum

While millions of Nigerians remain uncovered with the few enrolled under the scheme complaining of inadequate service delivery, the NHIS has reputably become the centre of power tussle in the health sector.

Mr. Yusufs almost three years reign at the agency is notable for controversies. He has been on war path with the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, who supervises the agency.

He posed an untouchable, said workers who accuse him of high-handedness, and on many occasions brazenly disregarded directives from higher authorities.

When he was previously suspended last year by the health minister, the executive secretary challenged the sanction, saying the minister has no power to suspend him. Mr Adewole then asked a panel to investigate the allegations against him.

He, however, was reinstated in February by President Muhammadu Buhari despite his indictment by the panel that probed the allegations against him.

While the president is yet to make public his resolution on the panel report submitted to him, Mr Yusuf would later accuse members of the panel of being paid N19 million each after his suspension was effected last year.

He made the allegation when he appeared before an ad-hoc committee set up by the House of Representatives to investigate the latest controversy trailing the scheme last Friday.

He also alleged that the health ministry requested N975 million, which he turned down.

Similarly, in his second suspension by the council over similar allegations, Mr Yusuf brushed aside the sanction until the presidents intervention.

He also instituted legal action against the ministers of health and justice as well as the NHIS at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging his suspension.

During last Fridays appearance before the ad-hoc committee, Mr Yusuf described his suspension by the governing council as a coup against transparency which he stood for at the agency.

President Muhammadu Buhari

He told the committee that he was suspended on October 18 because it was the day he was due to present to the board a report of the violation of the public procurement processes at the agency.

The executive secretary alleged that he was also expected to present before the board a forensic result of the activities of HMOs (health maintenance organisations) as well as a report of the NHIS performance.

Nigerians, The Losers

Corruption and poor management in the NHIS predates Mr Yusuf, a PREMIUM TIMES report showed.

Ultimately, enrollees and those yet to be registered but have hopes to access health services at reduced cost are the main losers in the upheaval at the NHIS, an official of the scheme explained.

They (Nigerians) are the losers eventually because in all of this crisis, nobody is talking of the quality of services rendered by NHIS. Even in his so-called reformist agenda, Yusuf has not had a moment to address the quality of service the enrollees are getting at the NHIS. He has always been conscious of money.

The operation of health insurance in Nigeria is for expansion to cover many more Nigerians. Its our mandate in ensuring universal health coverage, but this has received zero attention under Yusuf. He is not doing anything to expand coverage of NHIS to more Nigerians. Now the average coverage is three percent, he noted.

It was because of what Nigerians go through in the quest for often expensive medical care that brought about the establishment of NHIS.

However, since its establishment 13 years ago, a majority of Nigerians are yet to be covered under the scheme. Mr Yusuf said earlier this year that over 90 percent of Nigerians are not captured under the NHIS.

Many have traced the relative poor coverage to the structure of the scheme which has been tainted with financial irregularities which had gone unchecked even before Mr Yusuf took over in 2016.

In fact, many described the arrangement of the scheme as skewed against the people.

NHIS deals with two major operators; Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and Health Service Providers (HSPs). The agency disburses money to the HMOs every three months who in turn pay the health service providers monthly for health services of enrollees.

But there have been complaints that the scheme is unable to relieve Nigerians of their health finance burdens as a result of which people still largely spend out of pocket for health care.

At least 450 petitions were sent to the National Assembly by frustrated Nigerians. The complaints ranged from lack of attention by hospitals, delayed attention, low drug dispensing to enrollees in the scheme and sometimes rejection of patients because of the inability of HMOs to meet their payment obligations to hospitals.

Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health.

Calls for investigation into the activities of the scheme prompted a public hearing by the House of Representatives last year June on how N351 billion was spent by the scheme since inception.

Mr. Yusuf at the hearing blamed the HMOs for the failure of the NHIS to deliver on its mandate.

The HMOs were engaged in 2005 and had operated freely for 13 years without formal examination of their operations, he said.
On Tuesday, the two chambers of Nigerias parliament adjourned sittings for different but controversial reasons. The upper legislative chamber, Senate, was first to adjourn. Few hours later, the House of Representatives followed suit.

While it is not abnormal for legislative chambers to stand down their business of the day and adjourn to another legislative day, the reasons for which the two houses adjourned left more to desire.

In the case of the House of Representatives, the controversial reason for its adjournment without deliberating on crucial state matters was the same it gave two weeks ago.

NO QUORUM AT THE SENATE

The Senate was billed to have a busy day going by the number of items on the order paper on Tuesday; bills for second reading, referral of appointments to committees, consideration of reports and others.

Judging by the fact that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki said the prayer at 10.50 a.m., an early time compared to what obtains, one would suggest the lawmakers were down for real business. But this was not the case.

By 10.57 a.m., a senator, Philip Aduda, raised a point of order calling his colleagues to cut short the life of the days plenary citing inability to form a quorum as reason. This development he attributed to lawmakers engagement in oversight functions outside the National Assembly.

The Senate had on Wednesday, October 24 adjourned plenary till November 6 to allow its committees carry out oversight of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The Senates two-week recess came just 16 days after the lawmakers, some of the highest paid in the world, returned from their annual leave that lasted over two months.

After resuming from two weeks oversight recess, the lawmakers could only stay two days before coming with up another excuse to skip plenary.

Shortly after adoption of the previous day votes and proceedings on Thursday, November 8, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, moved a motion for adjournment to enable the lawmakers attend the 73rd African Parliamentary Union (APU) conference.

There is an APU conference this week and we, the National Assembly are hosting it. Today is the opening ceremony and the President of the Federal Republic Nigeria will be in attendance. So, we will just take the vote and proceedings and adjourn, he said.

The plenary was thus postponed to Tuesday, November 13.

However, on Tuesday, it was time for another excuse. This time, it was Mr Aduda (FCT-PDP) who called the attention of his colleagues to the scantiness of the chamber. He ascribed absence of some lawmakers to oversight functions which he said they are currently engaged in.

We are less than 10, Mr President, he said. I want to move that since we have not formed quorum, we may therefore adjourn. But in doing so I want to say that the Senate is empty because various committees are carrying out oversight duties, they are all over the country, ensuring that the budget is performing.

Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki

On that note the Senate may wish to extend the period of oversight functions if the senate so wish by another week till Tuesday November 20.

The motion for adjournment was seconded by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who said the lawmakers present were more than the figure Mr Aduda quoted.

I rise to second the motion ably moved by Senator Aduda but let me add that we are more than 10 but certainly not up to 38. We are somewhere between 15 and 20. Just for the record we are not less than 10 but less than 20, Mr Ekweremadu said.

The motion was unanimously adopted through a voice vote indicating the highly paid lawmakers would not sit at plenary again for another week.

Before teh adjournment, Senate President Bukola Saraki urged his colleagues to conclude their oversight functions and resume on Tuesday, November 20. He said the adjournment was in line with order 10 (3) of the Senates standing order.

HISTORY OF NOT FORMING QUORUM

The senators at different occasions have sat without forming a quorum quoted as 36 or 37 by journalists or 38 as stated by Mr Aduda. A quorum is by law one third of the total 109 senators.

An investigation published by this newspaper last December showed that for many days, plenary started with far lower number of lawmakers than 36.

A total of 18, 33 and 15 senators were present at the chamber on October 24, October 25 and October 26 respectively based on a count conducted after the Senate President had said the prayer.

The investigation revealed that for most of the days in the three weeks a time record was kept, the lawmakers started plenary without forming a quorum.

REPS NON-FUNCTIONAL MICROPHONES

Like their counterparts at the Senate, members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday ditched the plenary, but it was for a seemingly more absurd reason.

On a day the lawmakers were supposed to consider very important issues as slated on the order paper, they adjourned plenary due to malfunctioning of the microphone. This is happening the second time in two weeks.

On the order paper are items such as; Bill for an Act to Provide for Establishment of Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Federal University of Education, Zaria; and Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri. The bills seek to convert existing colleges of education to universities of education.

The lawmakers were supposed to also consider a motion on the Need to Expand the Practice of Agriculture to Include the Science of Aquaculture sponsored by Awaji-Inombek Abiante, Douye Diri and Randolf Brown. Also to be discussed was the Need to Curb the Trend of Kidnapping in Song/Fufore Federal Constituency of Adamawa State sponsored by Sadiq Ibrahim and a bill for an Act to Prohibit the killing and Exportation of Donkeys or its Carcasses or Derivatives out of Nigeria slated for second reading.

At the start of plenary on Tuesday, the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, read a communication from President Muhammadu Buhari notifying the lawmakers of his decision to withdraw assent to a bill seeking to establish the Institute of Chartered Biochemists and Molecular Biologists of Nigeria. But the days business would not go beyond that as the microphones failed the lawmakers.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara

The wireless microphones, which were made available to serve as an alternative to the ones connected to the seats in the chamber, also malfunctioned.

Lawmakers had to relocate to other seats in order to be able to contribute to the business of the day as no fewer than three wireless microphones were interchanged when each of them failed during the session.

The microphone problem forced the lawmakers to adjourn plenary for the second time in two weeks.

Mr Dogara had during the first adjournment explained that the malfunctioning was as a result of power which had affected the panel of some of the microphones.

He said that the microphones were installed in 1999 and that the panels would take three weeks to arrive Nigeria from Germany.

Unlike the Senate which adjourned for a week, the House adjourned its plenary to Wednesday; although it is not clear if the microphone problem would have been solved then.
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, on Tuesday came under criticism on Twitter over its failure to release its quarterly report on the nations unemployment data.

The NBS, largely regarded as one of Nigerias most vibrant agencies of government for its timely reports, was lampooned by many social media users with some suggesting that its failure to release unemployment figures may be borne out of political considerations.

Trouble started Tuesday when a twitter user, Cheta Nwanze, a researcher and data analyst, tweeted that the agency stopped releasing the figures since the third quarter of 2017 when the nations unemployment figures ballooned.

Mr Nwanze, lead partner at SBM Intelligence, a research outfit, also suggested that the nation is worse off since the last figures were released.

These are facts: Under this government, Nigerias economy has shrunk, Mr Nwanze tweeted via his handle @Chxta. Under this government, unemployment has doubled from 9.9% in mid 2015 to 18.8% in Q3 2017. Since then, no more unemployment reports. They will try to distract you, but eye on the ball. We are worse off.

The tweet would soon go viral, drawing scathing remarks and criticisms among Nigerians on twitter and other social media platforms.

In his response, a twitter user tweeting via @BBoason suggested that the reports would be released once the federal government completes its ongoing Trader Moni cash transfer to Nigerian petty traders, ostensibly to generate positive results.

We dare not publish our quarterly #Unemployment Report, he tweeted. By the time Trader Moni is well circulated, you will see the millions of new jobs figures that would be rolled out.

But in a swift reaction, Yemi Kale, the nations Statistician-General and head of the NBS, said the agencys failure to release unemployment figures had nothing to do with politics. Mr Kale, tweeting via his verified handle @sgyemikale, explained that the agency has failed to release unemployment data because it has been unable to access budgetary releases.

U guys need to stop this. I know its election time but Ive said this repeatedly, he tweeted. Nobody is calling me to manipulate any data or not to release any data. The work cant be completed due to budgetary releases. Its not hard to confirm when last we got data funding and how much.

The last time the NBS released data on the nations unemployment status was in December 2017.

The report, detailing the nations unemployment figures for Q3 2017, showed that Nigerias unemployment rate worsened from 16.2 percent in the second quarter of 2017 to 18.8 percent in the third quarter of the year.

The report also showed that the number of people within the labour force who were unemployed increased from 13.6 million in the second quarter of the year to 15.9 million in the third quarter of same year, with more than two million people unemployed within the period.

Similarly, the number of underemployed increased from 17.7 million in the second quarter to 18.0 million in Q3 2017. Data released by the NBS also revealed that the rise in the rate was occasioned by the economic recession that saw the nations growth decelerate until September 2017 when Nigeria finally exited recession.

In the absence of verifiable data, analysts say the figures may have worsened even as the government struggles to reposition the nation on the path of economic recovery and sustained growth.

As the nation moves toward another election season, it is generally expected that such data will be used as weapons of campaign and voter inducement by government handlers and members of the oppositiondepending on how favourable it is to either parties campaign agenda. The same sentiment was expressed by many twitter users Tuesday, prompting suggestions that the NBS may have been compelled not to release the figures.

But the agency dismissed such insinuations, saying it has generally not released reports in a while.

In a separate response to another twitter user on the same thread Tuesday, the NBS via its verified handle @nigerianstat said it has not released unemployment data and other relevant reports because it has not received funds for research like other agencies of government.

The same reason why if u check we havent released any data in a while, the bureau said in response to the question on why its unemployment data has not been released since Q3 2017. We havent received funds like many other MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies).
A federal high court in Uyo on Wednesday declared vacant the seat of a lawmaker in Akwa Ibom State who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The affected lawmaker, Idongesit Ituen, represented Itu State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

The suit was filed by Mr Ituen in September this year to pre-empt the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke, from declaring his seat vacant.

Apart from the speaker, other defendants in the suit were the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the commissioner of police, Akwa Ibom state.

Mr Luke had filed a counterclaim, seeking for a declaration that having defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress before the expiration of the tenure of four years for which he was elected to serve, Hon. Idongesit Ntuen has lost his seat in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

An order of court directing Hon Idongesit Ituen to vacate the Itu State Constituency seat in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly with immediate effect.

An order of court restraining the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly or any other person acting on his behalf (including the staff of the House of Assembly) from further recognising Hon. Idongesit Ituen as a member of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

An order of court directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately conduct a bye-election to fill the vacant seat of Itu State Constituency at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

The court presided over by F. O. Riman, dismissed the main suit and granted all the reliefs in the counterclaim.

Mr Ituens lawyer, Uyo-Obong Jumbo of Juris Advocates, told PREMIUM TIMES, Wednesday afternoon, they were filing an appeal including for a stay of execution of the judgment.

The speaker was represented by Ekemini Udim of Justice Chambers, alongside Beulah Udechuwkwu.
The Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Ahmad Aliyu, has resigned his position.

Mr Aliyu, who is the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, announced his resignation in a letter to the state House of Assembly dated November 13, 2018.

The letter was presented by the Deputy Speaker, Abubakar Magaji, who presided over the Wednesday plenary of the Assembly.

With gratitude to Allah who granted me the opportunity to serve my state, I wish to humbly inform the Assembly of my resignation as Deputy Governor with effect from November 13, 2018.

I, therefore, wish to extend my sincere appreciation to Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, Assembly members and the entire people of Sokoto state for the support accorded me during my service, Mr Aliyu said.

Meanwhile, a Bill for a law to provide for Sokoto State House of Assembly, Financial Accounting Procedure and Powers of Spending Moneys Appropriated to the Assembly has passed the second reading.

This followed a motion by Malami Ahmed (PDP- Sokoto South II) and contributions by other members of the Assembly during debate on the Bill.

The bill was referred to the House Committees on Public Account and Anti Corruption and Finance for scrutiny.

The committees were given two weeks to report back to the Assembly.

(NAN)
The Federal Government of Nigeria says final processes for award of contracts for the clean up of Ogoniland will be completed this week.

Ogoni area in Rivers State has over the years been destroyed by oil leaks leading to the destruction of surrounding waters and farm lands. A UNEP report after scientific study recommended total clean up of the environment saying the extent of water and enviromental pollution in the Rivers communities was alarming.

Although the report was released during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, in 2011, the administration did little to carry out the clean up.

President Muhammadu Buhari shortly after his assumption of office in 2015 launched the clean up exercise.

An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES last year showed that despite official claims, the clean up was yet to start.

The Minister of Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, on Wednesday, however, said his ministry has reached the final stage of procurement processes that will lead to award of contracts to 21 firms so the exercise can finally begin.

Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Wednesday, Mr Jibril said the Ministerial Tenders Board of the ministry met on Tuesday to consider the submission of the procurement department of Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP.

He said in all 15 lots were up for grabs.

Mr Jibril also said the governing council of the Ogoni Trust Fund will meet on Friday to ratify the submissions after which we hope by the next week, these letters will be out and the contractors will be mobilised to site.

The minister said five of the 21 lots which are beyond the threshold of the tenders board and the governing council will be forwarded to FEC for approval.

He said the ministry had already written to the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP ), asking for a certificate of no objection which may be approved next week.

So, the next two weeks those five lots will be presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval.

So I can assure you that we are on course and there is no going back on the Ogoni clean up, he said.

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan

Mr Jibril said this is the first time the Nigerian government has put a machinery in place for the exercise.

No government in the last 30, 40 years of oil pollution has done what this government is doing now.

The President made a promise in 2015, he charged us to actualise that promise, we took up the gauntlet, we put all the governance structures in place, we did the governing council, we did the Board of Trustees, we did the project coordination office and got a project coordinator put in place.

We have advertised in the most transparent way right from the month of March both national and international. Some of them in the Economist of London and we have gotten more than 400 companies who expressed interest.

We shortlisted after the technical evaluation and got 183 and these are the companies that were qualified to bid and pick the financials attached therein and they did that, it has been ongoing for couple of weeks now and it has been concluded and therefore I can confidently tell you that before the end of this month, in the next few weeks, there will be 21 companies that will be mobilised to site to start the work, Mr Jibril said.

Fund available

Mr Jibril also said fund for the commencement of the clean up has already been sourced.

UNEP in its report had recommended that funds for the clean up be largely provided by the oil firms who extracted oil from the communities, especially Shell.

Shell Head Office

Mr Jibril in his statement confirmed that Shell was among the major donors of the funds raised.

He said because of the confidence that oil companies have in the administration of Mr Buhari, as well as the governance structures that were put in place, the Ogoni Trust Fund was able to mobilise $180 million from the oil companies.

Right from the NNPC, SPDC (Shell) and the ventures; they have mobilised $180 million. It is in the escrow account with the Standard Chartered Bank of London and the Board of Trustee is managing that.

President Muhammadu Buhari

So, as far as we are concerned, we can beat our chest and say that the Buhari administration has shown the way forward on this clean up exercise and we hope and pray that the people whom we are working for will have cause to laugh and smile very soon, he said.
Days after a presidential panel announced the arrest of a senator for alleged fraud, the accused has denied being arrested.

Hope Uzodinma, who seeks to govern Imo State on the platform of Nigerias ruling party, APC, also said he was innocent of the fraud allegations levelled against him.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Special Presidential Investigation Panel on Recovery of Public Property announced the arrest of the senator.

The panel chairman, Okoi Obono-Obla, said Mr Uzodinma was arrested on Sunday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja.

Mr Obono-Obla said Mr Uzodinma was arrested for failure of his company to execute a contract of $12 million for dredging of Calabar channel.

However, Mr Uzodinma, Chairman, Senate Committee on Nigeria Customs Service, told journalists in Abuja that the reports may not be unconnected with his emergence as a governorship candidate.

He vowed to remain focused on the governorship race in spite of what he said were attempts to distract him.

He said he would not be distracted by people who were yet to come to terms with his emergence as the governorship candidate in state.

I was never arrested. I also read it in papers like every other Nigerian, he said.

Mr Obono-Obla, however, insisted to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Uzodinma was arrested at the Abuja airport on Sunday. He was taken into custody in Asokoro, a posh Abuja neighbourhood populated by Nigerias political elite and foreign diplomats.

Mr Obono-Obla said he accorded Mr Uzodinma bail on compassionate grounds on Monday, after the senator fell ill in custody. He was asked to return the next day for interrogation, after his doctors have attended to him, but he failed to honour the agreement, the presidential aide said.

Mr Obono-Obla said Mr Uzodinma was arrested after several months of manhunt, triggered by a PREMIUM TIMES investigation that found the senator indeed took $12.5 million for a dredging contract but failed to deliver on it.

A fresh manhunt is underway for Mr Uzodinma, Mr Obono-Obla told PREMIUM TIMES.

On the contract, the lawmaker said Niger Global, the company that was accused of the complicity, had only two per cent share in the contract.

Okoi Obono-Obla , Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution

Before I came to the Senate, I came from the private sector. I was in oil and gas and marine operations. I operated Niger Global.

In 2004 we participated in an international deal and Nigeria Ports Authority was looking for partners to manage the channels and we were lucky.

We were one of the companies that formed the consortium to manage Calabar Channels.

Calabar Channels Management Company is a joint venture being operated by the NPA. They have the major shareholders.

They have 60 per cent shareholding and then the consortium of like six other companies had different shares.

Niger Global had five per cent share and there is a five member board, where NPA has three and the consortium of companies two.

Before I came to Senate, I was in the board and the technical partners to the consortium dredged the Calabar Channel under the supervision of the Calabar Management Board, he said.

The lawmaker expressed surprise that the allegations were coming several years after the contract, adding that it was a clear case of witch hunt.

All I know is that some aggrieved persons are behind this, otherwise where was this panel since 2004.

I was in the 7th Senate from 2011 to 2015, why did this issue not come out. I have been here in the 8th senate from 2015 to date why didnt the issue come up.

To the best of my knowledge, the company worked, even though I am not in the management anymore but I am still one of the minority shareholders of that company.

If there is any question that must be answered by the company, the majority shareholder should first answer their own query.

If anything, I am a serving senator and a ranking one at that and the Chairman of the Southern Senators Forum.

On allegations of non-declaration of asset, Mr Uzodinma said coming from the private sector into politics, he was surprised at the request by the panel.

Before I joined politics, of course I came from the private sector that is why I became even surprised when the panel said I should declare my asset for the past 20 years.

I have never seen anywhere in any law where private people are made to declare their asset to government, he said.

However, he said he obliged the panel by sending his declaration form and copying the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

The presidential committee wrote me sometimes last month asking for my asset declaration form alleging that I did not declare my asset.

I replied and attached my declaration form and copied the Attorney General of the Federation whom I suppose they are working under.

The governorship candidate said he would not be deterred in ensuring that the people of Imo are liberated from the untold hardship they were subjected to.

He said: with what has happened in Imo State, I thought by now, some of these underdogs should repent but they are still plotting.

I thought what they would do in the spirit of democracy is to appreciate the fact that some people are now in the party and the party will be better for it.

It is not easy to do what I have done in recent times. To make sacrifice, I followed my people and encourage them to be in the ruling party.

So name calling, campaign of calumny and all of that is only a distraction. I have been around for sometimes and I understand the meaning of politics and I refused to be distracted.

He further denied inducing the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, in order to be made the partys flag bearer in Imo.

He called on the aggrieved persons and other stakeholders to work together to grow the countrys democracy.

He added that some of us believe that this country must grow and we must be given the opportunity to contribute our own quota to national development.

The APC headquarters submitted Mr Uzodinmas name as Imo govenrorship candidate against the interest of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo, who chairs the APC governors forum. Mr Okorocha supports his inlaw, Henry Nwosu, who won a parallel primary of the party.

Former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha

INEC is, however, yet to declare the APC Imo governorship candidate it would recognise following court injunctions that asked the electoral commission not to do so yet.
An FCT High Court, Nyanya, on Wednesday convicted a job seeker, Raymond Azuka, for forging the signature of former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

NAN reports that on May 19, 2015, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed six counts bordering on forgery.

The EFCC said that Mr Obiejigo, a Higher National Diploma holder from Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra, allegedly forged a reference letter purportedly from Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala alongside his curriculum vitae requesting for employment into the commission and Nigerian Security Printing and Minting, NSPM.

In convicting Mr Azuka, Justice Baba Idris, fixed December 7, for sentencing.

The judge held that out of the six counts, the court convicted Mr Azuka on two counts.

He held that the confessional statements by the defendant, contained the evidence where the defendant admitted forging the reference letter purported to have been signed by Okonjo-Iweala..

He held that the admittance was the best evidence and in this instance, the defendant admitted forging the reference letters and EFCC provided graphic evidence of that too. (NAN)
Photo: Contributed

Police in Quesnel are investigating what they are calling a targeted attack that left a man dead.

Cpl. Madonna Saunderson said on Thursday Nov. 8, an adult male was taken to GR Baker Memorial Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Medical staff were unable to treat the man and he succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Quesnel RCMP were then called to the hospital, said Saunderson.

The investigation led police to a residence in the 400 Block Willis Street in the city where a search warrant was executed.

Police believe this to be a targeted incident and have no information to suggest that the greater public is at further risk, she said.

To protect the integrity of the active and ongoing investigation, no further information will be released at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call the E Division Major Crime tip line at 778-290-5291 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) says about 185,000 applicants will benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria Agri-Business Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) loans nationwide.

The NDE Director-General, Nasiru Ladan-Argungu, made this known at the orientation of 450 trainees of four schemes of the agency in Nasarawa State on Wednesday.

He listed the schemes as National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS), Advanced National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (A-NOAS), Sustainable Agricultural Development Scheme (SADTS) and Environmental Beautification Training Scheme (EBTS).

Mr Ladan-Argungu, represented by the Nasarawa State coordinator of the scheme, Dauda Idris, urged the youth in the state to take this opportunity at their doorsteps to help their families and the society at large.

He said the beneficiaries of the AGSMEIS were young artisans, expected to be the next generational cosmetology products producers, fashion designers, farmers, electricians and computer operators, among others.

They will through multiplier effect creation of several thousand other jobs to enhance the nations economy.

The director-general added that the directorate had empowered over 20,000 women trained on cosmetology across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

It has also concluded plans to empower over 11,000 micro businesses with N10,000 each under the micro Enterprise Enhancement Scheme (MEES) to reduce unemployment and poverty bedevilling the country, he said.

Earlier, Rotgak Goar, the Head of Department, Vocational Skills Development in Nasarawa State, thanked the director-general for the various schemes implemented nationwide to better the lives of many helpless young persons.

He said the orientation was aimed at exposing the participants to the advantages, rules, regulations, code of conduct and conditions governing the different training schemes.

He advised them to take the training serious, adding that these schemes will transform their lives.

Responding on behalf of her colleagues, Fatima Gambo, a beneficiary, thanked the NDE for the gesture and promised to be good ambassadors of the scheme. (NAN)
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the purchase of 400 Beretta assault rifles with 20,000 rounds of ammunition for the Nigeria Prisons Service.

The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau disclosed this Wednesday at the end of a meeting of the council which held inside the council chamber. The meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Mr Dambazau said the arms and ammunition is peculiar to those weapons and will be purchased at the cost of N272 million with a delivery period of 120 days.

If you recall, not too long ago, our prison in Minna was attacked from the outside and some of the dangerous prisoners were freed.

The prison has an armed squad. We realised after an investigation of that attack that one of the major shortcomings within that prison was lack of adequate arms and ammunition, Mr Dambazau said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Lagos State on Wednesday hosted the Senate Committee on INEC in continuation of the committees oversight visit to assess its preparedness for 2019 General Elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee, led by its Chairman, Suleiman Nazif, was received by Adelani Asade, INECs Administrative Secretary on behalf of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Sam Olumekun.

According to Mr Nazif, the visit was aimed at stock taking, inventory, assessment and appraisal of the funds and appropriation of the commission for an enhanced, free, fair and credible elections.

He said that the committee engaged the commission on the general level of preparedness for the 2019 elections, rate of PVCs collection and outcome of the public display of voter registers.

The senator added that the committee was interested in the training and retraining of Smart Card Readers operators and peculiar modalities put in place to ensure credibility and success of all elections.

Mr Nazif said the rate of interface and engagement with relevant stakeholders, especially security and international observers, as well as the challenges and issues hampering on smooth operations of the commission were of concern to the committee.

The committee, after a tour of the INEC facilities, frowned at the commissions storage facilities for Card Reader Machines and the huge number of uncollected Permanent Voters Cards in the state.

Mr Nazif said: Having gone round your offices, I am quite impressed with what I have seen.

However, there are certain observations which I believe this is not peculiar to Lagos Office, the issue of storage.

One of the most important aspects in our electioneering process are the card readers. The storage of this card readers is something I have problem with.

Storage facilities must be upgraded, I dont know what the commission is doing about cooling system but I was surprised that the place where card readers are stored are over heated.

I wonder how these card readers will last. You know how expensive these card readers are. You know the importance of these card readers, especially in our present day political evolution and development in Nigeria.

What happens if the majority of our card readers are not functioning? The storage is in a very poor condition. I think we need to do something about this because we cannot afford to allow these card readers in that condition.

According to him, if the card readers are stored in facilities that are extremely hot, it will affect their optimal performance on election days.

Mr Nazif, who said he observed same issues in most states, urged the commission to improve on its storage facilities, saying that the place where cards readers were kept could affect their functionality during elections.

He expressed concern on the 1.5 million uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the state and urged the commission to engage more relevant stakeholders to ensure the cards get to their owners.

Welcoming the guests, Mr Asade said that the commission was doing everything possible to increase voter education to ensure PVCs get to their owners and conduct flawless elections in 2019.

We are making every effort to reach out to Lagosians through the print and electronic media, market outreach, visit to churches and mosque, stakeholders meetings at local government level for eligible voters to collect their PVCs.

As to the level of preparedness for 2019 elections, I make bold to tell you that INEC in Lagos State is ready, Mr Asade said.

He said that the commission would upgrade the commissions storage facilities to secure the card readers.

Mr Asade urged the committee to assist the commission in providing wherewithal to ensure distribution of PVCs to their owners at the grassroots.

(NAN)
The Senate says it would demand explanation on why the federal government wants to reduce the $8.1 billion fine imposed on the communication giant, MTN, to $800 million.

The Senate said that though it was not particularly against whatever the government would want to do with the MTN fine, it should be intimated on why the reduction became necessary.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking , Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara-PDP), told some journalists that his committee would immediately demand a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report on the matter, to be better informed.

The only way Nigerians would know what transpired between the CBN and MTN on the $8.1 billion fine is through a detailed report.

It was gathered that the federal government, working through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, may have concluded arrangements to cut the $8.1 billion fine to $800 million through the back door. The Senate said it was interested in knowing the percentage of reduction from $8.1 billion to $800, he was quoted as saying, by Vanguard.

Meanwhile, MTNs Chief Executive Officer, Rob Shuter, has told Bloomberg the company is making steady progress with Nigerian authorities in talks about the fine.

The South African company is in ongoing discussions with Nigerias central bank and other institutions and is narrowing down what the key issues are, Mr Rob said in an interview in Cape Town on Tuesday.

MTNs strategy is twofold: seek legal action while simultaneously looking for an amicable resolution, he said.

We would like a resolution out of court and with normal engagements as that would be faster than a court process, he said.

Mr Shuters comments indicate the two sides could be nearing a deal to resolve the dispute, which has been running since the central bank accused MTN, in August, of illegally repatriating $8.1 billion from the country.

That was followed by a secondary allegation  that the Johannesburg-based telecom firm owed $2 billion in back taxes, a matter set for a court hearing early next month.
The federal government on Wednesday advised Nigerians who are planning to migrate to make use of the newly created Migrant Resource Centres (MRC) to get adequate information relating to their destination countries.

The government said the centres where established in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to stem the tide of irregular migration by Nigerians.

NAN reports that the federal government inaugurated the MRCs in Abuja, Lagos and Edo.

Segun Afolayan, Acting Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), made the disclosure in Lagos while receiving a fresh batch of 116 stranded Nigerians repatriated from Libya.

Mr Afolayan noted that migration was a fundamental right of every human being but must be done in ways that would not violate the laws of the host nations.

According to him, the government is concerned about irregular migration by some young Nigerians which led to the establishment of the centres domiciled at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment offices at Benin, Lagos and Abuja.

The centres are opened to all Nigerians who wish to travel outside the country. They can access detailed information on their intended country of destination.

Such information includes the types of employment and educational opportunities, counseling on the right and safe routes to travel as well as the security level of the expected country.

Mr Afolayan, therefore, advised the returnees to be at the vanguard against irregular migration and use their experiences in Libya to discourage other Nigerians from embarking on such perilous journeys.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the returnees arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 12.40 a.m. on Wednesday aboard an Al Buraq Al Buraq Airlines with registration number UZ 489.

The returnees who were assisted back to the country by the IOM comprised of 46 adult females, two female children and five female infants as well as 56 male adults, six male children and eight male infants.

(NAN)
Typical dramatic scenes in the trial of Nnamdi Kanu played out again on Wednesday at an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court where the separatist leader is being tried for alleged treason.

Mr Kanu is facing trial for alleged involvement in treasonable offences by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The case was adjourned in June till Wednesday for Mr Kanus sureties, Eyinnaya Abaribe, a serving senator; a banker, Tochukwu Uchendu, and a Jewish priest, Ben El-Shalom; to explain why the N100 million bail bond for Mr Kanu should not be forfeited after the accused went missing in September 2017.

At the opening of session on Wednesday, however, two of the sureties, Messrs Abaribe and El-Shalom, were not in court.

A lawyer representing the Jewish priest, Aloy Ejimakor, informed the court about a letter written by his client which he claimed to have received on Tuesday.

On his part, Mr Abaribes lawyer, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, said his client could not attend the trial because of a Senate function he was engaged in.

In reaction, the judge, Binta Nyako, accused the sureties of neglecting the instant case and threatened to issue a bench warrant against the sureties.

I have taken the view that the oversight function is more important than this hearing. You know what I am going to do? I will order his arrest. I will order a bench warrant against the sureties

At that point, the lawyer representing Mr Uchendu informed the court about the presence of his client.

God has saved you, Mrs Nyako told Mr Uchendu.

After much plea by the lawyers to the other sureties, Mrs Nyako decided against issuing a bench warrant but noted that an order would be made for the forfeiture of the N100 million contained in the bond for Mr Kanus bail.

Again, the lawyers began another session of requests, forcing an irate Mrs Nyako to demand the presence of an interpreter in court.

What language do you speak. Please do we have an Igbo translator, Mrs Nyako asked.

My Nnamdi Kanu was here, within where I could reach him and he applied to say, Please let me go, I will always be here whenever you want me.

And this three men whom you have described as men of impeccable character said they will bring him. If at the end of the day, they cannot produce my own Nnamdi Kanu, they will be in my trouble because I gave him to them, Mrs Nyako said.

Reacting, Mr Ejimakor said the mere submission of sureties as representatives for Mr Kanu to be granted bail cannot result in immediate forfeiture of the bail bond.

Bail bond forfeiture is a process. The surety is not strictly liable, by the mere undertaking. With due respect, if we jump all these loopholes, a fair hearing would have been denied them, Mr Ejimakor argued.

In addition, Mr Ume added: My Lord, there is an application before you now. And any order you make will send a signal to the entire nation.

I will be very happy to do that, Mrs Nyako responded.

The judge noted that in the event where a person decides to assume the place of surety, his involvement in the matter is between himself and the court. Mrs Nyako then reiterated the constitutional provision which allows bail to be at the discretion of the court.

Before you take anybody on bail, you must ensure it is a person you can vouch for and a person you can produce in court. Am I going to continue to say the same thing? Even if Mr Nnamdi Kanu is in Israel or he is in Saudi Arabia, that is not my business.

I am not interested in the fact that they found Mr Nnamdi Kanu. You can talk from today till tomorrow, but they will forfeit the bail bond, Mrs Nyako said.

The judge ruled that the responsibility of producing Mr Kanu would not be shifted to any party as the issue regarding the defendants bail is now a matter between the court and the sureties.

Following the various requests by the defense team, Mrs Nyako said the court would avoid a direct forfeiture order but noted that an order for variation of the bail condition would be made.

I am going to vary the bail conditions, Mrs Nyako said.

The judge ordered the three sureties to deposit the bond of N100 million each with the court registrar within two months.

The interim order will remain so till six months, the judge added.

Mrs Nyako said the court would make further directives after hearing the current applications by the sureties on March 28, 2019.

The court also adjourned the trial of the other defendants earlier arraigned with Mr Kanu to March 26 and 27 next year.
Ninety-four days to the general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared support for the fight against fake news in Nigeria.

The party made this known in a statement on Wednesday by Lanre Issa-Onilu, its National Publicity Secretary.

With the rise in the dissemination of fake news, media practitioners, lawyers, technology experts, free speech campaigners and others have expressed fear on the effects while seeking ways to get rid of it.

In recent time, politicians have been accused of using fake news to deal with their opponents.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) supports ongoing global media attention and efforts to check the proliferation of fake news particularly as the country gears up for campaigns ahead of the 2019 elections, Mr Issa-Onilu said.

The party said the consequences of fake news are often dire as it inflames perceived divisions in communities, fuels hate speech, leads to violence and distorts democratic processes, among others.

APC accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of using fake news in its campaigns, saying it was not surprised as it believes it is an effort by the opposition party to evade scrutiny.

It also said PDP is not a party to either be trusted or taken seriously as it has missed out on the opportunity to apologise and show remorse for the alleged cruelty it wrought on the country while in power.

Disturbingly, the countrys main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its discredited agents, have continued to deploy the loathsome strategy of fake news, misinformation and distortion of facts as focal campaign strategies for the 2019 elections.

Instead of engaging the electorate on serious issues of development such as health, education, economy, foreign policy, security, corruption, pension, job creation, infrastructure development among others, the PDP and its agents have chosen to populate the mainstream and social media space with ludicrous fake news and infantile conspiracy theories, moving from one absurdity to another.

The party said while the PDP was at its alleged game of using fake news, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration was busy building a new Nigeria for the collective progress, peace, unity and prosperity of Nigerians.

PREMIUM TIMES was yet to get a response from the opposition party at the time of this report. PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, asked for time go through the statement by the APC.
Hundreds of Nigerians have petitioned the United States authorities to urgently grant one of the presidential candidates a visa to enable him clear a slew of corruption allegations pending against him.

Over 1,000 Nigerians have signed the petition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other American authorities, demanding a thorough probe and conclusion of pending corruption allegations against Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The petitioners said they are on a mission to ensure the countrys 2019 presidential election field is devoid of persons of questionable backgrounds.

The petitioners said Mr Abubakar, who recently emerged the main challenger to President Muhammadu Buhari, has gruesome corruption claims against him, and it would be unfortunate if the U.S. deprived Nigerians of a crucial chance to better assess him ahead of the presidential poll next February.

Mr Abubakar, Nigerias vice-president from 1999 to 2007, has fiercely defended allegations of corruption against him in the U.S., saying he was not being prevented from entering the country because of corruption.

Yet, Mr Abubakar has continued to sidestep a demand by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) that he write letter authorising the agencys release of his immigration status into that country.

The CPB first made the demand in an enquiry by PREMIUM TIMES nearly two years ago, but both Mr Abubakar and his surrogates have refused to specifically say whether or not they would be willing to authorise release of his visa status to the Nigerian public.

The CPB said only Mr Abubakar or his legal representatives could demand his visa status in writing, according to U.S. laws

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is prohibited by law from releasing such information without the written legal consent of the individual about whom you are asking these questions, the agency told PREMIUM TIMES in a story published January 2017. A spokesperson for Mr Abubakar was evasive when reached for comments at the time.

In the nearly two years that Mr Abubakar has failed to answer PREMIUM TIMES questions or authorise the U.S. Customs to publish why he was being prevented from entering that country, the politician has granted several media interviews in which he repeated that he has no case to answer in the U.S.

The candidate also publicly said he applied for a U.S. visa on at least two occasions, but was turned down each time by the U.S. Embassy officials who allegedly failed to cite clear grounds for their decisions.

His supporters have also repeated Mr Abubakars talking points, with his top political adviser and campaign director, Gbenga Daniel, saying recently that the candidate was on the verge of procuring a visa.

A posterboy for corruption

Mr Abubakars political stature has soared since his emergence as the presidential candidate of PDP, Nigerias main opposition platform, at the partys national convention five weeks ago. He is widely expected to pose an ardent challenge to Mr Buhari, who is accused by many Nigerians of poor performance.

Mr Abubakar said he would concentrate on restructuring the country towards an unprecedented economic growth should he be elected, a message that voters are finding increasingly resonating than the anti-corruption mantra with which Mr Buhari is predicating his re-election bid.

But while echoes of anti-corruption may not be as audible during the wave that swept Mr Buhari into office and for several months hence, many Nigerians are worried that Mr Abubakars past could prove problematic for the country should it be left unaddressed.

The petitioners, who described themselves as largely concentrated in the diaspora, said Mr Abubakars past is so steep in corruption that he was made a crucial example in a worldwide investigation into illicit dealings carried out by the United States Senate.

The report, titled: Keeping Corruption out of the United States, found Mr Abubakar culpable of bringing in tens of millions of dollars in suspect funds into the United States, the petition said.

He is one of four case studies profiled in the report, alongside such other notorious figures as the late Omar Bongo, President of Gabon for 41 years; international arms dealer Pierre Falcone, since convicted and imprisoned in France; and Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, and currently Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, from whom Brazilian authorities recently seized $16 million in cash and luxury watches, it added.

At least 1,010 persons have signed the online petition, which opened this week, with less than 500 to meet its 1,500 signatures target.

The United States Department of Justice and all the members of the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations were copied in the petition.

The petitioners listed some of the longstanding corruption charges against Mr Abubakar, including especially the Thomas Jefferson trial which infamously linked the former vice-president to the now-convicted former U.S. federal lawmaker.

Mr Abubakar was accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars in bribes to enable an American firm linked to Mr Jefferson secure a broadband contract in Nigeria between early and mid-2000s.

The Siemens bribery scandal, in which the German multinational conglomerate reportedly admitted paying over $2 million in bribes to Mr Abubakar through one of his wives, was also cited in the petition to the F.B.I.

We are now aware that he is working hard to lobby the United States Government to reverse its decision regarding his eligibility for a visa, the petitioners said in an apparent alarm over Mr Daniels comments. His goal is to make a statement by paying a visit to the United States and then using that to advance the narrative that the corruption allegations are unfounded and baseless.

We are asking that the United States Government expedite action to grant him this visa to enable him face the justice he has evaded for so long, it said.

Evolving narratives

Even though Mr Abubakar has said he was looking forward to being granted access into the U.S., the politician has equally downplayed the significance of such trips.

He has insisted rightly that the Nigerian Constitution does not require a candidates ability to enter the U.S. to be eligible for elected office in the country.

He also suggested that any restrictions on his entry into the U.S. would be lifted by that countrys authorities if he becomes president, saying even Mr Buhari was also banned for several years from entering the country over his controversial views on religion.

Mr Buhari strongly denied Mr Abubakars claims that he was banned from U.S. at any point.

Coming days before campaign formally opens for the 2019 elections on November 18, questions over a possible political undertone are being raised by pro-PDP supporters online. PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately obtain the contacts of Zainab Isa, who appears to be one of the petitioners on change.org.

Segun Showunmi, a spokesperson for Mr Abubakars campaign, did not return PREMIUM TIMES requests for comments about the petition Wednesday evening.
Over one week after government owned university lecturers commenced strike, the federal government has finally called them for a meeting.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will on Thursday, hold the crucial meeting with the Nigerian government.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m., and was called at the instance of the minister of education, Adamu Adamu, and the governments negotiating team.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the government, as at Sunday, a week after strike commenced, was yet to call for a meeting with ASUU.

Thursdays meeting is at the invitation of the federal government.

Confirming this development, the president of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, said the lecturers are not optimistic about the outcome of the meeting which, he said, will determine the seriousness of the Nigerian government towards ending the strike.

The government has invited us for a meeting tomorrow, we are not sure of their seriousness because we have been discussing with them for 16 months without any result, he said.

On the readiness of the lecturers to call off the strike if tomorrows meeting swings in their favour, he said the union members will decide.

After the meeting, we will tell members the outcome. They are the only ones who can decide to call off the strike.

The official also said he is not concerned about the formation of a parallel union by some aggrieved lecturers, who have kept on teaching, regardless of the strike order.

Some lecturers at the Obafemi Awolowo University, under a rival union, Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics, have been teaching despite the strike.

ASUU is the only recognised lecturers body. Some persons are free to show they are annoyed but truthfully, the strike is on and all lecturers have respected it, the official said.

He also denied rumours that the lecturers have accepted governments proposal to set up an education bank, which was one of the reasons they went on strike in the first place.

We have not accepted education banking. We were surprised on reports that we accepted it. It is a means to exploit students and make them pay tuition fee.

Some students do not get jobs even five years after graduation and they will be asked to repay a million naira. That is selling them to slavery totally, he said.

The ASUU president said the N200 billion released by the federal Government in September 2018 is not an issue and that the N200 billion ought to have been released in October 2017 as part of the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding. In the memorandum, the government agreed to inject N1.3 trillion to fund universities at N220 billion yearly, for five years.

Mr Ogunyemi said the situation on campuses may degenerate and be worse than the already poor quality teaching and learning obvious in majority of public primary and secondary schools if government fails to fund public universities.

The union insists that the No Work, No Pay threats by government cannot be directed at the lecturers as industrial action is legal in Nigerian labour law and international conventions, which Nigeria is signatory to.

Other demands of ASUU include improved funding of education and improved teaching and learning conditions in the universities.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on Nigerian politicians to stop using the young people as thugs during elections. He also called on politicians to make amendments to the laws and party structure to enhance the access of young people to political offices.

He said politicians who engage other peoples children for violence often keep their own children away in safe havens.

Mr Obasanjo stated this in a paper titled Demystifying Leadership Capacity Deficit of African Youths: Our Future is in their Hands. He delivered the paper in London at the inaugural edition of Kings College London Global Leaders Engagement Series.

He made a copy of the paper available to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.

Enough of using other peoples children as experimental subjects and keeping ours in safe havens. Enough of using other peoples children as political thugs and ballot box snuffers, while we send ours to Ivy League schools. Enough of thinking we know what is right for young people without their input or the courtesy of asking for their opinions, he stated.

He said though young Africans are not too young to run for political offices, they face insurmountable barriers, which include the hurdle of outrageously exorbitant cost of party nomination forms and campaign costs, which were put against them and made them stay away.

Mr Obasanjo said lack of economic opportunity, inclusion and adoption of policies on education, skill acquisition, empowerment and employment were some of the obstacles hindering the youth of Africa from playing active roles in leadership, development and peace building.

However, he said despite these hindrances, he saw hope of a continent where the creative energies, intellectual prowess and ingenuity of the continents youth is capable of leading Africa to the Promised land.

Mr Obasanjo lamented that many young people are systematically marginalised because of their young age, limited opportunities, and projected lack of experience.

He identified insurmountable barriers against youth seeking elective posts, stressing that Africa must learn to train the youth to succeed their leaders.

Succession planning is a culture that Africa needs to imbibe. It increases the number of people who are capable and available to assume leadership roles when the incumbent is no longer available to do so. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a deliberate process.

We cannot continue to assume that by mere observation from afar, young people understand why we do what we do. We must introduce them to our networks and partners; set them up to represent us in important meetings while we can still guide and nurture them. An organisation should not kaput because one person is no longer available to lead.

If constitutional changes are required, let us begin now. If policies and political party structures have to change, let us begin now. Of what use is a law that allows young people contest for a particular office only to be confronted with the hurdle of outrageously exorbitant cost of party nomination forms and campaign costs?

He urged young people to continue to engage political leaders till they lower the cost of election and governance in Africa. Young people are not too young to run for political offices but insurmountable barriers are put against them. Adults running for elective offices, octogenarians or over, are also barriers to the young in getting to political leadership.

Special attention and consideration must be given to the girl child. We have to ensure that they have equal opportunities as boys and see them collectively as our tomorrow, not a part of it. Understand that a girl can learn to be homely and still be a great scientist. A child is first human before his or her gender. Like the male child, girls have dreams and the wherewithal to achieve them.

I will also like to talk about entrepreneurship. It is the buzz word on the street. And I am glad that our youth have been bitten by the bug. They are building businesses and not all waiting to be employees. This paradigm is much needed at a time like this.

I, however, urge them to do more than create businesses that will cater only for their personal survival. At the onset, they must broaden their mind and vision for their businesses to grow from micro to small and from medium-scale ventures to corporations.

They must deploy technology to make friends and meet business associates across the globe to build international brands. They must think global and begin by acting local. Government needs to also come to their aid another reason they must be actively involved in governance. Government must make policies that encourage their businesses and expand their horizon.

The young people must remember that the future is influenced by the present and the past. The present is a legacy of the past, handed over by other generation. This legacy is a product of hard work, successes, failures and experience. It must be preserved. The youth must understand that todays leaders are tomorrows seniors and the record of their leadership will also become a legacy to another generation.

This is one of the major reasons I set up the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library especially its Youth Development Centre and the Centre for Human Security and Dialogue to serve as nursery for training Africas future leaders through formal and informal debates, dialogues, interactions, discussion, research and visits.

By the year 2050, it is estimated that African population will be well over two billion and 80% will be living in cities. It is going to be a great challenge and great opportunity. Whether our population is turned into great asset or great liability and danger, our efforts at protection and security will be determined by our politics and governance, our partnership within and outside Africa and our handling of education, infrastructure, agribusiness, technology and the economy, generally.

As we endeavour towards realizing Agenda 2030, which recognizes that the challenges to peace and security are rooted in developmental deficits, we must identify and tackle the obstacles that hinder the youth from playing active roles in leadership, development and peace building.

it is pivotal that we recognize, support and promote the role of youth in the implementation of Agenda 2063 for Africa and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

I see hope in that the future of Africa is in the hands of its youth. I see hope of a continent where the creative energies, intellectual prowess and ingenuity of our youth is capable to lead us to our promised land. I see hope in the courage of our youth to hold government accountable and their resistance to tyranny and despotism.

I see hope of a thriving continent, made better by the youth than they met it. I see hope in the honest labours of young people on the streets, who shun illegal money-making means and who sweat daily to earn a living. I see hope in our youths who despite all they have seen and experienced, still believe in the dignity of hard work with tremendous energy, ingenuity and commitment.

And it is this hope that we must keep alive. Fear has no place in hope. We must be hopeful in our actions and perception of our youths. And while we still can, we must give them all the support knowing that when we are no longer here, they will carry-on the torch, guiding it with their all. More than ever before, I believe in African youths and their capacity as I have seen them and understood them. And as for hope, they are the reason while an octogenarian like me is filled with hope of a united, progressive, integrated and prosperous Africa, taking its rightful place in a global decision-making process and in the international division of labour and production.

Mr Obasanjo said that African leaders must partner with young people to use their strength in prevention of violence and recruitment into violent and extremist groups and embrace promotion of peace through peer-to-peer education and sharing.

Young people must continue to take advantage of the social media to organise themselves. It is pivotal that we recognize, support and promote the role of youth in the implementation of Agenda 2063 for Africa and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

Mr Obasanjo, who would be the first speaker in the Kings College London Global Leaders Engagement series, applauded the brilliance that went into starting the platform, which was meant for African leaders to showcase diverse ways in which they are producing ideas for Africas development and the security of Africas future.

He commend the authorities of Kings College, London for the initiative, especially Professor Funmi Olonisakin, Vice-Principal/Vice-President (International).
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!
Photo: CTV

Military police are investigating allegations that a civilian woman was drugged and then sexually assaulted at the Esquimalt naval base.

The woman was out at a pub in downtown Victoria on Oct. 5 when she says her memory began to fade.

The woman believes she was slipped a date-rape drug. The next thing she knows, she woke up to being raped.

I do remember waking up to a man behind me, penetrating me from behind," she told CTV.

It's unclear how she got inside the secure naval base.

She thinks she may have got into a cab with some unknown men, and has fleeting memories of being held by shirtless strangers, and staggering barefoot down darkened hallways.

Where am I? Who are you? she asked her attacker. How did I get here?

She claims the man said she just showed up at his door in the middle of the night.

She couldn't find her belongings, and eventually made contact with military police in the morning.

Only after confiding in her mother and grandmother, did she see a doctor and report the assault.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service is investigating the case, and has requested a toxicology report and a forensic rape kit that was conducted the day after the alleged rape.

"If we have one or 100 cases at CFB Esquimalt, it doesn't matter. One is too many," Base Commander Jason Boyd told CTV.

 with files from CTV Vancouver Island
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed the process it will adopt for voting in the 2019 general elections.

A national commissioner of the commission, Festus Okoye, made the disclosure on Wednesday while speaking to journalists at a two-day election workshop at the U.S embassy in Abuja.

Mr Okoye, who is also the Chairman of Information and Voter Education in the commission, spoke on INECs expectations from the media as regards coverage of elections and reporting of results.

He said the voting procedure will be in accordance with the Continuous Accreditation and Voting System (CAVS) and only voters with permanent voters cards verified by the smart card reader would be allowed to vote.

Each voter shall cast his/her vote in person at the polling unit that he/she registered and, in the manner, prescribed by the Commission.

For the purposes of the conduct of elections, the Commission utilizes both permanent and ad-hoc staff. The ad-hoc staff comprises of Presiding Officersn (PO), Assistant Presiding Officers (APO), Supervisors, Collation Officers and Returning Officers.

The Presiding Officer shall be responsible for regulating the admission of voters to the polling unit and shall exclude all other persons except candidates or their polling agents, election officials, security personnel, accredited observers and any other person who in his opinion has lawful reason to be admitted and attendance Register in Polling Unit booklet will be signed by these categories of election personnel, he said.

Mr Okoye stated those who will be allowed access to the electoral material distribution centre, polling units, polling stations and collation centres.

These are the voters (at polling units only), INEC officials on election duty, security personnel, candidates or their accredited party agents, accredited journalists/media and accredited domestic and foreign observers.

The accreditation process shall comprise Verification by the Smart Card Reader; Checking of the Register of Voters; and inking of the cuticle of the specified finger. Where the voters fingerprint is not authenticated after 4 attempts using the SCR, the APOI shall recapture the fingerprint of the voter in the prescribed manner and continue with the accreditation and voting process.

Where the voter authentication fails after recapture, the APO shall refer the voter to the Presiding Officer who shall examine and ascertain if the PVC belongs to the voter and if satisfied, that it belongs to the voter and that the voter has not been previously verified, direct the voter to the APOII for Register check and inking to continue with other accreditation and voting process.

Mr Okoye also said accredited media organisations and observers will be allowed into the polling units, collation centres and distribution centres.

However, it is not permissible to violate the secrecy of the vote by attempting to record how a voter is voting or how the voter has voted. Section 125 of the Electoral Act.

The media are allowed or permitted to record and use the votes scores by each political party as pasted in the Publication of Result Poster EC60(E). The media and accredited observers are not allowed or permitted to make a declaration or announce results of an election as that is legally reserved for the Returning Officer who makes a declaration and a return.

By section 123(4) of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) any person who announces or publishes an election result knowing same to be false or which is at variance with the signed certificate of return commits an offence and is liable on conviction to 36 months imprisonment, he said.

Further guidelines are:

At the close of voting, the PO shall:

-Cancel all the unused ballot papers by crossing them.

-Sort out the ballot papers by party and thereafter loudly count the votes scored by each political party in the presence of the polling agents and observers.

-Cross-check the scores according to the prescribed procedure.

-Enter the scores of the candidates in both figures and words in the appropriate forms EC8A/ EC8A(VP) series.

Where voting points have been created the APO shall:

-Enter the result on form EC8A (VP).

-Submit to the presiding officer who shall consolidate the result using form EC8A and attach the EC8A(VP) to form EC8A.

The Presiding Officer shall then:

-Sign, date and stamp the appropriate EC8A forms;

-Announce loudly the votes scored by each political party;

-Request the candidates or their polling agents where available at the polling unit to countersign;

-Keep the originals of EC8 series and the first pink copies for the Commission;

-Give to the party agents and the Police, a duplicate copy each of the completed forms;

-Post the completed Publication of Result Poster EC60(E) at the polling unit;

-Complete the EC40H(1) for PWD Information and Statistics;

-Complete the PWD information boxes in the PU booklet;

-Electronically transmit the result in the prescribed manner;

-Take the card reader and the original copy of the forms in tamper-evidence envelope to the Registration Area/Ward Collation Officer, in the company of security agents.

The polling agents may accompany the Presiding Officer to RA/Ward Collation Centre as stipulated in Sections 62-67 of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended)

Where the total number of votes cast at a polling unit exceeds the number of registered voters in the polling unit, the result of the election for that polling unit shall be declared null and void, and a report in that regard is made to the Collation Officer.

Similarly, where the total number of votes cast at a polling unit exceeds the total number of accredited voters, the outcome of the election shall be declared null and void, and a report in that regard is made to the Collation officer.

The collation and declaration of election results shall be done at the following levels depending on the type of election:

-Registration Area  RA/Ward (collation for all election) including that of Councilor in the case of the FCT.

-Local Government Area  LGA (Collation for all election) including that of Chairman in the case of the FCT.

-State Constituency (Collation and Declaration of State House of Assembly elections).

-Federal Constituency (Collation and Declaration of House of Representative elections)

-Senatorial District (Collation and declaration of Senatorial District elections)

-Governorship (Collation and Declaration of Governorship elections)

-Presidential (Collation and Declaration of Presidential election) as stipulated in Section 27 of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended).

While the announcement of results is made at the Polling Units by the Presiding Officer, the Ward Collation Officer announces the Results at the Ward Collation Centre and the Local Government or Area Council Collation Officer announces the result at the Local Government or Area Council Collation Centre.

By section 63 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) what the Presiding Officer does is to count and announce the result at the polling unit. The Presiding Officer does not make a declaration and does not make a return.

Section 69 and 70 of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) gives the appropriate Returning Officer the exclusive right and jurisdiction to make a return in an election to the office of the President or Governor whether or not contested.
The National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomhole, has no moral right to remain in politics following allegations of kickbacks levelled against him, Senate President Bukola Saraki has said.

Since his defection to the opposition PDP, Mr Saraki has been in a battle with Mr Oshiomhole who at several times called for his resignation as Senate President.

While speaking with journalists in Ilorin on the sidelines of the sixth remembrance prayer for his late father, Olusola Saraki, on Tuesday, Mr Saraki said the APC chairman has no locus standi to talk about morality in todays Nigeria politics in view of controversial roles he played in the APC primaries.

That must be a joke coming from Oshiomhole talking about moral ground. I think Oshiomhole has no locus standi to talk about morality today, the Senate President was quoted as saying by Vanguard newspaper.

Oshiomhole is somebody, who has been told to have been collecting not even naira but dollars from candidates and he is being accused by his partys aspirants and Governors.

I dont think he has any moral ground, even to continue to be in politics not to talk about being a Chairman of a party.

I remember in those days even Oyegun, they never accused him of something like this. I have left that party. Im sure the President, based on integrity, knows the right thing to do. So, on moral ground, he cannot speak on moral ground.

Mr Saraki condemned the heavy police deployment and change in police divisional heads in the four local governments of Irepodun /Ekiti /Oke Ero /Isin federal constituency where election will take place on Saturday.

He said,You see, the mistake we sometimes make, we forget that Nigeria is a big nation in this global world, not only in the context of Africa. We provide leadership. An action that we take that tries to suggest that we are not civilised with rule of law and processes, doesnt augur well with the image. Today, the President is the President of ECOWAS likewise the Chairman of INEC as chairman of electoral bodies in Ecowas, even show that we are a responsible country.

So, when the Inspector General of Police (IG) begins to do things like this without following due process, it is not good for our country. And that is what we always stand for. And all those who supposed to caution him should ensure that due process is followed in thing like this.

We have been doing bye- election here, I have never seen where the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), are being transferred. We have been doing bye-elections here, I have never seen where 200 or 300 security personnel are being deployed. It is not about Kwara, it is about the country. It is about how the world sees us. It is about how we provide leadership in the continent. And we keep on saying that people like these are not doing the President any good. The people at the end of the day will speak, and they should allow people to exercise their rights, vote in peace and vote their wishes and should not do anything that create fear or break law and order.

In spite of all these, I see PDP winning the election because we are on ground. There is no doubt about it. If you go round, you will know who is on ground. And you will see that in the results. They should allow people to exercise their rights, he said.

Meanwhile, some protesters on Wednesday stormed the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja to demand an investigation into allegations of bribery levelled against Mr Oshiomhole during the recently concluded nationwide primary elections of the party.

The protesters who were led by Stanley Onu under the auspices of Coalition for a New Nigeria said the protest was in their quest to arrest the dangers faced by our party, the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, occasioned by the integrity challenged National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole.

They carried placards with several inscriptions such as Oshiomhole must go, Probe Oshiomhole now, among others.

Mr Onu said, It is expedient that a man that has corruption noose round his neck is not the fit and proper person to lead a party that has President Muhammadu Buhari, a man known globally for his anti-corruption stance, to remain in office.

We demand that Mr. Oshiomhole resigns owing to the plethora of allegations against him leading to even the DSS inviting him and demanding for his resignation.

Addressing the protesters, spokesperson of the commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa, said the ICPC would look into all petitions before it, giving precedence to the time of filing.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday berated the governorship candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Muhammed Imam, over his call on the presidency to probe the state governments spending of the Paris Club refunds.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr. Imam expressed concerns and questioned why pensioners should be owed their entitlements for two years in the state after the government received two tranches of the refund.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe how the state spent the Paris Club fund which he said was meant to offset backlogs of salaries, pensions and gratuities of owed workers and retirees.

Apparently vexed by Mr. Imams comment, the ruling APC said the PDP flag bearers comments was nothing but a betrayal of his lack of understanding of the issue of governance.

In a statement signed by the state APC publicity secretary, Makinta Zarami, the ruling party said the government did not deliberately owe the retirees, but rather their two years of pension were delayed due to non-compliance to requirements of the the verification and biometric data capturing exercise.

Alhaji Mohammed Imam merely confirmed what everyone already knows that he is someone ignorant of how government works, said the APC spokesperson.

To set the record straight, there was never an issue with payment. The main problem was delay in the completion of verification by 500 pensioners out of 9,500.

There was serious fraud in the management of pension payments as inherited by Governor Kashim Shettima. As a result, the governor ordered capture of biometrics of civil servants and pensioners across the state.

Already the biometrics have been completed in the case of civil servants and they all have been getting their salaries promptly.

Borno is one of the few states that has never defaulted on payment of salaries from 2011 to date, including when the state was getting less than N2billion in 2016 and had to top funds to pay salaries of N2.6billion.

On the pensioners which is the main issue Imam didnt care to find out about, we have about 9,500 pensioners after elimination of all fraudulent pensioners. Out of the 9,500 pensioners, a total of 9,000 pensioners have long completed their biometrics and they regularly get their pensions.

Those who had problems were only 500 and even out of them 171 pensioners were cleared by the biometrics. However, these 171 pensioners failed to submit their account statements as required by the biometrics team which is the standard procedure.

The truth is that in course of the biometrics, some civil servants and pensioners claim not to receive payments but when they submitted their bank statements, the statements showed evidence of payments. In often cases, the beneficiaries will claim they have not been getting bank alerts from their banks even when the statements show them withdrawing their salaries and pensions. I think the 171 people are now bringing the statements and being cleared.

Also, the remaining 329 pensioners who had problems with biometrics are almost cleared in line with Governor Shettimas directive that all biometrics issues should be cleared within the next one week.
A computer science graduate of the University of Jos, Amos Lucky, paraded alongside nine other suspected cult group members on Wednesday said he was lured into the group by a final year law student of the institution.

Mr Lucky, 25, said he belonged to the secret cult group called Black Axe, and paid N3000 per semester as due to the leader of the group, whom he called Zambruta.

The suspect spoke while they were paraded at the headquarters of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) military task force in Jos.

I was initiated in 2016, he said. I was invited to a party, when we got there we were taken to the bush around Bauchi Ring Road and beaten. I wanted to leave the cult but I was afraid because if you leave and they see you on the street they will beat you. They dont really kill but they will beat you, Mr Lucky said.

Spokesperson of OPSH, Adam Umar, an army major, said the suspects were arrested during a raid on criminal hideouts in the Jos metropolis.

According to Mr Umar, the suspects had been terrorising people in Jos.

OPSH raided some criminal hideouts of some gangs and cultists leading to the arrest of some of their members who are responsible for insecurity being experienced across the joint operational areas.

Specifically, on October 21, 2018, six cult members were arrested and preliminary investigation led to the arrest of four others who have been profiled, cross-examined and their statement obtained.

Analysis of the revelation from arrested group members revealed that there are five distinct cult groups operating in Jos under various appellations as Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM), aka Black Axe; Supreme Viking, aka Baggar/Arrow; Aiye Buccaneers and Tin Gold, aka Blue Bird,  Mr Umar said.

The spokesperson said OPSH remained resolute to deal with any form of criminality that may cause insecurity in the state.

OPSH therefore wishes to reiterated that it would remain resolute to decisively deal with all criminal acts that are inimical to peaceful co-existence on the Plateau and hereby assures residents of their safety, he said.
A panel set up by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to investigate the cause of building collapse which took place in Jabi on August 17 has submitted its report.

While submitting the report to the FCT minister on Wednesday, the chairman of the panel and Director-General of Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), Danladi Matawal, said the collapse of the four-storey building was mainly due to poor structural and architectural pre-examination before the commencement of building in 2005.

According to a press statement from the FCTA, the official said the work on the building was abandoned but recommenced in January 2018 without any proper revalidation of the building.

Mr Matawal called for appropriate disciplinary measures against indicted officers.

He also blamed the developer for unprofessional practices, especially in the commencement of work without adequate and comprehensive documents in place.

There was a deficiency in the professional capability of the people charged with the responsibility of supervising buildings, from start to finish, he said.

As a means of checking quackery in the building process, the chairman recommended the use of qualified FCTAs pool of site officers and engineers at building sites.

The administration had set up a panel of enquiry to unravel both the immediate and remote causes of the building collapse, with a view to stemming future occurrences.

Meanwhile, the FCTA has said it will overhaul its Department of Development Control to strengthen to cope with the ever-increasing building activities in the FCT.

This was made known in the press statement signed by the FCTA chief press secretary, Cosmas Uzodinma.

The minister, who was represented at the occasion by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Chinyeaka Ohaa, said the FCTA is on the verge of breathing new life into the department to make it function more efficiently and give developers value for their money.

The minister said the FCTA is saddened by the incidents of building collapse in the country despite the calibre, number, and mix of professionals in the building industry in Abuja and other parts of the country.

He said activities of the department will also be decentralised to keep pace with service delivery.

He said the recommendations made by the committee would help to curtail these incidents to the barest minimum.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how activities in Jabi area of Abuja were put on hold when the four-storey building under construction collapsed on August 17.

The building was situated within Jabi/Utako park, directly opposite Panda shopping mall.
The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Wednesday,presented a budget estimate of over N219 billion for the 2019 fiscal year before the state assembly.

Presenting the estimate, the governor said over N134.06 billion was proposed for capital expenditure while over N85.10 billion was for the recurrent expenditure.

According to him, the budget proposal tagged Budget for Sustainable Development was designed to attain the agenda of his administration for developing the state.

He added that part of the proposed estimate would be generated from the re-current revenue, internally generated revenue while part would be funded with the federal allocation.

Mr Ganduje said over N38.3 billion was proposed to carry out infrastructural development projects across the state for the benefit of the people of the state, especially the construction of flyover along Kofar Mata to Murtala Muhammad Way.

The governor explained that part of the proposed fund for the infrastructure would be used to ensure the completion of the abandoned five kilometre roads across the 44 local government areas of the state.

We intend to spend over N26.4 billion for the execution of various projects in critical areas of water supply and rural development.

Also, Rural and Community Development we plan to expend N2 billion for various projects.

On agriculture, we proposed for N9.4 billion to complement the President Muhammadu Buharis agenda on the sector stressing there is plan to assist farmers and fishermen to boost the sector .

According to Mr Ganduje, over N18 billion was proposed for the execution of various capital projects under the sector, especially the construction of 100 classes for the Almajiri schools in the state which N150 million was proposed.

He added that N72 million was also proposed for the conduct of Quranic recitation completion in Kano while N17 billion for the development of the state-owned Yusuf Maitama-Sule University.

We also intend to spend N2.5 billion for the health sector, out of which we are going to recruits health workers and complete some important projects in the sector.

Also, over N1.6 billion was proposed for the Commerce, Mining and Industry Sector, while women and social development sector we intend to spend N861 million.

He also disclosed that for the security and Justice Sector, over N2.8 billion was earmarked and that of the general administration, N7.8 billion was proposed while Environment to get N3.5 billion.

The governor called on the youth to avoid being used as political thugs as the 2019 general elections is fast approaching.

In his remark, the Speaker, Kabiru Rurum, assured Mr Ganduje of their readiness to ensure successful deliberations, smooth and speedy passage of the bill.

He commended the state government for embarking on meaningful projects for the benefit of the general public.

(NAN)
Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State on Wednesday re-submitted the name of Justice Asabe Karatu to the House of Assembly for confirmation as Chief Judge.

NAN reports that on August 1, the house refused to confirm the appointment of Ms Karatu, who is Acting Chief Judge, over alleged falsification of her primary school certificate.

NAN reports that the refusal to confirm her appointment followed a motion by the Majority Leader, Bello Yakubu, representing Birnin Kebbi South, during plenary.

Mr Bagudu, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Abubakar Dakingari, in Birnin Kebbi, said Ms Karatus name was re-sent to the Speaker, Abdulmumeen Kamba.

Mr Bagudu said that appointment was inline with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council as endorsed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the Council, Justice Walter Onnogben.

He pleaded with the House to reconsider its position and confirm Ms Karatu as the chief judge of the state.
It will take over 100 years to recover the construction cost of the proposed 275-kilometre superhighway in Cross River if the state government goes ahead with the project, a civil society organisation in Nigeria, BudgIT, has said.

The superhighway, designed to cut across at least 16 local government areas, is one of the signature projects of the administration of the governor, Ben Ayade, and it is meant to link the South-south state with Nigerias North-central region, through Benue State.

Construction work is yet to begin on the superhighway three years after the ground-breaking was done by President Muhammadu Buhari.

One government official told PREMIUM TIMES the delay is because the state was waiting to get necessary approvals for another mega project in the state  a deep seaport  which is tied to the road project.

Environmental activists have continually kicked against the superhighway which they say would destroy several species of plants and animals and also displace the indigenous people of the areas where the road will traverse.

Other people have also expressed concerns the projects could plunge Cross River into huge debt.

BudgIT, in a researched report published in December 2017, put the cost of constructing the superhighway at N200 billion, which it described as being ambitious and expensive.

The report, titled Economic Alternatives to the Cross River-Super Highway, is clearly meant to persuade the state government against embarking on the superhighway.

It is an ambitious and expensive project costed at N800bn in Nov. 2015, the group said in the report. The cost has since been reduced to N200bn even though the length increased by 10km.

The initial length of the superhighway was 260 kilometres. But 15 kilometres were added when the state government was compelled to further divert the road away from the Cross River National Park, an aide to Governor Ayade, Eric Akpo, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES.

The Cross River government conceived the superhighway and the deep seaport as Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

The superhighway is going to be an evacuating corridor for the seaport, majorly.

You know, when the port comes alive, there is going to be constant industrial traffic going in and out of the port. And because the superhighway, as a private investment, is going to be toll, it is from this toll the investors will recoup their investments, based on the vehicular traffic generated by the deep seaport. So, the viability of the superhighway as a project is closely tied to the deep seaport.

In fact, what will even make the port a choice port for export and import is because we will not have all those traffic congestion problems that will cause your goods to be delayed like what we have in the Lagos port, said Mr Akpo who is a special assistant to the governor on technical matters.

BudgIT estimated that cars would be paying N1,000 toll fees on the superhighway, while truck would be paying N5,000.

Even at this high estimated toll fees, it will take over a 100 years to pay back the cost of construction, the group said.

Cross Rivers external debt is put at $115m, the fourth largest amongst the 36 states in Nigeria, BudgIT said, attributing the situation to poorly implemented projects (in the state) such as Tinapa and loss of oil revenue.

It added, Raising external debt for a project without deep analysis will undermine future state revenues needed to create an enabling living and business environment for present and future generations.

The group said there are three already existing roads linking Cross River with Benue and that the state government could help fix those roads or push the federal government to do them.

Cross river state rejected upgrade of existing Calabar- Ogoja-Benue Highway that could have served the same function with the proposed superhighway, the group said. We question the N1.8 trillion that CRSG alleged will be the cost of upgrading the existing Calabar- Ogoja- Benue road.

BudgIT said the Cross River government, instead of going ahead with the proposed superhighway, could revive the Tinapa project and turn it into a Tinapa Knowledge city, an IT park that takes advantage of kilometres of already existing bre optic cable and will elevate the city to an IT hub the south-south geopolitical zone of the country.

The group said the government could, in addition, build 72 agric processing hubs spread across each of the local government areas in the state and powered by renewable energy, as well as empower 2,000 small and medium scale entrepreneurs with N5m each across the state.

The governors aide, Mr Akpo, has however assured that the Cross River government will not incur any debt because of the proposed seaport and the superhighway.

The state government has never said they were going to get a bank credit to execute the port or the superhighway. We have refused, as a state government, to obtain any form of guarantee for any of the prospective investors for this projects.

We have told prospective investors we wont issue them any guarantee, he told PREMIUM TIMES.
Traditional rulers in Cross River State cautioned the Igbos resident in the state against creating the position of Eze Ndi Igbo (the king of the Igbos) in the state, as that would amount to creating a kingdom where they are not empowered by the law to do so.

The traditional rulers were reacting to the plan by the Igbo community in the state to install/coronate one E. A. Ezenweanyi as the Eze Ndigbo of Cross River State.

The traditional rulers, in a press statement issued on Tuesday, said, The Igbos have every right to assemble as a community in Cross River State and pursue their legitimate rights under a leader who may be known as President General of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, President of Igbo Community in Cross River State, but not as Eze Ndi Igbo, a revered traditional title reserved for monarchs in the respective Igbo kingdoms.

The said leader is not to bear the titles of His Majesty (HM), His Royal Majesty (HRM), or His Highness (HH).

The statement, signed by Paramount Ruler of Bakassi and the Chairman, Cross River State Traditional Rulers Council, Etim Edet, and the Paramount Ruler of Calabar Municipality, Patrick Agbor, also warned the Igbo leader in Calabar against awarding chieftaincy title, whether traditional or honorary, to any person within the territories of Cross River State.

Igbos in Cross River State can celebrate their day as may be convenient to them and may invite traditional rulers from within and outside the state to attend if they so wish, the statement added.

The chairman of the traditional rulers council, Mr Edet, told PREMIUM TIMES, Wednesday, he and others sought for clearance from the councils of traditional rulers in the South-east before issuing the statement.

The response I got from the traditional rulers in the South-east was that the title of Eze Ndi Igbo was an exclusive one for kings in Igbo land and that we should not allow it in Cross River.

I now asked, how about those who have been using it? and they told me Those using it illegally have been asked to stop forthwith, he said.

There is this example in Cross River State, of one Elunnor who was a medical doctor here in Cross River state. He has a flourishing clinic here. He was the president of Igbo community here in Cross River State then. When he wanted to be a king he went back to Anambra State and at the last meeting I attended in Benin I saw him. He said he is now a traditional ruler in Anambra and he is there.

So, if Ezenweanyi wants to be a king he cannot be in Cross River State; he should go to his place and become a king.

You should be aware that since 2004 or thereabouts, there have been several attempts to do this (have Eze Ndi Igbo in Cross River), but the state government kicked against it.

You cannot be a king and begin to give chieftaincy titles in a strange territory. Where is your kingdom in Cross River state? Where is your clan? This is not about an association, but about kingship which is a creation of statutes. We need to protect it, hence our reaction.

We have Efik community in America, but there is no way you can have Obong of Calabar in the U.S.

Where do you derive your power from to become a king? It is either by statutes or by nature, so where do you derive yours from?

Mr Edet said the Igbo community in Cross River have accepted not to coronate anybody as their king in Cross River, and for showing such understanding he said he has directed the Cross River State council of traditional rulers to attend their ceremony to cement the relationship and encourage inter-ethnic unity and peace in the state.
Delta State Government has approved N300 million for students of the state origin that applied for the 2017/2018 academic session Students Special Assistance Scheme.

The State Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah, disclosed this on Wednesday in Asaba, the state capital while briefing journalists on the resolutions of the weekly State Executive Council meeting.

He said the meeting was presided over by the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa.

According to Mr Ukah, N312.5 million required by the State Bursary and Scholarship Board to successfully implement the 2017/2018 scheme was approved by the council.

Also, the sum of N473, 832.8 million being the balance of the state counterpart funding for the Universal Basic Education was also approved.

He said that the council also approved the appointments of two traditional rulers.

His Royal Majesty, Prof. Paul Oghenero Okumagba, the Idama II, the Orosuen of Okere-Urhobo Kingdom in Warri South and His Royal Majesty, Henry Ezeagwukpo Jegbefume I, the Obi of Akumazi Kingdom in Ika North East Local Government got the nod of the council.

The council also approved the construction of Abavo Circular Road (Phase II), Abavo in Ika South LGA.

It also approve the completion of the dualisation and rehabilitation of Emore Road in Oleh town, Isoko South and the construction of Ugbomro Road (Sector II), from Ughelli/Warri expressway junction at Iteregbi village to the main gate of Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Uvwie LGA, he said.

Mr Ukah said government also approved the construction of Akumazi/Owerre Olubor/Ekwuoma Link Road (Phase II) with a 265 metres spur to Obior/Ogwashi-Uku Road.

The construction of Hon. Abinoko Way, Community Road and Ekuobodo village road, (Phase I), Ekuobodo village, Mosogar, Ethiope West and the reconstruction of Igbodo/Obior Road in Ika North East/ Aniocha North LGAs were also approved by the council.

Also the construction of Ajagbodudu township roads, including Diden Road to link the community to Oghoreki-Ajagbodudu Road to Ugbenu/Koko Road, Ajagbodudu Town Hall Road and Dudu Road,he said.

He assured the people that government would take advantage of the dry season to speed up work on various roads across the state.

(NAN)
Photo: The Canadian Press Wildfire evacuee Greg Gibson looks for information about his missing neighbours at The Neighborhood Church in Chico, Calif., on Tuesday.

Ernest Foss was a musician who gave lessons out of his home when he lived in San Francisco, where an amplifier that ran the length of a wall served as the family's living room couch. Carl Wiley refurbished tires for Michelin. Jesus Fernandez, known as "Zeus," was described as a loving father and loyal friend.

They were among the first victims identified in the aftermath of the deadliest, most destructive wildfire in California history, an inferno blamed for at least 48 deaths, with authorities ramping up the search Tuesday for still more souls.

The flames all but obliterated the Northern California town of Paradise, population 27,000, and ravaged surrounding areas last Thursday. About 7,700 homes were destroyed.

The exact number of missing was unclear, but many friends and relatives of those living in the fire zone said they hadn't heard from loved ones. Some went to shelters looking for the missing.

Efforts were underway to bring in mobile morgues, cadaver dogs, a rapid DNA analysis system for identifying victims, and an additional 150 search-and-rescue personnel on top of 13 teams already looking for remains  a grim indication that the death toll would almost surely rise.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea's office has identified four of the victims, publicly naming three.

James Wiley said sheriff's deputies informed him that his father, Carl, was among the dead, but the younger Wiley hadn't been able to leave his property in the fire area to see for himself. The elder Wiley, 77, was a tire-recapper, and the family lived in Alaska for many years before moving to Butte County decades ago.

James Wiley said his father was a stoic veteran, and the two had not spoken in six years. "Hey, I lost him a long time ago," the younger man said.

Foss, 63, moved to Paradise eight years ago because the high cost of living pushed him out of the San Francisco Bay Area, according to his daughter, Angela Loo. He had swollen limbs and couldn't walk. He had also been on oxygen.

Loo told KTVU-TV in Oakland that her father taught music out of their home in San Francisco and turned the living room into a studio.

"I love that he shared his gift of music with me and so many others during his lifetime," she said. "He would want to be remembered for being a San Franciscan through and through."

Fernandez, a 48-year-old Concow resident, also died.

Myrna Pascua, whose husband was best friends with the man known as "Zeus," called him a "tireless provider, a dependable and loyal friend, a considerate neighbour, and loving father. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him."

Five days after the blaze, over 1,000 people were at more than a half-dozen shelters set up for evacuees. At the Neighbourhood Church in Chico, counsellors, chaplains and nursing students from California State University, Chico, were available to help.

Volunteers cooked meals, and there was a large bulletin board with information about missing people.

Eddie Lazarom, who fled Paradise on foot before getting a lift from a UPS truck, was among those staying at the church. He said he had yet to hear from his three grandchildren, ages 22, 24 and 28.

"I am really worried about them. They have common sense, I'm sure, but I'd hate to find out later that they burned up," he said.

Before the Paradise tragedy, the deadliest single fire on record in California was a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29.

At the other end of the state, firefighters made progress against a massive blaze that has killed two people in star-studded Malibu and destroyed well over 400 structures in Southern California .
The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has threatened to order the arrest of a senator, Eyinnaya Abaribe and another surety who undertook to produce Nnamdi Kanu ahead of his bail in April, 2017.

Apart from Mr Abaribe, two others who stood surety for Mr Kanu are a Jewish priest, Immanuel Shalom; and an accountant and Abuja resident, Tochukwu Uchendu.

On Wednesday, the court also varied the bail condition given to Mr Kanu in his trial for alleged treason.

The court presided by Binta Nyako said it was varying the bail conditions because Mr Abaribes lawyer, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, told the court that the senator was attending an oversight function and could not attend the trial.

I have taken the view that the oversight function is more important than this hearing.

I do not have a proceeding against the sureties. All I want is for them to produce my Nnamdi Kanu.

In this proceeding where this men have lost my Nnamdi Kanu, they are going to be in my trouble, because I gave him to them.

Among the three sureties who had undertaken to produce Mr Kanu, only one was in court on Wednesday.

On the varied bail condition, the judge ordered the three sureties to deposit the bond of N100 million each to the court registrar within two months.

Mrs Nyako said the court would make further directives after hearing the current applications by the sureties.

Mr Kanu was recently seen in Isreal in a video intended among other things to prove his existence.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Kanu, in another video posted on Youtube, also narrated how he escaped from Nigeria during a military exercise in his native Abia State.

Justice Nyako warned the sureties to avoid acts that suggest they lack respect for the court.
An Islamic rights group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has applauded the Lagos State Government for giving approval to the use of Hijabs by Muslim female students in schools across the state.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that the Lagos State government on Tuesday issued a circular on the approval of Hijabs.

The content of the circular was communicated by the Lagos Chapter of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

Reacting to the development on Wednesday, MURIC Director, Ishaq Akintola, in a statement urged government agencies and employers of labour to abide by the decision.

Though belated, it is better to be late than never to do it at all. The wind of change is sweeping across the South-west and no state government wants to be caught within the camp of reactionaries.

We call on all government agencies and employers of labour to note this development. It is a monumental decision. The patience exhibited by Lagos Muslims has paid off. A quiet and peaceful revolution is ongoing and it is in the best interest of all men and women of goodwill to join the train before it leaves the station so that they may not be left behind.

Reports reaching MURIC headquarters say the Tutor General Permanent Secretary (TGPS) of District 6 has also issued a circular directing all school principals within the jurisdiction to allow female Muslim students who wish to use the hijab to do so. We are yet to hear anything from Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. We are therefore calling on the remaining five TGPS to follow suit. Delay will imply insurbodination and sabotage of governments good intention.

We congratulate the Lagos State chapters of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), The Muslim Congress (TMC), the Muslim Teachers Association of Nigeria (MUTAN) and the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN). We commend them for their steadfastness, patience and forbearance.

In conclusion, we charge all the Islamic organisations in the state to immediately set up monitoring units for the successful implementation of the state governments directive.

Muslim parents should be mobilised to visit schools for the purpose of ensuring compliance. We warn that nobody should take the law into his or her hands. Defaulting principals and recalcitrant teachers should be reported to the nearest office of Islamic organisations, the statement read.

Shuaib Ayinla, a member of Education Right Campaign (ERC) in Lagos, said: We are glad that the society is getting liberated. This is a welcome development and proves that if we demand our rights, we can get them regardless of how long it takes. Education is a right and students should not be denied because of their religion.

Also reacting, Mulikat Lawal, a parent whose children attend Badore Community Secondary School in Ajah told PREMIUM TIMES that the development will further strengthen the students to know that their religion has its place in law.

The state government has done perfectly well and this will further strengthen the belief of our children and establish that their religion has its place in law. We are certain that the case in Ibadan will also be treated accordingly.

If Nigerian law school can approve the use of hijab, it will be silly for states to be hardened on this. It is the right of these pupils and it is good that the community at large is fighting for them now, she said.

Mukaila Afolabi, a secondary school teacher in Ajah, told our correspondent that she hopes the policy will be implemented without hiccups.

Since the government already made an order that Hijab should be allowed, it will be difficult for any teacher to punish the students or deny them entry when we see them putting one. We only hope they will follow the instructions of Government that the Hijabs should be smart and be in line with the colour of the uniform.

The approval in Lagos is coming a day after the International School of the University of Ibadan in neighbouring Oyo State was shut after crisis erupted when some female students were stopped for wearing Hijabs
Nigerias commercial nerve centre, Lagos, faces huge threats from climate change and attendant higher crime rates over the next 30 years, researchers at UK-based Verisk Maplecroft said Wednesday in a report.

The report said Africas rapidly expanding cities face huge threats which could bring knock-on effects such as higher crime rates and civil unrest.

The report, according to Reuters, found that 84 of the worlds 100 fastest-growing cities are at extreme risk from the impacts of a warming planet. Seventy-nine of these cities are in Africa, it added.

The group contains 15 of the continents capital cities and many of its commercial hubs, including Nigerias most populous city, Lagos; Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Tanzanian business hub Dar es Salaam; and Angolas capital city, Luanda.

Many of these cities at extreme risk are grappling with high poverty levels, expanding slums, weak governance and limited ability to adapt to climate shifts, the report said.

The risk analysts combined their own annual index of vulnerability to climate change with United Nations projections on urban population growth to 2035.

According to the report, fast-rising populations act as a risk multiplier in lower-income cities with poor public infrastructure and inadequate disaster response mechanisms, with more people putting a strain on limited resources.

An environmental analyst with Verisk Maplecroft, Niall Smith, warned wilder weather and rising sea levels could underpin a whole host of secondary impacts and social issues such as poverty, violence and resource insecurity.

That is something we would foresee as getting much worse in these high and extreme risk locations, he added.

On his part, Mami Mizutori, head of the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said rapid, unplanned urbanisation where slums are being created overnight is increasing disaster risk in many developing world cities.

Ms Mizutori added that municipal authorities should delineate red zones and prevent the construction of new, informal settlements in dangerous areas. She said more effort is needed to help rural communities cope with the harsher climatic conditions that are pushing people into cities to seek work.

Unless we tackle the development issue as a whole, the urbanisation that is becoming a risk driver is not going to stop, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The report showed that some Asian metropolises also came high on the risk list, highlighting the substantial economic exposure to climate change in major emerging markets.

Using International Monetary Fund projections, it estimated the amount of GDP at risk in the cities over the next five years. On that measure, Jakarta led the 10 cities rated as extreme risk, with $233 billion exposed to climate change in 2023, followed by Manila with $166 billion at risk.

The researchers said businesses operating in developing-world megacities should do more to build resilience to climate shocks to protect assets and staff, while satisfying investors they are factoring climate risk into their planning.

Richard Hewston, a principal environment and climate change analyst with Verisk Maplecroft, said governments must also consider how their decisions will play out in the future, even if their top priority is to aid residents hit by disasters or conflicts.

In an ideal world, you would be putting things in place that provide immediate relief but are sustainable for the next 20 to 30 years, and incorporate an element of climate change adaptation, he said.

In August, Lagos was ranked as the third worst city to live in among 140 cities worldwide. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, EIUs 2018 ranking of the worlds most liveable cities, the city was ranked 138th of the 140 countries ranked on the index.

The report noted that global business centres tend to be victims of their own success because the big city buzz they enjoy could overstretch infrastructure and cause higher crime rates.
A former aide to Ayodele Fayose (ex-Ekiti State Governor) on public communication, Lere Olayinka, has said he would not appear before a committee set up by the new Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, to appraise sanctions placed on the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State by the National Broadcasting Commission.

The sanctions were placed on the service on July 14.

The commission had ordered the closure of Ekiti Radio 91.5FM and Ekiti Television (EKTV) after it allegedly released the Ekiti July 14 governorship election results while the collation was ongoing.

The broadcast service was said to have violated a cardinal election guideline which empowers only the Independent National Electoral Commission as the sole agency to declare election results.

The stations had remained shut despite the coming in of a new administration of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, the Fayemi government last week established a committee to probe the circumstances leading to the closure of the stations.

The government mandated the committee to find out how Mr Olayinka, who served as the special assistant to Mr Fayose, and was the acting Director General of the broadcast service during the last administration, managed the broadcast stations leading up to the closure.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Mr Olayinka said he would not be appearing before the committee.

While it is an established fact that as I write today, November 14, 2018, I am yet to receive any official invitation from the so-called committee to that effect; I wish to state expressly that I am not under any obligation to appear before the committee or any other one for that matter, he said.

From its actions so far, especially the press statement in which it referred to the date of yesterday as November 23, 2018, it is clear that the said committee was not properly briefed on its scope, powers and functions, hence its ill decision to embark on a naked dance at Oja Oba Market, advertising its ignorance to the entire world by acting like a judicial panel or a court of law.

I, therefore wish to inform those who set the committee up for a pre-determined purpose that I, Lere Olayinka will not appear before any committee of a government that was faultily established with the stolen mandate of Ekiti people.

Stating the reasons why he would not be appearing, Mr Olayinka said since one of the major reasons for setting up the committee is to find out what led to the closure of Ekiti FM 91.5 and EKTV on July 14, 2018, he would advise the committee to seek audience with Governor Fayemi, who he said, engineered the closure through his Abuja collaborators.

It is an undisputable/notorious fact that the closure of Ekiti Radio and Television was part of the grand plot to take the State by force and also illegally. Since that sinister motive has been achieved and Fayemi is now the imposing governor, he should rather see to the reopening of the broadcast stations instead of seeking to rub the mud of his act of wickedness against Ekiti and the innocent staff of the BSES who only did their jobs as directed by their employer on others, he said.

It is on record that the N2 million recommencement fee imposed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was paid. Yet, the suspension was not lifted.

It is also on record that while receiving his Certificate of Return from INEC, Fayemi boasted openly that the Radio and Television stations wont be reopened until October 16, 2018.

Therefore, Fayemi, the mastermind of the closure of EKTV and Ekiti Radio should reopen the stations.

Mr Olayinka also argued that since the committee is fact-finding one, its priority should be the reopening of the stations.

My question is: can a fact-finding committee function effectively without having access to the corporations requisite documents and equipment? he posited.

He noted that the civil servants, who are directors in the BSES are custodians of the corporations relevant information who should be summoned by the committee, rather than an individual, personnel or group of persons who are no longer in the employment of the government.

The committee is therefore advised to seek relevant information on BSES from the directors of administration and supplies, finance, engineering and others, Mr Olayinka said.

Also, as said earlier, the committee should appeal to Governor Fayemi to get the stations reopened so that proper assessment of the stations functional and non-functional equipments can be carried out.

And on a lighter mood, since we are now in the era of Executive Orders in Ekiti, maybe the governor can as well sign Executive Order 419 to reopen the radio and television stations that he closed to prevent the Ayo Fayose-led government from communicating with the good people of Ekiti who rely on the broadcast stations for information after the July 14, 2018 governorship election was rigged as planned.

Let me conclude for now by urging members of the so-called committee as well as those helping them to appraise their ignorance and ill decisions to advise Governor Fayemi to first wash his hands clean so that when next he is coming to equity, he will come with clean hands.

Mr Olayinka was officially summoned to appear before the committee on Tuesday but failed to appear.

A fresh summons has been prepared by the committee, urging him to appear before the committee next week.

A statement by the committees Secretary, T.I. Ganiyu, said the committee noted Mr Olayinkas refusal to appear before it on Tuesday, November 13, 2018 despite the wide publicity given to the invitations.

Mr Lere Olayinka, did not appear before the panel despite the fact that it was widely publicised on all the media platforms in the state, Mr Ganiyu said.

The panel has decided to give the media aide to the former governor another opportunity, in this regards, so the panel has decided to re-invite him again to appear before it on Monday, November 19, 2018.

The re-invitation just like the previous one will be given wide publicity too.

Meanwhile, the chief press secretary to the governor, Olayinka Oyebode, told PREMIUM TIMES that it was possible that the former media aide to Mr Fayose did not receive the first invitation, but a new invitation had been dispatched to his last known address, while the invitation had been well publicised in the news media.

Reacting to Mr Olayinkas statement declaring he would not appear before the committee, Mr Oyebode noted that the fact-finding committee would take the necessary steps to ensure he attended the session and defend himself against several allegations levelled against him.

A number of critical stakeholders have been attending the sittings of the committee and making several revelations, he said.

I am sure the committee will do the needful to reach him, as he has been rescheduled to appear next week, the official said.
There was uproar in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Wednesday after police officers sacked the popular Ojurin Lagos-Ibadan Motor Park in response to an attack on a Divisional Police Officer. The officer was attached to Dugbe divisional police headquarters in Osogbo and was allegedly attacked by members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers.

The drivers engaged themselves in fisticuffs over the leadership of the union, a situation which deteriorated on Wednesday.

They were said to have attacked themselves with dangerous weapons, leaving many of them injured.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the drivers inflicted cuts and others severe injuries on themselves.

While the fight was raging, a member of the union who received a cut on the head, was rushed into the police station with blood dripping down his body.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that after receiving the report of the injured at the station, police officers, led by the Divisional Police Officer, named as Olugbemileke, arrived the scene of the fight, but were confronted by rampaging drivers who turned their violence against the police.

The DPO was injured in the fracas, a development that greatly angered the police officers.

Men of the mobile police formation were immediately mobilised and they invaded the motor parks, arresting a host of other drivers involved in the melee.

While the fray lasted, traders abandoned their wares. Alongside travellers, they scampered for safety deserting the motor park almost immediately.

Some of those arrested claimed that they were mechanics at the motor park and not drivers, arguing that the gladiators had escaped from the scene.

The Commissioner of Police in the State, Fimihan Adeoye, while confirming the incident assured that the matter would be properly investigated.
Photo: The Canadian Press Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen speaks during a roundtable on immigration policy with President Donald Trump at Morrelly Homeland Security Center, in Bethpage, N.Y.

President Donald Trump is weighing an administration-wide shakeup as he looks to prepare his White House for divided government, but it is unclear who is going and who is staying.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was thought to be out as soon as this week, according to two people with knowledge of the issue, but she is now likely to remain in the post for a longer period because there is no obvious successor in place.

Trump has soured on Nielsen and White House chief of staff John Kelly, in part over frustration that his administration is not doing more to address what he has called a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the people. But the scope of the contemplated changes is far broader, as Trump gears up for a wave of Democratic oversight requests and to devote more effort to his own re-election campaign.

According to people familiar with the situation, Trump is also discussing replacing Kelly with Vice-President Mike Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers. Kelly, a retired Marine general, has been credited with bringing order and process to a chaotic West Wing, but he has fallen out of favour with the president as well as presidential daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Ayers, a seasoned campaign operative, would restore a political-mindset to the role, but he faces stiff opposition from some corners of the West Wing, with some aides lobbying Trump directly against the move.

Other changes are afoot, as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are being discussed for replacement. And in an extraordinary move Tuesday, first lady Melania Trump's office called publicly for the firing of Trump's deputy national security adviser, Mira Ricardel.

For all of the talk of churn, Trump often expresses frustration with aides and then does not take action. Talk of Kelly's exit has percolated for months and he remains in place.

Nielsen had hoped to complete one year in the job and leave in December, but it appeared unlikely she would last that long, said two sources. Both people who had knowledge of the debate spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Curbing illegal immigration is Trump's signature issue  and one he returns to as a way to rally his most loyal supporters.

But anyone who takes over at Homeland Security is likely to run up against the same problems that Nielsen faced. The administration has already tried to clamp down at the border but those efforts have been largely thwarted or watered down due to legal challenges.

Trump also told allies that he never fully trusted Nielsen, whom he associated with President George W. Bush, a longtime foe. And he told those close to him that he felt, at times, that her loyalty was more toward her longtime mentor  Kelly  than to the president.

Zinke, who faces several ethics investigations, said in interview with The Associated Press on Monday that he has spoken in recent days with Trump, Pence and Kelly about probes into his leadership and they remain supportive. He denied any wrongdoing.
Photo: The Canadian Press Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator

The head of the U.S. space agency says he wants to see Canadian astronauts walking on the moon before long, as part of a first step toward the farther reaches of space.

Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, says he wants Canada's decades-long space partnership with the U.S. to continue as NASA embarks on the creation of its new Lunar Gateway.

The U.S. is seeking broad international support for the next-generation space station it is planning to send into orbit around the moon starting in 2021.

Bridenstine says he wants Canada to contribute its expertise in artificial intelligence and robotics, and that could include a next-generation Canadarm on the Lunar Gateway and more Canadian technology inside.

He says NASA wants to create a "sustainable lunar architecture" that would allow people and equipment to go back and forth to the moon regularly.

"If Canadians want to be involved in missions to the surface of the moon with astronauts, we welcome that. We want to see that day materialize," he said told a small group of journalists in Ottawa today. "We think it would be fantastic for the world to see people on the surface of the moon that are not just wearing the American flag, but wearing the flags of other nations."

He says the return to the moon is a stepping stone to a much more ambitious goal: exploration that could include reaching Mars in the next two decades.

"The moon is, in essence, a proving ground for deeper space exploration," he said.

Bridenstine is in Ottawa for a large gathering of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, where speculation is running high about Canada's possible participation in the U.S. space program.
Photo: The Canadian Press Former Minn. Governor Jesse Ventura talks to reporters after a meeting with Governor-elect Tim Walz inside the state Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. "I'm 67 with a six pack," Ventura said. (

Jesse Ventura returned to his old workplace to advise Minnesota's next governor on transition issues  and took the opportunity to talk up legalizing marijuana.

Ventura said he was invited by Democratic Gov.-elect Tim Walz to a meeting Tuesday at the Capitol. Ventura went through a similar transition after his election upset two decades ago and says he knows how hard it is.

The former wrestler-turned-politician, known as 'The Body', found a receptive audience in Walz, who has expressed support in the past for legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Ventura says Minnesota is "missing the boat" on the economic benefits.

Minnesota currently has a medical marijuana program.
Photo: Nicola Valley Search and Rescue

Gear worth thousands of dollars has been stolen from a search and rescue team in Merritt after thieves broke into a storage facility twice in two days.

Nicola Valley Search and Rescue president Saxon Peters says the break-ins occurred Friday and Saturday at a compound near the Merritt airport.

A post on the team's Facebook page says personal flotation devices, search and rescue jackets, a computer and television were among the items taken, and most were found Sunday in a nearby ditch.

But Peters says other equipment worth more than $8,000 is still missing.

The break-ins also knocked the group's command vehicle out of commission while the RCMP investigation was underway and missing items from the truck were replaced.

Peters says he can't understand why anyone would target a search and rescue organization.

"We rely on this equipment to help other people and why someone would steal from us is beyond me," he says.

The search group says the thieves appear to have been sorting through rescue gear and packing up selected items when they were scared off Friday night, but returned late Saturday to finish the job.

Investigators want to speak to anyone who may have seen suspicious people or vehicles around the Merritt airport last weekend.
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.




Photo: The Canadian Press

EBay is calling on the federal government to legislate an end to the Canada Post contract dispute, warning that quick action is needed to ensure retailers don't lose out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

The manager of the online sales giant's Canadian and Latin American divisions says continued rotating strikes at Canada Post will result in significant losses for small and medium-sized businesses across the country.

While those businesses have adapted as best they can to the strikes that began Oct. 22, Andrea Stairs says in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the adjustments retailers have made so far to avoid delivery disruptions are unsustainable.

Meanwhile, Canada Post says it is now facing an unprecedented backlog of shipments, largely as a result of strikes at its major sorting plants in Vancouver and particularly Toronto.

A spokesman for the Crown corporation says that, as of this morning, there were more than 260 trailers filled with parcels waiting to be unloaded at its Gateway processing plant in Toronto  and that number is expected to rise quickly.

The prime minister warned last week that his government would look at all options to end the labour dispute if there is no significant progress in Canada Post's contract talks with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8445051-qatar-foundation-inauguration-of-sidra/

One of the most ambitious greenfield hospital developments of its kind, Sidra Medicine represents the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser to develop the region's leading academic medical center and provide healthcare of the highest global standards for the people of Qatar and beyond. The high-tech facility is situated in a striking building designed by world-leading architect Cesar Pelli. More than 4,000 highly trained clinical and support staff representing over 95 nationalities have been drawn by the hospital's ambitious vision to care for women, children and young people.

Commenting on the ceremony, Peter Morris, CEO of Sidra Medicine said: "Sidra Medicine's vision is to become a beacon of learning, discovery and exceptional care. Under the leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, we have made incredible progress in a short space of time and laid strong foundations for our future success. At Sidra Medicine we have globally competitive clinicians and scientists working together on a single campus with state-of-the-art equipment and technology in a stunning new hospital."



With access to leading technology ranging from intra-operative MRIs and robotic assisted surgical systems, experts at Sidra Medicine focus on treating a range of highly complex, challenging conditions. Some of the children's specialist services include cardiology, neurology, urology and plastics and craniofacial reconstruction.

The hospital will address the growing need for specialist children's and maternity care by offering services previously unavailable in Qatar, and in many cases across the wider MENA region. It is also pioneering leading biomedical research with the potential to support highly personalized and targeted treatments for specific diseases by collaborating with the Qatar Biobank and the Qatar Genome Programme (QGP). The QGP, a member of QF, is an ambitious population-based project designed to generate genome sequencing and molecular data about the Qatari population and link it to a national electronic medical record system in support of personalized medicine.

Among its many other research priorities, Sidra Medicine focuses on developing detailed epidemiological data to understand the biochemical and molecular diagnosis of childhood diabetes in Qatar. Efforts to build an accurate bank of data showing the causes of diabetes for the entire pediatric population are underway, with the aim to tailor treatment for each child cared for at Sidra Medicine.

Contact:

Farhana Habib

Public Relations

t. +974-4404-2176

m. +974-7478-4648

fcoelho@sidra.org

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/781712/Sidra_Medicine.jpg )





Video:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8445051-qatar-foundation-inauguration-of-sidra/



SOURCE Sidra Medicine
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The International Chodiev Foundation ("ICF"), the charitable foundation established by Dr Patokh Chodiev, today announces the appointment of Nafissa Chodieva and Asal Chodieva to the Audit Committee of the ICF Representative Office in Uzbekistan, further bolstering the expertise across its management team.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/740422/ICF_Logo.jpg )



The ICF's Representative Office in Uzbekistan was established in 28 August 2017, with the main purpose of providing support to the scientific, medical and social projects in the country.The Foundation supports a number of cultural and educational activities, and provides assistance to schools, orphanages and medical institutions for children with disabilities. The ICF is also a key sponsor of the "Uzbekistan 2035" forum, organised by "Buyuk Kelajak", a newly created non-governmental organization that supports the development of Uzbekistan and sets its strategy for 2035.

The activities of the International Chodiev Foundation are governed by the Board of Trustees. Financial control over the activities of the Representative Office of the Fund in Uzbekistan is overseen by the Audit Committe.

Nafissa Chodieva has been appointed Chair of the Audit Committee, bringing to the role a blend of financial acumen gained in an early career in investment banking, with an entrepreneurial and commercial mindset established through her founding of Pout Case, a revolutionary lifestyle brand.

Asal Chodieva joins the management team as a member of the Audit Committee. With extensive experience in philanthropy, predominantly focused on supporting foster homes and orphanages in Uzbekistan, Asal also oversees a number of the foundation's foster home projects in the country.

Recent projects undertaken by the foundation in Uzbekistan include the renovation of specialized boarding schools No.32, Jizzakh and No. 19, Chirakchi, Kashkadarya Region, as well as the renovation of the Muruvvat Foster Home in Karshi.

Kate Elizabeth Maguire, the Head of the Representative Office of the ICF in Uzbekistan, commented: "I am delighted to welcome Nafissa Chodieva and Asal Chodieva to the management team. In addition to their empathy with and understanding of the Foundation's heritage and objectives, both Nafissa and Asal have a strong passion for philanthropy which will be an asset as we continue to grow and broaden our work."

About International Chodiev Foundation (ICF)

The International Chodiev Foundation is a charitable organization, established in 1996 by international businessman and philanthropist Dr Patokh Chodiev. The Foundation's work comprises a broad range of programmes focused on international relations, education, publishing, philanthropy and the arts and is based on the following three central pillars: fostering Russia-Japan relations; supporting The Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO); and aiding children.

To find out more about International Chodiev Foundation please visit:

www.internationalchodievfoundation.org or find us on Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE International Chodiev Foundation (ICF)
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

14 November 2018

Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc

(Conroy Gold or the Company)

FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31 MAY 2018

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

DIRECTORATE CHANGE

Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc (AIM: CGNR), the gold exploration and development Company focused on Ireland and Finland is pleased to report its audited accounts for the year to 31 May 2018.

Highlights:

Excellent drilling results at Clontibret including the discovery of an extensive gold zone and additional major targets discovered within the Clontibret area. Updated JORC compliant mineral resource of 517,000 ounces.

Updated estimated Exploration Target* of 8.8Moz gold for the combined Clontibret, Clay Lake and Glenish areas.

Further exploration potential on other licences along the Orlock Bridge Fault.

Post period:

Discovery of a new area of bedrock gold mineralisation halfway between the Clontibret gold deposit and the Corcaskea gold target in Ireland . The outcrop lies to the north of the Clontibret gold deposit and to the south of the Corcaskea gold target.

Final Results for the Year to 31 May 2018

The full audited annual report and accounts for the year to 31 May 2018 (Annual Report) can be viewed below:

ANNUAL REPORT

The Annual Report will be posted to shareholders today and will be published on the Companys website today. Key elements can also be viewed at the bottom of this announcement.

Annual General Meeting

The annual general meeting of the Company (AGM) will be held at The Davenport Hotel, Gandon Suite, 8-10 Merrion Street, Dublin 2 at 10.30 on 7 December 2018. A copy of the notice of AGM can be viewed on the Companys website.

Directorate Change

Dr Karl Keegan has decided he will not be putting himself forward for re-election at the AGM due to other business commitments. Dr Keegan will therefore cease to be a director of the Company following the AGM.

Chairman, Professor Richard Conroy commented:

We have had a series of positive results throughout the year and this has continued into the current financial year. The Company has made excellent progress in its exploration and development programme overall, and I look forward to this continuing on an accelerated basis.

For further information please contact :

Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc Tel: +353-1-479-6180 Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman Allenby Capital Limited (Nomad) Tel: +44-20-3328-5656 Virginia Bull/Nick Harriss Brandon Hill Capital Limited (Broker) Tel: +44-20-3463-5000 Jonathan Evans Lothbury Financial Services Tel: +44-20-3290-0707 Michael Padley Hall Communications Tel: +353-1-660-9377 Don Hall

Visit the website at: www.conroygold.com

* An Exploration Target is not, and must not be construed as a mineral resource. It is designed to provide guidance as to the mineral exploration potential of the defined area.

Key Information Extracted from Annual Report

Chairmans Statement

Dear Shareholder,

I have great pleasure in presenting your Companys Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 May 2018.

The year has been a very positive one, during which the Company has reported further excellent drilling results and an updated (JORC compliant) mineral resource of 517,000 ounces gold in the Clontibret gold deposit and, post period, an updated estimated Exploration Target* of 8.8m ounces gold for the combined Clontibret, Clay Lake and Glenish gold target areas.

Business Development

Your Companys business development strategy of building on its exploration success and at the same time continuing to move forward with its planned gold mine at Clontibret in Co. Monaghan has resulted in a series of positive results during the year.

These included further excellent drilling results at Clontibret including the discovery of an extensive gold zone, an updated Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliant mineral resource of 517,000 ounces gold in the Clontibret deposit, with an increase in gold grade of 26% and, post period, an updated estimated Exploration Target of 8.8Moz gold for the combined Clontibret, Clay Lake and Glenish areas in Ireland.

The Clontibret, Clay Lake and Glenish gold targets are situated in the northeast of the Companys licences. Clay Lake is located 7km northeast of Clontibret and Glenish 7km southwest of Clontibret. The targets lie along the Orlock Bridge Fault, a major geological structure in a terrane known as the Longford  Down Massif.

Ireland is already well known as an international zinc province, indeed the Conroy management were involved in the discovery and development of the world class lead/zinc mine at Galmoy in Co. Kilkenny which led to the revival of the Irish base metals industry. Now the gold potential of Ireland, particularly in its northern half, is becoming increasingly recognised and, in this, your Companys gold discoveries have played a major role.

Exploration licences in Ireland give the holder the exclusive right to apply for a mining licence. Ireland is a stable, mining and business friendly jurisdiction which, in 2017, came first in the world for policy perception and fourth in the world for mining investment in the prestigious Fraser Index listings.

Your Company, building on its exploration success, looks forward to mining development on its extensive (700km2) and 100% owned licences in Ireland.

(*An Exploration Target is not and must not be construed as a mineral resource. It is designed to provide guidance as to the mineral exploration potential of the defined area.)

2018 Drilling Programme

The recent drilling programme at Clontibret which commenced in February 2018 led to the discovery, in the first hole drilled, of additional extensive gold zones, with wide mineralised intersections reported and with grades of up to 24g/t gold. In view of the results the drill programme was increased from the original planned 1,000m to over 1,700m. Further excellent results were reported (see Table 1 in the Annual Report) including an extensive gold zone 30 metres to the south of a historic antimony mine in the area.

The drilling programme concentrated on the Tullybuck-Lisglassan area of Clontibret which measures less than 20 per cent of the overall 1.5km target area at Clontibret or less than 5 per cent of the combined Clontibret, Clay Lake and Glenish target area.

Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Clontibret

An updated mineral resource for the Clontibret gold deposit estimate was prepared by TetraTech Inc (TetraTech). The resource estimate was developed to JORC Standard and represented a detailed geological revision on the scoping study previously undertaken by Tetra Tech in 2011 (See Table 2, in the Annual Report).

The new resource estimate represents an increase in gold grade of 26% and an increase in contained ounces in the indicated category of 23%.

As part of the study additional opportunities to increase the size of the resource were identified. There is strong geological evidence to suggest that the gold lodes have a more extensive strike length than previously interpreted  up to a least 850m, and mineralisation remains open in all directions.

This cut-off grade was supported by using the following:

A mining cost of US$1.88 /t

/t Processing costs of US$13.04 /t

/t G&A costs of US$1.0 /t

/t A strip ratio of 9.4:1

Gold recovery: 84%

Clontibret  Clay Lake  Glenish Gold Target Estimates of Potential Contained Ounces Gold

An Exploration Target is a statement or estimate of the exploration potential of a mineral deposit in a defined geological setting where the statement or estimate, quoted as a range of tonnes and a range of grade (or quality), relates to mineralisation for which there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource.

The Exploration Target estimated in this report, is an assessment of actual exploration results that define the exploration potential of a mineral occurrence supported by drilling, trenching, geological mapping, structural interpretation, prospecting, sampling, analyses, and/or nearby geological analogies (e.g. the Clontibret deposit which has a JORC compliant resource). The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target are essentially conceptual in nature.

It must be noted that there are geological interpretations and assumptions made in these estimates and it is inappropriate to apply any economic parameters to the calculations. The estimates represent an Exploration Target as defined in the JORC guidelines and must not be construed as Resources or Reserves.

Your Companys licence area, including the Clontibret/Clay Lake/Glenish area, has excellent infrastructure. The N2 highway passes within 2km of the Clontibret-Clay Lake targets whilst the N54 passes across the top of the licences. Additionally, there are two 110kV power lines which traverse the Orlock Bridge Fault and a third 110kV line which runs parallel to all the prospects and is never further than 5km away. The area also has a skilled local workforce in local accommodation and long-term employment is particularly important in regional areas.

Your Company, which is fully conscious of its social and environmental responsibilities, looks forward to developing on a sustainable basis, its first gold mine in the region.

Clontibret/Clay Lake  Glenish Gold Target Estimates Of Potential Contained Ounces Of Gold

The Company has updated its exploration target to include the Glenish gold target to the southwest of the Clontibret and Clay Lake gold targets. This updated Exploration Target, has been calculated by Professor Garth Earls using (1) a 5% drilling success estimate to reflect the drilling success rate to date in the area, (2) the level of geological data available, (3) the understanding of the gold mineralisation in the area and, (4) using 2 g/t Au, the Clontibret deposit JORC grade, as the preferred comparator of grade across all three gold-in-soil anomalies. The calculations are based on coherent gold-in-soil anomalies greater than 10ppb Au.

This results in an updated Exploration Target of 8.8 million ounces of gold to a depth of 200m, excluding the already defined 517,000 ounce JORC resource at Clontibret, within the north-eastern area of the Companys licences (see Table 3 in the Annual Report).

To put this Exploration Target into worldwide industry perspective, your Companys technical staff have drawn a gold trend comparison between the Orlock Bridge Fault zone and the Boulder-Lefroy gold zone in Australia which is 100km long and has produced in excess of 85Moz since its discovery and still has many producing mines.

New discoveries continue to be made despite the region being explored for many decades. There are structural similarities between the Boulder-Lefroy shear zone and the Orlock Bridge Fault zone in your Companys licence area. The major difference is that the Orlock Bridge Fault area has much less exploration to date and there are many known targets waiting to be drilled.

Further Exploration Potential

In addition to the Clontibret/Clay Lake and Glenish gold target areas there is further exploration potential on the Companys other licences along the Orlock Bridge Fault. These targets include Slieve Glah, a large and very promising target 40km to the south of Clontibret, where the Orlock Bridge Fault undergoes a marked strike-swing. Such strike-swings can act as focal points for mineralisation.

Other gold targets in the Longford  Down Massif include Rockcorry and Tullyvin which are large gold-in-soil anomalies along the Orlock Bridge Fault which remain to be tested. These targets lie in an area termed the central structural zone between Slieve Glah and Clontibret. Other gold-in-soil anomalies within the licence area along the Orlock Bridge Fault in the Longford  Down Massif also remain to be tested.

Other Targets in Ireland And Finland

Exploration also continues for gold, zinc and other metals on the Companys other exploration properties in Ireland and also on your Companys Finnish exploration licences. Finland is highly prospective for gold and, at Kittila in Northern Finland, hosts Europes largest gold mine.

Finance

The loss after taxation for the financial year ended 31 May 2018 was 745,485 (2017: 431,922) and the net assets as at 31 May 2018 were 17,874,350 (2017: 16,760,857). During the year, the Company raised 1,000,000 by way of a placing and subscription for ordinary shares in the Company. Warrants taken up by Managing Director, Ms Maureen Jones and I, raised a further 166,680 during the year.

During the year the Company cancelled the admission of its ordinary shares to trading on ESM. The Companys ordinary shares continue to be admitted to trading on AIM.

On 28 August 2018, the Company raised 500,000 (556,545) through a placing of 3,636,365 ordinary shares of 0.001 in the capital of the Company (the Placing Shares) at a price of 0.1375 sterling per Placing Share, being a premium of 20 per cent to the closing mid-market price on 24 August 2018.

Directors and Staff

I would like to express my deep appreciation of the support and dedication of all the directors, consultants and staff, which despite all the difficulties, has made possible the continued progress and success which the Company has achieved. I would like to pay particular tribute to Dr. Karl Keegan, who will not be going forward for re-election, for his excellent contribution to the Board.

Future Outlook

Your Company has continued to make excellent progress in its exploration and development programme. I look forward to this continuing on an accelerated basis as we target a multi-million ounce gold resource in Ireland and move towards mine development at Clontibret.

Professor Richard Conroy

Chairman

Extract from the Independent Auditors Report

The following section is extracted from the Independent Auditors Report, but shareholders should read in full the Independent Auditors Report contained in the Annual Report.

Material uncertainty related to going concern

We draw your attention to Note 1 in the financial statements, which indicates that the Group and Parent Company incurred a net loss of 745,485 during the year ended 31 May 2018 and, as of that date, the Group and Parent Company had net current liabilities of 2,953,825 and 2,607,867 respectively.

In response to this, we:

Obtained an understanding of the groups and companys controls over the preparation of cash flow forecasts and approval of the projections and assumptions used in cash flow forecasts to support the going concern assumption and assessed the design and implementation of these controls;

We evaluated managements plans and their feasibility by testing the key assumptions used in the cash flow forecast provided by agreeing the inputs to historical run rates, expenditure commitments and other supporting documentation;

Inspected confirmations received by the Group and Parent Company from the Directors and former Directors that they will not seek repayment of amounts owed to them by the Group and Parent Company within 12 months of the date of approval of the financial statements, unless the Group and/or Parent Company has sufficient funds to repay;

Inspected the confirmation received from Karelian Diamond Resources Plc that it does not intend to seek repayment of amounts owed by the Group and Parent Company within 12 months of the date of approval of the financial statements, unless the Group and/or Parent Company has sufficient funds to repay;

Tested the clerical accuracy of the cash flow forecast model;

Assessed the adequacy of the disclosures made in the financial statements.

As stated in Note 1, these events or conditions along with other matters as set forth in Note 1 indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on Groups and Parent Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.

Consolidated Income Statement for the financial year ended 31 May 2018

Note 2018 2017   Continuing operations Operating expenses 2 (745,498) (431,922) Finance income  interest 13 - Loss before taxation 3 (745,485) (431,922) Income tax expenses 5 - - Loss for the financial year (745,485) (431,922) Loss per share Basic loss per share 6 (0.0485) (0.0392)

Diluted loss per share 6 (0.0396) (0.0392)

The total loss for the financial year is entirely attributable to equity holders of the Company.

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the financial year ended 31 May 2018

2018 2017   Loss for the financial year (745,485) (431,922) Income/expense recognised in other comprehensive income

-

- Total comprehensive expense for the financial year (745,485) (431,922)

The total comprehensive income for the financial year is entirely attributable to equity holders of the Company.

Consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 May 2018



Note 31 May

2018 31 May

2017   Assets Non-current assets Intangible assets 8 21,000,286 19,659,104 Property, plant and equipment 9 13,232 15,116 Total non-current assets 21,013,518 19,674,220 Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 11 233,161 19,704 Other receivables 10 72,298 98,980 Total current assets 305,459 118,684 Total assets 21,318,977 19,792,904 Equity Capital and reserves Called up share capital 14 20,057 11,014 Called up deferred share capital 14 10,504,431 10,504,431 Share premium 14 12,174,285 10,649,252 Capital conversion reserve fund 14 30,617 30,617 Share-based payments reserve 17 995,489 1,542,961 Retained deficit (5,850,529) (5,977,408) Total equity 17,874,350 16,760,867 Liabilities Non-current liabilities Directors loans 13 185,343 277,287 Total non-current liabilities 185,343 277,287 Current liabilities Trade and other payables 12 3,259,284 2,754,750 Total current liabilities 3,259,284 2,754,750 Total liabilities 3,444,627 3,032,037 Total equity and liabilities 21,318,977 19,792,904

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 13 November 2018 and authorised for issue on 13 November 2018.

Consolidated statement of cash flows for the financial year ended 31 May 2018

2018 2017   Cash flows from operating activities Loss for the financial year (745,485) (431,922) Adjustments for: Depreciation 1,884 3,779 Expense recognised in consolidated income statement in respect of equity settled share-based payments

74,621

15,346 Increase in payables 665,196 460,066 Decrease/(increase) in receivables 26,682 (60,646) Net cash provided/(outflow) by operating activities 22,898 (13,377) Cash flows from investing activities Expenditure on intangible assets (1,042,705) (898,917) Purchase of property, plant and equipment - (2,745) Cash used in investing activities (1,042,705) (901,662) Cash flows from financing activities Issue of share capital 1,534,076 - Share issue costs (48,206) - (Payments to)/advances from Karelian Diamond Resources P.L.C. (160,662) 105,035 (Repayments of)/advances from Directors (91,944) 142,000 Net cash provided by financing activities 1,233,264 247,035 Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 213,457 (668,004) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of financial year 19,704 687,708 Cash and cash equivalents at end of financial year 233,161 19,704

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these audited consolidated financial statements.

SOURCE Allenby Capital Limited
Continued Delivery of Growth with Investment for the Long-term

NUNEATON, England, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Holland & Barrett International Limited (Holland & Barrett), the leading European health and wellness retailer, today announces its preliminary results for the year to 30 September 2018.

John Walden, Chairman, commented:

"Holland & Barrett delivered a strong financial performance in 2018 with positive revenue, like for like sales and EBITDA growth, underpinned by significant growth in digital revenues. These results are particularly favourable against a backdrop of challenging and rapidly changing retail markets. As the newly appointed Chairman, I am looking forward to working with the talented Holland & Barrett team and developing an ambitious strategic plan - to build digital leadership and a global platform for delivering the most trusted, ethical health and wellness products and services."

Financial Highlights

Group revenues increased 7.1% to 702.5m

Group like-for-like sales increased 3.9% (38th consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth)

Group digital sales grew 32.2% with digital participation of 10.1%

Group Operating Profit (EBITDA) increased 1.3% to 152.1m

Business Highlights

Significant strengthening of leadership team with multiple key hires

Continued innovation including the launch of Healthbox subscription service, and new product development which comprised 8% of Group revenues

Strong performance in several key categories with Vitamins, Minerals and Herbal Supplements (VMHS) in the UK & Ireland growing 15.3% and Clean Beauty growing 10.2%.

growing 15.3% and Clean Beauty growing 10.2%. 66 new stores globally, including 15 new concession models within Tesco stores in the UK and Ireland

Continued development of Holland & Barrett internationally, with revenue growing 9.3%

Successful transition of ownership to L1 Retail

m FY2018 FY2017 YoY Growth UK and Ireland 561.8m 527.3m 6.5% International 140.6m 128.6m 9.3% Total Group Revenue 702.4m 655.9m 7.1%







Total Group LfL Sales 3.9% 4.6%









Group Operating Profit (EBITDA) 152.1m 150.2m 1.3%

Peter Aldis, Chief Executive, commented:

"I am pleased by the strong performance in the business this year. We have just completed our 38th consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth, which is a milestone achievement we are very proud of. I am delighted that we have managed to attract a number of strong hires to the Executive Board over the last 12 months and am pleased by how well the team has come together in a short space of time. Looking forward under our new owners, I am confident that we are well positioned to drive transformation in the face of digital disruption. We expect that 2019 will also be a year of continued investment in the business to provide our customers with the most trusted and innovative range of health and wellness solutions."

Business Review

Overview

Holland & Barrett, a leading health and wellness retailer, has been providing customers with objective advice and helping them navigate and fulfil their health and wellness needs for nearly 150 years. Consumer interest in personal health and wellness is accelerating, technology innovation is improving consumers' access to health-related information, and Holland & Barrett must keep pace with its customers' changing needs.

Holland & Barrett grew its revenues 7.1% during the 2018 financial year on the back of strong like-for-like sales growth of 3.9%, 32.2% growth in digital sales, and new store space. In the UK and Ireland, Holland & Barrett grew its revenues 6.5% during FY18, grew like-for-like sales 3.9% and achieved 32.2% growth in digital sales. It added 34 new stores in the UK and Ireland during the year.

Holland & Barrett now operate 1,077 stores in 5 countries including 830 stores and concessions in the UK and Ireland, and 247 stores internationally in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden. Holland & Barrett also has over 400 franchised locations in 11 countries.

In 2018 Holland & Barrett's aim, working with its new owners who are focused on long-term growth, has been to strengthen its operations to deliver what customers expect of a best-in-class modern retailer, while developing its longer-term strategy to address a rapidly changing environment.

Digital Growth

Technology is dramatically reshaping the retail landscape as consumers increasingly use mobile and other internet devices to communicate, learn, and transact. In FY18, Holland & Barrett began what will be a transformative journey to meet customers' health and wellness needs in a digitally dominated future. It initiated improvements to its capabilities across the business with this end in mind - technology, data, retail standards, merchandising, marketing and supply chain - and have experienced significant digital sales growth during the year of 32.2%.

Additions to Leadership Team

In FY18, in order to prepare the business for a more ambitious future, Holland & Barrett made significant investments in strengthening the business with a number of important additions to the senior management team, including: Steve Carson, Managing Director; Echo Lu, Managing Director International; Caroline Hipperson, Group Brand Marketing Director; George Goley, Chief Technology Officer; Doug Nesbitt, Group Strategy and Transformation Director; and Anthony Houghton, Group Retail and Property Director. In addition, the Company promoted Emma Mead to Group Digital Director, and Hilary Leam to Group Trading Director.

Investments in Health and Wellness Knowledge

One of Holland & Barrett's competitive strengths is its specialist health and wellness knowledge. Over the years Holland & Barrett has invested significantly in the creation of an online repository of health and wellness information, and training of its associates across all areas of its customer's health and wellness needs. This is critical to ensure its customers have access to clear, concise and up-to-date information to help them confidently make informed decisions.

To make training more accessible and tailored to the needs of their customers, in 2017 HBI launched the Hive e-learning platform, which allows employees to undertake and update their training digitally, with flexible ease of access. In FY18 alone, 1,874 HBI employees have gained a qualification through the Hive, covering key knowledge areas in relation to product features, benefits and cautions along with nutritional value, lifestyle choice and focused customer advice. To ensure the programme is always current and relevant, new training content launched in FY18 included updated material on: H&B Brand ethics & efficacy, vitamins and minerals, sugar and caffeine alternatives, vegetarian proteins, benefits of individual holistic remedies, product cautions and interactions. On successful completion of its three-step training programme, employees attain a nationally accredited qualification equivalent to an A-level. 1,650 current colleagues have thus far attained this qualification through Holland & Barrett.

International Expansion

International revenue now accounts for 20% of Holland & Barrett revenues. Over the last year, Holland & Barrett established a new organisational structure to focus efforts on maximising the long-term growth opportunity in international markets. It has also made significant strides in building out the local teams for its international markets as it continues to selectively expand its international footprint. In its owned markets, the company saw continued growth across each of its businesses in the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. Netherlands is the largest and most profitable of Holland & Barrett's international markets, but also remains one of the most competitive. During the year Holland & Barrett acquired Halsa for Alla Sverige in Sweden, which provides a platform for further growth in the Scandinavian region.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About L1 Retail

L1 Retail is the retail investment arm of LetterOne. LetterOne was founded in 2013 and is an international investment business headquartered in Luxembourg. LetterOne's strategy is to build a new portfolio of successful companies that are leaders in their fields and sectors. It makes long-term investments of its own capital in companies in which its sectoral experience and strategic and geographic expertise will improve performance and help companies grow. It has recruited world-class CEOs, sector investment teams and Advisory Boards to invest at scale. It buys and build assets, which it can develop over time as platforms of long-term sustainable growth. It invests through L1 Energy, L1 Technology, L1 Health and L1 Retail.

L1 Retail's Advisory Board of internationally renowned retail leaders and specialists are deeply involved in supporting its investment team. Karl-Heinz Holland served eight years as Chief Executive of Lidl Group, the pioneering German food retailer. Clive Humby, one of the founders of dunnhumby (today part of Tesco), was pioneering the use of data in retail organisations long before the existence of 'big data'. John Walden has been at the forefront of multi-channel, consumer-driven retailing for more than 20 years, including as Chief Executive of Home Retail Group, the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer, where John drove the digital transformation of Argos.

About Holland & Barrett International

Holland & Barrett International is one of the world's leading health and wellness retailers and the largest in Europe, supplying its customers with a wide range of vitamins, minerals, health supplements, specialist foods and natural beauty products. With over 148 years of experience in the industry, the Holland & Barrett name is a familiar sight in almost every major city and town across the UK and is becoming increasingly more visible further afield, in markets as diverse as the

Related Links

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com



SOURCE Holland & Barrett
Gold production of 20,320 ounces on record production at Pilar Gold Mine ("Pilar") and higher feed grades;

Lower costs and increase in production quarter over quarter drive 90% increase in gross profit to $7.7 million ;

; Consolidated cash operating costs ("COC") reduced by 22% to $627 per ounce of gold sold. Pilar achieves record low cash costs of $557 per ounce sold;

per ounce of gold sold. Pilar achieves record low cash costs of per ounce sold; Consolidated all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") improved 2.2% to $1,142 per ounce of gold;

per ounce of gold; Net income of $2.2 million , or $0.01 earnings per share, from a Net loss of $7.7 million or net loss per share of ($0.02) year-over-year.

9M 2018 Financial Highlights

Gold production of 58,004 ounces, including record year to date gold production at Pilar;

COC of $713 per ounce, in line with full-year 2018 guidance, and 18% lower than 9M 2017;

per ounce, in line with full-year 2018 guidance, and 18% lower than 2017; AISC of $1,233 per ounce, 1.3% improvement from 9M 2017;

per ounce, 1.3% improvement from 2017; Operating cash flow increases 67% to $16 million ; adjusted EBITDA increased 41% to $19.8 million ;

; adjusted EBITDA increased 41% to ; Net loss of $0.9 million reduced from a net loss of $18.9 million in 9M 2017;

reduced from a net loss of in 2017; Sustaining capital expenditures increased 41% to $21.5 million investing in development and mining equipment.

Ben Guenther, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "Third quarter gold production of 20,320 ounces marked an 8% improvement relative to the first and second quarters in 2018. Pilar and Turmalina achieved their best production quarter of the year with Pilar producing a new quarterly record 11,068 ounces followed by Turmalina producing more than 9,000 ounces. Pilar continues to advance on its exciting growth path, while Turmalina has begun its turnaround. We remain pleased with the strong performance demonstrated at Pilar to date in 2018 and we are encouraged to see its grade profile continue to increase while also contributing to the record low costs. The Turmalina team is new and we expect it to take a few quarters of stabilization before we see significant sustainable improvements. In addition to our new VP of Operations, Turmalina has further strengthened its team with a new General Manager, new Managers of Mining, Technical Services, and Maintenance personnel over the past few months. The progress we have made to reduce company-wide expenses has been key to ensuring we continue to generate operating cash flow. Cost reduction remains a top priority within operations and at the corporate and board level."

Richard Falconer, Director, Jaguar Mining commented: "I have decided to retire as Chairman and continue to serve on the board until the next AGM. I appreciate Thomas Weng stepping in as Jaguar's new Chairman. With his leadership and deep expertise in the Company that he has gained during his tenure as a Jaguar Board member, I am confident in the outlook for the Company and look forward to its return to future growth and success."

Thomas Weng, Chairman of the Board of Directors commented: "On behalf of the Board, we thank Richard for his service and many contributions to Jaguar's Board of Directors over the past six years."

Thomas continued, "Jaguar is positioning itself to return to a more sustainable and growing gold production profile to create value for shareholders. Our operating and management teams have identified key issues and are executing initiatives to improve production while also taking steps to reduce overall expenses. The Board views company-wide expense reduction as a key element to helping Jaguar build a strong foundation and more profitable future."

Thomas Weng, Chairman of the Board, Bio

Mr. Weng was appointed as a director of the Corporation on April 1, 2016. Mr. Weng has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services sector with focus on mining, metals and industrials. Mr. Weng is Co-Founding Partner with Alta Capital Partners, a financial advisory provider. Previously, Mr. Weng was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and Head of Equity Capital Markets for Metals and Mining throughout the Americas and Latin America, across all industry segments. Prior to 2007, Mr. Weng held various senior positions at Pacific Partners, an alternative investment firm, and Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns. Mr. Weng graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Q3 2018 Financial Results

($ thousands, except where indicated) For the three months ended

September 30, For the nine months ended

September 30,

2018 2017 2018 2017 Financial Data







Revenue $ 25,426 $ 26,062 $ 73,541 $ 78,606 Operating costs 12,809 16,116 40,564 53,614 Depreciation 4,919 5,898 14,211 17,271 Gross profit 7,698 4,048 18,766 7,721 Net income (loss) 2,208 (7,664) (904) (18,861) Per share ("EPS") 0.01 (0.02) (0.00) (0.06) EBITDA1 7,889 (507) 16,309 3,949 Adjusted EBITDA1,2 8,909 6,094 19,805 14,020 Adjusted EBITDA per share1 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.04 Cash operating costs (per ounce sold)1 627 809 713 867 All-in sustaining costs (per ounce sold)1 1,142 1,168 1,233 1,249 Average realized gold price (per ounce) 1,244 1,276 1,292 1,250 Cash generated from operating activities 6,566 7,509 16,004 9,583 Adjusted operating cash flow1 7,541 6,076 19,766 15,002 Free cash flow1 (1,298) 2,212 (5,489) (7,118) Free cash flow (per ounce sold)1 (63) 108 (96) (113) Sustaining capital expenditures1 7,864 4,624 21,493 15,233 Non-sustaining capital expenditures1 641 1,138 2,241 3,401 Total capital expenditures 8,505 5,763 23,734 18,634 1Average realized gold price, sustaining and non-sustaining capital expenditures, cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs, adjusted operating cash flow, free cash flow, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA per share, and gross profit (excluding depreciation) are non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standard definition under IFRS. Refer to the Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures section of the MD&A. 2Adjusted EBITDA excludes non-cash items such as impairment and write downs. For more details refer to the Non-IFRS Performance Measures section of the MD&A.











For the three months ended

September 30, For the nine months ended

September 30,

2018 2017 2018 2017 Operating Data







Gold produced (ounces) 20,320 20,781 58,004 62,842 Gold sold (ounces) 20,441 20,422 56,908 62,909 Primary development (metres) 1,436 932 3,782 2,666 Secondary development (metres) 727 922 1,751 3,292 Definition, infill, and exploration drilling (metres) 11,716 11,592 29,917 34,525

Cash Position and Use of Funds

Cash balance of approximately $6.7million as of September 30, 2018 , compared to a cash balance of $9.2million at June 30, 2018 ;

as of , compared to a cash balance of at ; Company generated approximately $6.6 million in operating cash flow with $7.9 million spent in investing activities representing mainly development expenditures. In addition, $1.3 million was paid in financing activities.

Third Quarter 2018 Conference Call Details

The Company will also host an earnings conference call on Wednesday November 14, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Participants in North America may listen to the call by dialing 1-800-319-4610 at approximately 8:20 a.m. (ET) and ask to join the Jaguar Mining Third Quarter 2018 Results Conference Call. International callers should dial 1-604-638-5340. The call will also be webcast live at www.jaguarmining.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available after the call until December 14, 2018, at midnight, and can be accessed by dialing 1-800-319-6413, conference ID 2708#. International callers can access the replay by dialing 1-604-638-9010. The audio webcast will also be archived at www.jaguarmining.com.

Qualified Persons

Scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, BSc (Hons) (Economic Geology - UCT), Senior Expert Advisor Geology and Exploration to the Jaguar Mining Management Committee, who is also an employee of Jaguar Mining Inc., and is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

The Iron Quadrangle

The Iron Quadrangle has been an area of mineral exploration dating back to the 16th century. The discovery in 16991701 of gold contaminated with iron and platinum-group metals in the southeastern corner of the Iron Quadrangle gave rise to the name of the town Ouro Preto (Black Gold). The Iron Quadrangle contains world-class multi-million-ounce gold deposits such as Morro Velho, Cuiaba, and Sao Bento. Jaguar holds the second largest gold land position in the Iron Quadrangle with just over 25,000 hectares.

About Jaguar Mining Inc.

Jaguar Mining Inc. is a Canadian-listed junior gold mining, development, and exploration company operating in Brazil with three gold mining complexes and a large land package with significant upside exploration potential from mineral claims covering an area of approximately 64,000 hectares. The Company's principal operating assets are located in the Iron Quadrangle, a prolific greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and include the Turmalina Gold Mine Complex and Caete Mining Complex (Pilar and Roca Grande Mines, and Caete Plant). The Company also owns the Paciencia Gold Mine Complex, which has been on care and maintenance since 2012. The Roca Grande Mine has been on temporary care and maintenance since April 2018. Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.jaguarmining.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. All of the forward-looking information made in this news release is qualified by the cautionary statements below and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators in Canada. Forward-looking information contained in forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "are expected," "is forecast," "is targeted," "approximately," "plans," "anticipates," "projects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "believe" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might," or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, may be considered to be or include forward-looking information. This news release contains forward-looking information regarding, among other things, expected sales, production statistics, ore grades, tonnes milled, recovery rates, cash operating costs, definition/delineation drilling, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of projects and new deposits, success of exploration, development and mining activities, currency fluctuations, capital requirements, project studies, mine life extensions, restarting suspended or disrupted operations, continuous improvement initiatives, and resolution of pending litigation. The Company has made numerous assumptions with respect to forward-looking information contained herein, including, among other things, assumptions about the estimated timeline for the development of its mineral properties; the supply and demand for, and the level and volatility of the price of, gold; the accuracy of reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions on which the reserve and resource estimates are based; the receipt of necessary permits; market competition; ongoing relations with employees and impacted communities; political and legal developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations including, without limitation, the impact of any potential power rationing, tailings facility regulation, exploration and mine operating licenses and permits being obtained an renewed and/or there being adverse amendments to mining or other laws in Brazil and any changes to general business and economic conditions. Forward-looking information involves a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including among others: the risk of Jaguar not meeting the forecast plans regarding its operations and financial performance; uncertainties with respect to the price of gold, labour disruptions, mechanical failures, increase in costs, environmental compliance and change in environmental legislation and regulation, weather delays and increased costs or production delays due to natural disasters, power disruptions, procurement and delivery of parts and supplies to the operations; uncertainties inherent to capital markets in general (including the sometimes volatile valuation of securities and an uncertain ability to raise new capital) and other risks inherent to the gold exploration, development and production industry, which, if incorrect, may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described herein. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development, mining and production, including environmental hazards, tailings dam failures, industrial accidents and workplace safety problems, unusual or unexpected geological formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding, chemical spills, procurement fraud and gold bullion thefts and losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks). Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking information made in this news release, see the Company's most recent Annual Information Form and Management's Discussion and Analysis, as well as other public disclosure documents that can be accessed under the issuer profile of "Jaguar Mining Inc." on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information set forth herein reflects the Company's reasonable expectations as at the date of this news release and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Non-IFRS Measures

This news release provides certain financial measures that do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Readers are cautioned to review the below stated footnotes where the Company expanded on its use of non-IFRS measures.

1. Cash operating costs and cash operating cost per ounce are non-IFRS measures. In the gold mining industry, cash operating costs and cash operating costs per ounce are common performance measures but do not have any standardized meaning. Cash operating costs are derived from amounts included in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) and include mine-site operating costs such as mining, processing and administration, as well as royalty expenses, but exclude depreciation, depletion, share-based payment expenses, and reclamation costs. Cash operating costs per ounce are based on ounces produced and are calculated by dividing cash operating costs by commercial gold ounces produced; US$ cash operating costs per ounce produced are derived from the cash operating costs per ounce produced translated using the average Brazilian Central Bank R$/US$ exchange rate. The Company discloses cash operating costs and cash operating costs per ounce, as it believes those measures provide valuable assistance to investors and analysts in evaluating the Company's operational performance and ability to generate cash flow. The most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with IFRS is total production costs. A reconciliation of cash operating costs per ounce to total production costs for the most recent reporting period, the quarter ended September 30, 2018, is set out in the Company's third quarter 2018 Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.



2. All-in sustaining cost is a non-IFRS measure. This measure is intended to assist readers in evaluating the total costs of producing gold from current operations. While there is no standardized meaning across the industry for this measure, except for non-cash items the Company's definition conforms to the all-in sustaining cost definition as set out by the World Gold Council in its guidance note dated June 27, 2013. The Company defines all-in sustaining cost as the sum of production costs, sustaining capital (capital required to maintain current operations at existing levels), corporate general and administrative expenses, and in-mine exploration expenses. All-in sustaining cost excludes growth capital, reclamation cost accretion related to current operations, interest and other financing costs, and taxes. A reconciliation of all-in sustaining cost to total production costs for the most recent reporting period, the quarter ended September 30, 2018, is set out in the Company's third quarter 2018 MD&A filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

CONTACT: Ben Guenther, President & Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Mining Inc., bguenther@jaguarmining.com, 416-847-1854; Hashim Ahmed, Chief Financial Officer, Jaguar Mining Inc., hashim.ahmed@jaguarmining.com, 416-847-1854

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784296/Jaguar_Mining_Inc__Jaguar_Mining_Reports_Third_Quarter_2018_Fina.jpg

Related Links

https://www.jaguarmining.com/



SOURCE Jaguar Mining Inc
(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/583096/UM_Company_logo.jpg )



(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/784186/Ultimaker.jpg )



The ISO 9001:2015 certification requires an organization to demonstrate an end-to-end quality management system that provides products and services to meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory needs; that enhances customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system. The ISO 14001:2015 certification requires an organization to manage environmental responsibilities according to the new High Level Structure (HLS), applicable to all management systems, such as the pillar of corporate sustainability.

The certifications underline Ultimaker's focus on risk-based operation and continuous improvement. BSI auditors found zero major non-conformities and one minor non-conformity at Ultimaker, which was rectified before certification. Auditors commented that they had rarely experienced such a relatively young company achieve such a high degree of compliance. They also discovered that Ultimaker implements a never-before-seen industry best practice: visually communicating data that shows the consistency of measurements and tests.

"The BSI team was excited to support Ultimaker in achieving these two sought-after certifications," said Okke Jansma, Auditor at BSI Group. "The accomplishment showcases Ultimaker's dedication to providing world-class customer experiences and products that also meet the highest standards of environmental management. We were particularly impressed by the company's eagerness to improve and the clear maturity of its management system, which made for quick progress. "

"These ISO certifications emphasize Ultimaker's commitment to driving the adoption of desktop 3D printing in the enterprise. Our exceptional achievements against these industry benchmarks highlight that customer satisfaction, risk management, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement are embedded in Ultimaker's DNA," said Jos Burger, CEO of Ultimaker. "As 3D printing makes an impact across industries around the world, Ultimaker is now eligible to qualify for more tenders to help accelerate this growth. I could not be more proud on the team at Ultimaker and more grateful for BSI's input and feedback during the certification process."

For more information about the ISO certifications process at Ultimaker, visit http://www.ultimaker.com or read our blogpost.

About Ultimaker

Ultimaker has been in operation since 2011, and over the years has grown to become a market leader; creating powerful, professional, and accessible desktop 3D printers with offices in the Netherlands, New York, Boston, and Singapore, plus production facilities in Europe and the US. Ultimaker's team of over 350 employees continually strives to offer the highest-quality 3D printers, software, and materials on the market to accelerate the world's transition to local digital manufacturing. ultimaker.com

About BSI Group

BSI (British Standards Institution) equips businesses with the necessary solutions to turn standards of best practice into habits of excellence. As the world's first National Standards Body and a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), BSI is responsible for originating many of the world's most commonly used management systems standards.

Learn more at: bsigroup.com.

SOURCE Ultimaker
Cooper and Schulze were selected from thousands of nominations. Now in its seventh year, the Forbes 30 Under 30 boasts a prestigious alumni network of 4,000 from across the globe.

Graduates of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in 2014, the two took a surfing trip to Bali, Indonesia which would ultimately change their lives and the fate of the ocean. Devastated by the amount of plastic in the ocean, they set out to find out why no one was doing anything about this growing problem. Fishermen from a local fishing village were pushing boats through piles of plastics. The two surfers recognized that the proliferation of plastic threatened both the ocean environment and the fishermen's livelihood. Cooper and Schulze realized that they could hire fishermen to pull plastic from the ocean and thus began 4ocean.

Founded in January 2017, 4ocean funds its efforts from the sale of 4ocean bracelets made from recycled materials. Every bracelet purchased removes one pound of trash from oceans and coastlines. In less than two years, 4ocean has removed 2.2 million pounds of plastic and trash from the waterways. Additional 4ocean products include reusable bottle and cleanup combos.

4ocean headquarters are based in Boca Raton, Florida. Additional cleanup headquarters are located in Bali, Indonesia and Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

4ocean is unveiling its one-of-a-kind Ocean Plastic Recovery Vessel, a 135-foot vessel outfitted will assist in the gathering of plastic and trash at domestic and international locations by targeting local and land-based coastline issues and tackling coastline plastics, containing them, collecting the, and reclaiming large-scale debris fields in the waterways. The 4ocean OPR Vessel can bring in 310,000 pounds of plastic and trash in one trip alone while small panga vessels can hold four to five supersacks carrying 1,500 pounds.

The Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2019 features 600 youthful visionaries in 20 different industries. 4ocean co-founders Cooper and Schulze are among these entrepreneurial risk-takers embodying a fresh vision, powerful technology and unwavering optimism to create movements to change the face of the world. Of the 2019 honorees, 55% are founders like Cooper and Schulze.

4ocean (www.4ocean.com) is a sustainability brand started by two twentysomething surfers, Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper, with a vision of cleaning the ocean and coastlines, one pound at a time. Global cleanups are funded entirely through the sale of sustainability products, where every item purchased funds the removal of at least one pound of trash from the ocean. By creating jobs, utilizing the latest technology and raising awareness about the impact of trash in the ocean, the company is building the first economy for ocean plastic and creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for the ocean.

Rachael Lobeck

[email protected]

561-270-0650, ext. 029

SOURCE 4ocean

Related Links

https://4ocean.com


LAS VEGAS, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- If you're in the market for a new TV, you know sometimes it feels like you need a PhD in computer science to make an informed decision. We at 10e Media wanted to save you a few years of studying and cramming for exams, so we consulted with a host of technology experts to create a cheat sheet with 5 key criteria to consider before purchasing a television.

Screen

This is the first thing to consider because it's the most expensive aspect of a television. In fact, more than 60% of the cost of a TV is due to its screen. The most advanced screen technology is OLED (or "Organic Light-Emitting Diode," if you want to get really geeky). The next step down from that is 4K liquid crystal (including quantum dots) followed by projection (laser) televisions. Image Processing Chip

Have you ever wondered why the TV on display in stores has such amazing picture quality compared to the same TV in your home? It's not your imagination; the in-store televisions use a special high-definition signal source that can't be replicated at home via ordinary cable TV sources. But the most advanced image processing chips are changing that. Currently, the most advanced is an independent development chip with image-quality-repair function. The intermediate level is an integrated image quality chip while base-level televisions use an ordinary image quality chip. Sound

Once upon a time, consumers had to purchase expensive auxiliary sound systems to go with their fancy TVs, but some newer TVs are offering a much better sound experience. Many brands now have Dolby panoramic sound effects but still need a Dolby panoramic sound source to truly experience the effects of Dolby Atmos. So, the most advanced televisions offer Dolby panoramic sound technology plus Dolby panoramic sound source area. Intermediate TVs offer just Dolby panoramic sound technology while base models offer ordinary stereo effects. Interactive Features

They certainly aren't necessities, but the latest interactive features make watching TV even easier (as if it were so difficult before) and they're fun to show off to friends who come over to watch the big game. Currently, the most advanced TVs have full-time AI control which means the set will respond to you anytime and from almost anywhere. Intermediate televisions come equipped with voice response technology; while base models still come with the good old-fashioned, hand-held, remote control (although those of a certain age can remember a day when you had to actually get off your sofa to turn the channel on the TV). Craftsmanship

We all want a cool-looking television because it's often the centerpiece of a family room or man cave. So, it's important to pay attention to how the TV looks even when it's turned off. The most advanced manufacturing process recognized by the global market is the German-Japanese process followed by other more common processes.

Using these five criteria can help you find the perfect television, not to mention it saving you years of schooling.

Table 1: Five major standards for purchasing color TV globally - detailed classification

Five Standards Advanced Intermediate Primary Screen Body OLED High color gamut liquid crystal > ordinary liquid crystal Projection Image Quality Independent quality chip Integrated picture chip Ordinary chip Sound Quality Dolby panoramic sound technology + Dolby panoramic sound source area Dolby panoramic sound technology Ordinary sound Interaction Full-time AI Far-field voice Remote voice No voice function Craft German-Japanese process Common process

10e Media is a Las Vegas-based communications agency specializing in media relations, crisis communications, and media training with client industries including technology, gaming, hospitality, non-profits and business.

CONTACT:

Daniel Covington

[email protected]

SOURCE 10e Media
VANCOUVER, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Alexco Resource Corp. (NYSE American:AXU) (TSX:AXR) ("Alexco" or the "Company") today reports financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018. All figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. For the third quarter of 2018 Alexco recorded a net loss of $1.5 million ("M") or $0.01 per share.

Third Quarter Highlights

Corporate

Overall, Alexco reported a net loss of $1.5 M ( $0.01 per share) for the three month period ended September 30, 2018 and a loss before tax expense of $370,000 including non-cash income adjustments totalling $714,000 .





( per share) for the three month period ended and a loss before tax expense of including non-cash income adjustments totalling . The Company's cash and cash equivalents at September 30, 2018 totaled $14.1 M compared to $17.9 M at December 31, 2017 , while net working capital totaled $14.1 M compared to $18.7 M at December 31, 2017 . The Company's restricted cash and deposits at September 30, 2018 totalled $2.6 M compared to $7.1 M at December 31, 2017 .

Mine Operations and Exploration

During the quarter Alexco continued advancing the underground ramping system at the Flame & Moth deposit. By October 31 st , the Company had completed the targeted Flame & Moth underground development program for 2018 with 452 meters ("m") driven in total, comprising 371 m of linear decline advance and 81 m included in supporting infrastructure.





, the Company had completed the targeted Flame & Moth underground development program for 2018 with 452 meters ("m") driven in total, comprising of linear decline advance and included in supporting infrastructure. During the quarter, Alexco completed the underground and surface infill and extension drilling campaign at the Bermingham deposit. The 2018 program was a combination of 4,213 m in 24 holes completed underground from the Bermingham exploration decline and 4,369 m in 12 holes completed from surface for a total of 8,582 m of HQ diamond core drilling. Results were released on August 9, 2018 and September 17, 2018 , and included true width intercepts of the Bear and Bermingham Veins ranging up to 12.28 m grading 1,019 g/t (32.8 ounces per tonne ("oz/t")) silver in hole BMUG18-012 and 4.17 m grading 5,373 g/t (172.8 oz/t) silver in drill hole BMUG18-015.





in 24 holes completed underground from the Bermingham exploration decline and in 12 holes completed from surface for a total of of HQ diamond core drilling. Results were released on and , and included true width intercepts of the Bear and Bermingham Veins ranging up to grading 1,019 g/t (32.8 ounces per tonne ("oz/t")) silver in hole BMUG18-012 and grading 5,373 g/t (172.8 oz/t) silver in drill hole BMUG18-015. On September 20, 2018 Alexco announced an updated and expanded mineral resource estimate for the Bermingham deposit. The indicated mineral resources expanded from 17.3 M ounces to 33.3 M ounces of contained silver at an average silver grade of 628 grams per tonne ("g/t"), while inferred mineral resources increased from 5.4 M ounces to 10.4 M ounces of contained silver at an average silver grade of 526 g/t.





Alexco announced an updated and expanded mineral resource estimate for the Bermingham deposit. The indicated mineral resources expanded from ounces to ounces of contained silver at an average silver grade of 628 grams per tonne ("g/t"), while inferred mineral resources increased from ounces to ounces of contained silver at an average silver grade of 526 g/t. The Company has been advised that the likely timeline to complete the currently active Water Use Licence ("WUL") process (which includes authorization for water use and waste deposition from the Bermingham deposit) will be later in the second quarter of 2019. This is a delay of approximately five months in the originally targeted timeline for receipt of the renewed WUL. Accordingly, the Company has elected to extend the timeline to complete a pre-feasibility study ("PFS") into Q1 2019, allowing additional time for the Company to work with its independent consultants to optimize mine design and district mining strategies including strategies related to extraction of the expanded silver resource in the Bermingham deposit.





During the quarter, the Corporation completed a total of 15,390 m of surface exploration diamond drilling (including the 4,369 m in 12 holes at Bermingham noted above) focused on testing further extensions of known silver resources and deeper structural zones in the vicinity of the Bermingham deposit along with preliminary testing of other mineralized structures in the historic No Cash  Townsite mine areas adjacent to the Hector-Calumet Mine, as well as fault offsets of the mineralized structure(s) on the western side of the major post-mineral Brefalt Fault. Other drilling was completed at the Black Cap prospect on Keno Hill, as well as on two other property areas subject to third party option agreements. Comprehensive results from the balance of the 2018 surface drilling campaign are expected to be available in late Q4-2018.

Alexco Environmental Group

Alexco Environmental Group ("AEG"), recognized revenues of $4,669,000 in the third quarter of 2018 for a gross profit of $1,780,000 achieving a gross margin of 38% compared to revenues of $3,786,000 for the third quarter of 2017 for a gross profit of $1,545,000 achieving a gross margin of 41%.

Alexco's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Clynt Nauman said, "I am very pleased with the progress we have made internally to advance Keno Hill back towards production. Factors beyond our control have slowed our schedule but we remain steadfast in our target of re-establishing silver production in 2019, market conditions considered. Earlier this year we set aggressive goals for our summer underground development and surface exploration programs, all of which have been achieved. Most importantly our recent exploration successes at the Bermingham deposit, essentially doubling the size of the indicated resource at unchanged silver grade, will provide an opportunity to revisit the overall silver mining strategy for the district. It is also pleasing to see the growth in our AEG business, which I expect will continue to add value alongside our Keno Hill district development strategy."

Keno Hill Exploration and Development

2018 Flame & Moth Development

During the quarter the Company continued advancing the underground ramping system at the Flame & Moth deposit. On October 31st, the Corporation completed the targeted Flame & Moth underground development program for 2018 with 452 m driven including supporting remuck bays and sumps. Approximately 336 m of ramp and infrastructure development remains to reach the first ore level access at the Lightning Zone. In addition, a 100 m ventilation raise to surface will be required before commercial ore production can be achieved. Completion of the remaining ramp development, raise and infrastructure is pending completion of an optimized mine plan as part of the PFS.

The Flame & Moth decline is being constructed at a design of 15% grade and sized 3.7 m wide x 4.0 m high and will accommodate new underground drilling headings as well as haulage up to 250 to 400 tonnes of ore per day to the primary crusher which is located within 200 m of the mine portal.

Exploration

i. 2018 Advanced Exploration Program - Bermingham

In May 2018 the Company completed the 550 m advanced exploration decline at the Bermingham deposit and from established underground drilling stations, completed an underground drilling program designed to provide 10  15 m spaced intercepts in the upper portion of the high grade Bear Vein.

The underground drilling program was completed with 4,213 m in 24 holes in late August, with most holes being extended beyond the Bear Vein to also intersect the adjacent mineralized Bermingham and Bermingham Footwall veins.

At the same time, surface drilling continued to infill and extend mineralization in areas peripheral to the resources with a total of 4,369 m completed in 12 holes.

Initial 2018 results from this underground drilling campaign were announced on August 9, 2018 (see news release dated August 9, 2018, entitled "Alexco Drills up to 12 Meters (true width) of 1,019 grams per tonne Silver at Bermingham Deposit, Provides Update on Permitting and Underground Development") and further results were announced on September 17, 2018 (see news release dated September 17, 2018, entitled "Alexco Drills Intersects 4.3 Meters (Tue Width) of 3,605 Grams per Tonne Silver at Bermingham, Completes Underground Infill/Exploration Drill Program").

The drill results confirm the previously anticipated silver grades and vein thickness with significant intercepts reported such as the Bear Vein over a 4.29 m true width grading 3,605 g/t (115.91 oz/t) silver in hole BMUG18-018 and 12.28 m grading 1,019 g/t (32.8 oz/t) silver in hole BMUG18-012. Other significant intercepts were reported from the associated Bermingham and Bermingham Footwall veins including 4.17 m true width grading 5,373 g/t (172.8 oz/t) Ag in hole BMUG18-015.

ii. Updated Mineral Resource Estimate - Bermingham

The results from the 2017 and 2018 exploration drilling programs were incorporated into the updated and expanded mineral resource estimate for the Bermingham deposit prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. ("SRK") and announced on September 20, 2018 (see news release dated September 20, 2018 entitled, "Alexco Updates Bermingham Mineral Resource").

The indicated mineral resources expanded from 17.3 million ounces to 33.3 million ounces of contained silver at an average grade of 628 g/t silver, while inferred mineral resources have increased from 5.4 million ounces to 10.4 million ounces of contained silver at an average grade of 526 g/t silver. This updated and expanded mineral resource estimate will be used as the basis for the PFS currently being prepared.

iii. 2018 Other Exploration Areas

In October 2018 the Company completed its 2018 surface exploration program as planned, drilling a total of 15,390 m in 55 drill holes (including the 4,369 m in 12 surface holes at Bermingham noted above).

In addition to the exploration drilling that was focused on the Bermingham prospect, other generative programs were undertaken on historically mined sites at the Husky, No Cash, Townsite, Eagle, Bellekeno South and Black Cap occurrences with 24 holes completed in 7,865 m. The assay results from these holes are pending and are expected in December 2018.

A new exploration initiative was undertaken to explore the western side of the major post-mineral Brefalt Fault to locate indication of the offset part of the Bermingham vein, with 1,986 m completed in five drill holes, and the results are pending.

At the Flame & Moth deposit, an additional 11 drill holes for 1,170 m were completed for metallurgical sampling and geotechnical purposes.

In addition, during the quarter the Company completed a high resolution helicopter EM-Magnetic geophysical survey totalling 1,100 line kilometers over the Galena Hill area. The data is currently being processed and when available will assist with geological interpretation and correlation of known mineralized structures and to identify new prospective zones.

Permitting Update:

Alexco has the requisite permits and authorizations for future ore production from the Bellekeno, Flame & Moth, Lucky Queen, and Onek deposits. Permitting for ore production from the Bermingham deposit is ongoing with a positive Decision Document issued by the Yukon Government on July 27, 2018. The Decision Document outlines a number of standard terms and conditions for development and mine production from the Bermingham deposit.

With the issuance of the Decision Document, Alexco submitted a water license amendment and renewal application to the Yukon Water Board for processing and milling ore and discharging treated water from the Bermingham mine.

The Company had originally expected the final permits for operations at the Bermingham deposit to be awarded in Q1 2019. Subsequent delays in the Yukon permitting process have extended the time expected for award of final permits to the end of the second quarter of 2019.

Pre-feasibility Study

During the quarter the Company continued to work with independent consultants on the PFS. As a result of delayed permitting timelines in the Yukon, Alexco has chosen to take further time completing the PFS which is now anticipated in the first quarter of 2019. The PFS will address optimization of underground development and mining strategies for the restart of commercial mining operations in the KHSD, including strategies related to extraction of the recently expanded Bermingham resource.

Financial

Alexco's cash and cash equivalents at September 30, 2018 totaled $14.1 M compared to $17.9 M at December 31, 2017, while net working capital totaled $14.1 M compared to $18.7 M at December 31, 2017.

With its cash resources and net working capital on hand at September 30, 2018, Alexco anticipates it will have sufficient capital resources to carry out all of its currently-anticipated exploration programs and service the working capital requirements of its exploration activity, environmental services business and corporate offices and administration as planned for the next twelve months.

Alexco Environmental Group and ERDC

In the third quarter of 2018 AEG recorded revenues of $4.7 M and a gross profit of $1.8 M for a gross margin of 38%, compared to revenue of $3.8 M and a gross profit of $1.5 M for a gross margin of 41% in the third quarter of 2017. The increase in gross profit during the 2018 period was primarily due to services provided to US customers that utilized a higher portion of internal labour.

Under the contract with the Government of Canada on the historical cleanup at Keno Hill, Alexco's wholly owned subsidiary, Elsa Reclamation and Development Company Ltd. ("ERDC"), submitted the Existing State of Mine Reclamation Plan for environmental assessment application by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board. In addition, ERDC continued with detailed engineering related to the closure plan.

Financial Report and Conference Call for Third Quarter 2018 Results

Full details of the financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 are described in Alexco's interim condensed consolidated financial statements with accompanying notes and related Management's Discussion and Analysis. These documents and additional information on Alexco, including its annual information form, are available on Alexco's website at and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

Alexco is holding an audio webcast conference call to discuss these results at 12:30 p.m. Eastern (9:30 a.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. To participate in the live call, please use one of the following methods:



Dial toll free from Canada or the US: 1-800-319-4610

Dial from outside Canada or the US: 1-604-638-5340

Conference ID#: Ask to join the Alexco conference call

Live audio webcast: www.alexcoresource.com







Participants should connect five to ten minutes before the call. The conference call will be recorded and an archived audio webcast will be available at www.alexcoresource.com.

To receive, free of charge, printed copies of Alexco's financial statements, management's discussion and analysis, annual information form and Form 40-F for any reporting period, shareholders may contact Alexco's Corporate Office directly.

Qualified Persons

The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding exploration projects on Alexco's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Alan McOnie, FAusIMM, Vice President, Exploration, while that regarding mine development and operations has been reviewed and approved by Neil Chambers, P.Eng., Mine Superintendent, both who of who are Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Alexco

Alexco owns the majority of the historic high-grade Keno Hill Silver District in Canada's Yukon Territory as detailed in its preliminary economic assessment (the "PEA") entitled "Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Keno Hill Silver District Project, Yukon, Canada", which is dated March 29, 2017, with an effective date of January 3, 2017, and anticipates the sequential development of four high grade silver deposits over an eight year mine life producing more than one million tonnes with an average grade of 843 grams per tonne silver, 3.3% lead and 4.6% zinc. Silver production is anticipated to be approximately 3.5 million ounces per year. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Alexco also operates a wholly-owned subsidiary business, Alexco Environmental Group, that provides mine-related environmental services, remediation technologies and reclamation and mine closure services to both government and industry clients in North America and elsewhere.

Please visit the Alexco website at www.alexcoresource.com

Some statements ("forward-looking statements") in this news release contain forward-looking information concerning Alexco's anticipated results and developments in Alexco's operations in future periods, planned exploration and development of its properties, plans related to its business and other matters that may occur in the future, made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future remediation and reclamation activities, future mineral exploration, the estimation of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the realization of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, future mine construction and development activities, future mine operation and production, the timing of activities and reports, the amount of estimated revenues and expenses, the success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, requirements for additional capital and sources and uses of funds. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to actual results and timing of exploration and development activities; actual results and timing of mining activities; actual results and timing of environmental services activities; actual results and timing of remediation and reclamation activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of silver, gold, lead, zinc and other commodities; possible variations in mineable resources, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; First Nation rights and title; continued capitalization and commercial viability; global economic conditions; competition; and delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development activities. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that management believes are reasonable at the time they are made. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, Alexco has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, the assumption that Alexco will be able to raise additional capital as necessary, that the proposed exploration and development will proceed as planned, and that market fundamentals will result in sustained silver, gold, lead and zinc demand and prices. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Alexco expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

SOURCE Alexco Resource Corp.

Related Links

www.alexcoresource.com


NORTHBROOK, Ill., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL), one of the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurers, announced that Tom Wilson, its Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference at 11:30 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Dec. 5, in New York City.

A webcast of the presentation can be accessed at www.allstateinvestors.com. A replay will be posted on the investor relations and executive speeches sections of the company's website shortly after the presentation ends.

Financial information, including material announcements about The Allstate Corporation, is routinely posted on www.allstateinvestors.com.

SOURCE The Allstate Corporation

Related Links

http://www.allstate.com


Photo: pixabay

Language barriers continue to hamper the prosecution of an alleged Mexican drug mule arrested earlier this year outside Osoyoos.

Defence counsel for Armando Esparza-Ochoa appeared in Penticton court Wednesday to ask for an adjournment of a hearing scheduled later this month when they were planning to ask for the disclosure of evidence be provided in Spanish.

There is nothing in the [criminal] code that can provide a judge with the authority to make the order that Crown provide disclosure in Spanish, admitted defence lawyer Michael Patterson.

His client is accused of smuggling several kilograms of methamphetamine across the border near Osoyoos on Sept. 1, and is facing three charges.

An arraignment hearing for Esparza-Ochoa was also delayed, until Dec. 1, to allow Patterson time to find a service to translate to evidence against the alleged mule into Spanish.

During a previous court appearance in September, Esparza-Ochoa, through a translator voiced a desire to be sentenced. The federal prosecutor at the time declined to accept any sort of plea until legal-aid was sorted out and he had spoken with a lawyer, citing the "significant" jail term he is facing.
SAN RAMON, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Student loan borrowers feel imprisoned by debt, according to a recent Forbes article. Recent studies show that nearly 90 percent of borrowers struggle to keep up with monthly payments. Of these borrowers, 44 percent said their next payment will be extremely difficult to make and another 20 percent said that they would be unable to make the next payment. Nearly 60 percent reported that student loan debt had decreased their credit score. Moreover, resulting poor credit checks caused 10 percent to fail job interviews, while 13 percent were denied apartments. Stunningly, nearly one-third said that their student loan bill is higher than their rent and two-thirds said they spent more on student debt than on groceries. American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC), a document preparation company, specializes in helping its clients secure and maintain enrollment in federal programs, such as income-driven repayment plans (IDRs), that can possibly lower monthly payments based on income and family size.

"We understand the pressure that student loan debt puts on the lives of borrowers, and we see it every day," said Sara Molina, manager at AFBC. "But we focus on solutions, acting as trusted advocates for our clients as they deal with loan servicers, making sure they stay up to date with recertification and that they are maximizing the benefits they are entitled to."

The reason that student loan debt feels like a prison to these students is because the burden and endlessness of student loan debt are so confining. Nearly 40 percent of borrowers felt that student loan debt stood between them and their career goals, and another 28 percent said it had stopped them from starting their own businesses. Borrowers also felt hindered in attaining life plans like getting married and starting a family. Nearly 20 percent of respondents said that they had delayed marriage and another 26 percent said they had put off having children because of student debt.

Unfortunately, most borrowers said that their loan servicer was not helping them get out of their student loan debt confinement. Almost 60 percent of borrowers said that their loan servicers had provided "confusing" or "unhelpful" information about their student loans. More than 25 percent of borrowers had experienced servicers adding unexpected fees to their balances. After sudden, unexpected changes in loan servicers, 57 percent of borrowers experienced unanticipated demands from the servicer. And when borrowers attempted to work with their servicer after running into financial hardship, 42 percent had trouble negotiating changes to their repayment plans.

"As our clients know, we take their financial hardships very seriously," said Molina. "We know the negative impacts of overwhelming student loan debt, and also know how good it can feel to get some financial freedom after feeling fenced in. We remain laser-focused on our clients' needs, so they don't have to feel imprisoned by student loan debt again."

About American Financial Benefits Center

American Financial Benefits Center is a document preparation company that helps clients apply for federal student loan repayment plans that fit their personal financial and student loan situation. Through its strict customer service guidelines, the company strives for the highest levels of honesty and integrity.

Each AFBC telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

American Financial Benefits Center Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about American Financial Benefits Center, please contact:

American Financial Benefits Center

1900 Powell Street #600

Emeryville, CA 94608

1-800-488-1490

[email protected]

Related Images

image1.png

jailed-flag-view.jpg

Jailed Flag View

babawawa/Pixabay.com

Related Links

American Financial Benefits Center

SOURCE American Financial Benefits Center
AUBURN, Ala., Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Auburn University is on the move to new heights, with a goal to bolster its student experience and life-changing research and outreach.

Such vision for the future of Auburn was set forth Tuesday by Auburn President Steven Leath as he gave his "State of the University: Auburn on the Move" address. The cornerstone to his presentation was rooted in the ways Auburn is heightening its already strong student experience  which Leath called the "crown jewel" of Auburn.

"Year after year, studies show that our students are satisfied with their choice after their first year at Auburn," Leath said. "Our research also shows that they remain satisfied with their choice after graduation."

With such success also comes challenges, the president said, and he detailed ways in which Auburn will address greater access to on-campus living spaces, limited parking and further enhancing campus safety. Leath said options are currently being examined for some potential new living spaces on campus, and possible parking improvements are also being studied. Security, he said, remains a key focus with several initiatives already having been enacted, most recently with Auburn's recruitment of former FBI supervisory special agent Kelvin King to lead its campus safety initiatives.

"These efforts are critical to providing the best student experience in higher education, and ensuring that while here, our students are transformed from inquisitive scholars to engaged citizens," he said.

Leath noted Auburn's enrollment at 30,400 for the fall  the largest in the institution's history  and that applications were up by 21 percent for the past year. He said Auburn educates more students from Alabama than any other university, with 60 percent of Auburn undergraduates being in-state students. Leath added that Auburn is committed to growing diversity and inclusion efforts and that Auburn will seize greater student access opportunities, to include dual enrollment, transfer and nontraditional students.

Along with the student experience, Leath focused on the expertise of Auburn's faculty, saying the university's professors are at the core of Auburn's land-grant mission. He said a key focus will be in elevating the work and expertise of Auburn's faculty to the national platform, growing awareness of their life-saving research and outreach.

"You are doing exceptional work at Auburn, and we want to ensure we seize every opportunity to tell your story," he said to faculty in the room.

That work involves interdisciplinary discovery with Auburn's scholars conducting meaningful research in such areas as additive manufacturing, cyber security, health and environmental sciences and scalable and renewable energy. The president said elevating such life-saving research is a key initiative for Auburn now and in the future. In June, the university furthered that effort with the announcement of its PAIR (Presidential Awards for Interdisciplinary Research) initiative, which invested $5 million in seed money to 11 interdisciplinary research teams. This fall, Auburn also welcomed 25 top-tier scholars through the Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship program.

"Our research and outreach efforts go where the tough problems exist, so we can effectively and efficiently unearth long-term solutions, meet real-life challenges and offer opportunity," Leath said, adding that the university's plan is to grow such work with the hiring of 500 tenure-track, research- and scholarship-focused faculty by 2022.

"We will hire in disciplines where need is great and demand is strong," he said.

Leath likewise pointed out the great work of the Alabama Cooperative Extension among farmers and recent efforts in documenting crop loss in the Gulf following Hurricane Michael. Involving outreach, he mentioned the success of Auburn's Rural Studio program, which aims to increase access to home ownership in underserved rural Alabama communities, and the life-saving work of the Obesity Working Group. He said outreach efforts also are taking place through new school partnerships in Alabama's most underserved areas to assist with school performance and college readiness.

"We reach more than 20,000 people each year through Outreach's continuing education initiatives," he said.

The president then spoke about how Auburn is growing vital business partnerships with the likes of Boeing, NASA and Delta, saying "The investments we're making today will allow us to collaborate with a broader range of organizations tomorrow."

The president closed his address with a focus to the future, mentioning that Auburn is currently in the process of developing a strategic plan that will look 20 to 30 years out into the future.

"Our efforts take time and investment," Leath said. "They take passion, imagination and creativity. It's what's required of us as a great university that's striving to be greater, and we enthusiastically embrace this challenge."

SOURCE Auburn University

Related Links

http://www.auburn.edu


VANCOUVER, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Awale Resources Limited ("Awale" or the "Company") (TSXV: ARIC) is pleased to announce discovery of 3 new gold anomalous zones over a combined strike length of 12 kilometres along the previously untested northwest extension of the Awari Shear at the Bondoukou project in Cote d'Ivoire (figures 1, 2 and 3).

These anomalous zones are defined by >13ppb gold anomalism with >50ppb cores and a maximum value of 569ppb* along the fertile Awari shear. Auger drilling continues to prove its efficacy as an exploration tool at the Bondoukou project. Infill Auger drilling over these new targets is anticipated to produce new drill targets for the first half of 2019.

Following successful target delineation through auger geochemistry over the south eastern extents of the Awari shear, Awale planned a new 10,000 metre program covering the previously untested NW extents of the shear. The program was cut short by the onset of the monsoon season and 1,207 holes were competed for 5,830 metres. Drilling will recommence in November once the rains abate and new access is prepared. Approximately 872 holes remain for a further 4000m of the 640 metre by 50 metre regional program, once this broad spaced program is completed infill drilling will commence over these new targets, as well as any further targets uncovered with the remainder of the drilling.

View attached figures: http://www.awaleresources.com/_resources/maps/Awari--Shear-Auger-Results-13-11-2018.pdf

CEO Glen Parsons commented today: "These new gold anomalies and our previously reported results from the Awari Shear, highlight the fertile nature of this structure with encouraging mineralisation now extending for some 40km.

Our systematic exploration approach adopted over such a large area has yielded solid anomalies, which we now will concentrate on, infill auger is planned to advance these anomalies to RC/DD drill targets for testing later in the first half of the new year

The discovery of these new gold anomalous zones solidifies the confidence in the company's exploration method which we anticipate will produce multiple gold discoveries at Bondoukou as well as our other projects.

We look forward to ongoing exploration and results at Bondoukou in the ensuing weeks after being somewhat frustrated by an extended monsoon season in Cote d'Ivoire."

Background

Auger geochemistry and drilling programs along the Awari Shear, continue to prove the gold fertility of the 38 km long Awari shear which the company continues to test with systematic exploration. This round of auger drilling has been completed on a broad (640 metre) line spacing to define initial targets which will be infill drilled before RC and/or diamond drill target testing. The new anomalies occur on flexures and changes in foliation interpreted from aeromagnetic surveys, these changes in geometry are either related to late intrusions and/or the overprinting of the earlier NW Awari structure by the later Eburnean orogeny which typically has a northeast orientation. Outcrop is sparse in these areas but mapping will also be undertaken in 2019 after seasonal burning of grasses by the local population.

The geological and structural framework of the project continues to be developed, and the project continues to deliver confidence in a large mineralised system at Bondoukou. Recent studies by Kim Hein suggest the Bondoukou Project area as a potential gold camp and highlight similarities to other well-known gold camps in west Africa, including Essakane and Mana in Burkina Faso among others.

The rocks contained within the shear are lower Birimian and consist of greenschist facies altered ultramafic, mafic to andesitic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. Rocks in the footwall of the shear consist of an amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphic complex which is interpreted to predate the deposition of the volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks contained within the Awari Shear.

This work has confirmed the Company's hypothesis that the Awari Shear is an old deep-seated structure with origins in the earliest phases of Birimian evolution and the subsequent polyphase Eburnean orogeny. Findings from this study highlight multiple phases of deformation and mineralisation through a protracted tectonic history for the project area. High-grade targets are steeply plunging shoots where later NE structures cross cut the older NW trend. Late intrusions in the project area also present as classic mineralisation targets throughout the Birimian. The geological setting of the Bondoukou Project area has similarities with the Essakane and Mana gold camps in Burkina Faso, as well as Ity and Tongon in Cote d'Ivoire. The company is excited about ongoing exploration on the project and looks forward to economic discoveries at Bondoukou.

Quality Control and Assurance

Analytical work for geochemical samples and rock chip samples is being carried out at the independent Intertek Laboratories Ghana Ltd. an ISO 17025 (2017) Certified Laboratory. Samples are stored at the Company's field camps and put into sealed bags until collected by Intertek from the Company's secure Bondoukou office and transported by Intertek to their laboratory in Tarkwa, Ghana for preparation and analysis. Samples are logged in the tracking system, weighed, dried and finely crushed to better than 70%, passing a 2-mm screen. A split of up to 1,000-gram is taken and pulverized to better than 85%, passing a 75-micron screen, and a 50-gram split is analysed by fire assay with an AAS finish. Blanks, duplicates and certified reference material (standards) are being used to monitor laboratory performance during the analysis.

*Descriptive Statistics for Gold in Auger ppb.



Au ppb Number Samples 1207 Minimum -1 Maximum 569 Mean 6.00 Median 3

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

AWALE RESOURCES LIMITED.

"Glen Parsons"

Glen Parsons, President and CEO

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Andrew Chubb, the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr Chubb is the Company's Chief Operating Officer and holds an Economic Geology degree, is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG), and is a Member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr Chubb has 17 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by such information. The statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law.

Cautionary Statement

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

SOURCE Awale Resources
TUPELO, Miss., Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BancorpSouth Bank (NYSE: BXS) announced today the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Casey Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Grand Bank of Texas (collectively referred to as "Grand Bank"). Upon completion of the merger, Casey Bancorp, Inc. and Grand Bank of Texas will each be merged with and into BancorpSouth Bank.

Grand Bank operates four full-service banking offices in the cities of Dallas, Grand Prairie, Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls, all in Texas. BancorpSouth Bank operates 59 full-service banking offices in Texas, including two in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex and 32 in Central Texas.

As of September 30, 2018 (unaudited), Grand Bank, on a consolidated basis, reported total assets of $353 million, total loans of $249 million and total deposits of $323 million.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, BancorpSouth Bank will issue 1,275,000 shares of BancorpSouth Bank common stock, plus $11 million in cash, for all outstanding shares of Casey Bancorp, Inc. capital stock, subject to certain conditions and potential adjustments. The terms of the agreement provide for a collar with respect to the total deal value ranging from $51.75 million to $56.75 million. If necessary, the share count will be adjusted downward or the cash consideration adjusted upward to accommodate the respective boundaries of the collar.

"The team at Grand Bank is widely respected for its expertise and abilities, and we're confident that they'll make a great addition to the BancorpSouth family," stated Dan Rollins, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BancorpSouth Bank. "This merger will give us an opportunity to expand our presence in the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth market, as well as position us for greater success in the Texas Hill Country."

Commenting on the announcement, Michael T. Casey, Chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of Grand Bank, said, "BancorpSouth shares our values of providing exceptional service to customers and forming partnerships within our communities. This is an exciting time for our bank, and I'm looking forward to the exciting benefits this merger will have for all of our stakeholders."

Upon completion of the transaction, Casey will serve as BancorpSouth Bank's Dallas Area Chairman.

The merger has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, including the approval by Casey Bancorp's shareholders and the receipt of customary regulatory approvals. The transaction is anticipated to close during the first half of 2019, pending regulatory approval and satisfaction of the other customary closing conditions.

Grand Bank was advised in this transaction by Commerce Street Capital as financial advisor and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as legal counsel. Alston & Bird LLP acted as legal counsel to BancorpSouth.

In addition to the information contained within this News Release, an Investor Presentation has been posted on BancorpSouth Bank's website (www.bancorpsouth.com) and has been furnished as an exhibit to a Form 8-K filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). The presentation contains additional information regarding the merger with Grand Bank.

About BancorpSouth Bank

BancorpSouth Bank (NYSE: BXS) is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, with approximately $18 billion in assets. BancorpSouth operates approximately 285 full-service branch locations as well as additional mortgage, insurance and loan production offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas, including an insurance location in Illinois. BancorpSouth is committed to a culture of respect, diversity and inclusion in both its workplace and communities. To learn more, visit our Community Commitment page at www.bancorpsouth.com . Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@MyBXS); or connect with us through LinkedIn.

Additional Information

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed merger transaction involving BancorpSouth and Grand Bank. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. In connection with the proposed merger, BancorpSouth Bank and Grand Bank will deliver a proxy statement and related offering materials to the shareholders of Grand Bank seeking approval of the merger and related matters. Shareholders of Grand Bank are encouraged to read the proxy statement and offering materials carefully in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about the merger, BancorpSouth Bank and Grand Bank. The proxy statement and related offering materials will also be made available without charge from the Corporate Secretary of each of BancorpSouth Bank and Grand Bank.

BancorpSouth Bank and Grand Bank, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Grand Bank in respect of the proposed merger transaction. Certain information about the directors and executive officers of BancorpSouth Bank is set forth in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the FDIC on February 26, 2018 and its proxy statement for its 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the FDIC on March 23, 2018. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitations and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the proxy statement and related offering materials when they become available.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this Report may not be based upon historical facts and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be identified by their reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "continue," "seek," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "foresee," "hope," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "should," "predict," "project," "goal," "outlook," "potential," "will," "will result," "will likely result," or "would" or future or conditional verb tenses and variations or negatives of such terms. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, those relating to the terms, timing and closing of the proposed merger with Grand Bank, acceptance by Grand Bank's customers of BancorpSouth Bank's products and services, the opportunities for BancorpSouth Bank to enhance market share in certain markets and market acceptance of BancorpSouth Bank generally in new markets.

BancorpSouth Bank cautions readers not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this new release, in that actual results could differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of BancorpSouth Bank. These factors may include, but are not limited to, the ability of BancorpSouth Bank and Grand Bank to complete the merger transaction, the ability of BancorpSouth Bank and Grand Bank to satisfy the conditions to the completion of the merger transaction, including the approval of the merger transaction by Grand Bank's shareholders and the receipt of all regulatory approvals required for the merger transaction on the terms expected in the merger agreement, the ability of BancorpSouth Bank and Grand Bank to meet expectations regarding the timing, completion and accounting and tax treatments of the merger transaction, the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the merger transaction will not be realized or will not be realized as expected, the failure of the merger transaction to close for any other reason, the effect of the announcement of the merger transaction on BancorpSouth Bank's operating results, the possibility that the merger transaction may be more expensive or more time consuming to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events and the impact of all other factors generally understood to affect the assets, business, cash flows, financial condition, liquidity, prospects and/or results of operations of financial services companies and the other factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in BancorpSouth Bank's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 which was filed with the FDIC on February 26, 2018. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and, except as required by law, BancorpSouth Bank does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this news release.

SOURCE BancorpSouth Bank

Related Links

http://www.bancorpsouth.com


INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Through Triple Play, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation are delivering education and programming that promotes the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition, and enables youth to build the skills needed to overcome environmental factors that can negatively impact health and wellness. Thanks to $15,000 in Triple Play grants from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, more youth will have access to health and wellness programming in Indiana.

Through the partnership, Boys & Girls Clubs in Indiana have made significant strides in enabling youth to reach their full potential as healthy, productive adults. When comparing Indiana Club kids to national youth averages, 82 percent of Clubs kids never drank alcohol while 37 percent of national youth reported never drinking alcohol. Thanks to the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the following Clubs will receive grants to implement the Triple Play program:

Boys & Girls Club of Fort Wayne

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana

Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City

"At Anthem, we understand the important role that these programs play in encouraging children and teens to be more active and make healthy choices," said Dr. Kimberly Roop, Anthem Indiana Medicaid Plan President. "Through our Foundation, we are taking a proactive approach to adolescent health that takes into consideration social and environmental factors that impact well-being, and providing access to resources and support that fosters a greater awareness about the benefits of leading a healthier lifestyle that can positively impact their future."

As Boys & Girls Clubs of America's proven health and wellness program, Triple Play is a game plan for the mind, body and soul. Supported by founding sponsor The Coca-Cola Company and co-sponsor, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the program's three components deliver on the belief that whole child health fosters young people's ability to gain diverse knowledge, skills, and protective factors that enable them to overcome barriers to wellness, resulting in positive future health outcomes.

"Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's continued support of Triple Play has enabled us to continuously build and implement a whole child development approach," said Jennifer Bateman, National Vice President of Youth Development Programs for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Through the partnership, we're enabling Indiana youth in all communities statewide the opportunity to develop the healthy habits, and social and emotional skills to lead a healthy lifestyle for life."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is committed to improving health and strengthening communities. Over the summer, the Foundation awarded Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis with a $25,000 grant to expand the Triple Play program for Indianapolis youth.

Through Triple Play, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation aims to create positive outcomes for youth, families and communities that are sustained over time. Together, the partnership seeks to level the playing field to enable all youth to achieve great futures.

The Triple Play grants are part of a five-year, $10 million commitment to Boys & Girls Clubs of America from The Anthem Foundation, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's parent company.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,400 Clubs serve 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more on Facebook and Twitter.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Associate Giving program which provides a 50 percent match of associates' pledges, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Related Links

http://www.bgca.org


WAUKESHA, Wis., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Through Triple Play, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation are delivering education and programming that promote the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition, and enable youth to build the skills needed to overcome environmental factors that can negatively impact health and wellness. Thanks to $10,000 in Triple Play grants from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, more youth will have access to health and wellness programming in Wisconsin.

Through the partnership, Boys & Girls Clubs in Wisconsin have made significant strides enabling youth to reach their full potential as healthy, productive adults. When comparing Wisconsin Club youth to national youth averages, for example, 78 percent of Clubs youth report they have never drank alcohol, compared to 37 percent of youth nationally.

Thanks to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the following Clubs will receive grants to implement the Triple Play program:

Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha

Stateline Boys & Girls Club

"At Anthem, we are working to ensure Wisconsin youth have an opportunity to live a healthier life," said Leon Lamoreaux, Anthem Wisconsin Medicaid Plan President. "Through our Foundation, we are taking a proactive approach to adolescent health that takes into consideration social and environmental factors that impact well-being, and providing access to resources and support that foster greater awareness about the benefits of leading a healthier lifestyle that can positively impact their future."

As Boys & Girls Clubs of America's proven health and wellness program, Triple Play is a game plan for the mind, body and soul. Supported by founding sponsor The Coca-Cola Company and co-sponsor Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the program's three components deliver on the belief that whole child health fosters young people's ability to gain diverse knowledge, skills and protective factors that enable them to overcome barriers to wellness, resulting in positive future health outcomes.

"Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's continued support of Triple Play has enabled us to continuously build and implement a whole child development approach," said Jennifer Bateman, National Vice President of Youth Development Programs for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Through the partnership, we're enabling Wisconsin youth in all communities statewide to develop the healthy habits, and social and emotional skills to lead a healthy lifestyle for life."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is committed to improving health and strengthening communities. Over the summer, the Foundation awarded the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee a $25,000 grant to expand the Triple Play program for local youth.

Through Triple Play, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation aims to create positive outcomes for youth, families and communities that are sustained over time. Together, the partnership seeks to level the playing field to enable all youth to achieve great futures.

The Triple Play grants are part of a five-year, $10 million commitment to Boys & Girls Clubs of America from The Anthem Foundation, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's parent company.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,400 Clubs serve 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more on Facebook and Twitter.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Associate Giving program which provides a 50 percent match of associates' pledges, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Related Links

http://www.bgca.org


LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BP p.l.c. ("BP") (LSE: BP) (FWB: BPE) (NYSE: BP) today announced the commencement of offers to exchange (the "Exchange Offers" and each, an "Exchange Offer") any and all validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted notes up to a maximum amount of $10.6 billion (the "Maximum Amount") of twenty-three series of notes issued by BP Capital Markets p.l.c. ("BP Capital U.K.") (the "Old Notes") for a combination of cash and new notes to be issued by BP Capital Markets America Inc. ("BP Capital America" or the "Issuer") and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by BP (the "New Notes") as described in the table below. The terms of the Old Notes and New Notes are substantially identical, except for the issuing entity. A Registration Statement on Form F-4 (the "Registration Statement") relating to the issuance of the New Notes was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") today but has not yet been declared effective.

If any series of Old Notes is accepted for exchange, all Old Notes of that series that are validly tendered and not validly withdrawn will be accepted for exchange. Accordingly, no series of Old Notes will be subject to proration pursuant to the Exchange Offers.

The aggregate principal amount of Old Notes that will be accepted for exchange will be based on the order of acceptance priority for such series as set forth in the table below (the "Acceptance Priority Levels"), with Acceptance Priority Level 1 being the highest and Acceptance Priority Level 23 being the lowest, subject to the applicable Minimum Size Condition and the Maximum Amount Condition (each as described below).

Aggregate Principal Amount

($MM) Title of Series of Notes Issued by BP Capital U.K. to be Exchanged (collectively, the "Old Notes") CUSIP/ISIN No. Acceptance Priority Level Title of Series of Notes to be Issued by BP Capital America (collectively, the "New Notes") (1) Minimum New Notes Size (2) ($MM) Exchange Consideration (3) Early Participation Premium (3) Total Consideration (3)(4)











New Notes (principal amount) (1) Cash New Notes (principal amount) (1) New Notes (principal amount) (1) Cash





















$850 3.588% Guaranteed Notes due 2027 05565QDM7/US05565QDM78 1 3.588% Guaranteed Notes due 2027 $400 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,000 3.017% Guaranteed Notes due 2027 05565QDF2/US05565QDF28 2 3.017% Guaranteed Notes due 2027 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,250 3.119% Guaranteed Notes due 2026 05565QDB1/US05565QDB14 3 3.119% Guaranteed Notes due 2026 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,000 3.224% Guaranteed Notes due 2024 05565QDL9/US05565QDL95 4 3.224% Guaranteed Notes due 2024 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,200 3.216% Guaranteed Notes due 2023 05565QDG0/US05565QDG01 5 3.216% Guaranteed Notes due 2023 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,500 2.750% Guaranteed Notes due 2023 05565QCD8/US05565QCD88 6 2.750% Guaranteed Notes due 2023 $750 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$700 2.520% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 05565QDP0/US05565QDP00 7 2.520% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 $350 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,750 3.245% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 05565QBZ0/US05565QBZ00 8 3.245% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 $750 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$750 2.112% Guaranteed Notes due 2021 05565QDD7/US05565QDD79 9 2.112% Guaranteed Notes due 2021 $350 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,400 4.742% Guaranteed Notes due 2021 05565QBR8/US05565QBR83 10 4.742% Guaranteed Notes due 2021 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,500 4.50% Guaranteed Notes due 2020 05565QBP2/US05565QBP28 11 4.50% Guaranteed Notes due 2020 $750 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,250 2.521% Guaranteed Notes due 2020 05565QCT3/US05565QCT31 12 2.521% Guaranteed Notes due 2020 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,500 3.279% Guaranteed Notes due 2027 05565QDN5/US05565QDN51 13 3.279% Guaranteed Notes due 2027 $750 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$750 3.535% Guaranteed Notes due 2024 05565QCS5/US05565QCS57 14 3.535% Guaranteed Notes due 2024 $350 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$750 3.994% Guaranteed Notes due 2023 05565QCJ5/US05565QCJ58 15 3.994% Guaranteed Notes due 2023 $350 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,000 2.500% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 05565QCB2/US05565QCB23 16 2.500% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,000 3.561% Guaranteed Notes due 2021 05565QBU1/US05565QBU13 17 3.561% Guaranteed Notes due 2021 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,250 3.814% Guaranteed Notes due 2024 05565QCP1/US05565QCP19 18 3.814% Guaranteed Notes due 2024 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,000 3.062% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 05565QCZ9/US05565QCZ90 19 3.062% Guaranteed Notes due 2022 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$300 Floating Rate Guaranteed Notes due 2022 05565QDQ8/US05565QDQ82 20 Floating Rate Guaranteed Notes due 2022  $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$250 Floating Rate Guaranteed Notes due 2021 05565QDE5/US05565QDE52 21 Floating Rate Guaranteed Notes due 2021  $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$800 3.723% Guaranteed Notes due 2028 05565QDH8/US05565QDH83 22 3.723% Guaranteed Notes due 2028 $400 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1





















$1,000 3.506% Guaranteed Notes due 2025 05565QDA3/US05565QDA31 23 3.506% Guaranteed Notes due 2025 $500 $970 $1 $30 $1,000 $1

(1) The term "New Notes" in this column refers, in each case, to the series of New Notes corresponding to the series of Old Notes of like tenor and coupon.

(2) No Old Fixed Rate Notes (as defined below) of a given series will be accepted for exchange unless the aggregate principal amount of New Notes to be issued on the Settlement Date (as defined below) in exchange for such series of Old Fixed Rate Notes is greater than or equal to the applicable Minimum New Notes Size.

(3) Consideration per $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered and accepted for exchange.

(4) Includes the Early Participation Premium for Old Notes validly tendered prior to the Early Participation Deadline (described below) and not validly withdrawn.

No Old Fixed Rate Notes (being the Old Notes with Acceptance Priority Levels 1 through 19, 22 and 23, collectively the "Old Fixed Rate Notes") of a given series will be accepted for exchange unless the aggregate principal amount of New Notes to be issued on the Settlement Date (as defined below) in exchange for such series of Old Fixed Rate Notes is greater than or equal to the applicable minimum new notes size detailed in the table above (the "Minimum New Notes Size" and, such condition, the "Minimum Size Condition"). Additionally, no Old Notes of a given series will be accepted for exchange unless the Maximum Amount is greater than or equal to the sum of (i) the aggregate principal amount of such series of Old Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn and (ii) the aggregate principal amount of all series of Old Notes having a higher Acceptance Priority Level which have been accepted for exchange (the "Maximum Amount Condition").

If either of the Minimum Size Condition or the Maximum Amount Condition is not satisfied with respect to a given series of Old Notes, then (i) no Old Notes of that series will be accepted for exchange (whether or not validly tendered) and (ii) the series of Old Notes (if any) with the next lowest Acceptance Priority Level that satisfies both the Minimum Size Condition and the Maximum Amount Condition will be accepted for exchange, until there is no series of Old Notes with a lower Acceptance Priority Level to consider for exchange. Satisfaction of the Maximum Amount Condition will be tested at the Expiration Time (as defined below) for each series in order of Acceptance Priority Level.

It is possible that any series of Old Notes with Acceptance Priority Level 10 or lower will fail to meet the Maximum Amount Condition and therefore will not be accepted for exchange.

The Exchange Offers commenced on November 14, 2018. The Exchange Offers will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on December 12, 2018 unless extended (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Expiration Time"). In order to be eligible to receive the total consideration described in the table above (the "Total Consideration"), holders must validly tender their Old Notes at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on November 28, 2018, unless extended (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Early Participation Deadline"). Tenders of Old Notes may not be withdrawn after the Expiration Time, unless extended (such date and time, as it may be extended, the "Withdrawal Deadline").

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Registration Statement, including the applicable Minimum Size Condition and the Maximum Amount Condition, in exchange for each $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes that is validly tendered prior to the Early Participation Deadline and not validly withdrawn, holders will receive the Total Consideration, which consists of $1,000 principal amount of dollar-denominated New Notes and a cash amount of $1.00.

The Total Consideration includes an early participation premium set out in the table above (the "Early Participation Premium"), which consists of $30 principal amount of New Notes.

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Registration Statement, including the applicable Minimum Size Condition and the Maximum Amount Condition, in exchange for $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes that is validly tendered after the Early Participation Deadline but prior to the Expiration Time and not validly withdrawn, holders will receive only the exchange consideration set out in the table above (the "Exchange Consideration"), which is equal to the Total Consideration less the Early Participation Premium and so consists of $970 principal amount of New Notes and a cash amount of $1.00.

Subject to applicable law, BP reserves the right, but is not obligated, to increase or decrease the Maximum Amount in its sole and absolute discretion. The Exchange Offers are subject to certain conditions described in the Registration Statement. Subject to applicable law, BP reserves the right to waive any condition to any of the Exchange Offers (including the Minimum Size Condition and Maximum Amount Condition) in its sole and absolute discretion.

If, as of the Expiration Time, all conditions, including the applicable Minimum Size Condition and the Maximum Amount Condition, have been or are concurrently satisfied or waived by BP in respect of a given Exchange Offer, BP will accept for exchange all Old Notes of the applicable series tendered for exchange, subject to the Acceptance Priority Levels (the date of such exchange, the "Settlement Date"). BP expects the Settlement Date to occur on the second business day immediately following the Expiration Time, being December 14, 2018, if such Exchange Offer is not extended.

BP is conducting the Exchange Offers to efficiently migrate Old Notes from BP Capital U.K. to BP Capital America in order to optimize the BP Group's capital structure and align revenue generation to indebtedness. This follows recent efforts by BP to issue U.S. debt from BP Capital America, as demonstrated by BP's most recent U.S. issuance activity.

Other than the identity of the Issuer, the terms of the New Notes to be issued in the Exchange Offers are identical in all material respects to the Old Notes, with minor exceptions described in the Registration Statement. No accrued but unpaid interest will be paid on the Old Notes in connection with the Exchange Offers. However, interest on the applicable New Note will accrue from and including the most recent interest payment date of the tendered Old Note, including for any series of Old Notes which has had a record date prior to the issuance of the New Notes. Subject to the minimum denominations as described in the Registration Statement, the principal amount of each New Note will be rounded down, if necessary, to the nearest whole multiple of $1,000, and BP will pay cash equal to the remaining portion (plus accrued interest thereon), if any, of the exchange price of such Old Note.

The New Notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the Issuer and will rank equally with all other existing and future unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of the Issuer. The New Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by BP.

The dealer managers for the Exchange Offers relating to the Old Notes are:

Barclays 745 Seventh Avenue, 5th Floor New York, New York 10019 U.S.A. Attention: Liability Management Group By Telephone: In the U.S. Toll free: (800) 438-3242 Collect: (212) 528-7581 In Europe London: +44 203 134 8515 By Email: [email protected] BofA Merrill Lynch 214 North Tryon Street, 14th Floor Charlotte, North Carolina 28255 U.S.A. Attention: Liability Management Group By Telephone: In the U.S. Toll-Free: (888) 292-0070 Collect: (980) 683-3215 In Europe London: +44 207 996 5420 By Email: [email protected] Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC 200 West Street New York, New York 10282 U.S.A. Attn: Liability Management Group By Telephone: In the U.S. Toll Free: (800) 828-3182 Collect: (212) 902-6941 In Europe London: +44 20 7774 9862 By Email: [email protected]

The exchange agent and information agent for the Exchange Offers relating to the Old Notes is:

By Phone: Bank and Brokers Call Collect: +1 (212) 269-5550 All Others, Please Call Toll-Free: +1 (877) 674-6273 D.F. King & Co., Inc. By E-Mail: [email protected] By Mail or Hand:

48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor New York, NY 10005

The Exchange Offers are being made pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in BP's prospectus, dated as of November 14, 2018 (the "Prospectus"), which forms a part of the Registration Statement. Tendered Old Notes may be validly withdrawn at any time prior to the Expiration Date and, subject to applicable law, BP may terminate or withdraw the Exchange Offers at any time for any reason.

The consummation of the Exchange Offers is conditional upon a declaration of effectiveness of the Registration Statement by the SEC.

This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and is also not a solicitation of the related consents. The Exchange Offers may be made solely pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Prospectus, and the other related materials. A Registration Statement relating to the New Notes has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. The New Notes may not be sold or exchanged for Old Notes, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the Registration Statement is declared effective by the SEC.

Security holders are urged to read the exchange offer materials, when available, including the registration statement on Form F-4 filed with the SEC, as amended from time to time, the related Prospectus, and the other materials related to the proposed exchange offer filed with the SEC, because they contain important information. These and other documents relating to the proposed exchange offer, when they are filed with the SEC, may be obtained, free of charge, on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov, or may be obtained, free of charge, from the Issuer after the exchange offer has been commenced by requesting in writing to BP p.l.c. at 1 St. James's Square London SW1Y 4PD, United Kingdom or by telephone to +44-20-7496-4000. A copy of the prospectus for the exchange offers will also be available, free of charge.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

Non-U.S. Distribution Restrictions

European Economic Area. The New Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area ("EEA"). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC (as amended, the "Insurance Mediation Directive"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, the "Prospectus Directive"). Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

MiFID II product governance / Professional investors and ECPs only target marketIn the EEA and solely for the purposes of the product approval process conducted by any Dealer Manager who is a manufacturer with respect to the New Notes for the purposes of the MiFID II product governance rule under EU Delegated Directive 2017/593 (each, a "manufacturer"), the manufacturers' target market assessment in respect of the New Notes has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the New Notes is eligible counterparties and professional clients only, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) all channels for distribution of the New Notes to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the New Notes (a "distributor") should take into consideration the manufacturers' target market assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Notes (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers' target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.

Belgium. Neither the Prospectus nor any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority ("Autorite des services et marches financiers"/"Autoriteit voor Financiele Diensten en Markten"). The Exchange Offers are not being, and may not be, made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3, 1, 1 and 6, 1 of the Belgian Law of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids ("loi relative aux offres publiques d'acquisition"/"wet op de openbare overnamebiedingen") (the "Belgian Takeover Law") or as defined in Article 3, 1 of the Belgian Law of June 16, 2006 on the public offer of investment instruments and the admission to trading of investment instruments on a regulated market ("loi relative aux offres publiques d'instruments de placement et aux admissions d'instruments de placement a la negociation sur des marches reglementes"/"wet op de openbare aanbieding van beleggingsinstrumenten en de toelating van beleggingsinstrumenten tot de verhandeling op een gereglementeerde markt") (the "Belgian Prospectus Law"), both as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Exchange Offers may not be, and are not being, advertised and the Exchange Offers will not be extended, and neither the Prospectus nor any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than (i) to persons which are "qualified investors" ("investisseurs qualifies"/"gekwalificeerde beleggers") as defined in Article 10, 1 of the Belgian Prospectus Law, acting on their own account, as referred to in Article 6, 3 of the Belgian Takeover Law or (ii) in any other circumstances set out in Article 6, 4 of the Belgian Takeover Law and Article 3, 4 of the Belgian Prospectus Law. The Prospectus has been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Exchange Offers. Accordingly, the information contained in the Prospectus or in any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed or distributed to any other person in Belgium.

France. The Exchange Offers are not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in the Republic of France. Neither the Prospectus nor any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers have been or shall be distributed to the public in France and only (i) providers of investment services relating to portfolio management for the account of third parties (personnes fournissant le service d'investissement de gestion de portefeuille pour compte de tiers) and/or (ii) qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies) other than individuals, in each case acting on their own account and all as defined in, and in accordance with, Articles L.411-1, L.411-2, D.321-1 and D.411-1 of the French Code Monetaire et Financier, are eligible to participate in the Exchange Offers. The Prospectus and any other document or material relating to the Exchange Offers have not been and will not be submitted for clearance to nor approved by the Autorite des marches financiers."

Italy. None of the Exchange Offers, the Prospectus or any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers or the New Notes have been or will be submitted to the clearance procedure of the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa ("CONSOB"). The Exchange Offers are being carried out in the Republic of Italy as exempted offers pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the "Financial Services Act") and article 35-bis, paragraph 3, of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended (the "Issuers' Regulation") and, therefore, are intended for, and directed only at, qualified investors (investitori qualificati) (the "Italian Qualified Investors"), as defined pursuant to Article 100, paragraph 1, letter (a) of the Financial Services Act and Article 34-ter, paragraph 1, letter (b) of the Issuers' Regulation. Accordingly, the Exchange Offers cannot be promoted, nor may copies of any document related thereto or to the New Notes be distributed, mailed or otherwise forwarded, or sent, to the public in Italy, whether by mail or by any means or other instrument (including, without limitation, telephonically or electronically) or any facility of a national securities exchange available in Italy, other than to Italian Qualified Investors. Persons receiving this prospectus must not forward, distribute or send it in or into or from Italy. Noteholders or beneficial owners of the Old Notes that are resident or located in Italy can offer to exchange the notes pursuant to the Exchange Offers through authorized persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of 29 October 2007, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority. Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-a-vis its clients in connection with the Old Notes, the New Notes, the Exchange Offers or the Prospectus.

United Kingdom. The Prospectus is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The New Notes are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the New Notes will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

Hong Kong. The New Notes may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to "professional investors" within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a "prospectus" within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the New Notes may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to New Notes which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to "professional investors" within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

Japan. The New Notes have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any New Notes, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

Singapore. The prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, and if the Issuer has not notified the dealer(s) on the classification of the New Notes under and pursuant to Section 309(B)(1) of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 Singapore (the "SFA"), The prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the New Notes may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the New Notes be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of Chapter 289 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the New Notes are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries' rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the New Notes under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

Singapore Securities and Futures Act Product ClassificationSolely for the purposes of its obligations pursuant to sections 309B(1)(a) and 309B(1)(c) of the SFA, the Company has determined, and hereby notifies all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A of the SFA) that the shares are "prescribed capital markets products" (as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018) and Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).

Further information :

BP press office, London: +44 (0)20 7496 4076, [email protected]

BP press office, Houston: +1 281 366 4463, [email protected]

Cautionary Statement :

In order to utilize the 'safe harbor' provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the 'PSLRA') and the general doctrine of cautionary statements, BP is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements  that is, statements related to future, not past events and circumstances  which may relate to one or more of the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of BP and certain of the plans and objectives of BP with respect to these items. These statements are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words such as 'will', 'expects', 'is expected to', 'aims', 'should', 'may', 'objective', 'is likely to', 'intends', 'believes', 'anticipates', 'plans', 'we see' or similar expressions. Actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including the risk factors set forth in our most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F under "Risk factors" and in any of our more recent public reports.

Our most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F and other period filings are available on our website at www.bp.com, or can be obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or on its website at www.sec.gov.

SOURCE BP p.l.c.
MORRO BAY, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- With boat-filled harbor and miles of beautiful beaches, Morro Bay celebrates the spirit of this fishing village in maritime style during holiday season. Find festive holiday trees made out of crab pots throughout town, historic tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain in the harbor during November and December, Santa's House on the Embarcadero, two lighted boat parades, a paddle parade and so much more.

Bright Lights, Boat City - Morro Bay Rocks the Holidays! To celebrate its heritage the Central Coast Fisheries for Women arrange for nearly 30 Crab Pot Christmas Trees to be placed throughout town as a way to honor the amazing fishing families of Morro Bay, CA.

"Morro Bay during the holidays is a fun place to visit," says Jennifer Little, Morro Bay Tourism Manager. "Crab season is open and abundant, boat parades and tall ships in harbor, nearly 30 crab pot holiday trees light up town, and local wine tasting and Hearst Castle are minutes away. We've got so many ways to celebrate the holidays with family and friends."

Hearst Castle and Wine Make us Merry!

Holiday cheer is in abundance in and around Morro Bay. Located on California's Central Coast on scenic Highway 1 just minutes from the festive holiday tours at Hearst Castle, and wine tasting in Paso Robles and Edna Valley Wine regions, Morro Bay is the place to holiday. Paso Robles and Edna Valley are home to many wine touring companies that will come to Morro Bay and pick you up from your hotel. Need more reasons to visit? Check out these holiday lodging specials.

Fresh Local Crab on the Menu

During the holiday season, locals and visitors rave about the fresh and local seasonal crab found in abundance at Morro Bay seafood markets and restaurants. A true treat for the holidays, don't miss out!

Rock these Holiday Events!

This time of year offers some of the best weather to be outdoors, on the water, on the beach or anywhere in Morro Bay! Check out these upcoming events:

November 28  Dec 18: Tall Ship Lady Washington in Harbor

November 30: Citywide Holiday Crab Pot Tree Lighting

November 30: Lighted Boat Parade Preview

November 30  Dec 15: Santa's House at the Embarcadero

December 1  Dec 18: Tall Ship Hawaiian Chieftain in Harbor

December 1: 33rd Annual Lighted Boat Parade

December 2: Paddle Parade

December 7: Santa's Crawl

December 8: Gingerbread House Competition

December 9: Real Snow Event!!!

Designated as the Best Budget Destination in California for 2018 by Budget Travel, Morro Bay is a world-class destination with rooms to fit any budget. Click here to find holiday lodgings specials for your next visit! For information on all the exciting things to do and see in Morro Bay, visit www.morrobay.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Susan Hartzler

Public Relations Manager

Mental Marketing

818-585-8641

[email protected]

SOURCE Morro Bay

Related Links

http://www.morrobay.org


Greatland Corporation, one of the country's leading providers for businesses of W-2, 1099, and 1095 forms and e-filing services, is reminding businesses to be aware of the unique requirements and differing deadlines of each state as well.

What is a 1099-MISC?

A 1099-MISC is the form businesses use to report miscellaneous income, such as income earned as a contract or freelance worker, as well as fees, royalties, commissions and rental income. If you are an employer who uses contractors or freelance workers whom you paid at least $600 during the year, you must provide them and the IRS with a 1099-MISC form to report this income. Many businesses mistakenly assume that filing 1099-MISC forms with the federal government is enough.

"More than 30 states require businesses to file Form 1099-MISC  some with deadlines that differ from those of the IRS," said Janice Krueger, a subject matter expert at Greatland Corporation. "Most states only have one deadline for 1099-MISC reporting, but there are exceptions like Alabama where the deadline varies depending upon whether state tax was withheld or not."

It is important to note fines for 1099-MISC delays can add up quickly. They start at $50 per Form 1099-MISC if late 30 days or less, increasing to $100 per form if late more than 30 days. The penalty increases to $270 per form filed after August 1.

Businesses should take special note: they will not be able to acquire a 30-day extension to file 1099's. Extensions will only be granted in cases of catastrophic event or serious illness. To apply for such an extension, businesses must file an IRS Form 8809.

For more information on 1099-MISC state filing deadlines, visit Greatland's new Yearli Site, the most complete W-2, 1099 and 1095 filing program on the market.

About Greatland

Greatland (www.greatland.com) is the W-2 and 1099 specialist, focused on providing information, products, and solutions for small to mid-size businesses and accountants. Greatland helps customers navigate annual reporting changes, including extensive expertise about ACA reporting. Through Greatland's subsidiaries  Greatland, Nelco, and Broker Forms  the company offers an extensive array of specialized products for businesses: W-2 forms, 1099 forms, 1095 forms, W-2 and 1099 software, online filing, business checks, presentation materials, income tax preparation supplies, and mortgage forms. Greatland also offers Yearli, a comprehensive W-2 and 1099 reporting software and online filing platform. Greatland is an employee-owned company with locations in Grand Rapids, Mich. and Green Bay, Wis. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter: @GreatlandCorp

Contact:

Matt Witowski

Lambert

[email protected]

616-258-5771

SOURCE Greatland

Related Links

http://www.greatland.com


CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Square 1031, a leading real estate investment and management firm specializing in Delaware statutory trust offerings, announced today its acquisition of a 151,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility located in greater Charlotte, North Carolina.

"This is an attractive corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility that is leased to Carolina Beverage Group for 20 years on an absolute net basis, where the tenant is responsible for taxes, insurance, and maintenance and repairs," said Louis Rogers, founder and chief executive officer of Capital Square 1031. "The tenant has invested approximately $80 million into equipment and infrastructure at the property, which supports long-term tenant retention. Additionally, the property benefits from its excellent location in greater Charlotte, which has been one of the nation's fastest-growing metros over the past 15 years. Capital Square acquired the property for a Delaware statutory trust (DST) offering, making it the 51st DST we have sponsored since inception."

Located at 110 Barkley Park Lane, the facility also serves as the corporate headquarters for Carolina Beverage Group, a world-class co-packing producer for national and international beverage brands like Monster Energy, Red Bull, Rockstar, Pepsi, Spindrift and others. The company focuses on co-packing specialty-sized cans, plastic bottles and glass containers for makers of well-known malt beverages, distilled spirits, energy drinks and other ready-to-drink beverages.

The state-of-the-art Carolina Beverage facility has a current capacity of 38 million cases annually, including the latest in high-speed can-filling, batching, tunnel pasteurization and laboratory technologies. The property features 12 dock-high doors, two oversized loading doors and has sprinklers throughout more than 85 percent of the facility.

Since its inception, Capital Square 1031 has sponsored 51 DST programs comprising 72 individual properties and has completed approximately $835 million in transaction volume.

About Capital Square 1031

Capital Square 1031 is a national real estate investment and management company that sponsors institutional-quality real estate exchange programs that qualify for tax deferral under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. The company acquires multifamily properties for growth, necessary medical properties for stable income, and other real estate investments (sale/leasebacks, headquarters, offices and facilities) that have the potential to provide exceptional risk adjusted returns. By acquiring a portfolio of DSTs, investors are able to diversify and reduce the risk they would face with a single asset investment. Capital Square aims to provide real estate investors greater access to quality investments and financial planning tools to better manage and mitigate risk.

Capital Square provides a range of services, including due diligence, acquisition, loan sourcing, property management/asset management, and disposition, for a growing number of high net worth investors, private equity firms, family offices and institutional investors. Since inception, the firm has sponsored 51 DSTs and has completed approximately $835 million in transaction volume. To learn more, visit www.CapitalSquare1031.com.

Contact: Julie Leber

Spotlight Marketing Communications

949.427.1391

[email protected]

SOURCE Capital Square 1031

Related Links

http://www.capitalsquare1031.com


ATLANTA, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In the celebrated poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh kills Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest, and chops down the trees. Now, a children's book author has published a fiction book written from the perspective of Humbaba's descendants.

According to Kam Karem, author of Ranger Nader & The Sunstruck Phantom:

Ranger Nader & The Sunstruck Phantom Ranger v. Gilgamesh in an Epic Battle

My family, the Karems, immigrated to the United States from Bsharri, Lebanon in the early 1900s. In Bsharri, they, and the town's other inhabitants, served as "Keepers of the Cedars of God" for generations. This famous grove was part of the tremendous forests that used to cover most of Lebanon.

I've been doing a slow-burn with regards to Gilgamesh since I read the epic in high school. Essentially, to gain fame, Gilgamesh killed Humbaba, then clear-cut the Cedar Forest. As a matter of historic fact, the Egyptians, Hebrews, Romans, Greeks, Mycenaeans and Ottomans contributed to the deforestation of Lebanon. But using trees to build ships, houses, and temples is one thing, leveling a forest to satiate one's ego is another. Meanwhile, 4500 years after Gilgamesh reigned, the Keepers of the Cedar Forest, a role that all Lebanese share, struggle to bring light to their conservation efforts and for funding to accomplish reforestation.

In Ranger Nader & The Sunstruck Phantom, Ranger Nader is born into a family of Keepers. When he is accosted by a magic axe, he discovers he's this generation's "Guardian," i.e.: person entrusted with the axe to preserve and protect God's Holy Cedars. Along with his sister and two cousins, Ranger trains to crew a spaceship in a secret school hidden in Bsharri. He meets a descendant of Humbaba there and learns to use his axe. When Gilgamesh resurfaces intent on destroying the world, Ranger confronts the crazy king with the magic axe in an epic show down.

Ranger Nader & The Sunstruck Phantom is middle grade book appropriate for children ten years and older. It's on sale now at Amazon at https://amzn.to/2yMX15A. You can read more about Kam Karem at http://www.amazon.com/author/kamkarem and contact her for a media kit or review copies at 770-653-6236 and at [email protected].

If you'd like more information about Lebanon's Reforestation efforts, here's where you need to go to:

https://www.daleel-madani.org/civil-society-directory/reforest-lebanon

https://www.cedarsbox.com, and https://www.facebook.com/LebanonReforestationInitiative/

Kam Karem

915 Commercial Street

Conyers, Georgia 30012

770-653-6236: [email protected]

http://www.amazon.com/author/kamkarem

SOURCE Kam Karem
The Guide, which is the first of its kind in Michelin's 118-year history, aims to help global travellers and food lovers discover the best of Cantonese cuisine and Chinese culture globally. In total, 291 restaurants from across the world were featured in the guide, with 78 starred restaurants, 62 Bib Gourmand restaurants and 151 restaurants awarded a MICHELIN Plate.

"GAC motor considers the offering of the highest quality, high-end products to be of the utmost importance, just as the selection of ingredients are to the preparation of Cantonese food. Therefore, GAC Motor is proud to partner with Michelin to co-present the world's first Michelin Cantonese cuisine guide, the publication of which marks a further deepening of our cooperation with Michelin and highlights our pursuit of creating an enjoyable mobile lifestyle, while promoting our local, unique culinary delights and Chinese culture to the world," said Huang Yongsheng, the Vice President of GAC Motor.

Echoing the unique cooking methods of Cantonese cuisine and the way Cantonese cuisine is introduced to the world, GAC Motor is walking the same path and aims to source, manufacture and blend the finest auto-parts, professional service and innovative designs to create exceptional vehicles.

Michelin is one of GAC Motor's 18 world-leading strategic auto suppliers. In 2017, GAC Motor was the only Chinese brand to present at Move'On, Michelin's global sustainable mobility summit.

GAC Motor and Michelin signed a partnership agreement on November 2017 which included exclusive partnerships and exchanges in areas of spare parts purchase, technological innovation, branding and global market outreach. The co-launch of the local Michelin Guide represents a new chapter in the exploration of the partnership as GAC Motor begins a new phase of international development.

More international cooperation

With the aim of building a world-class brand, GAC Motor not only strengthens diversified and strategic cooperation with top international brands but also continues to work hard in international market development.

GAC Motor has released a new brand slogan "Pursue Greatness" as part of the company's 10th-anniversary celebration, heralding a new era and new beginning for the brand's path in both domestic and international operations. The company is quickly expanding in the global market and has already achieved significant recognition in South East Asia and the Middle East.

In the nine days from October 31 to November 8, GAC Motor opened a sales and service center in the United Arab Emirates, launched the GS7 SUV in Kuwait and debuted the brand in Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. As of now, GAC Motor has entered eight markets in the Middle East  Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia and two markets in South East Asia-the Philippines and Myanmar, achieved positive market feedback and set up a mid-to-high end brand image in the Middle East market.

About GAC Motor

Founded in 2008, Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor CO., LTD (GAC Motor) is a subsidiary of GAC Group, which ranks 202nd among Fortune Global 500 companies. The company develops and manufactures premium quality vehicles, engines, components and auto accessories. GAC Motor has now ranked first among all Chinese brands for six consecutive years in J.D. Power Asia Pacific's China Initial Quality Study SM (IQS), demonstrating the company's quality-centric strategy from innovative research and development (R&D), manufacturing to supply chain and sales & services.

For more information, please visit:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GACMotor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gac_motor

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/gac_motor

Media Contact:

Sukie Wong

+86-186-8058-2829

[email protected]

SOURCE GAC Motor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Motto Mortgage, an innovative mortgage brokerage franchise focused on transparency and compliance, has a new office in Florida. Motto Mortgage Exclusive will hold a grand opening celebration in Orange City, Florida on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 235 W. French Ave. The event will include a free barbeque dinner, mortgage education and an office meet-and-greet. The celebration is co-hosted by RE/MAX Core Collection.

All homebuyers who attend the grand opening celebration and acquire a home loan through Motto Mortgage Exclusive within six months, will receive a special rebate on appraisal fees at closing.

Founded in 2018 by Cherie Price, an entrepreneur and RE/MAX Core Collection broker owner with more than 30 years of experience in real estate, Motto Mortgage Exclusive is a customer-first, full-service mortgage brokerage. Ann Marie Amalfitano, an accomplished local mortgage broker with 16 years of experience, serves as principal loan originator and office manager.

"With our unique business model, Motto Mortgage Exclusive provides a distinctive one-stop shopping experience for homebuyers," said Price. "We provide the scope, scale and support of a large retail lender, while offering the competitive mortgage products, and exceptional customer service of a local mortgage broker."

Loan originators in the Motto Mortgage network have access to competitive loan options from various wholesale lenders and work hard to give homebuyers options  because no loan is one-size-fits-all. A loan originator with Motto Mortgage Exclusive can be reached at 386-960-0688.

Each Motto Mortgage franchise is independently owned, operated and licensed.

About Motto Mortgage Exclusive:

Motto Mortgage Exclusive (NMLS # 1710328) is a locally owned and operated full-service mortgage brokerage serving Volusia County, Florida and the surrounding areas. To learn more, please visit: https://www.mottomortgage.com/offices/exclusive-orange-city/

SOURCE Motto Mortgage

Related Links

http://www.mottomortgage.com


SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Catalyst, Inc., a leader in next-generation data, analytics, and decision support, today announced two important additions to its senior teamJason Jones, PhD, and Elia Stupka, PhD.

Jason Jones will serve in a new role as Chief Data Scientist at Health Catalyst. Jones formerly held senior analytics leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente, recognized as one of America's leading healthcare providers and not-for-profit health plans, as well as positions at Intermountain Healthcare, and Bayer Healthcare. Elia Stupka will serve as Health Catalyst's Senior Vice President, Life Sciences Business, Chief Analytics Officer. Stupka comes to the company from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a Health Catalyst client, where he led data science and bioinformatics, and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, where he led computational biology.

"We are excited and deeply grateful that Jason and Elia joined us; with their skills and backgrounds, they could work anywhere," said Dale Sanders, President of Technology for Health Catalyst. "As they both indicated during the lead-up to joining, they see Health Catalyst as being in a very unique position, poised for an impressive future. It's one thing for me, with all my biases, to feel that way, but quite another for these two to feel the same and commit to joining the team when their career options were literally unlimited. They will take us to a new level of capability."

Elia Stupka is a visionary leader with a passion for innovation in health and life sciences and 20 years of experience across industry, academic and clinical settings. In his new role at Health Catalyst, Stupka is leveraging the company's data to advance the life sciencesfrom drug discovery to understanding the patient impact of specific medicationsas well as helping existing clients to build new research data ecosystems integrated with the existing operational ecosystems.

In his role at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the world's leading cancer organizations, Stupka brought together research, clinical and operational data to improve patient outcomes and the discovery of new treatments. He started his career as a member of the first team to assemble the human genome in Cambridge, U.K., in 2001. He then worked with Nobel Laureate Sydney Brenner to build the first genome research group in Singapore.

Subsequently, Stupka worked at several key European research organizations, including the Telethon Institute of Genetics in Naples, Italy; University College London; and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, where he was director of computational biology and genomics. He also co-directed a genomics research center at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy, where he contributed to the successful development and completion of the first commercially viable gene therapy clinical trials. He has published 100+ peer reviewed articles, cited 35,000+ times across the fields of bioinformatics, genomics, drug discovery, and ethics. His work has contributed to the understanding of the human genome and transcriptome, the diagnosis of rare disease patients, the development of gene therapy and novel drugs on the market and the development of ethics frameworks pertaining to the fast-changing world of big data in health and biology.

Jason Jones is passionate about achieving the Quadruple Aim through better and easier use of data in healthcare, including helping organizations to find analytic focus; helping providers feel that the systems they work for have their backs; and helping people to understand and have their goals and preferences respected for the hopefully brief periods during which they are "patients." He sees Health Catalyst as a unique organization in which to bring this passion to life.

"Interest in health and healthcare-related analytics has increased dramatically over the last decade, but few organizations have shown the focus on fundamentals and commitment to each client's success as Health Catalyst over that time period," said Jones.

Previously, Jones served as Vice President, Information Support for Care Transformation, at Kaiser Permanente (KP). In that capacity, he brought together and co-led the national Hospital and Healthplan Quality and Finance analytic functions and led development of national quality strategy and care delivery IT investments. Prior to that, he was KP's Executive Director of Clinical Intelligence and Decision Support and a Research Scientist in KP's Southern California region.

Before joining KP, Jones was a Senior Medical Informaticist for Intermountain Healthcare. He also held analytic and marketing positions at Bayer Healthcare in Wayne, N.J., and Ingenix (now Optum) Pharmaceutical Information Products in Salt Lake City, where he developed a model for converting United Healthcare data into a saleable asset for external customers conducting outcomes research.

Throughout his career, Jones has taught graduate courses in statistics to medical informaticists at the University of Southern California and at the University of Utah. He has published dozens of peer-reviewed papers in medicine, predictive modeling, and outcomes improvement.

To download photos of the new Health Catalyst team members, please click on the links: Jason Jones, PhD, and Elia Stupka, PhD.

About Health Catalyst

Health Catalyst, Inc. is a next-generation data, analytics, and decision-support company, committed to being a catalyst for massive, sustained improvements in healthcare outcomes. We are the leaders in a new era of advanced predictive analytics for population health and value-based care with a suite of machine learning-driven solutions, decades of outcomes improvement expertise, and an unparalleled ability to unleash and integrate data from across the healthcare ecosystem. Our Health Catalyst Data Operating System (DOS)a next-generation data warehouse and application development platform powered by data from more than 100 million patients, and encompassing over 1 trillion factshelps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. Our technology and professional services can help you keep patients engaged and healthy in their homes, communities, and workplaces, and we can help you optimize care delivery to those patients when it becomes necessary. We are grateful to be recognized by Fortune, Gallup, Glassdoor, Modern Healthcare and a host of others as a Best Place to Work in technology and healthcare. Visit www.healthcatalyst.com, and follow @HealthCatalyst on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

For more information contact:

Todd Stein

Amendola Communications

510-417-0612

[email protected]

SOURCE Health Catalyst

Related Links

http://www.healthcatalyst.com


HHRD is a 4-star Charity Navigator rated non-profit organization for seven years in a row. It is part of InterAction: an alliance of 180+ NGOs in Washington, D.C.

HHRD has established a regional office in Yangon, the capitol city of Myanmar, where they continue to provide relief through local partner NGO Share Mercy and Treasure Land Development Association (TLDA) and in Bangladesh with Small Kindness Bangladesh (SKB) and Social Agency for Welfare and Advancement in Bangladesh (SAWAB); all with complete cooperation and approvals from their respective governmental authorities.

For HHRD's process of vetting partners visit: http://hhrd.org/pdf/vetting_process.pdf

At present, HHRD is supporting 400 orphans inside Myanmar, including the Rohingya inhabited Sittwe in the Rakhine State. HHRD, through SKB has been sponsoring one Rohingya Child Care Center for the past year which has helped in assisting 200 children, Ukhya Camp in Cox's Bazar. This Child Care Center is a full day non-formal school held for six days, from early morning until the evening. In October 2018, four more Child Care Centers were added, making it a total of 5 centers with 1,000 children being cared for. HHRD, in partnership with SKB, has also built 1,300 shelter homes which will help 7,800 people in Balukhali, Jamtoli, & Palongkhali in Cox's Bazar. These two room plus balcony shelter homes are made with bamboo and tarpaulin along with solar powered electric fixtures such as fans, bulbs, etc. A family of up to 6 people can live in this home, saving them from elements such as weather and insects. HHRD, through SKB, has been sponsoring two Rohingya Family Healthcare Clinic in Hakim Para, Thankhali, Ukhya, Cox's Bazar with Ambulance Service. One doctor, two nurses, and one pharmacists operate each of these basic clinics, which hold a well-stocked pharmacy and operates 315 days a year, while serving 73,000 patients. More than 40 different types of illnesses have been discovered at this clinic.

HHRD is been on the forefront of emergency relief in that region since the devastating Tsunami of 2004 where over 230,000 people died to the recent earthquake and Tsunami where death toll exceeded 2000.

As per United Nations, unfolding before our eyes is the 'ethnic' cleansing of Rohingya Muslims and therefore, making it the fastest growing refugee crisis of our lifetime. There are an estimated 1 million Rohingya living in Myanmar, and approximately the same number in Cox's Bazar Bangladesh, 150,000 in Malaysia, 1,000 in Indonesia, and in many other countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Pakistan, India, and Thailand.

Visit www.hhrd.org/burma for updates from the field and to learn more about HHRD's work in the region. Tax ID# 31-1628040

SOURCE Helping Hand for Relief and Development

Related Links

http://www.hhrd.org


ATLANTA, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers from Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), one of the fastest growing genetics companies, are presenting research at the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) 37th Annual Conference in Atlanta that further underscores the frequency of medically actionable genetic variants and their utility in clinical care. In addition to its research presentations, the company is supporting the Code Talker award, which recognizes excellence in the field of genetic counseling.

Currently, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recommends reporting clinically significant genetic variants in 59 genes as secondary findings for individuals who undergo whole exome or whole genome sequencing, regardless of the original indication for testing. These genes are known as the ACMG59 genes and are associated with increased risk of disease. A study presented at the meeting evaluated rates of secondary findings in the ACMG59 genes in 4,325 individuals who opted to receive an evaluation of secondary findings, either as the primary patient (proband) or as the parent of a patient.

Of all individuals evaluated, including both probands and healthy parents, 3.6 percent showed a medically significant finding in ACMG59 genes associated with personal disease risk. Importantly, one-third of positive findings were present only in a parent, highlighting the ability of secondary finding analysis to uncover actionable information for individuals who were not aware of their personal hereditary disease risk. These findings support expanding access to genetic screening for hereditary risk information in healthy individuals.

"Our study shows first that reporting on secondary findings for everyone who undergoes testing is important for patient health, regardless of the original reason for testing," said Robert Nussbaum, M.D., chief medical officer of Invitae. "In addition, the frequency of actionable variants identified here in the ACMG59 complements other Invitae data showing that as many as 16 percent of healthy people who choose to have a genetic health screen with a larger panel of 147 genes have an actionable genetic variant that puts them at risk for disease. These data support the value of offering targeted gene panels that include the ACMG59 genes to the general population in order to identify and mitigate hereditary disease risks."

Code Talker Award Honors Impact of Genetic Counselors

In addition to the research presentations at the meeting, Invitae will once again present the Code Talker award ceremony in conjunction with NSGC. Nominations for the award came from patients who shared stories of both the clinical and personal impact a genetic counselor had on their lives and the lives of their families. This year's ceremony honors the following three finalists:

Margaret Au , MBE, MS, CGC, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles , was nominated by the mother of a patient with a rare disorder that mystified doctors for more than 20 years. Au guided the patient and her family through genetic testing that finally yielded a diagnosis and helped them access clinical experts, research and other families with similar conditions.

, MBE, MS, CGC, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in , was nominated by the mother of a patient with a rare disorder that mystified doctors for more than 20 years. Au guided the patient and her family through genetic testing that finally yielded a diagnosis and helped them access clinical experts, research and other families with similar conditions. Lisa Johnson , MS, CGC from Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio , was nominated by a patient who sought counseling during prenatal testing that showed the child would be born with a permanent, life-changing genetic condition. Johnson helped the family with research, information and connections to other families facing similar challenges.

, MS, CGC from Miami Valley Hospital in , was nominated by a patient who sought counseling during prenatal testing that showed the child would be born with a permanent, life-changing genetic condition. Johnson helped the family with research, information and connections to other families facing similar challenges. Hannah Scanga , MS, LCGC from the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh , was nominated by the father of a young boy with a rare genetic disorder that severely limited his vision in both eyes. Scanga, a specialist in the field of ocular genetics, guided the family through genetic testing that provided a diagnosis and a gateway to follow-up care that restored the child's vision and allowed him to resume the normal activities of childhood.

Full presentation schedule

The full schedule of the Invitae presentations at the meeting is as follows:

Thursday, November 15

Poster #B-200: Comprehensive analysis of the ACMG59 genes in parental samples submitted for exome evaluation yields a high positive rate | Presented by Eden Haverfield , DPhil, FACMG, Invitae | 6:00 - 7:15 pm ET

Friday, November 16

Lunch Seminar: The Goldilocks principle: Finding 'just right' in a world of expanding guidelines and growing access to genetic testing | 12:15 - 1:30 pm ET

Poster #C-210: Removing the barrier of cost for family variant testing in cancer predisposition genes significantly increases uptake among relatives | Presented by Rachel F. Miller , MS, CGC, Invitae | 1:30 - 2:30 pm ET

, MS, CGC, Invitae | Educational Breakout Session C14: Immunodeficiencies and Bone Marrow Failure: What Every Genetic Counselor Should Know | Presented by Britt Johnson , PhD, FACMG, Invitae | 3:10pm - 4:40 pm ET

, PhD, FACMG, Invitae | Educational Breakout Session C16: New Developments in Testing Methods and Bioinformatics | Presented by Stephen Lincoln , Invitae | 3:10 - 4:40 pm ET

, Invitae | Third Annual Code Talker Award Ceremony and Reception, presented by Invitae in conjunction with NSGC | 6:30 - 8:30 pm ET

Saturday, November 17

Educational Breakout Session D06: Conflict of interest: We are stuck with it, so how should we address it? | Presented by Kate Lynch , MS, LCGC, Invitae | 10:10 - 11:40 am ET

Join us at booth 703 for refreshments and to learn about the resources and support Invitae is developing for the GC community. For more information on Invitae's presence at NSGC, please visit www.invitae.com/nsgc2018 . Additional information on the NSGC Annual Conference is also available at www.nsgc.org/conference.

About Invitae

Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is one of the fastest growing genetics companies in the United States. Invitae's mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit our website at invitae.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the frequency of medically actionable genetic variants and their utility in clinical care; the value of expanding access to genetic screening for hereditary risk information in healthy individuals; that reporting on secondary findings for everyone who undergoes genetic testing is important to patient health; and the value of offering targeted gene panels that include the ACMG59 genes to the general population in order to identify and mitigate hereditary disease risks. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the company's history of losses; the company's ability to compete; the company's failure to manage growth effectively; the company's need to scale its infrastructure in advance of demand for its tests and to increase demand for its tests; the company's ability to use rapidly changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately and consistently; security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions; laws and regulations applicable to the company's business; and the other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Laura D'Angelo

[email protected]

(628) 213-3283

SOURCE Invitae Corporation

Related Links

http://invitae.com


DALLAS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) was awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to support their critical national defense mission operations at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Southeast (NAVFAC SE) Base Operations Support I services at Naval Station Mayport and Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island in Jacksonville, Florida, and the outlying areas supported by these commands.

NAVFAC estimates the contract, effective January 1, 2019, at a maximum value of $241.7 million with a base period of performance and seven one-year options.

"Jacobs is honored to support NAVFAC SE's critical mission to sustain and advance installation facilities and capabilities for these regions," said Jacobs Aerospace, Technology, Environmental and Nuclear Senior Vice President Steve Arnette. "We plan to leverage our strong track record of innovative and agile technical and management solutions to increase reliability and availability across numerous functions."

With its depth of capabilities around intelligent asset management through reliability-centered maintenance programs, Jacobs will provide enhanced operation and maintenance expertise to increase infrastructure reliability and availability in the areas of: port operations, facility management, facility investment, pavement clearance, utilities management, electrical, gas, wastewater, steam, water, chiller plant, base support vehicles and equipment, environmental and other related services.

Jacobs leads the global professional services sector delivering solutions for a more connected, sustainable world. With $15 billion in fiscal 2017 revenue when combined with full-year CH2M revenues and a talent force of more than 77,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of services including scientific, technical, professional and construction- and program-management for business, industrial, commercial, government and infrastructure sectors. For more information, visit www.jacobs.com, and connect with Jacobs on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our Form 10-K for the year ended September 29, 2017, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 - Business, 1A - Risk Factors, 3 - Legal Proceedings, and 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

For press/media inquiries:

Kerrie Sparks

214.583.8433

Brian Morandi

720.286.0719

SOURCE Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Related Links

http://www.jacobs.com


Fund GAV currently stands at 1.8bn

CHICAGO and LONDON and SINGAPORE, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LaSalle Investment Management ("LaSalle"), today confirms that it has assumed the sole responsibility for the management of Encore+, the open-ended Continental European real estate fund which has been jointly managed by Aviva Investors ("Aviva") and LaSalle for the last twelve years.

As the existing asset manager of the Fund, and also having shared joint responsibility for marketing, capital raising, client relationships and strategic business planning with Aviva since inception of the Fund, LaSalle is well-equipped to take on sole management of Encore+. The transaction is expected to further streamline the Fund's internal processes and decision making. There are no changes to the terms and offerings to investors.

David Ironside has assumed the role of Fund Manager for Encore+ having been responsible for LaSalle's management, strategy and acquisitions contribution to the Fund for twelve years in his capacity as Head of Acquisitions for Continental Europe and LaSalle's CIO for Continental Europe. Marianne Hemon-Laurens will be the Deputy Fund Manager for the Fund; she has been working on the Fund for ten years and seen the Fund triple in size over this period.

Encore+'s investment strategy will remain the same and focus on improving assets and creating growth by seeking opportunities to actively manage assets to deliver superior income returns. Given the strong demand fundamentals, we believe opportunities remain to add value to assets located in markets with robust long-term trends in demographics, technology and urbanisation. Over the last three months, the Fund has continued to generate strong performance in both absolute and relative terms, and the historic long term returns have consistently been at the top end of its peer group; this is a direct result of our commitment to and success in generating attractive risk-adjusted returns over the long term. Encore+ has been a leading Fund in the IPD PEPFI in terms of performance and it was recently announced as the best performing Fund in the Index for 2017 on both a one and five year basis.

David Ironside, Fund Manager of Encore+, said: "I am delighted to confirm that LaSalle is now the Fund Manager of Encore+. We are committed to maintaining the strategy and we remain well positioned to execute the asset management required to generate the returns in line with the Fund's objectives. Encore+ has continued to be active in the market and to seek attractively priced assets aligned to our strategy. Since the transaction was announced, the Fund has continued to receive additional subscriptions from both existing and new investors."

Simon Marrison, CEO of Europe at LaSalle Investment Management, said: "Encore+ is our flagship fund for Europe and the market-leading performance that we have seen from the Fund will be a great platform for the future. I am delighted that LaSalle has become the sole Fund Manager as I believe that we have the experience, the scale and the ability to strengthen the Fund to help it reach its full potential."

About LaSalle Investment Management

LaSalle Investment Management is one of the world's leading real estate investment managers with approximately US$60 billion of private and public equity and private debt investments under management (as of Q2 2018). LaSalle's diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. LaSalle sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles including separate accounts, open- and closed-end funds, public securities and entity-level investments. LaSalle is a wholly-owned, operationally independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL), one of the world's largest real estate companies. For more information please visit www.lasalle.com.

This information discussed above is based on the market analysis and expectations of LaSalle and should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding LaSalle funds or any issuer or security in particular. The information presented herein is for illustrative and informational purposes and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy in any jurisdiction where prohibited by law or where contrary to local law or regulation. Any such offer to invest, if made, will only be made to certain qualified investors by means of a private placement memorandum or applicable offering document and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Past performance is not indicative of future results, nor should any statements herein be construed as a prediction or guarantee of future results.

LaSalle Contacts

Americas: Matt Schuler | Phone: +1 312 897 4192 | Email: [email protected] Asia-Pacific: Sinhuay Ho | Phone: +65 64943520 | Email: [email protected] Europe: Lydia Kalia | Phone: +44 207 852 4110 | Email: [email protected]

SOURCE LaSalle Investment Management

Related Links

http://www.lasalle.com


WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marian Wright Edelman, a lifelong advocate for children, the poor and civil rights, will transition from President of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) into the new role of President Emerita in the Office of the Founder, CDF Board of Directors Co-Chairs Angela Glover Blackwell and Lan Bentsen announced today. In this new role she will focus her energies towards building a lasting movement for children to end child poverty and inequality through servant leadership development at key spiritual retreats and convenings at CDF's Haley Farm.

"Our mission to Leave No Child Behind and ensure that every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage into adulthood has never been more important than it is today during these perilous times for children and for our nation. I will shift away from the day-to-day responsibilities of running a leading, national organization, and in my new role, I will focus all my energies towards building a movement to end child poverty and inequality," said Wright Edelman. "I am proud of CDF's groundbreaking work over the past 45 years and the significant progress we have made for children and familiesbut there is still so much work to be done. I look forward to supporting the Board's search for a new President to lead CDF into its next chapter; someone who is committed to taking on the challenges children face today and those that will emerge in the future."

Wright Edelman will continue to guide CDF, the organization she founded 45 years ago. CDF will continue to provide a strong, effective and independent voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves, paying particular attention to the needs of poor children, children of color and those with disabilities. CDF evolved from the Washington Research Project, which Wright Edelman began in 1968, to prepare for and coordinate the policy positions of the Poor People's Campaign.

"This organization would simply not be, were it not for Marian Wright Edelman, and it would not have created the framework of federal and state laws that now protect children and families had she not led us every day for the last 45 years," said Angela Glover Blackwell, Co-Chair of the CDF Board of Directors. "All we are and all we do starts with her, and that is a tremendous legacy, but she is not done yet and we, thankfully, are not yet done receiving the benefit of her wisdom and leadership."

Wright Edelman, a graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, began her mission in the mid-60s when, as the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1968, she moved to Washington, D.C., as counsel for the Poor People's Campaign that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began organizing before his death.

"I first heard of Marian back in 1960, when she was a student. And people would say, 'Ask Marian. Get in touch with Marian,'" said civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis (D-GA). "She emerged as a leader. Brave, courageous, just smart. She wanted to do something not just about civil rights but about childrenall children. I don't know what our country would be like without the Children's Defense Fund. If Martin Luther King, Jr., could come back and see what Marian Wright Edelman is doing, he'd be very proud."

In 1968, Wright Edelman founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of CDF. For two years she served as the Director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University. In 1973, she founded CDF to advance the mission to Leave No Child Behind. Under her leadership, CDF became the nation's strongest independent voice for children and families, constantly challenging the United States to invest in policies and programs to improve the odds for all children and training many of the country's most effective servant leaders for children.

"I have been inspired by Marian Wright Edelman since I first met her in 1969," said Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Secretary of State, first lady, attorney for CDF and CDF Board Chair. "She has spent her life as a crusading legal activist devoted to children, service and social justice. Watching and working with her is one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me. The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is more important today than ever, and as she transitions to this new role and continues her mission to end childhood poverty in America, I look forward to watching her guide CDF with the same grace, determination and grit that she's embodied her entire life."

Powered by Wright Edelman's vision and dedication, over the past four and a half decades CDF has conducted research and budget analysis and worked with policymakers and numerous organizations to build bipartisan support to enact and implement laws and policies that have helped millions of children escape poverty and access health care, food security, Head Start, child care, education, protections in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, protection from gun violence and family support services.

"Over the last half-century, no one has done more to help the most vulnerable children in America than Marian Wright Edelman," said Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and CDF Board Member. "After meeting starving children in the Mississippi Delta in the 1960s, she became the most passionate, strategic and effective advocate for helping poor children and their families in the nation. Her leadership and tenure at the Children's Defense Fund has created rights and services that have aided millions of families. We owe her an enormous debt."

Over the years, CDF has worked with federal, state and local lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to pass landmark legislation for children and families, including authorization and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, Head Start and Early Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

"Marian's work on behalf of our nation's children will be remembered for decades to come," said Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). "She has always been a tireless advocate for kids and her determination and persistence helped Congress enact numerous landmark laws to better children's lives. I am forever grateful for her partnership as we worked together to improve children's health, protect kids from abuse and increase adoptions. I know Marian's efforts will continue even as she transitions into a new role."

Under Wright Edelman's leadership, CDF expanded over the past 45 years to include a national headquarters in Washington, D.C. and state offices in California, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, as well as the CDF Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee. As of 2018, a majority of CDF staff are in state offices. The CDF Freedom Schools program serves nearly 12,000 students across the nation each year and the CDF Beat the Odds program has provided scholarships to more than 900 exceptional high school students. All of CDF's programs, initiatives and offices are rooted in Wright Edelman's longstanding mission to Leave to No Child Behind.

"Since the moment I read The Measure of Our Success on my way to college, Marian Wright Edelman has been a guiding light in my life. Her words are powerful but her actions are even more so," said Reese Witherspoon, actress and former CDF board member. "I feel extremely honored to have been part of her tireless work on behalf of our nation's children at the Children's Defense Fund. Her passion for children's rights will always burn bright in my heart."

CDF's Board of Directors will engage in a thoughtful and informed selection process for a new President, with a positive light looking to the future and doing everything possible to ensure a smooth and effective transition of leadership.

Beginning December 31, 2018, CDF's Chief of Staff, Max Lesko, will become CDF's National Executive Director, overseeing day-to-day operations and reporting to the Board of Directors. Lesko joined CDF in early 2017 after serving in the Obama Administration as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Assistant Counsel in the Office of White House Counsel and Domestic Director in the Presidential Personnel Office.

Throughout this transition, CDF will continue to be a strong, independent and unwavering voice for children and work relentlessly to ensure a level playing field for all children.

"When the history of the past half-century is written, in the section focused on the rights of children, Marian Wright Edelman and the Children's Defense Fund will be front and center," said Geoffrey Canada, President of the Harlem Children's Zone and Former CDF Board Chair. "Marian and the Children's Defense Fund inspired me and thousands of others across the country and around the world to dedicate our lives to child advocacy and in this new role, she will continue to inspire and to lead the children's movement."

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for more than 40 years to ensure a level playing field for all children.

CDF's Leave No Child Behind mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

CDF provides a strong, effective and independent voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor children, children of color and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investments before they get sick, drop out of school, get into trouble or suffer family breakdown.

SOURCE Children's Defense Fund

Related Links

http://www.childrensdefense.org


TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid an environment where cyber security is under intense scrutiny, power and utilities executives are feeling the pressure. Forty-eight percent of CEOs showed concern that becoming the victim of a cyber-attack is a matter of "when" and not "if" and not all CEOs are well-prepared to manage such an event, according to KPMG's 2018 Global Power & Utilities CEO Outlook.

In the survey, 58 percent of CEOs feel prepared in their ability to identify new cyber threats, and in the event of a cyber-attack, 68 percent feel prepared in their ability to manage external stakeholders, and 63 percent are confident they can contain the impact on strategic operations.

"Technology-driven opportunities in the P&U sector have also opened the door for significant risks and cyber threats which feature highly on CEOs and Board agendas," said Regina Mayor, Global Sector Head, Energy and Natural Resources, KPMG. "The levels of cyber defense and preparedness vary across the sector, but it is critical that organizations take the necessary steps to protect their systems or they risk becoming a target for potentially crippling attacks."

As CEOs navigate around these cyber issues, they are starting to see the importance of new workforce capabilities in supporting their organizations' future growth, with 59 percent identifying cyber security specialists as the most important new role, followed by data scientists (57%) and digital transformation managers (54%).

In such a customer-centric industry such as P&U, CEOs understand the importance of protecting customer data, but emphasize the need to better meet customer expectations. Nearly two-thirds of all CEOs in the survey said that protecting customer data is critical to enabling growth in their future customer base. One-third of CEOs feel their organizations' performance in meeting customer expectations for a personalized experience is sub-par, and 78 percent feel they are just meeting, or below, customer expectations. Further, as the purchasing power and customer demands from the millennial generation grow stronger, CEOs see the biggest challenges in meeting the generation's needs as: responding to millennials' expectations of an on-demand service; appointing senior leaders who can better relate to millennials; and engaging millennials in new ways via digital channels.

Focus on growth

The survey results indicate that even amid a transformational period for the industry, P&U CEOs are confident growth is on the horizon and are prepared to lead their organizations through a transformation to remain competitive. In fact, 89 percent of companies are confident in growth prospects for their company and 94 percent expect increased headcount over the next three years.

Top strategies for achieving organizational growth objectives over the three-year period include strategic alliances with third parties and organic growth. Additionally, CEOs intend to undertake a number of actions to help pursue these objectives that include: increased focus on development of innovative technologies; increased investment in disruption detection and innovation processes; making products and services available via an online platform provider; and setting up accelerator or incubator programs for start-up firms.

"CEOs are excited about leveraging existing infrastructure and deploying new technologies that will benefit consumers. We're starting to see more collaboration outside of individual organizations to enable new ventures, especially in digital arenas like blockchain, Internet-of-Things and platform solutions," said Mayor.

While technological disruption and innovation is imperative in today's environment, emerging technology is a top threat to organizational growth, followed by climate change and cyber-security risk. In fact, while 92 percent see technology as an opportunity versus a threat, one-third feel their organization is struggling to keep pace with the rate of tech innovation in the sector.

For information on the full study, please visit the KPMG 2018 Global CEO Outlook landing page.

About KPMG International

KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 154 countries and territories and have 200,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

Contact: Megan Dubrowski

KPMG

+1 (201) 307-8237 | @meg_dub

[email protected]

SOURCE KPMG
EAST HANOVER, N.J., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis announced the launch of the 2018 STEP (Solutions to Empower Patients) Program to inspire solutions that support people living with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8420351-novartis-2018-step-program/

The program will recognize and fund as many as five proposals of up to $50,000 each that demonstrate innovation in health education, empowerment and support to help improve the experience of people living with SCD. In 2017, the first year of the initiative, the STEP Program provided funding to three organizations involved with metastatic breast cancer.

"People living with sickle cell disease face unique challenges," said Ameet Mallik, Executive Vice President and Head, US, Novartis Oncology. "By helping fund innovative programs developed by the organizations that best understand these challenges, we hope to make the biggest impact for those affected by this disease, where there continues to be a significant unmet need."

Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that causes ongoing damage to blood vessels and organs1. It is a lifelong illness that can place emotional, physical and financial burdens on patients and their families as they navigate issues dealing with work, school, family and finances. People with SCD often experience recurrent episodes of acute, severe pain (called vaso-occlusive crises) which can eventually become chronic2. These crises are the main reason why patients go to the hospital and are linked to poor health outcomes and early death3.

Application Details for Interested Health Care or Health Care-Related Nonprofit Organizations

Any US-based, 501(c)(3) organization that supports people impacted by SCD is welcome to submit a STEP Program proposal for consideration. Suggested proposals should focus on at least one of the following:

Empowering SCD patients to advocate for themselves

Providing resources, programs or tools that help SCD patients better interact with health care providers (HCPs) and navigate the health care system

Educating HCPs about SCD management and patient needs

Providing innovative programs to ease the transition to adult care

Providing training programs for HCPs and raising awareness of implicit and institutional biases

Proposals will be evaluated by an external review committee consisting of experts in a variety of fields. The committee will review the applications and evaluate and identify as many as five proposals on the basis of innovation and the potential to make the greatest positive impact on the SCD community.

Organizations that wish to apply for funding from the STEP Program should send their completed submission form to [email protected] . All submissions must be received no later than December 21, 2018.

For more information about the STEP Program, please see the program backgrounder and submission FAQ.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 1 billion people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 125 000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a US affiliate of Novartis, is located in East Hanover, NJ. Find out more at www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact [email protected]

References

Roseff SD. Sickle cell disease: a review. Immunohematology: Journal of Blood Group Serology and Education. 2009(25):2:67-74. Adams-Graves P, Bronte-Jordan L. Recent treatment guidelines for managing adult patients with sickle cell disease: challenges in access to care, social issues, and adherence. Expert Review of Hematology. 2016;9(6):541-552. Puri L, Nottage KA, Hankins JS, et al. State of the art management of acute vaso-occlusive pain in sickle cell disease. Paediatr Drugs. 2018;20:29-42.

Novartis Media Relations

Central media line: +41 61 324 2200

E-mail: [email protected]

Eric Althoff Novartis Global Media Relations +41 61 324 7999 (direct) +41 79 593 4202 (mobile) [email protected] Michael Billings Novartis Hematology Communications +1 862 778 8656 (direct) +1 201 400 1854 (mobile) [email protected]

Novartis Investor Relations

Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944

E-mail: [email protected]

Central

North America

Samir Shah +41 61 324 7944 Richard Pulik +1 212 830 2448 Pierre-Michel Bringer +41 61 324 1065 Cory Twining +1 212 830 2417 Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425



Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188





SOURCE Novartis
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Support for oncology nursing is critical to the advancement of the profession and the future of care for patients with cancer. The Oncology Nursing Foundationformerly known as the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Foundationis a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable organization dedicated solely to supporting oncology nurses both nationally and internationally. Today, the Foundation announced its name change to wholly encapsulate the organization's longstanding focus and goals. Through continuing education scholarships, research grants, and career development funding, the Oncology Nursing Foundation supports oncology nurses in their pursuits to provide safer and more effective cancer care for their patients.

"Since the Foundation's inception, the oncology nurse has been at the core of what we support," Linda Worrall, RN, MSN, executive director of the Oncology Nursing Foundation, said. "Our name change better reflects the constituency that the Foundation has always supported and emphasizedoncology nurses."

Through more than 35 years of service, the Foundation has awarded more than $27 million to oncology nurses and nursing initiatives. With the help of generous donor contributions, the Oncology Nursing Foundation provides funding for research grants, fellowships, academic scholarships, lectures, public education projects, and career development awards to support the greater oncology nursing community. The Foundation will continue to support oncology nurses to further drive the advancement of the oncology nursing profession and the care of patients with cancer.

"This name better reflects what has always been the Foundation's mission: supporting oncology nurses in cancer nursing excellence," Oncology Nursing Foundation President Cynthia LeBlanc, EdD, said. "Strengthening oncology nursing education, research initiatives, and leadership development will ultimately improve the lives of oncology nurses and every patient in their care."

Further information and resources can be found at the Foundation's new website ONFgivesback.org.

The Oncology Nursing Foundation, nationally headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization affiliate of the Oncology Nursing Society, the world's largest professional oncology nursing association. Since 1981, the Foundation has provided more than $27 million to fund local and national oncology nursing education, research and leadership opportunities. In partnership with the oncology nurses we serve, the Oncology Nursing Foundation has impacted the lives of countless patients with cancer, their caregivers and their families.

Media Contact:

Nicole Lininger

Senior Marketing Manager

[email protected]

412-859-6321

SOURCE Oncology Nursing Foundation
DENVER, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning lifestyle brand, Punch Bowl Social, today announced that Chef Sheamus Feeley has joined the company as chief culinary and beverage officer, reporting directly to company founder and chief executive officer, Robert Thompson. Punch Bowl Social has received national recognition for the company's innovative approach to experiential food & beverage, including recently being named one of The World's Most Innovative Companies of 2018 by Fast Company Magazine.

Feeley built the foundation of his career with the Hillstone Restaurant Group in executive-level positions including as the executive chef & vice president, spending over a decade with the respected brand while working closely with the company's CEO. He also served as the founding chef & partner, opening Farmstead Restaurant on Long Meadow Ranch in Napa Valley, considered one of America's most beloved restaurants, was on the opening team for Wolfgang Puck in Denver, and opened Sacre Bleu with Don Gragg of Gramercy Tavern and Chez Panisse.

Feeley also served as the senior vice president of Culinary and Kitchen Innovation for BJ's Restaurants where he applied his decades of experience in recipe and product development, operational organization, systems, and menu design on behalf of the group's more than 200 locations.

In his leadership role at Punch Bowl Social, Feeley will lead the continued innovation of the company's scratch kitchen and oversee culinary operations in direct partnership with CEO and founder, Robert Thompson, as well as oversee the evolution and expansion of the craft beverage program in collaboration with national beverage director, Patrick Williams.

"Sheamus's extensive experience at Hillstone, one of the most beloved and respected restaurant concepts in America, combined with his innovative culinary approach at Farmstead and high-volume, high-quality execution at BJ's will play a pivotal role as we continue to expand throughout the country," said Robert Thompson, founder and CEO of Punch Bowl Social. "We never stop evolving and changing - having Sheamus on our leadership team enables the company to continue to aggressively develop and continuously improve our culinary and beverage programs during this exciting time for our growing company."

"Punch Bowl Social is an incredibly unique brand with so much affinity  I've been fascinated since my first visit to the original location in Denver more than five years ago," said Sheamus Feeley. "This is a tremendous opportunity for me to be part of the leadership team and work with Robert and Patrick to further evolve the menus and ensure operational excellence as the company continues to expand."

Punch Bowl Social opened its first location in Denver in 2012. It now counts 14 properties in its nationwide portfolio including Atlanta; Austin; Chicago; Cleveland; Denver; Detroit; Indianapolis; Minneapolis; Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Portland, OR; Sacramento; San Diego; Schaumburg, IL; and Stapleton, CO, the brand's second Denver location which opened inside the iconic air traffic control tower from the city's former Stapleton airport. Punch Bowl Social will open its next location in Arlington, VA in December 2018 with eight additional locations to open across the country in 2019.

ABOUT PUNCH BOWL SOCIAL

Punch Bowl Social is the first experiential food & beverage brand to bring a scratch kitchen and craft beverage orientation together with social gaming under a design-forward roof. Punch Bowl Social serves weekend brunch, lunch, dinner and late-night snacks while serving up a variety of artisanal punches, micro-beers and craft non-alcoholic beverages. Punch Bowl Social has been awarded more than a dozen national and local awards and was most recently selected as a Nation's Restaurant News 2018 Hot Concepts Winner in September 2018. For more information, please visit www.punchbowlsocial.com.

SOURCE Punch Bowl Social

Related Links

http://www.punchbowlsocial.com


MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Revel, a leading health action platform, announced today it has experienced significant growth in 2018, more than doubling its staff and adding new leadership to its executive team. The company has named Kurt Cegielski to the role of Senior Vice President, Client Success and Ryan Schoenecker as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing. Schoenecker and Cegielski previously worked in senior leadership positions at RedBrick Health, a successful Minnesota-based healthcare organization. Both Schoenecker and Cegielski will work closely with Revel CEO Jeff Fritz and President Kyle Gunderson.

"As Revel grows, we're adding infrastructure at the executive level to maintain alignment to our overall strategy and support the Revel teams working directly with our customers," said Fritz. "Both Kurt and Ryan bring significant experience within the healthcare industry as well as strong leadership acumen. I'm excited to work alongside them as we continue to transform the industry."

Mr. Cegielski was a co-founder of RedBrick Health, where he served as SVP, Employee Solutions and was responsible for employer sales, client success and health strategy. His background also includes successful leadership roles at one of the largest health plans in the United States. Cegielski is known for his ability to lead organizations through periods of rapid growth while preserving the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

Mr. Schoenecker has over 15 years' experience in sales planning, strategy and leadership with large multinational corporations. He was Senior Vice President of Sales for RedBrick Health where he was instrumental in revenue growth prior to the company's acquisition. He previously led business development and strategic account management for Fortune 500 and healthcare companies, including Best Doctors and Pitney Bowes Management Systems.

"I'm excited to join Revel at such a pivotal time in the company's trajectory," said Schoenecker. "Revel represents not merely great technology, but the opportunity to improve people's lives." Cegielski agreed, adding "We're privileged to join a team of incredibly talented, innovative healthcare professionals. 2019 is going to be a landmark year for Revel, and I can't wait to be a part of its mission and success."

Revel's growth has been accelerated by an equity investment from Minneapolis-based TT Capital Partners in late 2017 and the recent acquisitions of several key customers. CEO Fritz noted Revel is now managing health action programs for three of the four largest healthcare companies in the United States.

About Revel

Revel Connect is the health action platform that moves people to do things that are good for them. Revel helps healthcare organizations connect with members and patients as humans, driving them to take action and improve outcomes, and boosting Medicare Star Ratings for healthcare organizations.

Follow Revel on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn. Learn more about who we are and our approach at Revel-Health.com

SOURCE Revel

Related Links

http://www.Revel-Health.com


SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sundance, a premier lifestyle retailer of women's and men's apparel, footwear, jewelry, accessories, art, and home decor, announces the opening of its newest store in Tucson, Ariz. This store, located at La Encantada, will host its grand opening weekend celebration beginning on Thursday, November 15, 2018.

Lifestyle retailer, Sundance, opens newest retail location at La Encantada in Tucson, AZ

The La Encantada store is located at 2905 East Skyline Drive in Tucson. It is an exciting area experiencing tremendous growth in both industry and culture. Sundance CEO Matey Erdos shares, "We are pleased to open our second Arizona retail store located at La Encantada in Tucson. Tucson is a vibrant and forward-thinking community, one rooted in heritage and rich in arts and culture. Sundance takes great pride in celebrating the spirit of freedom, independence and creativity. Tucson is a clear fit for the Sundance brand through our mutual appreciation for creative expression."

Erdos continues, "The Tucson store is a spectacular location that brings the beauty and authenticity of the Sundance lifestyle to life. We have created an experience that is not commonly found in the marketplace; an experience that is aspirational and artistic, guided by a strong sense of discovery, storytelling and conversation. The store is thoughtfully curated with the exclusive and quality product the brand is known for. By offering a distinctive shopping experience, one that is true to the brand, we are confident our loyal supporters will make it a great success."

Since 1989, Sundance has championed creativity and the arts. With a historical commitment to artisans, Sundance will donate a portion of the proceeds from the grand opening weekend to Tucson Arts Brigade, a local non-profit committed to participatory community arts with an emphasis on integrating sustainable design and facilitating inter-group opportunities for youth, elders, and adults alike. Erdos remarks, "Sundance supports the mission and work of the Tucson Arts Brigade. Since our inception, we embrace art communities and organizations who empower artists of all disciplines, and enable the individual expression of creativity through storytelling. We look forward to a longstanding relationship with the Tucson Arts Brigade."

The newest Sundance Store at La Encantada, the fourth to open in 2018, marks the fourteenth store in the company's fleet of stores. Since late 2015, Sundance has opened stores in Edina, Minn., Dallas, Texas, Southlake, Texas, Scottsdale, Ariz., Tigard, Ore., San Diego, Calif., Atlanta, Ga., Leawood, Kan., Nashville, Tenn., Deer Park, Ill., and Fairfax, Va. The company plans to expand its retail footprint over the next several years. One-of-a-kind pieces and Sundance exclusive items will continue as the cornerstones for product offerings.

About Sundance

Famed actor, director, and visionary of independent filmmaking, Robert Redford founded Sundance Catalog in 1989 to promote the works of artists and craftspeople from across the country and around the world. From a small operation run out of the attic of the old Sundance Village firehouse, Sundance has grown to become one of America's preeminent lifestyle retailers. Offering a thoughtfully curated mix of unique, premium-quality women's and men's apparel and footwear, jewelry, accessories, art and home decor, Sundance elevates the traditions of authentic American heritage into a classic and creative style.

Sundance headquarters are located in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to La Encantada, the company's unique product selection is available through its catalog, thirteen other retail stores in Corte Madera, Calif., Lone Tree, Colo., Edina, Minn., Dallas, Texas, Southlake, Texas, Scottsdale, Ariz., Tigard, Ore., San Diego, Calif., Alpharetta, Ga., Leawood, Kan., Nashville, Tenn., Deer Park, Ill., Fairfax, Va., an outlet store in Salt Lake City, Utah, and website www.sundancecatalog.com.

SOURCE Sundance

Related Links

https://www.sundancecatalog.com


PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Rubrik, the Cloud Data Management Company, today announced the launch of the Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure to offer enterprise customers a single solution to protect and manage data from on-premises to Microsoft Azure. Rubrik Accelerator for Azure adds to the Company's already popular offering for Microsoft customers which features automated data protection for Microsoft Hyper-V, support for physical Windows, and instant database recoveries with SQL Live Mount.

Gartner predicts cloud computing and services will be a $300 billion business by 2021.[1] Rubrik accelerates the cloud journey with a simple, unified solution for data protection and application mobility across data center to Azure.

"Every enterprise customer I speak with has cloud ambitions. However, many organizations are held back by complex legacy data management solutions that keep the cloud migration process out of reach," said Mike Tornincasa, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Rubrik. "The Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure makes it easy for enterprises to move to a hybrid cloud model, and in turn, innovate faster, be more productive, and unlock cost savings. Additionally, Rubrik offers customers the ability to manage their entire Microsoft investment on one platform, across on-premises and public cloud environments."

"Rubrik shares a commitment with Microsoft to drive business results for our customers," said David Willis, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's US Partner Group. "Our deep collaboration with Rubrik is exciting. Together, we enable our mutual customers to accelerate their digital transformation with Azure and deliver for their customers."

The Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure offers enterprises:

A fast-track to Azure success: Rubrik helps customers easily on-ramp to Azure by providing a single solution to protect and manage data across all environments. Rubrik customers automate archival to Azure for cost-effective long-term retention. As they advance in their cloud journey, they can quickly spin up applications in Azure for test/dev.

Rubrik helps customers easily on-ramp to Azure by providing a single solution to protect and manage data across all environments. Rubrik customers automate archival to Azure for cost-effective long-term retention. As they advance in their cloud journey, they can quickly spin up applications in Azure for test/dev. Unprecedented management simplicity : Customers engage with the same easy-to-use Rubrik interface to manage applications on-premises, at the edge, and in the cloud. Users automate backup, recovery, and archival schedules via one SLA policy engine with just a few clicks, reducing daily management times from hours to minutes.

: Customers engage with the same easy-to-use Rubrik interface to manage applications on-premises, at the edge, and in the cloud. Users automate backup, recovery, and archival schedules via one SLA policy engine with just a few clicks, reducing daily management times from hours to minutes. Faster recovery with SQL Live Mount and global search: Customers can recover in minutes with Rubrik's popular Live Mount solution for SQL, and locate files instantly with predictive global search that spans on-premises and cloud, including files, folders, filesets, virtual machine (VM), and database instances.

Customers can recover in minutes with Rubrik's popular Live Mount solution for SQL, and locate files instantly with predictive global search that spans on-premises and cloud, including files, folders, filesets, virtual machine (VM), and database instances. Free CloudOn and Azure Credits: To reduce the risk of cloud migration, new users of Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure will receive 6 months of free Azure from Microsoft and 12 months of free CloudOn from Rubrik.

Rubrik continues to align with Microsoft on technology and shared go-to-market investments. Rubrik pioneered Live Mount for SQL to deliver near-zero RTOs and introduced cloud instantiation on Azure for "server-less" test/dev and disaster recovery. Rubrik helps customers leverage the full power of Microsoft with integration across Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Office 365, Windows, Hyper-V, Azure Stack, and Azure Data Box. In addition, Rubrik offers support for Azure Government Cloud for customers in the federal space.

The Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure can be purchased from all Rubrik and Azure channel partners. Learn more about Rubrik Cloud Data Management on Azure at the Microsoft Azure Marketplace here.

Additional Comments on the News

"Rubrik has allowed us to completely migrate from tape and archive to public cloud with blob storage in Microsoft Azure. We've already experienced cost savings and the integration couldn't be easierjust assign an SLA and Rubrik takes care of the rest. This simplicity of configuration would be a huge value-add for IT teams looking to move to the cloud and simplify their operations." - Kevin Mortimer, Infrastructure Services Manager, University of Reading

"At CDW, we specialize in helping our customers build cloud deployment strategies across Azure migrations, IaaS and cloud planning services engagements. We are seeing excitement within our software team stemming from partners creating software solutions together to solve complex customer business problems. Rubrik and Microsoft in particular, are successfully collaborating and we are very excited about the introduction of the Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure. I'm confident it will help our customers with their cloud journey." - Darin Mock, Director of Software Sales, CDW

Resources

[CUSTOMER CASE STUDY] Berkeley College Decreases Cost and Migrates to Microsoft Azure with Rubrik

[CUSTOMER CASE STUDY] CarePoint Health Achieves Operational Simplicity with Rubrik Cloud Data Management and Microsoft Azure

[DATA SHEET] Fast Track to Cloud with Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure

[WEBINAR] Transform Your Journey to the Cloud with Rubrik Accelerator for Microsoft Azure

[VIDEO] Rubrik and Azure Solution Overview

About Rubrik

Rubrik delivers a single software platform to manage and protect data in the cloud, at the edge, and on-premises. Enterprises choose Rubrik's Cloud Data Management software to simplify backup and recovery, accelerate cloud adoption, and enable automation at scale. Rubrik's run-anywhere, scale-out architecture is built to empower IT departments today and in the future, reducing total cost of ownership while enabling infrastructure flexibility for a multi-cloud world. For more information, visit http://www.rubrik.com and follow @rubrikInc on Twitter.

1Gartner, Inc. "Hidden Cloud Growth Opportunities for Technology Service Providers" by Chris Pemberton, June 20, 2018

SOURCE Rubrik, Inc.

Related Links

http://rubrik.com


Surprise Ride was founded in 2013 by sisters Donna and Rosy Khalife, landing on ABC's hit show Shark Tank just a few months after launch. The company has developed more than 50 kits - crafts, STEM projects, and games to keep kids engaged without screen time - as part of a subscription box service. The Khalife sisters will continue to develop additional products under the new collaboration with Fat Brain Toys.

"We've been evaluating the subscription space for a number of years knowing families today want more convenient ways to get quality products for their kids," comments Fat Brain Toys CEO and co-founder Mark Carson. "Surprise Ride's mission to get kids off their devices and help them engage in the real world with hands-on activities is just what the market needs."

Donna Khalife, Surprise Ride CEO and co-founder says, "We're thrilled to join forces with Fat Brain Toys to bring Surprise Ride to every kid. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work and the American Dream coming to life for us."

Surprise Ride's products are inspired by memories of Donna and Rosy's childhood. The dynamic sister duo grew up as war refugees from Lebanon and did a lot of projects with their artist dad as kids to keep busy. After appearing on Shark Tank, Surprise Ride received an investment from celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary who has been instrumental in the company's growth.

Kevin O'Leary adds "Backing Surprise Ride is one of the best moves I made. You're seeing kids everywhere glued to screens. What Donna and Rosy built for families is sensational, and Fat Brain is the perfect partner. This deal is another great example of how women-founded companies get outstanding returns."

"This acquisition means big things for the toy industry," says Surprise Ride COO and co-founder Rosy Khalife. "Every subscription category from food to beauty has a clear leader, except toys. With our products, Fat Brain has the infrastructure to build a global billion-dollar toy subscription."

At a time when the Toys R Us liquidation leaves billions of dollars in toy sales up for grabs, Fat Brain Toys' innovative direct-to-consumer approach is poised to win. Fat Brain Toys was founded in 2002 when then 10 year-old Adam Carson suggested to his father, a web developer, that they create their own online toy store. Since then, the company has evolved from being a seller of toys online to one of the nation's fastest growing manufacturers of educational toys and games. The company now boasts thousands of innovative toys, games and gifts and employs over 300 people to meet the Holiday rush.

Surprise Ride subscriptions are the ultimate "gift that keeps on giving." Each shipment includes all the materials to complete a hands-on project, an original book, easy instructions, and a keepsake. In addition to popular titles such as "Build a Dinosaur Science Kit" and "Make Beeswax Candles Activity Kit", Surprise Ride has also developed unique bundles, including "The Digital Detox Collection" which contains nine popular kits to break kids free from their screen-time obsession.

Just in time for the Holidays, Surprise Ride subscriptions can be purchased online at: www.fatbraintoys.com/surpriseride

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About Fat Brain Toys:

Fat Brain Toys is one of the nation's leading independent toy companies. Unlike mainstream alternatives, Fat Brain Toys creates and curates quality toys, games, and clever gifts, and enables children to learn through pure, authentic play. Fat Brain Toys are available at leading retailers around the world, including their own website, www.fatbraintoys.com. Fat Brain Toys is a family-owned and operated company based in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

About Surprise Ride:

Surprise Ride, founded by sisters Donna & Rosy Khalife in Washington D.C., develops and delivers activity kits to homes around the country to give kids a break from technology. Each month, families aboard the "ride" receive a package with all the supplies needed to enjoy hands-on projects and create lifelong memories. The company has brought 50+ products to market and appeared on ABC's hit show Shark Tank, The View, QVC, The New York Times, Forbes, and Star Magazine, among others.

Contact:

Danielle Parde

[email protected]

SOURCE Fat Brain Toys

Related Links

http://www.fatbraintoys.com


MIAMI, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The majority (75 percent) of U.S. consumers would stop doing business with a company if they received poor customer support or had a bad experience. What's more, half of consumers (50 percent) say they have stopped doing business with a brand in the past year due to a negative customer experience. That's according to Sitel Group 's 2018 CX Index Report , which analyzes consumer sentiment toward customer experiences, honing in on key gender and generational differences. The report also takes consumers' temperatures on hot button issues like data sharing, personalized communications, the use and integration of digital CX agents and more.

"Sitel Group is committed to helping brands strengthen their customer relationships and engage with shoppers in more meaningful ways," says Mike Small, chief client officer, Sitel Group. "With the 2018 CX Index Report, we are able to demonstrate the core needs and expectations of today's multigenerational customer base and provide unparalleled insight into what makes or breaks consumers' loyalty to and advocacy of brands."

While consumers' loyalty to brands is delicate at best, the 2018 CX Index Report offers compelling data that companies can leverage to boost their online and in-store CX, while strengthening customer relationships with an eye toward convenience and personalization.

Additional findings from the report show that:

Men dominate online shopping, citing cheaper pricing as a primary reason

Somewhat surprisingly, men are savvy online shoppers, with nearly three in five (58 percent) claiming to have better online shopping experiences than women (44 percent), citing cheaper pricing (16 percent) as a primary draw.

Millennial men (61 percent) are most likely to have better experiences shopping online, while baby boomer women (53 percent) are most likely to have better shopping experiences in-store.

While millennials (60 percent) prefer to shop online overall, baby boomers (53 percent) would rather shop in-store. However, one in four (26 percent) of baby boomers admit that the convenience of online shopping is a plus, whereas millennials (29 percent) prefer the availability and larger choice of products online shopping provides.

Consumers are willing to part with money and data to pay the price of CX

While nearly half (47 percent) of all consumers would pay more for improved CX, millennials (51 percent) are more willing than baby boomers (36 percent) to pay more for a product or service in exchange for better CX.

Millennial men (52 percent) are the most likely to cough up cash for better CX, and baby boomer women (35 percent) are the least likely.

When it comes to sharing data, consumers are most willing to share personal data with brands in the banking and financial services industry (BFSI) in exchange for better CX, followed by travel and hospitality (18 percent) and retail (15 percent).

Brand advocacy and criticism are equally intense, especially among millennial women

U.S. consumers are quick to advocate for a brand when they have a positive customer experience with nearly half (49 percent) of all consumers saying that if they had a positive experience with a brand, they would post a positive review online or on social media to encourage others to shop with the brand.

Millennial women are the strongest brand advocates when they receive positive CX, with 54 percent saying they would post a positive review online or to social media to encourage others to shop with the brand.

If consumers receive poor customer support, however, one in three (30 percent) consumers would post a negative review online or to social media to prevent others from shopping with the brand.

Millennial women can cause the most damage in this regard, with 37 percent admitting they would post a negative review to discourage others from shopping with the brand.

Consumers favor traditional communications methods, wary of chatbots and other digital reps

The majority of consumers say they prefer to engage with a brand or company on the phone (28 percent) and over email (25 percent), with nearly three in four (70 percent) saying they would prefer to interact with a human customer service rep versus a digital customer service rep or chatbot (9 percent).

However, two in five (41 percent) millennials compared to one in four (25 percent) baby boomers have confidence that digital reps or chatbots can interpret and assist their customer service requests.

Baby boomer men (57 percent) are the most skeptical about the ability of chatbots to solve their customer support needs.

Women (esp. millennial women) value personalization; men and baby boomers want quick service

Millennial women (68 percent) are the most likely to say personalized communication over email, chat and social media is important to them when doing business with a company  compared to millennial men (62 percent), baby boomer men (58 percent) and baby boomer women (55 percent).

While nearly two in five (39 percent) consumers say they would wait on hold to speak with a customer service rep for six to 10 minutes before hanging up, men (37 percent) are only willing to wait on hold for one to five minutes.

Baby boomers (41 percent) are much more likely than millennials (27 percent) to hang up on a customer service call after waiting one to five minutes.

To learn more about Sitel Group's 2018 CX Index Report and view additional findings, download the full report here .

About Sitel Group

Sitel Group is one of the largest customer experience management companies in the world. The group is comprised of industry-leading firms providing business process outsourcing, digital customer experience, training and talent management, technology and innovation and consulting and analytics solutions.

With subsidiaries such as Sitel, TSC, Learning Tribes, Extens Consulting, Sitel Insights and Novagile, the group's services are leveraged across geographies, verticals and all stages of the end-to-end customer journey, helping clients effectively harness the industry's explosive digital transformation and consistently deliver outstanding customer experiences.

With over 30 years of industry-leading experience, Sitel Group's 75,000 associates service over 400 clients  Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses  through its network of more than 150 offices in 25+ countries.

To learn more, visit www.sitel.com or join the conversation on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Sitel Group
COLUMBIA, S.C., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Stakeholders in South Carolina's healthcare and business community along with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) are excited to announce, "Live Healthy SC," a comprehensive plan to improve population health and address South Carolina's greatest health challenges.

The plan was created through a unique partnership between DHEC and the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina, a multi-sector coalition of state leaders working to align efforts to better address community health needs and reduce the future cost of care.

"Through planning and partnership, we can continue to improve the health of South Carolina," said Dr. Lilian Peake, DHEC's director of public health. "Thanks to the many partners involved, Live Healthy SC is a plan for communities made by communities."

The Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina was originally established in 2010 as the South Carolina Health Coordinating Council and evolved to a coalition of more than 50 diverse organizations  from Michelin to MUSC  working together to coordinate community resources to improve the health of all South Carolinians.

"It takes a whole community working in the same direction to really move the needle on a state's health status," said Teresa Arnold, state director of AARP and Chair of the Alliance Leadership Team. "That's why it's so important that so many diverse organizations and industry leaders across the state are committed to this plan."

South Carolina is currently ranked 44 in state health status according to America's Health Rankings and has been consistently among the lowest states for health status in other reports and analyses. With high rates of stroke and diabetes and widespread health disparities across the state, Live Healthy SC is based on real data aimed to identify and target the specific health challenges of a community.

"This was a long process that required stakeholders from across South Carolina to unite around one common goal  ensuring health equity in our state," said Rick Foster, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina. "We are grateful for the state's commitment to improving health in South Carolina and for our continued work with DHEC and all our partners bringing this plan to life."

Learn more about the Live Healthy SC plan at livehealthysc.com.

The mission of DHEC is to improve the quality of life for all South Carolinians by protecting and promoting the health of the public and the environment with the vision of healthy people living in healthy communities. To learn more visit, www.scdhec.gov

The Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina is a coalition of more than 50 diverse organizations across the state working together to ensure that all people in South Carolina have the opportunity for healthier bodies, minds, and communities while reducing the future cost of care. To learn more, visit www.healthiersc.org.

CONTACT:

Tommy Crosby Schipp Ames DHEC Media Relations Communications Chair, Alliance for a Healthier SC [email protected] [email protected] 803-898-7769 803-744-3543

SOURCE The Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina; South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC)

Related Links

http://www.healthiersc.org


OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprint (NYSE:S) customers have long enjoyed the convenience of shopping online at sprint.com and 1-800-SPRINT-1 and picking up their purchases in Sprint stores. Starting today, consumers will have one more fast, secure and flexible delivery choice just in time for the holiday season. Customers can now buy online at sprint.com or by calling 1-800-SPRINT-1 and pick up at one of more than 7,500 FedEx counters located conveniently inside Walgreens.

Seventy-five percent of Americans are concerned about porch piracy, and the majority of online shoppers want alternate delivery options.1 Because more than 78 percent of the U.S. population lives within five miles of a Walgreens, this makes shopping with Sprint more convenient and worry-free than ever. Customers don't have to stress about ordering online and being home to receive their package.

Deliveries are shipped and held at Walgreens for five business days, giving customers the flexibility to pick up on their schedule  early in the morning to late evenings  and in some cases 24 hours a day. Although convenience and security are important all year long, having purchases delivered to Walgreens also eliminates the worry of gifts being discovered on the front porch, thus ruining a holiday surprise.

"Being able to buy online and conveniently pick up at either a Sprint store or Walgreens makes shopping easy for our customers," said Dow Draper, Sprint chief commercial officer. "As customers check out on Sprint.com, they can select delivery to their home, to their local Sprint store or Walgreens. It is that simple!"

"Our customers across the country enjoy the convenience of services we offer at neighborhood Walgreens locations," said Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of operations. "We're pleased to expand on our collaborations with both Sprint and FedEx to further simplify shopping as we head into the holiday season."

"As e-commerce continues to grow, customers expect retailers and logistics providers to offer convenient and flexible solutions to fit their busy lifestyles," said Scott Harkins, senior vice president of customer channel marketing, FedEx Services. "We are thrilled to work with the well-respected Walgreens and Sprint brands to provide options that make our customers' lives easier."

The service is great for existing customers and new customers alike. For existing customers, it's a convenient when they are ready to upgrade to a new phone or add a new line with a device or tablet. New Sprint customers can also use the service when they purchase a device. Anyone can ship accessories or SIM cards to Walgreens.

This new delivery option is the result of Sprint's continued collaboration with Walgreens announced earlier this year. Eighty additional Sprint Express locations within Walgreens will open this week throughout Chicagoland and the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area that provide wireless services and expertise to customers in neighborhoods where they live and work.

About Sprint:

Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served 54.5 million connections as of Sept. 30, 2018, and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Today, Sprint's legacy of innovation and service continues with an increased investment to dramatically improve coverage, reliability, and speed across its nationwide network and commitment to launching the first 5G mobile network in the U.S. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

1 Of 1,000 people surveyed for the 2017 Schorr Package Theft Report.

SOURCE Sprint

Related Links

http://www.sprint.com


A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted the Southeast regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner for violating state ethics laws.

Charges include multiple violations of Alabamas Ethics Act, including soliciting a thing of value from a principal, lobbyist or subordinate, and receiving money in addition that received in ones official capacity, according to the Alabama Ethics Commission.

Before being appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as the Region 4 administrator of the EPA, Trey Glenn worked closely with the Birmingham-based law firm Balch & Bingham and one of its clients, Drummond Co., to fight EPA efforts to test and clean up neighborhoods in north Birmingham and Tarrant.

Likewise, former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner Scott Phillips worked with Balch to oppose the EPA. Phillips and Glenn worked together in a company they co-owned, Southeast Engineering & Consulting, at the same time Phillips served on the commission.

Under Alabama ethics law, it is illegal for a lobbyist or a lobbyists client, called a principal, to give a public official a thing of value, including a job.

President Donald Trump appointed Glenn lead EPAs Region 4 in August 2017, after incidents covered in the indictment. That region includes Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.



Former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner W. Scott Phillips. (Dennis Pillion | dpillion@al.com) (Dennis Pillion | dpillion@al.co

The indictment is not Glenns first brush with Alabama ethics laws. In 2007, the Alabama Ethics Commission referred a complaint against Glenn, who then served as director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, to the Montgomery County District Attorneys office for prosecution.

However, in 2008, a Montgomery County grand jury declined to indict Glenn on those charges.

After leaving ADEM in 2009, Glenn co-founded SE&C with Phillips and served as a lobbyist for the Business Council of Alabama.

After he was appointed to the EPA position, Glenn reported income from numerous public and private entities , including the BCA, City of Birmingham, Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, Matrix LLC, Blue Ridge Partners, Strada and Big Sky Environmental.

Big Sky Environmental made headlines this year after it accepted human feces from New York for disposal at its Adamsville landfill. A train that delivered that refuse stunk up the surrounding community and after national news coverage became known as the poop train.

After accepting his appointment at the EPA, Glenn recused himself from north Birmingham environmental issues for one year. Environmental activists and nonprofit watchdog groups have asked Glenn to recuse himself permanently.

Witnesses at trial

In July, a jury in federal court convicted Balch partner Joel Gilbert and Drummond vice president David Roberson on charges they bribed an Alabama lawmaker, Oliver Robinson, to help fight the EPAs cleanup efforts in Tarrant and north Birmingham.

From 2014 through 2017, Glenn and Phillips worked with those defendants to oppose the EPA efforts, court exhibits and trial testimony showed.

During that trial, prosecutors called Glenn and Phillips as witnesses. Court documents and testimony, in that case, showed that they had worked closely with Balch to push back on the EPA as recently as 2017.

One exhibit in that trial showed that Phillips proposed to hijack a north Birmingham community organization that had been working with the EPA to clean up neighborhoods there. During his testimony, Phillips said that by hijack he meant work with.

In the same exhibit, a PowerPoint slideshow Phillips' company had prepared for Balch, Phillips proposed to undermine and fragment proponents of the north Birmingham cleanup.

On the witness stand in that trial, Phillips denied knowing that Robinson, a state lawmaker, was being paid by Balch  something even defense attorneys didnt seem to believe. On cross-examination, defense counsel showed Phillips a memo written to him in 2014 proposing maybe Oliver Robinson be hired for community outreach work in north Birmingham.

At the same time Phillips performed this work for Balch and Drummond, he served on the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, which oversees the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

On the AEMC, Phillips sat for meetings on north Birmingham environmental issues, including a 2015 meeting where Robinson spoke against EPA cleanup efforts in north Birmingham.

While serving on the AEMC, Phillips forwarded an advance copy of a presentation by the environmental watchdog group GASP to Glenn, who then forwarded those materials to Gilbert at Balch, trial testimony revealed.

Testimony in that trial also revealed that Phillips helped make introductions for Robinson, including a dinner in which Robinson met with AEMC chairman Lanier Brown to discuss north Birmingham issues.

In the wake of the federal corruption trial, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Rep. Terri Sewell and Sen. Doug Jones have asked the EPA to put the north Birmingham Superfund site on its National Priorities List , a regulatory distinction that would open up more money for cleanup and potentially require area polluters to help pay for cleanup costs.

The Alabama Ethics Commission lead the investigation after being asked for help by the Jefferson County District Attorneys office.

The Alabama Ethics Commission is committed to working with Alabamas District Attorneys, and all enforcement agencies, whenever needed and asked to do so, to ensure enforcement of Alabamas Ethics laws on behalf of the citizens of Alabama; and these indictments are evidence of that, Alabama Ethics Commission Director Tom Albritton said in a press release. I want to recognize the hard work from the Jefferson County DAs office which requested our assistance in this important matter; and from our office, Cynthia Raulston, the Commissions General Counsel, as well as Special Agents Dustin Lansford, Byron Butler and Chief Special Agent Chris Clark for their hard work and dedication to the enforcement of our Ethics laws.

In separate written statements sent by an employee of the Melton Espy law firm from a personal email account, Phillips and Glenn proclaimed their innocence and vowed to fight the charges against them. A message left for attorney Joe Espy seeking comment was not returned.
LONDON, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

About Apiculture



Apiculture is a technique of rearing honey bees in man-made hives for commercial purposes.







Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5618604





Technavio's analysts forecast the Global Apiculture Market to grow at a CAGR of 2.67% during the period 2019-2023.



Covered in this report

The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the apiculture market. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the application of apiculture across the globe.



The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:

 Americas

 APAC

 EMEA



Technavio's report, apiculture market 2019-2023, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.



Key vendors

 Beehive Botanicals

 Comvita

 Dadant

 Feng's Apiculture Group

 Sadecki Bartnik



Market driver

 Increasing government funding for R&D on the uses of apiculture

 For a full, detailed list, view our report



Market challenge

 Decline in bee population

 For a full, detailed list, view our report



Market trend

 Restoration of bee habitats

 For a full, detailed list, view our report



Key questions answered in this report

 What will the market size be in 2023 and what will the growth rate be?

 What are the key market trends?

 What is driving this market?

 What are the challenges to market growth?

 Who are the key vendors in this market space?

 What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?



You can request one free hour of our analyst's time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5618604



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


LONDON, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --



129 pages, November 2018



About this market

The growing demand for smart homes and the development of smart cities is identified as one of the key trends that will gain traction in the market during the estimated period. Many countries are undertaking smart city projects. The number of smart cities is expected to increase, and vendors are planning to develop new devices and software specifically for smart cities. Technavio's analysts have predicted that the global homeware market will register a CAGR of almost 7% by 2023.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5618597



Market Overview

Growing construction industry globally

The demand for luxury and superior quality homeware products is increasing among customers around the world due to the growth in the real estate industry and residential establishments.

High competition from unorganized players are low product replacement cycle

Well-established vendors face high competition from unorganized players that are not registered with the respective governments and have irregular terms of employment.

For the detailed list of factors that will drive and challenge the growth of the homeware market during the 2019-2023, view our report.



Competitive Landscape

The market appears to be fragmented and with the presence of several companies and the competitive environment is quite intense. Factors such as the growing demand for smart homes and the development of smart cities and demand for luxury and superior quality homeware products will provide considerable growth opportunities to homeware market manufactures. Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot Product Authority, Target Brands, and Walmart are some of the major companies covered in this report.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5618597



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing need for ISR, water quality monitoring and data mapping is a major factor in the increasing procurement of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), globally



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p03816726



The unmanned surface vehicle market size is expected to grow from USD 534 million in 2018 to USD 1,020 million by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.8% during the forecast period. The market for USV is driven by critical factors, such as increasing need for ocean data and mapping, maritime security, and asymmetric threats. However, the presence of low-cost substitutes, such as UUVs pose a restraint to the market.



Defense segment to grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period in unmanned surface vehicle market

The key applications considered for the market study are commercial and defense.The defense segment is estimated to account for the higher market share in 2018.



USVs are used for several defense applications, such as mine counter measures, anti-submarine, and maritime security, among others.Unmanned underwater vehicles are also available for performing such applications.



However, USVs provide several advantages over UUVs, as unmanned underwater vehicles have limited endurance, power, and payload capacity and cannot withstand in destructive wars, along with incapability of sending exact data due to tidal disturbances in the seas.



Payload segment is estimated to account for the largest market share in unmanned surface vehicle market during the forecast period

Payloads include cameras, sensors, SONARs, X-band marine radars, visual systems, LiDAR, echo sounders, and others.The market for payloads is increasing as this equipment has significant uses for enhancing USV capabilities.



For instance, the market for camera payload is increasing as these enable enhanced visual and thermal data collection. Sensor payloads are one of the critical payloads in USVs as these are used for examining undersea cables and classifying a wide variety of chemicals in seawater.



The unmanned surface vehicle market in North America is projected to lead, and the market in Europe is projected to grow at the highest CAGR



The North American region is estimated to lead the global unmanned surface vehicle market in 2018, and is expected to continue to lead during the forecast period. The US is considered to be the largest developer, operator, and exporter of USVs, globally, resulting in the large share of the North American region in the global unmanned surface vehicle market.

The market in Europe is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.This rapid growth can be attributed to the increasing demand from scientific research and survey industries.



In the European region maritime threats are continuously increasing, affecting the transportation of goods and energy. Thus, the demand for USVs is increasing for maritime security.





Break-up of profiles of primary participants in the A-SMGCS market:

 By Company Type: Tier 1  35%, Tier 2  45%, and Tier 3  20%

 By Designation: C-Level Executives 35%, Directors  25%, and Others  40%

 By Region: North America  45%, Europe  20%, Asia Pacific  30%, Rest of the World 5%



The unmanned surface vehicle market includes key players, such as ASV Global (UK), Teledyne Technologies (US), Textron Inc. (US), ECA Group (France), Israel Aerospace Industries (Israel), Atlas Elektronik (Germany), SeaRobotics (US), Maritime Robotics (Norway), Elbit Systems (Israel), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Israel), 5G International (US), and Liquid Robotics (US), among others.



Research Coverage:

The market study covers the unmanned surface vehicle market across segments.It aims at estimating the market size and the growth potential of this market across different segments, such as application, system, type, size, hull type, mode of operation, endurance, and region.



The study also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players in the market, along with their company profiles, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and key market strategies.



Reasons to buy this report:

The report will help the market leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall unmanned surface vehicle market and the subsegments.This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to better position their businesses and to plan suitable go-to-market strategies.



The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p03816726



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Under the Safe Birth Even Here campaign, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and Unite to Light (UTL) have launched the "Light for Life" project. This initiative will provide solar lights to midwives in humanitarian and conflict zones, as well as to rural regions without access to electricity.

Midwifes with the Bangladesh Midwifery Society work to help the women and children of Bangladesh, as well as the Rohingya Refugees. Last year UNFPA and Unite to Light provided 11,000 solar Luke Lights to help the midwifes and refugees. One billion people live without access to electricity. That means mothers often give birth in huts by candle light or kerosene. A single solar Luke Light provides safe and effective light to help a midwife deliver hundreds of mothers and babies.

According to the World Health Organization, 830 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. That is a death toll equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing, every single day. One of the most effective interventions to stop preventable maternal deaths is ensuring that a skilled birth attendant or midwife is available to assist with the delivery. However, in many villages across the globe, a lack of basic facilities such as electricity, impairs their efforts to ensure a safe delivery.

Midwives are crucial in regions that lack resources and are often the only trained healthcare providers available. Yet even with the best of training, a midwife is limited if she cannot see what she is doing. When a woman gives birth at night, or in a dark hut, often the only available light source is from a cooking fire, candles or a kerosene lantern. These options, when available, provide limited visibility and are dangerous due to their flammability and air polluting emissions. However, with a solar light, a midwife can help safely see and attend to the mother and child.

Over 75 percent of the world's people affected by crises are women and children. When disaster strikes, women are faced with the loss of medical support, malnutrition and increased incidence of sexual violence. Their vulnerability is even higher in times of pregnancy: 3 in 5 maternal deaths occur in countries affected by, or prone to conflict or natural disaster. The Safe Birth Even Here campaign aims to make women's health, safety and dignity a global humanitarian priority and mobilize action and funding to support women's health in all humanitarian operations worldwide.

"At UNFPA, we have declared "safe birth, even here" because migration while pregnant can increase risk of complications. Therefore, pregnant women may be left behind, while others seek safer locations. And those left behind may face continued threats, often exacerbated by a collapsing health system," says UNFPA's Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem.

"Solar lights are crucial for midwives, and ensure the health, well-being and privacy of the mother," says Megan Birney, President of Unite to Light. "Last year, in partnership with UNFPA, we deployed 11,000 solar lights to the Bangladesh Midwifery Society for the midwives and the Rohingya refugee mothers they were helping. This year we will be working with UNFPA in Paraguay and Bangladesh to ensure that midwives are properly equipped to ensure safe births everywhere."

About UNFPA

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is a UN international development agency that seeks to achieve a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential fulfilled.

About Safe Birth Even Here

The Safe Birth Even Here campaign aims to raise public awareness regarding the high rate of maternal deaths in emergency areas and to increase support to services to protect the rights of women and adolescent girls living in humanitarian and vulnerable environments.

About Unite to Light:

Unite to Light has a mission to manufacture and distribute efficient, durable, low cost solar light and energy to people without access to electricity. Key program areas include: education, global health and disaster response. Unite to Light has distributed over 100,000 lamps to 70 countries since 2011. For more information, visit www.UnitetoLight.org.

PRESS CONTACT:

Megan Birney

[email protected]

805-617-0619

SOURCE Unite to Light

Related Links

http://www.UnitetoLight.org


BALTIMORE, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States, today announces a significant increase in the amount of its annual grantmaking, as part of its Biennial Community Gathering. In 2016, the Foundation's leadership decided to host major events such as the Community Gathering every two years, rather than every year, with the goal of dedicating more of the Foundation's funds to grants rather than expenses.

"Thanks to the leadership of our Board of Trustees as well as our investment, finance, and real estate teams, the Foundation's assets have grown to approximately $2.6 billion," said Robert T. Kelly, Jr., Weinberg Foundation Board Chair and Trustee. "This growth allows the Foundation to expand its philanthropic reach and impact. Specifically, we are pleased to announce that the Foundation's total grant distribution in 2019 will grow to $125 million."

The Foundation's growth in assets and increase in grant dollars is part of a transformational time for the organization, including its five-member Board of Trustees. In just two and a half years, the Foundation has on-boarded three new trustees. Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin (Ret.) joined the Foundation in May 2016, followed by Paula B. Pretlow in January 2018. As previously announced, Alvin Awaya will retire from the Foundation on November 30, 2018 and will be succeeded by Gordon Berlin on December 1, 2018. The Foundation now has also begun the process of identifying the successor to Donn Weinberg, who retired on October 2, 2018.

More than 1,000 community, civic, and business leaders are expected to attend today's event which will include keynote remarks by Becky Margiotta, Principal/Owner, the Billions Institute. This organization strives to answer one question: how can we engage one billion people to solve the world's biggest problems in the next 50 years?

Weinberg Foundation Biennial Community Gathering

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

4:30 to 6:30 p.m. ( 4:30 p.m. reception begins, 5:00 p.m. program begins, 5:45 p.m. program concludes)

( reception begins, program begins, program concludes) Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, MD 21208

"The Foundation would like to thank its many partners for the meaningful work they do to make our communities better and stronger," stated Rachel Garbow Monroe, President and CEO. "Although the past few weeks have been especially painful for all of usthe Pittsburgh and California mass shootings, and the devastating wildfires in Californiawe can all take comfort in the good work that has been accomplished by so many. At the Foundation, these accomplishments would not be possible without the leadership and support of our mission-driven board, as well as the commitment of our superb staff."

Program highlights include the Foundation's recent $12 million grant to support inclusion at Jewish camp, as well as the announcement that the Foundation will host a national convening on Jewish poverty, March 19, in San Francisco. Monroe will also promote the 15th library grand opening as part of the Baltimore Library Project. The celebration of the new space at James McHenry Elementary/Middle School is scheduled for January 23, 2019.

Past Community Gatherings have featured videos showcasing select grantees that demonstrated the Foundation's broader work and mission. This year, the Foundation invited all of its current grantees to tell their own stories in a 60-second video, as part of the Show Us Your Story video contest. More than 100 organizationsfrom Israel to Hawaii and throughout the USsubmitted entries. An expert panel judged the finalists and, at today's event, the Foundation will recognize the top 10, sharing those videos with the audience.

Today the Foundation also launches a new, fully redesigned website, which includes a new grantmaking structure and online application process. The Foundation has simplified and re-framed all of its grant work into four primary areas: Housing, Health, Jobs, and Education. Please visit www.hjweinbergfoundation.org for more information.

About The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the United States, is dedicated to meeting the basic needs of vulnerable people and families experiencing poverty. In 2019, the Foundation will provide approximately $125 million in grants to nonprofits that provide direct services in the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, and Community Services. The Foundation's priority communities include Baltimore, Chicago, Hawaii, Israel, New York City, Northeastern Pennsylvania, San Francisco, and Rural Communities (primarily surrounding other priority communities). The Foundation's trustees include Robert T. Kelly, Jr., Board Chair; Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin (Ret.); Paula B. Pretlow; and (effective December 1, 2018) Gordon Berlin. Rachel Garbow Monroe continues to serve as President and CEO. For more information, please visit www.hjweinbergfoundation.org.

SOURCE Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation

Related Links

http://www.hjweinbergfoundation.org


MURRIETA, Calif., Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AeroGuard Flight Training Center is an industry leader in safe, superior quality pilot training. With an accelerated curriculum that prepares cadets for a career in aviation, AeroGuard's flight training programs are one of the safest and most dependable ways to quickly launch a career as a commercial pilot. Today's inaugural class of Pilot Pathway students in Murrieta, California will graduate from the AeroGuard training program in just 8 - 10 months.

From AeroGuard CEO Joel Davidson,

"We are absolutely thrilled to begin AeroGuard's industry-leading commercial pilot training program at French Valley Airport. The Southern California market has hundreds, if not thousands, of eligible young men and women who can become excellent airline pilots through AeroGuard's superior quality training environment, and the career path that AeroGuard provides through our outstanding partner in aviation, SkyWest Airlines.

SkyWest is the largest and highest regarded Regional airline in the world, and AeroGuard pilots will benefit from the tremendous opportunity to pursue their career goals as a pilot at SkyWest Airlines."

Graduates from AeroGuard's accelerated Pilot Pathway and Rotor Transition Programs are provided with all the experience, skills, and training they need to begin a successful career as an airline pilot. AeroGuard has trained over 6,000 graduates with over 1 million flight hours. AeroGuard graduates can now be found flying for major and regional airlines all over the world.

AeroGuard offers a unique all-inclusive and transparent tuition model with tuition reimbursement packages available in partnership with SkyWest Airlines. With AeroGuard's accelerated curriculum, high safety standards, and student support programs, AeroGuard has become a top option for individuals who want to begin a career in aviation.

Global demand for commercial pilots is rising with industry leader Boeing projecting that 790,000 new civil aviation pilots will be needed over the next 20 years. The opening of the new campus in Murrieta, California is part of AeroGuard's ongoing commitment to meet this demand by providing first-class pilot training to candidates from all over the world.

Individuals who are interested in learning more about starting a career in aviation and enrolling at AeroGuard can visit flyaeroguard.com to connect with an admissions adviser for more information.

Related Links

https://www.flyaeroguard.com

SOURCE AeroGuard
"We've had such an incredible year so far, and performing at a venue as iconic as The Bluebird Cafe, alongside our friend Morgan Evans, is the perfect way to celebrate CMA Week," CMA-nominated duo Dan + Shay said. "We couldn't live this dream of ours without the support of our fans, and we thank Aflac and PEOPLE for making it possible for us to interact with some of our loyal fans in such a special way."

"It's always a thrill to perform at the legendary Bluebird Cafe  an experience like no other," said Morgan Evans. "I appreciate the opportunity to join Dan + Shay, whom I admire greatly, on this stage. Events like today's, thanks to Aflac and PEOPLE, provide me a chance to connect with fans on a more intimate level and remind me why the country music industry loves returning to Nashville each year for the CMA Awards."

About Aflac

When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day PaySM initiative, for eligible claims, Aflac U.S. can process, approve and electronically send funds to claimants for quick access to cash in just one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 12 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 17th time. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol.

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999.

Media contact: Kristen Fraser, 706.580.3813 or [email protected]

SOURCE Aflac

Related Links

http://www.aflac.com


LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AIA Worldwide, a global leader in talent acquisition technologies, today announced it has won four awards at the 2018 CIPD Recruitment Marketing Awards.

Since its launch nearly 40 years ago, the Recruitment Marketing Awards continue to provide recognition for excellence and professionalism in recruitment marketing and talent management. The program evolves each year to stay up to date on the changing dynamics of the industry, continuously reviewing and adapting their award categories to recognise innovation, creativity and effectiveness achieved through best practices.

AIA won awards across multiple categories, including the Digital Solution, Video above 10,000 and Experiential categories. In addition, Andy Holden, Creative Director at AIA Worldwide, also received the distinguished honor of Creative Professional of the Year. Andy's work has been nothing short of exceptional, as the Judges explain, "[Andy is a] Great ambassador for the agencydemonstrating a broad piece of workthe descriptions for the client's perspective were great  fantastic client testimonials."

"We're over the moon to have won at this year's RMAs," said Ben Harlow, creative director at AIA Worldwide. "We're proud of the work we do at AIA, and to have it recognised at the RMAs is an amazing achievement for all of us. It's all made possible through great ideas, a brilliant team and amazing clients who allow us to do the work."

"I entered the Creative Professional of the Year, not only to stand a chance of winning but also to learn about myself," explains Andy Holden, creative director at AIA Worldwide. "I had some great client testimonials, which added some real weight to my entry. It was great to be nominated and even better to win on the night! I feel chuffed to be first creative ever to win the award."

About AIA Worldwide

AIA Worldwide is a global leader in talent acquisition technologies, committed to finding new ways to leverage software, strategy and creative to build talent and enhance our clients' employer brands- across every connection point. From healthcare to finance to retail to technology and everything in between- we've revolutionised the way companies and candidates connect.

SOURCE AIA Worldwide

Related Links

https://www.aia.co.uk


NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Empire Global Ventures (EGV) is pleased to announce Alexandra Lebenthal has joined the firm in the role of as Senior Advisor, Capital Markets. Alexandra will guide EGV's clients seeking funding. EGV assists companies, philanthropies, and governments in developing and implementing global growth strategies and communications platforms with a focus on growth in China, Europe, and North America.

"I am delighted to be adding Alexandra to the team," said Alexandra Stanton. "Her breadth of experience on Wall Street is a huge asset to EGV. With her in our corner, EGV will continue to provide the highest level of innovation and guidance to our clients."

Lebenthal's storied career in finance spans over thirty years. She became President & CEO of Lebenthal & Company in 1995 at the age of 31. She has been frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal and NY Times, as well as mainstream financial media, and has been an official CNBC contributor since 2010.

"Alexandra and I share the vision that great companies deserve access to investment opportunities that can be difficult to find," said Lebenthal. "While all deserve equal access, this challenge is particularly true for women entrepreneurs. I look forward to continuing to level the playing field for them and to focus on all talented individuals and emerging companies that EGV assists."

The family name Lebenthal is one of the oldest on Wall Street. Lebenthal's trailblazing grandparents founded Lebenthal & Co in 1925. The firm received widespread attention for its tax-free municipal bonds. Alexandra relaunched the company in 2007, building it into the number one woman-owned broker-dealer. Her vision for increased gender equality in business matches closely with that of EGV's CEO, Alexandra Stanton, who specializes in helping female founders overcome unique challenges and scale their businesses.

About EGV

Empire Global Ventures LLC (EGV) is a leading boutique investment and international business development firm founded and managed by Alexandra Stanton, CEO and Dr. Sam Natapoff, President. EGV assists businesses in developing and implementing global growth strategies with a focus on growth in China, Europe, and North America.

With strong relationships in these regions built over many years, EGV is uniquely positioned to provide clients with seasoned business development, strategic investment, project management, and communications and strategic marketing services, in a variety of sectors.

Dini von Mueffling Communications

Janine Brady

[email protected]

646-741-7117

SOURCE Empire Global Ventures (EGV)
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Why a centralized Autism Glossary? Autism is complex! Parents, families, caregivers and healthcare professionals all spend endless hours searching & "googling" the many complex words and terminologies used in the world of Autism. By building comprehensive in-depth Autism Glossaries, OYA has created a Centralized Repository to save everyone countless hours of time. Besides definitions and images, 3rd party videos, links and articles are available by simply clicking on the "Learn More" buttons to help fully educate users.

Endless hours are spent searching Autism terms OnlyYOU AUTISM comprehensive glossaries save time & better educate everyone

OYA Glossaries are available in 6 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Yiddish and Arabic! https://onlyyouautism.com/glossary/

*OYA is actively seeking Collaboration with Autism educators, non-profits, research opportunities, social media and others focused on Autism.

OnlyYOU AUTISM (OYA) just launched their Evidence-based simple saliva test that provides detailed, personalized, easy-to-read results on how each individual with Autism genetically responds to each of the top 20 prescribed behavioral medications used to treat the behavioral symptoms of AutismPlus 416 of the most popularly prescribed prescription medications used to treat comorbid medical conditions prevalent with Autism. In-depth test results provide important information that can assist patients, caregivers and physicians in selecting the best prescription Rx's for each individual.

Watch our introduction video: https://youtu.be/c9S3vKGbqG4

PROBLEMS: Every person on earth is genetically unique and may respond to prescription medications differently than anyone else due to variations of one's genes!

Most people with Autism take multiple numbers of prescription medications, which normally begin with behavioral drugs used to treat the symptoms of Autism.

94% of people with an Autism diagnosis also experience medical problems such as gastrointestinal, sleep disorders, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and more. More than 50% have 2-3 chronic medical conditions.

experience medical problems such as gastrointestinal, sleep disorders, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and more. More than 50% have 2-3 chronic medical conditions. Potential drug-to-drug interactions and side-effects often occur when taking multiple medications and may cause loss of efficacy, unwanted side effects, or even create adverse reactions. These are included in the OYA results.

SOLUTION: Only YOUAUTISM tests each person's genetic responses for the top 20 behavioral Rx medications plus the top most frequently prescribed Rx medications for a total of 416 prescription Rx medications.

GAIN: Benefits of the Only YOU  AUTISM Report Results:

Actionable information for (Rx) 416 prescription medications

Find right medications that can work best for each person

Saves $ money on Rx costs, co-pays, "Trial and Error" and unnecessary doctor visits

Avoid unwanted side effects, loss of efficacy & potential adverse reactions

Avoid medications that simply will not work

Avoid medications which inhibit other prescriptions

OYA's PGx test are sold Direct-to-Consumers, approved by your doctor, for $299 on OYA's website:

www.onlyyouautism.com

Visit the in-depth OYA Glossaries to save valuable search time and learn much more about Autism: www.onlyyouautism.com/glossary/

*Our Website includes 5 foreign languages instant translation

Media inquiries: OYA, [email protected], (877) 892-2314

For Collaboration Opportunities: [email protected]

*OYA's laboratory is CLIA and CAP-accredited. OYA provides no medical advice. Always share results with healthcare professionals and make your reports part of personal Electronic Medical Records.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlyyouautism

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/onlyyouautism/

SOURCE OnlyYOU AUTISM

Related Links

http://www.onlyyouautism.com


Curtis Gilmour is a global manufacturer of branded pest control supplies with a leading market position in North America. Products are marketed under the B&G Equipment line of professional sprayers, Curtis Dyna-Fog premium fogging products, as well as the Agrisense and Silvandersson trapping and monitoring brands, which are sold internationally to a diverse base of professional, industrial, and retail customers.

Pelsis has leading brands in both the professional and consumer pest control categories. The consolidated portfolio will be led by Pelsis Group CEO, Peter Mangion, and will continue to operate from its current facilities in the United States and Europe.

To learn more about BGL's Healthcare & Life Sciences team, please visit: www.bglco.com/healthcare-life-sciences

About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company is a leading independent investment bank serving the middle market. BGL specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory services, debt and equity placements, financial restructuring advice, and valuations and fairness opinions, with global industry teams in Consumer & Retail, Environmental & Industrial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Diversified Industrials, Metals & Metals Processing, and Real Estate. BGL has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and San Diego in addition to Global M&A partner offices in more than 50 countries across 5 continents. BGL is able to deliver to our clients unparalleled access to strategic relationships, investors, and opportunities globally. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.



SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Related Links

https://www.bglco.com


The Company secured a strategic $5 billion investment from Fortune 500 beverage leader Constellation Brands

Since October 1 , Company SKUs obtained over 30% listings market share 1 in multi-store physical retail store networks nationwide, strategic phase 2 rollout of value added products including edible Softgels and pre-rolled joints expected to increase market share

Acquisition of Canopy Health Innovations and announced plan to acquire ebbu Inc. reinforces the Company's commitment to owned IP; Company completed or acquired over 120 patent filings across hardware, product formulation, genetics, production innovation, and medical treatments

Company completed first of a kind US Drug Enforcement Agency permitted import into the United States of Canopy Softgel products for research purposes

Registered medical patients increased by 34% year-over-year to an industry leading 84,400 patients, while second quarter revenue came in as planned with staging for the third quarter launch of the recreational market in Canada

The Company is very well positioned with the inventories, supply chain logistics and automation in place, and capacity coming on-line to support market demand

SMITHS FALLS, ON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) ("Canopy Growth" or "the Company") today released its consolidated financial results for the second quarter fiscal 2019 ended September 30, 2018. All financial information in this press release is reported in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

During the quarter, Canopy Growth secured capital via a strategic $5 billion investment from Fortune 500 beverage leader Constellation Brands, which closed subsequent to the quarter. These funds will be deployed towards the Company's core strategic objectives of (i) intellectual property development, and (ii) replicating the Company's Canadian platform for success across a large number of international markets. These objectives will be achieved through international acquisitions as well as continued internal investments across the globe, and are discussed in further detail below.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Operational and Financial Highlights



















Q2 2019 Q2 2018

% Change Active registered patients

84,400 63,000

34% Kilograms and kilogram equivalents sold

2,197 2,020

9% Kilograms harvested

15,127 4,167

265% Inventory & Biological Assets (millions)

$171 $97

76%













Revenues (millions)

$23.3 $17.6

33% Average selling price per gram

$9.87 $7.99

24% Cash and Cash Equivalents (millions)

$429 $108

296%

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Revenue Highlights

Sales in the second quarter were in line with management's expectations leading into the opening of the recreational cannabis market. Revenue for the second quarter fiscal 2019 was $23.3 million, representing an increase of 33% over the prior year's quarter in which revenue was $17.6 million. As planned, the Company made only limited "test" shipments of $0.7 million into recreational channels during the second quarter to confirm supply chain systems functionality before the launch of recreational cannabis on October 17.

Oils, including the Company's Softgel capsules, accounted for 34% and 18%, in the respective second quarters of fiscal 2019 and 2018, of the product revenue for each period, demonstrating an increased demand for value-added products that require lower active ingredient inputs and provide higher margins.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Product Sales Highlights

During the second quarter of fiscal 2019 ended September 30, 2018, the Company sold 2,197 kilograms and kilogram equivalents at an average sale price of $9.87, up from 2,020 kilograms and kilogram equivalents at an average price of $7.99 in the prior year period, representing an increase of 9% and 24% respectively. The higher average price was due to changes in the mix of product sold, principally a higher percentage of Softgel sales and sales to Germany.

Year-to-date, the Company has sold 4,892 kilograms and kilogram equivalents at an average sale price of $9.36, up from 3,850 kilograms and kilogram equivalents at an average price of $7.98 in the prior year period, representing an increase of 27% and 17% respectively.

Canadian Regulated Adult Use Market  Cannabis Sales

As has been previously disclosed, the Company ended the second quarter with supply commitments to provinces and territories of 70,000 kg, not including Ontario. The Company remains on track to meet all commitments on an annualized basis, and is working closely with all provincial and territorial partners to address supply shortages faced across the country, including improvements to the Company's own SKU offering and overall availability for all partners. To this end, as compared to the October 17-31 period, the average number of kilograms shipped on a daily basis to provincial and territorial partners during the period November 1-12 has more than doubled.

Having built up sufficient inventory, the Company has also now begun shipping value-add products including its Softgels capsules to certain provinces with more to follow in the coming weeks, expanding its offering as initial competitor offerings begin to decline in the market. The Softgels will be followed shortly by pre-rolled joints produced on patent pending equipment designed and created by the Canopy Engineering Team to meet global standards and throughput with no third party royalties or dependencies.

Canadian Regulated Adult Use Market  Retail Footprint

Canopy Growth finalized its acquisition of HIKU during the second quarter, adding the Tokyo Smoke retail network on top of its Tweed stores. Offering distinct consumer experiences will allow the Company to appeal to various consumer demographics without saturating any single market. Tokyo Smoke operates three retail cannabis stores today in Winnipeg and plans to add 12 additional stores in provinces that support private retail by September 2019. Tweed retail now has 8 locations selling cannabis today across Newfoundland and Manitoba and an e-commerce presence in Manitoba and Nunavut. By September 2019, Tweed plans to add 20 additional brick and mortar shops in provinces with private retail models. Yet to be defined provincial models may provide opportunities for further expansion.

Management Commentary

"With extensive investments over the past year, including most notably in the second quarter, in branding and retail development, our entrance into the retail cannabis market has been a success with our SKU assortment obtaining over 30% listings market share in multi-store physical retail store networks nationwide. With substantial product inventories on hand, new product formats coming to market as planned, a captive sales force driving increased demand through physical retail stores and increasing internal and channel efficiencies, we believe based on market conditions today that we will attain significant and sustainable market share of the Canadian recreational market," Bruce Linton, Chairman & Co-CEO, Canopy Growth.

"With business opportunities expanding globally, we continue to make significant investments in building our international team and footprint including through multiple acquisitions in Latin America completed during the quarter. The completion of, to our knowledge, a world first Canadian export of a US federally legal DEA permitted product, and the announced acquisition of US federally legal hemp R&D specialists, ebbu, are critical stepping stones for our broader entrance into the US market when it is federally-permissible to do so," concluded Linton.

"With global management infrastructure in place, the Company is building an international platform in order to drive medical market growth, which will in turn drive innovation applicable to recreational cannabis markets. This approach requires large-scale production capacity, value-add processing, diversified intellectual property, and clinical research  all things we have prioritized and invested heavily into this past quarter."

Update on Canadian Capacity Expansion and Facilities Milestones

During the quarter and subsequently, the Company has continued to advance its stated objective of 5.6 million square feet of production across Canada, receiving licenses for almost 2.0 million square feet of production space. With over 4.3 million sq. ft. of licenced capacity, the Company continues to see new growing areas brought online as facilities are loaded up incrementally. As each facility comes online, the Company continues to mark major milestones, including the transfer of over 10,700 kilograms from the BC Tweed facilities in a single transfer during the quarter.

Through use of advanced inspection technologies, proprietary modifications, and further development of in-house expertise, the Company has increased total Softgel production capacity to several million per week. This represents a 10 fold increase over the same period last year. Construction of advanced manufacturing facilities built to GMP standards as well as distribution infrastructure continues a the 1 Hershey Drive Smiths Falls campus.

Commissioning of patent-pending automated pre-roll production lines; large scale dried bud and oil pre-pack systems; and automated fulfillment and shipping systems have also significantly increased operating efficiencies in order to build inventory and deliver on commitments nationwide.

Update on Core Pillar of Intellectual Property Development

During the second quarter Canopy Health Innovations ("CHI") received approval from Health Canada to proceed with Phase IIb "in-human" clinical trials to evaluate the use of medical cannabis in the treatment of insomnia. The trial will be conducted in collaboration with a leading Canadian research institution. Canopy Animal Health also received approval from the Veterinary Drug Directorate of Health Canada to research the effectiveness of cannabidiol in the treatment of anxiety in certain animals.

The Company acquired CHI during the quarter to reinforce the importance of owned IP and integrate the team's significant expertise into the Company's broader medical platform. With the planned acquisition of ebbu, Canopy Growth will have over 120 patent filings and will continue to build its IP portfolio across hardware, product formulation, genetics, production innovation, and medical treatments.

Update on Core Pillar of International Market Expansion

Since the acquisition of MedCann Gmbh in November 2016, Canopy Growth has been an early mover into international markets by acting as a trusted partner and advisor to regulators, while building local partnerships for scaled production and distribution capabilities around the world. Canopy Growth's global management structure has transitioned from strategizing and into execution, with multi-functional teams on the ground across the globe. The following updates represent operational highlights from the second quarter and subsequent events.

North America and Carribean

The Company has completed its first shipment into the United states under US Drug Enforcement Agency approval.

The announced acquisiton of IP and assets from Colorado -based hemp researcher, ebbu Inc.

-based hemp researcher, ebbu Inc. Jointly-owned Tweed JA has received a 30,000-plant cultivation licence from Jamaican authorities and can immediately commence producing cannabis for medical purposes.

Canopy has entered into a distribution agreement in a second Caribbean jurisdiction with a local health product distributor who has ordered a variety of Spectrum Cannabis Softgel and oil products.

Latin America

Company expanded its focus on emerging cannabis market in Latin America with the formation of its wholly-owned affiliate Canopy LATAM Corporation, the acquisition of Spectrum Cannabis Colombia, which previously operated as Colombian Cannabis S.A.S, and the acquisition of unowned shares in Spectrum Cannabis Chile SpA.

with the formation of its wholly-owned affiliate Canopy LATAM Corporation, the acquisition of Spectrum Cannabis Colombia, which previously operated as Colombian Cannabis S.A.S, and the acquisition of unowned shares in Spectrum Cannabis Chile SpA. Ongoing activities represent meaningful steps towards future value-added production to supply the region, home to more than 600 million inhabitants. Operations at our fully owned 126 hectare farm in Colombia are continuing under the leadership of Spectrum Cannabis Colombia S.A.S. ("Spectrum Cannabis Colombia") and initial cultivation has begun in the fully licensed 42 hectare (4.5 million sq. ft.) section of the farm.

are continuing under the leadership of Spectrum Cannabis Colombia S.A.S. ("Spectrum Cannabis Colombia") and initial cultivation has begun in the fully licensed 42 hectare (4.5 million sq. ft.) section of the farm. The Company has imported product into Latin America and launched certain clinical trials.

Australia

Since establishing Spectrum Australia and entering a research partnership with the State of Victoria , the Canopy team in Australia has acquired a site with approximately 100,000 sq. ft. of production capacity. While the new site is retrofitted and licensed, additional genetics have been successfully imported into Australia and will be held with the research partner to ensure a full line of Spectrum products can be launched simultaneously to the Australian market.

Europe

In Europe the Company continues to pursue its dual approach of producing and distributing medical cannabis in jurisdictions with established federal frameworks. Core assets continue to progress to ensure the supply chain is in place to deliver to expanding and emerging markets throughout 2019, including owned and partner facilities in Denmark , Germany and Spain .

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Gross Margin Summary

Note, the Company now includes depreciation related to plant operations in its reported gross margin. Comparative figures have been restated as described in Note 3 to the Company's condensed interim consolidated financial statements, which will be filed on SEDAR after markets on November 14, 2018.

The cost of sales includes the impact of operating costs of subsidiaries not yet cultivating or selling cannabis, including our BC Tweed and Vert Mirabel facilities that were only partially licensed, and higher overheads incurred while preparing operations for the legalization of recreational cannabis, and the diversion of growing space in Smiths Falls to creating clones for transfer to the Company's other growing facilities. Excluding the costs associated with non-cultivating subsidiaries totaling $7.0 million, the gross margin2 before the fair value impacts in cost of sales and other inventory charges would have been $13.6 million or 58% of sales.

During the quarter, the reported fair value changes in biological assets and other inventory charges combined to an expense of $40.6 million and included adjustments to net realizable value of inventory targeted to the recreational market, reflecting whole-sale pricing, and to a netwrite-off of approximately $16 million related to plants culled in the quarter due to timing issues with respect to having infrastructure ready for licensing and receiving harvested plants. Since then, the required infrastructure has been completed and licensing since received.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Operating Expense Summary

Management believes foundational investment in building the Company's significant and diversified production platform, flexible distribution capability, world-leading brands, retail capabilities, medical and recreational sales and customer support capabilities, robust information technology infrastructure, international business development and operations and as well as research and development into advanced operational systems, cannabis genetics in different environmental conditions and new cannabis-based product form factors that will enter the market when permitted, all of which directly impacted profitability in the quarter, represents a prudent long term investment to strengthen the Company's global leadership position. As a result, both sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses were up significantly relative to the same period last year.















Q2 2019 Q2 2018 Year-to-date 2019 Year-to-date 2018



$ % of

Revenue $ % of

Revenue $ % of

Revenue $ % of

Revenue

Sales and Marketing Expenses $39.0 167% $7.6 43% $56.3 114% $14.0 42%

General and Administrative Expenses $37.1 159% $8.4 48% $56.7 115% $15.9 48%

Research and Development Expenses $1.9 8% $0.5 3% $2.7 5% $0.6 2%







Sales and marketing expenses include costs associated with the development of branding, marketing and education campaigns, the development of new permitted product SKUs, the development of recreational product packaging, the development of cannabis retail and education programs as well as costs associated with the Company's medical outreach program.

These expenditures represent the Company's view that strong brand recognition is, over time, essential to the Company's successful market share acquisition strategy, particularly in the new recreational market in Canada. These costs represent a strategic up front investment, which management believes will have a long-term benefit in customer acquisition and retention. Further, the Company made these investments to aggressively seek new domestic and international business opportunities to build for the future.

As a result, sales and marketing were up significantly relative to the same periods last year for the purpose of being ready for the "future state" recreation market while at the same time developing international markets. Management expects that marketing costs will be curtailed as the Cannabis Act took effect on October 17, 2018, and will focus on age-gated branding awareness in compliance with the new rules.

Specifically, sales and marketing expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2018 were $39.0 million or 167% of revenue. During this period, the Company launched its national "Hi" media campaign, which included digital placements across Canada, brand activations in communities from coast-to-coast and content creation, including for the Tweed.com website and marketing automation platforms, and developing competencies in retail. In respect of government regulations, all non-age gated properties were removed on October 16, 2018. The Company is continuing to invest in age-gated channels, for both media and experiential marketing, across all brands in adherence to C-45 guidelines on promotion.

In comparison, sales and marketing expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2017 were $7.6 million or 43% of revenue.

Sales and marketing expenses for the six months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 were $56.3 million or 114% of revenue and $14.0 million or 42% of revenue, respectively.

General and Administrative ("G&A") expenses include higher legal and professional services fees related to investments in governance, expanded operations in Canada and internationally and supporting business development. G&A expenses also included expenses related to expanding the Company's information technology capability, including a new ERP system, higher program spending across the Company's expanding global operations and activities. In addition, G&A expenses include the necessary use of consultants and advisory services while expanding and commercializing the Company's operations, higher compliance costs associated with regulatory requirements in countries in which the Company is establishing operations and compliance expenses related to the Company's listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange including related professional and transfer agent fees.

G&A expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 were $37.1 million or 159% of revenue and $8.4 million or 48% of sales, respectively. Of note, the second quarter fiscal 2019 G&A included a provision on an office lease in Montreal no longer occupied amounting to $4.2 milllion.

G&A expenses for the six months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 were $56.7 million and $15.9 million, or 115% and 48% of revenue, respectively.

Acquisition-related expenses for the three-month period ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 were $3.2 million and $0.9 million, respectively. Acquisition-related expenses in the second quarter period ended September 30, 2018 were primarily related to the Hiku, BC Tweed and CHI acquisitions. In addition, costs were incurred due to the ongoing evaluation of potential acquisitions performed during the period and increased legal, accounting and strategic business consulting services required to complete or evaluate the transactions. The Company is likely to acquire additional strategic assets in the future as it pursues its business strategy.

Acquisition-related expenses for the six-month period ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 were $5.1 million and $1.7 million, respectively.

During the three month period ended September 30, 2018, the price of shares of Canopy Growth increased approximately 63%, to $62.75. The resulting non-cash share-based compensation expense related to options granted to employees and consultants of the Company and to acquisition-related milestones combined for the three-month period ended September 30, 2018 totaled $99.6 million. In practice, all employees of the Company receive stock options as part of their compensation package. Acquisition-related milestone payments based on future performance and related criteria have been treated as stock compensation expense instead of being allocated to the purchase price, and amounted to $50.7 milllion of the total combined stock compensation. In comparison, the non-cash, share-based compensation expense related to options granted to employees and consultants of the Company and to acquisition-related milestones combined for the three-month period ended September 30, 2017 totaled $7.3 million.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Adjusted EBITDA Summary (Non-GAAP measure)3

Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter fiscal 2019 amounted to a loss of $57.7 million compared to a loss of $4.8 million in the same period last year.

Year-to-date, Adjusted EBITDA amounted to a loss of $80.2 million compared to a loss of $8.7 million in the same period last year.

The Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled and explained in the Management's Discussion & Analysis under "Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP Measure)" a copy of which will be filed on SEDAR and EDGAR after financial markets close today. The Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled in a table elsewhere in this press release.

Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2019 Other Expenses and Net Earnings Summary

Other expenses of $115.7 million are primarily made up of fair value changes on financial assets and financial liabilities, the majority of which is non-cash. The amount was primarily made up of changes in the fair value of the senior convertible notes due to marking to market which saw the trading price of the convertible notes increase from $101.875 to $149 per unit from the end of the first quarter to the end of the second quarter and amounted to an expense of $223.4 million. This loss was partly offset by a gain amounting to $62.7 million related to the acquisition of Canopy Health Innovations, and gains totaling $48.2 million driven mostly by fair value changes on the TerrAscend warrants of $44.7 million.

The $115.7 million in other expenses described above, accounted for $0.52 of the reported $1.52 loss per basic and diluted share in the quarter, compared to net loss of $0.01 per basic and diluted share in the comparative period last year.

The after-tax net loss in the quarter, inclusive of non-cash share-compensation expenses, fair value impacts and other non-cash expenses as described above amounted to a loss of $330.6 million or $1.52 per basic share compared to a net loss of $1.6 million or $0.01 per basic and diluted share in the comparative period last year.

Year-to-date, the after-tax net loss, inclusive of non-cash share-compensation expenses, fair value impacts and other expenses as described above, amounted to a loss of $421.6 million or $1.98 per basic share compared to a net loss of $10.8 million or $0.07 per basic share in the comparative period last year.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Balance Sheet Highlights

At September 30, 2018, the Company's cash and cash equivalents totaled $429.4 million, representing an increase of $106.8 million from March 31, 2018, principally due to the issuance of $600 million in convertible notes in the first quarter, offset by investment in the expansion of our production assets, strengthening corporate capabilities, brand-related campaigns and the establishment of physical retail stores in Newfoundland & Labrador, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Inventory at September 30, 2018 amounted to $150.4 million (March 31, 2018 - $101.6 million) and biological assets amounted to $20.7 million (March 31, 2018 - $16.3 million), together totaling $171.1 million (March 31, 2018 - $117.9 million). Inventories are continuing to be scaled to meet management's expectation of market demands, including the legalized recreational market and meeting medical customer commitments.

At September 30, 2018, the Company held inventory of 31,214 kilograms of dry cannabis, 21,499 litres of cannabis oils, ranging from concentrated resins, or refined oil, to finished oil, and 1,497 kilograms of Softgel capsules.

The Company remains confident that current inventory levels and the planned production ramp, including approximately 2.0 million square feet of licensed production space since August 2018, are sufficient to meet annual supply commitments to provinces and territories.

The unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis documents for the three and six months ended September 30, 2018 will be filed on SEDAR after financial markets close today, November 14, 2018, and will be available at www.sedar.com. The basis of financial reporting in the Unaudited Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis documents is in thousands of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Note 1: Average of estimated percentage of available SKU counts in provinces and territories with multiple physical retail stores supplied under established supply contracts.

Note 2: The Gross margin before the fair value effects of the IFRS accounting for biological assets and inventory is a key operational metric that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The definition of this term can be found in the Management's Discussion & Analysis under GROSS MARGIN, a copy of which will be filed on SEDAR after financial markets close today.

Note 3: The Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled and explained in the Management's Discussion & Analysis under "Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP Measure)", a copy of which will filed on SEDAR after financial markets close today.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast with Bruce Linton, Chairman & Co-CEO and Tim Saunders, CFO at 8:30 AM Eastern Time on November 14, 2018.

Webcast Information

A live audio webcast will be available at:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1861049/FFEFED61C13E0E47609599A4EBD15422

Calling Information

Toll Free Dial-In Number: 1-888-231-8191

International Dial-In Number: (647) 427-7450

Conference ID: 4578825

Replay Information

A replay of the call will be accessible by telephone until 11:59 PM ET on February 12, 2019.

Toll Free Dial-in Number: 1-855-859-2056

Replay Password: 4578825

About Canopy Growth Corporation

Canopy Growth is a world-leading diversified cannabis and hemp company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time.

Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icon Snoop Dogg, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates ten cannabis production sites with over 4.3 million square feet of production capacity, including over 500,000 square feet of GMP-certified production space. The Company has operations in nine countries across five continents. The Company is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public's understanding of cannabis, and through its partly owned subsidiary, Canopy Health Innovations, has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Through partly owned subsidiary Canopy Rivers Corporation, the Company is providing resources and investment to new market entrants and building a portfolio of stable investments in the sector. From our historic public listing to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com.

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained in this news release. Examples of such statements include statements with respect to the future market share achieved in recreational markets, product development, clinical trial work, and planned acquisition activities related to BC Tweed, and Canopy Health Innovations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with entering a new market dynamic in Canada or internationally, and such risks contained in the Company's annual information form dated June 28, 2017 and filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

CANOPY GROWTH CORPORATION CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION UNAUDITED September 30, March 31, (Expressed in CDN $000's) 2018 2018









Assets







Current assets







Cash and cash equivalents $ 429,401 $ 322,560 Amounts receivable

45,807

21,425 Biological assets

20,720

16,348 Inventory

150,406

101,607 Prepaid expenses and other assets

56,533

19,837



702,867

481,777









Property, plant and equipment

661,402

303,682 Other long-term assets

26,776

8,340 Investments in associates and joint ventures

136,003

63,106 Other financial assets

231,387

163,463 Intangible assets

103,867

101,526 Goodwill

1,114,158

314,923











$ 2,976,460 $ 1,436,817









Liabilities







Current liabilities







Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 159,633 $ 89,571 Deferred revenue

206

900 Current portion of long-term debt

903,453

1,557 Other current liabilities

27,000

-



1,090,292

92,028









Long-term debt

6,707

6,865 Deferred tax liability

30,889

33,536 Long-term financial liabilities

7,750

61,150













1,135,638

193,579









Commitments and contingencies

















Shareholders' equity







Share capital

2,097,728

1,076,838 Other reserves

77,905

127,418 Accumulated other comprehensive income

(34,742)

46,166 Deficit

(509,062)

(91,649)









Equity attributable to Canopy Growth Corporation

1,631,829

1,158,773









Non-controlling interests

208,993

84,465









Total equity

1,840,822

1,243,238











$ 2,976,460 $ 1,436,817

CANOPY GROWTH CORPORATION CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 AND 2017 UNAUDITED Three months ended Six months ended

September 30, September 30, September 30, September 30, (Expressed in CDN $000's except share amounts) 2018 2017 2018 2017





(Restated)



(Restated) Revenue $ 23,327 $ 17,569 $ 49,243 $ 33,442

















Inventory production costs expensed to cost of sales

16,759

8,101

31,591

15,262

















Gross margin before the undernoted

6,568

9,468

17,652

18,180

















Fair value changes in biological assets included in inventory sold and other charges

51,496

12,848

77,884

23,632 Unrealized gain on changes in fair value of biological assets

(10,944)

(30,122)

(68,233)

(50,376)

















Gross margin

(33,984)

26,742

8,001

44,924

















Sales and marketing

39,047

7,638

56,313

14,043 Research and development

1,944

494

2,700

627 General and administration

37,101

8,393

56,689

15,886 Acquisition-related costs

3,202

865

5,086

1,701 Share-based compensation expense

45,025

5,862

68,097

8,743 Share-based compensation expense related to acquisition milestones

50,730

1,184

57,825

2,314 Depreciation and amortization

3,595

3,283

6,625

6,827

















Operating expenses

180,644

27,719

253,335

50,141

















Loss from operations

(214,628)

(977)

(245,334)

(5,217)

















Share of loss on equity investments

(4,363)

(170)

(6,932)

(170) Other income (expense), net

(111,339)

241

(171,765)

(3,360) Other income (expense)

(115,702)

71

(178,697)

(3,530)

















Loss before income taxes

(330,330)

(906)

(424,031)

(8,747)

















Income tax (expense) recovery

(284)

(707)

2,439

(2,040)

















Net loss $ (330,614) $ (1,613) $ (421,592) $ (10,787)

















Net loss attributable to:















Canopy Growth Corporation $ (337,136) $ (1,338) $ (417,413) $ (10,392) Non-controlling interests

6,522

(275)

(4,179)

(395)

$ (330,614) $ (1,613) $ (421,592) $ (10,787)

















Earnings per share















Net loss per share, basic: $ (1.52) $ (0.01) $ (1.98) $ (0.07) Weighted average number of outstanding common shares, basic:

221,725,511

167,226,218

210,972,889

165,550,073

CANOPY GROWTH CORPORATION CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 AND 2017

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended UNAUDITED September 30, September 30, September 30, September 30, (Expressed in CDN $000's) 2018 2017 2018 2017



(Restated)

(Restated) Net inflow (outflow) of cash related to the following activities: Operating















Net loss $ (330,614) $ (1,613) $ (421,592) $ (10,787) Adjustments for:















Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

6,785

2,301

10,446

4,036 Amortization of intangible assets

2,604

2,990

5,236

6,312 Share of loss on equity investments

4,363

170

6,932

170 Fair value changes in biological assets included in inventory sold and other charges

51,496

12,848

77,884

23,632 Unrealized gain on changes in fair value of biological assets

(10,944)

(30,122)

(68,233)

(50,376) Share-based compensation

99,645

7,276

130,596

11,234 Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets

-

25

1,840

168 Other assets

(15,690)

3,354

(18,810)

3,354 Other income and expense

112,957

(3,500)

169,269



Income tax (recovery) expense

512

707

(2,439)

2,040 Non-cash interest and FX impact on assets

(1,244)

-

(410)

- Changes in non-cash operating working capital items

(50,365)

(4,916)

(88,855)

(12,655)

















Net cash used in operating activities

(130,495)

(10,480)

(198,136)

(22,872)

















Investing















Purchases and deposits of property, plant and equipment and assets in process

(139,525)

(15,777)

(293,179)

(25,526) Purchases of intangible assets and intangibles in process

(3,525)

(248)

(6,340)

(282) Proceeds on disposals of property and equipment

-

75





75 Purchases of restricted investments

(1,617)

(118)

(2,829)

(118) Proceeds on assets classified as held for sale

-

7,000





7,000 Investments in associates

(38,939)

(5,937)

(42,439)

(5,937) Investments in other financial assets

(7,936)

(8,712)

(29,695)

(8,712) Net cash outflow on acquisition of BC Tweed NCI

(1,000)

-

(1,000)

- Net cash outflow on acquisition of Spectrum Chile NCI

(999)

-

(999)

- Net cash inflow (outflow) on acquisition of subsidiaries

468

32

427

(359)

















Net cash used in investing activities

(193,073)

(23,685)

(376,054)

(33,859)

















Financing















Payment of share issue costs

(6,518)

1,336

(6,819)

(179) Proceeds from issuance of common shares

-

25,000

-

25,000 Proceeds from issuance of shares by Canopy Rivers

90,431

(1,567)

91,218

35,113 Proceeds from exercise of stock options

11,868

1,924

13,626

3,435 Proceeds from exercise of warrants

-

527

133

527 Issuance of long-term debt

-

-

600,000

- Payment of long-term debt issue costs

(335)

-

(16,380)

- Repayment of finance lease obligations

(50)

-

(104)

- Repayment of long-term debt

(323)

(338)

(643)

(754) Net cash provided by financing activities

95,073

26,882

681,031

63,142

















Net cash inflow

(228,495)

(7,283)

106,841

6,411 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

657,896

115,494

322,560

101,800

















Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 429,401 $ 108,211 $ 429,401 $ 108,211

CANOPY GROWTH CORPORATION Adjusted EBITDA1 Non-GAAP Measure Three Months Ended Six Months Ended (In CDN$000's) September 30, 2018 September 30, 2017 September 30, 2018 September 30, 2017



(Restated)

(Restated) Adjusted EBITDA1 Reconciliation















Loss from operations - as reported $ (214,628) $ (977) $ (245,334) $ (5,217)

















IFRS fair value accounting related to biological assets and inventory















Fair value changes in biological assets included in inventory sold and other charges

51,496

12,848

77,884

23,632 Unrealized gain on changes in fair value of biological assets

(10,944)

(30,122)

(68,233)

(50,376)



40,552

(17,274)

9,651

(26,744) Share-based compensation expense (per statement of cash flows)2

99,556

7,276

130,507

11,234 Excess space provision included in general and administration expenses

4,246

-

4,246

- Acquisition Costs

3,202

865

5,086

1,701 Depreciation and amortization (per statement of cash flows)

9,389

5,291

15,682

10,348



116,393

13,432

155,521

23,283 Adjusted EBITDA $ (57,683) $ (4,819) $ (80,162) $ (8,678)

















1 - Adjusted EBITDA is Earnings Before Interest, Tax, and Depreciation, stock compensation, fair value changes and other non-cash items, and as adjusted for acquisition related items. 2 - Includes $50,730 and $1,184 for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, in share-based compensation expense related to acquisition milestones

SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation

Related Links

http://canopygrowth.com/


NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CEW hosted its second annual Connected Consumer Conference  an immersive event created to explore the high-tech trends influencing today's beauty consumer. The half-day informational program focused on the influence of today's booming digital industry on the behaviors and habits of the beauty consumer and how to stay competitive and differentiate your brand in the current marketing climate.

The conference was held at the New York Marriott Marquis, bringing together 700 executives from beauty and related industries, as well as 18 experts representing the unique perspectives of brands, retailers, social and digital platforms and futurists.

"Our first Connected Consumer event last year was received well by our members, who indicated a need for educational resources in the digital space," said Carlotta Jacobson, President, CEW. "We knew immediately that this was a conference that needed to be reprised and we are proud to have assembled an outstanding list of speakers, both inside and outside of the beauty industry, to share their expertise in this rapidly evolving arena."

Overview of Agenda Topics & Speakers :

Christine Barton , Sr. Partner and Managing Director, and Mario Simon , Executive Principal, New York , The Boston Consulting Group, Inc., shared a proprietary report on how prestige beauty shopping habits are impacting retail across demographics.

, Sr. Partner and Managing Director, and , Executive Principal, , The Boston Consulting Group, Inc., shared a proprietary report on how prestige beauty shopping habits are impacting retail across demographics. Angelica Munson , Global President, Shiseido's Digital Center of Excellence, Shiseido Americas, and Scott Rosenfield , Site Director, WIRED, discussed how to leverage "content, care and commerce" to drive customer acquisition and engagement.

Global President, Shiseido's Digital Center of Excellence, Shiseido Americas, and , Site Director, WIRED, discussed how to leverage "content, care and commerce" to drive customer acquisition and engagement. Marc Dispensa , Co-Founder & CTO, Equals 3, provided insights into how artificial intelligence technology is posed to shake up the beauty industry.

, Co-Founder & CTO, Equals 3, provided insights into how artificial intelligence technology is posed to shake up the beauty industry. Brian McDevitt , Managing Director, Home & Personal Care, Google, shared behind-the-scenes insights into how video content for beauty has evolved.

Managing Director, Home & Personal Care, Google, shared behind-the-scenes insights into how video content for beauty has evolved. Bryan Gildenberg , Chief Knowledge Officer, Kantar Consulting , provided insights into beauty shopping in a voice-enabled age.

, Chief Knowledge Officer, , provided insights into beauty shopping in a voice-enabled age. Paul Vigna , Co-Author, The Truth Machine , and an expert in crypto-currency, explained how decentralized databases will impact everything from online currencies to tracking the supply chain of ingredients.

, Co-Author, , and an expert in crypto-currency, explained how decentralized databases will impact everything from online currencies to tracking the supply chain of ingredients. Paula Pontes , SVP & Global General Manager, GlamGlow, discussed how creating a scientifically driven formula for success on social media doesn't have to look and feel clinical.

, SVP & Global General Manager, GlamGlow, discussed how creating a scientifically driven formula for success on social media doesn't have to look and feel clinical. Rob Garf , VP of Industry Strategy and Insights, Salesforce, shared how leading brands are translating intelligence into personalized experiences.

, VP of Industry Strategy and Insights, Salesforce, shared how leading brands are translating intelligence into personalized experiences. Fred Gerantabee , Global VP of Digital Innovation, COTY; Francisco Gimenez , Founder and CEO, eSalon; Jennifer Goldfarb , Co-Founder & President, Ipsy; and Karen Moon , CEO and Co-Founder, Trendalytics shared how they are setting a new standard for personalization by engaging the consumer at multiple touch points - from product co-creation to marketing to customer in-store experiences.

, Global VP of Digital Innovation, COTY; , Founder and CEO, eSalon; , Co-Founder & President, Ipsy; and , CEO and Co-Founder, Trendalytics shared how they are setting a new standard for personalization by engaging the consumer at multiple touch points - from product co-creation to marketing to customer in-store experiences. Alice Chang , Founder & CEO, and Wayne Liu , GM and Vice President of Business Development, Perfect Corp., creators of the YouCam Makeup app, demonstrated their virtual, on-demand Beauty Advisor that allows users to experience a real-time custom beauty consultation through guided augmented reality.

, Founder & CEO, and , GM and Vice President of Business Development, Perfect Corp., creators of the YouCam Makeup app, demonstrated their virtual, on-demand Beauty Advisor that allows users to experience a real-time custom beauty consultation through guided augmented reality. Guive Balooch , Global VP of Technology Incubator, L'Oreal, and Lucie Greene , JWT Intelligence, shared their perspectives on the breakthrough developments that are re-shaping beauty, how new tech can inform and improve product design and the role that technology will play in transforming the consumer experience.

, Global VP of Technology Incubator, L'Oreal, and , JWT Intelligence, shared their perspectives on the breakthrough developments that are re-shaping beauty, how new tech can inform and improve product design and the role that technology will play in transforming the consumer experience. Bridget Dolan , SVP of Omni Experience & Innovation, Sephora, discussed how the retailer blends emotional connection, digital experiences and physical assets to create experiences that resonate with today's consumer.

Full bios of each speaker can be found on www.cew.org.

The conference was sponsored by Beauty by Amazon, Meredith, Mane, YouCam Makeup, 24/Seven, Birchbox, Zo Skin Health, ReVive, Yotpo, Consultancy Media, Moblty, Samsung, Suite K Kaplow Communications and Dera Lee Productions.

ABOUT CEW

CEW is an international organization of 10,000 individual members representing a cross section of beauty and related businesses. The composition of membership includes leading brands, indies, retailers, media and suppliers. CEW's primary purpose is to provide programs online and in person to develop careers and knowledge of the beauty industry. CEW provides opportunities to connect and gain industry knowledge through networking events, trend reports, industry newsletters, interactive workshops and industry leader talks.

SOURCE Cosmetic Executive Women

Related Links

http://www.cew.org


SHANGHAI, Nov.14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China Rapid Finance Limited ("China Rapid Finance" or the "Company") (NYSE: XRF), operator of one of China's largest consumer lending marketplaces, today announced that it plans to release its third quarter 2018 financial results on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, after U.S. market closes.

China Rapid Finance's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 20, 2018, (9:00 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on November 21, 2018).

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

International: +1 (412) 902-4272 United States Toll Free: +1 (888) 346-8982 China Toll Free: +86 4001-201203 Hong Kong Local Toll: +852 301-84992 Conference ID: China Rapid Finance call China Toll Free Passcode: 4001-206115

A replay of the conference call will be accessible through November 27, 2018 by dialling the following numbers:

United States: +1 (877) 344-7529 International: +1 (412) 317-0088 Replay Access Code: 10126485

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at the China Rapid Finance's investor relations website at http://ir.crfchina.com/.

About China Rapid Finance

China Rapid Finance operates a leading online consumer finance marketplace in China, facilitating millions of loans annually. The Company deploys machine learning and proprietary decision technology to facilitate affordable digital credit for one of the world's largest untapped consumer credit markets: China's mobile-active consumers. China Rapid Finance utilizes its proprietary, mobile-first technology to efficiently select creditworthy consumers for its platform. The Company facilitates smaller, shorter-term initial loans to these qualified consumers and then enables larger, longer-term loans for returning borrowers who demonstrate positive credit behaviour. This differentiated strategy positions the platform to attract and retain high quality consumers who generate significant customer lifetime value. China Rapid Finance was founded by Dr. Zane Wang, who has decades of consumer credit experience in the U.S. and China, and is governed by a global board of directors. For more information, please visit http://ir.crfchina.com/.

Investor Relations Contacts:

In China:

China Rapid Finance

Marlene Pan

Tel: +86 (21) 6032-5999

Email: [email protected]

Or

The Blueshirt Group

Gary T. Dvorchak, CFA

Tel: +86 (138) 1079-1480

Email: [email protected]

In US:

The Blueshirt Group

Ralph Fong

Tel: +1 (415) 489-2195

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE China Rapid Finance
Coldwell Banker Island Properties continues to announce new programs to make it the best value proposition to its clients and agent group, including its fast-growing Coldwell Banker Island Vacations short term property management program, professional transaction coordination in-house, best-in-class agent training and productivity programs, and other professional support services for its agents  as well as the oldest and largest real estate brand in the US and the #1 real estate brand in Hawaii.

At the same time, Island Properties will be launching its Coldwell Banker Island Vacations vacation rental management division on Kauai.

"Today, we are thrilled to become a part of the Coldwell Banker Island Properties organization. Our shared culture and professionalism will provide the basis of a new level of service and support for our clients and our agents here on Kauai. For over 35 years we have defended private property rights and facilitated home ownership for Kauai's people and today marks a recommitment of that mission together with Coldwell Banker and Island Properties guiding us forward," said Roberta Charles, one of the partners in Makai Properties.

Maile Masada, General Manager of the Company's recently acquired Big Island operations, is excited to add Kauai to her management responsibilities and said: "Coldwell Banker Island Properties is pleased to welcome the Makai Properties group to our growing team of professional Realtors in Hawaii. We will continue to build the most agent-focused real estate company in order to provide the highest level of professional real estate services  both transactional and management  to the most discerning clients in Hawaii."

The Company continues to search for well-managed brokerages, real estate professionals, and property management companies to join its growing team.

About Coldwell Banker Island Properties: The Company operates one of the largest multi-office real estate brokerages in Hawaii  now on 3 islands - under the largest real estate brand in Hawaii. It also operates the fast-growing Coldwell Banker Island Vacations vacation rental management company as well as a long-term property management division. For further information about Coldwell Banker Island Properties, please contact John Ferguson, CEO, at 808-385-1031.

SOURCE Coldwell Banker Island Properties

Related Links

http://www.islandproperties.com


Third quarter 2018 revenue of $128 million

Third quarter net income of $1.8 billion , which includes a $1.9 billion gain on debt settlement as part of the Company's recently completed transaction to realign its capital structure (the "Recapitalization Transaction")

, which includes a gain on debt settlement as part of the Company's recently completed transaction to realign its capital structure (the "Recapitalization Transaction") Third quarter 2018 Adjusted EBITDA 2 of $59 million

of Generated cash flow from operations of $98 million in the first nine months of 2018 and concluded the third quarter of 2018 with a cash balance of $209 million

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Concordia International Corp. ("Concordia" or the "Company") (TSX: CXR), an international specialty pharmaceutical company focused on becoming a leader in European specialty, off-patent medicines, today announced its financial and operational results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. All financial references are in U.S. dollars ("USD") unless otherwise noted.

"Our third quarter results are consistent with our expectations," said Graeme Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of Concordia. "When combined with our recently completed recapitalization, we believe that the Company is on a path towards stabilization, while laying the foundation for long-term growth."

Consolidated Third Quarter 2018 Financial and Operational Results

Reported third quarter revenue of $127.7 million , compared to $154.6 million for the third quarter of 2017, and $139.5 million for the second quarter of 2018.

, compared to for the third quarter of 2017, and for the second quarter of 2018. Generated GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2018 of $1.8 billion . The increase in net income compared to the second quarter of 2018 is primarily due to a gain on debt settlement of $1.9 billion arising from the Company's Recapitalization Transaction, partially offset by higher costs associated with the Recapitalization Transaction.

. The increase in net income compared to the second quarter of 2018 is primarily due to a gain on debt settlement of arising from the Company's Recapitalization Transaction, partially offset by higher costs associated with the Recapitalization Transaction. Reported third quarter Adjusted EBITDA 2 of $59.0 million , compared to $78.6 million for the third quarter of 2017, and $66.8 million for the second quarter of 2018.

of , compared to for the third quarter of 2017, and for the second quarter of 2018. Generated cash flows from operating activities of $98.1 million in the first nine months of 2018, compared to $227.4 million during the same period in 2017.

in the first nine months of 2018, compared to during the same period in 2017. As of September 30, 2018 , the Company had a cash balance of $209.5 million

, the Company had a cash balance of On September 6, 2018 , Concordia announced the completion of the Recapitalization Transaction described in the Company's management information circular dated May 15, 2018 , and implemented pursuant to the court-approved plan of arrangement dated June 26, 2018 , under the Canada Business Corporations Act .

, Concordia announced the completion of the Recapitalization Transaction described in the Company's management information circular dated , and implemented pursuant to the court-approved plan of arrangement dated , under the . Subsequent to quarter end, in October, Concordia announced the election of Maurice Chagnaud and the appointment of Frances Cloud to its board of directors effective November 1, 2018 , and its intention to change the Company's name to Advanz Pharma Corp. subject to shareholder approval.

and the appointment of to its board of directors effective , and its intention to change the Company's name to Advanz Pharma Corp. subject to shareholder approval. Subsequent to quarter end, on November 12, 2018 , the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) notified the Company that it has closed the investigations into three Concordia products (Trazodone, Nefopam and Dicyloverine) on the grounds of administrative priority. This decision does not prevent the CMA from opening a new investigation into these products in the future. The remaining investigations continue.

Third Quarter 2018 Segment Results

Concordia International segment revenue of $91.9 million for the third quarter of 2018 decreased by $14.7 million, or 14%, compared to second quarter 2018 revenue of $106.7 million.

Approximately $4.6 million of the $14.7 million sequential decline in revenue is the result of foreign exchange arising from the weakening of the Great British Pound ("GBP") against the U.S. dollar. The remaining $10.1 million sequential quarterly decline is attributable to lower sales in the UK market of approximately $6 million, mostly resulting from competition on certain key products, and lower sales in other global markets of approximately $4 million primarily due to timing of shipments.

Concordia International segment revenue for the third quarter of 2018 decreased by $25.7 million, or 22% compared to the corresponding period in 2017. A $25.2 million decrease in revenue was combined with a further decrease of $0.5 million in revenue as a result of the GBP weakening against the USD, when compared to the corresponding period in 2017, given a significant portion of the segment revenues are earned in GBP.

Declines to revenue attributable to key products during the quarter, excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, were a $8.1 million decrease from Liothyronine Sodium; a $1.5 million decrease from Flurbiprofen; a $1.2 decrease from Acetylsalicylic Acid; a $1.2 million decrease from Trazodone; and a $1.1 million decrease from Levothyroxine Sodium. These lower product volumes and revenues are primarily due to ongoing competitive market pressures resulting in market share erosion in the UK market and timing of shipments for certain products in non-UK markets.

The decline in revenue for Liothyronine Sodium is reflective of the impairment charges taken in the second quarter of 2017 on the product rights attributable to Liothyronine Sodium as a result of market competition that had not yet had a significant impact on the third quarter of 2017 reported revenue for Liothyronine Sodium.

These declines to revenue were partially offset by a $0.9 million increase in revenue from Nitrofurantoin; and a $0.8 million increase in revenue from Hydralazine HCL, as a result of product volume increases. The remaining decrease was primarily due to general competitive market pressures across the segment's product portfolio.

Revenue of $311.6 million for the first nine months of 2018 decreased by $40.2 million, or 11%, compared to the corresponding period in 2017. A $61.3 million decrease in revenue was partially offset by a $21.1 million increase in revenue as a result of the GBP strengthening against the USD in the first half of 2018.

Declines to revenue attributable to key products during the year-to-date period, excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, consisted of a $23.2 million decrease from Liothyronine Sodium; a $5.2 million decrease from Trazodone; a $3.1 million decrease from Prednisolone; a $2.9 million decrease from Levothyroxine Sodium; and a $2.7 million decrease from Prochlorperazine Mesilate, due to the competitive pressures described above.

These declines to revenue were partially offset by $6.6 million increased revenue from Nitrofurantoin; and $2.3 million increased revenue from Argipressin, as a result of product volume increases. The remaining decrease was primarily due to general competitive market pressures across the segment's product portfolio.

North America Segment

Concordia North America segment revenue of $35.7 million for the third quarter of 2018 increased by $2.9 million, or 9%, compared to second quarter, 2018 revenue of $32.8 million.

The sequential increase is primarily attributable to timing of shipments to wholesaler partners and lower co-pay utilization on Donnatal rather than an underlying increase in prescriptions.

Revenue of for the third quarter of 2018 decreased by $1.2 million or 3%, compared to the corresponding period in 2017. The decrease was primarily due to a $2.8 million decrease from Plaquenil authorized generic as a result of lower product volumes; and a $2.0 million decrease from Donnatal as a result of additional competitive pressures that have resulted in a loss of market share. In the third quarter of 2018, Donnatal tablets continued to face pressure from two competitive products. As well, during the second quarter of 2018, the Company became aware of the launch of additional non-FDA approved competitive products to Donnatal elixir, which has resulted in lower product volumes of the elixir in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the corresponding period in 2017.

These declines in revenue were partially offset by a $1.7 million increase in revenue from Nilandron as a result of higher product volumes; a $1.3 million increase in revenue from Kapvay; and a $0.8 million increase in revenue from Orapred. The remaining decrease was primarily due to general competitive market pressures across the segment's product portfolio.

Revenue of $107.8 million for the year-to-date decreased by $16.4 million or 13% compared to the corresponding period in 2017. The decrease was primarily due to a $9.0 million decrease from Donnatal; a $3.8 million decrease from Dibenzyline authorized generic; a $3.5 million decrease from Plaquenil authorized generic; and a $2.3 million decrease from Lanoxin authorized generic. These declines in revenue were partially offset by a $3.5 million increase in revenue from Orapred; a $3.0 million increase in revenue from Dibenzyline; and a $2.5 million increase in revenue from Zonegran. The remaining decrease was primarily due to general competitive market pressures across the segment's product portfolio.

Pipeline Update

Consistent with Concordia's prior disclosure, with its leadership and board transition, the Company will continue to evaluate the composition of its pipeline of medicines.

In the third quarter of 2018, Concordia launched one new product.

Concordia also has 27 products that have already been approved or are awaiting approval by the regulators.

In addition, the Company currently has 12 products under development that are anticipated to launch in the next three to five years.

The Company believes that these products include several second-to-market or early-to-market opportunities for difficult-to-make products.

Additionally, Concordia has 10 products identified for potential development.

Therefore, in total, Concordia's current pipeline is now comprised of approximately 49 products.

Over the near term, the Company is not expecting material incremental revenue contributions from its pipeline.

In the longer term, the Company is optimistic about a number of products in its pipeline that could potentially come to market during 2020 through to 2023.

In addition, Concordia intends to continue investing in its pipeline expansion as a key strategic priority going forward.

Consolidated Financial Results



Three months ended Nine months ended (in $000's, except per share data) Sep 30, 2018 Sep 30, 2017 Sep 30, 2018 Sep 30, 2017 Revenue 127,662 154,622 419,413 475,964 Gross profit 86,751 108,610 282,944 335,337 Gross profit % 68% 70% 67% 70% Adjusted gross profit (2) 86,751 108,610 282,944 335,648 Adjusted gross profit % (2) 68% 70% 67% 71% Total operating expenses 135,693 99,021 384,399 1,288,637 Operating income (loss) for the period (48,942) 9,589 (101,455) (953,300)









Gain on debt and purchase consideration settlement 1,924,520 - 1,931,828 - Income tax expense (recovery) 6,555 3,661 3,358 (28,953) Net income (loss) for the period 1,787,881 (69,485) 1,552,233 (1,158,962)









Earnings (loss) per share







Basic (1) 147.76 (407.46) 370.37 (6,801.94) Diluted (1) 147.76 (407.46) 370.37 (6,801.94)









EBITDA (2) 1,923,696 63,144 1,976,828 (783,487) Adjusted EBITDA (2) 58,958 78,582 197,763 244,632

Consolidated Results of Operations

Revenue for the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date decreased by $27.0 million or 17%, and $56.6 million, or 12%, respectively, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017. These decreases were primarily due to lower sales from both segments, partially offset on a year-to-date basis by higher foreign exchange rates impacting translated revenues from the Concordia International segment.

The Concordia International segment revenue for the third quarter of 2018 decreased by $25.7 million, or 22%, due to $25.2 million lower revenue primarily as a result of volume declines on key products including Liothyronine Sodium, Flurbiprofen and Acetylsalicylic Acid, as well as unfavourable foreign exchange rates negatively impacting translated results by $0.5 million, partially offset by higher revenue due to volume increases for Nitrofurantoin and Hydralazine HCL.

The Concordia North America segment revenue for the third quarter of 2018 decreased by $1.2 million, or 3%, when compared to the corresponding period in 2017, mainly due to lower volumes on key products, including Donnatal and Plaquenil authorized generic, partially offset by higher revenue on certain other products, including Nilandron and Kapvay.

Gross profit for the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date decreased by $21.9 million, or 20%, and $52.4 million, or 16%, respectively, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017 primarily due to the revenue declines described above.

Gross profit percentage for the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date decreased by 2% and 3%, respectively, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017, primarily due to a change in the mix of product sales within both operating segments.

Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2018 increased by $36.7 million, or 37%, and for the year-to- date 2018 decreased by $0.9 billion, or 70%, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017. The increase in operating expenses for the third quarter of 2018, is primarily due to $30.8 million higher restructuring related, acquisition and other costs mainly associated with the Company's Recapitalization Transaction, and $10.1 million higher amortization charges on intangible assets, partially offset by $1.8 million lower-share based compensation expense and $1.1 million lower selling and marketing expense.

Operating expenses were lower for the year-to-date compared to the corresponding period in 2017, primarily due to a $1.0 billion lower impairment charge on a year-to-date basis. Excluding impairments, operating expenses for the year-to-date 2018 increased by $74.9 million, or 25%, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017. The increase in operating expenses for the year-to-date period of 2018, excluding impairments, is primarily due to $72.2 million higher restructuring related, acquisition and other costs mainly associated with the Company's Recapitalization Transaction and $15.3 million higher amortization charges on intangible assets, partially offset by $7.3 million lower share-based compensation expense and $3.8 million lower general and administrative costs.

General and administrative expenses reflect costs related to salaries and benefits, professional and consulting fees, public company costs, travel, facility leases and other administrative expenditures. General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date decreased by 3% and 10%, respectively, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017. These decreases are a result of the Company's objective to reduce operating costs across the business, partially offset by unfavourable foreign exchange rate movements impacting translation of general and administrative expenses from the Concordia International segment.

Selling and marketing expenses reflect costs incurred by the Company for the marketing, promotion and sale of the Company's broad portfolio of products across the Company's segments. Selling and marketing costs for the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date decreased by $1.1 million and $0.3 million, respectively, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017, primarily as a result of lower costs associated with sales promotion and advertising activities, as well as reduced salaries and benefits costs due to lower headcount in the sales and marketing functions within the Concordia International segment. These lower selling and marketing costs are partially offset by higher selling and marketing costs associated with the co-promotion agreement for sales of Donnatal in the Concordia North America segment.

Research and development expenses reflect costs for clinical trial activities, product development, professional and consulting fees and services associated with the activities of the medical, clinical and scientific affairs, quality assurance costs, regulatory compliance and drug safety costs (Pharmacovigilance) of the Company. Research and development costs for the third quarter of 2018 decreased by $0.7 million, or 9%, compared to the corresponding period in 2017. This decrease is primarily due to the timing of various non-recurring projects, as well as lower consulting costs related to ongoing projects. Research and development costs for the for the year-to-date 2018 decreased by $1.8 million or 8%, primarily due to refunds of regulatory fees, timing of various non-recurring projects and lower consulting costs related to ongoing projects.

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date decreased by $19.6 million, or 25%, and $46.9 million, or 19% respectively, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017. These declines are primarily due to lower sales and gross margins from both segments, partially offset by higher foreign exchange rates impacting translated results on a year-to-date basis. Adjusted EBITDA by segment for the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date was $39.9 million and $140.6 million respectively, from the Concordia International segment, and $21.6 million and $66.2 million respectively, from the Concordia North America segment. In addition, during the third quarter of 2018 and year-to-date, the Company incurred $2.5 million and $9.1 million respectively, of Corporate costs related to the Corporate Head Office. Corporate expenses decreased by $2.1 million and $6.4 million, respectively, compared to the corresponding periods in 2017, primarily due to lower general and administrative expenses, including professional fees incurred and salaries and benefits costs.

As of September 30, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $209.5 million and 48,913,490 limited voting shares issued and outstanding.

Conference Call Notification

The Company will hold a conference call on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. ET hosted by senior management. A question-and-answer session will follow the corporate update.

CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS



DATE: Wednesday, November 14, 2018



TIME: 8:30 a.m. ET



DIAL-IN NUMBER: (647) 427-7450 or (888) 231-8191



TAPED REPLAY: (416) 849-0833 or (855) 859-2056



REFERENCE NUMBER: 2079874

This call is being webcast and can be accessed by going to:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1867604/F576FCA0B9ECB9703EB9BF42E5F12A96

An archived replay of the webcast will be available by clicking the link above.

About Concordia

Concordia is an international specialty pharmaceutical company with a diversified portfolio of more than 200 patented and off-patent products, and sales in more than 90 countries. Going forward, the Company is focused on becoming a leader in European specialty, off-patent medicines.

Concordia operates out of facilities in Mississauga, Ontario and, through its subsidiaries, operates out of facilities in Bridgetown, Barbados; London, England and Mumbai, India.

Non-IFRS Measures

This press release makes reference to certain measures that are not recognized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). These non-IFRS measures are not recognized measures under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. When used, these measures are defined in such terms as to allow the reconciliation to the closest IFRS measure. These measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Company's results of operations from management's perspective. Accordingly, they should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute to the Company's financial information reported under IFRS. Management uses non-IFRS measures such as EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted gross profit to provide investors with supplemental information of the Company's operating performance and thus highlight trends in the Company's core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures. Management believes that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers. Management also uses non-IFRS measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, prepare annual operating budgets, to assess its ability to meet future debt service requirements, in making capital expenditures, and to consider the business's working capital requirements. Readers are cautioned that the non-IFRS measures contained herein may not be appropriate for any other purpose.

Adjusted Gross Profit

As used herein, adjusted gross profit is defined as gross profit adjusted for non-cash fair value increases to the cost of acquired inventory from a business combination. Under IFRS, acquired inventory is required to be written-up to fair value at the date of acquisition. As this inventory is sold the fair value adjustment represents a non-cash cost of sale amount that has been excluded in adjusted gross profit in order to normalize gross profit for this non-cash component.



Three months ended Nine months ended (in $000's) Sep 30, 2018 Sep 30, 2017 Sep 30, 2018 Sep 30, 2017 Gross profit per financial statements 86,751 108,610 282,944 335,337 Add back: Fair value adjustment to acquired inventory    311 Adjusted gross profit 86,751 108,610 282,944 335,648

EBITDA

EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) from continuing operations adjusted for net interest and accretion expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization. Management uses EBITDA to assess the Company's operating performance.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA adjusted for certain charges including costs associated with acquisitions, restructuring initiatives, and other costs (which includes onerous contract costs and direct costs associated with contractual terminations), management retention costs, non-operating gains / losses, integration costs, legal settlements (net of insurance recoveries) and related legal costs, non-cash items such as unrealized gains / losses on derivative instruments, share based compensation expense/recovery, fair value changes including purchase consideration and derivative financial instruments, asset impairments, fair value increases to inventory arising from purchased inventory from a business combination, gains / losses from the sale of assets and unrealized gains / losses related to foreign exchange. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA, among other non-IFRS financial measures, as the key metric in assessing business performance when comparing actual results to budgets and forecasts. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure of operating performance and cash flow, and provides useful information to investors because it highlights trends in the underlying business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures.

The table below sets forth the reconciliation of net income (loss) from continuing operations to EBITDA and to Adjusted EBITDA for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017.



Three months ended Nine months ended (in $000's) Sep 30, 2018 Sep 30, 2017 Sep 30, 2018 Sep 30, 2017 Net income (loss) for the period 1,787,881 (69,485) 1,552,233 (1,158,962)









Interest and accretion expense 68,034 96,446 230,980 283,853 Interest income (385) (19,053) (1,637) (56,175) Income taxes 6,555 3,661 3,358 (28,953) Depreciation 413 499 1,323 1,487 Amortization of intangible assets 61,198 51,076 190,571 175,263 EBITDA 1,923,696 63,144 1,976,828 (783,487) Impairment   7,935 987,103 Fair value adjustment to acquired inventory    311 Restructuring related, acquisition and other 45,067 14,266 97,816 25,649 Share-based compensation expense 1,222 2,999 1,148 8,426 Fair value loss on purchase consideration and derivatives  21,357 425 69,003 Foreign exchange (gain) loss 2,984 (508) 5,378 670 Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss 10,509 (22,676) 40,061 (63,043) Gain on debt and purchase consideration settlement (1,924,520)  (1,931,828)  Adjusted EBITDA 58,958 78,582 197,763 244,632

Notice Regarding Trademarks

This press release includes trademarks that are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of Concordia or its affiliates or its licensors. Solely for convenience, the trademarks of Concordia, its affiliates and/or its licensors referred to in this press release may appear with or without the  or TM symbol, but such references or the absence thereof are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the Company or its affiliates or licensors will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their respective rights to these trademarks. Any other trademarks used in this press release are the property of their respective owners.

Notice regarding future-oriented financial information:

To the extent any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information in this press release or in statements made during the earnings conference call constitute future-oriented financial information or financial outlooks within the meaning of applicable securities laws, such information is being provided to demonstrate the potential financial performance of the Company and readers are cautioned that this information may not be appropriate for any other purpose and that they should not place undue reliance on such future-oriented financial information and financial outlooks.

Future-oriented financial information and financial outlooks (collectively, "FOFI"), as with forward-looking statements and forward-looking information generally, are, without limitation, based on the assumptions and subject to the risks set out below under "Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements", a number of which are beyond the Company's control. In addition, the following is summary of the significant assumptions underlying the FOFI contained in the Company's earnings disclosure:

prescription trends;





pricing for the Company's products;





future market demand trends;





mix of sales to government and non-government customers;





gross profits for each product;





foreign currency rates, including translation between the U.S. dollar and the pound sterling;





inventory levels;





operating cost estimates;





ability to develop and market future product launches;





anticipated timing of future product launches;





cost to develop future products;





anticipated timing to exit markets;





operating cost synergies realized; and





annual cost of current tax by jurisdiction

The FOFI do not purport to present the Company's financial condition in accordance with IFRS, and there can be no assurance that the assumptions made in preparing the FOFI will prove accurate. It is expected that there will be differences between actual and forecasted results, and the differences may be material, including due to the occurrence of unforeseen events occurring subsequent to the preparation of the FOFI. The inclusion of the FOFI in the earnings disclosure should not be regarded as an indication that Concordia considers the FOFI to be a reliable prediction of future events, and the FOFI should not be relied upon as such.

Risks and other factors related to FOFI include those risks and other factors referenced in this press release as well as in Concordia's filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators and the Securities and Exchange Commission, including (a) the factors described under the heading "Forward-looking Statements" in Concordia's Management's Discussion and Analysis dated November 14, 2018, for the period ended September 30, 2018 and (b) the factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in Concordia's Annual Report on Form 20-F dated March 8, 2018, both of which are available on SEDAR, online at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR, online at www.sec.gov.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release and statements made during the earnings conference call may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, regarding Concordia and its business, which may include, but are not limited to: statements relating to management's forecasts, Concordia's long-term growth strategy, the Company being on a path towards stabilization, the Company's foundation for long-term growth, the focus on becoming a leader in European specialty, off-patent medicines, the intention to change the Company's name to Advanz Pharma Corp., Concordia's objectives and priorities, the outlook for 2018, the implementation of Concordia's long term growth strategy (and the timing thereof), the stabilization of Concordia's business, the execution, timing and impact of Concordia's business stabilization objectives, Concordia's liquidity, the improvement of working capital and liquidity based on near term initiatives and efficiencies launched by the Company, Concordia's financial performance (including the performance of its operating segments), the ability of Concordia to execute and deliver on business plans and growth strategies, the ability to drive long-term stakeholder value, the implementation of actions to manage competitive challenges, the Company taking actions to rebuild value for stakeholders (and the ability of Concordia to rebuild value for its stakeholders), optimism about Concordia's future, the growth of Concordia and the rate of revenue growth, the sources of revenue growth, the stability of Concordia's business (including, without limitation, with respect to its business in certain jurisdictions), the diversification of the Company's geographic and therapeutic platform, product lines and/or sales channels, Concordia's ability to expand globally, Concordia's pipeline of products, Concordia's intention to continue to evaluate the composition of its pipeline, the intention to launch products, the number of potential product launches, the development and/or approval of new products, the timing of product launches, success of product launches, Concordia's ability to launch second-to-market, early-to-market or difficult-to-make products, potential product launches including second-to-market or early-to-market opportunities for difficult-to-make products, the Company's expectations regarding revenue contributions from the Company's pipeline, the Company's optimism about products coming to market and the timelines therefor, Concordia's intention to continue investing in its pipeline expansion as a key strategic priority, Concordia's network of partners, Concordia's revenue by geography, expected debt levels and leverage, free cash flows, Concordia's debt structure, expected sources of funds (including expected levels of cash on hand and restricted cash), future growth of the Company (including, without limitation, the Company's expansion globally), the ability to pay certain obligations of Concordia, the ability to use the Company's expected cash flow and cash on hand to pay certain future obligations, the Company's cash on hand and cash flows being sufficient to meet the Company's liquidity needs, concentration of Concordia's business, cash on hand after satisfying obligations during 2018, the performance of Concordia's products and segments, the revenue-generating capabilities and/or potential of Concordia's assets, Concordia's financial strength, the continued and/or expected profitability of Concordia's products and/or services, the sales and/or demand for Concordia's products, the deployment of cash towards value creating initiatives (including to fund future acquisitions and the launch of pipeline products, and settle other obligations as they become due), the expansion into new indications and new markets for Concordia's existing and/or future products, Concordia's ability to evaluate growth opportunities on a global scale (and the availability of such opportunities), the ability to expand existing sales of Concordia's products in certain markets, market opportunities for Concordia's products, Concordia's ability to provide patients with safe and efficacious medicines, the safety and efficacy of Concordia's products, the ability to obtain necessary approvals, enrollment of patients into clinical trials, the outcomes and success of clinical trials, Concordia's objective to reduce operating costs across the business and other factors. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "is expected", "expects", "scheduled", "intends", "contemplates", "anticipates", "believes", "proposes" or variations (including negative and grammatical variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations of Concordia's management, and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Although Concordia's management believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur by certain specified dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Concordia, including risks associated with the inability to position the Company for long-term growth, the inability to execute on the Company's long term strategy, risks associated with Concordia's organizational structure, including the ability to retain qualified staff and executives, the Company's inability to become a leader in European specialty, off-patent medicines, Concordia's inability to stabilize its business, the Company's inability to build a foundation for long-term growth, the inability to complete the intended change of the Company's name to Advanz Pharma Corp., Concordia's inability to implement its long term strategic plan or being delayed in implementing such plan, the inability of Concordia to accelerate growth by maximizing its existing assets and future market opportunities, the inability of Concordia to expand its product portfolio (including, without limitation, the inability of Concordia to launch products due to regulatory impediments or competitive market changes), the inability of Concordia to add additional products to its pipeline of products, the inability of Concordia to optimize its operating platform, changes in laws, including tax laws, that could result in Concordia's operating platform being adversely affected, Concordia's inability to strengthen its financial foundation, cash on hand and cash flows from operations being insufficient to meet Concordia's liquidity needs, the inability to implement Concordia's objectives and priorities, which could result in financial strain on the Company and continued pressure on the Company's business, Concordia's securities, risks associated with developing new product indications, increased indebtedness and leverage, the inability to generate cash flows, revenues and/or stable margins, the inability to grow organically, the inability to repay debt and/or satisfy future obligations, risks associated with Concordia's outstanding debt, risks associated with the geographic markets in which Concordia operates and/or distributes its products, risks associated with fluctuations in exchange rates (including, without limitation, fluctuations in currencies), risks associated with the use of Concordia's products to treat certain diseases, the pharmaceutical industry and the regulation thereof, the failure to comply with applicable laws, risks relating to distribution arrangements, possible failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and/or product launches (including the product launches described herein), risks associated with the integration of assets and businesses into Concordia's business, product launches (including, without limitation, unsuccessful product launches), the inability to develop and/or obtain approvals for new products, the inability to launch products or the delay in launching products, regulatory delays in product approvals, the inability to launch second-to-market, early-to-market or difficult-to-make products, the inability to invest in expanding the Company's pipeline, the inability to capture a share of any market in which Concordia has launched or intends to launch its products, the fact that historical and projected financial information may not be representative of Concordia's future results, the failure of Concordia to achieve its forecasts, the failure to obtain regulatory approvals (including, without limitation, with respect to Photofrin as a new treatment for certain forms of cancer or with respect to the product launches described herein), the FDA permitting unapproved products to remain on the market and compete with Concordia's products (including, without limitation, Donnatal), economic factors, market conditions, acquisition opportunities, risks associated with the acquisition and/or launch of pharmaceutical products (including, without limitation, the product launches described herein), risks regarding clinical trials and/or patient enrollment into clinical trials, the equity and debt markets generally, risks associated with growth and competition (including, without limitation, with respect to Concordia's niche, hard-to-make products and Concordia's key products in its International and North America segments (including the competitive pressures on some of the products described herein)), general economic and stock market conditions, risks associated with the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (including, without limitation, risks associated with regulatory changes in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in cross-border tariff and cost structures and the loss of access to the European Union global trade markets), risks associated with regulatory investigations (including the current investigations being undertaken by competition authorities with respect to the Company's operations), risks related to the introduction of new legislation, or amendments to existing legislation, in the jurisdictions in which Concordia carries on business (including, without limitation, the U.K. Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Act), risks related to patent infringement actions, the loss of intellectual property rights, risks associated with class action litigation, risks associated with Concordia's inability to defend itself in certain legal actions or being found to have violated certain laws (including, without limitation, the regulatory investigations and class actions which Concordia is currently subject to), which may require Concordia to make certain payments in respect of such legal matters or which may result in certain fines being levied against Concordia, Concordia's inability to reduce operating costs across the business and risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Concordia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities Administrators and many other factors beyond the control of Concordia. Although Concordia has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. No forward-looking statement or forward-looking information can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information speak only as of the date on which they are made and Concordia undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

1 2017 earnings (loss) per share amounts have been adjusted for the retrospective effect of the 1-for-300 share consolidation completed as part of the Company's Recapitalization Transaction.

2 Management uses non-IFRS measures such as EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted gross profit, and Adjusted EPS to provide a supplemental measure of operating performance. Please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures" section of this press release for further information.

SOURCE Concordia International Corp.
TULSA, Okla., Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Country Club At Woodland Hills, a luxury senior living community located in Tulsa, OK, donated their community bus to Coffee Bunker, an organization for veterans integrating back into the community on November 7, The Coffee Bunker helps veterans' transition to civilian life by connecting them with people, finding them communities, and offering them ongoing support. The donated bus will help make transportation, community trips, and visits for local veterans easier.

Country Club At Woodland Hills goes on-site to donate community bus to Coffee Bunker

"When I met with Coffee Bunker's Michael Horton, Executive Director, and Scott Blackburn, Operations Manager, they were overwhelmed by our generosity," said Trish Behrens, Executive Director of Country Club At Woodland Hills. "Scott said they had been talking about taking a group of veterans hunting and fishing but did not know how they would be able to do ithe said this bus will not only allow them to take the trip, but since the bus has a lift they will be able to take people they never even considered being eligible to go."

Several of the veterans who resided at Country Club At Woodland Hills joined Trish and the rest of the team to make the donation. They also were able to take advantage of the opportunity to take a tour of the bunker. The bus will be used for community trips and being handicap accessible, more veterans will be able to attend.

Richard Hutchinson, CEO, Discovery Senior Living said, "As a company, we are always looking for ways to be able to connect with and support our local community - especially our local veterans. It is truly our honor to be able to donate our community bus to Coffee Bunker."

About Coffee Bunker

Coffee Bunker was created by Mary Ligon who tragically lost her own son to battles with PTSD, exhaustion, depression, and ultimately suicide. Mary's passion to redeem the tragedy of Daniel's death by reaching out to others facing the same silent wounds of war. Coffee Bunker helps veterans with the transition to family and community life. Coffee Bunker provides a safe and relaxing atmosphere that welcomes all military servicemen and women, as well as their family members. Their services are provided free of charge. Coffee Bunker is the flagship program of Honor Bunker, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in Tulsa.

About Country Club At Woodland Hills

Country Club At Woodland Hills is managed and operated by Discovery Senior Living. Discovery Senior Living is a family of companies which includes: Discovery Management Group, Discovery Development Group, Discovery Realty Group, Discovery Marketing Group and Discovery At Home, a Medicare-certified home healthcare company. For more than 25 years, the award-winning management group has been developing, building, marketing and operating upscale, luxury senior-living communities across the United States. With a flourishing portfolio of more than 8,500 existing homes for seniors, Discovery Senior Living has become a recognized industry leader in creating world-class resort-style communities.

For Media Inquiries:

Stephanie Kling

Regional Marketing Manager

239.908.2921

[email protected]

Related Images

country-club-at-woodland-hills.jpg

Country Club At Woodland Hills Donation

Country Club At Woodland Hills goes on-site to donate community bus to Coffee Bunker

image2.jpg

SOURCE Discovery Senior Living
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The journey to discover the best chocolate bars in the world today, the road points in two directions: to the lofty Alpine meadows of the Swiss Alps and the peak of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York.

Milkboy Swiss Chocolate amazing bars swept the Specialty Food sofi Awards

Milkboy Swiss Chocolate CEO, Emanuel Schmerling sits in his Brooklyn office, busily filling orders, finessing packaging for upcoming flavors. Nearby, sit glittering trophies. These are testament to the skills and acumen that have earned Milkboy the food industry's top accolades as 2018's Best Chocolate in a surprise, full category sweep of, the sofi TM.

Yes. 2018 has been a very good year for Milkboy Swiss Chocolate.

A low-key guy with a soft European accent, Schmerling hails from Zurich, a third-generation Swiss chocolate maker. Four years ago, he set his sights on what was happening across the pond in the booming industry of artisan bean-to-bar chocolate in the USA. Could he create a traditional, Swiss-made chocolate with a modern twist that could compete?

He moved to Brooklyn, where he set up an office and warehouse to distribute the chocolate he was making in his Swiss factory. Taking a name used by an old dairy, Milkboythe brand took on life as Schmerling hired a Swiss papercut artist to help him create a unique look that would best reflect the company's origins with Alpine vistas, dancing villagers --capturing the traditional "parade of cows" that celebrates their ascent into the upper pasturelands. The Swiss flag sits in one corner.

The first flavors of Milkboy Swiss Chocolate hit the shelves of a handful of markets in Manhattan in 2015. One in particular immediately created a buzz Milkboy 60% Dark Chocolate with essential Pine Tree Oil. The essence of the Alps in a fine chocolate bar.

Within months, the company caught the eye of retailers and distributors. "My goal was to bring my traditional style of Swiss chocolate and have people fall in love with our cows, our milk, our chocolate and our story." stated Schmerling. Another surprise was the $4.99 price for such fine chocolate.

Milkboy began cropping up on both coasts, at World Market, Fairway, Central Market HEB, Gelson's, on Amazon and many fine grocery and specialty stores.

Fast forward three years and Milkboy has been turning heads with its constant ability to create the WOW factor for its customers. The task of repeating its own success weighs heavily on the shoulders of the founder. "We are busy working on new things for January launch and the process of product development is exciting. Everything I try inspires me to believe the best is yet to come. It is possible for Milkboy to do it again. I know we will." Schmerling smiled and continued, "Milkboy will continue to delight our followers with new flavors, convenience like our smaller Grab n Go sized collection and the best of Swiss Chocolate with a little dash of Brooklyn attitude thrown in."

Milkboy Swiss Chocolate will be unveiling new dark chocolate bars as well as gift boxes at the Winter Fancy Food show at San Francisco's Moscone Center. 2018 sofi TM winners Milkboy Swiss Alpine Milk Chocolate with Crunchy Caramel and Sea Salt, Milkboy Swiss White Chocolate with Blue Potato Chips and Sea Salt and Milkboy Swiss Alpine Milk Chocolate with Roasted Almonds will be on display along with the full lineup of artisan chocolate bars.

More information is available at www.milkboy.com and on Facebook and Instagram.

Media Contact:

Susann Rivera

415-999-7901

[email protected]

SOURCE Milkboy Swiss Chocolate

Related Links

http://www.milkboy.com


BOSTON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the global leader in storage and information management services, and CyArk, a non-profit organization that digitally records, archives and helps preserve world heritage sites, today announced a new preservation project in Mexico City to digitally capture and preserve the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts). This project is the first to be executed by Iron Mountain and CyArk in Mexico, and it will support the Mexican Secretary of Culture's goal to preserve the city's historical monuments from natural and man-made threats.

Constructed from 1904 to 1934, the Palacio de Bellas Artes has been a part of the World Heritage listing, "Historic Center of Mexico City," since 1987. It is the first National Theatre of Mexico, has presented exhibitions of Frida Kahlo's works and concerts by Luciano Pavarotti, and regularly hosts performances by Ballet Folklorico de Mexico Compania Nacional de Opera de Bellas Artes and the National Symphonic Orchestra. The site features an exterior that is primarily Neoclassical and Art Nouveau, while the interior is primarily Art Deco, and contains murals by Diego Rivera, a prominent Mexican painter, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, a Mexican social realist painter.

The Agenda Digital de Cultura (Digital Agenda for Culture) within Mexico's Secretary of Culture sought help in documenting several of the principal monuments within the city, including the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Specifically selected for its cultural significance and critical need for preservation, the Palace's immense weight and the city's vulnerability to earthquakes were two additional factors in choosing this site.

"The Palacio de Bellas Artes is an important piece of cultural history to the people of Mexico City," says John Ristevski, CEO, CyArk. "With the exquisite architectural features of the building, to the art, mural and performances it has housed, we are very excited to play a part in preserving this institution."

For the Palacio des Bellas Artes project, the CyArk preservation team used a combination of digital recording technologies - including LiDAR, a technique that uses lasers to measure the distance to an object  to digitally capture and map that location in 3D and high-resolution digital imagery. By combining photogrammetry and LiDAR data, CyArk can create a 3D surface model of the Palace that contains both very accurate geometry as well as high quality information on interior features and texture. Some of these notable features include a one-of-a-kind stage curtain crafted by Tiffany's in New York, a decorative arch above the stage, and the Palace's historical theater.

Following that capture process, the digital copies are preserved in a secure Iron Mountain facility, ensuring a digital record of the structure exists for posterity. CyArk will also produce engineering drawing sets comprised of plans, sections and elevations of key areas within the Palace that provide a record of the site as it exists today and assists site managers in the ongoing maintenance of the building.

"Our role as a trusted guardian is a global one we activate for our customers - protecting and preserving what's most important to them," said Guillermo Guerra, general manager, Iron Mountain Mexico. "This role also gives us the opportunity to extend that expertise into the communities where we live and work through our partnership with CyArk. The Palacio de Bellas Artes is emblematic of our Mexican culture and we are proud to help ensure its digital blueprint and beauty is available to everyone."

Iron Mountain is proud to support CyArk as part of the company's philanthropic focus on supporting non-profit organizations that preserve and provide access to our shared cultural and historical heritage. Since 2015 Iron Mountain has partnered with 14 organizations and contributed more than $2.8M worth of financial support.

About CyArk

CyArk is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 to digitally record, archive and share the world's cultural heritage and ensure that these places continue to inspire wonder and curiosity for decades to come. Since inception we have recorded over 200 monuments on all seven continents. We assist those who work to manage and preserve these sites by providing engineering drawings and detailed maps to assist in critical conservation work and active management. We archive the data using state of the art processes to ensure that this data continues to be available in a disaster recovery scenario, tomorrow or decades in the future. And we strive to share this data in powerful ways, including truly immersive experiences that convey the power of these places, transporting users that may never have a chance to experience them and inspiring others to make the journey.

About Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 85 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in over 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include information management , digital transformation , secure storage , secure destruction , as well as data centers , cloud services and art storage and logistics , Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.

Media Contacts

Kacey Hadick Christian T. Potts CyArk Iron Mountain Incorporated 805-354-9699 617-535-8721 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Iron Mountain Incorporated

Related Links

http://www.ironmountain.com


DALLAS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dallas-based intellectual property and business litigation firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry has earned a spot on the exclusive 2019 Best Law Firms list published by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America.

This marks the fourth consecutive year that the firm has appeared on the Best Law Firms list, which is based solely on nominations from other lawyers. Caldwell Cassady & Curry is featured on the 2019 listing based on the firm's Tier 1 ranking as one of the best in the Dallas/Fort Worth region for intellectual property litigation and patent litigation.

Name principals Brad Caldwell, Jason Cassady and Austin Curry all were named in the 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for their work in intellectual property litigation and patent litigation.

Caldwell Cassady & Curry is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading intellectual property law firms. The firm previously earned selection as the nation's top patent plaintiffs' firm in the IAM Patent 1000  The World's Leading Patent Professionals. Caldwell Cassady & Curry also has been honored as the Intellectual Property Litigation Department of the Year by the publishers of Texas Lawyer newspaper.

During the past year, Caldwell Cassady & Curry has continued its courtroom winning streak by helping Acantha LLC secure an $8.2 million patent infringement verdict against medical device manufacturer DePuy Synthes, a subsidiary of health care giant Johnson & Johnson. The jury delivered its unanimous verdict in August before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Green Bay.

The firm also won a $502.6 million patent infringement verdict against Apple Inc. in April on behalf of Nevada-based VirnetX Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler. The jury's unanimous verdict marked the fourth consecutive trial that Caldwell Cassady & Curry has won for VirnetX in the company's ongoing patent infringement litigation against Apple.

Caldwell Cassady & Curry represents companies and individuals in high-stakes civil litigation, including patent infringement cases, trade secrets claims, fiduciary duty cases, class actions, and disputes involving company founders. The firm has tried and won some of the nation's top verdicts against the largest companies in the world. For more information, visit www.caldwellcc.com.

For more information, contact Bruce Vincent at 214-763-6226 or [email protected].

SOURCE Caldwell Cassady & Curry

Related Links

http://www.caldwellcc.com


ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Joseph Kravitz, DDS, MS  a nationally recognized dentist, author and developer at Kravitz Dentistry, PC  is developing cures for people with communication problems such as stuttering. He is publishing his simple scientific findings in his upcoming book entitled, "Uh, Uh."

Dr. Joseph Kravitz, DDS, MS was born with a communication flaw called stuttering. He has taught others how to use their flaw and turn it into their strength. Dr. Kravitz explains that "Stuttering can devastate your life, stuttering can also improve your life. Stuttering is a communication problem that affects over 3 million of Americans, and I am passionate about filling the role of serving individuals who share this same challenge by overcoming it."

Earlier in his life, Dr. Kravitz discovered that people listening and observing his stutter yielded the following reactions such as:

looking away due to being uncomfortable

not making direct eye contact

saying the words to complete the sentence

and more

For the most part, Dr. Kravitz remarkably has conquered his stuttering problems. He has taught thousands of seminars and continues to teach others how to improve their communication skills. Dr. Kravitz has appeared on television in hundreds of appearances such as Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, and PrimeTime Live.

Dr. Joseph Kravitz has also helped mentor other people with stuttering and other communication disorders for the last 3 decades. Through his mentoring, he has discovered revolutionary methods to stop or prevent stuttering.

"The quality of your communication helps improve the quality of your life," says Dr. Kravitz.

About Kravitz Dentistry

Dr. Joseph Kravitz is an award-winning dentist practicing out of Rockville, Maryland who has the unique ability to surgically place and prosthetically restore missing teeth with dental implants. Using state-of-the-art techniques and diagnostic tools, Kravitz Dentistry offers kind, friendly, non-judgmental evaluations, beautiful and pain-free treatments and follow-up care for a variety of dental conditions ranging from broken teeth, missing teeth, crooked tooth, loose teeth, infected gums, infected bones, and mouth pain.

For more information or to make an appointment, please visit www.KravitzDentistry.com or drjosephkravitz.com or Call 301-761-4840.

Contact:

Dr. Kravitz is available for evergreen media appearances at advanced request.

Media Contact:

Dr. Joseph Kravitz, DDS, MS

301-761-4840

[email protected]

www.KravitzDentistry.com





SOURCE Kravitz Dentistry

Related Links

http://www.kravitzdentistry.com


"This year, we opened our first intentional location in Abu Dhabi and made plans to open restaurants throughout Canada," says Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "It is a very exciting time for the Dickey's brand; and we look forward to the success Jim and his team will bring us in continuing our international expansion."

Jim brings a full career of restaurant operations to the Dickey's Barbecue Pit family along with more than 10 years of international operations and development experience. Most recently, Jim worked with MAM Food Co., a Dubai, United Arab Emirates food and beverage company, and Papa Murphy's; assisting both with their international development and partnering with them operationally after opening.

"The Dickey's brand truly is a family business that is focused on authentic food and the experience of bringing friends and family around the table to enjoy delicious barbecue," says Jim. "I look forward to helping Dickey's continue their international expansion and serving Texas-style barbecue to people across the world."

Find your nearest Dickey's Barbecue Pit location here. Find more information about national and international franchise opportunities here.

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. For the past 77 years, Dickey's Barbecue Pit locations across the nation have served guests Legit. Texas. Barbecue. At Dickey's, all meats are smoked low and slow on-site, every night in every location. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and wholesome sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded worldwide and includes more than 500 locations in 44 states. In 2016, Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" list and in 2018 Dickey's Barbecue Pit made the Top 10. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Times and Nation's Restaurant News. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.

Media Contact:

Callie Head

[email protected]

Ashley Richardson

[email protected]

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Related Links

http://www.dickeys.com


LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 2019 glimmers on the horizon; and we are entrenched in a fiery socio-political climate. Our minds race mulling over family issues, financial struggles, and relationship dynamics. But we don't have to fear the future, we just have to see it.

The Leo King (Celebrity Astrologist, David Palmer) - one of the world's most trusted and ubiquitous astrologists - can arm us with empowering knowledge to navigate all that lies ahead. He has spent decades enlightening people, giving them the tools to be their best selves with his sage insights and uplifting messages.

Today, The Leo King furthers and fortifies the reach and visibility of his esteemed platform by signing with Los Angeles-based public relations firm, EKC PR, and announcing the release of his comprehensive new special edition 98-page magazine, The Leo King - Astrology Guide 2019.

This latest offering, which is a treasure of knowledge and insight for the year ahead, deviates from typical horoscopy guides by hitting on a numerous range of topics such as: celebrities, politics, finances, health, love, sex, careers, and much more. Deemed a collector's item by publishing company TOPIX Media Lab , The Leo King - Astrology Guide 2019 is currently available to purchase on newsstands across the country, as well as via OnNewstandsNow.com .

From a very young age, The Leo King was aware of his purpose to awaken souls, and rose the ranks as a spot-on astrologist through his commitment to spreading empowering truths and enlightenment. Now, transforming astrology as we know it, his unique beacon of light, powerful media presence, sharp marketing skills, and multi-dimensional business have made him the leading expert and visionary voice in this space.

As a genuine superior figure who graces spiritual sensibility with ease, The Leo King has fully earned his throne by offering YOUR astrology guide for 2019!

Be sure to follow The Leo King on Instagram and Twitter @theleokingdom, and on Facebook @theleokingdomoflove.

For more information or to interview The Leo King, please contact Eileen Koch of EKC PR, a full service Branding, Digital Marketing, Social Media, and Public Relations firm at 310-441-1000 or email [email protected] .

SOURCE The Leo King

Related Links

http://www.theleoking.com


ST. LOUIS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership between an environmental organization and commodity crop association. The partnership aims to address one of the most pressing challenges for today's farmers, rural communities and natural resources  how to improve environmental outcomes while optimizing productivity and profitability.

"Many practices that increase soil health and water quality also boost farmers' bottom lines," said Suzy Friedman, senior director of agricultural sustainability at EDF. "EDF and NCGA have worked together for many years to align economic incentives and environmental outcomes. Formalizing our partnership was a natural next step to accelerate progress toward our shared goals."

"The public expects greater stewardship and transparency from farmers, and it's critical for the agricultural sector to show leadership on conservation," said Nathan Fields, vice president of production and sustainability at NCGA. "EDF and NCGA are stronger together. We have different expertise and perspectives, and combining them is a real opportunity."

The partnership will elevate the importance of continuous improvements for water quality and climate resilience, while strengthening yields and profitability. Priority work streams include:

Data and measurement to improve tracking of water quality, soil health and greenhouse gas emissions, and scale user-friendly technology solutions for data reporting and analysis.

to improve tracking of water quality, soil health and greenhouse gas emissions, and scale user-friendly technology solutions for data reporting and analysis. On-farm engagement to increase farmer and agronomist knowledge about innovative conservation tools and practices.

to increase farmer and agronomist knowledge about innovative conservation tools and practices. Policy advocacy to support voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs with measurable environmental outcomes.

to support voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs with measurable environmental outcomes. Finance and economics to explore and grow opportunities for farmers to benefit economically from conservation practices such as cover crops and conservation tillage.

to explore and grow opportunities for farmers to benefit economically from conservation practices such as cover crops and conservation tillage. Outreach and communications to build bridges between farmers and consumers.

Agricultural and environmental communities celebrated this unexpected partnership.

"Farming is a tough business with tight margins. Stewardship has always been a way of life for us, but we also have to stay profitable and productive. EDF was the first environmental group to reach out to farmers and listen to our perspectives. I'm excited to see what EDF and NCGA can accomplish together," said Brandon Hunnicutt, Nebraska farmer and member of NCGA's Corn Board.

"Achieving supply chain sustainability goals requires close collaboration throughout the value chain. This partnership between EDF and NCGA promises to be a powerful way to help translate corporate sustainability commitments into on-farm conservation that works for farmers and the environment," said Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market.

For Video click here

Environmental Defense Fund ( edf.org ), a leading international nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and our Growing Returns blog.

Founded in 1957, the National Corn Growers Association represents more than 40,000 dues-paying corn farmers nationwide and the interests of more than 300,000 growers who contribute through corn checkoff programs in their states. NCGA and its 49 affiliated state organizations work together to create and increase opportunities for corn growers. For more information, visit www.ncga.com.

Contact:

Hilary Kirwan, (202) 572-3277, [email protected]

Mark Lambert, (636) 733-5541, [email protected]

SOURCE National Corn Growers Association

Related Links

www.ncga.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EQUITYMULTIPLE , a commercial real estate investment and technology firm based in New York and San Francisco, announced today the hiring of real estate and finance veterans Brett Klein as Chief Financial Officer and Henry Kwong as Senior Director of Asset Management. The firm has significantly enhanced its management team and added other key hires in the past two months. During the same period, EQUITYMULTIPLE increased its total investment volume by over 15% and announced a partnership with Youngwoo & Associates on a $500 million Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund.

Mr. Klein's responsibilities at EQUITYMULTIPLE will include corporate accounting, capital markets execution and financial planning. He will also sit on the firm's investment committee and focus on corporate development and strategy. Mr. Kwong will oversee all aspects of portfolio management and help grow the company's pipeline of investment opportunities.

"We are excited to have doubled our staff in just a few months, including the important additions of seasoned real estate professionals to our senior leadership team like Brett and Henry. These are the latest signs of EQUITYMULTIPLE's continued maturity as a firm," said Charles Clinton, CEO and co-founder of EQUITYMULTIPLE. "We remain committed to sustainable, organic growth as demonstrated by our measured approach to new hires and consistent increase in closed transactions. The investors in our company are leaders in the fields of real estate, finance and investing and are aligned with our disciplined growth plan."

Prior to EQUITYMULTIPLE, Mr. Klein was a key senior member of Colony Northstar - a listed, leading global real estate and investment management firm. During his 13+ years with the firm, the organization matured from $180 million to over $8 billion in market capitalization while developing a global footprint with $60 billion in assets under management and over 400 employees. He served as Managing Director and Head of Alternative Products overseeing Northstar's retail capital raise of over $4.5 billion, as well as Chief Operating Officer for four public, non-traded companies and as a member of the investment committee for seven public, non-traded companies with combined real estate exposure in excess of $15 billion.

Henry joined EQUITYMULTIPLE from Clarion Partners, where he helped manage its $3.5 billion institutional multifamily open-end fund. Prior to that, he worked at MMI Advisors, a boutique real estate advisory firm that he co-founded. Before MMI, he was a vice president of portfolio management at Cerberus and ING. Henry started his real estate career at Deutsche Bank.

EQUITYMULTIPLE is also pleased to announce the following staff additions:

Clay McMickens - Associate Director of Operations

Rada Milenovici - Associate Director of Investor Relations

Watue Sowaprux - Investments Associate

Paulline Mallea - Product Manager

Charles Jin - Investor Relations Associate

About EQUITYMULTIPLE

EQUITYMULTIPLE is a commercial real estate investment and technology firm that provides individual investors with unprecedented online access to professionally-vetted private real estate transactions across property types and risk profiles. EQUITYMULTIPLE believes real estate investing can be transformed through technology by providing individuals a new level of transparent and efficient access to tailored, private market transactions. To date, individual investors have invested in over $800 million in commercial real estate transactions through EQUITYMULTIPLE's online investing platform. EQUITYMULTIPLE is backed by renowned entrepreneur and investor Ken Pasternak and received its seed funding from Mission Capital, a leading real estate capital markets firm that has helped close over $70 billion in transactions. For more information, please visit https://www.equitymultiple.com/ .

Media Contact:

Ben Jaffe

Makovsky

[email protected]

(212) 508-9646

SOURCE EQUITYMULTIPLE

Related Links

https://www.equitymultiple.com


The new Modern Nutrition Bowl lineup is a first of its kind in the frozen aisle to deliver a variety of customized benefits. For those looking for holistic nutrition to fit their lifestyle, the new entrees come in four delicious varieties:

WARRIOR BOWL - "Be Powerful"- A good source of iron, the Warrior Bowl is also a good source of protein to tackle the day's challenges and made with seared beef, edamame, carrots, broccoli, red bell pepper and green onion over brown rice with a sesame miso glaze - 15g Protein, 38g Whole Grains.

- "Be Powerful"- A good source of iron, the Warrior Bowl is also a good source of protein to tackle the day's challenges and made with seared beef, edamame, carrots, broccoli, red bell pepper and green onion over brown rice with a sesame miso glaze - VITALIZE BOWL - "Be Energized" - A strong blend of fiber and protein for energy, the Vitalize Bowl is made with grilled chicken, carrots, spinach, red bell peppers, and feta cheese crumbles over a brown rice and lentils blend with a tangy tahini and feta sauce - 19g Protein,  Cup Vegetables, 8g Fiber.

- "Be Energized" - A strong blend of fiber and protein for energy, the Vitalize Bowl is made with grilled chicken, carrots, spinach, red bell peppers, and feta cheese crumbles over a brown rice and lentils blend with a tangy tahini and feta sauce - BOOST BOWL - "Be Well" - The Boost Bowl is an excellent source of Vitamin A and keeps you feeling great with a mixture of delicious vegetables. Ingredients include soba noodles, carrots, broccoli, edamame, red bell pepper, cashews and green onions, in a creamy cashew sauce - 16g Whole Grains,  Cup Vegetables.

- "Be Well" - The Boost Bowl is an excellent source of Vitamin A and keeps you feeling great with a mixture of delicious vegetables. Ingredients include soba noodles, carrots, broccoli, edamame, red bell pepper, cashews and green onions, in a creamy cashew sauce - BALANCE BOWL - "Be Centered"- An exceptionally balanced meal, the Balance Bowl features grilled chicken, sweet potato, asparagus, and yellow peppers on red rice with a basil pesto sauce - 13g Protein,  Cup Vegetables, 41g Whole Grains.

"Today's consumers are more conscious than ever about the food they eat and the products they buy," said Sebastian Nava, Research Chef with EVOL Foods. "Our new Modern Nutrition Bowls offer a variety of vitamins, proteins and whole grains to provide tailored benefits to our customers seeking convenient, nutritious options to fit their lifestyles."

MORNING BOWLS

Four new, uniquely flavored bowls that are a great start to your morning, they offer a good source of protein, are all made with cage-free eggs, and are packed with tasty ingredients:

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE & UNCURED BACON BOWL - Roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, pork breakfast sausage, onions, red bell peppers and uncured bacon in a tasty cheddar and parmesan cheese sauce - 17g of protein.

- Roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, pork breakfast sausage, onions, red bell peppers and uncured bacon in a tasty cheddar and parmesan cheese sauce - SPICY CHIPOTLE CHORIZO BOWL  Roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, black beans, bell peppers and chorizo pork crumble in a spicy chipotle cheese sauce - 14g Protein.

 Roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, black beans, bell peppers and chorizo pork crumble in a spicy chipotle cheese sauce - SMOKED UNCURED HAM BENEDICT BOWL - Roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, broccoli, spinach and uncured smoked ham in a creamy lemon 'hollandaise' sauce - 11g Protein.

- Roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, broccoli, spinach and uncured smoked ham in a creamy lemon 'hollandaise' sauce - CREAMY BASIL VEGGIE BOWL - Potatoes, scrambled eggs, crimini mushrooms, portabello mushrooms, and spinach in a tasty basil cream sauce - 12g Protein.

"Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day," said Nava. "Our new bowls are perfect for the morning. They're a delicious way to start the day and feature proteins from cage-free eggs and vegetarian-fed, antibiotic and hormone-free meats."

All eight new items are available now in grocery and mass retailers across the nation.

For more information about EVOL Foods, the full range of EVOL products, EVOL's food and philanthropic mission and more, please visit www.evolfoods.com .

ABOUT EVOL FOODS

EVOL (ee-vuhl) Foods, based in Boulder, Colo., is changing the way the world thinks about frozen food. EVOL's diverse product portfolio includes entrees, burritos and breakfast items: all made with simple real ingredients and meat raised without hormones and antibiotics. LOVE what you eat. EVOL Foods is available in grocers nationwide. www.evolfoods.com

ABOUT CONAGRA BRANDS

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), headquartered in Chicago, is one of North America's leading branded food companies. Guided by an entrepreneurial spirit, Conagra Brands combines a rich heritage of making great food with a sharpened focus on innovation. The company's portfolio is evolving to satisfy people's changing food preferences. Conagra's iconic brands, such as Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender's, Reddi-wip, and Slim Jim, as well as emerging brands, including Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Duke's, Earth Balance, Gardein, and Frontera, offer choices for every occasion. For more information, visit www.conagrabrands.com.

CONTACT

Alex Jessup, JESSUP PR

[email protected]

SOURCE Conagra Brands, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.conagrabrands.com


Located at 13 th Street and University Place near Union Square, Nutella Cafe New York is the second Nutella restaurant owned and operated by the company in the U.S. The first Nutella Cafe opened in Chicago in May 2017.

"We are thrilled to celebrate the grand opening of the Nutella Cafe New York in one of the greatest culinary cities in the world," said Rick Fossali, vice president of operations, Nutella Cafe. "The response to our first Nutella Cafe in Chicago has been outstanding, and we cannot wait to treat New Yorkers and tourists alike to a wonderfully delicious Nutella experience showcasing the uniqueness and versatility of this beloved product."

With delicious cuisine on every corner, residents of the Big Apple are no strangers to food that inspires and delights. The menu at the Nutella Cafe New York will excite guests with an assortment of tasty all-day dishes like freshly baked breads, pastries, breakfast specials, desserts and gelato  all incorporating Nutella hazelnut spread.

Menu highlights include Chicago fan favorites like the Pound Cake Panzanella and Grilled Baguette, along with several items which are exclusive to the New York location: Hazelnut Blondies with Nutella hazelnut spread; multi-grain Piccolino ("little one" in Italian) freshly baked Croissants; Grilled Banana Bread with Nutella, warmed & topped with fresh banana slices and toasted hazelnuts; Chia and Hemp seed pudding, topped with Nutella and fresh banana slices; Frozen Nutella Pops and a "Create Your Own" station that allows you to pick your favorite base with Nutella and customize it with your favorite filling and topping.

The Nutella Cafe New York is located at 116 University Place. Opening hours will be Monday through Thursday: 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Sunday 8 a.m.-9 p.m. For more information Nutella Cafe New York's menu, location and hours of operation please follow us on Instagram and Facebook at @NutellaCafeNewYork. Follow the conversation on social with #nutellacafenewyork.

You can also check out Nutella USA Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for additional updates.

About Nutella

Nutella was created in 1964 thanks to Mr. Michele Ferrero; it was based on the recipe for Giandujot developed in 1946 by his father, Pietro Ferrero  confectioner and founder of Ferrero  in Italy's Piedmont area. Nowadays, the popular hazelnut spread with cocoa is available in over 170 countries worldwide.

About Ferrero

Founded as a family business in Alba, Italy in 1946, Ferrero is the third-largest company in the global chocolate confectionery market, with global sales of over $12 billion, distribution across over 170 countries, and a workforce of more than 30,000 people across 55 countries. Ferrero entered the U.S. in 1969 with Tic Tac mints, which have become an icon in the mints market, and subsequently introduced Ferrero Rocher fine hazelnut chocolates, and Nutella hazelnut spread to the U.S. market. Last year Ferrero introduced American consumers to the Kinder brand through Kinder Joy, a plastic egg-shaped package that is comprised of two separately sealed halves, one half contains a delicious treat and the other half contains an exciting surprise toy.

Now the third-largest U.S. confectionery company, Ferrero recently acquired U.S. chocolate company Fannie May Confections Brands, which through its Fannie May and Harry London brands provide offerings across key categories including chocolate bars, pralines and other snacks. Through recent acquisitions completed by the Ferrero Group and its related companies in 2017 and 2018, respectively, Ferrara Candy Company, a leader in gummy and seasonal confectionery with brands such as Trolli, Brach's and Black Forest; and the Nestle USA confectionery business with over 20 iconic American chocolate and sugar brands from Nestle, including Butterfinger, BabyRuth, 100Grand, Raisinets, Wonka, SweeTarts, LaffyTaffy, and Nerds, have found a home amongst the historic and quality brands of Ferrero.

SOURCE Nutella
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FieldPoint Petroleum Corporation (OTCBB: FPPP) today announced financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2018.

Phillip Roberson, President and CFO, said, "Revenues were down year over year due primarily to the sale of our Apache Bromide production, which occurred in 2017. The Apache Bromide was a high operating cost asset that did not contribute significantly to the bottom line. We did not have a similar sale in 2018, although we are considering that possibility in the future. I am pleased to announce that we have been able to extend our forbearance agreement with Citibank until March 31, 2019, giving us some latitude to evaluate and consider merger, acquisition, and financing opportunities that have been difficult to pursue under a shorter forbearance period."

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights Compared to the same period in 2017

Revenues decreased to $597,649 from $701,141 ;

Net Loss decreased to ($139,462) from Net Gain of $901,105 and

Net Loss per share increased, to $(0.01) from a Net Gain per share of $0.08 .

Mr. Roberson added, "The improvement that we have seen in commodity pricing, although still unstable, has been a significant factor in our ability to work our way out from under this long-depressed market. Signs of continued market improvements are encouraging, and we expect to be able to show significant growth in 2019."

FieldPoint Petroleum Corporation is engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, production and acquisition, primarily in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. For more information, please visit www.fppcorp.com.

This press release may contain projection and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended. Any such projections or statement reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. No assurances can be given, however, that these events will occur or that such projections will be achieved and that actual results could differ materially from those projected. A discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected, such as decreases in oil and natural gas prices and unexpected decreases in oil and natural gas production is included in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (at www.sec.gov)

SOURCE FieldPoint Petroleum Corporation

Related Links

http://www.fppcorp.com


CLEVELAND, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 8, the Brink's Company announced that it had entered a multi-year agreement with Canopy Growth Corporation to provide secure logistics and cash management services for Canopy Growth's domestic and international cannabis operations. The agreement also includes a cross-selling program that enables Brink's to provide services to Canopy Growth's affiliated growers and retail customers.

Doug Pertz, Brink's president and CEO, said, "The rapidly growing cannabis industry requires security solutions for its products as well as its cash, and Brink's is uniquely positioned to provide these solutions. Our partnership with Canopy Growth, a leading producer and exporter of cannabis, diversifies our customer base and leverages BGS' global network of secure logistics operations."

According to Freedonia Group analyst Elliott Woo, "Canada legalized cannabis for recreational use effective October 17, 2018. In contrast to the US, cannabis-related businesses in Canada will have full access to financial institutions, so the industry is expected to be less cash-intensive than in the US. Still, the Canadian cannabis industry will remain heavily regulated, and growth will create opportunities for providers of guard, alarm monitoring, and secured transport services."

Furthermore, Jennifer Mapes-Christ, Freedonia's manager for consumer and commercial research notes, "Brink's is a well-established brand, positioning the company well in a new industry that is likely to be concerned about the effect of security lapses and unlikely to take a risk on a lesser known vendor."

Additional analysis of the private security industry can be found in the following Freedonia reports: Global Security Services and Private Security Services in the US. For more information on these and other security industry studies, please see Freedonia's Security segment.

About The Freedonia Group  The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985 we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, and market share information. Studies can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

Press Contact:

Corinne Gangloff

+1 440.684.9600

[email protected]

SOURCE The Freedonia Group

Related Links

http://www.freedoniagroup.com


"Ontario plays a leading role in the nation's goods movement industry with its proximity to interstate highways, rail lines and the nation's largest seaport complex," said Alan D. Wapner, Mayor pro Tem of the City of Ontario and President of the Ontario International Airport Authority. "Our mission is to develop Ontario into an aviation gateway and economic engine for the Inland Empire. With our expanding population base, highly skilled workforce and modern infrastructure, there can be no doubt that Ontario is a key nerve center in the nation's economy."

Since ONT's return of local control in November 2016, air freight volume has grown consistently by upwards of 20% on a year-over-year basis. In the first nine months of the year, freight volume totaled 521,705 tons, an increase of 18.1% over the 441,754 tons handled during the same period in 2017.

"Much of the seaborne cargo which moves through the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor complex and then carried to the Inland Empire by truck and train is trans-shipped through Ontario's extensive warehouse industry to eastward destinations, making the city a key point in the nation's transportation network," said Mark Thorpe, OIAA's chief executive officer. "And a considerable share of the cargo that passes through the Inland Empire is shipped from Ontario International Airport, which continues to post double-digit growth every month."

United Parcel Service and FedEx Express have maintained long-term cargo operations at ONT. The OIAA approved a new 30-year lease arrangement with FedEx in June which includes the development more than 50 acres on the northwest quadrant of ONT, nearly three times the area FedEx Express currently occupies on the airport's south side.

FedEx Express will invest nearly $100 million to revitalize aircraft parking apron areas; consolidate and construct a sorting facility, ground support staging area, secondary and maintenance buildings; enhance perimeter fencing; and install landscaping. The improvements are anticipated to be completed by November 30, 2020.

About Ontario International Airport

Ontario International Airport (ONT) is located in the Inland Empire, approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport with nonstop commercial jet service to 19 major airports in the U.S., Mexico and Taiwan, and connecting service to many domestic and international destinations. There is an average of 67 daily departures offered by nine air carriers. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com.

Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA)

The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario Mayor Pro-Tem Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner).

News Media Contacts:

Atif Elkadi, Deputy Executive Director, (858) 361-9319 [email protected]

Steve Lambert, (909) 841-7527 [email protected]

SOURCE Ontario International Airport

Related Links

http://www.flyontario.com/


DALLAS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Group, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses was honored with two awards at The M&A Advisor's 17th annual M&A Awards on Nov. 6, 2018. Included in the tally was the prestigious Investment Banking Firm of the Year Award, marking the third year in a row the company has earned the recognition.

The M&A Advisor also honored Generational with Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year ($10mm-$25mm) for the acquisition of client Ammex Plastics by Echo Engineering and Production Supplies. Managing Director Phil Pizzurro and VP Mark Galovic successfully closed the deal for Generational.

The M&A Advisor Awards is the benchmark for dealmaking excellence. It recognizes the leading transactions, restructurings, deal financings, products/services, firms, and professionals. This year more than 230 nominees representing 600+ companies became finalists for the awards. An independent judging committee of 29 top M&A industry experts determined the ultimate recipients.

"The award recipients represent the finest in the M&A industry in 2018 and they earned these honors by standing out in a group of extremely impressive finalists," said Roger Aguinaldo, Founder of The M&A Advisor. "From lower middle market to multi-billion-dollar deals, we are recognizing the leading transactions, firms and individuals that represent the highest levels of achievement."

For a detailed list of all of the Award Winners for the 17th Annual M&A Advisor Awards, please click here.

"We are humbled, grateful and thrilled to be recognized as Investment Banking Firm of the Year three years in a row," said Generational Group President & CEO Ryan Binkley. "This is a very distinguished award that we cherish and it is reflective of our associates' hard work and dedication to give our clients the outcomes they deserve."

Binkley added, "And it is a true honor to be called on stage to receive recognition from our M&A colleagues."

The second Tom Farrell Memorial Award, named after one of Generational's top former executives, was also presented at the gala, going to Anthony L. Caudle, Chairman and CEO of RedTail Capital Markets.

About The M&A Advisor

The M&A Advisor was founded in 1998 to offer insights and intelligence on M&A activities. Over the past twenty years they have established the premier global network of M&A, turnaround and finance professionals. Today, they have the privilege of presenting, recognizing the achievements of, and facilitating connections between the industry's top performers throughout the world with a comprehensive range of services. To learn more, visit www.maadvisor.com.

About Generational Group

Generational Equity, DealForce, Generational Talis Wealth Advisory, and Generational Capital Markets, member FINRA/SIPC, are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America.

With over 250 professionals located throughout North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition and strategic growth advisory services.

Their four-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, and M&A transactional services.

For more, visit the https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

For more information:

Carl Doerksen

972-232-1125

[email protected]

SOURCE Generational Group
Persistence Market Research has published a new market research report titled "Truck Landing Gear Market: Global Industry Analysis 2013 - 2017 and Forecast 2018 - 2026," which examines the Truck Landing Gear market and provides useful insights for the next eight years. According to the report, the market is anticipated to witness rise in demand and first fit installation in newly manufactured trailers. The projected valuation of the global Truck Landing Gear market in 2018 is US$ 252.5 Mn and the market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.7% and reach US$ 364.3 Mn by 2026. The Truck Landing Gear market is expected to create incremental $ opportunity worth US$ 111.8 Mn over the forecast period.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661339/Persistence_Market_Research.jpg )



Global Truck Landing Gear Market Dynamics

Growing transportation using trucks & trailers and booming heavy duty truck production are the two major factors projected to boost the global truck landing gear market growth during the period of forecast. Moreover, the automotive industry is rapidly shifting towards light weight and fuel efficient vehicles, which is another the prominent factor anticipated to give a boost to the global truck landing gear market over the slated time period.

In addition, growing support from government regulations, such as AAR, TUV and StVZO, are also anticipated to hike the demand for truck landing gears. Furthermore, regulations pertaining the total length and load capacity of truck landing gears are also likely to create demand in the global truck landing gear market during the stipulated time period.

On the flip side, manually operated truck landing gears are creating hurdles in the truck landing gear market. During uplifting and down lifting, these truck landing gears can lead to health issues, such as back pain. Therefore, the truck landing gear manufacturers are focused on the launch of automatic truck landing gears. Though the cost of automatic truck landing gears is high, their output is also higher than that of manual truck landing gears.

Request Sample Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/25051

Global Truck Landing Gear Market Forecast

By lifting capacity, in terms of revenue, the 20,000 lbs to 50,000 lbs segment is projected to hold considerable share in the truck landing gear market on account of the significantly growing demand for this type across the globe. In brief, the more than 50,000 lbs segment is projected to account for nearly half of the market share as compared to 20,000 lbs and 50,000 lbs segment. Moreover, the lifting capacity segment is projected to create incremental $ opportunity worth US$ 111.8 Mn in the global truck landing gear market during the forecast period.

Based on operation, the manual segment holds leading share in the global truck landing gear market as manual truck landing gears are cheaper and do not require any extra power source, such as batteries to uplift and down lift the truck landing gear. However, in growth terms, the automatic segment will represent significant potential in the global truck landing gear market as the automotive industry in inclining towards automation.

Truck Landing Gear Market Research Report Overview @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/truck-landing-gear-market.asp

By sales channel, the OEM segment is projected to dominate in the global truck landing gear market throughout the forecast period. In terms of value share, the aftermarket segment is expected to account for ~12.7% share in 2018 and by 2026, the segment is anticipated to hold ~81.7% share in the overall market's absolute $ opportunity over the slated time period.

Among the regional markets, Europe is projected to dominate the global truck landing gear market and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.0% in the global market. China is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% in the global truck landing gear market and will be followed by Europe. In China, the government is highly focused on improving overall vehicle efficiency through the use of light weight materials as well as by imposing government regulations pertaining to safety of trailers. This will augment the growth of the truck landing gear market in the country over the forecast period. The Latin America region is anticipated to grow at a noteworthy CAGR in the global truck landing gear market during the forecast period. Moreover, South East Asia & Pacific region is projected to witness 5.2% CAGR in the global truck landing gear market as major manufacturers are shifting their trailer components manufacturing plants to Australia.

Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/25051

Global Truck Landing Gear Market Competitive Landscape

Some of the leading players manufacturing Truck Landing Gear and featured in this study on Truck Landing Gear are JOST Werke AG, SAF-HOLLAND S.A., Guangdong Fuwa Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Butler Products Corp., BPW Bergische Achsen KG, York Transport Equipment (Asia) Pte Ltd., AXN Heavy Duty, LLC, H. D. Trailers Pvt. Ltd., Sinotruck Howo Sales Co.,Ltd., Zhenjiang Baohua Semi-Trailer Parts Co., Ltd., haacon hebetechnik gmbh, and Yangzhou Tongyi Machinery Co., Ltd.

Get full Report Now @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/25051



More from PMR's Automotive Market Intelligence:

Automotive Solenoid Market : Segmentation: By Application Type - Engine Management System, Powertrain System, Safety & Security System, HVAC Control & Cooling System, Others; By sales channel - OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), Aftermarket; By vehicle type - Passenger Cars (Compact, Midsized, Luxury, SUV), LCV, HCV (Electric Vehicle, BEV, HEV, PHEV), Two Wheelers (Electric, Conventional): https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/automotive-solenoid-market.asp



: Segmentation: By Application Type - Engine Management System, Powertrain System, Safety & Security System, HVAC Control & Cooling System, Others; By sales channel - OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), Aftermarket; By vehicle type - Passenger Cars (Compact, Midsized, Luxury, SUV), LCV, HCV (Electric Vehicle, BEV, HEV, PHEV), Two Wheelers (Electric, Conventional): https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/automotive-solenoid-market.asp Mobile Crushers and Screeners Market : Segmented by drug types - Cushing's Syndrome Treatment , Glucocorticoid Receptor Inhibitors, Somatostatin, Ketoconazole HRA, Other Off-label, Acromegaly Treatment, Somatostatin, Glucocorticoid Receptor Inhibitors, Other Off-label ; by distribution channels - Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/mobile-crushers-and-screeners-market.asp



Segmented by drug types - Cushing's Syndrome Treatment , Glucocorticoid Receptor Inhibitors, Somatostatin, Ketoconazole HRA, Other Off-label, Acromegaly Treatment, Somatostatin, Glucocorticoid Receptor Inhibitors, Other Off-label ; by distribution channels - Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/mobile-crushers-and-screeners-market.asp Train Seat Materials Market : Taxonomy By Foam type - Polyurethane, Silicone, Polyester, Others; By Material Type - Fabric, Vinyl, Leather; By Train Type - High Speed, General Passenger, Local Passenger; By Seat Type - Regular, Recliner, Folding, Others: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/train-seat-materials-market.asp

Persistence Market Research Overview

Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.

To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.

Contact

Persistence Market Research

U.S. Sales Office:

305 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York City, NY 10007

+1-646-568-7751

United States

USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353

Email: [email protected]



PMR Latest News: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/news

SOURCE Persistence Market Research
MIAMI, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Goya Foods Inc., America's largest Hispanic-owned food company, sponsored their first-ever fashion and design competition for Miami International University of Art & Design students. The participants were challenged with designing apparel using Goya products, packaging and imaging. Designer Judith Cabrera was awarded a grant on behalf of Goya for the most creative design; an evening gown embroidered with a variety of colorful Goya beans. The grant will go towards her tuition to complete her studies in fashion design. In addition, 13 of the designs were brought to life and showcased during Funkshion Fashion Week in Miami Beach and PAMM on Saturday, November 10th.

Cynthia Chipi, Marketing Director of Goya Foods of Florida presents winning designer Judith Cabrera with scholarship for most creative design using Goya products! Winning design by Judith Cabrera of the Goya-inspired evening gown embroidered with a variety of Goya beans.

"We could not be happier to have the ability to support these students on their journey to become Fashion Designers and doing it in such a creative manner; using Goya products was particularly interesting for us," said Cynthia Chipi, marketing director of Goya Foods of Florida. "We are grateful to Funkshion for their passion to shine a light on innovative creations that allow designers to express their talent and culture."

Funkshion is a company that specializes in innovative fashion show production from idealization and conception to production and execution. As an organization that is dedicated to bringing fashion, music, art and culture together, Funkshion hosts some of the most diverse and creative fashion events around the world.

"We were thrilled to be part of Goya's fashion challenge and to give these young Miami designers the opportunity to showcase their unique talent," said Aleksandar Stojanovic, founder of Funkshion Projections. "It has always been a priority for us to illustrate the power that music, art, and culture have when they are brought together through creativity."

"It was such a great opportunity for the students to work with Goya. This challenge made them look at design in such a different way," said Charlene Parsons, Director of the Fashion Department at Miami International University of Art & Design. "They used Goya beans as beads and the wrappers as embellishments. This is something they can do to think out of the box and take design to a different level. To design is to think of how their creation is going to be displayed by a model down the runway."

On November 10th, following the Funkshion Fashion Show, the 13 designs were showcased in a one-of-a-kind activation at PAMM.

"Miami is a city full of young artistic talent. We were honored to display this wonderful activation that showcases what our city is known and loved for: fashion, art, culture, and of course, food," said Jaime Bayo, PAMM's Director of Corporate Relations.

Fans who want to follow Goya Foods online can do so at www.facebook.com/GoyaFoods , via Twitter at @GoyaFoods, Instagram at @GoyaFoods and by using the hashtags #DesafioGoya #Concurso #GoyaGives.

About GOYA

Founded in 1936, Goya Foods, Inc. is America's largest Hispanic-owned food company, and has established itself as the leader in Latin American food and condiments. Goya manufactures, packages, and distributes over 2,500 high-quality food products from Spain, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America. Goya products have their roots in the culinary traditions of Hispanic communities around the world. The combination of authentic ingredients, robust seasonings and convenient preparation makes Goya products ideal for every taste and every table. For more information on Goya Foods, please visit www.goya.com.

About Miami International University of Art & Design

Miami International University of Art & Design is a multi-campus, career-oriented institution that provides students with academic preparation and practical skills through programs in the applied arts and design industries. The institution prepares its undergraduate students for entry-level positions and its graduate students for advancement in their chosen fields. The university is dedicated to fostering a culture that encourages creativity, research, and learning-centered endeavors.

About Funkshion

FUNKSHION productions is a company that among other aspects of production, specializes in fashion show and fashion presentation concept, production and execution. FUNKSHION imagines, creates and executes events that connect people to fashion brands. From concept to execution FUNKSHION brings a strategic vision to life through dynamic multimedia, state of the art equipment and a team of experts that delivers a dramatic client-branded environment. For more information, visit: funkshion.miami

About Perez Art Museum Miami

Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture and design and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. Led by Director Franklin Sirmans, the nearly 35-year-old South Florida institution formerly known as Miami Art Museum (MAM), Perez Art Museum Miami opened a new building, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, in Downtown Miami's Museum Park on December 4, 2013. The facility is a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming, and features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with flexible galleries; shaded outdoor verandas; a waterfront restaurant and bar; a museum shop; and an education center with a library, media lab, and classroom spaces. For more information, please visit pamm.org , find us on Facebook ( facebook.com/perezartmuseummiami ), or follow us on Instagram/Twitter (@pamm).

Contact: Natalie Maniscalco, 1-845-659-6506, [email protected]

SOURCE Goya Foods

Related Links

http://www.goya.com


WESTPORT, Conn., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Westport RTM Member Greg Kraut today stated, "I urge all Democrat and Republican Leaders in Connecticut to allow unaffiliated voters to back their candidates. Never has there been such a need to have Open Primaries in Connecticut. Its time to allow the majority, which are the unaffiliated voters, to have a real voice for their candidates."

In Connecticut, 42% of voters are unaffiliated and it is the largest voting bloc. To vote in a primary, you must register with a party.

Greg Kraut

"As somebody that is a moderate in a time of social media intolerance and hateful Washington rhetoric, I feel voting must be able to reflect our majority of citizens. Instead of being required to join an organization where people are unsure of the political beliefs of the candidates, we need to be able to exercise our right to vote in an open primary," Kraut stated.

"Many voters have expressed to me their dissatisfaction with both major parties and their candidates, either some were too right, or some were too left, and it would be beneficial to finally elect candidates that speak for the real majority," Kraut said.

About Greg Kraut

Greg Kraut serves on the Westport RTM, representing District 5. As a member of the RTM, he serves on the Finance, Employee Compensation and Planning and Zoning Committees.

Greg Kraut is the Managing Partner at KPG, a real estate management firm, where he oversees the strategic direction of the company, development, asset management and leasing. Before joining KPG, Mr. Kraut was the Founding Principal of Avison Young's Tri-State office. During this time, he was named one of Commercial Observer's Power 100 in New York City real estate for three consecutive years. Greg is married to Haley Kraut and has two sons, Charlie and Dillon, who attend Stepping Stones and Greens Farms Elementary School.

Contact: Greg Kraut, 203-557-0995, gregkraut.com

SOURCE Greg Kraut

Related Links

http://www.gregkraut.com


New shipping functionality propels companies into the supply chain of the future

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- HighJump, a global provider of supply chain solutions, today announces advances to HighJump Ship, HighJump's multicarrier shipping solution for small parcel and less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. These enhancements streamline operations and grow businesses on a global scale with the digital, connected and automated supply chain of the future.

Expectations for purchasing convenience, delivery speed, choice and adaptability are on the rise. This spells greater complexity for the supply chain, with the rapid growth of ecommerce and ship-from-store fulfillment. As a result, warehousing and logistics professionals need solutions to handle new business models, stressed traditional logistics systems and disparate networks. Companies are also opening up to new markets, facing unique requirements for global distribution. HighJump Ship encompasses all of this, automating processes for efficient, compliant and accurate shipping worldwide.

"The evolution of HighJump Ship brings powerful capabilities to control, simplify and globalize last-mile delivery," said Sean Elliott, chief technology officer at HighJump. "As one of many planned innovations from HighJump, these new offerings drive efficiency and connectivity for our customers' supply chain of today and tomorrow."

New advances for HighJump Ship include:

Global expansion: HighJump now supports shipments originating outside of the U.S. and Canada , adding 200+ national and regional parcel carriers in 70+ countries.

, adding 200+ national and regional parcel carriers in 70+ countries. Enhanced HAZMAT compliance: New capabilities for codes and labeling simplify packing and shipping of hazardous materials. This assures proper distribution with qualified shippers.

Shipping rules functionality: Be it customer class, zones, handling fees, up charges or beyond, exceptions and rules automate how shipping is covered and executed.

Visual cues: Shipment accuracy and timing is guaranteed with real-time visual notifications on items, enabling best-in-class mobility.

HighJump Ship is part of HighJump's end-to-end supply chain execution software suite, providing visibility and insights into supply chain resources and personnel to improve operations. It is available as a stand-alone solution or addition to the HighJump Warehouse Management System (WMS). This follows the launch of the HighJump Warehouse Control System.

Current and prospective customers can learn more at HighJump's annual user conference, Elevate, March 3-6, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas. Register here.

About HighJump

Today's consumer has ever-higher expectations for purchasing convenience, delivery speed, choice and adaptability. More options for consumers spell greater complexity for the supply chain. It's no longer enough to fulfill demand  you must anticipate it, predict it and make smarter, faster decisions.

With resources tight and competitive pressure relentless, staying ahead means selecting a technology partner with a proven track record of delivering efficiency and a lower cost of ownership. A partner whose flexible, extensible platform integrates quickly and smoothly with your existing systems. All backed by a team with unmatched warehouse and logistics expertise  working to help you adapt, grow and succeed.

At HighJump, we're integrating our proven solutions for the warehouse, transportation and logistics ecosystem with emerging technologies  from around our company and around the world  to build the supply chain of the future. Leveraging advanced cloud technology, we can help you ride the wave of data to achieve greater efficiency, uncover actionable insights, and stay ahead of the curve.

HighJump: supply chain of the future. For more information, visit http://www.highjump.com .

HighJump is a trademark of HighJump Software Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

About Korber

Korber AG is the holding company of the internationally operating technology group Korber, which has around 11,000 employees all over the world. The Group unites technologically leading companies with 140 production, service, and sales companies. At locations around the world, Korber combines the advantages of a globally represented organization with the strengths of highly specialized and flexible medium-size enterprises that offer their customers solutions, products, and services in the Business Areas Automation, Logistics Systems, Pharma Systems, Tissue, Tobacco, Corporate Ventures, and Korber Digital.

About Korber Logistics Systems

The Business Area Logistics Systems, belonging to the international technology group Korber and based in Bad Nauheim, Hessen (Germany), is the leading provider of fully integrated applications for the optimization of complex internal and external logistics processes. Under the umbrella brand Korber Logistics, the Business Area provides digital solutions for the smart factory (production logistics), the warehouse, distribution center, e-commerce, and management of the entire supply chain. In three Business Units, the umbrella brand unites the companies Aberle GmbH and Consoveyo S.A. (System Integration), Langhammer GmbH and Riantics A/S (Product Solutions), Aberle Software GmbH, Cirrus Logistics, DMLogic, HighJump, Inconso AG and Voiteq (Software). They offer an extensive range of products and services, from system integration to technologies for storage, palletizing, de-palletizing and conveyor systems, through to software.

Media Contact

Heather K. Smith

HighJump

1-800-328-3271 x 2717

[email protected]

SOURCE HighJump

Related Links

http://www.highjump.com


BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE: WD) (the "Company") announced that JCR Capital, its alternative investment management platform, has closed on its fourth fund, JCR Capital Income Plus Fund IV, L.P. ("Fund IV"), at $306 million. Fund IV easily surpassed its initial target of $130 million.

Fund IV will primarily make participating preferred equity and structured joint venture equity investments in value-add, cash flowing properties with short duration investment periods. Fund IV will focus exclusively on middle market properties (properties currently valued at $50 million and less) in the multifamily, industrial and office sectors, as well as select retail assets.

"The success of this fund raise is a direct result of JCR's track record of protecting principal and providing investors with attractive risk-adjusted returns through several market cycles," said Jay Rollins, managing principal of JCR Capital. "In addition, the investment community respected our history of accurately reading the market, including calling the top of the market in 2007, and our ability to select the appropriate investment strategy for the times."

"As we are deep into the current market cycle, there are increasing concerns that the market is due for a correction," said Rollins. "Fund IV is designed to protect against this downside scenario with stress-tested underwriting, while providing an 'upside hedge' in the event that a market dislocation does not occur over the next three years."

JCR Capital is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser that invests on behalf of insurance companies, public pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices. JCR Capital was acquired by Walker & Dunlop in the second quarter of 2018 and continues to operate independently as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The closing of Fund IV brings Walker & Dunlop's total assets under management to $1.1 billion, including JCR regulatory assets under management and loans managed for the Company's interim lending joint venture.

Nothing herein constitutes an offer to sell any security as Fund IV is closed to new commitments. Market commentary, quotes and forward-looking statements are opinions subject to change. All investments have risk of loss including principal.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. The company provides a comprehensive range of capital solutions for all commercial real estate asset classes, as well as investment sales brokerage services to owners of multifamily properties. Walker & Dunlop is included on the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and was ranked as one of FORTUNE Magazine's Fastest Growing Companies in 2014, 2017, and 2018. Walker & Dunlop's 700+ professionals in 29 offices across the nation have an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.walkerdunlop.com


"Smart energy and our epidemic prevention project address serious global issues while also catapulting KT forward as a global business leader," Chairman Hwang said during his October lecture at HBS, which is his ninth at Harvard University since 2005.

The chairman last year delivered a lecture in April on KT's GiGAtopia, a 5G wired and wireless infrastructure project. KT has so far committed US$4 billion to realizing the project.

The Korean telecom leader this year led a working group under the United Nations and in September released a report on how technology can stem infectious disease.

First HBS Case Study of Korean Smart Energy

KT's smart energy project was chosen for a case study as part of "21st Century Energy," a subject for second-year master's degree students. Chairman Hwang, the primary figure in the case study, explained the details of KT's energy project to some 60 students.

HBS case studies are widely read by corporations as well as universities and research institutes throughout the world. KT expects the case study on its smart energy project will help widen the company's footprint in overseas energy markets.

KT's smart energy project was the first Korean energy project to be selected for an HBS case study. GiGAtopia was also the first Korean network project to be picked for a case study.

Only two other Korean companies have been chosen for HBS case studies twice or more -- Samsung Electronics (marketing, semiconductors and global operations) and SK (corporate social responsibility and its social network service, Cyworld).

KT Aims for KRW1 Billion Sales in Smart Energy Market in 2022

KT's smart energy business is centered on the use of KT-MEG (Micro Energy Grid), the first intelligent integrated energy management platform, and e-Brain, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based engine for big data analytics.

Through e-Brain, KT-MEG provides integrated solutions in all areas of energy, ranging from production to consumption and trading. KT-MEG enables the management of electric power, solar power, heat, gas, water and wind. The KT-MEG Center, which opened in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, in 2015, manages a diverse range of sites from large-scale generators to small buildings.

As the core of KT-MEG, e-Brain goes beyond simple controls. It is capable of performing diagnostics in real time, making forecasts and conducting optimal control. By using AI and big data, it analyzes inherent patterns in energy production and consumption.

E-Brain is capable of analyzing utility bills and outside temperatures in real time during the diagnostic phase and then produces models during the forecasting phase. Finally, it simulates energy consumption patterns, durations of energy consumption and temperatures, and presents the optimal control based on the simulations.

During his lecture at HBS, Chairman Hwang said it would be possible to cut energy costs by 10 to 20 percent with the use of KT-MEG and e-Brain, and a further 20 to 40 percent by replacing outdated facilities.

KT's energy business is growing rapidly. The number of sites linked to KT-MEG has risen from, 1,700 in 2015 to 14,000 over the past three years. Its sales revenue is expected to reach US$250,000 million this year, six times higher than US$40 million in 2016. The sales revenue targets are 500 billion won in 2020 and 1 trillion won in 2022.

KT is also promoting its energy business overseas. The company signed a 120 billion won project for remote metering in Uzbekistan in May 2015 and a subsequent 30 billion won project in September to provide the country with smart meters and an operating system.

Another overseas project was launched in July 2015 to install solar power generating systems in 44 villages throughout Vietnam's Quang Binh Province. KT is also planning a project in Australia installing energy storage systems and providing KT-MEG solutions.

KT Encouraging ICT for Epidemic Prevention

A KT-led report entitled "Preventing the Spread of Epidemics Using ICT" was recently submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development at an annual meeting in New York on September 23. The commission is jointly led between the ITU and UNESCO.

The report described how ICT could be used to fight infectious diseases. KT examined a number of ICT-based tools for fighting the spread of infectious disease, and encouraged wider participation from government and civil services to stem epidemics.

In particular, KT proposed the Global Epidemics Prevention Platform, which would enable the entire world to share information on infectious diseases.

In 2017, KT launched Smart Quarantine in South Korea. The program uses roaming data to halt the spread of infectious diseases by informing health authorities whether any arriving passengers have traveled to a country with a disease outbreak. KT also is advancing projects in other countries by using this same model.

The use of roaming data has been found to be effective in the fight against infectious diseases. After the first Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) patient was diagnosed in South Korea in 2015, the number of confirmed cases in the country increased to 186. However, there have been no cases of MERS in South Korea this year.

KT expects that ICT-based quarantine services such as Smart Quarantine will gain momentum throughout Asia, especially in the southeast region and in the United Arab Emirates, and Africa, primarily in Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda.

MEDIA CONTACTS

For inquiries, please contact our Foreign Media Relations Team at [email protected]

ABOUT KT CORP. (KRX: 030200;NYSE: KT)

KT Corporation, Korea's largest telecommunications service provider reestablished in 1981 under the Telecommunications Business Act, is leading the era of innovations in the world's most connected country. The company leads the 4th industrial revolution with high speed wire/wireless network and innovative ICT technology. After installing 20 million fixed lines in just 12 years, KT was the first telecom provider to introduce 5G broad-scale trial service in 2018. It is another step in KT's continuous efforts to deliver essential products and services as it seeks to be the No.1 ICT Company and People's Company.

For more information, please visit our English website at https://corp.kt.com/eng/.

SOURCE KT Corp.

Related Links

https://corp.kt.com/eng


LexisNexis Risk Solutions AML solution - Bridger Insight XG - was recently highly commended at the Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence. The award recognises technology solutions that best address AML and related documentation solutions across a range of platforms and make use of intelligent automation, machine learning or artificial intelligence-based solutions that detect suspicious activity, while reducing the cost of compliance.

Thomas C. Brown, senior vice president, U.S. Commercial Markets and Global Market Development, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said: "It's a great honour to be recognized with this award. It demonstrates our ongoing commitment to helping our clients achieve a significant reduction in false-positives, freeing up resources to focus on mission-critical and revenue-generating activities. The fully integrated compliance platform enables organizations to consolidate compliance processes, standardize controls and bring enterprise-wide operational consistency."

In 2017, LexisNexis Bridger Insight XG was awarded 'Best AML Solution' at Asian Private Banker's Technology Awards. The latest award received at the Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence reaffirms LexisNexis Risk Solutions pioneering role in providing leading AML solutions, including sanctions, KYC and Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and Sanctions regulations for its clients in the Asia market and the roll-out of innovative products.

Regulators across the Asian region are increasingly putting pressure on financial and non-financial institutions to improve overall AML screening requirements in each jurisdiction they operate. Thus, demand for LexisNexis Risk Solutions Bridger Insight XG to boosts efficiency through accessing identity verification, screening, due diligence and fraud prevention services through a single point of entry is on the rise. Bridger Insight XG can process large batch quantities of customer information, including ongoing payment screening, and generate an audit trail by automatically documenting the due diligence process. It enables customers to reduce false positives through matching algorithms refined over 17 years.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions Bridger Insight XG allows firms in Asia to grow their global customer base faster and expedite transaction execution while protecting their organizations from regulatory risk. Without technology such as the Bridger Insight XG platform, organizations will struggle to keep their resources focused on what is most important: customer experience and revenue generation.

David Haynes, LexisNexis Risk Solutions APAC Head, said: "In a complex market such as Asia, preventing financial crime requires a constant focus on improving how you monitor for potential criminal activity. Both financial and non-financial institutions should recognize that effective risk identification and customer assessment are crucial to their business success. Proper processes also lead to more financial inclusion and financial transparency."

LexisNexis Risk Solutions' AML capabilities allow firms to strengthen their risk oversight while achieving cost savings and operational efficiencies, thereby reducing customer onboarding friction for new and existing clients in Asia. As a result, clients benefit from a reduced total cost of compliance.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX Group (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com.

Media Contact:

Jean Creech Avent

Director, PR

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

+1 770 862 7978

[email protected]

Lisa Fong

Teneo Strategy

+852 3655 0520

[email protected]

SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Related Links

http://www.lexisnexis.com/risk


HAYWARD, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thames Water Utilities Ltd., Microvi Biotechnologies, and WesTech Engineering, Inc. are conducting a collaborative demonstration for transformational wastewater treatment at the Thames Water treatment plant in Sherfield-on-Loddon, UK. This demonstration of Microvi's proprietary treatment technology, Microvi MNE, was installed and commissioned in June.

The Microvi MNE process could work within Thames Water's existing infrastructure and aims to help with impending challenges while providing an economical and environmentally beneficial solution.

Microvi and WesTech have installed a fully automated Microvi MNE demonstration plant configured as a tertiary nitrification system for ammonia removal. Microvi's MNE technology intensifies the treatment process, allowing Thames Water to treat more wastewater within existing infrastructuremeeting the demands of anticipated population growth.

"We are excited to partner with Thames Water to demonstrate the efficacy of Microvi MNE for ammonia removal, in spite of cold temperatures," said Dr. Fatemeh Shirazi, CEO and CTO of Microvi. "When other treatment methods fail due to decreased activity in cold temperatures, Microvi MNE continues to deliver impressive removal rates. We've started seeing these results at the Thames Water site and look forward to pushing the technology to meet the industry's needs."

"We're always looking for new ways to be more efficient and resilient in how we care for the precious environment in which we operate, while managing impacts of climate change and population growth. I'm excited to find out if the Microvi MNE process provides a robust ammonia treatment for our sites especially over the colder winter months," said Dr. Eve Germain-Cripps, Wastewater Research, Development and Innovation Manager at Thames Water.

Microvi's wastewater technology has significant advantages over conventional wastewater treatment processes. It requires a smaller footprint and does not generate biological solids, while removing BOD, ammonia, phosphorus and nitrate. With potentially more efficient oxygen demand and reduced recycle pumping it also has lower energy costs. The solution is operator friendly, stable, robust, and can be used in existing infrastructure.

Microvi's technologies have been demonstrated in the US, Australia and the UK for drinking water, municipal wastewater, and industrial applications.

About Microvi

Microvi is a green technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area that delivers next-generation biotechnologies for the water, wastewater and renewable chemical industries. Microvi offers commercial technologies around the world to reduce waste, increase productivity and provide disruptive economics. Learn more at www.microvi.com.

About WesTech Engineering, Inc.

WesTech Engineering, Inc. provides process solutions for water treatment, liquids/solids separation, and biological treatment needs to municipal, industrial, and minerals clients worldwide. Founded in 1973, WesTech is an employee-owned company, with over 500 employees in seven countries. WesTech is ISO 9001 certified. For more information, please visit www.westech-inc.com.

About Thames Water Utilities Ltd.

Thames Water is the UK's biggest water and wastewater services provider. We have invested more than 1 billion every year, on average, for the past 13 years improving service for more than 15 million customers across London, the Thames Valley and surrounding areas. For an average of just over 1 a day for our households, we provide 2.7 billion litres of clean drinking water and safely remove 4.4 billion litres of wastewater  every day, 365 days a year. We are regulated by Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate and, as part of our draft 11.7 billion business plan for 2020-25, propose to invest record amounts on improving resilience, service and efficiency, as well as providing more support for customers in vulnerable circumstances.

CONTACT:

Karin Kidder, VP of Marketing, Microvi Biotechnologies

[email protected]

510-344-0668

SOURCE Microvi Biotechnologies, Inc.
CBD & Pain Relief Via a Receptor Called Vanilloid

One such CBD receptor is "TRPV1" which is the technical abbreviation for "transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V." Now that's quite a mouthful so I prefer another known name for the same receptor  Vanilloid so dubbed because it has similar effects to the vanilla bean. Vanilla contains eugenol, an essential oil that has antiseptic and analgesic properties. When CBD binds with TPRV1 (aka the Vanilloid receptor) a process is activated to mediate pain perception, inflammation and body temperature.

So, the pain relief that CBD is known for is not because of the direct ingestion of the cannabinoid but in the way that it interacts with particular receptors. As you might expect, researchers and CBD consumers are making more noise about both clinical and anecdotal evidence of pain relief. A 2008 review examined two decades' worth of preclinical studies and animal trials before concluding that CBD can be a successful tool for pain management without many adverse side effects. Another 2016 study by the University of Kentucky examined CBD's effects on arthritic rats and found that the compound reduced inflammation and overall pain. Just now as I screened for "pain" and "CBD" in my go-to website for current research, clinicaltrials.gov, 47 studies popped up.

Things are happening. Stay tuned!

Meredith now writes a series of popular sciences blogs in which she explains all the benefits, dispels the misconceptions and helps put minds at ease about a drug that's been vilified for so long. What follows is her second in a series of blogs which focus on CBD.

GB Sciences' Chairman and CEO John Poss comments, "Meredith is an important part of the GB team. Her experience and intellectual curiosity bring to the public a better understanding of the medical foundations of cannabis."

About GB Sciences, Inc.

GB Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: GBLX) is a diverse cannabis company, focused on standardized cultivation and production methods; as well as biopharmaceutical research and development. The Company's goal is creating safe, standardized, pharmaceutical-grade, cannabinoid therapies that target a variety of medical conditions. To learn more about GB Sciences, Inc., go to: http://gbsciences.com.

Meredith Patterson, RN, BSN, CRRN

Meredith is a registered nurse with over 25 years of neuroscience nursing experience

in a variety of settings including intensive care, head injury acute care rehabilitation,

sub-acute and dementia care. She has authored numerous presentations and continuing

education classes for nursing professionals and is a frequent presenter for community and

professional audiences including the University of Texas Health Science Center, Scott

and White Hospital, Texas State University and the annual Alzheimer's Symposium in

New Braunfels.

Meredith is a graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio

and she is certified in rehabilitation nursing. She is past president of the Association of

Rehabilitation Nurses of San Antonio and has served as a reviewer for the journal of the

Association of Neuroscience Nurses.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements relating to future results or events, which are forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import may identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company's belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. It is possible that the Company's actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Further, information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company's business and financial and other results, are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which we hereafter become aware.

Note: Although the Company's research and development activities are not illegal, the production and sale of cannabis products violate federal laws as they presently exist.

Contact Information

Corporate:

GB Sciences, Inc., 3550 West Teco Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89118

866-721-0297, or

Tom Arcuragi, EVP, [email protected]

SOURCE GB Sciences, Inc.

Related Links

http://gbsciences.com/


MIAMI, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aquila is pleased to announce a partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to focus on employees' health and fitness. NASA has awarded a multi-year contract to Aquila to implement a health and wellness program for its employees.

Aquila President & CEO Yvan Miklin said he's honored to serve NASA employees.

"We are looking forward to supporting the women and men behind the space exploration program," Miklin said. "Good health is about fitness, but it's also about positive lifestyle change and building a support system. The leaders at NASA recognize that Aquila's unique approach addresses the whole person and has a history of measurable results."

The Aquila-NASA employee wellbeing partnership will be supported by the guidelines from the NASA's Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer . The OCHMO oversees the health of astronauts participating in manned space travel, as well as health and wellness offerings for the space program's more than 18,000 employees. While space travel tests the limits of human endurance, Miklin said Aquila's primary focus will be the everyday health and wellbeing of the NASA employee population.

"The way Aquila approaches fitness and health is different because it's customized to the individual," Miklin said. "Our goal is to start a different kind of conversation with employees about their health  one that honors where they are on their unique journey and uses proven techniques and data to help them achieve their goals."

For nearly a quarter of a century, Aquila has specialized in fitness center design, management and programming, employee wellness programs and employee engagement. The Aquila model provides demonstrable ROI through data gathering and reporting.

SOURCE Aquila

Related Links

http://aquilaltd.com


MADISON, Wis., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Analytical scientists and laboratory managers seeking high-performing, multi-functional instruments with low cost of ownership can now benefit from a new FTIR spectrometer designed to analyze complex samples quickly and deliver fast, accurate results.

The Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS20 FTIR spectrometer, which is an upgrade over the well-established Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS10 FTIR spectrometer, features new LightDrive Optical Engine technology. The redesigned optical system consists of four critical components  an infrared source, interferometer, laser and detector  to deliver exceptional instrument performance and reliability.

The new instrument enables analytical scientists in pharmaceutical, polymer, chemical and forensics labs to identify unknown compounds, verify incoming materials, conduct failure analysis and conduct root cause studies by easily collecting and interpreting FTIR data. It is the only spectrometer on the market that features a touch panel with a multi-colored LED scan bar; the touch panel is designed to assist data collection from even the most challenging samples and help users understand their instrument status at a glance.

"With our newest FTIR spectrometer, busy laboratories facing tight budgets can improve their analytical capabilities while remaining on a familiar and comfortable instrument platform," said Matt Gundlach, product manager, FTIR spectrometers for Thermo Fisher Scientific. "The Nicolet iS20 spectrometer allows scientists to decrease the time from analysis to result, providing an improved user experience over previous-generation Thermo Scientific instruments."

Additional benefits of the Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS20 FTIR spectrometer include:

Cloud-based spectroscopy software with improved functionality that allows students and scientists to analyze their data anytime and anywhere.

The ability to interface easily with external modules, including the Thermo Scientific Nicolet iN5 and Continum infrared microscopes.

A 10-year warranty on three critical optical components (laser, interferometer, and source).

For more information on the Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS20 FTIR spectrometer, please visit www.thermofisher.com/iS20.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of more than $20 billion and approximately 70,000 employees globally. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics, deliver medicines to market and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands  Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services  we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive services. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Media Contact Information:

Derrick Meyer

Thermo Fisher Scientific

(408) 623-8336

[email protected]

SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific

Related Links

http://www.thermofisher.com


TEL AVIV, Israel, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

OptimalPlus, the leader of lifecycle analytics for the electronics industry and its entire supply chain, today announced that it will be offering its analytic-driven insights for semiconductor teams as a Service. The company pairs unprecedented visibility into the entire electronics supply chain with advanced data science and domain expertise to enable customers to enhance their production metrics and ensure overall product reliability. OptimalPlus' standalone offering includes its extensive expertise supporting semiconductor customers with access to its experts, methodologies, and best practices, allowing them to pair that data with information collected by in-house analytic teams.

In today's world semiconductor companies rely on experienced in-house engineers to manage product yield, efficiency and quality. While requirements are ever-growing, there aren't enough in-house experts to address them. Test Data Analysis is a service aimed to scale and complement product engineering and supply chain teams. OptimalPlus' veteran data scientists and semiconductor engineers will analyze customers' test data and identify areas for improvement. These insights and recommendations help companies prioritize internal resources and focus on the highest-value items.

"OptimalPlus' stand-alone service offers the best of both worlds," said Sharon Shafran, VP Services and Emerging Businesses of OptimalPlus. "Companies will have the benefit of using their trusted in-house teams, along with the expertise of OptimalPlus's top-tier data scientists who provide insights into issues that the company's insiders might not have capacity to deal with. In addition, the customer will benefit from the extensive best practices we gain as the leader in this domain."

OptimalPlus's new stand-alone service was created by veteran data scientists and specialized semiconductor engineers, while incorporating methodologies and best practices derived from thousands of customer engagements. One of the unique attributes of the new service is the ease of use. The customer will upload product test data into a secured folder and will receive a comprehensive report identifying potential areas of improvement around yield, efficiency, and quality. The report can then be implemented according to each in-house team's preferences and priorities.

About OptimalPlus

OptimalPlus is the established leader of lifecycle analytics for the electronics industry and its entire supply chain. The OptimalPlus open platform pairs unprecedented visibility into the entire electronics supply chain, with advanced data science and domain expertise. This unique platform enables OptimalPlus customers to enhance their production metrics and ensure overall product reliability. OptimalPlus is trusted by many of the world's leading semiconductor players, including Qualcomm, Nvidia, AMD, NXP, On-Semi, and Renesas, and was recognized as a Cool Vendor for IoT Analytics by Gartner. Optimal Plus has offices in Asia, Europe, the United States and Israel. For more information, visit Optimalplus.com and follow us on Twitter @OptimalPlus.

Contact:

Joel Strauss

Headline Media

[email protected]

US: +1-917-595-2309

UK: +44-203-769-5688

IL: +972-587-972-899



SOURCE OptimalPlus
As part of Bauducco's annual holiday video campaign, the company took over the Cube, a 4,000 square foot full-motion display in Times Square New York, where the brand encouraged onlookers and online influencers to share holiday messages with their loved ones to be displayed in real-time on the digital screen. Bauducco's creative agency Samba Rock created and produced this activation, capturing video of the content. The emotional video will be pushed out via the OUTFRONT Social Influencer program and Bauducco's owned digital channels to be shared and promoted across social media this holiday season.

"Our company's mission is to create moments of happiness between families and this is what we wanted to portray in our campaign ahead of the holidays. OUTFRONT understood this from the very beginning," said Erik Volavicius, Marketing Director of Bauducco Foods USA. "With its range of innovative offerings, we were able to share moments and stories of love from people of all backgrounds and homes to the world."

Supported by some of the world's best creators including Shepard Fairey and a database of more than 9 million influencers and 25 million nano-influencers across all genres, partnering with WeAre8 allows OUTFRONT to extend its influencer engagement by presenting brands with the opportunity to not only highlight their campaign creative in new ways, but to extend the reach of their OOH campaigns to new audiences through a robust network of real people and real interactions online.

"The impact and reach of OOH goes far beyond the physical assets where brands display their messages; brands who work with us regularly report organic web and social traffic resulting from their OOH campaigns. The OUTFRONT Social Influencer program exists to take this a step further, and give brands of all sizes the tools they need to more directly connect their offline advertising to online channels," said Jodi Senese, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of OUTFRONT Media. "Brands are always looking for ways to amplify their messaging and our new Social Influencers program allows them to do that in a measurable, innovative and interactive way."

WeAre8 is a social media platform which enables brands to enlist micro-influencers to spread their marketing content across social channels through photos, videos, and text. Through its platform and network, brands have the opportunity to tap into influencers to incentivize social content on behalf of the brand.

"In a world where brands are looking for an emotional connection with consumers, we extend the powerful impact of the OUTFRONT campaign, by leveraging the reach and authenticity of passionate human voices at scale," said Sue Fennessy, Founder and CEO of WeAre8. "Micro-and Nano-influencers are effectively an extension of the media channel, and when thousands of people create and share their video stories in front of the campaign, we drive significant, additional ROI for the brand. Bauducco's 'stories of family love' invite some exciting storytelling and we are thrilled to be part of it."

The OUTFRONT Social Influencer program is available to any brands that are interested in adding influencers to their OOH campaign.

About OUTFRONT Media Inc.

OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its ON Smart Media platform, OUTFRONT is implementing digital technology that will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go.

SOURCE OUTFRONT Media Inc.

Related Links

http://www.outfrontmedia.com


EAST HANOVER, N.J., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pazoo, Inc. (OTC: PZOO), is pleased to report that Pazoo held an investors conference call on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Members of the Board of Directors answered questions sent to the company in advance by those wishing to learn more about what is transpiring with the company and MA & Associates, LLC, d/b/a MA Analytics, the testing laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada in which the company holds an equity interest. The link to the recording of the entire conference call can be found on the Investor page of www.pazoo.com

Additionally, we are proud to announce that the new MA Analytics website is now live. The website address is www.maanlytics.com

Lastly, members of Pazoo, Inc and MA Analytics will be attending the Marijuana Business Conference taking place in Las Vegas from November 14-16 and a limited number of tours of the laboratory will be conducted during this time. The address of the lab is centrally located in Las Vegas, NV, at 2009 Western Avenue. We are pleased with all aspects of the facility, it is a clean, attractive well laid out facility that is maintained to standards that exceed those required by the State and local regulators. That being said, the demand for tours at this time is significant and given the fact that we are in the ramp up phase of the business, we ask that you contact [email protected] so we can try to coordinate any possible tours so as not to interfere with the production schedule of the lab. Please be advised that given state regulations, no one is permitted into the lab for a visit or tour unless it is prearranged. Accordingly, we would appreciate you understanding that it would not be appropriate for you to come to the lab absent a confirmed appointment. We look forward to the meetings we have set up later this week, for the conference, and to see many of our very supportive shareholders.

About Pazoo, Inc.

Pazoo, Inc. is focused on health, wellness and safety. Through our investment in MA & Associates LLC, in connection with recently opened lab, Pazoo will provide industry leading laboratory testing of cannabis. The lab will provide best-in-class laboratory testing of cannabis and cannabinoids to protect consumers from impurities, contaminants and other irregularities.

Safe Harbor Statement

This update includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as Pazoo, Inc. or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements herein that describe the Company's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

For Investor Relations:

UCS Advisors and Investor Relations, LLC

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Pazoo, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.pazoo.com


TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SAM Seamless Network, the intuitive security system for the home IoT network, announces today that it has completed a $12m Series A financing round. The round, led by Intel Capital, includes participation from Dave DeWalt's NightDragon, ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT), and Blumberg Capital. SAM's cybersecurity software protects local area networks and all of their connected devices directly at the source of entry at the ISPs via the router. With the new round of funding, SAM plans to expand its machine learning research and to further its growth in US and European markets to meet its customers' increasing security needs.

Gartner estimates that by 2020 there will be 20.4 billion connected "things" around the world. According to SAM research, there are an average of 5 attacks per home user per day. With an increase in the number of home devices, network operators and internet service providers cannot rely on consumers alone to protect themselves.

Intel is enabling the integrating of SAM technology into products in Europe and North America. Intel is leveraging SAM to further enrich its security offerings, while ADT continues to explore the possibilities of utilizing SAM's seamless security to enhance its Digital Security offerings for residential customers across North America.

In addition, Dave DeWalt  a leading cybersecurity executive and the former CEO of McAfee and FireEye  has joined SAM as board chairman.

SAM emerged from stealth in February 2018 with a seed round of $4 million, which was led by Blumberg Capital and the Richter Family Fund, bringing the total funding to date to $16M. SAM was founded by former cyber specialists in the Israeli Army, who served in the most elite units such as 8200 including CEO Sivan Rauscher, CTO Eilon Lotem, and Vice Chairman Shmuel Chafets. Team8 Co-Founders Nadav Zafir, Israel Grimberg, and Liran Grinberg, serve as SAM's advisors.

"We can no longer accept connectivity without security. People are often unaware of how many risks their home networks face every day," said SAM CEO Sivan Rauscher. "By making it possible for ISPs to offer their customers secure connections and prevent daily attacks, SAM is enriching their offerings and sharing invaluable and real-time data about incoming security threats."

"We were impressed with SAM's technology and level of security for the home network, which is a critical part of building out the future of 5G," said Dave Flanagan, vice president of Intel Corp. and group managing director of Intel Capital. "Unlike existing solutions, which necessitate buying a new gateway or replacing it with a secure gateway, SAM's solution provides end-users security, without them needing to do anything. And for telecommunications companies and ISPs, its AI and machine learning capabilities monitor behavior on the network to detect unusual activity and prevent attacks. With the global market for smart home technology predicted to hit $100 billion by 2020, Intel and its partners know security is essential."

"Now more than ever before, home security goes beyond the physical premises," said Jay Darfler, Senior Vice President, Emerging Markets at ADT. "The secure home of the future must include cybersecurity. We're invested in working with new technology providers to continue to meet the needs of today's customer, and SAM's technology provides advanced enterprise-grade security capabilities that help keep homes and their devices secure."





"As the world continues to be more connected, every home, small business, place to congregate and mode of transportation becomes a target for attack." said DeWalt. "SAM is solving this problem with next-generation, enterprise grade security for WiFi routers. Their technology is making cyber attack prevention both simpler, stronger, and more comprehensive than ever before."

The company's technology is already integrated on parts of the network of Bezeq , Israel's largest telecommunications operator. It is also currently operating pilot programs in Europe and North America. SAM has successfully monitored over 4 million devices, enriching its artificial intelligence cloud to reveal new attack patterns such as backdoors to IoT devices, and creating advanced security policies.

SAM Seamless Network provides ISPs and telecommunications companies with a cybersecurity software-based solution that protects any network, including home, small home offices (SOHO) and small to medium business (SMBs) by securing the gateway and all of its connected devices. The software is installed on top of any gateway (legacy and pre-market), without necessitating additional manpower. It has an ultra-light footprint, and does not require any extra hardware or additions to be installed on the connected devices. SAM's solution can be optimized for any network by customizing security policies according to the connected devices and their behavioral signature, isolating suspicious entities and using advanced AI algorithms in order to detect anomalies. In addition to cybersecurity abilities, SAM helps ISPs and telecommunications companies enrich their value proposition for their customers by providing network visibility, management abilities, and parental control.

About SAM:

SAM provides a software-based security solution that integrates seamlessly with any platform and protects local area networks by securing the gateway and all of its connected devices. Installed remotely on existing gateways, SAM doesn't require any additional hardware

or a technician to provide comprehensive network security. The solution is offered as a service, allowing users to have the enterprise-grade protection including virtually patching vulnerabilities such as KRACK and other high-level, targeted attacks. SAM works with leading chipset manufacturers, including Intel, to provide network security from the source. To learn more about SAM, visit www.SecuringSam.com .

About Intel Capital

Intel Capital invests in innovative startups targeting artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, datacenter and cloud, 5G, next-generation compute and a wide range of other disruptive technologies. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested US $12.3 billion in 1,544 companies worldwide, and more than 660 portfolio companies have gone public or participated in a merger. Intel Capital curates thousands of business development introductions each year between its portfolio companies and the Global 2000. For more information on what makes Intel Capital one of the world's most powerful venture capital firms, visit www.intelcapital.com or follow @Intelcapital .

About ADT

ADT is a leading provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses in the United States and Canada, people on-the-go and their networks. Making security more accessible than ever before, and backed by 24/7 customer support, ADT is committed to providing superior customer service with a focus on speed and quality of responsiveness, helping customers feel safer and empowered. ADT is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida and employs approximately 17,500 people in the United States and Canada.

About NightDragon Security

NightDragon Security is an investment firm focused on partnering with cybersecurity companies across the corporate lifecycle, from early stage, to growth, buyouts and special situations. Its flexible model allows it to lead or co-invest alongside leading venture capital and private equity firms in the pursuit of driving growth and maximizing shareholder value. NightDragon is unique in providing deep operational expertise in cybersecurity gained by its founders Dave DeWalt and Ken Gonzalez from years serving as senior executives leading technology companies such as Documentum, EMC, Siebel Systems (Oracle), McAfee, Mandiant, Avast and FireEye.

Media Contact:

Gina Shaffer: US: +1(707) 533-1504; IL: +(972) 54-649-3485; [email protected]

SOURCE SAM

Related Links

http://www.SecuringSam.com


BOSTON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, announced the continued roll out of EcoStruxure IT Expert, its cloud-based data center infrastructure management solution, with its release in North America. With IT Expert, Schneider Electric brings secure, vendor agnostic, wherever-you-go monitoring and visibility of all IoT-enabled physical infrastructure assets.

As part of Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure architecture, IT Expert operates with all IoT-enabled physical infrastructure assets like secure power and cooling  including the new, cloud-enabled Smart-UPS with APC SmartConnect. IT Expert addresses the data center industry's need to simplify how data centers, distributed IT, and local edge environments are managed. Providing proactive recommendations and consolidated performance and alarming data, IT Expert can significantly reduce alarm noise and improve overall site resiliency.

"EcoStruxure IT Expert harnesses the data generated from any environment  from distributed IT to the data center  and uses it to deliver intelligent benchmarking and increased visibility to all of your connected devices," said Kim Povlsen, Vice President and General Manager of Digital Services and Data Center Software, Schneider Electric. "In our increasingly cloud-based world, IT Expert delivers a remote monitoring service empowered with real-time data and proactive recommendations to repair and improve system availability."

Key benefits of EcoStruxure IT and its applications include:

Global visibility across the hybrid ecosystem regardless of location

across the hybrid ecosystem regardless of location Secure updates of mass configuration and firmware in a more simple and faster process

of mass configuration and firmware in a more simple and faster process Vendor neutral data capture of device information, smart alarms, and monitoring of all connected devices through an open system

data capture of device information, smart alarms, and monitoring of all connected devices through an open system Subscription model ensures the ease of deployment and updating for any size IT or data center environment

ensures the ease of deployment and updating for any size IT or data center environment 24/7 remote monitoring options through our partners with EcoStruxure IT for Partners or through Schneider Electric Service Bureau with EcoStruxure Asset Advisor. The Service Bureau or partner helps troubleshoot and dispatch service teams, reducing meantime to repair and improving system availability and performance.

"IDC views the EcoStruxure family as a transformative platform that changes the core way that data centers are monitored and managed," said Jennifer Cooke, Research Director for Data Center Trends and Strategies at IDC.

To date, 1,400 customers are connected on the EcoStruxure IT platform, managing 140,000 assets. Each day, 300 million data points are captured, helping to modernize how customer data centers are being managed, operated, and maintained.

As part of the release of EcoStruxure IT Expert, Schneider Electric is offering a 30-day, risk-free, full featured trial, which can be accessed here.

About EcoStruxure

EcoStruxure is Schneider Electric's open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform. EcoStruxure delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity for customers. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics, and cybersecurity to deliver Innovation at every level. This includes Connected Products, Edge Control, and Apps, Analytics & Services. EcoStruxure has been deployed in more than 480,000 sites, with the support of more than 20,000 system integrators and developers, connecting over 1.6 million assets under management through more than 40 digital services.

Click here for more information about EcoStruxure IT.

About Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is leading the Digital Transformation of Energy Management and Automation in Homes, Buildings, Data Centers, Infrastructure and Industries. With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider is the undisputable leader in Power Management  Medium Voltage, Low Voltage and Secure Power, and in Automation Systems. We provide integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software. In our global Ecosystem, we collaborate with the largest Partner, Integrator and Developer Community on our Open Platform to deliver real-time control and operational efficiency. We believe that great people and partners make Schneider a great company and that our commitment to Innovation, Diversity and Sustainability ensures that Life Is On everywhere, for everyone and at every moment.

schneider-electric.com

Discover Life Is On

Discover EcoStruxure

Related resources:

Follow us on:

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google Plus

YouTube

Instagram

Schneider Electric Blog

Hashtags: #DigitalEconomy #EcoStruxure #InnovationSummit #LifeIsOn #SchneiderElectric

SOURCE Schneider Electric

Related Links

https://www.schneider-electric.com


IRVING, Texas, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SignaPay, a leading merchant services and payment solutions provider and creator of the PayLo Cash Discount product, is proud to introduce a new mobile sales app for Apple and Android devices.

The App, called PayLo Mobile Sales, has a comprehensive field toolkit complete with a digital merchant application, quick quote generator, savings calculator and a suite of marketing materials right at an agent's fingertips. Partners will be able to quickly display and send presentations, sales videos and brochures as well as order custom marketing collateral directly from the app. All content comes in both English and Spanish versions to appeal to a wider market.

PayLo, the first legally vetted cash discount program, allows merchants to offset their credit card processing costs by applying a small customer service charge to each sale that is made and is removed if a customer pays with cash or gift card. It is currently available nationwide in all 50 states.

"We are excited about the launch of PayLo Mobile Sales and are confident it will help further aid our partners selling the PayLo Cash Discount Program. This all-inclusive app is an excellent resource for all things related to PayLo in one robust app," said CEO of SignaPay, John Martillo.

For a more personalized experience, the app includes a PayLo quote link generator, which allows partners to create links to forms that will already have their contact information and pricing in place and can be used ad-hock or placed on their website to generate leads.

"The addition of the new mobile PayLo application will allow our partners to obtain all PayLo collateral, forms, and applications directly on their phone, iPad or laptop. This solution will be a great asset for our partners to have 24/7 access to everything they need to market PayLo to merchants and will help further push their sales growth," said VP of Sales, Matt Nern.

Here is a brief video overview to watch of the PayLo Mobile Sales App: https://vimeo.com/299135663

For more information on PayLo or to become an Authorized PayLo Partner, please visit www.sellpaylo.com or call 877.751.2891

About SignaPay LTD:

Founded in Irving Texas in 2007, SignaPay offers a complete menu of payment solutions for merchants including credit card and debit card processing, payment gateway integration, fraud prevention, customer loyalty, analytics software as well as equipment including mobile and point of sale systems. SignaPay is dedicated to their partners and merchants and is committed to forging strong client relationships by providing best in class services and solutions. The success of our merchants and partners define our own success. At SignaPay, we focus on two things: People. Payments.

Media Contact Information

Robyn Roberts

Director of Marketing, SignaPay

[email protected]

877-751-2891

SOURCE SignaPay

Related Links

http://www.signapay.com


DALLAS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyhunter Outfitters LLC, the premiere helicopter hog hunting outfitter in Texas, recently acquired 200,000+ acres an hour Northeast of Dallas, near Commerce, Texas. Previously, it was 140,000 acres. Skyhunter Outfitters LLC is in the business of joining numerous landowners as well as farmers in the battle against feral hog infestations not only in state of the Texas, but across the Southern states.

Landowners in Fannin, Lamar, Hunt, or Delta County, who have problems with feral hogs, should contact Skyhunters to help cope with crop losses and damage. Just 20 to 30 minutes to point out property boundaries and Skyhunters can use satellite imagery to find the most beneficial hunting points to decrease property damage. Skyhunters can travel to landowners who reside anywhere in Texas, and help alleviate the feral hog population on their land.

Basic landowner and farmer services can include wild and exotic game counts, exotic game capture (netting), land protection, and cattle herding. For packages and rates check the booking page on Skyhunters website. The hourly rate can be divided between two shooters.

All hunts include the helicopter, fuel, firearms, ammunition, lunch and drinks. Additional options available to shooters include lodging and an edited video of their experience. 10% discount offered for police, fire, veteran, emergency and public services. 12 is the maximum size group their 2 helicopters can service daily, each gunner having up to 2 hours of flight time.

Each helicopter maxes out at 6 shooters a day with the 2 hour flight. Up to 14 people can be accommodated in their lodge. To secure a hunting time slot, hunters would be required to deposit 50% at the time of booking. Package offerings range anywhere from 2 to 12 hours a day between the 2 helicopters.

Hunters book early to ensure a spot, as slots fill quickly each year. Shooters can schedule their Winter season helicopter hog hunt from January 7th through March 31st 2019.

Skyhunter Outfitters LLC partners with many reputable businesses including Motac Solutions, ATN, Utas, and 10-2-4 Ranch, to name a few.

Impressed with their helicopter hog hunting services, Ed Jarrin called it "The best." He added, "I've hunted with Skyhunter Outfitters team many times over the last couple of years and every time it has been more fun."

To know more about Skyhunter Outfitters LLC visit https://sky-hunters.com/

SOURCE Skyhunter Outfitters LLC

Related Links

https://www.sky-hunters.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon has been appointed by Nova Ljubljanska bank d.d., Ljubljana (NLB) as the depositary bank for its Depositary Receipt program. The program will be denominated in Euros while trading on the London Stock Exchange. The Global Depositary Receipts program will be Slovenia's only active DR program. Earlier offerings had been in the form of American Depositary Receipts.

In the offering, 84% of shares will be via GDRs, or 54,998,830 GDRs, equivalent to 10,999,766 shares. The total offering including over-allotment is 13,000,000 shares. Each GDR represents five shares which are traded on the Ljubljana stock exchange. GDRs will trade in London under the symbol NLB. At an offering price of price of Euro 10.30, the total GDR offering will amount to 567MM.

NLB is a financial and banking group headquartered in Slovenia with a network of branches across Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It leads in market share in Slovenia's banking sector. The GDR program was approved by Slovenia's sovereign holding company SSH earlier this year as part of its commitment to privatize the bank. The total market capitalization of the Company will be approximately 1.030 billion at the start of trading.

"We look forward to helping NLB access capital from global investors in a program of such significant size," said Frank La Salla, Chief Executive Officer, Issuer Services, BNY Mellon. "We also see this groundbreaking GDR issuance in Slovenia as a strong confirmation that the depositary receipt structure can be activated across the region. It is a proven and efficient settlement and custody mechanism that can simplify investing in new markets globally."

BNY Mellon acts as depositary for 832 American and global depositary receipt programs as of Sept. 30, 2018. Acting in partnership with leading companies from over 55 countries, BNY Mellon is committed to helping securities issuers access the world's rapidly evolving financial markets and delivers a comprehensive suite of depositary receipt services. Learn more at www.bnymellon.com/dr.

About BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries. As of September 30, 2018, BNY Mellon had $34.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.8 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

Contact:

Christopher Fox

917-470-4689

[email protected]

SOURCE BNY Mellon

Related Links

http://www.bnymellon.com


LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and other natural gas water and electric utilities across the United States and Canada are joining forces today to protect their customers from scammers impersonating utility employees, either on the phone or in-person. A coalition of utilities called Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) designated November 14 as the third annual "Utilities United Against Scams Day," which will also be supported by a week-long campaign focused on exposing the tricks criminals use to steal money from customers. Through increased awareness and reports of possible scams, UUAS and its member companies have helped to shut down nearly 2,500 Toll-Free Numbers used by scammers against utility customers since March 2017.

"We take the privacy and security of our SoCalGas customers very seriously and are proud to take part in this campaign to help raise awareness," said Paul Goldstein, vice president of customer services at SoCalGas. "We encourage customers to look for the warning signs associated with this latest scam and to call the police as well as our customer call center number to report it to us. We also want to reiterate that we do not call our customers who are late on their payments but will instead send a text, an email or a notice in the mail."

Going from November 11-17, this year's campaign "7 Scams in 7 Days" focuses on scams involving unsolicited phone calls from individuals who falsely claim to be SoCalGas or other utility representatives. The scammer warns the customer that SoCalGas will disconnect the customer's natural gas service if the customer fails to make a payment, usually within a short timeframe. It is important that customers call SoCalGas directly to check on the status of their accounts if they are ever unsure about the authenticity of a caller or the identity of a service worker, or if they suspect any fraudulent activity. SoCalGas representatives do not call customers demanding payments by phone. In some cases, recorded messages remind customers that payments are due to avoid service interruptions, but SoCalGas will never demand payments be made by phone.

Bill payment options include:

Online payment via SoCalGas' My Account, where enrolled customers can make secure online payments, access account balance, schedule automatic payments, get email bill reminders, and pay by text.

Pay by Credit or Debit through an independent service provider, BillMatrix online.

Pay by Phone or Pay by Direct Debit with check or savings account.

Customers can pay by mail, sending a check or money order with their bill stub to: SoCalGas, P.O. Box C, Monterey Park, CA 91756.

91756. For information, visit socalgas.com/pay-bill/ways-to-pay or call 800-427-2200.

Warning signs of a scam:

A customer receives a phone call from someone claiming to be a utility employee, saying that their account is past due and threatening disconnection if a large sum of money isn't received within a short time frame.

Often, scammers instruct customers to purchase a pre-paid debit, credit card, or cryptocurrency (such as bitcoin) and then call him or her back to make a payment to "SoCalGas" to avoid disconnection.

The scammer then asks the customer for the pre-paid card's or cryptocurrency receipt number and PIN number which will then give the thief access to the funds.

How to protect yourself:

SoCalGas representatives never ask a customer with a delinquent account to purchase a pre-paid debit, credit card, or cryptocurrency to avoid disconnection. Customers can make online payments by phone, automatic bank draft, mail or in person at an authorized SoCalGas payment center.

Customers with delinquent accounts always receive an advance disconnection notification with the regular monthly billing and never a single notification one hour before service disconnection.

Customers who suspect or experience fraud or feel threatened during contact with one of these thieves, should contact local authorities, and then SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200.

SoCalGas continues its efforts to protect its customers in a variety of ways including: bill messages and alerts, working with the media, and partnering with local law enforcement and officials.

Customers are also encouraged to enroll in My Account for free tracking alerts and other online tools. It's an easy way to monitor natural gas use each week  instead of waiting until the monthly bill arrives  and it can help customers use less natural gas to lower their bills. Once enrolled, they can easily access their gas usage information, pay bills, schedule service orders and sign up for Bill Tracker Alerts.

Get Social to #StopScams

Help us spread awareness about utility scams on social media by sharing stories, articles and tips using #StopScams. Follow the official UUAS channels on Twitter: @U_U_A_S and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UtilitiesUnited/ for the latest updates. For more information, visit http://www.utilitiesunited.org.

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californiansabout 60 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.

SoCalGas is committed to investing in its natural gas system infrastructure, while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2013 through 2017, the company spent nearly $6 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance safety and reliability. The company is also committed to being a leader in the region's clean energy future, and is working to accelerate the use of renewable natural gas from dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants and the development of renewable energy storage technologies. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.



SOURCE Southern California Gas Company

Related Links

https://www.socalgas.com


BRUSSELS, November 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The Aid Innovation Challenge has been won by Yolk, a South Korean based start-up on 14 November 2018 in Brussels at AidEx 2018 for their invention, the Solar Cow and Milk Power - a solar powered cow tackling child labour, whilst improving education and energy distribution with cow-shaped power banks.

The invention was created over a year ago after co-founder Sungun Chang considered the ineffective long-run of existing solar lanterns and wanted to provide a solution to multiple social complex problems with one simple solution.

About the winner

The Solar Cow is a social engineering project that provides positive reinforcement to parents in the form of an electrical power source in exchange of sending their children to school.

When children arrive at school in the morning, they just attach their batteries to the Solar Cow's udders. At the end of the school day, they can leave with the full supply of valuable electricity.

Families can save 10-20% of the income they used to spend for charging a phone. This means that parents are incentivised to send their children to school to get free electricity where the source is, as opposed to sending them to work.

Yolk received initial recognition for its 'million-dollar-selling Solar Paper' as they surpassed the $1 million mark in donations on Kickstarter which is the top 3% of the funding amount, and also became the first Korean company to succeed over 1 million.

Speaking to Chang upon winning the award, she said:

"I am very excited to participate in AidEx and win the competition. This event is a great platform to promote our product to the entire aid and development community, which can improve the livelihoods of families in developing countries."

Speaking on what made the product stand-out, Chang added:

"Child labour, education and energy distribution are all very complex problems and are consequently addressed individually. With the Solar Cow, we can chip away at all of these problems simultaneously - this is the power of the Solar Cow and Power Milk."

About AidEx

AidEx is the largest global gathering of humanitarian aid and development professionals that takes places in Brussels and Nairobi every year.

For further information contact:

[email protected]

+44-(0)-207-886-3076

SOURCE AidEx
PETACH TIKVA, Israel, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Giora Bardea, President and CEO of Strauss Group (TASE: STRS): "Strauss Group continues to deliver strong performance. The company's sales and profit continue to consistently improve in Israel and in international operations, despite the significant negative impact of changes in foreign currency on shekel results, particularly in the business in Brazil. Our focus remains on innovation based growth, combined with continued investment in productivity across all operations.

"In Israel, Strauss continues to outpace market growth for the eleventh successive quarter. In the reporting period the company increased its market share to 11.9% of the food and beverage sector. Revenue and market share growth were achieved, among other things, thanks to new product launches in all divisions.

"We are posting an excellent quarter also in Strauss's global operations, which account for around half of the Group's business. The joint venture in Brazil continues to grow, with sales volumes increasing significantly. However, due to negative currency translations that detracted NIS 100 million, growth was not reflected in shekel revenues. The international dips and spreads business is also growing at an impressive rate, as is Strauss Water's business in Israel and in other countries."

Q3

2018 highlights(1)

Organic sales growth, excluding foreign exchange effects, was c2.9%. Shekel sales were NIS c2.2 billion, similar to the corresponding period, and were impacted by negative currency translations amounting to NIS c108 million, mainly as a result of the depreciation of the BRL against the NIS compared to last year. It is noted that as at the publication date of the financial statements the BRL has appreciated against the NIS, regaining c7.3% in value versus the exchange rate at the end of the quarter.

Gross profit was NIS c812 million (c37.6% of sales), up c0.3% compared to the corresponding period. Gross margins were up c1.0%.

Operating profit (EBIT) was NIS c235 million (c10.9% of sales), up c6.1% compared to the corresponding period last year. EBIT margins were up c0.9%.

EPS for shareholders of the Company was NIS c1.25, up c14.8% compared to the corresponding period.

Positive cash flows from operating activities totaled NIS c248 million, compared to NIS c181 million in the corresponding period.

(1) Data represent the Company's non-GAAP figures, which include the proportionate consolidation of jointly controlled businesses (without implementation of IFRS 11) and do not include share-based payment, valuation of the balance of commodity hedging transactions as at end-of-period, including adjustments required for deferral of profit or loss from commodity derivatives until the inventory is sold to external parties, and other income and expenses, net, unless stated otherwise.

First nine months 2018 highlights(1)

Organic sales growth, excluding foreign exchange effects, was c5.6%. Shekel sales were NIS c6.4 billion compared to NIS 6.3 billion in the corresponding period in 2017; sales were impacted by negative currency translations amounting to NIS c210 million, mainly as a result of the depreciation of the BRL against the NIS compared to last year.

in the corresponding period in 2017; sales were impacted by negative currency translations amounting to NIS c210 million, mainly as a result of the depreciation of the BRL against the NIS compared to last year. Gross profit was NIS c2,458 million (c38.2% of sales), up c4.9% compared to the corresponding period last year. Gross margins were up c1.2%.

Operating profit (EBIT) was NIS c696 million (c10.8% of sales), up c10.4% compared to the corresponding period last year. EBIT margins were up c0.8%.

EPS for shareholders of the Company was NIS c3.50, up c15.0% compared to the corresponding period.

Positive cash flows from operating activities totaled NIS c544 million, compared to NIS c294 million in the corresponding period.

(1) Data represent the Company's non-GAAP figures, which include the proportionate consolidation of jointly controlled businesses (without implementation of IFRS 11) and do not include share-based payment, valuation of the balance of commodity hedging transactions as at end-of-period, including adjustments required for deferral of profit or loss from commodity derivatives until the inventory is sold to external parties, and other income and expenses, net, unless stated otherwise.

Non GAAP Figures (1)







Third Quarter

2018 2017 Change Total Group Sales (NIS mm) 2,158 2,210 -2.4% Organic Sales Growth excluding FX



2.9% Gross Profit (NIS mm) 812 809 0.3% Gross Margins (%) 37.6% 36.6% +100 bps EBITDA (NIS mm) 294 283 3.6% EBITDA Margins (%) 13.6% 12.8% +80 bps EBIT (NIS mm) 235 221 6.1% EBIT Margins (%) 10.9% 10.0% +90 bps Net Income Attributable to the

Company's Shareholders (NIS mm) 144 125 15.1% Net Income Margin Attributable to the

Company's Shareholders (%) 6.6% 5.6% +100 bps EPS (NIS) 1.25 1.09 14.8% Operating Cash Flow (NIS mm) 248 181 37.3% Capex (NIS mm) (2) (82) (57) 43.9% Net debt (NIS mm) 1,974 2,285 -13.6% Net debt / annual EBITDA 1.8x 2.3x (0.5x)









(1) Data represent the Company's non-GAAP figures, which include the proportionate consolidation of jointly controlled businesses (without implementation of IFRS 11) and do not include share-based payment, valuation of the balance of commodity hedging transactions as at end-of-period, including adjustments required for deferral of profit or loss from commodity derivatives until the inventory is sold to external parties, and other income and expenses, net, unless stated otherwise.

(2) Investments include the acquisition of fixed assets and investment in intangible assets.

Note: Financial data were rounded to NIS millions. Percentages changes were calculated on the basis of the exact figures in NIS thousands.

Non GAAP Figures (1)



















Third Quarter

Sales

(NIS mm) Sales

Growth

vs. Last Year Organic

Sales

Growth

excluding

FX EBIT

(NIS mm) NIS

Change in

EBIT % Change

in EBIT EBIT

margins Change in

EBIT margins

vs. 2017 Sales and EBIT by Operating

Segments and Activities















Strauss Israel:















Health & Wellness 575 4.2% 4.2% 62 0 0.5% 10.9% -40 bps Fun & Indulgence (2) 262 2.4% 2.4% 28 2 4.8% 10.3% +20 bps Total Strauss Israel 837 3.6% 3.6% 90 2 1.6% 10.7% -20 bps

















Strauss Coffee:















Coffee Israel 176 0.7% 0.7% 31 4 14.3% 17.4% +210 bps International Coffee (2) 792 -11.7% 0.8% 80 (15) -14.9% 10.1% -40 bps Total Strauss Coffee 968 -9.7% 0.9% 111 (11) -8.4% 11.4% +10 bps

















International Dips & Spreads:















Sabra (50%) (2) 175 4.2% 4.0% 14 11 307.8% 8.0% +590 bps Obela (50%) (2) 20 12.9% 18.0% (2) 1 NM NM NM Total International Dips & Spreads 196 5.1% 5.2% 12 12 NM 6.0% +590 bps

















Strauss Water (2)(3) 157 9.4% 9.3% 18 9 101.3% 11.5% +520 bps

















Other (4) 0 NM NM 4 2 56.7% NM NM Total Group 2,158 -2.4% 2.9% 235 14 6.1% 10.9% +90 bps



















(1) Data represent the Company's non-GAAP figures, which include the proportionate consolidation of jointly controlled businesses (without implementation of IFRS 11) and do not include share-based payment, valuation of the balance of commodity hedging transactions as at end-of-period, including adjustments required for deferral of profit or loss from commodity derivatives until the inventory is sold to external parties, and other income and expenses, net, unless stated otherwise.

(2) Fun & Indulgence figures include Strauss's 50% share in the salty snacks business. International Coffee figures include Strauss's 50% share in the Tres Coracoes joint venture (3C)  Brazil  a company jointly held by the Group (50%) and by the local Sao Miguel Group (50%). International D&S figures reflect Strauss's 50% share in Sabra and Obela. Strauss Water figures include Strauss's share in the joint venture in China, Haier Strauss Water (HSW). Until August 2017 the Company held a 34% stake in the joint venture, and commencing in September 2017, its percentage holding increased to 49% following the acquisition of an additional 15%.

(3) Commencing in the first quarter of 2018, Company Management has elected to report the results of the Strauss Water segment, formerly presented within the Other Operations segment, separately.

(4) In the second quarter of 2017 the Company sold the Max Brenner operation.

Note: Financial data were rounded to NIS millions. Percentages changes were calculated on the basis of the exact figures in NIS thousands. Total figures for International Dips & Spreads were calculated on the basis of the exact figures for Sabra and Obela in NIS thousands.

Non GAAP Figures (1)







First Nine Months

2018 2017 Change Total Group Sales (NIS mm) 6,428 6,335 1.5% Organic Sales Growth excluding FX



5.6% Gross Profit (NIS mm) 2,458 2,342 4.9% Gross Margins (%) 38.2% 37.0% +120 bps EBITDA (NIS mm) 869 804 8.2% EBITDA Margins (%) 13.5% 12.7% +80 bps EBIT (NIS mm) 696 631 10.4% EBIT Margins (%) 10.8% 10.0% +80 bps Net Income Attributable to the

Company's Shareholders (NIS mm) 402 338 18.8% Net Income Margin Attributable to the

Company's Shareholders (%) 6.2% 5.3% +90 bps EPS (NIS) 3.50 3.04 15.0% Operating Cash Flow (NIS mm) 544 294 85.2% Capex (NIS mm) (2) (228) (189) 20.6% Net debt (NIS mm) 1,974 2,285 -13.6% Net debt / annual EBITDA 1.8x 2.3x (0.5x)









(1) Data represent the Company's non-GAAP figures, which include the proportionate consolidation of jointly controlled businesses (without implementation of IFRS 11) and do not include share-based payment, valuation of the balance of commodity hedging transactions as at end-of-period, including adjustments required for deferral of profit or loss from commodity derivatives until the inventory is sold to external parties, and other income and expenses, net, unless stated otherwise.

(2) Investments include the acquisition of fixed assets and investment in intangibles assets.

Note: Financial data were rounded to NIS millions. Percentages changes were calculated on the basis of the exact figures in NIS thousands.

Non GAAP Figures (1)



















First Nine Months

Sales

(NIS mm) Sales

Growth

vs. Last Year Organic

Sales

Growth

excluding

FX EBIT

(NIS mm) NIS

Change in E

BIT % Change

in EBIT EBIT margins Change in

EBIT margins

vs. 2017 Sales and EBIT by Operating

Segments and Activities















Strauss Israel:















Health & Wellness 1,643 5.7% 5.7% 172 2 1.4% 10.5% -40 bps Fun & Indulgence (2) 838 3.6% 3.6% 96 7 7.7% 11.5% +50 bps Total Strauss Israel 2,481 5.0% 5.0% 268 9 3.5% 10.8% -20 bps

















Strauss Coffee:















Coffee Israel 551 2.7% 2.7% 90 6 8.0% 16.4% +80 bps International Coffee (2) 2,381 -3.9% 4.6% 247 17 7.2% 10.3% +100 bps Total Strauss Coffee 2,932 -2.7% 4.4% 337 23 7.4% 11.5% +110 bps

















International Dips & Spreads:















Sabra (50%) (2) 515 8.4% 11.1% 48 17 53.6% 9.4% +280 bps Obela (50%) (2) 58 19.1% 21.0% (7) 2 NM NM NM Total International Dips & Spreads 573 9.4% 12.0% 41 18 82.0% 7.2% +290 bps

















Strauss Water (2)(3) 442 9.2% 9.2% 45 18 65.4% 10.1% +340 bps

















Other (4) 0 -100.0% NM 5 (3) -38.0% NM NM Total Group 6,428 1.5% 5.6% 696 65 10.4% 10.8% +80 bps



















(1) Data represent the Company's non-GAAP figures, which include the proportionate consolidation of jointly controlled businesses (without implementation of IFRS 11) and do not include share-based payment, valuation of the balance of commodity hedging transactions as at end-of-period, including adjustments required for deferral of profit or loss from commodity derivatives until the inventory is sold to external parties, and other income and expenses, net, unless stated otherwise.

(2) Fun & Indulgence figures include Strauss's 50% share in the salty snacks business. International Coffee figures include Strauss's 50% share in the Tres Coracoes joint venture (3C)  Brazil  a company jointly held by the Group (50%) and by the local Sao Miguel Group (50%). International D&S figures reflect Strauss's 50% share in Sabra and Obela. Strauss Water figures include Strauss's share in the joint venture in China, Haier Strauss Water (HSW). Until August 2017 the Company held a 34% stake in the joint venture, and commencing in September 2017, its percentage holding increased to 49% following the acquisition of an additional 15%.

(3) Commencing in the first quarter of 2018, Company Management has elected to report the results of the Strauss Water segment, formerly presented within the Other Operations segment, separately.

(4) In the second quarter of 2017 the Company sold the Max Brenner operation.

Note: Financial data were rounded to NIS millions. Percentages changes were calculated on the basis of the exact figures in NIS thousands. Total figures for International Dips & Spreads were calculated on the basis of the exact figures for Sabra and Obela in NIS thousands.

Appendix

Condensed financial accounting (GAAP) Third Quarter

2018 2017 Change Sales 1,411 1,399 0.8% Cost of sales excluding impact of commodity hedges 856 855 0.1% Adjustments for commodity hedges 13 (1)

Cost of sales 869 854 1.8% Gross profit 542 545 -0.7% % of sales 38.4% 39.0%

Selling and marketing expenses 314 308 1.9% General and administrative expenses 86 96 -10.6% Total expenses 400 404

Share of profit of equity-accounted investees 66 26 149.5% Operating profit before other expenses 208 167 24.2% % of sales 14.7% 12.0%

Other expenses, net (2) -

Operating profit after other expenses 206 167 23.7% Financing expenses, net (25) (22) 14.2% Income before taxes on income 181 145 25.2% Taxes on income (38) (37) 3.4% Effective tax rate 20.8% 25.2%

Income for the period 143 108 32.5% Attributable to the Company's shareholders 129 94 35.7% Attributable to non-controlling interests 14 14 9.8%









Condensed financial accounting (GAAP) First Nine Months

2018 2017 Change Sales 4,205 4,095 2.7% Cost of sales excluding impact of commodity hedges 2,520 2,473 1.9% Adjustments for commodity hedges 0 18

Cost of sales 2,520 2,491 1.2% Gross profit 1,685 1,604 5.1% % of sales 40.1% 39.2%

Selling and marketing expenses 954 935 2.0% General and administrative expenses 284 275 3.3% Total expenses 1,238 1,210

Share of profit of equity-accounted investees 200 120 65.9% Operating profit before other expenses 647 514 25.8% % of sales 15.4% 12.6%

Other expenses, net - (7)

Operating profit after other expenses 647 507 27.7% Financing expenses, net (63) (90) -29.7% Income before taxes on income 584 417 40.2% Taxes on income (151) (77) 97.7% Effective tax rate 25.9% 18.3%

Income for the period 433 340 27.2% Attributable to the Company's shareholders 392 274 42.7% Attributable to non-controlling interests 41 66 -37.3%

















Note: Financial data were rounded to NIS millions. Percentages changes were calculated on the basis of the exact figures in NIS thousands.

Investor Conference Calls

Strauss Group will host an Investor Conference call at the offices of the company in Petach Tikva on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 14:00 (Israel time) to review the Financial Statements of the Company for the third quarter.

To listen to the conference in Hebrew, please call 03-918-0685.

Strauss Group will also host an Investor Conference call in English on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 17:30 local Israel time (15:30 UK, 10:30 EST) to review the Financial Statements of the Company for the third quarter.

To participate in the live call in English, please call one of the following numbers as appropriate:

From the UK: 0-800-917-9141

From the US: 1-888-407-2553

From Israel: 03-918-0644

The Financial Statements and Investors Presentation are posted on the Group's Investor Relations website at:

http://ir.strauss-group.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=92539&p=irol-irhome

For further information please contact :

Daniella Finn Director of Investor Relations Strauss Group Ltd. 972-54-577-2195 972-3-675-2545 [email protected] Osnat Golan VP Communications, Digital & Sustainability Strauss Group Ltd. 972-52-828-8111 972-3-675-2281 [email protected] Or Shlomi Sheffer External Communications Director Strauss Group Ltd. 972-50-620-8000 972-3-675-6713 [email protected]

SOURCE Strauss Group Ltd

Related Links

http://ir.strauss-group.com


The project, located on a wide flat ground, is the largest solar plant in Vietnam, and is expected to be connected to the grid in April 2019, significantly alleviating the local power shortage. It is also recognized as promoting regional economic growth while boosting job creation for the local community at large.

Sungrow's turnkey solution, the SG3125HV-MV, integrates the PV inverter, transformer and RMU housed in a standard 20-foot container, optimized for easy transportation, installation and maintenance. Furthermore, it features a DC/AC ratio up to 1.5 and enables an overall cost-savings, making it the ideal solution for this 201 MW utility-scale PV plant. A result of a 3-level topology and smart cooling design, it reaches a peak efficiency of 99% and can perform without derating at 50 degrees Celsius. For the Vietnamese market, having sustained power yield for solar farms in the scorching heat is essential for satisfactory project economics.

"We're excited to be a part of this 201 MW project, a landmark installation which presents our first utility-scale deal in Vietnam," said an executive from Bouygues. "We value Sungrow's proven performance track record and efficient commissioning features for the various interconnection requirements," he added.

Vietnam is witnessing a booming solar market projected for the next few years. Sungrow has realized significant traction in this emerging market with deals approaching 1 GW of volume, including a recently installed 100 MWp project in Dak Lak province. To provide better products and services for its local customers, Sungrow opened its Vietnam branch in early 2018. "As Vietnam's solar market continues to proliferate, Sungrow will continue to expand our local team, product offering, and service operations for clients," said Professor Cao Renxian, Chairman of Sungrow.

About Sungrow

Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd ("Sungrow") is a global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables with over 68GW installed worldwide as of June 2018. Founded in 1997 by University Professor Cao Renxian, Sungrow is a leader in the research and development of solar inverters, with the largest dedicated R&D team in the industry and a broad product portfolio offering PV inverter solutions and energy storage systems for utility-scale, commercial, and residential applications, as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions. With a strong 21-year track record in the PV space, Sungrow products power installations in over 60 countries, maintaining a worldwide market share of over 15%. Learn more about Sungrow by visiting www.sungrowpower.com.

SOURCE Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd
BOULDER, Colorado , Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA) announced today operating and financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. Surna designs, engineers and manufactures application-specific environmental control and air sanitation systems for commercial, state- and provincial-regulated indoor cannabis cultivation facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

Q3 2018 versus Q2 2018 Highlights

Key highlights comparing Q3 2018 to Q2 2018 are set forth below. Additionally, our condensed financial statements for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2018 are included at the end of this press release.

Our Q3 2018 revenue was $3,325,000 , an increase of $1,317,000 , or 66%, compared to Q2 2018.

, an increase of , or 66%, compared to Q2 2018. Our Q3 2018 net bookings were $3,328,000 , a decrease of $539,000 , or 14% compared to Q2 2018. See 'Sales Activity and Backlog' below

, a decrease of , or 14% compared to Q2 2018. See 'Sales Activity and Backlog' below Our ending backlog as of September 30, 2018 was $8,886,000 , an increase of $3,000 , or 1%, compared to our June 30, 2018 backlog.

was , an increase of , or 1%, compared to our backlog. Our Q3 2018 gross profit margin was 33%, an increase of seven percentage points from our Q2 2018 gross profit margin.

We realized a Q3 2018 net loss of $644,000 as compared to a Q2 2018 net loss of $1,401,000 , a decrease of $757,000 , or 54%. The Q3 2018 net loss included $574,000 of non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses and $48,000 of depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense as compared to $823,000 of non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses and $44,000 of depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense in Q2 2018. Excluding these non-cash items, our net loss was $22,000 , a decrease $512,000 or 96%.

as compared to a Q2 2018 net loss of , a decrease of , or 54%. The Q3 2018 net loss included of non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses and of depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense as compared to of non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses and of depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense in Q2 2018. Excluding these non-cash items, our net loss was , a decrease or 96%. As of September 30, 2018 , we had cash and cash equivalents of $1,417,000 , compared to cash and cash equivalents of $1,629,000 as of June 30, 2018 , a decrease of $212,000 , or 13%.

Our current management team was put in place just over a year ago with a primary objective of increasing revenue, improving operations and creating a visible path to sustained profitability. Q3 2018 marked the first quarter where the fruits of these efforts became visible across three of the Company's key operating metrics:

1. Revenue. Q3 2018 reflects a positive revenue-generating capability. Although, for a variety of reasons typical to most small businesses, it is certain that revenue will continue to be uneven in future quarters, management believes that the trend will continue and improve over time.

2. Margins. The seven-percentage point increase in gross margin to 33% in Q3 2018 demonstrates the Company's capability of improving margins contemporaneous with increasing revenue growthrather than sacrificing one for the other, as is sometimes the case for businesses seeking to ramp revenue.

3. Cash. The net loss, excluding non-cash, stock-based compensation, depreciation, and amortization expenses, of only $22,000 in Q3 2018 demonstrates the Company's ability to conserve cash as our revenue level increases. As with the uncertainty surrounding revenue and changes in revenue from quarter to quarter, the Company also cannot accurately forecast whether it will generate or use cash over the next few quarters. Nonetheless, the Company remains highly focused on its cash balance as a key operating metric.

Chris Bechtel, the Company's CEO stated: "While we realize that one quarter is just that and the Company still has losses, Q3 2018 was nonetheless a gratifying validation of the foundation that we have established and the operational improvements that have been implemented across every aspect of Surna's business over the last four quarters. If and when Surna achieves sustained positive cash flow over a number of quarters, we believe that proof point will be a significant differentiating factor in our industry and correspondingly open up a wide range of strategic opportunities that may not otherwise be available to us or other companies consuming cash in our industry. We further believe that cash flow positive companies in our industry have the ability to maximize the visibility, liquidity and marketability of their public shares and build shareholder value. Surna is working toward being one of those companies."

Year-to-Date Highlights

Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was $7,387,000 compared to $4,901,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 , an increase of $2,486,000 , or 51%.

was compared to for the nine months ended , an increase of , or 51%. We had a net loss of $3,928,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 , as compared to a net loss of $3,553,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 , an increase of $375,000 , or 11%. However, the net loss included $2,067,000 of non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses and $119,000 of depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense in the nine months ended September 30, 2018 as compared to non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of $1,271,000 and depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense of $34,000 in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 . Excluding these non-cash items, our net loss was $1,742,000 , a decrease of $506,000 or 23%.

Sales Activity and Backlog

During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we entered into sales orders for 28 projects, each with a sales value over $100,000, which we refer to as commercial-scale projects. These commercial-scale projects represented aggregate net bookings of $11,609,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, or an average of $415,000. This compares to 21 commercial-scale projects representing aggregate net bookings of $6,749,000 for the entire 2017 year, or an average of $321,000.

The following table sets forth our net bookings of commercial-scale projects for each cohort period presented (meaning, the commercial-scale contracts executed during each period for which we received an initial deposit, adjusted for any change orders or cancellations for that cohort group to date) by country/state.



























For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018

For the Year Ended December 31, 2017

Number of New Commercial-Scale Projects

Total Commercial-Scale Project Net Bookings

Average Commercial-Scale Project Net Bookings

Number of New Commercial-Scale Projects

Total Commercial-Scale Project Net Bookings

Average Commercial-Scale Project Net Bookings Canada 9

$ 3,393,442

$ 377,049

7

$ 3,302,917

$ 471,845 California 6

2,141,379

356,896

1

262,336

262,336 Colorado -

-

-

3

421,948

140,649 Arizona -

-

-

3

785,547

261,849 Oregon 1

370,898

370,898

2

403,365

201,682 Washington 3

1,859,413

619,804

1

170,976

170,976 Massachusetts 1

594,748

594,748

-

-

- Ohio 1

135,860

135,860

-

-

- Alaska -

-

-

1

297,500

297,500 Rhode Island 1

400,003

400,003

1

227,680

227,680 Nevada -

-

-

1

556,950

556,950 Texas -

-

-

1

319,557

319,557 Michigan 3

1,368,630

456,210

-

-

- New Mexico 1

104,772

104,772

-

-

- Maryland 1

405,343

405,343

-

-

- Arkansas 1

834,578

834,578

-

-

-























Total 28

$ 11,609,065

$ 414,609

21

$ 6,748,776

$ 321,370

The following table sets forth: (i) our beginning backlog (the remaining contract value of outstanding sales contracts for which we have received an initial deposit as of the previous period), (ii) our net bookings for the period (new sales contracts executed during the period for which we received an initial deposit, net of any adjustments including change orders during the period), (iii) our recognized revenue for the period, and (iv) our ending backlog for the period (the sum of the beginning backlog and net bookings, less recognized revenue).



















For the quarter ended



September 30, 2017 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2018 June 30, 2018 September 30, 2018 Backlog, beginning balance $ 3,933,000 $ 4,311,000 $ 4,456,000 $ 7,024,000 $ 8,883,000 Net bookings, current period $ 1,944,000 $ 2,454,000 $ 4,623,000 $ 3,867,000 $ 3,328,000 Recognized revenue, current period $ 1,566,000 $ 2,309,000 $ 2,055,000 $ 2,008,000 $ 3,325,000 Backlog, ending balance $ 4,311,000 $ 4,456,000 $ 7,024,000 $ 8,883,000 $ 8,886,000















We believe net bookings in any given cohort quarter are our best leading indicator of revenue that we may recognize in the ensuing two to eight quarters from that cohort. However, our backlog includes projects for which we have only received an initial deposit and, as a result, there are potential risks that the equipment portion of these projects will not be completed or will be delayed.

About Surna Inc.

Surna Inc. ( www.surna.com ) designs, engineers and manufactures application-specific environmental control and air sanitation systems for commercial, state- and provincial-regulated indoor cannabis cultivation facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Our engineering and technical team provides energy and water efficient solutions that allow growers to meet the unique demands of a cannabis cultivation environment through precise temperature, humidity, light, and process controls and to satisfy the evolving code and regulatory requirements being imposed at the state and local levels.

Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, we leverage our experience in this space in order to bring value-added climate control solutions to our customers that help improve their overall crop quality and yield as well as optimize the resource efficiency of their controlled environment (i.e., indoor and greenhouses) cultivation facilities. We have been involved in consulting, equipment sales and/or full-scale design for over 700 grow facilities since 2006 making us a trusted resource for indoor environmental design and control management for the cannabis industry.

Our customers have included small cultivation operations to licensed commercial facilities ranging from several thousand to more than 100,000 square feet. We have sold our equipment and systems throughout the U.S. and Canada as well as internationally in South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Our revenue stream is derived primarily from supplying mechanical engineering services and climate and environmental control equipment to commercial indoor cannabis grow facilities. We also sell equipment to smaller cultivators who can purchase either directly from us, or from our authorized wholesalers or retailers. Though our customers do, we neither produce nor sell cannabis.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. These statements reflect our current beliefs, and a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in this press release, including the factors set forth in "Risk Factors" set forth in our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and subsequent filings with the SEC. Please refer to our SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties associated with our business prospects and the prospects of our existing and prospective customers; the inherent uncertainty of product development; regulatory, legislative and judicial developments, especially those related to changes in, and the enforcement of, cannabis laws; increasing competitive pressures in our industry; and relationships with our customers and suppliers. Except as required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The reference to Surna's website has been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such website is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our financial results on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") basis, we use the non-GAAP measures including net bookings and backlog, as well as other significant non-cash expenses such as stock-based compensation and depreciation expenses. We believe these non-GAAP measures are helpful in understanding our past performance and are intended to aid in evaluating our potential future results. The presentation of these non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to our GAAP results and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information prepared or presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way to view aspects of our operations that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business.

Statement about Cannabis Markets

The use, possession, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis is prohibited by U.S. federal law. This includes medical and recreational cannabis. Although certain states have legalized medical and recreational cannabis, companies and individuals involved in the sector are still at risk of being prosecuted by federal authorities. Further, the landscape in the cannabis industry changes rapidly. This means that at any time the city, county, or state where cannabis is permitted can change the current laws and/or the federal government can supersede those laws and take prosecutorial action. Given the uncertain legal nature of the cannabis industry, it is imperative that investors understand that investments in the cannabis industry should be considered very high risk. A change in the current laws or enforcement policy can negatively affect the status and operation of our business, require additional fees, stricter operational guidelines and unanticipated shut-downs.

Table 1

Surna Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)









September 30, 2018

December 31, 2017 ASSETS





Current Assets





Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,416,882

$ 2,468,199 Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $108,949 and $105,267, respectively) 325,305

422,589 Other receivables -

550 Inventory, net 501,198

522,622 Prepaid expenses 349,419

293,458 Total Current Assets 2,592,804

3,707,418 Noncurrent Assets





Property and equipment, net 530,155

401,356 Goodwill 631,064

631,064 Intangible assets, net 24,282

37,985 Deposits 51,000

51,000 Total Noncurrent Assets 1,236,501

1,121,405







TOTAL ASSETS $ 3,829,305

$ 4,828,823







LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY













CURRENT LIABILITIES





Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 2,113,716

$ 1,969,263 Deferred revenue 555,417

1,011,871 Amounts due to shareholders -

6,927 Derivative liability on warrants -

410,880 Total Current Liabilities 2,669,133

3,398,941







NONCURRENT LIABILITIES





Deferred Rent 112,382

17,396 Total Noncurrent Liabilities 112,382

17,396







TOTAL LIABILITIES 2,781,515

3,416,337







Commitments and Contingencies (Note 8)













SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY





Preferred stock, $0.00001 par value; 150,000,000 shares authorized; 77,220,000 shares issued and outstanding 772

772 Common stock, $0.00001 par value; 350,000,000 shares authorized; 223,834,604 and 206,248,522 shares issued and outstanding, respectively 2,238

2,062 Additional paid in capital 24,575,798

20,664,563 Accumulated deficit (23,531,018)

(19,254,911) Total Shareholders' Equity 1,047,790

1,412,486







TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 3,829,305

$ 4,828,823

















Table 2

Surna Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

















Three Months Ended September 30,

Nine Months Ended September 30,

2018

2017

2018

2017 Revenue, net $ 3,324,621

$ 1,566,256

$ 7,387,094

$ 4,901,241















Cost of revenue 2,228,069

1,175,047

5,385,103

3,668,698















Gross profit 1,096,552

391,209

2,001,991

1,232,543















Operating expenses:













Advertising and marketing expenses 223,474

168,476

658,393

484,418 Product development costs 75,448

60,145

207,537

250,228 Selling, general and administrative expenses 1,440,995

1,396,957

5,101,773

3,518,528 Total operating expenses 1,739,917

1,625,578

5,967,703

4,253,174















Operating loss (643,365)

(1,234,369)

(3,965,712)

(3,020,631)















Other income (expense):













Interest and other income (expense), net (197)

1,016

16,293

3,808 Interest expense -

-

(35)

(41,233) Amortization of debt discount on convertible promissory notes -

(10,037)

-

(63,157) Loss on extinguishment of debt -

(228,428)

-

(643,428) Gain (loss) on change in derivative liabilities -

(6,660)

21,403

212,054 Total other income (expense) (197)

(244,109)

37,661

(531,956)















Loss before provision for income taxes (643,562)

(1,478,478)

(3,928,051)

(3,552,587)















Income taxes -

-

-

-















Net loss $ (643,562)

$ (1,478,478)

$ (3,928,051)

$ (3,552,587)















Loss per common share  basic and dilutive $ (0.00)

$ (0.01)

$ (0.02)

$ (0.02)















Weighted average number of common shares outstanding, basic and dilutive 222,782,404

184,912,253

216,836,968

179,470,179

































Table 3

Surna Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)









For the Nine Months Ended September 30,

2018

2017 Cash Flows From Operating Activities:





Net loss $ (3,928,051)

$ (3,552,587) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:





Depreciation and intangible asset amortization expense 118,999

34,087 Amortization of debt discounts -

38,433 Amortization of original issue discount on notes payable -

25,520 Gain on change in derivative liabilities (21,403)

(212,054) Compensation paid in equity 2,067,191

1,270,933 Provision for doubtful accounts 3,682

1,715 Provision for excess and obsolete inventory 4,926

208,801 Loss on extinguishment of debt -

643,428 Loss on disposal of other assets 19,278

-







Changes in operating assets and liabilities:





Accounts and other receivable 94,152

(207,205) Inventory 16,498

(15,066) Prepaid expenses (55,960)

(119,753) Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 368,328

112,516 Deferred revenue (399,542)

(179,525) Accrued interest -

(10,574) Deferred rent (5,014)

- Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (1,716,916)

(1,961,331)







Cash Flows From Investing Activities





Capitalization of intangible assets (2,503)

(16,454) Purchases of property and equipment (232,109)

(14,566) Proceeds from payment of tenant improvement allowance 100,000

- Cash disbursed for equipment held for lease (16,237)

- Cash disbursed for lease deposit -

(51,000) Payments received on note receivable -

157,218 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (150,849)

75,198







Cash Flows From Financing Activities





Cash proceeds from sale of common stock and warrants 1,210,000

2,685,000 Payments on convertible notes payable -

(270,000) Proceeds from issuance of notes payable -

500,000 Proceeds from exercises of stock options 3,375

- Proceeds from exercise of investor warrants 15,000

- Repurchase of common shares from related party (400,000)

- Purchase of option to repurchase preferred stock from related party (5,000)

- Payments on loans from shareholders (6,927)

(47,707) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 816,448

2,867,293







Net (decrease) increase in cash (1,051,317)

981,160 Cash, beginning of period 2,468,199

319,546 Cash, end of period $ 1,416,882

$ 1,300,706







Supplemental cash flow information:





Interest paid $ 35

$ 44,150







Non-cash investing and financial activities:





Conversions of promissory notes and accrued interest to common stock $ -

$ 1,205,856 Equity issued in settlement $ 226,400

$ - Extinguishment of derivative liability on cashless exercise of warrants $ 389,477

$ - Unpaid purchases of equipment and other assets $ 2,525

$ -









Media Contact:

Surna Marketing

Jamie English

Director of Marketing

[email protected]

+1-(303) 993-5271

SOURCE Surna Inc.
As one of the organization's signature events that has touched millions of lives, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day  will once again bring thousands of breast cancer survivors, co-survivors and supporters to this inspiring event in seven markets across the country in 2019, including Michigan, Twin Cities, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Diego, and the New England region.

"We're thrilled to embark on another year of this incredible, life-changing series," said Paula Schneider, CEO of Susan G. Komen. "This event annually brings together people who are 'all in' in the fight against breast cancer. This three day journey is the climax of a year-long commitment to train and raise critical funds that are vital to helping us achieve our bold goal of reducing the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50% in the U.S. by 2026."

The 2019 Susan G. Komen 3-Day experience will feature enhanced offerings, including a 30-mile milestone moment, a Saturday evening tribute, new local routes and camp activities. The weekend will begin with a moving sunrise Opening Ceremony, continue on through two eventful nights with the Komen 3-Day community and finally come to a close as walkers reach the finish line to celebrate their 60-mile journeys.

The event invites countless supporters from all walks of life each year to register, commit and participate in a weekend full of celebration and commemoration of those in the fight against breast cancer. With more than 10,000 miles walked and $834 million raised since its inception, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day continues to inspire and strengthen the breast cancer community with its commitment to funding, research and education for survivors and co-survivors.

Walkers converge on each city with personal stories of triumph and survival with the goal of accomplishing the 60-mile challenge year after year.

"When I lost my best friend Lori to breast cancer in 2007, I also lost my meaning for life. But the Susan G. Komen 3-Day gave it back to me. I knew I had to walk in her honor and only planned on participating once, but it was on day two of my very first Komen 3-Day that I was hooked for life," Jennifer Rosado, a native of the Boston, MA area, passionately expressed. "It's a transformative experience filled with a community of love, encouragement, and sisterhood. I'm so thrilled the 3-Day Series is returning to the New England region next year. Now I can continue my work for Lori and millions of others with my close friends and family cheering me on."

"The doctors only gave me two years to live, and I'm now marking seven since my stage 3A triple negative diagnosis," said Ricki Fairley, a seven time Susan G. Komen 3-Day walker who will participate in the Susan G. Komen San Diego 3-Day on Nov. 14-16, alongside her two daughters ages 26 and 33, and 15-month old granddaughter. "I walk the 60-miles because I have to. My life's purpose is to raise awareness for breast cancer education and to raise funds. There are countless women who can't walk or fundraise, but I can. I don't want breast cancer to be a factor for my granddaughter so whatever I can do towards that end, I will."

The Commit 3 Days campaign will provide an intimate glimpse into the lives of everyday women and men who are impacted by breast cancer firsthand, as well as their families and friends who are committed to fundraising and walking 60 miles to get one step closer to saving lives.



Using stark, authentic black and white imagery, Commit 3 Days will be distributed on a myriad of platforms including TV commercials, digital, out-of-home and consumer experiences. Supplemental campaign elements will be rolled out in 2019 in advance of the events beginning August 2019.

For more information on the 2019 Komen 3-Day Series, including the full event schedule and registration process, visit www.The3Day.org.

For media inquiries:

Camille Currie

212-488-1264

[email protected]

About Susan G. Komen

Susan G. Komen is the world's largest breast cancer organization, funding more breast cancer research since our founding than any other nonprofit (outside of the federal government) while providing real-time help to those facing the disease today. Komen has set a Bold Goal to reduce the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50% in the U.S. by 2026. On any given day, Susan G. Komen provides:

More than 580 free or low-cost screenings

114 diagnostic services

90 people with treatment assistance funding

More than 340 patient navigation services

Information, support and resources to 35 people who contact the Komen Breast Care Helpline

More than 1,500 people with vital education through our local Komen Affiliates

Transportation assistance to 47 people to keep them in treatment

Since its founding in 1982, Komen has funded more than $988 million in research and provided more than $2.2 billion in funding to screening, diagnostics, education, treatment and psychosocial support programs serving millions of people in 60 countries worldwide. Komen was founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, she would end the disease that claimed Suzy's life. That promise has become Komen's promise to all people facing breast cancer. Visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

SUSAN G. KOMEN 3-DAY 

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day is a 60-mile walk for women and men who are ready to end breast cancer forever. Participants raise a minimum of $2,300 and walk an average of 20 miles a day for three consecutive days, educating tens of thousands of people about breast health and raising funds to help support breast cancer research and community outreach programs. Over the past 15 years and 163 events, the Komen 3-Day has raised more than $834 millionwhich Komen has used to save lives and make huge strides in breast cancer research. Susan G. Komen has set a Bold Goal to reduce the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50 percent in the U.S. by 2026. Seventy-five percent of the net proceeds raised by the 3-Day help Komen support the global research program and other mission objectives, while the remaining 25 percent helps Affiliates support local programs including medical assistance, patient navigation and provider education, for example.

Sponsored by Bank of America, the 2019 3-Day Series includes seven events in Michigan (August 2-4), Twin Cities (August 16-18), New England (September 6-8), Seattle (September 13-15), Philadelphia (September 27-29), Dallas/Fort Worth (November 1-3), and San Diego (November 15-17).

Please visit www.The3Day.org or call 800-996-3DAY for more information. Connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/The3Day, Twitter @The3Day and Instagram @Komen3Day.

SOURCE Susan G. Komen 3-Day

Related Links

http://the3day.org


SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Canadian-based Social Venture Connexion (SVX) officially launched its investment platform in the U.S. SVX is a platform offering debt and equity investment opportunities in high impact companies, organizations and funds that can deliver positive social and environmental impact alongside financial return.

Using the innovative SVX impact investment platform, tech nonprofit TechSoup intends to raise $11.5 million through a Direct Public Offering (DPO). TechSoup connects civil society organizations and changemakers around the world to the resources they need to design and implement technology solutions for a more equitable planet.

The TechSoup DPO, which includes three tiers of debt securities investments, marks the first time the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has qualified a nonprofit to raise funds nationally through a Regulation A+ / Tier 2 offering. With investment minimums as low as $50, it is uniquely structured to engage with TechSoup's community, including the nonprofits they serve, the technology companies they support, and those who have supported TechSoup for 30 years.

SVX.US is being launched in collaboration with SVX Canada, Cutting Edge Capital, and Bequia Securities, a U.S. SEC registered broker dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC. For more information on TechSoup's offering and SVX.US services, please visit https://svx.us.com/.

QUICK FACTS

For every $100 invested, TechSoup is able to distribute an estimated $47,000 of additional resources to nonprofits.

invested, TechSoup is able to distribute an estimated of additional resources to nonprofits. TechSoup has reached more than one million organizations in 236 countries and territories around the world. The DPO will enable it to make additional inroads into the global nonprofit/NGO sector, which is made up of more than 12.3 million NGOs and an estimated workforce of 251 million people.

In Canada , SVX has supported enterprises, funds and organizations that have raised over $100 million in capital since 2013.

, SVX has supported enterprises, funds and organizations that have raised over in capital since 2013. According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the top 200+ impact investors have $228 billion dedicated to impact investments, a figure which doubled between 2017 to 2018.

dedicated to impact investments, a figure which doubled between 2017 to 2018. According to a recent survey by U.S. Trust, four in 10 wealthy U.S. investors  including 77% of Millennials and 59% of Gen X  either own impact investments or are interested in impact investing. According to the 2017 Sustainable Signals survey by Morgan Stanley, 75% of all investors are interested in sustainable investing.

QUOTES

"SVX is delighted to collaborate across borders by starting up in the U.S. impact investing market with TechSoup's offering. This opportunity is open to a growing group of investors who are increasingly interested in aligning their investments with their values, from foundations to family offices to the general public. We are excited to make impact investing accessible to all investors from Wall Street to Main Street."

Adam Spence, Founder and Director, SVX Canada

"Launching the SVX.US platform with TechSoup is the perfect start for us. TechSoup has demonstrated significant measurable impact for years and has been a global leader putting social values first. This offering allows us to signal to Investors that only highly curated issuers will be added to our platform, while applying traditional approaches to due diligence and suitability via Bequia's own commitment to this socially-responsible space."

John Katovich, Principal at Bequia Securities and Co-Founder, SVX.US

"It was essential to us to shape an impact investment that was inclusive, giving as many of our stakeholders as possible an opportunity to engage and influence our future. The DPO and SVX as our investment platform make it possible for us to democratize access to a unique impact investment that can have meaningful social returns for our community of stakeholders as well as financial returns. This funding will help us to realize five long-term strategic initiatives that enable TechSoup to rapidly bring new services to nonprofit and philanthropic communities and continue to generate significant social impact."

Rebecca Masisak, CEO, TechSoup

Media Contacts

John Katovich, SVX.US

[email protected]

Annie Dizon, TechSoup

[email protected]

Anisha Jain, SVX.CA

[email protected]

About SVX.US

Partnering with SVX Canada and Cutting Edge Capital, and utilizing the broker dealer expertise of Bequia Securities, SVX.US improves access across borders, enhances shared capacity, technology, and knowledge, and creates a single access point for all impact investors and issuers. The platform focuses on social and environmental criteria and delivers tailored programming to support the unique needs of the entire marketplace. Socially motivated investors can rely on the platform to find curated company and fund offerings that value employment, governance and stakeholder engagement, equal to sound and responsible business practices. For more information, please visit https://svx.us.com/ .

About TechSoup

TechSoup provides the transformative technology solutions, the digital platforms, and the in-person experiences that enable people to work together toward a more equitable world. With 70 partner NGOs around the world, TechSoup manages the only global philanthropy program that brings together more than 100 tech companies to provide technology donations to NGOs everywhere. TechSoup's data and validation services enable companies, foundations, and governments to connect their philanthropic resources with vetted NGOs around the world. In the past 30 years, TechSoup has reached 1.06 million NGOs and distributed technology products and grants valued at more than $11.1 billion. https://www.techsoup.org/

About SVX Canada

SVX is an impact investing platform for ventures, funds, and investors seeking social and/or environmental impact alongside the potential for financial return. We provide a single access point for raising capital and making investments. We work across sectors including cleantech, health, education, food, and social inclusion to help enterprises raise capital so they can focus on their business. We work with all investors, from foundations and family offices to everyday investors, to help them make good impact investments through education, advice, transaction support, and management. SVX is powered by MaRS Discovery District in collaboration with the TMX Group Inc. and the Government of Ontario. SVX is a nonprofit organization based in Canada registered with local securities regulators as an Exempt Market Dealer (EMD), with a network of platform partners in the US and Mexico. For more information, please visit www.svx.ca .

SOURCE TechSoup

Related Links

http://www.techsoup.org


LONDON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced the SL869T3-I. The new positioning module combines GPS, NavIC, and GAGAN, which enables the creation of high-performance position reporting and navigation solutions.

The SL869T3-I complies with Automotive Industry Standard 140 (AIS-140). An Indian government mandate that requires the use of NavIC for vehicle location tracking devices in all public transportation vehicles, effective April 2019.

The SL869T3-I is a 16 x 12.2mm module with an LLC package. The SL869T3-I is provided with a single RF input for L1 and L5 bands. It also contains Flash memory, a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) and SAW filters. The RF front end is specifically designed to comply with sensitivity specifications contained in AIS-140 standard.

For more information, visit http://info.telit.com/gnss.

"The new SL869T3-I is among the first IoT GNSS positioning receiver modules to deliver IRNSS/NavIC L5 coverage compliant with the Indian government's AIS-140 regulation," said Manish Watwani, EVP Global Product Management, Telit. "This new addition to the Telit family of products results from more than 20 years' experience in GNSS applications."

For more information, visit booth C3.227 at Electronica, November 13-16 in Munich, Germany.

About Telit

Telit (AIM: TCM), is a global leader in Internet of Things (IoT) enablement, with an extensive portfolio of wireless connectivity modules, platforms, virtual cellular IoT operator services, and professional services, empowering hundreds of millions of connected 'things' to date, and trusted by thousands of direct and indirect customers, globally. With nearly two decades of IoT innovation experience, Telit continues to redefine the boundaries of digital business, by delivering secure, integrated end-to-end IoT solutions for many of the world's largest brands, including enterprises, OEMs, system integrators and service providers across all industries, enabling their pursuit of enterprise digital transformation.

Copyright  2018 Telit Communications PLC. All rights reserved. Telit and all associated logos are trademarks of Telit Communications PLC in the United States and other countries. Other names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts

Leslie Hart

Telit

919-415-1510

[email protected]

Gaby Lechin

Valerie Christopherson

GRC for Telit

+1 949 608 0276

[email protected]

SOURCE Telit

Related Links

https://www.telit.com/


WILSONVILLE, Ore., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Avamere Family of Companies announced today a strategic organization change to move from a company of individual entities (Avamere Living, Infinity Rehab and Signature Healthcare At Home) to a cohesive post-acute and community-based health care system.

The executive and business division leadership teams will move to a matrix organizational structure to manage and lead the business operations, strategic priorities and support services.

Founder Rick Miller will remain Chief Executive Officer.

will remain Chief Executive Officer. Larry Lopardo will be the Chief Legal Officer.

will be the Chief Legal Officer. Ron Odermott will be the Chief Financial Officer.

will be the Chief Financial Officer. Bob Thomas is now Chief Operations Officer.

is now Chief Operations Officer. Ryan Haller is the Chief Development Officer.

is the Chief Development Officer. Mike Billings is the Executive Vice President of Avamere, Ancillaries.

is the Executive Vice President of Avamere, Ancillaries. Matt Hilty is the Executive Vice President of Avamere, Communities.

is the Executive Vice President of Avamere, Communities. Donna Mueller is now the Executive Vice President of Avamere, Strategy and Network Development.

is now the Executive Vice President of Avamere, Strategy and Network Development. JoLynn Munro is now the Infinity Rehab Division President.

is now the Infinity Rehab Division President. Mary Kofstad takes the helm of Signature Healthcare at Home as Division President.

takes the helm of Signature Healthcare at Home as Division President. Nicolette Merino assumes the role of Ovation Division President.

assumes the role of Ovation Division President. Brad Litle becomes the Division President for Skilled Nursing Facilities.

becomes the Division President for Skilled Nursing Facilities. A Division President for Community Based Care will be named soon.

"This is an exciting time for the Avamere Family of Companies," states CEO Rick Miller. "With this new organizational structure, our company will be able to more effectively uphold our mission, core values, quality initiatives, growth, our level of care and social responsibility."

"Change creates opportunities for our people," affirms Bob Thomas, COO. "I want them to feel the impact of these changes and actively be a part of them."

He went on to emphasize the need for this change in an evolving health care environment. "We need to change internally to meet the demands of a growing and transforming health care system. Our customers deserve a seamless experience during this process."

About Avamere Family of Companies

Founded in 1995 and based in Wilsonville, Oregon, Avamere Family of Companies provides assisted living, independent living, memory care, rehabilitation, home care, transitional care and more. Today Avamere operates nearly 61 communities with over 8,600 employees. Avamere is proud to be considered one of Oregon's most admired companies as they continue to serve their valued patients and residents. For more information, please visit www.avamere.com.

For press inquiries, please email [email protected].

Related Images

avamere-organizational-change.png

avamere-organizational-change.png

avamere-health-services-logo.jpg

Related Links

Website

SOURCE Avamere Family of Companies

Related Links

http://avamere.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) Market Analysis Report By Product (Web hosted, Cloud based, On Premise), By Component, By End Use (Life Sciences, CRO), And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05620877



The global laboratory information management system (LIMS) market size is likely to reach USD 2.22 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., rising at a CAGR of 9.1% during the forecast period. Burgeoning trend of laboratory automation is estimated to stoke the growth of the market.



Increasing investments in R&D activities by pharma and biotechnological organizations are providing a significant push to the market.Growing focus on improving efficiency of laboratories is also expected to help the market gain tremendous momentum over the coming years.



Rising emphasis on complying with stringent regulations is also encouraging the deployment of laboratory information management systems, as they comply with GDP, GCP, and GMP.



Laboratory information management systems help in ensuring effective management and tracking of data quality, security, end-user billing, patient demographics, and security. being increasingly implemented for bio banking. They also enable improved data sampling and research information integration. As a result, their demand is high in bio-sampling applications. However, limited availability of skilled professional to manage advanced technologies is projected to hamper growth prospects.



Further key findings from the report suggest:

 The services component segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2017, owing to rising lab automation, which requires implementation, maintenance, and support.

 The CRO segment is poised to experience a lucrative CAGR of 9.8% during the forecast period, due to increasing demand for outsourcing LIMS solutions to curb operating cost.

 North America was the leading revenue contributor in the market in 2017, due to favorable government initiatives, soaring demand for genomic studies, and growing investments in R&D activities by governments

 Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness remarkable growth during the forecast period due to rising demand for outsourcing and increasing expenditure in the R&D sector. Japan is projected to be a sight of high growth rate in the region

 Some of the key companies present in the market are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.; Siemens Group SA; LabWare; PerkinElmer Inc.; Abbott Laboratories; and Autoscribe Informatics.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05620877



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sternal Closure Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Closure Devices, Bone Cement), By Material (Stainless Steel, PEEK, Titanium), By Procedure, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05620878



The global sternal closure systems market size is expected to reach USD 2.96 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period. The market is driven by growing number of surgeries undertaken to treat complex cardiovascular problems. For instance, according to data published by American Heart Association (AHA), around 520,000 Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgeries were performed in the U.S. in 2014. The report further states that more than 800,000 CABG surgeries are performed worldwide every year.



Furthermore, the National Health Interview Survey conducted by CDC in 2016 concluded that 28.1 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with heart related disorders, including valvular heart disease and cardiac arrest. Moreover, increasing research and development activities are paving way for advanced systems such as talon systems and double sternal wires. This, coupled with favorable reimbursement criteria, is bolstering market growth.



Mergers and acquisitions, new product development, and geographical expansion are key strategies adopted by players to stay ahead in the market. For instance, KLS Martin, started its sales operations in the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, France, Australia, Russia, Dubai, Japan, Malaysia, and Brazil in last couple of years in order to increase its geographical presence. The company is also focusing on Asia Pacific due to presence of large patient pool in the region. In line with the strategy, in June 2016, the company started a manufacturing unit in Chennai, India.



Further key findings from the report suggest:

 Rising adoption of cardiothoracic surgeries, including Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), Aortic valve surgery, and Arrhythmia surgery, is projected to augment the market

 Growing population of geriatrics across the globe is expected to stoke the growth of the market

 The closure devices segment held the leading share in the global arena in 2017, owing to introduction of technologically advanced clips and wires globally and favorable reimbursement regulations offered in developed regions such as North America and Europe

 The PEEK segment is anticipated to post significant growth over the coming years due to several benefits offered by the material, including biocompatibility, chemical resistance, end-product purity, high temperature resistance, and thermoformable nature

 North America dominated the market in 2017. The growth of the region can be attributed to presence of a large number of players and high competitive rivalry in the market. Moreover, rising adoption of technologically advanced systems coupled with presence of skilled professionals are likely to provide a fillip to the regional market

 Asia Pacific is poised to register the highest CAGR during forecast period. Increasing per capita income, improving healthcare infrastructure, and rising patient pool are estimated to drive the market

 The market is currently consolidated, with few companies capturing major shares. However, increasing demand for innovative technologies and recent market dynamics are making way for new entrants.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05620878



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


The international guests were invited to one of Mead Johnson's largest R&D centers in the world. For the benefit of interested mothers, their journey was broadcast in real-time on four livestream platforms China including Tmall, Taobao, Suning and Yi Zhi Bo. This marked the first time a US infant-formula brand ever held a livestream dedicated to educating mothers in China about cutting-edge pediatric nutritional science.

The History Wall: A century-old brand boasts a moving story of origin

The visit started at the Mead Johnson History Wall, which details a story dating back over 100 years, when scientific and medical technology lagged far behind where it is today. The first child of E. Mead Johnson, founder of Mead Johnson Nutrition, was born with a congenital heart defect, which affected his feeding and nutrition. The family worked with pediatrician Dr. Abraham Jacobi (recognized today as the father of American pediatrics) who provided them a feeding mixture which saved the baby's life.

Years later, E. Mead Johnson was inspired by his son's experience and hoped to help children all over the world achieve a better life. His focus in infant nutrition research to help more babies in need of care has led to the Mead Johnson Nutrition operation of today.

The MJPNI (Mead Johnson Pediatric Nutrition Institute) : Mead Johnson's century-long dedication to providing babies better nutrition through human milk research

After learning about the company's origin, the three Chinese influencers found another profound experience at the MJPNI Evansville Technology Center, which is one of several R&D centers that focuses on cutting-edge science. As a global leader in pediatric nutrition research and development, Mead Johnson has applied this cutting-edge pediatric nutrition research to product development since its inception.

In the Evansville R&D center, the scientists shared the story of how MJN studied the levels of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA in global human milk, and then undertook pioneering clinical studies that showed that breastmilk DHA levels impact babies' brain development and visual acuity. The MJPNI engineers were then able to put this DHA innovation into practice by demonstrating how DHA can be added into infant nutritional products through a trial run in the technology center. The DHA breakthrough from Mead Johnson has since dramatically changed the industry.

Mead Johnson has continued to innovate, as evidenced by the monumental introduction of the Milk Fat Globule Membrane (MFGM). Studies found that MFGM contains nearly 200 special lipids and proteins, which play an important role in the brain development of babies, and has positive impact on both the babies' immune system and intestinal health.

The Sensory Lab: Emphasis on infant formula R&D is embedded in Mead Johnson's DNA

"Every drop of nutrition in Mead Johnson's formula contains the effort of researchers," Xiaoxiaobao Mama said after she finished visiting the sensory lab. "To be an excellent baby formula brand, you can't ignore the baby's feeding experience."

In addition to the nutritional value of the milk powder, sensory feeling is another factor that affects a baby's nutrition intake. To better understand the mystery around a baby's senses, Mead Johnson created a sensory lab. "We make the effort to ensure that our products are consistent for babies in terms of three dimensions: taste, smell and feel," said a Mead Johnson scientist in the sensory lab. "Many people think adults have the same taste preferences as babies. In fact, a fetus has its own taste preferences in utero, which are different from those of adults."

Brand Recognition: Love that can stand the test of time

Built on the true story of a father seeking to save his child, Mead Johnson is acutely aware of how valuable each child is to their family. The three influencers expressed their appreciation for the Mead Johnson work after their journey.

Xiaoxiaobao Mama - "The needs of babies always come first! When I heard that story that MJN produced a batch of special formula according to an individual baby's needs and saved his life, I know it is not just a slogan at Mead Johnson."

Janice - "My baby is a devoted user of Mead Johnson products. This company has withstood the test of time as an enterprise that consistently puts the health and safety of babies as its top priority."

Zaozao Wang - "Life is more significant here than profits. It allows more families around the world to not only experience the professionalism of Mead Johnson, but also the love and warmth of the infant nutrition company."

SOURCE Mead Johnson
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A revolutionary new model of skilled nursing and rehabilitative care is coming to Las Vegas. Known as the GREEN HOUSE project, a multimillion dollar, 47,000 square foot development is set to break ground on December 4th. The Villas at Centennial Hills will be built on 5 acres at the corner of Fort Apache and West Tropical Parkway. The Villas is an entirely reimagined nursing home with 6 villas, featuring private bedrooms/bathrooms and a co-living kitchen, dining room, living room and outdoor spaces. The Green House project is a nationally recognized, evidence based organization working to deinstitutionalize nursing home care. The Villas at Centennial Hills will be the first of it's kind in the State of Nevada.

Chief Executive Officer Michele Goldman, who has operated 25 skilled nursing facilities in Texas, says, "I have witnessed firsthand the limitations of the traditional institutional style nursing home. We can and should be doing so much better for our loved ones. I am excited and proud to be bringing the first Green House model nursing homes to the State of Nevada, beginning with our new Centennial Hills location. We expect construction to be completed in 2019."

Research has shown that Green House homes offer improved quality of life and emotional well-being, along with improved quality of care, versus the traditional nursing homes. Las Vegas will be one of only a few hundred in the United States, with another 200 in development throughout the country. That compares with more than 16,000 nursing homes across the nation housing over 1.4 million people.

Julie Kotchevar, Administrator of the State Department of Public and Behavioral Health said, "I am very excited to finally see this innovative model come to this state. The Green House model has already demonstrated in other states, that they can provide for better health outcomes for residents while operating in a setting that doesn't resemble an institution."

County Commissioner, Larry Brown, who was instrumental in bringing this concept to Las Vegas said, "The Green House Community brings innovation to Senior Care, Skilled Nursing, and Rehabilitation. This concept creates a true family home environment which complements our unique Rural Neighborhood Preservation area in the Northwest Valley."

For additional information

Contact: Tom Letizia [email protected] or 702-545-8777

SOURCE Michele Goldman
BOSTON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sree Kant and Michael Ringel, JD, PhD, have been appointed to senior business development positions, according to an announcement today by Life Biosciences Inc. Sree is head of business development. Dr. Ringel is strategic advisor in that department. Together they work with the leadership of Life Biosciences and its six Daughter companies as they pursue their independent and collaborative research into the eight pathways of age-related decline (ARD).

"We are excited by the addition of Sree and Michael to our team," said Tristan Edwards, co-founder and chief executive officer of Life Biosciences. "Together they support our work, helping to research, identify and develop new scientific investments and strategic partnerships. This pursuit and support of fresh thinking is foundational to the goals and structure of Life Biosciences."

Sree comes to Life with 18 years of varied healthcare and pharmaceutical industry experience. He previously was the head of early partnering strategy for Pfizer, across different therapeutic areas/technologies and geographies with Academia, VCs/Banks, CROs, and other strategic partners. He was also a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group advising large pharma and biotech on R&D strategy as well as large M&A. He has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, and an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Sree is an invited speaker at key industry events and conferences on subjects of R&D strategy, innovative partnering models, industry-academia collaborations, early-stage technologies and investments.

Dr. Ringel has 20 years of experience focused on corporate development, partnering, and R&D innovation. He is concurrently a Senior Partner and Managing Director at The Boston Consulting Group, where he is the Global Topic Leader for Research and Product Development. He is a frequent contributor to industry journals and a popular public speaker, including having a TED talk on biopharma R&D partnering. Dr. Ringel has a BA in biology summa cum laude from Princeton University, a PhD in biology from Imperial College, and a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Co-founded in 2017 by David Sinclair, PhD, AO, and Tristan Edwards, Life Biosciences is the first and largest company addressing the eight pathways of age-related decline (ARD) as a systemic breakdown of the body, not a series of isolated symptoms and conditions. It has established Daughter companies around the world, led by a Dream Team of respected scientists, to independently and collaboratively attack these pathways through pioneering research and product development. The company provides Daughter companies with the full resources of LifeLab, its 24,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art research facility that includes a vivarium, robotics, and drug screening capabilities; and an emerging AI platform being developed by the company's Lua subsidiary. Life Biosciences seeks to increase healthspans for everyone, including companion animals.

For more information on Life Biosciences, please visit www.lifebiosciences.com.

Press Contact:

[email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Life Biosciences

Related Links

http://www.lifebiosciences.com


BENGALURU, India and BLUE BELL, Pa., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that registration is open for the tenth edition of its annual flagship technical project competition for engineering students in India, Cloud 20/20. The contest has successfully run for nine consecutive years with an aim to provide an insight into emerging technologies of the future through innovative student projects.

This contest is open to research students and postgraduates, as well as pre-final and final-year engineering students in computer science, information technology and other related disciplines. It allows students to test and refine their technical skills for industry readiness by collaborating with leaders in the industry as well as explore exciting career opportunities with Unisys.

K Nageswara Rao, vice president, Engineering - Asia Pacific Technology Centers, Unisys said, "We are very proud that Cloud 20/20 has empowered students to question the status quo and show them a new way to be creative, do business and live lives more innovatively. We are proud that Unisys has played a central role in helping young minds think futuristically and has encouraged life-changing innovations. The 10 years of Cloud 20/20 have been an exciting journey for us to challenge young minds, who participate with vigor and enthusiasm and gain deeper knowledge in their chosen topics. Apart from the platform, this initiative aims to provide tools, techniques, guidance and most importantly the right outlook to students to be uninhibitedly innovative. It encourages them to be leaders of tomorrow."

Some past winning innovations at Cloud 20/20, which have the potential to solve many of the world's most complex issues, have included  iPay, a cloud-based, cash-free retail payment system using just fingerprints; Cloud Connect, a project that aims to provide an automated brokering framework; Fin Assistant, a one-stop chatbot for investors; Kinect based AI gym trainer, a gym trainer powered by Artificial Intelligence. The contest has seen large and growing participation, with more than 25,000 teams over last nine years, making it one of the country's most popular technical contests for engineering students.

Sumed Marwaha, managing director, Unisys India and regional vice president, Services, Unisys added, "Cloud 20/20 is a platform through which we are creating real technologies of tomorrow. The world of information technology is changing faster today than ever before, fueled by constant ideation and relentless innovation. Cloud 20/20 provides an excellent opportunity for students to develop cutting-edge and innovative solutions that can lead businesses and society towards a better future. Through this initiative, Unisys strives to be a facilitator to empower students to dream, ideate and create."

Cloud 20/20, a collaboration between Unisys, academia, and the technology industry, offers student participants the opportunity to refine their technical knowledge and marketable skills by working alongside some of the best minds in the IT industry. The contest is open to research students, postgraduates as well as pre-final and final year engineering students in computer science, Information Technology and other related branches. The campus outreach program by Unisys India also features informative demos, educative roadshows, webinars and knowledge-sharing sessions with industry experts for students to advance their learning.

The grand finale of Cloud 20/20 Year 10 will be held in Bengaluru in April 2019, where the finalists will demonstrate their technical projects to a panel of industry experts. The winning teams will share a prize pool valued at INR 4.25 lakh. Over 16 internships and three job placements were also awarded by Unisys to the finalists and winners of last year's edition of Cloud 20/20. Registrations are open and will close on December 31, 2018.

Please visit the Cloud 20/20 website for further information on Cloud 20/20 Year 10 and registration details.

About Unisys

Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most demanding businesses and governments on Earth. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing. For more information on how Unisys builds better outcomes securely for its clients across the Government, Financial Services and Commercial markets, visit www.unisys.com.

Follow Unisys on Twitter and LinkedIn.

RELEASE NO.: 1114/9628

Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein, as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Unisys Corporation. Any other brand or product referenced herein is acknowledged a trademark or registered trademark of its respective holder.

UIS-C

SOURCE Unisys Corporation

Related Links

http://www.unisys.com


LAS VEGAS, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TRUSTEEL, LLC ("TruSteel" or the "Company"), the creator and manufacturer of the AutoVap Series of falling-film evaporation technology, has finalized strategic alignment with pioneer technology integration firm Vanguard Scientific Systems. The announcement of this go-forward partnership comes on the eve of the largest annual Cannabis industry conference, the 'Marijuana Business' MJ BizCon held November 14-16, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The TruSteel partnership with Vanguard brings us both one step closer to our vision to offer this industry clean, efficient, scalable, end-to-end solutions. While current consumer demands can now be met, there can be a strong focus on innovation and development with our partners. 2019 is looking to be a progressive year for TruSteel and for the extraction industry as a whole."

Ray Van Lenten

Founder / Chief Technology Officer - TruSteel

"As Vanguard begins to rapidly scale through 2019 to address the domestic and international markets of both Cannabis and Hemp, the ability to find such strong synergies between both Vanguard and TruSteel leadership and equipment offerings significantly increase our capability to understand and unlock Value for our customers."

Matthew Anderson

CEO - Vanguard Scientific Systems

The AutoVap falling film, rapid evaporation technology created by TruSteel has revolutionized what has traditionally been the largest bottleneck and cost-center in scaling commercial cannabis and hemp processing operations. The primary AutoVap unit, the AV30, is capable of solvent reclamation rates more than 10-times that of currently available rotational evaporative systems, with an average of greater than ninety-five percent total solvent recovery.

Vanguard and TruSteel are optimizing procurement and manufacturing capabilities through the integration of the AutoVap series onto the integrated ISO-9001 compliant manufacturing platform Vanguard has established. This significantly increases the production capability of the AV30 in order to meet increasing customer demand. Both companies are also harmonizing sales, marketing and on-going customer service-engineering functions.

In addition to the AutoVap series of technologies, the combined design and engineering teams of Vanguard and TruSteel have initiated research and development efforts to develop integrated system technologies aimed to address underserved needs of the processing cycle. With a collective effort to develop these revolutionary end to end solutions, the two engineering teams are aided by experts in the fields of medical devices, oil & gas, defense and aerospace.

About Vanguard Scientific Systems

Vanguard Scientific Systems is a premium provider of the equipment, systems and performance solutions servicing the botanical extraction industry today. The Company's mission is to deliver customers the capability to manufacture the highest quality, most valued, full-spectrum oils, extracts and distilled isolates routinely and cost effectively. Vanguard's service and support teams translate customers' needs and knowledge into systems, performance and deliverables, optimizing their entire resource chain to the one goal of extraction profit maximization.

T: (888) 247 - 3427

E: [email protected]

www.vanguardscientific.com

SOURCE Vanguard Scientific Systems

Related Links

https://www.vanguardscientific.com


LOUISVILLE, Ky. and CHICAGO and ATLANTA and BOSTON, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Waystar , a top-rated revenue cycle technology company, today announced four new additions to its executive leadership team. Tad Kendall joins the company as chief sales officer, Jeff Hurst as EVP of the client success team, Peter J. Siavelis as SVP of health systems and hospitals and Tracey Weinberg as SVP of marketing. The new leadership will add to Waystar's seasoned team of healthcare, tech and finance industry veterans, who have grown the company into a revenue cycle management leader whose next-generation platform is used by more than 450,000 providers, 22,000 healthcare organizations and 750 health systems and hospitals.

"As we move toward our next phase of growth and success, it is essential that we have the right leadership in place. The combined knowledge of our new executives positions us well to become even more of a market leader," said Matt Hawkins, CEO of Waystar. "We are thrilled to have them join our team as we work toward our commitment to drastically improving the revenue cycle for hospitals and health systems."

Tad Kendall, chief sales officer, will lead overall sales strategy and activity. A go-to-market leader with more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare and life sciences industries, Kendall has a proven track record of building and leading a high-performance sales culture across large organizations, generating quality growth and creating a differentiated client experience. He most recently served as SVP of go-to-market for Cotiviti where he led growth from $300 million in sales to $700 million, playing a major role in its IPO and $4.9 billion private equity acquisition.

Jeff Hurst will head up the client success team as EVP. A seasoned executive, he brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in both the hospital and technology spaces. He most recently served as SVP of revenue cycle management and president of RevWorks at Cerner, where he helped grow revenue by more than $250 million in just two years. Before joining Cerner, Hurst was SVP and senior finance officer at Florida Hospital (of Adventist Health System), where he oversaw the single-largest IT implementation in the hospital's history.

Peter J. Siavelis, SVP of health systems and hospitals, will be responsible for managing the growth of this important segment, overseeing strategy development and refining Waystar's platform solutions. Siavelis is an accomplished sales strategist with more than 20 years of experience in healthcare IT, medical informatics and sales management at a number of prominent healthcare technology businesses. He was previously CCO at StayWell and has served as president of Merge Healthcare's U.S. sales.

Tracey Weinberg, SVP of marketing, will drive the marketing team to elevate the Waystar brand in support of company growth. With deep expertise in customer acquisition, brand development and public relations, Weinberg has spearheaded marketing at several disruptive technology and fintech companies during periods of rapid expansion, resulting in acquisition by Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Waystar, Weinberg held marketing leadership roles at Braintree (acquired by PayPal), iPay Technologies (acquired by Jack Henry & Associates) and Orbitz.

Kendall, Hurst, Siavelis and Weinberg join Waystar during a period of transformative growth. The company recently acquired the transaction services arm of Ovation , a patient verification and claims status solution vendor, as well as predictive analytics and workflow solutions company Connance . These new executives bring vital expertise that will guide Waystar as it advances its capabilities for health systems and hospitals and continues to reshape the revenue cycle.

About Waystar:

Waystar is a leading provider of technology solutions that simplify the healthcare revenue cycle to improve the financial health of their clients. Waystar's innovative technology allows clients to collect more with less cost and less stress, so they can focus on their goals, patients and communities. Waystar has scored Best in KLAS claims clearinghouse every year since 2010, including 2018, and earned multiple #1 rankings in both medical claims processing and patient payment solutions from Black Book surveys since 2012. The Waystar platform supports more than 450,000 providers, hospitals, health systems and ambulatory services organizations and partners with the leading EHR and practice management solution providers. For more information, visit waystar.com , or follow @Waystar, on Twitter.

CONTACT: Quincy Zhai, 917-789-0218, [email protected]

SOURCE Waystar

Related Links

http://waystar.com


As a business partner, Webhelp assists clients in providing a next-level customer experience (CX) through advanced analytics, omni-channel technologies, and, above all, its people engagement approach. It works strategically with clients to help improve the CX by producing a comprehensive single view of the customer. And the company regularly reviews its initiatives for commercial viability and the impact they will have on the overall CX by employing analytical methodologies including customer journey mapping, demand management, customer segmentation, and employee satisfaction.

"The founders of Webhelp have long embraced an entrepreneurial philosophy," said Frost & Sullivan digital experience analyst Stephen Loynd. "This is a company that continues to emphasize a start-up philosophy, that prides itself on being agile and exceptionally easy to work with. Along the way, Webhelp has established a reputation as a Customer Experience provider that acts as an authentic business partner to clients, which in turn helps enterprises push the limits of the CX through multichannel solutions."

Webhelp's particular focus on tracking customer effort is also noteworthy in a highly competitive space. The company is practiced at measuring both Customer Effort Score (CES) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) on many client programs. From Frost & Sullivan's perspective, this kind of approach is what helps make the typical Webhelp client customer ownership experience exemplary. At the same time, it's clear the company understands that analysing customer journeys across any medium is essential to offer an effective multichannel customer management solution.

"Even as Webhelp scales its core business, it has a pulse on the manner in which technology is changing the way consumers interact with brands," added Loynd. "Underlining its commitment to next-generation CX, the company has partnered with Recast.AI to develop personalised chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Webhelp's brand strength derives from the way it has skillfully negotiated a fast-changing BPO landscape and stayed focused on the essentials of the CX at a time of exponential change."

Finally, for Webhelp, keeping pace with today's accelerating pace of techno-consumerism means ensuring business continuity and data integrity. It accomplishes this with IT infrastructure and a technology ecosystem that are focused on business consistency across all operations.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan bestows this award upon the company that demonstrates excellence in growth and customer value. Turning loyal customers into brand advocates for clients allows the company to grow and achieve a market leadership position. This award recognises the company that successfully increases market share over time, an accomplishment achieved through a demonstrated commitment to client relationships.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector, and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion .

Contact:

Samantha Park

P: 210.247.2426

F: 210.348.1003

E: [email protected]

About Webhelp

Webhelp is a global business process outsourcer (BPO), specialising in customer experience and payment management in addition to sales and marketing services across voice, social and digital channels.

From more than 140 sites in 35 countries with an approximately 50,000-strong team, our focus is on engineering performance improvements and delivering a real and lasting transformation in our clients' operating models to generate financial advantage. We partner with some of the world's most progressive brands including Sky, Shop Direct, Bouygues, Direct Energie, KPN, Vodafone, La Redoute, Michael Kors and Valentino.

Headquartered in Paris, France, the company has grown its revenues by more than 250% in the last 4 years by investing in its people, the environment they work in and developing its analytical and operating capability to deliver a transformational outsourcing proposition that addresses the challenges of an omni-channel world.

Webhelp is owned by its management and KKR, a leading global investment firm, as of March 2016.

More information can be found at www.webhelp.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

Related Links

http://www.frost.com


LAFAYETTE, Ind., Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- William McBride is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Lifetime Achiever in the field of Education in recognition of his role as an Arthur G. Hansen Distinguished Professor at Purdue University.

With over fifty years of experience in the field of Education under his belt, Dr. William McBride is highly regarded for his outstanding contributions to the industry. Throughout his career, Dr. McBride has attained extensive expertise in the areas of Social and Political Philosophy, Legal Philosophy, and Continental European Philosophy. In his previous years, Dr. McBride taught at Yale University for nearly a decade and has lectured at Northwestern University, Sofia University in Bulgaria and the Korcula Summer School.

Encountering people with a different professional orientation which they have thought superior to all others, Dr. McBride distinguishes this crucial factor as one of the prime challenges he has faced throughout his career. When asked his advice to newcomers in the industry, Dr. McBride notes the importance of retaining a commitment to the truth as he or she sees it, and not be daunted by initial setbacks, if such there are, in seeking employment.

While pursuing his educational endeavors, Dr. McBride earned an AB from Georgetown University. Thereafter, Dr. McBride attended the University of Lille in 1959-60 where he was a Fulbright Fellow. Later, Dr. McBride attended Yale University where he attained his Master of Arts degree as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in 1962. He then went on to receive his PhD at Yale in 1964, having been awarded a Social Science Research Council Fellowship.

Dr. McBride is a member of several international and national scholarly organizations including the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP), of which he was President from 2008-2013; the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences; and the North American Society for Social Philosophy, of which he is past President.

Dr. McBride has also been recognized by several elite organizations for his exemplary work in the field including Who's Who in America; Who's Who in America Education; Who's Who in the Midwest; Who's Who in the World. Having been the first American Secretary General and then President of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP), and with all the international connections that led to these positions and to which they, in turn, have led, Dr. McBride has established himself as a prominent figure in professional philosophy.

An illustrious published writer, Dr. McBride is the author of several written works including "From Yugoslav Praxis to Global Pathos," "Social and Political Philosophy," and "Social Theory at a Crossroads."

When he is not working, Dr. McBride enjoys travel and is very much a news buff.

In looking to the future, Dr. McBride hopes to publish at least one more book, preferably more, while continuing professional involvement globally.

Dr. McBride dedicates this recognition to Gerard F. Yates.

Contact: Katherine Green , 516-825-5634 [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


BAODING, China, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (OTC Pink: YGEHY) ("Yingli Green Energy" or the "Company"),, one of the world's leading solar panel manufacturers, today announced that that it will hold its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") at 12:00 PM Beijing Time on December 14, 2018. The AGM will be held at 3399 North Chaoyang Avenue, Baoding, China. Shareholders registered in the register of members at the close of business on December 12, 2018 are entitled to receive notice of, and vote at, the AGM or at any adjournment that may take place. Beneficial owners of the Company's American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") who wish to exercise their voting rights for the underlying ordinary shares must act through the depositary of the Company's ADS program, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

The notice of AGM, the Proxy Card, the Proxy Statement and a copy of the Company's 2017 Annual Report are available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.yinglisolar.com.

About Yingli Green Energy

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, known as "Yingli Solar," is one of the world's leading solar module manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy's manufacturing covers the photovoltaic value chain from ingot casting and wafering through solar cell production and solar PV module assembly. Headquartered in Baoding, China, Yingli Green Energy has more than 20 regional subsidiaries and branch offices and has distributed more than 20 GW solar PV modules to customers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.yinglisolar.com and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Weibo.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Yingli Green Energy's control, which may cause Yingli Green Energy's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Yingli Green Energy's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yingli Green Energy does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

For further information, please contact:

Eric Pan

Investor Relations

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited

Tel: +86 312 8929787

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited

Related Links

http://www.yinglisolar.com


London, Nov 14 : Negotiatiors from the United Kingdom and the European Union have formulated a draft Brexit agreement, the office of Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday.

A special Cabinet meeting has been set for Wednesday to "consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels, and to decide on next steps," 10 Downing Street said, Efe reported.

Ministers will be able to read the text of the agreement before the meeting, May's office said.

British media outlets reported that May will meet individually Tuesday evening with each of her ministers to prepare for the meeting.

The Prime Minister will seek the approval of her Cabinet before finalizing the pact with London's 27 EU partners.

The most Euroskeptical faction of the Conservative government up to now has been critical of the progress of the negotiations.

During the weekly Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, May told her team that only a small number of matters remained to be negotiated in the talks with Brussels.

The thorniest problem in the dialogue, avoiding the need for customs checks and an accompanying "hard border" between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has now been resolved, Irish public broadcaster RTE reported Tuesday, though noting that the text remained subject to modification.

But the Irish government said Tuesday that there are still "matters outstanding" in the EU-UK talks.

"At the moment there is nothing confirmed," a spokesperson for Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar said.

Ireland's foreign minister, Simon Coveney, amplified those comments.

"Negotiations between the EU and UK on a Withdrawal Agreement are ongoing and have not concluded. Negotiators are still engaged and a number of issues are outstanding. We are not commenting further on leaks in the media," he said through a spokesman.
Washington, Nov 14 : Hate crimes reported to the FBI soared about 17 per cent across the US in 2017 compared to the previous year, a FBI report showed released Tuesday.

A total of 7,175 hate crime incidents were reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program in 2017, up from 6,121 in 2016, said the UCR Program's annual Hate Crime Statistics report, Xinhua reported.

It's the third year in a row the FBI has reported an increase in hate crimes. The number of hate crimes in 2016 rose about five percent from 2015.

The 2017 incidents encompass 8,437 total offences, meaning some involved multiple criminal charges.

According to the report, the most common bias categories in single-bias incidents were race/ethnicity/ancestry (59.6 percent), religion (20.6 percent), and sexual orientation (15.8 percent).

Of crimes motivated by race, ancestry or ethnicity, about 48.8 percent were motivated by hatred against African Americans, 17.5 per cent stemmed from bias against whites, and 10.9 percent were classified as anti-Latino or anti-Hispanic bias.

In addition to the 7,106 single-bias incidents reported last year, there were also 69 multiple-bias hate crimes reported.

About 5,000 of the hate crimes reported were categorized as crimes against persons, such as intimidation or assault. About 3,000 were considered crimes against property, such as vandalism, robbery, or burglary.

Some hate crime incidents are classified as both crimes against persons and crimes against property, the report noted.

The report, Hate Crime Statistics 2017, includes hate crime information for last year, broken down by location, offenders, bias types, and victims.

The number of law enforcement agencies reporting hate crimes also increased with about 1,000 additional agencies contributing data across the country, the FBI noted.

Reporting hate crime data to the UCR Program allows the public, researchers, community leaders, and local government to raise awareness of the issue and gain a more accurate picture of hate crimes, said the FBI on its website.
Beirut, Nov 14 : The Lebanese Prime Minister-designate on Tuesday blamed the Shiite group Hezbollah for hindering the formation of a new government in the Arab country which has been unable to produce a governing coalition since May.

Saad Hariri was tasked by Lebanon President Michel Aoun to form a government on May 24, after the parliamentary elections held on the 6th of the same month, Efe reported.

At a press conference in Beirut, the prime minister stressed that the Lebanese president "has done a lot to facilitate the formation of a government," but insisted that Hezbollah has been the main obstacle to this end.

"There are those who do not want the country to seize any opportunity, and do not want a government in Lebanon," the prime minister said, according to Lebanon's National News Agency NNA.

Hariri warned that Hezbollah would bear responsibility for the consequences of the politically organized stalemate.

Three days ago, Aoun called for leaders to have courage and patience to form the new government, which must be headed by a Sunni Muslim, according to the de facto distribution of power.

Under this system, which depends on a distribution of quotas based on religious sects, the presidency is occupied by a Maronite Christian and the head of parliament is a Shiite Muslim.
New York, Nov 14 : United States President Donald Trump has complimented Indian trade negotiators as "the best" and said trade talks between the two countries were moving along.

"We are trying very hard to make better trade deals with India," he said during a White House Diwali celebration on Tuesday.

Showing the trade negotiators as highly skilled and making the talks sound difficult for the Americans, he said, "They are very good traders, they are very good negotiators." And turning to India's Ambassador Navtej Sarna, he said, "You would say (that), right?"

They are "the best," and "so we are working and it is moving along," he added.

The annual celebration was held a week later because Diwali fell on the day after the mid-term elections when the results were still coming in.

He repeatedly spoke of his close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said, "We love your country. And I have great, great respect, as you know, for your Prime Minister Modi."

And he told Sarna, "So please give him my warmest regards. We will be talking to him soon.a "The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi," he said.

He also recalled that his daughter had met Modi during a visit to India and he was now also her friend.

He said, "India is the world's largest democracy. And the relationship between our two countries can act as a bulwark for freedom, prosperity and peace."

"We are very close and I think closer than ever before," Trump said, and Sarna agreed, saying, "Absolutely, sir."

"I think that we are looking at one of the best times we have ever had for the India-US relationship," Sarna said.

He added that the Indian-American community was a "plus plus for both India and for the United States."

Last month Trump had denounced India as the "tariff king" and asserted that he had spoke to Modi, who told him that he would reduce the tariffs on imports from the US.

Trump has made the US trade deficit a focus of his presidency, imposing heavy taxes on a range of Chinese imports, threatening other countries over trade and renegotiating trade agreements with Mexico and Canada.

The total value of US-India goods and services trade last year was $126.2 billion and the US ran a $27.3 billion deficit.

Earlier this year, Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel steel and 10 percent on aluminum imported from India and other countries.

New Delhi has threatened retaliatory duties on US agricultural products it imports like nuts and apples, as well as some chemicals.

In one concession to a pet peeve of Trump, India dropped the duties on Harley Davidson motorcycles from 75 percent to 50 percent.

Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
San Francisco, Nov 14 : Had Steve Jobs been alive he would have been very proud of Apple and its focus on putting people above technology, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has said.

In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Wozniak said that every other phone company today is copying Apple.

"I believe that he (Jobs) would be very happy with the company today as its concern more with end users and putting people above technology. Steve always acted that way.

Apple is focusing on innovations that "literally affect everything we do all the time in life," he added.

According to him, various Android phones can make you smile and take a picture but those are "fun features, not innovation".

"The users should be more important than the technology itself. You should not be a victim of the technology and what it can do. You should get to live your human life in the most human way possible," Wozniak said.

"Every other phone company had to come along and copy Apple," he added.

On Tesla, Wozniak said the electric car company makes so many mistakes.

"It really convinces me that auto piloting and auto steering car driving itself is not going to happen," added Wozniak, who himself drives a Tesla car.

In February when Wozniak visited India, he spoke about what prompted him to co-found Apple with Jobs and how the Silicon Valley grew over the years.

"One thing I've found in my life is that it doesn't matter what you know as long as you want to do things," he said, adding, "If you want to start a company, you should not just have an idea on a piece of paper. You should have a working model, a business plan."

He told the gathering at the ET Global Business Summit he knew Jobs for five years before Apple.

"He didn't know anything about insides of a computer, he wasn't an engineer but he knew how to look at products. Steve wanted to live a zero money life, he was more of a true hippie," he said.

According to "The Woz", Jobs was good in learning everything about the company and he was good in engineering.
New Delhi, Nov 14 : Child rights activist and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi says leaders from across the political spectrum should promise that they will pass the anti-trafficking bill in the Rajya Sabha to celebrate Children's day in the true sense as the little ones are the most affected by trafficking.

"We have rules against trafficking in bits and pieces. But there is no one law, for which we and others also are fighting," he told IANS.

The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, was passed in the Lok Sabha in July and the activist hopes that it will be passed in the Rajya Sabha as well.

"If any politician, irrespective of the party, wants to celebrate Children's Day in a true sense, he/she should promise to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha as children are most affected by trafficking," he said.

The Bill, when passed, will allow investigation of all types of trafficking and rescue, protection and rehabilitation of trafficked victims. It classified certain purposes of trafficking as "aggravated", which will attract higher punishment. These include trafficking for forced labour, bearing children, begging, or for inducing early sexual maturity.

The activist also said that the government speaks about the GDP going up, but not even four per cent of that is spent on children's education, health and protection -- and there is no child-centric development in the country.

"In India, the population below 18-years is 40 per cent, which roughly is 40-42 crore children. But we only spend 3.5 per cent of our GDP on the education, health and protection of this group. We are not able to spend even four per cent of our GDP on our 40 per cent population; how can we morally say that the children are our future and present."

He said development, for him, has nothing to do with GDP going up or down but how to secure a girl in a remote area or village feels.

He also said the main issue before the children is that they are not a priority anywhere.

"The children are not our political priority or religious or financial priority. They are also not our social priority. You may say good things one day, but that is just for formality -- which people will do on Children's Day. We should celebrate Children's Day every day, every second in the home as well as in society."

Satyarthi, who started working on children's right in the 1980s and freed over 80,000 children from slave-like conditions, said it is everybody's duty to protect a child.

"I am one person who will ask everyone, irrespective of religion, to protect children. All kids are country's children and we should work on their protection, irrespective of the religion or caste."

"There should be child-centred discussion and brain-storming in society, which will help in removing discrimination and barriers in the social mindset. Our focus should be the child and not his/her religion. A teacher does not discriminate his/her students on religion basis, so why should society?"

He also said that an individual can also do his or her bit to bring change and protect the child.

"Raise your voice, call the police if you see something wrong or a child being mistreated. Click pictures and record evidence of that mistreatment. Tell a teashop owner or restaurant owners that you will not have tea or food at their shop if they mistreat or appoint children to work."

(Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in)
Bijapur (Chhattisgarh), Nov 14 : Maoists carried out two simultaneous attacks here on Wednesday injuring four Border Security Force (BSF) troopers, a civilian and one District Reserve Guard in one of the attacks, police said.

The Left wing extremists, who had asked citizens to boycott the poll process going on in the state, carried out the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast aimed at a vehicle carrying the troopers returning from poll duty.

This happened days after the first phase of assembly election to 18 seats in the state was conducted on Monday.

In the other incident a gunfight broke out during a search operation not far from the IED blast spot. The 85 Battalion of the CRPF troopers were attacked by the insurgents. "Firing is still on," Deputy Inspector General M. Dinakaran told IANS.

Both attacks took place simultaneously at 9.15 a.m. in the Mahadev Ghat area, a police officer said.

The truck attacked was a civilian store vehicle and the driver was among those ijuried.

It was the ninth Maoist attack in 19 days in the poll-bound state where the final phase of voting to 72 seats is scheduled on November 20.
Philadelphia, Nov 14 : Rockwell Automation, the largest global provider of industrial automation, is looking to acquire good local engineering companies and systems integrators in India while seeking to expand its workforce in the country.

This was stated by Chairman and CEO of the company, Blake Moret, in response to queries by a group of visiting journalists, after opening the "2018 Automation Perspectives" event here.

Moret said there was considerable investment by the $6.7 billion company in India and it would expand its workforce at its R&D centres in Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi-NCR.

In Bengaluru, Rockwell's India arm employs nearly 1,000 people.

Moret, however, declined to give details of any proposed acquisition, saying "we do not reveal deals which have not been done".

He said that much of the company's investment was in the "customer facing" resources to ensure that customers enjoy a good experience with their products.

According to the Rockwell executive, India was one of the fastest growing countries in the world with high GDP numbers.

"As more and more people from the middle class look for consumer products, clean water, energy and pharmaceuticals, it will drive growth in automation," Moret said.

There had been broad-based growth, he added, in the five key areas in which Rockwell is focused -- automobiles, consumer products (including home and personal care as well as food and beverages), life sciences, oil and gas and mining.

The "2018 Automation Perspective" is being followed by an "Automation Fair" with 150 exhibitors here.

Asked whether the US-China trade war had affected the company which has a presence in over 80 countries, Moret, stating that "uncertainty is not helpful," informed that the gross impact of the tariff war and retaliatory actions would have an impact on the company of around $90 million, as had been mentioned by it earlier, but the "net impact would be zero."

This was because, Moret said, of the mitigating actions that Rockwell had taken, including moving manufacturing around - "either ours or suppliers'" - and price increases in selective products affected by tariffs. He emphasised that it would have zero impact on its products and services in the coming year too.

Earlier, giving his inaugural speech at the "Automation Perspectives", Moret said 2018 had been a "watershed year for us with great growth and performance," coming after the recession of 2017, and they were all looking forward to 2019 being another great year as the US economy continued to be strong.

There would be double-digit growth for new enterprise-connected solution and high-value connected services, he added.

Moret, however, said a worrisome area was that a large portion of the workforce - Rockwell employs about 23,000 people - would be going into a "wave of retirement" without enough people coming in.

The companies would have to compete in a global economy, become more agile and use hi-tech to leverage growth. There would be a more rapid influence of its technology which will pick up pace.

"We embrace that change and we embrace that need for speed that may not have been there earlier," the Rockwell executive mentioned.

He talked about the strategic partnership in June this year with software and services provider PTC to meet the challenge, saying partnerships were at the core of Rockwell's belief:

"We can't do it alone," he said, adding that "when we do this well, we can expand human possibilities."

During the interaction, Moret replied to the age-old question about automation versus employment, saying he "cannot guarantee that automation won't displace workers".

"There's going to be change and any attempt to preserve the same exact jobs of the fifties is not going to be possible."

But, he emphasised, that newer kinds of jobs would be created and, with thoughtful training programmes, there will be demand which means "more jobs would be created than lost."

He said that change is inevitable and competitiveness is the best way to achieve growth and efficiency through a combination of highly-engaged workforce leveraging advanced technology.

"Companies use the combination effectively to compete, which means they can sell more and expand, make more margins and buying more companies, boosting the need for more people," Moret noted.

(Hardev Sanotra is in Philadelphia at the invitation of Rockwell Automation. He can be reached at hardev.sanotra@ians.in)
New Delhi, Nov 14 : President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among others who along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday paid tributes to the nation's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary.

While Kovind "remembered" Nehru in a tweet, Modi from Singapore tweeted: "We recall his contribution to our freedom struggle and during his tenure as Prime Minister."

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with Gandhi and senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot, P.C. Chacko among others paid floral tributes to Nehru at the Shanti Vana here.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu described Nehru as a "visionary" for his "invaluable contributions towards the building of modern India".

On the occasion, Naidu also greeted children as their much loved Chacha Nehru's birthday is celebrated as Children's Day in India since 1964.

"Let us pledge today to ensure that no child shall be denied the opportunity to live a healthy and happy life, that no child shall be left behind," he aded. The day is also known as "Bal Diwas".

Nehru was born on November 14, 1889, and was sworn in as the first Prime Minister on August 15, 1947, after the country gained independence from the British rule.

He served the country till May 27, 1964. He still remains as the country's longest-serving Prime Minister.
New York, Nov 14 : US President Donald Trump has announced that he is nominating an Indian-American woman, Neomi Rao, to the senior judgeship that was vacated by Brett Kavanaugh when he was elevated to the Supreme Court.

Flanked by a phalanx of about 20 top Indian-American officials in his administration, Trump said at the annual White House Diwali celebrations on Tuesday that Rao was his pick for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals judgeship.

She is a "great person" who "is going to be fantastic", he said.

Considered the most important court below the Supreme Court, serving on it is considered to open a path to the nation's top court as four of the nine current justices had risen from its bench.

Of the 13 courts of appeal, the one in the District of Columbia is regarded as the most important as it is based in the nation's capital and weighty federal litigation ends up before it.

Another Indian-American, Sri Srinivasan, who was on former President Barack Obama's shortlist for the Supreme Court, is also on the DC court of appeals.

Trump said that Rao's announcement was scheduled for Wednesday, but that he decided to do it a day early because the celebration was an appropriate venue.

A conservative former law professor, Rao, 45, heads the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the President's executive office which reviews government regulations and oversees collection of information by government and privacy policy.

The Senate will have to approve her appointment.

As a woman and a minority, her appointment carries a lot of symbolism after the messy elevation of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court after at least two women accused him of sex abuse.

Although the Senate approved his appointment to the Supreme Court with a vote mostly along party lines, Trump faced strong criticism for nominating him and protests were held around the nation because of the allegations.

During the approval process, the Senate heard graphic testimony from a woman who said that he had abused her while they were high school students more than 35 years ago.

For Trump, who has been accused of being personally abusive towards women and of insensitivity to them and to minorities, Rao's nomination could ensure smoother sailing for his nominee in the Senate, although as a conservative she will face an ideological inquisition at the hands of the Democrats.

Rao comes from a Parsi family and her parents, both doctors, immigrated from India.

A graduate of Yale University, she received her law degree from Chicago University and went on to be a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

She has worked as a lawyer in former President George W. Bush's White House and with the Senate judicial committee before becoming a professor at George Mason University.

Trump praised the Indian-Americans in his administration, saying: "I'm grateful to have numerous Americans of Indian and Southeast Asian heritage who fulfil critical roles across my administration. And they've done an incredible job."

About 20 Indian-Americans holding senior positions in Trump's administration surrounded him at the celebration.

But the senior-most of them, UN Permanent Representative Nikki Haley, who is a member of his Cabinet, was not there.

Haley, who has announced she would be leaving her office at the end of the year, was in New York speaking at a Security Council session on the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Trump proudly introduced several of the officials with individual remarks praising them.

When he called up Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, Trump joked about a decision he had made against the merger of two broadcasting companies, which the President had favoured.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)
Chandigarh, Nov 14 : Taking a strong stance on the growing family feud within the INLD, party supremo Om Prakash Chautala expelled his elder son Ajay Singh Chautala from the primary membership of the party for "anti-party activities".

The expulsion decision was announced by the Indian National Lok Dal state unit chief Ashok Arora here on Wednesday in the presence of senior party leaders and Ajay Chautala's younger brother, Abhay Singh Chautala.

Arora read out a letter from Om Prakash Chautala, who is in Tihar Jail in the national capital, communicating his decision to all.

A meeting of the INLD leadership has been called here on November 17.

Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala and his younger brother, Digvijay Chautala, who are the sons of Ajay Chautala, were expelled from the primary membership on November 2 by their grandfather, bringing the bitterness within the Chautala clan out in the open.

Ajay Chautala, who was out of Tihar on parole, was touring various parts of Haryana to mobilise support for the party meeting and a rally he has called in Jind on November 17.

Reacting to the expulsion of Ajay Chautala, his son Digvijay Chautala said that the whole exercise was a "conspiracy" and the expulsion letter was "forged".

Earlier, refusing to accept his expulsion, Dushyant had pointed out that neither has his expulsion order been issued officially by the INLD nor has the party's national executive met to decide the issue.

Dushyant, who was also removed from the post of leader of the INLD Parliamentary Board, claimed that he had learnt about his 'expulsion' only through the media.

The INLD, which is Haryana's main opposition party, could be heading for a split with the fight within the Chautala family spilling out into the open over the past few days.

Dushyant and Digvijay Chautala are the great-grandsons of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

The action follows activities of both youth leaders and their supporters when they tried to project Dushyant as the chief ministerial face in Haryana next year.

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' in prison by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi.

Father and son have been barred from contesting elections due to the conviction.

The INLD has been managed by Chautala's younger son Abhay Singh Chautala, who has been the leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly, since then.
New Delhi, Nov 14 : The much-anticipated Galaxy A9 with an industry first, four-camera rear system will arrive in India on November 20, the company said on Wednesday.

According to industry sources, Galaxy A9 will be aggressively priced around Rs 35,000 -- a price range where Chinese players like OnePlus and OPPO are firmly placed.

With the focus on young millennials, Samsung will launch Galaxy A9 in new gradient colours -- Caviar Black, Bubble gum pink and Lemonade Blue, the sources added.

The device was globally launched at an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month.

The phone features a 6.3-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display.

The device is powered by Octa Core Snapdragon 660 which will be coupled with 6GB/8GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage.

The memory can be expandable to 512GB via micro SD card. For the software, Samsung Galaxy A9 runs Android 8 Oreo OS.
San Francisco, Nov 14 : Amidst the raging California wildfire, The California Film Commission has banned filming in state parks and beaches in the wildfire zones until further notice.

The commission made the announcement on Tuesday after the fire burned about 150 square miles of land in Ventura and Los Angeles counties in six days, reports variety.com.

"Due to the devastating fires in the Malibu area, Highway 1 along Pacific Coast Highway is closed to north and southbound traffic from Sunset Blvd. (Los Angeles County) to Las Posas Road (Ventura County).

"Applications for filming along this portion of PCH, as well as filming at the following State Parks and Beaches will not be accepted until further notice: Malibu Creek State Park, Malibu Pier, Tapia State Park, Point Mugu State Park, Sycamore Cove State Beach, Leo Carrillo State Park, Robert Meyer Memorial State Beach (El Matador, El Pescador and La Piedra), Point Dume Bluffs State Park, Point Dume State Beach, Paradise Cove," the commission said.

The commission also said that the Will Rogers State Historic Park is being used as a staging area for fire fighters and is currently off-limits to filming.
Colombo, Nov 14 : Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a motion of no-confidence against new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his controversially appointed government, a day after the Supreme Court stayed a presidential decree dissolving the legislature.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member Assembly supported the motion against former President Rajapaksa who was made Prime Minister in October replacing Ranil Wickremesinghe, Colombo Telegraph reported.

The no-confidence motion on Rajapaksa and his government was presented by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and seconded by JVP legislator Vijitha Herath.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), the JVP, the main opposition Tamil National Alliance, the Tamil Progressive Alliance, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress voted in favour of the no-trust motion.

Legislators from Rajapaksa's party broke out in protest when the motion was moved, prompting him to leave the floor of the House. Amid the chaos, the Parliament was adjourned till Thursday.

Following the adjournment, legislators made contradictory claims of the results of the vote.

President Maithripala Sirisena-led United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) did not take part in the vote and vehemently protested the no confidence process.

According to the daily, 122 MPs signed the motion against Rajapaksa, claiming that Wickremesinghe was the legitimate Prime Minister of the country.

UNP legislator Lakshman Kiriella told journalists following the adjournment that the no-confidence vote had been passed with a majority and the new Prime Minister and government would cease to exist.

"We have the majority and the proper parliamentary procedures were followed. The new government is no more. Ranil Wickremesinghe will once again be the Prime Minister of the nation."

However, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) legislator Dinesh Gunawardena said the vote had not been passed as the Parliament Speaker had not followed normal parliamentary traditions by calling for an electronic vote.

Sri Lanka has been embroiled in political turmoil since October 26, when Sirisena surprisingly sacked Wickremesinghe.

Sirisena who was supposed to address the Parliament on Wednesday remained absent.
Mumbai, Nov 14 : Actress Yami Gautam, who will next be seen in the upcoming film "Uri", says there is a need for stories of more stronger women on the silver screen.

Yami is excited to be a part of a real life story based on the armed forces. So much so, that it instantly inspired her to hope to bring forth stories of women who have been trailblazers and pioneers in the armed forces in India.

"With the way content is evolving and such compelling stories coming out, there's a great need for stories of more stronger women. Some amazingly strong powerful women characters have been seen in recent films," Yami said in a statement.

The 29-year-old actress is inspired by two women Punita Arora, the first woman in India to attain the rank of Lt. Genaral in the Indian Army and Priya Jhingan who wrote a letter to the then Army Chief in 1992 to be accepted as a woman in the armed forces and a year later she was, becoming the first Indian woman to have joined the Army.

Yami said that when she was shooting for "Uri", she was very intrigued largely with the stories of personnel from the armed forces.

She said: "It truly does make me wonder if stories of women from such background is something that could make for compelling stories. We have incredible women heroes from the army, navy who have done incredible acts in their careers.

"I think these stories must be done and Uri has really been a reason to bring forth such a thought to me."

"Uri" also stars Vicky Kaushal, who will be seen playing the role of an Indian commando who is involved in the 2016 surgical strikes.

Based on the surgical strikes of 2016 carried out by the Indian Armed Forces, "Uri" traces the significant event.

It also features Kirti Kulhari and Paresh Rawal in lead roles. Produced by RSVP movies, "Uri" will hit the theatres on January 11, 2019.
Beijing, Nov 14 : China on Wednesday said it was closely following the escalating political crisis in Sri Lanka and hoped that the political parties could solve it by themselves.

In the latest development in the island nation, the country's Parliament passed a no-confidence motion against the government headed by the controversially appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The former strongman is perceived to be close to China and awarded many investment deals to Beijing.

"China is traditional friend and neighbour of Sri Lanka. We are closely following the situation unfolding in Sri Lanka," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press briefing.

"We hope Sri Lanka will see stability and believe that parties in that country have full wisdom and capability to deal with the current situation," he said.

The blow to Rajapaksa came a day after the country's Supreme Court overturned President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and call for snap elections in January.

Sirisena surprisingly sacked his unity government partner and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe still claims to be the Premier and says he commands a majority in Parliament to hold the office.
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 14 : It could well be the first time in the history of the Lord Ayyappa Sabarimala temple that the nearly-two-month-long festival season is opening amidst such grave uncertainty.

The festival season, which opens on the evening of Friday, November 16, for the Mandala Mahotsavam, will run till January 20, 2019, when the doors are finally closed. There is, in between, a three-day break from December 27.

The uncertainty has been caused by the September 28 verdict of the Supreme Court which lifted the temple's traditional ban on the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 -- who, it is believed, disturb the temple's celibate deity. It was a decision that was hailed by liberals and women's activists, but caused disquiet among devotees.

After the verdict, the ruling Communnist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Front government in Kerala announced it will implement the apex court's ruling, pitting it directly against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and numerous Hindu groups which have been up in arms against the verdict.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has also taken the position that the age-old traditions and customs of the famed shrine should not be diluted.

Besides, members of the Pandalam Royal family, that has an emotional connect with Sabarimala and are the official custodians of the temple's jewellery, have also have come out against the Supreme Court ruling on the grounds that the temple's unique traditions must be respected and observed.

Capping it all was the strong position taken by the Sabarimala Tantri family -- the priests in charge of the temple -- which went to the extent of stating that it will have no qualms in closing down the temple if its traditions are violated.

The temple town has already witnessed two rounds of protests by those opposed to breaking traditions and, despite the presence of a 2,000-plus-strong police force, 15 women in the hitherto banned age group had to beat a hasty retreat without being able to climb the hallowed 18 steps to have their darshan of the deity.

And on Tuesday, with the Supreme Court sticking to its September 28 decision and with all the players, including the Left Front government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, reiterating their original stands, it is evident that the upcoming season would well be an eventful one.

The only glimmer of hope to have emerged came after the top court refused a stay on its September 28 order, when the Vijayan government announced it was ready to hold an all-party meeting to discuss the Sabarimala temple issue on November 15, a day before the festival season opens.

Vijayan is slated to have a meeting with representatives of the Pandalam Royal family and Tantri families soon after the all-party meeting.

While state BJP president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai has said a final decision on participating in the all-party meeting remains to be taken by the party, the two families linked to the shrine have welcomed Vijayan's initiative and have announced that they will be present.

Vijayan has been under fire for not having called an all-party meeting earlier, with critics suggesting that had such an exercise been conducted soon after the September 28 verdict, much of the tension and violence in the temple town could have been avoided.

In any case, there is a lot of expectation from the all-party meeting. If it fails to come to an amicable solution, the famed temple town may well witness unprecedented tension and even violence -- especially as 550 women in the banned age group have registered to have a darshan through the "Virtual Q" system.
Singapore, Nov 14 : India and the US on Wednesday discussed their roles in a free Indo-Pacific region and cooperation in defence and trade sectors during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here.

Briefing the media here following the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that Modi referred to his speech in Singapore in June at the Shangri-La Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision of the Indo-Pacific.

"We conveyed to Vice President Pence that his (Modi's) vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that we should utilise the upcoming East Asia Summit to further build up on that," Gokhale said.

"Vice President Pence also spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.

"He felt that India's contribution in ensuring this would be important and we then discussed how both sides can strengthen cooperation in this area to ensure that this is an area of growth, of prosperity, of development and of benefit for the countries of the region in the future."

India and the US, along with Japan and Australia, are part of a quad revived in 2017 that seeks to work for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Gokhale said that trade-related matters also came up for a brief discussion during the Modi-Pence meeting.

"Prime Minister remarked that in the last two years, i.e. the two years when President Trump assumed office, American exports to India have grown by 50 per cent," he said.

"It is perhaps one of the countries, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the United States has a trade deficit where the deficit has actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year and this is important from the perspective of the United States."

With India starting to import oil and gas from the US, there was a lot of discussion on energy cooperation as well.

"We have begun importing oil and gas from United States," the Foreign Secretary said.

"It is expected to be valued about $4 billion this year and we expressed our readiness to import more oil and more gas from the United States as a way of expanding our trade," he stated.

Gokhale said that another area which both sides felt would be important on the economic front would be the defence sector.

"There of course both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defence relationship, in our imports of equipment from the United States but Prime Minister in particular stressed that there was a great opportunity for United States in India in making defence equipment and setting up defence industry in India," he said.

"Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region."

According to Gokhale, "there was appreciation of the outcomes of the recently held Ministerial 2+2 and on the follow up to the 2+2, both on the foreign policy side and on the defence side".

The first ever India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue was held in New Delhi in September which was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

The Foreign Secretary said that there was some discussion on the issue of terrorism and Pence referred to the coming 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks.

"In this context he greatly appreciated the cooperation which has been built between the United States and India on counter-terrorism and in response, the Prime Minister, while thanking him for these words also reminded him that in one way or another all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately leads to a single source, a single place of origin and in that context he did point out that the mainstreaming of the people involved in Mumbai terror attacks in a political process which had taken place in a recent election in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to our two countries but to the international community."

This was a reference to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the general elections in Pakistan in July.

According to Gokhale, Modi appreciated US President Donald Trump's hosting of a Diwali event at the White House and in this connection, there was a discussion on the contributions that have been made by the Americans of Indian origin, "the Indian-American community for the last three decades economically, culturally, in terms of integration, in terms of building or helping the building of democracy and in this context Prime Minister conveyed to the Vice President that Indians when they come to the United States not only bring their talent and capacity to innovate, capacity to excel but also they are imbued in democratic values".
New Delhi, Nov 14 : Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has appointed Adarsh Nair as the company's Chief Product Officer.

Nair, who was working with US-based Convoy Inc, would report to Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel for India and South Asia, Airtel said in a statement.

"In his new role Adarsh will be the custodian of Airtel's digital products and platforms, and play a pivotal role in the company's digital transformation journey. He will work closely with Airtel's leadership team and partners to identify and prioritize market opportunities," it said.

The post was vacant for three years after Anand Chandrasekaran quit as the Chief Product Officer in 2015.

People in the know of the developments said the company now needed a product head as it transforms from a telecom-specific firm to a digital company with the introduction of "Airtel 3.0" vision.
New York, Nov 14 : Global measurement and data analytics company Nielsen and Microsoft on Wednesday announced a new enterprise data solution to accelerate innovation in retail via Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven data analytics.

The strategic alliance has been brought to life through Nielsen Connect, powered by Microsoft Azure intelligent cloud platform, the companies said in a statement.

Through advanced analytics and AI services built on Azure, Nielsen Connect is helping companies integrate data assets to easily spot emerging trends, diagnose performance gaps and act faster on opportunities to grow.

"We are helping the retail industry reimagine its approach to data by creating a truly open and global environment of collaboration, encouraging companies to evolve beyond mere data management," said John Tavolieri, President, US FMCG and Retail and Chief Technology and Operations Officer at Nielsen.

The joint Microsoft and Nielsen solution is now live to create scalable, high-performance data environments.

"Because retail happens wherever customers are and whenever they choose, Nielsen Connect provides high reliability at a global scale 24/7.

"Microsoft is a natural partner for Nielsen, trusted by global enterprises to protect their data and power their critical business solutions," informed Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President of Microsoft's Worldwide Commercial Business.
Abu Dhabi, Nov 14 : A four-year-old Indian boy died on a flight due to epileptic seizures on his way back from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah with his family.

The Oman Airways flight, flying from Jeddah to Kozhikode in Kerala, made an emergency landing in Abu Dhabi on Monday afternoon after the tragic incident, the airlines said.

The boy, identified as Yahya Puthiyapurayil developed epileptic seizures 45 minutes after the take-off, a relative told the Khaleej Times.

"He was running a mild fever while boarding the flight from Jeddah and developed epileptic seizures in mid-air. He died on his mother's lap. The family is inconsolable," said the boy's uncle Mohammed Nadeer, who lives in Abu Dhabi.

Puthiyapurayil was a specially-abled child who could not walk or talk.

"He was wheel-chair bound and had been undergoing treatment since his birth. He was travelling with a 13-member family pilgrimage group including his parents, uncles and cousins," the Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday.

An Indian Embassy official said the boy's body was repatriated early on Tuesday morning on an Etihad flight. The body reached Kannur and the burial was done by the afternoon, according to relatives.

"We were notified about the tragic incident on Monday afternoon. We spoke to the immigration officials in Abu Dhabi to facilitate the visa for the father. It was around 10.30 p.m. in the night when the formalities were completed," said M. Raja Murugan, Counsellor (Consular) at the Embassy.

"We opened the Embassy at night and facilitated the cancellation of the boy's passport and registration of death and issued the no-objection letter to take the mortal remains to India."
New Delhi, Nov 14 : Two Chief Ministerial aspirants of Congress -- Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot -- here on Wednesday announced that they will contest the December 7 Rajasthan Assembly elections but avoided answering questions on who will be the CM face.

"I and Gehlot will both contest the Assembly polls and Congress will come to power in the state," Pilot told the media at the party headquarters here.

He also said that there was a lot of infighting within the Bharatiya Janata Party over ticket distribution and disgruntled leaders have been queuing up to join the Congress.

To a question regarding the CM face of Congress, Gehlot said: "Since Independence, it has been the tradition of Congress party not to name the CM face in states. We are proudly carrying forward that legacy."

While Pilot, a former MP and Union Minister, will be contesting the assembly polls for the first time, Gehlot has been the Chief Minister twice.
Singapore, Nov 14 : US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday told Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi that the treatment of her country's stateless Rohingya Muslim population was inexcusable.

"This is a tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of Americans. The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes which resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh is without excuse," Pence told Suu Kyi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Singapore.

"I'm anxious to hear about the progress you're making in holding those accountable who are responsible," he was quoted as saying by CNN.

Pence comments came as officials in Myanmar and Bangladesh get ready to repatriate more than 2,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017.

The Myanmar military has been accused of using rape, murder and arson in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing that drove hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they languish in what has become the world's largest refugee camp.

The Myanmar government has repeatedly denied that its soldiers deliberately attacked unarmed Rohingyas.

Pence also expressed concern over the arrest and imprisonment of two Reuters reporters who were investigating an alleged massacre at a Rohingya village by the Army.

The pair -- Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo -- was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty in September of breaching the country's Official Secrets Act.

"The arrest and jailing of two journalists last fall was deeply troubling to millions of Americans and I look forward to speaking to you about the premium that we place on a free and independent press," the US leader said.

Suu Kyi responded by saying she understood the situation better than her country's critics. "We are in a better position to explain to you what is happening," she said.

Suu Kyi has come under fierce criticism for her handling of the crisis in Rakhine and for failing to safeguard human rights in Myanmar.

A UN report released in September said that the military campaign against the Rohingyas in Rakhine had elements of genocide.

The Rohingya crisis and the trade war between the US and China are in focus at the annual summit of leaders of the countries that form the Asean, being held in Singapore this week.

Asean member countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The US, China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and Chile are also participating in this year's summit.
London, Nov 14 : Drinking three to four cups of coffee a day can lower your risk of developing Type-2 diabetes by nearly 25 per cent, suggests a study.

The effect of coffee consumption on Type-2 diabetes was found in both men and women.

The same protective effect applied to consuming the same amount of decaffeinated coffee, the study showed.

It was not just caffeine, but a mix of compounds including hydroxycinnamic acids notably chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, diterpenes eg cafestol and kahweol, and caffeic acid, that is said to be the reason behind the link, said Mattias Carlstrom, Associate Professor from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.

The results were presented at 2018 Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Germany.

For the study, the team reviewed 30 prospective studies, with a total of 1,185,210 participants.

Professor Kjeld Hermansen from the Aarhus University in Denmark, suggests that a number of factors may be involved including an antioxidant effect, an anti-inflammatory effect, thermogenic effects or the modulation of microbiome diversity.

Coffee also caused a cascade of other beneficial changes in the fatty liver and inflammatory adipocytokines related to a reduced diabetes risk.

In addition, coffee plays a significant role in boosting energy and attention levels, lowers risk of depression, multiple sclerosis, helps burn fat as well as prevents the onset of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, previous research has shown.
San Francisco, Nov 14 : Facebook on Wednesday said its charitable giving tools have helped people raise over $1 billion in a span of three years.

So far, over 20 million people have either donated to or started a fundraiser on Facebook.

The social network also announced that it was bringing the non-profit fundraising tools to Canada and Australia.

"Our nonprofit and personal fundraising tools are now available in 20 countries," Naomi Gleit, Facebook's Vice President for Social Good said in a statement.

People use Facebook's charitable giving tools for non-profit and personal causes.

Facebook introduced these tools in 2015. They are still not available in India.

"Our non-profit community also continues to grow, and there are now over 1 million nonprofits in 19 countries that can receive donations directly through Facebook," Gleit added.

With fundraisers both big and small, people have made a lasting difference in their communities.

Save the Children, for example, raised more than $7.5 million over the past two years, which contributed to helping 6.5 million children in crisis across 60 countries.

Similarly, No Kid Hungry raised over $5 million from more than 200,000 donors on Facebook to help feed kids across the US, Facebook said.

"For Giving Tuesday on November 27, 2018, with our partner PayPal we are matching donations up to a total of $7 million for all US-based non-profit fundraisers happening on Facebook that day," Gleit said.
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 14 : Woman activist Trupti Desai on Wednesday waded into the Sabarimala issue when she asked for complete police protection during her visit to the temple starting Friday. But temple activist Rahul Eashwar promised to fight her tooth-and-nail to prevent her an entry.

Desai wrote to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to order police protection for her group when they visit Sabarimala on November 17 when the temple will open for the two-month long pilgrimage.

The temple town has witnessed protests by Hindu groups and temple tantri and officials ever since a Supreme Court verdict on September 28, allowed women of all ages to pray at Lord Ayyappa temple that hitherto banned girls and women aged between 10 and 50.

Desai wrote to Vijayan on Wednesday that she along with six other women would be arriving in Kerala on Friday for a visit at the temple on Saturday.

She sought police protection right from the time she lands in Kerala till they leave the state, saying "we will visit the temple whatever be the resistance".

While Eashwar said he and his officials along with Lord Ayyappa's true devotees would ensure that none were able to break the tradition of the temple. "We will lie down before the women who come to break the temple's tradition."

The temple will open on Friday evening for the Mandala Mahotsavam and she has asked to be escorted right from the airport to their rooms in Kottayam, where they would rest for the day.

The police must then provide protection when they head for the hilltop temple on Saturday.

Speaking to a Malayalam TV channel, Desai said she has written to the Chief Minister, Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra and also Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I have written but have not done any online booking for the darshan. The Supreme Court order is now very clear and hence we will be there and we will visit the temple whatever be the resistance," said Desai.

The temple will be open for 66 days till January 20, with a small break in between.

Promising an even bigger resistance, Sabarimala Tantri family's Rahul Eashwar along with activists and devotees told the media here, that Desai would know the power of the faith of Ayyappa devotees when she and her group reaches the temple town.

Eashwar was put in jail in October during the first month's protest after the top court's ruling came into existence.

"Come, what may, we will ensure that our protest will be in the true Gandhian way and none will be able to break the tradition of the temple.

"We will lie down before the women who come to break the temple tradition and if they have to move forward, they will have to walk on our bodies and once that happens, the police will have to arrest such people," said Eashwar.
Srinagar, Nov 14 : The woman who was arrested with 20 grenades on the outskirts of Srinagar on Tuesday was carrying the consignment for militants, police said on Wednesday.

Police said the arrested woman, identified as Asiya, was working for the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit and was carrying the consignment of grenades from Kupwara to Srinagar.

Police said two overground workers have also been arrested on the leads obtained during the investigation following the arrest of the woman.

Belonging to Khunmoh area of Srinagar district, the woman's father was a militant who was killed in Srinagar 20 years ago.
London, Nov 14 : British Prime Minister Theresa May will preside over a decisive extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Wednesday in which she will seek the backing of her ministers for a draft technical deal struck between the UK and the EU on Brexit.

May was scheduled to meet Conservative Party frontbenchers at her official Downing Street residence at around 2 p.m. following the weekly Prime Minister's questions session at the House of Commons, the BBC reported.

There have been calls to reject the deal from both senior Brexiteers and some Remain supporters.

The Tory PM, whose executive wields a minority in the Commons and stays afloat with the confidence and supply of the right-wing Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), met her ministers individually late into Monday to brief them on the roughly 500-page draft deal with Brussels.

She faces the considerable challenge of securing the support of the pro-Brexit ministers in her Cabinet, which includes powerful voices like the Secretary for International Trade Liam Fox and Environment Secretary Michael Gove, as well as those seen as having a tendency towards remaining in the EU.

Numerous political analysts suggested that failure to strike an agreement in the Cabinet meeting would cast doubt on May's future in office.

Although the details of the technical deal on Brexit were yet to be made public, Ireland's national broadcaster RTE, which initially broke the story on the deal, said it comprised a solution for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, according to Efe news.

Exactly how to maintain the soft border between Northern Ireland, a UK territory, and the Irish Republic, an EU member state, was a major stumbling block in the Brexit negotiations that sparked division within the UK government.

However, even if May gets unanimous backing from her ministers, she must still pass the draft accord through the Commons.

The draft was set to come up against major opposition from the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, backbench members of the Conservative Party and depending on what the deal would mean for Northern Ireland, potentially the DUP.

The DUP said it would not back an agreement that would keep Northern Ireland in regulatory alignment with its southern neighbour as a measure to keep a tariff-free frontier and preserve the freedom of movement for goods and people in the region.

The UK is set to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, with or without a deal.

British voters narrowly opted to withdraw from the bloc in a 2016 referendum called by erstwhile Prime Minister David Cameron who resigned the day after the vote.
New Delhi, Nov 14 : President Ram Nath Kovind is scheduled to visit Bihar on Thursday where he would address convocations at Samastipur agricultural university and NIT, a communique said on Wednesday.

He will grace the first convocation of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University at Samastipur.

He will also address the 8th convocation of National Institute of Technology Patna in the state capital, before returning to Delhi.


Democrat Kyrsten Sinema delivered her victory speech Nov. 12, after winning the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona over Republican challenger Martha McSally.

Opinion writer

Democratic Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema captured a long-held Republican seat in Arizona, defeating Republican Martha McSally and narrowing the GOPs majority in the upper chamber. Sinema, a three-term congresswoman, overcame attacks on her more liberal record as an Arizona state legislator and committed to a bipartisan approach in a race that hinged on issues such as health care and illegal immigration. Her defeat of McSally will make her the first female senator in Arizonas history.

'I wish her success': McSally concedes Arizona Senate race to Sinema In a video posted on Twitter, Republican Martha McSally conceded Nov. 12 to Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema in the Arizona U.S. Senate race.

The race was notable on multiple levels.

First, what was a reliable red state is now very much in play for Democrats in 2020. While Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey won reelection, Democrats snagged the Senate seat and flipped Arizonas 2nd Congressional District. Look for Arizona to become a battleground state in 2020. More generally, the West and Southwest (Nevada, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico) are safely or trending Democratic. Coupled with Democratic wins in the Rust Belt and Upper Midwest, Republicans outside the South are finding it tough going. That should be worrisome for Senate Republicans on the ballot in 2020 from Maine, Colorado, North Carolina and Arizona  and for Trump in trying to put together 270 electoral college votes in 2020.



Second, while the National Republican Senatorial Committees conduct in casting doubt on the vote-counting process was reprehensible, Ducey, Cindy McCain and McSally behaved appropriately, refusing to join in the anti-democratic process of delegitimizing elections that dont go their way. As a result, there will be no reasonable doubt as to the legitimacy of Sinemas victory  or of McSallys political viability going forward.

Third, the Democrats win reveals just how miserably Republicans performed in a year in which Democrats held on to or flipped Senate seats in seven states that Trump won in 2016 (Montana, Arizona, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania). Republicans, with the most favorable map in a generation, will pick up at most two seats (depending on the outcome in Florida). Trump might have helped Republicans hold on to the deepest-red states (e.g. Missouri, North Dakota), but his dominating presence in the last week or so of the campaign hammering an anti-immigrant message might have harmed House and Senate Republicans everywhere else. (As of this writing, Democrats picked up at least 32 seats; that total could reach 40. They also added at least seven governorships .)

Fourth, how McSally lost is as important as the loss itself. The Post reports, McSally lost the race after abandoning the moderate profile she had nurtured in her 2014 congressional race and allying herself with Trump. The former Air Force combat pilot adopted an aggressive tone, accusing Sinema of supporting treason over her 2003 remark that it was fine if a radio host who was asking her a question joined the Taliban. The lesson here for Republicans should be that unless you are in deep-red states, waving the bloody flag on immigration is a loser.



Fifth, exits polls in the race showed Sinema hung on to a high percentage of white voters (44 percent) and won big with Hispanics (69 percent), white college graduates (53 percent), white college-educated women (55 percent), voters 18 to 44 years old (59 percent), and voters who ranked health care as the most important issue (77 percent). That sort of coalition succeeded for Democrats in a previously red state  and in races all across the country. When looking at presidential candidate, Democratic primary voters should consider who has the ability to put together that kind of coalition.

In sum, a week after the midterms, the Democrats wins look more impressive  and the GOP looks more like a party in decline. Republicans outside the Deep South should be concerned about their survival so long as Trump is president.
Bhubaneswar, Nov 14 : The Orissa High Court Bar Association on Wednesday called off its 78-day cease-work stir after three police personnel accused of assaulting a lawyer sought an unconditional apology before the High Court.

The bar association decided that the lawyers would join their duty from Thursday.

Bar association president Srikant Nayak said the three policemen involved in the assault on a lawyer on August 28 appeared before the bench of the High Court of Justice C.R. Das and tendered an unconditional apology for the incident.

The court has informed that it will constitute a high-level committee to deal with a similar situation in future, said Nayak.

He said a senior official of the state government, president and secretary of High Court Bar Association and three selected senior advocates will be members of the committee.

"We will join the court proceedings from tomorrow. We urge bar associations in the state, which have been supporting us, to resume their duty from tomorrow," he added.

The lawyers were on strike demanding arrest of the policemen involved in the attack on their colleague in Cuttack on August 28.

IANS

cd/prs
Vijayawada, Nov 14 : The Andhra government on Wednesday launched a Cloud-based skill initiative with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's Cloud arm, where it will skill 60,000 students across the state's over 300 engineering and non-engineering colleges by 2020.

An MoU to build skills and literacy under the mission titled "Cloud For All-Knowledge and Skills Mission," was exchanged between Sambasiva Rao, CEO, Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) and Sunil PP, India Education Lead, Public Sector, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited, here.

APSSDC will build Cloud computing technology skills across Andhra Pradesh leveraging the AWS Educate programme, Amazon's global initiative to provide students and educators with the resources needed to accelerate cloud-related learning.

"APSSDC has collaborated with AWS Educate Programme to provide a skilled workforce across high-priority and emerging sectors. The learning programme has reached students in every district of the state to build critical skills in Cloud Computing," said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

With the increasing demand for cloud employees, AWS Educate provides an academic gateway for the next generation of IT and cloud professionals.

AWS has been working with the APSSDC since 2017.

"What started as a pilot has now grown exponentially in scale and depth of engagement. We commend APSSDC for their clear vision in skills enablement and cloud literacy across Andhra Pradesh, which is important as a growth engine for the state," said Vincent Quah, Regional Head-Education, Healthcare, Non Profits and Research for Asia Pacific and Japan, AWS.

As part of a pilot programme in 2017, APSSDC rolled out the AWS Educate programme to engineering colleges in the state, and enrolled more than 10,000 students into various "Cloud Career Pathways".

The Cloud Career Pathway framework enables students to put their cloud knowledge to use across 12 self-paced pathways aligned to labour market trends and workforce needs.

In May, more than 200 faculty members from over 80 engineering colleges were also trained as part of the faculty development initiative.

By September, more than 13,000 students were enrolled in the AWS Educate programme from nearly 130 non-engineering colleges.

"Skilling students presents an opportunity to drive greater creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship within the State," said Rahul Sharma, President-Public Sector, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited.
Aizawl, Nov 14 : The armies of India and Japan on Wednesday completed their joint military exercise, Dharma Guardian -- 2018, at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) located at Vairengte in Mizoram, officials said.

A defence spokesman based in Guwahati said the primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in urban and semi urban terrains.

The exercise is believed to be a significant step towards fostering military and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

"The participants were initially familiarised with each other's organisational structure, tactical drills and planning process before graduating to joint tactical exercises. The contingents honed their tactical and technical skills in a wide spectrum of counter insurgency operations in including joint training on weapons and equipment, field training exercise and handling of improved explosive devices," he said.

"The Commanders at various levels from both sides were exercised to work in close coordination to receive and collate information jointly, plan operations and issue suitable orders to respective integrated groups," he said. The exercise provided an ideal platform for both contingents to share their operational experience and expertise while also being instrumental in broadening the inter-operability and cooperation between the armies of India and Japan.
Singapore, Nov 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday raked up with US Vice President Mike Pence the issue of terrorism sponsored from Pakistan pointing out that "all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately lead to a single source".

During a meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here, Modi told Pence that political mainstreaming in Pakistan of people involved in terror activities should be a matter of concern for the international community.

The two leaders discussed a host of other issues including the roles of their respective nations in ensuring a free Indo-Pacific region and cooperation in defence and trade sectors.

Briefing media after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said during the discussion on terrorism, Pence referred to the coming 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks.

"In this context he greatly appreciated the cooperation which has been built between the United States and India on counter-terrorism," Gokhale said.

"In response, the Prime Minister, while thanking him for these words also reminded him that in one way or another all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately lead to a single source, a single place of origin," he added.

"In that context he did point out that the mainstreaming of the people involved in Mumbai terror attacks in a political process which had taken place in a recent election in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to our two countries but to the international community."

This was a reference to the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's party contesting the general elections in Pakistan in July this year.

The Foreign Secretary said that Modi referred to his speech in Singapore in June at the Shangri-La Dialogue in which he had outlined India's vision of the Indo-Pacific.

"We conveyed to Vice President Pence that his (Modi's) vision of Indo-Pacific was gaining acceptability and that we should utilise the upcoming East Asia Summit to further build up on that," Gokhale said.

"Vice President Pence also spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.

"He felt that India's contribution in ensuring this would be important and we then discussed how both sides can strengthen cooperation in this area to ensure that this is an area of growth, of prosperity, of development and of benefit for the countries of the region in the future."

India and the US, along with Japan and Australia, are part of a quad revived in 2017 that seeks to work for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Gokhale said that trade-related matters also came up for a brief discussion during the Modi-Pence meeting.

"Prime Minister remarked that in the last two years, the two years when President Trump assumed office, American exports to India have grown by 50 per cent," he said.

"It is perhaps one of the countries, perhaps the only one, of the top 10 countries with which the United States has a trade deficit where the deficit has actually reduced last year and is on course to further reduce this year and this is important from the perspective of the United States."

With India starting to import oil and gas from the US, there was a lot of discussion on energy cooperation as well.

"We have begun importing oil and gas from United States," the Foreign Secretary said.

"It is expected to be valued about $4 billion this year and we expressed our readiness to import more oil and more gas from the United States as a way of expanding our trade," he stated.

Gokhale said that another area which both sides felt would be important on the economic front would be the defence sector.

"There of course both sides agreed that there had been a substantial enhancement in our defence relationship, in our imports of equipment from the United States but Prime Minister in particular stressed that there was a great opportunity for United States in India in making defence equipment and setting up defence industry in India," he said.

"Not only that India is a substantial market but because the way we are placed regionally we can become a hub for exports to the rest of the region."

According to Gokhale, "there was appreciation of the outcomes of the recently held Ministerial 2+2 and on the follow up to the 2+2, both on the foreign policy side and on the defence side".

The first ever India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue was held in New Delhi in September which was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.
Nagpur, Nov 14 : Prominent pro-Vidarbha activist and former Advocate-General Shreehari Aney on Wednesday demanded that the upcoming Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway (NMSCE) be named after Mahatma Gandhi for whom Vidarbha was a 'karmabhoomi'.

"Why should the NMSCE be named after Bal Thackeray? Neither the Shiv Sena nor any of its leader did anything for the cause of (separate state) Vidarbha," Aney said in a statement.

He pointed out that the promise of the late Sena founder to create a new state of Vidarbha in eastern Maharashtra was not honoured by the party or any of his leaders.

Aney said that "the late Thackeray's name is suitable only in Mumbai or Pune" and sought to know what was wrong with the existing name, NMSCE.

The legal luminary's demand came a day after the Shiv Sena asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to christen NMSCE after the late Thackeray even as a section of Bharatiya Janata Party wants to name it after the late Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.

Alternatively, Aney suggested that if the NMSCE was not acceptable, it could be simply renamed as Vidarbha Expressway as it will zip through that region.

Public Works Department (PWD) Minister (Shiv Sena) Eknath Shinde led a delegation of party leaders to Fadnavis on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum demanding that the NMSCE be named after the late Thackeray, whose sixth death anniversary will be observed on November 17.

"Balasaheb Thackeray was the architect of the country's first-ever expressway project - the Mumbai-Pune Yeshwantrao Chavan Expressway, which came up during the tenure of the first Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government which took office in 1995," Shinde said.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was implemented by the then PWD Minister Nitin Gadkari and Thackeray's dream was realised in 2000 when the project was inaugurated, he said.

He added that after the first (Mumbai-Pune) expressway, the second one (NMSCE) is also destined to come up during the tenure of the BJP-Sena government and urged Fadnavis to do the needful in the matter.

A pet project of Fadnavis, the foundation stone for the NMSCE is expected to be laid soon with most of the land acquisition work completed.

The 701-km long NMSCE Greenfield Project will zip through 10 districts, 26 sub-districts and 392 villages en route, slashing travel time between Mumbai-Nagpur from the present 18 to barely eight hours.

The Rs 46,000-crore NMSCE, likely to be completed by October 2019, will get an extra boost with a proposal to twin a railway line, a first such coordinated move to execute a transportation project in the country, and the government has urged the Defence Ministry to declare it as a 'Defence industry corridor'.

It will be a part of the proposed high speed rail corridor between Howrah-Mumbai, the diamond quadrilateral rail project.
Bonn, Nov 14 : More than 30 countries hosting the African wild dog, cheetah, leopard and the lion met here to establish the African Carnivore Initiative, it was announced on Wednesday.

The initiative constitutes the first Africa-wide commitment towards saving these carnivores.

Habitat loss and fragmentation, prey depletion, retaliatory killing of carnivores by owners of livestock and increasing trade in lion specimens and live cheetah are the main reasons for these animals' rapid decline across most of Africa.

Currently, the Red List Assessments of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are showing that the African wild dog inhabits six per cent of its historic range, while it is nine per cent for the cheetah, 51 per cent for the leopard and 17 per cent for the lion.

Supported by experts of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, the range states agreed in Bonn on establishing a work programme to guide their conservation actions in the coming years.

The countries agreed, among others, on developing and implementing conservation strategies for each of the four species; creating and maintaining a network of healthy ecosystems to address the threat of increasingly fragmented habitats and finding solutions to human-animal conflicts and facilitating coexistence.

This includes sustainable economic and livelihood benefits to communities and reducing the costs of living alongside wildlife. Improving education and awareness of the plight of African carnivores is necessary to ensure long-term success of conservation actions.

A new network should be established to provide technical support, training and mentoring to national coordinators as well as a platform for regular meetings.

A continuous information exchange will facilitate transboundary collaboration.

Closing knowledge gaps by using monitoring protocols for large carnivore populations is required to provide sufficient information to decision makers. This entails developing the capacity of the range states to monitor populations of the four species.

The African Carnivores Initiative is a unique collaboration between the only two global treaties whose mandate is to conserve endangered species.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) focuses on broad conservation measures, such as habitat protection, establishment of ecological corridors and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates international trade and seeks to stop illegal trade.

By working together, CMS and CITES can tackle the conservation of the four carnivores from two different angles.

CMS Executive Secretary Bradnee Chambers said: "In joining forces, CMS and CITES are pooling resources and expertise that will allow range states to conserve flagship African carnivores in a holistic manner."
Singapore, Nov 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday highlighted the need for an early conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement through multilateral and bilateral talks among the member countries.

According to Sudhanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary with the Commerce Ministry, Prime Minister Modi also called for a balanced and mutually beneficial RCEP pact.

"An important point that was made was relating to early conclusion of the negotiations by fast-tracking and intensifying negotiations both multilaterally and bilaterally," Pandey said at a media briefing after the second RCEP summit level meeting held here.

Further, Pandey said the Prime Minister emphasised that multilateral agreements such as RCEP, which have "diverse circumstances and developmental requirements, should be modern, comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial."

However, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations was unable to conclude negotiations for the RCEP during the meet which was held alongside the ASEAN summit, postponing the agreement till 2019.

The RCEP is a proposed free-trade agreement between ASEAN and six Asia-Pacific states with which the regional bloc has existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) -- namely China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

In addition, the Prime Minister is said to have also acknowledged the progress made in negotiations on market access for goods and said similar efforts should be made in the services-sector negotiations.

"We need to make similar efforts to make progress in services negotiations as they constitute more than 50 per cent of the GDP of most of the RCEP countries, and in future services are going to play a very important role," Pandey quoted Modi as saying.
Jerusalem, Nov 14 : Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman announced his resignation on Wednesday, citing disagreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over accepting a ceasefire with Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, after two days of intense airstrikes and rocket fire.

In a televised news conference, Liberman said that agreeing to a ceasefire was "surrendering to terror", adding that his nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party would withdraw from Netanyahu's governing coalition, citing irreconcilable differences.

He has been a proponent of firm military action against Hamas, the Islamist militant group which controls the Gaza Strip, even if it risked a wider conflict.

Eight people were killed on Monday and Tuesday as militants fired 460 rockets towards Israel and Israeli forces bombed 160 targets in Gaza.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups announced on Tuesday that they had accepted an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire and would abide by it if Israel did too.

"There is no other definition, no other significance, but a surrender to terror," Liberman was cited as saying by the BBC. "What we are doing now as a country is buying short-term quiet at the cost of our long-term security."

The continuity of Netanyahu's government remained possible even without Yisrael Beiteinu, as the coalition would still have a thin 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Israeli Parliament.

Lieberman said that his decision was based on two fundamental disagreements with Netanyahu: The first was the Premier's decision last week to allow Qatar to bring $15 million into Gaza to pay civil servants' salaries and second was the Israeli government's acceptance of the ceasefire.

The Gaza Strip remained calm on Wednesday as the truce appeared to be holding. However, Israel's military said it had shot at and captured a Palestinian man who tried to breach the Israel-Gaza border fence while hurling grenades.

Dozens of residents of Israeli border communities, meanwhile, blocked roads in protest at what they called the "lack of action by the Israeli government" to deal with the threat of Palestinian rocket attacks.

Netanyahu defended the ceasefire decision, saying that "in times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public can't always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy".

In Gaza, people celebrated the ceasefire, which Hamas portrayed as a victory.

The latest violence began after an Israeli special forces undercover operation in Gaza was exposed on Sunday, triggering clashes that left seven Palestinian militants and one Israeli soldier dead.

Nour Baraka, a commander from Hamas' military wing, was also killed in the operation.
Dhaka, Nov 14 : Bangladesh on Wednesday was preparing to go ahead with the planned repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who last year fled a violent military crackdown in Myanmar, despite concerns over their safety.

The plans to send Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar gathered momentum, with reports of Bangladesh armed forces gathering in the Cox's Bazar camps and allegations that refugees were assaulted by the authorities for refusing to cooperate, according to a report in the Guardian.

The first phase of the Rohingya's return to Myanmar will begin on Thursday, according to an agreement signed between the two countries on November 23, 2017.

"We have seen their concerns, but so far the decision has not been changed," Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam told Efe news.

The two governments agreed to repatriate 2,251 of some 723,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps in Cox's Bazaar of Bangladesh.

The Army, police and paramilitary troops moved into several of the camps in Bangladesh, where over 700,000 Rohingya have been living after fleeing a campaign of violence, described as genocide by a UN fact-finding mission.

According to the Guardian, there have been reports of Bangladesh camp officials assaulting Rohingya refugees who refused to cooperate, in a sign that the repatriations may not be voluntary, despite multiple assurances by Bangladesh that it would not force any Rohingya to go back.

Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged Bangladesh to halt the plan, warning that the repatriation would violate international law and put the lives of the refugees at serious risk.

Rohingya leaders echoed those concerns, saying it was too soon to start the repatriation.

"This repatriation is not going to be sustainable," Abdur Rahim, a leader of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, said.

"They (the Myanmar authorities) are going to keep people in camps," he said.

Another community leader, Dil Mohammad, said the situation in Myanmar was not yet conducive for the refugees' return.

"We will go back only if the security of our life and livelihood is ensured."

Spokesman of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Firas Al-Khateeb said that they started assessing "the voluntariness of the refugees cleared for return to Myanmar to ascertain if they would like to exercise their right to return at this time".

The Rohingya exodus began on August 25, 2017 when a rebel group of the mostly Muslim minority community launched a series of attacks on government posts in Rakhine state in western Myanmar.

The Myanmar Army responded with an offensive that has been condemned globally, with the UNHCR saying it had all the attributes of ethnic cleansing and bore elements of genocide.
Chandigarh, Nov 14 : INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala on Wednesday expelled his elder son Ajay Singh Chautala, accusing him of "anti-party activities." Ajay was also removed as the secretary general of the party.

The expulsion decision was announced by the Indian National Lok Dal state unit chief Ashok Arora on Wednesday in the presence of senior party leaders and Ajay Chautala's younger brother, Abhay Singh Chautala.

Arora read out a letter from Om Prakash Chautala, who is in Tihar Jail in the national capital.

"The national President of INLD accused Ajay Singh Chautala of activities that vitiated the party discipline and weakened the cohesiveness, unity and integrity of the party. He continues to adhere to the principle that no individual or a member of his family is above party's disciplne," an INLD statement said.

Chautala, a former Chief Minister of Haryana, also accused Ajay Singh of "trying to run a parallel party organization by going beyond his powers and calling an unauthorized meeting of the party at Jind on November 17."

"He reminded him of Section 5 of Article IX of the party constitution wherein no general or special meeting can be called without the prior written permission of the national President. "Any violation of this will invite disciplinary action by the national President," Arora said.

Arora also pointed out that the meeting called by Ajay Singh Chautala on November 17 at Jind was "unconstitutional and illegal".

Arora said a meeting of the INLD leadership has been called on November 17.

Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala and his younger brother, Digvijay Chautala, who are the sons of Ajay Chautala, were expelled from the primary membership on November 2 by their grandfather, bringing the bitterness within the Chautala clan out in the open.

Ajay Chautala, who is out of Tihar on parole, is touring various parts of Haryana to mobilise support for the party meeting and a rally he has called in Jind on November 17.

Reacting to the expulsion of Ajay Chautala, his son Digvijay said the whole exercise was a "conspiracy" and the expulsion letter from Chautala senior was "forged".

Earlier, refusing to accept his expulsion, Dushyant had pointed out that neither has his expulsion order been issued officially by the INLD nor has the party's national executive met to decide the issue.

Dushyant, who was also removed from the post of leader of the INLD Parliamentary Board, claimed that he had learnt about his 'expulsion' only through the media.

The INLD, which is Haryana's main opposition party, could be heading for a split with the fight within the Chautala family spilling out into the open over the past few days.

Dushyant and Digvijay Chautala are the great-grandsons of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

The action follows activities of both youth leaders and their supporters when they tried to project Dushyant as the chief ministerial face in Haryana next year.

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 in prison by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi.

THe Father and son have been barred from contesting elections due to the conviction.

The INLD has been managed by Chautala's younger son Abhay Singh Chautala, who has been the leader of opposition in the Haryana Assembly, since then.

Abhay Singh told media here on Wednesday: "I have never nourished political ambitions but have also never shirked from any duty assigned to me by Chaudhary Om Prakash Chautala. I have worked at the grassroots level and contested and won elections against heavy odds when asked to do so."
New Delhi, Nov 14 : The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday ordered Punjab Government to submit a fine of Rs 50 crore as environmental compensation for polluting rivers Sutlaj and Beas due to uncontrolled industrial discharge.

The bench had clubbed several similar cases, including the one dealing with death of fish due to untreated discharge from sugar Industries in May this year.

The bench headed by Justice A.K. Goyal has asked the Punjab government to recover the fine from industries in two weeks.

"Earlier a committee headed by Central Pollution Control Board, of which Punjab Pollution Control Board was a part, submitted a report saying it found that the industrial discharge was not being treated as treatment plants were not functioning," PPCB counsel Nagendra Benipal said.

The tribunal clubbed some other cases of river polltion in Punjab, one based on a petition from Rajashtan-based activist, which claimed that polluted water from the Sutlej and Beas, entering Rajashtan through a feeder river, was affecting eight districts there.

The next date of hearing is on February 27.
Thiruvananthapuram, November 11 : Womens rights activist Trupti Desai said on Wednesday that she, along with six other women members of bhumatha brigade would visit Sabarimala in November when the hill shrine opens for the annual pilgrimage season on November 16.

Reports suggest that Ms. Desai has written to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking protection for bhumatha brigade members to offer prayers at the Sabarimala temple on November 17, a day after the hill shrine opens for the mandalam-makaravilakku festival season.

The supreme courts decision to hear review petitions challenging its own majority verdict lifting curbs on entry of women of menstrual age into the temple would not deter the bhumatha brigade members resolve to visit the hill shrine, she told reporters.

Ms. Desai had earlier welcomed the verdict of the constitution bench of the supreme court allowing unrestricted entry to women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple.

The News Minute quotes her as saying that they (bhumatha brigade) will definitely visit the hill shrine to offer prayers for equality, asking what right the protestors have to stop them from doing so when the supreme court has given them the right to offer worship at the temple.

The bhumatha brigades declaration of their intent to visit the hill shrine comes even as the BJP/RSS and affiliated right-wing outfits have vowed to prevent entry of women of child-bearing age entry into the temple during the annual pilgrimage season.

A review bench of the supreme court had the other day refused to issue a stay on its own majority verdict allowing women of all ages to pray at the Sabarimala temple. The BJP worries that the hearing on review petitions scheduled for January 22 will become infructuous if women enter the hill shrine during the pilgrimage season.

Already more than 500 women have registered with polices digital queue system for offering worship at the temple.

Trupti Desai had shot to fame by leading the right to pray movement in 2016 championing the right of women to offer worship at Mumbais Haji Ali Dargah.
New Delhi, Nov 14 : Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019, veteran journalist Prannoy Roy, along with Dorab Sopariwala, Editorial Adviser of NDTV, will be publishing "a definitive book" on elections in India.

"In a few months, we are going to face the big Lok Sabha elections. Nothing is more exciting than elections and nowhere in the world are elections more exciting than in India. So we decided to write a book about the Indian elections -- what they mean to everybody, how they are different and what the underlying trends and forces are that determine their outcome," Roy, a co-founder of NDTV, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The yet-to-be titled book will hit the stands in early 2019, and is expected to demystify the general election and answer critical questions on electoral politics.

It will be published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI), which said that Roy's book is positioned as a must-read for anyone interested in politics and elections in India. The publisher asserted that the book is based on "rigorous psephology, original research and as-yet undisclosed facts". It will cover the entire span of independent India's electoral history -- from the first elections in 1952, till today.

"This will be an authoritative, well-researched and a must-have book for the 2019 general election and beyond. I am delighted that Roy has chosen Penguin Random House India as the home for his book. We can't wait to publish it," said Milee Ashwarya, Editor-in-Chief, Commercial & Business Books, PRHI.
Kochi, Nov 14 : Using the latest technology, AN-Face, Orange County, a Malaysia-based animation company has resurrected the legendary Tamil actor MGR in a two-hour long 'feature film' in 3D digital mode, to be released in Hyderabad, next month.

The digital company has used artificial intelligence to define the facial expressions and his mannerisms which made him a legend in the Indian film industry.

The film is based on movie stills, publicity photos, and films featuring the actor, who later became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The official release would be held during the 4th edition of Indywood Film Carnival to be held at Ramoji Film City from December 1to 4th.

The Film Carnival is the brainchild of Keralite, Sohan Roy, a marine engineer by profession and operates out of Dubai .

The Malaysian company has been working with a leading Hollywood VFX specialist for the past two years to create this.
New Delhi, Nov 14 : The Indian Air Force on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that there was no clear definition of the generation of fighter aircraft and that the existing fighters with it are of three-and-a-half or fourth generation.

The IAF officers' response came during the hearing on a batch of petitions on the French Rafale fighter deal.

The Air Vice Marshal T. Chalapathi told the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph that the force was looking for fifth generation fighter aircraft as there was no new induction of fighters since 1985 when Dassault's Mirage were acquired.

He told the bench that though HAL continues to produce Sukhoi 30 and Light Combat Aircraft, there is need for fifth generation stealth aircraft with advanced avionics.

AS CJI Gogoi asked "Your requirement is 5th generation aircraft", Air Vice Marshal T. Chalapathi said the requirement is for a few squadrons of 4th and 5th generation fighter aircraft.

No sooner than the AG concluded his arguments, CJI Gogoi asked all the senior Air Force officers to go.

"Air Marshal and Vice-Marshals can go back. It is a different war game here in the court. You can go to your own war rooms", CJI Gogoi told the senior officers who were called to the court to address queries by the bench.
New Delhi, Nov 14 : The BJP on Wednesday slammed Congress for allegedly spreading "hatred" against the RSS and the "Hindus", and described its President Rahul Gandhi's temple visits as "fancy dress hindutava".

The saffron party attacked the Congress by releasing a video clip purportedly featuring Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, who is seen telling a group of Muslims to be cautious about the RSS campaign and that his party will deal with it after the November 28 state Assembly polls.

"The video exposes the real and divisive face of Congress as to how through appeasement, it was trying to divide syncretic culture of India. This video also shows the hatred the Congress has for the RSS and in particular against the Hindu community," BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra told a press conference.

He said that the "temple hopping of Rahul gandhi, the temporary janeu he adorns, the fancy dress Hindutava that he has taken to, are nothing but eyewash."

He said this was not just a lone video or a solitary statement by Kamal Nath, but there was a narrative attached to it as the Congress in its election manifesto for Madhya Pradesh elections promised to ban the RSS shakhas if it comes to power in the state.

"This is the kind of brazeness that Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Nath have for the RSS and the Hindu community in particular. The same people who, through Shashi Tharoor and the likes, have time and again abused the Hindus," he said.

Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls in a single phase on November 28 and the results will be announced on December 11. The main contest is between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
Hyderabad, Nov 14 : In another jolt to the 'Mahakutami' (Grand Alliance) of opposition parties in Telangana, TJS on Wednesday announced that it will contest in 12 constituencies in the next month's assembly elections.

Even before the constituents could reach a formal agreement over seat sharing, the fledgling Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) announced the list of constituencies where it plans to field its candidates.

TJS Vice President P.L. Vishweshwar Rao told reporters that TJS will contest for the seats of Dubbaka, Medak, Malkajgiri, Amberpet, Siddipet, Warangal East, Vardhannapeta, Asifabad, Station Ghanpur, Jangaon, Mahabubnagar and Miryalguda.

Stating that TJS is contesting only in those constituencies where it is strong, Rao said discussion could continue on seat sharing.

Elections to the 119-member Assembly are scheduled to be held on December 7. The last date for filing of nominations is November 19.

The Congress party, which is heading the alliance, has already announced that it will contest 95 seats, leaving 24 for other constituents - Telugu Desam Party (TDP), TJS and Communist Party of India (CPI). They stated that TDP has been allotted 14 seats while 10 will be shared by TJS and CPI.

However, TJS leader M. Kodandaram, who met Congress President Rahul Gandhi on November 2, had demanded 17 seats.

CPI has also announced candidates for 9 seats, blaming inordinate delay in seat sharing for its unilateral decision.

Congress has so far announced 75 candidates while TDP has declared its candidates for nine constituencies.
Kolkata, Nov 14 : A 65-year-old woman died here after jumping off a multi-storey building with her daughter and granddaughter, police said on Wednesday.

While the deceased's daughter was critically injured in the incident, the two-and-a- half-year-old granddaughter was safe, they said.

"Suhani Taparia (65) died after falling from the fourth floor of a building at 14 Burtolla Street in Posta area today (Wednesday) evening. She was declared brought dead in the hospital. We are investigating whether it was an accident or an attempt to suicide," Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police Praveen Tripathi said.

"The deceased's daughter Indrani Mohta has been critically injured and admitted to Kolkata Medical College. However, the kid is safe," he said.

Police said they are interrogating the rest of the family members about the incident.

"We are interrogating the family members. Our personnel are also searching the house to see if there is any suicide note," the officer added.
Chandigarh, Nov 14 : Punjab Police recovered 4-kg of heroin valued at Rs 20 crore in the international market from a woman from Mizoram and her driver accomplice in Khanna district on Wednesday.

The recovery was made by the Khanna Police on National Highway No. 1 near Khanna town, around 50 km from here, following checking of vehicles.

Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dhruv Dahiya told the media on Wednesday that the recovery was made, following a tip-off, from the woman, identified as Shivangi from Mizoram, and the car driver Anand Kumar who is from Jalandhar city in Punjab.

The heroin was hidden in tetra-packs of juices and packets of biscuits which had been re-sealed properly to avoid detection.

When the Punjab Police team stopped the Toyota Etios car, the duo tried to flee from the spot but were nabbed.

A search of the car later led to the recovery of heroin.

Dahiya said that the duo was being questioned for their links to the drugs network in the state.

He said that Shivangi had got the heroin consignment from a Nigerian national in Delhi and was going to deliver it to two contacts in Sultanpur Lodhi area of Punjab.

Dahiya said that the duo had earlier also been supplying drugs to contacts in Punjab after bringing it from Delhi.
Bengaluru, Nov 14 : Karnataka's mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy was set free from the city central jail on Wednesday hours after a local court granted him bail in an alleged Ponzi-related bribery case.

"The jail superintendent allowed Reddy to walk free out of the Parapanna Agrahara prison after his counsel submitted the bail order from the court," a police officer told IANS.

Earlier, Additional City Metropolitan Magistrate V. Jagdish granted bail to Reddy with Rs 1-lakh bond and two sureties of the same amount.

"Granting the bail, the judge, however, warned Reddy against tampering with evidence or influencing the witnesses and directed him to cooperate with the case investigation by the state Central Crime Branch (CCB)," said the official.

Reddy, 51, was arrested and jailed on Sunday after the judge remanded him in 14-judicial custody for allegedly helping the two accused in the Ponzi scam from being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Reddy's counsel Chandrashekar told reporters later that the bail was granted, as the prosecution failed to provide evidence of his client's nexus with the accused of the investment firm Ambidant Marketing Ltd.

The city-based firm is alleged to have duped about 15,000 investors by raising Rs 954 crore through a Ponzi scheme over the last 2-3 years.

"My client (Reddy) was fixed in the Ambidant case unnecessarily. The CCB sleuths had grilled him for over 24 hours on November 10-11 at their office when he appeared before them on summons," charged Chandrashekhar.

Stepping out of the jail, Reddy told reporters that he was named as an accused without evidence and accused Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of taking revenge on him by dragging him in the Ponzi case.

"A false case was foisted on me. No notice was given to me earlier about the case. It is unfair to call me an accused even before the CCB served notice or summoned me for interrogation," recalled Reddy.

Alleging that there was no safety for him under the present (JD-S-Congress) coalition government, the former BJP minister said an unsafe environment was created around his house in Bengaluru and Ballari in the state's northwest region.

"I feel sorry for not been able to pay last respects to Union Minister Ananth Kumar as I was in the jail since Sunday night," lamented Reddy.

Kumar, 59, died on Monday at a private hospital in the city and was cremated on Tuesday with full state honours.

The CCB had accused Reddy of taking Rs 2 crore in cash and 57 kg gold valued at Rs 18 crore from the accused Syed Ahmed Fareed and his son Syed Afaq Ahmed of Ambidant to allegedly bribe ED officials probing their Ponzi scam.

"The CCB charged Reddy with cheating, forgery and conspiracy, but failed to prove his involvement in the case," reiterated the counsel.

State Home Minister G. Parameshwara, however, denied any intention behind Reddy's arrest and said the police were working within the legal framework.
GUEST OBSERVATION

The news has been awash with stories of falling house prices, less sales, lower clearance rates and more stringent lending policies in recent months. But despite these ongoing market and regulatory challenges, the Australian broking industry is in a remarkably healthy state.

Recent data from the MFAA Industry Intelligence Service (#6) shows brokers have written more value of residential home loans over the past year than since data started to be collected in 2013. With sales of homes beginning to slow across Australia, but the value of mortgages originated over this period, it creates an interesting dynamic within the mortgage broking market. Why is this occurring?

CoreLogic, which performs valuations on behalf of leading Australian banks and financial services companies, helps shine a light on this market dynamic via the statistics of why valuations were ordered  approximately only 25% of property appraisals over this period were for purchases, 5% for construction and a huge ~70% were for refinance (including restructure, top-up and new product type) of existing loans. Transaction numbers may have declined nationally, but brokers are still very busy.

In fact, the growth of brokers over the past couple of years means there is more competition in the industry than before  and that gives customers greater choice in who they engage with. So, in an increasingly competitive yet complex market, how can you differentiate your business?

1. Look broadly across your lender panels and prepare before application

In a tighter regulatory and more focused credit risk environment, lenders are needing to make policy decisions on which clients and security they are willing to provide lending for. Borrowers are under greater scrutiny, and lenders are asking for more evidence around their ability to service the loan. You need to do more research and keep up to date with policy changes for the lenders you deal with. Its not just the simple things; for example, are there postcode restrictions; what are the acceptable securities; what are the differences for investor, owner-occupied; and what type of product is your customer looking to utilise  interest-only, line of credit or P&I. All these will most likely mean brokers have to navigate in a matrix environment.

If you havent yet done so, it could be worth getting to know some of the more specialist lenders. The MFAA IIS report shows the growth off non-ADI lenders growing substantially and consistently over the last couple of years, and knowing the alternative value propositions is important to giving your customer the best possible result.

Another standout result in the recent data is the decrease in conversion rates  that is the percentage of loans that are applied for which settle. Valuations play an important role, particularly in higher LVR business. If you are not running a property report and getting some understanding of value before the submission of the application, you are potentially costing yourself time and money as well as creating a negative customer experience. As a professional, managing expectations and setting your client up for success is critical.

2. Sharpen your value proposition

Position yourself as a credible source of information and show your clients youre knowledgeable about the things they care about. For example, if youre dealing with investors then they will most likely be interested in rental returns and yields, capital growth and want to know more about the markets they are looking to invest in. You can no longer generalise your approach; you have to personalise your interactions if you want to win and keep the business.

With so much information freely available to your customers, you need to be a step ahead. Personalisation, knowing the markets that you operate in and where your customers can give you the edge over those who dont.

Check out state performance benchmarks by using tools such as the MFAAs Industry Intelligence Service Summary. Are you as good as the average or better? If you are better, what are you doing to stay ahead? Arming yourself with knowledge can give you insight into where you can improve and help you build your value proposition.

3. Engage with your customer base long-term

A new mortgage should be more than just a transaction, but rather, the start of a long-term relationship with your customer. With great service and personal service, this can reward you with repeat and referral business in the future. Dont just do the minimum and keep in touch with your client through mass, generalist non-value add information  make it personal, make it insightful, make it better than your competitors.

Consider tracking the local property market so youre aware when your client puts their home up for sale or for rent. Track market activities that you can then use to engage with your clients. Know when your clients are in high equity positions. Remember when they said they want to renovate in a couple of years or when they told you an investment property was a dream in the future. The little things are what will make a difference in a competitive market. Its not just when your client sells that you have risk of losing them as a client. Remember that more valuations are ordered for refinances than sales  is that your client talking to another broker or lender?

Buying and refinancing property can be stressful for borrowers, particularly when the housing market is challenging. There is regulatory focus, countless news articles about how hard things are and when lenders are changing their policies  what better time for you to make the most of the situation and provide professional, insightful and valuable services for a great customer outcome.

Matt Carlson is CoreLogic's senior leader for western region and broker solutions.
The veteran pub family patriarch Arthur Laundy has bought the The Bells Hotel in Woolloomooloo, swooping pre-auction as an acquisitive battle continues between rival Sydney publicans across Sydney.

The price guidance had been around $15 million, highlighting the frothiness in hotel prices over recent years.

The historic 1920s pub was sold before Thursday's scheduled auction to the Laundy family which now owns almost 30 hotels across NSW, including venues such as the Watsons Bay Hotel, the Woolwich Pier near Hunters Hill and the Quarryman's Hotel in Pyrmont.

Laundy recently expressed concern about "silly prices", signalling he'd be steering clear of what he called a "crazy market", but The Bells was irresistible.

Rival hotelier Justin Hemmes had been pinpointed as also having an likely interest in buying the pub.

The Laundy family net worth is put at $500 million while Hemmes' is estimated to preside over a $950 million hospitality and liquor empire.

The 77 year old Laundy is credited as heading the biggest independent hotel operator in New South Wales, which includes the neighbouring Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel which cost $20 million two years ago.

It was the Miles family who called time at The Bells after initially securing the leasehold in 1976.

The family bought Tooth out in 1990.

The pub at 1 Bourke Street was known for legendary matriarch Lil Miles, who worked behind the bar until age 96.

Erin Petersen, from the Miles family, said there had been a number of pre-auction offers.

The family has loved the 45 years at Bells and while it is the end of an era for us we are happy to sell to Arthur, a long time local publican, who we are sure will only be an asset to further develop the potential of our much-loved pub said Petersen.

The sale was secured by Andrew Jolliffe who has sold more than $1.75 billion of pubs in the past six years including the Centennial in Woollahra on behalf of the Medich family to Merivale's Justin Hemmes.

The Laundy family company, which has been in pubs since the 1940s, includes scions Stuart, the socialite publican who briefly won Sophie Monk's heart on The Bachelorette, and the politician Craig, who has been the Liberal member of Reid since 2013.

Arthur Laundy typically fronts up every day at the Laundy headquarters in the Twin Willows Hotel, built in 1963 by his late father at Bass Hill in Sydney's south-west after the land cost 38,000 pounds.

The family pub business had began when Arthur's parents Arthur Sr and Veronica took on the Sackville Hotel at Rozelle in 1945.

It was in 1969 when young Arthur and wife-to-be Margaret took the reins of the family business, which was then just two hotels including the Twin Willows.

Jolliffe noted that interest in the Bells, a prominently positioned asset, was drawn from a wide spectrum of well-known hospitality operatives and commercial property specialists.

There have been four other hotel properties in the past few weeks, Jolliffe noted.

Sydney's biggest publicans include the Waugh family, the Ryan family, Peter Calligeros, the De Angelis family, the Arnout brothers, and Pat and Angela Gallgaher.

Hemmes and his family have ownership of 70 hotels, restaurants and venues around Sydney.

The sale comes on the eve of hotel giant Redcapes billion-dollar stock market listing later this month.

The Bells Hotel, located adjacent to the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, features a main bar, bistro, courtyard, accommodation spanning the entire first level, and eight electronic gaming machines.

There had been a pub on the 340 square metre Bourke Street corner address since the 1860s.

The original ale house was called Punches servicing the workers of the wharves.

The Miles family lost a family member at the hotel in 2004 when Shane Miles, died from massive head injuries after being hit in the head with a bar stool during a wild brawl at his family's pub.

This article first appeared in The Daily Telegraph.
A Chinese investor has purchased retail premises in Balwyn for $7.3 million.

Savills Australias Benson Zhou, Jesse Radisich, Julian Heatherich and Glenn Ye brokered the deal for 313-315 Whitehorse Road at a record C1Z land rate of $10,181 per sqm.

Mr Zhou said that despite the noise on recent cooling down on residential market, the property has made more than $1 million dollars in capital gains within two years time.

The premise last sold in 2016 for $6.18 million a near doubling from it's 2013 sale price of $3.1 million.

This transaction highlights the sturdy market competition between investors seeking income-producing assets that present significant future development upside potential, Mr Zhou said.

The property is anchored by a bedding store, Back to Sleep, and a technology firm is called Websilk on level one, and generates a rental income of approximately $416,878 per annum.
A one-day auction resulted in the sale of 22 homesites at the new Epiq masterplanned community in Lennox Head.

At the October 27 auction, lots between 640 square metres and 1074 square metres were sold from $400,000 to $595,000 for a combined $10,675,000.

Elders Real Estate Lennox Head principal Michael King said the result demonstrated the strong demand for coastal property in northern New South Wales.

"Land supply in the coastal corridor between Tweed Heads and Ballina is drying up, and at the same time the $4 billion program to upgrade the motorway connecting to this region is encouraging more people to consider living and working here," he said.

"The 22 lots that went under the hammer were among the best on offer in the Epiq Lennox Head community, many with ocean views and within proximity to a recently approved $30 million Woolworths-anchored neighbourhood shopping centre which is expected to be completed by mid 2020.

"Most of the purchasers who secured an Ocean Ridge homesite were intending owner-occupiers from Lennox Head, Ballina and surrounding areas, which indicates that locals understood the limited supply and opportunity on offer.

"We also had half a dozen purchasers at the auction who had previously purchased in Epiq and were looking to re-invest.

"Individual homesites sold for up to $80,000 above reserve as purchasers pushed for their preferred lot, with titles expected to be available by April 2019 so most buyers are able to occupy their homes by Christmas next year."

Clarence Property Managing Director Peter Fahey said Epiq Lennox Head had achieved a one-day sellout for the majority of its previous land stages, with more than $83 million in property sold to date at the community.

"Stages one, two and three, comprising a total 260 homesites, also sold in one day under a ballot system, with names drawn out of a barrel to provide equal opportunity for registered purchasers to secure their preferred lot at market price," he said.

"For Ocean Ridge we opted for an auction-style event due to the limited number of premium lots available and the strong demand for seaside homesites close to amenities like parks, shopping centres and schools.

"The success of Ocean Ridge has prompted us to considering releasing another small stage of premium homesites with ocean views in the coming months for those who missed out in the recent auction."
EXPERT OBSERVER

Do you distrust the companies that profit from the goods and services you buy? Research suggests most of us do.

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, made headlines in the U.K. recently for his speech at the Trades Union Congress conference in Manchester, England.

His remarks were forcefully pro-union and strongly disapproving of corporations, the profit motive and the wealthy.

He singled out Amazon for not paying their fair share of taxes in the U.K. and the gig economy as a reincarnation of an ancient evil.

To the archbishop, capitalism, with its pursuit of profit and inequality of outcomes, is inherently immoral.

Other religious leaders have, over the years, made similar points. In 2015, Pope Francis denounced capitalism and the pursuit of money and, in 2008, the then-archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, wrote an article for a British magazine criticizing capitalism in the wake of the financial crisis.

Such negative views of business and profit are hardly uncommon.

A recent article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology documented widespread anti-profit beliefs.

In my research with some of my graduate students, I have found that people often take a dim view of businesses, interpreting many different actions such as a small price increase or a product recommendation  as an attempt to take advantage of consumers.

Viewed as conscious entities

But what underlies these views? Why is business and the pursuit of profit so maligned?

We think the answer lies, in part, in how people view firms and the resulting inferences they draw from the attempts of these firms to make a profit. To the first point, people seem to view companies as conscious entities  as living, breathing organisms with thoughts, feelings, intentions and motives.

Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanners has found that patterns of neural responses when considering other peoples mental states (the parts of the brain involved in theory of mind) are indistinguishable from the pattern of responses when considering the behaviour of organizations.

What this means is that people are likely to attribute distinctly human motives to business actions that are the product of entirely different processes.

In addition to viewing companies as people, consumers often view their transactions with firms as zero-sum  like sharing a pie, where more for one person means less for the other. This means that when companies are perceived to be making a profit, that profit is viewed as coming at the expense of customers.

Distrust of profitable firms

This is where profiting becomes problematic. Because we mentally view firms as people, this is seen as a wilful act  a deliberate attempt to take advantage of customers  and it violates an important norm of interpersonal conduct, a moral norm even, that forbids benefiting at anothers expense.

We have found that a wide range of actions by businesses appears to be interpreted in this light: price increases, discounts for other people, product recommendations and even advertisements.

Even when people dont buy goods or services from a company, and therefore no profit is made, perceptions that a firm tried to profit lead to negative responses.

Even sales clerks are suspect

In one extreme example, we found that even when a salesperson recommended the cheaper of two alternatives, customers still assumed it was to benefit at their expense.

Our research has not yet investigated how firms can mitigate such reactions or whether they even can. If our results are anything to go by, some readers may think that these are legitimate reactions that should not be curtailed.

However, we would point out that a purchase is a consumer decision. No company is forcing consumers to buy their products against their will.

Whats more, businesses bear the burden of the risk in offering products for consumers consideration; the products that they make available to us are often a tremendous source of value in our lives; and, ultimately, the only reason companies develop and offer such products is to make a profit. Otherwise, what would be the point of going into business?

Laurence Ashworth, Associate Professor, Marketing, Queen's University, Ontario.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A new app is putting real-time real estate information into West Australian buyers and sellers, direct from the agent on the ground.

Officially launched on 26 October 2018 at REIWAs CONNECT Real Estate Conference, the itrack property app allows buyers to track properties listed for sale on reiwa.com at the click of a button.

REIWA CEO Neville Pozzi said itrack gives WA property seekers a unique, 100% transparent insight into any property sales campaign they choose to track.

We are excited to be powering the itrack property app, which were confident will benefit all parties involved in a real estate transaction, Pozzi said.

Buyers can track every movement of a property they are interested in, with factual and reliable notifications and updates sent to their phone as the propertys sales campaign progresses.

For sellers, the itrack property app helps them to better gauge buyer interest levels, while for REIWA real estate agents, the app helps enhance productivity, providing a platform for them to connect better with interested buyers and build strong relationships with vendors.

Gavin Hegney, Company Director of Gavin Hegney Property and real estate industry specialist, said what he loved most about the itrack platform is that it has created a circle of benefit for all those that engage in the process.

Buyers are always wanting to know everything that is happening in a campaign and want to most importantly trust the information supplied, Hegney said.

With itrack, agents not only get a productivity tool to enable them to succeed in selling and listing more, but an environment that builds relationships - which is all powered by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, an organisation that reflects a position of integrity and transparency for everybody involved in the real estate transaction.

The itrack property app is available to download now in the App Store and will be available on Google Play in the coming weeks.
ProctorU, the worlds largest provider of online proctoring and identity management services, is partnering with SmarterServices, a full-spectrum assessment services company. The ProctorU integration with SmarterServices SmarterProctoring platform allows organizations to use a single interface for scheduling, administration and reporting of proctored exams regardless of how they are delivered.

This integration between two powerhouses in the exam proctoring industry gives online faculty and exam administrators one of the most streamlined experiences available in todays market, said ProctorU founder Jarrod Morgan.

Using a single, LMS embedded interface, test-takers can choose how to take an exam from multiple modalities including live/online, automated proctoring, a campus test center, an instructor in a classroom, or through an approved proctoring professional who meets an institutions proctor criteria. The integration provides ultimate flexibility accommodating more options for proctored testing all in one system. Exam facilitators are able to communicate to test-takers which proctoring modalities are available for each exam and to view a dashboard displaying the test-taker proctoring work flow.

We are proud to offer this integration with ProctorU to serve more test-takers and make higher education and credentialing programs more accessible to individuals around the world, said Dr. Mac Adkins, CEO and Founder of SmarterServices.

The complete offering includes:

Intuitive scheduling interface for all proctoring modalities.

Exam information that is securely sent to proctors.

Accommodation information that is privately and appropriately communicated to proctors.

Incident reports including video from online proctored sessions are submitted to organizations or schools from proctors.

Test-takers can register for any approved proctoring modalities such as local test centers; testing professionals; and live and automated online proctoring.

Access to a nationwide pool of over 5,000 testing professionals which displays proximity to students.

No software to install.

About ProctorU

ProctorU provides a full suite of online proctoring and identity management solutions for education, professional development and certification organizations. With patented, 24/7 on-demand live proctoring and a fully-automated platform, both backed by artificial intelligence, ProctorU offers a powerful, convenient and cost-effective alternative to traditional test centers. ProctorU increases access to online learning while ensuring exam integrity and accountability for any test-taker with internet access using only a computer and a webcam.

About SmarterServices, LLC

SmarterServices is a full-spectrum assessment services company that solves unmet market challenges facing learners, instructors, institutions, and organizations by developing unique educational technology solutions to improve a learners success. We provide SmarterAssessments to design and deploy custom assessments with intuitive report builder that includes multi-media options; SmarterMeasure, a suite of readiness assessments including the Learning Readiness Indicator (LRI), Teaching with Technology Readiness Indicator (TTRI), Competency-Based Education Readiness Indicator (CBERI), and Math & Writing Readiness Indicators (MRI, WRI);. SmarterProctoring, the only complete proctoring system on the market that accommodates proctoring in multiple modalities including automated and live online, and record and review. SmarterID, a student authentication system that uses facial recognition to validate identity and document attendance, can be used inside SmarterProctoring or as a standalone application.
One of the most important themes were seeing this year is the way enterprises are turning their data into real actionable insights to transform organizational processes and gain a competitive advantage.

Infogix, a leading provider of data management tools, today unveiled its third edition of annual trends in data management that will have major ramifications on businesses in 2019 and beyond.

One of the most important themes were seeing this year is the way enterprises are turning their data into real actionable insights to transform organizational processes and gain a competitive advantage, said Emily Washington, senior vice president of product management at Infogix. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are gaining a handle on their data environments through advanced data management technologies. Organizational roles are shifting, and businesses are figuring out new and exciting ways to leverage their data as an enterprise-wide asset.

Business leaders at Infogix spent the year collecting the findings. The significant new trends for 2019 include:

Shifting Job Roles Thanks to Advanced Data Management Technologies



As technological capabilities improve, the value of data lies primarily in the hands of business users, rather than within the confines of the IT department.

More teams within organizations are seeking a unified understanding of their most critical operational and business challenges.

The proliferation of integrated platforms and advancement of data management tools, increasingly empowers data consumers to understand, manage and use data quickly and simply through self-service solutions, allowing IT to focus on higher-value data management projects.

The Migration of Dark Data



Even with advanced technologies, organizations still have vast amounts of untapped dark data to process and transform into digital assets.

Organizations will digitize and migrate analog databases to leverage cloud-based predictive analytics to strengthen business decisions.

The Data Deluge is Becoming Even Worse



Organizations are still challenged by managing the data deluge. Every day more and more data will continue being created and distributed across different processes and systems.

Organizations need centralized data management technologies to manage distributed data environments and deliver business users complete transparency into their data.

Business users today demand a new data experience, one that emulates the Amazon Marketplace, so they can easily search, locate, understand and leverage data they can trust.

Data Lakes are Evolving



Support for more than HDFS, i.e. ability to process additional data sources (e.g. S3, )

Shift from viewing data as a static resource to data in motion.

On-premise Hadoop is transitioning to cloud-hosted, driven primarily by both cost and the ability to scale elastically.

Trends from 2018 that will continue into 2019 include:

The Increased Importance of Data Governance



The implementation of GDPR in 2018 motivated many businesses to quickly advance their data governance programs. Unfortunately, this newfound focus on data governance didnt automatically translate to a better understanding of enterprise data and new analytical insights. It did however, successfully cultivate open communication between various lines of business.

As a result, many companies are now ready to expand their data governance program to a more strategic focus beyond just governing data. By introducing governance to analytical models, businesses can aggregate the metadata around their models to ensure all teams have a complete understanding of their data and can leverage it for insights.

The Continued Rise of the Chief Data Officer (CDO)



Managing data is becoming a team effort. Senior leaders and C-suite executives are working together to develop coordinated strategies and build a data-driven culture.

Whether, CDO, CIO or CTO, leaders understand the need for collaboration to advance innovative technologies and gain a competitive advantage. Organizations who defer to a single person wont keep pace.

Ensuring Data Privacy for Regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)



The GDPR deadline came and went, and the frenzy is over. Some businesses successfully became compliant, some still struggle and others outside the European Union (EU) decided to abandon the EU for now.

Yet, there are similar regulations on the horizon in Canada and the U.S.

Canada is currently adjusting its data protection law with GDPRs standards in mind. California passed the Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB375). Beginning in 2020, organizations will need to disclose personal information upon a consumers request.

Organizations who still arent compliant with GDPR processing data for EU residents will need to act quickly to avoid fines and penalties.

As the data deluge worsens, organizations will find it increasingly difficult to manage and leverage data as an enterprise asset, said Tim Segall, chief technology officer at Infogix. The days of IT being solely responsible for data have ended thanks to integrated self-service data management tools that deliver an all-inclusive view of an organizations data landscape. Complete transparency into an organizations data landscape is crucial for successful analytics projects in 2019.

For more information about Infogix, please visit http://www.infogix.com.

About Infogix, Inc.

In our fourth decade as an industry pioneer, Infogix continues to provide large and mid-market companies around the globe with a broad range of integrated and configurable tools to govern, manage and use data. From operations and the office of data to sales, and from product and customer service to marketingusers across the entire organization rely on our software to remove barriers to data access, accelerate time to insight, increase operational efficiency and confidently trust business decisions. Our best in class retention rate is proof of our customer-centric focus as we partner with them to thrive in todays data-driven economy. To learn more visit http://www.infogix.com or @Infogix.
AllOne Health

AllOne Health is pleased to announce that it has received the 2018 Pride of Place Award by the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of this award is to recognize and honor businesses, industries and organizations that have improved the physical environment of the Greater Wilkes-Barre area. AllOne Health has done extensive renovations to their Downtown Wilkes-Barre office location to make the office a modern corporate headquarters for the company.

Brian Rinker, Senior Vice President, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield NEPA Region nominated the company for this award, saying, I nominated AllOne Health for a Pride of Place award after having the opportunity to tour their renovated offices located on Pennsylvania Avenue. The space is bright, modern, comfortable and open. A great environment for both employees and visitors. AllOne has been expanding its workforce in this location and we are lucky to have them located here in downtown Wilkes-Barre. AllOne Health would like to thank Brian Rinker for the nomination.

Keith Wasley, President & CEO of AllOne Health, is excited that the companys corporate headquarters are being positively received in the community, saying, Pride of Place is a perfect description of the gratification I experience each and every day working in our newly renovated office space in Wilkes-Barre. As natives of Northeastern Pennsylvania, my family and I were excited to return home in 2016, after living and working in Massachusetts. Im so proud to be part of a growing regional company whose Board of Directors supported the renovation of our facility. Over sixty AllOne Health team members enjoy a beautiful, functional, state of art working environment. We appreciate this esteemed award and look forward to enjoying our facility for many years to come.

The award was presented on November 13th at Mohegan Sun Pocono at the Annual Chamber Dinner. John P. Moses, Chairman of the AllOne Health Board, Brian Rinker, Senior Vice President, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield NEPA Region, Peter Castelline, CFO of AllOne Health and Joselle Lencicki, Director of Human Resources attended along with a few AllOne Health employee representatives.

The Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber has a rich history of driving economic development in the NEPA region. Since its founding in 1884, the Chamber has been a significant part of every economic development in our area. The Chamber has done this by adapting and reinventing itself to change with current challenges. The chamber continues the tradition of driving economic development, job creation, and advocacy - that much has remained the same for 100 years. They continue to steward the vitality of the business ecosystem by acting as a conduit, an advocate and a connector.

AllOne Health is a leader in workplace health and productivity. We help employees in global organizations operate at full capacity by coordinating medical and behavioral services while helping employers manage escalating healthcare costs. We believe that the productivity and performance of companies are directly linked to the health and well-being of their employees.

If you would like more information about this topic, please email inquiry(at)allonehealth.com.
Divi Dive Bonaire - New Website This is an exciting project weve been working on for a while and were thrilled to finally reveal the stunning new site at DEMAs 2018 Show. Our goal was to make it clean and user-friendly, so guests can easily find all of the information and forms needed to book.

Divi Resorts is making a splash with the introduction of a brand new website for Divi Dive Bonaire, Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casinos on-site dive operation, launched just in time for the start of the 2018 DEMA (Dive Equipment & Marketing Association) Show. Featuring a modern look and feel, the new http://www.divedivi.com makes it easier than ever for guests to discover a unique underwater world and swim alongside brilliantly colored fish and exotic marine life.

This is an exciting project weve been working on for a while and were thrilled to finally reveal the stunning new site at DEMAs 2018 Show, said Marco Galaverna, Divi Resorts President & COO. Our goal was to make it clean and user-friendly, so guests can easily find all of the information and forms needed to book.

The new site includes everything you need to know and more about diving including information on Divi Dive Bonaires services, staff, courses, special offers, rates, FAQs and so much more!

Plus, travelers searching for the next underwater adventure can still score exclusive deals with Divi Flamingos 2018-2019 monthly dive specials and year-round specials.

2018-2019 monthly dive specials include:

November



Book a 7-night Truck Dive or Shore Dive package and receive a free room upgrade and one themed buffet dinner at the resort.

Rates start as low as $939 per person with travel dates from November 1-30.

December



Book a 7-night, 2-tank boat dive package for the price of a 6-night, 2-tank boat dive package and enjoy complimentary nitrox.

Add an All-Inclusive plan and receive 7 nights for the price of 6 (only $600).

Rates start as low as $905 per person with travel dates from December 1-31.

Year-round dive specials include:

2-Tank Dive Boat Package  Starting at $1,070 per person



7-Night Stay

Daily Breakfast

11 Boat Dives

Unlimited Shore Diving

Round-Trip Airport Transfers

Wi-Fi

Unlimited Shore Diving Package  Starting at $897 per person*



7-Night Stay

Daily Breakfast

Unlimited Shore Diving

Wi-Fi

Drive, Dive & Explore Package  Starting at $960 per person**



7-Night Stay

Daily Breakfast

Unlimited Shore Diving

4-Passenger Truck Rental

Wi-Fi

Divi Flamingos 2018-2019 monthly dive specials can be booked now through December 31, 2018 for travel through December 31, 2019. Divi Flamingos year-round dive specials can be booked at any time by visiting http://www.divedivi.com. For individual reservations, please call 1-800-367-3484 (Toll-free US) or 1-919-419-3484 (International). For group reservations, please call 1-800-801-5550 or email groupsales@diviresorts.com.

More information about Divi Dive Bonaire can be found online at http://www.divedivi.com.

*Unlimited Shore Diving Package includes: 7-night stay at Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino in a standard room with 6 days of unlimited shore diving & daily breakfast. All rates are in US dollars and based on double occupancy. Taxes & service charges are included. Blackout dates may apply. The $25 Marine Park fee is not included.

**Truck rental at airport (gas & insurance not included). Based on availability.

About Divi Resorts

Divi Resorts is the vacation expert of the Caribbean, with a collection of eight premium resorts spanning the five stunning Caribbean islands of Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, St. Croix, and St. Maarten. For more information on Divi Resorts, call 1-800-367-3484 or visit http://www.diviresorts.com.
Park Place Nursing & Rehabilitation Center team celebrates Vohra certification. The Vohra Wound Care Certification underscores Park Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center's focus on healing and rehabilitation for its residents.

Park Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, part of the award-winning network of StoneGate Senior Living facilities, announces it has been certified by Vohra Wound Physicians as a Center of Excellence for Wound Management. Only 10% of Vohras skilled nursing facility partners have qualified for this annual certification.

Certification criteria for this recognition includes a facility wound-related hospitalization rate of less than one percent, tracking and reporting of wound outcomes, VOHRA physician-led weekly rounds, and a Vohra-certified nurse on staff. Park Place offers three certified nurses on staff, with additional certifications in progress.

Park Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center places a top priority on healing and rehabilitating our residents so they can return home, said John McKeenan, LNFA, Administrator, Park Place Nursing and Rehabilitation. Our certification as a Vohra facility allows us to serve patients with chronic or complex wounds, providing them with excellence in care through our specialized wound management program.

We are excited to see Park Place placed in the top ten percent of Vohra wound care facilities, thanks to this certification and its commitment to exceptional care, said Angela Norris, Senior Vice President of Business Development, StoneGate Senior Living. As an award-winning group of care and living facilities committed to serving our patients, we look forward to continued leadership in wound care management and other services.

Park Places partnership with Vohra wound physicians ensures that physician-led bedside wound care is provided at the facility for treatment of wound and skin issues, reducing the need to send residents out to wound care centers or hospitals.

Park Place has an interdisciplinary team to care for residents. The wound physician works with the primary care physicians, physical therapists, staff nurses and other specialists to ensure residents receive excellent wound care. As long-term facilities continue to provide more specialized services with complex ailments, the presence of a wound physician is an important link in providing the superior care Park Place is recognized for delivering.

About Vohra Wound Physicians:

Founded in 2000, Vohra Wound Physicians is the leading physician network devoted to post-acute wound care in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. More than 240 physicians provide bedside care for patients in more than 2500 facilities across 27 states. We support our physicians and partners through our proprietary electronic health system, telehealth platforms, robust wound predictive tools, and most accessible and active education programs.

For more information, visit http://www.VohraPhysicians.com.

About Park Place Nursing & Rehabilitation Care

Founded in 1986, Park Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Care is a 120-bed facility committed to providing the community with the finest in rehab, 24/7 nursing, wound care, congestive heart failure treatment, bariatric support and a number of health and wellness solutions. It is a member of the StoneGate Senior Living, LLC family, an award-winning, full-spectrum senior care and housing company.

Learn more at: https://parkplacetyler.com/.

About StoneGate Senior Living, LLC

StoneGate Senior Living, LLC provides support services to senior living and care properties that offer skilled health care, assisted living, memory support and independent living locations in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. Founded and led by a team of senior living industry veterans, StoneGate understands that careful attention to customer expectations is vital to the success of a senior living and care community.

Learn more at: http://www.StonegateSL.com.
Delivering Smiles in Oakland "Im in awe by the truly impressive team of Go Givers that helped deliver Smiles for Everyone to so many in need"

This past weekend, our team of volunteers delivered Smiles for Everyone at the Smiles for Everyone Foundations last Day of Giving event in 2018. Providers and support staff from near and far gathered at Bright Now! Dental in Oakland, CA to deliver pro bono dental services to the local low-income community.

Providers and support staff who volunteered their time this past Saturday provided services to nearly 50 patients. Procedures included checkups, cleanings, oral cancer screenings, fluoride treatments, fillings, extractions, and more. Patient Lupita H. expressed her gratitude for the excellent care that her family received by saying, Thank you for putting a smile on my kids face. I am so thankful for everything you do!

Tom Marshall, Vice President of Payer Strategy at Smile Brands Inc., is a dedicated supporter of the Smiles for Everyone Foundation and traveled to Oakland to volunteer his time and experience firsthand the dedication that the volunteers have towards creating Smiles for Everyone. He says, Im in awe by the truly impressive team of Go Givers that helped deliver Smiles for Everyone to so many in need at our Oakland Day of Giving! Excellent teamwork and dedication from dentists and the operational staff alike ensured success, and seeing the look of relief and smiles on patients faces was a huge reward for everyone.

Volunteer providers included Dr. Mudita Agrawal, Dr. Wei-Yi Chao, Dr. Eunice Gonsalves, Dr. Farzin Khashayar, Dr. Manali Mehta, Dr. Nasreen Nangoli, Dr. Du Nguyen, and Dr. Sarika Sood.

Our Day of Giving events would not be possible without the help of local nonprofit organizations, which prescreen and refer patients such as Lupita to the dental clinic. Our partners included East Bay Innovations, which provides disability services; MISSSEY Inc., which supports victims of human trafficking; and East Oakland Community Project, which offers transitional housing, and more.

We look forward to delivering many more Smiles around the country and overseas in 2019!

About Bright Now! Dental

Bright Now! Dental provides general dentistry, childrens dentistry and, in select locations, specialty care services such as orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontics and endodontics at over 150 offices across Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Bright Now! Dentals Oakland office is operated by Leng C. Haong, D.D.S., Inc. (the Group). The Group is affiliated with Smile Brands Inc., one of the largest providers of business support services to dental groups in the United States. Smile Brands Inc. provides comprehensive business support services through exclusive long-term service agreements with affiliated dental groups, so dentists can spend more time caring for their patients and less time on the administrative, marketing and financial aspects of operating a dental practice. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors (Gryphon), a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit http://www.smilebrands.com.

.

About the Smiles For Everyone Foundation

The Smiles for Everyone Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of delivering smiles for everyone by providing free dental care for those in need, both at home in the U.S. and around the world. Since 2011, the Smiles for Everyone Foundation has delivered over 17,500 smiles and $13.5 million in donated dentistry. The foundation currently supports programs which provide free dental care to those in need in Cambodia, Ghana, Laos, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Thailand and the United States. For more information or to make a donation, visit http://www.smilesforeveryone.org.

Contacts:

Bright Now! Dental

Jody Martin

PR(at)smilebrands.com

714.427.1299

Smiles for Everyone Foundation

Crystal Strait

crystal.strait(at)smilesforeveryone.org

714.824.5037
Partnerships with law enforcement experts are critical to safely and securely expanding our business globally.-Matty Mangone-Miranda, GenCanna CEO

GenCanna Global Inc. (GenCanna) announced today that retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive, Special Agent in Charge, Karl Colder will be joining the company in an advisory capacity on a range of security and policy issues.

Mr. Colders 32-year career includes serving in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as Senior Executive, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division Office responsible for operations in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, and as Deputy Chief Inspector of the DEA Office of Professional Responsibility. Before retiring in 2018, Mr. Colder led DEA efforts to fight the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemics in West Virginia.

I am thrilled to join the GenCanna team. Companies operating in this space on a global scale should have security, compliance, and safety as their top priorities. GenCanna knows this and they are leading by example, said Karl Colder. He added, Also, as the 2018 Farm Bill moves through Congress, I am pleased about the clarifications surrounding the hemp crop's removal from the Controlled Substances Act, which will benefit our nation's farmers. A partnership like ours is long overdue and I am excited about what we will accomplish together.

GenCanna, a vertically-integrated agriculture technology company specializing in the production of industrial hemp rich in CBD has been at the forefront of developing the rapidly expanding hemp industry. The companys relationships with law enforcement on the state and federal level has been critical to the companys success since its founding. These relationships are crucial in distinguishing federally-compliant hemp companies from companies in the medical marijuana and recreational marijuana markets.

Partnerships with law enforcement experts are critical to safely and securely expanding our business globally, said Matty Mangone-Miranda, CEO of GenCanna. Mr. Mangone-Miranda continued, We welcome retired leaders from the DEA to ATF to Interpol. Their experience is essential in creating an organization with next-level leadership.

GenCanna's hemp-derived products are already exempted from the Controlled Substances Act through compliant participation in the state and federal structures enabled by the Agricultural Act of 2014. GenCannas focused regulatory efforts have been critical to the success of the company and industry. These efforts are led by Steve Bevan, a co-Founder and the Companys current President. Mr. Bevan is a co-founder of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and presently serves its Secretary.

Without our work with law enforcement and policymakers the hemp industry would not be where it is today, commented Steve Bevan, GenCannas President. We want everyone in our industry to adopt a similar attitude. It is my hope that our partnership with Mr. Colder can be a template for how companies create deeper, more integrated and meaningful relationships with law enforcement and other officials.

About GenCanna Global, Inc.

GenCanna is a vertically-integrated agriculture-technology company specializing in the production of hemp rich in CBD. Founded in 2014, as an inaugural member of the Kentucky Department of Agricultures Industrial Hemp Pilot Program, the company is a longstanding industry pioneer. GenCanna works closely with state universities, consumer protection agencies and other regulatory bodies driving key industry language and legislation. Consistent extraction methods and innovative processing technologies ensure GenCanna production processes exceed all regulatory standards for FDA registered and inspected food production facilities (learn more at https://gencanna.com/compliance/). The GenCanna Production Platform assures standardized, repeatable quality from farm to finished product.

CONTACTS:

Media

Alex Green, GenCanna

media@gencanna.com
"Apstra is honored to be recognized by CRN as an award recipient in such a significant category as Data Center Infrastructure, said Michael Wood, CMO & VP of Product of Apstra

Apstra Inc., the Intent-Based Data Center Automation pioneer, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Apstra as a finalist in the 2018 CRN Tech Innovator Awards. These annual awards honor stand out hardware, software, and services that are moving the IT industry forward. In compiling the 2018 Tech Innovator Award list, CRN editors evaluated 300 products across 34 technology categories using several criteria, including technological advancements, uniqueness of features and potential to help solution providers solve end users' IT challenges. Apstra Intent-Based Data Center Automation took top honors in the Data Center Infrastructure category.

Business transformation is driving the mandate for Data Center infrastructure transformation. IT Leadership is requiring cloudification of operations, increased reliability, and reduced costs while IT clients are demanding a cloud-like experience, simplified operations, and lower DevOps costs. Apstra Intent-Based Data Center Automation meets all these demands and enables IT to achieve superhero status with an Intent-Based Data Center.

Apstra is honored to be recognized by CRN as an award recipient in such a significant category as Data Center Infrastructure, said Michael Wood, CMO & VP of Product of Apstra. This award is a reflection of the momentum Apstra has achieved in empowering Intent-Based Data Centers while enabling Enterprises to deploy open and vendor-agnostic network hardware and software. Apstra customers are increasing application reliability and availability, simplifying deployments and operations, and dramatically reducing costs.

Apstra delivers interoperability across the entire networking stack for switch operating systems and switch hardware, auto-rendered configurations, and customizable Intent-Based Analytics. These capabilities allow customers to run their network operations at the same scale, operational efficiency, and agility as large cloud companies without the cost and risk of do-it-yourself scripting and programming.

Apstra channel partners worldwide choose Apstra to quickly, inexpensively and seamlessly deploy reliable, agile, and vendor-agnostic Intent-Based Data Centers that are automated, cloudified, and intent-based. Apstra channel partners choose Apstra to increase profitability, simplify operations, reduce time to deploy, and beat their competition.

Each year, the CRN Tech Innovator Awards recognize technology vendor offerings that are reshaping the IT channel landscape by increasing worker productivity, reducing cost, and minimizing complexity for solution providers, IT departments, and end users, said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. The winners in this years awards bring breakthrough ideas to the table for solution providers and their customers, in areas ranging from cloud to security to business intelligence to IoT. We congratulate all the winners and look forward to their future endeavors.

The Tech Innovator Awards will be featured in the December issue of CRN and can be viewed online at crn.com/techinnovators.

Schedule to meet with the Apstra team at AWS re:Invent in Booth #2803 on November 26-29 in Las Vegas.

See Apstra at the Gartner Data Center Show at Booth #255 on December 3-6 in Las Vegas. Schedule a meeting today.

About Apstra

Apstra Intent-Based Data Center Automation increases application availability and reliability, simplifies deployment and operations, and dramatically reduces costs for Enterprise, Cloud Service Provider, and Telco data centers. Apstra empowers Intent-Based Data Centers through its pioneering Intent-Based Networking, distributed system architecture, and vendor-agnostic overlay. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California and privately funded, Apstra is a Gartner Cool Vendor and Best of VMworld winner. For more information visit:http://www.apstra.com or follow us on twitter @ApstraInc.

Apstra, AOS, the Apstra and AOS logos are registered trademarks of Apstra, Inc., Self-Operating Network and Intent-Based Analytics are trademarks of Apstra Inc., and other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Follow Apstra: Apstra Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook
Michael "BigMike" Straumietis

Epidiolex, the first cannabis-based medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration, will now be sold in all 50 states. It has been approved to treat Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, two conditions that cause patients over the age of two to suffer seizures. Epidiolex will be listed at about $32,500 per year, and will be covered by most insurance plans once it hits the market.

BigMike Straumietis, founder and CEO of Advanced Nutrients, isnt surprised at all by this news: This is what Ive been saying for years  that Big Pharma will only continue to lobby against cannabis reform until they figure out a way to get their hands in it. This is only the first step in that direction, and you can expect to see major changes coming very soon.

Epidiolex was first recommended for approval in April 2018, then approved by the FDA two months later. In September of this year, it was classified as a Schedule V controlled substance as per the Controlled Substances Act. This classification made it possible for doctors in the United States to prescribe the drug.

BigMike, who recently won the Best of Los Angeles Award for Best Cannabis Fertilizer, believes that new public awareness of the medical benefits of cannabis will bring favorable attention to companies like Advanced Nutrients. Being close to our clients matters, and providing the best quality nutrients is, above all, the most important thing we do, says BigMike in recognition of his recent award.

Not only does BigMike devote a significant amount of his time and resources to promoting the medical benefits of cannabis and supporting the cannabis community in positive ways, he also mentors aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs through his new reality competition show The Next Marijuana Millionaire. Im driven by my mission to make cannabis an acceptable and everyday part of healing humanity, BigMike says.

About Advanced Nutrients:

Advanced Nutrients is the No. 1 cannabis brand in the world, with products available in more than 100 countries. BigMike and Advanced Nutrients rose to the top of the cannabis industry by creating the worlds first and only complete cannabis growing system. Today, Advanced Nutrients annual revenue is over $100 million.

About BigMike:

BigMike Straumietis has been involved in the cannabis industry since 1983. When he found that the hydroponic fertilizers and supplements available were inadequate for the specific needs of his crops, he decided to create his own cannabis-specific grow products. In doing so, he revolutionized the world of cannabis growing and has since brought 53 innovations to this field. In 1999, he launched Advanced Nutrients. Today, he continues to spearhead cannabis research via Lacturnus Labs, his $20 million, state-of-the-art cannabis research facility in Los Angeles.
DocLink, a Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) solution, allows companies to digitally transform their businesses by automating and streamlining processes throughout their enterprise  from AP, AR and HR, to legal, IT and beyond.

Altec, a leader in enterprise document management and process automation solutions, is sponsoring Implementation Specialists GP User Conference (GPUC) starting today. The three-day conference, November 14-16, is taking place at the Executive Briefing Center on the Microsoft Campus in Fargo, North Dakota.

Curt Dixson, Sales Director for Altec, will be presenting, DocLink, Doc Management for GP: Realizing the Paperless Office, at the conference, detailing for attendees how DocLink can helps companies connect their people, processes and data for competitive advantage.

Hixson states, Going paperless is just the first step in taking everything digital. DocLink, a Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) solution, allows companies to digitally transform their businesses by automating and streamlining processes throughout their enterprise  from AP, AR and HR, to legal, IT and beyond. We are excited to be sponsoring Implementation Specialists event as its an excellent opportunity to share with their Dynamics customers the tangible business impacts DocLink can provide.

About Altec

Altec is a leading provider of integrated document management and process automation solutions. Its flagship product, DocLink, helps companies connect people, processes and data providing them with the ability to store, search, retrieve and send any document securely. DocLink effectively eliminates the need for paper while automating processes that improve organizational efficiency and reduce costs associated with human errors. With thousands of customers globally, Altec enjoys collaborative partnerships with Sage, Microsoft, Acumatica, Intacct, Key2Act, SAP B1, Amtech, Epicor and more that deliver flexible, comprehensive solutions to adapt to an ever-changing global market. Learn more at http://www.altec-inc.com.
Bob Page Chairman / CEO of SD METRO Magazine congratulates Andrew Feghali, CEO of AMF Foods, Inc. on his joining the San Diego 40 Under 40 Class of 2018. The awards program encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of young people who inspire others with their leadership and achievement," said Feghali. Past News Releases RSS

As the owner and operator of 12 Little Caesars Pizza franchises, Andrew Feghali, CEO of AMF Foods, Inc. was honored as one of San Diegos 40 Under 40 Class of 2018 by the SD METRO Magazine on October 4th at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina.

In its 19th year, the 40 Under 40 awards program was founded to acknowledge the contributions of San Diego's young leaders. SD METRO believes it is these young men and women who will shape the region's destiny. According to the publication, more than 200 professionals were nominated. Honorees were selected based on their personal accomplishments, community involvement and career achievements.

Feghali is the founder of restaurant holding company AMF Foods, Inc. The company has experienced annual sales growth from $1.5MM in 2009 to over $9MM (projected) in 2018. It was listed on the July 2, 2018 San Diego Business Journal Locally-Owned Restaurant Franchisees list. In addition to running his Little Caesars restaurants in Southern California, Colorado, and Texas, Feghalis mentor, Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group, gave him the opportunity to serve alongside him as a Sage Executive Group Forum Co-chair in January 2018.

I believe Andrew is an exemplary CEO and corporate citizen. Hes a visionary, educator, and hands-on leader--well deserving of the 40 Under 40 honor, said nominator, Sage Executive Group CEO Jerry Rollins. Hes enthusiastic and driven to provide his employees with opportunities, as well as finds time to contribute to the local community.

Its a distinct honor to be recognized by the SD METRO as an under 40 award-winner, said AMF Foods CEO Andrew Feghali. The awards program encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of young people who inspire others with their leadership and achievement. San Diego is a vibrant community, and the talent, drive and ambition of this years honorees was outstanding.

Feghalis industry experience dates to his years as one of the youngest District Managers for PepsiCo - Frito Lay, Inc. Southern California. At 21 he oversaw 20 route sales reps as direct reports and 150 accounts with more than $9MM in annual sales. He led the district to three record-breaking quarters in 2008 during the height of the Great Recession.

Feghali received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Management from California State University, Fullerton in 2007. He pursued his dream of getting his Master of Science in Executive Leadership degree from the University of San Diego School of Business in 2015 and is working towards completing his PhD in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego.

View the SD METRO Magazine 40 Under 40 October issue http://www.sandiegometro.com/archives/

About AMF Foods, Inc.

Founded in 2014 by Andrew Feghali, AMF Foods is a holding company that owns and operates 12 Little Caesars Pizza franchises with: eight locations in Southern California; three locations in Colorado, and one location in Texas. Little Caesars is an internationally recognized brand known for providing one of the worlds favorite foods quickly, conveniently, affordably and using quality ingredients.
Mobile payments may be one step closer to replacing the physical wallet. Apple Pay and Alipay are continuing to expand their wallets to include much more than just paymentsApple Pay announced students can now carry digital student IDs that can open dorm rooms and function as library cards; Alipays users can now use their digital wallets to store digital marriage certificates.

And according to Auriemma Consulting Groups Mobile Pay Tracker, product expansions like these can increase consumers willingness to adopt mobile payments overall. Auriemmas research revealed that over one-third of mobile payment users would be interested in using mobile payment platforms to store identification cards. The same percentage also said they would be interested in using mobile payment platforms for government documents. This could create major lift in demand for these platforms beyond simply point-of-sale payments.

Apple announced in October 2018 that its wallet will support student IDs at three universities, allowing students to use their phone while doing laundry, going to the gym and taking out library books. While overall mobile payment usage is consistent compared to two years (31% of eligible consumers), developing the habit of using a mobile wallet on campus could have a profound impact on mobile payment usage going forward.

This is especially impactful considering mobile payment users are predominantly millennial (45%) and college-educated (69%). But over the last two years the average age of mobile payment users increased from 37 to 39 years old. The university market represents an opportunity to promote mobile payments to younger consumers, who are most likely to adopt the payment method.

The same month as Apples announcement, Chinas Alipay joined forces with the Jiangsu province to provide digital marriage certificates for the provinces residents. The digital certificate makes it easier for users to apply for a mortgage, property transfer, or even establish a startup.

Allowing users to safely store digital versions of documents that arent always easily accessible like a Social Security card, passport or birth certificatepositions mobile wallet platforms to surpass what a physical wallet can provide. To move beyond digital storage, mobile payment providers will need to partner with governmental agencies (like Alipays partnership with Jiangsu) to add utility, making them valid, accepted alternatives to the physical copy.

Adding non-payment functionalities to mobile wallets is the next logical step in earning broader consumer acceptance for mobile payments, says Jaclyn Holmes, Director of Auriemmas Payment Insights practice. Smartphones have already consolidated our technologies into a handheld package; using them to store keys, IDs, and government documents will only expand on that mission and push the technology forward.

Mobile payment users show interest in using mobile wallets beyond the point-of-sale, but it will take some convincing to convert those who dont use the mobile payment platforms already. While 40% of mobile payment users are interested in using mobile wallets for event tickets, membership cards, and boarding passes, only about 25% of non-users are interested. If mobile pay-eligible consumers had to select a single non-payment wallet addition, however, both users and non-users would pick storing government documents as the top priority.

These product expansions point the way to how a mobile wallet can transcend the physical walletwhether it be through providing you access to your apartment, storing documents youd normally keep at home, or applying coupons directly to your purchase, says Holmes. For mobile payments to be successful, they cant just replace the physical wallet, they need to improve upon it.

Survey Methodology

This study was conducted online within the US by an independent field service provider on behalf of Auriemma Consulting Group (Auriemma) between July-August 2018, among 1,518 mobile pay eligible consumers. Respondents were screened to own an iPhone 8/8+7/7+/6/6+/6s/6s+/SE/X or Apple Watch (in combination with an iPhone 5/5C/5S)  a Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+, S8, S8 Edge/Edge+, S7, S7 Edge, S7 Active, a Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge/Edge+, S6 Active or Galaxy Note 5, Note 7, or Note 8  Gear S2 or S3 watch (in combination with an Android/iPhone smartphone)  and/or other Android phone with KitKat (4.4) OS or newer. All respondents also have a general purpose credit card in their own name.

About Auriemma Consulting Group

For more than 30 years, Auriemmas mission has been to empower clients with authoritative data and actionable insights. Our team comprises recognized experts in four primary areas: operational effectiveness, consumer research, co-brand partnerships, and corporate finance. Our business intelligence and advisory services give clients access to the data, expertise and tools they need to navigate an increasingly complex environment and maximize their performance. Auriemma serves the consumer financial services ecosystem from our offices in New York City and London. For more information, visit us at http://www.acg.net or call Jaclyn Holmes at (212) 323-7000.
Tom Mbeke-Ekanem, PhD, a regulatory engineer with the California Environmental Protection Agency, has completed his new book Beyond The Execution: a guide for readers both familiar, and unaware, of Nigerian environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, his execution, and the many continuous struggles facing Nigeria since the middle of the twentieth century.

The politics of Africas most populous nation, Nigeria, can only be understood in terms of her over 250 ethnic groups, Dr. Mbeke-Ekanem explained about the inspiration for his book. The complexities are explained in the circumstances surrounding the deaths of MKO Abiola, a president-elect, and Ken Saro-Wiwa, an accomplished author, a playwright, and environmentalist.

Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, Tom Mbeke-Ekanems well-researched collection of essays ties together historical events into a cohesive narrative of the turmoil, successes, and failures Nigeria has to contend with.

With a foreword by Francis E. Nyong, PhD from the Division of Social Sciences at Pasadena City College, chapters that range from the birth of identity politics in Nigeria to the current ethnic divisions, and the disparate distribution of wealth across the nation, this book is a detailed chronicle of atrocities committed in the name of money and power by both regional and foreign forces.

In addition to his work as an engineer in the United States, Dr. Tom Mbeke-Ekanem is deeply active in Nigerian state of affairs. He is the founder and president of Ibom Peoples Congress USA Inc., an advocacy group concerned with socioeconomic development of the Akwa Ibom people of Nigeria, through which he was involved in organizing the first televised gubernatorial debate in Akwa Ibom State in September 2006. Dr. Mbeke-Ekanem was also appointed into the Twenty-Sixth Senate District for African Trade and Investment Commission set up by the California State government.

Readers who wish to learn more about Nigerias history and its future, can purchaseBeyond The Execution at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional New York based full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex and time-consuming issues, and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Modus Discovery We reviewed the national eDiscovery landscape and determined Modus is an industry leader in critical areas that provide the necessary scalability, cost savings, control and transparency we need to focus on our needs.

Modus, a leading provider of eDiscovery business intelligence services, today announced that it has entered into a national multi-year Managed Service Agreement with Black & Veatch. Black & Veatch is a global infrastructure solutions provider servicing the energy, water and telecommunications sectors based in Overland Park, Kan.

We reviewed the national eDiscovery landscape and determined Modus is an industry leader in critical areas that provide the necessary scalability, cost savings, control and transparency we need to focus on our needs, says Jennifer Shafer, Director of Dispute Resolution at Black & Veatch. Coupled with their strong commitment to our relationship, Modus really gets what true partnerships are all about.

"For more than 100 years, Black & Veatch has been providing critical engineering, construction and consulting services to communities around the world, says Steven Horan, Chairman and CEO of Modus. It is a mandate for Modus to deliver our technology and services that allows Black & Veatch to minimize and optimize eDiscovery spending so they can invest in crucial projects that are shaping the world today and tomorrow. Our people, process, and technology are achieving this each day.

ABOUT MODUS

Modus is an innovative eDiscovery company that helps law firms and corporations optimize their eDiscovery matters by orchestrating pristine communication between people, processes and technologies. Modus advanced suite of eDiscovery and managed service solutions helps clients leverage critical business intelligence to make better-informed legal business decisions.

ABOUT BLACK & VEATCH

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2017 were US$3.4 billion. Follow us on http://www.bv.com and in social media.
After studying this sector, we concluded that Building Intelligence was providing a ground-breaking solution that will transform how we support secure operations.

Building Intelligence, the creators of the award-winning software SV3 for the security of visitors, vehicles and vendors, has raised $4.1 million in a Series A financing led by Founders Equity. Concurrent with the financing, Warren Haber, a longstanding investor in real estate and real estate information technologies, will join the Board of Building Intelligence.

Building Intelligence, based in New York City and growing rapidly, intends to use the newly funded capital to expand its engineering team; build out additional integrations with other software products; expand its focus on larger enterprise customers; and enhance customer support.

The company was founded by Jeffrey C. Friedman, who had spent years working in real estate technology development and implementation and conceived the concept to create a physical security solution for managing the ingress and egress of visitors, vehicles and vendors as an integral part of every real estate operation. I saw that facility management organizations and physical security suppliers were in need of a solution that supports the convergence of security, operations and logistics. Unknown vehicles, unknown vendors and uninvited visitors arriving on-site and attaining access to critical infrastructure, is unacceptable. How many times have we heard the saying the suspect arrived by vehicle? At Building Intelligence, we are assembling the information with a cloud to mobile solution for access management combined with a platform for resource and traffic management, said Friedman. We have customers using our platform for projects here in the USA and overseas, and we provide a SafetyAct designated solution; supporting the principles of public-private partnerships with our commercial and government clients. With a significant roster of system integrator partners, we continue to build out our footprint connecting field operations to distributed technologies. He added: We are extremely excited to partner with Warren and Founders Equity, given the firms specific success in investing in a leading worldwide provider of real estate information.

Founders Equitys Haber added: After studying this sector, we concluded that Building Intelligence was providing a ground-breaking solution that will transform how we support secure operations. Not only is the Company improving operations and security, but the Companys clients were seeing a tremendous return on their investment utilizing SV3. We believe Building Intelligences technology with its team are in a unique position to revolutionize security and operations.

Building Intelligence will be exhibiting at ISC East Nov. 14-15 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, NY.

About Founders Equity:

Founders Equity Inc. Since 1969, Founders Equity has been actively engaged in private equity investing and in enhancing the value of small to mid-cap enterprises. Founders has initiated acquisition programs, restructured businesses, raised debt and equity in private placements and public offerings, and realized liquidity of maximize value.

About SV3:

SV3 is a suite of cutting-edge products designed from ground up to provide comprehensive, foolproof solutions for access control of visitors, vehicles and vendors. By securing a building and its assets by integrating seamlessly with existing PACS, SV3 provides operational savings as a cloud-based service for managing entry of people and vehicles at lobby, loading docks and other access points. This complete protection through trusted access makes SV3 an easy choice for the security or facility professional. Manage insurance documents, schedule the freight, measure the use of the loading dock of lobby, SV3 supports the convergence of security, logistics and operations.

About Building Intelligence Inc.:

Building Intelligence is a software company providing innovative technology solutions for security practitioners and building owners to manage visitors, vehicles and vendors. Building Intelligence Inc. is a privately-owned business based in New York, NY. The firms cloud-based solutions are uniquely positioned to provide the tools for managing visitors and vendors as they enter on foot through the front door or in a vehicle at the loading dock or parking area.
From the beginning of Certrecs involvement with NuScale, the project has had a unique energy behind it, stated Brett McLain.

Certrec, a leading regulatory compliance solution provider, is pleased to announce its participation in the electronic processing and preparation of Revision 2 of the small modular reactor Design Certification Application (DCA) for NuScale Powers submission to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on October 31, 2018.

NuScale Power is developing a new modular light water reactor nuclear power plant to supply energy for electrical generation, and process heat for industrial applications like district heating and desalination. This groundbreaking small modular reactor (SMR) design features a fully factory-fabricated NuScale Power Module capable of generating 60 MW of electricity using a safer, smaller, and scalable version of pressurized water reactor technology. NuScales scalable design  a power plant can house up to 12 individual power modules  offers the benefits of carbon-free energy and reduces the financial commitments associated with gigawatt-sized nuclear facilities.

In partnership with NuScale, Certrec deployed its TAKTIX web-based workflow platform to manage and control the electronic processing of all Requests for Additional Information (RAIs) from the NRC and changes to the DCA. All responses to RAIs and changes to the DCA were initiated, approved, and processed electronically online. The Certrec team processed the final electronic files, meeting exacting government archival standards, and generated the submittal files and DVDs based on content provided by NuScale personnel, which NuScale Power ultimately submitted to the NRC.

Certrecs web-based, project-collaboration tools, technical editing assistance, and document processing services were used throughout the project to support the successful development and submission of the DCA.

From the beginning of Certrecs involvement with NuScale, the project has had a unique energy behind it, stated Brett McLain, Certrecs Electronic Documents Manager. It has been rewarding to watch it evolve from one revision to the next. I am proud of our team for the great job they have done supporting NuScales efforts to bring their SMR design to fruition, and we look forward to continuing to help in any way we can.

We appreciate the hard work Certrec has offered in helping us reach this significant milestone, said Tom Bergman, NuScale Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. This planned revision to our DCA includes very few changes, reflecting the inherent stability of NuScales design and our extensive dialogue with the NRC to expedite the path to certification.

Processing RAIs and changes to the DCA, by teams of people scattered across the country, presents a number of time-sensitive and logistical challenges. Certrecs TAKTIX web-based platform allowed NuScale project personnel continuous, real-time access to all project materials, regardless of their physical location, significantly streamlining the processes.

We are extremely proud to be a major partner with NuScale, said Michelle Thomas, Certrec Operations Director. NuScales design is very important to the future of the nuclear power industry and we appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the teams success.

Certrecs large-document processing services are in demand. The company currently is involved in several DCA/DCD/COLA projects as well as supporting the ongoing maintenance of several plant UFSARs.

Founded in 1988, Certrec is an engineering and technology-based organization providing regulatory support services in the electric power industry. With more than 1,000 cumulative years of direct industry experience (including nuclear, fossil, and renewables), Certrec has developed exceptional capabilities to support regulatory activities emanating from regulatory entities such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) , the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Regional Entities (NERC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other regulatory agencies. Certrec's Office of Licensing and Compliance (OLC), Office of Assessment and Recovery (OAR), Office of NERC Compliance (ONC), and Office of New Plant (ONP) services are used by utilities and entities across the United States to help manage the regulatory process to their advantage.

Certrec offers expert assistance from highly skilled and experienced industry professionals who possess degrees in a variety of engineering disciplines (i.e., civil, electrical, mechanical, and nuclear). Additionally, Certrec's staff includes multiple-degreed personnel in physics, communications, a variety of MBAs, and information technology. This highly skilled team has direct working experience in all regulatory areas of licensing, compliance, and engineering, including nuclear, fossil, and renewable generation and transmission.

For more than 30 years, Certrec has been applying its hundreds of years of industry experience to help clients develop and manage solutions to complex regulatory issues. The combination of this direct industry experience with Certrec's information technology assets has led to the development of technology-based solutions and tools directly targeted to the electric power industry and specifically focused on helping clients manage regulatory issues.

NUSCALE POWER

NuScale Power is developing a new kind of nuclear plant; a safer, smaller, scalable version of pressurized water reactor technology  a technology initially developed and tested at Oregon State University. Fluor Corporation, a global engineering, procurement, and construction company with a 60-year history in commercial nuclear power, is the majority investor in NuScale. NuScale's design offers the benefits of carbon-free nuclear power and reduces the financial commitments associated with giga-watt size nuclear facilities. NuScale's technology is also ideally suited to supply energy for district heating, desalination, and other process heat applications.

At the heart of our technology is the fully factory fabricated NuScale Power Module, an integral reactor vessel surrounded by a high pressure steel containment, which when coupled to its factory fabricated power generation equipment can produce 60 megawatts of electricity. A NuScale power plant can house up to 12 of these modules for a total facility output of 720 megawatts (gross). The scalability afforded by the modular design allows customers to incrementally increase facility output to match demand. The NuScale Power Module is premised on well-established nuclear technology principles with a focus on integration of components, simplification or elimination of systems, and use of passive safety features resulting in highly reliable operation underpinned by an extremely strong safety case and unparalleled asset protection, making it suitable to be sited at locations closer to where electricity or process heat are needed.

NuScale is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and has offices in Corvallis, OR; Rockville, MD; Charlotte, NC; Richland, WA; Arlington, VA; and London, UK. For more information visit: http://www.nuscalepower.com or follow us on Twitter: @NuScale_Power.


Feelings in Chicago run deep about this beautiful boat and everything good she stands for.

The yacht OCEAN, Chicago's flagship and largest racing sailboat, has been donated to California State University Maritime Academy in Southern California, with an appraised value of $1.35 million.

OCEAN is the biggest race yacht in Chicago and second in size on all the Great Lakes. She is a marvel of technology with a mast soaring 100 feet, a lifting keel that allows the boat to enter local marinas, a computer-controlled ballast system and a variety of high-tech weather and navigation systems. Her largest sail is 5,000 square feet which is flown from the forward tip of the yacht that measures 86 feet from stem to stern. She has a distinctive deep blue hull upon which the boats name OCEAN glistens in assertive gold calligraphy.

Cal Maritime is incredibly honored and excited to be receiving such an amazing yacht. We look forward to carrying on the OCEAN legacy. said Tyler Wolk of the academy. I know she is going where she was born to run. We'll always treasure the memories of racing this great yacht. said Jim Banovitz, Captain and Pinnacle Foundation board member.

The boat was christened OCEAN upon her arrival in Chicago. Her name was inspired by the poet Satoro who said "Individually, we are a drop of water. Together, we are an ocean." Sentiment that rings clear to her tight crew of sixteen who consider each other family.

OCEAN made her local debut at the Strictly Sail Show at Navy Pier in 2011. In a very rare occurrence, Lake Shore Drive was shut down as the massive boat was trucked to the pier on a blustery winter Sunday.

Her appearance in Chicago shook the race scene. Some in the race circuit said she was too much boat for her crew. Her record of line honor victories and flawless safe sailing eventually won over the early naysayers and propelled the boat and her crew to rock star status in the Great Lakes.

But OCEAN has done far more than win boat races.

She was a platform for fundraising for the Pinnacle Foundation which was created with her arrival, and the centerpiece of the Chicago Regatta, the foundations signature event which has since been adopted by the Chicago Yacht Club. To date, the Pinnacle Foundation and affiliated individuals and organizations have donated about $350,000 to child-related organizations, including the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital, Northwestern's Lurie Children's Hospital, Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, SOS Illinois and others. "These are the best wins she gave us." said Gary Feracota, Person in Charge of the yacht and President of the Pinnacle Foundation.

The boat also paid tribute to the heroes of 9/11 with veterans and an honor guard including the US Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Fire and Marine Police. On the infamous anniversaries, she could be seen flying a 40 x 60 foot American Flag from her ten-story mast as she screamed across Chicago's Lakefront in a show of American strength and fortitude.

OCEAN is crewed and owned by sixteen equity partners who raced the yacht hard and gave their time and finances for various charities. It has been a very emotional time for us. said Patti Feracota, Partner and Crew Person of the yacht. Feelings in Chicago run deep about this beautiful boat and everything good she stands for."

"Our team has always known we were caretakers of a work of art and science that would someday pass to the next generation. That day has arrived, and we are all grateful to have had her in our lives. Heartfelt thanks to our dear friends from around world who have helped us campaign the boat on the race course and rally hearts and minds to do good in the community." said Gary Feracota.

OCEAN will depart the Chicago area from Larsen Marine on November 15.
By drawing on their years of experience and thought leadership in their respective fields, Philippe and Chris will provide unique insights into how our technology and services can extend to an even larger segment of the global enterprise.

Controlant, a leading provider of supply chain visibility solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, cold chain logistics, and food and beverage sectors, today announced the appointment of two new members to its Advisory Board. Philippe Hemard and Chris Scoggins bring decades of experience in supply chain logistics and enterprise technology to the company's leadership team. Their input is expected to play a valuable role as Controlant continues to scale its operations, develop next generation technology, and enter new markets.

Mr. Hemard, an early executive at Amazon EU, served in a key role building and scaling the organization's supply chain operations to support its European business growth from less than $500 million to more than $30 billion in revenue, including overseeing the hiring of tens of thousands of employees during his 18-year-tenure with the company.

Mr. Scoggins is a 20-year Silicon Valley veteran, most recently holding executive roles at Datalogix, which was acquired by Oracle in 2015. Mr. Scoggins has also served as an investor and a board member for several companies, including Umbria (acquired by JD Power) and Yieldex (acquired by Appnexus), SambaTV, NovoRoll, Factual and Elliptic.

We are extremely pleased to welcome Philippe and Chris to Controlant, who each bring complementary strengths and synergy to our business, said CEO Gisli Herjolfsson. Philippe brings deep experience in supply chain logistics and rapid scaling, having worked for one of the fastest-growing, most customer centric businesses on earth. Chris carries deep experience in building high-growth, data-driven technology companies. By drawing on their years of experience and thought leadership in their respective fields, Philippe and Chris will provide unique insights into how our solutions can extend to an even larger segment of the global enterprise."

Mr. Hemard and Mr. Scoggins will advise the company on strategy, international growth, and partnering areas. Their involvement will help differentiate the company in its quest to bring a Software as a Service business model to the cold chain and reduce global waste to less than one percent.

About Controlant

Controlant offers powerful real-time monitoring and traceability solutions for the global cold chain, delivered as an on demand service. Its fully validated cloud and IoT solutions provide end-to-end visibility and risk mitigation across all lanesair, road, rail, and seaand through the last-mile. Intelligent data analytics provide enterprises with proactive insights to prevent waste and fuel impactful decision-making and collaboration throughout their entire business ecosystem. More than 200 customers are using Controlant solutions in over 100 countries as a single source of truth to ensure quality and safety, manage compliance, drive operational efficiency, and boost overall profitability and growth. Learn more at: controlant.com.
The Charleston region is a diverse and thriving community that values a health-centric culture, making it an exciting location for our newest studio, said Jackie Skinner, Charleston New Market Opening Studio Manager.

Americas leading yoga studio CorePower Yoga is coming to South Carolina in early spring 2019 with a new studio in Mount Pleasants Indigo Square. This will be the first of at least two locations to open in the Charleston region.

The new studio, operated by franchisee Level 4 Yoga, will be open seven days a week with classes offered throughout the day, beginning at 5:45 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m. The studio space is approximately 3,600 square feet and will be equipped with two large studios and a mens and womens locker room. It will offer five varieties of classes, including CorePower Yoga 1, CorePower Yoga 2, Hot Power Fusion, Yoga Sculpt and CoreRestore. All classes range in style, difficulty and flow to fit every experience level and are designed to fire up strength, ignite intention and build the core.

The Charleston region is a diverse and thriving community that values a health-centric culture, making it an exciting location for our newest studio, said Jackie Skinner, Charleston New Market Opening Studio Manager. We are thrilled to have found a vibrant and convenient location, and look forward to becoming an integral part of the community in Mount Pleasant and the entire Charleston area.

In preparation for the opening, the Mount Pleasant studio will host a series of open auditions and expects to hire more than 30 yoga instructors. Auditions will take place in November. Interested applicants must be 200-hour trained through a Yoga Alliance-approved program and can learn more by emailing teach@level4yoga.com.

The Mount Pleasant CorePower Yoga will be located at 1711 Shoremeade Road, Suite 130, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464. The studio will be near Publix GreenWise at Indigo Square. In the months leading up to the new studio opening, CorePower Yoga will host a series of free yoga events in the community. To learn more about those events and pre-opening deals, and to follow progress of the new studio, visit CorePower Yoga Charleston on Facebook and Instagram @corepoweryoga_charleston.

About CorePower Yoga

CorePower Yoga strives to show the world the incredible, life-changing things that happen when an intense workout is rooted in the mindfulness of yoga. Through a variety of yoga classes, convenient times and more than 180 studio locations, CorePower Yoga provides a highly intense and incredibly mindful form of fitness.

CorePower Yoga's passionate and encouraging certified instructors take a typical yoga practice and crank it up to 11, working every muscle and every emotion. The beautiful, spa-like studios are built to meet the highest standards of service and quality. For more information, visit corepoweryoga.com.

About Level 4 Yoga, LLC

Currently the largest CorePower Yoga franchisee, Level 4 Yoga operates 30 CorePower Yoga studios in five states. The company employs more than 800 full and part time employees and plans to grow its franchise to 50 locations. Level 4 Yoga was founded in 2009, is based in Chicago, and became the third largest national yoga studio operator in less than a decade.
It is exciting to add Russ and Roi to our senior management team as they exemplify excellence. And, to Cindy, Emmy and Bhanu, their promotions are well-deserved, reflecting the contributions they are making on a daily basis, said Lior Div, CEO and co-founder, Cybereason.

Cybereason, creators of the leading cybersecurity end-to-end AI Hunting solution, recently hired Russell Stein as Chief Financial Officer and Roi Carmel as Chief Strategy and Product Officer. In addition, the company expanded its executive management team with three internal promotions. Emmy Linder was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, Cindy Klein Roche has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer and Bhanu Sareddy is the new Chief Customer Officer.

As Cybereason continues to gain global momentum and reach new heights, it is very exciting for our future to add Russ and Roi to our senior management team. They exemplify excellence and are already having a profound impact on Cybereason. And, to Cindy, Emmy and Bhanu, their promotions are well-deserved, reflecting the contributions they are making on a daily basis, said Lior Div, CEO and co-founder, Cybereason. Cybereason is poised to close a record year in 2018. There is no other company with our innovative products, our proactive, sophisticated mindset and our credible vision to truly protect it all for Global 2000 enterprises.

About Russell Stein and Roi Carmel

Russell Stein, Chief Financial Officer

Stein joins Cybereason with more than 20 years of industry experience, most recently at Intellectual Ventures where he worked for more than eight years as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development & Investments and Chief Financial Officer. Previously, he spent 15 years at Merrill Lynch in a variety of roles, including CEO of Merrill Lynch Bank, Managing Director, Head of Global Corporate Finance (Investment Banking Division) and Global Treasurer.

Russs distinguished career includes many awards and accolades: Seattle Business Magazines CFO of the Year, the Alexander Hamilton Award for overall treasury excellence, Treasury and Risks Top 40 Under 40, Investment Dealers Digests 40 Under 40 and Treasury and Risks 100 Most Influential People in Finance. Russ holds numerous patents and patent applications ranging from new types of financial securities and financial algorithms, to fruit ripening methods and payment fraud detection & fraud prevention.

Roi Carmel, Chief Strategy & Product Officer

Carmel brings nearly 20 years of business and product leadership experience to Cybereason, and he has created many winning product strategies and teams with a focus on operational and execution excellence as well as sales messaging and methodologies. Most recently, he served as the Chief Marketing Officer and Corporate Strategy Officer at Perfecto Mobile. Prior to that, Carmel held multiple executive roles at Hewlett Packard Software where he headed the DevOps and Automated Quality business. He also ran strategic resells and the Enterprise Mobility strategy for the HP ALM business.

Previously, Carmel won the Medal of Honor for his military service in special ops with the Israeli Defense Forces.

Executive Promotions

Emmy Linder, Chief Operations Officer

Linder, previously Cybereasons Global Head of Operations and Chief of Staff, has 15 years of senior management experience, including five years in operating product and project management roles in technology companies. Prior to joining Cybereason, Linder worked for The Boston Consulting Group, where she focused on operational excellence and organizational design programs. Linder began her career as an Intelligence Officer in the Israeli Defense Forces Unit 8200 where she commanded a 24/7 intelligence team.

Cindy Klein Roche, Chief Marketing Officer

Klein Roche, Cybereasons former Vice President Brand, has more than 20 years of experience in integrated marketing, brand building and customer experience at Fortune 1000 companies such as TripAdvisor, athenahealth and Fidelity. She has built top global brands from scratch, driven significant growth in brand awareness, and created successful go-to-market programs for consumer, small business, and enterprise audiences that led to dramatic sales results. In her time with Cybereason, she has created innovative and non-traditional marketing programs that are fostering lasting connections with customers and driving new business.

Bhanu Sareddy, Chief Customer Officer

Sareddy, Cybereasons former Senior Vice President of Customer Success, has a track record of defining the customer journey and delivering value. With experience at Tufin, Fuze, Aveksa (RSA), and Netegrity (CA), he has managed professional services, customer success, and support teams delivering enterprise-grade solutions. During his time with Cybereason, Sareddy has established himself as a results-driven leader increasing revenue, creating long-term relationships and building trust with all customers.

To learn more about Cybereasons management team, please visit the website.

About Cybereason

Cybereason, creators of the leading cybersecurity data analytics platform, gives the advantage back to the defender through a completely new approach to cybersecurity. Cybereason offers endpoint detection and response (EDR), next-generation antivirus (NGAV), and active monitoring services, all powered by its proprietary data analytics platform. The Cybereason suite of products provides unmatched visibility, increases analyst efficiency and effectiveness, and reduces security risk. Cybereason is privately held, having raised $189 million from top-tier VCs, and is headquartered in Boston, with offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo.

Learn more: https://www.cybereason.com/

Follow us: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Media Contact:

Bill Keeler

Director, Public Relations

Cybereason

bill.keeler(at)cybereason.com

(929) 259-3261
Attorney Darby Hoggatt The Elite Lawyer Award speaks highly of how well each nominated attorney is perceived by their legal community.

Attorney Darby Hoggatt, of Hoggatt Law Office, P.C., has been honored with a 2018 Elite Lawyer Award for the area of personal injury. The Elite Lawyer rating service recognizes attorneys who display a high level of competence in their practice and receive acknowledgment from their peers, community, bar and committees.

Attorney Darby Hoggatt founded Hoggatt Law Office, P.C., in 2002. He has helped many clients receive personal injury compensation for vehicle and pedestrian accidents, including those involving drunk driving, distracted driving, and rideshare services. His services also include representing clients making wrongful death and workers compensation claims.

Hoggatt is a member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and the Workers' Compensation Education Association. He was named an Elite Lawyer for Personal Injury in 2018 and received the Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion Award  Platinum Distinction. His firm recently received an A+ accreditation rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Designed to assist potential clients in finding an experienced legal professional to address specific legal needs, the Elite Lawyer tools and resources provide information on distinguished attorneys throughout the United States.

The Elite Lawyer Award assures that each attorney selected to the directory has received a nomination from their peers for displaying excellence and a high level of skill with the law. Awarded only to those who have met or exceeded the criteria of a rigorous, multi-phased selection process, the Award recognizes top-rated attorneys for their excellence and outstanding service in their specific area or areas of practice.

Only the most outstanding and experienced attorneys receive the Elite Lawyer Award. A prestigious nomination and presented only to legal professionals who are able to meet or exceed its demanding criteria, it sets these exceptional attorneys apart from their peers when consumers use the directory to search for a top-notch attorney in their area.

The Elite Lawyer Award speaks highly of how well each nominated attorney is perceived by their legal community. For more information about Elite Lawyer, or to become a member of the esteemed directory, visit http://www.elitelawyer.com.

About Hoggatt Law Office, P.C.

For more than 15 years, Hoggatt Law Office, P.C., has served Northern Colorado clients in need of injury compensation. Our attorneys pursue the maximum compensation for your personal or work-related injuries, whether that means filing a workers compensation claim or using litigation. We have three convenient office locations in Fort Collins, Greeley, and Longmont. For more information or to schedule a free consultation, call 970-225-2190 or visit https://www.hoggattlaw.com.
"We are excited to provide our customers with our first all-in-one-place resource for the newest Goodlife products" - Chris Molnar, Co-Founder, Goodlife Clothing

Goodlife Clothing, a mens essentials clothing brand providing the building blocks to the perfect wardrobe, today unveiled its first catalog featuring its new alpaca sweater collection and their long-awaited collaboration with legendary shoe brand and leader of the smart casual category, SeaVees, offering the Huntington slip-on with Japanese wool, also a first for both brands.

The full-color, printed catalog showcases Goodlifes relentless attention to detail, starting with the alpaca collection offering a range of sweaters, pants and essential henleys and crews. Goodlife also partnered with SeaVees to create the aw-inspiring Huntington wool slip-on in midnight blue and heather grey, also highlighted in the catalog. Featuring DJ and Entrepreneur Brendan Fallis, the catalog was shot at The Hoxton, a chic, new Williamsburg, BK hotel which gives the reader a 360 understanding of the newest product.

"We are excited to provide our customers with our first all-in-one-place resource for the newest Goodlife products," said Chris Molnar, Co-Founder, Goodlife Clothing. All the photos are phenomenal, but the product detail photos were taken in such a way that it seems like you can feel the texture of the alpaca coming off the pages. It showcases the latest innovations plus the traditional elements customers have come to depend on from Goodlife. It is truly a phenomenal sales tool.

ABOUT GOODLIFE CLOTHING

At Goodlife, we believe that a man makes his clothes (not the other way around), and everything we produce should empower him to enjoy his Goodlife unapologetically. Our collections are masterfully curated, so our customers can effortlessly and enjoyably build their ideal wardrobe for every season, never accumulating items they wont wear. The combination of the highest-quality materials, like our Supima cotton or our custom Italian corozo buttons, and the perfect drape, across our t-shirts, sweats, and rotating seasonal essentials, creates our signature addictive fit. Once you try Goodlife on, youll be hooked. For more information visit, http://www.goodlifeclothing.com and follow @goodlife_clothing on Instagram and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/enjoyyourgoodlife/

About SeaVees, Inc.

Born in 1964, SeaVees is the original way to go casual. Based in Santa Barbara, California SeaVees honors its 1960s heritage by drawing inspiration from the coolest place, in the coolest of times. Only SeaVees makes modern amendments to classic design resulting in a timeless sneaker suitable for any affair. Batch-made in small runs for superior quality and consistency, each SeaVees style carries a unique name inspired by an influential date in 1960s California culture. SeaVees footwear can be found online at http://www.seavees.com, Nordstrom and other specialty retailers across the United States. To learn more about SeaVees and its products, visit seavees.com. Follow @seavees for all brand updates on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT THE HOXTON

The Hoxton is a series of open house hotels inspired by the diversity and originality of the streets and scenes that surround them. Just like our doors, our minds are open too. Ever since we opened our first hotel in Shoreditch, way back in 2006, weve never just been about offering a bed for the night. We want to be more than that: providing a place where guests can hang out alongside the locals and submerse themselves in the neighborhood with vibrant, welcoming public spaces. Then there's our eclectic program of monthly events, where we bring the outside in, and work with local creatives to curate events unique to each location. The Hoxton, Holborn opened in 2014, followed by The Hoxton, Amsterdam in 2015, and The Hoxton, Paris in summer 2017. The Hoxton, Williamsburg was the first U.S. opening, followed by Portland, with Chicago, Downtown LA and Southwark (London) all in the pipeline. http://www.thehoxton.com.

ABOUT BRENDAN FALLIS

Brendan Fallis has become one of the most sought-after curators in the industry. Whether it is a DJ gig or partnership, Fallis is a go-to for brands around the globe because of his distinct aesthetic, digital presence and incredible taste. Over the last few years, Fallis has provided music for some of the most high-profile events and campaigns for clients across the spectrum such as Absolut, Audi, Balmain, Chanel, GQ, Louis Vuitton, Samsung, Taco Bell, and Viacom, among others. He can be seen DJing events solo or with his wife, Hannah Bronfman. Brendan gained worldwide attention from both the music and fashion industries for his production abilities when he created a track, "Day and All Night," using Kate Moss vocals for Stuart Weitzmans Fall 2013 Campaign. Fallis has appeared in campaigns for major brands such as adidas, Banana Republic, and Revlon. He also started a YouTube Channel to share more behind the scenes content from his work, travels and healthy lifestyle. For more information visit http://www.brendanfallis.com and follow on Instagram @brendanfallis.

Media Contact:

JMediaHouse

Jason Geller

jason(at)jmediahouse.com

212-920-0398
The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) and its affiliated scientific societies have scheduled information-packed annual meetings over the coming months  each focused on new innovations and best practices in weed control.

The meetings are expected to draw a broad range of scientists, educators, students and others interested in sustainable weed management and the conservation of natural resources.

First up are the annual meetings of the Canadian, North Central and Northeastern weed science societies. Details are below, along with save the date information for additional events.



Canadian Weed Science Society/Societe canadienne de malherbologie (CWSS-SCM), November 19-22, Niagara Falls, Ontario

This years annual meeting of the Canadian Weed Science Society will focus on innovations that minimize the impact of weedy plants on the production of safe, affordable food. Among the topics headlining the agenda are:

 Imaging, data collection tools and analytics for crop protection

 Hyperspectral technologies to assess seed germination and herbicide response in Palmer amaranth

 Advances in mechanical weed control

 Ways to optimize sprayer efficiency for improved weed control

Additional information and registration details are available at http://www.weedscience.ca.

North Central Weed Science Society (NCWSS), December 3-6, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The annual meeting of the North Central Weed Science Society will feature approximately 200 papers and posters on a wide range of topics, including application technology, herbicide physiology, invasive weed management, weed biology and resistance, and weed control in agronomic and specialty crops.

Guest speaker Allan Felsot, a professor at Washington State University, will discuss recent press coverage linking glyphosate to cancer. In addition, four symposia are planned:

 Whats new in industry, products and technologies

 Atmospheric conditions for making on-target herbicide applications

 Making data meaningful: A guide to presenting data at scientific meetings

 Essential communication in weed science

Additional information and registration details are available at http://ncwss.org.

Northeastern Weed Science Society (NEWSS), January 7-10, Hunt Valley, Maryland

The Northeastern Weed Science Society will hold its annual meeting in conjunction with the Northeastern Plant, Pest and Soils Conference. The event will feature nearly 100 papers and posters focused on weed management information for agronomic crops, turf, ornamentals, fruits, vegetables, herbs  and more.

Two symposia are scheduled, including one on effective science communication and another on the benefits and challenges of participatory research. A mini-workshop is planned on weed management in pollinator plantings, and a special seminar will focus on facts about glyphosate.

Additional information can be found at https://www.newss.org/meeting/.

Other Meetings Scheduled for Early Next Year:

 Southern Weed Science Society (SWSS), February 3-6, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 Weed Science Society of America (WSSA), February 11-14, New Orleans, Louisiana

 Western Society of Weed Science (WSWS), March 11-14, Denver, Colorado

Further details will be posted online as they become available.

About the Weed Science Society of America

The Weed Science Society of America, a nonprofit scientific society, was founded in 1956 to encourage and promote the development of knowledge concerning weeds and their impact on the environment. The Society promotes research, education and extension outreach activities related to weeds, provides science-based information to the public and policy makers, fosters awareness of weeds and their impact on managed and natural ecosystems, and promotes cooperation among weed science organizations across the nation and around the world. For more information, visit http://www.wssa.net.
My team and I look forward to connecting with Europe-based organizations at PCT, to explore together the future of clinical research and grow their businesses.Nathan WallerManaging Director, EMEAMedrio

Medrio, the leading provider of transformational eClinical technology will attend the 2018 Partnerships in Clinical Trials Europe conference in Barcelona, Spain from November 27 to 29. The company can be found at booth A7, where they will showcase Medrios innovative solutions, including its tablet-based eSource application, and exchange insight with attendees into matters of interest to the clinical research industry.

Connecting face-to-face with researchers is an invaluable way to understand their needs, whether pertaining to eClinical technology or business development, commented Mike Novotny, founder and CEO of Medrio. PCT Europe is a great chance to solidify our Customer First principle in Europe and form new collaborations with companies doing fascinating things in clinical research.

Medrio is rapidly expanding its footprint in the European clinical research market. The company has stationed Business Development, Support, and Customer Success staff across Europe to address the needs and facilitate the success of new and existing European customers. Participation in Partnerships in Clinical Trials Europe represents another milestone to further assert Medrios presence and establish new connections with European contract research organizations (CROs). The companys representatives present at the conference will be available for private meetings to discuss the significant benefits for CROs of partnering with Medrio, which include:



The Medrio Partner Program  Medrios CRO Partners receive access to a broad array of resources that help them promote their brand and win more sponsor business.

Reseller Pricing  By positioning CROs to deliver a fully configurable solution, expanded professional services, and other benefits to their sponsor clients, Medrio enables CROs to act as a reseller and increase their revenue.

Increased competitiveness  CROs can leverage Medrio to save clinical trial costs through clinical monitoring reduction and efficiency, creating a compelling and more competitive option to their sponsors.

To learn more about this partnership strategy, interested parties can book a private meeting with a Medrio representative by contacting Nathan Waller, Managing Director, EMEA at Medrio, at nwaller(at)medrio(dot)com.

After expanding significantly in Europe over the last year, Medrio currently provides its services to a multitude of European organizations, largely CROs, conducting clinical trials in a wide array of areas including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and others. Europe-based clients are already enjoying the benefits Medrio brings to their business, and were delighted to be part of the PCT Europe conference for the first time. commented Mr. Waller. My team and I look forward to meeting old friends and making new ones to explore together the future of clinical research and grow their businesses.

About Medrio

Medrio is the leading provider of eClinical technology for clinical trials. Founded in 2005, Medrios cloud-based EDC, eSource, eConsent, and ePRO solutions deliver innovative and easy-to-use tools for the collection and management of clinical data and patient reported outcome responses. Study sponsors and contract research organizations have used Medrio extensively in clinical trials across a wide array of therapeutic areas, with notable success in oncology, infectious disease, and more. Medrio has extensive experience in all study phases and leads the market in early-phase trials. The company serves over 500 customers globally, with headquarters in San Francisco and offices in numerous domestic and international locations. For more information, please visit http://www.medrio.com.
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a tool that speeds up the analysis and publication of biomedical data from many months or years to mere minutes, transforming the way researchers communicate results of their studies. Until now, the primary method available to share biomedical research data has been through print publication in scientific journals. The new tool, BioJupies, relies on cloud technologies to analyze and visualize large amounts of data, such as that acquired by genome sequencing, as described in the November 2018 issue of Cell Systems.

RNA sequencing is the most common experimental method used to profile cells in biomedical research. In recent years, sequencing technology has revolutionized the way scientists examine genetic data, and this advancement plays a crucial role in drug discovery and development. Traditionally, RNA sequencing analysis requires extensive computer programming skills and access to local high performance computing facilities, slowing down the speed at which biomedical data can be analyzed, shared, and published.

Through the creation of BioJupies, users can now upload and analyze their RNA sequencing data in a fraction of the time as done previously. The platform utilizes a cloud computing pipeline that reduces the cost of RNA-sequencing data processing to less than one cent per sample. BioJupies also produces a complete, open source, interactive report from the processed data allowing for 300,000 publicly available RNA sequencing datasets to be fetched, reanalyzed, and reused to bolster biomedical research.

As the amount of biomedical data generated continues to climb exponentially, so should the tools used to analyze and share them, said Avi Maayan, PhD, Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Professor, Department of Pharmacological Sciences, faculty of Icahn Institute for Data Science, and senior author of the publication. BioJupies not only accelerates the manner in which we analyze and interpret data, but it also provides a completely new way to share results with the global research community.

As new genomic technologies have allowed for the collection of massive amounts of biomedical information that can be harnessed for precision medicine efforts, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of this data has become crucial to scientific research. BioJupies paves the way for researchers with no computational background to perform RNA sequencing analysis without the need to collaborate with bioinformaticians, enabling more medical and scientific advancements to flourish in our data rich world.

BioJupies is freely available as a web-based application at: http://biojupies.cloud. The software was developed during the pilot phase of the NIH Data Commons 180-day production pilot phase.

This work was partially supported by NIH grants: OT3OD025467 and U54HL127624

Paper Cited: Denis Torre, Alexander Lachmann, Avi Maayan. BioJupies: Automated Generation of Interactive Notebooks for RNA-seq Data Analysis in the Cloud Cell Systems.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2018.10.007

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools", aligned with a U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" Hospital, No. 13 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in six other specialties in the 2018-2019 "Best Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 11th nationally for Ophthalmology and 44th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally.
We are incredibly proud that Naviance is the leader in delivering student success tools at scale for more than 40% of U.S. middle and high school students, said Monica Morrell, General Manager of Naviance.

Hobsons, a leader in education technology and college, career and life readiness, announced a record number of early decision and early acceptance college applications submitted to higher education institutions by high school students using Naviance. More than 1 million early decision and early acceptance applications were submitted by nearly 500,000 high school seniors in the week leading-up to the November 1 deadline. This is an increase of 29% over the same period in 2017.

Naviance, the creator of the College, Career and Life Readiness Framework, continues to expand equity and access of critical preparation tools for students across the U.S. Today, 13.5 million students at 13 thousand middle and high schools have access to Naviance, along with more than 400,000 high school counselors and teachers.

We are incredibly proud that Naviance is the leader in delivering student success tools at scale for more than 40% of U.S. middle and high school students, said Monica Morrell, General Manager of Naviance. We recognize that the college application process is a stressful time for students and their families, as well as counselors and teachers, and appreciate the trust schools and districts have placed in us to streamline the process and deliver documents on time. We delivered more than 6 million documents during the week leading up to the November 1 deadline. We will continue to scale our platform to meet the growing demands of our students, schools and partners.

Along with this growth, recent analysis by the Naviance team has found that:

-The number of Naviance seniors that have applied to at least one college is up 89% vs. this time last year.

-College searches are up 67% over last year, with 36.1 million unique profile views since August.

-Students who took 5+ math courses were 19% more likely to be admitted to college.

-Female students completed a college degree within 6 years after graduation at a 10% higher rate than male students.

-Students that access Naviance 25+ times are over 95% more likely to apply to college.

-Students that complete more tasks within Naviance Success Planner are more likely to be admitted to college.

We have begun using the analytics insight within Naviance for our school district, said Dr. Martha Salizar-Zamora, Superintendent at Tomball Independent School District in Texas. It has been powerful for us to understand what actions and student behaviors within Naviance at our high schools are having the greatest impact on student outcomes. It is also helping us to improve our guidance for those students to help them succeed.

About Hobsons

A leader in education technology, Hobsons helps more than 15 million students to identify their strengths, explore careers, match to best-fit educational opportunities, create academic plans, and reach their education and life goals. More than 13,000 K-12 and higher education institutions partner with Hobsons and leverage our expertise and our solutions -- Naviance, Intersect, and Starfish -- to improve college and career readiness, college recruiting and admissions, and higher education student success to support millions of students.


NH Hotel Group joins TravelClicks industry-leading Demand360 network

TravelClick, an Amadeus company, today announced NH Hotel Group, a world-leading urban hotel operator with close to 400 hotels and nearly 60,000 rooms in 30 markets, joined TravelClicks Demand360 program, a Hotelligence360 solution. This marks the continued rapid expansion of TravelClicks Demand360 program, which gives hoteliers unique access to forward-looking demand data and allows hoteliers to develop optimal strategies for maximizing revenue.

With the addition of NH Hotel Group, more than 25,000 properties around the world now participate in Demand360, the hospitality industrys competitive market intelligence product providing forward-looking reservation metrics and competitive share by segment and channel.

Working with TravelClicks Demand360 not only assists our individual hotels with a complete understanding of the booking trends in their local market, but also gives them the ability to know what actions to take to drive performance and ensure that they are getting their fair share of bookings through the right segment and channel, said Fernando Vives, Chief Commercial Officer, NH Hotel Group. TravelClicks data is essential for enabling us to make fact-based decisions and move beyond the traditional approach of historical forecasting.

NH Hotel Group joining as a new TravelClick Demand360 data partner further signifies the strength and value hoteliers achieve from our international network of demand data providers, added Greg Sheppard, Senior Vice President, Business Intelligence Solutions at TravelClick. Using Demand360 allows hotels to make the most accurate inventory allocation and marketing decisions that have been proven to measurably improve profitability.

About TravelClick, an Amadeus Company

TravelClick offers innovative, cloud-based and data-driven solutions for hotels around the globe to maximize revenue. TravelClick enables over 25,000 hoteliers to drive better business decisions and know, acquire, convert and retain guests. The Companys interconnected suite of solutions includes Business Intelligence, Reservations & Booking Engine, Media, Web & Video and Guest Management. As a trusted hotel partner with more than 30 years of industry experience, TravelClick operates in 176 countries, with local experts in 39 countries and 14 offices in New York, Atlanta, Barcelona, Bucharest, Chicago, Dallas, Dubai, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Orlando, Ottawa, Paris, Shanghai and Singapore. The Company also provides its hotel customers with access to a global network of over 600 travel-focused partners. Follow TravelClick on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About NH Hotel Group

NH Hotel Group is a world-leading urban hotel operator and a consolidated multinational player. It operates close to 400 hotels and almost 60,000 rooms in 30 markets across Europe, America and Africa, including top city destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bogota, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Munich, New York, Rome and Vienna. As a responsible company and benchmark in the hospitality industry, NH Hotel Group offers hotel services that anticipate to the needs of all its stakeholders: employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, society and the environment, caring for every detail and providing efficient and sustainable solutions.
pcg-logo Digital Retailing is more than a buzzword. It describes the steps, processes, and technology that progressive dealers are implementing to create a better sales process and customer experience.

PCG Companies, a leader in digital marketing strategies for the automotive industry, and LotLinx, the automotive industry's authority on inventory marketing powered by artificial intelligence, have announced today the upcoming release of digital automotive expert and PCG Founder Brian Pasch's much anticipated new book, Just Faster: Reimagining Automotive Retail, co-authored by LotLinx Chief Strategy Officer Thomas Gage.

Pasch and Gage began working together to help dealership executives and managers better serve today's consumers who spend less time in the showroom and have more control in the buying process. The pair have worked closely on the shift toward digital retailing and online sales for over ten years, also co-authoring the marketing attribution book, Who Sold It? in 2017.

Since then, the need for another book that incorporates knowledge from the dealer community has only grown. Research conducted for the pair's second book reports that only 23% of surveyed dealers would find it helpful for OEMs to mandate specific digital retailing technology, while nearly 85% prefer to receive their digital retailing insights from other dealers. Just Faster satisfies this want by featuring interviews with dealers from some of the country's most influential automotive groups such as Larry H. Miller Automotive, Jeff Wyler Automotive Group, and Group 1 Automotive.

From this research, readers will learn strategic insights derived directly from the authors' conversations with dealers and customers on buzzing topics like vendor preferences, OEM initiatives, and organizational dynamics. It will be Pasch's seventh research work on automotive retail and Gage's second.

Brian Pasch states; "Digital Retailing is more than a buzzword. It describes the steps, processes, and technology that progressive dealers are implementing to create a better sales process and customer experience. The good news is that progressive dealers are making great strides in delivering on the promise of Digital Retailing and we cover all aspects of this change in our new book."

Just Faster will be available for an early edition release at PCG's annual Automotive Analytics and Attribution Summit next week, November 18-20, and will be available to the general public at the NADA 2019 convention. To inquire about ordering your copy, contact the PCG team.

About PCG Companies:

PCG Companies is composed of an award-winning digital marketing agency, consulting firm, and online training platform located in Monmouth County, NJ. PCG's roots began in digital marketing for the automotive industry and have since expanded into non-automotive verticals from travel agencies to restaurants and everything in between. PCG's mission, Advocate-Educate-Elevate, embodies their core ideals; to advocate for transparency, educate the public on the ever-changing digital landscape, and elevate their clients to success. PCG has also expanded to automotive product research, as well as data reporting for automotive dealers with their tool, Vistadash. For more information, please visit http://www.pcgcompanies.com.

About LotLinx:

LotLinx is the leading inventory marketing technology company for the automotive industry. Its proprietary /AI/ platform helps dealerships Sell Cars Smarter by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of their digital marketing spend. In the past five years, the company has grown rapidly, earning it the No. 1 spot on Crain's Chicago Business' 2018 Fast 50 list, along with a spot on the Auto Remarketing Power 300 for 2018. Dedicated to delivering the best results at the lowest cost to their customers, LotLinx partners with many leading brands, including Audi, GM, FCA, Ford and Mazda, for Cooperative Advertising programs that reimburse up to 100% of a dealer's marketing spend. Founded in 2012, LotLinx now serves thousands of rooftops including many of the nation's Top 100 Auto Groups. To learn more, visit http://www.lotlinx.com.
Test drive the new 2019 Chevrolet Spark at Peppers Automotive

There are many drivers who prefer to drive compact and smaller-sized vehicles compared to larger models like an SUV or truck. Depending on the needs of the driver, small vehicles offer various advantages and feature easy maneuverability which is beneficial when driving in a larger city. These are some of the characteristics that the new 2019 Chevrolet Spark comes with.

As a subcompact hatchback, the Chevrolet Spark features the desirable aspects of a small car while having the convenience and utility that hatchbacks offer. In fact, the 2019 Spark has around 11.1 cubic feet of cargo space that, with the rear seats folded, can be increased up to 27.2 cubic feet of room. Though, unlike other full-sized hatchbacks, or even compared to a sedan, the Spark has seating for four passengers.

One of the major advantages that new Spark offers drivers is the choice between a five-speed manual transmission or Continuous Variable Transmission. Plus, many interested shoppers will also enjoy the affordable starting price and amazing fuel efficiency. Then, like most Chevrolet models, there are a number of great amenities that can be equipped to the Spark. Some of the available features include SiriusXM Radio, heated front seats, 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot capability and power sunroof.

The new Chevrolet Spark has just recently arrived at the Peppers Automotive Groups Chevrolet Buick GMC lot. The Peppers Automotive Group is a dealership that features different vehicle lots that specialize in various automotive brands in Paris and McKenzie, Tennessee. Sales staff at the dealership state that the best way to learn about the new vehicles arriving at the lots is to visit the dealerships website at http://www.clickpeppers.com.

For any inquiries or questions about the available inventory, customers are able to speak with the dealership staff online or by calling 731-642-5661. The Peppers Automotive Group Chevrolet lot is located at 2420 East Wood Street.
Attorney Phil Henry It really is always nice to be recognized for the work you do, but the true satisfaction and privilege that we have as lawyers is achieving positive results for deserving clients. Past News Releases RSS

Attorney Phil Henry recently received the Plaintiffs Civility & Professionalism Award for his contributions to the enhancement of professionalism in the practice of law and promotion of the highest levels of competence, integrity, and ethical conduct. The award has significant meaning inside and outside of the legal community because it is given based on nominations by attorneys who practice on the opposite side of the docket and are members of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association.

Andy Cash, a founding member of Cash, Krugler Fredericks, LLC, wasnt surprised to learn that his colleague and friend was one of two lawyers being recognized this year. It is widely known that Phil is both an incredible advocate for his clients as well as an exceptional illustration of the ethics all lawyers should display in the practice of law, said Cash. We are fortunate to have Phil as a key part of our law firm, and to see his superior work day in and day out.

Henry is no stranger to recognition for his 40 years of work on behalf of injury victims and their families. He has been named to the Super Lawyers Top 10 List of Georgia attorneys eight times, holds an AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and is consistently recognized by Best Lawyers in America. Henry also has been a member of The American College of Trial Lawyers since 1999, an organization that recognizes the top one percent of courtroom attorneys in each state.

Henrys perspective on his receiving the prestigious GDLA award was exactly what many of his colleagues have come to expect from one of their true leaders. It really is always nice to be recognized for the work you do, but the true satisfaction and privilege that we have as lawyers is achieving positive results for deserving clients.

About Cash, Krugler & Fredericks, LLC: The Atlanta injury attorneys at Cash, Krugler & Fredericks, LLC bring over 140 years of combined experience to each clients case. The firm has obtained significant verdicts and settlements on behalf of injury victims and their families, and continues to be regarded as one of the top law firms in the U.S. The firm represents clients in serious car, truck, and motorcycle accident cases, as well as defective products, medical malpractice, elevator and escalator accidents, and wrongful death claims.
QuisLex QuisLex worked with Deutsche Bank using artificial intelligence and subject-knowledge based analytics to provide comprehensive yet substantively detailed insights into legal spend.

QuisLex, a leading legal services provider, announced today that it has been shortlisted for two awards at the inaugural FT Intelligent Business Forum. The new FT Innovative Lawyers ranking, report, and awards will be published on Nov. 15 and highlight effective ways to solve the commercial and legal challenges that affect business operations.

In the Contracting category, QuisLex was nominated along with its client VMware, and leading legal technology providers Apttus and Mitratech. QuisLex worked with VMware in implementing and managing an end-to-end solution for efficient contracting, including an automation portal for self-service by VMwares stakeholders and a streamlined review of nonstandard language through a combination of cost-efficient resources and artificial intelligence, improving greatly the ease of doing business with VMware and supporting the ability to complete agreements anytime, anywhere on any device.

In the Managing Legal Costs category, QuisLex was nominated along with its client Deutsche Bank. QuisLex worked with Deutsche Bank on several projects that resulted in a holistic reduction of legal costs. In one, a sophisticated eDiscovery workflow was created for Deutsche Bank to use from one litigation to the next, bringing best-in-class technology, artificial intelligence tools, and superior workflow management across geographies, time zones, and external law firms and vendors. In another, QuisLex worked with Deutsche Bank using artificial intelligence and subject-knowledge based analytics to provide comprehensive yet substantively detailed insights into legal spend, which allowed Deutsche Bank to achieve significant cost savings and create a framework for continued efficiencies and savings with its legal vendors and law firms.

The related FT Intelligent Business Forum will feature QuisLex COO Sirisha Gummaregula speaking on Costs, Value and Happy Balance Sheets during a panel discussion examining how leveraging data and technology can bring down the costs of internal and outside legal spending without impacting the quality of legal services. The panel takes place on Nov. 14 at 3:30 p.m at DocuSigns headquarters in San Francisco. Gummaregula will be joined on the panel by Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Legal Operations, NetApp and Chief Executive Officer, CLOC; Firoz Dattu, Founder and Chair at Advance Law; and Justin Ergler, Director of Alternative Fee Intelligence and Analytics at GSK. The Panel will be moderated by Alastair Morrison, Head of Client Strategy and Board Member at Pinsent Masons.

For more information about the FT Intelligent Business Forum, please visit https://live.ft.com/Events/2018/FT-RSG-Intelligent-Business-Forum.

About QuisLex:

QuisLex is an award-winning legal services provider that specializes in managed document review, contract management, compliance services, legal spend management, and legal operations consulting. Our full-time highly trained attorneys, process experts, legal technologists, statisticians and linguists work closely with our clients to reduce cost, mitigate risk and maximize efficiency. QuisLex is regularly acknowledged as a leader in the legal services industry, and is proud to be recognized by the ACC as an ACC Value Champion, Chambers and Partners as a Band 1 Legal Process Outsourcing Provider, New York Law Journal as a Top Managed Document Review Services Provider, and the IACCM as its Outstanding Service Provider for contract management solutions. To learn more, visit http://www.quislex.com.

About FT Intelligent Business Forum and Awards:

As part of the FT Innovative Lawyers program, the FT Intelligent Business Forum and Awards brings together C-suite representatives from companies who are leading in their digital transformations and the new legal businesses, including technology companies and professional services firms who are helping them get there faster.


Securities Training Corporation We are proud to be the first-to-market for SIE top-off exam training to help individuals pass their exams, said Paul Skordilis, President of STC. An individual who passes the SIE would also need to pass the appropriate top-off exam to be eligible for registration with FINRA."

Securities Training Corporation (STC), the market leader in securities training and first-to-market with Securities Industry Essentials exams (SIE), today announced that the company also has its first-to-market top-off courses available for purchase.

The learner-centric, representative-level qualification top-off course materials apply best practices in instructional design, adult learning theory, and graphic design to create an interactive and memorable experience, all while keeping in mind multiple audiences for the courses, from employees to recruits, including interns, college students, and career changers.

We are proud to be the first-to-market for SIE top-off exam training to help individuals pass their exams, said Paul Skordilis, President of STC. An individual who passes the SIE would also need to pass the appropriate top-off exam to be eligible for registration with FINRA. With our industry-leading pass rates, experience, and personalized approach to learning, our training materials reflect what can be expected on the SIE top-off exams.

The SIE Exam is a new, introductory-level FINRA exam for current non-registered staff members and prospective securities industries professionals who are not associated with a brokerage firm as well as individuals pursuing careers in the financial service industry. The SIE Exam, which is a prerequisite to working within the financial services industry, assesses a candidates basic knowledge of securities industry topics. Earlier this summer, STC announced its new representative-level qualification exam training packages and pricing.



SIE Series 7 top-off course: https://www.stcusa.com/securities/licensing/us/series-7-top-off/

SIE Series 79 top-off course: https://www.stcusa.com/securities/licensing/us/series-79-top-off/

SIE Series 6 top-off course: https://www.stcusa.com/securities/licensing/us/series-6-top-off/

SIE Series 57 top-off course: https://www.stcusa.com/securities/licensing/us/series-57-top-off/

SIE Series 86 top-off course: https://www.stcusa.com/securities/licensing/us/series-86/

SIE Series 87 top-off course: https://www.stcusa.com/securities/licensing/us/series-87/

SIE Series 99 top-off course: https://www.stcusa.com/securities/licensing/us/series-99-top-off/

SIE Series 52 top-off course: Coming Soon

For the new top-off courses, STC will offer two packages including Standard and Premier. Premier Plus packages, which include live/virtual classes, will be offered for only for SIE Series 7, 79, 6, 57, and 99.

STCs Premier study package will provide students with the following:



Exam Center

STCs On-Demand Lectures, Progress Exams, Greenlight Exams, Custom Exams, and Final Exams, are all available for students to test their knowledge through multiple exam options.

Online Flashcards

This tool allows students to test their knowledge and focus on areas of weakness to ensure they pass their exam. Students can organize by Course, Chapter, or FINRA Exam sections. This study tool allows students to test themselves (internet access required).

Crunch Time Facts

The Crunch Time Facts are a summary of all the must-know facts by chapter from STCs Study Manual.

Additionally, STCs packages include an online and printed Study Manual, updates for one year, 24/7 tech support and an instructor hotline.

We are committed to the best prep and fastest learning in the industry and will continue an aggressive release schedule with our next courses. STC plans to shortly release our Series 52 course, said Skordilis.

STC is the leading provider of training for the financial industry, offering FINRA and NASAA pre-licensing and continuing education courses along with Life, Accident and Health pre-licensing courses for over 3,500 corporate clients worldwide. More than a million professionals have used STC to prep for their exams and launch their careers.

Additional information about the SIE Exam can be found on the STC website at https://www.stcusa.com/sie/. To learn more about STC and its product offerings visit http://www.stcusa.com.

ABOUT SECURITIES TRAINING CORPORATION

Founded on Wall Street in 1969, Securities Training Corporation (STC) has successfully helped over 1,000,000 professionals pass FINRA regulatory exams and launch their careers. STC has grown to become the leading provider of financial examination training, working with the top banks and broker-dealers in America to offer FINRA exam courses like Series 6, Series 7, Series 24, Series 79, and Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) (coming October 2018) in addition to continuing education, and Life, Accident and Health pre-licensing courses. STC is committed to providing a superior customer experience and innovative product offerings. STC is part of Colibri Group, which provides learning solutions to licensed professionals who strive to be among the best in their fields. Learn more at http://www.stcusa.com.

For STC Media Inquiries

Christine Linder, 314-650-7580

christine@spokemarketing.com

For STC Sales Inquiries

Nick Razzi, Vice President of Sales

nick.razzi@colibrigroup.com
Job vacancies continue to outnumber available workers. That means we need to continue drawing more people into the workforce, with an especially strong focus on helping those of limited means recognize and seize the opportunities that are out there. - Bill Stoller, Express CEO

In a tight labor market with an increasing number of job vacancies, employers are facing a growing skills gap. Too many young Americans are graduating with degrees and skills that dont match the needs of employers.

An effective way of closing the skills gap is to provide students with real-life work experience before they graduate. Having high school students learn early on about workplace culture, how their educational experience translates into the real world, and what educational disciplines are the most sought, will help ensure students are graduating with the skills and education employers need.

Express Employment Professionals is committed to partnering with local entities to provide early education and work-study opportunities for high-school students to help raise a workforce prepared to fill the shortage of skilled workers.

One way Express helps connect educators with the needs of businesses is through Job Genius, a free video-based program created by Express to successfully prepare students to enter into the workforce. With parent and facilitator guides for teachers, Job Genius explores everything from job market forecasts, post-secondary education requirements and resume creation to career pathing to help students make informed choices for their future.

To help further early intervention workforce education, Express International Headquarters is currently hosting several interns as part of the Cristo Rey Networks Corporate Work Study Program. The network of high schools serves students who are from inner-city economically limited backgrounds and the work-study program allows them to intern one day a week at a local business, earning money towards tuition.

Not a lot of kids get this opportunity, said Cinthya Bolado of her internship. I think its going to open up doors everywhere.

Elvira Quinones, Cinthyas mother, says Cristo Rey and the opportunity to work is a blessing.

Working once a week has helped her in having a better understanding of the experience of being employed  and helped her realize the importance of communication skills, time management and how to be more proactive, she said.

Express franchise owners see the importance of similar efforts in their local communities.

Our team has started to be more active in participating in high school job fairs, said Terri Greeno, an Express franchise owner in Crystal Lake, Illinois. We are educating students, and their parents quite frankly, that you dont need to have a four-year degree to build a successful and rewarding career. Manufacturers are desperate for people who are hungry to learn and excited to be trained.

A high school student who has limited economic means or experiences is just as trainable and promotable as other students, as long as they have the work ethic and desire to learn and grow.

Yvonne Rockwell, an Express franchise owner in Santa Clarita, California, says conversations with young people have to start early.

We invite youths into our businesses to explore so they can learn more about what we actually do on a day-to-day basis, she said. For those who havent been exposed to different environments, its hard to imagine what a certain career path can look like. By removing the concept of the unknown, we have a chance to help a young person see a new opportunity and potential way of life that will provide a strong career and future for them and their families.

Part of the problem, says Birmingham, Alabama, franchise owner Daniel Morgan is that in-demand skills are, not taught because school has become all about test results. We need better partnerships with schools and businesses.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, franchise owner Janis Petrini, agrees.

Students need to become exposed to actual career options that have potential earlier on, she said. Businesses need to start training the workforce that they need.

Her team visits local high schools to raise awareness.

In 2018, we have delivered various presentations to hundreds of participants, Petrini added. One of the biggest focuses is always on what are the hot jobs right now and the careers of the future.

The Grand Rapids office is also part of a local program called Mayors 100 Business, for which businesses, commit to hiring at-risk high school students and providing them with internships to get real life work experience.

Job vacancies continue to outnumber available workers, said Bill Stoller, CEO of Express. That means we need to continue drawing more people into the workforce, with an especially strong focus on helping those of limited means recognize and seize the opportunities that are out there. Businesses, educators and community leaders need to work together to remove as many barriers to jobs as possible.

If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bill Stoller to discuss this topic, please contact Sheena Karami, Director of Corporate Communications and PR, at (405) 717-5966.

About Bill Stoller

William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the international staffing company has more than 800 franchises in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Since its inception, Express has put more than 6 million people to work worldwide.

About Express Employment Professionals

Express Employment Professionals puts people to work. It generated $3.4 billion in sales and employed a record 540,000 people in 2017. Its long-term goal is to put a million people to work annually. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com.
We commend our staff for always being diligent in meeting our clients needs. We work as a team and this award is a recognition of the nature of the Hewson & Van Hellemont, P.C. work environment.

Hewson & Van Hellemont, P.C. has been awarded a 2018 Top Workplaces honor by The Detroit Free Press. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by research partner Energage, LLC (formerly WorkplaceDynamics), a leading provider of technology-based employee engagement tools. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.

Top Workplaces is more than just recognition, said Doug Claffey, CEO of Energage. Our research shows organizations that earn the award attract better talent, experience lower turnover, and are better equipped to deliver bottom-line results. Their leaders prioritize and carefully craft a healthy workplace culture that supports employee engagement.

The Leadership Team at Hewson & Van Hellemont, P.C. is pleased with this award and acknowledges the hard work the law firms team accomplishes on a daily basis. We commend our staff for always being diligent in meeting our clients needs. We work as a team and this award is a recognition of the nature of the Hewson & Van Hellemont, P.C. work environment. The leadership team and staff will strive a continuances of this culture into the future.

Becoming a Top Workplace isnt something organizations can buy, Claffey said. Its an achievement organizations have worked for and a distinction that gives them a competitive advantage. Its a big deal.

About Hewson & Van Hellemont, P.C.

Founded in 1991, when James F. Hewson and Jerald Van Hellemont combined their practices, files, and employees, Hewson & Van Hellemont, P.C. (HVH) remains committed to providing high quality and efficient legal services to its core insurance client base drowning in a sea of fraudulent claims and endless litigation. Over the years, the firms success in representing insurance companies and their insureds in intensely competitive litigation has uniquely positioned HVH to expand its services and grow its client base. HVH applies the same results-oriented philosophy utilized with its core insurance clientele to its representation of business and entrepreneurial clients in assisting them with identifying and resolving problems and providing practical and cost-effective solutions to obtain their respective business objectives. HVH recognizes that our business clients are made of people who have problems, needs and concerns. In order to better serve our growing client base, HVH has expanded to provide commercial and personal litigation, estate planning, probate and criminal legal services in a concerted effort to fulfill the HVH mission to provide the highest quality full legal services to clients. Find out more at vanhewpc.com.

About Energage, LLC

Headquartered in Exton, Pa., Energage (formerly known as WorkplaceDynamics) is a leading provider of technology-based employee engagement tools that help leaders to unlock potential, inspire performance, and achieve amazing results within their organizations. The research partner behind the Top Workplaces program, Energage has surveyed more than 47,000 organizations representing well over 16 million employees in the United States.
Tropizen and InPortal partner We could not be happier to launch this STO in partnership with InPortal to bring this innovation to investing in Puerto Ricos growing medical cannabis industry

TPZ Ventures, LLC., operator of Tropizen, a Puerto Rico based medical cannabis cultivator and manufacturer, will issue up to $2 million of equity through a Security Token Offering (STO) using the InPortal INPR protocol.

Tropizen, which opened its doors months after hurricane Maria devastated the island, is now preparing for its fourth harvest; supplying a growing number of dispensaries with high quality cannabis flower. The company is poised to release an extensive array of infused cannabis products to the market including; concentrates, tinctures, topicals and edibles to serve the needs of patients.

The 22,000 square foot Tropizen facility is located in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, consisting of indoor cultivation rooms, high purity CO2 extraction lab and commercial kitchen. New capital will fund the expansion of cultivation, manufacturing space, and the build-out of dispensary locations.

With our focus on creating the safest, highest quality products for Puerto Ricos medical patients, we strive toward innovation every day, while keeping our feet grounded in traditional remedies that have been passed down for generations. We could not be happier to launch this STO in partnership with InPortal to bring this innovation to investing in Puerto Ricos growing medical cannabis industry. Marni Meistrell, COO and co-founder, Tropizen.

Tropizens issuance of programmable digital equity shares through an STO, will provide investors with the security and liquidity associated with on-chain transactions. We expect that this form of equity will soon become the norm for private company funding. Stephen Inglis, CEO, InPortal.

Tropizens ongoing expansion is being funded through the Series A offering and will be augmented through the issuance of a Tropizen Series A Token, an on-chain security issued through the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) Regulation D 506 (c) exemption to accredited investors. The Tropizen Token will be imbedded with smart contracts to provide corporate governance functions, including investor distributions, corporate news, basis for accreditation, and facilitate trading liquidity on a variety of secondary market platforms.

About Inportal

InPortal is a Puerto Rico based private market, and compliant provider for Security Token Offerings. While InPortal has several Puerto Rican projects it is designed as a transaction venue for both domestic and international companies to connect with investors on equity and debt issuance across all asset classes and geographies through a secure data room, and smart contract settlement. Issuers post on a public site http://inportalusa.com/Offerings.

About Tropizen

Tropizen LLC is a Puerto Rico  based medical cannabis cultivation and manufacturing company, providing best-in-class product manufacturing, quality control, and service to cannabis brands and biotech. Tropizen is committed to producing an extensive array of highly purified, locally-sourced cannabis products to serve the needs of patients and support local communities.

For more information about Tropizen, LLC visit: http://www.tropizen.com/

Facebook @https://www.facebook.com/tropizenmed/

Instagram @https://www.instagram.com/tropizen/
If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity.

PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move.
Peachtree Publishers has announced that Trustbridge Global Media has acquired the Atlanta-based childrens publishing company, as of November 7. Moving forward, the publisher will be known as Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. Founded in 1977, Peachtree publishes childrens books spanning from board books and picture books to middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Peachtree also maintains a backlist of adult titles, with an emphasis on Southern authors. Trustbridge Global Media is an affiliate of Trustbridge Partners, a Shanghai-based private equity and venture capital firm.

According to Peachtree president and publisher Margaret Quinlin, the acquisition was roughly two years in the making. Quinlin first met Steve Kent, a partner at Trustbridge, during a lunch with former Holiday House owner John Briggs, who later sold the company to Trustbridge in 2016. At the time of the meeting, Quinlin said, The idea of selling the company was the farthest thing from my mind. I love what we are doing, and these past years have been our most successful to date, in terms of the quality of books, the reviews weve been receiving, and the substantial increase in sales.

But over time, she said, the discussion planted the seed for me. I talked to a couple of my colleagues here, and it seemed that maybe this was a good time to consider this. For me, one of the key things is the idea that I could forward-proof the company. I want Peachtree to survive beyond me, and to continue to grow and create great books.

Quinlin said what convinced her to move ahead with the deal was that Trustbridge wanted us to continue doing what we do at Peachtree. Quinlin, who has owned Peachtree since 1990, will continue in her role as president and publisher. All of the publishers staff will remain onboard, in their current functions. Peachtree will remain in its Atlanta offices, and the company will continue to handle its own fulfillment and distributionassisted by its network of independent book rep groups throughout the U.S. and Canada. One immediate change, however, is that the publisher will no longer be female-owned. It was a big decision, Quinlin said, but were still female-operated.

As Peachtree celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017, Quinlin said, We spent time thinking about what makes Peachtree different. We came up with the tagline rooted in relationships, grown with care. Part of this is scale: we have this closeness with our books, even with what goes to the customers. We dont want to lose that; our core values are not changing.

Quinlin cited Holiday House as the best model for what she expects the publishing operations to look like under Trustbridge. She said, Trustbridge is interested in our editorial decisions to the extent that they can learn about titles that are potential properties for film or animation. I think theyre keen to expand childrens content into other areas. Down the road, she said, We may have to expand our warehouse. But for right now, everything is staying the way it is. One of the first orders of business, once the transition occurs, will be hiring editors and editorial support.

Though Quinlin told PW there are no current plans for broadening the list, Its not out of the question, she said. Were going to continue evaluating all the areas weve been publishing into, and where we can expand some categoriesthat will be a function of the new talent we encounter. She added, It will be nice to be able to focus on publishing. We now have advice and funding to support expansion.

Above all, Quinlin said she is looking forward to growing the company. "First and foremost is always the books; thats why were here, and thats what were all dedicated to. There are really talented people here, and I am excited there are opportunities for them, and for our authors and illustrators. Im going into this with a great deal of optimism. And, if we are able to grow, Atlanta could become more of a publishing spot.
It was a busy three-day China Shanghai International Childrens Book Fair for overseas exhibitors looking to sell to the Chinese childrens book market. The number of Chinese children under the age of 18, estimated to be around 370 millionwhich is more than the combined population of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the U.K.is at a scale that many find hard to comprehend. But while this figure represents immense opportunities, there are definitely some roadblocks in dealing with a market this large. Understanding what is trendy and workable, or what requires tweaking, is par for the course.

Original and Bilingual Editions

The many inquiries about direct imports of original English editions took some exhibitors by surprise. But the fact is, Chinese parents, aware of the importance of the English language as the lingua franca, have been pushing their children to learn English at a very young age. Proper diction and native-speaker proficiency, deemed crucial to mastering the language, have also pushed up the demand for bilingual editions. Jeff Kinneys Wimpy Kid series, for instance, was successful in Chinaselling more than 10 million copiesdespite challenges in translating humor and bridging different classroom cultures, largely because of the highly available and widely promoted bilingual Chinese-English edition.

Talking Pen Adoption

No other market has taken Talking Pen to the level that is currently seen in China. And this is also attributed to the demand for English-language learning materials. Highlights for Children was among the first overseas publishers to start adopting Talking Pen back in 2011. The longevity (and increased) adoption of this simple and easy-to-use technology in the face of rising tablets and mobile phones is somewhat puzzling. But by and large, Chinese parents prefer not to give screen-based devices to their children, especially to prevent potential digital addiction. More Chinese publishers are now customizing Talking Pen so that it works specificallyand onlywith their titles and content. At CCBF, several companies approached North Parade Publishing to talk about converting its existing content for use with Talking Pen.

Middle Grade Fiction

Chinas education reform, which will take effect in 2020, is already pushing teachers and parents to get children to read more since it emphasizes reading comprehension and general knowledge acquisition. With decreased homework and fewer standardized examinations among the reform objectives, there is now more time for children to read for pleasure. Middle grade fiction is therefore in demand. Hachette Childrens Group (U.K.) has sold several middlegrade series to Chinese publishers. Interestingly enough, earlier this year Andrew Nurnberg Associates bucked the one-street rights traffic heading into China with the sales of Chen Jiatongs middle grade series White Fox Dilah (originally published by Jieli) to Barry Cunningham of Chicken House. Incidentally, ANAs biggest childrens titles for the Chinese market in recent months belong to this genre: Jeff Kinneys Wimpy Kid titles, and Bear Gryllss Mission Survival series.

YA, Yes?

For this category, the observations from exhibitors and those operating in China are mixed. But middle graders will reach out for YA titles before long. For Huang of ANA, the Chinese market for YA remains quiet compared to other categories. For rights executive Eshara Wijetunge of Hachette Childrens Group (U.K.), inquiries for YA at CCBF were specifically for stories with strong female leads, which saw Bex Hogans Isles of Storm and Sorrow fantasy trilogy receiving plenty of attention from booth visitors.

STEM Programs and Educational Values

Chinese publishers (and parents) have always preferred titles with educational elements and values, and there is no indication that this trend will change anytime soon. In recent months, STEM courses and coding titles have become more popular, as is the case in the U.S and U.K.

SEL and Moral Values

When it comes to social and emotional learning titles and those conveying moral values and life lessons, the Chinese market wants clarity. Subtle and subversive messages and humor do not work there, according to managing director Kate Wilson of Nosy Crow. Chinese publishers, she said, want very clearly deductive plots with explicit message and learning outcomes,

Audio and Interactivity

There is a trend now to create interactive preschool reading titles and app-based English learning titles, said Huang of ANA, adding that audiobooks are being developed at a very fast rate for picture books and middle grade fiction titles.

Counterfeiters on the Loose

The success of online-based sales platforms and the popularity of original editions in China have proven to be too lucrative for counterfeiters to ignore. Several exhibitors in the U.K. pavilion reported visitors dropping by to show them online sales sites on mobile phones, and ask for confirmation if those titles sold are original editions. What comes out of this is that Chinese consumers are becoming more sophisticated and discerning, and with their higher disposable income, they prefer paying more for the real thing and not fakes.
The five finalists for the 2018 National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature spoke with nearly 500 students from New York City schools at the 92nd Street Y on Tuesday, November 13, on the eve of the book award ceremony. Since 1998, the Teen Press Conference has brought together high school and middle school students to meet the finalist authors. The presenters read excerpts from their nominated books and answered questions about writing, reading, and the characters they create. The event was hosted by Jenny Han, author of To All the Boys Ive Loved Before (Simon & Schuster).

Han welcomed attendees and spoke about her love for books as a child and teen. Though she never anticipated becoming an author back then, she told the audience she wished to give young readers what she hadnt had herself: I wanted young Asian-American girls to read books by authors with faces like mine, she said. Before introducing the finalists, she urged the aspiring writers in the audience to find your voice and well be here to listen.

Elizabeth Acevedo spoke about creating the Dominican-American protagonist in her NBA-nominated novel, The Poet X (HarperTeen), calling her a secret poet. When writing the book, Acevedo drew from her own experiences as a young Dominican-American writer, who found refuge through performing her poems in poetry slams.

M.T. Anderson (r.) discussed his novel, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge (Candlewick), illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (l.), which he described as a book about a goblin showing an elf around his beloved city. After reading a passage, Anderson and Yelchin presented several of the books illustrations.

Next, Leslie Connor read from her book, The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle (HarperCollins/Tegen) which is about a boy who is grieving the death of his best friend. Connor spoke about the power of the many different voices being represented on the stage today.

The Journey of Little Charlie (Scholastic Press) by Christopher Paul Curtis takes place in 19th-century South Carolina. In the novel, a boy faces a moral dilemma when he attempts to recover a debt from fugitives who have escaped slavery. Before reading, Curtis thanked Connor for her years spent as an eighth grade teacher: No offense to the eighth graders in the audience, but thats not a fun job, he joked.

Speaking next was Jarrett J. Krosoczka, who discussed and read from his graphic memoir, Hey, Kiddo (Scholastic/Graphix), which is based on Krosoczkas own difficult childhood, during which he dealt with his mothers heroin addiction. As he read, Krosoczka also presented his illustrations from the book.

Han closed out the days presentations with a confession: Books and I havent been spending as much time together as we used to, she said. Han explained that when books become your job, you think about them differently. But, even though she has a different relationship with books today than she did when she was younger, she focuses on remembering what they first meant to her. You can read to feel less alone; you can read to fall in love or be scared out of your mind, or both at the same time. You never forget your first love, and books are my first love, she said.
The Hachette Book Group has made changes to its Hachette Books and Nashville divisions, moves that resulted in an unspecified number or layoffs. (Reports have the layoff number at about 25). Among those leaving include Hachette Books publisher, Mauro DiPreta.

Under the reorganization, Hachette Books is absorbing Da Capo Press. Hachette Books itself is moving into the Perseus Books division, which is overseen by Susan Weinberg who is senior v-p and publisher of the group.

According to a memo from HBG CEO Michael Piestch, as part of Perseus, Hachette Books will publish around 90 new nonfiction titles a year, across a broad range of topics including narrative nonfiction, history, music, sports, politics, business and inspiration. Da Capo will continue to be used as an imprint of Hachette Books and it will continue to release new music and popular culture titles. Da Capos Lifelong imprint, which focuses health and wellness books, will become an imprint of Hachette Books. And Seal Press, which specializes in feminist books, will join Basic Books's publishing program where it will continue to release new titles under the Seal name.

DiPreta, who has been at Hachette Books since March 2014 is leaving the company. Until a new publisher is named, Weinberg will serve as acting publisher. Also at the executive level, HBG announced that John Radziewicz, the longtime v-p and publisher of Da Capo Press, is retiring and will leave the company November 30.

In Nashville, HBG consolidated the editorial and publishing teams of its two Christian publishing units, FaithWords and Worthy. HBG acquired Worthy in September. Publisher Rolf Zettersten will oversee the FaithWords, Center Street, and Worthy imprints.
The 2018 Christy Awards, which recognize works of Christian fiction that have had an impact on contemporary culture, took place at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 7. Bethany House took home three awards, including the night's top prize, Book of the Year, with True to You by Becky Wade. The author also took home the award for best contemporary romance.

Tying in second place for the most Christy Awards this year, WaterBrook and Revell won two awards apiece. A complete list of winners is below.

Leading up to the Christys, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) hosted its annual PubU conference from Nov. 6-7, as well as the 2018 Art of Writing conference, which was in its second year. Over 250 people combined attended the back-to-back conferences, which were formed in part as a way to bolster attendance at the annual Christy Awards.

When ECPA took on the Christy Awards, we moved it to align with PubU, but we had a gap between the conclusion of PubU and the Christy Award Gala. We decided to do a bridge event for writers and publishers, Stan Jantz, president and CEO of the ECPA, told PW. This year we had comments from publishers and authors who really appreciated the Art of Writing. The conference was for writers to learn from publishing professionals about the business.

Panels included Mythbusters: Publishing Edition, which featured Bethany House publicist Amy Green, CEO and publisher of Gilead Publishing Dan Balow, and executive editor for WaterBrook and Multnomah Shannon Marchese. It addressed common mistakes about Christian fiction publishing, including the belief that series sell better than standalone novels, new authors need a large platform to be considered, and that Christian fiction will soon die out. (Seventy percent of Christian publishing professionals queried for the panel said that myth of the dying genre isnt typically true or is almost never true.)

The second panel, Difficult Topics, Happy Endings, and Hope, featured authors Joanne Bischof, Jerry Jenkins, Carla Laureano, and Charles Martin in a conversation about writing. Beth Adams, senior editor at Howard Books, moderated.

I see a real maturity in Christian fiction today, said Jenkins during the panel. If people read it, theyll find its real and gritty. Weve grown up in the last 30 years.

Sarah Arthur, author of A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine LEngle, Author of A Wrinkle in Time (Zondervan, Aug.), spoke at both the Art of Writing and the Christy Awards in honor the 100th anniversary of Madeline LEngles birth this year.

A complete list of 2018 Christy Award winners is as follows:

General Fiction: Life After: A Novel by Katie Ganshert (WaterBrook)

Contemporary Romance: True to You by Becky Wade (Bethany House)

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller: The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright (Bethany House)

Short Form: 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep (Barbor Publishing)

Historical: Isaiahs Daughter by Mesu Andrews (WaterBrook)

Historical Romance: The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz (Revell)

First Novel: Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse (Revell)

Visionary: The Man He Never Was by James Rubart (Thomas Nelson)

Young Adult: The Delusion by Laura Gallier (Winder, Tyndale House)

Book of the Year: True to You by Becky Wade (Bethany House)
Blessing Sunday, Jeniffer John, Vivian Omotayo, Happiness Sunday and Joy Chima were said to have conspired and trafficked seven other Nigerian ladies between the ages of 20 and 24 from Nigerian to Ghana for the purpose of exploitation.

These women all pleaded not guilty to the charges, but were remanded into police custody to return to the court on November 20.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, (DSP) George Amegah revealed that the victims were Nigerians and the accused were as well Nigerian prostitutes.

He said, The accused planned to recruit girls from Nigeria to boost their prostitution and contributed money and gave it to Blessing and Vivian to go and lure the victims from Nigeria to Ghana under the pretext of working in a restaurant for good salaries.

He added that in August 2018, Blessing brought four of the victims and Vivian also brought three of the victims into Ghana.

These accused, the prosecution explained threatened victims after they(victims) have been distributed to men, by collecting their(victims) hairs and pubic hairs as well as panties, finger nails and braziers to curse them if they made attempts to run away.
The journalist, Mimi Mefo Takambo, who heads the English news desk at the privately owned Equinoxe Television and Radio was arrested on November 7 on charges of "publishing and propagating information that infringed on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cameroon.

This was as a result of her post on social media alleging that the military was behind the death of an American missionary.

Reports indicated that the case was dropped on the orders of President Paul Biya.

Within the last two years, some Anglophone areas have suffered disturbances in the majority French-speaking country making some English-speaking groups complaining of discrimination hence pushing for a separate state.

Mimi had posted on her Twitter account that US missionary Charles Trumann Wesco was shot dead by soldiers. The missionary was killed in October, near Bamenda, in the north-west, one of two Anglophone regions.

Her lawyer said that his client had also posted the military's account - that he had been killed by Anglophone separatists.

An army spokesman said the President had decided to stop the prosecution  by a military tribunal  as "a gesture of magnanimity".

Mimi was freed on November 10, and charges withdrawn on Monday November 12, 2018. Some local and international media campaign groups had called for her release.
The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) says it is distressed with some irregularities the government has failed to address.

According to its statement, the workers are suffering from some illegalities that they think are perpetrated by the Ministry of Health and its agencies.

It further explained that the ministry has failed to realise the problem or illegalities the workers go through and are reluctant into solving the illegalities.

These reasons have therefore triggered the strike.

MOWAG has threaten that any intimidation or attempt from any agency, department or institution under Ministry of Health to them (MOWA) will be met with equal force during the period of the strike.

Why the mortuary workers are going on strike

MOWAG has explained that many of its workers are denied their perpetual annual leave in violation of section 20 of Act 651 meanwhile, they work more than the required 8 hours including Saturdays and Sundays in violation of section 33 of Act 651.

They further said that most of the workers have been employed as casual and temporary workers in violation of section 74 and 75 of Act 651, which does not guarantee job security especially in the environment in which they work yet in terms of remuneration, it is unfortunate that their workers are treated as most unrecognised in the sector and for that matter, least paid on the salary structure of Ministry of Health with no single allowance.

The mortuary facilities are understaffed, no maintenance which compromises on health and safety rules of the sector making the workers unnecessary to suffer in silence, he said.

The statement again said, the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have to be struggled to get for use therefore making the working conditions undesirable meanwhile,there is no provision for universal medical checkups plan in violation of sections 118 of Act 651.

No overtime is paid which is in violation of section 35 and we are not paid for public holidays in violation of section 72 of Act 651 they explained.
She shared the photos on her Instagram page with a cryptic message which reads: What God has put together let no man put asunder!! In his time he makes all things beautiful.

Reacting to this, displeased Apostle Prah condemned Nayas for spreading falsehood and ordered her to take down the photos from her social media platforms.

READ MORE: Quit marriage if partner disagrees with your acting career - Christiana AwuniQuit marriage if partner disagrees with your acting career - Christiana Awuni

Nayas is spreading my set photos with her on social media claiming we are married. She is not my wife, Prah said and warned, be careful, Nayas.

He added that he has met Nayas on only two occasions  both on movie sets. He also said he warned Nayas not to share the photos on social media.

Initially, I thought those images were meant for hype but I realised she intentionally did that.

Take down all my photos from your social media platforms, Apostle Prah warned.
The suspect who gave his name as Ifeanyi Dike is seen in a viral video being assaulted at the bank.

In the video, a man believed to be a security officer is heard saying this is the second time he has been apprehended trying to steal within the bank premises.

The suspect is also seen in the video raising concern about filming him, but the video eventually ended up online and has since gone viral.

Reports say the suspect is noted for moving from one bank to the other and stealing, under the guise of patronising their services.

Criminology, according to wikipedia, is the scientific study of the nature, extent, management, causes, control, consequences, and prevention of criminal behavior, both on individual and social levels. But what Ifeanyi Dike is suspected of engaging in is directly contrary.

He was severely beaten before he was finally handed over to the police for investigation and a possible prosecution.
The video was apparently filmed to champion a campaign aimed at bettering the living conditions of police officers, and also providing them with the requisite accoutrements to provide proper security to civilians.

The video was initially posted online by a twitter user identified as King Sola and it has since gone viral and gotten many users declaring their support for the campaign.

Mostly, civilians' expectations of the police are high, but hardly does anyone takes the trouble to ascertain whether they are sufficiently equipped to meet those expectations or not.

The campaign dubbed "E fit happen" seems to advocating for things all police services in the whole African continent need, and not only that of Nigeria.
Speaking on Adom TV, Mr Agyapong used unprintable words in describing Menzgold customer who will register online considering the current situation of the gold-firm.

He said that no sensible person should fall for this online registration.

READ ALSO: Labour unions say Asempa budget wasnt good for businessLabour unions say Asempa budget wasnt good for business

He said that the authorities must seize the assets of Menzgold CEO, the board of Directors and all the other officials; sell them and use the proceeds to pay customers who invested at Menzgold.

Kennedy Agaypong has been an ardent critic of Menzgold since the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered the Gold investment company to shut down for operating without a license.

His latest comment comes after the CEO of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah entreated customers to move their investment online (Menzgold online) due to the shutdown order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

READ ALSO: Here are your 20 most credible banks in GhanaHere are your 20 most credible banks in Ghana

However, not even a single person has been paid his money since September 12 the order of shutdown was made public. Menzgold initially released a schedule to pay investors.

Later it changed it and changed it again. Now, the CEO is advising them to move online to avoid the watching eyes of regulators like the BOG and SEC.
He said the designated Oti Region doesn't need the approval of the paramount chief of Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV, before it can come into existence.

The creation of regions is for administrative purposes and has nothing to do with traditional boundaries, in any case, they know very well that no single chief in the Oti enclave owes allegiance to any other chief in the south of the Volta Region he said.

Major Safiano said, contrary to claims made by naysayers against the creation of the Oti Region which separates Northern Volta from the Volta Region that the creation will bring ethnical and tribal conflicts, it will rather promote development and growth.

They pretend to be unaware of the fact that people within the Oti enclave had by themselves sent countless petitions to the president thereby triggering the constitutional processes of Article 5 , he disclosed. The Kete Chief said, all groups or individuals who feel the constitution of Ghana has been breached in anyway should channel their grief to the law court.

READ ALSO: Asogli Traditional Council declares Freddie Blay unwanted in the Volta Region

He cited names of some prominent people from Southern Volta who have made derogatory statements about the creation of the new region. Rev. S.S Agidi, the Moderator of the E.P church have openly declared his opposition for the creation of the proposed Oti Region describing the move as recipe for chaos and tribal conflict, also Goviafe Chief is heard to have said that the Ashantis were behind the Oti agenda , he said.

ece-auto-gen
The new executives are expected to wrestle power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2020, therefore, describing the contests as fierce will be an understatement.

Though different positions like that of the National Chairman, General Secretary and the 1st Vice Chairperson will be keenly contested, the loaded National Organiser field will is expected to be fireworks.

The incumbent, Kofi Adams, will not be contesting; however the field looks packed with veterans of the party.

1. Joshua Akamba: Joshua Akamba is one of the favourites for this position due to his experience. He has served as a two-time Deputy National Organizer of the party under Yaw Boateng Gyan and Kofi Adams. Akamba came under a lot of backlash recently for inciting senior high school students at Tempane against the government.

ece-auto-gen

2. Anita De Sooso: Anita De Sosoo is moving from the 1st Vice Chair position to contest as a National Organizer. She is one of the women leaders in the NDC and she is very well known for her outspoken nature. She is one the dark horses in this contest.

ece-auto-gen

3. Baba Jamal: The former Akwatia Member of Parliament will contesting for his first national position. He comes into the contest with loads of experience from being an MP and a deputy Minister of Information and the Eastern Region.

ece-auto-gen

4. Yaw Boateng Gyan: Boateng Gyan will be contesting for the National Organiser position for the second time after being ousted by Kofi Adams in the last delegates congress. He is considered as one of the front-runners in this contest due to the experience he bears.

ece-auto-gen

5. Solomon Nkansah: Nkansah will be contesting this position having served as National Communications Officer for the past 4 years. He is considered as having an outside shot of winning the contest.
She, therefore, said criticisms of her are unfortunate and misplaced.

Hawa Koomson told the media at a press conference on Tuesday that over 2000 projects are ongoing across the country with each of them about 80% complete.

Ok now go to Adentan Municipality and ask the MCE or DCE, he or she will take you to the project. I wouldnt tell you to ask the MP. Now also just walk to Kasoago to the new market, you will see a warehouse being constructed, and then in Kasoa go to abujukope and other areas, or you go to my MCE he will take you to the areas. Just last Monday I even went to cut sod for a community durbar ground of Ofankor, so you can go there and find out from them."

"Go to Cape Coast central, you will see a warehouse there, go to Winneba you will see a warehouse there you will see some of the toilet projects there, you will see some of the water projects", she said.

Anaba had said, "Apart from party structures in the constituencies, we do not really have other structures. We are not seeing anything at all. Things are not looking good at all in terms of the implementation. Government is talking about 3000 projects but I have not seen anything at all. I have not heard of any project in my constituency at all.

ece-auto-gen
According to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the fundamentals of the Ghanaian economy, coupled with the prevailing social indicators, points to a "good example" worthy of emulation by others on the continent.

The Emir of Qatar made this known on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, when Nana Addo paid a day's reciprocal official visit to Qatar, at the invitation of the Emir.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in his remarks, applauded the conducive investment and business climate being established in Ghana, and was hopeful of forging a strong relationship with Ghana, adding that "there are lots of opportunities that we can do together."

Already, he indicated that the State of Qatar was readying the Qatar Investment Authority, the state-owned holding company that specializes in domestic and foreign investment, to explore opportunities in the areas of energy, tourism, agriculture, security, education, and infrastructural development in Ghana.

ece-auto-gen

With the state of insecurity in the Sahel, in West Africa, being of major concern to the world, the Emir stated that military assistance from Qatar, to help fight the scourge of terrorism in countries like Burkina Faso and Mali, was in the offing, and assured Ghana of Qatars support in helping to equip Ghanas security apparatus to deal with the menace.

On his part, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo thanked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for the invitation to visit Qatar.

The President noted that Ghana, as a sovereign country, will not be dissuaded by anyone from pursuing a relationship with Qatar, adding that "we are determined to have a good relationship with Qatar, we value the relationship, and we will continue with it."

As alluded to by the Emir of Qatar, President Akufo-Addo noted that the preoccupation of his government, since assuming office in January 2017, has been to build a strong economy which will give investors, domestic and foreign, the confidence to invest in Ghana, and, thereby, deliver improved standards of living for the Ghanaian people.

His government, as a result, he said, is embarking on an aggressive public private partnership programme to attract investment in the development of the countrys infrastructure.

He was hopeful that with solid participation from the Qatari Government and its private sector, Ghana can develop a modern railway network with strong production centre linkages that will connect the country to Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, and to Togo.

READ ALSO: You can fight corruption under the tree - A-Plus jabs Martin AmiduYou can fight corruption under the tree - A-Plus jabs Martin Amidu

Nana Addo also reiterated the presence of several other projects in the areas of roads, water, housing, transport, industry, manufacturing, agriculture, petroleum and gas, and the exploitation of Ghanas mineral wealth which are being structured to attract private sector financing.
It is a place that is teeming with exotic wildlife, breathtaking landscape, beaches that make this continent stand out from other regions of the world.

ece-auto-gen

Here are more amazing reasons to add Africa to your travel bucket list:

Once-in-a-lifetime unique African experiences

There are a few things you can find on the continent of Africa. According to Eye See Africa, they are:

Walking the Avenue of the Baobabs between

Driving Through The Kingdom In The Sky in

Swimming in the Devil's Pool above

Hot air ballooning in

You can also see firsthand the 1100 different species of mammals and 2600 species of birds that only exist in Africa.

Walking a safari

Walking in the wild with animals like African elephants, the Big Five - lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards, and rhinoceros is hands down one of the most exhilarating things to do in Africa.

You get to experience the thrilling feeling that comes with having lions and other wildlife roam freely beside you at the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, Tanzania, the Kruger National Park's Northern Pafuri region in South Africa and with Masai warriors.

ece-auto-gen

P.S: You can also trek with gorillas in Uganda.

ALSO READ: The five charming towns and cities in Africa

Beautiful water-related activities

Africa is home to gorgeous beaches layered with silky white sand disappearing into the deep blue, clear water. You can find them in South Africa's Western Cape, the islands of Mozambique, Zanzibar, and Mauritius.

Apart from beaches, you can also sail and take canoe trips to places like the Okavango Delta, a vast inland river delta in northern Botswana.

Rich culture

Africa is home to several rich and diverse cultures. This is proudly displayed everywhere you look from the art, customs, music to even the outfits.

ece-auto-gen

Local, tasty dishes

The food in Africa is unlike anything you will find in other parts of the world. Every country boasts of its own unique cuisine. You can find Piri piri chicken in Mozambique, bunny-chow in Durban, Kapenta with sadza in Zimbabwe, Injera in Ethiopia, and Nigerian jollof rice that will have you licking your fingers.
This research has shown that at least 25% of the people from East Africa have strong ties to these two continents.

The African Exponent reports that this study is based on the first-ever DNA sequencing carried out on the skull of the 4,500-year old 'Mota man'. This skull was reportedly found in an Ethiopian cave.

According to the report, "East African populations today have as much as 25 per cent Eurasian ancestry from this event".

ALSO READ: DNA study reveals the first British people had black skin

How Asian and European DNA got to Eastern Africa

This event is the large migration that happened from Western Eurasia to Eastern Africa about 3,000 years ago. At the time, these immigrants made about one-third of the entire population in the African region.

As a result of this research, at least 109 million East Africans of the current population of the entire region, estimated at 437,690,591 by the United Nations, are believed to carry both Asian and European DNA.

Reacting to the report, Dr Andrea Manica, senior author of the study, from the University of Cambridge said: Roughly speaking, the wave of West Eurasian migration back into the Horn of Africa could have been as much as 30 per cent of the population that already lived there  and that, to me, is mind-blowing."

He added, "With an ancient genome, we have a direct window into the distant."
In 2017, the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index ranked Johannesburg as the most visited city in Africa.

According to the report, South Africas largest city attracted almost 5 million tourists (4,880,760), who spent exactly $2,897,920,000 just last year.

In 2016, it was also ranked as Africa's most visited city after it welcomed 4.57 million international overnight visitors. This was a 24 per cent increase compared to the previous year's 3.69 million visitors.

ece-auto-gen

These increasing number of international tourists show that Johannesburg has remained the most visited city in Africa for the past three years.

Here is why:

Tourist attractions

Johannesburg has a lot to offer to offers its tourist from a UNESCO-listed archaeological area to Johannesburg Zo, Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve and Lion Park for wildlife lovers.

ece-auto-gen

ALSO READ: The 20 most visited cities around the world in 2018

Other attractions include a beautiful, breathtaking place named Holy Hill, a world-class theme park called Gold Reef City, and the Nelson Mandela National Museum (Mandela House).

You can also put your drinking skills to the test at SAB World of Beer.

ece-auto-gen

Rich culture

For the cultural lovers, the city boasts of over 40 art galleries including the Johannesburg Art Gallery. This features several landscapes and painting.

ece-auto-gen

Visitors can enjoy Anti-Apartheid plays done at Market Theatre stages, cultural studios, and institutes hosted throughout the year.

They also have access to local dishes, as well as Ethiopian cuisine, Italian food, and seafood offered in several restaurants and high-end hotels around the city.

ece-auto-gen

Economic implications

The country's economy is only going to get better as more people visit. More tourists mean the city has what it takes to be the main economic and cultural hub in Africa.
According to Vanguard report, this is the result of a backdoor arrangement between the Nigerian government and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Nigerian senate seeks an explanation over the planned reduction in MTN repatriation fine

On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, Nigerian Senate says it is interested in the controversial forex dispute and it will investigate what informed the penalty of $8.1 billion and the planned reduction in the fine.

Senator Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking and other Financial Institutions, said the parliament will present a comprehensive report on the matter.

Godwin Emefiele, the central bank governor, had said the apex bank may reduce the $8.1 billion demand it ordered MTN Nigeria to refund in the repatriation dispute.

He explained that the documents submitted by the telecoms firm and banks will help to make a decision in reducing the size of the claim at the top level.

ece-auto-gen

MTN stocks rise 2.3% on reduction report

MTN Group shares rise by 2.3% on the report that Nigerian authorities could reduce the $8.1 billion forex repatriation dispute to $800 million.

Market analysts say the shares rose as a result of a news report that the fine will come down, Reuters reports.

In August 2018, Nigeria's central bank (CBN) ordered MTN and four other banks to refund a total of $8.134billion moved out of the country" for breaching the country's forex regulations.

The central bank also slammed a huge N5.8 billion fine on the banks for allegedly aiding MTN in the illegal capital repatriation.

MTN had denied any wrongdoings and sue the Nigerian authority over the matter. Four banks said they are cooperating with the apex bank to find an amicable solution in the matter after many of them were deducted.
A letter dated October 15, 2018, obtained by Daily Trust and addressed addressed to the state government through the State Scholarship Board.

The letter reads in part; It is important to notify you that from today 15/10/2018 none of your students will be allowed into their normal classes failure to settle their outstanding Fees.

It may interest you to know that being absent for a month will affect their attendance and chance of graduating.

Commenting on the development, the President of Kano State Sponsored Students, Saddiq Abdullahi Ubajalli according to Daily Trust said the state government has not done anything to resolve the situation.

He said, Please we need help in our situation, till now the Government hasnt done anything and I swear to God the students are in hardship situation.

''The university sent them a lot of notifications before they finally took the decision, the Government did not respond to even a single letter that is the reason they barred the students.

Government now owes the students 21 months upkeeps and 11 months accommodation fees, the students are in critical condition.

However, the Senior Assistant to Kano State Governor on Media, Salihu Tanko Yakasai told Pulse that the state governor has directed the Commissioner of Education to expedite action on the matter.
The actor took to his Instagram page on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, where he posted a video apologising to the people and government of Nigeria over his comments a day ago. He also thanked the airport authority for making quick amends following accusations made against staff of the organisation.

"I want to say a big thank you to most Nigerians for understanding that there was a need to have ranted the way I did. Its actually for the betterment of the country. I met some wonderful and intelligent immigration officers today, THE MEN WITH INTEGRITY, May God bless you for standing for the truth and thanks For Educating me on some things I dnt even no since my existence as a Nigerian (Mr agbo). And I also spoke with the overall Oga of the IMMIGRATION thank you very much, sir.

"To all the sweet beautiful and intelligent lady officers of the immigration of Nigeria also. My GRATITUDE goes to the VICE PRESIDENT of Nigeria HIS EXCELLENCY MR OSHIBAJO for putting a call through, by MRS JUMOKE..... your efforts is highly appreciated SIR AND FOR MRS JUMOKE God bless your entire family ma. This is for the entire security officers of the NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, for having me in their office today and speaking to me like a true NIGERIAN, God bless the head of your office and God bless you Mr hammed sir.

"And I wanna say a big thank you to the FRENCH CONSULATE FOR THEIR SUPPORT TOO AND TO THE ETHIOPIAN AIRLINE, THANKS FOR COMING IN AT THE SAME TIME TO MAKE EVERYTHING SEEMS COOL AND CLEAR. WANNA SAY SORRY FOR MY COMMENTS ON YOUR AIRLINE AND THE GREAT ETHIOPIA COUNTRY. A BIG SORRY THE CHIEF OF ARMED FORCES OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA HIS EXCELLENCY MUHAMMADU BUHARI AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY AND ANOTHER BIG I AM SORRY TO THE GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE HIS EXCELLENCY MR AKINWUNMI AMBODE AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY.

"I AM SORRY TO MY FANS BOTH HOME AND ABROAD TO MY MOTHER AND MY CHILDAND TO ALL MY FRNDS, FOR ALL THE HASH WORDS I USE WHILE LETTING MY INTENTIONS KNOWN. THANK YOU TO AMERICA, UNITED KINGDOM, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, EUROPE and OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRY FOR BEEING IN SUPPORT OF THE NIGERIAN ABROAD UNITED WE ALL STAND AS A WORLD ONE LOVE NIGERIA #AMERICA #AMERICANS #unitedkindom #CNN #unitedarabemirates #UNITEDAFRICANS #AFRICA #nigeria," he wrote.

Aremu Afolayan calls out government over shabby airport treatment [Video]

Aremu Afolayan doesn't really have nice things to say about the shabby treatment he received at the airport and has dragged the government over its inadequacies. The actor took to his Instagram page on Sunday, November 11, 2018, where he shared a video blasting the government and the airport authorities. He went on to caption the video with his experience at the airport and the poor treatment he witnessed being melted on a young Nigerian.

So frustrated today by the situation of this country, the people working at different parastatals actually think they are some kind of god. Ethiopian airline staffs are so inefficient. They refused to carry a passenger for no reason. The girl in question is not a citizen of Nigeria, she went with her France passport and other documents issued by the France consulate , all they needed to do was to verify the passport but no the manager said he is not comfortable with the passport so she cant fly with them, he actually dropped the passport and took to his heels.

Imagine the immigration saying she should get a Nigerian visa, for what? I dont know. How will you ask her to get a Nigerian visa to go to France, I dont understand this and I need some explanation, after that, they said she should get a Nigerian passport, for what please??? this is wrong and I am so angry at that. The same manager has agreed to carry the girl with additional cost and all. Which way Nigeria, why are treated like uneducated animals and why are these people acting like important fools, all you need to do is do your job and do it right. When will this stop?

The security at the departure are not helping matters, how can you ask me to pay to let my family see me off to the check-in point, this is wrong very wrong. Even the immigration officers wants to collect money for anything they do ....why why-why. And I know the mayor @akinwunmiambode of this and every other state can find a lasting solution to this , the president @muhammadubuhari himself can override things to set them right but I bet they dont even know people are traveling out of the country, check the airport all you see are Nigerians running away from the country. I have never seen an EMIRATI or an AMERICAN that will run away from their country. Until you have no one to governor be a president over before you know. LONG LIVE SCARED NIGERIANS, he concluded.
The music icon took to his Instagram page on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, where he posted a photo of Annie and showered accolades on his wife and mother of two of his daughters.

"My queen I see u. I wish u a wonderful birthday celebration. I'm right behind u baby, always gat yo back. I smell plenty blessings coming your way. thanx 4 everything my love. u deserve all the good things in life," he captioned the photo.

Happy belated birthday to Annie Idibia from the team at PULSE. 2Face Idibia and Annie Idibia are unarguably one of the biggest and cutest celebrity couple from this part of the world. We've seen these guys weather the storm together over the years and remain strong and resilient.

ece-auto-gen

Don't get it twisted as the Idibias know how to spoil themselves with surprise gifts and sometimes all get nutty in public...anything to spice up a marriage. A few days ago, we got to see Annie Idibia twerk for her husband and that video went viral in a couple of minutes after getting to social media.

ece-auto-gen

ALSO READ:Watch 2Face Idibia shed tears as Pero Adeniyi reconciles with Annie Idibia

Watch Annie Idibia twerk for hubby, 2Face Idibia

ece-auto-gen

2Face Idibia and his wife, Annie Idibia have always had a way of showing off their unending romantic lifestyle with the latest being a twerking video which has now gone viral. In the video which was shared by blogger, Linda Ikeji, Annie Idibia is seen giving her husband, 2Face Idibia a very intense dance move which we all know as twerking.

An obviously excited 2baba couldn't get his hands off his wife amid the chills from friends around them. This couple has continued to serve us couple goals everytime they post photos and videos on their social media pages.

2Face Idibia gets a surprise trip to Ghana from wife, Annie Idibia

ece-auto-gen

A few months ago, the Idibias celebrated their wedding anniversary and Annie Idibia surprised her husband, 2Face with a trip to Ghana. Annie Idibia revealed how she was about to surprise the music icon with the aid of Efe Omorogbe and a couple of other guys. She took to her Instagram stories where she posted how she was able to pull through the surprise getaway, with a video to go with it which showed a visibly happy 2baba!

"And he was pleasantly surprised. Flew him to Ghana and he no idea. Shout out to @amfrankiej @efeomorogbe @naomibossladythegreat and my @small_god for making it happen," she wrote.

ece-auto-gen
The movie director narrated her experience on her Twitter page on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. According to her, due to her firmness and resistance she was able to avoid the resilient staff of the airport who were bent on extorting money from her.

Kemi Adetiba's latest debacle with officials of the airport in Lagos is coming barely a day after the actor, Aremu Afolayan lashed out at the same organisation.

Unlike Kemi Adetiba, Aremu Afolayan was quite very vocal and went as far as calling out the governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, and the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, over the corruption that has eaten deeply into the affairs and management of the airport in Lagos.

Aremu Afolayan calls out government over shabby airport treatment [Video]

Aremu Afolayan doesn't really have nice things to say about the shabby treatment he received at the airport and has dragged the government over its inadequacies. The actor took to his Instagram page on Sunday, November 11, 2018, where he shared a video blasting the government and the airport authorities. He went on to caption the video with his experience at the airport and the poor treatment he witnessed being melted on a young Nigerian.

So frustrated today by the situation of this country, the people working at different parastatals actually think they are some kind of god. Ethiopian airline staffs are so inefficient. They refused to carry a passenger for no reason. The girl in question is not a citizen of Nigeria, she went with her France passport and other documents issued by the France consulate , all they needed to do was to verify the passport but no the manager said he is not comfortable with the passport so she cant fly with them, he actually dropped the passport and took to his heels .

Imagine the immigration saying she should get a Nigerian visa, for what? I dont know. How will you ask her to get a Nigerian visa to go to France, I dont understand this and I need some explanation, after that, they said she should get a Nigerian passport, for what please??? this is wrong and I am so angry at that. The same manager has agreed to carry the girl with additional cost and all. Which way Nigeria, why are treated like uneducated animals and why are these people acting like important fools, all you need to do is do your job and do it right. When will this stop?

The security at the departure are not helping matters, how can you ask me to pay to let my family see me off to the check-in point, this is wrong very wrong. Even the immigration officers wants to collect money for anything they do ....why why-why. And I know the mayor @akinwunmiambode of this and every other state can find a lasting solution to this , the president @muhammadubuhari himself can override things to set them right but I bet they dont even know people are traveling out of the country, check the airport all you see are Nigerians running away from the country. I have never seen an EMIRATI or an AMERICAN that will run away from their country. Until you have no one to governor be a president over before you know. LONG LIVE SCARED NIGERIANS, he concluded.
The Nollywood movie stars joined their colleagues in Nigeria and others from foreign countries to participate in the day's industry session themed Creative Content Conference.

Other practitioners spotted at day 2 are Wole Ojo, Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Bimbo Akintola, Mildred Okwo, Uzodinma Okpechi, Charles Novia, Jafextra and Jide Awobona.

Filmmakers, movie stars and other practitioners of the movie industry gathered for series of panels and round table discussions for the day.

Topics covered by the attendees, discussants and panelists include 'Exporting African Culture-meet the Directors;' 'Distribution- Content as we know it;' 'Digital Revolution;' 'Funding and Nollywood Co-Production.'

Lagos fringe opening/French embassy cocktail

The Lagos fringe festival opened on the third day of AFRIFF inside the Terra Kulture.

The opening ceremony, which was in partnership with AFRIFF also witnessed guests been treated to cocktail by the French Embassy.

The event witnessed a stage performance, Color Me Pink - a dance-drama advocating for an understanding of and a collective fight to defeat [breast] cancer - while awards presented to Access bank and Terra kulture for their priceless contributions to the art and film industry.

Every year, AFRIFF offers an opportunity for array of movies to be screened during the festival's seven-day run as it hosts competitions in several categories including short films, feature films, documentaries, animated films, and short films made by film students.

The first edition of the film festival took place in Port Harcourt 2010, while the 2013 and 2014 editions were held in Calabar.
Implying political reasons, Davido had shared on his media pages that his application to use the venues was not approved but insisted that the concert will still hold.

Pulse exclusively reached out to the managers of Eko Atlantic who offered an official response through South Energyx Nigeria Limited on behalf of Eko Atlantic City.

The statement reads;

''It has been brought to our attention that we have allegedly denied the musician Davidos request to use Eko Atlantic City for his upcoming concert. We received this request on November 8 to which we responded for clarification and details about the event on November 9.

We are yet to receive the requested information so, the notion that we declined his request is false and to imply we are politically motivated is false.

Some of the additional information requested was pertaining to security provisions and Eko Atlantic City is not an event center and rather a city with existing residents and businesses.

In light of this, we have strict rules and regulations when it comes to events and activities within the city, which require due process. Eko Atlantic City takes the safety and security of the visitors to the city very seriously. We expect the same safety and security measures from event organizers who hold events in Eko Atlantic City.
ece-auto-gen

The platform was created to give Nigerian and African artists the opportunity to showcase their works while garnering the eyes of the global art scene. Art X Lagos has built a platform that has helped solidify Lagos as an art capital, and projected the works of many Nigerian and African artists.

ece-auto-gen

Expressing his delight at the opening, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, GMD/CEO of Access Bank PLC, said, We are pleased that Access Bank is a major partner of Art X Lagos, and also proud to do all we can to help the Art X team bring their vision to life year after year. Access Bank is delighted to work with people who are showcasing the very best of the continent and championing art and creativity Born in Africa.

ece-auto-gen

Art X Lagos was created with the aim of showcasing the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African continent and diaspora, to widen Nigerias connection to the art scene across the world.

ece-auto-gen
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call(WASHINGTON) -- Rep. Martha McSally received widespread praise from people on both sides of the political aisle for her concession speech Monday night in which she bowed out of the tight race for Arizona's Senate seat.



The laudatory reaction prompted widespread speculation that she might be leaving the door open for a future foray back into politics.



But with the current state of Arizona politics, there's a possible scenario wherein she could re-enter the scene sooner than expected -- and possibly become a colleague of the woman who just beat her in the last race.



McSally and now-Senator-elect Kyrsten Sinema battled it out over the seat that was left open when Sen. Jeff Flake decided not to seek re-election.



Months after that campaign started, Sen. John McCain passed away, but that happened after the state deadline that would allow for his replacement to be elected as part of the 2018 midterms.



As a result, the governor was tasked with picking a temporary placeholder for McCain's seat. Gov. Doug Ducey announced on Sept. 4 that former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, who served alongside McCain from 1995 to 2013, would take temporary control of McCain's seat.



That said, 76-year-old Kyl only committed to serving in McCain's seat through the remainder of this session of Congress, which ends on Jan. 3, 2019.



State law dictates that it will fall to Ducey, who was just re-elected, to appoint someone of McCain's same political party to hold the seat until the next general election.



As such, it's within reason and the law to think that Ducey could appoint McSally, who is a Republican like McCain was, to hold his seat until the 2020 election.



Neither Ducey's office nor McSally's campaign returned ABC News' requests for comment.



Richard Herrera, a political science professor at Arizona State University, said that the close nature of the recent Senate race could help make McSally a front-runner.



"I think it's very plausible," Herrera said.



"I would think she's the favorite," he added, noting that the close nature of the Senate race and McSally's support for President Donald Trump could be helpful advantages for her.



"She checks a lot of boxes," Herrera said.



And while the Senate race between McSally and Sinema did get nasty -- with McSally claiming during their debate that Sinema made treasonous comments -- McSally ended it on a gracious note, posting a kind video congratulating Sinema and saying that she "wish[ed] her all success" in the Senate.



Matthew Dowd, who was a strategist for George Bush's 2004 presidential campaign and the current political analyst for ABC News, said that McSally's concession speech "should be lauded."



"It is a good and necessary move in a bitter divisive environment. I always give the presumption to someone that they are being genuine, and being from the military I think McSally supports the democratic norms," Dowd said.



Democratic political strategist and former interim chairperson of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile retweeted McSally's video, writing "this is what civility looks like," and praising McSally later to ABC News.



"She clearly invoked the spirit of John McCain," Brazile said of McSally. "As a Veteran, she understands what it means to serve. Her calling continues."



Herrera also thought it could indicate a possible foothold for a future run.



"I would always lean towards strategic decision-making on the part of politicians, so I would say it's strategic looking forward," Herrera said. "Now, that doesn't mean it wasn't sincere."



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
With healthcare being central to overall development of a region, the General Assembly, whose vision is improving the health of the African people, is organizing a week-long conference themed: . Of the 17 interwoven global Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 3 is specific to health. The FAMSA General Assembly is a proposed solution that will bring together young vibrant minds as well as professionals and relevant stakeholders in both the public and private sectors from across Africa and beyond to discuss ideas and initiate steps towards the goal.

This strategic event will involve key-stakeholders in the healthcare industry in Africa and the world, to interact with healthcare students and youths to reflect, debate, discuss and proffer novel recommendations towards a healthier future. The conference will feature keynote address by Dr. Matshidiso Moeti (WHO Regional Director), plenary sessions, workshops, trainings, hackathon sessions, and scientific presentations on carefully selected subthemes all related and contributory to the goal.

Over 1,000 delegates including Medical students, Healthcare professionals (HCPs), Policymakers, Researchers, Academicians, Industry experts from across the globe will be at this conference and it promises to be effective in stirring a change in the African healthcare sector.

To be a part of the conference, follow the link to register https://famsaga2018.com/register/

For more information, you can also visit the website http://famsaga2018.com/
In the company of the governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, the APC Lagos governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Toyin Adeniji, the executive director, Bank of Industry and other dignitaries, Osinbajo launched the programme with fanfare on Tuesday at the three markets - Oyingbo, Makoko and Obalende.

The traders expressed excitement over the collateral free loan despite criticism from the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Owolabi Adio, a food seller at Obalende Market told Business Insider by Pulse that he was surprised to see the credit alert.

He said he never believed in the scheme at first because government projects are usually implemented in a pre-conceived manner until that moment when the lies became truth.

I was a doubting Thomas throughout the process until I got the money. I am so excited that I will tell everyone I come in contact with. I thank the government and hope this helps me further in my business, he said.

ece-auto-gen

Tope Owoyemi, a petty trader at Oyingbo Market, was full of praises on Tuesday when she finally received a credit alert of N10,000 on her mobile phone. She said she had looked forward to the scheme when a friend informed her some months ago of the credit loan scheme going across the states of Nigeria.

I deal with children wears at Oyingbo market here and God knows I am seriously in need of financial intervention. This I have tried on my own through thrift contribution just to expand my business. I will use this money for the growth of my business and hope to pay back in four months to enable me to access the 15,000 and 20,000.''

FG targets 2 million traders in TraderMoni scheme by December

On Monday, Osinbajo visited Ile Epo, Igando and Ikotun market to launch programme. The government said it is targeting 2 million traders by December 2018.
The bags of rice were meant to be distributed to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the North-East.

According to The Cable they are rotting away in the stores of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

IDP food crisis

In 2017, there were reports of scarcity of food in IDP camps in the North-East as a result of poor harvests and the decision by the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP) to reduce its supply of food in the region.

This situation led to the disbursement of over N5b by then Acting-President Yemi Osinabjo for the purchase of grains.

According to Laolu Akande,Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President Office of the Vice President, 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 and 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.

Akande made this known while speaking on the report of the House of Reps committee, which claims Osinbajo's approval was done without due process.

Denials

According to The Cable, in April, the Director-general of NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja, while speaking to members of the House of Representatives said that the bags of rice were not missing.

Maihaja said they had been shipped to various warehouses in Maiduguri, Borno state, and Yola in Adamawa states.

However, the state governments have denied receiving any consignment from NEMA.

NEMA reacts

Speaking on the issue, NEMA spokesperson, Sani Datti told The Cable that The distribution started last year. Some of the items are still there and they are being distributed monthly. Its not that we kept them. We distributed them directly to the beneficiaries. You know the items are large in quantity. Im a little bit busy right now. You can get my attention later.
The embattled governor has been in the news over the past few weeks after the publisher of Daily Nigerian, Ja'afar Ja'afar, alleged that he regularly received bribes from contractors handling projects in the state.

In a series of videos in Ja'afar's possession, the governor was alleged to have received a total of $5 million in installments from a certain contractor on several occasions. Five different video clips have gone viral on social media showing the governor accepting bundles of dollar notes from the yet-to-be-identified contractor.

The president has been notably silent over the issue since it first broke last month, but was questioned about it while meeting with the Nigerian community in Paris, France on Monday, November 12, 2018.

According to a report by Channels Television, when one of the participants asked the president what his government was doing about the allegations, he deflected by praising the governor for "doing so much".

He said, "I commend the governor for doing so much. He once invited me and I went to Kano. The good projects started by Kwankwaso in education and healthcare, Ganduje completed them.

"He completed the projects and now the people of Kano are enjoying the benefit. I think that is very responsible of him."

President Buhari's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said last week that the president has no business interfering in the matter in its current state.

This was in reaction to an open letter written by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urging the president to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, or appropriate anti-graft agencies to investigate the allegations.

Ganduje denies allegations

ece-auto-gen

Ganduje was recently invited for questioning by the state's House of Assembly panel investigating bribery allegations against him Even though he was directed to appear before the committee on Friday, November 2, he failed to show up but sent the state's Commissioner for Information, Mohammed Garba, to represent him.

While addressing the committee, Garba said the allegations against the governor are false. He also dismissed the videos as doctored.

Ganduje's counsel, Ma'aruf Yakasai, told the committee that the governor has neglected to sue Ja'afar for defamation so as to allow the House of Assembly to handle the issue.

A Kano State High Court on November 5, issued an order which stopped the committee from investigating Ganduje pending the determination of a case filed before it on the matter where it was argued that the panel had no right to investigate the allegations. However, the panel has publicly vowed to keep investigating the allegations against the governor.

How Ganduje was caught on tape

When Ja'afarappearedbefore the same committee on October 25, he insisted that the videos are not doctored like Governor Ganduje has claimed.

He said the sting operation was conducted after a contractor friend of his complained that the governor had been receiving bribes, ranging from 15% to 25%, for every project executed in the state from contractors.

He revealed that spy cameras were planted in the contractor's kaftan lapel to catch the governor in the act. Of the 15 clips he said were recorded during the operation, nine fully showed the governor's face, body and hands collecting bundles of dollars.

He said the videos that have been published, two at the time, were certified to be genuine by Daily Nigerian's in-house technical expert, the editor-in-chief and editorial adviser, as well as experts from Amnesty International Nigeria, BBC and Premium Times who have also watched the clips.
The lower legislative chamber of the National Assembly first adjourned plenary on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, due to the chamber's faulty sound system. House Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, disclosed that the system was malfunctioning as a result of power which had affected the panels of some of the microphones.

He disclosed that the microphones were installed in 1999, and that the panels to replace the malfunctioning ones would take three weeks to arrive Nigeria from Germany.

The chamber was forced to adjourn plenary for a second time on Tuesday, November 13, as lawmakers had to pass around a cordless microphone to make contributions in a session that lasted for about an hour.

The problem persisted when lawmakers resumed on Wednesday, November 14, as Dogara lamented that the defective sound system had not been fixed.

"Unfortunately up till now we have been unable to fix the problem because we are not masters of this technology here.

"I have been told that the microphones on the rows on my right are not working. Only rows seven to 11 are working. Rows one to six are not functioning.

"The system was fixed in 1999 and this technology has a lock and anything that happens to it, we have to reach out to the manufacturers," he said.
On Monday, November 12, 2018 internet monitoring firms ThousandEyes and BGPmon disclosed that some traffic to Alphabet Inc's Google had been routed through China and Russia, raising concerns that the communications had been intentionally hijacked.

Google acknowledged the problem on Monday in a post on its website and said it was investigating the glitch.

Google also said it believed the problem originated outside the company. The company did not say how many users were affected or identify specific customers, Reuters reports.

National security concerns in the United States

The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission, a Washington-based group that advises the U.S. Congress on security issues, said it was looking into the issue, according to Commissioner Michael Wessel.

"We will work to gain more facts about what has happened recently and look at what legal tools or legislation or law enforcement activities can help address this problem," Wessel said.

ece-auto-gen

Main One said it had caused the problem by mistake. In an emailed statement, the company said it had caused a 74-minute glitch by misconfiguring a border gateway protocol filter used to route traffic across the internet. That resulted in some Google traffic being sent through Main One partner China Telecom,writes.

Experts have their say

Even though Main One said it was to blame, security experts who spoke to said the incident highlighted concerns about the potential for hackers to conduct espionage or disrupt communications by exploiting known vulnerabilities in the way traffic is routed over the internet.

Yuval Shavitt, a network security researcher at Tel Aviv University, said it was possible that Monday's issue was not an accident or mistake from Main One.

"You can always claim that this is some kind of configuration error, Shavitt said.

ece-auto-gen

Main One says it has investigated why the glitch happened

Main One announced that it has investigated the matter and implemented new processes to prevent it from happening again.

The United States maintains frosty diplomatic ties with Russia and China. The Donald Trump presidency and some of his partners are still being investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

A section of America believes that the Russian state used hackers to manipulate the presidential election for Republican Donald Trump.

Data is one sure way to compromise national security. Facebook has been questioned as well for its role in the 2016 US election.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
Since the case of the use of hijab in Lagos State is still pending in the Supreme court of Nigeria, status quo be maintained, to avoid contempt of the court, that is students be allowed to wear hijabs on school uniforms but same must be short, smart, neat and in the same colour of the uniform (skirt), the circular read.

This Lagos hijab case was in court for a while

In 2014, a Lagos High Court ruled against the wearing of hijabs in schools. An Appeal Court upturned this judgment in 2016, however, stating that the ban was discriminatory against Muslim students.

The Lagos State government thereafter took the case to the Supreme Court and placed a ban on the hijab in schools in August of 2018.

But this new circular has now granted permission to Muslim students to adorn the hijab should they choose to, as a way of maintaining the status quo until the case is determined by the Supreme Court.

ece-auto-gen

The circular added that: Furthermore, schools management are advised to downplay comments and disciplinary actions on the use of smart hijabs until the final determination of the case by the Supreme Court.

No student should be discriminated against in any form on the basis of religion.

All principals and teachers must be sensitized to comply accordingly. You are enjoined to adhere strictly to these recommendations.

Hijab wearing was also controversial in Osun State

The subject of wearing hijabs in school often stirs intense debate across Nigeria.

In June of 2016, Muslims dragged the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola led Osun state government before the court over the refusal of some Christian public schools to allow their female students wear the hijab.

The Principal of Christ African Middle School, Osogbo, Mrs. Micha, reportedly walked Muslim students out of her school for wearing the hijab.

Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court ruled in favour of the Muslims; as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) raged and kicked.

Falola declared the wearing of hijab lawful, citing the right to freedom as enshrined in the nation's constitution.

But the Christians didn't like the ruling and protested in an interesting way

After the judgment, the Osun State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) instructed Christian pupils to adorn church robes to school if the state government was going to implement the ruling.

A few pupils and students obeyed and wore church and choir robes to school the next day.

The move by CAN set off a religious debate in Osun; pitting Christians against Muslims.

ece-auto-gen

Governor Aregbesola, a Muslim, was accused of instigating a hijab crisis in his own state and was forced to defend himself.

"If I permitted hijab, would the Muslims have gone to court to challenge it? Is that not contradictory? Is it a crime that I am a Muslim, is it because I struggle to be a good Muslim that everything I do is being misunderstood? I think I dont deserve all these lies against me.

There is nothing religious in any of our policies. The fact on ground contradicts our oppositions claim. The choice of my Deputy Governor tells it all, I knew she is a Pentecotalist of the highest order before I picked her.

Everything we have done in the line of education is in line with the resolution of our education summit. Against all speculations, I have not ordered the use of hijab, I challenge anybody with evidence to come out and show that I have made a proclamation on hijab", the governor said.

ece-auto-gen

In December of 2017, Law graduate Amasa Firdaus, wasn't called to the bar for wearing a hijab underneath her wig. In June of 2018, the body of benchers finally ruled that spotting a hijab wasn't going to stop anyonefrom being called to bar and Firdaus was subsequently invited to the next call to bar ceremony.

Firdaus described the change in policy from the Nigerian law school as a victory for all Muslims.

Muslims are quite happy with this Lagos state ruling

The Muslim society in Nigeria has hailed the Lagos hijab directive as a commendable intervention.

This circular approving wearing of hijab by students on their school uniform within and outside school premises, will ensure peace and order in our schools and stability in the states education system.

We hereby call on female Muslim students to enjoy their rights without fear of molestation. While exhibiting their rights, they should remain law abiding and be good ambassadors of the religion of peace, the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) said in a statement issued by Alhaji Saheed Ashafa.

Nigeria runs a secular federation split between a predominantly Muslim North and a predominantly Christian South.
EFCC Acting Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Tony Orilade, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

Orilade said that the consignment was en route Dubai.

He said following intelligence reports, the operatives on Nov. 9, 2018 uncovered the gold weighing about 35kg just at the point of departure of a suspect currently in the EFCCs custody.

He said that investigations were currently ongoing to unravel the accomplice behind the illegal movement of the item.

Meanwhile, the suspect is cooperating with operatives.
Mr Oladipupo Okpeseyi (SAN), counsel to the government said the motion became necessary following the defendants refusal to appear in court for trial.

Okpeseyi brought the motion in line with Section 352(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

He told the court that Dasukis refused to be brought to court was an affront on the court, adding that the court had the express right to go on with the trial without Dasukis presence in court.

Okpeseyi said he was not aware of the ex-NSAs letter or the fact that he would refuse to attend his trial as scheduled, until morning of the adjourned date.

My lord, it was this morning that he said no! I have written to the court that I am not coming. No am not coming, Okpeseyi quoted Dasuki as saying.

Okpeseyi had accused Dasuki of deliberately challenging the authority of the court since the case was specifically adjourned for continuation of trial.

He argued that Dasukis continued detention had no nexus with the extant case, saying he was duly granted bail by the court before other allegations suppressed the initial bail.

Mr Victor Okwudiri, counsel to Dasuki had objected to the application to try his client in his absence.

Dasuki, had formally written a letter dated Nov. 12 addressed to the registrar of the court expressing worry over his continued detention.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari had in his maiden media chart preempted the decision of the court on his trial.

He alleged that the president had said that the allegations brought against him were weighty and such that he could jump bail if granted.

Dasuki said the court and the prosecutorial agencies had so far lived up to the pronouncement of the president by denying him to enjoy his multiple bails granted him by courts.

Dasuki said he had unjustly suffered unabated persecution in the hands of the current administration.

The prevailing circumstances have prompted me to write this letter to the court.

It seems to me that the current administration has so much interfered with the judicial system, such that it has become practically impossible for the court to maintain its independence.

The resolve to continue detaining me against the several orders of courts and in brazen violation of the Constitution is wrongful and arbitrary.

It has inflicted physical, emotional and psychological torture on my family and me.

 The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria is not only high-handed, it is also arbitrary and in violation of both domestic and international laws on human rights.

At this juncture, it will seem that the Nigerian Government is not inclined to yield or obey the orders of any court of law, whether domestic or international.

Ironically, the Federal Government still wants to ride on judicial wings to prosecute me, when it does not comply with the orders that proceed from the courts, especially in relations to me.

At this point, I strongly believe that there must be an end to this hypocrisy and lopsided/partisan rule of law.

 Since the Federal Government has resolved not to comply with judicial orders directing my release, it is better for the court to also absolve me of the need to submit myself for further prosecution.

Justice should be evenly dispensed as opposed to same being in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Kindly bring this information to the attention of his lordship, Dasuki said.

Giving ruling, Justice Ahmed Mohammed held that the Federal Government should approach the court with an affidavit as against seeking such prayer orally.

As at this morning, I do not have any affidavit from the prosecution for trial of the defendant to continue in his absence, otherwise, I would have made the order, the judge said.

On Dasukis letter, the judge held that the court would not honour the letter since it was written and sent to the court by the defendant and not through his counsel.

Mohammed also held that it was wrong for any party in a criminal matter, to directly exchange correspondences with the trial court.

The judge further said he had directed the court clerk to return the letter back to whoever brought it.

Mohammed thereafter adjourned the trial until Nov.19 for continuation.

The prosecution averred that some range of firearms without requisite licenses were on July, 17, 2015 found in Dasukis Asokoro, Abujas home.

The federal government alleged that Dasuki by such act had committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (1)(a) of the Firearms Act Cap F28 LFN 2004.

Dasuki was also accused of retaining unjustified sums of foreign currencies in the same house contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 among others.
The DG made her frustrations known while addressing members of the Senate Committee on Health in Lagos on Monday, November 12, 2018.

She also lamented about how understaffed the agency is and disclosed that it is awaiting the approval of the Head of Service of the Federation to recruit more personnel.

"80 per cent of our equipment is no longer working and that is a major challenge to deliver on our mandate. The last time, the World Health Organisation visited our laboratory in Yaba, they scored us zero," she complained.

She also noted that she had been able to reduce the agency's debt from N3.2 billion to N400 million since she took over the agency. She was appointed DG in November 2017.
Ambode made the assertion at Alausa, Ikeja, when he received the national leadership of the Full Gospel Business Mens Fellowship International in Nigeria.

He said the country had a lot to benefit when good business practice was combined with excellent religious conscience.

According to him, this would obviously result in growth and development.

The economy of Lagos cannot be that productive to improve the GDP if there are no people with good conscience and this is what this fellowship stands for.

It is not enough for you to have resources, it is not enough for you to have people that can improve productivity but again there are people who have to be drivers to arrive at the GDP or the kind of nation that we want, he said.

Ambode said since his assumption of office in the last three and half years, concerted efforts had been made to ensure religious harmony and also create greater enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

All we do as a government is just to ensure that we create an enabling environment for people to practice religion without interference and at the same time greater enabling environment for them to do their businesses.

So, when we combine good businesses and good religious conscience, obviously the nation will grow and then the nation will develop, Ambode said.

Ambode described members of the fellowship as distinguished personalities in various fields, and equally commended them for holding their annual convention in Lagos.

He said it was instructive that such was taking place at a time the nation needed prayers.

Earlier, the National President of the fellowship, Mr Ifeanyi Odedo, said the team was on the visit to inform the governor of the ongoing 87th National Convention of the Fellowship.

Idris said it was also to explore partnership in key areas to grow the countrys GDP such as housing, agro industry, and information communication technology, among others.
This article will walk you through what the House of Representatives is saying, Osinbajos response to the allegations of not following due process and why this is such a big deal for everyone.

Did Osinbajo really disburse N5.8billion as Acting President?

During one of those times when President Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria for his routine medical vacation in London, his deputy, Osinbajo, stepped in to oversee Nigerias affairs as the constitution stipulates.

It was at a time when Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) fleeing Boko Haram's bombs and bullets in a restive Northeast region, were starving and badly needed succour.

According to presidency spokesperson, Laolu Akande,on April 15, 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 per cent 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.

To prevent the humanitarian crisis in the Northeast from worsening, the presidency, through Osinbajo, approved the said N5.8billion to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

As Akande puts it: 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 Programme (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.

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 and 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.

So, yes, Osinbajo did approve the sum of N5.8billion as relief aid to displaced persons.

Why does the House have a problem with Osinbajos approval and the disbursement?

The House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness has concluded that Osinbajo disbursed this chunk of money without following due process or public procurement rules.

Chairman of the House investigative committee, Ali Isa, says as chairman of the governing board of NEMA and approving authority at the time, Osinbajo certainly has tons of questions to answer.

Isa explained that the approval process for the N5.8bn sum contravened the National Assemblys power of approval, as the money was removed from the Eurobond without the consent of the National Assembly.

There was no procurement, there was no due process, no contract, yet the money was released and expended, he stated.

Isa adds that the disbursed money didnt fix the problem it was meant to fix.

ece-auto-gen

We invited various state governments and the governors or representatives of the various governors who told us that no bag of grain was delivered to their states. So, we gathered our facts from the presentations from various states and stakeholders, Isa says.

The lawmaker adds that even though Osinbajos name wasnt mentioned in the report, there is no way he is going to absolve himself of how the money was frittered.

There is nowhere in my report where I mentioned the Vice President or Prof. Yemi Osinbajo but he may have questions to answer as the chairman of the governing board, he adds.

Osinbajo insists he did nothing wrong

Speaking through Akande, his spokesperson, Osinbajo says the lawmakers have got it all wrong.

The House Committee concluded that the payment made was in contravention of approval of the National Assembly. This conclusion is both false and misleading, Akande says.

Osinbajos spokesperson adds that because it was an emergency measure, the vice president acted within the ambit of the law.

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", he says.

Osinbajo also disagrees that the grains were not delivered to IDPs.

ece-auto-gen

The suggestion that the grains were never delivered to the target states is also blatant falsehood.

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, he said.

In summary, Osinbajo wants the world to know that the approval followed due process, while the House thinks otherwise.
Total public power supply to the country has fallen below 4,000 megawatts in recent months from a peak of above 5,000 megawatts in early 2018.

According to Punch, data obtained from the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing on Monday, November 12, showed that 2002.8MW of generated electricity was unused as at last Friday, due to low load demand by Discos (Distribution companies).

Gas constraints accounted for the loss of 658.4MW generation capacity.

What that essentially means is that Discos are turning back a chunk of the electricity they receive from Gencos (Generating companies) because they cant pay for them.

ece-auto-gen

On November 9, the nations power plants generated 3,762.60MW, down from 3,913.60MW on November 8.

Total output stood at 3,903.50MW on Monday, November 12, according to data from the Nigeria Electricity System Operator.

Discos are not happy with transmission companies

Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, explained why Discos are rejecting a chunk of the electricity that should have found its way to you.

He said, In ANED, integrity matters to us. We are saying that you dont bring the load to where I dont need it and you cannot force me to take it where it is not useful for me. When you take it to some places where I cannot recover the money, you will still come back and say I am not paying to the market or remitting.

TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria) is fond of taking electricity to where we dont want it because they cannot get it to where we want it because they have dilapidated infrastructure; they have a lot of constraints or bottlenecks preventing them from taking the power to where we need it.

Oduntan is saying that Discos reject load from Gencos on occasion because of transmission problems from TCN.

Meaning that the Discos cant pay to take electricity to where there are no transformers or cables to transmit them to your house. To avoid this, they just turn back the electricity.

Do you understand now?
This was made known on Twitter via the presidencys handle, @NGRPresident.

Buhari, at the opening ceremony of the event on Sunday, November 11, 2018, delivered a speech on Illicit Financial Flows & Corruption.

In his speech, the President advocated for more than jail terms for people who loot their nation's wealth, stating that full asset recovery will discourage looters.

He also called for more stiffer actions to be taken against those who steal public funds to serve as a deterrent.

ALSO READ:5 important things President Buhari said at Paris Peace Forum

Meets Nigerian community

While in France, President Buhari also met with members of the Nigerian community.

During his interaction with the Nigerians on Monday, November 12, 2018, the President described the embattled Kano state Governor,Umar Ganduje, as a responsible leader.

Governor Ganduje has recently been accused of receiving kickbacks from contractors in his state.

Also speaking on the bribery allegation, Buhari promised to take actionif the Kano state Governor is found guilty, according to Daily Nigerian.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has constantly maintained that the President's anti-corruption war is one-sided.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the public sitting, organised by Nigeria Human Rights Commission (NHRC), was attended by security agencies, lawyers, judges and civil society organizations.

Speaking at the public hearing, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, said the country could be effectively protected if the police was provided with the right equipment and training.

There is need to equip and train the police. We have the best police as they usually come out on top whenever they go on international engagements.

There is urgent need to equip, train and improve their conditions of service and the sky will be their limit.

For example, when police make arrests, the suspects next of kin should be immediately contacted by the police through a phone call.

Also there should be video recorders to take suspects statements in the presence of their lawyer but you need to tell the government adequate funding is needed for all these.

Even the training of our policeman is colonial, Falana said.

He advised that courses on human rights be included in the police college curriculum.

Also, if damages are awarded against the police in court, the police personnel who caused the misdemeanor should be made to pay partly from his pocket, if he retired, the damages should be deducted from his pension, he said.

He condemned the parade of suspects by the police and enjoined everyone to utilise the social media in reporting cases of violation of human rights.

The Executive Chairman, Nigeria Human Rights Commission and the Panel Chairman, Tony Ojukwu, said the police sometimes resort to unprofessional actions when not provided with working tools.

Ojukwu said the police needed proper funding to function effectively and urged police to also manage their funds well.

The NHRC chairman said the society was underpoliced and called for the creation of state police to remedy the situation.

He said the panel was set up to address unending list of alleged unprofessionalism of SARS ranging from unlawful detention, torture, extra judicial killing and other cases bordering in human rights abuse.

The panel is to hear cases bordering on human rights abuse, review and render advice with the view of reforming the conduct of SARS and making other appropriate recommendations.

I commend the I-G on this reform and I want to appeal that the complainants be protected as I have received reports that some complainants are being harrassed.

I also want to appeal that recommendations of this panel be enforced so that we can have a better reformed SARS, he said.

The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Mrs Opeyemi Oke, represented by Justice Kazeem Alogba, said that there were good policemen but the bad ones among them had continued to tarnish the image of the police.

The Attorney General, Lagos State, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, also represented by a director from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mrs Titi Shitta-Bey, emphasised the need to provide the police with necessary working tools.

The police needs to be provided with investigative tools so that they can see the need to do away with crude tools.

In Lagos, we have the DNA centers which helps the police in investigation. This should be emulated all over the country.

There is need to look at training, remuneration and the police working environment so that they can perform their duties according to the law, she said.

The Director General, Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Prof. Deji Adekunle, commended federal government for setting up the panel, adding that the effort should be channelled at upholding respect for fundamental human rights.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Edgal Imohimi, represented by DCP Ayuba Elkana, said that SARS Commanders had continued to undergo training on human rights since the End SARS campaign started.

He said the training would continue and gave assurance that there would be less cases of human rights abuses.
This was made known in a statement signed by the ruling partys spokesman, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.

The statement obtained from Daily Post reads: While the APC is not surprised at the PDPs typical theatrics in an attempt to evade scrutiny for its 16 years of misgovernance, it is instructive to the electorate that no lessons have been learnt by the prodigal party.

It is indeed clear to the electorate that the PDP is not a party to either be trusted or taken seriously as it has missed out on the opportunity to apologise and show remorse for the cruelty it wrought on our country while in power.

What we witness instead is its weekly disgraceful and embarrassing shadow chasing through fake news and spurious allegations. PDP cannot pull the wool over the eyes of the good people of this country. It can cry wolf for all it cares, Nigerians wont be deceived.

Damaged goods

The APC spokesman also described the PDP as a damaged product.

The statement said PDP remains a damaged product showing no regret for its retrogressive old practices, which brought the country to its knees in terms of our infrastructure, economy, security, values and standing among nations of the world.

Instead of engaging the electorate on serious issues of development such as health, education, economy, foreign policy, security, corruption, pension, job creation, infrastructure development among others, the PDP and its agents have chosen to populate the mainstream and social media space with ludicrous fake news and infantile conspiracy theories, moving from one absurdity to another."

New Nigeria

The APC spokesman also said that President Buharis administration is busy bulding a new Nigeria despite PDPs allegations.

While the PDP ups its game as a crybaby, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration is busy building a new Nigeria for our collective progress, peace, unity and prosperity.

ALSO READ: PDP says APC wants to block bank accounts belonging to its members

We are restoring our country to its deserved standing among the comity of progressive nations; fighting corruption and repairing our value system, diversifying our economic revenue base, creating jobs and economic opportunities for Nigerians, particularly the poor; bringing succor to the insurgency-ravaged North-East; reforming the oil industry, power, defence, pensions, and other critical sectors; creating a world-class transportation system, amongst others, the statement added.

Special card readers for APC

Also, the chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondushas alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has prepared special card readers and result sheets for APC.

Secondus also accused INEC of planning to rig the 2019 elections in favour of the ruling party.
In an interview he had with the News agency of Nigerian (NAN) on Wednesday, November 14, Bode George, urged INEC to conduct a free and fair election.

My appeal is that there should be nothing hindering the electoral process. The election must be fair, just and equitable, he said.

The display in Ekiti and Osun state elections, simply put, was an absolute charade.

If you read their reports on Ekiti and Osun state elections, it speaks volume about the irregularities perpetrated in those elections," he added.
Until he defected to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in August 2018, Kwankwaso was a member of President Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) and was one of his most influential supporters to win the 2015 presidential election after he lost the party's ticket to him in December 2014.

He was also one of the 12 aspirants who contested for the presidential ticket of the PDP, but lost in the party's primary election, coming a distant fourth, to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, last month.

He was Kano State governor first between 1999 and 2003 and later between 2011 and 2015. He's the current representative of the Kano Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly.

While addressing the Nigerian community in Paris, France on Monday, November 12, 2018, President Buhari said current Kano governor, Umar Ganduje, has been responsible enough to complete the projects abandoned by Kwankwaso.

The president accused Kwankwaso of diverting the funds to complete the projects to contest for the presidency.

He said, "I compliment the governor (Ganduje) for doing so much because he invited me, I went to Kano. The good projects started by Kwankwaso in education and healthcare, Ganduje completed them.

"If it were another person, he could have left them. This is the project he (Kwankwaso) started. He diverted the balance of the money to contest for presidency instead of completing it."

Buhari's public commendation of Ganduje comes on the heels of allegations made against the governor who's been in the news over the past few weeks after the publisher of Daily Nigerian, Ja'afar Ja'afar, alleged that he regularly received bribes from contractors handling projects in the state.

In a series of videos in Ja'afar's possession, the governor was alleged to have received a total of $5 million in installments from a certain contractor on several occasions. Five different video clips have gone viral on social media showing the governor accepting bundles of dollar notes from the yet-to-be-identified contractor.

Ganduje denies allegations

Ganduje was recently invited for questioning by the state's House of Assembly panel investigating bribery allegations against him Even though he was directed to appear before the committee on November 2, he failed to show up but sent the state's Commissioner for Information, Mohammed Garba, to represent him.

While addressing the committee, Garba said the allegations against the governor are false. He also dismissed the videos as doctored.

A Kano State High Court on November 5, issued an order which stopped the committee from investigating Ganduje pending the determination of a case filed before it on the matter where it was argued that the panel had no right to investigate the allegations. However, the panel has publicly vowed to keep investigating the allegations against the governor.

How Ganduje was caught on tape

Ganduje caught on tape collecting 'bribe' in new video

When Ja'afarappearedbefore the same committee on October 25, he insisted that the videos are not doctored like Governor Ganduje has claimed.

He said the sting operation was conducted after a contractor friend of his complained that the governor had been receiving bribes, ranging from 15% to 25%, for every project executed in the state from contractors.

He revealed that spy cameras were planted in the contractor's kaftan lapel to catch the governor in the act. Of the 15 clips he said were recorded during the operation, nine fully showed the governor's face, body and hands collecting bundles of dollars.

He said the videos that have been published, two at the time, were certified to be genuine by Daily Nigerian's in-house technical expert, the editor-in-chief and editorial adviser, as well as experts from Amnesty International Nigeria, BBC and Premium Times who have also watched the clips.
Due to the rapid rotation, the phosphine molecule loses its symmetry: The bond between phosphorus and hydrogen along the axis of rotation is shorter than the other two such bonds. Depending on the direction of rotation, two mirror-inverted versions of the molecule are formed.

Exploring the mystery of the molecular handedness in nature, scientists have proposed a new experimental scheme to create custom-made mirror molecules for analysis. The technique can make ordinary molecules spin so fast that they lose their normal symmetry and shape and instead form mirrored versions of each other. The research team from DESY, Universitat Hamburg and University College London around group leader Jochen Kupper describes the innovative method in the journal Physical Review Letters. The further exploration of handedness, or chirality (from the ancient Greek word for hand, cheir), does not only enhance insight in the workings of nature, but could also pave the way for new materials and methods.

Like your hands, many molecules in nature exist in two versions that are mirror images of each other. For unknown reasons, life as we know it on Earth almost exclusively prefers left-handed proteins, while the genome is organised as the famous right-handed double helix, explains Andrey Yachmenev, who lead this theoretical work in Kupper's group at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL). For more than a century, researchers are unravelling the secrets of this handedness in nature, which does not only affect the living world: mirror versions of certain molecules alter chemical reactions and change the behaviour of materials. For instance, the right-handed version of caravone (C 10 H 14 O) gives caraway its distinctive taste, while the left-handed version is a key factor for the taste of spearmint.

Handedness, or chirality, only occurs naturally in some types of molecules. However, it can be artificially induced in so-called symmetric-top molecules, says co-author Alec Owens from the Center for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI). If these molecules are stirred fast enough, they lose their symmetry and form two mirror forms, depending on their sense of rotation. So far, very little is known about this phenomenon of rotationally-induced chirality, because hardly any schemes for its generation exist that can be followed experimentally.

Kupper's team has now computationally devised a way to achieve this rotationally-induced chirality with realistic parameters in the lab. It uses corkscrew-shaped laser pulses known as optical centrifuges. For the example of phosphine (PH 3 ) their quantum-mechanical calculations show that at rotation rates of trillions of times per second the phosphorus-hydrogen bond that the molecule rotates about becomes shorter than the other two of these bonds, and depending on the sense of rotation, two chiral forms of phosphine emerge. Using a strong static electric field, the left-handed or right-handed version of the spinning phosphine can be selected, explains Yachmenev. To still achieve the ultra-fast unidirectional rotation, the corkscrew-laser needs to be fine-tuned, but to realistic parameters.

This scheme promises a completely new path through the looking-glass into the mirror world, as it would in principle also work with other, heavier molecules. In fact, these would actually require weaker laser pulses and electric fields, but were just too complex to be solved in these first stages of the investigation. However, as phosphine is highly toxic, such heavier and also slower molecules would probably be preferred for experiments.

The proposed method could deliver tailor-made mirror molecules, and the investigation of their interactions with the environment, for instance with polarized light, should help to further penetrate the mysteries of handedness in nature and explore its possible utilization, expects Kupper, who is also a professor of physics and of chemistry at Universitat Hamburg: Faciliating a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of handedness this way could also contribute to the development of chirality-based tailor-made molecules and materials, novel states of matter, and the potential utilization of rotationally-induced chirality in novel metamaterials or optical devices.
This was made known in a communique which was read after the summit on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, by prominent lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba.

The communique reads: The Igbo people of Nigeria held a 1 day non-partisan and inclusive Summit convened by Elders, Traditional and Religious leaders on Wednesday 14thNovember 2018 to consider Ndigbos place in the polity especially in light of the forthcoming 2019 elections.

The summit deliberated on the State of Ndigbo in Nigeria today especially after years of exclusion from the center. This country has never been so divided as it is today. We Igbos have always yearned for a level playing field with justice, equity and fairness.

The Summit recognized the nomination of His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi Former Governor of Anambra State as the Vice Presidential Candidate of the PDP and fully endorses this nomination. It was acknowledged that this nomination puts Ndigbo back in the center of governance. It is therefore important that Ndigbo should rally behind the Atiku/Obi ticket.

We identify with the Atiku/ Peter Obi ticket on the restructuring agenda as has been reiterated by 4 zones of the country namely: South South, South West, North Central and South East. We believe that as long as the federating units remain weak the center will continue to be weak. We equally move to appreciate the position of the Atiku/Obi ticket in promoting national unity.

In conclusion, the Summit reiterated that the time is now for Ndigbo to mobilize and organize effectively to realize the Atiku/Obi ticket. We are not campaigning against anybody, we are simply campaigning for our very survival. Igbo votes must count wherever Ndigbo live in Nigeria.
He made this claim in reaction to the lawmaker's allegation that his recent arrest was sponsored by him to put him in public disrepute.

In a statement released by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, Okorocha said, "His idea is that once he becomes governor, he would be leveraging the immunity provision to evade these trials."

He also accused the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, of supporting Uzodinma against his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu.

"This is the man Oshiomhole wants to govern Imo people. If Oshiomhole had asked questions, and if he was keen on APC's victory in Imo, he would not have gone into any deal with Chief Uzodinma," he said.

The governor explained that the APC flagbearer was facing two trials prior to his arrest by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property.

He said, "Uzodinma is facing trial over issuance of a dud cheque, and the trial Judge, Justice Abdulwahab Muhammed was reported to have referred the case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation.

"He is also on trial over non-declaration of assets, and the case is before Justice Babatunde Quadiri of the Federal High Court Abuja."

Okorocha further urged Uzodinma to withdraw from the race and focus on proving his innocence against all the allegations against him.

"Chief Uzodinma should be advised to withdraw from the race and also quit politics to enable him to face these trials, and he can come back to politics if at the end of the trials he is not found," he said.

Nwosu boasts he'll be announced APC's Imo governorship candidate

Meanwhile, the governor's preferred candidate, Nwosu, has boasted that he will announced as APC's Imo governoship candidate not Uzodinma.

While addressing his supporters on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, in Owerri, Nwosu said he's the party's rightful candidate and that court will deliver judgment in his favour.
According to Daily Post, the party said Osinbajo has been telling Nigerians lies about the current debt profile of the country.

This was made known in a statement issued to newsmen by PDPs spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan.

Ologbondiyan said Buharis administration has crippled Nigerias economy, pushed it into recession and dragged the nation into debt.

He said Osinbajo is challenged to present to Nigerians, the scorecard of APC administration, for which President Muhammadu Buhari has now lost his carriage as a leader.

Despite being busted, Osinbajo is labouring to deceive Nigerians by converting domestic borrowings in Naira, under the APC, to US dollars, so that the very high exchange rate will make it look smaller in dollars.

This is despite verified figures even from agencies of government showing an accumulation of 29.6% debt under Buhari as against the 20.14% under the YarAdua and Jonathan administration and the 0.44 % under the Obasanjo administration.

ALSO READ: Osinbajo says Nigeria is in a battle between good and evil

Osinbajo is reminded that he is the head of Buharis economic team and should therefore, not in anyway, parade himself as if he has no blame at all in the failures of this administration.

Nigerians are no longer swayed by Osinbajos homilies and lip service to fiscal federalism, which he is now mouthing, just because the 2019 general election is around the corner.
According to the partys spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan said the ruling party has obtained court orders to perfect its plans.

Ologbondiyan said that the APC wants to block the finances of its stakeholders ahead of the 2019 election.

According to Vanguard, he also said It is clear that the only reason for this is to ensure that our party and candidates are deprived of access to funds for campaigns, but the APC and the Buhari Presidency fail to realize that the 2019 election is now a battle between them and Nigerians, who are the bastion of the PDP.

Nigerians have since taken over the saddle for the quest to rid the nation of this incompetent, vicious and vengeful administration, for which they are now freely making contributions and sacrifices. They have collectively resolved to vote out President Buhari and not even the APCs on-going vote-buying strategy and intimidation can scuttle that resolve.

Illegal cash flow

The APC had earlier called on security agencies to monitor the illegal movement of cash by politicians ahead of the elections in 2019.
According to Vanguard, Secondus said the electoral body has prepared special card readers and result sheets for APC.

The PDP chairman said this while speaking with the election team of the Economic Community of West Africa states (ECOWAS).

Warns INEC boss

Secondus also warned the chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu against the manipulation of the 2019 elections.

The PDP chairman said that it will be a recipe for crisis, and Yakubu will be held responsible.

Secondus also said that history will be unkind to the INEC boss if he fails to conduct free and fair elections in 2019.

He also said They have finished their rigging arrangements with preloaded cards and special election result sheets all doctored to Favour the ruling APC.

ALSO READ: PDP accuses Buhari of ordering security agents to harass Atiku

The INEC chairman has no strong will to follow our electoral laws and constitution as well as the laid down international standards in his processes towards 2019 and we want to let the World know this before it happens.

They have finished plots to isolate states of Kano, Benue, Rivers, Buachi, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Imo and Kwara and Lagos for disruption during the general election so they can plan well to mobilize the rigging.
Abubakar said this on Wednesday during a meeting with Igbo leaders in Enugu.

My commitment is to fix this country. I think of the future this country will have, if I do not struggle to fix it.

Our economy must be fixed and you can trust me and Mr Peter Obi to do it, he said.

The presidential candidate said that he was worried about the state of infrastructure in the South East, especially the condition of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

I am always scared coming to Enugu because of the state of the runway of the airport. What does it take to fix the runway? A local government council can fix it if they are made viable, he said.

Abubakar said that the issue of restructuring the country was already settled, adding that he would not be talking about it.

I am a product of a restructured Nigeria. So it is a settled issue, he said.

The former vice president said that the comments by some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in favour of restructuring and state police were belated and deceitful.

Article 7 (2) of the Constitution of the APC says that the party believes in restructuring and state police but what have they done about this?

We need to mobilise ourselves and vote for a ticket that will restructure Nigeria, he said.

Earlier, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo decried the state of infrastructure in the zone.

Nwodo said that the South East had not been carried along in the scheme of things in the country, adding that appointments had been lopsided.

He said that the state of infrastructure at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport was worrisome.

Also speaking, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki said that the South East was very strategic to the economic growth of the country.

Saraki appealed to the people of the zone to take away their fears and support the candidate of the PDP.

The South East represents the assets of the country because we need entrepreneurs and hard work to grow our economy.

If this economy will grow, it must start from the South East. This is your election because Atiku wants to unite the country, Saraki said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by chieftains of the PDP across the zone.

NAN reports that the meeting was preceded by a nonpartisan summit convened by elders, traditional and religious leaders tagged Ndigbo 2019 and Beyond Summit.
Batista and his brother Wesley own the world's biggest meatpacking company, JBS.

The judge also ordered the release of 16 other people arrested Friday along with Batista, including two former agriculture ministers. Two others also arrested then were released on Sunday.

Investigators say JBS bribed agriculture ministry officials through political intermediaries in order to obtain benefits from industry regulations and the attribution of commercial licenses.

These bribes gave JBS advantages over its competition and the possibility to build a market monopoly, police said.

Joesley Batista was previously held between September 2017 and March of this year on suspicion of having withheld information from prosecutors. This prompted authorities to scrap a plea bargain deal they had reached with him.
Diplomats have been trying to nail down details as Beijing entices its neighbours to join a commercial alliance seen as an antidote to President Donald Trump's "America First" protectionist trade policy.

The US has imposed tariffs on roughly half of what it imports from China, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies.

Beijing's leaders have recast themselves as the defenders of global commerce -- with the United States under Trump relegated to the sidelines.

China, Japan and India are among 16 Asia-Pacific countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

"Substantial progress has been made this year to advance the RCEP negotiations," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Wednesday evening, adding talks were now "at the final stage".

"With the strong momentum generated this year, I am pleased to note that the RCEP negotiations are poised for conclusion in 2019," he added.

But he cautioned any further delays could risk "losing credibility" for a deal -- which has already taken six years to negotiate.

Trump absent

This week's meetings are the biggest in a series of annual gatherings organised by regional bloc the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), and are attended by 20 leaders.

AFP

RCEP was given extra impetus after US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in early 2017.

That deal was spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama and aimed to bind fast-growing Asian powers into an American-backed order to counter China.

The TPP is still alive even without Washington -- and will come into effect in December -- but RCEP, if realised, will be the world's biggest trade deal.

However, the Beijing-backed pact is much less ambitious than the TPP in areas such as employment and environmental protection.

Beijing had hoped to have the meat of the deal done by the end of this year, but the timetable has now slipped to 2019.

However, this has not stopped Chinese leaders from basking in the progress already made.

AFP

During a meeting with Southeast Asia leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he was hopeful talks would "break through the ceiling" and take regional trade "to new heights".

Trump is not at the Singapore summit, nor will he attend a subsequent gathering of world leaders in Papua New Guinea at the end of the week, having sent Vice President Mike Pence instead.

National Security Advisor John Bolton, however, told reporters in Singapore that the president's no-show should not be seen as a lack of commitment towards the region.

He blamed a "schedule crunch" after a particularly frenetic few weeks that included the midterm elections, attending the World War I armistice commemorations in France and preparing for the G20 in Argentina later this month.

Sticking points

There are still major sticking points in RCEP talks -- with regional rival India particularly nervous about giving Chinese companies greater access to its markets, and wealthier nations wanting to see more progress on labour reforms.

Disagreements on intellectual property rights, goods tariffs and financial services are also on a long list of issues that still need to be concluded.

AFP

Also, the spectre of possible leadership changes with several general elections scheduled early next year -- India, Thailand and Indonesia -- have also complicated the timeline for a deal.

Aaron Connelly, an expert on Southeast Asian politics at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the fact that RCEP negotiations were not concluded at this year's ASEAN could indicate China has some way to go to convince neighbours to sign up.

"It's interesting that when Beijing is at its most vulnerable on trade, with US tariffs biting, they werent willing to concede enough to their neighbours in terms of market access to get a deal done," he told AFP.

At the same time, trade ministers across Asia Pacific have sounded a largely positive tone this week, saying they expect the pact to be agreed sooner rather than later.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), covering half the world's population, is billed as an antidote to President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda, which has seen tariffs imposed on almost half of all Chinese imports to the US -- and retaliatory levies by Beijing.

But the timetable has slipped, with sticking points over free access to markets remaining -- and a raft of general elections early next year likely to further hamper its progress.

Speaking in Singapore, Premier Li said he hoped RCEP would be signed and implemented next year.

"It (RCEP) is going to deliver real benefits to the people of our region," he said, without giving a date.

China was now the standard bearer of global free trade, he added, with the 16-member RCEP deal at the heart of its strategy.

"It's going to send a message to the international community that we stand by free trade... with rising protectionism and strains on free trade, we need to advance the RCEP negotiations," Li said.

He conceded the Chinese economy was facing "challenges" in the wake of the trade war with the US, but insisted strong fundamentals meant radical intervention was not the remedy.

"Despite downward pressures we will not resort to massive stimulus," Li said.

'Significant progress'

Trade diplomats said negotiations will run deep into 2019.

AFP

"We made significant progress," New Zealand minister of state for trade and export growth Damien O'Connor told reporters after talks late Monday, but added delegates were "hopefully ready for conclusion next year."

India's concerns over opening its markets to competition, in particular from Chinese firms, has been a key obstacle in the several years of negotiations.

But New Delhi's delegation welcomed the incremental steps towards establishing the trade agreement.

"The future lies in RCEP," Indian trade minister Suresh Prabhu told reporters, but urged a patient approach to talks to ensure "every country will benefit from it".

Several general elections scheduled early next year -- including in India, Thailand and Indonesia -- have complicated the timeframe of a deal that will open markets in countries accounting for about a third of the world's GDP.

A draft leaders' statement on the RCEP seen by AFP noted the urgency of reaching an agreement "given the current headwinds faced by the global economy".

The deal was given extra impetus after Trump pulled the US out of the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The TPP is still alive even without Washington, but RCEP is now the world's biggest trade deal.

However, the Beijing-backed pact is much less ambitious than the TPP in areas such as employment and environmental protection.

The ASEAN summit, which formally opens Tuesday afternoon, will sweep in trade, the Rohingya crisis and maritime disputes.

Key world leaders including China's Li, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mike Pence -- Trump's number two -- are also in Singapore for talks foreshadowed by the China-US trade war and its ripple effect on global economies, particularly in Asia.

Pence is also expected to keep pressure on Beijing over its growing aggression in the South China Sea while seeking support over Washington's approach to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is also in Singapore and is likely to face intense scrutiny over her country's treatment of the Rohingya, particularly from Muslim-majority nations at the summit.
President Donald Trump has dramatically increased pressure on Tehran, withdrawing from an international agreement aimed at ending its nuclear programme and introducing several rounds of unilateral US sanctions.

Speaking in Singapore ahead of a summit, Bolton said: "We think the government is under real pressure and it's our intention to squeeze them very hard.

"As the British say, squeeze them until the pips squeak.

"We are also going to significantly increase the enforcement of sanctions."

The US measures have been opposed by other parties to the deal aimed at ending Iran's nuclear drive -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- who have vowed to keep the accord alive.

"There's no doubt Iran has already started to try and find ways to evade the sanctions both on oil in particular and financial markets," Bolton added.

UN inspectors say Iran is abiding by the agreement.

Bolton, however, said that "most of the countries of Europe have passed through denial and anger and many of them are already at acceptance that we're out of the deal.

"Others are getting to that point."

In the face of widespread opposition to the sanctions, Washington issued exemptions to eight countries to its ban on buying oil from major producer Iran.

Washington is demanding that Tehran end policies rooted in the 1979 Islamist revolution, including its support for regional proxies such as the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and its development of missiles.

The only support for the US position has come from Iran's regional rivals, notably Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Discontent citizens shamed their governors through various posts that highlighted development areas where the governors were rated poorly.

A sarcastic poster read in part: "Barabara umejenga ukamaliza. Potholes zinakuona zinapotea...Huku kwako watu hawana shida, wako sawa hadi 2022. Kazi umefanya ukamaliza sasa imebaki siasa.

"(You have built good roads. Potholes disappear in your presence...Your people are content waiting for 2022. You have done all the work now focus on politics)," the poster read in part.

ece-auto-gen

List of Shame

Some of the governors who received a lot of backlash included Governor Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu), Hassan Joho (Mombasa) and Mike Sonko (Nairobi).

Here are some of the posts that were shared.

ece-auto-gen

ece-auto-gen

ece-auto-gen

Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and her Kakamega counterpart seemed to bear a good reputation with the public as some of the commentators hailed them for the successful projects they had already initiated.

ece-auto-gen

ece-auto-gen

The Council of Governors on Tuesday hosted the launch of the Public Participation Guidelines in Braille where they attempted to have their lunch while blindfolded.
Canada's MDSAP Mandate Could Be Bad for Canadian Healthcare By scaring off small medical-device companies, Canada could limit number of important and innovative products

The Dec. 31, 2018 deadline looms for medical device companies that sell their devices in Canada. On that day, any company that sells medical devices to Canada will either need to hold an MDSAP certificate or show proof that they are on track to be MDSAP certified, or they wont be able to sell their products in Canada. This mandate could have consequences for Canadian citizens.

What is the Medical Device Single Audit Program?

Is MDSAP one certification accepted by all? No, however it is accepted by five countries: the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Japan.

What medical device company that sells internationally wouldnt want a yearly one-and-done audit that satisfies the regulatory requirements of those five countries? Within the medical device community, where audits are strict and often expensive, the ability to go through a single quality management system (QMS) audit and have those audit results accepted by five countries would theoretically save time and money compared to dealing with each countrys regulations individually. That was the intended goal behind the Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP). However, as is the case with many plans, the unintended consequences may hurt not just the medical device companies it was supposed to help, but in the end may harm consumers.
Japans annual whaling expedition in the Southern Ocean has again met criticism from New Zealand leaders and experts.

A fleet left the island nation this week in attempt to kill over 300 minke whales.

In 2014 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded that Japans former whaling programme was not for scientific purposes, deeming that its whaling was a commercial operation.

However, Japan has continued to hunt whales legally in the Southern Ocean every winter under what it claims is for scientific research.

Otago University marine scientist Liz Slooten says this is a loophole to get around the 1982 moratorium on commercial whaling settled by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

The science behind scientific whaling has been strongly criticised, said Prof Slooten, who is a member of the IWC's scientific committee.

Prof Slooten says the IWC, unfortunately, is essentally a gentlemans agreement rather than international law that can restrict the loophole.

There is no such thing, yet, as international environmental law.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters also condemned the expedition in a statement on Tuesday.

"New Zealand is deeply disappointed that whaling continues in the Southern Ocean despite the significant scientific advice against this outdated and unnecessary practice," Mr Peters said.

In May, Japan faced international criticism after reporting that its whaling fleet killed 122 pregnant whales during its annual hunt last winter.

Listen to the full interview with Liz Slooten above.

The Long Lunch with Lynda Hallinan, 12pm - 3pm on RadioLIVE and streaming live to the rova app on Android and iPhone.

RadioLIVE.
US President Donald Trumps move to ban CNN reporter Jim Acosta is very unusual in a democracy, according to a political academic.

He calls something fake if he doesnt like it, said Grant Duncan, associate professor at Massey University.

He told RadioLIVE that instead of answering hard questions, President Trumps go-to move is to shut the person asking the question down.

Prof Duncan says President Trumps attitude towards news media could be seen as the start of a slippery slope toward a Khashoggi-like situation.

This is really a lack of intellectual confidence coming from a political leader.

I really think its important these things are challenged head on when they arise, and it applies to academics as well, because often academics and journalists are the first ones to be targetted by authoritarian leaders.

Meanwhile, CNN has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump over his administration's treatment of Mr. Acosta.

The American cable network is seeking an immediate restoration of Mr Acosta's press credentials.

Mr Acosta's credentials were revoked after a fiery press conference, where a White House intern tried to physically wrestle the microphone out of the journalists hands.
A mother of a Pike River mine victim has praised the news that the re-entry plan will go ahead, in hopes for the possibility of closure and justice.

Sonya Rockhouse lost her son Ben in the 2010 disaster, while her other son Daniel survived.

Its been a long time coming, Mrs Rockhouse told RadioLIV E. Were just ecstatic. Its just the best news.

On Wednesday morning, Pike River Minister Andrew Little announced that the Government will go ahead with a plan to re-enter the Pike River mine after reviewing three options.

After considering whether sending experts into the drift would be safe, Mr Little confirmed that a single entry re-entry plan has been approved.

The re-entry could mean finally recovering the remains of the Pike River victims, while also collecting forensic evidence for further investigation. Police commissioner Mike Bush has confirmed that manslaughter charges are possible after evidence is collected.

"Our case is open, and everything will be based on evidence," Mr Bush told Newshub.
CHILE: National operator EFE has awarded Chinese company CRRC Sifang a US$77m contract to supply 13 multiple-units for use on the Biotren, Corto Laja and Victoria  Temuco services operated by its Fesur subsidiary.
Furthering its reach outside its domestic market, and continuing the recent success of Welsh drama such as Hinterland and Hidden, S4C has announced that its Byw Celwydd/Living a Lie has been sold to Bulgarian free-to-air broadcaster Bulgaria On Air.





The brainchild of Tarian Cyf director Branwen Cennard and the late prolific playwright Meic Povey, the political drama follows the fictional characters of a rainbow coalition government, following characters of a fictional group of political parties at the Welsh Assembly Government, along with the special advisers and political journalists around them. It will be broadcast in Welsh with on-screen Bulgarian subtitles.The new sale has been facilitated by Emanuele Galloni-led Videoplugger and the series has already been sold to American broadcaster MHz Networks, which will bring the drama to audiences across the US and Canada, as well as international LGBT broadcaster OUT TV, which covers Europe, Israel and South Africa.Commenting on the deal, producer Branwen Cennard said: I feel extremely proud that an entirely Welsh language production written and filmed in a totally Welsh context continues to capture the imagination of broadcasters in Europe and beyond. It reflects the high production values associated with Byw Celwydd, i s testament to the work of the actors, the writer, the crew and series director Gareth Rowlands and proves yet again that Welsh producers can produce series with a wide international appeal. Added Nikolina Dimitrova, programme director Bulgaria of ON AIR TV:  Bulgaria ON AIR was very keen to broadcast a political drama and Living a Lie was the perfect choice. The realistic impression of the political tensions which is presented in the show is the thing that really caught our attention. The rainbow coalition, the socialists as an opposition and the female journalist trying to dig into the political scandals  the storyline is fascinating and appeals to a broad spectrum of our audience.
Pan Arab media group MBC has agreed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chinas National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) to develop content and share production expertise.





The strategic agreement will comprise media content in all its forms, including dubbed television programmes from both territories, as well as joint productions. Developing human talent is also key to the partnership, through the exchange of expertise through joint seminars, courses and training programmes.To launch the arrangement, MBC Action and MBC Variety channels are airing a five part documentary called Chinas Mega Projects, which looks at the mechanism of design, implementation and completion of Chinas largest construction programmes.In turn, NRTA will show MBC Group programming, tailored to a Chinese audience.The MOU was signed at MBC headquarters in Dubai, in the presence of the groups chairman Waleed Bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim (pictured), vice chairman Ali Al-Hedeithy, and CEO Sam Barnett, along with the deputy minister of information at NRTA Gao Jianmin.The National Radio and Television Administration aims to develop a comprehensive media environment that simulates its peers from the world's largest companies, in terms of efficiency, performance, innovation, research and development, as well as other areas of growth and development, said Waleed Bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, chairman, MBC Group.The digital media sector is of utmost importance to us; digital platforms are now a necessity for the growth of any media organisation in the region and the world. Investing in the event industry and in human capital is as crucial as investing in media content, so we are now sharing our experiences in these sectors with our partners in China.NRTAs deputy minister Gao Jianmin said: We are pleased to announce today this strategic cooperation with MBC in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative . MBC has established, over the years, the prime broadcasting platform across the Middle East and North Africa region and we believe our partnership will support the cultural cooperation and content sharing across our regions.We are looking forward to a successful cooperation that will represent one more milestone on the long history of exchanges between China and the Middle East.
One hundred years ago the spring offensives of the First World War married combined arms tactics with industrial age technology and nationalism. The four year-long learning competition produced a transformation in warfare, if not a revolution. Integration of artillery, machine guns, tanks, and airplanes presented both challenge and opportunity. Today, the information age offers new challenges and opportunities. Cyberspace, advanced computing, mobile networks, unmanned systems, and social media present a military revolution in information warfare. To leverage its full potential, the U.S. military requires a cultural change to reconcile institutional aversion toward non-lethal information warfare. To aggressively shape, influence, control, and manipulate information, change is needed in U.S. military attitudes toward information warfare. This can be realized through better training and education, and deliberate integration of information operations across the military services during planning and operations.

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis (YFN)

Information is now the seventh joint function. Its efficacy depends upon the ability to transition practical concepts into fundamental underlying logic. Joint Publication 3-13, Information Operations, defines information operations as the integrated employment, during military operations, of information-related capabilities in concert with other lines of operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the decision making of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting our own.[1] As U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis has pointed out, the addition of information as a joint function recognizes its power to support military operations, particularly in the wake of modern technology and social media.[2] As a joint function, information will garner additional advocacy and proponency among the joint force, and greater incorporation into plans and operations.

Information is both a resource and a weapon. The battlefield of tomorrow is compressed in time and space. When enemy actors are simultaneously operating in space, cyberspace, and across the electromagnetic spectrum, reacting in real time will become a challenge on an interconnected battlefield. As historian Christopher Rein has pointed out, the addition of space and cyberspace as warfighting domains has expanded exponentially and greatly complicated information operations.[3]

The application of information as an instrument of war is not new, but the American military struggles with information operations. Information is ubiquitous, yet frustrates American military planners and practitioners. Information operations range from deception and cyber activities to public affairs, but traditional American military strength often relies upon overwhelming air power, fire, and maneuver. The so-called American way of warfare is characterized by the application of joint fires within a highly integrated command and control network to rapidly destroy enemy formations and command and control nodes.[4] The American way of warfare has a successful track record in battle, but also belies a persistent inability to ruthlessly exploit the information environment at the strategic, operational, and tactical level.

U.S. military campaign strategy is not comfortable with maneuver in the information space. The U.S. military has a penchant to find it easierfrom a capabilities, policies, and authorities perspectiveto drop ordnance on a target rather than generating other less-lethal, less-irreversible, and less-transparent effects.[5] Yet, as the Secretary Mattis remarked in 2009, Capturing the perceptions of foreign audiences will replace seizing terrain as the new high ground for the future joint force.[6] Discomfort in the realm of information operations is a challenge that must be overcome.

U.S. military discomfort with information operations extends beyond tactics and operations. For example, the U.S. State Department is only mentioned twice in Joint Publication 3-13. This heightens the perception of a persistent bifurcation in American strategic thinking in which military professionals concentrate on winning battles and campaigns, while policymakers focus on the diplomatic struggles that precede and influence, or are influenced by, the actual fighting.[7] The limited reference to the diplomatic instrument of national power belies the need for close cooperation. Given the power of modern communications to shape the information environment, even tactical information operations can create strategic effects.

Thus, as the U.S. military begins to consider information as a distinct warfighting function, it cannot neglect the critical linkage to grand strategy and the other instruments of national power. If war is driven by policy, which is in turn influenced by information, the military should anticipate and address underlying assumptions regarding U.S. civil-military relations.[8] For instance, the video and imagery showing the devastation on the Iraqi highway of death by the media during the first Gulf War is considered a significant factor in the cessation of coalition attacks.[9] In other words, while the military develops its capacity for information operations, senior leaders must contend with the need to ensure plans and operations support and complement national objectives.

Exploitation of the information environment has occurred throughout the history of warfare. The First World War featured the extensive use of information operations, including the first use of electronic warfare through the interception of wireless communications.[10] When the war began, Great Britain, then the hub of global communications, cut telegraph cables to Germany. This led to a communications blackout for the Germans. German telegraphs had to be routed through British-controlled lines, leading to the discovery of the Zimmerman telegram.[11]

During the First World War, the Germans also leveraged information in novel ways. In April of 1917, Germany accelerated the fall of the Russian monarchy by loading a train bound for Petrograd with human malware; a virus of sorts in the form of Vladimir Lenin. As the German army fought the Russians along the eastern front, Lenin hastened the collapse of a Russian monarchy already reeling from inept leadership and repeated military defeat.[12] The German use of Lenin as a weapon to influence Russian behavior appears almost quaint by the scale of later efforts.

During the Second World War, Operation Bodyguard used extensive physical and electronic deception to conceal the location of the Allied landings at Normandy. As Christopher Rein points out, allied deception operations during the Second World War were significantly more complicated, requiring extensive coordination between military and political instruments of national power in multiple domains simultaneously.[13]

In the first Gulf War, the U.S.-led coalition made a concerted effort to control and influence Iraqi decision making through information operations. U.S. Marine Corps forces afloat created a strategic distraction for the Iraqis, while the U.S. ensured Frances Satellite Pour lObservation de la Terre (SPOT) system was unable to provide satellite imagery to Saddam Hussein, blinding his ability to observe coalition activities.[14] More recently, the Russians have employed so-called hybrid warfare in their conflicts in Ukraine.[15] Russia seized Crimea without firing a shot due in part to a successful information campaign. Since it annexed Crimea, Russia has continued its information operations, evidenced by the establishment of Russian-filtered internet service via underwater cable.[16] Indeed, the so-called Gerasimov doctrine claims the role of nonmilitary means of achieving political and strategic goals has grown, and, in many cases, they have exceeded the power of force or weapons in their effectiveness.[17]

Generally, the U.S. military gravitates towards the use of information to support kinetic solutions. The emergence of the so-called information revolution in military affairs in the 1990s led the services to use information to strike targets faster and more accurately through concepts such as net-centric warfare and effects-based operations through networking, sensors, computers, and satellites.[18] The American military is less inclined to leverage information with cunning and guile before or during operations. Many have characterized the use of deception, for example, as ad hoc at best.[19] This indicates the tenets of Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, and Boyd are not fully accepted.

In the information realm, the U.S. often operates at a disadvantage. American combat arms traditionally dominate warfare and war planning, while non-lethal and diplomatic integration is challenged. American military culture is also averse to deceit and falsehoods, favoring standard operating procedure over imaginative psychological means. While adversaries comfortably blend political and military operations, the American military tradition studiously avoids political considerations in campaigns. Military success is presumed to lead inexorably to a favorable political outcome overseas. Hence some have concluded power and diplomacy to occupy separate spheres.[20]

IT IS CONCEIVABLE INFORMATION OPERATIONS MAY SURPASS FIRE AND MANEUVER IN IMPORTANCE

Used to its full potential, information operations can prepare the battlefield and set the conditions for victory. Information can soften the enemys will to fight, deceive, and pollute his or her decision making cycle. Given the variety of media capable of using information to influence, coerce, or deceive, it is conceivable information operations may surpass fire and maneuver in importance at times. Yet influencing a foreign audience cannot be accomplished ad hoc without study and preparation of culture, history, and language. New institutional arrangements may be in order to fully resource requirements for successful information operations.[21]

Antulio Echevarria (YouTube)

The explosion of the information landscape and technological information-related capabilities presents myriad challenges. Clausewitz may even agree that violence, like Twitter, is a means of communication.[22] Whole populations can be reached through social media and influenced in real-time. However, Antulio Echevarria has noted the American style of warfare failed to internalize Clausewitzs contention that war was the continuation of politics by other means.[23] This artificial separation between war and politics presents myriad obstacles in the execution of information operations.

In the early phases of combat operations, web-connected devices can be scraped for metadata and surveilled. Military and interagency collectors can map the information space, to include information systems, public networks, and other sensors and emitters. Commanders will require a visualization of the information space through a common informational picture. Commanders and planners will need real-time access to this information. Ethical dilemmas will arise given the need to target enemy information systems embedded within civilian infrastructure. The speed of a non-lethal operation to influence, degrade, suppress, or deny the enemy access to information will be measured in minutes or hours, not days or weeks.

The tools and authorities needed for these actions at lower tactical levels are a largely uncharted territory. The growth of cyberspace has increased the surface area of the battlespace. Potential attack vectors have multiplied and grown in complexity. Amy Zegart has described five categories of cyber actions: stealing, spying, disrupting, destroying, and deceiving.[24] These cyber threats can be brought to bear on U.S. forces in large scale combat operations in varying degrees. The sheer speed of a cyber action reduces an effect to mere seconds. Given the scale of networked devices on a battlefield and on the home front, the scope of attacks to defend increase exponentially.

The long-term method to close the gap in the political-military divide is professional military education. Many historians argue the quality of service members, and their ability to think and adapt, are leading indicators of success in war. As Williamson Murray has written, The acid test of military effectiveness was whether one could handle not the expected but the unexpected elements thrown up in war.[25] Notably, the National Defense Strategy states U.S. military professional military education has stagnated.[26] Hence, professional military education for both enlisted personnel and officers is critical.

Similarly, educational opportunities should be made available to civilian policy makers and diplomats. An even better solution would provide an opportunity for mid-grade and senior officers and civilians to learn from one another. More than one thousand students are educated annually at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer Course at Fort Leavenworth. Only a small fraction consist of civilian and interagency students.

The benefits to training against realistic threats in live field exercises are self-evident. As Frederick the Great noted, theory facilitates practice.[27] Thus, the practice must apply the theory in a realistic manner. Results must then be recorded, analyzed, and improved upon. The consequences for inattentiveness are dire. During the First World War, the British Expeditionary Force did not possess a system for frequent re-examination of tactical methods and operational doctrine.[28] As a result, improvement was haphazard and incoherent.

Journalist David Patrikarakos, in his book War in 140 Characters, argues information technology and social media has fundamentally destabilized classical forms of war.[29] In recent conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine, observers have noted how information technology and social media are able to preempt, confirm, or deny the facts on the ground faster than through military or government means. During an exercise in 2016, a lone platoon of Marines acting as an opposing force (OPFOR) significantly disrupted the operations of a much larger conventional Marine Corps unit. Using commercially available technology consisting of drones, video cameras, and jammers, they consistently leveraged information operations to influence, corrupt, or disrupt the decision making cycle of their opponents.[30]

AN ENEMY ARTILLERY SHELL OR INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE NEED NOT RANGE THE HOMELAND, ONLY FIBER OPTIC CABLES AND SATELLITES.

Defensive measures must also anticipate the homeland. Given American reliance on information for all aspects of daily life, an enemy artillery shell or intercontinental ballistic missile need not range the homeland, only fiber optic cables and satellites. The term infocalypse has been used to describe such an event.[31] Emerging so-called deepfake videos have the potential to pose a threat to governance and public confidence, undermining government and military leaders.[32] Using widely available and increasingly sophisticated software, deepfakes manufacture realistic video of politicians and celebrities with fabricated dialogue.

Ubiquitous media is a significant blindspot for an open society. The largest study of fake news found that falsehoods penetrated further, faster, and deeper into the social network than accurate information on Twitter.[33] An erroneous tweet by a state government employee set off panic and alarm across the Hawaiian Islands.[34] Evocative information travels fast, anything that arouses emotions will rapidly pick up speed. What if a media-owned or third-party drone or satellite broadcasts dead and dying Americans to domestic audiences in high definition? This presents significant informational questions military strategists and operational planners need to consider.

In 1996, a U.S. Army Command and General Staff College student lamented the encroaching effect of media on war, observing, If a few soldiers are killed or wounded, the media judges the whole operation a failurewere too restricted now.[35] In the future, this perception will have to be overcome to ensure freedom of action across all domains, to include information.

While professional military education is one way to address present challenges, the services and combatant commands must also better organize themselves to act in the information domain. The U.S. Marine Corps has made a concerted effort of late, establishing an Information Group with each Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). However, organization is only the first step. Each Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group (MIG) must develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures to conduct information operations to achieve objectives beyond simply closing with and destroying an enemy.

Europe is belatedly waking up to Russias information warfare. (Peter Schrank/The Economist)

The placement of information on a higher plane in the hierarchy of warfare will require a paradigm shift in how the U.S. plans, prepares, and conducts war. As Ian Brown has said, the U.S. should aim to fight in the realm of moral warfare.[36] While adversaries such as the Russians have long since integrated deception or maskirovka into warfare activities and professional training, the U.S. military is not built this way.[37] Clint Watts, an expert in information warfare, summarized the dichotomy between Americans and Russians: Russians are brilliant at [information warfare] because they dont see it as a subcomponent of warfare, it is warfare.[38] In contrast, American hubris has arisen from decades of having overwhelming military capabilities.[39] While weaker states often leverage information operations to defeat a stronger opponent, the U.S. military cannot presume unfettered martial superiority in all domains at all times.[40] General Robert Neller, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, has said future conflict is going to be a land, air, sea operation, but its going to involve space, its going to involve information, its going to involve the electromagnetic spectrum; all the things that we havent had to think about in the past 15 to 20 years.[41] The West in general and the U.S. military in particular are nowhere near as agile as their adversaries in the information sphere. Tactical, operational, and strategic success requires a cultural change to reconcile institutional aversion and reluctance toward non-lethal information warfare. To dominate the information domain before, during, and after the next conflict, significant change is required in the U.S. militarys approach toward training and education of information as a warfighting function, and information operations as a discipline.

Nick Brunetti-Lihach is a Marine Corps Communications Officer currently serving as a Faculty Advisor at the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School. Views contained in this post do not represent the United States Marine Corps, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of Defense.

This article appeared originally at Strategy Bridge.

NOTES:

[1] United States, Joint Publication 3-13: Information Operations (Washington, DC: November, 2014).

[2] Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis, Memorandum, Information as a Joint Function, September 15, 2017.

[3] Christopher M. Rein, Weaving the Tangled Web: Military Deception in Large Scale Combat Operations, Military Review (September-October, 2018), 13.

[4] Max Boot, The New American Way of War, Foreign Affairs (July/August 2003).

[5] Bradley L. Rees, Dismantling Contemporary Military Thinking and Reconstructing Patterns of Information: Thinking Deeper About Future War and Warfighting, Small Wars Journal. http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/dismantling-contemporary-military-thinking-and-reconstructing-patterns-information accessed 9 May, 2018.

[6] Bradley L. Rees, Dismantling Contemporary Military Thinking and Reconstructing Patterns of Information: Thinking Deeper About Future War and Warfighting, Small Wars Journal. http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/dismantling-contemporary-military-thinking-and-reconstructing-patterns-information accessed 9 May, 2018.

[7] Antulio J. Echevarria II, Toward An American Way of War, in Strategic Studies Institute (Carlisle, PA: USAWC, March 2004), 7.

[8] Echevarria, Toward an American Way of War, 17.

[9] Stanley T. Kresge, Gulf War Termination Revisited (Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: April, 1999), 8.

[10] Jonathan B. A. Bailey, The First World War and the birth of modern warfare, The Dynamics of Military Revolutions: 1300-2050, ed. MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray (Cambridge University Press: New York, 2001), 147.

[11] Gordon Corera, How Britain Pioneered cable-cutting in World War One, BBC. 15 December, 2017. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42367551 (accessed April 3, 2018).

[12] Ted Widmer, Lenin and the Russian Spark, The New Yorker. 20 April, 2017. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/lenin-and-the-russian-spark (accessed 4 Nov 2018).

[13] Christopher M. Rein, Weaving the Tangled Web: Military Deception in Large Scale Combat Operations, Military Review (September-October, 2018), 10.

[14] United States, U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf, 1990-1990-1991 with Marine Forces Afloat in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, (History and Museums Division: Washington, DC, 1998); United States. Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, Military and Civilian Satellites in Support of Allied Forces in the Persian Gulf War (Washington, D.C., 27 February, 1991), 11.

[15] Michael Kofman, Raiding and International Brigandry: Russias Strategy for Great Power Competition. War on the Rocks. June 14, 2018. https://warontherocks.com/2018/06/raiding-and-international-brigandry-russias-strategy-for-great-power-competition/ (accessed 4 Nov, 2018).

[16] Joseph Cox, Russia Built an Underwater Cable to Bring its Internet to Crimea, Motherboard. 1 August, 2014. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ypw35k/russia-built-an-underwater-cable-to-bring-its-internet-to-newly-annexed-crimea (accessed 4 Nov, 2018).

[17] Ben Sohl, Influence Campaigns and the Future of International Competition, The Strategy Bridge. 12 September, 2017. https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2017/9/12/influence-campaigns-and-the-future-of-international-competition?rq=Gerasimov (accessed 4 Nov, 2018).

[18] Brian McAllister Linn, The U.S. Armed Forces View of War, Daedalus (140, no. 3 2011), 45-46.

[19] Ian T. Brown, Warfighting 3.0, in The Marine Corps Gazette (100, no. 8 2016),

[20] Antulio J. Echevarria II, Toward An American Way of War, in Strategic Studies Institute (Carlisle, PA: USAWC, March 2004), 13.

[21] Stephen Rosen, How Innovation Happens in the Military (Podcast), 2017, https://mwi.usma.edu/mwi-podcast-innovation-happens-military-professor-stephen-rosen/ (accessed May 9, 2018).

[22] T.S. Allen, The Once and Future InfoWars, War on the Rocks. 27 March, 2018. https://warontherocks.com/2018/03/the-once-and-future-infowars/ accessed 8 April, 2018.

[23] Antulio J. Echevarria II, Reconsidering the American Way of War, 25.

[24] Amy Zegart, Horns of a Dilemma: Even Cybersecurity is bigger in Texas, (Podcast), 2018, https://warontherocks.com/2018/03/horns-of-a-dilemma-even-cybersecurity-is-bigger-in-texas/ (accessed May 9, 2018).

[25] Paul Kennedy, Military Effectiveness in the First World War, ed. Allan R. Millett and Williamson Murray, Mershon Center, The Ohio State University, Boston, 333.

[26] David Barno and Nora Bensahel, Jim Mattis Fires a Clear Warning Shot, War on the Rocks. 20 March, 2018. https://warontherocks.com/2018/03/jim-mattis-fires-a-clear-warning-shot/ accessed 8 April, 2018.

[27] Jay Luvaas, Frederick the Great: The Education of a Great Captain in H100 Book of Readings (Fort Leavenworth, KS: USACGSC, August, 2018), 79.

[28] Paul Kennedy, Military Effectiveness in the First World War, Military Effectiveness Volume I: The First World War, ed. Allan R. Millett and Williamson Murray (Mershon Center: Boston), 346.

[29] David Patrikarakos, War in 140 characters: How Social Media is Re-shaping Conflict in the Twenty-First Century (Basic Books: New York, 2017), iii.

[30] Luke G. Cardelli, MAGTF Integrated Exercise 16 (MIX-16), Marine Corps Gazette (101 no. 11, November, 2017).

[31] Charlie Warzel, He Predicted the 2016 Fake News Crisis. Now Hes worried about an Information Apocalypse, BuzzFeed News. 11 February, 2018. https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/the-terrifying-future-of-fake-news?utm_term=.oidqDJ3JMw#.hrW2bk4ke8 accessed 8 May, 2018.

[32] Craig Silverman, How to spot a deepfake like the Barack Obama-Jordan Peele Video, BuzzFeed News. 17 April, 2018. https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/obama-jordan-peele-deepfake-video-debunk-buzzfeed?utm_term=.ts3AxBeBzr#.ggaBokPknK accessed 9 May, 2018.

[33] Robinson Meyer, The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News, The Atlantic. 8 March, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/03/largest-study-ever-fake-news-mit-twitter/555104/ accessed 9 May, 2018.

[34] Erik Ortiz, Phil McCausland, and Chelsea Bailey, Hawaii ballistic missile threat alert to phones was false alarm, officials say, NBC News. 13 January, 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hawaii-ballistic-missile-threat-alert-phones-was-false-alarm-officials-n837511 (accessed 4 Nov 2018).

[35] Robert D. Kaplan, Fort Leavenworth and the Eclipse of Nationhood, The Atlantic. September, 1996. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/09/fort-leavenworth-and-the-eclipse-of-nationhood/376665/ accessed 2 May, 2018.

[36] Ian T. Brown, Warfighting 2.0, The Marine Corps Gazette, 67.

[37] Ian T. Brown, 67.

[38] Clint Watts, War on the Rocks Podcast, August, 2018.

[39] Mark F. Cancian, Coping with surprise in Great Power Conflicts, Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington, D.C.: February, 2018).

[40] Rein, Weaving the Tangled Web, 13.

[41] Mark Pomerlau, Marines take multi-domain battle to the littorals, C4ISRNet, 21 September, 2017. https://www.c4isrnet.com/digital-show-dailies/modern-day-marine/2017/09/21/marines-taking-multi-domain-battle-to-the-littorals/ (accessed 4 Nov 2018).
Why We Need Deal With China, Not a Trade War

President Donald Trump is right to address unfair practices by China as it re-emerges as a global economic and political leader. China has forced American technology transfer, stolen business secrets and intellectual property, and used ambiguous laws to hurt American companies.
Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale

Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada.

Search Real Estate
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 11/13/2018



ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

star Ashley Martson is apparently turning the tables on her former friend Natalie Crawford, who allegedly set out for revenge after their friendship ended.As shown on Sunday night's Season 6 episode of , Ashley decided to cut Natalie out of her wedding party after Natalie couldn't get over the fact Ashley's fiance, Jay Smith , allegedly cheated on her in Jamaica.Both Ashley and Jay were frustrated and fed up over Natalie's apparent lack of support for their relationship. But the falling out between best friends has clearly escalated into something deeper and much more vicious in the months since the incident viewers saw broadcast on Sunday took place earlier this year."Natalie, your the worst person I ever met! I'll pray for you because you truly need help," Ashley wrote Monday in a since-deleted Instagram posting of a screenshot of an old photo showing Ashley with a black eye that Ashley alleged Natalie texted her October 22.According to Ashley, Natalie has been threatening to reveal extremely personal and startling details of Ashley's life and past relationships, so Ashley decided to beat Natalie to the punch before fans heard the information elsewhere."Since I cut Natalie out of my life she has been messaging me non stop! The last message I received was what I posted. It's a photo of me after my ex fiance beat me up badly," Ashley explained of her photo with the black eye."I left him and pressed charges. I got a [protection from abuse order] against him and he spent time in Jail. He never cheated on me. I said that because this is something that is very personal."Ashley's comment appears to be a reference to 's Season 6 premiere, which showed Ashley saying she was engaged twice before she met Jay but both relationships failed because the men cheated on her."[Natalie] literally saved this photo from years ago, a photo I don't even have anymore. I'm posting this because Natalie is literally posting every detail of my sh-tty past. I know this is coming next," Ashley wrote.Going a step further, Ashley also decided to share that she is unable to carry a child."Also, Natalie just announced to the world that I had a hysterectomy and Jay is going to leave me because I cannot give him children. Due to cancerous cells I was forced to undergo a hysterectomy at age 26," Ashley wrote in her now-deleted post."We can use a surrogate if finances are there in the future. The possibility of us not having our own biological child is there. Thank you for sharing the most personal and extremely sensitive details of my life. Natalie, your the worst person I ever met! I'll pray for you because you truly need help."Ashley also accused Natalie of being the "old friend" who recently leaked the tragic story that the star was kidnapped, raped and almost murdered at age 19 to tabloid reporters."I remained silent when she leaked my kidnapping story, when she posted me and my friends without our consent. The same friends who I am indeed still friends with minus her," Ashley continued in her Instagram post."This is the last time I will mention her name or give her any ounce of attention. There it is everyone all my skeletons are out. Now can we just go back to the show! #survivor #domesticviolence #infertilitysucks."Ashley, a 31-year-old from Mechanicsburg, PA, and Jay, a 20-year-old from Port Maria, Jamaica whose formal name is Conroy Smith, met at a bar when she vacationed in Jamaica for a friend's wedding.Although they parted ways after a whirlwind romance in Jamaica, Ashley revealed Jay -- whom she calls "the life of the party" and the "light" in her life -- contacted her on social media once she returned to the United States and they began talking frequently and getting to know each other better.Six months later, Ashley returned to Jay's home country for a visit, and he in turn proposed marriage after only eight days together.Jay eventually received a K-1 visa, and episodes have featured Jay arriving in America and getting settled into Ashley's place. As of the latest episode, the couple is planning their wedding.
During the 2018 midterm elections, under particular scrutiny were Georgias polling machines, which are 16 years old. November saw breakdowns of these machines, as well as battery depletion and a lack of power chords. Not only that, but these outdated machines were proven to be hackable and left no sort of paper trail.

House Bill 316 looks to address these problems by implementing new voting machines in the state.
These seven footwear companies are not only releasing new products for Pride, but are also donating a portion of their profits to organizations that advocate for LGBT rights.
An important part of the holiday season is actually making it to your destination on time and in one piece. You cant reconnect with family an
But the problem can also result from human error. That's what Ashiru said happened to MainOne, a major west African ISP. He said engineers mistakenly forwarded to China Telecom addresses for Google services that were supposed to be local. The Chinese company, in turn, sent along the bad data to Russia's TransTelecom, a major internet presence. Ashiru said MainOne did not yet understand why China Telecom did that, as the state-run company normally doesn't allow Google traffic on its network.
Make no mistake, legally Chanda Kochhar was not and still is not obliged to quit.

But quitting earlier would have placed her personally and as a leader on a very high pedestal, indeed where she belonged until this lapse, says S Muralidharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

The Great Corporate Suspense is over: The swashbuckling Female Flynn (Erroll, not Gen Michael) who once scythed through the Indian banking scene like a modern-day Maid of Orleans has finally fallen on her sword.

Not an entirely unexpected end to a glittering banking career which will come to be remembered for this sordid saga rather than for the great heights it achieved and the prejudices it overcame.

No substantial new facts have come to light since I last commented on it for her to take this step now.

An inquiry commission has been constituted and is presumably going about its work diligently. As commissions of inquiries are wont to, this one too will sit for long and after much moaning and groaning drop the matter with a big report.

The 'matter' is likely to be just as useful and malodorous as its scatological cousin. It will probably not find any wrong-doing on her part but spread the blame around for 'systemic failures'.

Everyone will be held responsible, no one accountable.

She weathered the non-stop 24x7 electronic media hyperventilation and all manner of speculative articles in the print and online media.

The media attention has since waned into insignificance, distracted by exploding bad loans, truant tycoons, and petulant politics.

She had effectively seen the spotlight of attention shift focus to other things by merely gritting her teeth and maintaining a dignified silence.

So why did she fall on her sword now?

Why not earlier or why not brazen it out some more and await the investigation reports?

Although she doesn't need the pay cheque, a complete vindication would be nice.

I have been of the opinion that she should not only have been above suspicion, but seen to have been above suspicion.

Clearly that has not been the case here. Bad odour in your neighbourhood has a habit of clinging to what you are wearing.

Her husband's financial shenanigans are clinging to her now. The board with its ham-handed attempt to exonerate her (and thus itself) did not help matters.

But legally she was well within her rights not to have to fall on her sword, for there have only been innuendos and allegations of quid pro quo, as far as she is concerned.

Where her husband is concerned, there was a lot of quids, that much is known.

As far as she is concerned, it seems to be correlation than causation. At any rate, none in the public domain.

Being married to someone with a faulty moral compass is not a crime. So what has changed for her to do this now?

The pressures of adverse media attention could not have been easy to manage. In these days of 24x7 television coverage and freedom of expression courtesy social media and unquestioning, ubiquitous, and ovine 'forwards' of asinine comments, it is easy to metaphorically tar and feather anyone and hang their shredded reputation out to dry.

Just imagine the impact of this on one's image in the eyes of self, family, and circle of friends and acquaintances.

She must have been walking around like a zombie the last few months. But that pressure has eased significantly as the media looks elsewhere for newer, juicier, and hotter issues much like a compulsive womaniser seeks his next conquest, or a serial killer his next victim.

Perhaps the pressure got to her finally, despite her abilities at handling pressures.

Some have suggested -- uncharitably, I thought initially -- that she was hanging on in order to have some clarity on the fate of her stock options which are reportedly substantial.

In their statement accepting her resignation the board made a cryptic reference to her 'retirement benefits'. In the world of stock options the benefits can be withheld or denied altogether under certain circumstances.

Having been stung by the public criticism of its hasty clean chit to Ms Kochhar when the scandal first surfaced, the board must have decided to play safe and not commit to protecting her benefits.

Not until the enquiry commission publicly cleared her, anyway.

This line of argument suggests that with the board unable to reassure her on the options, she saw no point in hanging around doing nothing, thus prolonging her agony.

After having dwelt at length on this suggestion, my initial conviction as to its lack of charity is considerably weaker now.

I said so earlier and will do so again: It is unlikely that Ms Kochhar will be found guilty of knowingly favouring a business group for a quid pro quo.

But certain events did happen: A business group was given loans; an investment was made in her husband's firm by that group; the investment was effectively written off by the investor; and the transactions were made so devious so as to cover someone's tracks.

While one or more parties knew the precise intent behind these acts (because they designed it as such?), I doubt if Ms Kochhar was complicit.

But at a certain point she had been made aware by her husband that one of her clients had invested in his business.

Did she advise the board immediately?

Did she tell (order?) her husband to back off from the transaction?

Did she keep herself abreast of the locus of that investment (had she done so, she might have found out at some point that it had indeed crossed a red line) or did she turn a blind eye to it?

Legality is one thing. Ethicality is something else.

Notwithstanding the attempts of a 'rockstar' justice of the Supreme Court to paint it as such, our society is not one just of Law and Liberty; it has been for millennia defined by morals, or 'dharma' if you will, and thank god for that.

There can be plenty of Law but very little Justice as is often said about the USA. Law can only tell you what you cannot do, not what you should.

Law only goes so far; morality goes much further, even beyond one's grave.

Where the law stops, as at the frontiers of science, it is one's own moral compass that must decide if one should go forward.

When the father of the atomic bomb J Robert Oppenheimer, realising what he had done, spoke against developing further bombs, his amoral colleague Edward Teller went on to design and build something far more destructive.

Despite being humiliated, investigated and consigned to oblivion for this stand, Oppenheimer is better known, far better than is Teller.

Law is about getting caught. If you are not caught, for whatever reason, then you are not guilty.

Not getting caught can be as much the result of prosecutorial incompetence or misconduct, or systematic subversion of justice by the accused, as it could be about actual innocence.

In our own backyard, we know only too well how the CBI can be expertly incompetent when they choose, our police is incapable of proving guilt and how the law enforcement can act so as to get a case tossed out by the courts.

Law is often shaped by money and power so as to perpetuate the reign of those who have them.

Most analysts and commentators agree that the financial crisis of 2008 was caused by bankers acting within the law but not ethically -- why break the laws if you can have them changed?

Often the movers and shakers tend to conflate acting within the law with acting ethically, especially in the financial community.

Lest it be misunderstood, you can act lawfully and still be unethical.

Legality is a matter of facts, laws, and compliance; ethicality is about making judgements, often in very difficult circumstances.

Her situation in my view was much like the trolley problem in ethics.

For those unfamiliar with this problem, it poses the question, what would you do when you are in a position to save a few lives by diverting a runaway trolley knowing that such a diversion would certainly claim a different life?

What should you do?

Without getting into the details, suffice to say that simply doing nothing is not a good choice as it would cost a number of lives when you had the power to save those lives.

Ms Kochhar cannot justify doing nothing when she became aware of her husband's business deal. She was in a position to have stopped the train wreck when she became aware of the deal, but she didn't

Such a position is not legally untenable, merely morally reprehensible.

Laws are based on the past; they look back and make provisions to prevent the past misdeeds from recurring.

Being 'legal' is about the letter, but not the spirit.

While it seeks to protect against history repeating itself, laws do nothing to stop history mutating and recurring in a slightly different form.

New laws will be needed to prevent that happening again and so on and so forth, ad nauseum.

Placing all of one's faith in the law is like driving your car forwards while looking backwards.

Law does not enable us to drive forward in the face of unforeseen and unknown hazards. We need a strong moral compass to do that.

This diatribe on the law is not an idle essay into jurisprudence and ethics. In our present instance, while Ms Kochhar may have acted legally, did she act ethically? That I would suggest is the core question Justice B N Srikrishna should address.

My own take is that she did not seem to possess an ethical judgement as finely calibrated as her financial one -- or that it failed her in this instance.

I am not saying she actively colluded in anything improper. By not taking a firm stand against her husband's association with her bank's clients, she appeared to have done nothing to prevent the 'improper' happening.

Then the 'improper' happened.

She stood by as the trolley barrelled down and mowed down five people.

She might like to take solace in the argument that she did not participate; I would argue that while she did not murder those in the path of the trolley, her act of non-participation in itself constitutes an act that had a tragic consequences.

When all hell broke loose around her, and quitting that poisonous atmosphere would have been the wisest thing to do, she chose to carry on. Brave, but not wise.

The line between bravery and foolhardiness is a very thin one. This to me is further proof of impaired judgement that could not tell between what was legal and what was right.

Make no mistake, legally she was not and still is not obliged to quit.

But quitting earlier would have placed her personally and as a leader on a very high pedestal, indeed where she belonged until this lapse.

Caesar's wife must be seen to be above suspicion and not merely be Not Guilty.

S Muralidharan retired as managing director, BNP Paribas, after serving the bank for 20 years.
The measures to reduce the current account deficit should have focused far more on narrowing the trade imbalance, principally through export facilitation and linked FDI, says Nitin Desai.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The deteriorating trend of the current account deficit has been known for some time.

But the government reacted only when the fall in the rupee value hit the headlines, possibly because it was concerned about the political fallout in an election year and had to be seen to be doing something.

Recently, it announced some measures. These measures will be touted as a success if the rupee exchange rate fall is arrested.

The view of many economists is that the rupee should be allowed to find its own level so that the impact of the rupee depreciation in stimulating exports and discouraging imports helps reduce the current account deficit.

But these days exchange rates are determined as much by capital flows as by trade imbalances and market expectations.

A falling exchange rate would be a disincentive for new and existing foreign investors, given the expected domestic rate of the return.

Policymakers target exchange rates as they may not be willing to risk such capital outflows given the delicate state of the external balance.

However, the exchange rate is only an instrument.

The real goal must be to reduce the current account deficit which looks like going from 1.9 per cent of GDP last year to about 2.8 per cent this year.

This deficit mirrors an imbalance between the expenditure of domestic households, enterprises and governments and the income generated by production within the country.

This implies that any measure directed at reducing the current account deficit must be shown to be effective in reducing the imbalance between domestic expenditure and income.

The best way to reduce current account deficit is to stimulate exports which will reduce the income-expenditure gap and help to revive growth.

Indias exports grew rapidly during the boom years when the world economy was expanding at four per cent plus and continued to grow even after the 2008 crisis.

They rose from around one per cent of the global exports in 2006 to 1.7 per cent in 2013.

Since then, Indias share in global exports has remained static.

Export dynamism is possible. The revival of growth in the United States and the severe measures they are taking against Chinese exports will create opportunities for our exporters.

There are short-term measures that the government can take to improve logistics and export finance, including a smoother process of GST refunds.

But the package of measures announced has very little to say on these issues.

The package is more vocal on reducing imports, presumably with higher tariffs.

The intention is to target products whose reduced availability will not affect domestic production.

Around 60-65 per cent of India's imports are non-competing raw materials and intermediates.

They involve raw materials that we just do not have, such as crude oil, and intermediates such as components for cellphones for which adequate production capacities do not exist in the country.

Around 20 per cent consists capital goods which the government will not want to touch for fear of discouraging investment, whose revival is a key policy goal right now.

That leaves about 10 per cent of imports that consist consumer goods which the government could try and contain with higher tariffs.

However, the government should first look at outflows (under the liberalised remittance scheme), which were over $11 billion last year, the bulk of it for travel, gifts, education and remittances to relatives.

It should be possible to reduce these through taxes or lowered limits without any adverse effect on productivity.

Panicky tariff increases on manufactures, on the other hand, run the risk of reversing the tariff reductions that have stimulated efficiency, cost reduction and global competitiveness in Indian industry.

The real problem is with the third set of measures designed to encourage Indian corporations to borrow abroad and foreign portfolio investors to invest in the Indian debt market.

This will not reduce the current account deficit. It can only improve access to global capital markets to finance this deficit.

With the deficit going up by about one per cent of GDP, the extra inflow of international finance that we need is about $20 billion, if the trade imbalance is not addressed more vigorously than in the proposal.

Because of the sanctions on Iran, crude oil prices are under pressure.

If oil prices rise by another $10 per barrel, with net oil imports running currently at about four million barrels per day, the financing requirement will go up by another $15 billion.

These estimates are additional to the current level of flows, which are assumed to continue - a brave assumption given the current conditions in global capital markets.

The borrowing relaxations are the core of the package at present.

The most problematic one is that borrowers in foreign currency will not have to hedge their future liabilities which saves the current foreign exchange premium cost of four-five per cent.

But this does not reduce risk. Corporations concerned about their debt position, of which there are many, would not do this.

The ones who will take advantage of this concession are the short-sighted ones who prefer to reduce current costs and take on significant medium-term risks.

On masala bonds, Indian banks will come in as guarantors and foreign portfolio investment in corporate debt will have wider scope.

Consider the scale of additional borrowing required against recent levels of inflow.

According to the balance of payments data, over the past five years ending FY 2018, the average net inflow from commercial borrowings was $507 million and from portfolio investment was $14.5 billion.

Rupee-denominated masala bonds raised about Rs 50 crore over the past two years.

How can these flows go up by $20 billion this year?

Even if this is plausible, is it reasonable to burden our over-leveraged corporations and the banking system reeling under the weight of non-performing assets (NPAs) with this order of debt?

Frankly, we seem to be working our way towards a new NPA crisis.

The measures to reduce the current account deficit should have focused far more on narrowing the trade imbalance, principally through export facilitation and linked FDI.

That would have impressed global capital markets more than the borrowing relaxations that have been announced.
Given that India gets a huge part of its oil supplies from Iran through government-owned oil PSUs, any unwelcome shocks in global crude rates could be absorbed well enough, reports Aveek Sen.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Crude oil jumped by more than 1 percent on Tuesday, November 13, the biggest one-day increase in a month.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 80 cents on the day to $70.98 a barrel.

This came after Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih announced a cut of half a million barrels per day starting December. Along with its partners, the Saudis proposed a cut of around one million barrels per day (bpd) from present levels.

Ahead of the meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC key producers Al-Falih had said there was no consensus yet on a broader output cut. The meeting of the joint ministerial monitoring committee in Abu Dhabi will not take decisions, the ministers said, but will propose recommendations for a crucial ministerial meeting in Vienna early in December.

Among those attending the meeting in Abu Dhabi were Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Oman's Oil Minister Mohammed al-Rumhi and UAE Energy Minister Suheil al-Mazroue.

Production from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States alone has risen by 1.05 million bpd in the last three months based on official output figures.

'This has left OPEC scrambling to adjust its own output, which, at around 33.3 million bpd, accounts for roughly a third of the total global daily supply,' Reuters reports.

'An official from group member Kuwait said on Monday major oil exporters had over the weekend 'discussed a proposal for some kind of cut in (crude) supply next year', although the official did not provide any detail.

'One of OPEC's biggest problems right now is the surge in US output.'

'One thing that is abundantly clear, OPEC is in for a shale shocker as US crude production increased to a record 11.6 million barrels per day and will cross the 12 million threshold next year,' Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at futures brokerage Oanda in Singapore, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"Under US pressure Saudi Arabia did increase production (to offset the impact of non-availability of Iran oil), but they have been trying since the last two years to take crude price to 80 dollars per barrel or more," explains S C Tripathi, former secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas.

"The Saudis will use every opportunity to take prices higher, the production cut announcement itself will push price higher," adds Tripathi.

"I fully expect some form of production restraint from the producers," says Vandana Hari of Vanda Insights, a Singapore-based provider of intelligence on the global energy markets.

"Whether it happens as a formal production cut when they meet in December or it happens a little more informally," Hari adds. "That Saudi Arabia reduces its own supply or over-supply and perhaps takes Russia along as well with agreement between the two producers. That remains to be seen. But I don't think OPEC would like to see the market swing to another over-supply in 2019. It certainly would not want to see Brent crude slip below $70."

"I think they will try and defend a $70 floor for Brent," Hari points out. "In short, of course, there could be exceptional circumstances. I don't think the outlook with regard to strong production growth in non-OPEC in 2019 or a deceleration in demand growth in 2019. I don't think that outlook itself is likely to change in the coming months."

"What could change though is, of course, unforeseen situations where you have another major outage in Libya, Nigeria or even elsewhere," warns Hari. "In that case, all bets are off."

"But barring that, if the scenario remains going into December as it is today -- inventories are rising, crude markets are in a contango, there is enough supply in the physical market and demand expectations are being tempered for 2019, then I do expect supply restraint from the producers."

"Right now," says Narendra Taneja, a BJP spokesperson and energy expert, "the market is self-supplied. Any production cuts don't have a big impact. OPEC is a divided house with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait on one side and Iran and others on the other."

"The US agreed to give some countries, including India, waivers for oil imports from Iran," Taneja adds. "The supply constraints are taking care of. The market is well supplied. There is no unusual rise in demand."

"A small cut of half a million barrels by Saudi Arabia will not have much effect in the short term."

"The Saudis had even asked for a cut of one million barrels per day," Taneja points out. "These are just proposals as of now. Only in December, when the OPEC meets will we know for sure. In the past, Saudi Arabia has even spoken about pulling out of OPEC and forming a new cartel, the super OPEC."

Asked if the increased supply from the Kirkuk oil fields in Iraq will have any effect on oil prices in India, Taneja says all oil fields in Iraq are major suppliers to India.

Iraq, he adds, is trying to overtake Saudi Arabia in global oil sales.

Oil to India and China, he explains, is more expensive than that sold to the West as "we have to pay what is known as the 'Asian premium'."

Asked about discounts to India in oil purchases from Iran, he says that no discounts are generally offered.

The only relief is that the credit line is longer -- it is not three, but six weeks.

Iran also offers to deliver at Indian ports and takes care of the shipping.

"Moreover, given the geography, shipping time from Iran is four days and is cheaper compared to from West Africa, the US or Venezuela."

Iranian journalist Hossein Lotfi says Teheran will grant discounts to India because Saudi Arabia is competing with Iran.

Mojtaba Mousavi, editor, Iran's View, an Iran-based Web site covering Iran's domestic and international affairs, says, "This (announcement) can just stop a further decline in crude oil rates. Some OPEC members thought they could replace Iranian oil after US sanctions."

"I don't think oil prices will rise again," says Mousavi. "The US is also trying to keep oil prices low so it can try to cut Iran oil exports while preventing Iran from benefiting much from oil exports."

Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister al-Falih and discussed the way forward with the mega refinery in Maharashtra.

He also supervised the signing of an MoU between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to explore possibilities of the latter storing its crude in India's strategic petroleum reserve in Padur, Karnataka, which has a capacity of 17 million barrels.

In the coming weeks it will be clear how the global crude oil rate changes will impact India in case of a rise.

But it seems, for now, there won't be any unwelcome shocks.

Moreover, given that India gets a huge part of its oil supplies from Iran through government-owned oil PSUs, any unwelcome shocks in global crude rates could be absorbed well enough.

Aveek Sen, an independent journalist, covers cyber security and the geopolitics of India's neighbourhood, focusing on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh.
There is as yet no clarity on how the process of consulting with the RBI Governor, initiated under Section 7 of the RBI Act, would unfold in the coming days. The government is keen that its suggestions made in the public interest should be heeded by the central bank, says A K Bhattacharya.

The forthcoming meeting of the central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), scheduled for November 19, is likely to be no less stormy than the one that was held in Mumbai on October 23, which was soon followed by a series of developments that brought to the fore differences between the central bank and the Union finance ministry.

Government nominees on the board of the RBI will be making a presentation on why the central bank should consider accepting all the suggestions made by the finance ministry in its communication to RBI Governor Urjit Patel on October 10.

That communication had used the provisions of consultation with the RBI Governor under Section 7 of the RBI Act.

These suggestions include doing away with the requirement on exposure limit of 20 per cent of the foreign portfolio investments in corporate bond portfolios of a single corporate group, removing the requirements of mandatory hedging for infrastructure loans of less than 10 years maturity, setting up a special refinance window for non-banking finance companies, housing finance companies and mutual funds, creating a facility for banks to raise $30 billion, and a review of the economic capital framework for bringing it in line with the requirements of the RBI Act.

Sources aware of these developments told Business Standard that the RBI Governors reply received earlier showed that the central bank did not see eye to eye on most of these proposals.

Hence, one of the finance ministry nominees on the board of the RBI would make a detailed presentation on November 19 to impress upon the Governor, his team, and the entire board the need to consider the governments suggestions favourably.

Another issue likely to come up at the forthcoming board meeting is RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharyas hard-hitting speech on October 26, where he warned that there would be adverse consequences when governments did not honour the independence of the central bank.

Questions over the propriety and correctness of such a speech would be raised by government nominees on the board.

The RBI board meeting on October 23 had seen a presentation from the financial services departments secretary, who is also on the board, on why the RBI Governor should consider accepting about half a dozen other suggestions made to him in another communication and using consultation provisions under Section 7 of the RBI Act.

That meeting was one of the longest in recent times and ended inconclusively.

The suggestions made in that communication, sent also during the first half of October, pertained to the application of Basel III norms to banks that are not internationally active, building up a capital conservation buffer during periods of stress, the need for keeping the RBI capital adequacy norms at 1 per cent higher than Basel III norms, the efficacy of the framework for prompt corrective action for banks in restoring banks to health, the need for high-risk weights for credit to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and enhancement of opportunities for rectification and restructuring of MSMEs loan accounts.

Within three days of the RBI board meeting, Acharya delivered the A D Shroff Memorial lecture, underlining the need for preserving the central banks independence.

Even as there was speculation that the tension might escalate, the finance ministry on October 31 put out a statement that was aimed at bringing down the temperature.

The statement reiterated that the government considered the autonomy for the central bank within the framework of the RBI Act an essential and accepted governance requirement.

More importantly, it said that the government has nurtured and respected this basic principle.

It is still not clear if the temperature has actually come down.

On November 2, the Economic Affairs Secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg, made a statement on social media, raising questions over Acharyas warning of the markets punishing governments that dont honour the central banks independence.

Gargs tweet said: Rupee trading at less than 73 to a dollar, Brent crude below $73 a barrel, markets up by over 4% during the week and bond yields below 7.8 per cent. Wrath of the markets?

By the same evening, the RBI had put up on its website a speech delivered by its Deputy Governor, N S Vishwanathan, a few days ago on October 29.

Vishwanathan questioned the need for treating a defaulter differently just because it may have faced some special external circumstances.

Observers noted that Vishwanathans speech was put up on the RBI website only on November 2, and not on October 29 when the speech was delivered.

Acharyas speech was delivered on October 26 and put up on its website on the same day.

There is as yet no clarity on how the process of consulting with the RBI Governor, initiated under Section 7 of the RBI Act, would unfold in the coming days.

The government is keen that its suggestions made in the public interest should be heeded by the central bank.

Whether that is ensured by issuing a directive or convincing the RBI will be known in the next few weeks.

Under Section 7 of the RBI Act, the Union government may, after consultation with the RBI Governor, give such directions to the central bank as may be necessary in the public interest.

Section 7 also provides that subject to any such directions, the general superintendence and direction of the affairs and business of the Bank can be entrusted to a central board of directors which may exercise all powers and do all acts and things which may be exercised or done by the Bank.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
'Indian and Iranian sources both confirmed to me that India and Iran are moving ahead to implement a payment system on buying oil from Iran and hope to finalise it very soon,' says Aveek Sen.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a speech delivered at Tehran University to mark the beginning of the new academic year, said the Trump administration wants to bring about a 'regime change' in Iran using the tool of economic war.

Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri downplayed the possible future impact of US sanctions that will roll out on November 4.

Much before the US's November sanctions, Jahangiri sai ,some clients had stopped buying Iran's oil, but Tehran had still found new buyers for its crude oil.

In a hint at India (and China among others), Jahangiri said Iran is in talks with 'its traditional partners' to find ways to bypass US sanctions.

Who these traditional buyers of Iran's oil are will be clear after the implementation of US sanctions in November, Jahangiri added.

'America will certainly not be able to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero,' Jahangiri declared, adding, 'America thinks Saudi Arabia can replace this oil. But right now Iran's oil has reached more than $80 and with half the previous exports we will have the same income as before.'

The Trump administration has called on all buyers of Iranian oil to cut imports to zero. However, analysts in India feel that what the US wants is only a reduction in Indian oil imports from Iran.

Indian government owned oil companies don't seem likely to halt their imports as India only recognises United Nations backed sanctions.

Moreover, it isn't technically feasible for oil importers to implement the sanctions within a few months of the US announcement.

However, private sector oil companies, due to their exposure to the US financial system, have cut down imports drastically -- and that is what the US desired and not actual zero oil imports from Iran.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated last month that Washington would consider waivers on the embargo, adding that these waivers would be time-limited, if granted.

The recent OPEC discussion with Saudi Arabia and Russia over a production increase (which also created some discomfort in Iran over Russia's stance), also signals that notwithstanding US demands, it can't dent Iran's crude oil sales by any significant scale.

Last week, oil prices rose to a four-year high with Brent crude crossing $86 per barrel.

Iran is India's third-largest supplier of crude oil, after Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

According to the Press Trust of India, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi will brainstorm with chief executives of Indian oil companies on the emerging energy scenario, with the ripples from US sanctions on Iran and volatile oil prices threatening India's growth.

"I think Iran will turn again to the east. Not only will our trade with India, China grow, but we'll see significant growth in our trade with South East Asian countries such as Indonesia," Mojtaba Mousavi, editor, Iran's View, an Iran-based Web site covering Iran's domestic and international affairs, told me.

"Iran-India cooperation during the last round of US sanctions were fruitful," Mousavi added, "though some problems were experienced. For example, India forced Iran to barter oil for certain Indian goods, none of which was needed in Iran."

"On the other hand," Mousavi pointed out, "ndia's slow progress and reluctance to fast-track the development of Chabahar port were used as a ruse by pro-Western elements in Iran to force the system to go with the Europeans after JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or Iran's nuclear deal with the West struck by the Obama administration)."

"With regard to India," Mousavi said, "I believe Iran missed the opportunity after the JCPOA to prepare the ground for easier cooperation with its traditional partners. For example, if we had established a currency swap with India along the lines of what was done with Turkey, we would have had better days now."

"Thanks to the currency swap agreement with Turkey," Mousavi pointed out, "all of our trade will be based on the rial and lira, no dollars will be involved, and it will be immune from US banking sanctions. Russia and Turkey also went for a similar solution to confront US sanctions."

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that two State refiners have placed orders to import crude oil from Iran in November.

New Delhi did not know if it will receive a waiver from US sanctions, Pradhan said, adding that the government is considering evolving a different payment system to import Iran's oil. It could pay using Indian rupees in an attempt to dump the US dollar.

Indian Oil and Mangalore Refinery have contracted to import 1.25 million tonnes of Iranian oil in November, the month when US sanctions against Iran's oil sector kick in.

Indian Oil, newspaper reports said, will importing the 'usual' monthly volume of oil from Iran. It had planned to import 9 million tonnes of Iranian oil in the 2018-2019 fiscal (April 2018 to March 2019) or 0.75 million tonnes a month.

'Some of our companies have already nominated their quota for November,' Pradhan was quoted as saying. 'We expect the global leaders will understand our requirements.'

This is in line with how Indian observers see the US sanctions, not as a blanket ban. In the coming weeks, it will be clear what the US actually means by zero oil imports from Iran.

My sources tell me a favourable waiver from the US is expected.

Indian and Iranian sources both confirmed to me that India and Iran are moving ahead to implement a payment system on buying oil from Iran and hope to finalise it very soon.

Photograph: Reuters
The oil cartel's decision to maintain the production ceiling at its 2016 level, despite the recovery of the world economy, will ensure shortfalls in supply and high oil prices in the foreseeable future, warns Ambassador D P Srivastava.

IMAGE: Iran's Opec Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili at the Opec ministerial monitoring committee in Algiers, Algeria, September 23, 2018. Photograph: Ramzi Boudina/Reuters

The 174th meeting of Opec oil ministers on June 22 took place against the background of US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

US sanctions, once they kick in after a six-month grace period in November, are expected to reduce Iran's exports.

This coupled with reduction of Venezuelan oil supplies, and continued disruption in Libyan supplies, had sent oil prices shooting up.

This does not suit the US in an election year. The house and senate elections will take place in November. If the Republicans lose their house majority, it would increase the risk sof impeachment of President Donald J Trump who is facing a widened probe by Robert Mueller.

Mr Trump had put out a tweet on high oil prices before the Opec meeting. Saudi Arabia was expected to push for a lifting of the production freeze to bring down the price.

Despite the convergence of geo-political interests, oil prices have gone up in the immediate aftermath of the Opec meeting.

The price of Brent, an international benchmark, rose by $2.5 to $75.55 per barrel.

WTI, the US marker, saw a sharper increase to $68.58 per barrel.

Why did the lifting of the production freeze see an increase in price?

The Opec press release of June 22 recalled its decision of November 30, 2016, for a 'production adjustment of 1.2 million barrels per day'.

There was an additional commitment of reduction by non-Opec oil producers by 0.6 million barrels per day.

The Opec statement noted that the actual reduction exceeded its commitment by 152 per cent in May 2018.

The decision of the Opec meeting was to bring the reduction to 100 per cent of its commitment two years ago.

This in effect means that though the production rises slightly, the organisation maintains the ceiling at 2016 levels.

This does not take into account the recovery of the world economy -- and oil demand -- in the past two years.

The result is continued shortfall in supply, driving prices higher.

Opec's decision had to be endorsed the next day by a meeting of Opec and non-Opec oil ministers.

While the OPEC delegation was led by its president, the UAE oil minister, the non-Opec oil producing countries' delegation was headed by the Russian oil minister.

The meeting agreed to meet the production 'adjustment' at 100 per cent of the level agreed in November 2016.

The fact that Opec has to depend upon Russia to take a decision shows that it can no longer give the market signal. The cartel accounts for around 40 per cent of oil exports.

Before the Opec meeting, there was an informal meeting of the Saudi and Iranian oil ministers. Iran was opposed to relaxing the production freeze and lowering prices.

Higher oil prices are its only cushion against progressive reduction in its oil exports once the US sanctions start taking effect.

In the event, Iran was probably not disappointed. Though it could not prevent re-opening of the production level, it could minimise its effect.

Saudi caution contrasts with its decision in November 2014 when it blocked any agreement on a production ceiling at the Opec meeting.

At the time, the kingdom was trying to queer the pitch against Iran coming out of a long period of sanctions by forcing down prices. Its moderation now is not a sign of rapprochement with its eastern neighbour.

The kingdom is preparing for Aramco's initial public offer and hopes high oil prices will yield a better valuation.

While making a reference to its commitment to 'market stability', the Opec statement emphasised the return of 'confidence and investment to the oil industry'.

It is obviously a price cartel, not a consumer forum.

The Opec statement did not mention any figures regarding the production level, and how the cut is to be distributed among its various members. The ambiguity is calculated to allow various stakeholders to claim victory in their respective constituencies.

Opec obviously will bear the brunt, and affect most of the 'cuts', as the joint statement with non-Opec producers does not mention any reduction on their part.

Or is it an increase, as the production would recover from 152 per cent below the November 2016 level, to 100 per cent? Perhaps the latter is closer to the truth.

There were curious reports that the agreement on a production 'freeze' was reached on the understanding that no country can eat into other member State's market share.

This would be an understandable caution, which Iran would expect. Why would Saudi Arabia, or UAE, agree to this?

Perhaps the answer again is to avoid a break-down of the understanding completely, which happened after the November 2014 meeting, and resulted in a downward price spiral.

What made it easier for Opec to calibrate its decision, which actually led to higher prices, is that shale oil is removed from the calculus.

In the past, Opec always feared that higher oil prices will help shale producers, who have to contend with higher production costs.

Thus, an Opec decision to cut production actually meant loss of market to shale producers. This fear is temporarily removed due to saturation in the US pipeline network, which makes it difficult to bring additional oil to the market.

It is partly a result of the success of shale producers who have reduced production costs and shown their resilience even at prices below $50 per barrel.

The Opec decision means no relief to consuming countries. The June decision will come up for review only in November 2018.

By that time, new Iran sanctions imposed by the Trump administration would start to bite. All indications are that oil prices will remain high in the foreseeable future.

High oil prices will no doubt increase India's current account deficit, and also the subsidy burden for LPG.

Going by President Trump's tweets before the Opec meet, perhaps he also does not have ground to rejoice. The US consumer will have to pay higher prices.

Indeed, there will be few winners in this game, as high oil prices make alternative sources of energy increasingly more attractive, an outcome Opec surely does not want.

D P Srivastava was the Indian Ambassador in Libya and Iran, and has also served in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He is currently Distinguished Fellow at the Vivekanand International Foundation.
If indeed the issues involved between the government and RBI are of immense public interest, why not make public the arguments of both the government and the RBI, irrespective of the outcome of the process, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

In the Indian central banks 83-year history, two governors resigned before their terms ended -- Sir Osborne Smith (in 1937) and Sir Benegal Rama Rau (1957).

While Smith couldnt stomach the governments wont to dominate the central bank, Rau resigned due to differences with then finance minister T T Krishnamachari.

At least two other governors -- K R Puri and R N Malhotra -- had their tenures cut short following changes in the government.

Did Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel offer to resign recently?

We will know if he chooses to write a book later like some of his predecessors.

Will he or any of the deputy governors -- particularly Viral Acharya who has been vocal about the governments lack of respect for the central banks independence, and N Vishwanathan, in charge of banking and non-banking regulations -- quit in future? Thats in the realm of speculation.

The RBIs fight for autonomy and the governments periodic iteration of respect for it are as old as the central bank itself.

What makes the current round unique is the use of Section 7 of the RBI Act by the government to direct the RBI on certain things which the central bank does not find fit to be done.

The government has never taken this route to assert itself, empowered by this particular provision.

Section 7 gives power to the government to give such directions to the Bank as it may, after consultation with the governor of the Bank, consider necessary in the public interest.

Combining two sections of the Bank of England Act, 1946, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia Act, 1945, this clause was inserted in 1949 into the RBI Act when the central bank was nationalised.

Then governor C D Deshmukh wanted the government to take the responsibility for its action if ever it decides to act against the advice of the governor but the idea did not find favour with then finance minister John Mathai.

So Section 4 of the Bank of England Act, which says, The Treasury may from time to time give such directions to the Bank as, after consultation with the Governor of the Bank, they think necessary in the public interest, was lifted and fitted into the RBI Act.

Should it be abolished? Many feel so but thats a different story.

Incidentally, the government also has the power to appoint/reappoint the governor and deputy governors and remove them as well as any other director or member of a local board.

If the RBI fails to carry out its obligations under the Act, the government can even supersede its central board.

To be sure, the governments right to direct is not confined to the RBI alone. This is true about other regulators as well.

For instance, Section 16 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, empowers the government to issue directions on questions of policy as the central government may give in writing to it from time to time.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, the State Bank of India Act and the Competition Act all have this provision.

Even the regulators outside the financial system -- the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, International Airports Authority and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission -- are subjected to face this.

But what is unique about the RBI Act is that the government needs to consult the governor before directing it and the action must be in public interest" as opposed to the matters of policy in case of other regulators.

Consultation ensures that the government gets the benefit of the governors views on matters of public interest but the Act is silent on what happens if the governors views differ from that of the government. It also does not define what is public interest.

In the past few weeks, the government has sent three "directives" for consultation with the governor under Section 7 of the RBI Act.

It wants relaxation of the prompt corrective action (PCA) norms that restrains a banks activities, including lending.

Currently, 11 banks are under PCA and the government wants these banks to be able to lend to credit-starved medium and small enterprises.

It also wants the RBI to soften its February 12 directive to the banks that abolished all loan recast platforms and forced the banks to take all defaulters, including the power units, to the insolvency court.

It also wants the regulator to ensure liquidity for the non-banking finance companies, reeling under asset-liability mismatches. (I have not seen the notes but heard from people in Delhi and Mumbai.)

All eyes are now on the November 19 meeting of the RBI board which will take up the residual issues that could not be discussed at the October 23 meeting, despite it being the longest in recent history.

My guess is that the issues raised by the government need to be sorted out not at the board meeting but between the governor and the government.

Patel has probably sent back his views to the government, ending the consultation process.

If he does not want to budge from his stance, what can the government do? It can see merit in the governors arguments and decide against going ahead with its plan, or overrule Patel.

If indeed the government does so, will it be a blow to the RBIs autonomy? A no-confidence in Patel, and hence, should he/his team resign?

Since it is enshrined in the Act, it cannot be interpreted as an attack on the RBIs independence.

But the point to note is this provision has never been used in the past 69 years -- this bears testimony to the fact that it is meant to be used for the rarest of rare cases.

Do the current issues fall in this category?

Once used, there is always a risk of repeat of such actions by the government in future.

If indeed the issues involved are of immense public interest, why not make public the arguments of both the government and the RBI, irrespective of the outcome of the process?

Former RBI governor I G Patel once said: Dont nitpick. Pick your battles. Once you have picked your battles, fight those battles valiantly.

Junior Patel is probably following Senior Patels advice. Let the public know who stands where -- both the government and the governor.

Resignation is no solution to the impasse.

Tamal Bandyopadhyay, a consulting editor with Business Standard, is an author.
The Delhi metropolitan area has one of the highest concentrations of population in the world, and suffocating the people of the area on an annual basis should be treated as a crime against humanity, especially when the cause for such suffocation can be controlled, says Arvind Kumar.

Until a few years ago, when farmers in Punjab burnt the remnants of the rice crops in their fields in preparation for sowing wheat, the smoke from such fires was confined to Punjab.

According to a publication of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (external link) published in 1991, 'At the end of September and in early October, it becomes difficult to travel in the rural areas of Punjab because the air is thick with the smoke of burning paddy straw.'

Clearly, farmers burnt the straw in late September and early October. However, in recent years, farmers have delayed the burning until late October.

This delay is crucial and responsible for the smoke being carried all the way to Delhi. An analysis of the wind flow patterns (external link) reveals that wind blows into Delhi primarily from the west during the monsoon season, but changes direction in October and starts blowing into Delhi from the north.

The decision to delay the clearing of the fields was not the choice of farmers, but was forced on them by the Punjab government which passed the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act (external link) in 2009.

According to this law, farmers could no longer sow rice in April, but had to wait until the middle of June. Rice has a 120-day period between germination and harvest, and the restriction on sowing means that the fields would be harvested and cleared only in October by which time the direction of wind would have changed.

Delhi's problem of being covered by smoke started right after this law was implemented.

Before this law was passed, the problem in Delhi was limited to vehicular and industrial pollution and there were no reports of the entire metropolitan area being enveloped by smoke.

This piece of legislation was passed ostensibly to preserve groundwater, the depletion of which was blamed on rice fields which supposedly used too much water and which were prone to evaporation, but this argument is a very tenuous one.

According to the International Water Management Institute, water in rice fields contributes to recharging the groundwater (external link) and very little of it is lost to evaporation.

The data from Uttar Pradesh in IWMI's report too shows that rice fields in the state contributed to increasing the level of the water table, thus supporting the claim that water in rice fields replenishes the aquifers.

The group that has been primarily responsible for exerting pressure to move away from growing rice in the name of 'crop diversification' is the United States Agency for International Development.

Over a period of several years, it has used the excuse of preventing the decline of groundwater (external link) to push this agenda.

USAID has a worldwide reputation of behaving like a front group for American multinational corporations such as Monsanto, and so it should come as no surprise that Monsanto is at the forefront of the purported solution for Punjab's problems.

Apparently, if farmers stop growing rice and replace it with Monsanto's GMO maize, the problem will be solved.

India's surplus food grain supply is an uncomfortable fact for Monsanto and other proponents of GMO food who insist that the world would face a shortage of food grains if not for genetically engineered plants sold by Monsanto.

It is in this light that one must view Monsanto's collusion with the Punjab government and their joint efforts targeting the production of rice in India.

In 2012, then Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal asked Monsanto to set up a research centre for creating maize seeds and announced plans (external link) to reduce the area under the cultivation of rice by around 45 percent in order to grow maize.

Monsanto typically co-opts not only politicians but also members of the academia and converts them into its shills.

Little wonder then that the fear-mongering about the cultivation of rice reached a feverish pitch a few years back in the form of a campaign advertisement (external link) from a group of 'eminent scientists' who appealed, 'Chonne hetho rakba katao, Pani Bachao, Punjab Bachao (Reduce the area under rice, save water, save Punjab).'

Monsanto now offers the replacement of rice by its GMO crops as a solution that will increase the level of subsoil water, but the multinational corporation is the cause of the problem.

Its fertilisers and pesticides have accumulated in the ground over the years and this has led to poor retention of moisture in the soil, (external link) leading farmers to pump excessive amounts of underground water.

The new law reducing the time period during which farmers are permitted to grow rice has further accentuated this problem. Farmers had developed their own method of crop diversification by growing multiple varieties of rice and staggering the time of sowing these varieties over a period of two months beginning in April.

The loss of the ability of farmers to easily diversify their rice crop combined with the fact that late sown rice is vulnerable to diseases and pests has created a fear in farmers of losing their crop leading them to use greater amounts of pesticides and fertilisers further degrading the soil and its ability to retain water.

Monsanto's GMO products are known to cause several problems. Its maize is known for killing bees (external link) leading to a shortage of seeds of plants such as onions which depend on bees for pollination.

Several European countries have banned its maize as its pollen has been responsible for killing entire colonies of bees.

Monsanto's GMO maize is also not fit for human consumption and is primarily used as chicken feed. Likewise, most of Monsanto's wheat is used to feed animals because it is unfit for human consumption.

Thus the government's plan to replace the cultivation of rice -- which is the staple food for a large section of the population of India -- by Monsanto's chicken feed is a cynical move that will result in government created food shortages in the country.

The problems related to the low levels of groundwater and the inability of the soil to retain moisture must be solved, but the solution should not be a drastic one such as creating famines by banning food items such as rice.

Before the level of groundwater fell in Punjab, the state experienced a problem of water-logging which was partially solved by pumping out the excess groundwater.

Thus, it is clear that an acceptable level of the water table can be maintained by finding a proper balance between the two extreme situations.

Today, farmers burn the residual straw from the cultivation of rice as it is the cheapest method of clearing the fields. A ban on such burning will destroy the livelihood of small farmers and give way to industrial farming with a few large corporations such as Monsanto owning all the land and resources.

The government has already helped large corporations through a slew of measures and it must not take any more steps that run the small farmers out of business.

Instead, if it wants to prevent burning, it must help small farmers clear the fields between the rice and wheat seasons and implement proper water management solutions.

This would mean going against the rules set forth by the World Trade Organisation which has mandated that no business other than American multinational corporations can receive aid or subsidies from the government, and any subsidy given to American businesses will be done under the cover of 'research grants' funnelled through universities.

India should completely ignore these rules and fix its problems, not the least of which is the yearly phenomenon of smoke cover over Delhi.

The Delhi metropolitan area has one of the highest concentrations of population in the world, and suffocating the people of the area on an annual basis should be treated as a crime against humanity, especially when the cause for such suffocation can be controlled.

Although smoke from fields remaining within Punjab is also a problem that needs to be dealt with, it is not as severe a problem as in Delhi, as the smoke in Punjab would be spread over a larger area with a much lower population density.

For now, a step that should be taken immediately in order to prevent Delhi from becoming a gas chamber for several days every November, is to revoke what should rightfully be called the Monsanto Profit Act of 2009 and farmers should be allowed to sow their rice crop whenever they deem it fit to do so.

Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo.

Arvind Kumar is an expert on technology and economic issues and can be reached at arvind@classical-liberal.net
Did men and women of redoubtable experience and public service, upholders of the country's steel frame and paragons of corporate governance, never smell a rat? asks Sunil Sethi.

Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

The collapse of development conglomerate Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) is one of the gripping financial whodunits of our time.

It brings to mind a popular Sherlock Holmes mystery in which a prize-winning race horse goes missing before an important race, and its trainer also vanishes.

The entire story hinges on the 'curious incident of the dog in the night-time'. If the nefarious goings-on happened in the presence of a watchdog, why didn't the dog bark?

That, concludes Holmes, is precisely the point.

The intruder was known to the dog.

The curiosity of the mismanagement at IL&FS, of Titanic-sized proportions that's gone down with a debt of Rs 910 billion, is that there were watchdogs aplenty.

Its independent directors, now sacked, included stellar names of Indian industry such as Maruti Chairman R C Bhargava and former banker and IT entrepreneur Jerry Rao.

Public sector behemoths such as Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India, custodians of the savings of millions, are among its owners.

No one protested or resigned as the ship began to sink though there is finger-pointing now at obstructionist shareholders and unreliable auditors.

Several high-ranking civil servants were on its payrolls.

While some quit government to join as paid-up IL&FS employees on fancy salaries others such as D K Mittal and Aruna Sundarajan, later banking and telecom secretaries, respectively, had their moment in the sun on deputation to the company.

Did these men and women of redoubtable experience and public service, upholders of the country's steel frame and paragons of corporate governance, never smell a rat?

Did they not ask how IL&FS secured endless state government projects, virtually from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, in building everything from tunnels, toll bridges and hi tech cities to verticals in water, power and engineering?

Or some of the unscrupulous ways and means by which it made money and spent it before going belly-up?

If the company's large network of political, bureaucratic and banking connections reeks of favour-trading, conflict of interest and dereliction of duty, not much is known about its creator, Ravi Parthasarathy, who presided over a byzantine maze of several hundred subsidiaries and joint ventures for two decades.

Other than he enjoyed smoking pipes, was a Wimbledon fan and rewarded himself with a fat pay hike, the IIM-Ahmedabad graduate and former banker is an enigmatic figure; more so since he left for London after stepping down, citing health problems before the approaching storm.

Whether the authorities -- now embarked on a fraud inquiry -- can bring him back, or he will join stayers-on like Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi is an open question.

Although IL&FS had its tentacles everywhere Mr Parthasarthy is said to have run a tight ship.

The business analyst Sucheta Dalal gives examples of the company's 'flamboyant, high-spending ways' and its complex, pyramid-like structure with a few cronies pirouetting at the apex like obsolete managing agency-style bosses -- shades of long-nationalised firms like Andrew Yule and Bird & Co.

Land from state governments was often acquired at throwaway prices, then 'any cost or fee that could be pushed past the state government was loaded on to the project' before it even got off the ground.

Ms Dalal quotes instances of the Tirupur water project in Tamil Nadu and the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company where huge profits were skimmed off and ended in litigation.

Justice V Ramasubramanian of the Madras high court noted: 'Investing more money just for the purpose of servicing a debt is neither a prudent business decision nor in the interest of the public.'

Mr Parthasarathy was kicked out of the roadways joint venture and the government took over.

The case of the NOIDA Toll Bridge company was as flagrant.

IL&FS sold part of the government land for a nice profit but when costs escalated it sought to increase the concession period from 30 to 100 years!

It was only when the toll-fee paying public woke up to the jiggery-pokery that the Supreme Court intervened to abolish the toll.

Pride of its partnerships is the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, a 359-hectare smart city development on the Sabarmati's banks, better known by the ironic acronym GIFT.

However, GIFT's head auditor D C Anjaria alleged in 2016 that the Rs 700 billion venture was practically a gift to IL&FS and cause of heavy losses to the Gujarat exchequer.

As in the twisted Sherlockian mystery of the disappeared race horse and its trainer, the puzzle is that none of the guard dogs barked at the growing IL&FS debt on loan defaults.

Of this distinguished assembly of captains of industry, civil servants and bankers were also representatives of public sector shareholders and foreign investors.

Yet they blindly followed the old axiom: Government and management are always right.

Except management is wrong when government says so.

The watchdogs that didn't bark have now come back to bite the government -- at the taxpayers' expense of course.
China is on the lookout for investment pastures where its money is welcome, safe and earns a decent return. India also needs vast investment - about $1 trillion over the next 10-15 years - in infrastructure, green energy, transportation and heavy industry, says Ravi Bhoothalingam.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The trade war launched by President Trump against China is in high gear.

Chinese exports to the USA worth $250 billion are now subject to additional imposts.

A further $250 billion could suffer similar - or worse - treatment, if China does not take steps to rectify unfair practices in its trade and intellectual property regimes.

Another blow is the USAs recent renegotiation of its free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico (USMCA) which contains a significant clause - that any party to that treaty can pull out of it if one of them signs a free trade agreement with a non-market economy - read China.

All this is not good news for anyone - world trade will take a knock as global supply chains readjust painfully to cope with these realities.

But for China, it is a double whammy. First, there will be a scramble as some of its exporters relocate to other destinations.

Second, if the USA signs USMCA-like trade deals with Europe, Japan and others, China could find its global trade footprint under pressure.

Even if America does not carry out its threat in full measure, its stance could influence allies to constrict their trade with - or investment from - China. This is a warning shot across Chinas bows.

There could be a silver lining for India.

Such a threatened trade encirclement could make China review its stance in the on-going negotiations to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) - a 16-nation free trade agreement which includes China and India but excludes the USA.

Indian industry has been sceptical of any benefits of Indias free trade agreements signed with ASEAN and South Korea, and is particularly fearful that, after RCEP comes into force, duty-free Chinese imports might disembowel a large section of Indian industry.

Thus, India has sought long transition periods before Chinese goods can enjoy RCEP-enabled duty-free access into India, and this constitutes a sticking point in the deal.

But the trade war might prompt the Chinese to take a more accommodative position.

If that happens, will India play ball? Indian industry is deeply divided.

One section feels that India must embrace the RCEP which inter alia will open China to duty-free access, offering vast opportunities for Indian manufacturing and services.

But another section prefers to remain sheltered behind Indias tariff regime, fearing massive business losses if Indian industry faces Chinese competition, whether with transition or not.

In an election year, those risks look scary.

Indias present RCEP moment seems to echo Chinas WTO moment in many ways.

In 2001, China acceded to very strict conditions imposed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) - so harsh, that many hard-boiled trade negotiators wondered if that country had taken a step too far - to join the multilateral trading system.

In the event, China took the leap into the future, with results now evident.

For India too, the RCEP accession may be just the right trigger for Make in India to rise and fly, albeit with some blood, sweat and tears.

This is where China fits in.

Right now, China is rebalancing its economy away from investment to consumption.

And from an export-surplus economy to one with a greater balance in its world trade.

The pressures now faced by China from the USA (and potentially from others) should make it look more seriously at expanding its investment and trade with India, and thus to examine the Sino-Indian bilateral trade deficit with greater care.

Indeed, China can source some of its consumption needs directly from India.

Take medicines. India is rightly called the pharmacy of the world with more than a 40 per cent share of the US generics market.

The healthcare bill for Chinese families can be significantly reduced if their people could buy inexpensive Indian generic pharmaceuticals.

In recent months, a popular Chinese film Dying to Survive depicted the true story of a Chinese leukaemia patient who smuggled cheap anti-cancer generics from India to treat a thousand people afflicted by chronic myeloid leukaemia.

(Arrested for the crime, the man was released after a social media campaign mounted by those patients aroused a public outcry in his favour, and the import rules have since been liberalised.)

China supplies 85 million of the worlds tourists, but only 280,000 Chinese visit India each year.

Promoting Chinese tourism to India could bring huge benefits to India by way of revenue and employment.

There are other possibilities: a 2016 report of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has highlighted five areas where India can increase exports to China, and 18 fields for mutually productive Chinese investment into India.

President Trump has also imposed a stricter scrutiny of Chinas investments - existing and proposed - in the USA.

Other countries too have become wary. So, China is on the lookout for investment pastures where its money is welcome, safe and earns a decent return.

Moreover, Chinas recent setbacks in its Belt-and-Road (BRI) projects in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Pakistan could not have been too comforting.

India, on the other hand, has a stable political environment and a reasonable investment climate with the necessary regulatory controls and sound (though slow) legal processes.

India also needs vast investment - about $1 trillion over the next 10-15 years - in infrastructure, green energy, transportation and heavy industry.

And India will not be a negotiating push-over for China.

Overall, the match seems ideal. Indeed, without such investment, can India achieve the growth rates required to bring prosperity to its people, let alone aim to become a global power?

India thus faces a peculiar dilemma.

On pure economic logic, Chinas investment case makes sense for India.

But that means dealing with a geopolitical rival to strengthen our economic sinews - can we have our cake and eat it too?

To Indias leaders, that poses a crucial challenge, demanding political sagacity and dexterous diplomacy.

Ravi Bhoothalingam is an independent corporate director and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi
"If a business is not collecting the tax where we believe it applies, the city takes the necessary steps and works with the company to ensure compliance with the law," he said.
'Tilting at the government in English in front of India may make him feel like Joan of Arc, but without a feel for Bharat he will merely be Don Quixote,' says S Muraleedharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas.

IMAGE: Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Dr Viral Acharya, second from right, with RBI Governor Dr Urjit Patel.

Recently a deputy governor of the RBI, Viral Acharya, expressed his (strong) views on the need for independence of the RBI. He was airing his views in public in front of a group of businessmen.

In defending his stand, he bordered on fear-mongering, warning of dire consequences in the absence of what he deems 'independence'. Lest there be any misunderstanding that he has gone 'rogue', he added that his boss Urjit Patel encouraged him to explore the issue of 'independence' in the address.

Subsequently the RBI employees have jumped into the fray, needlessly muddying the waters further. Clearly, Dr Acharya chose to address the issue in a manner calculated to get maximum publicity. It also appears calculated to open yet another front against the present dispensation in the run-up to the elections next year and thus exert maximum pressure in favour of the cause he was espousing.

These two factors take his speech out of the realm of monetary management (which is the remit of the RBI) and place it firmly in the minefield of politics which is the domain of political parties.

The presence at the lecture of his peers and the invocation of the Governor's blessings appears intended to suggest that he is not alone and that the entire RBI stands with him.

Is he right in what he said, when he said it, where and how?

Dr Acharya's views were expressed at the A D Shroff memorial lecture in Mumbai at the Forum of Free Enterprise. The lecture was instituted in memory of Mr A D Shroff, an economist who represented India at the Bretton Woods Conference which chalked out the post World War II global economic order. The IMF and World Bank are babies of Bretton Woods.

Mr Shroff himself founded the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956, no doubt anguished by the definitely pink hue that the political economy of India was taking on at that time with the State controlling the heights of the economy.

It has since being espousing the cause of Free Enterprise, evidently without much success, for it took the reserve crisis of 1991 and the political craftiness of Narasimha Rao that set in motion the liberalisation of the economy.

The annual Shroff Memorial lecture is well-attended by businessmen and bankers of the land, hardly the type of platform one would use to air one's differences with the government of the day especially if it is considered fundamental to the success (or failure) of Indian Democracy.

Dr Acharya might have done well to ponder the fact that while this sort of thing is grist to the Westernised Elites' mill, it is largely a non-issue to the vast majority of Indians looking for their next meal and a roof over their heads.

While the English media have hyperventilated and political opponents have took on a stern holier-than-thou sanctimoniousness, the regional media have ignored the issue altogether.

This should serve as an eye opener to all of us whose socio-political (not to mention historical) sensibilities have been developed in and conditioned by a Western framework -- issues that exercise us are not the ones moving the billions.

Therefore, such issues are best debated between the parties concerned in a spirit of mutual respect and give and take -- isn't that what democracy is all about?

Dr Acharya's speech starts with a masterful summarising of the theory of independence of Institutions as the precondition for the success of a democracy. These institutions do not include the Central Bank, but only the Judiciary, Election Commission and (strangely) property rights which is a right, not an institution.

It is evident that while this is a model of governance, predicated upon a free-market liberal democracy with individual rights at its core, this is not the only model for an economy to succeed.

It is unlikely that an erudite man such as Dr Acharya is unaware of exceptions such as China which has contracted with its people to deliver rapid economic prosperity in return for absolute Party control over politics; much of South Korean economic miracle happened under de facto or near-totalitarian (and certainly authoritarian) governments. Even now South Korean democracy is beholden to business Chaebols and its democracy is at best tentative.

The post-WW II Japanese miracle was not wrought through a clash of competing ideas or the Western paradigm of win-or-lose binary logic; but it was based on their traditional paradigm of social harmony and consensus-building.

Suffice it to say far less gifted intellects than Dr Acharya's can see that there are alternate socio-political and economic paradigms for prosperity.

Dr Acharya making 'Institutions' the starting plank of his discourse is troubling. In his support he does wheel out some real big guns. In my view, it was an attempt to tap into the rich vein of intellectual uproar about the erosion of 'democratic institutions' under the present political dispensation.

If that sounds political, it is. Dr Acharya is young and unlikely to recall that the ideological underpinnings for the systematic subversion of the Institutions were proposed, erected, and defended in the 1970s.

Indira Gandhi was firm in her view that the elected government was supreme compared to any or all institutions. To cut a long story short, he had come to the gathering determined to decisively vanquish those he saw as the enemy.

While expatiating on economic management is his turf, his considerable effort to imply that all institutions are under attack and that democracy is imperilled shows to me he had come ready to execute, not enquire or engage.

The rest of his talk concerned the RBI's Independence to pursue Monetary Policy, Exchange Rate Management, Public Debt Management, and Financial Supervision. Considerable focus was also on how the RBI's surplus should be dealt with.

Dr Acharya contends that since elected governments' time horizons are necessarily short and their inclinations essentially populist, experts should be left free to manage these areas. I would not go further than to quote from Georges Clemenceau, 'War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men'.

Dr Acharya might well respond that Mr Clemenceau would have lost a war, but for the British and the Americans. To arrogate to oneself the highest ability and the noblest motive is arrogance and hubris of the highest order, hardly the characteristics that makes an effective business manager, let alone a successful economic manager at the highest level.

Dr Acharya is absolutely right that the government should not own and control banks. That was the result of a cynical political act perpetrated five decades ago which cannot be unwound overnight.

Political parties aren't about to let go of the privilege conferred by owning and controlling banks, especially considering that their political opponents have enjoyed that privilege for decades.

Letting go of anything is difficult and this sort of control on this scale, million times more so. The answer is to convince the government through persistent and unremitting engagement, dialogue and discussion -- leading the central bank of the largest and probably the most fractious democracy isn't easy.

Dr Acharya is also on the dot when he regrets that large sections of the economy served by unregulated lenders vitiate a central bank's control on creating and expanding credit. He is, however, less right when he appears to suggest that the 'shadow banks' or unregulated/lightly regulated lenders are somehow being 'encouraged'.

Nature abhors a vacuum and when there are sectors which have low or no access to credit, informal lenders step in. He might recall that the government killed the chit funds in the 1960s after one or two highly-publicised failures.

Chit funds were then the most effective and flexible means of saving as well as the most readily available source of credit. They were a lifeline for personal and small-business borrowers. Countless are the families, mine included, which could only send their children to college thanks to the chit funds.

NBFCs admittedly have been flourishing through regulatory arbitrage. Be it credit to real estate, film-making, stock-broking, jewellery and gold trade, they were quick to respond. Banks do not know how to lend to these businesses.

If we create a vacuum, someone is sure to step into it.

It is also not possible to regulate everything. Ever since NBFCs came under the RBI's ambit two decades ago, they have found ever ingenious ways of side-stepping the latter's regulations.

Killing them is no solution; coming up with answers to the conundrum of how to let them flourish without losing control over credit and money supply is.

The serious issue is that a vast majority of small businesses and the informal sector do not have easy -- I would even say any -- access to bank credit. It is no exaggeration to claim that the beating heart of India's economy is such businesses which mostly operate from small towns and villages. They also employ a very large number of people.

They mostly fund themselves through community or group chit funds, private 'hand loans' and the like. The manufacuring-centric banking system cannot and will never be able to meet their demands for credit expeditiously and in required quantities. Local informal lenders (perhaps not even recognised as such) are somehow able to perform that role.

Dr Acharya makes a very valid point about the elephant in the room; he cannot be more explicit but I can be. The bureaucratic interference in the work of the RBI and treating the latter as errand boys of the twice-born IAS staffers is an old issue.

How then does one kill the elephant? Take a lesson from how the early man conquered (and ate) mammoths. Kill them by a thousand cuts.

The RBI will have to take the power of and responsibility for supervision slowly and systematically; perhaps starting with the ones the babus may not want to touch with a barge pole: Bad banks.

Smart men and women in the RBI should be able to work out the ways of doing this. Some of the significant progress in the work of the RBI was during the tenure of Governors who had served the government as bureaucrats: Dr Bimal Jalan, Dr Y V Reddy, Dr D Subba Rao, et al.

Knowing how to work the corridors of power and how the political masters are best handled was no doubt an asset. The relatively youthful top echelons in the present-day RBI stands in contrast to the mandarins of North Block as a result of which the former suffer.

But that is the beast. You deal with the cards you are dealt with. They need to think less like the 'experts' that they no doubt are, and put on the 'smart' cap.

The government must on its part must keep its bureaucracy in check and stop them treating special arms of the government like their minions and serfs.

The time to stop it is now.

There are a number of other issues that Dr Acharya points out none of which one can take exception to. But it is the manner he raised the issues, the forum he used to do that and the style in which he did that, which is disconcerting -- to me at least.

Clearly, he was confrontational, alarmist and speaking to the urban elite perhaps hoping to cash in on the groundswell of urban opinion against the present dispensation. This is not the act of one intending to solve a problem; rather it is that of someone trying to wrestle a pig -- the pig always wins.

Democracies work through 'Advice and Consent'; Advice from the experts and with the Consent of those being governed. Advice is what the likes of Dr Acharya are supposed to give the governments in power and Consent is for the latter to secure through political means.

People's Consent is what the political wing has and experts don't. Engagement with the political wing and careful and lengthy negotiations can achieve what all the expertise in the world cannot.

I dare suggest Dr Acharya might benefit from a 'Bharat Darshan' to the top 100 non-metro towns to understand how Bharat ticks.

Tilting at the government in English in front of India may make him feel like Joan of Arc, but without a feel for Bharat he will merely be Don Quixote.

S Muralidharan retired as the managing director of BNP Paribas after serving the bank for 20 years.
William Nordhaus believes that climate change can best be addressed by ensuring the correct pricing for polluting resources like fuel through government intervention  in other words, through higher taxes on petrol and diesel.

"The main recipe to alleviate climate change is to make sure governments, corporations and households face a high price on their carbon emissions.

"Today it is virtually zero. If the price were higher, people would have other choices, like renewable energies.

Paul Romer, meanwhile, remains a potent force among policy economists.

He puts the integrity of the data you use, and the clarity of the conclusions you draw, above everything else.

This is why, for example, he hit the headlines in India earlier this year - for questioning the rationale behind the World Banks revision of its Ease of Doing Business Index, a revision that incidentally or not-so-incidentally sent India 30 places higher.

India has remained obsessed with cheap capital and infrastructure spending when instead the central constraint on Indian development remains the abysmal quality of Indians skills, says Mihir Sharma.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

The 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics is a landmark in the awards history: It is the 50th to be handed out.

And, in some ways, it is exemplary of the Economics Nobels recent evolution towards rewarding economic theory with a direct practical and political implication.

It has been awarded to two American economists, William Nordhaus and Paul Romer, fo - in the words of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - integrating climate change and technological innovation respectively into long-run macroeconomic analysis.

Romer himself argues that Nordhaus and he also share a fundamental optimism about human ability to change the direction of economic activity: Nordhaus believed and still believes that concerted international action has a hope of dealing with the negative effects of anthropogenic climate change, and Romer has sought to ensure that innovation and human capital are integrated into the programmes of both developing and developed economies.

Both the laureates life-work can also be seen as running against the traditional model of development and growth that was influential in the 1950s, and still is the primary motive for much economic policy in countries such as India today.

Prior to Nordhaus and Romers interventions - in the 1970s and late 1980s respectively - the study of economic growth was dominated by models developed by, among others, the 1987 Nobel laureate Robert Solow.

His growth model decomposed the sources of growth, providing a relationship between the growth of the workforce and of capital available with long-run economic growth.

Yet this was, in the end, a somewhat dry accounting identity.

When taken to the data, it became clear that much of real growth came from a mysterious residual element that economists called total factor productivity.

What increased this measure of productivity? This is where Romer came in, arguing that innovation and human capital were essential to the modelling of growth.

Nordhaus contribution was even more disruptive of the Solow model, since it undermined the very notion of growth accounting itself.

He viewed the concept of gross domestic product as problematic - it did not take quality changes into account.

Worse, it rewarded productive activity that over-consumed finite natural resources. What would this mean in an Indian context?

For example, Nordhaus would never trust double-digit growth that came alongside the improperly priced utilisation of minerals and forest land. Only once the permanent loss of those resources to the economy is properly factored in can growth be considered relevant for policy.

This casts into question the entire growth accounting exercises of successive Indian governments.

Did Nordhaus have an alternative? Well, yes: In the 1970s, he helped create, together with 1981 Nobel laureate James Tobin, one of the first modern attempts at an indicator of changes to a national balance sheet that included non-market commodities like forest cover.

Nordhaus was thus thinking about the environment well before it was cool, starting in the early 1970s.

In his later career, Nordhaus naturally became one of the leading forces arguing for a proper response to the problem of climate change.

His models that integrated population growth, fossil fuel use, income growth, and global warming became the basis for most calculations of the costs and benefits of various anti-global warming interventions.

Like most economists Nordhaus believes that climate change can best be addressed by ensuring the correct pricing for polluting resources like fuel through government intervention  in other words, through higher taxes on petrol and diesel: The key insight of my work was to put a price on carbon in order to hold back climate change.

"The main recipe to alleviate climate change is to make sure governments, corporations and households face a high price on their carbon emissions.

"Today it is virtually zero. If the price were higher, people would have other choices, like renewable energies.

Carbon taxes have unfortunately failed to become the norm in international discussions about climate change.

This is particularly unfortunate for India.

As former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian has repeatedly argued, India has among the highest carbon taxes when normalised by per capita income in the world  demonstrating an unusually active stance against pollution and greenhouse gases.

While Nordhaus has warned that delayed action in introducing a high carbon price has significantly increased the eventual total costs of combating climate change, he was long an optimist that international action to preserve the biosphere remained possible.

Today, however, after the farce that is the self-regulated and low targets of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the 77-year-old Nordhaus is less sanguine, writing last year that it was no longer practically feasible to keep the rise in global average temperature below two degrees Celsius.

Romer, meanwhile, remains a potent force among policy economists.

The development world that was once ruled by those - not just disciples of Solow but also Marxist-Leninist planners - who believed that the mobilisation of resources such as capital was central to the growth process is now dominated by those following in Romers footsteps, and focusing on technological innovation and skilling of the workforce as the real sources of sustainable growth.

Again, however, India has lagged behind somewhat here.

The Indian governments approach to growth enhancement has been as if Romer did not exist; we have remained obsessed with cheap capital and infrastructure spending when instead the central constraint on Indian development remains the abysmal quality of Indians skills.

Romer is also a role model for economists - one recent book about the wars within economics described him as a rebellious Han Solo sort of figure.

He puts the integrity of the data you use, and the clarity of the conclusions you draw, above everything else.

This is why, for example, he hit the headlines in India earlier this year - for questioning the rationale behind the World Banks revision of its Ease of Doing Business Index, a revision that incidentally or not-so-incidentally sent India 30 places higher.

Romer spoke out although he himself was the Banks chief economist - and eventually left the position because of it.

If only more economists had the prescience of Nordhaus and the integrity of Romer.
'The biggest gainers under this scheme would be insurance companies.'

'If the government is going to route the payments through the insurance companies, these companies will be making nearly 30 per cent of the money.'

'For instance, if the government is paying Rs 100, then Rs 30 will go to these insurance companies.'

'Only Rs 70 will be available for expenditure that will be incurred by the hospitals.'

'Nobody will work to make losses.'

'Naturally, if I am asked to do a procedure that costs Rs 40,000 for Rs 20,000, what I (any doctor/hospital) will do is compromise on quality or work around the scheme to make more money on the outside from the patient.'

IMAGE: The success of the National Health Protection Scheme -- also known as Ayushman Bharat -- depends on the government's ability to understand all aspects of medical costs, says the Indian Medical Association. Photograph: Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

The National Health Protection Scheme -- the Narendra Damodardas Modi-led government's ambitious health insurance programme, also known as Ayushman Bharat or 'Modicare' that plans to offer secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation benefits of over Rs 500,000 to over 100 million poorest families in India -- is likely to be implemented on or on the eve of this Independence Day.

Dr Avinasi Kandasamy Ravikumar, national coordinator, insurance, at the Indian Medical Association -- which is described as 'a national voluntary organisation of doctors of modern scientific system of medicine in India, which looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well being of the community at large -- explains to Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore why the cost of treating a patient under Ayushman Bharat will punish patients by making them travel longer distances to obtain healthcare and kill smaller and medium-sized hospitals that will be empanelled under this scheme.

What's wrong with the National Health Protection Scheme, NHPS, as it stands today?

The NHPS in itself is a very good scheme. Nobody denies that. The scheme is good for the public and the country. But they (the government) should understand the basic aspects (of medical costs in India).

The ultimate thing (link in the chain) are the hospitals (that will be empanelled) that are likely to offer these services to the public.

Naturally, they must be comfortable in delivering the goods.

If they are not comfortable doing this the scheme, (Ayushman Bharat) is going to be paralysed.

For them (the empanelled hospitals that will offer medical services) to be comfortable we have done a scientific study (of costs involved in various operations/procedures).

Without proper scientific data it makes no sense to arrive at the cost of a medical service.

And the package (cost) that the government has arrived at is not scientific.

For example, we have done a study for 50-bed hospitals as per the norms (that satisfy the government-mandated medical services quality) given by the government.

We have strictly followed the norms laid down by the government to reach at what should be the cost of various operations/procedures.

We have followed the standard requirements under the Clinical Establishment Act -- Standards for Hospitals; guidelines on standardisation of health insurance by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority; minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; and the Standard Clinical Pathway suggested by medical professionals.

These Acts deal with the area of the room in which a patient is admitted, the standard of equipment inside the operation theatre, and various other technical aspects of medical service.

While calculating our package costs we have considered every norm the government wants hospitals to follow in great detail.

As per this scientific study, the minimum bed charge for a 50-bed hospital, with 50 per cent occupancy and without any profit margin or consultation charges for the hospital comes to about Rs 4,905 per day, per bed in a tier II city.

Under this situation, if they (the government) ask us to conduct a caesarean operation for Rs 9,000 (as per the draft of the government's model tender document), which includes a patient's blood investigations, stay in the hospital for five to seven days, bed charges, surgery charges, paediatrician charges, etc then is it practically possible for any hospital (that empanels to offer medical services under the NHPS) to survive?

If the room charges alone amount to Rs 4,905, how can you expect us to do a procedure, including all the related expenses?

Then is it scientific (to fix Rs 9,000 for a caesarean operation)? Rates have been fixed for all the procedures in a similar manner.

(Under the 205-page draft model tender document which was shared with the states last month, knee and hip replacements were fixed at Rs 9,000 each, stenting at Rs 40,000, coronary artery bypass grafting at Rs 1.10 lakh, caesarean delivery at Rs 9,000, vertebral angioplasty with single stent at Rs 50,000 and hysterectomy for cancer at Rs 50,000.)

The basic question is: Is it practically possible?

This is just one part of the problem.

The other part is that this scheme is meant to cover the lower socio-economic group of people, which is about 45 per cent of the Indian population.

All the medium hospitals in India concentrate on this group of people.

So, if the government is going to undercut the cost of procedures, then it will be very difficult for these medium-sized hospitals to manage their operations and survive.

Even corporate and bigger hospitals cannot do that (offer medical procedures at such huge cut in cost of operation); the big corporate hospitals, for instance, could even manage by cross-subsidising patients who pay under the NHPS, but the smaller and medium-sized hospitals will be wiped out under the cost burden.

How can these smaller and medium hospitals subsidise when they get fewer patients who pay the standard cost of procedures?

What, according to you, should the government do to ensure that Ayushman Bharat is a success?

The government must ensure that the service providers (hospitals) are made to feel comfortable by mandating a comfortable package rate.

The scheme will be very successful only if empanelled hospitals are comfortable delivering the goods under the NHPS.

According to your scientific study what cost of the procedures/operations stated above could make the service providers feel comfortable?

Let me just give you one illustration: For a caesarean operation, the scientific cost derived at by us after following all the government mandated norms comes out to Rs 57,515.

This includes: Pharmacy cost (Rs 7,619), consumable cost (Rs 1,228), investigation cost with details (Rs 2,610), doctors and nurses fees (Rs 15,000), other employees cost (Rs 11,061), accommodation cost (Rs 9,572), medical equipment usage cost (Rs 5,348), maintenance cost (Rs 1,098), and administrative cost (Rs 3,979).

In this case then, will Ayushman Bharat achieve the goals it has set out for itself?

It's just not possible! Unless the service providers are comfortable and they extend their hands, the programme will be a failure.

Who will be the biggest gainers and losers of the Ayushman Bharat scheme?

If they (the government) are going to route the payments through the insurance companies, then these companies will be making nearly 30 per cent of the money.

For instance, if the government is paying Rs 100, then Rs 30 will go to these insurance companies to cover their cost of operations.

Only Rs 70 will be available for other expenditure that will be incurred by the hospitals.

As far as the Indian Medical Association is concerned, we feel the government should take the 'trust' model -- to route payments to the hospitals through a government trust -- instead of the insurance companies.

Insurance companies are like middlemen. Naturally any business intermediary is in it to make money.

We don't want that to happen so that this money (Rs 30 out of every Rs 100 that will go to the insurance companies) can be diverted for the benefit of the patient through the service providers.

Definitely, the biggest gainers would be the insurance companies and hospitals/service providers will be the biggest losers.

Is the IMA renegotiating the package costs for various procedures with the government?

We are. We have met twice with the the CEO (Indu) Bhushan of the Ayushman Bharat scheme and Dr Vinod Pal, member, NITI Aayog.

While they showed great understanding towards what the IMA is proposing they want the scheme to be implemented even while maintaining a status quo on the IMA proposal (to increase the cost of various packages).

They said they will study the scientific costing that the IMA study has derived for various packages in the next one-two years, but till then they would want the Ayushman Bharat scheme to be rolled out.

Extending our hands we have said we will begin the process of empanelling the doctors and hospitals under the NHPS, as we cater to the last mile, that is the people across India, but the ultimate thing that will make or break the scheme is the comfort of the hospitals.

If we become hungry (get affected because of the government-mandated costs of various procedures that sharply undercuts the actual cost of medical services), then how can we treat the public?

IMAGE: If hospitals don't empanelled, patients will suffer, leading to a collapse in healthcare in the country. Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters

What happens to the rollout of NHPS in the situation that the hospitals are not comfortable with the government-mandated cost packages and the government wants to implement the scheme immediately?

Hospitals will not sign up for the empanelment.

If they don't empanel themselves, then where will the patients go for their treatment?

Patients under the NHPS have to go only to empanelled hospitals.

So, the future of the NHPS is not certain under the given situation?

The future of the scheme is bright provided the rates (cost of various medical packages) are comfortable.

What the IMA is trying to impress is that (the government) should not squeeze the service provider.

In bigger hospitals, consultation charges are paid on a monthly basis, irrespective of them handling one case or 30 cases.

On the other hand, 60 to 70 per cent of medium and small-sized hospitals consulting doctors comes from outside for each and every case.

Can you expect these hospitals to pay the consultant doctors like corporate hospitals?

There are so many such nuances involved in this (how these small-and-medium-sized hospitals operate).

These hospitals will end up paying more than their earnings and that will make them financially unfeasible.

Once the NHPS is implemented the demand for healthcare will increase exponentially.

Do our hospitals have the infrastructure to handle such a huge increase in the number of people needing treatment for whatever reasons?

We (the IMA-affiliated doctors/hospitals) have good coverage even till the last mile across tier I, II, III, IV areas.

Our aim is to offer patients the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme at their doorstep.

Now consider what if a village level hospital does not get empanelled because of the cost factor then the patient will have to travel 10 to 15 km to another village/town that has a hospital empanelled under the NHPS or travel even further to find such empanelled hospitals.

Before the empanelment process starts we wanted to set this thing (the cost of medical packages) right.

If we roll out the scheme and if the doctors/hospitals refuse to empanel themselves under the NHPS, then the Ayushman Bharat scheme will be a big flop.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme is set to roll out by August 15, but we are not yet sure when the process of empanelment of doctors will start.

I think by July mid-week they will start empanelling, but our suggestion to the government is, we agree to everything and we have agreed to even empanel smaller hospitals as per the government-mandated norms, but the package cost must be made comfortable for hospitals for them to spread the benefits of the scheme.

What feedback are you getting from smaller and medium-sized hospitals about the government-mandated cost of medical procedures?

They are not at all happy with the costs. They are worried about their future.

They want the government to do something about these package costs without which they will not be able to survive.

As the situation stands today, what is your biggest fear?

Our biggest fear is smaller and medium-sized hospitals will vanish if the present package rates are going to be implemented or they are forced to work on the implementation of the scheme.

Secondly, we fear that it might lead to corruption.

Nobody will work to make losses. Naturally then, if I am asked to do a procedure that costs Rs 40,000 for Rs 20,000, what I (any doctor/hospital) will do is compromise on quality or work around the scheme to make more money on the outside from the patient.

Somehow, to remain in the business and survive, this might happen.

That will ultimately breed corruption and indirectly the government's name will get spoiled and we are very worried about that.

Ayushman Bharat is one of Prime Minister Modi's dream projects.

That's what I am saying. The scheme is very good, but the methodology by which the rates have been fixed will not make the service providers happy.

The main part is the monetary part and that is not being taken care of.

This (implementation of NHPS) is going to cost a big investment for smaller hospitals because you have to have the information technology system in place because everything will be done online.

So, that requires the smaller hospitals to get a qualified computer professional round the clock to do this job and get their IT infrastructure ready.
'Curbs will again lead to the grey market developing, undoing all the work done over the last two-and-a-half years.'

Photograph: Beawiharta/Reuters

The burgeoning current account deficit has led to reports that the government may again restrict gold imports.

"There is frankly no need for restrictions in the gold segment as the market is already very subdued now," Somasundaram PR, managing director, India, World Gold Council, tells Subhayan Chakraborty.

The government is looking to restrict gold imports and may impose tariffs soon to reduce the CAD. How is the industry reacting to this?

There is frankly no need for restrictions in the gold segment as the market is already very subdued now.

The last time that higher duties were introduced, gold buying was very high. But right now, that is not the issue as gold imports had remained low for months.

The CAD is purely because of oil imports and the fact that the equity markets are experiencing capital outflow.

We hope that such curbs will not take place as it will again lead to the grey market developing, undoing all the work done in the policy space over the last two-and-a-half years.

What are your expectations ahead of the festive season?

Our expectation is that it will remain subdued this year.

The factors are many. The price in India is still much higher than those in the international market as the depreciating value of the rupee had kept prices high.

On the other hand, after the imposition of goods and services tax, the earlier grey market in gold trade is not organised any more and as a result, demand has remained subdued.

So when do you see gold demand regaining earlier levels?

Gold demand is directly linked to increase in income.

As the national income slowly increases, we believe demand will slowly go back to 800 to 900 tonnes by 2020.

Our view is all the transparency measures of the past two years have led to most of the hot money leaving the gold segment.

So, most of the buying that's now happening is organised because of GST and demonetisation.

After these developments, retail trade has become concentrated in the hands of larger players. Where does that leave small businesses?

Steps such as the requirement of a PAN card for purchases has definitely led to organised players reaching the markets a lot more faster. That trend will only strengthen as we go along.

But it's not as if only the organised players of today will benefit. The so called unorganised sector will also see faster formalisation, thereby increasing the overall share of the organised market.

India's global market share in gold has been reducing in recent years. Do you see this reversing soon?

Well, India is the second largest consumer of gold and that continues till now. Our demand, in the past five years was an average 810 tonnes per year.

If you remove from this 2016-2017, the year when most measures of transparency were initiated, the figure rises to 848 tonnes.

Is India's reduced share also due to the business shifting to the spot exchanges in China?

China has been working with exchanges since the beginning of the reforms graph. It started reforms in the gold industry with spot and futures exchanges as well as refiners.

With India, the issue is that we have grown big and now we are struggling with reforms.

China put up the gold spot exchanges in 2003-2004, but we are also reforming now.

A steering committee is preparing a blueprint on spot exchanges and will release it to the government and others by the end of the year.
'What we are doing is in the context of where the market is. There are two elements that need attention.'

'The first is digital. We are trying to expand the capability in a $160-billion market that is growing at 15 per cent.'

'The second is that we have to be clear that we are looking after our people well.'

'It has nothing to do with sacrificing margin to get growth.'

With Infosys emerging out of an uncertain phase, the new management, led by CEO & MD Salil Parekh, is trying to catch up with market leaders, with the new strategy in place.

Parekh, who joined the firm in January, tells Bibhu Ranjan Mishra & Romita Majumdar, his intention is not to sacrifice margin but to grow it by improving the digital services pie and building capabilities. Edited excerpts:

What has been your focus and what are the changes you are seeing on the ground?

I have been travelling intensively in the past few months, meeting clients, investors and employees.

I have met around 80 clients and 100 investors to understand their views about the company and our capabilities.

We broadly have two groups of clients - new age firms who are disrupting businesses, and those who have been facing the disruption.

The good thing is that both are looking for massive investments in tech, though the requirements are different.

We want to make sure that we build more capacity and capability to partner with both groups and drive value to them.

While 28 per cent of your business that falls under the digital basket is growing faster, close to 70 per cent, focused on traditional services, is hardly growing. Not a concern?

If you look at our core (traditional) services business, we still had positive growth in the past quarter.

The areas where we had negative growth was in our India business, which is not really a core service.

That has its own cycle, which will come back, and we aren't overly concerned about it.

Then, we need to expand our consulting business and stabilise our China business, where we are doing well now.

FII holding has come down by 4 percentage points from March 2017 to 34.87 per cent at the end of Q1 FY19. Is there a trust deficit?

We already have a large non-Indian investor base.

Over the past six months, they have done quite well with their investments in Infosys.

The way we are strengthening our capabilities and driving digital growth, there is a greater appreciation of the fact that we are building a business for the future.

And, as that happens, I assume that some of these trends will automatically start reversing.

Experts say a major dilution in the firms strategy is your willingness to sacrifice margins for growth. Is this true?

I will absolutely not sacrifice margins (for growth).

In fact, it gives me pride that we have a business that is generating good margins.

What we are doing is in the context of where the market is. There are two elements that need attention.

The first is digital. We are trying to expand the capability in a $160-billion market that is growing at 15 per cent. So, we could easily double our size in that market.

The second is that we have to be clear that we are looking after our people well.

There were some things that were not done fully in that front in the past few years, and I decided we should catch up quickly.

It has nothing to do with sacrificing margin to get growth.

How do you plan to get old profitability numbers back when the cost base rises?

Today, 28 per cent of our business comes from the digital segment, and the margin of that (digital) on an average is higher than the companys average.

If we can manage to sustain that and that becomes a larger piece, our margins should look as healthy as they look in the digital segment today.

In the consulting business, we already have a large practice. What we are doing now actually is fine tuning it to make it even more efficient.

Attrition level at Infosys is at a high and seniors are exiting at regular intervals...

The good thing I found at Infosys is that weve a strong bench of leadership talent who are hungry to prove themselves.

We are filling many vacant positions and new demands with internal candidates.

I have been spending time with people who have been with the company for 20-25 years.

We also recruited 20 senior executives in the ranks of vice-presidents and above to strengthen our teams in digital and large deals.

These are the people who are going to build the Infosys of the next 10-15 years along with the existing team.

There is buzz that M D Ranganath may have quit due to differences over the new strategy, especially your margins stance...

I did not have any difference with Ranga. We maintained a good equation during the last few months that we worked together. He was part of the team that built this strategy.

In that sense, he had a very successful run here, and now he wants to do something different.

Why are we not seeing any large deal wins, like those that your rivals closed recently?

Last quarter we announced large deals worth over a billion dollars.

One of the areas that we are investing into is building the team that will help us drive such deals.

Hopefully, in the coming quarters and years we will see more such things (large deals).

How is your equation with the founders, especially N R Narayana Murthy?

I have been fortunate to meet Mr. Murthy a few times at social functions.

We had opportunities to discuss many things including the kind of works he's doing in the NGO space, especially in education activities.

I have also met many other founders at a number of social events.

And of course, since Nandan is in the board, I meet him quite frequently.

Photograph: PTI Photo
'... And I don't think it really is that despite a lot going wrong.'

'Naivete or stupidity or trusting the wrong person, the outcome is the same, which is that the group has gone to trash.'

'I'm not OK with people saying I had a role to play in crooking the system, which is not what I did.'

IMAGE: Shivinder Mohan Singh, right with his elder brother Malvinder Mohan Singh. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Fortis Healthcare

Fortis Healthcare co-founder Shivinder Mohan Singh tells Pavan Lall why he dropped the lawsuit against brother Malvinder Mohan Singh in the National Company Law Tribunal, how his reputation has been affected, and what he plans to do to restore it.

What made you suddenly withdraw the petition filed against your brother?

I would like to give you some background. I was called by my brother a couple of years ago and given the view that things were not okay and I was needed.

There was fraud in the aviation business and Religare. I had shifted to Beas then.

The Ranbaxy-Daiichi issue -- all emerged within one year. I said I had taken a one-way ticket to Beas and was not interested, but, then, because I had been involved, I had to come back.

I considered myself a transit passenger to go in and help and go back, but nothing has worked in the last two years.

Last September, I told my brother I was leaving as we weren't able to work out things as expected.

Then my mother got involved recently and said this had to get out of the court.

So, I said it would if the past was addressed, appropriate accountability fixed, and a framework implemented.

On that basis, I withdrew the case. Fingers crossed, things will work out.

What really happened at Ranbaxy, one of the country's most storied pharma companies?

My knowledge, honestly, is through Daiichi's eyes because every time I asked questions I was told nothing went wrong.

I sat through five days of Daiichi's arbitration hearings in Singapore, and their claim was that reports were hidden and there was pre-planned perpetrated falsification of data and bad quality products.

I have told everyone that I stand behind Ranbaxy's drugs because what the USFDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) highlighted was in the regulatory bucket, not the drugs bucket.

Even so, you were part of the promoter family and a board member. So, is it fair to expect the world at large to believe that you didn't know about anything that went wrong?

The unfortunate truth I've learned in the last few years is that the board knows nothing.

In board meetings, 80 per cent of the discussions are on things that SEBI (the Securities and Exchange Board of India) requires, and not the actual business.

I am liable for my share of responsibility, but I have not engaged in any wrongdoing.

As the dirt flies, it's also hitting you because you were a board member with shareholding in all companies.

It is. But, look, when I went to Beas, people questioned it.

Why? Some people say I had a deal with Babaji (the head of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas sect) that I wouldn't pursue the money if I was given the top seat there.

That's one story being created by creative minds.

My response is that naivete or stupidity or trusting the wrong person, the outcome is the same, which is that the group has gone to trash.

I'm not OK with people saying I had a role to play in crooking the system, which is not what I did.

I'm willing to take 100 per cent responsibility for Fortis which I ran -- the good, the bad and the ugly, everything.

There are hospitals out there that didn't have occupancy certificates, there are procedures that went wrong.

And I'm willing to accept whatever liability the law of the land requires.

But I had nothing to do with Ranbaxy.

Photograph: Kind Courtesy Ranbaxy

Did you always have different visions for the business and how to run companies with your brother?

Always.

But the drifting apart happened in 2011, when we ended up in the same bucket.

So how it worked for a decade was that Malav (Malvinder Singh) ran Ranbaxy, Sunny (Sunil Godhwani) was in charge of Religare, and I of Fortis.

We met and discussed issues at a high level and then executed what was needed.

But when one leg (Ranbaxy) went away, then someone had to fit into another bucket.

It unfortunately became a feud between brothers, and I don't think it really is that despite a lot going wrong.

Your exit to a retreat for three years had some wondering about how you balance capitalism and spirituality.

I'm not a capitalist and I don't see myself as that.

The only reason I got lucky in business was because of Fortis.

I spoke to my father in college and told him I don't want to join Ranbaxy. I don't get it.

Pharma is a financial business, not a healthcare one in my view. I was clear about not joining the family business.

As a promoter how can you say you were not involved in the group's affairs?

Well, I was not involved at the group level because Malav and Sunny did coordination for almost everything.

Malav was de facto chairman, and Sunny the CEO.

If I had a choice I would attend no meetings.

Most of the ones I attended were because Sunny wanted me to convince Malav on something or Malav to Sunny.

It was mostly about money being put into this business or the other.

At a group level, I never felt I was being kept out of anything. Within Fortis, yes, I did.

When (Fortis) International was set up, I had no one reporting to me, and I was told multiple times at board meetings that we now had international management who would run the company better than before.

Were you not concerned about allegations of money being siphoned off firms in the group and other impropriety?

A lot of stuff has happened in Fortis since I have gone.

I was Fortis first and promoter second.

In 2005, the Fortis brand fee was Rs 100,000. In 2016, it went up to Rs 5 million when I was not in charge.

So, things changed.

What would you have done differently, and what is the learning?

Split the group.

I never wanted to be part of the group or be an industrialist.

The learning is that don't put your signature on anything that you're not definitely involved in.
'The three tycoons I deal with in the first chapter -- Ambani, Mallya and Adani -- in their own way represent the change that has come over India.'

'Of the three of them, Mallya is the most fun. He was terrific.'

'And I don't say that because I tell the story in the book of his golden toilet.'

IMAGE: Vijay Mallya leaves the Westminster magistrate's court in London, July 31, 2018. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Reuters

"Raghuram Rajan represents the very best of India. Nonetheless, one man can't do everything. You need to have good institutions that work well, even without fantastic, world-class leaders. And that's the challenge," James Crabtree, author of the well received book, The Billionaire Raj, tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi P Daniel in the concluding segment of an eloquent four-part interview.

"In the end," says Crabtree, the Financial Times' former correspondent in India, "we need a State that has the capacity to make the decisions that are necessary. You don't want to rely on suddenly some miraculous figure -- sort of dropping from the sky. That is not a good way to run your country."

About political funding you said at the discussion on your book at the Nehru Centre: "It was a great disappointment. I really tried to get people to open up about this. It remains the black box of Indian politics. There were little kinds of snatches and shadows of it."

"Can guess who some of the people were who told me this stuff. Even the good people are corrupt. You can't be a politician..."

How will a change ever come in this worrying area? What is your sense?

The only possible option is a variant of the US system, where India has a very expensive system with lots of corporate money in politics, but at least it's transparent

IMAGE: James Crabtree posted this tweet titled 'The nation deserves a tailor' and wrote: 'One of the nice things about India: Even people who you write about moderately critically are nice to you. Yesterday I popped in to see the star of Chapter 10 of The Billionaire Raj, and India's muckraker in chief, Arnab Goswani.'

'This was at the exceedingly fancy new offices of his new TV station, Republic, in an old converted mill in Lower Parel. Photograph: Kind courtesy @jamescrabtree/Twitter

In the course of writing this book who was the most interesting person you interviewed?

The most interesting person I met, hands down, was (businessman) Vijay Mallya.

He was such a phenomenal character and the four hours I spent with him in his house in London, which make up the second chapter of the book, were gold, if you are a journalist.

And I don't say that because I tell the story in the book of his golden toilet.

He is very talkative, very thoughtful and told me a lot of interesting things. But (his) story -- in a way the three tycoons I deal with in the first chapter, Ambani, Mallya and Adani -- in their own way represent the change that has come over India.

It just happens of the three of them, Mallya is the most fun. He was terrific.

WATCH James Crabtree speak about his meeting with Vijay Mallya in London. Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff.com

The people I regret not meeting, the one who stands out is (the late Tamil Nadu chief minister) Jayalalithaa. Would have loved to have met Jayalalithaa. She never gave interviews to anyone. So I tried very hard, but it was just impossible.

I wanted to write about her more than anyone because she is such a fascinating figure and I would have loved to have had some insight into what made her tick.

You seemed very impressed with former Reserve Bank of India governor, Raghuram Rajan.

Almost the danger, for the people like me, the Western foreign correspondent, is that we like people like Raghu too much.

In the end Raghu is very -- Governor Rajan as he was known -- is very impressive. He is very clever, an immensely thoughtful guy.

I think he represents the very best of India.

Nonetheless, one man can't do everything.

You need to have good institutions that work well, even without fantastic, world-class leaders. And that's the challenge.

In the end we need a State that has the capacity to make the decisions that are necessary.

You don't want to rely on suddenly some miraculous figure -- sort of dropping from the sky. That is not a good way to run your country.

You should be able to have normal people and good institutions is better than spectacular people and bad institutions. That's where you want to be.

I am a big admirer of Governor Rajan and I owe an intellectual debt to him. Many of the ideas that are in the book came from his speeches. His speeches were full of interesting ideas, in a way that most central bankers simply aren't.

WATCH: How did India turn into a Billionaire Raj? Video: Kind courtesy James Crabtree

IMAGE: During his posting in Mumbai James Crabtree was delighted to star in the Bollywood film Kick.

'The casting call came one Wednesday morning in early February, from a writer friend in Mumbai: "Would you like a part in a Bollywood movie?" "Of course," I said, "but you know I've never acted?"

"Not a problem: They just need a tall English guy, for an office scene. Are you free on Friday?"' Crabtree recalled in an FT article.

'I was to play British Diplomat #2, and had precisely two lines. There was to be neither singing nor dancing, and (Salman) Khan himself was not involved; an immediate double disappointment,' he said at the time about his debut to IB Times. Photograph: Kind courtesy jamescrabtree2000/Instagram

How come the 'tycoons' of Bollywood didn't figure in The Billionaire Raj?

None of them are really worth serious money. I profiled Ronnie Screwala when I was at the FT. Great guy.

Any political figure from your book that you admired the most? And why?

I admire many Indians in public life who stand up for good governance and high quality public administration.

Raghuram Rajan and Vinod Rai (the former IAS officer who served as the comptroller and auditor general of India) both fit this mould.

IMAGE: James Crabree with Sir Mark Tully at his Delhi book launch. Photograph: Kind courtesy @jamescrabtree/Twitter

In your book you spoke about the three fault lines India is facing. At the Nehru Centre and in The Billionaire Raj, the importance of building good institutions was stressed.

People are often critical about civil servants, but often it is civil servants maintain the continuity in India.

Who are the people who you think are going to build these institutions, bring in health care and education?

Who are the actual people who are going to do all this?

Finally, it is in the hands of these politicians and civil servants.

To some degree, you need a well-functioning political and bureaucratic elite. You need big businesses that can build infrastructure.

But democracies are responsive to their people. Politicians want to give the people what the people want and so, to some degree, things like India Against Corruption was a very powerful moment and it had a huge effect.

Corruption hasn't been driven out of the Indian political system, but that outpouring of anger in 2011 and 2012 made a big difference in the way that the country runs, some for the good, some for the bad.

In addition to the fact that India needs a government that has greater capacity to reform and a business elite that moves beyond some of the fault lines, that I identified in the book, the democratic impulse from a larger, more prosperous middle and lower middle class in particular will have quite a powerful impact on Indian politics.

IMAGE: James Crabtree with economist Jagdish Bhagwati. Columbia professor Bhagwati and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen were interviewed in the book.

Both distinguished econmic thinkers, who are known for their dislike for each other, praised Crabtree's book offering review lines for the blurb, which Crabtree considers a special achievement. Photograph: Kind courtesy @jamescrabtree/Twitter

So you feel citizens movements influence?

Simply the act of voting in an election. In the end, politicians are responsive to their voters.

By sheer dint of their vote? And a voter being aware of the issues facing him?

Not just that. In the end, reform movements come from lots of different places, some of them are driven by technocrats and some of them are driven by ordinary people who are pissed off.

India will have both of those things I think.

If it is going to modernise in a way that it needs to, and most of its people want it to, then, in a sense, all of those things are going to have to work together.
'This announcement is big foolishness.'

'The government has no idea of economics. They are just announcing what comes to their mind.'

'Let them implement what they have announced and just see what will happen in two years.'

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi is remembering his promise to farmers after four years, says Dr Ashok Gulati. Photograph: PTI Photo

On July 4, the Narendra Damodardas Modi government approved a substantial increase in the minimum support price of most kharif crops, which will cost the exchequer more than Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion).

The increase was in line with the announcement by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who had said while presenting the Union Budget for 2018-2019 that the government would fix the MSP for all crops at 1.5 times the cost of production.

The move has been welcomed by many; Home Minister Rajnath Singh called the decision 'historic'.

However, Dr Ashok Gulati, the well-known agricultural economist and former chairman of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices, feels otherwise.

Currently the Infosys Chair Professor for Agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Dr Gulati -- who declined in September 2017 an offer to become part of a government panel constituted by the NITI Aayog on reforming the agriculture sector by 2020 -- tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf that this government has no idea of economics.

"Economics gayi bhaad mein (can go to hell)," he tells Rediff.com in this interview.

What is your first reaction to the Modi government's decision to increase the Minimum Support Price on kharif crops?

There are a lot of questions to be asked. Whether this will be implemented or not? Who will procure?

Don't you think this is a good step as it will raise the income of our farmers?

Cotton exports will come to a zero and all the cotton in our country the government will keep on its head.

The MSP of cotton has been raised by 28 per cent. We are the second largest exporter of cotton and this move will make cotton exports zero.

This move will also hurt rice exports.

Once you go against the international price line, then you accumulate stocks (domestically) -- and dead stock at that -- because you have to unload that stock (which you buy).

(Agriculture) price mechanism does not work on the whims and fancies of a government. You cannot announce it like that.

Price is determined by demand and supply.

We export seven million bales of cotton and there is a price difference of 10 per cent compared to the international market.

Now if the government increases the minimum support price by 26 to 28 per cent, the export of cotton will go bust.

The Cotton Corporation of India will have to procure seven million cotton bales and if they do not do that, then the domestic price will collapse.

There must be some thinking behind this move.

The thinking is only to win the 2019 elections. There is no other thinking.

After four years, Prime Minister Modi is remembering his promise to farmers, and now only nine months are left for elections.

Won't farmers' income double as PM Modi has stated by 2022 through this move?

Kahan se hogi farmers ki income double? (How will their income double?).

It is not possible. Only if someone procures will something happen.

At this moment, groundnut MSP is Rs 4,500 per quintal. And in Gujarat, groundnut is selling for Rs 3,500 per quintal.

The Modi government could not solve this problem till date.

You mean the government is not procuring groundnut from farmers at Rs 4,500 per quintal in Gujarat.

The government cannot do it. The Modi government cannot become a baniya shop by buying these crops (as they announced on Wednesday).

Will the government buy Niger seed? Check out by what percentage the price has increased.

Then check ragi seed; its price has increased by 50 per cent.

Will the government be able to procure all this at the rate which they have announced?

Are you saying the government cannot practically procure grain at the price they have announced?

In Bihar, farmers sold wheat under Rs 1,500 per quintal whereas the MSP is Rs 1,735 per quintal.

There is no system in place. In the last 30 years, we only have a system in place for two crops -- wheat and rice.

When it comes to other commodities, the government does not know what to do after they procure the food grains.

Take the example of pulses. The government is sitting on four million tonnes of pulses and they do not know what to do with it because the market price is Rs 1,000 lower than MSP.

Becho (sell it).

IMAGE: A wholesale grain market in Chandigarh. Photograph: Ajay Verma/Reuters

So what is the point in India becoming a food surplus nation? What do we gain from it?

The only benefit is that you stock more and more to 200 million tonnes.

Last year, the government procured 36 million tonnes of rice. This year, they will procure 40 million tonnes and this rice will not sell and instead rot (in government godowns).

The same will happen to wheat too.

This year we procured more than 33 million tonnes of wheat and since you have now increased the MSP of rice, you will have to increase the MSP of wheat too.

A lot of countries tried to do what the Modi government is doing now, but they were defeated.

There is too much of stock accumulated and the government's inefficiency is exposed.

But there must be some system in which everyone benefits.

The government pays Rs 33 per kg of rice to farmers and they want to sell it for Rs 3 (through the public distribution scheme), resulting in food subsidies costing Rs 169,000 crore (Rs 1.69 trillion).

Now you give more food subsidy and add Rs 15,000 crore. Now make it Rs 185,000 crore (Rs 1.85 trillion) food subsidy.

You can't deny that the Modi government's intentions are good as it wants to help farmers.

It is not a question of the Modi government's intentions, but the question is whether they are applying their mind to this problem.

You have to have a policy instrument.

The prime minister of Thailand did the same thing before elections. He announced he would procure rice at a higher price and then the stock accumulated.

In three years, the entire system collapsed.

We, in India, do not have the place to store so much food grains and moreover, our fiscal deficit too will rise.

Market distortions cannot work. We do not have godowns to store.

There must be some logic in procuring so much grain by the Modi government if, as you say, we do not have the godowns to store.

No logic. Economics gayi bhaad mein (can go to hell).

After four years, the Modi government has woken up to his promise.

The only logic is that the elections of 2019 have begun. The Modi government's announcement on MSP is nothing but an election game.

Won't farmers be happy with this move?

I told you the MSP of groundnut is Rs 4,500 per quintal and he is selling it for Rs 3,500 per quintal.

Now you are saying you will buy it for Rs 5,000, but the real cost in the market, at which farmers sell, is Rs 3,500 per quintal.

Is the government not buying groundnut from farmers at Rs 4,000 per quintal?

Where are they buying?

All the godowns are fully stuffed. And the government says the MSP is Rs 4,500.

Pulses and even oilseeds are also selling below the MSP. How much can the government buy?

They now want to buy Niger seeds. They want to buy jowar at 44 per cent.

State governments too are involved in procuring grain; they too have a role in procurement.

The state governments will say they do not have money to pay salaries.

It is the central government that has announced the price and not the state governments.

When the central government is announcing, so let them procure.

The MSP is announced in coordination with state governments, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and the central government, isn't it?

So let them do the coordination.

First let them do it in Gujarat. You give me Rs 4,500 per quintal for groundnut in Gujarat.

You cannot give me that as it is selling for Rs 3,500 per quintal.

Why don't we export it?

If your price is more than that the market rate, then how can you export?

That is what I said -- the Modi government has increased the MSP of cotton crop by 28 per cent and you earn 10 per cent from the international market.

So exports will come to zero as you have raised the MSP of cotton.

You are presenting a very scary picture for agriculture.

This announcement is big foolishness.

The government has no idea of economics. They are just announcing what comes to their mind.

Let them implement what they have announced and just see what will happen in two years.

The entire textile industry will face trouble if the government gives such a high price for cotton.

And if they do not give, then the farmers will say the government is announcing the price but not procuring at the price.

Today you check any food commodity in the market and compare that with the government announced MSP.

You will find out that every commodity is selling at least Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 below the MSP in the market. First let them correct this.

When we cannot export and we cannot sell, why are we producing so much?

That is right. Last year, cow's milk was selling at Rs 27 in Vidarbha and today it is selling for Rs 17.

Let the government procure it. You cannot go against market trends. It is not possible.

You can go here and there by 2 per cent, but not 20 percent.

If you do major distortion in the system it will take five years to clean up the system.

This means we will face difficult times.

Before the Modi government, Europe did the same thing and so did the United States of America -- they made the same foolish move.

They all burnt their hands and gave up. They all accumulated huge food grain stocks and sat on it.

After a point of time, all that stock rotted away.

What do you do after producing so much grain? What is the solution?

All prosperous countries produce more than what they eat.

The USA does not eat all the food they produce. They export it.

You have to be competitive.

When your productivity goes up, your cost per unit should come down.

The whole focus has to be on productivity augmentation.

India can feed the world, at least South Asia.

Bangladesh next door is an importer (of food grain), we can give them more. Every country wants to export more than imports.

India is the largest exporter of rice, the second largest exporter of cotton and bovine meat in the world.

Now if you increase the prices of every commodity in the country you will be priced out of the international market.

You cannot be out of line with international price settings.
'I went to slums in India which were quite destitute, where people were clearly really struggling, but typically there is a sort of sense of purpose.'

'People are hustling.'

'What that tells you is that if the country was so organised in a way to give these people opportunity, then they would make something of it.'

James Crabtree on India's slums: 'The thing that strikes you when you go into an Indian slum is the industry. There are businesses everywhere.' A metro train moves past a cluster of houses at the Asalpha slum in Mumbai, April 12, 2018. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters.

James Crabtree's The Billionaire Raj, a book that tracks India's place in the world economically and looks at how big India could become if it makes the right moves has already earned itself laurels.

It made it onto the long list for the Finanical Times McKinsey Business Book of the Year.

It also found a spot on former US treasury secretary Larry Summer's list of five best books on globalisation ever and figures in The Washington Post's summer reading choices.

The review have been generous too. The New York Times while stating that Crabtree should have devoted a larger section of his book to the fascinating Indian billionaires still conceded, 'The book is chock-full of profoundly revealing vignettes from various corners of India's endlessly diverse society and economy.'

"The Lutyens crowd, I think, it is undeniable that the grip on power that the traditional English-speaking elite in south Mumbai and central Delhi has over the country is slipping, for all sorts of reasons, partly to do with Modi and Hindu nationalism... India needs an elite that looks like India, not one that looks like London," Crabtree -- who considered it his business during his five year stint as the Financial Times correspondent to understand India and came to love it -- tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel in the third segment of his multi-part interview to Rediff.com.

James Crabtree signs copies of his book at Mumbai airport. Photograph: Kind courtesy @jamescrabtree/Twitter

Any anecdotes about India for you that became metaphors for India?

The classic experience for a foreign correspondent in India -- and it is actually quite a good one to show you the country is improving -- is when you go to the Foreign Regional Registration Office in Mumbai.

So I end the book by talking about the airport, which is a little bit like that. Mumbai airport is quite a good metaphor for the progress that is being made to some degree.

Ten years ago it was a world-class disaster and now it is one of the best in the world. It is an indication that India can do great.

The same is true (for the FRRO). Ten years ago, when I arrived, it was an awful experience going to the FRRO. It is still pretty bad, but it has gotten a lot better.

I now talk to people who come here when it is no longer a disaster. You don't have to spend all day there in some dizzying bureaucracy. It is now a bit more efficient than it used to be.

It is not Singapore. It is getting there.

When you used to come here having to do this very painful day long registration was a thing that everybody complained about and was somehow your entry into Indian bureaucracy.

Whereas where I now live, in Singapore, that same experience is about the best in the world. To go and get your work registration documents it takes half an hour in a beautiful welcome centre, perfectly organised.

So it is not like that (in India) but it is getting better.

What about India's sense of religion?

Religion is a huge part of who India is.

How does religion in India, in your view, affect the journey India needs to be on, to reform itself?

That's a huge question. All I'd say is I think there are good reasons to believe that the values of secularism and equality enshrined in the Indian Constitution will provide a strong basis for future economic development.

James Crabtree interviewed former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and was tickled to discover that he was reading the book he wrote. An exultant photograph from Crabtree's Twitter feed.

Any distressing experiences in India?

People used to say that the remarkable thing about India is it is a country where every single day you see something and you think, 'I can't believe I just saw that!'

I remember once I saw a man cutting a lawn with nail scissors (in Delhi). I remember staring at him and thinking this is crazy.

Then you think about it and think what does that tell you. It tells you something interesting about the price of labour relative to capital.

It is more efficient to have someone cut the lawn with scissors then it is to buy a lawn mower.

I suppose the most distressing thing is you see people, every day, in India whose circumstances are very hard. I suppose that is hard and trying not to become inured to it is also hard -- not become kind of cynical or dismissive, trying to be empathetic to people in their situation, particularly when there are people whose circumstances you can't really begin to understand if you come from the West.

We are so extraordinarily privileged. I am tall, middle-class, English, a white guy. I couldn't be more fortunate in the lottery of life. And so you have to work really hard to put yourself in other people's shoes to not end up being a jerk about things.

My book is moderately critical about aspects of Indian life, but I always want to be conscious, you know, that I am a guest in someone else's house.

When you are a guest in someone else's house you know you wipe your feet, you talk respectfully.

I was very, very conscious both in the way I was doing my reporting and in my book that I wanted to be as a friend of the country, as I am.

My son was born here. My wife and I had our children here. We love India. We come back all the time.

India is going to part of our life for a long time. It means a lot to me that people think the book is meant in the right way.

During your posting in India did you have interactions with those who are less privileged? People living in the slums? What about that group of people struck you?

The thing that strikes you when you go into an Indian slum is the industry. And I don't mean that in the literal sense though that is often true. There are businesses everywhere.

It is the aspiration. The people who are living there often have almost nothing but they are industrious. They are working hard. It is not a situation that is generally hopeless.

You feel a much greater sense of hopelessness walking into a housing estate in Glasgow (Scotland) than you do walking into Dharavi (a large slum in north central Mumbai).

The people in the housing estates in Glasgow probably earn more than almost anyone other than the one per cent in India, in terms of annual income, but the parts of the West that are downtrodden, are really depressed.

James Crabtree feels the magnitude of urbanisation India's faces is like nothing the world has seen ever before or will see. 'Urbanisation fundamentally changes the politics of places.' Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

People are more cheerful than one would have imagined?

Cheerful would be putting it too hard. But it is industrious. It is not hopeless.

If you walk into Dharavi and Mumbai -- that's a bit of a cliche all journalists go there -- but if you go to some place... I went to a few slums in India which were quite destitute, where people were clearly really struggling, but typically there is a sort of sense of purpose. People are hustling.

What that tells you is that if the country was so organised in a way to give these people opportunity, then they would make something of it.

Look at the Indian Diaspora. All around the world Indians are successful, everywhere they go.

Hindus in America are America's richest religion. Indian are the highest net tax payer of any minority.

Given the same opportunity here people would be fine. The system is holding them back.

Apart from the actually billionaire rajas, who probably have no connect with the rest of India, did you not find that India's elite, who live in south Mumbai and Lutyens' Delhi were quite disconnected from the reality of India and that that is odd?

That was my job right. I worked for the Financial Times and I didn't spend a lot of time going out into the Indian countryside and learning about the condition of people in villages.

I spent my time trying to talk to captains of industry, industrialists, tech entrepreneurs, because I was working for a newspaper that was interested in business and money and so in a sense these were people I got to know.

Add to that what I said earlier that the elites of Mumbai and Delhi and the other top tier cities are very impressive people but they are also very welcoming.

Some people you end up liking a lot and some people you don't like so much.

Typically people are nice to you. It's more (so for) being a British person in India. You would have thought for reasons of history alone people may not be very nice, but people are very nice to the English.

They are kind of welcoming and they have a sort of respect for the British that we probably don't deserve, probably less so nowadays, but still there is this kind of residual sense of mutual recognition and that just makes life easier.

People are nice to you. You are treated very generously in India. People have been very kind.

In a sense everything I know about India you can only read so much in books people have to tell you, you have to be able to talk to people.

So most of the ideas in this books someone told this stuff I am just absorbing it and trying to put it down on paper and so a lot of what I was able to do was based on the goodwill of others.

You are well to do and are you connected to the reality of India?

I don't know what it means to be connected to the reality of India. It is not clear to me to me that I or my friends or you and your friends are much more connected to the reality of somebody living in a village in Bihar.

Often I find that the industrialists are quite attuned to this world.

If you are Naveen Jindal you are stupendously rich, but you still have to build steel plants in rural Chhattisgarh.

You don' have to do anything in Chhattisgarh you can happily live in south Mumbai or Lutyens' Delhi and go on holiday to Bali.

(Jindal) might fly there on a private jet, but he has to understand the politics like a local area in rural Chhattisgarh.

So for quite a lot of these industrialists, their businesses are going to take them up against parts of India that other people don't go to.

That is not to suggest that they are fantastically attuned to the hardship of the country. But certainly compared to business people in the West, I think in India people are much more conscious of the fact that they live in a country that is being remade in which they have a kind of particular responsibility. I would give people more credit than that.

On the Lutyens crowd I think it is undeniable that the grip on power that the traditional English-speaking elite in south Mumbai and central Delhi has over the country is slipping, for all sorts of reasons, partly to do with Modi and Hindu nationalism.

And partly to due with simply the fact that the rest of the country is now modernising and so you will have different groups in Hyderabad or Ahmedabad, who are powerful and rich in a way that only Mumbai and Delhi used to be.

So the kind of lock-hold on the culture that this group -- the small elite -- used to have is slipping. That's probably a good thing.

In the end India needs an elite that looks like India, not one that looks like London.

Although it is important that the values that that elite to some degree upheld, which are the values, to some degree, in the Indian Constitution, that those continue to be upheld.
'We were expecting a dessert after a meal, but we didn't get it.'

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

The Confederation of All India Traders issued a statement soon after Diwali that consumers stayed away from festival shopping this year much to the disappointment of the trading community.

"In the last 4, 5 years, ever since online companies started online shopping in a big way with heavy discounts, our sales are affected badly. As there is no control over the way the online companies operate, they were able to destroy the domestic retail market to a great extent," Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general, CAIT, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

Why are consumers staying away from festival shopping? Is it because the economy is sluggish, or because more and more people are shopping online?

The first reason is people are short of cash in their pockets because of the sluggish economy.

Their money has been stuck in two areas -- in real estate and gold.

They have not been able to convert this into liquid cash as in the last 2-3 years, the real estate sector has not been doing good.

So, they have not been able to shop to their heart's content during the festive season.

The second reason is the influx of online companies and repeated discount sales by them.

These companies are offering lower prices, much lower than the original cost by indulging in deep discounting and low funding predatory pricing and this has affected the markets.

So, there is no level playing field in the market where the offline players are not able to compete with them.

I would say, these two are the main reasons why consumers have stayed away from festival shopping which has resulted in very slow sales.

How are offline traders going to tackle online sales? Today, people are shopping from vegetables and fruits to televisions and fridges online.

We are contemplating to have a discussion with the government to start a reliable online portal where our offline retailers also can do e-commerce in a trustworthy and transparent manner.

Soon after Diwali, we will talk to Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and also draw the prime minister's attention to this so that the government can open an online portal with CAIT where Indian retailers can offer goods.

Only this way we can compete with these multinational online players.

We have been requesting the government time and again to formulate an e-commerce policy and formation of a regulatory authority on e-commerce to monitor the e-commerce business in India.

Do you feel there is no control over how online players treat consumers?

Absolutely. There is no regulatory authority, no e-commerce policy and in the absence of which it has become an online playground for these online companies where they set their own rules.

Recently, a study found that 20% of the items sold online are fake. Do you feel consumers will go back to shopping in stores because of this?

Because the lifestyle of Indians has changed completely, people do not have time to go shopping.

In a way, you can say consumers are forced to go online shopping.

So, the reality is going to be more online shopping.

That's why we want a more transparent and reliable online portal from where consumers can buy things confidently and without the fear of getting cheated.

Are small traders going through a crisis now because of a bad festival season?

I will not say there is a crisis.

We were expecting a dessert after a meal, but we didn't get it.

In India, from Navratri onwards, it is festival season and this will extend up to February-March, and this is the time people do maximum shopping.

Traders survive the rest of the year based on the sales during the festival season.

But in the last 4, 5 years, ever since online companies started online shopping in a big way with heavy discounts, our sales are affected badly.

As there is no control over the way the online companies operate, they were able to destroy the domestic retail market to a great extent.

Even when they deliver fake materials and cheat consumers, nobody is there to question them.

So, there is an urgent need to have a comprehensive introspection of the entire retail trade in the country. Suitable measures have to be adopted to bring radical changes in the larger interests of the economy, the consumers and domestic trade.

Is this confined only to India, or is it there in the other markets like Europe, US, etc?

These online companies are in the habit of using predatory pricing, deep discounting and low funding all over the globe.

India being a new online market and the largest populated country, also known as the largest consumer market in the world, these tactics are affecting the Indian market significantly.

We are worried because the offline trade is entirely dependent on the consumers visiting stores.

If the consumer is addicted to online shopping and if s/he is cheated, there is a question mark on the credibility of online players.

How much has online shopping affected offline traders in India?

This year, there is a decline of around 40% in offline sales because of online players.

In the last one month itself, they have organised many sales with huge discount.

The sales were mainly in the FMCG, consumer durables and electronics and because of predatory pricing, they could offer huge discounts.

Is it confined only to the urban market? It is said there is buoyancy in the rural market after a good monsoon.

Today, there is no difference between the urban and the rural market.

Two, three years ago, there was a difference between these two markets, but now, it is a country-wide phenomenon.

Today, the rural area is also inching towards more and more online shopping.

In fact, we see a craze in rural areas to shop online as online shopping is a new experience for the rural market.

IMAGE: Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general, Confederation of All India Traders.

Till last year, Chinese products used to flood Indian market during the festival season. But it is reported that this year, there is a decline of 50%. What could be the reason for this?

The main reason for this decline is, for the last 2-3 years we at CAIT have been campaigning against Chinese products and asking people to boycott them.

We had organised around 300 workshops across the country to educate the traders not to buy Chinese products and the results are showing now.

Those who were importing from China tell us that demand from traders has come down by 50% this year.

That is why Chinese goods are not very visible in the market compared to the situation earlier.

Do you feel low-quality cheap products from China must have forced consumers also go for quality products?

Since price is a big consideration for the consumers in India, and since the Chinese products were available at a lower price, they chose Chinese products over Indian ones.

But after using them for some time, they have realised that they may be cheap but of low quality.

So, they are forced to throw away these products in a short period. Today, consumers are reverting to quality products mostly made in India.

Do you feel Indian consumers and the retail market as a whole are going through a learning process now?

I would say the Indian retail market is in a transformational stage.

The changes in the global market are affecting the Indian market as well.

As we are in a transformational change, there has to be a national level campaign to educate and make the community about the changes and there is also a need for upgradation and modernisation of the existing retail business.

We have to do this to compete with not only within the country but globally too.

Do you expect the Indian economy to pick up any time soon?

Though we have not started seeing any change in the Indian economy, we feel the time has come for a change. I feel very soon, it is going to change and change for the better.

I think within a year, we will start seeing a change happening particularly in the FMCG, mobile, electronics and the consumer goods market.

This will result in buoyancy in the Indian market.
Hepatitis C can be spread when blood from an infected person enters the body of someone whos not infected, and through sexual contact. Its an especially prominent disease among baby boomers. About three-fourths of those who have it were born between 1945 and 1965. People can have it for years without experiencing symptoms, and about half of people who have it dont know it, according to the state.
'IndiGo 2018 is a harsh, ultra-lean, mean, zero asset, fighting machine with aspirations of taking on the global long-haul low-cost market.'

Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters

Mark Martin is the founder and CEO, Martin Consulting, a Dubai-headquartered aviation consultancy firm.

Based out of both Dubai and New Delhi, Martin is acknowledged as one of the most insightful and neutral commentators on aviation developments.

"Clearly, Indigo is a 'revenue machine' that is on a turbocharger and revved up to take on the best of the best," Martin tells Shelley Vishwajeet.

At the time IndiGo entered the Indian sky, it had acquired a reputation for being the 'graveyard for private airlines' with nearly 14 private airlines hitting the ground between 1991 and 2006 within less than five years of average existential span!

Against this backdrop, what were some of the key things that IndiGo did and the competition did not, which led to its meteoric rise, making it the leader of Indian sky?

India's airline business has seen a lot in terms of changing market dynamics and granted, some of it is due to the Indian government's policies and the environment that we've been in.

IndiGo commenced operations in 2006 when market conditions weren't the most conducive with competition and the rise in jet fuel prices.

And closer to 2009, the global financial meltdown practically destabilized every economy including India's.

The key to IndiGo's sustainability centres on three basic airline business fundamentals:

i. Air transport will and would continue to be defined by itself as the most efficient mode of transport;

ii. Break-even in the airline business and especially for low-cost airlines takes between three to five years, so you need to stay focused with the business, and most importantly.

iii. Always listen to what the traveller wants from a service and give that to them.

That's what IndiGo did, and this pretty much is exactly what some of today's most successful airlines continue to do, such as WizzAir, AirAsia, FlyScoot, Tiger Air, Lion Air, Batik Air, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines.

IndiGo's positivity and passion to thrive were clearly infectious and that energy spread to other LCCs at the time -- GoAir was one of them.

Do you think IndiGo has what it takes to retain its leadership position in the coming ten years or so?

IndiGo has had its fair share of hits and misses.

Its worst was when it commenced flights to South East Asia, a region that is clearly dominated by some of Asia's 'heavy-hitter' low-cost airlines that'll do anything to fiercely safeguard their region.

IndiGo did suffer a bloody nose in the bargain with reducing flights and eventually had to pull out of destinations.

The IndiGo of today isn't the 'local-fun-Indian-sleepy-turn-infor-the-night' airline of 2007, with a daily utilization of 9.5 hours per aircraft.

But the good side of failure is that it teaches one a lot with learnings from what it did wrong and what should one do to get it right.

And that is what has made IndiGo what it is today.

The IndiGo of today isn't the 'local-fun-Indian-sleepy-turn-infor-the-night' airline of 2007, with a daily utilisation of 9.5 hours per aircraft.

IndiGo 2018, with an average daily utilisation of over 13 hours, is a harsh, ultra-lean, mean, zero asset, fighting machine with aspirations of taking on the global long-haul low-cost market.

Clearly, it is a 'revenue machine' that is on a turbocharger and revved up to take on the best of the best.

As IndiGo shall soon migrate to long-range aircraft for its long-haul low-cost business, I expect that the immediate aim of the airline would be to centre its energy on where the global Indian Diaspora is; and along with that, continue to stay invested and focused while ensuring that routes turn profitable.

Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters

What would be some of the bigger challenges in the coming years that IndiGo needs to focus upon?

The biggest challenges for IndiGo as with any airline are three; the first being the cost of jet fuel and oil prices, the second being competition, and the third being credibility and reputation.

The aviation business can be both very good to you and extremely ruthless if you are not careful.

All it takes is one air crash to wipe out five years of reputation built to one's credit.

Having said that, I won't be too worried about IndiGo; the airline today has a product and consumer appeal that is second to none and a commitment for reliability and efficiency that has withstood the test of time, so this should work fairly in the airline's favour.

What I would be concerned about is the external risks, and in the pecking order comes fuel, currency, foreign policies on India and stability within India's economic and political fabric.

Do you think issues like A320neo engine nags and rising fuel price could impact its operational, profit and reputational dynamics?

Whenever a radical, new technological platform is introduced with aviation, it has come at the cost of stabilisation and transitional issues.

We must be glad and relieved that unlike the 1980s and the 1970s, we haven't seen an air crash or a major catastrophe as a result of it.

When the Airbus A320 was launched, the aircraft was complex to the level that pilots took time to understand that aircraft and as a result of that learning, the industry saw close to six crashes.

IndiGo has it good at the moment because as we know, 'liability cover and compensation for technical glitches' is something that is covered in the engine purchase contract.

The problems with the PW NEO engine come from the high utilization of at least 13 to 14 hours a day, and operating in extremely hot and humid conditions.

That clearly has taken a toll on the power plant, and this is something that IndiGo can't be made accountable for.

This is a phase and this too shall pass as soon as P&W comes up with a better modification and upgrade for the PW1000 engine.

Fuel prices are a concern, but there are offsets here as well.

For starters, we must understand the logic of how fuel is factored in, and that is everytime you have a plane full of passengers, you fill fuel and its implied that the fuel's been paid for; so in short, it's the travellers who pay up, and cover the airline at whatever rate it is at on the option market.

That leaves the actual pressure on profitability, which for IndiGo would have to be well-articulated and structured, from a long-term perspective.

IMAGE: Passengers at the Indigo Airlines counter at Agartala airport. Photograph: Jayanta Dey/Reuters

Mr Rakesh Bhatia has several other business interests, though many of them like the hospitality business compliment the airline business. Do you think diversion or spread of time and interest could impact the management of the airline in the coming years?

Bhatia has clearly developed a very viable and workable strategy that has made his core companies, InterGlobe Air Transport and InterGlobe Technologies, what they are today.

That is identifying the right person for the right job, and not placing in executives that are 'available'.

We've seen this happen several times in the company's history.

The IndiGo of 2018 isn't the IndiGo of 2007.

The quality and level of skill set needed to take the airline global as well as right into India's grassroots hinterland will clearly need leaders that have stood the test of time, seen failures and have won from them as well.

I'll be blunt with that -- those skill sets don't exist in India.

In times to come, we would see newer and more astute global managers take the reins of IndiGo's key strategic roles and in turn, work towards bringing it all together in perfect synchrony and harmony.

Is it a good idea for IndiGo to venture into regional space/regional aviation? Should it be done with the IndiGo brand name or does it need to opt for a different brand identity for its regional ambitions?

If IndiGo wants to be the true blue 'air transport enabler', it has to embed itself in nearly every tier of air transport.

IndiGo entering into regional grassroots connectivity was something it should have contemplated many moons ago after the demise of Vayudoot in the 1990s and the gradual withdrawal of Jet Airways from its ATR service.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Rupa Publications

Going regional today, especially when smaller towns demand greater connection to regional business and leisure centres, makes practical and revenue sense.

Besides, today we are also living in an environment where most travellers are millennials and those that fall in the bracket of 20 to 35 years; so clearly this is the way to go.

The other tier-I sees IndiGo venturing into what's known as micro-grassroots where they utilize even smaller aircraft to connect villages, small towns up in the mountains and cities that even today remain extremely isolated and it takes nothing less than 12 hours to reach there by road.

Which would be one Indian airline group that could challenge Indigo's leadership in the future?

The company that practically invented commercial aviation in India and continues to have aspirations in the market -- TATA.

I would like to believe that there will be a return of the Tatas in full-blown aviation and there will be a time when Air India will get the right leadership, government decisions and strategic focus.

So till then, I don't see anyone except IndiGo being the most formidable transportation disrupter in the region.

For the moment, India is IndiGo's territory and they command the transport mind share.

Excerpted from: The Indigo Story: Inside The Upstart That Redefined Indian Aviation by Shelley Vishwajeet, Rupa Publications, with the publisher's kind permission.
The centre eyes airport-specific digital solution and ties up with start-ups to solve problem unique to BIAL

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) over the past two years is facing a puzzle - the forecast on the number of flyers is not matching.

While the airport had projected a growth rate of 32 per cent in 2013, it is growing at close to 40 per cent.

The saturation of Delhi and Mumbai airports has forced airlines to grow out of Bangalore.

IndiGo, the largest Indian carrier, has more than 100 departures and both full service carrier Jet Airways and Vistara is eyeing Bangalore as their alternative hub.

The airport needed to create more infrastructure for this growth.

Space is becoming premium. The number of flyers is growing much faster. But infrastructure takes time to be built. And time is not something that Indian airports have in hand with this kind of growth, BIAL chief operating officer Javed Malik said.

By 2020, the growing demand for air travel is expected to create a 15 per cent deficit of the critical infrastructure needed to cater to travel, according to the Airport Council International (ACI).

Under Malik, the airport has taken up an ambitious project of finding technology to solve this problem.

We germinate in terms of byte and not bricks, said Malik, referring to the importance of technology over physical infrastructure.

Malik said in the competitive world, airports would have to fight to make themselves attractive to airlines.

Faster and hassle-free check-in is the major component which increases the value of an airport to flyers, it also means more business for the airlines and the airports as more passengers can be processed faster, he said.

He said BIAL had been able to cut average check-in time from 90 seconds to 15 seconds through solutions like self-check in and self-bag drop system.

To implement this, BIAL tied up with IT major Accenture to set up an innovation centre.

The centre eyes airport-specific digital solution and ties up with start-ups to solve problem unique to BIAL.

Satyaki Raghunath, chief strategy and development officer, BIAL who joined early this year to lead the digital push says the mandate is to invent solutions from global examples but modify them to Indias needs.

Using technology is ok but in a country like India, where there are lot of first time flyers, technology has to be simple, he says.

For instance, last week the airport signed an agreement to implement a technology which would allow passengers to check in through facial recognition.

This technology used by major global airports will identify the flyer by their face and stop the requirement of presenting boarding card cutting down the check-in time.

Raghunath said that BIAL worked on the project for two years before selecting the facial recognition method.

We tried different solution rather than having it through core biometric solution like iris or finger print where there can be a concern over privacy, we tried hand waving technology but we realised thats complex because waving is not something a person does naturally, he said.

BIALs is also working on technology which can help the airlines to fasten the security check-in process.

Some of our innovations may not be visible to the flyer directly but behind the scene it improves efficiency of the system which would benefit the flyer, he says.

For instance it has implemented an automatic tray retrieval system which reduces the role of security officials during the baggage screening process as the baggage and the separated valuables placed on the trays will reach the other end without the manual involvement of Central Industry Security Force officials.

There is also a diversion in the conveyor belt for bags that are found to have suspicious content and need to be checked by hand.

This is to make sure that the conveyer belt does not have to stop at any time.

This is allowing the airport to handle 470 trays per hour as compared to 350 before.

Malik also sees a scope of revenue growth for the airport from the reduced check-in time.

The shorter time a flyer spends doing routine check-in process, the more time he would spend at the coffee shop, buy something as they have more choice.

"This also increases the scope of revenue generation for us, he says.

Photograph: Utkarsh Jha/Wikimedia Commons
'Allocate 30% to 35% of your equity portfolio to mid-cap funds and 10% to 15% to small-cap funds.'

Sanjay Kumar Singh and Joydeep Ghosh report.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Investors in mid- and small-cap stocks and funds have had a torrid time.

And it's primarily because of the high valuations that these stocks reached in 2017, and the subsequent fall.

Year-to-date, the S&P BSE Midcap Index is down 10.19 per cent while the BSE Small-Cap Index is down 14.26 per cent.

Some stocks within these segments have seen higher correction than the benchmark indices.

However, to use the cliched phrase, there seems to be 'cautious optimism' from some fund managers.

And it is largely because of the outperformance of the large-cap stocks.

Says Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, founder and managing director, Valentis Advisors: "Following the sharp outperformance of large caps, relative valuations of mid-caps versus large-caps are now in line with historical averages."

"With absolute valuations still slightly expensive," Jaipuria added, "we would advise investors to gradually use market corrections to build their portfolio in small- and mid-cap stocks with a two-three-year holding horizon."

According to him, we are on the cusp of a recovery in the earnings cycle, a phase where mid-caps see strong absolute as well as relative performance.

Historically, two consecutive years of negative mid-cap returns are a low probability event, which bodes well for the performance of mid-caps next year.

The initial signs of good news for mid-caps and small-caps came when prominent fund houses such as DSP Investment Managers, which had suspended fresh investments in its Micro-cap Fund (now DSP Small-cap fund), started allowing investments again.

However, it is only through systematic investment plans (SIPs) and systematic transfer plans (STPs) currently.

In December 2017, even L&T Mutual Fund had restricted inflows in excess of Rs 200,000 per transaction per day per investor in its L&T Emerging Business Fund. Now, this cap has been removed.

"Although the Sensex and Nifty have scaled new highs recently, mid-caps and small-caps continue to remain sluggish. This divergence is throwing up interesting opportunities for bottom-up stock pickers like us."

The key reason fund houses had imposed restrictions on inflows was high valuations.

"The number of stocks that one could buy at reasonable valuations was shrinking. There were many companies that we liked in terms of their business prospects, but could not invest in owing to their high valuations," says Vinit Sambre, head-equities, DSP Investment Managers.

The fund house, he says, felt that it needed to give investors some indication of the valuation risk in the small-cap segment, and hence decided to restrict flows.

Now with valuations tempering, fund houses have begun to remove restrictions on inflows.

"After a significant correction in the small- and mid-cap space in the past few months, valuations of companies have become more attractive," says Soumendra Nath Lahiri, chief investment officer, L&T Investment Management.

Good time to enter?

Fund managers believe that this is a reasonably good time to enter the mid-and small-cap space.

The current year has been volatile. This turbulence is expected to continue, owing to the currency crisis in emerging markets, and the spate of elections in India (state elections followed by the general elections next year).

While the volatility may seem ominous to investors, it spells opportunity for fund managers.

Says Lahiri: "Although popular indices such as the Sensex and the Nifty have scaled new highs recently, mid-caps and small-caps continue to remain sluggish. This divergence is throwing up interesting opportunities for bottom-up stock pickers like us."

Fund managers plan to use the ongoing volatility to increase their stakes in quality companies, with a long-term perspective.

Moreover, all investors need to have a long-term allocation to mid-cap and small-cap funds.

"The long-term rationale for investing in these funds arises from the promising growth prospects of companies in these segments," says Sambre.

"Many good companies in this space believe they can double their revenues in three-four years, which means they will grow their top line and earnings at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 to 20 per cent," Sambre adds.

Over the long term, he says, investors' returns tend to track earnings growth.

With the large-cap space being tracked heavily, alpha generation by active fund managers has been shrinking there for a few years now.

On the other hand, fund managers and their research teams still have opportunities in the mid-cap and small-cap space to discover new stocks, or those where there is a mismatch between price and valuation.

"The dispersion between the performance of the best and the worst companies is high in this space. If stock selection is good, there is better opportunity to create alpha here," says Sambre.

Avoid lump sum investments

Despite the recent correction, valuations within the mid-cap and small-cap segments remain expensive.

"Avoid making large lump sum investments in mid-cap and small-cap funds right now. Look at your category allocation. If you are under-allocated to these categories, and if your risk profile permits, invest in these segments via the SIP route," says Kaustubh Belapurkar, director-manager research, Morningstar Investment Adviser India.

The ongoing market turbulence could cause stocks in these segments to correct further.

The SIP route will allow investors to buy fund units at lower costs.

Belapurkar suggests investing in these funds with at least a seven-year horizon.

Investors should also avoid loading their portfolios too much with mid-cap and small-cap funds.

"Allocate 30 to 35 per cent of your equity portfolio to mid-cap funds and 10 to 15 per cent to small-cap funds," says Mumbai-based financial planner Arnav Pandya.

Investors should not panic and exit if these segments correct further, he says.

Pandya suggests examining a fund's portfolio before investing in it.

"It should be well diversified and should not have excessive concentration in a particular sector or theme," he says.

Belapurkar advises selecting funds that have given sound risk-adjusted returns over the long term.

"Go with a fund manager who has delivered consistent rather than lumpy performance," he adds.
Ponzi schemes have characteristics that the informed investor can spot easily, says Sanjay Kumar Singh.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Do names like Saradha, Rose Valley, Pan Card, etc ring a bell?

These are Ponzi schemes in which Indian investors have lost millions of rupees. To curb this menace, the government tabled the 'Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018' in Parliament recently.

While the punitive provisions of this legislation will definitely act as a deterrent, investors on their part too need to be able to spot these schemes and steer clear of them.

Spot a Ponzi scheme and avoid it; Ponzi schemes have a few characteristics that the informed investor can spot easily.

The first sign is the promise of an abnormally high rate of return.

"If today a bank gives you 7 per cent return, and a scheme promises 18 per cent, get suspicious," says Arvind A Rao, a Sebi-registered investment advisor.

The second sign is the promise of 'guaranteed' returns.

Today, very few schemes give guaranteed returns. Also, high returns and guaranteed returns don't go hand in hand.

Three, if the salesperson makes the investment process appear convoluted, be warned.

Four, if the agent does not explain the investment risks upfront, stay away.

Ask the sales agent which regulator the money-raising entity is registered with.

"If it is a genuine entity, the salesperson should share the registration licence and number," says Rao.

Invest with players who have been around for a long time.

"If a company has been around for 20, 30 years, then the probability of it running a scam is lower, while a two-three-year-old company can well turn out to be a fly-by-night operator," says Mumbai-based financial planner Arnav Pandya.

Pandya suggests sticking to established instruments like bank fixed deposits, small saving schemes, Government of India bonds, mutual funds, etc.

He also suggests investing only with well-known entities and avoiding small, locally-operated ones.

Regulatory-judicial lacunae: The key legal provisions that come into play when such scams occur are those in the Indian Penal Code pertaining to fraud (and certain other laws administered by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi).

But proving fraud can take a lot of time, and the penalties were also not high, which meant that the existing deterrents are inadequate.

Regulatory silos also allow the perpetrators to escape.

The Reserve Bank of India only regulates entities like banks and non-banking finance companies.

Sebi has regulations for collective investment schemes, but these do not cover cooperative societies.

Many issues fall under the purview of central legislation while others are state subjects. Such regulatory cracks have allowed miscreants to get away.

Comprehensive legislation: A key strength of the proposed legislation is its sweeping nature.

"It brings under its purview every kind of deposit-raising scheme, whether regulated or unregulated. Schemes already regulated by existing regulators will fall under its purview. And it completely bans deposit raising by unregulated entities," says Ajay Joseph, partner, Veyrah Law.

If any entity raises money but fails to repay investors the principal and interest due to fraudulent causes, it will be held liable.

Earlier, the concerned authorities had to initiate enquiries, carry out investigations, and go through an elaborate process. In India the judicial process is slow.

Those being prosecuted find ways to delay it further. Hence, it takes a lot of time to bring culprits to book.

The proposed legislation will allow the competent authority being set up in the states to attach assets that have been acquired through unregulated deposits.

"The authorities will not have to wait until a fraud has been detected or money has been squandered away, which makes recovery difficult," says Joseph.

"The competent authority will be able to act the moment it receives information. It will be able to ask for reasons, get statements of account, and then proceed to pass attachment orders so that no further funds are raised," Joseph adds.

Even if there is siphoning of funds to related parties, this legislation allows the special court to go to the entity to which money has been transferred.

It can ask the concerned party to show cause why it shouldn't attach such transferee's assets of equivalent value.

The recipients will also have to show that they paid fair value for the assets acquired in such related-party transactions.

Finally, both the financial and incarceration-based deterrents of this legislation are much higher.

Draconian in character: One concern voiced by stakeholders is that the government needs to fix the flaws in the judicial system by empowering it with adequate resources, improving infrastructure, appointing enough judges so that litigation moves at a faster pace, and providing more resources to the law and order mechanism to carry out investigations properly.

Instead, the government compensates by formulating more draconian laws.

"To my mind, attachment and seizure of assets, or penalising without concluding a proper and fair trial is draconian. Such laws can sometimes be used to harass people instead of achieving their objectives," says Joseph.

Another concern is whether those presiding over these special courts will have the necessary knowledge to understand complicated financial issues.

Many Western countries have effective policies for incentivising and protecting whistleblowers.

Experts say such a policy should have been incorporated in this legislation.

To expect the competent authority to be able to find out in which remote corner such schemes are operating is unrealistic.

The enactment of a new, harsher law may not end this menace entirely.

"Since the deterrents are stronger, people will think twice before starting such schemes. But there is a possibility that these operations may go underground. There may be no written documents, and they may be run entirely by word-of-mouth, which will make them harder to track," says Ramabhadran Thirumalai, assistant professor of finance at Indian School of Business.

To be effective, he says, these courts will have to dispense faster justice. He also adds that legislative measures need to be supplemented with financial literacy initiatives.
All stakeholders in the diamond industry chain from mines to retailers have to follow a system of warranty under which they have to individually declare in the invoices they issue that what they have sold are not conflict diamonds.

India has proposed that the global diamond industry always certify that what is sold is free from any link with corruption, money laundering or terrorism.

Following this, global industry stakeholders have decided to enlarge the scope of the mandatory Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and System of Warranty (SoW).

The Kimberley Process (KP) is presently restricted to certifying that the products are not conflict diamonds, defined as rough diamonds that came via insurgency movements or their allies, to finance wars attempting to overthrow legistimate governments.

As many as 81 countries (including 23 of the European Union) are members; all have to certify that diamonds moving through their territory are not conflict diamonds, for acceptance in other countries.

Conflict diamonds are also not allowed to be traded under United Nations norms.

In fact, all stakeholders in the diamond industry chain from mines to retailers have to follow a system of warranty under which they have to individually declare in the invoices they issue that what they have sold are not conflict diamonds.

Recently, the New York-headquartered World Diamond Council's annual general meeting was held in Mumbai.

In 2019, India will assume the role of KP chairman. Sources say the meeting had decided to expand the definition of conflict diamonds. Once formalised, member countries will also have to certify that diamonds in the KP (clean diamonds) were not used to finance terrorism.

Even the SoW is being amended, with sellers at every level having to declare that the diamonds for which an invoice is being issued are free from money laundering and corruption, to the best of their knowledge.

In the meeting India was represented by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), a quasi-government body, under the Union ministry of Commerce.

We proposed inclusion of self-regulation against money laundering and terrorist financing, said Pramod Kumar Agrawal, chairman of GJEPC. He said all participants agreed.

Adding: India has also proposed to adopt sustainable development for the diamond industry as a whole.

There is a huge global chain from mines, their labour to cutting and polishing units/workers and retailers.

India has proposed that all in the chain get adequate benefit from the gains in the trade.

The aim is to address issues such as exploitation of labour.

A World Diamond Council (WDC) spokesperson said, It was proposed to include in the SoW that all participants adhere to universally accepted principles on human and labor rights, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, in support of mandatory KPCS implementation and the OECD due-diligence guidelines.

"Changes will be implemented on an ongoing basis and will be included in the upcoming 2021-2025 WDC Strategic Plan.

Next month, the KP plenary meeting is to happen in Brussels, where many of this year's resolutions are expected to be confirmed.

The Diamond Producers' Association is developing a 'member toolkit' to help in implementation of the guidelines.

The WDC spokesperson said: "Board members reaffirmed their continued commitment to KP reform, with agreement to push forward on an expanded definition of conflict diamonds, to address human security and environmental concerns."

The Indian delegation said the concerns of human security and environment concerns and labour rights would be implemented in India but subject to Indian laws.

It said with a million people employed in the sector here, with cutting units often in extremely small workplaces, micro regulation is a practical problem in India.

Two other resolutions at last weeks meeting were for a permanent secretariat to improve KP and to bring more African nations and voices into the process, as 60 per cent of the world diamonds are mined in that continent.

Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
Don't forget to ask for quarterly audited statement of transactions in your account.

This will make it easier for you to calculate your tax liability and pay it on time, say Tinesh Bhasin.

When investing in a portfolio management service (PMS), don't just look at the returns and performance of its schemes.

Make sure that the PMS provider also gives out quarterly audited (or even unaudited/provisional) statements of the transactions in your account, to help you pay the right amount of tax and on time.

Helping a client prepare her income tax return turned out to be more time-consuming than Kolkata-based investment advisor Malhar Majumder had expected it to be.

Majumder had to go back and forth with his client's PMS provider to get details of transactions and audited reports.

The taxation of PMS is similar to that of an individual buying and selling shares.

But as the broker trades on behalf of the client in PMS, it needs to provide details of each transaction.

"The client had invested in PMS from one of the country's biggest brokers. But it was still a hassle getting the required information. At first, the client's PMS operator didn't send the audited statement. When they sent it a few weeks later, the report didnt have the buying and selling price," says Majumder.

Also, after the introduction of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax this year, some investors will now need to start paying quarterly advance tax once their portfolio gains cross Rs 100,000.

If you don't pay advance tax, you will have to pay interest on the outstanding tax.

If your PMS doesn't give out quarterly audited reports, you will need to hire a chartered accountant to prepare it, paying from your own pocket.

In such a scenario, it's better to shift to a PMS with better processes than sticking with your existing one.

Investment advisors point out that many PMS providers don't voluntarily send audited statements to the clients unless asked.

Only a few PMS send an annual audited report mentioning the taxation for each transaction.

In the absence of an audited report detailing taxation, it entirely becomes the client's liability to track each transaction.

"If the PMS doesn't send the report in the specific format needed for tax filing, the individual will need to segregate each transaction and check the taxation it will attract," says Arvind Rao, founder, Arvind Rao & Associates.

It means the client or his chartered accountant will need to go through each contract note, note the details, calculate the gains or losses, and then evaluate the taxation it will attract.

There could be times clients have not received contract notes and other documents related to the transaction, which can make the exercise cumbersome.

"The PMS must give the audited account and profit and loss statement and unaudited or provisional statement every quarter," says Majumder.

"When an individual gives money to a fund manager, it is the PMS's responsibility to carry out the administrative work, and this is part of the fee it charges," points out Majumder.

There are two forms of PMS in the country -- discretionary and non-discretionary.

In the more popular form -- discretionary -- the portfolio manager individually and independently manages the funds of each client in accordance with her needs.

In the non-discretionary portfolio, clients give the directions to the fund manager.

Investment advisors and chartered accountants say that in both the cases, the PMS has to comply with administrative work.

Earlier, long-term capital gains didn't attract tax.

An investor had to only look out for short-term capital gains or losses.

Now, with the introduction of long-term capital gains tax on equities, there are more chances that investors will need to pay advance tax once the gains cross Rs 100,000 threshold.

If an investor fails to pay advance tax, he will need to pay interest on the outstanding tax at 1 per cent simple interest for every month of delay.

If he fails to pay 90 per cent of the tax that he is liable for by March 15, theres another 1 per cent penalty from April.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com
The reason for digital and IT interventions increasingly being adopted is not just the change in ways commuters move but also the mode on which this transport moves, says Jyoti Mukul.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Pixabay

Travelling by ferry to the Andamans on holiday or going to work in an electric bus during the rush hour, technology is always at hand. Not only can it forecast weather disturbances or other problems that could spoil your travel, it can also resolve much of it remotely.

Technology is changing the way people move, and its intervention in mobility will only increase.

Electric chargers, for instance, can operate at powers of up to 350 kilowatts. ABB's Terra High Power charger adds up to 200 km of range to an electric vehicle in just eight minutes. Digital and IT tools, cloud-based information systems and data analytics will increasingly be used in the transport sector.

"Digitisation and IT technology based on a combination of hardware, software and sensors are being deployed globally to increase the availability and reliability of physical transport assets," says Nalin Jain, president, Asia Pacific & China region, GE Transportation.

Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

A lot of technology push has come from aggregators. "Customers expect transport to be safe, reliable, comfortable and affordable. It should also provide better access and lower travel and wait time," says Amit Singh, co-founder, Shuttl, a bus aggregator in the National Capital Region.

The reason for digital and IT interventions increasingly being adopted is not just the change in ways commuters move but also the mode on which this transport moves.

For instance, the shift from conventional fuel to electric mode of travel.

"Interconnectivity through cloud or IoT (internet of things) enabled technology has created platforms in the front-end where customers, besides getting a smoke- and pollution-free mode of transportation, can plan their travels better with charger locations, remote bill payment, and servicing," says Sanjeev Sharma, managing director, ABB India.

At the back-end, technology will be required to support the electricity grid, balancing the volatility of renewable energy and ensuring, through remote maintenance, that there is steady power supply in the city.

"For vehicles to reach their destination safely, charging stations should be able to calibrate how much electricity to draw in a given area," adds Sharma.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Pixabay

Airplanes, metro trains, and railway in India are fairly advanced in their use of information technology. But if Uber is to launch its air taxi service in seven years and a metro has to run overhead simultaneously with vehicles on road, a lot more technology tools have to be added.

Most parts of the country, however, still run on worn-out rickshaws and bus services. Nonetheless, smaller cities too are seeing newer technology.

Jabalpur is a case in point. Like some other cities, it is moving to electric rickshaws from diesel ones. E-rickshaws there will be using solar energy to charge batteries. Sharma explains that these are powered by solar inverters, which can be remotely managed and monitored through mobile phone applications.

Remote monitoring and diagnostics will be used in railway locomotives as well as for predictive maintenance. Jain says GE Locomotives being supplied to the Indian Railways are digitally enabled for real-time monitoring from their Roza maintenance facility in Uttar Pradesh.

Image: Google co-founder Larry Page bets big on flying cars. Photograph: Courtesy PAL-V Europe NV

Maintaining reliability is difficult on a fixed schedule service, and for passenger services ensuring a seat is important for comfort. "This is a hard problem as the balance between comfort and cost is tricky. We use artificial intelligence to predict demand and run bus accordingly," says Singh.

Safety for commuters is also a big concern both in long-distance and local travel. For aggregators, it means enabling driver authentication. Shuttl does this through face authentication.

"Even the commuter's family and friends can anytime track the bus. Commuters can opt for Homecheck' that has been built keeping the women travellers in mind. If a customer opts in, user's home geocode/IVR is used to detect if the customer has reached home," explains Singh.

Shuttl has built its own proprietary technology and hosts its solutions on Amazon Web Services.

Even in the case of railroad transportation, safety, on-time performance, network throughput and asset performance are important.

"The combination of technologies will enable passenger experience and empower organisations to move fast with changing dynamics of operations," says Jain.
Before committing your precious money in PE funds, investors need to get very choosy, advises Ramesh Bukka, co-founder and director, Entrust Family Office Investment Advisors.

Many high net worth individuals (HNIs) looking to diversify their portfolios beyond the listed space consider foraying into private equity.

Many get lured by the promise of extemely high returns.

However, only sophisticated investors, who understand the risks well, should venture into this space.

Besides a minimum investment size of Rs 10 million and above, investing in private equity also requires the patience to stay put for a tenure of 10 years, or sometimes even more.

Experience suggests that returns, adjusted for risk, often turn out to be lower than in the listed space.

Past performance is uninspiring

Private equity investing in India has had a chequered performance history over the past 15 to 20 years.

In the years leading up to the market meltdown in 2008, it was highly sought after by institutional as well as high net worth investors as the economic growth rate in India was strong.

The greed for higher returns coupled with strong push from the distribution community ensured that large pools of capital were raised.

The euphoric times did not last long.

Investments made up to 2008 were at peak valuations and took considerable years to break even.

Most PE funds ended up having marginal stakes in investee companies with inadequate investment rights.

They, therefore, had limited influence with promoters on key decisions.

Most PE funds were raised by first-time managers who did not have enough private equity experience.

Saddled with excess capital, they did not focus adequately on entry valuations and risk assessment.

As a result, investors' returns on most of the funds raised about 10 years ago have been dismal and in low single digits, well below equivalent benchmarks in the listed space.

Most of the capital has also not been returned yet, thereby increasing opportunity costs for investors.

Barring a few exceptions, most PE funds have not made money for their investors.

Part of the blame also lies with the investors as they did not do adequate diligence on the fund or the manager before committing their capital for 10 years or more.

Most existing PE funds are now struggling with exits as liquidity is not easy.

The average holding period for most funds is four-five years.

It is a common feature to see funds writing to investors seeking extension of the original mandate.

With performance being below the hurdle rate, there is no incentive for investors to carry on, and most funds are now struggling to hold on to their investors.

Will 2008 be repeated?

As in 2008, there has been a proliferation of PE funds that have raised money over the past two years, riding on strong sentiment in the equity markets.

Investors have poured billions of rupees, lured by the prospects of high returns, and to diversify their portfolios.

While the landscape has improved, most funds are yet to complete one fund cycle of raising and returning all the capital.

Therefore, it is extremely difficult to assess performance as there is not much to evaluate.

The situation is similar to 2008, when valuations in the public and private markets were rich, thereby increasing the entry valuation risk.

When you look at the promised returns of some of the funds, they target a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of 20 to 25 per cent as anything lower is not in line with investors' expectations.

While certain individual investments may yield very high returns, consistent delivery across the portfolio at current market valuations is akin to asking for the moon. The mistakes of 2008 could be repeated.

High fees will lower investors' returns

While management fees and operating expenses are easy to understand, PE funds levy carry (performance fee) above a certain threshold (hurdle) with provisions of 'with catch up' (profit share on the entire return) and 'without catch up' (profit share on return above the threshold).

For most investors the dice is loaded against them as fees end up taking more than 25 to 30 per cent of invested capital during the life of the fund, irrespective of performance.

Distributors of these products end up getting 5 to 8 per cent upfront.

As the money is locked in for many years, the incentive to sell (or mis-sell) is large.

This is a classic case of 'heads they win, tails you lose'.

Complicated terminology, phantom valuations

PE funds are ideally meant for sophisticated investors.

Investing in these funds is not easy since investors have to contend with several terms like PPM (private placement memorandum), MoIC (multiple of invested capital), TVPI (total value to paid in multiple), tracking multiple, mark ups, mark downs, provisioned investments, waterfalls and clawbacks.

PE funds are mandated to value their investee companies on a yearly basis through an external valuation agency.

Since the investee companies straddle many diverse sectors and industries, valuation is a tricky exercise and is prone to ambiguity.

Since the valuers are appointed by the funds themselves, there always exists an element of conflict.

Unlike the listed space, most of the reporting of performance (or shall we say the lack of it) is done in not-easy-to-understand terminology like MoIC, instead of simple measures like XIRR.

Some underperforming PE funds seem to have found innovative methods of giving fund value as a multiple of the amount invested in the investee companies and not including the fees charged. How convenient!

Ultimately, valuation is discovered only when the investment gets listed or is sold.

Final returns can be computed only when the fund is fully liquidated and paid out, which is usually after more than 10 years. Until then, returns are phantom like, notional and therefore not relevant.

Expensive products

PE funds are expensive products as usually a fourth of the committed capital goes into fees.

If one were to include profit sharing and taxes, net returns are substantially lower than gross returns.

Most investors who have invested in the last peak have ended up with poor returns and any investments committed now will probably see an exit in the next peak.

If you look at recent history, peak to peak returns are poor. Unlike the current period, best returns are made when there is lack of investor interest.

Before committing your precious money in PE funds, investors need to get very choosy and ask themselves:

Are they worth the risk?

Do they fit my overall portfolio?

Am I ready for a long gestation period?

Investors need to look, pause, take a closer look before they take the leap.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com
At a time when the private sector mutual fund industry is celebrating its 25 years, it is surprising that there are few foreign players who have made the cut. The first player in the private sector - Kothari Pioneer - was sold to Franklin Templeton within the first few years. While Pioneer has re-entered the Indian market by buying a stake in Bank of Barodas mutual fund arm, there are other illustrious names such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, JP Morgan, ING, etc, who came into India lured by its growth prospects, found the going tough and pulled the plug on their India business. The foreign players ran into several problems. For example: Fidelity, despite having a strong equity base, exited after it found the business unsustainable due to the ban on entry load in 2009. When it exited in 2013, it had accumulated losses of Rs 3 billion till FY11. Some entrants also tried to bulldoze the system by asking distributors to only sell their products. There was a revolt of sorts, and the fund houses suffered. There were other problems too. While UTI had been around since the 1960s, it ran a fixed-return product. Once private players were allowed entry, they were not permitted to promise fixed returns. Time was needed to educate the investor about a product where market risk had to be borne by him, and for per capita incomes to grow, says KN Sivasubrmanian, former chief investment officer at Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India). Developing distribution strength was another hurdle. The fund industry was still in a nascent phase and required distribution strength more than it needed asset management skills. Foreign players who did not have a strong distribution presence found the going extremely tough, says Sanjay Sinha, founder, Citrus Advisors (and former chief executive officer of L&T Mutual Fund). The distribution channel in India was also different. The banking channel predominates in developed economies, while in India they had to deal with independent financial advisors (IFAs). Building a network of IFAs requires time and effort. Asset management was not the primary business of many of the foreign players who entered it here in India. Banking and investment banking were their forte. They lacked the single-minded, long-term focus required to succeed here. The inability to scale up and the insignificant size of the India business compared to their global operations at times led to exits. The board would one day decide that the India business was not worth the trouble, says R Balakrishnan, an industry veteran who is now an independent analyst. Short-term focus too played a part. If the results didnt come fast, they lost patience. If there was a change in management, the new person wanted to do something different, adds Balakrishnan. A study in contrast is Franklin Templeton, which has thrived in India. The decision to be in India had buy-in right at the top in the case of Franklin, says Sivasubramanian. Besides looking for growth in the Indian market, the parent also treated India as a source of managerial (like Lever) talent. Franklin took an early lead in setting up a large back office in Hyderabad to cut costs globally. The parent realised that India was a local market, so they gave the management and investment teams here a free hand to come up with strategies that would suit this market, adds Sivasubramanian. Asset management is Franklins only business. Company-specific factors, too, played a part. Goldman Sachs was hawking passive funds at a time when there were few takers for them. JP Morgans decision to pull out may have been a part of its global restructuring exercise, with the debt default debacle acting as the last straw. Sanjay Kumar Singh
The recent three-bank merger seems to be grossly negative for Vijaya Bank and Bank of Baroda in the short term, as the negative net worth of Dena Bank will have to be absorbed by the merged entity

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The three state-owned banks - Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank - saw mixed reactions at the bourses on Tuesday, a day after the Centre proposed to amalgamate them into a combined entity.

While Dena Bank ended the day firm, Vijaya Bank and Bank of Baroda lost ground.

Calling it a step in the right direction, analysts said this could be a game changer for the PSU banking space and could lead to public sector banks (PSBs) being ultimately consolidated into seven large entities.

On the fundamental front, however, analysts at Phillip Capital suggest the merger seems to be grossly negative for Vijaya Bank and BoB in the short term, as the negative net worth of Dena will have to be absorbed into the merged entity.

Though most analysts agree the move can be a game changer, they ask investors to wait till there is more clarity on the share swap ratio and other details of the proposed amalgamation before taking investment decisions.

That apart, there could be challenges relating to integration.

The likely benefits of the amalgamation will take a long time to play out.

BoB stands to benefit only in the long term, said analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities.

The turnaround story of Bank of Baroda will take a backstage now, as most of the managements bandwidth will be engaged in merger-related integration.

"We believe the best case possibility would be 2025 per cent correction in Bank of Baroda and Vijaya Bank, assuming a swap scenario of 21:1 for Dena to BOB and 1.75:1 for Vijaya to BOB, said Manish Agarwalla of Phillip Capital in a co-authored report with Sujal Kumar.

We put Bank of Barodas rating for under review as we await details on the merger ratio and business plan of the combined entity. In the near term, Dena clearly remains the biggest beneficiary, said Nitin Aggarwal, an analyst at Motilal Oswal.

Darpin Shah, an analyst with HDFC Securities, agrees.

Given the development, they too have downgraded BoB to neutral from buy given the value destruction for minority shareholders and various integration challenges.

Besides financials, challenges on human resources (HR), process integration, branch rationalisation, management bandwidth, etc, will pose integration risks as well.

"Roadblocks, for example, due to agitation from employees cannot be ruled out.

"Besides, reappointment of Bank of Baroda chairman Mr. Jayakumar, who is due for retirement, is critical for smooth integration of the proposed merger in our view, wote Kunal Shah, an analyst at Edelweiss, in a co-authored report with Prakhar Agarwal.
Sake is one of those spirits whose chemistry is so complex, we're guilty of shrugging and sipping rather than trying to understand what's in our cup. But it's worth doing some homework, especially given the increasing number of Japanese restaurants on the fine-dining scene; ordering confidently is a perk.

"People are getting on board with sake and legit sake programs," says Alex Bachman, bar manager at Chicago's Yusho, a streetfood-inspired Japanese restaurant. "People come in now and ask for crazy unpasteurized sakes."

Advertisement

But it's still a widely misunderstood category, burdened with the misnomer "rice wine" when it's technically closer to "rice beer."

What's easier to understand is its logical quality scale. Sake's base ingredient is rice  an entirely different grain from what's in your sushi roll  whose outer husk is milled down to get to the desirable starch, called shinpaku, in its core. The more the rice is milled, the better the sake's quality. Premium sakes require at least 30 percent of the rice's rough exterior to be milled away, and some superpremium sakes are made from rice that has been polished down to less than half of its original size.

Advertisement

Sake shopping can be daunting, as there are eight categories of premium sake, and within them hundreds of breweries and subgenres. A few tips:

Look for gin. Eric Swanson of sake importer Tenzing Wine and Spirits says to remember the word ginjo  a category that tends to be more expressive. "A lot of people can't remember ginjo, but if you can see the word 'gin' on the label, it's a ginjo."

Cloudy? Cool. Unfiltered sake, called nigori, appears cloudy or milky in color because of the tiny particles of rice in the mix. Sweeter in flavor, nigori sake is popular among trendsetters in the U.S.

Hot sake? Not so hot. When sake was introduced 50 years ago, consumers believed it should be drunk hot, which couldn't be further from the truth, says sake expert Yoshi Yumoto, national sales manager of Gekkeikan at Sidney Frank Importing Co. Better-quality sakes, like ginjos or daiginjos, are best chilled.

JUNMAI

Pure rice; milled at least 30 percent

Tentaka Kuni "Hawk in the Heavens," $27

Smell: Rice-y and full

Advertisement

Taste: Hearty, only slightly sweet; reminiscent of beer

Shichi Hon Yari "Seven Spearsmen," $17

Smell: Faint and just the tiniest bit sweet

Taste: Mildly sweet and rich, like a dessert sake; excellent with a heavier meal; a favorite in this category

Hiro Junmai Red, $30

Smell: Very faint; inoffensive

Advertisement

Taste: Faintly grassy, easy and drinkable, but not remarkable

Ty Ku Silver, $15

Smell: Interesting, beer-y

Taste: Pleasant and lager-ish; very refreshing and light; goes down easily

Joto Junmai, $20

Smell: Slightly grassy with a faint unripe pear smell

Advertisement

Taste: Like a clean sauvignon blanc; goes down very easily; a favorite in this category

JUNMAI GINJO

Pure rice, special brew; milled at least 40 percent

Chikurin Karoyaka, "Bamboo Forest" Organic, $53

Smell: Quintessentially sake-like, only slightly sweet

Taste: Full flavor; earthy with a little zing

Advertisement

Fukucho, "Moon on the Water," $40

Smell: Very clean and pleasant; hint of lychee

Taste: Quite interesting: light and pleasant with a tart zing at the end

Kanbara, "Bride of the Fox," $35

Smell: Rice-y and almost savory, like beer

Taste: Slightly buttery but beer-like; a favorite

Advertisement

Nanbu Bijin, "Southern Beauty," $38

Smell: Almost odorless

Taste: Clean bite, with a sinus-clearing tinge toward the end; very drinkable

Watari Bune, "Ferry Boat," $107

Smell: Very faint unripe apples and pears

Taste: Very fruity like pear; delicious and refreshing; a favorite

Advertisement

Mukune, "Root of Innocence," $43

Smell: Very faint and mildly ricelike

Taste: Full flavor with lots of apple; like a sauvignon blanc; a favorite

Rihaku, "Wandering Poet," $16 (300 mL)

Smell: Faintly beerlike, with lots of yeast

Taste: Heavy on the yeast; tastes like beer and would complement beer well

Advertisement

Yuki No Bosha, "Cabin in the Snow," $37

Smell: Tiny bit sweet and fruity, but pleasant

Taste: Light, thin, pretty; sweet but not too; incredibly drinkable; a favorite

Yuki No Bosha, "Cabin in the Snow" Nigori (Unfiltered), $37

Smell: Fainter version of the above

Taste: Heightened version of the above, with much more body and sweeter

Advertisement

JUNMAI DAIGINJO

Pure rice, very special brew; milled at least 50 percent

Horin, $33

Smell: Typical sake smell: very rice-y

Taste: Very smooth, almost like mineral water; grassy and clean

Shichi Hon Yari, "Seven Spearsmen," $84 for 500mL

Advertisement

Smell: A tiny bit of funk, but still clean

Taste: Flavorful, almost like a chardonnay: buttery with a hint of walnut; a favorite

Ginga Shizuku, "Divine Droplets," $65

Smell: Very faintly floral and fruity

Taste: Quite sweet, with a heavy mouthfeel but very dry

Watari Bune, "Ferry Boat," $107

Advertisement

Smell: Pleasantly fruity; almost lychee-like

Taste: Sweet but thin and clean, almost refreshing; a favorite

TOKUBETSU JUNMAI

Special pure rice; milled at least 30 percent

Hakkaisan "Eight Peaks," $22-24

Smell: Refined, like a nice white wine

Advertisement

Taste: Lovely; soft on the tongue; thin but complex; aromatic and delicate
The Indian market regulator had revamped the FPI regulations in 2014 giving custodians the mandate to collect and verify the KYC documentation of offshore investors

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will be coming up with a special policy to ensure data privacy for investors.

Sources say the regulator is working on standard procedures for sharing and storing of investor data among market intermediaries and third parties.

The move comes at a time when the clamour for strict data privacy laws is growing louder with other regulatory agencies, including the Reserve Bank of India, making efforts to address concerns.

The proposed framework will focus on ensuring privacy of investor data. The development assumes significance as the amount of sensitive data collected by market intermediaries has gone up significantly in the recent past.

The policy will also set a strict protocol for sharing of investor data and address concerns raised by overseas investors, said people with knowledge of the development.

The central government is already working on an overarching data protection law, which would apply to all the institutions. However, there are also specific sectoral requirements for which the respective regulators can come up with regulations and guidelines.

"Further, the markets also witness cross-border flow of information as foreign institutions are a vital part of the market ecosystem. In such a scenario, our data laws should also be in line with the laws in other jurisdictions, especially that of Europe, said Prasanth Sugathan, legal director, Software Freedom Law Centre, India.

Last year, Sebi had made submission of Aadhaar details mandatory for all investors.

Brokerages have been collecting Aadhaar details along with fingerprints for verification since then. Further, Sebi is planning to entrust additional responsibilities on brokers through measures such as product suitability framework and affordability index.

In these frameworks, brokerages will be assigned the responsibility to evaluate the financial status of their clients by assessing their bank accounts and income tax filings. A lot of this is highly sensitive data.

Further, most of the brokerages have a diversified business profile as they provide services such as mutual fund distribution, margin financing, and insurance broking.

In such a scenario, there is a need for laws to specify how the investor data is shared, what sort of consent has to be taken from the clients, and also what are the exceptions for the consent.

The current data privacy guidelines look sketchy as there are no specified procedures in many of the scenarios.

"Further, several of these rules are not in tune with the current technological advancements. Any potential leak could impact millions of investors, said a source.

Another key area of concern remains how the data of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) is stored.

Several new data privacy laws have come into effect in the developed countries across the world.

The European Union (EU) has adopted a new framework called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Indian laws have to be in sync with such laws since the EU is the second-largest source of FPI flows for India after the US.

The current Indian rules are not in sync with the global data privacy laws.

"This could lead to conflicting situations where custodians are not sure whether to follow the Indian norms or follow the local norms of the FPI.

"In such scenarios, Sebi should provide some leeway to the custodians since they are trying to abide by statutory requirements, said Tejesh Chitlangi, partner, IC Universal Legal.

For instance, the GDPR law has brought the concept of right to be forgotten where an individual has the right to request erasure of personal data. However, there are no corresponding provisions in the Indian law to facilitate such a right.

The Indian market regulator had revamped the FPI regulations in 2014 giving custodians the mandate to collect and verify the know-your-customer (KYC) documentation of the offshore investors.

Currently, several stakeholders, including Sebi, brokerages, and stock exchanges, have partial access to the KYC data.

The current data privacy guidelines look sketchy as there are no specified procedures in many of the scenarios.

"Further, several of these rules are not in tune with the current technological advancements. Any potential leak could impact millions of investors, said a source.

Another key area of concern remains how the data of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) is stored.

Several new data privacy laws have come into effect in the developed countries across the world.

The European Union (EU) has adopted a new framework called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Indian laws have to be in sync with such laws since the EU is the second-largest source of FPI flows for India after the US.

The current Indian rules are not in sync with the global data privacy laws. This could lead to conflicting situations where custodians are not sure whether to follow the Indian norms or follow the local norms of the FPI.

"In such scenarios, Sebi should provide some leeway to the custodians since they are trying to abide by statutory requirements, said Tejesh Chitlangi, partner, IC Universal Legal.

For instance, the GDPR law has brought the concept of right to be forgotten where an individual has the right to request erasure of personal data.

However, there are no corresponding provisions in the Indian law to facilitate such a right.
The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries.

The first phase of the Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman was inaugurated on Sunday by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, opening a new strategic route connecting Iran, India and Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan, and reflecting growing convergence of interests among the three countries.

The port in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich nation's southern coast is easily accessible from India's western coast and is increasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan's Gwadar Port, which is being developed with Chinese investment and is located at distance of around 80 kms from Chabahar.

The ministry of external affairs said Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan represented India at the inauguration ceremony of the Phase 1 of the Shahid Beheshti Port at Chabahar which was also attended by ambassadors and senior officials of the region.

An India-Iran-Afghanistan ministerial-level trilateral meeting on Chabahar also took place on Sunday on the sidelines of the event where the three countries resolved to work towards integrated development of connectivity infrastructure including ports, road and rail networks to open up greater opportunities for regional market access and integration of their economies.

The Chabahar port is being considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries besides ramping up trade among the three countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi.

"The routes of the region should be connected on land, sea and air," Rouhani said at the inauguration ceremony, according to his office.

India has been closely working with Afghanistan and Iran to create alternative, reliable access routes for trade.

Under the agreement signed between India and Iran in May last year, India is to equip and operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with capital investment of USD 85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of USD 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.

The MEA, in a statement, said Radhakrishnan also represented India in the second India-Iran-Afghanistan ministerial-level trilateral meeting on Chabahar port. Iran was represented by its Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi and Afghanistan by its Trade and Commerce Minister Humayoon Rasaw.

In the meeting, the three countries assessed the progress in the development of the port and reiterated their commitment to complete and operationalise it at the earliest, which they felt would provide alternative access to landlocked Afghanistan to regional and global markets.

A joint statement issued after the meeting said the ministers also deliberated on trilateral pact relating to the mega connectivity project and expressed satisfaction on the completion of the ratification procedures by Afghanistan and India. They welcomed the steps taken by Iran to complete the ratification process.

In May 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan had inked a pact which entailed establishment of Transit and Transport Corridor among the three countries using Chabahar Port as one of the regional hubs for sea transportation in Iran, besides multi-modal transport of goods and passengers across the three nations.

"The ministers discussed the next steps for full implementation of the agreement and moving towards its operationalisation. Towards this endeavour, it was decided to finalise protocols related to transport and transit, ports, customs procedures and consular affairs. It was also decided to convene an expert-level meeting of senior officials of the three countries at the earliest," the joint statement said.

Reiterating the importance of Chabahar as a hub for regional economic connectivity and their commitment to work towards this objective, the ministers also commended the joint efforts of the three countries in the recent successful transit of wheat from India to Afghanistan through Chabahar.

"The ministers agreed that an integrated development of connectivity infrastructure including ports, road and rail networks would open up greater opportunities for regional market access and contribute towards the economic integration and benefit of the three countries and the region," the statement said.

The ministers also agreed to organise a connectivity event involving all stakeholders at Chabahar at the earliest so as to increase awareness about the new opportunities offered by Chabahar Port.

The MEA said the meeting also commended the transit of first tranche of 1,10,000 tonnes of wheat from India to Afghanistan through the Chabahar Port.

It said Radhakrishnan expressed his positive appreciation to the Iranian side on the recent steps taken towards ratification by the Majlis of Iran on the Trilateral Transit and Trade Agreement signed in May 2016 between India, Iran and Afghanistan.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Rouhani noted that transit is the best communication tool for nations, adding "the routes of the region should be connected on land, sea and air," according to his office.

Ahead of the inauguration of the port, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday met her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif in Tehran during which implementation of the Chabahar port project was discussed among other issues.

Swaraj made a stopover at Tehran on her return from Russian city of Sochi where she had attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port, marking opening of the new transit route.

Photographs: http://www.president.ir
Firms are offering employees flexi hours; the demand for air purifiers, masks have skyrocketed.

IMAGE: Delhi residents cover their face as smog covers Delhi's skyline. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/PTI Photo

Paytm founder and Chief Executive Officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma is leaving for a coastal city in south India to escape the smog and pollution choking the National Capital Region.

The employees of his company in Noida might not be able to leave like him, but Paytm is distributing pollution masks among them and is also offering flexible working hours so that they can avoid the peak pollution in the morning and evening.

"We are taking necessary measures to improve the air quality in our offices by getting top-of-the-line air purifiers and more plants. If a colleague feels unwell, we offer health assistance," said Amit Sinha, chief operating officer, Paytm Mall.

Information technology company HCL, which has employee strength of 35,000 in the NCR, is also distributing masks.

"We have various wellness initiatives driven the organisation for the health of our employees. We have a health care centre on campus and employees with serious symptoms, if any, can be readily given assistance. We have also issued an advisory to all our employees, explaining the dos and don'ts," said an HCL spokesperson.

India's biggest online travel agency MakeMyTrip said it was working on ways to help employees procure the right air masks at discounted prices on the office premises.

"We have a clearly defined work-from-home policy for our employees that they can avail of at this time as any other. We are also encouraging employees to carpool through our internal social networking forum. We are working on ways to help employees procure the right air masks," said a company spokesperson.

Multinational companies such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola and Indian fast-moving consumer goods major Dabur are not considering giving any leave to their employees yet.

Coke has air-purifying systems at its corporate office in Gurugram; others said the air quality on their premises was considerably better than outside.

Raj Rana, chief executive officer-South Asia at Carlson Rezidor (which owns hotel brands such as Radisson and Park Plaza), said the employees working inside the hotel are least affected, since various mechanisms including air filters are in place to ensure a healthy environment for them and for guests.

Work has continued at a normal pace at most corporate entities in Delhi and its satellite cities Gurugram and Noida.

Employee attendance was usual and companies have not yet felt a need to offer them an option to work from home or support them in any other manner.

Unlike the services sector, however, there is little relief for employees of the manufacturing sector.

"In the manufacturing space, such as automobiles, normal plant operations cannot continue without workers. We are left with little option as production and sales targets are to be met. The human resource department is closely monitoring the situation," said an executive with a leading automobile maker with a plant in the NCR.

Large automobile makers in the region such as Maruti Suzuki and Honda continued with their regular operations.

Gurugram-headquartered Bharti Airtel, the largest telecom service provider, did not say if it had done anything.

Sales of air purifiers, masks skyrocket

IMAGE: Traffic policemen wear masks to protect themselves from the smog and air pollution in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

Air purifiers, masks and respirators have been flying off the shelves since the capital region has come under a thick layer of smog.

Since Monday, sale of air purifiers has doubled. When air quality worsened on Tuesday, marketers saw a 250 per cent jump in sales.

The market for air purifiers is confined to northern India, which contributes close to 80 per cent of the annual sales of Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion).

For the past few years, the market has been growing by more than 50 per cent.

However, growing awareness among consumers -- thanks to promotional activities by all major marketers -- got more consumers into retail outlets this time.

According to industry estimates, the 200,000 units a year market will hit 400,000 units this year.

"We have sold some 7,000 pieces in November, which is 250 per cent higher than the sales in the same period last year," said Kishalay Ray, president, consumer electronics division, Sharp Business Systems.

"During October, too, year-on-year sale was better as we saw 2,800 units fly off the shelves. But sales have skyrocketed since yesterday," he said.

To cash in the growing demand for air-purifying systems, the firm had recently ventured into specialised categories, apart from car and room air-purifiers.

Other consumer durable makers were not too far behind.

Korean major LG, Kent and Crompton Greaves have launched air-purifiers in the past few days.

Kim-Ki Wan, managing director, LG Electronics India, said: "Air quality has been of pressing concern for consumers. Based on this insight, we have developed the latest LG air-purifiers."

Syed Moonis Alvi, business head-purifiers, Panasonic India, said the firm has achieved sales of Rs 2 crore in October 2017, with a 20 to 25 per cent jump over last year.

"We are targeting sales of Rs 7 crore to Rs 8 crore till December 2017. We are at 8 per cent market share and hope to achieve 10 per cent market share by the end of 2017-18," he explained.

Sudhir Pillai, a general manager at Honeywell Homes and Building Technologies, said: "Over the last two days, we have seen a more than a five fold spike in sales and 8 to 10 fold increase in enquires at our customer care centres. We are already selling aggressively through both online platforms as well as large and small-format retail stores."

Many shops ran out of stock of face masks and respirators. Jai Dhar Gupta, founder of Nirvana India, a seller of designer masks, said supply constraints were a concern as demand was seasonal.
A fresh seizure of antique jewellery, costly watches and paintings of Amrita Sher-Gil and M F Hussain worth Rs 26 crore has been made by the Enforcement Directorate from the sea-facing Mumbai apartment of diamantaire Nirav Modi in connection with the over Rs 12,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case.

IMAGE: A diamond ring worth Rs 10 crore was found during the raid on Nirav Modi's south Mumbai Worli house. Photograph: ANI/Twitter

Officials said the Enforcement Directorate along with the Central Bureau of Investigation launched fresh searches on March 22 at the Samudra Mahal luxury residential flats of Modi in Mumbais Worli area which resulted in the recovery of fresh valuables.

Antique jewellery worth Rs 15 crore, costly watches valued at Rs 1.4 crore and paintings of acclaimed artists like Amrita Sher-Gil, M F Hussain and K K Hebbar valued at Rs 10 crore have been seized over the last three days under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, they said.

A lone diamond ring in this cache is valued at Rs 10 crore, they added.

The central probe agency has filed two money laundering FIRs against Nirav Modi and his uncle and Gitanjali Gems promoter Mehul Choksi to probe the alleged over Rs 1,200 crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank.

IMAGE: Jewellery worth Rs 26 crore, including a watch was uncovered during the raid.

Photograph: ANI/Twitter

The ED has also notified the Interpol for a global arrest warrant against the two as they have left India early this year and have not appeared before the agency after summonses were issued to them.

A Mumbai special court has issued non-bailable warrants against them on the request of the ED.

IMAGE: A painting by Amrita Sher-Gil was also found during the raid. Photograph: ANI/Twitter

It has conducted a total of 251 country-wide searches in this case after it began the criminal probe against the accused in February.

The total seizure and attachment of diamond, gold, precious and semi-precious stones and other movable and immovable assets in the case stand at Rs 7,638 crore.
A glass door of a bank in Kerala was broken and clashes with bank officials erupted in Gujarat sparking police action as the weekend rush added to the chaos over demonetisation across the country for the third day on Saturday with serpentine queues outside bank branches growing longer.

IMAGE: A bank employee hands out request slips for the exchange of old high denomination bank notes at a bank in Old Delhi. Photograph: Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

The endless wait to get valid currency notes was also taking a toll on people waiting for hours in long queues as there were reports of many elderly people collapsing out of fatigue.

Security was beefed up outside bank branches as millions of anxious people struggling to buy daily items waited for hours to exchange the banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes even as the ATMs went dry soon after they were stocked due to the huge rush.

The crowd is more since its a weekend and many people have an off today. The crowd is swelling by the hour, a senior police officer said in Delhi.

IMAGE: People argue with the security after they are stopped from entering a bank in Mumbai. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Enraged over not getting ration from a fair price shop due to shortage of cash, people at Bardaha village in Chhattarpur in Madhya Pradesh allegedly looted groceries from the outlet in protest. Police claimed there was no such incident.

To add to the misery of cash-strapped people, several ATMs were non-functional.

Angry customers waiting outside a branch of the State Bank of Travancore at Vavvakkam in Kollam district allegedly broke a glass door after it decided to down shutters due to heavy rush when around 200 persons were inside the premises.

IMAGE: Women wait for ATM counters to open in Jammu. Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters

Apparently angered over this, more than 200 persons who were waiting in the queue outside the branch allegedly broke a glass door of the bank, officials said, adding the situation is now under control.

At several places in Gujarat, people clashed with bank officials leading to police action including lathi-charge and detention.

At a bank branch at Shihori in Banaskantha district, police resorted to lathi-charge after people clashed with bank officials when they refused to dispense money.

IMAGE: People queue up outside a bank to exchange their old Rs 1000 and 500 notes in Lucknow. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

Similar incident was reported at a bank branch in Abdasa in Kutch when people clashed with bank officials.

In the national capital, Delhi Police deployed more forces to maintain calm and warned of strict action against those trying to spread rumours on social media.

To manage anxious crowds, as many as 3,400 personnel of paramilitary and Delhi Police along with 200 quick reaction teams were deployed at ATMs.

IMAGE: A person collects a Rs 2000 note in a bank in Beawar. Photograph: PTI Photo

In addition to this, Rapid Action Force jawans were also deployed at certain points to monitor the situation. Senior officers of Delhi Police were also present at important junctions to oversee the security arrangements.

People complained of difficulties with several ATMs remaining closed, and banks exchanging the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes with coins and small denomination currency.

Nobody is accepting old currency notes, even hospitals are now refusing to do so because of which we are facing difficulty. Several ATMs still remain closed, said Ramesh Agarwal, who came to exchange his old notes at a bank in Ahmedabad.

IMAGE: Rapid Action Force jawans were also deployed at certain points to ensure that there was no chaos. Photograph: PTI Photo

A bank in Mumbai is said to have floated a mobile ATM to dispense money to customers.

Shrikant Manohar, who drew money from the mobile ATM said, It was no less than a surprise. People lined up for hours, while I got cash with this mobile ATM as it came to my doorsteps.
An industry executive said The Oberoi had a lot of C-Suite guests and most such companies decide to give a new or renovated property some time to stablise before they start booking.

The capitals iconic luxury hotel The Oberoi, which reopened in January after a two-year renovation, does not only have lesser rooms, it also has fewer guests.

According to three executives tracking the Delhi hotel market the hotels occupancy is low - 48-50 per cent - compared with a 65-70 per cent occupancy enjoyed by most peers in the city.

The hotel, however, claims it has better revenue per available room (Revpar) than most rivals.

BSE-listed EIH, which runs hotels under the Oberoi brand, invested Rs 600 crore in the renovation that started in early 2016.

The renovated hotel has bigger but lower room strength of 220 compared with 283 earlier.

It is learnt that the hotel enjoyed an average room rate of Rs 14,700 in the first four months of FY19, with an occupancy level of approximately 48 per cent.

That translates into a Revpar of just about Rs 7,000.

Revpar is the real measure of revenue and is derived by multiplying the average rate by the per cent occupancy.

In July, there has been some improvement in the average rate, but the occupancy was still about 51 per cent, said one of the three executives.

The hotel is critical to the companys revenue and profits.

It contributed Rs 187 crore or 14 per cent of EIHs annual revenue of Rs 1,341 crore in FY15, the last full year when the hotel was operational.

EIHs results for the April-June quarter, announced this week, shows a profit of Rs 10.19 crore, marginally lower that the profit of Rs 11.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year when the Delhi hotel was closed for renovation.

Revenues, however, grew about 17 per cent to Rs 334 crore.

The Oberoi, New Delhi, reopened three months ahead of schedule.

A company spokesperson did not comment on the occupancy rate but said the hotel opened with the highest average room rate (ARR) in the city and have maintained the lead throughout.

In February, The Oberoi, New Delhi, achieved a Revpar 1 position in the city.

"The hotels ARR is considerably higher than the average of its competitive set, which comprises the Leela, Imperial and Taj.

"This trend has continued in the summer months, the spokesperson said.

The company said the hotels Revpar is 17 per cent higher to FY16 numbers.

The hospitality industry has recovered since FY16, both in rates and occupancy.

EIH said increasing corporate business at hotel is the next thing on the companys agenda.

A lot of this business comes through request for proposals (RFPs) and these inspections and acceptances will happen starting this fall.

"Guest feedback on the hotel has been excellent and this too will help position us as Delhis leading luxury hotel.

"We remain optimistic on the hotels performance for FY19, the spokesperson said.

An industry executive said The Oberoi had a lot of C-Suite guests and most such companies decide to give a new or renovated property some time to stablise before they start booking.

Many companies who book such hotels for outstation meetings of their teams were expecting the hotel to open after April 2018. That business is also yet to pick up.

A large number of corporate lawyers who visit Delhi regularly used to stay at The Oberoi due to its proximity to the Supreme Court and the high court.

At any working day, Oberoi used to cater to at least 30-40 lawyers.

"While the hotel was shut, this business went to Taj Palace, Imperial and ITC Maurya.

"These lawyers have been pampered at the rival hotels and it may take a long time before they go back to Oberoi, the executive said.

Photographs: Kind courtesy, The Oberoi, New Delhi
The US president-elect met Silicon Valleys most powerful executives -- CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk from Tesla, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt of Alphabet -- parent company of Google among others.

IMAGE: US President-elect Donald Trump speaks as PayPal co-founder and Facebook board member Peter Thiel and Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook (extreme right) look on during a meeting with technology leaders at Trump Tower in New York. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

United States President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday met Silicon Valleys most powerful executives, including Indian-American CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella, in a first high-profile summit with technology leaders with whom he was at odds throughout his campaign.

I am here to help you folks do well, Trump told the group of Silicon Valley CEOs during a meeting, which his spokesman said was one of the series of such meetings, at the TrumpTowers.

The purpose of the meeting, the transition team said in a readout, was to begin a conversation and partnership in order to spark innovation and create more jobs in the US, particularly for working Americans.

IMAGE: US Vice-President Mike Pence was also present at the meeting which also saw the participation of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

During the meeting, Trump expressed an open mind and willingness to listen, which was greatly received by the industry leaders in attendance.

There is nobody like you in the world. There is nobody like the people in this room and anything we can do to help this go along, we will be there for you and you will call my people, you will call me, it does not make any difference, we have no formal chain of command around here, Trump said.

He told the CEOs to reach out to him anytime they want.

We are gonna do fair trade deals and make it a lot easier for you to trade across borders because of a lot of restrictions, a lot of problems and if you have any ideas on that that would be, that would be great because there are a lot of border restrictions and a lot of border problems, you probably have less of a problem than some companies. Some companies have massive problems. But we are going to solve those problems, Trump said.

IMAGE: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gestures to members of the news media as he exits after meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

In addition to Nadella, other leaders who attended the meeting were Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Safra Catz of Oracle, Tim Cook of Apple, Alex Karp of Palantir, Brian Krzanich of Intel, Elon Musk from Tesla, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt of Alphabet -- parent company of Google, Chuck Robbins of Cisco, Ginni Rometty of IBM and Sheryl Sandberg from Facebook.

During the Tech Summit, Trump and the CEOs discussed a wide range of issues including creating more jobs for Americans, eliminating barriers preventing US companies from doing business outside, Americas competitive trade dynamic and market access with China, cutting taxes, repatriation of American profits kept overseas by prohibitive tax rates, improving physical and digital infrastructures, and protecting intellectual property rights among others.

IMAGE: Eric Schmidt, chairman of Alphabet Inc and Larry Page, CEO and Co-founder of Alphabet enter Trump Tower. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

They also discussed improving US cybersecurity, updating government software systems, technology in schools, the need for greater vocational education opportunities, reducing bureaucracy and introducing greater accountability in the government procurement process.

The leaders in attendance also praised the ingenuity and energy of the American workforce, and President-elect Trump suggested reconvening the tech leaders again in the future, perhaps as frequently as every quarter, the presidential transition team said.

In addition to Trump, other members present attendance Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Peter Thiel, Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, Wilbur Ross, Gary Cohn and Stephen Miller.

During the meeting, Trump discussed a wide range of issues impacting both American workers and American companies, including specific innovative solutions that have been blocked by narrow thinking in Washington, the transition team said.
The move comes after Neeraj Kanwar's reappointment as managing director was rejected by minority shareholders owing to his salary, which increased in spite of a fall in the company's profitability.

Promoter chief executives may no longer find it easy to secure arbitrary pay hikes.

The minority shareholders of leading tyre maker Apollo Tyres have driven chairman Onkar S Kanwar and vice-chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar to cap their compensation at 7.5 per cent of profit before tax effective FY19.

This cap, the firm suggests, can be further reduced over a period of time. The cap was earlier at 10 per cent of the net profit.

The move comes after Neeraj Kanwar's reappointment as managing director was rejected by minority shareholders owing to his salary, which increased in spite of a fall in the company's profitability.

Only 72.72 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of the resolution, which required a minimum of 75 per cent shareholders voting for it.

Over 56 per cent of the public institutions category and nearly 49 per cent of the non-public shareholders voted against the reappointment.

This was a rare case in corporate India where a promoters reappointment was rejected by minority shareholders.

In a meeting on Tuesday, the board of the country's third-biggest tyre maker (by revenue), have proposed a cap of 7.5 per cent on the total remuneration to the father-son duo.

The annual increments for the fixed portion of promoter compensation will be in line with that of the senior professionals of the company, the tyre major said. It also said the performance-linked compensation of the promoters would not exceed 70 per cent of the total pay.

Neeraj Kanwar's remuneration shot up by 48 per cent in FY18 to Rs 44.64 crore while Onkar S Kanwar's compensation rose about 10 per cent to Rs 49.58 crore, making for a total of Rs 94.2 crore, up 26 per cent YoY.

The increase came even as the company's consolidated profit slipped 34 per cent to Rs 723 crore.

Data shows that the total remuneration to these two executives more than doubled between FY14 (Rs 44.6 crore) and FY18.

This happened even as the consolidated profit between FY14 and FY18 tanked 28 per cent, from Rs 10.05 billion to Rs 7.23 billion.

The suggested cap of 7.5 per cent seems lower than the 9.3 per cent of the profit before tax that the Kanwars took home as remuneration in FY18.

This is, however, higher as a proportion compared to FY16 (5.5 per cent) and FY17 (5.2 per cent).

In a statement on Tuesday, Apollo Tyres said the nominations and remuneration committee (NRC) of the board engaged with a range of institutional shareholders to take their views into consideration, and commissioned an independent report from EY to benchmark managing directors' compensation structures and amounts.

"This twin process of consultation and external benchmarking has resulted in a revised proposal from the NRC for the compensation package to renew Neeraj Kanwar's contract from May 2019.

The revised proposal would result in a reduction of about 30 per cent in overall compensation for both the promoters, Neeraj Kanwar and Onkar S Kanwar," it said.

The company will seek reappointment of Kanwar as managing director for a five years beginning May 2019 through a special resolution.

The process is expected to be completed by mid-December.

Q2 profit at Rs 146 crore

Apollo Tyres earned a profit of Rs 1.46 billion in Q2, up 4 per cent YoY.

Sales revenue expanded over 22 per cent to Rs 4,192 crore.

The company made a provision of Rs 40 crore as it had a short-term intercorporate deposit of Rs 2 billion with IL&FS Financial Services.

"The deposit was due for maturity on October 22. However, IL&FS has defaulted on its repayment", the company said.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
But this could be shortlived as the rise has been buoyed on Chhattisgarh assembly poll freebies

Smartphone handset manufacturer Micromax has made a comeback.

After almost drowning in the rising tide of Chinese handset makers in the past two years, the Gurugram-headquartered company regained a slot among the top five in smartphone brands during the September quarter, says analyst firm Counterpoint Research.

During the June-September period, it managed nine per cent of all smartphone despatches in the country, at fourth spot, pushing Chinese player Oppo a notch behind.

Its comeback in the top-five league occurred exactly after two years.

In the September 2016 quarter, it held the second position with 10 per cent market share, behind Samsung.

However, analysts think this could be short-lived.

For, the rise has been buoyed on the coming legislative assembly election in Chhattisgarh, where the state government has a plan to distribute five million handsets to women and students.

Micromax and Reliance Jio have got the supply contract.

Once this contract ends, shipments might fall again.

In the previous 11 quarters, Micromax's sales dwindled as Chinese handset brands rocked the India market with competitive pricing and a marketing blitzkrieg.

Xiaomi rose to the top, replacing longstanding market leader Samsung; Vivo and Oppo together, cornered over 15 per cent.

Thus, taking the market share held by Chinese entities to over half the smartphone market.

Micromax's remained at five per cent during the period.

Loss of sales took place with resignations at the top.

Chairman Sanjay Kapoor, erstwhile managing director (MD) of Airtel, quit the company in late 2015.

Followed by Vineet Taneja, then the MD, who left after a disagreement with Micromax's co-founders over the firm's valuation, sources said.

Calls and messages to two of its co-founders, Rahul Sharma and Rajesh Agarwal, were not unanswered.

In fact, revenue fell after 2014-15, when it was an all-time high of Rs 10,450 crore.

That in 2016-17 was 46 per cent lower, at Rs 5,610 crore.

To strengthen its business, Micromax diversified into other consumer electronics categories -- flat panel televisions, air conditioners and washing machines.

Data from Counterpoint also show that after making a brief comeback into the top slot, Samsung has again slipped to the second spot. Xiaomi leads the market with 27 per cent share; Samsung has 23 per cent. Vivo has 10 per cent and Oppo is fifth with eight per cent.

Total shipment of smartphones during July-September rose five per cent from a year before.

Four of the top five - Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo and Oppo - reported record shipment, in anticipation of better sales during the festive season.

Karn Chauhan, research analyst, says: "India shipment surpassed those of the USA during the quarter, the second time this has occurred."

Realme became the first smartphone brand to hit a million shipments within five months of launch across online channels.

Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhury/Reuters
Total revenue came in at Rs 20,422 crore for the September quarter, which was 6.2 per cent lower than Rs 21,777 crore notched in the year-ago period.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday reported a 65.4 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 119 crore for the second quarter ended September 2018.

Its net profit stood at Rs 343 crore in the same period of the previous year, according to a company statement.

Total revenue came in at Rs 20,422 crore for the September quarter, which was 6.2 per cent lower than Rs 21,777 crore notched in the year-ago period.

Its India revenues fell 3.6 per cent year-on-year while the Africa revenues rose 10.8 per cent.

"India revenues for Q2'19 at Rs 14,920 crore have declined by 3.6 per cent year on year (declined 10.9 per cent on reported basis) on an underlying basis.

Mobile revenues have witnessed a year on year de-growth of 7.2 per cent on an underlying basis led by continued average revenue per user down-trading impacted by competitive pricing pressures," the statement said.

Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said the average revenue per user (ARPU) decline has "moderated" this quarter driven by focus on quality customers through simplified pricing and content partnerships.

"We remain focused on driving quality base growth with value adding propositions for our customers. We also remain committed to investing in enhanced capacities and have deployed 27000+ broadband sites during the quarter, enabling a 239 per cent YoY growth in mobile data volumes," Vittal added.

Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
No cosmic watcher surveying Lee's earliest efforts could have predicted the trajectory of his career. For two decades, he soldiered on as an anonymous, unremarkable writer, penning countless short stories in a variety of genres, from romance to horror to adventure. And though he would later grow famous for the goofily hackneyed grandiloquence of his prose, it was never really his writing that drove his reputation. In the 1960s, after he and his collaborators became successful with a new group of superheroes who are the basis of today's Marvel movie empire, Lee created a way of making comics now known as the Marvel Method. The writer - most often Lee himself - would provide the artists with little more than a short summary, sometimes just a sentence or two, of the issue's plot. Only after the pages were laid out and illustrated would the writer dream up dialogue and captions.
Firms in which IP is critical, such as pharma and research and knowledge-based organisations, were taking the lead in seeking cyber covers to protect their computer systems from hack attacks

The domestic cyber insurance market is slowly gaining traction, with India bracketed alongside the US and China as among the worlds most cyber attack-prone countries.

Although the cyber insurance market is still miniscule, Indian corporates have started to show interest in such products and have realised the prospective threats emanating from cyber hacking, SBI General Insurance managing director and CEO, Pushan Mahapatra, told Business Standard in Lucknow.

He said companies in which intellectual property played a key role, such as pharmaceuticals and other research and knowledge-based organisations, were taking the lead in seeking cyber insurance to protect their computer systems from getting hacked.

According to reports, the countrys cyber insurance space is still under Rs 100 crore in underwritten premium.

In comparison, the global cyber insurance premium kitty runs into billions of dollars, with the US companies accounting for the bulk of these transactions.

He claimed the cyber insurance segment would continue to grow in such an environment where digital technologies continued to evolve, posing multiple challenges to protecting IP, databases and other confidential information from cyber delinquents.

Cyber insurance is being taken to safeguard against cyber hacking, which stems from a variety of factors, including inherent defects in the IT infrastructure of the insured company.

SBI General Insurance is eyeing total premium income of almost Rs 4,500 crore during the current fiscal, up from about Rs 3,500 crore last year.

He said the company was growing at almost 30 per cent, which was twice the industrys growth rate of 15 per cent.

In Uttar Pradesh, the company collected Rs 257 crore in net premium for 2017-18, with motor insurance contributing as much as 40 per cent of the portfolio.

UP is the fifth-largest general insurance market in India, after Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.

SBI General Insurance services the state through 10 branches in all major cities, apart from over 2,350 State Bank of India (SBI) branches.

It has a network of 300 insurance agents and 170 brokers in the state, Mahapatra informed.

The Indian general insurance market in India stood at roughly Rs 1.5 trillion at the end of March 2018.

Due to the lack of awareness and public outlook, general insurance penetration is quite low and is pegged at about one per cent, which is even lower than 3.5 per cent in the life insurance space, Mahapatra said.

State Bank of India had recently announced the sale of four per cent equity in SBI General Insurance to Axis Asset Management Company (AMC) and Premji Invest for Rs 481 crore as part of a pre-offer valuation exercise by the insurer ahead of its proposed initial public offering (IPO) in March 2019.

SBI General Insurance is a joint venture (JV) between SBI and Insurance Australia Group (IAG).

After the stake sale, SBI's stake in the JV stands reduced to 70 per cent, while IAG holds its 26 per cent stake.

Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters
Critical data which has to be resided in India is an important component that needs to be clarified, as this will be arguably uncovered on an ad hoc basis as we move forward."

As the government prepares new rules on data protection, Rishad Premji, chief strategy officer (and son of the chairman) at information technology major Wipro, has called for a balanced view.

Also chairman of Nasscom, the IT sector's apex assocaition of comopanies, he says if this moderation isn't present, there could be a stifling of innovation. Especially for younger companies, which leverage global data centres.

Critical data which has to be resided in India is an important component that needs to be clarified, as this will be arguably uncovered on an ad hoc basis as we move forward. That creates lot of uncertainty, he said.

A committee headed by ex-judge B N Srikrishna has given a set of proposals for a personal data protection law to the Government.

Their draft says a copy of all personal data needs to be stored in India; critical data must reside exclusively in the country.

The government will be deciding the components of critical data.

The IT ministry is seeking suggestions on the draft Bill, which might be introduced in the next session of Parliament.

Premji said privacy was an important right and needed protecting but there should also be a right balance between the interpretation of privacy and protection versus security.

You have to think through the right trade-offs between requiring localisation and how it stifles innovation. The most critical component is how you interpret the critical data, he said.

The draft Bill would imposes conditions on cross-border transfer of personal data.

It wants a Data Protection Authority of India to prevent any misuse of personal information.

This issue apart, Nasscom has unveiled the second phase of its start-up initiative.

As part of a six-month programme, divided in phases of 45 days each, Nasscom will focus on three aspects -- product (global acceleration & mMentoring), technology (engineering & deep tech lab) and access to patent capital.

IT majors Facebook, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Amazon Web Service have already partnered Nasscom in setting up engineering and deep tech labs.

Photograph: PTI Photo
As 4G internet completes coverage of the entire country, rural markets have become the primary generator of sales.

Earlier this year, Manu Kumar Jain, vice-president (V-P), Xiaomi India, was crisscrossing the country, taking selfies with trade partners in Chandigarh one day, and next, shaking hands with people in Hostake, a small town in Karnataka with a population of about 60,000.

His hard work bore fruit when his company had a quarterly shipment of 10 million smartphones in June, the highest ever.

Jain is not the only one running around the country.

As 4G internet completes coverage of the entire country, rural markets have become the primary generator of sales.

From Samsung to Vivo, all major smartphone companies have taken note of it.

In 2018, Samsung, the largest consumer electronics maker in the country with retail partners and branded large-format stores across the country, has increased the number of its outlets by 20 per cent.

Earlier it had 150,000 outlets for direct distribution. Now, it has 180,000 outlets. It plans to increase the number to 200,000 by the year-end, said Mohandeep Singh, senior V-P, mobile business, Samsung India.

It has already covered all Tier-V town (with a population of 5,000 or more), and is now looking to target Tier-VI towns, he added.

Xiaomi used to earlier generate 90 per cent sales online, but it, too, has expanded its direct distribution reach in the past year.

Unlike rivals, it has focused on smaller towns as well, tapping into regional chains such as Sangeetha, C-Mobiles, and Preferred Partner outlets.

Two other smartphone makers, Vivo and Oppo, ranked third and fourth spots, respectively, started expanding their reach beyond urban clusters in early-2017.

The companies did not share the number of outlets that they individually reach. Estimates suggest both have presence in Tier-IV towns.

The recent push to the farthest corners of the country by major players is not without reason.

According to Jaipal Singh, analyst at IDC, improving internet connectivity in rural areas is driving the companies.

As urban market gets saturated, rural is the next growth area. All companies have identified that.

"With cheaper data rates, rural consumers are now ready for a shift to smartphones and brands can now easily convert them from feature phones, he said.

Singh from Samsung agreed with this. Smartphones are bought in smallest of towns, thanks to better network connectivity and electrification, he said.

With the entry of Reliance Jio, the expansion 4G coverage has got a major boost.

Now, nearly 96 per cent of all locations have got $G connectivity, an Open Source report noted.

According to a recent study from Internet and Mobile Association of India and Kantar IMRB, the number of mobile internet users in India would grow to 500 million by mid-2018 with a fifth in rural areas.

The user base in rural market is growing faster than urban.
Apart from the growing adoption of the internet in the country, brands are drawn to the agility of the medium, its targeted and data driven approach and the increasing cost of offline channels for sales and distribution.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The digital landscape is changing.

It is not just smartphone brands launching cheap phones online, or e-commerce channels using private labels to add heft to their online portfolios.

Increasingly, large traditional players known for their wide distribution networks and offline customer engagements are taking to digital platforms to launch new products and online-only labels.

Recently Nestle India launched a variant of the popular Maggi brand, exclusively on Flipkart; Samsung launched a global refrigerator brand on Amazon and its exclusive offline stores; Harman International has launched an online store for audio brand JBL and both Hindustan Unilever India and Marico have recently launched digital-only male grooming labels.

Hyundai India uses digital platforms for launching model upgrades, as do several other automobile brands.

Apart from the growing adoption of the internet in the country, brands are drawn to the agility of the medium, its targeted and data driven approach and the increasing cost of offline channels for sales and distribution.

Launching exclusively through digital platforms helps companies get a grip on customer sentiment faster, say experts.

For Nestle India, going digital helped understand, very quickly, how customers would react to the product.

The aim was to test the markets willingness to adopt a new flavour without the customer having to step out of the comfort of her home, the company said.

It sold one lakh single-unit packets in three days.

Nishit Garg, senior director, Flipkart said, Nestle and Flipkart's association to launch (the product) exclusively cements the transition of FMCGs physical goods into the digital space.

Consumer goods major Marico that launched a digital exclusive brand Studio X under the Set Wet male grooming portfolio in May this year says that it may look at 5-6 launches (of digital brands) a year, as internet penetration steadily grows.

HUL has decided to resurrect the popular male grooming brand, Brylcreem, as an online only label.

Digital is simple, easy, scalable, cost effective and modern and carries a lot of information to the consumers, said Puneet Anand, senior general manager (marketing) and group head at Hyundai Motor India.

The company has recently launched an upgraded version of Creta online and earlier, the Grand i10.

The early adopters of digital were smartphone and electronics brands.

It was seen as a low-risk, low-cost option for new launches.

While the cost of online launches and marketing has risen sharply, the medium is now an integral part of brand strategy.

K V Sridhar, founder and chief creative officer, Hyper Collective said, It makes a lot of sense to first launch in the digital platforms, create the brand and thus reduce the cost of failure, before moving to the physical market.

"Those who want to succeed have no other option but to focus on digital.

For brands, the radius is no longer physical.

They can find an audience anywhere in the country and in that sense the struggle that many faced when taking regional products to a wide national audience is not as intense, explained Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults.

Going online first helps global brands break into the Indian market, said an Amazon spokesperson.

Especially for television and smartphone brands. Over the years, the average billing size for televisions sold online has gone up 50 per cent, while for appliances and smartphones it has increased by up to 20 per cent in the last one year, according to industry reports.

Samsung launched its global flagship refrigerator brand, Family Hub, priced at Rs 280,000 through Amazon and its own offline stores.

Chinese smartphone company One Plus says that online sales account for a larger share of the Rs 30,000-plus smartphone segment today.

Offline stores bring in four per cent of total sales in terms of volumes for this category, while online accounts for seven per cent of the total sales.

According to a spokesperson for HMD Global that relaunched the Nokia brand in India in 2017, So far we have launched three smartphones online. We received a good response from Amazon for Nokia 6 with over one million registrations. Nokia 6.1 Plus also had a great sale both on Flipkart and on Nokia.com.

"The phones went out of stock within minutes.

Harman International, launched an online store for JBL audio products last month.

Sumit Chauhan, vice-president, Lifestyle Audio, Harman India said that their online store is meant to reassure consumers about the authenticity of the brand and professional after-sales support.

Harman and JBL products are also sold across other e-commerce platforms.

The company says that online channels bring in nearly half the total sales revenue for JBL brands.
As per the award, Infosys is required to pay Bansal the outstanding severance amount of Rs 12.17 crore, with interest

Infosys has lost the arbitration over severance package of its former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal and has been asked to pay outstanding amount of Rs 12.17 crore, with interest, the firm said on Tuesday.

Bansal had dragged the country's second largest IT services firm into arbitration after the company had halted his severance pay of over Rs 17 crore.

"The arbitral tribunal has communicated its decision in the arbitration proceedings in relation to the severance agreement between the company and its former CFO Rajiv Bansal," Infosys said in a BSE filing.

As per the award, Infosys is required to pay Bansal the outstanding severance amount of Rs 12.17 crore, with interest, it added.

"While the award acknowledges that Infosys had bona fide disputes, its counter claim for refund of previously paid severance amount of Rs 5.2 crore and damages has been rejected," the filing said, adding that the arbitral award is confidential.

The Bengaluru-based company said it will take legal advice for further action on the issue.

When Bansal left Infosys in 2015, the IT firm had agreed to pay him a severance amount of Rs 17.38 crore or 24 months of salary.

The severance payment made to Bansal -- who had been paid Rs 5 crore by then --- was among the key issues flagged during the battle between the founders and the previous Infosys management.

Co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and others had objected to the payment saying it was excessive. Murthy went to the extent of calling the payment made to Bansal as 'hush money'.

In February last year, R Seshasayee -- who was the chairman of the Infosys board at that point -- had clarified that the remaining amount was withheld, pending clarifications on the terms of the severance contract.

He had also admitted that the "judgement" could have differed if circumstances were different or if certain processes had been in place.

While asserting that there were no irregularities related to the severance package, Infosys said it has since framed a process for granting severance.

In December, Infosys -- through a disclosure to exchanges -- had also stated that it had approached market regulator Sebi with an application to settle the issues arising out of alleged disclosure lapses related to the severance package paid to Bansal.

However, it had maintained that the settlement application made to Sebi was neither admission of guilt nor a denial.

Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters
Even though North America still accounts for 60 per cent of Infosyss revenue, the company is starting to see good growth in Europe, which contributes around 25 per cent to the companys top line.

Even Australia also has emerged to be a strategically important market, with a contribution of 10 per cent to the overall revenues.

After the US, Infosys is planning to take its digital hub models to Europe and Australia as the Bengaluru-based company looks at expanding its onshore capabilities in order to serve these markets effectively.

The company plans to begin by setting up one digital hub in the UK for which it has shortlisted four locations while it is also evaluating setting up such centres in two more European countries.

In Australia, Infosys is looking at setting up two hubs initially before expanding further.

We are building our onshore capabilities, and to that effect, the digital centers that we have built in the US and those we are starting in Europe and Australia, are actually allowing us to recruit college graduates in those markets, said Salil Parekh, chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys.

In Europe and Australia, we are evaluating a few cities, though none of those have been announced. The intent is to launch digital hubs outside the US within the next six months, he said.

In March, Infosys launched its first technology and innovation hub at Indianapolis, in the US, which was followed by another centre in Raleigh last month.

The Indianapolis hub will help the firm work with clients in machine learning, artificial intelligence, user experience, and advanced digital technologies, including big data and cloud.

Infosys is also using it as its global training centre to train, upskill and reskill its own employees as well as those from clients in digital technologies.

The company is planning to open two more hubs in the US, including one in Hartford, Connecticut where it aims to hire 1,000 US workers by 2022.

The Hartford hub will have a special focus on insurance, health care, and manufacturing serving.

According to Parekh, the concerns by certain quarters that increased hiring by the company in onshore locations, including the US, would affect the profitability negatively while adding this will, however, led the company towards a higher margin trajectory as it will help in expanding the digital business that currently stands at 28 per cent of its overall revenues.

Actually, overall its not margin dilutive for us but what its doing is it is building a resilient business model for the future, said Parekh.

In fact, in one of our internal sessions, there was a view that as we are building a full pyramid in these locations, it will actually have positive impact on our margins, he said.

Even though North America still accounts for 60 per cent of Infosyss revenue, the company is starting to see good growth in Europe, which contributes around 25 per cent to the companys top line.

Even Australia also has emerged to be a strategically important market, with a contribution of 10 per cent to the overall revenues.

Immigration constraints in the US over the past few years have not only forced Indian IT giants to actively hire overseas but also to explore markets outside the US in order to offset risks.

The likes of TCS have around 30,000 employees while Wipro reported over 55 per cent local workforce in the geography, including heavy grants and partnerships with local universities for campus hiring.

Parekh said the company had launched an aggressive recruitment drive in the US, especially through campus recruitment.

In the past one year, Infosys has hired 1,500 freshers from across 40 campuses.

It had earlier set up a goal to hire 10,000 local Americans for its US centres in the next couple of years.

The company has so far hired over 4,700 people.

My sense is that well exceed that target and we will go much beyond this. Because today the view is, we will have a significant number will come in the next 12 months, Parekh added.

Outside of the US, the company has started doing campus hiring in the UK and Australia, though the numbers are far lesser as compared to India and the US.

In the past 12 months, the company hired 80 and 25 campus recruits from the UK and Australia, respectively.

Infosys is also actively reskilling and "refactoring" their employees into newer more relevant technologies even as they continue focus on campus recruitment through 6-10 weeks long programmes.

Photograph: PTI Photo
Jio and Ericsson tested the limits of 5G by demonstrating multi-gigabit speeds and super-low latency capabilities that are making new offerings such as remote control of machines and 360-degree 4K video streaming.

From driving a car in Mumbai sitting in the national capital to flying drones equipped with facial recognition capabilities, Reliance Jio on Thursday displayed potential uses of high speed 5G network technology.

On the opening day of India Mobile Congress (IMC), richest Indian Mukesh Ambani's Jio -- the world's largest and fastest growing mobile data network -- together with Ericsson demonstrated trial 5G network to drive a car prototyped at Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) in Mumbai from a remote location about 1,388-km away at Aerocity grounds in New Delhi.

It also had a 5G-enabled drone that could perform powerful security surveillance and identifying threats by monitoring from the sky on a real-time basis.

According to Jio, the potential of 5G network, which could be as much as 10 times more efficient than 4G technology, could lead to a safe execution of human-led remote control of autonomous vehicles.

It can significantly improve the safety of self-driving cars.

Company officials said Jio and Ericsson tested the limits of 5G by demonstrating multi-gigabit speeds and super-low latency capabilities that are making new offerings such as remote control of machines and 360-degree 4K video streaming.

5G may just sound like an upgrade from the existing 4G network but, there is much more than what just meets the eye and it will quite literally revolutionise cellular networks and offer a seamless medium for communication, they said.

It offers ultra-high speed internet, super capacity handling capability, the ultra-low latency for the tactile network, network slicing for better efficiency and utilisation of resources and Internet of Things.

Demonstrating remote control of machine through 5G connection, a car connected over a live 5G network in IIT-Delhi was also made accessible at IMC booth about 12-kilometres away, for remote driving.

Also, a car connected to 5G at RCP, Mumbai was controlled from IMC.

"5G introduces the ability to remotely control devices and heavy machinery, thus unlocking the potential for improved mission-critical applications in medical services, surgeries and industrial automation that would otherwise be unavailable," a company official said.

"5G will also allow for operations of machines to be controlled in hazardous situations in order to keep human life safe."

Also during the demonstration, Jio team conducted a 'blackout' test in which the driver operated the car while wearing a set of virtual reality glasses, relying solely on video captured from a camera on the hood of the car.

A booth with a drone with 5G demonstrated how using facial recognition technology can help identify threats in a real-time basis.

5G technology is also used in telemedicine - a practice of using telecommunications technology to evaluate, diagnose and clinical care for patients at a distance.

This includes patient consultations conducted through audio and video conferencing, remote diagnosis, remote monitoring of vital signs, real-time transmission of images and test results, health wearables, and transnational telemedicine, Jio officials said.

"Within the next few years, we will be bringing consumers new augmented and virtual reality experiences on devices that don't even exist yet," an official said.

"Thanks to the low latency and extreme bandwidth of 5G, these new experiences will be possible.

Not just 360 video and 4K quality, but new formats and devices not invented yet."

Officials said 5G capabilities such as low latency and high data rates during the vehicle mobility, combined with augmented reality (AR), can enable new and innovative real-time applications and interactive services.

In addition to mass market applications such as gaming, navigation, and education, adding AR on top of the real-world objects makes possible new innovations such as augmented assembly instructions (e.g. smart industries, e-education, medical training) and so-called 'x-ray vision'.

Photograph: Steve Marcus/Reuters
"Emerging fields, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of things, blockchain, and big data can take India to new heights of development, and improve the quality of life of its citizens," he said, adding for India, this is not just an industrial transformation, but a social transformation.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday allayed fears of job loss due to technological development, saying artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies will change the nature of employment and provide more opportunities.

Speaking at the launch of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Modi said his government is open to policy changes to help reap benefits of the fourth industrial revolution.

He said 'Industry 4.0' and the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) would lead to better healthcare and reduce costs.

It would also help farmers and benefit the agriculture sector, he said.

Modi said that as work progresses in the country, one of the targets is 'Solve for India, Solve for the World'.

"Some people are worried that the advancement of technology will have negative impact on jobs but the reality is otherwise.

The Industry 4.0 will touch those aspects which still remain untouched so far. It will change the nature of job and create new opportunities," he said.

Recognising this aspect, Modi said the government has launched several initiatives like Start Up India, Stand Up India, Digital India and Atal Innovation Mission.

Noting that India is going to play a major role in the fourth industrial revolution, the prime minister said diversity, demographic potential, fast growing market and digital infrastructure have the potential to make India a global hub of research and innovation.

While the previous industrial revolutions eluded the country, India's contribution to the fourth industrial revolution would be astonishing, he said.

"India was not independent when the first and second industrial revolution happened. When third industrial revolution happened, India was struggling with challenges of just attained independence," he said.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, blockchain and big data hold potential to take India to new heights, the prime minister said.

Launching the centre, Modi said it opens the door to immense possibilities in the future.

The centre at Mumbai is the fourth in the world after San Francisco, Tokyo and Beijing.

"Emerging fields, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of things, blockchain, and big data can take India to new heights of development, and improve the quality of life of its citizens," he said, adding for India, this is not just an industrial transformation, but a social transformation.

Listing the achievements of his government, Modi said tele-density has increased to 93 per cent and nearly 50 crore Indians now have mobiles.

India is the largest mobile data consuming country in the world and also the one with the cheapest data rates, he said, adding mobile data consumption has increased 30 times in four years.

Over 120 crore Indians have Aadhaar, he said, adding that work to connect all the 250,000 village panchayats with optic fibre would be completed soon.

On blockchain technology, the prime minister said it would help in promoting the vision of minimum government and maximum governance.

It will help in fast-tracking government services such as management of natural resources and property registration, he said.

The government is working on a national strategy for blockchain technology and will also announce a drone policy, he added.

Speaking at the event, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said the future India will be propelled by three powers -- next generation digital infrastructure, power of youth and power of the largest pool of next generation entrepreneurs.

"Each one of these three pillars supported by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Digital India programme...I think this will create plethora of opportunities," he said.

The new technologies, including Internet of Things and blockchain, will help India to address challenges in education, healthcare, agriculture, job creation and environmental sustainability, he said.

"I strongly believe that government, private sector and civil society have to form a coalition to tackle these most complex challenges," he said, adding that the results can double the income of 115 million farmers.

He added that India is a country that will make this whole industrial revolution a people-centric revolution.
The new information required by the Department of Labour is significant because before sponsoring a foreign worker for the H-1B visa, the company needs to get its labour application approved by it.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

The Trump administration has introduced a new set of stringent provisions to the H-1B labour application process under which the US employers must disclose the total number of foreigners already employed by them, making it tougher to sponsor fresh foreign workers.

The H-1B visa, popular among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The new information required by the Department of Labour is significant because before sponsoring a foreign worker for the H-1B visa, the company needs to get its labour application approved by it.

The department certifies that there are no domestic worker for that particular position and as such the company can hire a foreign guest worker under the H-1B visa category.

The Labour Condition Application form updates will now require employers to provide more detailed information about H-1B worker employment conditions, including disclosing all places of employment for H-1B workers, including periods of short duration and providing the estimated number of H-1B workers at each place of intended employment.

It also requires the clear identification of secondary entities which are using H-1B workers and seeks H-1B dependent employers which are claiming an exemption solely on the basis of education, such as a master's degree, to provide documentation of the degree.

Under the new forms, employers also need to give an estimate of the total number of foreign nationals already working at each location listed in the application.

Further, revisions to the worker complaint form include added data fields designed to better describe the nature of an alleged programme violation, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

To allow appropriate time for transition, the new forms will be made available for use in the coming weeks.

An announcement will be made on the Office of Foreign Labour Certification's website identifying the date when they will be made available, it said.

Since 2017, the department has taken action to combat visa fraud and abuse and encouraged US workers to report complaints, including establishing protocols for promptly referring matters related to criminal fraud to the department's Office of Inspector General for investigation.

It has also directed the department's Wage and Hour Division to use all its tools in conducting civil investigations to enforce labour protections provided by the visa programmes.

Further it has signed an agreement with the US Department of Justice to promptly refer complaints from US workers who believe they have been discriminated against based on the nationality or citizenship.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the form changes are the latest in a series targeting employers who place foreign nationals at third-party worksites.

In a February policy memo, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) required employers to provide detailed work itineraries for the entire duration of H-1B petitions involving offsite employment.

An advocacy group representing small and medium size IT companies have filed a lawsuit against USCIS on this issue.

"Employers should expect renewed scrutiny on where H-1B employees are working, whether they are working at third-party sites and, if so, whether the arrangement is permissible," said Justin Storch, director of regulatory affairs and judicial counsel at the Society for Human Resource Management.

"Given current scrutiny of H-1Bs, both petitioners and end users should be aware of what information is being disclosed on the forms and the fact that the Department of Labour is likely to make this information publicly available," Storch said.
The bullish outlook for gold is seen as a trigger for silver to perform better going ahead.

Silver has not been delivering positive returns to investors across the globe, prompting them to stay away from the market the past few years.

In fact, the precious metal is already down by as much as 14 per cent since January.

But all that seems set to change for silver prices in the coming quarters.

The fall in demand for the metal, especially from financial market investors going for exchange-traded products, is expected to reduce.

Going ahead, expectations of a weak dollar and support from gold will help silver prices recover and the recovery is estimated to be faster than gold.

Silver prices usually follow the prices of gold -- as a precious metal -- as well as base metals -- for industrial use, where it has a 55 per cent demand.

The bullish outlook for gold is seen as a trigger for silver to perform better going ahead.

Prices of the white metal have trailed those of gold, so far this year, in the precious metals space.

And the ratio of fall in terms of beta or volatility has been 1:1.37.

This means silver has fallen faster than gold, pushing the gold-to-silver price ratio to above 85 recently.

Bernard Dahdah, senior commodity analyst at London-based Natixis Commodities, says, The strong correlation with gold, which is currently at 0.84, will help silver prices to benefit from gold rally.

"The yellow metal is projected to rise as the US dollar could weaken going ahead.

"We see silver prices outperforming gold prices, averaging $16.5/oz in 2019.

So far this year, the average price of silver has been $16 per ounce.

With the metal currently trading at $14.6-14.7 levels in the international market, it is likely to deliver good returns.

The gold-to-silver price ratio is currently 84.

The ratio indicates relative performance of both metals and determines the number of ounces of silver that can be bought with one ounce of gold.

Silver has weakened by 1.37 times compared to gold in 2018.

This means that for ever drop of $1 in gold price, silver has shed $1.37.

Dahdah of Natixis says, The same beta will be seen as prices of both precious metals recover, meaning that silver will outperform gold.

"This will also bring down gold-silver ratio to 73 next year.

Silver is currently trading at above Rs 38,000 a kilogram in India and is likely to rise going ahead, as a falling rupee is expected to prop domestic prices.

Kunal Shah, head of commodities at Nirmal Bang Commodities, says, We are bullish on gold and silver going forward, due to looming uncertainties on the geopolitical and monetary policy front.

"Gold is expected to test Rs35,000 per 10 gram and silver 43,000 per kilo.

He sees looming uncertainties because, the global economy has entered uncharted territory.

In India, there is a new dimension to the silver scene.

So far, Hindustan Zinc and some metal smelters/refiners have been suppling around 500 tonnes a year of the metal for the past one or two years.

The Silver Institute, a global body that provides facts, trends and estimates for the industry, said in the World Silver Survey 2018 released two days ago, In addition to imported bullion, supplies also came from domestically mined and refined silver, metal refined from imported concentrates, and gold and silver dore.

"Our estimate is that these together contributed to approximately 717 tonnes.

Gold dore imports make up almost 40 per cent of the domestic demand of around 600 tonnes.

Apart from producing the yellow metal, the dore also produces silver during the refining process.

Such supplies have also increased in 2018 and are slated to rise, going ahead.

The report also states that India has seen higher import of the metal in recent months, at 810 tonnes in May, the highest monthly import since May 2015.

Even in April, imports were higher at 612 tonnes.

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
I was five years old, but I can still see it clearly, he said in a phone interview on Tuesday morning. Art has enriched my life and makes my life worth living. It has made me a better member of the community, which is something we we all want for our young people. I was very privileged, but I know that there are tons of kids out there who need to see themselves reflected.
NRI demand would help offset the liquidity problem, which is presently affecting realty sales.

The sharp fall in the rupees value against the US dollar since the beginning of this year has generated interest among non-resident Indians (NRIs) to buy property in the country.

Sector experts say the total value of investment by NRIs in the first eight months of this financial year has already exceeded the total for 2017-18.

These investments in Indian real estate have touched more than $10 billion (Rs 73,000 crore) so far in this fiscal year (FY19), up from $8.9 billion invested in FY18.

"Depreciation in the rupee and low property prices have led to this, said Surendra Hiranandani, chairman of the House of Hiranandani realty major.

He feels investments by NRIs could reach 15 per cent of the total inventory by the end of 2018-19, from the eight to 10 per cent seen in previous years.

The rupee is now at 72.5 to a dollar, from 63 in January. This apart, clarity in regulations after implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act and a stable pricing environment in the segment have attracted NRIs.

A survey by realty consultants ANAROCK shows 78 per cent of NRI respondents indicated they prefer owning a property in this country, over other asset classes like stocks, fixed deposits or mutual funds.

Experts also point to the uncertainty in visa and residency rules under the Trump administration as another reason for higher interest among NRIs living in the US for buying property back home.

Due to the uncertainty of residency regulations in the US, many NRIs have had to scrap their long-term plans (there).

"This is acting as an additional incentive for them to buy property in India, said Anuj Puri, chairman at ANAROCK.

On the demand side, realtors say the housing segment is seeing more demand from NRIs than office space.

The bigger ticket size in commercial real estate is making it difficult for many non-residents to invest in the latter.

This trend had already been reflected in some realtor sales numbers.

For instance, Bengaluru-headquartered Century Real Estate, which predominantly works in the housing space, saw 15-20 per cent of its inventory sold to non-residents since January.

Until last year, NRIs were mostly interested in investing in Delhi and the National Capital Region. Pune and Bengaluru have (since) emerged as preferred destinations for investment, said Ravindra Pai, managing director at Century.

Experts say the NRI demand would help offset the liquidity problem, which is presently affecting realty sales.

Photograph: Reuters
The Tata empire turns 150 this year.

R Gopalakrishnan, former director, Tata Sons Ltd, imagines a conversation among the group's founder Jamsetji, his son Dorabji, his successor, Nowroji Saklatwala, and his successor, J R D Tata.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Jamsetji Tata's biographer, a historian named Frank Harris, recorded that a partnership firm called Tata and Sons was established in 1868.

While the precise date is unclear, a good conjecture is that it was in the July to September period of 1868.

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Tata Sons, R Gopalakrishnan, a former director of Tata Sons Limited, pays a tribute to the institution of Tata.

Based on historical facts, he imagines a conversation among four former chairmen, who together led Tata from 1868 till 1991 -- founder Jamsetji, his son Dorabji, his successor Nowroji Saklatwala, and his successor, J R D Tata.

Jamsetji: Aao dikra. It has been a long time since we chatted together.

The company we had served has renewed itself constantly to survive and grow.

The culture and values of Tata for over a century are very precious.

Future leaders must know what aspects of culture must not change and what aspects must adapt to change.

However, I suggest a word of caution for our discussion: That we reminisce about our times, but we do not make judgements about our modern-day successors.

They are managing a vastly different business in a vastly different world.

Like you, I will always wish and pray that they are holding on to the purpose that we had set for the business and some core values.

I think Tata companies have done so for all of these years.

JRD: Yes, of course, dear Kakaji.

As you know, as one of your original partners in the business, my father R D would harangue me periodically about your vision and how you had ever so endearingly articulated the purpose of the firm.

You had said that the firm is an integral part of the community, and it exists to serve the community.

Eighty years later during the 1960s, when I was the chairman, I said pretty much the same thing in the business language of my times: That what the firm earns from people must go back to the people, many times over.

It is good that this strong foundation and our business purpose have both remained intact, although the profile and appurtenances of the business have changed.

There will always be challenging times and apparent aberrations, but I am sure that the true purpose of the firm continues to be what we had intended, articulated and practised.

Dorab: It is wonderful to know that our current generation is able to maintain our corporate purpose, that too, consistently over a century.

Among the four of us, we have experienced 150 years of the firm: colonial India, the 1930s depression, two World Wars, Partition, Independence of our beloved nation, global economic cycles, and an explosion in the population of India.

Jamsetji: Yes, that is true, but the intrinsic challenges of running a business surely remained broadly similar.

I remember what a tough time I had when I bought Dharamsi Mills in Kurla, later renamed Svadeshi Mills, because the idea of making things in India appealed to me.

I was convinced that such acquisitions at a low price must be seriously considered; if I could buy an asset cheap, I felt I had a decent chance to turn it around by making finer products than it did before.

Really, it was nerve-racking because the Tata name was at stake.

I staked my own wealth and even broke the trusts to raise the funds required.

Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters

Dorab: Papa, you are so right about what happens when the name Tata is at stake.

You may recall that you were so indisposed at Bad Nauheim, cousin R D and I came to meet you.

You said to us about your wealth, "If you cannot make it greater, at least preserve it."

"Do not let things slide."

"Go on doing my work and increasing it but if you cannot, do not lose what we have already done."

We could not raise capital from the London market, but Indian financiers surprised us by subscribing to the capital of our steel company.

After initial troubles, the company made its first ingot of steel in 1912.

Within four years, I told shareholders of my plan to expand the steel production because in 1916, I told the shareholders about the bumper earnings due to production of 30 per cent above designed capacity, bursting order books and ready markets!

However, World War I began, transport and labour costs spiralled out of control, and an earthquake struck Japan, the biggest pig iron market.

Our steel company was suddenly staring down an abyss.

JRD: Oh yes Dorabji, my father had told me this story.

Was this not the occasion when one of the directors suggested that the government take over the steel mill?

My father said he was livid and that he thumped the table, swearing that this would not happen so long as he was alive!

Dorab: Yes indeed, Jeh, your father did.

After that episode of thumping the table, we received a telegram from Jamshedpur stating that there was inadequate money to pay the wages of employees.

I went to the Imperial Bank of India and pledged my wife's jewellery to secure a loan.

After that, Papa's adopted motto for the firm, Humata, Hukta, Huvarsta, worked well because Ahura Mazda smiled, and our fortunes turned.

Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Bombay House was built by Dorabji Tata, founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata's elder son.

JRD: Yes Dorabji. Even the Taj Mahal hotel, which was one of Kaka's dream projects, took ever so long to make a profit.

They used to call it the 'Tata White Elephant'.

I found a talented hotelier in Ajit Kerkar, who turned the Taj around brilliantly.

During my chairmanship, we acquired a soda ash business at Mithapur.

People even told me that we had bought the wrong business in the wrong place.

Thanks to the imaginative leadership of another professional, Darbari Seth, the business turned round.

I understand that Tata is now the world's second largest soda ash player.

Saklatwala: Yeah, what you folks say is true; yet, there can be exceptions to the situation.

You must try very hard to turn around acquisitions or new ventures.

But if after trying hard and sincerely, you fail, may be for market-driven reasons, then you also need to stop the bleeding and haemorrhage.

How long can you persist with operations that you are just unable to turn around?

How do you judge when to call it quits?

After our time, Tata Textiles and Tata Oil Mills were divested because Tata could not see their way to make a sustainable success of it.

Dorab: Indeed, you raise a valid issue.

I think you have to do everything you possibly can with a great degree of sincerity, and then the time comes to take a call.

After 1917, I launched eleven new ventures; in each of them, investors fought to get shares, such was the faith in the Tata name.

Apart from Tata Oil Mills, I set up Tata Industrial Bank, New India Assurance Company, Tata Construction, Tata Electro-Chemicals, Tata Sugar Corporation, just to name a few.

Market conditions were tough and some of the ventures ran into problems.

Saklatwala: Indeed, and when I succeeded you, Dorabji, I had to get a grip on the situation I faced.

The firm was over-leveraged and the global recession did not help.

Your decisions may have been right when you took them, but later developments had their own impact.

I expressed my thoughts in a speech, "Those were truly mad days, and perhaps the maddest feature was the supreme confidence of the public in Tata, and, incidentally, the overconfidence of Tata themselves."

I really felt that these ventures suffered from insufficient preparation before their inception; some of them were over-capitalised in anticipation of rapid expansion, and some from a rapid collapse of market values and prices.

Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Natarajan Chandrasekaran, current chairman of the Tata group, right, and Ratan Tata, its emeritus chairman, at the opening of the refurbished Bombay House south Mumbai, July 29, 2018.

Dorab: Yes my dear Nowroji, I did hear the stories about those property disposals, but luckily for you, I was not around to express any views!

Times have changed, and nowadays businesses are sold and bought, hopefully with grace and fairness.

I heard that after the times when we headed the group, the Tata Sons board has periodically debated which businesses should be divested and how.

But, to be fair, I did support new businesses as well.

Jeh, as I recall, I supported you to enter the airline business around 1929.

JRD: Dorabji, in the late 1920s, you were totally against my idea of entering the airline business.

You felt that we were too stretched at that time, both financially and managerially.

The Tata Sons board minutes clearly carried the message of the board rejecting the firm's entry into airlines.

So I went to my mentor, John Peterson, you remember him? I cried out my emotions to him.

Dorab: You did put John Peterson on to me. How he pleaded for you.

He said something like, "Let the young man fly with his dreams."

Finally I relented, and you did a great job of developing Tata Airlines.

It was one business which you developed personally and could take full credit for.

But Jeh, you were ever so keen about the airline, it must have broken your heart to let it go when the government nationalised it.

JRD: In fact, more than nationalisation, it was the way I was removed from chairmanship that hurt me.

In business, one must take the decision that is felt to be right, but one must also attempt to implement it gracefully.

However, once the government decided to remove me from Air India, I swallowed my pride and accepted it.

Jamsetji: Changing the tack slightly to development of business leaders, Jeh, you referred to Ajit Kerkar and Darbari Seth as great leaders.

I learned early on that the key to my enterprise would be to find the right people to run the businesses.

I recruited an extraordinary man called Bezonji Mehta, a self-made man who had worked in the railway, trained him and he responded very well.

Later when I went into steel, I walked the streets of London and New York to find technocrats.

It was not that I always sought foreign technicians.

For the Taj architecture, I consulted Khanderao Sitaram.

Only after he died, did I bring in W A Chambers.

JRD: Kakaji, I think you make an exceptional point about developing technocrats and managers.

India had no business managers in those days, so Tata had to develop them internally through mentoring as well as real-life and hands-on experience.

Many Tata leaders went on to public positions.

When India was partitioned, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan appointed Sir Ghulam Mohammed, who was a Tata director, as the new nation's first finance minister.

Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of the new Indian government, asked that Tata director Sir John Mathai join the interim Cabinet, first, to be the railway minister, and later to be the second finance minister in the Union Cabinet.

A D Shroff and Nani Palkhivala were two doyens on the Tata Sons board who were as influential as finance ministers without ever becoming finance ministers.

When young Sumant Moolgaokar joined the Tata board, he remarked, "At the lunch table, you felt that Tata belonged to the nation."

Dorab: This is an important part of Tata history.

Jeh, you have rattled off many names of exceptional business leaders, and perhaps, you, more than any of us, needed all of them in free, independent India.

Sumant Moolgaokar in engineering, Faqir Chand Kohli in power and computers, how on earth did you attract them, and lead them?

JRD: You know, early on, I realised that I could not possibly manage all these businesses by myself.

I realised that I was no genius.

Further, my technical education was nipped in the bud because dad asked me to join the business as early as 1924.

So I went right out, looking for people who would be better than I was.

I consciously gave them the space and visibility to stretch and deliver to their full potential.

We had differences, but, after some discussion and argument, I let them do things their way.

In this regard I particularly recall A D Shroff, a hugely talented economist, but also given to strong opinions. I managed to get the best out of him for the nation and for Tata.

What would be the use of recruiting them and then subjugating them to my view, which had its own limitations?

Jamsetji: Well, well, I must say that it is a great tribute to you that you could do this.

A true leader, I reckon, is one who is not so insecure that he needs to impose his views on others arising out of his status or position.

True power must emanate from listening to others and from display of warmth.

Authoritativeness and leadership emanate, not necessarily from status, but from these qualities.

It sure is tough to do that.

Saklatwala: Well, this has been a great conversation.

All of us can feel happy that the institution which we all served and built continues to prosper.

I pray that it continue into the future.

Jamsetji: I join you in your prayer.

Like human beings organisations too need renewal.

Just one individual could have the power to renew an institution and elevate it to founding fathers' expectations if he has two qualifications: First, he should have no past to hide, and second, he should have no personal expectation for the future.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Wednesday announced a scheme to financially support those who lost their jobs and were covered under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948. Somesh Jha explains the key features.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

What are the key features of the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY)?

The ABVKY is a scheme approved by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) that aims to benefit its subscribers, who are mainly formal sector workers who have become unemployed for whatever reason, by providing cash through bank account transfer.

At present, the government of India does not provide any unemployment allowance.

The ongoing Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana (RGSKY) benefits formal sector workers registered with the ESIC.

Why was there a need for a new unemployment allowance?

The labour and employment ministry said in its official statement on Wednesday that the move was necessitated considering the change in employment pattern and the current scenario of employment in India which has transformed from a long-term employment to fixed short-term engagement.

The government is signalling that permanent employees in the economy are on a decline and the industry is more inclined towards hiring workers on a contract now.

This has been facilitated by the governments policy validating fixed-term employment for all businesses earlier this year.

The government allowed industries to hire workers on a fixed-term contract on condition that they receive similar allowances given to a permanent worker in the same organisation.

That said, due to the unavailability of official data on employment, there is no evidence to suggest that permanent jobs are on a decline and contract workers are being hired more.

How is the new scheme an improvement over the previous one offered by the ESIC?

The RGSKY was introduced in 2005 for employees who were left unemployed for three reasons - the closure of factory or establishment, retrenchment or permanent invalidity.

However, if an employee became unemployed for some other reason, no unemployment benefit was offered to him/her under the RGSKY scheme.

The ABVKY will provide cash allowance to ESIC subscribers who are unemployed for at least three months in a row after leaving their previous jobs, for reasons apart from retrenchment and factory closure.

The new scheme will be availed of by those who are insured by ESIC for a period of at least two years.

Is there any data to measure the performance of the earlier scheme?

According to official data, in 2016-17, 508 people availed of the unemployment allowance under the RGSKY scheme, down from 1,146 in 2015-16 and 1,030 in 2014-15.

According to the ESIC, the number of beneficiaries declined largely because the allowance was solely dependent on closure of a factory or retrenchment.

In 2016-17, Rs 3.72 crore was paid to unemployed people compared to Rs 5.48 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 4.47 crore in 2014-15, under the RGSKY scheme.

In 2016, the ESIC made the RGSKY more attractive by allowing those who had subscribed to the ESIC for at least two years to avail of the benefits, as against three years previously.

Also, the benefit period was enhanced from one year to two years.

Despite these measures, the scheme remained unattractive due to its limited scope, according to the ESIC.

Who will fund the new scheme?

The scheme will be funded by the employees themselves. Nearly 4.75 per cent of a workers monthly salary goes towards ESI as the employers contribution, 1.75 per cent of the income is the employees share.

Those who had subscribed to the ESIC for two years continuously will be allowed to avail of the unemployment benefit to the tune of 47 per cent of their total contribution.

The ESIC conducted a sample survey in Noida and Varanasi to find out the financial implications on the basis of the average number of persons leaving the job in the two areas.

The expected expenditure for all-India coverage of the scheme is estimated to be Rs 1,600 crore a year, according to the ESIC.

The move is expected to benefit over 10 lakh workers.
For the second year in a row, India has been recognised as the fifth-best performing nation in reforming the business environment.

However, in the two categories that the government was banking on most - Paying Taxes and Resolving Insolvency - landmark reforms that were expected to yield better results have had the opposite effect.

Under the circumstances should the country celebrate already or are there any reasons for worry, wonders Subhayan Chakraborty.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

India has improved its ranking significantly in the latest Ease of Doing Business ranking by the World Bank.

Here is all you wanted to know about Ease of Doing Business.

What is the Ease of Doing Business Index?

Brought out by the Washington DC based World Bank, the Ease of Doing Business Index measures the levels of business regulation in 190 economies, covering almost the entire globe.

It does this exercise by assessing the business climate in 10 broad categories that are integral to starting, sustaining and winding down a business.

Nations are then ranked based on how well they implemented 314 specific business reforms.

Why are policy makers so concerned with Indias rank?

The Index is considered a barometer of how easy it is to conduct private business in a country, thereby also proving to be a reliable indicator of how much red tapism, cost burden and overall entrepreneurial mobility is present in an economy.

For India, a good rank translates into better chance for securing foreign investments as global investors have turned to the Index to decide their plans.

The government claims that northbound foreign direct investment figures are directly proportional to Indias rank improving in the Index.

Where does India stand in the Index?

India was adjudged as an economy with the 77th easiest business environment in the latest rankings released recently.

The country managed to jump 23 positions from the 100th positions it held in the previous years report.

Over the past two years, India has managed to jump a significant 53 positions in total.

For the second year in a row, it has also been recognised as the fifth-best performing nation in reforming the business environment.

The country improved its rankings in six of the 10 categories assessed.

How did India manage to improve its rank?

Among the various categories assessed, the country had the best performance in Dealing with Construction Permits, in which it jumped a massive 129 places to become the 52nd easiest place to construct a business unit.

Improved transparency and streamlined procedures were behind India cleaning up its notoriously corrupt land sector and the financial transactions that come with it.

In Trading Across Borders, India surged 66 places to come in at the 80th spot.

Officials at the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) attributed this to the adoption of a slew of digital initiatives such as the implementation of a risk management system at ports that waives inspection requirement for 80 per cent of the products, among other things.

Was the jump in ranking totally unexpected?

The government was confident of securing a better score in most categories but had been exclusively betting on two crucial areas.

However, in the two categories of Paying Taxes and Resolving Insolvency, landmark government reforms that was expected to yield better results have had the opposite effect.

In Paying Taxes, India actually saw its rank slip two notches to 121, despite the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The World Bank praised India for merging taxes and significantly revising the tax code, but it didnt lead to a better ranking.

On the other hand, the adoption of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code could not save India from shedding five positions in Resolving Insolvency, to settle at 108.

The government said the full scope of the reforms benefits would be realised next year.

Is the Index a true reflection of the state of the entire economy?

India is among 11 major economies for which the World Bank took into account two specific metropolitan areas - Delhi and Mumbai.

The report covers all policy reforms undertaken by the government till May 1 of this year that has taken taken place in these two cities.

However, the government pointed out that at least 15 states have had more than 90 per cent score in the governments own ranking of states ease of doing business.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also said that Delhi and Mumbai are large cities with complicated procedures and challenges.

Once progress has been made there, other regions should be easy.
His rags-to-riches story could make a film.

Nikita Puri meets Musthafa P C, the man behind ready-to-use breakfast foods that countless Indians trust.

IMAGE: Musthafa P C. Photograph: Kind courtesy ID Fresh

A few years ago, Bengaluru-based Musthafa P C received what could have been the gateway for a substantial payday.

A reputed five-star hotel chain had approached him to supply them with thousands of packets of 'diamond cuts', a snack almost as popular in Indian homes as the ubiquitous samosa.

This was around the time that iD Fresh Food, Musthafa's enterprise, had just started selling fresh, ready-to-use idli and dosa batter in Bengaluru.

Musthafa, now 45, had recently quit his job with FICO, a data analytics enterprise, and was struggling to make ends meet.

Musthafa then approached the hotel's chef to better understand how they'd use the diamond cuts.

It'd be the perfect bar snack, he was told.

But Musthafa was uneasy about being associated with the business of liquor, even in the faintest of ways.

He turned down the offer. "I felt like crying," he recalls.

"Not because we lost the order, but because the Almighty had given me the courage to take that decision."

In retrospect that was the best decision, says Musthafa.

It helped them decide who they were and what they wanted to be known for.

The company's vision suddenly became crystal-clear: simply, to assist homechefs in kitchens across India.

Over the last few years, countless homes in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Vijayawada, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune -- as well as in Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi -- have begun their days with home-style, fresh, preservative-free breakfast products from iD.

The contents of iD's attractive zip-locked bags have an average lifespan of four-seven days, and range from ragi (finger millets) dosa batter to batter for the relatively grainy Udupi idlis and ready-to-cook Malabar parottas.

The brand's popularity in finicky Indian kitchens owes to a culture of consistency and quality, unlike the unmarked packets or smaller brands also available.

Amongst working professionals and generations who grew up without learning their grandmothers' culinary skills, iD is a godsend.

As brand guru Harish Bijoor puts it, "When someone else can make it all just right, and that too at the right price, why would you want to do it at home?"

With backing from Helion Ventures and Premji Invest, iD Fresh Food now has a revenue of Rs 2.75 billion and aims to be a Rs 10 billion business in the next few years.

Musthafa's foray into the ready-to-cook sector started in 2005, in Thippasandra, a bustling locality near Bengaluru's upscale Indiranagar where his cousins ran a small grocery store.

They'd see customers buying idli and dosa batter and realised there was a market for this.

Rubber bands held the batter -- and the occasional cockroach -- inside those unbranded bags, recalls Musthafa.

Along with his cousins Abdul Nazar, Jafar T K, Shamsudeen T K and Noushad T A, Musthafa spent the next nine months in a 50 sq ft kitchen in Thippasandra, talking to mothers and grandmothers and learning the art of making the perfect idli-dosa batter.

None of the young men knew how to cook. "After that we'd go around on a scooty, delivering the batter door to door," he recalls.

Once they started selling about 100 packets of batter a day, Musthafa knew the business would take off.

Two things helped seal iD's success.

"We scaled up from a family business, and brought in several professionals," says Musthafa.

Secondly, but not less significantly, iD teamed up with a German company to develop a heavy-duty grinder.

"The batter business is all about grinding rice and dal correctly," says Musthafa.

Traditional grinders can grind about 3kg of dal an hour.

"Our break came when we developed grinders that can grind thousands of kilos every hour."

IMAGE: The ready-to-cook food maker's idli and dosa batters are a hit in India's urban households where both husbands and wives work, and even among single men and women living away from home. Photograph: Reuters

iD's growth was also helped by the fact that many of Bengaluru's small grocery stores are owned by Malayalis, a network the Wayanad native could tap into.

Says Bijoor, "To me, this is a case study of how you start small with right ambition.

How you start with one product and then seek adjacencies of product expansion, without compromising on quality."

Quality is a necessity, since Musthafa's three sons (8, 13, 15) are among the first to try every iD product.

"It's a crunchy deep fried snack. It's somewhat like a savoury doughnut," Musthafa said earlier this year, explaining what a vada is to an audience at Harvard University where iD's success has become a case study.

"It's a fantastic snack, but it's also one of the most difficult things to make for most."

Musthafa was discussing the vada because friends and relatives had been sharing pictures of their latest culinary masterpieces  shapely exploits from vada-land.

This was not long after iD had launched vada batter in a pack with a patented spout.

Courtesy this innovative technique, the batter can be squeezed directly into a pan with hot oil, to get crisp vadas complete with the hole in the centre.

The latest from iD is a decoction for filter coffee.

Within a year, Musthafa expects to be offering all of this, and more, in North India, too.

Breaking into the breakfast segment and setting the bar for it is an emotional business for Musthafa.

"Breakfast was a luxury while I was growing up," he recalls.

His father Ahmed worked as a coolie at a coffee farm where a single shift paid him Rs 15.

There was never enough money to feed the family of six.

Today, Musthafa's company makes 55,000 kg of batter daily.

"That's 1.3 million idlis every day," he says.

To assist his family, Musthafa turned entrepreneur young.

At the age of 10, he would set up makeshift shops and sell sweets on weekends and during summer holidays.

His next entrepreneurial venture was a second-hand car purchase portal in Dubai, which did well till the dot-com bubble burst, he says.

A graduate from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Musthafa also worked with companies like Motorola, Citibank and Intel.

D V R Seshadri, now a professor at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, remembers Musthafa as a quiet man.

"He was wide-eyed and observant. But most of all, he had a tremendous idealism," he says.

Seshadri first encountered Musthafa when the entrepreneur was studying for an MBA at IIM- Bangalore and Seshadri was a visiting faculty.

But Musthafa had already travelled a long road to get there.

He remembers the only reason he attended school was because they provided a midday meal.

Later, a scholarship from a non-governmental organisation helped put him through college.

Now that Musthafa can, he gives back to society whenever possible.

"Musthafa brings in unskilled people from villages and trains them at world-class facilities," says Ashok Dhingra, a director at iD and Musthafa's mentor.

"He's exceptional," continues Dhingra.

"Musthafa has built economically viable homes for people who were living under tarpaulin sheets in Kodagu.

It started with 20, then it became 50, then 100.

He never talks about his philanthropy and doesn't want publicity for it."

Seshadri recalls how he was moved to tears after he read Musthafa's paper titled 'Reflections' for his class.

"Not only had Musthafa talked about the hardship of his childhood days, he had also written about wanting to be a true Muslim whose duty it was to be of service to humanity."

Musthafa's rags-to-riches story is the stuff of books and films.

"It is a good story," says Bijoor.

"These stories count after success has been achieved, and not before.

These are brand props, but not strong enough props to build or hold up a brand.

Musthafa must not get lost in these as well."

That looks unlikely.

Musthafa is currently busy trying to make iD's packaging more environment-friendly. As Bijoor points out, this is an achiever of no mean substance.
The recommendation, if implemented, is likely to face opposition from the government's key support base among Hindu traders and businesspersons.

Archis Mohan and Joydeep Ghosh report.

IMAGE: A scene from Kanu Behl's film Titli which revolved around a Hindu family in Delhi. Kindly note that the image has only been published for representational purposes.

In a recommendation that can cause a lot of heartburn for business houses and taxpayers, the Law Commission last week proposed doing away with the concept of Hindu Undivided Family, or HUF.

According to the income tax department statistics, there were almost 2 million registered HUFs till March 2018.

In a consultation paper called Reform of Family Law, the commission came down hard on HUFs.

The strongly worded paper says 'justifying the institution on grounds of deep-rooted sentiments at the cost of country's revenues may not be judicious'.

The paper quotes former chief commissioner, income tax, T C A Ramanujam, as saying that 'the government carries out any amount of amendment to the Hindu law without looking into the revenue loss caused by the recognition of HUF as a separate taxable entity.

'HUF may be a boon to the taxpaying Hindu. But it is definitely a bane to government revenues'.

An HUF is a separate tax entity under the provisions of Section 2(31) of the IT Act.

Income tax experts believe this proposal has been made primarily because of the government's increased focus on tax compliance.

"The government might be looking at HUFs from the perspective of taxpayers using it to reduce tax liability," says Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader, personal tax, PwC.

"It is also possible that it is finding that this vehicle is being used for hiding any income," adds Kumar. "Given the big focus on compliance, the government is trying to plug all loopholes for tax avoidance."

The recommendation, if implemented, is likely to face opposition from the government's key support base among Hindu traders and businesspersons.

Confederation of All India Traders chief Praveen Khandelwal says his organisation, which claims to represent 50 million small traders across the country, would oppose any move to abolish HUF.

"The view of the Law Commission on this needs to be changed. The institution of joint family is very much alive," says Khandelwal.

"The karta of an HUF is the head of the joint family, and by virtue of that and the expenditure incurred to preserve and run the institution of a joint family gets a little relaxation in tax. Where is the question of tax evasion in this?" asks Khandelwal.

Tax experts say an HUF does helps taxpayers to save on taxes by creating a separate tax entity.

There are many tax exemptions and deductions that are allowed in the income tax laws, especially to an HUF.

Doing away with HUFs may not be easy, say experts.

"The intent of creation of a HUF was for ease of succession in case of a joint family. In case the revenue authorities want to avoid the use of HUF as a tax planning mechanism, they could look at the option of introducing specific anti-avoidance rules for the taxation of HUFs," says Amarpal Chadha, tax partner & India mobility leader, EY.

"If the concept of HUF is abolished under the income-tax law, the taxation of existing HUFs may become complex," Chadha adds.

The commission said the special status given to the entity of HUF was a 'so-called gift by the British' who could not comprehend the complex socio-economic structure of the Indian families.

'Now, this status is being used for the evasion of tax only,' it said.

'However, today when it has been 72-years since Independence, it is high time that it is understood that justifying this institution on the ground of deep rooted sentiments at the cost of the country's revenues may not be judicious,' the Commission concluded.

'In present times,' the commission observed, 'HUF is neither congruent with corporate governance, nor is it conducive for the tax regime.'

In addition, the commission also recommended that coparcenary of ancestral property under Hindu law be abolished and the right in a property by birth be extinguished in favour of 'tenancy in common', instead of 'joint tenancy'.

The paper has also recommended making it easier for couples to get a divorce, more equitable share for women in property at the time of divorce, abolition of polygamy among Muslims and doing away with the law on adultery.

In June 2016, the Law Commission had been tasked with looking into matters related to the uniform civil code, a key promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto of the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

However, the commission, instead of a full-fledged report on a uniform civil code, preferred a consultation paper to suggest 'piecemeal' changes in personal laws.

The commission said it dealt with laws that are discriminatory rather than providing a uniform civil code, 'which is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage'.

'The issue of uniform civil code is vast, and its potential repercussions untested in India,' it said.

It even came close to rejecting the notion of a uniform civil code and pointed to exceptions provided to specific communities.

'Most countries are now moving towards recognition of difference, and the mere existence of difference does not imply discrimination, but is indicative of a robust democracy,' it noted.

Now, it will be up to the 22nd Law Commission to bring out a final report on the uniform civil code.

The commission had put out a questionnaire in the public domain in November 2016 and received 75,378 responses.

But it bemoaned the majority of the responses 'dealt specifically with the issue of triple talaq, which is one among the various other issues that need attention'.

It said specific groups, or weaker sections of the society must not be dis-privileged in the process of reforming law.
As India reels from a severe water shortage, startups have begun offering innovative ways to help people access safe drinking water.

Sneha Bhattacharjee reports.

IMAGE: Residents struggle to fill empty containers with water from a municipal tanker in New Delhi, June 26, 2018. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

This year saw a city run out of water completely. It was one of the world's greatest tourist destinations, Cape Town.

Government reports suggest India's per capita availability of water has been reducing progressively due to an increase in population and the country is facing water stress.

To add to this, a report titled The state of the world's water by WaterAid says India has the lowest per capita access to clean drinking water -- close to 163 million Indians are said to be suffering from this scarcity.

At the same time, the report adds that it is also one of the world's most-improved nations for reaching the most people with clean water.

Further, it states the challenges faced by the country as: Falling groundwater levels, drought, demand from agriculture and industry, pollution and poor water resource management.

Despite the government restructuring rural water programme with a goal to reach 90 per cent of rural households with piped water by 2022, the challenges will only intensify as 'climate change contributes to more extreme weather shocks'.

"What we need currently is accountability of the existing resources and ensure that whatever is available to us is maintained well," says Dharmesh Shah, an independent researcher on environment from Chennai.

On one of his research projects to an area in North Chennai, Shah came across people paying for using 20 litre jar bottles.

"The groundwater has been left to no use because there has been constant deposition of garbage right above the source of water. In such a situation, the common man has no choice but to pay and use water," he adds.

As the government data suggests India's average annual per capita water may reduce to 1,340 cubic meters in 2025 and 1,140 cubic meters in 2030, it is a welcome relief to see some organisations using natural resources, IOT (Internet of Things) to provide accessibility to safe and clean drinking water.

Take the case of Hyderabad-based Uravu Labs.

Co-founder Swapnil Shrivastava says they source water from "air" using solar energy.

"A panel that can be installed on the rooftop that will attract water in the night, use sunlight through the day to heat it up, a condenser that will cool the water and then supply to the user through pipes," says Shrivastava.

They are still four to six months away from their official launch but are hoping to tie up with the government and the NGOs and reach places and people who do not have access to clean drinking water and where the infrastructure is missing.

IMAGE: A boy uses his mouth to pump water out from a municipal tanker to fill his containers in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Bengaluru-based OCEO works on a "pay per use" model.

"The water purifier is IOT enabled and is installed at the user's location. They can recharge or buy water credits online through mobile and web application," says Vikram Gulecha, one of the co-founders.

This way, the user pays only for the purified water and there is no cost involved for machine and maintenance.

"There is a zero capping on minimum consumption of water for the user. Though we have observed that 15 to 20 litres per day is consumed by a household, users can consume as many litres of water from the device without having to worry about its maintenance for a lifetime," adds Gulecha.

Gurugram-based Swajal has water ATMs or shops across 15 states.

Their idea has been to provide for accessibility in public places and small hamlets. Swajal started in 2011 for cluster of villages.

The water ATMs come with solar pumps, and use locally available water. The machines are all self-run and have been programmed for self-cleaning too.

"We have for every 30 machines, one technician available. Our machines are connected via IOT to our data centre in Delhi where we monitor their maintenance," says Vibha Tripathi, one of the founding partners, Swajal.

This year, they are launching this project in areas where water quality is bad, and also teach people about water conservation and rainwater harvesting.

"It may sound great but come to think of it, we have actually let go of our water resources to private players. A resource that is already diminishing," feels Shah.

"At the end of the day, we are using environment to produce water; isn't it putting pressure on the environment further?" he says, adding instead the government should look at cleaning the already existing resources and ensure people have safe drinking water in their homes without paying for it.
She is only the third woman and second Indian after Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to be made a permanent member of the economics department at Harvard.

She is also the Managing Editor of Harvard's Review of Economic Studies.

She is also co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics programme at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, member of the economic advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

She is also co-editor of the American Economic Review, co-editor of the current Handbook of International Economics and was managing editor of the Review of Economic Studies.

She has also served as a member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters for India's ministry of finance.

Before Harvard, she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business from 2001 to 2005.
West Bengal signed an MoU with the Centre for jointly implementing Ayushman Bharat but so far officials have received no word about how it will be done and the deadline is almost here.



The concluding part of the series analyses the ground realities in West Bengal ahead of the mega health scheme launch on September 25.

Part 1: Why Gujarat is better prepared to launch Ayushman Bharat



Part 2: Where the health of Ayushman Bharat is in a shambles



Part 3: Can Chhattisgarh maintain its lead?



The practical problems in implementing Swasthyasathi scheme give a clue to the problems Ayushman Bharat might face.

At 3.30 pm at Howrah General Hospital, an elderly woman is the lone applicant for Swasthyasathi, the mass health insurance scheme of the West Bengal government.

Most days, only four to five people turn up to apply. But thats not a concern for officials. The scheme at Howrah has already met 95 per cent of its target.

The latest enrolment drive is purely to mop up people, like the woman who turned up that day, who have slipped through the net.

Rather, the concern of Swasthyasathi officials these days is that, with the Centre declaring September 25 as the roll out date for the national health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, how will joint implementation work?

West Bengal signed an MoU with the Centre for jointly implementing Ayushman Bharat but so far officials have received no word about how it will be done and the deadline is almost here.

The fact of West Bengal agreeing to a joint implementation was a milestone in itself.

In general, it has taken a dim view of central schemes.

For example, it refused to participate in the Smart Cities project because it has already developed satellite cities.

But it agreed to collaborate on Ayushman Bharat owing to soaring health expenses.

West Bengal provides free treatment at all government hospitals.

The budget for this increased by about 190 per cent between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to about Rs 857 crore.

In December 2016, the state launched Swasthyasathi, the paperless, cashless scheme, smart card-enabled scheme that provides insurance cover up to Rs 150,000 and up to Rs 500,000 in assurance mode (ie, the claims are paid by the government and not an insurance company).

With no cap on family size, parents of both spouses are eligible under the scheme.

It covers all pre-existing diseases and is available for any person remotely associated with the government. From February 1, 2017, till July 31, 2018, about 47 lakh families have been covered.

Till the end of July 2018, about Rs 258 crore has been paid out as Swasthyasathi insurance claims, with private hospitals accounting for the major part.

However, the number of assurance claims (where the state pays for expenses above Rs 150,000 to Rs 500,000) is fewer with only about 148 cases at a cost of Rs 86 lakh.

Therefore, it makes sense for West Bengal to join hands with the Centre on Ayushman Bharat as it will mean being able to provide insurance cover up to Rs 500,000, covering a large number of families, and, most importantly, sharing the premium burden.

At Barasat District Hospital in North 24 Parganas, Papiya Barui, who is having her daughter treated, has heard neither the name Swasthyasathi nor Ayushman.

After spending a night outside, under an asbestos sheet, she is hoping her daughter will recover from acute fever.

Hundreds of other patients wait under the shade as the humidity crosses 90 per cent.

Inside, the superintendent doctor, who just finished the afternoon round, has hardly had time for lunch.

The hospital sees around 10,000 patients per day, all receiving free treatment.

In contrast to the crowded corridors, the Swasthyasathi cell in the hospital has only about five attendants.

Like Howrah, the district has achieved more than 95 per cent enrollment

However, none of the staff has any inkling about the implementation plan for Ayushman Bharat.

Jhuma Roy, an officer in charge of Swasthyasathi, has heard about Ayushman only on Facebook.

But she is aware of the hiccups in the implementation of Swasthyasathi that could serve as a case study for Ayushman Bharat.

Sometimes the insurance companies take a lot of time in claim settlement, and we are forced to unblock patients from Swasthyasathi. In that case, the hospital pays for the entire treatment, said Roy.

This happens because insurance companies can take up to a week to settle claims.

Problems arise when the district hospitals refer patients to bigger hospitals but are unable to provide discharge certificates as they dont get the claims settled in time.

Without discharge certificates, patients cannot move to bigger hospitals.

In that case, government hospitals are forced to unblock the patients from Swasthyasathi, making them liable to bear the entire cost.

Implementing a health insurance scheme at a mass level also comes with the challenge of right pricing of the premium, which has to be borne by the government.

Till last year, only public sector general insurance firms were allowed to participate in the Swasthyasathi bidding process.

This year, two private insurers, IIFCO Tokio and Bajaj Allianz, have been partnered by the government because the public sector firms found the pricing unviable.

This year, in some districts, the premium has fallen as low as Rs 500 per family, against last years range of Rs 2,000-2,200.

Last year, while claims were around Rs 150 crore, out of a premium collection of about Rs 700 crore, insurance companies were allowed to retain close to Rs 120-130 crore as fees.

The rest had to be returned to the government as per the terms of the agreement.

However, if claims exceed the premium in any year, the government does not need to compensate the insurance company.

Claims in any government scheme start coming after one or two years of inception, when the scheme becomes popular. This year, we found the pricing unviable, said a public sector insurance firm official.

In short, its only when claims start increasing (in about two to three years) that the long term economic viability of Swasthyasathi will be tested. Its clear that an alliance with Ayushman Bharat will help boost its prospects.

Photograph: Babu/Reuters
'From coming up with the correct list of beneficiaries to finding enough people to work as Ayushman Mitras to generating awareness about the scheme -- many things need to fall in place before it can be successfully launched in the next few days.'

In the second of the four-part series on how ready India is for the September 25 launch of Ayushman Bharat, Veena Mani and Karan Choudhury reveal the shocking state of affair in Panipat, Haryana.

Part 1: Why Gujarat is better prepared to launch Ayushman Bharat

Satish Kumar, a plumber and part-time farmer in Panipat, Haryana, had been feeling a niggling pain in his chest for days.

His neighbourhood doctor said that he could be suffering from a blocked artery and that he might need a stent implant.

The doctor advised Kumar to go to the Civil Hospital and get registered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme so his surgery would be free.

The citys main government hospital is one of the many chosen for a pilot of Prime Minister Narendra Modis grand universal healthcare scheme which is set to roll out on September 25.

However, when he went to the hospital, Kumar was in for a shock.

The Ayushman Mitra (friend) manning the Ayushman Bharat counter tucked away in the old wing of the hospital, was helpful alright.

But when he logged into the schemes website, what popped up was a blank home screen with the legend, The website is under maintenance.

Undeterred, the 20-something Mitra managed to open the website on his phone.

He punched in Kumars full name, as he had been trained to do, but the name did not show up on the list of beneficiaries.

Then he tried with Kumars ration card number and finally, his fathers name. But the result was the same every time.

Finally, the Mitra was forced to tell Kumar that since his name was not on the list, he could not get registered for Ayushman Bharat.

Cost of some common surgeries Pace-maker implantation for double chamber: Rs 60,000 to Rs 500,000 and above

Pace-maker implantation for single chamber: Rs 50,000 to Rs 500,000 and above

Total hip replacement: Rs 75,000 to Rs 400,000 and above

Total knee replacement: Rs 80,000 to Rs 200,000

The Mitra told Business Standard that in the two days that he had been on the job, not one of those who came to get registered for the scheme was to be found on the list of beneficiaries.

Once it is operational, Ayushman Bharat will provide a medical cover of Rs 500,000 per family per year.

About 10 crore families are set to benefit from the scheme. However, in Panipat at least, the ambitious programme seems to be on shaky grounds right now.

From coming up with the correct list of beneficiaries to finding enough people to work as Ayushman Mitras to generating awareness about the scheme -- many things need to fall in place before it can be successfully launched in a few days.

From finding people ready to work as Ayushman Mitra, awareness about the scheme, to most importantly being part of the list of beneficiaries, a lot needs to fall in place for Panipat to successfully launch the flagship scheme.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme aims at providing insurance cover to poor families upto Rs 500,000.

They are identifying the beneficiaries based on SECC data.

Every hospital empanelled with the government, for the scheme will have Ayushman Mitras at the helpdesk.

For hospitals that have upto 10 cases, one Ayushman Mitra will be deployed.

For hospitals where cases are between 10 and 20, 2 people will be at the helpdesk. This will be three where cases are more than 20 but less than 30. There will be four of them where cases are more than that.

The biggest hitch could be the beneficiary list, which is supposed to be based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011.

However, it seems that not every eligible person has made it to the list.

When Business Standard contacted Indu Bhushan, CEO of Ayushman Bharat, he admitted, A number of people might be left out as the census has not been updated after 2011.

The Mitras say they are powerless to do anything if a persons name is not on the list.

A senior medical officer at the Civil Hospital agrees: We have to follow the list -- that is how the scheme has been made. However, if someone is not eligible for Ayushman Bharat, there are other schemes one can avail of.

Incidentally, Haryana has over 4,630,959 listed households out of which Panipat accounts for 75,000 households.

There is a lack of awareness about the scheme as well.

We are trying to reach out to people through banners in our hospital and nearby areas. We are also telling village heads about the scheme, said Naveen Kumar Suneja, acting civil surgeon at the hospital.

Crucially, the Common Service Centres (CSCs), which are supposed to educate people in rural areas about government schemes, have next to no information about Ayushman Bharat as yet.

We mostly get information about schemes in an email or on the WhatsApp group which we are part of. But so far we havent got much information about this one, said Vijay Pal Gahlyan, who runs a CSC in Jhattipur village in Panipat.

The sarpanch of the village Ashok Kumar said, however, that he had received some pamphlets about Ayushman Bharat. We are making people aware of the scheme, he said.

The other roadblocks to a speedy rollout of Ayushman Bharat could be the lack of manpower and technical preparedness.

Suneja claims that computers are in place and functions such as the up-linking of patient information or payments via direct benefit transfer will all happen smoothly.

But though software giant Tata Consultancy Services is handling the backend of the operations, many are unsure as to how technical glitches will be resolved.

All we know is that the website has the number of a person assigned to this hospital whom we are supposed to call if there is a technical problem, said one Mitra.

The recruitment of Ayushman Mitras has also become problematic with many claiming that though the job advertisement promised them a salary of Rs 15,000, they were getting only Rs 5,000.

However, Bhushan said, Salaries are up to the states to decide. If there is a discrepancy between what is being offered and what is being given, the states will have to look into it.

Woes of hospitals

Putting in place adequate infrastructure in hospitals is crucial for the success of the scheme.

The civil hospital in Panipat is upgrading itself to a 300-bedded hospital from the existing 100-beds.

This is likely to take at least a year. It is grappling with technical manpower to conduct tests even now. The number of lab technicians are working at half the strength.

Tests results that were earlier supposed to reach the patient on the same day will now reach the next day as more and more patients are getting tests done and the laboratory department does not have enough staff.

Not just major hospital chains are sceptical to enroll for the Ayushman Bharat scheme. But this feeling is also among the smaller private player. For them, the pinch point is the rates the government has set.

Doctors at the Prem Hospital in Panipat say that even for them the rates capped by the government arent viable.

The state government has not also done much to interact with these hospitals and get them on board.

All government hospitals are part of the scheme.

Doctors at the civil hospital in Panipat say that if a CGHS beneficiary and an Ayushman Bharat beneficiary, for the same procedure, the one with the registration first will get the preference.

If a hospital does not have a particular facility the patient will referred to another district hospital, in this case the Kalpana Chawla Medical College in Karnal.

The government in Haryana is also working on a parallel scheme. The government plans this scheme for those below the poverty line.

According to sources, for the second scheme, people will have to pay for the premium but the premium will be a small amount.

These people aware of the development say that the government is thinking on a second scheme because many poor people are being left out of Ayushman Bharat.

In addition to that the government will not be able to pay the premium for all patients.

Image used for representational purpose. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters.
To a point. There is now a significant amount of articulate critical opposition to "Miss Saigon," a show that some view as reductive and stereotypical, affording no agency to its Vietnamese characters and perpetuating pernicious stereotypes. The show is, of course, a French romantic fantasy; it is the work of two liberal Frenchmen looking at the piece through the eyes of one of colonial powers who created the geopolitical milieu that caused the strife the piece illuminates. As Mackintosh notes, the creators intended the show to be deeply critical of both French colonialism and America's involvement in Vietnam; it is especially satirical toward the latter, critiquing America from a European perspective. "Miss Saigon is very much about how the French felt about America (and themselves) in the 1990s; it never claimed to be an authentic Vietnamese story.
Mass mobility in India is in a race when the light turns from yellow to green. Just that this moment has lasted three years. The renewed enthusiasm, however, indicates that the lights may finally be about to change, says Patanjali Pahwa.

Last week, something slipped under the radar. Indian company Commut was acquired by Dubai-based ride-hailing unicorn Careem.

There was not even an eyebrow raised and barely any newspaper covered it. Truth be told, there was hardly any cash involved in that deal.

Careem was essentially picking over the bones of a company that had shuttered. The Dubai-based company took the team and the tech. Gurugram-based Shuttl took on the operations and the employee database.

What is Commut? It is a bus aggregation service. A company that functions just like Uber and Ola but it aggregates buses and exists on the fringes of Indian mobility.

But lets go back to Careem. Why does Careem want Commut? It was to unveil a mass mobility platform in West Asia and North Africa.

The economics in this business is attractive. The per seat cost is low, the fuel price is low and the demand at certain hours is extremely high.

It is a business model that is bound to find traction in West Asia. But, it hasnt in India.

A few green shoots, however, are visible now. In August this year, Bengaluru-based company, Zipgo, announced a round where it raised Rs 300 crore led by Essel Green Mobility Limited, which is under the Essel Group that is led by Subhash Chandra.

This investment did raise eyebrows. The 67-year-old Rajya Sabha member has not been active in start-ups as an investor. But he was interested. And there is a reason.

Currently, Zipgo is in six states. I cant tell you which cities, said co-founder and CEO Jitender Sharma.

Competition is too tight. Sources in the sector say that the company records between 5,000 and 10,000 rides a day.

The competition that Sharma is paranoid about is Shuttl, which records almost 40,000 rides a day.

Looks small? Yes, it is approximately one eighth of the Ola and Uber ride numbers.

But as traffic increases and fuel prices continue to spiral, customers will start to look for cheaper options.

Here the costs come down to Rs 3 to Rs 5 a kilometre. Each ride of a bus breaks even at 80 per cent capacity. Which means 30 passengers.

The economics are easy to achieve. The challenge comes in aggregating demand, says Sharma.

And thats where the scale of this business flexes its muscles. The ride numbers then start to look interesting.

It may not be a winner- takes-all market, but this sector has the potential to dwarf the ride-hailing unicorns by the sheer volume of customers ferried from one place to another.

There is certainly demand. But despite the upside, there are only a few companies in this sector.

About two years ago, Zipgo was forced to shutter its operations temporarily in Bengaluru when the company did not have the right licences.

I dont want to talk about it, you can write if you like, said Sharma.

The company was deemed operating under the wrong licences and the police forced Zipgo to withdraw its operations from the city.

That isnt to say the company has left the city. It is still around, operating in the background in a slightly different way.

Zipgos competitor, Shuttl, also has its own set of problems.

It got into a tiff with Ola back in 2015 when the Bengaluru-based unicorn took up the name Shuttle for its bus service.

Both sides alleged driver poaching and claimed first right to the name. Nothing came of it.

In early 2018, Ola shut its bus operations to focus on cabs. Shuttl, too, has found it difficult to grow, especially in cities such as Pune, where it tried everything, including B2B, and still couldnt get any purchase.

The problem plaguing both companies is licences. There are two types of licences in Indian states - state carriage and contract carriage.

State carriage means the company can pick up and drop passengers along a fixed route.

Passengers can hail the bus down at designated stops. State governments dont give these away.

The state city transport bodies enjoy a near monopoly when it comes to these licences.

Contract carriage licences are granted for a pre-existing contract between a customer and the company.

Both have knowledge of each other and the contract is made before the ride starts.

It is what we do, says Sharma. His company operates in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, among other cities.

There is a subtle difference between the two licences. But there exists a grey area.

Lets assume a bus goes from point A to point B. Before the bus starts from point A, if a customer buys a ticket to be picked up from a point between the point of origin and destination, it is technically doing the same job as a state carriage. That explains Zipgos secrecy.

Set up in 2015, Zipgo has the capital to grow beyond six states but current laws stand in its way.

It is good to read the tea leaves, says a policy professional at one of the two ride-hailing companies in the country. Why would Chandra invest in a company that is stuck in a policy quagmire?

There is a Bill stuck in the Rajya Sabha. The draft Motor Vehicles Act, which mandates that private organisations can compete with city transport services.

It also waives licences needed for electric vehicles that serve as public mass transit options.

If cleared, the regulations could open up opportunities for new players in mass transit, something the states have been resisting.

But if the Bill goes through, start-ups will be able to offer a viable alternative to the ageing bus services that have not been able to keep up with demand in the metros.

And the sheer number of people in India means there is enough room for both types of commuter service to co-exist.

Mass mobility in India is in that brief moment in a race when the light turns from yellow to green. Just that this moment has lasted three years.

The renewed enthusiasm, however, indicates that the lights may finally be about to change.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Business Standard
One of the major advantages of buying Iran crude is the additional credit period of 90 days that the country gives to India, compared to 30 days by other countries.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Indian oil importers received temporary reprieve when eight countries including India got conditional waiver from the US to buy oil from Iran.

So what does the waiver mean for India and what problems it might face if Iran imports dry up in future? Read on...

What was the reason for the conditional waiver given to eight countries by the US?

The eight countries that got a waiver from the US are India, China, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey, after they agreed to opt for a significant reduction in oil purchases from the Persian Gulf country.

The reasons for this waiver were evident from US President Donald Trumps words, when he said that Iran oil exports coming down to zero immediately would cause a shock wave in the market and lift oil prices.

The speculation about sanctions with effect from November 4 had pushed the prices up - above $80 a barrel for a brief period.

Reports said that India has already agreed to curb imports from Iran to 300,000 barrels a day, compared to 452,000 barrels a day last year.

Why did the waiver come as a relief to India?

The average crude oil prices for the July to September quarter were was seen at $72.46 a barrel this year, compared to $52.7 a barrel during the same time last year.

This has pushed up the expected crude oil import bill for India by $37 billion to $125 billion during the current financial year, compared to $88 billion for the financial year 2017-18.

This will have a huge impact on the countrys trade deficit and fiscal deficit, while foreign exchange (forex) reserves will continue to deplete.

For every $1 increase in crude oil prices, the impact on the current account deficit (CAD) is likely to be $1 billion.

On the other hand, every dollar increase is expected to lead to an increase of 63 paise per litre on petrol and diesel prices.

Any further rise in international crude oil prices would have added to the pressure on India.

According to industry experts, the prices would have gone up further in November and December had Iran crude been out of the market.

The crude oil price fluctuation is a frequent market phenomenon and the prices of crude are determined by many factors, including geo-political situation and demand and supply situation in the global market.

Had India not got the waiver, it would have affected the financials of companies such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and private sector players like Nayara Energy (earlier Essar Oil).

Why is Iran crude so important for India?

One of the major advantages of buying Iran crude is the additional credit period of 90 days that the country gives to India, compared to 30 days by other countries.

Iran also gives India the option to import crude oil on cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis, as against a free-on-board (FOB) model followed by other countries.

Under the CIF model, the seller pays freight and insurance charges.

Under the FOB model, the buyer has to charter its own vessel and manage the cost of shipping.

What is the share of Iran crude in Indias oil purchases?

India was supposed to import around 21 MT crude oil from Iran during the current financial year.

In comparison, it imported 13.04 MT and 9.8 MT of crude during the financial year 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively.

For the month of November, two companies - IOC and MRPL - had together placed orders of around 1.25 MT.

India was expected to continue this in the month of December also, for which orders will be placed this month.

What are the concerns for India going ahead?

If the Trump administration takes away the waiver in the foreseeable future, securing insurance for crude and refineries, payments and finding alternative crude sources would be the major concerns for India.

Experts say India can opt for a partial rupee or euro payment model, like in the case of previous sanctions.

The government has already lined up alternative plans of payment in rupee terms through Iranian private lender, Bank Pasargad, that has a branch in Mumbai.

As far as alternative sources are concerned, India will have to look at increased imports from Saudi Arabia and also look at more supply from countries like Qatar.
Vallabhbhai Patel's great claim to fame originated from his steely leadership of a struggle against a repressive regime, a good three decades before the achievement of states unification, notes Shreekant Sambrani.

IMAGE: President Rajendra Prasad swears in Vallabhbhai Patel as a Cabinet minister as India becomes a Republic in 1950. Photograph: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Vallabhbhai Patel, whose birth anniversary we observe with much pomp and circumstance, rose to national prominence 90 years ago through his sterling leadership of a seminal event in India's independence struggle, the Bardoli Satyagraha.

Unfortunately, it is reduced to a mere footnote, largely due to its marginalisation in the official history of the Indian National Congress released in 1985.

Dr Chittaranjan Desai, son of Patel's contemporary and great friend Dadubhai Desai (a descendant of Patel's collateral maternal family branch) has extensively documented it in his immaculately researched India's Struggle for Freedom, Three Strategies (2007, reissued in 2017).

Recapitulating salient features of this epic occurrence would be perhaps as fitting a tribute to the great man as erecting a monumental statue of him.

Mahatma Gandhi had set up the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad in 1917. Patel, who came to know Gandhi the previous year, came to Ahmedabad in 1917, becoming secretary to the Gujarat Sabha of which Gandhiji was the president. He also became a municipal councillor.

Gandhiji launched the Kheda Satyagraha in 1918. He was mostly away in Champaran and Patel had to shoulder the responsibility since he hailed from Kheda. That activity fizzled out for lack of preparation and unclear focus.

Bardoli was a taluka town in Surat district in south Gujarat (now the headquarter of the Tapi district). It comprised 137 villages in the rich farm and pasturelands of the Tapi valley.

The Bombay presidency government surveyed the taluka to settle rates of revenue. Two committees concluded that the area and the farmers had prospered and recommended a 30 per cent rate increase (later reduced to 22 per cent).

The government hastily accepted this and announced the new rates to be effective from July 1927 in contravention of the practice of a year's waiting. Farmers were agitated and Dadubhai Desai, who led a seven-member group of legislative councillors, decided to start an agitation on their behalf.

For a start, the group resigned their seats.

Desai found support, but felt that the agitation needed a more forceful leader. He requested Patel to assume the mantle.

Patel was reluctant, since he had his hands full as the president of the Ahmedabad municipality. After much persuasion and coaxing from Gandhiji, he agreed in February 1918. Shortly thereafter, he shifted base to Bardoli.

Farmers -- mostly anavils, vanias, and some Muslims as well as Parsis -- stood as one in their resolve not only to not pay the additional revenue, but also the regular rates. Only one village demurred.

The government was in no mood to listen. It employed dire measures including confiscation of farmer assets and cattle. It also sent police reinforcements and even Pathan mercenaries.

The Bombay governor, Sir Leslie Wilson, had the army stand by. Reports of entire villages emptying out, all establishments downing shutters and excesses of the police and Pathans gained wide currency.

The matter went up to Lord Irwin, the Viceroy, and Lord Birkenhead, the secretary of state for India, who had no option but to support the presidency government.

All concerned were alarmed at how rapidly the situation was getting out of hand.

Fearing the worst, the Desai group proposed a face-saving-formula: Farmers would pay the normal rate, Ramchandra Bhatt, a wealthy Bombay leader, would pay the additional 22 per cent, and the government would set up an inquiry committee immediately thereafter.

With some effort, all parties accepted this compromise and the government issued the notification in July 1918. This was universally hailed as a great victory for the Satyagraha and Patel personally, whom Gandhiji named Sardar (leader), a title he has been revered by thereafter.

The victory remained pyrrhic though until a year later when the government rescinded the increase and released confiscated properties following the inquiry report.

The more important consequence was the emergence of Satyagraha as a most potent form of agitation. Lord Irwin likened it to a prairie fire and wrote to the king emperor in July 1928, 'I am afraid we are in for a difficult time which may bring quite serious trouble.'

Gandhiji's Salt March (1930) and the Quit India Movement (1942) were clear offshoots of the Bardoli Satyagraha. But the All-India Congress Committee commissioned five-volume compilation, A Centenary History of the Indian National Congress (1886-1985), edited by B N Pande and released by Rajiv Gandhi, dismisses this in just a few lines in volume II without mentioning Patel.

Motilal Nehru extolled the Satyagraha in his Congress presidential address in 1928. For the presidentship in 1929, Gandhiji was nominated by 10 provincial committees, Patel by five and Jawaharlal Nehru, three.

Gandhiji withdrew and supported the younger Nehru, then just 40. Patel became the Congress president in 1931. These facts are notable in light of the belated claims of the Congress on the Patel legacy.

Unintentionally perhaps, Nehru and Patel were seen as rivals as early as 1929, with Gandhiji consistently favouring Nehru.

Most pertinent for us all in these fraught times is the fact that Sardar's great claim to fame originated from his steely leadership of a struggle against a repressive regime, a good three decades before the achievement of states unification.

Shreekant Sambrani is an economist.
Aveek Sen on how the Lashkar-e-Tayiba looks at the world while focusing on India and Afghanistan.

IMAGE: This photograph from April 2015 shows Malaysia's then prime minister Najib Razak speaking on the threat of terrorism during the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters

On Wednesday, October 31, Malaysia arrested its first Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative, pointing to a worrying spread of a terrorist outfit whose main area of operation, at least in public perception, has been India and Afghanistan.

Here's a backgrounder on the terror outfit, and how it has spread its tentacles:

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, 'Formed in 1990 in the Kunar province of Afghanistan, the Lashkar-e-Tayiba (also known as Jama'at-ud Da'awa) is based in Muridke near Lahore in Pakistan and is headed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Its first presence in Jammu and Kashmir was recorded in 1993 when 12 Pakistani and Afghan mercenaries infiltrated across the Line of Control in tandem with the Islami Inquilabi Mahaz, a terrorist outfit then active in the Poonch district of J&K.'

A senior analyst provided a background to the LeT. According to him, Saeed had his orientational training in Saudi Arabia during the US-Saudi sponsored terror campaign against then then Soviet army in Afghanistan.

LeT grew out of the Jamaat ul Ahl-e-Hadees. The Markaz-ud Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI) was formed during that time.

The founders of MDI was also involved in the siege of Mecca in 1979.

In his book, Call for Transnational Jihad, US-based Pakistani journalist Arif Jamal has correctly linked the leader of the siege, Juhayman al-Otaybi, and his fellow practitioners of Salafism to LeT.

According to Jamal, some of the Juhayman's Ikhwan -- Syed Allama Badiuddin Shah Rashdi, Hamid Mohammed Bahaziq, Mahmood Bahaziq, Hassan As-Sareehi, Ahmad Saad al-Ghamdi and their Pakistani followers -- established the Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad in 1987.

The MDI was renamed the Jamaat-ud-Dawa in 2001; the LeT is the armed wing of the JuD (external link).

Initially, the militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, used to be at the forefront of the anti-India terror campaign in Kashmir. But after 1989, with the Afghan theatre dominated almost completely, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence devoted its almost full attention towards India and the LeT grew into prominence.

Today, the LeT receives most of its funds from the ISI and Ahl-e-Hadees oriented groups in Saudi Arabia -- however, these funds come from charities and not the Saudi government.

According to Mohammad Omar Rana, the expenditure on the LeT militia alone is around Rs 35 crores (Rs 350 million) per annum.

LeT has also been working in Bangladesh with HuJI and is eagerly waiting for a regime change to exploit the situation in its favour.

I spoke to Ajai Sahni, counter-terrorism expert and executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management which maintains the South Asia Terrorism Portal focusing on terrorism in South Asia.

"From its very origin," Sahni explained, "LeT has had an international agenda. It has an international wing. One of the three founders of LeT was Abdullah Azzam from Palestine, who was also the founder of Al Qaeda. There are very fundamental linkages. LeT has footprints in Spain, other parts of Europe, America, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Myanmar."

"It sent FeI (Falah e Insaniyat) for 'relief works' during the Rohingya crisis to try and recruit but wasn't very successful," Sahni added.

"It has an outreach to Sri Lanka and many parts of South-East Asia, especially financial activities."

"In Bangladesh," Sahni pointed out, "it works with HuJI Bangladesh. All these groups came into existence in Pakistan. Most of them were raised or had origins in groups fighting the so-called jihad in Afghanistan. Their ideology is a supremacist Islamist one."

"HuJI is the parent organisation of JeM which split after the Indian Airlines hijacking (in December 1999) and Masood Azhar's return to Pakistan," Sahni said.

"Though most of these groups largely restrict their activities to Kashmir, they have a global agenda and future power projection."

"The FeI -- the LeT's charity outreach wing -- for example, is active in Syria and Iraq for basic recruitment purposes. They provide food aid and medical support. Financial support is targeted towards widows, children and orphans. This is a basic recruitment tool, especially where orphans are involved," Sahni said, adding. "Once they warm up to them due to the aid, they are brainwashed as part of the radicalisation process."
'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?
'What the Hinduisation of Muslim names by the BJP suggests is that the party's anti-Muslim outlook matches the virulence of almost any other far right outfit such as the Ku Klux Klan,' argues Amulya Ganguli.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad once admitted that Muslims did not vote for the BJP.

He was not disclosing a closely guarded State secret for it has been known from the days of the Jan Sangh that the Hindu nationalist party was not a favourite of the Muslims because of its anti-minority and ultra-nationalist worldview.

However, the Jan Sangh, which changed into the BJP in 1980, had stoically borne this rejection as long as it was unable to do anything about it.

The Muslims were of little consequence to the party before the Ramjanambhoomi movement of the 1990s because the party was too insignificant politically -- it won 2 Lok Sabha seats in 1984 -- to assert itself.

Strangely, however, the BJP's attitude didn't change even when the Ramjanambhoomi movement breathed life into the party, leading to a steady increase in its number of seats from 86 in 1989 to 120 in 1991, to 161 in 1996 and to 182 in both 1998 and 1999.

In this period, the party became so confident about its growing influence that, as before, it continued to be unconcerned about the Muslim vote.

With its Lok Sabha tally now at 273 (having dropped from 282 in 2014 because of a number of by-election defeats), the BJP can continue to afford to be indifferent about Muslim support.

Over the last few months, two factors seem to be influencing its attitude towards the Muslims.

One is that the BJP probably senses that 2019 will not be a rerun of 2014 when it swept into power with considerable elan.

So, it is in a hurry to accomplish what it intended to do over a longer period of time.

Hence, the building of statues -- of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and of Lord Ram and the laying at least of the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya -- before leaving the corridors of power.

The other factor determining its attitude is to show Muslims their place before bowing out of office.

The renaming of Mughal Sarai as Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar, Allahabad as Prayagraj and Faizabad as Ayodhya, which is expected to be followed by the giving of Hindu names to Ahmedabad, Muzaffarnagar etc can be construed as an act of revenge by a party which has long been shunned by the Muslims.

Since the BJP was unable to win back their political support despite the promise that vikas will be for everyone -- remember sabka saath, sabka vikas? -- it apparently decided to hit back by obliterating as much of the vestiges as it can (in the limited time at its disposal) of the presence of Muslims as an influential community in the country.

The party's latest acts recall the bulldozing during the Gujarat riots of 2002 of the tomb of Vali Gujarati in Ahmedabad.

Up until now, the BJP has been engaged primarily in rewriting history by incorporating its own version such as that India is the homeland of Aryans or that Rana Pratap defeated Akbar in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576 or that the RSS participated in the Independence movement.

But the concerted move to give Hindu names to virtually all the cities and towns which have been known for centuries by their Muslim names is a crass new phenomenon.

The BJP presumably believes that if a 'secular' government tries to restore the earlier names, the party will raise its familiar battle cry of Muslim appeasement.

In any event, what the Hinduisation of Muslim names by the BJP suggests is that the party's anti-Muslim outlook matches the virulence of almost any other far right outfit such as the Ku Klux Klan.

Amulya Ganguli is a writer on current affairs.
'Rahul is only making a pathetic public spectacle of his lack of judgment and good sense by hallucinating that somehow, the Congress, or whatever political combine is cobbled together, will displace the BJP at the coming Lok Sabha election by constantly harping on the Rafale deal,' argues retired civil servant B S Raghavan.

IMAGE: Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses working and retired Hindustan Aeronautics employees in Bengaluru. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

The Bharatiya Janata Party has never had it so good.

It has hit the jackpot with the Congress President, Rahul Gandhi himself, no less, working assiduously and untiringly for Narendra Damodardas Modi's triumphant second term with an increased majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

In 2014, Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee also worked hard for Modi, but not as much as Rahul.

Sonia, by calling Modi the 'merchant of death' and Mamata, by characterising him as 'a donkey' ensured that the BJP was installed with a majority on its own for the first time ever in three decades, putting an end to the chaotic coalition era.

Cho Ramaswamy, the editor of Tughlaq, before a huge gathering on the occasion of his annual communion with the weekly's readers, to which he had invited Modi, held the audience in splits by playing on Sonia's title, elaborating how Sonia was dead right and how Modi was truly the 'merchant of death' to loot, plunder, corruption, venality, incompetence, indiscipline and a host of other ills and evils afflicting the Indian polity.

This time, a few others have joined Rahul who has repeatedly called Modi a ''chor' (thief) and are lending him a helping hand.

Shashi Tharoor has called Modi a 'scorpion on a Shivling', claiming he got it from an unknown RSS source.

Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister and Telugu Desam leader Yanamada Ramakrishnudu upped the ante by describing Modi as 'an anaconda swallowing institutions'.

Mamata, Mayawati, Nara Chandrababu Naidu and those of their ilk are yet to get into the act.

If all of them pull together in the same vein, Modi's majority may even soar to greater heights.

Rahul himself is pitching for a record-breaking performance by hitting Modi the hardest of all, by holding the wrong end of the stick.

He has got hooked to the Rafale deal and is flogging it day in and day out in a way that borders on some mania.

A surer non-starter of a non-issue cannot be imagined.

For one thing, no other political party or leader, has joined him, except perhaps Sharad Pawar and that too once, and in a fleeting fashion.

Which means that all those other parties and their leaders, knowing their onions, have come to the conclusion that there isn't much political or electoral juice to be squeezed out of it.

For another, Rahul has been unable to substantiate with solid evidence any of his charges against Modi and the government on aspects of the deal, such as the exorbitant price; the forced choice of Reliance Defence as one of Dassault Aviation's many offset partners, Anil Ambani thereby benefiting, thanks to Modi, to the extent of Rs 30,000 crores; and Reliance Defence being paid an initial kickback of Rs 284 crore as a first tranche with more to come.

Eric Trappier, the CEO of Dassault Aviation, has categorically denied all allegations of corruption, crony capitalism and inflated profits on the deal which predates Modi as well as then French president Francois Hollande. According to him, Dassault had been in discussions with the 'Ambani family' since 2012.

'We stick to the laws of France and laws of India and the law of the contract,'/ Trappier said.

'We are totally against corruption. If there is any investigation in France or India, we are not only open to the investigation, [but] it is our duty [to respond]. We will prove there is no corruption.'

He also rejected the contention that the Indian side had nudged him to give the offsets to Anil Ambani's Reliance Group.

'It has been a long time since we are discussing with Reliance,' said the CEO, referring to an agreement Dassault inked with the Mukesh Ambani group to discharge offsets as part of an earlier deal for 126 jets that was being negotiated with the previous UPA regime.

Trappier claimed that India had got a better deal for the 36 jets in 2016 compared to what it would have paid for the 18 that the previous government was pursuing as part of the 126-jet deal.

'Compared to the same price, India brought down the cost by 9 percent', Trappier said, adding that Reliance Defence will get only Rs 850 crore worth of offsets, not Rs 30,000 crore.

As regards Rahul's charge of Dassault Aviation paying the 'first tranche of kickbacks' of Rs 284 crore to Anil Ambani, in a hard-hitting rejoinder, Reliance Defence, has described it as a 'shameful and deplorable' falsehood.

Based on such study as I have made of the deal from material in the public domain and drawing on my own experience of negotiating such international agreements, I see nothing suspicious.

It is a government-to-government deal, and France has strict laws, as per UN requirement, against any surreptitious kickbacks and handouts.

It is a hard State and sternly enforces its laws.

Both Dassault's Managing Director Eric Trappier and Reliance Defence Chairman Anil Ambani have strongly and convincingly refuted Rahul's outlandish statements.

In any case, there is no evidence whatsoever to support the allegation that Modi brought about the deal to line Ambani's pocket.

Thus, other than some clapping by his own cheerleaders at meetings addressed by him, the issue has left the people cold.

The media too, which gave it a run initially, has moved on.

Rahul is only making a pathetic public spectacle of his lack of judgment and good sense by hallucinating that somehow, the Congress, or whatever political combine is cobbled together, will displace the BJP at the coming Lok Sabha election by constantly harping on the Rafale deal.

It may well be that a large section of the Indian electorate is unlettered and unversed in finer points of governance.

But it has shown repeatedly that it has a will of its own, unshaken by all the disputations of the intellectuals among themselves.

Also, it applies its own independent criteria and forms its own independent judgment of persons, parties and public policies.

K Kamaraj in Tamil Nadu in 1967, Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004, Indira Gandhi in 1977 and Sonia Gandhi in 2014 learnt it the hard way.

In my judgment, as a dispassionate observer of the national scene, in 2019 too, the people are going to summon their native wisdom, honed for millennia, to bear on Modi's performance in office.

To them what matters most is the consolation of knowing that the leader has genuine concern for their plight and an awareness of their needs and aspirations, and is earnest in his effort to help them better their lot and has the desire and ability to move forward and fast, making up for all the past neglect.

They are going to judge him on criteria such as the ability to go to the root of a problem and knowing where the shoe pinches, his earnestness, determined effort to deliver, courage in decision-making to that end, commitment to public welfare and the nation's good, kindling a sense of self-pride and bolstering national pride and raising India's stock in their own eyes and in those of other nations, and the capacity to run the government as a disciplined team.

They note that whoever has seen Modi in action -- heads of States and governments, hard-nosed honchos of business and industry, political, economic, financial and public affairs analysts heading think-tanks, the commentariat of the media and India-watchers in general of other countries -- have paid high tributes to the way Modi is devoting himself to his mission.

They are not going to take the measure of him on the yardsticks of what agitates the elitist, English-educated, intellectuals most of whom are completely out of sync with the mood of the man in the street, the farmer, the village artisan and schoolmaster and the average home maker, sprawling themselves on topics such as demonetisation, GST, NPA, relations with the RBI, swallowing of institutions and the like.

If anything, debates on these topics will seem sterile and puerile to the average voter, before specific and tangible goals set by Modi for himself, his government and the nation such as the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, Ayushman Bharat, the Jan Dhan Yojana, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Make in India, Start-up India, Digital India and Smart Cities.

(S)he has the inborn intelligence to understand that they cannot yield results for the asking in a country of such size, complexity and diversity, but that they should be given time to show results.

In my opinion, and this is also patent from the opinion polls held so far, the generality of the people think that Modi makes the grade in all these respects and continuity of his leadership is imperative for maintaining the tempo of executing these schemes and taking them to fruition.

Flowing out of these basic postulates, I am convinced that the outcome of the 2019 election -- the return of Modi and BJP with a significantly increased majority -- is a foregone conclusion.

B S Raghavan, retired member of the Indian Administrative Service, was secretary of the National Integration Council during the prime ministerships of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.
'What the Sabarimala majority verdict has done is to elevate the principle of equality over all others, including the right to worship, and declared that this will be the litmus test of all practices, and re-emphasise that practices that are ultra vires will be junked,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

IMAGE: 'When a man can enter, a woman can also go. What applies to a man, applies to a woman also,' the Supreme Court said in July 2018. Photograph: E V Deepak/Reuters

The Sabarimala verdict brings a new dawn

As a child growing up in a conservative society in Chennai, there were many practices, most of them orthodox, even unconstitutional by today's liberal standards, that intrigued me.

But nothing stood out more than the practice that drove my father into the kitchen three days every month.

Appa was an awful cook, as much as my Amma was a terrific one, so the sudden crash in culinary standards was unbearable.

Tadka that was burnt, sambar that ran like rasam, overcooked rice... The deprivation of tasty food was the initial reason the question popped up in my young mind:

'But why can't Amma cook?'

'Because she can't enter the kitchen for three days a month.'

'But why can't she enter the kitchen?'

'Because of theettu.'

Is there such a word in any other language that is so damning, so denigrating and which has been used for generations to perpetuate horrendous practices -- from keeping women out of the kitchen and shrine, to keeping the Harijan out of our homes and lives -- all the while pretending that it was upholding a higher, sacred, god-given principle?

Simply put, theettu means defiled, impure.

Theettu is why a menstruating woman cannot approach god.

Theettu is why the workers at home cannot touch you, eat/drink from the same vessel.

Theettu is what keeps the upper castes cocooned in an imaginary world of racial superiority.

But to a young mind it was incomprehensible that this wonderful woman who was the bedrock of the family, who waged a war to bring up five children out of poverty and destitution, could simply be described as theettu and kept outside the kitchen.

So more than the loss of tasty food, it was the sight of my mother sitting on a stool just outside the kitchen door and instructing my father on how to cut the vegetables, how much water to put in the separator, and of my poor father meekly complying with the instructions, that shocked me and brought tears to my eyes.

So why are we doing this?

Shhh, this is religious practice, cannot be questioned.

But no amount of shushing could silence the questions in my mind.

Did Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati also not enter the kitchen three days a month, were they also theettu then?

If theettu women cannot go to a temple for three days a month, did it mean that the goddesses also left the temples on those days they were theettu?

What about angry Kaali, did she also temper her rage and meekly yield to her husband for three days a month?

Were theettu women part of this great notion of Vasudeva Kutumbakam, or will they have to sit outside on a stool for three days a month?

The trouble was, there was no one around who could answer my questions. All everyone did was to shut me up from asking, as religious practices cannot be questioned.

The moment of epiphany came in higher school, when I read about the abolition of Sati. Here was a cruel practice that had the sanction of religion that was successfully outlawed.

Sir, but can religious practice be changed, I asked my history teacher.

Of course yes, social reform is always brought in by law, only after that will society change, he replied.

So sir, what about theettu, can it also be changed by law?

I didn't get a reply then, but what he said remained with me all these years.

And found an echo in today's Supreme Court verdict allowing women of reproductive age entry into Sabarimala.

In its last few judgments -- from decriminalising homosexuality and adultery to outlawing instant talaq to today's order -- the Supreme Court has underscored that gender equality is a cornerstone of the Constitution of India and hence an underlying principle of the Republic of India.

No practice in the garb of religion, tradition and culture can pass muster if they fail the litmus test of equality.

To paraphrase my school teacher, the courts have to be the harbingers of social reform and social justice.

This task is too important to be left to the legislature to act on, or to leave it to society to transform itself.

Naturally there will be voices of protest, even condemnation. It is illuminating that today's court ruling saw four male judges rule in favour of women's entry into Sabarimala; the lone dissenting judge was female.

To quote judge Indu Malhotra, 'Equality doctrine cannot override fundamental right to worship under Article 25; notions of rationality cannot be brought into matters of religion; issues which have deep religious connotation should not be tinkered with to maintain secular atmosphere in the country.'

If you read the words long and hard, you will see that these very words can also be used to justify so many social ills masquerading as religious practice.

For now let me pick out Hindu practices to highlight the fallibility of the judges words, though they apply to all religions and their obnoxious customs.

Sati, certainly, could never have been outlawed if you go by the honourable judge's words, we will still be burning our widows.

Untouchability? Oh, it is so enshrined in Hindu faith, how can you even *think* of banning it -- if we were to accept Justice Malhotra's carefully thought out argument?

Widow remarriage? Instead of toilets, the government will have to build housing complexes to accommodate the widows of India, if notions of rationality were not applied to the issue.

Inheritance in favour of the son depriving the daughters? Bingo!

And the right to cremate will only vest with the son, with parents of girl children confined to eternal damnation.

What the Sabarimala majority verdict has done is to elevate the principle of equality over all others, including the right to worship, and declared that this will be the litmus test of all practices, and re-emphasise that practices that are ultra vires will be junked.

It is a new dawn that the judges have ushered in.

There are two options before us. We can either wake up, make a nice, warm cup of coffee and enjoy the view.

Or pull the blanket over us, shut our eyes tightly, and remain in darkness.
Awful religious practices need to be abolished. But by social and political reformers, not the courts, argues Shekhar Gupta.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The Hindutva leaders in Kerala must be daft. Or gifted with a wickedly brilliant sense of humour. Why else would they protest against the Supreme Court's order to allow the entry of all women, including those in the menstruating age of 10 to 50 years, into the Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa, the son of Lord Shiva and Mohini, the female manifestation of Lord Vishnu? Instead, they should be sending the judges bouquets and blessings.

Because, with one 4-1 Constitution Bench order, however well-meaning, the Supreme Court has gifted Hindutva something two generations of RSS-Jan Sangh-BJP leaders had failed at: Creating a base, a political justification to grow in Kerala. This court has brought them to their last frontier.

The last frontier, because in Tamil Nadu, any of the two contending parties, the DMK and AIADMK, can partner the BJP in a coalition.

It is only in Kerala that both of the rival coalitions -- the Left Democratic Front, with the CPI-M, and the United Democratic Front, with the Congress, detest the BJP equally.

The RSS has been fighting for a foot-hold, and its activists have been caught in a murderous blood-feud with those of the Left. Yet, barring the constituency of Thiruvananthapuram, where it came close to surprising Shashi Tharoor of the Congress, it was unable to build a Hindu vote.

This court order has given Kerala, and the RSS/BJP, their first issue over Hindu sentiment. Can they exploit it to build a mass appeal, or will the redoubtable Malayali scepticism see through it? You will need to talk to people more knowledgeable about Kerala's unique politics.

What you can see, however, is that the Hindutva forces have seen an opening. The RSS and its affiliates have rallied women workers from all over the region and beyond -- not just Kerala -- to build this furious protest in Sabarimala.

If many of these women seem to speak Hindi with Sanskritised purity and diction, you know they have been schooled in the RSS system. They are in Kerala in force now, and why should they not be there!

Politics and democratic competition can't just be confined to one Left and the other to the left of this Left. Welcome the Hindu Right in Kerala! And thank you so very much, Your Libertarian Lordships!

Sabarimala is a lesson in how unintended consequences can follow an intervention by an all-powerful institution which clinically applies principles of the law and Constitution -- or as it interprets them -- even to issues of faith.

Such an application would have to presume that faith, any faith, is rational. That's a tough one.

Is the idea of divine avatars rational?

Or hundreds of manifestations of the same God or Goddess?

It can get so complex that even the handlers of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's social media end up describing Kali as Goddess Durga. Of course, She won't mind, and, in any case, it is the same Goddess.

But can you produce a peer-reviewed research paper backing the idea of multiple manifestations of any divine figure? Or virgin birth? Or a God, namely Ayyappa, born out of the union of Shiva and Mohini as the female manifestation of Vishnu?

Or Resurrection?

Will a court ask for evidence if the Holy Quran was actually Allah's word to the Prophet?

Or the many tribal faiths, animism, worship of the sun and the moon, the customs of sacrifice?

We are a complex society where countless faiths, beliefs and customs co-exist, where somebody paints a little lime or saffron on a tree or a rock, or puts a few asbestos sheets over an abandoned grave, and countless start praying to it.

Will the courts entertain questions about these?

Can a Christian woman approach the Supreme Court, asking it to order the Catholic faith to give women equal rights and positions in their clergy? A UPSC-style body to select Christian priests?

Can a Hindu woman ask that the judges order the RSS that women should be admitted to its highest all-male councils? It will be wonderful to see a woman heading the RSS, a 'Sarsanghchalika', and, who knows, it may happen someday. It would never happen on any court's orders -- you can be sure.

The reason we are able to co-exist, mostly peacefully, is that as a people, we Indians let our neighbours be. And as a State, by and large, we have been minimally invasive on issues of faith.

The Hindu Code Bill followed enormous debate and still remains contentious. I say with great humility that the reform in Hindu personal laws and customs that Jawaharlal Nehru brought in through parliamentary debate and majority, the finest Supreme Court benches over generations would not have been able to.

The Shah Bano judgement was overturned by Parliament. The same court has now proclaimed triple talaq illegal and because the politics of the ruling party today is different, it is making it a criminal offence.

But do you really see police in our various states entering households, arresting and prosecuting people? The mayhem it will cause in an already insecure community that finds itself under siege?

Triple talaq is a terrible, medieval idea. Many Islamic countries and societies have dumped it. Indian Muslims too should do it. But the impetus must come from reform within, not from police armed with criminal law sanctified by a 'liberal' court.

We understand the justification behind the order on Sabarimala, that this was about individual liberty.

How can you deny women the right to pray to their favourite deity just because they are in the fertile age group and may distract the Virgin Him with their sexuality?

Good point, and you struck a blow for equality, to glowing praises from editorialists and prime-time, rent-a-quote activists who have meanwhile moved on to the next cause.

Is there one research paper, or a public debate on unimplementable court orders? We've long had one oft-repeated court order, making helmets compulsory for all women riding two-wheelers, irrespective of the faith, again overruled in the face of protests by Sikhs.

On the quiet, however, more and more sensible Sikh women are using helmets and mobs aren't stopping them.

I do not believe you will find Gul Panag, who loves biking, ever without a good helmet. She didn't need a court order, nor does she need to bother about conservative prohibitions. More and more Sikh women are doing it, out of good sense, not compulsion.

The court is now dealing with female genital mutilation (FGM) among some Muslim sects. The court can outlaw it, but can they implement that order?

I promise you that even the BJP-run states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, where most of this sect lives, will refuse to get their police prosecute people for FGM. You know what, politicians are sometimes smarter than judges.

Even Modi and his government, so outraged over triple talaq, are mum on FGM. The PM actively courts the Bohri Syedna and his clergy. Remember also, that the Supreme Court stayed its own 40-year-old order on a Shia-Sunni dispute over a Varanasi graveyard because the state government said it was unimplementable.

The danger with an unconventional view on any contentious issue anything other than the missionary position (sorry about this!) on a principle of political correctness is bound to be misconstrued. So, I must, must idiot-proof this again.

Should women not be allowed in Sabarimala? My answer is, they absolutely must be allowed.

Should Sikh women go vrooooming around on motorcycles without helmets? The answer is a firm 'no'.

Triple talaq? It is awful injustice to Muslim women, just as FGM is an abomination?

All these need to go. But leave it to social and political reformers from within.

Can you fix it all, purely through judicial intervention? My answer would still be a respectful, but determined, 'no'. Unintended consequences will follow.

Like the court, in the quest for the perfect world ushering, instead, the BJP into Kerala, with a cause that is as political as it might be moral or spiritual.

By special arrangement with The Print
'Modi's power rests on the Hindu vote.'

'It is this vote bank that sees the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala as an intrusion into its religious practice and is frothing at the mouth.'

'History shows us the ill-fated consequences of a strong government buckling before street power,' cautions Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

IMAGE: Ayyappa devotees protest against the Supreme Court order allowing the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple in Ahmedabad, October 14, 2018. Photograph: Santosh Hirlekar/PTI Photo

For those of us who have witnessed, and lived through the consequences, of the disastrous enactment of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, the last few weeks since the Supreme Court's path-breaking verdict on allowing women of all ages into Sabarimala temple, cannot have been pleasant.

It may be a coincidence that the last two full-majority governments in India have been buffeted by a judicial verdict, but the reactions to the latest court ruling mirroring the ones more than three decades ago cannot be a coincidence.

There's a template that has been followed before.

To rewind a bit for those who came in late. The Rajiv Gandhi government of the late 1980s was well ensconced in office, on the back of a brute majority of 400+ in the Lok Sabha, when along came a Supreme Court verdict in the matter of a Muslim woman seeking maintenance from her husband who divorced and abandoned her after paying her the Sharia-mandated maintenance.

The Supreme Court bench found merit in her suit and upheld Shah Bano's claim for maintenance beyond that mandated by the Sharia, and for good measure made some observations on the government's failure to enact a Uniform Civil Code as prescribed in the Directive Principles of the Constitution.

For the Muslim orthodoxy, this was a direct interference in their faith.

And they protested in the only way they could, by coming out on the streets in lakhs.

For a government with a never before or never after seen majority, this should pose no worry. Democracy, after all, incorporates safety valves like the right to protest peacefully.

But despite the fact was that he may have been the prime minister non-pareil, Rajiv Gandhi was only a first-timer in office (and a second-timer in the Lok Sabha), hence easily rattled, and having virtually nil political experience relied on power-brokers and such for advice.

The fact also was that the Congress party's power base rested on three legs: The Muslims, the SC/STs and the forward castes.

Since Independence the Muslims were always in the Congress corner, for among others it promised them a version of secularism that was acceptable to the minorities (like non-interference in religious affairs).

It was this base that was now under threat, after Muslim leader after leader railed and ranted against the Supreme Court verdict.

Since the Muslim community did not have a secular leadership but its own clergy who doubled up as intermediaries and spokespersons, the 'Islam in danger' line was easily sold and bought.

As the Muslim vote seemed primed for revolt Rajiv Gandhi buckled and brought in the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, restoring the status quo ante.

Then came the cruel twist.

The catapulting before Muslim orthodoxy, and the ugly spectacle of using the legislative route to overturn a judicial verdict, did not go well with the Hindu voters of the Congress party. And in order to assuage them the Rajiv Gandhi government pulled a rabbit out of its hat.

An old mosque that lay under lock and in disuse in Ayodhya following years of litigation by some Hindus claiming it as the birthplace of Lord Ram thus saw its doors reopened and Hindus being allowed to worship at the Janmasthan.

And India has never been the same again.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, with a measly two members in the Lok Sabha, saw its moment of glory in Ayodhya and quickly rode the mandir versus masjid train to where today, it is only the second government after Rajiv Gandhi's to secure a majority on its own.

The intervening 30 years have seen the masjid razed by the lumpen, communal riots, Hindu-Muslim relations plummeting, bomb blasts, in short the societal fabric torn asunder like never before since Partition.

Who would have thought of this grim denouement when a destitute woman knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court all those years ago!

Narrating the above is not only to highlight the dangers of overturning a judicial verdict but also to point out that even the strongest government becomes a deer in headlights when its voter base comes out on the streets in anger.

The Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala brings together this combustive combination -- of court verdict angering the vote bank -- once again, this time with the Hindu community, and is a cause for alarm.

There have been demands by Hindus on the Narendra Modi government to overturn the verdict like it was done 32 years ago for Muslims, and if the government has been non-committal so far it is only because it doesn't have the numbers that Rajiv Gandhi had to bulldoze virtually anything through Parliament.

If the government does decide to yield to pressure and brings in a bill in the winter session of Parliament, it is anyone's guess what the Congress party, given its new-found sense of Hindu-ness, will do.

If push does come to shove, Rahul Gandhi will do well to hark back to what his father did and the disastrous consequences flowing from it, least of which was the decimation of the Congress party itself.

It is illuminating to consider that more Muslim women than Hindu have come out on the streets to protest the criminalisation of instant talaq, but neither was it covered to any great extent in the mainstream media nor was the government unduly worried -- because Muslims were not, are not, and will not be the BJP's votebank.

So it could trot out the line that it was merely respecting the Supreme Court verdict by enacting a law banning the practice.

But the same respect for judicial pronouncements is now under threat.

For Narendra Modi is in office primarily because he has, for the first time, broken the unspoken rule that the Muslim vote was a sine qua non to form a government in New Delhi. His power rests on the Hindu vote.

It is this vote bank that sees the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala as an intrusion into its religious practice and is frothing at the mouth.

History shows us the ill-fated consequences of a strong government buckling before street power. Will the Modi government, too, go the same way, to a similar denouement?
The premise of the show, which features a book by Jim Brochu, is that a gay songwriter with AIDS has decided to kill himself, desiring to take control of his own death following a fatal diagnosis. But before Gideon (Erik Pearson) does so, he decides to gather his songwriting friends (including his ex-wife), to record one last album before he goes. The guy who owns the recording studio, Jim (Benjamin Baylon) knows of the plan, and hates it, but Gideon doesnt tell his singing friends of his decision, at least not at first. His intent is that this last album will pay tribute to his loving partner; AIDS having taken a terrible toll on lovers and caregivers, indeed on anyone and everyone who found themselves going to too many funerals.
'Tipu Sultan was no doubt a valiant fighter who vigorously opposed the British but that cannot mitigate the fact that he was also by all accounts a religious bigot -- a figure incompatible with modern secular times,' says Vivek Gumaste.

Was Tipu Sultan, the legendary ruler of Mysore (1750-1799) a courageous fighter who rallied against the British in defence of national interest?

Or was he a religious zealot who callously massacred innocent Hindus and Christians by the thousands and indulged in widespread forced conversions?

Can he be eulogised as a Kannada icon?

Or is he the hapless victim of a modern-day smear campaign orchestrated by right-wing ideologues, as some claim?

These are the million-dollar questions that cry out for answers and need to be addressed in light of the Karnataka government's decision to persist with this contentious commemoration of Tipu Sultan.

First, Tipu Sultan stands condemned of religious bigotry, not by the motivated accusations of his antagonists but by the evidence of his own words.

Listed below are excerpts from Tipu's correspondence, reviewed by K M Panicker (a noted historian) in Basha Posini magazine in August 1923 (Tipu Sultan: Villain or Hero, edited by Sita Ram Goel):

1. Letter dated March 22, 1788, to Abdul Kadir: 'Over 12,000 Hindus were honored with Islam. There were many Namboodri Brahmins among them. This achievement should be widely publicised among the Hindus. Then the local Hindus should be brought before you and converted to Islam. No Namboodri Brahmin should be spared.'

2. Letter dated December 14, 1788, to his army chief in Calicut: 'I am sending two of my followers with Mir Hussain Ali. With their assistance, you should capture and kill all Hindus. Those below 20 may be kept in prison and 5,000 from the rest should be killed from the tree-tops. These are my orders.'

3. Letter dated January 18, 1790, to Syed Abdul Dulai: '... almost all Hindus in Calicut are converted to Islam. I consider this as jihad.'

These excerpts indicate a brutality that is unpardonable; they cannot be wished away as reminiscent of the times especially when it involves the killing of such a large number of people.

Moreover, the fact that these excerpts were published in 1923 when there was no raging controversy on the role of Tipu Sultan and hence no dubious motive for their publication, makes these statements all the more plausible.

Kodagu (also known as Coorg, a district in Karnataka), which has seen the most strident opposition to this questionable veneration in recent times, was another area which bore the brunt of his religious monstrosity.

'His raid wasn't that of an emperor intent on expanding his empire. It was a cultural and religious invasion... He followed the policy of Islam or death... Tipu targeted and assaulted temples... Some historians claim that he killed about 40,000 Coorgis and converted an equal number...' (I M Muthanna, Tipu Sultan X-Rayed, Usha Press, Mysore 1980).

Christians too were the victims of his religious xenophobia.

Fra Bartolomeo, a Portuguese traveller who happened to be in the vicinity of Tipu's campaign in 1790 writes (in A Voyage to the East Indies): 'Tipu was riding on an elephant behind which another army of 30,000 soldiers followed. Most of the men and women were hanged in Calicut, first mothers were hanged with their children tied to necks of mothers.'

'That barbarian Tipu Sultan tied the naked Christian and Hindus to the legs of elephants and made the elephants to move around till the bodies of the helpless victims were torn to pieces.'

'Temples and churches were ordered to be burned down, desecrated, and destroyed...'

Francois Fidele Ripaud de Montaudevert, a French soldier who travelled to Mysore from Mauritius to aid Tipu Sultan against the British, was totally disillusioned with him.

In documents discovered in Paris in 1988 he writes: 'I'm disturbed by Tipu Sultan's treatment of these most gentle souls, the Hindus. During the siege of Mangalore, Tipu's soldiers daily exposed the heads of many innocent Brahmins within sight from the fort for the zamorin and his Hindu followers to see.'

'Kozhikode was then a centre of Brahmins and had over 7,000 Brahmin families living there. Over 2,000 Brahmin families perished as a result of Tipu Sultan's Islamic cruelties. He did not spare even women and children.' (Outlook, The Tyrant Diaries, April 15, 2013 (external link)).

Tipu Sultan was no doubt a valiant fighter who vigorously opposed the British, but that cannot mitigate the fact that he was also by all accounts a religious bigot -- a figure incompatible with modern secular times. An isolated report of support for the Sringeri Mutt cannot transform him into a secular icon.

Finally, Tipu Sultan's much proclaimed status as a Kannada icon proves to be a shaky one when one scrutinises the pages of history. In fact, he spared no efforts to make Persian the lingua franca of Karnataka at the cost of Kannada.

Dr Suryanath Kamat, chairman, Karnataka Itihasa Academy, quotes a book written by a historian Kirmani, Tipu's contemporary, to indicate that Tipu passed an order in 1792 making Persian the official language in place of Kannada (Deccan Herald, September 22, 2006). Does this make him a Kannada aficionado?

Let us credit him for the valour that he showed against the British. But when the evidence for his wrongdoing is so overwhelming, he needs to be relegated to a footnote in the broader history of India.

To persist with the celebration of such a dubious personality (with documented evidence of bigotry), one that could trigger widespread communal disharmony in present times, smacks of poor judgement at best or ulterior motives at worst.

In 2016, Chief Justice Mukherjee of the Karnataka high court, responding to a PIL, posed this pertinent question to the Congress government intent on celebrating Tipu Jayanti: 'What is the logic behind celebrating Tipu Jayanti? Tipu was not a freedom-fighter, but a monarch who fought the opponents to safeguard his interests.'

Justice Mukherjee went on to question the wisdom of such a move that was certain to escalate communal tension in Kodagu and other parts of the state as in prior years which had resulted in a few deaths.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was wise to feign illness and stay away from last Saturday's unwarranted celebration of a tainted historical figure. In fact, last year Kumaraswamy had objected to the then Congress government's decision to celebrate Tipu Jayanti citing the plight of farmers suffering from drought conditions.

The Congress dominated coalition government in Karnataka has erred in continuing the Tipu Jayanti celebrations. It is an extravaganza that is misplaced, erroneous and insensitive, one that Karnataka could have easily passed over in the interest of communal harmony and historical objectivity.

Vivek Gumaste is a US-based academic, political commentator and the author of My India: Musings of a Patriot.
'How do we explain that on the economic, internal security and strategic fronts, India's unstable coalitions have acted more decisively and boldly than all our full-majority governments yet?' asks Shekhar Gupta.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval is being unfairly attacked for saying, in his Sardar Patel Memorial lecture, that for the next 10 years India needs to be a hard power and must have a stable, majority government.

It shouldn't be objectionable. The NSA isn't a civil servant. He's a political appointee and doesn't need to hide his voting preferences.

I won't even fight with him if he had gone a step further and said that such a strong and decisive government could only be provided by Narendra Damodardas Modi.

I would argue with him not on his political proposition, but on his fundamental argument. That only stable, strong, full-majority governments can be good for India. And that coalitions are unstable, confused, waffling, indecisive, corrupt and open to blackmail.

It doesn't pass a fact-check.

Let's focus on the economy first, because data is non-partisan. Our political history can be divided into two stability epochs. The 1952-89 period, 37 years, saw almost total stability. There were a couple of hiccups in the late 1970s, but generally one party ruled at the Centre and in most of the states.

As decades passed in this apparently virtuous epoch, the government became more stable, more strong, controlled by one party, which in turn was owned by one unchallengeable family, the Gandhis, finally with almost an 80 per cent majority in the Lok Sabha (1984 to 1989).

If the new, stable=strong=decisive Doval Doctrine is correct, these four decades should have given India the best growth. The reality is, it gave us the below-4-per-cent 'Hindu Rate of Growth'.

The second is the Epoch of Instability, beginning 1989 with the defeat of Rajiv Gandhi. It continued for a full 25 years until 2014.

Is it a coincidence that economic reform in India was timed to perfection with the end of stable, full-majority governments?

The first after the Congress party's decline, V P Singh's short-lived one, does not quite pass the test. But the big reform wave, which India is still riding, was brought in by P V Narasimha Rao's government. It was a very unstable, minority government.

After Rao lost in 1996, India got effectively five prime ministers heading rickety coalitions and three elections in the next eight years.

We say five prime ministers because, besides the short H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral governments, we had Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister thrice: First for 13 days, then just about a year, and finally an almost full term.

Now think. Which is our most reformist Budget after Manmohan Singh's in 1991? It was P Chidambaram's 'dream budget' in 1997, which widely cut rates and taxes and also brought in the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme.

The same government also set up the national Disinvestment Commission and opened the door for the listing of PSUs and ultimately privatisation.

This was the forever doddering Gowda-Gujral arrangement, which we often derisively called a government on daily wages.

Funnily, it was also supposedly the most Left-of-Centre government in our history. It started out with two Communist ministers for the first and only time in a central Cabinet yet: Indrajit Gupta, home; and Chaturanan Mishra, agriculture.

Vajpayee had the strength to launch the Golden Quadrilateral of highways, privatise Delhi and Mumbai airports, and sell 11 profit-making PSUs and nearly two dozen ITDC hotels.

A footnote: In four-and-a-half years of an all-powerful Modi government, not one company has been sold, not even a dud like Air India.

A short interlude in this 15-year period of instability between 1989 and 2004 was Chandra Shekhar's -- of only about four months until it became caretaker. We ridiculed it as a 'cash-and-carry' government. He had about 50 MPs of his own and depended on the outside support of the Congress. But it dared to airlift India's gold out to avoid a balance of payments crisis.

I am not sure if any full-majority government, even Narendra Modi's, would dare to do so. He also brought in Yashwant Sinha as his finance minister and Manmohan Singh as his powerful economic advisor who could attend Cabinet meetings.

These two were the architects of our reforms in subsequent years, all in 'weak' coalitions.

Check out the basic comparison: Our average growth rate in the 37 perfectly stable years was below 4 per cent. In the subsequent 25, it went well over six, now establishing a new normal of 7-plus, almost twice as much as the old 'Hindu Rate of Growth'.

On economy, we have a perfect inverse graph between political stability and economic growth. But what about national security? Isn't a coalition government less capable of looking after the hard national interests?

In my view, India has never had a weak government on issues of national security, except V P Singh's in 1989-1990.

Doval served under that government too and watched in frustration the situation in Punjab and Kashmir go out of control because of its missteps. He did, however, get an opportunity soon after.

In Punjab, I have written before, that every 'A' category Khalistani insurgent killed could be described as 'caught Gill, bowled Doval'. It was a brilliant operation between the Intelligence Bureau and Punjab Police that destroyed the insurgency.

In the same 1991-1996 period, Kashmir, at its worst ever yet, was brought back in control. It wasn't by employing soft-State measures. If this 'fix' is the most creditable feature on Doval's impressive CV, he needs to thank a weak, minority government, under a prime minister with zero charisma.

At her peak, Indira Gandhi's didn't have the spine to call Pokharan-1 a nuclear weapons test. It dished out that 'peaceful nuclear explosion'; hypocrisy. Vajpayee's 'weak' coalition had no such hesitation 24 years later. And how weak was it? It fell within 11 months of Pokharan-2, losing by one vote in Parliament.

Since I am on to a good argument, I am not about to let go yet. In the post-1971 India, if Pokharan-2 was the boldest strategic decision, what's been the second?

The India-US nuclear deal was signed by Manmohan Singh in UPA-1, when his coalition depended on the Left. He risked his government in a parliamentary vote and brought about a fundamental shift in India's strategic worldview.

In UPA-2, he took a similar risk, over FDI in multi-brand retail. The Modi government subsequently hailed the nuclear deal as a great blessing. It has, however, failed to move on FDI in multi-brand retail.

There is no ideological hang-up there, as something of the sort has been allowed in e-commerce. It is just that the government is risk-averse despite the majority.

How do we explain that on the economic, internal security and strategic fronts, India's unstable coalitions have acted more decisively and boldly than all our full-majority governments yet?

We aren't a country of a billion-plus nut-cases. We are simply a good, buzzing democracy, run by responsible, hard-working, and thick-skinned, politicians. They aren't perfect. But they know what is good for them.

They want to win elections, and, once they have the power, don't want to lose it. If the economy grows, there is public peace, a sense of security, a happy people will re-elect them.

A coalition is unstable, but it forces our leaders to negotiate, trade for space, listen to others, fish in a larger talent pool. A secure, majority government makes politicians complacent, arrogant and create unsustainable personality cults.

From Indira to Rajiv to Modi, that is the lesson of our political history. India has no need to be afraid of coalitions.

By Special Arrangement with The Print
'I would have expected that, once firmly ensconced in the director's chair by 2:15 am, the not-director of the CBI would have called for pen and paper and hand-written a few clean chits.'

'Clean chits over Rafale; clean chits to the PM's secretary in the coal bribery case; a clean chit to Hasmukh Adhia on whatever claim Subramanian Swamy has cooked up about him...' says Mihir Sharma.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

India is, of course, not a banana republic. We are a proud nation with a 5,000 year history etc, etc, and a superb Constitution on very nice paper with wonderful illustrations by Nandalal Bose and others.

We have many institutions also. They are known for their independence, by which we mean that their decisions often seem to not be dependent on the facts of the case.

Of course, although we have had strong and independent institutions since independence in 1947, there was a brief interregnum in which these institutions were not independent, to be precise between 1950 and 2014, because of the absence in Delhi of either Sardar Patel or Narendra Modi.

Since 2014, however, we have had ever stronger institutions. They are also decisive, and all sorts of other nice things.

They are certainly not laughing stocks. The sight, true, of the Central Bureau of Investigation descending in awesome force to raid the den of iniquity that is the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation might have caused one or two eyebrows to rise, but if so, the eyebrows in question were certainly anti-national and the eyes below them jaundiced.

The information that swiftly followed, that the director of the CBI and his deputy would be suspended, should surely be greeted with relief.

It is a sign, no doubt, of the strength and independence of our institutions and also the strength and decisiveness of the first patriotic government that we have had in 1,200 years that this decision was taken at 2 am.

It is also very reassuring that, in a further sign of independence, practically the entire CBI anti-corruption bureau in Delhi was also transferred -- some to that hotbed of nationally-relevant corruption, Port Blair.

It is true that the director of the CBI has a two-year term, but it is obvious that such minor issues, which might at first seem to be essential for institutional independence, cannot be allowed to interfere with strength and decisiveness at 2 am.

The government has now made it amply clear that the CBI head is not sacked, merely that somebody else is doing his job.

I commend this institutional innovation and reform and suggest it be applied to other posts. Perhaps, for example, our prime minister can stay prime minister if he is voted out in 2019, and merely let someone else do his job (except for the foreign travel bits).

Indeed, maybe Ajit Doval can continue to do the prime minister's job after the elections, he seems to be doing well in the position currently.

There is yet more evidence to present that this great country and its strong and independent institutions are not in fact laughing stocks.

For example, the presence of Intelligence Bureau officers snooping on the -- Outgoing? Sacked? No, suspended -- suspended head of the CBI. It should be amply clear that if the CBI raids the CBI, the next step is obviously the IB snooping on the CBI.

Surely, no doubt, the IB will be spying on the IB and then perhaps the army can invade navy headquarters.

After all, the Delhi police has already invaded the Delhi government. All this is not, as some anti-nationals might argue, a sign of creeping authoritarianism, but is in fact another indication of institutional strength.

We are introducing ever new checks and balances to the system: Anyone investigating bank balances will swiftly find themselves checked.

Ah, if only such dedication to institutional strength had marked the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance, universally acknowledged as the government most destructive of institutional independence!

What a pity that in 2012 the CBI did not raid the CVC, the CVC did not suspend the CAG, and the CAG did not declare that the Supreme Court had caused a presumptive loss to the exchequer of 3.7 trillion trillion rupees!

That would have been the sign of a truly strong and decisive government. Certainly Times Now would have welcomed it as a 'clean-up', as they did the removal of the current CBI head.

Patriotic Indians feel only one small disappointment: The new leadership of the CBI has so far failed to issue any clean chits. Does this not show a lack of sufficient decisiveness?

I would have expected that, once firmly ensconced in the director's chair by 2:15 am, the not-director of the CBI would have called for pen and paper and hand-written a few clean chits.

For example, clean chits over Rafale, ignoring the request for investigation by Yashwant Sinha and others; clean chits to the prime minister's secretary in the coal bribery case; a clean chit to Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on whatever claim Subramanian Swamy has cooked up about him this week; and a clean chit to whoever was then chief minister of Gujarat in any and all issues involving alleged riots in 2002, just in case.

I mean, how long do these take to write? They could have been done by 2:30 am.
'A 2018 murder may lead to shifts in the geopolitical order and impact at least one monarchy,' says Devangshu Datta.

IMAGE: A protest outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered by Saudi agents. Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters

On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo. The details of the incident are baroque. Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a former Turkish possession, which had been formally annexed by Austria in 1908. Many people in Serbia thought the map of the Balkans would look more aesthetic if Bosnia was part of Serbia instead.

Six members of a Serbian secret society, The Black Hand, were stationed along the VIP route to target the royal as he paraded around in an open car. One of them threw a grenade. The Archduke was unhurt but members of his entourage were injured. The man who had chucked the grenade swallowed a cyanide pill and jumped into the river. The pill didn't work and the river was less than a foot deep. So, he was fished out.

The death squad aborted its plans since the archduke cut short the parade. One conspirator, the 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip went to a cafe in a nearby alley to refresh himself with a cuppa. Meanwhile, the archduke wanted to visit the injured in hospital. His driver got lost and ended up in that alley.

As the car was reversing out of the alley, Princip walked up and shot the archduke and his wife Sophie. Then, he, too, tried to commit suicide. But his pill was also a fake. Interrogation suggested that Serbian intelligence, which ran The Black Hand, was involved in the plot.

Austria presented an ultimatum with many demands to Serbia. The Serbs asked Slavic big brother, Russia, for help. The Austrians formally declared war on July 28. Germany and Turkey were Austria's allies and committed to mobilisation once Austria was at war. The Russians were allied to the French and the British, who had similar treaty obligations.

The assassination was a catalyst triggering those contingency plans. About 40 million died in the war that followed. The Austro-Hungarian empire and the Turkish empire broke up and became rump republics; the Russian empire became a Communist State, and Germany too, ceased to be a monarchy.

A 2018 murder may lead to, admittedly less radical, shifts in the geopolitical order, and impact at least one monarchy.

Jamal Khashoggi's murder was not an 'assassination' by definition since he was not particularly famous. But the grotesque details of his butchery by a 15-member death squad have sparked revulsion in a way that thousands of deaths in Yemen had not.

It has, perhaps irrevocably, tarnished the Saudi crown prince's attempts to present himself as a liberal reformer.

Many businesspeople pulled out of the 'Davos in the Desert'. There is pressure on financial entities (such as SoftBank) to cease to accept money from the kingdom. Khashoggi had permanent US resident status and his children are Americans. The Trump administration is, therefore, under domestic pressure to be seen to do 'something' to punish a long-term ally.

This may have repercussions on both oil and financial markets. More broadly, it could reshape geopolitical alliances.

The rulers of Saudi Arabia have several levers. One is their ability to swing oil prices by pumping more, or less, oil. They can also influence the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel's production.

There is the related ability to deploy vast sums in favoured projects. Beyond that, there is status as the guardian of Islam's holy places, and a steadfast opposition to a Shia alliance led by Iran.

If the pecking order in the kingdom changes as a result of this murder, it could change Saudi foreign policy.

US arms have supported Saudi efforts in the Yemen proxy war versus Iran. If America does 'punish' the Saudis, will the kingdom switch its arms-shopping to Russia? That would definitely change geopolitical relationships.

Will Saudi Arabia pump more oil to force prices down? That would hurt the US, since American oil extraction is high cost. Or, will it cut production to force prices up and thus, punish the oil-deficient liberals of the European Union?

There is an OPEC conference due in December. The decisions taken there would affect the global economy and, one way or another, those would be influenced by the death of a commoner.
'Hindu unity is possible without any external forces playing any role if their faith is questioned.'

IMAGE: The Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. Photograph: PTI Photo

Prayar Gopalakrishnan -- former president of the Kerala Devaswom Board and a member of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee -- is at the forefront of the agitation against the Supreme Court judgment on the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala.

"There are umpteen judgments which were not implemented at all, but the state government wanted to take this upon themselves as their duty to implement it immediately," Gopalakrishnan tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

As a former president of the Kerala Devaswom Board, how do you look at what is happening in Sabarimala?

It was painful, at the same time I saw the unity of all believers in Sabarimala.

When I say believers, it includes not just Hindu believers, but believers from other religions. They too have become part of the believers of Ayyappa.

I also saw the secular face of India at Sabarimala through Lord Ayyappa. Sabarimala heralded the victory of all the believers, eclipsing all the conspiracies and conspirators.

And who created such an opportunity? This government itself.

Do you think the state government was eager to implement this verdict?

Yes, all the people associated with this government are atheists and materialists. That was why they blindly thought they could destroy all beliefs easily.

What we saw at Sabarimala in the last five days, and what the bhaktas, the public and even the officers experienced, was the result of what they purposely welcomed. This kind of tension would not have happened if not for their short sightedness.

It is essential for all the believers to stop what these people are trying to do because beliefs are above everything else. I am glad that a situation arose at Sabarimala so that all the believers could unite against these forces.

What you have to understand is, what you saw at Sabarimala, the unity of all believers, the unity of all Ayyappas did not happen because of anybody's effort, because of any external force; it was spontaneous.

I am glad it was the conspiracies by these vested interests that resulted in this unity.

Did it surprise you when Ayyappa devotees who had come from various states stood guard for six days without going back, that so many women came out on the streets protesting against the verdict?

Personally, these happenings did not surprise me at all.

The conspiracy to let young women enter Sabarimala started in 2006 when the LDF (Left Democratic Front) was in power.

When some lawyers approached the Supreme Court in 2006, it was the government under Achuthananadan Sir (then chief minister V S Achuthanandan) that submitted the affidavit that women of all ages could enter Sabarimala. This case remained silent for a decade or so.

On November 13, 2015, my party gave me the opportunity or, let me put it this way, Lord Ayyappa gave me the blessing to be the president of the Devaswom Board. That was when I could understand everything about this case.

When I came to know what the case was all about, I let the Supreme Court lawyer K K Venugopal (now India's attorney general) know our desire to file another affidavit. He then told me that we would not be able to win the case unless we withdrew the affidavit filed in 2007.

I immediately let (then) chief minister Oommen Chandy sir know about the situation and he made corrections in the affidavit filed in 2007.

The new affidavit explained that nobody should do anything against the traditions followed at Sabarimala, and that the Devaswom Board also decided to handle the case with utmost seriousness.

When the Supreme Court judgment came now in 2018, it was as if this government was waiting for such a judgment to come. From the very next day, they showed extreme eagerness to implement it.

You have to remember that there are umpteen number of judgments which were not implemented at all, but they wanted to take this upon themselves as their duty to implement it immediately.

As there was no instruction from the Supreme Court to implement this order from a particular date, the LDF government started working on this from the very next day.

You have been in the forefront against the implementation of this order. Many Congress leaders also have taken this stand. Why?

Because India is secular country, the Constitution of this country has given the right to every citizen to choose a religion of his choice and also follow the traditions associated with the religion.

So, he should have the right to observe the traditions and the government is obliged to let him do so. Our view is that this right should be protected.

Do you feel the verdict did not understand the tradition followed at the Ayyappa temples in Sabarimala?

That is why we said we would go for a review petition; to make the court understand our traditions and rituals.

I am the first person who said we would give a review petition. I was at the Trivandrum Press Club when the Supreme Court judgment came and then itself, I said we would file a review petition.

The most important period at Sabarimala is the Mandala-Makara Vilakku time. Sabarimala opens for five days before that in the Malayalam month of Thulam and you saw what kind of ruckus this government created.

Rahul Easwar was the only person who stood by me on this issue. We were peacefully chanting Ayyappa Saranam in front of the forest guard room at Pampa when the police pounced on us and arrested all of us.

I was given bail when I was at the police station itself, but after making me sit for 12 hours. Rahul Easwar has been sent for 14 days custody.

Do you know how cruel the police had been to him? Is this the way a believer is treated in this country?

The police escorted two women the very next day after providing them police uniforms...

If you look at the Police Act, you will see that it is a punishable offence to give their uniform to common people.

The most important lesson to be learnt is that Hindu unity is possible without any external forces playing any role if their faith is questioned.

We saw the first indication when people assembled in the thousands at the Hanuman Kshetram near the assembly on the 2nd of October. We had expected only 100, 200 people for the prayers, but around 2,000 people joined us.

The biggest change happened when the Pandalam royal family decided to have a protest march there. Surprising even the family, 25,000 people assembled and when the NSS (Nair Service Society

After seeing this kind of outpouring of people, many political parties -- even those who had different opinions on the judgment -- joined the protest.

Many people say it is an upper caste movement and those belonging to the backward communities are not with the protest, that the agenda of the upper castes is to distance the other communities from Sabarimala...

These are the arguments of those who do want to shut their eyes to the changes happening in our society. Anyway, they also saw the reality.

The LDF government should realise that people have woken up to maintain the sanctity of the Sabarimala temple.

I think the Devaswom should give a review petition urgently and the government should not use the police force at least during the Makara Vilakku period.

I am of the opinion that the central government should come out with a special Act for Sabarimala.

While the Congress in Kerala supports the believers, at the national level both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have not extended the same support.

That is because our temples have tantrika, aagamana, satachara pratishta deities, but it is not so in the northern part of India. So, they do not understand our system.

The case went against us because the judges did not comprehend the traditions and rituals followed in our temples. Only Justice Indu Malhotra understood this. Unfortunately, the lone voice of a woman was ignored even though the judgment was concerning women.
'These atheist people wanted to finish the progress of Sabrimala temple devotees and now they are using this (the Supreme Court verdict) as a weapon to destroy the believers.'

IMAGE: Ayyappa devotees protest against the Supreme Court verdict on the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple in New Delhi, October 14. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/PTI Photo

Since the Supreme Court's historic judgment allowing women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple, Kerala has been witnessing a series of agitations by various devotee groups and Hindu outfits against the verdict.

Holding placards bearing pictures of Lord Ayyappa and chanting his hymns, the faithful, a large number of them women, have been demanding that the sanctity of the temple rituals be protected and women of menstrual age must be kept out.

As the temple complex opens on Thursday, October 18, for the monthly rituals, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Kerala's president P S Sreedharan Pillai tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf, "The Sabrimala pilgrimage is bigger than Mecca, and Kashi too, as five crore (50 million) people come every year. These Marxist people tried their level best to destroy it."

The BJP protest march on Monday to the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram turned out to be very big.

Yes, and now the CPI-M government of Kerala has changed its attitude because this is the largest gathering ever seen in Kerala.

Our march is largest in the history of the state.

People have decided to have their own faith and beliefs, so why is this atheist government opposing it?

We are only supporting the believers.

Why are you opposing the Supreme Court judgment?

The judgment is there, but then, there is a review petition too which is pending.

These atheist people since the last 50 years wanted to finish the progress of Sabrimala temple devotees and now they are using this (the verdict) as a weapon to destroy the believers.

We are only supporting the believers. That's all.

Women of all ages can enter the Sabrimala temple from Thursday. Will you stop them?

Let that be decided by the believers.

We have not started the agitation, 50,000 women started this agitation.

We are only supporting them.

Were you surprised to see such a large number of women participate in your rally?

That is faith.

Communists don't understand it. Communists want to finish the faith.

Sabrimala is the largest pilgrimage centre in the world.

The Sabrimala pilgrimage is bigger than Mecca, and Kashi too, as five crore (50 million) people come every year.

These Marxist people tried their level best to destroy it.

We are only supporting the people.

Beyond our expectations people are coming out and supporting us.

What is the BJP's stand on the Supreme Court verdict?

I told you that the BJP is standing along with believers.

Believers are fighting for their fundamental rights.

This is a peculiar kind of temple where the deity is Brahmachari, a celibate.

This is the only temple where such a custom exists.

Why was this fact not placed before the Supreme Court of India?

Here worshipping in the temple is not like in North India.

In North India, you can touch the idol, but not here.

Therefore, 90 per cent of Kerala's Hindu women are not supporting the Supreme Court judgment.

They are not even supporting the (state) government's view.

That is why the CPI-M was forced to conduct house level meetings on this issue to convince them.

But the people were not interested.

What, in your view, should the Kerala government have done after the Supreme Court verdict?

The appeals are pending now.

Let the final outcome come.

Isn't the judgment final?

The attorney general of India has taken up this matter.

Women have come out openly to oppose the verdict.

Only 250 women came for the CPI-M rally.

Malayala Manorama (the largest circulated newspaper in Kerala) interviewed those women and even in those interviews women said that they stand for Sabrimala Ayyappa and not with the CPI-M.

This is the reality.

Now the CPI-M is repenting. So let them suffer.

It looks like you are trying to score political points over the issue.

No. We didn't start this.

The Congress party started the agitation and later on withdrew Why?

Because, the CPI-M and the Congress don't care for the interests of believers.

Throughout the world, believers are opposing the judgment. In the USA, Germany, Delhi and everywhere.

You cannot play with the beliefs of people.

The CPI-M is now facing an embarrassing situation.
'The first time a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 entering Sabarimala came was in 1991 and was by a high court judgment.'

'So, it is only a 27-year-old ban.'

'The high court can fix customs and the Supreme Court can overturn it.'

'I don't see this as an attack on religious freedom or the practice of a religion.'

It appears the Sabarimala controversy will not end anytime soon.

Retired IAS officer and the well-known Malayalam writer, N S Madhavan, through a series of tweets supported the Supreme Court decision allowing women between the ages of 10 and 50 to go to the Sabarimala temple.

"Ayyappa's importance, unlike any other Hindu temple in Kerala, was that all castes could go there. But in the last 30 years, these people (the upper castes) are completely destroying this," Madhavan, below, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

Do you think thousands of women coming onto the streets to protest against the Supreme Court order is a spontaneous one? Or, is it orchestrated by political parties?

I don't think it is spontaneous because the women who are coming out are conservative and they have not done any political activities so far.

I think this has happened only because of a bit of prodding, mainly by organisations such as the NSS (Nair Service Society) and similar community-based organisations. But these women are genuinely anti-Supreme Court judgment.

Were you surprised by the number?

It wasn't a surprise. But if you look at the protest rallies, you will see that geographically, it starts in the south and ends in Ernakulam. These are the areas where the NSS has a good hold over its members.

If the CPI-M wants to organise such rallies tomorrow, they can also do the same thing. They have the mechanism to organise such rallies.

You said the rallies are confined to southern Kerala. Does that mean Kerala society is divided over this issue?

Not geographically, but community-wise, yes.

You mean the upper castes and the rest of Kerala?

Yes, if you look at the protests, you will see that there is only one organisation that is behind it, which is the NSS.

The other major Hindu organisation in Kerala which is much bigger than the NSS is the SNDP (Sree Dharma Paripalana Yogam). It is the representative of the Ezhavas, but they are not with the agitation.

Thushar Vellapally, SNDP leader Vellapally Natesan's son, supports the protests and has spoken against the Supreme Court verdict. Of course, his father is on the other side...

I think the father and son are playing a political game like Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam. I see a kind of adjustment between the father and son.

The SNDP is controlled by Vellapally and it is not with the protests. In fact, they are angry at the upper caste outrage.

The whole narrative is being taken over by the upper castes like the Pandalam family, the priests or the thantri family and the NSS.

The Pulaya Mahasabha representing the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes is also quite a sizeable number but against the protests.

So, the division is not geographical, but on a community basis.

Sabarimala is described as one temple that is beyond caste, creed and religion. People from all religions and castes go there to worship...

It is true that people from all castes and creeds used to worship there, but the customs are all decided by the coteries belonging to the upper castes.

The first time a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 entering Sabarimala came was in 1991 and was by a high court judgment. So, it is only a 27-year-old ban.

Before that, women used to go and take the steps behind the Sabarimala temple, and not the 18 steps (pathinettam padi). Neither the thantri nor the Devaswom Board had any problem with it then.

It was the high court judge who ordered the ban, which has no meaning. So, overturning this judgment was not overturning a custom.

Should the courts be deciding religious issues and customs?

I would say it is not a religious issue. It is a social issue. The person who is supposed to look after the customs is the thantri of the temple.

If you look at the temple entry agitation at Vaikom, the thantri did not allow Gandhiji inside his house.

So, when the customs are arbitrarily decided without the force of law, and when they are not religious customs, they can certainly be overturned by the court.

What is followed at Sabarimala is not there in any other Ayyappa temple or any other Hindu temple in Kerala. So, it is just one temple in Kerala that is following a custom. Should people be so concerned by this?

Those who are concerned are the women who are not permitted to go there and they have every right to feel that way. It is against the Constitution too.

So, it is discriminatory?

Yes, it is discriminatory and it has no divine sanction! You don't find this in any of the Hindu scriptures.

The origin of not allowing women between the age group 10 to 50 in Sabarimala is based on the 1991 high court judgment.

The high court can fix customs and the Supreme Court can overturn it.

I don't see this as an attack on religious freedom or the practice of a religion. It is actually bringing back normalcy to a skewed situation.

You had tweeted that this is not just a gender issue because you saw an upper caste narrative in this. Do you feel the upper castes make decisions on various customs are practices?

Yes, that is the reason.

You take the Travancore Devaswom Board. It has 5,000 employees out of which 90% are Nairs. They are the people who speak of various customs in Sabarimala.

But the story is that when he was young, Ayyappa went to an Ezhava family in Cheerappanchira near Cherthala, stayed with them and studied kalaripayattu.

This Cheerappanchira family was enjoying the right for vedi vazhipadu. This fetched a lot of income to the family, but this was changed and made it into an open auction so that the money went to the Devaswom Board.

Second is the Makara Vilakku. That was always lit by the tribals called Malaya Pandarams. The Devaswom Board took this right from them and they are directly doing it now.

Ayyappa's importance, unlike any other Hindu temple in Kerala, was that all castes could go there. But in the last 30 years, these people are completely destroying this.

You mean, the upper castes have taken over the temple?

Yes.

What kind of political and social impact this will have on Kerala society?

I don't see any impact on Kerala society. I see it as a political game.

The main thing is the Nair vote bank of some areas in Trivandrum and in and around Pathanamthitta, Chengannur, etc has been going to the BJP in the last 10 to 15 years. So, it is actually a fight between the BJP and the Congress to win them.

I think the people of Kerala are intelligent enough to understand this narrow political game. There will not be any mass movement.

Some people say this issue will unite all the Hindus of Kerala who have been fragmented till now. Do you see anything of that sort happening?

This issue has actually disunited them because after a long time, you are seeing upper caste assertion in Kerala.

The Sabarimala issue is actually dividing Hindu society and not uniting them.

Is it not unfortunate?

Very, very. The caste organisations should have left the choice to the people concerned.

The NSS has gone for a review petition. Why should they again fight on the streets?

There are liquor shops in Kerala and any woman above the age of 21 can go there, but nobody goes there.

Similarly, the choice to go to Sabarimala should be with the women and nobody else.
'It is wrong to assume that it is only after 1991 that we started following this ritual.'

'Ayyappan himself instructed where the temple had to be built, the rituals that had to followed and the route that had to be taken by devotees to the temple.'

IMAGE: Sabarimala temple head priest (thantri) Kandararu Rajeevaru addresses devotees staging a protest against the Supreme Court verdict on the entry of women of all ages into the shrine. Photograph: PTI Photo

As the Sabaramila issue rages on, Sashikumar Varma, president, Pandalam Palace coordination committee, has spoken about how the Supreme Court verdict has affected the family.

Legend has it that Lord Ayyappa was born in the Pandalam Palace.

"We have been praying 'Ayyappa rakshikane (Ayyappa, please take care of us).' Now, we are praying 'Ayyappane rakshikane (please take care of Ayyappa)'," Varma, below, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

As the president of the Pandalam Palace coordination committee, you were part of many protests against the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala.

I feel the judges were not aware of the rituals and traditions of the temples in Kerala, especially that of Sabarimala.

The rituals and traditions followed by Sabarimala are different from the other Ayyappa temples in Kerala. They should have tried to understand the background and the reasons behind such rituals.

We were eagerly following the judgment and when they said 'We are not worried about the rituals of the temple; we are only worried about the fundamental rights of the citizens of this country', we knew the verdict was going to be against what was being followed in the temple.

Do you feel the lawyers may not have presented the case well enough for the judges to understand?

It is not a question of not understanding the Sabarimala temple. They were only worried about fundamental rights.

They would not feel strongly about the traditions or rituals of a Kerala temple like we, who live in Kerala and who have been associated with the temple, would feel.

As you know, the Sabarimala temple is very different from other Kerala temples.

What I feel is they could not understand this fundamental difference. Or they were not interested in understanding. Or they might have had an opinion earlier itself.

The verdict had 400-odd pages, but nowhere it talks about the arguments put forward by our side.

You say the judges looked at only the aspect of fundamental rights. But the criticism is that the rituals followed at the Sabarimala temple are discriminatory because it does not allow women of certain ages there.

The Sabarimala temple is not discriminatory at all. It is misunderstood.

See, only women belonging to a certain age are not allowed at the temple. There is a reason for that.

It is not that these men do not understand the reason. All these men are born to women and none of them are swayambhu (created by their own accord). We had submitted all these details and the history behind the temple. I was also associated with preparing it with our lawyer.

It was in 1991 that a case was filed at the high court here. At that time, the high court judge had called all the people associated with the traditions and rituals for the hearing so that he could have a comprehensive idea about what was happening in the temple.

He had called the senior-most person from the Pandalam Palace too. His verdict was that women between the ages of 10 to 50 would not be allowed in the temple.

If the Supreme Court also had followed such a process, they would have had a better knowledge of the situation at Sabarimala.

Many people say before that high court verdict in 1991, women of all ages could pray at the Sabarimala temple...

This is one hundred percent false. You must have heard a retired bureaucrat proclaiming on all the TV channels that his choroonu was performed at Sabarimala and his mother who was 27 also was there.

I am sorry to say many people believed him and now people think that this particular tradition was not there earlier. This is not true.

If you look at the Indian survey conducted by the British, it very clearly mentioned that such a ritual was followed at Sabarimala.

Even the book Temples of India, published by the Government of India, talks about this particular ritual at Sabarimala.

It is wrong to assume that it is only after 1991 that we started following this; it has been there for decades, ever since the temple was built.

What was the reason for this?

Traditions and rituals followed by each temple are different.

In the case of Sabarimala, it was Ayyappan himself who instructed where the temple had to be built, the rituals that had to followed and the route that had to be taken by devotees to the temple.

There is a special section in Kumudanada Geetham, Ayyappa Geetham, which is part of his dialogue to his father when he asks Ayyappa not to go to the forest.

It is in this Geetham that he asks devotees to take a vratam of 41 days and why he wants them to do so.

How does the Pandalam royal family, to which Ayyappan belongs, look at the verdict which is against Ayyappa Geetham?

It has been extremely painful, maybe something more than pain.

We are in a situation where we cannot do anything. We feel so helpless and orphaned.

We have been praying 'Ayyappa rakshikane (Ayyappa, please take care of us).' Now, we are praying 'Ayyappane rakshikane (please take care of Ayyappa).'

If a small change happens in the rituals followed at Sabarimala, we feel it.

The first protest rally against the verdict was in Pandalam which was followed by rallies in many places. Did it surprise you that thousands of women participated in it saying they did not want to go now and that they were willing to wait?

Yes, this is an extraordinary uprising of women, a new phenomenon.

I was behind the first protest rally in Pandalam and there was no huge announcement about it; only word of mouth and through WhatsApp.

We had expected a crowd of 2,000 to 3,000, but to our surprise 65,000 people gathered for the protest rally.

It was only the beginning. After that, I must have attended at least 30 such rallies and everywhere around 25,000 to 50,000 people gathered. This is unprecedented.

A criticism against these protests is that it is an upper caste movement and that Hindu society in Kerala is divided on caste lines. Do you agree?

I won't even call it criticism. This is a concerted effort, propaganda, by a certain group of people to divide the believers who have come out to protest against the verdict.

There is no division among us and this is not an upper caste movement.

The criticism is because only the Pandalam family, the priests and the Nair Service Society are together, the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam has not joined the protests...

Didn't they see that the political party led by the son of the SNDP leader (Thushar Vellapally) was leading most of the protest rallies?

It is true that some vested interests are trying to divide Hindu society. They are telling the socially backward people that what is happening is against them and in no time, they would not be allowed inside temples.

I would say there is a political agenda behind this campaign.

When unity among the believers in the Hindu religion occurred, it created jitters among some political parties.

Let me reiterate that there is no caste division in this uprising. In fact, so many believers from other religions have participated in the protest rallies.

Some political parties are trying the divide and rule policy here. It will not work.

What do you think will happen, both politically and socially?

The political party that is in power is very keen to implement this court order, but I feel this will become a major issue in future. This will result in Hindu consolidation.

Till now, a majority of Hindu votes had been going to the LDF (CPI-M- led Left Democratic Front) while the UDF (Congress-led United Democratic Front) had the support of a majority of Christians.

There will be a shift in this pattern. There is a feeling among Hindus that the government is moving against the traditions and rituals followed by Hindus.

At the same time, there is an effort by them to divide Hindus.
'If I get posted to a place, if people engage with me just as an Indian diplomat, I have X amount of leverage.'

'But when they look at me as the high commissioner of India and the author of Slumdog Millionaire, many more people are willing to meet me, more quickly than they would as a pure diplomat.'

IMAGE: Ambassador Vikas Swarup, standing behind Anil Kapoor, as Slumdog Millionaire, based on his book Q&A, wins the Oscar for Best Picture. Photograph: Gary Hershorn/Reuters

He has described himself as a diplomat who writes, and an accidental author.

Vikas Swarup, author of the 2005 novel Q&A, which was adapted into the 2008 global hit film Slumdog Millionaire, is a career diplomat who is now India's high commissioner to Canada, having arrived in Ottawa last year after a high-profile stint as the spokesman of the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi.

Three years after Q&A, he published Six Suspects, and five years later, The Accidental Apprentice. Is it time for his fourth book?

At the annual Toronto International Festival of Authors, where he was a speaker, Vikas Swarup tells Indira Kannan about his writing plans and why most of his books were written during his foreign postings.

Your second and third novels were also thrillers. Was that due to the success of Q&A? What I wrote in Q&A was the kind of book I wanted to write, what I call my own genre of social thriller -- that's a peek at Indian society but in a thrilling kind of way .

You have described yourself as a diplomat who writes. Do you have a preference between the roles? Primarily I'm a diplomat. I've been a diplomat for 33 years. I became a writer accidentally when I was posted in London and I wrote Q&A in just the last two months of my posting there. I had no idea that it would become a global bestseller. So I utilise the brand visibility of Slumdog Millionaire to open up more doors for me as a diplomat. If I get posted to a place, if people engage with me just as an Indian diplomat, I have X amount of leverage. But when they look at me as the high commissioner of India and the author of Slumdog Millionaire, many more people are willing to meet me, more quickly than they would as a pure diplomat.

Photograph: Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Novelist Shobhaa De, Vikas Swarup, novelist, diplomat and then ministry of external affairs spokesperson, director Kabir Khan and Saffron Art CEO Hugo Weihe at the Gateway Dialogue hosted by the think-tank Gateway House and the MEA.

How has the ministry of external affairs responded to your success as an author? When Q&A became Slumdog Millionaire and won the Oscars, the very first thing I received was a letter from the then external affairs minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, complimenting me on the huge success of the film and wishing me more creative endeavours on the writing side. So the ministry has looked at it very positively, they look at it as an expansion of India's soft power in a sense because Indian literature is very much a part of India's soft power.

All your books have been written during your foreign postings. Is it easier to write abroad? Look, Delhi is a madhouse. It's 24/7, the government loves to do stuff on weekends as well and don't forget, I was also the official spokesperson, I was travelling constantly with the prime minister and the foreign minister. So I had no time for myself at all, forget about writing something, I couldn't even conceptualise something. But abroad, however busy you are, you still get slightly more time than you would get in Delhi. And the advantage of being an accidental writer is I have no deadline pressure. I choose to write when I have the ability and time to write.

Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

You write when you are abroad, but your stories are all set in India. Have you considered including foreign locations, given your access and exposure to them? Not really. I'm asked very often, why don't you write a cross cultural novel, starting in Cairo and ending in New York, with a spy angle and things like that. That would have interested me a few years ago but not now. I think the world is hungry for stories out of India. So when there is such a hunger for information and news about India, then why as an Indian would I want to create something set outside India? Having said that, nothing precludes me from writing such a story tomorrow if I get a very compelling subject in my head, but as of now my focus remains my mother country India.
'They have started an institute, the Academy of Training and Sensitisation, for prison officials near Vellore.'

'This institute has been started by the Union home ministry and it is meant for all the four southern states.'

The Madras high court, which recently observed that a detailed study was needed to improve medical and other facilities in jails in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, appointed senior advocate R Vaigai as amicus curiae and ordered the two governments to furnish her all particulars on the medical facilities available in its prisons.

The court action followed the Tamil Nadu home department submitting a report to the court that between 2012 and 2016, a total of 109 prisoners had died of illness and old age, two due to accidental falls. 22 prisoners allegedly committed suicide.

A bench comprising Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad passed the order on a PIL initiated suo motu as directed by the Supreme Court on September 15, 2017.

The apex court had requested the chief justice of the Madras high court to register the public interest litigation to identify the next of kin of prisoners who had admittedly died an unnatural death between 2012 and 2015 and even thereafter as revealed by the National Crime Records Bureau, and award suitable compensation.

"Money speaks a lot inside prisons and we have to find a way to stop it," Vaigai, a senior advocate and well-known human rights activist, tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.

There are two figures for deaths in Tamil Nadu prisons in the last four years put out by the state government -- 109 and 157. Which is the correct one?

They have filed two affidavits and thus you have two figures. One was submitted by the home department and the other by the chief secretary. I will be checking both.

Any idea how 22 prisoners committed suicide?

I have only been appointed three weeks back. I have asked for details and will be studying them

The Supreme Court talks about compensation to families. What kind of compensation? Will it be for all deaths?

No, not for all deaths. It will be only for deaths where an inquest has been held and death was owing to the negligence of prison officials.

Earlier, this compensation was Rs 1 lakh and I think in 2015 it was increased to Rs 5 lakh. I have called for all the inquest reports.

Do you think lack of medical attention is the leading cause of death in prisons? Or is it the general apathy towards prisoners?

The Supreme Court has said that the present medical care is not enough. We have to improve them.

About apathy towards prisoners, they have started an institute, the Academy of Training and Sensitisation, for prison officials near Vellore. This institute has been started by the Union home ministry and it is meant for all the four southern states.

On one hand we hear about prisoners having access to mobile phones, television, home cooked food, designer clothes etc and on the other hand we hear about deaths. Are there two classes of prisoners in jails?

Officially, there are three classes. A for political prisoners, B for routine criminals and C for hardcore criminals, but I don't think you are referring to that.

Even I have seen media reports about the extra facilities enjoyed by prisoners who have a lot of money. Money speaks a lot inside prisons and we have to find a way to stop it.

How many jails are there in Tamil Nadu? Will you be visiting all of them?

I will be visiting quite a few of them. There are nine central jails, three special jails for women, three open jails, several hostels for juveniles, and 138 district jails and sub-jails.

The central jails have only convicts. People serving less than three months are also kept in the district jails. The remand prisoners are in district and sub-jails.

Unnatural deaths is what the Supreme Court is emphasising on, will the post mortem reports reveal that?

Post-mortem reports are there, but there are also other facts like if the hospital says 'brought dead', we have to know whether (it was) on the way or in the prison. Then we go into the negligence part and if they could have saved the prisoner.

Do you expect the jailers and other jail staff to cooperate in this investigation as it is essentially an inquiry against them?

I have met a few officials and told them that this is not an adversarial enquiry. We are both working in the public interest and in this case the prisoners' interest and welfare.

We both agree that reforms are needed. I have asked them for their ideas to improve the system.

Has the Tamil Nadu police assigned a high-ranking officer to assist you as directed by the high court?

The DIG prisons will be the nodal officer in this inquiry and he will assist me.

How long do you think this investigation will take?

The Supreme Court has taken up prison reforms in 2017 and there is no time line. It is a work in progress.

Will it interfere with your normal regular work?

(Smiles) All pro bono work does. I was also appointed amicus curiae to investigate the Sumangali schemes for young girls in the textile industry. That too I did free, as I strongly believe in human rights.

Is the spotlight only on Tamil Nadu and Puducherry prisons?

No, it is not. The Supreme Court has asked all high courts to do the needful and the Madras high court has ordered for those states under its jurisdiction, which is Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

How do prisons in other states compare to those in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry?

From what I hearm the facilities here are better. Like, they have phones to talk to their family. This facility is not there for foreigners as you cannot make ISD calls from prison. There are also CCTV cameras everywhere.

How will you ensure/verify that the information being given is correct?

I will visit the prisons and interact with officials and the prisoners there. Local judges are also responsible for prisons in their area.

Moreover, what the prison officials don't tell me I will get from rights activists and also NGOs who work in prisons.

What about the mental health of prisoners?

Exactly. Are there counsellors in prisons? Are they qualified?

You know getting arrested is a traumatic experience. Being confined is a traumatic experience. There has to be someone who can take them through this trauma and guide them how to deal with it. I will be paying great attention to this.

Mental health is very important. It cannot be allowed to degenerate after the person is in prison.

The idea is to improve people even in prison.
I read the books long before I ever got involved with this project and I was completely obsessed with them, like everyone else who reads them, Schuur said during an interview last summer. I think the producers at that time had spent enough time with the project and realized it could be much bigger, that there was a way to make it go global. Thats when they brought on an American writer and producer to speak to American storytelling sensibilities so they could take on a partner like HBO. Thats when I threw my hat into the ring.
'The government made a mess.'

'When there is a director, how can you have an in-charge director?'

'Then, they shifted all the 14 officers who were working on the Asthana case which has never happened in the history of the CBI.'

K Ragothaman, former chief investigating officer at the Central Bureau of Investigation, joined the CBI as a sub-inspector of police in 1968 and served the Bureau for more than 36 years.

He handled several high-profile cases in his career, the most prominent being the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

The author of several books, of which the best known is Conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi, Ragothaman tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, "As a person who worked with the CBI for more than 36 years, I feel ashamed of what is happening right now."

Do you think the CBI's credibility has been lost with its two top officers fighting openly?

Certainly. The people of India and the judiciary have entrusted a lot of trust and confidence in the CBI as it is the country's prime investigation agency. Many of the cases investigated without any bias by the CBI are appreciated by the public and that was the reputation built by the CBI over the years.

In 1963, D P Kohli, the founding director of the CBI, conceived the organisation as one that would be better than the FBI and Scotland Yard. The vision was to eradicate corruption in high places, and handle high offences which affect the integrity of the country.

He wanted to have its own cadre officers. That was how the CBI started deputation of officers from the sub-inspector level to IPS officers as investigative officers.

When did the CBI start losing its credibility?

I was with the CBI from 1968. I served under the second director onwards. I know from when the credibility of the CBI slowly got lost.

It started with the Emergency. The then CBI director was given an extension by the Congress government. Because he was given an extension, he started obliging the PMO.

After the Emergency, the Janata government came to power. The home minister, Charan Singh, ordered the CBI to register a case against Mrs Gandhi and arrest her. That was in the Jeep Scandal case,

It was the first time that we saw the home minister directing the CBI to investigate a case and asking the CBI to arrest a person.

I was part of the special investigative cell then, so I know this personally. Till then, this was not the practice of the CBI.

The CBI starts an investigation only if there is an allegation. The CBI was not supposed to identify the accused and start the investigation.

That was when political interference came directly to the CBI.

Would you say, from then on, various governments and political parties used the CBI for their own political gains?

Yes. From then on, every director who was appointed was a stooge of the ruling party.

In 1997 or so, journalist Vineet Narain argued in the Supreme Court that CBI directors should be independent of the ruling political party.

As per the Code of Criminal Procedure, not even the court can interfere with an investigation. When such is the case, how can a political party interfere?

That was when the tenure of the CBI director was fixed for two years as the court felt it could not make it independent. The intention was that the director would not feel threatened when the tenure was fixed.

Is the fixed tenure of two years of a CBI director different from other secretary-level posts?

Yes. All central government employees have to retire at 60. Justice (J S) Verma made exceptions for the CBI director and the enforcement director, but not to the IB (Intelligence Bureau) director or the DGP of the state police.

The intention was that the person should not be moved according to the whims and fancies of the politicians.

But what happened was this decision made the situation in the CBI worse.

Take (then CBI director) Ranjit Sinha's case. He met accused persons in his office and at home. When a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court, an enquiry was ordered. And the enquiry report said that there was misconduct.

Can the Central Vigilance Commission investigate the CBI director if there is a corruption charge or misconduct allegation against him?

When the CVC Act was amended, it said that only superintendents of investigation of Prevention of Corruption Act (cases) would be supervised by the CVC while the administration would be headed by a director. And for all the cases, an FIR has to be registered.

The CVC can supervise only those cases that were registered.

Within the CBI itself, there was a special unit to look at the corruption allegations against CBI officers and the man in charge reported directly to the director himself.

Why I am saying this is this is not the first time that a case has been registered against a CBI director or officer.

Many DIGs and investigation officers were involved in corruption cases. The investigation was done by the vigilance organisation of the CBI. The superintendents of the investigation were thoroughly supervised by legal officers and senior officers.

What happened in the case of Rakesh Asthana was the CBI director received a complaint that Asthana was accepting money in the Moin Qureshi case.

So, what the director did was he used the special unit to find out whether the information was correct.

When he found that it was true, a confessional statement was recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC so that there was credibility to the FIR.

So, when the CBI director found that the complaint against Asthana was true, he ordered an enquiry.

When Asthana came to know about the enquiry against him, he shot off a complaint to the CVC against CBI Director Alok Verma.

Naturally, it was a false allegation by an accused which should not have been entertained by the CVC.

The CVC then asked for records from the director instead of conducting an independent enquiry.

Do you feel Alok Verma was not in the wrong in refusing to share the investigation process with the CVC?

Yes. Even the Supreme Court cannot ask for the details while the investigation is going on under the CrPC.

Was the government right in asking both Mr Verma and Mr Asthana to go on leave when the fight turned ugly?

The government knew a war was going on between them and the reputation of the CBI was at stake.

It was an open war that was going on. But the government kept quiet.

The silence on the part of the government was the root cause for all the problems today. They should have interfered earlier.

The CBI was called the Congress Bureau of Investigation by the Bharatiya Janata Party when it was in the Opposition. The Supreme Court described the CBI as the Caged Bureau of Investigation.

After the BJP took over, it has become a Controlled Bureau of Investigation. They have put their own man to control the organisation.

Now, because of the fight between these two men and the non-action on the part of the Government of India, it has become a corrupt organisation.

What do you feel the government should have done?

The government should have interfered earlier itself and decided on who should continue. They should have removed one person.

Normally, when an FIR is registered against a public servant and enquiry begins, the person would be asked to go on leave, of course not on record.

Nobody can ask or force a person officially to go on leave. That was why the words 'divesting the power' were used.

But that is not possible when the tenure of the person involved is fixed. That was why he went to court. This made the government say they did not remove him from the post, and he continues to be the director of the CBI.

Another question everyone asks is can the government appoint an interim director without consulting the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition?

Let us take the case of a director going on leave for three months, that too in normal circumstances. When he goes on leave, the government can appoint an interim chief without consulting the Chief Justice and the Leader of the Opposition, but he has to be the immediate junior officer.

The person will be the officiating director then. For example, if Alok Verma goes on leave, Asthana will be the officiating director.

But here, Alok Verma maintains that he is still the director. In such a situation, what is the hurry in imposing another person as the new CBI director in charge?

When there is a director, how can you have an in-charge director?

Then, they shifted all the 14 officers who were working on the Asthana case which has never happened in the history of the CBI.

Do you feel the government made a mess?

Yes, they made a mess. The statement that Alok Verma was still the director made it messier.

How can you have a director and also an officiating director? There can only be one CBI director.

Can the CBI ever be an autonomous, independent, body as envisaged by its founder Mr D P Kohli?

No. It will never be as it all depends on the government and the leadership of the CBI.

The CBI director is the head of the primary investigation agency in the country. I would say his responsibility is much more than the prime minister of India.

In front of the law, all are equal. Nobody is above the law, whether he is the prime minister of the country or the President. He (the CBI director) can investigate anyone if there is an allegation.

The CBI director has to keep in mind this responsibility. He is not expected to be involved in petty quarrels.

As a person who has worked with the CBI for more than 36 years, I feel ashamed of what is happening right now.
'We will talk to Muslim, Christian organisations and form a broad alliance so that every temple, church and mosque will have freedom to manage their affairs and not to be intervened upon.'

Minutes after the Supreme Court ruled 4:1 in favour of allowing women's entry into the Sabarimala temple, social activist Rahul Easwar, president of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena and one of the activists who backed the ban on the entry of women between the ages of 10 to 50 inside the shrine, said he would file a review petition against the verdict next week.

"When the senior judge herself says it is not female discrimination, don't you think we have grounds for a review?" Easwar asks Rediff's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

How do you react to the verdict?

We will file a review petition and approach the Supreme Court in the first week of October. Hopefully, the new Chief Justice of India will be more culturally sensitive.

Let us see where it goes as the Dharma Sena and other Hindu organisations are going to file a review petition.

Justice Indu Malhotra, the lone woman judge on the bench, passed a dissenting judgment and said 'Issues which have deep religious connotation should not be tinkered with to maintain a secular atmosphere in the country.'

That in itself is a great victory.

Even the woman judge felt it is not discrimination. So how can a male feel this is discrimination?

When the senior judge herself says it is not female discrimination, don't you think we have grounds for a review?

Justice Malhotra said worshippers should decide a religion's essential practice. If we accept that, would outlawed practices like sati, dowry, child marriage, the ill-treatment of widows not continue?

Let us not compare apples and pineapples. These are two different issues altogether.

Those were bad practices, wrong practices. This is not a wrong or bad practice.

We are, therefore, going back to the Supreme Court for a review.

We will approach them on two grounds -- one will be Article 25, and the deity's rights should be protected.

Article 26 of the Constitution gives every religious group the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes, manage its affairs, properties as per the law.

What does this judgment mean to Article 26?

Exactly. Article 26 and Article 27 stand diluted.

These are Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution so we will have to fight. That is the reason we are saying we will file a review petition.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra in his judgment said devotees of Lord Ayyappa do not constitute a separate religious denomination.

We are not a denomination. We are only vouching for the deity's rights.

Justice Malhotra said this verdict will have far-reaching implications on other places of worship.

Absolutely yes. This why this verdict needs to be analysed; a much more balanced verdict should have come.

We are vouching for it and fighting for it.

We will also talk to different Muslim, Christian organisations and form a broad alliance so that every temple, church and mosque will have freedom to manage their affairs and not to be intervened upon.

The court permitted women's entry into the Shani Shingnapur temple and the Haji Ali dargah.

They are not comparable. Every temple is unique.

We cannot compare Sabarimala to Haji Ali and Shani Shingnapur.
'Vajapyeeji's BJP was democratic.'

'It was a BJP that belonged to its party workers. Every worker, every member was an Atal Bihari.'

'Today's BJP belongs to businessmen.'

'Modi and Amit Shah have reduced the BJP to a two-man party.'

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi pays homage to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Photograph: PTI

Two days ago, soon after the Congress announced that Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla would be the party's candidate against Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, she moved bag and baggage from Raipur to Rajnandgaon.

Scathing about the Bharatiya Janata Party's exploitation of her chacha's name to win votes, Shukla says the BJP under Modi and Shah has relinquished Vajpayee's ideals and become a two-man party.

Shukla -- a former BJP Lok Sabha MP and MLA -- left the BJP after 34 years in 2013 and joined the Congress. In 2014, she lost the Lok Sabha election from Bilaspur.

"Vajpayeeji is the founder of Chhattisgarh and was ailing for 9 years. In this period whenever there were elections Raman Singh never thought of putting any banners/posters of Vajpayeeji in Chhattisgarh -- and suddenly they are venerating him,", Shukla, who is the daughter of Vajpayee's elder brother tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.

Why were you so upset when the BJP took your uncle's ashes to all the states?

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was the founder of Chhattisgarh, was ailing for 9 years. In this period whenever there were elections Raman Singh never thought of putting any banners/posters of Vajpayeeji in Chhattisgarh.

Since five states were going to the polls soon after Vajpayeeji's death, the prime minister and BJP president walked on foot in the funeral procession.

When a memorial was held for Vajpayeeji by Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh, there were ministers who were caught laughing at the solemn function.

This has pained me as a Congress worker and as his niece.

Why did you leave the BJP after 34 years?

The BJP is controlled by the Sangh. In its quest to gain power the BJP changed its chore character and values. The party has lost its ideals.

The measure of the party is only political power and for that it has made compromises by aligning with different parties.

Ram Jethmalani, who stood against Atalji in Lucknow, was made a Rajya Sabha MP by the BJP.

The party has insulted its senior leaders -- L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha. Advaniji, who stood shoulder to shoulder with Atalji, they have insulted him at every step.

I have myself been subjected to this. I did not want to be in a party which did not respect me.

How is the BJP under Narendra Modi different from the BJP of Atal Bihari Vajpayee?

Vajpayeeji's BJP was democratic. It was a BJP that belonged to its party workers. Every worker, every member was an Atal Bihari.

Today's BJP belongs to businessmen. The way Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are running the BJP has reduced the BJP to a two-man party.

But Modi and Shah have propelled the BJP to a vote-winning party?

They have been giving false promises and jumlas to the public. The people can see through this farce.

The support of businessmen has bolstered the party's finances. They are not winning elections because of ideology, but because of money power.

IMAGE: Modi after paying tribute to Vajpayee's ashes, before their distribution to all BJP state presidents for immersion in the rivers in their respective states, at the party headquarters in New Delhi.

BJP President Amit Anilchandra Shah, senior leaders Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj and Vajpayee's foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya are also seen. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI

Raman Singh has named the new state capital Atal Nagar after Vajpayeeji and has announced many projects after him. A medical college in the constituency you are contesting is also named after him.

I have no objection to anything being named after Atalji, but one has to look at the motive behind all this.

Atalji's personality transcended all sorts of barriers -- he was respected by all political parties, he was the prime minister of the country, a Bharat Ratna -- how can you restrict him within a self defined boundary.

How can you use his name for political gains?

They did not remember him for the last 10 years and suddenly they are venerating him. The voters can see through this charade.

The Congress has fielded you against a strong opponent, a three-term chief minister. It is going to be a tough battle for you.

Raman Singh will take the help of the administration machinery, while I am stepping into the battleground with only the help of Congress workers and ordinary people.

Every force that the powerful chief minister has will fail when confronted with the power of the people

The farmers, youth, women and people of Chhattisgarh will reclaim their self esteem by voting out the Raman Singh government.

15 years after being CM, what difficulties will Raman Singh have to encounter in battling a fatigue that is likely to have set in after three terms in government?

Raman Singh is the MLA from Rajnandgaon, while his son is the Lok Sabha MP from Rajnandgaon.

Raman Singh accuses the Congress of dynastic politics, but has perpetuated dynasty in politics himself.

Both father and son have been accused of corruption. The corruption in Chhattisgarh under Raman Singh is unparalleled compared to other states.

The prime minister says he will get back black money when his own chief minister's son is allegedly linked to black money.

In Chhattisgarh Raman Singh's government sells liquor -- prohibition will be a big issue in this election. The state has seen 1,900 farmer suicides in the last 15 years.

In the last election the BJP government promised it would give a bonus to farmers and won the election, but only gave bonus for two years just before the election was announced.

If the Congress comes to power we will give the remaining bonus of two years and waive farmers's oans.

When did you last meet Vajpayeeji?

He was my chacha. He had been ailing for nearly 10 years. I met him whenever I went to Delhi.

The Vajpayee family has over 250 members, many came on hearing news of his passing.

He was the thread that bound the family together.

Won't the coming together of Ajit Jogi's Janata Congress Chhattisgarh and Mayawati's BSP cut into Congress votes?

Jogiji first announced that he would contest the election against Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon. He seems to have some tacit understanding with Raman Singh and that's why he has abandoned that idea. (Ajit Jogi is not contesting the election).

He has made his daughter-in-law contest on a BSP ticket and one doesn't know which party his wife is going to contest from (Renu Jogi continues to be a Congress MLA and did not leave the party after her husband left the Congress and announced a party of his own.)

Jogiji's stature has diminished after he left the Congress.

The BSP has 3 to 4% fixed votes in Chhattisgarh, but how this will translate into votes will be known when the results come.
'Because of the Supreme Court judgment, I am being denied my freedom of religion.'

IMAGE: Devotees, mostly women, take part in the namajapa (chanting the name of Lord Ayyappa) march against the Supreme Court verdict on the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple, in Ernakulam. Photograph: PTI Photo

Shylaja Vijayan, president, National Ayyappa Devotees Association, has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court through her advocate Mathew Nedumpara, seeking to reinstate the ban on entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple.

As women in south Kerala protest against the Supreme Court decision, Vijayan tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf why she disagrees with the court ruling.

I have filed a review petition urging the Supreme Court not to allow women (of all age groups) inside the Sabarimala temple because the voice of devotees is not being heard.

The original petitioners were not devotees of Lord Ayyappa and, therefore, I felt that I must intervene.

The first petition was filed by the Young Indian Lawyers Association, quoting an article by journalist Barkha Dutt, on why they want women of all age groups to enter Sabarimala.

Barkha Dutt wrote in her article that women of all age groups are not allowed in the temple. None of the petitioners (who won the case) was an Ayyappa devotee. They were from Punjab.

Article 32 of the Constitution says any citizen can approach the Supreme Court against the violation of their Fundamental Rights.

The women who went to the Supreme Court never said they were devotees of Lord Ayyappa. So being a devotee, my Fundamental Right is being snatched away because of these women.

This is what Justice Indu Malhotra highlighted in her dissenting verdict. But because of the Supreme Court judgment, I am being denied my freedom of religion.

Since childhood, I have been a devotee of Lord Ayyappa. Next year I will turn 50 and then I will enter the Sabarimala temple, according to traditional rules.

You may call it stupid, but I believe Lord Ayyappa wants to meet people like him, or those who have taken penance.

I have been to all other Ayyappa temples, but only in Sabarimala temple are women of all age groups not allowed and I don't see any problem with that.

Lord Ayyappa is a brahmachari (celibate). He lives in seclusion and does not want women (of all age groups) to visit him. This is the belief of millions of devotees.

My parents are from Kottayam, which is thickly populated by Ayyappa devotees.

In our day-to-day life, the values and rituals of the temple are placed very highly.

This is ingrained in our mind from childhood.

We have been brought up with these values that women cannot enter the Sabarimala temple. One fine day, you cannot get up and say we have to delete such thoughts from our mind.

If this verdict prevails, what are we going to teach our future generation? What values will we teach our children?

Our opponents say the Constitution teaches all citizens to have a scientific approach life. I want to ask them: Why do we have voting rights only for adults? Is there any logic behind it? No.

Now millions of devotees have come across in my support and I am happy about it.

Vijayan evaded a reply when asked if the Supreme Court abolishing triple talaq was not a denial of the right to religion.

"When you go to a doctor he gives you medicine and tells you to take it three times a day. You cannot gulp it all in one go. If you do you will die," Vijayan said without elaborating.

Asked if societies evolve with time or not, she said, "There are much more important issues to be addressed in Indian society."

"There are lakhs of women who are homeless, lakhs of them suffer from sexual violence, lakhs of them also suffer from domestic violence. What is society doing about that? Nothing."

"The women who want to enter the Sabarimala temple must find out what the state of women in India is and how they live rather than going after this case."

"Women entering Sabarimala," she said, "will disturb the mental peace of devotees."
The Army on Tuesday said a heavily-armed Pakistani intruder was shot dead along the border in Akhnoor sector in Jammu, foiling the 'nefarious plan' of terrorists to disrupt the forthcoming panchayat elections in the state.

The recoveries made from the gunned-down terrorist included two assault rifles along with two magazines and 234 rounds of bullets, five pistols with 10 magazines and 60 rounds, 15 hand grenades and 12 fuses for Improvised Explosive Devices, Jammu-based Army PRO Devender Anand said.

"This huge cache has scuttled the nefarious plans of the terrorist outfits to derail peace and harmony in the region and disrupt the forthcoming panchayat elections in the state," he said.

Woman over-ground worker held with grenades, ammunition Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday arrested a female over-ground worker carrying ammunition, including grenades and live rounds, during a search operation at a check-point in Lawaypora in Srinagar. Police on Tuesday said that it arrested the woman with 20 grenades. Today evening upon receipt of reliable information that some OGWs are coming from Baramulla towards Srinagar with ammunition, a check-post was laid opposite Kirmaniabad shrine near Lawaypora," a police officer told a local news agency in Srinagar. During the search, a woman travelling in a golden Chevrolet Tavera was found in possession of 20 grenades along with a large cache of ammunition, he said. The vehicle and the bag have been seized and the woman has been taken to police station for further questioning, he added. Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar Imtiaz Ismail Parray also confirmed the incident and said that a case has been registered in Parimpora police station and further investigation has been initiated. -- With inputs and photograph from Umar Ganie for Rediff.com in Srinagar

The nine-phased panchayat elections will get underway on November 17.

Anand said an ambush party of the army killed the terrorist on this side of the international boundary at about 1.50 pm.

"The entire area near the scene of the gunfight has been cordoned off and search and destroy operation is still in progress," Anand said.

"The timely intercept of the intrusion of the terrorists with the cache of arms, ammunition and other war like stores has thwarted any possible untoward incident, planned by the terrorist during the scheduled elections in the state," the Army PRO said.

Two terrorists killed in Keran

Meanwhile, two unidentifiable terrorists were killed on Tuesday when the Army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Keran sector.

"An infiltration bid was eliminated by alert soldiers in Keran sector in Kupwara district today," an Army official said.

He said two terrorists were killed in the operation, which was going on till last reports came in.

The identity and group affiliation of the gunned-down terrorists was not immediately known.

The infiltration bids come after a series of ceasefire violations by Pakistan which left three army personnel and a porter dead and three Border Security Force troopers injured on Friday.

"The Indian Army is carrying out relentless and robust anti-infiltration operations in the state to break the backbone of terrorism and nip the designs of anti national elements and the enemy to foment trouble south of the Pir Panjal ranges in Jammu and Kashmir," the PRO said.

The porter was killed by a Pakistani sniper along the sector followed by similar attacks from across the border in Sunderbani and Noushera sectors of Rajouri and Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch over the past three days.

The casualties suffered by Pakistan in the retaliatory action could not be ascertained immediately but several of their posts including the ones with snipers were hit over the past four days, officials said.

Image used only for representation.
IMAGE: A White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN's Jim Acosta as he questions US President Donald Trump during a news conference following last week's midterm US congressional elections at the White House. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

CNN on Tuesday said it has filed a lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump and several of his top aides, seeking the immediate restoration of the network's correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass to the White House which was suspended following a testy exchange with the President.

During a White House press conference last Wednesday, Acosta challenged Trump's use of the word 'invasion' to describe a migrant caravan heading to the US from Central America.

When Acosta tried to ask a question about the Russia investigation into alleged interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump told him repeatedly 'that's enough' and 'put down the mic'.

Hours after the encounter, seen across the world, the White House, in an unprecedented move, suspended Acosta's press pass, known as a Secret Service 'hard pass'.

White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said access was removed because he had put 'his hands on a young woman'.

Acosta has denied the allegations. White House insisted that its charges against Acosta were correct.

In a statement on Tuesday, CNN said it is seeking a preliminary injunction as soon as possible so that Acosta, the chief White House correspondent, can return to the presidential mansion right away, and a ruling from the court preventing the White House from revoking Acosta's pass in the future.

The suit alleges that Acosta and CNN's First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the ban.

The suit is being filed in US District Court in Washington, DC on Tuesday morning, a CNN spokeswoman said. Both CNN and Acosta are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

There are six defendants: President Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, Secret Service director Joseph Clancy, and the Secret Service officer who took Acosta's hard pass away last Wednesday.

The officer is identified as John Doe in the suit, pending his identification.

The six defendants are all named because of their roles in enforcing and announcing Acosta's suspension, CNN reported.

On Friday, CNN sent a letter to the White House formally requesting the immediate reinstatement of Acosta's pass and warning of a possible lawsuit, the network confirmed.

The White House Correspondents Association President Olivier Knox in a statement 'strongly' supported CNN's goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House 'should not have taken away' in the first place.

"Revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday. We continue to urge the Administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNN's correspondent," Knox said.

The President of the United States should not be in the 'business of arbitrarily picking' the men and women who cover him, he said. Trump's combative relationship with the media deteriorated further last Wednesday with a news conference where he called some reporters rude and accused a PBS reporter of posing a racist question when she asked him about white nationalists.

"It's such a hostile media," Trump said during his post-midterm election news conference at the White House, after ordering reporter April Ryan of the American Urban Radio Networks to sit down when she tried to ask him a question.

The President complained that the media, while reporting 'fake news', did not cover the booming economy and was responsible for much of the country's divided politics.

He said that 'I can do something fantastic, and they make it look not good'.
However, the woman told police that she was not keen to visit the shrine and admitted that she had come to Pamba following pressure from her husband.

IMAGE: Devotees trek from Nilakkal base camp towards Sabarimala Temple, in Pathanamthitta. Photograph: PTI Photo

The doors to Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala opened on Monday for the second time in three weeks for a two-day special puja amid unprecedented security over apprehension of protests by those opposing the Supreme Court order allowing women of all age groups into the shrine.

Though no girl or woman in the age group of 10-50 years was spotted at the temple, the abode of Lord Ayyappa, its eternally celibate deity, police said a 30-year-old woman had reached the base camp at Pamba along with her husband and two kids.

However, the woman, Anju, a native of Cherthala in Alappuzha district, told police that she was not keen to visit the shrine and admitted that she had come to Pamba following pressure from her husband, Abilash.

Police claimed it was her husband, who was adamant that the family, including their children aged 7 and 4 years, undertake the pilgrimage.

Kerala police spoke in conflicting voices about the development with a local official claiming that the woman had sought police protection while the Superintendent of Police Rahul R Nair said the woman had not sought police escort.

As the husband continued to stick to his stand, police decided to ask their relatives to come to Pamba to take a final decision.

Anju and her family are waiting at the police control room as the temple closed its doors at 10 pm.

Sabarimala virtually turned into a fortress with hundreds of police personnel, including armed commandos, dotting the place where surveillance cameras and mobile phone jammers were installed.

Thousands of pilgrims entered the temple as temple tantri (head priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru and melshanti (chief priest) Unnikrishnan Namboothiri jointly opened the portals of the sanctum sanctorum around 5 pm.

The doors will open again on Tuesday for the 'Sree Chitira Atta Thirunal' puja to mark the birth anniversary of the last king of the princely state of Travancore Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.

Several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and Ayyappa Dharama Sena president Rahul Easwar reached 'Sannidhanam', the temple complex, in the evening.

IMAGE: Temple priests offer prayers at Sabarimala Temple. This is the second time the hill temple opened for darshan after the Supreme Court allowed entry of women of all age groups into it. Photograph: PTI Photo

Security at Sabarimala and nearby places was stepped up following violent protests by fringe Hindu groups and mainstream political parties like the Congress and the BJP against the Kerala government's decision to enforce the Supreme Court order lifting the ban on girls and women of menstruating age from entering the temple.

Frequent checking and frisking by police did not go down well with devotees and right wing activists who protested at several places. TV channels showed heated exchanges between devotees and policemen over frisking.

Devotees complained of lack of amenities at the base camps that were damaged in the unprecedented floods in August.

Even journalists were not allowed to leave the Nilackal base camp for Pamba on way to the temple in the morning but the restriction was lifted later in the day.

Meanwhile, the Kerala high court said on Monday that pilgrims should not be harassed under the guise of implementing the Supreme Court judgment.

"You can't cause hardships to pilgrims," the court said while hearing a petition seeking its direction to the government not to interfere with day-to-day affairs of the shrine.

Police and civil administration are on a high alert, officials said, adding prohibitory orders under Section 144 Code of Criminal Procedure were in force around the temple and will continue to be in place till Tuesday night when the doors of the shrine will close.

Around 2,300 personnel, including a 20-member commando team and 100 women, have been deployed in Sabarimala and adjoining areas.

According to official sources, police has prepared a dossier of Hindu right wing activists who are likely to visit the shrine to take part in the agitation against Kerala's Left Front government's decision not to file a review petition against the apex court order.

Women police personnel only above the age of 50 years are deployed

IMAGE: Inspector General of Police M R Ajith Kumar said women staff of 'eligible' age from various departments have been deployed at the shrine for quite some time. Photograph: ANI

At least 15 women police personnel aged 50 years or more have been deployed at the 'Sannidhanam', officials said.

When asked about why only women personnel over 50 years of age were deployed inside the temple, Inspector General of Police M R Ajith Kumar said women staff of 'eligible' age from various departments have been deployed at the shrine for quite some time.

He also rejected allegations that devotees had to face hardships due to the restrictions imposed by police.

"Here, devotees can come and have darshan. There are no restrictions. Police has arranged adequate security for all devotees," Kumar said.

The doors of Sabarimala had opened for six days on October 17 for the first time since the Supreme Court allowed women of menstruating age to enter the shrine but none could make it to its hallowed precincts amid a welter of protests and violent clashes.

Valiant attempts by around a dozen women, including activists and journalists in the 10-50 years age group, to script history came to nought as frenzied devotees of Lord Ayyappa heckled and hassled them and forced them to retreat.

Both the Congress, the main opposition party in Kerala, and the BJP, which is desperately seeking to expand its footprint in the state, have lent support to the agitation against the Supreme Court verdict.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing a fourth straight term in the tribal-dominated state as the opposition Congress seeks to return to power after 15 years.

IMAGE: A total of 650 companies (roughly around 65,000 security personnel), including of paramilitary forces like the Central Reserve Police Force, the Border Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and other state forces, have been sent by the Centre for poll duty. Photograph: ANI

The stage is set for the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly polls in 18 seats spread across eight Naxal-affected districts on Monday.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing a fourth straight term in the tribal-dominated state as the opposition Congress seeks to return to power after 15 years.

Chief Minister Raman Singh, two state cabinet ministers and an incumbent BJP MP are among the 190 candidates contesting in 18 constituencies of the 90-member assembly.

The constituencies of Khairagarh, Dongargarh (SC), Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Mohla-Manpur (ST), Antagarh (ST), Bhanupratappur (ST), Kanker (ST), Keshkal (ST), Kondagaon (ST), Narayanpur (ST), Bastar (ST), Jagdalpur, Chitrakot (ST), Dantewada (ST), Bijapur (ST) and Konta (ST) will go to polls on Monday.

Of these, 12 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and one for Scheduled Caste category.

The stakes are very high for the saffron party on these 18 seats as it had lost 12 of them in the last polls held in 2013.

Nearly one lakh security personnel have been deployed for the polls.

On the eve of the polls, a sub-inspector of the Border Security Force lost his life when Naxals detonated an improvised explosive device in Kanker district while a Maoist was gunned down in an encounter in Bijapur district.

Naxal outfits have given calls for boycott of the election and executed over half-a-dozen attacks in the last 15 days, three of them major ones which left 13 people dead including a cameraman of national broadcaster Doordarshan who was covering the election campaign.

According to police, escorting polling parties to their destinations and bringing them back after the polls pose challenges to them in the Naxal hotbed.

"Around one lakh security personnel, including central paramilitary force, have been deployed to ensure peaceful polling in the first phase," Chhattisgarh's Special Director General (anti-Naxal operations) D M Awasthi said.

All counter measures have been taken to thwart attempts by Maoists to disrupt the poll process, he said.

IMAGE: Security men have also been asked to avoid patrolling on foot as Naxals are known to place iron spikes to inflict injuries. Photograph: ANI

A total of 650 companies (roughly around 65,000 security personnel), including of paramilitary forces like the Central Reserve Police Force, the Border Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and other state forces, have been sent by the Centre for poll duty, he said.

These units are apart from the paramilitary personnel and 200 companies of state forces already engaged in the anti- Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh, Awasthi said.

He said around 650 polling booth parties were airlifted by helicopters on Saturday to remote areas while other teams were being sent by road on Sunday.

Choppers of the Indian Air Force and the BSF were pressed into service for the purpose, he said.

"The challenge is to escort all polling parties safely to their destination in Naxal-affected areas and later to conduct polls and bring back them safely," Awasthi said.

He said there are inputs of Naxals planning to plant IEDs to target security men. "Therefore, a hawk eye was being kept on roads in such areas," the official said.

Awasthi said forces that have arrived from other states have been advised to avoid using any road unless it has been sanitised by "road opening parties" or subjected to a de-mining exercise to detect and clear IEDs.

Security men have also been asked to avoid patrolling on foot as Naxals are known to place iron spikes to inflict injuries, he said.

They have also been asked to maintain extra caution and sanitise polling booths and other premises in sensitive areas, he said.

In the last 10 days, over 300 IEDs were recovered from the Bastar region and Rajnandgaon district by security forces, he added.

IMAGE: Police have been asked to maintain a strict vigil on the borders with Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Photograph: ANI

Eyeing his fourth consecutive term as chief minister, Singh is contesting from Rajnandgaon seat where his main rival is Congress' Karuna Shukla, the niece of former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Singh had last time defeated Alka Mudliyar, wife of slain Congress leader Uday Mudliyar who was killed in the Jiram valley Naxal attack in 2013.

In Narayanpur segment, the Congress has renominated Chandan Kashyap against BJP minister Kedar Kahsyap.

Chandan had lost to Kedar last time.

The Congress has also given a second chance to Vikram Mandavi from Bijapur (ST) seat against state forest minister Mahesh Gagda. Mandavi had lost to Gagda in 2013.

Prominent BJP leader and Kanker Lok Sabha seat's incumbent MP Vikram Usendi is contesting from Antagarh (ST), where the Congress has fielded a fresh face, Anoop Nag.

Usendi had won Antagarh seat in 2013 polls. However, he resigned after he was elected as the Lok Sabha member from Kanker seat in 2014.

The ruling BJP has also fielded two sitting MLAs - Santosh Bafna (Jagdalpur) and Sarojani Banjar (Dongargarh).

IMAGE: Drones have been deployed in sensitive areas to track the movements of Naxals. Photograph: ANI

The Congress has renominated its nine sitting MLAs -- Manoj Singh Mandavi (Bhanupratappur), Mohan Lal Markam (Kondagaon), Lakheshwar Baghel (Bastar), Deepak Kumar Baij (Chitrakot), Devati Karma (Dantewada), Kawasi Lakhma (Konta), Girwar Janghel (Khairagarh), Santram Netam (Keshkal) and Daleshwar Sahu (Dongargaon).

Devati Karma, wife of Congress leader Mahendra Karma who was killed in the 2013 Jiram valley attack, had defeated Bhima Mandavi of the BJP.

The BJP has again fielded Mandavi from the seat.

It also nominated Dhani Ram Barse, who was defeated by senior Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, from Konta seat.

As many as 4,336 polling booths have been set up for the first phase of the state polls. There are 31,79,520 voters, including 16,21,839 males, 15,57,592 females and 89 of the third gender.

During the campaign for the polls, BJP leaders highlighted how Naxalism, which was at its peak during the Congress rule in the state, was contained during the last 15 years and also the development works taken up by the government.

Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister Smriti Irani, campaigned for the saffron party and highlighted various achievements of the Raman Singh government.

On the other side, the Congress accused the BJP of "failing" to control the Naxal menace and referred to the chit fund and civil supply scams. It also targeted the chief minister's son Abhishek Singh over his alleged offshore assets.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had held five rallies and a road show while campaigning for the first phase of the assembly polls.
IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, chief guest South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook, MoS for External Affairs V K Singh and others during grand Diwali celebrations Deepotsav, in Ayodhya, on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook arrived in Ayodhya on Tuesday to attend Diwali festivities in the holy city and began her tour by offering tribute at the Queen Heo Memorial.

Kim visited the site, along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and attended a ground-breaking ceremony for upgrade and beautification of the memorial dedicated to the legendary princess of Ayodhya who went to Korea.

Later she went to the banks of the Saryu river to welcome artists donning the avatar of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita, who arrived at Ram Katha Park in a ceremonial chopper as part of 'Ram Durbar'.

IMAGE: Adityanath and South Korean first lady clap while watching a cultural programme during inauguration of a Queen Huh memorial at the Queen Huh Park in Ayodhya on Tuesday. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

Kim garlanded 'Sita' as they descended from the helicopter and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Adityanath welcomed Lord Ram and Laxman by garlanding them.

Union Minister V K Singh also attended the grand event in Ayodhya.

Kim's standalone visit to India, which began on November 4, has rekindled interest in the legendary princess who married a Korean king.

According to Korean legend, the Princess of Ayodhya went to Korea in 48 AD and married King Kim-Suro.

IMAGE: Adityanath with the aristises dressed as Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman after their arrival by choppers for Deepotsav, grand Diwali celebrations, in Ayodhya. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to this legendary princess, who is known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok.

"The legend of Queen Heo Hwang-ok binds the two countries together culturally, and her visit will further promote our people-to-people ties," a senior official at the cultural wing of the South Korean Embassy in India told PTI.

IMAGE: Adityanath performs arti of the aristises dressed as Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

Huge hoardings, bearing message -- 'South Korean First lady Kim Jung-sook - Welcome to Ayodhya -- and her picture, have been put up across the city.

An agreement regarding the Queen Suriratna Memorial Project was signed to facilitate upgrade and expansion of the existing monument commemorating Princess Suriratna (Queen Hur Hwang-ok).

In July, the two countries signed the agreement for expansion of the Suriratna memorial project.

IMAGE: Adityanath and Kim Jung-sook with the aristises. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

Uttam Das, a seer from Ayodhya, told PTI, "It was a matter of honour for Ayodhya that the she was visiting Ayodhya."

"A princess of Ayodhya had gone there around 2,000 years ago, and now the First Lady is visiting Ayodhya, life has sort of come full circle," he said.

Bihar Governor Lalji Tandon, South Korean envoy Shin Bongkil also took part in the celebrations.

IMAGE: People light earthen lamps on the banks of River Saryu during the Deepotsav. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Ayodhya and South Korea have an ancient link which forms the cornerstone of historical and civilisational bonds between India and the East Asian country.

'It is a matter of immense joy and pride that Mrs Kim Jung-sook, First Lady of the Republic of Korea visited Ayodhya and also wore traditional Indian clothing. The people of India deeply appreciate this gesture,' Prime Minister Modi tweeted in English and Korean.

'Ayodhya and South Korea have an ancient link. This link forms the cornerstone of historical and civilisational bonds between India and the Republic of Korea,' the PM said in another tweet.

IMAGE: A total of 3,01,152 diyas were lit up simultaneously for a period of five minutes, which is a new record. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

Over 3 lakh diyas lit on banks of Saryu river in new world record

A new world record was set in the holy city of Ayodhya on the eve of Diwali on Tuesday with over three lakh diyas or earthen lamps lit up simultaneously on the banks of the Saryu river, officials said.

Rishi Nath, official adjudicator of the Guinness World Records, made the announcement that the record was created at the Deepotsav event on the ghats.

IMAGE: It beat the earlier record set in Haryana in 2016, where at an event 1,50,009 diyas were lit. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

"A total of 3,01,152 diyas were lit up simultaneously for a period of five minutes, which is a new record," Nath said in the presence of Adityanath and South Korean First Lady.

The target was to illuminate a total of 3.35 lakh diyas on both sides of ghats at Ram Ki Paidi in Ayodhya.

"It beat the earlier record set in Haryana in 2016, where at an event 1,50,009 diyas were lit," Nath said and hailed the new record as 'phenomenal'.
In Idaho, where a system has been in place for nearly two years, Matthew Gamette, the laboratory system director at Idaho State Police Forensic Services, said 1,100 searches were made last month in the system, which allows survivors  as well as law enforcement officials, hospital workers, lab technicians and prosecutors  to access where a kit is or to update information on where it is. In Idaho, the average turnaround time for rape kits is 209 days, although Gamette said the state hopes to process kits within 30 days by next year.
At least 42 people have died so far in the fast-moving wildfire which began in California on November 8. The numbers are expected to rise.

Authorities confirmed that as many as 228 people are unaccounted for in Northern California, media reports said.

Here are a few glimpses of the devastation caused by the fire, stated to be the deadliest in the state's history.

The fire which is now dubbed as 'Camp Fire' destroyed Northern and Southern California and displaced as many as 3,00,000 people. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 1,09,000 acres of land has burned down since the fire first began. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters

US President Donald Trump has blamed 'poor' forest management for the fires. He has called for proper forest management to combat wildfires, days after threatening to cut off federal payments due to mismanagement. Photograph: Gene Blevins/Reuters

Huge plumes of smoke still rose in the fire area, which stretches miles from the northwest corner of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley to the Malibu coast. The fire's cause remained under investigation but power authorities report that there was an outage on an electrical circuit near where it started as Santa Ana winds blew through the region. Santa Ana winds, produced by surface high pressure over the Great Basin squeezing air down through canyons and passes in Southern California's mountain ranges, are common in the fall and have a long history of fanning destructive wildfires in the region. Photograph: Gene Blevins/Reuters

Airplanes and helicopters swooped low over hills and canyons to drop loads of fire retardant and water. Smaller fire to the west in Ventura County was 70 per cent contained at about 18 square kilometers, bringing reduction in evacuations. But thousands remained under evacuation orders due to the Woolsey fire. Photograph: Gene Blevins/Reuters

The blaze had started on Thursday night and moved towards Malibu and the Pacific Ocean, prompting evacuations in Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and other neighbouring regions. "This is truly a tragedy that all Californians can understand and respond to," California Governor Jerry Brown said. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters

Ten search teams were working in Paradise -- a town of 27,000 that was largely incinerated last week -- and in surrounding communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Authorities called in a DNA lab and teams of anthropologists to help identify victims. More than 8,000 fire crews are battling the wildfires. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters

Brown, who has declared a state emergency, said California is requesting aid from the Trump administration. He said federal and state governments must do more forest management but that climate change is the greater source of the problem. Drought and warmer weather attributed to climate change, and the building of homes deeper into forests have led to longer and more destructive wildfire seasons in California. While California officially emerged from a five-year drought last year, much of the northern two-thirds of the state is abnormally dry. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters

At the southern end of the state, the 'Woolsey Fire' is threatening mansions and mobile homes alike in the coastal celebrity redoubt of Malibu. Coastal homes of a few celebrities were also damaged or destroyed. Celebrities who were forced to flee from the flames expressed sympathy and solidarity with other people hurt by the blazes. Actor Gerard Butler said on Instagram that his Malibu home was 'half-gone', adding he was 'inspired as ever by the courage, spirit and sacrifice of firefighters'. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters

Flames also besieged Thousand Oaks, the Southern California city in mourning over the massacre of 12 people in a shooting rampage at a country music bar last week. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters

In Northern California, where more than 6,700 buildings have been destroyed, the scope of the devastation was beginning to set in even as the blaze raged on. In some cases, investigators have been able to recover only bones and bone fragments. Photograph: Gene Blevins/Reuters

Public safety officials, touring the Paradise area to begin discussing the recovery process, say that much of what makes the city function is gone. 'Paradise was literally wiped off the map,' a representative for International Association of Fire Fighters was quoted as saying. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters

Rescuers spent hours collecting bodies around Paradise and placing them in a black hearse. Body parts were transported by bucket, while intact remains were carried in body bags. Firefighters estimate they will need three weeks to fully contain the blaze. Gene Blevins/Reuters
IMAGE: Voters wait in queues to cast their votes during the first phase of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh at a polling station in Narayanpur on Monday. Photograph: PTI Photo

A voter turnout of between 60-70 per cent was recorded on Monday in the first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh covering 18 assembly segments of the Naxal-hit Bastar division and Rajnandgaon district, officials said.

There were three encounters between security personnel and Naxals, and an improvised explosive device blast in the districts that went to the polls during the day but the voting process, held under heavy security cover, was not affected, they said.

The Election Commission, at a press conference in New Delhi, said 70 per cent turnout was recorded in phase one of Chhattisgarh polls. However, Chhattisgarh chief electoral officer Subrat Sahoo, told reporters at Raipur later that 60.49 per cent turnout was recorded, adding the figure may go up.

IMAGE: CRPF personnel help an elderly voter to reach a polling station for casting her vote in Naxal-affected Sukma district. Photograph: PTI Photo

Prominent among the 190 candidates in the first phase of polling was Chief Minister Raman Singh (Rajnandgaon).

"An average voting turnout of 60.49 per cent was recorded in 18 constituencies which went to polls on Monday. This is an interim figure while the final (percentage of) turnout may rise," Sahoo said.

Around 52 per cent turnout was recorded in 10 segments till 3 pm where polling time was from 7 am to 3 pm. In rest of the constituencies, where poling time was from 8 am to 5 pm, the turnout was 70.08 per cent till 5 pm, he said.

"The final turnout will be declared once final reports are received from all constituencies," he said.

Polling in 10 constituencies -- Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta -- concluded at 3 pm amid tight security.

IMAGE: A 100-year-old woman casts her vote at a polling station in Dornapal district. Photograph: ANI

In the other eight segments - Khairgarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot -- the polling process ended at 5 pm.

Five personnel of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force, were injured in two separate encounters with ultras in Pamed police station area of Bijapur district, police said.

Two Naxals were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district, they said.

An IED was detonated by Naxals early Monday in Katekalyan area of Dantewada district, police said. No one was injured, they added.

Four IEDs -- two each in Kanker and Bijapur -- were also recovered, an official said.

IMAGE: People stand in queue in Naxal-affected Sukma district to cast their votes during the first phase of Chhattisgarh election. Photograph: ANI

In remote Naxal-affected areas, the polling received a good response from voters who appeared excited to exercise their franchise, Sahoo said.

The Chintagufa polling booth within the Konta assembly constituency in Sukma district reported 68 per cent polling, he said.

After 15 years, polling was held for the first time in Palam Adgu village of Sukma district, he said.

Similarly, polling was held for the first time in remote Nilawaya and Moolar villages in Dantewada district where 19 and 10 voters respectively exercised their electoral rights, he said.

"It reflects faith of people on this festival of democracy," he added.

IMAGE: A differently-abled person reaches Chintagupha polling booth in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district to cast his vote. Photograph: ANI

A surrendered Naxal couple, Mainuram and his wife Rajbatti, also voted in the Narayanpur assembly segment.

In Kanker constituency, a polling booth was shifted from Amapani to nearby Thema village due to Naxal problem, Sahoo said.

This booth was shifted in the last polls in 2013 also but villagers boycotted voting this time citing shifting of the booth, he said.

Forty-six polling parties, comprising 197 polling members, were ferried from polling booths to their respective district headquarters by helicopters after the voting ended, he said.

The remaining 171 polling parties would be airlifted Tuesday, he added.

IMAGE: Nearly one lakh security personnel have been deployed for the polls. Photograph: ANI

During the polling, 53 ballot units, 47 control units and 84 VVPATs of EVMs were replaced due to technical snag, he added.

As many as 4,341 polling booths were set up and 19,079 polling personnel deployed for the first phase, he said.

Over 1.25 lakh police and paramilitary personnel were also deployed in the 18 constituencies falling under Naxal-hit areas of Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Kondagaon, Narayanpur and Rajnandgaon districts.

Among the prominent candidates in the fray in the first phase were state ministers Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur) and Mahesh Gagda (Bijpaur) and Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Kanker Lok Sabha MP Vikram Usendi (Antagarh).

IMAGE: Naxal outfits have given calls for boycott of the election and executed over half-a-dozen attacks in the last 15 days. Photograph: ANI

Nine Congress MLAs were also among the candidates.

Besides the ruling BJP and the main Opposition Congress, the other parties in the fray include Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party, former chief minister Ajit Jogi's JCC (J) and the Communist Party of India.

Of the 18 seats, 12 were reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and one was for Scheduled Caste (SC) category.

The second phase of polling in 72 seats, out of the 90-member Assembly, would be held on November 20 and counting of votes would take place on December 11.
The pollution levels in the national capital were 10 times the permissible limit due to rampant bursting of firecrackers.

IMAGE: Morning walkers wear pollution masks as thick haze engulfs city a day after Diwali celebrations. Air quality levels were 10 times the permissible limits. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

A thick haze engulfed Delhi on Thursday as it recorded its worst air quality of the year the morning after Diwali, with the pollution level entering severe-plus emergency category or ten times the permissible limit due to rampant bursting of toxic firecrackers in gross violation of a Supreme Court order, authorities said.

While many residents and green activists voiced their helplessness at the violation of the Supreme Courts 8 pm to 10 pm time limit of bursting firecrackers and expressed anguish, doctors advised people to stay indoors, use N-99 masks and not venture out.

IMAGE: Morning walkers wear pollution masks as thick haze engulfs city a day after Diwali celebrations, in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

The Delhi police said it had registered over 550 cases and arrested over 300 people for violating apex courts order in this regard, while asserting that on Diwali day, it also seized 2,776 kg of firecrackers, arrested 87 people and registered 72 cases in connection with illegal sale of firecrackers.

Delhi Fire Services responded to over 300 calls on fire incidents triggered by firecrackers and LPG cylinder blast, among others, on Diwali night in Delhi, including an incident in which two children lost their lives and two others were injured. This, they said was much higher than previous years.

Over 250 cases of burn injuries were reported by various hospitals in the national capital this Diwali.

IMAGE: A man crosses a road on a smoggy morning in New Delhi. The overall air quality index in Delhi jumped to 574 which falls in the severe-plus emergency category. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

The Supreme Court has 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.

WATCH: Delhi engulfed in smog

The court said the police should ensure there was no sale of banned firecrackers and in case of any violation, the Station House Officer of the police station of the area would be held personally liable and this would amount to committing contempt of court.

But despite the Supreme Courts order, certain places recorded violations where firecrackers were burnt before and after the set time frame.

IMAGE: Vehicles drive through smog in New Delhi. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

The areas where the violations were recorded included Mayur Vihar Extension, Lajpat Nagar, Lutyens Delhi, IP extension, Dwarka and Noida Sector 78, according to a report.

The police admitted that violations were observed and it would take serious legal action against people violating the apex court order. They said they were continuously patrolling the areas to check for violations.

Partly as a result of smoke from the firecrackers, the overall air quality index in Delhi jumped to 574 which falls in the severe-plus emergency category, according to data by the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research.

A severe plus emergency AQI essentially means that even healthy people could suffer from respiratory illnesses on prolonged exposure. This air will seriously affect those with ailments, according to the advisory issued by SAFAR.

IMAGE: A combination picture shows buildings shrouded in smog in New Delhi. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

The overall AQI was 10 times the permissible limit.

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.

The sharp spike in pollution is caused by rampant burning of firecrackers that has led to the formation of a smoky layer across the national capital and drastically reduced visibility, the authorities said.

Delhis AQI is around 574 at present. Air Quality Index entered the severe category at 2 am after midnight on Thursday and will continue to remain in the severe category until evening, a senior official said.

IMAGE: Buildings are seen shrouded in smog in New Delhi. The Air Quality Index entered in severe category at 2 am after midnight on Thursday and will continue to remain in severe category until evening. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

The PM2.5 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) level recorded was at nearly seven times the permissable limit at 414. The PM10 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) level recorded was four times the permissible limit at 433.

Indias official permissible PM2.5 limit is 60 gm-3 while PM10 level is 100 gm-3.

IMAGE: Smoke rises as people burn crackers during Diwali celebrations, in Gurugram. Photograph: PTI Photo

Meanwhile residents expressed anguish over the pollution levels despite the order.

Delhi is a gas chamber for tuberculosis patients like me. We are caught in a bind. If we escape TB, then we will die of pollution, said Hasmukh Rai, a senior citizen of Mayur Vihar.

In this season, when everybody is talking of bringing ordinances on variety of issues, why cant politicians join hands and bring ordinance to ban stubble burning? he asked.

IMAGE: A boy lights a firecracker on a street as he celebrates Diwali. People burst firecrackers until at least midnight, two hours after the 10 pm deadline. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

Environmental activists said the police needed to be supported by governments to strictly enforce the ban. The judiciary has given our executive the necessary tools. We request our lawmakers to support our executive and all three arms of our democracy to work together to protect citizens health at this time of national health emergency, said Jyoti Pande Lavakare, co-founder, Care for Air NGO.

We would like our leadership and our prime minister to acknowledge this health emergency and encourage implementation of solutions, she added.

Environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta said the violation of the deadline was not unexpected as one cannot expect an overnight change in peoples behaviour. Doctors meanwhile advised people to take precautionary measures.

Arunesh Kumar, senior consultant, pulmonology, of a Gugaon hospital said: It is highly advisable that people should stay indoors, use N-99 masks while venturing out and avoid early-morning and late-evening outdoor activities, among others.
Earthen lamps dotted houses and lights decked up buildings as people celebrated Diwali amid some restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court on bursting of firecrackers.

IMAGE: Kashmiri girls burning earthen lamps and candles during Diwali celebrations, at Hanuman Mandir in Srinagar. Photograph: PTI Photo

People visited their kith and kin, exchanged festive greetings and sweets while social media, including the likes of WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, was flooded with Diwali messages as many took the virtual route to convey their wishes.

President Ram Nath Kovind has conveyed his greetings to the people, urging citizens to share the joy of the festival with the less privileged.

He also asked the people to celebrate a pollution-free and safe festival of lights.

On the auspicious occasion of Deepawali, I extend warm greetings and good wishes to all my fellow citizens in India and around the world.

This festival is an opportunity to foster fraternity and unity among all citizens. Deepawali guides us from darkness towards light. On this occasion let us spread and share our happiness with those who are less fortunate than us, the president said in his Diwali message Tuesday.

IMAGE: People light lamps as they make a formation of a peace symbol in Chandigarh. Photograph: Ajay Verma/Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Army Chief General Bipin Rawat joined soldiers Wednesday on the occasion.

Modi celebrated his Diwali with army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel in the icy terrain near the India-China border, saying their devotion to duty in the remote icy heights is enabling the strength of the nation.

You are not only protecting one corner of our land. By securing the countrys borders, you are making safe the lives and dreams of 125 crore Indians, Modi, dressed in heavy mountain gear, told the soldiers in the presence of Army Chief Rawat.

Sitharaman celebrated the occasion with army personnel in remote posts in Arunachal Pradesh near the Sino-India border.

In a tweet, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, said, My best wishes to all Indians, on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. I wish you all peace & happiness.

IMAGE: People burst fire crackers as part of Diwali celebrations in Mumbai. Photograph: Shashank Parade/PTI Photo

The Border Security Force and the Pakistani Rangers exchanged sweets and greetings on the festival of lights at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab, officials said.

The BSF gifted sweets to the Pakistani Rangers and it reciprocated the gesture.

In the national capital, the air quality on Diwali oscillated between poor and very poor categories as authorities warned of severe deterioration even if partial toxic crackers are burned compared to last year.

The Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research recorded the overall air quality index at 319, which falls in very poor category.

Eyeing rising pollution levels in cities across the country, the Supreme Court last month said people can burst firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm only on Diwali and other festivals.

IMAGE: A man dressed in a clown costume attracts customers to a store in a market in New Delhi. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

The court has only allowed manufacture and sale of just the green crackers which have low emission of light, sound and harmful chemicals.

To mark the festival of lights, the United Nations on Wednesday issued special postal stamps to commemorate Diwali. The stamps were released by the UN Postal Administration.

The sheet in the denomination of $1.15 contains ten stamps and tabs featuring festive lights and the symbolic lamps, diyas.

Bollywood turned to Twitter to greet people on the occasion.

Greetings for a happy prosperous and successful Diwali .., actor Amitabh Bachchan said.

Director Karan Johar said, Happy Diwali to all of you! Love and light for life.....stay as positive as you can this year.

"Greeting people on the occasion, actor Anushka Sharma in a tweet said, Happy Diwali to all . Hope you all find the light in you . Be happy , be kind, be safe.
The mortal remains of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ananth Kumar were consigned to flames with full state honours in Bengaluru on Tuesday after hundreds of mourners paid their last respect to the departed soul.

IMAGE: BJP senior leader L K Advani consoles Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, wife of late Union minister Ananth Kumar after his last rites, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday. All photographs: PTI Photo

The funeral pyre was lit by Kumar's younger brother Nanda Kumar, who performed the last rites according to Smartha Brahmin traditions, amidst chanting of Vedic hymns by a battery of priests at the Chamarajapete cremation ground.

Kumar's tricolour-draped mortal remains were accorded a gun salute by military personnel in presence of his wife Tejaswini, daughters Aishwarya and Vijetha, other family members and, national and state leaders.

Chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and Ananth Kumar Amar Rahe rent the air as leaders paid homage and the mortal remains were consigned to flames.

IMAGE: BJP president Amit Shah extends his condolences to the family.

Veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister L K Advani, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah and state party chief B S Yeddyurappa and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi were present at the the last rites.

Also in attendance were Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mahesh Sharma, Vijay Goel and Sadananda Gowda.

Earlier, a steady stream of mourners led by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, BJP workers, supporters and members of public paid their last respects to Kumar.

Hundreds of mourners filed past the body of Kumar, which lay in state at his residence till this morning and was then taken to the party state headquarters 'Jagannath Bhavan and the National College ground in his Bengaluru South parliamentary constituency.

IMAGE: The mortal remains of Ananth Kumar being carried in a decorated lorry for the last rites.

From the Basavanagudi residence, the mortal remains were carried in a decorated military vehicle with personnel of the three services- the Army, Navy and the Air Force- accompanying it, amid slogans Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Ananth Kumar Amar Rahe by his supporters.

The body was later shifted to National College ground for the public to pay homage. The six-time MP was closely associated with the ground, having hosted many of his political events there.

The Vice-President, who had shared a special bond with Kumar, paid his last respects to his former colleague at the National College ground.

The mortal remains were later brought for the final rites at Chamarajapet in a procession, that was accompanied by hundreds of his supporters and general public, who raised slogans hailing the most loved Bengaluru MP, known for his geniality and accessibility.

IMAGE: Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, daughters Aishwarya and Vijetha, and senior BJP and RSS leaders during the the last rites.

The Home Ministry had on Monday announced that a state funeral would be accorded to Kumar.

People had lined up on both sides of the roads on the final journey of Kumar, who was born into a middle class family and rose to great political heights, never looking back in his career spanning three decades.

The 59-year-old Bangalore South MP breathed his last during the early hours on Monday at the Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre where he was under care after returning home in October following treatment in the United States and Britain.

In New Delhi, the Union Cabinet condoled the demise of Kumar, saying under his stewardship the BJP expanded in Karnataka and eventually formed a government of its own.

The special cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noted that in the passing away of Kumar, the nation has lost an experienced leader, an official statement said.

The Cabinet also placed on record its appreciation of Kumar's services to the nation in different capacities and described his death as a loss of an experienced leader.

Modi had flown in to Bengaluru from Varanasi on Monday night and paid his homage.

IMAGE: Tejaswini Ananth Kumar with daughters Aishwarya and Vijetha.

The Karnataka government has declared a three-day state mourning.

Making his political debut in 1987, Kumar, a quintessential organisation man, had remained in the inner circle of the central leadership of the BJP -- be it during the heyday of Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Narendra Modi-- bearing testimony to the trust he enjoyed in the party's top echelon.

Kumar and Yeddyurappa are among the few leaders who built the BJP brick by brick, making it a force that it is today in Karnataka, which the party sees as a gateway to the south.

Breaking new ground, BJP came to power in Karnataka in 2008, making it the first saffron party government in the south, and emerged as the single largest party in the 2018 May polls also, though it fell short of majority by a few seats.

Kumar, who made his parliamentary foray in 1996 from the politically conscious Bangalore South, where he was invincible till his death, had also served as an important link between the state and centre at the party and government levels.
The gunman, dressed in a black trenchcoat and armed with a pistol equipped with an extended magazine and smoke grenades, was found dead inside the Borderline Bar and Grill.

IMAGE: FBI agents monitor the scene near the Borderline Bar and Grill, where a mass shooting occurred. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images

A gunman dressed in black sprayed bullets inside a crowded dance bar popular with college students on Wednesday night, killing at least 12 people, including a police officer, in Californias Thousand Oaks city in one of the horrific mass shooting incidents in the United States.

The gunman, who also injured nearly a dozen others, was found dead inside the Borderline Bar and Grill on the outskirts of Los Angeles although it was not immediately clear if he was killed by officers or shot himself.

IMAGE: People comfort each other after a mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. Photograph: Ringo Chiu/Reuters

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean described the incident as horrific.

Its a horrific scene in there, there is blood everywhere and the suspect is part of that, and I didnt want to get that close and disturb the scene and possibly disturb the investigation, he said.

He said the motive of the shooter -- whose identity was not known -- is still unclear and investigators had not found any type of assault rifle within the bar.

Right now as far as we know there was only one handgun, but that could certainly change as we do a more thorough search of the building, he said.

It was not immediately clear how the suspect died and the identities of the victims were not immediately released.

IMAGE: Police guard the site of a mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. Photograph: Ringo Chiu/Reuters

US President Donald Trump said that he has been fully briefed on the terrible shooting in California.

Law Enforcement and First Responders, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are on scene. 13 people, at this time, have been reported dead. Likewise, the shooter is dead, along with the first police officer to enter the bar....

Great bravery shown by police. California Highway Patrol was on scene within 3 minutes, with first officer to enter shot numerous times. That Sheriffs Sergeant died in the hospital. God bless all of the victims and families of the victims. Thank you to Law Enforcement, Trump said in a series of tweets.

IMAGE: An emergency vehicle arrives at the site of a mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. Photograph: Ringo Chiu/Reuters

The hooded gunman burst into the bar around 11:20 pm (local time) dressed entirely in black.

Ventura County Sheriffs Department Sergeant Ron Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer entered the bar first and were met with gunfire from the suspect, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing officials.

Helus was shot several times and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.

He was planning to retire next year after a 29-year stint with the sheriffs department, Dean said.

Helus, who died a hero, is survived by a son and his wife, whom he called before entering the bar, Dean added.

It was the second mass shooting in the US within two weeks.

We have no idea if there is a terrorism link to this or not. As you know, these are ongoing investigations and that information will come out as soon as we are able to determine exactly who the suspect was and what motive he might have had for this horrific event, Dean added.

Citing witnesses, the paper said that people ran for cover when shooting started. Some people tried to break windows using chairs to escape the building while some hid in bathrooms.

IMAGE: Neon signs are on display at The Borderline Bar and Grill, the scene of a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images

The FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force has been rushed to the scene, according to an agency spokeswoman. Representatives from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives were also dispatched.

According to bars website, Wednesday nights are college-themed nights open to students as young as 18.

Quoting witnesses, the paper said the event is popular with Moorpark college students, and the Pepperdine student newspaper tweeted that students from its campus were also inside at the time of the shooting.

He just pulled out a gun and shot my friend that was working the front desk, 21-year-old Holden Harrah was quoted as saying by the paper.

I heard more gunshots behind me. I was freaking out, said Harrah, who was among the hundreds inside listening to music Wednesday night as a part of a college night event.

Quoting law enforcement officials, the daily said the gunman, a 29-year-old man, was armed with a Glock .45 handgun and some type of smoke device.

He is reported to have drove his mothers car to the attack and said nothing upon entering the bar. The gun was purchased locally.

This is the second time this year Thousand Oaks has seen violence in a crowded area. In March, a man shot and killed his wife before attempting to shoot himself at the Thousand Oaks Mall, the paper added.

Last week, a gunman opened fire at a Jewish synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, killing 11 people and injuring several others including three policemen, in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in America in years.
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.
IMAGE: Policemen block members of the public from walking towards the Bourke Street mall in central Melbourne, Australia. Photograph: Sonali Paul/Reuters

A Somali-origin set a car on fire and stabbed three people, killing one of them, before being fatally shot in the Australian city of Melbourne, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State terror group to target foreigners.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the man who stabbed three members of the public and attacked police officers has died in a hospital.

Police shot the man in the chest after he charged at them with the knife.

One of the stabbing victims died of his injuries at the scene, while two others, a 59-year-old man and a 26-year-old man, are in hospital being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

"We are now treating this as a terrorism event," said Ashton, adding that the suspect is someone that is known to us.

"I'm not at liberty at this point to disclose the identity of that person. But we are, as I say, having counter-terrorism investigations under way. The person is known to police. He's known to police mainly in respect to relatives that he has that are certainly persons of interest to us. He is someone that, accordingly, is known to both Victoria Police and federal intelligence, Ashton said.

However, the Australian police said the assailant, who was 31-year-old, was residing in Melbourne's northwestern suburbs and had come to the country from Somalia.

Ashton said the attacker had a criminal history of cannabis use, theft and driving offence.

The man was shot after confronting police officers on a busy city street, authorities said. He was taken into custody in a critical condition. He succumbed to the gunshot wounds in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The perpetrator of the operation... in Melbourne... was an Islamic State fighter and carried out the operation... to target nationals of the coalition fighting the Islamic State, the terror group's propaganda outlet, Amaq, said.

Australia has contributed troops to the United States-led coalition that has been fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Officers were initially called to reports of a car fire near Bourke Street, a busy thoroughfare, at about 4.20pm local time.

"As they got out of the car, they were confronted by a male brandishing a knife and threatening them," Supt David Clayton told reporters.

IMAGE: Cops cordoned off the area soon after the attack. Photograph: Sonali Paul/Reuters

Ashton said a four-wheel drive Ute drove into Bourke street between Russell and Swanston Street and parked there. A male person was in that vehicle.

"Fire then started in the vehicle and he's got out of the vehicle. He then engaged with members of the public at that location, he said.

"The fire brigade turned up to put the fire out discovered there were gas bottle - I understand at this stage they are those barbecue-style gas bottles - within the vehicle," Ashton said.

Footage captured the shocking scenes as a car went up in flames and police shot the knife-wielding man in the chest after he confronted officers as they arrived at the scene.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Australians will never be intimidated by these appalling attacks.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has called the attack an evil and terrible thing.

Local media reports quoted 22-year-old Markel Villasin, who was finishing his shift at KFC on the Bourke St as the incident happened.

"Me and the managers ran out and that's when we saw the car on fire and then we saw the guy on the floor and we wanted to help, there were two blokes helping him out already, he was face down pools of blood around his face," Villasin said.

"I'm pretty sure he got stabbed in the face. I really wanted to help but I was in shock, I didn't know what to do. Because he was on his stomach, they turned him over to see if he's alright, he was still alive," he said.

According to a bystander, Drew Hair, he was walking on Swanston Street when he heard an explosion.

The next thing he saw was a big dude punching into the police car.

Hair said the assailant was dressed in Islamic clothing and of African appearance and about six foot four inches tall.

An eyewitness said it appeared the car was on fire before it crashed and exploded.

"I was walking up Bourke St  and we heard this loud explosion. I thought it was a car backfiring but there was flames coming out of the car. It then veered to the left  and exploded in flames," the eyewitness said.

"People were running everywhere. I thought it was like what happened last year so I started running. Everyone started running. It was so scary."
Two wagons of a goods train caught fire near Dahanu in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Thursday, as a result of which rail services on the route were affected, officials said.

After the incident, the Western Railway cancelled a couple of long-distance trains. Besides, at least 10 long-distance trains were halted and suburban train services between Virar and Dahanu Road stations were stopped till Friday morning, they said.

However, the services were restored by 9.10 am on Friday, they said.

According to a railway official, the incident took place late on Thursday night between Dahanu Road and Vangaon Railway Stations.

"The fire incident was reported at 10.35 pm. The 15th and 16th wagons of the goods train that was coming from Vadodara to JNPT in Mumbai caught fire. Due to the blaze and heat, the overhead wire equipment melted," a senior official said.

After being alerted about the incident, senior WR officials rushed to the site and work on overhead wire restoration was taken up.

The fire brigade, Railway Police Force and Government Railway Police rushed to the spot, a police official said, adding that the blaze was doused around 2 am.

At least 10 long-distance trains were halted as a result of the incident, the police official added.

The WR cancelled some long-distance trains.

"Train 59024/59023 (Valsad-Mumbai Central-Valsad) and 12935 (Bandra T- Surat) are cancelled today, while train no. 22954 (Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central) is short terminated at Surat," the WR said in a tweet.

A WR official said, "The suburban services between Dahanu Road and Virar stations were stopped after the incident. However, the train services, including those on the suburban route, were restored by 9.10 am on Friday."

A probe is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the fire, he said.

Photographs: ANI
Top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, on Thursday greeted party veteran L K Advani on his 91st birthday, recalling his contribution to national politics, and also in building the party and propagating its ideology.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited L K Advani's residence on the latter's 91st birthday and praised him and his impact on politics. Photograph: @narendramodi/Twitter

The party veterans impact on Indian politics is immense, the prime minister said.

Advani jis contribution towards Indias development is monumental. His ministerial tenures are applauded for futuristic decision making and people-friendly policies. His wisdom is admired across the political spectrum, Modi wrote on Twitter.

He credited Advani, the longest serving party president and also deputy prime minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, for selflessly and diligently building the BJP and wonderfully mentoring its workers.

In his tweets, Shah said Advani strengthened the BJPs organisation and inspired its workers while also infusing discipline into them with his lifelong hard work.

In taking our ideology to the masses from the Jana Sangh to the BJP and in setting India on the path to progress as a skilled politician in Parliament, Advani jis contribution to Indian politics is unparalleled, he said.

Jana Sangh, founded in 1951, was the precursor to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was launched in 1980.

Home Minister and former BJP president Rajnath Singh described Advani as a stalwart of Indian politics.

He has nurtured the BJP from its inception. Advani ji is an inspiration to millions of party karyakartas (workers). May he be blessed with a good health and long life, Singh said.

Credited for crafting the BJPs rise to a pre-eminent position in late 80s and 90s after it had hit a low of two Lok Sabha seats in 1984 Lok Sabha polls, Advani has been sidelined from the partys affairs and was made a member of margdarshak mandal (group of mentors) in 2014 after it came to power.

The group has, incidentally, never met since its inception.
As is the case for many parents of children diagnosed with cancer, the last couple of years for the Ramos family have been, at times, a blur, at times, moving very slowly, and filled with constant anxiety. Abrielles father, Alfie Ramos, works as a medical technologist at the Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center in Warrenville. When Abrielle was diagnosed, his wife said, it hit him particularly hard because he had seen what grueling treatments did to adults.
Stepping up his efforts for an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Telugu Desam Party supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Thursday met his Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy after which he said a grand alliance of various regional parties would be forged soon in which the Congress will be a main anchor.

IMAGES: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu greets Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda before a meeting in Bengaluru. Photographs: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

Naidus meeting with the top brass of the Janata Dal-Secular -- Kumaraswamy and his father and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda -- came two days after the JD-S-Congress coalition candidates defeated the BJP 4-1 in three Lok Sabha and two assembly seats in the bypolls.

Setting the stage for the revival of an united front against the BJP, Naidu claimed the mood of the nation was against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and soon an alliance would be formed with various regional parties.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Naidu said the initial steps for the formation of the alliance was underway and that once the modalities were fixed, programmes would be chalked out later.

I have spoken to Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav. I have met everybody. Tomorrow I am meeting Stalin (Dravida Munnetra Kazagham president). We will decide how to take forward the alliance with consensus. It is an initial exercise. After that we will work together, he said.

Naidu also said the Congress will be a main anchor in any grand alliance of opposition parties.

Congress is a major opposition party, he said, pointing out that Deve Gowda became prime minister with support of the Congress from outside in 1996.

Congress is a main anchor, Naidu added.

However, he ducked questions on the alliances prime ministerial candidate.

PM candidate we will be decided later, first we will save the nation, he said.

The comments by Naidu came on a day when senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said state-wise alliances would benefit the party and was the best way to defeat the BJP.

The kind of alliance that was formed in Karnataka yielded results. Similar alliances should be formed in different states, Chidambaram told reporters in Kolkata.

The electoral sweep by the ruling coalition in Karnataka came as a boost to opposition unity as the bypolls were seen as a barometer of the public mood ahead of the 2019 polls.

Gowda said the meeting was called to work out further strategy on forming the alliance and urged like-minded parties to join hands for the elections.

It is the responsibility of all secular parties including Congress to come together to replace NDA govt, he said.

Kumaraswamy expressed confidence that the 2019 polls will see a repeat of the 1996 result, when a united opposition had formed the government and Gowda had become the prime minister

I think 1996 will be repeated in 2019 elections., he said, adding Gowda and Naidu are old friends and their arithmetic is good.

BJPs estranged ally Shiv Sena, meanwhile, took a dig at its senior coalition partner over the Karnataka result, saying it indicated that achche din (good days) will return for the Congress in 2019.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party also said the BJPs defeat in a string of Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls in the country would infuse a fresh lease of life in the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

In an editorial laced with sarcasm in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said the BJP probably lost in Karnataka for ignoring poll promises like construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and for imposing some other agenda.

Mocking the BJP, the edit said the party should think why its losing streak is continuing unabated even as some revolutionary changes are taking place in the country under the BJP-led government by its own admission.
Four civilians and a Central Industrial Security Force jawan were killed when suspected Naxals blew up a bus with an improvised explosive device in Chhattisgarhs Dantewada district on Thursday, four days ahead of the first phase of assembly polls in the state, police said.

Two personnel of the CISF were also injured in the explosion, the third Naxal attack in 15 days in the poll-bound state.

The attack comes before Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled visit on Friday to Jagdalpur district, about 100 km from Dantewada, to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The IED explosion took place in a hilly area in Bacheli when the CISF personnel, belonging to 502nd battalion, were returning to their camp in Akashnagar area after purchasing groceries from a local market, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava.

The Naxals triggered a powerful IED blast near curve no 6 on the hills, he said.

Those killed in the blast were identified as CISF Head Constable D Mukhopadhyay, bus driver Ramesh Patkar, helpers Roshan Kumar Sahu and Johan Nayak, and a truck driver, Sushil Banjare, the SP said.

The truck driver had taken lift in the bus, another police official said.

Two CISF constables -- Pathare Satish and Pishal Suresh -- were injured in the attack, Pallava said.

Reinforcements were rushed to the spot and the injured personnel and bodies of the deceased shifted to a local hospital, he said.

Security forces have launched a combing operation in the area to trace the ultras, the officer added.

According to another police official, the CISF personnel were from the B company of 502nd battalion, which had arrived from Kolkata to Dantewada for election duty.

The company has been deployed in the iron ore deposit no.10 area on the Bailadila hills.

The CISF has been guarding iron ore facilities of the National Mining Development Corporation in the Bailadila hills of Dantewada.

On October 30, three police personnel and a cameraman of national broadcaster Doordarshan were killed in a Maoist attack in Dantewadas Aranpur area.

Before that, on October 27, four Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed and two others injured after Maoists blew up their bulletproof bunker vehicle in Bijapur district.

Naxalites have asked voters to boycott the upcoming state assembly polls, being held in two phases on November 12 and November 20.

The first phase is to be held in 18 Naxal-affected constituencies of Madhya Pradeshs Bastar region, that falls in the southern part of the central state.

The remaining 72 constituencies will go to the polls on November 20 and the votes will be counted on December 11.
Dressed in heavy mountain gear, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel in the icy terrain near the India-China border, saying their devotion to duty in the remote icy heights is enabling the strength of the nation.

Greeting the jawans in the Harshil cantonment area, the prime minister said they, through their commitment and discipline, are securing the future and the dreams of 125 crore Indians and helping spread a sense of security and fearlessness among the people.

He said that Diwali is the festival of lights; it spreads the light of goodness and dispels fear.

The prime minister recalled that he has been visiting soldiers on Diwali ever since he was the chief minister of Gujarat. He also spoke of his interactions with the jawans of the ITBP, years ago when he was part of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

The prime minister said India is taking great strides forward in the defence sector. He spoke of various measures being taken for the welfare of ex-servicemen, including implementation of one rank, one pension.

Modi said that the Indian Armed Forces draw admiration and appreciation across the world, in UN peacekeeping operations.

The prime minister offered sweets to the jawans. He also interacted with people from nearby areas who had gathered to greet him on Diwali.

Harshil is a cantonment area situated at a height of 7,860 feet close to the India-China border in Uttarkashi district.

The prime minister later reached Kedarnath to offer prayers and review the progress of reconstruction projects at Kedarpuri.

Kedarpuri, the township situated close to the Himalayan shrine, had bore the brunt of the catastrophic floods of 2013, which killed thousands of people.

A statement from the Prime Ministers Office said Modi extensively walked around the entire temple complex, where significant reconstruction works are in progress. He was briefed by senior officials about the progress of the works. He interacted briefly with several people present at the temple complex.

The Kedarnath Temple complex is currently the focus of a major development and reconstruction effort, following the severe flood and landslide in 2013.

The last time the prime minister had been to Kedarnath was in October 2017, just before the portals of the Himalayan shrine close for the winters.

After becoming the prime minister in 2014, Modi had spent his Diwali at Siachen with jawans.

In 2015, he had visited the Punjab border on Diwali. His visit coincided with 50 years of the 1965 Indo-Pak war.

The next year, Modi was in Himachal Pradesh where he spent time with Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel at an outpost.

Modi had spent his fourth Diwali as prime minister with soldiers in Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir last year.

All photographs: @PIB_India/Twitter
After spending his previous four Diwalis with the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is breaking with tradition and spend Diwali this year in Kedarnath, setting off speculation that the decision was taken with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

As the Festival of Lights is on us, heres looking back at Modis Diwali celebrations.

>> 2014 in Siachen

Shortly after coming to power, Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to spend Diwali at Indias coldest and highest battlefield, the Siachen glacier, with our brave jawans.

The PM spent an hour with the soldiers at a base camp situated at a height of over 12,000 feet.

On his surprise visit to meet the troops, Modi had said, "I have specially come on the occasion of Diwali to be with you. I am aware how it feels like to spend Diwali with your family. The happiness is different, but you are so involved in the devotion to your motherland that your family is spending Diwali somewhere else and you are somewhere else guarding the motherland."

>> 2015 in Amritsar

In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with the troops for the second successive year.

He visited the Dograi War Memorial in Khasa, Amritsar, and placed a wreath at the venue of one of the toughest battles fought and won by Indian forces on September 22, 1965.

According to reports, Modi had made the visit without any prior intimation to to the civil administration, including the police, and the media.

His visit came against the the backdrop of protests by a section of ex-servicemen over the dilution of the One Rank, One Pension scheme. Several of the war veterans had returned their medals as part of their protest.

>> 2016 in Himachal Pradesh

Keeping with his practice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met jawans of the Indo Tibetan Border Police, Indian Army and Dogra Scouts in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

In 2016, Modi also launched the #Sandesh2Soldier campaign through which people could send their Diwali greetings and messages to soldiers guarding the nation's frontiers.

Addressing the soldiers, Modi had said, "It's when you guard the border, people sleep without fear. If you were not there, people would not have been sleeping comfortably."

Modi also made an unscheduled trip to a village, Chango, and said he was deeply touched by the impromptu reception and their joy.

The PM also met personnel of the General Reserve Engineering Force, a wing of the Border Roads Organisation that maintains highways, at Sumdoh.

>> 2017 in Jammu-Kashmir's Gurez

In 2017, the PM took out two hours from his busy schedule and spent Diwali with Indian Army and Border Security Force soldiers posted along the Line of Control at Gurez in Jammu-Kashmir.

Gurez is within shouting distance of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and has witnessed many gunfights with infiltrating insurgents in the past 27 years.

Modi offered sweets to and exchanged greetings with the jawans.

The PM said he receives new energy when he spends time among the jawans and soldiers of the armed forces and appreciated their penance and sacrifice amid harsh conditions.
A 52-year-old female devotee from Thrissur offered prayers at the Sabarimala Temple on Tuesday, amid agitation by protesters regarding her entry.

Lalithas entry into the holy shrine was opposed by protesters suspecting that she belonged to the age group of 10-50. However, she was allowed to enter after verification under police protection.

During the protests, a number of media persons, including a cameraman of a Kerala-based television channel, were attacked by agitating devotees.

The doors of the Ayyappa Temple reopened on Monday for two days for a special prayer amid tight security.

On Monday, the Kerala high court had ruled that devotees and media persons should not be barred from entering the temple.

In the wake of violent protests, the Kerala Police issued prohibitory orders at Pamba, Nilakkal and other areas near the shrine.

The Sabarimala Temple and its surrounding areas witnessed a series of protests in October over the Supreme Courts decision to quash restrictions on the entry of females between 10 and 50 years age group into the holy shrine.

However, in spite of the apex courts order no female in menstruating ages were able to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple when it opened last time.

More than 3000 protesters were arrested for instigating the violence that broke out in the state, while around 529 cases were registered.

Photographs: ANI/Twitter
Hundreds of people Sunday held a protest march against the killing of tigress Avni and converged at Shivaji Park in Mumbai to demand the sacking of Maharashtra's forest minister as well as finding the big cat's missing cubs.

The tigress, 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.

Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has come under fire from these organisations for the killing, though he and the state government have defended it, calling the incident "sad" but necessary after the tigress had attacked forest staff trying to tranquilise it.

Among those who attended the protest, called "Global March for Avni", was Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam who called the tigress' killing something that could not be defended.

"State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is expected to protect wildlife. However, wildlife seems to be most unsafe under his rule. His decision of killing tigress Avni cannot be defended or accepted under any circumstance. He should be sacked immediately," Nirupam said at the protest march.

Following the protest, Aam Aadmi Party leader Preeti Sharma Menon led a delegation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and asked him to ensure the rescue and rehabilitation of Avni's two 10-month-old cubs.

P V Subramaniam of Earth Brigade Foundation, the petitioner who had challenged government orders to shoot tigress Avni, said the march was to seek justice for its "unlawful execution".

Photographs: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com
The Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives while the Republican Party retained its majority in the Senate in the critical midterm elections held on Tuesday, according to projections made by major United States media outlets.

As the country celebrates its victory, here are some inspirational women who just made history in the polls.

>> Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

IMAGE: Democrat's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez greets supporters at her midterm election night party in New York City. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, became the youngest woman in history to be elected to Congress. Surprisingly, a year ago, Cortez was working in a bar to help support her family.

Ocasio-Cortez shocked the establishment when she won the Democratic primary in June, unseating Republican Joe Crowley. Women like me arent supposed to run for office, Ocasio-Cortez said in one of her campaign videos. As shes proven this cycle, its clear they can win.

>> Ilhan Omar

IMAGE: Ilhan Omar takes a selfie with supporters after appearing at her midterm election night party in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photograph: Eric Miller/Reuters

Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, 42, become one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, easily winning the election in Minnesotas Fifth Congressional District -- the Minneapolis-area district previously represented by Keith Ellison -- on Tuesday.

Omar, a Somali refugee who immigrated to the United States as a teenager, beat Republican Jennifer Zielinski to take Ellisons seat, which he vacated to run for Minnesota attorney general.

>> Rashida Tlaib

IMAGE: Rashida Tlaib celebrates with family and friends at her midterm election night party in Detroit. Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Tlaib, a Democrat from Detroit who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, ran unopposed in Michigans 13th Congressional District to become one of the first Muslim women in Congress as well.

>> Kristi Noem

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump with gubernatorial candidate Kristi Noem. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Republican Kristi Noem beat out Democrat Billie Sutton in the unexpectedly close South Dakota governors race, and she will be sworn in next year as the first woman elected to the states highest office.

Noem voted in favor of Obamacare repeal, punishment of so-called sanctuary cities, and the Republican tax law while serving in the US House. She campaigned on keeping taxes low (South Dakota is one of a few states with no income tax), cutting government spending, and introducing more government transparency.
Since the temple opened at least 13 women have attempted to enter the shrine, but fallen short despite their valiant attempts.

They came, they tried, but they couldnt conquer.

Women in the barred (read: menstruating) age group have been forced to retreat by agitated protesters as they tried to enter the Sabarimala temple.

The women were hoping to make history by entering the temple gates after the Supreme Court, on September 28, in a strongly-worded judgment, ruled that women of all ages must be allowed into Keralas Sabarimala temple ending a ban that prevented women and girls between 10 and 50 years from entering the shrine.

Since the temple opening, at least 13 women have attempted the trek to the hilltop shrine starting at the Nilakkal base camp, but none of these women were successful. While some were heckled, threatened and forced down the hills, the others voluntarily aborted their trek following intimidation by protesters.

IMAGE: Libi C S was among the first women to try to enter the Sabarimala temple on the day that its gates were opened. However, after being heckled, she gave up on her efforts. Photograph: Libi CS/Facebook.com

A young woman named Libi C S was among the first women to try to enter the Sabarimala temple on the day that its gates were opened.

Libi in a Facebook post had said that she would be try to visit the Ayyappa deity, but protesters blocked her at a bus stand in Pathanamthitta, 65 km from the temple.

Madhavi, a gutsy woman from Andhra Pradesh in her 40s, tried to climb the Sabarimala hills to reach the Lord Ayyappa temple but was forced to return to Pamba, menaced by agitated male devotees.

IMAGE: Police escort Madhavi and her family members after she was heckled by protesters while she was seeking entry to the Lord Ayyappa Temple on Oct 17. Photograph: PTI Photo

She had decided to make the trek along with her family. However, even though she was surrounded by the police on her way to the temple, the heckling didn't stop, which forced her to abandon her plans.

Delhi-based Suhasini Raj, along with her colleague, a foreign national, tried to enter the temple on the second day. They managed to go past the Pamba gateway, just before the climb to the hilltop shrine, but was stopped midway by angry protesters who formed a human wall before her.

IMAGE: Police escort Suhasini Raj, a Delhi-based New York Times journalist, to Sabarimala Temple. Raj had to return mid-way after violent protests. Photograph: PTI Photo

Raj said that her trek to the temple wasnt one of faith, but she was simply trying to do her job.

Describing how the protesters were, she was quoted as saying, I had reached half way and then the protests grew stronger. I was hit by a stone and then we decided to return. The police had provided us all the security.

Last Friday, Sabarimala temple complex witnessed high drama and tense when two women reached the hilltop with heavy police escort, but had to return before reaching the sanctum sanctorum following massive protests by Lord Ayyappa devotees.

Kavitha Jakkal, a Hyderabad based reporter, reached the Valiya Nadappandhal, the queue complex located a few metres away from the holy 'pathinettam padi' (the 18 sacred steps), leading to the sanctum sanctorum.

IMAGE: Kavitha Jakkal being taken to the temple after being surrounded by police men. The Sabarimala priest reportedly, locked it and she had to return mid-way. Photograph: PTI Photo

Dressed in riot gear and a yellow helmet, Jakkal would have been the first from the menstruating age group to visit the Lord Ayyappa temple.

Along with Jakkal was activist Rehana Fatima. She too, would have made history if it hadnt been for the angry protests by devotees, including senior citizens.

IMAGE: Activist Rehana Fatima, who was along with Jakkal, close to entering the temple was later expelled from the Muslim community. Photograph: PTI Photos

Fatima was expelled from the Muslim community after her attempt to enter the shrine. The activists house was also vandalised by unidentified persons while she was away trying to climb the holy hills on Friday. A case has also been registered by the police in Pathanamthitta against the activist for hurting religious sentiments.

Mary Sweety, 46, from Kazhakoottam near Thiruvananthapuram, was turned away within minutes of Rehana and Kavitha beginning their trek back. She said she did not seek any police protection to complete the temple visit.

I go to church, mosques and temples. And I want to see Lord Ayyappa, she told reporters. Police however escorted her to the control room where they reportedly told her they couldnt provide protection for her trek up to the temple.

Six women were prevented from the entering the Sabarimala temple Sunday by a large number of devotees of Lord Ayyappa as the stand-off over entry of women of menstrual age into the famous hill shrine continued for the fifth day.

IMAGE: Balamma, from Andhra Pradesh, was brought to a hospital after she complained of uneasiness. She was heckled by protesters as she tried to enter the temple. Photograph: PTI Photo

Balamma, 47, identified to be from Andhra Pradesh, reached up to the Nadappandhal close to the sanctum sanctorum, but was prevented by the devotees chanting Swamiye Saranam Ayyapa while five others were stopped en route to the hills.

The woman, who complained of uneasiness, was brought to a hospital.

Earlier, the protesters prevented two women, in their 40s, at the foothills itself. The women were accompanied by their relatives.

The police, who took the women to the safety, said the two informed them that they came to Sabarimala without knowing the customs of the temple.

IMAGE: At least 13 women have tried to enter the Sabarimala temple, but they have not been successful. Photograph: PTI Photo

After the women were brought Nilackal, the base camp, they gave in writing to the police that they did not want to break the centuries-old custom of the temple.

On Monday, Bindu, a Dalit activist, who was proceeding to Pamba at the foothills of Sabarimala temple, was forced to retreat by agitated protesters.

When the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus she was travelling on with police personnel was about to reach Pamba, a group of Bharatiya Janata Party workers and those opposing the entry of girls and women aged between 10 and 50 years into the temple, blocked the road and forced her to alight. She was then escorted to safety in a police jeep.

-- With inputs from PTI
The Democrats captured the House of Representatives on Wednesday in the crucial midterm elections while United States President Donald Trumps Republican Party retained its majority in the Senate, an outcome likely to intensify the political bitterness and fighting between the two major parties in the run up to the 2020 presidential poll.

IMAGE: JoAnn Loulan reacts with her mother-in-law, Sydney Crawford after Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives during the 2018 midterm election results. Photograph: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

Breaking the Republican monopoly on power, Democrats had already picked up over two dozen seats in the House -- more than the 23 needed to take control of the House for the first time in eight years.

Initial statements coming from the Democratic party leaders indicated it would make it tough for US President Trump, who wants major legislative changes on some of his signature issues including immigration, tax and healthcare reforms.

By capturing the House of Representatives, the Democrats may exert a major institutional check on Trump and break the Republican monopoly in Washington.

Trump, who campaigned aggressively in the last several weeks, expressed satisfaction over the results and described this as tremendous success.

Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all! Trump said in a brief tweet.

IMAGE: Supporters of Democratic celebrate in Yuma, West Virginia, US. Photograph: Lexi Browning/Reuters

In the House of Representatives, the Democrats gained 24 seats giving them enough for the majority in the 435-membered chamber. Political pundits had predicted a much greater gain for the Democrats in the House, which was pointed out by the GOP leaders as they tended to give the credit for this to Trump.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, 78, is expected to be re-elected as Speaker of House of Representatives, which is equivalent to Indias Lok Sabha.

In the outgoing House, the Republicans had 235 seats while the Democrats 193. The new House would come into being next January.

In her victory speech in Washington DC, Pelosi said the party would use its newly won majority to pursue a bipartisan agenda for a country. Pelosi said Americans have all had enough of division.

Thanks to you, tomorrow will be a new day in America, she said standing alongside other Democratic House leaders.

IMAGE: US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi celebrates the Democrats winning a majority in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

She said that the election result is about restoring the system of checks and balances in Trump administration thus indicating that the new Democratic party would play the role of a strong opponent in for the US President.

US President Trump called Pelosi on Tuesday night to offer congratulations, her office said.

At least 90 women won their elections, with majority being Democrats. At least 28 of them were elected to the House for the first time. The elections also resulted in Rashida Tlaib becoming the first Muslim woman elected to the House of Representatives along with Somali-American Ilhan Omar.

For the Democrats taking control of the House gives them an opportunity to be more assertive in the Congress and prevent Trump for achieving his legislative agenda. The Democratic Party is back, said Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez.

IMAGE: A supporter of Trump and Republican senate candidate Mike Braun attends the election night party in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photograph: Chris Bergin/Reuters

We won back the House because our candidates had a clear message for working families and refused to let Trump and the GOP distract us from the issues that matter most. Democrats believe that health care is a right for all. We believe that the economy should work for everyone, not just those at the top, Perez said.

However, the ruling Republican Party retained its majority in the 100-member Senate where it currently has a razor thin majority of 51-49 seats. The GOP is expected to increase its tally, as counting of votes were still going on when reports last came in. Thirty-five of the 100 Senate seats went to polls.

The crucial polls, marking the first major voter test of Trump, is seen as a referendum on his controversial policies, including those on immigration.

In his campaign rallies, Trump had said that he was on the ballot and made it a referendum on his nearly two years rule.

The US president who headlined an unprecedented 50 rallies -- 30 in the last two months alone -- and has campaigned for dozens of candidates at all levels of government, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, watched the results come in with friends and family in the White House residence.

The President has energised a staggering number of Americans at packed arenas and in overflow crowds at rallies across the country, Sanders said.

Under Trumps leadership, the Republican National Committee has raised more than a quarter billion dollars, fuelling an extraordinary ground game geared toward defying midterm history and protecting the GOPs majorities, she said.

IMAGE: Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar is greeted by her husbands mother after appearing at her midterm election night party in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photograph: Eric Miller/Reuters

In victory, The Washington Post said Democrats regained some of the confidence -- although less of the power -- they lost in 2016, when Trump won a surprise victory over Hillary Clinton.

In this election, they sought to energise groups that Clinton did not: young voters, Latinos, African Americans and infrequent voters, the daily said.

According to The New York Times, amid signs that the nations deep political and cultural divisions that lifted Trump in 2016 may only be deepening, rural voters were breaking sharply with their counterparts in the suburban districts and metropolitan areas, as turnout soared in a midterm election that came to serve as a national referendum on the president.

The Democrats also won some of the high-profile governors race including Kansas, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. The GOP retained its governorship in Florida.
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
We always take really cool trips in this program, but I was not expecting this at all, said the 16-year-old junior, also from Merrillville. When Ms. Chariece said it, I was like, Wait, hold up  this has got to be a joke, or something. But she was for real, and I was like, Oh, my gosh this is crazy because I love these women so much.
United States President Donald Trump made a last-ditch effort to retain majority in the House of Representatives as he appealed to his supporters across the country to get out and vote for his Republican party in the crucial mid-term polls on Tuesday which will decide the balance of powers in the Congress over the next two years.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump waves to supporters at a campaign rally on the eve of the mid-term elections at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Americans would elect 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats in the mid-term polls.

The Republican party currently has majority in both the Senate and the House and Trump and his team left no stone unturned to campaign in favour of his Republican party.

During an election-eve rally in Cleveland on Monday, US President Trump claimed that mid-term elections, which used to be boring, have now become the hottest thing because of him, attributing voter turnout and media attention to his presidency.

Addressing his supporters, he said, The key is you have to go out to vote because in a sense I am on the ticket. You got to go out to vote.

Thereafter, he held campaign rallies in Indiana and Missouri wherein he urged his supporters to vote for his party as he wants to retain majority on the US House of Representatives.

According to political pundits, the Democrats have a good chance of winning the House, while the Republicans are likely to retain the Senate.

US House of Representatives -- similar to Indias Lok Sabha -- has 435 seats, of which the Republicans in the current Congress has 235 seats and the Democrats have 193.

Elections for all the members of the House are held every two years. The Republicans are expected to increase their tally in the 100-Senate seat where they already have a very thin majority.

IMAGE: Supporters of US President Donald Trump cheer at his rally in support of Ohio Republican candidates on the eve of the midterm election in Cleveland, Ohio. Photograph: Aaron Josefczyk/Reuters

Before leaving on his campaign trail, Trump exuded confidence that the Republicans is doing good in the elections.

There is a great electricity in the air. I dont know if you report it that way, but theres a great electricity in the air, like we havent seen, in my opinion, since the 2016 election, he said.

At the same time, Trump pointed that the presidents party normally does not do well in the mid-term.

I think were going to do very well in the House. If you look, over a hundred years, for whatever reason, the party with the president doesnt do very well. I think were going to do pretty well, he said.

Talking to reporters at Fort Wayne in Indiana, Trump said he would have to do things differently if Democrats get the majority in the House.

Well just have to work a little bit differently. Itll all work out. But I dont think thats going to happen. I think were doing very well in the House. I think were doing very well in the Senate. There is something going on. Im just telling you, he said referring to the large crowd he addressed in Ohio.

IMAGE: A Republican supporter attends a rally in Cleveland, Ohio. Photograph: Aaron Josefczyk/Reuters

At Fort Wayne, Trump said that if the radical Democrats take power, they will take a wrecking ball to our economy and to the future of our country.

A vote for Republicans is a vote to continue our extraordinary prosperity, he said, adding that a vote for Democrats is a vote to bring this economic boom crashing down very rapidly.

The Democrat agenda will deliver a socialist nightmare. Its what it is. The Republican agenda is delivering the American dream, he said.

On the eve of the mid-term elections, Democrats continue to hold a double-digit lead over Republicans in a generic congressional ballot among likely voters, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.

The partys 55 per cent to 42 per cent advantage in the new poll mirrors their lead in early October and is about the same as the 10-point edge they held just after Labor Day.
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for his Singapore visit on Tuesday evening. Photograph: Courtesy @MEAIndia/Twitter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night left for a two-day visit to Singapore.

He will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including United States Vice President Mike Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong during his visit beginning on Wednesday, Indian officials said on Tuesday.

Modi will reach Singapore on Wednesday morning for his 36-hour visit to the city-state and his first engagement after arrival will be to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit. "Continued focus on 'Act East Policy'.

PM @narendramodi emplanes for Singapore to attend 13th #EastAsiaSummit, ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit & #RCEP Summit. PM will also have bilateral meetings on the sidelines and deliver the keynote address at the Singapore FinTech Festival (sic), Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The PM said his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's continued commitment to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

My participation in these meetings symbolises our continued commitment to strengthening our engagement with ASEAN member states and with the wider Indo-Pacific region. I am looking forward to my interactions with other ASEAN and East Asia Summit leaders, Modi said in his departure statement issued on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I will be the first head of government to deliver the Keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival, he said.

Modi said as the world's largest event on financial technology, the festival was the right forum not only to showcase India's strengths in this fast-growing sector, but also to forge global partnerships for fostering innovation and growth.

The PM said during the visit, he would also have the opportunity to interact with the participants and winners of the joint India-Singapore Hackathon.

It is my firm belief that if we provide the right encouragement and a nurturing ecosystem, our youth have the ability to become global leaders in providing solutions to the challenges facing humanity, he said.

Modi said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.

As I depart for Singapore, I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to Singapore for their able chairmanship of ASEAN this year, and convey my best wishes for all success in hosting ASEAN and related summits, he said.

Modi, who will be in Singapore on November 14 and 15 at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee, will attend the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-India Breakfast Summit, India's High Commission in Singapore said in a statement.

He will also attend the 13th East Asia Summit (EAS) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit hosted by Singapore as the current Chair of ASEAN grouping.

The ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit at Singapore will provide an opportunity to review progress in the relationship, the statement said.

During the visit, Prime Minister Modi will have a bilateral meeting with his Singapore counterpart Lee.

On the margins of these Summits, Modi will hold bilateral meetings with other leaders.

Prime Minister Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with US Vice President Pence on November 14, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi.

The White House said last week that Pence and Modi would discuss the India-US defence cooperation and the bilateral relationship during their meeting in Singapore.

As strategic partners, India and ASEAN enjoy close trade and economic relations. Trade between India and ASEAN stood at $81.33 billion in 2017-18 and constitutes 10.58 per cent of India's total trade.

Exports to ASEAN countries constitute 11.28 per cent of India's total exports.

In January, India hosted ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit to celebrate 25 years of Dialogue Partnership, 15 years of Summit Level interaction and 5 years of Strategic Partnership.

In an unprecedented gesture, all 10 ASEAN Leaders attended the Commemorative Summit and graced the Republic Day celebrations as chief guests.

During the Summit, leaders reviewed the whole range of ASEAN-India cooperation and adopted the Delhi Declaration.

The East Asia Summit is a premier leaders-led forum in the Indo-Pacific Region comprising of the 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam) and its eight dialogue partners -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.

Since its inception in 2005, it has played an important role in reviewing political, security and economic developments in the Indo-Pacific region, the statement said.

This will be Prime Minister's fifth engagement with EAS. At the 13th EAS, Prime Minister will join other leaders to discuss international developmental issues such as information and communications technology, smart cities, maritime cooperation, education, finance, food security, environment and energy at both the retreat and plenary sessions.

They will also deliberate on global and regional issues of mutual interest, the statement said.

Modi will attend the RCEP Summit to review the progress made on the negotiations presently underway to finalise the RCEP, a proposed free trade agreement presently being negotiated amongst 16 countries -- 10 ASEAN member-states and India, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

The agreement, once finalised, will cover 45 per cent of the world population, 40 per cent of the world trade and 34 per cent of the global gross domestic product amounting to $21.3 trillion.

Since the commencement of negotiations in 2012, considerable progress has been achieved during the 24 rounds of negotiations at experts' level and 12 Ministerial Sessions.

India remains committed to a forward looking and balanced outcome that results in a modern, comprehensive, high quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership, the statement said.

On November 14, Modi will deliver a keynote address at the Fintech Festival- the first Head of Government to do so.

The festival, now in its third edition, is one of the largest events on financial technology and will see participation from Indian companies as well, the statement said.

On the same day, he will felicitate the winners and participants of India-Singapore Hackathon conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education and Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.
IMAGE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi addresses a public rally at Kawardha in Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

A probe into the procurement of Rafale fighter jets from France would throw up names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday.

Addressing a campaign rally in Kabirdham for the second phase of assembly polls, Gandhi also claimed the National Democratic Alliance government bought the planes at Rs 1,600 crore a piece as against the Rs 526 crore for each aircraft fixed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.

Gandhi's comments came on a day the Supreme Court said a discussion on the pricing of the Rafale jets can only take place if the facts of the deal are allowed to come into the public domain.

The apex court, which began its hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, also said it would like to hear from an Air Force officer and not an official of the Defence Ministry.

"The CBI director (Alok Verma) initiated a probe in the Rafale deal. The prime minister removed him at 12 in the night. I am telling you, the day a probe will begin in Rafale deal, two names will surface: Anil Ambani and Narendra Modi," Gandhi told the gathering.

On former French president Francois Hollande's comments in French media that the Indian government had proposed Reliance Defence as partner for Dassault Aviation in the deal and that France did not have a choice, Gandhi said Modi named Ambani's company as Dassault's partner in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal.

The Modi government chose Ambani's 'inexperienced' company over the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited which has a long experience in aerospace and defence sector, Gandhi said.

There was no reaction from the government or the Bharatiya Janata Party on the fresh charges, though they have previously rejected all allegations over the Rafale deal.

On demonetisation, Gandhi said the poor suffered due to the move and that no billionaire or 'thieves with black money' had to queue up outside banks to exchange notes after the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes were declared invalid by Modi on November 8, 2016.

Gandhi termed demonetisation as the 'biggest scam' of the country.

"There has been no bigger scam than this (note ban). The truth will come out. It will be proved that Modi made the move to snatch money from the poor and put it in the pockets of thieves like Nirav Modi, Anil Ambani and Mehul Choksi," he said.

Terming the prime minister as corrupt, Gandhi accused him of not taking action against Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh's son Abhishek, whose name he said figured in the Panama Papers.

Invoking his family ties with the state, the Congress chief said the relationship was of love and not politics.

"We have old ties with you. Jawaharlal Nehruji, Indiraji, Rajivji, Soniaji had family ties with Chhattisgarh. It was a relationship of love and not politics," he said.

He accused the BJP-led state government of forcibly acquiring lands of farmers, adding the Congress, if elected to power, would not snatch land from peasants.

The Congress president also promised to install a 'people's government' in Chhattisgarh and accused the ruling BJP of destroying the state in its 15-year rule.

The state was among the richest in the country in terms of water, forest, mines and minerals but its people have remained poor due to the policies of the BJP government, he said.

Lands of locals in the tribal-dominated state were taken away to set up industries, he said. But when the units were not set up, the lands were not returned, he added.

Polling for the second phase in 72 seats, out of the total 90-member assembly, will take place on November 20 and the counting of votes will be held on December 11.
The saffron party will use Lord Ayyappa the same way it made use of Lord Ram in the north to take away the Nair vote and make electoral inroads in the state, observes Shine Jacob.

IMAGE: Devotees wait in queue inside the Sabarimala temple in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. The state has witnessed violent protests after the Supreme Court in a judgment allowed women aged 10-50 to enter the premises. Photograph: Sivaram V/Reuters

Sabarimala is considered one of the largest pilgrimage centres in the world, attracting more than 20 million people a year. However, what grabbed the headlines recently were a Supreme Court order that allowed the entry of women in the age group of 10-50 to the temple, built before the 12th century, and the protests by organisations and political parties led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.



While protests are at their peak, with even women journalists being manhandled, many believe this may well set the stage for the BJPs electoral triumph in Kerala, where the party couldnt mark its presence for decades, despite having one of the strongest bases of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

According to reports, the RSS has the maximum number of shakhas -- of more than 5,000 per day -- in Kerala, taking into account all its prants (regions), much higher than the 1,000 per day in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home turf, Gujarat.

It was through a judgment in 1991 that the Kerala high court restricted the entry of women of the age group 10-50 to the Sabarimala shrine because they were of the menstruating age.

One of the major issues cited then was the celibate status of the deity Lord Ayyappa. Interestingly, the case was then triggered by the shooting of a Tamil film called Nambinor Keduvathillai, in which four young actresses were allegedly made to dance in sacred pathinettam padi (18 steps), according to a report by manoramaonline. A local court had then imposed fines on the actresses and also the Devaswom Board (governing the temples in Kerala) for allowing permission to shoot.

Despite having the advantage of being an RSS stronghold for decades, the BJP failed to make electoral inroads into this southern state. Political analysts say the protests at Sabarimala may well be opening the door for the party, which had been struggling to find an issue to give them political leverage in the state. This comes after almost a failed attempt by the party to launch a national campaign on the political murders in Kannur -- in which both the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the BJP are to be blamed equally.



After the failure of the Kannur campaign, the party is trying to use Lord Ayyappa in south India in the same way it made use of Lord Ram in the north. It may be successful this time, especially in taking away a good share of Nair votes, said B R P Bhaskar, a political analyst. According to the official data, around 21 per cent of Keralas population are the Ezhavas, while the Nairs account for 12 per cent.

An ally of the BJP, the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, floated by Vellapally Nateshan of the Sree Narayana Dharama Paripalana Yogam (a body of Ezhavas), was instrumental in increasing the BJPs vote share from a mere 6.1 per cent in 2011 to 15.3 per cent in the assembly elections in 2016. Many political analysts say the current issue may attract more upper-caste and Nair votes, traditionally shared equally between the Congress and the Left parties, towards the BJP.



The BJP has more than 800 gram panchayat members, close to 240 municipal members, 51 corporation councillors, 28 block panchayat members and three district panchayat members in Kerala.

There is no political motive for the BJP in these protests. Other organisations started them. The state government should have blocked such a war-like situation, which is hurting public sentiments, said B Gopalakrishnan, the state spokesperson for the BJP. He added after the judgment, the state should have filed an affidavit to maintain the status quo until the review petition was heard or could have come up with an ordinance.



One has to take into account that even the Devaswom Board has upper-caste superiority, with the Nair community, Thantri family and the Pandalam Royals. So far, the BJP failed to make inroads into Kerala owing to the renaissance thoughts in the last two centuries, which were not divisive, Bhaskar said, adding that the trend has changed, and that could kindle the BJPs hopes in making inroads into south India.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to stay its verdict which allowed entry of women of all age groups into Keralas Sabarimala Temple.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked a lawyer, who was seeking stay on its Sabarimala verdict, to wait till January 22 when the Constitution bench will hear review petitions.

The matter was mentioned by lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara, who has filed the review on behalf of the National Ayyappa Devotees (Womens) Association.

On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in 4:1 verdict had paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala Temple, saying the ban amounted to gender discrimination.

The apex court had on Tuesday agreed to hear on January 22 in open court the pleas seeking review of its verdict but refused to stay its judgment.

The review petitions against the verdict were taken up in-chamber by a bench comprising the CJI and Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

All the review petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in Open Court on 22nd January, 2019 before the appropriate Bench. We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this court dated 28th September, 2018 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2006 (Indian Young Lawyers Association & Ors. vs. The State of Kerala & Ors), the order said.

In the in-chamber proceedings, the judges examine the review petitions by circulation and lawyers were not present.

There are around 48 petitions seeking review of the judgement and they were filed following the recent violent protests in favour and against the verdict.

The apex court had also made it clear that fresh pleas related to the matter will be heard only after it decides the earlier petitions seeking review of the judgment.

The bench stated this while hearing the three fresh petitions filed by G Vijaya Kumar, S Jaya Rajkumar and Shailaja Vijayan challenging its September 28 verdict.

The top court had on October 9 declined an urgent hearing on the review plea filed by an association which had contended that the five-judge Constitution benchs verdict lifting the ban was absolutely untenable and irrational.

The plea filed by the National Ayyappa Devotees Association had said: The notion that the judgment under review is revolutionary, one which removes the stigma or the concept of dirt or pollution associated with menstruation, is unfounded.

It is a judgment welcomed by hypocrites who were aspiring for media headlines. On the merits of the case, as well, the said judgment is absolutely untenable and irrational, if not perverse, the plea submitted.

Besides the association, several other petitions, including one by the Nair Service Society, have been filed against the apex court verdict.

The NSS had said in the plea that as the deity is a Naistika Brahmachari, females below the age of 10 and after the age of 50 years are eligible to worship him and there is no practice of excluding worship by females.

Hence, the delay or wait for 40 years to worship cannot be considered as exclusionary and it is an error of law on the face of the judgment, the plea had said.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear final arguments on December 4 on the pleas filed by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi challenging the Delhi high court's verdict in a case related to re-opening of their 2011-12 tax assessments.

The apex court, which observed that the matter required consideration, did not issue formal notice on the petitions filed by Rahul, Sonia and veteran Congress leader Oscar Fernandes as the Income Tax Department was represented by its counsel.

"Since the respondent (I-T department) has put in appearance, we are not issuing a formal notice. However, we are fixing the matter for final arguments on December 4," said a bench of Justices A K Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer.

Rahul, Sonia and Fernandes have challenged the September 10 judgment of the high court which had refused to give them relief in the case, giving opportunity to the I-T Department to scrutinise their records.

The matter is linked to the National Herald case in which the Congress leaders are also facing a criminal case.

During the hearing in the apex court, senior advocates P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar appeared for the petitioners, while Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta was representing the I-T department.

Chidambaram started his submissions by giving the background leading to the income tax case.

To this, the bench said: "We are not concerned with the background of these proceedings but the question here is about the notice (issued by the I-T department) of the re-assessment of income tax.

The issue is whether the notice is valid or not. You can raise this before the assessing officer".

Chidambaram said the question was whether the reasons given in the notice were right or not.

He said that Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), publisher of the National Herald newspaper, had decided to issue nine lakh shares to Young Indian (YI), a not-for-profit organisation, and convert them into equity.

He said that some of the shares were acquired by the petitioners.

Chidambaram said YI also acquired AJL's debt of Rs 90.2 crore and this does not give rise to any income in the hands of the Gandhis and Fernandes.

We (petitioners) were shareholders. It can never give rise to income in my hands. We do not get any income, he said.

At this juncture, the bench told Mehta, "It (matter) requires consideration." Mehta told the bench that the premise raised by the petitioners was wrong. To this, the bench said, "We have two options. We will issue notice but we will say that assessing officer will proceed with the assessment. However, the final decision will not be given effect to and be placed before this court.

"Second option is that we will hear the matter after two weeks and you all can assist us. The high court judgment is lengthy."

Mehta said he wanted to place on record a summary note of the case prepared by him which was also placed before the high court during adjudication of the case there.

"I would request you to kindly take it (note) on record. Please go through it and have it (matter) next week and see if it requires re-consideration," Mehta told the bench which allowed his request.

When one of the junior counsels assisting the senior advocates for the Gandhis told the court that notice should be issued on the pleas, the Solicitor General said, notice may not be necessary. I am here.

After the court dictated the order, Mehta urged the bench not to record in the order sheet that formal notice was not being issued.

"It does not matter. Once we are saying that we will hear final arguments, it is not necessary," the bench said.

When Mehta raised the issue of limitation of time in re-assessment of income tax, the bench observed, "Then it will be better if we grant a stay. Then this time will be excluded."

To this, Mehta said that the matter be heard on December 4.

On September 10, the Gandhis and Fernandes had failed to get any relief from the high court which dismissed their challenge on re-opening of their tax assessments for 2011-12.

Denial of any relief by the high court had paved the way for the I-T department to scrutinise the Congress leaders records for the assessment year.

The income tax probe against the Congress leaders has arisen from the probe into a private criminal complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy before a trial court here in connection with the National Herald case, in which the trio are out on bail.

Sonia and Rahul were granted bail in the case by the trial court on December 19, 2015.

A tax evasion petition (TEP) was also addressed to the finance minister by Swamy.

In the complaint before the trial court, Sonia, Rahul and others have been accused of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying just Rs 50 lakh, through which YI had obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore AJL owed to the Congress party.

It was alleged that YI, which was incorporated in November 2010 with a capital of Rs 50 lakh, had acquired almost all shareholdings of the AJL, which was running the National Herald newspaper.

The I-T department had said the shares Rahul has in YI would lead him to have an income of Rs 154 crore and not about Rs 68 lakh, as was assessed earlier.

It has already issued a demand notice for Rs 249.15 crore to YI for the assessment year 2011-12.
Four days ahead of the start of the peak pilgrimage season in Sabarimala, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review its verdict that allowed entry of women of all age groups to the hilltop temple in Kerala which had sparked violent protests but refused to grant a stay.

With no stay being given, it remains to be seen whether girls and women in the previously banned 10-50 age group will be able to enter the shrine after a 6-km arduous trek since attempts by some were foiled by protesters at the base camps in Nilakkal and Pamba when the shrine was opened for 8 days in two spells after the September 28 verdict.

The two-month long Mandala Makaravillakku pilgrim season commences on November 17 and attracts millions of devotees from all over the country.

The order to admit and setting the date for hearing on January 22 in open court the 48 review petitions seeking a reversal of the verdict was welcomed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the priests at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.

The apex court does not hear review petitions in open court except in the cases of capital punishment.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on his part said though the Supreme Court has not stayed its September 28 verdict his government would take a final call on the issue after consulting legal experts.

An all-party meeting has also been convened by the state government on November 15 to discuss issues to Sabarimala, an official said.

In all, 48 review petitions were filed following the recent violent protests in favour of and against the verdict.

On September 28, a five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in its 4:1 verdict, lifted the centuries-old ban on girls and women in the 10-50 age group from entering the shrine, saying it amounted to gender discrimination.

The review petitions against the verdict were taken up 'in-chamber' by a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

"All the Review Petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in Open Court on 22nd January, 2019 before the appropriate Bench. We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this Court dated 28th September, 2018," the order said.

In the in-chamber proceedings, the judges examined the review petitions by circulation and lawyers were not present.

Earlier in the day, the top court made it clear that fresh pleas related to the Sabarimala issue will be heard only after it decides the earlier petitions seeking review of the judgment.

The bench stated this while hearing the three fresh petitions filed by G Vijaya Kumar, S Jaya Rajkumar and Shailaja Vijayan challenging its verdict.

The top court on October 9 declined an urgent hearing on the review plea filed by an association which had contended that the five-judge Constitution bench's verdict lifting the ban was 'absolutely untenable and irrational'.

A plea filed by the National Ayyappa Devotees Association (NADA), which has sought review of the verdict, said: "The notion that the judgment under review is revolutionary, one which removes the stigma or the concept of dirt or pollution associated with menstruation, is unfounded."

Besides the association, several other petitions, including one by the Nair Service Society (NSS), have been filed against the apex court verdict.

"We will consult legal experts on the matter", Vijayan said when asked if the verdict would be implemented during the Mandala Makaravillakku pilgrim season.

Sabarimala temple head priest Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru hailed the decision to hear the review petitions as a 'big victory' and said this was due to the blessings of Lord Ayyappa.

"The blessings of Lord Ayyappa and prayers of lots of devotees are behind this decision to hear the matter in the open court", a beaming Tantri told reporters.

Welcoming the court decision, Union Minister K J Alphons said in democracy people are paramount and of prime importance.

"I think it is a very good decision. I think Kerala is united on this issue and therefore, I am happy that the Supreme Court has decided to review the entire issue," Alphons, a BJP leader from Kerala, said.

Opposition leader in the Kerala assembly Ramesh Chennithala wanted the state government to shed its 'stubbornness' in implementing the September 28 verdict.

"The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front government should act maturely and not implement the decision during the upcoming two-month long pilgrim season," he told reporters at Sabarimala.

"We welcome the apex court's decision to hear the review petition in open court. Though there is no stay, the government must act maturely and not implement the order,allowing entry of women," he said.

BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai, who undertook a rath yatra from Kasargod in north Kerala to Pathanamthitta, where Sabarimala is situated, to 'protect' the Lord Ayyappa temple's traditions, described the apex court decision as a 'good step'.

"We accept the spirit of today's Supreme Court decision," he said.

CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the government would implement whatever decision the apex court takes on the issue of women's entry into the hill top shrine.

"The government will evaluate the situation and take an appropriate decision", he said.
In a major boost to sacked Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling on Tuesday overturned President Maithripala Sirisena's controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

The apex court's decision deepened the political crisis in the island nation after president Sirisena fired his coalition prime minister Wickremesinghe on October 26 and installed former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new premier.

A three-member apex court bench, including country's chief justice Nalin Perera, delivered its verdict after two days of deliberations on as many as 13 petitions against and five for Sirisena's November 9 decision to dissolve Parliament.

The apex court said Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President's decision next month before giving a final ruling.

The Supreme Court ruling means Parliament can be convened and a floor test can be taken to determine whether the President appointed Prime Minister Rajapaksa has a majority in the 225-member parliament.

After the court verdict, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya summoned parliament's session for Wednesday.

The Speaker hereby informs you that parliament would be convened at 10 am tomorrow November 14. All honorable members of parliament are hereby informed to attend the session, a release from Jayasuriya's office said.

Reacting to the Supreme Court's ruling, Wickremesinghe said, The people have won their first victory.

Let's go forward and re-establish the sovereignty of the people in our beloved country, he tweeted.

The first government reaction came from the newly appointed Prime Minister Rajapaksa's son Namal, himself a legislator.

"The Supreme Court has issued an interim order on the dissolution of parliament till early December. This is not the court's final decision," he said.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to instal Rajapaksa as the new prime minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as premier.

All petitions filed against Sirisena's decision will be heard on December 4, 5 and 6, the apex court ruled, in a historic judgement that could upset the 67-year-old president's political ambitions.

While sacking prime minister Wickremesinghe, president Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16.

He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move.

Major political parties, including the United National Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and an election commission member Ratnajeevan Hoole, on Monday dragged Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his decision by filing fundamental rights petitions against the move, which they said violated the Constitution.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election on January 5, plunging the country into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that his sacking by Sirisena was unconstitutional and illegal and he was still the prime minister.

Wickremesinghe demanded that Parliament be convened to hold a vote among the lawmakers to decide who enjoyed majority support in Parliament to be the prime minister.

As pressure grew and both sides claimed they had the numbers, the President dissolved Parliament and called for elections. Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Sirisena on Sunday stoutly defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers.

He said there were reports that politicians would clash during the floor test, which was due on November 14.

At the hearing on Tuesday, Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya, on behalf of the State, justified Sirisena's action, saying the powers of the President are clear and unambiguous as provided for in the Constitution and the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament was done by the President in accordance with the Constitution.

He pleaded for the dismissal of all petitions and said the President was empowered to dissolve Parliament. Rajapaksa, 72, who ruled Lanka for a nearly decades from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in January 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe's UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security.

And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.

On November 9, Sirisena dissolved Parliament and announced snap polls in January, 2019.
India on Wednesday thanked the United Nations Postal Administration for issuing special postal stamps to commemorate Diwali, the Indian festival of lights.

The United Nations Postal Administration issued a special event sheet on October 19 to commemorate the festival of Diwali.

The struggle between Good & Evil happens everyday @UN. Thank you @UNStamps for portraying our common quest for the triumph of Good over Evil in your 1st set of Diwali stamps on the occasion of the auspicious Festival of Lights, Indias Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.

The sheet in the denomination of $1.15 contains ten stamps and tabs featuring festive lights and the symbolic lamps known as diyas.

The background of the sheet features the United Nations Headquarters building illuminated with the message of Happy Diwali to celebrate the spirit of the festival.

Diwali, also known as Deepawali is the joyous and popular festival of lights, which is celebrated in India and by followers of many faiths across the world, the UN agency had said in its description accompanying information about the stamps.

During the celebration clay lamps known as diyas are lit to signify the victory of good over evil. The festival also symbolises the start of a New Year for many communities, it said.

The United States Postal Service had in October 2016 launched a commemorative stamp in honour of the festival of Diwali.

The USPS Diwali stamp became a reality after seven-years long efforts and advocacy by the Indian-American community and several Congressional resolutions by influential American lawmakers such as Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
On the pricing issue, Eric Trappier said that the present aircraft are cheaper by 9 per cent.

Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer Eric Trappier (pictured below) in an exclusive interview to ANI rubbished allegations made by Congress president Rahul Gandhi that the former lied about the details of the Dassault-Reliance joint venture for offset contracts in the Rafale Jet deal.

I dont lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I dont have a reputation of lying. In my position as CEO, you dont lie, said Trappier when asked to respond to Rahul Gandhis charge that Dassault was covering up for possible cronyism in awarding the offset deal to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference on November 2, alleged that Dassault invested Rs 284 crore in a loss-making company promoted by Anil Ambani which was used to procure land in Nagpur. It is clear the Dassault CEO is lying. If an inquiry starts on this Modi is not going to survive it. Guaranteed, added Gandhi.

Speaking to ANI in the Dassault hangar housed in Istres-Le Tube Air base located north of the French city of Marseille, Dassaults CEO Eric Trappier said that they had prior experience dealing with the Congress party and the comments made by the Congress president made him sad.

We have a long experience with the Congress party. Our first deal was with India in 1953 with Nehru and later with other prime ministers. We have been working with India. We are not working for any party. We are supplying strategic products like fighters to the Indian Air Force and the Indian government. That is what is most important, said Trappier.

When pressed further for the reason behind Dassaults choice of Reliance as an offset partner which had no experience in manufacturing fighter jets, Trappier clarified that the money being invested was not going to Reliance directly but in a joint venture that included Dassault.

We are not putting the money in Reliance. The money is going into the JV. I put my know-how free of charge on how to produce people. I have engineers and workers from Dassault who are taking the lead as far as the industrial part of this deal is concerned. At the same time, I have an Indian company like Reliance who is putting money into this JV as they want to develop their country. So the company is going to know how to produce aircraft, added Trappier.

Trappier further clarified about the investments being made by Dassault, adding that Reliance would match the amount since the shareholding pattern is 49 per cent Dassault and 51 per cent Reliance as per prescribed government norms.

We are supposed to put in this company together about Rs 800 crore as 50:50. For the time being, to start work in the hangar and to pay workers and employees, we have already put in Rs 40 crore. But it will be increased to Rs 800 crore, which implies Rs 400 crore by Dassault in the coming five years, said Trappier.

He added Dassault has seven years to perform offset. During the first three years, we are not obliged to say with who we are working. We have already settled work and agreement with 30 companies, which represents 40 per cent of total offset obligation as per contract. Reliance is 10 per cent out of the 40, while rest 30 per cent is a direct agreement between these companies and Dassault, Trappier said.

On the pricing issue, the CEO said that the present aircraft are cheaper by 9 per cent. The price of 36 was exactly the same when you compare with 18 flyaway. 36 is the double of 18, so as far as I was concerned, it should have been double the price. But because it was government to government, there was some negotiation; I had to decrease the price by 9 per cent. The price of Rafale in a flyaway condition is less expensive in the 36 contract than the 126 contract, he said.

When asked about the initial agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the subsequent breakdown of talks with the Indian PSU for production of Rafale jets, the Dassault CEO said that if the initial deal of 126 jets went through they would not have hesitated to work with HAL and Reliance.

Its because the 126 didnt go smooth that the government of India had to reconfigure to urgently acquire 36 from France. And then I took the decision to continue with Reliance, and HAL even said in the last few days that they were not interested to be part of the offset. So, it has been done by my decision and the decision of Reliance to invest in a new private company, added Trappier.

He added that Dassault was earlier in discussions with several other companies for offset tie-ups. Obviously, we could have gone to Tata or other family groups. At that time, the decision to go ahead was not given to Dassault. We were in 2011, Tata was also discussing with other flying companies. We finally decided to go ahead with Reliance as they have experience in big engineering facilities, Trappier said.

Talking about the aircraft, the Dassault CEO explained that the present planes will have all necessary equipments but not weapons and missiles. The weapons will be sent in a different contract. But the aircraft with everything other than weapons will be dispatched by Dassault, he said.

Dictated interviews, manufactured lies cant suppress scam: Congress

The Congress dismissed as manufactured lies claims by the Dassault CEO.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also fired a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over it.

Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala joined Gandhi in accusing the government of a cover-up, hours after Dassault CEO Eric Trappier rebutted the party's allegations.

Congress chief spokesperson Surjewala said the nation needs a fair investigation and not doctored explanations on the fighter jet deal, referring to comments by Trappier in a media interview that there was no corruption in the deal as alleged by the opposition party.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari alleged that the government, through its affidavit in apex court, was trying to conceal more than it reveals and posed a set of questions.

"Dictated interviews and manufactured lies cannot cover up corruption in the Rafale deal. The first rule of law is mutual beneficiaries and the co-accused's statements hold no value. The second rule is beneficiaries and accused cannot be a judge in their own case. Truth has a way of coming out. Mr Modi, the nation does not want doctored explanations," Surjewala said.

"The fixed match between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Dassault Aviation will not hide the scam. The PR stunt that Eric Trappier and the Prime Minister Modi are doing will not cover up the layers of corruption in the Rafale deal," he alleged.

The Left parties also alleged that the government had spun a web of lies to hide corruption and its wrong doings in the Rafale jet fighter deal.

The Congress, on its Twitter handle also said, The government's submission to Supreme Court on the Rafale Scam makes it clear they did not take the basic steps fundamental to defence procurement. Prime Minister Modi's corruption is crystal clear.

There is a very clear violation of the Defence Procurement Procedure. Every process has been completed post-facto. The Rafale deal is shrouded in secrecy and it is very clear that a desperate government is using all tools and means at its disposal for a cover-up, Sharma alleged.

Mounting a fresh offensive against the prime minister, Gandhi tagged a media report with his tweet alleging the government has thrown up more wrong-doings by Modi in the Rafale deal in its affidavit before the apex court.

The media report claimed the affidavit has made it clear that the government did not take the most basic steps that are fundamental to any procurement.

Congress lies exposed: BJP

The BJP hit back saying that Trappier's claims on the Rafale deal had exposed the lies of Congress and Rahul Gandhi whose behaviour, it alleged, had become increasingly irresponsible and oblivious to India's security needs.

Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told PTI that Trappier's interview had particularly exposed the lie about the company's offset obligation.

The CEO, he added, made it clear that such an obligation with Anil Ambani's Reliance and 30 other firms would be undertaken solely by Dassault and that Government of India had no role whatsoever.

The interview exposed all the lies of the Congress and its president," Prasad said, adding the Rafale fighter aircraft was inducted to subserve the security needs of the Indian Air Force.

'CAG deliberately delaying report on Rafale deal'

As many as 60 retired bureaucrats have written to the Comptroller and Auditor General expressing concern over audit reports on demonetisation and the Rafale deal being deliberately delayed to not embarrass the National Democratic Alliance government till next year's general elections.

In a letter, they said there was concern over unconscionable and unwarranted delay in bringing out the audit reports on demonetisation and the Rafale fighter jet deal, and the reports should be tabled before Parliament in the Winter Session.

The CAG's failure to present the audit reports on note ban and the Rafale deal in time "may be seen as a partisan action" and could create a crisis of credibility for the institution, the letter said.

Sources in the office of the CAG said that the report on the Rafale deal is expected to be released by December.

-- With inputs from PTI
Those who for personal reasons  such as returning to work outside the home  need their babies to sleep longer at night can ask a professional about behavioral sleep training. It includes strategies like letting baby fuss instead of responding immediately to his cries, which can help him learn to self-soothe and fall back asleep on his own.
'Raman Singh will certainly be defeated by the alliance we have created,' Ajit Jogi, Chhattisgarh's first chief minister and one of Indian politics's great survivors, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.

"Every election is the first election. This election will also be well contested," says Ajit Jogi, Chhattisgarh's first chief minister, over the phone from Raipur on Sunday, after returning from the Sunday church service.

On Diwali, Jogi, who has overcome tremendous physical odds since he lost both his legs in a car crash during the 2004 Lok Sabha campaign, had visited a temple and a mosque in Raipur.

As Chhattisgarh goes to the polls, his new party, the Chhattisgarh Janata Congress, is fighting its first election, emerging as a third force in a state that has traditionally seen a straight Bharatiya Janata Party-Congress contest.

Jogi -- a former bureaucrat turned Congress politician, who left the Congress to form the Chhattisgarh Janata Congress last year -- is one of Indian politics's great suvivors and has repeatedly beaten the odds to remain politically relevant.

According to three-time BJP Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, Jogi's alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party of India could impact 30 of Chhattisgarh's 90 assembly seats.

If the alliance wins 5 to 8 seats, Jogi is expected to play a crucial role in the post-poll arithmetic. But he feels his alliance will win a majority on its own to form a government.

"I will be the king, not the kingmaker," asserts Jogi launching a blistering attack on the Raman Singh government.

"People are totally fed up of the Raman Singh government," he says. "There is corruption, unemployment and they have not fulfilled the promises of the last elections."

"Raman Singh will be defeated. He will certainly be defeated by the alliance we have created," says Jogi who struck a deal with BSP leader Mayawati right under the Congress's nose, a political coup for him.

"The Congress had been talking to her. She thought she could transfer her votes to Congress, but wasn't sure if the Congress votes would come to her. In my case," he explains, "I can transfer my votes to her and vice versa."

"Mayawatiji has been chief minister of India's largest state, has the support of Dalits and would be the right choice as leader of a non-Congress, non-BJP alliance," he says indicating what could lie ahead in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

His daughter-in-law Richa Jogi will contest the election on a BSP ticket. Jogi himself is contesting from Marwahi.

After a long association with the Congress that started with Rajiv Gandhi, Jogi's wife Dr Renu Jogi, a Congress MLA, had remained with the Congress till last week.

She left the party when the Congress denied a ticket to recontest her Kota seat. Dr Jogi is now a candidate from her husband's party from the same seat.

"I am very happy she is contesting from my party," says Ajit Jogi.

Jogi had said he would not personally attack the Gandhi family during his campaign and said his relations with the Gandhis continue to remain good.

Asked if Rahul Gandhi was responsible for his ouster from the Congress, he says, "Not at all."

"I wanted to form a regional party because national parties have not been able to deliver in the state. They have to take permission from Delhi for everything."
Between January 1, 2017 and September 18, 2018, one manual scavenger died every five days.

He is no caped superhero, but Bezwada Wilson continues to fight the good fight for manual scavengers, says Manavi Kapur.

IMAGE: Bezwada Wilson, a campaigner for eradication of manual scavengering, was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016. Photograph: PTI Photo

'To those who say that these things do not happen here, to those who want to claim a superior status for the Indian civilisation, I say that only those who have suffered this anguish know its sting,' Om Prakash Valmiki in the preface to Joothan, 1997.

Bezwada Wilson knew nothing of anguish in his early childhood years.

"My parents worked hard to give me an insulated life, filled with love," he recalls. Till he was five or six years old, he had no inkling of his place in the social order.

Born to parents who were manual scavengers, Wilson did not know that his older brother was one too. "It was only once I grew older that I realised I wasn't as 'normal' as my parents would have me believe."

There is little about Wilson's life that qualifies as "normal".

Born in 1966 in the Kolar Gold Fields region in Karnataka, Wilson understood the harsh reality of his social identity only once he became aware of his family's profession.

"It disturbed me to think that we are not equals, that no matter what my parents do at home, we will all be treated poorly in the world outside," he says.

At school -- Wilson briefly studied at a social welfare school in Andhra Pradesh -- he would often be conferred with derogatory monikers that he didn't yet understand. "I was staying in a hostel that housed a mix of caste groups. There was a sense of high-handed benevolence that made people say, 'I treat you as equal'."

But, for the first two decades of his life, this sense of injustice remained a dimly understood, passive reality.

It was when a 20-year-old Wilson was studying science at a college in Kolar and tutoring school children that he first encountered the familial impact of manual scavenging, where children dropped out of school because their parents couldn't pay the fees.

The Kolar area employed a large number of people to manually clean human excreta from dry latrines. The manual scavengers spent a sizeable portion of their incomes on alcohol, to numb the pain of their soul-crushing drudgery.

The first time Wilson witnessed a manual scavenger at work, he broke down in tears.

That day, he spoke to his parents about what he had seen. And was shocked by their reaction -- they told Wilson they had been manual scavengers all their life.

"What is striking is how this is a community that exists in total silence. Do you know that young men who get married don't even tell their wives they are manual scavengers? Most of these workers finish their work, come home, eat and sleep. The task of cleaning people's s*** every day leaves them unable to express their own disgust," he says.

Wilson never loses his cool or his smile, but he speaks with a fierce passion and empathy.

"Very, very abnormal things are normalised for this community. People complicate the manual scavenging debate by saying it is a layered issue," he says. "But it is simple-simple. As a society we like to make it look difficult so that we can escape responsibility."

Wilson speaks in English, using Hindi to emphasise some points, but employing no euphemisms that might dilute the force of his argument.

Over the years, he taught himself English, a language that also gave him access to the social and intellectual capital of the Dalit community, including the works of B R Ambedkar.

Between 1986 and 1993, Wilson travelled across the country to meet workers and fully understand the role manual scavengers played. But the final push came from women in these communities, he says.

"Looking at their agony, I was propelled to do something more concrete. It was this emotional flooding that gave shape to our movement," he says.

Wilson moved to Hyderabad in 1993 and met Dalit's rights activists Paul Diwakar and S R Sankaran. Together, they formed the Safai Karamchari Andolan, a community-driven movement to mobilise manual scavengers.

The year 1993 was also when the government made its first move to abolish manual scavenging with the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) or EMSCDL Act. But the Act was termed largely toothless by those working with cleaners, sweepers and sewage workers.

The next decade, between 1993 and 2003, was crucial.

"The administration, both central and state, is a big stumbling block for change. They resisted all overtures we made so that they could maintain the status quo," insists Wilson.

For instance, under the 1993 Act, most states would claim that since they had no dry latrines there was no question of demolishing them.

"Officers would deny data and refute facts. It was a constant, frustrating battle then and continues to be so today."

When the states began refuting deaths caused by sewage accidents and inhaling poisonous gases, Wilson enlisted volunteers to estimate the number of deaths and report them. "But this approach also meant that human life was merely being represented as data. It did not address how we could prevent these deaths," he says.

This prompted him to hop on to a train to New Delhi in 1993 with a general compartment ticket.

"I thought I would file a case in the Supreme Court. But, of course, reaching Delhi opened my eyes to how complicated it is to get just the paperwork done," he says. His gumption did not go unrewarded, though.

He met several like-minded people in Delhi, including lawyers willing to guide him. With advocacy groups, manual scavengers and activists, he filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court that year naming all states and government departments -- the Railways, Defence, the Judiciary and Education - as violators of the Manual Scavenging Prohibition Act. The case is still sub judice.

The law was replaced with the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which was to have a wider scope and impose greater penalties than the 1993 law.

Activists like Wilson have repeatedly pointed out that the new Act is an update only in name. Without specifying a solid implementation mechanism, laws like this are just lip service, he believes.

Wilson has been relentless with his questions -- many seem obvious, such as why the Indian Railways continues to employ manual scavengers. His forthright questions are neither naive nor hostile, but they make one shift in one's seat.

"I will never forget the attitude of politicians and bureaucrats," he says. "They would sit with their arms crossed, with a bored expression, and ask me, 'Haan, toh kya karna chahiye humein? (So tell us, what should we be doing?)' Basically, what they are saying is that we cleaned their s*** for these many years and now we must find a way out of it. This is just another form of modern slavery."

His passionate work has not gone unnoticed, though.

After he was conferred the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016, he was at the forefront of the India Sanitech Forum in 2017, a platform for tech innovators to showcase automation models for sewage cleaning.

Wilson also advises academics at leading institutes, such as the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, on designing sewage-cleaning machines that eliminate the need for exposure to deadly gases and infections.

In 2014, an IAS officer thought Wilson's work was done -- the prime minister had announced the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on October 2. "He told me, 'Bezwada aap le lo (You should retire now, Bezwada)'," he laughs.

"Four years later, here we are. Nothing has changed."

Just between January 1, 2017 and September 18, 2018, one manual scavenger has died every five days.

"Do you see what's happening here? We are purposely missing the point," says Wilson. And yet, his gumption has not waned nor his resolve weakened.
The police were aware of the bandh since the gram panchayats had informed them about it. Yet, it finds no mention in the affidavit submitted to the Bhima Koregaon commission.

Jyoti Punwani reports.

IMAGE: A protest in Mumbai, March 26, 2018, to demand action against those who instigated the violence following the Elgar Parishad in Pune on January 1, 2018.

On Saturday, November 3, Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar told the Bhima Koregaon Commission of Inquiry that the sequence of events that occurred in and around Bhima Koregaon before the January 1, 2018 violence had not as yet been placed on record before the commission.

Justice J N Patel who heads the two-man commission, asked Ambedkar to point out the affidavits that trace this sequence, so that those witnesses could be summoned.

So far, the events of January 1 have been described only by private witnesses who have spoken about their own experience.

The fact-finding report filed by witness Bhimrao Bansod, whose cross examination has already taken up nine days of the commission's time in Mumbai, does go into the background of the violence, but none of the members of the fact-finding team were themselves witness to what they reported.

The correct sequence of events must come from the government. So far, no government witness has been summoned.

But it appears from the affidavit filed by Ganesh More of the Pune rural police force before the commission that the police too have chosen to be selective in their narration of the sequence of events that occurred before the January 1 violence.

In a conversation with Rediff.com, Ambedkar said he wanted the events in the last week of December 2017, to come on record -- the clash that took place in Vadhu Budruk village on December 29, and the January 1 bandh call given by the gram panchayats of Bhima Koregaon and nearby villages.

The 21-page affidavit filed by policeman More describes in great detail the former, but makes no mention of the latter.

On December 29, says More's affidavit, some villagers of Vadhu Budruk broke a recently installed signboard extolling the role of Govind Gopal Gaekwad (also known as Govind Gopal Mahar) in performing the last rites of Sambhaji Maharaj, in defiance of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's orders. They also broke the chhatri (canopy) on top of Govind Gopal Mahar's samadhi.

The incident, that was widely reported then, led to seven arrests and the filing of cases against 49 villagers, mostly Marathas, under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. But the matter was resolved in the next two days after both sides sat down togethe, and withdrew the complaints they had filed against each other.

However, despite this settlement, a call for a bandh to be observed on January 1 was given by the gram panchayats in the area, including Bhima Koregaon.

Appeals to support the bandh were spread through WhatsApp in which Marathas were asked to gather in large numbers on the morning of January 1 at Vadhu Budruk.

Interestingly, More's affidavit talks about a 1,200-strong crowd of saffron-flag bearers gathering at 10.30 am at Vadhu Budruk on January 1. They were chanting 'prerna mantra' (inspirational mantras),' says the policeman's affidavit.

Dalit witnesses have told the commission that men carrying saffron flags were shouting 'Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani.'

More's affidavit says nothing about who these men were, and how so many of them got there, despite the elaborate police bandobast described by him.

Ambedkar told Rediff.com that he was planning to bring these WhatsApp messages to the commission's notice and request that they be sent for forensic analysis in order to trace their origin.

The messages describe the bandh as a protest against the filing of cases against the Marathas at Vadhu Budruk as well as the 'false history' which was being celebrated by the Dalits.

The 'false history' referred to the annual homage paid by Dalits to the Vijay Stambh (victory memorial) which commemorates the defeat of the Peshwas at the hands of the British, who were helped by Mahars. That battle took place on Janaury 1, 1818.

The WhatsApp messages described this as a 'black day'/ marking the end of Peshwa rule.

Govind Gopal Gaekwad's role in performing Sambhaji Maharaj's last rites is also seen to be a part of 'wrong history'.

The view that these two events, which hold great significance for the Dalits, are being wrongly depicted has been propagated by ex-BJP corporator Milind Ekbote, head of the Dharmveer Sambhaji Maharaj Pratishthaan.

Ekbote and another Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide were named as responsible for the Bhima Koregaon rioting in the first FIR filed after the violence.

The January 1 bandh was so successfully implemented that lakhs of Dalits who descended on the two villages found for the first time that they could not buy even a bottle of water, let alone food.

The police were aware of the bandh since the gram panchayats had informed them about it. Yet, they did nothing to prevent it.

Now, they seem to be bent upon suppressing the fact that it took place.

Over seven pages, More describes the preparations made by the police for the expected influx of Dalits as well as the precautions taken in view of the clash at Vadhu Budruk. But not a word is mentioned about the bandh.
'If Nitish Kumar is given more seats, then no one can stop the NDA from losing, even the BJP will be wiped out.'

Utkarsh Mishra reports on the BJP's problems in Bihar.

IMAGE: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar welcomes Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Anilchandra Shah. Photograph: PTI Photo

Over a week after Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Anilchandra Shah announced, flanked by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, that the BJP and Kumar's Janata Dal-United would contest an equal number of Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2019 election, there is still no clarity over the National Democratic Alliance's seat-sharing formula.

There were reports that the BJP and the JD-U would contest 16 seats each. Of the remaining eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, six seats would be given to Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party while the Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samata Party would be given two.

However, this was rejected by the RLSP which insists that no seat-sharing plan has been finalised yet.

A couple of days after Shah's presser, Kushwaha addressed reporters after meeting Bhupendra Yadav, the BJP's Bihar in-charge, and said that seat-sharing talks are still underway and a clear picture would emerge in two or three days.

However, no final announcement has been made so far.

Meanwhile, top RLSP leaders reiterate that they will not accept anything less than three Lok Sabha seats.

RLSP national General Secretary and spokesperson Madhaw Anand said that Shah and Kumar's press conference was only a matter between those two parties.

"It would have been better if other NDA members were also included in that discussion. Nonetheless, we want to see Narendra Modi ji again as prime minister in 2019 and we are strongly with the NDA," Anand told Rediff.com.

"But no seat-sharing formula which doesn't take into account our party's mandate will be acceptable to us," Anand added.

The RLSP had contested three Lok Sabha seats in 2014, he said, and won all of them.

"This time, too, we will contest not less than three seats," he said.

Echoing similar views, RLSP Working President Nagmani said, "The Bihar in-charge of the BJP has been told that if we are not offered respectable number of seats, we will take necessary steps."

In an earlier interview with Rediff.com, Nagmani had stated that the RLSP could have an alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal.

These rumours were fuelled by Kushwaha's meeting with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the Opposition in the Bihar assembly, at Arwal.

However, both Kushwaha and Tejashwi termed the meeting as a coincidence.

"Kushwahaji's programme in Arwal was already fixed. When he reached there, he found that Tejashwi was already staying at the circuit house," Anand said. "When Tejashwi came to meet Kushwahaji with his followers, he couldn't have refused."

"The meeting should not be seen politically," Anand added, "If Tejashwi made any political statements after that, then it was his prerogative. The RJD would also want to have a partner like the RLSP. But we are strongly with the NDA."

Nagmani, however, is less forgiving.

"If we are not given a fair share of seats, we will sit and decide the fate of our alliance," Nagmani said. "In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP did not want us to fight elections. But we have already declared candidates on 66 seats."

"We are an independent party, not tied to anyone. Why will we have an agreement with a party that doesn't treat us with respect?" Nagmani asked.

"I have said so many times that Nitish has only 1.5 to 2 per cent vote in Bihar. If he is given more seats, then no one can stop the NDA from losing, even the BJP will be wiped out," he said.

Anand, on the other hand, expressed hope that the BJP would consider giving three or more seats to the RLSP.

"The BJP is the largest party in the world and it sees everything. For the BJP, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar -- having 80 and 40 Lok Sabha seats respectively -- are most important states for the 2019 polls," Anand said.

"The BJP knows the caste equation in Bihar and our 10 to 15 per cent votes can't be ignored. Moreover, Upendra Kushwahaji has the support of all communities and not just the Kushwaha community," Anand added.

"If there is a star performer in the NDA in Bihar, it is the RLSP," Anand asserted. "We contested three seats in 2014 and won all of them with over a lakh votes. Since then, our support base has only expanded."

"No seat-sharing formula that doesn't take into account this increased mandate of the RLSP will be accepted," Anand warned.

The BJP's Shah, he said, has only announced that the BJP and the JD-U would contest an equal number of seats in Bihar.

"He did not specify how many seats each NDA partner will get. I can assure you that this time also we will get at least three seats, if not more," Anand said.

Unlike the JD-U, he said, the RLSP believes in alliance dharma.

"We are putting forward our demands through proper channels and we are confident that they will be accepted," he added.

On being asked if newly-appointed JD-U Vice-President Prashant Kishor's proximity to Narendra Damodardas Modi could be the cause of the BJP's indifference towards other allies, Anand retorted that he did not know anybody with that name.

"Who Prashant Kishor? Who is this new leader in Bihar? Are you talking about the person whom the Congress workers in UP were searching with 'Missing' posters and banners after their rout in the assembly election last year?" Anand asked.

"Bihar has no dearth of leaders. There is Upendra Kushwahaji, (Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and the BJP's senior leader in Bihar) Sushil Modiji; Nitishji himself is there. Then why talk about a person whom no one knows?" Anand asked.

"We are with the NDA since 2014. Nitish Kumar came back only in 2017. There cannot be a seat-sharing agreement without consulting all NDA partners," Anand said.

Why does the BJP seem to care only about the JD-U despite such clear statements by the RLSP leadership?

"We have said so many times that Nitish has only 1.5 to 2 per cent votes. If the BJP gives 16, 17 seats to the JD-U and only two seats to our party, which has a much larger mandate then it would be a suicide for the BJP," Nagmani warned.

"If the BJP wants to commit suicide, then who can stop it?"
When you think of Indian Maharajas of yore what is the one thing that comes to mind?

Jewels!

And that is exactly what the world will witness at Christies, New York during its upcoming auction -- "Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence".

The "unprecedented group" of objects is from The Al Thani Collection of the royal family of Qatar. It is expected to see competitive bidding from across the globe.

As per Christie's, this collection is poised to be the most valuable auction of jewellery and jewelled objects. The current record is held by The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor, which totals $144 million (Rs 1,003 crore).

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's jade hilted dagger, the priceless jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad, and a string of pearls belonging to Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur are among the 400 royal artefacts that would be auctioned on Wednesday.

Here's a glimpse of the astounding jewels that will be auctioned.

Paris-based jeweller Mellerio dits Meller made jewels for Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala.

One such ornament is the vibrant peacock aigrette, made of gold, diamonds and enamel. The piece is visible in the portraits of the maharaja's fifth wife, Rani Prem Kaur. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

Mughal emperors originally wore turban ornaments known as 'sarpechs' to show off dazzling large gemstones, while egret feathers also signaled their rank as an emblem of authority.

Here the border of brilliant-cut diamonds and a substantial emerald echo European jewellery designs as the gems are not encased in closed settings that were typical of Indian jewellery. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

An antique imperial spinel. It is made of seven tumbled spinel beads, pearls, pear-shaped cabochon emerald drop and gold. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

The Nizam of Hyderabad necklace.

The piece's eight large diamonds, each weighing between 10 to 15 carats, are modified brilliant cuts. The cuts represent an advance in gem-faceting technology in India. The symmetrical arrangement of the gems and the central pendant reveal Western influences. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

This 20th century necklace was created in France in 1937 for Maharaja Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar, making the most of a remarkable collection of Burmese rubies amassed by his predecessor, a friend of the legendary jeweler Jacques Cartier.

Following Independence in 1947, Cartier bought the piece and altered the original design to better suit a woman.

It was subsequently bought and worn by Loel Guinness at author Truman Capote's famed Black and White Ball in 1966. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

A gold finial from the throne of Tipu Sultan. It is set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. The marble plinth with gilt metal fittings is 17.1 cm in height. . Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

Pen cases and inkwells were symbols of the highest distinction. Its decoration includes a sacred bird called a hamsa, a symbol of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

A stunning turban ornament of the Maharaja of Nawanagar, white gold set with diamonds. It was originally made 1907 and modified in 1935. Photograph: Kind courtesy: Legion of Honor

This pendant, in the form of a figure modelled around a baroque pearl, represents a fine example of the dialogue between Italy and India in the jewelled arts at the time of the Renaissance.

Using gems in Indian kundan settings, the pendant may have been made by a European goldsmith working in India.

The figure may be a snake god, Nagadevata. The Nagas were semi-divine, with a human face and the neck of a cobra.

The large pearl came to India through trade, either from the Pacific Ocean or from waters off the coast of America.

The composition of the pendant is directly inspired by 16th century Italian prototypes and reflects Mughal interests in the arts of the West. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

Although the Cartiers were never technically diamond merchants, the deals they made and the work they did with some of the finest stones in the world played a key role in developing the firm's international stature.

In 1937, Maharaja Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar asked Cartier to set the 'Tiger Eye', an unusual cognac-coloured diamond discovered in 1913 and sold by the firm to his predecessor Maharaja Ranjitsinhji.

Cartier designed a turban ornament around the gem, using baguette-cut diamonds to create an Art Deco look for this traditional Indian jewellery form. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

Another jewel piece for a turban. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

This wine cup is the earliest dated jade artefact that can be linked without doubt to any Mughal emperor.

It has three bands of calligraphy -- the central band, carved in monumental sols script, has a royal dedication announcing that the cup was made for Jahangir; the upper border, in Nastaaliq script, confirms it was the personal cup of the emperor and was made in the second year of his reign, therefore between April 1607 and March 1608.

Persian verses ornament the cup, including some contemporary 17th century poetry, and it is suggested that the poet responsible was the maker of the cup itself.

The superintendent of the royal goldsmiths at the time was also rewarded by Jahangir for his skills as a poet. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor

In the Indian court, rosewater was sprinkled over guests at the end of a meal using bottles such as this gem encrusted one which was probably made in the Mughal imperial workshops (1675 -1725).

The bottle is inscribed with its weight for the treasury records. Differences in the colour of gold and the settings suggest that the neck is a replacement dating from the late 18th century.

Rosewater was also sprinkled at larger social gatherings as a sign of favour and hospitality.

A similar bottle was removed from Delhi in 1739 and taken to Russia in 1741 by envoys of the Iranian ruler Nadir Shah. Photograph: Kind courtesy Legion of Honor
Bundelkhand is thought to be an area where Mayawati has some influence.

Both Amit Shah and Shivraj Chouhan believe every weapon in the arsenal must be used to ensure victory.

Aditi Phadnis reports.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Professor G D Agrawal has gone. India is the poorer for it.

A life-long supporter of the values of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a trained civil engineer and committed to a clean Ganga, Professor Agrawal starved himself to death -- he stopped drinking water in the last few days -- because he argued, how could he, when his beloved Ganga was so impure?

He attributed the impurity of the river to hydel power projects, sand mining and the release of industrial effluent.

Till 2017 when she was ousted in a Cabinet reshuffle, Sadhvi Uma Bharati was in charge of the Ganga cleaning ministry.

Chatter has it that Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Anilchandra Shah were for dropping her altogether because as minister she had done little -- but it was the Sangh that counselled (at a three day meeting with Shah at Vrindavan in September 2017) keeping her on.

And why?

For fear of alienating the Lodh community to which she belongs because the BJP had suffered a setback after it had taken action against Kalyan Singh, another Lodh leader and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

In ensuring she stayed in government -- though in the PM's judgment she had not done her job and the Ganga part of her portfolio was given to Roads Minister Nitin Gadkari late 2017 -- the Sangh opted to sacrifice another quieter but apparently dispensable volunteer.

At the time, she announced that if the plans to clean Ganga were not implemented by October 2018, she would undertake mahaupvaas se mahaprayan (fast unto death). Obviously, she is satisfied with the progress of implementation.

So who is Uma Bharati and what is the source of her power?

Actually, if you consider her career closely, she has been most effective when she has been out of power, looking in from the outside.

She was a Lok Sabha MP in 1991, 1996 and 1998, having contributed to the Ram Janambhoomi movement.

In the 2003 assembly polls, she led the BJP to a three fourths majority and became chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. She had to resign because of criminal charges against her relating to events in Karnataka.

It was her effort that won the election for the BJP and Babulal Gaur was the one who was made the chief minister. He remained in the position for only a year-and-a-half before Shivraj Singh Chouhan replaced him. Obviously Bharati was not happy.

Considered the most indiscreet -- and most outspoken -- woman member of the BJP, she found herself evicted from the party: In 2004 and then again in 2006.

In the presence of Lal Kishenchand Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she charged Arun Jaitley with planting stories against her behind her back, criticised Sushma Swaraj and tore into many members of the BJP national executive at a meeting thought to be private, until someone discovered the microphone that was supposed to have been switched off was relaying everything to the press gaggle outside.

She returned to the party when Nitin Gadkari became president, she claimed at the time, on her terms.

A cameo at Gadkari's residence office is unforgettable. She was waiting for him.

"Now don't you go writing I am meeting him because I want to beg him to take me back in the BJP," she said at the time, waggling her finger at reporters. "I'm here because I just love fat people..." and then an arch smile at Smriti Irani, also in the room: "that's why I am so fond of Smriti."

Smriti looked at her distantly, smiled lightly and said: "Arre didi, I thought you were going to say I've lost weight."

Gadkari shifted her to UP and she contested and won the Jhansi seat in 2014. Bharati announced earlier this year that she would not contest any more elections though she wouldn't say no to campaigning in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections if invited.

She was taken up on her offer. She appeared at a public meeting in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh which accounts for 32 assembly seats.

The region is adjacent to UP. She was appearing on a public platform in the state of her birth for the first time in nearly eight years.

Bundelkhand is thought to be an area where Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has some influence. Both Amit Anilchandra Shah and the chief minister believe every weapon in the arsenal must be used to ensure victory in the assembly election.

Hence the invitation to Uma Bharati, though at the public meeting in her inimitable style she asked the crowd: 'I asked Shivrajji is there any point in my coming to MP? Will it make any difference? Only after he assured me it would, did I come to this meeting.'

That's Uma Bharati for you. Predictable... but also unpredictable.
Dissonant artistic visions drove Annapurna Devi and her husband Ravi Shankar apart, notes Swapan Kumar Bondyopadhyay.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

March 30, 1955. The last item of the music conference organised by the Constitution Club of New Delhi was a jugalbandi presentation by Ravi Shankar and Annapurna Shankar.

That day's programme began with Annapurna's recital of Ragashree. Annapurna started the alap in the mandrasaptak. Ravi Shankar occasionally touched a few notes in the madhyasaptak.

After some time Ravi Shankar came down to the mandrasaptak and rested on the kharaj string. The two strings of the chakari and the strings of the taraf created resonance.

After this Ravi Shankar and Annapurna started vistar in the nonpareil mirkhandi fashion.

Annapurna touched on the ati komal rishab or the ati komal dhaibat so carefully that it seemed something uncanny was going to happen.

Ravi Shankar was also depicting the traditional rup of the raga. But despite all this it seemed Annapurna excelled him in ease and naturalness.

There are many myths relating to Annapurna's music. Many say that her father had directed her not to play in public so that Ravi Shankar's playing does not sound lacklustre to the audience. Maybe Baba said all this due to his love for his son-in-law.

Some others say that at the time of his talim under Baba Allauddin Khan Annapurna would help Ravi Shankar in his riyaz.

After that evening's recital there was humming among the audience. Then the judgement of the listeners placed the crown on Annapurna. I do not know if Annapurna ever performed in public after this.

Ravi Shankar and Annapurna were back home after the recital. Annapurna went to the kitchen. Subho (their son) was busy with his pencil and sketchbook. Ravi Shankar came out after a refreshing bath. He was unusually grave.

As they sat for dinner Ravi Shankar tried to unburden his heart.

'I am facing some problems adjusting the duet programmes...' he said tearing away at the chapati.

'What kind of problems?' Annapurna asked, but her voice lacked inquisitiveness. It seemed she already knew what her husband had in store for her.

'I am trying to put it into your head that things are changing. The wind of change is blowing. We must catch up or we would fall behind.'

'Why do you say so? Why this?'

'This is very simple. We have to bring in some modern touches to our music.'

'I do not follow...'

'Not that you do not follow. You deliberately refuse to follow. From the very first day of our marriage, I have seen that you have not tried to modify or change yourself.'

'For example?' Annapurna chipped in with a touch of sarcasm.

'I wanted you to dress up for the occasion. You just threw away the sarees and left aside the ornaments. How very odd.'

'This talk has been going on forever. I thought we've had enough of this. Why do you unnecessarily raise it again? Don't you remember what I said when you complained of my showing scant regard for your suggestion? I had told you that I shall listen to what you say, wear colourful sarees and flashy ornaments, but then in that case you will have to change yourself too. You have to be faithful to me.'

'It was not possible for you to keep your word. I made all kinds of adjustments and now you are throwing all these accusations at me. Before you call me a ziddi just search your heart. But let that go. I wonder why you are saying all these things here today?'

Ravi Shankar was accustomed to the sternness in the voice and the attitude. He said whatever he had to say.

'I know its all useless,' he said, 'You have never seen nor will see reason. You are orthodox. Opinionated like a school mistress, a spinster, glossing over all the good things of life.'

Such words gave him a little relief and he carried on: 'Listen, Anu, we cannot play like this. In fact the artists should create the prevailing taste for the audience. As in literature the poet or the novelist strives to change the taste of the reading public by introducing a new style and new idiom. If we always cling to the old, that will not do.'

'The times are changing. We are not in the age of the maharajahs when life was slow and idle. Life now is fast and complicated. So the days for your elongated vilambit meends are out. You may get applause and appreciation now, but...'

'I am playing whatever I have learnt from Baba. He taught us the dhrupad-ang alap. I dwell on each swara for a long time and love to play alap. I do not know what the changing times will require.'

'But...' Ravi Shankar tried to intervene.

'I want to play Baba's music whatever happens. All my life I shall play that. I won't budge an inch,' Annapurna said.

'I know. I know. You can bring in some feeling into your music. You stick to a note and squeeze out every ounce of sur from it. Everyone raves about it. That is the beauty of the surbahar. The sitar suffers from an inferiority complex. But still I feel it is no use sticking to the old world. One should move with the times. I have decided to call it off.'

Annapurna knew it would be futile arguing with him. Ravi Shankar was a person with a marvellous sense of timing. So whatever he would decide would be best for him. Only she might not agree with him.

She looked fixedly at Ravi Shankar so that he would not stop and elaborate on whatever he was thinking inside.

'This is the age of the sitar. So I prefer the sitar and not the surbahar. Like this is the age of the khayal and not the dhrupad. Dhrupad may be very rich, but the modern man just cannot afford to patronise the slow movement of the dhrupad.'

Annapurna did not feel like replying to Ravi's argument. She felt Ravi was suffering from an inferiority complex because she got rave reviews. The jugalbandis, in their five or six concerts together, were enough to establish her superiority over Ravi Shankar as a performer and musician.

That time Ravi did not know that she would willingly withdraw herself from the public eye. She was on the rise. The connoisseurs hailed her as great. The surbahar also helped to establish her supremacy, because it is a more difficult instrument than the sitar, heavier and more satisfying musically.

Ravi was justifiably jealous. And so he elicited a vow from his wife that she would no longer play in public. There are many versions of this anecdote afloat, mostly apocryphal.

Annapurna, however, told me that something worse had happened than Ravi attempting to make her take this oath. But she added that she would divulge it to none.

'That will go with me when I go,' she said emphatically.

This was bound to happen if the husband and wife shared the same profession. It is the male ego.

For Ravi Shankar it was worse. He was ambitious and egocentric; he would not allow anyone to rule his world.

Truly he was the sun and loved to shine alone in the sky. So perhaps he had decided to take her away from public performances.

Excerpted with permission from An Unheard Melody by Swapan Kumar Bondyopadhyay.
The IAF has paid French aerospace firms Dassault and Thales about Euro 350 million for 'performance-based logistics'.

This requires the vendors to ensure that 75 per cent of the Rafale fleet is combat-ready at all times, notes Ajai Shukla.

In a radical move, the US Navy is looking to commercial airlines for ideas and procedures to get more of its combat fighter aircraft off the ground.

US Navy aviation maintenance engineers have begun examining the maintenance and stocking practices of Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines, which routinely ensure significantly higher aircraft availability rates than the US military.

The US Navy's primary fighter -- the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet -- has an availability rate of just 53 per cent. The US Navy's reserve fighter -- the F-18C Hornet -- has an even lower availability rate: Just about 44 per cent.

Much like the Super Hornet, the Indian Air Force's frontline Sukhoi-30MKI fighter has an availability rate of about 55 per cent. That means, of the IAF's fleet of 240 Sukhoi-30MKIs, about 108 fighters -- the equivalent of five squadrons -- remain unavailable for combat at any given time.

To prevent this in the Rafale, the IAF has paid French aerospace firms Dassault and Thales about Euro 350 million for 'performance-based logistics'. This requires the vendors to ensure that 75 per cent of the Rafale fleet is combat-ready at all times.

The US Pentagon, however, is taking the path of improving its own procedures. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis ordered the US navy, marine corps and air force in writing to ensure a 'mission capable rate' of 80 per cent by end-2019.

That requires four out of five fighters -- including the F-35 Lightning II, F-22 Raptor, F-16 and F-18 fleets -- to be ready to discharge combat missions at all times.

'Our aviation inventory and supporting infrastructure suffer from systemic underperformance, overcapitalization and unrealized capability,' wrote Mattis in a September 17 memo.

'[Implementing this] involves adopting commercial best practices to modernize maintenance depots and streamline supply chain management. By adopting these proven practices, we will rapidly attain the ability to sustain increased numbers of full mission capable aircraft and achieve [Mattis'] readiness vision,' said US naval air forces spokesperson Commander Ron Flanders.

'When you look at the F-18s, this is the same size of fleet as Southwest Airlines has. It's not a super-large fleet, they're all basically the same. So how do we put in place, you know, the support practices and the parts so that people aren't working as hard?' US Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told the trade journal Defense News.

An earlier Indian defence ministry analysis of why 45 per cent of the Sukhoi-30MKI fleet remained non-available, it was found that, at any given time, 20 per cent of the fleet was undergoing 'first line' and 'second line' maintenance, which is the IAF's responsibility.

Another 11 to 12 per cent was undergoing major repair or overhaul by Hindustan Aeronautics, and 13 to 14 per cent of the fleet was grounded, awaiting major systems or spares -- the technical terms is: 'Aircraft on the ground'.

HAL has repeatedly advised the IAF to stock more spares in its repair establishments, based on a study of consumption patterns over the years. That is a lesson commercial airlines learned long ago to reduce 'aircraft on ground' time.

However, aviation analysts point out that keeping commercial airliners flying is simpler, since they have less mission-critical avionics.

Fighter aircraft are not just flying machines but also fighting machines. If their airborne radar or weapon systems or radar jammer is non-functional, the fighter is unavailable for combat missions.
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.
I love my story. It is the American story. My struggles. My journey. My life on the South Side of Chicago. My father with a disability. All of that makes me more valuable to this conversation, not less. And I think we, as women, need to understand that we have a lot to offer in these seats. We have perspective and wisdom and ability and empathy and a set of skills that many men dont, and thats why we need to be there.
The lines of aging blue, red and yellow trucks begin almost 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the gates of Nigeria's main port of Apapa.

Valentine, a 34-year-old driver, has been queuing outside the Lagos site for two weeks. He's had to deal with policemen demanding bribes and fend off hoodlums known as area boys. "This is the worst I've seen it," he said, changing tires in a grimy orange T-shirt. "Every year, it gets worse."

The congestion outside and inefficiency within Nigeria's ports is choking the economy, which vies with South Africa as the continent's biggest, and causes havoc for businesses that use them to import everything from cars to computers, food and machinery.

Nigeria loses $19 billion annually, or about 5 percent of gross domestic product, from the delays, traffic jams, illegal charges and insecurity that are increasingly prevalent at its ports, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry said in a report this year.

In the World Bank's Trading Across Borders survey, which measures the time and expense involved with importing and exporting goods, Nigeria ranks 182nd out of 190 countries, below Syria and Afghanistan.

The problems at Apapa and other ports such as Calabar and Port Harcourt have been a headache for successive administrations, which have failed to fix decaying infrastructure, reduce stifling red tape and tackle corruption. Terminal operators, including APM Terminals, a unit of Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk A/S, rely on generators because power cuts are so frequent.

But it's worsened in recent years, especially at Apapa. Crumbling roads have all but ground trucks to a halt. Once they do manage to enter, drivers and businesses have to contend with a plethora of customs, immigration and security agents before they can pick up containers. It can take 20 days to clear products, compared with 48 hours in neighboring Benin and Ghana, according to the LCCI.

The cost of moving a container from Apapa to other parts of Lagos has soared to as much as 700,000 naira ($1,930) from about 150,000 naira two years ago as trucking firms put up their prices to make up for the delays, according to the Nigerian Shippers' Council.

"We have to pay the area boys and the police also want money," said David, a 40-year-old driver who's been traveling to Apapa for almost 20 years. "We can pay 80,000 naira in bribes per trip. If you don't, it can take weeks to get in. Sometimes they will beat you if you don't give them money."

It's taken a toll on the companies of Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man. Dangote Cement Plc, Nigeria's biggest listed firm, may cancel plans to build an export terminal at Apapa because of the congestion, Chief Executive Officer Joe Makoju said on a call with investors last month. Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc blamed a fall in third-quarter profit partly on the bottleneck there, which it said was leading to more smuggling of sugar through Nigeria's land borders.

President Muhammadu Buhari, running for reelection in February, said in October the situation was "a major concern" and the government will urgently repair roads and build more railways to the ports. The 75-year-old leader says modernizing infrastructure is vital to diversify the OPEC member from oil and gas and revive an economy still struggling after the 2014 crash in crude prices.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited Apapa in May 2017 and directed officials to start working around the clock and all agencies to locate their operations in one place to ease delays.

It's been to little avail. Many people prefer to use more efficient ports in Benin, Ghana and Togo, according to Mike Onulide, who runs a business exporting food including noodles and garri, a cassava-based staple popular in West Africa.

"You don't face the same kinds of frustration there that you do in Nigeria," he said, recalling how a fellow businessman still hasn't received compensation after one of his containers was dropped into the sea early this year. "There's been no improvement."

That can't come soon enough for the weary drivers who bear the brunt of the chaos.

"I haven't had a bath in over a week," said Akinola Kabiru, waiting to get into Apapa and who says he may have to pay 75,000 naira in bribes to keep his place in the queue. "I pee under the truck. I sleep under the truck. If my boss sends the money, may be I can enter."
Emergency room physicians did not take kindly to being scolded last week by the National Rifle Association to "stay in their lane" and not get involved in the nation's gun debate.

As of Monday morning, 26,000 doctors, nurses, paramedics, social workers and other health professionals, including some in Houston, had signed an open letter to the NRA, penned Friday night and headlined "Gun Violence Is Our Lane." In addition, the hashtag #ThisISOurLane continues to grow and has spread outside the United States.

READ LETTER: This is Our Lane: An Open Letter to the NRA from American Healthcare Professionals

"As an emergency physician, I see the injuries and death toll from guns as part of my daily routine," said Dr. Cedric Dark, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine who also treats patients at Ben Taub Hospital, one of the nation's busiest Level I trauma centers.

"The NRA would have the American people discount the years of medical school, residency training and practice experience of emergency physicians, trauma surgeons, nurses and countless other health care professionals in order to cry 'fake news' to the scientific data we have about how to prevent loss of life," Dark said.

The dust-up began over an Oct. 30 position paper by doctors published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, an academic medical journal published by the American College of Physicians. The physician authors called for gun violence to be treated as a public health crisis and urged reasonable restrictions on gun purchases. They also asked for the freedom to speak to patients about gun safety.

READ THE PAPER: Reducing Firearm Injuries and Deaths in the United States: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians

Three days later, the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action responded with its own position paper that began: "Everyone has hobbies. Some doctors' collective hobby is opining on firearms policy."

READ THE NRA RESPONSE: Surprise: Physician Group Rehashes Same Tired Gun Control Policies

But things really heated up on Nov. 7 when the NRA, in promoting its paper, tweeted: "Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane."

And it was on. Doctors around the country quickly slammed the tweet, creating #ThisISOurLane."

That same night, a gunman opened fire at a bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., killing 13 people, including a police officer and the shooter. About a dozen others were wounded. One of the dead had survived the mass shooting in Las Vegas just a year before.

"It didn't even make 12 hours until the next shooting," Dark said Monday about the NRA's tweet.

RELATED: Measures outlined to help reduce gun violence in Houston

The NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dr. Megan Ranney, a Rhode Island physician and chief research officer for AFFIRM, a national nonprofit organization that studies gun violence, wrote the letter to the NRA in response to the rapidly cascading events and, in part, out of frustration.

"With each time, we say this is the tipping point," she said Monday.

In her letter she writes: "We are not anti-gun. We are anti-bullet-hole."

She conceded she was surprised by the number of doctors who have signed on for the fight and the attention the protest is stirring. She said she was scheduled to be interviewed by the BBC later Monday.

"I think the time is here," she said.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, most of us are looking for a way to make things faster and easier. Enter the Instant Pot or its electric multicooker cousins.

The kitchen device that has recently taken America by storm is not just good for weeknight one-pot soups or stews. It is also an invaluable tool for preparing what can be an intimidating celebratory feast.

Because it sautes, steams and cooks under pressure, the appliance can handle just about anything in the Thanksgiving kitchen. It also can be used as a shortcut for prep work - producing rich and flavorful turkey stock, for example, and speedily softening hard cubes of butternut squash for a gratin. It braises tough winter vegetables in minutes, transforming them into spectacular sides such as sweet and tangy red cabbage with apples and chestnuts, and silky celery root puree.

Its hot and steamy environment lends itself to producing custardy desserts such as pumpkin creme brulee, without the mess and fuss of a traditional hot-water bath in the oven. You can even use the multicooker to prepare your festive bird - and both light and dark meat will be succulent and tender.

About that bird: It does not go into the pot whole, so sharpen your butcher skills or come home from the store with turkey legs, thighs, wings and bone-in breast halves. A six-quart multicooker can handle the parts from a bird that weighs up to 13 pounds.

Is the multicooker a miracle worker? Will it allow you to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner in an instant - or, say, an hour? Alas, no. The multicooker can, however, significantly shorten your prep work. I recommend starting to prepare your Instant Pot dishes one or two days ahead of time, then reheat them on the big day. And, most useful to the novice or less-than-confident home cook, the appliance offers quick and reliable results.

To help you get started, here's a simple menu of recipes, and a timeline. Recipes whose names are capitalized can be found in our Recipe Finder at washingtonpost.com/recipes.

Two days before Thanksgiving Day

- For my Instant Pot Thanksgiving Turkey, rub the turkey breast, legs and thighs with the dry-rub mixture.

- If desired, make turkey stock with the remaining wings and carcass. Make the pureed squash for the Winter Squash Gratin.

- Make the Celery Root Puree.

The day before

- Braise the turkey legs and thighs.

- Cook the red cabbage.

- Make the Pumpkin Creme Brulees (minus their final sugar topping).

The day of

- Finish the Winter Squash Gratin (the casserole goes in the oven).

- Make the turkey breast; while it's cooking, reheat the turkey legs and thighs in their braising liquid on the stove top. When the turkey breast has finished in the multicooker, broil it on the same baking sheet as the turkey legs and thighs.

- While the meat is resting (before you carve up the pieces), reheat the red cabbage and celery root puree on the stove top.

- Make gravy with the leftover braising liquid.

- Just before dessert, add the sugar topping to the pumpkin creme brulees, broil and serve them right away.

Last year, I cooked my Thanksgiving turkey in the Instant Pot. This year, I'm going for the whole meal. A dinner cooked with ease and speed is one more thing to be thankful for.

- - -

Instant Pot Thanksgiving Turkey

8 servings

We used a 6-quart multicooker/electric pressure cooker, on saute and then pressure cooker functions.

Make ahead: The turkey needs to be dry-brined for at least 8 hours, and up to 2 days. The turkey legs, thighs and wings can be cooked, cooled and refrigerated in their braising liquid up to 3 days in advance. Reheat, covered, until thoroughly warmed, before broiling.

Adapted from Ann Mah, author of "Instantly French! Classic Recipes for Your Electric Pressure Cooker" (St. Martin's Griffin, 2018).

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fine sea salt

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

One 10-to-12 pound turkey, cut into legs, thighs, wings and breast halves, patted dry (wing tips removed; see headnote)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 1/2 cups turkey stock or chicken broth, preferably no-salt-added

2 stems fresh rosemary

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Steps

Combine the salt and brown sugar in a small bowl. Rub the turkey parts all over with the salt mixture and transfer them to a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, and up to 2 days.

Remove the turkey parts from the bag and pat dry.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the multicooker using the saute function. Working in batches as needed, cook the legs, thighs and wings for 7 to 9 minutes, using tongs to turn them for even browning. Transfer to a plate.

Add a 1/2 cup of the wine to the pot, then use a wooden spatula to dislodge any browned bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook until the wine has almost fully evaporated, then add 1 1/2 cups of the stock or broth and 1 rosemary stem. Return the turkey legs and thighs to the pot, nestling them into the liquid. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.

Once the turkey has finished cooking, manually release the steam. Place the turkey legs, thighs and wings skin sides up on a foil-lined baking sheet. Strain the braising liquid and reserve it for gravy or just for serving, if desired. Cover loosely with foil.

Rinse and dry the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the pot, using the saute function. Place the turkey breast halves skin sides down in the pot; Cook for 7 to 9 minutes, lightly browning them on all sides. Use tongs to carefully transfer them to a large plate.

Add the onion to the pot; cook for about 3 minutes (saute function), until softened, then add the remaining 1/4 cup of wine and repeat that dislodging/deglazing process of scraping browned bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook until the wine has almost fully evaporated.

Add the remaining cup of stock or broth to the pot and the remaining rosemary stem, stirring to combine. Return the turkey breast halves to the pot skin sides up, along with any juices from the plate. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.

Once the breast halves have finished cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the steam. Meanwhile, position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiler element; preheat the broiler.

Carefully transfer the breast halves to the baking sheet with the thighs, legs and wings, all skin sides up. Brush the turkey pieces generously with melted butter and broil for about 5 minutes, until the skin is golden brown.

Serve warm, drizzled with the strained pan juices, if desired.

Ingredients are too variable for a meaningful analysis.

- - -

Mah is a Washington author, most recently, of "Instantly French! Classic French Recipes for Your Electric Pressure Cooker" (St. Martin's Griffin, 2018).
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...
I take a nobody, see? Teach em what to say, get his name in the papers, Rocco says while getting a straight razor shave down in Key Largo. Yeah, pay for his campaign expenses. Dish out a lot of groceries, and coal, get my boys to bring the voters out, and then count the votes over and over until they added up right and he was elected  yeah.
WINSTED  Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities has received a grant of $150,000.00 from The Michael E. Marks Family Foundation. The foundation is based in Redwood, CA. The grant is specifically earmarked for ECADs Project HEAL Program - a program designed especially to educate and place service dogs with veterans of the armed services.

We are both proud and grateful to the Michael E. Marks Family Foundation for selecting ECAD and especially for recognizing the benefits of our Project HEAL Program, said Dale Picard, executive director and co-founder of the Winsted/Torrington based non-profit, in a statement.

The grant will underwrite Service Dogs for three veterans, and cover the costs of training, placement, and aftercare.

The first veteran to benefit from the grant has already been selected according to Lu Picard, ECADs co-founder and director of programs. He is Brian Greenleaf, 71,of Enfield. Greenleaf served in S. Korea and Japan with the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft mechanic. He has both PTSD and MS. Greenleaf will attend ECADs two-week Team Training session early in 2019 and be paired with a service dog who has been educated to help him with both the physical disabilities that come with MS and the psychological disabilities from PTSD,

This is the first time the Michael E. Marks Foundation has contributed to a cause that helps Veterans according to Amy Marks Dornbusch, co-director. The foundation has a history of supporting a wide variety of causes, not one specific area of interest.

We came to this decision through our support for the documentary, To Be Of Service which was produced and directed by our longtime family friend, Josh Aronson, Dornbusch said. I was so moved by what I saw in the film, the way Service Dogs help Veterans, I knew I wanted to support this work and I asked Josh for guidance in finding the right organization.

To Be of Service, a feature length documentary that will be released mid-2019, follows three veterans as they apply for and are paired with service dogs. ECADs client, Greg Kolodziejczyk, is one of the three to be profiled.

The newly opened ECAD Canine Education and Wellness Center is located at 149 Newfield Road, Winsted, CT.

Astronomy club plans star parties

LITCHFIELD  Litchfield Hills Amateur Astronomy Clubs last star party of 2018 will be held Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. It will begin with a talk on a topic to be announced later. If the weather cooperates, there will be observing of planets and stars afterwards.

The club holds regular star parties at White Memorial. Events are free and open to the public. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For more details, see the club calendar at lhastro.org or email the club at lhaacsec@gmail.com.

Friendly Hands seeks food donations

TORRINGTON  Friendly Hands Food Bank is asking groups, organizations and individuals to help with its annualThanksgiving giveaway. Donations of turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, olives, pies and cake/brownie mixes, as well as turkey gift cards or gift certificates.

The food bank is also in need of food donations to serve people in need on a daily basis including soups, grape jelly, peanut butter, canned fruits, canned carrots, canned ravioli and Spaghetti Os, and canned tuna, juice boxes, baked beans, pasta, jar tomato sauce, stews and chili, canned meats, instant potatoes and rice dishes.

The Thanksgiving giveaway will be held Saturday, Nov. 17; donations will be accepted through Thursday, Nov. 15 at Friendly Hands Food Bank, 50 King St., Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information, call 860-482-3338.

Menorah events open to all

TORRINGTON  Chabad of Northwest CT will be partnering with Home Depot to offer a pre- Chanukah Menorah Workshop at the New Hartford/Torrington Home Depot on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m.; and New Milford Home Depot on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m.

Participants will receive a workers apron and then craft their own unique menorah from wood and a host of other supplies available at The Home Depot. There will be opportunity to meet Judah Macabee, enjoy Chanukah Donuts and a host of other surprises. Parents accompany their children and there is no charge for attending.

To find a local event in Northwest CT or practically anywhere throughout the world, visit chabadNW.org/ChanukahEvents. For more information about Chanukah and a local schedule of events visit chabadNW.org/Chanukah.

To RSVP for any of these events, go to chabadNW.org/homedepot

Society, LWV to host Nation of Immigrants

LITCHFIELD  The League of Women Voters of Litchfield County will co-sponsor a talk with the Litchfield Historical Society, Nation of Immigrants featuring Kevin Jennings, president of the Tenement Museum in New York City . The event will be held at the Historical Society, 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7 South Street in Litchfield.

Jennings will offer a view of both the history and current trends in immigration to the United States. This very timely topic is at the center of many of our political conversations and a centerpiece of many of the issues that affect our country. In previous talks, Jennings has stressed the importance of putting a human face on the immigrant experience and rejecting bigotry.

Holding degrees from Harvard, Columbia and NYU, Jennings began his career as a high school teacher, later served as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education in the Obama administration and from 2012 to 2017 he was the Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation, a leading international funder of human rights. He is now the President of the Tenement Museum in New York City, a premier cultural institution, dedicated to telling the uniquely American stories of migrants, immigrants and refugees in the ongoing creation of our nation. He has also published seven books.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, or to RSVP - 860-567-4501, or. MOlver@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

The League of Women Voters of Litchfield County is a grassroots, nonpartisan political organization of women and men.
TORRINGTON  The planned extension of sewer lines on Homestead Road and Kimball Lane cant come too soon, residents at a public hearing told the Water Pollution Control Authority this week.

The septic tanks are at the end of their life, said Stephen Ahschula, whose property is one of about 20 in the neighborhood slated to receive public sewer service. Many are retired and it would be difficult for them to be able to install new septic systems.

The extension of service was approved after residents petitioned the city last fall to revisit the installation of sanitary sewers in this area due to potentially failing septic systems.

According to minutes from the September 2017 meeting, resident Steven Roy told the authority members that the septic systems are from the 1950s and 1960s.

The minutes state that Roy said 16 out of 18 residents of the neighborhood signed a petition saying they would like the City to install this sewer line.

The residents request prompted the city to approve a capital improvement program in December 2017 of $400,000 from the sanitary sewer capital fund.

More for you Torrington approves $54.2 million bid for sewer plant upgrade

The septic systems are very old. You can smell the ones that have failed, said resident Joseph Ramirez during Tuesdays hearing.

Robert Cusati of Homestead Road said, I believe that each residence will have an assessment for the sewer (service) of $1,500.

He wondered if a new home were built on the street if that resident would also pay an assessment.

If the subdivision has new homes, (owners) could be assessed, said Ray Drew, the Water Pollution Control Authority administrator.

Drew said residents who have already paid the new sewer service fee could see a reimbursement from a new homeowner, which would provide equal assessments for all customers.

Steven Cerutto, vice president of the Torrington Water Co. , said he supports the extension of the sewer system. Were for it, it would simplify, the companys operations, he said.

A timeline for construction of the sewer extension wasnt available from city officials.
WINSTED  Mad River Market, a food co-op start up based in Winsted, was recently awarded a grant from the Howard Bowers Fund for Food Co-ops, a project of the Cooperative Development Fund, Washington, DC.

We are grateful and proud to have been awarded this $1,500 matching grant, which will be used to support board education through participation in the 2019 Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference in Milwaukee, WI in March, said the markets project manager, Phillip Allen, in a statement.

To celebrate the award, coop members are inviting the public to an open house party on Sunday, Nov 18, from 3-6 p.m. in its business office at Mad River Lofts, 10 Bridge St., Winsted.

Since this is a matching grant, we are doing special fundraising to raise our match, including an Equal Exchange holiday gift catalog sales campaign, Allen said.

Residents can visit the markets catalog at tinyurl.com/MRMHoliday and place an order at the open house for delivery in time for holiday giving, Allen said.

The Howard Bowers Fund strengthens the food co-op community through training and scholarships, according to the statement. Since its establishment in 1994, the Bowers Fund has given more than $500,000 in grants to support the food co-op sector. The fund is a project of the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF), a public charity headquartered in Washington, DC that promotes and develops cooperatives to improve economic opportunities for all. Learn more at www.cdf.coop.

In 2017, Mad River Market was awarded a USDA Rural Seed Grant through the Food Co-op Initiative, Allen said. This continued support for our work is very encouraging. Our board has been strengthened by participating in national and regional meetings, like Up & Coming, and the Bowers Fund grant will help us continue that important part of our work.

Mad River Market began in 2016 in response to the closing of the last grocery store in downtown Winsted, and was incorporated in April, 2017 to bring a full service grocery to Winsted.

The intent is to serve the Northwest Corner and Litchfield County with a community-owned, democratically governed for-community-profit business dedicated to access to good, healthy food, supporting local agriculture and business, and building community, according to the statement. With almost 200 shareholder owners, Mad River Markets next goal is 300 shareholders, when work can begin on the pro forma and business plan, membes said.

For information, find the market on Facebook @MadRiverMarket, and at www.madrivermarket.com.
An official training institute for Chinese judges has deleted a report detailing the setting up of a temporary branch of the ruling Chinese Communist Party on a Hong Kong university campus, after it was reported by the city's media.



The move comes amid growing public opposition to the erosion of Hong Kong's status as a separate jurisdiction from mainland China and the maintenance of its traditional freedoms for 50 years, as promised in the treaty governing the city's 1997 handover to Chinese rule.



According to an Oct. 25 article on the official website of mainland China's National Judges College, its party chief Huang Wenjun attended a meeting of the party branch that was set up for Chinese judges studying at Hong Kong's City University.



However, only a cached copy of the article was available through Google on Wednesday, with the original link returning an error code for "empty" content.



Huang told the meeting that its chief job was to uphold President Xi Jinping's vision for a "new era" of socialism with Chinese characteristics, in particular, to ensure that none of the visiting master's students embraced the wrong kind of ideology during their stay in the city.



"We must strengthen political power and effectively enhance political acumen and political discernment," Huang told the meeting, which was attended by 39 Communist Party members and 11 non-party members.



"Dare to fight against wrong words and actions!" he said.



Neither City University nor lawmaker Priscilla Leung, who teaches in the university's law department, had replied to requests for comment by the time of writing.



Temporary organizations



However, a report on the City U website said the school has trained more than 800 Chinese judges since the inception of its master's program in conjunction with the National Judges College 10 years ago.



Hong Kong political commentator Liu Ruishao told RFA that party cells are being set up to serve existing Communist Party members.



"They may have left mainland China, but they haven't left the party or its organizations," Liu said. "The party cells are set up as temporary organizations to maintain their life within the party."



"They have had similar activities before, but they have never done it openly before. Perhaps they want Hong Kong people to get used to the party's organizational model," he said.



Liu said the announcement of Huang's visit to the party branch had a strong flavor of ideology.



"They are going to war against wrong words and deeds, which of course is a matter of concern. Perhaps this is a call for party members to expand their work into the academic sphere, or into society at large?"



"A party presence also implies a party disciplinary presence, as well as investigators responsible for party discipline," Liu said.



The Chinese Communist Party openly sets up overseas "temporary branches" to oversee the ideological correctness of party members studying overseas, and to draw in new recruits from among Chinese nationals on campus.



Eroding status



However, the deletion of the article comes as democratic politicians, rights activists, and overseas governments have pointed to the rapid erosion of the "one country, two systems" concept protecting Hong Kong's separate status.



A report last month from the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) said the city is losing the autonomy promised under a 1984 Sino-British agreement governing the handover.



Citing the banning of political parties and politicians campaigning for Hong Kong's autonomy and independence, the vetting of candidates and the narrowing of space for political debate, the city's autonomy faces "continued erosion," the report said.



Bruce Lui, senior journalism lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the presence of Communist Party branches on the city's campuses could affect academic freedom.



"These organizations are everywhere," Lui said. "But they are the enemies of academic freedom, because the Communist Party opposes the universal values of the West, including academic freedom."



He called on the authorities to investigate whether such branches were legal in Hong Kong.



"If you say that you want to ban other political groups as illegal organizations, you should actually investigate the Chinese Communist Party for being an illegal organization," Lui said. "However, I can't see this ever being enforced."



'Imminent threat'



Hong Kong in September formally banned a pro-independence political party, in a move strongly criticized by rights groups and pro-democracy politicians for curbing freedom of speech in the city.



Using colonial-era legislation once used to target "triad" criminal gangs in the city, the government ruled that Andy Chan's separatist Hong Kong National Party posed an "imminent threat" to Chinas territorial integrity and national security, because Chan had refused to rule out the use of force or civil disobedience.



Communist Party branches, or cells, have long been a feature of political life in mainland China, but are increasingly being used as a vehicle for the expansion of the party's United Front ideological campaign, which seeks to bring specific groups of people into the party's fold, as well as keeping tabs on what they are doing, saying, and even thinking.



According to an article last November in the Global Times newspaper, sister paper to Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, party members at overseas branches are required to hand in "a report about their thoughts every three months, participate in a group party activity and hold a party meeting once every half-year."



Their aim is to strengthen overseas students' political convictions and help them "resist the corrosive influence of harmful ideologies," it said.



Similar reports have emerged of party branches being set up by Chinese students last year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as campuses in Ohio, New York, Connecticut, North Dakota, and West Virginia, according to a recent report from the U.S.-based journal Foreign Policy.



The practice also extends to groups of employees of the Chinese state working overseas, according to online statements on the websites of state-owned enterprises.



Reported by Tam Siu-yin for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Gao Feng for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Records show the agency finally spoke with LaPorta last January, a 90-minute interview in which he told investigators he argued with Kelly over treatment of his friends dog before the gun went off. LaPorta has said he does not remember the actual shooting, and a transcript of the interview shows his limitations handling multipart questions as he struggled to tell investigators when he first saw the gun, and what his memories are of the moments before he was gravely wounded.
A former university lecturer who had started an opposition party has been released at the end of his 10-year jail term for subversion, RFA has learned.



Former Nanjing Normal University professor Guo Quan was detained on Nov. 13, 2008, and his arrest sparked a wider investigation into his opposition New People's Party he claimed had 10 million members among the country's most disgruntled citizens.



He was jailed for 10 years for "incitement to subvert state power," he said, and confirmed his release in a brief interview with RFA.



"The Nanjing police department sent someone to meet me at the prison gate, and bring me back to the local police station to tell me some things, then I went home," he said. "They reconnected the water and electricity at my apartment, so I can live a normal life."



"I am living in a residential compound, and I will be applying for social welfare payments and so on, and then I should have my own cell phone in about three weeks' time," he said.



"I won't be able to contact anyone until then, and I plan to get myself up to speed with everything that's been going on."



In a recorded fragment of phone conversation sent to RFA, Guo also told his friends: "I would like to thank comrades for their support and concern, and especially those who support our cause."



Guo also paid tribute to late Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, who died in police custody in , and to a nationwide crackdown on hundreds of human rights lawyers, law firms and associated activists since .



"While in prison, I was able to learn about a number of developments that have taken place in recent years, using various means, including the news that Liu Xiaobo had gone to prison, and later of his death from illness," Guo says in the clip.



"I also learned about the crackdown on the legal profession."



'Fortunate' not to have died in jail



Guo said he felt "fortunate" not to have died, as has been the fate of many of his friends.



"I think I'm still in fairly good health, and I will do my best to reply to everyone's messages," he said.



Zhang Yu, co-ordinator of the Writers in Prison Committee of the writers' group Independent Chinese PEN, said he had managed to speak with Guo directly.



"When I spoke to him, he sounded OK, quite chipper," Zhang said. "He also told me he didn't get sick, and he seemed to speak very freely."



But he said Guo was unlikely to be free of restrictions, and would be unlikely to make contact with old friends and fellow activists for the time being.



"He wants to start a calligraphy business, because he thinks his calligraphy is pretty good, and he wants to sell his calligraphy for a living," Zhang said. "That's his plan."



Guo founded Dec. 17 to represent anyone petitioning the government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party for social justice in land disputes, forced evictions, and allegations of official wrongdoing.



Guo was fired from Nanjing Normal University on Dec. 6 2007 for allegedly violating its constitution and rules on the conduct of faculty.



On Dec. 14, 2007, he was expelled from the Communist-approved ersatz opposition group Democratic Parties and Factions, and on Dec. 17 last year announced the founding of the New People's Party, with himself as chairman.



The main focus of the party was petitioners, and Guo claimed a membership of 10 million dispossessed ordinary people, including petitioners and former military personnel.



At the time, he wrote that the party's platform was to represent ordinary people and to stand for a multiparty political system, including social welfare benefits and private property rights protection.



Afterwards, Guo updated his website almost daily, with a total of 347 articles posted by the time it was closed by the authorities.



Opposition parties not allowed



The last known attempt by Chinese political activists to set up an opposition party ended in with the sentencing of several China Democracy Party (CDP) founders to lengthy jail terms.



Zhejiang dissident Wang Youcai, Wuhan-based Qin Yongmin, and Beijing-based Xu Wenli were sentenced respectively to 11, 12, and 13 years in prison on charges of incitement to subvert state power."



Guo's wife Li Jing fled to the U.S. with the couple's son after his imprisonment.



Guo had been an academic and professor at Nanjing Normal University with a degree in law and a doctorate in philosophy. He started to publicly advocate for greater democracy and human rights in 2007, when he published an open letter to then President Hu Jintao calling for multi-party elections under a comprehensive welfare system," Li told a congressional panel in 2012.



Several days later, he published another letter, this time to then Premier Wen Jiabao defending the rights of 590,000 employees laid off by China National Petroleum Corporation and China Petroleum Chemical Corporation and arguing for the abolition of the now-defunct re-education through labor system.



On Dec. 6, 2007, the Communist Party Committee of Nanjing Normal University fired him from his job as professor. He was transferred to the university library to work in data management. He was stripped of his associate professor salary and allowed to work for only minimum wage, Li said.



On Dec. 17, 2007 Guo posted the New People's Party charter online, and ran a blog criticizing one-party dictatorship and official corruption, often speaking out on behalf of vulnerable groups.



He was formally arrested on Dec. 19, 2008 and sentenced on Aug. 7, 2009 to 10 years in prison, with three years deprivation of political rights.



Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Shi Shan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
An increasing number of North Koreans, including relatively privileged residents of the capital Pyongyang, are seeking employment outside of the countrys borders to boost their earnings, sources say.

In the face of sanctions that prohibit labor exports from the Stalinist state, workers from the capital city of Pyongyang are looking to take menial jobs in China and Russia. They seek higher pay and a way to work around the local public distribution system that is now failing to meet their basic needs.

A Pyongyang-based source told RFA on November 10, Pyongyangers are looking to enhance their careers by becoming cooks, waiters, tailors or construction workers abroad.

They think they will be able to make more money overseas, the source said.

Proof of loyalty required

People who want to go abroad for work have to go through a very strict selection process, so the authorities mainly choose residents of Pyongyang, because their backgrounds have already been verified, the source said, referring to the governments policy that limits access to the capital to only the most loyal of Kim Jong Uns subjects.

Those approved [to work abroad] are, of course, members of the Workers Party, who are preferred, and then members of the Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League (North Koreas main youth league, modeled after the Soviet Komsomol), or housewives, the source said.

Young people have shown a lot of interest in finding jobs that can be (done) overseas, the source said. Factories under the jurisdiction of the External Construction Bureau are the most popular, because factory workers are a big priority abroad, the source added.

[Hopeful workers] will even pay bribes to get these factory jobs! the source said.

The best jobs for people to be dispatched abroad for are cooks, waiters and tailors. They get paid $150 per month, which is much more than other overseas jobs, the source said.

Even though the Kim regime takes its cut they will still be making more money than ordinary people, so everyone wants to do it, he said, referring to the large amount the government takes out of its exported workers pay.

Another source, also in Pyongyang said, Since people are looking to go abroad for work, learning foreign languages is becoming a bit trend here.

Pyongyangers are taking FOLA classes at Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, the Grand Peoples Study House (the citys central library), or even bribing tutors to get private lessons, the source said.

Legally Illegal

As relations with China are warming, many of the workers are being dispatched there, the source said. There are more and more brokers appearing to help place people in exchange for a fee, so the authorities are trying to find ways to regulate illegal activities like this, the source added.

However, the whole operation is dependent on bribes pocketed by officials, so theres no way that we can expect the government to do anything about it, the source said.

The export of North Korean labor was banned under a December 2017 UN Security Council unanimous vote to approve sanctions on North Korea aimed at depriving the Kim Jong Un regime of $500 million per year on the wages of an estimated 93,000 North Koreans working overseas.

The sanctions, aimed at depriving North Korea of cash to fund its prohibited nuclear weapons and missile programs, called for a freeze on new work permits, and would require host countries to send North Korean workers back by the end of 2019.

According to CNN, in January 2018 an estimated 50,000 North Koreans were working in Russia  many in construction  in what the U.S. Department of State called slave-like labor.

Russia voted to approve the 2017 U.N. sanctions, but CNN quoted a Moscow-based Asia-Pacific expert as saying that these were approved grudgingly, and only after they were made as toothless as possible.

During Kim Jong Uns flurry of summits with the presidents of the U.S. and South Korea in early 2018, attention was drawn to Chinas spotty record in complying with sanctions.

U.N. experts and U.S. officials have long accused Moscow and Beijing, traditional allies of North Korea, of violating the sanctions that have been ramped up since Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test in 2006.

China and Russia have argued in favor of easing some strictures to reward Pyongyang after U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met in June and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization.

But the United States and other Western powers have said sanctions must be enforced until there is full denuclearization.

In the wake of Kim Jong Uns trip to China in June, the repatriation of North Korean workers has come to a halt, and North Korea is reportedly dispatching workers there on a small scale.

Reported by Myungchul Lee for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
'Phinh,' a young Lao woman who was trafficked to Thailands Ratchaburi province for work, shows scars on her arm caused by a physically abusive employer, as she sits outside in Kuangsi village, Bachiangchaleunsouk district, in southwestern Laoss Champassak province, Oct. 30, 2018.

The trafficking of Lao nationals to neighboring Thailand as undocumented laborers continues to be a growing problem with brokers arranging for thousands to be taken across the border for job opportunities that too often end up in situations where Laotians are abused by their employers.

The phenomenon prompted the U.S. State Department this year to downgrade Laos to Tier 3 status on its annual Trafficking in Persons report, which ranks 188 countries as Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, or Tier 3, based on whether they meet the minimum standards to combat trafficking set by U.S. law.

The Lao government has not fully met the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has not showed overall greater efforts to do so, though authorities continued to prosecute and sentence a modest number of traffickers, provide job assistance to some returned victims, and conduct awareness-raising activities in Lao communities at high risk of forced labor for large-scale infrastructure projects, the most recent report said.

Phinh (not her real name), a 21-year-old Laotian who was abused by a Thai employer for five years in Damnoen Saduak district of western Thailands Ratchaburi province, is one of the fortunate ones. She was rescued by Thai police and returned to her village in Bachiangchaleunsouk district of southwestern Laos Champassak province in October, and her employer was arrested.

Phinh was able to return to her family with assistance from the Labour Rights Promotion Network (LPN), whose mission is to increase migrant workers' access to their fundamental rights in Thailand and facilitate their integration into Thai society, and from the secretariat of anti-human trafficking under Laos National Steering Committee on Anti-Human Trafficking.

Im happy to be home, happy to see my father and mother, Phinh told RFAs Lao Service after she returned to her village. I will work on the family's cassava plantation. I will help my family.

Phinh's mother told RFA that she and her husband thought about the young woman a lot while she was gone, and that they would all have a welcome home meal of chicken and pork.

We are so happy, she said.

Phinh is typical of the thousands of Laotians trafficked each year to neighboring Thailand, according to LPN, where some are forced to work under slave-like conditions and are subjected to physical or sexual abuse.

Like many young women who are trafficked, Phinh was physically abused by her Thai employer while she was in the country illegally.

Phinh is the fourth of six children born to impoverished parents in Kuangsi village, situated along kilometer No. 6 of Bachiangchaleunsouk district.

Though her parents were poor, they wanted all of their children to have good futures, so they sold their water buffaloes to pay for them to go to school.

Phinh is the only child who failed to complete even the first year of primary school because she did not like studying. Instead, she stopped going to school and starting helping her parents to plant rice.

In 2013, when I was 16 years old, there was a Lao middleman from my own village who came to urge me and my friends to go with him to work in a factory in Thailand, she said.

Back then I did not think much and did not listen to my parents when they warned me not to go, because in my heart I only wanted to go to Thailand, she said. I wanted to experience life in Thailand, which I had only seen on TV.

Source country for trafficking

Laos serves as a source country for human trafficking, with Lao nationals exploited primarily to Thailand for labor and sexual services. Though some opportunities for regular labor migration exist, a significant proportion of worker movement from Laos to Thailand is irregular and illegal, experts and NGOs say.

This creates conditions in which Lao nationals seeking better jobs elsewhere in Southeast Asia are susceptible to exploitation in the commercial sex trade, garment factories, domestic services, agricultural and construction industries, and the fishing and seafood sectors, according to the United Nations Action for Cooperation Against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT).

Phinh and four of her friends from Kuangsi village each asked their parents for 1,000 Thai baht (U.S. $30), the fee quoted by the middleman for a border pass into Thailand, and went with a relative to see the man to discuss going to Thailand for work.

Foreign traffickers are increasingly collaborating with local Lao middlemen, also known as brokers, to facilitate trafficking, according to the latest Trafficking in Persons report.

But Phinh sensed that something was wrong when the broker drove a van to the road leading to her house to pick her and her friends up for the journey. He also stopped at other villages to pick up Laotians who were going to Thailand for work.

It must have been around 20 people altogether, including male teenagers and some around 40 years old, she said.

The van stopped at a Lao-Thai border checkpoint where each passenger had to pay 1,000 baht to the broker so he could pass the money on to border guards as a passage fee.

The van then entered Ubon Ratchathani province in northeastern Thailand's Isan region on the border with Laos and Cambodia.

None of us saw anything in Thailand, Phinh said. We just saw our own Lao broker standing there at the border gate on Thai soil waiting for us [to get out of the van] and leading us to a parked car where two men from northeastern Thailand waiting.

The broker handed Phinh and the other Laotians over to the men, who confiscated their family books and border passes, Phinh said, referring to identification documents issued to Lao citizens by the government, which list the bearer's immediate family members.

While the broker returned to the Lao side of the border, the two Thais drove the 20 Laotians away to an unknown destination. After some time had passed, they asked the men where they were heading.

One man told them they were being taken to a factory where they would be given work. He also told them not to worry and to try to get some sleep because it would take a long time to reach their destination, Phinh said.

The next morning, the van stopped in front of a two-story house, and the two Thais led Phinh and the others inside where two other men and a woman were waiting for them.

The three Thai individuals gave money to the two men, but I do not know how much, Phinh said. But I know it was a lot. Then the two Thais left and drove away.

The three people inside the house made some phone calls, and soon after another person arrived and selected Phinh as a worker, she said.

Others came to look at the Laotians, so Phinh assumed it was because of the phones calls.

The map shows Bachiangchaleunsouk district of southwestern Laos' Champassak province, where 'Phinh' lives, and Damnoen Saduak district of western Thailands Ratchaburi province, where she worked illegally as a maid for five years. RFA graphic Abusive employer

That was how Phinh came to work as a housemaid for Jei Pong. She said she does not know what happened to her four friends or the rest of the Laotians with whom she was trafficked.

Jei Pong told Phinh that she would pay her 7,000 baht (U.S. $211) per month, but during the first few months her salary would be only 1,000 or 2,000 baht because Jei Pong had to pay to the people in the safe house 5,000 baht (U.S. $151) to take Phinh away.

At first, Jei Pong treated me well, and sent 5,000 baht to my mother at home in Laos, Phinh said. When I called to check, my mother said she had really received the money.

During the second month, Jei Pong said she was going to send 10,000 baht (U.S. $302) to my mother.

I was so happy when I heard that, Phinh said.

But this time, she could not call home to check with her mother to see if she had received the money because Phinhs cell phone was taken away from her.

After six months on the job, Jei Pong began scolding Phinh and physically abusing her if she worked more slowly than her employer thought she should be working.

Jei Pong hit Phinh frequently, in one instance delivering three severe blows, she said.

The first time, Phinh needed stitches after the woman hit her in the head with a flower pot for forgetting to change the flowers in a shrine outside the house.

The second time, Jei Pong hit Phinh on her back with a large wooden rod for ironing clothes too slowly.

The third time, Phinh needed stitches after Jei Pong hit her on the ear with a bottle of mosquito spray because she said the young woman was not working fast enough.

During the five years I worked in Jei Pongs house, I got hit all the time with clothes hangers or with anything that was near Jei Pong, Phinh said. I had to endure it because I did not know what else to do. I did not have any documents with me, so I did not dare to report it to the police.

The final blow came on Sept, 27, 2018, when Jei Pong threw boiling water on Phinhs body, scalding her and leaving scars on her right arm and torso. Her offense: forgetting to cover the pot of boiling water.

A neighbor heard Phinh scream out in agony and called the police. After officers arrived and inspected the house, they took Phinh to the towns police station and kept her in a holding center for illegal immigrants while they questioned Jei Pong.

Phinh later learned that Jei Pongs neighbors said the woman has a mental health problem, and thats why she hit Phinh all the time and threatened to kill her for working too slowly or not hard enough.

Jei Pong said to me every year that she would let me go home during the Lao New Year [in April], but when the New Year came, she didnt give me money and didnt let me go home, Phinh said.

Thai police have charged Jei Pong with physical abuse and hiring an illegal alien without a work permit, and said they are investigating other possible charges against her.

So far, police have asked Jei Pong to pay 135,000 baht (U.S. $4,070) in compensation and have given the money to Phinh.

We need justice for her

She has dealt with a lot of hardship under her employer, and now the abusive employer has been arrested, said Colonel Southiphong Phongpraphaamphay, police commander of Damnoen Saduak district, calling Phinh's ordeal a human trafficking case.

We need justice for her and for anybody no matter what their nationality is or what country they are from, because she is a human being like us, he told RFA. And its time for her to have justice and go back to Laos to her father and mother.

Xoukiet Panyanouvong from the Lao office of UN-ACT said the case is one of both physical abuse and human trafficking.

Phinh is a human trafficking victim, she said. She is now 21 years old, but when she entered Thailand to work, she was only 16. That means that she was tricked when she was still a child.

The case will be discussed at an upcoming meeting among representatives from LPN, Laos anti-human trafficking secretariat, and the Thai government on Nov. 28 in Bangkok, she said.

Xoukiet said police should have sent Phinh to a care center where she could have been mentally and physically evaluated before returning home instead of placing her in a holding center for illegal immigrants.

Samark Thupthany, LPNs chief rights protection director, said his organization hopes that Laotians who wish to work in Thailand learn a lesson from Phinhs case.

If they want to work in Thailand, they should come here legally, and Lao officials should investigate Lao brokers who lure Laotians to work in Thailand to prevent such a case from happening again, he told RFA.

We have to help each other be on the lookout [for traffickers], especially for children or girls who come to work in Thailand, he said. We must make sure they all have proper official documents in order to prevent any violence or any kind of abuse from happening to them in both Laos and Thailand.

Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Manichanh Phimphachanh. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Rohingya Taiyeba Begum, 35, says she took shelter in her relatives house in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, with other family members to avoid forced repatriation, Nov. 14, 2018.

No Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have agreed to return to Myanmar under a proposed repatriation scheme scheduled to begin Thursday, a Bangladesh official said, as the governments of the two countries scrambled to keep the plan afloat.

Some 150 refugees from 30 families who were supposed to be the first to repatriate had refused to return, the official said, citing feedback from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UNHCR said no Rohingya families agreed to return. So, the repatriation is unlikely to start, an official with the Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRRC), speaking on condition of anonymity, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, late Wednesday (Bangladesh time).

Under an agreement between the two countries, Bangladesh was to hand over the first batch of potential returnees from among 2,260 initially identified for repatriation to Myanmar at a transit point along their common border.

Mohammad Abul Kalam, the chief of the commission, said it had not yet finalized the list of refugees slated for repatriation, but he stopped short of saying the scheduled repatriation had been put off.

Tomorrow [Thursday] we will come to know who will return, Kalam told reporters after the UNHCR handed over a report assessing the repatriation exercise. He declined to share the reports findings, which included the opinions of refugees slated for repatriation.

A Bangladeshi official told BenarNews earlier in the week that Bangladesh would only repatriate Rohingyas endorsed by the U.N. refugee agency as willing to go voluntarily.

Kalam said the plan was for returnees to cross the border via the Ghandung border crossing in Naikhongchhari, in Bandarban district.

About 720,000 Muslim Rohingyas fled Myanmars Rakhine state to Bangladesh following a military crackdown that began in August 2017. U.N. human rights investigators accused Myanmars military of committing ethnic cleansing.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet had warned this week that refugees who had been identified for repatriation were gripped with terror and panic on hearing they would be asked to return against their will.

Some of those chosen for repatriation have gone into hiding within the refugee camps at Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar border district where a small refugee city has emerged following the influx of Rohingyas.

If five people agree, we will send them

Still, Myanmar and Bangladesh officials were trying hard to keep the repatriation plans alive.

Myint Thu, the permanent secretary of Myanmars Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said officials were meeting with UNHCR at the capital Naypyidaw to find ways to launch the repatriation.

Myanmar officials have promised those who return that they would get a National Verification Card allowing them to travel in the Maungdaw area of Rakhine state, as part of a process for them to apply for citizenship.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar regard Rohingyas as Bengalis who entered illegally from Bangladesh, even though they have lived in Myanmar for generations. Most of them have been denied citizenship and prevented from traveling outside Rakhine state.

Mohammed Juha, a refugee leader from the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh, said he did not want to return because the Myanmar authorities continue to discriminate against the Rohingyas.

A coordinator with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) asked me whether we would return to Myanmar or not [and] I told him that [Myanmar officials] had asked only Bengalis to return but not Rohingyas, Juha said.

We are Rohingya and we will return only if we are recognized as citizens, he told Radio Free Asia.

Khin Maung, another refugee, based at Thangkhali Refugee Camp, asked, Who would want to return without any guarantee?

Myanmar governments [dealings] have no transparency. Myanmar officials said we have to live in a reception center for a month [on our return]. We dont trust them, he told RFA.

The Bangladesh official, who spoke to BenarNews on condition of anonymity, said both Bangladesh and Myanmar wanted some of the Rohingyas to return as soon as possible so others would follow suit.

If we can send one or two batches of them, others will be encouraged to go back, the official said.

Delwar Hossain, the director general in charge of the Southeast Asia desk at the Bangladesh foreign ministry, told BenarNews that Myanmar could take up to 150 refugees every day if the repatriation plan was implemented.

But we can start the repatriation with less than that number. If five people agree, we will send them. If 10 people agree, we will send 10 people, Hossain said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, and by Htet Arkar for RFA's Myanmar Service. Translation by Khet Mar.


US Vice President Mike Pence (R) listens to Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (L) during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN summit in Singapore, Nov. 14, 2018.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence took Myanmars Aung San Suu Kyi to task on Wednesday, telling the former human rights icon that the countrys persecution of Rohingya Muslims is without excuse, and called the arrest and conviction of two journalists who reported on a massacre of members of the persecuted minority group deeply troubling.

The comments at a regional diplomatic meeting in Singapore came as Myanmar is telling the world it is ready to accept back the first group of about 2,200 Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh during a military crackdown in northern Rakhine state in 2017 following deadly attacks in the region by a Muslim militant group.

Thousands died during the violence, which included widespread torture, rape, and arson, and drove more than 720,000 Rohingya across the border where they have been living in sprawling refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh.

The Myanmar government has largely denied that its forces committed the atrocities which U.N. investigators, rights groups, and some nations, including the U.S., say amounted to ethnic cleansing, genocidal intent, or genocide itself.

The violence and persecution by the military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse, said Pence who made the comments to the state counselor during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

He also expressed interest in hearing about the "progress" Myanmar has made in holding accountable those responsible for the atrocities and what the country has done to make it possible for the refugees to voluntarily return home.

Pence also criticized Myanmars jailing of two Reuters news agency reporters sentenced to seven years in prison in September for possessing classified government documents while reporting on the extrajudicial killings of 10 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine states Inn Din village during the brutal crackdown.

Media advocates and human rights groups say the pair was framed by police officials and convicted on bogus charges in the much-criticized case that many have condemned as a blow to press freedom in the developing country.

[T]he arrest and jailing of two journalists last fall was deeply troubling to millions of Americans, Pence told Aung San Suu Kyi. I look forward to speaking with you about the premium that we place on a free and independent press.

In response, Aung San Suu Kyi told Pence that people have different points of view, but the point is that you should exchange these views and try to understand each other better."

In a way, we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does, and I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else, she said.

Denials wont make issue go away

Myanmar political analyst Aung Thu Nyane said Pences comments signals that Myanmar will now come under even more international pressure.

The international community wants two things, which are Myanmars cooperation with the [U.N.] fact-finding mission and its refusal to accept the impunity of those who committed the crimes [in Rakhine state], he said, referring to a panel that investigated atrocities committed against the Rohingya, though the Myanmar government had denied its members entry to the country.

The commission issued a report in late August detailing violence by Myanmar security forces and calling for the prosecution of top military commanders on genocide charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) or another tribunal.

Aung Myo Min, executive director of Equality Myanmar, an NGO that facilitates human rights education and advocacy programs, agreed that Myanmar will face more pressure from the U.S. over the Rohingya crisis, even though Washington has withdrawn from the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Actually, even if we like the U.S. or not, it is still powerful and can influence U.N. member nations, he said.

Myanmar will have more pressure from U.S., he said. While Myanmar is trying to resolve this issue, it would be better to cooperate with other nations instead of denying [what happened]. If Myanmar continues to work to resolve this problem by denying it, then there will definitely be stronger pressure on the country.

Pences exchange with Aung San Suu Kyi came a day after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expressed disappointment with Myanmar's de facto leader, calling her response to the persecution of the Rohingya indefensible in remarks prior to the start of the ASEAN summit.

Myanmar officials have said that repatriations would get underway this week, though U.N. human rights chief Michele Bachelet, the U.N.s refugee agency, and human rights groups have called for a halt to the program, warning that conditions in Rakhine state are not yet conducive for the safe return of the Rohingya.

The program, under which an initial 2,200 refugees were to return to Myanmar, will not begin on Nov. 15 as planned, a source speaking on condition of confidentiality told Reuters late Wednesday.

The source said the program would not get underway because none of the Rohingya refugees wants to return to Myanmar.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have demanded that the Myanmar government accept them as an official ethnic group, grant them full citizenship rights, and set up an international security mechanism to protect them when they return before they step foot again on Myanmar soil.

Reported by Nandar Chann for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Vietnams government regularly encourages political prisoners to relocate overseas in the hopes of using their release to improve its standing in the global community, according to a Vietnamese blogger and activist who moved to the U.S. last month after being suddenly freed from jail.



Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynhknown by her blogger handle Me Nam, or Mother Mushroomwon a surprise release from a 10-year jail term for anti-state propaganda on Oct. 17 and flew to the U.S. city of Houston a day later with her elderly mother and two young children.



International rights groups had long championed her cause, and while they welcomed her release, they said that she should never have been jailed for her work blogging about human rights abuses and corruption in Vietnam, and more recently voicing criticism over Vietnams policy toward Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea.



Speaking to RFAs Vietnamese Service on Tuesday, the 39-year-old said she and other political prisoners were pressured by the government to leave Vietnam.



The Vietnamese governments consistent policy is to encourage political prisoners to move overseas, she said in an interview.



Depending on the situation, [authorities] select who would be released so that they might receive economic benefits or an improved standing on the world stage.



Arrested in October 2016, the 39-year-old Quynh was sentenced in June 2017 to jail on charges of spreading propaganda against the state under Article 88 of Vietnams Penal Code.



Quynh's detention, during which she staged several hunger strikes, was one of the more high profile cases of activists handed heavy sentences as part of an ongoing crackdown by the one-party state in the Southeast Asian nation, which holds more than 100 political prisoners and adds more to the list every week.



Quynh told RFA that during her detention, prison authorities used my relatives to pressure me.



[The security agents] told me what I had done would be a burden to my mother and [my children], and tried to make me think that what I did was wrong, she said.



They tried to persuade me to leave the country. I thought that deep inside they still had human sympathy and were speaking truthfully  But when I was imprisoned, I realized that none of them were good.



According to Qunyh, she tried hard not to think about her family while she was held in pre-trial detention, because otherwise she might do whatever they want to be released as soon as possible.



The important thing was not letting the person [monitoring me] know how happy or sorrowful I was, she said, adding that she had to be like water.



Activism in exile



But when Qunyh was sentenced to 10 years in jail and assigned to a prison labor detail, she could not help but think of her children growing up without a mother, and she began to question herself.



When I was sentenced to 10 years, I prayed and thought that maybe I had gone too far, she said.



I had done so much because of my beliefs, but I began to wonder if it was time to think of the children, and I thought that I might have been wrong.



When Qunyh was suddenly released last month, she took the opportunity to protect her family by relocating them to the U.S., where she has vowed to keep speaking out on human rights back in her communist nation.



She said Vietnams policy of sending political prisoners out of the country wont make any impact on social and political campaigns and could actually serve to help the movement inside Vietnam.



Its not important whether one is inside or outside Vietnam, she said.



What is important is what we want to do and how we carry it out.



Other Vietnamese bloggers have echoed Qunyhs claims that Vietnam appears to have adopted a policy of sending critics into exile or using them as diplomatic bargaining chips. Chinas communist regime used a similar tactic with jailed dissidents in the 1990s as it lobbied to enter the World Trade Organization and to host the 2008 Olympic Games.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
MINSK -- The press secretary of an opposition party in Belarus, a Russian citizen, says she has been ordered to leave the country.

Anna Krasulina, spokeswoman for the United Civil Party (AHP), told reporters in Minsk on November 14 that Belarusian migration officials demanded a day earlier that she leave Belarus for one year by November 30.

The officials told her she must leave to "secure public order," said Krasulina.

According to Krasulina, the reasons migration officials cited for her expulsion included a single unpaid ride on public transport -- though she said she has already paid a fine for that -- and participation in two unsanctioned demonstrations in 2016 and 2017.

Krasulina, who has been the AHP press secretary since 2011, said she will appeal the decision.

Krasulina, a native and citizen of Russia, says she no longer has ties with Russia.

She moved to Belarus in 2002 and her husband and children are Belarusian citizens. Her parents moved to Belarus many years ago.

Her permanent residency status in Belarus expires on January 30, 2019.
Prominent British Muslims, including three imams, have joined calls for Britain to offer asylum to Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman recently acquitted of blasphemy.

A letter to British Home Secretary Sajid Javid asked him "to make a clear and proactive statement that Britain would welcome a request for sanctuary here."

The letter, also signed by 15 members of Parliament, was made public on November 13, nearly a week after Bibi, a mother of five, was freed from prison following eight years on death row.

Pakistan's Supreme Court earlier overturned her conviction, triggering violent protests by hard-line Islamists calling for her execution.

Bibi's husband has pleaded for asylum from Western countries, saying the family was in danger.

"We are confident that action to ensure Asia Bibi and her family are safe would be very widely welcomed by most people in Britain, across every faith in our society," said the letter sent to Javid.

"If there are intolerant fringe voices who would object, they must be robustly challenged, not indulged," it added.

Bibi was convicted in 2010 of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, a charge she has denied.

The Supreme Court overturned her conviction on October 31 on the grounds there was not enough evidence to support it.

In a deal with hard-line Islamists that helped calm the unrest that followed Bibi's acquittal, the Pakistani government on November 3 indicated that it will bar her from traveling abroad pending a "review" of the court's decision.

The Netherlands said this week it had recalled staff from its embassy in Islamabad after receiving threats for providing shelter to Bibi's lawyer.

The lawyer, Saiful Mulook, cited death threats in fleeing Pakistan soon after the Supreme Court's ruling. The Dutch government said it had offered him temporary shelter.
Amnesty International has urged authorities in Iran to immediately provide information about hundreds of members of the Arab ethnic minority who have reportedly being held incommunicado following a deadly attack in the southwestern city of Ahvaz in September.

The London-based human rights watchdog made the call on November 13 following reports that 22 men have been executed "in secret" over the previous days. Iranian officials have dismissed those reports.

If confirmed, the secret executions of these men would be "not only a crime under international law but also an abhorrent violation of their right to life and a complete mockery of justice," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Up to 600 ethnic Arabs have been detained without access to their families or lawyers since September 24, according to Amnesty International, following an armed attack that claimed at least 25 lives in Ahvaz, the capital of the southwestern oil-producing province of Khuzestan, two days earlier.

Iran has blamed the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA), a group seeking a separate state for ethnic Arabs in Khuzestan, for the September 22 attack. ASMLA has condemned the violence and said it was not involved.

Khuzestan Province's governor told state-run media earlier this week that reports of 22 detainees being executed were "complete lies," and said that those arrested in connection with the Ahvaz attack had been charged.

Amnesty International called on the Iranian authorities to disclose the fate of all the detainees, give the families and their lawyers access to them, and ensure they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment.

"In the absence of any information about the whereabouts of the detainees feared killed, the governor's blanket denial will provide little comfort to families who have been unable to see or hear from their relatives since their arrests," Luther said.

Amnesty International also called on the authorities to release any ethnic Arabs "held solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression, association, or peaceful assembly or solely on account of their ethnic identity."

Iran must not use the attack in Ahvaz as "an excuse to carry out a purge against members of Iran's persecuted" Arab ethnic minority in Khuzestan Province, according to Luther.
The United States military has lost its edge and could potentially lose a war against Russia or China, a report by a bipartisan panel established by Congress says.

The report by the National Defense Strategy Commission on November 14 said U.S. military superiority has eroded to a dangerous degree and could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict.

It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia, it said, adding that new threats were also being realized as Iran and North Korea bolster their capabilities.

The commission was established by Congress in 2017 to evaluate the National Defense Strategy of the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump. It consists of 12 former top Republican and Democratic officials.

Congressional reports and other studies often warn of difficulties and deficiencies faced by the U.S. military, but the latest report could raise concerns in Washington given its bipartisan nature and dire conclusions.

Trump has ordered a major revamp to the U.S. military and has proposed billions of dollars in additional funds to aid an expansion that he says is designed to compete with Russia and China.

The commission said it agreed with the aims of the strategy, but it warned that Washington was not investing or moving quickly enough to put the policy into effect, which could lead to a national emergency.

The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously, the report said.

It warned that as U.S. policy was lagging, authoritarian competitors, especially China and Russia," were attempting to press their influence in their regions and developing the resources to project military power globally."

It said threats posed by Iran and North Korea are intensifying as they develop "more advanced weapons and creatively employ asymmetric tactics.

The report warned that a sense of complacency is undermining efforts to maintain the U.S. militarys long-held dominant position in the world.

People have become so used to the United States achieving what it wants in the world, to include militarily, that it isnt heeding the warning signs, said Kathleen H. Hicks, one of the commissioners.

Its the flashing red that we are trying to relay, added Hicks, a former top Pentagon official during the administration of President Barack Obama.

The panel said that despite an annual budget of some $716 billion -- at least 10 times that of Russia and four times the size of Chinas -- U.S. defense development is under-resourced considering todays threats.

The commission provided a list of 32 recommendations and called on the Pentagon to clearly set out how it intends to defeat a major power in war.

Among the conclusions, it urged the Navy to expand its submarine fleet and sealift forces to compete with Russia and China.

It said the Air Force should introduce more stealth long-range fighters and bombers. It said the Army should add more armor, long-range precision missiles, and air-defense and logistical forces.

The report also called for the United States to become more competitive in cyberspace, where portions of the next war could be fought.

With reporting by The Washington Post, Defense News, Axios, and Fortune
In late October, the El Paso Times reported that there were 1,600 children ages 12 to 17 being housed in what was originally meant as a temporary detention center in Tornillo. The pilgrimage comes as President Donald Trump continues to take a hard line on immigration. This week, the Washington Post reported that Trump was considering removing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and was searching for someone else who would implement his ideas for immigration enforcement.
BRUSSELS -- A top EU official has named Russia as the main source behind activities interfering with elections in Europe but noted that others are also learning from Moscow.

Crucial electoral rules have been breached or circumvented, in particular existing rules on transparency of campaign financing," Vera Jourova, European commissioner for justice and consumer policy, told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on November 14.

The most cited source of activities interfering with elections in Europe is Russia," Jourova said, adding also that "other countries and private interests increase their capabilities for election interference."

"Investigations are ongoing into allegations of dark financing from undisclosed third-country sources," she told EU lawmakers.

Jourova's statements came during a debate on the potential influence of foreign actors in next years European Parliament elections.

The debate comes as the European Union is preparing to do more to counter Russian propaganda.

The European Commission is currently drafting an action plan to be presented to EU member states in December that is likely to boost the work of the EUs East Stratcom Taskforce, which was created in 2015 to address Russia's ongoing disinformation campaigns.

A European Parliament draft report seen by RFE/RL that will be discussed for the first time later this month is calling for more funding for the Taskforce, as well the creation of a new portfolio in the European Commission dedicated to the fight against propaganda.
BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a resolution highly critical of Moldova, saying it has become a state captured by oligarchic interests that exert their influence over most part of Moldova's society.

The resolution passed on November 14 voiced grave concern about backsliding in relation to democratic standards in Moldova and noted that core values are being undermined by the ruling political leaders colluding with business interests and unopposed by much of the political class and the judiciary.

The resolution also expressed concern about signs of a further shrinking of space for the countrys civil society and called on Moldovan authorities to immediately halt undue or disproportionate criminal proceedings, some of which have been brought about through fabricated accusations, and selective justice against political opponents, their lawyers and/or their families.

The European Commission earlier this year froze the first tranche of a 100 million euro macro-financial aid package for Moldova, citing worries over the democratic situation in the country.

The resolution said that any future aid disbursement should only take place after the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 2019 and on condition that they are conducted in line with internationally recognized standards and assessed by specialized international bodies.

Although it does not specifically call for the suspension of the 2016 Association Agreement or the 2014 visa liberalization regime, the document recalls that suspension clauses for both exist.

The European Parliament also passed a resolution on Georgia, which stressed that high-level corruption remains a serious issue for Georgia and more should be done to improve issues such as labor standards.

However, the motion voices satisfaction that Georgias European agenda continues to garner cross-party consensus and the support of a majority of Georgian citizens.

It also leaves the door open to Georgia's European aspirations by noting that any European state may apply to become a member of the EU.
Baghdad has agreed with Tehran to exchange Iraqi food items for Iranian energy supplies and has requested permission from the United States to extend its sanctions waiver to allow the deal to proceed, Iraqi officials have been quoted as saying.

Two unidentified Iraqi government officials told the Reuters news agency on November 14 that the country needed more time to find alternative sources to Iranian gas supplies to fuel its electrical stations and avoid a "real power crisis."

The United States on November 5 reimposed sanctions on Iran's energy sector that had been eased as part of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

However, Washington granted several countries temporary waivers to allow them to continue imports of Iranian energy supplies to avoid hardships. Iraq was given a 45-day waiver to allow it to continue purchasing gas and electricity from Iran.

U.S. officials said the exception would give Iraq time to "take steps toward energy independence."

However, a senior Iraqi government official told Reuters that the U.S. deadline of 45 days to stop importing Iranian gas "is not enough at all for Iraq to find an alternative source."

"Stopping Iranian gas after the deadline will create a real power crisis," the official said.

Iraq finds itself in a delicate position on the question of trade with Iran, as Baghdad sees both Washington and Tehran as allies. While Iraq looks to the United States as a partner in military matters, it has developed extensive economic ties with Iran over many decades.

Meanwhile, with U.S. sanctions cutting into Iran's oil exports and global trade, Iranian businesses have been looking to expand their presence in neighboring Iraq.

With reporting by Reuters
Macedonian authorities responded to the international escalation of their hunt for fugitive former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski after his surprise Facebook pledge to request asylum in EU member Hungary by saying they would seek Gruevski's extradition pending confirmation of his whereabouts.

Gruevski, the once-ruling VMRO-DPMNE party's ex-leader and for nearly 10 years the head of Macedonia's government before his EU-mediated exit in 2016, had failed to show up last week to begin serving a two-year prison sentence for corruption.

Questions have inevitably arisen in Skopje over who's to blame for allowing Gruevski to leave the country. The Interior Ministry blamed the courts, which responded in turn that without a prosecutor's warrant they had no authority to arrest anyone, according to Frosina Dimeska from RFE/RL's Skopje bureau.

Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska said in a statement to the media that everyone should assume their own responsibility for the situation.

"We are not trying to put pressure on the judiciary, but everyone has to do their part and take responsibility," Sekerinska said.

But close observers of Macedonian politics warn that whoever is to blame, Gruevski's flight could harm both the government and the opposition.

Gruevski was convicted in connection with influencing the Interior Ministry in connection with the purchase of a luxury vehicle in 2012, when he was prime minister. He could face at least three more indictments related to alleged corruption and illegal wiretapping.

By turning himself into a fugitive from Macedonian justice, Gruevski risks further damaging his reputation and fostering a perception that he is a criminal rather than any sort of political martyr, says political analyst Petar Arsovski.

Gruevski's actions could also reflect badly on the credibility of state institutions and that of his own party, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity, or VMRO-DPMNE, Arsovski adds.

The VMRO-DPMNE has claimed Gruevski is the victim of a vendetta.

"He does damage to the VMRO-DPMNE, because it is difficult to stand behind a politician who has fled before justice, despite their attempts to claim he is being politically persecuted," Arsovski says.

Political analyst Albert Musliu predicts the government won't be spared the fallout. The Interior Ministry in particular, he says, must explain itself to the public and cannot simply shift blame to a bailiff who might have failed to deliver the warrant on time.

After nearly a decade in power, Gruevski was ousted in early 2016 in the wake of a major political crisis in which he and close associates were accused of illegal wiretapping, cover-ups, corruption, and imposing authoritarian rule.

His government's demise was the result of the so-called Przino Agreement, which was concluded between the ruling and opposition parties with the help of mediators from the European Union.

Gruevski's escape introduces new uncertainty into efforts to pursue alleged illegalities under the past government.

But looking forward, this latest twist in Macedonia's ongoing political saga could also affect Zoran Zaevs current governing coalition, fronted by his Social Democratic Union (SDSM).

Its survival may well depend on Zaev's ability to ensure fair investigations, and in some cases trials, for those accused of turning public service into private profit.
The Hungarian government has confirmed that it has received a request for political asylum from former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Gruevski, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2016, announced on Facebook on November 13 that he was in Budapest and had requested asylum.

The office of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a November 14 statement that it does not "wish to intervene in the internal affairs of sovereign countries," but since Gruevski was "prime minister of his country for 10 years, for security reasons, the Hungarian authorities have allowed [him] to have his asylum request submitted and heard."

His flight to Hungary took place the day after Macedonian officials issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for the start of his two-year prison sentence for abuse of power dating back to 2012.

Judges on November 9 rejected Gruevski's final appeal against his serving the sentence.

In Skopje, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called on Hungary to extradite Gruevski and the Justice Ministry said it is preparing a formal extradition request.

The statement from Orban's office said it considers Gruevski's asylum request "solely a legal issue" and views Macedonia as "an important ally."

Zaev -- who was a bitter rival of Gruevski when he was in the opposition -- said he expects Hungary to respect international law and return Gruevski to Macedonia.

"What will be [Macedonia's] motivation to join the European Union if one of its member states becomes a shelter for criminals?" he said at a news conference in Skopje.

Gruevski, the former leader of the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, was sentenced in May to two years in prison for unlawfully influencing Interior Ministry officials over the purchase of a luxury vehicle valued at 600,000 euros ($680,000).

A Macedonian Justice Ministry spokesman said the formal extradition request will take some time as the documents need to be translated into Hungarian.

Macedonia has no extradition agreement with Hungary but can seek to apply the European Convention on Extradition for Council of Europe (CoE), of which both countries are members.

Meanwhile, Macedonian authorities detained two former government officials currently on trial for corruption amid fears they could also flee prosecution.

A court in Skopje on November 14 ordered former Transport Minister Mile Janakieski and ex-government Secretary-General Kiril Bozinovski to be held for 30 days.

The two former officials are on trial on charges that include corruption over public contracts and election fraud.

Gruevski still faces three other corruption trials, including one over a major wiretapping scandal, and could be handed longer sentences than the one already given to him.

Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva said Gruevski "will surely be tried in absentia...this [action of applying for asylum] will not obstruct ongoing trials.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Balkan Service, Reuters, AP, and dpa
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for the eventual creation of a European army, echoing a suggestion by French President Emmanuel Macron that recently angered the U.S. president.

"What is really important, if we look at the developments of the past year, is that we have to work on a vision of one day creating a real, true European army," Merkel said in a speech before the European Parliament in Strasbourg on November 13.

"A common European army would show the world that there will never again be war between European countries," she said.

Merkel said she envisioned a European army that would function in parallel with NATO and come under a European Security Council, centralizing the continent's defense structure.

"Europe must take our fate into our own hands if we want to protect our community," Merkel said.

Her comments came a week after Macron called for a European army that would give Europe greater independence from the United States as well as defend the continent against such possible aggressors as Russia and China.

His comments provoked an angry response from U.S. President Donald Trump and prompted Trump to step up calls on European countries to increase their contributions to NATO.

On November 13, after returning from a visit to France where his clash with Macron featured prominently, Trump tweeted again on the subject.

"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China, and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!" Trump wrote.

Macron did not publicly respond to Trump's latest tweet. But former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry noted that France helped the fledgling United States win its war of independence against Britain in the 18th century and criticized Trump for "insulting our oldest ally."

"Stop tweeting! America needs some friends," Kerry said.

The French and German proposals to create a European army are controversial within NATO and the EU, where many member states are reluctant to give up national sovereignty on defense issues.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said "more European efforts on defense is great, but it should never undermine the strength of the transatlantic bond."

That sentiment was echoed by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on November 13.

"We see NATO as the cornerstone for the protection of Europe in the security realm and we fully support nations doing more to carry the load," Mattis said.

France has proposed the initial launch of a European intervention force backed by a small group of member states to handle crises in regions such as Africa, which could later be expanded into a European army.

Germany is critical of that proposal, however, as Macron would like to establish the new force outside the EU framework so as to involve the soon-to-depart Britain, which is a defense heavyweight within NATO.

The EU already has so-called battle groups to respond in crisis situations, though they have never been deployed.

Merkel's speech came days after she announced that she will step down as chancellor when her current term ends.

The EU stands at a critical juncture, with Britain preparing to leave the bloc in March while populist, anti-EU forces are on the rise.

As head of the EU's largest economy, Merkel has wielded considerable influence in the bloc during her nearly 13 years as chancellor.

But political wrangling at home has diminished her powers. Following months of infighting in her three-way coalition government and two disastrous state elections, Merkel announced on October 29 that her current term as chancellor would be her last.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, and AP
While classmates were outside enjoying recess, one high-school student in the Siberian village of Tayozhny snuck back into the classroom to leave a public indictment of Russia's longtime president.

"Putin is a thief," the student wrote on the blackboard on November 12.

When Class 10a settled into their seats the next day, they got an earful about the bad old days from their elderly history teacher, Yevdokia Kovalyova.

"Your grades have slipped, not to mention your behavior," Kovalyova can be seen shouting in a surreptitiously recorded video posted on YouTube. Accusing the class of insulting "our president in the worst way," she noted that such disobedience "would have been punished in the Soviet era with execution by firing squad":

"What has he done for us, for Tayozhny?" a student named Alyona asks.

"Alyona, you weren't here yesterday. You don't know," Kovalyova responds.

"My advice to those who wrote this," she adds, is to "write that phrase, seal it in an envelope, and send it off. Here's the address: Moscow, Kremlin, presidential administration. They'll quickly fly out here and deal with you. Putin has bodyguards!"

Kovalyova's blistering speech predictably went viral, inflaming already heated debates about the generational divide exposed by attempts to mold smartphone-wielding students into compliant, uncritical youths.

The recorded diatribe is only the latest to show students clashing with their Soviet-educated teachers about everything from endemic corruption to the state of provincial towns.

The trend of posting such classroom debates online emerged in early 2017, when teenagers had a strong presence in anticorruption protests that swept the country that March and prompted the Kremlin to rethink its approach toward Russia's youth.

In one early example, a student in Bryansk was detained in class after he promoted an upcoming protest rally on social media. The school's director gave a stern lecture about the dangers of opposition sentiment and the importance of patriotism.

Shortly after that incident, a lecturer at Tomsk State University was filmed relaying the sentiments of a former KGB chief in telling his class: "If there's no corruption in government, that government is no use to anyone":

Those who attend protests are "freaks," he added, alleging that participants were paid and suggesting they should find a better way to earn money.

The same week, at a nearby high school, teachers gave a lecture about the similarities between liberalism and fascism, and called students who protest "fascists" and "traitors":

And at Vladimir State University, students were brought to a lecture hall and shown a video comparing opposition leader and anticorruption campaigner Aleksei Navalny, who was spearheading the March protests, to Hitler:

"A full-on war is being waged against the Russian Federation," the school director told students after the screening. "And it's targeting the youth."

There's no evidence that the admonishments are not solely the initiative of the teachers themselves, but the Kremlin does appear to be playing a hidden hand.

In May, in a bid to temper dissent among the youth, a saucy music video was released featuring half-naked women and pop star Alisa Vox seducing a schoolboy, who bows his head in apparent shame for participating in protests:

The song, titled Baby Boy (Malysh), suggested that Western funding was behind the protests and claimed that youth participation in them comes at the expense of a good education and success in the future. The lyrics warn against attending protests in return for "mountains of gold" and Euros.

On a beautiful sunny day,

To a protest he goes,

With unfirm hands,

He takes up his banner.

Mistakes on the banner,

Four words written as two,

But his heart beats fervently,

And there's anger in his eyes.

Various sources told Russian media at the time that the Kremlin was involved in funding and coordinating the release of the video.

Efforts to counter the opposition protests have let up since Putin's reelection in March. But the government's wariness of youth dissent remains. A bill mandating fines against anyone who encourages children to attend unsanctioned protests is making its way through the legislature, and passed its first reading in the State Duma last week.

The proposed fine would be 30,000 to 50,000 rubles ($450 to $750) or 15 days in jail, and repeat offenders would be treated more severely. If implemented, the law would be just one of the initiatives to emerge in the aftermath of heavy youth involvement in the 2017 protests.
Opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has managed to leave Russia to attend a ruling in his case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), a day after he was barred from boarding a flight out.

Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critics, posted a photo of himself at passport control and wrote that he was allowed to leave the country.

"Really, this time everything was OK," he wrote in a post on Instagram and Facebook, comparing his relatively easy exit to his thwarted attempt to leave Russia a day earlier.

However, he said he will sue the Federal Bailiffs Service (FSSP) over what he called "illegal activities" and demand compensation for the 29,542 rubles ($436) in financial losses he said he and his lawyer sustained due to the FSSP's decision to bar him from leaving Russia.

Hours after he was stopped by border guards at the airport on November 13 with little explanation, the FSSP said he was barred from leaving Russia due to what it said was debt he owed Kirovles, a timber company at the center of a politically charged criminal case in which he has now been convicted twice.

The FSSP later said that the fine was paid and that restrictions on Navalny's travel abroad had been lifted.

On November 15, the ECHR in Strasbourg, France, is to issue its final decision in a suit against Russia claiming that several detentions, jailings, and administrative convictions between 2012-14 breached Navalny's rights and were politically motivated.

It is a ruling in appeal after Russia challenged a February 2017 decision in Navalny's favor.

Navalny, 42, has organized large street protests on several occasions since 2011 and has published a series of reports alleging corruption in Putin's circle.

He has repeatedly been jailed for periods ranging from 10 days to a few weeks, usually for alleged infractions of laws governing public demonstrations.

On October 14, Navalny walked free after spending 50 days in jail on administrative charges related to antigovernment protests he has organized.

A spokeswoman said that the time that Navalny had spent nearly 200 days in jail since 2011, including 140 days since the start of his attempt to challenge Putin in the March 2018 presidential election.

Electoral authorities barred Navalny from the ballot, citing convictions in two financial-crimes cases he and his supporters contend were Kremlin-orchestrated efforts to punish him for his opposition activity and for the reports alleging corruption.

Navalny was convicted in 2013 of stealing money from Kirovles, a state company, and was sentenced to five years in prison. But the sentence was later suspended, sparing him from serving time in prison.

In 2016, the ECHR ruled that the Kirovles trial was unfair and that the two men had been convicted of actions "indistinguishable from regular commercial activity."

The Russian Supreme Court then threw out the 2013 convictions and ordered a new trial.

In February 2017, the lower court again convicted the two men and handed down the same suspended prison sentence.

In 2014, Navalny and his brother, Oleg, were convicted of stealing about $500,000 from two Russian firms, one of which was affiliated with French cosmetics company Yves Rocher, and of laundering part of the amount.

Both were sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison, but Aleksei's sentence was suspended. Oleg was released in June 2018 after serving his term.

INFOGRAPHIC: In And Out: All The Times Aleksei Navalny Has Been In Jail (swipe left and right to view full panorama)
A court in Moscow has sentenced several men to lengthy prison terms in a deadly 2016 cemetery brawl case.

The Moscow City Court on November 14 found the former director of the Khovanskoye cemetery in the Russian capital, Yury Chabiyev, and a co-founder of Healthy Nation NGO, Aleksandr Bocharnikov, guilty of organizing the brawl in which three persons were killed in May 2016 and sentenced them to 11 and nine years in prison, respectively.

One of the participants in the brawl, Eldar Vaduyev, who ran over two men with a car during the clashes, was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison.

Thirteen other defendants received prison terms between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years.

Several other participants in the brawl and a suspected organizer of the clashes, the leader of the Healthy Nation group, Georgy Makaryev, who was arrested earlier in May, will be tried separately.

Russian authorities said in 2016 that some 200 people armed with guns, steel bars, and other weapons took part in the clashes at the Khovanskoye cemetery in southwest Moscow.

Media reports said then that ethnic groups from ex-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus were fighting over the cemetery's lucrative services business.

Based on reporting by Rapsinews and Interfax
Romania's prime minister has dismissed European Union criticism that the country is backsliding on democratic reforms and insisted that Bucharest is ready to take over the EU's rotating presidency next year.

"I assure you that Romania is ready...logistically and from an organizational point of view," Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on November 13, blasting the EU for a critical report on the country's justice system.

Dancila called the EU report "profoundly unfair" and politically motivated.

The report echoed recent criticisms from Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, an opposition politician, who said on November 12 that Romania was "totally unprepared" to take over the six-month leadership of the EU on January 1.

On November 13, Iohannis called on Romania's political leaders to "act at once" in response to the "devastating" EU report saying that Romania has backtracked on democratic reforms achieved in the last 10 years.

The report prompted the European Commission to call for the immediate suspension of new judicial laws and appointments of prosecutors in Romania, while the European Parliament passed a resolution warning that recent changes in law threaten to "structurally undermine the independence of the judicial system and the capacity to fight corruption effectively in Romania, as well as to weaken the rule of law."

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said that the EU executive set out eight recommendations for "immediate follow-up" to increase the independence of the judiciary and toughen the fight against corruption.

"I regret that Romania has not only stalled its reform process, but also reopened and backtracked on issues where progress was made over the past 10 years," he said.

Timmermans also said media freedom needed to be better respected in Romania.

With questions being raised about Romania's readiness to take over the EU presidency in less than two months, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on November 13 that his government was ready move forward its presidency term, which is scheduled to start on July 1. But he told Finnish media he didn't intend to swap terms with Romania.

A little-known politician, Dancila became Romania's prime minister in January, but has little executive power. Liviu Dragnea, the chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party, basically runs the government but can't be prime minister because of a conviction for vote-rigging.

Dragnea dismissed the EU criticism on November 13, saying "the real topics regarding Romania are beyond any report or monitoring mechanism."

But the support President Iohannis voiced for the EU illustrated how the government is under domestic pressure for change as well.

Dancila claimed that Iohannis was advocating "anarchy," in an apparent reference to anticorruption protests that drew thousands of demonstrators into the streets of Bucharest and other major Romanian cities in August demanding the resignation of the government.

With reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters
FBI analysts posing as terrorists exchanged messages with Daoud and eventually got him to meet with the undercover agent, who was described as a "cousin" interested in waging jihad, according to the charges. Over several months, Daoud and the agent met several times in the Chicago area to discuss potential targets for an attack, the charges allege.
A top official of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) says the country needs more prisons to hold police officers and other law enforcement agents who have been convicted of crimes.

In an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio that was broadcast on November 13, FSIN's deputy head said that two new prisons for former law enforcement officers built in 2018 were already full and "more must be opened."

"The number of [corrective] colonies for ordinary people is decreasing, decreasing dramatically," Maksimenko said, using a formal term for penitentiaries where convicts are sent.

"But the number of colonies for former police is sharply increasing," he said. "It is some kind of tendency; it looks like an anticorruption effort is under way, a cleansing is under way."

Maksimenko's remarks may reflect a rise in those numbers, but they could also be meant to convince Russians that President Vladimir Putin's government is tackling the long-standing problem of police violence and corruption.

While he gave overall figures for Russia's prison population, he provided no figures for the number of law enforcement officers who have been imprisoned in recent years.

Abuses by police, prison guards, and other law enforcement officers have long been a problem.

The issue has been in the spotlight in recent months over incidents such as the beating by several guards of an inmate at a prison in Yaroslavl, which was captured in video footage.

Makismenko said that there were about 1 million people in Russian prisons when he started working at FSIN in 2012, and that that number had decreased to about 470,000.

According to FSIN statistics, as of November 1 there were about 571,000 inmates in Russian prisons and jails -- about 31,200 fewer than a year earlier.

Of the 571,000, about 468,000 are convicts in prisons, while most of the rest are in pretrial detention centers.

With reporting by Ekho Moskvy and RBK
The Kremlin has lashed out over what Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman says is the recent "unpredictability" of the United States, saying it was causing "deep global concern."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments on November 14, two weeks ahead of an expected meeting between Putin and President Donald Trump during a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) in Argentina.

A July summit in Helsinki was the only full-scale meeting the two presidents have held since Trump, who has repeatedly said he wants relations with Russia to improve, took office in January 2017.

His term has been marked by persistent tension over issues including Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014, its role in wars in Syria and eastern Ukraine, its alleged meddling in the election he won, and the poisoning of a Russian double agent in Britain.

"The fact that America has become unpredictable lately is no secret to anyone," Peskov told Dozhd TV during a visit by Putin to Singapore for the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"Such unpredictability from the largest country, the most powerful economy in the world, is the subject of deep global concern," he said.

Peskov did not specifically criticize Trump. Russian officials have repeatedly suggested that Trump wants better ties with Russia but is being thwarted by "Russophobic" opponents at home.

The United States and its allies accuse Russia of being behind the March nerve-agent attack on Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the English city of Salisbury.

Despite substantial evidence, Moscow denies any involvement in the poisoning, which led to additional U.S. and European Union sanctions on Moscow and to diplomatic expulsions of Russian and Western officials.

The United States earlier this month said it was eyeing fresh sanctions against Russia over the poisoning.

Repeating Russia's public position on sanctions that have been imposed on it, Peskov said: "We do not recognize these unilateral restrictions...and we consider them illegitimate."

He said any new sanctions would only "further complicate" Russia-U.S. relations.

After the summit in Helsinki on July 16, Trump was widely criticized for not taking a harder line with Putin and for seemingly refusing to press him on several matters, including Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Trump is not attending the ASEAN summit and sent Vice President Mike Pence instead.

Peskov said that "no separate meeting" was planned between Putin and Pence. He said there was no need for such talks because Putin and Trump are to meet on the sidelines of the November 30-December 1 G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

With reporting by AFP and TASS
A Russian teenager who brought an ax, several knives, and a canister of gasoline to his school has been hospitalized after swallowing rat poison, media reports and officials in the Volgograd region say.

Officials in the Volga River region's Danilovka district said on November 14 that they believe the 14-year-old boy wanted to frighten his classmates but did not intend to do harm.

Media reports cited teachers and local authorities as saying that the boy swallowed rat poison after a teacher took the ax and other items that he brought to his first class on the morning of November 12.

Police and regional education department officials are investigating the incident and trying to determine the boy's motives.

Some reports said he apparently wanted to scare classmates who had "offended" him, but the details were not clear.

The incident came less than a month after an assailant identified as an 18-year-old student killed 20 people and wounded dozens in a gun-and-bomb attack at a technical college in Russian-controlled Crimea before killing himself.

In January, a ninth-grader attacked fellow students with an ax and other weapons in the Siberian region of Buryatia.

That attack followed a knife attack by two teenagers at a school in Perm and a stabbing at a school in the Chelyabinsk region the same month.

Based on reporting by RIA, TASS, V1.ru, and Zvezda TV
Paris has Charles de Gaulle. Rome has Leonardo Da Vinci. New York has John F. Kennedy. And soon, depending on how the online voting goes, Russia's Yekaterinburg could have the Pavel Bazhov International Airport.

Yekaterinburg is one of 47 cities participating in a national online-voting project to attach the names of prominent Russians to their local airports. Bazhov was a Russian and Soviet writer of fairy tales who studied in Yekaterinburg in the 1890s and who was also the grandfather of the father of Russian shock therapy of the 1990s, Yegor Gaidar.

The Great Names of Russia project, which will produce its final tallies on December 5, is a joint effort by a consortium of state-connected organizations, including the Public Chamber, the Russian Geographical Society, and the Russian Military-Historical Society. It has enjoyed wall-to-wall coverage by state-friendly media at the national and local levels.

More than 200,000 people cast ballots on the first day of the final round of voting on November 13.

The goal of Great Names of Russia is to promote national unity and patriotism, organizers say.

"The initiative has enlivened and stimulated public interest in its own history," St. Petersburg Public Chamber member Vladimir Gronsky told the TASS news agency. "It is healthy for society."

St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport -- which stands to be renamed in honor of medieval prince Aleksandr Nevsky, Peter the Great, or 19th-century poet Aleksandr Pushkin -- is one of the largest airports participating in the project.

Moscow's Domodedovo Airport is also in the market for a new moniker to replace its distinctly unflashy appellation after a local district. Instead of three finalists, it was one of the few that merited four and should soon be named after World War II Marshal Georgy Zhukov, Napoleanic-era commander Mikhail Kutuzov, 18th-century scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, or former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov.

Organizers apparently took pains to avoid embarrassments that have plagued similar online-democracy initiatives, such as when citizens of the United Kingdom voted to name a ship Boaty McBoatface or when residents of Slovakia voted to name a pedestrian bridge near Bratislava after U.S. television personality Chuck Norris.

In Russia, few controversial figures made the final short lists, which were compiled through an opaque process in an earlier round. No cities have the option of naming their airport after Tsar Ivan the Terrible, Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin, secret police founder Feliks Dzerzhinsky, or dictator Josef Stalin. On the contrary, the airport in Mineralnye Vody could be named after anti-Soviet writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and the one in Magadan could bear the name of antiestablishment Soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky.

Several figures have made the initial cut in multiple cities, although the contest rules stipulate just one airport per person. The city giving the most votes as a percentage of its population will win the honor.

Nonetheless, the competition has provoked some controversy. In Omsk, some locals were upset that rock musician Yegor Letov did not make the short list and have launched a petition to have him added.

"We believe the organizing committee made a major mistake by excluding Letov," the petition reads. "In doing so, the organizers of the competition have undermined faith in the quality of the voting, even for residents of the other 40-odd cities participating."

In Murmansk, some locals have expressed discontent on social media that their airport might be renamed at all. Currently, the airport bears a sign reading "Murmansk -- hero city" that honors the city's sacrifices and contributions during World War II, and they feel that is more distinguished than naming the airport after Emperor Nicholas II, Soviet pilot Boris Safonov, or Arctic explorer Ivan Papanin.

In Khabarovsk, eyebrows have been raised by the possibility that the airport could be named after Count Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky or Admiral Gennady Nebelsky. The two men are reviled in Russian nationalist circles for advocating the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867.
BAKU -- Azerbaijan's Supreme Court has reduced by two months the three-year prison term imposed on a prominent opposition leader who was jailed on cash-smuggling charges.

The court on November 14 said the sentence imposed on Gozal Bayramli, deputy chairwoman of the Popular Front Party (AXCP), was reduced after the formal charge against her was changed from smuggling to attempted smuggling.

Bayramli was arrested in May 2017 as she was returning to Azerbaijan from neighboring Georgia and charged with smuggling some $12,000 in undeclared cash across the border.

The Qazax district court in Azerbaijan's northwest on January 23 found Bayramli guilty of smuggling and sentenced her the same day, according to her lawyer, Elcin Sadiqov.

Bayramli has maintained her innocence, saying the case against her is politically motivated. She insists that the banknotes were planted in her bag.

Critics of longtime President Ilham Aliyev's government say authorities of the oil-rich former Soviet republic frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing reporters, human rights activists, and civil-society advocates without grounds.

Dozens of AXCP members have been arrested and some imprisoned in the last several years on what their supporters have called trumped-up charges.

Aliyev denies any rights abuses. He took over in 2003 shortly before the death of his father, Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB officer and communist-era leader who had ruled Azerbaijan since 1993
PRAGUE -- U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has warned the Czech government not to choose Russia as a partner for a lucrative nuclear-energy plan.

Perry, speaking in Prague on November 14, reiterated that Russia has been using energy "as a political weapon."

He added that the "U.S. [nuclear industry] is the safest, most reliable for the job."

The Czech Republic is considering an expansion of its nuclear energy industry and the U.S.-based Westinghouse and Russia's Rosatom are considered among the main contenders for any new contract.

Perry visited the Czech Republic as part of a tour of Eastern and Central Europe as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to encourage the purchase of natural gas from the United States or other suppliers rather than increasing purchases from Russia.

The comments largely echo what Perry said the previous day in Budapest, where he warned that Russia has historically used energy as a weapon and continues to do so.

"We should no longer allow the Kremlin to use energy as a weapon," he said in the Hungarian capital, while urging Hungary and its neighbors to reject Russian gas pipelines that Washington says are being used to cement Moscow's grip on the region.

"Russia is using a pipeline project, Nord Stream 2, and the multiline [TurkStream project], to try to solidify its control over the security and the stability of Central and Eastern Europe," he said.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said TurkStream, a pipeline under construction from Russia to Turkey, was beneficial to Hungary, since one of it branches would bring gas to Hungary's southern border via a new route.

Budapest would be willing to buy gas from Croatia, which is building a liquefied-natural-gas terminal, and from Romania, Szijjarto said.

Perry opened his tour in Poland and also visited Ukraine during his six-day tour of the region.

On November 8, he attended the signing of a long-term contract between Poland's main gas company and U.S. firm Cheniere to receive deliveries of liquefied natural gas from the United States as part of a larger effort to reduce Warsaw's energy dependence on Russia.

Perry and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met in Kyiv on November 12 and announced the launch of a strategic energy dialogue and discussed prospects of developing oil and gas reserves in Ukraine -- a country which Perry said could become "the Texas of Europe."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Interfax and AP
What is actually afoot is a system, effectively created by Brown herself, in which all e-filed complaints are treated as having been filed under seal until Brown herself clears them for public access, Kennelly wrote. Brown cannot end-run the First Amendment by creating a system in which hypothetical doubt regarding whether litigants comply with rules about redaction allow her to exclude the public from access to judicial proceedings until she is good and ready to provide it.
Oh yeah now, look the way I look like a dumb (expletive) right? Yeah jump in your (expletive) car, right? The man stepped closer to the scene as he continued berating the police. You dont give a (expletive) about if he die or not.  One of them say hes at Mount Sinai, the other say he at the morgue, where the (expletive) is he? ... Whered yall take him?
Shes a reminder of what we can do and what we can be in this country, said Coe, who wiped away tears and was overwhelmed with emotion as she walked out of the crowded bookstore. I love her so much.  Im honored I can be here. Im thrilled that she wrote this book and that shes spilling her heart to us.
Cozumel mayor says fourth cruise ship dock a fact

Cozumel, Q.R.  The mayor of Cozumel says that a fourth pier for the island is a fact and that they are only waiting for the corresponding permits.

Cozumel is on the cruise ship map and needs to continue growing. That is what the partners of the companies asked for, Pedro Joaquin Delbouis said adding that his administration will support the fourth pier.

They are only waiting for the Ministry of Communications and Transportation to grant the corresponding permits. He explained that the next holder of the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), Jimenez Espriu, is a person with vast experience in port management.

Pedro Joaquin Delbouis

Joaquin Delbouis added that Cozumel continues to show leadership and must work to maintain a position including the strengthening of hotel infrastructure and sporting events, while consolidating the growth to receive cruise ships.

He explained that between the San Miguel dock and the SSA dock, there is no restriction on environmental matters so it would be the ideal area to develop the project.

With this, we would surpass five million cruise passengers, he said, comparing that figure to Puerto Rico who, he says, has only about 1.5 million cruise ship passengers per year.

The announcement of a fourth cruise ship dock for Cozumel was made in mid-Octber.
Playa del Carmen one of chosen cities for federal promoting in new government

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  The city of Playa del Carmen has been chosen as one of five that will be promoted by the Federal Urban Improvement Program proposed by president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Roman Guillermo Meyer Falcon, who will head Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu) when the new government takes over, said the program will promote 15 cities around the country.

He says of those 15 cities, 10 will be along Mexicos borders and five will correspond to tourist destinations. In an integral manner, it will address the needs for improvement, expansion and replacement of housing and basic aspects of infrastructure, such as paving, drainage and electric power, he explained.

Roman Guillermo Meyer Falcon

Meyer Falcon explained that, like many other cities, Playa del Carmen has a great socioeconomic disparity with large tourist developments such as luxury hotels, while at the same time, areas with large economic lags. For this reason is was added to the list of cities to be promoted by the program.

Playa del Carmen is one of the most important tourist destinations in the country, however, poverty and marginalization have been present and have never been addressed by governments. Now there will be a change in the policy of government. It is a responsibility of work between the municipality, state and federation to address these problems, he added.

Meyer Falcon met with municipal president Laura Beristain Navarrete, where one of the relevant issues was the legal certainty of land in Solidaridad due to different irregular settlements. He says this issue will be addressed by the next federal government to work hand-in-hand and give certainty to the heritage of families.
She helps us capture a feeling of a happier and more inspiring time, said Hofmann, who stood in the cold for nearly three hours Tuesday to get a glimpse and buy a book directly from Obama at the Hyde Park bookstore. Shes a model of decency. It makes me all the more appreciative that she hasnt forgotten her roots here in Chicago or on the South Side.
Noble Network of Charter Schools CEO Michael Milkie is being investigated for inappropriate behavior with at least one female graduate, officials said Tuesday, one week after the leader of Chicagos most prominent charter operator announced abrupt plans to retire at the end of the year.
Narendra Modi

Singapore, Nov 14 (PTI): There was a light moment during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore on Wednesday when he riffed on the meaning of 'Indiana' - the American leader's home state. Through his translator, Modi said that when he met Pence in the US in 2017 he told him that "Indiana" (INDIA-Ana) in Hindi, meaning "To come to India."

US Vice President Mike Pence

Advertisement

Modi then repeated his invitation to Pence to visit India. Pence laughed appreciatively. "Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister," Pence said. "I expect I will 'Indiana'." The US vice president is likely to visit India in 2019.
Chairman, BBMB giving away prizes

Spokesman News Service: Chandigarh, 14th Nov'18: The Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched the National Awareness Campaign in order to promote energy conservation in the country. Various programmes for school children have been devised to sensitize them about the need for conserving energy and also to educate and involve their parents in this cause.

'On the spot' State Level Painting Competition amongst School Children of UT Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana was organized by Bhakra Beas Management Board at Inderdhanush Auditorium, Sector-5, Panchkula on 14.11.2018. Sh. Balvir Singh Sinhmar was the Nodal Officer of this competition. Over 25.50 lac participants competed for the School Level Competition, out of which 300 children were selected for state level competition.

Advertisement

Sh. D.K. Sharma, Chairman, BBMB was the Chief Guest in this function. Sh. Balvir Singh Sinhmar, Director/HRD and Nodal Officer welcomed Chairman, BBMB on his arrival at the function. Chairman, BBMB inaugurated the function by lightening the ceremonial lamp. While addressing the audience, the Chief Guest appreciated the overwhelming response of children from the states & their awareness towards the energy conservation.

Chairman, BBMB with participants of cultural programme

He congratulated the winners & said that those who could not win this time should not feel discouraged but should make an attempt to win next time. He lauded the efforts of BBMB in making this function a success. The painting competition on energy conservation was first conducted at the School Level for classes 4th, 5th & 6th (Group 'A') & 7th, 8th & 9th (Group 'B') and thereafter 50 children from each Group were selected from each state/UT by a jury from the best paintings received from the participating schools.

Advertisement

300 participants i.e. 50 participants from each Group of each state/UT participated in the State Level Painting Competition on 14.11.2018. 15 Students of Pavitradham, Rotary School for Hearing Impaired, Ambala also participated in the said competition. During this occasion children of BBMB DAV Public School, Nangal Township presented a cultural programme.

They presented a enlightening skit on environmental protection. Chairman, BBMB highly appreciated the skit on environmental protection and apprised the audience that BBMB is also doing a lot in this field and BBMB will plant 6 lac saplings at its project stations during the coming year.

On this occasion senior officers of BBMB, Punjab, Haryana and UT Chandigarh were present. Cash prizes of Rs.20,000/-, Rs.15000/- Rs.10,000/- were given to first three winners of Group 'A' & Group 'B' of each State/UT by Chief Guest. Ten consolation prizes for each Group amounting to 5,000/- were also given to selected participants from each State/UT. Besides above, all participants were given a sum of Rs. 2000/- as incidental expenses by BBMB, mementoes from Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power & BBMB.


Another Batch Of New Specialist Doctors Will Soon Join The Health Department

SPOKESMAN NEWS SERVICE: CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 14: Achieving yet another milestone in providing the quality health services to the citizens of State, appointment letters to 306 newly recruited MBBS Doctors were today handed over by Mr. Brahm Mohindra, Health and Family Welfare Minister in a simple but impressive function organised at the Auditorium of Punjab Health System Corporation, SAS Nagar Mohali.

Visually ecstatic Mr. Brahm Mohindra congratulated the newly appointed doctors and said that he was quite relieved today as this new batch of 306 doctors has become the family of Punjab Health Department. He said that when he joined the Ministry on 16 March, 2017, he was shocked to see that Health Department was totally in shambles.

Advertisement

There was acute shortage of specialist doctors, Medical officers, ANMs and paramedical staff. He said that he set his priority to fill the vacant posts of doctors and paramedical staff and today he was satisfied to see that a large batch of medical officers was joining the Health Department. He exhorted these doctors to be ready to serve the community with missionary zeal and to wipe off the tears and agonies of the poor and downtrodden by adopting sympathetic approach.

The Health Minister said that the doctors were earlier reluctant to join the government service as they had to perform the service at basic salary during the probation period. He said he himself was aghast at this decision of the previous government as no doctor was willing to join the government service at this paltry basic salary. He said that he immediately brought this issue to the notice of Chief Minister and had series of meetings with the Finance Minister and got the approval to recruit doctors on full salary.

Advertisement

He said that now in the next phase specialist doctors would be recruited, the process for the selection is underway and hopefully these specialist doctors will soon join the Health Department. The Health Minister said he has asked the DHS to prepare list of the newly appointed doctors clearly indicating their home addresses. He announced that all the doctors will be posted at the hospital and dispensary nearby their home.

 I do not want that doctors have to meet political bigwigs and put pressure on him for transfers , thats why I have ordered the DHS to post doctors near their homes so as to ensure the efficiency and quality work Said Health Minister. Prominent amongst other who was present at the function included Mr. Amardeep Singh Cheema, Chairman Punjab Health System Corporation, Dr. Jaspal Kaur, Director Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Naresh Kansara, Director Family Welfare, Dr. R.P. Bhatia, Principal, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare and other senior officers of the Health Department.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh interacting with British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Ayre and Former Army Chief General V P Malik

SPOKESMAN NEWS SERVICE: CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 14: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday deplored attempts to politicise the defence forces, asserting that the armed forces were meant to report only to their regimental heads and not work at the behest of the political dispensation.

The Chief Minister called for an immediate end to the current cult of political interference in the functioning of defence services, to enable the officers and soldiers in the armed forces to discharge their duties efficaciously.

Advertisement

This was necessary in the larger interest of the nation, and to secure its unity, integrity and security, he told a distinguished gathering at the Remembrance Day ceremony here, to pay homage to Commonwealth nations armed forces members who sacrificed their lives during World War I. A 2-minute silence was also observed in memory of the martyrs.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh with the British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Ayre

The exemplary valour and indomitable courage of all those great soldiers in preserving the ethos of freedom, liberty and democratic values had remained largely unrecognised, Captain Amarinder Singh lamented, pointing out that nearly 74,000 Indian soldiers attained martyrdom and 67,000 were wounded in this historic War.

Advertisement

While most Indians were quite aware of the sacrifices made by millions of known and unknown people in the Independence struggle, the supreme contribution of those brave men who fought in the Great War had been largely forgotten, said the Chief Minister. He called for aggressive propagation of the nations rich military history among the youth, to make them more aware about the rich and glorious legacy of the armed forces.

Captain Amarinder Singh, Canadian Consulate General Mia Yen (left) and other dignitaries observing two-minute silence in the memory of fallen soldiers of World War I

Underscoring the need to acclimatise the younger generation with the past events, Captain Amarinder Singh advocated inclusion of detailed chapters on Indias contribution both, World War I and II, in school curriculum. Referring to his recent visit to Turkeys Gallipolis Helles and Turkish memorials, where he paid his respects to the martyred Commonwealth soldiers including Indians, Captain Amarinder Singh said that there was a marked difference in the awareness levels of youth about the military exploits than in India.

Advertisement

Paying his respects to the fallen soldiers, the Chief Minister said that it was a sad moment but also a day to be proud of what our valiant soldiers did in the line of duty. Quoting from his book Honour and Fidelity  Indias military contribution to the Great War 1914-18, the Chief Minister revealed that Indian soldiers who were summoned within 20 days after the start of the war hugely aided the British in the eventual culmination of the War.

Captain Amarinder Singh, addressing the gathering at Remembrance Day ceremony held to commemorate the memory of World War I soldiers

By the end of 1914, seven expeditionary forces had been sent from India to various theatres of the war. These included two infantry divisions, eight infantry brigades and one mixed force with three infantry battalions, two cavalry divisions, one cavalry brigade and the attendant administrative services, as well as four field artillery brigades in excess of the normal allotment to France, Chief Minister read out from his book.

Advertisement

Earlier, British Deputy High Commissioner in Chandigarh, Andrew Ayre lauded the role played by Indian soldiers in the War. He also complemented the role of Indian soldiers for immaculately handling the warfare in alien lands, to be honoured with prestigious 11 Victoria Crosses besides numerous other medals. This reflects their professional commitment, sincerity and, above all, dedication to the cause of universal freedom and liberty, he added.

Captain Amarinder Singh along with the British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Ayre, Former Army Chief General V P Malik and Canadian Consulate General Mia Yen (left)

Canadian Consulate General Mia Yen also paid glowing tributes to the soldiers in securing peace, prosperity and democratic freedom for their future generations. The restoration of peace and tranquility after the World War I gave a boost to the overall development, she said, adding that it was a solemn occasion to pause and reflect not only on the past but also ponder over the challenges in the future perspective.

Prominent amongst others who attended the ceremony included Senior Advisor to CM Lt. Gen. (Retd.) T S Shergill, Media Advisor to CM Raveen Thukral, Former Army Chief General V P Malik, and GOC-in-C Western Command Lt. General Surinder Singh.
Cooperation Ministers of Maharashtra & Punjab perform inauguration

Chandigarh, November 14: The Cooperation and Textiles Minister, Maharashtra, Mr. Subhashji Deshmukh and Cooperation Minister, Punjab, S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa today inaugurated the sale of products manufactured by MAHAFED (Maharashtra) here at Markfed Bazaar in sector-22.

On the occasion, Mr. Deshmukh, who arrived specially at the invitation of S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa for inauguration of the 65th All India Cooperation Week, said that both Punjab and Maharashtra are predominantly agrarian states where cooperation sector occupies a place of prominence. He also said that the mutual coordination by both the states in the cooperation sector would usher in an era of prosperity for the farming community.

Advertisement

He further divulged that a high level delegation of Markfed had visited Maharashtra in July this year under the leadership of S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and it was during this very visit that it was decided to make the products of Markfed and MAHAFED available for sale in each others state.

S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on the occasion termed it as a matter of great pride that Punjab is collaborating with the state of Maharashtra which is a leading state in cooperation sector. Thanking his counterpart from Maharashtra, S. Randhawa said that by the end of this month the products manufactured by Markfed would be available for sale in Pune as well as Nagpur given the great demand these products command there.

Advertisement

Both the ministers also conducted a tour of the Markfed Bazaar. Among others present on the occasion included MP from Sangli (Maharshtra) Mr. Sanjay Kaka Patil, OSD to the Cooperation Minister Maharashtra-Dr. Rajaram Dighe, MD, MCDC Mr. Milind Akre, MD Markfed Mr. Varun Roojam and the Deputy Chief Manager Mr. Sanjeev Manaktala.
Both universities have hired more admissions counselors to deal with the larger volume of applications. From the beginning of November to the first of May, staff is busy around the clock, Mills said. On New Years Eve  the last day students can apply to many colleges and universities  they know better what to expect.
The woman was in a vehicle when she saw the man try to rob someone she knew in the 700 block of North Lawndale Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood around 3 p.m., according to Chief of Patrol Fred Waller. At some point, the man fired at her, hitting the vehicle several times, Waller said.
The issue that we are facing here is a very stubborn one on the violent crime, said Lausch, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago from 1999 until 2010 before going into private practice. By no means am I suggesting that weve got this problem licked. Were not patting ourselves on the back. We have a lot of work to do.
Now that the horrendous election mid-terms are behind us can we all just take a breath? Thank you. If your candidates won; congratulations. If your candidates lost; oh well, they should have knocked on more doors I guess. Either way we can now go back to watching TV commercials that tell us, puppies and babies not included. Ill bet youll be glad to see them instead of the political nonsense.

Before we put 2018 into the dust bin of history I wouldnt be me if I didnt offer up a few observations and make a couple suggestions to make the next election more tolerable. Lets call it my post-election top ten.

1) No matter what office you run for you need to spread out your signs. Putting six signs for the same candidate on the same patch of grass is stupid and redundant. Pick a spot, plop a sign down and move on.

2) All political signs must be removed by noon the day after Election Day. No exceptions. If you dont get them up then we lock you in a room with Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump as they discuss her Native American heritage.

3) You cant use my voice in any of your political ads. Antonio Delgado ran a commercial bashing John Faso and they took a clip of yours truly from a newscast a year ago and used it out of context. It made it sound like I favored one candidate over another. I didnt. When it comes to these things Im Switzerland; in other words neutral. By the way when my boss called to complain Delgados people blamed it on the D-triple-C. When we sent them a letter asking them to knock it off but the commercial kept running anyway. Politicians, please, keep me out of your campaigns.

4) If you want my vote you cant show up once every four years. I noticed a few of the candidates have been MIA since the last election and then all the sudden twenty minutes before midnight they appear on my TV screen asking me to vote for them. Stop by once in a while and say hello when you dont need something from me.

5) Stop giving away candy at the polling places. Listen, we know youre trying to be nice but Election Day comes less than a week after Halloween and we all ate too much candy. The last thing we need is another Skittle.

6) If you want to run for any office in any town please live there for a few years first. How many are in a few? How about at least three years. I know what the election rules say but Im talking to you as a human being now. You cant have a clue about a place or the people who live there if you havent lived there for a bit. Let us see you at the local Hannaford, little league field or church and get to know you. When you buy a house and declare you are running for office ten minutes later it makes us feel used.

7) We have to start caring about the opioid crisis in this country. Pollsters asked voters what their top five concerns were going into the election and they named things like healthcare, immigration and gun control. The opioid crisis was not in the top five even though it killed more people last year and we lost in the Vietnam war. To ignore this is insanity. I pray our elected officials turn their attention to this crisis that is destroying families.

8) Just because Donald Trump is rude doesnt mean you can be rude. Recently a kid on Saturday Night Live mocked a disabled vet. When people complained, instead of blaming the guy on SNL, I kept hearing, Well Trump created this atmosphere or Trump has said a lot worse. One persons bad behavior doesnt excuse yours. I thought we learned this in kindergarten.

9) Leave people alone in restaurants. I know emotions run high and there are candidates we all dont like but when they are out with their families trying to have a meal please leave them be. Stand outside with a sign that says, Senator So and Sos breath smells like a monkeys fart if you want but let them eat in peace. And last but not least

10) Donald Trump has to go on Saturday Night Live and do a skit where he plays Alec Baldwin wrestling with a guy over a parking space. Now thats funny on so many levels.

So those are my suggestions. Try not to lose your mind over this election stuff. Take it from me, no matter who wins, the sun will still rise, buttered popcorn will still taste yummy at the movies and America is the greatest place to live. You were born lucky, never forget that.

John Gray is a news anchor on WXXA-Fox TV 23 and ABCS WTEN News Channel 10. His column is published every Wednesday. Email him at johngray@fox23news.com.
34th Annual Carolina-Clemson Blood Battle

For the 34th year, the University of South Carolina and Clemson University are taking their rivalry off the field in a competition to help save lives. Show that you bleed garnet and black by donating to the 34th Annual Carolina-Clemson Blood Drive Nov. 12-16.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans are all eligible to donate. All presenting blood donors will receive a commemorative long-sleeve Blood Battle T-shirt and be treated to free food.

Locations and times are:

Russell House Ballroom, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., all week

Thomas Cooper Library Bloodmobile, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., all week

College of Engineering and Computing Bloodmobile, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Nov. 14

Koger Center for the Arts, 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Nov. 14

Close-Hipp Bloodmobile, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Nov. 15 and 16

For more information, visit the USC Blood Drive Twitter page.

Share this Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about
UofSC recognized for international diversity efforts

The University of South Carolina was recognized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) as one of the top institutions in the nation committed to providing global learning and study abroad opportunities to students from diverse backgrounds.

Carolina was awarded the Gold Award at the associations annual conference in New Orleans. The association recognizes institutions that excel at one or more aspects of internationalization, including diversity, leadership, research opportunities and assessment.

UofSCs international study abroad program, coordinated through the provosts Global Carolina office, is committed to expanding opportunities to as many students as possible, including minority students, members of the LGBTQ community and students with limited financial resources. This year alone, the university awarded more than 45 students with scholarships to study abroad.

We take a layered approach to student transformation and make a concerted effort to include students who traditionally dont believe international experiences are attainable to them, says Provost Joan Gabel. We make those opportunities more accessible, both in terms of how we promote and design them, as well as the financial support we make available. President Pastides and his leadership team have made this a priority, and were glad that so many students have benefitted and are committed to ensuring the opportunities grow.

Last year, 1,871 students from the Columbia campus participated in a study abroad opportunity, representing an increase of 124 percent from a decade ago.

Vice provost and director of international affairs Allen Miller adds that the university also works to expose students to world cultures without leaving campus. One program, Thinking Globally, promotes intercultural engagement through presentations and roundtable discussions led by international student speakers. Since 2011, over 21,000 students have attended a Thinking Globally presentation.

Our international student population serves as ambassadors, and American students gain a much richer appreciation and deeper understanding of the world around them by meeting and interacting with them, Miller said.

For more information about study abroad and other international opportunities, visit Global Carolina.

Share this Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about
Biodiversity goes beyond species diversity. Another important aspect of biodiversity is genetic variation within species. A notable example is the immense variety of cultivars and landraces of crop plants and their wild progenitors. An international research consortium led by the of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK Gatersleben) and supported by the iDiv research centre has now characterised at the molecular level a world collection comprising seed samples from a total of more than 22,000 barley varieties. In a study published in the journal Nature Genetics, the scientists usher in a new era for gene banks that transform from museums of past crop diversity into bio-digital resource centres.

Genebanks store samples of cultivars, landraces and wild relatives of crop plants from all over the world to safeguard our agricultural heritage and exploit it for future crop improvement. The German federal ex situ gene bank at IPK in Gatersleben hosts one of the world's most comprehensive collections of cultivated plants, including 22,000 barley seed samples. Under the leadership of the IPK Gatersleben, researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Julius Kuhn Institute (JKI, German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants) in Quedlinburg and the University of Gottingen collaborated with colleagues from Japan, China, and Switzerland. This international cooperation revealed how well the IPK collection represents global barley diversity. A single plant was genotyped for each of more than 22,000 seed samples, enabling the scientists to identify duplicate samples within the collection. Opening up new ways for genetically informed quality management, this comprehensive dataset also guides the effective use of the collection in research and breeding by pinpointing lines for further in-depth characterization.

Prof Dr Nils Stein (IPK Gatersleben and University of Gottingen) says: "This publication enables us to fully describe the wide range of morphological diversity of a worldwide genebank in terms of molecular genetics." To do this, Stein and his team used a method called "genotyping by sequencing" (GBS). The complete DNA sequence of the barley variety 'Morex', which was released in 2017, forms the basis of the present work. It serves as a high-quality sequence anchor for the GBS information. To characterise genetic diversity between cultivated and wild barley forms throughout the whole genome, the researchers searched for so-called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). In total, they found more than 171,000 of these small DNA variants in the huge barley genome consisting of 5 billion base pairs. Stein adds: "This density is sufficient to find even very small differences between samples, but also to confidently flag pairs of duplicated samples in our collection."

"We can now draw conclusions about the origin, distribution area and relationship between the barley populations hosted in our collection. All digital genetic data are publicly accessible and targeted queries can be submitted on-line. A state-of-the art database combines traditional passport records with the new molecular data to inform research and breeding applications," explains Dr Martin Mascher of the IPK and iDiv, who co-led the study. The combination of historical field data of the genebank with modern molecular analyses is an impressive showcase for the opportunities that still lie dormant within gene banks around the world. New research methods and international collaborations have paved new ways for the preservation and use of this valuable genetic diversity. Prof Dr Frank Ordon from the Julius Kuhn Institute (JKI) points out: "Detailed knowledge about genetic variability and its use are prerequisite for breeding new varieties adapted to a changing environment. In the future, plant breeders will have to cope with heat, drought stress and new pathogens and also must adapt to changes regarding the use of fertilisers and pesticides. Genes that code for key properties can thus be detected in native species or related wild species more quickly and be used in breeding."

In the past, the lack of genetic data at the level of whole collections limited practical applications of genetic diversity in breeding and research. Thanks to the new analysis and open research data, it will now be possible to search across 22,626 barley seed samples. To host this unique resource, the researchers developed the BRIDGE "Data Warehouse" as a first steps towards a bio-digital resource centre.
But the organization, which raised more than $71 million in funds and goods, has a plan of action, said Montero, who originally is from Puerto Rico. Her hometown, Utuado, saw significant damage during the storm. Some members of her family lost everything, and one of her uncles died, she said.
A planet has been detected orbiting Barnard's Star , a mere 6 light-years away. This breakthrough -- announced in a paper published today in the journal Nature -- is a result of the Red Dots and CARMENES projects, whose search for local rocky planets has already uncovered a new world orbiting our nearest neighbour, Proxima Centauri.

The planet, designated Barnard's Star b, now steps in as the second-closest known exoplanet to Earth [1]. The gathered data indicate that the planet could be a super-Earth, having a mass at least 3.2 times that of the Earth, which orbits its host star in roughly 233 days. Barnard's Star, the planet's host star, is a red dwarf, a cool, low-mass star, which only dimly illuminates this newly-discovered world. Light from Barnard's Star provides its planet with only 2% of the energy the Earth receives from the Sun.

Despite being relatively close to its parent star -- at a distance only 0.4 times that between Earth and the Sun -- the exoplanet lies close to the snow line, the region where volatile compounds such as water can condense into solid ice. This freezing, shadowy world could have a temperature of -170, making it inhospitable for life as we know it.

Named for astronomer E. E. Barnard, Barnard's Star is the closest single star to the Sun. While the star itself is ancient -- probably twice the age of our Sun -- and relatively inactive, it also has the fastest apparent motion of any star in the night sky [2]. Super-Earths are the most common type of planet to form around low-mass stars such as Barnard's Star, lending credibility to this newly discovered planetary candidate. Furthermore, current theories of planetary formation predict that the snow line is the ideal location for such planets to form.

Previous searches for a planet around Barnard's Star have had disappointing results -- this recent breakthrough was possible only by combining measurements from several high-precision instruments mounted on telescopes all over the world [3].

"After a very careful analysis, we are 99% confident that the planet is there," stated the team's lead scientist, Ignasi Ribas (Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia and the Institute of Space Sciences, CSIC in Spain). "However, we'll continue to observe this fast-moving star to exclude possible, but improbable, natural variations of the stellar brightness which could masquerade as a planet."

Among the instruments used were ESO's famous planet-hunting HARPS and UVES spectrographs. "HARPS played a vital part in this project. We combined archival data from other teams with new, overlapping, measurements of Barnard's star from different facilities," commented Guillem Anglada Escude (Queen Mary University of London), co-lead scientist of the team behind this result. "The combination of instruments was key to allowing us to cross-check our result."

advertisement

The astronomers used the Doppler effect to find the exoplanet candidate. While the planet orbits the star, its gravitational pull causes the star to wobble. When the star moves away from the Earth, its spectrum redshifts; that is, it moves towards longer wavelengths. Similarly, starlight is shifted towards shorter, bluer, wavelengths when the star moves towards Earth.

Astronomers take advantage of this effect to measure the changes in a star's velocity due to an orbiting exoplanet -- with astounding accuracy. HARPS can detect changes in the star's velocity as small as 3.5 km/h -- about walking pace. This approach to exoplanet hunting is known as the radial velocity method, and has never before been used to detect a similar super-Earth type exoplanet in such a large orbit around its star.

"We used observations from seven different instruments, spanning 20 years of measurements, making this one of the largest and most extensive datasets ever used for precise radial velocity studies." explained Ribas. "The combination of all data led to a total of 771 measurements -- a huge amount of information!"

"We have all worked very hard on this breakthrough," concluded Anglada-Escude. "This discovery is the result of a large collaboration organised in the context of the Red Dots project, that included contributions from teams all over the world. Follow-up observations are already underway at different observatories worldwide."

Notes

[1] The only stars closer to the Sun make up the triple star system Alpha Centauri. In 2016, astronomers using ESO telescopes and other facilities found clear evidence of a planet orbiting the closest star to Earth in this system, Proxima Centauri. That planet lies just over 4 light-years from Earth, and was discovered by a team led by Guillem Anglada Escude.

[2] The total velocity of Barnard's Star with respect to the Sun is about 500,000 km/h. Despite this blistering pace, it is not the fastest known star. What makes the star's motion noteworthy is how fast it appears to move across the night sky as seen from the Earth, known as its apparent motion. Barnard's Star travels a distance equivalent to the Moon's diameter across the sky every 180 years -- while this may not seem like much, it is by far the fastest apparent motion of any star.

[3] The facilities used in this research were: HARPS at the ESO 3.6-metre telescope; UVES at the ESO VLT; HARPS-N at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo; HIRES at the Keck 10-metre telescope; PFS at the Carnegie's Magellan 6.5-m telescope; APF at the 2.4-m telescope at Lick Observatory; and CARMENES at the Calar Alto Observatory. Additionally, observations were made with the 90-cm telescope at the Sierra Nevada Observatory, the 40-cm robotic telescope at the SPACEOBS observatory, and the 80-cm Joan Oro Telescope of the Montsec Astronomical Observatory (OAdM)
Secretary of State spokesman Dave Druker said dogs searched the Capitols fourth floor following the threat but didnt find anything. The floors were opened about 30 minutes after they were evacuated.
A selection of artisanal cheese is displayed at the production facility of Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser in Noyan, Que., on Oct. 11, 2018. (Ryan Remiorz / AP)
Thousands of migrants from Central America are heading through Mexico to get to the U.S. border. Migrants cited widespread poverty and gang violence as their reasons for joining the caravan.
The report says Cruz and Beltran then "got into a physical altercation" in which both wound up on the floor and Cruz was able to wrest control of the stun gun, technically called a "conducive electronic weapon." The stun gun discharged but it's not clear from the report if it struck anyone and Beltran was able to regain control.
As the Camp Fire enters its seventh day, the scale and the extent of the damage remains daunting. The fight to contain it goes on. Survivors marvel that theyre alive, and the search intensifies for the remains of the people who died.

Many of the town residents, found The Chronicles reporting team, were like Ernie Foss, a retiree with mobility challenges. He could not get away. But more than a dozen people found safety in the first hours of the blaze by wading into Concow Reservoir  where the water was so cold, one man told Kurtis Alexander that at several points he waded back toward the flames to warm up.

Those are the personal stories that shine amid the bleak reality of a fire that by Tuesday evening had consumed 130,000 acres and is only 35 percent contained, according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. Nearly 9,000 structures have been destroyed, including 7,600 single-family homes.

As evacuees from Paradise and other communities wonder when theyll be able to return, many are turning for information to a constantly updated Camp Fire Structure Status map from Cal Fire. Local residents who type in their address might see a photo of what firefighters found this week, for better or worse.

Sign up for Bay Briefing Like what you're reading? Subscribe to The Chronicle's Bay Briefing newsletter and get the Bay Area's best journalism in your inbox every weekday. See More Collapse

For a different perspective on the conflagration, weve posted a visual essay drawn from images captured by our photographers since Thursday.

Its a powerful, sadly captivating tale. And its not over. More than 5,600 firefighters and support personnel are on the scene. Heroically fighting the flames  and, no doubt, their own exhaustion.

Top of the News

Transit center update: Back in San Francisco, good news of a sort: there appear to be no flaws in the design of the Transbay Transit Center, which has been closed since Sept. 25 because of two cracked girders. A structural engineering expert tells our columnist team Matier & Ross that the problem likely was caused by brittle steel or bad welding. The bad news? Any of the proposed fixes are likely to keep the Transbay Center closed for months, they write.

Firing back: When the American College of Physicians stated that firearm violence continues to be a public health crisis, the National Rifle Association on Twitter told self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. San Francisco forensic pathologist Judy Melinek responded in kind. Now shes started a national movement  because physicians have to take on the NRA if they can, she explained to Joe Garofoli.

Sign of the (toxic) times: Hate crimes in California and the U.S. climbed 17 percent last year, according to the FBI, including a 37 percent increase against Jewish people. A big factor, Seth Brysk of the Anti-Defamation League said to Sarah Ravani, is that for white supremacists, there is a sense that now is their time.

Victims of evil: When Judy Bebelaar taught English at a San Francisco high school in 1977, 15 of her students belonged to Jim Jones Peoples Temple. The Temple kids had this energy, Bebelaar tells Sam Whiting. They wanted to be good students and do interesting things. Instead, they died in a 1978 massacre orchestrated by Jones  lost amid the 900 names of victims until Bebelaars new book was written in their memory.

Taking the hint: Conceding that underage use of e-cigarette products is a problem, Juul on Tuesday said it will stop selling its fruit-flavored nicotine pods at retail shops. Not coincidentally, the news comes two months after federal regulators told e-cigarette makers to step up efforts to keep teens from inhaling their additive product.

No need for spare change just yet: Counterintuitive as this sounds, the average wage for life sciences professionals in the Bay Area fell 2 percent last year but rose elsewhere in the state. That said, our regional average is still $164,000.

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.

Jolly good show: The Great Dickens Fair has been a Bay Area holiday mainstay for so long that I wouldnt be surprised if Mr. Pickwick stopped by the first year. This weekend it returns to the Cow Palace, and Aidin Vaziri has all the info you need on the commotion-filled recreation of Victorian London. Plus this oddly intriguing tip: the exotic animal carousel is not to be missed.

Trouble in Warriors-dom: Not only did the Warriors suffer a 121-116 loss to the Clippers on Monday, the evening included shouting matches on the court and in the locker room between superstars Draymond Green and Kevin Durant. Green was suspended by the team from Tuesdays game against the Atlanta Hawks  which the Dubs won 110-103.

The Kicker

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

As if we need even more evidence that the Bay Area food scene takes itself seriously, Friday will mark the debut of Tinker Kitchen. Pay the $150 monthly members fee and youll have access to a super-sized kitchen in the Mission stocked with such tools as a coffee roaster, a pasta extruder, a flour mill and several devices for making ice cream. For foodies craving burgers and fries, Palo Alto next month will welcome the regions first Shake Shack. But rest assured, one burger will hide inside a bun from the rarefied ovens of Tartine bakery (shown above). The wine list will include Berkeleys Broc Cellars and the ever-adventurous Scholium Project. Wine list? Of course theres a wine list...

Bay Briefing is written by John King and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here and contact King at jking@sfchronicle.com
Truax has been on leave pending the conclusion of the investigation. It wasn't immediately known what he is doing now.
The dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law said he has accepted a recommendation to remove the name Boalt  associated with the school for more than a century  because its namesake was a racist and never a student there.

John Boalt, a Nevada lawyer who inspired the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, also spoke derisively about Native Americans and people of African descent.

His name is sprinkled throughout the school: the Boalt Hall Alumni Association, Boalt Hall Fund, Boalt Hall Student Association, Boalt Environmental Law Society and, perhaps most incongruously, the Boalt Hall Committee on Human Rights. Even the schools Facebook page is called UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall. Alumni call themselves Boalties.

Some of the groups have voluntarily removed the name already, and others will be encouraged to do so, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky wrote in a decision released Tuesday. Lecturer positions named for Boalt will be renamed for recent deans Jesse Choper, Herma Hill Kay and Christopher Edley.

But the most obvious one  the Boalt Hall instructional wing  will not have the name removed from outside of the school anytime soon, if at all.

Changing the buildings name requires approval from campus Chancellor Carol Christ after another lengthy process. Chemerinsky said he will now ask the campus Building Name Review Committee to de-name Boalt Hall. After conducting its own research and soliciting public comment, the naming committee will make a recommendation to Christ, who is expected to decide by the end of the spring semester.

I think she will be guided largely by the desires and input of the Berkeley community, said Mike Dirda, a campus spokesman.

But as Chemerinsky discovered, there is little agreement on what to do about a time-honored but troublesome brand. The dean spent two months chewing over a law school committees recommendation to scrub the Boalt name and evaluating more than 600 messages about it  60 percent for removing the name, and 40 percent against.

I was especially moved by the views of many of our students and alumni of color who expressed discomfort in being part of a school where important aspects of its operation are named for someone who expressed such racism, Chemerinsky wrote.

Several others suggested that the hall be named for Boalts widow, Elizabeth Josselyn Boalt. In 1906, she paid for the granite building in the center of campus  once the law school but now Durant Hall  and then donated $200,000 for a law school endowment. A wing of the new law school, built in 1951, became Boalt Hall.

I was tempted by this solution, Chemerinsky wrote. But he said Boalts widow donated the money to honor her husband, so the problem would remain. The dean, however, said the school would continue to recognize Elizabeth Boalt and her gifts.

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 also considered the argument of name-change opponents who said that many notable people  including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein  owned slaves or supported racist policies.

But I think in those instances there are good reasons to honor these individuals notwithstanding their racist statements and actions, Chemerinsky wrote. I cannot think of a comparable reason why we should continue to honor John Boalt.

Although the memory of Boalt will be buried, the racism underlying the Chinese Exclusion Act will not, the dean said.

He said he will announce how the school will achieve this recognition in the months ahead.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
CHICO, Butte County  Eight more bodies were recovered from the ashes of the catastrophic Camp Fire on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 56  nearly twice as deadly as the next worst wildfire in California history.

That number will almost certainly continue to climb. A week after the fire started on a dry and windy day near Paradise, nearly obliterating the town of 27,000 near Chico, at least 130 people are still missing.

Butte County authorities said Wednesday that they are concentrating resources on searching for human remains in Paradise and nearby communities and on identifying bodies with DNA testing and other forensic tools. They also are hoping to whittle down the missing persons list by tracking down people who are alive but havent been able to connect with friends and family.

But the fire burned so intensely that some bodies may never be found, said Butte County Sheriff-Coroner Kory Honea.

We are trying to do as thorough a search as possible in as timely a way as possible, Honea said at a news conference in Chico on Wednesday. We know people want to get back into the area.

The fire has slowed in recent days with cooler weather and less windy conditions, though it continued to rage in areas east of Paradise. As of Wednesday evening it was at 138,000 acres and 35 percent containment.

Fire officials reported that 10,321 structures have been destroyed  nearly twice as many as last years Tubbs Fire, which until the Camp Fire had been the states most destructive; 8,650 of those structures are single-family homes.

The scale of devastation is profound, said state and federal officials who visited Paradise on Wednesday to see the damage firsthand. The next deadliest wildfire in California history killed 29 people in Los Angeles in 1933. Twenty-five people died in the Oakland Hills inferno in 1991.

This is my fourth trip to California. Every trip has been a forest fire, said U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who was in Paradise with Gov. Jerry Brown. Each trip I say this is the worst fire Ive seen, and now were here today and this is the worst fire I have seen.

The tallies of destruction almost always worsen at the daily news conferences held by fire and county officials. But on Wednesday evening, Honea had one positive update: In the past few days, officials have been able to track down more than 200 people who were thought missing.

Still, dozens of people remain unaccounted for. On Wednesday the sheriffs office released a partial list of the missing. Honea, aware of the desperate searches of family and friends for lost loved ones, said hed decided it was better to put up a partial list sooner than make everyone wait for a complete list.

He said 461 people are now part of the search for remains, including 50 members of the California National Guard, plus 22 cadaver dogs. On Thursday, authorities will start collecting DNA samples from family members whose relatives are missing or presumed dead. Of the 56 bodies found so far, 47 have been tentatively identified and need DNA confirmation, Honea said.

Almost everyone on the missing persons list is in their 60s, 70s or 80s. A similar trend is clear on Twitter and Facebook and on the bulletin boards at evacuation centers, where people post names and photographs of missing people. They tend to be grandparents, or people who live in retirement neighborhoods.

I was told people were going down the roads honking their horns, everybody was jumping into everybodys car, it was just chaotic, said Crystal Record, 49, whose mother, Marie Wehe, has been missing from the community of Concow since last Thursday. My mother is 78 years old. Im just hoping somebody helped her.

Ethel Colleen Riggs, 96, lives in the Plantation, a retirement community in Paradise that her grandson heard had been destroyed. He said he last talked to her the afternoon of the fire. Hed told her she needed to leave, but the power had gone out and she couldnt get her car out of the garage.

I know my family holds out hope that somehow some miracle happened and she was scooped and is sitting at a shelter somewhere, said Steve Bradley, 46, who has looked for her in evacuation centers in Chico and Oroville.

Butte County officials are beginning to prepare for people to return to their burned-out communities, though there is no word on when that will happen. Authorities on Wednesday released an advisory on what safety precautions residents should take, whether theyre returning to standing homes or sifting through ashes.

More than 13,000 people are living in evacuation shelters for now. Tent cities have sprung up in some locations, including a Walmart parking lot in Chico. At one shelter in Chico, public health officials reported an outbreak of norovirus.

Cal Fire operations chief Josh Bischof said Wednesday morning that the fires southeast flank spread overnight in the Big Bar area east of Paradise. Firefighters were working in Paradise and Concow to extinguish structure fires to ensure the areas are safe for residents to return. Meanwhile, crews worked to stop the fire from spreading in Magalia.

Bischof said the biggest challenges remain along the eastern border of the fire around the Feather River, where the terrain is steep and winds have propelled flames.

The Camp Fire continued to send smoke over the Bay Area, leading to a red alert in San Francisco warning about unhealthy air quality. Several outdoor events have been canceled through the weekend, including footraces and at least one turkey trot.

Butte County schools have been shuttered until after Thanksgiving, and two schools in Sebastopol and Petaluma were also closed Wednesday, according to the Sonoma County Office of Education. San Francisco State University and UC Davis will be closed for the rest of the week.

State and federal government officials made several emergency declarations this week, providing financial assistance for residents to rebuild or find new housing.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he had spoken to President Trump on Tuesday morning and been reassured of the White House's commitment to helping fire victims. On Monday, Trump approved a disaster declaration for the state, clearing the way for aid to flow to victims and governments in Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

His message is to take care of people, and thats exactly what we're here to do, said Long, who was in Chico at one of the staging areas for the Camp Fire on Wednesday.

One of the agencys top priorities was helping restore power, water and other essentials for the Butte County communities devastated by the blaze, he said.

When you have total losses like Paradise, you have to help the community bring back the infrastructure, Long said.

Long had toured parts of Paradise with Brown and Zinke before all three returned to Chico for a noon news conference. Zinke, who has downplayed the role of climate change in intensifying Californias wildfires, told reporters that higher temperatures and prolonged drought in recent years were factors.

But he also reiterated a common talking point of the Trump administration  that forests are too dense and need to be managed better. In a tweet on Saturday, Trump blamed forest management practices for the recent blazes, without noting that the federal government owns more than half of forestland in California.

It was a vast oversimplification of the problem. While clearing forests of heavy timber, including logging, may help reduce the fire threat in those places, much of the recent burning has taken place in grasslands and oak-studded prairie. Development in fire-prone areas has contributed to the devastation.

Fire experts say the bigger problem at work in the Camp Fire and other major fires in recent years may be climate change. Five of the states most destructive blazes have taken place in the past 10 years, according to state figures, with the Camp Fire at the top.

During his comments at the Chico news conference, Brown remained firm that global warming was at play in the ongoing fires but did not single out the Trump administration for its dismissal of the problem.

Its crystal clear whats going on, Brown said. Were in a different kind of world. We know that.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Gwendolyn Wu and Ashley McBride contributed to this report.

Kurtis Alexander, Nanette Asimov, Erin Allday and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com, nasimov@sfchronicle.com, eallday@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KurtisAlexander, @NanetteAsimov, @ErinAllday, @SarRavani
CHICO, Butte County  The death toll from the Camp Fire, already the worst California has ever seen in a wildfire, grew by six to 48 on Tuesday, officials announced at an evening news conference.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said he has requested 100 National Guard troops to help with the search for human remains. The sheriff said he wants to canvass the area for bodies as quickly as possible, so that when the fire area is deemed safe to lift evacuation orders, residents can re-enter.

Were going to do everything we possibly can to search for remains, Honea said, warning that there may be cases where residents are allowed to return to an area where officials may have missed remains. He said in that case, residents should alert officials immediately.

The Camp Fire grew to 130,000 acres and was 35 percent contained as of Tuesday evening.

It had destroyed a total of 8,817 structures  including 7,600 single family homes and 260 commercial buildings, officials said. Officials said 5,615 personnel were fighting the fire; 52,000 people remained evacuated in and around Paradise and 13,085 people remained sheltered.

The conditions in Butte County are extremely dry, officials said. They said 212 days have passed since it has rained in the area.

Honea did not provide updated number of people who are missing, explaining that officials are trying to clear the list of people who already have been located.

This has been a fairly hectic day for us, Honea said.

With the cadaver dogs and search and rescue teams still scouring the obliterated structures in search for human remains, its still uncertain when property owners will be allowed to return home.

Amid the devastation and tragedy were glimmers of good news on the firefighting front, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Joshua Bischof. For the first time in several days visability was good enough to allow fixed-wing aircraft to swoop in and deliver retardants around Bloomer Mountain and an area around Cherokee.

Aviva Braun, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that no rain is expected in the next week but its possible that there could be some precipitation later in November.

Were going to continue having dry conditions tonight, tomorrow and through the week, she said. Were looking at conditions becoming more favorable for potential rain around Thanksgiving.

She said that air quality will continue to be poor as the lighter winds will allow the smoke to settle in the mornings.

While stories of personal sacrifice and neighborly heroics have been widespread in the five days since the blaze started, not all Butte County residents have risen to the occasion, according to law enforcement sources. At least six arrests have been made by Butte County sheriffs deputies in cases of suspected looting. Two intruders were arrested after officers found them holed up in someones home with handgun police suspect was taken from a different home in Paradise. Another pair of men were found with a stolen laptop, and a man and a woman were pulled over in Chico in a motor home that was suspected to have been stolen from the evacuated area.

Needless to say Ive warned people, Honea said. If youre in these evacuated areas when you shouldnt be and youre violating the law and taking advantage of these citizens who are displaced, we are going to stop you.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

Honea also warned of price gouging, urging Butte County residents to call the district attorney if they feel that a local business or individual is exploiting the tragedy by charging higher than usual prices for goods or services.

Price gougers are in the same category as looters, Honea said.

Lisa Almaguer, communications manager for the Butte County Health Department, said that the evacuation order is in place for a good reason  not only are firefighters still battling the blaze but the fire-ravaged territory is far from safe. There is no power or water or phone service in most of the evacuated precincts.

Well water could be contaminated; ash and soil toxic. Any food left in a refrigerator would be spoiled by now. People attempting to return to their destroyed or damaged properties could encounter collapsed septic tanks, crumbing walls, or be injured by falling limbs or chimneys. Piles of ashes or charred wood that appear to be cool could still contain burning embers.

Todd Derum, the Cal Fire incident commander, said the news was mixed on Tuesday  hardly the end of the historic ordeal but still, a rare note of optimism after five days of devastation that has forever changed Butte County.

We feel were making good progress under the circumstances, he said. But were still in a hell of a firefight.

Between putting out hot spots within the massive perimeter of the wildfire, including homes and stands of trees that are still ablaze, and preventing the fire from spreading farther into new ground, its a lot to do, Derum added.

Kurtis Alexander and J.K. Dineen are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com and jdineen@sfchronicle.com
Call it the smoothest crash-landing of all time. Call it the Miracle on the Bay.

Fifty years ago this month, a Japan Air Lines DC-8 belly-flopped into San Francisco Bay 17,000 feet short of the San Francisco International Airport runway. No one was hurt. In fact, most passengers didnt even get their feet wet. With the half-century anniversary approaching, a trip to The Chronicles archive turned up photos from the crash that havent been published in decades.

Dig deep into Chronicle Vault Like what you're reading? Subscribe to the Chronicle Vault newsletter and get classic archive stories in your inbox twice a week. Read hundreds of historical stories, see thousands of archive photos and sort through 153 years of classic Chronicle front pages at SFChronicle.com/vault. See More Collapse

According to The Chronicle edition of Nov. 23, 1968, the previous days splash-down was a calm affair. With absolutely no panic, (the passengers) donned life jackets, boarded the planes five lifeboats, and were towed by police and Coast Guard boats to the Coyote Point Yacht Harbor a quarter-mile away.

Airport officials said the Coyote Point Reef was the ideal spot in the bay to land. If the plane had landed only a few feet away, they said, it would have sunk deep into the soft mud floor below the water.

Once everyone realized the passengers and crew were safe, the goal became salvaging the downed jetliner with as little damage as possible.

Weve got to get that plane out of there within 24 hours, or it will just be an $8.3 million piece of junk, said Art Reinholm, the supervisor of the salvage project.

Even though two huge derricks mounted on barges were in place by 10 the first night, Reinholm and his crew had to hold firm, waiting for the go-ahead from investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Japanese Transportation Ministry.

At 3:20 p.m. Nov. 24, two days after the crash, rigging supervisor Bob Korst gave the thumbs-up. Divers had worked for hours to make sure the lifting slings were precisely in position. The four barge cranes started gently lifting the DC-8 out of the bay. By 5 p.m., the plane had been lowered onto a barge. It would be brought ashore and towed to the United Airlines maintenance base to be repaired, though many didnt think it would be possible.

On March 10, 1969, after $4 million and 52,000 man-hours of work, the pilots took the plane, now nicknamed Shiga, for a 15-minute sightseeing spin, and brought it down with a perfect landing  on land this time.

Shiga would soon begin to carry passengers again, and it would fly until 2001.

Peter Breinig / The Chronicle 1969

More from Chronicle Vault

Another miracle look: Read pop culture critic Peter Hartlaubs take on the 1968 Japan Air Lines landing near SFO.

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.

Ready for takeoff: The Concorde supersonic turbojet was a marvel of modern aviation. Take a look back at its stops in the Bay Area.

Now thats a party: More than 300,000 people turned out for the debut of San Francisco International Airport. Check out the photos from 1954.

Chronicle Covers: And you thought SFO was packed for your last flight. Heres the Aug. 30, 1954, front page from the airports debut party.

High-flying history: Want to know how aviation got its start in the Bay Area? This deep-dive look-back features more than a century of stories about innovators and entrepreneurs who took flight across the region.

From the Archive is a weekly column by Bill Van Niekerken, the library director of The Chronicle, exploring the depths of the newspapers archive. Its part of Chronicle Vault, a twice-weekly newsletter highlighting more than 150 years of San Francisco stories. It is edited by Tim ORourke, The Chronicles assistant managing editor and executive producer of SFChronicle.com. Sign up for the newsletter here and follow Chronicle Vault on Instagram. Contact Bill at bvanniekerken@sfchronicle.com and Tim at torourke@sfchronicle.com.
U.S. hate crimes increased by 17 percent last year, federal officials said Tuesday, a surge driven by racial and anti-Semitic attacks and linked by some experts to the wider public emergence of white supremacists and other hate groups.

Across the country, authorities reported 7,175 hate crimes in 2017, compared with 6,121 in 2016  the number rising for the third consecutive year. In California, law enforcement agencies said 1,095 crimes last year were motivated by a victims race, ethnicity, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.

A total of 603 of these incidents were based on race, ethnicity or ancestry, compared with 522 in 2016. Religious hate crimes jumped 21 percent statewide and crimes against individuals based on sexual orientation rose 19 percent, according to the data released by the FBI .

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon slammed President Trump after the release of Tuesdays report, directly blaming his actions and words for the worsening climate documented in the federal report. Trump has repeatedly denied such accusations.

Americas elected president has mocked the disabled, called Mexicans rapists and murderers, executed a Muslim travel ban, issued disparaging remarks about women and African Americans, and is working to roll back protections for members of our transgender community, Gascon said. The countrys increase in hate crimes should be a surprise to no one, but it should be alarming to all. We look to our elected leaders to set an example.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a statement that the FBI report was a call to action  and we will heed that call. He said he was particularly troubled by the 37 percent increase nationwide in hate crimes targeting Jews.

San Francisco was the site of 19 crimes motivated by race or ethnicity last year  a 82 percent increase compared with 2016. Total hate crimes rose from 36 to 43, the FBI reported. A dozen crimes in the city targeted victims because of their sexual orientation, including a May 2017 attack at Powell Street BART Station, where a suspect allegedly beat a man and called him anti-gay slurs.

In March of last year, San Francisco police investigated a possible anti-Semitic hate crime after a vandal set fire to a Jewish symbol hanging from a UC Hastings students door.

In Oakland, reported hate crimes doubled from nine to 18 in 2017, with all but two of those incidents focused on race, ethnicity or religion.

In May of last year, two men pleaded no contest to savagely attacking a Sikh man in Richmond, leaving him with one less finger and suffering from severe emotional and physical trauma.

San Jose, the Bay Areas largest city, saw the biggest increase in incidents based on race, ethnicity and ancestry, which rose by 160 percent from 10 to 26.

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino, said the rise in hate crimes cant be attributed to one person, but he did note the trend since President Trump was elected in November 2016.

What I think we saw was this precipitous spike around election time. It then moderated, Levin said. But when it plateaued back down, it was at a higher level.

Seth Brysk, a San Francisco-based regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said that whats missing from the FBI numbers are the hate crimes that are not being reported.

There may be 10 times as many hate crimes occurring as are being reported, he said. Its across the country.

At least 91 cities with populations over 100,000 people, including Vallejo and Clovis (Fresno County), did not report any hate crimes to the FBI in 2017, which Brysk said is not possible.

The rise in California hate crimes can be attributed in part to social media sites that normalize racist rhetoric, such as the anonymous forum 4chan, and an increase in violent public demonstrations like those seen in Berkeley last year, Levin said.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

In February 2017, a series of violent clashes broke out in Berkeley between far-right groups and their opponents, sometimes referred to as anti-fascists or antifa.

Berkeley reported a 77 percent increase in hate crimes last year, with 23 reports compared with 13 in 2016.

The failure of leaders like Trump to quickly condemn white supremacists, violence and hatred has emboldened some extremists, Brysk said. He said California has seen the emergence of new hate groups.

The Rise Above Movement, which formed in 2017 in Southern California, rose to prominence after the groups involvement in the 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Va., which led to counter-protests and a suspected neo-Nazi driving into a crowd and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

The groups members train in mixed martial arts in anticipation that confrontations at public rallies could turn violent, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In October, a man who worked at a Berkeley hot dog chain was arrested with three others after being indicted for allegedly starting a riot in Charlottesville.

A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that Identity Evropa, a group that hung a sign mocking San Franciscos pro-immigrant sanctuary policy over the Yerba Buena Tunnel in January, is at the forefront of the racist alt-rights effort to recruit white, college-aged men and transform them into the fashionable new face of white nationalism.

There were people who were already there, who held extremist bigoted points of view (and) were emboldened to express themselves publicly, Brysk said.

Particularly for white supremacists, he added, there is a sense that now is their time.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
Last weekend, Brian, Aidan and I visited the SASBs in San Anselmo, all of us there to visit with Betty, her mom, who had flown in from Kansas. One of the other guests, on her third glass of wine, asked, What happened to San Francisco? Its not what it used to be. She asked as if it were my fault, and for just a few minutes I wondered what I had done to cause urban decay.

Found the answer the following Wednesday, when I walked over to Civic Center Plaza to get avocado toast. Yes, Im the kind of deputy who eats avocado toast. Im trying not to be the kind of deputy who eats doughnuts.

But in this case, I might have been better off with the doughnuts, as there is some anonymity left with Dynamo Donuts. No questions other than, do I want the Chocolate Rose or the Bitter Queen. But there I stood at the Bi-Rite pop-up kiosk, and a man asked, Can you help me with this homeless guy?

First of all, Ive got this Barney Fife deputy sheriff mystique going on. Im not the kind of cop you ask for when you need a SWAT team. Im not the kind of cop you talk to when you want a door kicked in (though I did once perform in a kick line). No, Im the kind of deputy you talk to when a man is sitting on the pavement with all of his worldly possessions tied up in a plastic garbage bag.

Second of all, lets stop calling the man a homeless person. Lets just call him a person. According to last years survey, there are 7,498 other persons like him, living on the streets of San Francisco. More than half of them have been without a home for more than 10 years.

Im gonna call him Bonaparte, but thats not his real name. Ive known him on and off for a decade. Bonaparte was once in the military, and he has been in and out of jail. Mind you, in my profession I tend to see people at their worst, but Bonaparte had hit a new low, clothing ripped, teeth missing. He was crying, and didnt feel safe anymore, and was tired of the life on the street.

My boss is a decent person. She wanted her grilled chicken sandwich every bit as much as I wanted my avocado toast, but she knelt down, looked the guy in the eye, and asked him what he needed. She thanked him for his service and she listened when he said that he hadnt had a decent nights sleep in two weeks. He ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream and drank a little water.

We called and found that the Dore House would help him. Only Bonaparte was afraid. So my boss said, How about we walk you down?

She and I took turns carrying his bag, and he introduced us to a half-dozen friends as we walked, him yelling out, Dont worry. These guys aint cops. Theyre deputies. And he walked proud as he could be down 10th Street because he was with my boss and she has a lot of stars on her collar, and, as he was former military, he knew that she was important.

The city has navigation centers, which provide otherwise unsheltered San Franciscans with a room and connect them to in income, public benefits, health services and long-term housing. Sometimes, all a person needs is someone to walk them down there, on a sunny day down the ever-changing streets of San Francisco. Sometimes all a person needs is a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

Bonaparte said, San Francisco aint what it used to be. Hes right. It aint.

But then again, South Ozone Park aint what it used to be. The outer, outer, outer, outer Excelsior aint what it used to be.

Weve been called the City That Knows How. San Francisco lays claim to having invented denim jeans, the cable car, the slot machine, the jukebox, the martini, Its Its sandwiches, green goddess dressing, the Murphy bed, the waterbed, Irish coffee and the fortune cookie, and the ones we didnt really invent, we perfected. Surely we can invent a better way of treating the luckless.

Lets be called the City That Cares.

Tomorrow, someone will say that San Francisco is not the city it was today. Theyre right. Its gonna be what we make it. And we can make it a city of miracles.

When we got to Dore Alley, found a nurse, Bonaparte shook my hand, told me I wasnt that bad for a guy with a badge. I told him he would be OK. I hope that Im right.

Kevin Fisher-Paulsons column appears Wednesdays in Datebook. Email: datebook@sfchronicle.com
President Trump stands in front of headstones during a ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I at Sureness American Cemetery outside of Paris on Nov. 11, 2018. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Wines from Berkeley. Cookies from Los Gatos. Chocolate from San Francisco.

Without having sold a single burger in Palo Alto, one thing is clear when it comes to Shake Shacks first Bay Area outpost: the New York-based company wants to be hyperlocal.

The pursuit is most evident in the restaurants forthcoming wine list. Among the local Bay Area producers scattered across it is Berkeleys Broc Cellars, an urban winery from winemaker Chris Brockway. Theres also Brea, which Brockway runs with Tim Elenteny. Shake Shack also has partnerships in place with Napas Robert Sinskey vineyards and Abe Schoeners wine label, the Scholium Project.

Making Palo Altos wine situation even more unique is the fact that it will be one of Shake Shacks only restaurants featuring full-sized bottles from local producers.

As Shake Shack is known to do, the Palo Alto location will have a regionally exclusive item, similar to Los Angeles Roadside Double. For Palo Alto, there will be a Golden State Double, made with Angus beef, cheddar cheese and topped with pickles, smoked garlic and mayo. Tying back into the local producer angle, the burger will be served on one of Tartines sweet potato buns.

In September, Shake Shack doubled down on the local push by partnering with a few stalwarts in the regional restaurant scene. Mission-based Dandelion Chocolate is producing chocolate on chocolate concrete for the restaurant. Similarly, Shake Shack will sell a concrete with vanilla custard that will have cookies inside of it made by Manresa Bread out of Los Gatos and Campbell.

Shake Shacks Palo Alto restaurant is still several weeks from opening at the Stanford Shopping Center. According to the Stanford Center website, Shake Shack is expected to open by Nov. 29, but the companys PR team said the date has been pushed back. When it does open, itll kick start a period of rapid Bay Area expansion for the company.

After Palo Alto, Shake Shack will open in San Francisco at the former Real Food Co. market at 3060 Fillmore St. in Cow Hollow. Theres also a shop in the works at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur at 1401 Larkspur Landing Circle. And lastly, San Jose International Airport will also have its own Shake Shack.

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.

While local producers are being featured on the menu, the Bay Area Shake Shacks will still have the chains more familiar, classic options including the Shackburger, crinkle-cut fries and hand-spun shakes.

Founded by New York restaurateur Danny Meyer, Shake Shack began in 2004 as a hot dog cart int Madison Square Park. It currently has more than 160 locations, 100 of which are in the United States.

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13)  APO Cement Corporation on Tuesday announced it will lay off 30 percent of its employees following the City of Naga, Cebu landslide that killed dozens of people in September.

This is due to the ongoing suspension of operations of the Apo Land and Quarry Corporation (ALQC), which is the material supplier of APO Cement that had been conducting quarrying operations near the rubble-struck area.

In a press statement, APO Cement noted the nearly two-month suspension has continued to "adversely affect" the operations of the whole company.

In addition, APO Cement said it will also reduce 40 percent of its contractors.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in September had ordered a temporary stoppage of quarrying operations in the country, following the deadly landslide.

At least 78 people were killed when the landslide buried residents and workers of a quarrying site in the City of Naga on September 20. Some of the casualties were reportedly workers of ALQC.

APO Cement, meanwhile, said it is hopeful that the situation in the landslide-hit city will soon revert back to normal.

"Even in this very difficult time, we will continue to focus our efforts on helping the community and the City of Naga. We hope that all who are genuinely concerned can focus on doing everything to get the City of Naga back on its feet," said the company's spokesperson, Chito Maniago.
As a youngster, Horne spent several summers at a camp in Colorado. After college prep work at what is now Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn., he went on to Princeton University in New Jersey, his fathers alma mater, graduating with a degree in psychology in 1955. Shortly thereafter, he married the former Patricia Collins, a Smith College student he met as a junior.
After U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resignation last week, President Trump moved quickly to install Matthew Whitaker as acting U.S. attorney general. That appointment is now being met with legal challenges.

On Monday, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent a letter to the Department of Justice questioning the legality of Whitakers appointment, noting that he had not been confirmed by a vote of the Senate. (The appointments clause of the Constitution requires very senior executive officials to have Senate confirmation.)

Herrera says San Franciscos stake in Whitakers appointment includes the four ongoing cases San Francisco has filed against the Department of Justice.

Without legal justification for Whitakers role, Herrera added, San Francisco may be forced to move the court to obtain additional guidance.

The letter came as a surprise, to say the least.

But its not a stunt. Herrera is on to something, and hes not acting alone.

On Tuesday, Marylands Democratic Attorney General, Brian Frosh, asked a federal judge for an injunction declaring that Whitaker is not the legitimate acting attorney general. Instead, Frosh is arguing, the position belongs to the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein.

Rosenstein was confirmed by the Senate.

Plus, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made clear in a letter he sent to President Trump last week, the Department of Justices statutory succession plan calls for the deputy attorney general to serve in case of a vacancy.

The political implications of Whitakers appointment are damaging enough to disqualify him for the position.

Whitaker has made numerous public criticisms of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation, including the suggestion that Sessions replacement could end the investigation by starving its funding. Congressional Democrats and a federal court have demanded answers about Whitakers potential impact on the investigation, and they are right to do so.

But Herrera and Froshs actions are a reminder that Whitakers appointment creates other major risks, too.

San Franciscos pending lawsuits against the Department of Justice include defense of its sanctuary city status as well as civil rights protections.

In September, Maryland filed a suit in an effort to force the Trump administration to enforce contested portions of the Affordable Care Act.

These suits are a reminder that the stakes of every attorney general appointment are enormous. The courts must tell the Trump administration to follow the established legal procedure for filling this vacancy, and they must do so immediately.

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.
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images

Faced with a new wave of sex abuse scandals, the Vatican is falling back on its preferred method of damage control: dodge and delay. Its quashing a move by U.S. bishops to set up a disciplinary and complaint process in favor of promised action next year.

Once again, church leaders and those in the pews must wonder if Pope Francis and his inner circle are serious about reform. Instead, Rome may be more concerned about keeping control over Catholic leaders seeking answers to a demoralizing issue that seemingly spreads without end.
A portion of downtown San Francisco will change dramatically with thousands of housing units, jobs  and even a public swimming pool  under a plan finally approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors after eight years of hearings, amendments and negotiations.

The Central SoMa plan will revamp a part of South of Market that runs from near Market Street south to Townsend Street, and from Second Street to Sixth Street. The approved plan proposes 8,800 housing units and will create a projected 31,000 jobs.

After the board unanimously approved the plan, Supervisor Jane Kim  who sponsored the legislation  walked out of the Board of Supervisors chamber and gave a sigh of relief.

We just got this across the finish line before my term ended, said Kim, who will be termed out in January. This is the biggest area plan the city has passed.

Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer was the only one to express concern about the Central SoMa plan, as it does not include a public school. But, she said, the Planning Department and the San Francisco Unified School District will hold a meeting later this month to determine how to create enough public schools to accommodate the growing population.

Although this is very difficult for me to vote for a plan that is lacking in a very big way, I want to recognize all the work that Supervisor Kim has put into this and all of the other neighborhood groups that have come out, she said. I will be voting in favor, but I just want to note that we as a city have a responsibility to grow families here.

The rezoning of Central SoMa was initially about creating the large-floor-plate office buildings coveted by tech companies. It originally envisioned about 7,000 housing units and space for about 39,000 jobs. But as the citys housing crisis worsened over the years, city planners and supervisors pushed to increase the amount of housing.

Under the final proposal, more than 30 percent of the housing units will be affordable. Future board members could also increase the amount of housing and affordable units in the project.

Matt Haney, the candidate expected to succeed Kim after last weeks election results are finalized, said during the campaign that he would push for as much affordable housing units in new developments as possible.

Several appellants came out against the plan over the years, calling for more child care and recreation facilities, more measures to hold off gentrification in the area, shorter buildings and less density. Others wanted taller buildings and more density. All in all, Kim said the Central SoMa plan has been amended more than 100 times.

Josh Switzky, who heads up community planning for the Planning Department, said he was both elated and relieved that it was finally approved.

The hearing was a sedate affair. It masked a lot of the intense passion and discussion about how to best create a sustainable neighborhood, he said of the board meeting. This is one of the most complex plans Ive worked on.

The plan will get a final vote at the boards next meeting.

The supervisors also unanimously passed legislation Tuesday introduced by Mayor London Breed to protect 2,298 units of housing  including 340 units of affordable housing  that were at risk because of a 30-month permitting deadline that would have been difficult to meet under the citys long entitlement process.

These projects were faced with the deadline after San Francisco changed its affordable-housing requirements in 2016. A number of the projects were grandfathered in to keep them moving through the approval process  but the mayors office said the 30-month deadline imposed on them to get the permits was unrealistic.

The legislation will extend the deadline for projects to secure building permits by 18 months.

In order for families and working people to be able to afford to live in San Francisco, we need to build more housing, Breed said in a statement. This legislation will prevent the loss of thousands of new homes as we work to speed up the approval process for new housing.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
SACRAMENTO  Good news for Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom: Californias budget is in remarkably good shape, according to a forecast for the coming fiscal year that the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office released Wednesday.

The forecast estimates that the state will have a $14.8 billion surplus during the 2019-20 fiscal year on top of $14.5 billion in rainy day savings.

By historical standards, this surplus is extraordinary, the analysts office wrote.

Newsom will release his first budget in January, shortly after he is sworn in to replace Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown made it a priority to direct budget surpluses to the states rainy day fund, arguing that it was a cushion against an inevitable recession.

In its report, the analysts office urged caution with the predicted surplus, noting that real life can wreak havoc with forecasts. For example, it projected a $10.3 billion surplus in 2001-02, but the dot-com bust helped to turn that into a $12.4 billion deficit.

The (nearly) $15 billion surplus we anticipate for 2019-20 gives the Legislature a unique opportunity to prepare for these foreseen  and other unforeseen  challenges still to come, analysts wrote.

Newsom is coming off a campaign in which he promised several costly endeavors, including creating universal health care, tackling the states housing crisis and expanding early childhood education programs.

He will negotiate the budget with Democrats who will hold a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of the Legislature. Most of them will have their own wish lists.

We must make smart investments and proceed with caution to protect programs for the long run, said Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, chair of the Assembly Budget Committee. No one wants to relive the devastating budget cuts we were forced to make only a short time ago.

Melody Gutierrez is the San Francisco Chronicles Sacramento bureau chief. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
Alex Edelman / Getty Images

The post-election day vote count in California continued to smile on Democratic House candidates Tuesday, as a Central Valley Republican went down to defeat and another GOP incumbent fell behind in Orange County.

Rep. Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County) was defeated by Democratic challenger Josh Harder, a venture capitalist who was raised in Turlock and moved back to the 10th District in 2017. Harder forged ahead in the district last week, and on Tuesday was leading, 51.3 to 48.7 percent.
Friday started typically for Judy Melinek. The San Francisco forensic pathologist called into work and learned that she had one gunshot victim to autopsy. Often, there are more.

Before she left, she looked again at the tweet that incensed her. The 154,000-member American College of Physicians had just issued new guidelines for doctors to protect patients from gun violence, but the National Rifle Association wasnt impressed. A tweet sent from the NRAs political arm said: Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane.

Melinek responded with a tweet that may be remembered as the rallying cry of a white coat revolution: Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isnt just my lane. Its my f highway.

Melineks tweet, as a pathologist might put it, went viral.

Part of the reason was because just hours after the NRAs tweet was posted, another mass shooting had rocked the nation. A gunman armed with a handgun and a high-capacity magazine killed 12 people in a country music club in Thousand Oaks. Melineks outrage melded with those of other doctors who believe gun violence should be treated as a public health issue.

So they bonded online under the hashtag #ThisIsOurLane. Some posted photos of themselves splattered with the blood of gunshot victims theyve treated  or, like Melinek, autopsied. One posted a photo of a heart ripped apart by gunfire. It was a sign that more doctors are ready to do something they often avoid: get politically active.

There is precedent for this kind of stethoscope advocacy. Earlier generations of doctors took on the automobile industry by advocating for seat belts to reduce car accident deaths. Other physicians stood up to the tobacco industry, helping to cut U.S. smoking rates to record-low levels.

We do our jobs every single day, and our job is to be an expert on what bullets do to bodies, Melinek, a 49-year-old mother of four, told me this week. Were the ones who are called to the scene (of homicides). We are the ones who testify in court about the pain and suffering that happens because of gun violence. Were the ones who see the consequences of lax gun policies.

Melinek stresses two things: Neither she nor the physicians group wants to ban guns or infringe on Second Amendment rights. She does not own a gun, but has fired all kinds of weapons as part of her medical training to learn what their impact can be.

More important, she says, we didnt start this fight.

The NRAs tweet was responding to the report from the American College of Physicians last month that updated its recommendations for how to reduce gun-related deaths. The organization represents general practice physicians.

Firearm violence continues to be a public health crisis in the United States that requires the nation's immediate attention, the organization wrote in its new guidelines, which were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The organization now supports laws that would prohibit people with a history of domestic violence from buying and possessing firearms. It also supports laws allowing family members to seek an immediate court order to remove guns from those deemed at risk of shooting themselves or someone else  a law that California has already enacted, but is seldom used.

Melinek and her fellow medical professionals would also like to see the federal government conduct research into gun violence, just like it does into auto-related fatalities. But that is virtually banned, thanks to the power of the NRA in Washington.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

In 1996, the gun rights group advocated for the Dickey Amendment. Named for the late Rep. Jay Dickey, R-Ark., the measure banned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using money to advocate or promote gun control. Although it didnt explicitly ban federal research, the law has essentially chilled it ever since.

Years later, Dickey said he regretted his decision and called for more research into gun violence.

I wish I had not been so reactionary, he said.

Former President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing the National Institutes of Health to study gun violence, but that program ended in 2017 and hasnt been renewed. The reason is rooted in the political power of the NRA.

In 2016, the NRA contributed $55 million toward political candidates, including $31 million in support of President Trump. In the midterm elections, its contributions helped defeat Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.

But Melinek is not afraid of speaking out.

She is ready to tell the world what she has seen in the more than 300 autopsies she has conducted of gunshot victims over the past two decades, half of them suicides. It is emotionally wrenching to see the names of loved ones tattooed on victims bodies or find photos of spouses and children in their wallets. Sometimes, their cell phones will ring with calls from people who dont know theyve been shot.

Few professions can speak personally to both the human and emotional carnage caused by gun violence and the science behind it. But Melinek acknowledged that doctors are sometimes reluctant advocates. Many avoid partisan politics. Some might not want to risk offending their gun-owning, law-abiding patients. Others might not want to alienate a major hospital donor who is gun-friendly.

I think that physicians have to take on the NRA if they can, Melinek said. Doctors have been able to lobby about insurance coverage and about the Affordable Care Act. I dont see any difference in lobbying for this.

As soon as the new Congress is seated, Melinek said, I know my first call will be to Nancy Pelosi.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
Jacom Stephens/Getty Images

A traffic accident involving a big rig and 19 cars Tuesday closed all lanes on Highway 1 in Santa Cruz for a few hours, authorities said.

Shortly before 10 a.m., California Highway Patrol officers responded to a crash with injuries involving multiple vehicles and a big rig truck on fire on Highway 1 at River Street in Santa Cruz. All lanes in both directions were closed for nearly two hours as officials cleared the pile-up.
Second, they should save the hand-wringing. Agonizing over a vote, only to vote with the president  or to refuse to take action to stop him  is not going to work. Voters are unimpressed if lawmakers have a witty Twitter feed or constantly say they're concerned or worried if they do nothing to reach across the aisle to Democrats and take steps to remedy whatever Trump is up to or to rebuke him for his vile comments. (Call this the Sen. Ben Sasse rule.)
Every Wednesday morning, SFGATE finds the biggest headlines in local (and sometimes national) beer. Check back here weekly for news, events, and information about special releases from your favorite local breweries.

SFGATE has a biweekly beer newsletter! Called the Taploid, it contains key stories from this column, as well as other, more nationally-spanning industry news. To sign up, head here, enter your email at the top, and check the box marked "Taploid."

As firefighters continue to battle the massive Camp Fire raging in Northern California, Bay Area brewers  and particularly, some in areas that weathered last year's Wine Country fires  have announced fundraising efforts for those who have been displaced or otherwise affected. Del Cielo, 101 North, Gilman Brewing, Moonlight, Ocean View Brew Works, Almanac, The Rare Barrel and of course, St. Florian's have all announced causes to benefit those in harm's way.

Up in Chico, Sierra Nevada is not yet up and running at full capacity, but founder Ken Grossman and his family have nevertheless already set up a Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief fund, seeded with an initial $100,000. Money donated to the fund, intended for "long-term support" of those affected in the region, will be dispersed when the fire is out. "Even though we are all living moment to moment trying to figure out who is safe and if our homes have been spared, the beauty of the human spirit still shines through," a post on the company's Facebook reads.

Albany's Solano Avenue area just west of Berkeley is getting crowded with taprooms and breweries. Ocean View Brew Works opened earlier this year on San Pablo, joining the Albany Tap Room and three blocks away, Westbrae Biergarten. Now, across the street from the beer store Ale Tales on the main drag, is the newest taproom, Wildcard. It's the first foray into the Bay Area beer scene for the Redding brewing company. The taproom is currently in its soft open stage; it will hold a grand opening event on November 16. (Contributed by Brandon Mercer.)

Russian River will officially begin offering tours to the public on November 15. Tours, which include three tastings, cost $15 per adult, and occur at the new Windsor facility several times per day, every day.

Cityside, San Francisco's Old Devil Moon's got a wild (ahem) event on the books this Saturday, November 16: Saison Smackdown: Hill Farmstead vs The World. For the occasion, ODM will pour a number of rare and excellent saisons from Hill Farmstead, Propolis, Jester King, and the U.K.'s Wild Beer.

Across the Bay, Triple Rock Brewing will play host to the 16th Annual Firkin Fest on November 18, an event dedicated to "ridiculously awesome cask-conditioned beer." This year's fest features pours from Sante Adairius, Ghost Town, HenHouse, Novel, Faction, Cellarmaker and more. See the full list of brewers in attendance and grab your tickets here.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


Facebook failed to closely monitor device-makers after granting them access to the personal data of hundreds of millions of people, according to a previously unreported disclosure to Congress last month.

Facebooks loose oversight of the partnerships was detected by the companys government-approved privacy monitor in 2013. But it was never revealed to Facebook users, most of whom had not explicitly given the company permission to share their information. Details of those oversight practices were revealed in a letter Facebook sent last month to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a privacy advocate and frequent critic of the Menlo Park company.

In the letter, a copy of which Wyden provided to the New York Times, Facebook wrote that by early 2013 it had entered into data-sharing agreements with seven device-makers to provide what it called the Facebook experience  custom-built software, typically, that gave those manufacturers customers access to Facebook on their phones. Those partnerships, some of which date to at least 2010, fall under a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission drafted in 2011 and intended to oversee the companys privacy practices.

Facebook ultimately entered into dozens of similar data-sharing partnerships, most of which the company began winding down this spring after revelations that it had allowed Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm, to acquire the personal information of tens of millions of people. The firm used some of that information in efforts to aid President Trumps 2016 campaign.

When a team from auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted the initial assessment in 2013, it tested Facebooks partnerships with Microsoft and Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry handset. In both cases, it found only limited evidence that Facebook had monitored or checked its partners compliance with its data use policies. That finding was redacted from a public version of the report released by the FTC in June.

Facebook claimed that its data-sharing partnerships with smartphone manufacturers were on the up and up, Wyden said. But Facebooks own, hand-picked auditors said the company wasnt monitoring what smartphone manufacturers did with Americans personal information, or making sure these manufacturers were following Facebooks own policies. He added, Its not good enough to just take the word of Facebook  or any major corporation  that theyre safeguarding our personal information.

In a statement, a Facebook spokeswoman said, We take the FTC consent order incredibly seriously and have for years submitted to extensive assessments of our systems. She added, We remain strongly committed to the consent order and to protecting peoples information.

Facebook, like other companies under FTC consent decree, largely dictates the scope of each assessment. In two subsequent assessments, Facebooks October letter suggests, the company was graded on a seemingly less stringent policy with data partners. On those two, Facebook had to show that its partners had agreed to its data use policies.

A Wyden aide who reviewed the unredacted assessments said they contained no evidence that Facebook had ever addressed the original problem. The Facebook spokeswoman did not directly address the 2013 test failure, or the companys apparent decision to change the test in question.

Because the United States has no general consumer privacy law, FTC consent decrees have emerged as the federal governments chief means of regulating privacy practices at Facebook, Google and other companies that amass huge amounts of personal data about people who use their products. In letters and congressional testimony, FTC officials have pointed to the decrees as evidence of consumer privacy protection.

A spokesman for PricewaterhouseCoopers acknowledged in a statement that Facebook defines the privacy procedures, known as controls, that are tested during the assessments.

Changes to controls may occur as platforms evolve, such that a control tested in one period may not be identical in a subsequent period, the spokesman said.

Facebooks letter disclosing the assessors findings came in response to questions Wyden raised during a hearing in September. It was held just weeks after the Times reported that Facebook had struck data-sharing deals with dozens of phone and tablet manufacturers.

While the assessment reports were publicly released by the FTC in June, they included significant redactions, which Facebook and PricewaterhouseCoopers said were necessary to protect trade secrets.

Wyden, whose staff had viewed the full assessments, said at the hearing that he found parts of the unredacted reports very troubling and pressed Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer, to release them.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington consumer rights group that helped obtain the 2011 consent decree, is suing the agency for release of the full assessments, arguing that the public cannot otherwise judge how effectively the FTC is policing privacy violations.

What is clear is that the FTC has failed to enforce the consent order, said Marc Rotenberg, president of the privacy rights group. And this has come at enormous cost to American consumers.

The FTC declined to comment.

Nicholas Confessore, Michael LaForgia and Gabriel J.X. Dance are New York Times writers.
IKEA is coming to Dublin, but the new retail store will look different from those that came before it.

Last week, city council members approved the project by a 4-1 vote. Construction on the 317,000-square-foot store is set to begin April 2020, and should be finished 18 months later.

The store  the first new IKEA retailer in the Bay Area in 15 years  will be built on a 27-acre lot at the northwest corner of Interstate 580 and Hacienda Drive. About 60 percent of the lot will be occupied by a 93,000-square-foot "lifestyle center," which will include restaurants, shops and other storefronts.

The exterior of the store will feature 75-percent less yellow and blue than traditional IKEA retail stores, said Angele Robinson-Gaylord, the president of U.S. Property at IKEA, in an email.

Though the Dublin store will still feature those primary colors, so essential to the Swedish retailer's branding, the facade will also include some "gray and glass features" to "mirror the look and feel of other buildings in the area," Robinson-Gaylord said.

"The distinct architectural design of the building is unique to the Dublin IKEA and is a direct result of the Dublin community's feedback," she explained. "No other IKEA U.S. store reflects this design."

In addition to toning down the blues and yellows, IKEA agreed to build the store's parking lot underground and to pay the city a fee of $420,000 to build a public art piece in the plaza.

"At the council hearing, the mayor expressed a strong desire to have something special and iconic in the plaza," Robinson-Gaylord said. "We agreed to work with staff to make that happen."

The "community feedback" Robinson-Gaylord references has been heated and extensive. During an October city council meeting, the public comment period on the project ran late into the night. At 12:40 a.m. that night, the council decided to postpone the vote on the project to Nov. 8.

Alas, the squabbling goes back much further.

In 2004, the city council approved the development of an IKEA retail store along I-580, but the company withdrew its application two years later.

After a series of development ventures came and went, IKEA acquired the abandoned land parcel once again in 2013. In the years since, the company has been engaged in a back and forth with the city of Dublin and its residents, some of whom feared the new megastore would bring too much traffic to the area.

A 2016 Change.org petition launched by local Tom Cignarella called the IKEA proposal "a bad idea."

"To focus on the most simple and tangible impact, think of the traffic impact this would have on the area," the petition said. More than 3,000 people have signed it.

IKEA officials have said increased traffic to the store shouldn't impact the morning commute on I-580 because it won't open until 10 a.m., after rush hour.

The company was prepared to sue the city if the project did not get approved, Robinson-Taylor said, though "consensus and collaboration was always the goal."

"It's been a long road," she continued, "but the work we've done together has created a stronger blueprint for a retail property that serves the needs of the community and represents the kind of development of which we can all be proud."

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.
Macys is heading into the crucial holiday season firing on all cylinders, logging its fourth consecutive quarter of sales growth at existing locations and getting strong reactions from customers both online and in its stores.

Department stores like Macys are under intense pressure to reinvent themselves with so many people shopping online or just spending money elsewhere, choosing to be pampered at a spa or traveling.

Fortunately, Macys and other retailers are doing so in the midst of a strong job market and robust economy, giving them more breathing room with shoppers feeling confident about splurging once in a while.

Its online unit, based in San Francisco, showed double-digit growth. It says it expects to reach $1 billion in mobile sales this year.

Macys reported third-quarter profit of $62 million (27 cents per share), 13 cents better than industry analyst expected. Its revenue of $5.4 billion also beat expectations.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.3 percent, its fourth straight quarter of gains after a three-year slump.

Macys, along with other stores, also have benefited from the misfortunes of others. Toys R Us and Bon-Ton have liquidated. Sears Holdings, which operates Sears and Kmart stores, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. And J.C. Penney is floundering.

But Macys focus is solidly on Macys. Its been expanding its store labels, opening more off-price Backstage stores and putting into place technology that allows customers to skip the line at the register.

It has technology to offer people something they cant get online, such as the use of virtual reality in furniture and cosmetics sections. The companys revamped loyalty card program has helped keep its best customers engaged.

And after closing more than 100 stores over the past several years, its going to see how a cluster of smaller stores work with todays customers.

CEO Jeff Gennette told industry analysts Wednesday that its testing four models for the new format and plans to share details early next year.

Industry watchers believe Macys is on the right track in this altered retail landscape.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said consumer tracking data supports the story of continued recovery.

At this time last year, 59 percent of Macys customers rated their shopping experience as good or very good, Saunders said. This year, that figure has risen to 67 percent, he said.

Anne DInnocenzio is an Associated Press writer.
In-N-Out has no plans to expand its popular burger chain any farther east than Texas.

In an interview with Forbes magazine, the Southern California company's president Lynsi Snyder talked about how she'd like to keep the brand "unique" to the West.

"I don't see us stretched across the whole U.S. I don't see us in every state," Snyder said. "Take Texas  draw a line up and just stick to the left. That's in my lifetime," Snyder says. "I like that we're sought after when someone's coming into town. I like that we're unique. That we're not on every corner. You put us in every state and it takes away some of its luster."

ALSO: Here's why Seattle isn't getting an In-N-Out any time soon

In-N-Out was founded in Baldwin Park, Calif., in 1948 by Lynsi's grandparents, Harry Snyder and Esther Snyder, and slowly expanded into other Southern California locations. Later, they moved into Northern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas and Oregon.

Fans of the chain have long begged for locations in the Midwest and on the East Coast, but the company has always said quality is more important than quantity. The restaurants focus on a small menu of burgers, shakes and fries and serve all food fresh without using any heat lamps, freezers or microwaves.

In addition, In-N-Out doesn't franchise and Snyder has expressed that she would never take the company public even though it would expedite expansion and likely make the company more money.

Snyder's "goals are not for us to be the biggest," executive vice president Bob Lang, a 45-year In-N-Out veteran, told Forbes. "Really, it's about maintaining the legacy of her family and a family environment."
Patronage was serfdom. People who wanted to work for the government had to apply to their committeeman, not to a government hiring department. The availability of job openings was kept secret. If the committeeman sponsored the applicant, the applicant got the job. But in return the employee had to pay a part of his or her salary to the committeeman, and had to do election work for the candidates supported by the committeeman  in perpetuity. Failure to comply meant being fired.
The Camp Fire has killed 42 people, burned 7,746 structures and moved through 125,000 acres of land as of Tuesday evening, and now NASA images show the progression of large smoke clouds generated by the flames.

NASA released satellite imagery from its Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview, starting with the pre-fire Paradise, Calif., region on Nov. 7, continuing to the start of the fire through Nov. 12.
A Northern California woman opened her Oroville home to a 93-year-old World War II veteran who doesn't know if his home in Paradise is still standing after the deadly Camp Fire swept through.

Tracy Grant, 43, met Lee Brundige while she was handing out hamburgers to evacuees at the Forebay Aquatic Center, which is about 20 miles south of Paradise.

More for you How you can help people and pets affected by the Camp Fire

She says she convinced a reluctant Brundige to accompany her home after sheriff's deputies told people to clear out of the parking lot because of the smoke and worsening air quality.

"When I first met him, I knew he was special," says Grant, who owns a vintage store in Oroville. "He was the only person in this parking lot who was by himself with no one else with him. I made it my mission to keep my eye on him. When the rangers came, I went up to him and said, 'You're coming with me.'"

ALSO: Paradise lost: Before-and-after photos show a town devoured by a raging wildfire

Brundige hadn't changed his clothes in two days and Grant gave him a spare bathrobe to change into while she did the wash.

She called her boyfriend to let him know they were housing an evacuee.

"I just want to warn you, there's a man in your recliner wearing your robe," she said. "And he's the cutest little 93-year-old you've met."

Fox stopped to buy new clothes for Brundige on his way home from his job in Sacramento. The two immediately connected as Fox is a history buff who has always been fascinated by World War II history; both of his late grandfathers served in the war.

"They hit it off when Lee said he was the littlest guy in his unit so they made him be the tail gunner over the South Pacific," Grant says.

Brundige has also found a companion in the couple's small dog, Axle, and likes to sit in the recliner with him.

MORE: Man finds flag flying over his house burned in Camp Fire: 'When I saw it, I thought there's hope'

Brundige lived alone in a home he built with his late wife, and his neighborhood has yet to show up on any of the fire damage maps.

"We know some of his neighbors have lost homes, so we think it's probably gone," Grant says.

Brundige has a very small family. His son is in his 70s living in Southern California and knows his father is OK.

Grant and Fox say Brundige is welcome to stay with them for the unforeseeable future.

"I thought if that were my grandpa, where would I want him to be," says Grant, whose grandfathers have both passed. "He's so sweet. He has the bluest eyes. The sweetest smile. I see my grandfather in him. We told him this could be his forever home but that is totally up to him."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Butte County Sheriff's Office has arrested six suspected looters after the Camp Fire destroyed most of the town of Paradise, Calif.

Deputies patrolling Butte Creek Canyon outside of Paradise were alerted by PG&E employees of potential looters in the area Monday afternoon, the sheriff's office said in a news release Tuesday.

Police say two men, Jason Burns, 41, of Chico, and Michael Salisbury, 48, of Reno, were seen running into a house on Quail Run Drive. When deputies entered the home, the men were found in a bedroom where a .45 caliber pistol that was registered to a home in the evacuation zone was found along with meth and heroin. Authorities said a fully automatic AR-15 and several chainsaws  also suspected to have been looted  were found in the garage of the home and an ATV that had been reported stolen was parked outside.

The Sheriff's Office says the home belongs to relative of Burns, who later told authorities they were not aware Burns was in the home. The owner had evacuated the home during the fire.

Burns and Salisbury were arrested on firearm, drug and theft charges.

Earlier Monday, John Brown, 38, of Oroville, and Teddy King, 27, of Paradise, were spotted by deputies within the evacuation zone. The two men were in possession of a laptop they did not own, as well as a ski mask and drug paraphernalia. Brown and King were arrested on drug charges.

In Chico, Shayne Tinnel Jr., 22, and Tracy Sizer, 42, both of of Magalia, were stopped while driving a motorhome that had been reported stolen from within the Camp Fire evacuation zone. Tinnell and Sizer were charged with vehicle theft and looting.
PG&E Corp. shares saw their deepest single-day plunge in a decade and a half Wednesday after the San Francisco energy company warned of potentially serious financial strain if its equipment is deemed responsible for the devastating Camp Fire.

Shares of the corporate parent to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. fell as much as 32 percent following the companys disclosure in a regulatory filing that potential losses due to the fire burning in the Sierra Nevada foothills outside Chico threaten to exceed its insurance coverage.

The shares later recovered a bit and closed at $25.59, down nearly 22 percent from the prior days close.

Wednesday was PG&Es worst day on the stock market since Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the companys utility subsidiary, emerged from a bankruptcy caused by the California energy crisis in 2001. It also marked the fifth straight day of declines for PG&E, over which time the stock price has fallen by nearly half, dropping by 47.6% from the $48.80 close on Nov. 7. That translates to about $12 billion in value.

State fire investigators are still looking into the cause of the Camp Fire, which has consumed 138,000 acres, destroyed 10,321structures and killed at least 56 people. It is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history.

While the cause of the Camp Fire is still under investigation, if the utilitys equipment is determined to be the cause, the utility could be subject to significant liability in excess of insurance coverage that would be expected to have a material impact on PG&E Corporations and the utilitys financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and cash flows, PG&E said in the Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jaimin Patel said the risk of bankruptcy is very real for these guys.

With each passing wildfire, that risk increases, he said.

In the filing, PG&E also said it had exhausted its revolving credit lines, signaling it was shoring up its cash to prepare for a possible credit downgrade to junk. The company has a total of $3.46 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and $1.4 billion in wildfire insurance coverage, according to the regulatory filing. Damages from the deadly Northern California wildfire may reach as much as $15 billion, Citigroup Inc. analyst Praful Mehta wrote in a research note Wednesday.

Its important to remember that the cause of the Camp Fire has yet to be determined, Matt Nauman, a PG&E spokesman, wrote in an email. Right now, our entire company is focused on supporting first responders and assisting our customers and communities impacted by the fire.

He said PG&E drew down its credit facility to provide greater financial flexibility for general business purposes, including to pay down upcoming debt maturities.

In an interview with The Chronicle on Tuesday, PG&E CEO Geisha Williams said the company was making meaningful improvements to its power grid to address wildfire hazards but added that climate change remains the bigger and more elusive issue.

Williams vowed to continue safety enhancement efforts such as strengthening electrical equipment, cutting back dry vegetation along hundreds of miles of transmission lines and preemptively shutting off power during heavy winds.

Weve been doing a lot, she said.

But the more extreme weather fueled by climate change has elevated fire risks statewide and demands collective action, she added.

Were at an absolutely unprecedented moment in history, Williams said. To me, its about taking a step back and asking how we address this broader issue of climate change.

While state officials havent announced a cause of the Camp Fire, PG&E told regulators last week a power line near the fires origin point had a problem right before the fire started.

Separately, a Butte County woman has said she received an email from PG&E the day before the fire saying the utility needed to repair equipment on or near her property. But PG&E said Tuesday evening that the message in question referenced future planned work on a different transmission line in the area. The line had previously been de-energized and was not operational when the Camp Fire started, utility spokesman Paul Doherty said in an email Tuesday.

PG&Es legal battle related to the Camp Fire has already gotten under way. A group of victims filed suit Tuesday, accusing the utility of negligence in maintaining its equipment. A lawyer representing the victims said he believed the suit was the first against the utility related to that fire, and he expected more to be filed soon.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Kurtis Alexander and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
Digital First Media/Orange Count/Digital First Media via Getty Im

Viewing the Woolsey Fire burn areas from above "brings a greater understanding that each house is a home," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell in a tweet on Tuesday.

McDonnell shared photos from a Tuesday aerial survey of Los Angeles County that illustrates the Woolsey Fire's destruction. One striking image shows a single swath of land: half is completely scorched, while the other looks green and vibrant. Other photos showed the fire's path just barely skirting buildings and houses.

ALSO READ: Lady Gaga visits wildfire shelter, brings pizza

"Each home has a life and memories attached to it," McDonnell continued. He acknowledged the "frustration" of evacuees, eager to return to their homes, and thanked them for cooperating with officials.

As many as 250,000 people were ordered to evacuate parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties after the Woolsey Fire flared before sunrise Thursday in rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains. The fire was 47 percent contained after scorching more than 152 square miles (394 square kilometers), engulfing homes, scenic canyon getaways and celebrity estates.

Authorities allowed residents back into several more communities on Tuesday, including a section of Malibu.

Officials tempered optimism with caution, saying there were hotspots and pockets of unburned vegetation that could ignite.

"We are not out of the woods yet. We still have some incredibly tough conditions ahead of us," Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said Tuesday.

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.
NEW YORK  The high-security trial of infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman got under way on Tuesday, with a prosecutor telling jurors how the man who got his start in a modest marijuana-selling business in Mexico ruthlessly turned it into a blood-drenched smuggling operation that funneled cocaine and other drugs as far north as New York.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels told a jury in a New York City courtroom that Guzman sent killers to wipe out competitors, and waged wars against longtime partners ... including his own cousins.

Guzman, who has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition to the United States early last year, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune smuggling tons of cocaine and other drugs in a vast supply chain that reached New York, New Jersey, Texas and elsewhere north of the border.

If convicted, he faces a possible life prison sentence.

Prosecutors have said they will use thousands of documents, videos and recordings as evidence, including material related to drug smugglers safe houses and Guzmans 2015 prison escape and the law enforcement operation to recapture him.

Fels described to jurors how Guzman started modestly in the early 1970s by selling marijuana in Mexico, but built his reputation by constructing tunnels across the Mexico-U.S. border to transport marijuana and cocaine so fast that he was no longer El Chapo, the short one. Instead, he became known as the speedy one. Before his tunnels, it had taken weeks to move drugs across the border to the U.S.

Before long, Guzman was receiving 10 to 15 planes stuffed with cocaine from Colombia at landing strips in Mexico for transport to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, Fels said.

As his business flourished using the tunnels, trains, planes and vessels, Guzman began taking aim at rivals in the early 1990s, leading to bloody wars. In 1993, he fled to Guatemala but was captured and imprisoned in Mexico for eight years, where he continued running his drug empire, Fels said.

The prosecutor spoke of two dramatic escapes from prison by Guzman and said he was planning a third when he was brought to the U.S.

Fels said Guzman used some of his wealth to pay off the Mexican military and police and to finance assault rifles, grenade launchers and explosives to engage in war after bloody war.

More than a dozen cooperating witnesses are scheduled to testify, including some who worked for Guzmans Sinaloa cartel. Prosecutors say they risk retribution by taking the stand and the court has taken steps to conceal their identities. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan barred courtroom sketch artists from drawing them.

Guzmans lawyers are expected to attack the credibility of the witnesses by emphasizing their criminal records, saying some have an incentive to lie to win leniency in their own cases.

Tom Hays is an Associated Press writer.
What is the legal limit for marijuana intoxication? Where is the field sobriety test for pot heads? Maybe I have not been reading enough, but I have never seen anything about these questions. It's all about increasing tax revenue and decreasing crime. Medical marijuana seems to work for many people. Good. Great! But it is incredibly irresponsible to be legalizing recreational pot use without the same safeguards that apply to alcohol and other drugs. Maybe you don't care how stoned your driver is or how wasted your electrician is. This Pandora's Box of drug use needs to be kept closed until the above questions have real answers. What are you people thinking? Are you high or something?
Allyn Pierce made it out of the fire. But his beloved truck, which he dubbed the Pandra, almost didn't.

Pierce, a nurse in the intensive care unit at the Adventist Health Feather River hospital, had used it to help evacuate patients and colleagues. There were times when Pierce thought he wouldn't get out; as he told the New York Times, he was trapped as the flames got closer.

"I was like, 'I think I'm done,'" he said. "I just kept thinking, 'I'm going to die in melting plastic.'"

Pierce turned on Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" to calm down, and recorded a goodbye message he hoped wouldn't be the last thing he said to his family. Just then, according to a Times reporter, he was saved by a stroke of luck: A bulldozer drove by and cleared a path.

RELATED: Shivering horse found waiting out Camp Fire in backyard pool

But Pierce opted not to escape to safety. Instead, he and his colleagues drove back to the hospital in Paradise to help recently arrived patients. They broke into the hospital to retrieve medical supplies and got to work in the parking lot. The hospital was one of the few buildings to survive the fire.

Pierce did later get out of the fire zone safely, which he credits to his truck.

"This truck literally saved my life today," he wrote on his Instagram. "My little town of Paradise was literally burning down around me and @the_pandra got me to safety where I could help others ... twice."

RELATED: Camp Fire: Death toll of 42 expected to rise as fire grows to 125,000 acres

Unfortunately though, the Toyota Tundra did not get out unscathed. The white truck has been charred  Pierce hashtagged a photo of it #perfectmarshmallow  and pieces of the plastic on the car and rear lights melted.

When Pierce posted a photo of the truck on Instagram, his followers began to tag Toyota in their responses. Several days and thousands of Instagram likes and comments later, Toyota commented on the post: "Hi Allyn, we are humbled you'd risk your life and Toyota Tundra to drive people to safety. Don't worry about your truck, we're honored to get you a new one!"

RELATED: How you can help people and pets affected by the Camp Fire

As Pierce's story spread, someone in Chico posted a GoFundMe in his name. Pierce, who lost both his home and his workplace in the fire, reluctantly posted it to his Facebook, writing, "I struggled posting this, but with my house gone and my hospital... I don't know where my job sits. I'm gonna swallow my pride ... This is only for those that want to donate. We will be fine, it will all work out, because if has to."

As of this writing, the GoFundMe has raised several thousand dollars above its $15,000 goal.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


WASHINGTON  Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday defended the use of active-duty troops on the U.S.-Mexican border, saying that in some ways it provides good training for war. He argued that its analogous to a 1916 deployment to counter the Mexican revolutionary Gen. Francisco Pancho Villa.

Speaking to reporters on his way to visit U.S. troops along the border in south Texas, Mattis declined to provide an estimate of how much the mission will cost. He said cost figures he has received thus far are not anywhere near right. He added that he believes, very quickly well know the real cost. So well keep you posted as the real costs come in.

In his most extensive remarks about the hastily arranged border mission, Mattis argued that it fits a historical pattern dating to early in the 20th century. He noted that President Woodrow Wilson deployed tens of thousands of National Guard and active-duty troops to the border in 1916 in response to a Mexican military raid into the U.S.

Thats over a century ago, and the threat then was Pancho Villas troops  revolutionary raiding across the border into the United States, he said. He noted that more recently, National Guard troops were used in border missions ordered by President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, although not on the cusp of a midterm election.

The Pentagon chief said that within a week to 10 days the 5,800 troops currently deployed for the border mission will have accomplished all the tasks initially requested by Customs and Border Protection, although additional tasks are now being worked out between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. Mattis did not say how soon the mission might end; current deployments are scheduled to last until Dec. 15, but that could change.

In addition to the 5,800 active duty troops in the border area, about 2,100 National Guard troops have been providing border support since April.

Critics have questioned the wisdom of using the military on the border where there is no discernible security threat, although President Trump has said that a caravan of Central American migrants traveling northward through Mexico amounts to an invasion. Since the election, Trump has said little about the matter, and no border threat has yet materialized.

Asked whether he believes there is a security threat at the border that justifies the use of the active duty military, Mattis said he defers to the judgment of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who joined him at the border Wednesday.

The eyes of the world right now  certainly all of the Americans  are on you, Mattis told the soldiers, adding that they are part of a non-traditional mission. Were here because of the number of illegals who say they are going to illegally try to cross into our country, he said, apparently referring to the several thousand migrants moving north through Mexico.

Robert Burns is an Associated Press writer.
Three seasons after the home team got a new clubhouse, the counterpart on the first-base side will be renovated. It long has been considered one of the smallest in the major leagues. But Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford told the Tribune in 2016 that every player knows what is in store for them when they come to Chicago. Were used to it, Crawford said. It has been like this forever. We dont even think about it. It has been like that for 100 years.
The library has been trying to rebuild its fund balance since spending it down during the past several years to cover costs. The financial situation forced the library to close a branch and cut hours at its other facilities two years ago.
347 S. Columbia St., Naperville: $2,490,000 | Listed: Sept. 9, 2021



This four-bedroom brick and stone home has six bathrooms, a gated entry and an office with a fireplace. The kitchen has double Wolf ranges and an oversized refrigerator. The second level of the home features two bedrooms and the homes primary bedroom, which has a renovated en suite bath, a walk-in closet and laundry room, and opens to a terrace. The fourth bedroom and en suite bath are on the upper floor, along with a sitting area and loft. The homes basement features a wine cellar and tasting room, as well as a full bath and recreation room with a wet bar. Additional features include a first-floor laundry, three-season room, detached garage, and backyard deck and patio.



Agent: Katie Minott and Kim Marino, @properties, 773-750-9535 and 630-634-0700



*Some listing photos are virtually staged, meaning they have been digitally altered to represent different furnishing or decorating options.



To feature your luxury listing of $800,000 or more in Chicago Tribunes Dream Homes, send listing information and high-res photos to ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com.



Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.
Any threat made against a school, whether made in jest or not, will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated, he said. Make no mistake, once we identify the source of any threat, charges will be filed accordingly.
MALIBU  Southern Californias huge wildfire roared to life again Tuesday in a mountain wilderness area even as many neighborhoods were reopened to thousands of residents who fled its advance last week.

A massive plume rose suddenly at midmorning in the Santa Monica Mountains near the community of Lake Sherwood, prompting authorities to send aircraft to drop retardant and water on the blaze.

Forecasters had warned of continuing fire danger in Southern California due to persistent Santa Ana winds, the withering, dry gusts that sweep out of the interior toward the coast, pushing back moist ocean breezes.

Except for an apartment building that burned overnight in coastal Malibu, there was little sign of fire activity elsewhere in the vast fire zone west of Los Angeles.

Officials said their most recent assessments indicated that the fire burned 435 buildings as it spread over about 146 square miles and was 35 percent contained, with full containment expected Thursday.

It was unclear how many people remained under evacuation orders, though at one point the number hit about 250,000. Authorities were expected to disclose details later Tuesday at a news conference.

The dry, gusty winds were expected to blow through Wednesday, although not quite as furiously as last week. Winds, coupled with higher average annual temperatures, tinder-dry brush and a lack of rain in recent years, make the perfect ingredients for explosive fire growth around the state, said Chris Anthony, a division chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fire has burned more than 80 percent of National Parks Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, officials said.

Fire officials lifted evacuation orders Tuesday in all or parts of about five communities in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

But large, populated areas remained off-limits and authorities warned residents of those areas to stay out, saying there were hazards including downed power lines, embers that could reignite, buckled roads and lack of power and communications.

Relief and heartache awaited those who were allowed to return home Monday. Paul Rasmussen, his pregnant wife and their 6-year-old daughter fled their mountainside Malibu home Friday for what they thought would be the last time.

But Monday they learned that their neighbor, Randy Berkeley, had protected his home and the Rasmussens house.

The cause of the fires remain under investigation.

Southern California Edison reported to the California Public Utilities Commission out of an abundance of caution that there was an outage on an electrical circuit near where the fire started Thursday. The report said there was no indication its equipment was involved in the fire reported two minutes after the outage.

Christopher Weber and Brian Melley are Associated Press writers.
WASHINGTON  For weeks before the midterm elections, President Donald Trump warned ominously about the threat from a caravan of migrants streaming from Central America toward Mexicos border with the United States. It was a fearsome mix of criminals and unknown Middle Easterners, Trump claimed darkly, one that constituted a genuine national emergency.

But since the election last week, Trump has tweeted about the caravan exactly once  to issue a proclamation preventing those who cross the border illegally from applying for asylum in the United States. Fox News, which faithfully amplified Trumps warnings about the migrants, has gone similarly quiet on the subject.

There was little dispute, even before Election Day, that Trump was exploiting the caravan for political purposes. But analysts, historians and veterans of previous administrations said there were few comparable instances of a commander in chief warning about what he called a looming threat, only to drop it as soon as people voted.

While the caravan has faded from television screens, the costs of Trumps response to it have not. Nearly 6,000 active-duty troops remain deployed from the Gulf Coast to Southern California, where they are putting up tents and stringing concertina wire to face a ragtag band that is still not near the border.

Now that the political utility of troops on the southern border to face a fictitious caravan invasion threat is over, said Adm. James G. Stavridis, a former commander of the militarys Southern Command, lets hope the president will stand down the troops so they can be with their families  especially over the holidays.

But some officials in the Defense Department worry that Trump could do the opposite  seek an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, the 1878 law that prohibits the government from using active-duty troops to enforce laws inside the countrys borders.

As pure political calculation, analysts from both parties said that seizing on the caravan mobilized Republican voters, dramatizing immigration in a way that resonated with Trumps political base. But it is far less clear that the dire warnings helped Republican candidates with independents or other late-deciding voters.

In some places like Arizona, where the Democratic Senate candidate, Kyrsten Sinema, narrowly beat her Republican opponent, Martha McSally, analysts said the caravan might actually have backfired. McSally echoed Trumps language about the coming wave of migrants, calling it a public safety and national security issue.

David Axelrod, a former aide to President Barack Obama, said on Twitter, The presidents calculated histrionics about the caravan, about which we have heard very little since Election Day, may have sunk the @GOP in AZ.

In exit polls, voters who made up their minds in the last three days before the election said they voted for Democrats over Republicans 53 percent to 41 percent. That coincides with the period in which Trump redoubled his focus on the caravan, rejecting the advice of aides who wanted to air a commercial promoting the healthy economy.

More for you Midterms a defeat for notion of white-identity politics

Exit polls did not contain a specific question about the caravan. But they did show that voters who made up their minds in the final week of the campaign, before Trumps last-minute push, chose Democrats over Republicans by a narrower tally: 49 percent to 48 percent.

Privately, Republican pollsters pointed to the fact that their party had picked up just three of 10 Senate seats held by Democrats as evidence of the ambiguous effect the caravan crusade had on Republicans.

At one campaign rally after another, Trump said the election came down to the caravan, law and order, and common sense. In Mesa, Arizona, on Oct. 19, he said: You got some bad people in those groups. You got some tough people in those groups. And Ill tell you what  this country doesnt want them. OK? We dont want them.

A day earlier, he tweeted about the assault on our country at our Southern Border, including the Criminal elements and DRUGS pouring in.

Trump posted footage of an unauthorized immigrant on trial for killing a police officer, and his campaign organization produced an ad featuring migrants trying to scale a wall to dramatize the stakes of the election.

Ive never before seen an American president, after going all over the country about this national crisis, then the day after an election shrug, said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University.

The closest parallel that Brinkley drew was to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who seized on  and mischaracterized  two murky encounters between U.S. and North Vietnamese warships in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964 as a pretext to accelerate Americas engagement in the Vietnam War. Still, he said, Trumps response was of a different order.

It was a dangerous form of xenophobia, aimed solely for electoral purposes and had nothing to do in the end with real national security, Brinkley said.

For the troops, so far, it has mostly been an expensive field trip. The cost of the deployment is not known, but budget officials believe it could reach $200 million if all 15,000 troops that Trump pledged are ultimately sent.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday that the Pentagon was capturing the expenses daily and would update the public when he knew the total cost. On Wednesday, Mattis plans to meet with soldiers at Base Camp Donna, the forward operating base built over the last month near the Rio Grande.

Mattis said there had been no change to the mission; the troops were not receiving extra combat or hostile-fire pay. His visit, a defense official said, is meant to be low key and reminiscent of his days as a Marine general, when he could meet front-line troops with little fanfare.

Living conditions at Base Camp Donna are spare, but since its construction this month, the Army has added showers and a larger living area aside from the initial allotment of tents.

Defenders of Trump said the troops would take little notice of his sudden lack of emphasis on the caravan.

Knowing the troops, knowing how busy they are, theyre not focused on him, said Jack Keane, a retired four-star general who is a former vice chief of staff of the Army. Theyve got a job to do.

But other former military officers said the soldiers were well aware of the political motivation behind their mission. Lacking much else to do, they will quickly pick up on Trumps loss of interest in the caravan, and it will add to their already depleted morale.

Having spent months in the desert with nothing to do, at least we had scorpions to have scorpion fights with, said John A. Nagl, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served in Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and 1991.

But we had a real mission, he said. These guys dont have that.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13)  Amid threats of steep budget cuts on its foreign aid, the U.S. government will continue to fund development projects in Mindanao, particularly for the rehabilitation of war-ravaged Marawi.

On Tuesday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) signed an agreement worth more than $11 million extending U.S. assistance to Mindanao for another year.

The Mindanao Peace and Development (MPAD) aid agreement will focus on infrastructure, conflict resolution, better governance, livelihood and social services.

MPAD has provided almost $145 million in contributions to the country for 11 years.

Previous projects were concentrated in conflict-torn communities of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi while the current agreement will fund programs helping the massive reconstruction efforts in Marawi.

MinDA Undersecretary Janet Lopez said they are hoping more support not just for Marawi, but for other areas and projects as well.

"We are also hoping that there could be more support measures, that can be explored after the Marawi response program, but as of now, we're looking at that as a comprehensive package of support for Marawi. So it covers livelihood, education, health," she said.

In May, the U.S. said it would give an additional P182 million for relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts in Marawi, bringing the total contributions to over a billion pesos.

CNN Philippines senior correspondent David Santos contributed to this report.
At least 48 people have died and more than 100 people are listed as missing as a result of the Camp Fire, the Butte County Sheriff's Office announced today.



Most of the missing persons are residents of either Paradise or Magalia, both small communities located in Butte County.



Sheriff's deputies are asking the public to review the list, which they posted on their website, and are urging anyone whose name is on the list to contact them.



The full list is available at http://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/24/pdf/CampFireMissingPersons.pdf?ver=2018-11-14-082238-507.



Those whose names are listed should call the sheriff's office's Missing Person Call Center at (530) 538-6570, (530) 538-7544 or (530) 538-7671.



Residents are also being encouraged to check www.safeandwell.org, a website run by the American Red Cross, to locate friends and family.



To request a welfare check or to file a missing persons report, residents may call the Butte County Sheriff's Office at (530) 538-7322.



The Camp Fire began last Thursday, and as of today the fire had burned 135,000 acres and was 35 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.



The fire has destroyed at least 7,600 residences and at least 260 commercial structures, according to Cal Fire. The smoke has blown into the Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern California, causing widespread poor air quality conditions.



The cause of the fire remains under investigation.



U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke toured the devastation in Butte County today and said at a news conference that "now is really not the time to point fingers."



In a tweet today, Zinke described the devastation as "Worse than any war zone I saw in Iraq."



Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott attended the same news conference today and said that the fire is the most deadly in the state's history.



Pimlott said there are 9,000 firefighters spread out across the state and that many of those who are not fighting the Camp Fire in Northern California are battling the Woolsey Fire in Southern California.





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.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a kite surfer who was struggling to return to shore in San Pablo Bay near Pinole on Tuesday morning.



A witness reported around 10:30 a.m. seeing the surfer struggle and unable to make it back to shore for about two hours in the waters off Pinole Shores Park in unincorporated Contra Costa County.



Coast Guard officials said 911 dispatchers contacted the Coast Guard, which dispatched a 45-foot boat from its station in Vallejo and a MH-65 Dolphin from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco to attempt to rescue him.



Due to the low depth of the water, the helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer to the surfer, then hoisted both back to the helicopter. Nobody was injured.



Coast Guard officials advise mariners to keep a VHF radio on them when on the water at all times, adding that they are more effective than cellphones when you need to reach the Coast Guard in an emergency.





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.
A 69-year-old Hillsborough man was sentenced in federal court in San Francisco today to nine years in prison for conspiring to export components of night-vision rifles to Russia without a license.



Naum Morgovsky pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in June to conspiring to sell the components between 2012 and 2016 in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.



He also pleaded guilty to two counts of laundering a total of $223,000 in profits from the scheme by using the stolen identity of a dead person.

ALSO: Elon Musk's 'Teslaquila' faces push-back from Mexican tequila regulators



He was sentenced by Chhabria, who also ordered him to pay a fine of $1 million and forfeit $223,000 plus three night vision devices seized in connection with the investigation.



Morgovsky's wife, Irina Morgovsky, 67, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced by Chhabria last month to one year and six months in prison. Both defendants will begin serving their sentences on Jan. 4.



The couple owned a night vision company in Moscow. According to their 2016 indictment, a co-conspirator at that company would send the pair lists of components needed.



The couple bought the items through their American company, Hitek International, and would send the components either directly to a Moscow employee or to European associates who would hand-carry them to Moscow.



The items included various types of lenses and vision intensifier tubes, according to the indictment.



U.S. Attorney Alex Tse said in a statement, "Export controls keep us safe and prevent dangerous technologies from falling into the wrong hands. Today's nine-year sentence should send a clear message to deter others who are tempted by profits to violate the export laws of this country."
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A group of Bay Area lawyers filed a lawsuit today in San Francisco Superior Court against PG&E on behalf of several victims of the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County--which has killed 48 people.



The lawsuit, filed by a group of attorneys collectively known as Corey Danko Gibbs, alleges that PG&E was negligent in failing to maintain its infrastructure and properly inspect and manage its power lines.



The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount to cover a variety of losses, including lost homes, properties and personal belongings, as well as evacuation and temporary housing costs, emotional trauma and loss of income.



The Camp Fire began last Thursday near the town of Chico and has already burned 130,000 acres in the area, consuming several communities and destroying a total of 7,600 single-family homes, according to Cal Fire officials. While the fire is 35 percent contained, a cause has not been determined.



The suit alleges the blaze broke out when a high voltage transmission line failed and ignited vegetation.



Plaintiff's attorney Mike Danko said although a cause hasn't been determined, "this time we have pretty good evidence" that PG&E is responsible.



PG&E did not immediately respond to a request for comment.





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 San Francisco man appeared in court today on a murder charge for allegedly fatally shooting a man during an attempted carjacking in East Oakland in August.



Ibrahim Saleh, 20, didn't enter a plea today for the death of 38-year-old Esau Davis of Oakland and is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 7 to enter a plea at that time.



Oakland police Sgt. Bradley Baker wrote in a probable cause statement that Davis was confronted and shot by two suspects while he was standing in the 1300 block of 72nd Avenue at about 7 p.m. on Aug. 26 and was pronounced dead at the scene.



A second victim, a woman, was shot in the leg but survived her injuries and the suspects fled the scene in a Honda Crosstour, Baker wrote.



Surveillance footage was used to identify Saleh as a suspect in the shooting and his cellphone records placed him at the scene, according to Baker.



However, Saleh tried to cover up his connection to the homicide by reporting that the license plates for the Honda had been stolen, Baker wrote.



Saleh was arrested on a warrant in San Francisco on Oct. 17 and allegedly admitted his involvement in the shooting. He told police that he and his co-conspirator were attempting to rob Davis of his vehicle and "the incident went bad," Baker wrote.



Saleh also admitted being the driver and that he shot Davis during the attempted robbery, according to Baker.



Saleh, who was charged on Oct. 22, is charged with murder, attempted carjacking and assault with a semi-automatic firearm for allegedly shooting the second victim.



The second suspect in the shooting remains at large.





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)



As San Francisco attempts to deals with people living in tents and on city streets, Mayor London Breed announced today a program aimed at assisting homeless individuals living out of their vehicles.



The data-driven program would be run by the city's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and would see the creation of a new team of outreach workers collecting information and offering services at vehicle encampments throughout the city.



"Living in vehicles is not healthy and is not sustainable for our communities," Breed said in a statement. "As we work to build more housing, including badly needed affordable housing, we are looking at effective practical solutions to help these folks into housing and services."



Supervisors Ahsha Safai and Vallie Brown are assisting Breed with developing the program, which will explore the idea of having a city-sanctioned vehicle triage center and storage facility, where people living in their vehicles can keep their property -- vehicles included -- while they receive services.



The location for the proposed triage facility and storage facility would be explored by the HSH department.



Breed said she will work with Safai, Brown and HSH Director Jeff Kositsky to ensure that funding for the program is included in the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year city budget.



According to the HSH department, as of October, there were 432 inhabited vehicles in the city. The figure includes 313 recreational vehicles, or RVs, and 119 passenger cars.



Today, Supervisor Hillary Ronen, praised Breed's announcement after Ronen earlier this morning announced she would introduce a similar legislation at today's Board of Supervisors meeting.



Ronen's legislation proposed the creation of a Vehicle Navigation Center, akin to Breed's vehicle triage center, to provide services and address vehicular homelessness.



Ronen said she would delay the introduction of her legislation in light of Breed's announcement.



According to Ronen, the number of occupied RVs in her District 9 has increased recently, specifically in the city's Portola neighborhood.



The increase has resulted in trash, including used needles, being left on the street and human waste being disposed into city sewers. Additionally, Ronen said generators used to power RVs overnight have caused noise complaints and fire safety concerns.



"Up until now, the only way the city has been dealing with homeless individuals who live in their vehicles is by banning overnight parking on streets where they congregate," Ronen said in a statement, adding that the bans have only pushed vehicles into other residential neighborhoods.



"We must act to fix this issue with urgency. Half measures and delays are not going to cut it, so I'm thrilled to hear that this is now a top priority for the mayor's office," she said.



As Breed and other city leaders attempt to tackle vehicular homelessness, Breed announced on Monday that tents on city streets have been reduced by 34 percent since she took office in July.





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)



Two nonprofit groups filed a public records lawsuit against San Jose today alleging a lack of transparency in the city's dealings with Google for a new "mega-campus" near Diridon Station.



The First Amendment Coalition and Working Partnerships USA claim in the lawsuit that San Jose allowed a "clandestine" approval process for Google's new campus through non-disclosure agreements signed by city officials. The lawsuit seeks all documents regarding the property agreement, including any correspondence between Mayor Sam Liccardo and Google.



The attorneys have also sent the city a letter alleging unnecessary private meetings and a violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act, a state law that outlines open and closed meeting requirements for local governments.



City Attorney Richard Doyle said this morning the lawsuit appears to be an effort to strike down Google development due to concerns over gentrification, over-development and a lack of affordable housing -- issues that could be quelled by a community benefits package in the final plan.



Beginning with a City Council meeting on Dec. 4, he projects the plan could take between two to three years to complete with public input.



"They're concerned about a company like Google coming in and having a massive project ... those are concerns, the city has those concerns," Doyle said.



He believes the city complied with Brown Act rules when it began discussing property agreements with Google in 2016.



He added NDAs have become common in dealings with technology companies - the city has previously signed NDAs with Facebook and Adobe -- and the agreements are legal as long as they carve out exemptions for state law, which includes access to public records. The NDAs in question expired in June 2017 and did not affect the public records process, according to Doyle.



Maria Noel Fernandez, campaign director of Silicon Valley Rising, instead called the city's property agreement a "backroom deal" and marched with a group of community advocates this morning to deliver the lawsuit to city staff.



"We are not going to stop until we know what San Jose is hiding from our community," she repeated in English and Spanish as she stood outside the door to Mayor Sam Liccardo's suite.



The First Amendment Coalition first filed a public records request in May of this year requesting all NDAs signed by city officials with Google. The suit says the coalition received NDAs from 18 individuals, but the city refused to release other documents.



The coalition said Liccardo was the first city official to sign an NDA in February 2017. Working Partnerships USA filed a public records request in February and received even less information, according to the suit.



A group of about 20 protesters occupied the top floor of the City Hall tower today as they waited for Liccardo's representative, chanting "We want Sam now!" and "Que queremos? Justicia! Cuando? Ahora!"



Robert Aguirre, a spokesman for local houseless populations, was upset by a lack of information regarding the future development and said a Station Area Advisory Group for citizens to discuss the plan lacked representation.



Another person chimed in on the SAAG, saying, "It's a joke."



Doyle instead said the SAAG meetings are a testament to the city's transparency. He said all information regarding the deal will become public Friday in advance of the Dec. 4 City Council meeting, including finalized property sale agreements.



"No one's really trying to hide the ball here," Doyle said. "This has been a very transparent process. In terms of the SAAG ... everybody had a chance to express their concerns."





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.
MILL VALLEY (BCN)



Mill Valley police arrested a San Francisco woman today on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest.



Around 1:35 a.m. behind a business on Miller Avenue, a police officer saw a Dodge Charger that matched the description of a reported stolen car.



The vehicle started moving and additional Mill Valley police officers and Marin County sheriff's deputies arrived and stopped the Dodge at Miller Avenue and Valley Circle, police said.



The driver, identified as Katherine Gallagher, 37, of San Francisco, drove directly at the officers who withdrew behind their patrol cars to avoid being struck, according to police. Officers smashed the Dodge's driver's side window to stop Gallagher and prevent injuries to her and the officers, police said.



Gallagher was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools, possession of ammunition and driving on a suspended license.





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 man was attacked by several suspects who stole his boots and fled in San Francisco's Outer Sunset neighborhood on Tuesday evening, police said.



The robbery was reported at 7:42 p.m. in the 4100 block of Judah Street.



The 50-year-old victim was attacked by six to 12 male suspects. He was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening, police said.



The suspects remain at large and police did not immediately release detailed descriptions of them or a motive for the attack.



Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the San Francisco police anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444.





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.
Undergraduate students affected by the recent wildfires in California may qualify for an application extension and fee waiver at University of California campuses, UC officials announced today.



UC President Janet Napolitano says this is one small way the university can offer support following deadly and destructive wildfires in Northern and Southern California.



"We know this is a tremendously difficult time for prospective students and their families who have been impacted by the devastating wildfires," Napolitano said in a statement.



For those who qualify, the original deadline of Nov. 30 will now be extended to Dec. 15.



To apply applicants must create a UC account for admission to the fall 2019 class and email ucinfo@applyucsupport.net with the subject line "Extension Request-Weather/Fire Event".



The application fee waiver will apply to up to four UC campuses. The university will also make allowances for students with longer-term impacts due to the wildfires.



California State University officials announced Tuesday a similar application extension for those applying to CSU schools.





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.
SANTA CRUZ (BCN)



State Highway 1 in Santa Cruz reopened this afternoon after a big-rig crashed into 20 other vehicles this morning, the California Highway Patrol said.



A San Jose man was driving a 1990 Peterbilt truck and bottom dump trailer combination south on state Highway 17 when he merged onto northbound Highway 1 just south of River Street at about 9:50 a.m., according to the CHP.



He did not stop and crashed into 20 vehicles while merging, the CHP said. Eleven people were injured. One person was flown to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and the San Jose man was taken to Watsonville Community Hospital with minor injuries.



The CHP issued a Sig-alert and the highway reopened at 3:30 p.m. A CHP officer inspected the truck's load weight and its brakes, but officials have not yet released the cause of the crash.





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.
Roberson, who was black, was working security at the bar. The preliminary report says that Roberson was wearing plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a Security Guard, and was armed with a gun in the west parking lot of the bar when the Midlothian officer, who is white and was responding to a shots fired call at the bar, came upon him.
St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church: 2640 Park Drive  An evening service to officially welcome St. Johns new rector, the Rev. Jeremy Froyen, will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 5. The Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, will be the celebrant. A reception will follow the service. A Holiday Cookie Walk will be from 9 to 11:30 Dec. 8. A wide variety of holiday and other homemade cookies will be offered.
This will be the second go-round for a second Hog Wild location. The eatery is based in Midlothian and opened a location in Tinley Park several years ago that subsequently closed.
Flossmoor initially banned all pickup trucks from the village in 1975. In April 1989, officials approved a change that allowed residents to have pickup trucks in the village, but they couldnt be parked on residential driveways except for loading and unloading materials, and needed to be kept in garages when not in use.
Thomas said an investigation determined that Gosa set out to kill Carney simply because Carney was dating his ex. He said there were indications that Gosa had made comments about Carney on social media, but that he did not believe the two men had previously had any verbal or face-to-face encounters.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China want significant progress in the South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC) in a year's time.

"ASEAN and China have seen steady progress in the initial phase of the COC negotiations since the announcement of a Single Draft COC Negotiating Text, and looked forward to the completion of the first reading of the Single Draft COC Negotiating Text by 2019,"according to the ASEAN-China common statement read by President Rodrigo Duterte in Singapore Wednesday.

This draft will serve as basis for future negotiations as ASEAN states push for a legally-binding COC that will determine what countries can and cannot do in the disputed waters. An initial draft negotiating text was earlier agreed upon by foreign ministers of ASEAN states and China last August.

The ASEAN and China during their 21st summit also vowed to maintain a "conducive environment" for the negotiations.

"As co-chair of the COC negotiations, the Philippines will continue to work closely together with the ASEAN Member States and China for the early conclusion of an effective and substantive COC," Duterte said.

The state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Premier Li Keqiang eyes finishing talks on the code within three years.

"The single draft negotiating text is not merely a technical term, but an indication that China and ASEAN have reached consensus on ensuring peace and stability, freedom of overflight and navigation in the South China Sea," Li was quoted saying in the report.

Prior to the ASEAN-China summit, Duterte said in a chance interview with reporters that he would tell China that the COC must be signed "at all cost."

READ: Duterte to China: Tell us the 'kind of behavior' to take in South China Sea

In the absence of the sea code for now, "ASEAN and China continue to reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight," the joint statement read.

"We also reaffirm the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation, and pursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including the 1982 [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)]," the statement further read.

In a landmark ruling on July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights in areas of the South China Sea that lie within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone, based on the UNCLOS, an international treaty to which the Philippines and China are signatories. China has refused to acknowledge the arbitral ruling and continues to claim the South China Sea in its entirety.

The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, along with Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Although the U.S. is not a claimant country, it conducts freedom-of-navigation operations in the Asian waters and calls out China's alleged militarization of the area.
As a family, we are empty. This has been such a long road for us, and for all of you that have followed it with us. So many of you searched tirelessly, shared this page, hung flyers, prayed with us Dan would come home. We cant say thank you enough. All we can say is that we are all blessed to have people like all of you in our lives, it read.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Hamas and other militant groups said Tuesday they had accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies to the brink of a new war.

The sudden announcement brought relief to a region that had been paralyzed by hundreds of Palestinian rocket attacks in southern Israel and scores of Israeli air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip. But it did not address the deeper issues that pushed Israel and Gazas Hamas rulers toward their latest violence and left doubts about international efforts to forge a broader truce agreement.

Those efforts had appeared to be making progress in recent days as Israel allowed Qatar to deliver financial aid to the cash-strapped Hamas government, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he wanted to avert an unnecessary war in Gaza. Hamas, in turn, had scaled back its mass protests that have led to weekly bloodshed along the Israeli border.

But hours after Netanyahu spoke Sunday, an Israeli commando unit on an undercover mission was caught behind enemy lines in Gaza by Hamas militants. Their discovery set off a battle that led to the deaths of seven militants and an Israeli officer, and triggered the heaviest barrage of rocket fire since a 2014 war.

The Israeli military said that Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while it carried out air strikes on 160 targets in Gaza. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed, and 26 people were wounded. In Israel, a 48-year-old Palestinian laborer was killed in a rocket strike on an apartment building where he was staying. Nearly 30 people were wounded, three critically.

With air raid sirens wailing throughout southern Israel and the explosions of air strikes thundering in Gaza, the sides had appeared to be headed to what would have been their fourth war in a decade.

But late Tuesday, Hamas and other military groups issued a joint statement saying they had accepted an Egyptian cease-fire.

Terms of the deal appeared to be modest. Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad militant group, said each side would promise quiet in exchange for quiet.

In Israel, officials had no comment on the cease-fire claim even as dozens of protesters in the rocket-battered town of Sderot chanted Disgrace! at what they saw as the governments capitulation to militant violence. But after nightfall, both the rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes had stopped.

By Fares Akram and Josef Federman are Associated Press writers.
JERUSALEM  Israels defense minister on Wednesday abruptly resigned to protest a new cease-fire with Hamas militants in Gaza, throwing the government into turmoil and pushing the country toward an early election.

Avigdor Liebermans decision was ostensibly a show of anger over Tuesdays informal truce with Israels Hamas enemies. But, in many ways, it was the opening round of a new political campaign.

His defection leaves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the narrowest of parliamentary majorities  only 61 of 120 seats in his coalition.

In theory, Netanyahu can continue to govern until parliamentary elections scheduled for a year from now. But with another coalition rival, Naftali Bennett, threatening to leave the coalition if he doesnt get the defense portfolio, the days of Netanyahus government appear numbered.

After two days of heavy fighting, Netanyahus decision to accept the Egyptian-brokered truce was more than a case of cooler heads prevailing.

The longtime Israeli leader knows well that the military option has its limits. Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza and fought three wars against Hamas since the Islamic militant group seized power in 2007. This has inflicted heavy damage on Gaza, but Hamas remains firmly in power.

Ousting the group would require a military operation that could take months and cost the lives of thousands of Palestinian civilians and many Israeli soldiers. Reluctant to pay such a price, Netanyahu instead seems content to keep a weakened Hamas in check.

Netanyahu may also have a deeper agenda. Leaving the Palestinians torn between two governments  Hamas in Gaza and the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank  works in his favor.

Lieberman is a former aide to Netanyahu who has been both an ally and rival over the years. He currently heads Yisrael Beitenu, a small ultra-nationalist party that appeals to immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

A brawny former nightclub bouncer known for his sharp tongue and Russian-accented Hebrew, Soviet-born Lieberman has sought to project an image as a gruff, tough-talking politician. At times, he has been critical of Israels Arab minority, liberal opposition groups and even Israels Arab ally Egypt. Sitting in the opposition, he once threatened to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh if he held the defense portfolio.

But as defense minister, Liebermans accomplishments remain limited, and Haniyeh is alive and well in Gaza.

Calling the cease-fire surrender to terrorism, Lieberman also made clear that his frustrations run much deeper. He said he also opposed a recent decision to allow Qatar to deliver $15 million in aid to Gaza and the cancellation, under heavy international pressure, of the planned demolition of a Bedouin village in the West Bank.

If Netanyahu calls early elections, opinion polls forecast a broad victory by his Likud Party and his hard-line partners, including Lieberman.

With his resignation, Lieberman appears to be positioning himself for elections by painting Netanyahu as soft and portraying himself as a defense hawk.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, will probably market himself as the responsible adult in a room of inexperienced children.

Josef Federman is an Associated Press writer.
ISTANBUL  President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has made his strongest personal challenge yet to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia over the killing of the dissident Jamal Khashoggi, saying he was still waiting for answers and expressing frustration with the Saudi response in comments published Tuesday in pro-government newspapers.

Speaking to Turkish reporters while traveling back from Paris, where he met with leaders from France, Germany and the United States, Erdogan said the crown price was failing to follow through on his promise to expose the truth about the disappearance and death of Khashoggi.

The crown prince says, I am going to clarify the incident and do what is necessary, Erdogan said in the published remarks. The crown prince tells this to my special representatives, and we are waiting patiently.

Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2; Turkish officials have said that he was murdered by a Saudi hit squad and his body destroyed. After several early denials, the Saudi authorities eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate but have not revealed what was done with his body.

It is obvious that this murder was previously planned and that the order had come from high-level authorities in Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said, according to Posta, one of the most popular daily newspapers in Turkey. We want the person who gave the order to be revealed.

From the start, it has been widely believed that an operation against a high-profile dissident such as Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, could have been conducted only with the knowledge and approval of the crown prince, Saudi Arabias de facto leader.

Erdogan has vowed to expose the people who ordered the killing of Khashoggi  a personal friend of Erdogan and many of his advisers  as well as those who carried it out.

After Khashoggi was assassinated, a member of the 15-person team sent to Turkey to kill him told a superior by telephone to tell your boss, believed to be Mohammed, that the mission had been carried out, according to people familiar with a recording of the killing.

Carlotta Gall is a New York Times writer.
Rebecca Conway / New York Times

BANGKOK  The United Nations doesnt want it to happen. Dozens of rights groups say they are shocked. Even the people who will be affected the most, Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, are upset that their future, once again, is being decided without their input.

On Thursday, a few of the more than 720,000 Rohingya who fled slaughter, rape and village burnings in their homeland last year are due to be repatriated to Myanmar from Bangladesh. It is a process that has been repeatedly delayed, and one that few, apart from the Myanmar and Bangladesh governments, seem to think is a good idea.
MATIAS ROMERO, Mexico  Dozens of transgender women and gay men in the caravan moving through Mexico with hopes of seeking asylum in the United States have banded together for protection  not from the uncertainty of a journey fraught with danger from the gangs who prey on migrants but from their fellow travelers.

Fleeing violence and discrimination back home because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, these LGBTQ migrants have found the journey north to be just as threatening amid catcalls and even physical abuse.

Sweet little thing! Baby, where you going? How much do you charge? These all-too-familiar jeers are spewed at them as they make their way with the caravan of several thousand.

Loly Mendez, a 28-year-old who began transitioning to a woman in her native El Salvador, knows all too well the dangers her fellow transgender migrants faced back home: Her best friend, also a transgender woman, was murdered for doing the same.

Then Loly herself began getting threats  that if my breasts were going to grow, they would cut them off, she said. Threats were always anonymously delivered, which only made her more fearful and finally drove her to flee.

In my country there is violence, a lack of work and opportunities, said Loly, who like many of the transgender women in the group preferred using only her first name. In the caravan there is also violence  against the LGBTQ community.

Loly linked up with the caravan in Tapachula, in southern Mexico, and said she hopes to work in the United States and save up to start a beauty products company  perhaps in Los Angeles or New York. Its something she has planned for a long time, all the way down to the business logo, but shes never had the money.

I am going to a country where I know I will achieve my dreams, Loly said, hopefully.

Reports are common in much of Central America of LGBTQ people being murdered, assaulted and discriminated against, due to their gender identity or sexual orientation.

But getting U.S. asylum is difficult even with proof someone has been the victim of persecution for being transgender, said Lynly Egyes, director of litigation at the Transgender Law Center in Oakland.

It often takes days or weeks for transgender immigrants to get a hearing before an asylum officer. If they are allowed to move forward in the process, many are traumatized and struggle to tell their story, Egyes said. They are also much less likely to be granted asylum without a lawyer.

It is a horrifying process, and not everybody makes it through, she said.

Sonia Perez D. is an Associated Press writer.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka  A majority of Sri Lankan lawmakers voted Wednesday to remove Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister, saying that his appointment last month was illegal.

Rajapaksa is considered the strongman of Sri Lankan politics, a wealthy, powerful former president who has been accused of grave human rights abuses. The country has been tied in knots since late last month when President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly fired the previous prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and appointed Rajapaksa to the post.

It was a rambunctious, unruly few hours in Parliament Wednesday morning.

Lawmakers allied with Wickremesinghe walked into the chamber wearing black sashes that read For democracy. The gallery was packed with journalists, diplomats and everyday citizens. Lawmakers allied with Rajapaksa did whatever they could to block a vote of no confidence. Some yelled, while others tried to grab the ceremonial mace, the parliamentary symbol of power. Some even called the speaker of Parliament a mad fool.

But a majority of lawmakers were determined to hold the vote. Rajapaksa then walked out. When the ayes were counted, 122 out of 225 said they wanted Rajapaksa gone.

It is unclear what will happen next. Sri Lanka has a slightly unusual leadership structure in which executive powers are vested in both the president and the prime minister. Sirisena, the president, seems to have backed himself into a corner and miscalculated the intensity of the resistance to his appointment of Rajapaksa.

The prime minister he fired, Wickremesinghe, was definitely less popular than Rajapaksa before this crisis started. Many Sri Lankans saw Wickremesinghe as aloof and ineffective, numb to the economic troubles that have begun to pile up around them as this island nation slides deeper into debt, much of it to China.

Rajapaksa had seemed well-entrenched as president until Sirisena defied the odds and beat him in the 2015 election.

Now Sri Lanka is waiting to see what the president does next.

Dharisha Bastians and Jeffrey Gettleman are New York Times writers.
The controversial Republican Arthur Jones received 57,298 votes in the 3rd District congressional race. (artjonesforcongressman.com / TNS)
WASHINGTON  President Trump issued a blistering personal attack on Tuesday against President Emmanuel Macron of France, his host last weekend, and sought to douse a furor over his decision not to visit a cemetery of U.S. soldiers while in France because of rain.

Two days after returning from Paris, Trump responded via Twitter to Macrons denunciation of nationalism by accusing the French president of what he himself is often accused of  trying to change the subject.

The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%, wrote Trump, whose own approval rating in France is 9 percent. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!

In a variation of his own campaign slogan, Trump added: MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!

Trump, who traveled to France for ceremonies hosted by Macron marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, also defended himself against critics who assailed his decision to cancel a trip on Saturday to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought. Aides at the time cited the rainy weather, suggesting it was too problematic to fly in his Marine One helicopter.

Critics have been scathing, noting that the soldiers who fought at Belleau Wood faced far worse than rain and questioning why the president did not go by road instead. Other leaders in Paris for the anniversary still managed to visit cemeteries despite the weather. The grandson of Winston Churchill called Trump pathetic and the drumbeat of mockery has only continued in the days since the event.

Trump the next day did follow through with another scheduled visit to the Suresnes American Cemetery just outside Paris, where he spoke in the rain and complained lightheartedly about being drenched.

By the way, when the helicopter couldnt fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving, he wrote on Tuesday. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetary in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News! He later corrected his spelling of cemetery.

The attack on Macron underscored the tension that has grown in their relationship. While Macron at first tried to forge a friendship with Trump, the two have since fallen out over a variety of issues, including security, trade and Iran. Their meeting in Paris on Saturday was frosty and Macrons speech at the anniversary ceremony on Sunday was widely perceived as an implicit rebuke of Trumps America First approach to international affairs, although he never mentioned the U.S. president by name.

Peter Baker is a New York Times writer.
LONDON  After months of stalled talks, false starts and setbacks, negotiators from Britain and the European Union struck a proposed divorce deal Tuesday to provide for the United Kingdoms smooth exit from the bloc.

But the agreement faces major political hurdles starting Wednesday, when British Prime Minister Theresa May will try to win the approval of her divided Cabinet for a deal many ministers view with skepticism.

The British government confirmed that the negotiating teams had reached a draft agreement and the Cabinet would hold a special meeting Wednesday afternoon to consider the proposal. Its support isnt guaranteed: May is under pressure from pro-Brexit ministers not to make further concessions to the EU on the key issue of the Irish border.

A spokesman for chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier urged caution, saying a deal wasnt yet finalized and the bloc would take stock Wednesday.

Ambassadors from the 27 other EU countries are also due to hold a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.

Britain wants to seal a deal this fall, so that Parliament has time to vote on it before the United Kingdom leaves the bloc on March 29. The European Parliament also has to approve any agreement, as do all 28 EU nations.

Officials have said for weeks that agreement on divorce terms and a framework for future United Kingdom-EU relations was 95 percent complete, and for several days negotiators have been meeting late into the night in Brussels in a bid to close the remaining gaps.

The main obstacle has long been how to ensure there are no customs posts or other checks along the border between the United Kingdoms Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland after Brexit. Britain and the EU agree that there must be barriers that could disrupt businesses and residents on either side of the border and undermine Northern Irelands hard-won peace process  but they have differed on how to achieve that.

Irish national broadcaster RTE said the draft agreement involves a common customs arrangement for the United Kingdom and the EU, to eliminate the need for border checks, with special provisions for Northern Ireland and a review mechanism to oversee its functioning.

A sticking point in talks has been Britains insistence that any such customs arrangement must be temporary. The EU says that in order to guarantee an open border, it cant have a time limit.

But May faces pressure from pro-Brexit Cabinet members and lawmakers not to agree to an arrangement that binds Britain to EU trade rules indefinitely.

Jill Lawless is an Associated Press writer.
Occurred on November 9, 2018 / Lauderhill, Florida, USA



Info from Licensor: "On November 8th, a video went viral of an Enterprise truck being loaded with ballots from unmarked vehicles at 11:45 at night. When asked what they were doing and why are they loading ballot boxes from unmarked cars with one person in each vehicle and no police escort, they would not answer any of these questions. On Friday, November 9th, we saw 3 trucks being pulled in front of the SOE office in Lauderhill. One was an enterprise truck that seemed very suspicious to all of us. That evening, the enterprise truck was being backed into the SOE office in the dead of night in which congressman Matt Gaetz questioned what's in the truck! Police escorted him away from the vehicle and said under no circumstances would they answer any of his questions! Yesterday, we did some investigative work and crossed the barriers the police had set up! We found 15 tabs from ballot boxes on the ground! Per law, ballot boxes can only be opened inside the SOE office. We turned these numbered tabs into the proper people who have them now. I do not know who has them but its not Sheriff or FDLE as Broward is so corrupt we had to be very careful whose hands they ended up in. It's so hush-hush that we don't even know! Today at 11:45 on Fox Business news, we've been told to tune in for a big surprise! Trucks rolling in and out for days after the election with zero accountability!"
Page Content

Employers in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area better tighten up their compensation game: Amazon said it will start looking next year in those communities for talent to staff its new headquarters offices. The company says that annual salaries at the new offices will average $150,000.



On Nov. 13, Seattle-based Amazon officially announced it would split its much anticipated second headquarters between the Long Island City area of Queens and the county of Arlington, Va. The retailing behemoth says it will invest $5 billion and hire more than 50,000 employees between the two locales. Queens is one of the city's five boroughs located across the East River from Manhattan, while Arlington is right outside Washington, D.C. The company also announced it would open a unit in Nashville that would create more than 5,000 jobs.

"We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and chief executive officer, in a statement. "These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come."



The announcement carried comments from delighted government officials in each state and community about the benefits the company will bring.

"With Amazon committing to expand its headquarters in Long Island City, New York can proudly say that we have attracted one of the largest, most competitive economic development investments in U.S. history," said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York in a statement. "With an average salary of $150,000 per year for the tens of thousands of new jobs Amazon is creating in Queens, economic opportunity and investment will flourish for the entire region."



It's unlikely that such glee extended to employers in those areas. Amazon pays its employees an average of 20 percent above the national median pay, according to PayScale, a Seattle-based provider of compensation software and data.



"If you are an existing company, you are facing stiff competition. I understand that anxiety," said Stephanie Douglass, vice president of people at Vungle, a San Francisco tech firm that is consistently tussling with industry giants like Facebook, Google and, sometimes, Amazon for talent.

"It isn't just the benefits," she explained. "The name is a big draw, too."

Amazon had been looking for a second headquarters for more than a year, and its search sparked a frenzied competition between multiple cities to win the contest. Ultimately, it decided to split the headquarters to lessen the impact on local services and expand the potential talent pool.

Katie Bardaro, vice president of data analytics and chief economist at PayScale, said it wasn't especially surprising that Amazon was considering two second headquarters.

"They are looking for niche, in-demand skills that are in short supply," Bardaro said. "When you want those skills quickly, it is a tough thing to bite off."

Tech talent in New York City and Northern Virginia is already paid better than the national average. According to PayScale, a senior software engineer in New York City earns $129,000 annually while the salary for one in Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia is $121,000.

Northern Virginia was always considered a frontrunner thanks to Jeff Bezos' connection to the area. Bezos, Amazon's founder, chairman and chief executive, bought The Washington Post in 2013. And in 2016, Bezos, the world's richest man, paid $23 million for a mansion in D.C.'s exclusive Kalorama neighborhood.

New York City had already established itself as a tech center. Google, Facebook and LinkedIn already have major outposts in the city.



Even though Amazon said it will start hiring next year, employers shouldn't do anything rash, said Alan Johnson, managing director of New York City-based compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates.



Working in local firms' favor is Amazon's reputation as a grueling place to have a job. The high-pressure atmosphere that has been described in the press may overshadow offers of rich compensation.

Still, don't bash Amazon. "It just makes you look desperate," Johnson said.

Instead, companies should reiterate their mission, vision and values. "Double down on what makes you a good place to work," he said.



Johnson recommended that executives consider which employees they most want to retain and make sure they are satisfied. He said that many companies don't have significant differentials between compensation awarded to their stars and average employees.

"It is hard to pay some people more and some people less. It is human nature to want to even everything out," Johnson said. "How many people get zero raise? Not enough. How many get to 10 to 15 percent? Not enough."

Don't just throw money at people, though, experts warn. "Talk to them about what is important to them," said Michael McGowan, managing director and practice leader, leadership and talent for BPI Group US, a management and human resources consulting group based in Chicago. "Ask what you can do differently. Get their feedback."

If local employers can't match Amazon's salary, perhaps they can offer other benefits like increased vacation or a flexible work schedule, Douglass said. She added that employers may want to point out other advantages like the ability to work on different teams or work abroad. Let employees know what types of career paths are available.

Douglass said that some employees may leave to join Amazon, but not everyone likes working at a big company. Vungle has about 230 employees, and that smaller scale can be a draw, she said: "Here, people can hang out with the CEO."


To Denny, Orland Park: If an independent follows the issues as I do, he doesn't have to blindly follow a party line as you stated you do. If unfamiliar with the issue, I'll vote the party I'm most in agreement with on the subject or cast no vote at all. It gives an edge to free thinking and not blind hope.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Third times the charm for Vincent Tartamella, the namesake owner of Vincents Pizzeria, Delicatessen & Catering in West Brighton.

Originally opened in 1997, Vincents has made a triumphant return after seemingly closing down for good -- not once, but twice -- and his customers could not be more thrilled.

The attachment to the building as well as the neighborhood was calling me back. Theres something about this place, its just mine, Tartamella said.

EARLY DAYS

Tartamella was working in a local pizzeria when he heard about a couple of bagel shops that were up for sale and decided to take a look. When he first walked into what is now Vincents he instantly had a good feeling about it.

There was something about it and something about the neighborhood that I liked, Tartamella said.

Just like that, Vincents, now considered a neighborhood landmark, was born.

Vincents started off with sandwiches and a few Italian specialties, but grew into a more expansive eatery over the years.

The day at Vincents now starts at 7 a.m. with a breakfast menu steeped in eggs and bagels; burgers, pasta, pizza and a slew of salads and sandwiches take customers into lunch and dinner. Grocery delivery and catering are also offered.

TAKING TIME OFF

Tartamellas mother spent hours next to him behind the counter at Vincents until she fell ill about 10 years ago. She was suffering from kidney failure and doctors believed she could only survive with her condition for three years.

This led to his decision to sell Vincents in August 2007, after a decade in business, in order to pay for a kidney transplant. Sadly, his mother died just three short months later.

With the new owner struggling to keep the business afloat, Tartamella was set up for his first comeback. He bought the store back in December 2007.

Flash forward another decade to August 2017, and Tartamella found himself stepping away from Vincents a second time, prioritizing his family once more as both his brother and father faced health challenges.

But he found his way back once more. A year later, in September 2018, Tartamella returned to the business after another owner could not make the business work.

TARTAMELLAS RETURN

Tartamella is now back and wants to make Vincents better than ever. When asked what keeps pulling him back he said, I think it was just for the love. Its the love.

After 20 years of giving to the neighborhood, Tartamella was overwhelmed at the amount of love he received from them in return. Coming back this time I felt the return of all that love, all that affection, everything I put in come back to me, he said.

Phil Maggiore, a loyal customer, has been eating at Vincents for years. He said after all this time he comes back for all the good food, the nice atmosphere, and the good people we got here.

Maggiore sees Vincents as a family place. In fact, he refers to Tartamella as his cousin Vinny.

FUTURE PLANS

Aside from some recent updates to Vincents appearance, Tartamella plans to keep it true to its roots. He hopes to soon grow the staff and bring it back to the way it was.

I want to continue on, to be able to stay here for at least another 10, maybe 20 years, he said.

I just want to put emphasis on how grateful and thankful I am for all the people on the North Shore for welcoming me back and for returning back Vincents, to allow me this opportunity to do it one more time.
A number of ed-tech companies are emerging to help bring lessons to life, using virtual reality to inspire kids beyond the walls of their classroom. Some say virtual reality is poised to replace the traditional classroom experience, claiming it leads to better engagement. Others argue that VR will supplement classroom learning, but can never truly replace it. VR technology is a great tool, but can't accomplish what a human teacher can. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

There's a reason kids look forward to field trips; getting outside of the school and encountering the same material you're studying provides a much different learning experience than a traditional classroom. Virtual reality takes the concept of field trips and brings it to the classroom itself.

CNN's Emma Kennedy reports:

Kennedy also looks to Jeremy Bailenson, a professor of communications at Stanford University and founding director of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, for further insight. Bailenson has been studying VR for nearly 20 years:



According to Bailenson's research, using VR can also have a psychological impact on children:

Clearly, a lot of research still needs to be done before VR should be allowed in classrooms at all, let alone be seen as viable replacement.

Is virtual reality dangerous for children?

Technology is already maturing from distraction to valuable tool in classrooms across the country. Technology during field trips used to be limited, and now elementary schools host "Technology Days," where kids are encouraged to bring different gadgets into class.

VR could easily be among the Smart Boards and iPads that have become commonplace in some schools. The Ed Tech Times' Coraline Hentsch points out a number of benefits of VR:

Using #VirtualReality to explore the Rotunda at the @USNatArchives and learn about the American Constitution! pic.twitter.com/PuNiemC4R2  mrnerdstrom (@mrnerdstrom) November 8, 2018

Even so, the idea of VR completely replacing traditional classroom education is both unrealistic and counterproductive. Students take cues from teachers and classmates. If young kids have VR goggles on at all times, the consequences could be disastrous. As Study points out:

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The lawyers in the fight over a late Staten Island millionaires fortune are debating how many documents contain the Holocaust survivors signature.

In October, Surrogate Robert J. Gigante ordered the public administrators office to hand over all the files with Roman Blums signature. But the office contends they only have six checks with the decedents signature, said attorney John A. Passarello, who represents the public administrators office, during a proceeding Wednesday in Surrogates Court.

John Peter Sipp, the lawyer for Polish woman Teresa Musial, believes otherwise.

Thats totally inadequate, Sipp said. I know theres more than six documents with the signature of Roman Blum. Ive seen them. Im entitled to go through the file."

Passarello claims the documents fall under attorney-client privilege, but Sipp argued the records belong to Blum, not the public administrators office.

Hes not entitled to go through the file, Passarello said.

Gigante reserved decision to a later date.

Blum, a Holocaust survivor from Poland who lived in Annadale and amassed his $40 million fortune as a real estate developer, died in 2012 at the age of 97.

His wife died before him and they were childless.

Blum appeared to have no written will.

In 2014, Sipp submitted a will on behalf of Helena Pietrucha, who, attorneys contend, was Blums lover during World War II.

Pietrucha died in 1999.

Musial was Pietruchas caregiver and confidante for over 20 years, and the sole beneficiary of Pietruchas estate, lawyers claim.

Blum and Pietrucha were engaged and were separated in Poland during the Holocaust, Sipp said.

The Russians arrested Pietrucha's family in the middle of a cold night and exiled them to Siberia, while Blum was captured by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp, according to the lawyer.

Pietrucha was pregnant in 1939 with Blums child and lost the baby on the way to Siberia, Sipp said.

The first will filed by Anthony J. Allegrino, the former upstate man who had filed a petition claiming Blum's fortune, was denied probate for improper execution, according to court records.

Last year, lawyers alleged Blums signature on the will filed by Allegrino was a forgery. A forensic expert had determined the signature was fake in September 2014.

The public administrator is currently in charge of the estate.

The case is back on Dec. 12.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Authorities fined a New Jersey man $3,000 and stripped him of business licenses after he pleaded guilty to charges related to falsified asbestos investigations.

Francis Owoh, 61, paid the fine, and forfeited his New York City and New York State asbestos investigators licenses after he pleaded guilty in September to falsifying business records, and disorderly conduct, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Michael E. McMahon.

He received a conditional discharge on Nov. 9 after he met the terms of the agreement, according to the spokesman.

Authorities said Owoh filed a report that he performed an asbestos inspection at a home on Prall Avenue in Huguenot on Dec. 28, 2016. However, investigators discovered Owoh was in Nigeria from Dec. 2, 2016 to Jan. 14, 2017.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are asking for the publics help identifying a man sought for questioning in connection to a Stapleton robbery that occurred in October.

An unidentified man pushed the 46-year-old male victim up against a wall on Canal Street, and told him he was being searched at around 3 a.m. on Oct. 15, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

He removed the victims wallet, which had $500 in it, and fled the scene in an unknown direction, according to the statement.

The suspect did not identify himself as a police officer, and no injuries were reported in the incident, according to police.

Cops described the man sought for questioning as a black male who wore a black jacket and gray pants at the time of the incident. A photo taken from surveillance footage in the area was supplied by police.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crimestoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES), then entering TIP577.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- John Romaine wasnt at his New Springville home last year when cops responded in force to a possible barricade situation a day after he had allegedly attacked his girlfriend.

But the 46-year-old defendant, who was subsequently arrested with a gun in his possession inside an Arden Heights residence, was in Justice Stephen J. Rooneys courtroom on Wednesday.

And hell soon be housed inside an upstate prison cell after the judge sentenced him to three years behind bars on a weapon plea.

The bizarre sequence of events leading to Romaines arrest unfolded around 7 p.m. on May 11, 2017, outside the defendants Naso Court home.

Police said Romaine pulled his girlfriend out of a vehicle and threw her to the ground, fracturing his left wrist.

The woman told cops the defendant was waving a gun in his hand, said the complaint.

The next afternoon, heavily-armed Emergency Service Unit police officers responded to Romaine's home for a possible barricade situation.

Carrying guns and wearing bullet-proof vests, they surrounded the house near Rockland Avenue for several hours. But on entering the apartment, they found it empty.

Romaine didnt elude cops, however.

He was nabbed shortly thereafter in a home on the 1500 block of Arthur Kill Road, the complaint said. A loaded, illegal gun was in his possession.

The defendant was charged with multiple counts of criminal weapon possession, along with assault, menacing and aggravated harassment.

In May, Romaine pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to a reduced count of attempted second-degree criminal weapon possession.

Besides prison time, he was sentenced to 18 months post-release supervision.

The shaven-headed defendant declined to make a statement before sentence was imposed.

His lawyer, Joseph Mure Jr., asked that Romaine, while incarcerated, be placed in any programs which the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision deems appropriate.

Assistant District Attorney Darren Albanese prosecuted the case.
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!
Retirement village operator Aveo - which has in recent years been accused of ripping off residents and had to sack an executive for repeatedly defecating in a neighbour's driveway - has seen its shares fall as much as 10 per cent after it walked away from its 2019 guidance.

Aveo stunned investors at its annual general meeting on Wednesday by withdrawing its 20.4 cents earnings per share guidance for 2019.

Serial defecater Aveo executive Andrew Macintosh.

All resolutions at the AGM were passed, though the group copped a 16.24 per cent protest vote against its remuneration report.

Aveo's shares closed down 9.8 per cent at $1.70. Aveo owns
The nonprofits name refers to the mythological phoenix rising from the ashes, Lopez said, a metaphor for any life transition. Legacy is to remind people not to worry about how they will be remembered but to act on their aspirations.
Nine Entertainment chief executive Hugh Marks has branded criticism from former prime minister Paul Keating of the broadcaster's planned merger with Fairfax Media as misplaced.

Ahead of a shareholder vote on Monday, Mr Marks and Nine chairman Peter Costello told investors at the free-to-air broadcasters annual general meeting on Wednesday a combined Nine and Fairfax business would not threaten either companys culture.

Nine board members (from left): Catherine West, Peter Costello, Janette Kendall, Hugh Marks, Samantha Lewis and David Gyngell. Credit:James Brickwood

Mr Keating last week said the deal would consign Fairfaxs news titles to the ethical dustbin of Channel Nine. Fairfax Media is the publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Mr Marks told shareholders that Nine was able to be a broad church for audiences.
Australian Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, is poised to win a fight that will likely lead to the creation of another version of Bitcoin Cash, the original offshoot of the biggest cryptocurrency.

A group headed by Wright is expected to take control tomorrow of the world's fourth-largest cryptocurrency following a software upgrade. A rival faction that disagrees on how to best expand has been trying to persuade the community of computer operators running the network to adopt their version. About 70 per cent of the so-called miners that process the transactions that keep the network afloat are signalling they support the version backed by Wright's allies, according to crypto data tracker Coin Dance.

Australian Craig Wright claims to have invented bitcoin. Credit:AP

With both sides resorting to name calling and showing few signs of compromise, the division risks creating two weaker versions of Bitcoin Cash, which could threaten the long-term viability of both. The rival group is headed by Chinese mining giant Bitmain Technologies Ltd. and investor Roger Ver, known as "Bitcoin Jesus" for his promotional zeal of the original digital coin, who helped bring Bitcoin Cash to prominence.

"This seems to be a personality conflict as much as a technology issue,' said Lex Sokolin, global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research in London.
When asked how to turn an idea into a reliable and long-running money-making machine, Reids reply is a very direct: You start charging for it, obviously! The Canadian canned-air guy, after his toe-dipping on eBay, now charges $32 a can for his Banff Air. Or even a gasp-inducing $10,000 for a limited-edition can with three diamond studs.

But more seriously, Reid says, I think when we have ideas  depending on what those ideas are  there'll be the obvious ways of making money from them. And there will also be this other way. Sometimes it can be very subtle and other times it'll hit you over the head.

His own business illustrates how an unexpected new way of making money can come from an original idea. Although his marketing podcast The Small Business Big Marketing Show is Australias number one marketing podcast, the greatest money-earner for me has been keynote speaking and MCing  which I never, ever imagined was going to be the case.

Even though every business would be nothing without its initial idea, the better an idea, the more it can take over your life and make everything a bit crazy. Mentors can help with this too.

Reid says, If there's someone in your life that has great work-life balance, then call on them for that aspect of your growth. Is there another person who is just a numbers genius who can help you with that side? Look out for those people and reach out to them.

And where do you find a good mentor?

It's OK to tap people on the shoulder and ask, says Reid. A mentor could be catching up for a quick coffee, or an ongoing relationship, or a weekly phone meeting. They're really important because being a business owner, being an entrepreneur, can be very lonely. You can get caught up in your own thinking and ways, so having perspectives of others is really important.

Tim Reids final words of advice to entrepreneurs are to know when to ease off, when to take the foot off the pedal. Because, after all the hard work, youve deserved it.

He says that when he started out, I wish I'd known  and I wish I'd had someone in my life to just say  Back off and slow down a little bit, look out and smell the roses. As small-business owners we're very poor at celebrating the wins  the big wins and the small wins. We should acknowledge that, Hey, we're doing a pretty good job here."
A year 7 student at a top Sydney public school is fighting to regain his eyesight, three weeks after hot solder got into his eye in a metalwork class.

Kai Clement, 12, told his mother Sonja that the rules around safety masks and goggles "weren't necessarily implemented" in every metalwork class at North Sydney Boys High School.

Kai Clement in hospital on the day of the incident.

"I found out the next morning that Kai had woken up blind; he couldn't see anything out of the eye," Ms Clement said.

"I was hoping it would go away, I'm in disbelief that something like this could happen in Australia, we moved here from Korea to provide him with a better education and we've come to the Third World. How could my son go blind in school?
Two inmates are being crammed into single-person cells at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, as it struggles to cope with a spike in detainee numbers.

ACT correctional services inspector Neil McAllister told an annual reports hearing on Wednesday that bunk beds were being used to accommodate two detainees per single cell at the Canberra prison.

The Alexander Maconochie Centre. Credit:Jay Cronan

"The current accommodation is clearly not the best environment," Mr McAllister told the hearing. "We've basically got two people living in a nine square metre cell that was designed for one person, it is as simple as that.

"Clearly, there are people living in cramped accommodation. I was in the unit the other day that had 14 single cells and there were 28 men in the unit."
The researchers planning to screen thousands of couples for 500 severe genetic conditions they risk passing onto their children have officially launched the landmark trial that could transform how Australians plan to start their families.

The first detailed blueprint for the Mackenzies Mission carrier screening trial was released on Thursday, revealing how the three-year trial will work and what the options will be for couples who discover their future babies run a one-in-four chance of inheriting a serious or deadly genetic condition.

Jonathan and Rachael Casella hold their baby daughter Mackenzie who was diagnosed with SMA and died one year ago.

From a simple mouth swab or blood test 10,000 couples who are thinking about having a baby or in the early stages of pregnancy will be screened for roughly 500 severe or deadly recessive X-chromosome-linked gene mutations.

GPs, obstetricians, midwives, geneticists and genetic counsellors will begin recruiting couples towards the end of 2019 from specific sites across every state and territory. Couples can only be enrolled through health professionals involved in the study.
The man died with an Opal card on his body.

That was it. No mobile. No ID. No documents.

The Dan's Corner bus stop in Campsie where the man's Opal card showed his last trips originated.

He was suspected of being an "unlawful non-citizen" and very likely in excruciating pain from the bone cancer that a post-mortem examination found had spread through his body.

Despite police inquiries, nothing else is known about the man other than clues provided from his last bus trips using his prepaid Opal card.
Theres a reason Brian Pymont had no luck locating a bloke called Jack Rice (C8). Hes a horse. Ron Elphick of Buff Point, explains: Long gone but not entirely forgotten. Jack Rice was a legend when I was a boy between the wars. He was, if I may be forgiven, a top dog in the horse racing world, who reached great heights as a steeple-chaser. Marie Duffy of Waverton adds: He was killed at Caulfield and souvenir hunters took hair from his mane and tail as mementoes. We also thank Brian Hofman of Enfield and William Galton of Hurstville Grove (who notes he was sometimes referred to as Jacky Rice) for their input.

After an earlier suggestion that Paul Gurr move to South Korea to find more tuneful reversing beepers (C8), Sarah Mitchell of Concord thinks: He should give Wales a try. The first reversing warning is in English, with a Welsh lilt. The second in native Welsh. It is ever so lovely.

Mike Phillips of Yaroomba (Qld) asks: Have I got this straight? In Australia, a party leader says he didn't do it but has to resign. In America, a party leader boasts that he does it all the time  and gets elected President. What does this tell us?

"Like most males, I have problems with the instructions," writes Peter Maker of Toowoomba (Qld). "I need help with these ones for a slicer: 'On the inside of the cutting-top part are strutting next to the arsonist'."

The tale of the multipurpose hardware store in Ireland (C8) got Peter Miniutti of Ashbury thinking: Hardware store/bars sound interesting. Imagine going out for some nails and coming home hammered. George Watson of Orange recalls: In 2012 we sailed down the Canal du Midi with friends. At the starting point, we went on an expedition to stock the boat. The village hardware store provided gloves to operate the locks, duck breasts to cook for the first evening meal and bottles of the local wine to wash it down.
A former union boss jailed over receiving a coal exploration licence from his friend, former NSW Labor minister Ian Macdonald, was an "entrepreneur" who found a "willing buyer" in the disgraced politician, a court has heard.

John Maitland, a former Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union secretary, was convicted of being an accessory to misconduct in public office over the lucrative deal, which eventually earned him $6 million from the sale of shares.

John Maitland is escorted to a prison truck after his sentencing hearing in May 2017. Credit:Daniel Munoz

Maitland is now appealing that conviction, which earned him up to six years in jail, while Macdonald is appealing his conviction and 10-year prison sentence over the direct allocation licence to Doyles Creek Mining, a company Maitland chaired, in December 2008.

His barrister, Edward Muston SC, told the Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday that Maitland and his "co-entrepreneurs" approached Macdonald, then the Minister for Mining and Forestry, with the concept of a training mine to set themselves apart from other potential applicants.
Along the line where the roof met the wall were massive hinges. Large hook-and-eye hardware were attached to the interior roof and the ceiling a latticework of two-foot square panels that once had a burlap-type fabric stretched between them. The floors were made of maple, fit together in a tongue-in-groove pattern, and its door slid open on a rod  both unusual and expensive additions to what amounted to a shed, Savel said.
He had just shot the Bourke Street terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali in the chest, bringing an end to Friday's deadly CBD rampage.

The rookie policeman's next instinct was to run to the aid of a security guard bleeding on the street after he had been stabbed in the neck by Shire Ali.

After using a towel to apply pressure to the victim's stab wound, the officer then jumped in an ambulance with the victim to escort him to hospital.

The courageous constable, who had been out of the police academy for only five months, immediately leapt in to help the security guard following Friday's terror attack, The Age can reveal.
Three Melbourne men have been found guilty of plotting a Christmas terror attack at major city landmarks in a jihad-inspired plan to inflict mass carnage.

It can now be revealed Ahmed Mohamed, 26, Abdullah Chaarani, 28, and Hamza Abbas, 23, were on November 2 found guilty of conspiring to plan or prepare for a terrorist act, after a Supreme Court jury deliberated for six days.

Ahmed Mohamed, Abdullah Chaarani and Hamza Abbas in court. Credit:Jeff Hayes

The guilty verdicts, which came at the end of a long trial, followed an earlier guilty plea by the fourth member and ringleader of the would-be terror group, Ibrahim Abbas, 24, Hamzas brother.

The verdicts were suppressed from when they were announced, following an application by lawyers for two of the men. Justice Christopher Beale later ruled the verdicts should be reported, however defence lawyers challenged the judge's decision at the Court of Appeal. The reasons behind the suppression cannot be reported.
A repeat offender has avoided a prison sentence on the condition that he leaves Mandurah and relocates to Broome after an aggravated burglary at BWS Halls Head in June.

Dillon Jessy Lee Grosser appeared in Mandurah Magistrates Court via video link from Hakea Prison on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary, as well as a number of other offences, and had been in custody since September 20.

Police prosecutor Mick Fallows told the court Grosser was with three other males at the unattended shop about 11pm on Wednesday, June 6 when he threw a block of concrete at the window and stole more than $200 worth of alcohol.

The offence was captured on CCTV footage.
A woman who was brutally bashed and raped as a teenager in Kalgoorlie 31 years ago has urged authorities to keep her attacker  also a convicted murderer  behind bars as his parole date looms.

Paul James Carr, a man with a long and violent criminal record, beat and raped the then 16-year-old woman in her Kalgoorlie home in March 1987.

A mugshot of Paul James Carr from 1986 on the left and, on the right, from 2008.

The woman ran from her house as Carr attacked her late at night but he chased her outside and dragged her back inside where she was beaten with an iron and sexually assaulted.

Police pulling up outside the home scared Carr off and the woman survived the terrible ordeal.
Disgraced former West Australian Labor MP Barry Urban has pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges against him, including five counts of giving false evidence before a parliamentary committee.

Mr Urban, 49, has also been charged with five counts of uttering a forged record, and one count each of attempted fraud and forging a record related to information allegedly provided in WA Police Force applications.

He appeared for the second time in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday, entered the pleas and had his bail extended, and is next due to appear in court on January 23.

Barry Urban is facing 12 charges relating to fraud. Credit:Richard Wainwright/AAP

Mr Urban was charged in September with five counts of uttering a forged record, attempted fraud and forging a record related to information he allegedly provided during applications involving the WA Police Force.
The ACT Opposition will have a second crack at introducing anti-consorting laws, as the Barr government dismisses calls for an independent review of its anti-bikies measures.

There are chapters of four motorcycle gangs in Canberra, which has led to conflict across the city. Credit:Rohan Thomson

During annual reports hearings on Wednesday, ACT Human Rights Commissioner Helen Watchirs said she would be "in favour" of a review that looked at the effectiveness of the ACT's measures, versus the effectiveness of anti-gang legislation in other jurisdictions.

"A review into whether that broader balance can be achieved?" Canberra Liberals legal affairs spokesman Jeremy Hanson asked.

"Well looking at the effectiveness of laws in other jurisdictions and the effectiveness of amendments that have occurred in the ACT," Dr Watchirs said.
Environment Minister Melissa Price has blasted one of her own Liberal Party colleagues for saying she is on her L-plates in the job, inflaming a dispute over whether she offended a Pacific Island leader by saying the region was always seeking cash from Australia.

Ms Price said she was deeply wounded at the criticism from former international development minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and would be calling to tell her so.

The comments came after Senator Fierravanti-Wells wrote in Fairfax Media on Wednesday that it was regrettable that Ms Price had offended the former president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, in a Canberra restaurant last month.

Witnesses to the exchange told Fairfax Media that Ms Price told Mr Tong, a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, that she had her chequebook ready because it was always about the cash when Pacific Island leaders came to Australia.
The Australia-Indonesia free trade deal has been put on hold with the Indonesian Trade Minister confirming there will be no agreement while Australia considers moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Indonesia's Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita told reporters in Singapore on Tuesday "it can be signed any time but when you will sign it ... depends on Australia's position [on the embassy]".

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has also "stressed that if Australia insists on moving its embassy to Jerusalem, the signing will be delayed," Lukito added in comments reported by the Nikkei Asian Review.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrived in Singapore on Tuesday night for the ASEAN summit, his first major international meeting since becoming prime minister in August.
Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has backed unions on penalty rates, saying cuts to Sunday rates in Australia are an indication that workers power has been eroded.

"The economy is supposed to be helping increase people's living standards - and part of living standards is enjoying leisure," Professor Stiglitz said.

"If you have to work on a Sunday, you should get compensated ... And the background of this [is that] the bargaining power of workers has been eviscerated. They would want to say 'I don't want to work on a Sunday' - but they can't say that."

Joseph Stiglitz, economics professor at Columbia University, says governments must act to address inequality. Credit:James Brickwood

The respected American economist and Columbia University professor, who is in Australia to accept the Sydney Peace Prize, also supports the Australian Council of Trade Unions' demand for industry-wide bargaining, which he sees as necessary to address weak wage growth.
In the mid 1990s, as the royal commission into the NSW police was in full swing, Labor MP Franca Arena stood up in NSW Parliament and threw an unforgettable bomb.

Arena felt the spotlight had to be shone on people in high places and she named retired Supreme Court judge David Yeldham and former state MP Frank Arkell as potential paedophiles.

Former Wollongong lord mayor Frank Arkell, who was murdered by Mark Valera. Credit:Robert Pearce

Both men denied her claims and Arena was condemned for relying on the cover of parliamentary privilege to protect her from being sued for defamation.

More than 20 years on, parliamentary privilege has again become a sinister term. This privilege is about parliamentary immunity. It exists so MPs can speak freely in Parliament without fear of prosecution or being sued for defamation. It is a critical part of our political system.
Mr Ellis said TMR was currently investigating changing the laws that governed electric scooters and other personal electric transportation devices. "TMR recognises the utility of these devices in filling a gap in the transportation market," he wrote. "However, care must be taken to ensure that any new devices that are introduced into the road network do not adversely affect safety. "In particular, the safety of vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, must be ensured." Mr Ellis said TMR was willing to work with Lime but until legislative changes were progressed, it could not support the "illegal and potentially unsafe use of these devices on roads and paths in Queensland".

Brisbane deputy mayor Adrian Schrinner said he believed the scooters could help provide a new solution in the city's transport network, provided it was done safely. Cr Schrinner said the devices could be an alternative to building expensive new park and ride facilities. "It is disappointing the state government has taken this approach," he said. "We'd like to see a more can do approach from the government when it comes to this new technology. "This has been rolled out in more than 120 cities around the world already and we can't bury our head in the sand and pretend that new technology is not going to change the way we travel in the future."

Cr Schrinner said the question of whether helmets should be required to ride the scooters on bike paths should also be considered. A Palaszczuk government spokesman said Lime's proposed investment in Queensland was exciting and would provide another travel option for people on the last section of the journey to work or home from public transport. "The challenge for governments at all levels is working with the legislation that covers these services to make sure our laws dont stop people from accessing them but at the same time allows them to do so in a safe and responsible way," he said. The spokesman said people would be keen to try the Lime scooters but they should wear a helmet and take their safety and liability into account. "The fact remains Lime's eScooters do not currently comply with Queensland's laws," he said.

"We understand Lime applied for exemptions from regulations in other locations to run their trials but chose not to take that approach in Queensland. "As it stands their eScooters are illegal. It has signalled its intention to continue with its trial regardless." The spokesman said the government was reviewing the laws, with the review expected to be completed in early 2019. A Lime spokeswoman said it would go ahead with its pilot of electric scooters in Brisbane this weekend to give residents the opportunity to experience its service. "We have been working closely with the Brisbane City Council and the Queensland government for more than four months," she said.

"We care deeply about creating the safest program for all Queenslanders." The spokeswoman said the launch would include "a few hundred" scooters deployed in Brisbane, and more than 500 "juicers" would be employed to recharge the devices every night. She said the Brisbane pilot followed the success of a Lime scooter pilot at Monash University in Melbourne and an electric bicycle pilot in Sydney, in addition to the quick uptake of scooters in New Zealand, with almost 354,000 trips since its launch in October. Unlike the CityCycle scheme, Lime's electric scooters do not use docking stations, and users find and unlock the devices using a map on a mobile app. Brisbane would be the first market for the rollout of Lime scooters in Australia.
If you disapproved of Matthew Guy and Scott Morrisons electioneering at Pellegrinis espresso bar on Tuesday, then lets be honest, you werent going to vote Liberal anyway.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy meet Pellegrini's co-owner Nino Pangrazio. Credit:Eddie Jim

Guys campaigning on the back of Hassan Kalif Shires murder of Sisto Malaspina will go down badly among the people who don't like the Opposition Leader and it wont bother people who do, so theres little to lose by running on the issue.

But Matthew's problem isnt the people who like him or even the people who dont.

Its the large number of voters whove never heard of him that is hurting the Opposition Leader in this state election contest and he knows it.
"We have no idea how similar that is to the previous EFS module and we're trying to connect the differences and similarities to the old system and we do not have enough information to yet, so that our pilots can be trained up and be able to recognise while they're actually flying the aircraft," Tajer said. In addition, he said, the onboard checklist that pilots had been carrying gave what now appears to be incorrect instructions for pulling out of the emergency condition that apparently confronted the Lion Air pilots. Indonesian transportation officials have said repeatedly that the Max 8 manual being used in the country did not contain crucial information about the new anti-stall mechanism. Soerjanto Tjahjono, the head of Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, said Boeing's manual, which was used by carriers worldwide to instruct pilots on how to fly the Max 8, did not adequately describe how this automatic anti-stall system worked and what to do if it was triggered incorrectly.

Pilots would only have a few seconds to respond to this situation, aviation experts said, especially if a plane was flying at low altitude, as was the case with Lion Air flight, which plummeted into the Java Sea on October 29. "The manual has how to handle issues but not that specific combination," Soerjanto said. "I don't know why it was not in the manual. Maybe Boeing never thought that this kind of problem would occur." Loading In a statement on Monday, Boeing said: "We are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this incident, working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved. We are confident in the safety of the 737 MAX. Safety remains our top priority and is a core value for everyone at Boeing." Last week, Boeing released a statement acknowledging that Indonesian officials had told the aircraft manufacturer about repeated errant data readings experienced by the plane. Incorrect data readings can trigger the MCAS system to force the plane into a nose-dive, even if the plane is not on autopilot.

Stalls are one of the most common causes of airplanes crashes. But if pilots did not know exactly what system was in place, or that the data being fed into the system was wrong, their reactions could be fatally muddled, aviation experts said. Pilots should follow Boeing's manual when confronted with this anomalous situation, the company initially wrote in its advisory last week. But Soerjanto's deputy, Haryo Satmiko, said in an interview last Wednesday that Boeing's manual was "incomplete" when it came to advising pilots on how to handle a situation in which false data is fed into the automatic anti-stall system to correct for an ascent that was not happening. On Monday, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a follow-up directive confirming that the manual for the Max 8 needed to be updated to address this rare but dangerous sequence of events. To counteract the anti-stall system, pilots are advised to switch off electric motors in the aircraft's tail that are causing the plane's nose to pitch downward.

Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea, minutes after taking off from the airport in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. The plane had experienced days of faulty data readings, according to Indonesian investigators. At three different airports, Lion Air maintenance crews tried to fix various problems concerning erroneous airspeed and other data, declaring the plane fit to fly. But the problems continued. On the plane's next-to-last flight, the crew received errant measurements of the plane's angle of attack, a data point used to help understand how sharply a plane is ascending or descending. There was a 20-degree differential between the readings on the left and right sides of the plane, Indonesian investigators said. Soerjanto said on Tuesday that the pilot of that flight, which was travelling from Bali to Jakarta, reacted quickly to the data discrepancy and switched off the tail trim mechanism that might have caused the plane to nose-dive. "The pilot thought about it and improvised, though it was not in the manual," Soerjanto said. "And it worked. He was able to land the plane safely in Jakarta." It is not clear whether the quick thinking of the pilot on that flight was relayed to the captain of the plane's final flight.
Netanyahu  who is plagued by corruption investigations and facing possible bribery charges  also could take on the role, at least temporarily. But critics said he ought to quickly find an alternative since he already has a second job as the country's foreign minister. He also nominally serves as minister of health. Loading Netanyahu held consultations Wednesday with the remaining coalition party heads in an effort to stabilise his government. Various coalition partners  including Netanyahu's conservative Likud, Lieberman's ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu, and Bennett's Jewish Home  are vying for support from the same right-wing electorate. Lieberman's announcement, made at a news conference in parliament, came a day after the right-wing government agreed to the cease-fire with Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, ending the brief but intense outburst of cross-border violence.

In Gaza, there were celebrations about what the Palestinians viewed as a rare victory over Israel. Many Israelis, including commentators considered close to Netanyahu and residents of the south who had been under heavy barrages of rocket fire, assailed the government for what they called a humiliating surrender after militant groups fired some 460 rockets and mortar shells from Gaza into southern Israel. Israel responded with airstrikes against 160 targets in Gaza. A Palestinian boy stands next to the rubble of Hamas' al-Aqsa TV station building which was hit by Israeli airstrikes on Monday, in Gaza City. Credit:AP Explaining the timing of his resignation and appealing to his right-wing constituency, Lieberman said he considered the cease-fire to be a "capitulation to terror." He also listed a number of other recent policy decisions with which he disagreed. "What we are doing now as a state is buying short-term quiet at the price of serious damage to national long-term security," Lieberman said.

Netanyahu apparently preferred a speedy cease-fire over the alternative  a stronger and more sustained Israeli bombing campaign, the likelihood of longer-range rockets from Gaza reaching farther into Israel's densely populated coastal plain and the risk of sliding into an unwanted, full-scale conflict. Just before the latest spasm of violence broke out, he said he was doing everything he could to avoid what he called an "unnecessary war" that would achieve little in the long run. In his announcement, Lieberman also called for early elections, saying the lack of clarity over the country's security policy must be brought to an end. "I very much hope that by Sunday, negotiations between the parties will reach an agreed date for elections," he said. It takes at least three months to prepare for elections in Israel. The current government's four-year term is scheduled to run out a year from now.

Despite the historical fragility of Israeli coalitions, until now Netanyahu's right-wing and religious coalition partners have not been eager to bring down the most right-wing and religious government Israel has known. Lieberman has outflanked Netanyahu from the right on the issue of national security. Netanyahu defended his acceptance of the cease-fire by saying Hamas had begged for it. He also hinted at other justifications and plans, but said he could not elaborate for security reasons. "I hear the voices of the residents of the south," he said, speaking at a state memorial ceremony for David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister. "Believe me, they are precious to me, their words penetrate my heart. "But together with the heads of the security forces," he said, "I see the overall picture of Israel's security, which I cannot share with the public."

Avi Dichter, a former security agency chief and now the Likud head of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and defence Committee, said he regretted Lieberman's resignation, adding, "In my opinion, it stems from political interests, not security ones." Abraham Diskin, professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said that there were no good solutions for the Gaza conundrum but that "maybe the cease-fire was reached too early, before Hamas was punished more severely." Lieberman entered the coalition with a history of far-reaching goals and demands, including the introduction of the death penalty for people convicted of terrorist attacks, the toppling of Hamas and the ousting of the more moderate President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. As defence minister, he soon proved more pragmatic. In reality, Israel's defence policy has largely been set by Netanyahu, in consultation with other senior security officials. Lieberman's other disagreements with Netanyahu included the entry of Qatari-financed fuel into Gaza, which he opposed but which Netanyahu forced him to permit in order to ease a chronic electricity shortage in the Palestinian territory.
Fort Lauderdale: Florida's election recount drama is intensifying as lawyers return to court and tallying machines break down ahead of a Thursday deadline to complete reviews of the Senate and governor races.

Much of the trouble centres on the Democratic stronghold of Palm Beach County, where tallying machines have overheated. That's caused mismatched results with the recount of 174,000 early voting ballots, forcing workers to go back and redo their work with no time to spare.

A mechanic was flown in to fix the problems, but "we don't have a lot of assurances", Palm Beach County elections supervisor Susan Bucher told WPTV on Tuesday night.

The machines are so old that the manufacturer is no longer in business, further complicating efforts to repair them.
Washington: In an extraordinary move, US first lady Melania Trump has called publicly for the deputy National Security Adviser to be dismissed.

After reports circulated on Tuesday that President Donald Trump had decided to remove Mira Ricardel from her post at the National Security Council, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's spokeswoman, released a statement that said: "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House."

Melania Trump on her African tour. Credit:AP

She gave no reason for why the first lady wanted Ricardel out but several officials said it was related to Melania Trump's trip to Africa in October.

While first ladies historically have been known to pressure their husbands over official business, they do not typically issue statements about it.
Washington: The United States has lost its military edge to a dangerous degree and could potentially lose a war against China or Russia, according to a report released on Wednesday by a bipartisan commission that Congress created to evaluate the Trump administration's defence strategy.

The National Defence Strategy Commission, comprised of former top Republican and Democratic officials selected by Congress, evaluated the Trump administration's 2018 National Defence Strategy, which ordered a vast reshaping of the US military to compete with Beijing and Moscow in an era of renewed great-power competition.

While endorsing the strategy's aims, the commission warned that Washington isn't moving fast enough or investing sufficiently to put the vision into practice, risking a further erosion of American military dominance that could become a national security emergency.

At the same time, according to the commission, China and Russia are seeking dominance in their regions and the ability to project military power globally, as their authoritarian governments pursue defence buildups aimed squarely at the United States.
PHILIPSBURG:--- During World Interact Week, celebrated on November 5 through November 11, the members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset collaborated with members of the Interact Clubs of Learning Unlimited and Milton Peters College to conduct a tree planting activity at their respective schools.

We chose to plant a tree as it symbolizes the youth program of Rotary; Interact. Interactors are the future, and we need to care and nurture them into leaders of tomorrow who will carry on the mantle of Rotary's values," Youth Service Director, Ruminni Rogers stated.

Members also wore purple during the planting activity in recognition of Alzheimer's Awareness month.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset and the Interact Clubs of Learning Unlimited and Milton Peters College would like to express gratitude to Green Fingers for contributing the plants and soil for the tree planting activity. Special recognition is also given to the Rotary Club of St. Maarten Interact Advisors Adelina Schaap-Chandler, Melanie Daboul, and Dimple Naresh Sagre for their assistance.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset pledged to continue lending its support to the Interactors as they continue to selflessly serve the community.
PHILIPSBURG:---The Maho Group announced at the end of October that they signed an agreement to rebuild their eco-friendly solar power farm.

The new panels will increase generating capacity with the potential to generate a maximum of 1.15 megawatts of power. The project is to start in June 2019.

Other environmentally-friendly developments at the Maho Group properties are eco-friendly building materials and new thermal insulating sliding doors.

In a statement from the Maho Group at the end of October, it stated that Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino & Spa, and Sonesta Ocean Point Resort, will become two of the most energy-efficient resorts in the Caribbean once reconstruction works have been completed.

I would like to take the opportunity to commend Management at the Maho Group for their eco-friendly interventions in lowering their group's carbon footprint. Every business has a responsibility to do this.

2017 was the year of Sustainable Tourism Development according to the United Nations. Sustainable tourism development is when all aspects of tourisms impact are taken into consideration when developing a plan for a project.

This entails looking at the socio-cultural, economic and environmental impact. The Maho Group during its rebuilding phase post-Irma and Maria looked at the environmental impact of its properties and how sustainable tourism can make business sense.

The solar park reduces their energy bill; it uses the energy generated from natural sunlight thereby making optimal use of environmental resources. This is the way forward for our country and I encourage other businesses to look at how they can reduce their carbon footprint, Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Tuesday.

The agreement was signed with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) Dutch Caribbean, a subsidiary of a Chinese owned company that specializes in energy and renewable energy projects.
~ Dutch wants to take over management of PJIAE in exchange for bridge loan. ~

PHILIPSBURG: --- Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin is currently negotiating with the Dutch Government to obtain a bridge loan for Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE). SMN News learned that Romeo Marlin informed the coalition partners about the ongoing negotiations to obtain Euros 50M. In exchange, the Dutch Government wants control over the board of directors of PJAIE and also a member of the management team of PJIAE. SMN News further learned that the Dutch are demanding that PJAIE hires the management of Schipol Airport to manage PJIAE if they are to grant PJAIE the much-needed loan.

SMN News further learned that the coalition partners are not in favor of what Romeo Marlin is doing and already told her that St. Maarten will not be selling out its patrimony to the Dutch for financial assistance.

It should be noted that Romeo Marlin also wants to lay off at least 49 of PJIAE employees as she makes room for the Dutch.

It is understood that it is because of these negotiations Romeo Marlin has refused to come to the aid of PJIAE by not granting them the much-needed letter of guarantee that the bondholders need before releasing the insurance money they are now in possession of.

Just last week the leader of Government Theodore Heyliger took to the media calling on his government to assist PJAIE with the letter of guarantee.

PJIAE has been in constant communication with the Council of Ministers to obtain the letter of guarantee but to date, they have not granted PJAIE that letter for the bondholders. If PJIAE does not get the much-needed financial injection or letter of guarantee for the bondholders then the planned move to the Terminal Building which is slated for December 15th will have to be put on hold.

Concessionaires operating at PJIAE said that they do not know how long more they could work under the tents as they have become shaky and is extremely hot even though there is air-conditioning in the tents. The concessionaires said that already management of PJAIE are doing the best they can to control the number of passengers is under the tent, however, this will become out of hand during the high season when more airlines will take off within close proximity of each other.
Ravenquest receives migrated license from Health Canada permitting B2B sales of cannabis

Posted by Publisher Internet

RavenQuest BioMed Inc. (the ?Company? or ?RavenQuest?) ? (CSE: RQB? OTCQB: RVVQF? Frankfurt: 1IT) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Bloomera Inc. (?Bloomera?), has received its business to business (?B2B?) sales license from Health Canada (the ?B2B Licence?).? The B2B License immediately permits RavenQuest to sell dried cannabis, plants and seeds to other standard cultivators (licensed producers).

The B2B License, issued under Health Canada?s Cannabis Act (?CA?) and Cannabis Regulations (?CR?), was received on November 9, 2018 and demonstrates the Company?s continued compliance with Health Canada?s regulations.

Importantly, the B2B License also paves the way for RavenQuest?s full sales license, which would allow cannabis sales both medically and recreationally.

The B2B License permits sales of cannabis between federal license holders which includes sales of both bulk cannabis and pre-packaged, labelled and tested cannabis products.? Effective immediately, the Company is authorized to sell cannabis in accordance with subsection 11(5) of the CR. Specifically, these activities include:

the sale and distribution of dried cannabis, fresh cannabis, cannabis plants and cannabis seeds to licensed micro and standard cultivators, processors, analytical testing labs, researchers or cannabis drug manufacturers;

sale and distribution of cannabis plants and cannabis plant seeds to a licensed nursery;

the sale and distribution of cannabis plants and cannabis plant seeds, that are cannabis products to a holder of a license for sale, or a person authorized to sell cannabis under a provincial Act that authorizes the sale of cannabis by reason of subsection 69(1) of the CA; and,

the sale and delivery of cannabis plants and cannabis plant seeds, that are cannabis products, to the purchaser of the products at the request of: a person authorized to sell cannabis under a provincial Act that authorizes the sale of cannabis by reason of subsection 69(1) of the CA, or a holder of a license for sale.

The new B2B License allows Bloomera to immediately engage in B2B sales to other qualified license holders under the CA and CR.

\This is a key milestone for RavenQuest and its stakeholders because it transitions our company from a non-selling producer into a company that can generate revenue through the sale of cannabis nationwide, on a B2B basis at this time? stated George Robinson, CEO.? ?Importantly, this updated license gives us great confidence that our full sales license is now not far off? Robinson continued.

About RavenQuest

RavenQuest is a diversified publicly traded cannabis company with divisions focused upon cannabis production, management services & consulting and specialized research & development.? RavenQuest is a licensed producer with facilities located in Markham, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta.? RavenQuest maintains a research partnership with Montreal?s McGill University focused upon cultivar (strain) recognition, plant stabilization and yield maximization of the cannabis plant.? The Company focuses on partnerships with Indigenous communities.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are ?forward-looking information? with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to the timing and likelihood of the acquisition of a full cannabis sales license.? The Company provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future, and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in the Company?s public filings under the Company?s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.? Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.? The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.

?
Last week, the Schedule 84 Suppliers Research Panel participated in reviewing the 2018 contracting year with the GSA Schedule 84 leadership team. Our panel group consists of experienced contractors and consultants meeting for a monthly conference call. Schedule 84 is the GSA Schedules Contract for Total Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire and Rescue.

Our opinions are part of a research programme to provide valuable feedback to the GSA Schedule 84 programme and on to the GSA central office. The director of GSA Region 7 Schedules Program, the Schedule 84 Branch Chief and the Category Manager Subject Matter Expert who manages our suppliers' panel gave us their full attention as we discussed the successes of the programme, hot topics, problems and the future.

We determined 2018 under the Schedule 84 team to be a year of innovative thoughts, cooperative effort and renewed enthusiasm

Innovative review team

We determined 2018 under the Schedule 84 team to be a year of innovative thoughts, cooperative effort, renewed enthusiasm and productive changes building upon the successes of 2017.

There was high praise for the accessibility to the Schedule 84 staff. Their consistent quick response to questions and concerns, thinking outside the box and supporting the programme by partnering with their contractors was much appreciated. There has been a renewed spirit of partnering to cooperatively bring the best to agency customers. It seems to be working as per the Centre Director sales are growing for GSA Schedule 84.

Advocating for the security industry

In my experience, business development starts with the Administrator from Region 7 in Ft. Worth, TX. As the annual Schedule 84 Industry Day at the SSAC begins he is shaking every hand and passing out his cards looking folks right in the eye asking, how can I help you? They have the best practices and most organised paperwork. The SSAC director has chosen well in her staff and is hands-on in every endeavour to direct things along when challenges occur or to improve the programme.

The new 84 Branch Chief is knowledgeable, innovative, tireless and has been heavily involved in advocating for the security industry

It continues with the centres CASE Manager encouraging the contractors at events, visiting agency customers and promoting the GSA Schedules Program by helping coordinate the partnering. The new 84 Branch Chief is knowledgeable, innovative, tireless and has been heavily involved in advocating for the security industry for adding new technology, meeting with industry associations, understanding the complexity and challenges of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD12) and advocating for the purchasing Physical Access Control Systems (PACS) utilising the appropriate standards and the GSA Program among other innovations. As far as the supplier panel, we gave our GSA Schedule 84 team and leaders high praise for 2018.

GSA also added new categories or SINs for clearly identifying Physical Access Control Products that appear on GSAs Approved Product List

Changes in the GSA programme

Some changes this year in certain GSA programmes included the creation of a new category of products/services Special Item Number (SIN) for Order Level Materials (OLM) developed to assist with solution procurements. This new SIN was added to Schedules 03FAC, 56, 70, 71, 00Corp, 738X and 84. Under Schedule 84 it is SIN 84-500.

GSA Schedule 84 consolidated many Special Items Numbers (SINs) to make finding products and services less complex

Essentially this SIN allows agencies procuring under the aforementioned GSA Schedules programmes to purchase and the contractor to add items and services not known prior to the task as a Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) not to exceed 33% of the order. For more information and FAQs on OLMs go to www.gsa.gov/olm. This is not to take the place of Open Market items for adding products only that are not listed on a companys GSA Contract.

Physical access control products

Previously, GSA Schedule 84 consolidated many Special Items Numbers (SINs) to make finding products and services less complex for the agencies. GSA also added new categories or SINs for clearly identifying Physical Access Control Products that appear on GSAs Approved Product List according to the standards created under FIPS201. These products appear under SIN 246 35-7 after being tested and approved by GSA. To be qualified to install these products under the GSA Program at least one individual from the GSA Contractor company must complete the class and be CSEIP certified before applying for labour SIN 246 60-5.

Additionally, the company must demonstrate certain qualifications and have past performance for this type of work. The Security Technology Alliance offers the training class and certification. Certified individuals and approved products are listed at www.idmanagement.gov. Companies listed with SIN 246-35 7 and SIN 246-60 5 may be found by searching at www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov.

Updates to guidance for procurement

Updates to guidance for procurement of PACS will continue to be posted to the GSA PACS Ordering Guide

Updates to guidance for procurement of PACS will continue to be posted to the GSA PACS Ordering Guide. The ordering guide posted at www.gsa.gov/firesecurity is a valuable support tool created to assist agencies with understanding the requirements of FIPS201 and procuring a PACS. The guide includes relevant regulations, FAQs, sample systems designs, sample statements of work, a list of key points of contract for additional help and questions.

In partnership with GSA and guided by the GSA Ombudsman group, the Security Industry Association and the Security Technology Alliance members and their contractor companies participated in a GSA Reverse Industry PACS Training Day on September 17, 2018. We presented from an industry perspective important fact on PACS system requirements, procurement planning, providing information on resources and further educating with panel discussions, individual presentations and amusing skits to over 300 Government agency staff and acquisition specialists. You can find some of the unedited recording of the PACS Reverse Industry Day Training on YouTube.

Some changes included the creation of a new category of products/services Special Item Number (SIN) for Order Level Materials (OLM)

GSA Schedules Program

A hot topic about the GSA programme for 2018 was also an issue for the prior year. The GSA Schedules Program is a streamlined contracting vehicle incorporating specific Federal Acquisition Regulations for more efficiently purchasing commercial items. Companies may apply per a continuous open season for a 5-year contract with three 5-year options to renew. Contractors are vetted for past performance, corporate experience and financial capability. Products and services are considered for offering to Federal, State and Local customers (for Schedule 84) with pricing that is determined to be fair and reasonable through negotiations with GSA.

To make the determination for fair and reasonable pricing GSA carefully reviews the commercial practices of the contractor

To make the determination for fair and reasonable pricing GSA carefully reviews the commercial practices of the contractor as well as the competition of identical or similar item pricing. The most vocal complaint of concern from the contractors was regarding the consideration of competitor contractors offering identical items with out-of-date pricing or holding a Letter of Supply not authorised by the manufacturer.

GSA pricing tool

Since the GSA utilises a pricing tool to determine if the pricing offered is competitive, a rogue competitor can cause a pricing action to possibly be rejected due to out of date information even as the manufacturer offers an update of the product. This is an issue on all GSA Contracts that the supplier panel hopes will be reconsidered by GSA policymakers at the central office.

Most of us believe the Letters of Supply should only be issued by the manufacturer or with documented specific permission of the manufacturer to a reseller. Manufacturers may want to have a better understanding of the Letter of Supply, how it is considered by GSA and more carefully choose their Government partners for experience and compliance.

Another challenge for the security community is regarding the lack of accessibility of participating dealers to GSA eBuy

Overcoming challenges for the security community

Contractors may only see RFQs which are posted under the Special items Number(s) that were awarded to their GSA Contract

Another challenge for the security community is regarding the lack of accessibility of participating dealers to GSA eBuy. GSA eBuy is an online Request for Quotation (RFQ) programme that is for GSA Contract holders only. Agencies will post their requirements by Special Item Number for at a minimum 48 hours.

Contractors may only see RFQs which are posted under the Special items Number(s) that were awarded to their GSA Contract. GSA Participating Dealers may take orders on behalf of a manufacturer if they are authorised under the manufacturers GSA Contract. They may also have an online PO Portal to receive orders. But they have no access to GSA eBuy to response to RFQs. Usually, under these arrangements, the manufacturers do not respond directly, so there is a problem using GSA eBuy for opportunities as their GSA Participating Dealers have no access to respond.

GSA Schedule 84 leadership

In some instances, a contracting officer may allow an emailed quotation. However, with the use of the electronic ordering system, this has become a common problem we hope to bring to the attention of policymakers. Some changes to the programmes may make the presentation of documentation more effective going forwardThe GSA Schedule 84 leadership has been helpful to explain the challenges to the agencies to try and resolve such issues.

So, whats up for 2019? GSA modernisation is coming. There will be improvements to their tools and more consolidations of SINs and more. There have been discussions of a revival of the GSA Expo. The Expo offered training for contracting staff both Government and private industry.

Valuable tools for vendor training

Equally important is the networking, meetings and the exhibits of the contractors. Expos have been discontinued since 2012 but smaller events have been growing as well as online webinar training. Webinars are valuable tools for GSA and vendor training, but they do not take the place of being able to meet your customers face-to-face. GSA online eOffer and eMod programme have made processing actions more efficient.

Some changes to the programmes may make the presentation of documentation more effective going forward. The GSA online website for viewing the items on the GSA Contract and for purchasing items, GSA Advantage could definitely use an update as it has been basically the same for 20 years. Keep an eye on GSA Interact for the latest happenings with GSA.
HID Global hails the renewed promise of mobile access

Its been almost exactly a decade since HID Global launched the world's first university pilot of smartphones carrying secure mobile IDs. A lot has changed in the following 10 years. Todays technology has matured, advanced, and proliferated across a variety of high-value use cases. To catch up on the latest developments in mobile access, we contacted Luc Merredew, Product Marketing Director, Physical Access Control, at HID Global. Q: What has changed since the first pilot implementation of smartphones used for secure mobile identification? Merredew: One of the biggest milestones several years ago was when mobile access solutions achieved certification to the ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard. With increasing awareness of cloud-based security threats and resulting high expectations from a solution, todays system owners, operators, and users insist on companies being able to demonstrate that they have had their services vetted by independent laboratories and/or agencies. When adopting mobile access solutions that maximise convenience and efficiency, and deliver dramatically improved user experiences, it is neither necessary nor acceptable to compromise security in either the physical or digital domains. Q: Do universities continue to be the biggest users? Mobile IDs on devices eliminate person-to-person credentials when accessing secured areas Merredew: The use cases have grown dramatically, spread evenly across all types of organisations in locations ranging from high-rise buildings to multi-campus global enterprises. But yes, universities continue to be big adopters, and they were among those most eager to leverage the technology so they could bring people back to campus in person during the pandemic. In this environment, mobile IDs on smartphones and other devices eliminate person-to-person credential (e.g., badge or ID card) issuance or revocation, as well as the need to physically touch cards, readers, or keypads when accessing secured areas. Q: How were mobile IDs employed by your customers as they brought people back to physical locations after the pandemic shutdown? Merredew: One example is Vanderbilt University, where the challenges of COVID-19 brought renewed attention to the importance of a modern system for identity management and access control that was compatible with Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth technologies. Members of the campus community could more conveniently access buildings and services with their mobile devices, and the university could efficiently provision and de-provision credentials remotely without person-to-person contact. More recently, Vanderbilt leveraged HID Mobile Access to deploy campus IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch through Apple Wallet. Q: Is there another example outside the university vertical? Merredew: Another example is the iconic tower Arcos Bosques Torre 1 in Mexico City, where the owners and tenants enjoy the simplicity of using their trusted mobile devices to seamlessly access their spaces. As with the Vanderbilt deployment, the drive for operational efficiency and convenience in the tower was combined with a desire to minimise the need for users to come in physical contact with the system. Having a solution like HID Mobile Access that delivers touchless entry and increased safety and security is important. Q: What have been the biggest mobile access advancements? The mobile credential provides contactless, seamless access to a wide range of devices and services Merredew: One of the most important advancements was simplifying upgrade paths to mobile access. In the Vanderbilt example, our HID Reader Manager was used to upgrade the firmware on the universitys physical access control readers and extend support for NFC-based credentials in Apple Wallet. The university uses the HID Origo Mobile Identities API integrated with CS Gold, a higher education transaction system from CBORD, for credential lifecycle management. Another significant enhancement has been the expanded range of uses cases for the mobile credential, going beyond simply opening doors to include providing contactless, seamless access to a wide range of devices and services such as time-and-attendance terminals, cashless vending machines, printers, computers, workstations, and many other applications. Q: Wearables are also having an impact. Merredew: Contactless mobile experiences are also delivered through wearable wristbands. One example is the Nymi band which, once authenticated, continuously authenticates the identity of the user until its removed from the wrist. This delivers zero-trust security principles and access control using convenient fingerprint and heartbeat biometrics to users seeking touchless authentication. Q: What is the impact of the cloud? Merredew: The move to a cloud-based system to issue and manage mobile identity credentials has unified, automated, and simplified identity issuance at a single facility or across any number of distributed office or remote work locations. Q: What should end users look for in a mobile access solution? Look for solutions that use a secure element in the reader as well as cloud certificates, to ensure security and data privacy Merredew: Solutions should support the largest possible number of popular mobile devices  in HIDs case, this includes more than 250. Look for solutions that use a secure element in the reader, and a secure key management process, as well as cloud certificates, to ensure both security and data privacy. Make sure the solution supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), and both iOS and Android operating systems. Solutions that provide Application Programming Interface (API) and Software Development Kit (SDK) support offer direct access to the solutions access control hardware, speeding deployment while enabling integration partners to continue innovating products that deliver even better user experiences. Q: Wonder what this market will look like in 10 more years. Whats next for mobile access? Merredew: Future innovations are on the horizon with technologies such as Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless connectivity, which HID expects will become ubiquitous on mobile devices. It provides unprecedented accuracy and security when measuring the distance or determining the relative position of a target. It is not HIDs expectation that UWB will replace Near Field Communication (NFC) or Bluetooth, but rather supplement Bluetooth and other technologies to provide the assurance, reliability, and granularity of device position that enables truly seamless experiences.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

A few clouds. Scattered frost possible. Low 34F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Scattered frost possible. Low 34F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Hale-Bopp was an unusually bright comet that flew by Earth, reaching its closest approach to the planet in 1997. It was most spectacular in the Northern Hemisphere and visible to the naked eye for about 18 months.

Hale-Bopp was probably one of the most viewed comets in history. It provided quite the sky show, being 1,000 times brighter than Halley's Comet at the time of its discovery, NASA said. Its twin blue-and-white tails were clearly visible even from light-polluted areas such as Chicago.

Sadly, there was a tragic footnote to the appearance of Hale-Bopp. About 40 people who were part of the "Heaven's Gate" cult in San Diego committed mass suicide as the comet came close to Earth.

A blob by M70

The Hale-Bopp comet was found independently by two amateur astronomers, Alan Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bopp in Arizona. At the time of its discovery, Hale-Bopp was the farthest comet ever to be discovered by amateurs, according to NASA.

Both men trained their telescopes on nearby globular cluster M70 on July 23, 1995. Hale, who had a doctorate in astronomy but was running an educational company, had looked at the same area just days earlier and was surprised to see a new blob in the sky.

"As soon as I looked," he said in a 1997 Time magazine interview, "I saw a fuzzy object nearby. It was strange, because I'd looked at M70 a couple of weeks earlier and the object hadn't been there."

Hale recalled looking at the sky a few hours later and seeing the object had moved. In his mind, he told Time, it was definitely a comet.

Almost simultaneously, Bopp saw the same object in the sky. Both men sent their observations to the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.

Astronomers were astounded at how bright the comet, officially designated C/1995 O1, appeared even from its great distance away. While they expected the comet would be bright when it arrived close to Earth, predictions are tricky when it comes to comets  they are essentially just balls of ice and dust that erupt in ways that are hard to anticipate.

"It's been kind of nerve-racking to sit through all those months wondering if the comet would fizzle," Hale told Time.

The comet's closest approach to Earth was about 120 million miles (193 kilometers). (By comparison, the sun is 93 million miles, or 150 million km, from Earth). Astronomers still had the bright Hyakutake comet fresh in their minds at the time as it just passed by Earth in 1996. Hale-Bopp was many times farther away than Hyakutake, but still appeared much brighter.

Comet Hale-Bopp. (Image credit: NASA)

Internet traffic jam

During Hale-Bopp's monthslong approach to Earth, descriptions of the comet drummed up interest in newspapers and on the internet, which at the time was a young but growing public phenomenon.

"There are a multitude of websites containing information on Hale-Bopp; they are attracting so many visitors that they are causing a traffic jam on the Internet," Scientific American wrote in March 1997. "A Hale-Bopp homepage set up at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was logging more than 1.2 million visitors a day over Easter weekend and had set up two mirror sites."

It wasn't only amateurs watching the show, of course. Professional telescopes swung to watch the comet as it approached. NASA studied the comet with the Hubble Space Telescope and reported that the comet's nucleus is "huge," NASA wrote, at 19 to 25 miles (30 to 40 km) across.

What surprised the scientists observing Hale-Bopp the most was an outburst of dust streaming from the comet's nucleus in quantities at least eight times as much as the average observations of previously observed comets.

"The surface of Hale-Bopp's nucleus must be an incredibly dynamic place, with 'vents' being turned on and off as new patches of icy material are rotated into sunlight for the first time," said Harold Weaver, a Johns Hopkins University astrophysicist who led the Hubble study.

Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate was an end-times cult led by Marshall Applewhite, a former music professor who advocated sexual abstinence and who had undergone castration. Members of the cult believed that their bodies were merely containers that could be abandoned in favor of a higher physical existence, History.com reported. They also thought that an alien spacecraft was following Hale-Bopp.

In late March 1997, Applewhite and 38 followers drank a lethal cocktail of Phenobarbital and vodka and lay down to die, convinced that they would leave their physical bodies, enter the alien spacecraft they believed was behind Hale-Bopp, and pass through Heaven's Gate into a higher existence. The bodies of 21 women and 18 men were found lying in bunk beds in a mansion in suburban San Diego, Calif. They wore matching clothes and new sneakers.

"According to material the group posted on its internet site, the timing of the suicides were probably related to the arrival of the Hale-Bopp comet, which members seemed to regard as a cosmic emissary beckoning them to another world," The New York Times reported in March 1997.

Comet Hale-Bopp as imaged in 1997, showing dual tails of ions and dusty particles. Comets and icy satellites may form an ultradense phase of ice, ice vii, during collisions. (Image credit: E. Kolmhofer/H. Raab.Johannes-Kepler-Observatory/ Vesta~commonswiki /Wikimedia Commons)

Next visit is a long way off

Hale-Bopp represented an exciting time for astronomy. Scientists scrambled to examine the comet as much as possible during its brief cruise by Earth.The comet's last appearance in Earth's sky had been about 4,200 years before, and it won't return to the inner solar system for thousands of years.

Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) released new images of the comet in 2001, four years after Hale-Bopp was closest to Earth. By that time, the comet had soared 1.2 billion miles (2 billion km) away from Earth, about halfway between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus.

"The large 'dirty snowball' nucleus of ice and dust (probably about 50 km (31 miles) diameter) continues to be active, despite the very low temperature where it is now. This is quite unusual for a comet," ESO stated, based on observations from the La Silla Telescope in Chile.

Studying comets is particularly challenging because of how difficult it is to predict a comet's brightness. Between 2014 and 2016, Europe's Rosetta spacecraft orbited Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko to study what happens when a comet begins its closest approach to the sun. Rosetta's studies will help scientists better make predictions about how bright comets will be.

While amateurs still discover comets from time to time, the most prolific observers tend to be automated spacecraft. For example, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite is designed to study solar activity, and therefore, is perfectly positioned to capture sun-grazing comets. SOHO has captured images of more than 3,000 comets since launching into space in 1995.
The nearly full moon peeks through the clouds near the Roman Catholic Church of La Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona.

Miguel Claro is a professional photographer, author and science communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal, who creates spectacular images of the night sky. As a European Southern Observatory photo ambassador, a member of The World At Night and the official astrophotographer of the Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve, he specializes in astronomical skyscapes that connect Earth and the night sky. Join Miguel here as he takes us through his photograph "A Twilight Moon in La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona."

A twilight scene shows a 96 percent illuminated moon peeking through the clouds behind the Roman Catholic Church of La Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona.

This photo was taken during nautical twilight, or about an hour after sunset, two days before the "Blue Moon" of March 31, 2018. According to the modern definition, a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. If a season has four full moons instead of the typical three, the fourth is also considered a Blue Moon. [In Photos: The Last 'Blue Moon' of 2018]

Being the most visited landmark in Spain, the Church of La Sagrada Familia was inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage List in 2005. The unfinished church has been under construction for 136 years.

Designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (18521926), it was his most important and ambitious work. When the basilica's first stone was laid on March 19, 1882, Gaudi thought it would take only 10 years to build the church.After 136 years of construction, only 70 percent of the basilica is finished. The construction is now in its final phase as workers build six central towers that will stand as tall as 560 feet (170 meters).

"When its tallest tower is finally completed in 2026, for the centennial of Gaudis death, the basilica will become the tallest religious structure in Europe, the tallest building in Barcelona and the tallest church in the world," The New York Times reported.

Editor's note: If you captured an amazing astronomy photo and would like to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send images and comments to managing editor Tariq Malik a spacephotos@space.com.

To see more of Claro's amazing astrophotography, visit his website, www.miguelclaro.com. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
The nearest single star to the sun apparently hosts a big, icy planet.

Astronomers have found strong evidence of a frigid alien world about 3.2 times more massive than Earth circling Barnard's Star, a dim red dwarf that lies just 6 light-years from the sun. Barnard's Star is our sun's nearest neighbor, apart from the three-star Alpha Centauri system, which is about 4.3 light-years away.

The newly detected world, known as Barnard's Star b, remains a planet candidate for now. But the researchers who spotted it are confident the alien planet will eventually be confirmed. [Barnard's Star b: What We Know About the "Super-Earth' Candidate]

"After a very careful analysis, we are 99 percent confident that the planet is there," Ignasi Ribas, of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia and the Institute of Space Sciences in Spain, said in a statement.

"However, we'll continue to observe this fast-moving star to exclude possible, but improbable, natural variations of the stellar brightness which could masquerade as a planet," added Ribas, the lead author of a new study announcing the detection of Barnard's Star b. That study was published online today (Nov. 14) in the journal Nature.

An artist's illustration of the surface of the "super-Earth" planet candidate detected around Barnard's star, which lies just 6 light-years from the sun. (Image credit: M. Kornmesser/ESO)

Barnard's Star b, if confirmed, will not be the nearest exoplanet to Earth. That designation is held by the roughly Earth-size world Proxima b, which orbits Proxima Centauri, one of the Alpha Centauri trio.

NASA's Kepler space telescope showed that small planets are common in the Milky Way galaxy at large. Together, Proxima b and Barnard's Star b strongly suggest that such worlds "are also common in our neighborhood," study co-author Johanna Teske, of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., told Space.com. "And that is super-exciting."

A near solar neighbor

Barnard's Star is named after the American astronomer E.E. Barnard, who in 1916 discovered the speediness Ribas mentioned. No other star moves faster across Earth's sky than Barnard's Star, which travels about the width of the full moon every 180 years. [Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets]

This unparalleled apparent motion is a consequence of the proximity of Barnard's Star and its high (but not record-setting) velocity of 310,000 mph (500,000 km/h) relative to the sun.

And Barnard's Star is getting closer to us every day: In about 10,000 years, the red dwarf will take over the nearest-star mantle from the Alpha Centauri system. At that time, just 3.8 light-years will separate Barnard's Star from the sun.

Barnard's Star is about twice as old as Earth's sun, one-sixth as massive and just 3 percent as luminous. Because Barnard's Star is so dim, its "habitable zone"  the range of distances where liquid water may be possible on a world's surface  lies extremely close-in. Indeed, researchers estimate that zone to be a sliver that lies 0.06 AU to 0.10 AU from the star. (One AU, or astronomical unit, is the Earth-sun distance  about 93 million miles, or 150 million kilometers.)

The habitable-zone concept is a tricky one, of course. Gauging a world's true habitability requires a strong working knowledge of its atmospheric composition and thickness, among other characteristics. And such information is hard to come by for exoplanets.

An artist's impression of the newfound "super-Earth" world and its host star, the red dwarf Barnards star. (Image credit: M. Kornmesser/ESO)

A long search

Barnard's Star has long been a target of exoplanet hunters, but their searches have always come up empty  until now.

And the new detection wasn't easy: Ribas and his team analyzed huge amounts of data, both archival and newly gathered, before finally digging up Barnard's Star b.

They used the "radial velocity" method, which looks for changes in starlight caused by the gravitational tug of an orbiting planet. Such tugs cause a star to wobble slightly, shifting its light toward red wavelengths at times and toward the blue end of the spectrum at others, as seen from Earth. [7 Ways to Discovery Alien Planets]

"We used observations from seven different instruments, spanning 20 years of measurements, making this one of the largest and most extensive datasets ever used for precise radial-velocity studies," Ribas said in the same statement. "The combination of all data led to a total of 771 measurements  a huge amount of information!"

Never before had the radial velocity method been used to find such a small planet in such a distant orbit, study team members said. (Big, close-in planets tug their host stars more powerfully and therefore cause more dramatic, and more easily detectable, light shifts.)

Those seven instruments were the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), at the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) La Silla Observatory in Chile; the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope, at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile; HARPS-North, at the Galileo National Telescope in the Canary Islands; the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer, at the Keck 10-meter telescope in Hawaii; the Carnegie Institute's Planet Finder Spectrograph, at the Magellan 6.5-m telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile; the Automated Planet Finder at the 2.4-m telescope at the University of California's Lick Observatory; and& CARMENES, at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain.

The researchers also detected hints of another possible planet in the system, orbiting farther out than Barnard's Star b  way farther out, with an orbital period of 6,600 Earth days. But this second signal is too weak to be deemed a planet candidate, Teske said.

"There's not enough data," she told Space.com.

A graphic representation of the relative distances to the nearest stars from the sun. Barnard's star is the second-closest star system, and the nearest single star to us. (Image credit: IEEC/Science-Wave-Guillem Ramisa)

A frigid super-Earth

Barnard's Star b is at least 3.2 times more massive than our own planet, making it a "super-Earth"  the class of worlds that are significantly larger than Earth but smaller than "ice giants" such as Neptune and Uranus.

The newfound planet candidate lies 0.4 AU from its host star and completes one orbit every 233 Earth days, according to the new study.

This orbital distance is similar to that of radiation-blasted Mercury in our own solar system. But, because Barnard's Star is so dim, the potential planet lies right around the system's "snow line"  the region where volatile materials such as water can condense into solid ices.

"Until now, only giant planets had been detected at such a distance from their stars," Rodrigo Diaz, of the Institute of Astronomy and Space Physics at the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research and the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, said in an accompanying "News and Views" article that was also published today in Nature.

"The authors' discovery of a low-mass planet near the snow line places strong constraints on formation models for this type of planet," added Diaz, who was not involved in the new study.

Barnard's Star b, if it does indeed exist, is not a very promising abode for life as we know it, at least not on the surface. The potential planet is likely very cold, with an estimated surface temperature of about minus 275 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 170 degrees Celsius), study team members said.

Confirmation of Barnard's Star b is unlikely to come from additional radial-velocity measurements, Diaz wrote. But super-precise measurements of star positions, such as those now being made by the European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft, may do the job in the next few years, he added.

"Even more excitingly, the next generation of ground-based instrumentation, also coming into operation in the 2020s, should be able to directly image the reported planet, and measure its light spectrum," Diaz wrote.

"Using this spectrum, the characteristics of the planets atmosphere  such as its winds and rotation rate  could be inferred," he added. "This remarkable planet therefore gives us a key piece in the puzzle of planetary formation and evolution, and might be among the first low-mass exoplanets whose atmospheres are probed in detail."

Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate) is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Originally published on Space.com.
Thanks to our robotic emissaries, we humans know what a sunrise& on Mars looks like without ever having set foot on the Red Planet ourselves  but what does it sound like?

That's the question that struck a pair of sound scientists when they saw the photo snapped by NASA's Opportunity rover of its 4,999th sunrise on Mars. The result is an eerie 2-minute composition the pair is presenting this week at the SC18 supercomputing conference in Dallas.

But even the scientists behind the project were pleased by how appealing and coherent a sound scape the photograph's data created. "It was almost alive in some sense. It was telling a story in a very natural way," Domenico Vicinanza, a physicist and sound scientist at Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K., told Space.com. "That was surprising." [Mars Dust Storm 2018: What It Means for the Opportunity Rover]

Vicinanza and his colleague Genevieve Williams of the University of Exeter in the U.K. specialize in turning data into sound. Most of their work focuses on the human body, for example turning ultrasound and CT scans into sound  but they didn't want to limit themselves to the medical. "We're also passionate about space," Vicinanza said. "Of course, we thought using music to describe certain characteristics of space exploration was fascinating and also, in some ways, natural."

This image of the Opportunity rover's 4,999th sunrise on Mars (captured Feb. 15, 2018, in Earth time) inspired acoustic scientists to turn the picture into a sound scape. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State University/Texas A&M)

The composition they created combines two different types of data from Opportunity's sunrise image. The melody of the composition comes from the visual data itself  the brightness of the sun and the amount of blue, in particular  panning from left to right in narrow strips across the image.

The low-frequency undertones, which are easiest to hear on a high-quality stereo system, are interpretations of the terrain at Opportunity's location when the photograph was taken, along the western edge of the Endeavour Crater. "We looked at all the bumps and all the terrain characteristics, and we mapped that to sound waves," Vicinanza said. "It's basically like jumping on top of Opportunity and taking a tour of the region."

The ability of a sound scape to combine those two types of inputs is, for Vicinanza, one of the most appealing aspects of turning data to sound. "There is no way of doing something like that with vision," he said. "Sound is an underutilized way of experiencing data." The process also makes that information accessible to people who have visual impairments.

Vicinanza said he also hopes the sonification will encourage people to think about sunrises  terrestrial and Martian alike  from a fresh perspective. "Sunrise is something so familiar. It is something we experience every day," Vicinanza said. "We kind of get used to it."

And, of course, there's now a more melancholy aspect to the sunrise image; scientists haven't received such a postcard from Opportunity since the rover went silent in June, when a global dust storm blocked the solar panels that power the robotic explorer.

When the dust began to settle in the middle of September, Opportunity's engineers began pinging the rover in hopes of getting it working again, but those efforts have been in vain so far. Scientists hope that a seasonal wind phenomenon called dust devils, which is due to last from November to January, may clear off Opportunity's solar panels and help the team re-establish contact.

It's no sound scape, but an answering beep from that rover would be the sweetest tone of all.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook. Original article on Space.com.
Earth hides its scars well; the planet has endured countless millennia of eruptions and collisions, but scientists are still stumbling upon the evidence of all that geologic drama.

Now, one such team has announced that it spotted a scar hidden below Greenland's ice, a giant crater nearly 20 miles (31 kilometers) wide. The researchers said a giant iron meteorite likely created the mark by slamming into Earth sometime in the past 3 million years.

Other scientists aren't necessarily sold yet that a space rock created the feature. "I think that the authors have presented some intriguing evidence of a possible impact site, and I think that's the right word  intrigued," David Kring, who studies impact craters at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston and who wasn't involved with the new research, told Space.com. "I'm intrigued. I'm not wholly convinced that this is an impact crater." [In Pictures: The Giant Crater Beneath Greenland Explained]

The feature in question is tucked below the edge of the ice sheet in northwest Greenland, lending a semicircular edge to the ice sheet near where a glacier called Hiawatha flows toward the sea. Looking through data originally gathered to track changes in the ice itself, scientists spotted a strangely circular feature in the bedrock, so they arranged for a high-powered ice-penetrating radar instrument to fly over the area.

An aerial view of northwest Greenland, with the location of what appears to be a giant impact crater circled in red. (Image credit: Natural History Museum of Denmark)

That instrument's data confirmed the structure of the feature itself: a depression large enough to hold all of Paris in its embrace, with a clearly defined rim all the way around. So, scientists flew in to gather samples in person, looking for chemical fingerprints of an exotic event that could have formed the feature.

And while the glacier blocks the scientists from reaching the heart of the crater, it makes up for that inconvenience by ferrying sediment out from the site in meltwater. "It's almost like a home delivery," Kurt Kjr, lead author of the study and a geologist at the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen, told Space.com.

Among those sediments, geologists found what they believe are shocked quartz grains, the result of an impact's force abruptly melting rock. The team also analyzed the chemistry of the sample, finding an unusual fingerprint of rhodium, platinum and palladium. "We don't tend to find that in many rocks that we find on Earth," Iain McDonald, a geochemist at Cardiff University in the U.K. who conducted that analysis, told Space.com. "I'm pretty convinced by what's there."

An artist's depiction of the potential meteor entering the atmosphere headed toward Greenland. (Image credit: Natural History Museum of Denmark, Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., USA)

There's another twist to the puzzle of the crater: in Kjr's own institution sits a large iron meteorite that was found about 185 miles (300 km) away from the crater site. Could it be that the meteorite and crater originated from the same incoming asteroid breaking up in Earth's atmosphere as it fell to the surface? "I think it's fair to start speculating if those two are linked," Kjr said. "Maybe we found the home of this meteorite. That would be fun."

But Kring isn't as convinced as the research team that the feature actually has an extraterrestrial origin. "There are thousands, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of circular structures on the Earth's surface," Kring said. "Almost none of them are impact craters." He said he would also like to see stronger evidence from rock analysis that the feature was truly caused by an impact, rather than by some other process. [Photos: Hunting Meteorites from Florida Fireball in Osceola]

He said he's particularly struck by the apparent lack of any measurable climate upheaval that such a large impact would have caused. The team wants to narrow down the date more precisely with future research but is confident that the crater formed between 3 million and 12,000 years ago, likely on the later end of that range. "It certainly should have created global effects, and we just have no hint or signature of that at this time," Kring said.

(Kjr said that, depending on when precisely the feature formed, it may match the sharp cooling of the Younger Dryas period, which ended about 11,500 years ago, but that it's certainly too early to say.)

Nevertheless, Kring said he's glad the team is pushing forward on ways to identify unknown features on Earth's surface and understand how the planet has changed over time. And if the site does indeed turn out to be an impact, studying it in more detail could offer helpful insight for planetary protection, which considers the potentially devastating effects that future impacts from the ongoing hail of planetary material could cause.

"[Asteroids] are a hazard. They are, in fact, a threat to human civilization," Kring said. "We want to better understand the consequences if or when one of those objects actually hits the Earth, and one way to do that is to go into the geological record and measure those impacts."

For Kjr, what's most exciting isn't even the dramatic collision or its potential successors  it's the act of stumbling upon something unknown. "Look here  the age of discovery is not over yet," he said. "We can still go out here and find things that we didn't see before."

The research is described in a paper published today (Nov. 14) in the journal Science Advances.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook. Original article on Space.com.






WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

MAX & GEORGIA





TRANSPLANT CHAIN

JEMMA





LAUREN & FLOYD

EXTRAS

I was out of town for several days last week and unfortunately unable to work out time to churn out a review for last week's episode but wow, talk about needing a box of tissues!We jump in right away with Max's impending cancer treatment. Now that Georgia is (finally) aware of his diagnosis, he, Helen, and his wife are able to talk openly about Helen's prescribed course of action. Max realizes that his excuses about wanting to give himself more time as medical director aren't really going to cut it now that Georgia is aware of everything going on. I love the looks Helen and Max exchange here as Georgia asks why he hasn't started preparing for treatment already, "Yes Max, why haven't you?" Helen shoots back. He's no match for these two.Georgia steps in to tell him she got him an appointment with one of the city's best dental surgeons, he has to have his back molars removed because they're in range of the radiation, but Max can't do it right now. His job, yet again, comes first. Although you really can't blame him given all the work that has gone into this transplant chain. Max isbeginning his treatment. Once the domino chain has been rectified and Helen has triple reassured him she'll keep him updated, Max agrees to go get his molar surgery.Post-surgery Max is stuck on the couch due for a lunch ofand eagerly awaiting news of the surgery. Helen dutifully texted him all night to let him know the surgery was a complete success. "Thanks for never letting us lose hope." Georgia is a tough nurse and won't let him read the rest until after he's had his bone broth. Also, points tofor Georgia having a pregnant belly still and not immediately going back to stick thin post-baby. I appreciate this show andboth being at least slightly more realistic than most shows in how they portray pregnancies this TV season.In a rare moment of vulnerability for Max, he writes out a concern (his mouth is too swollen to speak), "what if I can't do this?" But Georgia is there to comfort him. "We'll do this together." Their journey is only now beginning. And we'll get to do it with them, "Piece by piece, until everything falls into place."An undocumented man and his daughter, Giana, come to get help. Lauren assures them that New Amsterdam will not turn them away despite their status and lack of insurance. Giana is having difficulty breathing. From the expression Lauren makes when she uses her stethoscope, it doesn't look good. She immediately requests that Casey (Alejandro Hernandez) page Reynolds as soon as possible. We can assume there is something wrong with her heart.It's all hands on deck as New Amsterdam prepares for a domino surgery. We've seen this before onso it will be interesting to see how this show decides to tackle it. With all the moving pieces, overlapping surgeries, and various organ switching, there are a multitude of things that can go wrong.First up is Aminah Ali (Soraya Kelley), Helen goes to greet her and her parents who are eager to greet the woman who will be donating part of her liver to Aminah. Her name is Tonya and she's in Vijay's capable hands. We learn that she was apprehensive about doing this surgery. Her brother, Matty (Scott Stangland), is in need of an organ transplant himself and she wants to know why he can't get her liver. Unfortunately, she's not a match. Tonya seems a little skittish so I hope she doesn't go running. Especially because if even one person backs out, the domino falls and unbalances the entire surgical procedure for everyone involved, including her own brother. As Vijay explains, it is complicated but also very simple in the end, "everyone lives".I am really beginning to suspect Tonya is a flight risk! Iggy needs to give her a psych evaluation before she gives her liver away, "part of my liver" she interjects, too quickly for my taste. We learn Iggy had a brother, he died and Tonya asks him if he would have given him an organ to save his life. He hesitates before answering yes. There is obviously some story there I hope we get to uncover later on. But, like I suspected she would, Tonya has backed out of the surgery. I wonder if she's afraid of dying and leaving behind the two girls she was watching videos of on her phone.Iggy has learned that Tonya is afraid Matty would not make the same sacrifice for her if the tables were turned and therefore Iggy doesn't feel comfortable clearing her for surgery. There sibling relationship is deeply fractured. Vijay notes they are family, it shouldn't matter. Would he do the same for his son? I think he would but he of all people, should know how complicated familial relationships can be. Especially given the amount of time he's spent lurking outside of his son's restaurant. The doctors must work together to fix the chain. In Max's own words, it's a house of cards and if even one person is out, the entire thing crumbles.Except... maybe not. Max thinks they can still go through with it even if it means Aminah will be shafted and not receive her liver today. Most of the surgeries can still be completed. This is an obvious moral quandary, does the life of one outweigh that of many? Helen doesn't agree with Max and Vijay and Iggy are also at odds over Tonya's decision to withdrawal. Iggy understands her fear and is empathetic, whereas Vijay is internalizing the predicament and furious with Tonya.Of course, Iggy being Iggy, he sees through Vijay's anger right away and Vijay doesn't take kindly to being called out about comparing this to his relationship with his son.Helen has the unfortunate task of asking Aminah's husband to continue with the surgery as he was meant to be part of the donor process but he is adamant about not participating unless his wife is going to be part of it. Without their anchor patient and donor in the chain, everything is already beginning to fall apart and I can't fault them for how they feel. It is a terribly precarious and devastating situation to be in.Giana's condition means she's going to need a new lung. But due to her and her father's undocumented status, she won't be able to get on the donor list. Her father proposes they test him to see if he could become a donor for her.Back in the board room, the domino surgery has continued to crumble, without Tariq (Babak Tafti - Aminah's husband) they're losing people left and right. Helen points out that while these are good people, they're not donating out of the goodness of their hearts. Something Max takes longer to understand given his own golden heart status. But until you're in that situation, I think it's impossible to know how you'd react.When Floyd arrives with the news about Giana's lung, Max's lightbulb goes off. He might have an idea of how to save everyone and get their domino surgery back on track. Diego (Giana's father) is a match for Aminah and if he donates part of his liver to her then everyone wins. If they can get all the other participants to agree then there is no reason everyone's loved ones can't be saved.Helen approaches Tariq again but he's reached the end of his rope. "We've done enough", he says. I mean dude, I get your frustration but if finding a lung donor for Giana is the way you save Aminah instead of having no shot at all then why not?! Though by the look and interest Aminah's mother shows, I'm assuming she'll be the one to step in and save Giana's life.Max is doing his best to stall as some of the donors are beginning to get antsy. Also am I the only one who noticed the giant hole in his lab coat? Not sure if that was just a costuming accident, a moment I missed, or meant to show he never changes his coat due to his unwavering dedication but nonetheless found it endearing.Iggy gives his same psych statement and evaluation to Diego about what he should expect from this surgery. He doesn't care, he is a dedicated father and blames himself for Giana's current state of health. I couldn't help but get emotional as he described their treacherous path from Guatemala. Poor Giana is crying, she's scared of being alone as her father is meeting with Iggy. Lauren finds her and offers some words of comfort, she doesn't like being alone either and she offers to keep her company until her dad comes back. They bond over the Sandstorm comics and her first crush on a one-eyed meteor beast. I really love seeing Lauren's soft side. I'm reminded of when she went into a potentially contagious patient's room in the first episode. She has a big heart.Max has some good news for Diego. They don't have a match for Giana. They have 12 and therefore 12 shots at finding a match for a lung donor for her.It looked like things were looking up but then NOOOO! I literally yelled at the screen as Giana's heart fails and they tell Diego's crestfallen face that she is not strong enough to withstand transplant surgery. COME ON! This poor guy is devastated. They already made us watch a little girl get incurable cancer a few weeks ago can we all get a win here please!?Just when all hope is lost in regards to the transplant chain, Diego steps up. He's still willing to donate even if Giana won't be able to get her lung. If all those people were willing to fight for his daughter, the least he can do is still participate. Wow, Diego is truly one of the good ones.Floyd was able to work his magic on Giana's heart enough for her to get her transplant surgery, SHE GOT HER LUNG! Diego wakes up to this amazing news post his own organ donation. So glad these two got a happy ending.Remember Jemma? The foster girl we've been following from episode one? Well apparently Iggy was able to pull some strings to get Blanca declared an emergency foster contact and an early site visit. Jemma should have a new home within 24 hours. The look on her face is pure joy, until Iggy walks away. I think she might be nervous at the prospect of having a real forever home with someone that will actually take care of her. It's heartbreaking to see this poor girl perhaps doubting herself and considering how early on in the episode it is, I feel as if she may act out or something could happen that will mess things up. I hope not, I want Jemma to be happy.Like I suspected, Jemma had an episode. The project we saw her working on at the beginning of the episode has been decimated and Iggy is paged down to decide if they need to reconsider her home placement. Time to confront Jemma and figure out what's going on with her. She's lashing out and having a meltdown but Iggy knows there is something going on beneath the surface. She feels useless and unwanted. Today Blanca wants her, but what if, someday she doesn't? Jemma is terrified of somehow messing something up and winding back up in the foster system. But Iggy tells her that won't happen. Blanca is different and Jemma deserves to be happy and feel safe and secure.Finally, Jemma finds her home. During the closing montage we see her walk into her room for the first time. Blanca has decorated it with butterflies, unicorns, and a setup enviable by any teen girl. She's overwhelmed with emotion. I wonder if this is the last we'll see of Jemma.Floyd is riding the highs of dating Evie (Margot Bingham). It seems like things are going well between them ever since Lauren introduced the duo. Except she is yet another person who works in the same building as Floyd and doesn't want people to know they're dating yet. Floyd looks a little dismayed as she walks away from him.Back over to Lauren and Giana, Lauren is frustrated that Floyd still hasn't shown up. Maybe she's regretting introducing him to Evie? Looks as if he has been MIA for a few days around the hospital. Instead, Doctor Flores is there to explain that Giana has fluid in her lungs and after she has surgery, should be able to breathe easier.When operating on Giana, Flores confronts Floyd about not responding to Lauren's pages, maybe he should get over whatever is going on between he and Lauren and do his job. Honestly, I mentioned before I'm not warming up to the Lauren x Floyd drama and this isn't helping. It's time to put this pairing to rest for a while and give them other things to focus on. As for the surgery, draining the fluid from her lungs didn't work.While Giana is being prepped for surgery, Floyd finally talks to Lauren after spending so much time avoiding her. She's fine with him and Evie, she says. She introduced them after all. Floyd is surprised, maybe disappointed, to hear that. Right now Lauren just wants him to save Giana and they can go back to being friends. Though after he walks away, her mask falls. I think Lauren is upset and has real feelings for him, possibly Floyd has them for her too but now isn't the right time for them.In a gesture of good will, Floyd invites Lauren to lunch with him and Evie but she politely declines, she wants to go home and "chill". There is a lot going on under the surface with these two that I don't see being wrapped up any time soon. Somehow, Lauren's response pushes Floyd to Evie and he walks into her job for a romantic kiss. "See the thing is, I do want to work into work with you." Hm. Overcompensating to try and get over Lauren? Or is Floyd genuinely into Evie?"Home" for Lauren is an opulent penthouse (I think) at Copley Plaza. Ooh, does Lauren have an affluent family? A powerful parent? Her doorman greets her kindly but notes she hasn't been home in a while. Well now isn't the time either as she decides to head over to Bronx General for an extra shift instead of facing whatever lies behind those ornate doors. What do we think is going on there?I couldn't find the actor's name, but I had to go with the guy who played Diego. He had so many emotional moments and scenes, my heart broke for him and his daughter. I'm glad they were able to get a good ending this episode.The reveal that all 12 donors are open to getting tested to donate part of their lung to precious Giana. This show always gets to me!Giana. She was such a sweetheart with her comics and bond with Lauren. I was rooting for her the moment she arrived at the beginning of the episode. Glad the doctors of New Amsterdam were able to save her heart and her lung."I only saved 1 life today. You saved 6."
Madrid , Nov 14, 2018 (SPS) -This Wednesday marks 43 years of the signing of the infamous Madrid Accords among Spain, Morocco and Mauritania of Ould Dadah. Under the agreement, the Saharawi people was divided into those who remained under occupation and those who fled under bombardment of the Moroccan aviation to find a safe refuge in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria.

On November 14, 1975, the representatives of Spanish, Moroccan and Mauritanian met to sign the disastrous agreement which divided Western Sahara against all international laws, the United Nations and Security Council resolutions and the opinion of International Court of Justice in Hague.

The United Nations has never considered Morocco as the administering power of the territory of Western Sahara, which remains on the UN list as territory awaiting decolonization and, therefore, it has on the ground the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

After these 43 years, Morocco has no sovereignty over the Western Sahara and it is nothing more than a simple occupying power and, therefore, its presence in Western Sahara is illegal.SPS

125/090
STAMFORD  There was a heightened police presence Wednesday at Stillmeadow Elementary Schools open house following a threat on social media.

Sharon Beadle, spokeswoman for Stamford Public Schools, said police deemed the threat to not be credible. As a precaution, more police were stationed at the school for the Community Open House, where prospective parents, realtors and community members toured the schools.

We had a heightened police presence at Stillmeadow out of an abundance of caution, Beadle said.

Stillmeadow Principal Angela Asaro sent an email to parents, explaining the situation. All visitors to the open house were required to show picture identification.

erin.kayata@stamfordadvocate.com
STAMFORD  Stamford Ford President Dominic Franchella honored two local veterans this week with new cars.

It was a very touching event that brought tears to a lot of eyes, Franchella said.

Retired U.S. Marine Cpl. Andrew Burns was presented with a new Ford Explorer and retired U.S. Army Col. Vanessa Benson received an Army green Ford F-150 pickup truck. They each received three-year leases for the vehicles.

Franchella said he tried to give away his first lease to a veteran last year, but because the recipient was in the Army Reserve, he was unable to accept more than $1,000 in benefits. So Franchella decided to give away two leases this year.

I realized that we have our freedoms and liberties because of these young men and women are sacrificing their own time and this country does not take care of these veterans the way they should when they retire, Franchella said. For me, it is a worthy cause to help some of them.

Franchella said he is selling new and used cars to veterans this month for the same price his dealership pays for them.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
Though he moved to California in 1980, Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man and other iconic comic book characters, was very much a product of the East Coast. In comics circles in Greenwich and Stamford, as elsewhere, Lee was held in highest regard.

Bill Janocha, a Stamford cartoonist and comics historian who worked on the Beetle Bailey newspaper comic strip with Mort Walker, recalled Lee as visionary and charismatic.

He was always as kind as he was talented, Janocha recalled.

Stan was a visionary clearly on par with Walt Disney, as both men started small but their ceaseless drive, ingenious creativity and love of telling stories resulted in an ability to please and inspire a kinship with their audiences, he said.

Janocha said Walker corresponded with Lee on a regular basis, working together to preserve the history of comic art and storytelling.

Lee, who died Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 95, was the top writer and editor at Marvel Comics and later its publisher. Widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book, he revived the industry in the 1960s and presided over what comics historians call its Silver Age after a decline in the mid-1950s. His creations have dominated American, and world, movie screens for nearly two decades.

Marvel characters were set apart from the always virtuous and more conventional super heroes like DC Comics Superman. Lee aimed to make them real flesh-and-blood characters with personality, he said in a Washington Post interview in 1992. The Thing suffered from self loathing. Daredevil strove to reconcile his nighttime vigilante activities with his daily law career. Spider-Man had trouble with unrequited crushes, money problems, even dandruff. They all struggled in some ways that made them more human than super-human.

A Greenwich collector, Robert Reiner, said Lees work connected with readers on a very personal level.

Anybody who has collected comic books, or has an interest in them, would have high regard for Stan Lee. His contributions cant be denied  he really launched so many characters, that are now part of who we are today, said Reiner (who is unrelated to the film director of the same name).

Lee was an impresario as well as a storyteller.

He was a showman - he got people excited about comics again, Reiner said. He had this outgoing personality, he interacted with the fans and the readers. He personalized the comics, so readers could identify with the characters as people, rather than bizarre super heroes.

He was also in tune with the age, questioning authority in the 1960s, when his characters began appearing. Theres a lot of tongue in cheek  the idea of a super hero is kind of a ridiculous concept. He brought humor to those roles, Reiner said.

There also was an undeniable East Coast sensibility to Lees work.

Its a New York thing - they understood the pressures of city life, and brought that to the characters, the Greenwich collector continued. They were easily relatable. And Jewish humor: Stan Lee was Jewish, and many of the artists and writers were Jewish, and Italian. And they brought that humor, that culture, that adds to the flavor to the comic books.

A teacher who specializes in the world of comics said Lees work has much to offer young people today.

Stan Lee created flawed characters that represent the reality of our human existence, and did it with humor and originality, said Phil Lohmeyer, a Stamford resident, and a cartoonist and design teacher at Whitby School in Greenwich. Thanks to Stan for The Hulk, The X-Men, and of course, Spider-Man, who taught us that power and responsibility are one and the same.

An eighth-grade student at Whitby said she took the news of Lees death personally. Stan Lee would always make me laugh both on and off screen. He inspired me and so many other people to chase their own dreams, she wrote in an email, which she capped with one of the creators popular catch-phrases. When I heard the news of his death, I got really upset. No one will ever be able to replace him, and I know I speak for every fan when I say this: Stan Lee will always be missed, but never ever forgotten. Excelsior!

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

.
STAMFORD  In the six days since Westover Magnet Elementary School students were told where they would be moving while their building is cleared of mold , office spaces at Silicon Harbor have been transformed into glass-paned classrooms. Conference rooms became computer labs. Huddle spaces now store learning materials. A once-carpeted hallway is now a gym.

Wearing pink work boots and a hot pink hard hat, Principal Kathy Wunder greeted students and parents for an open house and tour of their new 108,800-square-foot facility, on the third and fourth floors of the Elmcroft Road office building, on Tuesday.

The meeting took place in one of the makeshift schools open spaces, a prominent feature of the new arrangement, for which Wunder said theyll be purchasing cluster area furniture.

The difference you might notice is its a different concept, she said. Its not all classrooms with closed doors that are self-contained. Its an open space concept. Im excited about that. I think its going to be some real 21st century learning.

Students spent the school day at Chelsea Piers for an educational field trip. Tuesday was originally supposed to be the first day at the new space, but the district moved it back to Wednesday to allow teachers more time in their classrooms.

We are still Westover, Wunder said. What defines us is who we are, our program and what we do.

RELATED: What we know about the mold problem in Stamford schools

Familiar equipment and furniture from the old building will be popping up as its cleaned, Wunder said. Items that cant be cleaned will be replaced, as with the 300 donated books and shelves for the relocated media center. A Gofundme has also been started for more classroom supplies.

Its like we had a fire, Wunder said. In a fire, you lose everything. We thought that was the case. The good news is, were getting things back. ... It wont happen overnight. Were in a really good place, but its a work in progress.

The majority of the school is based on the fourth floor, with glass-paned classrooms for kindergarten through fifth grade lining the space and wrapping around the cafeteria, media center and main office. A gymnasium area, two dance classrooms, two music rooms, a small auditorium and an instrumental music space are on the third floor of the building, as well as administration offices, some of the Arts and Problem Solving team and another main office.

Signs going up Wednesday will guide students and parents around the space, and staff will be posted to avoid confusion.

The third floor is also where parents will drop off students. Prominent signs will send them up to the third level of the garage, which is reserved for Westover. Students being bused in will be dropped off in the main lobby and shepherded up to the third floor.

According to a district official, the main lobby of the building is mostly used for deliveries, since the 100 Building and Land Trust employees who share the space enter through entrances on their respective garage levels.

In addition, the district is hiring a school resource officer and has a security guard on hand who is a 20-year veteran of the Stamford Police Department. There is also an elevator monitor (though students wont be using the elevators), a PA system in the works, phones and 35 walkie-talkies on loan from the Stamford Fire Department. Students will be practicing a fire drill Wednesday and there are lockdown and evacuation procedures in place.

I feel were in a safe building, Wunder said.

The staff is still exploring options for recess spaces, which could potentially be a nearby park or the fourth story of the garage.

After listening to Wunder explain the lay of the land, apprehensive parents and students split up by grade level and took tours of the new space, including their relocated classrooms. Some teachers took advantage of the glass classroom walls to write welcoming messages for the students.

As parents toured the space  which theyll be able to visit over two weeks thanks to a temporary open-door policy  they began to warm up. One even joked his daughter now has a corner office after seeing her new classroom.

Its beautiful, said Lisa Grabisch, who has a first-grader in the school. What theyve done with this space in a short amount of time is incredible.

In particular, Grabisch said she liked the idea of flexible-space learning and extra building security.

Everyone came together to make this happen, she said.

Within the next month, Phase II of the renovation is expected to be completed, which includes building an entrance for buses into the back of the building and adding more classroom space to the third floor.
WASHINGTON - Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Tuesday rallied a group of climate-change demonstrators waging a sit-in in the office of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., office, an encounter that touched off a display of mutual admiration between the 78-year-old matriarch and the millennial upstart.

Ocasio-Cortez, the self-described democratic socialist who ousted veteran Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., this year, struck a less-confrontational tone in the Capitol than she has on the campaign trail, openly raising the possibility of cooperating with Pelosi should she return to her perch as House speaker in the new Congress.

"Should Leader Pelosi become the next speaker of the House, we need to tell her that we've got her back in showing and pursuing the most progressive energy agenda that this country has ever seen," Ocasio-Cortez said, according to a video posted on Twitter by the environmental group Sunrise Movement, which organized the protest.

By Tuesday afternoon, what at first seemed like a potentially angry encounter as Pelosi seeks to secure the speakership, instead took a friendly turn, with the longtime Democratic leader and the 29-year-old liberal insurgent exchanging public messages of support.

"Deeply inspired by the young activists & advocates leading the way on confronting climate change," Pelosi said in a tweet. "The climate crisis threatens the futures of communities nationwide, and I strongly support reinstating the select committee to address the crisis."

In a separate statement, Pelosi said she welcomed the activists and urged the Capitol Police to "allow them to continue to organize and participate in our democracy."

"I have recommended to my House Democratic colleagues that we reinstate the select committee to address the climate crisis," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez responded soon after: "Thank you, @NancyPelosi. We have 10 years left to plan and implement a Green New Deal before cataclysmic climate disaster. Reinstating the Select Committee is exactly what we need to do."

In an exchange with reporters at the Capitol, the newly elected lawmaker also said that "one of the things I admire so much about Leader Pelosi is that she comes from a space of activism and organizing," according to footage posted by the Washington Examiner.

Pelosi has yet to secure enough votes among her caucus to ensure that she will be reelected as speaker when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3. But the longtime Democratic leader is working aggressively behind the scenes to rally members behind her bid, with the first test of her support likely to come Wednesday, when Democrats will debate a change to party rules.

The environmental activists are calling for a "Green New Deal" that would create jobs and address the climate crisis.

Varshini Prakash, founder of Sunrise Movement, criticized Pelosi in a statement Tuesday, saying that her climate change plan "is the equivalent of bringing a squirt gun to a raging drought-induced wildfire killing Americans right now."

But Ocasio-Cortez took a more evenhanded approach, encouraging those at the sit-in and calling for "100 percent renewable energy in 10 years" while also refraining from criticizing Pelosi directly. As the demonstrators greeted her with wild applause and cheers, she told them that their protest was "not just about confrontation" but also about "real, meaningful unity."

"I just want to let you all know how proud I am of each and every single one of you for putting yourselves and your bodies and everything on the line to make sure that we save our planet, our generation and our future," Ocasio-Cortez said. "It's so incredibly important."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  The chairman of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit called for urgent multilateral cooperation to address regional issues, including climate change.

"Climate change is rendering ASEAN countries vulnerable to rising sea levels because of our long coastlines and low-lying areas," Singapore Prime Minister and ASEAN Chair Lee Hsien Loong said in the summit's opening remarks Tuesday.

"Higher temperatures and extreme weather are affecting our crop yields, spreading tropical diseases, and threatening the lives and livelihoods of our peoples," he added.

The latest report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reveals that the risk of coastal flooding is projected to be highest in Southeast Asia. Three ASEAN countries  Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines  will have at least 50 million people exposed to sea level rise.

The IPCC report added a 2C warming by 2040 indicated a one-third decline in per capita crop production in the region.

A 2017 report from the World Bank showed that Southeast Asia could enter "new climate regimes" beginning 2070 due to unprecedented heat extremes. In this "regime", the coolest summer months would be warmer than the hottest summer months in the period from 1951 to 1980.

The Philippines bore the brunt of two stronger-than-average typhoons this year, "Ompong" and "Rosita," which battered the northern parts of the country.

Lee then called on other ASEAN leaders to promote multilateral cooperation to address this regional concern, among other transnational threats such as cyberattacks and terrorism.

"In an interdependent and interconnected world, ASEAN will work with our external partners to tackle these challenges," Lee said.

The 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits is being held in Singapore until Friday, November 15, where leaders of the 10 Southeast Asian Nations, including President Rodrigo Duterte, are attending.
Following Loucks testimony and after a lunch break, defense attorneys Jason Powell and Sharmila Manak moved for a directed finding that Swopes was unfit and that the state had not met its burden to prove that he was fit. With no objection from Pappas, Stride agreed and issued the finding.
S truggling regional airline Flybe on Wednesday put itself up for sale after being burdened with higher fuel costs and currency headwinds.

The carrier revealed its strategic review as it posted a 54% slump in first-half pre-tax profits to 7.4 million. It also warned that it is grappling with softer demand in the short-haul flights market.

Flybe said it is in discussions with a number of strategic operators about a potential sale of the company.

Chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener declined to say whether the suitors were rivals, or whether Southend airport-owner Stobart may revisit talks. It abandoned plans for a takeover deal earlier this year.

Flybes slots at Heathrow, Southend and Gatwick could appeal to other airlines. It has 78 planes.

The shares rose 0.31p to 12.1p, valuing Flybe at 25 million. It was 215 million when it floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2010.

Ourmieres-Widener added that another part of the review, which financial adviser Evercore is acting on, could alternatively see the airline speed up its cost savings plan.

The firm said: Given the challenges brought by rising fuel prices and weaker sterling, management is actively encouraging every employee to focus on innovative ways to reduce costs and challenge existing procedures.

Measures being looked at include reviewing supplier contracts and better fuel planning.

Todays update comes around a month after the firm warned it expects a full-year pre-tax loss of 22 million, far higher than the City had forecast.

In the six months to September 30 revenues decreased 2.4% to 419.2 million, partly hurt by a reduction in its fleet size.

The company added that Brexit remains a major uncertainty for the sector and the wider economy.

Ourmieres-Widener told the Standard: Like rivals we are in challenging times... you have to look at all options.
T he UKs biggest listed landlord, Grainger, swelled its portfolio of homes to rent in London and the South-East on Wednesday with a 396 million deal.

Grainger is buying out its joint venture partner, European pension fund manger APG, to take full ownership of their GRIP Reit partnership, which has 1700 homes.

Grainger is paying with a 347 million cash-call on shareholders.

The portfolio, which should generate 32.5 million in rent a year, grows the value of Graingers private rented pipeline to 1.37 billion, well ahead of its original target of 850 million by 2020.

Chief executive Helen Gordon has targeted growth as the number of households in the sector is set to jump from 4.7 million to 7.2 million by 2025.

Grainger has managed the GRIP Reit portfolio since 2013 while holding a 24.9% stake.

Gordon said: Ive been disappointed and frustrated that we have been doing the heavy lifting to build a brilliant portfolio but we only own 25% of it. Grainger is focused on London and the surrounding areas in particular due to high property prices and its economic resilience.
L loyds Banking Group has agreed to pay compensation to the author of an explosive leaked report into the HBOS Reading fraud scandal.

Sally Masterton, who wrote the Project Lord Turnbull report leaked online in May, agreed a settlement with the high street bank to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused to her by the saga.

The former Lloyds senior risk officer found herself in the spotlight after an unredacted version of the report was published online by campaigners and included her mobile phone number.

The Project Lord Turnbull report, given to police and regulators in 2014, claimed HBOS had covered up a fraud at its Reading branch ahead of its Lloyds rescue in the midst of the financial crisis.

Six people went to prison over the case.

Dame Linda Dobbs is investigating the claims with Mastertons assistance after MPs took an interest in the issue.
T he demolition of the Jungle at Calais begins today, but it will not be the end of the refugee problem. Some of the migrants will return there from the French centres they are being dispersed to and sleep rough on the streets of Calais.

Others will go, however reluctantly, to other parts of France and apply for asylum there. A few may resist the police round-up. More may be deported, with their dreams of a better life in Britain at an end.

Britain is taking more unaccompanied minors from the Jungle today and it is to the credit of Alf Dubs, who made legislative provision for these children, that this is happening, since many of these refugees have no family connection in Britain and are coming here simply on the basis of need. This is the minimum humanitarian gesture we should be making and, as Lord Dubs says, if a few over-18-year-olds are among them, it is not such a great problem. By comparison with the huge numbers of refugees arriving in Italy or Greece, Britain is accepting only a relatively small number of vulnerable young people. We should be making them welcome.

It is hard to blame the French authorities for closing the camp  we would find it hard to cope with a similar situation here. Desperate individuals have gone to extreme lengths to get on vehicles of any kind to get to Britain, which has made life near-impossible for lorry drivers travelling from Calais. Migrants in France are in a civilised country; it is in the camp that the young and vulnerable are especially at risk.

But the refugee crisis must be addressed at source, not just in its symptoms, as in the Jungle. Most of the people in the camp are from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan  states with deep-rooted economic and security problems. If we are to deal with the exodus of people from these regions we must do so there, as well as by disrupting the people-trafficking that enables them to come to Europe at huge risk to themselves.

Even after the Jungle is demolished Britain has a responsibility to continue to contribute to the heavy costs of security at Calais. Meanwhile we should do what we can for the young refugees who come here. After their ordeal they deserve our hospitality and support.

Good science

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given 2 million to a team at UCL to undertake research into the effects of malnutrition on the brain development of African babies. The project can be examined at a conference in London this week, which Mr Gates will attend.

This is a generous donation and an example of philanthropic and scientific co-operation at its best. The foundation is focusing much of its efforts on research into a childs first 1,000 days, starting at conception, and the effects of disease and malnourishment. The sobering truth is that 80 million children in poor countries are failing to reach the stages of cognitive development that our own children can achieve. The Gateses support for the UCL research will bear precious fruit, far into the future.

Best of the best
N ow that the Brexit divorce deal is on offer, we can see who the winners and losers are.

First, the winners. Of course, theres the European Union.

It never wanted Britain to leave but once the UK government triggered Article 50, its key objective was to stop us cherrypicking the benefits of EU membership while shirking the costs. It has succeeded.

During the transition period after exit, Britain is agreeing to abide by all the rules, judgments and costs of being a member of the EU as the price it pays for continued access to EU markets and security arrangements.

Another winner is Michel Barnier, who has been consistently underrated.

Downing Street told everyone it could split Berlin and Paris from Brussels. It failed. Corralled by Mr Barnier, the 27 countries and the EU institutions showed more unity than the ever-changing cast of 22 Cabinet members.

Crucially, the Commission insisted that decisions about the permanent relationship between Britain and the EU could only take place after we had left.

Theresa May, in her Lancaster House speech, said that was not acceptable  I want us to reach agreement about our future partnership by the time the two-year Article 50 process has concluded. A year later, there is no agreement.

Indeed, Mrs May has actively sought the vaguest possible words on a future economic partnership as the only way for her to survive politically.

All the key decisions on borders, money and laws have been parked in the future, where Britains hand will be even weaker.

Yesterday, Mr Barniers deputy, Sabine Weyand, revealed the EUs starting-point in those negotiations: The [UK] must align... but the EU will retain all the controls. Anyone who thinks that wont be the outcome has learnt nothing.

Divided union

Another winner today is the Irish government.

For a small state, it has played a blinder, making the open border with the north one of the three central EU objectives (along with the money and citizen rights).

The backstop, confirmed yesterday, preserves the Good Friday Agreement. Thats good news. For Irish nationalists, theres also the bonus that Brexit will push Northern Ireland into an ever closer relationship with the Republic.

This is not lost on those who are fighting to keep Scotland in the UK. The Unionists of Ulster have once again achieved their historic role of undermining the Union they claim to be so attached to.

Finally, there is the British civil service led by Olly Robbinss team and overseen until very recently by the late Jeremy Heywood.

Few of them believed privately that Brexit was a good idea; but all worked flat out to persuade the Prime Minister (once her poisonous advisers had been sacked) that a bad deal was still better than no deal. They are doing their best to save the country from walking off a cliff next March.

And the losers from this bad deal?

Well, theres all those blustering Brexit fools who told the British public that the EU needed us more than we needed them, that the deal would be the easiest in history and wed get our money back.

Then theres all those naive business leaders and hedge fund managers who thought the dispossessed of our industrial towns were voting with them for Britain to become a Singapore in the North Sea.

For all these people, many of whom are now making their own commercial arrangements to flee the country, its not this decision day they need to worry about  but the judgment day that history will deliver.

However, the biggest loser, sadly, is Britain.

We are losing power, losing influence and losing control. We are entering the permanent political purgatory that the Prime Minister warned against. It is a bridge to nowhere.

There are alternatives. We could form a secure alliance with others outside the EU, such as Norway and Switzerland, by joining an EEA/EFTA arrangement. This would give our economy certainty and our country some influence.

Or we could ask the public, now that they have seen what Brexit entails, to vote again in another referendum.

If they voted Remain we would not only be signed up to EU rules but have a say over them. Wed have taken back control.

Neither of these options are being presented to the Cabinet today. But both are available to Parliament.

We hope they choose one of them.

TODO: define component type apester
We have a number of different assemblies here at Rutledge Hall, said Principal Scott Grens after the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. We have fun, energetic, exciting assemblies. We have assemblies where were really thankful for things. This is a combination of both, but one of the things this is most for us today is that this is an assembly of respect.
H old the champagne! The UK and EU27 officials have agreed a text  but now comes the hard part. What will the politicians across Europe and in the UK, both in Government and in the House of Commons do?

Politicians know that down the proverbial Dog and Duck the public are worn out by Brexit and want it all over. Yet they also know that the public do not want Brexit at any price and that many of their constituents will be unhappy, whatever the deal is.

Last night, in a scene reminiscent of 1990, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned, Cabinet ministers were called in to meet Theresa May individually. The meetings will probably have been short and to the point and will have gone something like this: Here it is. You have overnight to declare your support.

This afternoon the Cabinet will meet to ratify the Prime Ministers endeavours  with or without some ministers. I suspect few, if any, will resign, as they know that their influence and future prospects will decline if they are not sitting at the table.

The real test is whether this deal will pass through the House of Commons. Many MPs will be preparing to analyse it based on whether it is in the national interest, the interest of their constituents and ultimately whether they can vote for it in good conscience. If the deal can be argued to protect the countrys economic interests, then it will attract support on the Conservative back benches. My hope is that after careful analysis I can support the PMs deal.

But not all Conservatives are on board. The Brexiteers in the European Research Group will make a calculation based on two factors. They are likely to support the deal if they think that after March 29 it allows them to steer towards a hard Brexit after the transition period. They are likely to vote against the deal if it aligns the UK too closely to the EU and in their view prevents the dream of economic freedom. And a number of colleagues will also prefer a Peoples Vote over this deal.

However, this is a minority Government and even if every Tory were to support the Prime Minister, which is unlikely, the reaction of the Opposition parties is vital. Undoubtedly the deal will fail the Labour Partys flawed tests  any deal secured by any Prime Minister would. So the key to success lies with the DUP and therefore the fine text of what exactly has been agreed for Northern Ireland will be key.

All these factors and factions are febrile. The deal cannot be certain to attract a majority in the Commons. If this is the case, no deal must not be the default position. As I have written before on these pages the consequences of no deal will be calamitous for our country. I still believe that EEA/EFTA offers a sensible plan B. Hold the champagne, Brexit isnt over yet.
T he Prime Minister says the talks over the Brexit terms are in the endgame. She may have been whiling away long evenings waiting for the EU draft withdrawal deal reading Samuel Becketts eponymous drama about circularity and stasis. The end is in the beginning and yet you go on, sighs one of the despairing characters. Well, quite.

Quite how much the end is in the beginning is emerging as leaks from Brussels today lay brutally bare how far the PM has had to give ground to clinch an agreement. Measures that tie the UK to EU rules for the foreseeable future of the backstop period include workers and environmental rights, state aid and, according to a leak in The Times, a link between access to products and fisheries in future agreements.

This latter point (even if the wording of the leak is disputed by Sabine Weyand, the deputy chief negotiator) makes clear that the quest to take back control is now rapidly sliding into vanishingly little control of anything outside of EU immigration and a few matters of which flag flies where. Most of the other decisive stuff will be rubber-stamped by the body we are trying to leave.

Unsurprisingly, former Brexit Secretary David Davis sees this moment as capitulation. Jacob Rees-Mogg amps the rhetoric to predict life in a slave Britain. Boris Johnson rolls out the thousand-years-of-history thunder to cry havoc on the withdrawal deal.

Brother Jo, lodestar of the Never Surrender tendency for Remain, saved us all time by resigning before the deal was delivered on the grounds that he would not like a document intended to withdraw us from the EU because he really wanted to stay in it.

Anne McElvoy

May has belatedly understood that her best chance of selling a scrappy outcome is the very opposite of her old maxim that no deal is better than a bad deal. Clearly she no longer believes this. Her challenge today is to explain why a pretty bad deal is less risky than no deal  and thus worth taking.

We wanted the Brussels a la carte menu and got one of those prix fixe numbers with the unappetising starter and pudding and a very small portion of meat instead. But it is late and the shutters are coming down. So do ministers focus on the shortcomings of the withdrawal plan or the risk of not accepting it?

One influential Remainer in Cabinet concludes from an overnight speed- read that the draft represents a good deal  on the grounds that it is not no deal or a second referendum, which would both be terrible. The Cabinet is not being asked if it likes what it gets  a customs union-based relationship which avoids a hard border in Ireland by means of a convoluted UK-wide customs union and some separate rules for Northern Ireland to facilitate the frictionless trading of goods across the border.

The ire of the Democratic Unionists, which is never hard to rouse, is assured. May appears to have discounted DUP support in return for the appearance of claiming a victory over the backstop plan to retain Northern Ireland in the customs union during the transition period to the final Brexit (whenever that is).

So the deal (as the first step towards terms for post-Brexit trade) is really a mechanism for avoiding something worse, or at least less calculable. Its obvious contradictions and inadequacies mean it cannot satisfy the fundamental Brexit instinct for greater autonomy, nor does it quell Remain fretfulness about getting the worst of both worlds  being out of the EU and still sort-of in it. It can unite Boris and Jo Johnson from opposite sides of the Brexit debate.

"The PMs tactics are to inch forward, one battle at a time, and claim that no alternative is workable"

Yet unenviable choices are sometimes just about avoiding the worst outcomes, rather than securing the best. A no-deal scenario strikes moderate Leavers and Remainers alike as unmanageable and a recipe for national chaos.

They include (at the last reckoning) Michael Gove (Leave) and Matt Hancock (Remain). Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt (both bi-curious Remainer-turned-Leavers). This group  the intellectually sentient part of Cabinet, as one waspish minister puts it  could all find sound reasons to oppose May.

But No 10 calculates that the fear of no deal is potent enough to stave off a killer revolt. One potential rebel, the Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, appears to have been lulled into compliance, having been kept tightly in the PMs confidence.

Bluntly, May can deal with an exit of the likes of Esther McVey, Penny Mordaunt and Liam Fox. Her immediate outlook is far worse if she loses the centrist ballast that has kept her government afloat. Remember, too, that for those with an eye on the PMs job or the Chancellorship the calculation is as much about appearing loyal as it is about the deal itself.

How will May proceed? The path of the plan through Parliament still looks near impossible. But the PMs tactics are to inch forward, one battle at a time, allowing time for her opponents flaws to be displayed and claiming that no alternative is workable.

Today she will effectively tell unhappy colleagues to get their palace coup out of the way  or back the plan before the next great stumbling block, the Commons showdown next month.

Like Becketts vexing Endgame, this was always where we were likely to end up  trading proximity to the single market for autonomy and eking out small wins against a more powerful multi-lateral negotiating partner. If the resulting Brexit looks more anaemic than full-blooded, it is the only outcome that does not invite even more hazard for the UK, or prolong the uncertainty via a second vote. That is the bet the Cabinet is being asked to take today. Other endgames are available. None looks much easier to deliver.
Over the years we've had numerous luxury trainers on our wish list.

From Balenciaga Triple S's, to a pair of Off-White high-tops, neutral Yeezy's or gemstone-embellished Gucci's. But alas, with prices ranging from the hundreds to 1,000, the purchase seemed just a little extravagant.

These styles however now seem like a bargain, as Jimmy Choo has just shown us the future of luxury trainers with its latest release: The Diamond Sneaker.

As the name suggests, the deluxe shoe is dazzling, extremely expensive (retailing at a jaw-dropping 2,795) and you'll want to own a pair ASAP.

(Jimmy Choo ) / Jimmy Choo

"For the debut deluxe Jimmy Choo sneaker we imagined how it would feel to step into a multi-faceted diamond, playing with the sense of lightness and clarity the different angles reflect. It was from this idea the Diamond sneaker was born. explained Sandra Choi, Creative Director of the brand.

Crystal Shimmer Suede Low Top Trainers with Crystal Details (Jimmy Choo ) / Jimmy Choo

Using only the best luxury materials, the shoes are made out of crystal shimmer suede and doused in intricate Swarovski crystal embellishment.

The futuristic shoes also come with a clear TPU sole, putting a new spin on the oversized sneaker trend.

(Jimmy Choo ) / Jimmy Choo

Love the style, but not the price tag?
P lans to build a 'toxic port on the Thames have been abandoned after residents expressed concerns over air quality.

A proposal from Morgan Stanley to regenerate the Enderby Wharf site in Greenwich would have allowed cruise ships to dock at the site and leave their engines running after it was approved in 2015.

However, the proposal received backlash from campaigners who branded the port toxic due to emissions that would be given off from the cruise ships.

Concerns had mounted from the moment the plans to build the development were approved back in 2015 due to the ports proposed location near hundreds of homes and an estimated 12 schools.

However, Morgan Stanley sent a letter on Wednesday announcing their decision to rethink development plans after taking community concerns into account.

The letter reads: [We have] listened to the comments expressed by both the Council and the broader community.

As a result, we are discussing revised plans and proposals for the Enderby site that would no longer include a cruise terminal at Enderby Wharf and will continue to explore options to meet the needs of the Council and the local community.

Laura Eyres from East Greenwich Residents Association, which has been campaigning against the decision for three years, told the Standard the group was delighted and over the moon.

She said: We were initially concerned about the size of the development because it was quite dense in terms of high rise buildings.

But as we looked into it more we became really concerned about the level of pollution that was going to be generated from the scheme.

According to the No Toxic Cruise Port campaign, the proposal would have opened Enderby Wharf to visits from up to 55 cruise liners throughout the period of April to September, allowing ships to dock at the port for three days at a time.

Eyres said a turning point in the campaign came earlier this year when the mayor of London and new Greenwich Council leader, Danny Thorpe, withdrew their support for the project after previous leadership had given the project the green light in 2015.

We were bowled over by the reaction from the community and community groups, she said.

Cllr Danny Thorpe said: After months of discussions, Im pleased that Morgan Stanley have finally agreed to cancel their plans to build a cruise terminal at Enderby Wharf.

The more we learned about the causes and impacts of air pollution, the louder the objections to the terminal became.

I shared our residents concerns and earlier this year publicly called on the developers to rethink their plans, pushing for a cleaner, greener terminal.

Morgan Stanley were not able to find a solution as it appears that the technology to build a clean terminal isnt there yet. Until it is, we wont support any new proposal that involves polluting ships docking in our borough.

He continued to thank Greenwich MP Matthew Pennycook and the No Toxic Cruise Port campaigners for raising awareness of the dangers of air pollution on the river.
P okemon Detective Pikachu is just days away from release in the UK, and it already looks set to be one of the most unusual blockbusters released in 2019.

The movie is the first ever live-action film based on the Pokemon franchise and a chance for fans to see the creatures like never before.

Whereas previous Pokemon films have been captured in the anime style, the animated creatures exist alongside actors in the movie.

The joint American and Japanese project is based on a game of the same name, released on Nintendo 3DS earlier this year, which saw players solve crimes with a talking Pikachu.

The hype for the film is proving infectious, with fans attending a special Pokemon pop-up in Covent Garden ahead of its release.

Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming film.

Cast

Pint-sized detective: Ryan Reynolds provides the voice for Pikachu

Justice Smith stars as a failed Pokemon trainer Tim Goodman, whose father Harry Goodman was a respected police detective disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Ryan Reynolds, however, is the biggest star attached to the project. He voices Pikachu, an unusually smart Pokemon detective and former partner of Tims father. While other humans can only hear him say "Pika Pika", Pikachu encounters Tim and discover he is the only human who can understand him properly.

Together, they investigate Tims fathers disappearance, with Pikachu saying: "If you want to find your Pops, I'm your best bet."

Reynolds recognised the unexpected nature of his new role in a recent tweet, posting the tongue-in-cheek comment: I think we all knew Id wind up as a miniature detective repeatedly saying the same two words. Just didnt think itd be this soon.

Elsewhere, there are also appearances from the likes of Rita Ora and Bill Nighy in the film. Director Rob Letterman (Shark Tale, Gullivers Travels, Goosebumps) helms the project, which is written by Guardians of the Galaxys Nicole Perlman.

Trailer

The first trailer has been viewed over 25m times since being revealed this week, and its received a mixed reaction to say the least.

The 3D rendering of the Pokemon has polarised viewers, although some went out of their way to praise the look of the trailer.

Others, meanwhile, have called Pikachus fur in the trailer gross and criticised the look of the film.

The pint-sized character, who can be seen wearing a deerstalker style hat, is joined by a host of other creatures, some more adorable than others. As well as Pikachu, Jigglypuff and a herd of Bulbasaurs, a scaly Charizard and a pretty terrifying Mr. Mime pokemon feature in the clip.

Release Date
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.
Review at a glance









O ne of the primary pleasures of each new production at Ellen McDougalls vibrant Gate is the fact that audience members enter the playing space not knowing where, or how, theyll be seated. The arrangement changes each time, but it always guarantees close involvement in the action; opting out is not an option.

So it proves again here for this adaptation of Jamaica Kincaids eponymous 1988 essay, an eloquent and impassioned tirade about her native Antigua.

Director Anna Himali Howard has skilfully filleted the book with Season Butler; two actors, Cherrelle Skeete and Nicola Alexis, take it in turns, and occasionally overlap, with the narrative.

A Small Place starts in a slightly more gentle gear, exposing the dark truths behind the charming simplicity so beloved by tourists.

It then becomes powerful but relentless, a stinging indictment of colonialism and corruption, with the fiercest outpouring of hatred reserved for the English, from whom Antigua gained independence in 1981. Antiguans, says Kincaid, didnt formerly have the word for racism; instead, they were astonished by the rudeness of these bad-minded people.

The direction and design (fine work, Camilla Clarke) are constantly, delightfully surprising. The actors weave sinuously among us, pausing at intriguing corners. The soundscape becomes ever more crackly and discordant and Kincaid spits her rage over Antiguas lack of a proper library. Im glad I dont have to tell her that I enjoyed my holiday there.
The British royals may dominate the headlines for the most part, but Prince Nikolai of Denmark is the Internets latest royal obsession. Nikolai, who looks like a cross between Timothee Chalamet and Adam Driver, exploded into popularity in 2018 when he became a prominent fixture at fashion week - opening for the likes of Dior.

Since then, hes become the fashion brands golden boy and even opened the recent Dior Homme A/W 2020 show last week.

Getty Images

Wearing a collared Dior-emblazoned pinstripe shirt, pearl-embellished gloves and slicked back hair, he appeared a total natural as he kicked off the highly anticipated show.

Getty Images

In case you havent heard of the young Dane, heres the rundown on him.

Who is Prince Nikolai of Denmark?

Getty Images

Nikolai (Nikolai William Alexander Frederik) was born in Copenhagen on August 28, 1999 and his official title is His Highness Prince Nikolai of Denmark, Count of Montpezat. Hes the oldest grandson of Queen Margrethe and oldest son of Prince Joachim and former wife Alexandra, the Hong Kong-born Countess of Frederiksborg.

He recently celebrated his twentieth birthday and the Danish royal households official Instagram honoured him with a set of official portraits.

Although his parents divorced in 2005, he was able to grow up with both of them through joint custody, along with his brother Prince Felix. He also has two younger half-siblings, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena, from his fathers second marriage to Princess Marie.

While Nikolai is sixth in line for the throne, hes been making a name for himself in the modeling world.

Nikolai walking for Burberry in 2018 / Pixelformula/Sipa/Shutterstock

After signing with agency Scoop Models in early 2018, the prince made his runway debut for Burberrys show at London Fashion Week the same year, where he walked alongside supermodel Cara Delevingne.

Between his green eyes and curly brown tresses, the public instantly took notice of the royal star in the making.

Then in June, Prince Nikolai opened the catwalk for Kim Jones's debut menswear show at Dior -- a huge coup for a new model. It seems that Nickolai impressed Jones because the designer then tapped the prince for his first Dior menswear campaign that was unveiled in October.

He also walked at Diors Pre-Fall 2019 show in Tokyo the month after, where he donned a striking leather jacket and combat boots combo.

Prince Nikolai walking at Dior's Pre Fall 2019 Tokyo show / WWD/Shutterstock

So how does the prince balance royal life and a new modeling career? Well, Nikolais father reportedly excused him from royal duties in support of his other endeavors, explaining to Billed Bladet that his son should not be forced into something" and should decide his own future.

The young royal has been cut off financially from the crown as a result, with the exception of finances for his education. Nikolai began his two-year military program at the Royal Danish Army's Sergeant School in August, but dropped out a few months later with the support of his parents.

Although he may have made a name for himself in the fashion world, 2019 has been quieter on the sartorial front for Prince Nikolai. In fact, it was revealed by a local Danish outler named Tt pa that the royal actually intends to return to higher education, with hopes of pursuing a specialised business degree at Copenhagen Business School.

Nikolai walking in Dior Homme's SS19 show / Getty Images

Prince Nikolai didnt rule out modelling, but explained that it wasnt his main priority. He told the outlet via Hola, I do not want a career as a model. Id rather look at it as a job, which can help me along the way while educating me.

As an emerging royal, Nikolai understandably keeps most of his private life on the down-low. But he did reveal that he's a big fan of deep house music on Danish radio show P4 Weekend back in 2015, where he was welcomed as a guest DJ.
N otorious prisoner Charles Bronson has told a jury for once in my life I really am innocent after he allegedly attacked a prison governor.

The 66-year-old is accused of pinning HMP Wakefield governor Mark Docherty to the ground and threatening to bite his nose off.

Bronson, who was played by actor Tom Hardy in a self-titled film, denies attempting to seriously harm Mr Docherty before he was due to attend a welfare meeting.

Prosecutors say Bronson was heard whistling the tune of The Great Escape film before he launched himself on the governor, before prison staff restrained him.

The court also heard how Bronson allegedly wanted to attack him for months.

Leeds Crown Court heard before his wedding to actress Paula Williamson at the prison in November 2017, Bronson had been told he and his new wife would be given 22 wedding photographs, all taken by prison staff, but Mr Docherty later changed his decision.

A court sketch of Bronson in Leeds Crown Court / PA

Bronson, who is representing himself, sang the oath as he started giving evidence in his defence from the dock and stood throughout.

He said: "Members of the jury, here I am facing the biggest farce probably in prison history and that's why I am here today."

He said he had planned to call three witnesses, including his wife, but explained it would be "very, very cruel" to do so because she was now in a rehab clinic after taking an overdose and had "almost died".

He said their divorce was "in the process" and he had "lost a loving beautiful wife over all this nonsense".

Explaining the incident on January 25, he said: "When I went into that room there has been a lot said about me whistling the Great Escape.

Great tune. I am always whistling, I am always singing. I am always happy, most of the time. So it's not unusual and I don't understand why they have made a big issue of it.

"When I went into the room I was not happy at all with the governor. I don't like him, make no bones about it. An arrogant, ignorant man.

"When I went into that room there was nothing in my mind whatsoever to attack the governor. Coming from me, the man of violence most of my life. I will put my hands up to that, I have been a very nasty man in my time.

A van carrying Charles Bronson arriving at Leeds Crown Court / PA

"I was going to grab him in a bear hug, a gentle one. No intention of harming him and I was going to whisper in his ear: 'where's my wife's photos?'

"Unfortunately, me being who I am, I believe the staff, the prison officers, actually over-reacted. I can understand why. I am not blaming them.

"If I had hurt that man, punched him... I would be standing here pleading guilty and I would deserve everything that happened.

"I never injured him and I never intended to injure him. It was more of a wake-up call for him, a reality check - you may be the governor, a man of power, do whatever you want to me, but don't mess around with my family."

He said his nose-biting comment, caught on bodycam footage, was "horrible" but they were "just words".

Bronson said: "It's a figure of speech. I would never dream of biting someone's nose off."

He told jurors how he had been making progress in prison but it "wasn't to be".

He said: "This incident has cost me dearly but for once in my life I really am an innocent man. Thank you very much for listening to me."

Bronson agreed with prosecutor Carl Fitch his relationship with Mr Docherty had been "poor" for the last two years.

He said he was "upset" about the decision a few days before his wedding to not allow the photographs to be taken out of prison and for two guests not to be allowed to attend.

Paula Williamson, the wife of prisoner Charles Bronson, stands in Downing Street, London, with a Charles Bronson look-alike / PA Archive/PA Images

But he said he went ahead with the ceremony and photographs were taken.

He said: "Hopefully I had little bit of faith that somewhere down the line they may review it and say 'Charlie, we have made a mistake, you can have your photos'."

Bronson said he remained "very upset" his mother could not have the photographs as she would "certainly never sell those photos".

Mr Fitch outlined a number of Bronson's previous convictions including inflicting actual bodily harm on the governor of HMP Woodhill in 2014 when he grabbed him by his neck and started to choke him.

The court heard that attack followed the governor deciding to stop Bronson's post going out.

Bronson said: "My mother's post by the way. I should have punched him a few more times as well.

"You don't mess around with elderly ladies, especially my mother."

Bronson said he believed he may have tripped as he went into the room to see Mr Docherty.

"His injuries, minor as they are, could well have been caused by another officer," he said.

"It's a possibility, it happens. If I was going to attack him he would have had serious facial injuries.

"I agree my behaviour on that video is atrocious. It's the way I talk. It's the way I express myself."

Bronson, currently at HMP Frankland in Durham and who is standing trial under the name Charles Salvador, denies a charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
A man has handed himself into police after a CCTV appeal which showed a suspect pushing an innocent pedestrian into the path of traffic in the City of London.

CCTV footage released by police on Tuesday showed the victim, 57, being shoved from behind into the road where he narrowly avoided being hit by a taxi.

Police released the footage as well as a photograph of the suspect taken by a member of the public in an attempt to identify him.

The footage showed the victim walking on the east pavement of New Bridge Street at around 8am on the morning of July 23 before he was shoved.

On Wednesday, City of London Police said in a statement: "We recently released CCTV footage in connection to an incident on #NewBridgeStreet in July where a man was pushed into the road. Following this appeal, a man has contacted police and agreed to a voluntary interview.

Police said a suspect has handed himself in after a CCTV appeal which showed a pedestrian being shoved into the road / City of London Police

"The public are thanked for their help in sharing this appeal."

Police say the victim brushed shoulders and exchanged words with the suspect moments before the incident. The victim carried on walking to work but was followed by the suspect who then allegedly pushed him towards the oncoming cars.

The pedestrian suffered grazes to his hands and arms and was dazed briefly.

Passers-by rushed to help while others followed the suspect to confront him. One member of the public took a photo of the man.
And with it being the 100th year of the Armistice, and the signing and the end of World War I, its good to go ahead and remind people of the sacrifices that veterans make on a daily basis, for our country, for our rights, for our freedoms, Lampert said.
A hospital trust is investigating after a man died from rabies, with his widow claiming he was given anti-itch cream when he sought help.

Omar Zouhri, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was bitten by a rabid cat in Morocco on August 31. He attended Stoke Mandeville Hospital for a rabies jab on October 5 and visited A&E on October 28 suffering finger pains.

But his widow, Chadia Zouhri, told the Sun he was sent home with E45 cream. She said: "The poor man begged so many for help but no-one was there for him.

The father-of-two returned to the hospital the next day suffering a fever, before being transported to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on November 1. He died on November 4.

Dr Tina Kenny, medical director of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which is responsible for Stoke Mandeville, said on Wednesday that an internal investigation had been launched.

Mr Zouhri died at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford / Steve Parsons/PA

She said in a statement: We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Zouhri.

We can confirm that Mr Zouhri attended Stoke Mandeville Hospital before being transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford as the regional referral centre for infectious diseases.

Given that deaths from rabies are so rare in this country, we have already begun our own internal review of Mr Zouhri's care and understand that an inquest into his death will be opened in due course.

She continued: It is therefore not appropriate to make any further comment until the inquest has concluded.

However, if the family have any concerns about the care they received at our hospital, we would encourage them to get in touch and discuss them with us."

Mr Zouhri had treatment at Stoke Mandeville Hospital last month, but died on November 4 / Steve Parsons/PA

Meanwhile, Nabil Jellal, Mr Zouhri's nephew, told the Daily Mirror of seeing him deteriorate in hospital.

He said: "He was sedated but he was still fighting. He was trying to fight it and not let it beat him."

"He was speaking a bit, some of his last words were to ask us to look after his family."

Public Health England issued a warning to travellers after Mr Zouhri contracted the disease.

Prompt care, including wound cleaning and a course of the rabies vaccine, is usually effective and can save an infected person's life.

It is believed he sought care both in Morocco and when at home after being bitten. No more details have been released by government officials about the case.

Public Health England said there was "no risk" to the wider public but as a precautionary measure, health workers and close contacts have been offered vaccination if necessary.

Rabies does not circulate in either wild or domestic animals in the UK, but between 2000 and 2017 five UK residents became infected with rabies after "animal exposures abroad.

The last recorded rabies case in Britain was in 2012, when a UK resident was bitten by a dog in south Asia.
T he father of a student who killed himself days after leaving a psychiatric ward today criticised doctors who released him despite an earlier suicide attempt.

Stuart Curtis, 56, said his son could still be alive if doctors had sectioned him and overruled his request not to tell his parents that he had tried to kill himself at a bridge.

Henry Curtis-Williams, a kind and gentle photography student at the London College of Fashion , was admitted to a mental health facility after police thwarted a suicide bid on his 21st birthday. He was assessed by psychiatrists from Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) before being discharged the next day without his parents knowledge.

Five days later, on May 16, 2016, he was found hanged near his student halls in Acton.

Mr Curtis, a furniture salesman, and Henrys mother Pippa Travis-Williams, both of Ipswich, learned of Henrys previous attempt on his life three weeks later, from his London GP. After a verdict of suicide was recorded at West London coroners court last week, Mr Curtis said: They wouldnt have told us anything if it wasnt for this inquest  its an utter mess.

Loving son: Henry with his mother Pippa / Stuart Curtis

If someone has got mental health issues and youre not going to entrust their parents, then you might at least do a good job of looking after them. If Henry had been sectioned he wouldnt have been able to leave. And if they had told us, we would have helped him and he could be alive today. The inquest also heard NSFT incorrectly named Henry as William in a letter of condolence to his parents.

The court heard from independent expert Dr William Shanahan of the Nightingale Hospital, in central London, who said doctors were right not to inform Henrys family of his earlier suicide bid because of his right to privacy. An NSFT spokesman apologised to the family, adding that the trust had undertaken a detailed review of the care and treatment he received and implemented several changes.

NSFT said it had introduced a new protocol for staff to refer patients to out-of-area services and strengthened its handover process between staff.
S choolchildren in London and Iraq are sharing tips on how to cope with stressful situations as part of our Learn to Live campaign.

Pupils at Betty Layward primary in Stoke Newington have weekly mindfulness lessons as part of their curriculum  and they decided to write to the students they are twinned with in Iraq to share what they have learned.

So far more than 330 UK schools have signed up to twin with others across the world as part of our campaign with charity War Child to help support children who have lived through conflict.

The children at Betty Layward have forged a bond with those in Iraq, exchanging letters and videos, and sending instructions on how to play their favourite playground games. The latest step is focused on mental health and wellbeing. The Stoke Newington children described, in pictures, how they use petal practice to help them calm down  opening and closing their hand in time with their breathing.

They also explained finger breathing  tracing their finger around their hand while breathing in time with their finger movement. They told how they play pass the water to build up trust with classmates  sitting in a circle with their eyes shut and handing a cup around.

The children in northern Iraq, who live in a displacement camp, also have lessons about emotions and how to deal with them. The classes run by War Child focus on how to cope with life after having lived amid armed conflict. They plan to write to their London counterparts to tell them what they have learned.

Drawing produced by pupil at Betty Layward primary school (ES local feed ) / ES local feed

Betty Layward head Jessica Bailey said: The children have mindfulness lessons each week for a term, helping them deal with difficult situations and being able to cope when something is hard. We say, its Ok to have a worry but we need to understand how we manage them.

We expect the children in Iraq to have the same kind of worries, such as friendships and upsetting someone. But theyll have other worries such as safety.

Clemence Muzard, programmes operations coordinator at War Child, said: The children in Iraq and Stoke Newington will have had different experiences, but a child remains a child. It doesnt have to be about the war [or] because they are displaced.

Join our campaign: how you can help
A public relations guru is locked in a dispute with a five-star Mayfair hotel over a payout she is claiming for her stolen suitcase packed with valuables.

Swiss PR executive Carole Kittners crystal-encrusted suitcase, containing 20,000 of jewellery and designer clothes, was taken from the lobby minutes after she arrived at Browns Hotel.

Rebecca Callinan, 37, is facing jail after admitting stealing the bag, which included boots by Yves Saint Laurent, a Hermes scarf and golden bangles.

She was caught when she turned on Mrs Kittners laptop, revealing it was at her flat in Highbury.

But Mrs Kittner, who is eight months pregnant, said she had not been able to recover all the items and was still awaiting an insurance payout from the hotel  where a room for two with suite benefits can cost 1,550 a night. She added that the stressful ordeal was prompting her to consider hiring a lawyer.

Very, very injured: Swiss executive Carole Kittner (Handout from Carole Kittner ) / Handout from Carole Kittner

She told the Standard: I feel so helpless. I am not entirely clear on English law and I know these things take time, but these things have their limits. I was very hurt. I recovered a few belongings [but] still feel very, very much injured.

It has been more than two months and nothing has been done. Id like to enjoy my last few weeks before I give birth but I am fighting with the hotel insurance and feel quite alone.

Westminster magistrates heard Mrs Kittner had been in London for a meeting with publisher Conde Nast, discussing the placement of designer brands in magazines like GQ and Vanity Fair. Prosecutor Julian Pozimski said Callinan was seen on CCTV entering the hotel on the evening of September 3 this year, picking up the suitcase and leaving.

Mrs Kittner said she had just given her bag to a staff member. I was very much in shock. Id arrived 10 minutes before. Normally I never give my bag to anyone. I know its not their fault, but Im shocked it could happen in a five-star hotel like Browns. She had to fly home to Geneva without her diabetes medication and was signed off work after breaking down in tears at the doctors.

Stuart Johnson, managing director of Browns in Albemarle Street, said the hotel was dealing with Mrs Kittners case professionally and confidentially ... we are in communication with her.
T heresa Mays cabinet has agreed a Brexit divorce deal that she claims will deliver on the vote of the referendum.

After a gruelling five-hour meeting, Mrs May confirmed on Wednesday evening that her cabinet had endorsed the draft divorce deal.

It came despite claims several of her ministers had deep misgivings about the 585-page withdrawal agreement.

But this is just the first in a series of hurdles for the prime minister, and the deal now requires approval in the House of Commons.

Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to reporters on Wednesday / AP

Simple majority

The prime minister requires a simple majority of the 650 MPs to vote in favour of her deal when it is put before parliament.

But this will prove anything but simple, and whether she can get enough MPs on her side is now arguably the biggest question in Brexit politics.

While there are 650 MPs, seven Sinn Fein MPs do not take their Westminster seats and the speaker and his three deputies do not vote.

So the magic number Mrs May needs to meet or surpass is 320, more than half of 639.

Possible revolt

Since the 2017 general election, the Tories have 315 seats, which leaves them short of a working majority alone.

This is why they entered into a "confidence and supply" deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, which has 10 MPs who can take her government over the line.

But she currently faces open revolt from both the DUP and Brexiteer and Remain wings of her party.

MP and Pro-Brexit campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg / EPA

The European Research Group, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, has claimed it has 80 MPs ready to vote against what it sees as Mrs May's capitulation to Brussels.

Opponents suggest the number would be whittled down by the Tory whips, so it may finally may be considerably less.

It seems unlikely the DUP, hardcore Brexiteers, can be reconciled at this stage as the party is so opposed to a deal it believes casts Northern Ireland adrift from the rest of the UK.

And Tory Remain supporters have bridled at the deal, with some saying the customs union gives Brussels too much unaccountable power and others saying it does not go far enough.

Tory MP Anna Soubry is a vocal Remainer / PA

Pro-EU rebel Anna Soubry told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday that a customs union had to be accompanied by single market access for the good of trade, saying: "If you speak... to British business they will tell you a customs union is important, but so is the regulatory alignment as well. That is what I need to see

Votes from elsewhere

This means Mrs May could need to find up to 100 votes from elsewhere.

The SNP and the Lib Dems, who have 12 MPs, both support remaining in the EU and are likely to vote against it.

So the prime minister may well need to extend an olive branch to Labour, which also has its own divisions between the likes of Chuka Umunna who opposes Brexit, Caroline Flint who supports it reluctantly because her constituents voted to leave or those like Kate Hoey who are ardent Brexiteers.

Brexit: Article 50 Triggered - In pictures 1 /20 Brexit: Article 50 Triggered - In pictures Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow delivers British Prime Minister Theresa May's formal notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels AFP/Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Common PA Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow delivers British Prime Minister Theresa May's formal notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels AFP/Getty Images European Council President Donald Tusk holds a news conference after receiving British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit letter in notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to EU Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium Yves Herman/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May takes her seat after announcing in the House of Commons PA The time 12:20pm shows on Big Ben on March 29, 2017 in London, England. The British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the Houses of Parliament as Article 50 is triggered and the process that will take the United Kingdom out of the European Union begins Carl Court/Getty Images D-day: pro-EU protesters outside of the Houses of Parliament today as Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 AFP/Getty Images EU Council President Donald Tusk holds British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit letter which was delivered by Britain's permanent representative to the European Union Tim Barrow (not pictured) that gives notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in Brussels, Belgium Yves Herman/Reuters PMQ's in The House of Commons PA Jeremy Corbyn speaking at PMQ's in The House of Commons Sky News Theresa May leaving for the House of Commons Jeremy Selwyn Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at the headquarters of Vivendi in Paris where he took part in TV interviews to discuss the imminent triggering of Article 50 by the UK to leave the EU Stefan Rousseau/PA Britain's permanent representative to the European Union Tim Barrow arrives at the EU Council headquarters for as meeting before hand delivering British Prime Minister Theresa May's notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to EU Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium Yves Herman/Reuters Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow arrives at the British representation of the European Union in Brussels Aurore Belot/AFP/Getty Images A giant headed Theresa May in Parliament Square, London during a protest by Avaaz after PM signed a letter to trigger Article 50 that starts the formal exit process by the UK from the European Union David Mirzoeff/PA British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson walks down Whitehall Jack Taylor/Getty Images Britain's PM Theresa May signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, invoking Article 50. AFP/Getty Images

Jeremy Corbyn's frontbench position is that the party will not support a deal that does not meet its six tests, which include safeguarding worker and consumer rights and providing the "exact same benefits" as membership of the customs union and single market.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey told the BBC's Today programme on Wednesday that the proposal was "unlikely to be a good deal for the country", saying it wanted to see a permanent rather than temporary customs union.
T heresa May faced open threats of a leadership challenge tonight from furious Tory Brexiteers who opposed a Brexit deal backed by cabinet ministers.

Several MPs said letters were being passed on to the chairman of the 1922 Committee seeking a confidence vote that could be triggered as early as tomorrow.

It comes amid dismay over claims the deal would lock the UK to the EU's rules. A total of 48 letters are needed to trigger a vote on Mrs Mays position.

Sources within Westminster said the delivery of letters to the chair of the backbench committee, Sir Graham Brady, was "imminent".

Theresa May confirms draft Brexit agreement

It came as the prime ministers Brexit plan was described as "profoundly undemocratic" by Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the influential European Research Group (ERG) of Tories, who urged colleagues to reject the blueprint.

Mr Rees-Mogg said in a letter the deal would see the UK hand over 39 billion to the European Union for "little or nothing in return".

He also said the deal was unacceptable to unionists because of its treatment of Northern Ireland and added it broke Tory manifesto commitments.

Theresa May makes a statement outside 10 Downing Street confirming that cabinet has agreed the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement / PA Wire/PA Images

In a call for revolt on the Tory benches, he said: "For these reasons I cannot support the proposed agreement in parliament and would hope that Conservative MPs would do likewise."

He wrote: "The proposed agreement will see the UK hand over 39 billion to the EU for little or nothing in return. The prospect of an agreed free trade agreement is as far away today as it always has been."

In an echo of the argument on the Vote Leave bus, Mr Rees-Mogg added: "In the absence of a trade agreement we should spend our money on our own priorities, for instance 39 billion could pay for 26,000 nurses for 40 years."

Politicians react to PM May's statement

Mr Rees-Mogg warned: "This agreement will lock us into an EU customs union and EU laws. This will prevent us pursuing a UK trade policy based around our priorities and economy.

"Without the ability to regulate our own economy and form our own trade agreements we will lose out on the opportunities that Brexit affords us."

Agreeing to the rules of the customs union "in contravention of the 2017 Conservative manifesto, without any votes or influence, is profoundly undemocratic", he said.

He added the proposals would treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK, which was unacceptable to unionists in both Northern Ireland and Scotland.

When asked whether it was time for Theresa May to go, Tory MP Mark Francois, vice chairman of the 80-member ERG, told Sky News: "There are a lot of my colleagues who are very annoyed with this deal and we will have to wait and see what happens over the next few days.

"There are a lot of people who are anxious about what it contains, there are a lot of people who are anxious about the way the whole process has been handled and we don't feel that we have negotiated effectively or in Britain's best interests."

He said he had not submitted a letter of no confidence to 1922 committee.

Former Brexit minister Steve Baker, who is also deputy chairman of the ERG, suggested the deal did not get the full support of the Cabinet.

He said: "I hear the cabinet decision was... not unanimous."

He added in a tweet: "A colleague tells me, 'This is far worse than I feared. I feel very badly let down.' I predict this deal, like a bad budget, will be in bits in a couple of days."

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, who has previously called for Mrs May's removal as leader, said: "The cabinet backing this deal is the quickest route to a leadership election.

"Cabinet members know this and for the more ambitious, it can't come quick enough."
T he Prime Minister and ministers will today gather for a special Cabinet meeting to discuss the next steps after the UK and EU agreed on draft Brexit deal.

Ministers were last night briefed one by one on the contents of the divorce deal which has finally been agreed after months of protracted talks.

Here's everything you need to know about the Withdrawal Agreement and what happens next.

Countdown to Brexit: 135 days until Britain leaves the EU

The basics: how did we get here?

The UK voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, with a win by 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent for Leave in the referendum.

A two-year period of negotiation was formally triggered by the UK's Article 50 letter on March 29 2017 and Britain has spent more than a year trying to agree on how the divorce will work.

Actual talks were delayed by the snap general election of June 8, 2017.

Cabinet to consider Brexit deal in special meeting on Wednesday

A Joint Report was agreed by Mrs May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on December 8, but left some of the most contentious issues to be thrashed out.

A deal must be agreed by negotiators, Mrs May's Cabinet, then MPs and the 27 other EU member states.

Will there be a deal this week?

Downing Street has said the draft agreement has been agreed by negotiators from both sides following intensive talks this week.

Cabinet ministers were invited into 10 Downing Street on Tuesday evening to read through documents. They will gather for a special Cabinet meeting to consider "next steps" at 2pm on Wednesday.

Mrs May is expected to ask them to give their approval to the draft.

TODO: define component type apester

What happens next?

In Brussels, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier would have to report to the European Council that "decisive" progress has been made in order for president Donald Tusk to convene a summit - probably in the last week of November - at which leaders of the remaining 27 EU states would be asked to put their stamp on the document.

Prime Minister Theresa May today faces the Cabinet to discuss the draft divorce deal agreed with the European Union / AP

The agreement would then be sent for ratification to both the Westminster Parliament and the European Parliament. The Government would hope to stage a vote in the House of Commons before Christmas.

If every obstacle is cleared, the deal would come into effect in time for the UK's departure on March 29 2019.

Why is it important to get a deal by Wednesday?

Hopes of an EU summit to sign off on a Withdrawal Agreement this month will be affected if the talks continue on for much longer - there will not be enough time to set up a meeting of the 28 leaders.

Chief EU negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier will have to report to the European Council that progress has been made in order for president Donald Tusk to convene a summit / AFP/Getty Images

The next possible date for a meeting of EU leaders is in December, which could mean a Commons vote on any deal being delayed until after Christmas.

Which documents are being agreed?

Ministers are discussing the Withdrawal Agreement, which is thought to run into hundreds of pages of detail on all aspects of the "divorce".

Alongside it is expected to be a shorter Political Declaration setting out a framework for future relations between the UK and EU in areas like trade and security co-operation.

What is in the Withdrawal Agreement?

The Agreement covers arrangements for disentangling the UK from the EU after more than 40 years of membership.

Key issues are the future rights of British expats living on the continent and Europeans in the UK; the settlement of the UK's financial liabilities, estimated at up to 39 billion; and the status of the border on the island of Ireland.

What has held things up in Brussels?

The main obstacle to an agreement has been the question of the Irish border, which will be the UK's only land frontier with the remaining EU after Brexit.

Neither side wants a "hard" border with physical checkpoints and customs inspections, which they fear could undermine the Northern Irish peace process.

The Irish border has been the main obstacle in Brussels / PA

Both sides believe an eventual trade deal should resolve the issue. But Brussels has insisted on a "backstop" arrangement as insurance to protect the border while a deal is negotiated.

EU proposals for a backstop keeping Northern Ireland inside the European customs area were rejected by Mrs May for effectively creating a border in the Irish Sea. Her counter-proposal of a whole-UK temporary customs union was rebuffed by Brussels over the issue of Britain's unilateral right to pull out.

It is understood that the draft agreement introduces a review mechanism for ending the arrangement.

So what happens next?

The Cabinet is not certain to give the plan its backing. Mrs May is acutely vulnerable to resignations from her top team which could massively destabilise her position.

Staunch Brexiters in the Cabinet like Liam Fox, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom, Penny Mordaunt and Esther McVey must be convinced that the deal would not tie the UK too closely to Brussels.

Even if the Prime Minster does get her top team to sign off on the agreement, she will then face resistance from Tory Brexiteers like Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg in Parliament.

Mrs May does not have a majority in the Commons and in addition to MPs on her own side, she faces hostility from the DUP, Labour, EU-backing Liberal Democrats and the SNP over her Brexit plans.

If the deal fails to win support in Westminster, the threat of a no-deal scenario could offer Mrs May a powerful lever to persuade MPs to back her.

However, there would also be huge pressure for a "People's Vote" second referendum to give the public the chance to decide whether it still wanted to go ahead with withdrawal.

And Labour would push for a general election to give someone else the opportunity to negotiate a better deal.
B oris Johnson has called for Cabinet ministers to quit over Theresa May's draft Brexit deal, warning it will turn Britain into a "vassal state".

The former foreign secretary urged the Cabinet to "chuck it out" as he said the agreement is "about as bad as it could possibly be".

The angry tirade came after yesterday's announcement that a draft divorce deal had been agreed by UK and EU negotiators.

Mr Johnson said he expected the deal to be "pretty much" what had been agreed a few week ago "we are going to stay in the customs union on this deal, we are going to stay effectively in large parts of the single market and that means it's vassal state stuff".

Mr Johnson said he would vote against the deal, warning that the proposals would made a "nonsense of Brexit".

He told the BBC: "For the first time in a thousand years, this place, this Parliament, will not have a say over the laws that govern this country. It is a quite incredible state of affairs."

Cabinet to consider Brexit deal in special meeting on Wednesday

Mr Johnson added: "For the first time since partition, Dublin - under these proposals - would have more say in some aspects of the government of Northern Ireland than London.

Which ministers are likely to quit? Penny Mordaunt, International Development Secretary Esther McVey, Work and Pensions Secretary Dominic Raab, Brexit Secretary Liam Fox, International Trade Secretary Andrea Leadsom, leader of the Commons

"I don't see how you can support it from a democratic point of view, I don't see how unionists can support it, and I don't see how you can support it if you believe in the economic and political freedom of this country."

He claimed the deal was "making a nonsense of Brexit so I hope the Cabinet will do the right thing and I hope they chuck it out".

Asked by Sky News what Mrs May's Cabinet should do, he said: "I think they should have some guts and determination and man-up and woman-up and chuck it out."

And amid speculation about possible ministerial resignations, Mr Johnson said he would "like to see some action" from them.

Sky News correspondent Kate McCann tweeted: Boris Johnson tells me he wants to see Cabinet resignations tonight over Brexit deal. Calls for them to get tough - now is the time.

Theresa May will face a special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the draft deal / Getty Images

Mr Johnson told the broadcaster the deal was a "total catastrophe". "This is just about as bad as it could possibly be," he said.

Ministers have been briefed one by one on the contents of a draft divorce deal reached by officials from the UK and EU after months of protracted talks.

Further individual briefings are expected on Wednesday ahead of the special meeting of the full Cabinet at 2pm.

Before that Theresa May will face the House of Commons for a session of Prime Minister's Questions.

The deal follows intense negotiation in Brussels, with measures to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland the main stumbling block.

Irish broadcaster RTE reported that the deal involved one overall "backstop" in the form of a UK-wide customs arrangement - as sought by Mrs May - but with deeper provisions for Northern Ireland on customs and regulations.

The Guardian reported that an independent arbitration committee will judge when a UK-wide customs backstop could be terminated.
A leaked diplomatic note from Brussels sparked a massive backlash from Leave supporters today as ministers met with the Prime Minister to discuss her Brexit deal.

The note, obtained by The Times, suggested that Sabine Weyand - deputy to Michel Barnier - told ambassadors that the EU "retains its leverage" over Britain under the Prime Minister's deal.

The note is said to state that the UK "would have to swallow a link between access to products and fisheries in future agreements".

According to the note, Ms Weyand said: "We should be in the best negotiation position for the future relationship. This requires the customs union as the basis of the future relationship.

Under pressure: Theresa May / Getty Images

"They must align their rules but the EU will retain all the controls. They apply the same rules. UK wants a lot more from future relationship, so EU retains its leverage."

There was no immediate response to the reports from Number 10, which has remained tight-lipped on the details of the draft agreement, understood to involve the UK remaining in a customs union and committing to a "level playing field" on EU rules in areas like environmental and workplace protections during a backstop period after Brexit.

It comes amid a groundswell of dismay from Brexit supporters over the terms of the deal

TODO: define component type apester

The EU exit plan was described by Nigel Farage as the worst deal in history.

Mrs Mays fragile Commons majority was under threat from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the governments key coalition partner, which said the plan could lead to the break-up of the UK.

The Prime Minister was briefing ministers about the divorce plan in Downing Street on Wednesday morning, ahead of a full Cabinet meeting at 2pm.

A draft text has been agreed by government and EU officials, with leaks indicating the government has agreed to a UK-wide customs backstop to avoid border checks in Northern Ireland. Brexiteers have claimed this would keep Britain under the EUs control.

Former Ukip leader and Leave campaigner Mr Farage led the opposition on Wednesday, telling ITV's Good Morning Britain: "We're giving away in excess of 40 billion in return for precisely nothing. Trapped still inside the European Union's rule book, continuing free movement of people, continuing with a foreign court having a say over our own country.

Nothing has been achieved other than giving away a huge sum of money."

Brexiteer Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt arrives in Downing Street for a briefing on Wednesday / Henry Nicholls/Reuters

He described Mrs May as "not just the worst Prime Minister I've ever seen, but perhaps the most dishonest one as well".

He continued: "Get rid of her. Let's get somebody else, let's come back to the EU and say: 'Look, let's have a simple free trade deal or we are leaving on WTO (World Trade Organisation) terms.' And do you know what? They'll bite our arms off."

Media gather on College Green next to the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, ahead of Ms May's crunch Brexit talks / Andrew Matthews/PA

Mr Farage predicted the Cabinet and then Parliament would collapse. He said: I think we have a career political class who will put their own reselection within their parties above the interests of the nation and our democratic system."

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUPs chief whip, predicted the deal has the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK.

And leader Arlene Foster told Sky News: "It's a question of whether we're separating the union  whether we are dealing with the United Kingdom in a way that leaves us adrift in the future.

"As the leader of unionism in Northern Ireland I'm not about to agree to that."

She said in a statement on Tuesday night: "It would be democratically unacceptable for Northern Ireland trade rules to be set by Brussels. Northern Ireland would have no representation in Brussels and would be dependant on a Dublin government speaking up for our core industries."

Boris Johnson says he will vote against draft Brexit agreement

Ms May was facing further backlash from MPs such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, Boris Johnson and Iain Duncan Smith.

Meanwhile, Mark Francois, deputy chairman of the influential European Research Group of Tory Brexiteer MPs, warned that it would be watching the Cabinet very carefully on Wednesday afternoon.

He said Mrs May's deal was not Brexit, not what 17.4 million people in this country voted for".

Remain-supporting Conservative MP Anna Soubry, meanwhile, told the BBC's Today programme that "the best deal we have with the EU is the deal we currently have with the EU".

Wednesdays Downing Street meeting could be a flashpoint for tensions between Brexiteers and Remainers on the Cabinet table.
I lford North MP Wes Streeting has demanded a crackdown on crossbow sales following the brutal killing of a heavily pregnant mother in his east London constituency.

And Theresa May promised a review following the terrible and tragic case.

Labour MP Mr Streeting subsequently told the Standard he would seek cross-party support to expand the scope of the Offensive Weapons Bill, currently at committee stage in the Commons.

Victim: Sana Muhammad

He said: It was clear during the early stages of the Offensive Weapons Bill there were issues over the sale of crossbows. We have seen they cause fatal injuries, so I really welcome what the Prime Minister said.

Ill be writing to ministers to suggest to the government ways they can change the law  and with cross-party support.

Wes Streeting questions Theresa May over the crossbow killing in the Commons on Wednesday / BBC

Mr Streeting stopped short of calling for a complete ban of crossbows, saying: These things have got to be proportionate. We dont necessarily go for an outright ban, for sporting or other legitimate reasons.

The problem is that they are so readily available online. We need tighter restrictions so they are properly licenced and enforced, so no one can find themselves in possession with intent to harm.

Theresa May promised a review after Mr Streeting called for a crackdown on the availability of crossbows / UK Parliament/Mark Duffy

Of the killing, Mr Streeting added: Theres a family experiencing unbearable pain and grief. The community is in shock. Its such a nice little street, it was somebody so well regarded by neighbours. You dont expect something like this to happen.

No one can begin to imagine what her husband and children are going through.

Ms May had told Mr Streeting: Crossbows are subject to strict controls but we do keep the legislation under review and we will consider the risks that such weapons pose to public safety and whether further measures are needed.
T heresa May fought to stave off Cabinet resignations today with a candid admission that her Brexit deal falls short of all Britains demands but was the best the country can get.

The Prime Minister was making a passionate appeal to ministers to swallow their doubts and support the 460-page withdrawal agreement in the national interest and to deliver on the 2016 referendum.

But her battle to rally MPs and ministers was badly undermined by the leak of a memo in Brussels in which a senior Brussels negotiator, Sabine Weyand, boasted that the deal meant the EU will retain all the controls over which rules Britain will be obliged to follow in future.

Boris Johnson said the leak had exposed the true nature of the agreement, tweeting: Cabinet must live up to its responsibilities & stop this deal

A senior source said Mrs Mays message was that the deal delivers control over borders and laws, while protecting jobs and the unity of the UK.

Theresa May told ministers to support the 460-page withdrawal agreement in the national interest / REUTERS

These proposals are in the national interest, said the source. They have been tough negotiations, over many many months. You cannot get everything you want in any negotiation.

Mrs May met at least six Cabinet ministers in private to assuage doubts ahead of this afternoons Cabinet meeting, which was scheduled to last three hours.

Ardent Brexiteer Esther McVey played her cards close to her chest amid fears of Cabinet resignations / PA

She appeared to have succeeded in keeping the biggest beasts on board - but several ministers were holding their cards close to their chests, including Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey, an ardent Brexiteer. Some others were not ruling out resigning in the next few weeks if serious concerns about the Irish border backstop cannot be satisfied.

TODO: define component type apester

However, Cabinet unity was only one of Mrs Mays worries as major blocs of MPs moved hard against backing the deal in a future Commons vote.

Mrs Mays DUP allies stepped up their attacks on the deal, emphatically ruling out their support for such a humiliation. The partys chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned that his party dont fear a general election, implying they were willing to topple the Government.

Mark Francois, a vice chairman of Jacob Rees-Moggs European Research Group bloc of at least 40 Tories, hinted Mrs May would be forced to stand down if necessary to block her deal.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab had a one-to-one meeting with the Prime Minister / EPA

For a Prime Minister to lose a fundamental vote on a crunch issue of policy in the House of Commons is distinctively sub-optimal, he said.

The former armed forces minister added: If the Prime Minister persists on this course, and if the officers, if you like, in the Cabinet go with it, then it will be down to us, the backbenchers, the poor bloody infantry of the Conservative Party to stop it and we will.

Mrs May saw six members of the Cabinet who have expressed concern for one-to-one talks at Downing Street last night and this morning: Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and, finally this morning, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt.

Ms Mordaunt, who spent half an hour with the PM, was seen as the most likely of the six to resign, while colleagues said there was a question mark over a tense-looking Mr Raab.

What's next? The fate of the deal - and Theresa May herself A series of Commons votes will be needed to settle the fate of Theresa Mays deal  and the fate of the PM herself. And the precise sequencing of divisions could make a difference to whether her Government stands or falls. The deck chairs will move around after each vote, said one veteran parliamentarian, alluding to the sinking of the Titanic. Jeremy Corbyns aim is to trigger a general election by voting down the deal and forcing a confidence vote. But hardline Brexiteers say they and the DUP will stand firm to stop that. If Mr Corbyns hopes are dashed, Labour frontbenchers such as Sir Keir Starmer will urge him to get behind a second referendum. Remainers such as Tory Dominic Grieve and Labours Chuka Umunna are setting a Peoples Vote as their priority, opposing Mrs Mays deal on grounds it is infinitely worse than staying in the EU. Some Tories are advising Mrs May to stage a debate on a second referendum early, to help clear the decks. But if the deal is voted on first and is derailed, support for a Peoples Vote would grow  and some ultra-Brexiteers may reluctantly go back to Mrs May to avoid any risk of the 2016 referendum being reversed. One ex-minister believes the deal will have to be voted on twice after a change of wording. The chairs will be sliding all over the slippery decks  with no guarantee that HMS May can limp into harbour.

Both were said to have endured bone-crushing pressure to quit from the hardline European Research Group, including texts and phone calls.

Ms Leadsom was described as relaxed by allies. Doorstepped on her way to read the documents this morning, she told Good Morning Britain she was extremely optimistic. She said: Ive had a good conversation with the Prime Minister and Im looking at the details of the deal today and Im extremely optimistic that well have a good deal, but Im looking at the details today.

Mr Gove was said by allies to be dismayed by details of the document, including the lack of a reliable escape route from a bad backstop, but he was thought unlikely to resign today.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he would back the deal / PA

Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, told allies he would back the deal both to avoid no-deal and to prevent Brexit being halted. Mr Hunt, although described as despondent by one source, was said to be rally to Mrs Mays side.

Esther McVey, the Work and Pensions Secretary who is seen as a leading critic, refused to endorse the deal until said she would make up her mind after reading the documents this morning. Im just going to read all the papers now, she told reporters.

Mr Hun t and Mr Grayling were both tight-lipped as they left No 10.

Business leader welcomed the prospect of a deal. Juergen Maier, UK chief executive of German engineering firm Siemens, called for a calm analysis of the deal on offer.

He told Today: My gut feeling is that we need to get behind it and we need to make this deal work because what we need is certainty.

It looks like to me that this is the only deal in town, so I think its better to get behind it - maybe fine tune it a little bit - and make it work. That will be good for British manufacturing.

As she headed for London, Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, warned of worrying times as her partys MPs vowed to block the proposed divorce deal in Parliament.

She told Sky News: Its a question of whether were separating the union - whether we are dealing with the United Kingdom in a way that leaves us adrift in the future.

As the leader of unionism in Northern Ireland Im not about to agree to that.

The partys chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stressed that that the DUP dont fear a general election, when asked whether killing the deal would risk Jeremy Corbyn, a long-term supporter of a united Ireland.

He said: This deal has the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK.

That is not something we can support.

Its not about who is prime minister, its not about who governs the country, its about the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK, that is fundamental for us.

DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson was more hardline, tweeting: We will not be voting for this humiliation!

Former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague warned that a second referendum, if one was held, threatened to be the most divisive and bitter political conflict in this country in 100 years, and very economically damaging.

He also told the DUP and Leavers that if they block Mrs Mays deal they risk losing Brexit.
A series of Commons votes will be needed to settle the fate of Theresa Mays deal  and the fate of the PM herself. And the precise sequencing of divisions could make a difference to whether her Government stands or falls.

The deck chairs will move around after each vote, said one veteran parliamentarian, alluding to the sinking of the Titanic.

Jeremy Corbyns aim is to trigger a general election by voting down the deal and forcing a confidence vote. But hardline Brexiteers say they and the DUP will stand firm to stop that. If Mr Corbyns hopes are dashed, Labour frontbenchers such as Sir Keir Starmer will urge him to get behind a second referendum.

Remainers such as Tory Dominic Grieve and Labours Chuka Umunna are setting a Peoples Vote as their priority, opposing Mrs Mays deal on grounds it is infinitely worse than staying in the EU. Some Tories are advising Mrs May to stage a debate on a second referendum early, to help clear the decks. But if the deal is voted on first and is derailed, support for a Peoples Vote would grow  and some ultra-Brexiteers may reluctantly go back to Mrs May to avoid any risk of the 2016 referendum being reversed.

One ex-minister believes the deal will have to be voted on twice after a change of wording. The chairs will be sliding all over the slippery decks  with no guarantee that HMS May can limp into harbour.
B ritish and EU officials have agreed on a draft Brexit agreement after months of negotiations.

A government source confirmed a deal has been reached at a technical level.

It comes after each cabinet minister had been called to meet Prime Minister Theresa May individually as she sought their backing.

Here we answer some of the questions being asked about the draft text, and the steps that still need to be made.

What is in the Withdrawal Agreement?

The Agreement covers arrangements for disentangling the UK from the EU after more than 40 years of membership.

Key issues are the future rights of British expats living on the continent and Europeans in the UK; the settlement of the UK's financial liabilities, estimated at up to 39 billion; and the status of the border on the island of Ireland.

What has held things up?

The main obstacle to an agreement has been the question of the Irish border, which will be the UK's only land frontier with the remaining EU after Brexit.

Neither side wants a "hard" border with physical checkpoints and customs inspections, which they fear could undermine the Northern Irish peace process.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab (R) and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (L) arrive for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street / EPA

What does the Withdrawal Agreement look like?

It is thought to run into hundreds of pages of detail on all aspects of the "divorce".

Alongside it is expected to be a shorter Political Declaration setting out a framework for future relations between the UK and EU in areas like trade and security co-operation.

What happens next?

Cabinet ministers were invited into 10 Downing Street on Tuesday evening to read through documents.

They will gather for a special Cabinet meeting to consider "next steps" at 2pm on Wednesday.

Mrs May is expected to ask them to give their approval to the draft.

In Brussels, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier would have to report to the European Council that "decisive" progress has been made in order for president Donald Tusk to convene a summit - probably in the last week of November - at which leaders of the remaining 27 EU states would be asked to put their stamp on the document.

The agreement would then be sent for ratification to both the Westminster Parliament and the European Parliament. The Government would hope to stage a vote in the House of Commons before Christmas.

If every obstacle is cleared, the deal would come into effect in time for the UK's departure on March 29 2019.

Cabinet to consider Brexit deal in special meeting on Wednesday

Is the Cabinet certain to give the plan its backing?

Far from it. The Prime Minister is acutely vulnerable to resignations from her top team which could massively destabilise her position. Staunch Brexiters in the Cabinet like Liam Fox, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom, Penny Mordaunt and Esther McVey must be convinced that the deal would not tie the UK too closely to Brussels.

What opposition will the draft agreement face in Parliament?

Mrs May will face resistance from Tory Brexiters like Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg who fear that a deal could tie the UK indefinitely to Brussels, following rules which it has no part in shaping.

The DUP, which props up her minority Government in the Commons, will challenge anything which treats Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK. Remainers within the Conservative Party will argue that the draft offers worse terms than the UK already enjoys as a member of the EU.

Labour has said it will oppose any agreement which fails to support jobs and the economy and leader Jeremy Corbyn has already said the draft "is unlikely to be a good deal for the country". EU-backing Liberal Democrats and the SNP are expected to vote against the deal.

Theresa May on Brexit: Negotiations are in the end game

What happens if the deal fails to win support in Westminster?

The default position is for the UK to leave the EU on March 29 without a deal, with the potential for chaotic scenes at ports and airports. Mrs May is expected to use this as a powerful lever to persuade MPs to back her for the sake of stability.

However, there would also be huge pressure for a "People's Vote" second referendum to give the public the chance to decide whether it still wanted to go ahead with withdrawal. And Labour would push for a general election to give someone else the opportunity to negotiate a better deal.

Is Mrs May's own position safe?

Certainly not. She could face a vote of no confidence if 48 Tory MPs demand one, with speculation that that number is close to being reached.

And her knife-edge control of the House of Commons mean that she risks losing her effective majority and her ability to pass legislation if she alienates more than a handful of her backers.
D onald Trump berated Theresa May over her handling of Brexit and Iran in a fractious phone call from Air Force One, according to US newspaper reports.

The prime minster is said to have called the President on Friday as he travelled over from the US to Paris for events marking the centenary of the end of the First World War.

The call was to congratulate him on the Republican result in the mid-term elections, the Washington Post reported.

But according to the newspapers report, Mr Trump berated Mrs May for not doing enough to contain Iran.

He also questioned her over Brexit and complained about the trade deals he sees as unfair with European countries.

Mrs Mays aides were said to have been taken aback by the presidents foul mood, according to US and European officials briefed on the conversation.

Downing Street has yet to comment on the report.

Insiders said his mood was down to the mid-term results and wins for the Democrats, and he had been brooding over the count in Florida.

His supposed rant preceded a fractious visit by Mr Trump to Europe.

Theresa May's aides were said to have been taken aback by the presidents foul mood / EPA

After arriving in Paris, Mr Trump faced criticism for cancelling a scheduled visit to a US military cemetery because of bad weather.

He went on to mock his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, after an awkward Armistice Day visit.

He claimed the French were learning German before the US intervened in World War Two and again floated his regular threat of pulling the US out of NATO.

Ructions have also continued back in Washington at the White House with First Lady Melania Trump publicly calling for the sacking of Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel over an alleged clash during her recent tour of Africa.

It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House, Mrs Trumps spokeswoman said.
A n anti-Brexit campaigner demonstrated dogged persistence after repeatedly moving into the shot of a live BBC interview every time the camera angle was altered to cut him out of it.

The determined protester, named as Remainer Steve Bray, donned a Stop Brexit hat and sticker as he held up anti-Brexit placards during a live BBC broadcast outside Parliament.

As news reporter Annita McVeigh interviewed Georgina Wright from the Europe Programme at Chatham House in Westminster, the protester held up a sign which read stop the Brexit mess.

Other messages reading things have changed, its time to reassess and save the NHS could be seen as Mr Bray quickly walked back and forth trying to stay in the broadcast.

An anti-Brexit protester crashed a live broadcast / BBC

Editors repeatedly switched between cameras to try and keep Mr Bray out of view, but the protester managed to crash every shot.

Both Ms McVeigh and Ms Wright managed to keep straight faces before Mr Bray walked away and as other anti-Brexit campaigners waved flags in the background.

Sharing the footage on Twitter on Wednesday, politics reporter Thomas Colson wrote: A lesson in dogged persistence from this anti-Brexit protestor on BBC News.

Simon Ricketts wrote: This protester has learned about camera shots, so does his best to crash each one. The director takes on the challenge and the scene becomes a beautifully British cat and mouse game that speeds up perfectly.

Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray stands on the pavement outside the Houses of Parliament / AFP/Getty Images

The crashed BBC broadcast came ahead of Theresa Mays 2pm crunch meeting with Cabinet to discuss the contents of the draft Brexit agreement reached by negotiators.

The announcement that a draft text had been agreed was met with open hostility from Tory Brexiteers and Mrs May's Democratic Unionist Party allies, and scepticism from Remain supporters.

Other protesters have been seen today outside the gates to Downing Street, with police restraining some of them.
T he Queen has paid a rare, public tribute to her son Prince Charles, hailing him as a wonderful father.

The praise for the Prince of Wales has come on his 70th birthday, with the Queen describing him as a dedicated and respected heir to the throne to stand comparison with any in history.

Making reference to the milestone, the monarch also said it was a privilege for any mother to be able to toast their son on their 70th birthday.

The head of state rarely makes public comments about her children but she used a black-tie dinner staged in Charles's honour to praise him as "his own man, passionate and creative".

Her words were a ringing endorsement of the future king, who has spent a lifetime in preparation for his role as monarch.

The Queen, pictured with Prince Charles as a baby / AP

Close family and friends from across the globe gathered in Buckingham Palace's ballroom for the glittering event including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The Queen is famed for her wit and her toast to her son and heir was peppered with her trademark humour including the comment he was "a Duchy original".

Earlier, Theresa May spoke of the prince's service to the nation and also highlighted the important role he played in bringing up his sons after their mother had died at a young age.

The Queen said in her toast to Charles: "Over his 70 years, Philip and I have seen Charles become a champion of conservation and the arts, a great charitable leader - a dedicated and respected heir to the throne to stand comparison with any in history - and a wonderful father.

"Most of all, sustained by his wife Camilla, he is his own man, passionate and creative."

The Prince of Wales holds a birthday gift as he and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive for a tea party at Spencer House / PA

She also spoke with pride at being able to toast her son.

She said: "It is rather like - to use an analogy I am certain will find favour - planting a tree and being able to watch it grow."

The monarch ended by comparing her son to the Duchy Originals brand of produce he founded.

"So this toast is to wish a happy birthday to my son, in every respect a Duchy original," the Queen said.

During a day of tributes to the prince, Theresa May opened a Commons debate to mark the royal birthday and said the heir to the throne had spent his life "defying expectations and refusing to be categorised".

Prince Charles 70th birthday celebration 1 /20 Prince Charles 70th birthday celebration Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh on stage during the gala concert at Buckingham Palace to mark the Prince of Wales' 70th birthday PA Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh on stage during the gala concert PA Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh on stage during the gala concert PA Stephen Fry on stage during the gala concert PA Stephen Fry on stage during a gala concert PA The Prince of Wales talks to Stephen Fry PA The Prince of Wales talks to Stephen Fry at the gala concert at Buckingham Palace PA The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall PA The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attend a gala concert at Buckingham Palace PA Guests take their seats for the gala concert at Buckingham Palace PA Guests stand during the gala concert PA Dame Judi Dench on stage during the gala concert PA Sir Bryn Terfel (centre) sings at the gala concert at Buckingham Palace PA Sir Bryn Terfel (centre) sings at the gala concert PA Stuart Skelton sings at the gala concert PA Emily Magee and Stuart Skelton perform at the gala concert PA Emily Magee and Stuart Skelton perform at the gala concert PA Emily Magee and Stuart Skelton perform at the gala concert PA Dancers perform at the gala concert PA Dancers perform at the gala concert PA

Mrs May said Charles was often seen to be "a man ahead of his time", citing his warnings on pollution, sustainable agriculture and the dehumanising effects of technology in the workplace.

Her words were echoed by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in a similar debate in the Lords, when he said the heir to the throne had shown his "prophetic instincts" in his championing of the environment and his early warnings of the threat posed by plastic pollution.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall listen to a speech by photographer Arthur Edwards during a tea party (Paul Edwards/The Sun/PA)Earlier, Charles joked about the trials and tribulations of getting older as he met a room full of septuagenarians.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall leaving Clarence House to attend a party at Buckingham Palace for Chares' 70th birthday party. / PA

Charles cut a birthday cake, was handed presents and gave an impromptu speech when he had tea with group of 70 people who also turn 70 this year like the heir to the throne.

When the prince arrived for the celebration at Spencer House with Camilla for the event he was asked by the waiting press how he felt.

He replied: "How am I feeling? Older, older.
T heresa May has suffered a crushing defeat on her Brexit deal in the Commons, with MPs voting it down by 432 votes to 202.

The Prime Minister responded to the rout by telling the Commons: The House has spoken and the Government will listen.

In a major shift of policy, she promised to let the Commons debate other ideas, such as softer Brexit plans.

Some experts have predicted the country risks crashing out of the EU without a deal after the PM suffered the defeat.

MPs are divided on the plans, with some ardent Leavers arguing that a no deal Brexit is not something to be scared of.

So what is a no deal Brexit and how could it affect the UK?

What is a no deal Brexit?

A no deal Brexit means the UK would leave the EU without having secured a formal withdrawal agreement. The UK is set to formally leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

What happens if the deal fails to win support in Westminster?

Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray stands on the pavement outside the Houses of Parliament / AFP/Getty Images

There are a number of scenarios that could take place, one of which is for Mrs May to present a "plan B" to Parliament - but she will have just three working days to do this.

Mrs May is unlikely to resign before Brexit, having consistently ruled out this option.

Another option is for her to head back to Brussels for more talks, but the EU has repeatedly said it will not reopen negotiations on the Withdrawal Agreement.

She could ask for an extension of Article 50, meaning Britain would leave at a later date, and could even reverse Brexit by halting Article 50 - but this is not supported by either the Tories or Labour.

Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence against Mrs May after losing the vote, meaning a General Election could now take place.

Some MPs, such as Dominic Grieve and Chuka Umunna, are setting a Peoples Vote as their priority and want a second referendum on the terms of a Brexit deal.

A second referendum could also give the public the chance to decide whether it still wanted to go ahead with withdrawal.

Another option, which some MPs are pushing for, would be a no-deal Brexit - meaning the UK would leave on March 29 without a deal.

What will happen in the event of a no deal Brexit?

Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier rejected the Chequers proposal / AFP/Getty Images

Dr Simon Usherwood, a reader in politics at the University of Surrey, told the i that when the UK leaves the EU, "everything associated with that would come to an end".

"[A no deal] doesnt stop the UK leaving but it means there is absolutely no clarity about what happens," he added.

In reality, a no deal scenario would mean there would be no transition period for consumers, businesses and public bodies and they would have to respond immediately to the changes.

This scenario would allow Britain to try and broker trade deals with other countries, but they take years to complete.

But it would mean the country would not be legally obliged to pay the 39 billion divorce bill.

Under the current deal, the UK can only implement trade deals with other countries after the transition period.

The transition period would allow Britain to make new trade deals with the EU but in a no deal situation, there would be no adjustment time to allow for changes in laws or negotiations for trading deals.

What affect would a no-deal Brexit have on Britain?

Theresa May said today that MPs will be judged 'when the history books are written' / AFP/Getty Images

EU nationals living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU could see their residency rights disappear overnight and become subject to domestic immigration rules.

Britain would be able to set a control on immigration and in return Europe could retaliate.

A no deal Brexit threatens to put pressure on the Good Friday agreement, as the EU would want Ireland to impose customs and other checks on its border with Northern Ireland which neither want to do.

Tariffs would be imposed on goods that the UK sends to the EU and the same for goods that the EU sends to the UK. Tariffs on agricultural products could be as high as 60 per cent.

Britain would also exit the single market for goods and agriculture which could result in red tape for businesses.

Customs checks at ports would affect the supply of food and goods and there are fears of long queues at borders and disruption to air travel.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned that house prices could plummet by a third over three years and that homeowners could be left with negative equity and spiralling mortgage rates.

UK Driving licences may not work abroad and British passport holders could run into difficulty.

It would affect Britain's trade, immigration and customs rules which are aligned with the EU.
A round 200 prison inmates have been called in to help tackle the deadly California wildfires.

The inmates are assisting local firefighters with tackling the Camp Fire blaze, earning $2 a day and $1 an hour when fighting an active fire.

The Camp Fire has killed at least 48 people and destroyed over 7,700 homes with 1,000 evacuees currently residing in shelters. While another wildfire in Malibu has killed two people.

The inmate volunteers do physical work such as cutting bushes and trees to reduce fire danger.

An inmate firefighter removes a propane tank from a burning home while battling the Camp Fire in Paradise / REUTERS

Vicky Waters, representative of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told CNBC: Each volunteer inmate is evaluated individually to ensure that all those selected for the camp program are willing to be team members with nonviolent behaviour, even if their original conviction was for a violent crime.

California wildfires 1 /8 California wildfires A fire fighting aircraft releases water as firefighters battle the thousand-acre plus 'Fish' wildland fire that erupted near the Angeles National Forest, Duarte, Califonia EPA Smoke from wildfires burning in Angeles National Forest fills the sky behind the Los Angeles skyline Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Jimmy Romo, 73, leads the horses leaving his ranch as a wildfire is burning in Azusa, Calif., Monday, June 20, 2016. New wildfires erupted Monday near Los Angeles and chased people from their suburban homes as an intense heatwave stretching from the West Coast to New Mexico blistered the region Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP A television cameraman shoots a thermometer sign which reads 126 degrees in Palm Springs, California Sam Mircovich/Reuters A wildfire burns around homes built near a hilltop in Azusa, California Nick Ut/AP A water bomber makes a drop on a wildfire as it attacks the flames near Campo, California Mike Blake/Reuters A column of smoke is seen rising, viewed through a windshield, from one of two wildfires in the Angeles National Forest above Azusa, California Gene Blevins/Reuters Flames flare up from a wildfire behind a house along a hillside in Duarte, California Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Inmates are also offered a sentence reduction for their hard work.

Ms Waters said: The fire camp program helps inmates build skills in firefighting, including positively working in a team environment. It can be an important part of an inmates rehabilitation while they are serving their sentences with CDCR

The Camp Fire is just 30 percent contained.

An inmate firefighter removes a propane tank from a burning home while battling the Camp Fire in Paradise / REUTERS

The exact number of people missing remains unclear but many friends and relatives of those living in the fire zone said they had not heard from loved ones.

Efforts were under way to bring in mobile morgues, body-finding dogs and a rapid DNA analysis system for identifying victims.

Animals rescued from California wildfires 1 /23 Animals rescued from California wildfires Horses stand in their coral as smoke from the Camp Fire looms over head as it burns out of control through Paradise, fueled by high winds in Butte County EPA A Butte County Sheriff Search and Rescue crew add a goat with other abandoned animals that are being temporally held as the Camp Fire continues to burn through the region, fueled by high winds in Butte County, California EPA Butte County Sheriff Search and Rescue crews guide an abandon goat to a corral EPA A Butte County Sheriff Search and Rescue crew prepare to corral a goat with other abandoned animals EPA Nikki Borgoin chats with Richard Doynk who also had his horse temporally penned with her horse Josie at the Butte County Fair Grounds where evacuees and there animals at house EPA Hillary Johnson who had lost her home and trekked 4 miles to safety, to then have to leave her horse Augie in a shopping center parking lot, due to the lack of transportation, is reunited with him after law enforcement offices who commandeered a trailer to rescue him from the impending flame of the Camp Fire EPA Horses are spooked as the Woolsey Fire moves through the property on Cornell Road near Paramount Ranch Getty Horses are spooked as the Woolsey Fire moves through the property on Cornell Road near Paramount Ranch Getty California Highway Patrol officers attempt to transfer a potbelly pig EPA South Pasadena Fire Department engine fights the Woolsey Fire as it moves through the property on Cornell Road near Paramount Ranch Getty Nikki Borgoin leads her horse Josie out for a walk from temporary pen at the Butte County Fair Grounds where evacuees and there animals are housed EPA Members of the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Ashley Nola (left) and Catherine McFarren (right), tend to burns on a dog that was brought in to the Butte County Fair Grounds where large animals are being sheltered during the Camp Fire EPA Members of the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Ashley Nola (left) and Catherine McFarren (right), tend to burns on a dog that was brought in to the Butte County Fair Grounds where large animals are being sheltered EPA Smoke from the wildires fills the air in Malibu, Calif AP A donkey is seen tied to a road sign during the Camp Fire near Big Bend Reuters Horses are spooked as the Woolsey Fire moves through the property on Cornell Road near Paramount Ranch Getty Images Horses are spooked as the Woolsey Fire moves through the property on Cornell Road near Paramount Ranch Smoke rises from the wildires fills the air in Malibu AP Smoke rises from the wildires fills the air in Malibu AP California Highway Patrol officers attempt to transfer a potbelly pig EPA Horses are spooked as the Woolsey Fire moves through the property on Cornell Road near Paramount Ranch Getty The Woolsey Fire burns towards Paramount Ranch Getty Firefighters from various departments work to protect structures as the Woolsey Fire moves through the property on Cornell Road Getty

There are also an additional 150 search and rescue personnel on top of 13 teams already looking for remains  a grim indication that the death toll is likely to rise.

At the other end of the state, firefighters made progress against a massive blaze that has killed two people in star-studded Malibu and destroyed well over 400 structures in Southern California.
T he first victims of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in Californias history have been named.

It comes as the death toll from fires across the state rose to 50 following the discovery of six more burnt corpses.

Ernest Foss, a musician who had twice survived cancer, lost his life as the fire obliterated his hometown of Paradise in northern California.

The 63-year-old moved to Paradise eight years ago because the high cost of living pushed him out of the San Francisco Bay Area, according to his daughter, Angela Loo. He had swollen limbs, could not walk and had also been on oxygen.

Cancer survivor Ernest Foss was named among the victim's of the fire / Facebook

Ms Loo told KTVU-TV in Oakland that her father taught music out of their home in San Francisco and turned the living room into a studio.

"I love that he shared his gift of music with me and so many others during his lifetime," she said.

Jesus Fernandez, a 48-year-old resident of the rural town Concow, also died in the blaze.

Jesus 'Zeus' Fernandez was described as 'full of positive energy' / Facebook

Myrna Pascua, whose husband was best friends with the man known as Zeus, called him a "tireless provider, a dependable and loyal friend, a considerate neighbour, and loving father".

A Justgiving page launched in his memory states: "Charismatic and full of positive energy, Zeus always brought the mood up and you definitely felt like you were someone very important to him."

The third victim named by Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea's office was 77-year-old tyre refurbisher Carl Wiley.

His family had lived in Alaska for many years before moving to Butte County decades ago. His son James Wiley said his father was a stoic veteran, and the two had not spoken in six years.

The exact number of missing people remained unclear, but many friends and relatives of those living in the fire zone said they had not heard from loved ones.

Efforts were under way to bring in mobile morgues, body-finding dogs and a rapid DNA analysis system for identifying victims.

California wildfires 1 /8 California wildfires A fire fighting aircraft releases water as firefighters battle the thousand-acre plus 'Fish' wildland fire that erupted near the Angeles National Forest, Duarte, Califonia EPA Smoke from wildfires burning in Angeles National Forest fills the sky behind the Los Angeles skyline Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Jimmy Romo, 73, leads the horses leaving his ranch as a wildfire is burning in Azusa, Calif., Monday, June 20, 2016. New wildfires erupted Monday near Los Angeles and chased people from their suburban homes as an intense heatwave stretching from the West Coast to New Mexico blistered the region Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP A television cameraman shoots a thermometer sign which reads 126 degrees in Palm Springs, California Sam Mircovich/Reuters A wildfire burns around homes built near a hilltop in Azusa, California Nick Ut/AP A water bomber makes a drop on a wildfire as it attacks the flames near Campo, California Mike Blake/Reuters A column of smoke is seen rising, viewed through a windshield, from one of two wildfires in the Angeles National Forest above Azusa, California Gene Blevins/Reuters Flames flare up from a wildfire behind a house along a hillside in Duarte, California Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

There was also an additional 150 search-and-rescue personnel on top of 13 teams already looking for remains - a grim indication that the death toll is likely to rise.

Portable devices were being used that can identify someone's genetic material in a couple of hours, rather than days or weeks.

"In many circumstances, without rapid DNA technology, it's just such a lengthy process," says Frank DePaolo, a deputy commissioner of the New York City medical examiners' office.

Five days after the blaze, over 1,000 people were at more than a half-dozen shelters set up for evacuees.

Before the Paradise tragedy, which has left 48 dead so far, the deadliest single fire on record in California was a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29.

Caitlyn Jenner returns to Malibu home after wildfire evacuation

At the other end of the state, firefighters made progress against a massive blaze that has killed two people in star-studded Malibu and destroyed well over 400 structures in Southern California.
A supporter of Donald Trump who was pictured waving a political banner while on Splash Mountain in Disney World has been permanently banned from the park.

Dion Cini has been banned from entering Magic Kingdom after holding up a Trump 2020 sign on Splash Mountain and waving a Keep America Great sign on Expedition Everest.

Posting a picture of him holding the sign on Facebook, Mr Cini wrote: "Trespassed from WDW for holding a Trump 2020 banner on Splash Mountain."

The picture included a Orange County Sheriffs Office note which said that he was trespassed from all Disney World properties.

It said this includes, but is not limited to, theme parks, water park resorts and Disney Springs.

On Disneys website, a list of prohibited actives includes unauthorised events, demonstrations or speeches.

It also bans the use of any flag, banner or sign for commercial purposes or to incite a crowd.

Mr Cini, a known supporter of President Donald Trump, carried out a similar stunt in September when he waved Trump 2020 banner over Disney's Main Street Train Station.

Although he was initially banned after the incident, Disney later reinstated his annual pass.

Calling his stunt Operation Flag Drop, Mr Cini told WFTV that he wanted to test the parks rules against using any flag, banner or sign to incite a crowd.

He said: I wanted to actually abide by their rules, and not hold up a flag to incite a crowd, but I kind of wanted to test them.

"I just really wanted to find out whether or not it had to do with unfurling a flag, or what was written on the flag.

Speaking to TIME, a Disney spokesman said: Disney World welcomes all guests to enjoy our parks.
This is the largest assembled number of artists that we have had for one show in our eight-year history, Cass said. The cast has had a blast filling the sandals of these larger than life biblical characters. The real challenge for them is the nonstop dancing and singing for the two hours of the show without passing out.
A woman whose fiancee died in the Lion Air crash earlier this month has shared images of her wedding pictures after deciding to go ahead with them by herself.

Intan Syari and Rio Nanda Pratama had been due to wed on November 11 however he was killed when Lion Air flight JT 610 crashed on October 29 shortly after take-off from Jakarta.

Mr Pratama was heading home for the wedding after attending a conference for work.

She said that they had joked before the flight that if he missed his flight or if it was delayed, then she should take the wedding photos and send them to him, according to the BBC.

Ms Syari, 26, posted the images to her Instagram account in tribute to her fiancee who she had been with for 13 years. The pair met at middle school.

The hospital worker can be seen dressed in white, wearing a white hijab and carrying white roses.

Ms Syari said: Although there is actually a sadness I cant describe, I have to smile for you, I cant be sad, I have to stay strong as you always say to me.

In some of the images, she can be seen pictured with Mr Pratamas family.

In one image of herself with Mr Paratamas sister, she said: Thanks for giving me a sister who is so great, smart, merciful and kind, just like you.

"Even though you were not next to me yesterday, your loyal brother accompanied me to carry out your most beautiful last request, I know you are happy there in eternity that surely everyone desires to be, know our love will not diminish even for you, we love you forever, this is our sister which you love and be proud of. We will continue your goals.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashed on October 29 just minutes after take-off from Jakarta.

189 people were onboard.

Lion Air crash in Indonesia 1 /41 Lion Air crash in Indonesia Recovered personal items of passengers on board the ill-fated Lion Air flight JT 610 are laid out at the search and rescue operations centre AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Indonesian Navy Seals dive during the recovery mission for the crashed Lion Air flight EPA EPA EPA Indonesia's President Joko Widodo holds a personal item from Lion Air flight Getty Images Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (C), inspects recovered debris and personal items from Lion Air flight Getty Images Getty Images Search and Rescue personnel examine recovered debris Getty Images EPA AP Indonesian search and rescue personnel prepare for a recovery mission after Lion Air flight JT610 crashed into the sea AFP/Getty Images Oil slick where Lion Air flight JT 610 reportedly crashed into the sea off the coast of Indonesia's Java island AFP/Getty Images Members of a rescue team prepare to search for survivors from the Lion Air flight JT 610 AFP/Getty Images Relatives of passengers arrive at Lion Air's crisis center at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang AP Nugroho from Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency shows personnel looking at items believed to be from the wreckage AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Indonesian rescuers evacuating parts from a crashed Lion Air passenger plane in waters off Tanjung Karawang EPA A rescue team member points to the location where Indonesia's Lion Air flight JT 610 had crashed into the sea AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images EPA EPA Bangka Belitung province governor Erzaldi Rosman Djohan (seated C, holding microphone), addresses journalists AFP/Getty Images AP Members of a rescue team prepare to search for survivors AFP/Getty Images Airport authority head Bagus Sunjoyo (3rd R, holding microphone) addresses journalists after Lion Air flight JT 610 crashed into the sea AFP/Getty Images EPA An aerial view shows the site where it is believed the Lion Air flight JT610 crashed Reuters EPA AFP/Getty Images EPA A member of an Indonesian rescue team conducting a briefing on handling the evacuation process EPA EPA EPA Indonesian rescue team members collecting the remains of the crashed plane at Tanjung Priok Harbou EPA Indonesian rescue team members collecting the remains of the crashed plane at Tanjung Priok Harbou EPA AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images

It was the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since 1997 and renewed concerns about safety in its fast-growing aviation industry.

Data from flight-tracking sites show the plane had erratic speed and altitude in the early minutes of a flight on the day before the crash and during its fatal flight.
Y ouTube sensation Lilly Singh has been praised by fans for putting her mental health first and taking a break from the video platform.

The Canadian comedian and actress, 30, said she is physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted after pushing out content over an eight year period.

Singh, known also as IISuperwomanII, told her millions of fans she was stepping away from the website in an emotional final post.

She said: "YouTube, in all of its glory, it kind of is a machine and it makes creators believe that we have to pump out content consistently even at the cost of our health and our life and our mental happiness.

The star, one of the platforms highest earners, said she was struggling with burnout after posting videos consistently since 2010.

Fans responded with an outpouring of love and support for the popular vlogger following her announcement on Tuesday.

One wrote on Twitter: I love you so much. We will all be right here whenever youre ready to come back.

Another said: Lilly Singh has a 100% of my support and from all of my heart I truly wish her happiness.

And one fan went so far as to create a pie chart to show there is no chance the YouTuber would be forgotten during her time off.

Singh did not say how long she expects to be absent from her channel, but thanked fans for their support after the announcement.
M elania Trump has extraordinarily called on her husband to fire the deputy national security adviser after reports their staff clashed over seating arrangements.

The First Lady, in a statement issued through her spokeswoman, said Mira Ricardel no longer deserves the honour of serving on the National Security Council (NSC).

It comes after Mrs Trumps staff clashed with the top advisor over a number of things including seating on the aircraft during a recent visit to Africa, it was reported.

Mrs Trumps spokeswoman said in statement: "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House."

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel with Donald Trump at a Diwali ceremony earlier / REUTERS

Speculation mounted over whether President Donald Trump had already dismissed Ms Ricardel, with the Wall Street Journal reporting she had been escorted from the White House.

This was later corrected and officials spoke out to say Ms Ricardel remained in the building and had not been dismissed.

And shortly before Mrs Trumps statement was issued, Ms Ricardel was among a group of administration officials pictured standing behind the president at a White House ceremony.

The fallout comes after the Wall Street Journal also reported the security official clashed with the First Ladys staff during a visit to Africa in October.

The newspaper said they argued over such things as seating on the aircraft and requests to use the Security Councils resources.

A White House official has since said Ms Ricardel wanted to travel to Africa with the first lady but was denied seating on the plane because there was no room for her and several others who initially expected to make the trip.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss White House personnel matters, said Ms Ricardel then threatened not to send any NSC staff.

A spokesman for the NSC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U S Vice President Mike Pence has issued his strongest condemnation yet of Myanmars treatment of Rohingya Muslims warning leader Aung San Suu Kyi that persecution by her countrys army was without excuse.

He met with the Myanmar leader on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.

While sitting next to the Myanmar leader, he said: The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse.

I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life.

Mr Pence met with the Myanmar leader on Wednesday / REUTERS

Mr Pence also called for the release of two journalists who were arrested nearly a year ago and sentenced in September to seven years in prison for breaching the Official Secrets Act.

He is set to meet with leaders of Southeast Asian nations on Thursday. They are also expected to call for those responsible for atrocities in Rakhine state to be held fully accountable, according to a summit.

The Myanmar army launched a sweeping offensive in the north of Rakhine state in late August last year, in response to Rohingya militant attacks.

Rohingya: thousands of refugees have fled Myanmar / Redux/eyevine

Myanmar denies persecuting members of the Muslim minority, saying its forces have carried out legitimate counterinsurgency operations.

Ms Suu Kyi, responding to Pence, said: "Of course people have different points of view but the point is that you should exchange these views and try to understand each other better."

"In a way we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does and I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else," she added.

Stranded: Rohingya were waiting for access to dry land in rice paddies near Palangkhali wtih driving tropical rain coming at night / Redux/eyevine

The United States has accused the military of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, who are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

U.N.-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with "genocidal intent".
A New York police officer came to the rescue of a family from Ireland who were $20 short for Hamilton tickets after queueing for four days.

Police officer DiCandia was working in Times Square when he was met by Geraldine McKenna who was on holiday in New York City for the first time.

She had been waiting in line for Hamilton tickets for four days, only to find when she got to the counter that she was $20 short.

Officer DiCandia came to her aid, paying the last $20.

In a letter to the New York City mayors office, Ms Mckenna wrote: We were totally overjoyed and beyond grateful when he opened his wallet and just handed us $20.

My eldest daughter was crying when she was speaking to him.

It was without doubt the best night that would not have been possible without Officer DiCandias generosity and kindness.

The NYPD praised the officer for his actions on their Facebook page, writing: Thanks to Officer DiCandia of the Times Square Unit, Geraldine from Ireland didnt have to throw away her shot at Hamilton tickets!

Many people took to Facebook to thank the officer for his kindness.

Nancy Tatz said: Kindness goes a long way. This officers act will be remembered for years to come.
H ome improvement store Bunnings is facing a backlash from customers in Australia and New Zealand after it ordered a change to how its well-known Sausage Sizzle sandwich is constructed.

The sausage sizzle, an institution outside the stores, contains a sausage wrapped in bread with onions on top along with your choice of condiments. Money raised from the sale of the food goes to charity.

However due to health and safety reasons, the chain has required that the fried onion has to be placed on the bun first to avoid people slipping from any pieces of onion that have fallen on the floor.

Bunnings Australia chief operating officer Debbie Poole said: Safety is our number one priority and we recently introduced a suggestion that onion be placed underneath sausages to help prevent the onion from falling out and creating a slipping hazard.

A Bunnings warehouse opening in the outskirts of Melbourne / Fairfax Media via Getty Images

Regardless of how you like your onion and snag, we are confident this new serving suggestion will not impact the delicious taste or great feeling you get when supporting your local community group.

The move has sparked backlash from fans of the sausage sizzle, which has become an integral part of a trip to the DIY store.

Scott Morrison, Australia's prime minister, waded in on the debate / EPA

Even Australias prime minister waded in on the debate.

Scott Morrison was asked about the issue during a press conference at the ASEAN summit.

He said: Whether the onions are on top or underneath, Ill always be buying sausages on bread.

However one Queensland farmer told ABC that he had fallen on a stray piece of onion from a Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings.

The 65-year-old, who only gave his first name as Trevor, said: "It is serious stuff, this onion thing."
C abinet showdown over draft Brexit deal

Theresa May is facing a Cabinet showdown today after ministers were urged to reject her draft Brexit deal.

Senior Tories were last night being briefed individually on the contents of the divorce plan after it was agreed by UK and EU officials.

The announcement that a draft text had been agreed has been met with open hostility from Tory Brexiteers and scepticism from Remainers.

And before a special Cabinet meeting this afternoon, Mrs May will face the Commons for a potentially tricky Prime Ministers Questions.

Follow live updates on the crucial day ahead here.

Doctors save unborn babies life after crossbow horror

Doctors have saved the life of an unborn baby after his mother was shot dead with a crossbow in her London home.

The heavily pregnant woman, 35, was fatally injured at her home in Ilford on Monday.

Paramedics yesterday said the baby was in a critical in hospital but Scotland Yard confirmed last night he is now in a stable condition.

A man has been charged with murdering the woman and will appear at the Old Bailey tomorrow.

Melania urges husband to fire top security official

Melania Trump has called on her husband to fire the deputy US national security adviser amid reports they clashed over seating arrangements.

The First Ladys spokeswoman said Mira Ricardel no longer deserves the honour of serving on the National Security Council.

It comes after it was reported their staff clashed over a number of things including seating on the aircraft during a recent visit to Africa.

The White House and the National Security Council has not comment this morning.

Enormous pink diamond sold at record-breaking price

An unusually large pink diamond has fetched a record-breaking 50.3million Swiss Francs at auction.

The Pink Legacy, which weighs just under 19 carats, was bought by US brand Harry Winston at auction in Geneva.

Its sale set a new world-record price per carat for a pink diamond at about $2.6million.

The rare item is also the largest pink diamond auction house Christies has ever put under the hammer.

View the impressive diamond here.

Popular YouTuber steps back from platform

YouTube sensation Lilly Singh has been praised by fans for putting her mental health first and taking a break from the video platform.

The Canadian, 30, said she is physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted after producing video content weekly for eight years.

Singh, known also as Superwoman, told her millions of fans she was stepping away from the website in an emotional post yesterday.

She did not say when she would return but promised viewers she would be back happier and healthier" after her time off.

On this day

1770: Scottish explorer James Bruce discovered the source of the Blue Nile.

1896: The speed limit for horseless carriages was raised from 4mph (2mph in towns) to 14mph. It was marked by the first London to Brighton car run, which became a regular and official event from 1927.

1922: The British Broadcasting Company began daily transmissions. At 6pm the news was read by Arthur Burrows, once at normal speed and once at slow speed.

1932: Book tokens went on sale in Britain for the first time.
B ollywood superstars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have tied the knot and fans are all emotional.

The couple, who shared leading roles in an adaptation of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani, have officially wed in what they revealed to be a two-day ceremony this week.

Padukone and Singh are believed to have curated the ultimate destination wedding at Lake Como in Italy, choosing a select number of film-star friends and family for the occasion.

Fans flocked to social media to share their excitement and well-wishes for the couple.

One user wrote: Finally Bajirao @RanveerOfficial and mastani @deepikapadukone are together now. Always stay blessed in love. Congratulations to Mr. And Mrs. Deep veer. #DeepVeerKiShaadi #DeepikaRanveer.

Another commented: Many many congratulations @deepikapadukone @RanveerOfficial May you together have beautiful life ahead.

Excited: Fans took to social media to share their excitement / STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images

A third added: Heartiest congratulations to a match made in Heaven, Ram finally gets his Leela. May they grow grey together in love!

A fourth wrote: Made in heaven. Congratulations.
J ade Thirlwall sparked concern among Little Mix fans after she started crying during an intimate gig in London.

The four-piece were performing their hit single Only You when a visibly emotional Thirlwall struggled to sing as she fought back tears at the Dalston event.

The 25-year-old went to sing the lyric One brick at a time we watched it fall but faltered midway as bandmates Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock encouraged fans to sing for them.

She later told the audience she needed tissues for her issues as she was pulled in for a hug.

Tearful: Jade Thirlwall is comforted by Leigh-Anne Pinnock (Apple Music ) / Apple Music

Her outburst came days after she posted an Instagram story about wanting to dig a hole to hide from all my problems, sparking fears she is on the verge of splitting from her boyfriend Jed Elliott.

One fan tweeted: Jade is breaking my heart on the Little Mix Apple Music thing, has she broke up with her man?

Fears: Jade Thirwall with her boyfriend Jed Elliott / John Phillips/Getty

Another wrote: #LittleMixLive what if Jade is crying because shes broke up with Jed??

Thirwall has been dating The Struts musician since February 2015.

Little Mix teamed up with Apple Music for Tuesday nights gig ahead of the release of their new album LM5 on Friday.

Little Mix have been accused of miming on X Factor

Speaking about the record, Nelson said their mission is to instil body confidence in their fans.

I never thought I would get over thinking people thought certain things about me, she told ASOS magazine. I still get upset when I talk about it.

Little Mix: In pictures 1 /10 Little Mix: In pictures Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images

I'll never get those years back. I was so miserable, I should have been enjoying my f****** life. This is why we feel so passionate about what we're saying on this album.

The more we talk about it, the better it will be for kids growing up. We want people to know they're not alone.

Edwards added: Things like Instagram or magazine covers are a tiny percentage of a lifestyle that people want you to see, it's never the whole picture. I think now more than ever the world needs an album like LM5.

We're gonna keep f****** preaching until it sinks in  we want to empower women and ourselves.
S tan Lee was working on his final superhero film before he died, according to his daughter.

The legendary Marvel comic book writer, who died aged 95 on Monday, had created a new character called Dirt Man, which he had been working on with daughter JC Lee.

Speaking about the character, she told TMZ: It's very interesting. The last little angel that we've got tucked away is Dirt Man.

I said, 'Daddy, please  no clatter, no steel, no any of that. Let's get down and dirty.

Hero: Lee died aged 95 earlier this week / Getty Images

It's not over yet, we still have a little trickery.

JC also told how she was hopeful Dirt Man would get his own origin film.

Speaking about her fathers legacy, she told how her father would answer every fan letter that he could answer..he loved them.

One last time: Lee had been working on a character with his daughter / AFP/Getty Images

The revelation comes days after she confirmed her father had died in hospital.

In a statement she said: He felt an obligation to his fans to keep creating.

Fans leave tributes at Stan Lee's Walk of Fame star

He loved his life and he loved what he did for a living. His family loved him and his fans loved him. He was irreplaceable.

She did not mention his cause of death. TMZ reported an ambulance was called to his Hollywood Hills home early on Monday and that he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.
I had to give away class time and potential help for my next test, use another pass I might need for other emergencies, and (give away) my self-respect  just to get a product that is supposed to be provided to my fellow females and I in the bathroom that is right down the hall from my class, Buchta said.
V icky Pattison has shared a cryptic post hinting at relationship struggles after reports emerged that her relationship with fiance John Noble was on the rocks.

The Im A Celebrity winner appeared to confirm reports she is in crisis talks with her other half after a video emerged of him allegedly flirting and dancing with another woman in a club.

Pattison shared a quote on Instagram in the wake of the news which read: Ah, kindness. What a simple way to tell another struggling soul that there is love to be found in this world.

She then captioned the snap: Even in your darkest times, remember that everyone is fighting a battle that you may know nothing about. Please always be kind #worldkindnessday2018.

Pattison further fuelled rumours after she shared a tweet of a sad-face emoji on Wednesday morning.

The couples relationship has supposedly been in jeopardy since Noble was accused of having a fling while on holiday in Dubai.

On the rocks: Pattison is yet to confirm the split / Getty Images

A source told the Metro: [Vicky] is pretty upset, its not very nice for anyone to see. John is adamant nothing has happened but shes understandably not particularly happy.

She feels hurt and let down but no decision has been made about the future.

Pattison and Noble both appeared to clear their Instagram profiles, deleting nearly all of the images of them together.

The speculation comes after Pattison postponed her wedding for one year after admitting shes not ready to be a wife.

The former Geordie Shore star became engaged to Noble in July last year and had planned to have their lavish wedding ceremony on the same date this year.

Speaking to the Daily Star, she said: I don't want to rush it and to be honest I don't think I'm ready to be a wife yet. I've just come to terms with being 30. I'm not ready to come to terms with being married yet as well.
The letter outlined the dates for early voting and stated in underlined font, Please be aware that during Early Voting only a paper ballot will be available for the voters in the precincts within State Representative District 41 at the following two Early Voting locations. It listed the Naperville Municipal Center and the DuPage County Election Commission in Wheaton as the only places where 41st District residents could cast early ballots.
A total of five people were taken to area hospitals following the crash, police said. They included the driver of the Volkswagen; his two passengers, identified as a 16-year-old boy from Schiller Park and a 17-year-old girl from Chicago; and the drivers of two other cars.
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
The biggest thing I want is to help improve the community outreach aspect of the school district, Rao said Tuesday. We want everyone in the community to value the schools as much as the parents of our students do.
A: I was a nurse for more than 40 years. When I lived in Illinois, I was interested in helping older people, looking at older people differently. I was preparing to be a nurse practitioner in gerontology. I got a job in a Chicago Housing Authority building, a 20-story building. It was unique because there was a clinic in the building, where older people lived. I began learning they needed a lot more than check-ups, and I was not really prepared for that. It was an important part of my nursing career, and I didnt realize it until later. Im glad so many years have passed, because I look back and think, that really changed my thinking.  I started it thinking I was going to be a nurse practitioner and do physicals and cure people. I came there wearing my suits and high heels.  I still thought I was this big-deal nurse, and I had to leave that model in my head, that I was that super nurse. With the population we had, quality of life was much more than a pill or a physical.
The European Parliament's resolution on Romania analyses a series of events, from an eminently political perspective, without a balanced documentation, without a single mention to the official standpoint of the Romanian authorities, either if we speak of the Government or Parliament, which is completely unnatural, the President of the Senate, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, stated on Tuesday.

He announced that he will send a letter to the European ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) group to voice his discontent.

"This is a document that I had the chance to analyse before and I am telling you that it's totally unbalanced, it's subjective and I am profoundly disappointed with the entire thing. Today or tomorrow I will send a letter to my colleagues in the European ALDE group to let them know about my dissatisfaction with the position some of them adopted. For not all the members from the ALDE group voted in favour of the resolution; I will wait for the exact list," Tariceanu said in Parliament.The head of the Senate said that the provision regarding the legitimacy of the protocols signed between the intelligence services and institutions in the justice field in Romania was removed from the resolution."I will give you one single example: in item four there was a clear reference to the legitimacy of the protocols signed between the intelligence services and various institutions in the justice field. This reference, which was written in bold letters in the resolution draft is no longer there. My colleagues from the ALDE group were the ones who raised the matter and there was an amendment they voted on and this amendment did not pass. I don't know who was so efficient to convince the extremely thin majority (...) to remove this reference which, and pay attention to this, was also to be found in the report and recommendations of the Venice Commission we were asked to take into consideration. So, while we are asked to take into account these things, the European Parliament removes them from its resolution," said Tariceanu.He also said that he didn't know the structure of the vote in the EP, but he was able to confirm that MEPs Renate Weber and Norica Nicolai voted against it."I wish, I am very curious to see the structure of the vote on the text of the resolution in the European Parliament, for I found it a very worrying matter if the Romanian MEPs voted in favour of this resolution. This is an attitude that, for me, it basically defines the behaviour of the current Opposition, which understands to solve its disputes, which are natural to exist between a majority and the Opposition, not in Romania, not in the Romanian Parliament, but it tries to export them abroad, with unfavourable consequences Romania and Romanians are forced to deal with," added Tariceanu.On Tuesday, the European Parliament adopted the non-legislative resolution regarding the rule of law in Romania, with 473 votes cast in favour, 151 votes against and 40 abstentions, a text that underscored "the profound concern" of the MEPs for the judicial and criminal reform in Romania and "condemns the violent and disproportionate intervention by the police forces during the protests in Bucharest" in August.
Four persons, three Romanian citizens and one Yemeni, were safely evacuated from the Republic of Yemen and they will be brought to Romania, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informs in a release.

"During the night between October 13 and 14, 2018, three Romanian citizens and one Yemeni citizen, a family member, were safely evacuated from the Republic of Yemen, through the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Turkey, to Romania. During the travel, the Romanian citizens and their family member stayed permanently in touch with the Romanian Embassy in Cairo and the General Consular Office of Romania in Istanbul (...) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs incurred the total costs for the transportation of the Romanians and Yemeni citizen," reads the abovementioned release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

The representatives of the Romanian diplomatic mission in Cairo and the consular office in Istanbul, in permanent coordination with the MAE Crisis Cell and with the support of the honorary consul of Romania to the Republic of Yemen, have granted permanent consular assistance in view of the repatriation by air, through the identification of optimal evacuation modalities, and by issuing the necessary documents for a safe travel and for meeting all the boarding formalities."The MAE Cell crisis continued the efforts of evacuation of the Romanian citizens from the Republic of Yemen and stays permanently in touch with them and also with the relevant authorities in the region. (...) On the Website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there is a warning for those who want to travel to Yemen, with the maximum alert level, which is "Major danger - leave the area or the country immediately," reads the release.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the request addressed to the Romanian citizens in the conflict areaa to contact Romania's missions in the territory and signal their presence, so that they could benefit from assistance and consular protection and, at the same time, urged them to check the information provided through the application "Travel Safely," which can be downloaded from the MAE site (www.mae.ro/app_cs) on any smartphone or Android or IOS equipped mobile phone.The Romanian citizens who are traveling abroad benefit from the SMS alert service under the campaign "An SMS can save your life!," MAE brings to mind.
Romania is ready to take over, as of 1 January 2019, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the preparations are carried out according to the schedule, the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) mentioned on Tuesday evening.

According to a release sent by the MAE, the statement comes "in the context of some pieces of information that surfaced in the mass media, according to which our country wouldn't be prepared to take over the Presidency of the EU Council and the Finnish government expressed its readiness to provide support, including by supplanting the Presidency of the Council of the European Union mandate to Finland, as of 1 January 2019. "

"We draw attention that the Finnish Government believes that Romania's preparation to take over the Presidency of the EU Council is on schedule and the dialogue in the TRIO format confirms, once again, Romania's capability to successfully exercise this mandate," the MAE informs.The Romanian Ministry showed that, following clarifications provided by Romania's Embassy in Helsinki, the main Finnish daily published an update of the information related to the Finnish officials' statements, an update that includes the stance of the Romanian Executive and clarifies that "Romania is not in the position of not being able to exercise its Presidency of the EU Council mandate and will not ask for assistance to the Finnish Government in this regard.""We reiterate that the proper exercise of the mandate of Romania's Presidency of the Council of the European Union is a common exercise, which must be based on a political consensus among all the state institutions, and an open and honest dialogue that allows Romania to successfully fulfill this responsibility," the MAE release points out.This tenure "represents an opportunity for Romania to confirm its commitment towards the European Union and to promote its values, as well as strengthen and articulate Romania's role at the member states level," the MAE says."We underscore the importance of treating with maturity some pieces of information that are not based on real demarches and which can affect the image of Romania, its influence, credibility and status at European level," the Foreign Affairs Ministry release said.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said she was "outraged and disappointed" about the conclusions of the CVM (Co-operation and Verification Mechanism) report of the European Commission on Romania, considering, among other things, that the arguments of the Romanian Government were totally ignored by those who drafted the document.

"I am disappointed and outraged. Disappointed because it's not fair, as long as Romania's arguments are being ignored and the CVM objectives are always changing, especially so that we will never be able to meet them. I was there, in the European Parliament, I spoke about Romania, I brought to the attention of the European Parliament and Mr First Vice-President Frans Timmermans certain things he cannot say now that he wasn't aware of, and I am referring to the protocols. I am outraged, for Romania is asked to do things that are not acceptable in another European country," stated Viorica Dancila on Tuesday evening in a phone intervention on Antena 3 private television broadcaster, when she was asked about the most recent CVM report on Romania.

The PM added that, in her capacity, she cannot, under any circumstance, accept "that imperative recommendation by which an official document of the European Commission tells us to suspend the laws that were voted in the Romanian Parliament and validated by the Constitutional Court.""Such request I believe it's an interference in the constitutional order of a Member State and, at the same time, a violation of the European treaty. Moreover, it's totally unacceptable that they ask us to immediately suspend the procedures of removal or appointment of some chief-prosecutors, for this would be a brutal intervention in matters that are related to Romania's sovereignty. As long as we observe the laws of our country, and as long as we observe the Romanian Constitution, built in agreement with the EU principles, nobody has the right to get involved in our internal procedures regarding the appointments in the justice field. Also, it's not fair that we are told to resume the procedure on removing or appointing some prosecutors, when in Germany, for instance, the prosecutor general was removed in one single day for having accused the Justice Minister that he did not observe justice independence. There is no resolution concerning Germany in the European Parliament and no CVM reports, which makes us wonder: why such difference?," said Dancila.The PM also referred to the 18 questions that she received from EC First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, regarding the justice laws and criminal codes."I answered them in good faith, while being certain he wanted a clarification after the toxic propaganda some did in Brussels. I offered him legal arguments. I haven't seen any of these arguments appearing in the CVM report and so I wonder: what was the purpose of the 18 questions received from Mr First Vice-President Timmermans? Why ask someone if you weren't the least bit interested in what that person had to say? I only ask respect for Romania, equal treatment for Romania in Europe, equal rights and treatment for the Romanian citizens. I believe that we cannot accept Romanians to be scolded for something that everybody does in Europe or to be asked things that nobody does in Europe and I believe that this is how Romania should be treated; I will say this again, that I am disappointed and I don't think it's fair they ignore the official position of the Romanian Government," said Dancila.On Tuesday, the European Commission recommended Romania, under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism, to immediately suspend the implementation of the justice laws and subsequent emergency ordinances and revise them considering in full both the recommendations of the Venice Commissions and the ones of the Group of States Against Corruption of the Council of Europe (GRECO)."Developments in the past 12 months in Romania are throwing a shadow or pushing back some of the progresses made in the past ten years, for which reason the European Commission came with eight new recommendations under the CVM report for Romania," the First Vice-President of the community Executive, Frans Timmermans, stated in Strasbourg.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has said that the resolution adopted on Tuesday by the European Parliament on the rule of law in Romania is "political" and "profoundly incorrect."

"Definitely it is a political resolution, it is profoundly incorrect and at least at some points is groundless, while at others it does not even refer to Romania. In fact, this resolution is the expression of the electoral interests of the big European political groups - the people's party, who are the majority and the social democrats," Dancila told Antena 3 private broadcaster on Tuesday evening.

She offered some arguments in support of her statements. "The amendments of explicit condemnation of the protocols between the secret services and the judiciary were rejected, as such protocols would be common in the European Union, when they are in reality unacceptable. Then it is hard to understand the criticism levelled at the Romanian Gendarmerie, given that the intervention of the law enforcement forces in the other EU member states is perfectly identical to that of the Romanian gendarmes," Dancila said.The prime minister added, regarding the vote in the EP, that "it is absolutely regrettable that Romanian MEPs voted against Romania.""There are some limits that no good Romanian should ever exceed and under no circumstances. A good Romanian never votes against his own country, regardless of the context, irrespective of the political war, no matter how many electoral benefits he would get by that. It is sad to see Romanians pitted against Romania, as we have seen in the case of this resolution," Dancila said.On Tuesday, the European Parliament adopted a non-legislative resolution on the rule of law in Romania, 473 to 151 and 40 abstentions, a text that says MEPs are deeply concerned with the reform of the judiciary and criminal law in Romania and condemn the violent and disproportionate intervention of the police forces during August protests in Bucharest.
Romania is ready to take over the Presidency of the EU Council and, through his statements, Klaus Iohannis "profoundly damages" the interest of our country, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stated on Tuesday evening.

When asked on Antena 3 private television station whether or not Romania is ready to take over the Presidency of the EU Council in the context of the Finnish PM's statements, who offered for his country to take over the rotating Presidency instead of Romania, following President Klaus Iohannis's statements, Dancila responded: "It was to be expected that following Mr President Klaus Iohannis's statements we would have this type of effects. Romania is certainly ready to take over the Presidency of the EU Council. Romania's Government is well prepared and this thing is even known by President Iohannis, because we have an inter-ministerial committee for the Presidency of the EU Council, which meetings were attended by representatives of the Presidential Administration."

Moreover, the PM added having met the head of state in order to explain him the stage of the preparation for the Presidency. "Even the Secretary General of the European Commission said that Romania is ready to take over the rotating Presidency," Dancila added.The PM also provided some elements, for the first time, related to the programme of actions that are to be carried out during Romania's mandate."The entire programme of actions is completed. During Romania's mandate there will be over 1,000 formal and informal meetings in Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, therefore, there will be seven meetings and discussions each day during Romania's Presidency of the EU Council. We will have a multitude of formal and informal events organised in Romania. The essential benchmarks for the heads of state and government meetings in Sibiu on 9 May 2019 have been defined. I can say that the actual programme of the Summit started, the accreditation system is completed, the website is ready, the people in charge with the events and protocols established, the interinstitutional network of communicators is formed and trained," Dancila mentioned.The PM also added that Romania has selected and prepared "an army of professionals who will ensure the necessary human resource.""There are 279 presidents and vice-presidents of working groups, 342 coordinators, 800 file experts. There have been supplemented by 132 the offices at Romania's Representation to the EU. There are just some figures that show the seriousness of the takeover of the Presidency and the fact that we are ready and able to take over the rotating Presidency. Moreover, Romania currently exercises the "shadow Presidency" during the Austrian Presidency. This thing will allow an easy transition from the Austrian Presidency to the rotating Presidency which Romania will hold, as of 1 January 2019," Dancila stated.In respect to the message that the Finnish PM would convey regarding his country's proposal, the PM stated: "We definitely reject this thing, in fact, we saw that Finland also understood that Romania is ready and that we can successfully manage the rotating Presidency that we are to take over on 1 January 2019."When asked if she finds inappropriate President Klaus Iohannis's statements regarding the fact that Romania is not ready for the Presidency of the EU Council, Dancila replied: "Through such statements, through such words prompting people to overturn the government, Mr President Iohannis profoundly damages Romania's interests.""I respect the Presidential institution, as I respect all state institutions. You've seen that I am a firm and total supporter of a good co-operation, but I find myself obligated to reject and even condemn such a destructive attitude of the President of Romania. I wonder what Mr President wants, anarchy, political instability? Because I believe that this can be achieved only when (...) coming up with such statements, which bring a negative image not only inside Romania, but it is also taken over abroad," Dancila said.Finland's PM Juha Sipila announced on Tuesday that his Government raised its readiness in the event of a possible request of Romania to swap the order of taking over the Presidency of the EU Council of next year, but mentioned that no such request was made, the Yle public radio-television announced.PM Sipila stated that Romania's political tensions won't affect the calendar of the Presidency of the EU Council. He told the STT news agency that Romania has no intention to postpone its six-month term of the Presidency of the EU Council. In the first semester of 2019, this position is to be taken over by Romania, and, in the second semester, by Finland.On Monday President Klaus Iohannis argued that the Government in Bucharest is not ready to ensure the Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The power of a nation resides in the cohesion of the people, ensured by functional public and infrastructure systems, and in the solidarity of the citizens, united around common values and projects, defended by fair laws and equal to all, President Klaus Iohannis said in a message sent to AGERPPRES by the Presidential Administration, on the occasion of the 140th celebration since the union of Dobrogea with Romania.

"The lesson that the union of Dobrogea with Romania teaches us today, over the years, is that the power of a nation consists in the cohesion of the people, ensured by functional public and infrastructure systems, and in the citizens' solidarity, united around common values and projects, defended by fair laws and equal to all," showed the head of the state.

In this context, he said, we honour "the vision and dedication with which the Romanian politicians in the late 19th century planned and implemented a project that led, in just three decades, to the full political, economic and social integration of the region between Danube and the Black Sea."Iohannis also brought to mind about the message addressed to the inhabitants in Dobrogea by Prince Carol, on November 14, 1978, about which they say that is a "quintessence of the vision on the role of politics and public administration in the transformation and development of Dobrogea."According to the President, "the proclamation of the union of Dobrogea with Romania 140 years ago shows us that the process of unification of the Romanian historical provinces meant also the edification of our nation, which strongly believes in the values of democracy and in the observance of human rights.""The infrastructure projects launched with priority have contributed of a decisive manner to the development of the territory between Danube and the Black Sea in the decades that followed the winning by Romania of its independence as a state. Moreover, they implemented such legislative initiatives meant to protect the minorities, ensure the fundamental rights and social harmony, guarantee propriety, develop education and obtaining the economic sustainability of collectivities," mentioned the head of state.
The Social Democratic Party (PSD) PSD is contemplating challenging with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), through the government agent, the latest report drawn by the European Commission on Romania's progress with judicial reforms under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).

According to sources with PSD, a final decision is yet to be taken, but this option is being under consideration for the time being.

On Tuesday, the European Commission recommended to Romania in its report on the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism to immediately suspend the implementation of the laws of justice and subsequent emergency ordinances, and to revise them fully, taking full account of the CVM recommendations as well as those issued by the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO).
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14)  Universities and colleges may still include Filipino, Panitikan (Literature) and the Constitution in their curricula, even after the Supreme Court ruled that these subjects are not required in the tertiary level, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said Wednesday.

CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera said in a statement that students entering college from the K-12 program are expected to have taken up Filipino, Panitikan and the Constitution, but higher educational institutions (HEIs) could still teach these subjects at higher levels.

"HEIs may enhance these competencies by including additional subjects in Filipino, Panitikan or integrate these into existing subjects in their curriculum," De Vera said.

In ruling on October 9 that the K-12 program is constitutional, a unanimous Supreme Court (SC) lifted the 2015 temporary restraining order on CHED's Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20, which removes Filipino, Panitikan and the Constitution from the general education (GE) curriculum in college.

"The changes in the GE curriculum were implemented to ensure that there would be no duplication of subjects in Grade 1 to 10, senior high school and college. Thus, the allegation of petitioners that CMO No. 20 'removed' the study of Filipino, Panitikan and the Constitution in the GE curriculum is incorrect," said the SC through Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa.

"In this regard, it must be emphasized that CMO No. 20 only provides for the minimum standards for the GE component of all degree programs," it added.

READ: OPINION: K-12 is 6 years of high school for nothing

Tanggol Wika, a group of Filipino teachers who were among the petitioners against the K-12 program, said they are consulting their lawyers to file an appeal and urge the SC to hold oral arguments.

They also warned that the removal of Filipino and Panitikan from the college curriculum would lead to thousands of teachers losing their jobs.

"Sa abot ng makakaya ay patuloy nating ipaglalaban ang ating makatwirang adbokasi. Petisyon, rali at iba pa. Lahat ng sandata sa arsenal ng demokrasya ay ating gagamitin hanggang tayo'y magtagumpay," Tanggol Wika said in a statement on Saturday.

Faculty from some HEIs, like the University of Santo Tomas, have urged university administrators to retain Filipino in the college curriculum.

De Vera said the CHED respects the advocates' move to appeal the case and will wait for the SC's final decision on the matter.

"The Commission will continue to uphold the rule of law, study the issues raised by education stakeholders and await the final decision of the Supreme Court," he said.

CNN Philippines Multi-platform Writer Xave Gregorio contributed to this report.
The first man opened the unlocked drivers side door and struck the driver several times, police said. The man then placed the driver in a hold while the second man opened the unlocked passenger side door, police said.
Romania's Permanent Representative to the UN Ion Jinga, as head of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), co-chaired in New York a joint session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and PBC. The event was dedicated to connections between climate change and the consolidation and permanence of peace in the Sahel, Romania's permanent mission to the United Nations reported in a press statement on Tuesday.

Jinga welcomed the joint decision to discuss the situation in the Sahel in terms of the impact of climate change on peace and security in the region, as it faces multidimensional risks and urgently needs integrated co-ordination, analysis and support from the world community.

Emphasising that "the effects of climate change such as desertification, drought, floods, food insecurity threaten future generations and development," the diplomat said that ECOSOC and PBC can support the Sahel through political co-ordination and coherence, build partnerships, mobilise resources and encourage leadership and national efforts. "Under their mandates, ECOSOC and PBC can provide expertise and support, working together and in complementarity, promoting national and regional accountability and supporting local initiatives," he said.In formulating the conclusions of the meeting, Jinga pointed out that climate change is among the priorities of the UN agenda and that addressing the root causes of conflicts requires coherent action involving the entire institutional system of the organisation. "Sustainable peace cannot exist without sustainable development, and for that the Sahel countries need development investment. They also need sustainable support from the world community to build peace and combat violent extremism, build resilient societies and combat climate change," Jinga said.The initiative of the theme belonged to the Romanian presidency of the PBC, being accepted by consensus by all member states of ECOSOC and PBC. ECOSOC resolution 2009/32, as well as resolutions A/RES/70/262 and S/RES/2282 (2016) adopted by the Security Council and the UN General Assembly on Peacebuilding Architecture Review, call for closer cooperation and greater coherence between ECOSOC and PBC. The joint meeting of the two bodies took place after the annual PBC session dedicated to the Sahel region, which was held on Monday, under the Romanian presidency.
Chairman of the Romanian Senate Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said Tuesday that the report on Romania's progress with judiciary reform under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism, the CVM report, released by the European Commission will have to be analysed from two perspectives - one unnatural, political and a technical one.

"I have not seen it [the CVM report] or, rather, I have a series of preliminary information, we are waiting for its approval. From the preliminary information the report is, and I think it will have to be analysed from two perspectives - one unnatural, political, because the CVM report was designed to be a technical, legal mechanism. But, after receiving the official report I will be able to go through it and make comments. (...) The [European] Commission is entering a political area that is unjustified, because the report is a technical tool and I have recently seen a series of policy approaches that I think are calling into question the way the commission is working with the member states. So, I believe the commission cannot call into question the choices of the member states in certain areas that do not fall into what would be called the logic of subsidiarity," Tariceanu said at Parliament Palace.

Asked if the recommendations in the CVM report are met, Tariceanu said that he is entirely ready to work with the European Commission."First of all, we need to read them to see what they are talking about, and I am entirely willing to work with the commission. I do not know whether things will get a major improvement with the current commission, given the recent approach, but hopefully in the future there will be, at least as far as we, the coalition, the government and the parliamentary majority, are concerned, willingness to work with the Commission to solve these issues, take my word for it, " said Tariceanu.He also said the report had consequences on Romania's image and will very likely be used by the Opposition as a cudgel.About Frans Timmermans' statements that justice reforms have been suspended in Romania, Tariceanu mentioned that these are political statements and "very directly related to the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament."On Tuesday, the European Commission recommended to Romania in its report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism to immediately suspend the implementation of the laws of justice and subsequent emergency ordinances, and to revise them fully, taking full account of the CVM recommendations as well as those issued by the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO).Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans said Tuesday in Strasbourg that the developments in the last 12 months in Romania backtracked on issues where progress was made over the past 10 years, which is why the European Commission has came up with eight new recommendations.Also Tuesday, the European Parliament adopted a non-legislative resolution on the rule of law in Romania, 473 to 151 and 40 abstentions, a text that says MEPs are deeply concerned" with the reform of the judiciary and criminal law in Romania and condemn the violent and disproportionate intervention of the police forces during August protests in Bucharest.
At the Cotroceni Presidential Palace on Wednesday, George Ciamba was sworn in as the new minister-delegate for European affairs, with President Klaus Iohannis underlining on this occasion that the preparations for Romania's presidency of the Council of the European Union have reached the home stretch.

"I wish you success along with the other members of the government so that we may enter the finish line with the preparations for the presidency of the Council of the European Union," Iohannis told Ciamba.

Turning to the members of the government attending the ceremony, Iohannis said: "It is a second before the 11th hour so that we get reasonably prepared for the presidency, which I think is still possible. Good luck!."The office of the minister-delegate for European affairs was previously held by Victor Negrescu.George Ciamba is a career diplomat working with Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) since December 1990, according to the MAE website.In November 2012 he became secretary of state in charge with European affairs. Previously, Ciamba was Romania's ambassador to Greece.Between July 2003 and September 2005, he was secretary of state for multilateral affairs and then for global affairs at MAE. As such, he coordinated the files of the EU Intergovernmental Conference, NATO, the Council of Europe, the UN and other international organisations.
In August 2017, the board had approved a plan to have officers at Emerson Middle School in Niles and Lincoln Middle School in Park Ridge for four hours a day, two days per week. But officers were never assigned to either middle school because members of the District 64 board could not agree on the rules governing the officers.
Tom Sotos, a member of the District 64 Board of Education, had expressed concerns last month that building a new, wide sidewalk on the south side of Oakton might encourage children from the north side of the street to cross the heavily traveled, four-lane road at points where designated crosswalks or traffic signals do not exist, putting them at risk for being hit by a car.
Sometimes real-life stories are the equal of the best screenplays for breathtaking action movies. You cant make this stuff up  the facts seem stranger than fiction.

Its clear to everyone how political polarization is tearing up German society. Violence has become widespread and is drawing in the extreme right, radical left, and Salafists. In October, German police arrested six men on suspicion of belonging to a far-right terrorist group that had attacked foreigners in the city of Chemnitz. This time that terror ring had devised a conspiracy to sow chaos throughout the entire country and put an end to democracy.

According to the British Sun, Germanys Focus magazine has reported that some 200 far-right special operations forces (KSK) soldiers and vets had conspired to kill Green Party leader Claudia Roth, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and former President Joachim Gauck, as well as the leaders of asylum groups. The plot was uncovered by German criminal police.

The investigation found that far-right groups had tried to establish neo-Nazi cells within the German armed forces. A lieutenant colonel from military intelligence tried to obstruct the investigation and warned the plotters. This was surprising. Usually very serious vetting procedures are conducted before anyone can become a German serviceman, especially a commissioned officer. Far-right elements have normally been barred from military service, even back in the days of conscription. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, defense spokeswoman for the Free Democratic Party (FDP), has demanded that the military conduct their own investigation.

Their final goal was to unleash Day-X, thus ending any semblance of law and order in the country. The plotters regarded this as an imminent development. Weapons, ammunition, and fuel had been secretly stockpiled. Training camps had been established near the Austrian and Swiss borders.

This was not the first time. Last year, Wehrmacht memorabilia and Nazi-era artifacts were discovered inside several military barracks. In January, Focus reported that the 16,000-member, far-right Reich citizens faction had begun preparing for "Day X," which included the creation of armed units. Its an open secret that the neo-Nazi movement is growing stronger in Eastern Germany. This time its much more serious, as the plotters were actually planning a coup detat. It looks like Germany is not fit to lead Europe, as it is clearly unable to lead itself.

The news from Germany came just as French security services arrested a group of individuals over an alleged far-right plot to attack President Emmanuel Macron. Activity by armed groups and the creation of anti-migrant militias has become routine in Europe. Authorities in Eastern Europe are sounding the alarm over the rise of heavily armed paramilitary units that have access to heavy weapons. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia are among the nations affected. According to Europol, Greece, Italy, and Spain are facing threats of left-wing violence. While Brexit is overshadowing all other problems, far-right extremists in the UK are preparing a war against Islam. According to the Straits Times, The emergence of the neo-Nazi group National Action in 2014, and similar fringe outfits like Generation Identity, has helped forge a new, younger pool of extremists, according to the 2018 State of Hate report by the anti-racism organization Hope Not Hate. The Intercept warns that British Nazis are on the rise  and theyre becoming more organized and violent. Sweden is plunging into violence.

Dissatisfaction with migrants and other problems are fueling popular anger, which is the underlying cause of far-right and far-left populism and the formation of armed militias. The EU has turned a blind eye toward neo-Nazi activities in Ukraine. Will it adopt the same approach when it comes to its own neck of the woods?

Russia is being blamed for the worlds every woe, but what about the extremists who are joining the military and gaining access to lethal weaponry and advanced training? Are they not a threat? Remember the group of British Army servicemen who were arrested under the Terrorism Act in September 2017 for their membership in National Action, a prohibited neo-Nazi group? There was a National Action's link man to the Army. Who knows how many British servicemen belong to this or other extremist organizations?

Should the recent news from Germany be shrugged off? No one can say how much of a threat is posed to Europe by these armed groups with ties to the military, but that danger is growing, because the root causes of the problem are not being addressed.
The Western world would have succumbed over 1,000 years ago had its leaders and citizens not made a brave stand in the face of foreign invasion. Today, no less dangerous invaders than those from the past have succeeded where their forebears could not, and without the force of arms.

The history of Western civilization has been interspersed with episodes of military conflict on such a monumental scale that any defeat would have reversed the course of history forever.

Consider the Battle of Tours. Beginning in 711 AD, a Muslim army under the Umayyad caliphate conquered a large swath of what is known today as Spain and Portugal, or the Iberian Peninsula. The tide began to recede only in 732 when the Germanic statesman and military leader, Charles Martel, with a force of some 20,000 men, emerged victorious against Muslim forces on a battlefield in southwestern France in what is known as the Battle of Tours.

Military historian Victor Davis Hanson emphasized the importance of the conflict when he wrote that "most of the 18th and 19th century historians, like [Edward] Gibbon, saw (Tours), as a landmark battle that marked the high tide of the Muslim advance into Europe."

Martels victory represented the first chapter in a protracted effort  known as the Reconquista  a 780-year campaign on the part of the Christian kingdoms to uproot the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. And it wasnt until 1492, the year Columbus set sail to discover the New World, that the peninsula was fully controlled by Christian rulers.

It makes for a compelling thought experiment to consider how a powerful historic figure, like Charles Martel, one of the founding figures of the European Middle Ages, would be received by todays mainstream media, which has a acquired a very particular way of reporting on those modern European leaders  like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban  who are simply motivated by the desire to strengthen Europes borders from illegal aliens. For an answer, one need only consider the breathtakingly biased BBC interview where Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was told that his government was guided by xenophobia in its decision to prevent illegal migrants from entering the country.

Judging by its blood-stained history, however, Hungary has good reason for being concerned about foreign invasion. That's because the threat of foreign invasion against the European continent did not end in 1492. In fact, overlapping the defeat of the Muslim invaders in Western Europe, a concomitant development was occurring in Eastern Europe with the rise of the Ottoman Empire, which defeated the Byzantine Empire in 1453.

By 1541, the Ottoman Turks had conquered Hungary and at this time were on their way to creating one of the largest empires of all time. After declaring Hungary a vassal state, the Ottoman army marched up the Danube towards the famed Gates of Vienna. It was here the Ottomans would meet their match, thanks to the timely intervention of King John Sobieski of Poland.

Upon reaching Vienna on September 12, 1683, with the Ottoman army about to breach the city walls, Sobieski ordered his roughly 75,000 troops to charge at the very heart of the enemy force, which numbered some 350,000. Sobieskis plan worked and he successfully routed the Ottomans, a momentous event that began the liberation of Eastern Europe from the Turkish yoke.

To understand the significance of the victory, the Pope hailed Sobieski as the "Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization."

Once again, we must ask: how would the Western media today treat such a historic figure, who led Europe and Western civilization to ultimate triumph against a foreign invader? After all, Sobieski didnt merely construct a barbed-wire fence against an invading horde as Hungarys Orban did, and too much outcry and even retribution from his European peers. Sobieski went so far as to put an intruder to the sword.

In a letter to his wife, Queen Marie-Louise, Sobieski described the sheer mayhem and bloodshed that accompanied the battle: Our Lord and God, Blessed of all ages, has brought unheard victory and glory to our nation. All the guns, the whole camp, untold spoils have fallen into our handsThey left behind a mass of innocent Austrian people, particularly women; but they butchered as many as they could

Now of course some will argue that we are talking about apples and oranges here. A marauding army simply cannot be compared to an influx of desperate migrants looking to better their lot in life. However, I would argue that the two groups, while employing radically different methods, nonetheless produce roughly the same results: both groups have a massive impact upon the native population in terms of problems with assimilation, as well as the expenses involved in playing host to people from radically different cultures, religions and backgrounds. Most importantly, however, is that in both cases the native population suffers the risk of being completely displaced by the influx of foreigners, especially if the latter is more prolific when it comes to reproducing its numbers.

There is yet another point to consider. As the Hungarian foreign minister emphasized in his interview, much of the migrants who entered Europe arrived by invitation of sorts in that they knew the larger European countries, namely Germany, England and France, in tandem with non-profit organizations like George Soros Open Society, would provide them with a relatively respectable stipend once they breach the borders of some European country (it should be no surprise that Germany is viewed as the Holy Land as far as these economic migrants are concerned). In a report detailing the outlays provided to migrants arriving in Germany, it was reported that a single adult receives  408/month on average for everything but rent and health insurance, which the state pays for. Now if that doesnt set the conditions for a full-blown exodus into Europe I really dont know what will. And it has. To date, millions of undocumented migrants have spread out to the four corners of Europe, the consequences of which nobody can predict.

One thing can be said with certainty, however. The great sacrifices of great European men, like John Sobieski and Charles Martel, seem to have been utterly wasted by modern leaders who simply do not have the best interest of their state, not to mention Western civilization, at heart. The site of German Chancellor Angela Merkel snatching the German flag from one of her colleagues during a political assembly, or French President Emmanuel Macron insisting that there is no such thing as French culture tells us everything we need to know about these so-called leaders, who have betrayed the spirit of European fortitude that allowed Europe to survive and flourish in the first place. Europe should be thankful there are leaders like Hungarys Viktor Orban or Sebastian Kurz, 31, the new Austrian chancellor who soared to victory by campaigning on stricter border controls in Europe.

Why is common sense in such short supply these days in the Western world?

It cannot be denied that much of Europes problems with the migration crisis are the result of it hitching its wagon to the falling star of US foreign policy. However, that does not serve as a reasonable argument for Europe to open its doors to a migrant invasion. If Europe, as well as some of the more notorious NGOs, really want to help migrants from the Middle East, they could start by demanding their governments stop supporting military operations abroad. This is exactly what our modern social justice warriors should be demanding, yet they are absolutely silent on the war front. And if they insist on paying these war victims, who are certainly deserving of sympathy, then better to send the humanitarian assistance to those war-torn places instead of inviting hordes to European shores.

As things stand, or fall, Europes ultimate survival will come down to brave and courageous men, the Martels and Sobieskis of our times, to thwart any new foreign invasions being delivered to Europes doorstep inside the Trojan Horse of good intentions, which we all know where ultimately leads.

Photo: Flickr
Increasingly tragic and violent events are taking their toll on the plight of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Ukraine . After several fights over control of the churchs property, prohibitions and blacklists are starting to spread, affecting respected church figures coming from Russia to Ukraine. The latest news is that the head of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archbishop Amvrosyi Yermakov, was deported from Ukraine back to Russia. Amvrosyis name popped up on the black list of Russian citizens who are not deemed eligible to visit Ukraine. Obviously, this happened right before his plane landed in Zhulyany, Kievs international airport. After a brief arrest, Amvrosyi was put on a plane and sent back to Moscow. This is not the first such humiliation of the Orthodox Church and its priests that has taken place since the new pro-Western regime came to power in Kiev in 2014. Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church has been declared persona non grata throughout Ukraine since 2014. That decision was made by humiliatingly low-level officials. A department within the Ukrainian ministry of culture published a ruling stating that Kirills visit to Ukraines capital of Kiev would not be desirable.

Since the ancestors of modern Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians were first baptized in 988 in Kiev, the Patriarchs of the Russian Church have never had problems visiting Kiev, the birthplace of their church. Not even under the Bolsheviks did such prohibitions exist. So, for Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church to be denied permission to visit Kiev can only be compared to a possible prohibition against the pope visiting Rome. Since 2014, there have also been several criminal cases filed against the priests of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC MP) because they have called the hostilities in eastern Ukraine a civil war and have discouraged the faithful from supporting that war. This has been interpreted by the Ukrainian state authorities as a call for soldiers to desert the army.

Why Poroshenkos meeting with Bartholomew is ominous

Despite the fact that the UOC MP has become used to all sorts of trouble since 2014, things have been looking even worse for the canonical church lately, as 2018 draws to a close. In early November 2018, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko broke the wall of separation between church and state in the most overt manner possible  he signed an agreement on cooperation and joint action between Ukraine and the so called Constantinople Patriarchate, the oldest institution of Orthodox Christianity, which is now based in Turkish Istanbul.

Rostislav Pavlenko, an aide to Poroshenko, wrote on his Facebook page that the agreement (not yet published) is premised on the creation of a new autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine  a development that the official, existing Orthodox Churches in Russia and Ukraine view with foreboding as a schism that they have done all they can to prevent. Why? Because Poroshenkos regime, which came to power via a violent coup in Kiev in 2014 on a wave of public anti-Russian sentiment, may try to force the canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine to merge with other, non-canonical institutions and to surrender to them church buildings, including the famous monasteries in Kiev and Pochai, as well as other property.

President Poroshenko was visibly happy to sign the document  the contents of which have not yet been made public  on cooperation between the Ukrainian state and the Constantinople Patriarchate, in the office of Bartholomew, the head of the Constantinople Patriarchate. Poroshenko smiled and laughed, obviously rejoicing over the fact that the Constantinople Patriarchate is already embroiled in a scandalous rift with the Russian Orthodox Church and its Ukrainian sister church over several of Bartholomews recent moves. Bartholomews decision to lift the excommunication from two of Ukraines most prominent schismatic priests, in addition to Bartholomews declaration that the new church of Ukraine will be under Constantinoples direct command  these moves were just not acceptable for the canonical Orthodox believers in Russia and Ukraine. Kirill, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), as well as Onufriy, the Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, are protesting loudly, viewing this situation as a breach of two basic principles. First of all, the Ukrainian state has interfered in the churchs affairs, asking Constantinople to give the Ukrainian church autocephaly, which that church never requested. Second, Constantinople itself has interfered in the affairs of two autonomous national churches, the Russian and the Ukrainian. In the eyes of Ukrainian and Russian clergy, Bartholomew is behaving like the Roman pope and not as a true Orthodox leader who respects the autonomy and self-rule of the separate, national Orthodox Churches.

The Russian President sympathizes with the believers pain

Two days before Poroshenko made his trip to Istanbul, Russian president Vladimir Putin broke with his usual reserve when commenting on faith issues to bitterly complain about the pain which believers in Russia and Ukraine have experienced from the recent divisions within the triangle of Orthodoxys three historic capitals  Constantinople, Kiev, and Moscow.

Politicking in such a sensitive area as religion has always had grave consequences, first and foremost for the people who engaged in this politicking, Putin said, addressing the World Congress of Russian Compatriots, an international organization that unites millions of ethnic and cultural Russians from various countries, including Ukraine. Himself a practicing Orthodox believer, Putin lauded Islam and Judaism, while at the same time complaining about the plight of Orthodox believers in Ukraine, where people of Orthodox heritage make up more than 80% of the population and where the church has traditionally acted as a powerful spiritual link with Russia.

Despite his complaints about politicking, Putin was careful not to go into the details of why exactly the state of affairs in Ukraine is so painful for Orthodox believers. That situation was explained by Patriarch Kirill. After many months of tense silence and an unsuccessful visit to Barthlomews office in Istanbul on August 31, Kirill has been literally crying for help in the last few weeks, saying he was ready to go anywhere and talk to anyone in order to prevent the destruction of the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Politics with a mystical dimension

Kirill said the attack against the Orthodox Church in Ukraine had not only a political, but also a mystical dimension. Speaking in more earthly terms, there is a danger that the 1,000-year-old historical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP)  which now owns 11,392 church buildings, 12,328 parishes, and two world-famous monasteries in Ukraine  will be dissolved. The roots of the UOC MP go back to the pre-Soviet Russian Empire and even further back to the era of Kievan Rus, the proto-state of the Eastern Slavs in the tenth-twelfth centuries AD, when the people who would later become Russians, Ukrainians, and Byelorussians were adopting Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. It is by far the biggest church in Ukraine, as Mikhail Denisenkos non-canonical alternative church has only 3,700 parishes that include church buildings (fewer than a third of what is owned by the UOC-MP, despite the fact that Denisenko enjoys official support from the Ukrainian state).

What many Russian and Ukrainian believers fear is that the Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew will eventually grant Kiev what is being called autocephaly. In that event, the UOC-MP may be forced to merge with two other, non-canonical churches in Ukraine that have no apostolic liaison. The apostolic succession of the UOC-MP consists in the historical fact that its first bishops were ordained by medieval bishops from Constantinople, who had in turn been ordained by Christs disciples from ancient Israel. Apostolic succession is crucial for the Orthodox Church, where only bishops can ordain new priests and where the churchs connection to the first Christians is reflected in many ways, including in the clergys attire.

Metropolitan Hilarion (his secular name is Grigory Alfeyev), the Russian churchs chief spokesman on questions of schism and unity, accused the patriarch of contributing to the schism by officially lifting the excommunication from Ukraines most prominent schismatic church leader  the defrocked former bishop Mikhail Denisenko. That clergyman stands to gain most from the autocephaly promised to Poroshenko by Patriarch Bartholomew. A hierarchical Orthodox Church is considered to have autocephalous status, as its highest bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has stated that for Ukraine to be granted autocephaly from Istanbul, this would mean a complete reformatting of the countrys religious status quo and the severing of all links to Orthodox Russia and its demons.. Most likely, the new united church wont be headed by the UOC MPs Metropolitan, but by Mikhail Denisenko, who was excommunicated by both the UOC MP and the Russian church back in 1997 and with whom real Orthodox priests can only serve against their will and against the churchs internal rules.

Constantinoples first dangerous moves

On October 11, 2018, the Constantinople Patriarchate made its first step towards granting autocephaly by repealing its own decision of 1686 that gave the Moscow Patriarch primacy over the Kiev-based Metropolitan. This 17th-century decision reflected the political reality of the merger between the states of Russia and Ukraine and established some order in the matters of church administration. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow gave the Ukrainian church complete independence in financial and administrative matters, but the two churches retained their cherished spiritual unity. Constantinoples decision is aimed at destroying that unity, the ROCs Patriarch Kirill explained. We cant accept it. That is why our Holy Synod made the decision to end eucharistic communication with the Constantinople Patriarchate.

How Moscow excommunicated Bartholomew

The end of eucharistic communication means that the priests of the two patriarchates (based in Moscow and Istanbul) wont be able to hold church services together. It will be maintained as long as the threat of autocephaly continues. The Western mainstream media, however, interpreted this decision by the Russian church as a unilateral aggressive act. The NYT and the British tabloid press wrote that it simply reveals Putins desperation at not being able to keep Ukraines religious life under control.

However, Patriarch Bartholomew seems undeterred by the protests from the Russian faithful and the majority of Ukraines believers. Bartholomew said in a recent statement that Russia should just follow the example of Constantinople, which once granted autocephaly to the churches of the Balkan nations. Bartholomews ambassadors in Kiev do not shy away from communicating with the self-declared Patriarch Filaret (Mikhail Denisenkos adopted religious name from back when he was the UOC MPs Metropolitan prior to his excommunication in 1997). For true Orthodox believers, any communication with Denisenko has been forbidden since 1992, the year when he founded his own so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP). Unfortunately, Denisenko enjoys the full support of Ukrainian President Poroshenko, and recently the US State Department began encouraging Denisenko, by giving its full support to Ukraines autocephaly.

The lifting of Denisenkos excommunication by Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul both upset and embittered the Orthodox believers in both Ukraine and Moscow, since Denisenko was excommunicated by a joint decision of the Russian church and the UOC MP in 1997, after a five-year wait for his return to the fold of the mother church. So, by undoing that decision, Constantinople has interfered in the canonical territory of both the Ukrainian and the Russian churches.

The UOC-MP protested, accusing not only Patriarch Bartholomew, but also the Ukrainian state of interfering in the churchs affairs. We are being forced to get involved in politics. The politicians do not want Christ to run our church; they want to do it themselves, said Metropolitan Onufriy (Onuphrius), the head of the UOC-MP, in an interview with PravMir, an Orthodox website. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has been independent. Our church did not ask for autocephaly, because we already have independence. We have our own Synod (church council) and our own church court. Decisions are made by a congress of bishops and priests from all over Ukraine. We have financial and administrative independence, so autocephaly for us will be a limitation, not an expansion of our rights.

Poroshenkos premature jubilation

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Poroshenko did not conceal his jubilation about Constantinoples moves. This is a victory of good over evil, light over darkness, Poroshenko said when the news about the lifting of Denisenkos excomnmunication came from Istanbul in early October.

Poroshenko said he wanted a united Orthodox Church for his country, and he openly pressured Patriarch Bartholomew to provide autocephaly to Kiev during his visits to Istanbul in the spring of 2018 and in November of the same year. Meanwhile, Denisenko said that the provision of autocephaly would mean the immediate dispossession of the UOC MP. This Russian church (UOC MP) will have to cede control of its church buildings and famous monasteries to the new Ukrainian church, which will be ours, Denisenko was quoted by Ukrainian media as saying. These monasteries have been owned by the state since Soviet times, and the state gave them to the Russian church for temporary use. Now the state will appoint our communities of believers as the new guardians of this heritage. Denisenko also made a visit to the US, where he met Undersecretary of State Wess Mitchell, obtaining from him Americas active support for the creation of a unified Ukrainian church.

There is still a chance to prevent the schism from occurring. Poroshenkos presidential aide, Rostislav Pavlenko, made it clear on Tuesday that the actual tomos (a letter from the Constantinople Patriarchate allowing the creation of an autocephalous church) will be delivered only IN RESPONSE to a request from a unifying convention that represents all of Ukraines Orthodox believers in at least some sort of formal manner. This new convention will have to declare the creation of a new church and elect this churchs official head. Only then will Constantinople be able to give that person the cherished tomos.

Since the UOC-MP has made it very clear that it wont participate in any such convention, the chances of the smooth transition and easy victory over the Muscovite believers that Poroshenko wants so badly are quite slim. There are big scandals, big fights, and big disappointments ahead.

Photo: Twitter
Dont hold your breath for it, but there should be an abject apology coming from US politicians, pundits, media and intelligence agencies.

For months leading up to the midterm elections held last week, we were told that the Kremlin was deviously targeting the ballot, in a replay of the way Russian hackers allegedly interfered in the 2016 presidential race to get Donald Trump into the White House.

Supposedly reliable news media outlets like the New York Times and heavyweight Senate panels were quoting intelligence sources warning that the Russians are coming  again.

So what just happened? Nothing. Where were the social media campaigns of malicious Russian-inspired misinformation sowing division? Whatever happened to the supposed army of internet bots and trolls that the Kremlin command? Where are the electoral machines tampered with to give false vote counts?

Facebook said it had deleted around 100 social media accounts that it claimed were linked to pro-Russian entities intent on meddling in the midterms. How did Facebook determined that linkage? It was based on a tip-off by US intelligence agencies. Hardly convincing proof of a Kremlin plot to destabilize American democracy.

If elusive Russian hackers somehow targeted the midterm Congressional elections they certainly seem to have a convoluted objective. Trumps Republican party lost the House of Representatives to Democrat control. That could result in more Congressional probes into his alleged collusion with Russia. It could also result in Democrats filing subpoenas for Trump to finally disclose his personal tax details which he has strenuously refused to do so far.

Moreover, having lost control of one of the two Congressional chambers, Trump will find his legislative plans being slowed down and even blocked.

Thus, if Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin are the purported puppet masters behind the Trump presidency, they have a very strange way of showing their support, as can be seen from the setbacks of the midterms.

A far simpler, more plausible explanation is that there was no Russian hacking of the midterms, just as there wasnt in the 2016 presidential election. Russian interference, influence campaigns, malign activity, Russia-gate, and so on, are nothing but myths conjured up by Trumps domestic political opponents and their obliging media outlets.

Now that all the dire warnings of Russia hacking into the midterms have been shown to be a mirage, the US intelligence agencies seem to be adopting a new spin on events. We are told that they prevented Russian interference.

In a Bloomberg article headlined One Big Loser of the Midterms  Russian Hackers, it is claimed: Security officials believe [sic] they prevented cyberattacks on election day. However, they added, its hard to tell.

In other words, US security officials have no idea if putative Russian hackers were targeting the elections. The contorted logic is that if there were no hacking incidents, then it was because US cybersecurity prevented them. This is tantamount to invoking absence to prove presence. Its voodoo intelligence.

President Trump has a point when he lambasts Democrats and their supportive media for crying foul only when they lose an election. In various midterm races, it was apparent that Democrats would protest some alleged electoral discrepancy when their candidate lost against a Republican. But when Democrats came out on top, there were no irregularities.

One can imagine therefore that if the Democrats had failed to win control over the House of Representatives, then they and their intelligence agency and media supporters would have been clamoring about Russian interference to help Republicans retain the House.

As it turned out, the Democrats won the House, so there is no need to invoke the Russian bogeyman. In that case, it is claimed, Russian hackers did not succeed to penetrate the electoral system or pivot social media.

Nonetheless, there was indeed rampant interference in the recent US election. For one thing, some 28 pro-Israeli Political Action Committees and wealthy individuals spent around $15 million to promote 80 candidates in the Congressional elections, according to the organization If Americans Knew. This foreign influence on US voters in favor of Israeli interests is nothing new. It is standard practice in every election.

During the presidential campaign in 2016, the Israeli-American billionaire Sheldon Adelson reportedly donated $25 million to Trumps campaign. Undoubtedly that legalized bribery is why Trump on becoming president has pushed such a slavishly pro-Israeli Middle East policy, including his inflammatory declaration of Jerusalem as the sole capital of the Zionist state.

But there is no outcry about Israeli influence campaigns and hacking from the US media or from Democrats over this egregious interference in American democracy. No, they prefer to obsess about the phantom of Russian meddling.

Another evident source of electoral hacking was of the homegrown variety. There seem to be valid grievances among ordinary American voters about gerrymandering of electoral districts by incumbent parties, as well as voter disenfranchisement, especially among poor African-American and Latino communities. There were also reported cases of phone canvassers making malicious calls to discredit candidates, as was claimed by the beaten Democrat contenders in Florida and Georgia.

Clearly, there are huge flaws in the US electoral system. Most glaringly, the gargantuan problem of campaign funding by corporations, banks and other representatives of the oligarchic system.

A further chronic problem is yawning voter apathy. The recent midterms were said to have seen a record turnout of voters. The official figure is that only 48 per cent of voters exercised their democratic right. That is, over half the voting population view the ballot exercise as not worth while or something worse. This is a constant massive disavowal of American democracy expressed in every US election.

The midterm elections demonstrate once again that American democracy has its own inherent failings. But the political establishment and the ruling oligarchy are loathe to fix a system from which they benefit.

When the system becomes unwieldy or throws up results that the establishment does not quite like  such as the election of uncouth, big mouth Trump  then the error must be explained away by some extraneous factor, such as Russian hacking.

However, the latest exercise in American democracy, for what it is worth, gave the salutary demonstration of the myth of Russian interference  at least for those who care to honestly see that.

Another valuable demonstration was this: if supposedly reliable news media and an intelligence apparatus that is charged with national security have been caught out telling spectacular lies with regard to Russian hacking, then what credibility do they have on a host of other anti-Russia claims, or, indeed, on many other matters?
In late 2018 China announced that its new Z-10 helicopter gunship was being equipped with lightweight graphene (a form of carbon that is extremely thin, strong and cheap) armor. That would make the Chinese the first to make available graphene armor for military applications. Work on this sort of thing has been going on for over a decade with the major problem being developing a cheap and reliable manufacturing process for sheets of this ultrathin graphene. China released few details on its military-grade graphene armor other than that it was rigid and lightweight.

There are already bulletproof graphene armor designs available in the West. Earlier in 2018, a British firm (Graphene Composites) revealed tests of its GC Shield graphene armor. The GC product was not rigid but was based on five layers of graphene separated by lightweight (but bulky and jelly-like) aerogel. This easily stopped multiple 9mm and 357 magnum pistol rounds and there is a bulkier version in the works that can stop high-speed rifle bullets. The Chinese graphene armor apparently uses graphene sheets separated by thin layers of rigid ceramics. A similar design for tank armor (Chobham, also developed in Britain during the 1960s) used layers of metal (steel or depleted uranium) separated by layers of ceramics to provide the most effective tank armor ever, and it is still used today. China is known to have put a lot of money into research on graphene applications so their lightweight armor apparently works.

The same cannot be said for the Z-10 gunship. This is another bit of technology the Chinese spent a long time trying to perfect and it is still considered a second-rate gunship. The Z-10 finally went into mass production during 2013 but even with that, the Chinese army has only ordered 118 to equip nine aviation brigades. All but ten of these have been delivered. There is a squadron (12 helicopters) of Z-10s in each aviation brigade. The move to mass production in 2013 was a surprise because this aircraft has been in development for over 14 years and the several prototypes encountered numerous problems. This led to failed attempts to buy or steal helicopter gunship technology from Russia and South Africa.

In 2011 some of the Z-10 prototypes were sent to Chinese Army aviation units for field testing. While not a failure, the newer and lighter Z-19 was apparently seen as a better candidate for mass production. Work continued on the Z-10 because the Z-19 is basically an armed scout helicopter. China always wanted something more like the American AH-64 Apache. That would be the seven ton Z-10, at least once all the development problems were overcome. The Z-10 is smaller than the 10 ton AH-64 and also has a crew of two. The Z-10 is armed with 30mm autocannon and can carry up to a ton of rockets or missiles. Since 2013 the Z-10 has received a number of electronic accessories like radar, electro-optical sensors for the fire control system, night vision, electronic countermeasures and a GPS based navigation system. These items have been added incrementally, sometimes as upgrades to less capable earlier versions.

The graphene armor was added to protect the cockpit where the pilot and weapons officers are as well as fuel tanks and engines. It was announced that this new graphene armor is also being used for use in protective vests and other to protect types of vehicles and aircraft. Note that the key item in modern protective vests is the composite plates that can stop rifle bullets. These composite plates appeared in the 1990s, but did not use graphene and had to be replaced after being hit because when they stopped a bullet they cracked. Apparently, the graphene-based composite plates are lighter, less bulky and less prone to cracking. Eventually, test results will have to be released if China wants export orders.

Meanwhile, the lighter Z-19 armed scout helicopter has been more in demand by the Chinese army. The Z-19 first appeared during 2010 painted in military colors. The Z-19 was earlier known as the Z-9W. The Z-19 is yet another Chinese helicopter based on the Eurocopter Dauphin (which has been built under license in China for two decades). The Z-19 is a 4.5 ton, two-seat armed helicopter. It can carry a 23mm autocannon and up to half a ton of munitions (missiles, usually). Cruising speed is 245 kilometers an hour and range is 700 kilometers. The Z-19 is basically an upgraded Z-9W and considered more reliable and useful than the Z-10. China provided three Z-10s to Pakistan for evaluation and the Pakistanis turned it down and bought the Italian designed T-129 from Turkey instead. This helicopter is similar in size to the Z-10 but is more reliable and capable. However, the Chinese Army is satisfied with its Z-10s mainly because of the effective accessories that have been added. This apparently includes the graphene armor design.
by Austin Bay November 13, 2018

On Nov. 5, India announced that its first domestically made nuclear powered submarine, the INS Arihant, had just completed its first "deterrence patrol" by spending a month on station, quietly prowling the ocean while armed with ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Arihant's assembled crew that their submarine's cruise was a "fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail ... Amid an increase in the number of nuclear weapons in our surroundings, a credible nuclear deterrence is extremely important for our country's security. Arihant is an open warning for the country's enemies, for the foes of peace: Don't try any misadventure against India."

Modi's unnamed blackmailers are no mystery; he is apparently calling out India's nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan and China.

In a subsequent tweet, Modi added that the sub's cruise marked the successful establishment of India's "nuclear triad." India already possesses aircraft and land-based missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons -- the first two components of what strategists call the nuclear triad. Submarines launching nuclear-armed missiles from the sea constitute the third member of the triad. Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs, also called "boomers") like the U.S. Navy's Ohio-class missile submarines are the top-of-the-line sea-based nuclear deterrents. Boomers carry SLBMs -- submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

SSBNs are thought to be the most survivable component of the triad. Should an enemy destroy air- and land-based delivery systems, a lurking submarine can still retaliate.

The U.S. Naval Institute's USNI News observed that the Arihant's patrol "was more of a statement of intent than a demonstration of a new capability."

That was a very diplomatic way to acknowledge India has reached the nuclear triad big league, while making the professional point that operationalizing an SSBN force for nuclear deterrence will still take New Delhi several years and require substantial military budget expenditures.

India has joined the U.S., Great Britain, France, Russia and China in the nuclear-triad-with-SSBN club. Though the Arihant's design draws on a Russian nuclear submarine design, the fact that it is a domestically manufactured SSBN sub is an accomplishment.

At the moment, however, only four nations conduct sustained, continuously-at-sea SSBN deterrent patrols: the U.S., Great Britain, France and Russia. Based on crew and maintenance requirements, continuously deploying one SSBN requires a minimum of four boats. Britain and France have precisely four. Russia has four but will soon have six. America has 14 Ohio-class boomers each carrying 24 Trident II D5 intercontinental SLBMs.

China has four SSBNs carrying intercontinental missiles, but does not keep one continuously deployed. That will likely change. USNI reported that the Pentagon estimates China will have eight SSBNs by 2020.

Hence India responds with the Arihant. A second SSBN, the Arighat, should join the fleet in 2019 or 2020.

The Arihant carries only 12 short-range or four intermediate-range SLBMs. But for now, New Delhi bets a handful of warheads suffices to deter Pakistan and give China second thoughts.

Non-nuclear submarines carrying nuclear-armed cruise missiles fired from torpedo tubes can also deter adversaries. At least the Israelis think so.

Israel and China both deploy diesel-electric submarines with air independent propulsion systems. AIP-enhanced conventional subs can remain submerged for extended periods. Israel has five German-made Dolphin-class subs and two sport AIP. Israel is believed to have a sea-launched cruise missile that can deliver a 200-kiloton warhead some 1,500 kilometers.

Iranian crazies refer to Israel as a "one-bomb state." Israel's small; one big Iranian nuke destroys it. However, the quiet Israeli sub, its missiles and its nukes would very likely survive an Iranian nuclear strike. MAD? Yes, mutually assured destruction. The mutual destruction of several million Iranian crazies is assured.
The United States is considering making peace with the Taliban. The major problem with that is such a deal turns control of Afghanistan over to drug gangs, Pakistan, Iran and Islamic conservatives (who ban education for women and generally unpopular lifestyle restrictions). This means going back to the situation before the Taliban lost control of Afghanistan in 2001. Back then the Taliban provided sanctuary for Islamic terrorists, especially al Qaeda. The Taliban is still on good terms with al Qaeda. The Taliban is also seen by the majority of Afghans as the creation of Pakistan and a largely Pushtun organization financed by Pakistan supported drug gangs. The Pushtun are 40 percent of the population and the largest ethnic group in the country. The Pushtun dominate the opium and heroin business which is also opposed by most Afghans, if only because it has created so many addicts. The Taliban are also not a unified organization. The Afghan Taliban has sanctuaries in Pakistan which keep their senior leadership safe and are also the site of border crossings where most of the chemicals for refining opium into heroin get into Afghanistan along with the fertilizer and other chemicals used to make bombs.

Despite all that Russia sponsored Afghan peace talks in Russia on the 9th featured a Taliban delegation. Meanwhile, Iranian ally Qatar hosts a Taliban headquarters where the Taliban can, in effect, meet with anyone to discuss anything. The Russian peace talks attracted delegations from Russia, India, Iran, China, Pakistan and five former Soviet republics in Central Asia as well as non-government groups from Afghanistan and some Americans as observers. Technically the Taliban cannot be in Russia because Russia recognizes the international designation of the Taliban as a terrorist organization. Nevertheless, the Taliban insisted they would make peace only if all foreign troops left and there were international guarantees to keep the Americans from returning or aiding Afghans fighting the Taliban.

These negotiations are opposed by the Afghan government (which sees the Russians as Taliban supporters) although the Americans have had contact with the Taliban office in Qatar. What the Taliban have always wanted is all foreign troops out of Afghanistan. When making these demands in Russia the Taliban referred to themselves as the Emirate of Afghanistan and making it clear where they see all this going.

Once the Taliban have all foreign troops out of the country they will negotiate with the Afghan government, which will probably lead to a resumption of the civil war that was interrupted by the American invasion in late 2001. The Northern Alliance (the 2001 opposition consisting of the other minorities who were a majority of Afghans) would be cut off from any outside support while the Taliban still have Pakistan and, to a lesser extent, Iran. In 2001 the Northern Alliance had some help from Russia, Turkey, Iran and India. The Taliban had Pakistan, al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia. This time around the Taliban has broken into factions. There is the Afghan Taliban, backed by Pakistan, financed by drug gangs and divided over the issue of Pakistani control and dependence on drug money. Worse there is a new (since 2001) branch of the Taliban in Pakistan (where there are twice as many Pushtuns as in Afghanistan). The Pakistani Taliban are not financed by the drug gangs but rather from support among Pushtuns eager to overthrow the Pakistani government and establish an Islamic government. The Pakistani military declared war on the Pakistani Taliban in 2014, killed most of them and drove the survivors into eastern Afghanistan, where they survive as a much smaller organization. Another new group is ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), which survives in Afghanistan by attracting the most radical members of all Taliban factions as well as al Qaeda.

Most Afghans dont want the Taliban back in nominal control of the country. Back in 2001 the Taliban were still fighting the Northern Alliance and were also financed by drug gangs and Pakistani support. The drugs and Pakistan angle is abhorrent to most Afghans but the drug gangs have the cash to buy lots of guns and politicians as well as hire as many young, unemployed Pushtuns (Afghan and Pakistani) as they need.

Currently, the main Taliban strategy is to disrupt transportation (main roads) throughout the country to weaken government control. Commercial traffic is often allowed to pass if a large tax is paid but this makes the goods involved more expensive for Afghans. The Taliban dont have to control a lot of territory or population, just establish access to the roads so they can interfere with traffic. Those few roads are very important because Afghanistan has few rail lines and not many navigable rivers. Afghanistan is landlocked what it cannot produce itself (which includes almost all tools and consumer goods) has to be imported.

The Pakistan Curse

Pakistani support for Islamic terrorist violence in Afghanistan is why the Afghan economy is in trouble and Afghans are increasingly hostile to their eastern neighbor. One reason Western troops are tolerated in Afghanistan, which has, for thousands of years been hostile to foreigners, is because the Westerners and Afghans are both eager to shut down the drug trade and keep the Pakistanis out. The Afghan prime minister demanded that his newly elected Pakistani counterpart do something about what is happening Afghanistan. So far the official Pakistani response is; not our fault. Pakistani prime minister Imran Kahn is more concerned with nations considered more important to Pakistan, like Saudi Arabia and China. To Pakistanis, Afghanistan is more than of a potential problem than anything else. But to Afghanistan, and most of the world community, the biggest problem in Afghanistan is not the Taliban or the drug gangs, but Pakistan.

Pakistan has been sustaining the chaos Afghanistan has suffered since the late 1970s (when Russian backed Afghan communists tried to start a revolution). The communists were followed by a Russian invasion, drug gangs, an Islamic revolution, civil war and Pakistan seeking to take control in the 1990s with their Taliban movement. Pakistan did serve as a base for millions of Afghan refugees and thousands of Afghan rebels during the 1980s but that led to Pakistan believing it could continue to support Islamic terrorists violence in Afghanistan if it was deemed to be serving Pakistani interests. Pakistan created and supported Taliban gained control of Afghanistan (or at least most of it) from the late 1990s until 2001. That led to the American invasion and Pakistan continuing to support the drug gangs and Taliban while assisting the U.S. in its war on terror. Many Americans want to just leave. The problem is just getting out leaves Afghanistan at the mercy of Pakistan, Iran and Russia, as well as all the drug gangs, Islamic terror groups and numerous Afghans who oppose the drugs and all the outside interference. The drugs and Islamic terrorism will still be major exports. The West can leave Afghanistan but the ills of Afghanistan wont leave the West and that is just fine with Pakistan.

A growing number of Afghan Taliban leaders want peace and an end to being manipulated by the Pakistanis. That is not the peace deal the Afghan Taliban are offering (a religious dictatorship controlled by the Taliban) The U.S. continues to accuse Pakistan of doing nothing about the Pakistan sanctuary for the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network and several other Islamic terror groups that do the bidding of the Pakistani military.

Afghans note that the economic growth experienced after 2001 slowed down considerably after NATO withdrew most of its forces in 2014. The Taliban failed, as they long claimed they could, take control of the country soon after the foreign troops left. But with support from drug money and Pakistan, the Taliban persisted. The rural population suffered the most after 2014 because thats where the Taliban had the easiest time disrupting local security. After 2014 the majority (over 60 percent) of Afghans lost ground economically. Even the urban population, which tended to continue to see economic growth, were dismayed at the increasing control Pakistan was achieving via their proxies (Taliban and drug gangs).

Since most of the foreign troops left the Afghan security forces have suffered about 28,000 deaths. This seems high by current Western standards but is far less than Afghans suffered during the Russian occupation of the 1980s or the civil war that followed. Currently, the 15,000 or so foreign troops in Afghanistan are suffering losses of about 70 per 100,000 (per year), down from 130 per 100,000 in 2017. That loss rate peaked at about 400 per 100,000 in 2012. At the peak of the fighting (2005-7) in Iraq, the American losses were nearly 600 per 100,000. The rate for U.S. troops in Vietnam and World War II was about 1,500 per 100,000 troops. It was higher for German and Russian troops, more like what Afghan security forces have suffered since 2014. As high as this is, its higher (twice what the army and police lose) for the Taliban and such loss rates were always common in Afghanistan. When the tribal irregulars fought Russian troops in the 1980s they suffered even higher losses. During that period the invading Russians never suffered more than 1,000 per 100,000 dead per year and eventually left because they could not afford the financial cost of seemingly endless fighting in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union fell apart a few years later and nearly three decades later Afghanistan is still a mess.

November 12, 2018: In the north (Sar e Pul province), two Taliban factions fought each other for several hours. There were over 50 casualties including the leaders of both factions (one was killed the other wounded). Clashes like this are increasingly common.

November 9, 2018: A Russian hosted Afghan peace conference began in Moscow. In addition to the Taliban (which prefer to be called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at these talks), eleven countries were invited (including Afghanistan and the United States). The Taliban do not consider the elected government of Afghanistan as legitimate and insist on negotiating the United States first to ensure that all foreign troops are withdrawn. The Taliban also want all military aid for the Afghan government halted.

November 8, 2018: In the east ( Ghazni province), the Afghan Taliban have been waging a major campaign to gain control of the province since August. They now control or contest over half the territory in the province and threaten traffic on several major highways passing through the province. Recently the government sent a special operations unit to Ghazni to help protect Hazara Shia there. The special operations force suffered dozens of casualties as the Taliban sent in hundreds of additional gunmen. The Hazara in Ghazni have formed pro-government militias although the main reason for these militias is to protect Hazara from Taliban violence.

November 7, 2018: It was confirmed that the renewed American sanctions on Iran will not interfere with the new trade route from Afghanistan, via Iran to the Indian Ocean port of Chabahar. The Americans make exceptions for these sanctions and in this case, Pakistan is seen as a larger threat to Afghanistan than Iran. Most of the truck traffic that used to go through Pakistan to the port of Karachi is now using the new route via Iran to Chabahar (built by India and Iran mainly for traffic to Afghanistan and Central Asia). At least $5 billion worth of trade to and from Afghanistan will use Chabahar each year. Pakistan is the big loser here, especially since they had recently increased higher traffic on Afghan goods moving through Karachi. In addition, since mid-January Pakistan has closed the main border crossings to Afghan traffic entering Pakistan. Yet Pakistani goods are allowed into Afghanistan and now the Afghans are considering blocking that and depending on trade links via Iran and Central Asia. This is an undeclared trade war by Pakistan. The main reason is growing trade with India and switching from Karachi to Chabahar for Afghan imports and exports. The United States, India, Afghanistan and the UN are increasing pressure on Pakistan over Pakistani support for terrorism. The U.S. is withholding over a billion dollars worth of aid because of continued Pakistani support of Islamic terrorism and drug gang operations inside Afghanistan.

November 5, 2018: In the east (Nangarhar province), Afghan and Pakistani Taliban fought over territorial control and money disputes. There were about a dozen casualties before leaders from both sides arranged a ceasefire.

November 3, 2018: In the capital, another insider attack left an American soldier dead and another wounded. Nine U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan so far this year compared to fifteen for all of 2017.

November 2, 2018: In central Afghanistan (Uruzgan Province, just north of Helmand and Kandahar and adjacent to Ghazni), the Taliban and local Hazara militia have been fighting for a week, causing at least a hundred casualties. The Taliban are getting the worst of it because the Hazara are fed up the inability of the government to protect them. ISIL and to a lesser extent the Taliban have attacked the Hazara frequently because of religious and ethnic differences. Shia Afghans (15 percent of Afghans) are a particular target for Sunni Islamic terrorists like ISIL. The Taliban and al Qaeda are less likely to attack Shia because both organizations rely on Iran for sanctuary and other support. Most of the Afghan Shia are Hazara, who are ten percent of the population and the descendants of the hated Mongols who conducted several invasions during the 13th and 14th centuries. These Mongol attacks destroyed more of the country and its population than any other conquerors. For centuries the Hazara have suffered a lot of discrimination and actual violence in Afghanistan. But Iran is seen as an ally (at least against Pakistan) by most Afghans and Iran is mostly Shia and sees itself as the defender of all Shia.

November 1, 2018: The Americans revealed that Afghan security forces (soldiers and police) had lost an average of 112 dead per week in August and September. Civilian deaths related to this violence are up 39 percent this year, to about 72 a week. This includes a growing number of Taliban assassination attempts against senior political and military leaders.

October 31, 2018: In September the U.S. Air Force used 841 smart bombs and missiles (28 a day) in airstrikes. That was 18 percent more than in August and double what it was in September 2017. The September 2018 numbers were the highest monthly use since late 2010. The Taliban want the Americans gone in large part because of the greater use of airstrikes by American and Afghan warplanes and changes to the ROE (Rules of Engagement). In 2017 American commanders were again allowed to determine the ROE for U.S. troops overseas, especially in places like Syria and Afghanistan. For example in Afghanistan U.S. troops can now fire on the Taliban even when the Taliban are not firing on them and at long distance. Afghan civilians, the most frequent victims of Taliban violence, complained when the U.S. gradually changed its ROE after 2008 to make it impossible for Americans to fire on the Taliban when Afghan civilians were nearby. When asked Afghan civilians pointed out that was when they most needed the Americans to open fire. As the Afghan air force carries out more airstrikes (about a dozen a day by mid-2018) the Afghan ROE has reduced the enemy use of human shields. The Afghan ROE ignores human shields and puts the priority on killing Taliban or ISIL fighters. This made human shields in general much less effective, even though most of the air strikes are carried out by foreign (usually American) warplanes. So far in 2018 American aircraft are carrying out airstrikes at the highest rate ever (about eighteen bombs or missiles used a day) and a third higher than the previous peak year (2011). The greater availability of air strikes encourages Afghan security forces to be more aggressive.

October 28, 2018: In the southeast (Paktia province), an American UAV used a missile to destroy a vehicle and kill five Taliban.
Catletts case was set in motion Wednesday in the same courtroom, with the same judge and with the same prosecutors as Hill faced. Michael Solan, a retired Hammond detective who was a lead investigator on the case, was in the courtroom again, as he was throughout Hills trial.
This is such an amazing event, because it is right here in the heart of Gary, said Roberta Overall of Gary, as she looked over the mornings schedule. Its one of many things available to residents here, you just have to find them.
The Sprout Accelerator benefits agritech businesses that have a prototype and existing revenue, but need extra support to help them grow.

Eight New Zealand and four international agritech start-ups will enter the six month accelerator in 2019, the accelerator will provide assistance tailored specifically to their needs, focussing on three key areas that enable scalable growth, high margin business models, distribution, and execution advice from experience entrepreneurs.

Along with the funding, the selected start-ups will also have access to an extensive mentoring programme and four fully-funded underground events hosted around New Zealand. There events are designed to upskill the start-ups knowledge of the agritech and business industry.

The accelerator has been operating since 2015 and alumni have gone on to triple their sales, pitch their companies to investors, secure nationwide distribution agreements and see a 300 percent increase in their customers product yield.

Steven Ridder, CEO of Teralytics, a New York-based company that is building the worlds first intelligent mobility operating system, was recently hosted by Sprout in New Zealand and is a supporter of the accelerator.

Being hosted by Sprout gave me insight into how many parts of New Zealands agri sectors work, with direct connection to the people that would otherwise have taken me months to find and connect with. Sprout offers true acceleration on a new level that money cant buy, says Steven.

Micropod, an agritech company that produces self-sustainable fresh microgreen, was one of the companies selected for the 2018 accelerator.

Founder and CEO Jeffrey Xu says Sprout provided his team the tools they required to become great entrepreneurs and business people.

The team of experts we worked with were very genuine and offered candid real world advice. They made sure we were hitting our milestones and held us accountable. Sprouts network in the industry is second to none and really opened up many doors for us. We have learnt more and start-ups and about ourselves in the last six months, than in an entire year before joining Sprout, says Jeffery.

Registrations for the Accelerator close on November 23. Apply for the 2019 Sprout Accelerator at www.sproutagritech.com
Bay of Plenty

Our client has plenty of work in the pipeline and as such they are in need of hammerhands for an immediate start.The successful...



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz
Bay of Plenty

We are looking for Civil Workers and no, its not all based in Transmission Gulley! Work is available with great hours and...



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz
Sidney South Elementary students joined with local veterans in the Pledge of Allegiance Monday morning at the school, followed by the playing of the National Anthem by members of the Sidney High School Band. The students hosted veterans to learn more about their service.

The high school band played, the colors were presented by one of Potter's own talked of experiences in service, both his and his grandfather's.

Potter-Dix High School and the Potter community gathered Monday to celebrate veterans and their service. Guest speaker for the event was Dr. Steven Davis. In his introduction of Dr. Davis, Jerry Steele told the crowd of Dr. Davis growing up near Potter and graduating from Potter High School. He is also possibly the only student allowed to drive a school bus. The need for a driver from Potter to Dalton came up and Davis was allowed to do the job, bec...
Sidney Sun-Telegraph staff members receive a Civics Award from Scretary of State John Gale. Pictured are, from left, Janelle Frerichs, Secretary John Gale, Forrest Hershberger, Don Ogle, Dana Revell, Jennifer Velasco and Mike Motz.

Journalism is an industry sometimes called The Fourth Estate. It is a career that frequently surpasses the typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then some with moments of recognition and gratitude counting as much as the paycheck.

It is a profession that people often enter for their passion of people and the community, of writing and photography. It is a profession that frequently throws away the time clock in exchange for deadlines and late night requirements. It is an industry where a heartfelt thanks is highly valued.

On Thursday, Nov. 8, Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale and his wife Carol m...
Lee Roy Foster, 94 of Gurley, NE passed away Friday November 9th, 2018 at the Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance NE.

He was born January 10, 1924 in York NE to Roy & Mildred Foster. Lee grew up on a farm outside of Bradshaw NE where he attended school. He joined the Army during WWII, serving with the 100th Division in Central Europe. On his discharge from service he received his degree from the University of Nebraska in Ag Business. Lee and Jeanette (Otto) were married July 13th, 1950 in Grand Island NE. They made their home north of Big Springs NE for a short time, then moved to Gurl...
Price was only one consideration, Moody said. Were hoping to generate funds to cover expenses and to turn some of these brownfields green and turn some of these eyesore properties into tax-producing and job-producing properties and help fuel economic development in the area.
In a workshop session prior to the council meeting, council members learned that they could give all town employees, including its police officers, either $1,000 or $1,500 a year raises from 2019 to 2021 and still maintain a balance in the general fund budget at the end of each year.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A former Cornell University student found with a bomb and a cache of weapons has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Maximilien Reynolds, 21, pleaded guilty to deceiving a firearms dealer and possessing unregistered weapons Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Reynolds admitted that in November 2017 he gave another student money to buy a Savage MSR-15 Multi-Caliber .223/5.56 mm Patrol Rifle. He also admitted to possessing a number of other weapons.

Police searched his apartment and a storage unit in March and found a bomb, a gun silencer, more than 1,000 rounds of rifle and shotgun ammunition, two bullet-proof vests, a gas mask, numerous chemicals and a flare gun among other items.

Police divers recovered a .25 caliber Bauer Arms semiautomatic pistol with a defaced serial number in a canal off of Cayuga Lake.

Reynolds, who is from northern New Jersey, was taking classes at Tompkins-Cortland Community College at the time of his arrest. He was on academic leave from Cornell University.

According to court papers, the investigation stemmed from a tip received from a WalMart employee who was concerned about the materials Reynolds was purchasing.

Reynolds faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Thomas McAvoy in March 2019.

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man who challenged his guilty verdict in a child rape case over racial discrimination will get a new trial, an appellate court ruled.

Craig Davis, former owner of the 7 Styles convenience store, was sentenced in 2015 to 7 years in prison for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

But he appealed the conviction because the only African-American in the potential jury pool was not selected to serve.

A Rochester appellate court ordered a hearing to determine whether a non-discriminatory reason for failing to select that potential juror existed.

That led to the odd scene of former prosecutor Anthony Germano being questioned on the witness stand by his former colleagues. Germano is now a defense lawyer.

Germano maintained that the juror was not excluded because of his race. He said another reason existed, but could not recall that reason based on his jury notes from the time.

Germano's notes from the time only included the cryptic scribbles: "what type" and "talk," when it came to the black prospective juror.

Germano said he ultimately asked the African-American potential juror to be dismissed because he had a follow-up question that he didn't ask in the time frame granted by the judge. But Germano did not recall what his question was.

During trial, Davis's lawyer, Paul Carey, protested the removal of the black prospective juror. But since-retired Judge Anthony Aloi allowed the removal.

Davis then brought up that protest again in his appeal.

Local court Judge Thomas J. Miller ruled in January 2018 that the black juror was not removed from consideration due to his race.

But the appellate court said that because Germano could not articulate a "race-neutral" reason for striking the juror, that a new trial was warranted.

"...the prosecutor testified that he did not remember his reason for striking the prospective juror at issue, but stated that it had 'nothing to do with race,' the court noted. "The prosecutor testified that, instead, 'there was something on [the prospective juror's] jury questionnaire...that [he] didn't particularly like'... The prosecutor, however, had no recollection of the subject prospective juror's actual questionnaire, which,apparently, was not preserved."

Because Germano could not articulate the specific reason he wanted to ask the prospective juror a follow-up question, the court ruled that his denial of racial bias was insufficient.

Davis will now be brought back to Syracuse for a new trial.
RICHLAND, N.Y. -- A high-speed chase on Interstate 81 started in Oswego County and ended with a crash in Watertown.

James J. Dunn was arrested Tuesday night by the New York State Police and charged with leading police on a 30-mile traffic pursuit. His passenger, Kyara L. Arletta, was also arrested.

A caller reported a reckless driver at 10:36 p.m. Tuesday on Interstate 81 north in Richland.

State police responded to the highway and tried to pull over the northbound 2008 GMC Envoy. Dunn, the driver, refused to stop -- driving up to 110 mph as he sped away, troopers said.

Troopers followed the SUV north through Richland, Sandy Creek, Ellisburg, Adams and Houndsfield. After a 21-minute chase, the traffic pursuit ended in Watertown when Dunn crashed into a parked car at Washington and Ward streets, troopers said.

Dunn and Arletta jumped out of the SUV after the accident and ran away, troopers said. The driver and passenger were arrested after a short foot chase.

Dunn, 25, of 221 Marguerite Ave., Syracuse, was charged with:

Third-degree criminal possession of stolen property

Seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance

Third-degree fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle

Second-degree obstructing governmental administration

Reckless driving

Third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle

Arletta, 19, of 550 Clinton St., Syracuse, was charged third-degree criminal possession of stolen property

Dunn is being held in the Jefferson County Jail without bail. Arletta remains in jail in lieu of $15,000 cash or a $30,000 bond.



The Syracuse Police Department is investigating the SUV's theft, troopers said.
Syracuse, NY -- It's been four months since a judge tossed the murder indictment accusing former Cicero schoolteacher James Ball of killing his brother-in-law.

Ball, 57, of 8468 Chinkapin Circle, is free on $150,000 bail bond.

He's still accused of shooting to death Christoper Ross, 40, after a dispute inside Ball's residence early July 4, 2017.

Ball is expected to contend that Ross was the aggressor and that Ball feared for his life within his own home.

Prosecutor Michael Kasmarek argues that Ball left the confrontation to retrieve a gun, then returned to kill Ross.

James Ball

All of that was supposed to be sorted out at a trial this September. But that has been put on hold indefinitely by Judge Thomas J. Miller's ruling that threw out the indictment.

The next move is up to the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office. They can either re-indict the case or file an appeal to Miller's dismissal.

Kasmarek has always vowed to appeal the judge's ruling, hoping an appellate court in Rochester would re-instate the murder indictment.

That's still the plan.

"Yes, our intent is to appeal," Kasmarek said today. "We anticipate filing in the very near future."

Don't expect a ruling anytime soon. The DA's office has yet to file its initial paperwork with the appellate court. Ball's defense lawyers, Emil Rossi and Michael Spano, will have time to respond.

The case will then be scheduled for arguments. Those can be done in-person or by written submissions.

The Rochester appellate court has already locked in its schedule for the rest of 2018. So Ball's case won't be addressed until 2019.

After arguments, the appellate court can take weeks -- or months -- to decide.

That means Ball will remain free for the holidays and likely well into 2019. At some point, he'll probably face trial. As long as he complies with court orders, he'll remain free on bail throughout the trial.

The long delay in Ball's case comes after a contentious court battle involving whether the grand jury heard sufficient evidence before voting to indict Ball for murder.

Spano argued in court that more information should have been presented about Ball's self-defense claim.

But Kasmarek said that, based on when that information was submitted, that would have required recalling a witness who'd already testified back to grand jury.

That's not something the DA's office was required to do, Kasmarek said.

Miller ruled in favor of Ball, dismissing the indictment. But the judge allowed prosecutors to start over in grand jury, meaning the murder charge stands.

Instead, Kasmarek said his office would appeal the judge's ruling. That's where we stand today, four months after Miller's ruling.

Ball faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder. He's a former Smith Road Elementary School teacher.
AUBURN, N.Y. -- A mother begged a Cayuga County judge not to send the driver who killed her son to prison.

On Tuesday, the judge reluctantly agreed.

Kadesha Dunham, 24, of North Syracuse, has been sentenced to serve five years on probation for the double-fatal 2017 crash in Sennett, said Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann. Two people were killed in the accident: Iy'Leiah Noreault, 2, and Terrell Jackson, 29.

The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. on June 16, 2017, when Dunham tried to pass a truck while driving over a hill.

Dunham was driving west on Franklin Street Road when she crossed a double-solid line on a blind hill to pass a concrete truck. Her sedan then collided head-on with an oncoming pickup truck.

"There was no evidence that alcohol or drug impairment played a role in the crash," Budelmann said.

Dunham had four passengers in her car at the time of the crash, Budelmann said:

Iy'Leiah and Jackson, both back-seat passengers, were killed.

Dunham's 3-year-old son -- who was also riding in the back of the car -- was paralyzed.

Iy'Leiah's mother, Shandelle Benjamin-Noreault, suffered non life-threatening injuries.

Dunham suffered a traumatic brain injury, Budelmann said, and has no memory of the accident. She will need care in a "nursing home-type living facility" for her TBI and other serious injuries for the rest of her life, the DA said.

In July, Dunham pleaded guilty to two counts of criminally negligent homicide and three counts of third-degree assault.

The judge agreed to sentence her to serve five years on probation -- a decision the victims' families and surviving victims supported, Budelmann said. If Dunham was sentenced to prison, she likely would've been immediately released onto parole due to her medical condition, he said.

Dunham was set to be sentenced last week. But the judge delayed sentencing after reading a pre-sentence report where Dunham did not appear remorseful and admitted she smoked marijuana regularly until September, according to The Citizen.

After hearing from the victims and the prosecution, Leone agreed to sentence Dunham to probation.

"The mother of victim Terrell Jackson spoke of her son's life and the impact of his death," Budelmann said. "She moved many in the courtroom to tears and begged Judge Leone to sentence this defendant to probation."

Iy'Leiah's mother had asked the DA's office not to prosecute the driver, Budelmann said.

While she's on probation, Dunham cannot drive and has a curfew. She cannot drink or take drugs she was not prescribed and must stay away from anyone of "questionable character."
"Friday Black" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is an assistant teaching professor and creative writing coordinator at Syracuse University. He also is a rising literary star.

Adjei-Brenyah's debut short story collection, "Friday Black," provides an unflinching examination of the world we live in told through science fiction, humor and satire. By stretching the ordinary into extraordinary, Friday Black takes on race, consumerism, violence and complacency with remarkable skill and poise.

Critics are comparing him to literary giants such as Ralph Ellison and Kurt Vonnegut.

Adjei-Brenyah's style allows readers to question themselves, their communities, and ultimately the world. "Friday Black," which was published earlier this year, has made its mark on The New York Time Bestseller list. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous publications, including "Esquire," "Guernica," "Printer's Row," and the "Breakwater Review," where he earned the "Breakwater Review" Fiction Prize. He was selected by Colson Whitehead for the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35." He is the 27-year-old son of Ghanaian immigrants and lives in Syracuse.

We spoke with Adjei-Brenyah as he was traveling through Memphis during his national book tour. Portions of this interview have been edited for brevity and clarity.

"Friday Black" (Amazon | B&N | Indibound) is a New York Times bestseller, Roxane Gay told everyone: "Read this book," and it seems critical praise continues to pour in. As more people read this book, what do you hope they walk away with?

There's a lot of things that I think would be great. Although I think it would be precarious to hope for something specific from the reader, I do hope that they feel as if they have had their imaginations stretched a little bit. Or, if not radicalized, at least maybe their imaginations stretched a little bit by having read this book. Maybe a little bit of a response to how harsh and dark it is -- to try to imagine a world that's better, a little bit brighter, a little bit less prone to dehumanize people. That's what I hope -- I hope that people feel a little bit more seen and have something to enjoy as well.

The stories in "Friday Black" read like eerily realistic science fiction. How did you get into sci-fi? And how did you come to write it into your stories?

As a consumer of writing, movies, shows and animations, whatever it is, I'm really open to a lot of different things. So in writing the book I never really thought of it exactly as sci-fi, or any genre really. I kind of just create whatever world I need to tell the story that I need to tell. Sometimes that might the future, sometimes that might be in a world that isn't ours, sometimes that might be in some sort of dystopia. I really like creating whatever I need...and kind of guessing and having fun with what might exist in that world.

Much of what you write in Friday Black describes horrors that, unfortunately, closely reflect stories in our national and local news. How did you provide balance to the weight of what you write?

A lot of what I talk about is pretty difficult, or at least the stories and themes are difficult to traverse through. I think, well, I use humor very purposely. I try to use humor as a sort of sugar to help the medicine go down. It works for me. I do try to balance. But sometimes, you know, I kind of use hoping for relief, hoping for something to get a little bit better -- and don't give it to them. Because I think that's important as well, too. I think sometimes, you know, to offer too much relief I think would be untrue to the fact of reality. It would sort of be untrue.

Who helped you grow to become the writer you are today and who influenced the lyrical skill we see in your verse?

I think all the teachers I've had. You know, from the English teachers in high school 'till my graduate school professors I've had. ... I read as much as I could and, especially early on, reading really any genre. You know I was reading sci-fi, I was reading fantasy, I was reading manga and all types of things. That sort of helped free me up to be able to be flexible with my approach. More recently I was working with George Saunders, Arthur Flowers, Dana Spiotta -- all at Syracuse University. They did something important for me. I think with the lyrical stuff, I read poetry and have taken poetry as a graduate student at Syracuse. I think that was important to start working at a higher level, at sort of a micro sentence level. You know, getting really specific by the way things sound and having the syllable be considered.

The title story, "Friday Black," reads less like fiction and more like one of those stories that floats around social media post-Black Friday. What inspired this story and how did it came to be the title of the book?

I really did work in the mall for a long time. I worked retail in an urban clothing store called "Against All Odds." ... Before I worked there, I worked other spots so I've seen people just act crazy over jeans or discounted sneakers. So for that story I kind of pulled on that experience. ... I think it became the title of the book by working with the agent, trying to find something that could be representative as a whole ... where humans treat other humans as less than human. I think the Friday Black -- Black Friday thing sort of typifies that.

In light of the success of "Friday Black," what's next for you?

Right now I'm working on a novel code-named "Top Secret Novel." ... I'm trying to focus on that -- but maybe I'm working on other stuff, too (laughs).

Samples of Adjei-Brenyah's writing

The Neon Guillotine

"A 7-Eleven being on our side of town felt like a great welcoming. Like we were finally part of the big thing. We felt like we deserved it. Read it here.

Things my Mother Said

"My mother's favorite thing to say to me was, "I am not your friend," a gentle reminder against casual treatment. She'd often say, "You are my first born son, my only son," as a reminder not to die." Read it here.
New York landed one of two Amazon headquarters on the East Coast, but will pay a hefty price for it -- roughly $1.7 billion in tax incentives, infrastructure upgrades, job training and even a helipad in Long Island City.

Cuomo deal to lure #AmazonHQ2: $1,705,000,000. Deal cites the "scale and projected economic impact" of project. Incentives come if Amazon creates "as many as" 40K jobs at site selected along East River in Queens. Biggest corporate --insert your own term here -- in #NYS history.  Tom Precious (@TomPreciousALB) November 13, 2018

The deal is being panned as a giveaway to one of the world's largest companies, led by the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos.

New York City will throw in $1.3 billion in tax breaks, for a total of $3 billion. The New York Post called the it a "Queens Ransom" on today's, front page.

Virginia offered Amazon half of what New York is paying, $573 million, to land the other Amazon HQ2. The company promises 25,000 jobs at each location. That works out to $48,000 per job in New York versus $22,000 per job in Virginia.

Some say New York is overpaying.

"We're like, 'Wait, you're splitting this down the middle -- why does it look like we're paying so much?' " Maria Doulis, vice president of the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission, told the New York Times. CBC has long criticized New York's economic development spending for lacking transparency and accountability.

Jordan Weissmann, writing in Slate, called the Amazon deal another in a long line of bad bets made by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

"... Under his watch, annual spending on state incentives has risen from $2.9 billion to $4.8 billion per year, for a total of $28.4 billion, according to the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission. Much of that money has been channeled into development schemes meant to create a high-tech manufacturing base upstate, where factory jobs have gradually vanished. Cuomo was partly inspired by the growth of computer chip research and manufacturing around Albany, which took root thanks to a large dose of government incentives--an effort that is sometimes held up as an example of successful regional industrial policy. But the results have often been embarrassing or corrupt, leaving the state littered with white elephants.

"... The individual flops are less important, though, than the big picture, which is that Cuomo's spending has done just about jack for upstate's overall economy," Weissmann writes, quoting an Investigative Post series that showed employment grew by an anemic 2.7 percent under Cuomo, compared to 13 percent downstate and 11 percent nationally.

Read "New York's Amazon Deal Will Be a Lasting Monument to Andrew Cuomo's Economic Incompetence" in Slate.



Nicole Gelinas, writing in the New York Post, said New York City should not be begging for Amazon's new jobs. Adding 25,000 jobs will barely make a ripple in a sea of nearly 4 million private-sector jobs in the Big Apple.

"The more than $1.5 billion in direct tax breaks and grants the state is offering Amazon to create jobs here -- $48,000 a job -- would be fine if this were 1978, not 2018. Back then, Gotham's biggest problem was the loss of hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, as companies and people fled a failing city. It's the opposite today: We have more jobs and people than our subways, parks and schools can handle.

"... New York doesn't need to dangle these incentives to get these jobs. Google has hired 10,000 people in New York without massive subsidies. Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio, offering plenty of goods of his own, don't grasp that fact; they think it is still the New York of 40 years ago, which lost 700,000 jobs over a decade."

Amazon's national competition for HQ2 -- variously called a beauty contest, a bidding war and "The Hunger Games" -- also raised objections.

Derek Thompson, writing in The Atlantic, thinks the Amazon spectacle ought to be illegal.

"Was this national auction nothing more than a scripted drama to raise the value of the inevitable winning bid? And did the retailer miss an opportunity to revitalize a midwestern city by choosing to enrich the already-rich East Coast?

"All good questions. But here's the big one: Why the hell are U.S. cities spending tens of billions of dollars to steal jobs from one another in the first place?

"Every year, American cities and states spend up to $90 billion in tax breaks and cash grants to urge companies to move between states. That's more than the federal government spends on housing, education, or infrastructure. And since cities and states can't print money or run steep deficits, these deals take scarce resources from everything local governments would otherwise pay for, such as schools, roads, police, and prisons."

John Nolte, writing in Breitbart, called the Amazon deal an example of "crony capitalism."

"There is nothing altruistic about any of this.

"Amazon is moving into areas where housing is already expensive, that are already congested, already have traffic problems, already have income disparity issues (something we see almost exclusively in urban areas run by Democrats) -- and so far, I have read nothing about Amazon being required to hire locals, to help those paying for these outrageous tax breaks by offering them these high-paying jobs, or the opportunity to win them though training, or some such thing.

"What is likely to happen is a wipeout of these communities as Amazon builds its towers and roads, as the coming flood of professional people from other states relocate from elsewhere in waves -- which will only further explode housing costs and snarl traffic."

An anti-Amazon rally was happening today in Long Island City, where housing is about to get really expensive. Oh, and the subways are still broken.

The transit situation in queens today is a total disaster and this is BEFORE the L train shutdown and #HQ2. I think Amazon should demand subway investment from Cuomo before signing the deal.  Keri Hanson (@LeighBlaize) November 14, 2018

My grandma is very excited because her two family house in Queens just increased in value by like 500k. Just what Queens needed, less affordable housing. #AmazonHQ2  Jennifer Iacopelli is back on deadline (@jennifercarolyn) November 14, 2018

Anti-Amazon rally about to kick off in Long Island City, and there are props pic.twitter.com/aUxlN1tgFS  Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) November 14, 2018
"Saturday Night Live" actor Pete Davidson was pulled over by police in Fayetteville this summer and the passenger in the vehicle was charged with having marijuana.

The passenger, Joseph Gay, Jr., was charged Aug. 11 by Manlius police with unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation; and fourth-degree possession of concentrated cannabis, a felony.

Gay, who is 47, appeared in Fayetteville Village Court Tuesday night with his lawyer, William Sullivan.

Gay, who is from Bridgewater, N.J., is an actor and comedian who has appeared in Last Comic Standing 4 and Live at Gotham.

Pete Davidson

Gay, with his beard neatly trimmed and dressed in a gray suit and purple tie, sat quietly, hands folded, in the court room Tuesday night as he waited for his lawyer. He was surrounded by more than 30 teens in court for a driver's education class, but it did not appear anyone recognized him.

The two appeared in front of Fayetteville Justice James Hughes, and stood at the bench discussing the case with the judge for several minutes.

The case was adjourned until Jan. 8.

Gay and his lawyer haven't been able to reach an agreement with the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office so far, the judge said. If they can't come to a resolution, there will be a trial, he said.

The concentrated marijuana was inside a small bag inside a lunch box, according to court documents. When a police officer asked what was inside the lunch box, Gay replied, "You know what it is," according to the records.

Davidson was in Syracuse at the time filming "Big Time Adolescence," an American High production about a teen coming of age under the destructive guidance of his college dropout best friend.

On his Instagram page, Gay posted video of police lights on Aug. 11 on his Instagram page. That video has since been removed.

"We are not going to make it to Wegmans because of the police," Joey Gay shouts in the Instagram video.

In 2016, Gay said he'd been using medical marijuana to treat his Crohn's diseases symptoms, but in 2017 said on Instagram he had quit drugs.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Crouse Hospital has dropped a $20 million plan to move its outpatient drug treatment program into the old Sears building because some South Side residents don't want the facility in their neighborhood.

Crouse was prepared to renovate the three-story art deco building at 1300 S. Salina St. Since Sears vacated the building in 1974 it has become an eyesore with boarded-up windows and a tree growing on its roof.

The drug treatment program is currently located at 410 S. Crouse Ave. The program has outgrown that space and the hospital has been looking for a larger location for three years. The hospital has received about $17 million in state grants to help pay for a new location.

"While the proposed project has garnered significant support - both within the Southside business corridor and the community as a whole - we feel it is best to find another location that meets our project goals and timeline," Crouse said in a prepared statement.

Angela Wright, a volunteer with TNT Southside, a neighborhood group, said Crouse's proposal did not fit in with her group's 5-year revitalization plan to attract more business and jobs to the area, improve education and neighborhood safety.

She said the drug treatment program would "further demoralize" the neighborhood which already suffers from poverty and crime.

"We don't want to be known as a rehabilitation area," said Wright, executive director of Syracuse Model Neighborhood Corp., a South Side housing agency.

She also criticized Crouse for discussing the proposal with individuals and organizations not affiliated with the South Side before meeting with people who live near the Sears building. "The community feels like it's been left out," Wright said. "It's a trust issue."

Bob Allen, a Crouse vice president, said the hospital met with elected officials first because it needed their support to obtain state grants to pay for the project. He said Crouse has held dozens of meetings to discuss the proposal with community groups since July.

Crouse estimated the project would create 150 construction jobs. It would also create 20 new permanent jobs at the facility for nurses, aides and other staff in addition to the 90 employees who already work in the treatment program. The proposal also included a community room on the building's first floor that would be used to provide health screenings and education for South Side residents.

If the nonprofit hospital bought the building, it would come off the property tax rolls. The Sears building's annual tax bill is about $16,000.

TNT had planned to hold a town hall meeting on the proposal for South Side residents Saturday.

Charles Pierce-El, a South Side resident and community activist, said a drug treatment facility would compound the neighborhood's crime and drug problems. He said drug dealers would prey on patients leaving the facility after getting treatment.

But Debra Furr-Holden, a professor of public health at Michigan State University, said there is no evidence drug treatment facilities increase crime in neighborhoods. She did a study in 2016 in Baltimore showing areas surrounding outpatient treatment centers are less likely to experience violent crimes than areas near liquor and corner stores.

"There's tremendous bigotry against people with addiction," Furr-Holden said.

Allen said there are widespread misconceptions about patients recovering from addiction. "These are not zombies under the bridge," he said. "These are people who want to be in treatment and be contributors to their families and communities."

Over the past two years Crouse has looked at about 40 potential sites in the city. Allen said the hospital will now look for another location. The hospital is on a pretty tight timetable because one of the grants requires Crouse to complete the relocation by 2021, he said.

The Crouse proposal attracted supporters on the South Side and throughout the community.

Pastor Max Jones of the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ at 347 Cortland Ave., near the Sears building, said Crouse's proposed facility would provide needed services and spur further economic development in the neighborhood.

"My mission as a pastor is to save souls and help people with addiction become more healthy," Jones said. "It's an illness."

Larry Williams, executive director of the Southwest Community Center, also backed the proposal. He said it would enhance the neighborhood, not detract from it.

Tony Rusyniak owns the Sears building which his father bought about 30 years ago.

"We've tried to lease it out, but couldn't get anyone to move in there," he said. The Crouse proposal was the first realistic plan for redeveloping the property, he said.

Rusyniak said people in the neighborhood would like to see a big retail store like Wal-Mart or Wegmans in the building, but that will never happen because retailers would not be able to make enough money there. He cited the recent decision by Tops supermarket to close its store at 4141 S. Salina St. in Valley Plaza. Tops opened that store in 2012 after getting nearly $850,000 in local and state financial incentives.

Rusyniak said he does not have enough money to overhaul the building.

Rusyniak owns a medical records storage company, Empire Archives, which stores records in the building.

He leases the Sears parking lot to Crouse. About 300 hospital employees park there and take a shuttle bus to and from Crouse.

Mark Mondo, who owns a service station on South Salina across from Sears, said last week if Crouse's proposal fell through no one else will renovate the building.

"You're not going to have a millionaire come down here and spend money like Crouse could," he said.

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245
If the board and union are going to reach an agreement, timing is critical. The parties have until Nov. 15 to reach an agreement or call the negotiations at an impasse. Such an impasse means the parties will have to take their case to the Indiana Department of Education for mediation and arbitration, Elwood said.
When the rental house at 119 Kellogg St. in Syracuse flunked its 21st lead paint test, government officials decided to get creative with the out-of-town landlord.

The Onondaga County District Attorney's office brought the first-ever criminal charges against a landlord who had scoffed at the health department's orders to clean up the paint that was poisoning the kids who lived there.

Landlord Mendy Kletzky, of Brooklyn, was charged with a misdemeanor for willful violation of health laws.

More than a year later, Kletzky walked away from Syracuse City Court with no fine and no jail time. He could spend a year in jail if he ignores the health department again within a year.

He also walked away from the house where he owes about $40,000 in property taxes, leaving the city to act as landlord to another vacant home.

The tenant, Rashida Mims, walked away last August with her nine children. Two of the children - ages 4 and 6 - have lead poisoning. Her four-year-old daughter has upper respiratory problems and catches colds easily, her mother said.

The case shows the difficulty of tackling the bigger problem in a city where 11 percent of children tested last year had elevated levels of lead in their blood, 90 percent of homes were built before lead was banned from paint and 61 percent of the homes are rentals.

Lead is a toxin that has no business in the human body. When it flakes and chips in dilapidated homes, children can ingest it. Even low levels of lead can diminish brain function and motor skills. Some scientists have linked lead poisoning to low graduation rates and aggressive behavior, including gun violence.

The house at 119 Kellogg St. was featured in a series of stories in The Post-Standard and Syracuse.com in 2016.

Mims moved into the house in 2014. She said Kletzky promised to fix peeling paint and other problems in the house, but he never did. She called the county health department and requested an inspection, which found high levels of lead.

The county ordered Kletzky to correct the lead hazards. Mims continued to live in the house. The health department reinspected the property 21 times and the problems were not fixed, the DA's office said in court papers.

Eventually, the Social Services Department stopped paying rent on the house and Mims said she was evicted last August. The family lived in a shelter, then found safe housing. The children are tested every six months for elevated lead in their blood, she said.

"He had the opportunity," Mims said. "He never had a late payment of rent. He had enough time and enough money to get it fixed. We were eligible for lead programs, so he could get new windows. I don't know what was on his mind."

Another year living with lead paint in Syracuse 28 Gallery: Another year living with lead paint in Syracuse

Kletzky flew to Syracuse Tuesday to appear in city court. Before a trial could begin, his attorney Emil Rossi and prosecutor Melanie Carden negotiated a deal.

If Kletzky would plead guilty, the court would delay sentencing for one year.

If he stays out of trouble with the health department with the Kellogg Street house and his other Syracuse rental properties, the judge would let the charge go and would replace his name as a defendant with his limited liability company, which really owns the property.

He accepted the deal and pleaded guilty.

Judge Ted Limpert asked Debra Lewis, coordinator of the county's lead program, if Kletzky had taken steps to reduce lead in the house and whether it could be occupied. Lewis said yes.

It is not clear what Kletzky did to reduce lead paint hazards. Lewis declined comment. Kletzky declined comment. His lawyer said he was confident the health department signed off on repairs, but he could not describe the work.

The house at 119 Kellogg St., Syracuse had been cited 21 times for lead paint violations until the Onondaga County District Attorney's office filed criminal charges against the landlord.

No one lives at 119 Kellogg St. and it doesn't appear that anyone could. The front windows are broken. An old television, boxes and boards fill the porch. The front door is covered by a board.

A check of city records shows there are five outstanding housing code violations at the house. The city cited problems with stairs, porches and railings, trash and an overgrown lawn - all problems on the outside of the house.

City inspectors have not been inside. Before the law changed earlier this year, city code inspectors did not have access to inspect inside rental properties. They allowed landlords to check a box to promise there were no code violations inside the house.

When Mims lived there, paint was peeling in sheets from walls and ceilings. There were exposed wires. She said her children saw rats, one of them killed by the family cat in a child's bedroom.

Stephanie Pasquale, commissioner of the city's Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, said the city intends to seize 119 Kellogg St. for unpaid property taxes. Taxes have been delinquent since 2006, county records show.

In about one month, the city will likely transfer the house to the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, a non-profit organization that turns abandoned properties back to productive use. The city of Syracuse has no federal funding for lead abatement.

The Central New York Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization, recently granted $43,750 to help the Land Bank test properties for lead paint hazards.

The judge ordered Kletzky to appear in court again in six months for an update on that property and at least three others he owns in the city. The county health department only knows about those properties because they've also had lead paint violations.

It will take a search of city records to figure out how many other homes Kletzky and his limited liability companies own in Syracuse.

Has your child been poisoned by lead paint in Onondaga County? If you are willing to share your story with Syracuse.com, please send an email to mbreidenbach@syracuse.com.

Contact Michelle Breidenbach anytime:

|

| 315-470-3186.
To the Editor:



In response to Glenn Coin's Nov. 8, 2018, article on bald eagles ("U.S. eagle expert: Onondaga Lake trail won't disturb bald eagles"), I challenge its implied conclusions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife "eagle expert" is being used by Travis Glazier for cover. I am an ornithologist with more than five decades of experience in Central and Northern New York. I question published judgments regarding potential trail impacts on the Onondaga Lake eagle roost. Please note that the Fish and Wildlife biologist has oversight of eagle populations from Maine to Virginia; he is primarily concerned with regional population impacts.



I agree that disturbance of this roost will not endanger eagle populations region-wide. That conclusion, however, misses the point. While roosts are most critical in the cold seasons, they have other important functions in warmer weather. Immature, non-breeding birds undoubtedly benefit from social interactions and other factors when using off-season roosts. Because of tunnel vision and political quid pro quo, I believe these benefits are being overlooked.



The situation on Onondaga Lake is a classic case of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone." It is my professional opinion, as an "eagle expert," that the proposed trail poses a threat to the continued existence of this roost. Even though bald eagles are currently doing well, does taking such risk make any sense? The limited benefit from adding a lousy half-mile of trail to public recreation is a very questionable one. The county coordinator is ready to take that chance but the legislature needs to tell him no.



Gerald A. Smith

Adams Center
Anthony Brindisi's final push to unseat Rep. Claudia Tenney in the 22nd Congressional District election will hinge on the two largest counties in the district, where the count of absentee ballots began today.

Brindisi, a Utica Democrat, held a 1,293-vote lead over Tenney, R-New Hartford, based on ballots cast at polling stations on Election Day.

The race will be decided by about 14,000 absentee ballots that have been returned to the eight counties in the district. The two largest counties -- Broome and Oneida -- began to open the sealed absentee ballots on Wednesday.

Broome and Oneida counties had received back 8,266 ballots as of Tuesday, accounting for more than half of the 13,975 absentee ballots returned to date, according to elections officials in the counties.

An analysis shows that if those absentee ballots break the same way as the Election Day totals at the polls, Brindisi would pick up about 490 net votes in Broome County (2,426-1756) and 42 net votes in Oneida County (2,091-2,049).

Brindisi won Broome County by more than 11 percentage points on Election Day, while he edged Tenney by about 1 percentage point in Oneida County.

If absentee ballots follow those percentages in each county, Brindisi would boost his overall lead to 1,825 votes over Tenney.

That would leave the first-term congresswoman with a tough path to victory: She would have to win about two-thirds of the remaining 5,689 absentee ballots in the six other counties in the district.

If those ballots break the same way as Election Day, Tenney would win five of those counties by a net 403 votes, an analysis shows.

Tenney would lose the Cortland County absentee count by a net 92 votes. Brindisi carried Cortland County 54-44 percent on Election Day.

All told, that would leave Tenney far short of the roughly 3,750 votes she would need in Oswego, Madison, Cortland, Herkimer, Chenango and Tioga counties to win a second term in office.

Brindisi, confident that the absentee ballots will be in his favor, showed up at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to start a two-week orientation for new members of Congress.

Ellen Foster, Brindisi's campaign manager, said the campaign ran an aggressive program to reach out to absentee voters. The names of voters who request ballots are publicly available.

Other factors could still influence the outcome of the race. Military and overseas ballots can still be counted if they are received by Nov. 19 and were postmarked before Election Day. Affidavit ballots, given to voters whose names did not appear on rolls at polling places, must also be ruled valid or invalid.

In both cases, the number of valid affidavit and military and overseas ballots is typically a small fraction compared to absentee ballots cast by registered voters.

Board of Elections officials in each county said they had no estimate of how long it will take to count the absentee ballots. The state deadline to certify the election is Dec. 14.

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- President Donald Trump sought to intervene in Florida's legally mandated vote recount Tuesday, calling on the state's Democratic senator to admit defeat in his re-election bid and again implying without evidence that officials in two pivotal counties are trying to steal the election.

"When will Bill Nelson concede in Florida?" Trump said in a morning tweet. "The characters running Broward and Palm Beach voting will not be able to 'find' enough votes, too much spotlight on them now!"

There have been bumps as Florida undergoes recounts for both the governor and Senate races. Palm Beach County said it won't finish its recount by the Thursday deadline. In oft-criticized Broward County, additional sheriff's deputies were sent to guard ballots and voting machines, a compromise aimed at alleviating concerns. Those counties are both Democratic strongholds.

Still, the state elections department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which are run by Republican appointees, have said they have seen no evidence of voter fraud. A Broward County judge challenged anyone who has evidence of fraud to file a report.

Meanwhile, a flurry of legal action continued. Nelson and a Democratic campaign committee filed two more lawsuits on Tuesday, including one that asks a federal judge to set aside looming deadlines for a machine recount as well as a hand recount, if it is ordered.

Presidents have historically sought to rise above the heated partisan drama surrounding election irregularities. Former President Barack Obama wasn't so publicly involved when a recount and legal process in the 2008 election delayed a Democrat taking a Minnesota Senate seat until July 2009. Former President Bill Clinton struck a lower tone during the 2000 presidential recount, which also centered on Florida.

But this year, the Florida recount was personal for Trump. He aggressively campaigned in the state in the waning days of the election and put his finger on the scales of the Republican gubernatorial primary this summer by endorsing former Rep. Ron DeSantis. After Election Day, Trump's aides pointed to the GOP's seeming success in the state as a validation that the president's path to re-election remained clear -- a narrative that has grown hazier as the outcomes have become less certain.

White House spokeswoman Mercedes Schlapp said Tuesday the president "obviously has his opinion" on the recount.

"It's been incredibly frustrating to watch," she said.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump is attempting to bully Florida election officials out of doing their jobs. Schumer and Nelson, both Democrats, spoke with reporters Tuesday in Washington.

"It's just plain wrong. It's un-American." Schumer said. "If he really wants an honest and fair election, President Trump will stop bullying, harassing and lying about the vote in Florida, and let the election proceed without the heavy hand of the president tipping the scale of justice."

Schumer said election officials should have all the time they need to count every vote, rather than Sunday's deadline. Nelson and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed two lawsuits aimed at that goal. One lawsuit questions rules used by the state for hand recounts, while a second asks a federal judge to give counties more time to complete both a machine and a hand recount. Right now counties are doing a machine recount.

Marc Elias, a campaign attorney for Nelson, contended there was no legal need for the existing deadlines since the Senate winner would not be sworn in until January.

Still, there's not much choice but for Florida to go through the process. State law requires a machine recount in races where the margin is less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Rick Scott's lead over Nelson was 0.14 percentage points. In the governor's contest, unofficial results showed Republican former Rep. Ron DeSantis ahead of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 0.41 percentage points.

Once the recount is complete, if the differences in any of the races are 0.25 percentage points or less, a hand recount will be ordered, meaning it could take even longer to complete the review of the Senate race if the difference remains narrow.

The recount process has drawn a sharp focus on several county election officials, especially Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes.

Snipes has drawn criticism from Trump and other high-profile Republicans as her county's election returns showed a narrowing lead for Scott during the ballot-counting in the days after Election Day, and even former Gov. Jeb Bush -- who appointed her in 2003 -- said she should be removed. Asked about those criticisms Tuesday, she hinted that she may not run for re-election in 2020.

"It is time to move on," she said, later adding, "I'll check with my family and they'll tell me what I'm doing."

Meanwhile, in Palm Beach, Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said the county's 11-year-old tallying machines aren't fast enough to complete the recount by Thursday. The county is doing the Senate race first and will then do the governor's race. If the deadline is not met in a race, the results it reported Saturday will stand.
Amazon will benefit from government subsidies and investments totaling more than $2.4 billion from Virginia, New York and Tennessee to build its new facilities, spurring complaints that taxpayers shouldn't be subsidizing one of the nation's most prosperous companies.

A big gap in the size of incentives promised by New York and Virginia also stirred concern in the Empire State - and quiet satisfaction in the Old Dominion - that Richmond had cut a better deal than Albany. In the largest single subsidy offered by each state, New York offered tax credits equal to $48,000 per new job, while Virginia agreed to workforce cash grants of $22,000 per job.

The incentives packages also worried affordable housing activists that too little was promised to deal with the potential effect on housing costs of an influx of tens of thousands of new employees with an average salary of more than $150,000 a year.

It's normal for job-hungry state and local governments to offer tax credits, grants and other incentives to lure companies, and the contest for Amazon's second headquarters, HQ2 - widely seen as the biggest economic development prize in a generation - was no exception.

But the prospect of granting hundreds of millions of dollars of subsidies to a company led by the world's richest man - Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos - also drew condemnation in some quarters. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Two New York lawmakers representing constituents in Long Island City, where one of the two new Amazon headquarters will be located, have pledged to oppose the deal.

"We are witness to a cynical game in which Amazon duped New York into offering unprecedented amounts of tax dollars to one of the wealthiest companies on Earth for a promise of jobs that would represent less than 3% of the jobs typically created in our city over a 10 year period," state Sen. Michael Gianaris and City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer said in a joint statement issued after the announcement.

The total of incentives for Amazon - including direct subsidies and public investments designed to help attract the company - appeared to be considerably less than the package of up to $8.5 billion offered by Maryland and $7 billion by New Jersey. That suggested that factors such as access to talent and airports, and overall business climate, were more important for the company.

New York was the most generous among the winners, promising more than $1.5 billion in direct subsidies for Amazon provided it creates at least 25,000 jobs in Long Island City, which is in Queens across the East River from Midtown Manhattan.

Virginia appeared to have made a better deal, as the state and Arlington County offered direct subsidies of $573 million for 25,000 jobs to place the other new headquarters near Reagan National Airport in what will now be called National Landing.

Virginia and Arlington also pledged investments totaling $223 million for transportation improvements including upgrading two Metro stations - an incentive that will help Amazon and the rest of the community.

Most of the incentives are conditional on Amazon delivering the 25,000 new high-paying jobs. The promised salary of $150,000 a year is an increase from the $100,000 salaries that Amazon originally guaranteed. Both New York and Virginia offered additional subsidies if the company creates more than 25,000 jobs.

Nashville, Tennessee, a surprise last-minute addition to Amazon's plan, promised $102 million in subsidies for a new operations center with 5,000 jobs.

In describing its rationale for picking northern Virginia and New York to share the top prize, Amazon stressed that access to tech talent was paramount.

"We were looking for a location with strong local and regional talent - particularly in software development and related fields," the company statement said.

Talent would not necessarily explain the choice of Northern Virginia over Maryland's Montgomery County, however, as the two are across the Potomac River from each other and in the same metropolitan area.

However, northern Virginia is widely seen as more business-friendly than Montgomery County, partly because Virginia is a right-to-work state, where it is prohibited to require membership in a union as a condition of employment. Also, Amazon said it wanted good access to airports, and the Arlington site is a half-mile from Reagan National Airport, whereas the Montgomery County site would have been more than a 30-minute drive from that airport.

In Virginia, the bulk of the direct incentives will come in the form of workforce cash grants from the state of up to $550 million, based on $22,000 for each job created over the next 12 years.

The state will also invest $195 million in infrastructure in the neighborhood, including improvements to the Crystal City and Potomac Yards Metro stations and a pedestrian bridge connecting the Amazon site to Reagan National Airport. The Potomac Yards station is not yet open.

From Arlington, Amazon will receive a cash grant of $23 million over 15 years linked to incremental growth of the tax on hotel rooms. The county also will dedicate about $28 million of future property tax revenue for on-site infrastructure and open space at the site.

The Virginia General Assembly will have to approve the Amazon subsidies, but legislators predicted they would win passage. The Arlington County Board will take up the package in February.

Although it is not a direct subsidy, Virginia's package also included an ambitious plan to spend nearly $1.1 billion over 20 years to expand tech higher education in the state. Amazon said this was an initiative by the state and not something that the company proposed.

One aim is to raise the number of bachelor's and master's degrees awarded in the computer sciences and related fields by 25,000 to 35,000 over the next two decades, beyond what was already forecast. The plan includes construction by Virginia Tech of a graduate campus focused on innovation in Alexandria, and expansion of George Mason University's tech program in Arlington.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, D, described the package as "a new model of economic development for the 21st century."

One provision in Virginia's package is not financial at all. Virginia agreed to give Amazon at least two days notice if the media or the public filed a Freedom of Information Act request about the agreement. This would "allow the Company to seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy."

New York's package included direct state incentives of $1.2 billion, most of which is to be provided via a refundable tax credit equivalent to $48,000 per job over the next 10 years.

New York also offered a cash grant of $325 million based on the square footage of buildings occupied in the next 10 years.

In addition, Amazon will benefit from two other New York City incentive programs, which are available to all companies.

It wasn't immediately clear why New York had offered so much more in incentives than Virginia. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, defended the incentives by saying that the total state and city revenue is estimated at $27.5 billion, which he said would be about nine times larger than the incentives.

Virginia's top economic development official, who led negotiations with Amazon, said his state historically has been less generous than others in granting subsidies.

"Virginia is generally a relatively low-incentive state, typically the lowest incentives in the South," said Stephen Moret, director of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

"We wanted to win this in a Virginia way, and that was more about emphasizing our assets, in particular our stable, competitive business climate and our outstanding education systems," Moret said.

He said that the total incentive package was cut by half when Amazon decided to change its original plan to build a single new headquarters with 50,000 jobs.

But even with the shrinkage in the size of the prize, Moret said, the state estimates that the increased revenue in personal income taxes and sales taxes over 20 years will be so high that the net gain for the state's general fund will total $3.2 billion after paying the incentives.

"It's a gusher" of tax revenue, he said.

Affordable housing activists hope that some of that revenue will ultimately go to offset the expected negative effect on rents and home prices. They were displeased that while Virginia and Arlington offered large sums for transportation improvements to deal with congestion, the package did not include any new money earmarked for housing.

"There's excitement that HQ2 is coming but concern that there is not more than has seemingly been committed for low- and moderate-income folks for housing," said David Bowers, vice president and Mid-Atlantic market leader for Enterprise Community Partners. "It's a challenge moment for regional leaders - public and private sector - to determine whether we will proactively make investments at the scale of need to meet the region's housing affordability challenges."
Some of the biggest names in broadcast television have reached a settlement with government regulators after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit alleging that the companies shared private information with one another in ways that allowed them to subtly manipulate TV ad prices.

The settlement covers six companies: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Raycom Media, Tribune Media, Meredith Corp., Griffin Communications and Dreamcatcher Broadcasting. It forbids them to share nonpublic information about ad sales for seven years.

"The unlawful exchange of competitively sensitive information allowed these television broadcast companies to disrupt the normal competitive process of spot advertising in markets across the United States," Makan Delrahim, the Justice Department's antitrust chief, said in a statement.

By sharing advertising sales data, the companies gained insight into each other's operations that they would not have had otherwise, according to the Justice Department's lawsuit. The added information gave them the ability to develop specialized pricing strategies and exercise greater leverage over advertisers when negotiating with them for deals.

The settlement follows a class-action suit filed by advertisers in August claiming that the media companies had conspired to fix the price of TV advertising.

It reflects the Justice Department's heightened scrutiny of the increasingly concentrated media industry. In recent months, the agency has continued to fight its initially unsuccessful lawsuit to block AT&T's merger with Time Warner (now renamed WarnerMedia) and warned Comcast that it will continue to monitor the company's behavior now that a number of regulatory conditions imposed on its 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal have expired.

Three of the companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meredith said it disagreed with the allegations but thought it was in the company's interest to enter into the settlement.

"Importantly, the settlement does not require Meredith to pay any penalty, includes no admission that any law has been violated, and will not require us to change our current business practices," the company said in a statement.

Tribune called the issue a "distraction" and said it was glad to move beyond it "in a way that has no operational effect."

Echoing the two other companies' comments, Raycom Media added that despite the Justice Department suit, "we have seen no evidence that the alleged information sharing had any actual competitive impact in any advertising market."

Sinclair Broadcast Group is the nation's largest owner of local television stations, including CNY Central's NBC 3 (WSTM-TV), CW 6 (WSTQ) and CBS 5 (WTVH) in Syracuse. Tribune Media said in August that it would withdraw from its $3.9 billion merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group, and sue Sinclair for "breach of contract" over its failed negotiations with regulators over the deal.
Dion Cini calls his photos at Florida's Walt Disney World Resort "guerrilla marketing."

One picture shows the 49-year-old with a slight smile, holding a "Trump 2020" banner on the Splash Mountain log ride. Another shows him on a roller coaster, holding a sign reading "Keep America GREAT!"

His plan, he said, was to go viral, drawing support for President Donald Trump's campaign.

According to the New Yorker, in the past several months he has also unfurled pro-Trump banners on Broadway and at Yankee Stadium to show his support for the president.

But, he said, it was his campaigning last week at the Disney theme park that became an issue - and got him banned from all Disney properties, including theme parks and resorts for inciting a crowd.

He had already gotten in trouble once at Walt Disney World for displaying a Trump flag at the Magic Kingdom back in September. Now annual passholder Dion Cini says he has been permanently banned from the parks after he held up signs again last week. https://t.co/5vt18zcQpE pic.twitter.com/lFGhFQ3M8H  WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) November 13, 2018

"I did not break the rules," Cini said Tuesday afternoon in a phone interview with The Washington Post. "I was on a ride. I was not inciting a crowd. There was no crowd."

A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that the issue was not with the guest's political views, but that he repeatedly violated park rules by waving banners. According to the park's policies, guests are prohibited from organizing demonstrations or speeches, using "any flag, banner or sign for commercial purposes" or inciting a crowd. The policies also state that any item Disney deems "harmful or disruptive" is not permitted.

"Walt Disney World welcomes all Guests to enjoy our parks; however, demonstrations and the display of signs and banners is not permitted on the premises," the statement read. "We have previously reminded this guest about our rules."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office, which reportedly responded to the incident, did not immediately provide information to The Washington Post.

It started in September when Cini, a Trump supporter, hung a massive "Trump 2020" banner outside Disney's Main Street Railroad Station. Cini claims he was banned from Disney but was later told he could return if he agreed not to incite a crowd. After he used the two pro-Trump signs last week, he said, he was banned again.

"Banned for life from Walt Disney World for the 2nd time in a month," he wrote on Facebook. "They hate my signs, or the President? Maybe both?"

Disney said the guest was not banned in response to the incident in September but that his ticket was "paused" so park staffers could have a conversation with him about the policies and procedures.

When he broke the rules again last week, he was "trespassed," Disney said.

In any case, Cini said he knew the photos showing him with pro-Trump banners would go viral - and he was counting on it, saying it was his way to contribute to the campaign. He said he believes that Trump is "doing a better job than any president I've ever seen."

"I do things differently," he said. "I do things that will go viral to support the president. I'm trying to let other Trump supporters know that you don't have to go to rallies; you can do this on your own."

"One person can have a bigger voice than a thousand people," he added.

After his recent photo-ops, Cini said he has gotten a wide response from people - some expressing appreciation and some sending death threats.

When he posted about it on Facebook, many people commented on his personal page, calling him a "super hero" and saying that the stunt was his "best one yet." However, some pointed out that a sign could be a hazard on a fast-moving ride. And others noted that many people go to theme parks to "escape the world," not be confronted by it.

As for his banishment from Disney, Cini said he intends to fight it in court.
Four members of a family have been arrested in the fatal shootings of seven adults and a 16-year-old boy that rocked Southern Ohio nearly three years ago, state officials said.

The brutal killings in the intimate Pike County community made national headlines after the discovery of the bodies in 2016. Rumors of potential motives swirled as police undertook one of the largest investigations in the history of Ohio, leaving many to wonder when - or if - the suspects responsible would be apprehended.

On Tuesday afternoon, answers finally arrived.

"We promised that the day would come when the arrests would be made in the Pike County Massacres," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told a crowd of reporters Tuesday. "Today is that day."

George "Billy" Wagner III, 47, Angela Wagner, 48, George Wagner IV, 27, and Edward "Jake" Wagner, 26, all of South Webster, were each charged with eight counts of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications, among other related charges in connection with planning and carrying out the killings, DeWine said.

Rita Newcomb, 65, and Fredericka Wagner, 76, the mothers of Angela and Billy Wagner were also charged, accused of attempting to cover up the crime to mislead authorities, DeWine said. All of the suspects were arrested without incident. It is unclear if they have retained attorneys.

Early reports of the deaths describe a devastating scene in rural Pike County. An initial call to police on April 22, 2016, cited two possible males deceased at home on Union Hill Road in Piketon, a village in Pike County, Ohio, authorities said at the time. As they were traveling to the location, deputies were flagged down and given additional information on reports of bodies.

In a recording released soon after the killings, a woman was heard telling a 911 dispatcher that she'd found her brother-in-law and cousin inside a trailer without signs of life.

"There's blood all over," the woman, later identified as Bobby Manley by the Cincinnati Enquirer, told the dispatcher. Asked if she thought they were dead, Manley indicated yes, adding "It looks like someone has beat the hell out of them."

Manley cried into her phone as she waited for help to arrive.

Seven of the victims' bodies were initially found between three different trailer homes, all within walking distance of one another, and many were still lying in bed, DeWine said. The eighth was found at a fourth location that was a 10-minute drive away.

Among those killed were Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, his ex-wife Dana Manley Rhoden, 37, and their three children, Hanna May Rhoden, 19, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, and Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20. His fiancee, 20-year-old Hannah "Hazel" Gilley, as well as Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44, and cousin Gary Rhoden, 38, were also fatally shot.

DeWine said at the time that the killings appeared to be "preplanned" and "sophisticated." Hanna Rhoden's newborn baby was found alive near her mother's body. Hannah Gilley's 6-month-old child and another small child were also unharmed, according to the Associated Press.

DeWine on Tuesday said that issues over custody of a young child played a role in the crime.

"There was an obsession with custody, obsession with control of the children," DeWine said. "This is the most bizarre story I have ever seen being involved with law enforcement."

DeWine lamented the ways in which the eight victims were "brutally and viciously" executed. No other suspects are connected to the case, he said, and evidence suggests the Wagners spent months meticulously planning the crimes by studying the Rhoden family's habits and routines. He alleged that the four suspects knew the layouts of the victims' homes and where they slept, and that after killing them, the Wagners tampered with phones, a silencer, shell casings and surveillance cameras in an attempt to hide evidence.

Each of the Wagners was also charged with conspiracy, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, and obstruction of justice, as well as several other charges.

DeWine called it one of the "longest and most complex" investigations in the history of Ohio. Tens of thousands of hours went into the investigation, spanning two and a half years over 10 states, including Alaska, where the Wagner family moved briefly before returning to Pike County. Police received more than 1,100 tips from the public, tested more than 700 pieces of evidence and conducted nearly 600 interviews over the course of their investigation. DeWine likened the case to a complex puzzle with hundreds of pieces.

"What solved this case was just hard, tough police work, day after day after day," DeWine said. "These men and women just never gave up."

Officials Tuesday noted that the families of the victims are still coping with the deaths of their loved ones, and that the suspects' alleged actions left a stain on the county. Sheriff Charles Reader said the Wagner family acted "quickly, coldly, calmly and very carefully" to cover their tracks. "But not carefully enough."

"Pike County is a resilient community," he said, adding that it should be known for more than being a place where eight people were murdered. "We're a place that finds justice for victims, and today is a big step on that path."
Of over 10,000 zoos and aquariums worldwide and over 3,000 in the United States, only 232 are accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). And as of this fall five are in Upstate New York.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, the Utica Zoo and the Aquarium of the Niagara in Niagara Falls all recently achieved AZA accreditation, while the Buffalo Zoo is currently AZA-accredited through 2021.

AZA accreditation identifies a facility as a top-level zoo or aquarium proven to adhere to the highest standards of animal care, wildlife conservation and education. In fact, TripAdvisor only recommends zoos and aquariums that are AZA-accredited.

"AZA accreditation is the gold standard among modern zoological parks and aquariums, and our independent Accreditation Commission ensures we only award this honor to the best facilities in the world," said Dan Ashe, President and CEO of AZA.

"Each of the 186 million annual visitors to AZA-accredited facilities can rest assured that they are supporting institutions providing the best animal care and that are actively engaged in wildlife conservation."

The Upstate NY AZA-accredited zoos:

The

Seneca Park Zoo

The

The

The

Rosamond Gifford Zoo Director Ted Fox said each facility had to pass a rigorous 8-month accreditation process, including three days of top-to-bottom on-site inspections by an AZA team. Accreditation means joining a collaborative group of zoos that works together on behalf of threatened and endangered species, he said.

Sarah Kohler, Senior Education Coordinator at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, with Namari the ball python.

"AZA accreditation carries with it not just the affirmation that your zoo is doing a great job caring for animals and aiding wildlife conservation," Fox said, "but also the ability to share the collective knowledge, resources, data and collaboration with other AZA zoos to really make an impact when it comes to saving species."

AZA accreditation also carries a responsibility to be actively engaged in world wildlife conservation. Last year, AZA zoos spent a total of $216 million on conservation efforts to save endangered species in their native habitats, Ashe said.

AZA zoos also are required to provide top-notch conservation education to impress on guests the importance of saving species and inspire understanding and compassion for wildlife.

Janet Agostini, President of the Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, said accreditation is a seal of approval that every visitor to an AZA zoo or aquarium can feel good about.

"At our facilities, every purchase you make, from zoo admission to lunch at the cafe to buying a plush animal at the gift shop helps fund wildlife conservation," she said. "And accreditation assures our members and donors that their contributions support a great cause, both locally and globally."

For more information about AZA and a list of AZA-accredited institutions, visit www.aza.org.

For more about the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, visit www.rosamondgiffordzoo.org and follow the zoo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/syracusezoo.
There are instances in major cases that closure or justice sometimes is not as fast as we or the family would like, Portage Police Chief Troy Williams said in a news release. However, that never stops us from seeking it or reigniting an investigation when we receive new information.
John Ridding has served as the CEO of the Financial Times since 2006, and in that time, he has seen vast amounts of change  both in terms of the running of the newspaper as a business and the industry of journalism itself. When he visited Cambridge, the journalistic world had just been shaken by the killing of Saudi Arabian reporter, Jamal Khashoggi. John Ridding said of the matter: The Khashoggi case is truly awful and shocking [] I do think there has been a broader trend towards pressure and persecution of the media, which is obviously deeply concerning for all of those involved in the media and well beyond. He added that: The media has a very vital role. What you cant do is bow to risks and persecution. Clearly, I think that all reputable quality news organisations rightly feel that responsibility. What you cant do is pre-empt or pre-consider risks [] What you do need to do is make sure that journalists in any situation are well prepared, well trained, well briefed about the risks. Turning away from covering a story, or covering the news, or covering events, is not the right response.

The biggest change in recent years for the journalism industry is, perhaps, the shift to digital. It has obviously changed fundamentally, says Ridding. When I was starting as a reporter, it was just print  and print was hard enough, frankly [] But now its a whole new world of complexity and skills and productivity, because now, frankly, a journalist is fully multi-media. At the FT its print, its digital, its online, its video, its audio. Indeed, over 75% of the Financial Times customer base is now digital. While Ridding makes it clear he believes that these changes make the life of a journalist harder  with rolling news and never-ending deadlines  it is also apparent that he thinks this change is positive. I think its a lot more rewarding, because it is indeed quite creative on all those fronts  and crucially, with digital, you have a direct, engaged relationship with readers that you didnt have in the days of print. Its a lot more dynamic, that relationship [] I think it is a much deeper, richer journalistic experience. This shift towards the digital is not going to change, and in his capacity at the helm of the FT, it is part of Mr. Riddings job to guide the paper towards new areas of the market. One of the areas were looking at now is audio, through podcasts. The real potential game changer is home assistants or voice assistants, whether its Alexa or in a car. He adds, That raises some pretty big opportunities and some pretty big challenges  and the challenges are quite subtle in a sense. If youre on Google search, you get as many search rankings as you want, but on an audio device, youre probably going to only get the top two or three, so you need to make sure youre at the top of the list. What does branding look like in audio? Obviously, pink, which is one of our big branding things, is not a sound.

Another change to the face of journalism is the shift to social media  as John Ridding points out, Facebook has more followers than Christianity. On the one hand, the tech giants, social media, have created an opportunity for any news organisation or publisher to reach audiences on an epic scale that has never happened before but theres quite a lot of dangers and threats. While Ridding notes the positive aspects of social media, from Twitters role in the 2011 Arab Spring, to the way it bypasses traditional gatekeepers, he also warns of the dangers for news. Theyve pretty much destroyed the traditional business model of news media, theyve taken all the advertising. They have also created a whole series of corruptions and distortions  and it has happened very quickly. [] So what do we do about it? Well, what the FT does about it is to be very determined to present a series of opinions and have a balanced exchange of viewpoints and ideas. He also warns against partisan-ship. When you go to the US, you do see that the media there has become more partisan than it used to be. And then you think that theres a lot of opportunity there for an independent balanced publisher like the FT  but you also think well, maybe thats also what people want. They quite like news as contest, they like news as sport, they like people shouting at each other from echo chambers. Which would be unfortunate, but there is that risk.

Another key part of the changing landscape within journalism is the push for gender equality. The gender pay gap at the FT is coming down the trend is in the right direction. Theres a number of things were doing. Firstly, were not just doing it because its a reported statistic that people pay attention to, were doing it because its the right thing to do because frankly, diverse organisations make better decisions. Theres a lot of research that proves that [] One of the challenges is traditional history. The FT, going back 30-40 years, was very male, readership was very male, and recruitment was very male. What we need to do is make sure that women rise up to the most senior level [] Theres a range of policies were introducing to make it easier for women to start, pursue, continue, to develop a career at the FT because the goal really is to ensure we have women in the most senior positions. Theres no quick win  this is about long term structural, determined change.

Journalism as a business is ever-shifting, but despite the constant race for journalists to keep up with new technology and a changing world, John Ridding remains optimistic. With an effective mobile format you can reach anyone on planet earth at pretty low cost, and you can see that in our numbers. Were knocking on the door of a million paid-for users [] What that proves is that quality journalism can be a quality business. What that depends on is a business model not dependent on advertising  because frankly, Google and Facebook are hoovering all that up  but is dependent on a trusted relationship with readers. If you handle digital right, there is a very strong strategic opportunity.
JayKis BHPian



Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 256 Thanked: 575 Times

re: The gory killing of tigress Avni - A mother and our national animal



https://www.facebook.com/paresh.desh...50933321603333



Do read it if you are interested in understanding why the Pandharkawda tigress T1 a.k.a. Avani was shot down under the orders of concerned authorities.



*(I) A LITTLE ABOUT VERY BASIC OF TIGER BEHAVIOUR -

- Tigers are territorial animals.

- Each adult individual - male or female - has his/her own territory which is regularly patrolled and maintained by them through scent marks, scrape marks, wreck marks etc.

- Cubs of any female typically live with the mother for approximately 2 years and then separate. During these two years, the mother teaches them about survival in the jungle including lessons about hunting.

- Once the cubs are around 2 years old, they have to establish their own territory. This may happen by either dethroning their own mother/father from their home territories, or moving out in search of new land.





*(II) A LITTLE ABOUT OUR PROTECTED AREAS -

- Our forests can broadly be divided in two parts - Protected Areas (PAs) and Non-protected Areas (NPAs).

- PAs majorly cover our National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.

- A "Tiger Reserve" is a status given to any PA considering the feasibility of survival of tigers over there. As such, a tiger reserve may consist of a National Park, or a Wildlife Sanctuary, or both - Pench Tiger Reserve being a good example.

- NPAs are typically small, fragmented patches of forests surrounded by farm land, villages, small towns, roads, railway lines etc.

- Though a large of portion of our wildlife enjoys the benefits of PAs, it is worth noting that a considerable number of animals stay outside our PAs.

- Our Tiger Reserves (PAs) enjoy great protection with thorough monitoring of wildlife, and protection teams like the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF).

- The non-protected areas, even though they are tiger bearing, have little protection.





*(III) A LITTLE ABOUT ANIMAL MOVEMENT -

- Many of the animals regularly migrate from one place to the other - be it a long-distance migration, or local migration.

- As discussed in the first section, sub-adult tigers typically move out of their birth territory in search of establishing their own turf.

- Such movement of tigers include movement from one PA to the other PA or from within a PA to a NPA.

- When a tiger moves from a PA to another PA, it has to pass through a human dominated landscape, thus getting it closer to humans.

- When a tiger moves out of a PA to a NPA, it puts itself close to humans.

- Tigers who are born in the NPAs itself are closer to humans from the beginning.





*(IV) WHEN DOES A TIGER BECOME A MAN-EATER 

- This is a subject of complete separate discussion, but I will try to talk a little.

- FIRST AND FOREMOST  there is a huge difference between when a tiger KILLS a human and when a tiger EATS a human.

- Killing of humans by a tiger can be out of self-protection. We have a problem when the tiger starts to eat the human flesh.

- As per guidelines, to label a tiger as a man-eater, it should be established in at the least three cases that beyond reasonable doubt, the particular tiger is the culprit of killing and eating humans.

- A man is not the natural prey of the tiger. Just like our mothers tell us what is edible, a tigress teaches the cubs what to eat, and humans are not on that list.

- A tiger may start eating human flesh either because old-age would not let it kill the natural prey, or because it first kills a human for self-defense and accidently eats the flesh, thus getting to know that it is edible. But again, it is very very difficult to know HOW a tiger becomes a man-eater.

- However, it can be said with some confidence that if a tigress is used to hunting and eating humans, it is likely that her cubs will also follow the same route.





*(V) PRESENT CASE OF T1 a.k.a. AVANI 

- A huge chunk of her territory is covered with small villages, farm lands etc.

- Her first human kill was in 2016, and since then, she had killed 12 more humans.

- At present, she was a mother to two 10 months old cubs.

- Forest Department was working towards mitigating this human-animal conflict and spreading awareness among villagers about dos and donts about living in a tiger dominated landscape.

- It was after she made 3 humans kills in a row that order to capture her or to shoot her were put in force by the PCCF.

- The said order was challenged by activists in Supreme Court and the Supreme Court, considering the situation on the field, upheld the PCCFs orders.

- The orders were to either tranquilize and capture the tigress alive, or to shoot her down. The efforts of the search team were in the said direction, and if the tranquilizing could not be achieved, she was destined to meet the unfortunate end.





*(VI) WHY IT WAS PERTINENT TO MOVE HER OUT OF THE LANDSCAPE 

- As people living in urban areas, it is very difficult for us to imagine a life in a wildlife dominated landscape. A few people in Mumbai can imagine how it must feel like to have a leopard come into your society at night and take away the dogs as their prey.

- Communities who live in a wildlife dominated area are typically exposed to crop raids by herbivores, cattle killing by carnivores, and at times, even human killings by carnivores.

- It is very hard for us to imagine the loss of money, and loss of life they must be facing. Irrespective of such losses, their acceptance towards the presence of wildlife is remarkable.

- Forest Department has a key role in maintaining this acceptance of communities towards wildlife. They compensate the villagers for loss of crops, loss of cattle, and loss of human life.

- As such, the animals can stay in peace because the local communities are tolerant towards them. NO CONSERVATION ACTIVITY CAN BE A SUCCESS WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIVE COMMUNITIES.

- If T1, after 13 human kills, was allowed to stay in that landscape, we would have lost the confidence of the locals, thus putting all our future conservation activities in danger.

- We have to save the tigers as a species and not one particular tiger who was convicted as a man-eater.





*(VII) THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM 

- T1 is a representative example of the real problem here  we are losing our forest cover real fast, and it is not a good sign.

- Tiger sits at the top of food chain, and thus, is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. If we lose our forest cover, we are destroying the habitat for our wildlife, making the animals get closer to humans, thus increasing the chances of a conflict.

- Movement of animals should be safe and without any disturbance. Such movement is critical for exchange of gene pool to ensure long term survival of the species.

- In order to make this movement safe, we have to establish and maintain GREEN CORRIDORS between the forests.

- Development is necessary, but it should be sustainable, and not at the cost of nature, for there cannot be human survival without our jungles.





*(VIII) KILLING OF T1 UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES AND POLITICISING THE DEATH 

- Yes, she could have been tranquilized and kept in captivity for the remainder of her life. However, the current search operation was already in its 8th month and a considerable amount of resources were spent in searching her. As such, shooting her down, if the circumstances are such, was very much on the table.

- It is alleged that the way in which she was killed was suspicious, and that she could have been tranquilized instead. If this is the case, the post mortem report will suggest so and necessary actions should be taken on the people involved.

- Many are trying to blame the authorities for the killing. It is difficult to understand this view point when our Forest Department works sincerely and with all their might to save our tigers. Had the circumstances not forced them, they would not have wanted the death orders on the table.

- Some are trying to link this death for politically blaming the ruling party. I completely agree that this not a really good government when it comes to environment. They have allowed destruction of key landscapes for projects like railway line through Melghat, road widening through the Kanha-Pench corridor, Ket-Betwa river linking etc. However, it is hard to imagine them taking particularly keen interest in this single tigress, when there are other tigers too in the same landscape.





*(IX) SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVISM  THE BIGGEST PROBLEM EVER 

- People on social media have come out to support the Save Avani campaign like crazy. There are posters, videos, posts, petitions all over.

- How many of them have a tiger or a leopard lurking around in their backyard?

How many of them have lost their crops to animals?

How many of them have lost their cattle to animals?

How many of them have a family member killed by a tiger?

It is very easy to post/like/comment/sign a petition from the comforts of our homes, but how many of them know what the ground realities are?

How many of them know about the anger of villagers the Forest Department has to deal with after a human death?

- Man-Animal conflict is a critical issue and requires comprehensive understanding of animal behavior, skills to manage people and their sentiments, and at the same time, take decisions that are best for the wildlife in long term  no matter how harsh they may sound right now.





It is not difficult to understand the real issue and the complications involved. I do not have an academic background in conservation, and yet I am able to apply logic and make an informed decision.

I sincerely request you all that the next time you come across such an issue, rather than blindly trusting what you are reading, please try and analyze the entire subject. It is much much more complicated than it may look. Make an informed decision.

Saving our wildlife is not just governments task. It is a collective responsibility of all of us.

Get your mind out of your safari vehicle and get your eyes away from the viewfinder of your camera  conservation is much bigger than going on safaris and clicking pictures of tigers.

Saving our jungles is critical for our own survival. Let us work towards that.



- Paresh

4th November 2018



(Tagging those people herewith who I feel can be relevant. Please feel free to un-tag yourself if you do not wish to be tagged.)



Update to the original post - 5th November 2018

After reading many opinions about this issue, I feel that there is a need to post an update to the original post. I sincerely request every person who has liked/commented/shared this original post to read the update as well, and those who have shared the original post - do copy+paste the update in comments of your shared posts.

So here it goes -



UPDATE 1 TO THE ORIGINAL POST - 5TH NOVEMBER 2018



(A) TRANQUILIZING vs KILLING -

- There is absolutely no debate when it comes to this argument. She should have been tranquilized and kept in captivity instead of killing. However, things are much easier said than done.

- A few points which I have discovered in this regard are that the landscape in the problem area does not have a lot of strong trees. Most of the vegetation is shrubs and small trees, thus making it difficult to build machans to sit-out and wait for the tigress to move or come close to a bait so that she can be shot with a tranquilizing dart. Further, it is a rocky landscape which makes it difficult to track the pugmarks as compared to a sandy landscape.

- Considering all of this, I am sure that Forest Department had tranquilizing as their primary approach, but again, it is very difficult to understand the field realities and problems while sitting here.





(B) CLAIMS OF KILLING UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES -

- If that is indeed the case, an investigation should be made and necessary action should be taken against those responsible.

- I am not sure why the FD had to go with the shooters from Hyderabad and why they had no other options for the task. However, there are claims that the person who executed the killing did not have the authority to do so. In this regard, a person has shared photos of orders of the CCF of that area in which names of members of Shafat Ali Khan's team are mentioned. That list bears the name of his son along with a few others.

- A laughable claim is that the tigress was killed to satisfy the blood thirst of the appointed shooter. In this regard, please note that the Forest Department is a honorable body that works beyond limits to protect our jungles and wildlife. They are not someone with who some shooter can toy with. Experience the field work with them, try and interact with them and then you shall know. The shooters were under the strict orders from FD and they were obliged to follow them.





(C) CLAIMS ABOUT THE LAND BEING DIVERTED FOR MINING -

- It widely talked that 467 hectares of land has been acquired by Reliance Cement Company Private Limited (RCCPL) to set up a cement plant. Please note that the initial clearances for acquisition of this land were given back in 2012. RCCPL, along with its existing projects in UP and MH, was taken over by Birla Corporation Limited (BCL) in August 2016. BCL declared in August 2018 that they are going to set-up a new plant in the said 467 hectares land.

- The said 467 hectares of land is located around Mukutban.

- Mukutban is situated at an distance of over 80 km (road distance) from the current conflict area of T1 (which was area around Ralegaon - for those of you who do not know that.) Though, this area is close to Tipeshwar WLS, it is not that close to the current problem zone. - Further, 467 hectares are around 4.70 square kilometers. The said territory of T1 was over 120 square kilometers. (Please note that in no way here it is suggested that the it is ok to let go a few square kilometers of forest. Every inch is critical. I am just trying show a relative picture here.)

- It seems a long shot that all this mess was created by the government just so that this particular cement project could begin for which land was already transferred and initial clearances were already given as long ago as 2012!

- I am not saying that the current government is very clean when it comes to environment. Please refer to point (VIII) in the original post. All I am saying that linking the RCCPL cement plant to T1 conflict seems like a long shot.





(D) WHAT IS WITH ALL THE EMOTIONAL DRAMA?

- I have seen countless posters, videos, texts with emotional messages regarding the action taken.

- I can understand that one may feel sorry for the way things turned out to be. Even I am saddened that the tigress had to be shot instead of being captured alive. But we have to understand that overspread of direction-less emotions can be a great fuel for wrong messages, rumours, and ill-informed opinions.

- We do not want unnecessary expression of direction-less emotions. We want people to be emotional, but still have the ability to see things through for what they are. THAT will lead to though-driven action. Emotional drama will not achieve anything.





(E) VERY IMPORTANT - THE PURPOSE OF THE ORIGINAL POST

- The purpose of the original post was to make it a point that none of us urban dwellers, including myself, can imagine -

(a) co-existing with wildlife in a wildlife dominated landscape, and,

(b) the field situations faced by the forest department.

- Please note with all your attention that the people who do live along with tigers or leopard or elephants or rhinos in their backyards, are far far more accommodative to wild animals than any of ever can be! The jungle stands because of them, and the jungle falls because of our needs. Their support is critical to any conservation activity. Please think of that the next time you come across such an issue.

- Further, please understand that it is not an easy task to maintain a jungle, to walk 10 km a day to patrol, to deal with fishing mafias, to deal with poachers who come with SMGs in their hands. It is very easy to say that "If she can be shot with a bullet, the she could be shot with a tranquilizing dart" but the ground realities can very well be different.





Kindly consider the above points as well in forming your opinion. I am going to post all of this in the original post as well This is what one of my friends (Paresh Deshmukh), an avid traveller and tiger watcher, had to say on this issue. Pretty detailed.
In context: A classic way for engineers to solve a particularly vexing technical problem is to move things in a completely different directiontypically by thinking outside the box. Such is the case with challenges facing the semiconductor industry. With the laws of physics quickly closing in on them, the traditional brute force means of maintaining Moores Law, by shrinking the size of transistors, is quickly coming to an end. Whether things stall at the current 7nm (nanometer) size, drop down to 5nm, or at best, reach 4nm, the reality of a nearly insurmountable wall is fast approaching todays leading vendors.

As a result, semiconductor companies are having to develop different ways to keep the essential performance progress they need moving in a positive direction. One of the most compelling ideas, chiplets, isnt a terribly new one, but its being deployed in interesting new ways. Chiplets are key IP blocks taken from a more complete chip design that are broken out on their own and then connected together with clever new packaging and interconnect technologies. Basically, its a new version of an SoC (system on chip), which combined various pieces of independent silicon onto a multi-chip module (MCM) to provide a complete solution.

So, for example, a modern CPU typically includes the main compute engine, a memory controller for connecting to main system memory, an I/O hub for talking to other peripherals, and several other different elements. In the world of chiplets, some of these elements can be broken back out into separate parts (essentially reversing the integration trend that has fueled semiconductor advances for such a long time), optimized for their own best performance (and for their own best manufacturing node size), and then connected back together in Lego block-type fashion.

While that may seem a bit counter-intuitive compared to typical semiconductor industry trends, chiplet designs help address several issues that have arisen as a result of traditional advances. First, while integration of multiple components into a single chip arguably makes things simpler, the truth is that todays chips have become both enormously complex and quite large as a result. Ensuring high-quality, defect-free manufacturing of these large, complex chipsespecially while youre trying to reduce transistor size at the same timehas proven to be an overwhelming challenge. Thats one of the key reasons why weve seen delays or even cancellations of moves to current 10nm and 7nm production from many major chip foundries.

Second, it turns out not every type of chip element actually benefits from smaller sizes. The basic argument for shrinking transistors is to reduce costs, reduce power consumption, and improve performance. With elements like the analog circuitry in I/O components, however, it turns out theres a point of diminishing returns where smaller transistors are actually more expensive and dont get the performance benefits you might expect from smaller production geometries. As a result, it just doesnt make sense to try and move current monolithic chip designs to these smaller sizes.

Finally, some of the more interesting advancements in the semiconductor world are now occurring in interconnect and packaging technologies. From the 3D stacking of components being used to increase the capacity of flash memory chips, to the high-speed interfaces being developed to enable both high-speed on-chip and chip-to-chip communications, the need to keep all the critical components of a chip design at the same process level are simply going away. Instead, companies are focusing on creating clever new ways to interconnect IP blocks/components in order to achieve the performance enhancements they used to only be able to get through traditional Moores Law transistor shrinks.

"Semiconductor companies are having to develop different ways to keep the essential performance progress they need moving in a positive direction. One of the most compelling ideas is chiplets."

AMD, for example, has made its Infinity Fabric interconnect technology a critical part of its Zen CPU designs, and at last weeks 7nm event, the company highlighted how theyve extended it to their new data center-focused CPUs and new GPUs now as well. The next generation Epyc server CPU, codenamed Rome, scheduled for release in 2019, leverages up to 8 separate Zen2-based CPU chiplets interconnected over their latest generation Infinity Fabric to provide 64 cores in a single SoC. The result, they claim, is performance in a single socket server that can beat Intels current best two-socket server CPU configuration.

In addition, AMD highlighted how its new 7nm data center-focused Radeon Instinct GPU designs can now also be connected over Infinity Fabric both for GPU-to-GPU connections as well as for faster CPU-to-GPU connections (similar to Nvidias existing NVLink protocol), which could prove to be very important for advanced workloads like AI training, supercomputing, and more.

Interestingly, AMD and Intel worked together on a combined CPU/GPU part earlier this year that leveraged a slightly different interconnect technology but allowed them to put an Intel CPU together with a discrete AMD Radeon GPU (for high-powered PCs like the Dell XPS15 and HP 15 Spectre X360) onto a single chip.

"Some of the more interesting advancements in the semiconductor world are now occurring in interconnect and packaging technologies."

Semiconductor IP creator Arm has been enabling an architecture for chiplet-like mobile SoC designs with its CCI (Cache Coherent Interconnect) technology for several years now. In fact, companies like Apple and Qualcomm use that type of technology for their A-Series and Snapdragon series chips, respectively.

Intel, for its part, is also planning to leverage chiplet technology for future designs. Though specific details are still to come, the company has discussed not just CPU-to-CPU connections, but also being able to integrate high-speed links with other chip IP blocks, such as Nervana AI accelerators, FPGAs and more.

In fact, the whole future of semiconductor design could be revolutionized by standardized, high-speed interconnections among various different chip components (each of which may be produced with different transistor sizes). Imagine, for example, the possibility of more specialized accelerators being developed by small innovative semiconductor companies for a variety of different applications and then integrated into final system designs that incorporate the main CPUs or GPUs from larger players, like Intel, AMD, or Nvidia.

Unfortunately, right now, a single industry standard for chiplet interconnect doesnt existin the near term we may see individual companies choose to license their specific implementations to specific partnersbut theres likely to be pressure to create that standard in the future. There are several tech standards for chip-related interconnect, including CCIX (Cache Coherent Interconnect for Accelerators), which builds on the PCIe 4.0 standard, and the system-level Gen-Z standard, but nothing that all the critical players in the semiconductor ecosystem have completely embraced. In addition, standards need to be developed as to how different chiplets can be pieced together and manufactured in a consistent way.

Exactly how the advancements in chiplets and associated technologies relate to the ability to maintain traditional Moores law metrics isnt entirely clear right now, but what is clear is that the semiconductor industry isnt letting potential roadblocks stop it from making important new advances that will keep the tech industry evolving for some time to come.

Bob ODonnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a technology consulting and market research firm. You can follow him on Twitter @bobodtech. This article was originally published on Tech.pinions.

Image credit: Alexandre Debieve via Unsplash
In brief: The self-driving car industry is advancing rapidly, but Waymo could finally be on the verge of significant progress. According to reports, the company is launching its paid, autonomous ride-hailing service in Phoenix next month. Though it will only be available to a small group of "authorized" riders initially, all NDAs will be lifted, meaning we could see our first glimpses of the tech in action soon.

Self-driving cars are one of the primary examples of tech previously thought to be impossible finally becoming a reality. Despite a few roadblocks along the way, autonomous cars are growing increasingly popular, and the public seems to have accepted them as the future of transit.

This widespread public acceptance is due in no small part to the efforts of companies like Waymo, Google's self-driving car division. The company's tech has advanced far enough that it began to test out an autonomous Uber-like ride-sharing app, as part of its invite-only "Early Rider" program. It seems the program has been a success because Bloomberg now reports that Waymo is planning to launch its paid driverless taxi service as early as next month.

Much like Uber or Lyft rides, Waymo riders will likely hail a vehicle through an app, choose where they want to go, pay, and wait for the car to arrive.

Interestingly, the service will not operate under the Waymo name. Instead, it will have entirely new branding, according to Bloomberg's sources (who remained anonymous due to the secrecy of the plans).

The outlet adds that, though this is technically going to be an "official" launch, Waymo will not be planning any big announcements or "splashy" media events. Instead, it sounds like a relatively small group of Phoenix-based "authorized riders" will be given access to the service at first.

However, unlike Waymo's previous Early Rider program, there won't be an NDA in place, so users will be free to publicly discuss their praise, criticisms, or fears regarding the technology without legal repercussions.

If you're excited about the self-driving car revolution, this is certainly good news, but it's important to keep your expectations in check. Even if Bloomberg's report is accurate, we have no way of knowing when this ride-sharing program will launch for the rest of Arizona; much less the rest of the US.

There are numerous state-specific legal hoops for Waymo to jump through, so we're most likely looking at a multi-year nationwide roll-out for the Lyft-like service.
Although the practice of medicine may have seemed safe from the robot revolution several years ago, it's already beginning to prove itself in the industry.

Indeed, companies like DeepMind have developed machine learning models that can detect eye diseases with the accuracy of world-leading doctors. That's not the only part of the medical industry DeepMind's engineers want to expand into, though.

According to a blog post published today, DeepMind's health team is "scaling" its Streams app (which "supports doctors and nurses to deliver faster, better care" to patients) to act as a true AI medical assistant.

What that means is unclear at the moment. All DeepMind says in their blog post is that their new vision for Streams will utilize "the best algorithms" with "intuitive design," backed up by "rigorous evidence."

If we were to speculate, this new version of Streams might be able to use the power of AI to prioritize patients who need care the most, or automatically forward relevant patient information to appropriate specialists.

At any rate, DeepMind is accomplishing this task by merging its Streams team with Google's other health-related efforts. From an outsider's perspective, it's unlikely that anything will significantly change; DeepMind's Streams team is staying put in London for the time being, and any major advancements will likely still be published on the company's personal website.

However, internally, it's impossible to say what the future may hold. On the one hand, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Google exert more control over the Streams app. On the other, Streams' team will likely have much more immediate access to Google's resources, potentially allowing them to develop new features much more quickly than before.
The victim said Tuesday that she first argued with Washington earlier in the day on Dec. 5, 2017, because she talked with a security guard at the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point while she was on the phone with him. When she got home, the argued again about her moving out of Washingtons house.
Through the looking glass: Had you pitched the concept of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to people 20 years ago, it would have sounded like an exciting new take on socializing that would bring friends and family even closer together. The reality for millions of people around the globe, however, is quite the opposite as practice  and now, data  has proven.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that limiting social media usage can significantly reduce the feeling of loneliness and depression.

In a study titled No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression, researchers monitored the social media usage of 143 undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania. After a week of baseline monitoring, the participants were randomly split into groups. Some were allowed to use Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat as usual for three weeks while the others had to limit usage to 10 minutes per day, per platform.

Participants were required to submit screenshots of their iPhone battery usage at specified increments to verify usage.

The group that had limited usage exhibited significant reductions in depression and loneliness over the three-week period versus the control group that was allowed to use social media unabated.

Interestingly enough, both groups showed meaningful decreases in fear of missing out and anxiety which suggests there could be a real benefit to the simple act of self-monitoring. Its probably no surprise, then, that weve seen companies like Apple and Google, who control distribution channels, release screen time management features in recent months.

Lead image via eldar nurkovic, Shutterstock
Why it matters: Microsoft's Windows 10 October 2018 Update has been given the green light after a file deletion bug sidelined the software a month ago. The snafu has caused Microsoft to take a more measured approach to rolling out future updates.

Its been more than a month since Microsoft pushed pause on the rollout of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) due to a pesky bug that was erasing user data. The Redmond tech giant identified and remedied the issue within days but held back on releasing the patched update to a wide audience in order to conduct extensive internal validation and gather feedback from the Windows Insider community.

On Tuesday, John Cable, director of program management, Windows servicing and deliver, gave the update the all-clear.

Cable said there has been no further evidence of data loss with the revised updated. As such, Microsoft is resuming the release of the October Update by making it available via media and to users who check for manual updates. If it is detected that your device may have an issue with the update, like application compatibility, it wont be installed until said issue is resolved.

The April Update had the fastest Windows 10 update rollout velocity but given the issues with the October Update, its no surprise that Microsoft is taking a measured approach this time around.
In brief: An Echo smart speaker has once again found itself at the center of a murder case. A New Hampshire judge has ordered Amazon to produce any recordings the device may have as they could contain evidence related to a double homicide.

CBS Boston reports that Timothy Verrill has been charged with murdering Christine Sullivan and Jenna Pelligrini sometime between January 27 and 29, 2017. He denies the accusations and is awaiting trial in May next year.

The bodies of both women were found under the porch of a house, which contained the Echo device seized by police. According to court documents: Investigators believe Sullivan was attacked in the kitchen of 979 Meaderboro Road where the Echo was located, and prosecutors believe there is probable cause to believe there is evidence on the Echo, such as audio recordings of the attack and events that followed it.

The Echo only starts recording when it hears certain wake words, but its not uncommon for it to mishear things and accidentally begin recording. Additionally, prosecutors stated that the smart speaker captures the fraction of a second of audio before the wake-up words, and that there would be records of paired devices.

In a statement to Business Insider, the company said: "Amazon will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course."

Amazon has been here before. Back in 2016, police in Bentonville, Arkansas, wanted to use Echo audio in another murder case. The company refused to hand over the data, claiming it was protected by the First Amendment, but the defendant eventually permitted prosecutors to examine the recordings. In the end, the device didnt reveal any damning evidence, and the case was dismissed.
What just happened? Tyler Barriss, the 26-year-old California resident behind a series of bomb threats and other crimes, including the swatting incident that resulted in the death of Andrew Finch, has pleaded guilty to 51 federal charges. If the judge approves the terms, he will spend at least 20 years in prison.

In December last year, Barriss was arrested over his role in the death of 28-year-old Finch, a father-of-two from Wichita, Kansas. The incident was the result of a $1.50 bet on an online Call of Duty match, in which Finch had no involvement.

Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill were playing the wagered CoD game, and it was Viner who contacted Barriss asking him to swat his opponent. For those who dont know, swatting is the act of making a hoax 911 call in the hope it will lead to armed responder turning up at a person's home.

What Viner didnt realize is that Gaskill had given him an old address. When police officers arrived at the door responding to what they thought was a hostage situation, they shot and killed new resident Finch, who had no idea what was happening.

Wichita Police Department Officer Justin Rapp was the one who shot Finch. And while prosecutors refused to press charges, the department is dealing with a civil lawsuit over alleged wrongful death.

Barriss faces another trial for involuntary manslaughter against Finch on January 7, while alleged co-conspirators Viner and Gaskill, who have pleaded not guilty to their charges, go to court on January 8.

Barriss has already pleaded guilty to false information and hoaxes, cyberstalking, and conspiracy charges related to the 2017 swatting. Additionally, hes admitted to making bomb threats against the FCC during the net neutrality repeal vote, a Dallas Convention Center, a Florida high school, and the FBIs headquarters. He also confessed to other swattings and using peoples credit and debit cards without permission.

If charged with the separate count of manslaughter, Barriss could see an extra 11 years added to his sentence. He must also pay $5,000 in restitution to help cover Finchs funeral costs and pay $5,100 in other fees.

Back in April, Harris got access to the internet while in jail after an improper upgrade to an inmate kiosk was carried out. He tweeted that he was an "eGod" and threatened to swat more people.

How am I on the Internet if I'm in jail? Oh, because I'm an eGod, that's how  Infamy the Lord (@GoredTutor36) April 6, 2018

All right, now who was talking shit? >:)



Your ass is about to get swatted  Infamy the Lord (@GoredTutor36) April 6, 2018
In brief: Uber has begun rolling out a frequent rider rewards program starting in nine US cities. Uber Rewards offers tiered perks to riders who use the service a lot. Plans are to bring the program to the rest of the US within the next few months.

Uber has been instituting a lot of changes to its ride-sharing business to attract more customers and drivers as well. We already reported how it is testing a subscription service in select cities. It has also launched the Uber Pro program to attract drivers with incentives like college tuition assistance and free car maintenance.

Today the company has announced that it is implementing a new rewards program for frequent riders called Uber Rewards. Members will receive benefits like cheaper fares, priority support, and quick pickups at airports. Perks are based on the riders level in the membership program.

Opting in is free and starts users out at the Blue level. The three other tiers are Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Riders earn points for every dollar they spend with Uber. There are different point awards for different Uber services. The point to dollar ratio for using Uber Pool or Uber Eats is 1:1, for Uber X, Uber XL, Select, and wheelchair accessible vehicles it is 2:1, and for Uber Black and Black SUV it is 3:1.

The points needed for each tier are as follows:

Blue 0 - 499

Gold 500 - 2,499

Platinum 2,500 - 7,499

Diamond 7,500+

Points are earned during a six-month period that begins on enrollment. If users gain enough points to bump up a level, they remain in that level for the remainder of the six-month period plus for the following six months. This six-month evaluation period runs continuously, so it is possible to maintain a level status as long as usage does not change.

Rewards increase for each tier. Blue does not really have any perks other than getting to 500 points, which earns Gold status and a $5 credit to use for rides or food deliveries. The $5 per 500 is a repeatable bonus across all tiers, so for example, if you earn 2,000 points, you will have been rewarded with $20 in credit. Gold level members will also receive refunds on cancellation fees as long as they rebook a ride within 15 minutes. Additionally, Gold users get priority support from customer service reps.

Platinum users get all of the previous tier perks plus priority pickups at airports and capped fares between favorite locations. For example, trips between work and home are always going to be the same price regardless of traffic conditions.

Diamond members are the elite and get the best perks. There is a dedicated 24/7 phone support line for members to use. Also, the company will occasionally surprise riders with complimentary upgrades from Uber X to Uber Black for no extra cost. The Uber app will give them access to choose from the highest rated drivers. Uber will also waive the fee on up to three Uber Eats deliveries per month.

Unfortunately, the locations where the rewards program is currently offered is limited. Right now riders in Miami, New Jersey, Denver, Tampa, New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and San Diego are eligible for the program. Uber says that it will be rolling it out to all US riders within the next few months. It will also be taking feedback into consideration and tweaking the program as needed.
A company is voluntarily recalling several dog food products that were found to contain high levels of vitamin D. Anyone who may have purchased the products should immediately dispose or return them to the place of purchase.

Dog Food Recall

In cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pet food companies Natural Life Products and Nutrisca are conducting a voluntary recall of their dog food products with high vitamin D levels. The companies learned of the problem after several pet owners complained that their beloved canines experienced vitamin D toxicity symptoms after consuming the said products.

Specifically, the products recalled are Natural Lifes Chicken & Potato Dry Dog Food with a best by date code of Dec. 4, 2019 through Aug, 10, 2020, and Nutriscas 4 lbs., 15 lbs., and 28 lbs. bags of Chicken and Chickpea Dry Dog Food with best by date code of Feb. 25, 2020 through Sept. 13, 2020. The Natural Life products affected by the recall were distributed in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Tennessee, and Virginia, while the Nutrisca products affected by the recall were distributed nationwide.

Anyone who bought the affected products must dispose of them or return the items to the place of purchase.

Vitamin D Toxicity In Dogs

In dogs, a common cause of vitamin D poisoning is the accidental ingestion of rodenticides with vitamin D content, certain human medications, and in rare cases, tainted dog foods. While vitamin D is important for maintaining calcium balance in the body, too much of it can cause an imbalance of calcium and phosphorus.

Initial symptoms of vitamin D toxicity in dogs may include depression, loss of appetite, and weakness within eight to 48 hours after ingestion, followed by vomiting, constipation, dehydration, and increased drinking and urination. In severe and advanced cases, breathing difficulties, and dark, tar-like stool may be observed, as well as a slow heart rate and abnormal heart rhythm.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to ban traditional menthol cigarettes as part of the campaign against tobacco products.

According to reports, the regulatory board might submit the proposal to ban traditional menthol cigarettes as early as this week. Scott Gottlieb, the FDA's commissioner, has not confirmed the reports as of yet, but he has spoken publicly against traditional menthol cigarettes in a previous interview.

If true, the United States will follow Canada, which has imposed a ban last year, and the European Union, which will effectively ban the product by 2020.

Traditional Menthol Cigarettes Ban

Although the number of Americans who use tobacco products has been gradually decreasing across the country, the FDA has found that menthol cigarette sales have increased from 2011 to 2015. The tobacco product has also increased the number of children who experiment with cigarettes and children who smoke regularly.

A previous study also found that a huge percentage of African-Americans are addicted to traditional menthol cigarettes.

However, if the ban proceeds, it might take several years for it to take effect, according to The New York Times. Since 2009, menthol cigarettes are the only flavored cigarettes available in the market.

Cracking Down On E-Cigarettes

Meanwhile, another report claims that the FDA also wants to ban flavored cartridges or pods used in e-cigarettes to crack down the increasing epidemic of vaping in teens. Tens of thousands of convenience stores and gas stations across the country will be affected by the ban.

The regulatory board also wants to impose rules such as age verification for online sales to ensure that minors cannot purchase the product.

The effort comes a few months after the FDA found that use of e-cigarettes among high schoolers went up to 77 percent and 50 percent among middle schoolers. That is about 3.5 million kids smoking e-cigarettes in 2018.

Previous studies have also proven that e-cigarettes do not help smokers quit the habit. Instead, e-cigarettes can lead to users becoming addicted to nicotine.

The ban, however, will not include menthol-flavored cartridges to prevent people from switching to smoking traditional menthol cigarettes.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
When Amazon launched its HQ2 contest last fall, dangling a prize of 50,000 high-paid jobs and a $5 billion investment, some 238 North American cities and regions embarked on a mad scramble, serving up gobs of proprietary data, along with hefty tax breaks, to host the tech titans satellite headquarters.Among the gaggle of California supplicants from San Diego to Irvine to San Francisco, Los Angeles made the cut of 20 finalists, the lone survivor west of the Rockies.But now, with Amazons decision to expand across the continent from its Seattle home, splitting its new corporate footprint between New York City and northern Virginia  plus some jobs in Nashville  the City of Angels is not so much indulging in a pity party as offering up a collective shrug. Some Amazon skeptics are even relieved.Thank God, said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Los Angeles Beacon Economics, a go-to consultancy for California officials, and director of UC Riversides Center for Economic Forecasting.We have record low unemployment, skyrocketing housing costs horrendous traffic and somehow we wanted to drop 50,000 overpaid techies into the middle of this? he added. What the hell. I dont get the logic.Economic development is best done by helping existing businesses grow, and by building more housing and infrastructure, Thornberg said. Not by spending millions of dollars in subsidies and countless man-hours chasing a monster like Amazon. Why do it? So politicians can have bragging rights.Even the projects local boosters dont seem to view Amazons decision as a fatal snub.I wouldnt say we were disappointed, because the process was positive, said Bill Allen, CEO of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., the public-private entity that drafted the countys 350-page bid and squired Amazon representatives around more than half a dozen campus sites on multiple visits. Amazon already has thousands of employees here, Allen said. Im confident it will invest more.In fact, the headquarters contest was arguably a small part of a vast dispersal strategy as the $178 billion company grows at breakneck speed across the globe, gobbles up other companies, launches new endeavors and engages in a fierce competition for tech talent with Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others.Just 45,000 Amazon employees, in a worldwide workforce of about 613,000, are based in Seattle. California is a close second with 39,000 Amazon staffers  not counting the thousands who work for Whole Foods and other subsidiaries. The company says it has invested more than $19 billion in the Golden State since 2011.Three of the companys 18 North American tech hubs are in California  in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego with nearly 10,000 workers at Amazon Devices, Amazon Web Services, Amazon Studios, Prime Video, Amazon Game Studios, the Alexa voice-activated service and IMDb, the movie and television database. Irvine offices also staff Alexa, cloud computing and game operations.In February, Amazon added more than 400 California employees with its purchase of Ring , a Santa Monica maker of high-tech, video-enabled doorbells.But the tech behemoths well-paid engineers and software developers in California are far outnumbered by low-wage retail and warehouse employees at its 85 Whole Foods stores, 23 giant shipping centers and nine fast-delivery Prime Now hubs.As it sorts and ships imported goods flowing through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Amazon has become the Inland Empires largest employer, building 13 huge facilities over the last six years, with 18,000 full-time workers.Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who commissioned the LAEDC bid, wished New York and Virginia well, but added: There are enough jobs in innovative growth industries to go around. Los Angeles is doing quite nicely  thank you very much  and were poised to do better.No information was released as to promised tax breaks in Los Angeles bid, although Amazon made clear in its request for proposals that incentives would be a major factor. LAEDC signed a nondisclosure pact with the company. And because the bid was handled by a public-private corporation, it is not subject to Public Records Act requests, according to Allen.Daniel Flaming, president of the Economic Roundtable, a Los Angeles nonprofit research group, said that an HQ2 workforce could have created problematic secondary effects of housing displacement as these high-paid workers settled in Mar Vista, Santa Monica and Venice  places that had been affordable.But he added, It is good for the region to have a stronger income base and more consumer buying power  and that outweighs the displacement effects.The housing and traffic impact would not have been as much as feared, Allen suggested, because Amazons headquarters, while it would have brought new jobs, would not necessarily have attracted a large influx of people. Many of the jobs could have gone to current residents, he said.Nonetheless, 16 California groups were among the 125 community organizations that signed an open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos last year, somewhat hostile in tone, demanding that the company allow labor organizing and contribute financially to affordable housing. Amazon has traditionally fought off attempts to unionize.It goes without saying that you cant have great public services without paying taxes, the letter added. We know youve had a little problem grasping that, sometimes. Heres the dealYou must pay all of your property taxes [and] sales taxes.Cynthia Strathmann, executive director of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, a Los Angeles nonprofit and one of the letters signers, said she is very happy HQ2 is going elsewhere.Amazon is not known as a good employer, she said. We need employers where workers have some control over their working conditions.In Seattle, she added, Weve seen the upward pressure Amazon put on housing costs. Weve seen it with other tech companies in the Bay Area. City officials are dazzled by the prospect of business expansion without looking at the costs.Economist Amihai Glazer, director of UC Irvines Program in Corporate Welfare, sees political opposition to Amazon growing since the HQ2 announcement.Firms are facing pressure when they grow too large, he said. Theyre blamed for political ills. Seattles City Council tried to tax Amazon to pay for homelessness. In Anaheim, a successful ballot initiative to raise wages was aimed at Disney.This month, San Francisco voters approved a ballot measure raising taxes on companies with more than $50 million in annual revenue to pay for housing and services related to homelessness. In Mountain View, an initiative hiked business license fees on large companies to pay for transit infrastructure. Google will now owe as much as $3 million a year.Glazer was skeptical of HQ2 benefits.Amazon played cities against each other, he said. But incentives often lead to winners remorse. Last year, for instance, Boston offered $145 million to General Electric [for its new headquarters] but the promised employment has not materialized.In its Tuesday announcement, Amazon said New York had agreed to at least $1.5 billion in tax credits and grants; Virginia will award $573 million in cash grants and $195 million in infrastructure improvements; and Tennessee will provide $102 million in cash grants and tax credits.HQ2 jobs would not have made much difference in a big place like L.A. with a population of 13 million, Glazer suggested. Would we have become a second Silicon Valley? That is what people dream of. But I dont have the sense that Amazon has spawned many startups, although we know they have spun off from Microsoft and others.At LAEDC, Allen disputes the idea that Amazons new jobs would not have made a difference.Economies are cyclical, he said. It is true we have low unemployment now, but look back eight years ago to the economic crisis. By the time Amazon built out over three to 10 years, we could be in recession and thrilled to have those jobs.
But Trump's behavior, not unlike Washington's winter at Valley Forge, should be seen in a patriotic light  a selfless sacrifice for the good of the country. Consider the international disgrace the United States would have suffered if his hair were to have become matted by rain without adequate measures to protect it. Or if wind gusts had whipped his mane into an orange tornado swirling above a sparse white scalp. A soaking could have been calamitous. Trump, therefore, absorbed the losses at Belleau Wood and on the Champs-Elysees to prevail later, at Suresnes American Cemetery, after receiving hair spray reinforcements.
EUNICE  Riceland Crawfish is planning a $3 million expansion, one that will allow the company to add 10 jobs and 30-40 seasonal jobs.

Riceland Crawfish got its start in 1984 out of a pickup, and now the company is spending $2 million on a new facility, which will be behind the Sub Zero Storage building, located on the city's east side at 5348 E. U.S. 190, and $1 million for new equipment to process crawfish and alligator meat.

"We've really come a long way; the industry has really come a long way," said Riceland Crawfish President Dexter Guillory. "We're building this facility, and there's a couple other plants that I'm sure are going to be doing similar things that really will help bring our industry forward. At the end of the race, everyone's going to benefit."

The addition will allow the company to package, freeze and sell crawfish all year, company officials said during a Tuesday news conference. It will allow the company to offer crawfish boils all year, said Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, and have its products in 900-plus Walmart stores nationwide. This move also will boost its total employee count to 120-130, counting seasonal and full-time employees.

Just like the company's current facility, the new one will be a safe quality food-inspected plant. Riceland is one of the few facilities that have received the rigorous certification, which has allowed it to market product throughout the U.S. and overseas.

Inside info on doing business in Acadiana We'll keep you posted on the Acadiana economy. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

We are delighted to see companies like Riceland Crawfish ensure that Louisianas culinary excellence makes it way far beyond our borders, bringing our culture to markets far and wide, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. Ricelands new expansion is a testament to the skills of our workforce and to strengths of our local communities to support businesses and ensure they can grow and thrive. Our goal is to ensure that businesses like Riceland Crawfish have the tools and resources to expand and meet the demands of a growing customer base, and we congratulate them on this new chapter.

Strain pointed out that crawfish generates more than $200 million for the state, and the economic impact of the industry is about $1 billion for the region's economy. Riceland's expansion, he noted, would be felt through the industry from the farmers to the markets all over the world that carry its products.

The retention and expansion of Acadiana companies is important to our regions economic growth," said Troy Wayman, president and CEO of One Acadiana. "Up to 80 percent of new jobs and capital investment in any economy are generated by existing firms. Our competitive business climate, skilled workforce and strong infrastructure will support the companys continued growth and success.
DONALDSONVILLE  Ascension Parish government officials urged west bank residents Wednesday to conserve water when they run their faucets during expected subfreezing temperatures Wednesday and possibly Thursday night, adding the parish systems are ready for the cold snap.

The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures in Ascension dropping to the high 20s Wednesday night and early Thursday. Temperatures Thursday night are expected to be in the low to mid 30s.

Last January, the combination of an extended cold snap and customers running their water to prevent pipe breakages forced Parish Utilities of Ascension to cut water service unexpectedly in Donaldsonville due to low storage. Lasting for at least seven hours, the outage affected more than 3,200 customers, including a hospital, nursing home and dialysis clinic.

Boil water orders remained in place afterward because of the loss of pressure.

Since then, parish officials have beefed up their computerized system-wide monitoring and hired new management and staff to run the city water plant.

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

Parish government runs the city of Donaldsonville's water system through PUA, which owns the once privately held Peoples Water Service Co. that had served the city for decades. Separately, the parish also runs Ascension Consolidated Utilities District No.1, which serves west bank customers outside the city limits.

Unincorporated eastern Ascension is served primarily by a subsidiary of Baton Rouge Water Co. The city of Gonzales has its own water system.

Parish officials urged all their west bank customers not to run their faucets beyond a "slow drip" to conserve water during extreme cold. Officials also urged customers to check on neighbors, particularly the elderly and shut-ins, and to report leaks.

Ascension Parish water systems get nearly $18 million for upgrades The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Ascension Parish government $17.5 million to upgrade the parish-owned water system for Donaldso

Parish officials said utilities workers are on "full alert." The parish's emergency line is (225) 450-1078.
The Metro Council's attempt to craft guidelines for granting future tax breaks to industry in East Baton Rouge Parish in a bipartisan fashion appears to be crumbling.

Councilman Matt Watson has proposed an alternative set of proposed standards he'd like to see the council use in all its future decisions regarding tax cuts through the state's Industrial Tax Exemption Program.

Watson sent his proposal to fellow council members late Monday, three days after saying he wouldn't support the version of guidelines that Councilman LaMont Cole will present for a public hearing and possibly adoption on Wednesday.

Watson, a Republican, said the proposed guidelines from Cole, a Democrat, sound like "a shady hustle" that conflict with the state's rules regarding tax abatements for industrial businesses.

The state's ITEP program is designed to give manufacturers a temporary multimillion-dollar breaks on their property taxes while setting up new capital expenditures.

East Baton Rouge councilman proposes benchmarks for companies seeking tax breaks East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Councilman LaMont Cole wants his colleagues to consider inserting hiring benchmarks into a set of proposed guide

Watson had said council members were working on a set of standards both Republicans and Democrats on the Metro Council would likely agree with.

However, he balked at proposed guidelines circulated by Cole, which include hiring benchmarks and language prohibiting a company from seeking tax relief on completed projects.

"These guidelines need to be a reflection of how we would vote on future requests," Watson said Tuesday. "If we can't agree, then ITEP requests would continually be taken up for consideration on a case-by-case basis."

Watson's guidelines don't hold a company's feet to fire when it comes to creating a specific number of jobs the way Cole's does. Instead, they require analysis from the Louisiana Economic Development Department proving that a project will net a positive return on investment for the city-parish within 15 years based on certain parameters involved in all new facilities and expansions on existing facilities.

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

Watson's proposal maintains his stance on restricting companies from stacking local Enterprise Zone sales and use tax reimbursements on top of the 10-year ITEP exemptions. They also place more emphasis on doling out tax breaks to companies investing money into improvements that will benefit the environment.

If a company fails to meet its job creation targets, or capital expenditure and/or environmental goals by more than 10 percent, the Metro Council would have the option to deny tax abatements during the last 5 years of the 10-year period, Watson's guidelines state.

Watson said in his email he won't be pushing his proposed standards up for a vote at Wednesday's meeting, he just wanted his fellow council members to be aware of them.

Cole is sticking by his version, which Watson also criticized for leaning toward the wants of faith-based group Together Baton Rouge, some of the most outspoken critics of the state's tax break program.

The group previously said earlier versions of the guidelines that Watson backed were so broad the Metro Council would essentially rubber stamp any tax break request without any stringent rules that could hold companies accountable for promises they might make about a project's economic benefit to the community.

"I like my version better because it seeks to protect the interest of the parish by asking companies to create jobs as well as seek prior approval before complete projects," Cole said in a prepared statement Wednesday.

Cole's version says a company needs to create at least 25 permanent full-time jobs or 15 percent of the company's "pre-project baseline" employment level to qualify for tax breaks from the Metro Council.

The guidelines from Cole also includes the clause, "Council may approve projects which do not meet the standards" outlined in the proposal "or deny projects that do meet those standards, should the council find compelling circumstances for doing so."

Watson said he thinks that gives off the notion that city-parish leaders will be making backdoor deals of some kind to approve tax breaks outside of the scope of state standards.

"Louisiana needs to make sure no one has those thoughts about it," Watson said. "Industry wants consistency and predictability."
Donna Britt, winner of the 2018 Golden Deeds Award, has a suggestion for those looking to volunteer and make an impact on their community.

"I encourage you to pick something that makes your heart sing and stay there," Britt said at the awards banquet on Tuesday night.

Guest speaker East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III, whose father, Hillar Moore II, was a Golden Deeds recipient in 2001, noted Britt's years of volunteer work, including in the library of Progress Elementary, for Boy Scouts Troop 7 and at the Baranco-Clark YMCA.

"Donna's favorite hobby is volunteering," Moore III said.

Britt retired in June from her 37-year career as an anchor for WAFB-TV. She had continued to work in TV news for close to a year after being diagnosed with amytrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive, neurodegenerative disease.

Britt, 60, has continued to be an active part of the community. She had planned to be at a walk at Highland Road Community Park on Nov. 10 to raise funds for research for ALS, muscular dystrophy and other neurodegenerative diseases, but, as she posted on Facebook, had not been able to participate.

"I was planning to go, but a fever canceled that. Will you walk for me?" she asked the community.

BR's Donna Britt: On her prognosis, ALS battle, struggle in final days at WAFB, more More than a month after ending her 37-year run as an anchor for WAFB-TV, Baton Rouge television news icon Donna Britt candidly spoke about her

On Dec. 9, she will serve as the grand marshal for the Jambalaya Festival Association's Christmas parade in Gonzales.

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

Britt has served on the boards of many local organizations, including the Baranco-Clark YMCA, Baton Rouge Ballet Theater, Girl Scouts, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Louisiana Association for Arts in Education, Salvation Army and Volunteers in Public Schools.

The Golden Deeds Award recipient is voted on by the Inter-Civic Council of Greater Baton Rouge, made up of 28 nonprofits and civic organizations throughout the area.

'Always ready to help': Donna Britt named 2018 Golden Deeds Award winner Southeast Louisiana has known Donna Britt for her television news career. On Wednesday, she was recognized for everything she has done off-camera.

The Advocate, along with the council, has presented the Golden Deeds award, which honors those who have volunteered to benefit the community, since 1942.

"There was really no question, after knowing everything she's done for our city and making Baton Rouge a better place to live," Dee Mather-Muenzler, president of the Inter-Civic Council, said before the banquet.

Initially, the award was given each year to a resident of Baton Rouge. That was later expanded to include all of East Baton Rouge Parish. This summer, the area was expanded to include West Baton Rouge, Ascension, East and West Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee and St. Helena parishes.

Britt and her husband, Mark Ballard, the Advocate's Capitol News Bureau chief, have a daughter, Anne Ballard-Yanaka, a DNA researcher in Providence, Rhode Island, and a son, Louis, an honors student senior at Episcopal High who's also an Eagle Scout.

Before Tuesday's banquet, Britt reflected on her position as a local celebrity and how she seems to have become a symbol of encouragement for others.

"Maybe I'm the point man," she said. "I show them the ball and they take it."
The votes are in. Looks like Illinois voters shot themselves in the foot again. They voted in every corrupt politician that ran for an office. When the tax increase start flowing in and the jobs start flowing out, they are going to be rushing for Indiana-we may need a wall. Looks like Indiana came out of this like an oasis in the desert-many are going to want to come here. Thank you, Lord, that i live in Indiana.
Residents are expected to start moving in as early as this week to the 142-unit Heron Apartments at Florida and Sixth streets. Two projects being proposed are a 26-story luxury condominium development and a conversion of the historic Hotel Lincoln to 13 apartment units and first-floor retail space.
Officials have made an arrest after Hammond High Magnet School was closed for two days due to social media threats, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office said in a news release Tuesday night.

A 16-year-old male student was arrested as of 5 p.m. Tuesday and accused of making violent threats on social media, according to the release.

Classes will resume Wednesday after the school closed Monday and Tuesday. No additional information was released about the arrest.

Officials have not explained the nature of the threat that caused them to cancel school Monday and Tuesday. The school was been searched twice and nothing has been found that could threaten students or employees, according to a joint statement from the school system and the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office.

The student suspected of making the threats was arrested on the following counts: communicating false information of a planned bombing on school property. He was transported to a juvenile facility, the Sheriff's Office said.

This report will be updated.

Teen arrested in Hammond High threats; school reopens Wednesday after 2-day shutdown Hammond High Magnet School will reopen for classes Wednesday with increased security and a law enforcement presence after threats shuttered th
Two of the three doctors selected by a Baton Rouge judge to examine alleged serial killer Ryan Sharpe have concluded he isnt competent to stand trial in the 2017 fatal shooting of a former BREC commissioner, the judge was told Wednesday.

State District Judge Trudy White previously appointed the doctors to examine Sharpe, 37, of Clinton, and report back on whether he could competently assist his attorney. Sharpe is accused of killing Carroll Breeden Sr., a 66-year-old ex-BREC commissioner gunned down outside his Pride home in September 2017.

Sharpe's lawyer, Tommy Damico, told the judge Wednesday that all of the reports have come back, and two of the three doctors found Sharpe isnt competent to proceed.

+5 Attorney: Mental state of accused area serial killer Ryan Sharpe 'deteriorating' The attorney for a 37-year-old Clinton man accused of fatally shooting two men in East Feliciana Parish and a third in East Baton Rouge Parish

White scheduled a competency hearing Jan. 30. Sharpe was not in the courtroom.

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III, when asked after Wednesdays court proceeding if his office will object to the doctors findings, said a decision hadn't been made.

We will review the reports submitted to the court and will make a decision once our review is completed, he said.

+8 Alleged East Feliciana serial killer found incompetent to stand trial, judge rules A judge in East Feliciana ruled Tuesday that alleged serial killer Ryan Sharpe is not competent to stand trial, a decision that will halt crim

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

A judge in East Feliciana Parish already has ruled that Sharpe is not competent to stand trial in that parish in the slayings of Thomas Bass, 62, and Brad DeFranceschi, 48, in July 2017 and October 2017, respectively. Two doctors appointed to examine Sharpe in those cases found him incompetent.

Sharpe told investigators he killed Bass, DeFranceschi and Breeden to fill hunting "tags" issued to him by the government, an East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office report states. He also said he had other tags that had not been filled when he was arrested in October 2017, the report adds.

Sharpe is currently receiving treatment at the state mental hospital in Jackson. Doctors are attempting to restore his competency.

Hes in (the state facility) until they can restore him, if they can restore him, Damico said outside Whites 19th Judicial District courtroom. I dont think hell be able to be restored.

+8 Alleged East Feliciana serial killer told authorities he killed three men to fill hunting 'tags,' filings show A man accused of killing three Clinton-area men last year told investigators he shot them because  as though he were deer hunting  he was "f

Sharpe is charged with first-degree murder in DeFranceschi's killing and second-degree murder in the other slayings. He also is charged with attempted first-degree murder in the shooting and wounding of Buck Hornsby in East Feliciana in September 2017, one week before Breeden was killed. Breedens family is suing Sharpe.

The shootings occurred over a four-month span and within a 25-mile radius in the Clinton area.
Incumbent Vereta Lee and challenger Dadrius Lanus traded jabs at a forum Tuesday over whos backing their campaigns and about their respective teaching experience during their first debate since they faced off a week ago at the polls. They are in the Dec. 8 runoff for the District 2 seat on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.

By contrast, Gordon Trey Bargas and Terrica Williams, both of whom are running for Baton Rouge Constable to replace the retiring Reginald Brown, spent their time at Tuesday's forum talking about their biographies and refraining from criticizing each other. Bargas and Williams led a four-person field Nov. 6 to land in the Dec. 8 runoff.

The candidate forum was sponsored by the parishs Republican Party and held at Cafe Americain restaurant. Bargas is the only Republican among the four candidates. Lanus, Lee and Williams are Democrats.

+4 East Baton Rouge Parish School Board: 7 incumbents reelected, one defeated, another in runoff Seven of the nine members on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board will return to office in January for new terms, but Kenyetta Nelson-Smit

In the Nov. 6 primary, Lanus led with 47 percent of the vote to Lees 32 percent, just 378 votes of shying of winning outright. Third candidate, La Belle Aire Elementary third-grade teacher Joycelyn Hall, forced the runoff when she received 21 percent of the vote, a strong showing given she reported raising only $55.

Lee announced Tuesday that Hall has since endorsed her for reelection to a fourth term representing the north Baton Rouge school district. Lanus, however, argued that as a schoolteacher Hall cant endorse a sitting School Board member.

Reached later Tuesday, Hall acknowledged she decided to endorse Lee after speaking with her several times and getting to know more about her accomplishments.

Hall said she also spoke with Lanus about an endorsement but she said she told him I didnt feel he needed my support. As to Lanus objection to her endorsement, she responded, I have every right to endorse whoever I want to endorse.

The District 2 campaign has been notable for the heavy spending of third-party education reform groups supporting Lanus. A campaign arm of the charter school friendly, New York City-based Democrats for Education Reform, which has an active Louisiana chapter, has reported spending more than $100,000 for Lanus, and plans to spend more to back his runoff campaign.

Lanus, who is 30, professed he is his own man: He said he is no way indebted to those supporting him, saying no money can make a board member vote a certain way and he answers to the people in my community, not big business, not endorsements.

Lee trumpeted her support from school employee unions and other supporters of traditional public schools. Lee, who is 60, also noted she is the only certified teacher in the races  a dig at Lanus, whose teaching career has been in charter schools, which are not required to hire certified teachers. Lee said she has spent 39 years in public education, most of that as a classroom teacher.

Lees own teaching past, however, is being used against her. On Tuesday, she objected to one attack, that she was once fired from the parish school system.

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

They say I was terminated as a teacher, she said. Vereta was never terminated.

In late 2002, Lee was suspended for five years after she was accused of helping a child cheat on a LEAP test when she was a teacher at North Highlands Elementary, which has since closed. Lee sued unsuccessfully to get her job back, a suit that was still ongoing when she first ran successfully for School Board in fall 2006.

Lee said Tuesday the real reason she was disciplined was because she spoke out against a decision by then-Superintendent Clayton Wilcox to close an extended-year program at North Highlands.

The constable debate was much less contentious.

Bargas, 47, who retired from the Baton Rouge Police Department in April after 20 years on the force, urged the audience to do careful research on the two candidates before voting Dec. 8.

Call a friend, call a neighbor, so we can all make a good decision, he said.

Bargas talked about how he wants to find ways to bring down the costs for the poor in Baton Rouge when they have to deal with City Court. For instance, he suggested those with fines and debts have the chance to work off what they owe.

I feel like there is a problem with access to justice, he said.

Terrica Williams, 46, highlighted her 15 years in law enforcement with the Sheriff's Office, the state Department of Corrections, and especially the Constable's Office.

I am qualified," Williams said. "I can walk into the Constable's office today and run that office because of my experience."
House Republicans unanimously elected Rep. Steve Scalise Wednesday to continue to serve as whip for a party that now finds itself in minority status in the House of Representatives.

Scalise, R-Jefferson Parish, ran for the post unopposed. The congressman, who was recently re-elected by voters to a sixth term, is the current House majority whip and has held that position since 2014.

The whip is responsible for lining up support for key pieces of legislation, keeping Republicans unified on crucial votes and occasionally cajoling wavering colleagues.

The job will make Scalise the No. 2 Republican in the next Congress, which begins in January. But Scalises party  which suffered significant losses in this months midterm elections  no longer holds the House majority.

That's a step up the party leadership ranks  something long expected with current House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, retiring at the end of the year  but carries less legislative clout than his previous job of House majority whip.

Scalise issued a statement shortly after the vote saying he was honored by the appointment.

"While the midterm election results were not what we hoped for, we must now sharpen our focus on re-establishing the conservative principles that are proven to help hard-working families have better opportunities to achieve the American Dream," Scalise said.

He also took shots at the incoming Democratic majority, painting them as extremists pushing a radical, leftist agenda that would reverse the gains weve made for hard-working families across America."

Republican Kevin McCarthy of California, whos currently the majority leader, easily won an internal party election Wednesday to take over the shrunken House GOP caucus, a familiar role for the underestimated scrapper whose top priority will be to protect President Donald Trump's agenda and try to build the party back to retake the majority.

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

McCarthy and Scalise, now the Houses top two Republicans, smiled and joked together following the leadership elections and spoke of tight Republican unity. The pair had spent much of the past six months quietly jockeying for position to replace Ryan as speaker, though the rivalry never spilled into public and Scalise endorsed McCarthy in Wednesdays vote.

The title of speaker now belongs to a Democrat.

The speaker's gavel long gone, the race for minority leader was McCarthy's to lose, but the Californian's rise was never guaranteed. He's close to Trump, but the president is also friendly with Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative Freedom Caucus member. And both faced testy colleagues ready to assign blame after the midterm election losses.

In the end, McCarthy pushed past Jordan, 159-43, according to officials familiar with the closed-door voting.

McCarthy "knows what he needs to do," said Scalise.

"You always look in the mirror and see what you can do better," Scalise said Tuesday. Republicans, he said, "need to do a better job of letting people know what we stand for."

On the other side of the Capitol, senators chose Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for another term leading Republicans and Chuck Schumer for Democrats in closed-door party elections that lacked the drama of the House contest.

Both McConnell and Schumer were chosen as leader by acclamation, according to those familiar with the private caucus meetings. McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who expanded GOP ranks in last week's midterm, faced no opponent. Democrats returned Schumer's entire leadership team, despite the failure to capture the majority in the midterms.

Senate Republicans also welcomed the first woman to their leadership team in years, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, as they sought to address the optics of the GOP side of the aisle being dominated by men.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
It looks like newly re-elected U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise is going to keep at least one election season promise. After watching his party lose its House majority in a slow-motion but ultimately decisive defeat, he reiterated his pledge to stay in Washington for the full two-year term rather than come home and challenge Gov. John Bel Edwards for reelection next year.

This is exactly what Scalise has said hed do all along, but his earlier comments came when he was still campaigning hard to save enough fellow House members to keep Republicans in control. Had that happened, Scalise would likely have moved up a notch from majority whip to majority leader, or perhaps even replaced the retiring Paul Ryan as House speaker.

Meanwhile, some well-placed fans back home were busy speculating that hed change his tune should he find himself in the minority. When reminded of Scalises denial, they noted that former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said he wasnt going to run in 2010, until he did.

No such luck. Scalise is now otherwise occupied promoting a new book that recounts his shooting and recovery last year, adjusting to his new role as minority whip (for which he ran unopposed) and plotting out a plan to regain power in two years. Asked for the umpteenth time this week whether hes considering a campaign for governor, Scalise had this to say: No. That came up a lot even during the last few months, and I said Im not running for governor.

Spoken like someone who really, truly, means it.
New Orleans-based Sazerac Co. is paying $550 million to buy 19 liquor brands from Diageo, a wine and spirits company based in Britain.

The brands included in the transaction are Seagrams VO, Seagrams 83, Seagrams Five Star, Myerss, Parrot Bay, Romana Sambuca, Popov, Yukon Jack, Goldschlager, Stirrings, The Club, Scoresby, Black Haus, Peligroso, Relska, Grind, Piehole, Booths and John Begg.

The deal comes nearly three years after Sazerac bought the Southern Comfort and Tuaca alcohol brands from Brown-Forman Corp. for $543.5 million.

This acquisition, like that one, largely involves adding iconic but struggling brands with the hope of reinvigorating them with new marketing initiatives to help rebuild the brand.

We are delighted to acquire these iconic brands from Diageo and are looking forward to working closely with our wholesalers and customers to provide the focus to maximize the full global potential of the brands, Sazerac Chief Operating Officer Jake Wenz said in a statement.

Until the sale closes early next year, "its a bit premature to offer additional commentary," Sazerac spokeswoman Amy Preske said.

Sazeracs other brands include Buffalo Trace and Old Rip Van Winkle bourbons and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.

As part of the deal, Diageo also agreed to enter into long-term supply contracts with Sazerac for five of the brands, each for a period of 10 years. Supply of all other brands will transition to Sazerac within a one-year period from completion of the deal. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed early in 2019.

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

"The disposal of these brands enables us to have even greater focus on the faster growing premium and above brands in the U.S. spirits portfolio, Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo, said in a statement.

Diageos alcohol brands include spirits, beer and wine such as Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Smirnoff, Ketel One, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Tracing its history to 1850, Sazerac is one of New Orleans oldest family-owned companies and one of Americas oldest, family-owned, privately held distillers. In addition to Louisiana, Sazerac has operations in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Maryland and California, and global operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, India, Australia and Canada.

Meanwhile, Sazerac is building a museum at Canal and Magazine streets in the Central Business District that will be dedicated to its namesake cocktail and other aspects of local cocktail history. The building will include a gift shop and offices for Sazerac's local staff. The museum is slated to open next summer.

When Sazerac acquired Southern Comfort, it marked a homecoming for the recipe, which was originally called Cuffs & Buttons and crafted in 1874 by a bartender named M.W. Heron, who worked at the long-gone McCauleys Saloon in the French Quarter.

Herons customers at McCauleys were looking for something a little smoother than straight whiskey and bourbon, according to Brown-Forman.

Brown-Forman acquired Southern Comfort in 1979 and completed its purchase of Tuaca, a relatively small premium brand, in 2002.
The results of a DNA test have confirmed that skeletal remains recovered in rural Alabama in late 1976 belonged to a St. Bernard Parish woman who had been missing since she was murdered earlier that year, authorities said Tuesday.

The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification compared genetic data from the remains found in Mobile County, Alabama, to a biological sample provided within the last year by the daughter of Mary Ann Perez, who hadnt been seen alive for decades.

Mobile County Sheriffs Office Detective J.T. Thornton, who led the investigation, said he was alerted Monday that the test results showed the remains were those of Perez.

That conclusion not only closed a 42-year-old cold case. It also revived the possibility that a man who claimed responsibility for Perezs murder could be charged with her slaying. The man, David Courtney, is serving a life sentence in Kansas in connection with an unrelated killing.

Thornton said he will forward information about Perezs case to authorities in both Alabama and Orleans Parish. Investigators believe Perez was slain in New Orleans, and authorities here could attempt to prosecute Courtney for her murder.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaros office on Tuesday said it had not been notified of anything regarding Courtney. New Orleans police didnt immediately comment.

Perezs son, Byron, declined to discuss his mothers case Tuesday.

Thornton said he was experiencing mixed emotions about the outcome of an investigation he was mainly responsible for solving.

Theres sadness because this was someones mother and daughter, Thornton said. But theres also jubilation because you can get her family some closure.

According to media accounts, Perez was having car trouble outside a New Orleans East lounge on March 26, 1976. She was spotted by Courtney as he was on his way to pick up his wife, Donna Courtney, from a Pizza Hut on Chef Menteur Highway where she worked.

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

David Courtney, then 35, convinced Perez to let him and his 36-year-old wife take her to Perez's home in Poydras, a community in St. Bernard. Yet Perez, 34, ended up instead at the Courtneys mobile home, and the couple then began driving her toward St. Tammany Parish, with each making sexual advances that Perez rebuffed, police later told The Times-Picayune.

Eventually, somewhere on the way to St. Tammany, David Courtney strangled Perez with a coat hanger, investigators said. The Courtneys then allegedly dumped her body somewhere in Alabama without knowing exactly where they were.

The Courtneys later pleaded guilty to a killing in Wichita, Kansas, in 1980. Kansas officials said both confessed to also killing two people in Houston as well as one in or near New Orleans.

The circumstances of the alleged New Orleans killing matched Perezs disappearance. A now-retired New Orleans detective named Robert Lambert tried to secure charges against the Courtneys, but prosecutors were unwilling to go ahead without Perezs body.

A little more than a year ago, Thornton took a fresh look at the case of some unidentified skeletal human remains that had been discovered in a cornfield in Grand Bay, Alabama, in late November 1976.

He quickly began to suspect that the remains may have belonged to Perez, whose case was profiled in the true-crime television show Unsolved Mysteries in 1991.

Thornton reached out to Perezs family and learned she had suffered head and teeth injuries that matched some on the remains, among other things. She also had earrings as well as a coat that matched items found with the remains, which ended up in storage in an Oklahoma warehouse, according to documents released by the Mobile County Sheriffs Office.

Perezs daughter later provided the DNA sample that testing linked to the remains. The University of North Texas handled the comparison through a federally funded program known as NamUS, or the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Lambert said he was relieved to learn of the key DNA match. He credited Thornton for closing a tough case that had weighed on the retired detective as well as Perezs family.

Donna Courtney died shortly after being paroled in 1990. David Courtney, 74, remains in prison in Kansas.
Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Excellence Academy will lose its operating charter in the middle of this school year under a plan announced Tuesday by Orleans Parish School Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr.

As long as the parish School Board allows the plan to move forward after it is presented at the board's December meeting, the Central City elementary school  one of four schools that officials announced earlier would lose their charters at the end of this school year  will be operated by the school district itself beginning in January.

The superintendent said at a meeting of the board's Accountability Committee that extraordinary circumstances surrounding the school's embattled charter organization warranted the district's takeover as soon as possible, and that he would request that school leaders turn over operations to the district before the beginning of next year.

"This is only November. And we have until the end of the school year," Lewis told board members. "We already made the decision about the '19-'20 school year, but were still in the '18-'19 school year, and we must make sure our students are able to finish the school year strong."

"Even though were about to start the revocation process, I will ask the leadership of Harney once again to turn the school over to us," Lewis said. "I've asked before, and I'm asking again."

Lewis said he would start the process by sending a revocation letter to the charter school's governing board immediately.

The decision by Lewis to revoke Harney's charter in the middle of the school year represents a sharp rebuke to the school's charter operator amid myriad problems related to leadership turnover, a failure to provide services to students with disabilities, and alleged financial mismanagement so severe that district officials turned over their findings to the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office.

The school is run by Spirit of Excellence Academies. There was no answer to a phone call to the school Tuesday afternoon. A message said that the school's voicemail was full.

The DA's Office also did not respond to a request for comment.

Sending the revocation letter sets in motion a series of actions that will result in the district taking over the 250-student school unless two-thirds of the seven-member board vote to override his decision.

But board members on Tuesday gave no indication that they would oppose the superintendent's plan.

Ben Kleban, who represents the district that includes Harney, said he supports the superintendent's action "wholeheartedly."

However, he said he also wants to see an analysis at the December Budget Committee meeting of the financial impact of running Harney, saying he was concerned about the districts ability "to respond to surprise circumstances."

Harney was one of four schools that appeared on Lewis's "non-renewal" list released Monday, after the school had received a total of 11 notices of noncompliance in the last year.

McDonogh 32 Literacy Charter School and William J. Fischer Accelerated Academy, both in Algiers, and Medard H. Nelson Charter School, in Gentilly, will also not be renewed or accept students for the 2019-20 school year.

The other three schools had received F grades several years in a row, which means the state considers they are failing their students. Harney was the only one not failing academically. This year, the school received a D grade, down from a C last year.

Amanda Aiken, the district's senior chief and portfolio officer, outlined numerous "organizational" concerns that the board had recently made public about Harney's operations that led to the superintendent's decision to revoke the charter.

The School Board has been concerned about alleged financial mismanagement that included delayed payments for teacher and staff retirement accounts, as well as the use of personal and church addresses  instead of the school buildings address  for a key banking account.

A state investigation also found nearly all students with disabilities weren't getting adequate services.

The charter also has had organizational problems, including too many board members who don't live in New Orleans. The board recently suspended its fifth school leader in a year. And at one point, Aiken said, the board suspended a leader without immediately saying who should take over in the interim.

We are highly concerned at this time about the leadership and the stability at the school, Aiken said. Even this morning we've gotten a lot of emails, calls and concerns, not only from current staff there, but from parents about the stability of the school. Their students are aware of too many adult issues, and there are vacancies in classrooms."

In response to a question from School Board member Leslie Ellison, Aiken said the district was granting "hardship transfers" to other schools for any students who attend Harney.

Usually, students can only change schools in the middle of a year if there are "severe issues" with transportation or a child's health. But Aiken said the situation surrounding Harney also qualifies.

"Due to the severe nature of the situation, we are granting that for this group of students," she said.

District officials did not give any indication that any of the four schools that will lose their charters would be given to new charter organizations next year.

That doesn't mean the school buildings will remain empty, however. The board will announce future plans for those facilities during a board meeting on Thursday, spokeswoman Dominique Ellis said.

Ellis said there will be plenty of room for those students at other schools next year. "There are enough open seats," she said.
Harvey Levy was worried the deal was too good to be true when the Viewble salesperson came into his lawnmower business Help Gardener to sell an advertising deal.

"She kept pushing and pushing," he said. "In the end I said, 'Look if it's not going to cost me anything, I'll sign up'."

Levy wasn't given a written contract, but instead he electronically signed a deal on the salesperson's iPad to pay $430 a month for a television screen to be installed in his business.

Harvey Levy is one of many business owners who claim they have been ripped off by Viewble Media. Credit:Joe Armao

The Viewble television would display ads from Help Gardener along with ads from neighbouring businesses through a network called The Shoppers Network and the salesperson told Levy he would receive $430 a month in advertising revenue.
Hourly pay rates across Australia rose 0.6 per cent in September quarter, meeting expectations, and have now increased 2.3 per cent over the past 12 months for the highest annual growth rate in three years.

Public sector hourly rates of pay lifted 0.6 per cent in the quarter and 2.5 per cent over the year, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Private sector workers received a 0.5 per cent increase in the quarter and 2.1 per cent over the year.

The September quarter result was in line with economist expectations, but seemingly below what traders expected, with the Australian dollar dipping in reaction to the data, from 72.35 to 72.21 US cents.
The 3113 entries for this year's National Photographic Portrait Prize have been whittled down to 40 finalists.

Jamila Toderas, one of the finalists in the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019. Credit:Jamila Toderas

The competition, which has been running since 2007, offers a $30,000 cash prize plus Canon photographic equipment worth more than $22,000.

One of the finalists is Jamila Toderas, who has been a photographer at The Canberra Times since May 2014.

She specialises in news photography and creative portraiture and shoots across other Fairfax publications including: Good Food, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
In 1985 Alison Lester made a decision that was to change her life - and the lives of thousands of Australian children. For the previous six years she had illustrated books for younger eyes, but that year, having got fed up with working on other people's stories, she published the first she had written. It was about Clive, a little boy who likes to eat alligators for breakfast.

Since then her many works  Magic Beach, Noni the Pony, Are We There Yet?, to name only a few  have become enduring and endearing presences in the reading of Australians young and old. On Wednesday she was presented with the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature for her body of work, the first children's writer to win the award.

'Magic Beach' by Alison Lester.

Maria Tumarkin won the $30,000 best-writing award for her acclaimed non-fiction work, Axiomatic, while Jamie Marina Lau won the the Readings Residency Award for an early-career Victorian writer.

The prize judges described Lester, who has written and illustrated more than 80 books, as a national treasure: "There's hardly an Australian who has not read her work." Among Lester's many other awards are the Dromkeen Medal for services to Australian children's literature and in 2012 she was named inaugural Australian Children's Laureate along with Boori Monty Prior. She has also been an ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
A Perth financial adviser will never be able to provide financial services or engage in credit activities in Australia again after he was convicted of stealing more than $100,000 from clients.

ASIC has permanently banned a Perth financial adviser. Credit:Rob Homer

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission permanently banned Craig James Wilson after he was convicted in the Perth District Court in August of four counts of theft, relating to money from clients' superannuation accounts.

In a statement released Wednesday, ASIC said between October 25, 2017, and January 23 this year four of Mr Wilsons clients received payments into their bank accounts from their superannuation funds.

"Due to Mr Wilsons planned actions, the clients received more than they had requested to be withdrawn," the statement said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will introduce new laws to recognise the death of an unborn child killed during a criminal act if her government is returned at the state election in March.

Ms Berejiklian's commitment comes ahead of a fresh debate expected in the Legislative Council on controversial bill known as "Zoe's Law" on Thursday, which seeks to make it a crime to cause serious harm or death to a fetus.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has committed to introducing new laws next year if re-elected. Credit:Nick Moir

Ms Berejiklian said she requested expert advice a month ago as to whether the law should better recognise the loss of a child "as a result of a criminal act."

"Then, on Tuesday, I gave a commitment to my colleagues that, based on the advice I have sought, the Government will introduce new laws to address this issue in 2019," Ms Berejiklian said.
The two busiest rail lines in regional Victoria could get a swag of new, more spacious and more reliable trains from 2021, with Labor promising to order 18 three-car V/Line trains if re-elected.

The new trains would run on the Geelong and Ballarat lines and would replace several of the ageing, diesel-hauled trains that currently service those routes.

Daniel Andrews at the Bombardier train plant in Dandenong on Wednesday. Credit:Eddie Jim

Those classic fleet trains, which often do short-haul runs from Melton and Bacchus Marsh, would be retired.

The Geelong and Ballarat lines are the two fastest-growing regional routes, with patronage rising by 13 per cent and 14 per cent respectively in 2016-17, according to V/Line.
We are at a moment of unique distance from an event more talked about and commemorated in Australian life than any other - World War I. It is now 100 years since the Armistice was signed and a new era began. That new era did not, as so many had fervently hoped, see an end to war, nor did it usher in universal harmony and liberty.

A French Republican Guard blows a bugle that signalled the Armistice in 1918 at the Arc de Triomphe on November 11. Credit:AP

Australia's prime minister of the time, Billy Hughes, had seen the conflict as racial, urging his people to "fight for White Australia in France".

The Shrine in Melbourne remembers those who "served the empire", without mention of nationality. Many have blamed nationalism and the competing ambitions of nation-states for the catastrophe of the war.

On the anniversary, French President Emmanuel Macron sought to distinguish the love of country that prompted men to lay down their lives from the nationalism that caused the war. This was understood as a jab at US President Donald Trump, who has proclaimed himself a nationalist and told the United Nations General Assembly in September that: "Sovereign and independent nations are the only vehicle where freedom has ever survived ... or peace has ever prospered."
Several political reporters in the British media said Brexiters were preparing a push to topple May through a vote of no confidence as early as Thursday - though there have been such pushes before that came to nothing. Loading In a short statement outside Number 10 on Wednesday evening, May said the cabinet debate had been "long, detailed and impassioned". But the "collective decision" had been to agree both the 'divorce' deal and the political declaration on a future relationship - the outline of the Brexit end game, she said - a choice it had "not taken lightly". It was a "decisive step that enables us to move on", she said. She will brief parliament on the details of the deal on Thursday.

"I firmly believe with my head and my heart that this is a decision which is in the best interests of our entire United Kingdom," May said. Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said the deal meant an "orderly withdrawal" of the UK from the EU. Theresa May on Wednesday tried to convince her cabinet of the merits of her Brexit deal with the EU Credit:PA He said the basis of the permanent relationship between the EU and UK would be a "single customs territory" that would mean no trade tariffs and quota-free access to each other's markets. But that would require the UK to align with EU rules on competition, taxation, and social and environmental standards. "The UK will remain our friend, our partner and our ally," he said.

The leaders of the other 27 EU countries will meet in Brussels before the end of the month to decide whether to approve the deal, contained in a 585-page document. After that, likely in early December, the deal will be put to the UK parliament. Earlier on Wednesday, May endured a torrid question time in the House of Commons where some members of her own party were as critical as the Opposition. A sign in a parking lot of a cemetery reads: "No EU border in Ireland" near Carrickcarnan, Ireland. Credit:AP Eurosceptic Conservative MP Peter Bone told the PM she was not delivering the Brexit that people voted for.

Today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country, he said. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said the governments deal was a failure that breached the red lines the PM had set for herself at the start of the process. Does the prime minister still intend to put a false choice to the parliament between her botched deal and no deal? he said. Labour respects the result of the (Brexit) referendum but we dont respect the shambolic mess this government has made of that decision. He also asked about the governments previous promise that 40 trade deals would be ready to go the second after midnight after Brexit on March 29 next year.

May said the government was negotiating to ensure the existing EU trade deals continued with the UK as a party after Brexit. Loading And she added they had started discussion with other countries about new trade deals. She said Australia, Japan and Vietnam were keen we should talk to them about joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Opponents of the deal are particularly angry over a backstop intended to maintain unrestricted movement of people and goods over the Irish border. The backstop will leave the UK in a customs union with the EU, and Northern Ireland will remain aligned to some of the EU's single market rules , at least if a new trade and customs partnership is not hammered out after Brexit before the end of a 21-month transition period.
Vincentric Announces 2019 Best Certified Pre-owned Vehicles In America Awards:







Ford, Toyota, and Audi Lead the Winners List

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA  November 13, 2018  The sixth annual Vincentric Best Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Value in America Awards were announced today with Ford and Toyota sharing the top spot as both brands earned six model-level awards. Audi was close behind with five award winning CPO vehicles.

This strong performance earned Ford Vans the Best CPO Value brand award for the third consecutive year, while for the second year in a row Toyota took the Best CPO Value brand award for Passenger Cars and Audi repeated as the brand award winner for Best CPO Value Luxury Cars. Other brand winners were Honda, which was awarded Best CPO Value in the SUV/Crossover category, Lincoln, which earned the Best CPO Value Luxury SUV/Crossovers brand award for the third consecutive year, and Ram which earned the Best CPO Value Truck brand award.

Other brands with multiple model level awards were Hyundai, BMW, Chevrolet, and Lexus, while Cadillac, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Subaru, and Land Rover each had one model-level winner.

Certified Pre-Owned vehicles continue to have high demand due to their strong warranties and lower transaction prices relative to new vehicles, said Vincentric President, David Wurster. The data-driven Vincentric Certified Pre-Owned awards can help buyers identify which of the many CPO vehicles in the market provide the best value.

To determine the 2019 Vincentric Best CPO Value in America award winners, Vincentric conducted a statistical analysis to reveal which vehicles had lower than expected ownership costs given their market segment and price. Vincentric analyzed over 15,000 vehicle configurations using eight cost factors: depreciation, fees and taxes, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost, and repairs. The costs were measured after incorporating the specific CPO warranty offered by the manufacturer while also applying mileage requirements necessary to be authorized as an OEM CPO vehicle. Each CPO vehicle was evaluated in all 50 states plus Washington DC, with the assumption that they will be driven 15,000 miles annually over five years.

Further information regarding the 2019 Vincentric Best CPO Value in America Awards and the Vincentric methodology is available at www.vincentric.com.

2019 Vincentric Best CPO Value in America award graphic

Vincentric Best CPO Value in America Awards
A proper sausage, with onions on top. Photo: Getty Images

We may be a nation on the brink of civil unrest, but were not alone. Australia has been facing its own existential crisis lately, its very foundation threatened with an outrageous, BEYOND ridiculous, suggestion that could potentially ruin the country: that those consuming sausage confections put their onions below the sausages, rather than on top.

This appalling suggestion comes from the brazen Bunnings Warehouse, a national hardware store chain; it was supposedly an earnest effort to curb onion slippage. Since Australians often set up community fundraiser barbecues (or sausage sizzles) outside Bunnings stores, the chain was worried sausage eaters would come inside, drop their onions, and lead other customers to slip and fall  and potentially sue.

Onions can be slippery when they fall out of a sausage sandwich, Bunnings wrote in a flier distributed to community groups, which included step-by-step instructions for building a sandwich. To make sure that onions dont end up on the ground and pose a slipping risk, please apply a small amount of onion to the bread under the sausage when serving.

The statement was nothing short of offensive for many Australians, who saw the recommendation  dubbed #sausagegate on the internet  as an attack on their personal freedom.

#Bunnings no longer selling hammers. They're far too dangerous - unless you place them between 2 cushions.  Illiterate Felft (@felft) November 13, 2018

Is there a particular width these onions need to be installed to the bread? Will there be an Australian Standard to the density of onion placed? Will the sauce bottle have danger written on it just in case the sauce splashes up into the patrons eye? #Bunnings #sausagegate   renegadetahw (@renegade_what) November 13, 2018

This travesty shall not stand! Restore sanity to our snags! Onions on top, or die trying!! #boycottbunnings #sausagegate  kapai te rewai (Rob) (@ropata) November 14, 2018

One Twitter user pointed out that putting onions below ones sausage could actually increase the risk of spillage, as the bread would get soggy and lead to total collapse.

Re Bunnings snarlers, my Mum has messaged me to note if you put the onions underneath the sausage the flimsy bread goes soggy and the whole thing collapses. Ergo, risk of onion slippage exponentially increases."



WELL SAID MUM #bunnings #snaggate  Christopher Bishop (@cjsbishop) November 14, 2018

Bunnings stood by its recommendation with a statement, assuring its customers that they made it in the best interest of customer safety, not as a marketing ploy. Safety is always our No. 1 priority, said Debbie Poole, a spokeswoman for Bunnings. Regardless of how you like your onion and snag,  Australian slang for sausage  we are confident this new serving suggestion will not impact the delicious taste or great feeling you get when supporting your local community group.

Meanwhile, Australias prime minister, Scott Morrison, weighed-in on the national debate, after a reporter asked whether he thinks Bunnings suggestion was un-Australian.

Whether the onions are on top or underneath, Ill always be buying sausages on bread, he said. Now thats diplomacy.
Every year for Hanukkah, we always try to teach our kids about the message of the holidays, which overall is that to fight darkness, you have to increase in light, he said. Obviously this world is in need of lots and lots of light.
850 Airbnb Hosts Offering Free Stays to Woolsey Fire, Hill Fire Evacuees

Hundreds of Airbnb hosts are offering free stays to people who have evacuated the Woolsey and Hill fires in Southern California.

More than 850 homes throughout Southern California, including some in San Diego County, have listed free stays from Nov. 9 until Nov. 29 via Airbnb.

The fires have destroyed 400 buildings and continue to threaten 57,000 homes, NBC Los Angeles reported.

The stays are being offered via Airbnbs Open Homes Program, which is designed for evacuees, emergency workers, and volunteers.

Evacuees and others in need of a place to stay must have an Airbnb account and can then browse listing through the "find shelter" button on the disaster-response page. #WoolseyFire #HillFire    NBC LA     

We encourage hosts in the area to consider opening their homes to those who are in need of temporary accommodations or for relief workers helping in the area, an Airbnb press statement said of the move, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

For more details on Airbnbs program in Ventura and Los Angeles, go to Airbnbs website.

Our hearts go out to all those impacted by the fires in Ventura County, said Kellie Bentz, who is the Airbnbs head of global disaster response and relief. We are continually humbled by our hosts generosity in times of disaster through our Open Homes program. For residents displaced by and relief workers deployed to respond to the Hill and Woolsey fires, our Open Homes Program provides temporary accommodations free of charge.

Meanwhile, on Nov. 13, wind gusts fueled the fires in Southern California, CNN noted. We are not out of the woods yet, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. We still have incredibly tough conditions ahead of us.

So far, the Camp Fire in Northern California has destroyed 15,500 structures and burned 125,000 mainly in Butte County.

The Woolsey Fire has torched 96,314 acres and destroyed an estimated 435 structures. The Hill Fire torched 4,531 acres and was 90 percent contained as of Tuesday.
A No Stress Thanksgiving With Julia Turshen

For the lucky hosts of this years Thanksgiving dinner, the countdownand perhaps the accompanying stress and panichas already begun.

Frazzled home cooks may find comfort and inspiration in the guidance of acclaimed author Julia Turshen, whose newest cookbook, Now & Again, includes a full menu for a No Stress Thanksgiving feastideas for leftovers included.

Alongside recipes for easy roast turkey breast and throw-together sides, Turshen offers nuggets of wisdom gleaned from cooking Thanksgiving for a crowd since she was 11 (Where was Chopped Junior in the 1990s? she writes). Delegate drinks and desserts to guests; opt for dishes that can be served at room temperature; and most importantly, as many a chef will echo, dont start cooking on Thursday morning.

Turshens Thanksgiving guide is one of 20 menus in her book, designed to take the intimidation out of cooking for a crowd and encourage people to experience the joy in it. At Thanksgiving dinner or otherwise, food is about connection, she saysbetween the individual components of the meal, and especially between the people gathered around the table to share it.

RECIPE: Roast Turkey Breast and Onions with Mustard and Sage

RECIPE: Radicchio and Roasted Squash Salad

RECIPE: Maple Roasted Apples With Vanilla Ice Cream and Roasted Pecans
FILEAmazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos at a presentation in Seattle, Washington on June 18, 2014. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)

Amazon Picks New York City and Virginia for $5 Billion New Headquarters

SAN FRANCISCOAmazon.com Inc. picked Americas financial and political capitals for its split new headquarters, saying on Nov. 13 it will build offices for more than 25,000 people each in New York City and close by Washington, D.C.

The worlds largest online retailer plans to spend $5 billion on the two new developments and expects to get more than $2 billion in tax credits and incentives, with plans to apply for more.

Its move ends a frenzied year-long bidding war among cities across North America, splitting the location between two finalists. In addition, Nashville, Tennessee, will become Amazons fourth-biggest office outside Seattle with more than 5,000 corporate jobs focused on technology and management for its retail operations unit.

With more than 610,000 workers worldwide, Seattle-based Amazon is already one of the biggest employers in the United States and the worlds third-most valuable company, behind Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Still, it faces fierce competition for talent with Alphabet Inc.s Google and other companies offering free perks in sunnybut increasingly unaffordableSilicon Valley. It hopes the new headquarters will give it a leg up when it starts hiring for the offices in 2019.

These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent, Jeff Bezos, the companys chief executive and worlds richest man, said in a news release.

Already marketing its forthcoming New York location in Long Island City, just across the East River from Midtown Manhattan, Amazon said the neighborhood is home to breweries, waterfront parks, and easy transit access.

In addition, the choice of Arlington, Virginia, could hand Amazon greater political influence in the nearby U.S. capital, where it already has one of the largest lobbying shops in town.

Bezos privately owns the Washington Post, which has written critical articles about President Donald Trump and, in turn, he has been a frequent target of broadsides from the president. The paper maintains full editorial independence from its owner.

Tax Breaks

At the outset of the headquarters search last year, Amazon said it was looking for a business-friendly environment, in addition, to help recruiting workers.

The company said on Nov. 13 it will receive performance-based direct incentives of $1.525 billion from the state of New York, primarily for creating 25,000 jobs with an equivalent benefit of $48,000 per person. It also can apply for credits worth $3,000 per job under the citys Relocation and Employment Assistance Program.

In Virginia, it will receive performance-based direct incentives of $573 million, based on 25,000 jobs at $22,000 in benefits per head.

In sum, Amazon will get a boost worth greater than $2 billion for the new offices, on top of $1.6 billion in subsidies it has received from across the United States since 2000, according to a database from the Washington-based government watchdog Good Jobs First.

Amazon did not comment on the Good Jobs First numbers but said it has invested $160 billion in the United States since 2010, including in warehouses, data centers and employee compensation.

The new offices will generate more than $14 billion in extra tax revenue for New York, Virginia, and Tennessee over the next two decades, Amazon said.

This is a giant step on our path to building an economy in New York City that leaves no one behind, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in the press release.

The company expects an average wage of more than $150,000 for employees in each new office.

Year-Long Competition

Amazon had received 238 proposals vying to host its next home base after Seattle. New York and Virginia beat out 18 other finalists from a January short list, including Los Angeles and Chicago.

New Jersey made headlines early in the contest by proposing $7 billion in potential credits against state and city taxes if Amazon located in Newark and stuck to hiring commitments.

Others with less money to offer took a more creative approach: the mayor of the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest, Jason Lary, said he would create a new city from industrial land called Amazon and name Bezos its mayor for life.

In evaluating its options, Amazon drilled down into the quality of schools to which employees could send their children, a key factor in keeping workers satisfied. The company evaluated local SAT scores for college admission and met with superintendents, hearing how they characterized the importance of education in science and math.

It was not immediately clear how negotiations unfolded once Amazon settled on the plan for two offices, which Reuters and other media reported last week.

Amazon said the split would give it more geographic diversity for recruiting and could also help lessen congestion and cost-of-living increases that would have accompanied one bigger office.

The company has already had to navigate similar issues at its more than 45,000-person urban campus in Seattle. An affordable housing crisis there prompted the city council to adopt a head tax on businesses in May, which Amazon helped overturn in a subsequent city council vote.

Some critics had pushed for more transparency from cities and states in the bidding process, warning that the benefits of hosting a massive Amazon office may not offset the taxpayer-funded incentives and other costs.

The company has said it helped boost Seattles economy indirectly by $38 billion between 2010 and 2016. Construction and service work has increased, catering to Amazon, and the company said it also helped attract other businesses to Seattle.

Amazon shares were up about 1 percent in morning trade.

By Jeffrey Dastin
Appointing Whitaker as Acting Attorney General Was Legal, Justice Dept. Says

The Justice Department issued a legal opinion on Nov. 14 which concludes that President Donald Trump acted lawfully and within his authority when he appointed Matthew Whitaker to serve as the acting attorney general.

Trump designated Whitaker to serve in place of Jeff Sessions, who resigned from the attorney generals post at the presidents request on Nov. 7. Democrats challenged Trumps move, arguing that he violated the Constitution.

The state of Maryland challenged Whitakers appointment in court on Nov. 13. Marylands legal filing argued in part that Trump violated the Constitutions appointments clause because the position of attorney general, as a principal officer, must be confirmed by the Senate.

In a memorandum sent to the White House on Nov. 14, Steven Engel, an assistant attorney general at the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel, wrote that the law doesnt apply to temporary replacements.

Although an Attorney General is a principal office requiring Senate confirmation, someone who temporarily performs his duties is not, Engel wrote.

The memo reveals that Trump was advised by the Justice Department on who he may choose as an acting attorney general. The 20-page opinion (pdf) offers a methodical exploration of the laws and precedents related to the appointment to defend the legality of Trumps decision.

Mr. Whitaker has been designated based on a statute that permits him to serve as Acting Attorney General for a limited period, pending the Senates consideration of a nominee for Attorney General, Engel wrote, adding that the designation is consistent with an opinion the department issued in 2003 and with two centuries of practice.

The Justice Department argued that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act allows Trump to appoint a non-Senate confirmed official to temporarily carry out the duties of a principal officer. According to Engel, there have been at least 160 instances before 1860 in which a non-Senate confirmed person performed the duties of high offices.

Congress took away a presidents power to appoint non-Senate confirmed officials into high offices in the late 1860s, but that authority was restored in 1998 with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, the senior Justice Department official said.

The official said Republican former President George W. Bush used the law at least once and Democratic former President Barack Obama used it at least twice. Trump has now used it six times.

Whitaker served as the chief of staff for Sessions before he was designated to temporarily lead the department. Trump has said that he has not met Whitaker personally and chose him based on his reputation.

Sessions was part of Trumps campaign before the president appointed him to lead the Justice Department. Sessions drew Trumps ire by recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein oversaw the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller until Whitaker took over the reins. Trump frequently criticizes Muellers probe, calling it a hoax.

Mueller is tasked with investigating allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and other related matters. Although Mueller has indicted several Trump campaign associates, none have been accused of colluding with Russia.

Whitaker has previously taken issue with the scope of Muellers investigation, prompting Democrats to suggest that he may limit or end the probe. Rosenstein appointed Mueller in May 2017 after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.

State of Maryland officials argued that Rosenstein should have succeeded Sessions under a federal law that vests full authority in the deputy attorney general should the office of attorney general become vacant. A hearing on Marylands litigation has been scheduled for Dec. 19. Days after Trumps announcement, Democrats launched efforts to oppose Whitaker.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded that Whitaker recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

Weve heard that Mr. Whitaker is meeting with DOJ ethics officials this week, and we expect that Congress will be notified about the results of those discussions, Schumer wrote on Twitter on Nov. 13.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley dismissed calls for Whitakers recusal. Asked if he was concerned about Whitakers comments about the Russia probe, Grassley told ABC: As long as he made them as a private citizen, no.

A group of Democrats sent seven letters on Nov. 14 demanding information on Whitakers role with World Patent Marketing, a company that agreed to pay nearly $26 million to settle allegations that it deceived consumers and suppressed complaints.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Attention on Caravans Is Shackling Mexican Cartels, Says Expert

The intense media focus on the caravans has hamstrung the Mexican cartels, which usually demand payment from migrants traveling north to the U.S. border.

With such an intense media spotlight, it is extremely toxic for the major cartels or the gangs to be involved with itfrom a kidnapping of some of its members or extortion perspective, said Robert J. Bunker, an adjunct research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.

Still, the weaker members of the various caravans and their stragglers are going to be shaken down or picked off as targets of opportunity from time-to-time.

Cartels control the trafficking routes throughout Mexico and the entry points, or plazas, into the United States, according to Sheriff Andy Louderback of Jackson County, Texas.

Every day, every minute, some penetration of the Texas border, California border, New Mexico border, Arizona borderevery minute, someone is preparing to send a load in, or traffic humans in, or some type of criminal activity is going on, Louderback said in a previous interview. Every minute of every day. Thats their job, thats what theyre committed to do, thats how they get paid. And thats what were up against.

Different cartels control different areas along the southwest border. For example, the Sinaloa Cartel is dominant in California and Arizona, whereas the Gulf Cartel reigns supreme in southeast Texas.

[Cartels also] maintain drug distribution cells in designated cities across the United States that either report directly to TCO leaders in Mexico or indirectly through intermediaries, according to the Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) 2017 national drug threat assessment.

Bunker said on top of the media focus, the caravans are being monitored closely by various humanitarian non-governmental groups and we can assume both Mexican governmental and security, and some foreign state, agencies.

If and when the caravan makes it to the U.S. border with Mexico, I dont view the cartel plaza bosses as likely to directly confront it or impede its progress. This is a highly politicized international spectacle that is now playing out, Bunker said.

I think you may see ad hoc and disorganized or opportunistic criminality directed at some of its members, however, by low-level criminals or gang cliques but still this will only take place on the margins.
Sen. Isaac Mwaura (2-R) poses for a photo on Oct. 27, 2018, with female contestants that will represent Kenya in the battle for Mr. & Miss Albinism East Africa. (Dominic Kirui/Special to The Epoch Times)

Beauty Beyond the Skin: Contestants in Africa Gear up for Albino Pageant

NAIROBI, KenyaWhen he was growing up in a small town in Uganda, Allan Herbert didnt feel he was different from his friends.

He enjoyed a normal childhood, playing with friends at school and in the village. That was, until one day, a boy from his class started confronting him, and making fun of his skin color. The teacher wanted to punish him, but Herbert protected him.

I asked the teacher not to punish him but leave him alone because I was sure he was not aware of what he was doing, Herbert said.

Herbert has albinism, a genetically inherited condition that is very rare, affecting approximately one in 20,000 people worldwide. People with the disorder lack pigment in their skin, hair, and eyes.

Since then, the 24-year-old journalism student has moved to Nairobi, Kenya. Here, he says, even though he has experienced some mistreatment, it hasnt been direct. He says he can only recall one incident, while he was boarding a bus to the city from his estate.

The bus was left with only one open seat before it left for town, and I decided to board it, so that I could be fast. A lady was seated next to the vacant seat and when she saw me, she stood up and walked out of the bus. I didnt take that positively, Herbert said.

Albinism Pageant

People with albinism have long been persecuted in the sub-Saharan part of Africa, with East African communities taking the lead in these abuses.

For this reason, the Albinism Society of Kenya organized the worlds first Mr. and Miss Albinism Kenya pageant in 2016. This year, the competition was extended to include the East Africa countries of Uganda and Tanzania. When Kenya held its auditions in Nairobi on Oct. 27, Herbert was picked to stand among Kenyas 10 representatives in the pageant.

Each county will present five women and five men for the final pageant. Tanzania held its auditions in Dar es Salaam on Nov. 3, while Uganda determined its final candidates on Nov. 10 in Kampala. The final 30 contestants will meet in Nairobi on Nov. 30, with the two winners to be crowned Mr and Miss Albinism of East Africa.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Persons with albinism are a unique group whose human rights issues have generally gone unnoticed for centuries; the result being deeply engraved stigma, discrimination, and violence against them across various countries.

Progress is being made in combating discrimination, most notably in the involvement of people with albinism in the development agenda. Tanzania, for example, became the first county in the world to have a person with albinism elected to parliament. Kenya now has a senator and a judge of the High Court with albinism.

The dream is to have a Mr and Miss Albinism Africa and, of course, one for the whole world so as to showcase the beauty, talent, and competence of persons with albinism who might have low self-esteem, who have been rejected and who have not been given an opportunity, said Sen. Isaac Mwaura, who is the founder of the Albinism Society of Kenya and the driving force behind the 2016 pageant and this years Mr. and Miss Albinism of East Africa competition.

Kenya, being a leader in the fight against discrimination of persons with albinism in the whole of Africa, is the only country that has put in place a proper program for persons with albinism by government, through the work of the Albinism Society of Kenya, said Mwaura, who is Kenyas first parliamentarian with albinism. We would want to really teach the world about the inclusion of persons with albinism and also to showcase what is it that we require in society in terms of them attaining their full potential.

On Dec. 23, 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolutions that would encourage member states to continue to meet their obligations to uphold the rights of persons of albinism, including the rights to life, liberty, security of person, education, work, an adequate standard of living, and the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

As for Herbert, hes hopeful that hell win the Mr. Albinism East Africa title, so that he can further his dream of producing a show that will focus on having minority groups tell their story.

The stories of most persons with albinism are being told in a more negative way, especially by the media. My show would give them, and other minority groups, a chance to be heard and included, he said.
"Build the Wall" MAGA building block set, offered for sale by Keep and Bear, an online conservative-themed toy and novelty item retailer. (Screengrab via Keep and Grab)

Build the Wall Kit and Trumpy Bear Become Conservative Toy Hits as Christmas Looms

A new childrens toy is causing a stir ahead of the official launch of the Christmas shopping season on Nov. 23, better known as Black Friday.

Conservative gift retailer Keep And Bear recently launched a brand new line of toys: MAGA building blocks.

The Build the Wall kit packs a patriotic message: The wall will keep America safe and strong. Only then will we be able to help those in need.

The set comes with more than 100 pieces, including President Trump in a MAGA hard hat!

A mob of 10,000 Central American migrants is marching through Mexico and heading toward El Paso, Texas, the product description says. We understand why they want to flee Honduras and live and work in America. After all, we are the greatest nation on earth.

In the interest of national security, however, we cannot allow just anyone and everyone to cross our borders. While there are good people attempting to enter our nation, there are also gangs, criminals, and terrorists. Everyone who wants to enter our country must enter legally for the safety of all.

Thats why the wall must be built, says the toymaker, and is offering the set to customers for pre-order at $29.95 a pop.

Recommended for kids aged 5 and up, the toy is part fun, part politics.

This toy makes a great Christmas gift for your kids and grandkids! the product description says on the website.

Crafted With Pride in America

All of the T-shirts Keep And Bear sells are made in America.

Our T-shirts come with the Triple American Made Guarantee. This means our shirts are made in America, printed in America on an American-made printer by a Veteran!

The Keep And Bear website was launched in 2016 to spread the word about the film Keep And Bear: Americas Most Controversial Right.

This important film makes the case that gun ownership is more than a Constitutional right, the about us section of the website explains. The Second Amendment protects all other civil rights from the abuses of a tyrannical government.

The website grew on the back of the films popularity into one of the largest online sellers of conservative-themed goods.

We now feature hundreds of items including t-shirts, bumper stickers, flags, Bibles, DVDs, books, toys, and patriotic novelty items. All items support and celebrate God and Country.

Trump Sends Hillary to Prison

The kit is one of many Trump-themed items on the website. Others include Santa Trump Christmas cards, a Make Christmas Great Again book, and Trump 2020 camouflage caps (sold out at the time of reporting, no word on whether theyre getting more in).

Theres also a Trump Sends Hillary to Prison, building block set, featuring figures of the two 2016 presidential campaign rivals, with one resembling Hillary dressed in an orange jumpsuit.

Trump called for Clinton to be jailed during a campaign rally in San Jose, Calif., the product description states.

She made the call not to send in support when our embassy was being attacked in Benghazi, which resulted in the death of four American citizens, the website explains. She deleted thousands of emails from her private server in order to hide them from the FBI during a security investigation. Add this to the fact the Clintons have had many of their enemies murdered.

Trump-themed novelty items seem to be trending ahead of this years Christmas shopping season.

Trumpy Bear

An infomercial for Trumpy Bear, a plush brown teddy bear with a distinctive blond comb-over, has aired on at least 10 cable channels, according to the Kansas City Star.

While some Americans may react with bemusement or disdain at the Trump-themed plush toy, the people in the ad are full of enthusiasm.

God bless America, and God bless Trumpy Bear, one woman says in the video, fondly holding the stuffed toy.

In another shot, Trumpy Bear sits behind the windshield of a motorcycle as it cruises down the street.

Im a former Marine, and Im proud to have Trumpy Bear ride by my side, the motorcycle driver, a man identified as Michael Rufino, says in the ad.

The toy has taken social media by storm, with one enthusiast posting He loves our flag and he loves our country, hell always stand for the national anthem.

I would like to introduce you to my trumpy bear isn't he beautiful he loves our flag and he loves our country he'll always stand for national anthem pic.twitter.com/kDU6W3JK7w  Carol W (@cwiss12) October 13, 2017

Trumpy bear comes with a certificate of authenticity and can be had via GetTrumpyBear.com for just 2 easy payments of $19.95, plus shipping and handling.
Video: Advance Wave of Migrant Caravan Reaches US Border, Several Scale Border Fence

Several hundred members of the lead migrant caravan have reached Tijuana, Mexico, and some scaled the fence on Nov. 13, crossing illegally into the United States before running back, according to Ralph DeSio, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

DeSio said the individuals ran back without needing any intervention from Border Patrol agents.

The incident occurred at the Mexican park adjacent to Border Field State Park on the U.S. side of the border, which is a popular site for gatherings and protests, DeSio said.

CBP has deployed additional resources to ensure the continued security of the border, and safety for everyone in the area, he said. Agents remain alert.

DeSio said CBP is monitoring the movement of caravan members in Mexico.

At this time, we believe that at least some of those individuals currently gathered in this area are from the caravan, he said.

An estimated 5,000 migrants are in the lead caravan currently heading to the U.S. border, according to the San Diego-based open border group, Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which is assisting the migrants.

The caravan has been meeting some hurdles along the way, with some cities requesting they leave. The caravan arrived at the city of Guadalajara late Nov. 12, but were asked to move on early on Nov. 13 and were provided transport out of the city. However, Pueblo Sin Fronteras said in a Facebook message, the buses dropped the group off around 90 km (56 miles) from their next pick-up point.

We call on the governments of the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Sinaloa and the civil society to solve this serious problem in order not to leave drift and insecurity to vulnerable families who trusted the word of the state of Jalisco, the group wrote on Facebook.

CBP has warned travelers that wait times along the southwest border will likely increase indefinitely as the caravans reach the border.

The deployment of our officers to support migrant processing and border security efforts in Arizona and California will have an impact on CBPs trade and travel facilitation locally, El Paso director of field operations Hector Mancha said in a statement.

Cross-border travelers should expect lanes to be closed and anticipate processing times to increase. We suggest reducing or consolidating your cross-border trips, and if you must cross the border, build extra time into your schedule to accommodate these expected delays.

On Nov. 12, several northbound vehicle lanes at San Ysidro and one lane at Otay Mesa were closed so the U.S. military could install razor wire and other measures to harden the entry point in preparation for the migrant caravan.
Leaders from 15 Pacific states pose for the official photo during the 41st Pacific Islands Forum leaders' retreat in Port Havannah on Efate on Aug. 5, 2010. (Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images)

China Luring Pacific Islands With One Belt, One Road Investments

WELLINGTON/SYDNEYChinese leader Xi Jinping will showcase Chinas One Belt, One Road (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative to Pacific leaders at a regional summit on Nov. 16, diplomats say, with Western countries watching warily for signs of Beijings growing clout.

The competition for influence between China and Western allies Australia, New Zealand and the United States, is likely to provide a strong undercurrent at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

China is showing a desire for a bigger role in the region, and that is out in the open like it has never been before, said a senior British diplomat who declined to be named as she is not authorized to talk to the media.

China has said it will announce important measures for further cooperation at the summit. Western diplomats believe that probably means formally extending its OBOR plans into the Pacific.

First proposed by Xi in 2013, the initiative promotes expanding land and sea links between Asia, Africa and Europe, with billions of dollars pledged for infrastructure development.

Western governments harbor suspicions that Beijings professed desire to spread prosperity masks an underlying intention to become a more dominant power.

Tongan Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva is one of several island nation leaders who will meet collectively with Xi, having already been asked by Beijing to sign up to OBOR.

Were discussing that right now, Lopeti Senituli, a political advisor to the Tongan premier, told Reuters.

For Pacific nations, China may offer support for much needed infrastructure and development. Xis vision to provide links to a bigger marketplace could also prove hard to resist for leaders of the remote, fledgling economies.

Whose Patch?

For China, extending its influence into the Pacific would lessen the sense of maritime containment, and also potentially secure support from grateful, indebted governments at international forums, where numbers can count.

Three sources familiar with the matter, including the British official, said that Western nations had been informed that Vanuatu, the Cook Islands and Niue have agreed to sign onto OBOR.

Niue and the Cook Islands did not respond to an emailed request for comment, but the Cook Islands Finance Minister Mark Brown told Radio New Zealand last week that his government would be signing.

Vanuatus Prime Minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu said in a message on Twitter that he did not believe Vanuatu had committed to Belt and Road but he would check.

Chinas official OBOR website reported that Fiji had made a commitment on Monday, joining the likes of Samoa and Papua New Guinea.

Chinas footprint in the region has been growing in the past decade. Pacific governments now owe about $1.3 billion in concessional debt to China, raising fears in the West, that the region was becoming more susceptible to Beijings diplomatic pressure.

Xis meeting with the island nation leaders, which a U.S. diplomatic source said will be held without observers from the West, comes after a series of Western initiatives to shore up ties in the Pacific.

Australia last week declared the Pacific our patch as it offered A$3 billion ($2.18 billion) in cheap infrastructure loans and grants.

By Charlotte Greenfield & Colin Packham
Chinese workers assemble electronic components at a factory in Shenzhen City, in Guangzhou Province, China, on May 26, 2010. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

China Reveals State Funding Amounts for Science and Tech Projects

'Made in China 2025' still ongoing

After the United States accused China of unfair trade practices to fuel its own national ambitions of becoming a tech superpower, Beijing has begun to tone down its aggressive rhetoric.

Since the beginning of the trade dispute with the United States, Made in China 2025, the plan that Beijing has touted as a blueprint for the country to become a global tech manufacturing hub and no longer rely on foreign tech imports, has been called out as evidence of Chinas zeal for stealing intellectual property.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has since instructed state media to omit mentions of Made in China 2025.

Then, in early November, during a press conference after the midterm elections, U.S. President Donald Trump made reference to the plan, saying that China got rid of their China 25 because I found it very insulting.

Despite recently going quiet, however, the Chinese regime just unveiled figures that revealed it is still very much supporting the hyperactive development of science and technology fields, including the Made in China 2025 plan.

On Nov. 12, Economic Information Daily cited the latest data from Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology on state funding for science and tech development.

In total this year, the state provided 12.7 billion yuan ($1.83 billion) in state funding for research and development at 429 organizations, involving social development, new high-tech, agricultural science and other fields. Most of the money was awarded to science research institutes, universities, and tech companies, according to the report.

The field that received the most funding was public safety risk prevention and emergency technology and equipment, with 55 projects awarded a total of roughly 1.29 billion yuan ($185.4 million).

Another heavy hitter was the development of new energy vehicleswith most projects involved in research on vehicle batteries and electric machinery. Such projects were awarded 1 billion yuan ($143.8 million).

Tsinghua University won the most funding, with 80 projects and 1.8 billion yuan in funding within three years. The public school is considered a state-owned asset management company and a state-financed chipmaker subsidiary company. Semiconductorschips that power nearly every electronic deviceare an integral part of Made in China 2025, as China currently imports most of the semiconductors it needs.

The report also noted that the Ministry awarded funding based on a ratio of 4:4:2 for research institutes, universities, and companiesevidence that the Chinese regime did not wish to support the private sector as much.

Nevertheless, Beijings support for tech development is clear. In fact, the report cites an unnamed expert who gave the following analysis: in the wake of innovation propelling the countrys strategy forwardwith assistance from the central authorities finances, artificial intelligence, agricultural science, biomedicine research and development, and other areas will quickly expand.

The Chinese regime is unlikely to give up its tech ambitions anytime soon. This year, Beijing unveiled a new strategy: China Standards 2035, to accelerate efforts to develop technical standards in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and big data, eventually exporting them to the international market.
Researcher and Chinese Christian Li Baoyang was hounded by the authorities for his online postings in a 20-day mass deletion of online blogging accounts. (photo provided to The Epoch Times courtesy of Li Baoyang)

Chinese Scholar Describes Communist Partys Recent Crackdown on Bloggers

Christian researcher was forced out of work and interrogated before escaping China to US

Li Baoyang, a researcher at one of Chinas most prestigious universities, breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the United States on Nov. 5. He had been hounded by the authorities for his online postings in a 20-day sweep that has shut down over 9,800 blogging accounts.

The scale and duration of the action were announced on Nov. 12 by the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) Cyberspace Affairs Commission (CAC), which policies Chinas internet.

Speaking to The Epoch Times in an exclusive interview, Li said that when he was in China, he thought he had a bright future to look forward to. This June, Li graduated with a Ph.D degree in Chinese language and literature at Sun Yat-sen University, which is located in Guangzhou, southern China, and ranks in the top 10 Chinese universities. The next month, he received a research position at the schools Information Management Institute.

But Lis faith would present him with unforeseen challenges. A Christian, he didnt trust the Communist Party-controlled Three-Self Patriotic church organization, created to bring Chinese Protestants under the regimes oversight.

On Aug. 18, Li made a post visible to a circle of friends on WeChat expressing his mood about changes in the religious environment.

A sister just told me that she didnt go to church since [the beginning of] August because the church was forced to fly the five-star red flag [the national flag of communist China]! Li wrote. I remember that last year, I went to church with my kids, but saw a short-haired middle-age woman at the pulpit preaching socialist core values. After that, I dont take my children there any more.

The next month, on Sept. 14, a research advisor called Li over for a talk about his WeChat post. Two days later, he received a warning from the Party secretary telling him to stop improper posting on WeChat and other social media, such as the Twitter-like Weibo.

When Li asked how to determine what was an improper post, the secretary avoided the question and said: if you insist on expressing these sorts of views, no university or institute will give you work.

After this conversation, Lis political background credentials were suspended by the university.

At the end of the month, the Information Management Institute held a staff meeting. But the night before the event, Lis advisor called, instructing him to call the Party secretary and ask to resign.

The advisor threatened Li, saying that if he didnt resign, the Institute would add his politically incorrect views to his official background records  which would make it virtually impossible for him to ever find another job. Li was unable to reach the CCP secretary before the meeting.

My advisor talked with me several times, criticizing me in a way that I had never seen of him for the last 17 years, Li Baoyang said. I felt a deep injustice was done to me, because all I did was speak my conscience and speak as someone with a sense of morality. Many friends told me that I said what they had in their minds, but didnt dare express in words.

Afterward, Lis circumstances quickly worsened.

In the night of Oct. 26, two unfamiliar men went to Lis home. After entering, one of the men pinned him to his bed, while the other ransacked his room, demanding his cell phone and notebook computer.

After searching the house, they took Li away to interrogate him in a tiny chamber. A bright lamp was shown in his face. The men checked his phone and demanded answers.

I was very scared. I had never experienced anything like this, Li said. I was just a scholar and an instructor. I was a deer in the headlights, I had no idea how to deal with the situation in front of me.

They didnt tell me which department they are working for, national security or public security, Li said. But it was clear that they knew my background.

In 2012, when he worked for Zhejiang University, Lis wife became pregnant with a second child, then illegal under the Chinese regimes one-child policy. Li was forced to resign, and their child had not been allowed to register for the official status that is needed for public education and other forms of social participation.

The agents also knew that three years ago, Li had taken part in a parade to commemorate a pro-democracy activist.

The next morning, Li was dropped off on the side of a street. He found that the photos on his phone had been deleted. A former classmate of his, employed in the regimes security forces, notified him that he was placed on a list of politically sensitive individuals. For Lis safety, the friend urged him to leave China.

A week later, Li got on a plane in Shanghai and departed for the United States.

Li Baoyang is one of the most recent examples of an ordinary Chinese citizen suffering persecution for his online expression of faith and political opinion.

Among the social media accounts deleted en masses by the Cyberspace Affairs Commission (CAC) were prominent users with tens of millions of followers.

After the CAC made its announcement on Nov. 12, WeChat and Weibo said that they had closed more than 200,000 accounts suspected of spreading improper information and fake news.

WeChat is operated by Tencent, the worlds largest gaming and social media company, and one of the biggest technology conglomerates in China. Sina, which runs Weibo, is one of Chinas four major web portals with over 600 million users worldwide. Weibo has over 500 million users.

A commentary by the state-run CCTV listed six major crimes associated with social media  vulgar and pornographic content, clickbait, spreading rumors, fraudulent public relations, buying clicks, and plagiarized content.

The Party-controlled Peoples Daily ran similar commentaries. But in recent years, netizens have been turned off by the CCPs heavy-handed measures.

Yuan Bin, a Chinese commentator, told The Epoch Times that the Communist Party fears online blogging because it gives ordinary Chinese a window into realities about their society that are not reflected in official propaganda.

Different types of user-generated media, especially those concerning current affairs, have become powerful weapons for enlightening the Chinese, Yuan said. They represent a strong push against the CCPs authoritarian system.
Miles of unused pipe, prepared for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, sit in a lot outside Gascoyne, N.D., on Oct. 14, 2014. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Conservatives Slam Keystone XL Pipeline Injunction

A federal judges order suspending construction of the long-delayed 1,200-mile Keystone XL Pipeline that would link Canadian oil sands fields to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast is an example of the judiciarys out-of-control liberal activism, according to conservatives who favor rolling back the power of government.

The Keystone pipeline provides clean energy and good jobs that will make America stronger, so leftists want it shut down, said Donny Ferguson, president of Americans for a Better Economy, an Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit organization.

The job-creating project would add to the existing Keystone pipeline, finished in 2013, which runs from Alberta to Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma. When completed, Keystone XL is supposed to move as much as 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Alberta to Montana, Oklahoma, and Texas, stretching 875 miles through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and other parts of Canada.

Activists on the left were overjoyed by the court decision on Nov. 8 blocking the pipeline.

Todays ruling makes it clear once and for all that its time for TransCanada to give up on their Keystone XL pipe dream, Sierra Club senior attorney Doug Hayes said. The Trump administration tried to force this dirty pipeline project on the American people, but they cant ignore the threats it would pose to our clean water, our climate, and our communities.

Activists argue the pipeline would be especially damaging to the climate because it would mean extracting thick, low-quality oil from Canadas oil sands, with lots of tree-cutting and energy consumption in the process, which would increase greenhouse gas emissions, according to a summary in The Washington Post.

Native American groups in Montana and elsewhere fought the Keystone project as well, saying its route failed to adhere to historical treaty boundaries and would impinge on their water systems and sacred lands.

TransCanada isnt deterred by the court decision. We have received the judges ruling and continue to review it, said spokesman Terry Cunha. We remain committed to building this important energy infrastructure project.

Ignored Obama Administration Findings

In a 54-page ruling in a lawsuit brought by environmentalist groups, Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court in Montana found that the Department of State disregarded evidence related to climate change needed to measure the potential environmental impact of the pipeline project, in order to support President Donald Trumps goal of moving forward with it.

That violated the Administrative Procedure Act, Morris held, which mandates that reasoned explanations be provided for government decisions, especially when they constitute reversals of well-studied actions. When the administration reconsiders the pipeline project, it will have to more thoroughly review how it may affect climate change and endangered species.

The ruling by Morris echoed complaints by Trump opponents who accuse the president of doing an end-run around the regulatory process as he tries to unleash the economy by rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations.

Morris wrote that the Trump administration ignored Obama administration findings related to the climate-related impacts of the pipeline project and claimed those impacts would prove inconsequential. Foggy Bottom simply discarded prior factual findings related to climate change to support its course reversal, and relied on outdated information about the prospective impact oil spills might have on endangered species.

Expeditious Review

In 2015, President Barack Obama rejected the project after dragging his heels for seven years without making a decision. He said the United States was now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change. The biggest risk the country faced was not acting, he said.

Trump campaigned against Obamas nixing of the pipeline and took action to move the project forward days after being sworn in, promising it would create jobs, stimulate the economy, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum intended to promote construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline on Jan. 24, 2017. In it, he formally invited Calgary-based TransCanada Keystone Pipeline L.P. to re-submit its application to the Department of State for a presidential permit, a document needed for cross-border infrastructure projects, to move forward with construction of the pipeline.

The department was ordered to take all actions necessary and appropriate to facilitate its expeditious review and to reach a final permitting determination  within 60 days of TransCanadas submission of the permit application.

Partisan and Legal Issues

Conservatives contacted by The Epoch Times expressed support for Trump and the pipeline. They rejected the judges reasoning, accusing him of acting arbitrarily and falling victim to environmentalist misinformation, especially with regard to the alleged phenomenon of anthropogenic global warming.

The judges scattershot ruling elevates environmental activism over judicial responsibility and professional restraint, said Tina Trent, a former candidate for District 26 of the Georgia General Assembly.

It is particularly disappointing that Judge Morris failed at his job of winnowing the partisan from the legal issues at hand, she said.

Increasingly in America, we are seeing tidal waves of litigation against any decision that contradicts the goals of the hard left, be it at the ballot box or in the courts. This litigation is coming from an unholy triumvirate of academicians, powerful nonprofits, and their media mouthpieces. The academicians are, by any reasonable interpretation of modern academias money sources, working off the public dime.

The pipeline shouldnt even be a political issue, said Trent, a writer and former academic who holds a doctorate in contemporary political and social movements from Emory University.

What would these elite activists prefer: more dependency on the oil from Middle East dictatorships, where women, gays, and foreigners are treated like slaves by any definition of the term, and where environmental rules like those governing this pipeline, let alone the workers toiling to extract oil there, are nonexistent?

Ferguson had words for the judge.

Brian Morris, an Obama appointee and former United Nations lawyer, decreed Trump cannot exercise his authority to control the border because he didnt account for so-called climate change, Ferguson said. That is insane and legally preposterous.

He predicted the Supreme Court would easily overturn this political ruling on the pipeline and accused the judge of incompetence.

The Senate should remove Morris and replace him with an actual judge, instead of a partisan activist who believes UN decrees should overrule his oath to uphold the Constitution.

Judicial Overreach

The ruling by Morris is also the latest in a series of controversial, policy-obstructing court decisions against the Trump administration that conservative critics have attacked as examples of liberal judicial overreach.

Trump did enjoy a rare legal triumph on Dec. 4, 2017, when the Supreme Court allowed his Presidential Proclamation 9645, a ban on travelers from Islamic terrorism-producing nations, to take full effect. But since he was inaugurated, federal courts have repeatedly halted government operations.

Judges have issued injunctions, many of them with nationwide effect, preventing the administration from moving forward with policies related to immigration and national security, transgender military service, and Obamas executive order-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which prevents illegal aliens brought to the United States as children from being deported.

Before he resigned last week, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and federal lawmakers had been targeting the growing problem of unelected federal judges taking it upon themselves to veto presidential actions by issuing nationwide injunctions that reach far beyond the confines of a particular case. Sessions had directed federal prosecutors to try to curb these so-called non-party injunctions that allow judges to function as lawmakers.

Retiring House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) had been promoting the proposed Injunctive Authority Clarification Act of 2018. Its supporters say the goal of the measure is to restore the traditional understanding that a federal courts injunctive power extends only to the protection of the parties before it.

In a similar vein, Seton Motley, president of Less Government, a Washington-area nonprofit, said judges such as Morris need to start doing their jobs instead of legislating from the bench.

The judge is a judge, Motley said. Hes not a climate scientist. And more importantly, hes not a Trump administration official. The Trump administration went through the correct legal channels in advance of approving the pipeline.

The judge may not personally like the decision. But thats none of his official judicial business. His business is to rule on the legality of the decision. The decision is legal. His ruling is not, he added.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis attends an interview with Reuters at the Hrzan's Palace in Prague, Czech Republic, July 31, 2018. (David W Cerny/File Photo/Reuters)

Czech Opposition Pushes for No-confidence Vote Over PMs Investigation

PRAGUECzech opposition parties on Nov. 13 called on Prime Minister Andrej Babis to resign and agreed to push for a no-confidence motion in his government after a news report that said his son had been send abroad to hinder a fraud investigation.

Babis, a billionaire with farming, chemicals, and media businesses, has long battled police charges that he manipulated the ownership of one of his firms a decade ago so that it would qualify for 2 million euros in European Union development aid.

He has denied any wrongdoing in what has become known as the Stork Nest scandal.

Six opposition parties said the case could not be properly investigated while Babis was still prime minister.

(We) call on Andrej Babis to resign as prime minister until the Stork Nest case is investigated. This is the only way to ensure fair investigation, the parties said in a statement.

The opposition parties lack the 101 votes in the 200-seat parliament that are needed to dismiss the government.

Babis told parliament in March 2016 that the firm in question, a hotel and conference center outside Prague, was owned by his adult children and his partners brother at the time when the subsidy was approved. His two adult children and others have been charged in the case.

News website Seznam Zpravy tracked down Babiss son Andrej in Switzerland where he lives with his mother, Babiss ex-wife.

In what appeared to be a hidden camera interview on the doorstep of their apartment, Andrej Babis junior said he had been brought to Crimea so that he would not be called as a witness to the investigation.

He said that the person who brought him to Crimea was the husband of a psychiatrist who examined him and who had worked as an advisor for Babis senior in the past when he was finance minister.

Babis junior, who has received psychiatric treatment, said he did not believe him being moved to Crimea was his fathers idea.

He (the man who took me there) took advantage of my father wanting me to disappear. Because of the Stork Nest affair, Babis junior told the reporters, according to published footage.

Police had looked into the case and ruled that no crime had taken place, a police spokeswoman said.

Babis senior called the report a manipulation.

To film a mentally ill man, secretly and in this way, that is heinous and revolting. This entire campaign is only aimed to put pressure on the investigators in the Stork Nest case, it is also used by the opposition, Babis said in a statement from Sicily, where he was attending a conference on Libya.

The opposition parties lack the 101 votes in the 200-seat parliament that are needed to dismiss the prime minister.

The government includes Babiss ANO party and the center-left Social Democrats. It also relies on votes from the Communist Party to have a majority in parliament.

The Social Democrats nor the Communists have indicated they would join the opposition in the vote.

By Robert Muller & Jan Lopatka
Danske Money Laundering Scandal Is Tip of Iceberg, Whistleblowers Lawyer Says

LONDONDanske Banks 200 billion euro ($225 billion) money laundering scandal might be the tip of the iceberg and investigators should examine whether major Western banks played a role, a lawyer for the whistleblower said.

Stephen Kohn, a partner at U.S. law firm Kohn, Kohn, and Colapinto who is representing Danske whistleblower Howard Wilkinson, told Reuters that Danske may be only a bit player in a scheme to move wealth from countries like Russia to the West.

It looks like the tip of the iceberg, he told Reuters on the sidelines of a two-day London OffshoreAlert conference on financial intelligence and investigations. The problem is far bigger than has been reported

If this is properly investigated, and the money followed all the way to the endit all went to large, multinational Western financial institutions and either the U.S. government or other authorities have the ability to track down every transfer and any account, he said, without providing evidence for the allegation.

Wilkinson, a British former head of markets in Danskes Estonian branch until 2014, was outed by newspapers in September as the whistleblower who helped lift the lid on how billions of euros of non-resident money, much of it from Russia, had flowed through the tiny branch between 2007 and 2015.

After an internal investigation, published by Danske the same month, the bank said many transactions were probably suspicious. The scandal has sparked criminal investigations of Danske in Denmark, Estonia, and the United States, forced out its chief executive and chairman and sent the banks shares plunging.

Britains National Crime Agency said in September it was investigating the use of UK-registered companies in connection with the Danske Bank case.

Risk of Retaliation

Whistleblowers who have been publicly named are at a greater risk of retaliation. Kohn said Wilkinson has interacted with law enforcement and is satisfied with their response. He declined to comment further.

The Briton is due to testify before the Danish and European Parliaments next week. But his testimony is likely to be limited because he remains potentially liable for anything he says.

The threat of a lawsuit has a chilling effect, Kohn says.

Kohn believes whistleblowers need to be financial rewarded. He won a record $104 million individual reward in 2012 for whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld, the man who exposed tax evasion facilitated by UBSalthough Birkenfeld also served almost three years in jail.

The European approach, that effectively turns informants into martyrs, is a joke, he says.

British lawmakers continue to call for better protection for whistleblowers, who risk ending up blacklisted, bankrupt and damaged after lifting the lid on wrongdoing. But regulators have to date resisted calls for financial incentives, insisting this will not significantly increase integrity and transparency.

Kohn vehemently disagrees. He says whistleblowers might sometimes participate in wrongdoing, but that they are essential to uncovering the truth because white-collar crimes are hiddenand crime is more profitable than honesty.

Since February 1986, when U.S. whistleblowing laws were modernized, the U.S. government has paid whistleblowers $6.5 billionand billions more have been recovered, he said.

Europe is asleep. I am angry at what I see in Europe, he told the conference.

Kohn describes Wilkinson, who he says told Danske everything he knew before resigning, as credible, with an unblemished employment history, who risked his career and livelihood to stop one of the biggest money laundering scandals in history.

Hes the real McCoy (the genuine article). He gives whistleblowing a good name, he said.

By Kirstin Ridley & Simon Jessop
Defense Secretary Mattis Visits Troops at Border With Homelands Nielsen

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen visited troops at the United States-Mexico border on Nov. 14, near the Texas town of Donna.

Mattis was briefed by a top military officer on how troops are supporting the Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The purpose is to give CBP personnel tactical mobility, the officer told Mattis.

Mattis said that he does not expect the troops, of which currently 5,900 are deployed across California, Arizona, and Texas, to have direct contact with migrants.

He said that an additional 1,100 troops could be deployed.

President Donald Trump and Mattis ordered the troops to the border as multiple migrant caravans approached the border.

The first caravan, composed of over 6,000 migrants, has begun to reach the border. A group of 357 migrants who traveled with the caravan at one point reached Tijuana on Tuesday aboard nine buses and another group of several hundred was approaching on Wednesday, reported the Associated Press.

The three caravans approaching the United States contain up to 10,000 migrants.

Mattis Tells Troops to Focus

Addressing the range of reports about the migrant caravans, Mattis told the troops not to worry about them.

If you read all that stuff, youll go nuts, he said to focus on the mission.

He also noted that troops have been asked to put up obstacles at the border to try to prevent the caravans from breaking through, such as concertina wire.

Right now the only thing weve been asked for is to put in obstacles provide transportation and to provide housing for border, he said, reported Reuters. Theyve had to move a number of Border Patrol people, they moved them from other places, So obstacle placement and transportation.

The first phase of the mission should be accomplished within 10 days, he added. The initial authorization from Mattis stretched through mid-December, and that timeline could be extended.

Nielsen thanked the troops for supporting the Border Patrol agents, reported Mark Knoller of CBS.

We are honored to partner with you, she said.

From NTD News
Drunk Man Crashes Truck Into Courthouse to Report Stolen Drug Paraphernalia: Police

A man was arrested after crashing his Toyota truck into a courthouse in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Nov. 10.

Video footage shows the suspect, identified as 28-year-old Keith Cavalier, driving into the glass entrance of the courthouse. He then climbs out of the truck and stands next to it for several minutes, but a tow truck driver said he wasnt there when he arrived, NewsChannel6 reported.

Police arrested Cavalier one day after the crash. He reportedly told officers that he drove his truck into the building in order to contact police to report stolen drug paraphernalia.

Police said the damage is likely more than $1,000, making it a felony.

There is an aesthetics issue with finding an exact match for some of the materials, said Board of Supervisors spokesman Jeff Clark told NewsChannel6. Due to this factor, we are not able to project the cost of the project until this is resolved.

No one was in the building during the crash. Its not clear if Cavalier was injured.

He was charged with felony malicious mischief and first-offense DUI before he was booked into the Harrison County Jail, The Associated Press reported. Its not clear if he has an attorney.

The Harrison County Board of Supervisors is certainly glad that no one was injured during the crash, explained Clark. The board is appreciative of the work by the Gulfport Police Department with the arrest of the driver.

Cavalier was arrested in 2011 on resisting arrest charges. In 2015, he was charged with domestic violence, and in 2017, he was charged with malicious mischief and domestic violence, The Sun Herald reported.

Mississippi offices were closed on Nov. 12, for Veterans Day.

Gulfport, located on the Gulf coast, is about 80 miles northwest of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Video: High-Speed Chase Suspect Violently Crashes into Pole in OKC
Ethiopia Arrests Ex-head of Army Firm in Crackdown on Security Services

ADDIS ABABAEthiopia arrested the former head of a military-run industrial conglomerate on Nov. 13 and flew him in handcuffs to the capital, state media reported, a day after authorities announced investigations targeting senior members of the security forces.

Kinfe Dagnew, a Brigadier General in Ethiopias army and former chief executive of METEC, was taken into custody close to the border with Sudan and Eritrea, state-run broadcaster EBC said.

State media broadcast footage showing Kinfe surrounded by a ring of soldiers and later images of him in handcuffs arriving by military helicopter in the capital later on Nov. 13.

A documentary that aired late on Nov. 13 on state-owned Ethiopian Television (ETV) gave details of widespread alleged embezzlement by METEC.

It said the firm, which was awarded a 24 billion Ethiopian birr ($863 million) contract by the state utility in 2011 to carry out electromechanical works at the Grand Renaissance Dam, had received 16.7 billion birr of the total amount so far but that only 23 percent was completed, at a cost of 9.46 billion.

Only 266 million birr was found in its bank account. The rest of the money had vanished, it said.

It also alleged that the firm had taken over two aging ships that belonged to the state maritime agency but that they were used to transport contraband that it said were very likely to have included arms to Somalia and Irancountries under United Nations arms embargoes.

The documentary claimed properties such as buildings were also purchased illegally by the company, with no records made available.

A day earlier the attorney general announced the arrests of other METEC executives in a corruption investigation and the detention of security officials accused of abusing prisonersmoves that were welcomed by rights groups and a prominent opposition politician.

Amnesty International said the arrests announced on Nov. 12 are an important first step toward ensuring full accountability for the abuses that have dogged the country for several decades.

One Western envoy, who asked not to be named, described the crackdown as a full frontal assault on the establishment.

Kinfes arrest was the most high-profile since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April promising to rein in the security services and tackle what he called economic mismanagement, corruption, and rights abuses.

He has pushed through reforms that have upended decades-old policies and hierarchies in east Africas economic powerhouse  including moves to let private investors get stakes in the huge conglomerates run by the army and other state bodies.

There was no immediate statement from the attorney general on Kinfes arrest. The Prime Ministers office referred Reuters to the attorney general.

Big Fish

On Nov. 12, attorney general Berhanu Tsegaye said investigations had uncovered corruption at METEC (Metal and Engineering Corporation), which makes military equipment and is involved in sectors from agriculture to construction. Reuters has not been able to contact METEC for commentsenior public relations officials were among those arrested.

The attorney general said 27 METEC officials had been detainedalongside 36 intelligence officers, police, and other military officials accused of abusing prisoners.

He also accused senior members of the security services of ordering an attack on the prime minister in June.

The detained METEC employees and security officials appeared in court later on Nov. 12. A judge denied the suspects bail and gave police 14 days further to investigate. None were charged.

Opposition politician Berhanu Nega welcomed the development and said the vast majority of Ethiopians were happy with the arrests.

People believe it is about time such measures are taken to address the issue of justice in the past but also to indicate in the future that these kind of crimes are not acceptable in the future, he told Reuters.

A list of the arrest warrants released by the attorney generals office named 27 METEC current and former executives including the head of military equipment production and the head of corporate logistics and supply.

One of those arrested was caught  while trying to destroy evidence, the document read.

There was no immediate comment from the defendants or their lawyers.

AbiyEthiopias first leader from its majority Oromo ethnic groupwas chosen by the EPRDF to head it after three years of street protests and strikes piled pressure on the coalition to reform.

Some analysts say Abiys reforms have targeted the old guard of the EPRDF, long dominated by the minority Tigrayan ethnic group. But others have suggested he must have high-level backing from senior members of the TPLF, the Tigrayan political party in the coalition.

It would be a recipe for conflict to go against these big fish without consent, or some bargaining from the TPLF, said one Ethiopian analyst who declined to be named.

By Aaron Maasho
Elections staff load ballots into machine as recounting is underway at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office in Lauderhill, Fla., on Nov. 11, 2018. (Joe Skipper/Getty Images)

Florida Democrats Top Election Lawyer Elias Has Controversial History

Florida Sen. Bill Nelsons reelection campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Committee filed a federal lawsuit on Nov. 13 to dispense with the states recount deadlines, the latest move in the three-term incumbents attempt to stave off an election loss to Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

A day earlier, a separate lawsuit was filed to allow almost 875,000 late absentee ballots to be counted, citing voter disenfranchisement. If successful, the suit might not only deliver the disputed Senate seat, but overturn the results of the states narrowly decided gubernatorial race, which ended with progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum conceding to Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis. Gillum recently rescinded his concession, as the margin in that race has narrowed enough to trigger a recount.

In both cases, the lead attorney is Marc Elias, the Washington-based chairman of the political law group at the power-firm of Perkins Coie.

Eliass clients include the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, House Majority PAC, Senate Majority PAC, Priorities USA, Emilys List, more than 40 Democratic senators, and more than 100 Democratic House members.

Elias was also the general counsel for Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign and personally retained the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, according to The Washington Post. Fusion GPS then hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who produced the infamous opposition research dossier of unsubstantiated claims about President Donald Trump.

In congressional testimony earlier this year, ousted FBI Director James Comey referred to the Steele dossier as being both salacious and unverified. The FBI, under Comey, nevertheless used the dossier to secured a surveillance warrant to spy on former Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page.

Elias and a team of allied lawyers descended on Florida after polls closed on Nov. 6, to address the close elections for U.S. Senate and governor in the all-important 2020 presidential swing state. His presence was not lost on the president.

As soon as Democrats sent their best Election stealing lawyer, Marc Elias, to Broward County they miraculously started finding Democrat votes. Dont worry, Florida am sending much better lawyers to expose the FRAUD! Trump wrote on Twitter on Nov. 9.

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

On Nov. 10, Trump wrote that the Elias-led effort was trying to steal two big elections in Florida.

As of the evening of Nov. 13, DeSantis had a 33,084 vote lead over Gillum, down from more than 77,000 on election night. Scott led Nelson by 12,562 votes out of 8.184 million ballots cast, or less than 0.015 percent. Scott had a 57,000-vote lead on election night, but the margin of victory dwindled amid extended vote counting and allegations of fraud in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

After Floridas other 66 counties submitted their election results, including hurricane-ravaged counties in the Florida panhandle and the states largest county of Miami-Dade, Broward continued producing Democratic votes by the tens of thousands.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who hails from South Florida, unleashed a bevy of Twitter messages expressing alarm over the Broward irregularities. 5 days after last early vote was cast they remain ONLY county which still has not completed its early vote count, Rubio tweeted.

Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes also included illegal ballots in a batch of provisional ballots she submitted to an area canvassing board for inspection. A Broward election employee filed an affidavit about witnessing Snipess staff filling in blank ballots during the 2016 election.

Controversy isnt new for Snipes. In May, a federal judge ruled she illegally destroyed ballots cast in a 2016 congressional race involving Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who was the DNC chair at the time. The ballots were crucial to a pending recount lawsuit filed by Wasserman Schultzs challenger Tim Canova.

In neighboring Palm Beach County, Elias authorized a subordinate attorney to object even to the invalidation of a ballot cast by a non-citizen. Elias later acknowledged that non-citizens cant vote in federal elections, which is a felony.

Florida law mandates that any election decided by 0.5 percent or less must go to a recount. Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner ordered a machine recount for the Nelson-Scott and Gillum-DeSantis races with a deadline of 3 p.m. on Nov. 15. If any race ends up with a margin under 0.25 percent, a manual recount will follow with a deadline of 3 p.m. on Nov. 18.

Palm Beach County already said it wont meet the Nov. 15 deadline. It is unclear if the Democratic stronghold of Broward County will, which may or may not be part of a strategy. Elias is suing to lift the recount deadlines, arguing that they are arbitrary and impose a severe burdenon the right to vote.

Delaying the deadlines would buy time for another lawsuit to develop, which could allow hundreds of thousands of late and invalid absentee ballots to be counted.

Elias wants all ballots postmarked before Nov. 6 to be counted if they were received within 10 days of the election. Floridas 7 p.m. Election Day receipt deadline for vote by mail ballots burdens the right to vote of eligible voters, the suit says.

Elias, whom The Washington Post calls a Democratic superlawyer with multimillion-dollar backing from liberal billionaire George Soros, has a successful history of winning close elections through the courts, sometimes with dubious results.

In 2008, Elias sued in Minnesota over the results of a U.S. Senate race where incumbent Republican Norm Coleman narrowly defeated Democrat Al Franken. The election was certified eight months after election day, with Franken winning a manual recount by 312 votes.

Franken went on to become the 60th Democratic senator in a filibuster-proof majority that delivered the mammoth Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. It was later shown that 1,099 felons may have illegally voted.

On Nov. 12, the Miami Herald said that of 26 major races that went to recounts nationwide since 2000, only three had their initial election results overturned. Elias responded by taking credit for two of them.

Perhaps the article should have noted that in two of the three recounts where the outcomes changed in a recount, we were the lawyers for the winners, he said.
A collaboration between Dubai Tourism and the Chinese company Guomai Culture Media, the book, History of the Miracle City Dubai, depicts Dubai's historical development and its landmark buildings and attractions.

It also features interesting stories and connects the ancient Arab civilization with modern urban development in a vivid way for children.

"People consider Dubai a symbol of fantasy and luxury and believe it has good fortune for discovering oil," says Zhang Ting, the book's author.

"When we explored Dubai's geology, history, culture and economic development, we were moved by how it overcame difficulties and crises, as well as its vitality," Zhang adds.

It took Zhang three years to finish the book, which also aims to showcase Dubai as a world-class international city and encourage more tourists to visit.

"We are very honored to be able to have the opportunity to be a part of such a unique project, and the book does an excellent job of depicting Dubai's history along with how far the city has come in such a short time," says Hoor Alkhaja, deputy director of Asia Pacific at Dubai Tourism.

It's the first official book that Dubai Tourism has endorsed.

"When Zhang approached us about the book she was writing, we were impressed about her passion for Dubai," Alkhaja says.

"China is a very important market for us at Dubai Tourism. We are always looking to invest and enhance our destination offerings, especially for our Chinese guests."
Florida Judge Extends Recount Deadline for Palm Beach County

Palm Beach Countys deadline to recount midterm votes has been extended to Nov. 20, ruled Judge Karen Geivers of Leon County, Florida. That is about five days after the original 3 p.m. Nov. 15 deadline, reported the Daily Commercial on Nov. 13.

The deadline for machine recounts in Palm Beach County encompass all the state races, including for the U.S. Senate and governors race.

Jim Bonfiglio, a Democrat locked in a contest for a House seat, filed a lawsuit which triggered Geivers ruling, The Hill reported. The lawsuit asked the judge to extend the deadline for vote reporting against Republican Mike Caruso.

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner ordered the recounts on Nov. 10 and Florida state law requires that the results of the machine recounts be submitted by Nov. 15, The Hill noted.

On Nov. 13, President Donald Trump criticized Sen. Nelson for not conceding his seat to Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican. Scott currently holds a slim lead over Nelson.

When will Bill Nelson concede in Florida? The characters running Broward and Palm Beach voting will not be able to find enough votes, too much spotlight on them now! the president tweeted earlier in the day.

When will Bill Nelson concede in Florida? The characters running Broward and Palm Beach voting will not be able to find enough votes, too much spotlight on them now!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

Broward County and its embattled elections supervisor have faced the most scrutiny in the recount efforts.

Ive worked here for about 15 years and I have to say this the first time that this office or I have been under such attacks, Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes told reporters Nov. 12, Breitbart reported. There have been issues that havent gone the way we wanted it. You can call it a mistake or you can call it whatever you want to call it.

Snipes, meanwhile, hinted that its time to move on, suggesting that she might not run for re-election as supervisor in 2020. No final decision has been made.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Department of State said they havent received any credible allegations of voter fraud or criminal activity.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the European Parliament during a debate on the future of Europe, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 13, 2018. (Vincent Kessler/Reuters)

German Chancellor Merkel Joins Frances Macron in Calling for European Army

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a European army on Nov. 13, backing French President Emmanuel Macrons comments, which President Donald Trump last week called insulting.

Merkel insisted that an EU army wouldnt undermine NATO, but her remarks to the European Parliament were met with a combination of applause and dissent.

The times when we could rely on others are over. This means we Europeans have to take our fate fully into our own hands, Merkel said. We should work on a vision of one day establishing a real European army.

Merkels views come on the heels of Macron suggesting last week on French radio that the EU should build an army to protect against China, Russia, and even the United States of America.

Trump said on Nov. 9 that Macrons suggestions were very insulting, and called for European countries to meet their NATO spending commitments.

Trump criticized Macrons comments on Nov. 13, tweeting, Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the United States, China, and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two  How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!

The United States, France, and Germany are military allies under NATO. Washington contributed more than a third of the total funding to the 29-member alliance in 2017. Trump has pressured member states to meet the funding goal of 2 percent of each nations gross domestic product, but only the UK, Estonia, and Greece met that goal last year.

France spent 1.81 percent of GDP, and Germany even less, at 1.24 percent.

In July, Trump said, Were protecting Germany, were protecting France. Were protecting everybody. And yet were paying a lot of money to protect.

A Way to Strengthen the Bloc

The idea of a European army was first proposed in the 1950s, but reiterated by European President Jean-Claude Juncker four years ago as a way to strengthen the power of the bloc. The concept has never taken off, with the complications of bringing together armies from across the bloc proving unpalatable and expensive.

In her speech, Merkel emphasized that member countries should meet their economic responsibilities in the eurozone.

Our common currency can only function if every individual member fulfills their responsibility for sustainable finances, Merkel said, adding that otherwise, the strength and the stability of the eurozone is at risk.

She kept her vision for deeper monetary cooperation vague, however, saying, We need to develop our monetary policy better. Were working on a banking union. We have to look at responsibility and control, a banking union and then later a European insurance system.

Merkel also trained her sights on Poland and Hungary, two countries whose leaders other member states worry are undercutting democratic institutions.

The European Parliament in September voted to sanction Hungary for flouting EU rules on democracy, civil rights, and corruption, while concerns have grown in the EU over Warsaws accelerated judicial overhaul.

Solidarity is always linked to commitments of the community, and the principles based on rule of law, Merkel said.
Handwritten Einstein Letter Auctioned Off for Nearly $40,000

JERUSALEMA handwritten letter written by Albert Einstein warning of the dangers of growing anti-Semitism and fascism years before the NazisNational Socialist German Workers Partyrose to power has been sold for nearly $40,000.

Fascism is an extreme authoritarian form of groupism, which was predominately nationalistic in flavour in early 20th century Europe.

"Far left" and "far right" is false framing. Nazism, fascism, and socialism are all rooted in the same corrupt communist system. https://t.co/dtKUKAc8F8  Joshua Philipp (@JoshJPhilipp) June 4, 2018

The Kedem Auction House says the previously unknown letter, brought forward by an anonymous collector, fetched $39,360 in bidding in Jerusalem on the night of Nov. 13.

Einstein wrote the letter to his sister after going into hiding in 1922 following the assassination of Germanys Jewish foreign minister by the ultra-nationalist group Organisation Consul. Police had warned the Jewish scientist that his life could be in danger too.

Here are brewing economically and politically dark times, so Im happy to be able to get away from everything, he wrote.

Kedem says the letter was sold at roughly double its expected price.

Watch Next:

Antifa Origin Exposed: Spawn of Russian Communism

The communist-anarchist extremist group Antifa has more to its story than meets the eye. Its origins trace back to a front operation of the Soviet Union, which aimed to use violence and intimidation to further its reach.
Horse Rescued After Hiding in Pool to Survive California Fire

A man discovered a horse that was shivering uncontrollably after hiding in a pool to escape the devastating Camp Fire in Paradise, California.

As I was checking to see if someones house was standing we stumbled upon this [horse] who had given up and had the look of defeat in her eyes. Theres no telling how long she was there but she was shivering uncontrollably and ultimately lost her fight, wrote Jeff Hill of Paradise on Facebook.

Well among all the sadness I had a glimpse of happiness today!As I was checking to see if someones house was standing    Jeff Hill     

The horse, he wrote, was all caught up in the pool cover but her being suspended by it prevented her from drowning. We scrambled to unhook the pool cover and pulled her to the shallow end where we guided her up the steps. 

She got out, shook off, loved on us for a few minutes as a thank you and walked off assuring us that she was OK, Hill explained.

The Camp Fire, which has ravaged Butte County located north of Sacramento, has left at least 48 people dead and has scorched thousands of acres. Last week, a fire official said the blaze totally destroyed the city of Paradise.

Some 52,000 people evacuated the area, CBS News reported.

I want to tell you, though, this is a very, very difficult process, Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory L. Honea told CNN. Theres certainly the unfortunate possibility that even after we search an area, once we get people back in there, its possible that human remains can be found.

On Nov. 14, officials said that approximately 100 military police will join teams searching for Camp Fire survivors, the BBC reported. So far, crews have contained just 35 percent of the fire.

Dozens of people are still missing.

Meanwhile, some residents filed a lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), alleging the company was negligent and caused the fire (pdf).

In Southern California, the Woolsey and Hill fires have killed at least two people and prompted tens of thousands of evacuations.
Voters cast their ballot in the midterm election at the Brooklyn Museum polling station in New York City on Nov. 6, 2018. Allegations of fraud have mired the elections, especially in Georgia and Florida. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Voter Fraud Alive and Well in America?

Commentary

From the Democrats we get every vote should be counted. Hidden in these words is an effort to legitimize votes cast by non-citizens and others who might not have had legal standing to vote on Nov. 6. That was in the wake of the state of Floridas passage of legislation to allow convicted felons who have paid their debts to society to vote.

The cry from Republicans is quite different. Republicans believe Democrats are bent on stealing elections using any means necessary.

Whatever the outcome in Florida and Georgia, we can be certain that the losses of high-profile black candidates will be used in 2020 to feed the liberal narrative of the racist Republican Partys efforts to disenfranchise and marginalize minority voters. Anything short of a victory for Andrew Gillum in Florida and Stacey Abrams in Georgia will be cited forever as evidence of voter suppression and racial discrimination against blacks.

Racial dynamics in Florida come into play because Gillum, a black, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, came within striking distance of winning. He gave an inspirational concession speech, but then retracted his concession, and his lawyer, along with that of Democratic senatorial candidate Bill Nelson, objected that non-citizen votes were not counted as part of the states vote totals. No joke, even though counting the votes of non-citizens in federal elections is against the law, plus it dilutes the legitimate votes cast by eligible voters.

Democrats have established a pattern of seeking the relaxation of voter-identification requirements. They argue that requests for state-issued identification discriminates against black voters, when in actuality a lax system makes it easier for non-citizens and convicted felons to vote.

Protecting the System

Nationally, we have not done enough to protect the integrity of the electoral system. Only 34 of the 50 states require voter identification at the polls. Other states accept easily accessible documents such as utility bills, paychecks, and bank statements.

Things have begun to change, though. Since 2005, there has been a greater push to require photo identification. Efforts to require photo identification have been met by pushback from those who argue requiring such documents is discriminatory because blacks and other minorities are less likely to have access to identification. Ignored in that flimsy argument is the fact that photo identification is required to obtain public assistance, to purchase alcohol and cigarettes, to board a flight, and to gain admission into numerous public and private venues. The list gets longer.

Republicans have a valid fear of being disadvantaged in those states and localities lacking requirements for voting. A 2014 study by professor Jesse Richman and co-authors Gulshan Chattha and David Earnest at Old Dominion University used data from the 2008 and 2010 elections to conclude that some non-citizens participate in U.S. elections, and that this participation has been large enough to change meaningful election outcomes including Electoral College votes, and Congressional elections.

Harvard University professor Stephen Ansolabehere and colleagues challenged the results of the Richman study, arguing that the peer-reviewed study was flawed. Other reports, however, from around the country have shown that non-citizens are registering and casting votes that can determine outcomes in close elections. In fact, a February 2018 lawsuit filed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation stated that 100,000 non-citizens were registered to vote in Pennsylvania and some had been voting for at least a decade due to a glitch in the drivers license renewal process.

Similarly, a 2012 Pew study found a different set of problems affecting the integrity of the electoral process. The study estimated that one out of every eight voter registrations is significantly inaccurate or no longer valid, about 2.8 million people have registrations in more than one state and 1.8 million registered voters are deceased.

In close elections, there is room enough for voter fraud to tip the scales for a political party willing to engage in shenanigans. (See Hans von Spakovsky and John Funds 2016 Wall Street Journal article Do Illegal Votes Decide Elections?)

These issues are especially relevant as we watch the vote counts and recounts taking place in Florida and Georgia. All eyes are on Florida because of three state-wide elections where Republicans were in the lead at the close of Election Day. Provisional, overseas, and newly found ballots have jeopardized and shrunk leads.

Controversy

Brenda Snipes, the Broward County supervisor in Florida, is no stranger to controversy. Her actions are not above suspicion. In 2016, a judge ruled that Snipes had incorrectly destroyed ballots in a primary race involving Democrat Tim Canovas unsuccessful bid to unseat Debbie Wasserman Schultz (who was just coming off a six-year stint as chairperson of the Democratic National Committee).

Ballots were prematurely destroyed after Canova contacted Snipes asking for access to original paper ballots in March 2017. He never received the ballots, which were destroyed in September 2017 in violation of state law, which required Snipes to certify that no legal proceedings were pending. Snipess defense was she made a mistake in signing off on a folder that authorized the destruction of the original ballots. She also admitted that convicted felons and non-citizens had been allowed to vote in previous elections.

Another problem found with her office was in the handling of mail-in ballots. Snipes had not established a proper set of checks and balances and was challenged by Florida Republicans. Donald Wilfong of Americans for Limited Government argues that her elections rap sheet includes opening mailed ballots prematurely, distributing multiple ballot pages to voters, and leaving off sections of ballots.

When national media organizations swooped in on Snipes in recent days to report on Browards voting problems, wouldnt you know it, Snipess apologists started playing the race card in her defense. Snipes, you see, is black. In any event, Politico reports she is likely to be ousted from her elections post.

On Nov. 12, Larry Klayman, an attorney and elector, filed suit against Snipes alleging fraud, misconduct and corruption, as well as denial of access to the inspection of ballots in Klayman v. Snipes. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who happens to be Nelsons Republican opponent in the Florida senatorial contest, has won two cases against the county and filed three additional complaints against Broward and Palm Beach supervisors.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has demanded the Florida elections be declared for the Republican candidates leading in the vote because of alleged voter fraud.

In Georgia, the situation is complicated by allegations that the former Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, stacked the deck in his own favor. Allegations have been made that he purged voters and used the law to his advantage. In any event, Kemp is leading in the polls and has made his own allegations of voter fraud after the Democrats reported finding thousands of new votes in the counties that have not been counted.

If, as expected, Abrams is declared the loser, the election will be framed forever by Democrats as one stolen by racist Republicans.

What does this mean for we the people? We must insist that elected officials from both political parties take action to ensure the integrity of the ballot box. Not only do we need a uniform requirement for voter identification, but something also needs to be done to standardize and upgrade voting machines across the country. Lastly, we need to increase the penalties for voter fraud on the behalf of elected officials or overzealous partisans. Too much is at stake for our Democratic Republic for us to do less.

Carol M. Swain is a former professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University and a James Madison scholar at Princeton University. Her most recent book is Debating Immigration: Second Edition (2018).

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Man Who Allegedly Used Slurs Against Tucker Carlsons Daughter on Board for Womens Group

A man who allegedly used slurs against a teenage daughter of Fox News host Tucker Carlson is on the board of a womens group.

Stormy Danielss lawyer Michael Avenatti, who Congress said lied to investigators in the Brett Kavanaugh investigation, published a video showing Carlson confronting the man at the Farmington Country Club in October, making another round of unsubstantiated claims.

Carlson then issued a statement clarifying the situation, noting that he didnt want to make it public but was forced to clarify after Avenatti came forward.

Toward the end of the meal, my 19-year-old daughter went to the bathroom with a friend. On their way back through the bar, a middle-aged man stopped my daughter and asked if she was sitting with Tucker Carlson, Carlson said. She answered, Thats my dad, and pointed to me. The man responded, Are you Tuckers whore? He then called her a [expletive].

Carlson said he and his son went to the bar to confront the man, and that his son threw some wine in the mans face after the man admitted to using slurs against his sister but that no physical contact occurred. Video footage of the incident appears to show Carlson telling the man, Get the [expletive] out of here.

Carlson said that after three weeks of investigation, the club revoked the mans membership.

Carlson called what happened a grotesque violation of decency. He added, Ive never seen anything like it in my life.

Carlson was also targeted by a far-left group in November, who tried to break into his house. His wife, home alone, called 911.

The man's name is Juan Manuel Granados of Charlottesville, VA and he sits on the BOARD OF DIRECTORS for a nonprofit organization "The Women's Initiative" @TWIcville pic.twitter.com/O8y3SfabgI  Lemon (@LunarLemonade) November 11, 2018

On Board of Womens Group

The man accused of accosting Carlsons daughter was identified as Juan Manuel Granados.

Granados, who claimed that he didnt speak to the teen, is on the board of directors for the Womens Initiative, a group that provides mental health services for poor women.

We believe every woman has an innate capacity for healing that, once uncovered and directed, results in better mental and physical health. We believe it is critical to address each womans unique emotional, physical and spiritual needs, the group stated on its website.

The group has not commented on what happened. Reached by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an employee said, Sorry we dont speak to reporters.

Granados disputes Carlsons account and said he intends on pursuing charges against Carlson and his son. I am confident that after a full and complete investigation, the truth will be known and Tuckers version of events will be shown to be a complete fabrication, Granados wrote.

The country club said in a statement sent to the Daily Progress that its investigating the incident.

We can share that we take matters of offensive conduct very seriously, and we are confident that the facts in this matter, including compelling eyewitness testimony, provide a very clear account of what happened, and thus a clear path for the decisions being made in response by our board, the club wrote in its statement.

We also are aware that there has been uninformed gossip, speculation, and commentary about this incident, including inaccurate allegations being spread by individuals who were not present during the incident, and whose interpretation of events are refuted by the accounts of multiple eyewitnesses, the statement continued.

From NTD News
Maryland Asks Court to Intervene in Whitakers Ascension to Head of DoJ

Acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker has been on the job less than a week after taking over for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but hes already facing a legal challenge to his new role.

In a motion filed in Maryland federal court on Nov. 13, the State of Maryland is seeking an injunction to Whitakers ascendancy, arguing that a constitutional clause makes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein the rightful successor to Sessions.

The clause states that the president shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States.

The operative phrase there is with the advice and consent of the Senate, argues the state, which has asked Judge Ellen Hollander to make the judgment in an unrelated case on the Affordable Care Act. Sessions is named as one of the plaintiffs in that case, and Maryland says it cant go ahead with it unless the rightful attorney general is named, which it believes is Rosenstein.

Trump appointed Whitaker, who was Sessionss chief of staff, on Nov. 7 after Sessions stepped down at the presidents request.

When asked about Whitaker not going through the Senate confirmation process, Trump responded on Nov. 9 that special counsel Robert Mueller, who has been investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, had not been through the Senate confirmation process either.

Democratic and some Republicans members of Congress have warned that putting Whitaker in the top law enforcement position would compromise the Mueller investigation, which Whitaker has been critical of in the past. They fear that Whitaker will take over for Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller to look into possible Russian meddling, and in an August 2017 memo, laid out the scope of the investigation.

While Rosenstein remains in his current position, it has been reported that Whitaker might assume authority over the special counsel investigation.

When asked if he expected Whitaker to get involved in the investigation, Trump told reporters Nov. 9 that it is up to Whitaker.

A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson said that Whitaker is consulting with senior ethics officials on his oversight responsibilities and matters that may warrant recusal from the Russia investigation, reports USA Today.

The City of San Francisco, which also has lawsuits naming Sessions as a plaintiff, has warned the DOJ that it will take legal action if the department doesnt provide a legal justification for the presidents appointment of Whitaker.

At no point in his Justice Department tenure has Mr. Whitaker been confirmed by the Senate. That appears to be unprecedented for someone serving as the countrys top law enforcement officer, San Francisco Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement. Its not clear that the case has precedent, which would put it in a legal gray area.

Trump appointed Whitaker under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which allows the president to appoint a senior DOJ official to serve as an acting attorney general so long as she or he has already served in a high-level position for 90 days. Whitaker does fulfill that requirement.

Further, Trump issued an executive order last March that lays out the line of succession if Sessions were to leave. It assumes that the deputy attorney general would succeed the attorney general, as long as he or she satisfies the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. It also gives the president authority, to the extent permitted by law, to depart from this order in designating an acting Attorney General.

The executive order hasnt yet been challenged.
May Secures Draft Divorce Deal With EU, Faces Hostile UK Lawmakers

LONDONUK Prime Minister Theresa May has hashed out a draft divorce agreement with EU negotiators, ending months of fraught negotiations that many doubted could produce a mutually acceptable arrangement.

But to become a reality, the draft settlement must first run the gauntlet of hostile UK lawmaking chambers and the political cogs of the European Union.

The government hasnt yet published the text of the agreement, but various sources point to it being a soft Brexit, similar to the Chequers deal derided by many hard-line Brexit supporters in Mays own party for giving too much power to the EU.

Britons voted 52 percent to 48 percent in favor of leaving the 27-member trading bloc in 2016. More than two years later, the UK and EU are separated but still wedded, as they try to reach a divorce settlement before March 29, when the UK cuts treaty ties.

If ratified, the deal wont mark the end of Brexit, but the start of a new chapter: kick-starting at least a further two years of negotiations on the future trade relationship between the two countries.

May told Parliament on Nov. 14 that a draft agreement with the EU had been reached.

Im confident that this takes us significantly closer to delivering on what the British people voted for in the referendum, she said. We will take back control of our borders, our laws, and our money, leave the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, while protecting jobs, security, and the integrity of the United Kingdom.

However, to allow frictionless trade across borders, the deal is expected to keep many features of the current Customs union arrangement and adhere to certain EU rules without the ability to influence them.

Tend to Blow Up

May secured backing from her Cabinet on the evening of Nov. 14.

Anand Menon, professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at Kings College London, said that the deal effectively keeps the UK in a customs union. Menon, who is also the director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative, said that the deal still has many hurdles to pass, such as agreement from EU member states, who make seek symbolic amendments.

Once prime ministers and presidents offices get hold of the document, they will find political issues in it that the technical negotiators may have missed, he said. EU negotiations always tend to blow up at the end, so dont be surprised if that happens.

He expects the deal will gain approval from the EU heads of state, but Menon thinks the most serious challenge lies with the British lawmakers.

May has promised lawmakers a meaningful vote on the deal, most likely in December. But with a wafer-thin majority in lawmaking chambers, and around 40 of her own party ready to vote against her, she may have to rely on rebel votes from the opposition party, which is also somewhat split over Brexit.

No one knows how thats going to go, said Menon. Its going to be close.

Even if Parliament agrees to the deal itself, another bill has to be passedthe Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

The withdrawal agreement bill isnt going to be rushed through Parliament in a weekit is going to go through the usual process of three readings in the Lords and the Commons. So theres all sorts of potential trouble in Parliament over that.

Deal or No Deal

In the event of no deal being struck, on midnight of March 29, the UK cuts all legislative ties with the EU, defaulting to a relationship laid out in World Trade Organization rules.

Most analysts agree that in the short term, the no-deal scenario would be most damaging to the UK economy and is only the preferred option for the most hard-line Brexit supporters.

Menon outlined various scenarios if Parliament rejects the deal: The UK could just drift toward the no-deal scenario; the government could dissolve Parliament, and call a general election; or, the government could allow the consequences of a no deal sink in, and let Parliament stew while the currency plunges and businesses panic, before putting the deal before lawmakers once again.

A second vote would be more likely to pass than a first one, said Menon.

The deal would put the UK in a holding pattern of the alternative customs union until a better plan could be negotiated with the EU.

After the divorce deal, comes the actual trade negotiation, Menon said.

The arrangements that will regulate our future cooperation with the European Union have yet to be negotiated, said Menon. The Brexit fun is only about to begin!
The UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohammed Faraj al-Mazroui (L) shakes hands with OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo (R) watched by Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih (C) during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, on Nov. 12, 2018.(KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Oil Market Remains Cloudy as OPEC Sends Mixed Signals

A series of mixed messages from The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cause oil price volatility to spike recently. Whether the market is tightening up quickly, or there will soon be a global glut of oilthese are the contrary perspectives held by oil producing nations, offering a cloudy outlook for the market.

Oil prices took a nosedive since peaking in early October amid fears of a potential supply glut and cooling global demand. Crude futures benchmarks have slid more than 20 percent, entering a bear market.

To prevent a further slide in oil prices, Saudi Arabia recently announced its plans to cut production, reversing the 1 million barrels per day (bpd) output increase agreed to by OPEC and Russia in June.

On Nov. 12, Saudi Arabias Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih said that the kingdom would slash oil exports by 500,000 bpd next month. OPEC is expected to weigh such possibilities at its Dec. 6 meeting in Vienna.

Trump, who is critical of OPECs decision to raise oil prices, quickly responded to Saudis decision to cut output.

Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply! Trump tweeted on Nov. 12, causing oil prices to slide further.

Trump has repeatedly criticized OPEC on Twitter and called on the organization to lower the oil prices.

Al-Falih said the OPEC countries and non-member Russia together need to cut output by 1 million bpd in December. Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak, however, told reporters last week that the market is in the stage of a good balance because of temporary waivers for Iran oil.

The Trump administration reinstated economic sanctions on Iran early this month. To prevent a spike in oil prices, however, Washington granted waivers to eight countries for oil imports from Iran.

Oil prices sold off sharply following the news of exemptions. The markets initial expectation was a more dramatic decline in global supply with fears of potentially zero Iranian exports in November.

Trumps messages and Saudis response to oil prices suggest that the market will have a noisy run-up to the OPEC meeting next month, stated Citi analysts in a note to its institutional clients.

The Illusion of Supply Glut

Some oil experts believe that market will tighten considerably heading into winter, and Saudis are moving too quickly to halt the slide in oil prices.

There is an illusion of a supply glut that currently does not exist, according to Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

In fact, global inventories have been tightening, floating storage in oil is at 10-year lows, and demand numbers for oil continue to be strong, he wrote in an email note.

Before the sanctions on Iran, Saudi Arabia gave assurance that it had enough spare capacity to cover potential supply disruptions.

Saudis and other OPEC members are stunned and angry about President Donald Trumps waivers on Iranian oil exports, Flynn wrote, adding that this created an epic battle between OPEC and Trump, leading to an oil price crash.

It is still unclear whether OPEC will give in to Trumps tweet and back off a production cut in December.

Citi analysts predict that the global oil market will tighten up soon.

We think there is only around 500,000 barrels of spare capacity left in the global market, stated the Citi note. With the Iranian sanctions pulling around 1 million off the market already, a tight market will likely remain.

This situation is driving the current volatility in the oil price. In the last six weeks, oil prices went from four-year highs to a bear market. Between the summer and the fall of this year, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil increased by about 15 percent and since then came down to $55 per barrel, losing more than 20 percent. And the price of Brent crude first increased about 20 percent reaching $87 then dropped to $65 a barrel.

Such volatility instead reflects changing perceptions of whether there is or isnt ample supply, when production looks increasingly constrained, the Citi report said.

The recent crash in oil prices is good for the U.S. economy. However, too low of a price may hurt the economic growth in the long run.

The U.S. energy industry is a big part of the U.S. economy, and the world is really looking to us to supply the globe over the next few years, Flynn wrote.

The International Energy Agency said in its latest World Energy Outlook that the United States will be the biggest contributor to the oil market, accounting for nearly 75 percent of global oil production growth in the period to 2040.
Pregnant Women Charged for Allegedly Breaking Surrogacy Law: Cambodian Court

PHNOM PENH, CambodiaA Cambodian court on Tuesday, Nov. 13, charged 18 people, including 11 pregnant women, with violating laws against surrogate births.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophana said the 11 women and four other people were charged with surrogacy and human trafficking. Three more people were charged with conspiracy but did not appear.

The suspects were arrested last week in a police raid and charged under a law that specifically targets surrogacy, which was outlawed in 2016 after Cambodia became a popular destination for foreigners seeking women to give birth to their children.

Acting as an intermediary between an adoptive parent and a pregnant woman carries a penalty of one to six months in prison. The human trafficking offense is punishable by seven to 15 years imprisonment.

Developing countries are popular for surrogacy because costs are much lower than in countries such as the United States and Australia, where surrogate services can cost around $150,000. The surrogacy business boomed in Cambodia after it was put under tight restrictions in neighboring Thailand. There also were crackdowns in India and Nepal. After Cambodias crackdown, the trade shifted to neighboring Laos.

In early July, 33 pregnant Cambodian women hired to act as surrogate mothers were formally charged with surrogacy and human trafficking offenses, as were a Chinese man and four Cambodian women accused of managing the business.

In July 2017, a Cambodian court sentenced an Australian woman and two Cambodian associates to 1 1/2 years in prison for providing commercial surrogacy services.
Rare Pink Legacy Diamond Sells for Record Price in Switzerland

The largest and finest pink diamond to have ever graced a Christies auction has just sold for $50 million, a record price per carat.

The rare jewels new owner Harry Winston promptly renamed the diamond from its former name Pink Legacy to its new moniker The Winston Pink Legacy, according to a Christies news release.

The price of around $2.6 million per carat marked a world record for a pink diamond, according to the European head of the auction house Christies, BBC reported.

In the run-up to the sale, Christies International Jewelry Director David Warren told Reuters in London that the sale of the pink diamond was an extraordinary event for the auction house.

In 40 years of working at Christies Ive never seen anything like this in my life, Warren said. It was a huge surprise when there it was, we saw it, and couldnt quite believe that such a stone existed. It has wonderful purity and incredible brightness. It is beautifully cut, but it is the size and the color that just take your breath away.

The estimate is $30 million-$50 million, which is the highest estimate we have placed on any piece of jewelry at any time, Warren added.

Just five minutes of bidding at the Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov. 13, was all it took for the extraordinary gem to reach its $50 million selling price.

What Makes This Diamond So Special?

Rahul Kadakia, international head of Jewellery at Christies, explained in the news release why this 18.96-carat diamond fetched such a high price.

The saturation, the intensity of this stone is as good as it gets in a colored diamond, he said, according to the release.

To find a diamond of this size with this color is pretty much unreal. You may see this color in a pink diamond of less than one carat. But this is almost 19 carats and its as pink as can be. Its unbelievable, Kadakia continued.

Scientists classify diamonds into two main categoriesType I and Type II, with the latter type having a rare, almost homogeneous color.

Pink diamonds fall under the rare Type IIa category of diamonds, said Kadakia. These are stones that have little if any trace of nitrogen, and make up less than 2 percent of all gem diamonds. Type IIa stones are some of the most chemically pure diamonds often with exceptional transparency and brilliance.

Christies posted an alluring video featuring exquisite close-ups of the gem.

We are honored to be offering for sale The Pink Legacy, a magnificent vivid pink diamond, that once formed part of The Oppenheimer Collection, the post is captioned.

The Pink Legacy has been awarded the highest diamond color gradingFancy Vividby the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the release notes, an honor conferred on but one out of 100,000 diamonds.

Pink diamonds of any size and depth of color have always had a special allure. This 18.96-carat emerald cut pink diamond is among the rarest of all gemstones, said Tom Moses, executive vice president of GIA.

Fancy Vivid Pink is an even rarer category, as diamonds of this particular hue are seldom encountered. In Christies 250-year history, only four Fancy Vivid Pink stones over 10 carats have ever come up for auction.

The Pink Legacy, reportedly with no trace of a secondary color and with a balanced saturation, tone, and straight pink hue, make this nearly 19-carat behemoth a highly coveted one of a kind.

The world auction price per carat for any pink diamond was achieved at a Christies auction in Hong Kong in November 2017, when Pink Promise, an oval-shaped Fancy Vivid Pink diamond of just under 15 carats, was sold for $32.48 millionan impressive $2.18 per carat.
Chinese paramilitary policemen march near a billboard for the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Nov. 4. Visitors to the vast trade fair, meant to rebrand China as a welcoming import market, could sip Moroccan wine, ogle Italian yachts, and watch a Japanese industrial robot play Ping-Pong. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Red Flags Abound as Canada Deepens Trade Ties With China

Outcomes from trade mission dont take China to task

NEWS ANALYSIS

Canada is pushing hard to deepen trade ties with China, as evidenced by a delegation including four federal ministers and three provincial ministers in Beijing earlier this month. But alarm bells are ringing as concerns about Chinas integrity mount and Canadas democratic allies take action to address the Chinese regimes conduct.

Canada appears to be zigging when it should be zagging. Canadian exporters may be pleased, but the big picture is murky to say the least.

On a conference call from Beijing on Nov. 12, Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr, along with Finance Minister Bill Morneau, said the latest trade mission was part of an ongoing dialogue and long-term objective.

The Liberal government ultimately envisions a comprehensive free trade deal. But for now, the ministers beamed about the $1.67 billion in commercial deals signed by 48 Canadian companies during the China International Import Expo in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10.

Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinas Premier Li Keqiang met in Singapore on Nov. 14 and welcomed the results of the trade mission in China.

China is Canadas second-largest single-country trading partner. In 2017, two-way trade between the two countries reached nearly $94.5 billion, or 8.4 percent of Canadas total merchandise trade. But as Canada has been importing more from China than it exports, the trade deficit sits at $22.8 billiona sign that trade is tilted in favour of the Chinese.

Carr wouldnt characterize the meetings as focusing on sectoral trade, or that it was something mutually exclusive from comprehensive free trade.

This is a series, its a continuum, its a progression, he said.

But according to J. Michael Cole, a former intelligence officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and now Taipei-based senior fellow with the China Policy Institute, Ottawa does not appear to understand the urgency of joining democracies led by the United States to pressure China to reform its conduct in international trade.

Cole is the author of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute publication The Hard Edge of Sharp Power: Understanding Chinas Influence Operations Abroad, in which he discusses Chinas political warfare as it seeks to expand its authoritarian regime.

The report includes recommendations to protect against external influence by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Even as we negotiate trade deals and our businesses look to China as an alluring market, our societies need to weigh the benefits of continued business-as-usual engagement against the costs to the democratic values we cherish, Cole wrote in a Macleans editorial.

The timing of the trade mission is awkward given the ongoing trade war between China and Canadas top trading partner and democratic ally, the United States.

Asked if a more suitable and tactical approach would be to wait until the trade war plays out or China capitulates, Morneau said: We and the Chinese understand that in order to make progress, were going to need to meet on a regular basis.

The concerns about the Canadian governments approach toward China are similar to those expressed by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro in a Nov. 8 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He lashed out at Wall Street executives for pressuring U.S. President Donald Trump to end the trade dispute with China and for visiting and being wooed by Beijing.

Like Cole, Navarro is concerned about Trumps negotiating position weakening if China is able to find a means of escape through Canada.

No Apparent Concessions

The Canadian government published a list of outcomes on Nov. 12 from the Morneau and Carr meetings, but it did not include any mention of stopping cyber espionage or theft of intellectual property. The word cooperation is mentioned 31 times, including on trade-related IP issues. There was no mention of gender equity, human rights, or respect for the environment, which were asks Trudeau had for the Chinese regime last December.

Morneau and Carr also addressed the Canada China Business Council in a meeting from which the media were banned at the request of Chinese officials, according to the CBCs Sasa Petricic.

It appears the Chinese authorities are dictating proceedings and not being taken to task as the United States endeavours to do.

The task of any government, Trudeaus or any other government is to reconcile values with strictly commercial interests, said Eric Miller, president of the Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, in an interview.

Carr said there was an awful lot of support among Chinese ministers for the Canada WTO [World Trade Organization] reform initiative that took place in Ottawa in late October.

That meeting hosted in Ottawa by the trade minister and attended by 12 other nationsother than China and the United Statesaimed to update the dispute settlement system and improve the effectiveness of the WTO monitoring function. The meeting aimed to build consensus among the smaller trading nations.

The Chinese are absolutely committed to a world system that is rules-based, Carr said.

The Chinese are talking the talk, but history has shown that they havent walked the walk, certainly as it relates to WTO rules.

Trade-Offs

Morneau extolled the virtues of trade with China for creating more middle-class jobs, but the Centre for the Study of Living Standards recently reported that the loss in manufacturing jobs in Canada directly attributable to Chinese imports from 2001 to 2011 amounted to 114,000.

Cole said Ottawa risks becoming the weak link in the alliance of democracies.

We have to decide if markets and money are less important [than] the upholding of our democratic rightsand those who would threaten to undermine them, he wrote in the Macleans editorial.

Canada seeks foreign capital to fund its infrastructure projects and to add greater expertise to the Canadian knowledge base, but one potentially undesirable byproduct to deeper economic relations with China is investment by its state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Canada already rejected the takeover of its infrastructure and construction giant Aecon by a Chinese state-owned construction firm due to national security concerns. SOEs can also distort competitive markets as their motivations are not consistent with those of private companies.

We will examine those [SOE] investments to make sure that there are no security or other challenges for the Canadian economy, Morneau said.

As part of a deeper trade relationship, China wants to secure greater access for its SOEs in Canada, while minimizing the competition they face domestically.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranks China 59 out of 62 countries for openness to foreign direct investment (FDI).

Canada is expecting timely implementation of announcements by China on further market opening. The lack of reciprocity is one of the major complaints levied against China, and is also illustrated by the trade deficit.

Canada and China are determined to forge deeper ties with the focus being agriculture and energy. Canada wants to double agriculture trade with China by 2025, as the United States and other democratic allies tighten the vice on China.

Follow Rahul on Twitter @RV_ETBiz
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participates in a lecture at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington on Sept. 26, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Returns to Work at Supreme Court After Fall

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to work at the Supreme Court on the afternoon of Nov. 13, after recovering from a severe fall.

Ginsburg, 85, the oldest member on the court, fell in her office on Nov. 7.

A court news release said that she felt uncomfortable the next morning so she went to get a checkup, which revealed three broken ribs. Ginsburg spent the night in George Washington University Hospital and was released the next day. She had worked from home while recuperating.

Ginsburg was not on the bench on Tuesday morning when the court met for routine business that didnt include hearing any arguments but she was in her office on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg had said that Ginsburg continues to improve and is working from home.

Ginsburgs nephew Daniel Stiepleman, who wrote the script for the Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex, said on Nov. 8 at the films premiere that his aunt 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 cant promise they were good jokes but they were jokes.

The Supreme Courts next public meeting is Nov. 26.

President Trump

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Nov. 9 that he wished her well.

I wish her well. She said something very inappropriate during the campaign but she apologized for it. I wouldnt say shes exactly on my side. But I wish her well, Trump said. I hope she gets better and I hope she serves on the Supreme Court for many, many years.

Ginsburg criticized Trump in the 2016 presidential election, at one point calling him a faker, an uncharacteristic move for a Supreme Court justice. She later apologized.

Oldest Member

Ginsburg is the courts oldest member. She was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton as the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

In 2014, she underwent a heart procedure to have a stent placed in her right coronary artery. She also broke two ribs in a fall in 2012 and has survived two bouts of cancer.

Ginsburg said previously that she wants to stay on the bench until at least 2023.

Im now 85, she said in August. My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years.

From NTD News
Signs showing support for Proposition F are posted on a shop window in San Francisco, Calif. in this file photo. Proposition F, known to some as the Airbnb initiative, restricts short term rentals in the city (JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

San Franciscos War on Airbnb Is a War on the Free Market

The city's absurd fines, crackdowns show hostility for thrift

The most ingenious arbiter of resource allocation is under attack around the globe: market pricing. In the cross hairs stands the peer-to-peer economy, which circumvents price controls, favoritism, and central planning.

The intermediary platformsAirbnb, Uber, Kickstarter, Turo, etc.have enabled a flowering of mutually beneficial exchange. The beauty of these decentralized networks is surpassed only by the economic value they bring to users.

The success of these intermediaries lies in their capacity to send out price signals and allow the invisible hand of the free market to work. Where there is pent-up supply or demand, these applications make that known. The harmonious response is for new participants to enter the market, either as providers or consumers, and for untapped resources to be utilized.

The enemies of peer-to-peer platforms, therefore, are the enemies of the free market and innovation. These Luddites either do not understand the economic benefits or profit artificially from the status quo. As Maria Marty, the executive director of the Foundation for Intellectual Responsibility once quipped, You can tell how corrupt a city is by how vehemently it cracks down on the sharing economy.

The Crime of Serving Customers

Municipal and state officials correctly sense that these platforms challenge and limit their power. For those motivated by power, therefore, even platforms that bear fruit must be stamped out.

In the case of Airbnbwhich offers flexible accommodation options to 150 million usersthis contrast of peaceful exchange versus top-down dictates has led to bizarre and rising crackdowns. In May, New York fined a couple $1.2 million and Asheville, North Carolina, fined a man $850,000 for serving Airbnb guests.

San Francisco is ground zero for this standoff, and the municipal government this month imposed a $2.3 million fine on two Airbnb hosts.

The city spent two years investigating the couple, reports United Press International. While San Francisco is one of the most ardent sanctuary cities in the nation, the City Attorney Dennis Herrera had the gall to tout the outcome and costly pursuit as a victory for the rule of law and an end to unfair competition in the marketplace.

The fact that this couple, Darren and Valerie Lee, were willing to go to great lengths to defy city mandates is a testament to the enormous demand for their accommodation. What the couple did was only a crime against protectionist regulations that patently are not in the interest of consumers.

San Francisco Needs More Airbnb

The irony lost on the officials leading the crackdown is that they are their own worst enemy, as they fret over rising rental rates and a shortage of available accommodation.

Their observations are spot on: San Francisco is one of the nations most expensive cities for accommodation, along with Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose. This years International Housing Affordability Survey, published by Demographia and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in Canada, showed San Francisco to be severely unaffordable and among the worst in the English-speaking world.

The metric the report authors use is the median multiple: How many times the median household income goes into the median house price. That is 9.1 times for San Francisco. Even if a normal San Francisco household were to devote an impossible 100 percent of pre-tax earnings to buying a home with no interest charges, they would need nearly a decade.

Not surprisingly, given the lack of affordable options, homelessness is a glaring problem in the city. Wendell Cox, a senior fellow at Canadas Frontier Centre for Public Policy, points the finger at restrictive zoning and a constrained supply. Even the progressive Atlantic magazine has recognized the relationship between this beleaguered population, rising housing costs, and zoning laws [that] have limited the construction of new housing units.

Rather than deal with the pesky causes, though, San Francisco passed a new tax this month (Proposition C) to fund housing and homelessness services. In contrast, Airbnb has voluntarily committed $5 million of its own money to address homelessness in the city.

Airbnbs Price Signal

When demand exceeds supply, the price will rise to clear the market. High prices for rentals and homes send a crucial message: San Francisco needs more houses and apartments!

Insofar as any space not being utilized, Airbnb has responsive, market-driven prices that incentivize offering what is available. In other words, every last inch of available space can more easily be offered and put to usea win for owners, visitors, and renters who cannot commit to or afford long-term contracts. For those struggling and willing to accept less pristine options, Airbnb can be 40 percent cheaper than conventional hotels.

If you read San Franciscos Airbnb law, however, you could be forgiven for believing that prices and Airbnb are the enemy. For example, city rent controls must be obeyed or providers will be subject to fines of $1,000 per day. Furthermore, no one can rent on Airbnb for more than 90 days per year if he does not live on-site, while out-of-towners are banned entirely. Naturally, owners need to move to San Francisco to alleviate the housing shortage.

Airbnb is simply allowing people to do the best they can to meet market needs within a painfully constrained housing market. It is an important tool to ease the strain on availability and make San Francisco more accessible, and the profits generated via the platform make the case for both loosened housing regulations and more construction.

Those who campaign for affordable housing with the same number and style of units want to have their cake and eat it too. Though blocked by municipal governments, Airbnb has shown the demand for more options, and the platform simply reflects the wishes of users.

Fergus Hodgson is the founder and executive editor of Latin American intelligence publication Antigua Report.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Sierra Fire Erupts Near Los Angeles

Video shows the fire raging near Rialto, California

A new fire, named the Sierra Fire, burned more than 140 acres by the morning of Nov. 14, after erupting overnight, according to reports.

Video footage, as seen at the top of the article, shows the wildfire just outside of the town of Rialto as thick smoke inundates the streets. Rialto is located just to the east of Los Angeles.

By Wednesday morning, the fire was at 75 percent containment, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Fire is holding at 147 acres with 75% containment. Structure threat mitigated. Fresh units coming to the line this morning. Riverside Ave remains closed between SierraAve and LocustAve. Firefighters will cont to monitor neighborhoods and ensure line integrity, officials wrote on Twitter.

Firefighters have not ordered any evacuations, NBC News reported. Fire officials told KTLA that overnight, the fire grew to cover 20 acres in just 15 minutes.

Were hoping for full containment today, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Eric Sherwin told the Desert Sun. Well continue tactical patrols today to make sure no embers cross the fire line.

The fire was, in part, fueled by heavy Santa Ana winds. The National Weather Service said that on Nov. 13, wind speeds reached 56 mph.

The fire is about 90 miles east of the Woolsey Fire, which has left at least two people dead, and the Hill Fire. Its also located hundreds of miles south of the Camp Fire, which has ravaged Butte County in Northern California, essentially destroying the small city of Paradise. In that fire, 48 people have been confirmed dead and many more are missing.
Flowers and other items have been left as memorials outside the Tree of Life synagogue following last Saturday's shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 3, 2018. (Alan Freed/File Photo/Reuters)

US Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Spiked 37 Percent in 2017: FBI

Hate crimes in the United States jumped 17 percent in 2017, with a huge 37 percent spike in anti-Semitic attacks, marking the third year in a row that such attacks have increased, according to FBI data released on Nov. 13.

The release of the data comes just weeks after a gunman burst into a Pittsburgh synagogue and shot dead 11 worshippers while shouting All Jews must die.

According to the FBIs annual Hate Crime Statistics report, there were a total of 7,175 hate crime incidents reported last year by law enforcement agencies, up from 6,121 incidents in 2016. The agency did not offer a reason for the increase.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a statement that hate crimes were despicable violations of Americas values.

I am particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes, Whitaker said.

The report showed a 37 percent jump in anti-Semitic incidents to 938 from 684 a year earlier.

The Pittsburgh synagogue massacre in late October at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which was the worst attack on Americas Jewish community.

This report provides further evidence that more must be done to address the divisive climate of hate in America, Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation Leagues national director, said in a statement. That begins with leaders from all walks of life and from all sectors of society forcefully condemning anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hate whenever it occurs.

Nearly 16 percent of the 4,131 incidents in 2017 involving race or ethnicity were fueled by anti-black or African-American bias, increasing to 2,013 from 1,739 in 2016, the FBI said.

Of the 6,370 known offenders in the report, 50.7 percent were white, while 21.3 percent were Black or African-American.

The 2017 data was compiled from reports voluntarily submitted by 16,149 law enforcement agencies.

FBI officials said the agency will provide training next year for law enforcement officers on how to identify bias-motivated incidents and report that data to federal authorities.

By Gina Cherelus
Bishop David Zubik, of Pittsburgh, participates in a morning prayer during the USCCB's annual fall meeting in Baltimore on Nov. 13, 2018,. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

US Bishops Weigh Anti-Abuse Strategy After Delay Set by Vatican

BALTIMORESeveral Roman Catholic bishops on Nov. 13 urged colleagues at their national meeting to take some sort of action on the clergy sex abuse crisis despite a Vatican order to delay voting on key proposals.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, suggested a nonbinding vote to convey a sense of the bishops aspirations regarding anti-abuse efforts.

We are not branch managers of the Vatican, he said. Our people are crying out for some action.

Bishop George Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, echoed Paprockis call, saying parishioners and priests in his diocese are very, very angry.

The three-day assembly opened Nov. 12 with a surprise announcement by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Vatican, he said, was ordering the bishops to delay votes on two anti-abuse proposals until after a Vatican-convened global meeting on sex abuse in February.

DiNardo indicated there were two principal reasons for the Vatican order: to ensure that steps taken by the U.S. bishops would be in harmony with steps decided at the February meeting, and to provide more time for vetting aspects of the U.S. proposals that might conflict with church law.

Even without the option of a formal vote this week, the U.S. bishops proceeded with discussion of the two key proposals. One would establish a new code of conduct of individual bishops; the other would create a nine-member special commission, including six lay experts and three members of the clergy, to review complaints against the bishops.

The lay members would include experts in law enforcement, social work and psychology, as well as at least one survivor of clergy abuse, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron said.

However, the bishops are under pressure to take additional steps, as stressed in an address to the assembly Nov. 13 by Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, which the bishops created in 2002 to monitor the churchs efforts to prevent clergy sex abuse.

Your response to this crisis has been incomplete, said Cesareo, calling for more accountability. It is shameful that the sin of abuse was hidden and allowed to fester until uncovered by the secular world.

He cited the grand jury report released in August in Pennsylvania. It detailed decades of abuse and cover-up in six dioceses, alleging more than 1,000 children had been abused over the years by about 300 priests. Since then, a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia has begun working on a federal criminal case centered on child exploitation, and attorneys general in at least 11 other states have launched investigations.

How many souls have been lost because of this crisis? Cesareo said.

He urged all U.S. bishops to commit to conducting a thorough review of their dioceses files, dating to at least 1950, and publicly sharing a list of any clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable adults.

Some bishops had taken this step, he noted, and urged the others to follow suit.

Cesareo also endorsed the bishop conferences proposal for a thorough investigation of the scandal involving disgraced church leader Theodore McCarrick. Pope Francis removed McCarrick as a cardinal in July after church investigators said an allegation that he groped a teenage altar boy in the 1970s was credible.

Subsequently, several former seminarians and priests reported they too had been abused or harassed by McCarrick as adults, triggering debate over who might have known and covered up McCarricks misconduct.

At one point during the morning session, Bishop Shawn McKnight, of Jefferson City, Missouri, expressed dismay that the Vatican doesnt trust us and asked Cesareo what the USCCB should do.

Decisively act on this issue and continually move it forward, Cesareo replied. If that doesnt happen, I fear for the future of our church.

Among those attending the assembly was James Timlin, a retired Pennsylvania bishop who was faulted by the state grand jury for his handling of clergy sex abuse and barred from representing the diocese in public.

Also on hand was former Bishop Robert Finn, who once led the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, and pleaded guilty to failing to report a suspected priestly child abuser. Pope Francis in 2015 accepted Finns resignation, offered under the code of canon law that allows bishops to resign early for illness or some grave reason that makes them unfit for office.

Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Vermont, said the USCCB didnt have the authority to ban any ordained bishop, active or retired, from attending the assembly.

Outside the conference venue along Baltimores waterfront, hundreds of people gathered in a protest rally organized by nine Catholic reformist groups. Some held placards denouncing homosexuality in the priesthood, asserting that it was behind clergy sex abuse.

Ulana Campbell, of Wilmington, Delaware, was one of roughly 400 participants at the rally. She said the bishops appeared incapable of stopping clergy sex abuse.

These bishops are absolutely corrupted by power. I think the true church is going to have to go underground, Campbell said. I am an angry Catholic, but I refuse to leave my faith.
A transporter erector vehicle used to launch the Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile DF-21A on display at the "Our troops towards the sky" exhibition at the Beijing Military Museum in August 2007. A version of the DF-21 missile is designed to take out U.S. carriers operating in the western Pacific. (Max Smith via Wikimedia Commons)

US-Chinese Officials Silent on Possible Arms-Control Talks

WASHINGTONAt the U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue held at the State Department on Nov. 9, one key issue that seems not to have been discussed was the Chinese regimes nuclear buildup.

At the press conference at the conclusion of the dialogue, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, in answering a question about the planned U.S. withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), stated, We did not spend time talking in detail about that issue today, with no further comment. The U.S. withdrawal is partially tied to the Chinese regimes nuclear buildup.

The Trump administration announced its intent last month to withdraw from the INF, due to its violation by Russia (since at least 2014) and Chinas absence from the pact.

In remarks to reporters on Oct. 20, President Donald Trump laid out the rationale for withdrawing: Unless Russia comes to us and China comes to us and they all come to us and say, Lets really get smart and lets none of us develop those weapons. But if Russias doing it and if Chinas doing it and were adhering to the agreement, thats unacceptable.

On Oct. 22, Trump criticized the INF treaty for not including China.

The Chinese regimes state-run media, such as Xinhua and Global Times, as well as media aligned with the regime, such as Hong Kongs Phoenix News, reacted strongly to Trumps statements. Many articles repeated the mantra that scrapping the treaty would be opening a door to hell.

On Oct. 22, Chinese foreign affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press conference that it is completely wrong to bring up China when talking about withdrawal from the treaty. On Oct. 23, she accused the United States of unreasonably and unacceptably using China as an excuse to end the treaty, and of putting the onus on Beijing.

The INF, signed by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, was intended to reduce tensions in Europe, which, at the time, was divided into communist and non-communist camps. The pact eliminated thousands of intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) from the arsenals of both superpowers.

Unbound by the treaty, China has built up its nuclear arsenal. While China claims to possess only a few hundred warheads, international observers estimate that the true size could be in the thousands, putting it on par with the United States and Russia.

Having not addressed the issue of U.S. withdrawal from the INF in detail, as Pompeo put it, begs the question of when the United States will raise the issue, as the Nov. 9 meeting was in preparation for the upcoming meeting between our two leaders at the G20.

China could face significant exposure of its nuclear arsenal, should the United States press it for entry into an INF-type or other nuclear arms-control agreement. It fields IRBMs that may violate the INFs provisions.

INF included an inspection and verification regime, though those requirements of the treaty expired in 2001. Any new treaty would quite surely include renewed monitoring and verification rules. In addition to its restrictions on ballistic missiles, INF also bans cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (about 300 to 3,400 miles), across multiple land-based platforms, as well as upon research and development of weapons within its prescribed ranges.

Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Central Commission of the Communist Party of China Yang Jiechi responded forcefully to U.S. objections to the Chinese regimes construction and militarization of islands in the South China Sea. These installations complicate arms control, as they provide potential ballistic missile sites or bases of operations for other nuclear platforms.

Nicole Hao contributed to this report.
A police officer checks the identity card of a man as security forces keep watch in a street in Kashgar, Xinjiang region, China on March 24, 2017. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

US Measure Urges Possible China Sanctions Over Crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang

WASHINGTON/BEIJINGU.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Nov. 14 urging a stronger response by the Trump administration to Chinas crackdown on minority Muslims, including possible sanctions against a senior official.

The legislation also asks President Donald Trump to condemn Chinas actions in its western region of Xinjiang, call for a new special coordinator of U.S. policy on the issue, and seek consideration of a ban on export of U.S. technology that could be used by Beijing in the surveillance and mass detention of ethnic Uyghurs, according to a copy of the measure seen by Reuters.

Over the years, Xinjiang has been transformed into a vast security state, packed with police stations, street cameras, and security checkpoints at which electronic identity cards are scanned.

The lawmakers want the Trump administration to consider human rights-related sanctions against Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is also a member of the powerful Politburo, and other officials credibly alleged to be responsible for the security crackdown, the measure will say.

Chinese government officials should be held accountable for their complicity in this evil and U.S. businesses should be barred from helping China create a high-tech police state in Xinjiang, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation to be presented in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The White House didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the measure, which is also being put forward by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

Senior Aides More Vocal

Trumps senior aides recently have become more vocal in their criticism of Chinas treatment of its minority Muslims in Xinjiang, which has sparked an international outcry. Any sanctions, however, would be a rare move on human-rights grounds by the Trump administration against China, with which it is engaged in a bitter trade war.

The Chinese regime has used the excuse of potential Islamic threats, extremism and ethnic riots to crack down on the local population in Xinjiang, and has urged the United States and other countries to stay out of its internal affairs.

Western countries including Canada, France, Germany, and the United States have urged China to shut down camps in Xinjiang, where activists say as many as 1 million members of the Uyghur minority and other Muslims are being detained.

Rubio said in a statement that some Chinese officials were responsible for possible crimes against humanity.

For several months, the Trump administration has been weighing sanctions against Chinese officials and companies operating in Xinjiang, U.S. officials have said, on condition of anonymity.

The new bill calls for consideration of measures under the Global Magnitsky Act, which hits rights violators with freezes on U.S. assets, U.S. travel bans, and prohibitions on Americans doing business with them, and also under a federal law to target those involved in religious repression around the world.

It will urge the administration to report back to Congress on Chinese companies involved in the camps and ask the FBI to act against any Chinese government efforts to intimidate Uyghurs living in the United States.

By Patricia Zengerle & Ben Blanchard. The Epoch Times contributed to this report.
Mexico's top drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted as he arrives at Long Island MacArthur airport in New York on Jan. 19, 2017, after his extradition from Mexico. (U.S. officials/Handout via REUTERS)

US Trial of Mexicos El Chapo Begins Amid Heavy Security

NEW YORKA lawyer for accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman told a New York jury in opening remarks that his client was a scapegoat for the real leader of Mexicos Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael El Mayo Zambada.

Hes blamed for being the leader while the real leaders are living freely and openly in Mexico, attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said on the first day of Guzmans trial for drug smuggling in Brooklyn federal court, which is expected to last up to four months. In truth he controlled nothing. Mayo Zambada did.

Lichtman also said that Zambada had been left free because he bribes the entire government of Mexico including up to the very top, the current president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto.

Pena Nietos spokesman said of the accusation: That is false.

Lichtmans statement came after Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels laid out the U.S. governments case, describing how prosecutors would prove that Guzman rose from a low-level marijuana trafficker in the 1970s to lead the powerful Sinaloa Cartel.

Fels said that Guzman, 61, eventually established relationships with Colombian cartels that allowed him to make billions of dollars moving cocaine. He said jurors would see evidence of seized cocaine shipments adding up to more than a line of cocaine for every single person in the United States.

Fels told jurors that Guzman left a trail of violence, turning parts of Mexico into war zones as he fought rivals to expand his reach. He said jurors would hear of how Guzman personally shot two members of a rival cartel and ordered them thrown into holes and burned. Federal prosecutors say that as leader of Mexicos Sinaloa Cartel, Guzman, 61, directed massive shipments of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine bound for the United States. He faces 17 criminal counts and a potential life sentence if convicted.

As well as smuggling drugs to the United States, the Sinaloa Cartel has played a major role in narco violence between rival gangs that has torn areas of Mexico apart and defied successive governments.

More than 200,000 people have been killedmany in cartel feudssince the Mexican government sent troops in to take on the drug gangs in 2006.

The prosecutors witnesses are expected to include former Guzman associates who are now cooperating with the U.S. government in exchange for more favorable treatment, likely including Zambadas brother Jesus El Rey Zambada and son Vicente Zambada.

Lichtman spent much of his opening statement attacking their credibility.

Why is the government going so far, in this case, using these gutter human beings as the evidence? he asked. Its because the conviction of Chapo Guzman is the biggest prize this prosecution could ever dream of.

Lichtman urged jurors to keep an open mind and consider that both Mexican and U.S. law enforcement could be corrupt.

They work together when it suits them, Mayo (Zambada) and the United States government, he said.

Lichtman also strove to humanize the defendant, describing his childhood selling oranges, cheese, and bread door to door in a poor village.

The Nov. 13 opening statements were delayed by hours when two of the jurors chosen last week dropped out of the case, forcing lawyers and U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to select two new jurors. Lichtman did not finish his statement and is expected to resume Nov. 14.

Guzman, who twice dramatically escaped from Mexican maximum security prisons, has been kept in solitary confinement in Manhattan. His trial is surrounded by extraordinary security measures, with jurors escorted to and from court by armed federal marshals.

In addition to Lichtman, Guzmans lawyers at the trial include Eduardo Balarezo and William Purpura, who previously defended Mexican drug lord Alfredo Beltran Leyva, once a partner and later a rival of Guzman. Beltran Leyva pleaded guilty to U.S. drug charges and was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Washington last year.

By Brendan Pierson
Competition in China's booming sharing economy market is set to intensify further, as companies step up efforts to retain customers and market share with superior products and services, said industry insiders.

The market, which has been a roller coaster of boom and bust, has more or less stabilized and is now witnessing a phase of steady growth, they said.

Bike-sharing startup Hellobike, now rebranded as Hello-Chuxing, was the first off the block when it launched a new cab-hailing function for its mobile app users last month, as it stepped up its competition with ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing. The company said the new services would be available in 81 cities across the nation, including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province.

Unlike other bike-sharing giants like Ofo Inc and Beijing Mobike Technology Co Ltd that focus on bigger and key cities and overseas expansion, HelloChuxing has a greater presence in second and third-tier cities in China, where it has gained more than 200 million registered users in less than three years.

The Shanghai-based company has a presence in more than 300 cities across the country, with its daily orders surpassing 20 million. It was also among the first to waive deposits for bike users with a good credit record.

The company has also partnered with ride-hailing providers Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur, Dida Chuxing and digital mapmaker AutoNavi Software, but did not disclose further details on the agreements.

"We have been focusing on how to better serve our clients and satisfy their commuting needs, in an effort to create a highly-efficient, convenient and friendly transportation environment for the public," said Yang Lei, CEO of HelloChuxing.

HelloChuxing has racked up about half of the users in second and third-tier cities, according to data-monitoring firm Trustdata. About 70 percent of China's bike-sharing users are from second and lower-tier cities, while those in first-tier cities account for 28 percent of that market.

Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's financial unit, has invested 2.06 billion yuan ($296 million) in HelloChuxing, giving the latter a unicorn valuation of $1.47 billion.

HelloChuxing has also teamed up with Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co Ltd to develop a smart technology, to improve subway-to-bicycle transfers for commuters at railway stations.

Chen Xiaodong, chief financial officer of the company, said with only two major bike-sharing players in China - Ofo and Mobike - they still see a lot of space for them to provide better services and be more efficient in the industry.

The bike-sharing hype has also caught the attention of investors, who have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the major startups.

Earlier this year, Ofo raised $866 million in a funding round led by tech giant Alibaba. Its competitor Mobike was acquired by China's largest provider of on-demand online services Meituan-Dianping in April, squashing expectations of a merger with Ofo. Meanwhile, Chinese ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing launched its own bike-sharing service in January.

Data from global consulting firm Roland Berger estimates that the global market for bike sharing could reach $6.1 billion by 2020. Although China's bike-sharing market has grown rapidly over the past few years, as part of a booming digital economy, it will encounter challenges and bottlenecks this year, experts said.

Vandalism and low rates of usage have forced some Chinese companies to withdraw from some overseas markets. Mobike is considering pulling out of Manchester in the United Kingdom, while its arch rival Ofo has canceled services in other British cities, including Norwich, Sheffield and Leeds.

Ofo has said that it will pull out of several countries entirely, including Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, India and Israel, as part of its efforts to focus on promising markets.

In addition, less than a year after launching in the United States, Ofo said it was laying off staff across the country and pulling out of several cities.

The number of shared bikes in Beijing has dropped by about 20 percent from a peak period last year, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport. Currently, Beijing has 1.91 million bikes, down one-fifth from a peak of 2.35 million in September last year.

No new bikes will be allowed on the street. Companies will be required to take damaged or idle bikes off the street regularly, the commission said.

Zhao Xiang, an analyst at Beijing-based internet consultancy Analysys, said the bike-sharing industry has entered a new stage of integration, and Mobike and Ofo need to expand their business in an orderly way, as well as improve the way of operating bikes and explore more monetization models.

The country's bike-sharing industry experienced exponential growth in 2017, with the growth rate surging to 632.1 percent, according to market consultancy iiMedia Research. However, that figure is estimated to drop significantly to 14.6 percent this year.

The consultancy also said monthly active Ofo users reached 29.38 million in May, while the figures for Mobike and HelloChuxing amounted to 25.27 million and 5.29 million, respectively.

In addition to bike-sharing, the sharing economy concept has stretched to homes. Chinese consumers have started to pursue high-quality travel and accommodation experiences, which has spurred the explosive growth of home-sharing service providers, such as Airbnb Inc, Tujia.com, Xiaozhu Inc and Zhubaijia.com.

China's home-sharing market is surging, thanks to the fast-growing middle and high-income group, and the increasing popularity of homestays as a novel form of accommodation. Market transaction volume surged 70.6 percent year-on-year to stand at about 14.5 billion yuan last year, and the figure is expected to reach 50 billion yuan in 2020, according to a report by the State Information Center, a government think tank.

In October, home-stay online booking platform Xiaozhu - often dubbed China's answer to Airbnb - announced it has secured around $300 million in its latest round of financing.

The capital will be invested in global network expansion and the development of a smart home internet of things system, according to Chen Chi, co-founder and CEO of the company.

The startup will leverage the home-sharing platform to build an expansive coordination network, allowing more people to benefit from the booming sharing economy, according to Chen.

It also offers value-added services, ranging from housekeeping to house interior photography, so as to improve the look and feel of properties for would-be renters.

In May, Xiaozhu and fintech giant Ant Financial Services Group together promoted facial recognition technology for smart door locks in 40 cities nationwide. In November 2017, the startup closed a $120 million round of financing led by Yunfeng Capital, making it a unicorn in the industry.

Tujia, another Chinese accommodation sharing and booking website, raised $300 million in its series E round of fundraising in October 2017, and is backed by online travel booking platform Ctrip.

"The authorities should increase efforts to formulate standards for the emerging market and implement detailed safety rules, in cooperation with sharing accommodation providers. That kind of approach will help the healthy and orderly development of online short-term rental services," said Lai Zhen, an analyst at market research firm iResearch.
Woman Charged After 44 Deceased Dogs Found in Home; 130 Dogs Rescued: Police

A New Jersey woman was arrested for keeping more than 100 dogs in inhumane conditions at her home in Shamong Township.

Donna Roberts, 65, was charged with animal cruelty, said the New Jersey State Police on Facebook on Nov. 14.

A day before, detectives assisted the Burlington County Health Department for an inspection.

When detectives arrived, they observed evidence of animal cruelty inflicted upon various breeds of dogs on the property. The odor of animal feces and ammonia permeated the inside of the residence, which caused several of the responders to experience dizziness and nausea, said New Jersey police.

Detectives then discovered about 130 living dogs and 44 dead dogs. The deceased animals were allegedly packed in plastic bags and were stored in freezers in her home, they said.

Four of the dogs were in critical condition were transported to an emergency veterinary clinic while the remaining dogs were evaluated and treated, said police.

Although the circumstances surrounding the demise of the 44 dogs that were discovered inside plastic bags in freezers remain under investigation, the deplorable and inhumane living conditions the rescued dogs were forced to endure is tragic, stated Colonel Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police.

He added: Troopers take an oath to protect and safeguard life, including the lives and well-being of pets, which can be vulnerable to abuse.

Scott Coffina, the Burlington County prosecutor, said there were concerns about animals on her property.

We are appalled by the horrendous conditions these dogs were subjected to, and as a result I authorized charges against the property owner, Donna Roberts, he said.

Roberts was charged with animal cruelty and was released ahead of a court date.

I didnt do anything wrong

Roberts told the New York Post that some of the dead animals were stillborn puppies. She forgot about the dead animals after placing them in bags in the freezer seven years ago.

I forgot all about them, they were in the cellar, Roberts said. They were in a freezer, and thats what breeders do when dogs die. I forgot all about them. They were born dead and I didnt kill them. Theyre making a big deal out of nothing. She added that the dogs were supposed to be sent to Alabama for an autopsy, but her boyfriend died, and it slipped her mind.

Roberts explained that she raised Labradors, Boston terrier mixes, poodles, boxers, and others.

Shes is planning to fight the charges. Oh most certainly, she told the paper. I didnt do anything wrong.

She also said her home was inspected in the past after Shamong Township restricted the number of dogs at any private residence to 14.
With social media becoming such a big part of our everyday lives, its no surprise that employers are increasingly using social networks to research potential hires and gather more information than they would otherwise obtain during the interview process.

In fact, 70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and about 43 percent of employers use social media to check on current employees, according to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey.

Related: What You Should Be Looking at in Potential Hires' Social Media Posts

As with most things, the more information you have, the better decisions you can make. Here's a look at how companies are analyzing social media to make hiring decisions, and the impact that can have on potential candidates.

Having an online profile is important.

Some 47 percent of prospective employers said that if they couldn't find a job candidate online, they were less likely to call that person in for an interview. For the 30 percent of American adults who dont have an online presence, this could be an issue when they're job hunting.

Employers do look at social media profiles to make hiring decisions, and can, so long as it does not violate federal or state anti-discrimination laws such as race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, etc., Sergei Lemberg, managing partner at Lemberg Law, told me in a phone interview.

At a time when almost 70 percent of American adults have an online presence, it has become more of an expectation to be able to find everyone online. And employers are no different; in the CareerBuilder survey, employers said they expected candidates to have an online presence and that they typically gathered more information prior to calling a candidate for an interview.

Confirm the candidates qualifications online.

Companies are no longer just pre-screening applicants through phone interviews and personality assessment tests; now they have social media profiles at their fingertips to take a deeper dive into the personal lives and previous job experiences of candidates. Information that once used to be private is now readily available to anyone willing to take a little time to dig around the web.

That way, ideally, a candidates background listed online should match the qualifications he or she has stated on a resume or shared during the interview. Thats what employers look for, and any discrepancy in this information can lead to potential employers questioning the accuracy of a candidates resume.

Related: Why It's a Mistake to Rely on a 'Social-Media Background Check'

Furthermore, of those companies that have researched candidates online, 57 percent, according to the CareerBuilder survey, have found content that caused them not to hire candidates.

A professional online persona Is key.

While its not constructive for companies to scour the internet looking for reasons not to hire someone, it is beneficial to ensure the candidate is a professional. What hiring managers should look for is anything alarming in a candidates social profile or posts that could directly be cause for concern for the company. Specifically, that means anything that indicates the candidate may not align with the companys values or mission.

Candidates and employees, from their end, meanwhile, should make sure to be familiar with company policies, as they can differ from one company to another.

But what are the implications of using information that potential hires have shared in a non-work related environment without thinking about those posts' implications for a future job opportunity? Significantly reducing the applicant pool you, as hiring manager, have is one down side; you may have to eliminate too many candidates after you've peered into their personal lives.

Basically, once you put something on the internet publicly, theres no expectation of privacy and an employer can use it against you unless doing so would otherwise violate law, Lemberg said. Job-seekers should keep that in mind and keep their personal social profiles, such as Instagram or Facebook, private. Meanwhile, they should maintain business social networks, such as LinkedIn or Shapr, making sure to update their skills, job history and affiliations with professional organizations.

Lots of employers have workplace internet or social media policies to help deal with these issues, Lemberg added. And employees have also been fired for posting social media content.

An example? Most of us remember Juli Briskman, who lost her job after she was photographed extending her middle finger at President Trumps motorcade last year. A photo of Briskman circulated on social media and went viral, so she brought it to the attention of her employer. The employer stated that she had violated the companys social media policy on obscenity by sharing the image on Facebook and Twitter. Briskman went on to sue her former employer for wrongful termination.

Related: How Recruiters Creepily Troll Social Media for Job Candidates (Infographic)

She was fortunate enough, however, to also see the positive impacts social media can have: She subsequently received thousands of dollars in donations and even new job offers following the news of her employer letting her go.

Related:

Neutral Assessment: Keeping Bias Out of The Hiring Grid

New York Is Giving Amazon a Helipad and New Yorkers Are Furious

3 Ways Companies Are Analyzing Social Media To Make Hiring Decisions



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
NORWALK  Rowaytonite Lisa Brinton, who placed second in Norwalks 2017 mayoral race, reregistered herself as an independent on Wednesday but declined to say whether shell run again in 2019.

Stay tuned, said Brinton, when asked by Hearst Connecticut Media.

On Wednesday afternoon, Brinton went to the Norwalk Registrar of Voters Office and changed her voter registration from Republican to unaffliliated.

My reregistration as an Unaffiliated voter is nothing new and should be no surprise to those who know me, Brinton said in a statement afterward. As a fiscal conservative and social progressive, it is my natural affiliation to be an independent, swing voter. As I stated last summer, I registered as a Republican to vote in their primary, later becoming a campaign supporter of State Senate candidate Marc DAmelio.

The election is over. As my past registration reveals, I have registered to vote in primaries and support specific candidates. In the coming year, I will be fully focused on what is best for Norwalk, regardless of party affiliation, Brinton continued.

Stuart W. Wells, Norwalks Democratic registrar of voters, confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Brinton had reregistered herself as an unaffiliated voter. On June 25, 2018, Brinton had switched her affiliation from unaffiliated to Republican, according to Wells.

Running as an unaffiliated, Brinton placed second in Norwalks 2017 mayoral election, ahead of Republican candidate Andrew T. Conroy but behind incumbent Democrat Harry W. Rilling, who won a third term.
NORWALK  Fort Point Street could be closed briefly near the Metro-North Railroad Bridge to accommodate Eversource Energys relocation of two high-voltage electric cables.

Were going to minimize the disruption to the best of our ability, including perhaps limited closing hours, or small windows, or designing a detour in the area, said Eversource Senior Project Manager Marcia Wellman.

On Tuesday evening, Eversource Energy held an open house in the Community Room of Norwalk City Hall to update the public on its plan to relocate two 115-kilovolt electric cables from atop the Walk Bridge to underground and beneath the Norwalk River.

The cables would go underground at the Norwalk Police Department headquarters parking lot at 1 Monroe St., run below Elizabeth Street, go under the harbor between 70 and 90 Water St., and run under part of Veterans Memorial Park and Fort Point Street.

Wellman described the proposed work near the Fort Point Street Bridge, where the cables would resurface and follow the railroad right-of-way, as the trickiest part of the project given the limited space. The utility company plans to replace an existing tower and build two new towers, as well as concrete transition structures to move the cables above ground.

Theres virtually no room there, said Wellman, pointing at a display board. Theres a 5-foot strip of land up against the elevated railroad tracks so our construction activity here is really going to be coordinated.

Wellman said the city has asked Eversource to review traffic patterns and possibly create a detour. She pointed at one potential detour over side streets and South Smith Street.

Is it possible it (Fort Point Street) will be closed for two days, open for four, closed for two? asked Rick Tavella, an East Norwalk Business Association board member. Will it be on and off, or will it be once its closed, its closed?

Said Wellman: Its certainly not going to be for a long duration.  our goal is to not have to close it. Our goal is to always, in one way or the other, allow traffic into South Norwalk.

She described the Fort Point Street bridge as critical for traffic getting in and out of South Norwalk.

Judith Dominguez, East Norwalk Business Association membership secretary, had concerns about effects on the large office building where she works at 25 Van Zant St. The property abuts the railroad tracks. Its western entrance lies within feet of the Fort Point Street Bridge.

I have to know exactly their timeline, Dominguez said. I want to know if Im going to be able to go into my parking (lot) or not, or about the easements as well. Eversource says that theyre going to be done first, before the bridge renovation, and that theyre going to be closing some Fort Point areas.

Wellman said Eversource plans to complete its work near the Fort Point Bridge before the state replaces the bridge. The state Department of Transportation plans to rebuild the bridge to the west, aligning it with South Smith Street, as part of the larger Walk Bridge replacement project.

At the open house, one resident inquired about work on Elizabeth Street on the west side of the river.

Eversource Project Manager Evan Piacente said installing the cables beneath Elizabeth Street will pose challenges given the presence of existing underground utilities.

We expect to be (working) on Elizabeth for a little while, just knowing that there are some utilities there, Piacente said. But it will not be closed. Were actually working closely with the city to make sure that one lane stays open the whole time during the construction.

Eversource plans to submit its cable relocation plan to the Connecticut Siting Council by the end of 2018, and secure council, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection approvals in order to start work in the second quarter of 2019.

Work would begin either side of the Norwalk River, with horizontal cross-drilling roughly 30 feet below the riverbed occurring during the winter in the first quarter of 2020. If all goes according to plan, the new cables would be energized in June 2020, according to Eversource.

The Norwalk Harbor Commission remains opposed to the plan, which would run the cables about 8 feet below the pilings of the newly rebuilt Norwalk Visitors Docks at Veterans Memorial Park.

We do not want it to go under the docks, said Harbor Commissioner Anthony Mobilia, who attended the open house. That will inhibit any future use or repair or change of anything for the docks.

According to Wellman, Eversource considered seven relocation routes and arrived at its proposed route after considering electrical reliability, constructability, project costs, and community and environmental impacts.